Book Ji^_ 
 
ROMANTIC HISTORY 
 
 General Editor : Martin Hume, M.A. 
 
 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS 
 
 AND PHILIP 
 
,IP 
 
<r 
 
 W^O ENGLISH QUEENS 
 AND PHILIP 
 
 BY 
 
 MARTIN HUME, M.A. 
 
 (PEMBROKE COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE) 
 EDITOR Oj. the CALENDARS OF SPANISH STATE PAPERS PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE 
 
 WITH A FRONTISPIECE IN PHOTOGRAVURE AND 
 TWELVE OTHER ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 Con todo el tnundo guerra 
 Y paz con Inglaterra 
 
 New York: G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS 
 
 London: METHUEN & CO. 
 
 igo8 
 

 / 
 
 J 
 
 I'^t/i^ 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Introductory (1552-1553) . . . . .1 
 
 The Emperor and England — Death of Edward VI. — Mary and 
 Renard — To capture England by marriage — Philip II. accepts the 
 sacrifice — Spanish efforts to moderate the religious reaction in 
 England 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 1553-1554 .... . . 32 
 
 The Coronation of Mary — Noailles versus Renard — Mary accepts 
 Philip — The marriage treaty — Alarm in London — Egmont's 
 missions — Wyatt's rebellion — Attitude of Elizabeth — The coming 
 of Philip — His voyage and arrival — His popular manners in 
 England — Arrival at Winchester 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 ^554-1555 75 
 
 Philip's first meeting with Mary — The marriage — Discontent and 
 disappointment of the Spaniards — Philip's kindness to his wife — 
 Spanish descriptions of England — Philip in London — Arrival of 
 Pole — PhiHp's religious policy in England — His attempts to marry 
 Elizabeth to Savoy — The Emperor's war with France — Departure 
 of Philip from England 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 1555-1558 128 
 
 Religious persecution in England — Philip's attempts to restrain it 
 — His efforts to keep control of English policy — Elizabeth comes to 
 
/ 
 
 viii TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHIl 
 
 Court— Return of Philip to England — French intrigues— The ^^^^ 
 English drawn into the war— St. Ouentin— Loss of Calais- 
 Penury of the English treasury— Illness and death of Mary— 
 Feria's approaches to Elizabeth 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 ^558-1565 181 
 
 Accession of Elizabeth— The beginning of the long duel— Feria 
 urges Philip to use force— PhiHp's many difficulties— He offers his 
 hand to Elizabeth— The Peace of Cateau Cambresis— The Franco- 
 Spanish Alliance— Fears of a Catholic League— Philip marries a 
 French Princess— English Catholics appeal to Philip— Mary Stuart 
 claims the Crown of England— War with Scotland— Philip's efforts 
 to effect a reconciliation— Bishop Quadra— His relations with 
 Leicester— Intrigue for a Catholic reaction in England — Mary 
 Stuart approaches Philip— Disgrace and death of Quadra— A war 
 of tariffs— Guzman de Silva, ambassador — The interviews of 
 Bayonne— Failure of the Catholic League 
 
 ^34 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 1565-T569 
 
 Mary Stuart marries Darnley— Their intrigues with Philip through 
 Guzman— Plan to promote revolution in England in favour of Mary 
 —Expulsion of the English ambassador from Spain— Recall of 
 Guzman — Don Gerau de Spes ambassador — His character- 
 Commences conspiring at once— His turbulent behaviour— Seizure 
 of Philip's treasure in England— Indignation of de Spes— His 
 imprudent and disastrous action — Alba stops trade— Strained 
 relations— Proposed declaration of war against England— The 
 views of Philip and Alba— The Norfolk plot— The Northern 
 rebellion 
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 1570-1578 296 
 
 Desperation of Alba— Fresh Catholic conspiracies— De Spes's 
 complicity— Alba and the Ridolfi plot— Discovery— The revenge 
 of John Hawkins— De Spes outwitted— His expulsion from England 
 — Guaras appointed Spanish Agent— Reopening of trade— Guaras' 
 intrigues with Mary Stuart and Don Juan of Austria— The plot 
 discovered — Imprisonment of Guaras — Fall of Don Juan — 
 Bernardino de Mendoza appointed ambassador in England 
 
CONTENTS ix 
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 PAGE 
 I578-I584 . . ... . . .354 
 
 Mendoza and Elizabeth — His haughty behaviour — The French in 
 Flanders — Elizabeth's approaches to Philip — The Spanish designs 
 on Portugal — Renewed plots of Mary Stuart — Appeals to Philip to 
 aid her in England — ^Philip's attitude towards Guise — Co-operation 
 with him in Britain — The Jesuit mission — Mendoza and the Catholic 
 plot in Scotland — Elizabeth aids the Portuguese Pretender — Anger 
 of Mendoza — His altercation with Elizabeth — Progress of the plots 
 — Collapse of Lennox — The interference of Guise in the plans — The 
 jealousy between English Catholic exiles and the Scots — Develop- 
 ment of the Anglo-Spanish plans and intended exclusion of Guise — 
 Arrest of Francis Throckmorton — Discovery of the plot — Expulsion 
 of Mendoza — Philip faces the inevitable and slowly prepares for a 
 war of invasion 
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 1584-1588 416 
 
 English Catholics verstis Scottish — Santa Cruz's proposal to conquer 
 England — EnUsting the Pope — Intrigues in Rome — Mary Stuart 
 and Philip — Drake's raid on Galicia — Elizabeth assumes the 
 protectorate of the Netherlands — War at last inevitable — The 
 preliminaries of the Armada — The Babington plot — Philip's 
 consent — His distrust — Discovery — Elizabeth's fears of war — Her 
 approaches to Spain — Santa Cruz's fresh proposals to invade 
 England — His great plan— The Scottish Catholics try again to 
 share the attack upon England — Failure of Huntly's scheme — 
 Guise not allowed by Philip to interfere — Mendoza in favour of 
 the Scottish plan — Philip's claims to the English crown — The 
 peace negotiations — Drake's dash upon Cadiz — Parma and the 
 Armada— Death of Santa Cruz— Medina Sidonia — The Armada — 
 The failure and its causes — The end of the struggle to win England 
 
V' 
 
I"^ 
 
 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS 
 AND PHILIP 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 INTRODUCTORY 
 
 1552-1553 
 
 The Emperor and England-Death of Edward VI.-Mary and 
 Renard-To capture England by marriage-Phihp II. accepts the 
 sacrifice-Spanish efforts to moderate the religious reaction m England 
 
 y 
 
 T an uncovered table, upon which jested a 
 clock, a pair of horn-rimmed spectacles and 
 some other trifles, there sat a prematurely 
 aged man of fifty-two with a long, fair, sallow face 
 and a white beard. His great, projecting nether- 
 lip was cracked and sore with fever, and between 
 it and the tongue there lay a fresh green leaf to 
 give coolness and moisture. His hands and feet 
 w?rr distorted by gout; and his fur-lined, black 
 ■>{j,-,il ing around a once-stalwart frame now 
 pw . with sickness. On his right hand at the 
 othe.. .ide of the table a stout, somewhat pursy, 
 middle-aged English gendeman, with his cap in his 
 hand and in an attitude of profound respect, was 
 
2 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 delivering a speech in Italian, to which the old 
 man was listening with eager attention, now and 
 again painfully raising his hand to his flat black 
 velvet cap in salute when the name of King Edward 
 was mentioned. It was in the little city of Landau 
 in the Bavarian Palatinate, and Sir Richard Moryson, 
 the English Ambassador, had ridden from Spires, 
 nearly twenty miles away, that day, the 4th October, 
 1552, bringing his message to the greatest potentate 
 on earth, the Emperor Charles V. 
 ; Fate had dealt hardly with the Emperor of late, 
 and the impossible task he had assumed was break- 
 ing him down mentally and physically. Once again 
 he had found himself faced, not only by his old 
 enemy France, but by his own German Princes ; 
 and solely by flight and good luck had he escaped 
 capture at the hands of the Judas whom he had 
 made powerful at the expense of right and justice, 
 Maurice of Saxony. From sheer impotence to 
 struggle further, the Emperor had been forced to 
 accept the humiliating terms of the Peace of Passau 
 dictated to him by the Lutheran Princes. But free 
 now from danger from his own people, he had turned 
 again to cope with the foreign ally of his rebel 
 vassals, determined this time to make a supreme 
 effort to crush his French rival utterly before his 
 growing infirmities crushed him. 
 
 As he had always done throughout his reign at 
 such a juncture, he looked to England for aid. 
 The insults offered by Henry VIII. to his House 
 and to the Catholic faith, whose champion he was., 
 had not been able to alienate the Emperor, who 
 well knew that with England permanently on the 
 side of France against him, the vast ambitions 
 
THE EMPEROR AND ENGLAND 3 
 
 he cherished for himself, his son, and his country 
 were doomed to failure ; and now, notwithstanding 
 the still more aggressive Protestantism of young 
 Edward VI. and his mentors, it was as necessary 
 to Charles as ever it had been to secure the good- 
 will of England in his struggle against France in 
 defence of his own Netherlands. So long as Charles 
 had been fighting his German Lutheran subjects it 
 was hopeless for him to bid for Northumberland's 
 help ; and one of the considerations that led him 
 to accept the terms imposed upon him by Maurice 
 and the Germans was that thereby he might the 
 better enlist his old ally England against the mon- 
 strous coalition of France, the Pope, and the Turk. 
 The suggestion for an alliance had reached Northum- 
 berland from Charles' sister, Mary Queen of Hun- 
 gary, his Regent of the Netherlands ; and Moryson 
 had received his answer from England whilst he was 
 following a day's march behind the Emperor and his 
 army, who were on their way from Austria to 
 Flanders when Charles had fallen ill at Landau. 
 
 Much dulcet verbiage there was in Moryson's 
 address, and much vague desire expressed on the 
 part of the English King — or, rather, the Duke of 
 Northumberland — to join a coalition against the Turk; 
 but what Charles so eagerly listened for — a declaration 
 against the French — came not ; though he knew that 
 the English had just then a bitter quarrel of their own 
 with France about the seizure of English ships and 
 cargoes by French privateers. Charles lisped and 
 mumbled much at the best of times, but now that he 
 had the green leaf on his lip, it was difficult for Moryson 
 to understand what he said in reply to the speech, 
 which, indeed, the Emperor interrupted more than once 
 
4 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 in his anxiety to get at the important point of it. "He 
 could not forget," he said, "the love of Henry VIII. for 
 him, shown at sundry times, nor betray the trust the 
 late King had put in him in asking him to protect his 
 young son. He would never forget the amity that for 
 many years had lasted between England and his 
 House, and he had perpetually tried to preserve this 
 ancient friendship." Then, raising his voice and 
 speaking more emphatically, he said that friend- 
 ships that had long been tried and found good 
 should be made much of. Charles was not a man 
 to wear his heart upon his sleeve ; and his stolid 
 face and leaden eyes as a rule gave no key to his 
 thoughts ; but Moryson says that on this occasion 
 "he did so use his eyes, so move his head and order 
 his countenance, ... as I do surely think he meant 
 the most of what he said. Sure am I that he is 
 too wise not to wish the King's Majesty surely 
 his." 
 
 That Charles was sincere in his wish to gain 
 the help of England against France on this, as 
 on all other similar opportunities, did not require 
 much penetration to understand ; but when Mory- 
 son left the Imperial presence and came to close 
 quarters with Charles's minister de Granvelle, the 
 wily ecclesiastic and future Cardinal tried what 
 cajolery could do the further to persuade the 
 Englishman of the goodwill of the Emperor, and 
 his wish for England's friendship. "He [the 
 Emperor] only wished," he said, " that he found 
 in the rest of the Princes the like godly mind as 
 in King Edward, his good brother, and did trust 
 he should be a king of as great honour as hath 
 been in England this hundred years. This and a 
 
ENGLAND AND THE EMPEROR 5 
 
 hundred times as much he spake with such affection 
 as, if words may be thought to mean what they say, 
 there can be no more wished for than is to be hoped 
 for." I There was no thought yet of the young 
 King's premature death ; but Northumberland had 
 many bitter enemies at home, and to him it was 
 a matter of policy to secure for himself a powerful 
 supporter on the Continent. The Catholic and 
 Spanish interest being naturally against him for 
 his religious action and his treatment of the Princess 
 Mary, he had always hitherto looked towards France 
 as his friend ; but the maritime aggression of the 
 French and ancient prejudice had aroused a bitter 
 feeling against them generally in England ; and it 
 behoved Northumberland at this juncture to make 
 an appearance at least of conciliating the ancient 
 ally of England, the Emperor-king of Spain and 
 monarch of the Netherlands. To Northumberland 
 in the circumstances this was a passing expediency : 
 to Charles the alliance or benevolent neutrality of 
 England was a permanent necessity if his cause and 
 country were to prevail. 
 
 This necessity became more pressing still three 
 months after the interview just described. The 
 Emperor with a demoralised and discontented army 
 laid siege to Metz, which the French had captured 
 from him, and after months of effort and hardship 
 in the depth of winter he was obliged to retreat, 
 defeated and heartsick ; already swearing that he 
 would turn monk: "for fortune, like a very strumpet, 
 doth reserve her favours for the young." In his 
 palace at Brussels — sick, sorry, and dejected — he was 
 obliged to haggle with the German Princes as to 
 
 ^ Moryson to the Council, 7th October 1552. Record Office. 
 
6 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 the price of their aid to fight the French. His 
 darling son PhiHp, they stipulated, must be separated 
 from the succession to the Empire, and the dream of 
 the Emperor's life to leave Philip strong enough to 
 triumph where he himself had failed must be for- 
 feited. The French had stirred up trouble, too, in 
 the Emperor's Italian dominions ; the Turk was 
 dominatinof the Mediterranean with the blessing: of 
 the Christian Pope ; the Netherlands were sore and 
 angry at the war taxes and the presence of marauding 
 Spanish soldiery ; the Imperial ministers were at 
 deadly feud with each other ; and on all sides Charles 
 was surrounded by debts and difficulties. If only 
 England could be prevailed upon to divert the 
 French by attacking them in the Channel during 
 the coming spring campaign, the tide of victory for 
 the Emperor might yet be turned and France be 
 rendered powerless. That, however, was the last 
 thing that suited Northumberland's book. 
 
 The continuance of the war, nevertheless, was a 
 standing danger to England itself, for it would 
 have been impossible for her very long to have 
 stood by idly whilst the French overran Flanders ; 
 and Northumberland made desperate efforts to bring 
 about peace between the two antagonists. To all 
 approaches in this sense the Emperor and his sister, 
 the Queen- Regent of the Netherlands, could only 
 point to the aggressive action and impossible demands 
 of the King of France. "And," writes Moryson in 
 April, 1553, "whyle all these sturres ar growing 
 great in Germanie, and whyle the French King is 
 plying both sides with secret aydes and unseen 
 practices, th' Emperor keepyth his bed as unfyt 
 to hear of the myschiefs that grow rownd about 
 
ENGLAND AND THE EMPEROR 7 
 
 him, as unable to devise how to remedie them 
 if they were told him." 
 
 All through the spring, however, the Emperor's 
 officers worked hard to muster his armies in Ger- 
 many and Flanders to face the French and save 
 the Netherlands. Northumberland still pressed upon 
 both sides the mediation of the King of England in 
 their quarrel, but in the midst of these negotiations 
 in April, 1553, the new Imperial general, young Prince 
 Emmanuel Philibert of Savoy, suddenly dashed upon 
 the French frontier-fortress of Th^rouenne and inflicted 
 a heavy defeat upon the Emperor's enemies. North- 
 umberland's new embassy to urge peace upon Charles 
 found less ready response even than before, whilst the 
 King of France in no wise abated his extravagant 
 claims now that the Emperor was looked upon as sick 
 unto death. When the English envoys at length 
 gained audience of Charles in Brussels early in June, 
 1553, they found him with his gouty limbs propped up, 
 "looking very pale, weak, lean, and feeble," though 
 his eyes were still bright and his mind clear. 
 " Marry, to judge him by our sight, we must say 
 that he appeareth unto us rather a man of short 
 time rather than continuance." ^ 
 
 How important the life or death of the Emperor ' 
 was at that juncture to England, few people outside 
 the immediate circle of Northumberland's friends fully 
 understood. Already dark rumours were spreading 
 abroad that the slight indisposition of the boy King 
 of England was really a mortal malady. If Charles 
 died first, it might easily be foreseen that the break 
 up of his Empire and the confusion resulting from the 
 
 ^ Thirlby, Hoby, and Moryson to the Council. State Papers, 
 Germany. 
 
8 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 demise of his many Crowns would deprive his suc- 
 cessor of the power at the critical moment to inter- 
 fere with Northumberland's plans to exclude the 
 Princess Mary from the throne and to perpetuate 
 the Protestant regime in England under his own 
 Dudley descendants. If, on the other hand, Edward 
 died whilst the Emperor's power was intact, it was 
 certain that such support as he could give would go 
 to his cousin Mary Tudor. To Spain and Flanders 
 the goodwill of England was the crucial point upon 
 which their future power and prosperity turned. To 
 gain that, Charles had already condoned and suffered 
 much, and there was hardly any sacrifice too great for 
 him if he could win it now. With Mary on the throne 
 and at his bidding — for he had been her only friend in 
 all her tribulations — the sympathy of her country 
 would be secure to him, and he and his could face 
 France with confidence. So Charles and his Ministers 
 were alert for every whisper as to Edward's sickness, 
 and the English envoys who were at his Court grew 
 daily more apprehensive at what would happen to 
 them and their master if the young King died before 
 the old Emperor. 
 
 On the 24th June Sir Philip Hoby, one of the 
 English envoys in Brussels, received a visit from 
 Evered, "the King's jeweller dwelling at West- 
 minster," who had just come from Antwerp. In 
 that city, he reported, it was current, and wagers 
 laid on it, that King Edward was already dead, 
 and that Mary had succeeded. To make matters 
 more threatening for Northumberland's friends, it was 
 further stated that the Emperor was sending to Eng- 
 land with all speed three Catholic Flemish statesmen 
 to be councillors of the new Queen of England. 
 
DEATH OF EDWARD VI 9 
 
 Well might Hoby in his private letter to Cecil, 
 written the next day, exclaim in dismay : " Pray 
 God that England's wickedness may not be the 
 cause of His taking away the King"; for if the 
 country was to be guided by Charles's councillors, 
 of whom Hoby held but a poor opinion, then good- 
 bye to Northumberland's ambitions and to the 
 prosperity of all his friends. ''England would go 
 to utter ruin," he said, "if ruled by such men." ^ 
 
 The three envoys sent by the Emperor to capture 
 England for Spanish ends when Edward should die 
 had indeed received their instructions two days before 
 Hoby wrote his letter to Cecil. They were all men of 
 mark — Jean de Montmorenci, Lord of Courrieres, 
 Jacques de Marnix, Lord of Tholuze, both members of 
 the highest Flemish nobility, and one of the Emperor's 
 Masters of Requests, a keen, sagacious lawyer named 
 Simon Renard. Charles had maintained a minister 
 resident in London, one Schefyne, who became 
 Chancellor of Brabant, but for so important a mission 
 as that now in hand he was considered inadequate ; 
 and in right of his experience and ability Simon 
 Renard, though inferior in point of rank to his 
 colleagues, became the real leader of the embassy. 
 The envoys were to seek audience of Northumberland 
 and Edward, and to say that, as the King of France had 
 sent a secretary to visit him on account of his sickness, 
 the Emperor, whose affection for him was infinitely 
 greater, could do no less. All sorts of assurances of 
 friendship and goodwill towards England were to 
 be given, and care was to be taken in any case 
 to conciliate Northumberland. " But," continue the 
 instructions, "if you arrive too late, you must take 
 
 ' Sir Philip Hoby to Cecil. Hatfield Papers and Haynes. 
 
lo TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 counsel together and act for the best for the safety of 
 our cousin the Princess Mary, and secure, if possible 
 her accession to the Crown : whilst doing what you see 
 necessary to exclude the French and their intrigues. 
 You must endeavour also to maintain the confidence 
 and good neighbourship which it is so important that 
 our Flemish States and Spain should enjoy with 
 England for mutual trade and intercourse ; and 
 especially to prevent the French from getting their 
 foot in, or gaining the ear of the men who now rule 
 England, the more so if it be for the purpose of 
 troubling us." ^ 
 
 Already news had reached Flanders that North- 
 umberland would endeavour to exclude Mary from the 
 throne on the death of her brother ; and although the 
 Emperor foresaw that in such case the life of his 
 cousin would be in grave peril, especially if French aid 
 were given to Northumberland, the principal efforts 
 of the envoys were to be directed to assuring the 
 English Government, in any case, that the Emperor 
 was their real friend and not France, the ancient foe of 
 England. If Northumberland and his friends feared 
 that Mary would contract a foreign marriage under 
 the Emperor's influence, they were to be assured that 
 no such thing was thought of, and Northumberland 
 was to be given to understand that any husband 
 chosen by him for the Princess as future Queen would 
 be willingly accepted, though the actual fulfilment of 
 the promise was to be postponed as long as possible 
 in order that Mary might, if she was strong enough 
 later, avoid compliance with it altogether. The 
 envoys, indeed, were to promise anything and every- 
 thing to secure the throne for Mary. No change 
 ^ Papiers d'Etat du Cardinal de Granvelle, vol. iv. 
 
DEATH OF EDWARD VI ii 
 
 should be made in the government or in religion, and 
 full indemnity should be given for all past acts against 
 her. It is clear throughout these instructions, how- 
 ever, that, much as Charles desired the accession 
 of his cousin Mary, he was prepared to accept any 
 solution that would enable him to remain friendly 
 with England and exclude French influence from 
 the country. 
 
 Before Renard and his colleagues arrived in 
 England, Schefyne wrote to the Emperor the news of 
 the King's expected death, and the patent intrigues of 
 Northumberland to exclude Mary from her inheri- 
 tance ; and when, on the 6th July, 1553, the Imperial 
 ambassadors entered London, though Northumber- 
 land's officers greeted them as though all was well, 
 they promptly discovered that Edward was no 
 more for the world, and that everything was pre- 
 pared for the elevation of Jane Grey to the English 
 throne. On the day after their arrival, the 7th July, 
 the ambassadors learnt secretly that Edward had 
 died the previous night, and that Mary in fear for her 
 life had fled to Norfolk and had resolved to proclaim 
 herself Queen as soon as her brother's death was 
 officially announced. In their perplexity at this 
 critical state of affairs, and their dread at driving the 
 ruling power of England into enmity with the 
 Emperor, the envoys took the unheroic course of 
 blaming Mary's bold action instead of supporting 
 it. Certain it is that if the Princess had waited upon 
 her Imperial kinsman's effective aid, her opportunity 
 would have been missed and she would never have 
 been Queen of England. She had, indeed, no one to 
 thank for her crown but herself; and the attitude of 
 the Imperial envoys towards her in her hour of trial 
 
12 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 proves once more the impossibility of the Emperor 
 and his son allowing any considerations, either of 
 religion or kinship, to stand in the way of their 
 securing the co-operation of England to their ends. 
 
 Renard and his colleagues were weak reeds for 
 Mary to depend upon, and she did well to go her own 
 way, understanding the feeling of her countrymen 
 better than they did. The envoys found Mary's 
 action in defying Northumberland : " Strange, 
 difficult, and dangerous. . . . All the forces of the 
 country are in the hands of the Duke, and the Lady 
 has no hope of obtaining forces nor aid to oppose him, 
 whilst her proclamation of herself as Queen will 
 justify the new King and Queen in attacking her 
 by force, and she will have no means of resisting 
 them unless your Majesty stands by her. Considering 
 your war with the French, it seems unadvisable for 
 your Majesty to arouse English feeling against you, 
 and the idea that the Lady will gain Englishmen 
 on the orround of relisfion is vain."i Serious 
 remonstrances were sent to Mary herself by the 
 Imperial envoys, pointing out her danger and the 
 hopelessness of her position in the face of North- 
 umberland's supposed strength ; and at the same time 
 they laboured hard to dissuade the Duke frorh the 
 idea that they had been sent to England to sustain 
 Mary's cause. 
 
 The Emperor himself was no bolder than his 
 envoys. " If you cannot draw the Duke of North- 
 umberland to our cousin's cause, you may see if you 
 can gain over some of the nobles by promises about 
 religion or otherwise, in order to alarm the Duke into 
 
 ^ The envoys to the Emperor. Papiers d'Etat de Granvelle, 
 vol. iv. 
 
CHARLES AND MARY 13 
 
 showing some favour to the Princess." ^ Renard and 
 his colleagues had been in London five days and had 
 already assumed the attitude towards Mary just 
 referred to, before Secretary Petre came officially 
 from Northumberland on the loth July to inform 
 them of the King's death. They merely begged the 
 Council to be kind to Lady Mary, although they well 
 knew that she was mustering her forces and issuing 
 her decrees in Norfolk, and that Jane was to be 
 crowned in the Tower of London on the following 
 day ; after which they feared that Mary would be 
 captured and done to death as a rebel. 
 
 All through the critical time, whilst Mary was 
 sturdily asserting her rights and gathering her friends, 
 the envoys of her cousin were thus paltering, in 
 mortal fear of driving the new government into the 
 arms of France, limiting themselves to a repetition 
 of the mission originally intended for Edward, and : 
 ** recommending Lady Mary to them with all softness 
 and modesty, without entering into any contention as 
 to the succession, which would be of no use." In the 
 meanwhile Northumberland's cause grew more and 
 more hopeless, though the Imperial envoys did not 
 even yet understand it. English Catholics and others 
 came to them begging for information as to the 
 Emperor's attitude, and urging him to make at 
 least some declaration in his cousin's favour ; but 
 all the answer they got was a mild deprecation of 
 violence of any sort, and an appeal to the Emperor 
 for instructions. The over-cautious ambassadors 
 first began to pluck up courage when the heralds 
 proclaimed in London the accession of Jane and 
 
 ^ The Emperor to the envoys. Papiers d'Etat de Granvelle, 
 vol. iv. 
 
14 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 her Dudley husband on the nth July amidst the 
 silence of the frowning citizens ; but when on the 
 following day, 12th July, a deputation of Jane's 
 Council, Lord Cobham and Dr. Mason, came to 
 inform them of the accession of the new Queen, 
 and told them haughtily that their embassy had 
 come to an end, as they were known to be in 
 England only to help Mary, the ambassadors 
 replied with bated breath and whispering humble- 
 ness, and with perfect truth, that they had done 
 ^.nothing of the sort. Their only mission, they said, 
 which they had hitherto no opportunity of carrying 
 out, was to thank King Edward for his efforts to 
 bring about peace, and to assure the Government 
 of the Emperor's desire to be friendly with England 
 in spite of French lies and intrigue. 
 
 On the 13th July the ambassadors had their 
 first audience with the Council. Northumberland, 
 of course, was absent : he had just started on his 
 disastrous expedition to Cambridge, already a beaten 
 man in the face of Mary's growing popularity ; but 
 Arundel, Shrewsbury, Pembroke, Mason, Petre, and 
 others received them. Renard was the spokesman 
 of the envoys, and he laboured hard, even now, to 
 persuade the Englishmen of the Emperor's desire 
 to banish from their minds all suspicion of his 
 motives — a suspicion, he said, engendered solely 
 by French misrepresentations. He was naturally 
 anxious for the safety and good treatment of his 
 cousin, Lady Mary, but he had no desire whatever 
 to use her as a political instrument, or to promote 
 her marriage with a foreigner, or indeed to interfere 
 in any way with the established order of affairs in 
 England. The Emperor's message was received 
 
CHARLES AND MARY 15 
 
 courteously, as well it might be, for the Coun- 
 cillors were already trembling in their shoes, and 
 the envoys were requested to defer their departure 
 from England until further instructions came from 
 the Emperor — a notable change of tone since their 
 interview with Cobham and Mason the day before. 
 The ambassadors, however, were still as far as 
 ever from understanding the real state of affairs, 
 even at the date of their next letter (i6th July). 
 " We consider it certain that before four days are over 
 the Lady will be in the Duke's power if she has no 
 force to resist him. . . . He is raising troops every- 
 where and is strong on land and sea, so that we do 
 not see how those who secretly hold with the Lady 
 will be able or dare to declare themselves. We 
 have no confirmation that the Lady is aided by so 
 many people as was reported. . . . On the contrary, 
 a messenger from the Lady brought us to-day the 
 copy of the Council's reply to her letter to them, 
 and a verbal message from her telling us that she 
 saw the ruin into which she would fall unless your 
 Majesty helped her." ^ If this had really been the 
 case, Mary would never have been Queen of England, 
 for the Emperor plainly told his envoys that, for 
 an infinity of extremely sage and prudent reasons 
 which he detailed at great length, he could not give 
 the help that Mary hoped for. New credentials, 
 indeed, were sent to them, and instructions that 
 they were again to ply the Council with assurances 
 that nothing was farther from the Emperor's thoughts^ 
 than to interfere in any way in England. A mild 
 word or two was to be introduced on behalf of Mary ; 
 
 ^ The Imperial envoys to the Emperor. Papiers d'Etat, 
 vol. iv. 
 
i6 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 but the whole object of the mission was to induce the 
 English Government, whatever it might be, to 
 renounce the French friendship and depend solely 
 upon their ancient ally the Monarch of Spain and 
 Flanders.^ 
 
 Before these instructions reached London, Northum- 
 berland's house of cards had fallen. His son, Henry 
 Dudley, had in vain prayed for help from the King of 
 France ; but the latter was now at grips with the 
 Emperor and dared not send troops to England, 
 where the dread and hatred of the French was one 
 of the principal reasons of Northumberland's fall. 
 The Duke himself was hopeless and helpless at Cam- 
 bridge, ready to save his unworthy skin by throwing 
 up his bonnet and crying, " Long live Queen Mary ! " 
 when in spite of him the Princess he had just declared 
 a bastard was acclaimed Queen ; whilst the miserable 
 Councillors he had coerced into being his tools in 
 London were tumbling over each other in their 
 anxiety to disclaim him and betray the unhappy girl 
 whom his ambition was to lead to an untimely death. 
 
 On the 19th July the Earl of Shrewsbury and 
 Dr. Mason came to the Imperial ambassadors in a 
 very contrite mood. There was no talk of their 
 embassy being ended now, no haughty reproaches 
 for their supposed support to the bastard Lady Mary. 
 After much hemming and hawing, the deputation of 
 the Council announced to Renard and his colleagues 
 that they came with glad news, which they thought 
 would be welcome to the Emperor. All that the 
 Council had done previously had been under the 
 coercion of the wicked Duke of Northumberland, 
 .whom they repudiated. They now all acknowledged 
 ' The Emperor to the envoys, 20th July. 
 
PROCLAMATION OF MARY 17 
 
 Mary as their true Sovereign, and they had decided 
 to proclaim her pubHcly that day in London. To the ' 
 dehght of the Imperial envoys, but still apparently to 
 their bewildered surprise at the failure of all their 
 predictions, Mary was proclaimed both in the Tower 
 and the City amidst the frantic joy of the people. 
 Bonfires blazed, feasts were spread, wine ran freely in 
 London, ^ and coins galore were scattered ; for the 
 rightful Queen had come into her own at last, whilst 
 the "nine-days' Queen" — the poor fated girl in the 
 grim fortress that had been her only palace — found 
 herself a prisoner instead of a potentate ; and the 
 cowardly craven whose tool she had been was basely 
 striving to win mercy, if not favour, from the proud 
 Princess whom he had injured beyond forgiveness. 
 Still intent, as ever, upon gaining the friendship of 
 England, no matter who reigned over it, the first 
 instructions of the Emperor to his envoys when he 
 heard the good news of Mary's accession were to urge 
 upon the new Queen the acceptance, at all events at 
 first, of the status quo : not to be in a hurry to change 
 anything, to bow to the decisions of Parliament, to 
 practise her own religion only in private, if necessary. 
 "And above all things she should be a good English- 
 woman, and let people understand that she has no 
 intention of acting alone and without the advice and 
 co-operation of her nobles and the Parliament." An 
 assurance might now be given to her of the Emperor's 
 desire and intention of supporting her — as had always 
 indeed been his intention, he said — and upon her, as 
 formerly upon her brother, was to be urged the first 
 and principal points of all — distrust of the French and 
 
 ^ Contemporary account by Antonio de Guaras. Edited by 
 Garnett. 
 
i8 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 the conviction that the real, trustworthy friend of 
 England was the Sovereign of Spain and Flanders. 
 
 T Mary was perfectly well aware that she owed her 
 Crown to her own right and to the boldness of the 
 action she had taken, and she was not inclined to 
 accept to their full the moderating counsels of the 
 Emperor, who had done so little for her in her need. 
 But she also understood that her position was, as yet, 
 far from stable ; and with French intrigue against her 
 and in favour of the regime she had supplanted, she 
 turned naturally to her powerful Spanish kinsman for 
 such support as she might need, as well as for counsel. 
 So anxious was Charles to consolidate her position as 
 Queen, that the advice he gave her might rather have 
 come from a Protestant constitutional monarch than 
 from the absolute champion of Catholicism. She was 
 
 ^ urged to moderate her religious zeal, to abandon her 
 intention of celebrating the obsequies of Edward with 
 Catholic rites, and whilst using severity with the few 
 leaders of the revolt against her, to be clement to the 
 great majority, and not to begin her reign by any 
 vengeful action either of her own or of the friends 
 who had suffered under the rule of her brother. 
 Above all, she was recommended to summon Parlia- 
 ment in the old form and banish most of the foreigners, 
 especially Frenchmen, of course, from her realm. 
 With these sage counsels the Emperor sent Mary a 
 promise that if the French attempted anything against 
 her, she might depend upon the aid of Imperial troops 
 under the Prince of Savoy. 
 T The very first letter written by the Emperor after 
 he had news of Mary's proclamation instructed Renard 
 to tell the new Queen that it would be advisable for 
 her to take a husband at once, and to say that the 
 
MARY ENTERS LONDON 19 
 
 Emperor would support her in any choice she might 
 make. There were really very few princes whom 
 Mary could have chosen. If she married an English- 
 man, there was none of fitting rank and faith to be her 
 husband but Courtenay, whom she had just released 
 from his long durance in the Tower, and the elderly 
 Churchman, Cardinal Pole, both of these being of the 
 blood royal of England. Mary, in violet velvet, rode 
 in triumph from New Hall in Essex to the Tower of 
 London on the 3rd August. A thousand velvet- 
 clad courtiers followed in her train and ten thousand 
 armed men formed her bodyguard. As she passed 
 through the leafy lanes and into the smiling villages, 
 and so to the eastern gate of her capital, no discordant 
 voice reached her. Close behind her in a litter rode 
 her younger sister, Elizabeth, with her fair skin and 
 yellow hair, composed and self-possessed ; but, as 
 Mary well knew, ready to make common cause with 
 her enemies if it would serve her own ends. Before 
 Mary had left New Hall the clever, courtly French 
 ambassador, Antoine de Noailles, had ridden out from 
 London to greet her. Noailles's task was a difficult 
 one. He had done his best, almost openly, to aid 
 Northumberland and exclude half-Spanish Mary from 
 the throne ; indeed, the Londoners, who hated him 
 and his country, were loudly proclaiming that six 
 thousand armed Frenchmen had been ready to invade 
 England in the interests of Queen Jane.^ But 
 Noailles was supple and insinuating, and the first 
 speech he made to Mary when he greeted her was an 
 assurance of the devotion of his master to her and 
 an offer of armed assistance if she needed it. Mary 
 was polite but cool, for she knew, notwithstanding 
 ^ Ambassades de Noailles. vol. ii. 
 
20 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 Noailles's charming, that she had nothing to hope for 
 from France. As she entered London there rode also 
 in her train the Imperial ambassadors, jealous and dis- 
 trustful of the Frenchman, who they knew was trying 
 to checkmate them. Beyond formal greetings in the 
 presence of many watchful eyes Renard had not been 
 able to obtain private conference of the Queen, who 
 remained in the Tower of London awaiting her 
 journey to Richmond. Mary herself, knowing who 
 her friends were, was naturally anxious to have speech 
 with the representatives of her Imperial cousin, to 
 whom she looked for guidance, and she suggested 
 that Renard should seek entrance to the Tower in 
 disguise to see her.^ The ambassador, however, 
 appears to have thought it safer and more dignified 
 to have patience for a few days until, in the compara- 
 tive freedom of Richmond, he could see the Queen 
 _without attracting so niuch attention as in the Tower. 
 'In the meanwhile he had been able in private con- 
 versation with Paget, of the Council, to broach the 
 subject of the Queen's marriage. From him he had 
 learnt positively that the current rumour of the inten- 
 tion of Mary to make Courtenay her Consort was 
 untrue. ** She was against such a match, because 
 she distrusted the English nation, knowing it to be 
 treacherous and fickle, because Courtenay is too young 
 and lowly, her heart being high and magnanimous. 
 Besides which, if she married an Englishman, 
 the children — if she had any — would not be so 
 much thought of as if her husband were a foreign 
 prince." 
 ; The Emperor's son Philip, a young widower of 
 
 ^ Renard to the Emperor. Papiers d'Etat de Granvelle, 
 vol. iv. 
 
A HUSBAND FOR MARY 21 
 
 twenty-seven, after several years of widowhood, was 
 betrothed to his cousin, the Princess of Portugal, 
 whose rich dowry was sorely needed by the Emperor^ 
 for the war ; but Renard well understood without 
 instructions that if Mary of England could be won 
 for the House of Spain, the gain would be infinitely 
 greater than any Portuguese money dowry could 
 bring. So he gently hinted to Paget in his talk that 
 the Prince was not married yet, though the Spanish 
 merchants in England had falsely reported that he 
 was. Paget was doubtful. Yes, he said, no doubt 
 the Queen's marriage would be the richest one in the 
 world, but it was not yet time to discuss it. Never- 
 theless, Renard decided when first he saw the QueeiT 
 in private to mention Philip's name as if by chance, 
 "so as to put the idea of such a marriage into her 
 head ; for if she takes to it, she will be better able to 
 convert her councillors to it than anybody else in the 
 world." 
 
 The idea once started was eagerly taken up by the 
 Emperor — if, in fact, it did not originate with him — 
 and no time was lost by him in preparing the ground 
 on his side. He wrote to Philip as soon as Renard's 
 information reached him that Mary would probably 
 favour a foreign marriage, recommending him to send 
 from Spain a formal embassy to congratulate Mary 
 upon her accession. But to this recommendation he^"^' 
 added the hint that if Philip would break off the 
 Portuguese match and consent to his marriage with 
 the new Queen of England it would be a master- 
 stroke of policy. Charles had not seen his son for 
 two years, and although he knew well that Philip was 
 dutiful, yet he did not venture to press him too 
 urgently. The Prince was, as Granvelle wrote to 
 
22 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 Renard, a man of full age, with children, ^ and the 
 Emperor would do nothing decisive with regard to 
 the English marriage unless Philip's own inclinations 
 led him to it. There was some fear on the part of 
 ' the Emperor that Mary might think of himself for a 
 husband. To this he had no inclination. ^ He was, 
 as we have seen, in declining health, and had in secret 
 already made up his mind to embrace a monastic life 
 as soon as he could cripple France and leave his son 
 _at peace. Pending Philip's reply, Renard was in- 
 ' structed to keep the affair open with the Queen, 
 always mentioning Philip as being the preferable 
 parti, but without pledging him, "in case the Portu- 
 guese affair has gone too far, ... or if the Prince's 
 fancy alights elsewhere." Even Courtenay, who was 
 known to be intriguing with the French ambassador, 
 was not to be banned entirely, though that idea was 
 to be gently discouraged ; "for if her fancy tends that 
 
 ^ He had, in fact, several children by the Lady Dona Isabel 
 de Osorio, with whom he had lived since his young wife's death. 
 The fact that Granvelle puts the word in the plural proves that 
 this was quite recognised. 
 
 2 In the private letter which the Emperor wrote to his son on 
 the subject he says : "if the choice falls upon a foreigner, I 
 think the English would rather have me than any one else, as 
 they have always been well disposed towards me. But I can 
 assure you that even greater dominions" (i.e., than England) 
 " would not seduce me nor divert me from the very different 
 intention which I hold. If, therefore, they should send and 
 propose this marriage to me, I have thought that it would be 
 better to suggest you, and the matter could then be carried 
 through successfully. The benefits and advantages which would 
 accrue are so great and notorious that they need not be 
 particularised. I only place it before you for your consideration. 
 Let me know at once what you think of it, so that we may act 
 accordingly ; but keep it strictly secret." — MS. Simancas. 
 Printed in the Retiro^ estancia y muerte del Emperador Carlos V. 
 
RENARD'S DIPLOMACY 23 
 
 way she will not fail, if she be like other women, to go 
 on with it, and would never forgive you if you had 
 said anything against it." ^ 
 
 When, after all, Renard was received privately by 
 the Queen in the Tower on the 6th August, he slily 
 introduced the idea of marriage, after all the more 
 prosaic points of his instructions had been disposed of. 
 At the suggestion of a foreign match, but with no 
 mention of Philip, Renard says : " She laughed, not 
 once only but several times, whilst she regarded me in 
 a way that proved the idea to be very agreeable to 
 her. She clearly made me understand that she would 
 not attempt or accept an English marriage, but pre- 
 ferred a foreign one, ... by which I recognised that 
 she had her usual pride and inclination to speak of 
 her rank and grandeur. From what I can under-" 
 stand, her idea is that the Emperor should propose 
 some one to her, . . . and I am in good hope that if 
 his Majesty inclines to our Prince [Philip], it would be 
 the most welcome piece of news that could be taken 
 to her." 2 But whilst this was the case, the observant 
 ambassador also recognised that the English Council ' 
 
 ^ Granvelle to Renard. Papiers d'Etat, vol, iv. 
 
 2 Although Renard at this interview of 6th August did not, 
 according to his own statement, bring forward Philip's name to 
 the Queen, public rumour was already busy with it. Noailles 
 three days afterwards wrote to the King of France saying that 
 the Imperial ambassadors had proposed Philip to the Queen : 
 " and it was not now so sure that she would marry Courtenay. 
 It is thought that the effect of his presence has greatly damaged 
 his reputation, although he is quite handsome and well bred." — 
 " Mais la nourriture que vous, Sire, pouvez penser qu'il a pris ayant 
 ete toujours ferme des son enfance dans des murailles lui a laisse 
 si pen de graviti et d^ experience qui je crains heaucoup qu'il soil 
 pour se conduire a telle fortune^ Combien que la commune de toute 
 cette province la lui desired — Ambassades de Noailles. 
 
24 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 would not be so easily pleased as the middle-aged 
 Princess, who for her thirty-nine years of life had 
 been starved of love — she, a Tudor, true daughter of 
 her father, whose passions and affections were strong ; 
 she, a Queen, who had been outraged and insulted for 
 years and now hungered for the vengeance upon her 
 foes that was only possible with the possession of 
 power such as the Imperial connection could give her. 
 The French, said Renard with perfect truth, were 
 leaving no stone unturned, by intrigues, bribes, and 
 promises, to make the idea of a Spanish alliance 
 hateful to the English people ; and if Mary's coun- 
 cillors were to be gained to the Spanish side, it could 
 only be done by lavish expenditure both in ready 
 money and in future pledges. Gardiner, the most 
 powerful of Mary's Ministers, was strongly in favour 
 of his late pupil Courtenay as a Consort for the Queen, 
 and even Paget and Petre, both pro-Spaniards and 
 former pensioners of the Emperor, looked askance at 
 a match which it was seen would be hateful to the 
 great majority of the English people. 
 
 As week followed week — for the road between 
 Spain and Flanders was a long one — it is plain to see 
 that Mary became somewhat restive at the delay. 
 Renard saw her privately at Richmond early in 
 September, and, in order to start the conversation 
 on the subject, mentioned the common talk in London 
 of her intended marriage with Courtenay. Mary coldly 
 replied that she had never spoken to the man except 
 when she pardoned him. She knew nobody in 
 England whom she would care to marry. Had the 
 Emperor, she asked, made up his mind about recom- 
 mending any suitor to her? Renard had much to 
 say about the difficulty of selecting a fitting person, 
 
RENARD'S DIPLOMACY 25 
 
 though he was sure that the Emperor would do his 
 best. Renard dared not go too far, for no reply had 
 yet been received from Philip ; and rumours were 
 current in London that his marriage with his Portu- 
 guese cousin was now irrevocably settled. But Renard 
 began by mentioning the various unmarried Catholic 
 Princes — the Archduke of Austria, the Prince of 
 Savoy, the Princes of Ferrara and Florence, and 
 even the Dauphin ; to all of which Mary listened 
 crossly, for she knew this was only fencing. " Of 
 course, your Majesty," continued Renard, " if you think 
 twenty-seven or twenty-eight too young for a husband, 
 I do not know any other Princes who are not too old." 
 Mary took the hint, for she knew that the age of 
 Philip was twenty-seven, and she replied : " But your 
 Prince is already married, I hear, to the Princess of 
 Portugal." Renard said that he did not think that 
 the marriage was concluded yet, though he knew that 
 it had been mentioned before the war ; ^ whereupon 
 Mary, apparently losing patience at so much beating 
 about the bush, determined to speak more plainly. 
 She was sorry, she said, that Philip should marry his 
 Portuguese cousin, as they were such near relatives. 
 All the Princes that Renard had mentioned to her 
 were very young — she might be the mother of any of 
 them. She was even twelve years older than Prince 
 Philip ; besides which, the Prince would want to 
 remain in Spain and his other dominions, and she 
 knew how much English people objected to any 
 reigning foreign Prince marrying an English 
 
 ^ The Princess in question was the daughter of Eleanor, 
 sister of the Emperor, and now the widow of Francis I. of 
 France. 
 
26 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 Princess.' When her father was alive, she con- 
 tinued, several proposed matches for her had fallen 
 through for this reason alone ; and when the late Duke 
 of Orleans was proposed to her, the affair was pre- 
 vented by the antagonism which always existed 
 between England and France. She hoped the 
 Emperor would bear this point in mind, and not 
 recommend her to marry a man she had not seen 
 and spoken to in England. Renard then began 
 praising Philip's good sense, judgment, and serious- 
 ness. He had already a son six or seven years old, 
 he said, and was wise and experienced beyond his 
 years. Mary, apparently thinking she had gone far 
 enough, broke into Renard's panegyrics and declared 
 most emphatically that she had never felt the smart 
 of what was called love, nor had she ever had a 
 voluptuous thought. She had never had an idea of 
 marriage until God called her to the throne, and now 
 the step would be taken against her own inclination 
 and on public grounds alone. 
 - There need have been no misgivings as to Philip's 
 attitude in the matter. Throughout his life he made 
 
 * Renard had seen Bishop Gardiner, the Queen's principal 
 minister, the day before, and had tried to draw some declaration 
 from him, although he was known to be in favour of the 
 Courtenay match. The Bishop said that he would not suggest 
 any name to the Queen ; but if she asked his advice as to 
 marrying a foreigner, he would tell her that, for the good of her 
 country and her own safety, it would be better to marry an 
 Englishman, as the very name of foreigner was hated by the 
 English, "As for the Prince of Spain," continued Gardiner, 
 "if she married him, the people would never tolerate the 
 Spanish character ; which even the Flemish subjects of the 
 Emperor detest ; besides which, the marriage would mean for 
 England a perpetual war with France. — Papiers d'Etat de 
 Granvelle, vol. iv. 
 
PHILIP IS WILLING 27 
 
 of himself a martyr to his duty. Overshadowed 
 always by the immensity of the task confided to 
 him and his House, awed by the greatness and majesty 
 of his father, he looked upon himself from youth to 
 age as an instrument in the hands of the Most High 
 to compass the victory of righteousness upon the 
 earth as he understood it, and incidentally to exalt 
 Spain to the highest place among the nations. That 
 human suffering had to be endured to arrive at the 
 end was only an incident : that he himself, In his 
 degree, should forego his own inclinations, his ease, 
 his comfort, and his pleasures in favour of the great 
 objects for which he lived, was to him quite natural 
 and inevitable, and he accepted the fate without 
 repining. The marriage with Mary — a woman whom 
 he had never seen, who was twelve years his senior 
 and no beauty at best — could not have been attractive 
 to him. His domestic life with Dona Isabel de Osorio 
 had apparently been harmonious ; and the absence 
 from Spain which the English marriage would entail 
 was both inconvenient and unpleasant, whilst the 
 necessary concessions in manner and demeanour to 
 his wife's English subjects would, perhaps, be more 
 distasteful to him than any other of the sacrifices 
 imposed upon him by the match. But, as his Spanish 
 contemporary biographer says, like another Isaac he 
 readily submitted himself to his father's will and wrote 
 without a day's delay that the Portuguese match 
 might still be avoided, and he had already taken steps 
 in that direction, " cheerfully and unreservedly placing 
 himself in the Emperor's hands to do with him as he 
 thought best in the interests of their great cause." ^ 
 
 ^ Philip wrote to his father, " If the marriage should be 
 proposed for your Majesty, that would be the best course. But 
 
28 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 Two days after the Emperor had received the 
 welcome letter from his son, a swift courier was 
 speeding to England with instructions to Renard 
 to propose Philip, Prince of Spain, as a husband for 
 
 ^ Queen Mary. 
 
 y The occasion was one of supreme international 
 importance. Ever since Ferdinand the Catholic 
 sixty years before had betrothed Mary's mother to 
 the heir of Henry VII., the sovereign of Spain had 
 been trying to win for his country the control of 
 English policy, in order that France might be beaten 
 
 ^in the struggle for the hegemony of Europe. The 
 
 tremendous cataclysm of the Reformation, personal 
 
 ambitions, the weakness and sensuality of Henry VIII., 
 
 and unexpected deaths, had again and again frustrated 
 
 the design. England had more than once fought by 
 
 the side of France in the great Continental duel, and 
 
 the English friendship upon which the House of 
 
 Spain was forced to depend as one of the main 
 
 elements of success, had been for all those sixty years 
 
 an unstable quantity, though generally on the side of 
 
 its traditional ally. But what was necessary for 
 
 Charles and his son was a friendship that could be 
 
 counted upon in all circumstances — an alliance that 
 
 no bribes nor blandishments of Frenchmen and 
 
 Lutherans could shake ; and for the first time this 
 
 seemed possible of attainment if by the marriage of 
 
 Philip and Mary the crowns of England, Spain, and 
 
 Flanders could rest upon the same brows. 
 
 if your Majesty persists in the view you state to me in your 
 letter and you think better to treat of the marriage for me, you 
 know already that as an entirely obedient son I have no other 
 will than yours, and above all on an affair of this importance. 
 I therefore leave it to your Majesty to act as you deem best." — 
 MS. Simancas. Retiro estancia y muerte del Emperador, etc. 
 
THE IMPORTANCE OF THE MATCH 29 
 
 To Mary of England, too, the match with her 
 Spanish second cousin had more than a sentimental 
 interest, strong as that was with her. The EngHsh 
 people had rallied to her cause under the influence of 
 their recognition of her legal right to the throne, and 
 their detestation of Northumberland and his French 
 friends ; but Protestantism was undoubtedly strong, 
 especially in London and the Eastern Counties, which 
 had first acclaimed the new Queen ; and it was evident 
 to Mary that if she was to impose her faith upon the 
 country, as she was determined to do, even against the 
 advice of the Emperor, she must be able to depend 
 upon some force independent of her own people to 
 aid or support her at a pinch. France, of course, 
 being out of the question for her, she could only look 
 to a Spanish match to serve her turn. Mary shut her 
 eyes obstinately to the vast change that had come over 
 her country in the last thirty years. She believed, as 
 did the Churchmen throughout Europe, that she only 
 had to decree a return to the state of affairs prior to 
 her father's apostasy for the country to accept the 
 change without demur. Pole was for extreme measures 
 at once, and so, of course, was the Pope, Julius II. ; but 
 the Emperor, who in the supposed cause of religion 
 was always ready to postpone religious considera- 
 tions for politics, continued to advise Mary through 
 Renard to go slowly and to avoid incensing her people 
 until at least she was strong enough to coerce them. 
 The marriage of Philip with the Queen therefore 
 seemed to hold out to both contracting parties the 
 ideal opportunity of attaining their great desire — in the 
 one case the control of English policy to the detriment 
 of France, and in the other the increment of strength 
 
 o 
 
 necessary to force England once more into the fold of 
 the Church. 
 
30 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 Thenceforward for forty-five years Philip of Spain 
 strove, often in almost impossible circumstances, to 
 attain this end. There was no instrumentality left 
 untried by him to secure it. Marriage, and proposals 
 of marriage, wars, and threats of wars, arrogance, 
 humility, diplomacy, bribery, subornation of treason 
 and murder, were some of the means to which Philip in 
 his long struggle appealed ; for to him and his cause 
 „and country it was a matter of life and death ; and it is 
 my object to set forth in the following chapters from 
 contemporary sources the story of this long series of 
 efforts on the part of the Spanish King to win the 
 support of England by fair means or foul. To regard 
 Philip as a fiend, or even as a bad man, because in 
 the cause of this life-struggle of his he assailed England 
 with weapons that would now be rejected by any right- 
 thinking statesman, would be unjust. The ethics of 
 the time were widely different from those prevalent 
 to-day ; the supposed interest of the State was in- 
 finitely greater in proportion to the lives of individuals 
 that is at present the case, whilst the assumed interests 
 of religion — or, rather, of the orthodox Church — were 
 considered by Philip to be so overwhelming as to 
 condone any action necessary to serve them, no matter 
 how criminal it would be if employed for other ends. 
 No doubt, in the view of the present day, Philip 
 blinded himself to a sense of right and wrong in his 
 zeal to serve the cause for which he lived, namely, the 
 dominance of Catholicism for the temporal benefit of 
 Spain. But to him there was no wrong if it was done 
 by his orders in the cause which he believed to be that 
 ojf righteousness. Sacrifice and suffering seemed to 
 him, as to most Spaniards of his day, a natural and 
 necessary preparation for spiritual exaltation and 
 
PHILIP'S OBJECTS 31 
 
 triumph ; and whilst he never flinched from inflicting 
 suflering upon others, though naturally he was a tender- 
 hearted man, he never spared himself in the same 
 cause. Throughout his long life he made himself a 
 martyr to what he conceived to be his duty ; a slow, 
 laborious, unimaginative, morbidly conscientious man, 
 a good son, a good husband, and, according to his 
 lights, a good father; kind and indulgent to his 
 servants, patient under adversity and humble in 
 success : indeed, a man endowed with most of the 
 elements of righteousness ; and yet with a sense of 
 right so blunted by his zeal as to think that he might 
 do God's work with the weapons of the devil, and turri^ 
 enemies into friends by fear. How these principles as 
 applied to England ended in failure, it is the purpose 
 of the present book to tell. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 1553-1554 
 
 The Coronation of Mary — Noailles versus Renard — Mary accepts 
 Philip — The marriage treaty — Alarm in London — Egmont's missions 
 — Wyatt's rebellion — Attitude of Elizabeth — The coming of Philip — 
 His voyage and arrival — His popular manners in England — Arrival at 
 Winchester 
 
 ALL London was ringing with preparations 
 for the coming pageant of the Queen's 
 coronation. Fenchurch, Gracechurch, and 
 Leadenhall, Cornhill, Chepe, and Saint Paul's were 
 erecting the scaffoldings for their triumphs, repainting 
 and gilding gable ends and pinnacles, and trimming 
 forth their fine stuffs and liveries in honour of the 
 great day when the Queen was to ride in state from 
 ..the Tower to Westminster, i Away across the fields 
 in the little sylvan palace of Saint James's, Mary sat 
 under her canopy in her audience chamber one day in 
 late September, surrounded by courtiers, all, like the 
 Queen herself, in a blaze of magnificence ; for the 
 prim Puritanism of the late reign had been banished as 
 savouring of Reform, and the splendour of King Henry 
 was being copied by his daughter. To one man alone 
 had Mary somewhat sourly prescribed modesty in 
 attire, and that was to Courtenay. The dissoluteness 
 
 ^ A curious account of these preparations will be found in 
 Machyn's Diary. 
 
 32 
 
HOPES AND FEARS 33 
 
 of this young man of twenty-six, who had never before 
 been free since his childhood, had already shocked the 
 austerely virtuous Mary, and had made his chances of 
 winning her hand more impossible than ever. But 
 neither she nor those around her could fail to see that 
 the cunning Frenchman Noailles was still ostentatiously 
 feasting and honouring him, and already the talk of 
 the French party at Court was coupling the names of 
 Courtenay and the Princess Elizabeth in a way that 
 boded ill to Mary's peace of mind. Courtenay had 
 ordered a oforg^eous suit of blue velvet covered with 
 gold for the coming ceremony ; but blue was the colour 
 the Queen had chosen for her own outer garb, and she 
 had no intention of allowing so much bravery to the 
 man she knew was being made the tool of her enemies 
 to injure her, and Courtenay was ordered to put his_ 
 finery aside and wear more modest raiment. At the 
 public audience Renard brought forward to present 
 to the Queen two great Spanish nobles — Don Diego 
 Hurtado de Mendoza and Don Diego de Geneda — 
 who were on their way from Flanders to Spain, the 
 latter a member of Philip's household. As the two 
 gentlemen in their distinctive Spanish garb and with 
 national gravity were led forward for presentation to 
 the Queen, many scowling brows were bent upon them ; 
 for although the matter was supposed to be so secret, 
 the talk of the Spanish marriage was already common 
 at Court ; and Noailles, in the deepest chagrin at the 
 way things were tending, noticed that Don Diego de 
 Geneda on this occasion had whispered conference 
 with the Queen, unheard even by his colleague or by 
 the Imperial ambassador. ^ 
 
 ^ Ambassades de Noailles, vol. ii. Noailles, in describing the 
 scene to the King of France, says that when de Geneda entered 
 
 D 
 
34 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 '1 Whatever French gold or interest could effect to 
 alarm people at the idea of the coming of a Spanish 
 Consort was done. Stories of the terrible rule of the 
 Inquisition in Spain, and of the pride and cruelty of 
 Spaniards generally, were spread industriously by the 
 agents of Noailles, and by the day fixed for the 
 Queen's state procession to Westminster, the 30th 
 of September, 1553, London was almost in a panic 
 of fear. The Queen had come in with promises of 
 toleration, and already the zeal of the Churchmen and 
 her own had belied her people's hope for religious 
 peace. Parliament had been summoned for the 5 th 
 October, specially for the purpose of restoring England 
 to the orthodox Church ; Cardinal Pole was known to 
 be coming to the land of his fathers as the Legate of 
 the Pope to receive the submission of England to 
 the Power which King Henry had flouted so con- 
 temptuously ; and already the dungeons in the Tower 
 
 ^ were being filled by the prelates of the newer ritual. 
 
 -r All the dazzling magnificence that accompanied 
 the passage of the Queen through London from the 
 Tower to Westminster, on the last day of September — 
 all the official greetings, the frequent pageants at the 
 street corners, and the wonder of the multitude at the 
 rare show of sumptuous garb — could not banish the 
 dread thought amidst the crowd that, perhaps, all this 
 bravery was only a prelude to a Spanish domination 
 over England. The nobles who rode in Mary's train 
 and filled the great Court offices in her household had 
 
 the boat that was to convey him down the Thames on his way 
 to Spain, he announced that Prince Phihp would visit Queen 
 Mary in the following March on his way to Flanders ; and 
 Noailles advises the King of France to muster his ships in 
 the Channel to prevent the Prince's passage. 
 
HOPES AND FEARS 35 
 
 most of them been enriched by the plunder of the 
 monastic lands, and had their own reasons for dread- 
 ing a return of the old order in its extreme form ; 
 though they did not know as yet that the Spanish 
 Consort, whose advent they feared so much, would be 
 the great modifying influence in their favour. French- 
 men and Venetians joined the alarmed Englishmen in 
 their apprehensions of the coming change, but the few 
 Spaniards in London were jubilant. One Spanish 
 resident, I who described the splendid show for the 
 benefit of a noble patron in Spain, thus writes with 
 reference to the match : "If the Lord vouchsafed us 
 to behold this glorious day, what great advantage 
 would befall our Spain in holding the Frenchmen 
 in check, by the union of these kingdoms with his 
 Majesty's dominions. And were it only to preserve 
 the States of Flanders, surely the Emperor and son 
 must greatly desire it, for, as your Lordship knows 
 well, the day that the Emperor dies the Low 
 Countries will be in peril of attack from the French 
 or of a German invasion under French auspices, help 
 from Spain being so remote, and Flanders itself not 
 being free from suspicion of revolt on the ground of 
 religion or from the disaffection of the people towards 
 Spaniards. It would be most advantageous, too, to 
 Spain, for should aught happen to the Prince's son 
 (Don Carlos), the son born here would be King of 
 both countries, which would be a good thing for the 
 English too. ... All the Catholics here would lift 
 up their hands to God, for they love their country and 
 the Queen, and especially Spain, for the sake of the 
 good Queen Katharine ; and the goodly here are so 
 
 ^ Antonio de Guaras. 
 
36 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 many that there are a hundred Catholics for every 
 four heretics." 
 '; With these mixed hopes and fears amidst the 
 multitude, there went a general trust in, and affection 
 for, the Queen personally. She had been illtreated so 
 long, as the people knew ; she had grown faded and 
 middle-aged under unjust oppression, and she was a 
 true Royal Princess descended on both sides from 
 kings of highest lineage. So when at the Abbey next 
 day, I St October, during the interminable ceremony 
 of the coronation, Gardiner led the Queen, in her 
 crimson velvet and ermine, to the four corners of the 
 dais and called in a loud voice, "Is this the true heir 
 to this realm ? " there was no hesitation, and all the 
 lieges shouted as if with one voice, " Yea ! yea ! God 
 save the Queen ! " ^ 
 
 Parliament met on the 5th October. The Catholics 
 in the country were unquestionably in a majority, 
 though not so great, probably, as in the ratio of twenty- 
 five to one, as the Spaniards asserted ; and Mary had no 
 difificulty in obtaining the repeal of all the anti- Papal 
 „ laws which severed England from Rome. Gardiner 
 ■^ was willing enough to aid the Queen in this ; but, 
 prompted by Noailles, he managed dexterously to 
 get the House of Commons to vote an Address to the 
 Queen, praying her not to marry a foreigner. This, 
 
 ^ Antonio de Guaras, who was present in the Abbey. It was 
 noticed by the Imperial ambassadors that Princess Elizabeth, 
 who at the ceremony took the place due to a Royal Princess, 
 with Anne of Cleves, exchanged significant glances with Noailles 
 whenever she met him. In the course of the day she com- 
 plained to the French ambassador of the weight of the coronet 
 she was wearing. "Patience!" was his reply, "it will soon 
 produce a better one." — Record Office, Brussels Transcripts, i. 
 ■ p. 436. 
 
DREAD OF A SPANISH MATCH 37 
 
 it is true, voiced a very general feeling in the country, 
 but the Queen had now (November) quite made up* 
 her mind ; for she had seen a portrait of Philip by 
 Titian, and had fairly fallen in love with the young, 
 fresh-coloured man with the curly, yellow beard who 
 was asking for her hand. So in a rage, and after 
 much delay, Mary received the deputation of the 
 Commons led by the Speaker. " This is one of the 
 Chancellor's tricks," she muttered, "and I will be 
 equal with him for it." Then haughtily addressing 
 the deputation, she rebuked their presumption in 
 attempting to dictate to her on such a matter, and 
 said that if private persons were allowed to choose 
 mates for themselves, surely sovereigns were not to 
 be less privileged. This was the true Tudor attitude 
 towards the representatives of the people ; and the 
 Queen, having legalised her religious changes, promptly 
 dissolved Parliament. 
 
 Watchful eyes followed Renard everywhere. The 
 Queen's Council, with the exception of Paget, Arundel, 
 and Petre, looked askance at him ; French and 
 Venetian spies at Court reported his every movement ; 
 and his own colleagues were bitterly jealous of him, as 
 the marriage negotiation had been kept exclusively in 
 his hands. For many days he could obtain no private ' 
 access to Mary for the purpose of giving her the 
 Emperor's message ; but at last, by Paget's manage- ^ 
 ment, on the loth October, he was introduced secretly ' 
 into the Queen's presence at Westminster. The *^-^^ 
 Emperor deplored, said Renard, that his age and 
 infirmities prevented him from offering his own hand 
 in marriage to his cousin, as he would have wished ; 
 but that being impossible, he begged her to accept his 
 only and beloved son as her husband. To the chagrin 
 
38 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 of Renard, Mary was now full of hesitation. What 
 would her people say, and how could her Council be 
 persuaded? She feared that when Philip succeeded 
 his father, his many other realms would occupy the 
 whole of his time, and that he would never be able to 
 stay in England. Was Renard, moreover, quite sure 
 of his character.'* He could not be so wise as the 
 Emperor, and he was very young for her. Of course 
 she would obey her husband, but he must not think 
 for a moment that she would allow him to rule her 
 State, nor could she give any offices to foreigners ; 
 and she threw out a strong hint that perhaps Philip's 
 Austrian cousin, Maximilian, would be a better hus- 
 band for her, as she was absolutely free, and she had 
 heard the Archduke was considered wise. Besides, 
 if Philip was voluptuous in his ideas, she had no desire 
 for anything of the sort at her age. 
 
 All these objections were, no doubt, only a display 
 of becoming maiden modesty, but they somewhat dis- 
 turbed Renard. He painted to her in lurid colours 
 the enmities by which she was surrounded, and the 
 dangers that threatened her — the intrigues of the 
 French with Courtenay and Elizabeth, the menacing 
 attitude of the Protestant party in the provinces — and 
 Mary answered as best she might, asking Renard 
 at last to put in writing the arguments he urged in 
 Javour of her marriage with Philip. Four days later 
 he saw her again, and this time her hesitation took a 
 more personal form. With tears in her eyes she 
 seized the ambassador's hands and conjured him to 
 tell her truly whether Philip was so moderate, settled, 
 and well-behaved as he said. On his life and honour 
 the ambassador protested that he was, but still the 
 perplexed Queen was unconvinced. Jf she could 
 
PHILIP II AT THE AGE OF 2i 
 
 FROM THE PAINTING BY TITIAN IN THE PRADO MUSEUM 
 
MARY ACCEPTS PHILIP 39 
 
 only have seen the Prince first, she said, she would 
 be better able to judge. That, the ambassador gently- 
 told her, was not possible ; but a good portrait of him 
 could be sent to her, and with this she was obliged to_ 
 be content.^ 
 
 It was only after long hesitation and prayerful 
 searching of heart that Mary finally decided to carry 
 through her marriage, in the face of the almost 
 universal opposition of her people. She undoubtedly 
 yearned for the support of a husband in her difficult 
 position, and naturally hoped for a son who should 
 carry on her tradition of a Catholic England. She 
 was of affectionate disposition, and for all her modest 
 assurance to Renard that she had never felt the 
 promptings of the flesh, there is nothing unbecoming 
 in believing that the sight of her cousin's portrait had 
 lit up the feeling of love in her heart where natural 
 affection had been suppressed for so long. But, 
 withal, her principal desire for the match and her 
 determination to effect it were mainly prompted by 
 public considerations. The intrigues of the French 
 with the Protestant elements in the country, and the 
 almost open way in which Noailles was playing off 
 Courtenay and Elizabeth against her, had convinced 
 Mary that France was her enemy. The only force 
 in Europe strong enough to resist France was the 
 Emperor ; and unless the Queen could depend 
 absolutely upon his support, it was evident that sooner 
 or later the Protestant element in England with_ 
 French aid would oust her from the throne — probably 
 in favour of the young Queen of Scots, her cousin, 
 already betrothed to the heir of France. 
 
 ^ The details of these interesting interviews are in Renard's 
 Letters, Record Office, Brussels Transcripts, vol. i. 
 
40 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 Motives personal, religious, and political, therefore 
 all dictated to Mary the absolute necessity of her 
 prompt marriage with Philip ; and, as we have already 
 seen, the motives of the Emperor and his son for the 
 marriage were equally strong. Some of Mary's 
 
 ^ Council — especially Arundel, Paget, and Petre — were 
 first won over, for they were in the Emperor's pay 
 before ; and when Gardiner saw that the tide was too 
 strong for him to resist, he also accepted the inevitable 
 with the best grace he could. But when he had to be 
 consulted on the terms of the marriage treaty, he drove 
 as hard a bargain as possible ; for he, and, it is just to 
 say, most of his colleagues also, were determined that 
 the marriage should not mean the political subjugation 
 of England by Spain. On the 31st October, Sunday 
 
 1 evening, Mary summoned Renard to her oratory, 
 where she received him, attended only by her devoted 
 nurse, Mrs. Clarencius. Her eyes were red with 
 weeping, and she told the ambassador that for days 
 she had been sleepless, praying for guidance as to the 
 choice of a husband. " My last resource in all my 
 difficulties," she said, " is the Holy Sacrament, and as 
 it is even now displayed upon this altar, I will appeal 
 to it for counsel." Then kneeling, as did Renard and 
 Mrs. Clarencius by her side, she recited with whispered 
 fervour the Veni Creator Spiritus. After a short 
 period of silent meditation she rose, calm and self- 
 possessed, and told the ambassador that her mind w^as 
 now made up : he, Renard, should be her father con- 
 fessor. She had consulted some of her Councillors, 
 and herself had pondered deeply upon the subject ; 
 and now, bearing in mind what she had been told of 
 Philip's good qualities, she prayed the Emperor to 
 accept her as a daughter, to be indulgent with her, 
 
MARY'S PLEDGE 41 
 
 and to consent to the conditions which her Councillors 
 declared would be necessary for the welfare of her 
 realm. She hoped that henceforward the Emperor 
 would be doubly a father to her, and Philip a good 
 husband. Then with all solemnity she approached 
 the altar and, with her hand upon the gospel before 
 the Sacred Presence, swore to marry Philip of Spain 
 and make him a good wife. God had now sent her 
 light, she said, after she had wavered long. No man_ 
 but Philip should be her husband. ^ ^ 
 
 Whilst Renard and the Council were fighting hard ' 
 over every point of the marriage treaty, Noailles 
 and the Venetian ambassadors were busy intriguing 
 against it, entertaining Courtenay constantly, and 
 doine their best to draw cautious Elizabeth into 
 their plots. The muttering of coming trouble sounded 
 on all sides — Mary, jealous and distrustful of Eliza- 
 beth, whose illegitimacy she w^as determined to assert; 
 the Protestant elements in the Court and country 
 already in a ferment, thanks largely to French incite- 
 ment, and disaffection showing itself by partial dis;^ 
 turbances in various parts of the country. Religious 
 persecution, too, began to raise its head. Cranmer 
 and Ridley were condemned to death, as were Lady 
 Jane Grey and the three sons of Northumberland ; 
 whilst the Emperor, determined for his part to avoid 
 exacerbating the evil, had, to the great indignation 
 of the Pope and the Churchmen, almost violently for- 
 bidden Pole to go to England with his extreme Papal 
 
 ^ Renard to the Emperor, 31st October. Record Office, _ 
 Brussels Transcripts. Mary had apparently waited until the i 
 Acts had passed declaring her mother's marriage legal. This^ 
 was effected on the 28th October. 
 
42 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 mission, at least until the ultimate control of it had 
 passed into the Emperor's own politic hands. 
 
 ] At length, by the end of the year, the hard terms 
 of the treaty were drafted. Renard had done his 
 best, and so had the Imperial ministers in Flanders; 
 but Gardiner had been firm, and the conditions were 
 a bitter dose for Spanish pride to swallow ; for, as 
 they stood, they bade fair to deprive the bridegroom's 
 country of the only benefit to be derived from the 
 marriage — namely, control of the policy and resources 
 of England. The Consort was to have no rule in the 
 country, and none of his countrymen were to hold 
 office of any sort ; the Queen was to receive a jointure 
 of 30,000 ducats a year from Flanders ; and the issue 
 of the marriage, if any, should, failing Philip's only 
 son Carlos, succeed to all his Crowns, as well as to 
 England ; whilst in the case of Mary's death, the Con- 
 sort was to have no hold whatever upon her country, 
 nor was he to take the Queen or her children out of 
 England without the consent of the Council. These 
 and many similar provisions fenced round the autho- 
 rity of the Consort so completely as to deprive him 
 of any direct political power in England ; but Charles, 
 confident in Mary's secret promises to Renard that, 
 notwithstanding the conditions, the will of the Em- 
 peror should prevail in England after the marriage, ^ 
 determined to make the best of it, and to gain the 
 stubborn islanders by his son's charming, if they were 
 
 jiot to be won by a diplomatic document. 
 
 Noailles grew daily more bitter, and almost came 
 to blows with Paget on the subject of the marriage, 
 
 ^ The Emperor to his son, 21st January, 1554, asking him to 
 ratify the treaty, notwithstanding the hardness of the con-r 
 ditions. MSS. Simancas, Estado 808. 
 
EGMONT COMES TO LONDON 43 
 
 but it became clear even to him now that he had 
 been beaten, and that in future England and the 
 Emperor would make common cause against France._^ 
 A pompous Flemish embassy, headed by the splendid 
 young Count of Egmont, was known to be on its way 
 across to ratify the marriage treaty in the name of 
 the Emperor ; and Noailles took care that all London 
 should be in a fever of apprehension at their coming. 
 On the I St January a great retinue of servants with 
 the baggage of the ambassadors rode through Lon- 
 don to Durham House in the Strand, where Egmont 
 and his suite were to be lodged. Thick snow lay 
 upon the ground, and as the foreigners, with their 
 long line of pack-horses, passed through the narrow 
 lanes of the old city, the very street-boys pelted them 
 with snowballs, ** so hatfull was the sight of ther_ 
 coming in to theym."^ 
 
 The next day, at the Tower Stairs, a gallant com- 
 pany of courtiers, headed by Sir Anthony Browne, 
 in the gorgeous garb he loved so well, awaited the 
 coming of the Emperor's representatives, whilst the 
 guns on the Tower overhead boomed out their salu- 
 tation. Egmont, the first of the Flemish nobles, was 
 accompanied by Montmorenci, Sieur de Courrieres, 
 who had formerly come with Renard to England, 
 as well as by several other high Imperial function- 
 aries ; and they were escorted by Lord William 
 Howard, from Calais, and by Lord Cobham, from 
 Dover, as Lieutenant of Kent. As the gallant em- 
 bassy of eighty finely clad gentlemen pranced out of 
 the Tower Gate, they were affectionately greeted by 
 Courtenay, Hastings, and Strange on Tower Hill, 
 and led through the City in state, though " the ; 
 ' Queen Jane and Queen Mary. 
 
44 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 people," we are told, " nothing rejoysing, helde 
 downe their heddes sorrowfully." ^ Nothing was 
 left undone by Mary and her Court to show honour 
 to the guests ; and banquet followed banquet, whilst 
 Egmont unsuccessfully strove to modify the terms of 
 Jtjie treaty. Renard tells in a letter to the Emperor 
 fof a banquet given to the ambassadors by the Queen 
 on the 6th January,- after which a little scene took 
 place which well illustrates the free manners of the 
 time. "And towards the end of the dinner the Lord 
 Admiral [Howard], who had dined in an adjoining 
 chamber, came in and stood before her [the Queen], 
 who seemed pensive. He said something to her in 
 English, and then turning to us, asked us whether 
 we would like to know what he had said. Although 
 her Majesty did her best to prevent him from trans- 
 lating it to us, he went on and said that he had 
 wished that his Highness [Philip] had been seated 
 there by her side, pointing to her right, in order to 
 banish her melancholy. She blushed at this and 
 asked why he said it, to which he replied that he was 
 sure she was not cross and liked to hear it ; whereupon 
 the Queen and every one else laughed, and it all went 
 _^pff in good part." 
 
 The day after this entertainment (7th January, 
 1554), Egmont wrote an urgent letter to Prince 
 Philip, praying him to hasten his coming to claim 
 his bride. The treaty, he says, has now been agreed 
 to with only a word or two changed, and will be 
 signed in two days. It is clear from this letter that 
 Egmont foresaw the trouble that was looming. The 
 nobility, he said, had received them better than he 
 
 ^ Queen Jane and Queen Mary. 
 
 = Record Office, Brussels Transcripts, vol. i. 979. 
 
THE MARRIAGE TREATY 
 
 ;;?.- -^.t 
 i':^-'- .'/• 
 
 had expected. " But as for the people, they are ; 
 uncertain. We will advise the Queen to raise forces 
 to prevent any hostile movement, which would not 
 be extraordinary, for these people are very unstable. 
 ... It is of the utmost importance that your High- 
 ness should come without delay. I hear that the 
 French are arming strongly in Normandy and Brit- 
 tany. ... I beseech you humbly to consider how 
 urgent it is that you come hither at once, for many 
 reasons which I hope to lay before you verbally soon. 
 Besides this, I should like your Highness to know 
 that the Emperor has not provided us with a sou to 
 spend on necessary presents. More can be done 
 here with money than anywhere else in the world.''^ 
 
 The hollow affectation of keeping the Queen's ^ 
 marriage secret could not be continued after the 
 treaty was signed, and on the 13th January Gar- 
 diner, with the best countenance he could command, 
 made an oration in the Presence Chamber of the 
 Palace of Westminster before the assembled lords 
 and courtiers, declaring the Queen's intention to marry 
 the Prince of Spain "in most godly, lawful matri- 
 monye : and further that she should have for her 
 joynter xxx""' duckets by the yere, with all the Lowe 
 Countries of Flanders ; and that the issue betweene 
 them two lawfully begotten shoulde yf there be any, 
 be heir as well to the Kingdom of Spayne as also to 
 the sayde Lowe Country. He declared, farther, that 
 "we were much bounden to thancke God that so noble, 
 worthye and famouse a prince would vouchsaff so to 
 humble himself in this maryadge to take upon him 
 rather as a subject than otherwise : and that the 
 Quene should rule all things as nowe : and that there 
 ^ Documentos Ineditos. vol. iii. 
 
46 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 should be of the Council no Spanyard, nether should 
 have rule or office in the quene's house or elsewhere 
 in England nor have custody of any fortes or cas- 
 , tells." I Gardiner made the best of it ; but the bare 
 fact of the announcement being officially made set 
 light to the tinder which Noailles and his allies had 
 so carefully prepared. When, on the following day, 
 Gardiner made a similar announcement to the Lord 
 Mayor and Aldermen, Noailles had seen enough to 
 justify him in sending off a special courier ^pst-haste 
 to his master in France. " The nobles and com-^ 
 * monalty declare," he wrote, "that they will never tole- 
 rate the Prince of Spain for their King. They would 
 rather die fighting against him than obey him, and 
 will defend their liberties by force before they will 
 submit to such servitude. They are making ready 
 to rise in arms any day and expel this Queen, who 
 they now see is unworthy of the Crown and as she 
 had twice broken her promise to them after they had 
 raised her to the position she occupies. First, in 
 changing the religion after she had promised them 
 toleration ; and, secondly, in taking a foreign husband 
 .although she had promised that she would not."^ In 
 "T a few days the result of all this excitement was seen. 
 Carew and his friends and kin in the west, depending 
 upon poor feeble Courtenay's open co-operation, rose 
 in revolt. Rumours ran that French troops were on 
 the way across to aid him. But Courtenay was a 
 reed easily broken, and allowed Gardiner to frighten 
 him into alarmed submission, whilst Elizabeth, closely 
 watched at Ashridge, was too cunning to be drawn 
 into open complicity by Noailles's intrigues ; though 
 
 ^ Queen Jane and Queen Mary. 
 
 * Ambassades de Noailles, Instruction a Lamarque, vol. iii. 
 
WYATT'S REBELLION 47 
 
 the Emperor and Renard were urging Mary to put 
 her sister well out of harm's way in prison. 
 
 And then came the most perilous movement of 
 all — that of the men of Kent under Wyatt. From 
 the 26th January to the 3rd February Mary's 
 crown was not worth a day's purchase ; for, though 
 the cry of the rebels was only against the Spanish 
 marriage, the Queen knew full well that she must now 
 stand or fall by that. And she stood manfully when 
 many of her courtiers were distraught by fear and 
 ready to desert her at a moment's notice. Whilst 
 Wyatt and his growing host swept triumphantly 
 onward from Rochester Bridge to Blackheath, and 
 so to Southwark, the Council were wrangling. 
 Should the Queen retire to the Tower or should 
 she fly to the country ; should she believe what 
 the friends of the French faction urged, that the 
 only safe place for her was Calais, where she could 
 claim the Emperor's protection.-* Mary, almost alone, 
 was undismayed. She sent word privately to Renard 
 that for their own safety's sake the other Imperial 
 ambassadors should return home, but that she had 
 no intention of backing out of the marriage or of 
 leaving London, although she might temporise with 
 Wyatt whilst she mustered her forces.^ Riding to 
 Guildhall, stern and sorrowful but unafraid, she made 
 a stirring oration to the citizens ; and although many 
 were in favour of Wyatt, London Bridge was held 
 firmly by the Queen's friends, until the rebel force 
 began to melt away discouraged at the delay. 
 
 If Wyatt had struck promptly, he would probably 
 have won ; but loath to shed blood and to use arms 
 openly against the Crown, he lingered in Bermondsey, 
 ^ Documentos Ineditos, iii. 
 
48 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 hoping for the declaration of the citizens of London 
 in his favour, until it was too late. Then came the 
 ignominious march through the mire to Kingston 
 Bridge, and the footsore, famished, and rain-soaked 
 crew tramping through the night into London, to be 
 beaten almost without effort by those who, if they 
 had shown a fine front, would have joined them. 
 Vengeance promptly fell upon the offenders. The 
 j scaffolds at the street corners with their dangling 
 corpses taught the common people that treason was 
 a dangerous game to play ; the block in the Tower 
 was soaked with the blood of Greys and Dudleys 
 and many of their noble friends, and Elizabeth was 
 no longer bidden courteously to join her sister at 
 Court, but was sternly, if ceremoniously, brought to 
 London, dangerously ill though she seemed to be 
 (22nd February). And, as the young Princess 
 passed through the silent, sorrowful crowd that 
 greeted her, making, as she did, an appeal to their 
 sympathies by her proud, pale face and her snow- 
 white garments, the Londoners in their hearts felt that 
 Elizabeth was their champion against the Spaniard, 
 ,_whose coming they feared so much. On the same 
 day (Ash Wednesday, 7th February) that poor 
 Wyatt's draggled host toiled up to Ludgate, there 
 to meet final failure and the shallows, Renard urpfed 
 '^the Queen to make an end of Elizabeth and 
 Courtenay ; and the Count of Egmont was already 
 hurrying to England with advice from the Emperor 
 to the same effect ; but Mary, who allowed herself to 
 be drawn into extreme severity against those who had 
 openly conspired against her crown, asserted her own 
 will in the matter of her sister, whose countenance of 
 the French ambassador's intrigues was amply proved 
 
OPPOSITION CRUSHED 49 
 
 by Wyatt's avowals and the seizure of Noailles's letters 
 at Gravesend. Thus whilst Courtenay once more 
 found himself in the Tower a prisoner, Elizabeth was 
 at first only secluded in her sister's palace at Whitehall^ 
 
 A perusal of the letters of Renard and Noailles, andT 
 the evidence given by Wyatt himself, leaves no 
 shadow of doubt that Elizabeth and Courtenay were 
 accomplices in the series of risings that, with French 
 support, were intended to frustrate the Spanish match; 
 and, although Froude and other English historians 
 have done their best to exonerate them, Mary's ■ 
 clemency to her sister on this occasion is at least 
 entitled to a word of praise, considering the great 
 provocation she had suffered at her hand^. When 
 at last Elizabeth was sent to the Tower, in March, 
 it was only because Mary was about to absent herself 
 from the capital for a time ; and it was, of course, 
 impossible to leave the disaffected Princess, beloved 
 as she was by the Londoners, practically at liberty in 
 their midst. Thus the open enemies of the marriage 
 were silenced ; Wyatt and his accomplices, as well as 
 the Greys and Dudleys, were dead or doomed, 
 Noailles was found out and raging impotently, 
 Courtenay and Elizabeth behind the bars, and the 
 Carews and their West-country friends refugees in 
 France. 
 
 When, therefore, on the 2nd March, 1554, Egmont 
 again arrived in London, with the Bulls, powers, and 
 other formal documents necessary for the solemn 
 betrothal, it seemed as if all would now run smoothly. 
 Renard, it is true, always anxious to augment the 
 importance of Philip, gravely raised the question 
 before the Queen and Council whether it would be 
 safe to bring the Prince to England in the circum- 
 
50 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 stances ; because, he said, if there was to be any risk 
 to either the Queen or her betrothed, it might be 
 better to abandon the match. But whilst Mary- 
 declared that for the world she would have no harm 
 happen to Philip, " neither she nor her Council saw 
 any means or danger that should cause the postpone- 
 ment of a marriage so beneficial and honourable. 
 Thank God, the heretics and rebels were imprisoned, 
 their conspiracy discovered and proved, and in a 
 short time exemplary punishment would be inflicted 
 upon them ! For the future the Queen would see 
 to it that the strong hand would be hers, and that 
 she retained full authority over her subjects ; so that 
 they had no doubt whatever that his Highness might 
 safely pass over to England, provided that he guarded 
 himself against the French naval force which was 
 being prepared to intercept him." ^ 
 
 A more private matter still had to be settled by 
 Renard with the Queen. Which of her ministers 
 and household should be pensioned and bribed by 
 the Emperor, and to what extent, "as in order to 
 gain them for his Highness [Philip] his Majesty had 
 ordered us to be liberal to those she thought best " ? 
 and this question was gravely submitted to the Council 
 for consideration. Charles, as usual, was dreadfully 
 driven for money, but an extra turn of the screw 
 could always be applied to long-suffering Castile ; and 
 when it was a question of gaining England, money 
 had to be procured in plenty at any cost. As may 
 be supposed, the list sent by the Council to Renard 
 for presents to themselves and others did not err on 
 the side of modesty ; and four thousand crowns' worth 
 
 * Renard to the Emperor, 8th March. Record Office, Brussels 
 Transcripts, vol. i. 
 
THE BETROTHAL 51 
 
 of gold shoulder-chains and as much ready money was 
 promptly handed over to the itching palms of the 
 English courtiers; whereupon "the Councillors gave 
 us such a good response, that if the result corre- 
 sponds with their words, we have no doubt that 
 safety will attend the coming of his Highness to 
 this country." ^ 
 
 The further to secure Philip from the attacks of the "i 
 French, a fleet of twenty English ships was commis- 
 sioned for his escort in the Channel ; and when all 
 this was arranged, a deputation of the Council on theT 
 7th March came to lead Renard and Egmont to 
 a chamber in Whitehall, where the Queen and her 
 household awaited them. Upon an altar in the room 
 the Blessed Host was exposed, and before it Mary 
 and Egmont respectively swore that the conditions of 
 the marriage treaty should be held binding. Mary 
 was fervid and excited. Before taking the oath she 
 spontaneously "fell upon her knees and cried to God 
 to witness that the marriage she had agreed to had 
 not been prompted by any carnal affection, by cupidity, 
 or any other reason than the honour, welfare, and 
 profit of her realm, the repose and tranquillity of her 
 subjects ; and that she had no other intention than 
 to keep true to the marriage and oath that she had 
 already made to her Crown ; saying all this with such 
 grace that the spectators were moved to tears." 2 
 The ceremony ended with more devout prayer by the 
 Queen on her knees ; and then Egmont, handing to 
 her the magnificent ring that had been sent by Philip 
 
 * Renard to the Emperor, 8th March. Record Ofl&ce, Brussels 
 Transcripts, vol. i. 
 Ibid. 
 
52 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 as a token of his troth, bade her farewell and hurried 
 ,jpff to Spain. I 
 
 In the meanwhile Philip himself was busy with his 
 great preparations. All Spain was impressed with 
 the grandeur of the occasion. The marriage meant 
 for Philip's faithful lieges the final conquest over 
 France and the bringing back into the Catholic fold 
 of the rich realm of England ; it meant, they believed, 
 a cessation of the ruinous wars which had beggared 
 the realms of Castile and reduced whole provinces to 
 misery. But, though the Spaniards rejoiced at the 
 great stroke of policy that in their view was to 
 fasten another crown upon the brows of their beloved 
 Prince, they were doubly enthusiastic at the noble 
 self-sacrifice that he was making for their sake, and 
 filled with regret at his leaving them. Endless 
 preparations had to be made for the tremendous 
 transport that would be necessary for the crowds of 
 nobles, courtiers and servants who were to accom- 
 pany the Prince to England. The absence was 
 looked upon as being for an indefinite time, and 
 only such persons as were able-bodied and fairly 
 
 ^ As showing the excited condition of the public mind even 
 yet with regard to the marriage, it may be mentioned that the day 
 before this scene was passing, on the 6th March, two bands of 
 about 300 London urchins collected in a field — probably Moor- 
 fields — and engaged in strenuous combat against each other ; 
 one band representing the Queen's and Philip's forces, and the 
 other those of the King of France and Wyatt's. Noailles, in 
 his account of the affair — though Renard does not mention the 
 detail — says that the unfortunate boy who was made to represent 
 the Prince of Spain was captured and hanged, very nearly 
 fatally. The leaders of the fight on both sides were well 
 whipped and imprisoned by the Queen's orders. — Ambassades 
 de Noailles, iii. 130. Renard's Letter, 9th March. Record 
 Office, Brussels Transcripts, and Queen Jane and Queen Mary. 
 
PREPARATIONS IN SPAIN 53 
 
 unencumbered were allowed to go. Indeed, a great 
 assembly of members of the household was held in 
 order that the Duke of Alba might announce that 
 any of those who had good reason for not accom- 
 panying his Highness were free to stay behind. 
 Those who elected to go — the great majority — were 
 granted considerable sums of money for their outfit ; 
 and the nobles, too, were given leave to go to their 
 own towns to prepare the gorgeous dresses and 
 appointments they and their households were expected 
 to take with them, It_ is curious to note that many ' 
 of the servitors who were to undertake the journey 
 sold all their property in Spain, in the belief that they 
 were at once to settle and take possession of the land 
 of England. We are told that the wife of one officer, 
 expecting to obtain the approval of Philip, asked for 
 his leave to sell all they had in order to follow him 
 unencumbered. Philip's answer was significant and 
 characteristic. " I do not order you either to sell or 
 not to sell your property, for know ye that I am not 
 going to a marriage feast, but to a fight." ^ This was 
 the spirit in which all regarded the sacrifice he was 
 making. He was going on a holy crusade, amidst 
 many heretics, whom he was to win for the Church ; 
 the French were lying in wait to thwart or capture 
 him ; and all Spaniards felt that the Prince went 
 to conquer and not to woo, though none doubted, 
 nor did he, that victory would finally be his. Old 
 servitors unable to make the journey were pensioned ; 
 the girl children of those who went were, at Philip's 
 expense, boarded and educated in their parents' 
 absence, the boys being similarly provided for at 
 Alcald de Henares. 
 
 '^ Mufioz's narrative, Sociedad de Bibliofilos. 
 
54 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 Whilst all Spain was thus busy providing the 
 splendid stuffs and adornments by which the savage 
 Englishmen were to be dazzled, news came to Philip 
 at Valladolid that the English special ambassadors, 
 the Earl of Bedford and Lord Fitzwalter, who were 
 coming with greetings from his betrothed, might be 
 expected any day at Laredo, on the Biscay coast, 
 and his Steward, Gutierre Lopez de Padilla, hurried 
 off to do them honour at the end of February, whilst 
 Valladolid was hastily decked from end to end with 
 bravery and lists erected for sports, bullfights, tourneys, 
 and the like. But the news was premature, for it was 
 the 13th March before Bedford and his colleagues 
 left London on their embassy ; and before they 
 arrived in Spain the rejoicings prepared for their 
 reception were turned into mourning by the news 
 of the death of Philip's brother-in-law and cousin, 
 the Prince of Portugal. 
 -f As soon as the tidings of Mary's ratification of the 
 treaty reached Philip, he, like the gallant suitor he 
 intended to appear, despatched the Marquis de las 
 Navas to England with a present to his bride truly 
 magnificent in its richness. " A table diamond set as 
 a rose, beautifully wrought and worth 50,000 ducats ; 
 a necklace of brilliant diamonds consisting^ of eisfhteen 
 stones worth 30,000 ducats. A great diamond with a 
 large pendant pearl, one of the most beautiful pieces 
 ever seen in the world, worth 25,000 ducats ; besides 
 many jewels, necklaces, pearls, diamonds, emeralds, 
 and rubies of inestimable value." This list is given by 
 one of Philip's lackeys, attached to the service of Don 
 Carlos. The sartorial splendour of velvets, silks, 
 satins, and bullion, which the same authority sets forth 
 for our admiration, as being in preparation for Philip 
 
PREPARATIONS IN SPAIN 55 
 
 and his Court, and the extravagant richness of the 
 appointments, dresses, armour, saddlery, plate, and 
 furniture, for the Prince's service sent forward to 
 Corunna, where he was to embark, reads like a fairy- 
 tale. Every noble's dress and livery is described 
 with the minuteness of a tailor's bill, and the appear- 
 ance of these proud hidalgos must have been sump- 
 tuous in the extreme.^ Philip himself always pre-"T 
 ferred serious gravity in his dress ; but he had been 
 told that the English loved splendour, and he was 
 determined on this occasion ' that they should have _ 
 it to their hearts' content. Some of his beautiful 
 garments we shall have an opportunity of describing 
 later, but here is one suit which must have been 
 exceedingly gorgeous. A crimson velvet cape, 7 
 covered with little chains made of silk twist, enclosing 
 lozenges, and a sort of sprig with large leaves running 
 between them, made of silver lace and filled in with 
 silver fringe. The lining of this cape was smooth cloth 
 of silver embroidered with the same sort of work ; the 
 
 trunks, doublet, and tunic were of smooth crimson 
 
 velvet embroidered in the same way. 
 
 All these elaborate preparations being completed, 
 Philip, with the Dukes of Alba and Medini Celi, 
 Egmont, Feria, Pescara, Ruy Gomez, and a score of 
 the highest grandees of Spain and nearly a thousand 
 horsemen glittering and flashing in the Castilian sun, 
 rode out of Valladolid on the 14th May, 1554. The 
 Prince's Spanish and Teuton guards and his three 
 hundred servants were all dressed in the gaudy red- 
 and-yellow livery of Aragon, and each of the nobles 
 was followed by a retinue which vied with that of the 
 Prince in brilliance. The cavalcade had to make a 
 ^ Muiioz's narrative. 
 
56 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 long detour down to the Portuguese frontier to receive 
 the grief-stricken young widow, Philip's sister, who 
 was to govern Spain in his absence, and again to 
 Tordesillas for the Prince to take a last farewell of his 
 mad grandmother, Jane the Crazy. At each town, too, 
 especially at Benavente and Astorga, there were bull- 
 fights and tourneys, banquets and religious cere- 
 monials, so that it was the 22nd June, the day 
 before the Vigil of St. John, when the kneeling 
 aldermen of Santiago de Compostela tendered to 
 Philip the golden keys at the gates of their sainted city. 
 As the Prince and his suite rode through the 
 decorated streets to worship at the shrine of the 
 Spanish patron Saint James, and thank him for his 
 protection so far, a party of gentlemen at the upper 
 window of a house looked on with faces shrouded in 
 their cloaks. These were the English ambassadors — 
 the Earl of Bedford, Lord Fitzwalter, and others — sent 
 by Mary to pledge her troth to her new husband ; and 
 on the following morning they were brought by a 
 crowd of Spanish hildalgos into the presence of the 
 future King Consort of England. Philip received 
 ^hem smilingly, cap in hand, for even thus early he had 
 taken to heart the injunctions of his father and of 
 Renard that he would conciliate the English by 
 changing his habitual grave aloofness for the gay 
 _ amiability which he afterwards assumed in England. 
 Bedford, Fitzwalter, Sidney, and the rest of them, 
 bowed low and half bent the knee before him one by 
 one ; ^ and when the presentations were over, Bedford 
 
 ^ On this and on all occasions that English fashions of the 
 time are described by Spaniards, mention was made of the 
 enormous number of ornamental buttons that English gentlemen 
 wore on their garments. 
 
THE ENGLISH EMBASSY 57 
 
 took from a secretary a copy of the capitulations and 
 handed them to the Prince, who confirmed them by 
 word of mouth without opening the paper. Bedford 
 appears to have impressed the Spaniards favourably 
 as "a. great gentleman and a good Christian," and 
 both he and his colleagues did their errand in courtly 
 fashion. When Philip had confirmed the capitulations, 
 we are told, "they showed the greatest delight, from 
 the highest to the lowest, kissing his Highness's hands 
 with great demonstration ; and as they went out they 
 said to each other in their own tongue, * Blessed be to 
 God who has given us as good a king as this ! ' This 
 was said so quietly amongst themselves that it would 
 not have been noticed, but that a Spanish gentleman 
 who understood their tongue heard and repeated it."^ 
 The next day the Englishmen attended pontifical Mass 
 at the Cathedral with Philip, greatly, we are told, to 
 their edification and devotion, '* which God grant 
 may continue, for they need it badly enough." Before 
 starting on his thirty-miles' ride from Santiago to 
 Corunna, Philip distributed costly presents to the 
 English embassy, Bedford's gift being " one of the 
 finest pieces of gold plate ever seen, more than three 
 feet in height, exquisitely and elaborately chased with 
 classical and grotesque figures, the intrinsic value 
 of the gold contained being six thousand ducats." t^ 
 A brave show of ships awaited the arrival of Philip I 
 in Corunna, for many soldiers were to pass over with 
 the Prince to defend him from the French on the way 
 and reinforce the Emperor's army in Flanders ; and as 
 the glittering cavalcade came in sight of the harbour, 
 he was met "by six hundred seaman — lancers from 
 the province of Guipuzcoa, smart men and prettily 
 ^ Munoz's narrative. 
 
58 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 accoutred, who performed many evolutions, waving 
 their lances joyously, with much playing of drums and 
 fifes. Then the fleet and the fortress shot such a 
 salute that in very truth it seemed as if town and 
 fortress together were coming down, the people being 
 in great fear and wonder to see the houses tremble 
 thus as if by earthquake. All said that the human 
 race had never witnessed such a discharge as this. The 
 smoke was so great during the hour and a half that 
 the firing lasted that neither earth nor heaven could 
 be seen. After this there entered the harbour nine 
 ships of the fleet, well supplied with everything and 
 very smart, with a vast number of painted standards 
 and 3,500 soldiers on board. These ships then took 
 up the salute with their big guns, after which the 
 /^infantry shot with their muskets for half an hour.''^ 
 / On Philip's return to his lodging, forty fishing 
 
 / sloops cast at his feet their fresh-caught harvest 
 
 '^-. of the sea, and the next day he inspected the ship, 
 
 ' The Holy Ghost, of Martin de Bertondona, in which 
 it had just been arranged that he was to make 
 the voyage to England. From end to end the ship 
 was alive with scarlet silk streamers, and many-hued 
 heraldic pennons waved aloft : the bulwarks and 
 castles were hung with crimson damask, and the 
 cabin destined for the Prince was a marvel of chased 
 and chiselled gold and exotic woods, The great 
 standard of crimson damask, painted with the Imperial 
 arms and golden flames, was thirty yards long, and 
 dozens of other standards rivalling it in size fluttered 
 from every mast and spar. Three hundred sailors, 
 garbed in scarlet liveries, manned this gallant craft. 
 
 ^ Mufioz's narrative. 
 
EMBARKATION OF PHILIP 59 
 
 But all this splendour seems to have aroused some 
 jealousy amongst the English, and when Philip went 
 on board the ship that had brought the ambassadors 
 to Spain to be bounteously entertained at dinner, 
 Bedford urged him to trust himself to an English ship 
 and Engflish sailors. The Prince hesitated a while, 
 but his councillors, and particularly the Duke of Alba, 
 would not hear of it, for none knew as yet how far 
 they might trust to the islanders so recently heretic. 
 To please the English sailors, however, Philip allowed 
 them to choose for him the Spanish ship they con- 
 sidered the safest ; and at their recommendation he 
 sailed in Bertondona's vessel, instead of, as intended, 
 in the galleon of the great sailor Alvaro de Bazan. 
 
 To muster and ship six thousand soldiers as well 
 as the great train of courtiers and servants that 
 followed Philip took many days, whilst the Prince 
 was being feasted and entertained by neighbouring 
 nobles. During this time there entered Corunna the 
 Spanish ship that had carried the Marquis of Las 
 Navas to England with the presents for Mary, and 
 marvellous stories had the mariners to tell of the 
 eager preparations being made by the Queen and 
 her people to receive the new King. How she was 
 at Winchester with a thousand gentlemen, and how, 
 amongst other fine things to welcome her bridegroom, 
 she had collected two thousand fine horses for the 
 Spaniards, believing that they would bring none 
 by sea with them.^ At length the fleet of nearly 
 a hundred sail was ready. The gilding upon the 
 towering stern and forecastles, with lines of shining 
 lanterns, flashed back the summer sun, and the 
 
 ^ In fact they shipped a large number of horses. 
 
6o TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 crowds of gaily clad soldiers and sailors played 
 strange pranks in the rigging and amongst the gaudy 
 flags to amuse grave Philip, whilst for two days the 
 ships lay idle in Corunna harbour awaiting the fair 
 wind that was to carry the Prince of Spain upon his 
 mission of conquest. 
 7" On Friday, 13th July, a soft breeze from the south 
 enabled the fleet to sail, whilst a dense crowd upon 
 the shore sent up fervent prayers for the safety of the 
 Prince, who in a pure spirit of martyrdom was_-ihus 
 going to " our new realm of England for the 
 exaltation of our holy faith and the good of Christen- 
 dom." Others there were on the shore who shouted 
 insults, taunts, and challenges to all the Frenchmen 
 alive ; for with England at the bidding of the 
 Emperor, the poorest beggar in Spain knew that 
 France was powerless against him. The slight swell 
 that at first somewhat upset unaccustomed stomachs, 
 was succeeded on the morning of Saturday by a dead 
 calm and a motionless sea, which, whilst it comforted 
 the landsmen, made the seamen look blank ; for, 
 as they said, it might delay the fleet for a month. 
 But the next day, Sunday, a delightful fair wind 
 sprang up, and the long trail of vessels stretched 
 across the tranquil Bay until Ushant, the land of 
 the enemy, loomed up to starboard on Monday after- 
 noon. On Wednesday morning in the Channel a 
 fleet of galleons was sighted, which it was feared 
 might be Frenchmen, but which turned out to be the 
 Flemish escort sent by the Emperor, with several 
 ships of the English navy. Thus accompanied, the 
 Spaniards sailed up to Southampton Water on Thurs- 
 day, 19th July, and at four o'clock in the afternoon 
 anchored amidst the royal salute from the thirty 
 
DISSENSIONS IN ENGLAND 6i 
 
 English and Flemish ships assembled to receive the 
 Queen's new Consort. -^ 
 
 Things had not been going very smoothly in 
 England in the meanwhile. Mary's Council was 
 profoundly disunited, Paget and the Chancellor, 
 Bishop Gardiner of Winchester, being at bitter feud 
 with each other ; and Mary herself was angry and 
 distrustful with Gardiner and his adherents, who, she 
 feared, quite without reason, were secretly favouring 
 Elizabeth and the Wyatt prisoners. On one occa- 
 sion, late in March, a number of members of the 
 Council, even Paget being amongst them out of 
 enmity to Gardiner, took the bold course of enter- 
 ing the Queen's oratory after vespers, and told her 
 that it was now time for clemency, and that if any 
 more noble blood was shed it would no longer be 
 justice but cruelty. The bloody-minded advice, 
 they said, of others should not be followed — meaning 
 by this Gardiner, who was absent, and Renard, who 
 was never tired of urging severity upon Mary. The 
 Queen, taken by surprise, at once pardoned six of the 
 gentlemen of Kent implicated in Wyatt's rising who 
 had been condemned to death. Poor Mary was 
 beset on every side by warring counsels, with 
 Renard telling her that for her own and her hus- 
 band's safety she must strike hard, and her Council 
 in revolt at what they considered the cruelty incul- 
 cated by Gardiner, and at one time she consented 
 to Renard's plan for a coup d'etat which should 
 practically make her supreme. The Lord Admiral 
 (Howard), Pembroke, Derby, Shrewsbury, and Sussex 
 were to be employed in distant parts of the realm ; a 
 reconciliation was to be effected between Gardiner 
 ^ Mufioz's narrative. Sociedad de Bibliofilos. 
 
62 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 and Paget, and the whole business of State was to 
 be managed by them, with the assistance of Petre, 
 the Earl of Arundel, and two others. Renard 
 thought that this solution was the only one which 
 offered any security for Philip's safety, and when 
 the Queen was induced by some of her Councillors 
 to pardon on Good Friday the Marquis of North- 
 ampton and eight more prisoners implicated in the 
 Wyatt rising, the Imperial ambassador roundly 
 scolded her for her ill-timed clemency. It was not 
 by any means certain, he said, that Philip would 
 consent to come to England at all. The dissen- 
 sions of her Councillors were very dangerous, and 
 it behoved her to consider very carefully, since the 
 security must be furnished by her, and the Prince 
 could not come armed, what a scandal and calamity 
 it would be if anything happened to him.^ Mary 
 wept at this, and said that "she would rather never 
 have been born than that any outrage should be 
 committed on his Highness, but she trusted to God 
 that no such thing would occur. All her Councillors 
 would do their duty in receiving the Prince, and are in 
 great hopes of him. She would reform her Council 
 and reduce it to six members ; she would do her best 
 to incline her subjects to his Highness's favour ; and 
 she would take good care that the cases of Courtenay 
 ^nd Elizabeth were finished before the Prince arrived.^ 
 — Noailles and the French sympathisers, too, were 
 still at work stirring up alarm at the coming of the 
 Spaniards. Here was a bridegroom, they sneered, 
 who was coming to win a wife, with a great army 
 intended to land on English soil and proclaim him- 
 
 ^ Record Office, Brussels Transcripts. 
 
 " Renard to the Emperor. Record Office, Brussels Transcripts. 
 
WILLIAM LORD PAGET 
 
 FROM A PAINTING IN THE NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY 
 
DISSENSIONS IN ENGLAND 63 
 
 self King in his own right, with all his swarm of 
 priests, friars, and inquisitors to oppress the English 
 people. Even the English sailors on Howard's ships 
 were so distrustful of the Spaniards that when the 
 Flemish crews of the Emperor's fleet set foot on 
 shore during the time they awaited Philip's arrival 
 the visitors were hustled and insulted everywhere, 
 whilst the Lord Admiral himself had openly mocked 
 at their ships as mussel-shells. ^ Whether it be true, 
 as was asserted, that Howard committed the grave 
 discourtesy of throwing a shot across the bows of the 
 Prince's fleet to compel a salute to the English flag is 
 doubtful, but it is certain that the feeling in the country 
 amongst high and low as the time went on was as 
 strongly against the Spanish bridegroom as ever. _^ 
 During the months that passed between the formal ' 
 betrothal in March and the coming of Philip, Mary 
 grew more and more impatient, railing at her quarrel- 
 ling Councillors, worried almost daily by Renard to 
 hasten the execution of Elizabeth and Courtenay, 
 and a prey to frequent hysterical attacks of wounded 
 pride at what she considered the ungallant lack of 
 eagerness on the part of her new husband to join 
 her. She grew more faded and older with her 
 anxiety, and this increased her distress,^ for Eliza- 
 beth was young and beautiful, and the Queen knew 
 that the love of the people for her was growing 
 with the dread of Spanish Catholic intolerance. And 
 yet the majority of the Council, not to mention the 
 Parliament that was sitting, would never sanction 
 the sacrifice of the Princess at the instance of the 
 
 ' Renard to the Emperor, 9th June. Record Office, Brussels 
 Transcripts. 
 " Noailles to the King, 17th June, 1554. Ambassades. 
 
64 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 Imperial ambassador ; and even the Lord Admiral 
 and his fleet were suspected of a design to declare 
 against the Queen unless his cousin, Princess Eliza- 
 beth, was well treated. Renard's letters of the time 
 reflect the distracted condition of affairs from day to 
 day, no man knowing in which direction future safety 
 or ruin to him might be encountered. " The Queen 
 is reduced to such a state of perplexity that she is at 
 a loss whose advice to adopt, knowing well that all is 
 being done in favour of Lady Elizabeth." Scurrilous 
 ballads were flung about in public places, even in 
 the Queen's palace, bitterly lampooning the unhappy 
 Mary and her lagging Spanish bridegroom. To 
 make matters worse, when the French ambassador, 
 Noailles, who was known to be the principal fomenter 
 of all this trouble, went to take leave of Mary at 
 Whitehall the day before she set out on her gradual 
 approach to the coast to meet Philip at the end of 
 May, an open wrangle took place between them, and 
 the ambassador in a rage threatened to leave England 
 immediately — a threat not at all distasteful to the 
 Imperialists, because it brought nearer what they 
 aimed at before all things — the breaking out of 
 hostilities between England and France. 
 
 "i" By slow stages Mary travelled through the latter 
 half of June and early July from Richmond by Oat- 
 lands and Farnham to Winchester, where she arrived 
 
 ^jtwQ days after Philip had landed at Southampton. 
 
 J As Philip had truly said, this was no romantic love 
 voyage that he was making, but a deliberate sacrifice 
 of all his personal tastes and wishes for the sake of 
 overwhelming political expediency. No effort was 
 to be spared to gain England to the side of Spain 
 against France, and Philip deliberately laid himself 
 
TO CONCILIATE THE ENGLISH 65 
 
 out to please. On his famous voyage to stay with 
 his father in Flanders some years before, his cold 
 hauteur and lack of expansiveness had quite alienated 
 the Germans and Flemings from him. His grave 
 young face, his prim demeanour, his sober gar- 
 ments, his rigid abstemiousness in eating and drink- 
 ing, and his distaste for the martial amusements of 
 the time, were all foreign to the rough vitality of 
 the Teutons ; and Renard and the Emperor had 
 warned the Prince that he must not repeat his mis- 
 take, but conform to English customs and learn at 
 least some English words. The Spaniards of his 
 train were enjoined also "to behave themselves 
 according to English fashion, and to be modest In 
 their bearing, trusting that your Highness, with your,,, 
 accustomed kindness, will make much of them." "^ And 
 the Emperor, desirous of avoiding all occasion for 
 dissension, writes to his son (ist April, 1554) : "They 
 tell me that some married women are going with 
 their husbands in your company. I think they will 
 be more difficult to govern and keep friends with 
 the English women than even soldiers would be. 
 You had better see whether It would not be wiser 
 to send them here [to Flanders] until affairs in 
 England are more settled." - 
 
 Even Philip's enemies, the Venetians, testified to ' 
 the change of his demeanour during his stay in_^ 
 England ; and Soriano, the outgoing ambassador, 
 said that from that time forward, even in Spain, 
 his gentle courtesy and kindness were continued 
 habitually, whilst Michaeli, the new Venetian ambas- 
 
 ^ Renard to the Prince, 13th March, Record Office, Brussels 
 Transcripts. 
 
 2 Papiers d'Etat de Granvelle, vol. iv. 
 
 F 
 
66 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 sador, who was the staunch ally of Noailles, was 
 
 emphatic in his testimony of Philip's affability in 
 
 _^ England, and says that his conduct towards his 
 
 « wife was such as to make any woman love him : 
 " for in truth no one in the world could have been 
 a better or more affectionate husband." Yet another 
 Venetian envoy, Damula, accredited to the Emperor, 
 
 / wrote that on disembarking in England the Prince 
 was " remarked by everybody for his graciousness, 
 without any stiffness or assumption of royal cere- 
 mony, mixing with the courtiers rather as a comrade 
 than as a king," Certain it is, with public opinion in 
 England strongly unfavourable and in a perfect panic 
 of apprehension, Philip's tact and graciousness to a 
 great extent overcame the prejudice against him, and 
 he became in a few months personally quite popular, 
 whilst he contrived almost immediately to gain his 
 wife's devoted affection. The over-coloured picture 
 of Philip as a trembling, seasick creature,^ in daily 
 fear of poison, which Froude drew from the letters of 
 Noailles and the account of the Venetian, Baoardo, 
 needs much modification to be near the impartial 
 _ truth ; for though, as we have seen, Philip looked 
 
 ' upon the marriage as a sacrifice to reasons of 
 State, as undoubtedly it was, he bore his cross 
 
 _ gaily and like a well-bred gentleman. If he had 
 
 * The only warrant for the seasick story is that contained in a 
 letter from Bedford and Fitzwalter in Spain to the Council, 
 saying that the Prince "was wont to be very sick upon the sea," 
 and proposing that some preparations should be made at 
 Plymouth for his landing there in case of need. But, in fact, 
 Philip had a smooth voyage, and remained at anchor on the 
 Espiritu Santo in Southampton harbour for nearly twenty-four 
 hours before he landed, and was in perfect health. 
 
THE LANDING OF PHILIP 67 
 
 done otherwise, indeed, as he was quite clever 
 enough to recognise, the sacrifice itself would have 
 been useless. 
 
 From the hour of his arrival in Southampton 
 Water, two o'clock in the afternoon of Thursday, 
 19th July, until after breakfast the next day, Philip 
 remained on board the Espiritu Santo at anchor, 
 whilst the salutes of the ships and forts thundered 
 out their welcome ; state barges brought the English 
 and Flemish Lord Admirals to visit the Prince, and 
 the Marquis of las Navas, Figueroa, the Emperor's 
 special ambassador, and several high English nobles, 
 came to pay their respects to the new king. After 
 breakfast on the 20th July, Howard's state galley 
 came alongside the Espiritu Santo, and from it 
 climbed to the deck the Lord Admiral and a little 
 group of English nobles — Arundel, Derby, and 
 Shrewsbury — with Sir John Williams, to whom 
 Philip at once handed the white wand of Chamber- 
 lain. The Prince stood upon the high deck, cap in 
 hand and with smiling face, to receive them, and after 
 they had been presented to the principal grandees 
 the English nobles led the Prince to the barge, 
 followed by the Duke of Alba, with his lean, dark 
 face and long, grizzled beard ; Count de Feria, with 
 his raven hair and flashing eyes ; Ruy Gomez, 
 Philip's dearest friend, suave and imperturbable ; 
 Pescara, Egmont, Horn, and a dozen other high 
 courtiers, Spaniards and Flemings. No permission 
 was given to the other courtiers to land until the 
 Prince's barge touched the shore, whilst no soldier ' 
 or man-at-arms was allowed to land at all on pain of 
 death, for Philip dared not offend English feeling in 
 this matter, and he had learnt from his father that the 
 
68 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 fortune of war had been against him, and he needed 
 every man-at-arms at once in Flanders. ^ 
 
 As the gaily dressed oarsmen rapidly forced the 
 great gilded galley through the smooth water to the 
 shore, a little ceremony was performed under the stern 
 canopy. The Earl of Arundel and Sir John Williams 
 as a commission from the Queen besought permission 
 to invest the Prince with the Order of the Garter ; 
 and Williams fastened the gilt ligature around his 
 leg, whilst Arundel placed upon his breast a glitter- 
 ing pendant rose and George. As Philip stepped 
 upon English soil for the first time, thirty nobles 
 and gentlemen of the Queen's Court did him 
 reverence, and Sir Anthony Browne, leading a 
 beautiful white hackney caparisoned in crimson 
 velvet and gold, announced himself in a Latin 
 speech as the new Consort's master of the horse. 
 The Prince thanked the new grand equerry, but 
 replied that, as the distance was short, he would 
 walk on foot to the house prepared for him. But 
 this he was told was not in accordance with English 
 etiquette, and without more ado Browne, lifting him 
 up in his arms, placed him in the saddle, and then, 
 humbly kissing the golden stirrups, walked bare- 
 headed by his master's side. With crowds of gaily 
 clad English and Spanish courtiers preceding him, 
 Philip passed thus through the curious townsfolk to 
 the Church of Holy Rood. He must have looked 
 an impressive figure, with his dapper, erect bearing, 
 his yellow, curly beard and close-cropped fair head, 
 
 ^ The bulk of the Spanish fleet was not allowed even to enter 
 the harbour of Southampton for provisions and water, which 
 only after much unpleasantness and discourtesy they were able 
 to obtain at Portsmouth. 
 
PHILIP AT SOUTHAMPTON 69 
 
 dressed, as he was, in black velvet and silver, hung 
 all about with massive gold chains and with glittering 
 precious stones in his velvet cap, upon breast, neck,^ 
 and wrists. Browne himself was no unworthy com- 
 pany for his Prince, for he too was garbed in a rich 
 suit of black velvet entirely covered with fine gold 
 embroidery, with a surcoat of the same, of which the 
 long, hanging false sleeves were lined with cloth of 
 silver. ^ 
 
 After a brief service of thanksgiving, Philip was ' 
 taken to the house destined for his reception. The 
 English guards and archers on duty and a crowd of 
 English household servitors had been dressed by 
 Mary's directions in the red-and-yellow livery of 
 Spain ; and when Philip entered the rooms prepared 
 for him, he found that here, too, his wife's thoughtful 
 prevision had been exercised ; for the appointments 
 and furniture were sumptuous, and upon the walls 
 there hung royal draperies of gold -embroidered 
 damask. I To the assembled English nobles Philip 
 then delivered a dignified speech in Latin, saying 
 that he had left his own land not to augment his 
 possessions or his power, of which he had sufficient, 
 but because God had called him to marry their 
 Queen, with whom he intended to live here in 
 harmony ; and he promised his hearers that if they 
 were faithful to her and to him, "he would be to 
 them a right good and loving prince." He was 
 from the first all smiles and graciousness to the 
 English, who were, indeed, agreeably surprised at 
 
 ^ Whilst they all praise the sumptuous fittings of the rooms, 
 not a single Spanish narrator says a word of the story told by 
 the malicious Venetian, that Philip was shocked by the words 
 " Fidei Defensor " being embroidered on the hangings. 
 
70 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 his amiability when after his private supper he 
 came out into the presence chamber and chatted 
 _unajEfectedly and gaily with the gentlemen there. 
 To bluff Lord Admiral Howard he said that he 
 had come to England for his wedding unprovided 
 with garb sufficiently sumptuous to do honour to 
 their Queen, but he hoped that the velvet horse- 
 cloth of the hackney the Queen had sent him might 
 serve him to make a splendid vestment withal. 
 7" The pledging of the company after supper in a 
 draught of English beer, which the partial view of 
 Froude presented as a repellant and unwilling con- 
 cession, was a perfectly natural part of the whole 
 of Philips behaviour. He had come to win the 
 English by affability, and he was determined as 
 much as possible to conform to English prejudices 
 and to impress upon his Spanish followers the need 
 for their doing likewise. Even the enemy, who 
 records the action, does not hint at any demon- 
 stration of dislike or reluctance on the part of Philip 
 to the politic course he took. So thoroughly, indeed, 
 did he act up to his policy, that before he left South- 
 ampton his Spanish attendants were all scowling and 
 grumbling in spite and jealousy that their Prince was 
 preferring Englishmen to them, and that his service 
 and safety were placed in the hands of foreigners to 
 the exclusion of his own people. Though Philip had 
 great ends to serve in drinking beer and sitting out 
 gargantuan English feasts, at which his proud frugal 
 countrymen scoffed, to the courtiers who accompanied 
 him from Spain, it was as gall and wormwood to see 
 the greatest Prince in Christendom thus curry favour 
 with these rough islanders, whom they regarded as 
 inferiors ; and when, on Saturday, the Spaniards 
 
PHILIP AT SOUTHAMPTON 71 
 
 were all ordered to leave the church at Southampton 
 before the service was over, in order that the Prince 
 might come out attended only by Englishmen, they 
 broke out into almost open protest, particularly when, 
 as the rain was coming down in torrents and the 
 Prince was without cape or hat, he borrowed the 
 garments from an Englishman near him rather than 
 from a Spaniard, to go the few yards from the churchy 
 to his lodging. 
 
 The three hundred houses of which Southampton ' 
 consisted were already crammed to overflowing with 
 Philip's great train of courtiers and four hundred 
 servants, but every hour the crowd in the little port 
 grew as the neighbouring gentry, with their followers, 
 rode in to honour their new King in accordance with_ 
 Queen Mary's orders. Nor was this all, for early on 
 Saturday morning the Earl of Pembroke came with an 
 escort for the Prince of two hundred English gentle- 
 men in black velvet and gold chains, and three 
 hundred more in scarlet, all splendidly mounted. In 
 return for this, Philip sent Egmont to the Queen with ■ 
 thanks and loving messages. Half way to Winchester 
 Egmont met a great train coming towards him, escort- 
 ing the Lord Chancellor, Bishop Gardiner, bearing 
 from his Sovereign a valuable ring to her spouse. 
 Gardiner had done his best to prevent the match, and 
 when that had proved impossible, he had cleverly 
 minimised its disadvantages from an English point of 
 view, so that he was far from being persona grata to 
 Renard and the Spaniards. But for weeks past he 
 had been in hourly danger of ruin from the cabals 
 against him and the distrust of the Queen ; and he 
 now sought safety in an apparent cordiality towards 
 the Spanish marriage, an attitude which Philip repaid 
 
72 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 by treating him with almost excessive deference. 
 The next day (Sunday), in the torrential rain, the 
 favourite Ruy Gomez rode to Winchester with 
 another beautiful ring for Mary, and the Lords of 
 the Council and a host of other nobles came in to 
 salute Philip, who, after rising late, dined and supped 
 in public for the first time in England. To the rage 
 of the Spaniards, his English household served him ; 
 though the proudest of his grandees, the Duke of 
 Alba, was allowed unofficially to hand him the 
 napkin. I " We are of no more use here, and are 
 simply vagabonds. We should be better employed 
 in serving in the war, for they make us pay here 
 twenty times what a thing is worth," grumbled one 
 of Philip's gentlemen-in-waiting, who fairly repre- 
 sented the general feeling amongst them, even on 
 the first days of their arrival in England. 
 
 Before Philip started on Monday afternoon for 
 Winchester, better news came from the Emperor. 
 The French had not followed up their victory at 
 Marienburg, and the six hundred Spanish jennets 
 which had come in the fleet, with Philip's own 
 ^_ horses, might now be landed.^ The anxious Queen, 
 ' nevertheless, continued to send fresh supplies of 
 splendidly caparisoned horses for Philip's use ; and 
 when, in a perfect deluge of rain, at two o'clock in 
 the afternoon the Prince started out to join his bride 
 in the ancient city seven miles away, a train of three 
 thousand magnificently accoutred horsemen clattered 
 in his train. With the exception of some fifteen of 
 
 ^ Enriquez's narrative. Sociedad de Bibliofilos. 
 
 2 Philip's courtiers sneered that Browne took the King's 
 horses to his own stables to recover from the voyage, in order 
 that he might have a chance of keeping them altogether. 
 
PHILIP RIDES TO WINCHESTER 7z 
 
 the highest Spanish nobles, who rode close around 
 the Prince — Alba, Medina-Celi, Feria, and their like 
 — Philip's strong bodyguard was formed of English 
 men-at-arms dressed in Spanish colours, much to the 
 jealousy of the Spanish guard still cooped up in the 
 pestilential ships. On the road six hundred more 
 English gentlemen in black velvet and gold met the 
 cavalcade and joined it. Then, nearer Winchester, 
 six of the Queen's pages, dressed in crimson brocade 
 and cloth of gold, were encountered with a herald 
 bringing for the Prince six more beautiful steeds as a 
 present from their mistress. The malicious Venetian 
 tells a story embellished by Froude of a breathless, 
 galloping messenger from the Queen, whose haste 
 threw Philip and his Spanish friends into a panic 
 of fear ; but everything that Baoardo wrote on the 
 subject of the marriage is suspect and cannot be 
 accepted without confirmation, of which in this case 
 there is none. 
 
 When the Prince started from Southampton, he 
 wore a surcoat of black velvet adorned with diamonds, 
 and doublet and trunks of white satin embroidered 
 with gold. But this delicate finery, though covered 
 by a thick red felt cloak, was wet through before he 
 arrived at Winchester ; and a halt was made at the 
 beautiful hospital of Saint Cross to enable a change 
 of garments to be donned, the fresh suit consisting 
 of a black velvet surcoat trimmed with gold bugles, 
 and under-garments of white velvet and gold. Thus 
 bedizened he entered the ancient gateway, past kneel- 
 ing mayor and aldermen, and through silent, gaping 
 crowds of townsfolk, direct to the splendid cathedral, 
 the shrine of England's ancient Kings. A little group 
 of mitred bishops stood before the great west door, 
 
74 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 crosses raised and censers swinging ; and in solemn 
 procession to the high altar they led beneath a velvet 
 canopy this slim, erect, little man with fair face and 
 yellow hair, whom they and their like regarded as 
 God's chosen instrument to undo the impious work 
 of Henry and of Somerset. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 1554-1555 
 
 Philip's first meeting with Mary — The marriage — Discontent and dis- 
 appointment of the Spaniards^Philip's kindness to his wife — Spanish 
 descriptions of England — Philip in London — Arrival of Pole— Philip's 
 religious policy in England— His attempts to marry Elizabeth to Savoy 
 — The Emperor's war with France — Departure of Philip from England 
 
 DUSK was falling upon the gloomy day when 
 Philip, having duly performed his devotions 
 and admired the splendid fane of Winchester, 
 found himself at ease in the Dean's house, which had 
 been prepared for his reception. The Queen's maiden ' 
 scruples had been respected, for it was not in accord- 
 ance with etiquette that they should both sleep under 
 the same roof before they became man and wife ; so 
 that whilst the Deanery sheltered the bridegroom, the 
 bride was lodged in Bishop Gardiner's castle adjoin- 
 ing. Philip supped, and when he was thinking of 
 going to bed, it being ten o'clock at night, some 
 English courtiers and the Mistress of the Robes 
 came and said that the Queen wished him to visit 
 her secretly in her closet, where she awaited him, 
 but that he was to bring only a very few followers. 
 Another beautiful dress had perforce to be assumed, 
 consisting- of a French surcoat embroidered in silver 
 and gold, with doublet and trunks of white kid 
 covered with gold embroidery ; and then, accom- 
 
 75 
 
76 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 panied by Alba, Medina-Celi, Feria, Aguilar, Egmont, 
 Horn, and a half-dozen more grandees, the Prince 
 was led by his English guides across the lane and 
 still-existing little green to a garden gate, through 
 which only the nobles chosen by Philip were allowed 
 to enter. They found themselves in a delicious 
 garden, and in the mysterious darkness threaded 
 the leafy alleys, until they arrived at the great 
 moated house, which they entered by a little back 
 door, from which a private stair led direct to the 
 Queen's private apartment. 
 
 When the English guide threw open the door at 
 the head of the stair, Philip for the first time looked 
 upon the woman who was to be his second wife. 
 Mary was slowly pacing the long passage or gallery 
 lined with tapestry, which constituted the room. 
 Two gentlemen bore torches before her, and with 
 her were Gardiner and three or four other aged 
 men and some ladies-in-waiting. Philip hung back 
 a few seconds whilst Egmont entered the room. He, 
 being known to the Queen, was greeted by her 
 graciously ; and then, as she caught sight of the 
 smart figure of her bridegroom, she walked rapidly 
 towards him, and kissed her hand before she grasped 
 his. Philip did the same, and, in the English fashion 
 of the time, gallantly kissed his elderly bride upon 
 her lips. Mary was, as usual, splendidly dressed, 
 and her trim little figure must have looked stately 
 enough in her black velvet gown, cut high at the 
 neck, her petticoat of frosted silver, her coif of black 
 velvet and gold, and wonderful girdle, collar, and 
 pendants of flashing gems. Her complexion was of 
 that peculiar transparency which usually accom- 
 panies red hair ; her eyes, which were also of ruddy 
 
PHILIP MEETS MARY 11 
 
 brown, were almost without eyebrows, as her father's 
 had been ; and her somewhat austere face was wreathed 
 now with smiles of welcome to the man for whose 
 coming she had yearned. 
 
 Leading him by the hand to a chair beside her 
 own beneath the canopy, she replied in French to 
 his Spanish compliments. Whilst they were thus 
 seated in happy converse, the irrepressible Lord 
 Admiral Howard broke in with some of his usual 
 suggestive jokes, not in the best taste according to 
 the ideas of to-day, but apparently accepted at that 
 time as quite permissible. Then, one by one, the 
 Spanish nobles were brought forward to kiss the 
 Queen's hand ; and Philip, apparently finding the inter- 
 view somewhat tedious, as his knowledge of French 
 was not extensive, proposed that he should go into 
 the adjoining apartment to greet the Queen's ladies. 
 Mary insisted upon accompanying him. The ladies, in 
 pairs, were led forward to courtesy before the Prince, 
 who, cap in hand, "in order not to violate the custom 
 of the country, kissed each of them on the lips as they 
 passed him." The ceremony, probably, was not over- 
 pleasant to Mar)^, for when, the kissing being at an 
 end, Philip suggested that it was getting late and he 
 had better retire, the Queen insisted upon leading 
 him to the canopy again for another chat. 
 
 Already the Spaniards began to nod and wink to 
 each other to signify that the Queen had fallen in 
 love with her husband thus soon at first sight, and 
 it is quite probable that such was the case. Mary's 
 heart had been starved for love all her life. There 
 was none of her kin now with whom she could 
 unbend, and, with her crushing responsibility, it must 
 have been for her like a glimpse of heaven to 
 
yS TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 feel that this good-looking, wise, young man, fully 
 her equal in rank, and her superior in power, was 
 in future to be kinsman, husband, and upholder in 
 one. At last the time came for parting, and in 
 jesting mood grave Philip learnt of his bride how 
 to say "Good-night" in English. But alas! before 
 he could reach the ladies in the other room to say 
 the newly learnt words to them, the outlandish 
 sounds had slipped out of his mind, and with much 
 laughter and smiles he had to go back and learn 
 them again from the Queen. ^ I n_ conversation with 
 Philip, the Queen's governess (Mrs. Clarencius?) 
 expressed her joy at the coming union and thanks 
 to God for letting her live to see the day, though 
 she regretted that she had not reared a more beauti- 
 ful bride for him ; ^ and according to another eye- 
 witness's account the Queen herself modestly thanked 
 Philip for accepting so old and ugly a wife. Generally 
 speaking, however, Mary does not appear to have 
 produced an unfavourable impression upon the 
 Spaniards. They speak of her manner at this time 
 as being gay and gracious, and her clear complexion 
 was much admired. Certainly Philip played his part 
 to perfection, whatever his private feelings may have 
 been ; and if Mary had been a budding beauty of 
 twenty instead of a faded old maid of nearly forty, 
 he could not have been a more gallant bridegroom 
 in appearance than he was : although to his bosom 
 friend, Ruy Gomez, he confided a few days after 
 the wedding that he was prepared with resignation 
 to drain the chalice to the end which his marriage 
 
 ^ Munoz's and Enriquez's narratives. Sociedad de Bibliofilos. 
 2 Narrative by Car, who was a servant to Pescara. Printed in 
 Milan, 1554. See the author's " Year After the Armada." 
 
AN ELDERLY BRIDE 79 
 
 presented to him, since, as his friend knew, he had 
 not married for love, but to restore England to the 
 Church ; and such an object made him lose sight of 
 the Queen's lack of personal attractions. 
 
 Philip slept late the morning after his arrival at 
 Winchester, and as soon as he was out of bed the 
 Queen's tailor brought him two superb sets of 
 garments — one made of very rich white brocade 
 profusely embroidered with gold bugles and seed 
 pearls, with diamonds for buttons, and the other a 
 similar suit in crimson. Philip went that day, 
 Tuesday, to Mass at the Cathedral, dressed in a 
 purple velvet surcoat with silver fringe and white 
 satin doublet and trunks ; and then after his private "' Lji^, ^ ^ 
 dinner, went in great state to visit the Queen 
 publicly. This time she received him in the great 
 hall of the Bishop's palace, surrounded by the whole 
 of her Court and attended by fifty ladies — *' none of 
 them pretty " — dressed in purple velvet. Mary 
 received the Prince at the foot of her dais, amidst 
 the fanfare of trumpets, and after kissing him affec- 
 tionately led him to the seat at her side. She must 
 have looked as magnificent as fine clothes could make 
 her as she sat *'in sweet converse" with him under 
 her canopy ; for we are told that her purple velvet 
 robe and cloth-of-gold petticoat were all aglow with 
 precious stones, and that coif, neck, breast, ajnd^jwrists^ 
 were stiff with pearls and diamonds. ^T^here were 
 special ambassadors, too, to receive and welcome : 
 Figueroa, viceroy of Naples, from the Emperor, 
 others from the King of the Romans and his son, 
 from Venice, Florence, Poland, and Ferrara. But 
 one was missing ; for Noailles, the Frenchman, for 
 whom this marriage was a dire defeat, had not been 
 
8o TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 bidden to the feast ; and in the intervals of his 
 plotting to raise trouble was writing to his baffled 
 master ill-natured and distorted reports, at second 
 
 ^and, of the proceedings. 
 
 7" The next day, Wednesday, 25th July, was the Feast 
 of St. James, the patron of Spain, and the noble 
 cathedral of Winchester was aflame with glowing 
 colour. The ancient nave can never have seen so 
 gorgeous a company as was there assembled in the 
 forenoon. All that pomp, skill, and lavish expendi- 
 ture could produce was there to do honour to an 
 event which all spectators felt was one of moving 
 interest for the future of the world ; because it meant, 
 so far as men might see, the secure fastening upon the 
 neck of England again of the yoke of the Papacy, 
 which Henry VIII. had shaken off, the stifling of the 
 Reformation in Europe, and the reduction of France 
 to a secondary place amongst the nations. Philip, in 
 the white satin suit the Queen had sent him and with 
 a regal mantle of cloth of gold, led his dazzlingly clad 
 bride up the lofty nave to an elevated platform in the 
 centre ; and there Gardiner, with three attendant 
 Bishops, made them man and wife. To equalise their 
 rank, it was announced that the Viceroy Figueroa had 
 brought formal instruments from the Emperor, resign- 
 ing to his son the Kingdoms of Naples and Jerusalem ; 
 and this proclamation having been made, the King 
 and Queen, with swords of state borne before them by 
 the Earls of Derby and Pembroke, descended to the 
 high altar, followed by fifty ladies in cloth of gold, 
 to hear Mass, during which, we are told, the Queen 
 never removed her devout eyes from the crucifix. 
 
 Rarely can a marriage have taken place prompted 
 on both sides by such elevation of spirit as this. The 
 
QUEEN MARY AT THE PERIOD OF HER MARRIAGE 
 
 FROM THE PAINTING BY ANTONIO MOH IN THE PRADO MUSEUM 
 
THE MARRIAGE 8i 
 
 objects In view may be condemned now, as they were 
 condemned by many at the time, but there is no 
 gainsaying that, so far as Philip and Mary were 
 concerned, they both believed they were making 
 private sacrifice for the public welfare. This feeling 
 was evident through the whole of the marriage negotia- 
 tions and afterwards, especially in Philips case, until it 
 was seen that the plan had failed.^ It is true that the 
 famished heart of Mary grew to love her husband for 
 his own sake as time went on ; but she loved him 
 first and best because he personified the force that 
 was to make England Catholic, whilst she to him 
 meant the influence that was to enable him and his 
 House to wield the power of England against their 
 enemy. , 
 
 After the ceremony, the King and Queen walked in 
 procession through an immense crowd to the Bishop's 
 palace, where in the great hall was laid the wedding 
 banquet. All the courtly ceremony of saluting the 
 royal dishes as they were brought in, the genuflexions 
 to the throne, the trumpeting of minstrels, and the 
 symbolic functions of the great officers of State, 
 aroused the admiration of the form-loving Spaniards ; 
 but their hearts were raging with jealousy during the 
 progress of the feast, for their wounded pride did 
 not fail to notice that Mary took precedence of her 
 husband everywhere, that she had a more stately seat, 
 and that while she ate off gold plate he was served on 
 silver. They comforted themselves with the idea that 
 all this would be changed when the King had been 
 crowned ; but that their Prince, the Emperor's son and 
 heir, should take a second place to any one on earth 
 filled them with anger, for they had already begun to 
 realise that they were not to enter into possession of 
 
82 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 England as they had hoped. The richness and 
 abundance they saw around them made their dis- 
 appointment the more bitter. Such a show of plate 
 on tables and sideboards as this they had never seen 
 before.^ All the platters and dishes were of silver, 
 and great buffets loaded with plate stood at both ends 
 of the great hall. The sideboard behind the high 
 table, at which Philip and Mary sat, with Gardiner far 
 off at the end, had upon it a hundred great pieces, 
 "with a great gilt clock half as high as a man, and a 
 marble fountain with a_rim of gold.3 Before the 
 King and Queen stooH Lords Pembroke and Strange 
 with sword and mace ; the four services of thirty 
 dishes each, far too much for the 158 noble guests, 
 were borne in to the sound of minstrelsy ; and after the 
 feast the Earl of Arundel presented the ewer of water 
 for the King's hands, whilst the Marquis of Win- 
 chester bore the napkin. The only Spaniard allowed 
 to serve the King was the Duke of Infantado's son, 
 Don Inigo de Mendoza, as cupbearer : " as for any of 
 the Prince's own stewards doing anything, such a 
 thing was never thought of, and not one of us took a 
 wand in our own hands, nor does it seem likely we 
 ever shall, not even the controller. They had far 
 better turn us all out as vagabonds." 2 
 
 After the Queen had pledged her guests in a cup of 
 wine, and a herald had proclaimed Philip's new style 
 as King of England, France, Naples, and Jerusalem, 
 Prince of Spain, and Count of Flanders, the royal pair 
 retired to another chamber, accompanied by the 
 
 ^ All foreign visitors to England in the sixteenth century 
 remarked upon the great profusion of plate used for household 
 purposes at the time. 
 
 * Enriquez's narrative. 
 
THE MARRIAGE FEAST 83 
 
 English and Spanish nobles, where the afternoon ; 
 was passed in gallant conversation, though apparently 
 with some difficulty to the Spaniards, who were 
 desirous of showing their gallantry to the English 
 ladies. "We had great trouble in making out their 
 meaning, except those who spoke Latin ; so we have 
 all resolved not to give them any presents of gloves 
 until we can understand them. The gentlemen who 
 speak the language are mostly very glad to find that 
 we Spaniards cannot do so." 
 
 At the ball that wound up the entertainments, the ' 
 same difficulty arising from diverse customs stood in 
 the way of intercourse, for the Spanish and English 
 dances were different, and the courtiers of the two 
 nations could not hit upon a common formula until 
 Philip led his wife out to tread a measure in the_ 
 German fashion, which was known to both. a...m 
 
 With every day that passed the discontent and 
 jealousy grew. Philip himself was charming, treating 
 his wife in lover-like fashion, and full of tactful 
 affability to the English people. But the more con- 
 ciliatory Philip showed himself, the more his Spanish 
 courtiers chafed. They had found their position in 
 England entirely different from what they had 
 expected ; and their hopes of easily dominating the 
 country were fading rapidly. The men-at-arms and 
 the bodyguard were still confined to their ships at 
 Portsmouth and Southampton, forbidden to land 
 under pain of death, and were becoming restive ; the 
 courtiers themselves and their servants were ridiculed 
 in the streets of Winchester, and even waylaid and 
 robbed if they ventured into the country ; and yet 
 they dared not complain. " After this weary voyage 
 these people wish to subject us to some extent to 
 
 :"" ..N.'^ 
 
84 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 their laws ; for it is a new thing for them to have 
 Spaniards in the country, and they wish to feel 
 secure."^ "We Spaniards are miserable here, much 
 
 / worse than in Castile ; and some say that they would 
 rather be in the barest stubble field of Toledo than 
 here in the groves of Amadis." Another courtier 
 writing from Winchester says, " Great rogues infest 
 the roads, and have robbed some of us, amongst 
 others, the chamberlain of Don Juan Pacheco, from 
 whom they took 400 crowns and all his jewelry and 
 plate. No trace can be found of the property, nor of 
 the four or five boxes missing from the King's 
 lodging ; though the Council is scouring the country 
 for it. As for the friars, they have had to be lodged 
 in the college for their safety, and they bitterly repent 
 
 .having come." 
 
 It was difficult to please proud, disappointed people 
 who were ready to disapprove of everything ; and 
 when the Duchess of Alba came, three days after the 
 marriage, to join her husband, though Mary treated 
 her with almost royal honours, the haughty dame and 
 her kin were in a chronic state of indignation at the 
 position she was obliged to occupy. An amusing 
 account of her first visit to Mary on the third day 
 after the wedding 2 does not suggest any lack of 
 ceremony, though the lodgings assigned to her may 
 not have been so sumptuous as she thought fit. The 
 Duchess was conducted to the Bishop's palace by the 
 
 ^ Philip had sent a Spanish magistrate, Alcalde Bribiesca, to 
 England before him, to dispose of cases in his own following. 
 The English were bitterly jealous of this, and refused to acknow- 
 ledge any jurisdiction for him. 
 
 = Enriquez's narrative. The narrator was a kinsman of the 
 Duchess. 
 
MARY AND THE DUCHESS OF ALBA 85 
 
 Countesses of Pembroke and Kildare and the Earl of 
 Bedford, and the Queen advanced almost to the door 
 of the presence chamber to meet her. The Duchess 
 knelt, and the Queen, falling in her efforts to raise 
 her, courtesied almost as low, and kissed her upon the 
 mouth, which she usually did only to those of the 
 blood royal. She then led the Duchess to the dais, 
 and seated herself upon the floor, inviting her guest to 
 do likewise. But the latter refused to sit on the floor 
 until the Queen sat upon a chair. This the Queen 
 would not do, but sent for two stools as a compromise, 
 upon one of which she sat and invited the Duchess to 
 take the other, instead of which the Duchess then sat 
 upon the floor, whereupon the Queen left her stool 
 and also sat upon the floor ; and after an almost 
 interm.inable friendly wrangle, both ladies settled 
 down on the stools, their conversation being inter- 
 preted by the Marquis de las Navas, as Mary, 
 although she understood Spanish, did not speak it. 
 When the Earl of Derby was presented to the 
 , Duchess, she was horrified at his offering to salute 
 her in the usual English fashion by kissing her lips, 
 and she drew back from him in hot indignation, 
 though hardly in time to avoid contact. But as the 
 lady haughtily expatiated to her own people after- 
 wards upon the uncouth fashion, she declared that the 
 Earl had only just managed to reach her cheek. 
 
 By the last day of July most of the English gentry 
 had gone home for the present, the Spaniards being 
 distributed about Winchester and Southampton, 
 whilst the troops were only awaiting a fair wind to 
 carry them to Flanders. With a comparatively small 
 suite the Queen and King set forth on the 31st July 
 for Basing House, fifteen miles away, the seat of Lord 
 
S6 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 Winchester, the Lord Treasurer, and so by short stages 
 to Reading, Windsor, and Richmond, where they 
 remained until the 17th August. In the meanwhile 
 the impatience of the Spaniards at their position in 
 England grew intolerable, and the Duke of Medina- 
 Celi, the premier noble, and of royal descent, was the 
 first to insist upon immediate release with permission 
 to join the Emperor in Flanders. Within a few days 
 eighty other hidalgos had demanded similar licence, 
 and by the time Richmond was reached the only 
 Spanish nobles in attendance upon Philip were Alba, 
 Feria, Olivares, Pedro be Cordova, and three gentle- 
 men, amongst whom was the indefatigable letter- 
 writer, Pedro Enriquez, whose narrative of the events i 
 is so expressive of the lack of community between the 
 two peoples. Not only were the manners of the 
 English ladies and their dresses unbecoming in Spanish 
 eyes, and the English food coarsely excessive, but the 
 political institutions of the country appeared to them, 
 used as they were to the absolute monarchy of 
 Castile, to be almost Republican in their hard 
 limitation of the power of the Sovereign. 
 
 *' Their Majesties " (writes Pedro Enriquez from 
 Richmond) "are the happiest married couple in the 
 world, and are more in love with each other than 
 I can write here. The King never leaves her, and 
 on the road he rides by her side, helping her to 
 mount and dismount. They sometimes dine together 
 in public, and on Feast days he accompanies her to 
 Mass. Although the Queen is not at all beautiful, 
 for she is little, and thin rather than stout, she is 
 very red and white. She has no eyebrows, she is a 
 perfect saint, but she dresses very badly. The ladies 
 here all wear farthingales of coloured cloth, without 
 
DISCONTENT OF THE SPANIARDS 87 
 
 silk, their outer garments being of coloured damask, 
 satin, or velvet, but very badly made. Some of them 
 wear velvet shoes, but most of them kid. They wear 
 black stockings, and even show their legs, some 
 of them up to the knees, at least whilst they are 
 riding, for their skirts are not long enough. They 
 look quite indelicate when they are travelling thus, 
 and even when they are seated. They are not at 
 all beautiful, nor are they graceful in dancing, 
 which with them consists simply of prancing and 
 trotting. I None of the Spanish gentlemen are in 
 love with them or think anything of them, nor they 
 of the Spaniards. They are not worth troubling 
 about, or feasting much, or spending money upon, 
 which is a good thing for the Spaniards. All the 
 rejoicing here consists of eating and drinking. The 
 Queen spends in food 300,000 ducats a year. The 
 whole of the Lords of the Council — thirteen of them — 
 feed in the palace, as do the Officers of State, the 
 Lord Steward, the Lord Chamberlain, the Master 
 of the Horse, and the King's English household 
 with all their wives. The ladies and their servants .' 
 and the households of all the courtiers and two 
 hundred guards all live in the palace as well. 
 Each officer has a cook to look after his food in 
 the Queen's kitchens. There are eighteen kitchens, 
 and there is such a hurly-burly in them that each 
 one is a veritable hell. So that, notwithstanding the 
 greatness of these palaces, . . . and the smallest of 
 the four we have seen has more rooms and better 
 ones than the Alcazar of Madrid, the crowds in them 
 are so great as to be hardly contained. . . . The 
 
 ^ This reminds one of Queen Elizabeth's dancing, which was 
 praised as " high and disposedly." 
 
88 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 ordinary consumption in the palace every day is 
 from eighty to a hundred sheep, with a dozen fat 
 oxen and dozen and a half of calves, besides vast 
 quantities of game, poultry, venison, wild boar, and 
 rabbits ; whilst, as for the beer, they drink more in 
 the summer than the river would hold in Valladolid. 
 The ladies and some of the gentlemen put sugar 
 into their wine. The noise and bustle in the palace 
 are dreadful. And notwithstanding the vast number 
 of rooms, they have never given to the Duchess of 
 Alba a chamber in the palace. They are the most 
 ungrateful people ever seen. Not even in the 
 villages where we stay — and each one has a village — 
 do they give to the Duke and Duchess a house to 
 themselves, or the best one. They have fine trouble 
 over their lodgings, as if it were not enough to 
 prevent them from serving in their offices without 
 housing them badly." 
 
 Already the courtiers saw that the chance of 
 Philip being allowed to dominate England in conse- 
 quence of his marriage was a slender one, but the 
 King himself, in his patient, prudent way, persevered. 
 His personal influence over his wife grew stronger 
 every day, and when later she gave him hopes of 
 the birth of an heir, a new prospect for the future 
 seemed to open to him. The Londoners were as 
 yet still almost in a panic at the coming of the 
 Spanish King, and the most exaggerated ideas with 
 regard to the number of armed men he would bring 
 with him prevailed, artfully fostered by Noailles 
 and the Protestant party. On the eve of the state 
 entry of the royal pair into London the appearance 
 of affairs was unpromising enough, as may be seen 
 by Pedro Enriquez's letter dated on the 17th August. 
 
DISCONTENT OF THE SPANIARDS 89 
 
 "The English cannot bear the sight of the 
 Spaniards : they would rather see the devil. They 
 rob us, even in the towns, and on the road none of 
 us dare to stray for a couple of miles for fear of 
 being robbed. A body of Englishmen on one 
 occasion plundered and beat no less than fifty 
 Spaniards. The Councillors know all about it, but 
 they shut their eyes. The number of thieves in the 
 country is quite incredible. They go about sometimes 
 twenty together. There is neither justice nor fear 
 of God. . . . For us there is no justice at all. The 
 King commands us to raise no questions, but whilst 
 we are here to put up with everything and suffer 
 all their spite without a word. So, of course, they 
 treat us badly and despise us. When we have 
 complained to Bribiesca (the magistrate) and to the 
 ambassadors, they tell us that it is to his Majesty's 
 interest that we should overlook everything. This 
 marriage will have been of small use if this Queen 
 does not have a child, of which I am not at all sure. 
 When we were. in Castile they said that as soon as his 
 Highness was King of England we should be masters 
 of France. The opposite is the case, for the French 
 are now stronger and more aggressive than ever in 
 Flanders. . . . Kings in this country do not command 
 more than if they were subjects. The real rulers 
 are the Councillors, who are not only masters of 
 the country but masters of the King as well. They 
 are all lords, some enriched by the plunder of the 
 monasteries, some by inheritance, but they are much 
 more feared and reverenced than the Sovereign. 
 They say now that they will not let his Highness 
 go unless the Queen and they please, as this realm 
 is quite big enough for a King without any others. 
 
90 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 Seeing what they are, I should not wonder if they 
 do it, . . . for they know how hard pressed we are in 
 Flanders and are glad of it ; . . . they would not care 
 a farthing if Flanders were lost, and his Majesty with 
 it. The King and Queen enter London to-morrow, 
 and I am sure we ought not to do so, seeing the way 
 they are treating the Spaniards already there. Not 
 only do they not provide lodgings for them, insulting 
 them as if they were savages, but they rob them 
 in the inns. As for the friars who came with his 
 Majesty, they had better have stayed at home, for^ 
 these English are so wicked and godless that they 
 even maltreat friars, and these dare not leave their 
 lodgings. Don Pedro de Cordova and his nephew, 
 Don Antonio, are knights, and the people wanted 
 to strip them of their habits the other day, making 
 fun of them and asking them why they wore those | 
 crosses on their coats." 
 
 On the day that this was written Philip and ; 
 Mary and their Court in state barges rowed from 
 Richmond to Southwark, where they landed at the 
 Bishop of Winchester's house, and after killing a fat 
 buck in Southwark Park, slept at the palace which 
 stood upon the site of the present London Bridge 
 Station, in order to start betimes in the morning of 
 the next day across London Bridge, and so through 
 the capital to Whitehall. All the fifty gibbets in the 
 streets upon which Wyatt's men had hanged were 
 cleared away ; the heads of the noble malefactors on 
 the spikes at the Bridge-foot were no longer to be 
 seen. All that paint and gilt and pageantry and 
 pleasant looks could do to make the dour Londoners 
 think well of the Queen's Consort was done. Gog 
 and Magog in new suits stood at the drawbridge that 
 
PHILIP ENTERS LONDON 91 
 
 spanned the space from London Bridge end to the 
 Southwark shore. Triumphs stood at the street 
 corners, one of the first, that in Gracechurch Street, 
 containing the maladroit statue of Henry VIII. with 
 the Bible labelled Verbiim Dei in his hand, that 
 so much moved Bishop Gardiner's wrath. ^ Past 
 kneeling aldermen and velvet-clad guildsmen, and with 
 a great train of splendid courtiers, Philip and his 
 English wife rode through the silent crowds, whilst 
 the guns of the White Tower thundered what was 
 at the same time a salute to the King and a warning 
 to the people. The official greetings were, as usual, 
 extravagantly fulsome. That borne by Gog and 
 Magog is thus translated — 
 
 " O Noble Prince, sole hope of Caesar's side, 
 By God appointed all the world to guide, 
 Right harteley welcome art thou to our land. 
 The archer Britayne yieldeth thee her hand ; 
 And noble England openeth her bosom 
 Of hartie affection for to bid thee welcome : 
 But chiefly London doth her love vouchsafe, 
 Rejoicing that her Philip has come safe. 
 She seeith her citizens love thee on each side 
 And trusts they shall be happy of such a guide, 
 And al do thinke that thou art sent to their citie 
 By th' only means of God's paternal pitie, 
 So that their minde, voice, study, power and will, 
 Is only set to love thee, Philip, still" — * 
 
 and from Gracechurch to Whitehall tributes in Latin 
 verse even more eulogistic than this greeted the man 
 whose very presence the great mass of the people had 
 been taught to dread. All the Philips that ever lived 
 
 ^ Queen Jane and Queen Mary (Camden Society), Foxe's 
 Acts and Monuments, and other contemporary chronicles. 
 = John Elder's Letter, Camden Society. 
 
92 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 were dwarfed, he was told, by such a paragon of 
 excellence as himself; Orpheus had not such power 
 to move as by his eloquence could this reticent, 
 mumbling Philip, who spoke but little of any language 
 but his own. 
 
 '' In like case now, thy grace of speech so franke, 
 Doth comfort us whose minds afore were bleak 
 And therefore England giveth thee harty thanke 
 Whose chiefest joy is to hear thee PhiHp speke."' 
 
 Mary herself could see no evil in her husband, 
 and we are told that she was highly gratified 
 at all this dithyrambic praise of him. As they 
 dismounted at Whitehall Gate, and she led him, 
 all smiles, into the great presence chamber, Mary 
 and Philip seemed to onlookers an ideally happy 
 couple, notwithstanding the difference in their ages. 
 Ruy Gomez, writing on the 24th August to Eraso 
 in Spain, says : " The King entertains the Queen 
 excellently, and well knows how to pass over 
 what is not attractive in her for the sensibility of the 
 flesh. He keeps her so pleased that verily when 
 they were together the other day alone she almost 
 made love to him and he answered in the same 
 fashion. As for these gentlemen {i.e., the English 
 nobles), his behaviour towards them is such that 
 they themselves confess that they never yet had a 
 King in England who so soon won the hearts of 
 all men." 2 
 
 Philip, indeed, had by his tact and amiability already 
 begun to break down the hatred and distrust that had 
 heralded his approach. At the period of the state 
 
 ^ John Elder's Letter, Camden Society. 
 =^ MSS. Simancas, Estado 808. 
 
PHILIP'S TACTFULNESS 93 
 
 entry into London, a diarist writing in the Tower 
 of London no doubt only reflected the general feeling 
 of apprehension when he wrote : " At this time there 
 were so many Spaniards in London ; that a man should 
 have met in the street for one Englishman about 
 four Spaniards, to the great discomfort of the English 
 nation. The Halls (i.e., of the City companies) taken 
 up for the Spaniards." ^ In actual fact the number 
 of Spanish servants and followers left to Philip at the 
 time was very few — less than a dozen noblemen with 
 their respective households, probably not more than 
 two or three hundred people at most ; and as time 
 wore on, and it was seen that no attempt was made 
 by Philip and his countrymen to interfere with the 
 English, the influence of the King personally being 
 recognised as invariably on the side of conciliation, 
 a more equable frame of mind became general. News 
 had come that the Emperor and his son had detained 
 Cardinal Pole on the way to England, and had vetoed 
 the extreme Papal policy with which he had at first 
 been entrusted ; and it was seen also that Mary her- 
 self, as well as her husband, assumed a desire to avoid 
 drawing England into hostility with France, which 
 was the great fear of the English people. 
 
 Noailles had not been bidden to the marriage, and 
 had only been coldly and tardily invited to the state 
 entry, which invitation he refused. But on the 21st 
 August, whilst the Queen was at Whitehall, the French 
 ambassador could hardly avoid offering some form 
 of congratulation, for it was of the highest importance 
 that England should not be driven to espouse the 
 Emperor's war. Noailles was as grudging as possible 
 in his felicitations, dryly commenting upon the fact 
 ^ Queen Jane and Queen Mary. 
 
94 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 that he had not been asked to the wedding, but 
 hoped that it would not interfere with the friend- 
 ship between England and France. Mary was most 
 emphatic in her assurance that the peace would never 
 be broken on her side, and as the ambassador left the 
 Queen's presence, somewhat reassured, he turned to 
 Bishop Gardiner, who was conducting him, and said 
 that if there was no objection he would like to salute 
 Philip also. The Bishop was delighted, and conducted 
 Noailles at once to the King, to whom the ambassador 
 expressed a hope that the peace which had existed 
 so long between England and France would not be 
 imperilled by the coming of a Spanish Consort to 
 England. He, for his part, would do his best to 
 prevent any rupture. Philip called Gardiner to him 
 and, speaking in Latin, told him to reply to Noailles, 
 that although he understood French he did not speak 
 it. " He had sworn," he said, " both before and after 
 his arrival in England, to maintain all the friendships 
 and alliances existing between this and other countries, 
 and he would keep his word faithfully. For his part 
 the peace should not be broken so long it served the 
 interests of England." ' 
 
 Noailles partly suspected what to us now is clear, 
 namely, that all this suavity and tolerance on the part 
 of the Prince of the proudest nation on earth was 
 only a part of the deep-laid plan of the Emperor 
 to obtain for his son the full control of English policy^ 
 that the marriage treaty had withheld from him. 
 Mary probably suspected this as little as any one. 
 Her position was extremely difficult. She was by 
 this time really in love with her husband, and was 
 deeply desirous of pleasing him ; she was anxious 
 * Ambassades de Noailles, vol. iii. 311. 
 
PHILIP'S STATESMANSHIP 95 
 
 for the aggrandisement of Spain, which would mean, 
 she thought, the triumph of the Church over heresy 
 in Europe, and the consoHdation of her own throne. 
 But she knew that her people dreaded above all 
 things being dragged into a war with their nearest 
 neighbour in a quarrel which did not concern them : 
 she was an English Queen determined, so far as in 
 her lay, to govern for the benefit of her country, 
 and to her the only road to safety seemed to strive 
 her hardest to bring about a peace between the two 
 antagonists before England was involved in the war. 
 Pole had also been entrusted by the Pope with the 
 mission of pacifying the Emperor and Henry II., and 
 was as earnest in his efforts to do so as was Mary 
 herself. From Brussels, where he had been kept chaf- 
 ing impotently, he had gone to Paris on his mission of 
 peace, but the French arms were on the whole in 
 the ascendant at the time, and he returned to Flanders 
 unsuccessful.^ 
 
 These efforts of Mary, Pole, and Gardiner, to recon- 
 cile France and Spain, received no active help from 
 Philip and his father. The object of the Emperor was 
 to cripple France by the aid of England, not to patch 
 up another temporary peace with her, and the whole 
 tendency of the Imperial policy was to obtain complete 
 control over England as the first step to this principal 
 object. The Emperor had always used religion when 
 necessary as an instrument for political ends, and it 
 is not surprising that the English Catholic Churchmen 
 should regard his present attitude towards the Catholic 
 party as inconsistent. Gardiner, Pole, Bonner, and 
 
 * Letters from both Mary and Pole to the King of France 
 advocating the conclusion of Peace are in Ambassades de 
 Noailles, vol. iii. 323-4. 
 
96 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 the rest of them, who had never yearned for the 
 Spanish connection, thought, perhaps correctly, that 
 they could have restored England to the Church more 
 speedily and safely if they had been unencumbered 
 by the unpopular marriage. Mary, for whom the 
 question was complicated by considerations of her 
 personal maintenance upon the throne, thought other- 
 wise, and wisely the Churchmen had made the best 
 of the position. But they had no intention, if they 
 could help it, of slackening in their own purpose, or 
 of allowing the restoration of their faith in England 
 to be retarded or imperilled for the political interests 
 
 ^of the Emperor ; and the harsh action of Bonner 
 particularly, supported as it was by Gardiner, caused 
 bitter complaints amongst the English people, and 
 something approaching dismay in the Spanish party 
 of Mary's Council. 
 
 i Throughout the home and eastern countries^ where 
 Protestantism was strong, the action of the priests 
 gave rise to constant brawls, the actors of which 
 were unfortunately not proceeded against by the 
 civil authorities but by ecclesiastics on the charge 
 of heresy. Philip, by means of his friends on the 
 Council, did his best to discourage these tactics, 
 for which he saw he would unjustly have to suffer 
 the unpopularity. Whilst Philip and his wife were 
 living at Hampton Court, in September, there was 
 a wild rumour in London that twelve thousand 
 Spanish troops were on their way to land in England 
 and seize the Crown, ^ and almost simultaneously 
 people indignantly whispered that the Archbishopric 
 
 _of Canterbury was to be given to a Spanish friar. 
 The most extravagant false news, too, was current 
 * Queen Jane and Queen Mary. 
 
RELIGIOUS TROUBLES 97 
 
 that many leading noblemen and Councillors had 
 been proclaimed traitors, amongst them Pembroke, 
 Shrewsbury, Westmorland ; that Dr. Petre had 
 been dismissed from the Council ; that the Marquis 
 of Winchester had been forced to give Basing 
 House to the Queen ; that the King and Queen, 
 in violation of the ordinary English traditions, had 
 become inaccessible to the lieges ; ^ and much else of 
 the same sort, evidently designed to keep up the 
 irritation against the Spanish Consort, who, for his 
 part, was using every means to ingratiate himself with 
 his poor faded wife 2 and her suspicious subjects. 
 
 It is obvious that, so far as religion alone was 
 concerned, the great majority of English people 
 would have been ready without demur to accept 
 Catholicism again if it had come without the foreign 
 mark upon it, and the moderative policy of the 
 Emperor was dictated solely by the political aim 
 of conciliating the minority, who it was thought 
 would be most strongly opposed to Spanish influence. 
 For this the Churchmen cared nothing, whilst the 
 Protestants and French party, instead of being con- 
 ciliated by the King's attitude, naturally seized upon 
 the ecclesiastical prosecutions, which he deprecated, 
 still further to discredit him. Pole in the meanwhile 
 
 ^ Queen Jane and Mary, and Holingshed. 
 
 ^ We get at this time (October, 1554), whilst the royal couple 
 were at Hampton Court, a glimpse of their life together. " As 
 for newes you shall understand that the King's and Queen's 
 Majesties be in helth and merry, whom I did see daunce 
 togethers uppon Sunday night at the Court, where was a brave 
 maskery of cloth of gold and silver apparailed in mariners 
 garments, the chief dper whereof I think was my lord Admiral." 
 — Francis Yaxley to Sir W. Cecil, Landsdown MSS. (Cotton), 
 vol. iii. 44. 
 
98 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 was growing restive. He was a man of high and 
 unselfish aims, a true Catholic as well as a true 
 Englishman, and he resented his exclusion from his 
 own country at the bidding of a foreign potentate 
 after his long exile for the cause of his faith. His 
 letters of exhortation to Mary and to Philip are 
 throughout inspired by the Churchman's zeal, and not 
 infrequently by scorn of the opportunist policy which 
 was, in his view, hampering the prompt and complete 
 return of his country to the Church.^ 
 
 Almost from Mary's accession Cardinal Pole had 
 been held back from his mission by the action of 
 the Emperor, thanks mainly to the complaisancy of 
 the new Pope Julius III. The great difficulty was 
 1 the question of the restitution of the Church property 
 which had been confiscated in the previous reigns. 
 There were few noble courtly families in England 
 which had not indeed been enriched from this source ; 
 and the Emperor expressed his opinion to Pole that 
 the English people cared neither for one form of 
 faith or the other, so long as they could keep their 
 property. 2 " Pole," said the Venetian ambassador at 
 Brussels, "might beg for permission to go to England 
 for ten thousand years without avail, unless he went 
 with the briefs confirming the alienation of the 
 Church properties : for if the Church insists upon 
 reclaiming them disorder will prevail throughout the 
 country." 
 
 At last the Cardinal had to accept the inevitable, 
 not without some bitterness of heart,3 and steps 
 
 - Venetian Calendar. = Ibid. 
 
 3 In the Venetian Calendar, 2ist September, 1554, there is 
 a dignified letter from Pole to Philip reproaching him for 
 allowing him, a Prince of the Church, an Englishman exiled 
 
THE COMING OF POLE 99 
 
 were taken in the Parliament, which met at West-._ 
 minster early in November, to reverse the act of-j_ 
 attainder against him. His coming was regarded' 
 in some sense by the country as that of a restraining 
 force upon the dreaded Spanish influence in the 
 English Councils. He was known to be single- 
 minded in his attachment both to the Church and 
 to England. He was not ambitious, and had nothing 
 to gain by serving as a tool for anti- English forces, 
 whilst his rank, his ability, and his good repute 
 promised that his authority would be great, even if 
 necessary, against the foreign King-Consort. On 
 the 5th November, 1554, a deputation was despatched 
 by Mary, consisting of Lords Paget and Hastings 
 and Sir William Cecil, to invite Pole to England, 
 not ostensibly as Legate, but as Cardinal and 
 ambassador, on condition that the Pope would 
 consent to the present owners of the ecclesiastical 
 lands being left unmolested. Renard had already 
 been sent over to Flanders to persuade Pole of the 
 need for this proviso, and had returned successful^^. 
 The Cardinal was ready, and rejoiced greatly when 
 Sir John Mason, the English ambassador, told him 
 the news ; though, '* Marry, quoth he, you know 
 I am at this present, as it were, in another's 
 ward [keeping]. — I must depart when it please the 
 Emperor, who is not at all times to be spoken 
 withal. I have already one sent to M. d' Arras 
 {i.e., Granvelle) to be my mean to have access 
 to his Majesty to take my leave. . . . Marry, the 
 truth is that they have had as yet no news out of 
 
 for Mary's sake half a lifetime, and a Legate of the head of the 
 Church, thus to knock at the door of his country unheeded by 
 a Catholic King. 
 
loo TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 England of the Queen's determination. "^ Mason 
 assured the Cardinal that it was all settled and that 
 the embassy named had been despatched to fetch 
 him. 
 
 Ttiis news Mason also carried to the Emperor, 
 who was better and brighter than he had been for 
 years, for he knew that Pole would now go only 
 to carry out his policy, so far as regarded restitution, 
 and he was already full of hope that a child was 
 to be born to Philip and Mary. That, indeed, 
 would be to fix the hand of Spain upon England 
 for at least long enough for his great purpose to be 
 effected. In answer to an inquiry as to the Queen's 
 state, somewhat too coarsely worded to be quoted 
 verbatim here, Mason was able on this occasion to 
 inform the Emperor that : "I understand to my 
 great joy and comfort that her garments wax very 
 strait." " I never doubted, quoth the Emperor, of 
 the matter ; but that God, who had for her wrought 
 so many miracles, could make the same perfect by 
 assisting nature to His good and most desired work. 
 And I warrant it shall be, quoth he, a man child. Be 
 it man or woman, quoth I, welcome shall it be : for 
 by that shall we come to some certainty, to whom 
 God shall appoint by succession the government of 
 our State. . . . Doubt not, quoth he, God will 
 provide both with fruit and otherwise : so as I trust 
 to see yet that realm to return to a great piece of 
 that surety and estimation that I have seen it in 
 my time." 2 Here, indeed, the wish was father to 
 the thought. For some weeks past it had been 
 
 I Mason to the Queen and King, 9th November, Foreign 
 Calendar. 
 - Ibid. 
 
POLE'S ARRIVAL loi 
 
 whispered at Hampton Court that the Queen was 
 with child, though Mary herself refused to confirm 
 it or otherwise ; but to the Spanish party such a 
 fact was all-important, and the Emperor's jubilation 
 was heart-felt. Noailles, on the other hand, scoffed 
 incredulously at what he asserted was only a con- 
 spiracy to cheat the English people into giving Philip 
 greater power and importance in the country, and 
 he quotes as an instance of the way in which the 
 hope was regarded by English people, a scurrilous 
 placard on the subject which, he says, was nailed tq^ 
 the door of Whitehall Palace. 
 
 Cardinal Pole, already ailing and elderly, was 
 carried in his litter with great ecclesiastical state from 
 Brussels to Calais, and crossed the Channel as soon as 
 news reached him that the Parliament at Westminster 
 had reversed his attainder. Travelling by road, as 
 usual, from Dover to Gravesend, he found awaiting 
 him at the latter port King Philip's own state barge 
 to convey him to Westminster. On his way to 
 London, on Saturday, 24th November, he was met by 
 all the English Catholic Bishops and the Lords of 
 the Council in their barges, and then, leading the 
 imposing procession with uplifted crosier before him, 
 the English Cardinal, in his rochet, tippet, and scarlet 
 hat, passed up the London river to the palace of his 
 royal ancestors. 
 
 King Philip was at dinner at Whitehall when 
 news came to him that the Cardinal's barge had 
 shot the dangerous rapids formed by the narrow 
 arches of London Bridge. Rising from the table 
 at once the King descended to the landing-stage 
 of the Palace as the state barge was approaching 
 it. With uncovered head and respectful mien Philip 
 
I02 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 greeted the great English Churchman with more 
 honour than he might have shown to any sovereign 
 prince, leading him on his right hand through the 
 alleys and galleries to the entrance to the hall, where 
 at the head of the stairs stood Queen Mary. Making 
 a profound obeisance to the huge uplifted cross which 
 preceded her husband and Pole, she advanced to meet 
 them, Pole kneeling at her approach. Curtseying 
 low and kissing her kinsman the Queen assisted him 
 to rise, and then between him and her husband she 
 led the way to the canopy, where for half an hour in 
 polyglot converse, for Pole had lost some of his 
 English, and Philip knew little Italian, Mary must 
 have been for once in her life happy. ^ 
 
 Nothing could exceed the honour shown by the 
 Sovereigns to Pole, for it was Philip's policy to win 
 him over entirely to his side, and Mary was over- 
 joyed at the prospect of the full reconciliation of 
 her country with the Papacy on conditions that 
 seemed to promise general harmony. The people, 
 
 ,.too, who knew Pole's history, welcomed him warmly. 
 
 THe, like Mary herself, had been unjustly used, and 
 his family judicially murdered ; he was virtuous, 
 upright, and honest,^ and above all, in the eyes 
 of the populace, he represented an English force 
 strong enough to champion the cause of his country- 
 
 ,jnen, if needs be, against the Spanish faction. Pole 
 
 ' Enriquez's narrative (Sociedad de Bibliofilos) and John 
 Elder's letter, Camden Society. Queen Jane and Queen 
 Mary. 
 
 ' John Elder says that, as an instance of Pole's good repute, 
 that when he (Elder) was in Rome it was a common saying there, 
 not only amongst Englishmen, but amongst Italians as well, 
 " Polus Cardinalis natione Anglus pietatis et literarum testimonio 
 dignus, non qui Polus Anglus, sed qui Polus angelus vocetur.^' 
 
CARDINAL REGINALD POLE, PAPAL LEGATE AND ARCHBISHOP OF 
 CANTERBURY 
 
 AFTER A PAINTING BY SEBASTIANO DEL TIOMBO 
 
RECEPTION OF POLE 103 
 
 was lodged at Lambeth Palace, from which the 
 unhappy Cranmer had been sent to the Tower, and 
 on the day of the Cardinal's arrival in London, Mary T 
 offered him the primacy, an offer which Pole for the 
 moment put aside until, as he said, he had done his 
 errand as papal ambassador. For the next three 
 days Pole and the Sovereigns were closeted for 
 hours together settling the preliminaries for the 
 formal return of England to the papal fold, and 
 Philip himself on one occasion, breaking through 
 all the traditions of his house, crossed alone to 
 Lambeth and remained with Pole for the entire 
 afternoon. 
 
 At length, on Wednesday, 28th November, all was 
 ready, and in the great hall of the Palace the 
 assembled Lords and Commons were gathered in the 
 presence of the Queen and King to receive the 
 Pope's representative. Outside the people were still 
 saying — to the horror of the Spanish listeners — that the 
 Pope was only a man, after all, and could do no more 
 than other men ^ ; but here, in Mary's Parliament, 
 no inharmonious note was sounded, as the Lord 
 Chancellor, Bishop Gardiner, rose and introduced the 
 Cardinal as the messenger from the Apostolic Pontiff. 
 Pole, speaking from the second stage of the dais just 
 beyond the canopy, begged in Latin permission of the 
 Queen to address the assembly in English ; which 
 granted, he spoke first feelingly of his long unjust exile 
 and the persecution of his House, his attachment to the 
 land of his birth through all his trouble, and then he 
 launched into an eloquent appeal for the reunion of 
 England to the Church. He praised the Emperor 
 for his sturdy defence of orthodoxy ; but said that 
 ^ Enriquez's narrative. 
 
I04 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 for some inscrutable reason God had not allowed him 
 to achieve his end. " But," continued Pole, " I can 
 well compare him [i.e., the Emperor] to David, 
 whiche thoughe he were a manne elected of God, yet 
 for that he was contaminate with bloode and war 
 could not builde the temple of Jerusalem, but left the 
 finishing thereof to his son Solomon, which was Rex 
 pacificus. So may it be thoughte that the appeasing 
 of controversies of religion in Christendom is not 
 appointed to this Emperor but rather to his son who 
 shal perfourme the building that his father hath 
 begun." I 
 
 When the long and moving extempore speech was 
 finished, the Queen desired Gardiner to express her 
 thanks and congratulations to the Cardinal, and to 
 desire Parliament to consider deeply his weighty 
 words. On that very day, as Noailles insisted for the 
 purpose of forwarding Pole's mission, official letters 
 were despatched in the Queen's name ordering that 
 thanksgiving and rogations should be offered in all 
 the churches for her pregnancy, now openly acknow- 
 ledged. Whatever the malicious Frenchman may 
 have said, it is quite incredible that Mary herself did 
 not believe the assertion of her condition, nor is it 
 likely that Philip thought otherwise, seeing the assur- 
 ances which, even in private letters, he gave to his 
 father on the subject.^ The Queen's subjects, too, 
 rejoiced exceedingly at the news, for a disputed 
 succession seemed to portend if Mary died childless. 
 But, in any case, the announcement was most oppor- 
 tune both for the success of Pole's mission, and for 
 another mission to be mentioned presently, which was 
 
 ^ John Elder's letter. 
 
 2 Papiers d'Etat de Granvelle, vol. iv. 
 
RECONCILIATION OF ENGLAND 105 
 
 nearer the Emperor's heart, and he had entrusted 
 secretly to Paget when he had gone to Flanders to 
 escort Pole to England. _ 
 
 On Thursday, 29th November, 1554, during the dis- 1 
 cussion of the ecclesiastical question in the House of 
 Lords, the lay peers roundly blamed the Bishops for 
 all the schism and trouble that had occurred. If they 
 had not been poltroons, and had refused to humour 
 King Henry in his repudiation of his wife ^ and his 
 defiance of the Holy See all would have been well, 
 said the laymen ; but recriminations apart, both Lords 
 and Commons promptly adopted, almost unanimously, 
 a resolution repealing the acts that separated England 
 from the Papacy, and authorising a commission of 
 twenty-four members of both Houses to beg the 
 Queen's approval of the resolution, and to present to 
 the papal ambassador the submission of the nation to 
 the head of the universal Church, begging for absolu- 
 tion and readmittance to the fold. The next day, St. 
 Andrew's Day, 30th November, the formal ceremony 
 was held in the Palace of Whitehall. That morning 
 Philip had gone to Mass at Westminster Abbey in 
 state with 100 German, 100 Spanish, and English 
 guards, all in new uniforms, 50 Flemish archers, and 
 150 smartly-clad pages, as if to mark the occasion as 
 one of special significance, and at five o'clock in the 
 afternoon the Cardinal in his pontifical vestments 
 rowed across from Lambeth, the King receiving him 
 at the foot of the Palace stairs. In the presence 
 chamber the Commissioners of Parliament presented 
 their petition to the Sovereigns through Lord Chan- 
 cellor Gardiner. Then the King and Queen rose, 
 and crossing to the Cardinal's chair, in attitude of 
 ^ Enriquez's narrative. 
 
io6 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 supplication asked him as the Pope's ambassador to 
 receive the submission of England ; after which the 
 Sovereigns, having returned to their thrones, Pole's 
 powers from the Pope were read, and the Cardinal in 
 an English discourse heartily welcomed the strayed 
 sheep into the fold again. ^ Kneeling, the whole 
 assembly received absolution and the apostolic blessing, 
 and England was recognised as a Catholic country 
 again. 
 
 To spectators of the scene, and especially to 
 Spaniards, this seemed to be an occurrence which for 
 importance surpassed all others of the time. Spain 
 burst out into uncontrollable rejoicing, and Philip, the 
 man who his countrymen thought had performed this 
 miracle by God's mercy, was more revered than ever. 
 Now indeed, with the almost certainty of a son to be 
 born and to succeed as King of a Catholic England in 
 close union with Spain, the Frenchmen must rest 
 content with a secondary place and the House of 
 Burgundy- Habsburg must lead. This view, to some 
 extent, was one that it suited Philip himself to promote 
 in England, and he left no stone unturned to impress 
 upon his wife's subjects the profound significance of 
 _the formal reconciliation of the country to the Papacy ; 
 a power which, when it had suited his father and 
 himself, they had flouted again and again, and which, 
 within a year under the new Pope, Paul IV., was to 
 denounce them both with invective more bitter than 
 was applied to the worst of heretics. 
 
 On the 2nd December, in great state, Philip rode 
 
 along Fleet Street and up Ludgate Hill to St. Paul's, 
 
 accompanied by the w^hole Court. From Lambeth 
 
 Pole had gone by water to Paul's Wharf, and thence in 
 
 ^ Enriquez's narrative. 
 
THE SUBMISSION OF ENGLAND 107 
 
 procession with crosses, banners, and censers to the 
 Cathedral, where he awaited the King's coming with 
 the Lord Mayor and Corporation of London. Side by ' 
 side the King and Cardinal, with a glittering train, 
 passed up the nave and out at the east end to St. 
 Paul's Cross, where, we are told, " with all the Lords 
 of the Council and with such an audience of people 
 as was never seen in that place before,"^ fiery 
 Gardiner preached a sermon upon the words of St. 
 Paul, " Brethren, know ye, that it is time we arose 
 from slumber " ; in which he exhorted his hearers to 
 shake off the evil dream of the past and salute the 
 new dawn. But not exhortation alone occupied 
 Gardiner's oration, for he hinted that all the ruin and 
 misery that England had suffered, *'all the abominable 
 heresies, synistrate and erroneous opinions, tumults 
 and insurrections," were owing to the " lack of 
 restraint " that had permitted such evils without due 
 punishm.ent. For, once more into the hands of the 
 priests, the rod had been delivered, and Gardiner had 
 no mind that it should lie idle. The famous sermon 
 was a threat to England, and the people who had 
 spoken lightly of the Pope for the last twenty years 
 looked askance not only at the Churchman who 
 threatened, but at King Philip, whose furthest thought 
 it was for the moment to light the fires of religious 
 persecution in the country, the enmity and suspicion 
 of which he was striving to lull to rest. 
 
 We are told by Philip's watchful gentleman-in- 
 waiting that he enjoyed his dinner well after Gardiner's 
 sermon, but the gentleman-in-waiting saw the surface 
 only. Philip was glad to have England back again 
 
 ^ Michaeli says that ten thousand people Hstened to the 
 sermon. 
 
io8 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 within the fold, though that was not the end, but 
 the means for him. Two days afterwards the long- 
 delayed Spanish cane tourney, perhaps the only one 
 ever held in England, was celebrated with great pomp 
 in the tiltyard at Whitehall. For many weeks the 
 bands of Spanish horsemen had been rehearsing the 
 mimic battle, in whiph opposing forces dressed in 
 splendid uniforms prance and caracol to within a few 
 yards of each other at full speed, and then, launching 
 cane javelins at their antagonists, wheel suddenly 
 away. The Queen and her ladies were dressed in 
 cloth of gold with solid sheet-gold coifs, all at the 
 King's expense, and the Queen must have been a 
 blaze of magnificence in her rich brocade, her over- 
 garment of crimson velvet lined with fur, and her 
 dress covered entirely with precious stones and sheet 
 gold spangles. Twelve thousand people, we are told, 
 looked on, as band after band of Spaniards pranced 
 into the arena, some in white velvet and gold, some 
 in blue and silver, some in black and gold ; and a 
 great ball and supper wound up the entertainment. 
 Three weeks later, the visit of Philip's heroic young 
 cousin, Emmanuel Philibert of Savoy, was an occasion 
 for further festivities of the same sort, although the 
 occasion of his coming was in itself far from a festive 
 one. The Prince was in command of the Emperor's 
 army, but in the clash of great empires he feared that 
 his own smaller interests were going to the wall, as 
 indeed they were. The war had prevented him from 
 accepting the invitation to Philip's wedding ; but in 
 September, 1554, he had sent an embassy headed by 
 Count Langosco to London to pray Philip to intercede 
 with the Emperor for him. Much of his paternal 
 territory was occupied by the French ; he had no 
 
SAVOY AND ELIZABETH 109 
 
 money even to pay the garrisons of Nice and the 
 other fortresses that remained to him, and he foresaw 
 the possibiHty that when France and the Emperor 
 made peace Savoy might be left in the hands of the 
 former. PhiHp was amiable but indefinite in his 
 reception of Savoy's embassy in London. A commis- 
 sion was sent to invest the Duke with the Order of 
 the Garter, and kind assurances of regard were ex- 
 changed, but Savoy wanted more than that, and when 
 his troops were in winter quarters he managed with 
 difficulty to raise enough money to run over personally, 
 in the last days of the year 1554, to see his cousin 
 Philip and his English wife for the purpose of urging 
 his own suit. It is usually assumed that the primary 
 object of his visit was to offer his hand to Princess 
 Elizabeth, but such was not the case.^ His handsome 
 presence and the fame of his military exploits made 
 him an attractive guest at Mary's Court, and both the 
 King and Queen were very favourably impressed by 
 him, Philip, indeed, to a great extent acceding to the 
 demands that brought him to London. 
 
 The idea of his marrriage with Elizabeth appears 
 first to have come from some of his Piedmontese 
 subjects, naturally anxious that the succession to his 
 ancient throne should be secured. Writing from 
 London in September, 1554, one of his ambassadors 
 says that if he were authorised to do so, he would 
 propose the match to King Philip. In any case, 
 some communication seemed to have passed between 
 Philip and the Savoy ambassadors on the subject, and 
 when Emmanuel Philibert arrived in London early in 
 
 ' Signer Clare tta has published (Pinerolo, 1892) an interest- 
 ing series of documents from the Turin Archives giving full 
 particulars of the visit. 
 
no TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 January, the question was further discussed. It was 
 a match that would have suited Philip admirably, and 
 he was prompt to adopt the idea. Emmanuel Phili- 
 bert himself was in no mood for wooing, for the 
 French had just captured another of his fortresses, 
 Ivrea, and it seemed to him politic to keep himself 
 free to marry a French princess, if necessary, as the 
 price of his restoration to his domains. Nor were the 
 obstacles in England to his marriage with Elizabeth 
 slight. To begin with, the Queen was opposed to 
 her sister's marriage at all without the consent of 
 Parliament, which would certainly refuse to authorise 
 a foreign match for the Princess, and especially 
 to a dispossessed Prince under the influence of the 
 Emperor. Nor did the Queen wish to give to 
 Elizabeth the additional importance and power which 
 would accrue to her from her marriage with a 
 sovereign. Philip, if we are to believe Michaeli, 
 was somewhat afraid of his wife, and did not dare 
 to press her too far in the matter "as she had a 
 terrible and obstinate temper." To the King's 
 Confessor, therefore, was entrusted the task of winning 
 over Mary. After much trouble he persuaded her so 
 far as to get her to promise to speak to the King 
 about it the next evening. This she did not do, and 
 it was believed that Pole had in the interval dissuaded 
 her. The opposition from Elizabeth was even more 
 decided. She was quite resolved, she said, neither to 
 marry nor to leave England. On the part of Savoy 
 also the terms proposed by Philip were held to be 
 quite out of the question, including as they did the 
 cession to Spain of the fortresses of Nice and Villa- 
 franca, in case any children were born to Emmanuel 
 Philibert and Elizabeth. It will be seen, therefore, 
 
SPANISH DISAPPOINTMENT in 
 
 that at this time the match was never probable, and 
 though Savoy was lodged in Elizabeth's palace, 
 Somerset House in the Strand, the Princess herself 
 was not even brought from her seclusion at Wood- 
 stock to see him.^ Emmanuel Philibert, impatient to 
 be gone, left England, though not empty-handed, to 
 resume his turbulent career after a three weeks' stay. 
 Philip had to a great extent overcome the personal/ 
 unpopularity which at his first coming he had to face ; 
 but the fear of the people that, sooner or later, 
 England would be dragged by the Imperialists into 
 war with France was stronger than ever, and the 
 Spanish followers of the King got on no better than 
 before with the English. One of the gentlemen-in- 
 waiting writes at this time, " We are in a pleasant 
 land, but amongst the worst people in the world, at 
 least of Christian nations, for these English people are 
 terrible enemies of Spain. It is easy to see that by 
 the many serious quarrels that take place between us 
 and them. Hardly a day passes without a slashing 
 match in the Palace between Englishmen and 
 Spaniards, and many have been killed on both sides. 
 Only last week, in consequence of a fight, they hanged 
 three Englishmen and a Spaniard, and every day 
 something of the sort happens. . . . We Spaniards go 
 about amongst these English people like fools, for 
 they are such barbarians that they do not understand 
 what we say, nor we them. They will not crown our 
 Prince, although he is a King now, nor will they 
 acknowledge him as their superior. They say that 
 he only came to help to rule the country and to 
 
 ' The assertion of so many historians that she came to White- 
 hall at Christmas, 1554, is erroneous. She did not come till the 
 end of April, long after Savoy's departure. 
 
112 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 beget a child, and that as soon as the Queen has 
 children he can go back to Spain. God send that it 
 may be soon, for he would be glad enough, and we 
 infinitely more so, to get away from such barbarous 
 folk." I To add to the tribulation of these dis- 
 appointed courtiers, they found prices in England ten 
 times higher than those they were used to, and they 
 were almost ruined by their necessary expenses, 
 besides being robbed, even of their cloaks, if they 
 .ventured out after dark in London. 
 
 To their chagrin, too, they saw great sums of 
 Spanish money, sorely needed, they knew, for the 
 Emperor's wars, being squandered upon English pur- 
 poses. Gresham had been allowed by the Emperor 
 to borrow for Mary and export from Spain ;^ 100,000, 
 an enormous sum in those days, and one which, 
 Gresham wrote, was terribly wanted in the country 
 itself. " I am not abell," he wrote, " with my pen to set 
 forthe unto you the greate scarsity that is now through 
 all Spayne. . ." And he adds later, " I fere that I 
 shall be the occasione they shuld all play bankrupt," 
 since one great bank had already suspended payment 
 in consequence of his operations.^ Apart from this, 
 Philip's own guard carried through London to the 
 
 ^ At this time (late in 1554) a large number of Spanish 
 shopkeepers and artisans had established themselves in London 
 under the erroneous belief referred to in an earlier page, that 
 the marriage of Philip meant their entering into possession of 
 the kingdom. This had been so much resented by the Londoners 
 that not only were attacks upon these people constant, as 
 recorded by Enriquez and others, but on the 12th October Mary 
 had been obliged to issue a decree commanding all Spanish 
 tradesmen to shut up their shops. This, of course, was a new 
 ^source of complaint with them. 
 2 Foreign Calendar. 
 
THE SEED AND THE HARVEST 113 
 
 Tower 97 chests of silver, estimated to contain 
 ^50,000 for his own expenditure,^ whilst Eraso 
 brought 250,000 crowns to England in January, 1555, 
 and the gentleman-in-waiting says that not only had 
 the King guaranteed a debt of the Queen's of 
 250,000 ducats, but he had distributed in bribes and 
 pensions to the Councillors and courtiers 30,000 
 
 ducats a year. 
 
 At length, with all these blandishments and prepara- / 
 tions, the Emperor and Philip thought after the 
 submission of Parliament to the Pope, that the time 
 had come when they might endeavour to reap the 
 harvest. Paget, in his interview with the Emperor in 
 Brussels, had been urged to represent to his col- 
 leagues on the English Council that the co-operation 
 of their country in his war against the French would 
 be of immense benefit to Christendom, and in a long 
 memorandum sent by Renard to Philip during the 
 session of Parliament, he discussed the various pre- 
 texts upon which a war between England and France 
 might be precipitated. But Bonner's harsh and 
 violent persecution disturbed men's minds. A great 
 conspiracy was discovered in the Eastern Counties in 
 which some of the Councillors were suspected of being 
 implicated, the main object being the marriage and 
 elevation to the throne of Courtenay and Elizabeth ; 
 and although Parliament passed an Act recognising 
 Philip as guardian of his expected heir in case of the 
 Queen's death, his own wish to be appointed Regent 
 in the event of her death without children, and his 
 present recognition and coronation as King, were 
 seen to be unrealisable in the state of public feeling, 
 and Parliament was dissolved on the i6th January 
 ' Queen Jane and Queen Mary. 
 
114 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 Still less was it possible to urge seriously that 
 England should declare war against France, and, 
 thanks to the efforts of Mary and Pole, another 
 attempt was made to bring about peace by means of 
 a Congress meeting at Calais. 
 
 So far from going to war for the Spaniards, the 
 people, indeed, were increasingly inclined to war 
 against them. King Philip's countrymen, moreover, 
 were far from sharing or even understanding his 
 tolerant affability in the face of the unjust suspicion 
 and insults to which they were daily subjected. 
 Affrays between them and the Londoners were more 
 frequent than ever, and although the hanging and 
 mutilation of offenders against the peace, English and 
 Spanish, was frequent, and Philip himself threatened 
 dire punishment to any of his suite who drew a knife 
 or shared in a brawl, the national hatred was so 
 strong that no penalties could stop the disorders. 
 In February, 1555, Renard wrote to the Emperor in 
 an alarming strain. He prayed most earnestly to be 
 allowed to return home when King Philip went to 
 Flanders, which he then intended to do in a few 
 weeks. He was certain, he said, that he (Renard) 
 would be murdered the moment the King's back was 
 turned. The heretics were cursing him for having 
 been the cause of bringing the Papists back to 
 England, the French party were vowing vengeance 
 against him for introducing the hated Spaniards to 
 domineer over free Englishmen, the Earl of Arundel 
 had sworn to be avenged upon him for frustrating his 
 plan to marry his son to Princess Elizabeth, and the 
 Duke of Northumberland's sons had already hired 
 four assassins to kill him.^ 
 
 ^ Papiers d'Etat de Granvelle, vol. iv. 
 
ENGLISHMEN AND SPANIARDS 115 
 
 In vain Philip urged moderation in the prosecution - 
 of heresy, and one of his chaplains, Alfonso de Castro, 
 publicly in an outspoken sermon denounced the 
 burning of heretics as opposed to the true spirit of 
 Christ. But Bonner and Gardiner pursued their stern 
 way, and most of the odium of their proceedings fell 
 upon the King and his countrymen. The Queen, 
 herself in a fool's paradise of hope and joy, thought 
 of nothing but the coming glory of maternity. The 
 country itself was awaiting the event as one that was 
 to decide, so far as could be seen, its future fate. 
 Ominous mutterings of the fell bonfires that had 
 already begun in Smithfield were common enough, 
 and the factions in the Eastern Counties were as active 
 as ever beneath the surface, notwithstanding their 
 ruthless suppression. The English exiles in France 
 were being made much of in the Court of Henry II., 
 and loaded with favours, whilst Noailles in London 
 kept in close touch with the elements of discontent at 
 home. In the circumstances Philip's intention to 
 obey his father's summons to Flanders soon after the 
 dissolution of Parliament had to be postponed, at least 
 until the expected confinement of the Queen in April 
 had cleared the air and settled men's minds. 
 
 In the meanwhile Philip continued to do his best' 
 to maintain his popularity, counselling prudence to the 
 zealous bishops, lavishing money on courtiers, inter- 
 ceding gently for Elizabeth and Courtenay, and taking 
 active part in the showy military exercises which the 
 English loved, but which for him had no attraction. ^ 
 
 ^ On occasion of a grand tilting at Whitehall on the 25th 
 March twenty gentlemen made a brilliant show, and Philip 
 distinguished himself so much that the Queen became anxious 
 and apprehensive, sending to beseech him, as he had run 
 
ii6 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 In March, Courtenay from his prison at Fotheringham 
 wrote to Philip, saying that, as by the King's inter- 
 cession with the Queen so many persons had been 
 released, he prayed for his mediation in his favour, 
 very submissively beseeching his protection and that 
 he would deign to accept his service. This happened 
 at the very time that the new conspiracy was dis- 
 covered, but Courtenay was almost as dangerous in 
 an English prison as free, and, thanks to Pole's 
 support of Philip's efforts, and on the understanding 
 that he would accompany the English embassy to 
 Flanders and Rome, Courtenay was summoned to 
 Court and graciously received by the Queen and her 
 
 ^husband. 
 
 ^ Much more important, and doubtless intended to be 
 so by Philip, was his successful intercession for 
 Elizabeth. The Princess, as we have seen, was not 
 brought to London to receive the visit of her would- 
 be suitor, the Duke of Savoy, in January; for her own 
 resistance to the match, and Mary's reluctance to 
 restore her fully in blood, which would have been 
 necessary if her marriage with Savoy was to serve 
 Spanish ends, had nipped that plan in the bud. 
 But now, in April, to the great delight and surprise 
 of the people, the Queen's sister was summoned with 
 graciousness from her seclusion at Woodstock to the 
 Palace of Whitehall. Michaeli, who was a keen 
 observer, attributes her release and presence at Court 
 before the expected confinement of the Queen to 
 the fear of the Spanish party that in case of Mary's 
 death " the King's safety would depend more upon 
 
 so many courses and done enough, not to encounter any 
 further risk for her sake. He also attended another grand 
 tilt at the weddings of Lords Maltravers and Fitzwalter in the 
 following month. 
 
ELIZABETH AT COURT 117 
 
 her than upon any other person ; not only from his 
 hope of being able, with the help of the nobles here 
 whom he has gained by rewards, to succeed to the 
 Kingdom by marrying her, it being not improbable 
 that she herself will incline that way, as she knows 
 his behaviour and character ; but even should she 
 and the country refuse this, yet by her presence, she 
 being in his power, he would be able to secure himself 
 against any rising against him and his followers, and 
 they might by her means get away safely." ^ 
 
 Elizabeth came very quietly to Hampton Court late 
 in April, and was lodged in the apartment which the 
 Duke of Alba had recently vacated. It is evident 
 that her presence was desired by Philip more for his 
 own security than for the sake of the Princess, as she 
 only saw her sister and Philip in strict privacy on two 
 or three occasions. Whilst in this close seclusion 
 Elizabeth had at least one long private interview with 
 Philip alone at the Queen's request, his object 
 evidently being to induce the Princess to confess her 
 fault and throw herself upon her sister's clemency. 
 But Elizabeth was wary and would not commit 
 herself. When a few weeks afterwards Gardiner on 
 his knees urged the same advice upon her, she replied 
 that she had not offended and asked no mercy of any 
 one. A week later the Queen herself tried her han4 
 upon her recalcitrant sister. She had not seen her 
 since she sent her to the Tower two years before, 
 and when the unexpected summons to the presence 
 came to Elizabeth late at night the young Princess 
 gave herself up for lost. " Pray forme," she said to 
 her attendants as she left the apartment, " for I know 
 not whether you will ever see me more." Across the 
 ^ Venetian Calendar. 
 
ii8 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 dark garden Elizabeth was led between Sir Henry 
 Bedingfield and Mistress Clarencius to the foot of a 
 small back staircase to the Queen's rooms. Leaving 
 her attendant outside, the Princess was conducted by 
 Clarencius alone to the Queen's presence in the 
 bedchamber. Kneeling, Elizabeth besought her 
 sister to believe in her loyalty in spite of calumnies. 
 " You will not confess your offence, but stand stoutly 
 in your truth ? " asked Mary sternly. " I pray God 
 it may so fall out." *' If it doth not," replied the 
 Princess, "I request neither favour nor pardon at your 
 Majesty's hand." The Queen drily suggested that 
 her sister would probably say that she had been 
 unjustly punished, but Elizabeth deftly turned the 
 point by a fervent reiteration of her dutifulness and 
 loyalty, and Mary, apparently somewhat mollified, dis- 
 missed her sister not unamiably. 
 
 Foxe, who describes the scene," says that it was 
 believed that Philip listened behind the arras to what 
 passed at the interview, and "that he showed himself 
 a very friend in that matter." Certain it is that on 
 several occasions after Elizabeth had succeeded to the 
 throne he claimed her gratitude or consideration for 
 having on one occasion rescued her from grave peril, 
 and it is probable that this may have been the occasion 
 referred to. There were many reasons beyond the 
 temporary one already mentioned that explain 
 Philip's solicitude for Elizabeth's life. Failing Eliza- 
 beth, and any possible issue of the Queen, the next 
 heir to the English throne by natural law was the 
 young Queen of Scots, practically a French princess 
 married to the heir of France. Better a thousand 
 times for Philip and his House that England should 
 ^ "Acts and Monuments." 
 
MARY'S HOPES OF AN HEIR 119 
 
 be ruled even by a heretic friendly to him than by 
 the staunchest Catholic under the control of the 
 hereditary enemy of the House of Habsburg. It must 
 have been clear to him, moreover, by this time that the 
 Reformation in England had not been crushed by 
 Mary's advent, and that a large proportion of the 
 people regarded France as a more desirable friend 
 than Spain. Nor could he shut his eyes to Elizabeth's 
 popularity, and to the fact that the enemies of his 
 faith and his House looked to the young Princess as 
 their head. So sagacious a politician would naturally 
 endeavour to gain the goodwill, even the disposal 
 in marriage, of a person so potentially powerful as 
 his young sister-in-law, who, in any case, was likely to 
 outlive his wife, and might if well handled perpetuate 
 the hold of Spain upon England, now depending upon 
 so tenuous a thread. 
 
 On the 30th April there came flying to London 
 from Hampton Court the news that the nation's 
 prayers had been heard, and that at midnight of the 
 29th a male child had been born to the Queen, happily 
 and well. Proclamation was made, joy bells rang, all 
 business was suspended, and processions from every 
 church perambulated the parishes with psalms of 
 thanksgiving for so signal a mercy. Public tables 
 were spread that all might freely eat and drink their 
 fill, whilst bonfires blazed in broad daylight, and the 
 people forgot for a moment the grim spectre of 
 persecution that might be perpetuated if the news 
 was true. But it was not true, and the sad disillusion- 
 ment came whilst yet the rejoicings were in full swing. 
 It was, said the Catholics, an invention of the enemy 
 in order to cause trouble ; but though this was possible, 
 for Noailles had never ceased to sneer at the assurance 
 
I20 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 of the Queen's condition, the open and ostentatious 
 preparations for the event that had been made at 
 Court were of themselves sufficient reason for the 
 rumour of the birth. The occurrence naturally dis- 
 tressed Mary, who kept her room thereafter for a time, 
 and at once a flood of scurrilous literature was 
 surreptitiously circulated in London, calumniating the 
 Queen, her husband, and all their friends. ^ 
 
 All through May the country stood on tiptoe of 
 expectation for the birth of the prince whose 
 coming meant so much apparently for the future 
 of Christendom. Mary, still deceiving herself, was 
 comforted by the sight of new-born babies brought 
 to her whose mothers were, it was said, as old 
 and as thin as she. Philip's solicitude, too, knew 
 no bounds. Every demonstration of affection was 
 lavished upon his wife, and nothing was allowed 
 to stand in the way of his anticipated joy. Although 
 in deep mourning for his grandmother, Jane the 
 Crazy, he ordered that the moment his expected 
 son was born all signs of mourning were to be 
 abandoned. His father was summoning him in- 
 cessantly, and he was yearning furiously to get 
 away, but he could not leave his wife whilst this 
 event was still pending. At last, at the end of 
 May, he gave permission for most of his Spanish 
 suite and his guards to cross the Channel in advance 
 of him. It was indeed time; for only a week before 
 a regular pitched battle between five hundred armed 
 EngHshmen and a body of Spaniards took place at 
 Hampton Court, many being killed and wounded 
 
 ^ Elizabeth's Italian master was arrested in connection with 
 one of these publications, called "A Dialogue." — Michaeli, 
 Venetian Papers. 
 
HOPES AND FEARS 121 
 
 on both sides ; ^ and the fires of Smithfield were 
 blazing freely now, to the almost open anger of 
 the people, who unjustly cast all the blame upon 
 the Spanish influence at Court. 
 
 There were other things, too, which made it 
 expedient for Philip to hurry to his father's side. 
 The Venetian ambassador went to see him at 
 Richmond at the beginning of June, and on their 
 way to chapel together Philip told Michaeli that 
 he had that moment received news from Brussels 
 that Cardinal Caraffa had been elected Pope. The 
 ambassador noticed that the King was disturbed 
 and unquiet at the news, as well he might be, 
 for the Neapolitan, Caraffa, was the bitterest foe 
 of Spain alive ; and this meant that the peace 
 which was being so painfully negotiated at Calais 
 would be frustrated, or in any case be of short 
 duration ; for in future the Spanish champion of 
 orthodoxy would have not only to contend against 
 the "eldest son of the Church," but against the 
 head of the Church himself,^ making common cause, 
 " not only with France, but with the Turk, and 
 if need be with the devil himself," to dwarf the 
 
 ^ Michaeli's advices, Venetian Calendar. 
 
 2 Michaeli on this visit mentions that he saw Queen Mary, 
 " who was looking very well ; for, placing herself every morning 
 at a small window, she likes to see the procession pass, which 
 at her desire, goes round the palace court, she most courteously 
 bowing her head in acknowledgment to all persons who salute 
 her ... as she did twice with extraordinary cheerfulness and 
 graciousness to the Portuguese ambassador and myself, we 
 having gone into the court to accompany the King to Mass, 
 and joined the procession on the invitation of the Lords of the 
 Council. Her Majesty expects and hopes during this week to 
 comfort the realm by an auspicious delivery, but the greater 
 part of her women think that she will go beyond." 
 
122 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 Spanish power in Italy and the Mediterranean. But, 
 urgent though Philip's presence elsewhere might 
 be, it was more urgent still in England until 
 safety came with the birth of his hoped for child. 
 Writing in June to the Emperor, Renard says 
 that everything hangs upon the happy issue of 
 that event. He continues: "The doctors and ladies 
 were two months out of their reckoning, and there is ~ 
 now no appearance of the affair happening for another 
 ten days. If, by God's mercy, she does well, 
 matters here will take a better turn ; but if not, 
 I foresee trouble, and a great disturbance, so great, 
 indeed, that the pen cannot express it. For it is 
 certain that they have managed so ill with regard 
 to the succession, that if anything untoward happens 
 Lady Elizabeth will have the preference, heresy 
 will take a new life and religion be overturned. 
 She being French in her leanings, the nation will 
 decline, the ecclesiastics will be persecuted, and 
 revenge will be more rife than ever. I am not 
 at all sure that the King and Court will be safe 
 from the people, and the final tragedy will be cala- 
 mitous. It is incredible to what extent this delay 
 in the birth affords to the partisans of Elizabeth 
 ground for the spread of false rumours. Some say 
 the Queen is not pregnant at all, and that if a 
 fitting child had been found there would not have 
 been so much delay." ^ 
 
 In this critical condition affairs remained for 
 many weeks longer, the Queen obstinately refusing 
 to give up her hope, which her women and phy- 
 sicians had already pronounced delusive. Hampton 
 
 ^ Renard to the Emperor, 27th June, 1555. — Papiers d'Etat 
 de Granvelle. 
 
MARY'S DISAPPOINTMENT 123 
 
 Court was overcrowded by gossiping courtiers ; 
 but none were allowed to see the Queen except a 
 few of her favourite ladies, and the whole of the 
 routine work of the Sovereign was done by Philip. 
 All this was, of course, known by the expectant 
 people in London, who saw daily church processions 
 for the Queen's safe delivery month after month, 
 until anxiety began to give place to ridicule. 
 Sometimes rumours ran that the Queen was dead, 
 and that the fact was being kept secret by Philip 
 in order that he mio-ht work his will in Engfland. 
 Religious feeling grew more bitter than ever, with 
 Bonner's ruthless persecution on the one hand and 
 fanatic sacriles^e on the other. To make matters 
 worse, the summer was the most inclement and 
 the harvest the scantiest that had been seen in 
 England for years, and discontent was everywhere. 
 At length, after another disappointment in July, 
 even poor, forlorn Mary herself was convinced that 
 she had been mistaken, and early in August she 
 dismissed the crowds of hangers-on from their 
 attendance at Court and moved with a smaller 
 following to Oatlands, where she gradually resumed 
 her ordinary routine again. ^ 
 
 Orders were given for the processions and roga- 
 tions of the Church to be discontinued, and Philip 
 was now faced with the fact that the splendid plot 
 of his father to capture the control of England by 
 marriage had practically failed, for Mary's health 
 was evidently bad, and her life promised to be a 
 short one. With it would end the hold of Philip 
 over England unless the Queen's successor could be 
 lured into the Spanish net. Little knew the Spaniards 
 ^ Michaeli, Venetian Calendar. 
 
124 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 yet what a wily bird it was that they hoped to snare. 
 But in the meanwhile it behoved Philip to make 
 the most of his opportunities whilst his wife lived. 
 He could delay his departure no longer, for his 
 father was peremptory now, and the urgent need 
 for his presence in England had passed. He was 
 as imperturbable as ever, still an attentive and 
 apparently an affectionate husband to the Queen, 
 though his gallantries to other ladies began to be 
 talked about somewhat openly. If the Queen were 
 of a jealous disposition, wrote the Venetian am- 
 bassador, she would indeed be unhappy ; to which 
 the reply may be made that she was jealous and 
 she was unhappy. Even now, on the very eve of 
 Philip's departure, she strove ardently to keep him 
 by her side, or at least to extract a pledge from 
 him that he would return to her within a month, 
 a promise which at last he gave, though to his own 
 Spanish confidants he said that if once he set foot, 
 in Spain again, he would never leave it on so poor 
 an occasion.^ 
 
 By the 20th August it became impossible to hide 
 any longer Philip's approximate departure. Every 
 day fresh parties of Spanish courtiers and atten- 
 dants were starting on the road from Gravesend to 
 Dover, and the rumour spread in London that, in 
 order to get away quietly, and so escape the notice 
 of the French, the King intended to go down the 
 river in Lord Arundel's barge and embark at Dover 
 secretly. The news was untrue, for Philip and 
 Mary went openly through London to Greenwich 
 to make preparations for the voyage ; though it 
 was jealously noted by the people that, although 
 ' Ambassades de Noailles, vol. v. 136. 
 
PHILIP'S DEPARTURE 125 
 
 Elizabeth was now at Court and on good terms 
 with the Queen, she was sent to Greenwich by 
 water, it was said in order that the people might 
 not see and cheer her.^ Mary was full of grief 
 and inconsolable at losing her husband even for 
 a month, and Philip, ostensibly full of solicitude, 
 specially confided the care of her to Pole. Orders 
 were given that the minutes of all the Privy Council 
 meetings, translated into Latin, were to be sent to 
 the King during his absence, and that no impor- 
 tant resolution was to be adopted without his 
 approval. Gardiner was already dying of jaundice 
 and dropsy, and in no case would have been trusted 
 by Philip ; but Pole was wise and amiable, and it 
 was hoped would prove a pliable instrument for 
 Spanish ends, advocated as they would be by the 
 Councillors already bribed in the Emperor's interest. 
 On the 26th August Philip and his wife left 
 Hampton Court by water for Westminster, where 
 they dined ; and in the afternoon, with great and 
 unaccustomed state, rode through London to Green- 
 wich Palace. It had been generally believed at 
 one time, and the fear still lingered, that Mary 
 was really dead, and it was thought necessary on 
 this occasion that all London should have an 
 opportunity of seeing her. At the head of the 
 cavalcade rode Philip with the Cardinal on his left 
 hand, followed closely by the Queen in an open 
 litter. But the French ambassador, who saw the 
 procession, sneered at the distrust shown by Philip 
 of the Londoners, for around him there were a 
 hundred of his archers of the guard, armed to the 
 teeth, with their morrions on their heads and their 
 ' Ambassades de Noailles, vol. v. 98. 
 
126 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 lances raised. ^ The joy of the people at seeing 
 the Queen again was great, for she was still popular 
 personally, though murmurs there were for the 
 absence of Elizabeth. Three days afterwards, on 
 the 29th August, 1555, Philip tore himself away 
 from his reluctant spouse. Mastering her grief in 
 public by a great effort, but with tear-reddened 
 eyes and drawn, pallid face, the Queen led her 
 husband composedly through the long suites of 
 rooms of the Palace of Greenwich ; though when 
 the members of Philip's Spanish household who 
 remained behind came one by one, and, kneeling, 
 kissed his hand, Mary for a time failed to control 
 her agitation : and she sobbed convulsively when 
 the English ladies of the Court, copiously weeping, 
 were kissed farewell in English fashion by the 
 gallant young king. With a last embrace Mary's 
 husband left her to enter the barge, whilst she 
 retired to her own apartment, where, leaning upon 
 the sill of an open window, and thinking herself 
 unobserved, she gave way to her sorrow uncon- 
 strained, whilst she watched the boat speed down 
 the river, bearing away all she loved on earth. 
 
 Philip played his part admirably to the last. Stand- 
 ing on the most conspicuous spot of the barge, he 
 continued to raise his hat and waft affectionate saluta- 
 tions to the royal watcher at the window, until a bend 
 in the river shut from his sight the Palace of Greenwich 
 and its mistress. The bitterest disappointment must 
 have been his. France was as far from being subdued 
 as ever, the Emperor was weary of the struggle, old 
 and sick at heart, and yearning to cast his burden upon 
 his son. Peace was absolutely necessary at almost 
 ' Ambassades de Noailles. 
 
PHILIP'S FAREWELL 127 
 
 any terms that the French would grant, for it was 
 now clear that England would not, even if she were able, 
 throw her resources into another's war at the bidding 
 of the King Consort. But Philip showed no sign 
 of defeat. Like a courteous high-bred gentleman, 
 smiling and debonair, he bade a fond farewell for a 
 month to his faded wife, whom, if he could have hi^_ 
 way, he wished never more to see.^ 
 
 ^ Michaeli to the Doge, 3rd September, 1555. — Venetian 
 Calendar. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 1555-1558 
 
 Religious persecution in England — Philip's attempts to restrain 
 it — His efforts to keep control of English policy — Elizabeth comes to 
 Court — Return of Philip to England — French intrigues — The English 
 drawn into the war — St. Quentin — Loss of Calais — Penury of the 
 English treasury — Illness and death of Mary — Feria's approaches to 
 Elizabeth 
 
 RENARD had been right in his prediction. 
 The moment that the restraining presence of 
 Philip was removed from England the eccle- 
 siastics carried things with a higher hand than ever.^ 
 Not only did the fires to burn heretics increase in 
 number, but proposals were made in the Council to 
 resume possession for the Church of the alienated first- 
 fruits and tithes, as well as the benefices in lay hands. 
 The minutes of the discussion were sent to Philip 
 
 ^ It must be recollected that Philip's tolerance and modera- 
 tion with regard to the extreme persecution of heresy in 
 England was purely a matter of policy, as his after life clearly 
 proved. At a later period, moreover, he actually claimed for 
 himself the credit of the religious persecution. Cabrera de 
 Cordoba quotes a letter from him to his sister Juana, in which 
 he says, " I, having diverted the realm [England] from the 
 sects and brought it into obedience to the Church, and having 
 always been in favour of the punishment of the heretics, which 
 is now being carried out so smoothly in England " (Cabrera, 
 
 " Vida de Felipe II."). 
 
 128 
 
PHILIP'S ENGLISH POLICY 129 
 
 in Flanders with the report of the publication of the 
 Bull confirming the possession by private people of 
 the confiscated monastery and Church lands. To the 
 latter Philip gives his readiest acquiescence ; but for 
 the proposal to restore the dues to the possession of 
 the Church he has nothing but doubt and evasion. 
 The question, he says, should be maturely discussed 
 by eight selected Councillors, who should report to 
 him before anything decisive is done, and he warns 
 them that in the forthcoming Parliament nothing must 
 be proposed without his prior consent. So, also, in 
 the matter of the English Navy. The Council reported 
 to him that the ships were mostly unseaworthy and 
 should be brought into the Thames for repair, whilst 
 the few good vessels should be reinforced and stationed 
 between Dover and Calais. There was nothingf that 
 Philip needed more than that the French should be 
 held in check in the Channel, and he is emphatic in 
 his endorsement of the Council's suggestion. " Eng- 
 land's chief defence depends upon its Navy being 
 always ready to defend the realm against invasion, 
 so that it is right that the ships should not only be 
 fit for sea but instantly available. , . . The vessels 
 ought to be stationed at Portsmouth, where they can 
 much more easily be brought into service." That 
 Philip had his own interests in mind quite as 
 much as those of England in the matter is seen by 
 what follows. " The King is the more inclined to this 
 course, as the Emperor has decided to sail for Spain 
 about the end of October . . . and has expressed 
 a wish that twelve or fourteen English ships should 
 escort him beyond Ushant. This makes the King 
 more anxious that these ships should be ready and in 
 excellent order ; so that, besides other necessary uses, 
 
I30 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 they may go upon this service, which will be especially 
 grateful to his Highness." ^ 
 
 Mary, it will be seen, counted for nothing. The 
 sole object in view was Philip's interests, and, although 
 decently cloaked with his usual bland professions of 
 his desire to serve England, everything he did at this 
 time was directed to using the country for his ends 
 whilst his wife lived. After that he would have to deal 
 with a new state of affairs. Another instance of the 
 postponement of English interests for his benefit is 
 seen in the delay in summoning Parliament until after 
 he had left England. The sole object of the session 
 was to raise money. Mary's Government was in the 
 deepest penury. Extravagance, corruption, and de- 
 moralisation existed everywhere in the administration ; 
 but pressing as was the need for funds, Philip could 
 not face the certain unpopularity that would have 
 fallen upon him if the demand for large taxation before 
 his departure had given a pretext to the suspicious 
 English for the belief that the money was being raised 
 Jfpr him. 
 
 In great state Mary, with Pole by her side, pro- 
 ceeded from St. James's Palace in a sort of throne- 
 litter on the 2ist October, 1555, to open Parliament 
 at Westminster, and Gardiner as Lord Chancellor, 
 now a dying man, appealed in the Queen's name for 
 liberal supplies to conduct the business of the nation. 
 It was his last effort, and though Parliament voted a 
 million crowns, to be paid in two years, the Chancellor 
 took no further share in public business, dying three 
 weeks after at Whitehall, whither he was carried from 
 the Parliament Chamber. The death of Gardiner 
 was an irreparable loss to Mary. The man had many 
 ? State Papers, Domestic, September, 1555. 
 
GARDINER AND POLE 131 
 
 faults ; he was arrogant, unscrupulous, and violent, 
 but he was a bold and experienced statesman, who 
 kept his shifty, greedy colleagues in something 
 approaching subjection ; and he was determined to 
 prevent, if he could, either of the great Continental 
 rivals from obtaining control of English policy for 
 their ends. He had opposed the Spanish match as 
 long as opposition might have prevented it ; but when 
 it was effected he minimised its disadvantages and 
 never allowed either the Queen or Philip to subordi- 
 nate English interests to those of others. He was as 
 unpopular with the French faction as he was with the 
 Spanish, and his death left the greedy cliques of 
 Councillors, of whom Paget was the most active and 
 corrupt, most of them bribed by one or both rivals, to 
 wrangle uncontrolled in the interests of their pay- 
 masters or their own, with little thought for England. 
 Pole had lost touch of English politics, for he was, to 
 all intents and purposes, an Italian ecclesiastic, with a 
 first thought for his papal mission. He lived in the 
 Palace during Philip's absence, and every day solemnly 
 prayed with Mary for the King's safe return ; but he 
 had refused to act as leading political Councillor, and 
 was only consulted, as the Queen was, on subjects of 
 high importance or upon which the Councillors differed. 
 He, like the Queen, undoubtedly meant well by Eng- 
 land ; but, like her also, his views were exalted and 
 unpractical, and thenceforward there was little restrain- 
 ing power upon the Council, except such as could be 
 exerted by Philip, far away in Flanders and over- 
 whelmed with his own affairs. 
 
 Philip had found his father in the last stage of 
 mental and physical depression, and soon after the 
 son arrived from England, on the 25th October, 1555, 
 
132 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 Charles V., in one of the most dramatic scenes in 
 history, surrendered to him the sovereignty of the 
 land of his birth, his beloved Flanders. This was soon 
 followed by the abandonment of the rest of his crowns ; 
 and Philip, in January, 1556, found himself monarch 
 of all the vast inheritance of Burgundy and Spain, 
 whilst his uncle Ferdinand took the exalted but power- 
 less crown of the Empire. Almost simultaneously 
 with Philip's accession to the Spanish Crown the 
 Emperor, desirous above all things of leaving his 
 son at peace, brought the long-drawn peace negotia- 
 tions to an end by signing a five years' truce at 
 Vaucelles with his rival, France. England was thus 
 for a short time relieved from the dread of being 
 drawn into the war to please the King Consort. 
 ^' In the meanwhile, Mary had been fretting and 
 pining for her absent husband. He had promised 
 her faithfully to return in a month, but that, of course, 
 was out of the question. Stories came to her, 
 also, that he was enjoying himself there with ladies 
 younger than herself, not wisely but too well for the 
 faithful spouse of so saintly a wife. " This has so 
 much upset her that in conversation with one of her 
 most intimate friends she said that if it should so 
 happen that the King never came back, notwith- 
 standing all her efforts to recall him, she must put 
 up with living the rest of her life without the com- 
 pany of a man, as she had done before her marriage, 
 and with such patience as she could. This gives 
 food for the reflection that in order to persuade him 
 to return the sooner she will make incredible efforts 
 in this Parliament in his favour." ^ Philip's revenge 
 for his enforced good behaviour in England, indeed, 
 ^ Ambassades de Noailles. 
 
PHILIP IN FLANDERS 133 
 
 almost alarmed the Emperor. For the only time in 
 his life the King Consort now became dissipated, 
 carrying on vulgar intrigues and scouring the streets 
 of Brussels in disguise in search of adventure. News 
 came to Mary that he had fallen ill, though there was 
 nothing the matter with him but the effects of too 
 much gaiety, and a special English courier sent by 
 the anxious Queen to learn the truth with regard to 
 his health was received by Philip in Brussels in 
 December, 1555. The King sent reassuring news 
 to his wife with affectionate greetings, and a faithful 
 promise to go over to England at once, and the 
 English messenger, overjoyed at the good tidings 
 he bore, promised the Spanish courtiers that he 
 would not damp the Queen's delight by telling her 
 of her husband's high jinks, "as she was so easily 
 upset, and was so anxious about him that it would 
 afflict her too much." For a few days after she got 
 Philip's message Mary lived in a heaven of antici- 
 pation, but, alas ! orders came anon that the King's 
 Spanish household in England was to make ready 
 to depart, and this cast her into despair, for she 
 believed it portended Philip's own return to Spain. 
 The English people, unlike their Queen, were rejoiced 
 at the departure of the Spaniards, and as they went 
 on their way to Dover followed them with reviling 
 and insults, for Philip's new dignity had in no way 
 increased the popularity of himself and his country- 
 men in Spain, because it was feared that when the 
 war broke out again with France, as it evidently 
 soon would, his position as King Consort of England 
 and Sovereign of Flanders would make it impossible 
 for the English to keep out of the conflict. ^ 
 One of Mary's baits to draw Philip back to her was 
 
134 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 to persuade her Council to consent to his coronation in 
 England. From the first both Philip and his father 
 had laid great stress upon this, but the successive 
 English Parliaments, and even the English Council, 
 had vetoed it. Nq,w , that the strongest man who 
 opposed it was dead, Philip urged his wife to press 
 the proposal again, certain that she would do so, if 
 possible, in order to bring him to London, if for no 
 other reason ; but Mary had to face for the first 
 time a Parliament of some spirit and independence, 
 consisting largely of gentry, and she wrote to her 
 husband saying that she did not dare to propose 
 his coronation yet, as so many disaffected members 
 had been returned. Noailles was busy inciting 
 opposition in Parliament, and he noted with glee 
 that now that the King had gone people spoke 
 more freely about him than ever. Another demand 
 was repeated by Philip to his wife, namely, that 
 she should join him in the war with France.^ Mary, 
 through an envoy of Cardinal Pole, was obliged to 
 tell her husband that she was surrounded by people 
 whom she could not trust, that the nation was already 
 unquiet, if not disaffected, and that any attempt to 
 draw England into the war at present might cost 
 her her crown. But she ended with another 
 earnest prayer that he would return to her, and all 
 might then be well. Once more Philip promised to 
 come immediately, and the English fleet was made 
 ready to receive him at Calais ; but the truce of Vau- 
 celles, already mentioned, for the next few months 
 made Philip's need less pressing, and he came not. 
 'I Gradually the centre of interest in English politics 
 
 ^ This, of course, was late in 1555, before the truce of 
 Vaucelles in February, 1556. 
 
THE RISE OF ELIZABETH 135 
 
 was changing from Mary to her sister Elizabeth. 
 Notwithstanding the Queen's continued assertion of 
 hope that she yet might become a mother if Philip 
 would return to England again, every one but the 
 deluded lady herself had now abandoned such a hope. 
 By the will of Henry VIII., which Mary did not 
 dare to alter, Elizabeth was the next heir. The 
 Princess was idolised by the people, and although 
 she was to all appearance a devout Catholic, the 
 Reform party and the friends of France looked 
 towards her as their leader. Paget was more than 
 suspected of intriguing in her favour, for he was now 
 receiving French pay; her kinsman. Lord William 
 Howard, treated her, to Mary's anger, almost as a 
 queen already ; and other Councillors, uncertain of the 
 future, were unblushingly hedging in her favour. 
 When Philip left England he specially commended 
 the Princess to the kindness of the Queen ; and ac- 
 cording to Noailles, his chamberlain in England, Don 
 Diego de Geneda, with the other Spanish courtiers, 
 paid marked attention to her, visiting her in her 
 apartments at Greenwich during her stay there every 
 day. Geneda appears, indeed, to have secretly offered 
 to Elizabeth Philip's ten-year-old son as a husband, 
 but the Princess again took refuge behind her im- 
 penetrable reserve. She was determined, she said, 
 neither to marry nor to leave the country.^ 
 
 The Spanish attempts to win Elizabeth were 
 watched closely by Noailles, as were the suspected 
 intentions of the Queen in her disfavour whilst 
 Parliament was sitting. Mary, as we have seen, 
 
 ^ Michaeli to the Doge, Venetian Calendar, 28th April, 1556. 
 She had been asked many times to go to Flanders to stay with 
 Philip's aunt, Mary of Hungary. 
 
136 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 however, found the newly elected Commons so stout 
 and outspoken that she was afraid to advance any of 
 her dearly cherished designs to them, and hastened 
 to dissolve them in December, clapping some of the 
 bolder members into prison for speaking too freely. 
 The group of English exiles still in France were 
 continuing to demand fresh help to aid their dis- 
 affected brothers in England, and in the circum- 
 stances it is not surprising that Noailles and his 
 master should consider the juncture a favourable 
 one for making a clean sweep of Mary and the 
 Spanish interest in England. Courtenay, in Italy, 
 was secretly warned to hold himself in readiness, 
 but this was only a matter of precaution, for poor 
 Courtenay was in the hands of the enemy and already 
 a dead force. The principal card by which Noailles 
 hoped to win the game for France was Elizabeth, 
 now living quietly and devoutly at Hatfield, sur- 
 rounded by servants upon whom she could depend. 
 Through a French agent named Bertheville Noailles 
 approached a number of disaffected gentlemen, several 
 of them members of the late Parliament, from Devon- 
 shire ; and Sir Henry Dudley, Sir Anthony Kingston, 
 Sir William Peckham, Ashton, Daniel, the two Tre- 
 maynes, and others, agreed to proclaim Elizabeth, 
 expel or otherwise dispose of Mary, marry the new 
 Queen to Courtenay, and free the country finally from 
 the Spanish nightmare. The aid of France was, of 
 course, a necessary condition of success ; but when 
 the moment for action came Henry II. had just 
 signed the truce of Vaucelles, and he counselled 
 prudence and a waiting policy, knowing that the 
 blow might be more effectually dealt when the in- 
 evitable war recommenced. That Elizabeth was at 
 
FRENCH INTRIGUES 137 
 
 least cognisant that something was afoot is evident 
 from Montmorenci's letter to Noailles of 7th February, 
 1556 (Ambassades, vol. v.), in which he says : "And, 
 above all, prevent Madam Elizabeth from moving 
 in the slightest degree to undertake what you say; 
 for if she do it will spoil everything and prevent the 
 fruition of their designs, which must be deferred until 
 a good opportunity offers." 
 
 The French Embassy in London became the 
 rallying-point for treason against Mary ; crowds of 
 disaffected Englishmen begged for means of joining 
 Dudley, who had gone to France, and there with 
 French aid to organise a descent upon England 
 simultaneous with a rising at Court. Noailles him- 
 self was an eager conspirator, but the French 
 Government advised delay, and the ambassador was , / 
 obliged to temporise.^^^The' conspirators were in no'^U- 
 mood now for half-measures, for the country was ■/■^^^^ 
 growing indignant at the religious persecutions and 
 the unfounded belief that Mary was impoverishing 
 her country by sending out money to her Spanish 
 husband, and it was determined by the conspirators 
 to act at once. Sir Anthony Kingston, with the 
 Devonshire men, was to march to London, raising 
 the country on the way ; the Captain of the Isle of 
 Wight, Uvedale, was to place the island at the dis- 
 posal of the English refugees from France, whilst 
 Heneage and other courtiers undertook to raise 
 London, pillage the treasury, and proclaim Elizabeth 
 Queen. Pole always distrusted Elizabeth, even in 
 her most submissive and Catholic moods ; and, thanks 
 to a spy, he had already been informed of the whole 
 plan of the conspirators ; whilst Wotton, the English 
 ambassador in France, had kept the English Council 
 
138 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 well informed of the movements and gossip of the 
 English refugees. Just before the time fixed for the 
 rising, therefore, the hand of the Council came down 
 heavily upon the conspirators, and by the end of 
 March all the principals found themselves behind 
 the bars, most of them on the way to the scaffold. 
 
 There was no direct evidence of Elizabeth's guilt — 
 she had taken good care of that ; but Mary and Philip 
 were well aware that she was the person to supplant 
 them, and they determined, if possible, to remove 
 her from future temptation. The idea at first was to 
 send her to Flanders or Spain, with or without her 
 consent ; and this probably would have been done 
 but for the efforts of Pole's secretary, the Abb6 of St. 
 Salut, a Piedmontese, who had been gained over to 
 the French side, and convinced the Cardinal of the 
 danger to England of thus handing the heiress to the 
 Crown to the keeping of Spaniards. As an alterna- 
 tive Mary determined to search Hatfield House, 
 arrest her sister's confidential servants, and place 
 the Princess herself under arrest. Protestant books 
 and seditious publications against the King and 
 Queen were discovered in a hiding-place, and some 
 of her household, when pressed in the Tower, gave 
 evidence seriously implicating Elizabeth herself. 
 Again her fate trembled in the balance. To carry 
 her to the Tower or to deal with her as a rebel 
 might precipitate a rising in London, where she 
 was greatly beloved ; to send her to Spain might 
 be to perpetuate the hold of Philip upon the country, 
 and not even Pole wished for that. So in her 
 perplexity, whilst guarding Elizabeth straitly, Mary 
 begged her absent husband's direction. 
 
 Philip's need for England's co-operation was 
 
FRENCH INTRIGUES 139 
 
 greater than ever, for he was faced with a new 
 formidable coalition of France, the Pope, and the 
 Turk against him, sworn to crush him finally ; 
 and he knew that his wife was failing. To drive 
 Elizabeth into the hands of the French now would 
 be impolitic, and for him policy was everything. So 
 Mary was enjoined to treat her sister gently, to 
 release her from arrest, and to assure her of future 
 favour. Two members of the Council went to 
 Hatfield with the Queen's message. Her Majesty did 
 not believe the allegations against her sister, they 
 said, and so long as the latter was obedient and 
 loyal she would find that, very far from being dis- 
 trusted, she would be beloved and esteemed ; and 
 this kind message was sealed by the gift of a 
 costly ring. But blandishments had no more 
 influence over Elizabeth than threats. She had 
 begun to realise her power and importance, and 
 declined to play the game of Spain by going to 
 Court and allowing herself to be cajoled into a 
 marriage to suit her brother-in-law. 
 
 In the meanwhile the English refugees in France, 
 led by Sir Henry Dudley, were more active than 
 ever, and the reports of the spies with regard to 
 the intention of Henry II. kept Mary in a state 
 of constant alarm, ^ for invasion was threatened at 
 a dozen distinct points on the English coast, and 
 her navy was in a deplorable condition. Some 
 check was afforded to the intrigues by the prema- 
 ture death of Courtenay in September, but this 
 rendered more necessary than ever assurance of 
 
 ^ The process of these conspiracies may be foUowed step by 
 step in the Letters of Noailles (Ambassades), Michaeh (Venetian 
 Calendar), and Wotton (Foreign Calendar). 
 
140 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 Elizabeth to the Spanish party. In response to a 
 peremptory command Elizabeth was fain at last, 
 in November, 1556, to travel from Hatfield to 
 London. Attended by two hundred horsemen in 
 her livery, her ride through the capital to her 
 Palace of Somerset House was like a triumphal 
 progress. Cheers and blessings resounded on all 
 sides, for she knew well how to draw the affec- 
 tionate greeting of the common people : but what 
 was more surprising was that the courtiers and 
 Councillors, even Cardinal Pole, who had previously 
 refused even to see her, hastened to salute her, and on 
 her appearance at her sister's Court no honour was 
 considered sufficient for her.^ What could it mean, 
 asked her French friends, this sudden favour ? and 
 perhaps the Princess herself was puzzled at first. She 
 had not, however, many days to wait. Philip had 
 written to Mary and the Council directing them to 
 press urgently the suit of Emmanuel Philibert of 
 Savoy for Elizabeth's hand, and Mary left no effort 
 untried to carry out her husband's wishes.^ Letter 
 after letter came from the King in Flanders express- 
 ing his profound interest in the result, for the new 
 Pope had united the enemies of Spain, Henry II. 
 had broken the truce of Vaucelles, and, beset on all 
 hands, Philip saw that unless he could depend upon 
 
 ' Michaeli, Venetian Calendar. 
 
 = In a pathetic and submissive letter (Cotton, Titus B. 2, 
 57, British Museum) Mary beseeches Philip to allow her to 
 defer the matter until he comes to England. Her doubts on the 
 matter seem to have been partly inspired by jealousy of her 
 sister, who if she married Emmanuel Philibert in Flanders 
 would be near PhiHp, for she adds : " If you will not defer it I 
 shall be jealous of your Highness, which would be worse for 
 me than death — I have already begun to feel uneasy." 
 
MARY AND ELIZABETH 141 
 
 England even after his wife's death, his cause could 
 never prevail. But Elizabeth was as adamant. To 
 all the arguments and desires of her sister she 
 would only give one reply : she was determined 
 not to marry. 
 
 In vain Mary, losing all patience, stormed and 
 threatened. She would deprive her of the succession 
 in favour of Mary of Scotland, she would have her 
 proclaimed a bastard, she would send her to the 
 Tower as a traitor, and much else of the same sort, 
 said the angry Queen ; and Elizabeth, alarmed at 
 the violence, fell ill. She thought, too, of seeking 
 safety by flight to France, though from this she was 
 dissuaded by Noailles. But, ill and frightened though 
 she was, she never wavered for a moment in her 
 refusal to marry Emmanuel Philibert at the bidding 
 of her brother-in-law ; and after only five days' stay in 
 London she stolidly went in disgrace again under 
 guard to Hatfield.^ 
 
 The intemperate violence of the Neapolitan Pope 
 Paul IV. (Caraffa) against Philip and the Spaniards, 
 and the war which the Pontiff had precipitated, made 
 it more difficult than ever for Philip to persuade 
 the English to join him in the fight : for to war 
 against the Papacy seemed to Mary impious, and 
 Pole, now in the place of the martyred Cranmer, 
 Archbishop of Canterbury as well as Papal Legate, 
 strongly discountenanced any such an attitude on 
 the part of a country only just reconciled to the 
 Holy See. The Lord Chancellor, Heath, Archbishop 
 of York, and a devout Catholic, was shocked at the 
 idea of entering into a war, and above all a war 
 without any provocation, against the apostolic power ; 
 ^ Noailles and Michaeli. 
 
142 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 and Philip found now that not only were the common 
 people in England against his adventure, but the 
 principal advisers of his wife, and, for the first time, 
 even his wife herself. She was willing, even eager, 
 to make war upon France ; for she had her own 
 grudge against a Power which harboured her rebels 
 and subsidised all the plots against her ; but to go 
 to war with Henry was now also to oppose Rome, 
 and the main bone of contention was the Spanish 
 dominion over Italy, which concerned England not 
 at all. She was, moreover, in the deepest poverty, 
 for, against Philip's wish, she had insisted upon 
 restoring to the Church all the ecclesiastical property 
 in the hands of the Government ; and the country 
 itself was seething with discontent ; so that, whatever 
 her own wishes were, she was perfectly powerless 
 to help Philip as he wished with men, arms, and ships 
 .for his purpose. 
 
 Alba, whom Philip had sent from England to 
 represent him in Italy, was no weakling, and, like 
 his master, though a devout Catholic he looked upon 
 the Papacy as a mere instrument for Spain's exaltation, 
 and he promptly answered Paul's denunciations by 
 marching in September, 1556, boldly upon Rome, 
 submitting town after town in the Pope's dominions. 
 In vain Paul shrieked anathemas and flung defiance 
 at the hated Spaniards, and threatened with instant 
 death any one who dared to speak of peace with 
 them. Guise with the French army hastened to 
 relieve Rome from imminent capture ; and in the 
 hope of delaying matters until he could arrive, the 
 Pope entered into negotiations with Alba for a forty 
 days' truce, leaving the Spaniards in possession of 
 most of the papal fortresses. Guise and his army 
 
PHILIP COMES AGAIN 143 
 
 soon altered the aspect of affairs, and through the 
 summer of 1557 Alba and Guise fought out the 
 quarrel of Spain and France upon Italian papal soil, 
 whilst on the frontiers of Flanders Emmanuel Philibert 
 was at close grips with Henry II. himself. 
 
 Now, if ever, was the time when the En<^' 
 connection might help Philip, but it was 
 that unless he could exert his personal inliuence 
 upon Mary and her Councillors he could not hot: 
 to obtain it. So, at length, in Feb, L.ary, 1557, Philip, 
 sorely pressed though he wp-:, announced to Mary 
 his intention of visiting ' again. The Queen's 
 joy at the news was '-cttnetic in its intensity vhough 
 Pole warned hernoi > ; build too much upon a promise 
 that had been broken so often before. She had 
 been ill ard disconsolate .ope deferred, but 
 
 the news of Philip's coming gave her new life, and 
 she .hurried to London from Hampton Court, visiting 
 " 'ole Sit Lambeth on the way, exerting all her influence 
 to win h'lw to her side. Thenceforward for some 
 weeksj whilst the King's voyage was pending, the 
 English Council sat nearly night and day, and 
 iiiriers hastened backwards and forwards between 
 I -xdon, Brussels, and Paris. The English refugees 
 xn France had treacherously given to Henry II. 
 much information about the weakness and disaffection 
 in the English fortresses of Calais and Guisnes ; 
 and at the first news of Philip's fresh visit to England 
 the French forces around Calais were increased, for it 
 was evident now that Mary would be dragged into 
 the war, and her most vulnerable point of attack 
 was Calais. 
 
 Philip landed at Dover on the i8th March, 1557, 
 and took horse with all speed to Gravesend. At 
 
144 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 Canterbury he alighted to attend service at the 
 cathedral ; but so hurriedly that he did not wait 
 to take off his spurs. This being against the rule, 
 a young student was bold enough to claim the forfeit, 
 or fine : and the King smilingly emptied his purse 
 of gold in the youth's cap before he rode on his 
 way. Again his habitual haughty frigidity was 
 changed fc' be genial bonhomie that he found 
 suited his purpose best in England. At every 
 stage messengers from the Queen met him, one of 
 whom galloped back to her immediately with news 
 of his progress, and on his arrival at Greenwich 
 poor forlorn Mary hailed him with love unutterable. 
 For two days h-^- remained with her alone, draining, 
 as he formerly said, the chalice of his sacrifice to 
 the dregs ; and then they passed through London 
 together once more, she bonie in a litter, he riding by 
 her side. His reception was not unfriendly by the 
 people, whom he tried to gain by his affability and 
 moderation, though the fear that wai 'Vi, ; ' be the 
 result of his visit made them uneasy, be far as the 
 Councillors were concerned, they were now but f'=eble. 
 folk to stand against him and the Queen ; though 
 Pole, the Pope's legate, did not even officially greet 
 one who was in arms against the Papacy, and the 
 Cardinal departed as quickly as might be to his 
 diocese, so as to be out of the way whilst PhiHp 
 was at Court. 
 
 But still, bribed though the Council was and how- 
 ever submissive the Queen, the state of feeling in 
 England was such as to make a declaration of war 
 against France a dangerous matter. A series of 
 bad harvests, the depreciation of the coinage, and 
 the enclosure of the commons and parks had reduced 
 
ENGLAND AND THE WAR 145 
 
 the country to a condition of the utmost misery. 
 Money was extremely scarce, and the idea of squand- 
 ering large sums upon a foreign war drove the 
 distracted Council to despair, though Philip in the 
 course of many conferences with them urged it 
 incessantly. The Councillors admitted that, in ac- 
 cordance with the old treaty of 1543 between the 
 Emperor and Henry VHI.,^ England might be called 
 upon to provide an armed contingent if Flanders 
 were attacked by France : but Philip wanted more 
 than that, and to some extent he was successful, 
 notwithstanding that Archbishop Heath tearfully 
 protested that the country was quite unable to meet 
 the necessary expenditure. It was at last arranged 
 that eight thousand English infantry should be raised 
 for service and one thousand cavalry, three thousand 
 of the former to reinforce the English fortresses in 
 France, and the rest to be at Philip's service for 
 four months, under the command of Lord Pembroke, 
 Sir Thomas Cheyne, Lord Bedford, and Lord Grey 
 de Wilton, one-half the cost only to be borne by 
 England. But there was also a promise on the 
 part of the Council to fit out and man with six 
 thousand soldiers the English fleet to hold the 
 Channel against the French. Upon one point the 
 Council was firm : these forces were simple auxiliaries 
 contributed in accordance with the old treaty, and 
 must not entail a national war between England 
 and France. 
 
 But this arrangement did not suit France better 
 than it did her enemy. If England was to join Philip 
 
 ^ The particulars of this treaty will be found in the author's 
 Calendar of Spanish State Papers, Henry VIII., vols, vi., vii., 
 and viii. 
 
 L 
 
146 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 in the war, she must be open to counter attack and 
 reprisals. But if England could strike indirectly so 
 could France, and by such means a national rupture 
 might be precipitated which would allow of a French 
 invasion over the Scottish border and the siege of the 
 English fortresses in France. So again the English 
 Protestant exiles in France were feasted and made much 
 of by Henry II. They were a turbulent lot of young 
 gallants whose brawls and adventures had scandalised 
 the French Court : but now they suddenly assumed 
 a new importance. Thomas Stafford, the nephew 
 of Cardinal Pole, a cadet of his family with no valid 
 claims whatever, was the most hairbrained of the 
 crew, and took it into his head to pose as the rightful 
 pretender to the English Crown. Henry could not 
 openly countenance such a pretension, but Stafford 
 was allowed to recruit men for his attempt. French- 
 men, Scots, and discontented English, a motley 
 rabble of lawless adventurers, flocked to his standard 
 at Rouen, in ignorance of their exact destination. 
 Sailing in two well-armed ships from Dieppe, he 
 suddenly descended upon Scarborough. Affairs were 
 in so critical a condition in England that anything 
 might have happened, and Wotton, the English 
 ambassador in France, believed that if Thomas 
 Stafford once secured a footing in England he might 
 draw to him all the discontented element, to Mary's 
 undoing. Stafford, however, was not of the stuff 
 from which successful pretenders are made. He 
 seized Scarborough Castle in April, whilst Philip 
 was still in England, and at once announced that 
 he came to claim the Crown and deliver the country 
 from the yoke of the Spaniards, who intended to 
 rule it by force. But in a day or two the Catholic 
 
ENGLAND FORCED INTO WAR 147 
 
 Earl of Westmorland with his militia took him by sur- 
 prise and Thomas Stafford's bubble burst before it was 
 well inflated, greatly to Noailles' scorn and annoyance. 
 The retribution for treason came swiftly, and before a 
 month was out the heads of the principal rebels 
 had fallen on the block on Tower Hill. But a gust 
 of indignation passed over England at the attempt, 
 prompted as it had been by the French, and suddenly 
 the idea of war with France, the enemy of the Queen, 
 became popular. Henry H. did his best to explain 
 away his complicity ; ^ but Mary, transported with 
 rage, dismissed Noailles, and Philip was delighted 
 to find that England was now ready to join him 
 nationally in a war against France. 
 
 On the 6th June heralds in London proclaimed 
 hostilities, and Philip for the first time, even at this 
 eleventh hour, saw some return for the sacrifice he 
 had made in marrying the Queen of England. He 
 hated war, and his methods were essentially peaceful 
 and diplomatic ; but he knew that his best chance of 
 securing a durable peace was to exert his utmost power 
 whilst his control of English resources lasted, which 
 it was evident could not be very long, for the Queen's 
 declining health was plain now to every one but her- 
 self, though she clung still tenaciously to her pathetic 
 dream of happy maternity. Satisfied with the results 
 of his mission, Philip rode on the ist July, 1557* 
 from Gravesend through Canterbury to Dover. 
 Mary would not leave him whilst he remained on 
 English soil, and, weak and ailing but happy with her 
 new fallacious hope, she was carried in a litter by 
 her husband's side to the coast. On the 3rd July she 
 
 ^ Sorzano to the Doge, May, 1557, Venetian Calendar, detailing 
 a conversation with Henry on the subject. 
 
148 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 bade him a last farewell, as he stepped upon the 
 barge that was to carry him to the waiting galleon, 
 and then, with sorrow and satisfaction mingled, she 
 turned her back upon the sea and was carried to 
 Jier desolate palace at Greenwich. 
 " The gentry of England, at all events, were ready to 
 welcome the war with France that gave them the 
 taste of warlike adventure which they loved, and the 
 contingent to fight in Flanders was soon made ready, 
 whilst the Lord Admiral with his fleet of twenty-three 
 ships held the Channel. Philip's General-in-Chief 
 was his young cousin Emmanuel Philibert of Savoy, 
 who had an army of fifty thousand men under him 
 ready for the autumn campaign ; whilst the French 
 on the Flemish frontier, under Constable Montmorenci, 
 numbered less than half that strength, for the flower 
 of the French troops were under Guise in Italy, with 
 difficulty defending the Pope from the great Duke of 
 Alba, and Emmanuel Philibert opened his campaign 
 as soon as the English arrived. By a series of rapid 
 and unexpected movements, which entirely misled the 
 French, he suddenly concentrated his attack upon the 
 rich and important city of St. Quintin, weakly 
 garrisoned and in poor condition of defence. Mont- 
 morenci hurried with his main army to relieve the 
 fortress, and on the loth August was cleverly out- 
 flanked by Emmanuel Philibert ; caught in a trap 
 between a stronger enemy and a morass, the French 
 were utterly routed with a loss of half their numbers, 
 Montmorenci himself being captured, and the whole 
 force dispersed. Coligny with his tiny garrison in St. 
 Quintin heroically held out for a fortnight longer ; but 
 from the day of Montmorenci's defeat there was no 
 force to prevent Philip from marching upon Paris and 
 
PHILIP'S VICTORY 149 
 
 crushing his enemy for good." This was his chance, 
 and he missed it, as he did every great opportunity in 
 his long Hfe by that " prudent " leaden foot of his 
 which always lagged when it should have hastened. 
 In vain Savoy begged his permission to march on, and 
 was refused, to the indignant surprise of the old 
 Emperor when he heard of it in his cloister at Yuste. 
 
 Philip had been at Cambrai on the day of the battle, 
 but when he saw the awful sack and sacrilege after 
 the surrender of St. Quintin he was horrified at the 
 sight. Te Deums were chanted, votive offerings of 
 unheard of richness were promised, ^ joy bells were rung 
 in Flanders, Spain, and England for the great victory ; 
 but Philip's host moved no further onward towards 
 Paris. The German Schwartzreiters, mercenary troops 
 in Philip's service, unpaid ruffians, held high revel in 
 the ruined town, burning and ravaging unchecked. 
 The Earl of Bedford, writing to Sir William Cecil 
 from St. Quintin a few days after the surrender, says 
 that these rascals, " being masters of the King's whole 
 army, used such force as well to the Spaniards, 
 
 ^ The Earl of Bedford, writing to Cecil on the 21st August, 
 says that " the Count of Egmont with two thousand Spaniards 
 and Schwartzreiters and as many of us made a ride into France 
 of twenty-two miles, and found no great resistance, nor should 
 have done though we had gone much further." — Haynes' State 
 Papers. ^ 
 
 2 The vast monastery palace of the Escorial owed its origin ' 
 to such a promise on the part of Philip II. when he saw to his 
 sorrow that his troops had destroyed and sacked a church and 
 cloister dedicated to St. Laurence at St. Quintin. To appease 
 the saint, he promised on the spot to build the grandest 
 monastery to St. Laurence in the world, and he kept his 
 word. For the greater part of his life the building of this 
 stupendous pile upon the sterile Guadarrama steppes was an 
 obsession of the King. 
 
T50 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 Italians, and other nations as unto us, that there were 
 none could enjoy nothing but themselves. They have 
 now shown such cruelty as the like hath not been seen 
 for greediness. The town by them was set afire, 
 and a great piece of it burnt. Divers were burnt in 
 cellars, and were killed immediately ; women and 
 children gave such pitiful cries that it would grieve 
 any Christian heart." The Germans, discontented 
 with their loot, quarrelled and deserted in thousands, 
 for Philip's fatal deliberation had left them idle ; the 
 English, sulky and unpaid, grumbled incessantly. 
 Bedford reports that " they are pinched with scarcity 
 and divers have fallen sick " ; and, again, a month 
 later: "Our General is sick of ague, our pay very 
 slack, and people grudge for want. I trust we shall 
 speedily be discharged." The Spaniards asserted 
 that the English had shown no stomach for the fight 
 before St, Quintin, and certainly they did not shine 
 in it. Their discontent at last became so pronounced 
 that Philip, realising their uselessness, and being, as 
 usual, short of money, acceded to their clamour to be 
 allowed to return home at the end of the stipulated 
 four months of their service. Much was made of the 
 King's victory in London. Mary and Pole congratu- 
 lated him upon the signal mark of God's favour. 
 Bonfires, free feasts, and official rejoicings were pro- 
 vided ; but London wanted to gain no victories for 
 Spaniards, and refused to be glad. 
 
 Whilst Philip's army was melting away in idleness 
 Guise, realising where the danger lay, quietly aban- 
 doned the Pope to the mercy of Alba, and by forced 
 marches hurried to the Flemish frontier. The intem- 
 perate Pontiff was then obliged to make terms with Alba, 
 who entered Rome, as a pretended penitent instead of 
 
LOSS OF CALAIS 151 
 
 a conqueror, and once more the two great antagonists 
 were left to fight out their quarrel without papal inter- 
 ference. Henry II. had long had his eye upon Eng- 
 land's important foothold on France, the citadel and 
 town of Calais. The English refugees had exposed 
 to him the weak points in its defence, it had been 
 starved and neglected both by Edward VI. and Mary ; 
 and the younger Noailles on his way home when Mary 
 had dismissed him, carefully scrutinised the fortress 
 and reported to the King that it might easily be 
 captured. Guise, on his hurried return from Italy, 
 directed himself straight towards the place and be- 
 leaguered it, capturing the Rysbank, the island fort 
 defending the harbour, on the first days of January, 
 1558. Philip had long known that Calais was weakly 
 held, and in many of his letters to the Queen and 
 Council he had urged that it should be effectively 
 reinforced. On Guise's approach the King sent his 
 favourite, the Count de Feria, hurriedly to England 
 to say how desperate the condition now was with the 
 Rysbank in the hands of Guise ; but the preparations 
 for the voyage of so important a person as Feria took 
 much time, and the Queen in London learnt of the 
 disaster immediately by a letter from Lord Went- 
 worth, the Governor of Calais. 
 
 Mary, still full of her renewed hope of maternity, 
 which all but herself knew was piteously fallacious, 
 received the news courageously and set to work to 
 reinforce the town. Pembroke was ordered to raise 
 five thousand men and cross at once to Philip's harbour 
 of Dunkirk, whence Calais might be reached by land. 
 Unfortunately, the English town of Guisnes, near 
 Calais, was in as perilous a condition as Calais itself, and 
 Lord Grey de Wilton, the Commander, found himself, 
 
152 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 as he says, " clean cut off from all aid and relief. I have 
 looked for both out of England and Calais, and know 
 not how to have help by any means, either of men or 
 victuals. There resteth now none other way for the 
 succour of Calais, but a power of men out of England 
 or from the King's Majesty or both.''^ Alas! the 
 King's Majesty himself had now few fit troops to 
 meet Guise's veterans. His demoralised army, 
 scattered wide in winter quarters through Flanders, 
 were difficult to collect rapidly, and Lords Wentworth 
 and Grey de Wilton in vain sent daily beseeching 
 letters to Philip to come to their aid, as Guise pressed 
 Calais and Guisnes more closely. Calais particularly 
 was crowded with traitors and enemies of the Spaniard, 
 anxious to deliver the place to the French ; and, 
 although the English troops repulsed one attempt to 
 storm the town on the 6th January, it cheerfully sur- 
 rendered to the besiegers two days later ; and Guisnes 
 fell with but little more resistance directly afterwards. 2 
 The news fell like an aerolite upon the English 
 Queen and nation. The possession of Calais had been 
 regarded for centuries as the keystone to England's 
 commercial prosperity and political importance in 
 Europe, and the surrender of the last foothold in 
 France seemed a loss irreparable. That it should 
 have been lost in a war undertaken on behalf of the 
 Queen's Spanish Consort, whilst he with a great 
 though scattered force was in the immediate neigh- 
 bourhood, added bitterness to the humiliation ; and 
 the Count de Feria, foreseeing the storm of anger 
 that in England would greet the news, tarried a day 
 
 ^ Lord Grey de Wilton to the Queen. — Domestic Calendar. 
 2 An interesting account of the defence and loss of Guisnes is 
 given by Lord Grey himself (Camden Society). 
 
GRIEF FOR THE LOSS OF CALAIS 153 
 
 or two in Dunkirk rather than cross the Channel with 
 the sinister tidings. His first mission had been to 
 induce the English Council to send forces to defend 
 Calais and Guisnes, but he knew full well that behind 
 this demand there was the need for English forces 
 again to aid his master in the coming campaign ; so, 
 interpreting his instructions freely, he determined to 
 proceed on his journey and turn his request into one 
 for troops to recover the fortresses with the King's 
 help. 
 
 Feria arrived in London on the 26th January, 1558, 
 and to his surprise he found the people and the Queen 
 quite changed in temper since he had left them with 
 the King six months before. There was no despon- 
 dency anywhere now ; for though the blow had been a 
 shrewd one it had aroused the spirit of the nation. 
 The Queen was like a lioness ; for she was fighting 
 now, as she thought, poor soul, for the inheritance of 
 her unborn offspring ; and she threatened to have the 
 head of any Councillor of hers who dared to talk of 
 peace with France until she had recovered the towns 
 her ancestors had held for centuries. She would win 
 them again, she said ; her son would be born, and she 
 and Philip, triumphant and at peace, would live 
 happily. It was a dream, but it was shared, so far as 
 concerned the recovery of the English territory in 
 France, by the nation at large, which was now on its 
 mettle ; and clergy, gentry, and merchants opened 
 their coffers, melted their gold chains, and mortgaged 
 their belongings to provide funds for avenging English 
 honour and protecting the English soil against the 
 foreigner. 
 
 The moment the news of the peril of Calais had 
 reached Mary she despatched the Earl of Sussex and 
 
154 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 her Controller, Sir R. Rochester, to assure Philip that 
 she would send the forces to defend or recover Calais 
 without loss of time. When both Calais and Guisnes 
 had been surrendered, however, it seemed better to 
 Philip to curb somewhat the Queen's ardour in the 
 matter. It was too early in the year for him to 
 begin his regular campaign, and it was obvious that 
 without his powerful co-operation the English troops 
 alone would be unable to recapture the lost fortresses. 
 So the first letter written by the King to Feria after 
 the arrival of the latter in England was couched in 
 the cool, prudent tone so characteristic ot him. The 
 ambassador was to thank the Queen heartily for her 
 good-will to send him the troops, even after Calais 
 had been lost, but as his own territories were not 
 in present danger, " I do not wish the Queen to 
 begin yet to incur expense, especially as we shall 
 have to spend a great deal later in attempting to 
 recover the ancient English territory. You will 
 therefore tell the Queen how highly I appreciate 
 her affectionate regard for my interests ; but as I have 
 now sufficient forces to hold my own I hope she will 
 countermand the sending of troops, and apply the 
 money to defending the English coast, which is of the 
 greatest importance." ^ 
 
 Before receiving this letter Feria saw Mary in 
 the Palace of Greenwich on the day he arrived, 
 26th January, 1558, and found her, as usual, eager 
 to serve Philip's interests. Feria said he only wished 
 that her Councillors were as willing as she. She 
 would, she said, summon the Council at once that 
 Feria might discuss matters with them ; but as 
 Parliament was sitting it was Friday, 28th, before 
 ^ MSS. Simancas, Philip to Feria, January, 1558. — Estado, 811. 
 
FERIA AND THE ENGLISH 155 
 
 Feria and the resident ambassador, Figueroa, met 
 the Councillors in Cardinal Pole's room. Feria had 
 agreed with the Queen as to the tone he should adopt 
 with the Council. It was being murmured in London, 
 and even in the Council itself, that this misfortune had 
 fallen upon the nation because Philip had dragged it 
 into the war ; and Mary urged upon Feria that he 
 should anticipate any such talk as that by saying at 
 once that as Calais had been lost during a war which 
 the English had undertaken on Philip's behalf, he 
 considered it his duty to help them to recover the 
 fortress. The first need, however, he said, was to 
 ensure the coasts of England from attack. What 
 did the Council propose to do in the matter? Heath, 
 who was the spokesman, was apologetic and 
 despondent. The nation was in dire danger and 
 its resources were very low : they agreed that defence 
 of England must precede recovery of the fortresses 
 on the other side of the Channel, and thought it best 
 not to send across the hasty levies already collected 
 at Dover. Feria, who had seen the mob of recruits 
 as he passed through Dover, quite agreed with them. 
 They had only been sent, said the Councillors 
 apologetically, because the Queen had insisted. As 
 for the broad question of national defence, they asked 
 for time to consider what they proposed ; and although 
 Feria and Mary urged expedition, three days passed 
 before the Council, headed by Heath, came in a body 
 to Feria's lodging and laid before him their plan of 
 campaign. 
 
 In a harangue full of honied words for Philip 
 the Chancellor set forth the poverty of the country, 
 the need for a strong force on the Scottish border 
 to defend the north from a French incursion, the 
 
156 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 undefended condition of Ireland, and, above all, the 
 danger of the Isle of Wight and Portsmouth, now that 
 eighty French ships were collected at Dieppe with, it 
 was feared, hostile intent. What they proposed was to 
 fit out a hundred English vessels with fifty victualling 
 smacks for service in the Channel, carrying an army 
 of some fifteen thousand soldiers, ready, if Philip 
 needed it, to land upon any spot on the northern 
 French coast as a diversion. They were in fear, too, of 
 a league of Denmark and the Free Cities to attack the 
 northern coast of England in the interests of France; 
 and they knew of no other means of raising a force to 
 defend that part of the country than to beg the King 
 to choose for them some good German mercenary 
 leader who would engage to come over in their 
 service with some three thousand Germans, to embark 
 in Amsterdam for Newcastle. When they had found 
 the money for all this, they said, they did not see how 
 they could do more even to recover Calais. 
 
 These proposals, which had indeed been suggested 
 first by the Queen and Philip, were exactly those which 
 suited the latter. Under the guise of defending the 
 English south coast a large English fleet and army 
 would be practically at his orders, to alarm and divert 
 the French wherever he needed. Lord William 
 Howard, I the Lord Admiral, a great-uncle of Eliza- 
 
 ^ Howard suspected the influence that had been exerted 
 against him, and charged Feria with it. The Spaniard assured 
 him that he had been misinformed ; and in order to molHfy 
 him PhiHp wrote to the Queen asking her to give Howard 
 some Court appointment instead of^he Admiralty. Clinton was 
 by Philip's influence also placed in the Council, of which Howard 
 was not a member, but became so, as well as Lord Chamber- 
 lain, shortly afterwards. 
 
FERIA AND THE ENGLISH 157 
 
 beth's, and little in Philip's favour, was by Feria's 
 intrigues superseded by Clinton, who was his obedient 
 servant. The great difficulty, of course, was money. 
 Everyday Feria urged the need for raising large sums 
 at once. Parliament was sitting, and it was believed 
 would vote liberal supplies in view of the national 
 danger ; and Mary herself once complaisantly told 
 Feria that she believed Parliament would vote her 
 a larger amount than had ever been granted to 
 her father. " That is not to the purpose," replied 
 Feria, " but to get all the money you want in the 
 circumstances." The Earl of Sussex when in Flanders 
 had given the King an Idea that the nobles in 
 England might still be induced, as Spanish nobles 
 were, to supply feudal contingents of mounted men on 
 the Sovereign's demand ; but when Feria suggested 
 this to the Queen she told him flatly that all the 
 nobles of England together would not contribute 
 a hundred horse. 
 
 The loss of Calais was unquestionably a serious 
 blow to the prestige of Mary. Already people were 
 grumbling that this was what she and her Spanish 
 husband had brought the nation to. Here was this 
 haughty Count of Feria, too : what had he come over 
 for but to carry some more English money out of the 
 country to feed Philip's armies? This, of course, had no 
 foundation whatever in truth, but the mere whispering 
 of it made people stay away from the Catholic 
 churches, and frown more sourly at the persecutions 
 than they had done before. So far from carrying 
 English money out, except to pay for the recruiting of 
 the German mercenaries, whom Philip all along, how- 
 ever, meant to use for his own purposes, the Councillors 
 to a man began dunning Feria for their unpaid 
 
158 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 Spanish pensions ; ^ for although the Spaniard scorn- 
 fully complains of their unwillingness to serve Philip's 
 interests first, they were all anxious for his money. 
 The fear of invasion, which was, in fact, very remote, 
 was industriously promoted by Feria and the 
 Spaniards in order to keep the English Council up 
 to their determination in raising forces which might 
 be, and were, subsequently used by Philip for his own 
 purposes when his summer campaign opened. These 
 forces, however, did not satisfy Philip, who was some- 
 what chagrined to find that the English Council was 
 so ready to limit its efforts to the defence of the 
 coasts, without insisting upon the recovery of Calais. 
 He had counted upon using the national anger at the 
 loss to bring when he most needed them a good 
 English contingent across the Channel to join his 
 army, though the hasty levies in January would 
 have been worse than useless to him. 
 
 Both the King and Feria were impatient at the 
 cumbrous English constitutional way of raising 
 money, and pestered poor Mary daily by word and 
 letter to obtain resources by other means. This she 
 knew, and said, was impossible in England, and might 
 cost her her crown. One day Paget came to Feria 
 with a great plan to raise the vast sum of 800,000 
 crowns, in addition to the parliamentary vote, and the 
 Spaniards were all eager to put it into practice ; but 
 when the time to discuss it seriously came, Paget's 
 proposal, to Feria's anger, reduced itself to a loan 
 
 * Feria to the King, 12th February, 1558 (MSS. Simancas, 
 Estado 811). Philip replied that he could not send the 10,000 
 crowns required at once, as he was very short of money, 
 but would send it as soon as he could get it in Spain. 
 
FERIA AND THE ENGLISH 159 
 
 of ;^ 1 00, 000 to be raised by Gresham in Antwerp 
 and ^80,000 to be borrowed from the London 
 bankers. All would have been well managed, 
 grumbled Paget, if he had the direction of affairs ; 
 and the other Councillors thereupon fell to wrangling 
 with him as to their responsibility. This was early 
 in March, 1558, and Feria had quite lost patience with 
 what he considered the ineptitude of Mary's advisers, 
 which really meant their disinclination to surbordinate 
 English interests entirely to the wishes of Philip and 
 his minister. From the sitting of the Council just 
 referred to Feria and his colleague Figueroa went off 
 in a rage to the Queen to : " complain of the reply 
 [about the money], and to warn her again of the 
 danger in which the country and she herself are, her 
 Councillors being so inept that, although they say 
 that the country is not rich, they cannot devise means 
 even to raise sufficient money to defend themselves 
 and recover the prestige that has been lost. We 
 dwelt much upon this, as much indeed as we could ; 
 for the Queen was not fully aware of the poor service 
 rendered by the English contingent which you had 
 with your army last year. She was not even yet un- 
 deceived as to their not having been the first to enter 
 St. Quintin until yesterday, we told her amongst other 
 things. She was much grieved and promised that 
 she would press them again about the money at 
 Greenwich, where she will go to-day. Her one 
 thought is that your Majesty should come to her 
 again. She seems still to believe that she is pregnant, 
 though she does not say so openly. She promises me 
 to send Gresham to Antwerp at once to borrow the 
 ;^ 1 00,000 they say have arranged. I think if that be 
 the case, it would be easy to get them to borrow 
 
i6o TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 another ;^ 100,000, though I have not pressed it until 
 he is there." ^ 
 
 Gresham's instructions are dated two days after 
 this letter was written, 12th March. He had pre- 
 viously been dismissed from his former post as royal 
 financial agent at Antwerp, and his reappointment 
 was probably owing to the fact that in the narrow 
 condition of the national finances he alone had 
 sufficient authority on the Continental money market 
 to raise the funds required. He was to bargain for 
 the loan of ;^ 100, 000 that had been offered through 
 one Germayn Scholl for one year, and to ascertain 
 what powder and other munitions of war could be 
 obtained in Flanders for English use.^ Scholl was 
 Gresham's kinsman by marriage, but the bargain does 
 not seem to have been fully concluded, only ;^i 0,000 
 being obtained from that source, 3 Gresham remaining 
 
 ^ MSS. Simancas, Estado 811, Feria to the King, loth March. 
 
 ^ Philip had written to Feria a day or two before saying that 
 the Enghsh orders for powder, &c., in Flanders were so exces- 
 sive that if they were made public the dealers would at once put 
 up the price to his detriment, and he begged that the amount 
 might be reduced. In Rymer's " Federa " there is a list of the 
 munitions which Gresham was to obtain in conjunction with 
 the Italian banker Bonvisi, who had advanced a loan to Mary : 
 " 3,500 hackequebutts, 1,000 pistolets, 500 pondera (lbs.) de 
 Mauches, 100,000 pondera (lbs.) petre salse (saltpetre), 3,000 
 corselets, 2,000 mourreyens, 3,000 iron cappes, 8,000 lances and 
 pikes." 
 
 3 Feria, writing to the King on the 6th April, says in refer- 
 ence to this : " Gresham writes that he has found much difficulty 
 and has only taken up _;^io,ooo. I do not know how this comes 
 to pass, for Paget and the rest of them told me at first that the 
 loan for ^100,000 was already arranged with the merchants 
 I wrote about, and I naturally thought that as it had been 
 settled between them and me that Gresham should go straight 
 
GRESHAM IN FLANDERS i6i 
 
 in Flanders until the summer, spending much of the 
 money he could raise in munitions of war. He had 
 been instructed to present letters of recommendation to 
 King Philip, and to acquaint him with all he did. But 
 Gresham, who was no admirer of the Spanish faction, 
 appears to have been somewhat remiss in paying 
 court to the King, for he failed to mention anything 
 about him in his letters. Mary, who was always 
 hankering for news of her husband, began to get 
 restive at the omission, and her Secretary, Boxall, 
 writes a private letter to Gresham in April hinting 
 to him that he will make things easier all round if 
 he will pay more court to the King, as the Queen 
 asked about him. Gresham promptly took the hint 
 and wrote a long letter to Mary, saying that he had 
 just seen King Philip at a monastery outside Brussels, 
 where he had passed Easter, " who is in right good 
 health as your Majesties own harte can desyre." ^ 
 
 Whilst Gresham in Flanders was thus borrowing 
 and spending money, Feria was chafing at the lack ( 
 of sympathetic activity in the Councillors in the 
 direction he desired. Writing to Philip in March, 
 he says : " Before God, I can do no more, Sire ! I 
 do not know what to make of these people. For, 
 believe me, your Majesty, from morning to night and 
 from night to morning they are changing their minds 
 about everything, and do what I can it is impossible 
 
 to your Majesty that the aifair would be carried through at 
 once. ... He took letters from the Council to your Majesty, 
 and the Queen instructed him to go straight to you. Now it 
 seems from what he writes that he has not been to Brussels, 
 and he deserves punishment at your Majesty's hands, as I have 
 told the Queen." — MSS. Simancas, Estado 8ii. 
 == Foreign Calendar. 
 
i62 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 for me to make them understand what a state they are 
 in — the worst, surely, that ever people were in before. 
 If it were only for their own sakes, I should like to 
 leave them to the mercy of those who would treat 
 them as they deserve ; but I am afraid that they 
 will drag us after them, as your Majesty knows. 
 The Queen does, and says, all she can, and she 
 really has spirit and goodwill ; but in all else there 
 is nothing but trouble. As for the Cardinal, he is 
 a dead man ; and although he has plucked up a 
 little with what they write to him every day from 
 Italy since the loss of Calais, he is not so warm as 
 I should have liked to see him. Of all the rest of 
 them, I really do not know which is the worst 
 disposed to your interest. But I know that those 
 whom you have favoured most serve you the 
 least." I 
 7 Feria noticed that Mary grew ever thinner and 
 more despondent. She slept badly and was devoured 
 with anxiety and yearning for her husband, whose 
 letters came to her so rarely. Both she and Pole, 
 indeed, were now almost negligible forces ; and Feria 
 began to plot with a few of the Councillors upon 
 whom he could depend to take into his own hands 
 practically the direction of affairs. How it was 
 manaofed is well set forth in a letter of his to the 
 King of ist May, 1558. He has, he says, been 
 able to hold a private conference with Privy Seal 
 (Bedford) and the Admiral (Clinton) "about that 
 enterprise they had proposed to me, and also to 
 press them about the land armaments." They were 
 i of opinion that they could raise a land army, and 
 that the recovery of Calais would not be so difficult 
 ^ MSS Simancas, loth March, 1558, Estado 811. 
 
FERIA'S INTRIGUERS ' ^^^3 ^ 
 
 as people imagined. "They say that they could"" ." 
 get together 12,000 English and German infantry, 
 3,000 horse (2,000 Germans and 1,000 English), 
 2,000 English pioneers, and if your Majesty did 
 not think well of the enterprise they might be used 
 for other purposes. I did not dwell so much upon 
 this point as upon getting the force together. They 
 think, and quite rightly, that it is useless to deal with 
 this matter with more than four or five persons who 
 will be in favour of it ; and they propose besides 
 themselves Jerningham, the Master of the Rolls, who 
 was the Solicitor-General (Cordell), and the Controller 
 (Rochester), although the latter is a man who always 
 raises difficulties to everything. I think that these 
 three will suit best for the purpose, as they are 
 favoured by the Queen. 
 ^/v.A.<«j i^now of no other way to remedy matters but"^ 
 this : that your Majesty should write to the Queen 
 saying that on mature deliberation you have decided 
 that the best course will be for her Majesty to raise 
 these troops, beginning with the money voted by 
 Parliament : for as soon as the people see your 
 Majesties determined to avenge the loss of Calais 
 you believe that they will favour the enterprise, 
 since no prince ever begins a war with all the money 
 in hand necessary to finish it. You might add that 
 nothing should be said about spending the Parliament 
 money, but that it should be entrusted to some person 
 for the object in view. Paget thinks that Bacon 
 would be a fit person for this, and the Queen would 
 agree to him. Your Majesty should also write to her 
 that the business should be discussed with nobody but 
 the five persons mentioned. Paget, Clinton, myself, 
 and Figueroa think that this is the last thing we can 
 
i64 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 do. Paget thought lately that Rutland would be the 
 best man to command this force, and we think that 
 Clinton and the Vice- Admiral should conduct the fleet. 
 The fleet is now ready and is costing money with no 
 profit. Even if your Majesty does not think well to 
 press the Queen about the foregoing business you 
 might send her instructions at once as to what she 
 is to do with this fleet." ^ 
 -y It will be seen by this that the plan was to use 
 every atom of the force raised in England and with 
 English money, not for the defence of the country 
 itself, which had been the first pretext for raising it, 
 but to send across the sea, either to aid in the 
 recovery of Calais or, at Philip's option, for any 
 other purpose he might choose, and that similarly 
 the fleet was to be placed at his disposal. ^ It is quite 
 plain from the way in which Feria writes of her that 
 Mary was simply to be told what to do by Philip, 
 and that she was expected to do it without demur. 
 How completely she hung upon Philip's words, and 
 _jsubordinated everything to his wish,' is seen in a 
 paragraph in the same letter as that quoted above 
 from Feria to the King. A Swedish envoy had arrived 
 ' in England with an offer of marriage to Elizabeth 
 from Prince Eric, the heir to the crown. He had 
 been already several days in London and had not 
 even asked audience of the Queen, though he had 
 committed the gross breach of propriety of going 
 
 ' MSS. Simancas, Estado 8ii. 
 
 ^ In the letter written by Philip to Feria in reply to that 
 quoted above he says that he has written to Clinton ordering 
 him to go to Flanders at once to receive Philip's orders as 
 to what he is to do with the English fleet, "in order that 
 the money it is costing should not be spent fruitlessly." — 
 MSS. Simancas, Estado 8ii. 
 
DECLINE OF MARY 165 
 
 down to Hatfield and delivering the Prince's letter 
 to Elizabeth before he saw Mary. The poor Queen 
 was terribly upset at this ; and hearing that Feria was 
 despatching a courier to Antwerp, she feared that he 
 was going to write to Philip about it. Sending for 
 Feria she with tears and reproaches upbraided him for 
 his supposed intention, and said that she herself was 
 going to write to her husband telling him all about 
 it. " When the ambassador from Sweden first came," 
 writes Feria, " she was in great trouble, fearing that 
 your Majesty would blame her for not having carried 
 through that affair last year [i.e., the marriage of 
 Elizabeth with Savoy]. Since then, however, Madam 
 Elizabeth has replied that she will not marry ; and 
 the Queen is more tranquil, but she is intensely 
 impassioned in the matter ; and one of the reasons 
 for her grief at the pregnancy having turned out 
 fallacious is the fear that it will cause you to press 
 her in this other business [i.e., the marriage of Eliza- 
 beth]. Both Figueroa and I think that your Majesty 
 ought to do so apropos of the coming of this Swedish 
 ambassador and the failure of the pregnancy. But 
 it is necessary that such pressure should not come 
 at the same time as the matter of the land armament, 
 or it will upset the business altogether. In short, 
 Sire, I believe that the Queen will not stand in 
 the way of her {i.e., Elizabeth] being Queen if God 
 does not send you children." ^ 
 
 Already Elizabeth's sun was seen to be in the 
 ascendant, and, regardless of the feelings of her sister 
 the Queen, it suited Spanish policy to ensure her 
 marriage, if possible, with a nominee dependent upon 
 Philip. How anxious Philip personally was not to 
 ^ MSS. Simancas, Estado 811. 
 
i66 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 lose touch of Elizabeth at this juncture is seen in his 
 reply at the end of May to a suggestion of Feria 
 that the latter should go to Hatfield and pay his 
 respects to her before he left England : "What you 
 say about visiting Madam Elizabeth before you 
 depart appears to me to be very wise, for the 
 reasons you point out, and I am writing to the 
 Queen, saying that I have ordered you to go. You 
 will act accordingly ; and I have no doubt that when 
 the Queen sees the firmness with which I write on 
 the subject she will consent." ^ Philip's fiery and 
 impetuous ambassador Feria went considerably 
 beyond his master in his high-handed dealing with 
 the English Government ; for Philip's methods were 
 diplomatic and far-seeing, and his object was not to 
 ride roughshod over his wife's country, as Feria 
 would have done, but to use its resources for his 
 
 ^ Feria's suggestion, to which this is a reply, runs thus : " I 
 wrote to your Majesty that I did not see Madam Ehzabeth 
 when I came here because my principal means of carrying 
 through what I wanted was the goodwill of the Queen, and I 
 was anxious not to run counter to her in anything, especially as 
 your Majesty had given me no instructions to the contrary. I 
 afterwards sent a message of apology to Madam Elizabeth by 
 the Admiral's wife [i.e., Lady Clinton], who was brought up 
 with her and is much in her favour. I said that after she left 
 [London] I had received orders from your Majesty to pay my 
 respects to her in your name. I told Paget to excuse me to her 
 also, but I do not think he did so. On the contrary, the 
 Admiral's wife told me that he asked Madam Elizabeth whether 
 I had visited her, and when she said no he expressed much 
 surprise. Figueroa and myself think the matter should not be 
 left thus, and that it would be best for me to go and see 
 her before I leave. She lives 20 miles away. I shall be glad 
 of your Majesty's instructions" (MSS. Simancas, Estado 811, 
 Feria to the King, i8th May). 
 
FERIA AND THE ENGLISH 167 
 
 ends, as if without design, and to perpetrate his 
 hold upon it after his wife's death. _^ 
 
 Mary, still suffering from her usual indispositions, ^ 
 persuaded herself in May that Philip was coming over 
 to see her again. It was, as Feria said, unreasonable; 
 for Philip was overweighted with business, arranging 
 the summer campaigns and a thousand other things : 
 but Mary, full of hope again, caused herself to be carried 
 to St. James's to be ready to receive her husband, and 
 had horses and lodgings prepared for him from Dover 
 to Gravesend and an escort of ships at Dover to 
 convey him across. Feria told her blankly that the 
 King was too busy to come, and again pressed her 
 about raising the land army to reinforce Philip in 
 Flanders. He found her less ready in the matter 
 than he had hoped — "for the Cardinal and Council 
 persuade her as they like " — and she wearily suggested 
 that Clinton should go to Brussels to discuss the 
 matter with the King. "This," said Feria, "was 
 only because they think that I push them too hard ; 
 and they believe they can deal more easily with your 
 Majesty, their real object being to upset the scheme 
 altogether ; " and the ambassador continues by recom- 
 mending the King when Clinton arrived in Brussels 
 to deal with him high-handedly, blaming the Council 
 angrily for their slackness in the past. Clinton was 
 evidently the most pliant tool of all ; and yet, even of 
 him, Feria writes : " Nothing that he says will be 
 true, unless he thinks it will be investigated. I have 
 had no end of trouble about this, for they do nothing 
 but lie and prevaricate." 
 
 All this haughty pressure on the part of Feria, and ' 
 the servile compliance of Paget and the rest of the 
 Spanish clique, in order to bully the English into 
 
i68 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 raising a large force to join Philip's army on the pretext 
 of recovering Calais, was seen by the politic King 
 to be unwise. The English fleet, with its seven thou- 
 sand soldiers on board, might be useful for him in many 
 ways, and he made much of Clinton when he saw him 
 in Brussels, urging him to have the fleet provisioned 
 and ready for service whenever ordered from June to 
 September ; but the raising of a land army of English- 
 men did not suit him : in the first place because it 
 would pledge him to a regular campaign against the 
 French in Calais for the ultimate benefit of England 
 alone, to the neglect of the Flemish frontier that 
 concerned him most, and secondly, as he says, 
 because " the English, as they would arm unwillingly, 
 however much they were pressed and encouraged, 
 would not be of much use. I can even see that they 
 might cause more inconvenience than otherwise. 
 Either they might come so badly organised and weak 
 as to be easily defeated, which would be most injurious, 
 or they might force me to go to their rescue, and upset 
 my own plans." The King was of opinion that the 
 English had much better concentrate their land 
 strength on the Scottish frontier and in Ireland, so 
 long as he was allowed to do as he liked with the 
 English fleet. 
 
 The meaning of this is made abundantly clear, and 
 Philip's own foresight vindicated by the sequel. If the 
 English Council were encouraged to employ all their 
 own forces on the Scottish Border it was foreseen that 
 they would not need the three thousand or more 
 German auxiliaries which were now mustering on the 
 Rhine under the leader Wallerdun, much of the money 
 for them having been already disbursed by the English 
 special agents in Flanders, Sir William Pickering and 
 
FERIA AND THE ENGLISH 169 
 
 others. Feria, in his letter of i8th May to the King, 
 says : " I understand that these people already repent of 
 having asked for the three thousand Germans, for their 
 view now is only to defend their own shores, and the 
 Scots will not trouble them. They have said nothing to 
 me about it yet, but I know that what I say is true. . . . 
 If they do not want to bring these 3,000 Germans 
 over, your Majesty might consider whether you will 
 ask for them for yourself." This, although it was 
 exactly what Philip himself desired and intended, was 
 only effected after much wrangling about the money 
 spent and the responsibility incurred by the English 
 Council. Philip, writing on the loth June, instructs 
 Feria cunningly to manage so that the Council may 
 be got to propose that the German mercenaries might 
 be taken off their hands as a favour ; but if they could 
 not be got to see it in this light that the Queen should 
 be told in confidence that the King needed the 
 Germans very much. The Council proved recalcitrant ; 
 for, as they said, they had spent already a large sum 
 upon the mercenaries, and might need them ; but they 
 had to give way before the pressure of the Queen and 
 Feria, insisting ultimately, however, that Philip should 
 pay the sum of ;^2,ooo for which Gresham had made 
 himself responsible but had not paid for the arms 
 supplied. The recruiting money of the Germans 
 and first month's pay was lost. 
 
 Relations between the imperious Feria and the 
 English Council became daily more strained, every 
 unimportant point was made a question of dignity by 
 the ambassador, I and the sick, disconsolate Queen 
 
 ^ A good instance of this is given in the appointment of theT 
 commander of 1,000 EngHsh pioneers who had been raised for 
 PhiHp's service. Feria wished to send Major Randolph in 
 
I70 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 between the jarring elements, wishing to conciliate 
 both sides, was rendered doubly unhappy. From 
 Feria's contemptuous and insulting references to Pole 
 it is evident that the Cardinal declined to become an 
 instrument for purely Spanish ends ; whilst all the rest 
 of the Councillors are dismissed by the ambassador in 
 his letters to the King as lying rascals intent only 
 upon plunder. Looking beyond Feria's intemperate, 
 angry words, the principal sin of the Councillors in 
 his eyes seems to have been a disinclination to 
 squander money of which the nation was so sorely in 
 need upon raising forces without some assurance that 
 they would be used for English ends. Already people 
 were grumbling that the powerful fleet under Clinton 
 was to be merely an auxiliary of Philip in the war, at 
 his entire disposal, and the continued bad fortune that 
 followed the Spanish arms increased the anger in 
 England at being thus tied to the tail of Philip in the 
 war, without any attempt being made by him to 
 recover the lost English fortresses. 
 
 So far from doing this, indeed, news came early in 
 July that Dunkirk, one of the most useful of his ports, 
 within a few miles of Calais, had been captured by the 
 French, as well as Thionville, an important fortress. 
 Mary was panic-stricken at the news, and summoned 
 Feria from Durham House to say that she must at 
 once send off a courier to Philip to know the truth. 
 Feria made light of the news, and said it was not 
 worth while to send in such haste, and the over- 
 charge of them. The Councillors appointed another man and 
 said that Randolph was to be appointed to a post on shore in 
 connection with the navy. Feria insisted, and a long quarrel 
 resulted, Feria insisting that Philip should write peremptorily to 
 the Queen about it. 
 
FERIA DEPARTS 171 
 
 burdened Queen broke out in angry reproaches at 
 his indifference. How could her merchants send their 
 wool to Flanders, she asked, if Dunkirk was in 
 French hands ? and yet Feria treated the matter 
 as of no importance. But when the ambassador 
 suggested that the English fleets in Plymouth and 
 Dover should at once sail to Dunkirk to help the 
 King, Mary eagerly assented, though the Council at 
 once vetoed it ; for, said they, the French have also 
 captured Alderney, and it behoved the admiral to go 
 there first. '* And really, to tell your Majesty the 
 truth," wrote Feria, " I did not dare to contradict 
 them, for I saw that if but four French ships were to 
 land their companies in England they would overturn 
 everything." This was written in July, and shortly 
 afterwards Feria, having hectored the English Queen 
 and Council thus into placing the English fleet almost 
 entirely at Philip's disposal, and having raised and 
 paid three thousand German mercenaries which he had 
 appropriated, took his leave and returned to Flanders, 
 first visiting Elizabeth at Hatfield, much, he says, to 
 her and his pleasure : ** for reasons which I will tell 
 your Majesty when I see you." 
 
 Mary now was a mere shadow. The cruel persecu- 
 tions and the loss of Calais together had completely 
 destroyed the belief of the people in her power to rule 
 England for its own benefit. Her father and grand- 
 father, and even the greatly inferior Northumberland, 
 had managed to maintain the balance of power 
 between the two great Continental rivals upon which 
 the importance of England depended. Mary from 
 the first day of her accession, as we have seen, had 
 neglected this essential point in English policy, and 
 had ended by becoming a mere satellite of the 
 
172 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 Spanish King, involving her country thus in a ruinous 
 war, in which it had lost much and had nothing to 
 gain. The Council, against which Feria raged so 
 savagely, was, it is true, after the death of Gardiner, 
 composed of men of no commanding ability ; but it 
 had done its best to prevent the utter subjection of 
 England to Philip's aims. The success of its efforts 
 was not great ; for as Feria's correspondence shows | 
 the most active members of the Council were bought 
 body and soul by Spain, and Mary was in most cases 
 ready to back up Feria's arrogant hectoring with her 
 royal authority. For her, in her forlorn condition, the 
 first consideration was to please her husband and pre- 
 vent the Catholic power, upon which she increasingly 
 depended, from collapse. 
 
 Her great hope was that Philip might be lured back 
 again to her side to live in prosperity and peace. 
 Again and again her fond hopes were disappointed, 
 and, a prey to a constitutional disorder, she sank 
 deeper and deeper in despondency. After Feria left 
 her in July she continued ailing, whilst those around 
 her, seeing the approach of the inevitable change, 
 busied themselves in plans which might, if they were 
 fortunate, save them from disaster in the future. For 
 men of all opinions recognised that it was not alon^a 
 woman who was dying, but a political and religious 
 system that had failed ; and vengeance was sharpening 
 its knife, whilst those who had thus made England the 
 servant of a foreigner and a prey to the bigots . wer^ 
 trembling for the wrath to come. 
 
 Early in September a fever came to add to the 
 Queen's ailments, and this, being an unusual symptom 
 with her, caused grave anxiety ; but Philip's Flemish 
 councillor Dassonleville, who was in London to inquire 
 
MARY MORTALLY ILL 173 
 
 whether any league was being negotiated between 
 England, Sweden, and Denmark, wrote early in 
 October that both the Queen and Cardinal Pole were 
 better than they had been since the beginning of their 
 maladies. Parliament met at Westminster on the 5th 
 November, and in it resounded loud complaints, bold 
 and unsuppressed now, of the cost and damage to 
 England caused by the war undertaken to please King 
 Philip, and suggestions were made that the peace 
 negotiations already in progress should be actively 
 pushed. The great question, moreover, that was 
 occupying all minds was that of the succession ^o the 
 Crown when the Queen should die. "If your Majesty 
 could have been present it would have been of the 
 greatest importance in moving the Parliament to your 
 desires," wrote Dassonleville. " But if that be im- 
 possible, and important affairs should detain you in 
 Flanders, the coming of the Count de Feria, who is 
 much liked here, ^ would serve, nevertheless, to direct 
 
 ^ This was certainly not the case. Suriano, the Venetian" 
 ambassador, writing from Brussels on the 12th November, on 
 Feria's hasty voyage to England, when Mary was known to be 
 dying, says drily : " He is in great favour with the Queen and 
 he likewise fancies himself popular there [in England], but may 
 God grant, in case of her Majesty's death, that he do not experi- 
 ence to his detriment the perverse nature of those people, and 
 their most inveterate hatred of foreigners and above all of 
 Spaniards" (Venetian Calendar, 12th November). The fable of 
 Feria's great power in England persisted for years, probably 
 owing to his marriage with Sir William Dormer's daughter Jane, 
 which brought him into relationship with the Sidneys and a 
 powerful group of English noble families. Dr. Man, the 
 English ambassador in Spain in 1567, writes to Cecil (Cotton 
 MSS., Galba ciii.) that he had heard a Spanish gentleman say at 
 table that the " Count de Feria was so beloved in England that 
 in case he would he might have made himself King of England. 
 Which although it be an untruth yet it argueth a confidence the 
 
174 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 affairs so far as the time will allow. Many of the 
 Council are beginning to understand how necessary 
 the alliance of Flanders is to this realm, the salvation 
 of which depends upon it, as England cannot alone 
 withstand for long the efforts of its old enemies, the 
 French and Scots, without the aid of your Majesty. 
 The common people do not understand it yet, and 
 talk of allying the Lady Elizabeth with the Earls of 
 Westmorland or Arundel, and sometimes with a Prince 
 of Sweden or Denmark, so inconstant are they." ^ 
 
 It is quite evident that when Dassonleville speaks 
 of the impossibility of England holding its own with- 
 out Philip's aid he meant under the existing system. 
 In this, of course, he was right ; but he overlooked 
 the fact that if the country freed itself from the 
 Spanish connection, which had dragged it down, and 
 once more dexterously held the balance between the 
 two Powers, neither would attack it, because neither 
 would be benefited by weakening a possible useful 
 ally. But the English people were quite awake to 
 the alternative if Dassonleville was not, and were 
 looking anxiously away from the sad sufferer who had 
 failed as a Queen and was awaiting extinction in St. 
 James's, to the demure, self-controlled young woman 
 who bided her time so patiently and so confidently at 
 Hatfield. She knew now she would not have to wait 
 long. " Sire," continued Dassonleville, " the Queen 
 has had some good intervals since her grave malady ; 
 and for some days past has been quieter from her 
 
 Spaniards have of some great part the Count is yet able to make 
 in England." In fact, Feria, whose hatred of Elizabeth was 
 intense, was extremely unpopular for his arrogance and pre- 
 sumption in England. 
 " ^ MSS. Simancas, Estado 8ii. 
 
MARY AND ELIZABETH 175 
 
 paroxysms. The issue of her illness is as yet 
 uncertain. The people make her out to be worse 
 than the doctors say, and rumour says that a change 
 is so imminent that it will cause the enemy to be 
 the more obstinate about the restoration of Calais. 
 Nevertheless, if your Majesty insists upon not making 
 peace without it, they will have to put up with it." ^ 
 
 This was written on the 6th November ; but 
 before the letter was despatched Dassonleville heard 
 from Paget that the Queen's malady being recognised 
 as grave, the Council had requested her to make 
 some pronouncement with regard to the succession. 
 Mary, feeling the hand of death upon her, consented 
 to a deputation of the Council waiting upon the 
 Princess at Hatfield on the morrow, to tell her that 
 the Queen was willing that she should succeed when 
 she (Mary) should die, only begging two things of 
 her — one to maintain the old religion, and the other to 
 pay the debts she (Mary) had incurred. It was 
 known by this that the gravest anticipations of the 
 people were justified. Ten days before this Philip 
 had learnt that his wife was not likely to live, and he 
 had at once instructed Feria to start for England, for 
 the special purpose of pushing forward urgently the 
 question of Elizabeth's marriage, which was now seen 
 to be the only means by which he might still hold 
 England. As has been already explained in previous 
 pages, Mary had on each former occasion when the 
 matter had been urged firmly stood out against it, as 
 well as Elizabeth herself. Once the Queen had been 
 won over for a day to the Savoy project, but Cardinal 
 
 ^ Philip was already in peace negotiations with the French ; 
 and the English Commissioners were holding out strongly for 
 the restitution of Calais as a condition. 
 
176 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 Pole had changed her mind, and nothing had been 
 done. The bold offer of the Swedish prince had 
 shown to Mary as well as to Philip the danger of 
 Elizabeth's accepting a Protestant marriage; and even 
 at this late hour Philip determined to make a desperate 
 effort through Feria to win Elizabeth for a nominee 
 who would suit him. Suriano, the Venetian ambas- 
 sador with Philip, writes ^ with regard to Feria's mis- 
 sion : " The Count's instructions are that he is to try 
 and dispose the Queen to consent to Lady Elizabeth's 
 marriage as her sister, and with the prospect of 
 succeeding to the Crown. This negotiation is being 
 conducted with the utmost secrecy, as they suspect 
 that were the French to learn of it they would easily 
 find means to thwart the project, as the greater part 
 of England is opposed to the Queen and most hostile 
 to King Philip and his party, whilst strongly inclined 
 to Lady Elizabeth, who was always attached to the 
 French faction rather than the other." Feria tarried 
 a few days in Flanders when the news came that 
 Mary was somewhat better ; but Dassonleville's and 
 Cordova's letters, foreshadowing, as they did, Mary's 
 rapid passing, sent him hurrying across to England 
 in order to perform his mission before she should die. 
 The great obstacle to the marriage with Savoy — 
 apart, of course, from Elizabeth's own reluctance — had_ 
 now disappeared, for Mary had recognised her sister 
 as her successor, without which her marriage would 
 have been useless to Philip. 
 
 Feria arrived in London on the 9th November, and 
 
 he found England in a turmoil. Whispers spread 
 
 every few days that the Queen was indeed dead, and 
 
 that her Council only kept back the news until King 
 
 ^ Venetian Calendar, 29th October, 1558. 
 
MARY DYING 177 
 
 Philip should come with the strong hand. " Every 
 man's mynde was then travayled with a strange 
 confusione," says Hay ward, who lived through the 
 crisis, " all things being immoderately eyther dreaded 
 or desired. Every report was greedily both inquired 
 and received, all truthes suspected, diverse tales 
 believed, many improbable conjectures hatched and 
 nourished. Invasion of strangers, civil dissentions, 
 the doubtfull dispositione of the succeeding prince, 
 were cast in every man's conceite as present perills ; 
 but noe man did buysy his witts in contriving^ 
 remedyes." Whilst her people were anxiously look^f 
 ing to the future, some with dread and some with 
 hope, the Queen lay in anguish waiting for the end. 
 It was only five years since, full of faith and belief 
 in her system, she had passed over ruined ambitions 
 amidst the acclamations of the people to the throne of 
 her fathers. In that short time, with the best of 
 intentions, she had sapped the basis of England's 
 international importance, she had opened wide the 
 doors of religious persecution, and, so far as she 
 could, had laid the resources of her country at the 
 feet of her foreign husband. She was leaving 
 England poorer in possessions, in power and in spirit, 
 than it had been at any time since her grandfather 
 brought to an end the civil strife of a century. She 
 had sacrificed her people's welfare and happiness, 
 as well as her own popularity, by obstinately ignoring 
 accomplished facts and leaning upon a foreign Power 
 to enable her to restore a state of things that was 
 dead. 
 
 The Queen was only partially conscious and unable ' 
 to read Philip's letter when Feria came to bring her a 
 message from her husband, and he lost no time in 
 
178 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 travelling to Hatfield on his principal mission. Eliza- 
 beth had been so wary and diplomatic in her difficult 
 circumstances that she was as yet an unknown 
 quantity ; and doubtless the crafty men of the world 
 who proposed to win her for Spain anticipated no 
 great difficulty from this reticent young woman of five- 
 and-twenty, who had accepted Catholicism so readily. 
 The country was profoundly divided, and it was 
 thought that the new Queen — as Dassonleville wrote, 
 in ofood faith — would be unable to establish her 
 authority without help from abroad. It was there- 
 fore, on the face of it, not an extravagant presumption 
 that she might prefer to follow her sister's lead 
 and adhere to the traditional policy of England in 
 allying herself with the sovereign of Spain and 
 Flanders. 
 
 When Feria arrived at Hatfield he received his 
 first surprise. Before starting from London he had 
 summoned the Council, and in Philip's name had 
 approved of Elizabeth as the heir to the Crown. 
 Believing that this would enable him to claim 
 Elizabeth's thanks, he began at Hatfield to enlarge 
 upon the service Philip had done her in thus securing 
 to her the succession. So long as high-flown compli- 
 ment had been the staple of conversation Elizabeth 
 had given Feria as good as he had brought ; but the 
 moment he bespoke her gratitude she stopped him, 
 and said that she would owe her Crown to no one 
 but her people ; and when he broadly hinted at the 
 advantage to her of a marriage with her Spanish 
 brother-in-law or a nominee of his she evaded the 
 suggestion dexterously. ^ All through the interview 
 
 ^ The letter from Feria, dated 14th November, detailing this 
 interview with Elizabeth was abstracted by Gonzalez many 
 
DEATH OF MARY 179 
 
 she showed a determination to resist any attempts 
 to place her in the tutelage of Philip. She answered 
 Feria, indeed, somewhat tartly at one point, that 
 her sister had lost her people's love by marrying 
 a foreigner ; and the ambassador left her already 
 convinced that she would be no docile instrument 
 in his master's hands, as her sister had been. 
 
 Mary and Pole lay dying at the same time, fortified 
 by the rites of their Church, whose services were 
 celebrated ceaselessly before their weary eyes. With, 
 the Queen there were few now to do her reverence, 
 for most of her courtiers and Councillors were flocking 
 to Hatfield to worship the rising sun ; but Mx.s.^ 
 Clarencius, the Countess of Feria (Jane Dormer, 
 Mary's favourite maid of honour), and a few other 
 faithful friends stood by her to the last. On 
 the morning of the i6th November the Council 
 assembled in her room, and Cordell, the Master of 
 the Rolls, read aloud the Queen's will, although 
 Mary was unconscious at the time. Feria asserts 
 that when the reader reached the bequests to her 
 personal attendants the Council desired him to omit 
 that portion. In any case, little attention was after- 
 wards paid to the Queen's testament, for there were 
 none who loved or mourned the forlorn woman. 
 Before dawn on the 17th November Mass was cele- 
 brated in the dying chamber in the Palace of St. 
 James. Like her mother on her death-bed in similar 
 
 years ago with other papers of the period and translated into 
 EngHsh. Unfortunately since then the letter appears to have 
 been lost. At least I could not find it when I transcribed the 
 other letters of the period relating to England in the Spanish 
 Royal Archives at Simancas. The letter, however, v^^as printed 
 in Kervyn de Lettenhove's " Relations Politiques," &c. 
 
i8o TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 circumstances, Mary followed the sacred office 
 devoutly, in the full possession now of her faculties, 
 making the responses audibly and fervently. When 
 the celebrant appealed to "the Lamb of God who 
 took upon Himself the sins of the world," Mary 
 answered clearly ''Miserere nobis ^ Miserere nobis ^ Dona 
 nobis pacem." ^ These cries for mercy, for mercy and 
 peace, were the last words of unhappy Mary 
 Tudor. A few moments afterwards, as the priest 
 held up before her the Sacramental Host, her eyes" 
 flushed with tears, and then closed for ever. Philip 
 _had no longer any footing in England. He must win 
 one again by force or favour, unless Spain was to 
 surrender her proud supremacy and Catholicism cease 
 to rule the world. 
 
 ^ From Father Clifford's contemporary " Life of the Duchess 
 of Feria " (pubHshed), for the inspection of the original manu- 
 script of which I am indebted to its present possessor, Lord 
 Dormer. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 1558-1565 
 
 Accession of Elizabeth — The beginning of the long duel — Feria 
 urges Philip to use force — Philip's many difficulties — He offers his 
 hand to Elizabeth — The Peace of Cateau Cambresis — The Franco- 
 Spanish Alliance — Fears of a Catholic League — Philip marries a French 
 Princess — English Catholics appeal to Philip — Mary Stuart claims the 
 Crown of England — War with Scotland — Philip's efforts to effect a 
 reconciliation — Bishop Quadra— His relations with Leicester — Intrigue 
 for a Catholic reaction in England — Mary Stuart approaches Philip — 
 Disgrace and death of Quadra — A war of tariffs — Guzman de Silva, 
 ambassador — The interviews of Bayonne — Failure of the Catholic 
 League 
 
 T 
 
 HOUGH Mary's death had long been foreseen, 
 Feria was distracted when it came, for change 
 was on all sides, and each change unfavourable 
 to Spanish interests. " It is very early," he wrote, 
 *' to talk about marriage yet ; but the confusion and 
 instability of these people in all their affairs make it 
 necessary for us to be the more alert, so as not to lose 
 the opportunities that may offer, and especially in the 
 matter of marriage. . . . The new Queen and the 
 people hold themselves free from your Majesty, and 
 will listen to any ambassadors who may come to treat 
 of marriage. Your Majesty understands better than I 
 how important it is that this affair should go through 
 your hands, which will be difficult except with great 
 negotiations and expenditure." He continues by 
 
 urging Philip not to allow the Emperor Ferdinand 
 
 181 
 
i82 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 to offer the hand of either of his sons to Elizabeth, 
 and opines that the English would not favour Savoy, 
 whilst, he says, the nobles recognise that it would be 
 impossible for the Queen to marry an Englishman. 
 This was, of course, preliminary to the suggestion of 
 Feria that Philip should marry Elizabeth himself 
 " The more I think of this business the more certain 
 I am that everything depends upon the husband this 
 woman may take. If he be a suitable one, religious 
 matters will go on well, and the realm will remain 
 friendly with your Majesty ; but if not, all will be 
 spoilt. If she decides to marry out of the country 
 she will at once fix her eyes upon your Majesty, 
 although some of them here will be sure to pitch 
 upon the Archduke Ferdinand." ^ 
 
 Feria, who had lorded over Mary's Council, found 
 the members now sorely changed. They had mostly 
 been bribed heavily by him, and the ambassador 
 roundly abuses them for their ingratitude. They 
 were indeed, such of them as were included in 
 Elizabeth's Council, too anxious to clear themselves 
 from the odium of the past to smile upon the 
 unpopular Spanish connection ; though secretly Lord 
 William Howard, Clinton, and Paget promised their 
 services to Feria. As for the people at large, the 
 death of Mary was to them as if a crushing weight 
 had been lifted from their hearts. Even as she lay 
 dying, the sacred things — the images, relics, and the 
 like — of which she had enforced the veneration, were 
 openly slighted; and Feria wrote a few days after her 
 death : " The people are wagging their tongues a 
 good deal about the Queen's having sent great sums 
 of money to your Majesty, and that I have sent you 
 * Spanish Calendars of Elizabeth (Hume). 
 
ACCESSION OF ELIZABETH 183 
 
 200,000 ducats since I came. They say that it is 
 through your Majesty that the country is in such 
 want, and that Calais was lost ; and also that through 
 your not coming to see the Queen she died of grief." 
 
 Under Cecil's guidance Elizabeth's first steps were 
 prudent and wise in the extreme. The religious 
 burnings were at once stopped, and those persons 
 who were imprisoned on the charge of heresy were 
 enlarged on their own recognisances ; but most of the 
 members of Mary's Catholic Council were retained, 
 though reinforced by seven new Protestant Councillors, 
 Cecil and Parry being given the most influential 
 duties. But, moderate though the new rulers were, 
 the Catholics, and especially the Spanish party, were 
 in dismay. Only a week after the Queen's accession 
 Feria wrote to Philip: "The kingdom is entirely in 
 the hands of young folks, heretics, and traitors, and 
 the Queen favours no man who served her sister. The 
 old people and the Catholics are dissatisfied, but dare 
 not open their lips. The Queen seems to me incom- 
 parably more feared than her sister was, and gives her 
 orders as absolutely as her father did." 
 
 In the meanwhile the new Queen heard Mass, and 
 made no change in religious observance, but she 
 turned her back upon Bonner when he went to greet 
 her with the other Bishops, and took care to show 
 that, Catholic or Protestant, she was not going to be 
 the submissive tool of either Spain or France, though 
 she professed a desire to be friendly with both. 
 "These people," wrote Feria, "try to make it known 
 everywhere that your Majesty will have no more influ- 
 ence here than if you had not married the late Queen, 
 and they persuade the present Queen not to be intimate 
 with me. As she is much taken up with the people, 
 
i84 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 she does as they wish her to do, and treats foreigners 
 slightingly. I have therefore decided to go slowly 
 until things settle down and I see who takes the lead. 
 Up to the present nothing is certain, and every one 
 talks as his wishes lead him. I wonder they have 
 not sent me crazy. The whole point is the husband 
 she chooses, and we must try by money arrangements 
 that he shall be one agreeable to your Majesty." 
 
 Elizabeth declined to receive personally either Feria 
 or Dassonleville until she approached London, though 
 Feria sent her an amiable message by Lady Clinton 
 when she arrived at the Charter House, and a splen- 
 did ring from Philip by Controller Parry. At the 
 Charter House on the following day the ambassador 
 first saluted the Queen. He was a gallant, handsome 
 gentleman, one of the first nobles in Spain ; and 
 Elizabeth was most gracious to him, taking off her 
 glove as soon as he entered the room, in order that 
 he might kiss her hand. The chamber was crowded 
 with people, and it was, of course, no time for political 
 business. He was only in England, he assured her, 
 in order to serve her and let her royal brother-in-law 
 know how best he might gratify her wishes, so as to 
 help forward the good understanding already existing. 
 Feria ventured to touch lightly upon religion, hoping 
 that she would be careful on that point ; but to this 
 she gave a broad reply, which Feria thought equivocal. 
 When he left her she had almost allayed his fears, so 
 fine was her diplomacy, and he sent her that day by 
 Lady Clinton two more rings that had belonged to 
 Mary — "as I saw she was so fond of her jewels, and 
 I thought best to give her even the poorest of them." 
 
 He saw her again three days afterwards at Somer- 
 set House, where she was staying, and told her that 
 
ELIZABETH AND FERIA 185 
 
 a truce had been settled between France and Spain 
 during the peace negotiations. She showed her 
 suspicions in a moment, thinking that the intention 
 was to isolate her and leave her at hostilities with 
 France. By means of Cecil, however, Feria per- 
 suaded her that her fears were unfounded ; and in 
 another conversation she exerted all her blandish- 
 ments upon him to convince him that her leanings 
 were not towards the French, whilst he further 
 delighted her by telling her that he had at Whitehall 
 and at her disposal a casket of jewels that had 
 belonged to her sister. In this sort of intercourse 
 Elizabeth was a match for any one living. It was 
 not until Feria tried to pledge her to anything that 
 he found out his powerlessness. He had occupied 
 the royal residence called Durham Place, in the 
 Strand, as a dwelling house, but he had also apart- 
 ments at Whitehall, and he tried hard to obtain a 
 renewal of these, "although I am much afraid they 
 will not give it to me. I have little chance of talking 
 to people unless I am inside the Palace, and they 
 are so suspicious of me that, as the late Chancellor 
 (Heath) plainly told me, nobody dares to speak to 
 me. . . . They are very glad to be free of your 
 Majesty, as though you had done them harm instead 
 of good. Although in several of my letters to your 
 Majesty I have said how small a party you have 
 here, I am never satisfied that I have said enough to 
 describe things as they really are. I am so isolated 
 from them that I am much embarrassed and puzzled 
 to get the means of discovering what is going on ; for 
 truly they run away from me as if I were the devil. 
 The best way will be for me to get my foot into the 
 Palace, so as to speak oftener with the Queen, as she 
 is a woman very fond of argument." 
 
i86 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 The great question for the Spaniards was EHza- 
 beth's marriage. If she married a Protestant or a 
 man open to French influence, the effect upon 
 Spanish interests might be disastrous. The gossip 
 on the subject at Court shifted from day to day — 
 sometimes an English suitor, sometimes Prince Eric, 
 sometimes one of the Archdukes, PhiHp's cousins, 
 being the favourite. Savoy was always rejected by 
 public voice, because of the fear that he might 
 drag England into war with France to recover his 
 dominions. None of the suitors mentioned except 
 Savoy would have suited Spanish ends. The Arch- 
 dukes, if they would accept the absolute dictation of 
 their cousin Philip, would have been the least objec- 
 tionable of the foreign Princes : but Philip was not 
 on very good terms with the Austrian branch of his 
 family at this time ; for he was still sore about the 
 succession to the Empire, and the Archdukes were 
 too much dependent upon the Lutherans to please 
 him. So the conviction grew in Feria's mind that 
 the only satisfactory solution would be for Philip to 
 marry Elizabeth himself. He proposed to appeal to 
 her pride, and to suggest that it would be beneath 
 her to match less splendidly than her sister. Little 
 did either he or his master understand the subtle 
 mind with which they had to deal. Elizabeth was, 
 of course, anxious to keep on good terms with them, 
 and indeed to restore England to its former position 
 as the balancing power, but, smile and coquette as 
 she might, she would never allow herself to be drawn 
 into a position from which she could not retreat. 
 
 Feria — impatient, scornful, and proud — began to tire 
 of this inconclusive dallying, especially as he saw, 
 both at Court and outside, that the Protestants were 
 
SPANISH FEARS 187 
 
 growing bolder, and the Queen herself was relaxing 
 her orthodox observance. He complained bitterly 
 to Philip that everything was hidden from him, and 
 that he could learn nothing, though the Queen said 
 that he knew too much about English affairs ; that 
 he was proud, and that she would be glad if he were 
 recalled. *' I am afraid," he wrote, " that one fine 
 day we shall find this woman married, and I shall be 
 the last man to learn anything about it. ... I over- 
 look many things and try not to take offence or to 
 appear inquisitive ; but their enmity and evil con- 
 sciences make them so suspicious of me that they 
 think I know everything, and in return for all my 
 efforts to please, I believe that they would like to see 
 me thrown into the river — that is to say, the Queen 
 and her friends would — for the Catholics and goodly 
 people are glad that your Majesty should gain ground 
 here." 
 
 The fear that Elizabeth would slip through their 
 fingers was accentuated for the Spaniards by the idea 
 that her proceedings in religion might induce the Pope 
 to listen to French prompting and excommunicate her, 
 declaring her throne forfeit to the next Catholic heir, 
 Mary of Scotland, Dauphiness of France. Any- 
 thing would have suited Philip better than that, and 
 it appears to have been this consideration which 
 finally moved him to dazzle the new Queen, and 
 cut out all the other suitors by proposing formally 
 to become her husband himself. Elizabeth had, of 
 course, in her two previous conversations with Feria, 
 understood his veiled allusions to the subject ; and 
 when he had pressed his demand for rooms in the 
 Palace of Whitehall, Elizabeth, with prudish modesty, 
 sent word by Cecil that, as she was unmarried and 
 
i88 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 Feria might be her suitor, it would be improper for 
 him to sleep under the same roof. Feria, recognising 
 the absurdity of the alleged reason, believed that the 
 refusal was owing to French intrigue, and urged his 
 master to act promptly. "Your Majesty must get 
 the affair into your own grasp. We must look to it 
 at once that the King of France does not get in and 
 spoil the crop that your Majesty has sown here." 
 Thus abjured, Philip took the plunge, once more in a 
 pure spirit of martyrdom — not this time on account 
 of disparity of age or lack of attraction on the part 
 of his bride-elect, but rather because of her doubtful 
 orthodoxy. 
 
 It is difficult to understand how so sagacious a man 
 as Philip can have been so blind to the character of his 
 sister-in-law as to have believed that an offer made 
 in the spirit displayed in his letter to his ambassador 
 could have been accepted by her. On loth January, 
 I559» the King wrote thus to Feria: "I highly 
 approve of the course you have adopted in per- 
 suading her and the Council that it is not to her 
 interest to marry a subject. As regards myself, if 
 she should broach the subject to you, you should 
 treat it in such a way as neither to accept nor reject 
 the suggestion entirely. In a matter of such grave 
 importance it was necessary for me to take counsel 
 and consider it maturely in all its bearings, before 
 I sent you my decision. Many great obstacles 
 present themselves, and it is difficult for me to 
 reconcile my conscience to it, as I am obliged to 
 reside in my other dominions, and consequently 
 could not be much in England, which, apparently, 
 is what they fear ; and also because the Queen has 
 not been sound in religion, and it would not look 
 
PHILIP PROPOSES TO ELIZABETH 189 
 
 well for me to marry her unless she were a Catholic. 
 Besides this, such a marriage would appear like 
 entering upon a perpetual war with France, seeing 
 the claims that the Queen of Scots has to the English 
 Crown. The urgent need for my presence in Spain, 
 which is greater than I can say here, and the heavy 
 expense I should be put to in England by reason of 
 the costly entertainment necessary to the people there, 
 together with the fact that my Treasury is so utterly 
 exhausted as to be unable to meet the most pressing 
 ordinary expenditure, much less new and onerous 
 burdens : bearing in mind these and many other 
 difficulties no less grave, ... I nevertheless cannot 
 lose sight of the enormous importance of such a match 
 to Christianity and the preservation of religion, which 
 has been restored in England by the help of God. 
 Seeing the importance that the country should not 
 relapse into its former errors, which would cause to 
 our neighbouring dominions serious dangers and 
 difficulties, I have decided to put aside all other 
 considerations which might be urged against it, and 
 am resolved to render this service to God, and offer 
 to marry the Queen of England ; and I will use 
 every possible effort to effect this, if it can be done 
 on the conditions that will be explained to you. The 
 first and most important is that you should satisfy 
 yourself that the Queen will profess the same religion 
 that I do, the same that I ever shall hold, and that 
 she will persevere in the same and uphold it in the 
 country, doing with that end all that may appear 
 necessary to me. She will have to obtain secret 
 absolution from the Pope and the necessary dis- 
 pensation, so that when I marry her she will be a 
 Catholic, which she has not hitherto been. In this 
 
I90 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 way it is evident and manifest that I am serving the 
 Lord in marrying her, and that she has been con- 
 verted by my act. You will not propose any 
 conditions until you see how the Queen is disposed 
 towards the matter itself; and mark well that you 
 must first broach the subject alone, as she has 
 already opened the door to such an approach. "^ 
 Later Philip mentions that the clause in his marriage 
 treaty with Mary granting Flanders to the issue of 
 the marriage could not be conceded in the case of 
 Elizabeth. 
 
 There are few letters extant that reveal so clearly 
 as this does the character of Philip. As he points 
 out in his long preamble, the objections to the match 
 are numerous and grave. Elizabeth was of doubtful 
 orthodoxy, excommunicate and officially declared a 
 bastard, the daughter of a woman whom Catholic 
 Spaniards looked upon as the personification of evil, 
 and yet to marry her the proudest monarch on earth 
 and the champion of the Church omnipotent was 
 ready to salve his conscience, sacrifice personal desires 
 and lavish upon a people he loathed the money wrung 
 painfully from the Castilian subjects that he loved. 
 The talk of his sacrifice to God no doubt was sincerely 
 uttered and believed by himself, because he ever 
 identified his political aims with the cause of the 
 Almighty ; but the real reason for his willingness to 
 marry Elizabeth in spite of everything was primarily 
 to prevent England from slipping away from his grasp 
 to the irreparable injury of his cause. If England 
 became a Protestant power under Elizabeth, he 
 foresaw that it would reinforce the elements in his own 
 
 ^ Spanish Calendars of Elizab h, vol. i. (Hume). 
 
A SACRIFICIAL PROPOSAL 191 
 
 dominions with which his great struggle was even now 
 visible on the horizon ; if it became Catholic under 
 Mary Stuart, matters would be still worse for him, 
 because his great rival France would then hold the 
 whip hand over him for ever from across the Channel. 
 It was a dire predicament for a proud, devout monarch 
 to find himself in, and of the two great evils that 
 threatened, Philip proposed to choose the lesser in 
 marrying Elizabeth *' for the greater glory of God." 
 
 But it takes two persons to make a marriage, and 
 Elizabeth, unlike her sister, had no notion of allowing 
 herself and England to be made the tools of another's 
 ambitions, for she had ambitions of her own, and in 
 most cases they were not identical with those of her 
 brother-in-law. In one particular alone they coincided, 
 namely, in the need for excluding the French from 
 gaining control of England by means of Mary Stuart 
 or otherwise, and this was the point that restrained 
 Philip from proceeding to extremities with Elizabeth 
 for thirty years of provocation. Feria, who was in 
 closer touch with the progress of affairs in England 
 than his master, must have seen the impracticability 
 of proposing for Elizabeth's hand in the spirit of his 
 instructions, and, although he saw her in the little 
 chamber at Whitehall on the eve of the opening of 
 Parliament on the 25th January, where she chatted 
 very affably with him, he did not venture to mention 
 the question of marriage, as he had been told that 
 Parliament would press her to choose a husband, and 
 thought that he had better wait until then. But Philip 
 was impatient, the English Peace Commissioners at 
 Cateau Cambresis, who had now been joined by Lord 
 William Howard, were standing out firmly for the 
 restoration of Calais as a condition of the general 
 
192 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 peace. ^ If Elizabeth showed herself ready to become 
 Philip's wife and the obedient tool of his policy, he 
 was willing to make a stand too on the subject of 
 Calais ; but he was determined not to be kept at war 
 for the sake of the English if Elizabeth persevered 
 in her proposed Parliamentary action with regard to 
 religious reform, and he peremptorily instructed Feria 
 to remonstrate earnesdy with her on the subject, and 
 to tell her from him, ** as a good and true brother, 
 who really wishes her well, both on account of our 
 relationship and because I wish to see her firmly 
 established on the throne, that I warn her to ponder 
 deeply the evils which may result to England, par- 
 ticularly so early in her reign, from any change in 
 religion. . . . You will enforce this by all the good 
 arguments and persuasions that you can employ, . . . 
 but if you can obtain no success in that way you will 
 consider whether it will be well to press the Queen by 
 saying that if this change is made, all idea of my 
 marriage with her must be broken off. If she has any 
 thoughts that way this may be effective." 2 
 
 Feria was in a quandary, for he knew how impossible 
 it was, seeing Elizabeth's temper, to deal with her in 
 this way. After two or three inconclusive interviews 
 with the Queen, in which the question of the religious 
 changes was pressed and the marriage broadly hinted 
 at, Feria came to close quarters with her. She began 
 with her usual professions of disinclination to marry 
 at all, and was proceeding, as he feared, to decline 
 her brother-in-law's proposal, when the ambassador 
 
 ^ The English correspondence on this matter is of much 
 interest. It is in Forbes's State Papers. 
 
 = PhiHp to Feria, 14th February, 1559. — Spanish Calendars of 
 Elizabeth (Hume). 
 
QUEEN ELIZABETH 
 
 FROM A PAINTING BY ZUCCHEKO IN THE NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY 
 
ELIZABETH AND FERIA 193 
 
 stopped her and said he did not want an answer then. 
 After some coquettish verbal fencing she promised him 
 that she would give him a good answer if she gave 
 him one at all. And then came the serious part of the 
 business. Howard had written to her that Alba had 
 said that they (the Spaniards) could not stand out for 
 Calais any longer, but must make peace in any case. ^ 
 
 Elizabeth worked herself up into a rage about this, 
 and began to storm about Mary of Scotland's claims 
 upon England. She was not so poor that she could 
 not get what money and soldiers she needed to hold 
 her own, she said. Her people were all grumbling, 
 she declared, at the waste of money upon the fleet for 
 Philip's service and other heavy expenditure the late 
 Queen had incurred for him ; and Feria had much ado 
 to enforce his view that England owed a deep debt 
 of gratitude to Philip, and the unreasonableness of 
 expecting that he would keep at war with France for 
 the sake of a single town like Calais. He was afraid 
 even to speak about the religious point for fear of 
 exacerbating their relations : " Yet, although I plainly 
 see her going to perdition, it seems to me that if the 
 marriage can be carried through, the rest will soon be 
 arranged in accordance with the glory of God and the 
 wishes of your Majesty. If the marriage do not take 
 place, all I could say to the Queen about religion would 
 be of little avail, as she is so badly advised by the 
 
 ^ Elizabeth was all the time in negotiation with the Reform 
 party in France through Guido Cavalcanti for a separate peace, 
 if possible, on better terms than could be got in conjunction 
 with Spain. She was quite willing to leave Philip in the lurch, 
 if necessary, though the Catholic advisers of Henry II. had 
 entirely different views. The correspondence is in Forbes' 
 State Papers of Elizabeth. 
 
194 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 heretics who surround her, and it might even prejudice 
 theprincipal matter" {i.e., the marriage). 
 
 Events thereafter moved apace. To the Queen's 
 indignation she was forced to consent to a peace with 
 France, postponing the restitution of Calais for eight 
 years, to be followed by a peace with Scotland. The 
 Act of Supremacy and the Act of Uniformity were 
 passed ; and every day, notwithstanding Elizabeth's 
 diplomatic professions of attachment to Spain and its 
 King, the hold of the latter over England became 
 less powerful. Philip had to make up his mind rapidly 
 after the religious changes in the English Parliament 
 had been made. It was clear to him then that Eliza- 
 beth would be no fit instrument to his ends. Feria 
 was telling him hotly that "the only way to deal with 
 these heretics is sword in hand," and Alba, in 
 Flanders, was for coercing Elizabeth before she grew 
 strong enough to resist Spain and the English Catholics 
 combined. 
 
 But Philip hated war, and had a supreme belief in 
 his own diplomatic methods. He was face to face, 
 moreover, with a new development. Always before 
 France had been the insatiable rival of his house, and 
 France had been a solid instrument in the hands of its 
 King. But the Reformation was already confusing 
 the traditional boundaries. Henry II. was growing 
 apprehensive of the increasing spread of Calvinism in 
 his own dominions, and a solution after Philip's own 
 heart was devised by the Churchmen that drew the 
 Catholic rivals together to face the new danger of 
 Protestantism throughout Europe. England was no 
 longer to be the balancing power between them, but 
 the enemy of both, so long as she remained Protestant. 
 To cement this hopeful attempt to combine Europe 
 
A NEW SITUATION 195 
 
 politically on new lines Philip was to marry the eldest 
 daughter of France, the Princess Elizabeth of Valois, 
 who, so long as he had hopes of marrying Elizabeth, 
 had been destined for his only son Don Carlos. 
 
 The close union of France and Spain caused, as 
 usual, a wave of alarm to pass over England. Paget 
 and the Spanish party in Elizabeth's Court were for 
 continuing the war against France at any cost and 
 clinging to Philip as the sole chance of safety ^ ; and, 
 although the Queen and Cecil would not go so far as 
 that, they did their best to mollify Feria and his 
 master. When the ambassador saw the Queen on 
 the 7th April, 1559 (the day that the news of the sign- 
 ing of the peace of Cateau Cambresis came to London) 
 she was pouting and coquettishly aggrieved that Philip 
 should have engaged himself to be married to any one 
 but her, as she had given him no answer yet. Feria 
 retorted crossly that the King could not wait four 
 months for her answer, and when Cecil told him that 
 they were quite willing to continue the war against 
 France if Philip liked, the ambassador answered him 
 rudely, and " I left them that day as bitter as gall." 
 Again and again the angry ambassador complained 
 and remonstrated with the Queen about the religious 
 changes and the licence now taken by the people. 
 But she outwitted him at every point, kept up an 
 elaborate pretence of negotiations to marry one of the 
 Austrian Archdukes, who would depend entirely on 
 Philip, and personally assured Feria that she was as 
 good a Catholic as her father, the only point upon 
 which she differed from the Spaniards being the 
 supremacy of the Pope. 
 
 Thus England freed herself from Spanish tutelage 
 ^ Hatfield Papers, part i. p. 151. 
 
196 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 within six months of Elizabeth's accession. Feria 
 said she " was a daughter of the devil and her chief 
 ministers the greatest scoundrels and heretics in the 
 land," and when he went back to join his master in 
 Flanders he breathed fire and slaughter against 
 England and the Queen, whose diplomacy had stultified 
 all his efforts. He had done his best to persuade 
 Philip to pluck a quarrel with England that should 
 give him an excuse for armed intervention, the deposi- 
 tion of Elizabeth by the Pope, and the patronage of 
 Catharine Grey as a pretender for Elizabeth's throne 
 with the aid of the English Catholics, who, he assured 
 Philip, were all in his favour. ^ But Philip thought that 
 he had found a better way than by war and rejected 
 the advice of his fiery councillors. To represent him 
 in England there remained at Elizabeth's Court the 
 best possible instrument that could have been selected 
 in the circumstances, the Bishop of Aquila, Alvaro de 
 la Quadra, a supple, patient, unscrupulous old ecclesi- 
 astic, who had lived long in Italy and was an adept at 
 sly, stealthy diplomacy, which so cleverly used religion 
 as the stalking-horse of politics. Bishop Jewel calls 
 him "a clever, crafty, old fox " ; and he needed all his 
 cunning, for his task for the next five years until it 
 broke his heart was to keep Elizabeth, heretic though 
 she might be, from joining either the Protestants or 
 the French against Philip. 
 
 For even before the ink was dry that ratified the 
 peace of Cateau Cambresis, before the pompous 
 ceremonies in England, France, and Spain that cele- 
 brated it were finished, a stroke of Fate had rendered 
 the union between the two great Catholic Powers 
 unstable, and old political traditions were reasserting 
 * Spanish Calendar of Elizabeth (Hume). 
 
A STROKE OF FATE 197 
 
 themselves. I have told elsewhere ^ of the ill-fated 
 feast in Paris, when stern Alba wedded in June, 1559, 
 as proxy for his master, the beautiful Valois Princess 
 of fourteen. How her father, the gallant Henry, was 
 stricken down mortally at the joust that followed, and 
 how the rise of his long-neglected wife, Catharine de 
 Medici, able and ambitious, soon made the Catholic 
 League a hollow pretence. She needed not the domi- 
 nance of the Guises and their Catholic friends, but so 
 nicely to balance them against the Huguenots that she 
 herself might hold the scale. She did not send her 
 sweet daughter to Spain as a pledge for the extirpation 
 of Protestantism root and branch, as had been 
 intended, but to cajole Philip into helping her person- 
 ally to hold her own as ruler of France, whichever 
 faction was paramount, and to win, if possible, the heir 
 of Spain for her younger daughter, so that her hold 
 over the country might be perpetuated. 
 
 The accession also of young Francis H. and Mary 
 Stuart to the throne of France, under the dominion of 
 their ambitious Guise uncles, had driven a great wedge 
 into the unity of the Catholic League. The Guises, 
 who led the Catholic party in France, were now for a 
 short time masters, on behalf of the young King and 
 his wife, of the national resources, and were prepared 
 to use them in furthering their Scottish niece's claims 
 to the English throne. This naturally drew Philip 
 more to the side of Elizabeth, however perverse she 
 might be, and, from the very first, rendered abortive 
 the Catholic League secretly cemented by the treaty of 
 Cateau Cambresis. When the death of Francis II., 
 after his short reign, threw the Guises into the back- 
 ground and made Catharine de Medici Regent of 
 * " Queens of Old Spain," by Martin Hume. 
 
198 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 France, matters were hardly improved. Philip was 
 always a bad hand at playing another's game, and 
 though his young French wife lived happily with him, 
 for he was a good husband, the purpose of her going 
 to Spain was never achieved, and Philip was as 
 anxious after his French marriage as before it to 
 prevent his mother-in-law and his English sister-in- 
 law from making common cause against him. They, 
 knowing this as well as he, could, and did, always 
 checkmate or paralyse him when they pleased by 
 simulating friendship with each other, either by 
 marriage talk or by a pretence of common interest. 
 Whilst Catharine de Medici lived this was the 
 problem of Europe, and to Philip it proved* an in- 
 soluble one. 
 
 Feria and Alba were for ever advocating the high 
 hand with Elizabeth, but Philip knew that his hollow 
 union with France had drawn all Protestants together, 
 so that if he aided the English Catholics to depose 
 Elizabeth and crush Protestantism in her country, not 
 only would Catholic France be against him, but the 
 Lutheran Germans would be disturbed, and perhaps 
 he might let loose the storm, of which the mutterings 
 were already audible, over his own Netherlands. So, 
 in spite of the Bishop of Aquila's soft hints and 
 Feria's warlike advice, Philip decided, notwithstand- 
 ing Elizabeth's religious recalcitrancy, upon a policy of 
 palliation and suavity in England. "You must," he 
 instructed his ambassador, " keep mainly in view by 
 all means to avoid a rupture. I have already pointed 
 out the importance of this, but it is so great that I 
 cannot be satisfied without repeating it many times." 
 But yet he was ready even thus early if Elizabeth's 
 subjects attacked her for her religious measures to 
 
PHILIP TRIES SUAVITY 199 
 
 take full advantage of the opportunity for his own 
 advantage, and so to prevent the French from estab- 
 lishing themselves in England. With these pacific 
 instructions, therefore, he sent the great sum of 
 60,000 crowns " to gain friends," and says, " I have 
 also ordered, in case of need, that money shall be 
 raised to fit out a fleet at short notice, so that it 
 may be ready to carry men over to England if 
 required." 
 
 The difference between Feria's arrogant methods 
 and the Bishop's blandness was soon seen in his inter- 
 course with the Queen. Of her and her advisers in his 
 letters to Philip he has nothing but violent abuse ; but 
 he was all tolerant kindness when he was with her, 
 and got quite friendly with the " heretic " Cecil. He 
 was lodged in Durham Place, as Feria had been, and 
 was in close touch with Lady Mary Sidney and her 
 brother, Lord Robert Dudley, who was soon to be 
 created Earl of Leicester. During all the comedy of 
 pretended marriage negotiations with the Archduke 
 Charles the Bishop dexterously aided or hindered the 
 progress as the interests of Philip seemed to dictate. 
 If the Archduke was to come as a thoroughgoing 
 Catholic and obedient servant of Spain well and good, 
 but the moment there was any talk of his making 
 religious concessions or appearing under Lutheran 
 auspices, then the wily Bishop smiled upon the 
 perennial second string of Lord Robert Dudley. In 
 the meanwhile he was hand in glove with the dis- 
 contented and dismayed English Catholics, gaining 
 friends amongst them by money promises and blandish- 
 ments, whilst his spies were busy discovering the 
 weak points on the East Coast towards Flanders, 
 making lists of the Catholic and disaffected English 
 
200 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 gentry, and whispering to them of the armed aid that 
 in case of need would be sent by the CathoHc King. 
 To Philip the Bishop wrote often with affected 
 humility, but with studied significance, saying how 
 surprised the English Catholics were that he made no 
 move to help them. " Your Majesty," he wrote, " is 
 the only hope of the godly and the dread of the wicked, 
 if the latter are not to be allowed time to combat and 
 weaken the Catholic party." ^ 
 
 But Philip was powerless to stir a finger to help 
 them, much as they might cry to him. The death of 
 Henry II. and the accession of Mary Stuart's husband, 
 as has been pointed out, had suddenly changed the 
 situation. The claims of the Queen of Scots to the 
 English throne, and the despatch of a strong French 
 force to Leith to succour the Regent Mary of Lorraine, 
 hardly pressed as she was by the rebels subsidised by 
 Elizabeth, precipitated the eventuality that Philip 
 dreaded most — a war in Scotland between France and 
 the Queen of England. If in such a war the latter 
 were beaten by the Guises, then farewell to Spanish 
 influence in England, however Catholic the country 
 might become. Yet Philip dared not fight on the 
 behalf of heresy against the Catholic French element 
 and the Guises, or the Huguenots would become all- 
 powerful ; whilst if he interfered in England at all to 
 Elizabeth's detriment his action would draw together 
 in close unity the powerful Protestant party in 
 England, the majority of the Scots who were 
 Reformers, the Huguenots of France, who were 
 panting for revenge on the Guises, and the Lutherans 
 of Germany and Holland. With such a combination 
 
 ^ 12th July, Spanish Calendar, vol. i. 
 
PHILIP'S DIFFICULTIES 201 
 
 as this behind her Elizabeth might adopt a stronger 
 anti-CathoHc attitude than ever. 
 
 But what Philip dreaded even more than this was 
 the encouragement that such a strong combination of 
 Protestants would give to the Flemings, who were 
 already straining in the leash to escape from the 
 Spanish religious system. Philip sent envoys to 
 England and France to urge, both by persuasion and 
 threats, that the peace should be kept (March, 1560), 
 but, as usual, his step was too late to prevent hostili- 
 ties. The Bishop of Aquila, in his private letters to 
 Feria, was scornful of his master's methods. "If 
 these envoys from his Majesty are only coming to talk, 
 they will do m,ore harm than good, as the Catholics 
 here expect much more than that. . . . The Queen is 
 greatly alarmed, and this is the time to do what ought 
 to have been done before ; but if we are always to be 
 on the defensive and to palliate everything, I can only 
 pray for patience, though I well know we shall never 
 have such an opportunity again. All here are with us, 
 and the very heretics are sick of it." ^ The Bishop 
 dared not write in this strain to Philip, though he said 
 as much as he could ; but the King saw, if his advisers 
 did not, that he could not take up arms against 
 Elizabeth without playing the French game, and it 
 was equally impossible for him to fight his Catholic 
 French allies on behalf of the heretic Queen. All he 
 could do, therefore, was talk. 
 
 The result of the short war in Scotland was favour- 
 able to Elizabeth, and the pressing danger passed ; 
 but Philip's threat to aid the French if she insisted 
 upon continuing the hostilities brought home to 
 
 ^ The Bishop of Aquila to Feria, 7th March, 1560. — Spanish 
 Calendar, vol, i. 
 
202 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 Elizabeth and her minister that the Catholic League 
 was still a danger to them. An attempt was made to 
 persuade the Spaniards that the Queen would really 
 marry the Archduke at once and follow Philip's 
 advice, the object being to weaken the friendship 
 between Spain and France ; but Lord Robert 
 Dudley's philandering was now so open, and Elizabeth 
 so obviously fond of him, that the new pretence about 
 the Archduke and her sudden Catholic professions 
 deceived nobody.^ Even Cecil lost heart at the 
 difficulties created by this infatuation of the Queen for 
 Dudley, and the Spanish ambassador chuckled with 
 delight that the " heretics " were falling out amongst 
 themselves and the Catholic cause was looking 
 brighter. 
 
 As soon as the death of Dudley's wife set him free 
 he made an attempt, which for a time hoodwinked 
 Bishop Quadra, to gain the support of Spain for his 
 suit, and even wily Philip believed that England was 
 going to fall under his sway again by means of the 
 Queen's lover, a belief that proved that he still failed 
 to gauge Elizabeth's true. character. The intermediary 
 in this case was Sir Henry Sidney, who, being a 
 kinsman of the English Countess of Feria and the 
 husband of Robert Dudley's sister, was persona grata 
 2X Durham House. He came to Bishop Quadra late 
 in January, 1561, and after much circumlocution 
 remarked that he was surprised that it had not been 
 suggested to Philip that the opportunity offered " for 
 gaining over Lord Robert by extending a hand to 
 him now in the matter of his marriage with the 
 
 ^ This pretended rapprochement may be followed in detail in 
 Quadra's letters in the Spanish Calendar. The intrigue was 
 mainly engineered by Lady Mary Sidney. 
 
DUDLEY AND THE SPANIARDS 203 
 
 Queen, and he would thereafter serve and obey your 
 Majesty like one of your own vassals." The Bishop 
 was cool about it, for Dudley's character was bad, and 
 many evil tales were afloat about his wife's recent 
 death. The King of Spain, said the Bishop, had no 
 need to win the Queen of England's goodwill. She 
 had not, moreover, shown herself very ready hitherto 
 to take his advice upon anything, and it was not sure 
 that she would do so in the matter of her marriage 
 with Lord Robert. Sidney admitted that the rumours 
 about the foul play upon Amy Robsart were generally 
 believed, but he said they were untrue. The Queen, 
 however, was really in love with Robert, and was 
 most anxious to settle the religious question by the 
 help of him as her husband. Yes, said the Bishop, 
 that no doubt is very praiseworthy and necessary ; 
 but he did not see why the religious matter should be 
 mixed up with so mundane a business as marrying 
 Dudley. It ought to be undertaken whether the 
 Queen was married or single. vSidney quite agreed. 
 Matters in the country were in a bad way, he admitted, 
 but the Queen and Robert were anxious to put things 
 right, and he swore most solemnly that they intended 
 to restore the Catholic religion in England by means 
 of a General Council of the Church, in which England 
 would join if King Philip would patronise the bride- 
 groom and urge Elizabeth to marry him. The Bishop 
 reminded Sidney that he had been led astray several 
 times before by such talk when the Queen wanted for 
 her own ends to appear friendly to Spain. It was, 
 moreover, very improper to make religion the excuse. 
 If Lord Robert repented of his heresy and wanted to 
 recant there was nothing to prevent him from doing so 
 without bargaining about it, and the interview ended 
 
204 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 by Sidney's promising to bring Lord Robert himself 
 to Durham House to satisfy the Bishop of his bond 
 /ides. 
 
 In his letter to the King the Churchman expresses 
 himself as being much shocked at the barefacedness 
 of the proposal ; but he goes on to say that he believes 
 that it is only by this means that the Queen can be 
 brought round to the Spanish side. The gossip 
 about her and Dudley, he says, is so scandalous that 
 she will not dare to marry him without some strong 
 support ; and there was no price she would not pay to 
 obtain it. Such a tendency as that shown in Sidney's 
 proposal would, of course, be strenuously opposed by 
 most of Elizabeth's advisers ; and Paget, with Cecil 
 and his friends, attempted a diversion by strongly advo- 
 cating a close alliance with France, where the young 
 King Francis II. had recently died, and Catharine de 
 Medici had become supreme. The Dudley intrigue 
 with Spain, however, went on, though probably, as we 
 see now, without the full knowledge of the Queen. 
 Lord Robert at length came with Sidney to see the 
 Bishop on the 1 3th February, and professed his readi- 
 ness to be the humble servant of King Philip if he 
 would recommend the Queen to marry him. Quadra 
 was cautious. He had no special instructions, he 
 said, and the King was now in Spain, a long way off; 
 but he would promise Dudley that he would, the next 
 time he saw the Queen, urge her to marry ; and if she 
 mentioned any particular person he (the Bishop) would 
 enlarge upon Lord Robert's good qualities and King 
 Philip's affection for him. 
 
 Two days later the smooth-tongued old Bishop 
 found himself alone with the Queen, and ventured to 
 say how glad he was to hear that her marriage was 
 
DUDLEY AND THE SPANIARDS 205 
 
 seriously under discussion at last. If she wished to 
 consult the King of Spain on the matter the Bishop 
 was very much at her service, though no instructions 
 from Spain had been sent to him. The Queen talked 
 wide of the subject for some time ; but she said at 
 last that she knew she was no angel, and would make 
 the Bishop her confessor. She would not deny that 
 she had some affection for Lord Robert for his good 
 qualities, but had not decided to marry him or any one 
 else. But she saw every day the necessity for her 
 marriage, and that to satisfy the English humour it was 
 desirable that she should marry an Englishman. What 
 would the King of Spain think, she asked, if she 
 married one of her servants ? The Bishop said he did 
 not know, but would ask if she directed him to do so ; 
 and then he launched out into warm praise of Dudley. 
 Elizabeth promised to do nothing without Philip's 
 advice, and told the Bishop that when the time came 
 she would speak to him on the subject. The Bishop, 
 in relating the interview, says that he humoured her 
 thus " because he saw the heretics so busy forming 
 combinations with England, France, Scotland, and 
 Germany, and, above all, because your Majesty's 
 neighbouring States are so pressed that a perverse 
 decision of this woman might prejudice them, though 
 she herself were ruined by it." ^ 
 
 The Bishop, for all his sanctimonious horror that 
 religion should be used in political bargaining, was 
 really quite willing to carry through the deal and 
 to patronise the marriage of Elizabeth and Dudley 
 if he were assured of the payment. That Dudley 
 was ready to promise anything and everything is also 
 certain, but it is more than doubtful whether Elizabeth 
 * Spanish Calendar, vol. i. 
 
2o6 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 was aware of what he was promising. It suited her 
 at the moment to meet the Catholic league between 
 France and Spain, hollow as it was, by threatening 
 combinations of Protestants ; whilst at the same time, 
 as a second string to her bow, cajoling the Spaniards 
 into the idea that she was willing to be reconciled to 
 them, and had Catholic leanings. When Bishop 
 Quadra saw Dudley the next day Lord Robert was 
 profuse in his thanks, for he knew from the Queen 
 word for word what had passed. It had only been 
 timidity that had prevented the Queen from deciding 
 on the spot, he said, and he begged the Bishop to 
 revert to the subject when he saw her again. His 
 promises knew no bounds. Everything in England, 
 even religion, he said, should be put into the hands of 
 King Philip ; and if the sending of a representative to 
 the Council of the Church were not enough he would 
 go himself. To this the Bishop replied that he would 
 do his best to forward matters, but again, in shocked 
 tones, he begged Lord Robert not to mention religion 
 in the matter on any account. What the Queen and 
 Dudley did about that concerned their own consciences. 
 Of course the Catholic King would be delighted to see 
 all these religious dissensions settled, but it should not 
 be a matter of bargain. '* I am thus cautious with 
 these people, because if they are playing false, which 
 is quite possible, I do not wish to give them the oppor- 
 tunity of saying that we offered them your Majesty's 
 favour in return for their changing their religion." 
 
 At the same time the Bishop urged upon his master 
 that the moment had now come for action : either this 
 bargain must be struck with Dudley, or help must be 
 given to the enemies of the existing regime to revolu- 
 tionise England. " To let these affairs drift at the 
 
DUDLEY AND THE SPANIARDS 207 
 
 mercy of chance neither secures England to us nor 
 punishes evil, and must end in disadvantage to your 
 Majesty." Philip was just as sanctimonious in pro- 
 fession and as pliable in practice as his ambassador. 
 " Our principal aim," he wrote in reply, "is directed 
 to the service of our Lord, the maintenance of religion, 
 and the settlement and pacification of England, and, 
 as we see that Sidney's proposals tend to this, and 
 further bearing in mind that God if He wills can 
 extract good from evil, we have decided that the 
 negotiation suggested by Sidney should be listened 
 to." Dudley was to be helped to marry the Queen, 
 but "the bargain and its payment must be clearly set 
 forth in writing signed by Elizabeth herself, and she 
 must give some earnest of her sincerity by liberating 
 the Catholics she has in prison, she must undertake 
 to send Catholic bishops and ambassadors to the 
 Council of the Church, and submit herself uncon- 
 ditionally to its decisions. And, besides all this, she 
 must begin by giving full toleration to Catholic 
 worship." 
 
 This, again, shows that Philip was utterly at sea as 
 regards the real condition of England at the time, and 
 was still ignorant of Elizabeth's character and position. 
 Such demands as those he formulated as a preliminary 
 were utterly out of the question, even as a final con- 
 cession. Before this letter was received in London 
 the insincerity of Elizabeth in the matter began to 
 appear. The Earl of Bedford was sent to France, 
 ostensibly to condole with Catharine for the death of 
 Francis II. ; but also to suggest that the French 
 bishops — and especially those of Huguenot leaning — 
 should join her in sending representatives to the 
 Council, but not at Trent, as had been agreed, but 
 
2o8 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 somewhere else on this side of the Alps. The clever- 
 ness of this move is apparent. Catharine and Elizabeth 
 would in such case seem to be making common cause, 
 which would paralyse Philip ; and at the same time 
 the Catholics in England would be tranquillised with 
 the idea that a Council of the Church would settle 
 matters to their liking. Catharine, however, did not 
 jump at the bait, as just then in the first days of her 
 Regency she did not wish to quarrel with her Spanish 
 son-in-law, or to drive the Catholic Guises to despera- 
 tion by seeming to join with Elizabeth against them. 
 
 As soon as this became evident the English Queen 
 grew cool about the Council, much to Dudley's annoy- 
 ance, who still tried to keep her up to the mark. She 
 sent Cecil to the Spanish Bishop, asking him to move 
 Philip to write to her recommending her to marry 
 an Englishman, hinting at the same time that this 
 was in Philip's interest, as she might otherwise marry 
 a foreign enemy of his. Cecil said that her idea was 
 to bring Philip's letter before a committee of peers, 
 prelates, and commoners, all friends of Dudley, and 
 they would recommend the marriage. This was all very 
 well, said the Bishop, but how about Lord Robert's 
 religious pledges? But Cecil had no intention, nor 
 probably had the Queen, of carrying out any such 
 promises ; and this new proposal was really intended 
 to upset Dudley's plan. So, gradually, a barrier of 
 limitations and conditions was introduced by Cecil, 
 which made the affair impossible. The Anglican and 
 Lutheran bishops were to sit in the Council ; certain 
 points of doctrine must be settled beforehand ; the 
 Pope or his legate might be President but not ruler of 
 the Council ; and the place of meeting must be mutually 
 agreed upon by all the princes. Dudley alternately 
 
ROBERT DUDLEY, EARL OF LEICESTER 
 
 FROM A PAINTING AT THE NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY 
 
CECIL FRUSTRATES DUDLEY 209 
 
 fumed and sulked at this diversion by his opponents, 
 and tried desperately to keep the Spanish Bishop in 
 hand. It had, of course, been evident to the latter at 
 once that Philip's attitude as shown in his instructions 
 was impossible." ''Elizabeth," he said, "had not 
 entered into the business so humbly and submissively 
 that he could lay down the law to her and insist upon 
 her pledging herself in writing " ; besides, it would be 
 most unwise to give the "heretics " the opportunity, if 
 they were playing false, of proving that they had got 
 Philip to bargain for his political help in return for 
 religious concessions. 
 
 In the meanwhile, encouraged by this philandering, 
 a Papal Nuncio was hurrying across Europe to be 
 ready at a moment's notice to sail from Flanders to 
 England and invite the representatives of Elizabeth 
 to the Council of Trent. This Nuncio, the Abbe 
 Martinengo, was to be received at Greenwich 
 privately, and not to go through the streets of London, 
 which it was thought would not be safe. Dudley was 
 again in the seventh heaven of blissful anticipation, 
 and ready, if he was the Queen's husband, to lay Eng- 
 land and the faith he had professed at Philip's feet. 
 He would restore the Catholic Church, he promised, 
 the Queen should give a good answer to the Nuncio 
 about the Council of the Church, and some of the Pro- 
 testant bishops even, he said, were beginning to waver. 
 But Cecil saw which way matters were tending, and 
 promptly stepped in with another diversion. Protestant 
 feeling in England was already becoming excited at 
 the rumour that a Papal Nuncio was on his way to see 
 the Queen, and Bishop Quadra found himself a prey 
 to intense unpopularity for having, it was said, plotted to 
 bring about a Catholic revolution. The Nuncio was 
 
2IO TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 informed that he would not be allowed to land in 
 England (April, 1561), Sidney was hurried off to his 
 post in Wales, Dudley retired before the storm, and 
 Cecil, triumphant, had the satisfaction of knowing that 
 he had prevented England from being dragged into 
 Philip's clutches again by the ambition of a worthless 
 courtier, aided by the Queen's momentary weakness. 
 
 Bishop Quadra was deeply mortified by the way in 
 which he had been misled, and became more desirous 
 than ever that strong measures should be taken to aid 
 the Catholics to rebel against Elizabeth. After un- 
 successfully approaching the French Huguenots to 
 obtain help from them for his marriage with the 
 Queen, Dudley had the impudence, in January, 1562, to 
 approach Quadra again and offer his servile obedience 
 to Spain in return for the aid of King Philip towards 
 his marriage ; but the bait was stale, for, as the Bishop 
 wrote, the Catholics thoroughly distrusted Dudley 
 now, and he was of no use any longer as a Spanish 
 instrument. 
 
 Though Philip had failed again to secure England 
 as a satellite, the need for his doing so was as urgent as 
 ever, for the Netherlands were seething in discontent, 
 the Huguenots in France were being supported for 
 the time by the Regent Catharine, and it looked as if 
 the stronger coming combination in Europe would not 
 be Catholic but Protestant. To counteract this threat- 
 ening state of affairs it was necessary for Philip to try 
 a new tack. The massacre of Vassy had precipitated 
 the opening of the first war of religion in France 
 (March, 1562), and this made it expedient for him to 
 strengthen the Guises. So a proposal, upon which, 
 when Cardinal Lorraine had made it a year before, 
 he had looked upon coldly, was now regarded with 
 
PHILIP AND MARY STUART 211 
 
 favour. This was no less than the marriage of the 
 widowed Mary Stuart, now in Scotland, and on ill 
 terms with Catharine, with Philip's heir, Don Carlos. 
 It was not such a match as the Spanish King in 
 ordinary circumstances would have considered adequate 
 for his son ; but as Mary was the Catholic heiress of 
 England, and might by a turn of the wheel become 
 Queen of Britain she was a useful countercheck to 
 Protestant combinations. 
 
 As soon as the project got wind Elizabeth, Catharine 
 de Medici, and the Scottish Protestants, led by the 
 Earl of Murray, sought an antidote to the threatened 
 evil. The Darnley match was positively patronised 
 both by Elizabeth and Catharine, and Lethington 
 posted off to London eager to negotiate a friendly 
 understanding between England and Scotland before 
 his Catholic mistress should fall into the marriage 
 net of Spain. But the war between Catholics and 
 Protestants in France was now blazing fiercely, and 
 the Guises were fighting for their lives, unable to help 
 their niece or interfere in any way with Elizabeth's 
 game in Scotland. This made her for the time the 
 mistress of the situation, and she could afford to deal 
 high-handedly with the Queen of Scots, especially after 
 the Duke of Guise himself had been assassinated before 
 Orleans (February, 1563). She threw all her power 
 on the Huguenot side in the struggle, allowing English 
 contingents to join in the fight and subsiding Conde 
 with money. Mary Stuart's Protestant advisers had 
 tried hard to neg-otiate an alliance between England 
 and Scotland on Protestant lines in conjunction with 
 the recognition of Mary as Elizabeth's heiress under 
 the same auspices ; and once more Lethington went 
 to London, in February, 1563, to urge his point. He 
 
212 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 found the Queen coolly evasive, for she had nothing 
 to fear from Mary or her French kinsmen now, and 
 she knew that Philip would not dare to attack her or 
 interfere forcibly in Scotland whilst the Protestants in 
 France were in the ascendant. 
 
 Lethington, of course with Mary's acquiescence, 
 then shifted his ground. He and Murray had always 
 been strong partisans of England, with the idea of 
 securing the succession to Mary of a Protestant 
 Britain ; but, out of patience at last with this new 
 rebuff from Elizabeth, they determined to throw over 
 England and Protestantism, and marry Mary to a 
 nominee of Philip and defy Elizabeth to do her worst. 
 So, at dead of night, again and again, Lethington, the 
 Scottish minister, landed from his boat at the dark 
 stairs of Durham House, and remained for hours 
 closeted with Bishop Quadra. The Bishop himself 
 was daily growing more bitter against Elizabeth. 
 She had now openly aided the French Protestants 
 against the Catholics. She had treated him per- 
 sonally with marked contumely, raiding his house on 
 the pretext that people other than his own servants 
 attended Mass there, for she knew she could do all 
 this now with impunity, because Philip could not afford 
 to quarrel with her whilst the Catholics in France 
 were in a bad way. So the Bishop listened eagerly 
 as the Scot told him how the Queen of England 
 had deceived his mistress, and now again had evaded 
 the question of her succession ; how she had artfully 
 stepped in by intrigue, and had rendered abortive 
 all the negotiations for the marriage of Mary with 
 a fitting foreign prince, and had tried to drive her into 
 some unworthy marriage. " Had she not better accept 
 any marriage that the Queen of England proposes 
 
PHILIP AND MARY STUART 213 
 
 for her?" asked Quadra, as a feeler, "if in return 
 she obtains her recognition as the heiress of the 
 EngHsh Crown ? " No, replied Lethington, emphati- 
 cally. They had made up their mind that the only 
 way was to force Elizabeth, by marrying Mary to a 
 powerful Catholic prince, with sufficient force behind 
 him to maintain the rights of the Queen of Scots. 
 And then, after a little fencing on both sides, he 
 proposed that Don Carlos should become King 
 Consort of Scotland, and afterwards of Great Britain, 
 with Mary for his wife. Mary was, he said, quite 
 resolved never to marry a Protestant or to accept 
 any husband on the bidding of the Queen of Eng- 
 land, and if her approaches to Spain were not well 
 received she would offer to marry her young brother- 
 in-law, Charles IX. 
 
 This latter declaration, we may well suppose, 
 was only for the purpose of forcing the hand of 
 Philip, for the match would certainly not have been 
 allowed by Catharine de Medici. The old Bishop, 
 aware of this, passed it over with a smile, and 
 said that there was nothing the Queen of England 
 dreaded more than a marriage between Mary Stuart 
 and a friend of Spain. She had been at infinite pains 
 lately to make them believe that she was a Catholic, 
 but now that her friends the Huguenots were in the 
 ascendant she had become less anxious to conciliate 
 them. But were not the Scots Protestants too? he 
 asked. Lethington, Protestant and friend of Knox 
 though he was, minimised the difference between the 
 creed of Scotland and Spain. Religion, he assured the 
 Spaniard, was not really at the bottom of their trouble 
 in Scotland. Both Elizabeth and Catharine, he said, 
 were in mortal fear of the marriage of Don Carlos and 
 
214 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 Mary of Scotland, as well they might be ; for not only 
 would the Prince thus win the most chaste and beau- 
 tiful bride in the world, "but he would also succeed to 
 almost universal monarchy by adding to the dominions 
 already possessed by your Majesty two entire islands, 
 this and Ireland, the possession of which would give 
 no trouble whatever, having regard to the attachment 
 which the Catholics bear to this marriage and the 
 union of England and Scotland. 
 
 Bishop Quadra, well aware of the vast importance 
 of such a declaration from one of the leaders of the 
 Scottish Protestants, tried to extract precise religious 
 pledges from him. But Lethington had said all he 
 wished to say in the four hours' conference, and the 
 Bishop, full of encouragement, promised to obtain 
 promptly the King's answer to the proposal. Lething- 
 ton's next move was to approach the discontented 
 English Catholic nobles, already in a ferment at 
 Dudley's insolence and Cecil's religious policy. 
 Almost to a man they assured the Scot of their 
 enthusiastic support of a Spanish marriage for Mary 
 and the acceptance of the revolutionary changes that 
 such a marriage would produce in England. "Only 
 let her marry the heir of Spain and we will salute 
 her as our leader," they said. This could only mean 
 that with Spanish aid Mary and Carlos were to be 
 placed upon the throne of a united Britain, and that 
 Philip would regain the paramountcy he had lost. 
 Elizabeth's spies soon got wind of all this, and her 
 counter move was a most extraordinary one — no 
 other, indeed, than to offer Dudley as Mary's husband, 
 with the assurance of her succession to the English 
 Crown after Elizabeth's death without issue. It was 
 a mere feint and never meant seriously by Elizabeth, 
 
PHILIP AND MARY STUART 215 
 
 but it divided Scottish opinion and unsettled poor 
 Mary herself, and shows how much more than a 
 match Elizabeth was for Philip in diplomacy. 
 
 Whilst she, with consummate skill and daring, was 
 ready with such a diversion as this, the Spanish 
 King was pondering, considering, discussing, and 
 receiving reports upon every phase of the Scottish 
 offer. The opportunity was a supreme one for him, 
 and if he had been prompt and bold to seize the chance 
 he might have won England and Scotland by this 
 means. It is true that Don Carlos was a weak, half- 
 witted boy of degenerate type, though this was not 
 generally known at the time, but it would have been 
 sufficient to betroth him to Mary for his father to have 
 chained a ri^hi to interfere in Scotland. The Catholics 
 of England were on the alert for any such opportunity, 
 and the Scots, as we have seen by Lethington's action, 
 were ready to welcome any power strong enough 
 to defend their country from the intrigues by which 
 Elizabeth sought to sap the independence of their 
 ancient realm. 
 
 But promptitude was impossible where Philip was 
 concerned. It took him three months to answer the 
 important letter of Bishop Quadra telling him of 
 Lethington's offer, and when the reply came to London, 
 in June, 1 563, it was thoroughly characteristic of the 
 writer. As usual, he wanted to pledge everybody else 
 up to the hilt, whilst himself remaining free behind 
 bland generalities. His greatest praise was for the 
 Bishop's prudence in hearing what Lethington had said 
 without giving him any plain answer. " And seeing 
 that the bringing about of this marriage may perhaps 
 be the beginning of a reformation in religious matters 
 in England, I have decided to entertain the negotiation 
 
2i6 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 You will have it conducted in the same way that it 
 has been commenced if you consider that safe and 
 secret, telling them [the Scots] to inform you of all 
 the engagements and understandings they have in 
 England ; and you, who know how valuable such 
 knowledge will be to me, will keep me fully informed 
 of everything. You will advise me step by step of 
 all that happens, but without settling anything except 
 to discover the particulars referred to above, until I 
 send you instructions. You may tell them of my 
 intentions, but urge them above all to use the utmost 
 secrecy in the business and all connected with it, as 
 all the benefit to be derived depends absolutely upon 
 nothing being heard of it until it is an accomplished 
 fact. If it becomes known that I am concerned in 
 any such negotiations, the French will be greatly 
 alarmed and will spare no efforts to frustrate them — 
 or at least to counteract any profitable result that may 
 arise. As for that Queen of England and her heretics, 
 they are so deeply concerned that it is easy to judge 
 what they would do if they heard of it ; so, as I say, 
 it is absolutely necessary that you should keep secret 
 and urge secrecy upon all persons with whom you 
 treat." Philip knew that Cardinal Lorraine was now 
 pressing his niece to marry the Archduke Charles, 
 Elizabeth's former suitor; but Lethington had scouted 
 him as being useless for their purpose, as being poor 
 and powerless, and Philip was willing to cut out his 
 own close kinsman if he could thus gain England and 
 Scotland for his son, or rather for himself,' and above 
 
 * Quadra wrote a letter to the Emperor on the 26th June, before 
 he received PhiHp's instructions, worded in a way that was pur- 
 posely intended to deceive. Whilst saying that the Scots were 
 not favourable to the Archduke's suit unless he brought enough 
 
PHILIP AND MARY STUART 217 
 
 all avoid another French domination of Scotland, 
 which was threatened by Mary's pretended willingness 
 to marry the King of France. 
 
 When Philip's letter arrived in London the old 
 Bishop was under a cloud. He was accused of hold- 
 ing communication with Arthur Pole in the Tower. 
 It was known that he had been receiving in Durham 
 House emissaries of the Irish Catholics; and Cecil's 
 spies reported that suspicious boats came often at 
 night to the water gate. To make matters worse 
 one day in May a hanger-on of the Bishop's house- 
 hold, an Italian serving lad, had shot at from the back 
 gate of Durham House a Huguenot captain who was 
 swaggering down the Strand towards Whitehall. 
 The would-be assassin had taken refuge in the house, 
 and had sought sanctuary in the Bishop's own chamber, 
 whence he was smuggled away by boat by the servants 
 and escaped. Search and violation of diplomatic 
 domicile by the officers of the law followed. The 
 Bishop's servants were interrogated, the house itself 
 placed in the custody of an officer of the Queen, and 
 the old Bishop, with bitterness in his heart, found 
 himself shunned by all and powerless.' 
 
 money to keep himself and also that he was strong enough to 
 assert Mary's claim to the English Crown, he hinted that it was 
 to France and not to Spain that she was looking for a husband. 
 No word is mentioned about Don Carlos. — Spanish Calendar, 
 vol. i. 340. 
 
 ^ Serious allegations of intrigues against the Queen had been 
 made against the Bishop by a former secretary of his to Cecil, 
 Shan O'Neil was known to have frequented his house ; English 
 Catholics were known to be attendants at Mass in the embassy 
 chapel, and many other complaints were made besides the 
 harbouring and connivance in the escape of the fugitive Italian. 
 The Bishop himself was placed under arrest and subsequently 
 deprived of the use of Durham House as a result of the investi- 
 
2i8 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 So when Philip's impossible instructions reached the 
 Bishop, affairs had changed. Lethington had been 
 plainly told by Elizabeth that she was well aware 
 that he was plotting to marry his mistress to Don 
 Carlos or the Archduke, but that if she married 
 either she must face her enmity, whereas if she 
 married a friend of England she would make her 
 the heir to her throne. Lethington and the Scots 
 were therefore already wavering, for the fear was 
 that if Mary wedded a Spanish nominee, Elizabeth 
 would make Darnley her heir. The Catholics, too, 
 not unnaturally, seeing the Countess of Lennox, 
 Darnley 's mother, suddenly taken into high favour 
 with Elizabeth, were thinking what an ideal arrange- 
 ment it would be to marry Mary and her cousin 
 Darnley with Elizabeth's blessing, and the assured 
 joint succession to her crown. The Bishop knew all 
 this, and had well nigh lost heart when Philip's letter 
 arrived. He saw how impossible his master's methods 
 were in the face of Elizabeth's rapid changes of policy 
 and fertility of resource ; for how could he keep the 
 English Catholics in hand and learn all their combina- 
 tions, or even get them to make any, on vague secret 
 encouragement which might mean nothing ? To the 
 Duke of Alba he wrote : "The remedy is a weak one 
 for so dangerous a malady. When they see that 
 instead of giving them a firm reply we come only 
 with halting proposals and inquiries, I know not 
 what they will think. It is useless to ask them to 
 give me information as to the amount of support the 
 Queen of Scots can rely upon in England for the 
 information of his Majesty. Lethington knows well 
 
 gation of these charges. — Spanish Calendar, vol. i., and Domestic 
 Calendar of the same date, 1563. 
 
PHILIP AND MARY STUART 219 
 
 that all this has been done long ago, for, of course, 
 I could not hide my communications from him. We 
 have been approached by the same people about the 
 marriage . . . and they have given to Lethington 
 lists of the Catholics and others who would raise 
 troops for the Queen of Scots." 
 
 Almost hopeless of success, therefore, the Bishop 
 sent one of his most confidental servants to Scotland 
 to tell Mary verbally that the ambassador had a very 
 important communication for her if she would send a 
 trustworthy agent to London to receive it. This 
 messenger, Luis de Paz, left London in the middle of 
 July, 1563, and eventually reached Mary whilst she was 
 travelling in the Western Highlands. She had been 
 ardently expecting Philip's answer, and had with 
 difficulty held off the other suitors, the Archduke 
 Charles and Eric of Sweden, until it arrived. She 
 gave to Quadra's messenger a favourable verbal reply, 
 but before he reached Langley, in Buckinghamshire, 
 where the Bishop was staying, the old Spanish Church- 
 man was dying. He had plaintively written to Alba 
 shortly before that it was impossible to conduct affairs 
 in England on Philip's lines. He had done his best 
 but had been beaten. The English scorned and con- 
 temned him. He had been expelled from the Queen's 
 house ; he saw his master's cause daily waning in 
 England, and he knew that only bold, prompt action 
 could regain the lost ground. The hopelessness of 
 moving Philip to such action broke the old man's 
 heart. Luis de Paz had just time to whisper Mary's 
 message to him, and the dying man grieved sorely, 
 he said, that he should thus drop just when he might 
 hope to have succeeded. " I can do no more," he 
 sighed, just before he passed away, and Spanish 
 
220 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 influence in England was cast further into the back- 
 ground by his death ; for Durham Place during his 
 residence there had been the secret trysting-place of 
 all those who hated Elizabeth's rule. In the absence 
 of any diplomatic channel through which Mary might 
 work the orreat combination that she dreamed was to 
 give her the crown of Britain under Philip's protec- 
 tion, the clever, strong diplomacy of Elizabeth carried 
 all before it. Dudley and Darnley were alternately 
 dangled before Mary's eyes and then withdrawn, 
 until at length came the Lennox coup dUtat and the 
 marriage of the Queen of Scots with her cousin 
 Darnley, which for a time took her out of the market. 
 In the meanwhile every day that passed made it 
 more difficult, and yet more necessary, for the King 
 of Spain to gain the friendship or control of England. 
 Affairs were going worse and worse with him in the 
 Netherlands, where the struggle was assuming the 
 character of a duel to the death between the old tradi- 
 tions of Flemish self-government and the newer 
 absolutism which had already been fixed upon Castile 
 and now threatened the ancient patrimony of Bur- 
 gundy under Philip. The Reformed religion, or, indeed, 
 any assertion of the lay right of judgment in matters 
 of faith, was to Philip the embodiment of a rebellious 
 spirit against the absolute centralised authority which 
 was the essence of his system of government, and as 
 such had to be crushed at any cost or sacrifice. 
 Almost openly the English Protestants were sym- 
 pathising with their Flemish brethren, and many 
 Protestant refugees were flocking into England to 
 establish their industries and seek security under a 
 Protestant Queen. Boldness and good fortune had 
 enabled Elizabeth, on the other hand, to take advantage 
 
ELIZABETH'S GROWING POWER 221 
 
 of the jealousy of her neighbours and to gather 
 around her the growing Protestant party which wel- 
 comed the national independence she had attained in 
 so few years, whilst Philip's hesitancy had succeeded 
 entirely in disheartening the English Catholics, who 
 had at first looked upon him as their champion. 
 
 The attitude of Elizabeth throughout her inter- 
 course with the Spanish ambassadors had been such 
 that she had been able to beguile them when it suited 
 her, and to checkmate them at pleasure ; for whilst 
 they had to wait for tardy instructions, which when 
 they came always enjoined impracticable conditions, 
 Elizabeth was opportunist and able to change her 
 tack at an hour's notice, to the utter confusion of her 
 slow antacronlst. The hard treatment of Catholics in 
 Enofland and the welcome accorded to the Flemish 
 Protestant refugees had been met by Philip by the 
 cruel persecution in Spain of Englishmen, upon the 
 barest suspicion of heterodoxy ; and this had been 
 resented by the recrudescence of the pillage of Spanish 
 and Flemish ships at sea by English rovers. Not 
 content with this, Elizabeth attempted to foster the 
 new Flemish industries in England by imposing re- 
 strictions upon the entrance into her ports of certain 
 manufactured goods coming from Flanders. In 
 retaliation the Spanish rulers began a regular war of 
 tariffs against England ; and this, by the middle of 
 1564, had resulted in a general prohibition being 
 issued on both sides, which practically forbade com- 
 mercial intercourse altogether. Envoys went back- 
 wards and forwards for months, trying unsuccessfully 
 to arrange matters ; and in these efforts the Flemings 
 were much more anxious than the English ; for the 
 latter had secured a good inlet for their cloths to the 
 
222 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 Continent through Embden, and Elizabeth had given 
 permission for unrestricted export to all other countries 
 but Flanders and Spain. 
 
 The Flemish merchants, on the other hand, were 
 almost bankrupt by the loss of the English trade, 
 and were clamorous to Philip to remedy the matter. ^ 
 Elizabeth could afford to stand firm and resist all 
 attempts to force her into an inferior position in the 
 negotiations. She had taken Philip's measure by this 
 time, and knew that whilst his own Netherlands were 
 seething in revolt, and the Catholic party in France 
 were held in check by the Huguenots, he dared not 
 seriously injure her. So at last it was not the Queen 
 of England, but Philip, who had to speak humbly ; and 
 in June, 1564, there arrived in London a Spanish 
 ambassador of rank, a canon of Toledo, Diego 
 Guzman de Silva, on a new errand. His instructions 
 were precise, and his position was quite distinct from 
 that formerly held by haughty Feria and of Bishop 
 Quadra. They had both had for their mission the 
 forcing of a policy upon a new unstable Queen, whilst 
 Guzman was sent to seek a redress of grievances, and 
 by diplomacy and moderation to compass what threats 
 and retaliation had failed to accomplish. Philip's 
 hands, indeed, were then too full of his own troubles, 
 both in the Mediterranean and Flanders, for him to 
 hope to rule other countries, and bitter as it must 
 have been for him, and still more bitter for the states- 
 
 ^ And not alone to Philip. The merchants of Antwerp wrote 
 beseeching letters to Cecil, and also to Gresham, asking for their 
 influence to procure the re-establishment of commercial inter- 
 course. The correspondence on the subject, extending over 
 many months, is in the Spanish Calendar, vol. i., and in the 
 Flanders Papers of the date (1564) at the Record Office, for 
 the most part abstracted in the Foreign Calendar. 
 
A NEW AMBASSADOR 223 
 
 men of the Alba school, he was forced to speak mildly 
 through his new ambassador to the heretic Queen to 
 prevent the ruin of his Catholic Flemish subjects. 
 To this pass had he been brought in six years from 
 the time when in the days of Mary he had worked his 
 will in England almost unchecked. 
 
 Guzman was instructed to make vigorous remon- 
 strance to the English Government with regard to the 
 grievances inflicted on Spanish and Flemish trade in 
 many ways ; but he was warned that when he saw 
 Queen Elizabeth he was " to compliment her with the 
 fairest words you can use." " You will tell her, as I 
 write to her, that I send you to reside near her as my 
 ordinary ambassador, with orders to try to please her 
 in all things, as, in effect, we wish you to do, using 
 every possible effort to that end, and to strive to 
 preserve her friendship towards us, ■ and our mutual 
 alliance. You will assure her that nothing will be 
 wanting on my part to this end, as she well knows by 
 the acts we have hitherto done, and the offers we have 
 made to her." The ambassador was instructed to 
 win over Lord Robert Dudley, "who is so great a 
 favourite of the Queen, and can influence her to the 
 extent you have been informed. With kindness you 
 will try to gain him, and will also strive to make the 
 friendship of the Queen's Councillors and officers 
 through whose hands affairs pass, so that you may 
 the more readily guide them in the way desired." 
 His mission was primarily concerned with securing 
 the restoration of Flemish trade and the reopening 
 of the ports on both sides, though he was also to 
 watch closely the coming and going of "heretics" 
 between England and the Netherlands, to persuade 
 Elizabeth, if possible, to extend toleration to the 
 
224 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 Catholic worship in England, ^ and he was to spy out 
 the Spanish Protestants who had sought refuge there. 
 But, although he said nothing to his new am- 
 bassador, it is evident that Philip was not inclined 
 to accept as permanent his present state of power- 
 lessness in England, and was patiently biding his 
 time until circumstances allowed him to obtain control 
 once more. This is seen by the stress laid upon the 
 importance of gaining Leicester to the Spanish cause, 
 and still more by the instruction that Guzman was 
 stealthily to encourage the hopes of the English 
 Catholics, " with such dissimulation and dexterity as 
 to give no cause for suspicion to the Queen or her 
 advisers, as it is evident that much evil might follow 
 if the contrarv were the case." Guzman was an 
 amiable, easy-going Churchman in favour of peace, 
 and very soon managed to get affairs upon a more 
 friendly footing. The marriage juggle, by which Eliza- 
 beth balanced her own supposed marriage against 
 that of Mary Stuart ; the prospective bridegrooms, 
 the Archduke Charles, Don Carlos, Don Juan of 
 Austria, the boy King of France, with Leicester 
 always in reserve, being often changed or trans- 
 ferred from one Queen to the other, were looked 
 upon by Guzman with somewhat scornful amuse- 
 ment. He quite understood that these ever-varying 
 phases of advance and recession obeyed the passing 
 political need of Elizabeth and Catharine de Medici, 
 and he was never greatly perturbed by them. 
 
 ^ Some of the arguments he is directed to use sound strangely 
 incongruous as coming from Philip. " You may say that they 
 cannot fairly refuse the request about the [Catholic] churches, 
 for even the Turk allows Christians who live in his country to 
 worship God in their own way." — Spanish Calendar, vol. i. 353. 
 
ELIZABETH AND GUZMAN 225 
 
 Elizabeth was all g^raciousness when she received 
 Guzman's first visit at Richmond on the 22nd June, 
 1564. He had had no need to seek Dudley, who 
 had begun to cultivate his friendship as soon as he 
 arrived, for what purpose we shall see presently ; and 
 the more to do him honour, on the arrival of the am- 
 bassador at the palace landing-stage, young Darnley, 
 of the blood royal, was awaiting him, to lead him to 
 the Queen. She was standing, listening to a keyed 
 instrument, when he entered the presence chamber, 
 led by Lord Chamberlain Howard ; and as soon as 
 she saw him she came forward and embraced him 
 warmly. Speaking at first in Italian and later in 
 Latin, she expressed her delight at his coming : "As 
 there were some friendly countries trying to make 
 her believe that your Majesty would never again 
 have a representative here, and she was glad that 
 they had turned out false prophets. She said I 
 should be treated and considered commensurately 
 with the deep interest which for many reasons she 
 took in your Majesty's affairs." Then, as a diversion, 
 she displayed much curiosity about the mental and 
 physical qualities of young Don Carlos, and talked 
 some prurient nonsense about Philip's widowed sister, 
 J nana, whom she said she might marry, she (Eliza- 
 beth) being the husband and Juana the wife. To 
 impress the ambassador the more with her desire 
 to be friendly, and to attract attention, as usual, to 
 her own charms, she said that the King, her good 
 brother, " had seen her when she was sorrowful, 
 distressed, ill-treated, imprisoned, and afflicted, and 
 that she had grown greatly since then, and even 
 gave me to understand that she had greatly changed 
 in appearance." She promised the ambassador a 
 
 Q 
 
226 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 prompt settlement of all grievances, and affectionately 
 embracing him again, handed the somewhat dazzled 
 cleric over to the hospitable care of her courtiers. 
 Dudley, Pembroke, Northampton, Clinton, Howard, 
 and Cecil "came separately and embraced me, con- 
 gratulating me on my arrival, and expressing their 
 pleasure at my coming ; " and so. with much suave 
 compliment, Guzman, surprised at the warmth of 
 his reception, was conducted by Darnley to his 
 baroe ag^ain. 
 
 All this new-born delight in Spaniards on the part 
 of Elizabeth and her courtiers was, of course, not 
 without its reason. The fact is that, after all her 
 aid to Conde and his Huguenots, peace had been 
 made in France upon terms which gave predominance 
 to the Catholics ; and she considered that Conde had 
 betrayed her in this. as. indeed, he had. Cardinal 
 Lorraine, the bitter enemy of Elizabeth, was now 
 Catharine de Medici's henchman, and was busy nego- 
 tiating a renewal of the Catholic League, which boded 
 ill for England and Protestantism if it succeeded. 
 A meeting was to take place between Catharine and 
 her daughter, Elizabeth, Philip's wife, with Alba and 
 Lorraine in the background, to settle an accord between 
 France and Spain for the utter extermination oi Pro- 
 testantism throughout the world ; and even the Bourbon 
 Huguenot princes oi' France had been temporarily 
 silenced. In the circumstances Elizabeth naturally 
 wooed Spain violently, and before Guzman had been 
 in England a week he found himself in the centre 
 of a real or feigned conspiracy of the unprincipled 
 Dudley, to introduce Catholicism into England under 
 Spanish protection, and depose Elizabeth's Protestant 
 minister, Cecil, On the pretext that Cecil had helped 
 
DUDLEY'S NEW INTRIGUE 227 
 
 in the production of a book by John Hales in favour 
 of Catharine Grey's claim to the succession, Dudley's 
 friends secretly urged Guzman to recommend Eliza- 
 beth to dismiss and punish Cecil, ** as if he were out 
 of the vi^y, the affairs of your Majesty would be more 
 fa^'ou^ably dealt with, and religious questions as well, 
 because Cecil and his friends are those who persecute 
 the Catholics and dislike your Majesty, whereas the 
 other man is regarded as faithful, and the rest of the 
 Catholics so consider him, and have adopted him as 
 their instrument." 
 
 Dudley again was willing to become the humble 
 servant of Philip if Cecil could be got out of the way 
 by Guzman's aid. He hoped still, he told Guzman, 
 to many the Queen ; "'he had an understanding 
 already with the Pope, and a person was in Rome 
 to represent him." When, however, Guzman asked 
 for details of exactly what Lord Robert promised to 
 do with regard to religion, the answers were vague, 
 and the example of Bishop Quadra, moreover, was 
 not lost on his successor. The ambassador knew 
 that Philip was not ready to attack the English Pro- 
 testants yet, or on the shifty word of Dudley, but he 
 prepared the ground cleverly for future action. The 
 first thing, he told the conspirators, was to bring the 
 Oueen into close friendship with the King of Spain, 
 and with the Catholics through him, as otherwise she 
 would not dare to dismiss her Protestant ministers. 
 " All people think," he wrote to the King, " that the 
 only remedy for the religious trouble is to get these 
 people turned out of power, as they are the mainstay 
 of the heretics, Lord Robert having the Catholics all 
 on his side ; and I tell them that the}* must take these 
 things li.e., the need for fortifying Elizabeth by the 
 
228 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 friendship of Spain] into consideration when they are 
 seeking a remedy, and that plenty of opportunities 
 will offer themselves, if needed later, to raise war or 
 stop trade. ^ The Catholics are much disturbed, and 
 as they have no other idea than this they will not 
 abandon it until they see some way of gaining their 
 point. Certainly, from what I hear, they are very 
 numerous if they dared to show, or had a leader." 
 
 But desirous as the Queen was to curry favour 
 with the Catholic-Spanish party, and infatuated as 
 she might be with Dudley, she could not dispense 
 with Cecil's services, and Dudley's hopes again 
 decreased, notwithstanding Philip's sympathy ex- 
 pressed through Guzman, who was instructed to offer 
 him all the aid he sought ; but only on a distinct 
 promise fully to restore the Catholic religion in 
 England in the event of his marriage.^ This Dudley 
 could not do, though by innuendo he promised much, 
 and thus Cecil remained unmolested. Elizabeth on 
 this occasion was probably a party to Dudley's action, 
 for she carried matters almost as far with Guzman 
 herself. She went out of her way several times to 
 hint broadly at her desire to enter into negotiations 
 for her marriage with Don Carlos, without the slightest 
 intention, of course, of ever doing so, even if the health 
 
 ' The meaning of this is that Dudley and his CathoHc friends 
 were saying that the suspension of commercial intercourse was 
 favourable to them, as it was driving Englishmen to desperation, 
 and would lead to a revolt against Cecil. 
 
 " Guzman was warned by his master that he must be very 
 wary how he listened to treasonable suggestions, either from 
 the English and Irish Catholics or from Dudley's friends, as in 
 either case they might be traps. If Dudley would get Cecil 
 disgraced, Philip would be delighted, but the hand of Spain 
 must on no account be seen in it. — Spanish Calendar, vol. i. 371. 
 
WILLIAM CECIL, LORD BURGHLEY 
 
 FROM THE TAINTING BY MARC GHEERAEDTS IN THE NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY 
 
ELIZABETH SMILES ON SPAIN 229 
 
 of the Prince had made such a match possible. She 
 assured Guzman that she was really a Catholic at 
 heart, "although she had concealed her real feelings 
 in order to prevail with her subjects." ^ Some weeks 
 later she ordered a crucifix and ornaments to be placed 
 upon the altar in her chapel, and Guzman told her 
 that the preachers were slandering her for it, where- 
 upon she said that she would order crosses to be 
 placed in all the churches in the realm. 2 
 
 Elizabeth, indeed, was seriously alarmed at the 
 impending Catholic League, and in addition to redress- 
 ing the Spanish trade grievances and lavishing endless 
 blandishments upon Guzman, she made a desperate 
 bid to draw Catharine de Medici to her side by open- 
 ing negotiations for her own marriage with the boy 
 King of France — negotiations as insincere, doubtless, 
 as the rest, but directed to the same end, namely, the 
 diversion of France and Spain from their threatening 
 friendship, as were also the attempts to revive the 
 now almost outworn subject of the Queen's match 
 with the Austrian Archduke. The constant changes 
 perfectly bewildered Guzman, who found Dudley 
 
 ' Spanish Calendar, vol. i. 
 
 = \Vhen Elizabeth visited the University of Cambridge on her 
 autumn progress, she declined, in consequence of want of time, 
 to attend a theatrical performance offered to her by the students. 
 Before she reached her next stopping-place she was persuaded 
 to alter her mind, and she returned to witness the play. To her 
 annoyance the imprisoned Catholic bishops were lampooned 
 upon the stage with much sacrilegious buffoonery, whereupon 
 " the Queen was so angry that she at once rose and entered her 
 own chamber, using very strong language, and the torch bearers, 
 it being night, left them in the dark, and so ended this scandalous 
 representation." — Spanish Calendar, vol. i. 375, Guzman to the 
 Duchess of Parma. 
 
230 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 (now created Earl of Leicester) blowing hot and 
 cold. The Catholics, on the one hand, were smiled 
 upon by the Queen, and on the other strong measures 
 were being proposed by Cecil and his friends to stay 
 the growth of "papistry." But though PhiHp wrote 
 on behalf of the Catholic English bishops in prison, 
 and Guzman urged for the toleration of Catholic 
 worship, no practical concessions could be obtained 
 from Elizabeth, much as she might smile and suggest 
 to Guzman, with whom she had grown personally 
 very intimate. 
 
 In the meanwhile the elaborate preparations for the 
 settlement of the Catholic League by the meeting of 
 the Queens of France and Spain at Bayonne went on, 
 and rumours came to England which caused Eliza- 
 beth additional alarm late in 1564, that Philip himself 
 was coming to Flanders in the following year to bring 
 his Flemish subjects into due subjection. EHzabeth's 
 amiability then grew more intense than ever. " How 
 much she wished her dear brother could stay in one 
 of her ports, that she might regale him ! " and Guzman 
 was the object of her constant affectionate solicitude 
 at the numerous balls, feasts, and tourneys to which 
 she invited him, often deploring that his master was 
 not there, too, to enjoy the fun. It must be confessed 
 that, to judge by the relations between Guzman and 
 the French ambassador in England (de Foix), the 
 coming national alliance between their respective 
 countries did not look promising. De Foix had 
 Huguenot leanings, and Guzman always resented 
 his presence at Court at the same time as himself, 
 Elizabeth on several occasions having the greatest 
 difficulty in keeping the peace between them, when 
 by some inadvertence they met in her presence. 
 
THE BAYONNE MEETING 231 
 
 Indeed, as was soon afterwards proved, the national 
 jealousy of France and Spain and the personal 
 interests of Catharine overrode the Catholic religious 
 object of the League so perseveringly promoted by 
 Cardinal Lorraine and Alba. 
 
 On Ash Wednesday, 1565, Elizabeth listened to 
 an open-air sermon preached by Dr. Nowell, Dean 
 of Saint Paul's, an ardent Reformer, who probably was 
 not a politician. In the course of his sermon he 
 condemned the veneration of images, and Elizabeth 
 angrily told him not to talk upon that subject. 
 Nowell either did not hear her or did not choose 
 to regard the rebuke, and continued, when the 
 Queen again raised her voice and peremptorily 
 commanded him to pass to another subject, as that 
 one was worn out. Soon afterwards de Foix, in 
 conversation with Guzman, remarked that the 
 Queen might have avoided so public and marked 
 an interruption of the preacher. The Spaniard was 
 of another opinion. " I think quite differently," he 
 said. ** Those who sin publicly must be publicly 
 rebuked ; and as this Queen does, so might your 
 most Christian King do it : when he gets older he 
 will, I fear, be likely to make more account of the 
 heretics." 
 
 The much feared interview of Bayonne, which 
 the warlike party in Spain hoped would result in 
 the crushinof of Protestantism and the eventual sub- 
 mission of England to Spanish dictation, took place 
 in these not very encouraging circumstances in 
 May, 1565. Elizabeth, as a diversion, had been 
 for months negotiating with Catharine for a French 
 marriage, and the Queen Regent of France was 
 taken aback when she saw at Bayonne the articles 
 
232 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 which she was expected to sign. The total exter- 
 mination of Protestantism in France and the world 
 over would have meant her personal political extinc- 
 tion, and probably that of her son's realm ; for 
 Philip in that case would have been paramount. 
 What she wanted was not this, but to be able to 
 play the Guises off against the Bourbons, and keep 
 Elizabeth always as a potential ally when the 
 Catholics grew too strong to suit her. At Bayonne, 
 therefore, whilst she ostensibly acceded to everything 
 dictated by Alba and Lorraine, and led her devoutly 
 Catholic and hispanolised daughter to believe that 
 France with all its national power would support 
 her husband's objects, Catharine no sooner turned 
 her face towards Paris than she began to introduce 
 all sorts of conditions and limitations which stultified 
 the whole plan of the Catholic League, whilst she 
 became more warmly interested than ever in the 
 talk of Elizabeth's marriage with one of her sons. 
 
 The result of the much discussed conferences of 
 Bayonne, in which Philip personally had never been 
 very sanguine, finally disillusioned him as to the prac- 
 ticability of a league with his artful mother-in-law 
 which should make him master of Europe. He had 
 thenceforward no other policy open to him than to 
 revert to the traditional national affinities that had 
 obtained before the religious changes in Europe. He 
 must win England to his side by fair means or foul. 
 For seven years he had tried to isolate her by means 
 of a Catholic league and he had failed : he had spoken 
 arrogantly through Feria, he had tried subtlety 
 through Bishop Quadra, and he had essayed friendly 
 cordiality by means of Guzman. Elizabeth, when it 
 suited her, had been amiability itself, she had Ian- 
 
ELIZABETH'S DIPLOMACY 233 
 
 guished for a Spanish husband, she had pretended 
 more than once to be a CathoHc, she had smiled, 
 pouted, or frowned, as her aims for the moment 
 required ; but, notwithstanding all this, the English 
 Catholic bishops were still in durance. Catholic 
 worship was still proscribed, and Philip was further 
 off than ever he had been from controlling English 
 statecraft for his own ends. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 1565-1569 
 
 Mary Stuart marries Darnley — Their intrigues with Philip through 
 Guzman — Plan to promote revolution in England in favour of Mary — 
 Expulsion of the English ambassador from Spain — Recall of Guzman 
 — Don Gerau de Spes ambassador — His character — Commences con- 
 spiring at once — His turbulent behaviour — Seizure of Philip's treasure 
 in England — Indignation of de Spes — His imprudent and disastrous 
 action — Alba stops trade — Strained relations — Proposed declaration of 
 war against England — The views of Philip and Alba — The Norfolk plot 
 — The Northern rebellion 
 
 IN July, 1565, Mary Stuart had been swept by 
 her passion along the rapids that led to her 
 marriage with Darnley and her ruin. Up to 
 this period her policy had been consistent and 
 sagacious, directed mainly to the recognition of her 
 present or prospective right to succeed to the throne 
 of England. She had tried to attain the end alter- 
 nately by the only two means open to her, by 
 seeking marriage with a Catholic prince strong 
 enough to enforce her claims, and by winning 
 Elizabeth's acknowledgment of them by submission 
 to her will. So long as she was under the influence 
 of Cardinal Lorraine, and the Guises were powerful, 
 her main efforts had been in the first direction, but 
 after her arrival in Scotland the influence of Murray 
 and Lethington had led her into the second course. 
 
 In a former chapter it has been related how, despair- 
 
 234 
 
THE DARNLEY MARRIAGE 235 
 
 ing of obtaining recognition from Elizabeth, Mary 
 and her Protestant Anglophil advisers had on one 
 occasion, in 1563, reverted to her earlier plans, and 
 had attempted to secure Philip's aid through her 
 marriage with Don Carlos. She had never since 
 quite abandoned this hope — her only one in this 
 direction, since Guise was dead and Catharine de 
 Medici was her deadly enemy. It is true that she had 
 satisfied herself before Darnley arrived in Scotland 
 that Don Carlos was unlikely or unfit to be a 
 husband for her,^ but prudence would have dictated 
 delay in her marriage in order that Philip might 
 have provided her with another Consort who would 
 take with him the support of Spain. But Mary lost 
 her head, if not her heart, when she saw " the long 
 lad " Darnley, and took the step which made it, at 
 first sight, appear the more difficult for Philip to help 
 her, and which yet alienated from her Murray and the 
 Protestants and brought her into open enmity with 
 the Queen of England. On the other hand, the 
 wedding of both the Catholic claimants to the Crown 
 of England consolidated the Catholic elements in the 
 north, making Elizabeth's position more dangerous 
 than at any time since her accession, and Mary had 
 undoubtedly not lost sight of this feature, which she 
 saw might yet enable her to obtain Spanish support 
 when the time for action came. 
 
 On the 24th March, 1565, four months before the 
 Darnley marriage, though the prospective bridegroom 
 was already in Scotland, a servant of the Lennoxes, 
 named Fowler, came to Guzman in London with a 
 letter from Mary Queen of Scots. He had been 
 
 ^ The Duchess of Aerschot had written to her from Flanders 
 to this effect at the end of 1564. 
 
236 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 sent from Scotland, he said, by the Queen, ostensibly 
 to obtain from Elizabeth a passport for Secretary 
 Lethington to visit England, but really to ask the 
 Spanish ambassador whether he had instructions to 
 discuss with her a certain business that had formerly 
 been broached to King Philip through his predecessor. 
 Bishop Quadra, as if so she would send Lethington 
 to see him. Guzman did not know Mary's hand- 
 writing and was suspicious, especially as he was 
 aware that Don Carlos could on no account marry 
 Mary ; so that Fowler, who said he could not return 
 to Scotland without an answer, proposed to prove his 
 bond fides by showing his mistress's letter to Luis de 
 Paz, a Spanish merchant, who knew her handwriting. 
 On the morrow Guzman was satisfied of Fowler's 
 honesty, and as he heard alarming news of a plan to 
 marry Mary to her French brother-in-law, he hesitated 
 no longer but sent the messenger Fowler back to 
 Scotland with a letter for Mary, asking her to send 
 Lethington to confer with him. 
 
 A few days afterwards Guzman got a further hint 
 from Darnley's mother, the Countess of Lennox, of 
 what was really in the wind. She sent to tell him how 
 kind Mary was to her son in Scotland, and that the 
 French ambassador had come to her promising all 
 French help and support to Darnley if the Queen of 
 Scots married him. The Countess in her message 
 to Guzman affected to distrust this French offer, 
 which probably she herself had invented, "as she 
 knows the French way of dealing," and said "that 
 she and her children had no other refuge but the 
 King of Spain, to whom she and they will ever 
 remain faithful. She begs me to address your 
 Majesty in their favour, so that in case the Queen 
 
THE DARNLEY MARRIAGE 237 
 
 of Scots should open negotiations about Lord 
 Darnley, or in the event of this Queen's death, 
 they may look to your Majesty for support." A 
 week or two later the Countess of Lennox returned 
 to the charge. She prayed Guzman to assure 
 Lethington, when he arrived in London, "that 
 your Majesty desired to favour her, as she believes 
 that it would help her son's business very much. 
 She thinks he may marry the Queen of Scots, who 
 rests her claim to this country more on the support 
 of your Majesty than on anything else, especially 
 as the Queen-mother of France is very much against 
 hen" This seemed to Guzman important, and he 
 did his best to assure Lady Lennox by hints of 
 the sympathy that Mary and Darnley might expect 
 from Spain. " As I have said on many occasions," 
 he continued in his letter to Philip, " it should be 
 borne in mind that, in addition to the Queen of 
 Scotland's great claims to this realm, she has 
 certainly here a very strong party, and it is highly 
 desirable in many respects that she should be 
 reckoned with in the interest of affairs that so 
 deeply concern us. The English ports are neces- 
 sary for the passage of trade between Spain and 
 Flanders, &c. ; and, besides this, these English 
 are beginning to navigate largely, and may inter- 
 fere with us in the Indies, upon which they look 
 greedily, unless they are prevented from sailing." 
 
 Even mild, conciliatory Guzman was thus already 
 joining those who looked eagerly for the ejection of 
 Elizabeth and the substitution of Mary Stuart as 
 Queen of a Catholic Britain under Spanish control. 
 When Lethington arrived in London, therefore, on 
 the 24th April, 1565, Guzman was quite prepared 
 
238 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 for the approaches he knew would be made. The 
 two first met at some formal occasion at the French 
 Embassy, and as they went along the road together 
 on their way home, Lethington tried to arouse the 
 fears of the Spaniard by hinting that Elizabeth was 
 fishing for a French husband ; but Guzman parried 
 that by saying that in such case it would go hard 
 with the Queen of Scots, who would then be on 
 bad terms with both England and France. The 
 next day, 25th April, the Scottish Secretary of State 
 unmasked his batteries. Closeted secretly with Guz- 
 man at Paget House in the Strand, he explained 
 how Mary had always desired to lean upon Spanish 
 support alone, how she had bidden for the hand of 
 Don Carlos, and had waited two years for Philip's 
 answer. Now there were thoughts of the Countess 
 of Lennox's son, since the King of Spain, it was 
 feared, might have other views for Don Carlos. 
 Lord Darnley had many advantages, but if the 
 King of Spain gave her any hopes of Don Carlos 
 the Queen would not conclude the proposed marriage 
 with Darnley. Guzman replied that the King had 
 not pursued the negotiations for Don Carlos because 
 he had heard that Cardinal Lorraine had practically 
 arranged with the Emperor for Mary to wed the 
 Archduke Charles. . After much conversation and 
 explanation on this point, in which Cardinal Lorraine's 
 betrayal of his niece was made clear, Guzman 
 cautiously expressed approval of Darnley, as he 
 says, "trying to keep them in a good humour in 
 view of eventualities." 
 
 But this was not enough for Lethington. Setting 
 forth the enmity that the Darnley match might draw 
 upon Mary from the Queen of England, he continued, 
 
SPAIN AND DARNLEY 239 
 
 "All this would cause grave evil, but could be 
 remedied by the King of Spain taking my Queen 
 and her affairs under his protection, in the assurance 
 that at all times and in every matter they shall be 
 considered as his own. . . . Such an arrangement 
 would have to be treated with the utmost secrecy 
 until the opportune moment arrived. There is no 
 doubt whatever that the majority of the [English] 
 gentry and common people are attached to my 
 Queen, and I can promise positively that she will 
 follow the wishes of your master in everything." 
 Lethington then suggested that, as the despatch of 
 an ambassador from Scotland to Spain might alarm 
 Elizabeth, the King of Spain might authorise Guzman 
 to conclude a secret agreement by which Mary and 
 her future husband should be bound absolutely to 
 Spain in return for Philip's support, or otherwise that 
 the affair might be carried through by Mary's ambas- 
 sador in Paris (Beton, Archbishop of Glasgow) and 
 the Spanish representative there. 
 
 Once again we see here that the exigencies of 
 the position had driven the Protestant Lethington to 
 place Scotland and, if possible, England, under the 
 tutelage of the King of Spain, if no other way could 
 be found to enforce the claim of Mary to the English 
 Crown, The course he took was dictated by the 
 highest diplomacy, whatever might be said for its 
 religious consistency. Failing Don Carlos and the 
 King of France, who are now out of the question, 
 Darnley was, in fact, the only man who could unite 
 the English Catholics in Mary's cause and attract 
 foreign support to her claims. Lethington and Mary 
 knew that Philip's vital political need was a submissive 
 England, and that Scotland was only interesting to 
 
240 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 him as contributing to that end. If Philip, by means 
 of Mary and the Lennoxes, could obtain command of 
 the powerful Catholic elements in England united in 
 favour of the two legitimate heirs to the Crown, with 
 the added advantage of a permanent base of opera- 
 tions in Scotland, he might find himself by the death 
 or deposition of Elizabeth, which might be brought 
 about at any time, the virtual master of Great Britain. 
 No wonder, therefore, that Guzman smiled upon 
 Lethington's important mission, and promised to send 
 post haste to Spain for the King's decision. 
 
 Whilst Elizabeth was making frantic efforts to 
 prevent Mary's marriage, and to keep up an appear- 
 ance of negotiating for her own union with Don Carlos 
 or the Archduke, and Leicester was again trying to 
 win Spanish support for his suit by Catholic profes- 
 sions, Philip recognised that the offer made by Lething- 
 ton to Guzman at last gave him a real opportunity 
 of carrying through his plans for subjugating England 
 by means of a subsidised Catholic rising in favour of 
 Mary and Darnley. The suggestion was one after 
 his own heart, and he accepted it with alacrity. 
 Although cautiously, he was gradually coming round 
 to the view that had been urged by Feria in the first 
 days of Elizabeth's reign, that England would have 
 to be dealt with by force, only now, and for years 
 afterwards, he wanted it to be the force of others 
 wielded for his benefit. The King's answer to Guz- 
 man was unusually decided and emphatic for him : 
 " Your news has been very pleasing to me, and on 
 the assumption that the marriage of the Queen and 
 Darnley has really gone so far as they say, the 
 bridegroom and his parents being such good Catholics 
 and our affectionate servitors, and having in view the 
 
PHILIP AND THE DARNLEY MATCH 241 
 
 Queen's good claims to the Crown of England, to 
 which Darnley also pretends, we have decided that 
 the marriage is one favourable to our interests, and 
 should be promoted and supported to the full extent 
 of our power. We have thought well to assure the 
 Queen of Scotland and Lord Darnley's party, which 
 we believe is a large one in the country, that this is 
 our will and determination, and that if they will be 
 ruled by our advice, and will not be precipitate, but 
 will patiently await a favourable juncture, when any 
 attempt to frustrate their plans would be useless, I 
 will then assist and aid them in the object they have 
 in view. I have instructed the Duke of Alba to 
 write to this effect to the Scottish ambassador in 
 Paris ; but I think well to advise you also that 
 you may know my views and keep them quite 
 secret from the Queen of England and her friends, 
 seeing the great danger that would result to this 
 business and all our affairs if it were known. You 
 may assure Lady Margaret of the sympathy and 
 goodwill I bear to her son and towards the successful 
 accomplishment of the project, in order that they may 
 be satisfied, and know that they may depend upon 
 me, and so be able to entertain and encourage the 
 Catholics and their party in England." ^ 
 
 Philip foresaw the danger of Elizabeth's being 
 driven by the fear of a Catholic coalition against 
 her to adopt Catharine Grey, or some other Protestant, 
 as her successor, and he enforced upon Guzman, the 
 Lennoxes, and the Scottish and English Catholics, 
 the closest secrecy, and especially that every means 
 should be employed to prevent a rival successor being 
 
 * The King to Guzman, 6th June, 1565. — Spanish Calendar, 
 vol. i. 433. 
 
242 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 brought forward. At the same time there is in the 
 King's letter to his ambassador no concealment of 
 the intention to use this union of Mary Stuart and 
 Darnley to foment a Catholic revolt in England which 
 shall sweep Elizabeth aside. "You will," he, writes, 
 "keep in good intelligence with their party in 
 England and with the Catholics, which is the same 
 thing, and try by all means in your power to animate 
 and encourage them to carry the business into effect, 
 promising them what I have said. But it must all be 
 done so dexterously and adroitly that it shall not 
 become public or reach the Queen's ears, or evil 
 results will ensue." 
 
 Anxious as Philip might be for secrecy, it was 
 difficult to attain where so many people were con- 
 cerned. Already Murray and the Scottish Protestant 
 nobles had fallen away from Mary on tht mere 
 rumour of a Catholic Darnley match, and were looking 
 askance at the Queen's new Catholic friends. The 
 Lennoxes, even the Earl himself, retorted foolishly 
 by boasting of the support of the King of Spain, ^ 
 which made matters infinitely worse and gave rise 
 to alarming whispers in Scotland that religious perse- 
 cution at the point, mayhap, of Spanish pikes might 
 be the outcome of this godless wooing. Darnley, 
 who was still ill in bed, was as imprudent as his 
 father ; threatened to break the Duke of Chatel- 
 herault's head as soon as he could get up, and 
 vapoured about his coming greatness under foreign 
 auspices that would enable him to snap his fingers 
 even at the Queen of England. Nor was Mary 
 herself much more cautious in her utterances, and 
 the English agent, Randolph, attributed her new-born 
 * Randolph to Cecil, 29th April, 1565. — Scottish Calendar (Bain). 
 
PHILIP AND THE DARNLEY MATCH 243 
 
 pride and indifference to the effects of some devilish 
 enchantment. 
 
 But though she was deeply infatuated with "the 
 young fool," Mary would not marry him until she 
 had received a reply to her advances to Philip. The 
 match with Darnley was to give her, she hoped, 
 the English Crown, but it could only be done with 
 the aid of Spain. So, tired almost of waiting, she 
 seized upon a hollow pretext to send James Hay, 
 of Balmerino, to London to see Guzman, and learn 
 if he had any news for her. On the very day that 
 Hay first saw the Spanish ambassador Philip's important 
 letter had arrived in London. The Scot had just 
 been violently snubbed by Elizabeth, and all his 
 requests refused contumeliously, as no doubt he had 
 foreseen they would be ; his real reason for coming 
 south at all, indeed, being to obtain the sanction not of 
 the Queen of England but the King of Spain to 
 Mary's marriage with Darnley. The reply from 
 Philip that Guzman gave to Balmerino was indeed 
 a welcome one. " He appeared delighted with it, 
 and said that his Queen desired nothing so much as 
 that she should follow your Majesty's orders in all 
 things, without swerving a hair's breadth, and that you 
 should take her under your protection. I urged him 
 to try to get his Queen to manage her affairs prudently, 
 and not to strike until a good opportunity presented 
 itself." 
 
 Hay only stayed in London one day longer, for he 
 knew that the great wish of Mary's heart was now 
 to be granted ; and though to the English partisans 
 and the Protestants in Scotland he deplored "the 
 evil success of his long journey," it must have been 
 with a merry heart beneath his doublet that he carried 
 
244 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 his welcome message to Holyrood on the 7th July, 
 1565. Two days afterwards Mary was secretly 
 married to Darnley, though the public wedding was 
 deferred until the 29th ; and the great conspiracy 
 against Elizabeth and Protestantism was then com- 
 plete. Mary was so infatuated with Darnley at the 
 time that she would probably have married him in 
 any case, but her caprice for him and her determi- 
 nation to supplant Elizabeth had thus led her to 
 promise the submission of herself and her realms to 
 the dictation of a foreign monarch, the traditional foe 
 of France that she pretended to love so well ; a 
 monarch whose first object was to gain command of 
 the policy and resources of Scotland and England by 
 exterminating the religion of a large proportion of the 
 people. It was a triumph for her that her marriage 
 with the man for whom she was temporarily crazy 
 should be instrumental in gaining what she had striven 
 so hard for since she left France, namely, the 
 support of Spain ; but indoctrinated though she was 
 by the cynical teaching of her uncle, Cardinal Lor- 
 raine, she can hardly have realised the turpitude 
 of the act of treachery she was committing. She had 
 been cherished and beloved even by her Protestant 
 subjects, and yet the step she was taking would lead, 
 if she were successful in her object, to the employment 
 of the hideous methods of Spanish religious coercion 
 to crush their religious liberty, to the subordination of 
 the land of her birth, and of England over which she 
 aspired to rule, to the interests of a foreign nation, and 
 would involve the ruin or death of another Queen 
 closely related to her. 
 
 On the other hand, it must be allowed on Mary's 
 behalf that her circumstances were exceptionally 
 
MARY STUART'S POLICY 245 
 
 difficult. The political system of Catharine de Medici 
 had deprived Scotland of the strong ally that for 
 centuries had been its main protection against the 
 aggression of England, whilst the spread of Protes- 
 tantism in Scotland had created a new bond of union 
 between the country and Elizabeth's government. In 
 order to be able to rule Scotland peacefully in these 
 circumstances it was necessary either that the sove- 
 reign should accept frankly the Reformed doctrines and 
 become more or less a vassal of England, or else 
 make common cause with the great enemy of the 
 Reformation, submit to the dictation of Spain with all 
 it involved, and restore the lost balance of power 
 in Europe to Philip's advantage by uniting England 
 and Scotland under Catholic rule. The effect would 
 have been to reduce France to a secondary position, 
 to secure supremacy for the papal Church, and to 
 place Europe at the bidding of Philip II. Between 
 these two alternatives Mary chose that to which her 
 Guisan and Catholic traditions led her, and, reprehen- 
 sible as her choice may seem to the political ethics 
 of to-day, it was in the circumstances the most natural 
 course for her to take. 
 
 There was no hesitation or weakness in Mary's 
 attitude as soon as she had taken the step and married 
 Darnley with the blessing of Philip. Knox thundered 
 his denunciations from the pulpit, but whimpered and 
 "longed to depart" when the guns of Edinburgh 
 Castle began to speak; Murray, with his 1,200 men- 
 at-arms, meaning mischief, waxed lachryniose when he 
 found that the burgesses shrank from open disloyalty 
 to the Queen, and that Elizabeth dared not help him 
 now to rebel against the friend and ally of Spain. 
 Mary, on the other hand, was confident and energetic. 
 
246 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 Keeping the saddle through the foulest weather, and 
 over execrable paths, she rode almost alone, armed, 
 and eager to meet her rebellious brother and his 
 supporters. This was the eventuality which she had 
 foreseen when she had ensured Catholic support from 
 abroad on her marriage with Darnley, and she lost no 
 time in claiming it. 
 
 All the North of England was on the alert and 
 ready for action in her favour if success were assured 
 by the aid they looked for from Philip ; and to the 
 Pope Mary appealed even before her marriage was 
 publicly celebrated. The Protestants, she wrote, 
 were in arms against her, the Queen of England 
 was in desperation : if his Holiness would send a 
 force of 12,000 men to Scotland for six months the 
 religion of Rome might be restored permanently. It 
 was too much for the Pope to do without Philip's 
 connivance, so he put off Mary's envoy with 
 fair words until the reply could come from 
 Spain. I To Philip himself she also wrote shortly 
 before her public marriage (24th July, 1565): "I 
 have given notice to your ambassador of all that has 
 taken place, on the assurance that in the event of my 
 urgently needing your succour and assistance, which I 
 do, your Majesty will grant them to me in order to 
 maintain the faith, with which object you raise such 
 great forces against the Turk. I can truly say that 
 no war is more dangerous to Christianity nor more 
 pernicious to the obedience due to princes than that 
 moved by these new evangelists (God grant that you 
 may never be troubled with them in your dominions), 
 and I therefore beg your Majesty, for this reason, and 
 in consideration of the desire I have and always have 
 ^ Cardinal Pacheco to Philip. — Spanish Calendar, vol. i. 
 
THE CATHOLIC CONSPIRACY 247 
 
 had to bind myself to you against all the world, to 
 instruct your ambassador to uphold the rights of the 
 Earl of Lennox's son and my own in England, and to 
 order him to declare to the Queen of England that 
 you will not allow anything to be done to our 
 disadvantage." ^ 
 
 There is no doubt that a vast Catholic conspiracy, 
 especially in the North of England, was in existence 
 at this time, full of hope, encouraged by the agents of 
 the Countess of Lennox, that the aid of Philip sent to 
 Mary would enable them to shake off the yoke of 
 Elizabeth and her Protestant ministers. The constant 
 injunctions of the King of Spain that everything must 
 be kept inviolably secret, and no move made until 
 success was ensured, had been powerless, as usual, 
 to close the mouths of elated people who thought 
 that their days of tribulation were soon to end. 
 Before Mary's public marriage the eager English 
 Catholics also sent their own emissary to the Spanish 
 Regent of Flanders, Philip's sister, the Duchess of 
 Parma, to confer with her, and thence to proceed to 
 Scotland. The man they chose was one Francis 
 Yaxley, who had filled several bureaucratic posts in 
 the English Court, especially that of Clerk of the 
 Signet during Philip's stay in England. He had 
 been a friend of Bishop Quadra and a follower 
 of Cecil, but at this time was a professed Catholic 
 attached to the Lennox party. He knew foreign 
 countries, and had even been in Spain ; so that he 
 was considered to be a good instrument for bringing 
 into accord the English Catholics, the Scottish Queen, 
 and King Philip. Guzman, giving notice to the King 
 of his going to Flanders, says that " he is a person 
 * Labanoff, vol. vii. 
 
248 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 well acquainted with affairs here and will be able to 
 give the Queen of Scotland a great deal of informa- 
 tion. They (i.e., the English Catholics) say that he 
 is a devoted servant of your Majesty." ^ 
 
 Exactly what this man arranged in Flanders before 
 proceeding to Scotland is not known, but when he 
 arrived, in August, at Leith, Randolph, the English 
 agent in Edinburgh, knew enough to suspect him. 
 "His errand I yet know not," he wrote to Cecil, 
 "and would I knew what might be said to such 
 'gestes' who come for little good." ^ Whatever 
 message Yaxley brought it was a welcome one to 
 Mary and her husband, Darnley particularly " re- 
 joicing and imparting all his affairs to him." Yaxley 
 is represented by the English agent as imposing upon 
 Darnley and his " yong company," by his boastful 
 talk, "as a fit man to send abroad, as he knew so 
 well the Courts of Spain and England, besides his 
 acquaintance in Flanders and at Brussels, that he 
 doubted not to accomplish any commission. So he 
 is to pass secretly to the Duchess of Aerschot 
 [Mary's aunt], who shall procure him audience of 
 the Regent, to whom he shall declare that this 
 Queen . . . will commit herself, her husband, and 
 her country to his [King Philip's] protection, and, 
 seeing the Queen of England disposed to marry 
 the French King, the rather to maintain her [Mary's] 
 estate she and her husband will remit all her titles to 
 England to the King of Spain's judgment ; and if 
 the Duchess of Parma thought meet he is to pass 
 with these offers to Spain. . . . He [Yaxley] told his 
 secret friends the names of many noblemen and 
 
 ^ Spanish Calendar (Hume), vol. i., i6th July, 1565. 
 » Scottish Calendar, vol. i. (Bain). 
 
THE CATHOLIC CONSPIRACY 249 
 
 gentlemen of good power in England ready to follow 
 the King of Spain's directions for the alteration of 
 religion." ^ 
 
 Before Yaxley left again — not, as this letter says, 
 to Flanders, but direct to Spain from Dumbarton — 
 he renounced his English citizenship to become a 
 Scotsman. "The Queen and her husband," wrote 
 Randolph, "have sent him ambassador to Spain; 
 he embarked three days past [i.e., 17th September]. 
 It passes my power to know his commission, but it 
 is for little good." 2 What Randolph could not 
 fathom is to some extent divulged to us by the 
 letter Mary wrote to Philip by Yaxley ; although, of 
 course, his verbal message was more precise as to 
 what was required and intended. " Monsieur mon 
 bon frere," she writes from Glasgow on the loth Sep- 
 tember, " the earnestness you have always displayed 
 in the maintenance of our Catholic faith has caused 
 me previously to crave your favours and aid, foreseeing 
 that which has now happened in this realm of mine, 
 tending to the entire ruin of the Catholics and the 
 establishment of these unhappy errors. In resisting 
 them my husband and myself will be in peril of losing 
 our Crown, and by the same means our claims else- 
 where, unless we have the help of one of the great 
 Christian princes. Bearing this in mind, and seeing 
 the energy with which you have proceeded in your 
 own States, and especially the firmness with which 
 you have upheld those who have depended upon your 
 favour, we have thought ;vell to address you, in 
 preference to any others, to ask for your counsel, 
 and for your help and support. ^.^7:th this end we 
 have sent this gentleman, an Englishman and a 
 
 ^ Scottish Calendar (Bain), 15th September, 1565. ^ j^j^j^ 
 
250 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 faithful servant of my husband and myself, with 
 ample charge to render to you an account of the 
 condition of our affairs, of which he has full know- 
 ledge ; praying you to give credit to his words as 
 if they were our own, and to send him back with all 
 speed, as the case is so pressing as to touch both 
 our Crown and the liberty of the Church for ever. 
 To maintain this we will spare neither life nor 
 estate, with your support and counsel." ^ 
 
 Elizabeth's Government were fully informed through 
 their spies of the grave purport of Yaxley's mission ; 
 and Catharine, who was almost as apprehensive of a 
 Spanish domination of Scotland and England as 
 Elizabeth herself, made an attempt by means of a 
 special ambassador (Castelnau de la Mauvissiere) to 
 win Mary away from dependence upon Philip by new 
 professions of friendship towards her. Mary, how- 
 ever, was in no humble frame of mind now, and 
 would brook no interference either from her mother- 
 in-law in France or her cousin in England, with both 
 of whom she had long scores to settle. She would 
 listen to no suggestions of a reconciliation with 
 Murray, and she plainly threatened the French 
 ambassador that if his King did not at once help 
 her to punish the rebels she would invoke the aid 
 of the King of Spain. The position was a triumphant 
 one for Mary so long as she depended upon Spanish 
 help ; and if Philip had been prompt and such armed 
 aid had been sent to Scotland before Murray 
 succumbed, Elizabeth might have been deposed and 
 Philip have obtained the control of Britain. 
 
 Elizabeth for once was really alarmed. There was 
 the confident talk now of Philip's coming with a great 
 ^ Labanoff, vol. i. 
 
THE CATHOLIC CONSPIRACY 251 
 
 fleet and army to Flanders, which pessimists in 
 England thought might be used against this country. 
 So whilst Mary of Scotland, in full hope of Philip's 
 support, was defying England, Elizabeth was afraid 
 of stirring a finger to help Murray and the Protestants 
 ostensibly, for fear of bringing Spaniards or French 
 Catholics, or both, into North Britain ; in which case 
 her own crown would have been in dire danger. 
 Guzman saw Elizabeth on the i6th September, and 
 found her full of complaints of the ingratitude of the 
 Queen of Scots and the Lennoxes, to whom she had 
 been so kind and meant so well. The present 
 rebellion in Scotland was not really about religion at 
 all, she said, and Mary only pretended that it was, in 
 order to enlist the help of foreign princes. "Well, 
 that may be," replied Guzman drily, *' but in any case 
 it is very inexpedient, and sets a bad example to help 
 rebellious subjects in their disobedience." " Oh," cried 
 Elizabeth, quite shocked at the idea, " God forbid that 
 /should ever help disobedient subjects, unless I saw 
 very good reason why they should not be made to 
 suffer without a hearing ! " Elizabeth, indeed, who 
 was sending money secretly to Murray, and throwing 
 the blame for everything upon the Lennoxes and 
 Darnley, was now quite apologetic at the attitude into 
 which she was forced by events and by Mary's appeal 
 to Spain. So powerless was she at this juncture that 
 she had to sit idly by whilst Murray and his adherents 
 fled across the Border (13th October, 1565) before 
 Mary's threatened vengeance, and she was even forced 
 to feign anger and indignation at his rebellion when 
 he sought audience in England of the Queen whose 
 stalking-horse he had been. 
 
 Ignorant, of course, of Murray's collapse, Yaxley 
 
252 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 duly arrived at Segovia, where Philip was, on the 
 23rd October, 1565, and gave his letter and verbal 
 message to the King. Fortunately Philip repeated 
 this message to Guzman in his letter to him, written 
 on the following day, and we are thus able to under- 
 stand exactly how far Mary was willing to go in her 
 ambitious plans. " The first thing," writes Philip, 
 "was to assure us in fair words of the great hope 
 and confidence they reposed in me, desiring to govern 
 themselves by my direction alone, and to do nothing 
 without my consent and pleasure : for this reason they 
 wish to inform me of the need in which they are, and 
 assure us of their zealous desire to establish their 
 realm anew under the Christian religion, and to join 
 other Christian princes with that object. Not having 
 sufficient forces of their own they begged me to aid 
 them as a Christian monarch ; and, in order to induce 
 me to do so, the envoy set forth the danger in which 
 the Queen and King of Scotland were, by reason of 
 the heretics, stimulated and favoured by the English 
 with men and money ; so that the said sovereigns 
 might easily fall into the hands of the rebels, and 
 be conveyed abroad, leaving the State unprotected, 
 unless I, in whom after God they put their trust, 
 aided them with money and troops. If I would 
 consent to do this it would not only be the means 
 of destroying the rebels, but would confirm the King 
 and Queen In their hope of succeeding to the English 
 throne, and would banish their fear that the heretics 
 would oust them, the real heirs, and elect some heretic 
 instead. They promised that if they obtained the 
 succession of the Crown by my means they would 
 renew more closely the alliance and league between 
 England and our house against the world, and leave 
 
THE CATHOLIC CONSPIRACY 253 
 
 all other friends for us. They also begged us to 
 write urgent letters to the Queen of England, first 
 asking her to release Lady Margaret (Lennox), 
 and secondly to desist from aiding the Scottish 
 rebels." ^ Yaxley also asked that an accredited 
 Spanish ambassador might be sent to Scotland to 
 arrange a binding treaty and to advise Mary and 
 her husband as to their proceedings. 
 
 Philip was not ready yet for heroic measures in 
 Great Britain, for he was busy planning the deadly 
 blow he hoped to deal upon his disaffected Flemings. 
 But he sent back by Yaxley cordial letters to Mary 
 and Darnley, and told them to consult either Guzman 
 or the Spanish ambassador in Paris when they were 
 in doubt how to proceed. What advice was to be 
 given to them in such case is seen in the King's 
 instructions to Guzman. " They should confine them- 
 selves for the present to punishing the rebels and 
 pacifying the kingdom. When they have done this, 
 and affairs have settled down, they could look 
 further ahead than at present." Philip was equally 
 cautious in other directions. He did not want to tie 
 himself openly or formally to Mary until he was quite 
 sure that she would be a fit and obedient instrument 
 for him to obtain command of England. She must, 
 with her husband, for this purpose be able to command 
 the united support of the English Catholic party, and 
 Philip must be quite sure that her French relatives 
 were not to influence her in any way. So he declined 
 to negotiate a formal treaty or to write to Elizabeth 
 about Lady Lennox, and even confined his present 
 assistance to a sum of money, no less than 20,000 
 crowns, which was to be secretly handed to Yaxley by 
 ' Spanish Calendar, vol. i. 497, Philip to Guzman. 
 
254 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 a Spanish banker, who himself did not know its 
 destination, outside Antwerp. 
 
 With this answer Yaxley travelled post-haste to 
 Flanders, and duly took ship in Antwerp bound for 
 the port of Leith with this large sum of money on his 
 person. This was about the 20th November, 1565. 
 The season was a terribly tempestuous one, and at 
 some time in December, from the wreck of a Flemish 
 ship, there was cast up by the sea upon the coast of 
 Northumberland the drowned body of Yaxley with his 
 treasure upon him. Guzman was alarmed when he 
 heard of it, more for the letters and papers from 
 Philip that the man bore than for the money, as they 
 would divulge the whole plot ; but if the letters were 
 found, which it is probable they were, they were not 
 delivered to Elizabeth. The Earl of Northumberland 
 was a Catholic noble and secretly an adherent of 
 Mary's, as will be seen later ; but, although his 
 attachment to her might prompt him to keep or 
 destroy letters compromising her, it was not proof 
 against his claiming the money upon the dead man, 
 which he seized in virtue of his territorial rights ; 
 although he had angry disputes and lawsuits with the 
 Lord Admiral on the subject, who also claimed the 
 salvage. Mary herself sent Melville to ask Northum- 
 berland for the delivery of the money intended for 
 her. " But all my entreaties were ineffectual ; he 
 altogether refused to give any part thereof to the 
 Queen (of Scots), albeit he was himself a Catholic and 
 professed secretly to be her friend." ^ 
 
 At about the same time the Pope sent to Mary, by 
 Philip s permission, a similar sum of 20,000 crowns, 
 and promised a subsidy of 4,000 crowns a month to 
 ^ Diary of Sir James Melville of Hall Hill. 
 
THE CATHOLIC CONSPIRACY 255 
 
 pay troops to suppress the rebellion. But Murray- 
 was in England and the revolt practically at an end 
 by this time. Elizabeth was protesting with injured 
 innocence that nothing was further from her thoughts 
 than subsidising trouble in her dear sister's realm ; 
 whilst Mary, taking Philip's advice to heart, was 
 diplomatically biding her time for the great blow to be 
 struck that would give her the Crown of England. 
 She once more turned a smiling face upon Randolph, 
 and readily agreed now to receive special ambassadors 
 from Elizabeth to settle all disputes between them. 
 The rebels, all but Murray and Kirkaldy of Grange, 
 were received into favour again, and to please and 
 lull Elizabeth into false security, Darnley was osten- 
 tatiously neglected by his wife. Kirkaldy, dour and 
 unbending, warned the English that Mary was fooling 
 them. ** Send as many ambassadors as ye please to 
 our Queen, they shall receive proud answers, for she 
 thinks to have a force ready as soon as ye do, besides 
 her hope of friendship [of the Catholics] in England, of 
 which she brags not a little, so driving time is to her 
 advantage."^ Kirkaldy was right, as events proved. 
 
 ^ How serious the situation was for Elizabeth, and how wide 
 the ramifications of the CathoHc intrigue at the time, may be 
 seen by a letter written shortly after this by the English spy 
 Rogers to Cecil. Arthur Pole, who was a prisoner in the Tower, 
 had surrendered in Mary's favour his claim to the Crown of 
 England, and if he could escape from his prison was to come to 
 Scotland to support her with others of his kin. Darnley himself, 
 trying to outbid Mary, had boasted that forty gentlemen and 
 more in England were ready to serve him. Letters passed 
 fortnightly between the Countess of Lennox in the Tower and 
 her son, whilst every month an emissary of the northern 
 CathoHc gentry came in disguise to Darnley from Carlisle. A 
 regular plan, moreover, was prepared for the capture and 
 fortification of Scilly in the Catholic interest, and the repre- 
 
256 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 Mary was temporising as Philip advised her to do, 
 counting upon the aid of Spain, the Pope, and the 
 English Catholics when the hour should strike. But 
 for her the hour never did strike. Her evil star led 
 her along the path which ended in England and 
 martyrdom. 
 
 The tragedy of Rizzio, the vicious foolishness of 
 Darnley, the levity of Mary, and the falsity of Murray 
 and Morton, destroyed for a time the great dream, once 
 so promising in appearance, that the Queen of Scots 
 would mount the Catholic throne of Britain by the aid 
 of Spain. When Mary was in Lochleven and her 
 infant son had been adopted as their King by the 
 nobles, Elizabeth and Catharine vied with each other 
 in their loud expressions of sympathy with a Queen 
 thus contemned by her subjects, the object in both cases 
 being to obtain, if possible, either through Mary or her 
 persecutors, a pretext to interfere in Scotland, and thus 
 to frustrate the Spanish combination. Murray, who was 
 not in Scotland when Darnley was murdered, found 
 himself assiduously courted, by the French especially, 
 on his way home, and had a long friendly interview 
 even with Guzman in London. After the first shock 
 of dismay caused to the Catholics by the marriage of 
 Mary to Bothwell — a divorced man and a Protestant — 
 public opinion on their part agreed to regard her as 
 innocent of the crimes laid to her charge ; and when, 
 on the unhappy i6th May, 1568, Mary, weeping with 
 
 sentative of the Irish rebel Shan O'Neil was made much of by 
 Darnley, who, amongst other presents, sent to Shan two 
 hundred crowns with which to buy whiskey. The hopes that 
 Mary and Darnley built upon the English Catholics and Spain 
 were therefore well founded, if they had been well handled. — 
 Scottish Calendar, vol. ii. 293. 
 
MARY STUART'S FALL 257 
 
 grief and bitter disappointment, bade a last farewell to 
 the land of her fathers to claim the hospitality of her 
 bitterest enemy, her party in the north still founded 
 their hopes upon her, notwithstanding the black sus- 
 picion that hung over her, whilst she was unsubdued 
 and full of plans for future triumph over her enemies. 
 
 In her first letter to Elizabeth she struck a high but 
 unwise note, claiming admission to the Queen's 
 presence and English aid to subdue her rebel subjects, 
 failing which she demanded leave to go to France or 
 Spain and obtain assistance there. Elizabeth refused 
 both requests, for whilst she was kept in England the 
 unhappy Mary had nothing to offer in return ; but 
 Knollys, v/ho took the message, warned the Queen of 
 England that the Catholic gentry were flocking to 
 salute the fugitive, whose presence in the north was 
 a danger, and Mary sent indignant and imprudent 
 messages by Lord Herries to Elizabeth threatening 
 to appeal to her great Catholic friends on the Con- 
 tinent. This attitude sealed Mary's fate and de- 
 termined her imprisonment. Lord Herries talked 
 openly, even in Elizabeth's palace, of his plans for 
 claiming Catholic aid for his mistress ; and although 
 Guzman used all his deft persuasions to soften the 
 English Queen, Elizabeth explained to him quite 
 cogently again and again that she dared not allow 
 Mary to bring foreign Catholic forces into Britain, 
 nor from a safe refuge on the Continent to organise 
 disaffection in England. 
 
 Elizabeth, with ample reason, was at the time in a 
 panic at Philip's action in Flanders. For many 
 months the pretence had been kept up that the King 
 himself was coming to the Netherlands to pacify dis- 
 content. Great forces had been raised in Italy, Spain, 
 
258 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 and Germany, and a strong fleet fitted out, to the 
 great alarm of the English, who feared that at last the 
 time for Philip's vengeance had arrived, although 
 Elizabeth had tremblingly tried to keep up the pre- 
 tence to Guzman that she was delighted at " her good 
 brother's" coming. At last when all was ready, in 
 the autumn of 1567, vast sums of money collected, and 
 the troops under arms, no longer a royal escort but a 
 strong avenging army, Philip announced that he would 
 not go to Flanders himself but would send the terrible 
 Duke of Alba. Then all the world knew what was 
 meant — war to the knife until Protestantism and 
 political liberty were crushed in the Netherlands. It 
 was clear to Huguenots, Lutherans, and Anglicans 
 that the time of trial and struggle was at hand, and 
 mutual messages and promises of support crossed 
 from one to the other, for they all knew that if the 
 King of Spain were victorious over dissent in his own 
 land the turn of the others would come. Elizabeth's 
 retort to Alba's proceedings was, as usual, both bold 
 and diplomatic. She once more made strenuous efforts 
 to reopen the negotiations for her marriage with the 
 Archduke, she cajoled Guzman again into the belief 
 that she was not in accord with the proceedings of 
 her Reformed bishops ; and whilst all England was 
 thrilling with sympathy for the oppressed Flemings 
 she made the most elaborate protestations to the 
 Spanish ambassador that she had not helped and 
 would not help them in their resistance.^ But at the 
 same time Elizabeth, by a policy of alternate severity 
 and leniency towards them, convinced the English 
 
 ^ Guzman to the King, Spanish Calendar, vol. ii., i6th 
 February, 1568. 
 
ALBA IN FLANDERS 259 
 
 Catholic party that their future treatment depended 
 alone upon their gaining her goodwill. 
 
 The first suppression of revolt in Flanders effected 
 by Alba on his arrival coincided with a change in 
 Philip's policy towards England, probably under the 
 influence of the warlike party now dominant in his 
 counsels, Guzman, as we have seen, had always 
 spoken fair to Elizabeth and Cecil, though he often 
 complained to his master of having to deal with 
 " heretics " thus. But from Madrid now a harsher 
 note was struck. The English spies in Spain reported 
 that all the talk now was of the coming conquest of 
 England, and of Catholic combinations to overthrow 
 the Queen ; and in February Elizabeth learnt from a 
 messenger sent by her ambassador in Spain, Dr. Man, 
 Dean of Gloucester, to inform her of the imprisonment 
 of Don Carlos, that the household of her ambassador 
 had not been allowed to celebrate Protestant worship 
 in the embassy building. Dr. Man was a notoriously 
 foolish, babbling person, and, as Philip averred, had 
 openly scoffed at a religious procession, and had 
 spoken at dinner before Spaniards disrespectfully of 
 the Catholic faith. The Duke of Feria had been sent 
 to warn him, which we may be sure he did haughtily 
 enough, I and Philip, on Man's first arrival in Madrid, 
 appears to have told him harshly "that he must 
 conduct himself as his predecessors had done." The 
 Inquisition had, so Philip declared, complained of him, 
 and he was said to have acted "simply as a perverse 
 dogmatiser." 
 
 However this may have been, the prohibition of his 
 own national worship within the embassy walls was a 
 
 ^ One of the English spies in Madrid, Hogan, said that it was 
 really Feria who had got Man into the trouble. 
 
26o TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 violation of diplomatic privilege, though Philip said 
 that other English ambassadors (meaning Challoner) 
 had put up with it ; and when Elizabeth heard of it 
 she was violently angry. Cecil went to Guzman and 
 told him heatedly that unless the English ambassador 
 in Madrid had the same privileges conceded to him as 
 those that Guzman enjoyed in London, he would 
 immediately be withdrawn. Philip, said Elizabeth, 
 might do as he liked with his own subjects, but he 
 should not persecute hers. The complaint, of course, 
 went to Madrid, and at the same time a letter to Dr. 
 Man from the irate Elizabeth ordering him to demand 
 immediate satisfaction from the King. Philip was 
 ready for it and gave him no opportunity. In a 
 violent letter to Guzman, entirely unlike his previous 
 tone towards England, he tells his ambassador that 
 he has banished Man from Madrid, and refused to 
 have any more intercourse with him. He had, says 
 the King, even tried to proselytise in Spain ; and if 
 he had not been an ambassador the Inquisition would 
 have made short work of him. If Elizabeth did not 
 recall him at once, he would be expelled from Spain. 
 When Guzman waited upon Elizabeth early in May, 
 1568, with this message and handed her his new letter 
 of credence, he watched her face closely. " When she 
 came to the latter part about the ambassador she 
 changed colour and seemed annoyed, asking me what 
 it meant." Guzman, as gently as he could, gave her 
 the rough message, and said that a gentleman was on 
 the way from Spain to explain matters. In the mean- 
 while, amongst other things, he might tell her that this 
 precious ambassador of hers had publicly called the 
 Pope a " canting little monk ! " " Oh ! there is nothing 
 in that," said the Queen, but Guzman thought otherwise. 
 
STRAINED RELATIONS 261 
 
 She had not dealt with Bishop Quadra so harshly, she 
 said, although she found he was positively plotting 
 against her. "She therefore grieved that her ambassador 
 should be treated as he had been, especially as at this 
 time suspicions and comments would arise therefrom. 
 This way of treating ambassadors was a forerunner of 
 greater unpleasantness, particularly coming as it did 
 on the top of the news of the Catholic league against 
 her, and I should hear next day what would be said 
 in London about it." 
 
 A week or so after this came the news that Man 
 had been expelled from Madrid with every circum- 
 stance of insult, and Guzman, anxious to hear what 
 the English would think of it, called upon Cecil. He 
 found the minister in a furious passion at the outrage 
 upon international courtesy. Such a thing, he said, 
 had never been heard of before unless a pretext for 
 war was sought, and it was a great piece of dis- 
 respect and an insult to the Queen, showing a desire 
 to pick a quarrel with her, as had already been stated 
 in certain quarters, and it now behoved the Queen to 
 be prepared. It is certain that this incident, almost 
 coinciding as it did with Mary Stuart's arrival in Eng- 
 land and her open threats to appeal to the Catholic 
 Powers for aid, greatly perturbed and alarmed Eliza- 
 beth. The war of religion in France was again in 
 full swing, and her friends the Huguenots had their 
 hands full and could not help her, the Flemings 
 were temporarily crushed under the iron heel of 
 Alba, and the Catholics of the North of England 
 were in a ferment at the coming of the Queen of 
 Scots. 
 
 In spite, therefore, of Guzman's remonstrances, the 
 flail fell upon the backs of the English Catholics, and 
 
262 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 for the first time Guzman himself was treated with 
 harshness. Cecil told him " that the Council re- 
 garded him with suspicion, and the Queen did the 
 same." The ambassador was gentler and more con- 
 ciliatory than ever ; but in the new situation created 
 he was not the man for the place. In February, 
 1568, he had earnestly begged the King to recall 
 him on the pretext of ill-health and lack of means. 
 At that time, before Mary Stuart's arrival in England, 
 the relations between England and Spain were not 
 abnormally strained, for Mary, being deposed and 
 imprisoned, was powerless. Philip sent no answer 
 to the ambassador's request for several months ; but 
 in May, when the prospect was no longer " quiet 
 and friendly," he sent to Guzman his letter of dis- 
 missal. The King at this time needed a rough, 
 overbearing man to support his strong action with 
 regard to the English ambassador. The communi- 
 cations that had passed between Philip and Mary 
 Stuart, and the reports he had received as to the 
 attitude of the English Catholics of the north from 
 the Lennoxes and others, had convinced him that an 
 opportunity offered for dealing his blow. Guzman 
 had continued gently to encourage the Queen of 
 Scotland's agent, Fleming, but neither his instructions 
 nor his disposition allowed him to go beyond bare 
 expressions of sympathy. " I have shown him great 
 goodwill, and have in general terms assured him of 
 your Majesty's sincere affection for his Queen, as I 
 am letting the Catholics, her friends, understand." ''■ 
 But Guzman went no further than this. 
 
 Philip always chose his instruments carefully, with a 
 view for the precise task he confided to them. He 
 ^ Spanish Calendar, vol. ii. 
 
A NEW AMBASSADOR 263 
 
 had sent Guzman to London to tranquillise Elizabeth 
 by cordiality and a show of simple frankness, at a 
 time when trade was suspended and she was deeply 
 irritated at the intrigues of Bishop Quadra. The 
 ambassador had done his work admirably, but now 
 another phase had to be dealt with, and a different 
 man was required. To some extent, perhaps, Guz- 
 man's recall may have been influenced by his own 
 remark that Catholics are exposed to much danger to 
 the purity of their faith by living so long amongst 
 heretics, in answer to which the King told him that 
 he was not to join in religious discussions with 
 enemies of the Church ; but the choice of his suc- 
 cessor was certainly made with a view to an alteration 
 in the attitude in future to be adopted towards Eliza- 
 beth by her brother-in-law. All hope of bringing her 
 round to a Catholic policy was now quite abandoned. 
 To invade and conquer her country, as Feria had 
 proposed, when it might have been done, in the first 
 days of her reign, was not at present in Philip's 
 power. But he had a famous general and a power- 
 ful army a few hours only from her shores, and she 
 might be frightened into a humble and tolerant mood, 
 perhaps, by a rough-tongued bully with such a force 
 to threaten with. Besides, reports had told the King 
 that the Catholics of the North of England were 
 yearning for his coming to liberate their country 
 from the yoke of heresy, and a bold zealot was 
 needed to organise them into a fit instrument for 
 Philip's future purpose. 
 
 Such a man, though without the subtlety and 
 secrecy required, was found in Don Gerau de Spes, 
 a haughty Catalan knight of the Alba school, as 
 intolerant as Feria himxself. It was no part of Philip's 
 
264 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 intention yet to quarrel openly with Elizabeth, and the 
 instructions he gave to his new ambassador were, as 
 will be seen presently, entirely pacific ; but the King 
 was really in great trepidation as to the way in which 
 the Queen would take the expulsion of her ambassador, 
 and de Spes's first task was to frighten her into 
 humility, and into desisting from countenancing the 
 open aid that was flowing over from England to the 
 Flemish rebels. When Guzman went to Hatfield 
 to announce to the Queen his recall he found her 
 troubled and suspicious at the rumours that had 
 reached her as to the reasons for the change. " She 
 showed more sorrow than I expected, and, changing 
 colour, told me that she was grieved to the bottom of 
 her heart that there should be any change, as she was 
 so greatly pleased with my procedure. She said she 
 had always shown me how pleased she was with me, 
 and hoped to God there was no mystery behind this 
 change." 
 
 The supple ambassador tranquillised her. She 
 knew, he said, what poor health he had, and how 
 badly the English climate suited him. There was 
 no other mystery behind his going than that. She 
 was coquettishly aggrieved, too, at his wanting to 
 leave her, as they had been such friends; and besides, 
 there was all this talk about a Catholic league against 
 her ! Guzman again reassured her ; but when he got 
 back to London he found Cecil less easy to calm. 
 He had been told alarming stories by his spies, 
 most of which we now know were untrue, and after 
 assuring Guzman of the grief that his recall would 
 cause to the Queen, he continued that "it confirmed 
 what he had heard from various quarters, that 
 Cardinal Lorraine had arranged a treaty with the 
 
APPREHENSIONS OF ELIZABETH 265 
 
 Duke of Alba respecting this country and the Queen 
 of Scots, which had been negotiated through me 
 [^i.e., Guzman] as they could not trust the French 
 ambassador. It was said, also, that the Queen of 
 Scots herself was in communication with me and 
 sent me letters for your Majesty. It was asserted 
 that, now that I had arranged it all, I wished to 
 leave in order that my successor, and not myself, 
 should witness the carrying out of the plan." ^ 
 Guzman knew that a letter to him enclosing one 
 from Mary to Philip had fallen into Cecil's hands, so 
 he had to be dexterous in his management of the 
 situation. He affected to laugh at such assertions 
 as absurd ; 2 and the interview ended by the highest 
 praise being bestowed upon Guzman, who, said Cecil, 
 had absolutely gained the Queen's confidence ; and 
 many dubious questions were put by Cecil as to what 
 sort of a person Don Gerau de Spes was. 
 
 Don Gerau soon showed this for himself. He was 
 instructed by Philip to explain to Elizabeth the mis- 
 deeds of Dr. Man that had led to his expulsion, and 
 to exonerate the Duke and Duchess of Feria, and 
 especially the English relatives of the latter, from 
 any blame in the matter. He was also to watch 
 the introduction of warlike stores into England and 
 keep in touch with the Duke of Alba in Flanders ; 
 but he is emphatically enjoined '* to serve and 
 
 ^ Spanish Calendar, vol. ii., 9th August, 1568. 
 
 2 " I told him that, as for arranging anything of the sort 
 between the Cardinal and the Duke, I regarded such a state- 
 ment as a silly joke, the vain babble of the idle. I could assure 
 him that to say that such a treaty had gone through my hands 
 was absolutely false. If I had done such a thing against the 
 Queen I should deserve heavy punishment from your Majesty, 
 aud even from the Queen herself, such action being entirely 
 
266 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 gratify the Queen on every possible occasion, try- 
 ing to keep her on good terms, and assuring her 
 from me that I will always return her friendship as 
 her good neighbour and brother." De Spes, how- 
 ever, must have carried secret instructions in addition 
 to this, because when he was passing through Paris, 
 Mary Stuart's ambassador, the Archbishop of Glas- 
 gow, recommended to him the care of the imprisoned 
 Queen's affairs, "as she founded all her hopes on your 
 Majesty's favour," and, in reply, de Spes said that he 
 had orders to do everything he could for her. There 
 is no such clause in his public instructions, and it is 
 most unlikely that any ambassador of Philip would 
 have dared to plunge without instructions into con- 
 spiracies against the Government to which he was 
 accredited, as de Spes did immediately after his 
 arrival in England. 
 
 Before crossing the Channel, de Spes had a con- 
 ference with the Duke of Alba at Utrecht, where a 
 long list of Philip's grievances against Elizabeth were 
 discussed. The indictment was a grave one, the 
 injuries said to be inflicted by the English upon 
 Spaniards and Flemings amounting in value, it was 
 computed, to 300,000 ducats a year ; and it is cer- 
 tain that at this interview between the two fiery 
 Spaniards plans for revenging and amending this 
 state of things were canvassed and agreed upon. 
 In England at the time there resided a Spanish 
 
 opposed to my instructions. I had never in my life had any 
 communication with the Cardinal, and I was quite sure the 
 Queen would not believe such nonsense." — Spanish Calendar, 
 vol. ii., 65. The English did not seem to understand fully at 
 this time Philip's distrust of all French interference, even that 
 of the Guises. 
 
AN UNWISE AMBASSADOR 267 
 
 merchant, ambitious to fill a diplomatic rSU^ and, 
 although he had lived in London for thirty years 
 at least, he was as zealous and intolerant in re- 
 ligious affairs as de Spes, or even Philip himself. 
 This man, of whom we shall hear much presently, 
 Antonio de Guaras, anxious to ingratiate himself, 
 had sent to de Spes in Flanders two broadsheets 
 that had just been published in England attacking 
 Philip's system and the communications that it was 
 known passed between the English Catholics and 
 the King of Spain. Such papers, of course, had 
 been published in Guzman's time, but he had wisely 
 passed them by or minimised their importance. To 
 de Spes they served as a spark to the tinder of his 
 passion, and he arrived in England fuming with rage 
 at the insolence of the heretics. 
 
 As de Spes rode from Dover towards London, with 
 a long train of Spanish residents in England at his 
 heels, early in September, 1568, he was overtaken by 
 a Scottish gentleman (probably James Beton) on his 
 way from Paris in the service of the imprisoned Mary, 
 with whom he was going to seek an interview. De 
 Spes listened eagerly to his story of the ill-treatment 
 of Mary by the " heretics," and told him that he had 
 letters in London from King Philip to her. He had 
 enough prudence to tell the Scot when, after their 
 arrival in the capital, he came for the King's letter 
 to take to Mary that it would be wise that he, as 
 Spanish ambassador, should not be seen too promi- 
 nently in her interests ; but he associated himself at 
 once in all the Scottish Queen's plans to escape from 
 her bondage, and sent her warm messages of encourage- 
 ment. Almost at the same time (15th September) 
 Philip himself was writing from the Escorial an 
 
268 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 important letter to the Duke of Alba. The Queen 
 of Scots, he said, had written praying for his help 
 to extricate her from Elizabeth's hands, and professing 
 her readiness to die in defence of the faith. ^ " I have 
 refrained from arriving at any decision or answering 
 her autograph letter . . . until you tell me what you 
 think of the business, and in what way and to what 
 extent I should assist her. I beg you to write to 
 me by the first opportunity on the matter, and in 
 the meanwhile to encourage the Queen the best you 
 can to persevere firmly in her saintly purpose ; for 
 whilst she does so God will not abandon her." It 
 is obvious from this that Philip had not decided yet 
 to help Mary, but only to encourage her until affairs 
 appeared to him propitious, and we shall be able to 
 judge, therefore, to what extent the zeal of de Spes 
 precipitated matters. 
 
 Elizabeth was making a progress through Hamp- 
 shire, and Guzman presented his successor to her at 
 Newbury on the 1 2th September, 1 568. To the scornful 
 anger of de Spes, Cardinal Chatillon, the Huguenot 
 brother of Coligny, was also seeking audience of the 
 Queen, and being feasted and made much of in the 
 interval by Sir Thomas Gresham at his house in 
 London. That a Cardinal, a prince of the Catholic 
 Church, followed by a wife and family and with 
 several bishops at his side as unorthodox as he, 
 should be ruffling about the streets of London in 
 cape and sword and jewelled cap, shocked de Spes 
 gravely ; but that he should be asking, and obtaining, 
 arms from the Tower of London and money and 
 
 ^ This letter is not in Labanoff, but it is probably similar to 
 that sent to Charles IX. from Carlisle on the 26th June. 
 2 Spanish Calendar, vol. ii. 71. 
 
MARY AND DE SPES 269 
 
 English volunteers to fight against the Catholics and 
 the King in France made the Spaniard more bitter 
 than anything else. The new ambassador had not 
 been installed in Paget House ^ a fortnight before 
 Mary Stuart's emissaries were in close conference 
 with him. One of them came to him early in 
 October disguised as a merchant, saying that he was 
 bearing letters from her to the Duke of Alba in 
 Flanders. The Conference of York, which had been 
 summoned to decide Mary's guilt or innocence of the 
 murder of her husband, was already gathering, and 
 the Scottish Queen herself was at Bolton. How 
 eager de Spes was even thus early to engage in plots 
 in her favour is seen in the letter he wrote to the 
 King on the 9th October giving him this news. 
 " Where she is the Catholics are more numerous than 
 in any part of the country. She knows how to 
 ingratiate herself with her keepers, and has many 
 sympathisers on her side. It will not be difficult to 
 release her, and even to raise a great revolt against 
 this Queen ; but it will be more prudent that your 
 Majesty should not appear in this, and I will do 
 nothing until I receive orders from your Majesty or 
 the Duke." 2 
 
 ^ Paget House had been the palace of the Bishops of Exeter, 
 and was the first of the great houses on the river side of the 
 Strand outside Temple Bar, on the site of what is now called the 
 Outer Temple. It had been granted by Henry VHI. to Lord 
 Paget. 
 
 ^ Very shortly after this, 30th October, when he had got into 
 touch with Mary's imprudent agent, the Bishop of Ross, de 
 Spes wrote to the King : " I am of opinion that this would be a 
 good opportunity for taking Scottish affairs in hand successfully, 
 and restoring the Catholic religion in this country ; and if the 
 Duke [of Alba] were out of his present anxiety and your 
 
270 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 All this foregathering with Scottish agents on the 
 part of de Spes was not lost upon the English 
 Government, whose spies reported everything. De 
 Spes says that Cecil sneeringly asked Beton (the 
 nephew of the Archbishop of Glasgow, who was in 
 London on his way from Paris to see Mary) 
 " whether he had been with his complaints to the 
 new Spanish ambassador yet, and how often he went 
 to Paget House." In these circumstances it is not 
 surprising that relations grew rapidly acrimonious 
 between Philip's ambassador and Elizabeth's 
 ministers. He pressed with boldness and persist- 
 ence the claims of the Spanish shipmasters for the 
 depredations committed by English rovers, and by 
 the Huguenots and Dutch rebels who took shelter in 
 English ports ; and to these claims Cecil retorted by 
 bringing up the old grievance of Dr. Man's expulsion, 
 and certain insulting references to the Queen of 
 England contained in a recently published Spanish 
 book by Dr. Illescas on Pontifical History. To make 
 matters worse, de Spes did not confine himself to the 
 redress of Spanish grievances, but made himself the 
 champion of Catholics generally. A Portuguese 
 envoy. Dr. Alvarez, was in London to ask Elizabeth 
 to forbid English ships to go to the coast of Guinea, 
 where Hawkins had been slave-trading, and suddenly 
 one morning the Bishop of London's men appeared 
 
 Majesty wished, it could be discussed." — Spanish Calendar, 
 vol. ii. 8i. A week later de Spes wrote : " It appears as if the 
 time was approaching when this country may be made to return 
 to the Catholic Church, the Queen being in such straits and 
 short of money. I have already informed your Majesty of the 
 offers made by the brother-in-law of Viscount Montagu, on 
 condition that they may look for the protection of your 
 Majesty." 
 
A FIREBRAND 271 
 
 before the house in which Alvarez lived and de- 
 manded that certain Englishmen then attending Mass 
 there should be delivered to them for punishment. 
 The Portuguese refused to surrender them, and the 
 house was soon surrounded by a threatening crowd. 
 Word was carried to de Spes, who immediately sent 
 off one of his household to demand of the Lord 
 Mayor (Sir Roger Martin) the dispersal of the mob. 
 " What is the cause of the gathering .'' " asked the 
 chief magistrate, and when the Spaniard told him 
 that it was a question of Catholic worship, Sir Roger 
 burst out in a rage that he would rather send his men 
 to reinforce the mob than to disperse it in such a case. 
 
 The presence of such a firebrand ambassador as 
 this in London, in constant communication, as 
 Elizabeth's ministers knew, with all the elements of 
 disaffection in England, and in close correspondence 
 with the terrible Duke of Alba in Flanders, convinced 
 the English Government that evil plans were brewing. 
 It was known that Philip's principal difficulty was 
 money. The expense of the campaigns in Flanders 
 and the constant wars in the Mediterranean had 
 exhausted the resources of Castile, and Philip's credit 
 was as bad as could be. Alba's troops were unpaid 
 and growing mutinous, committing outrage and depre- 
 dations upon Catholics as much as upon Protestants. 
 The Duke had pressed, again and again, for money 
 from Spain, and the English spies in Flanders had 
 continued to send alarmist reports, all premature as 
 we see now, but then believed to be true, of the 
 hostile intentions of Alba against England as soon as 
 he had crushed the Dutchmen and obtained the 
 needed resources from Spain. 
 
 Chance threw into Elizabeth's way a means of 
 
272 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 paralysing Alba for a time and rendering impossible 
 the plans to injure her that she knew were hatching. 
 Philip had, with infinite difficulty, managed to con- 
 tract, at usurious rates, a loan of money from Genoese 
 bankers, and, with his characteristic caution, he had 
 stipulated that the money should be delivered by 
 the lenders to the agents of the Duke of Alba in 
 Antwerp. The Channel was infested with Huguenot 
 privateers and pirates of all sorts on the look out for 
 ships flying the Spanish flag, and the Dutch 
 " Beggars " blockaded the Belgian coast. The ships, 
 six or seven of them, which were bringing Philip's 
 borrowed treasure were known to have sailed late in 
 November, and the rovers were all on the alert for 
 them when they came. Finding themselves chased, 
 the treasure ships ran into English ports, some into 
 Plymouth, some to Falmouth, and the largest of them 
 into Southampton, in order to escape their pursuers 
 and claim official English protection. Even in port 
 the privateers threatened the fugitives, and two of the 
 treasure ships, swift Biscay cutters, fearing that the 
 heretics on shore were as dangerous as their col- 
 leagues afloat, boldly ran the blockade of pirates and 
 escaped, eventually arriving safely in Antwerp. 
 But the others, and especially the big ship in 
 Southampton with ;^3i,ooo in money on board, 
 could only cling desperately to the English port 
 authorities, whilst they sent swift messengers to 
 Benedict Spinola, the famous Genoese banker in 
 London, the agent and partner of the lenders, praying 
 him to obtain safety for them. 
 
 Spinola, being, of course, interested in the treasure, 
 went at once to de Spes, and asked him to request 
 officially of the Queen's Council that the money 
 
PHILIP'S TREASURE SEIZED 273 
 
 should be protected effectively in the English ports, 
 and, if necessary, landed and conveyed overland to 
 Dover for transmission to Antwerp under English 
 convoy. De Spes lost no time, and on the 29th 
 November saw the Queen, who readily promised 
 him a passport to carry the money overland, or, if 
 the Genoese preferred it, she would have the ships 
 convoyed to their destination. Satisfied with this, 
 de Spes wrote to Alba for instructions as to which 
 course to follow. In the meanwhile Admiral Wynter 
 was leaving the Thames with an English squadron to 
 relieve the Huguenots besieged by the King of France 
 in Rochelle, and on the way he looked into the Channel 
 ports to ensure the safety of the treasure ships. Before 
 Wynter sailed finally from England Spinola, who 
 was interested, as great financiers are to-day, in many 
 enterprises, wrote to him that he had just received 
 word that rumours were current in Spain of a great 
 disaster having happened on the coast of Mexico 
 to Captain John Hawkins, the bold English sailor 
 who had on more than one occasion braved the 
 Spanish prohibition and had conducted successful trad- 
 ing expeditions to the Spanish colonies. De Spes 
 had been bitterly complaining of this, and it was 
 feared, said Spinola, that the Hawkins expedition, in 
 which he had an interest, had been attacked and 
 annihilated by the Spanish authorities. 
 
 When Wynter received Spinola's news on the 2nd 
 December he was in Plymouth, assuring himself of 
 the safety of the Spanish treasure ships there. 
 Wynter naturally told the evil news he had learned 
 from Spinola to William Hawkins, the brother of 
 John, who lived in Plymouth, and William at once 
 wrote to Cecil, who was also interested in the venture, 
 
274 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 suggesting that Spinola should be questioned, and if 
 it turned out that the Spaniards had attacked the 
 English trading expedition, the money in the ships 
 now being protected by EngHsh guns should be 
 seized in reprisal. This letter was written on the 3rd 
 December, the day after the safe conduct had been 
 signed by Elizabeth for bringing the treasure overland 
 to Dover, and before Cecil can have received it this 
 safe conduct was on its way in the hands of de Spes's 
 agents to Southampton, and so to Plymouth and 
 Falmouth. Cecil's messengers, however, were not far 
 behind, and, in spite of the protest of the Spanish 
 captain. Horsey, the Governor of the Isle of Wight, 
 by Cecil's secret orders, landed the treasure from the 
 ship at Southampton and placed it in the keeping of 
 the mayor of the town. Similar action was taken 
 with the treasure at Plymouth and Falmouth, and 
 when the news reached de Spes in London he at 
 once jumped at the conclusion that the rumours were 
 true that he had heard at Court to the effect that 
 some of the Queen's Council and her Huguenot friends 
 had been urging her to keep the treasure for her own 
 purposes. 
 
 Spinola, a resident in London, dependent largely 
 upon Elizabeth's goodwill and Cecil's friendship, had, 
 indeed, let out in conversation not only what he had 
 heard about the Spanish attack upon John Hawkins's 
 expedition in Mexico, but also that the Genoese 
 financiers were responsible for the money advanced to 
 Philip until it was handed to the Spanish authorities 
 in Flanders. " In that case," said Elizabeth, " I can 
 borrow it myself; for my credit is quite as good as 
 that of the King of Spain." Rash de Spes, however, 
 did not wait for any such public avowal. To his 
 
PHILIP'S TREASURE SEIZED 275 
 
 intemperate and insolent protests Cecil and the other 
 Councillors would only say that the money was quite 
 safe, and for the present no other answer with regard 
 to it could be given to him. This was on the 21st 
 December and the ambassador at once sent a special 
 courier to Alba with a letter praying, in burning indig- 
 nation, that all English property and that of Spinola 
 on Spanish soil should be seized. ^ Nothing more 
 unwise than this can be conceived ; for no sooner 
 had Alba made the confiscatory proclamation than 
 Elizabeth not only justified thereby her seizure of the 
 money, now openly avowed, but at once confiscated 
 all Spanish and Flemish property in England, includ- 
 ing the ships that had brought the money. 
 
 De Spes had been saying for weeks past that the 
 best way to bring the Queen to her knees, and to 
 force her into the arms of Spain, would be to stop 
 all English trade ; and when he had sent to Alba the 
 unwise advice to make the seizure of English 
 property he still believed that such a measure would 
 dismay the " heretic " Government. So far from 
 doing that it placed Elizabeth technically in the 
 
 ^ Almost simultaneously de Spes went to the French ambas- 
 sador in London (La Mothe) and proposed joint action between 
 them first to oust Cecil from his office, and secondly to stop 
 trade with England entirely both from France and the Spanish 
 dominions, the ostensible object being that, if this were done, 
 Elizabeth and her subjects would be obliged to become Cathohc 
 to avoid ruin. De Spes even proposed that the French should 
 pull the chestnuts out of the fire for him by stopping trade first. 
 La Mothe, in writing his account of the suggestion to Catharine, 
 calmly points out the evident absurdity of both proposals. De 
 Spes apparently had no notion of the incompatibiHty with 
 Philip's objects of joint action of France and Spain in England. 
 — Correspondance de la Mothe Fenelon, vol. i. 
 
276 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 right ; for up to that point she had not openly- 
 avowed her intention of keeping the loan money ; 
 and the value of Spanish- Flemish property in 
 England was immensely greater than that of English 
 property in Philip's dominions. The news of the 
 seizure of the loan money fell upon Alba and his 
 master like a death sentence. Without this money to 
 pay his troops Alba was almost in despair, and Philip 
 had exhausted his last rag of credit in raising the 
 loan. In vain de Spes raged and fumed. Cecil and 
 his mistress were perfectly cool about it ; for they saw 
 that the impetuoasness of their opponents had put 
 them in the right, and the large sum of ready money 
 they had seized strengthened them as it proportion- 
 ately weakened Philip. De Spes's house was placed 
 under guard ; and a threatening mob in the City of 
 London breathed vengeance upon the foreigners, and 
 especially Spaniards, most of whom had fled into 
 hiding. To make matters worse, a cipher letter from 
 de Spes to Alba was intercepted and deciphered, full 
 of violent and insulting references to Cecil, and other 
 letters to Spanish friends in Flanders containing 
 foolish abuse of the Queen herself. 'f Called upon 
 peremptorily for explanation of these references, the 
 ambassador could only palliate, disavow, and explain 
 that he did not mean what he said ; and he himself 
 was placed under arrest and forbidden access to the 
 Court. 
 
 Even then, when the dire consequences of his 
 imprudence must have been patent to him, he was in 
 close cipher correspondence with Mary Stuart, who 
 sent him news, which he took care to exaggerate, 
 
 ^ These letters are in the Spanish Calendar, vol. ii. 
 
DE SPES PLOTTING 277 
 
 of Protestant plots being formed to murder King 
 Philip. Writing to the King on the 8th January, 
 1569, he says, after pressing him to foment dissatis- 
 faction In England by stopping all trade : "In the 
 meanwhile means will be found to bring this country 
 to its senses and subdue it to the Catholic faith. 
 Those who have spoken to me about a rising for the 
 Queen of Scots will not fail to return to the subject,^ 
 and I will inform the Duke [Alba], as your Majesty 
 orders. Pray do not consider me or my safety, but 
 take the best course for your Majesty's interests. . . . 
 These heretic knaves of the Council are going head- 
 long to perdition, incited by Cecil, who is indescribably 
 crazy in his zeal for heresy." Later in the same letter 
 de Spes tells how his own prediction came true 
 and the conspirators did seek him. "The Earl of 
 Northumberland came to see me disguised at four 
 o'clock this morning, and is ready to serve your 
 Majesty. I sent a post yesterday to the Duke by 
 an Englishman who has secret communication with 
 Flanders. ... At midnight last night the Bishop of 
 Ross came to offer the goodwill of his mistress 
 [i.e., Mary Stuart] and of many gentlemen of this 
 country, and I have reported this to the Duke [of 
 Alba]. The Queen of Scotland told my servant 
 to convey to me the following words : * Tell the 
 ambassador that if his master will help me I shall be 
 
 * How dangerous the position was at the time is seen by 
 a letter (3rd December, 1568) from Sir Francis Knollys, who 
 had charge of Mary at Bolton, to Cecil, in which he says that he 
 has less fear that the attempt to release Mary by subterfuge as 
 Cecil thought, than by force, and begs for more troops to resist . 
 attack from without. " We all agree herein, that this is an in- 
 convenient and dangerous place for this Queen to tarry in." 
 
278 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 Queen of England in three months, and Mass shall be 
 said throughout the land.'" ^ 
 
 It will be seen that before de Spes had been in 
 England four months he had forced King Philip into 
 a position of hardly veiled hostility towards England, 
 at the very period when his lack of resources and the 
 recrudescence of the war in the Netherlands made 
 it impossible for him to attempt coercion upon 
 Elizabeth. Alba himself was dismayed at the un- 
 expectedly bold action of the English Government 
 in seizing the treasure and embargoing all Spanish- 
 Flemish property in England. The Flemish burghers, 
 already sorely distressed by the civil war, were almost 
 in open revolt at this stoppage of the rich English 
 trade and the embargo of their property in England, 
 and Alba, hard as he might be, was forced to make an 
 attempt to reason with Elizabeth by means of some 
 more pliable instrument than de Spes. The person 
 chosen was the garrulous Flemish lawyer, Dassonle- 
 ville, who had come to England just before Queen Mary 
 Tudor's death, but he found himself more con- 
 temptuously treated even than de Spes. Who was he, 
 
 ^ Whilst this letter was being written, Cecil and the Lord 
 Admiral (Clinton) with a great train of followers and the 
 alderman of the City came to Paget House and demanded 
 to see de Spes. Cecil angrily told him that he had advised 
 the Duke of Alba to seize English property, for which disloyal 
 act the Queen placed him (de Spes) under arrest, dismissing his 
 Spanish servants, and handing the charge of the house to Henry 
 Knollys, Arthur Carew, and Lord Knyvett. De Spes answered 
 defiantly, and the breach became wider than ever. Proclamations 
 and counter proclamations, or printed broadsheets, w^ere issued 
 by the English Council and by de Spes respectively, each claim- 
 ing that justice was on their side with regard to the seizures. 
 — De Spes to the King, 8th January, 1569, Spanish Calendar, 
 vol. ii. 
 
PHILIP DESPERATE 279 
 
 the Council asked, that he should seek audience of a 
 Queen with a letter of credence from a person who, so 
 far as she knew, was not a sovereign? Nothing 
 wounded proud Alba so much as this slight, and poor 
 Dassonleville was denied audience, and was placed 
 under arrest in the house of the Sheriff of London. 
 
 By this time no less than 700,000 ducats worth of 
 Flemish ships and property had been seized in 
 England, besides Philip's treasure of a million ; and 
 the Spaniards, especially Alba, were bitterly regretting 
 the deplorable diplomacy of de Spes. Philip, who 
 hated to come to prompt decisions, was now face 
 to face with a crisis. In obedience to the clamours of 
 his ambassador he had stopped all trade between his 
 dominions and England; by which, instead of its bring- 
 ing Elizabeth to her knees, his subjects suffered much 
 more than the English. It was evident, however, 
 that this state of things could not continue in- 
 definitely, and he was driven by these circumstances, 
 at the very time when he was more hardly pressed 
 than ever, to consider whether he could now conquer 
 England by means of the English Catholics and Mary 
 Stuart. For such a conquest to be of use to him 
 It was necessary to be quite sure that Mary should be 
 free from French influence, and that the new Catholic 
 Government should look to him alone for orders. 
 
 When, therefore, he received news from Alba and 
 de Spes of the seizures he wrote to the former : 
 " Don Gerau urges the opportunity which now 
 presents Itself to remedy religious affairs In that 
 country by deposing the present Queen and giving 
 the crown to the Queen of Scots, who will im- 
 mediately be joined by all the Catholics. Please 
 inquire what foundation there is for this, and what 
 
28o TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 success would probably attend such a plan ; as if there 
 is anything in it, I should be glad to carry it out. It 
 appears to me that, after my special obligation to 
 maintain my own dominions in our holy faith, I 
 am bound to make every effort to restore and preserve 
 it in England, as in former times. If there is any good 
 grounds for the suggestion, no time more opportune than 
 the present could be found . . . and in order not to miss 
 the chance, I have thought well to refer the decision to 
 you. If you think the opportunity will be lost by waiting 
 to consult me you may at once take the steps you may 
 see fitting." It was not often that Philip went so far as 
 this in a prompt decision, and to de Spes he was 
 equally decided. "If what you suggest about taking 
 the crown away from the Queen were successful, it 
 would certainly be of great moment, and I would help 
 it most willingly, in order to redress religion, and 
 shelter and console the Catholics, who, I am con- 
 vinced, are very numerous. You will learn all you 
 can about this thoroughly and advise me and the 
 Duke of Alba fully." ^ 
 
 In the meanwhile the conspiracy, by far the most 
 dangerous that Elizabeth ever had to face, was 
 developing in London. Cecil, who, in fact, was the 
 most pacific of ministers, is represented by the Spanish 
 party as the firebrand, determined to precipitate a war 
 with Spain. This was certainly not the case. He, 
 with his cool head, understood how far he might 
 go now that Philip was powerless to attack England. 
 The seizure of the money destined to pay Alba's 
 troops had made all the difference, and Cecil and 
 his mistress knew that they might for the present defy 
 
 ^ The King to de Spes, i8th February, 1569. — Spanish 
 Calendar, vol. ii. 
 
THE PLOT THICKENS 281 
 
 Spain with impunity. The news of the attack upon 
 Hawkins's expedition at San Juan de Lua was now 
 confirmed and added to the determination of the 
 English Protestant party to get even with a Power 
 which, for the time at all events, was disabled for 
 harm. But the conservative elements, the old English 
 nobility, with their strong Catholic leanings, their 
 traditions of awed regard for the alliance of the House 
 of Burgundy and Spain, and with their long-standing 
 jealousy of Cecil, saw in his present action a dangerous 
 provocation to a Power they dreaded, and a possible 
 opportunity of supplanting him and his party in the 
 counsels of the Queen. 
 
 On several occasions the nobles of this party had 
 expressed to de Spes their annoyance at the seizure of 
 the treasure ; and we have seen that the Earl of 
 Northumberland, the powerful Catholic head of the 
 House of Percy, had sought him out secretly in the 
 dead of night to make disloyal offers to him. The 
 Duke of Norfolk, unhappily for himself, had also 
 been drawn into these questionable intrigues by his 
 father-in-law, the Earl of Arundel. Late in February, 
 1569, Norfolk and Arundel sent a Florentine banker 
 in London, one Ridolfi, a great friend of de Spes 
 and the Pope's agent in England, to tell the Spanish 
 ambassador that they had put up with Cecil's imper- 
 tinences and violence in seizing the treasure so far 
 because they were not strong enough to resist him. 
 " But they are gathering their friends, and letting the 
 public know what is going on, in the hope and belief 
 that they will be able to turn out the present accursed 
 Government and raise a Catholic one, bringing the 
 Queen to consent thereto. They think you [i.e., the 
 Duke of Alba] will support them in this, and that the 
 
282 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 country will not lose the friendship of our King." The 
 object of this conspiracy was to capture (and probably 
 kill) Cecil ; and, although the nobles euphemistically 
 professed to believe that Elizabeth would consent to 
 a entire revolution in her religion and policy, it is 
 evident that the intention of the majority was to 
 depose her in favour of Mary Stuart. On the 
 2nd April de Spes writes: "The Duke of Norfolk 
 and the Earl of Arundel wish to serve your Majesty. 
 They have many friends and adherents in the country, 
 and when they hear that your Majesty will accept their 
 goodwill, they will declare themselves more openly at 
 a convenient opportunity. The Duke of Alba . . . 
 orders me to entertain and caress them on your 
 Majesty's behalf, and says that he expects shortly 
 your Majesty's decision as to what is to be done. . . . 
 If your Majesty orders measures to be taken for 
 the conversion of the kingdom and the punishment of 
 these insolent heretics and barefaced thieves, I do not 
 think it will be difficult to bring them to subjection, or 
 at least to change the Government and religion. . . . 
 Many Catholics write to me secretly, saying that the 
 moment they see your Majesty's standard raised in 
 this country they will all rise to serve you." 
 
 But Cecil was too wary to be caught by such weak- 
 lings as Norfolk and Arundel, and by pretending to 
 fall into their views for a time about the reconciliation 
 and concessions to the Spaniards, he managed a few 
 weeks after the above letter was written to throw the 
 plans of the conspirators into confusion by dividing 
 their counsels. In the meanwhile Alba (on the loth 
 March) had to tell Philip some unpleasant truths in 
 answer to his suggestion that English affairs should 
 be taken in hand and settled on the impracticable 
 
PHILIP'S IMPOTENCE 283 
 
 lines suggested by feather-headed de Spes. " I know 
 not," Alba wrote to the King, " whether an open 
 rupture with England at the present time will be 
 advantageous, considering the condition of your 
 treasury, and these States being so exhausted with 
 the war and late disturbances, and so lacking of ships 
 and many other things necessary for a fresh war ; and 
 it would certainly be a grave loss of dignity, with your 
 Majesty's power, to return to the old negotiations. 
 All things considered, I think it would be best to 
 adopt a gentle course, writing to the Queen that, 
 seeing the close friendship and alliance that have so 
 long existed between the two countries, particularly 
 between her father and the Emperor, and your 
 brotherly affection for her, even though she should 
 desire to quarrel, you will not consent to do so, and 
 that it shall never be said that the tie that binds you 
 together has been loosened." 
 
 To this lame and impotent conclusion had even 
 warlike Alba been brought by the inevitable logic of 
 events. Elizabeth had seized the treasure, imprisoned 
 two ambassadors, embargoed all Spanish property in 
 her realms ; she had at the time hundreds of Spanish 
 sailors and others in gaol, and she rejected with 
 contumely all attempts of the Spaniards to reconcile 
 her on the basis of mutual concessions. The Dutch 
 and the Huguenots depended now largely upon her 
 support, and the English Catholics were made to feel 
 more painfully than ever that appeals to their power- 
 ful friends upon the Continent could not protect them 
 from the hard rule of their own Sovereign. And yet, 
 withal, Alba had to confess that the only course now 
 open to him was to speak fair, until at some future 
 time a safe opportunity for injuring Elizabeth might 
 arrive. 
 
284 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 Up to this time since Philip had faced the necessity 
 for winning England by other means than moral 
 suasion, the projects for doing so had always run upon 
 the lines of subsidising and supporting the revolt of 
 the Catholic party in the interests of the Queen of 
 Scots ; and in this direction, but later with an ominous 
 addition to the programme, the next attempts 
 developed. During the sitting of the Conference of 
 York in October, 1568, to investigate the charges 
 against Mary relative to the murder of Darnley, the 
 Duke of Norfolk had suggested to Lethington the 
 desirability of hushing up the ugly business as against 
 the Queen of Scots ; and on the following day he had 
 a long, private conversation with Murray to the same 
 effect. Thomas Howard, fourth Duke of Norfolk, 
 son of the martyred Surrey, was the greatest noble in 
 England, a kinsman of the Queen, and up to this time 
 ostensibly a Protestant. Personally, he was popular, 
 for his manners were kindly and his possessions great, 
 but, as events proved, he was as weak and unstable as 
 he was ambitious. At this time he was about thirty- 
 three years of age, and his wife, the daughter of the 
 Earl of Arundel, and widow of Lord Dacre, had died. 
 Such a man, with his personal prestige and his power- 
 ful name, was a fit instrument for stronger spirits than 
 himself. In conversation with Murray at York, 
 Norfolk said that Queen Elizabeth herself would not 
 consider the subject of the succession, but it was 
 necessary for the nobles of England to look ahead. 
 "What could be Murray's motive," he asked, "in 
 coming to England to blacken Queen Mary's 
 character and thus injuring her chances of the English 
 succession ? " 
 
 As a consequence of these efforts of Norfolk, it was 
 
NORFOLK'S CONSPIRACY 285 
 
 agreed with Murray and Lethington to make the 
 Conference of York abortive, and Mary was informed 
 of this by a letter from Norfolk. ^ In the course of 
 the subsequent negotiations a few days afterwards, 
 Lethington remarked that as Norfolk showed himself 
 so much in favour of Mary, the whisper he had heard 
 about the possibility of his marriage to her was prob- 
 ably true, and, according to Norfolk, earnestly 
 advocated the match.^ Norfolk listened, for the 
 prospect of the matrimonial Crown of England was a 
 tempting one, and his sister, Lady Scrope, who was 
 with Mary at Bolton, had no difficulty in obtaining 
 the Scottish Queen's acceptance of a suggestion which 
 seemed to secure for her cause the higher nobility of 
 England, who were anxious to overthrow the Cecils, 
 and Bacons, and Hunsdons, and other new men, who 
 now ruled England. De Spes was very soon 
 approached, and, of course, warmly approved of the 
 plan to marry Norfolk to the Queen of Scots, whilst 
 a close and affectionate correspondence was carried on 
 between Mary and her new suitor. For a time the 
 plan was frustrated by the alarm of Leicester, when 
 he suspected the real object of it, and by the dexterity 
 of Cecil, as has already been described. 
 
 Norfolk and Arundel had, however, never lost touch 
 of de Spes, both of them constantly importuning him 
 for money in return for their efforts in favour of the 
 Spaniards in the seizure dispute. The Bishop of Ross, 
 Mary's busy agent, also kept the matter alive with 
 de Spes. Norfolk, Arundel, Lumley, Northumberland, 
 Cumberland, Montagu, Dacre, Morley, and many 
 
 ^ " Memoirs of Sir James Melville of Hall Hill." 
 2 Norfolk, on his trial, said that Leicester had also suggested 
 ^^ the marriage. 
 
286 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 other Catholic nobles, de Spes wrote to Alba, were 
 ready to join in the conspiracy to release Mary and 
 place England under the control of King Philip, if 
 some armed demonstration were made on their behalf 
 from Flanders. But Alba, as he plaintively assured 
 King Philip, was powerless to assail, or even to offend, 
 Elizabeth further, until she could be persuaded to 
 surrender the vast quantity of Spanish- Flemish pro- 
 perty she now held. Until then, he said, they must 
 speak fair and softly to her, though the English and 
 other Protestant privateers were capturing and 
 plundering every Spanish ship they came across. 
 
 In the meanwhile de Spes, still in disgrace and 
 forbidden from Court, could only plot impotently 
 through the Bishop of Ross and Italian inter- 
 mediaries, many of them spies. The coming and 
 going of such folk and the constant news sent by 
 de Spes of the progress of the conspiracy, fairly 
 alarmed Alba, who was now chiefly concerned in 
 getting some of the confiscated property restored and 
 trade reopened. In July he sent to de Spes, though 
 he could ill spare it, the six thousand crowns bribe 
 demanded by Norfolk, Arundel, and Lumley for their 
 efforts in favour of the Spanish claims, and for the 
 first time he spoke firmly to de Spes about his con- 
 stant plotting. " I must again repeat," he said, " to 
 you, most emphatically, that you are not, on any 
 account, to entertain approaches to you against the 
 Queen or her Councillors, or anything touching them. 
 On the contrary, if people come to you with such talk, 
 you must be so reticent that they may never be able 
 to say that any minister of the King has given ear to 
 it." At this very time the imprudent ambassador was 
 almost daily or nightly closeted with some agent of 
 
NORFOLK'S CONSPIRACY 287 
 
 the conspirators, and was warmly seconding their plans. 
 But as pacific, almost humble, representations by other 
 agents came from Alba to the English Government, 
 in hope of some arrangement for the restitution, 
 Elizabeth assumed a gentler attitude ; though she 
 gave up not an atom of her plunder, and she partially 
 released de Spes from his imprisonment. 
 
 In the comparative remoteness of Winchester 
 House, in Southwark, which he now rented, the 
 Spanish ambassador, as imprudent as ever, found it 
 easier than before to carry on his plots for the sub- 
 jection of England ; and, regardless of Alba's stern 
 injunction quoted above, he became more active and 
 mischievous than ever. On the 25th July, 1569, he 
 wrote to the King that the Bishop of Ross had been 
 to see him at three o'clock that morning " to assure 
 me of the wish of the Duke of Norfolk to serve your 
 Majesty. He said he was a Catholic, and has the 
 support, even in London, of many merchants and 
 aldermen. I will report everything to the Duke of 
 Alba and follow his instructions." Shordy before this, 
 Mary herself, in one of her many affectionate letters 
 to Norfolk, had intimated that she was in communica- 
 tion with the Duke of Alba ; and de Spes followed 
 up the letter by an assurance that everything was 
 almost ready for the great coup. Whilst Norfolk was 
 thus playing the game of Spain and pretending to be 
 a Catholic, he was full of Protestant professions to 
 Murray, and to the French ambassador. La Mothe 
 Fenelon, and he avowed himself at the same time the 
 devoted servant of Catharine de Medici. A majority 
 of the English Council had met in caucus and had 
 decided in favour of Norfolk's marriage with Mary ; 
 and although it is probable that most of the members 
 
288 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 were not aware of the plot behind the match, it is 
 certain that neither Mary nor her intended husband 
 deceived themselves with regard to the ultimate aim. 
 Nor was there any concealment on the part of the 
 Spaniards. Alba sent Mary a subsidy of 10,000 
 ducats in August (she had asked for 30,000 or 40,000), 
 and at the same date de Spes wrote to the King : ** I 
 believe some great event will happen here soon, as 
 the people are much dissatisfied and distressed for 
 want of trade, and these gentlemen of Nonsuch have 
 some new imaginations in their heads." ^ 
 
 The " new imaginations," whatever they were, hardly 
 suited Philip. He had through life a distinct repug- 
 nance to associating himself with the French in any of 
 his plans with regard to England. Norfolk and his 
 friends, doubtless in good faith, desired by means of 
 Mary Stuart to change the government and religion 
 of England, with or without the deposition of Eliza- 
 beth, and in order to do so they were glad to obtain 
 support from any quarter they could. They had 
 primarily no desire to hand England, bound hard and 
 fast, to Spain, which was alone what Philip wanted. 
 It is certain that Mary herself was willing to do so, 
 because she knew that no effective armed aid could 
 
 ^ De Spes to the King, 5th August, 1569. — Spanish Calendar. 
 Nonsuch House was in the occupation of the Earl of Arundel. 
 De Spes, who had not been admitted to the Queen's presence 
 for many months, had hopes at this time of being received again 
 to discuss the eternal question of the seizures. But another hitch 
 had occurred, as the Queen refused to receive him without new 
 credentials from Philip himself. It had been intended to take 
 him from Oatlands, where the Queen was, to Nonsuch, after the 
 audience, and there a meeting of the conspirators was to confer 
 with him. This plan, however, was upset by the delay in grant- 
 ing him the audience with Elizabeth. 
 
NORFOLK'S CONSPIRACY 289 
 
 come to her from France, divided as that country was 
 religiously and with her enemy Catharine dominant. 
 Whilst Norfolk and his friends, therefore, were bid- 
 ding for support on all sides and obtaining it, Mary 
 was endeavouring with her might to keep the 
 Spaniards, upon whom alone she depended, from slip- 
 ping away from her. By the Bishop of Ross she 
 begged de Spes to obtain Philip's consent to her 
 marriage with Norfolk, and the ambassador, in relating 
 this to the King, wrote : " The business is so far for- 
 ward that it will be difficult now to prevent it, and if 
 it is to be done I think it had better be with your 
 Majesty's consent, which cannot fail to be of great 
 advantage to them, and will bind them more closely 
 to your Majesty's service. The Queen of Scots says 
 that if she were at liberty, or could get such help as 
 would enable her to bring her country into submission, 
 she would deliver herself and her son entirely into your 
 Majesty's hands ; but that now she is obliged to sail 
 with the wind, though she will never depart from your 
 Majesty's wishes." 
 
 Philip, indeed, was growing doubtful of the way 
 the affair was progressing, and of de Spes's manage- 
 ment of it. " If the marriage of the Duke of Norfolk 
 and the Queen of Scots," he wrote, "is effected in the 
 way, and with the objects you are informed, there is no 
 doubt that it would be of great importance for the 
 restoration of our true Faith in England, and would 
 console the good Catholics now so oppressed. I 
 desire these objects warmly, as you know ; but they 
 [the conspirators] must be very careful how they 
 undertake the business, for if they make a mistake 
 they will all be ruined. You did well in referring 
 them to the Duke of Alba. You will limit yourself to 
 
290 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 this, in accordance with your orders, which you will 
 not exceed." Philip distrusted Norfolk, who up to 
 that time had been a Protestant, and the Duke's 
 approaches to the French completed the King's 
 coolness towards him. But before this letter of 
 Philip's reached London the miserable Norfolk had 
 collapsed. Leicester, who had been a party to the 
 plan, again took fright when he began to understand 
 the object behind it, and this time made a clean 
 breast of it to the Queen herself. 
 
 Suddenly the blow fell. Mary Stuart's prison was 
 made closer, and Norfolk and the conservative lords 
 were peremptorily summoned before the Queen at 
 Windsor. The Duke, protesting his unalterable 
 loyalty to Elizabeth, travelled in deadly fear as far as 
 London, and on the day of his arrival at Howard 
 House a messenger from the Earl of Northumberland 
 came secretly to de Spes. Making a private sign, 
 which had been agreed upon as a proof of genuine- 
 ness, he said " that the E9.rl of Northumberland and 
 his friends in the North had cj-^xe^d to liberate the 
 Queen of Scotland an d establish the Catholic religion, 
 returning to the amity and alliance with /our Majesty 
 which they so muc'h desire. The Eaf. wished to 
 know if your Majes ty would approve of this, as he 
 would undertake DiOthing that was no-, in your 
 interest." To this ;de Spes dared not saynore than 
 that he would writce to the Duke of Alba about it. 
 •'The Duke of No rfolk," he adds, " is herepreparing 
 all his friends." Sio far from doing this, Ncrfolk was 
 malingering in a panic, and two days latt^ fled to 
 Kenninghall, whii oipering in a pitiable letter o Eliza- 
 beth that he neve'r meant any harm. On hishonour, 
 he never dealt w'jfith the Queen of Scots furtLr than 
 
COLLAPSE OF NORFOLK 291 
 
 he declared to the Queen and some of her Council. 
 Such lying and prevarication was scorned by the irate 
 Elizabeth. Ill or well, she wrote in a rage, Norfolk 
 must come to her instantly, and, trembling with fear, 
 the poor wretch went as slow as he dared to Windsor, 
 there with lachrymose repentance to be ordered into 
 arrest with Arundel, Lumley, Pembroke, and all the 
 rest of his accomplices who were within Elizabeth's 
 reach. 
 
 It is clear that notwithstanding de Spes's constant 
 predictions of immediate coming success, and his 
 repeated assurances that Elizabeth and her friends 
 would be swept aside as a consequence of this plan, 
 Philip was never greatly deceived by it. Alba had 
 told him that he was powerless for the present, and he 
 knew England sufficiently well to see that unless a 
 large and well-organised force was used at the critical 
 moment by him, an attempt to revolutionise England 
 in his interests would fail. The trail of deadly 
 deliberation, moreover, palsied every act of his life. 
 At some time in August, 1569, when Mary Stuart's 
 appeals were reaching him, he instructed Alba to 
 obtain full particulars of the military possibilities of 
 the situation in England, in order that any action he 
 might decide to take later should be effectual. A half- 
 dozen or more envoys of various sorts, official and un- 
 official, had been sent over one after the other to try 
 by some means to effect a mutual restitution of the 
 seizures — Genoese financiers, Flemish diplomatists, 
 and even Protestant merchants — but all without effect. 
 On receiving the King's orders, however, Alba 
 instructed another embassy, surely the strangest for 
 such a purpose ever seen, to go to England and 
 endeavour to make terms with Elizabeth or bribe her 
 
292 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 advisers. The leader was one of Alba's most trusted 
 Italian generals, Ciappino Vitelli, and he was to be 
 accompanied by fifty experienced military officers, 
 with a couple of official secretaries for appearance' 
 sake. That their mission was not that which 
 ostensibly appeared is clear from the fact that at 
 the same time Alba sent another unofficial envoy — the 
 Genoese merchant mariner Fiesco — to attempt to gain 
 a restitution by the private bribery of Leicester and 
 Cecil. Cecil and the Queen laughed at the idea of 
 such an embassy as that of this fire-eating Ciappino 
 coming to settle a commercial dispute, and when the 
 party arrived at Calais for embarkation for England, 
 Cobham, the Governor of Dover Castle, sent word 
 that only Ciappino Vitelli himself and a small suite 
 would be received. A still smaller number was 
 allowed to proceed beyond Dover, and another 
 detachment was stayed at Canterbury ; so that by the 
 time the gouty, obese, old Italian general was received 
 by the Queen at Kingston-on-Thames, not even 
 de Spes being allowed to accompany him to the 
 presence, the military object of the mission was 
 cleverly frustrated. The plague was raging in London, 
 and Ciappino never entered the capital ; and his inter- 
 view with the Queen was mainly taken up by her 
 angry complaint of the insolence of the Duke of Alba. 
 After many days of quibbling, he was told that his 
 powers were insufficient, and was politely invited to 
 get out of the country as quickly as possible, his 
 despatches to Alba being intercepted and read at 
 Dover. 
 
 It was indeed time that so dangerous a guest should 
 be promptly asked to depart ; for this was the most 
 critical juncture of Elizabeth s reign and her Crown 
 
THE NORTHERN REBELLION 293 
 
 trembled in the balance. All the lords were not so 
 pusillanimous as Norfolk. Both Dacre and North- 
 umberland had formally notified to de Spes that they 
 were ready to take up arms in Philip's service. For 
 many months the imprudent ambassador had been 
 going beyond his instructions and encouraging these 
 nobles to expect effective aid from Philip. If only 
 a small number of arquebusiers were sent to them 
 from Flanders, said Northumberland and Westmorland, 
 they would undertake to release Mary, subdue the 
 North of England, restore Catholic worship, and make 
 friends with Spain. " I feel sure, " wrote de Spes, " that 
 they will attempt the task ; and it will be better effected 
 by them than by the Duke of Norfolk, as they are 
 better fitted for it, and the Queen of Scots will have 
 greater freedom in the choice of a husband." 
 
 The questionable attitude of Westmorland and 
 Northumberland caused Elizabeth to summon them 
 to her presence. They disobeyed and, raising their 
 standard, marched into Durham in force on the 14th 
 November. Destroying the communion table in the 
 cathedral, they caused Mass to be solemnly celebrated ; 
 and then pushing rapidly onward towards Ripon, 
 Wetherby and Tadcaster, they finally assembled on 
 Clifford Moor. The Earl of Sussex, the Queen's Lieu- 
 tenant in York, was for a time reduced to act on the 
 defensive ; and now, if Alba had been prompt and Philip 
 ready, it is possible that the die might have been cast a 
 winning number ; and Mary Stuart, rescued from Tut- 
 bury, whither she had been rapidly carried, might have 
 been made Queen of a Catholic Britain, under Spanish 
 protection. When news came to de Spes of the south- 
 ward march of the lords and their renewed prayers for 
 aid from Flanders, he wrote to the King : "I have on 
 
294 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 several occasions written to your Majesty of the good- 
 will of these nobles, and I have given a letter in cipher 
 to the gentleman they are sending to the Duke of 
 Alba to ask for aid. They beg for prompt reply, 
 as communications will soon be stopped. ... It is 
 certain that there has never been so good an oppor- 
 tunity either of punishing those who have so grievously 
 opposed your Majesty's interests, or of restoring the 
 Catholic religion, in which consists the maintenance 
 of our old alliance and friendship with this country." 
 To Alba de Spes wrote in jubilant strain on the 
 I St December. "The rebels," he said, "were twelve 
 thousand strong and were marching to release 
 Mary and give battle to the Queen's forces ; " but 
 he ominously adds that none of their confederates 
 have yet risen. Ciappino Vitelli was still lingering 
 at Colebrook, near Windsor, on the pretext of gout, 
 though messages were being sent to him from the 
 Queen that she considered his continued stay in 
 England highly suspicious, as indeed it was, con- 
 sidering that he told de Spes, who doubtless conveyed 
 it to the rebels, that they ought to march straight 
 to London, where nothing could withstand them, 
 seeing the confusion at Court, whilst their other 
 friends would have a greater chance of moving. 
 
 And de Spes, the man who, before all others, 
 had led these unfortunate lords to believe that Spanish 
 aid would not fail them, was obliged, now that the 
 crisis had come, to assure the Duke of Alba that 
 he would "do nothing without orders from your 
 Excellency." The northern lords could not wait 
 for Philip's leaden pondering, nor upon Alba's need, 
 and, disheartened at the lack of response, they 
 fell into disunion and wasted the precious time 
 
THE NORTHERN LORDS FAIL 295 
 
 besieging Barnard Castle until the approach of Sussex 
 with a newly organised army struck them with panic 
 and they fled to Scotland — Northumberland to be 
 sold basely to the English and to the scaffold ; 
 Westmorland, more unfortunate still, to seek life- 
 long exile in Spanish lands — a pathetic, poverty- 
 stricken pensioner upon Philip's irregular bounty, 
 striving to earn his poor living by joining in plots to 
 hand his native country over to the King of Spain. 
 The rebellion in the North, for a time so threatening, 
 was begun, as we have seen, without due preparation 
 and conducted without ability to an inglorious ter- 
 mination.^ But not a little of the blame for the 
 miserable fiasco must be laid at the door of de Spes, 
 who for months had been holding out hopes — as we see 
 now, without authority — that an armed Spanish force 
 from Flanders would be ready to support the rising. 
 Alas ! English Catholics, even after this first hard 
 lesson, had yet to learn that Philip's aid was not so 
 lightly given, or given at all, without ample assurance 
 that he alone should reap the harvest of success 
 without incurring the penalties of failure. 
 
 ^ The details of the Northern RebelHon may be followed 
 closely in the Calendars of State Papers of the period (Spanish, 
 Domestic, Border, and Scottish) ; in the Sadler Papers ; in the 
 Bowes Papers (Memorials of the Rebellion of 1569, by Sir 
 Cuthbert Sharpe). Wright's Elizabeth Papers, &c. 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 1570-1578 
 
 Desperation of Alba — Fresh Catholic conspiracies — De Spes's com- 
 plicity — Alba and the Ridolfi plot — Discovery — The revenge of John 
 Hawkins — De Spes outwitted — His expulsion from England — Guaras 
 appointed Spanish Agent — Reopening of trade — Guaras' intrigues with 
 Mary Stuart and Don Juan of Austria — The plot discovered — Im- 
 prisonment of Guaras — Fall of Don Juan — Bernardino de Mendoza 
 appointed ambassador in England 
 
 ALBA was driven well nigh to desperation by the 
 contemptuous treatment extended to Ciappino 
 in England and the evident determination of 
 Elizabeth to hold her ground with regard to the 
 property she had seized. Something must be done, 
 and that quickly, he wrote to the King. If they 
 exclude our ships from English ports, even for shelter, 
 intercourse by sea between Spain and Flanders must 
 cease, and we shall be absolutely obliged to com- 
 mence hostilities. "Your Majesty's present urgent 
 needs are better known to you than to any one, and 
 here the pressure is very great. The past wars, 
 the emigration of the people, the stoppage of trade, 
 and the general want of confidence here, all convince 
 me that a rupture with England at present would 
 be most inopportune ; but if the English force it upon 
 us, we cannot avoid it ; " and the grim Duke, who had 
 drowned Flanders in blood, had tamely to propose 
 
 to his master, as the only way now open to them, 
 
 296 
 
DESPAIR OF THE SPANIARDS 297 
 
 that Elizabeth should be more mildly treated than 
 ever, in the hope that at least she would allow Spanish 
 ships to shelter in her ports, whilst the plundered 
 Flemish merchants were allowed to go over to 
 England unofficially and make the best terms they 
 individually could to rescue their property. 
 
 Nor was Philip much more stout-hearted than 
 his general. Whilst the northern nobles were yet 
 in arms in Yorkshire, he wrote to Alba thus : " Eng- 
 lish affairs are going on in a way that may make 
 it necessary, after all, to bring that Queen to do by 
 force what she refuses to reason. Her duty is so 
 plain that doubtless God causes her to ignore it, 
 in order that by these means His holy religion may 
 be restored in England and the Catholics and good 
 Christians rescued from the thraldom in which they 
 live. In case her obstinacy and hardness of heart 
 should continue, therefore, you will consider the 
 best direction to be given to our action. We here 
 think that the best course will be to encourage 
 with money and secret favour the Catholics of 
 the North, and to help those in Ireland to take up 
 arms against the heretics, to deliver the crown to 
 the Queen of Scots to whom it belongs by suc- 
 cession. . . . This is only mentioned at present that 
 you may know what is passing in our minds here 
 [i.e., in Spain], and that with your great prudence 
 and a full consideration of affairs in general, you 
 may ponder what is best to be done. What you 
 say is very true ; we are beginning to lose prestige 
 by delaying so long to provide a remedy for the 
 great grievance done by this woman to us."^ 
 
 ^ Philip to Alba, i6th December, 1569. — Spanish Calendar, 
 vol. ii. 
 
298 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 Mary Stuart, closely watched and in prison, alone 
 never lost heart or courage. Norfolk's weak pol- 
 troonery, the disastrous collapse of the northern lords, 
 the slow hesitancy of Philip, were all met by her 
 with confident predictions of coming success, if only 
 the King of Spain would take her cause in hand. 
 Letter after letter went from her and from the restless 
 Bishop of Ross in her name to Philip and Alba. 
 " The Queen is in good heart," the Bishop of Ross 
 assured de Spes, "and the principal Catholics of 
 this country have sent me word not to desist from 
 the first intention, for that, as soon as they learn 
 that they will have foreign help, and arrangements 
 are made for it to reach them, they will rise and stand 
 out until this country is Catholic and the succession 
 assured to Queen Mary." This was soon after the 
 flight of the northern lords (i8th January, 1570), and 
 at the same time a warm love correspondence was 
 passing between Mary and Norfolk, she with honeyed 
 words, and at serious risk to herself, urging him 
 not to abandon the great plan that was to make them 
 both free and great, ^ though he was still a prisoner 
 in the Tower. 
 
 Meanwhile the dangerous attempt at a Catholic 
 rebellion in England and the known confidence of 
 the Queen of Scots had drawn the Protestants of 
 Europe together : a close union existed between 
 Elizabeth and the Lutheran Princes of Germany, 
 whilst Hans Casimir and other mercenary leaders 
 were raising troops subsidised by England and the 
 Huguenots to renew the religious war in France. 
 The privateers in the Channel were more aggressive 
 
 ^ These letters are in Labanoff and in the Hardwick State 
 Papers. 
 
DE SPES STILL PLOTTING 299 
 
 than ever, and Cardinal Chatillon still flaunted his 
 unecclesiastical equipment at the English Court. 
 Hardly a letter was written by de Spes at the time 
 (1570) that does not contain some suggestion for 
 striking at Elizabeth's power. The Queen of Scots 
 might be captured by a coup de main and carried 
 off to Spain, as she herself suggested ; the Bishop 
 of Ross assures him that a few Spanish troops landed 
 in Scotland might easily overturn the new Regent 
 Lennox; I a small force sent to aid the Irish rebels 
 would enable them to expel the English ; '* and it 
 looks as if the enterprise might be effected in both 
 islands at the same time, for in Ireland most of the 
 nation will rise as soon as they see your Majesty's 
 flag on the coast, and no resistance would be made 
 except in Dublin and the fortresses." 
 
 To all these suggestions of his intemperate am- 
 bassador Philip had still no answer but to enjoin 
 prudence and secrecy. Information, pledges, assur- 
 ances without end were requested, whilst Philip 
 pondered and considered. Everything was referred 
 to the Duke of Alba for decision, and Alba would not 
 move without specific orders ; whilst in this deadlock 
 the Spanish commerce was swept from the seas and 
 the legendary power of the Catholic King was made 
 a mock and derision of the heretics. Once Philip's 
 hands were nearly forced by the impatience of Mary's 
 friends. The more extreme school of English and 
 Scottish Catholics had been urging for some time 
 that a Papal Bull of Deprivation against Elizabeth 
 should be obtained, in order that Mary's immediate 
 claim to the Crown of England might be regularised. 
 Philip had gently put aside all such requests or left 
 * The Regent Murray had just been murdered. 
 
300 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 them unanswered. He was not yet ready for 
 Elizabeth's forcible deposition ; for, as we have seen, 
 his cumbrous methods forbade prompt action, and 
 he had no intention of ousting Elizabeth until he 
 had made himself quite certain that he, and he alone, 
 would be master of England under her successor. 
 But the action of the Scottish and Guisan Catholics 
 in Rome, greatly to Philip's annoyance, procured 
 the Bull from the Pope over Philip's head ; and de 
 Spes's chaplain, Father Berga, doubtless with the full 
 connivance of the ambassador, who was apparently 
 incapable of understanding high politics, persuaded 
 John Felton to court martyrdom by fixing the Pope's 
 Bull on the Bishop of London's door on Corpus Christi 
 Day late in May, 1570. De Spes, in the innocence 
 of his heart, wrote off in jubilant strain to Philip, 
 recording the event and foretelling all sorts of great 
 consequences from it. But the King had nothing 
 but condemnation and annoyance that his plans 
 should thus be interfered with by the meddling of 
 priests, and de Spes had to read some very plain 
 talk from his master, whilst the share of his fugitive 
 chaplain in the outrage still further brought the 
 ambassador and his master into the black books 
 of Elizabeth. 
 
 The bold action of Felton, however, frightened 
 the Government into a milder attitude towards the 
 moderate English Catholics, and the mustering of 
 a strong fleet in Spanish Flanders, for the purpose 
 of conveying to Spain Philip's fourth wife, Anna of 
 Austria, heightened the alarm. Elizabeth was so 
 much perturbed that she kept her room for days 
 together, bewailing the vengeance that she thought 
 at last was about to fall upon her for all her 
 
ELIZABETH'S ALARM 301 
 
 provocations of her brother-in-law. Cecil (now Lord 
 Burghley) appears to have been the great object of 
 his mistress's wrath. To him, she cried, alone was 
 due the trouble in which she found herself. Here, 
 thanks to Cecil's policy, she said, was a great army 
 and fleet ready to attack her in the Channel, and 
 Philip was causing another force to be mustered in 
 Spain under the traitor Stukeley to invade Ireland. 
 But this was only a momentary weakness, which 
 even steadfast Burghley himself shared to the 
 extremity of preparing for timely flight with such 
 portable property as he could gather. ^ The un- 
 wonted fit of despair did not last long. English 
 forces were got together rapidly, the English con- 
 servative and moderate Catholics were conciliated, 
 and the Duke of Norfolk was released from the 
 Tower to only nominal arrest in his own house ; 
 for if the conservative nobles of his party considered 
 themselves absolved by the Pope's Bull from their 
 oath of allegiance to the Queen, then, indeed, might 
 Elizabeth tremble. This was on the 4th August, 
 and, on the 23rd June previous, the Duke of Norfolk 
 had made in writing the most abject submission to 
 the Queen, pledging himself " freely, voluntarily, 
 and absolutely, by my allegiance to your Majesty, 
 my Sovereign Lady, never to offend your Highness, 
 but do utterly renounce and revoke all that which 
 on my part any wise hath passed, with a full in- 
 tention never to deal in that cause of marriage 
 with the Queen of Scots, nor in any other cause 
 belonging to her." 2 Even Mary herself was now 
 smiled upon by Elizabeth, and negotiations for a 
 
 ^ Antonio de Guaras to Secretary Zayas. — Spanish Calendar. 
 « Haynes State Papers. 
 
302 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 reconciliation were opened with her ; for the Spanish 
 fleet was still in English waters, and a peace between 
 the warring parties had been patched up in France. 
 
 With these numerous signs of yielding on the part 
 of the Protestants, it is not surprising that the Spanish 
 partisans should pluck up courage. De Spes, raging 
 with wounded pride at the indignities continually- 
 heaped upon him, I all of which, Philip told him, he 
 must bear patiently, never ceased to plot with the 
 Bishop of Ross and Mary Stuart. On the 2nd 
 September he wrote to Philip details of another 
 dangerous conspiracy that had been broached to 
 him by Mary through the Bishop of Ross. The 
 Catholics, he said, feeling themselves now absolved 
 from their allegiance to Elizabeth by the Pope's 
 Bull, were willing to rise. The sons of the Earl 
 of Derby and the gentry of Lancashire were ready 
 to release Mary — one of the Earl of Shrewsbury's 
 sons having also been brought into the plan, which 
 would make it easy, as Mary was in Shrewsbury's 
 keeping. This combination looked askance at Norfolk 
 as a doubtful Catholic and a backslider, though it was 
 joined by his kinsmen Arundel and Lumley, as well 
 as by the thoroughgoing Catholics, Southampton, 
 
 ^ He was made to vacate Winchester House " because it had 
 too many doors " ; and on the loth August two of the City 
 aldermen came to him with an order to proceed to Saint 
 Albans to meet a Committee of the Council, who wished to 
 discuss his proceedings with him. He went as requested, but 
 refused to discuss anything until the Queen would receive him, 
 which she had refused to do since his disgrace. He was 
 confident even now that they would soon expel him with 
 ignominy. He was no longer an ambassador, said Leicester, 
 but a spy, and the sooner he was gone the better. — Spanish 
 Calendar, vol. ii. 
 
NORFOLK PLOTS AGAIN 303 
 
 Worcester, and Montagu (Sir Anthony Browne). 
 The plan now. advanced was for a Spanish fleet to 
 go to the Stanley country, the Isle of Man, or the 
 Lancashire coast, and carry Mary Stuart thence to 
 safety. The scheme, however, was thrown away by 
 the kidnapping and forcible abduction to England 
 of Dr. Story, the English Catholic Agent in Antwerp, 
 who upon the rack had torn from him all he knew, 
 which was not much, of the communications on the 
 subject that had passed between Mary Stuart's friends 
 and the Duke of Alba. The ostentatious but insincere 
 negotiations going on between Elizabeth and the 
 Queen of Scots, and the redoubled vigilance of Cecil's 
 Government, completed the impracticability of this 
 scheme, and then once more Norfolk took the lead. 
 On the 15th October de Spes wrote to the King 
 that approaches were being made by the French to 
 marry the young Duke of Anjou to Mary, this, of 
 course, being one of Catharine's tricks to frustrate the 
 Spanish attempts to dominate Britain through the 
 Queen of Scots. " It may be," says de Spes, "that 
 the Queen [Mary] will consent, but it will not please 
 the majority of the English people, and it certainly 
 does not please me. The Catholics are not very much 
 in favour of the marriage with the Duke of Norfolk, 
 as they are uncertain about his orthodoxy, although 
 Arundel and Lumley assert that he will be obedient to 
 the Church. His desire to reign may well lead him 
 from bad paths to good ones. The Duke [of Norfolk] 
 himself has been very cool about this marriage, but he 
 now seems to wish to renew the project, particularly 
 as he expects shortly to be quite at liberty, in accord- 
 ance with the Queen's promise to him. If your 
 Majesty's wishes are to be represented . . . the 
 
304 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 Bishop of Ross will be a good negotiator, and I could 
 conduct the matter with him or with Ridolfi, who has 
 been in communication with them ; and if it should be 
 necessary for the Duke of Norfolk to bind himself 
 separately to other conditions, steps may be taken at 
 once in the matter. Pray your Majesty send me 
 orders, for it is certain that the release and marriage 
 of the Queen of Scots carries with it the tranquil- 
 lisation of Flanders and the restoration of religion 
 in this country." 
 
 Philip, in answer to this and many similar hints, had 
 nothing but vague expressions of sympathy to send in 
 reply, with fresh orders to his ambassador to follow 
 strictly the instructions of the Duke of Alba. For 
 months, until the Spanish fleet had passed harmlessly 
 down Channel, the hollow negotiations between 
 Elizabeth and Mary went on, and a similar pretence 
 of conferences with regard to the reopening of trade 
 with the Duke of Alba, whilst Elizabeth checkmated 
 the French advances to Mary Stuart by herself 
 suddenly displaying a desire to marry the boy Duke 
 of Anjou. " They think," wrote de Spes early in 
 February, 1571, "that with this talk about the 
 marriage of the Queen [Elizabeth] with the Duke of 
 Anjou we shall be afraid to offend them, and the 
 pirates are more welcomed than ever, whilst the Queen 
 of Scot's business is being delayed. It is true that so 
 far as the Catholics are concerned matters were never 
 more favourable than now. I did not dare to accept 
 their offers, in the face of the Duke of Alba's instruc- 
 tions ; but whenever his Majesty wishes, a great 
 service can be done to God, and at the same time the 
 safety of the Netherlands secured and the throne of 
 Spain aggrandised. The position of the King's 
 
NORFOLK'S NEW PLOT 305 
 
 ambassador here does not add much to his dignity. 
 ... I have suffered more than can be imagined." ^ 
 De Spes had his personal grudge as well as his 
 Catholic zeal now to spur him on to vengeance. The 
 irresponsiveness of his master and of Alba to the 
 repeated suggestions that armed aid should be sent to 
 the English Catholics suggested for the first time a 
 viler method by which Elizabeth, the main obstacle to 
 the Anglo-Spanish alliance, might be removed. The 
 above letter is different from any that had preceded it, 
 and was written privately, not to the King, as usual, 
 but to his Secretary, Zayas. A " great service might 
 be done to God whenever his Majesty wished." It 
 was no longer dependent, apparently, upon the ability 
 of Philip to send large armed forces, though they 
 might be needed later to hold the conquest. 
 
 We will see from other sources what this new feature 
 in the plan was. Two days after de Spes wrote the 
 above letter, on the 8th February, 1571, Mary, who 
 had learnt that the ambassador could do nothing, as 
 he says, but refer the conspirators to the Duke of 
 Alba, wrote as follows to the Bishop of Ross. 2 After 
 saying that she would, as soon as she was released, go 
 to Spain and throw herself entirely upon the protection 
 of Philip, she proceeds : " I would advise to send some 
 faithful man towards the King of Spain whom he 
 might trust, to make him understand the state of my 
 realm, and also of the friends I have here, their de- 
 liberations and the means they may have to set them- 
 selves to the fields and saist [i.e., obtain possession] 
 them of me, if the said King of Spain will embrace 
 
 ^ De Spes to Secretary Zayas, 6th February, 1571. — Spanish 
 Calendar, vol. ii. 
 
 ' The letter is in the Cotton MSS., Caligula, c. 11, p. 469. 
 
3o6 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 and sustain my cause and theirs. I think Ridolfi may 
 best acquit himself of this charge securely . . . under 
 colour of his own traffic." She continues by saying 
 that Philip's fears of Norfolk's orthodoxy must be 
 banished. " I see no other means but to assure them 
 of the Duke, for that is the knot of the matter. My 
 whole hope is in the Catholics of this realm." When 
 the Bishop of Ross transmitted this proposal to 
 Norfolk the latter at once acquiesced in the despatch 
 of Ridolfi to Flanders, Spain, and Rome,^ for the 
 purpose of demanding aid to seize and depose 
 Elizabeth ; and on the loth March de Spes wrote to the 
 King, ** The Queen of Scotland, the Duke of Norfolk, 
 and the Catholic leaders have wisely resolved to send 
 a gentleman to your Majesty, who will see the Duke 
 of Alba first, but without the knowledge of the French. 
 I have, after much difficulty, obtained a copy of his 
 instructions, and send them herewith." 
 
 On the 25th March Ridolfi was ready to start, and 
 de Spes wrote to Philip: "The Queen of Scots and 
 the Duke of Norfolk, in the names of many other 
 lords and gentlemen attached to your Majesty's 
 interests, and the promotion of the Catholic faith, are 
 sending Rodolfo Ridolfi, a Florentine gentleman, to 
 offer their services to your Majesty, and to represent 
 to you that the time is now ripe to take a step of 
 great benefit to Christendom, as Ridolfi will set forth 
 to your Majesty. The letter of credence from the 
 Duke [of Norfolk] is written in the cipher that I sent 
 Zayas, in case the letter is intercepted . . . ; " whilst to 
 Secretary Zayas, de Spes wrote at the same time : " The 
 bearer is Rodolfo Ridolfi, whom the Queen of Scots and 
 the Duke of Norfolk are sending to his Majesty. . . . 
 
 ^ Depositions of Ross and Barker. — State Trials. 
 
RIDOLFI SENT TO SPAIN 307 
 
 It is necessary that he should have audience of his 
 Majesty with the utmost secrecy, as you will be able 
 to arrange, on so important a matter as this." ^ Almost 
 simultaneously Henry Cobham was sent to Spain by 
 Elizabeth in order ostensibly to negotiate direct about 
 the seizures, but really to ascertain how far Philip was 
 helping the Irish rebels, and de Spes does not conceal 
 his glee that "these thieves and pirates" will find, 
 " though they send ambassadors and play their old 
 tricks," and he (de Spes) " is still mixing his words 
 with honey," "all this will not hinder what his 
 Majesty will decide to do." ^ 
 
 ^ Spanish Calendar, vol. ii. 
 
 ^ Cobham arrived in Madrid in May, when Alba's memo- 
 randum on Ridolfi's mission was in Philip's hands. As was 
 usual in English affairs, Feria was one of those asked to report 
 on Cobham's mission. He and his colleagues recommend that 
 Cobham should be curtly dismissed, and the English again 
 referred to Alba for the discussion of the trade dispute, and 
 this course was taken. An extremely interesting letter was 
 written by Feria to the King's Secretary, Zayas, which is full of 
 bitterness that his former advice as to England had not been 
 taken. Amongst other things, Feria writes : " I understand that 
 our object is to keep friendly with England because it is not at 
 present possible to undertake the subjection of that country and 
 Ireland. We were lords of it once and left it. The friendship 
 will be difficult to maintain if the Sovereign be not a Catholic 
 and our hold upon the Netherlands less firm. The Queen sees 
 our weakness and assails us with inventions and fears that she 
 vifill marry in France. She will no more marry Anjou than she 
 will marry me. ... If Cobham is not dealt with in dignified 
 fashion I fear that our efforts to avoid war vi^ill only bring it 
 upon us, and we shall find suddenly some day that we have lost 
 the Catholics, and even they will take up arms against us. When 
 the Queen once understands that the Catholics depend upon our 
 King she will not dare to break with us. There is no other way 
 out of it. For the last two years we have trodden the path of 
 feebleness ; let us now try the other road." — Feria to Zayas, 
 loth May, 1571, Spanish Calendar, vol. ii. 
 
3o8 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 Ridolfi arrived in Brussels at the beginning of April, 
 and his mission was discussed exhaustively by Alba 
 and his Council. The long report which xAlba there- 
 upon sent to Philip is a State paper of the highest 
 interest, because it not only sets forth fully the 
 whole position, but for the first time formulates clearly 
 the plan of murdering Elizabeth as a political measure. 
 We have traced in previous pages how the provoca- 
 tion had grown, how the powerlessness of the Spaniards 
 to vindicate their prestige and their interests had em- 
 bittered them. In all the previous suggestions for the 
 substitution of Mary Stuart for Elizabeth on the 
 English throne, it is true that there could have been 
 little doubt as to what would have been the fate of 
 the deposed Queen at the hands of the victors ; but 
 in Alba's minute to Philip the killing of Elizabeth as 
 a preliminary measure is recommended as a condition 
 of Spanish support. Alba sets forth with great pro- 
 lixity the pros and cons of the position, the saintly 
 character of the objects, the liberation of the captive 
 Mary, and the restoration of the faith in England. 
 Norfolk, he says, will undertake to rise and hold his 
 own country for forty days after liberating the Queen 
 of Scots if Philip will promise before the expiration 
 of that time to send him 6,000 arquebusiers. He 
 has means, he says, to seize the Tower of London 
 and secure the person of Elizabeth, and he and Mary 
 will look alone to the King of Spain for guidance. 
 Alba, as usual, is full of doubts, limitations, and mis- 
 givings. Suppose after the Spanish aid had been 
 sent the enterprise were to fail ! Not only would the 
 Queen of Scots and Norfolk lose their heads, but the 
 Catholic religion would be utterly crushed thence- 
 forward in England, and Elizabeth would throw 
 
TO MURDER ELIZABETH 309 
 
 herself entirely into the hands of France. Ridolfi, too, 
 seemed to Alba rather a talkative person for such a 
 mission. He had to pass through France : what if 
 he opened his mouth too wide there, or in Rome ? 
 Besides, the Pope himself was rather too fond of 
 consulting French Cardinals. . . . 
 
 And so on, and so forth, until at last Alba gives to 
 Philip his final recommendation. Ridolfi was to be 
 warned that the French must have nothing whatever 
 to do with the affair, and he was to be sent on his way 
 to Rome and Madrid. The King is recommended to 
 embark the 6,000 m_en required for England in the 
 fleet being prepared in Spain to bring out the new 
 Governor of Flanders, Medina Celi ; but that on no 
 account should the aid he sent to England on the 
 conditions proposed by Norfolk and Mary, for fear of 
 failure. "But in case that the Queen of England 
 should first have died, either of a natural death or 
 otherwise, or the confederates had seized and secured 
 her person without your Majesty having had anything 
 to do with it, then I should find no objection whatever 
 to it, for the affair would be quite on another footing." 
 " Everything," added Alba, " should be prepared 
 secretly in Flanders, but no move should be made 
 until Elizabeth was dead, naturally or otherwise. As 
 soon as that happened your Majesty ought not to miss 
 such a fine opportunity to attain the end desired — the 
 restoration of our holy Catholic faith and the future 
 tranquillity of your dominions." ^ 
 
 Whilst Ridolfi, duly warned to be secret, went on 
 his way to Rome, where the Pope heartily blessed his 
 mission, and thence to Madrid, where he arrived in 
 
 ^ MSS. Simancas, Estado 823. Portions of the document are 
 reproduced by Mignet. 
 
3IO TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 the last days of June, evil fell upon the project in Eng- 
 land. The Flemish Secretary of the Bishop of Ross, 
 Charles Bailly, had accompanied Ridolfi to Flanders, 
 in order to bring back news of the reception of 
 Norfolk's proposals by Alba. The latter had, of 
 course, not gone beyond general approval in his 
 intercourse with Ridolfi, the murder condition being 
 reserved for Philip's own consideration ; but he had 
 said enough to prove conclusively that he regarded 
 with sympathy, and hoped to aid, a project intended 
 to depose Elizabeth in favour of Mary and Norfolk. 
 Bailly wrote letters in cipher at Ridolfi's dictation, 
 giving Alba's provisional answers to the Bishop of 
 Ross and two other correspondents identified by 
 numbers only. Bailly, who had been closely watched 
 by Cecil's spies in Flanders, carried the letters to 
 England himself, and on the 15th April de Spes 
 reports to the King that this man had been stopped at 
 Dover and his packets taken from him. The letters 
 he bore were in cipher, which of itself was suspicious ; 
 but in addition to this, every movement of Ridolfi in 
 Brussels was known to Elizabeth's Government, and 
 the Secretary's coming had been looked for. The 
 packet of letters was given into the custody of Lord 
 Cobham, the Governor of Dover Castle, until the 
 Council in London should send instructions, whilst the 
 unhappy youth, Bailly, was sent to the Marshalsea in 
 Southwark pending inquiries. 
 
 The Cobhams belonged to the party of conservative 
 nobles, ready to turn against Elizabeth the moment 
 she was in danger, and by a trick of one of the 
 younger brothers, Thomas — they were notoriously a 
 turbulent lot — the precious packet of letters was 
 spirited away to the Spanish ambassador in London 
 
ARREST OF BAILLY 311 
 
 and a dummy packet substituted for it. When this 
 was opened with great anticipation before the Queen's 
 Council in London, to their dismay they found nothing 
 but a confused jumble written in the same cipher. 
 But they were not to be baulked. At least they had 
 Charles Bailly safe under lock and bars, and the rack 
 might induce him to talk. He began by making a 
 grave mistake, writing letters — of course intercepted — 
 to the Bishop of Ross that, now that the real letters had 
 reached their destination without being deciphered, 
 they had nothing to fear ; that though they tore him 
 to pieces on the rack he would confess nothing ; and 
 he begged the Bishop to tell him what answers he 
 should give to his examiners. The Bishop, claiming 
 ecclesiastical and diplomatic immunity, was just as 
 imprudent as his secretary, urging him to stand firm 
 and defy the English and gain the lasting gratitude of 
 Mary. The poor wretch knew little of the details of 
 Ridolfi's mission, but he had written the cipher 
 letters he bore ; and gradually the agony of torture 
 wrung from him all he knew. ^ Every day he sent 
 fresh appealing letters to the Bishop of Ross, with the 
 only result at length of lodging the Bishop himself in 
 the Tower, threatened with the rack, notwithstanding 
 his mitre and diplomatic position. Bailly deposed 
 that Alba had received Ridolfi favourably, and had sent 
 him on to Rome and Madrid to demand armed help 
 in England for the two persons whose identity had 
 been concealed by numbers. 
 
 For some time the authorities could get no further 
 than this. Of course they knew that the two persons 
 
 ^ The whole of the depositions will be found in the Hatfield 
 Papers Historical MSS. Commission, and the circumstances 
 are related in the Spanish Calendar. 
 
312 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 unnamed were Mary and Norfolk, but they needed 
 legal proof, and gradually Cecil's net was widened and 
 swept into gaol one after the other of the confidants 
 and tools of the plotters. In August a false follower 
 of Norfolk brought to the Council a bag of ^600 
 with a cipher letter that had been entrusted to him 
 by Norfolk's secretary to forward to Lord Herries, 
 the leader of Mary's Catholic friends in Scotland. 
 Curiously enough this sum of money had been 
 received from the French ambassador, so it is clear 
 that Mary and Norfolk were playing false and doing 
 what Alba dreaded most, namely, bringing the French 
 into the business. But this fact made matters no 
 better from the point of view of the English Council, 
 and suddenly the Duke of Norfolk, the first noble 
 in England, found himself in prison with all his confi- 
 dential servants. The torture did its fell work promptly, 
 and the secrets of the underlings were drawn from 
 them, implicating the Duke beyond redemption. The 
 Bishop of Ross, seeing his most secret papers de- 
 ciphered, became almost loquacious in his fright, and 
 went out of his way to vituperate his unhappy 
 mistress. 
 
 Norfolk collapsed as abjectly as before. He had 
 hoped at first, he said, to wed Mary by Elizabeth's 
 permission. He was sorry and repentant for having 
 acted so falsely after he had promised not to do so, and 
 would never do it again. He had not really been a 
 Catholic, he said, and now submitted himself entirely 
 to her Majesty's mercy. He had never, he solemnly 
 avowed, intended to bring foreign troops into England, 
 or to touch the sacred person of his revered sovereign. 
 It was all the fault of the Bishop of Ross, of Mary, 
 of anybody but himself, . . . and so, with such sorry 
 
NORFOLK CONDEMNED 313 
 
 lies as this, the most beloved and highest noble In 
 England whined for mercy and his bare life. Elizabeth 
 was loath to sacrifice him, for he was her cousin and 
 the head of a powerful group of Englishmen, but at 
 length the Protestant influences around her were too 
 strong for her to resist, and Norfolk's head fell on 
 Tower Hill on the 2nd June, 1572. 
 
 Before this happened, Philip's Council in Madrid 
 had exhaustively discussed Alba's recommendation 
 that the murder of Elizabeth should precede the 
 sending of Spanish forces to England. They not 
 only approved fully of it, but laid down that the act 
 should be committed, not in London, but whilst the 
 Queen was on a progress. Much sanctimonious talk 
 there was in the Council about the sacredness of the 
 cause excusing the means, and even the Pope's Nuncio 
 smiled upon the nefarious plan and called it righteous. 
 As for Philip himself, he was perfectly willing, and 
 said that the whole thing now turned upon the ability 
 to get the money together for the purpose, "and it 
 would be a great pity to miss so important a matter 
 for so small an amount, as later it would cost so much 
 more." ^ It is probably true, as was urged for them, 
 that neither Mary nor Norfolk consented in so 
 many words to this openly avowed condition of the 
 Spaniards to make the prior murder of Elizabeth 
 a condition of armed aid being sent from Flanders. 
 The proposal was certainly not contained in the 
 instructions carried by Ridolfi from Norfolk, though It. 
 Is, in my opinion, indicated In the letter from de Spes 
 to Zayas of 25th March quoted on an earlier page. 
 It is first put clearly In black and white by Alba 
 
 ^ Simancas MSS., Minuta de Consejo, Estado 823. It will 
 be seen on a subsequent page that the money, 200,000 crowns, 
 was found. 
 
314 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 himself, and warmly adopted by Philip and his 
 Council. But though Mary and Norfolk were not 
 therefore necessarily parties to the proposed crime, 
 there can be no doubt in the mind of any reasonable 
 person what would have befallen Elizabeth if success 
 had attended the attempt, and Norfolk had carried out 
 the pledge he gave to Alba to seize the Tower of 
 London and secure the person of the Queen. 
 
 We have here, however, not to deal with the culpa- 
 bility of the English actors so much as with that of 
 the Catholic King, so full of saintly professions and so 
 devoutly pious himself, who in his helplessness and 
 desperation was willing at last, in order to extricate 
 himself from a political impasse, to consent to treason 
 and murder as a means to righteousness. In the 
 letter Philip wrote to de Spes (4th August, 1 571)— in 
 ignorance, of course, of the collapse of the plot — he 
 conveys his intention to patronise the murder of 
 Elizabeth in the following characteristic words : 
 " After carrying the whole question before Almighty 
 God, whose cause it is, and in whom we trust for the 
 guidance and direction of the affair better than human 
 prudence can effect or understand, since the object is 
 entirely, purely, and simply directed to His glory and 
 service and the exaltation of His holy faith, I have 
 resolved to adopt the course which you will learn from 
 the Duke of Alba, to whom I write about it at great 
 length. In conformity therewith and the orders he 
 will give to you, you will act In the business with the 
 discretion, dexterity, suavity and prudence which we 
 expect of you, keeping in close communication with the 
 Duke (of Alba) and carrying out his orders explicitly." 'f 
 
 ^ Spanish Calendar, vol. ii. Even after Philip knew that the 
 plot had failed and that Norfolk was in the Tower, he did not 
 
FAILURE OF THE MURDER PLOT 315 
 
 As the damning facts were gradually wrung out of 
 the miserable accomplices in the plot, during the 
 summer and autumn of 1571 the position of de Spes 
 became daily more impossible in England. His name 
 was constantly cropping up in the depositions, and 
 every deponent had some evidence to give of his 
 activity in forwarding this conspiracy to overturn the 
 Government to which he was accredited. Even then, 
 semi-prisoner as he was, and himself in danger of 
 punishment or ignominious expulsion, he never ceased 
 to plot ; and his eagerness made him and his master 
 an easy prey to an amusing piece of successful mystifi- 
 cation that any person less blinded by hate than he 
 
 abandon his hopes — for he was tenacious when once he had 
 laboriously made up his mind. In the instructions given to the 
 Duke of Medina Celi in November, 1571, when he was going to 
 succeed Alba in the Netherlands, the King writes as follows : 
 "As regards England you will proceed in conformity with what 
 was communicated to you here and the Duke of Alba's informa- 
 tion, although I do not think there will be much to do at present, 
 as the Queen has got scent of the business and has arrested the 
 Duke of Norfolk and the principal people concerned. She has 
 also made the Queen of Scotland's prison straiter, and de Spes 
 writes to me on the 21st October that they are all in great peril, 
 for which I am very sorry, though I still have confidence that 
 God, whose cause it is, will help us to forward the matter as we 
 wish. You will therefore hold yourself ready, in case the Duke 
 of Alba write to you at sea, to take any step with this end : in 
 accordance with Clause iv. of your instructions. I have thought 
 well to repeat it in this letter, which for greater security you will 
 burn before you embark'^ (the words in italics have been added 
 in the King's own hand). Medina Celi is told that 200,000 
 crowns, half in gold, will be handed to him for the English 
 business, and must not on any account be used for any other 
 purpose, " but for this Enghsh affair, v^rhich I sincerely hope that 
 God will guide in some unexpected way for the good of His 
 cause." — Spanish Calendar, vol. ii. 349. 
 
3i6 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 would have seen through at once. It will be recollected 
 that John Hawkins's trading expedition to Central 
 America had been treacherously attacked by a superior 
 Spanish force at St. Juan de Lua, Mexico, in October, 
 1568, Hawkins with difficulty escaping with only two 
 tiny ships. Property of great value and over a 
 hundred men had been captured by the Spaniards and 
 sent to Seville, the unfortunate sailors being delivered 
 to the Inquisition and condemned to slavery. John 
 Hawkins was the last man in the world to reconcile 
 himself tamely to such a loss ; and through a Catholic 
 friend of his, George Fitzwilliam, a kinsman of the 
 Duchess of Feria, he opened negotiations in Spain for 
 the release of his sailors and the return of his property, 
 on condition that he deserted the English service with 
 the Queen's fleet of fourteen armed ships, and joined 
 that of the King of Spain for the invasion of England 
 in favour of Mary Stuart. 
 
 Poor Mary, as usual, was easily hoodwinked, as 
 indeed was Fitzwilliam himself at first, and the Ferias 
 eagerly listened to the suggestion of apostasy of such 
 a man as John Plawkins. Fitzwilliam returned to 
 London from Spain with an encouraging answer and 
 tokens for the Queen of Scots, in order that she might 
 be asked to assure the Ferias and Philip of the 
 genuineness of Hawkins's offer. Cecil, who was behind 
 Hawkins in the whole negotiation and enjoyed the 
 position almost as much as the great sailor, smoothed 
 over the difficulties of access to Mary, who, only too 
 ready to believe in the honesty of others, sent him 
 back to Spain with all sorts of assurances, letters for 
 Philip and the Ferias, and a beautiful missal bound in 
 gold for the Duchess of Feria, wherein she had 
 written "'Absit nobis gloriari nisi in cruce Domini nostri 
 
JOHN HAWKINS'S REVENGE 317 
 
 Jesu Christi. — Marie R^ When Fitzwilliam came to 
 him, de Spes was easily drawn into the plan, and 
 became enthusiastically certain of the bond fides of 
 Hawkins. The more he sees of him, he says, the 
 more convinced he is of his honesty. He is a 
 Catholic, and very ambitious ; and only once, and then 
 but for a moment, did the gullible ambassador some- 
 what distrust Cecil's complaisancy in allowing Fitz- 
 william easy access to Mary Stuart, and to run 
 backwards and forwards unimpeded between England 
 and the coast of Spain. 
 
 Fitzwilliam again returned early in September to 
 England entirely successful in his mission, and 
 Hawkins wrote full of glee to Lord Burghley. The 
 King and the Duke of Feria had jumped at 
 Hawkins's offer, his sailors had all been released 
 and embarked for England, and the agreement 
 between Hawkins and the Spaniards with orders 
 for a great sum of money to be paid to Hawkins 
 had been sent to de Spes, who was to forward the 
 enterprise with all diligence. " The design is," wrote 
 Hawkins, "that my power should join with the Duke 
 of Alba's power, which he doth secretly provide in 
 Flanders, as well as with the power which cometh 
 with the Duke of Medina from Spain, and so all 
 together to invade this realm and set up the Queen 
 of Scots. They have practised with us for the burn- 
 ing of Her Majesty's ships ; therefore there should be 
 some good care had of them ; but not so as to appear 
 that anything is discovered. . . . The King hath 
 sent a ruby of good price to the Queen of Scots, with 
 letters also, which in my judgment were good to 
 be delivered. The letters be of no importance, but 
 his message by word is to comfort her and say that he 
 
3i8 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 hath now none other care than to place her in her 
 own. It were good, also, that the ambassador (de 
 Spes) did make request unto your Lordship that Fitz- 
 william may have access to the Queen of Scots to 
 render thanks to her for the delivery of our prisoners 
 [^i.e., in Spain] now at liberty. It will be a good 
 colour for your Lordship to confer with him more 
 largely. I have sent your Lordship a copy of my 
 pardon from the King of Spain, in the very order and 
 manner I have it. The Duke of Medina and the 
 Duke of Alba hath, each, one of the same pardons 
 more amplified to present to me ; although this be 
 large enough ! with very great titles and honours from 
 the King : from which God deliver me ! . . . Their 
 practices be very mischievous, and they be never idle. 
 But God I hope will confound them and turn their 
 devices upon their own necks." ^ 
 
 There was no limit to the credulity of de Spes. 
 The great sum of money passed from him to 
 Hawkins, but though the fourteen ships that the latter 
 had promised to the King of Spain came not, for the 
 discovery of the Ridolfi treason upset for the time the 
 whole plan of murder and invasion, the ambassador 
 never lost faith in Hawkins and Fitzwilliam. Norfolk 
 was condemned to death, Mary Stuart, herself in 
 closer confinement than ever, was in dire danger of 
 the block, de Spes threatened and insulted hourly, and 
 his henchman, Luis de Paz, haled to prison, and 
 Antonio de Guaras, his close friend, not daring to 
 leave his house for many months together, and yet 
 de Spes firmly believed that John Hawkins, an 
 Englishman if ever there was one, was only waiting 
 the signal from the King of Spain to desert with the 
 
 ^ Scottish State Papers, Mary, vol. vi. 
 
EXPULSION OF DE SPES 319 
 
 English fleet and join his country's enemies. At 
 length, on the 14th December, Elizabeth determined 
 she would have no more of de Spes. His complicity 
 in the Ridolfi plot had been made absolutely clear ; 
 his pernicious activity had been watched for three 
 years, and every effort had been made to drive him 
 out of England without avail. So, on the 14th Decem- 
 ber, 1 57 1, the Lords of the Council summoned him 
 to Westminster. Lord Burghley spoke and told him 
 that repeated requests had been made to the King of 
 Spain to withdraw him, and now the Queen wished to 
 know when he was going, as she did not want him in 
 England. De Spes replied defiantly that he knew 
 nothing about her wants. When he received proper 
 instructions from his own Sovereign to go he would 
 go, and not before. 
 
 A long statement of all his misdeeds in England 
 was then read to him in Spanish, to which he replied 
 that much of it was false, and he desired to send 
 an answer to it. "Oh no! " quoth Cecil, "your King 
 would have no reply from Dr. Man, and our Queen 
 will have none from you." Then, after a few more 
 heated words, the ambassador was told roughly that 
 he would have to leave England in three days, and in 
 the meanwhile he would be in charge of Henry 
 Knollys. Could he send a, courier to his King.-^ he 
 asked. No ; that would take too long, he was told. 
 To the Duke of Alba, then ? Certainly not ; they 
 cared nothing for the Duke of Alba, replied Burghley. 
 "It was impossible to leave," objected de Spes, " until 
 I send and get money from Antwerp to pay my debts." 
 "We will lend you the money you need," replied Cecil; 
 and at last de Spes had to make the best of it. 
 Lagging on the road as long as he could upon all 
 
320 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 sorts of pretexts, his servants imprisoned and he him- 
 self threatened and insulted at every step, the 
 ambassador of Spain was at last hustled out of Eng- 
 land, fuming with rage and full of hare-brained projects 
 by which, with the help of Hawkins, the King of 
 Spain might be avenged on the heretic Queen and 
 become the master of England. 
 
 The Huguenots were now in unrestrained power in 
 France, and Elizabeth, as usual when she was in fear 
 of Spain, was carrying on a desperate flirtation with 
 the Duke of Anjou, and surpassing herself in her 
 blandishment to Catharine de Medici. Simultaneously 
 with the expulsion of de Spes from England, the 
 Spanish ambassador in Paris, Don Frances de Alava, 
 found France similarly uncongenial to him ; for he 
 had been plotting against the Huguenots as de Spes 
 had plotted against the Protestants, and had fled in 
 disguise to Flanders, so that Philip found himself 
 alienated both from England and France at the same 
 time, a position that always made him uneasy, especi- 
 ally now that not only a marriage but a national 
 alliance was in full negotiation between Elizabeth and 
 Catharine.^ For the next six months the farcical 
 
 I That Elizabeth intended the expulsion of de Spes, and her 
 refusal to continue negotiations about the seizures, to be a 
 political demonstration to show her power and impress her new 
 friends the French, is seen by her conversation at this time 
 (December, 1571) with Cavalcanti, Catharine de Medici's 
 confidential envoy. The King of Spain, she said, thought that 
 he could separate her from the aUiance with France at any 
 time ; but however accommodating he might show himself in 
 the negotiations about the seizures, and however ready to 
 agree to terms favourable to the English, she would never trust 
 Spaniards again, seeing the trouble they had prepared for her 
 in Ridolfi's plots with the Pope. The King of France might see 
 how little she cared for the King of Spain by the way she had 
 
ELIZABETH'S DIPLOMACY 321 
 
 political courtship of the young Duke of Alen^on, the 
 boy brother of Anjou and the King of France, was 
 carried on furiously by the middle-aged Queen of 
 England as an antidote for the unappeasable anger of 
 Spain. But with her usual diplomacy, now that she 
 had worked her will in everything, Elizabeth thought 
 best not to drive Philip into violent courses against 
 her. She had seized his million ducats and all the 
 property of his subjects in England, she had 
 unmasked all his plots, had expelled his ambas- 
 sador, flouted his great viceroy Alba, her subjects 
 had harried Spanish ships on every sea, and helped 
 unchecked the Dutch rebels who defied him ; but she 
 did not wish to go to war with him if she could help 
 it, especially if she could gain all she wanted without 
 doing so. 
 
 When the Spanish ambassador in Paris was about 
 to escape, Walsingham, the English ambassador, 
 had gone and congratulated him upon the great 
 naval victory over the Turks in the Mediterranean 
 that King Philip's brother, Don Juan, had just 
 gained at Lepanto ; and then, after asking many 
 curious questions about Don Juan, Walsingham had 
 said to Don Francds, as if in joke, " This sounds like 
 a marriage, does it not ^ " The Spaniard retorted in 
 the same tone, "Yes; let you and I manage it 
 together." With this opening Walsingham became 
 serious, and enlarged upon Elizabeth's personal 
 
 ordered his ambassador to be gone without delay. She wished 
 Cavalcanti could have seen him actually on the road, but with 
 some pretext about wanting money he was here for a day or 
 two longer. She could assure him, however, that he should not 
 stay in her country, and she cared not whether another came or 
 not. — Spanish Calendar, vol. ii. 
 
322 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 obligations and liking for her Spanish brother-in-law, 
 and the turpitude of certain ministers in sowing dis- 
 cord between them. If it were not for the obstacle of 
 religion, he continued, the marriage hinted at might 
 take place. It was, of course, mere talk, and was 
 intended to be no more ; but Walsingham spoke with 
 a purpose, and knew that his mistress thought it time 
 to repair some of the broken ties that held her country 
 to Spain. 
 
 More marked and authoritative approaches were 
 made simultaneously in England itself. The man 
 who had been instructed by Alba to keep an eye 
 on Spanish affairs unofficially when de Spes left 
 England was Antonio de Guaras, an Aragonese 
 merchant living on Dowgate Hill, Thames Street. 
 He had been established in London for many years 
 as a prosperous importer of Spanish produce, and had 
 a perfect craze for writing descriptions of public events 
 and taking part in public affairs ; a zealous busybody, 
 whose flamboyant patriotism and Catholicism had 
 made him the friend and companion of successive 
 Spanish ambassadors, especially of de Spes. In the 
 anti-Catholic excitement in May, 1569, his house had 
 been raided by the officers of the law deputed to 
 destroy superstitious images, and a considerable stock 
 of church ornaments of this description seized. One 
 half of the stock was piled into a heap before Guaras' 
 door and burnt, the other half being similarly treated 
 by the Standard in Cheapside ; whilst the people, who 
 only a dozen years before, under Mary, had been so 
 devoutly Catholic, cried in derision that they were 
 burning the Spanish gods. ^ Since that time, as 
 
 ^ *' Recueil des Depeches," &c., de la Mothe Fenelon, 
 vol i. 375, and Spanish Calendar. 
 
ELIZABETH UNBENDS 323 
 
 Guaras had been the principal importer of such wares 
 from Spain, he had shown himself as little as possible 
 in the streets to avoid unpleasantness, though of 
 course he, like so many other Spaniards interested, 
 had tried his hand again and again to make some 
 private arrangement for the ransom of the Spanish 
 commercial property seized by the English. 
 
 The Flemish noble Zweveghem, and the Genoese 
 merchant Fiesco, who had both been negotiating in 
 London about the seizures, were packed off at the 
 same time as de Spes, for Elizabeth and Cecil were 
 bent upon making the demonstration as political and 
 public as possible ; but though it did not suit the eco- 
 nomical Queen to disgorge what she had taken, she 
 had no wish to drive Philip to extremities, and the 
 stoppage of the great English cloth trade with Flan- 
 ders and of the importation of Spanish produce into 
 England was causing serious distress in the country. 
 So, having thoroughly humbled the Spaniards, whose 
 hands were fuller than ever now with the capture of 
 Brille by the Beggars and the rising of all Zeeland, 
 supported by ample English aid, Elizabeth thought 
 that the time had come for her to unbend a little to 
 her sorely pressed brother-in-law. Walsingham's half 
 joking colloquy with Alava in Paris, in January, 1572, 
 had been a straw cast into the air ; the warning of the 
 Dutch privateer fleet out of Dover, though ostensibly 
 to satisfy the remonstrances of the Hamburg 
 merchants, was another ; and in March Guaras, a 
 mere merchant, hitherto so unpopular, suddenly found 
 himself made much of by emissaries from the Court. 
 Friends of Cecil told him that the Queen was only 
 too willing to come to an amicable arrangement about 
 trade, and any person who brought it about would be 
 
324 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 doing a great service to God and to both coun- 
 tries. What a pity it was that there was no person 
 accredited in London who could undertake it ! Would 
 Guara^onvey these expressions to Alba? If so, the 
 interlocutor would approach Lord Burghley. 
 
 After many hints of this sort Burghley himself sent 
 for, Guaras, and told him that they were anxious to 
 settle matters. "He spoke of your Majesty's person 
 with due reverence, confessing to me that they had 
 always hitherto feared and suspected greatly that the 
 Duke of Alba, being a declared enemy, might oppose 
 a settlement, but they had lately been informed that 
 the evil did not arise with him entirely, but from 
 certain persons in your Majesty's Court, mentioning 
 the late Duke of Feria, who, he said, though ostensibly 
 a good friend of the Queen, was in matters of State 
 her enemy." Guaras, who loved to play the states- 
 man, boasted somewhat of his master's greatness and 
 of the benefit his friendship would bring to England, 
 but, of course, in diplomacy he was no match for Cecil, 
 who firmly put him into his place. Thenceforward for 
 weeks the game of advance and retire on the part of 
 Cecil went on. Sometimes Guaras would go home to 
 Thames Street in the seventh heaven of delight, with 
 the idea that he was settling great national affairs 
 where professional diplomatists had failed ; at other 
 times he would stand for hours in Cecil's anterooms of 
 Whitehall, only to be passed by silently with a cold 
 nod when the Minister came out. 
 
 When at last it was agreed (8th April) that Zweve- 
 ghem, the Flemish Councillor, should come again to 
 England and settle matters, Guaras, much pleased at his 
 success, entered his barge from Whitehall stairs to 
 return home with the friend who served as his interme- 
 
GUARAS TO THE RESCUE 325 
 
 diary with Lord Burghley. As the boat pushed off into 
 the stream, he says, " I saw the Queen approaching the 
 landing-place of the Palace in her barge, in which, the 
 day being fine, she had been taking the air in company 
 with my Lord of Leicester and many other gentlemen, 
 and followed by a large number of boats filled with 
 people who wished to see her Majesty. We, being 
 amongst the press of people, stayed our boat to look 
 upon her, and when I made my bow like the rest, the 
 Queen, as usual, saluted the people, and noticing me, 
 either because she recognised me or because I was 
 a foreigner or some one told her my name, to the 
 surprise of every one, I being such a humble person, 
 she, calling out to me in Italian, my boat being some- 
 what distant from hers out of respect to her, asked me 
 very gaily and graciously if I was coming from the 
 Court and had seen Lord Burghley. I knelt, as was 
 my duty, and replied, ' Yes, Madam, at your Majesty's 
 service.' As the boats approached the landing-place 
 her Majesty's barge was delayed a moment, when she 
 smilingly seemed to desire to say something more 
 to me, whereupon I endeavoured to bring my boat 
 alongside the Queen's barge, and she turned towards 
 me and asked, ' When were you with Lord Burghley ?' 
 to which I replied, ' Madam, I have just left him,' 
 whereupon she waved her hand several times, ap- 
 parently with great pleasure, and said, ' That is all 
 right,' and her barge then proceeded, she bidding 
 me farewell with so many signs of pleasure and 
 favour that people noticed it much, and I was more 
 surprised than any one to receive these favours from 
 the Queen, to whom I have never rendered any 
 service." ^ 
 
 ^ Spanish Calendar, vol. ii. 
 
326 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 Elizabeth had no intention, however, of allowing 
 the Spaniards, and particularly Alba, to assume any 
 airs of superiority on the strength of her willingness to 
 negotiate about trade. When Zweveghem saw her a 
 few days afterwards, sent by Alba to discuss terms, 
 she thought that his tone was too haughty, and that 
 he seemed to assume that she was pleading for an 
 arrangement. Guaras, of course, had to bear the 
 blame. It was at once said that he had misrepre- 
 sented matters to Alba, and there was nothing but 
 black looks for him. "Tell Guaras," said Burghley, 
 " that if he wants to come and see me let him come, or 
 stay away, as he likes. . . If the Duke of Alba, through 
 Guaras, pretends to be willing for peace and concord, 
 whilst on the other hand through Zweveghem he 
 treats the matter in a different spirit, it is clear that, 
 however good our intentions may be, theirs are not 
 equally so." Alba was in no melting mood now, 
 for English men and arms were being poured into 
 Zeeland, and the Huguenots also were helping the 
 Netherlanders against him. The Dutch privateers 
 were still sheltered in English ports, whilst Constable 
 Montmorenci, and one of the most splendid embassies 
 that ever represented France, was in England for the 
 ratification of the offensive and defensive alliance of 
 the two countries that had been signed at Blois on the 
 1 2th April. By it the Spanish Netherlands were to 
 be partitioned, the ancient rivals were never to quarrel 
 again, the Huguenot Navarre was to marry the King 
 of France's sister. Elizabeth might, perhaps, marry 
 young Alen^on, but in any case she and Catharine, 
 with the Huguenots, were bound together for ever to 
 resist the arrogance of Spain. All this was gall and 
 wormwood to Alba, and, busy as he was with his 
 
THE COQUETTING WITH FRANCE 327 
 
 bloody work, it is no wonder that he was now in 
 no hurry to respond to the English approaches for 
 a settlement, and Guaras for a time found himself 
 cold-shouldered. 
 
 The affection between the French and English, 
 however, was too pronounced to last very long. The 
 offensive and defensive alliance against Spain had 
 given to the Huguenots more power than quite suited 
 Catharine, and the Colignys and their friends of the 
 "religion" were speaking too boldly to please her. 
 The Emperor (whose daughter the young King 
 Charles IX. had married), the Pope, and the Doge 
 of Venice sent to remonstrate with the Most Christian 
 King for thus joining rebels and heretics against good 
 Catholics, whilst the Gondis, Biragos, and Guises were 
 whispering to Catharine that she was provoking Philip 
 too far. So, as the summer of 1572 wore on, the 
 messages sent from France to England grew cooler, 
 and Charles IX. began to cry off the bargain for the 
 joint action with Elizabeth in the Spanish Nether- 
 lands. But still Catharine pushed industriously 
 the love-making of her favourite boy AlenQon 
 with Elizabeth, in order that England and the 
 Huguenots might not be driven into open opposi- 
 tion to her. A pretty lad named La Mole, one of 
 the mignons, was sent to England in July, ostensibly 
 to do the vicarious love-making for Alen^on, but really 
 to discourage the idea of any act of overt hostility on 
 the part of France in the Spanish States, ^ and thus 
 
 ^ The French Huguenot force that had entered Flanders to 
 aid the rebels had just been utterly routed by Alba's son, Don 
 Fadrique, and Charles IX. saw that unless he could dissociate 
 himself from the unsuccessful attempt he might be dragged 
 down by the fall of the Huguenot party. 
 
328 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 practically to withdraw from the much-lauded treaty 
 of alliance, of which the ink was hardly dry. 
 
 La Mole performed the philandering part of his 
 mission entirely to Elizabeth's satisfaction. She was 
 on her progress to Kenilworth, and carried the young 
 French gallant along with her from place to place, 
 exerting all her mature witcheries upon him, but 
 keenly alive and not a little apprehensive at the 
 way in which she had been thrown over with re- 
 gard to the alliance. The danger to her was great, 
 for she had been drawn into a position of open 
 hostility to the Spaniards in Flanders on the 
 strength of the alliance with France, and now found 
 herself alone. So she told everybody, and most 
 people believed her this time, that she meant to 
 marry the French prince without fail, and when she 
 bade goodbye to La Mole at Kenilworth, he went 
 on his homeward way loaded with sweet messages 
 for the Prince and rich presents for himself. 
 
 He arrived in London on the 27th August on his 
 way to France ; and on the same day there landed 
 at Rye two couriers from Paris, one with letters from 
 Walsingham to the Queen, the other with official 
 despatches to the French ambassador. The latter 
 were seized by the port authorities and sent in 
 haste to the Queen at Kenilworth ; but secret 
 though they were kept, ill tidings fly fast, and soon 
 there sped through England, none knew how or 
 whence, the dread news that the Papists had banded 
 together to slaughter Protestants throughout the 
 world. On the fated day of Navarre's wedding in 
 Paris — the day of Saint Bartholomew — the storm 
 had burst. Hounded on by the King himself and 
 by his mother, slaughter unchecked had swept 
 
SAINT BARTHOLOMEW 329 
 
 icross the capital. The noble Coligny had fallen 
 first, and then every citizen but those who wore the 
 badge of Guise was hounded to his death. Through 
 France the tale of horror ran, across the Channel to 
 Protestant England fled thousands of Huguenots, 
 dreading the general massacre that portended ; and 
 when Elizabeth suspended her pastime at Kenilworth 
 to read the despatch that brought the news, her brow 
 douded and her heart sank ; for it seemed now that, at 
 last, all her clever tricks had failed and catastrophe 
 loomed over her and England. For the league 
 of Bayonne had produced its baleful fruit at last. ^ 
 The alliance and friendship just so ostentatiously 
 concluded with France was but a fraud and a blind, 
 the marriage talk with Alengon was all a lie : Catharine 
 and her son, after all, had made common cause with 
 Philip and the Guises, and England stood alone 
 opposed to united. Catholicism pledged to wholesale 
 massacre. 
 
 In a day the orgy of St. Bartholomew had changed 
 the political aspect. The French, lately so caressed 
 in England, were now regarded as monsters of falsity. 
 Elizabeth, in deep mourning, after long delay received 
 the French ambassador coldly, and contemptuously 
 listened to his palliations and explanations ; for she 
 knew that the Guises were now paramount in France, 
 and from them she had nothing but enmity to expect. 
 But dismay was not allowed to dominate the counsels 
 of Elizabeth for very long. When such a combination 
 as this existed between the ancient enemies Spain and 
 France, England's safety depended upon sowing dis- 
 
 ^ The story of the reception of the news of St. Bartholomew 
 in England may best be followed in the Correspondance Diplo- 
 matique de La Mothe Fenelon. 
 
330 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 cord between them. This was never very difficult, for 
 their interests nationally were always antagonistic, and 
 their antipathies were stronger than their affinities. ^ 
 At the first flush of the news Philip and the Spaniards 
 were overjoyed that so many heretics should be 
 butchered, and Guaras from London, writing to the 
 Duke of Alba on the 30th August says : "God grant 
 that it may be true, and that these rebel heretics may 
 have met with this bad end " ; and the national conse- 
 quences were not lost upon him, even thus early, 
 for though he was but a meddling merchant, he 
 had far clearer ideas of policy than had de Spes. 
 " Since the news came we hear no more of English 
 soldiers going over to Flanders. This last affair, 
 indeed, will give them something else to think about. 
 If the news from Paris be true, the league between 
 these people [i.e., the English] and the French will 
 probably come to nothing, as the people are already 
 murmuring that they cannot trust Frenchmen." 
 Elizabeth, indeed, had been badly betrayed by 
 
 ^ How soon division was introduced is seen by the action 
 of Catharine, who saw only a few weeks after St. Bartholomew 
 the mistake she had made in allowing the Catholic party to go 
 too far, and once more began to court the Huguenots and 
 Elizabeth, and also by the suspicion evinced by La Mothe, 
 the French ambassador in London, of Guaras' renewed favour 
 at Elizabeth's Court. Writing on the 9th November, he says 
 that Alba is making all sorts of tempting offers to Elizabeth 
 through Guaras to draw her away from French friendship and send 
 an ambassador to Philip. " Guaras is intriguing for this with 
 such good presents that I am told that he has given more than 
 10,000 crowns to one personage alone, who has some authority 
 here. He has done so much that the Lords of the Council have 
 been busy for several days trying to come to some arrangement 
 with the King of Spain, and Guaras is often at Court." — Corres- 
 pondance Diplomatique, vol. v. 
 
ELIZABETH COURTS SPAIN 331 
 
 the F'rench. She had been drawn Into hostility to 
 Philip in Flanders, and had been left in the lurch. 
 To her alone now could the Prince of Orange look 
 for help, since the French had deserted him ; and 
 though she had no intention of allowing the Dutch 
 Protestants to be crushed by Alba, Elizabeth saw that 
 in future all she did to help them must be done with- 
 out an open national rupture between England and 
 Spain, Immediately, therefore, her tone changed. 
 Not only were the Dutch rebels ostentatiously disa- 
 vowed by her, but the somewhat bewildered Guaras 
 found himself once more a persona grata at Court. ^ 
 Early in October the Duke of Alba sent him his cool 
 and tardy reply with regard to the proposed negotia- 
 tions for reopening trade. When Guaras appeared 
 at Windsor with the despatch he found Burghley all 
 smiles. " On that very day, he said, and on many 
 other previous occasions the Queen had said to him 
 she wondered why Guaras did not come to Court with 
 the reply. They were much surprised to have received 
 no answer to the offer made by the Queen to with- 
 draw the Englishmen from Flanders, who, he said, 
 only went there to resist the Frenchmen, who 
 
 ^ Guaras went to Kenilworth before the reception of the news 
 of St. Bartholomew to carry letters to Elizabeth from King 
 Philip notifying the appointment of Medina Celi to Flanders. 
 Only a few days after the tidings of St. Bartholomew the French 
 ambassador wrote to Charles IX : " It seems to me that these 
 people are bent in any case in hatching some new plan with 
 Antonio de Guaras on the pretext of the letters from the King 
 of Spain and Medina Celi he carried to the Queen at Kenilworth. 
 The purport of the letters was simply to notify the coming 
 of Medina Celi to Flanders ; but these people, in consequence 
 of what has happened at Paris, wish to make them serve for a 
 further purpose.'' — Correspondance Diplomatique de la Mothe 
 Fenelon. 
 
332 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 might try to gain a footing. . . . When I told him I 
 had a letter for the Queen he seemed greatly delighted 
 and asked me to show it to him. When he read the 
 superscripture he said, * Although it comes tardily 
 and the Queen is unwell, I will take it to her at once, 
 because I know how pleased she will be to know that 
 you have come with the message.' " ^ 
 
 Thenceforward for a time no one was more welcome 
 at Court than Guaras. A fortnight after the above 
 letter was written the French ambassador, La Mothe, 
 remarked: "Guaras .... the Spaniard, is much 
 better attended to and more favourably received at 
 this Court than he used to be. He has great hopes 
 of getting them to withdraw all the English from 
 Flushing and Flanders, as well as of arranging the 
 disputes about commercial intercourse." ^ All was not 
 plain sailing yet, for Alba was hard and Elizabeth 
 stood out firmly for religious toleration for Englishmen 
 in Spain, which claim from the first was scouted as 
 preposterous by the Spaniards, and in the end was 
 almost the only point upon which the English had to 
 give way. But the constant more or less covert 
 aid in men and money sent from England to sup- 
 port Orange, and the fear that if driven too far 
 Elizabeth might at last yield to the arguments and 
 persuasions of the Dutch that she would assume the 
 protection of Holland and Zeeland, brought down even 
 Alba's pride ; and early in the spring of 1573 trade was 
 reopened, on terms greatly in favour of Elizabeth, 
 since her subjects again obtained an open market for 
 their cloths, whilst she kept practically the greater part 
 of the property she had seized. 
 
 ^ Spanish Calendar, vol. ii. 
 
 = Correspondance Diplomatique de la Mothe Fenelon. \^ 
 
GUARAS BEGINS PLOTTING 33^ 
 
 Gradually Guaras, though in somewhat more 
 humble fashion than de Spes, immersed himself in 
 intrigues on behalf of Spain, many of them doubtless 
 proposed to him in good faith, but others, as we know 
 now, mere traps set for him by Lord Burghley's con- 
 trivance, into which he easily fell to his own ultimate 
 undoing. Several English captains were in close 
 negotiation with him for months for the betrayal to 
 the Spaniards of Flushing, Caunfer, and other strong 
 places, for the murder of the Prince of Orange, and 
 other schemes. But it is evident that these advances 
 through him were received with doubt and caution by 
 Philip and Alba, who probably doubted his discretion, 
 for when a group of English captains had to be finally 
 negotiated with for the capture of Flushing a special 
 envoy, a merchant seaman named Zubiaur, was sent to 
 England for the purpose with strict orders that Guaras 
 should know nothing whatever of it ; and even whilst 
 Guaras was acting as chargS d'affaires of Spain a 
 Portuguese spy (Fogaza) in Spanish pay reported all 
 his movements to the authorities at Madrid. 
 
 By the end of 1573 it was patent to all the world 
 that Alba's reign of blood had failed. The stern old 
 chief had been beaten indeed by Elizabeth's seizure of 
 the treasure, and he never recovered from the blow. 
 Forced to raise money somehow, for Philip was 
 bankrupt both in credit and in means, Alba imposed 
 upon rich Flanders and Brabant the "tenth penny" 
 that had ruined Castile. Then all the Netherlanders 
 rose. It was no longer a question of local govern- 
 ment or even of faith, but of moneybags ; and 
 Catholic and Protestant alike rebelled against spolia- 
 tion and the destruction of Flemish prosperity. In- 
 dignant remonstrances went to Philip, and the Spanish 
 
334 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 Council even angrily condemned Alba's measure. 
 " Neither the heads smitten off nor the privileges 
 abolished have aroused so much resistance as this," 
 wrote Alba : but he needed money for the King's 
 service, and money he must have. Thus he found 
 himself face to face, not with a faction in revolt, but 
 with an outraged and united nation, and through 1572 
 the grim old Duke stuck to his guns. First he 
 crushed the south, sweeping the Huguenot auxiliaries 
 aside and submitting all those who raised the 
 slightest protest to ruthless slaughter. 
 
 Brabant and Flanders, bloodless, could fight against 
 him no more, but Holland and Zeeland were made of 
 sterner stuff. Money and men in abundance came to 
 them from England, and all the silver ducats scattered 
 by Guaras and all Elizabeth's protestations of friend- 
 ship for her dear brother in Spain could not stop 
 them ; until at last Philip grew angry and impatient 
 at the useless slaughter, and Alba, heartbroken, went 
 into disgrace, whilst a viceroy of widely different type 
 came with the olive-branch in hand to win back at 
 least Catholic Brabant and Flanders to Philip's rule 
 again by almost any concessions. There was, indeed, 
 no other way for Philip now, for he had come to the 
 end of his resources, and his troubles were not 
 confined to the Protestant Netherlands. 
 
 His brilliant young brother, Don Juan of Austria, 
 in command of the combined Christian fleet, had 
 sailed from Messina in September, 157 1, and had 
 broken the Moslem power in the Mediterranean that 
 had for so long been a thorn in the side of Spain. 
 All Catholic Christendom lost its head over Don 
 Juan : his enthusiasm, his gallantry, his personal 
 beauty made him in the eyes of his contemporaries 
 
DON JUAN'S AMBITIONS 335 
 
 a very paladin of the Cross. Philip, religious though 
 he might be, was cold and reticent, appealing little to 
 the imagination of men. But this young Prince, his 
 brother, splendid beyond words and with some of the 
 military ability of his father the Emperor, might be 
 the man destined by God for the final victory of the 
 Cross over all its enemies. Don Juan not only carried 
 away others, but was carried away himself. To 
 follow up his victory by the conquest of Constanti- 
 nople and the Holy Land, and to become a new 
 Constantine, seemed to him and to the Catholics, who 
 idolised him, an easily realisable vision. If not that, 
 then why not Christianise Africa, re-establish the 
 empire of Carthage with Don Juan as its sovereign .f* 
 But all this meant vast sums of money, and to 
 such suggestions Philip turned an irresponsive ear. 
 Clamour as Don Juan and his friends might, no 
 assistance could be got from Spain for his wild 
 schemes ; for King Philip had other things to do 
 than conquer vast new empires for his base brother, 
 whilst his own Netherlands were slipping from his 
 grasp and Elizabeth of England openly defied him. 
 Then Don Juan, disobeying orders, seized and forti- 
 fied Tunis on his own account. All appeals for 
 support to Philip were sternly refused, and within a 
 year the city was recaptured by the Turk and the eight 
 thousand Spaniards in it slaughtered. Don Juan in 
 despair remained in Italy, full still of high dreams 
 of heroic conquest for the faith. He was surrounded, 
 as before, by advisers as flighty and hot-headed as 
 himself ; and it occurred to some of them If he was 
 not to be allowed to become a Christian Emperor 
 of the East, there was in the West another empire 
 in the hands of heretics, still awaiting its champion 
 who should restore It to the Church. 
 
336 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 Guaras wrote to Philip's Secretary, Zayas, as early 
 as November, 1574, saying, "The Queen of Scotland 
 founds all her hopes upon his Majesty after God, and 
 by a letter she has written to an influential friend, who 
 read it to me, it is certain that there is nothing she 
 desires more than to accept the proposition about Don 
 Juan of Austria,^ she having been persuaded by this 
 person and others that it would benefit Christendom 
 greatly. If it be his Majesty's wish that this matter 
 should be considered, and communications have to be 
 carried on with the Queen about it, this cipher can be 
 utilised for the purpose, it being so obscure and with- 
 out an alphabet that no one can decipher it. ... If 
 this happy event could be brought about, she would 
 be a saintly, chaste, and Catholic Princess, the greatest 
 lady on earth, for England, Scotland, and Ireland 
 are indeed a vast empire. ... If his Majesty will 
 graciously allow a letter for her contentment in this 
 business to be written, an opportunity might occur for 
 her rescue. If consent is given on our part this 
 project would undoubtedly be executed. She writes 
 herself about it to the person I have mentioned, and 
 desires above all things that her son should marry 
 the elder Infanta, for which purpose she will consent 
 
 ' This was not the first time that the suggestion of a marriage 
 between Mary and Don Juan had been made. A letter written 
 by Lord Burghley to the Earl of Shrewsbury, Keeper of the 
 Queen of Scots, written soon after the discovery of the Ridolfi 
 plot, says that Elizabeth does not complain of Mary's attempts 
 to escape to Spain or elsewhere, nor is she offended by the pro- 
 posal to marry young James to the Infanta. "Nether that she 
 sought to make the King of Spayne beleve that she wold geve 
 ear to tlie offer of Don Jon of Austria." The real cause of 
 Elizabeth's anger, says Lord Burghley, is Mary's conspiracy to 
 raise a revolution in England. — Talbot Papers (Lodge). 
 
MARY STUART AND DON JUAN ZZ7 
 
 that the man who holds him should carry him to 
 Spain." 
 
 Philip had heard stories similar to this before, and 
 was not ready yet for another plot depending upon the 
 English Catholics. Requesens, the new Viceroy of 
 Flanders, did his best, but he was surrounded by 
 unconquerable difficulties from the first, legacies, most 
 of them, from the regime of Alba. Many of the 
 Flemish seamen were disloyal and the Catholic clergy 
 disaffected, whilst the mercantile classes were nearly 
 beggared and in deep discontent. But, withal, the 
 Walloons and Southern States were pacified, though 
 Holland and Zeeland were as stubborn as ever. 
 Requesens' principal difficulty, as usual, was want 
 of money ; and the Catholic Flemings insisted that 
 if they were to remain loyal to Spain the unpaid, 
 murderous rabble of foreign soldiers who were 
 terrorising friends and enemies alike must be with- 
 drawn from Flanders. But Philip could not pay 
 them, and they would not budge without their wage, 
 for the rich houses of the burghers were always 
 there for plunder. In the midst of this impasse, when 
 things were at their worst, Requesens died, in March, 
 1576, and Philip, glad to get his brother away from 
 Italy, ordered him to hurry direct to Flanders and 
 carry out the policy of pacification at any cost or 
 sacrifice. The troops were to be sent away, the 
 burghers conciliated, and, if possible, the Dutch won 
 over by promises of large concessions. 
 
 To Don Juan, with his heart aflame with high 
 ambitions, concessions and conciliation of heretics were 
 utterly repugnant ; but the mission seemed to open 
 a sure road to the great plan we have seen hinted 
 at in Guaras' letter of November, 1574. Pope 
 
338 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 Gregory XIII. was as ready as Don Juan for such 
 an enterprise, and sent his Nuncio to PhiHp to pray 
 him to allow his brother to swoop down upon England 
 with the troops from Flanders, release and marry 
 Mary Stuart, and with her become sovereign of a 
 Britain Catholic and a faithful ally of Spain. Philip, 
 as was his wont when he disapproved of a plan, was 
 vaguely benevolent, but he hated priestly interference 
 in his plans, and distrusted the Vatican where the 
 French priests had so much to say. Worst of all, 
 Don Juan disobeyed orders and came to Spain to 
 press his plans for capturing England, and the delay 
 thus caused was fatal. Before he could reach the 
 Flemish frontier the Italian and Spanish troops had 
 thrown off all restraint and had sacked Antwerp. 
 The Catholic Flemings and Walloons were forced to 
 make common cause with Orange, who assumed the 
 lead in the Government, and all Netherlanders stood 
 shoulder to shoulder against the ravishers and spoilers 
 of their homes. When Don Juan came, therefore, he 
 was told that he would only be admitted on conditions 
 to be dictated by the States. Among these conditions 
 was that the mutinous troops should not be sent away 
 by sea, for the plan to invade England with them was 
 well known by Orange, but should march out over- 
 land. Don Juan protested and raved in vain. Philip 
 coldly ordered him to accede to any terms consistent 
 with Spanish sovereignty over Flanders ; and at last, 
 in the early spring of 1577, he made his "joyous 
 entry " into Brussels with a heart steeped in hate 
 of the Flemings, whose firmness had destroyed his 
 great dream of capturing England for the Cross and 
 marrying the imprisoned Catholic Queen, like the 
 hero of a fairy tale. 
 
MARY STUART AND DON JUAN 339 
 
 In these fine plans Guaras was a zealous and a 
 willing agent, and Mary Stuart, as usual, an eager 
 participant, all their intrigues being perfectly well 
 known to Cecil through his spies. Cecil, indeed, 
 had become quite friendly with Guaras,^ and thus, 
 without being suspected, kept his eye on all his 
 proceedings. The letters the merchant wrote to 
 Spain were frequently intercepted, and although the 
 pride of Guaras in his cipher was justified and most of 
 the contents are still undeciphered, sufificient was read 
 to prove that he was plotting ceaselessly with England's 
 enemies. Letters, too, were known to be passing by 
 means of Guaras between Mary Stuart and Don 
 Juan ; and even the Flemish Catholic nobles, who had 
 now for a time deserted the Spanish cause and were 
 appealing to Elizabeth for aid, were constantly warn- 
 ing the English of the plans that were being so 
 industriously forwarded by Guaras. 
 
 That Mary Stuart and Don Juan at this time 
 understood each other perfectly, though Philip, for 
 reasons already pointed out, was irresponsive to their 
 appeals, is seen in an important letter written by 
 Mary to the conspirator Charles Paget long after- 
 wards (May, 1586) at the time when she was impli- 
 cated in the plot that ended in her death. Paget was 
 
 ^ One of Burghley's spies, Lane, a Catholic, ventured even to 
 reproach the minister for talking so much to Guaras on foreign 
 policy. It appears that Burghley's hare-brained son-in-law, Lord 
 Oxford, and another English noble were in secret negotiation 
 with Guaras to do some service to the Spaniards in Flanders, 
 Guaras to find the necessary money on Oxford's pledge. Lane 
 advises Burghley to put a spoke into the wheel. Lane says that 
 unless Guaras is employed in some way — preferably in Ireland 
 on Government affairs — ^he may develop pernicious activity 
 elsewhere. — Hatfield Papers, vol. ii., June, 1573. 
 
340 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 instructed to discover through Mendoza, the Spanish 
 ambassador in Paris, whether Philip was then (1586) 
 ready to attack England, which, she says, "to me 
 seemeth the surest and readiest way for him whereby 
 to rid himself altogether of the Queen's malice against 
 him. So as now he doth find himself constrained to 
 come to the same remedies which in Don John of 
 Austria's time were propounded unto him, which I 
 doubt he shall not find presently in these parts of such 
 strength and virtue as if he had applied them in time 
 and place. ... I remember that Don John was 
 always stiff in this opinion that there was no other 
 means in the world whereby to set up again the King's 
 affairs in the Low Countries, and to assure his States 
 in all other parts, than in re-establishing this realm 
 under God and a Prince his friend ; for, so much as 
 Don John foresaw right well that this Queen would 
 not fail to break with him, and give him, as she 
 hath done, the first blow." ^ 
 
 Guaras had many hints and warnings which he 
 failed to regard, both from Cecil and the Queen 
 herself. In his letter of 29th March, 1575, he gives 
 an account of one such hint. " The Queen was 
 walking," he says, " a long way from the Palace of 
 Richmond, where she is staying, surrounded by her 
 courtiers and nobles, when, catching sight of me from 
 afar, she called me by name and welcomed me." 
 He had to ask her permission to buy some cannon in 
 England for the Flemish Government, to which 
 she gave him an amiable reply, and he continued to 
 walk through the park a few steps behind her chatting 
 with her alone. She was full of her witcheries and 
 compliments to Spaniards, with whom for the moment 
 ^ Hardwick State Papers. 
 
GUARAS IN DANGER 341 
 
 it suited to be friends, but told Guaras that she was 
 annoyed at the way her subjects in Spain were 
 treated by the Inquisition. She grew somewhat 
 vehement about it and said, " I promise ye my 
 father would not have put up with it, and if the 
 matter is not amended I shall be obliged to arrest 
 some of the King of Spain's subjects and treat them in 
 the same way." Having given this hint, she grew 
 gracious again and said : " You know full well, old 
 wine, old bread, and old friends should be valued, 
 and if only to let these Frenchmen see, who are 
 wrangling as to whether our friendship is firm or not, 
 there is good reason to show undisguisedly the 
 kindly feeling which inwardly exists." This, of 
 course, referred to the attempts of the French to 
 interfere in Flanders, which always made Elizabeth 
 smile upon Spaniards ; ^ and when Guaras hand- 
 somely returned the compliment the Queen suddenly 
 turned upon him, and shot the bolt she had been 
 preparing all along : " You say you wish to serve me, 
 Guaras ; will you tell me the truth ? They say that a 
 certain Scottish prisoner of mine has sent you a token 
 of friendship in the form of a painted lion ; is it 
 true ? " Poor Guaras could only protest that he had 
 
 ^ At this time (March, 1575) Orange, despairing of efficient 
 aid from Elizabeth, was wooing the French. His daughter was 
 to marry Alengon, who was to join Conde and a French army to 
 assist the Flemings against Philip. This at once made 
 Elizabeth turn to Spain. Not only was she, as we see, pohte to 
 Guaras, but she sent Henry Cobham to Spain as an ambassador 
 in August to assure Philip that on no account would she allow 
 any French domination of Flanders. A fleet of Spanish 
 transports, too, on the way to Flanders were received with 
 effusion now in the English ports by the Government though 
 not by the EngHsh sailors. — Spanish Calendar, vol. ii. 
 
342 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 never received any such token, as he had not ; but the 
 hint, and the more pointed one about the arrest, 
 certainly did not abate his activity as a go-between for 
 Mary and Don Juan. 
 
 So long as the danger of French interference in 
 Flanders lasted Elizabeth dared not do anything very 
 unpleasant to Spain ; but as soon as that difficulty was 
 banished by new negotiations for the marriage of 
 Elizabeth and Alenqon, Guaras began to find his 
 position less comfortable. In November, 1575, 
 Egremont Ratcliff, the brother of the Earl of Sussex, 
 who had been a fugitive in Flanders and Italy since 
 the northern rebellion, came to England, with a 
 story of Don Juan's plans in conjunction with 
 Mary Stuart, and in this, of course, Guaras was 
 involved. His fresh negotiations, too, early in 
 1576 for the betrayal by the English Catholics of 
 certain of the Zeeland fortresses to the Spaniards 
 was discovered. The Flemish Catholic nobles were 
 now in England praying for support against Philip's 
 soldiery, and Elizabeth was in mortal fear of 
 French aid being given to them on the one hand 
 and of Don Juan's reported plans against England 
 on the other, whilst Guaras in his correspondence 
 grew more and more bitter and violent as he saw 
 the fruition of his hopes gradually disappear before 
 Elizabeth's amiability to the Catholic Flemish 
 nobles and the united opposition now offered to 
 Don Juan's ambitions. 
 
 But in the circumstances Elizabeth did not dare 
 yet to proceed to extremities with Spaniards ; and 
 one case amusingly shows that these high political 
 considerations somewhat bewildered administrative 
 officers, who could not follow such frequent changes 
 
GUARAS IN DANGER 343 
 
 of attitude. A Portuguese ambassador, Giraldi, 
 had been for some time in England endeavouring 
 to arrange some open questions relative to the 
 depredations of the Protestant privateers ; and late 
 in 1576 the Recorder of London, Sir William 
 Fleetwood, a zealous Catholic-baiter, with the 
 Sheriffs, considered it his duty to surround with his 
 posse the house of the Portuguese envoy for the 
 purpose of catching and arresting unauthorised 
 persons there hearing Mass. They forced an entry 
 after a stiff fight with the Portuguese porter, Mr. 
 Recorder Fleetwood being rather seriously mauled 
 in the afTray, and loudly broke in upon the sacred 
 service by summoning all English people to come 
 out in custody. Immediately the foreigners present, 
 indignant at the interruption, drew their daggers 
 and swords, and made as if to attack the officers, 
 but were appeased by the sheriffs until the ladies 
 had withdrawn. Having allowed the members of 
 the embassy to depart, the officers then examined 
 the other foreigners: "and trulie they most despite- 
 fully against all civilitie used such lewd words in 
 their language against us, that if our company had 
 understande them there might have chanced great 
 harm. ' Sirs,' I saide to them, * I see no remedie 
 but you must goe to prison, for most of you be free 
 denizens.' And then I willed the officers to lay 
 hand on them, and immediately every man suddenly 
 most humbly put off his cap, and began to be sutors 
 and sought favour ; and so on their submission 
 we suffered them to depart, all save Antonio de 
 Guaras, who was not willing to go from us, but 
 kept us company." After sending the English 
 subjects off to prison and scolding some of their own 
 
344 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 constables for accepting ** singing cakes" from the 
 priest at the altar, Fleetwood and Sheriff Barnes 
 stood in the gallery looking down upon the altar. 
 " And then Antonio Guaras tooke me by the hand 
 to see the altar how trim it was. And I said to 
 Guaras, ' Sir, if I had done my duty here to you 
 and to the Queen upon All Hallowes Day last I 
 had taken two hundred, and as many more on 
 All Souls.' * Ho ! Sir,' said Guaras unto me: 'be- 
 come of this religion, and surely you will like it well, 
 and I will be readie means to make you a good 
 Christian.' And so we went near the altar, where 
 neither he nor I touched any manner of thing ; and 
 so we bade the priest farewell, who gently saluted 
 us, and I suddenlie looked back and saw the priest 
 shake his head mumbling out words that sounded 
 like Viable and male croix, or to that effect. Then 
 said I to Mr. Sheriff, ' Let us depart, for the priest 
 doth curse us.' And so we departed, and Antonio 
 Guaras brought us to the utter gate, where the 
 Sheriff and I invited him to dynner with us ; but 
 he departed back to hear the profaned Mass. The 
 aforesaid Guaras at this business said that he himself 
 
 was an ambassador of a greater person than and 
 
 so did shake his head. ' What ! ' quoth I, 'do you 
 mean a greater personage than our mistress } ' * Na, 
 na,' said he, ' I mean not so.' ' No,' quoth I, ' it were 
 not best for you to make comparisons with the 
 Queen our mistress. Whose ambassador are ye, 
 then ? ' quoth I, ' the Pope's ? ' And then he departed 
 further off in anger. This Guaras was a very busy 
 fellow in this action." ^ 
 
 Neither Giraldi nor Guaras was disposed to allow 
 ^ Fleetwood to Lord Burghley. — Wright's State Papers. 
 
GUARAS IN DANGER 345 
 
 their diplomatic privileges to be violated in this 
 fashion, however ; and in consequence of their 
 vehement complaints Fleetwood had to submit to 
 a severe scolding from the Council and was sent 
 to the Fleet. But Guaras' immunity was not 
 to last much longer. Elizabeth, before many months 
 were over, found herself assiduously courted by the 
 French, and assured by Catharine that Alengon 
 would do nothing in Flanders but with the co- 
 operation of England — it was hoped as Elizabeth's 
 husband. Don Juan also, during the time that he 
 remained in negotiation with the States, was only 
 too anxious to win Elizabeth's help, or at least 
 neutrality ; so that when suspicion against Guaras 
 became certainty she had no hesitation in closing 
 the toils around him. In January, 1577, Sir 
 Amyas Paulet, the English ambassador in Paris, 
 reported that a dependent of Guaras, a Spanish 
 tailor, named Damian Dela, a resident in London, 
 had passed through Paris with some highly sus- 
 picious letters for King Philip. We know now 
 that the King was firmly against Don Juan's plans 
 to invade England ; but this, of course, was not 
 known at the time, and Paulet advised Burghley 
 to put Guaras to the torture to discover what was 
 going on. This only made the English Govern- 
 ment more vigilant ; but in the spring of 1577 
 Secretary Wilson was sent to Flanders to endeavour 
 to bring about an agreement between the States 
 and Don Juan, The latter, when jocosely twitted 
 by Wilson on his wish to marry the Queen of 
 Scots, somewhat ungallantly ridiculed the idea as 
 preposterous ; but whilst Wilson was in the Low 
 Countries he managed to obtain through St. 
 
346 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 Aldegonde possession of some intercepted letters 
 from Guaras on the matter. The cipher was 
 difficult, and only some words could be read ; but 
 they were enough to prove that Guaras was in 
 constant communication with Mary Stuart and Don 
 Juan, and Wilson wrote to Cecil expressing his 
 surprise that an unofficial person like Guaras should 
 be allowed to act more scandalously than any 
 accredited ambassador would be allowed to do. 
 
 From that time. May, 1577, Guaras was watched 
 almost night and day, and most of his letters 
 intercepted, though not many could be read. On 
 the 28th September, 1577, he proposed to Zayas, 
 King Philip's secretary, that he should be allowed 
 to arrange for the kidnapping and conveyance to 
 Spain of some of the important Catholic Flemish 
 nobles then in England, or to promote a revolt 
 in Ireland ; and he continues by saying, " I have 
 received the enclosed letters from the Queen of 
 Scotland. I have perfectly safe means of sending 
 and receiving letters for her, and the world is 
 praying that God may be preserving her for some 
 great service to the fear of this Queen and her 
 friends. I am encouraging her with letters of 
 comfort until she can be served by acts." ^ On the 
 4th October Guaras wrote another inflammatory 
 letter to Zayas, detailing the plans which he said 
 had been agreed upon by England and the Flemish 
 nobles to throw off the Spanish yoke for good by 
 the aid of Elizabeth. He passionately cries for 
 prompt reprisals upon the English, but he com- 
 plains that his letters are read, and he fears his 
 ciphers may be discovered. 
 
 * Spanish Calendar, vol. ii. 
 
GUARAS ARRESTED 347 
 
 At midnight on the 19th October, 1577, the 
 Sheriff of London with an armed force appeared 
 before the house of Guaras in Thames Street. In 
 the Queen's name entrance was forced and Guaras 
 placed under arrest, all his papers being seized, and he 
 himself a few days later placed in solitary confinement 
 in Newgate. His clerk, in conveying the news to 
 Zayas, understood the gravity of the affair, for 
 from the first the authorities refused to acknowledge 
 the prisoner's diplomatic status. '' God deliver us 
 from these troubles," he wrote, " for I promise your 
 worship that unless some remedy be sent from Spain 
 my master Antonio de Guaras will find himself In dire 
 trouble, as will all of us in his house, for we are sore 
 distressed. With all earnestness I supplicate ^'•ou 
 to let his Majesty know, in the hope that delivery 
 may be sent to us." Guaras himself writes from 
 prison in hot indignation. He had, he says, placed 
 the letters from the Queen of Scots and King Philip 
 in a safe place, and they had not been captured, but 
 he knows that much of his correspondence has been 
 sent to England by the Flemish nobles, and, reading 
 between the lines, one sees that the poor wretch 
 is In mortal fear, though he passionately protests his 
 innocence whilst vituperating his captors. 
 
 No consideration or mercy was shown to him, 
 and now that he was under lock and key all sorts 
 of claims and accusations were made aofalnst hlm.^ 
 
 "is" 
 
 I Fleetwood, in one of his letters to Cecil (Wright's State 
 Papers), gives particulars of one such. A son of Alderman Lee 
 came and said that his brother, although a Catholic, was in 
 perpetual prison in Spain, the reason being that Guaras having 
 bought a ship called the Clock, had given to Lee ;^i6o to man 
 the ship and attack Flushing. Lee having failed to carry out 
 the plan to his satisfaction, Guaras had had him kidnapped and 
 
348 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 To add to his trouble he, who for thirty years at 
 least had been looked upon as a wealthy merchant, 
 was found to be well-nigh penniless. Philip was 
 always a bad paymaster, and the 500 ducats a year he 
 allowed to Guaras had been embargoed or stopped in 
 Spain for some time previously. The great sum 
 of 20,000 crowns, promised to him for his services 
 in negotiating the reopening of trade, was never 
 paid to him, though for the rest of his life he was 
 petitioning piteously for it. Damian Dela, his tailor- 
 steward, was arrested at the same time as his master 
 and lodged in Newgate, whereupon Recorder Fleet- 
 wood, examining him in November, he revealed the 
 sad condition of Guaras' finances : "I finde that he 
 hath not a groat to bless him withal. His house- 
 hold stuff is not worth forty shillings. He is in my 
 opinion Iro PauperioTy and were it not that libertie 
 is sweet I know not where in his own country he 
 should have like entertainment." By Fleetwood 
 Guaras sent beseeching messages for mercy to 
 Burghley, " his only hope and trust " ; but it was not 
 the Cecil way to befriend fallen men, and Guaras 
 appealed to his former crony in vain. 
 
 Slowly the act of accusation against Guaras was 
 elaborated. Such portions of his letters as could be 
 read were brought up against him,^ his servants, one 
 and all, were interrogated, whilst he himself was almost 
 
 imprisoned in Spain. Guaras, he said, had thirty or forty spies in 
 his service, who used to sit or walk in his hall downstairs at 
 night without a candle, until, one by one, they were led up to 
 Guaras' room by Dela to report what they had discovered. 
 Guaras' house at Dowgate, Thames Street, was on a portion of 
 the site covered by Cannon Street Station, and was bought by 
 the Drapers' Company on his conviction. — Domestic Calendar. 
 » Hatfield Papers, vol. ii., and Spanish Calendar. 
 
GUARAS IN PRISON 349 
 
 driven crazy by threats of the rack and the scaffold. 
 The questions administered to him in prison are 
 amongst Lord Burghley's papers and at Simancas, 
 and show the charges brought against him : " What 
 letters had passed between you and the Scots Queen?" 
 " What do you know of their contents and of the 
 negotiations between her and Don Juan?" "How 
 far did Don Juan proceed in the marriage treaty with 
 the Queen of Scots?" "In the cipher between you 
 and Don Juan, who were intended by the numbers 82, 
 29, and 38?" "What practices have been intended 
 for disquieting the realm, and who were the principal 
 authors ? " ^ and many other questions of the same 
 sort. In June, 1578, the case against him for con- 
 spiring against the State in favour of Mary Stuart 
 was held to be proven, and the unfortunate man was 
 lodged in the Tower, threatened now with death. 
 To all interrogatories Guaras had answered haughtily 
 that he was the diplomatic representative of the 
 Catholic King, who would heavily avenge any injury 
 done to him ; but Philip had other cares to occupy 
 him than to avenge a meddling merchant's plots, of 
 which he (Philip) had never approved. 
 
 It was more important now than ever that Eliza- 
 beth should be conciliated. Don Juan, in despair at 
 his hateful position and at the cold irresponsiveness of 
 
 ' Guaras had the incredible imprudence to write a violent, 
 treasonable letter to Don Juan from Newgate itself, dated 
 14th November. Though he is a prisoner, he will continue 
 to perform his work by the aid of friends. All has been 
 seized, but he now sends his son, who is as zealous as him- 
 self, to Spain through France. The draft in Spanish was, of 
 course, taken from the prisoner when he was transferred to 
 the Tower, and is now in the Record Office. — Flanders Corre- 
 spondence, iii. loi. 
 
350 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 his brother, had in February, 1578, cast all considera- 
 tions to the winds, had fortified himself in Namur, and 
 had defied the States to do their worst. Philip, by the 
 rash impetuosity of his brother, thus found it necessary 
 to fight not only for the maintenance of orthodoxy in 
 his Netherlands dominions, but for his sovereignty, 
 The Archduke Mathias, one of his own kin, had been 
 invited by the Flemings to accept the Catholic Crown 
 of Flanders, and on his failure to unite the country, 
 Alen9on, the French Prince, had bidden for the prize. 
 If Elizabeth could be won over by Orange to help or 
 co-operate with the French in Flanders, then nothing 
 could save Philip's sovereignty ; and so, until the 
 great Alexander Farnese, Don Juan's successor, with 
 warcraft and diplomacy combined, was able gradually 
 to separate the Catholic Flemings from the Protestant 
 Dutchmen, it behoved Philip at any sacrifice to win 
 again the good graces of Elizabeth, to arouse her 
 jealousy of French interference in Flanders, and hold 
 her, notwithstanding all that had passed, to the tra- 
 ditional alliance with his House with the ancient 
 object. Nor was Elizabeth loath to meet her brother- 
 in-law half-way this time, for a French domination in 
 Flanders she could never allow, and whilst on the one 
 hand she conjured the danger by befooling Alen^on 
 into the firm belief that she would marry him if he 
 would obey her, on the other she held out her hand 
 to Philip. Wilkes, the Clerk of the Privy Council, 
 was sent off to Spain to vindicate the Queen's action 
 in Flanders : to say how hard she had tried to bring 
 about peace, notwithstanding Don Juan's impractic- 
 ability, to beg for Don Juan's recall, ^ and to urge that 
 
 ^ Her great complaint against Don Juan is founded on his 
 plots with Mary Stuart, as disclosed by the intercepted letters 
 
THE MISSION OF MENDOZA 351 
 
 some sort of peace should be brought about with the 
 States on the basis that Don Juan had violated, faiHng 
 which she will be obliged, as before, to aid those who 
 are battlinor for freedom of conscience. 
 
 o 
 
 It was a bitter pill for Philip that he should have 
 to brook Elizabeth's interference between his rebel 
 subjects and himself, and he treated Wilkes in very 
 high and mighty fashion, on the pretext that his rank 
 was inadequate for such a mission. But he made 
 amends by sending to England, hard upon Wilkes' 
 heels, a scion of one of the noblest houses in Spain 
 as his ambassador. Soldier, author, diplomatist, and 
 courtier, Don Bernardino de Mendoza, a man with the 
 pride of Lucifer and the intolerance of St. Dominic, 
 was entrusted with a mission of humility to the Queen 
 of all the "heretics." No apology had ever been sent 
 by Elizabeth for the expulsion of de Spes, or for the 
 seizure of the treasure ; Guaras was a close prisoner, 
 daily threatened with torture, and his claim to diplo- 
 matic privilege laughed at ; yet the King of Spain 
 was obliged to swallow his pride, and send an 
 ambassador who was almost a suppliant to beg 
 Elizabeth not to help his revolted subjects. 
 
 The change of position between the two sovereigns 
 since the beginning of the Queen's reign is nowhere 
 so clearly seen as by a comparison of the instructions 
 of Mendoza with the attitude of Feria and his master, 
 described in the earlier pages of the present volume. 
 Mendoza's mission was piteously apologetic. Don 
 
 of his secretary, Escobedo. " Not that she is afraid of him, 
 but she does not wish knowingly to foster a serpent in her 
 bosom. If the King asks for proof, let him read Escobedo's 
 letters set down in the book above mentioned, and consider 
 his practices through his agents with her enemy the Queen of 
 Scots." — Mr. Wilkes' instructions, Foreign Calendar, 1577-78. 
 
352 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 Juan and the Spanish troops should be withdrawn. It 
 was all a mistake about the abrogation of the edict of 
 toleration. The States should have all they demanded 
 if they would only be loyal and Catholic, and Eliza- 
 beth was appealed to earnestly not to aid rebellion in 
 her good brother's States. Mendoza was directed to 
 "endeavour to keep her in a good humour, and con- 
 vinced of our friendship, banishing the distrust of us 
 which she now appears to entertain, and for which 
 we have given her no good cause." The English 
 ministers were all to be heavily bribed, and at any 
 cost, the new ambassador was instructed, English 
 neutrality was to be secured. 
 
 Mendoza passed through Paris on his way to 
 England in February, and found the French Court 
 in dismay. Young Alen^on had escaped his brother's 
 vigilance, and, with a force of Huguenots and German 
 mercenaries, was on the Flemish frontier in full 
 negotiation with the Prince of Orange and the Pro- 
 testants to assume the sovereignty as a rival to 
 Mathias, the nominee of the Catholics. Don Juan 
 had just won the battle of Gembloux against the 
 united rebel States, and was known to be intriguing 
 with the Guises against Elizabeth, though not, as was 
 thought in England, with Philip's connivance ; and 
 the Queen of England found herself in perplexity 
 between two fires. The Marquis d'Havrey, the 
 Flemish Catholic noble representing the States, was 
 assuring her that unless she sent an army over at 
 once, under Leicester or his brother, to help them, 
 they must hand themselves over to Alen9on and the 
 Frenchmen, which she was determined to prevent, 
 cost what it might ; ^ whilst, on the other hand, she 
 
 * In May, 1578, she sent Walsingham and Cobham to Orange to 
 warn him against the French connection, and to Don Juan, to 
 
ELIZABETH'S PROBLEMS 353 
 
 was told from all quarters that the Kings of Spain 
 and France, with the Pope, Don Juan, and the Guises, 
 were all united and determined to crush her for once 
 and for all. Her problem was how to save Orange 
 and the Protestants in Holland from being over- 
 whelmed, without dragging England into a war with 
 Philip ; to prevent the French, even Huguenots, from 
 gaining a footing in the Low Countries, and to avert 
 a Catholic coalition against her. By what consum- 
 mate diplomacy she contrived to attain her ends will 
 be seen in the next chapter, which recounts her 
 intercourse with Bernardino de Mendoza as Philip's 
 ambassador. 
 
 say that if the French entered Flanders she would send 20,000 
 men to help the Spaniards, and if they were not enough, every 
 man in her country should go. — Spanish Calendar, vol. iii. 
 
 AA 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 1578-1584 
 
 Mendoza and Elizabeth — His haughty behaviour — The French in 
 Flanders — Elizabeth's approaches to Philip — The Spanish designs on 
 Portugal — Renewed plots of Mary Stuart — Appeals to Philip to aid her 
 in England — Philip's attitude towards Guisan co-operation with him 
 in Britain — The Jesuit mission — Mendoza and the Catholic plot in Scot- 
 land — Elizabeth aids the Portuguese pretender — Anger of Mendoza — 
 His altercation with Elizabeth — Progress of the plots — Collapse of 
 Lennox — The interference of Guise in the plans — The jealousy between 
 English Catholic exiles and the Scots — Development of the Anglo- 
 Spanish plans and intended exclusion of Guise — Arrest of Francis 
 Throckmorton — Discovery of the plot — Expulsion of Mendoza — Philip 
 faces the inevitable and slowly prepares for a war of invasion 
 
 ON the 1 6th March, 1578, Mendoza sat on a 
 low stool by Elizabeth's side, under the 
 canopy in the Palace of Greenwich. He 
 was a man already of mature age, of stately port, 
 strong and masterful as became a dashing cavalry 
 leader, but he spoke on this occasion, his first formal 
 audience of Elizabeth, in silken tones, as he tried 
 his best to excuse Don Juan's breach of faith with 
 the States. The Queen, on her side, had nothing 
 but complaints and protests. Her aim was to be 
 made a party to the new pacification, either as 
 arbitrator or mediator, because, she said, that she 
 would have to provide the financial guarantee offered 
 by the States. But it was not Philip's intention to 
 
 allow her thus to come between him and his subjects, 
 
 354 
 
ELIZABETH AND MENDOZA 355 
 
 and this point was always evaded, cleverly as she 
 urged it. But upon the main point she and Mendoza 
 soon agreed. If Philip would make the concessions 
 to the States that he now promised, and they refused 
 to submit, she herself would help to punish them ; and 
 as for the French, she would take care they were 
 never masters of Flanders, with or without Don Juan. 
 It was noticed that as soon as the Queen said that she 
 would help to punish the States if they did not accept 
 the terms promised by Philip, Leicester hurriedly left 
 the chamber, it was whispered to write by special 
 courier to Flanders that Havrey should at once 
 return to England and represent the rebel view of 
 the situation. 
 
 *' I am glad to see you again," ''■ said the Queen, 
 after the business talk was finished, "although I 
 have been told that the real object of your coming 
 is to plan many things to my injury ; but even if 
 you were not a minister of my good brother, I do 
 not think that you would do me much harm." Need- 
 less to say, Mendoza loudly proclaimed his devotion 
 to her, and for a time all went harmoniously between 
 them. Alen9on from the frontier sent to Elizabeth 
 lovelorn epistles of devotion, which she looked at 
 for a time with some distrust, believing that this 
 might be a trap whereby the French, as a nation, 
 were endeavouring to gain a footing in Flanders to 
 her prejudice. Of one thing she was quite deter- 
 mined, namely, that for every Frenchman who entered 
 Flanders an Englishman should enter too ; and to 
 all Mendoza's remonstrances at the aid in men and 
 
 ^ Mendoza had come to England some years previously, on 
 one of the many abortive attempts to settle the question of the 
 
 seizures. 
 
356 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 money that constantly flowed over to the Nether- 
 lands, Elizabeth had the answer ready that they 
 went as much in Philip's interest as her own, to 
 prevent the country from falling into the hands of 
 the French. To Orange, whom she constantly up- 
 braided for welcoming French aid, her scolding 
 reproaches meant little, for, as he said, he cared 
 not whence came the help by means of which he 
 could fight the Spaniards, and if he obtained, as he 
 did, forces from Alen9on and from Elizabeth too, 
 he was willing to put up with the Englishwoman's 
 hard words. 
 
 She did not mince matters with Mendoza, either. 
 *' By God ! " she shouted, " if the edict of toleration is 
 not re-granted to the States I will help them against 
 you whilst I have a man left in England." Mendoza 
 drily remarked that she was helping them pretty effec- 
 tually already, " and that, grateful as I was for her 
 kindness to me, I could not help telling her that 
 your Majesty had very long arms, and that if need 
 arose their strength would be felt in any country 
 upon which they were placed. She swallowed 
 this," says Mendoza, "with rather a wry face, and 
 said she did not consider these people to be rebels, 
 as they were satisfied with what your Majesty had 
 granted to them before, and she would not allow 
 either the French to set foot in the States nor the 
 Spaniards to oppress them." Thus surely but slowly 
 Elizabeth worked her way ; but with the inevitable 
 consequence of convincing Mendoza, as all other 
 Spanish ambassadors in turn had been convinced, 
 that force against Elizabeth was their only remedy, 
 since in diplomacy she was more than a match for 
 the cast-iron methods of their master. 
 
THE CASE OF GUARAS 357 
 
 To Mendoza's intercession for the unhappy Guaras, 
 with whom the new ambassador had Httle sympathy 
 as a plebeian and bungler in State affairs, Elizabeth 
 replied angrily that if he had been a subject of any 
 other King but Philip she would have hanged him 
 long ago, as he had been plotting against her with 
 the Queen of Scots and English rebels. She would 
 get rid of him, she said, by and by, when she had 
 squeezed some more information from him. Once, 
 in June, 1578, Guaras was brought out of prison 
 and told by the Council that he would have to leave 
 the country in ten days ; but, instead of accepting 
 the decision humbly, he raised an altercation, again 
 claiming diplomatic privilege, with the result that 
 he was promptly sent to solitary confinement in the 
 Tower again, though both Mendoza and Don Juan 
 had received money from Spain to be spent in bribes 
 for his help and defence.'' 
 
 ^ The unhappy Guaras remained in prison, treated with the 
 greatest severity, until May, 1579. Mendoza appears to have 
 pressed his case rather languidly, unwilling to embitter national 
 relations further for the sake of so plebeian and insignificant a 
 person as Guaras. A wealthy brother of the latter, named 
 Gombal de Guaras, came to London early in 1579 to try 
 whether bribery could release the prisoner. Mendoza was 
 furiously angry at this interference, and had nothing but 
 scorn for GombaFs boastful tactics on 'Change. Gombal spent 
 large sums of money to forward the release, and notwithstand- 
 ing Mendoza's assertion that Guaras would have been released 
 earlier but for his brother's boasts and turbulence it is doubtful 
 whether the poor man would ever have got out at all without 
 this expenditure. All sorts of hard conditions were imposed 
 upon Guaras on his release. All his debts had to be paid and 
 his maintenance in prison ; he had to leave England at once 
 without communicating with anybody, and was never again to 
 return. He left England a ruined man, and died in 1584 at his 
 birthplace, Tarrazona, and later his heirs prayed unsuccessfully 
 
358 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 Generally speaking, the parties in Elizabeth's Court 
 were now sharply divided in policy, and Mendoza 
 promptly found who were his friends and who his 
 foes. Cecil and Sussex, particularly, with Controller 
 Crofts in a humbler way, were opposed to the open 
 provocation of Spain by the support of the Flemish 
 rebels ; Leicester and Walsingham, whom Mendoza 
 rarely mentions without the epithet "devilish heretic," 
 being determined, if possible, to bring matters to a 
 crisis between Elizabeth and Philip whilst the war 
 in the Netherlands paralysed the latter. Elizabeth 
 herself leant now to one side, now to another, always 
 balancing counsel against counsel. How suddenly 
 and convincingly she could change is seen in her 
 attitude towards Mendoza directly she heard that 
 AleuQon and his French force, mainly Huguenots, 
 had crossed the frontier into Flanders early in July, 
 1578, at the request of the States, and had thrown 
 themselves into Mons. Alencon had long been trying 
 to convince the Queen that upon her alone, and not 
 upon his brother the King of France, would he 
 depend in everything, and his professions of love 
 for her were unabated, but this alarmed her. 
 
 To some extent her distrust of Alengon had been 
 overcome of late, particularly as a large number of 
 English troops and Germans in her pay were in 
 Flanders as an antidote to him ; but only a few 
 days after the startling news of Alen9on 's invasion 
 reached England, Mendoza writes (19th July, 1578): 
 "The Queen has been very suspicious of me hither- 
 to, as she has been assured that I had come to 
 
 for repayment of the money he had disbursed in England. — 
 Spanish Calendar, vol. ii., and Espaiioles e Ingleses en el Siglo 
 XVI., por Martin Hume (Madrid, 1903). 
 
ELIZABETH FEIGNS FRIENDSHIP 359 
 
 perform I know not what, nor what bad office; but 
 she is beginning to be undeceived, and is turning 
 her eyes now more towards his Majesty. Some of 
 the ministers, too, have begun to get friendly with 
 me, and I can assure you [Zayas] that if his Majesty 
 wishes to retain their goodwill, I see a way of doing 
 it. . . . God knows the trouble I have had in getting 
 her and her ministers so far, as they always want to 
 see something substantial beforehand,^ this being the 
 natural character of the people. I am told by a 
 person in the Palace that, even in the matter of 
 giving me audience readily, the Queen has been 
 considerably influenced by the presents of gloves 
 and perfumes I gave her when I arrived." 
 
 It is true that Elizabeth was a glutton for presents, 
 and her Councillors had itching palms for Spanish gold, 
 but there were other reasons just then besides self- 
 interest that made them smile upon Philip's ambas- 
 sador. Not only was there a French army on Flemish 
 soil, but from all sides there came to England 
 alarming news of some great Catholic combination 
 against Elizabeth ; the Spaniards were known to be 
 supporting the Desmond rebellion in Ireland; 2 and 
 at a day's notice, until she had got Alengon com- 
 pletely under her thumb by the farcical marriage 
 
 ^ Philip, in reply to the suggestion to bribe the English 
 ministers, orders Mendoza to send a schedule of the sums to 
 be paid to each. When he has quite satisfied himself that 
 they will have value for the money the latter shall be sent. 
 " It is necessary, however, that before doing anything, we should 
 have this information, so as not to cast our seed on stony ground, 
 nor give money to people who will cheat us and laugh at us." 
 
 ^ The reason given by Elizabeth for sending Guaras back to 
 prison was that she had heard anew that he had been serving as 
 the agent of the Irish rebels. 
 
36o TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 negotiations with him personally, she thought fit to 
 smile upon Mendoza, and treat the moderate English 
 Catholics with unwonted mildness. " I never see the 
 Queen now," writes Mendoza in September, 1578, 
 " without her telling me how glad she is for me to 
 be here. She gives me audience freely, and, thank 
 God ! I have her now in an excellent humour, whilst 
 the Englishmen in general are not bad friends with 
 me, as they think I shall not do anything against 
 them in case of a disturbance." 
 
 On another occasion in September, 1578, when 
 Elizabeth was sounding Mendoza about sending an 
 English ambassador to Spain, she said to him : "If 
 you were a knave, you should not have stayed here 
 so long; ... if you had been here years ago, things 
 would not have reached such a condition as they did, 
 by reason of Don Gerau de Spes"; and when he 
 went to see her at Richmond on her return from an 
 autumn progress, she became quite coquettish with 
 him. She thought, she said, he must have run away 
 and left her it was so long since she had seen him ; 
 and, though she was somewhat aggrieved that she 
 was to have no part in the pending peace negotia- 
 tions between Philip and the Flemings, she told him 
 that "she liked his manner of procedure." " I did not 
 inspire her with suspicion ; and if a favourable peace 
 was made in the Netherlands by any means, she was 
 quite content not to have been a mediator, being quite 
 satisfied with my explanations." Then, turning to 
 him, she broached the subject really uppermost in her 
 mind, namely, her much-talked-of marriage with the 
 young French Prince. Did Mendoza think she ought 
 to marry him ? The courtly ambassador was sure she 
 would act wisely in any case; but he knew, as she 
 
THE POSITION NORMAL AGAIN 361 
 
 did, that all the French wished was to prevent her 
 prosperity and quietude. " I hope when you see the 
 end you will approve of it," said Elizabeth, doubtless 
 smiling in her sleeve ; for she alone knew what she 
 intended the end to be, though Philip himself shrewdly 
 guessed that " it was all pastime, and she would never 
 marry any man." 
 
 But through all this amiability to the Spaniard, 
 English aid still found its way abundantly across the 
 North Sea to the Protestants in arms ; and Hans 
 Casinir, with 20,000 soldiers, was in Elizabeth's pay 
 in the States. Philip, much as his ambassador might 
 humour Elizabeth and bribe her ministers, was no 
 nearer than before to the complete control of English 
 policy, which alone would serve his purpose. Don 
 Juan had died brokenhearted at his miserable failure 
 on ist October, and this made matters somewhat easier 
 for his brother Philip, as it removed the principal 
 obstacle to the reconciliation of the Catholic Flemings 
 to the Spanish rule. The absolute dissociation of the 
 King of France from his brother Alen^on's eccentric 
 vagaries in Flanders, and Elizabeth's clever beguile- 
 ment of the young man, also satisfied the King of 
 Spain that once more affairs were reverting to the 
 old groove, in which he would have against him not 
 Catholics, but only the Protestant elements of which 
 Elizabeth was the main supporter. 
 
 Again, therefore, he was able to face the problem 
 of his "good sister's" overthrow. All his attempts 
 previously in this direction had been disastrous for 
 his instruments and discomfiting for himself. He 
 had subsidised Mary Stuart, before and since her 
 incarceration ; he had ineffectively supported the 
 English Catholics to rebel ; he had consented to 
 
362 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 Elizabeth's murder preparatory to his armed interven- 
 tion in England; he had countenanced Stukeley's wild 
 plans to capture Ireland, and supported the Desmond 
 disaffection in Munster ; he had tried to bring Eliza- 
 beth to her knees by stopping trade, with the result 
 of nearly ruining his own subjects — but all these 
 means had failed. Philip's advisers for twenty years 
 had never ceased to assure him that he must boldly 
 carry the war into his enemy's camp if he would 
 succeed — that to win all he must risk something ; 
 but he had gone on still believing in the infallibility 
 of his own methods, which always aimed at binding 
 others whilst himself remaining vaguely pledged or 
 not pledged at all. Philip would only play when he 
 held all the winning cards, and, much as his ambas- 
 sadors urged upon him a policy of force towards his 
 sister-in-law, he was determined to wait until Fate had 
 dealt them to him. 
 
 In August, 1578, only a few weeks before the 
 death of Don Juan relieved him from his worst 
 dilemma in Catholic Flanders, his rash young nephew, 
 King Sebastian of Portugal, was killed in battle in 
 Morocco. His heir was the old childless Cardinal 
 Don Henrique, and amongst the many subsequent 
 claimants Philip was the strongest. With the added 
 power and great wealth of Portugal, the King of 
 Spain might conquer heresy yet by force, and defy 
 both England and France if needs be, for, with the 
 harbours of Spain, Portugal, and the Islands closed 
 to them, French and English ships would be unable 
 to sail far from their own shores. The danger at 
 once drew Catharine and Elizabeth together, but 
 they could do nothing effectual yet, and all Philip's 
 plans were laid carefully to seize the throne of 
 
NEW PLOTS AGAINST ELIZABETH 363 
 
 Portugal when the aged king should die. It was 
 necessary, amongst other things, for him to provide 
 that both Elizabeth and Catharine, when that event 
 happened, should have their hands full at home, and 
 the effect of his manoeuvres is noticeable almost 
 immediately. 
 
 Mendoza had been instructed to use the greatest 
 caution in all approaches to him on behalf of the 
 imprisoned Mary Stuart; but in January, 1579, 
 Zayas wrote to him, saying that negotiations had 
 been opened by Beton, Archbishop of Glasgow, 
 Mary's ambassador in Paris, and the Spanish am- 
 bassador there. " If," he said, " Philip would provide 
 enough money to raise four thousand troops, great 
 things might be done for her and for the Catholic re- 
 ligion. His Majesty is very well disposed towards it ; 
 but nothing, as yet, has been decided, because, in good 
 truth, the matter could only be undertaken on very 
 safe grounds, and with the assurance that the effect 
 would be produced, as otherwise it would be oleum 
 et operain perde7''e. Send us your opinion on it." ^ 
 The French intrigues in Scotland at this period (1579) 
 had somewhat aroused the apprehensions both of 
 Philip and Elizabeth, for Guise had sent young 
 Lennox d'Aubigny, the Franco- Scot Stuart, to woo 
 his cousin James, and he had succeeded beyond the 
 wildest expectations. Philip was willing enough to 
 foster Guise's ambitions to the extent of setting 
 him against Catharine and the Huguenots; but any 
 attempt at Guisan interference in Great Britain 
 without his direction always alarmed him, so Men- 
 doza lost no opportunity of whispering to Elizabeth 
 distrust of French aims in Scotland. 
 ' Spanish Calendar, vol, ii. 
 
364 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 At the same time, still further to divert Elizabeth 
 from interfering with his Portuguese plans, Philip 
 allowed himself to be persuaded to help James Fitz- 
 maurice and the Pope's Nuncio, Dr. Sanders, to 
 land a small Spanish and Italian force in Ireland in 
 the summer of 1579. The expedition was routed and 
 pursued. Dr. Sanders dying miserably of want and 
 exposure ; but when heartrending appeals from the 
 Irish were sent to Philip for further aid, he dared 
 not make open war upon England for their sake — 
 that was no part of his plan yet. All he could con- 
 sent to do was to join with the Pope in defraying 
 the expenses of a formidable expedition, not under 
 the Spanish but the Papal flag, sailing from a Spanish 
 port, with eight thousand soldiers to invade Ireland, 
 and hold the Catholic West for the Desmonds. The 
 affair was mismanaged, and all the invaders were 
 slaughtered at Smerwick, Dingle Bay (November, 
 1580); but Mendoza never heard the last of it 
 from Elizabeth, who in future excused all her inter- 
 ference in Flanders by pointing to this kind act of 
 her "good brother." It was a hint to Elizabeth 
 that she was vulnerable, not only in Scotland 
 by French intrigue, but in Ireland also, and that 
 it behoved her to look to her own safety before 
 attacking others. 
 
 Mendoza had much cold water to throw upon the 
 suggestion of Beton and the Spanish ambassador in 
 Paris (with whom he was at feud) as to the subsidising 
 of a rising of Catholics in favour of Mary Stuart. He, 
 true Spaniard as he was, looked askance at any plan 
 of the sort in which a Frenchman had a part. But 
 early in 1580 the matter entered a new phase. Eliza- 
 beth, for the first time in her reign, found herself 
 
MARY STUART AND PHILIP 365 
 
 unpopular, in consequence of the general belief that 
 she really intended to marry the young French Prince ; 
 the great Jesuit propaganda was busily making ready 
 to spread through England the young missionaries, 
 who in the true spirit of martyrdom had pledged their 
 lives to bring back England and Scotland to the Faith ; 
 the power of Morton in Scotland was waning fast, 
 and Lennox was in the ascendant. Everywhere the 
 Catholic cause had taken new hope, thanks in great 
 measure to the encouragement of Philip, in order that 
 when the time came he might have a free hand in 
 Portugal. 
 
 But whilst the King of Spain was quite ready to 
 utilise these priestly and other auxiliaries for his ends, 
 though most of them had no idea that politics had any 
 part in their propaganda, he himself would make no 
 move to capture England until he knew that he, and 
 no one else, would enjoy the benefit of success if 
 success were attained. So long as the Pope and Guise 
 were the leaders of the movement, Philip gave it his 
 blessing but no more, and on the nth February, 1580, 
 the old Archbishop of Glasgow, in Paris, seeing this, 
 visited Vargas Mexia, the Spanish ambassador, and 
 made a distinct step in advance. The Duke of Guise and 
 he, he said, had persuaded Mary Stuart to place herself 
 without reserve in the hands of his Catholic Majesty ; 
 and the Archbishop produced a letter from Mary to 
 that effect, saying that she had arranged for her son 
 to be captured and sent to Spain, that Philip might 
 marry him to his liking. Guise himself came secretly 
 to Vargas Mexia soon afterwards, and told him that 
 he had everything arranged now by the aid of the 
 Scottish Catholics to overthrow Elizabeth, and if 
 Philip would subsidise the affair, he (Guise) would 
 
366 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 undertake to prevent any French national interference.^ 
 As for Mary herself, said the Archbishop, '' she was 
 determined not to leave her prison until she left it to 
 be Queen of England." Philip's attitude changed at 
 once on hearing this ; and when a Catholic Scot, 
 Fernihurst, was sent to Madrid by the party, he gave 
 him a cordial reply, leaving in Mary's hands the 
 arrangement for the capture and deportation of James. 
 But before anything could be done, the overthrow of 
 Morton in Scotland and the rise of Catholic Lennox 
 d'Aubigny to supreme power gave a far wider scope 
 to the plan. 
 
 The great conspiracy of 1569-70 against Elizabeth 
 had failed, owing to lack of complete co-operation of 
 the various Catholic elements : the present attempt 
 
 ^ Vargas Mexia at once saw the immense importance of this 
 declaration and wrote to Philip (13th February) : " Such is the 
 present condition of England, with signs of revolt everywhere, 
 the Queen in alarm, the Catholic party numerous, the serious 
 events in Ireland, and the distrust aroused by your Majesty's 
 fleet, that I really believe that if so much as a cat moved, the 
 whole edifice would crumble down in three days beyond repair. 
 If your Majesty had England and Scotland attached to you, 
 directly or indirectly, you might consider the States of Flanders 
 conquered, in which case you could lay down the law for the 
 whole world." The adhesion of Guise as Philip's servant made 
 all the difference. — Spanish Calendar, vol. iii. It was certainly 
 not the case that Guise and Beton had persuaded Mary to take 
 this course. It is far more likely that she persuaded them, as 
 she had seen for many years, as has been proved in the 
 chapters of this book, that her only hope of eifectively estab- 
 lishing her claim was to obtain Spanish support. Up to this 
 time the Guises had rather obstructed this than otherwise, as 
 they looked to Mary's elevation to serve their own ambitions, 
 which wQve not identical with those of Philip. The Duke of 
 Guise in question was Mary's first cousin, Henry of Lorraine, 
 aged at this time thirty years. 
 
THE COMING OF THE JESUITS 367 
 
 seemed to promise an organisation of greater ramifica- 
 tions and more intimate combination. This was owing 
 in great part to a new feature now first introduced. 
 Those who watched the debarkation at Dover of the 
 passengers from a skiff that had arrived from Calais 
 on the 1 2th June, 1580, saw leap upon the shore a 
 swashbuckling young captain, such as many who 
 came from the Flemish war. He was a man of five- 
 and-thirty, clad in a buff military coat covered with 
 gold lace, and had a great, clanking rapier hung upon 
 his hip, whilst a fine feather flaunted in his wide- 
 brimmed hat. With him came a soldier-servant of 
 humbler mien, and, after being duly searched and 
 coming through the ordeal successfully, the two 
 travellers swaggered upon their way. ^ The captain 
 told the searcher who kindly procured him a horse 
 that a friend of his, an English jeweller living at St. 
 Omer, would follow him to England in a day or two. 
 The jeweller, Mr. Edmunds, duly came, and also went 
 on his road to Gravesend, and so by tilt-boat to 
 
 ^ If we are to believe Camden, who was a fellow-student of 
 Parsons' at Balliol, this guise was not altogether strange to him. 
 " He was," he says, " a violent, fierce-natured man of rough be- 
 haviour. . . . When he was young the fellow was much noted 
 for his singular impudency and disorder in apparel, going in great 
 barrel hose, as was the fashion of hacksters in those days, and draw- 
 ing also deep in a barrel of ale." Another contemporary of his, 
 Archbishop Abbot, who was a Fellow of Balliol, describes him 
 as being " a man wonderfully given to scoffing, and with that 
 bitterness which was the cause that none of the company loved 
 him." He was Bursar of Balliol — and of course a Protestant — 
 until 1573, when he got into trouble over his accounts, and 
 for this and other reasons he resigned his Fellowship. He 
 lived abroad thenceforward until he returned, as here described, 
 as Provincial of the Jesuits for England, having entered the 
 Society in 1575. 
 
368 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 London, there to be lost like his military forerunner in 
 the crowds of the capital. The captain came not to 
 rest from the wars against the Spaniards in Flanders, 
 but to conquer England again for the Faith, for he was 
 Father Robert Parsons the Jesuit, and the jeweller 
 Edmunds, who followed, sold, not jewels alone, but his 
 own life for the task to which he had been dedicated 
 by the Church, for he was Edmund Campion. 
 
 These three young men were but the advance guard 
 of an army of Jesuit missionaries who soon flocked 
 over from the seminaries of Rheims and Rome to 
 strengthen the resistance of the sorely tried Catholics 
 of England and Scotland. Wherever these zealous 
 clerics reached, the power of Elizabeth over her subjects 
 was weakened. There were many Catholics who had 
 grown tired of persecution, and were willing to 
 purchase peace by open compliance with the Queen's 
 laws. More there were who would have been fully 
 content with even limited toleration for their observ- 
 ance. But to these fiery young spirits toleration was 
 a more deadly blow than persecution, and although up 
 to this time the secular priests had been willing to 
 concede to Catholics some appearance of outward 
 conformity, the attendance at Protestant service was 
 now forbidden to those of the old Faith. The result 
 was almost at once a recrudescence of the persecutions 
 apfainst Catholics in a crueller form than ever, with the 
 inevitable result of raising a stronger and more 
 fanatical religious spirit than had existed amongst the 
 Catholics in England since the early days of Eliza- 
 beth's reign. 
 
 Needless to say, Mendoza soon got into touch with 
 the new fighting element in the struggle against 
 Elizabeth. The ambassador's feigned politeness 
 
ROBERT PARSONS, S.J. 
 1546-1610 
 
MENDOZA GROWS VIOLENT 369 
 
 towards Elizabeth had been strained almost to break- 
 ing point by the news of Drake's terrible depredations 
 in the Pacific ; and he had already fallen in his corre- 
 spondence with his master into the same heated tone 
 of indignation as his predecessors had done, urging 
 the King to prompt reprisals upon these " insolent 
 heretics." When Drake himself arrived with his vast 
 booty, and was effusively received by the Queen, 
 Mendoza's angry violence of word, and his open 
 threats, earned for him exclusion from the Queen's 
 presence. He was offered, indeed, a bribe of 50,000 
 crowns to moderate his tone, but he replied in a rage, 
 "that he would pay more than that sum himself to 
 punish so great a thief as Drake." ^ 
 
 Almost daily Mendoza's indignation v/ith Elizabeth 
 became more heated. Amongst other causes of com- 
 plaint was one that for the first time brought him into 
 an acrimonious squabble with Elizabeth herself, though 
 the occasion was a small one. The ambassador had 
 been trapped into one of the usual bogus plots, 
 ostensibly to betray Flushing, but really to cheat and 
 betray him, and he had paid a large sum of money 
 and given much information to certain Dutchmen for 
 the purpose. One of the conspirators had left his son, 
 a child, in Mendoza's hands as a hostage, and when 
 the fraud was complete, on the 4th June, 1581, during 
 the ambassador's absence, his house in the Strand was 
 forcibly entered by London constables accompanied 
 by the Secretary of the Prince of Orange, and the 
 young hostage was taken from the custody of the 
 Spaniards. The household drew their swords and 
 attacked the authorities, but before the affray had 
 proceeded far the ambassador himself appeared. 
 ^ Spanish Calendar, vol. iii. 
 
 BB 
 
370 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 Learning that the officers were acting under the 
 authority of the Council, he ordered his servants to 
 put up their weapons and angrily protested against 
 this violation of his domicile. 
 
 Mendoza had avoided appearing at Court during 
 the warm philandering with Alen9on and the French 
 that was going on, fearing that Elizabeth might, with 
 her usual artfulness, get better terms from the French 
 by pretending that the Spaniards were seeking her. 
 But this new insult overcame all other considerations. 
 In a violent temper Mendoza demanded immediate 
 reparation from the Queen. She must receive him 
 at once, he said, and apologise, or he would leave the 
 country and lay the matter before his master for 
 redress. Elizabeth was anxious not to have an alter- 
 cation with him whilst the special French embassy as 
 well as Alen^on's '^nignons filled her Court, and by 
 flattery and cajolery she managed to defer the un- 
 pleasant interview until the French embassy had gone. 
 On the 17th June, Elizabeth stood in the gallery of 
 Whitehall overlooking the river, when Mendoza, who 
 had landed at the private stairs, was led to her by 
 Hatton, the captain of the guard. Fearing that the 
 Spaniard might use angry words, she took him into a 
 window embrasure out of earshot of the only two 
 persons in the gallery, Sussex and Hatton, and at 
 once anticipated him by complaining bitterly that 
 King Philip had helped these knaves of Irish rebels 
 by sending a large body of soldiers to them. Mendoza 
 said he must leave that subject for another time, and 
 launched into angry invective of the treatment to 
 which he had been subjected. He had, he said, been 
 denied rights recognised even amongst savages to the 
 ambassadors of kings. He had expected to hear that 
 
MENDOZA LOSES HIS TEMPER 371 
 
 she had hanged the constables the next morning ; but 
 as she had not done so, he supposed they had told 
 the truth when they said they acted in her name. 
 
 Calling Sussex and Leicester to her, she ordered 
 that inquiry should be made in the matter, and then 
 once more started her Irish grievance, again forcing 
 Mendoza to take the defensive. He made the best 
 of matters, and retorted with Drake's plunder and her 
 constant aid to the Netherlanders, ending by a scarcely 
 veiled threat that unless she mended her behaviour 
 towards his master, especially in her attitude towards 
 Portugal, his vengeance would fall upon her. Elizabeth 
 was rather cowed at this, and said she did not want to 
 quarrel with her good brother ; the King of France 
 had done more harm in the matter of Portugal than 
 she had. To this Mendoza retorted curtlythat if the 
 King of France did evil that was no reason why she 
 should. Mendoza afterwards snubbed and hectored 
 Cecil and the Council, and left the Palace in no very 
 pacific frame of mind. "If I had not shown spirit," 
 he wrote to the King, in giving him an account of the 
 interview, " which is the thing that moves the Queen 
 and her ministers most, such is their insolence that 
 probably I should never have been able to get confer- 
 ence with them. This attitude alone has enabled me 
 to hold my own with them until now, thus gaining 
 time for matters to develop themselves."^ Notwith- 
 
 ^ A few months later, when Mendoza sought audience of the 
 Queen, to remonstrate by Phihp's orders with her about her aid 
 to Don Antonio, Leicester and Hatton strongly opposed an 
 audience being granted, whilst Cecil, who always advocated a 
 conciliatory course with Spain, insisted upon Mendoza being 
 received. " Leicester, whilst he was at supper lately, said that 
 he would either turn me out of here or lose his life and property 
 in the attempt ; whilst Hatton, in the presence chamber in the 
 
372 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 standing his self-satisfaction, it is clear that Mendoza 
 got the worst of the interview with the Queen, for 
 although she was compliant on the unimportant point 
 of the violation of domicile, the boy was never 
 restored, and she assumed the position of the injured 
 party about Ireland, as well as preventing Mendoza 
 from making a formal reclamation about Drake's 
 plunder. 
 
 But soon there came a new grievance to ex- 
 acerbate the irritation of the Spaniards. Alba had 
 been summoned from his retirement to conquer 
 Portugal for Philip on the death of the old Cardinal 
 King. The many claimants to the Crown were 
 mostly timid and unready, whilst Philip's power was irre- 
 sistible, and Alba marched through Portugal, with the 
 King in his wake, brushing aside such slight attempts 
 as were made to stay him in the interests of the only 
 Portuguese claimant who showed fight at all — the 
 doubtfully legitimate Don Antonio, Prior of Ocrato, 
 who had at first been accepted by his countrymen as 
 their Sovereign. He had fled before Alba's advance, 
 and had been a fugitive for months past — some said 
 in Brazil, some in Azores, and some in France. 
 Wherever he was, he carried with him jewels of 
 inestimable value, and such a man in the hands of 
 Philip's enemies might be made a powerful weapon 
 
 hearing of the household, cried that he would do his best to get 
 me expelled, for the Queen trembled every time I asked for 
 audience. When he was asked by a friend whether this was 
 because I spoke rudely to her, he replied : No, it was not that, 
 for no ambassador was more courteous and respectful, but I 
 communicated things in such a way that she trembled when she 
 heard me." — Mendoza to the King, ist October, 1581, Spanish 
 Calendar, vol. iii. 
 
DON ANTONIO IN ENGLAND 373 
 
 against the King of Spain. Rumour was busy as to 
 Don Antonio's movements, and Mendoza's spies had 
 much to tell, most of which was untrue. But it was 
 noticed at the end of June, 1581, that Elizabeth's 
 Portuguese-Jew physician, Lopez, was very busy and 
 important, posting backwards and forwards between 
 London and Dover, and soon Mendoza learnt that a 
 party of Portuguese had landed there, amongst whom 
 one was treated with marked respect and considera- 
 tion. He was described as being " under the middle 
 height, very dark and thin, with a spare face, a 
 grizzled beard, and greenish-grey eyes." 
 
 This man Mendoza, from the description, at once 
 recognised as Don Antonio, the so-called King of 
 Portugal, proclaimed by Philip a rebel with a heavy 
 price upon his head. Before even he had had 
 time to verify his suspicions, Mendoza peremptorily 
 demanded audience of Elizabeth to complain of her 
 thus sheltering the Pretender. The Queen's ministers, 
 through the Earl of Sussex, flatly refused him access 
 to their mistress for any such purpose unless he 
 brought fresh special letters from Philip ; and as, he 
 says, he was determined to have no more pros and cons 
 with intermediaries who simply talk nonsense and then 
 repudiate what they say, blaming the messengers, he 
 wrote a haughty letter to Elizabeth herself, threaten- 
 ing to leave England instantly unless audience was 
 accorded to him. Elizabeth was hunting at Eltham 
 when the letter was handed to her, and as she read 
 it she changed countenance. Through Hatton, who 
 was by her side, she replied to the bearer, " that if 
 the ambassador, for reasons of health or other private 
 causes, wished for his passports he could have them ; 
 but that the Queen had not the slightest desire that 
 
374 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 he should leave her Court, or that she should break 
 with the King of Spain." 
 
 Two or three days afterwards, however, thanks 
 to Cecil, Mendoza was led up a secret stair into 
 the Queen's private chamber, where she was with 
 Leicester, Sussex, Hatton, and Walsingham. " I 
 suppose," began Elizabeth as soon as she saw 
 him, " you have come to give me some satisfaction 
 about Ireland." " That, your Majesty," he replied, 
 "as I told you before, is a matter concerning 
 the Pope, not my master." She had, he con- 
 tinued, refused to receive him for nearly a year, 
 pending her investigation of the case. Elizabeth 
 angrily swore that she had never sent him such a 
 message. Until he could bring her a fresh letter 
 from Philip excusing this Irish business, she would 
 have no more to say to him ; and she thought that 
 he had done his master a poor service in giving her 
 the answer he had done. " If I have done ill to my 
 master, madam," he replied, " I have a head to pay 
 for it ; and although as the King's minister I am 
 bound to render an account to him of my acts, I 
 thank God that He has granted me such a noble 
 ancestry as alone would prevent me from failing in 
 my duty to my Sovereign, if for no other reason but 
 to leave unsullied the scutcheon of Mendoza." ^ "She 
 screamed out louder than before at this, saying that I 
 was to blame for everything that had happened, to 
 which I replied smilingly that she was speaking as a 
 lady, those of her sex usually displaying most annoy- 
 ance at the things that were done in their interest. 
 It was no small service I had done her, I said, in 
 patiently awaiting her pleasure so long." 
 ^ Spanish Calendar, vol. iii. 
 
STRAINED RELATIONS 375 
 
 In the heated altercation that ensued, Mendoza 
 seized an opportunity of mentioning the real object 
 of his visit, namely, the arrival of Don Antonio. She 
 prevaricated for a long time, and finally retorted that 
 if Don Antonio was in England, the rebel Earl of 
 Westmorland was not only in King Philip's dominions 
 but enjoyed a pension from him. She had not made 
 up her mind yet, she said, whether she should help 
 the Portuguese or not, but she was determined not to 
 surrender any one to be killed ; and if she did not 
 choose to give him up it would not be she, but Philip, 
 who had first violated the old treaties. Upon this 
 Mendoza made a formal demand for the surrender 
 of Don Antonio in accordance with the international 
 agreement, and was curtly refused. 
 
 Thus every day the breach between Elizabeth and 
 her brother-in-law grew wider, and Mendoza followed 
 in the footsteps of de Spes and Guaras. Don Antonio 
 was welcomed at Court with royal honours, and was very 
 soon borrowing money on his jewels to fit out expedi- 
 tions to the Azores, which still held out in his favour. 
 The Queen herself blew hot and cold. If Antonio 
 succeeded in capturing the throne of Portugal again, 
 she wished him to be beholden to her for it and not 
 to the French, whilst she was determined not to be 
 drawn into open war with Philip for him unless she 
 could manoeuvre the King of France into the same 
 position. Philip wrote to Elizabeth himself, begging 
 her to expel or surrender the rebel Pretender, and 
 Mendoza continued to press her, often intemperately, 
 on the subject ; but she always countered with 
 Ireland, the refugee Desmonds, Ridolfi, and the 
 Earl of Westmorland ; and usually succeeded in 
 getting up a wrangle with the heated ambassador, 
 
Z1(^ TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 which placed him at a disadvantage. To prevent 
 Philip from proceeding to extremities against her, 
 and to keep the King of France from breaking 
 away, the marriage dealings with Alen9on were 
 carried by her to a point from which all observers 
 believed she could never extricate herself. But her 
 tactics, risky as they really were at this time, were 
 successful in their main object, namely, in weakening 
 Philip's power on every hand, and making it im- 
 practicable for him to avenge himself by force. 
 
 The English Catholic party had already felt the 
 cruel consequences of the renewed Jesuit activity. 
 Campion, the most fearless of the young missionaries, 
 with two brethren, suffered cruel martyrdom with un- 
 shaken constancy in December, 1581, and scores of 
 other priests and laymen were under sentence of 
 death,! whilst throughout the country recusants were 
 hunted with merciless vigour, not, of course, for 
 religion, said Elizabeth's officers, but as disobedient 
 and disloyal subjects. Most of the active Catholic 
 nobles were now in exile, and it was clear that no 
 
 ^ Mendoza, writing to Philip on the 1st October, 1581, dwells 
 upon the terrible sufferings of the Catholics, and incidentally 
 reveals how entirely now he had identified himself with those 
 whom the Queen's Government held to be disaffected. Not 
 even the gifts of friends to the imprisoned Catholics, he says, 
 may be given to the individuals, but are divided amongst all the 
 prisoners. " They are incarcerated with crowds of thieves, and 
 are left to die of hunger amongst them, in order that their 
 torment may be the greater. If any one goes to visit them 
 he is at once arrested, and consequently most of the gifts 
 are sent through me and are distributed by my servants, the 
 Catholics alone receiving them. In like manner I take charge 
 of the money sent by the Catholics who have fled abroad, 
 and of the sums given by others for the Seminaries of Rheims 
 and Rome." — Spanish Calendar, vol. iii. 
 
MENDOZA AND THE CATHOLICS 377 
 
 armed rising in England against the Queen's Govern- 
 ment was now possible, except with very powerful help 
 from abroad. But in Scotland matters were entirely 
 different. Morton had fallen, and the half- French 
 Lennox d'Aubigny, a Catholic, was the most power- 
 ful force in the country. His French ancestry had 
 caused the Spaniards to look askance at him for a 
 time ; but the declaration of Guise to the Spanish 
 ambassador in Paris, that Mary Stuart in future would 
 look alone to Philip for direction, somewhat disarmed 
 Mendoza, and, despairing of striking at Elizabeth by 
 other means, the ambassador turned to this quarter to 
 aid him in his vengeance. 
 
 Philip had commanded him to continue to console 
 and encourage the imprisoned Mary, and in Sep- 
 tember, 1 58 1, referring to his correspondence with 
 her, the ambassador opens a new chapter in his 
 activities in England. He has, he says, been trying 
 in every way — of course, through the Jesuit mission- 
 aries mainly — to convince the Scots how advantageous 
 it would be for King James if Scodand were formally 
 to return to the Catholic Church ; but for fear of 
 driving Elizabeth into the arms of the French, if 
 she knew it, he has had, he says, to work very 
 cautiously and secretly. He then goes on to say 
 that he had just held a private meeting with some 
 leading English Catholics, especially the brothers 
 Tresham, and had urged upon them that the best 
 way to cause trouble to Elizabeth would be for 
 Scotland to submit to the Holy See. Even if Philip's 
 other cares allowed of his sending a large force to 
 England, such a course would be impossible owing 
 to French jealousy. Yes, admitted the Treshams 
 sorrowfully, the English Catholics were now so 
 
Z7^ TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 downhearted and crushed that a risino- in England 
 was Impossible unless King Philip sent a great fleet 
 and army fit to conquer the country, which they saw 
 he could not do. The Irish, too, were not to be 
 depended upon, and they agreed that the only way 
 to gain England now was by winning Scotland first 
 for the Church. 
 
 The idea took root, and a meeting of six English 
 Catholic peers and several gentlemen thereupon took 
 a joint oath of fidelity to devote all their means 
 and energies to this end. The confederates, with 
 Mendoza's approval, despatched one of the senior 
 Jesuit missioners, Father Creighton, to Scotland to 
 broach the matter to Lennox d'x^ubigny, saying 
 that if James would embrace the Church the English 
 Catholics would rise, have him proclaimed heir of 
 England, and release his mother, but if he refused 
 they promised to adopt another candidate as Eliza- 
 beth's successor. D'Aubigny was to be entertained 
 with the notion that help would be forthcoming from 
 France and the Pope, as well as from Philip ; but 
 this was only intended to be a blind, for Mendoza 
 specially warned the plotters that nothing should be 
 said to Frenchmen about it, " in order to prevent 
 it from being hindered by the fear that it is a plan 
 of your Majesty alone." " They agree with me in 
 this, as they are all Spanish and Catholic at heart, 
 and do not wish to have anything to do with 
 France." 
 
 Creighton went on his way to Scotland in disguise, 
 and in the meanwhile the relations between Eliza- 
 beth and Mendoza became more strained than ever. 
 Philip had instructed him in October to address the 
 Queen strongly about the unconcealed encourage- 
 
A NEW GRIEVANCE 379 
 
 ment she was giving to Don Antonio. For some 
 time Mendoza asked for audience in vain. Eliza- 
 beth was at Nonsuch, and all sorts of excuses were 
 given for her declining to receive him. Mendoza, 
 chafing under what he calls " her insolent and out- 
 rageous " treatment of him, at last sent a servant of 
 his to Burghley, positively to demand audience of the 
 Queen when she arrived at Richmond. The reply 
 brought back in Burghley's words was ominous. 
 " Sir, I must tell you the truth ; the Queen is at 
 present alone, unattended by Councillors, and as 
 Don Bernardino is to bring letters to the Queen 
 from so great an enemy of hers as his master, it 
 is meet that he should be received accordingly." 
 
 They kept Mendoza fuming for several days 
 longer before he was received ; and when he entered 
 the presence chamber at Richmond, boiling over 
 with wounded pride, he found the Queen no longer 
 the smiling coquette she had formerly been with 
 him. Seated upon a tabouret under the canopy, 
 with Sussex and Lord Admiral Clinton standing 
 by her, she refrained from rising and advancing to 
 receive him, as was her wont, and welcoming him with 
 a greeting in Italian. Instead of that she sat frown- 
 ing as he bowed low before her, the first words she 
 said being to complain that she was suffering from a 
 pain in her hip. Mendoza expressed his sorrow that 
 he should have to trouble her with business in such 
 circumstances, but she made no reply, and left him 
 standing uncovered. " How about the letter you say 
 you have from the King ? " she snapped at last, and 
 he handed her the King's demand for Don Antonio's 
 surrender, which she read with a clouded brow. 
 " You know very well," she said, "that Don Antonio 
 
38o TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 has left England ; but I can tell you that if I had 
 chosen to help him your King's fleets from the Indies 
 would not be where they are now, and Portugal, 
 perchance, would not be so tranquil " — all this, as 
 Mendoza says, with much browbeating and vocifera- 
 tion. 
 
 "What else have you to say?" asked the Queen tartly; 
 and in answer Mendoza, in high and mighty strain, 
 began to talk about the power of his master's fleets, 
 and how those who dared to attack them would get 
 well trounced. She had helped the rebel Antonio, he 
 said, she had called him " King," she had let him sail 
 from the Thames with English ships and arms from 
 the Tower to attack his sovereign, the London mer- 
 chants had lent him money on his jewels, and much 
 more to the same effect. His King, already offended 
 by the way she had helped the Flemish rebels, was 
 doubly resentful now. What more could she do, asked 
 Mendoza, even if she were at open war? To all of 
 which Elizabeth replied boldly. As for Don Antonio, 
 she had helped him and still would do so ; but she 
 knew not what the ambassador meant by his other 
 complaints. " This was said," continues Mendoza, 
 "with the most terrible insolence; and as I saw her 
 evil intent, I replied that I had been here for over 
 three and a half years ; but as it appears she had heard 
 nothing in all this time of the complaints I had con- 
 stantly been making, and would find no remedy for 
 them, it would be necessary to see whether cannon 
 would not make her hear better. "In answer to this 
 Elizabeth, for a wonder, replied calmly and in a low 
 voice that he need not think to threaten or frighten 
 her, or she would put him into a place where he could 
 not say a word. In future he might negotiate with 
 
AN ANGRY INTERVIEW 381 
 
 her Council, but as she had no ambassador In Spain 
 she would not receive him herself. 
 
 Mendoza thought probably that he had gone too far, 
 as he certainly had ; for Philip, as we shall see later, 
 had no intention, or indeed ability, at this time 
 (October, 1581) to attempt the conquest of England. 
 He did not desire to threaten, Mendoza said ; he was 
 in her power and of course she could do as she liked 
 with him, but whatever she did, thank God ! King 
 Philip would avenge him. Elizabeth then ordered 
 every one out of the room but the two Councillors, to 
 whom in angry tones she repeated Mendoza's threat 
 about cannon, and her reply. " I smiled to hear her 
 relate this with so much fury and agitation, and 
 remarked that I would not waste time on that point. 
 Monarchs, I knew, were never afraid of private 
 individuals, and above all she, who was a lady so 
 beautiful that even lions would crouch before her. 
 She is so vain and flighty that her anger was at 
 once soothed on hearing this, and she began to relate 
 how thankful your Majesty ought to be to her for 
 having refused help to the Flemish rebels. All she 
 had done was to prevent the French from taking 
 possession of your territory." Thenceforward to the 
 end of the long interview Elizabeth played off the 
 Spanish support of the Irish rebels, the subsidising of 
 the northern rebellion, and the intrigues of de Spes, 
 against Mendoza's complaints of her help to Orange, 
 the depredations of Drake, and the reception of Don 
 Antonio ; and the exchange of grievances ended by 
 Elizabeth coldly saying that she would receive the 
 ambassador no more until the King sent her some 
 satisfaction, to which he retorted by saying that he 
 would prefer to do business with the Council. As he 
 
382 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 turned to go and was already some paces from the 
 Queen he heard her heave a deep sigh, and say in 
 Italian, evidently intended to reach his ear, " I 
 would to God that each one had his own and was at 
 peace." ^ Mendoza, humiliated and embittered at the 
 course of events, which he ascribed entirely to 
 Leicester and Hatton, thenceforward became a more 
 virulent enemy of Elizabeth than ever de Spes had 
 been. In the next letter after the interview just de- 
 scribed he prayed Philip to avenge himself by seizing 
 all English property in his dominions ; but the King 
 had tried that game before to his cost, and dared 
 not run the risk again, nor would he listen to 
 Mendoza's earnest prayers to anticipate the intrigues 
 of Leicester to have him expelled from England by 
 recalling him himself. 
 
 When, therefore, Father Creighton returned, in 
 October, 1581, from his mission to Scotland, Mendoza 
 was ripe for any plan which promised injury to 
 Elizabeth. The Jesuit told him how he had been 
 secretly conveyed across the Scottish border, and had 
 conferred with Lennox, Eglinton, Huntly, Caithness, 
 and Seton, who had warmly consented to Catholic mis- 
 sioners being sent — ■'' on condition that they brought 
 money for their own maintenance." They would have 
 King James approached, too, and told that his one 
 hope of obtaining the English succession would be for 
 him to embrace Catholicism and make friends with 
 Spain. Neither Lennox nor the King was to be 
 frightened with the suggestion that the French 
 were to be thrown over : but Seton, who appears 
 to have known James's character well, proposed 
 that his greed and ambition might be worked upon 
 ^ Spanish Calendar, vol. iii. 188. 
 
THE JESUIT CONSPIRACY 383 
 
 by his being shown how much more effectual a 
 friend Spain would be to him than France. Father 
 Parsons was in London when Creighton arrived, and 
 he and his colleague Hey wood were long closeted with 
 Mendoza to discuss who should be the pioneer mis- 
 sioners to Scotland. Creighton thought that Father 
 Parsons, himself, and Heywood should go, '*as they 
 would need to be very learned and virtuous men." 
 Parsons, still in his captain's garb, ran over to Rheims 
 to consult the Principal of the English Seminary, 
 Dr. Allen ; and at Mendoza's instance it was 
 agreed that Parsons could not well be spared from 
 England, and that Dr. Allen should appoint fresh men 
 for the Scottish mission. 
 
 The six English Catholic lords who had first 
 arranged the matter with Mendoza were now in 
 prison : Catholics were being savagely persecuted 
 everywhere, and it was evident that the scheme for 
 upsetting Elizabeth by means of a Catholic move- 
 ment in Scotland must be managed by Spanish agents 
 in France and Dr. Allen, "as the Queen and her 
 heretics are served here by such a multitude of spies 
 that the Queen of Scots herself is in great alarm.' 
 But above all, says Mendoza, though the affair must 
 be managed in France, " the French must have no 
 suspicion that your Majesty has anything to do with 
 it." As may be supposed, Mary Stuart was a keen 
 participant in the scheme. In April, 1 581, six months 
 previously, she had sent a message through Arch- 
 bishop Beton to the new Spanish ambassador in 
 Paris, Tassis. "Things," she said, "were never in 
 better form in Scotland than now for a return to 
 ancient conditions, so that English affairs could be 
 dealt with afterwards from there. Her son was 
 
384 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 determined to be a Catholic, and inclined to break 
 with Elizabeth as soon as he could be sure of sub- 
 stantial help." This help Mary earnestly begged of 
 Philip through Tassis, and asked that it should be 
 landed first in Ireland, ready to cross to Scotland 
 as soon as the treaty was signed. 
 
 For some reason or another Mary conceived some 
 distrust of Tassis, the Spanish ambassador in Paris, 
 and of Beton ; and as soon as she heard of the result 
 of Father Creighton's mission to Scotland, she wrote 
 direct to Mendoza to tell him that she had partly con- 
 sented to join her son with herself in the sovereignty of 
 Scotland, which course had been urged upon her by 
 the French, but that she was still determined in all 
 things to follow the direction of the King of Spain in 
 her affairs. She had understood from the first that 
 from France, divided as it was, she had nothing 
 effective to hope for. Her son and the Catholic 
 Scots might desire to keep alive the ancient alliance 
 with France, but Mary wanted more than that : she 
 needed rescue from England, and this could only be 
 effected by a Power that was willing to go to war with 
 England if necessary for her sake, which she knew 
 France, with its powerful Huguenot element and 
 Catharine de Medici at the helm, would never do. 
 Mary was suspicious, and grew even more so, of 
 Guise's interference in her affairs, which she saw was 
 not occasioned by the desire to benefit her person- 
 ally, but to increase his power by keeping hold of 
 Scotland. Mendoza, of course, threw cold water 
 upon the suggestion that Mary should recognise 
 James as King on the recommendation of France, 
 and by gaining Mary's entire confidence, gradually 
 worked her affairs into his own hands. 
 
PROGRESS OF THE PLOT 385 
 
 The priests sent to Scotland were meeting with 
 great success ; and James himself told Creighton that, 
 though out of policy he was obliged to appear in 
 favour of the French, in his heart he would rather be 
 Spanish. Parsons, whilst, fortunately for himself, he 
 was abroad, though just about to embark for England, 
 had been proclaimed a traitor and a price set upon his 
 head ; so that in future his sphere of activity was in 
 Scotland and on the Continent, where he continued to 
 direct English affairs with ever-increasing violence 
 against the Queen and her faith. It is characteristic 
 of Spanish methods that, though even Mary protested 
 against it, all the priests sent by Dr. Allen to Scotland 
 were to be Ensflishmen, because it was feared that 
 Scotsmen might have other ends and incline to France. 
 Above all, it was provided that the French should 
 have no idea that Spain was behind this purely 
 religious propaganda. Elizabeth's Government, sus- 
 picious already of the Catholic regime in Scotland, 
 was well aware that something was going on in which 
 Mendoza was concerned, ^ and keen vigilance was 
 kept upon the Border. " So far as can be seen, 
 this business is proceeding most hopefully," writes 
 Mendoza in December, 1581, "and is under God's 
 protection ; for, whilst these two priests were on the 
 English Border one night, a great search was made 
 in every house in the neighbourhood, as the Queen 
 had been informed that some English priests would 
 endeavour to go to Scotland, but God ordained that 
 they should escape almost by a miracle." ^ Tresham 
 was in prison, but priests carried messages backwards 
 
 ^ Herll to Leicester, 7th November, 1581. — Domestic 
 Calendar. 
 2 Spanish Calendar, vol. iii. 
 cc 
 
386 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 and forwards between him and Mendoza, so that the 
 plot was kept going ; and the fortitude of the Catholic 
 prisoners under torture in refusing to divulge the 
 names of their associates had drawn into the new 
 combination a large number of sympathisers, whilst 
 Mary herself, gaining ever more confidence in 
 Mendoza personally, was urging him to assure King 
 Philip that the time was propitious for him to take 
 some bold and decided action in her favour in 
 Scotland. 
 
 This was the hopeful condition of affairs when 
 Father Holt, a young Jesuit sent by Parsons 
 and Creighton from Scotland, arrived in London. 
 Tresham and the other English leaders being in 
 prison, he had been directed to a disguised English 
 priest in London, who would take him to the person 
 who was to receive his message. Holt, like the rest 
 of the rank and file of the Jesuit missioners, had no 
 suspicion that a political object was behind their 
 Scottish propaganda, and was astounded when he was 
 led to the house of the Spanish ambassador to give 
 his report. What he had to say was important. 
 Everything, he reported, was going excellently in 
 Scotland. The lords were trying by every means 
 to convert the King ; but they wished to obtain 
 Queen Mary's permission, if he remained obstinate, 
 "to force the King to open his eyes and to see the 
 truth." Failing this, they would, if the Queen autho- 
 rised them, depose or transport James until Mary's 
 arrival in her realm. But, continued Holt, they 
 considered it necessary, if they were to succeed in 
 their aim, to be able to count positively upon foreign 
 armed assistance to subdue the heretics and provide 
 against any interference from England. If they had 
 
PROGRESS OF THE PLOT 387 
 
 two thousand soldiers from abroad they would be suffi- 
 cient for the purpose. Where could they look, he asked, 
 for such assistance ? Not to France or to the Guises, 
 for several reasons, and they hoped that Queen Mary 
 would prevail upon the Pope and the King of Spain 
 to send Spaniards or Italians. He begged that 
 Mendoza would convey this to Mary and to Philip, 
 and to have more English priests sent into Scotland 
 for the propaganda, "only they must bring money 
 for their own maintenance." 
 
 To Mary Mendoza sent the message of the Scottish 
 Catholics in a somewhat softened form, in order not to 
 arouse her maternal solicitude for James ; but to his 
 own Sovereign, Philip, he wrote almost vehemently, 
 praying him to seize the opportunity for striking a 
 fatal blow at Elizabeth. " With the two thousand 
 soldiers they ask for, he says, the Scots might defy 
 this Queen . . . and the whole North of England 
 would be disturbed, the Catholics there being in a 
 majority, and the opportunity would be taken by the 
 Catholics in other parts' of the country to rise when 
 they knew that they had on their side the forces of a 
 more powerful Prince than the King of Scotland." ^ 
 There was no more concealment of Mendoza's opinion 
 beneath a veil of assumed humility : he not only urged 
 Philip to ensure the victory of Scottish orthodoxy by 
 force, but to aid a rising of English Catholics over the 
 Scottish Border. The opportunity looked a tempting 
 one, for it provided for the removal of the doubtful 
 James, and the plan might be carried out (if the 
 Scottish lords were to be depended upon) without 
 giving to Elizabeth the legal right to interfere. 
 
 The experienced Cardinal de Granvelle, who was 
 ^ Spanish Calendar, vol. iii. 
 
388 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 governing Spain in Philip's absence in Portugal, was 
 almost as enthusiastic in its advocacy as Mendoza 
 himself. ** The affair is so important," he wrote to 
 Philip, " both for the sake of religion and to restrain 
 England, that no other can equal it. By keeping the 
 Queen of England busy we shall be ensured against 
 her helping Alengon (in Flanders) or daring to 
 obstruct us elsewhere." ^ Mary Stuart was just as 
 eager, but had wider views than Granvelle, seeing 
 clearly with her great penetration, if she was to be 
 Queen of Britain, the absolute need for organising the 
 English Catholics, whilst keeping the French out of 
 the affair and not arousing unduly the suspicions 
 of Elizabeth. "In the event," she wrote, "of the 
 Scots having the support requested, and the Queen 
 of England attempting to interfere, which might give 
 an occasion for the English Catholics to rise, it would 
 be necessary to have this latter part of the business 
 arranged beforehand, but in such a way that they 
 should not understand what is intended, or have any 
 idea until everything was ready to burst forth." 
 
 Holt went back to Scotland with a promise from 
 Mendoza, which he certainly was not authorised by 
 Philip to give, that the two thousand men asked for 
 should be sent to their aid, and the English Catholics, 
 or such of them as were still at liberty, were con- 
 ciliated by means of Lord Henry Howard, who was 
 very heavily bribed by Philip, and thenceforward 
 became the principal Spanish agent at Elizabeth's 
 Court. The plot looked, indeed, a promising one 
 under the sole guidance of Mendoza ; and all were in 
 high hopes that Mary Stuart's fortune was at last to 
 take a turn, when Father Creighton arrived in Paris 
 ^ Spanish Calendar, vol. iii. 
 
A MUDDLED CONSPIRACY 389 
 
 directed to Tassis, the Spanish ambassador, with a 
 letter from the Duke of Lennox. " Understanding," 
 he says, "from the missioners that the Pope and the 
 King of Spain desire to make use of him for the 
 design they have in hand to restore the CathoHc 
 faith in Scotland and release the Queen ... he is 
 prepared to employ his life and estate in carrying out 
 the same, on condition that he is supplied with all 
 things set forth in the statement taken by Father 
 Creighton." This letter was dated early in March, 
 1582, and reached Tassis in May, having been 
 brought to him by Creighton and Parsons.^ The 
 plan was a perfectly new one to Tassis, as Mendoza 
 in London had been the sole intermediary purposely 
 chosen by Mary and the originators of the plot, in 
 order to exclude any probability of French partici- 
 pation ; and Philip, to his surprise, was now informed 
 of the affair by his ambassador in Paris, as if for the 
 first time. Why Lennox should have chosen to send 
 his adhesion to Paris instead of to Mendoza is not 
 quite clear ; but, being naturally attached to Guisan 
 interests, it is probable that he wished to ensure that 
 his French patrons should not be excluded. 
 
 ^ Creighton had been directed to go to Rouen on the way to 
 Paris, in order that he might consult Parsons, who was then 
 there to be in touch with England. The Duke of Guise was 
 near by, at his Castle of Eu, and Lennox's letters to him by 
 Creighton were also delivered at the same time. Even Father 
 Parsons at this period had not penetrated the antagonism of the 
 views of Philip II. and Guise, though he subsequently became 
 the leader of the purely Anglo-Spanish party opposed altogether 
 to the interference of the French influence and the inclusion of 
 James VL in the plans for the subjugation of England. At this 
 time and for a short time afterwards Parsons was in close touch 
 with Guise. 
 
390 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 In any case, it does not need much knowledge of 
 Philip's character to foresee that such inept manage- 
 ment as this would upset the whole business as far 
 as he was concerned. The demands of Lennox, as 
 stated by Crelghton, were ridiculous. The Scottish 
 Lords had promised Mendoza through Holt that if 
 two thousand foreign troops landed they would be 
 able to effect the revolution, and this was a number 
 that Philip could have provided ; but here was 
 Lennox demanding twenty thousand men paid for 
 eighteen months and a large quantity of munitions 
 of war of all sorts. He must have, he says, twenty 
 thousand crowns in money sent to Scotland immedi- 
 ately for fortifications, &c., and a further subsidy to 
 raise Scottish troops ; he asks that the troops should 
 be of various nationalities and placed under his 
 command, and if the attempt failed and he lost 
 his Scottish estate in consequence, he wanted a 
 guarantee from the Pope and Philip that an estate 
 of equal value should be given to him elsewhere. 
 He proposes himself to leave Scotland at the most 
 critical juncture, and to go to Paris to make final 
 arrangements, as soon as he hears that the Pope and 
 the King of Spain are pledged to the enterprise. 
 
 Tassis, not unnaturally, remarked to the priests that 
 Lennox was asking for a good deal, and he learned 
 from them that the Duke of Guise had been consulted, 
 and thought that fewer men would do. Parsons then 
 took up the story, and was quite sure that the 
 Catholics of England would rise immediately the 
 Scottish affair began ; and it was soon evident, even 
 to Tassis, who had been previously quite in the dark 
 about it, that not only Guise but many other people, 
 clerical and lay, had been drawn into the business, 
 
A MUDDLED CONSPIRACY 391 
 
 since one of the Jesuits was to go to Madrid, others 
 to Rouen and to Rome ; and the Nuncio, Archbishop 
 Baton, and Dr. Allen were also parties to the pro- 
 posals. The idea that Lennox should be in supreme 
 command, and that French troops were to be 
 included, alone would have sufficed to render the 
 plan abortive, apart from the other quite extravagant 
 conditions he imposed. Lennox wrote a somewhat 
 similarly foolish letter to Mary Stuart, saying that 
 the Jesuit Creighton had promised him fifteen 
 thousand men ; and that he, Lennox, was to go to 
 France to raise a large force of Frenchmen. Mary 
 was furious at such impracticable nonsense, and wrote 
 to Mendoza begging him to restrain the bungling 
 priests, as she was trying to do, and once more to get 
 the matter into his own hands. " I am advising 
 Lennox," she writes, "to stay in Scotland, and I dis- 
 approve entirely of his plan to raise men in France. 
 You may inform these Jesuits, too, that I will not 
 on any account allow anything concerning this matter 
 to be done in my name . . , and I do not approve of 
 sending any one on my behalf to negotiate direct with 
 the Pope and King Philip." 
 
 Mendoza also was full of scorn for such muddling, 
 and the whole scheme was thrown into confusion. 
 Guise, as soon as he was informed by Lennox's 
 letter brought by Creighton, travelled from Eu to 
 Paris and met Tassis secretly at Beton's house. 
 He, too, was full of far-reaching, ill-digested plans, 
 his main object evidently being to prevent Spanish 
 troops from being sent to Scotland, in order to avoid, 
 as he says, French jealousy, but really because he 
 feared Philip's power. His plan was to raise a large 
 mixed force to be sent by the Pope to Scotland, 
 
392 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 whilst he, Guise, was to make a descent upon the 
 coast of Sussex with a French force. Philip met the 
 new situation in his characteristic way. So far as he 
 was concerned, the plan became impossible the moment 
 that Guise and the French interest were included in it, 
 and he wrote to Tassis, with vague sanctimonious 
 sympathy, deprecating overzeal and ordering that 
 nothing more should be done in the matter until 
 further orders.^ 
 
 Father Parsons, by far the cleverest of the Jesuits, 
 went to Madrid and submitted Lennox's foolish con- 
 ditions to Cardinal de Granvelle and Sir Francis 
 Englefield, Philip's English secretary. They both 
 
 * '* The two Jesuit fathers who spoke to you about the Scotch 
 affair must have been very zealous, but their having carried the 
 matter so far as they did and communicating it to so many 
 people may make it difficult to keep secret. In order that it 
 may be kept as quiet as possible, you will detain the priest if he 
 has not already started to come hither. You can tell him, as if 
 on your own account, that in order to keep the affair quiet 
 nothing more should be done till you hear from me. You may 
 reply to the Duke of Lennox to the same effect, dealing with 
 the matter in a way which will not lead them to think that you 
 are throwing difficulties in the way for the purpose of refusing 
 the aid they ask for, but only in order that it may all be managed 
 on such solid foundations as to ensure success, for which we 
 should all strive, as it is so greatly in the interests of God and 
 the pubHc welfare." — Philip to Tassis, nth June, 1582, Spanish 
 Calendar, vol. iii. Philip's message to Guise through Tassis, in 
 September, is in the same tone : " You will tell him I would 
 gladly have helped in the submission of Scotland, and still would 
 do so if I saw really good grounds for anticipating success and a 
 willingness on the part of the Pope to contribute such money 
 as the case demands, as he has promised me several times. 
 You may dexterously hint at coolness in that quarter, so that he 
 may see that the affair is not falling through by any fault of 
 mine." — Ibid. To those who know Philip's style this represents 
 a determination to desist from participation. 
 
PHILIP'S SECRET VIEWS 393 
 
 agreed that the bases laid down by Mendoza and 
 Mary were the only practical ones, and Granvelle 
 incidentally in his report on the matter throws rather 
 a curious light upon the diversity of views that we see 
 now existed, although he probably did not know it, 
 between Philip's views with regard to England and 
 his own. We shall see presently what was in Philip's 
 mind ; but that of Granvelle is sufficiently revealed 
 when, speaking of the fear of the Scots that the 
 landing of foreign troops might endanger their 
 liberties, he says : *' This is not what his Majesty 
 wants, nor do I approve of it ; but that we should 
 loyally help the King of Scots and his mother to 
 maintain their rights, and, by promoting armed dis- 
 turbance, keep the Queen of England and the French 
 busy at small cost to ourselves in comparison with 
 what she will have to spend, and so enable us to 
 settle our own affairs better. If it had no other 
 result this should suffice, but much more when we 
 consider that it may lead to the re-establishment of 
 the Catholic religion in those parts. When we strike 
 there the Irish will pluck up courage ; and it is ad- 
 vantageous that the matter should be taken in hand 
 by the Duke of Guise, as it will ensure us from French 
 obstruction. Since we cannot hope to hold the island 
 for ourselves, Guise will not hand it over to the King 
 of France to the detriment of his own kinswoman." 
 He also hints at the possibility of Elizabeth's coming 
 to terms with Spain and renewing the old alliance. 
 
 This was certainly not Philip's view at this time 
 (1582). He had now lost hope of conciliating Eng- 
 land whilst Elizabeth was on the throne, and he was 
 gradually being convinced that nothing but a great 
 national conquest with purely Spanish arms would 
 
394 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 serve his turn. The policy of " loyally helping the 
 King of Scots," and, above all, with the co-operation 
 of the French, would have been useless to him except 
 as a means of gaining for him uncontrolled command 
 of English foreign policy, which, with James an un- 
 known factor and Guise as a confederate, was uncertain. 
 The idea of attacking England through Scotland, which 
 some of his advisers favoured, was one that never ap- 
 pealed very strongly to him after this first fiasco of 
 Lennox, and it introduced an element in the situation 
 which subsequently influenced him greatly, finally, 
 indeed, deciding his policy. This was the jealousy 
 felt by Englishmen of Scots, and a determination 
 that nothing like a domination of England by a 
 people whom they considered inferior should be 
 allowed. Scotland and France, it must be recol- 
 lected, had for centuries been looked upon by 
 Englishmen as their joint enemies, whilst Spain 
 and Flanders had been their friends, and it soon 
 became a common saying amongst the English 
 Catholics, of whom Parsons was the mouthpiece, 
 that England would welcome a thousand times 
 more a Spanish sovereign than a Scottish one. 
 The first note of the feeling is struck in Granvelle's 
 memorandum quoted above, where he says that 
 Englefield is very distrustful of the Archbishop of 
 Glasgow, with whom he has ceased to correspond, 
 and he wishes that he (Beton) should not be made 
 cognisant with this business, "which he would im- 
 mediately divulge to the French." 
 
 Whilst these events were passing in France, the 
 causes for irritation between Elizabeth and Philip 
 were becoming daily more grave. The Queen, 
 almost at her wits' end, had managed to get rid of 
 
DRIFTING TO WAR 395 
 
 her importunate suitor AlenQon, in February, 1582, 
 by means of a solemn promise to marry wliich she 
 never intended for a moment to keep. She had in- 
 sisted upon Leicester accompanying him to Antwerp, 
 where the Prince was to join Orange as the obedient 
 servant of Elizabeth. To the Queen's dismay, a few 
 days afterwards she learnt that Leicester had sanctioned 
 by his presence the investiture of the French Prince 
 with Philip's Crown of Duke of Brabant, and it seemed 
 now, even to her, that the cup was full and that 
 nothing could save her from the vengeance of the 
 outraged Spaniard, especially as she found that the 
 King of France ostentatiously disavowed her and his 
 brother's action. Elizabeth railed at Walsingham and 
 Leicester like a very fury, summoned Burghley from a 
 sick bed to counsel her, and ended by leaving her 
 French lover in the lurch. 
 
 Far from seeking immediate vengeance, however, 
 Philip's own perplexity was such, in the face of this 
 new dilemma, that he contemplated a step which up 
 to that time he had always repudiated with scorn. 
 Writing to Mendoza in May, 1582, he orders him 
 to endeavour to exacerbate Elizabeth's jealousy of the 
 French in Flanders for the purpose of enlisting her 
 aid as a mediator between his rebellious subjects and 
 himself. Orange had just been dangerously wounded 
 by a Spanish agent, ^ and it may have appeared to 
 Philip that the moment was a favourable one to bring 
 
 ^ Mendoza had entertained several proposals for killing 
 Orange, and it was asserted that he had been an accomplice 
 in the present attempt. He was very indignant at the odium 
 that this accusation brought upon him, but it is extremely likely 
 to be true. He and Mary Stuart had nothing but praise for the 
 crime in their letters. — Spanish Calendar, vol. iii. 
 
396 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 about some settlement which, at all events, might save 
 his sovereignty. " It will be well," he writes, " for 
 you to discover whether it is possible for the Queen 
 herself to intervene for the purpose of reconciling me 
 with my subjects." He is not very sanguine, he says, 
 of such an intermediary ; " and she is much more likely 
 to continue her usual arts to incense my subjects 
 against me, but it is worth trying " ; and to show 
 how urgent was Philip's need of a peaceful settle- 
 ment, he sent the large sum of 40,000 crowns to 
 Mendoza to bribe Elizabeth's ministers to propose her 
 mediation. 'f 
 
 The presence of Alen^on in Flanders as sovereign, 
 even under her own auspices, made Elizabeth anxious 
 to learn at first hand what the Spaniards thought of 
 this new provocation, and a hint was sent to Mendoza 
 that she would receive him again with Philip's Portu- 
 guese envoy, who had come to announce his accession 
 to the Crown. She was, during the interview, very 
 emphatic as to her perfect neutrality with regard to 
 Portugal, "just," says Mendoza, "as if it were true, 
 instead of an evident lie." Mendoza interposed by 
 saying that no doubt that was her intention, but there 
 were, at that moment, perhaps unknown to her, several 
 ships being fitted and armed in the Thames for Don 
 Antonio. What did he mean ? Elizabeth asked, and 
 the ambassador gave her full particulars. Up to 
 this point Elizabeth had been polite, but when she 
 found that no complaint was made about Alen9on, 
 she plucked up courage, and Hatton, a special enemy 
 of Mendoza's, who was behind him, seems to have 
 made some sign to the Queen, for her tone suddenly 
 changed. "This is no time to deal with that matter," 
 ^ Spanish Calendar, vol. Hi. 
 
MENDOZA IN TROUBLE 397 
 
 she cried angrily, and Mendoza retired more wrathful 
 than ever, and more determined to work his revenge. 
 
 He had been praying for his recall for some time, 
 for he was nearly blind with cataract, and his soul 
 rebelled against the humiliations he had to suffer ; but 
 Philip had pressed him to stay on, for nobody could 
 manage the great conspiracy against Elizabeth so 
 wisely and stealthily as he. He would not abandon 
 his post, moreover, until Mary Stuart had consented 
 to deal with a fresh ambassador, and he urged Philip 
 to send a special envoy, on the pretext of claiming the 
 restoration of Drake's plunder, but really to succeed 
 him If Mary would show confidence in the new man. 
 *' If It be profitable that I should remain here I will 
 willingly sacrifice myself for a matter so closely touch- 
 ing the service of God and the Increase of His Church, 
 as well as serving your Majesty, since two hundred 
 priests are risking their lives in the same cause, in 
 face of great hardships, hunger and poverty." His 
 stay in England, indeed, was a true martyrdom, only 
 endured because of his hope that in union with Mary 
 of Scotland he might be Instrumental In overthrowing 
 Elizabeth and her Protestant ministers. They, for 
 their part, repaid his hatred with enmity as bitter. 
 Leicester, Hatton, and Walslngham left no stone 
 unturned to make his post in England untenable. 
 There was no English ambassador In Spain, they 
 said, and should be no Spanish ambassador In Eng- 
 land : the m„an was only a spy and a conspirator. 
 It was he, said his detractors, who had planned the 
 assassination of the Prince of Orange, and was the 
 abettor and provider of the flock of black Jesuit crows 
 who were Infesting England with their presence. Even 
 the street boys in London pelted and hooted him as he 
 
398 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 passed,^ and he was practically excluded from Eliza- 
 beth's Court. But for every fresh slight offered to 
 him he became more ardent in his determination to 
 make Mary Stuart Queen of Catholic Britain. The 
 correspondence between them was close, for Mary 
 refused to trust any other intermediary, and until the 
 raid of Ruthven and the flight and death of Lennox 
 finally upset the Catholic f^gime in Scotland, the hope 
 of bringing back again into workable shape the plot 
 that the priests and Lennox had embroiled was never 
 abandoned by them. 2 
 
 The fact of their correspondence was, of course, well 
 known to Elizabeth's Government, and this made the 
 ambassador's treatment the harder. Once, in May, 
 1582, he was driven, by orders from the anxious King, 
 to demand audience of the Queen, who replied that 
 she would receive him as a private person if he liked, 
 but would see him no more as ambassador until he 
 brought an apology from Philip for aiding the Irish 
 rebels. To this he replied haughtily in a letter, 
 threatening to leave England at once and let muskets 
 
 * Dr. Hector Nunez writes to Burghley in August, 1582, that 
 Mendoza, passing through Fenchurch Street in his carriage, was 
 stoned and hooted by a group of boys playing at soldiers, and 
 had to take refuge in Lime Street, where the Lord Mayor, Sir 
 James Harvey, lived. — Hatfield Papers, part ii. 
 
 ^ Mary wrote to him when she was deploring the confusion in 
 their plans caused by the muddling of the Jesuits and Lennox : 
 " There are, as you have pointed out, many objections to carry- 
 ing out this enterprise from France, and I wish it to be conducted 
 entirely by you, sure, as I am, of your faith and prudence. . . . 
 I must therefore beg of you most earnestly to continue here, 
 and thus gain for yourself the honour of God and man if the 
 enterprise be successful, as you yet give me hopes that it will be. 
 The principal thing is for you to remain in England, but if that 
 be impossible, then in France." — Spanish Calendar, vol. iii. 
 
MENDOZA ISOLATED 399 
 
 speak for him. When Elizabeth read the letter she 
 was perturbed, and softened somewhat. " God forbid," 
 she said, " that she should ever break with the King 
 of Spain, to whom she bore nothing but goodwill, 
 . . . She hoped that Don Bernardino would not leave ; 
 he could communicate with her in writing until the 
 King's explanation of the Irish affair came." Writing 
 to Philip in November, 1582, Mendoza says : " I have 
 tried every means, overt and covert, to get into relations 
 with the Queen's ministers, but they fly from me as if 
 I were a rebel subject ot hers, and things have reached 
 such a point that no one will speak to me or even to 
 my servants." Even his heavily paid Court spies. Lord 
 Henry Howard and Sir James Crofts, avoided com- 
 munication with him, except when they needed money. 
 The efforts of Guise and Beton to keep the Scottish 
 Catholic intrigue in their own hands also tended to 
 isolate Mendoza. Both he and Philip, when the news 
 of the raid of Ruthven and the flight of Lennox 
 reached them, recognised that the enterprise through 
 Scotland was hopeless for a time, and endeavoured to 
 confine Guise's energies in future to France. He was 
 told how dangerous it would be for him to leave 
 France with his enemies the Huguenots in possession, 
 and was flattered and encouraged by Philip with the 
 suggestion that the Crown of France might be his by 
 Spanish aid, if Henry and his brother Alengon died 
 childless, as seemed probable : " for it would be a 
 public infamy if the most Christian Crown should fall, 
 as may be feared, into the hands of a man who was 
 not a Catholic [i.e., Henry of Navarre], besides the 
 danger of this, it will be a standing disgrace to a true 
 Catholic like Guise himself." Guise was proud and 
 delighted that so much deference was being paid him, 
 
400 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 but he could hardly be expected to look at Scottish 
 affairs entirely from Philip's point of view ; and, whilst 
 not losing sight of his vast ambitions in France, he 
 still endeavoured through Beton, Tassis, and Parsons, 
 to keep his hand on the realm of his cousin. 
 
 When Lennox passed through London in January, 
 1 583, on his way to exile in France he sent his secretary 
 to Mendoza — not daring to come himself — to give him 
 an explanatory account of Lennox's ignominious col- 
 lapse, and to inform him of his plans to return to Scot- 
 land, with James's full connivance, and for an invasion 
 by foreign troops in the Catholic interest. In such 
 plans both Mendoza and his master had now lost hope, 
 and though Lennox soon afterwards died, Guise 
 himself, undeterred by Philip's flattering attempts at 
 diversion, became the central pivot of the intrigue, 
 abetted by Beton, Tassis, and the Jesuits, who were 
 still curiously blind to the real trend of affairs. A 
 new French ambassador. La Mothe, was sent to re- 
 monstrate with Ruthven and the Scottish Protestants 
 for keeping their King in durance, and to warn 
 Elizabeth not to interfere in Scotland ; and with him 
 went young de Maineville on a separate mission from 
 Guise to the Scottish Catholics, for the purpose of 
 reviving the plot for landing a foreign force in Scot- 
 land. Beton and Tassis were, of course, parties to 
 the arrangement, much to the annoyance of Mary and 
 Mendoza, who thus saw all their carefully planned 
 schemes thrown into confusion. James in Scotland, 
 as usual, lied to everybody, and the Scottish Catholic 
 party was disunited, so that Guise's agent, de Maine- 
 ville, promptly saw that any present attempt to invade 
 Scotland in Mary's interest would end in failure, and 
 Guise changed all his plans. 
 
HENRI, DUG DE GUISE 
 
 FROM AN ENGRAVING 
 
GUISE'S NEW PLAN 401 
 
 On the 4th May, 1583, Tassis wrote to Philip that 
 Guise, in view of the changed position in Scotland, 
 had decided to negotiate with the English Catholics 
 for a rising in England. " He has already carried the 
 matter so far that he expects to have it put into execu- 
 tion very shortly, and intends to be present in person." 
 He asked for 100,000 crowns from the Pope and 
 Philip, to be ready in Paris when he wanted it, though 
 Tassis says that he does not expect that his Holiness 
 will send much. He needed this large sum, it appears, 
 principally " for one object which I dare not venture 
 to mention here, but which, if it be effected, will make 
 a noise in the world." This object was no other than 
 the murder of Elizabeth, which was to be the prelude 
 of the revolution to place Mary on the throne. Two 
 days before this letter to Philip was written by Tassis 
 the Nuncio in Paris wrote to the Papal Secretary of 
 State, the Cardinal of Como, much more plainly. 
 Guise and his brother Mayenne, he says, had arranged 
 for the murder of the Queen by one of her courtiers, 
 secretly a Catholic, who owed her a grudge for 
 executing certain of his relations. This man had made 
 the proposal to Mary, and she had refused to entertain 
 it, but the Duke of Guise was less scrupulous and had 
 promised the assassin 100,000 francs for the work. 
 He did not ask the Pope's aid for this, but for the 
 invasion of the South of England, which he. Guise, 
 intended to effect immediately after the Queen had 
 been killed. Neither the Nuncio nor the Cardinal, 
 nor even his Holiness, had anything but praise for 
 this saintly plan, and readily promised one-quarter of 
 the sum needed if Philip would find the other three- 
 quarters. 
 
 Guise's ideas, as usual, were vague and scattered. 
 
402 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 Simultaneously with this plan for murdering Elizabeth 
 and invading Sussex, with the connivance of the 
 English Catholics, an utterly impracticable scheme, he 
 tried to keep the Scottish Catholics in hand by heavy 
 bribes and to convert James. All this sinister activity 
 could not be quite hidden from Elizabeth, who made 
 a counter move by proposing terms for Mary's release, 
 which in future would render her harmless. Mary at 
 once asked the advice of Mendoza, who was quite 
 shocked at the idea, and wrote to her, as he says, 
 " with all possible artifice," by all means to refuse her 
 liberty ; but he tells Philip his real reason : " Nothing 
 could be more injurious to your Majesty's interest and 
 hopes of converting this island than that the French 
 should get their fingers into the matter through the 
 Queen of Scotland and turn it to their own ends." ^ 
 Philip agreed that it would be best to keep Mary 
 where they could lay hands upon her at any moment ; 
 but, perhaps influenced by the opinion of Granvelle, 
 quoted in an earlier page, he asks for Mendoza's 
 further opinion on the association of Guise in the con- 
 templated revolution. Since he was a near relation of 
 Mary's, and had the confidence of the Scottish 
 Catholics and the Pope, would his co-operation, in the 
 opinion of Mendoza, be open to the same objections as 
 that of Frenchmen generally ? To this Mendoza gave 
 a cautious, sagacious reply. There was no objection 
 to Guise pulling the chestnuts out of the fire, if he 
 depended entirely upon Spain, but above all Mary 
 Stuart must be kept in England. 
 
 Philip professed himself willing to provide a part of 
 the money required for Guise's murderous attempt, 
 
 * Roman Transcripts, Record Office, vols. xvi. and xvii. 
 
GUISE'S MURDER PLOT 403 
 
 but bargained for a larger contribution from the Pope.^ 
 Before anything could be decided, however, the ill-knit 
 plan fell to pieces. Father Allen and most of the 
 English Catholic exiles were in deadly earnest, and 
 thought that " all this talk and intricacy was mere 
 fencing." The feeling, also, of national jealousy of 
 the Scots began to manifest itself strongly amongst 
 them. " They suspected a tendency on the part of 
 the Scots to claim a controlling influence in the new 
 Empire, and, as the Scots are naturally inclined to the 
 French, they would rather see the affair carried through 
 with but a few Spaniards, whilst the English hate this 
 idea, as their country is the principal one, and they say 
 that it should not lose its predominance." ^ This 
 tendency of the English exiles gradually worked upon 
 Philip and his ministers, until French co-operation in 
 the plans to subjugate Britain, even under the auspices 
 of the Guises, was eliminated from the schemes, so 
 far as Spain and the English exiles could influence 
 them. 
 
 Not many weeks elapsed before this vague plot of 
 Guise to murder Elizabeth simultaneously with an 
 invasion of Sussex had fallen through. On the 30th 
 May, 1583, the Nuncio in Paris wrote to the Cardinal 
 of Como, " I believe that the design upon the person 
 of the Queen of England will come to nothing " ; and 
 three weeks later Tassis wrote to Philip that the 
 murder plot " is, I see, for the present, quite at an 
 end, and nothing more is being said about it, so the 
 
 ^ This was an ordinary course with PhiHp when he disapproved 
 of a plan proposed to him : to pretend acquiescence, but to 
 propose that the Pope should find the money, which he knew 
 he would not do. 
 
 ^ Spanish Calendar, vol. iii. 
 
404 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 funds referred to will therefore not be required." ^ The 
 English Catholic exiles, led by Dr. Allen and Father 
 Parsons, soon tired of such an unbusinesslike con- 
 spirator as Guise, and they came to Tassis, in Paris, 
 with a scheme of their own. They were already 
 jealous of French and Scottish intervention in English 
 affairs. " They have received so much favour from 
 your Majesty, that they would rather have the help of 
 Spaniards." Dr. Allen and his followers therefore 
 stood aloof somewhat now from the Guise proposals, 
 and " convinced that they must look for a remedy only 
 to the feeling of England, they have made up their 
 minds that they are simply wasting time in depending 
 upon what is arranged here in France, and they have 
 decided to lay the real condition of England before 
 your Majesty, and beg you to extend your pity to the 
 poor, afflicted, distressed Catholics there." 
 
 Tassis was much impressed by Dr. Allen's 
 earnestness. Scotland was in no condition, he said, 
 to co-operate at present, even if it were advisable for 
 her to do so, which the English thought it was not. 
 The King was a mere boy, notably unstable and in the 
 hands of heretics, though he pretended to be secretly 
 favourable to Guise's plans ; and the Catholics of the 
 North of England were ready to rise on their own 
 account if Philip would aid them with money and a few 
 troops to be landed in Yorkshire or Lancashire. 
 " They are so confident of success, with the blessing 
 of God, in whose service the attempt will be made, 
 that it is impossible for any one to hear them without 
 being convinced." In this scheme the exiled Earl of 
 Westmorland and Lord Dacre were to join, and 
 Dr. Allen was to accompany the expedition as Bishop 
 ^ Spanish Calendar, vol. iii. 
 
THE PROPOSAL OF THE PRIESTS 405 
 
 of Durham. The time fixed by Allen and his friends 
 for the attempt was in September or October of that 
 year, 1583, in the hope that Philip's fleet would by 
 that time have defeated Don Antonio's expedition 
 off the Azores, and be free to co-operate with an 
 Engrlish Catholic risino^. Even an extreme Catholic 
 party in Scotland were desirous of working inde- 
 pendently of France and the Guises, and sent Lord 
 Seton's brother to Spain to appeal to Philip, avoiding 
 all communication with Guise and Beton, 
 
 The Duke of Guise, determined not to lose hold 
 of the business if he could help it, tried to graft a 
 plan of his own upon that of the English Catholics, 
 who were in such dead earnest and had no object 
 in view but the conversion of England. He was 
 willing to abate his demands considerably, and Tassis 
 thought that if he were flattered enough he would 
 agree to whatever Philip ordered. Guise eventually 
 managed to upset the businesslike plans of Dr. Allen 
 and his friends by forcing upon them his undesired 
 and impractical co-operation. Father Parsons, who 
 had recently returned from Spain, was to go to 
 Madrid (July, 1583) to represent to Philip the English 
 view of the case and to crave Spanish support ; but 
 before he left Paris in August, Guise managed 
 to enlist him as an advocate of his new combined 
 plan, which he was to submit, not to Philip, but to 
 the Pope. Parsons travelled under the name of 
 Melino — one of his many aliases — and was instructed 
 by Guise to say that if Philip would send 4,000 good 
 soldiers and contribute money to raise and pay 
 10,000 more, with arms for 5,000 Englishmen, the 
 affair could be carried through successfully. Parsons 
 was to go to Rome first and earnestly beg the Pope 
 
4o6 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 in Guise's name to provide money liberally, and to 
 leave the whole management of the affair to the 
 King of Spain. Ports, he was to assure the Pope, 
 had already been secured, especially that of Fouldrey, 
 on the Lancashire coast, and troops could be sent 
 from Flanders to join Guise's force of 6,000 men to land 
 in the South of England. The whole of the North 
 of England and Catholic Scotland was ready to rise, 
 the nobles prepared, and even James of Scotland 
 had now freed himself from the custody of the 
 Ruthvens and smiled upon the enterprise. The Pope 
 was to be asked to issue a Bull approving of the 
 expedition, giving indulgences to all who aided it, 
 and to appoint Dr. Allen Nuncio and Bishop of 
 Durham. 
 
 This was the message that Parsons, under the name 
 of Melino, took to Rome ; and to any one who knows 
 Philip's methods it spells failure on the face of it. 
 When the King heard that Parsons had in Guise's 
 name settled with the Pope what Rome's contribu- 
 tion was to be, without reference to him, he expressed 
 his annoyance with unwonted energy, for he had no 
 intention of allowing his hands to be forced by priestly 
 meddling or French interference. He had, indeed, 
 by this time, as we shall see presently, gradually 
 allowed himself to entertain the vast project for the 
 conquest and domination of England on his own 
 account, towards which he intended the Pope to con- 
 tribute, not the comparative trifle demanded by Guise, 
 but the lion's share of the expense. 
 
 At the same time as Parsons went on his way to 
 Rome, Guise despatched to England Charles Paget, 
 who, with Thomas Morgan, had been sent by Mary 
 Stuart to serve as assistants or secretaries to Beton, 
 
GUISE AGAIN INTERFERES 407 
 
 his mission being" to ascertain from the Enoflish 
 Catholics what force they could join to Guise's inva- 
 ding army. Paget, although an Englishman, was 
 ostensibly a devout Guisan, but in strong opposi- 
 tion to the interference of Parsons and the Jesuits in 
 political affairs. I From the first he had been a spy 
 in Walsingham's pay, and to him was owing the 
 perfect knowledge possessed by Elizabeth's Govern- 
 ment of the whole of the present intrigue. The 
 instructions given to him by Guise display more 
 clearly than any other document the utter incompati- 
 bility of the viev/s respectively of Philip and Guise 
 with regard to England, and of themselves are 
 sufficient to account for the subsequent exclusion of 
 Guise from all the Spanish plans relating to it. 
 Paget is instructed to discover which port will be 
 most convenient for Guise's landing, and what 
 strength will join him there. Guise would come with 
 4,000 or 6,000 men, and desired a port within fifty 
 leagues of Dover. He wished to know what pro- 
 
 ^ Parsons, although always an enemy of Paget, was, up to 
 the period in question, as we have seen, an adherent of Guise 
 and the Scottish plans ; but he appears to have changed 
 immediately after his return from Rome. Allen, who was older 
 and more experienced, probably indoctrinated him with the 
 Anglo-Spanish view. Tassis, writing on the 15th November, 
 1583, says that Parsons " persists that upon no account should 
 the enterprise he commenced in Scotland. He is strongly of 
 opinion that the design upon England should be persevered in 
 and the heart struck at first : and he says that Allen is told this, 
 by persons on the Border itself, who prove it by irrefutable 
 arguments." Amongst these arguments is one that was con- 
 stantly used afterwards, viz., that no matter what the nationality 
 of the foreign troops, if they came to England via Scotland, 
 they would be looked upon as French and opposed accord- 
 ingly. — Spanish Calendar, vol. iii. 
 
4o8 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 visions and arms would be ready for him, and much 
 other information was sought. To all of this Philip 
 scattered on the margin when he read the dispatch 
 satirical exclamations at the unreadiness and uncer- 
 tainty that these inquiries demonstrated ; but what 
 finally convinced Philip that Guise was no fit con- 
 federate for him was the concluding portion of Paget's 
 instructions. " Assure the English Catholics, on the 
 faith and honour of Hercules [z.e.y Guise], that the 
 enterprise is being undertaken with no other object 
 or intention than to re-establish the Catholic religion 
 in England, and to place the Queen of Scotland 
 peacefully on the English throne, which of right 
 belongs to her. When this is effected the foreigners 
 will immediately retire from the country, and if any- 
 one attempts to frustrate this intention, Hercules 
 [Guise] promises that he and his forces will join 
 the people of the country to compel the foreigners 
 to withdraw." ^ No wonder that Philip underscored 
 these lines, and that he thenceforward found the whole 
 plan insufficiently matured. Once more he primly 
 deprecated undue haste, and gently put the plan 
 aside with vague professions of sympathy. 
 
 Mendoza in England was less cautious than his 
 master. His position, as we have seen, was a 
 humiliating one, as Elizabeth persisted in her re- 
 fusal to receive him as ambassador, and he was 
 exposed to daily slights from those who took their 
 tone from the Queen. When Charles Paget went 
 to England on Guise's errand in August-September, 
 1583, he was directed to Francis Throckmorton for 
 the purpose of obtaining the information he sought ; 
 this man being probably the person referred to in 
 ' Spanish Calendar, vol. iii. (Paris Archives Nationales). 
 
ARREST OF THROCKMORTON 409 
 
 the correspondence already quoted, as having been 
 willing to kill Elizabeth a few months previously at 
 Guise's bidding. However that may be, Throck- 
 morton was an intimate of Mendoza, who had been 
 informed of all that had been discussed in Paris, and 
 both he and Charles Paget, whilst he was in Eng- 
 land, were closely watched. Through his numerous 
 spies Walsingham was perfectly aware of all that 
 had been so incautiously handled by Guise ; the 
 whole of the invasion project had been known to 
 Elizabeth's Government for months, and though 
 Charles Paget, who was a spy, was allowed to get 
 clear away to France, no sooner was he gone than 
 the blow fell upon those in England with whom 
 he had conferred. 
 
 Francis Throckmorton was arrested, as was the 
 new Earl of Northumberland and his son, whilst the 
 Earl of Arundel was summoned before the Privy 
 Council, and Lord Paget and Charles Arundell (of 
 Wardour) fled to France. Mendoza was deeply con- 
 cerned at the arrest of his friend Throckmorton, and 
 wrote to Philip a-n account of it, cautiously worded, 
 but sufficiently inculpatory: "The Catholics are quite 
 cowed. . . . Only one paper was found upon Throck- 
 morton, containing a list of the principal ports in 
 England, and particulars with regard to them, and 
 the chief gentlemen and Catholics resident in them. 
 For this they carried him at once to the Tower, and 
 it is feared that his life is in danger, although he 
 informed me by a cipher note, written on a playing- 
 card and thrown out of the window, that he denies 
 that the document is in his handwriting, the hand 
 being a disguised one. He told them that some 
 person had thrown it into his house for the purpose 
 
4IO TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 of injuring him, and he assures me that he will 
 endure a thousand deaths rather than accuse any one, 
 which message he begs me to convey to his Catholic 
 friends. ... I have written to the lady in prison [i.e., 
 Mary Stuart], encouraging her, and begging her not 
 to grieve over the matter to the detriment of her 
 health, but the business, it may be feared, may im- 
 peril her life if the negotiations in France are 
 entirely discovered." ^ 
 
 Tassis in Paris was even more despondent, and 
 he feared, what proved to be true, that the rack would 
 soon draw from the prisoner all he knew. Time 
 after time Throckmorton was tormented, as were 
 his brother-in-law and two other relatives, and 
 sufficient was torn from them, together with the known 
 correspondence, to furnish a good pretext at last 
 for expelling Mendoza from England with ignominy. 
 On the 19th January, 1584, a formal summons for 
 him to appear before the Council was handed to 
 him. "If these gentlemen wish to see me in 
 my private capacity," he replied to Beal, the Secre- 
 tary, "let them come to my house as I went to 
 theirs when I wanted to see them. But if they are 
 sitting in Council, I would wait upon them, as an 
 ambassador should; but I warn them that if I open 
 my ears to what they have to say, I shall not shut 
 my mouth to answer them, as the service of my 
 master may demand." He says he gave this answer 
 because he knew the intention was to expel him, 
 and on the Councillors answering that they wished 
 to see him officially, he went to the Lord Chan- 
 cellor's house to meet them. 
 
 Walsingham spoke Italian better than the rest, 
 ' Spanish Calendar, vol. iii. 
 
EXPULSION OF MENDOZA 411 
 
 and formulated the Queen's complaint. Mendoza, 
 he said, had conspired with Guise to liberate the 
 Queen of Scots ; he was known to be in communi- 
 cation with Mary, with the French plotters, and 
 with Throckmorton, and he must leave the country 
 within fifteen days. "It is strange," sneered 
 Mendoza, " that the Queen should have summoned 
 them and himself for such a trifle as this. What 
 you tell me are mere dreams, hardly worthy of an 
 answer. These general accusations are absurd, 
 mainly extorted by the rack, and unsupported by 
 details." Very different were the charges he brought 
 against the Queen of trying to injure his master, 
 King Philip : and he launched out his usual string 
 of complaints, from the seizure of the Spanish treasure 
 fifteen years before to the present helping of Don 
 Antonio against his rightful sovereign. As for his 
 leaving England, that, as his hearers well knew, 
 would delight him, and he would go the moment 
 his master instructed him to do so in answer to a 
 despatch sent by the Queen requesting his recall. 
 The Councillors rose angrily at this and said that 
 nothing of the sort would be done : he must leave 
 England at once : ** and they explained their past 
 acts with impertinences that I dare not repeat to your 
 Majesty, the least of them being that I ought to 
 be very thankful that the Queen had not ordered 
 me to be punished for what I had done." 
 
 The blood of the proud Mendozas, the noblest 
 family in Spain, flared out at this : " To my King 
 alone in the world belongs the right of correcting 
 me, and to him alone under heaven am I responsible : 
 so, say no more on that point, unless ye are pre- 
 pared to fight." As for the Queen of England 
 
412 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 punishing him, he laughed at the idea. He would 
 be overjoyed to be gone as soon as a passport was 
 sent to him. She was a lady, and, as such, the 
 least grateful to those v/ho served her best ; but, 
 as he had failed to satisfy her as a minister of peace 
 she would in future force him to try whether he 
 would succeed better as a minister of war. Thus 
 Mendoza flung down the gage to England and the 
 Reformation. He had been unpopular in London 
 before, but now the rumour spread through England 
 that he had plotted to kill the Queen, and his 
 life was in the greatest danger from the popular 
 indignation against him. He himself, seeing that 
 the Government refused him the aid of English ships 
 to get away, and the Dutch privateers still swarmed 
 in the narrow seas, was convinced that mischief was 
 meant to him. But he held his head high and 
 boasted more than ever, as slight followed slight 
 from Elizabeth's ministers, of the overwhelming 
 greatness and power of his master. King Philip, who 
 would avenge with interest all the injuries inflicted 
 upon him and Spain. *' Don Bernardino de Men- 
 doza was not born to disturb countries, but to con- 
 quer them," he said in one of his messages to 
 Elizabeth ; whilst to Philip himself he passionately 
 wrote with a back-handed reproach : " All their 
 behaviour is on a par with this ; and if God had 
 not made you so clement and God-fearing a prince, 
 surely no vassal of yours would consent to serve 
 you in England, seeing the way in which the English 
 treat us : for so powerful an empire as that which 
 God has granted to your Majesty cannot endure such 
 ill-treatment as this for any earthly reward." ^ 
 ^ Spanish Calendar, vol. iii. 
 
ELIZABETH'S DEADLY ENEMY 413 
 
 To add to his trouble, he was almost without money, 
 for Philip was the worst paymaster in the world, and 
 he had to bring away with him from England, not only 
 his own great household but the English spies and 
 intermediaries who had served him. " The insolence 
 of these people [i.e., Elizabeth's Government] has 
 brought me to a state, in which my only desire to 
 live is for the purpose of revenging myself upon 
 them ; and I pray that God may let it be soon, and 
 will give me grace to be His instrument of wrath, 
 even though I have to walk barefoot across the world 
 to beg for it. I am sure his Majesty will give such 
 an answer as their insolence merits." ^ 
 
 And so, cursing and reviled, the proud ambassador, 
 with rage in his heart, was hustled out of England, 
 and once more King Philip was face to face with the 
 apparently unsolvable problem of how to gain control 
 of English policy. Five ministers of his had begun 
 hopefully with methods of suave diplomacy, and one 
 after the other had become dangerous conspirators 
 and promoters of treason. Elizabeth and her Govern- 
 ment, timidly at first and with many gyrations, had 
 through a long series of years injured with impunity 
 the dearest interests of Spain. The seizure of the 
 treasure had caused the failure of Alba ; the constant 
 aid of the Netherlands revolt had prevented the 
 pacification of Flanders ; the sheltering of the pirates 
 and privateers in English ports had almost cut off com- 
 munication between Spain and the Flemish dominions 
 by sea ; the depredations of Drake, afloat and ashore, 
 had well-nigh ruined Spain and demonstrated her 
 impotence to the world ; whilst the assistance and 
 asylum given to the Portuguese Pretender had rendered 
 ^ To Idiaquez. — Spanish Calendar, vol. iii. 
 
414 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 incomplete Philip's hold over the new conquest upon 
 which he based such great hopes. 
 
 For five-and-twenty years Philip, against the 
 impatient advice of many of his ministers, had 
 persisted in the belief that his own slow, cautious, 
 diplomatic methods would succeed in conciliating 
 Elizabeth or in substituting for her an instrument 
 more amenable to his hand. The expulsion of 
 Mendoza, in January, 1584, marks the conclusion of 
 the era of peaceful effort. The ambassador left 
 England breathing threats of war and vengeance, 
 and when Philip received the reports of his doings 
 he had no words but those of praise and approbation 
 for them. "You have acted with the same good 
 sense and courage in the manner of your departure 
 as in all else that has happened during your stay 
 in the country. I am entirely satisfied with you, and 
 with your good services, and will take care that they 
 are duly remembered." 
 
 Philip at last had made up his mind : henceforward 
 it must be war to the knife between himself and 
 Elizabeth, and no keener instrument to work the 
 destruction of his enemy could be found than 
 Mendoza, with a bitter personal injury of his own 
 to avenge. From his new post in Paris the 
 ambassador worked incessantly to compass the ruin 
 of the regime in England that had wounded his 
 pride ; and for the rest of his active life, until, blind 
 and heartbroken with failure, the brilliant soldier, 
 diplomatist, and historian was shrouded in a monk's 
 gabardine, Elizabeth had no enemy so indefatigable 
 and rancorous as Don Bernardino de Mendoza. Plans 
 and plots for revolution in England, for the murder 
 of Elizabeth, and for the overthrow by treachery of 
 
PHILIP CONVINCED AT LAST 415 
 
 the Protestant power in favour of Mary Stuart, were 
 the means upon which Mendoza mainly depended. 
 
 Philip was willing, in his cool, cautious way, to 
 smile upon such attempts, when he could do so 
 without committing himself prematurely or too far. 
 They might turn out well by chance, and he might 
 reap the harvest where others had sown the grain 
 and nourished it with their blood. But through it all 
 thenceforward there was slowly maturing in Philip's 
 mind, and preparing in his chancelleries, the great 
 enterprise to which he had been forced by the logic 
 of events — the conquest and domination of England 
 by his own arms and for his own benefit. Such a 
 scheme necessitated patient plotting in every capital 
 in Europe before the material preparations could be 
 even commenced. Of the secret preliminaries, the 
 laborious concentration, and the final disaster of the 
 great Armada in which Philip's ambitions were 
 wrecked the next chapter will tell. 
 
b '■■ 
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 1584-1588 
 
 English Catholics versus Scottish — Santa Cruz's proposal to conquer 
 England — Enlisting the Pope — Intrigues in Rome — Mary Stuart and 
 Philip — Drake's raid on Galicia — Elizabeth assumes the protectorate 
 of the Netherlands — War at last inevitable — The preliminaries of the 
 Armada — The Babington plot — Philip's consent — His distrust — Dis- 
 covery — Elizabeth's fears of war — Her approaches to Spain — Santa 
 Cruz's fresh proposals to invade England — His great plan — The Scot- 
 tish Catholics try again to share the attack upon England — Failure of 
 Huntly's scheme — Guise not allowed by Philip to interfere — Mendoza 
 in favour of the Scottish plan — Philip's claims to the English crown — 
 The peace negotiations — Drake's dash upon Cadiz — Parma and the 
 Armada — Death of Santa Cruz — Medina Sidonia — The Armada — The 
 failure and its causes — The end of the struggle to win England 
 
 WHEN the news came of the arrest of 
 Francis Throckmorton and his friends, 
 and the expulsion of Mendoza, in January, 
 1584, Allen and Parsons were at Tournay busily 
 discussing and arranging with Alexander Farnese, 
 Philip's viceroy in Flanders, the details of the 
 proposed invasion of England in conjunction with 
 Guise and a rising of English Catholics. At first the 
 English priests affected to believe that the arrests 
 would have no serious effects upon their plans. "If," 
 they wrote to Philip, " these men had been cast into 
 prison in consequence of our great business, they 
 would, as usual, have been put into the Tower of 
 London ; and we feel sure, therefore, that up to the 
 present our adversaries have not discovered any par- 
 ticulars of our plans." ^ On the contrary, they con- 
 * Roman Transcript, Record OfEce, vol. xvii. Allen and 
 
 Parsons to the Pope and Philip, i6th January, 1584. 
 
 416 
 
ANOTHER FAILURE 417 
 
 tinue, what has happened should only have the effect 
 of encouraging his Majesty to carry the matter 
 through with greater celerity. "It is nothing short 
 of a miracle that a business known to so many friends 
 for two years past should have remained undiscovered 
 so long ; but it cannot remain hidden much longer, so 
 that unless aid comes from abroad at once the Catho- 
 lics in the island will be utterly ruined. We there- 
 fore cast ourselves at the feet of his Majesty, and cry 
 unto him for the love of Jesus Christ that he will not 
 abandon so many suffering souls, who with their 
 hands raised to heaven are looking eagerly for his 
 help. The time is favourable, and every day's delay 
 is filled with danger." 
 
 Alas ! the zealous Churchmen, who were still at 
 this time acting in concert with the Duke of Guise, 
 did not even yet understand the character and aims 
 of Philip. The King, keener sighted than the priests, 
 knew full well that the arrest of the English Catho- 
 lics and the expulsion of Mendoza meant not only 
 the failure of the loosely-knit plan of invasion with 
 Scottish-Guisan co-operation, but a remodelling of the 
 whole scheme for subduing England to his will. He 
 faced the new problem cautiously and speciously, as 
 was his wont, for he could not afford to alienate the 
 Papacy by avowing political ends, nor dared he at 
 first openly to fly in the face of Guise. Mendoza was 
 summoned to Spain to confer with his master, for Men- 
 doza was always haughtily oblivious to any but purely 
 Spanish means and ends, and to him was confided 
 the entire direction of the English enterprise from the 
 Spanish embassy in Paris, to which he was appointed. 
 But ere he arrived at his post the English Jesuits, 
 recognising, at last, that the Scottish-Guisan plan 
 
4i8 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 was really frustrated, had trimmed their sails in the 
 direction most likely to attain the ends they aimed 
 at — namely, that which would best please their 
 Spanish paymaster. 
 
 The Vatican, always jealous of Spanish over- 
 reaching, still clung to the inclusion of Guise and 
 the attack upon England across the Scottish border ;i 
 and Beton and other Scottish Catholics naturally 
 followed a lead which offered such prospects for the 
 aggrandisement of their country. But Allen and 
 Parsons were already undeceived, for they had been 
 in close touch with Spanish feeling in Flanders ; and 
 when the former was summoned to Paris by Beton 
 and Guise in April, 1584, in order that they might 
 convince him that the Scottish plan was the best, 
 they came to high words, and Allen penned a vigorous 
 defence of his own and the Spanish view. The Eng- 
 lish Catholics, he said, would never rise and join a 
 force coming from Scotland, owing to the hatred and 
 jealousy between the peoples ; the King of Scots' 
 religion being more than doubtful, moreover, will 
 make people believe that he is trying to conquer 
 England for himself rather than for the Church, and 
 the very Catholics will fight against him and his 
 foreign Catholic allies. A landing in Scotland also, 
 said Allen, would give Elizabeth and her Government 
 time to prepare and mass their forces on the Border, 
 whilst a descent on the Welsh or northern English 
 coasts would find the people ready to welcome their 
 deliverers and secure their footing before the Queen 
 could organise resistance. ^ 
 
 ^ The Cardinal of Como to the Nuncio in Paris, 9th April, 
 1584. — Roman Transcripts, Record Office. 
 
 2 Allen to the Nuncio in Paris. — "Letters and Memorials of 
 Cardinal Allen." 
 
ENGLISH VERSUS SCOTS 419 
 
 Before he surrendered his post to his successor, 
 Mendoza, Tassis, the outgoing Spanish ambassador 
 in Paris, also wrote a weighty memorandum to Philip 
 enforcing the same view, whilst recommending him 
 to send money to the King of Scots to keep him in 
 hand ; ^ and thus not many weeks passed from the 
 failure of the combined Guisan and Jesuit plan before 
 the English Jesuit and Spanish elements perfectly 
 understood each other, and agreed that Spain must 
 act alone in England. In May, 1584, Tassis wrote 
 to Philip that Allen and Parsons were both in Paris : 
 '' Still of opinion that the enterprise should be 
 directed against England itself, and on no account- 
 should it be attempted elsewhere. . . . Scotsmen 
 here, impatient at the delay, are discussing the possi- 
 bility of carrying through the business by other aid 
 than that of your Majesty ; and, although Allen and 
 Parsons are trying to keep in with them as much 
 as possible, they [i.e., Allen and Parsons] say that 
 the English need no other patron than your Majesty, 
 and they not only look to you for a remedy, but they 
 say that even if you make the Queen of Scotland 
 their Sovereign they hope you will not leave them 
 hastily, or until everything is settled permanently. 
 They also say they would be glad for your Majesty to 
 keep some [English] ports in your hands, the better 
 to assure matters." 2 This was the thin end of the 
 wedge ; and, knowingly or not, the ideas of Allen 
 and Parsons must even thus early have agreed with 
 Philip's humour at the time. 
 
 James Stuart, by his tergiversation, had made 
 himself quite impossible, from Philip's point of view, 
 
 * Spanish Calendar, vol. iii. 
 
 « Tassis to Philip, May 27th. — Spanish Calendar, vol. iii. 
 
420 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 as a successor to his mother on the throne of Catholic 
 England. Philip's own descent from John of Gaunt 
 was undoubted, and already had been quietly men- 
 tioned as giving him a claim to succeed to the Crown 
 in default of other Catholic heirs. If England had 
 to be conquered by sheer force and by Spanish arms, 
 Philip was determined to make a complete job of it, 
 and to suffer no more backsliding such as had happened 
 after the death of his wife Mary ; so that the sugges- 
 tion of the Jesuits that the attack should be a frontal 
 one on England itself, and that the Spaniards should 
 retain their hold upon the country even after Mary 
 Stuart had been substituted for Elizabeth, met a 
 ready but cautious echo from the King himself. 
 
 Some months before this, when, in August, 1583, 
 the Marquis of Santa Cruz, the great Alvaro de 
 Bazan, had scattered off the Azores the mercenary 
 French and English fleet in the service of the unfor- 
 tunate Portuguese Pretender, Don Antonio, and the 
 Spanish squadrons, flushed with victory, were ready 
 for more fighting, the famous admiral wrote in exalted 
 strains to the King, praying for his permission to 
 make him King of England. *' Your Majesty," he 
 wrote, "is now so well prepared, and with an army 
 so victorious, that I supplicate you not to miss this 
 chance ; for believe me, sire, I have the will to make 
 you King of England and of other realms as well, 
 whence you might with confidence hope to subdue 
 Flanders." Philip was hardly ready for the step yet ; 
 for he had the hard task before him of hoodwinking 
 the Vatican as well as parrying French opposition 
 and Guisan interference, but he wrote to his great 
 admiral : "These are things of which we can hardly 
 speak just yet, for they must depend upon time and 
 
INTRIGUES IN ROME 421 
 
 circumstances ; but in any case I will order the pre- 
 parations you propose to be made, biscuits to be 
 provided, the building of galleons hastened, and men 
 sent to Flanders to be ready." ^ 
 
 The first necessary step was to secure the financial 
 support of the Pope without letting him know the 
 real object of the proposed invasion. Gregory XIII. 
 was cautious and unambitious, though not unwilling 
 to signalise his pontificate by some great effort against 
 heresy, but, like most Italians, with no desire to 
 aggrandise Spain politically. He was surrounded by 
 Cardinals representing different interests : Medici, 
 D'Este, Gonzaga, Rusticucci, Santorio, and others 
 favouring the French view, which looked with hope 
 towards the conversion of James Stuart and an 
 arrangement with Elizabeth to recognise him as her 
 heir, the real object being, of course, the exclusion 
 of Spanish influence from England. Cardinal Sanzio 
 watched the interests of the House of Guise, while the 
 Secretary of State, Caraffa, Sirleto, Como, Dr. Allen 
 (somewhat later), and the Spanish ambassador, the 
 Count of Olivares, worked craftily and incessantly to 
 forward Philip's wishes. It will be recollected that 
 when Father Parsons, under the name of Melino, 
 went to Rome at the instance of Guise in the autumn 
 of 1583, to beg the Pope's assistance in money for the 
 combined Anglo-Scottish project, Gregory XIII. had 
 readily promised what was asked of him, much to 
 Philip's annoyance. When, therefore, Olivares, in 
 Philip's name in the spring of the following year, 
 1584, sounded the Pope upon the much vaster pro- 
 ject of invading England with a great force direct, 
 
 ^ Bazan to the King and the reply, Fernandez Duro, " La 
 Armada Invincible." 
 
422 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 the Pontiff blandly replied that he would contribute 
 what he had promised to Guise through Parsons, and 
 at the same time recommended to Philip the Guisan 
 plan of an invasion of Scotland as a preliminary of 
 the conquest of England for the faith. 
 
 It was not so easy, replied Philip, to liberate the 
 King of Scotland, nor was it safe for the Duke of 
 Guise to stir from his house in France unless in great 
 force. If he were to try the Scottish plan he would 
 probably be lost, which would be an irreparable blow 
 to the Catholic cause in France. Then Philip gently 
 pushed James Stuart into the background. He shall 
 be helped with money, of course, and the English 
 Catholics shall be kept in good heart, but the affair 
 is a great one, and will take time and much money 
 if it is to be done with a certainty of success ; above 
 all, the Pope must " contribute very largely, and must 
 find ways and means, through his holy zeal, to do 
 much more than any one has yet imagined." ^ 
 
 The stars seemed to favour the Spanish plan. 
 Young Alencon died in June, 1584, and the next heir 
 to the Crown of France was the Huguenot Henry of 
 Navarre. Guise, with his high hopes and the people 
 of Paris at his bidding, was thenceforward more easily 
 brought into obedience to Philip ; for upon Spanish 
 forces alone could he depend to aid the French 
 Catholics to resist the accession of a Protestant 
 sovereign. Civil war, indeed, loomed up in France, 
 and from it the Duke of Guise might hope to emerge 
 a king ; and in December, 1584, the Catholic league 
 of Philip and Guise was signed at Joinville, by which 
 the King of Spain was left a free hand in English 
 affairs in return for his support of Guise in the rapidly 
 ^ Spanish Calendar, vol. iii. 
 
MARY STUART IMPATIENT 423 
 
 approaching struggle in France. Philip was thus 
 assured, first, that the Huguenots would be too busy 
 to help Elizabeth in her hour of need, and, secondly, 
 that Guise would be too full of his own ambitions in 
 France to interfere with his in England. 
 
 The death of Gregory XIII. and the accession of 
 Felice Peretti as Pope Sixtus V. also seemed to favour 
 the Spanish objects. Sixtus was full of vast pro- 
 jects for the spread of orthodox Christianity ; he was 
 a man of great ability and boundless ambition, who 
 had waited long for his chance and was determined 
 to make the most of it now it had come, so that 
 Olivares had in future a more ready listener than 
 before to his exhortations on behalf of the Catholic 
 King. But though Sixtus yearned to do great things 
 for the Church, he was determined, as his predecessor 
 had been, not to work for purely Spanish aims to the 
 prejudice of France ; and for the next two years a 
 keen war of wits was waged between Olivares and 
 the Pope, the Spaniard seeking to obtain the million 
 ducats subsidy to the English enterprise without 
 pledging his master to any definite course in Eng- 
 land after the conquest. 
 
 In the meanwhile the long delay was driving 
 Mary Stuart and the English Catholics to despera- 
 tion. The Queen had been taken from the mild 
 custody of Lord Shrewsbury, and was now kept a 
 close prisoner in the hands of very different gaolers. 
 Her one hope was in Philip and Mendoza ; but as 
 month followed month whilst her treatment became 
 harsher and no succour came — for the vast plans 
 of Philip could only be carried out, if at all, with 
 infinite preliminaries — the unhappy woman became 
 almost vehement in her prayers that the move- 
 
424 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 ment should be made before it was too late. In 
 November, 1584, she wrote to Mendoza : "Let the 
 end be what it may, and whatever becomes of me, no 
 matter what change may be made in my condition, 
 pray use all diligence in forwarding the execution 
 of the great enterprise without any regard for the 
 personal danger I may incur. I shall look upon 
 my life as well spent if by its sacrifice I can help 
 to relieve the multitude of oppressed children of 
 the Holy Catholic Church." Both she and Mendoza 
 believed at this time that her life was in danger 
 unless the Spanish attack was delivered in time to 
 avert the supposed evil intention, and the ambassa- 
 dor, writing to Philip, added his own supplications 
 to those of the Queen that no more time should be 
 lost. 
 
 What Mendoza dreaded even more than Mary's 
 murder by the English, was the possibility of her 
 escape by their means, as she would then owe her 
 life to heretics, and would thereafter presumably be 
 an untrustworthy instrument against them. " If, on 
 the contrary, she perish, as may be feared, it cannot 
 fail to bring scandal and reproach upon your Majesty, 
 because as you are, after her, the nearest Catholic 
 heir of the blood royal of England, some false 
 suspicion might be aroused at your having abandoned 
 the good Queen to be ruined by the heretics, in 
 order to open the door to your Majesty's own 
 advantage." ^ This idea of Philip's claim to the 
 English succession was industriously kept alive by 
 Allen, Parsons, and Hugh Owen, who had been 
 appointed a committee to advise the Duke of Parma 
 in Flanders with regard to the English enterprise, 
 * Spanish Calendar, vol. iii. 
 
THE GREAT SCHEME GROWS 425 
 
 until the breaking out of the civil war in France, 
 and the open support given to the Dutch rebels 
 and Huguenots by Elizabeth, changed the centre 
 of intrigue from Flanders to Rome ; and Allen and 
 Parsons were sent thither to work in favour of the 
 Spanish plans. 
 
 For the scheme was surely growing now into a 
 vast expedition, ostensibly to place Mary Stuart 
 upon the throne of England, but really to make 
 Philip master of the country, with or without the 
 nominal sovereignty. Deeply though France was 
 plunged in civil war, with Guise in arms tyrannising 
 over the King, the French interest was still strong, 
 and, both at Rome and elsewhere, would struggle 
 its hardest against anything like a Spanish domina- 
 tion of England. Nor were the Italians in love 
 with the idea of a conquest that would make Philip 
 supreme in Europe, and consequently all the skill, 
 boldness, and cunning of Spanish diplomacy was 
 concentrated in Rome to obtain by false pretences 
 from the Church the vast sums required for the 
 conquest of England. With the weak attempts of 
 the French Government itself to avert the danofer 
 Philip could easily deal. The French ministers 
 proposed to Mendoza in June, 1585, that Spain and 
 France jointly should invade England in favour of 
 Mary Stuart. Philip understood the object at once, 
 and in his usual way, with much sanctimonious 
 verbiage, asked for a multitude of pledges and 
 particulars, as if he entertained the proposal, whilst 
 he continued his own stealthy preliminaries in Rome 
 for the purely Spanish enterprise, for which others 
 might pay but he alone must direct.^ When the 
 
 "■ Philip to Mendoza, 5th July, 1585.— Spanish Calendar, 
 vol. iii. 
 
426 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 leader of the French party in the Vatican, Cardinal 
 D'Este, soon after this tried to persuade the Pope 
 that the best and safest course for the Church 
 would be to aid Guise to direct the English enter- 
 prise and make James Stuart King of Britain after 
 his mother's death, another line had to be taken 
 by Philip. Then Olivares boldly told the Pope that 
 D'Este, like so many of his house, was a bad 
 Catholic, who sought to bring about the victory of 
 heresy in France and the consequent downfall of the 
 Guises. Let the Pope secure the triumph of Guise 
 and the faith in France first, urged Olivares, and 
 the English enterprise could be undertaken after- 
 wards. 
 
 Sixtus V. was willing, nay anxious, to allow the 
 conquest to be undertaken by Spain alone, recognising 
 that the French Catholics could not now safely be 
 allowed to exhaust their strength in a foreign war; 
 but he always hoped that James's constant assurances 
 of Catholic sympathies might be sincere, and that 
 Mary Stuart might be duly succeeded by her son 
 under Catholic auspices. Guise also was constantly 
 plied with arguments by Mendoza on Philip's orders, 
 directed to divert him from all ideas of England. 
 "Warn him [Guise] against making any agreement 
 with his enemies," wrote Philip, on the 17th August, 
 1585, "and open his eyes with regard to the English 
 enterprise. Point out to him the danger he runs 
 if he allows himself to be cajoled into leaving his 
 home and country before he has humbled his rivals 
 and converted or expelled the heretics, and how^ 
 much deceived he might find himself when he wished 
 to return to France from such an attempt. . , . Tell 
 the French first to put an end to the heretics in 
 
ENGLAND'S RETALIATION 427 
 
 their own country, and afterwards we can deal with 
 them elsewhere." ^ 
 
 The sinister activity of Philip's agents in Rome 
 and the vapouring of the English Catholic refugees 
 in Spanish Flanders, had in the meanwhile aroused 
 the distrust of Elizabeth and her Government. Ever 
 since Philip had captured Portugal and obtained 
 thus the command of the Atlantic, the Puritan 
 element in the English Court, led by Leicester and 
 Walsingham, had promoted attempts, through Don 
 Antonio and otherwise, to strike a crushing blow 
 at the Spanish naval power in Europe. Drake's 
 depredations in the Pacific had been a terrible 
 loss to Spain, both in a moral and material sense, 
 and the English seamen were eag-er to return to 
 the charge, in order to anticipate and frustrate the 
 evil which most of them believed was being plotted 
 against their country by the quiet, stealthy little 
 elderly man far away in the mountains of Castile. 
 Elizabeth and Cecil detested to face responsibility ; 
 and although the Queen was willing to accept the 
 benefit of accomplished facts, she usually set her face 
 against assuming an attitude of open hostility to 
 Spain when she could avoid it. Leicester had at 
 last, in the autumn of 1585, induced her to accept, 
 with much misgiving, the practical protection of the 
 rebel Dutch States, and this was naturally assumed 
 by Philip as an act of open war. Thenceforward 
 any means for injuring the English were considered 
 legitimate by the King of Spain. 
 
 In the spring of 1585 a large number of English 
 ships had been induced, on a promise of immunity 
 from molestation, to carry cargoes of grain to the 
 
 * Philip to Mendoza, 17th August. — Spanish Calendar, vol. iii. 
 
428 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 northern ports of Spain, where famine was impending. 
 One of these ships, the Primrose, was discharging 
 her cargo off Portugalete, near Bilbao, when, as 
 the EngHsh sailors averred, the Lieutenant-Governor 
 of Biscay and a force of men disguised as mer- 
 chants boarded the ship and suddenly called upon 
 the Englishmen to surrender. Though taken by 
 surprise, the crew turned upon the intruders and 
 threw them all overboard, though some were sub- 
 sequently rescued by the English, amongst them the 
 Lieutenant-Governor himself ; whereupon the Prim- 
 rose, carrying her prisoners with her, immediately 
 set sail to England, with the news of the treachery, 
 the official orders found upon the person of the 
 half-drowned Lieutenant-Governor being to the effect 
 that the ships were all to be captured to help the 
 expedition contemplated for the invasion of England. 
 At all events, the rest of the English ships were 
 captured, Philip's own pretext for the act being 
 that it was in reprisal for the daring abduction by 
 the Primrose of the Lieutenant-Governor.^ 
 
 No sooner did the news reach England than the 
 country burst into a chorus of indignation, and the 
 sailors and Puritans, who had so long urged an 
 active policy against Spain on the sea, found that | 
 all Englishmen were now with them.^ It was no 
 
 ^ Philip to Mendoza, 23rd July, 1585. — Spanish Calendar, 
 vol. iii. ,1 
 
 2 It appears, from a letter written by the Marquis of Santa 
 Cruz in 1586, that all the English ships were released in a 
 week or so without any damage being done to them, whereas 
 the embargo upon Spanish property in England was not raised 
 at all. Santa Cruz represents that the English were the ag- | 
 gressors ; probably some religious point was made the pretext 
 for the attempt to take possession of the Primrose by the 
 
DRAKE THE AVENGER 429 
 
 longer to be a timid support of the Portuguese 
 Pretender, or a surreptitious sheltering of Dutch and 
 Huguenot privateers, but an avowed public movement, 
 and London and the western ports of England came 
 openly with subscriptions, to which the Queen con- 
 tributed largely, for a joint-stock fleet under Drake, 
 to avenge the capture of English ships, and to injure 
 Spanish shipping wherever it could be found. This 
 was open war ; and through the summer and autumn 
 of 1585 Philip's spies in England continued to send 
 him alarming news of the great preparations for a 
 naval expedition against him under the dreaded 
 Drake. Sometimes it was said to be another attempt 
 to place Don Antonio on the Portuguese throne, 
 sometimes it was the Spanish silver fleet that was 
 to be met and plundered on its way home, and so 
 forth ; but whatever it was it boded ill to Philip's 
 ships, with Drake in command of his foes. Retalia- 
 tory embargoes were placed once more on Spanish 
 property in England, and the two countries thence- 
 forward were practically at war. 
 
 The enthusiasm in England knew no bounds ; 
 and when Drake and his sea-dogs Fenner, Wynter, 
 and Frobisher sailed out of Plymouth with twenty- 
 one stout craft and many pinnaces well armed, on 
 the 14th September, 1585, every one in England 
 knew that Philip's secret plotting was to be met 
 by open action. Capturing the Spanish ships, they 
 met, Drake and his company in a few days, came 
 to anchor off" the Bayona Isles in Galicia, and landed 
 a force of men. " What want ye here," asked the 
 
 Lieutenant-Governor of Biscay. The Spaniards insist that none 
 of the ships were embargoed until the Primrose had sailed 
 away with her " captors." 
 
430 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 terrified townsmen, far from succour. " We come," 
 said Drake, " for the Englishmen ye have in your 
 prisons, and for the EngHsh merchandise ye have 
 stolen." The people could only give them fair words 
 and presents of country produce, for the English 
 ships had not been captured there. Burning a chapel 
 and its contents, the English force then sailed to 
 the great harbour of Vigo, where they looted all 
 they could lay their hands upon. Here again the 
 people came to parley, and Frobisher, who spoke 
 good Spanish, was the spokesman of the English. 
 " We want our countrymen and our stolen goods 
 restored to us," he said ; and the Spaniards were 
 ready to promise this or anything if the valuables 
 just seized by the English were returned. Banquets 
 and palavers followed, but they were full of distrust, 
 and nothing came of them ; for Drake saw that his 
 enemies were but delaying until help should arrive. 
 So, capturing all he could catch in Vigo Bay, he sailed 
 away on his West India voyage, intending to assail the 
 Spanish colonial power in its three principal western 
 centres. Philip was astounded at the boldness of 
 the attack, the first upon Spanish soil itself, not, 
 as he was careful to explain, because of the material 
 damage suffered, which was small, but for the 
 "insolence" of the thing; but withal, it took six 
 months of frenzied effort before Alvaro de Bazan 
 could muster a Spanish fleet fit to pursue the bold 
 Devonshire sailor, who was devastating the West 
 Indies. 
 
 The departure of Leicester and a strong English 
 army to Holland, at the end of 1585, finally brought. 
 England and Spain nationally face to face in the 
 field. We have witnessed the slow process by 
 
ELIZABETH AND PHILIP AT WAR 431 
 
 which Philip and Elizabeth, both haters of war, 
 had been drawn into this position. For the former 
 it was vital that Enoland should be amenable to 
 his direction in foreign policy, or the cause for 
 which he lived was doomed, and the decadence of 
 Spain as a dominant power in Europe was certain ; 
 and, with his patient, inflexible belief in the fated 
 triumph of his methods, he had striven through 
 twenty-eight years to secure his object by peaceful 
 means. He had failed, and it was to be war after 
 all. Not now against a Queen whose throne was 
 unstable, but against a popular sovereign and a 
 nation which, since he had seen it, had been born 
 to a new sense of power, a consciousness of poten- 
 tial grandeur, and a determination to live its own 
 life without interference from its neighbours. But 
 though Philip's plans were thus changed late in the 
 struggle and he saw himself faced by new forces, 
 he, at least, never doubted of the result. For him 
 the idea of failure, in a cause that in his eyes was 
 that of God Himself, was impossible. With a limited 
 mental scope, which shut out all views but one, he 
 was incapable of understanding that there were two 
 sides to every question, or that Elizabeth was 
 actuated in her resistance to his advances by any- 
 thing else than an impious desire to do evil for 
 evil's sake. A small spice of imagination would 
 have enabled him to see that she was fighting for 
 her own and her country's life and greatness, as 
 surely as he was fighting for his ; and perchance 
 the knowledge might have made harmony, or at 
 least neutrality, possible. But, given Philip's char- 
 acter and Elizabeth's circumstances, it was inevitable, 
 after the autumn of 1585, that the antagonists should 
 
432 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 come to close grip, and that one or the other should 
 be reduced to impotence for harm. 
 
 Philip was convinced of this at last, and with his 
 leaden-footed deliberation he set about making success 
 as certain as he knew how to make it. He was 
 laborious, unsparing of himself and others, a man 
 of great personal ability, sagacious and wise within 
 his limitations ; but his ingrained distrust of other men 
 — part of his father's teaching — led him to take upon 
 himself the care of every detail in all his enterprises 
 and deprived his officers of initiative and independ- 
 ence. From his cell in the Escorial, far away and 
 difficult of access from the coast, he insisted upon 
 pulling the wires which controlled the smallest actions 
 of his subordinates, and we shall see how in the 
 crowning effort of his life these fatal characteristics 
 cast a blight over the vast enterprise, upon which 
 depended the fate of Christendom for centuries. 
 
 There were many difficulties to overcome before 
 the material preparations could even be commenced. 
 First there was Sixtus to persuade, which was not 
 an easy task. Olivares and Allen worked hard in 
 Rome to convince him that Philip was moved 
 solely by religious zeal, and not by a desire for 
 revenge or aggrandisement, in projecting the expedi- 
 tion. "I have plied him," wrote Olivares, "with 
 every argument . . . but in addition to his natural 
 tenacity and his buckler of precedents, I have been 
 much hampered with the news of your Majesty's 
 preparations which pour in from all quarters." The 
 Guisan and Italian Cardinals, too, were for ever un- 
 doing one day what Olivares and Allen with Caraffa 
 had effected the day before. The Scottish and 
 Welsh Catholic clergy in Rome, too, especially Dr. 
 
 i 
 
CARDINAL ALLEN 
 
DIFFICULTIES IN ROME 433 
 
 Owen Lewis, Bishop of Cassano, and even many of 
 the English secular clergy, were strongly opposed to 
 what they feared would mean a Spanish domination 
 of the island ; and between the opposing factions and 
 his disinclination to part with the vast sum of money 
 demanded of him, Sixtus was not easy to bend to 
 Philip's will. At length, after much friction and 
 many quarrels, Olivares was obliged to be content 
 with the Pope's promise of a million ducats towards 
 the subjection of England ; but no persuasion or 
 pressure could move Sixtus to provide any part of 
 this sum until after the Spanish army had secured 
 a footing on the island. A more delicate matter even 
 than this was the question of the sovereignty of 
 England after the death of Mary Stuart. Sixtus 
 now usually agreed — though he often wavered on the 
 point — that James Stuart was not to be trusted ; 
 and in compliance with Philip's argument that a 
 successor to Mary should be chosen before she was 
 placed upon the English throne, in order to prevent 
 her from forcing her son as her heir afterwards, the 
 Pope was at length brought to agree to leave the 
 choice of the future Sovereign of England to the King 
 of Spain, though he pleaded hard that the person 
 chosen should be an Englishman. ^ 
 
 Whilst Olivares in Rome, with imperious boldness, 
 was managing the Pope, Mendoza in Paris, with equal 
 skill, was keeping Guise in hand, pointing out the 
 great destiny that awaited him in France, and the 
 shame of allowing a heretic King to succeed to 
 the " most Christian " Crown. At the same time 
 he maintained a close correspondence with Mary 
 
 ^ The correspondence of Olivares detailing his negotiations 
 with Sixtus is in the Spanish Calendar, vol. iii. 
 
 FF 
 
434 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 Stuart and the disaffected section of English Catholics 
 who were represented as yearning for the coming 
 of King Philip's liberating fleet. Mary was sore 
 and angry at what she thought an unjustifiable 
 delay on the part of Philip, and was incessant in 
 her prayers, through Mendoza, that she should be 
 liberated before it was too late. Most of her inter- 
 mediaries were false, and her secret correspondence 
 was known to Walsingham and Elizabeth, but with 
 Mary's unhappy trustfulness she never failed to seize 
 upon any chance, however dangerous, by which her 
 great ambition might, perhaps, be served. 
 
 In the middle of May, 1586, Charles Paget, who 
 was still one of Mary's agents in Paris, came to 
 Mendoza, bringing with him an English priest named 
 Ballard, who had been sent by a number of Catholics, 
 especially in Lancashire and the North, to represent 
 to him that : " God had infused more courage than 
 ever into them, and had convinced them that no 
 time was so opportune as the present to shake off 
 the oppression of the Queen and the yoke of heresy 
 that weighs upon them, as most of the strongest 
 heretics are now absent in Zeeland. They say that 
 I have never deceived them, and they beg me to 
 tell them whether your Majesty had determined 
 to help them to take up arms when they decided 
 to do so." ^ Mendoza had but a general expression 
 of sympathy to reply to this ; for though the great 
 fleet of conquest projected in Spain was already 
 the talk of Europe, to Philip's officers it was still 
 supposed to be an inviolate secret. This inquiry 
 of the English Catholics, however, was not John 
 Ballard's real reason for coming to see Mendoza. 
 ^ Mendoza to Philip, Spanish Calendar, vol. iii. 
 
THE BABINGTON PLOT 435 
 
 He handed him a letter from four EngHsh Catholics 
 who had access to Elizabeth's Court, in which they 
 promised to kill the Queen either by poison or by 
 steel if they were assured of Philip's help after the 
 deed was done. Mendoza ciphered the letter himself 
 and sent it to Philip's secretary, but as John Ballard 
 did not broach the subject verbally Mendoza's dis- 
 inclination to give any pledges kept Ballard in 
 Paris beating about the bush in doubt for many 
 weeks. Parsons, who was a good hater, asserted 
 ten years afterwards ^ that the whole scheme of 
 Ballard and Gifford was promoted by Paget and 
 Morgan, Mary Stuart's correspondents in Paris, for 
 the purpose of frustrating the purely Spanish attack 
 upon England, to which they are represented as 
 being bitterly hostile, and that Walsingham was 
 informed of the plot with the same object. Paget 
 was, and continued to be, a pensioner of Spain, 
 and Morgan, who was entirely trusted by Mary, 
 was also richly rewarded by Philip, at her request ; 
 but there is no reason to doubt the positive asser- 
 tions of Parsons that both of them belonged to the 
 anti-Jesuit party, to which, indeed, most English as 
 well as the Scottish and Welsh Catholics adhered ; 
 and that by every means they endeavoured to 
 frustrate what Allen and the Jesuits tried so hard 
 to promote — a Spanish domination of England. 
 
 Whilst Ballard waited in Paris the reply of 
 Mendoza, the latter received important letters from 
 Mary Stuart, who at last had been able, by Morgan's 
 contrivance, to re-open correspondence with the outer 
 
 ^ Parsons to Idiaquez, 30th June, 1597. Transcript printed 
 in " Letters and Memorials of Cardinal Allen." The original 
 cannot now be found in the Simancas Archives, 
 
436 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 world, little dreaming, poor soul, that the facilities 
 provided were only a trap of her enemies. This 
 was the first time she had communicated with 
 Mendoza since his arrival in Paris a year before, 
 and William Paget, the brother of Charles, was 
 her messenger. He was to make certain proposals 
 to him for Philip's aid to " our designs " ; but by 
 far the most important part of the message came 
 afterwards. The continued heresy of her son James 
 had, she said, well-nigh broken her heart, and in 
 order to secure the triumph of the Church " I 
 will cede and make over by will to the King 
 your master my right to the succession of the 
 English Crown, and ask him to take me in future 
 entirely under his protection, and also the affairs 
 of this country. For the discharge of my own 
 conscience I could not hope to place them in the 
 hands of a Prince more zealous in our Catholic 
 faith or more capable in all respects of re-establish- 
 ing it in this country. ... I am obliged in this 
 matter to prefer the public welfare of the Church 
 to the aggrandisement of my posterity." 
 
 Thus Mary finally embraced the Jesuit view which 
 looked forward to a Spanish sovereignty over Eng- 
 land to the detriment of her son and Scotland, and 
 in opposition to many of her friends and adherents 
 in England and France.^ To the King of Spain 
 this renunciation of her son by Mary was of pro- 
 found significance. His own English descent had 
 
 ^ That she knew this is seen in the letter where she implores 
 Mendoza to keep the matter secret, or she will lose her French 
 dowry. It is curious, however, that in the same letter she prays 
 for rewards for Morgan and the Pagets, whom Parsons represents 
 as being strongly anti-Spanish. 
 
PHILIP'S CLAIMS TO ENGLAND 437 
 
 never been lost sight of, but here his claim was 
 rendered legitimate apart from his ancestry ; and 
 Mendoza, though when he received Mary's letter he 
 had just been couched for cataract and was temporarily 
 blind, caused a reply to be written to the Queen 
 warmly commending her saintly resolution. She saw, 
 he said, how evil her son was disposed, and the 
 French had done little enough for her, whereas 
 Philip had always befriended her. " Moreover," he 
 wrote to Philip, " failing the Queen of Scots and her 
 son, your Majesty is the direct legitimate heir to the 
 Crown of England. Cecil, the Lord Treasurer, was 
 in the habit of saying that the Duchy of Lancaster 
 had been unlawfully usurped from your Majesty." ^ 
 No wonder that Philip replied to this in what 
 was for him an unusually effusive strain : " She 
 [Mary Stuart] has greatly risen in my estimation 
 in consequence of what she says, and has much 
 increased the devotion I have always felt for her 
 interests, not so much because of what she says 
 in my favour, though I am very grateful for that 
 also, as because she postpones her love for her son, 
 which might be expected to lead her astray, for 
 the service of our Lord, the good of Christendom, 
 and the salvation of England. Tell her all this 
 from me, and assure her that if she perseveres 
 in the good path she has chosen I hope that 
 God will bless her by placing her in possession 
 of her own. You will add that I shall be happy 
 to undertake the protection of her person and 
 interests as she requests." 2 
 
 ^ Mendoza to Philip, 26th June, 1586. — Spanish Calendar, 
 vol. iii. 
 
 2 Philip to Mendoza, i8th July, 1586. — Spanish Calendar, 
 vol. iii. 
 
438 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 This move of Mary's made it necessary for 
 Philip to handle the question of the succession 
 with more caution than ever in Rome, for if once 
 the French and Italian Churchmen thought that 
 he meant to seize the Crown of England for him- 
 self, half Europe would have been ready to oppose 
 him. So Olivares was ordered to " keep constantly 
 before the eyes of his Holiness the advisability of 
 choosing some firm Catholic, who on the exclusion 
 of the King of Scots should take his place, and it 
 is equally important to keep his Holiness to the 
 point, binding him to agree to my nomination of a 
 fit successor to the Queen of Scots in England." 
 The reply from Philip gave Mary new hope. She 
 had been deeply discouraged at the repeated failures 
 of attempts to rescue her and overthrow Elizabeth, 
 and the long delay of any effective aid from Philip 
 had well-nigh driven her to despair. But now, 
 surely, a new era of success was opening to her. 
 Rumours reached even her in her prison of the 
 great preparations being made in the Spanish and 
 Portuguese ports for some vast naval enterprise ; 
 whilst the open war between Elizabeth's troops and 
 the Spaniards in Zeeland seemed to Mary to make 
 certain and near the hour when Philip's arms 
 should avenge the injuries done to him by finally 
 crushing the heretic Queen and substituting Mary 
 for her. Many times in the last six months, she 
 wrote to Mendoza, she had turned a deaf ear to 
 proposals of English Catholics for her deliverance : 
 " But now that I hear of the good intentions of 
 the Catholic King towards us I have written to 
 the principal leaders of the Catholics here a full 
 statement of my views on all points of the execution 
 
THE MURDER PLOT AGAIN 439 
 
 of the enterprise. To save time I have ordered 
 them to send to you with all speed one of their 
 number, fully instructed to treat with you, In 
 accordance with the promises given to you in 
 general terms, and to lay before you all the 
 requests they wish to make to the King. I assure 
 you, on their faithful promise given to me, that 
 they will carry out their undertakings, even at the 
 risk of their lives. I therefore beg you to give full 
 credit to their messenger as if I had sent him 
 myself. He will tell you the means they have 
 for getting me away from here, which I will attempt 
 to effect on my own account if I am assured of 
 armed aid." ^ 
 
 Almost simultaneously with this the group of 
 Ensflish Catholics who had sent Ballard to Men- 
 doza in May were able to supply the ambassador 
 with the details and assurances he had requested 
 to prove the seriousness of their intention. Their 
 envoy on this occasion was Gilbert Gifford, brother 
 of the Dean of Lille, and, according to Parsons, a 
 strong opponent of the Spanish-Jesuit party. He 
 unfolded to Mendoza the existence of a vast con- 
 spiracy in England, in which most of the Catholic 
 nobles were implicated. The Earl of Arundel, son of 
 the late Duke of Norfolk, and most of his kinsmen, 
 with a score or so of other noblemen and gentry 
 whose names Mendoza sent to Philip, were ready 
 to rise in force whenever they were advised that 
 the Spanish fleet was approaching. Sir William 
 Stanley, in command of a large body of Irish- 
 men intended for Flanders, would delay his depar- 
 
 ^ Mary to Mendoza, 27th July, 1586. — Spanish Calendar, 
 vol. iii. 
 
440 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 ture if possible, revolt against the Queen, and join 
 the invaders ; the English force in Ireland under 
 Bele would do likewise, whilst Claude Hamilton 
 and a force of Scots would join the Catholics of 
 the North on the signal being given. The very- 
 heretics themselves, they said, were ripe for revo- 
 lution, tired of the burden of taxation ; but, above 
 all, a young man named Babington and some six 
 confederates ^ had determined to kill Queen Eliza- 
 beth, in accordance with the suggestion previously 
 made by them through Ballard. They only asked 
 that Spain should support them when the deed was 
 done. No Frenchmen should be concerned in the 
 business, but promptitude was now vital, for every 
 hour increased the risk of discovery ; and they prayed 
 Philip to let them know at once what he would do to 
 rescue England. 
 
 Mendoza jumped at all these proposals, for, accord- 
 ing to Gifford, the greatest men in England were 
 pledged to the rising — as apart from Babington's 
 murder plot ; even the moderate Catholics being 
 pledged to it. Two letters went off at once from 
 the Spaniard to the heads of the enterprise, ** praising 
 the proposal as it deserved, as it was so Christian, 
 just, and advantageous to our holy faith and to your 
 Majesty's service, worthy of spirits so Catholic as 
 theirs and of the ancient valour of Englishmen." 
 If they succeeded in killing the Queen, promised 
 Mendoza without authority, they should have the 
 assistance they required from the Netherlands, and 
 the assurance that King Philip would succour them. 
 *' I promised them this on my faith and word, urging 
 
 ^ It was asserted by Mendoza that Raleigh was one of these, 
 which is incredible. 
 
MENDOZA'S INDISCRETION 441 
 
 them to hasten the execution." Directly they had 
 despatched the Queen, wrote Mendoza to them, let 
 them seize Don Antonio and the Portuguese with him 
 and lodge him in the Tower ; get Sir William Stanley 
 to seize the Queen's fleet, unless Lord Admiral 
 Howard was a trustworthy party to the plot, and let 
 them be sure to kill Cecil, Walsingham, Hunsdon, 
 Knollys, and Beal at the same time as the Queen. 
 
 Mendoza's hatred of Elizabeth outran his discretion, 
 and in conveying all this to Philip he wrote: "Of all 
 the plots they have hatched these many years past 
 none have been apparently so serious as this. They 
 have never before proposed to make away with the 
 Queen, which is now the first step they intend to take. 
 As she so richly deserves her punishment, it may be 
 believed that God has heard the groans of the afflicted 
 Catholics and desires to bring it upon her thus swiftly. 
 Let Him dispose as He will ; but if, for our sins, He 
 shall ordain that it do not succeed there will be much 
 Catholic blood shed in England. Up to the present 
 your Majesty is pledged no further than the risk of 
 100,000 crowns, which have been given to the priests 
 sent thither, and if secrecy be kept we need only 
 watch what comes of it. If the Queen falls the 
 country will submit without bloodshed, and the 
 Netherlands war will be at an end." 
 
 Philip was horrified when he received this letter, 
 and scribbled upon its margin, in that appalling scrawl 
 of his, scornful comments which showed that his cold, 
 secretive nature rebelled against the rash enthusiasm 
 of his usually discreet Mendoza. How could such a 
 secret be kept, he asked, if all these people were 
 chattering about it .-* How could the schismatics, or 
 outwardly conforming Catholics, be trusted ? They 
 
442 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 were mere heretics and no better ; and how imprudent 
 of Mendoza, his ambassador, to send to the con- 
 spirators two such compromising letters as those 
 mentioned ! Philip had heard too often in the past I 
 of such plots as this, and he had thrown away already 
 too much money in subsidising such adventures. 
 Nothing but conquest, he was convinced, would serve 
 his turn now ; and to that end he was bending all his 
 energies night and day, penning the Pope closer into 
 the corner, inflaming more than ever the French 
 ambitions of Guise, and fomenting trouble in France ; 
 and, above all, collecting stores, arms, and ships from 
 all his vast dominions to crush Elizabeth for good and 
 for all in the interests of the Church and Spain. 
 
 But, withal, Philip was not a man to throw away a 
 chance if he could gain it with a minimum of respon- 
 sibility, and he blended his somewhat caustic remarks 
 upon the lack of secrecy and caution displayed with 
 saintly approval of the plan to murder his sister-in-law. 
 "As the affair is so much in God's service," he wrote 
 to Mendoza on the 5th September, " it certainly 
 deserves to be supported, and we hope that our Lord 
 will prosper it, unless our sins are an impediment 
 thereto. It appears to be based upon a solid founda- 
 tion and to have the support of many Catholics, but 
 it is difficult to keep a secret entrusted to so many 
 people, and it causes me anxiety that it should be so 
 widespread, and even schismatics let into the secret. 
 . . . But the importance of the matter is great, and 
 perhaps the time has arrived when God will strike for 
 His own cause." Philip left in no doubt his own 
 attitude with regard to the matter. The Spanish aid 
 should be ready, but should not be sent until the 
 murder of Elizabeth had been effected. Let the 
 
PHILIP AND BABINGTON 443 
 
 " principal executions " be done, he urged, without a 
 moment's delay. " Everything depends upon the 
 one act which is to be the commencement. When 
 this is done they may with one voice acclaim it, and 
 the way will be clear, whilst if the intention is dis- 
 covered before its execution each one will be destroyed 
 separately and union will be impossible. As all hangs 
 upon this, and the cause is God's own, we must hope 
 that He will prosper it." 
 
 Gifford was sent on his way to England with the 
 King's message, and soon the heavy hand of Walsing- 
 ham fell upon the conspirators, who had all through 
 been living in a fool's paradise, betrayed, as was 
 Mary herself, by the instruments they thought so 
 trusty and faithful. Philip had been right in his 
 distrust ; once more conspiracy subsidised by Spanish 
 intrigue and money had failed, more disastrously this 
 time than ever before ; and the King of Spain, whilst 
 deploring in conventional terms the dire fate of most 
 of those upon whom he had depended for an auxiliary 
 movement in England on the approach of his fleet, 
 accepted the reverse with stolid philosophy. In one 
 respect, indeed, it was to some extent a relief to him. 
 There is no doubt that he greatly esteemed Mary 
 Stuart for her steadfast Catholicism, and would have 
 placed her upon the throne of England if his attempt 
 at conquest had been successful during her life ; but 
 there was always lurking in the background the fear 
 that after her accession she might be drawn by French 
 intrigue or maternal solicitude to adopt her son as her 
 heir, in which case Philip's vast efforts and expendi- 
 ture might have been in vain. But with Mary a 
 condemned prisoner, whose head might fall at any 
 moment, it was the present rather than the future 
 
444 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP * 
 
 sovereignty of England that was now to be decided, 
 and slowly, with the aid of Parsons and Allen, the 
 claims of Philip to the English succession were 
 advanced tentatively even in England itself, though 
 not, as we shall presently see, with any intention of 
 his personally assuming the sovereignty after Eliza- 
 beth was disposed of. 
 
 The question of Mary Stuart's complicity in 
 Babington's murder-project is one that does not 
 directly concern us here, but there can be but little 
 doubt that, even though it was not conveyed to her 
 in so many words, she was well aware of the whole 
 plan. I At least Mendoza, who should have known, 
 believed that she was ; for on the collapse of the 
 conspiracy he wrote to Philip : " I am of opinion that 
 the Queen of Scotland must h^ well acquainted with 
 the whole affair, to judge by the contents of a letter 
 she has written to me. . . . Doubtless it is God's will 
 to give England to your Majesty by the strong arm 
 only, since He has allowed so much Catholic blood to 
 be lost, as will be shed by the discovery of this 
 business. Nothing has been said yet about my letters, 
 but even if they were discovered and printed they are 
 so worded that another construction could be placed 
 upon them." Mendoza was too sanguine in this 
 respect. His letters were read and his conversations 
 with the messengers repeated. There was no need 
 on the part of Elizabeth and Walsingham to go out 
 of their way to put harmless constructions upon his 
 
 ^ If the postscript to her letter to Babington of 17th July, 1586 
 (Record Office, " Mary Queen of Scots," vol. xviii.), be genuine, 
 as 1 believe, there can be no doubt of this, but her letter to the 
 French ambassador, Chateauneuf (17th July), is also compro- 
 mising (Labanoff). 
 
ALARM OF ELIZABETH 445 
 
 words, which, indeed, were plain enough, and a shout 
 of execration went up all over England at an ambas- 
 sador who thus connived at the murder of a sovereign 
 and a lady. 
 
 Already the alarming reports of spies had aroused 
 the worst fears of Elizabeth and her people. The 
 Queen, particularly, dreaded the vengeance which 
 seemed hanging over her. For years she had defied 
 Philip and had beaten him in the game of diplomacy, 
 depending for her immunity upon the continued war 
 in the Netherlands and upon Philip's distrust of 
 France. But she saw that France could not help her 
 now, whatever her extremity, for the Guises were in 
 arms and the wretched fribble upon the throne was 
 but a straw borne hither and thither upon the tempest, 
 whilst the Huguenots were grimly awaiting the hour 
 when they themselves would have to fight for freedom 
 and for life. The war in Zeeland, moreover, was 
 now only maintained by English help, and when the 
 dreaded Spanish descent upon England was made 
 Elizabeth would have to abandon the Dutch Protes- 
 tants to their fate, and the last bulwark of Reform 
 would be submerged by the flood of Spanish popery. 
 
 Once more Elizabeth played the outworn game 
 that had served her turn so often before. Andrea de 
 Loo and many other intermediaries hurried backwards 
 and forwards at the instance of Burghley between 
 London and Flanders, impressing upon the Duke of 
 Parma the English Queen's earnest desire to come to 
 terms with her "good brother." Let the Pacification 
 of Ghent, which, had been accepted in the time of 
 Don Juan, be re-enacted and all might be settled ; let 
 a conference meet, in which mutual grievances might 
 be arranged, and England and Spain should live 
 
446 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 happy together ever after. But Parma for a time 
 gave stiff answers to all this, much as he knew that 
 Flanders needed peace, for Philip kept him in the 
 dark as to his real intentions, and he dared not act 
 without precise instructions from the King. Other 
 attempts were made to reopen the trade negotiations 
 through Portuguese agents with a view to a general 
 agreement, but Philip was irresponsive now ; for after 
 half a lifetime of hesitation he had finally made up his 
 mind. England must be conquered by the sword 
 wielded by his hand alone ; and although he might 
 feign to talk of peace to suit his purpose, there was in 
 his slow-moving, inflexible mind thenceforward no 
 peace possible with England until Elizabeth and her 
 Government had been crushed. 
 
 Another spirited attempt was made by Elizabeth 
 to reach Philip direct. Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa, 
 the famous explorer and Governor of Patagonia, had 
 been captured at sea by one of Raleigh's ships. 
 Usually such men were held for heavy ransom, but 
 Sarmiento was received by the Queen at Windsor 
 with every witchery she knew how to exert, and was 
 impressed with her sorrow that such unhappy relations 
 existed — God knew from no fault of hers — between 
 her people and the Spaniards. Would Sarmiento con- 
 vey a letter to his King, accepting his liberation as a 
 reward for his doing so? Naturally nothing would 
 suit Sarmiento better, and Raleigh carried him with 
 all distinction to Durham House as his honoured 
 guest, plying him with assurances of Sir Walter's 
 desire to serve the King of Spain by putting a stop 
 to all this piracy, of which the Queen herself and 
 Lord Treasurer Burghley disapproved. Besides this, 
 he (Raleigh) would sell a fine ship of his to Philip for 
 
PEACE OR WAR? 447 
 
 5,000 crowns, would prevent any more aid being 
 given to Don Antonio, and would, indeed, become 
 Philip's humble servant in England. This was, doubt- 
 less, nothing but one of the usual mystifications to 
 divert Philip ; but the Queen herself gave a cordial 
 verbal message to Sarmiento for the King, saying 
 that she was really anxious to let bygones be bygones 
 and make a durable peace. Sarmiento left London in 
 November, 1586, and gave his message to Mendoza 
 in Paris, but on his way to Spain was unlucky enough 
 to be captured again, by Huguenots this time, near 
 the Pyrenean frontier, and all Elizabeth's and Raleigh's 
 influence was exerted to secure his prompt release. 
 By all means accept Raleigh's offer to prevent further 
 aid being given to Don Antonio and to stop piracy, 
 wrote Philip ; but to the suggestions for direct peace 
 negotiations he made no reply. 
 
 In the meanwhile the arsenals and harbours of 
 Philip's realms were ringing with preparations for the 
 great enterprise. The peace conference so much 
 desired by Elizabeth might meet in Flanders and 
 talk, but no pause was made in the feverish activity 
 in the Spanish preliminaries for war. Old Santa 
 Cruz had waited patiently after the King's gentle 
 rebuff to him in 1583,^ until the circumstances detailed 
 in the foregoing pages had rendered war with Eng- 
 land inevitable early in 1586, when he wrote to the 
 King from Lisbon a letter full of fiery zeal, recalling 
 his former offer to conquer England when his 
 victorious fleet was ready, and deploring the shame 
 that had fallen upon Spain since by reason of the 
 continued insults and injuries inflicted upon it by the 
 heretics, much to the material gain and moral prestige 
 
 '^ See p. 420. 
 
448 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 of the Queen of England. They had, he said, 
 plundered a million and a half of ducats in the last 
 five months, and had defied the King of Spain 
 successfully at all points. Everything was now pro- 
 pitious, urged the admiral, for dealing a final blow at 
 these daring heretics, and he prayed the King to arise 
 in his wrath and smite his enemy before the occasion 
 passed. " I am not moved to this," he proudly added, 
 " by a desire for fresh battles or the ambition for new 
 victories, but by no other motive than the service of 
 God and your Majesty." 
 
 This time the hero's appeal found the King ready, 
 for all his peaceful diplomacy had failed to bring 
 England to his side ; and Santa Cruz was requested 
 to submit to the King a plan for carrying out the 
 enterprise he proposed. It took Santa Cruz two 
 months, as he says, to draw up from his papers and 
 the experience of forty years at sea a complete 
 scheme for the irresistible descent upon England ; 
 and the estimate with which he furnished Philip 
 stands to-day, after three centuries and a quarter, an 
 unexampled monument of foresight, skill, and bold- 
 ness. Nothing was forgotten in this prodigious 
 estimate : naval and military requisites, arms, stores, 
 clothing and material, down to the minutest detail, 
 are set forth, with estimates of price and with surpris- 
 ing clearness ; the salaries to be paid to men of every 
 rank are given ; the weight and bulk of every article, the 
 best place where it may be obtained, the rations to be 
 provided, and the discipline to be observed on land 
 and sea, are all written in due order, and to such a 
 lover of formal papers as Philip the estimate of 
 Santa Cruz must have been a pure delight from the 
 bureaucratic point of view. 
 
SANTA CRUZ'S ESTIMATE 449 
 
 Not so, however, with regard to the concentrated 
 magnitude of the demands, greater than had ever 
 been made for such an enterprise before. Santa Cruz 
 wanted for the invasion of England 150 great ships, 
 40 store hulks, 320 small craft of 50 to 80 tons burden, 
 40 galleys and 6 galleasses, or 556 sail in all, besides 40 
 skiffs and 200 landing rafts. There were needed 30,000 
 sailors and nearly 64,000 soldiers, with 1,600 cavalry 
 horses, all to be shipped from Spain, and this enormous 
 multitude was to be provisioned beforehand for eight 
 months with food and water. Deducting the ordinary 
 cost of armaments in Spain, the extra estimated 
 expense to be incurred by the enterprise was placed 
 by Santa Cruz at 3,800,000 ducats. ^ The sum in 
 money was much greater than Philip had ever had 
 to provide in Spain for any one enterprise before, 
 and it took him aback now. The Pope, it is true, had 
 promised a million ducats, but not a soldo would he 
 pay beforehand, and the Italian States might be 
 coerced into contributing ; but the bulk of this vast 
 sum in ready money had to be wrung somehow out of 
 already exhausted Castile, and, anxious as Philip was 
 to make assurance doubly sure, he knew that this 
 was impossible ; so Santa Cruz's estimates had to be 
 modified. 
 
 The opportunity for the invasion, nevertheless, was 
 one that could hardly be expected to recur. The cup 
 of Elizabeth's provocations was full to the brim, and 
 her anxiety to open peace negotiations proved her 
 own apprehensions. France, for almost the first time, 
 was paralysed and could not interfere. Leicester's 
 
 ^ Thjse were Castilian ducats worth -11 reals (2s. S^-d.), or 
 ;^4(^/,-«j'44> which would represent in present value nearly 
 
 GG 
 
450 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 ineptitude in Holland had even turned the feeling of 
 the Dutch against their protectors, whilst many of the 
 English troops and their leaders, such as Roland York, 
 Sir W. Stanley, and Colonel Semple had deserted to the 
 Spanish side and had delivered to Parma the fortresses 
 occupied by them. The Turk, moreover, was for the 
 time harmless, and Don Antonio was already a dis- 
 credited and waning force. So, although Philip did 
 not approve of Santa Cruz's plan that the whole army 
 should be embarked in Spain, he gave orders that the 
 arsenals and dockyards should work night and day, 
 and through Spain and Portugal, Sicily, Naples, and 
 Lombardy there rang the echoes of warlike prepara- 
 tions such as they had never known before ; whilst 
 the recluse of the Escorial, shutting himself away 
 from all other tasks, took counsel how he might effect 
 his purpose with the means at his disposal. 
 
 It is not to be supposed that the French and Scottish 
 faction would sit tamely by and see without an effort 
 the whole enterprise of England fall into the hands of 
 Spain. The conversion of James Stuart was still a 
 fervent hope with many who dreaded to see a Spanish 
 king supreme in Britain ; and the English Jesuit 
 faction had to fight hard against the Welsh, Scottish, 
 French, and many English Catholics at home and 
 abroad. James Stuart himself and the Scottish 
 Catholic nobles were fully alive to the danger that 
 threatened. The Scottish nobles, with the secret con- 
 nivance of James, made a bold attempt to associate 
 themselves with Philip's invasion, and to bring Guise 
 again into the combination. Huntly, Morton, Claude 
 Hamilton, Crawford, and Montrose, in the summer of 
 1586, sent one Robert Bruce with three blank signed 
 papers to the Duke of Guise in Paris, where the 
 
THE SCOTTISH PLAN 451 
 
 letters over the signatures were written at Guise's 
 dictation and addressed to Philip,^ begging him to 
 Hsten to the verbal proposals of their envoy, Bruce. 
 Guise and Beton introduced Bruce to Mendoza, and 
 the gist of the proposals was that Philip should send 
 to the Scottish Catholics 150,000 crowns to raise and 
 arm soldiers, whom they would maintain for a year, 
 and they also asked that a foreign force of 6,000 men 
 should be sent to Scotland to secure the triumph of 
 the Catholics, in consideration of which they promised 
 to place at his disposal one or more ports in the south 
 of Scotland to serve as a shelter and a base of opera- 
 tions against England. Mendoza understood, as 
 indeed did all experienced fighting-men, the immense 
 importance of the latter suggestion ; for Santa Cruz 
 from the first had insisted upon the need of seizing 
 harbours in the Channel in case of contrary weather ; 
 and Bruce was sped on his way to see Philip with all 
 the support that the ambassador could give him. 
 
 But Philip had had enough of Guisan meddling, and 
 he had no intention of allowing the supreme effort he 
 was making to be used for the benefit of any one but 
 himself, and least of all for that of shuffling James 
 Stuart. As usual, he did not say no plainly, for he 
 had no wish to alienate the Scottish Catholics, or to 
 arouse suspicions of his motives anywhere. So, 
 gently suggesting doubts and difficulties, he referred 
 the question to Mendoza and Parma for report, 
 sending Bruce back to Paris with " fair words " and a 
 letter to Guise "praising the zeal which moves you to 
 strive so sincerely for the promotion of our holy 
 Catholic faith." Mendoza was directed to keep the 
 
 ^ These letters (copied by me in the Paris Archives) are in the 
 Spanish Calendar, vol. iii. 
 
452 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 Scots in hand, to suggest that they should ask the Pope 
 for the money they needed, and to flatter Guise as 
 much as he thought necessary ; all of which meant 
 that Philip would not bind himself to Scot or French- 
 man in the execution of his project, though, if on their 
 own account and at their own risk they cared to divert 
 his enemy, he had, of course, no objection to their 
 doing so. But the offer of one or two safe ports in 
 Scotland near the English border was one not lightly 
 to be refused — its acceptance, indeed, might have 
 changed the whole course of history — and Mendoza, 
 an experienced soldier, wrote in October, 1586, to 
 Parma strongly urging that the offer of the Scottish 
 Catholics should be sympathetically entertained, in 
 order that a diversion might thus be effected in the 
 North simultaneously with the Spanish invasion of the 
 South of England ; though here commended that full 
 inquiries should be first made to ascertain to what 
 extent Huntly and his friends could carry out their 
 pledges. 
 
 Parma, however, was almost as cautious as his 
 uncle. He was, in fact, resentful that Philip was 
 keeping him in the dark as to his ultimate plans, and 
 was determined not to move a step in any direction 
 beyond his written orders until he knew what the 
 King was really aiming at ; whether to frighten 
 Elizabeth into peace, which Parma more than sus- 
 pected, or to crush her finally by war. So to Mendoza's 
 almost vehement advocacy of the Scottish diversion 
 Parma replied coolly, saying that the proposal would 
 fail unless it formed part of the combined plan and 
 was executed in co-operation simultaneously with the 
 invasion, Mendoza grew more and more in love with 
 Bruce's proposal, which would, he said, give harbours 
 
THE SCOTTISH PLAN 453 
 
 of refuge for the Spaniards in the North Sea and 
 divide the Queen of England's forces ; and here 
 began the first whispers of Parma's half-hearted 
 loyalty, I which amongst the vanquished officers of 
 the Armada afterwards swelled into a tempest of 
 indignant recrimination. 
 
 Mendoza's inquiries of Bruce had satisfied all his 
 doubts, and to Philip he wrote beseechingly on the 
 24th December, 1586, in favour of the scheme. 
 Some of the passages in his extremely able letter,^ 
 read by the knowledge of the subsequent disaster 
 of the Armada, sound almost prophetic. "It is of 
 advantage to the English," he wrote, "that they 
 should be attacked by a force which needs great 
 sea fleets for its transport and maintenance, both on 
 account of the immense sums of money which must 
 be spent upon such an expedition, and the vast 
 quantities of material and the length of time necessary 
 for preparation, as well as the many opportunities 
 which occur during this delay for impeding the pro- 
 
 ^ Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma, had married a Portu- 
 guese princess, and his children had a better right to the Crowns 
 of Portugal and England than Philip had. The English Catholic 
 refugees in Flanders were already suggesting that the young 
 Prince of Parma should marry Arabella Stuart and reign over 
 England when it had been conquered. Farnese himself was 
 approached by different English parties, even by the moderate 
 conforming Catholics in Elizabeth's Court duringthe negotiations, 
 virith a view to divide him from the Spaniards on this question of 
 the succession. The Spanish officers, after the defeat of the 
 Armada, failing to understand the tactical reasons that kept 
 Farnese inactive, openly accused him of treachery. There is 
 no doubt that Farnese was hurt, and justifiably so, at the con- 
 temptuous disregard for his children's rights, but he was certainly 
 loyal to Philip. 
 
 ^ Spanish Calendar, vol. iii. 681. 
 
454 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 gress of such armaments. Such expeditions, more- 
 over, are liable to much greater disasters than land 
 armies, for in most cases the mere death of the 
 leader suffices to frustrate them . . . and in the 
 event of the loss of a great fleet the owner is 
 deprived at one blow of forces, ships, and guns — 
 things difficult to replace readily," It is clear now, 
 with our later knowledge, that the old warrior- 
 diplomatist — the last of the disciples of Alba, as he 
 calls himself — was right in his appreciations, and 
 that Philip made a fatal mistake in not following 
 the advice of such men, instead of indulging in his 
 fatal itch for retaining in his own hands all executive 
 monopoly and all ultimate profit in his plans. 
 
 But the advances of Huntly were not entirely 
 rejected, for not only Mendoza, but Parma too, 
 as time went on, saw their importance, and although 
 the idea of invading England over the Scottish 
 border was again vetoed, Bruce was sent back to 
 Scotland after many months of impatient waiting in 
 France and Flanders, carrying with him ten thousand 
 crowns to freight ships in Scotland ostensibly for 
 Dantzig, but really for Flanders, to embark there 
 an auxiliary force to aid the Scottish Catholics in 
 their intended rising. ^ Bruce went on his way late 
 in the summer of 1586, with his doublet padded 
 with gold, but when he arrived in Scotland the 
 whole scheme was embroiled and frustrated with 
 the usual ineptitude. It was too late in the season 
 for the ships to be obtained. James Stuart was 
 also consulted by the Scottish lords as to his joining 
 
 ^ Philip afterwards ordered that the aid should be confined to 
 a money subvention, but Parma determined, if possible, to send 
 the armed contingent, though the whole scheme fell through. 
 
MARY STUART'S BEQUEST 455 
 
 the Spanish attack upon England to avenge his 
 mother, with the result that was to be expected. 
 Bruce and his companion, Foster, turned traitors 
 when the plan was seen to be impracticable, and 
 once more, and for the last time, Philip settled 
 down to the inevitability of conquering England by 
 himself alone, and for himself alone. 
 
 It was more important now than ever it had been 
 that he should succeed in doing it, for Henry III. 
 of France was without a son, and was in bad health. 
 If Henry of Navarre, a Huguenot, became King, 
 and France ceased to be a Catholic country and in 
 alliance with Protestant England, the Catholic 
 domination of Europe would be at an end, and the 
 sun of Spain must sink rapidly. The conquest of 
 England, indeed, must be effected, and the country 
 made Catholic before Henry HI. died, or all, it 
 seemed, would be lost; and Philip, after thirty years 
 of paltering, was now in a desperate hurry. There 
 was still another reason why Philip's zeal for the 
 conquest of England should be further inflamed at 
 this time. Mary Stuart was condemned to death, 
 and in the bitterness of her heart she wrote the 
 beautiful letter I to Mendoza (23rd November, 1586), 
 in which she entrusted to Philip alone the task of 
 avenging her and the cause for which she died, of 
 providing for her servants, and, above all, of inherit- 
 ing her rights to the succession of the Crown of 
 England, which bequest she afterwards confirmed 
 by a formal will. There was no longer any legal 
 bar between Philip and the sovereignty, and no 
 further fear of a doubtfully Catholic successor being 
 adopted by Mary after her accession. With the 
 ^ Spanish Calendar, vols. iii. and iv. 
 
456 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 fall of the head of the Queen of Scots the spirits 
 of the English Jesuit party rose, for they knew now 
 that James and his countrymen would not be allowed 
 to lord over Englishmen if once Philip held the 
 country in his grasp. 
 
 The subtle web of intrigue that had been spun 
 for so many years past, the threads of which we 
 have to some small extent endeavoured to unravel, 
 had so far been favourable to Philip. He had 
 patiently suffered numberless indignities and injuries 
 at the hands of Elizabeth and her people ; he had 
 seen England and his own Dutch provinces drift 
 ever further away from him ; but he had never 
 ceased to plot patiently in order to dispose affairs 
 aptly for his vengeance when the propitious hour 
 should strike. The Guises had been alternately 
 flattered and frowned at, until their great ambitions 
 in France seemed to hang upon Philip's will, and 
 they dared not stir without his countenance. 
 Henry III. had been by the same means rendered 
 equally powerless to help England or to hinder 
 Spain. The Scottish Catholics had been subsidised 
 and cajoled, as had James Stuart himself, into a 
 benevolent neutrality towards Philip with blended 
 hopes and fears of the English succession. Mary 
 Stuart had been so handled as to lead her to make 
 Philip by will the heir to the English Crown ; and 
 gradually all the strings which were intended to 
 pull down the edifice of the Reformation were 
 gathered into the hands of the gouty old monastic 
 monarch in his granite cloister-palace on the bleak 
 Castilian sierra. Each interest, as we have seen, 
 had been silently and separately dealt with, and 
 tricked into the position that best suited Philip's 
 
SUCCESSFUL CRAFT 457 
 
 ends ; for he would take no risks that he could 
 avoid, and aspired to imitate natural forces in the 
 slow, insensible accumulation of power, which at the 
 supreme moment might be launched by the master 
 with irresistible effect. 
 
 When, at length, the stealthy plotting had reached 
 fruition, and Elizabeth saw herself isolated, with 
 Henry III. and James VI. paralysed; when the 
 Pope and the Cardinals understood that the Church 
 and its cherished hoards were to be instruments of 
 Spanish political ends ; when the Guises found that 
 they and their kin were to be excluded from all 
 share in the great prize of England ; and even the 
 English Catholics of the more patriotic and moderate 
 sort awoke to the knowledge that their religion and 
 their scorn of the Scots were being used to forward 
 a conspiracy against the independence of their country ; 
 then each separate interest struggled as best it might 
 to free itself from the toils in which the diplomacy of 
 Philip had involved it. Allen, with his seminary, and 
 the English Jesuits under Parsons, had gone over 
 to the Spanish side bag and baggage, but the English 
 Carthusians and seculars under Dr. Owen Lewis, 
 and the large Scottish Catholic element in Rome 
 under the Bishop of Dunblane, aided the Guisan 
 Cardinals in combating the idea of a purely Spanish 
 domination of England, and the contest went on 
 bitterly and without cessation, especially after the 
 death of Mary Stuart had made the fears more 
 imminent. 
 
 Before that had happened, Philip had instructed 
 Olivares to sound the Pope cautiously, and, if 
 possible, to obtain a brief from him, declaring 
 Philip entitled to the throne of England after the 
 
458 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 Queen of Scots, "as I cannot make war upon 
 England for the purpose merely of placing upon the 
 throne a young heretic like the King of Scots." 
 The Pope's fears were to be lulled by the declara- 
 tion that Philip had no intention of annexing 
 England to the Crown of Spain, but of passing the 
 sovereignty to some suitable Catholic candidate, 
 perhaps to his daughter, the Infanta Isabel. Olivares, 
 Allen, and Parsons knew at this time (January, 1587) 
 that the Vatican was uneasy about the whole busi- 
 ness, and they prayed the King to say nothing 
 about his own claim openly until the Armada had 
 been successful. But when, a month or two later, 
 the news of Mary's death came, Philip was obliged 
 to some extent to show his hand to the Pope, and 
 the brief was ordered to be secretly asked for as 
 a measure of precaution. Above all, Philip urged, 
 not a word must be said about his claims to Guise 
 or the Frenchmen. 
 
 Unfortunately, much had already been said about 
 them, even by Mendoza ; and Guise and Catharine 
 de Medici, and James of Scotland himself, were all 
 trying their utmost to prove how very Catholic the 
 latter was, and what an excellent King of England 
 he would make. Philip ordered that his claims upon 
 England were only to be broached with the utmost 
 caution to the English Catholics. In May, 1587, 
 the King wrote to Mendoza : " You must only speak 
 of my rights to well-disposed native Englishmen in 
 order that they may be informed of the truth, and 
 convey it to others of their nationality, that it may 
 thus spread and gain ground amongst them. But 
 do not mention the matter to Frenchmen and others, 
 who will only take it up for the purpose of frus- 
 
PHILIP'S CLAIMS TO ENGLAND 459 
 
 trating it." ^ To add to his authority in the 
 matter, Philip urged successfully that Allen should be 
 made a Cardinal, and he was well primed by 
 instructions from Spain how to push the succession 
 question with the Pope. Religion, of course, was to 
 be the pretext. The King of Scots was a heretic, 
 and unfit to succeed. For the good of the Church 
 a Catholic of unquestionable orthodoxy should be 
 chosen, and he must be powerful enough to keep 
 England in the straight path. All this, of course, 
 could only tend to the conclusion that Philip or his 
 daughter alone would serve ; and very gradually and 
 cautiously this view was made familiar to Catholics, 
 to be struggled against fiercely by all those who 
 were not absolutely under the Jesuit and Spanish 
 influence. Parsons was indefatigable in writing 
 letters, addresses, and memoranda in favour of this 
 view, and the absolute quiescence of the moderate 
 English Catholics when at last the Armada appeared 
 in the Channel, and their loyalty through the crisis, 
 was largely due to the unwise forcing of the idea 
 of a Spanish Sovereign over England by the Jesuit 
 propaganda. 
 
 Elizabeth was no less active than the other 
 threatened interests in her efforts to escape from 
 the position in which she found herself. Still 
 hoping against hope that the old policy of advance 
 and retire might again be successful, she and 
 Burghley strove heroically to arrange some form of 
 peace congress with Parma through Andrea de Loo. 
 It was not easy, for neither side was in a yielding 
 mood in matters of procedure ; but Philip said that 
 he saw no harm in entertaining the advances, which 
 ^ Spanish Calendar, vol. iv. 
 
46o TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 he knew from the first he did not intend to have 
 any result other than to lull Elizabeth into a false 
 security, whilst his preparations advanced. The 
 Burghley party in Elizabeth's Court had all the 
 Puritans against them, and, more strongly still, the 
 blue water school of sailors, who for years past 
 had shown by their deeds that the Spaniards were 
 no match for them at sea. " Why wait to be attacked 
 on our own coasts," was their constant argument, 
 " when we can go and crush our enemies before even 
 they can leave port ? " 
 
 The English ships had finer lines and lower bows 
 than the Spaniards. They could sail several points 
 nearer the wind ; and the need for ocean attack 
 and defence had developed an entirely new school 
 of seamanship, depending upon celerity of move- 
 ment, broadside armament low down, by which the 
 hulls of the enemy might be riddled between wind 
 and water, whereas the Spanish ships depended 
 still largely upon bulk, needful for the carriage of 
 cargoes from the Indies, and the old tradition 
 descended from the Mediterranean galleys of heavy 
 armaments fore and aft. The attack in the Spanish 
 system consisted only in grappling with the foe and 
 pouring soldiers on board of him, the vessel being 
 less of a fighting entity than a conveyance to bring 
 the fighting-men on each side into contact, as galleys 
 had been. Under Drake the English sailors had 
 developed an ideal entirely distinct from this, namely, 
 to avoid grappling, and by superior handiness of the 
 craft to cripple the hulls of the enemy, and make them 
 unseaworthy and incapable of manoeuvring. Again 
 and again the English sailors had proved that the 
 new methods were effective ; and whenever there was 
 
DRAKE'S METHODS 461 
 
 a chance of meeting the Spaniards at sea, they eagerly 
 sought it. 
 
 It was this combination of sailors and the Puritans 
 or Liberals, led by Leicester, that sought once more 
 to force Elizabeth's hand in the midst of the negotia- 
 tions for the peace conference with Parma early in the 
 spring of 1587. The Portuguese spies in England 
 continued to report to Mendoza the great preparations 
 being made for a naval expedition, by Drake, in Ply- 
 mouth and the Thames. Elizabeth and Burghley 
 deeply distrusted a policy of daring aggression, and 
 hesitated much to allow an attack upon Spain, though 
 Leicester's influence and Drake's confidence ultimately 
 carried the day. The secret of the destination of 
 Drake's fleet was well kept. The pretence was 
 cleverly maintained to the last that it was one more 
 attempt to aid Don Antonio — this time, it was said, to 
 go to the Indies ; and Mendoza, who reported almost 
 daily to Philip what he heard, was hoodwinked all 
 through. Drake arrived in Plymouth from the 
 Thames on the 23rd March, in a hurry to get away, 
 for fear the Queen would alter her mind and order 
 him back. He had obtained her commission — " to 
 prevent or withstand any enterprise against her High- 
 ness's dominions, and especially to prevent the con- 
 centration of the King of Spain's squadrons " — and he 
 was authorised to " distress the ships as much as 
 possible, both in the havens and on the high seas." 
 Drake knew that as soon as he left Court attempts 
 by the moderate party would be made to spoil and 
 hamper his plans, for his Vice-Admiral, Borough, a 
 Queen's officer, had been sent with him only to serve 
 as a clog upon his actions, and Elizabeth was still full 
 of faith in the insincere peace negotiations. Sure 
 
462 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 enough, only a few hours after he hurriedly sailed 
 from Plymouth, a royal order came thither from 
 London, happily too late, " to forbear to enter forcibly 
 any of the said King's ports or havens, or to offer any 
 violence to his towns or ships in harbour, or to do any 
 act of hostility on land." Drake took very good care 
 that these timid orders never reached him until too 
 late to stay his hand, and went on his way as usual, in 
 defiance of Borough's warning. 
 
 Slowly, and with infinite difficulty, stores, arms, and 
 material were being collected in Spain. The roads 
 were bad, communications laborious, and Philip's 
 centralising methods clogged the wheels of progress. 
 Old Santa Cruz was labouring early and late, in 
 Lisbon, making ready such great ships as could be 
 collected in the Tagus ; whilst in the ports of 
 Andalusia the Duke of Medina Sidonia, the great 
 magnate of the Province, had seized for the King all 
 the merchant ships and stores ; and was actively 
 getting ready to sail from Cadiz and join Santa Cruz 
 in Lisbon in the early summer, and, together with 
 other vessels expected from Italy and the Biscay ports, 
 attempt the conquest of England. Thus matters stood 
 in April, 1587. Santa Cruz was almost in despair, 
 for he profoundly disliked the modification of his 
 plans adopted by Philip, by which the bulk of the 
 army under Parma was to cross in small boats to 
 England when the Armada should arrive off the 
 North Foreland to protect its passage from Dunkirk 
 to the Thames, and the command was to be divided, 
 Santa Cruz to be supreme at sea and Parma on land. 
 The ships in Lisbon were still unready, and the crews 
 and soldiers were joining in mere driblets from distant 
 parts of Spain. The provisions, too, for all his host 
 
DRAKE AT CADIZ 463 
 
 came in slowly, and much of the stores rotted before 
 they could be used. The ships from the eastern ports 
 of Spain and from Naples and Messina were lagging ; 
 for delay was inevitable when every detail had to be 
 directed by one overworked old man far away. 
 
 Then suddenly, on the i8th April, 1587, the people 
 of Cadiz saw in the offing a fleet of thirty white sail. 
 " Some contingent of the Armada," thought the Duke 
 of Medina Sidonia, busy with his stores inside the 
 harbour. It was nothing so welcome as that ; for it 
 was the terrible Drake himself, with his stout ships, 
 bent upon mischief, notwithstanding Elizabeth's timid 
 wavering and her Admiral Borough's warning. 
 Looking up the harbour of Cadiz, Drake could see 
 a forest of masts, many a tall ship, he knew, that was 
 intended for the subjugation of his country. They 
 were, for the most part, store ships, nearly a hundred 
 of them altogether ; and though they were crammed 
 with provisions and material, neither their guns nor 
 their crews were on board. Into the harbour dashed 
 Drake, sinking the big galleon at the entrance that 
 served as a guardship, and disdaining the fire of the 
 protecting forts, and soon he had all the harbour at 
 his mercy. The very name of Drake appalled the 
 Spaniards, and without impeachment he turned adrift 
 and set on fire some twenty-five of the principal ships. 
 Soon the great crowd of galleons was a blazing ruin, 
 and in the three weeks that followed Drake deliberately 
 annihilated in the harbour of Cadiz the results of a 
 year's work and vast expenditure. Then, on the ist 
 May, 1587, he leisurely sailed away, secure in the 
 knowledge that, come what might, no invasion of 
 England by Spanish ships was possible for that 
 summer. 
 
464 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 In the Tagus, at Lisbon, there still lay the fifty 
 great galleons, under Santa Cruz, which were to form 
 the principal fighting force of the Armada, and as 
 Drake stood off the mouth of the river, they looked 
 tempting. He was more than half inclined to sail in 
 and serve them as he had served the Cadiz ships ; but 
 he did not know whether they had their great guns on 
 board or not. Whilst he was ascertaining this by his 
 spies the peremptory orders came to him from the 
 Queen that he was to provoke the King of Spain no 
 more : the great fighting ships of Spain, with no 
 crews or guns on board, were left unattacked, to 
 Drake's abiding regret, and the chance of making the 
 invasion of England by Spain impossible altogether 
 was missed through Elizabeth's belief that by her 
 usual methods she might avoid war, even at this 
 eleventh hour. The damage done by Drake was in 
 great part irreparable. Not only were many stores 
 and ships destroyed in Cadiz, but for weeks after- 
 wards the English fleet lay off the coast of Portugal, 
 capturing great numbers of vessels loaded with pipe 
 staves,^ for the water and wine casks of the Armada. 
 These could not be quickly replaced, and their loss led 
 to the short and bad water supply in the fleet, which 
 was one of its worst calamities. When Drake sailed 
 away, Spain was crippled for a time ; and the capture 
 of the rich Indies galleon, San Felipe, completed the 
 discomfiture of King Philip, who had no alternative 
 now but to order Santa Cruz to make ready his ships 
 
 ^ To prove the importance of this point, one of Mendoza's 
 arguments in favour of the proposal of Huntly and the Scottish 
 CathoHcs to attack England across the Border by land instead 
 of by an invading fleet, was the great cost of the pipe staves, 
 which he said had already been 150,000 ducats. 
 
QUEEN ELIZABETH 
 
 PHE VAIN'TING BY MAKC GHEERAEDTS AT THK NATIONAL PORTRAIT CJALLEKY 
 

PARMA AND THE ARMADA 465 
 
 in Lisbon, in a hurry, not now to invade England, but 
 to prevent Drake from intercepting and plundering 
 the silver fleet, whose safe arrival in Spain would 
 alone enable Philip to proceed with his plan of inva- 
 sion in the following year. The injury inflicted by 
 Drake's raid was a terrible one to Philip, but he 
 plodded on, still convinced of the goodness of his 
 methods and the ultimate certain victory of his 
 cause. 
 
 To Parma, in Flanders, the news of Drake's attack 
 brought anguish and discouragement beyond words, 
 for he was less blinded by fervour than his uncle was, 
 and was brought nearer to his practical difficulties. 
 He was a great commander and saw plainly the weak 
 points of Philip's scheme for the Armada, so far as it 
 was communicated to him. A divided command and 
 strictly limited authority were repugnant to him, a 
 sovereign Prince and practically supreme in Spanish 
 Flanders ; and from the first he was determined that 
 no blame for the failure which he feared would attend 
 the attempt should be laid at his doors in con- 
 sequence of his exceeding the strict letter of the 
 King's written instructions. Pie had strained every 
 nerve to muster and equip his troops to be ready for 
 the expected arrival of Santa Cruz with his fleet in 
 the summer of 1587, and now he found himself with a 
 large force of men, and short of money, provisions, 
 and stores for their maintenance. But he was a 
 general of resource, and utilised his army to capture 
 the Sluys and invest Ostend and so improve his posi- 
 tion before the English Peace Commissioners, the 
 Earls of Derby and Hertford, Lord Cobham, Sir 
 James Crofts, and Drs. Dale and Herbert, went over 
 in the autumn of 1587, in the chimerical hope of 
 
466 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 making peace with Philip. Leicester, Walsingham, 
 and the sailors wondered aloud how her Majesty- 
 could be so blind as to believe that peace with Philip 
 was possible now. Exhortations and prayers reached 
 Elizabeth, from those who knew Philip's intentions 
 well, that she would allow another bold stroke to be 
 dealt upon the enemy's heart ; but her parsimony and 
 belief in her methods made her turn a deaf ear to 
 all such urging, and England still stood unready in 
 the face of danger so imminent and dire. 
 
 Whilst Parma was still spinning matters out with 
 the English Peace Commissioners on fine-drawn 
 points of etiquette and procedure, in order to give 
 time for really illuminating instructions to reach him 
 from Philip, and Elizabeth was living still in her 
 fool's paradise, the plan of the Armada was finally 
 settled ; for Philip, dead against the advice of his 
 seamen, had determined to send out the expedition at 
 all risks, in the autumn of 1587, as soon as Santa 
 Cruz returned from convoying the silver fleet. The 
 letter in which he conveyed his plan to Parma on the 
 4th September, 1587, is worth quoting at some 
 length.^ The Armada, under Santa Cruz, was to sail 
 up the Channel, avoiding, if possible, any decisive 
 engagement, until it had reached the Straits of Dover 
 and had joined hands with Parma. " We calculate that 
 by the time you have invested Ostend you will have 
 30,000 men ready for the main business, whilst 16,000 
 Spanish infantry, a part of them veterans, will go in 
 the Armada from here, the whole force of soldiers and 
 sailors in the fleet reaching 22,000 men. I have 
 decided that as soon as the Marquis of Santa Cruz 
 returns with the flotillas to Cape St. Vincent ... he 
 ^ Spanish Calendar, vol. iv. 135. 
 
THE PLAN OF THE ARMADA 467 
 
 shall leave them in charge of the galleys, and himself 
 go straight to Lisbon, where he will take command of 
 the fleet which will there await him, and, with God's 
 blessing, sail direct for the English Channel. On his 
 arrival he will anchor off Margate, having given notice 
 to you at Dunkirk of his approach. You in the mean- 
 while will be quite ready, and when you see the 
 passage assured by the arrival of the fleet off Margate 
 or at the mouth of the Thames, you will, if the 
 weather permits, immediately cross over in the boats 
 you will have ready. You and the Marquis will then 
 co-operate, you being in command on land, and he at 
 sea ; and, with the help of God, will carry through 
 the main business successfully. Until you have 
 crossed, the Marquis is not to be diverted by any- 
 thing from assuring your passage. His taking 
 possession of Margate will cut the communications of 
 the enemy, and prevent him to some extent from con- 
 centrating his forces. When you have landed (the 
 Marquis giving you six thousand selected Spanish 
 infantry as ordered), ' I am inclined to leave to the 
 Marquis's discretion what he should do with the fleet, 
 whether to stay and ensure the passage of our people 
 from Flanders to England and intercept any foreign 
 aid that might be sent to the English, or to go and 
 capture some port and divert the enemy's strength ; or 
 else he might go and seize English ships lying in 
 various ports, to deprive them of maritime forces, 
 upon which their strength mainly depends. You will 
 settle this point between you, the Marquis carrying 
 out your joint decision, whilst you will hasten to the 
 
 ^ This had been, and continued to be, an absolute condition 
 of Parma's, without which he would not move at all. We shall 
 see how the promise was treated. 
 
468 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 front to conduct the enterprise on the lines laid down. 
 I trust to God, in whose service it is done, that success 
 may attend the enterprise, and that yours may be the 
 hand to execute it." 
 
 The advice of all his best soldiers and sailors had 
 failed to move Philip on one point because he knew 
 that it meant delay, and he was ready now to risk 
 everything rather than wait any longer. " We are 
 quite aware of the risk incurred by sending a heavy 
 fleet in the winter through the Channel without a sure 
 harbour ; but the various reasons which render this 
 course necessary are sufficient to counterbalance the 
 objections. As it is all for His good cause, God send 
 good weather. The most important of all things is 
 that you should be so completely ready when the 
 Marquis arrives at Margate that you may be able to 
 do your part at once without delay. You will see the 
 danger of any tardiness, the Armada having to wait 
 there with you unready ; as until your passage is 
 effected they will have no harbour for shelter, whereas 
 when you have crossed he will have the safe, spacious 
 river Thames. Otherwise he will be at the mercy of 
 the weather, and if, which God forbid, any misfortune 
 should happen to him you will understand what a 
 state it would put us into. All will be assured, please 
 God, by your good understanding ; but do not forget 
 that the forces collected and the vast monetary 
 responsibility incurred make it extremely difficult for 
 any such expedition to be organised again, if they 
 [the English] escape us this time; whilst the obstacles 
 and divisions which may, and certainly will, arise next 
 summer, force us to carry through the enterprise this 
 year or fail altogether. I hope this will not occur, 
 but that great success may attend us by God's grace, 
 
A DOOMED ENTERPRISE 469 
 
 since you are to be the instrument, and I have bounti- 
 fully supplied you with money. I have told you how 
 all our prestige is now at stake, and how entirely my 
 tranquillity depends upon success being achieved, and 
 I now once more earnestly enjoin you to justify the 
 trust I place in you. Pray send me word that there 
 shall be no shortcomings in this respect, as I shall be 
 full of anxiety till I hear from you." 
 
 Thus, like a desperate gambler, Philip at last, 
 after all these years of waiting and planning, was 
 ready to stake everything — fleet, army, resources, 
 prestige, and the cause for which he had lived — with 
 the chances of success and the warnings of experience 
 dead against him. For years past his expert advisers 
 had been telling him how much superior in staunch- 
 ness and seaworthiness the English ships were to 
 his, that the new naval construction and armament, by 
 which the artillery fire was delivered low and from 
 the broadside, gave an enormous advantage to the 
 handy English craft, which, by reason of their finer 
 lines and weatherly qualities, could avoid fighting at 
 close quarters. Santa Cruz, Parma, and Mendoza 
 had pointed out to him the rashness of taking a vast, 
 unwieldy fleet in the late autumn, the worst period of 
 the year, up the Channel without a harbour of refuge 
 in case of contrary winds or tempest ; again and again 
 he had been told that his ships were still unready, his 
 stores and arms unconcentrated, and his army but 
 partially mustered in various provinces of Spain and 
 Italy. All this he knew, and yet in the face of 
 disorganisation, incapacity, and corruption in his 
 administration, of almost insuperable material diffi- 
 culties in collecting and supplying such an enormous 
 fleet as that contemplated, the growing alarm and 
 
470 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 the opposition of all Christendom to his designs, 
 he trusted, in the absence of all the mundane ele- 
 ments of success, to the special intervention of 
 Providence in his favour. Patience and diplomacy- 
 had brought the possibility of success within his 
 reach, but patience and diplomacy can be worked 
 by the methods of a chess-player in a monastic 
 cell, whilst armies and fleets must be raised, 
 organised, and led by practical men on the spot, 
 and this was where Philip failed. All power and 
 initiative must be his, whilst he sat upon his office 
 chair, annotating, checking, and dictating from 
 morn till night, but never coming within hundreds 
 of miles of executive action. 
 
 In obedience to Philip's fervent exhortations 
 Parma did his best, keeping his army of German, 
 Italian, and Walloon mercenaries in good heart and 
 readiness whilst the sham peace preliminaries went 
 on. Most of the English Commissioners them- 
 selves were soon satisfied that nothing would come 
 of their mission, for months were wasted in discuss- 
 ing and wrangling over such questions as the place 
 of meeting, the sufficiency of powers, and the 
 points to be discussed, though Croft, representing 
 the moderate Catholic party in England, strained 
 his loyalty to the utmost to conciliate Parma. ^ 
 But still the Armada came not, though the winter 
 of 1587 wore on and Parma's painfully gathered thirty 
 
 ^ There is, unfortunately, no space here to give details of 
 the endless pourparlers that went on. Much of the corre- 
 spondence from the English Commissioners is in the Flanders 
 Papers in the Record Office, and in British Museum Cotton 
 MSS. Vespasian CVII., whilst Parma's letters on the subject 
 to Philip are abstracted in the Calendars of Spanish State 
 Papers, vol. iv., under the editorship of the present writer. 
 
A DOOMED ENTERPRISE 471 
 
 thousand men-at-arms were rapidly melting away, 
 demoralised by short commons and dying by 
 thousands of the plague. Not even Parma's 
 extremity could move Santa Cruz to take a course 
 that he knew would end in disaster. When he 
 returned to Lisbon from convoying the silver fleet, 
 he told Philip flatly that it would be certain disaster 
 to take the Armada out at such a season of the year, 
 the ships and men, moreover, being unready. Scorn 
 and derision were poured upon the old admiral by the 
 nobles and soldiers, as well as by the bureaucrats who 
 were at the King's elbow, though the sailors who had 
 met the English on many seas knew that Santa Cruz 
 was right. "Once let us grapple with the heretics," 
 cried the vapouring men-at-arms, " and all will be 
 well ; the sailorman's task Is but to bring us face 
 to face with the foe and we shall know how to deal 
 with him." Philip rarely reproached those who served 
 him, but even his almost inexhaustible patience gave 
 way, and his curt, cold words of reproach to Santa 
 Cruz for his tardiness In serving him broke the old 
 hero's heart, and In February, 1588, there passed 
 to his grave the one man In Spain who perchance 
 might have rescued from otherwise inevitable catas- 
 trophe the Armada and the mighty freight of hopes 
 it bore. 
 
 Philip was. Indeed, nearly at his wits' end, though 
 personally he never lost faith In ultimate success. 
 SIxtus was growing more and more sarcastic, and 
 unwilling to pledge himself further to a policy which 
 he now understood was making religion the stalking- 
 horse of politics, Olivares might rail insolently at 
 the Pontiff as a garrulous old curmudgeon, Cardinal 
 Allen and Father Parsons, by word and pen, might, 
 
472 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 and did, urge with bland eloquence the saintliness 
 of the enterprise and the holy aims of the Catholic 
 King ; but all Europe now was aware and appre- 
 hensive of Philip's overwhelming schemes — not against 
 England alone, it was feared, but against all those who 
 questioned the political supremacy of Spain. By 
 every courier went frantic appeals and remonstrances 
 from Parma to Philip, as week after week passed 
 and no Armada appeared in the Straits of Dover. 
 The army was getting out of hand, he said, and, 
 what with plague and discontent, would soon dis- 
 appear altogether, whilst of money he had none, and 
 even his credit was exhausted. 
 
 In December, 1587, Philip, apparently in despera- 
 tion, thought that Parma, failing the coming of 
 the Armada, might have made a dash across the 
 Straits on his own account, and have captured 
 England by a co74.p-de-main, whilst the peace pre- 
 liminaries were being discussed. Parma, who was 
 a practical soldier, was furious at such a suggestion, 
 as well he might be. Writing to the King on the 
 31st January, 1588, he asks how could he be expected 
 to do what he had the King's strict orders to avoid 
 doing. He had laid down clearly, he said, the 
 necessary conditions of success ; namely, that the flat 
 boats and skiffs, too small for fighting and unfit to 
 weather a freshet, much less a storm, should be 
 ensured an absolutely unimpeded passage across, 
 whilst the French should be kept busy at home, and 
 the Dutch rebels rendered powerless for harm. 
 " Your Majesty ordered me to undertake this business, 
 and be fully prepared, though the time given to 
 me was short and my resources were limited. I have 
 done my best to perform the impossible m order 
 
PARMA'S PROTESTS 473 
 
 to please you and carry out my duty. . . . Affairs 
 have been unduly drawn out, both men and money 
 have been delayed beyond the time indicated, and 
 particularly the Spanish troops, who are the sinew of 
 the whole business, and who have, after all, come 
 in less number than agreed upon, and so dilapidated 
 and maltreated as to look unfit for service for some time 
 to come. The Italians and Germans have dwindled 
 in consequence of having to march quickly in very 
 bad weather, and they are so badly housed to keep 
 them near the ports that many are missing ; and our 
 men are dying and falling away rapidly. I have 
 strained every nerve to keep them near the coast 
 to be ready for the arrival of Santa Cruz with the 
 Armada . . . and now I see that everything has 
 turned out wrong and contrary to my hopes. 
 Secrecy, which was of the utmost importance, has 
 not been maintained. From Spain, Italy, and else- 
 where come full details of the expedition. The King 
 of France, as well as the League, has raised 
 enormous forces, and they, being Frenchmen, are 
 certainly not likely to be in our favour. Holland 
 and Zeeland have armed as promptly as usual, and 
 have prevented the few ships of our fleet in Antwerp 
 from getting out, whilst the English themselves 
 are preparing for their defence with great energy. 
 . . . If the Marquis had come in good time the 
 crossing might then have been easily effected, by 
 God's help, as neither the English nor the Hollanders 
 and Zeelanders were then ready." 
 
 Then Parma passionately protests against Philip's 
 attitude. Let the King, he says, tell him plainly what 
 he wishes him to do. He will do it at all risks and at 
 any cost ; but to give him orders to do one thing and 
 
474 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 expect him to do another in quite impossible circum- 
 stances is unfair. The position has changed, he 
 continues, and the force brought by the Armada must 
 be an overwhelming one to clear the seas or the 
 troops from Flanders cannot cross. " The delay- 
 in the coming of the Armada is causing the total 
 ruin of Flanders, and is hardly less disastrous to the 
 rest of the States. The country can bear the 
 burden but a short time longer. The greatest 
 trouble of all is my lack of money. The cost of 
 maintaining the boats, the keep of the soldiers, the 
 subsidy to Guise and Lorraine, and the contract with 
 the German mercenaries, is all so great that your 
 Majesty must provide me with a great sum of money. 
 If I run short, as indeed I am doing, your Majesty 
 may be certain that evil will befall and all the past 
 expenditure and effort will be wasted." ^ 
 
 Two months after this, when the death of Santa 
 Cruz had cast a still deeper gloom over the pros- 
 pects of the Armada, Parma, now quite disillusioned, 
 and convinced that the great enterprise would fail, 
 urged Philip earnestly to allow him to turn the 
 feigned negotiations for peace into real ones. " I 
 should fail in my duty," he wrote, ** if I did not tell 
 your Majesty that the general opinion is that if 
 the English are proceeding straightforwardly, as 
 they profess, and their alarm at your Majesty's 
 preparations and great power really inclines them 
 towards you, it would be better to conclude peace 
 with them. We should thus end the misery and 
 calamity of these afflicted States, the Catholic 
 religion would be established in them, and your 
 ancient dominion restored. Besides this, we should 
 ^ Spanish Calendar, vol. iv. 
 
PARMA ADVOCATES PEACE 475 
 
 not jeopardise the great fleet which your Majesty 
 has raised, and we should escape the danger of some 
 disaster causing you to fail in the conquest of England 
 whilst losing your hold of the Netherlands. It is 
 thought that It would be much best to try to settle and 
 pacify everything during your own happy reign, so that 
 all might prosper by the grace of God and your 
 Majesty's goodness. Nothing more honourable and 
 beneficent could happen to us, no step would be more 
 heartily welcomed by your vassals, or more effectually 
 check your rivals, especially the heretics, than a good 
 and honourable peace. We should thus avoid the 
 danger of disaster. If the enterprise were in the 
 condition we expected it to be, and secrecy had been 
 kept, we might, with God's blessing, have looked 
 more confidently for a successful issue. But things 
 are not as we intended. The English have had time 
 to arm by land and sea, and form alliances with the 
 Danes and the German Protestants. . . . They are 
 well aware of our plans, and we shall have plenty 
 of work to do in effecting a landing and advancing 
 afterwards, especially if our force is inadequate." ^ 
 
 And thus, point by point, the greatest soldier of his 
 time lays bare in letter after letter the weakness of 
 Philip's position and the hopelessness of success in the 
 circumstances. But to all Parma's remonstrances and 
 advice the King had but one cold, precise reply. 
 The expedition was to go in God's own service, and 
 it would be duly carried through by His help. That 
 being the case, Parma could only stand more stiffly 
 than ever upon the absolute fulfilment of his condi- 
 tions, without which he knew that failure and disgrace 
 would befall him. The sea must be kept clear of 
 
 ^ Parma to Philip, 20th March, 1588. — Spanish Calendar. 
 
476 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 enemies before he would embark a man for England, 
 and he must have six thousand Spanish veterans from 
 the Armada or he would not undertake the conquest. 
 To Philip's embarrassments there seemed no end. 
 His greatest military officer thus predicted disaster, 
 and would take no responsibility beyond the letter 
 of his instructions, and Santa Cruz, his greatest 
 seaman, had assumed the same attitude for similar 
 reasons. 
 
 But the death of Santa Cruz in February plunged 
 the King into deeper difficulty than ever ; for 
 although it allowed him to control the details of 
 the command more completely than Santa Cruz 
 would have allowed him to do, he had no officer 
 of sufficient rank, authority, and experience to re- 
 place the dead admiral. Seamen he had, many of 
 them fine mariners from the Biscay coast, who had 
 commanded the great flotillas from the Indies, and 
 had faced with varied fortune the English plunder- 
 ing craft any time these twenty years ; but the 
 tradition lingered that the seaman was a mere 
 drudge to carry the nobler soldier into the fight, 
 and the quarrelsome, haughty soldier nobles scorned 
 to serve under a man who was a seaman only. 
 The men in nominal command of the great ships 
 were nearly always military officers whose orders 
 the shipmasters obeyed. So although Oquendo, 
 Bertondona, and Recalde, with a half score of others, 
 were as splendid sailors as ever ploughed the seas, the 
 supreme command of the Armada could not be given 
 to such as they. The Spanish nobles were jealous of 
 each other, each standing upon his dignity in a way 
 that to modern men looks ridiculous, but which to 
 them was a matter of the first concern in life. 
 
MEDINA SIDONIA 477 
 
 The man to be appointed to command, since the 
 King himself could not go, must be of rank so 
 exalted as to overtop the rest, and yet so amenable 
 to Philip's control as to allow the fleet to be com- 
 manded practically by the King from his writing- 
 table. The only man in Spain who seemed to unite 
 in himself these two qualities was appointed by Philip 
 to lead the fleet upon which depended the fate of 
 Spain and Catholic Christendom, and he was of all 
 men the least fit to carry to success such a forlorn 
 hope as the Armada — the Duke of Medina Sidonia, 
 the magnate and admiral of Andalusia, who had been 
 so busy collecting ships and stores in Cadiz and his 
 other ports. He was a dignified noble of early middle 
 age, well meaning and not without administrative 
 ability in normal circumstances, though utterly un- 
 equal to deal with critical conditions. His high rank 
 was sufficient to ensure the obedient respect of the 
 other nobles and to hold the sailor commanders in 
 awe. But, as he plaintively protested to the King, in 
 dismay, when he was first informed of his appointment, 
 he was utterly inexperienced in practical warfare both 
 on land and sea. He knew nothing of navigation, he 
 was alv/ays wretchedly seasick as soon as he lost sight 
 of land, and he was quite unable to bear the expense 
 which such a command entailed. His wife and friends 
 were more emphatic still, and ridiculed the idea that 
 such a poor creature as this should assume a responsi- 
 bility so tremendous. Perhaps Philip was not sorry to 
 have a weak and timid commander who would not 
 dare to depart a hair's breadth from his orders. At 
 all events, his mind ,was made up ; and Medina 
 Sidonia, with a shrinking heart and unwilling spirit, 
 was forced to go to Lisbon to replace the great 
 
478 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 Santa Cruz as the Captain-General of the Invincible 
 Armada. ^ 
 
 The Tagus was crowded with ships when, in 
 March, 1588, Medina Sidonia took command. 
 Eleven huge galleons, contributed by Portugal, 
 headed by the flagship San Martin, was to be the 
 squadron of the high admiral. The Andalusian 
 squadron of fifteen vessels was to b^ led by Don 
 Pedro de Valdes ; and the famous Biscay seamen 
 Oquendo and Martinez de Recalde were to lead 
 other squadrons, and Diego Flores yet another. 
 There were thirty-one armed store-ships, all carrying 
 their quota of fighting-men as well as sailors, seven- 
 and-twenty pinnaces and sloops, and four armed galleys, 
 such as in the Mediterranean formed the Spanish 
 fighting force. In all 114 ships lay there before 
 the white city of Lisbon on its amphitheatre of 
 hills. Gallant and strong they looked with their 
 carved and gilded prows, their fluttering silken 
 banners, and the soaring crucifix upon the highest 
 pinnacle of their bows. But, alas ! the dry-rot of 
 Philip's system was at the very heart of the 
 enterprise. The soldiers came still in driblets and 
 unwillingly. Arms were accumulating in one part 
 of Spain, whilst the men to bear them were 
 mustered in another. Stores went astray or re- 
 mained bogged and derelict many miles from their 
 destination ; wine ran short and water went bad 
 upon the ships. The long delay had caused the 
 bottoms to foul and the seams to gape ; and the 
 overburdened Duke of Medina Sidonia could but 
 
 ^ The letters of Medina Sidonia and Philip have been printed 
 in Spanish by Captain Fernandez Duro in " La Armada 
 Invincible." 
 
MEDINA SIDONIA 479 
 
 clamour more piteously than Santa Cruz had done 
 for more supplies, more men, more arms, more 
 money, more everything, unless disaster were to fall 
 upon the expedition. The Irish and English Catholics 
 on the quays of Lisbon, and the priests and friars 
 who flocked everywhere, made light of difficulties. 
 Was it not God's own fleet, going upon His errand, 
 and could He be beaten ? Was not England tired to 
 death of their heretic Queen and her ministers ? and 
 was not a whole nation waiting with open arms to 
 welcome those who came as friends and deliverers? 
 And the haughty, confident Spanish nobles, courtiers, 
 and soldiers, fretting in idleness, scoffed and reviled 
 the timid councils of the Duke of Medina Sidonia. 
 But the sailormen shook their heads sadly. They 
 knew that Biscay storms and Channel gales could 
 not be controlled by swords and pikes, and that at 
 sea Drake and the West-country ships could sail 
 several points closer to the wind than could their 
 lumbering round-bowed galleons that looked so 
 mighty. 
 
 No day passed without some fresh demand from 
 Medina Sidonia ; and at last Philip himself, long- 
 suffering as he was, began to lose patience, for the 
 spring was wearing on, and Parma, in despair, was, 
 as we have seen, praying him either to abandon 
 the enterprise or send him means for keeping together 
 his dwindling army. At length, in April, it was 
 impossible to hide any longer the open complaints 
 of the soldier nobles. Medina Sidonia's insatiable 
 demands, they said, were prompted by sheer cowardice, 
 with a view to preventing the sailing of the expedition 
 altogether. Already he had under his command the 
 strongest force that ever sailed the seas — 130 vessels 
 
48o TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 of an aggregate tonnage of 58,000 tons, 2,431 cannon, 
 and 30,000 men, between soldiers and sailors. All 
 was ready. The orders to the fleet had been given 
 long since — orders that prescribed a code of conduct 
 for the rough seamen and men-at-arms such as would 
 have befitted a convent school. There was to be no 
 bad language or loose talk, no dicing or card-playing, 
 no evil living. Prayers and Masses were to be sung 
 daily, and every man, high and low, was to be con- 
 fessed and absolved ; for all were going on a sacred 
 crusade against the foes of God and the faith. The 
 friars and priests, both on the ships and ashore, ex- 
 horted ceaselessly all these reckless soldiers and half- 
 savage sailors, until, with hearts aflame, they too 
 began to scowl at the tardy Duke, who alone seemed 
 to hold them back from their heaven-sent mission. 
 
 At length, at the end of April, peremptory command 
 came from Philip that the Armada must sail at once. 
 The old orders to Santa Cruz were repeated. The 
 fleet must go straight up the Channel to the North 
 Foreland, avoiding an engagement if possible, until 
 the main body of the English fleet should be met, as 
 he thought it would, off Margate, where it was to be 
 defeated or held in check, and then Parma and his 
 army were to be protected on their way across to the 
 Thames. All difficulties and dangers In such a plan 
 were ignored or smoothed over by Philip. The 
 warnings of years had been lost upon him. He still 
 counted upon his big ships outmanoeuvring and gain- 
 ing the wind of the English craft ; he still believed 
 that the old grappling tactics were possible, in the face 
 of Drake's new strategy and the superior build of the 
 English ships. And he broke faith with Parma too. 
 Parma had never wavered In his condition. He 
 
THE ARMADA SAILS 481 
 
 would not cross the sea until he was reinforced by six 
 thousand Spanish veterans from the Armada ; and yet 
 in these last instructions to Medina Sidonia it was left 
 to his discretion whether these veterans should be sent. 
 Thus all the elements of discord existed before the 
 great fleet sailed. An almost monkish discipline was 
 enjoined on the fleet by the King, and it is clear that 
 Philip himself had worked his spirit into a state of 
 fervour which made him believe that sanctimonious- 
 ness would compensate for the absence of practical 
 provisions for success. Saints' names alone formed the 
 watchwords, Jesus for Sunday, the Holy Ghost for 
 Monday, the Holy Trinity for Tuesday, and so on ; 
 whilst the ships' boys were to chant the Salve and 
 good-morrow at daybreak and the Ave Maria at 
 sunset on every vessel. 
 
 On the 25th April, 1588, the sacred banner was 
 delivered to the Duke by Philip's Viceroy, the Arch- 
 duke Albert, in Lisbon Cathedral ; and thence with 
 raised crosses, swinging censers, flaming candles, and 
 chanting priests it was borne before the whole kneel- 
 ing hosts of the Armada in the great square of the 
 city. And then, sped by prayers and psalms of roga- 
 tion, the Armada, with its cargo of hopes and fears, 
 tried for a month in vain to get out of the Tagus, with 
 a boisterous westerly gale blowing full into the mouth 
 of the river. But at length, at the end of May, 1588, 
 the fleet got clear out to sea ; the Duke complaining 
 to the last of his subordinates and of his ships to the 
 King, and praying that God would avert disaster. 
 Contrary winds still held the fleet back for a fortnight 
 more on the coast, and then, on the 19th June, a 
 great storm came and scattered the ships like chaff. 
 Some, with the Duke, fled in dire danger to shelter in 
 
482 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 Corunna, some even were blown within sight of the 
 Scilly Isles, and many ran into the Biscay and 
 Galician ports. Confusion, utter and complete, over- 
 came the host. Many of the ships were crippled, 
 spars broken, sails split, and planks started. Pro- 
 visions were spoilt ; the long delay had consumed 
 stores and water ; and again Medina Sidonia appealed 
 to the King to abandon an enterprise which seemed 
 so ill-starred, and again he clamoured for more stores, 
 more men, more money, more arms. 
 
 On the 24th June, in despair, he wrote to the King 
 as follows : " When your Majesty ordered me to take 
 command of this fleet I gave many reasons why I 
 ought not to undertake it. ... I saw that it was 
 going against a powerful nation, which had the help 
 of its neighbours, and that the task would require a 
 much larger force than that collected at Lisbon ; I 
 therefore declined the command. . . . Since then the 
 ships have suffered much, and the fleet is now greatly 
 inferior to that of the English ; the crews are weakened 
 by sickness, and numbers fall ill daily in consequence 
 of bad food. . . . The provisions are rotten, the 
 water is stinking, and our stores will not last two 
 months under the most favourable conditions." ^ Then 
 he goes on to say that all the power of Spain, all the 
 King's hopes, credit, and prestige, are entrusted to this 
 Armada, and its loss would mean irretrievable ruin. 
 "It would be unwise," he says, " to run such a risk 
 even with equal forces, but much more so with such 
 an inferior force as we have now, the men inex- 
 perienced, and the officers, on my conscience I assure 
 your Majesty, hardly any of them knowing or capable 
 of doing their duty. . . . Believe me, your Majesty, 
 ^ " La Armada Invincible." 
 
PHILIP RASH AT LAST 483 
 
 we are very weak ; pray do not allow any one to 
 persuade you otherwise." The timid Duke was full 
 of forebodings, but Don Pedro de Vald^s and other 
 officers were writing at the same time to the King, 
 impatiently scoffing at the delay, and Philip sternly, 
 almost angrily, ordered Medina Sidonia to carry out 
 his instructions without further parley — to patch up 
 and collect his vessels again and sail up the Channel, 
 with God's blessing, to conquer the heretics who were 
 holding the fair land of England. 
 
 And thus Philip the Prudent cast to the winds all 
 the dictates of prudence. Parma, at all events, could 
 not be accused either of ineptitude or of cowardice, and 
 yet he had twice solemnly warned his uncle to abandon 
 his plan, now that all Europe knew of it and was pre- 
 pared to frustrate it. If Philip had determined (as indeed 
 he had) to run all risks and depend upon the special 
 interposition of Providence in his favour, it was surely 
 the height of folly to entrust the task, upon the success 
 of which the whole future of his cause depended, to 
 two unwilling commanders, both of whom deliberately 
 foretold failure. It was, perhaps, impossible for him 
 to dismiss Parma at short notice ; but the letter from 
 Medina Sidonia quoted above would amply have justi- 
 fied either his recall or the abandonment of the enter- 
 prise for which he, the commander, foretold defeat. 
 Like Villeneuve at Trafalgar, Medina Sidonia was a 
 beaten man before he met his enemy ; but Philip, 
 blind to all worldly considerations and steadfast in 
 his faith in himself and his cause, elected to strike 
 his supreme blow against Elizabeth with an obsolete 
 and faulty weapon wielded by a feeble hand. 
 
 With plentiful prayers and the blessings of Church- 
 men, with abundant copies of Father Parsons's 
 
484 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 allocutions to his countrymen on the blessings of 
 Spanish rule, and Cardinal Allen's exhortations in 
 favour of the old faith, the Armada sailed. The 
 victuals were scanty and bad, the water was putrid, 
 the craft overcrowded and fever-haunted ; the admiral 
 was faint-hearted and prophesied disaster ; but the 
 crank ships, with strained spars and gaping seams, 
 though they looked so brave and loomed so high, 
 sailed out of Corunna on the 12th July, 1588, doomed 
 beforehand to disaster, which only a miracle from on 
 high could avert from them. How the disaster fell 
 there is no space here to relate ; but a week's running 
 fight up the Channel, and one hopeless battle at bay, 
 struck the first irreparable blow at the fable of Philip's 
 irresistible power, and the prestige that clung still 
 around the name of the Emperor and his son. 
 
 We have followed the process by which circum- 
 stances and the personal character of the chief actors 
 in the great di'ama had driven Philip, after thirty years 
 of diplomacy in trying to win England to his side 
 without any concessions on his part, into a violent 
 course at last. The result of his over-caution for so 
 many years had been that he was forced to be reckless 
 after all or fail entirely ; the outcome of his fatal 
 desire to win all for himself without risking anything 
 was that when the crisis came he had to risk every- 
 thing on a losing hazard. Elizabeth was more 
 fortunate in the issue than her brother-in-law, but 
 hardly more wise. Almost to the day when the 
 Armada sighted her coasts she was beguiled into 
 a belief that her negotiations with Parma might 
 avert war, though Walsingham and the sailors were 
 almost in despair at what they saw was the terrible 
 risk she ran. She was far more hard-fisted and 
 
ELIZABETH AND THE ARMADA 485 
 
 parsimonious than Philip, too, when once it was 
 brought home to her that she and her people would 
 have to fight for the independence of England. Her 
 men, unlike those at the bidding of Philip, were full 
 of initiative and boldness, though they had to cope 
 with material obstacles almost as great as his. All 
 was unready in England when the peril loomed near, 
 and even if the Queen had been as liberal as she was 
 stingy, sufficient stores could not in the circumstances 
 have been improvised and concentrated. 
 
 But every one in England, high and low, did his 
 best. There was but little of the vapouring self- 
 confidence that led the Spanish soldiers into the 
 disillusionment which destroyed their nation's potency; 
 but the predictions and assurances with regard to 
 England of Parsons and the English Jesuits and 
 Spanish pensioners, were all signally falsified. The 
 moderate English Catholics, who quite conceivably 
 might have welcomed the adoption of an English 
 Catholic successor to Elizabeth under Spanish 
 patronage, were indignant at the Jesuit-Spanish plan 
 to foist Philip's daughter upon the throne after 
 deposing Elizabeth and submitting the country to 
 conquest. The treatment meted out to Englishmen 
 in Spain by the Inquisition had given even to 
 Catholics no desire to live under a rule which made 
 such an institution a branch of Government. So, 
 when the time of trial came, the Howards, Catholics 
 though they were, and often as they had been parties 
 to Philip's plans, fought against him as stoutly as the 
 veriest Puritan of them all. A generation had passed 
 away since Philip had personally felt the pulse of 
 England. Allen, Englefield, and Parsons had not, 
 for many years before the Armada sailed, seen with 
 
486 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 their own eyes the growing spirit of patriotism which 
 under Elizabeth was binding Englishmen as such 
 together, independent of their creeds ; and the Jesuit 
 Churchmen and pensioned laymen who advised Philip 
 that the English people would welcome the men on 
 the Armada with open arms as liberators were as the 
 blind leading the blind, for they were not in touch 
 with nor understood the England that had arisen since 
 their time. 
 
 For the rest of Philip's life, ten years, a more 
 pressing task even than that of winning England by 
 finesse or force claimed his every effort. The murder 
 of Henry III. made a Protestant King of France ; and 
 to prevent the country from joining the Reforma- 
 tion Philip and Spain would have to fight until the 
 last dollar was spent and the last Spanish soldier was 
 dead. Again, the Infanta was his candidate for the 
 Crown of all or a portion of her mother's land ; and, 
 as in the case of England, the forces of patriotism in 
 the end overrode the differences of creed, and all 
 Frenchmen coalesced to oppose foreign aggression. 
 Heny IV. " went to Mass," it is true, and that France 
 remained a Catholic country through his efforts was 
 the only great triumph of Philip's strenuous life. 
 
 From the time when the Armada, or such of the 
 ships as escaped the wild Atlantic gales, crept home, 
 plague-stricken, battered wrecks, and the cry of mortal 
 anguish went up from all Spanish hearts at the 
 cruel disappointment of their hopes, Philip, it is true, 
 continued to strive against the woman who had beaten 
 him. These efforts I have described elsewhere : but 
 with no hope of conquering England by frontal 
 attack was one little expedition after another with 
 infinite difficulty and friction fitted out thenceforward 
 
FAILURE AND FAITH 487 
 
 in Corunna. For that Philip knew well the time had 
 passed, notwithstanding the continued exhortations 
 of the Churchmen and pensioned refugees. Thence- 
 forward it was his plan to incite Irish Catholics to 
 revolt, to render Elizabeth unsafe and uneasy, in 
 order to prevent her from aiding Henry of Navarre 
 in France ; to look forward to the time when her 
 death, by natural or unnatural means, should give 
 him a chance of manoeuvring a sovereign apt for his 
 purpose upon the throne of England. With the 
 failure of Philip's thirty-five years' struggle to gain 
 the control of England for his ends under two sister 
 Queens, the downfall of his own system and the decay 
 of Spain were absolutely inevitable, though the 
 tradition of its potency died hard and was maintained 
 long after its reality had fled. 
 
 It is bootless to consider what would have been the 
 result if Philip's methods had been less rigid, and if 
 he could have fought his enemies with their own 
 weapons ; for if such had been the case he would not 
 have been Philip, and the situation that made the 
 long struggle incumbent upon him would never have 
 been created. But, though on his agonising death- 
 bed in his poor cell at the Escorial, in the autumn of 
 1598, he knew that Elizabeth still defied him, and the 
 Dutch Protestants repudiated his rule, that wherever 
 the yoke of Rome was shaken off it could be imposed 
 no more, he still held firmly to his faith beyond all 
 earthly evidence, that God in His good way and 
 time would send triumphant victory to the cause for 
 which He and Philip had fought in partnership — the 
 supremacy of Catholicism and the preponderance of 
 Spain amongst the nations. 
 
INDEX 
 
 Alava, Don Frances, Spanish 
 ambassador in France, 320-23 
 
 Alba, Duchess of, in England, 84- 
 86,88 
 
 Alba, Duke of, 53, 67, 68, 73, 85, 
 117, 142, 148, 150, 197, 218, 226, 
 231, 232. In Flanders, 258, 265, 
 266, 268, 271, 272, 275, 277-78, 
 282, 283-88, 297-316, 319, 324, 
 327, 330, 333- Retires from 
 Flanders, 334. In Portugal, 
 372 
 
 Alengon, Duke of, 321, 326, 327, 
 
 342, 345. 350. 352, 358, 361, 370. 
 376, 388, 395^6, 399, 422 
 Allen, Dr. (Cardinal), 383, 385, 391, 
 404, 405, 406, 416, 418, 419, 425, 
 
 432, 457> 458, 459. 471. 484. 485 
 Alvarez, Dr., Portuguese ambas- 
 sador, 270-7 T 
 Anna of Austria, Philip's fourth 
 
 wife, 300 
 Antonio, Don, Portuguese Pre- 
 tender, 371-73, 375, 379. 380, 
 396, 405, 411, 413, 420, 427, 429, 
 
 441. 447. 450 
 Armada, the evolution of the, 420, 
 421, 425, 427, 431, 432, 447, 448, 
 
 449. 450. 451. 452. 453. 458. 462. 
 Orders given to, 466-70, 475- 
 78, 479, 480-82. The catas- 
 trophe, 483-84 
 
 Arundel, Earl of (Fitzallan), 14, 37, 
 40, 62, 67, 174, 281-82, 284-88, 
 290, 302, 303 
 
 Arundel, Earl of (Howard), 409, 
 
 439 
 Arundell, Charles, 409 
 Ashton, 136 
 
 B 
 
 Babington plot, 434-44 
 
 Bacon, Sir Nicholas, 163 
 
 Bailly, Charles, 310-12 
 
 Ballard, Father, 434, 435, 439, 440 
 
 Barker, 306 
 
 Bayonne, the interviews at, 230, 
 231, 232 
 
 Bazan, Alvaro de (Santa Cruz), 
 Admiral, his plan to conquer 
 England, 420, 428, 447, 448, 449, 
 451,462, 465, 466, 467, 469, 471, 
 
 474. 476 
 Beal, clerk of the Council, 441 
 Bedford, Earl of, 54, 56, 57, 66m, 
 
 145. 149. 162 
 Berga, Father, De Spes' chaplain, 
 
 300 
 Bertondona, Martin de, Spanish 
 
 seaman, 58, 476 
 Beton, Archbishop of Glasgow, 
 
 239. 363. 364. 366, 383, 384, 391, 
 
 400, 405, 418 
 Beton, James, 267, 270 
 
490 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 Blanks, the Conspiracy of the, 450 
 
 et seq. 
 Bonner, Bishop of London, 113, 
 
 ii5> 123 
 Borough, Admiral, 461, 463 
 Bothwell, 256 
 Boxall, Secretary, 161 
 Browne, Sir Anthony (Viscount 
 
 Montagu), 43, 68, 303 
 Bruce, Robert, 450, 451-55 
 
 Cadiz, Drake's raid upon, 460-64 
 
 Caithness, Earl of, 382 
 
 Calais, loss of, 151, 157, 168 
 
 Campion, Edmund, Jesuit, 367 
 
 Carew, 46 
 
 Carlos, Don (Philip's son), 54, 135, 
 213, 224, 225, 228, 236, 238, 239, 
 240 
 
 Castelnau, de la Mauvissiere, 
 French ambassador to Scotland, 
 250 
 
 Cateau Cambresis, Peace of, 191, 
 195, 196 
 
 Catharine de Medici, 197, 210,211, 
 226, 229, 231, 287, 303, 320, 326, 
 330, 345. 362, 384, 458 
 
 Catharine Grey, 196, 241 
 
 Catholic League, the, 195, 226, 
 228, 230, 327, 328, 422 
 
 Catholics, English, under Eliza- 
 beth, 200, 227, 228, 233, 246-47, 
 261, 271, 280-83, 285-88, 289-92, 
 293-95, 298-316, 361, 367-68, 
 376, 388, 405, 409, 416, 417, 434, 
 
 435, 439, 440, 485 
 
 Cavalcanti, Guido, 32on 
 
 Cecil, William (Lord Burghley), 9, 
 99,149. Elizabeth's minister, 183, 
 187, 195. Checkmates Dudley, 
 209, 226, 227, 247, 260, 273, 274, 
 278, 280, 282, 301, 317, 319, 324, 
 
 336, 345, 348, 358, 371, 374, 379, 
 
 395, 427, 437, 441, 459, 460 
 Charles, Archduke, a suitor for 
 
 Elizabeth's hand, 199, 202, 216, 
 
 219, 224, 229, 238, 239 
 Charles V. His attempts to gain 
 
 the friendship of England, 2-19. 
 
 His advice to Mary, 17-18. His 
 
 abdication, 132 
 Charles IX. of France, 327, 352, 
 
 358 
 Chatillon, Cardinal, Huguenot 
 
 leader, 268, 299 
 Cheyne, Sir Thomas, 145 
 Ciappino Vitelli, Alba's general, 
 
 292, 294 
 Clarencius, Mrs., Queen Mary's 
 
 nurse, 40, 78, 179 
 Clinton, Lady, 184 
 Clinton, Lord, madeLord Admiral, 
 
 157, 162, 163, 167, 170, 225, 278, 
 
 379 
 Cobham, Lord, English councillor, 
 
 14, 15, 43, 310 
 Cobham, Lord (junior), 465 
 Cobham, Henry, Elizabeth's envoy 
 
 to Spain, 307 
 Cobham, Thomas, 310 
 Coligny, Admiral, 149, 268, 329 
 Como, Cardinal of, 401 
 Conde, Prince of, 226 
 Cordell, Master of the Rolls, 163, 
 
 179 
 Cordova, Pedro de, 86 
 Council of Trent, proposal by 
 
 Dudley for England to join in, 
 
 203- 10 
 Courtenay, Earl, of Devon, 19, 20, 
 
 22, 24, 32-33, 38, 41, 43, 46, 48, 
 
 49,62, 113, 115, 116, 139 
 Cranmer, Archbishop, 41, 141 
 Crawford, Earl of, 450 
 Creighton, Father, Jesuit, 378, 382, 
 
 383, 384, 385, 386, 388, 389, 390 
 Crofts, Sir James, 358, 399, 465, 470 
 Cumberland, Earl of, 285 
 
INDEX 
 
 491 
 
 D 
 
 Dacre, Lord, 285, 293,404 
 
 Dale, Dr., Peace Commissioner, 
 
 465 
 Daniel, 136 
 Darnley, Henry Stuart, Lord, 218, 
 
 221, 226, 235-37, 238-40, 241- 
 
 54, 256 
 
 Dassonleville, Councillor, in Eng- 
 land, 173, 184, 278-79 
 De Foix, French ambassador, 230, 
 
 231 
 Dela, Damian, 345, 348 
 Derby, Earl of, 61, 67, 80, 85, 302 
 Derby, Earl of (junior), 465 
 Desmond Rebellion, 359, 362, 364, 
 
 370, 375> 398 
 De Spes. See Gerau de Spes 
 D'Este, Cardinal, 421, 426 
 Don Juan of Austria, 334-40, 345, 
 
 349-51, 352, 355, 357, 362 
 Drake, Sir Francis, 369, 371, 381, 
 397, 413, 427, 429, 430, 460, 460- 
 64. 465, 479 
 Dudley, Lord Henry, 16, 41 
 Dudley, Sir Henry, 136, 139 
 Dudley, Lord Robert, 199, 202, 
 221, 223, 224^ 225, 226. Plots 
 against Cecil, 227 (Earl of 
 Leicester), 352, 355, 358, 371, 
 382, 395, 397, 427, 430, 449, 460 
 Dunblane, Bishop of, 457 
 Durham House, 43, 170, 199, 217, 
 446 
 
 E 
 
 Edward VL, 2, 3, 4. Illness and 
 
 death of, 8-12 
 Eglinton, Earl of, 382 
 Egmont, Count, h'u embassy to 
 
 England, 43, 44, 45, 48, 49, 51, 
 
 55, 67, 76 
 
 Elizabeth, Princess, of England, 
 19, 20, 38, 39, 41, 46, 48, 49, 61, 
 64, 109, no, 113, 115, 116, 122- 
 
 24, 135, 136, 138-41, 156, 164-65- 
 Visited by Feria, 166, 174. Ac- 
 knowledged Mary's heir, 175. 
 Her accession, 181. See also 
 Elizabeth, Queen of Eng- 
 land 
 
 Elizabeth, Queen of England. Per- 
 plexity of Feria, 181-82. Her first 
 measures, 183. The problem of 
 her marriage, 182, 186. Her 
 reception of Philip's offer, 192- 
 93. Deceives Quadra, 203-10. 
 Her policy towards the Dutch 
 Protestants, 221. Her statecraft, 
 224. Fresh approaches to Spain, 
 226-30. Her danger from Mary 
 Stuart, 235-55. Her fear of 
 Philip's designs, 258. Her retort 
 to Alba's proceedings in the 
 Netherlands, 258. Her anger at 
 Dr. Man's expulsion from Spain, 
 259-62. Seizes the treasure, 275. 
 Embargoes Spanish property, 
 275-80, 292. Her alarm, 301. 
 Her reception of Guaras, 325. 
 Friendly with the French,3 26-27, 
 Alengons courtship, 327-28. Her 
 talk with Guaras, 341. Receives 
 Mendoza, 354-60, 370, 374, 379- 
 81, 385-91. Draws nearer to 
 Spain, 395, 396. Proposal to 
 murder her, 401-3. At war 
 with PhiHp, 431. Plot to murder 
 her, 434-35, 439-41- Tries for 
 peace, 445, 459, 466, 470. The 
 Armada, 480-84 
 
 Elizabeth of Valois, third wife of 
 Philip, 197, 226 
 
 Emmanuel Philibert of Savoy, 7, 
 108-11, 116, 140, 148, 186 
 
 England reconciled to the Papacy, 
 102-8 
 
 Englefield, Sir Francis, 392, 485 
 
 Enriquez, Pedro de, his account 
 of England, 84, 86, 87, 88, 90, 
 102, III, 112 
 
492 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 Eric of Sweden. Offers to marry 
 Elizabeth, 165, 176, 186. A suitor 
 for Mary of Scotland, 219 
 
 Farnese, Alexander, Duke of 
 Parma, 350, 424, 445, 451, 452, 
 453W, 462, 465, 470, 471, 472. 
 Advocates peace, 475, 479 
 
 Felton, John, 299-300 
 
 Fenner, Captain, 429 
 
 Feria, Count (Duke of), 55, 67, 73, 
 86, 151, 153. His dealings with 
 Mary and her Council, 153-172. 
 Leaves England, 172, 173. Re- 
 turns to Mary's deathbed, 177. 
 Visits Elizabeth, 166, 178. 
 Philip's ambassador to Eliza- 
 beth, 181. His bewilderment at 
 the changes, 182-84. ^i^ inter- 
 views with Elizabeth, 185. His 
 action in Madrid, 259, 265, 307W, 
 
 317, 324> 351 
 
 Feria, Countess of (Jane Dormer), 
 179,202,316 
 
 Fiesco, 292, 323 
 
 Figueroa, Viceroy, Imperial am- 
 bassador, 67, 79, 80, 165 
 
 Fitzwalter, Lord (Earl of Sussex,) 
 54, 56. See also Sussex 
 
 Fitzwilliam, George, 316-18 
 
 Fleetwood, Sir William, 343, 347 
 
 Flores, Diego, 478 
 
 Fowler, a Lennox adherent, visits 
 Guzman, 235-37 
 
 Francis II. of France, 197 
 
 Frobisher, Captain, 429 
 
 Gardiner, Stephen, Bishop of Win- 
 chester, 26n, 36, 40, 42, 45, 46, 
 61, 7i> 75> 94» 95, 103-5, 107, 
 115, 130-31 
 
 Geneda, Don Diego, 33, 135 
 
 Gerau de Spes, Spanish ambassa- 
 dor, 264. His violent character, 
 265-67. Begins plotting at once, 
 268-69, 270, 271. Causes seizure 
 of English property and stop- 
 page of trade, 275. His indiscre- 
 tion, 276, 277, 278. Under arrest 
 in England, 278-79. Plots with 
 Mary Stuart, 280-83, 284-92, 
 293. The Ridolfi plot, 297-315. 
 Hoodwinked by Hawkins, 316- 
 18. His expulsion from England, 
 
 3i9» 375 
 
 German mercenaries for England, 
 156, 168, 169 
 
 Gifford, Gilbert, 439, 440, 443 
 
 Giraldi, Portuguese envoy to Eng- 
 land, 343-44 
 
 Granvelle, Cardinal de, 4, 21, 99, 
 
 387, 388, 392-93, 394 
 Gregory XIII., Pope, 309, 338, 401, 
 
 405, 406, 421, 422, 423 
 Gresham, Sir Thomas, 112, 160, 
 
 161, 268 
 Grey, Lady Jane. See Jane 
 Grey de Wilton, Lord, 145, 151 
 Guaras, Antonio de, 35-36, 267, 
 
 322-26,330-33,336-46. Arrested, 
 
 347-49, 357, 359, 375 
 
 Guaras, Gombal de, 357 
 
 Guise, Francis, Duke of, 142, 
 143, 148. Captures Calais, 151. 
 Death of, 235 
 
 Guise, Henry, Duke of, 365, 366, 
 384, sSgn, 390-92, 393, 394, 399, 
 401-3, 405-7, 409, 417, 418, 
 422, 425, 426, 450, 451, 458 
 
 Guises, the, 200, 210, 211, 232, 234, 
 352-53, 445, 457 
 
 Guzman de Silva, Diego. Spanish 
 ambassador to England, 222. 
 His first interviews with Eliza- 
 beth, 225-32. His negotiations 
 with Mary Stuart, 235-54. His 
 interviews with Elizabeth about 
 the expulsion of Dr. Man, 260- 
 
INDEX 
 
 493 
 
 6i. Begs Philip to recall him, 
 262, Presents his successor, 264. 
 EHzabeth's grief at his depar- 
 ture, 264-65. Leaves England, 
 265, 268 
 
 H 
 
 Hamilton, Lord Claude, 440, 450 
 
 Hastings, Lord, 43, 99 
 
 Hatton, Sir Christopher, 370, 371, 
 373^382,396 
 
 Havrey, Marquis d', 352 
 
 Hawkins, John, 273, 274, 281. His 
 trick on de Spes, 316-18 
 
 Hawkins, William, 273 
 
 Heath, Archbishop, Lord Chan- 
 cellor, 141, 15s 
 
 Henrique, Cardinal, King of Por- 
 tugal, 362, 372 
 
 Henry VHL, 2, 32 
 
 Henry H. of France, 6, 95, 115, 
 139, 142, 188, 194. Death of, 197, 
 200 
 
 Henry III, of France, 399, 425, 
 
 455, 456, 457, 486 
 Herbert, Dr., Peace Commissioner, 
 
 465 
 Herries, Lord, 257, 312 
 Hertford, Earl of, 465 
 Hey wood. Father, Jesuit, 383 
 Hoby, Sir Philip, English envoy, 8 
 Holt', Father, Jesuit, 386, 388 
 Horn, Count, 67 
 Horsey, Governor of the Isle of 
 
 Wight, 274 
 Howard, Lord Henry, 388, 399 
 Howard, Lord William (Lord 
 
 Eifingham), 43, 44, 61, 63, 64, 
 
 67, 76, 77, 135, 148, 157, 191, 
 
 225, 254 
 
 Howard, Lord Admiral (Charles 
 
 2nd Howard of Effingham), 441 
 
 Huguenots, the, 200, 210, 211, 
 
 226, 230, 232, 268, 273, 320, 326, 
 327-29, 353, 358 
 
 Hunsdon, Lord, 441 
 Huntly, Earl of, 382, 450, 454 
 Hurtado de Mendoza, Diego, 33 
 
 Isabel, the Infanta, 458 
 
 J 
 
 James VI, of Scotland, 363, 366, 
 377, 378, 382, 384, 386, 387, 400, 
 419, 422, 426, 433, 436, 438, 450, 
 
 454, 457, 458, 459 
 Jane Grey, 11, 13, 16, 19,41 
 Jane the Mad, 56, 120 
 Jerningham, Master of the Rolls^ 
 
 163 
 Jesuit propaganda in England, 
 
 365, 367, 368, 378, 382, 385, 398, 
 
 400, 419 
 Juana, Princess, Philip's sister, 54, 
 
 56, 225 
 
 K 
 
 Kildare, Countess of, 85 
 Kingston, Sir Anthony, 136 
 Kirkaldy of Grange, 255 
 Knollys, Sir Francis, 277^, 441 
 
 Landau, Charles V. at, 2, 3 
 
 La Mole received by Elizabeth, 
 327-28 
 
 La Mothe Fenelon, French am- 
 bassador, 275, 287, 330, 400 
 
 Leicester, Earl of. See Dudley 
 
 Lennox D'Aubigny (Duke of Len- 
 nox), 363, 366, 377, 378, 382, 
 389-92, 398, 399, 400 
 
 Lennox, Margaret, Countess of, 
 218. Intrigues with Guzman, 
 235-37, 238-40, 241, 247, 253 
 
 Lethington, William Maitland, 
 
494 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 Laird of (Scottish Secretary), 
 213, 214, 215, 218, 234-40 285 
 
 Lewis, Dr. Owen, Bishop of 
 Cassano, 433, 457 
 
 London. Rejoices at Mary's ac- 
 cession, 14-17. Mary's entry into, 
 19. Mary's coronation at, 32, 
 34. Wyatt's appeal to, 15, 47. 
 Fears of the Spanish match, 34, 
 43, 52, 64, 86-go. Philip's State 
 entry, 90-92, 93. Ill-feeling 
 towards Spaniards, 114, 120 
 
 Loo, Andrea, de, 445, 459 
 
 Lopez, Dr., 373 
 
 Lopez de Padilla, Gutierre, 54 
 
 Lorraine, Cardinal, 216, 226, 231, 
 232, 234, 238, 244, 265 
 
 Lumley, Lord, 285, 286, 290, 302, 
 303 
 
 M 
 
 Man, Dr., English ambassador in 
 Spain, his expulsion, 259, 265 
 270 
 
 Marnix, Jacques de (Tholuze), en- 
 voy to England, 9 
 
 Martinengo, Abbe, Papal Legate 
 for England, 209 
 
 Martin, Sir Roger, Lord Mayor, 
 271 
 
 Mary Tudor, Queen of England, 
 8, 10, 11-16. Her accession, 17. 
 Her reception in London, 19. 
 Her acceptance of Philip, 23-29. 
 Her anger with Courtenay, 
 32-33. Her coronation, 34. 
 Pledged to Philip, 40. The 
 public announcement of her 
 marriage, 45, 47, 48. Anxiety 
 for Philip's safety, 51. Her 
 meeting with Philip, 76-78. 
 The marriage, 80-82. Entry 
 into London, 90-92, 95. Re- 
 ceives Pole, 102, 109-10. Diffi- 
 culties with Elizabeth, 1 16-19. 
 
 Hopes of an heir, 1 19-21, 122, 
 123. Philip's absence, 130, 140- 
 41. Joy at Philip's return, 144. 
 Declares war on France, 147. 
 Her grief at the loss of Calais, 
 i53> 157- Her poverty, 158-59. 
 Her decline and death, 171, 175- 
 80 
 
 Mary of Hungary, Regent of the 
 Netherlands, 3, 6 
 
 Mary, Queen of Scots, 39, 141, 187, 
 193. i97> 200, 211, 213 224, 234, 
 236-40. Marries Darnley under 
 Philip's patronage, 243-45. 
 Her designs against Elizabeth, 
 247-54. Rizzio, 256. Mary a 
 prisoner, 256, 257. In England, 
 262, 268, 269. Her communica- 
 tions with de Spes, 277-88, 
 293. The Ridolfi plot, 297-315, 
 316, 317. Intrigues with Don 
 Juan through Guaras, 336, 339- 
 40, 345. 349- Fresh plots, 365- 
 66, 377> 383-84. 401-3. 410. 
 423, 434. Bequeath' s Crown of 
 England to Philip, 436. Her 
 part in the Babington plot, 444 
 
 Mary of Lorraine, Regent of Scot- 
 land, 200 
 
 Mason, Dr., English Councillor, 
 14, 15, 16, 99, 100 
 
 Maurice of Saxony, 2 
 
 Maximilian of Austria, 38 
 
 Mayenne, Duke of, 401 
 
 Medina CeH, Duke of, 55, 73, 85, 
 
 3i5«. 317. 331" 
 Medina Sidonia, Duke of, 462. To 
 command the Armada, 477, 479, 
 481. Prays Philip to abandon 
 the enterprise, 482 
 Melville, Sir James, 254, 285^ 
 Mendoza, Bernardino, Spanish am- 
 bassador to England, 351, 353- 
 54. 355-60. Plots with the 
 English CathoHcs, 368-70, 377- 
 83, 386-98. His unpopularity 
 
INDEX 
 
 495 
 
 in London, 398. His con- 
 nivance with Tiirockmorton's 
 plot, 408. Expulsion from 
 England, 410-12. In Paris, 
 422-25, 433. Connives at the 
 Babington Plot, 434-45. 
 Metz, the Emperor's defeat at, 5 
 Montmorenci, Constable, 148 
 Montmorenci, Jean (de Courrieres), 
 
 envoy to England, 9, 43 
 Montrose, Earl of, 450 
 Morgan, Thomas, 406, 435 
 Morley, Lord, 285 
 Morton, the Regent, 365, 366, 377 
 Morton, Earl of (Stuart), 450 
 Moryson, Sir Richard, addresses 
 
 the Emperor, 1-4 
 Murray, James Stuart, Earl of, 245, 
 25 1; 255, 256, 284, 285, 287. 
 
 N 
 
 Navarre, Henry of, 326, 328, 399, 
 
 422, 455. 486 
 
 Navas, Marquis de las, 54, 59, 67, 85 
 
 Noailles, Antoine de, French am- 
 bassador, 19, 20, 33, 41, 42, 43, 
 46, 49, 62, 79, 93-94, 115, 119, 
 i34» 135- His plots, 136, 141, 
 146, 147, 151 
 
 Nonsuch House, 288 
 
 Norfolk, Duke of (Thomas 
 Howard), his plots with Mary 
 Stuart, 281-83, 284-88, 289-92, 
 293-95» 297, 301, 306, 311-15 
 
 North, the Rising in the, 293-95 
 297 
 
 Northampton, Marquis of, 62, 
 226 
 
 Northumberland, Duke of, 3, 4, 5, 
 7, 8, 10, 12, 14, 15, 16, 19 
 
 Northumberland, Earl of, 254, 
 277, 281, 285, 290, 293, 293-95 
 
 Northumberland, Earl of (junior), 
 409 
 
 Nowell, Dr., Dean of St. Pauls, 3. 
 
 Elizabeth rebukes him, 231 
 Nufiez, Dr. Hector, 3987? 
 
 O 
 
 Oquendo, Admiral, 476, 478 
 Olivares, Count, Spanish ambas- 
 sador in Rome, 421, 423, 426, 
 432, 433, 438, 457, 471 
 Orange, Prince of, 332-33, 352, 
 
 356, 369. 381, 395 
 Osorio, Isabel de, Philip's mistress, 
 
 27.11, 27 
 
 Owen, Hugh, 424 
 
 Pacheco, Don Juan, robbed in 
 
 England, 84 
 Paget, William, Lord, 20, 24, 37, 
 
 40, 61, 99, 158, 163, 167 
 Paget, Lord (junior), 409 
 Paget, Charles, 339, 406, 408, 409, 
 
 434. 435 
 Paget, William, 436 
 Paget House, 238, 269, 278 
 Parry, Elizabeth's controller, 184 
 Parsons (or Persons), Father 
 Robert, 367, 383, 385, 389, 400, 
 404, 405, 406, 407, 416, 417, 419, 
 421, 425, 435, 457, 458, 471, 483, 
 
 485 
 Paul IV., Pope (Caraffa), 121, 141, 
 
 142, 150 
 Paulet, Sir Amyas, 345 
 Paz, Luis de, 219, 236 
 Peace negotiations with Parma, 
 
 445. 459. 465. 466, 470 
 Peckham, Sir W., 136 
 Pembroke, Earl of, 14, 61, 71, 80, 
 
 82, 97; 145. 225, 290 
 Pembroke, Countess of, 85 
 Pescara, Marquis of, 55, 67 
 Petre, Sir W., Secretary of State, 
 
 14. 24, 37, 40, 97 
 
495 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 Philip II., 6. To marry Mary, 
 21-31, 37, 38. The conditions 
 of his marriage, 42, 44-46, 50. 
 His coming to England, 52-65. 
 His presents to Mary, 54. His 
 demeanour in England, 65, 66. 
 Arrival and first sight of Mary, 
 66-80. State entry into London, 
 90-92. Receives Pole, 101-105. 
 His attitude towards Elizabeth, 
 1 16-17. Leaves England, 125- 
 26. His influence on English 
 policy, 129, 133. His attempts 
 to draw England into war, 143. 
 Visits England, 144. Obtains 
 armed English aid, 145. Eng- 
 land joins him in the war, 147. 
 His last farewell to Mary, 148. 
 The war and the English, 151- 
 60, 162-63, 164. His friend- 
 ship with Elizabeth, 166. He 
 proposes to Elizabeth, 188-91. 
 His new policy, 195. Alliance 
 with France, 198-99. Its in- 
 efficiency, 200. His intrigue 
 with Lord R. Dudley, 203-10. 
 His reception of Scottish ap- 
 proaches, 215. His pohcy in 
 the Netherlands, 220. Patron- 
 ises Darnley, 235-40, 241-54. 
 His determination to crush the 
 Netherlands, 258. Adopts a 
 stronger policy towards Eng- 
 land, 263. Seizure of his 
 treasure, 272-77. Stops trade, 
 278-79. Intrigues with Mary 
 Stuart, 280-83, 288. Accepts 
 Ridolfi plot, 308, 313, 314. His 
 claim to Portugal, 362, 372. His 
 attitude towards Guise's plots, 
 402, 407, 408. Resolved upon 
 war at last, 415, 421, 426. His 
 claim to the Crown of England, 
 436, 437. His doubts of the 
 Babington plot, 441-43. Plans 
 the Armada, 448-49, 450, 451-56, 
 
 457-58, 459, 466-74. His ob- 
 stinacy and the result, 483. 
 His failure, 487 
 
 Pickering, Sir William, 168 
 
 Pole, Arthur, plots with Quadra, 
 217, 255« 
 
 Pole, Cardinal Reginald, 19, 34, 
 95, 98, 99. In England, 100-4, 
 114, 125, 130, 141, 143, 146, 15s, 
 170. His death, 179 
 
 Portugal, Philip's claim to, 362, 
 
 37i> 372, 396 
 Primrose, the attack upon the, 
 
 428 
 Protestant conspiracies against 
 
 Mary, 136, 146. See also Wyatt 
 
 Q 
 
 Quadra, Bishop Alvaro. Philip's 
 ambassador in England, 196, 
 198, 199, 200. Hoodwinked by 
 Dudley, 202-10. Scottish ap- 
 proaches to, 213 et seq. His 
 death, 219 
 
 R 
 
 Raleigh, Sir Walter, 440«, 446, 
 
 447 
 
 Randolph, English agent in Scot- 
 land, 249, 255 
 
 Randolph, Major, 170?^ 
 
 Ratcliff, Egremont, 342 
 
 Recalde, Martinez de, 476, 478 
 
 Religious persecution, 96, 1 13-15, 
 123, 128 
 
 Renard, Simon. Imperial ambas- 
 sador, 9-18. Proposes Philip 
 for Mary, 21-31, 33, 37, 48, 49, 
 50, 51, 61,62, 63, 65, 71, 113, 114, 
 122, 128 
 
 Requesens, Viceroy of Flanders, 
 
 334. 337 
 Ridley, Bishop, 41 
 
INDEX 
 
 497 
 
 Ridolfi, Rodolfo, 281, 297, 304, 
 
 306-11,318,375 
 Rizzio, 256 
 Robsart, Amy, Lady R. Dudley, 
 
 202, 203 
 Rochester, Sir R., 154, 163 
 Rome, the Armada intrigues in, 
 
 421,426,457 
 Ross, Bishop of, 285, 287, 289, 
 
 298-99. 302, 304. 310. 311 
 Ross, 306 
 
 Rutland, Earl of, 164 
 Ruy Gomez, Philip's favourite, 55, 
 
 67. 72, 78. 92 
 
 St. Bartholomew, 328-30 
 
 St. Quintin, battle of, 148, 150 
 
 St. Quintin, English at the battle 
 
 of, 149. 159 
 Sanders, Dr., Papal Legate in Ire- 
 land, 364 
 Sarmiento de Gamboa, 446-47 
 Schef yne, envoy to England, 9, 1 1 
 Sebastian, King of Portugal, 362 
 Semple, Colonel, 450 
 Seton, Lord, 382 
 Shan O'Neil, 217, 256 
 Shrewsbury, Earl of, 14, 16, 61, 67, 
 
 97, 302, 423 
 Sidney, Sir H., 202, 203, 210 
 Sidney, Lady Mary, 199, 202 
 Sixtus v., Pope, 423, 426, 432, 433, 
 
 438. 457. 459. 471 
 Spaniards, discontent of, 83-90, 
 
 102, III, 112, 120 
 Spinola, Benedict, Genoese banker 
 
 in London, 272, 273, 274 
 Stafford, Thomas, his abortive 
 
 rebellion, 146, 147 
 Stanley, Sir William, 439, 441, 450 
 Story, Dr., 303 
 Strange, Lord, 43, 82 
 Stukeley, English traitor, 301, 362 
 Supremacy, Act of, 194 
 
 KK 
 
 Sussex, Earl of, 61, 153, 157, 293, 
 342, 370, 371, 373, 379 
 
 Tassis, Spanish Ambassador in 
 
 France, 383, 384, 389, 392, 400, 
 
 401, 403, 405, 410, 418 
 Throckmorton, Francis, 408, 409, 
 
 416 
 Treasure, the seizure of Philip's, 
 
 271-77. 321-26, 331, 332 
 Tremayne, 136 
 Tresham, 377 
 
 U 
 
 Uniformity, Act of, 194 
 
 Valdes, Pedro de, 478, 483 
 Vargas-Mexia, Spanish ambas- 
 sador in France, 364-65, 366;? 
 
 W 
 
 Walsingham, Sir Francis, 328, 358, 
 397. 407. 409> 410. 427. 434. 44^. 
 443.444 
 
 Wentworth, Lord, Governor of 
 Calais, 151 
 
 Westmorland, Earl of, 97, 147, 
 
 174. 293. 375. 404 
 Wilkes, English envoy to Spain, 
 
 350-51 
 Williams, Sir John (Lord Williams 
 
 of Thame), 67, 68 
 Wilson, Dr., 345 
 Winchester, the marriage at, 72- 
 
 84 
 Winchester, Marquis of, 86, 97 
 Winchester House, 287, 302« 
 Worcester, Earl of, 303 
 
498 TWO ENGLISH QUEENS AND PHILIP 
 
 Wyatt's rebellion, 47, 48, 49, 61, 
 
 62, 90 
 Wynter, Admiral, 273, 429 
 
 Yaxley, Francis, sent to Philip 
 by the English and Scottish 
 Catholics, 248-54 
 
 York, the Conference of, 269, 284 
 York, Roland, 450 
 
 Zayas, Secretary, 305, 306, 313, 
 
 336, 346, 347. 359. 363 
 Zweveghem, Flemish envoy, 324, 
 326 
 
Ub6 ©resbam press, 
 
 UNWIN BROTHERS, LIMITED, 
 WOKING AND LONDON. 
 


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