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A UTHOR : 
 
 MOTLEY, JOHN 
 LOTHROP 
 
 TITLE: 
 
 HISTORY OF THE UNITED 
 
 NETHERLANDS: 
 
 PLACE: 
 
 THE HAGUE 
 
 DA TE : 
 
 1860 
 
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 Motley, John Lothrop, 181U-1877« 
 
 History of the United Netherlands: from the 
 death of William the Silent to the synod of 
 Dort, by John Lothrop Motley ••• e Continental 
 copyright ed.a The Hague, Nljhoff , I960. 
 
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 From a •carce Frn^,rav;u^, by Wjerix. 
 
 Fioatiapieci. Vol. I. 
 
 Continental Copyright Edition, 
 
 HISTORY 
 
 OP THE 
 
 UNITED NETHERLANDS: 
 
 FROM THE DEATH OF WILLIAM THE SILENT TO 
 THE SYNOD OF DORT. 
 
 By JOHN LOTHROP MOTLEY, D.C.L., 
 
 CORKESFONDINO MXXBEB OF THE INSTITUTE OF FKANCK* 
 AUTHOB OF ' THE BI8E OF THE DUTCH KEFUBUC.' 
 
 VOLUME L 
 
 THE HAGUE: 
 
 MAKTINUS NIJHOFF. 
 
 1860. 
 
 The right qf Tramlation i» raervcd. 
 
^ 
 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 ■*o*- 
 
 NOTICE. 
 
 All the necessary legal forms having been fulfilled to secure the 
 Copyright of the 'History of the United Netherlands,' any in- 
 fringement of the Author's rights will be suppressed by resort to 
 law, if needed. 
 
 
 The indulgence with which the History of the Rise of 
 the Dutch Republic was received has encouraged me to 
 prosecute my task with renewed industry. 
 
 A single word seems necessary to explain the some- 
 what increased proportions which the present work has 
 assumed over the original design. The intimate con- 
 nection which was formed between the Kingdom of 
 England and the Republic of Holland, immediately after 
 the death of William the Silent, rendered the history 
 and the fate of the two commonwealths for a season 
 almost identical. The years of anxiety and suspense 
 during which the great Spanish project for subjugating 
 England and reconquering the Netherlands, by the 
 same invasion, was slowly matured, were of deepest 
 import for the future destiny of those two countries 
 and for the cause of national liberty. The deep-laid 
 conspiracy of Spain and Rome against human rights 
 deserves to be patiently examined, for it is one of 
 the great lessons of history. The crisis was long and 
 doubtful, and the health— perhaps the existence— of 
 England and Holland, and, with them, of a gieat part 
 of Christendom, was on the issue. 
 
 History has few so fruitful examples of the dangers 
 which come from superstition and despotism, and the 
 
 a 2 
 
!▼ 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 blessings whicli flow Ixom tLe maintenance of religious 
 and political freedom, as those afforded by the straggle 
 between England and Holland on the one side, and 
 Spain and Kome on the other, during the epoch which 
 I have attempted to describe. It is for this reason that 
 I have thought it necessary to reveal, as minutely as 
 possible, the secret details of this conspiracy of king 
 and priest against the people, and to show how it was 
 baffled at last by the strong self-helping energy of two 
 free nations combined. 
 
 The period occupied by these two volumes is there- 
 fore a short one, when counted by years, for it begins in 
 1584 and ends with the commencement of 1590. When 
 estimated by the significance of events and their results 
 for future ages, it will perhaps be deemed worthy of the 
 dose examination which it has received. With the 
 year 1588 the crisis was past; England was safe, and 
 the new Dutch commonwealth was thoroughly organized. 
 It is my design, in two additional volumes, which, with 
 the two now published, will complete the present work, 
 to carry the history of the Republic down to the Synod 
 of Dort. After this epoch the Thirty Years* War broke 
 out in Germany ; and it is my wish, at a future day, to 
 retrace the historj^ of that eventful struggle, and to 
 combine with it the civil and military events in Hol- 
 land, down to the epoch when the Thirty Years* War 
 and the Eighty Years* War of the Netherlands were 
 both brought to a close by the Peace of West- 
 phalia. 
 
 The materials for the volumes now offered to the 
 public were so abundant that it was almost impossible 
 to condense them into smaller compass without doing 
 
 PREFACE. • ▼ 
 
 injustice to the subject. It was desirable to throw 
 full light on these prominent points of the history, while 
 the law of historical perspective will allow long stretches 
 of shadow in the succeeding portions, in which less 
 important objects may be more slightly indicated. That 
 I may not be thought capable of abusing the reader's 
 confidence by inventing conversations, speeches, or 
 lettors, I would take this opportunity of stating— 
 although I have repeated the remark in the foot-notes — 
 that no personage in these pages is made to write or 
 speak any words save those which, on the best his- 
 torical evidence, he is known to have written or 
 spoken. 
 
 A brief allusion to my sources of information will 
 not seem superfluous. I have carefully studied all the 
 leading contemporary chronicles and pamphlets of 
 Holland, Flanders, Spain, France, Germany, and Eng- 
 land ; but, as the authorities are always indicated in the 
 notes, it is unnecessary to give a list of them here. 
 But by far my most valuable materials are entirely un- 
 published ones. 
 
 The archives of England are especially rich for the 
 history of the sixteenth century ; and it will be seen, in 
 the course of the narrative, how largely I have drawn 
 from those mines of historical wealth, the State Paper 
 Office and the MS. department of the British Museum. 
 Although both these great national depositories are in 
 admirable order, it is to be regretted that they are not all 
 embraced in one collection, as much trouble might then 
 be spared to the historical student, who is now obliged to 
 pass frequently from the one place to the other, in order 
 to find different portions of the same correspondence. 
 
▼I 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 
 From the royal archives of Holland I have obtained 
 many most important, entirely unpublished documents, 
 by the aid of which I have endeavoured to verify, to 
 illustrate, or sometimes to correct, the recitals of the 
 elder national chroniclers ; and I have derived the 
 greatest profit from the invaluable series of Archives 
 and Correspondence of the Orange- Nassau Family, given 
 to the world by M. Groen van Prinsterer. T desire to 
 renew to that distinguished gentleman, and to that emi- 
 nent scholar M. Bakhuyzen van den Brink, the expres- 
 sion of my gratitude for their constant kindness and 
 advice during my residence at the Hague. Nothing can 
 exceed the courtesy which has been extended to me in 
 Holland, and I am deeply grateful for the indulgence 
 with which my efforts to illustrate the history of the 
 country have been received where that history is best 
 known. 
 
 I have also been much aided by the study of a portion 
 of the Archives of Simancas, the originals of which 
 are in the Archives de TEmpii-e in Paris, and which 
 were most liberally laid before me through the kindness 
 of M. le Comte de La Borde. 
 
 I have, further, enjoyed an inestimable advantage in 
 the perusal of the whole correspondence between 
 Philip II., his ministers, and governors, relating to the 
 affairs of the Netherlands, from the epoch at which this 
 work commences down to that monarch's death. Copies 
 of this correspondence have been carefully made from 
 tlie originals at Simancas by order of the Belgian Go- 
 vernment, under the superintendence of the eminent 
 archivist M. Gachard, who has already published a 
 synopsis or abridgment of a portion of it in a French 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 vii 
 
 translation. The translation and abridgment of so large a 
 mass of papers, however, must necessarily occupy many 
 years, and it may be long, therefore, before the whole 
 of the correspondence— and particularly that portion of 
 
 it relating to the epoch occupied by these volumes sees 
 
 the light. It was, therefore, of the greatest importance 
 for me to see the documents themselves unabridged and 
 untranslated. This privilege has been accorded me, and 
 I desire to express my thanks to his Excellencv M. van 
 de Weyer, the distinguished representative of Belgium 
 at the English Court, to whose friendly offices I am 
 mainly indebted for the satisfaction of my wishes in 
 this respect. A letter from him to his Excellency 
 M. Eogier, Minister of the Interior in Belgium— who 
 likewise took the most courteous interest in promoting 
 my views— obtained for me the permission thoroughly 
 to study this correspondence; and I passed several 
 months in Brussels, occupied with reading the whole 
 of it from the year 1584 to the end of the rei<rn 
 of Philip II. " 
 
 I was thus saved a long visit to the Archives of Si- 
 mancas, for it would be impossible conscientiously to 
 write the history of the epoch without a thorough ex- 
 amination of the correspondence of the King and his 
 ministers. I venture to hope, therefore— whatever 
 judgment may be passed upon my own labours— that 
 this work may be thought to possess an intrinsic value ; 
 for the various materials of which it is composed arj 
 original, and— so far as I am aware— have not been 
 made use of by any historical writer. 
 
 I would take this opportunity to repeat my thanks 
 to M. Gachard, Archivist of the kingdom of Belgium, 
 
 i. 
 
Till 
 
 PREFACE, 
 
 for the uniform courtesy and kindness which I have 
 received at his hands, and to bear my testimony 
 to the skill and critical accuracy with which he has 
 illustrated so many passages of Belgian and Spanish 
 histoiy. 
 
 31, Hertford-Street^ May-Fair, 
 Noomber IIM. I860. 
 
 CONTENTS OF VOL. I. 
 
 h i 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Murder of the Prince of Orange — Extension of Protestantism — Vast 
 Power of Spain — Religious Origin of the Revolt — Disposal of the 
 Sovereignty — Courage of the Estates of Holland — Children of the 
 Prince of Orange — Provisional Council of State — Finn attitude of 
 Holland and Zeeland — Weakness of Flanders — Fall of Ghent — Adroit- 
 ness of Alexander Famese Page 1 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Relations of the Republic to France — Queen Elizabeth's severity towards 
 Catholics and Calvinists — Relative Positions of England and France — 
 Timidity of Germany — Apathy of Protestant Germany — Indignation 
 of the Netherlanders — Henry HI. of France — The King and his 
 Minions — Henry of Guise — Henry of Navarre — Power of France — 
 Embassy of the States to France — Ignominious Position of the Envoys 
 — Views of the French Huguenots — Efforts to procure Annexation — 
 Success of Des Pruneaux 24 
 
 i 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Policy of England — Schemes of the Pretender of Portugal — Hesitation of 
 the French Court — Secret Wishes of France — Contradictory Views as 
 to the Opinions of Netherlanders — Their Love for England and Elizabeth 
 — Prominent Statesmen of the Provinces — Roger Williams the Welsh- 
 man — Views of Walsingham, Burghley, and the Queen — An Embassy 
 to Holland decided upon — Davison sent to the Hague — Cautious and 
 Secret Measures of Burghley — Consequent Dissatisfaction of Walsing- 
 ham — English and Dutch Suspicion of France — Increasing Affection 
 
 of Holland for England 62 
 
 VOL, I. * 6 
 
 f 
 I 
 
I 
 
 CONTENTS OF VOL. I. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Reception of the Dutch Envop at the Louvre — Ignominious Result of the 
 Embassy — Secret Influences at work — Bargaining between the French 
 and Spanish Courts — Gaims of Catharine de* Medici upon Portugal — 
 Letters of Henry and Catharine — Secret Proposal by France to invade 
 England — State*' Mission to Henry of Navarre — Subsidies of Philip to 
 Guise — Treaty of Joinville — Philip's share in the League denied by 
 Parma — Philip in reality its Chief — Manifesto of the League — Atti- 
 tude of Henry III. and of Navarre — The League demands a Royal 
 Decree — Designs of France and Spain against England — Secret Inter- 
 view of Mendoza and Villeroy — Complaints of English Persecution — 
 Edict of Nemours — Excommunication of Navarre and his Reply Page 90 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Position and Character of Famese — Preparations for Antwerp Siege — Its 
 Characteristics — Foresight of William the Silent — Siinte Aldegonde, 
 the Burgomaster — Anarchy in Antwerp — Character of Sainte Alde- 
 gonde — Admiral Treslong — Justinus de Nassau — Hohenlo — Opposi- 
 tion to the Plan of Orange — Liefkenshoek — Head-quarters of Parma 
 at Kalloo — Difficulty of supplying the City — Results of not piercing 
 the Dykes — Preliminaries of the Siege — Successes of the Spaniards — 
 Energy of Famese with sword and pen — His Correspondence with the 
 Antwerpers — Progress of the Bridge — Impoverished Condition of 
 Parma — Patriots attempt Bois-le-Duc — Their Misconduct — Failure 
 of the Enterprise— The Scheldt Bridge completed — Description of the 
 Structure — Position of Alexander and his Army — La Motte attempts 
 in vain Ostend — Patriots gain Liefkenshoek — Projects of Gianibelli — 
 Alarm on the Bridge — The Fire-Ships — The Explosion — Its Results 
 
 — Death of the Viscount of Ghent — Perpetual Anxiety of Famese — 
 Impoverished State of the Spaniards — Intended Attack of the Kowen- 
 styn — Second Attack on the Kowenstyn — A Landing effected — A sharp 
 Combat — The Dyke pierced — Rally of the Spaniards — Parma comes 
 to the Rescue — Fierce struggle on the Dyke — The Spaniards successful 
 
 — Premature triumph at Antwerp — Defeat of the Patriots — The Ship 
 " War's End " — Despair of the Citizens — Sainte Aldegonde discouraged 
 
 — His critical Position — His Negotiations with the enemy — Corre- 
 spondence with Richardot — Commotion in the City — Interview of 
 Mamix with Parma — Suspicious Conduct of Mamix — Deputation to 
 the Prince — Oration of Mamix — Private Views of Parma— Capitu- 
 lation of Antwerp— Mistakes of Mamix — Philip on the Religious 
 Question — Triumphal Entrance of Alexander — Rebuilding of the Citadel 
 
 — Gratification of Philip — Note on Sainte Aldegonde . . . . 129 
 
 CONTENTS OF VOL. I. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 XI 
 
 Policy of England — Diplomatic Coquetry — Dutch Envoys in England — 
 Conference of Ortel and Walsiugham — Interview with Leicester — 
 Private Audience of the Queen — Lettei-s of the Statcs-Gener.U — 111 
 Eflfects of Gilpin's Despatch — Close Bargaining of the Qucon and States 
 
 — Guarantees required by Enghmd — England's comparative Weakness 
 
 — The English chai^acterised — Paul Hentzner — The Envoys in London 
 
 — Their Characters — Olden-Baraeveld described — Reception at Green 
 wich — Speech of Menin — Reply of the Queen — Memorial of the 
 Envoys — Discussions with the Ministers — Second Speech of the Queen 
 
 — Third Speech of the Queen — Sir John 2< orris sent to Holland — 
 Parsimony of Elizabeth — Energy of Davison — Protracted Negotiations 
 
 — Friendly Sentiments of Count Maurice — Letters from him and Louisa 
 de Coligny — Davison vexetl by the Queen's Caprice — Dissatisfaction of 
 Leicester — His vehement Complaints — The Queen's Avarice — Per- 
 plexity of Davison — Manifesto of Elizabeth — Sir Philip Sidney — His 
 Arrival at Flushing Page 270 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 The Earl of Leicester — His Triumphal Entrance into Holland — English 
 Spies about him — Importance of Holland to England — Spanish Schemes 
 for invading England — Letter of the Gi-and Commander — Perilous 
 Position of England— Trae Nature of the Contest — Wealth and 
 Strength of the Provinces — Power of the Dutch and English people — 
 Aflection of the Hollanders for the Queen —Secret Purposes of Leicester 
 
 Wretched Condition of English Troops — The Nassaus and Hohenlo 
 
 The Eari's Opinion of them — Clerk and Killigrew — Interview with 
 the States — Government-General otlered to the Earl — Discussions on 
 the Subject — The Earl accepts the Office — His Ambition and Mistakes 
 
 — His Installation at the Hague — Intimations of the Queen's Displea- 
 sure — Depilatory Letters of Leicester — Davison's Mission to England 
 
 — Queen's Anger and Jealousy — Her angry Letters to the Earl and the 
 States — Arrival of Davison — Stormy Interview with the Queen — 
 The second one is calmer — Queen's Wrath somewhat mitigated — Mis- 
 won of Heneage to the States — Shirley sent to England by the Earl — 
 His Interview with Elizabeth — Leicester's Letters to his Friends — 
 Paltry Condiict of the Earl to Davison — He excuses himself at Davison's 
 Expense- His Letter to Burghley — Effect of the Queen's Letters to 
 the States — Suspicion and Discontent in Holland — States excuse tlieir 
 Conduct to the Queen — Leicester discredited m Holland — Evil conse- 
 quences to Holland and England — Magic effect of a Letter from Leicester 
 
 — The Queen appeased — Her Letters to the States and the Earl — She 
 permits the granted Authority — Unhappy Results of the Queen's Course 
 

 Xll 
 
 COSTEKTS OF VOL. I. 
 
 -Her variable Mood, -She attempU \^'^''" '^^"^^^^''-Jj" 
 Iniostice to Heneage- Hi. Perplexity «rf Distress - Humihatmg Pos.- 
 tr Welter -His meUnSoly Letter, to the Q;7-H'«3 
 a litU. Consolation - And write, more cheerfuHy - The Queen i, mo« 
 benignant-The Stat« less contented than the '^'^^'^'^^^^ 
 with them begin 
 
 CHAPTER Vlll. 
 
 Forlorn Condition of Flanders - Parma's secret NegotUtions with the 
 Queen-Grafigni and Bodman-Their dealings with English Comisel- 
 L^Duplicitv of Famese-Secret Offers of the Engluh Peace-P^y 
 - Letters and Intrigues of De Loo -Di-ake's Victories and their Lffect 
 -Parma't Perplexity and Anxiety -He is relieved by the News from 
 Enirbmd- Queen's secret Letters to Parma -His Letters and Instruc- 
 tions to Bodman-Bodman's sea-et Transactions at Greenwich -VVal- 
 singham detects and expo^s the Plot - The Intriguers baffled - 
 QuLn's Letter to Panna and his to the King - Unlucky Kesulte of the 
 Peace-Intrigues -Unhandsome Treatment of Leicester- Indignation ot 
 the Earl and Walsingham - Secret Letter of Parma to Philip -Inva- 
 sion of England recommended - Details of the Project . . . . 461 
 
BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF THE SIEGE OF ANTWERP. 
 
THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 zrssi 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Murder of Orange — Extension of Protestantism — Vast Power of Spain — Rtli- 
 gious Orijfln of the Revolt — Disposal of the Sovereignly — Courage of the 
 Estates of Holland — Children of William the Silent — Provisional Council of 
 State — Firm Attitude of Holland and Zeeland — Weakness of Flanders — Fall 
 of Ghent — Adroitness of Alexander Famese. 
 
 William the Silent, Prince of Orange, had been mnr- 
 derod on the 10th July, 1584. It is difficult to imagine 
 a more universal disaster than the one thus brought 
 about by the hand of a single obscure fanatic. For 
 nearly twenty years the character of the Prince had 
 been expanding steadily as the difficulties of his situa- 
 tion increased. Habit, necessity, and the natural gifts 
 of the man, had combined to invest him at last with an 
 authority which seemed more than human. There was 
 such general confidence in his sagacity, courage, and 
 purity, that the nation had come to think with his brain 
 and to act with his hand. It was natural that, for an 
 instant, there should be a feeling as of absolute and 
 helpless paralysis. 
 
 Whatever his technical attributes in the polity of the 
 Z^'etherlands— and it would be difficult to define them 
 with perfect accuracy^-there is no doubt that he stood 
 there, the head of a commonwealth, in an attitude such 
 as had been maintained by but few of the kings, or 
 chiefs, or high priests of history. Assassination, a regu- 
 lar and almost indispensable portion of the working 
 machinery of Philip's government, had produced, in 
 this instance, after repeated disappointments, the result 
 at last which had been so anxiously desired. The ban 
 of the Pope and the offered gold of the King had accom- 
 plished a victory greater than any yet achieved by the 
 
 VOL. L jj 
 
2 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDa 
 
 CUAP. 1. 
 
 armies of Spain, brilliant as had been their triumphs on 
 the blood-stained soil of the Netherlands. 
 
 Had that *' exceeding proud, neat, and spruce "' Doc- 
 tor of Laws, William Parry, who had been busying 
 himself at about the same time with his memorable 
 project against the Queen of England, proved as success- 
 ful as Balthazar Gerard, the fate of Christendom would 
 have been still darker. Fortunately, that member of 
 parliament had made the discovery in time— not for 
 himself, but for Elizabeth— that the *' Lord was better 
 pleased with adverbs than nouns;"* the well-known 
 result being that the traitor was hanged and the sove- 
 reign saved. 
 
 Yet such was the condition of Europe at that day. 
 A small, dull, elderly, imperfectly-educated, patient, 
 plodding invalid, with white hair and protruding under- 
 jaw, and dreary visage, was sitting day after day, seldom 
 speaking, never smiling, seven or eight hours out of 
 every twenty- four, at a writing-table covered with heaps 
 of interminable despatches, in a cabinet far away beyond 
 the seas and mountains, in the very heart of Spain. A 
 clerk or two, noiselessly opening and shutting the door, 
 from time to time, fetching fresh bundles of letters 
 and taking away others— all written and composed by 
 secretaries or high functionaries — and all to be scrawled 
 over in the margin by the diligent old man, in a big 
 schoolboy's hand and style — if ever schoolboy, even in 
 the sixteenth century, could write so illegibly or express 
 himself so awkwardly ;' couriers in the court-yard arriv- 
 ing from or departing for the uttermost parts of earth — 
 Asia, Africa, America, Europe— to fetch and carry these 
 interminable epistles, which contained the irresponsible 
 commands of this one individual, and were freighted 
 with the doom and destiny of countless millions of the 
 world's inhabitants— such was the system of govern- 
 ment against which the Netherlands had protested and 
 revolted. It was a system under which their fields had 
 been made desolate, their cities burned and pillaged, 
 their men hanged, burned, drowned, or hacked to pieces, 
 their women subjected to every outrage ; and to put an 
 end to which they had been devoting their treasure and 
 
 » Camcien'a • EUzabeth,' cd. IBS'*, p. 305. 
 
 a Camden, p. 307. 
 
 ' See vol. ii. of thiii work Ccnr inatances. 
 
 1584. MURDER OF THE PRINCE OF ORANGE. » 
 
 their blood for nearly the length of one generation. It 
 was a system, too, which, among other results, had just 
 brought about the death of the foremost statesman of 
 Europe, and had nearly effected simultaneously the 
 murder of the most eminent sovereign in the world. 
 The industrious Philip, safe and tranquil in the depths of 
 the Escorial, saying his prayers three times a day with 
 exemplary regularity, had just sent three bullets through 
 the body of William the Silent at his dining-room door 
 in Delft. *' Had it only been done two years earlier," 
 observed the patient old man, "much trouble mio-ht 
 have been spared me ; but 'tis better late than never." 
 Sir Edward Stafford, English envoy in Paris, wrote to 
 his government — so soon as the news of the murder 
 reached him— that, according to his information out of 
 the Spanish minister's own house, *' the same practice 
 that had been executed upon the Prince of Orange, there 
 were practisers more than two or three about to execute 
 upon her Majesty, and that within two months." W ith- 
 out vouching for the absolute accuracy of this intelli- 
 gence, he implored the Queen to be more upon her 
 guard than ever. " For there is no doubt," said the 
 envoy " that she is a chief mark to shoot at ; and seeing 
 that there were men cunning enough to inchant a man 
 and to encourage him to kill the Prince of Orange in 
 the midst of Holland, and that there was a knave found 
 desperate enough to do it, we must think hereafter that 
 anything may be done. Therefore God preserve her 
 Majesty. » ^ 
 
 Invisible as the Grand Lama of Thibet, clothed with 
 power as extensive and absolute as had ever been wielded 
 
 » Murdin'd • State Papers,' 412-415. 
 
 William Horle, too, wrote from Hol- 
 land, immediately after the murder, 
 warning the Queen to be more than ever 
 on her guard. The seminary at Dieppe, 
 placed "upon the brim of England," 
 was constantly sending Scotch and Eng- 
 lish assassins int# their own country. 
 "Tis known to me," he said, "that 
 there are entered above seven score lurk- 
 ing Jesuits into the realm of late, and 
 they do secretly repair more and more 
 to sow infection and rebellion among 
 your subjects, and to conspire against 
 your royal person, whom God alway, for 
 
 his mercy's sake, preserve." (Herle to 
 the Queen. 22nd July, 1684, State-Paper 
 Office MS.) Moreover, another secret 
 agent of Walsingham, Stephen Le Sieu^, 
 wrote shortly afterwards from Antwerp] 
 that the I'rinie of Orange had been 
 warned by persons resident in Cologne of 
 the attempt about to be made upon his 
 life, but had mifortunately not heeded 
 the admonition. The same persons who 
 had furnished that information now 
 wrote to apprise Le Sleur that there was 
 a similar plot on foot against the Queen. 
 (Le Sieur to Walsingham, 7th September 
 1684, State-Paper Office MS.) * 
 
 fi 2 
 
THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap I. 
 
 by the most imperial Caesar, PhUip the Prudent, as ho 
 grew older and feebler in mind and body, seemed to 
 become more gluttonous of work,^ more ambitious to 
 extend his sceptre over lands which he had never seen 
 or dreamed of seeing, more fixed in his determination 
 to annihilate that monster Protestantism, which it had 
 been the business of his life to combat, more eager to 
 put to death every human creature, whether anointed 
 monarch or humble artisan, that defended heresy or • 
 opposed his progress to universal empire. 
 
 If this enormous power, this fabulous labour, had 
 been wielded or performed with a beneficent intention ; 
 if the man who seriously regarded himself as the owner 
 of a third of the globe, with the inhabitants thereof, had 
 attempted to deal with these extensive estates inherited 
 from his ancestors with the honest intention of a thnfty 
 landlord, an intelligent slave-owner, it would have yet 
 been possible for a little longer to smile at the delusion, 
 and endure the practice. , ,. , . xi. 
 
 But there was another old man, who lived m* another 
 palace in another remote land, who in his capacity of 
 representative of Saint Peter, claimed to dispose of all 
 the kingdoms of the earth— and had been willing to 
 bestow them upon the man who would go down and 
 worship him. Philip stood enfeoffed, by divine decree, 
 of all America, the East Indies, the whole Spanish 
 Peninsula, the better portion of Italy, the seventeen 
 Netherlands, and many other possessions far and near ; 
 and he contemplated annexing to this extensive property 
 the kingdoms of France, of England, and Ireland. The 
 Holy League, maintained by the sword of Guise, the 
 Pope's ban, Spanish ducats, Italian condottieri, and 
 German mercenaries, was to exterminate heresy and 
 establish the Spanish dominion in France. The same 
 machinery, aided by the pistol or poniard of the assassin, 
 was to substitute for English protestantism and Eng- 
 land's queen the Roman Catholic religion and a foreign 
 sovereign. " The holy league," said Duplessis-Mornay, 
 one of the noblest characters of the age, " has destined 
 us all to the same sacrifice. The ambition of the 
 
 » Longle'e au Rol de France, apud respondance de la Malson d'Orange-Naa- 
 Groen van Prinsterer, ♦ Archives et Cor- sau, dcoxilme sdrie,' torn. I. p. 29. 
 
 1584. 
 
 EXTENSION OF PROTESTANTISM. 
 
 Spaniard, which has overleaped so many lands and 
 seas, thinks nothing inaccessible." * 
 
 The Netheiland revolt had therefore assumed world- 
 wide proportions. Had it been merely the rebellion of 
 provinces against a sovereign, the importance of the 
 struggle would have been more local and temporary. 
 But the period was one in which the geographical land- 
 marks of countries were almost removed. The dividing- 
 line ran through every state, city, and almost every 
 family. There was a country which believed in the 
 absolute power of the church to dictate the relations 
 between man and his Maker, and to utterly exterminate 
 all who disputed that position. There was another 
 country which protested against that doctrine, and 
 claimed, theoretically or practically, a liberty of con- 
 science. The territory of these countries was mapped 
 out by no visible lines, but the inhabitants of each, 
 whether resident in France, Germany, England, or 
 Flanders, recognised a relationship which took its root 
 in deeper differences than those of race or language. 
 It was not entirely a question of doctrine or dogma. A 
 largo portion of the world had become tired of the 
 antiquated delusion of a papal supremacy over every 
 land, and had recorded its determination, once for all, 
 to have done with it. The transition to freedom of 
 conscience became a necessary step, sooner or later to 
 be taken. To establish the principle of toleration for 
 all religions was an inevitable consequence of the Dutch 
 revolt ; although, thus far, perhaps only one conspicuous 
 man in advance of his age had boldly announced that 
 doctrine, and had died in its defence. But a great true 
 thought never dies — though long buried in the earth — 
 and the day was to come, after long years, when the 
 seed was to ripen into a harvest of civil and religious 
 emancipation, and when the very word toleration was 
 to sound like an insult and an absurdity. 
 
 A vast responsibility rested upon the head of a 
 monarch, placed as Philip II. found himself, at this great 
 dividing point in modem history. To judge him, or 
 any man in such a position, simply from his own point 
 of view, is weak and illogical. History judges the man 
 according to his point of view. It condemns or applauds 
 
 • • M^moires et Correspondance de Duplessls-Momay.' Paris, 1824, 1 .. 27. 
 

 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. I. 
 
 the point of view itself. The point of view of a male- 
 factor is not to excuse robbery and murder. Nor is the 
 fcpirit of the age to be pleaded in defence of the evil-doer 
 at a time when mortals were divided into almost equal 
 troops. The age of Philip II. was also the age of 
 William of Orange and his four brethren, of Sainte 
 Aldegonde, of Olden-Bameveld, of Duplessis-Momay, 
 La None, Coligny, of Luther, Melancthon, and Calving 
 Walsingham, Sidney, Raleigh, Queen Elizabeth, of 
 Michael Montaigne, and W illiam Shakspeare. It was 
 not an age of blindness, but of glorious light. If the 
 man whom the Maker of the Universe had permitted to 
 be bom to such boundless functions, chose to put out 
 his own eyes that he might grope along his great path- 
 way of duty in perpetual darkness, by his deeds he must 
 be judged. The King perhaps firmly believed that the 
 heretics of the Netherlands, of France, or of England, 
 could escape eternal perdition only by being extirpated 
 from the earth by fire and sword, and therefore, perhaps, 
 felt it his duty to devote his life to their extermination! 
 But he believed, still more firmly, that his own politicai 
 authority, throughout his dominions, and his road to 
 almost universal empire, lay over the bodies of those 
 heretics. Three centuries have nearly past since this 
 memorable epoch ; and the world knows the fate of the 
 states which accepted the dogma which it was Philip's 
 life-work to enforce, and of those who protested against 
 the system. The Spanish and Italian Peninsulas have 
 had a different history from that which records the 
 career of France, Prussia, the Dutch Commonwealth 
 the British Empire, the Transatlantic Republic. * 
 
 Yet the contest between those Seven meagre Provinces 
 upon iho sand-banks of the North Sea, and the great 
 Spanish Empire, seemed at the moment with which we 
 are now occupied a sufficiently desperate one. Throw a 
 glance upon the map of Europe. Look at the broad 
 magnificent Spanish Peninsula, stretching across eight 
 degrees of latitude and ten of longitude, commandino- 
 the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, with a genial 
 climate, warmed in winter by the vast furnace of Africa, 
 and protected from the scorching heats of summer by 
 shady mountain and forest, and temperate breezes from 
 either ocean. A generous southern territory, flowing 
 
 1584. 
 
 EXTENSIVE POWER OF SPAIN. 
 
 with wine and oil, and all the richest gifts of a bountiful 
 nature — splendid cities — the new and daily-expanding 
 Madrid, rich in the trophies of the most artistic period 
 of the modem world — Cadiz, as populous at that day as 
 London, seated by the straits where the ancient and 
 modem systems of traffic were blending like the ming- 
 ling of the two oceans — Granada, the ancient wealthy 
 seat of the fallen Moors — Toledo, Valladolid, and Lisbon, 
 chief city of the recently-conquered kingdom of Portu- 
 gal, counting, with its suburbs, a larger population than 
 any city, excepting Paris, in Europe, the mother of dis- 
 tant colonies, and the capital of the rapidly -developing 
 traffic with both the Indies— these were some of the 
 treasures of Spain herself.' But she possessed Sicily 
 also, the better portion of Italy, and important depend- 
 encies in Africa, while the famous maritime discoveries 
 of the age had all enured to her aggrandizement. The 
 world seemed suddenly to have expanded its wings from 
 East to West, only to bear the fortunate Spanish Empire 
 to the most dizzy heights of wealth and power. The 
 most accomplished generals, the most disciplined and 
 daring infantry the world has ever known, the best- 
 equipped and most extensive navy, royal and mercantile, 
 of the age, were at the absolute command of the sove- 
 reign. Such was Spain. 
 
 Tum now to the north-westem comer of Europe. 
 A morsel of territory, attached by a slight sand-hook to 
 the continent, and half-submerged by the stormy waters 
 of the German Ocean— this was Holland. A mde 
 climate, with long, dark, rigorous winters, and brief 
 summers, a territory, the mere wash of three great 
 rivers, which had fertilized happier portions of Europe 
 only to desolate and overwhelm this less-favoured land, 
 a soil so ungrateful, that, if the whole of its four hundred 
 thoiisand acres of arable land had been sowed with 
 grain,* it could not feed the labourers alone, and a popu- 
 lation largely estimated at one million of souls— these 
 were the characteristics of the Province which already 
 had begun to give its name to the new commonwealth. 
 The isles of Zeeland— entangled in the coils of deep 
 slow-moving rivers, or combating the ocean without>— 
 
 > Compare Guicdardtnl, • Belglca De- » • Mdmoirea de Jean de Wit.' La Have. 
 KripU Amat. 1660, p. aiO $eq. 1709-18-19. 
 
t 
 
 8 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. I. 
 
 and the ancient episcopate of Utrecht, formed the only 
 other Provinces that had quite shaken off the foreign 
 yoke. In Friesland the important city of Groningen 
 was still held for the King, while Bois-le-Duc, Zutphen, 
 besides other places in Gelderland and North Brabant, 
 also in possession of the royalists, made the position of 
 those Provinces precarious. 
 
 The limit of the Spanish or "obedient" Provinces, 
 on the one hand, and of the United Provinces on the 
 other, cannot, therefore, be briefly and distinctly stated. 
 The memorable treason — or, as it was called, the 
 " reconciliation " of the Walloon Provinces in the year 
 1583-4 — had placed the Provinces of Hainault, Artois, 
 Doiiay, with the flourishing cities Arras, Valenciennes, 
 Lille, Toumay, and others — all Celtic Flanders, in short 
 — in the grasp of Spain. Cambray was still held by the 
 French governor. Seigneur de Balagny, who had taken 
 advantage of the Duke of Anjou's treachery to the 
 States, to establish himself in an unrecognized but prac- 
 tical pett}' sovereignty, in defiance both of France and 
 Spain; while East Flanders and South Brabant still 
 remained a disputed territory, and the immediate field 
 of contest. With these limitations, it may be assumed, 
 for general purposes, that the territory of the United 
 States was that of the modem Kingdom of the Nether- 
 lands, while the obedient Provinces occupied what is 
 now the territory of Belgium. 
 
 Such, then, were the combatants in the great eighty 
 years' war for civil and religious liberty ; sixteen of 
 which had now passed away. On the one side, one of 
 the most powerful and populous world-empires of his- 
 tory, then in the zenith of its prosperity ; on the other 
 hand, a slender group of cities, governed by merchants 
 and artisans, and planted precariously upon a meagre, 
 unstable soil. A million and a half of souls against the 
 autocrat of a third part of the known world. The con- 
 test seemed as desperate as the cause was certainly 
 sacred ; but it had ceased to be a local contest. For 
 the history which is to occupy us in these volumes is 
 not exclusively the history of Holland. It is the story 
 of the great combat between despotism, sacerdotal and 
 regal, and the spirit of rational human liberty. The 
 tragedy opened in the Netherlands, and its main scenes 
 
 1584. 
 
 RELIGIOUS ORIGIN OF THE REVOLT. 
 
 9 
 
 were long enacted there ; but as the ambition of Spain 
 expanded, and as the resistance to the principle which 
 she represented became more general, other nations 
 were, of necessity, involved in the struggle. There 
 came to be one country, the citizens of which were the 
 Leaguers ; and another country, whose inhabitants were 
 Protestants. And in this lay the distinction between 
 freedom and absolutism. The religious question swal- 
 lowed all the others. There was never a period in the 
 early history of the Dutch revolt when the Provinces 
 would not have returned to their obedience, could they 
 have been assured of enjoying liberty of conscience or 
 religious ^eace ; nor was there ever a single moment in 
 Philip II. s life in which he wavered in his fixed deter- 
 mination never to listen to such a claim. The quarrel 
 was in its nature irreconcilable and eternal as the war- 
 fare between wrong and right ; and the establishment 
 of a comparative civil liberty in Europe and America 
 was the result of the religious war of the sixteenth and 
 seventeenth centuries. The struggle lasted eighty 
 years, but the prize was worth the contest. 
 
 The object of the war between the Netheriands and 
 Spain was not, therefore, primarily, a rebellion against 
 established authority for the maintenance of civil rights. 
 To preserve these rights was secondary. The first 
 cause was religion. The Provinces had been fighting 
 for years against the Inquisition. Had they not taken 
 arms, the Inquisition would have been established in 
 the Netheriands, and very probably in England, and 
 Lngland might have become in its turn a Province of 
 the Spanish Empire. 
 
 The death of William the Silent produced a sudden 
 change m the political arrangements of the liberated 
 Netheriands. During the year 1583 the United 
 Provinces had elected Francis, Duke of Anjou, to be 
 Duke of Brabant and sovereign of the whole countiy, 
 under certain constitutional provisions enumerated in 
 articles of solemn compact. That compact had been 
 grossly violated. The Duke had made a treacherous 
 attempt to possess himself of absolute power and to 
 seize several important cities. He had been signally 
 defeated in Antwerp, and obliged to leave the country-, 
 covered with ignominy. The States had then consulted 
 
10 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. I. 
 
 1584. 
 
 DISPOSAL OF THE SOVEREIGNTT. 
 
 li 
 
 w 
 
 k 
 
 
 William of Orange as to the course to be taken in the 
 emergency. The Prince had told them that their choice 
 was triple. They might reconcile themselves with 
 Spain, and abandon the contest for religious liberty 
 which they had so long been waging; they might 
 reconcile themselves with Anjoii, notwithstanding that 
 he had so utterly forfeited all claims to their considera- 
 tion ; or they might fight the matter out with (Spain 
 single-handed. The last course was, in his opinion, the 
 most eligible one, and he was ready to sacrifice his life 
 to its furtherance. It was, however, indispensable, 
 should that policy be adopted, that much larger suj>plies 
 should be voted than had hitherto been raised, and, in 
 general, that a much more extensive and elevated spirit 
 of patriotism should manifest itself than had hitherto 
 been displayed. 
 
 It was, on the whole, decided to make a second 
 arrangement ^vith the Duke of Anjou, Queen Elizabeth 
 wannly urging that course. At the same time, however, 
 that articles of agreement were drawn up for the instal- 
 lation of Anjou as sovereign of the United Provinces, the 
 Prince had himself consented to accept the title of Count 
 of Holland, under an ample constitutional charter, dic- 
 tated by his own lips. K either Anjou nor Orange lived 
 to be inaugurated into the offices thus bestowed upon 
 them. The Duke died at Chateau-Thierry cm the 1 0th 
 June, and the Prince was assassinated a month later at 
 Delft. 
 
 What now was the political position of the United 
 Provinces at this juncture? The sovereignty which 
 had been held by the Estates, ready to be conferred 
 respectively upon Anjou and Orange, remained in the 
 hands of the Estates. There was no opposition to this 
 theory. No more enlarged view of the social compact 
 had yet been taken. The people, as such, claimed no 
 sovereignty. Had any champion claimed it for them 
 they would hardly have understood him. The nation 
 dealt with facts. After abjuring Philip in 1581 — an 
 act which had been accomplished by the Estates — the 
 same Estates in general assembly had exercised sove- 
 reign power, and had twice disposed of that sovereign 
 power by electing a hereditary ruler. Their right and 
 their power to do this had been disputed by none, save 
 
 by the deposed monarch in Spain. Having the sove- 
 reignty to dispose of, it seemed logical that the Estates 
 might keep it, if so inclined. They did keep it, but 
 only m trust. While Orange lived, he might often have 
 been elected sovereign of all the Provinces, could he 
 have been induced to consent. After his death, the 
 Estates retaine-d, ex necessitate, the sovereignty; and it 
 will soon be related what they intended to do with it. 
 One thing is very certain, that neither Orange, while 
 he lived, nor the Estates, after his death, were actuated 
 m their policy by personal ambition. It will be seen 
 that the first object of the Estates was to dispossess 
 themselves of the sovereignty which had again fallen 
 into their hands. 
 
 What were the Estates? Without, at the present 
 moment, any farther inquiries into that constitutional 
 system which had been long consolidating itself, and 
 was destined to exist upon a firmer basis for centuries 
 longer, it will be sufficient to observe, that the great 
 characteristic of the Netherland government wa? the 
 municipality. Each Province contained a large number 
 ot cities, which were governed by a board of magis- 
 trates, varying m number from twenty to forty. This 
 college, called the Vroedschap (Assembly of Sages), 
 consisted of the most notable citizens, and was a self- 
 electing body— a close corporation— the members beinff 
 appointed for life, from the citizens at large. Whenever 
 vacancies occurred from death or loss of citizenship, the 
 coUege chose new members— sometimes immediately ' 
 sometimes by means of a double or triple selection of 
 names, the choice of one from among which was offered 
 to the stadholder of the Province. This functionary 
 was appointed by the Count, a^ he was called, whether 
 Duke of Bavaria or of Burgundy, Emperor, or King. 
 After the abjuration of Philip, the governors were 
 appointed by the Estates of each Province. 
 
 rhe Sage-Men chose annually a board of senators, or 
 schepens, whose functions were mainly judicial ; and 
 there were generally two, and sometimes three, burgo- 
 masters, appointed in the same way.» This was the 
 popular branch of the Estates. But, besides this body 
 of representatives, were the nobles, men of ancient 
 
 » Meteren. loc. cU. 
 
12 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. I. 
 
 Ik 
 
 i f 
 
 lineage and large possessions, who had exercised, ac- 
 cording to the general feudal law of Enrope, high, low, 
 and intermediate jurisdiction upon their estates, and 
 had long been recognized as an integral part of the body 
 politic, having the right to appear, through delegates 
 of their order, in the provincial and in the general 
 assemblies. 
 
 Regarded as a machine for bringing the most decided 
 political capacities into the administration of public 
 affairs, and for organizing the most practical opposition 
 to the system of religious tyranny, tie Netherland con- 
 stitution was a healthy, and, for the age, an enlightened 
 one. The office-holders, it is obvious, were not greedy 
 for the spoils of office ; for it was, unfortunately, often 
 the case that their necessary expenses in the service of 
 the state were not defrayed. The people raised enormous 
 contributions for carrjnng on the war ; but they could 
 not aiford to be extremely generous to their faithful 
 servants. 
 
 Thus constituted was the commonwealth upon the 
 death of William the Silent. The gloom produced by 
 that event was tragical. Never in human history was a 
 more poignant and universal sorrow for the death of 
 any individual. The despair was, for a brief season, 
 absolute ; but it was soon succeeded by more lofty 
 sentiments. It seemed, after they had laid their hero 
 in the tomb, as though his spirit still hovered above the 
 nation which he had loved so well, and was inspiring 
 it with a portion of his own energy and wisdom.* 
 
 1584. 
 
 COURAGE OF THE ESTATES OF HOLLAND. 
 
 13 
 
 * " The people of that conntry," wrote 
 Walslngham, ten days after the death of 
 Orange, to Davison, "have hitherto 
 showed themsolves but little amazed 
 with the accident Rather, the wicked- 
 ness of the deed bath hardened their 
 stomachs to hold ont as long as they shall 
 have any means of defence." 
 
 ^ July. 1584, S.P. OfBceMa 
 
 William Herle, also, a secret and most 
 capable emissary of the English govern- 
 ment, was visiting the citie:) of Holland 
 and Z^land at the time of the tragic oc- 
 currence. He described, in vivid colours, 
 the courageous attitude maintained by all 
 persons in the midst of the general gloom. 
 "The recent death of the Prince of 
 
 Orange," he wrote to Queen Elizabeth, 
 " baa created no astonishment (dismay) 
 at all, either of the people or magistrates, 
 by fear or division, but rather generally 
 animated them with a great resolution 
 of courage and hatred engraved In them, 
 to revenge tlie foulness of the fact com- 
 mitted on the person of the prince by the 
 tyrant of Spain, and to defend theUr liber- 
 ties advisedly against him and his adhe- 
 rents by all means that God has given 
 them, to the uttermost portion of their 
 substance, and the last drop of their 
 blood.- ^J^yj.,^si,S.?.OmceMS. 
 
 In the city of Dort he was waited upon 
 by the magistrates, and received by them 
 with singular respect, as the known. 
 
 Even on the very day of the murder, the Estates of 
 Holland, then sitting at Delft, passed a resolution " to 
 maintain the good cause, with God's help, to the utter- 
 most, without sparing gold or blood." This lothjuiy, 
 decree was communicated to Admiral de i^^- 
 Warmont, to Count llohenlo, to William Lewis of 
 Nassau, and to other commanders by land and sea. At 
 the same time, the sixteen members — for no greater 
 number happened to be present at the session — addressed 
 letters to their absent colleagues, informing them of the 
 calamity which had befallen them, summoning them at 
 once to conference, and urging an immediate convo- 
 cation of the Estates of all the Provinces in general 
 assembly. They also addressed strong letters of encou- 
 ragement, mingled with manly condolence, upon the 
 common affliction, to prominent military and naval 
 commanders and civil functionaries, begging them to 
 " bear themselves manfully and valiantly, without fal- 
 tering in the least on account of the great misfortune 
 which had occurred, or allowing themselves to be seduced 
 by any one from the union of the States."* Among 
 'these sixteen were Van Zuylen, Van Nyvelt, the Seigneur 
 de Warmont, the Advocate of Holland, Paul Buys, 
 Joost de Menin, and John van Olden-Bameveld. A 
 noble example was thus set at once to their fellow 
 citizens by these their representatives — a manful step 
 taken forward in the path where Orange had so long 
 been leading. 
 
 The next movement, after the last solemn obsequies 
 had been rendered to the Prince, was to provide for the 
 immediate wants of his family. For the man who had 
 gone into the revolt with almost royal revenues, left his 
 estate so embarrassed that his carpets, tapestries, house- 
 hold linen — nay, even his silver spoons, and the very 
 clothes of his wardrobe — were disposed of at auction for 
 the benefit of his creditors." He left eleven children— 
 
 although secret, representative of the 
 Queen. "They repaired to me hnme- 
 dlately," he wrote. " not as men condoling 
 their estate, or craving courage to be in- 
 stilled into them— though wanting now 
 a head— but irritated above measure to 
 be revenged, and to defend all their 
 heads, so apparently sought for by the 
 King of Spain, In murdering their head. 
 
 the Prince of Orange." (Ibid.) 
 
 1 • Van Wyn et al. Aanmerklngen op 
 Wagenaar,' vlli. 1-5. 
 
 2 His extensive estates were all deeply 
 mortgaged, and he left absolutely no 
 ready money. " Both Buis and Meet- 
 kerk told me/' wrote Herle to Queen 
 Elizabeth, •« that the prince had not In 
 ready money at his death one hundr'.d 
 
f 
 
 14 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. I. 
 
 If I 
 
 /I 
 
 a son and daughter by the first wife, a son and daughter 
 by Anna of Saxony, six daughters by Charhjtte of 
 Bourbon, and an infant, Frederic Henry, bom six 
 months before his death. The eldest son, Philip 
 William, had been a captive in Spain for seventeen 
 years, having been kidnapped from school, in Loyden, 
 in the year 1567. He had already become so thoroughly 
 Hispaniolized under the masterly treatment of the King 
 and the Jesuits, that even his face had lost all resem- 
 blance to the type of his heroic family, and had acquired 
 a sinister, gloomy, forbidding expression, most painful to 
 contemplate. All of good that he had retained was a 
 reverence for his father's name — a sentiment which he 
 had manifested to an extravagant extent on a memorable 
 occasion in Madrid, by throwing out of window, and 
 killing on the spot, a Spanish oflScer who had dared to 
 mention the great Prince with insult. 
 
 The next son was Maurice, then seventeen years of 
 Hge, a handsome youth, with dark blue eyes, well- 
 chiselled features, and full red lips, who had already 
 manifested a courage and concentration of character 
 beyond his years. The son of William the Silent, the 
 grandson of Maurice of Saxony, whom he resembled iti 
 visage and character, he was summoned by every drop 
 of blood in his veins to do life-long battle with the spirit 
 of Spanish absolutism, and he was already girding 
 himself for his life's work. He assumed at once for his 
 device a fallen oak, with a young sapling springing from 
 its root. His motto, — "Tandem fit surculus arbor," 
 ^* the twig shall yet become a tree " — was to be nobly 
 justified by his career.* 
 
 The remaining son, then a six months' child, was 
 also destined to high fortunes, and to win an enduring 
 name in his country's history. For the present ho 
 remained with his mother, the noble Louisa de Coligny, 
 who had thus seen, at long intervals, her father and two 
 
 gnlldera, which was a note of his popu- 
 
 ^'^'" ?AuJ.;i5»8.S.P. Office MS. 
 Compare Waginaar. vill. 12-15. 
 
 • " The Count Maurice, with whom I 
 was, mo«i gTAcious Sovereign," said 
 Herle, " is a gentleman of the age of 
 seveutce: jears, one of great towanlness, 
 
 good presence and courage, flaxen-haired, 
 endu«l with a singular wit, and no less 
 learned for his time. He somewhat ro 
 sombleslhe countenance and spirit of his 
 grandfather of the mother's side." (Herle 
 to the gueen, MS. Juot cited.) Compare 
 Meteren, xli. 2U. 
 
 1584. PRINCESS OF ORANGE AND HER CHILDREN. 15 
 
 husbands fall victims to the Spanish policy ; for it is as 
 certain that Philip knew beforehand, and testified his 
 approbation of, the massacre of St. Bartholomew, as that 
 he was the murderer of Orange. 
 
 The Estates of Holland implored the widowed Princess 
 to remain in their territorv% settling a liberal allowance 
 upon herself and her child, and she fixed her residence 
 at Ley den.* 
 
 But her position was most melancholy. Married in 
 youth to the Seigneur de Teligny, a young noble of 
 distinguished qualities, she had soon become both a 
 widow and an orphan in the dread night of St. Bartho- 
 lomew. She had made her own escape to Switzerland ; 
 and ten years afterwards she had united herself in 
 marriage with the Prince of Orange. At the age of 
 thirty-two she now found herself desolate and wretched 
 in a foreign land, where she had never felt thoroughly 
 a,t home. The widow and children of William the 
 Silent were almost without the necessaries of life *' I 
 hardly know," wrote the Princess to her brother-in-law 
 Count John, " how the children and I are to maintain 
 ourselves according to the honour of the house. May 
 God provide for us in his bounty, and certainly we have 
 much need of it.* Accustomed to the more luxurious 
 civilisation of France, she had been amused rather than 
 amioyed, when, on her first arrival in Holland for her 
 nuptials, she found herself making the journey from 
 Rotterdam to Delft in an open cart without springs 
 instead of the well-balanced coaches to which she Imd 
 been used, arriving, as might have been expected, 
 much bruised and shaken." Such had become the 
 primitive simplicity of William the Silent's household.' 
 lint on his death, in embarrassed circumstances, it was 
 still more straitened. She had no cause either to love 
 Leyden, for, after the assassination of her husband a 
 brutal preacher, Hakkius by name, had seized that 
 opportunity for denouncing the French marriage, and 
 the sumptuous christening of the infant in January, as 
 the deeds which had provoked the wrath of God and 
 righteous chastisement.* To remain there in her widow- 
 
 » Wagenaar, • Vaderlandache Historic,' 2 S. 1 9« 
 IV TeU"^ ^^ "P '"''^'^' "'"• ' '^ Maurier. • M^moires.' 182. 
 » Groen T' Prlnsterer. • Archives.' &c ' """ "^^^ **^ '^^'''^' ^"'^ ''• 
 
16 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. I. 
 
 1584. 
 
 PRO\TSIONAL COUNCIL. 
 
 if 
 
 hood, with that six months' child, ** sole pledge of her 
 dear lord, her consolation and only pleasure," * as she 
 pathetically expressed herself, was sufficiently painful, 
 and she had been inclined to fix her residence in 
 Flushing, in the edifice which had belonged to her 
 husband, as Marquis of Vere. She had been persuaded, 
 however, to remain in Holland, although *' complaining, 
 at first, somewhat of the unkindness of the people." * 
 
 A small well-formed woman, with delicate features, 
 exquisite complexion, and very beautiful dark eyes, that 
 seemed in after-years, as they looked from beneath her 
 coif, to be dim with unshed tears; with remarkable 
 powers of mind, angelic sweetness of disposition, a win- 
 ning manner, and a gentle voice, Louisa de Coligny 
 became soon dear to the rough Hollanders, and was ever 
 a disinterested and valuable monitress both to her own 
 child and to his elder brother Maurice. ' 
 
 Very soon afterwards the States General established 
 a state-council, as a provisional executive board, for 
 the term of three months, for the Provinces of Holland, 
 Zeeland, Utrecht, Friesland, and such parts of Flanders 
 and Bmbant as still remained in the Union. At the 
 head of this body was placed young Maurice, who ac- 
 cepted the responsible position, after three days' deli- 
 beration. The young man had been completing his 
 education, with a liberal allowance from Holland and 
 Zeeland, at the University of Leyden ; and such had 
 been their tender care for the child of so many hopes, 
 that the Estates had given particular and solemn warn- 
 ing, by resolution, to his governor during the previous, 
 summer, on no account to allow him to approach the 
 sea-shore, lest he should he kidnapped by the Prince 
 of Parma, who had then some war-vessels cruising on 
 the coast. * 
 
 *17 
 
 » Groen ▼. Prlnsterer, ubi tup, 
 
 « MS. letter of Herle. 
 
 » " I visited the Princess of Orange by 
 her own request," said Herle, a few days 
 after the death of the Prince, " and fbund 
 her in a most dark melancholic little 
 chamber. 'T was a twice sorrowful sight 
 to behold her heaviness and appan*! aug- 
 mented by the woefuiness of the place ; 
 and truly the perplexity was great that 
 I found her in, not only for the considera- 
 tion of things pai>t, but for that which 
 
 might follow hereafter, her afflictions 
 having been great. She was accompanied 
 by the Princess Chimay, who was newly 
 come to Delft, and no less dolorous in 
 another degree than she, but truly a 
 virtuous and wise lady, whatsoever, 
 under correction, hath been otherwise 
 interpreted of her." (Herle's MS. before 
 cited.) 
 
 « 'Resol. HoU.,' 11th August, 15S4.bl 
 294 ; Wagcnaar, viii. 6. 
 
 Tho salary of Maurice was now fixed at tliirty (hou- 
 
 T riT « J:^*"-' ^5"e each of the councillors was 
 allowed fifteen hundred annually, out of which stipend 
 he was to support at least one servant, without makinc 
 any claim for travelling or other incidental expenses ' 
 
 1 he council consisted of three membere frum Brabant 
 two fr.,m Flandera four from Holland, three from 
 Zeeland, two from Utrecht, one from Mechlin, and three 
 from Friesland -eighteen in all. They were empowered 
 and enjoined to levy troops by land and sea, and to 
 appoint naval and military officers ; to establish courts 
 ot admiralty, to expend the moneys voted by the States 
 to maintain the ancient privileges of the country, and to 
 see that al troops ,n service of the Provinces made oaih 
 of fidelity to the Union. Diplomatic relations, questions 
 of peace and war, the treaty-making power were not 
 entrusted to the council, without tho^nowirdr Tnl 
 consent of the States General, which body was to bo 
 convoked twice a year by the state-council ' 
 
 Thus the Provinces in the hour of danger and dark- 
 ness wer^ true to themselves, and were fa? from giving 
 
 wo?ild°.nf 1"'''°^'""^ "'"^'^ ,"°'^«'' t^« circmnstenc^ 
 would not have been unnatural 
 
 uJl'Al '^'""''a"^ »>ittenics8 were rolling far and wide 
 around them. A medal, struck in Holland at this 
 period, represented a dismasted hulk reeling throuril 
 the tempest. The motto, " incertnm quo fata ferent" 
 (who knows whither fate is sweeping her') exDre^^l 
 most vividly the shipwrecked con^ditfon oVthe cCtn 
 Alexander of Parma, the most accomplished generd a^ 
 one of the most adroit statesmen of tL age, was^wift to 
 
 hf/^'u"*''^',.°^*.' '••''^^"J- "hich had now befallen 
 ^e rebellious Provinces. Had he been better provided 
 with men and money, the cause of the States mg-ht 
 have seemed hopeless. He addressed mam lettrr^^to 
 the States General, to the magistmcies of vaVious cWes 
 r5.!° ;"^'^'-^"^l^ ^"■•^e'ing to consider that with th^ 
 
 motive for continuing the contest with Spain He 
 offered ea.sy terms of reconciliation with the dis«.rdod 
 
 course, the religious qucstion-for it was as >vell known 
 
 VOi!T°^' "'"■ "^"'^'"f Wwmi»r. Till. ,2 
 
 lUtl. 
 
18 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. I. 
 
 IV 
 
 fif' 
 
 to the States as to Parma that there was no hope of 
 riiilip making concessions upon that important point. 
 
 In Holland and Zeeland the Prince's blandishments 
 were of no avail. His letters received in various to^vTis 
 of those Provinces, offered, said one who saw them, 
 *•' almost everything they would have or demand, even 
 till they should repent." * But the bait was not taken. 
 Individuals and municipalities were alike stanch, re- 
 membering well that faith was not to be kept with 
 heretics. The example was followed by the Estates of 
 other Provinces, and all sent in to the General Assembly, 
 soon in session at Delft, " their absolute and irrevocable 
 authority to their deputies to stand to that which they, 
 the said States General, should dispose of as to their 
 persons, goods, and country ; a resolution and agreement 
 which never concurred before among them, to this day, 
 in what age or government soever." * 
 
 It was decreed that no motion of agreement "with 
 the tyrant of Spain" should bo entertained either 
 publicly or privately, *• under pain to be reputed ill 
 patriots." It was also enacted in the city of Dort that 
 any man that brought letter or message from the enemy 
 to any private person ** should be forthwith hanged." 
 This was expeditious and business-like. The same city 
 likewise took the lead in recording its determination by 
 public act, and proclaiming it by sound of trumpet, " to 
 live and die in tlio cause now undertaken."* 
 
 In Flanders and Brabant the spirit was less noble. 
 Those Provinces were nearly lost already. Bruges 
 seconded Panna's efforts to induce its sister-city Ghent 
 to imitate its own baseness in surrendering without a 
 struggle ; and that powerful, turbulent, but most anar- 
 chical little commonwealth was but too ready to listen 
 to the voice of the tempter. *' The ducats of Spain, 
 i\Iadam, are trotting about in such fashion," wrote envoy 
 Des Pruneaux to Catherine de' Medici, '*that they havo 
 vanquished a great quantity of courages. Your Ma- 
 jesties, too, must employ money if you wish to advance 
 one step."* No man knew better than Parma how to 
 employ such golden rhetoric to win back a wavering 
 
 III 
 
 » Ilerleto the Qupf'n. MS before clte.1. « Ibid. 
 
 * Oroen v. IVliisterer, 'Archives,' ic. 4. 
 
 « IbJd. 
 
 il 
 
 1584. FALL OF DENDERMOXDE. VILVOORDE, AND GHENT. 19 
 
 rebel to his loyalty, but he was not always provided 
 with a sufficient store of those practical arguments. 
 
 He was, moreover, not strong in the field, although 
 he wa.s far superior to the States at this contingency 
 He had, besides his garrisons, something above 18 000 
 men. The I'rovinces had hardly 3000 foot and 2500 
 horse, and these were mostly lying in the neighbour- 
 hood of Zutphen.» Alexander was threatening at the 
 same time Ghent, Dendermonde, Mechlin, Brussels 
 and Antwerp. These five powerful cities lie in a narrow 
 circle, at distances varying from six miles to thirty, and 
 are, as it were, strung together upon the Scheldt, bv 
 which river, or its tributary, the Senne, they are all 
 threaded. It would have been impossible for Parma 
 with 100 000 men at his back, to undertake a reomla; 
 and simultaneous siege of these important places. His 
 purpose was to isolate them from each other and from 
 the rest of the country-, by obtaining the control of the 
 great river, and so to reduce them by famine The 
 scheme ^^as a masteriy one, but even the consitmraato 
 ability of Farnese would have proved inadequate to tho 
 underfkking had not the preliminary assassination of 
 Orange made the task comparatively easy. Treason, 
 laint-heartedness, jealousy, were the fatal allies that ih^ 
 Governor-General had reckoned upon, and with reason' 
 in the council-rooms of these cities. The terms ho 
 offered were liberal. Pardon, permission for soldiers to 
 retreat with technical honour, liberty to choose between 
 apostiicy to the reformed religion or exile, with a period 
 ot two years granted to the conscientious for the wind- 
 ing up of thetr affairs ; these were the conditions, whicli 
 seemed flattering, now that the well-known voice which 
 had so often silenced the Flemish palterers and intri^ei s 
 was for ever hushed. & ^^» 
 
 Upon the 17th August Dendermonde surrendered and 
 no lives were taken save those of two preachers, nth 'a„ 
 one of whom was hanged, while the other ism"** 
 was drowned. Upon the 7th September Vilvoordo 
 capitulated, by which event the water-communication 
 between Brussels and Antwerp was cut off. Ghent, now 
 thoroughly disheartened, treated with Parma likewise • 
 and upon the 17th September made its reconciliatioi; 
 
 * WageiMur, viil. 13. 
 
 c 2 
 
2§ 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. I. 
 
 m 
 
 with the King.' Tlie surrender of so strong and impor- 
 tant a place was as disastrous to the cause of the patriots 
 as it was disgraceful to the citizens themselves. It was, 
 however, the result of an intrigue which had been long 
 spinning, although the thread had been abruptly, and, 
 as it was hoped, conclusively, severed several months 
 before. During the early part? of the year, after the 
 reconciliation of Bruges with the King— an event brought 
 about by the duplicity and adroitness of Prince Chimay 
 — the same machinery had been diligently and almost 
 Biiccessfully employed to produce a like result in Ghent. 
 Champagny, brother of the famous Cardinal Granvelle, 
 had been under arrest for six years in that city. His 
 imprisonment was not a strict one however, and he 
 avenged himself for what he considered very unjust 
 treatment at the hands of the patriots, by completely 
 aband(jning a cause which he had once begun to favour. 
 A man of singular ability, courage, and energ}% dis- 
 tinguished both for military and diplomatic services, he 
 was a winidable enemy to the party from which he was 
 now for ever estranged. Ab early as April of thi^year, 
 secret emissaries of Parma, dealing with Champagny in 
 his nominal prison, and with the disaflected burghers at 
 large, had been on the point of affecting an arrangement 
 with the royal governor. Tlie negotiation had been 
 suddenly brought to a close by the discovery of a fla- 
 grant attempt by Imbize, one of the secret adherents of 
 the King, to sell the city of Dendermonde. of which he 
 was governor, to Parma.* For this crime he had been 
 brought to Ghent for trial, and then pubH(tly beheaded. 
 The incident came in aid of the eloquence of Orange, 
 who, up to the latest moment of his life, had been most 
 urgent in his appeals to the patriotic hearts of Ghent, 
 not to abandon the great cause of the union and of 
 liberty. William the Silent knew full well, that, after 
 the withdrawal of the great keystone-city of Ghent, the 
 chasm between the Celtic-Catholic and the Flemish- 
 Calvinist Netherlands could hardly be bridged again. 
 Orange was now dead. The negotiations with France, 
 too, on which those of the Ghenters who still held true 
 
 * M«*teren, xll. 216, 2X1. there cited; Evorhard van Reyd, ' H!i»- 
 
 ' Sfe 'Rise of the Dutch Republic,' t<irir» d"r Nederlandicher Oorlogen,' ed. 
 vol ill. chap, vl., and the authorities 1650, iii. 47. 
 
 1584. 
 
 GHENT ATTACHES ITSELF TO SPAIN. 
 
 21 
 
 to the national cause had fastened their hopes, had 
 previously been brought to a standstill by the death of 
 Anjou ; and Champagny, notwithstanding the disaster to 
 Imbize, became more active than ever. A private a<>-ent, 
 whom the municipal government had despached to the 
 French court for assistance, was not more successful 
 than his character and course of conduct would have 
 seemed to warrant; for during his residence in Paris 
 he had been always drunk, and generally abusive. I'his 
 was not good diplomacy, particularly on the part of an 
 agent from a weak municipality to a haughty and most 
 undecided government. 
 
 ^ " They found, at this court," wrote Stafford to AVal- 
 singham, •' great fault with his manner of dealing that 
 was sent from Gaunt. He was scarce sober from one end 
 of the week to the other, and stood so much on his tip- 
 toes to have present answer within three days, or else 
 that they of Gaunt could tell wJiere to bestow themselves. 
 They sent him away after keeping him three we^s, and 
 he went off in great dudgeon, swearing hy yea and nay 
 that he will make report thereafter." * 
 
 Accordingly, they of Ghent did bestow themselves 
 very soon thereafter upon the King of Spain. The 
 terms were considered liberal, but there was, of course, 
 no thought of conceding the great object for which the 
 patriots were contending— religious liberty, llie mu- 
 nicipal privileges— such as they might prove to be 
 worth under the intei-pretation of a royal governor and 
 beneath the guns of a citadel filled with Spanish troops 
 --were to be guaranteed ; those of the inhabitants who 
 did not choose to go to mass were allowed two years to 
 wind up their affairs before going into perpetual exile 
 provided they behaved themselves '* without scandal • " 
 while, on the other hand, the King's authority a.s Count 
 of f landers was to be fully recognised, and all the dis- 
 possessed monks and abbots to be restored to their pro- 
 perty.* ^ 
 
 Accordingly, Champagny was rewarded for his ex- 
 ertions by being released from prison and receivin<^ 
 the appointment of governor of the city ; and, after a 
 
 i.L^'"*^xr*J*' Walsingham. 2rth July. I^ Petit. 'Grande Chrontque de Hoi- 
 15H4 in Mnrdin. il. pp. 412-415. lande.' ed. 1601, xiv. 409. 500. 
 
 -f iletereu, xli. 217; V.Keyd,lU.47; 
 
22 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Ciup. I. 
 
 'i 
 
 m 
 
 \ 
 
 <li 
 
 very brief interval, about one-half of the population, the 
 most enteiprising of its merchants and manufacturers, 
 the most industrious of its artizans, emigrated to Holland 
 and Zeeland.* The noble city of Ghent — then as largo 
 as Paris, thoroughly surrounded with moats, and foili- 
 tied with bulwarks, ravelins, and counterscarps, con- 
 Ktructed of earth during the previous two years, at 
 great expensi!, and provided with bread and meat, pow- 
 der and shot, enough to last a year — was ignominiously 
 surrendered. The population, already a veiy reduced 
 and slender one for the great extent of the place and its 
 former importimce, had been estimated at 70,000.* The 
 number of houses was 35,000, so that, as the inhabitants 
 were soon farther reduced to one-lialf, there remained 
 about one individual to each house. On the other hand, 
 the twenty-five monasteries and convents in the town 
 were repeopled — with how much advantage as a set-off 
 to the thousands of spinners and weavers who had wan- 
 dered away, and who in the flourishing days of Ghent 
 had sent gangs t)f workmen tlirough the streets '* whose 
 tramp was like that of an army " — may be suflSciently 
 estimated by the result. 
 
 The fall of Brussels was deferred till March, and that 
 of Mechlin (lUth July, 1585) and of Antwerp (19th 
 loth March. August, 1585), till Midsummer of the following 
 i&«5. y^.^j. . ^^^ ^^^ surrender of Ghent foreshadowed 
 the fate of Flanders and Brabant. Ostend and Sluys, 
 however, were still in the hands of the patriots, and 
 with them the control of the whole Flemish coast. The 
 command of the sea was destined to remain for centuries 
 with the new republic. 
 
 The Prince of Tarma, thus encouraged by the great 
 success of his intrigues, was detei mined to achieve still 
 greater triumphs with his arms, and steadily proceeded 
 with his large design of closing the Scheldt and bring- 
 ing about the fall of Antwerp. The details of that siege 
 —one of the most brilliant military operations of the 
 age toid one of the most memorable in its results—will 
 be given, as a comiected whole, in a subse«iuent series of 
 chapteis. For the present, it will be better for the 
 reader who wishes a clear view of European politics at 
 this epoch, and of the position of the Ketherlands, to 
 
 * -Ueleren, ubi tup. 2 liuicciardiul, p. 207. 
 
 1584. ELT.OPEAN POLITICS AND DIPLOMACY. 23 
 
 give his attention to the web of diplomatic negotiation 
 and court-mtngue which had been slowlv spreadino- 
 over the leading states of Christendom, and in which th? 
 late of the world was involved. If diplomatic adroit- 
 ness consists mainly in the power to deceive, never 
 were more adroit diplomatists than those of the sixteenth 
 century. It would however be absurd to deny them a 
 various range of abilities ; and the history of no other 
 age can show more subtle, comprehensive, indefati- 
 gable—but, It must also be added, often unscrupulous 
 -intellects engaged in the great game of politics in 
 which the highest interests of millions were the stake.- 
 than were those of several leading minds in Eno-land' 
 l^rance, Germany, and Spain. With such statesmen 
 the burgher-diplomatistsof the new-born commonwealth 
 had to measure themselves ; and the result was to show 
 whether or not they could hold their own in the cabinet 
 as on the field. 
 
 For the present, however, the new state was uncon- 
 scious of Its latent importance. The new-risen republic 
 remained for a season nebulous, and ready to unsphere 
 Itself so soon as the relative attraction of other ^reat 
 powers should determine its absorption. By the death 
 of Anjou and of Orange the United Ketherlands had 
 become a sovereign state, an independent republic ; but 
 hey stood with that sovereignty in their hands, off^rinc 
 It alternately, not to the highest bidder, but to the powe? 
 that would be willing to accept their allegiance, on the 
 sole condition of assisting them in the maintenance of 
 their rehgious freedom. 
 
24 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. II. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Keliitiom of the Republic to France — Queen's Severity towards CathoHcs and Cal- 
 vinists — Relative Positions of England and France —Timidity of Gtrniany — 
 Apathy of Protestant Germany — Indignation of the Netherlanders — Henry ill. 
 of France — The King and hi& Minions — Henry of Guise — Henry of Navarre- 
 Power of France — Embassy of the States to France — Ignominious Position of 
 the Envoys — Views of the French Huguenots — Efforts to procure Annexation 
 — Succebs of Des Pruneaux. 
 
 The Prhico of Orange had always favoured a French 
 policy. Ho had ever felt a stronger reliance upon the 
 support of France than upon that of any other power. 
 This was not unreasonable, and, so long as he lived, the 
 tendency of the Netherlands had been in that direction. 
 It had never been the wish of England to acquire the 
 sovereignty of the Provinces. In France, on the con 
 trary, the Queen Dowager, Catherine de* Medici, had 
 always coveted that sovereignty for her darling, Francis 
 of Alen^on ; and the design had been favoured, so far 
 as any policy could be favoured, by the impotent 
 monarch who occupied the French throne. 
 
 The religion of the United Netherlands was Calvin- 
 istic. There were also many Anabaptists in the country. 
 The Queen of England hated Anabaptists, Calvinists, 
 and other sectarians, and banished them from her realms 
 on pafin of imprisonment and confiscation of property.' 
 As firmly opposed as was her father to the supremacy 
 of the Bishop of Kome, she felt much of the paternal 
 reluctance to accept the spirit of the Reformation. 
 Henry Tudor hanged the men who believed in the 
 Pope, and burnt alive those who disbelieved in tran- 
 subiitantiation, auricular confession, and the other ' Six 
 Articles.* His daughter, whatever her secret religious 
 convictions, was stanch in her resistance to Rome, and 
 too enlightened a monarch not to see wherein the great- 
 ness and glory of England were to bo found ; but she 
 had no thought of tolerating liberty of conscience. All 
 opposed to the Church of England, whether I^apists or 
 Puritans, were denounced as heretics, and as such im- 
 
 1 Camden, i. iS. 
 
 1584. SEVERITY TOWARDS CATHOLICS AND CALVINISTS. 25 
 
 prisoned or banished. ** To allow churches with con- 
 trary rites and ceremonies," said Elizabeth, "were 
 nothing else but to sow religion out of religion, to 
 distract good men's minds, to cherish factious men's 
 humours, to disturb religion and commonwealth, and 
 mingle divine and human things ; which were a thing 
 in deed evil, in example worst of all ; to our own 
 subjects hurtful, and to themselves to whom it is 
 granted, neither greatly commodious, nor yet at all 
 safe."' The words were addressed, it is true, to Papists, 
 but there is very little doubt that Anabaptists or any 
 other heretics would have received a similar reply, had 
 they, too, ventured to demand the right of public 
 worship. It may even be said that the Romanists in 
 the earlier days of Elizabeth's reign fared better than 
 the Calvinists. The Queen neither banished nor im- 
 prisoned the Catholics. She did not enter their houses, 
 to disturb their private religious ceremonies, or to 
 inquire into their consciences. This was milder treat- 
 ment than the burning alive, burying alive, hanging, 
 and drowning, which had been dealt out to the English 
 and the Netherland heretics by Philip and by Mary, 
 but it was not the spirit which William the Silent had 
 been wont to manifest in his measures towards Ana- 
 baptists and Papists alike. Moreover, the Prince could 
 hardly forget that, of the nine thousand four hundred 
 Catholic ecclesiastics who held benefices at the death of 
 Queen Mary, all had renounced the Pope on the acces- 
 sion of Queen Elizabeth, and acknowledged her as the 
 head of the church, saving only one hundred and eighty- 
 nine individuals.' In the hearts of the nine thousand 
 two hundred and eleven others, it might be thought 
 perhaps that some tenderness for the religion fi°m 
 which they had so suddenly been converted might 
 linger, while it could hardly be hoped that they would 
 seek to inculcate in the minds of their flocks or of 
 their sovereign any connivance with the doctrines of 
 Geneva. 
 
 W hen, at a later period, the plotting of Catholics 
 suborned by the Pope and Philip, against the throne 
 and person of the Queen, made more rigorous measures 
 necessary ; when it was thought indispensable to exe- 
 
 » Camden. 1. 32. 2 ibjd., i. 28. 
 
26 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. II. 
 
 cute cOs traitors those Roman seedlings — seminaiy priests 
 and their disciples — who went about preaching to the 
 Queen's subjects the duty of carrying out the bull by 
 which the Bishop of Rome had deposed and excom- 
 nmnicatod their sovereign, and that " it was a merito- 
 rious act to kill such princes as were excommunicate," * 
 even then, the men who preached and practised treason 
 and murder experienced no severer treatment than that 
 which other " heretics " had met with at the Queen's 
 hands. Jesuits and Popish priests were, by Act of 
 Parliament, ordered to depart the realm ^^'ithin forty 
 days." ITiose who should afterwards return to the 
 kingdom were to be held guilty of high treason. 
 Students in the foreign seminaries were commanded to 
 return within six months and recant, or bo held guilty 
 of high treason. Parents and guardians supplying 
 money to such students abroad were to incur the penalty 
 of a praemunire — perpetual exile, namely, -^vith loss of 
 all their goods." 
 
 Many seminary priests and others were annually 
 executed in England under these laws, throughout the 
 Queen's reign, but nominally at least they were hanged 
 Hot as Papists, but as traitors ; not because they taught 
 transubstantiation, ecclesiastical celibacy, auricular con- 
 fession, or even Papal supremacy, but because they 
 taught treason and murder — because they preached the 
 necessity of killing the Queen. It was not so ea«y, 
 however, to defend or even coniprehend the banishment 
 and imprisonment of those who, without conspiring 
 against the Queen's life or throne, desired to see the 
 Church of England reformed according to the Church of 
 Geneva. Yet there is no doubt that many sectaries 
 experienced much inhuman treatment for such delin- 
 quency, lioth in the early and the later years of Eliza- 
 betli's reign.* 
 
 There was another consideration, which had its due 
 weight in this balance, and that was the respective 
 succession to the throne in the two kingdoms of France 
 and Kngland. Mary Stuart, the Catholic, the niece of 
 the Guises, emblem and exponent of all that was most 
 Roman in Europe, the sworn friend of Philip, the 
 mortal foe to all heresy, was the legitimate successor to 
 
 1 Camdi-D, lii. 336. 
 
 » Ibid., iU. 309. 
 
 ' IbJO. 
 
 * Ibid. 107, 409. 
 
 1584. RELATIVE POSITIONS OF ENGLAND AND FRANCE. 27 
 
 Elizabeth. Although that sovereign had ever refused 
 to recognize that claim ; holding that to confirm Mary 
 in the succession was to " lay her own winding-sheet 
 before her eyes, yea, to make her own grave, while she 
 liveth and looketh on ;'" and although the unfortunate 
 claimant of two thrones was a prisDuer in her enemy's 
 hands ; yet, so long as she lived, there was little security 
 for Protestantism, even in Elizabeth*s lifetime, and less 
 still in case of her sudden death. On the other hand, 
 not only were the various politico-religious forces of 
 France kept in equilibrium by their action upon each 
 other— so that it was reasonable to believe that the 
 House of Valois, however Catholic itself, would be 
 always compelled by the fast-expanding strength of 
 French Calvinism, to observe faithfully a compact to 
 tolerate the Netherland churches— but, upon the death 
 of Henry III. the crown would be legitimately placed 
 upon the head of the great champion and chief of the 
 Huguenots, Henry of Navarre. 
 
 It was not unnatural, therefore, that the Prince of 
 Orange, a Calvinist himself, should expect more sym- 
 pathy with the Ketherland reformers in France than in 
 England. A large proportion of the population of that 
 kingdom, including an influential part of the nobility, 
 was of the Huguenot persuasion, and the religious 
 peace, established by royal edict, had endured so long, 
 that the reformers of France and the Netherlands had 
 begim to believe in the royal clemency, and to confide 
 in tfie royal word. Orange did not live to see the 
 actual formation of the Holy League, and could only 
 guess at it« secrets. 
 
 Moreover, it should be remembered that France at 
 that day was a more formidable state than England, a 
 m«ire dangerous enemy, and, as it was believed, a mJre 
 efficient protector. The England of the period, glorious 
 as it was for its own and all future ages, was not the 
 great British Empire of to-day. On the contrary, it was 
 what would now be considered, statistically speakiijf, a 
 rather petty power. The England of Elizabeth, \ral- 
 singham, Burghley, D^ke, and Raleigh, of Spenser and 
 fcliakspeare, haidly numbered a larger population than 
 LOW dwells in its capital and immediate suburbs. It 
 
 * Camden, i. 54. 
 
 V 
 
 I 
 
28 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. (I. 
 
 \ \ 
 
 I 
 
 had neither standing army nor considerable royal navy. 
 It was full of conspirators, daring and unscrupulous, 
 loyal to none save to Mary of Scotland, Philip of Spain, 
 and the Pope of Rome, and untiring in their efforts to 
 bring about a general rebellion. With Ireland at its 
 side, nominally a subject province, but in a state of 
 chronic insurrection— a perpetual hot-bed for Spanish 
 conspiracy and stratagem ; with Scotland at its back, a 
 foreign country, with half its population exasperated 
 enemies of England, and the rest but doubtful friends, 
 and with the legitimate sovereign of that country, " the 
 daughter of debate, who discord still did sow," » a 
 prisoner in Elizabeth's hands, the central point around 
 which treason was constantly crystallizing itself,— it 
 was not strange that, with the known views of the Queen 
 on the subject of the reformed Dutch religion, England 
 should seem less desirable as a protector for the Nether- 
 lands than the neighbouring kingdom of France. 
 
 Elizabeth was a great sovereign, whose genius Orange 
 always appreciated, in a comparatively feeble realm. 
 Henry of Valois was the contemptible monarch of a 
 powerful state, and might be led by others to produce 
 incalculable mischief or considerable good. Notwith- 
 standing the massacre of St. Bartholomew, therefore, 
 and the more recent *' French fury" of Antwerp, 
 Orange had been willing to countenance fresh negotia- 
 tions with France. 
 
 Elizabeth, too, it should never be foigotten, was, if 
 not over generous, at least consistent and loyal in her 
 policy towards the Provinces. She was not precisely 
 jealous of France, as has been unjustly intimated on ^ 
 distinguished authority,^ for she strongly advocated the 
 renewed offer of the sovereignty to Anjou, after his 
 memorable expulsion from the Provinces.* At that 
 period, moreover, not only her own love-coquetries with 
 Anjou were over, but he was endeavouring with all his 
 might, though in secret, to make a match with the 
 younger Inftmta of Spain.* Elizabeth furthered the 
 
 « Sonnet by Queen Eliiabeth. Negotiations sur le Project de Marlage 
 
 « 'H. Grotil Annalium,' v. 126. cd. du Due d'At.jou avec une des Infantes 
 
 1658, Amst d'F^pagnp, et aux Affaires traict^es <le 
 
 » • Rise of the Dutch Republic/ IIL part et d'autre pour les Pays Bas, Cam- 
 
 chap, vi., and MS. Letter of Queen Eliza- bray, la succession de Portugal ' &c. Bib 
 
 beth, cited In note. . . - » 
 
 * • Collection de Lettres relatives aux 
 
 Imp. de France, Brienne MS. 
 
 1584. 
 
 TIMIDITY OF GERMANY 
 
 29 
 
 negotiation with France, both publicly and privately 
 It will soon be narrated how those negotiations pros- 
 
 If then England were out of the question, where, 
 . except m France, should the Xetherlanders, not deem- 
 ing themselves capable of standing alone, seek for 
 protection and support ? 
 
 We have seen the extensive and almost ubiquitous 
 power_ of Spain. Where she did not command as 
 sovereign, she was almost equally formidable as an ally 
 1 lie Emperor of Germany was the nephew and the 
 brother-in-law of Philip, and a strict Catholic besides, 
 i^ittle aid was to be expected from him or the lands 
 under his control for the cause of the Aetherland revolt. 
 Kudolph hated his brother-in-law, but lived in mortal 
 tear ot liim. He was also in perpetual dread of the 
 Grand lurk. That formidable potentate, not then the 
 sick man whose precarious condition and territorial 
 inheritance cause so much anxiety in modern days, 
 was, It 18 true sufficiently occupied for the moment in 
 1 ersia, and had been sustaining there a series of 
 sanguinary defeats. He whs all the more anxious to 
 remain upon good terms with Philip, and had recently 
 sent him a comphmentary embassy,' together with some 
 rather choice presents, among which were - four lions 
 twelve imicoiTis, and two hordes coloured white, black! 
 and b ue. » Notwithstanding these pacific manifesta- 
 tions towards the West, however, and in spite of the 
 truce with the German Empire which the Turk had 
 just renewed for nine years,- Kudolph and his servants 
 still trembled at every report from the East. 
 
 I 18 much deceived," wrote Buisbecq, Rudolph's 
 ambassador in Paris, -who doubts that the Turk has 
 sought anything by this long Persian war, but to 
 protect his back and prepare the way, after subduin- 
 
 Ind fh«fT'' V^.^ extermination of all Christendom^ 
 and that he will then, with all his might, wage an un- 
 equal warfare with us, in which the exi'stence of the 
 Empire will be at stake." " 
 
 The envoy expressed, at the same period, however, 
 
30 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. II. 
 
 / 
 
 P 
 
 I 
 
 Btill greater awe of Spain. " It is to no one," he wrote, 
 " endowed with good judgment, in the least obscure, 
 that the Spanish nation, greedy of empire, will never 
 be quiet, even with their great power, but will seek for 
 the dominion of the rest of Christendom. How much 
 remains beyond what they have already acquired ? 
 Afterwards, there will soon be no liberty, no dignity, 
 for other princes and republics. That single nation 
 will be arbiter of all things, than which nothing can be 
 more miserable, nothing more degiading. It cannot be 
 doubted that all kings, princes, and states, whose safety 
 or dignity is dear to them, would willingly associate in 
 arms to extinguish the comm(»n conflagration. The 
 death of the Catholic king would seem the great oppor- 
 tunity miscendvi rebus.'' ' 
 
 Unfortunately neither Busbecq's master nor any 
 other king or prince manifested any of this commend- 
 able alacrity to " take up arms against the conflagration." 
 Germany was in a shiver at every breeze from East or 
 West — trembling alike before Philip and Amurath. 
 The Papists were making rapid progress, the land 
 being undermined by the steady and stealthy encroach- 
 ments of the Jesuits. Lord Burghley sent many copies 
 of his pamphlet, in Latin, French, and Italian, against 
 the Seminaries, to Gebhard Truchsess ; and the deposed 
 archbishop made himself busy in translating that 
 wholesome production into German, and in dispersing 
 it *'all Germany over." The work, setting duly forth 
 " that the executions of priests in England were not for 
 religion but for treason," was "marvellously liked" in 
 the Netherlands. '* In uttering the truth," said Herle, 
 " 'tis likely to do great good ; " and he added, that 
 Duke Augustus of Saxony *' did now see so far into the 
 sect of .lesuits, and to their inward mischiefs, as to 
 become their open enemy, and to make friends against 
 them in the Empire." * 
 
 The love of Tnichsess for Agnes ^laui^feld hnd 
 created disaster not only for himbelf but for Germany. 
 The whole electorate of Cologne had become the con- 
 stant seat of partizan warfare, and the resort of organized 
 bands of brigands. Villages were burned and rifled, 
 
 » BiisbequH • ::pist ad Rud.' p. 124-^6. 
 
 « Herle to Quctu Kllzabetb, T2nd July, 1584, MS. before cit-d. 
 
 1584. 
 
 APATHY OF PROTESTANT GERMANY. 
 
 31 
 
 highways infested, cities threatened, and the whole 
 country subjected to perpetual black mail (brandschat- 
 zung)— fire-insurance levied by the incendiaries in 
 person —by the supporters of the rival bishops. Truch- 
 sess had fled to Delft, where he had been countenanced 
 and supported by Orange. Two cities still held for 
 him, Kheinberg and Neusz. On the other hand, his 
 rival, Albert of Bavaria, supported by Philip II.,'and 
 the occasional guest of Alexander of Parma, had not 
 yet succeeded in establishing a strong foothold in the 
 territory. Two pauper archbishops, without men or 
 means of their own, were thus pushed forward and back, 
 like puppets, by the contending highwa>Tnen on either 
 side; while robbery and murder, under the name of 
 Protestantism or Catholicism, were for a time the only 
 motive or result of the contest. 
 
 Thus along the Rhine, as well as the Maas and the 
 bcheldt, the fires of civil war were ever burning 
 Deeper within the heart of Germany, there was more 
 tranquillity ; but it was the tranquillity rather of para- 
 lysis than of health. A fearful account was slowly 
 accumulating, which was eventually to be settled only 
 by one of the most horrible wars which hi.^toiy has 
 ever recorded. Meantime there was apathv where there 
 should have been enthusiasm ; parsimony and cowardice 
 where generous and combined eftbrts were more neces- 
 sary than ever ; sloth without security. The Protestant 
 princes, growing fat and contented on the spoils of tho 
 church, lent but a deaf ear to the moans of Truchsess 
 forgetting that their neighbour's blazing roof was likely 
 soon to fire their own, "They understand better 
 proximns sum egomet mihi," wrote Lord Willoughby from 
 Kronenburg, " than they have learned, himani nihil a me 
 nheinim pnto. These German princes continue still in 
 their lethargy, careless of the state of others, and dream- 
 ing of their ubiquity, and some of them, it is thought 
 inclining to be Spanish or Popish more of late than 
 heretofore." ' 
 
 ^ The beggared archbishop, more forlorn than ever 
 since the death of his great patron, cried woe from his 
 resting-place m Delft, upon Protestant Germany. His 
 
 • Willoughby to Burghley, In Wright's 'Queen Elizabeth and her Times.' vol. ii. 
 
32 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. H. 
 
 
 m 
 
 'I 
 
 tones seemed almost prophetic of the thirty years* 
 wrath to blaze forth in the next generation. " Courage 
 is wanting to the people throughout Germany," he 
 wrote to William Lewis of Nassau. *' We are becoming 
 the laughing-stock of the nations. Make sheep of 
 yoTirselves, and the wolf will eat you. We shall find 
 our destruction in our immoderate desire for peace. 
 Spain is making a Papistical league in Germany. 
 Therefore is Assonleville despatched thither, and that's 
 the reason why our trash of priests are so insolent in 
 the Eun)ire. 'Tis astonishing how they are triumphing 
 on all sides. God will smite them. Thou dear God ! 
 What are our evangelists about in Germany? Asleep 
 oij both ears. Dormiunt in utramque aurem. I doubt 
 they will be suddenly enough awakened one day, and 
 the cry will be * Who'd have thought it?* Then they 
 will be fur getting oil for tlie lamp, for shutting the 
 stable-door when the steed is stolen :"' and so on, with a 
 string of homely proverbs worthy of Sancho Panza, or 
 landgrave William of Hesse.* 
 
 • Groen v. Prinsterer, ' Archives,' 4c., 
 1.9. 
 
 * The statesmen of England were too 
 sagaciuus not to see the Importance to 
 Protestant Germany of suKtalntng the 
 ex elector, if to sustain him were pos- 
 sibk'. But to this end it was necessary 
 that the German princes, whom it most 
 nearly concerned, should unite in his sup- 
 port. Qxieen Elizabeth had authorized a 
 subeildy to enable Truchsess to carry on 
 the war; but his Bavarian competitor 
 was baclced hy the power of Spain, and 
 was himself of higher rank and Urger re- 
 ■onrces. 
 
 •* No man." wrote Walsln^ham to Da- 
 vison, " wishes bt'tter success than my- 
 self tt) the elfctttr. knowing how greatly 
 it importeth the common cause of reli- 
 gion that he should be upholdi^n, and the 
 benefit that those distn-swHl aiun tries, 
 where you now are, may rect^lve by way 
 of diversion through bis employment; 
 for that Spain, and his minister the 
 Prince of Ihirma, must not se«> the Bishop 
 of Liege quail. Yet when I consider, upon 
 view of tlie report of the conference be- 
 tween you and the said elfctor, how little 
 appeitrance Is of any great assistance 
 that he shall have, and that the prince- 
 
 electors whom the cause doth touch, 
 especially Saxony and Brandenburg, have 
 as yet no disposition to deal therein, as 
 thowjh the lomenxitum of the liberty of 
 Germany did in no respect touch them, 1 
 see no great reason to hope that this en- 
 terprise will be accompanied with that 
 gixid success that both 1 wish and Is also 
 looked for here." (30th Dec. 1684, S. P. 
 Office MS.) 
 
 It waa therefore necessary. In the 
 opinion of the English government, to 
 move warily In the matter. For remote 
 allies to expend their strength in sustain* 
 li)g the sinking elector, while the Pro- 
 testants nearest him looked upon his 
 struggles with folded arms, seemed super- 
 fluous and unreasonable. ** For It Is 
 hard." Siiid Walsingham, "for men of 
 Judgment to think that he, having no 
 greater likelihood of support than yet ap- 
 ixaielli he hath, shall be able to prevail 
 against a bishop of Liege, by birth more 
 noble than himself, already possessed of 
 the most part of the bishopric, who will 
 not lack any assistance that the Catholic 
 princes can yield him. As for the sup- 
 ports proinis<'d by the kings of Denmark 
 and of Navarre, being in respect of th« 
 others but weak and far distant In place. 
 
 1584. APATHY OF PROTESTANT GERMANY. 33 
 
 In truth, one of the most painful features in the 
 general aspect of affairs was the coldness of the German 
 1 rotestantfi towards the Netherlands. The enmity 
 between Lutherans and Calvinists was almost as fatal 
 as that between Protestants and Papists. There was 
 even a talk, at a little later period, of excluding those 
 of the reformed church from the benefits of the peace 
 ot 1 as^u The pnnces had got the Augsburg confes- 
 sion and the abbey-lands into the bargain ; the peasants 
 had got the Augsburg confession without the abbey- 
 lands, and were to believe exactly what their masters 
 believed This was the German-Lutheran sixteenth- 
 century idea of religious freedom. Neither prince not 
 pea^nt stirred m behalf of the struggling Christians in 
 the Unit^ed Provinces battling, year after year, knee- 
 deep in blood, amid blazing cities and inundated fields 
 breast to breast with the yellow-jerkined pikemen of 
 fepam and Italy, with the axe and the faggot and the 
 rack of the Holy Inquisition distinctly vlVe behind 
 them. Such were the realities which occupied the 
 Netherlanders in those days, not watery beams of 
 theological moonshine, fantastical catechism-making 
 intermingled with scenes of riot and wantonness, which 
 drove old John of Nassau half frantic; -with ban- 
 queting and guzzling, drinking and devouring, with 
 unchristian flaunting and wastefulness of apparel, with 
 extravagant and wanton dancing, and other lewd 
 abominations ;"' all which, the fir^m old reformer p7c> 
 phesied would lead to the destruction of Germany 
 
 ibl. nf ^^ "^T' "i^"^ "'"'y^^.^ ^"* apparently irresist- 
 ible, of bpanish and papistical absolutism was gradually 
 
 that help which consists in well-wishing 
 groweth fruitless, unless it be accom- 
 panied by effects, which the dulness of 
 the Almaine nature easily yieldeth not 
 until the disease grow desperate, I cannot 
 but advise you, for the Queen's honour 
 to induce him to make it very probable 
 unto you. that the support now yielded 
 by her M^ty Is like to work thai effect 
 which be pretendeth." (Ibid.) 
 
 Otherwise it was cautiously suggested 
 by the Secretary, that the envoy would 
 "do well to forbear to be over-forward 
 In delivering of the money." 
 
 > Groen v. Prinsterer. • Archives,' &c. 
 1.227. 
 
 'tis very doubtful, before the Elector can 
 take any profit thereof, that his cause 
 may miscarry, unless It should be through 
 God's goodness upholden." (ibid.) 
 
 But, in truth, the Protestant princes of 
 Germany were most lukewarm in the 
 matter, and the complaints of poor 
 Truchsess were foimded upon very accu- 
 rate knowledge as to the sentiments of 
 his compatriots. " By letters received 
 from Germany, as well from Casimir 
 (elector-palatine) as others," continued 
 WalsinRham, "I do not find any other 
 forwardness in those that are thought 
 the best affected towards him there than 
 to uiiA weU unto him. But because 
 VOL. 1. 
 
u 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. II. 
 
 closing over Christendom. The Netherlands were the 
 wedge by which alone the solid bulk could be riven 
 asunder. It was the cause of German, of French, of 
 English liberty, for which the Provinces were con- 
 tending. It was not surprising that they were bitter, 
 getting nothing in their hour of distress from the land 
 of Luther but dogmas and Augsburg catechisms instead 
 of money and gunpowder, and seeing German reiters 
 galloping daily to reinforce the army of Parma, in ex- 
 change for Spanish ducats. 
 
 Bmve old La None, with the iron arm, noblest of 
 Frenchmen and Huguenots — who had just spent five 
 years in Spanish bondage, writing military discourses 
 in a reeking dungeon tilled with toads and vermin, 
 after fighting the battle of liberty for a life-time, and 
 with his brave son already in the Netherlands emu- 
 lating his father's valour on the same field — denounced, 
 at a little later day, the lukewarmness of Protestant 
 Germany with whimsical vehemence : — " I am as- 
 tounded," he cried, '* that these princes are not ashamed 
 of themselves ; doing nothing while they see the 
 oppressed cut to pieces at their gates. When will God 
 grant me grace to place me among those who are doing 
 their duty, and afar from those who do nothing, and 
 who ought to know that the cause is a common one ? 
 If I am ever caught dancing the German cotillon, or 
 playing the German flute, or eating pike with German 
 sauce, I hope it may be flung in my teeth." * 
 
 The great league of the Pope and Philip was steadily 
 consolidating itself, and there were but gloomy pros- 
 pects for the counter-league in Germany. There was 
 no hope but in England and France. For the reasons 
 already indicated, the Prince of Orange, taking counsel 
 with the Estates, had resolved to try the French policy 
 once more. The balance of power in Europe, which 
 no man in Christendom so well understood as he, was 
 to be established by maintaining (he thought) the 
 equilibrium between France and Spain. In the anta- 
 gonism of those two great realms lay the only hope 
 for Dutch or European liberty. Notwithstanding the 
 treason of Anjou, therefore, it had been decided to 
 renew negotiations with that Prince. On the death of 
 
 » Groen v. IVimterer, • Archives,' Sec, L 85 
 
 1584. FRENCH POLICY-HENRY HI. OF FRANCE. 35 
 
 the Duke, the envoys of the States were accordinfflv 
 instructed to make the offer to King Heniy III. whk)h 
 had been intended for his brother. That proposition 
 
 TjI a T^P^/ ""i ^^^ ^^^ Netherlands, save 
 Holland and Zeeland, under a constitution maintaining 
 the reformed religion and the ancient laws and pri- 
 vileges of the respective Provinces. ^ 
 
 But the death of Francis of Anjou had brought 
 about a considerable change in French policy It was 
 now more sharply defined than ever, a right-angled 
 triangle of almost mathematical precision. The three 
 Henrys and their partizans divided the realm into 
 three hostile camps-threatening each other in simu- 
 lated peace since the treaty of Fleix (1580), which had 
 put an end to the " lover's war'' of the preceding 
 year,-Henry of Valois, Henry of Guise, and Henry of 
 Navarre. "^ 
 
 Henry III, last of the Valois line, was now thirty- 
 three years of age Less than king, less even than 
 man, he was one of those unfortunate personages who 
 
 IXo 't^L^r ""^^Z *^' '"^"^ °f ^°y^l*y ridiculous, 
 and to test the capacity of mankind to eat and drink 
 
 humiliation as if it were wholesome food. It proved 
 how deeply engraved in men's minds of that century 
 was the necessity of kingship, when the hardy Nether- 
 landers, who had abjured one tyrant, and had been 
 lighting a generation long rather than return to him 
 
 iTkTiCVof'vSor "P* '"'^ "^^^^'^*^ °^ ^ ^'^W 
 
 He had not been bom without natural gifts, such as 
 Heaven wrely denies to prince or peasant; but tho 
 
 oSfi u f M^ """^ VO'^'^^i had been exhausted 
 W /k-*^ of Moncontottr, his manhood had been left 
 behind him at Venice, and such wit as Heaven had 
 endowed h,m withal was now expended in darting 
 noStw^'fTf""^ ** court-ladies whom he was onlf 
 r/bnr^n^ d'shonounng by calumny, and whose chams 
 he burned to outrival in the estimation of his minions. 
 *or the monarch of France was not unfreqnently 
 pleaded to attire himself like a woman and ^harlot. 
 faP« ™1k'"' T°?^' Je'^«"«'l stomacher, and painted 
 
 and breast, and satin-slippered feet, of whose delicate 
 
 D 2- 
 
 1 
 
36 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. H. 
 
 shape and size he was justly vain, it was his delight to 
 pass his days and nights in a ceaseless round of 
 gorgeous festivals, tourneys, processions, masquerades, 
 banquets, and balls, the cost of which glittering 
 frivolities caused the popular burthen and the popular 
 execration to grow, from day to day, more intolerable 
 and more audible. Surrounded by a gang of " minions,** 
 the most debauched and the most desperate of France, 
 whose bedizened dresses exhaled perfumes throughout 
 Paris, and whose sanguinary encounters dyed every 
 street in blood, Henry lived a life of what he called 
 pleasure, careless of what might come after, for he was 
 the last of his race. The fortunes of his minions rose 
 higher and higher, as their crimes rendered them more 
 and more estimable in the eyes of a King who took a 
 woman's pride in the valour of such champions to his 
 weakness, and more odious to a people whose miserable 
 homes were made even more miserable, that the coflfers 
 of a few court-favourites might be filled. Now saun- 
 teiing, full- dressed, in the public promenades, with 
 ghastly little death's heads stnmg upon his sumptuous 
 garments, and fragments of human bones dangling 
 among his orders of knighthood — playing at cup and 
 ball as he walked, and followed by a few select courtiers 
 who gravely pursued the same exciting occupation — 
 now presiding like a queen of beauty at a tournament 
 to assign the prize of valour, and now, by the advice of 
 his mother, going about the streets in robes of penitence, 
 telling his beads as he went, that the populace might 
 be edified by his piety, and solemnly offering up 
 prayers in the churches that the blessing of an heir 
 might be vouchsafed to him, — Henry of Valois seemed 
 straining every nerve in order to bring himself and his 
 great ofiice into contempt. 
 
 As orthodox as he was profligate, he hated the 
 Huguenots, who sought his protection and who could 
 have saved his throne, as cordially as he loved the 
 Jesuits, who passed their lives in secret plottings 
 against his authority and his person, or in fierce de- 
 nunciations from the Paris pulpits against his manifold 
 crimes. Next to an exquisite and sanguinary fop, he 
 dearly loved a monk. The presence of a friar, he said, 
 exerted as agreeable an effect upon his mind as the 
 
 1584. 
 
 HENRY HI. AND HIS MINIONS. 
 
 37 
 
 most delicate and gentle tickling could produce upon 
 his body ; ' and he was destined to have a fuller dose of 
 that charming presence than he coveted. 
 
 His party — for he was but the nominal chief of a 
 faction, tanqiiam umis ex nobis — was the party in posses- 
 sion — the office-holders' party ; the spoilsmen, whose 
 purpose was to rob the exchequer and to enrich them- 
 selves. His minions — for the favourites were called by 
 no other name — were even more hated, because less 
 despised, than the King. Attired in cloth of gold — for 
 silk and satin were grown too coarse a material for 
 them — with their little velvet porringer-caps stuck on 
 the sides of their heads, with their long hair stiff with 
 pomatum, and their heads set inside a well-starched 
 ruff a foot wide, "like St. John's head in a charger," 
 as a splenetic contemporary observed,* with a nimbus of 
 musk and violet-powder enveloping them as they 
 passed before vulgar mortals, these rapacious and in- 
 solent courtiers were the impersonation of extortion 
 and oppression to the Parisian populace. They were 
 supposed, not unjustly, to pass their lives in dancing, 
 blasphemy, duelling, dicing, and intrigue, in following 
 the King about like hounds, fawning at his feet, and 
 showing their teeth to all besides ; and for virtues such 
 as these they were rewarded by the highest offices in 
 church, camp, and state, while new taxes and imposts 
 were invented almost daily to feed their avarice and 
 supply their extravagance. France, doomed to feel the 
 beak and talons of these harpies in its entrails, im- 
 poverished by a government that robbed her at home 
 while it humiliated her abroad, struggled vainly in its 
 misery, and was now on the verge of another series of 
 internecine combats— civil war seeming the only alter- 
 native to a voluptuous and licentious peace.* 
 
 "We all stood here at gaze," wrote ambassador 
 
 » De Thou, X. 667. 
 
 * L'Estoile, • RegiBtre Joamal de Henry 
 ni./ ed. Michaud et Poqjoulat, p. 72 
 •eg. 
 
 » " Quant k leur habit, 11 excede 
 Tout leur blen et tout leur tresor, 
 Car le mignon qui tout consotnine, 
 Ne se vest plus en gentilhomme, 
 Mais comme un prince de drap d'or ; 
 £t pour mieux contenter 
 
 Lew Jen, leur pompe, leur bobano^ 
 Et leur trop prodigue d^pense, 
 H faut tons les Jours inventer 
 Nouveaux Impdts, nouvelles taillea, 
 Qu'll faut du profond des entrailles 
 Des panvres st^ets arracher. 
 Qui trainent leurs chetlves vies 
 Sous la griffe de oes harpies, 
 Qui avalent tout sans macher," &c. 
 f'Estoile, ubi sup. 
 
 1 1 
 
 lii 
 
38 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. II. 
 
 Stafford to Walsingham, " looking for some great matter 
 to come of this sudden journey to Lyons ; but, as far as 
 men can find, parturiunt monies, for there hath been 
 nothing but dancing and banqueting from one house 
 to another, bravery in apparel, glittering like the 
 sun."' He mentioned that the Duke of Epernon's 
 borse, taking fright at a red cloak, had backed over a 
 precipice, breaking his own neck, while his master's 
 shoulder merely was put out of joint. At the same 
 time the Duke of Joyeuse, coming over Mount Cenis, 
 on his return from Savoy, had broken his wrist. The 
 people, he said, would rather they had both broken 
 their necks " than any other joint, the King having 
 racked the nation for their sakes, as he hath done." * 
 Stafford expressed mucb compassion for the French in 
 *^® plight in which they found themselves. "Un- 
 happy people ! " he cried, " to have such a King, who 
 Beeketh nothing but to impoverish them to enrich a 
 couple, and who careth not what cometh after his 
 death, so that he may rove on while he liveth, and 
 careth neither for doing his own estate good nor his 
 neighbour's state harm." Sir Edward added, however, 
 in a philosophizing vein, worthy of Corporal Nym, that] 
 ** seeing we cannot be so happy as to have a King to 
 concur with us to do us any good, yet we are happy to 
 have one that his humour serveth him not to concur 
 with others to do us harm ; and 'tis a wisdom for us to 
 follow these humours that we may keep him still in 
 that humour, and from hearkening to others that may 
 egg him on to worse."* 
 
 It was a dark hour for France, and rarely has a great 
 nation been reduced to a lower level by a feeble and 
 abandoned government than she was at that moment 
 under the distaff of Henry III. Society was corrupted 
 to Its core. " There is no more truth, no more justice, 
 no more mercy," moaned Tresident L'Etoile. " To 
 slander, to lie, to rob, to wench, to steal ; all thin<'-s 
 are permitted save to do right and to speak the truth*!" 
 Impiety the most cynical, debauchery the most un- 
 veiled, public and unpunished homicides, private mur- 
 ders by what was called magic, by poison, by hired 
 
 » StAfford to Walslngham, 21th Aug. 
 1584, io Murdia ii, 415-419. 
 
 » Ibid. 
 
 • Stafford to WaUingham, ubi nip. 
 
 1564. 
 
 HENKY OF GUISE. 
 
 39 
 
 assassins, crimes natural, unnatural, and preternatural, 
 were the common characteristics of the time.* All 
 posts and charges were venal. Great offices of justice 
 were sold to the highest bidder, and that which was 
 thus purchased by wholesale was retailed in the same 
 fashion. Unhappy the pauper client who dreamed of 
 justice at the hands of law. The great ecclesiastical 
 benefices were equally matter of merchandise, and 
 married men, women, unborn childrem, enjoyed reve- 
 nues as dignitaries of the church. Infants came into 
 the world, it was said, like the mitre-fish, stamped 
 with the emblems of place.* 
 
 ** 'Twas impossible," said L'Etoile, ** to find a crab 
 80 tortuous and backsliding as the government."* 
 
 This was the aspect of the first of the three factions 
 in France. Such was the Henry at its head, the 
 representative of royalty. 
 
 Henrys with the Scar, Duke of Guise, the well-known 
 chief of the house of Lorraine, was the chief of the 
 extreme papistical party. He was now thirty-four 
 years of age, tall, stately, with a dark, martial face and 
 dangerous eyes, which Antonio Moro loved to paint ; 
 a physiognomy made still more expressive by the 
 arquebus-shot which had damaged his left cheek at the 
 fight near Chateau-Thierry and gained him his nam© 
 of Balafre. Although one of the most turbulent and 
 restless plotters of that plotting age, he was yet thought 
 more slow and heavy in character than subtle, Teutonic 
 rather than Italian. He was the idol of the Parisian 
 burghers. The grocers, the market-men, the members 
 of the arquebus and crossbow clubs, all doted on him. 
 The fishwomen worshipped him as a god. He was the 
 defender of the good old religion under which Paris 
 and the other cities of France had thriven ; the un- 
 compromising opponent of the new-fangled doctrines 
 which western clothiers, and dyers, and tapestry- 
 workers had adopted, and which the nobles of the 
 mountain-countr}% the penniless chevaliers of Ifeeam 
 and Gascony and Guienne, were ceaselessly taking the 
 field and plunging France into misery and bloodshed 
 
 » L'Fstoile, 97, 88; Perefixe, 'Hls- 
 toire du Itoi Henri le Grand,' ed. 1816, 
 p. 29. 
 
 « Perefiie, L'Estolle, ubi sup. 
 • L'Estoile, udt sup. 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
40 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. II. 
 
 1584. 
 
 to support. But for the Balafre and Madam League — 
 as the great Spanish Catholic conspiracy against the 
 liberties of France, and of England, and of all Europe, 
 was aflfectionately teimed by the Paris populace — 
 honest Catholics would fare no better in France than 
 they did in England, where, as it was well known, 
 they were every day bubjected to fearful tortures. The 
 Bhop-windows were filled with coloured engravings, 
 representing, in exaggerated fashion, the sufterings of 
 the English Catholics under bloody Elizabeth, or 
 Jezebel, as she was called ; and, as the gaping burghers 
 stopped to ponder over these works of art, there were 
 ever present, as if by accident, some persons of supeiior 
 information who would condescendingly explain the 
 various pictures, pointing out with a long stick the 
 phenomena most worthy of notice.' These caricatures 
 proving highly successful, and being suppressed by 
 order of government, they were repeated upon canvas 
 on a larger scale, in still more conspicuous situations, 
 as if in contempt of the royal authority, which sullied 
 itself by compromise with Calvinism.' The pulpits, 
 meanwhile, thundered denunciations on the one hand 
 against the weak and wicked King, who worshipped 
 idols, and who sacrificed the dearly- earned pittance of 
 his subjects to fee<l the insolent pomp of his pampered 
 favourites ; and on the other, upon the arch-heretic, 
 the arch-apostate, the Beamese Huguenot, who, after 
 the death of the reigning monarch, would have the 
 effrontery to claim his throne, and to introduce into 
 France the persecutions and the horrors under which 
 unhappy England was already groaning. 
 
 The scarce-concealed instigator of these assaults 
 upon the royal and upon the Huguenot faction was, of 
 course, the Duke of Guise,— the man whose most 
 signal achievement had been the Massacre of St. 
 Bartholomew— all the preliminary details of that 
 transaction having been arranged by his skill. So long 
 as Charles IX. was living, the Balafr^ had created the 
 confusion which was his element by entertaining and 
 fomenting the perpetual intrigues of Anjou and Alen^on 
 against their brother ; while the altercations between 
 them and the Queen-Mother and the furious madman 
 
 » De Thou, tx. 269. 270, teq. 
 
 « IbW 
 
 HENRY OF GUISE. 
 
 41 
 
 who then sat upon the throne, had been the cause of 
 sufficient disorder and calamity for France. On the 
 death of Charles IX. Guise had sought the intimacy of 
 Henry of Navarre, that by his means he might frustrate 
 the hopes of Alen9on for the succession. During 
 the early period of the Beamese's residence at the 
 French court the two had been inseparable, living 
 together, going to the same festivals, tournaments, and 
 masquerades, and even sleeping in the same bed. 
 " My master," was ever Guise's address to Henry ; 
 ** my gossip,'* the young King of Navarre's reply. But 
 the crafty Beamese had made use of the intimacy only 
 to read the secrets of the Balafr^'s heart; and on 
 Navarre's flight from the court, and his return to 
 Huguenotism, Guise knew that he had been played 
 upon by a subtler spirit than his own. The simulated 
 affection was now changed into undisguised hatred. 
 Moreover, by the death of Alen9on, Navarre now stood 
 next to the throne, and Guise's plots became still more 
 extensive and more open as his own ambition to usurp 
 the crown on the death of the childless Henry III. 
 became more fervid.* 
 
 Thus, by artfully inflaming the populace of Paris, 
 and — through his organised bands of confederates — that 
 of all the large towns of France, against the Huguenots 
 and their chief, by appeals to the religious sentiment ; 
 and at the same time by stimulating the disgust and 
 indignation of the tax-payers everywhere at the imposts 
 and heavy burthens which the boundless extravagance 
 of the court engendered. Guise paved the way for the 
 advancement of the great League which he represented. 
 The other two political divisions were ingeniously 
 represented as mere insolent factions, while his own 
 was the true national and patriotic party, by which 
 alone the ancient religion and the cherished institu- 
 tions of France could be preserved." 
 
 And the gi-eat chief of this national patriotic party 
 was not Heniy of Guise, but the industrious old man 
 who sat writing despatches in the depths of the 
 Escorial. Spanish counsels, Spanish promises, Spanish 
 ducats — these were the real machinery by which the 
 plots of Guise against the peace of France and of 
 
 * Pereflxe, 28 teq. 
 
 * De Tboa, Pereflxe, ubi tup. 
 
 s I 
 
 
 ( I 
 
 j .(I 
 
43 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. H. 
 
 1584. 
 
 HENRY OF NAVARRE. 
 
 43 
 
 Europe were supported. Madam League was simply 
 Philip II. Nothing w^ written, officially or unoffi- 
 cially, to the French government by the Spanish court 
 that was not at the same time communicated to 
 " Mucio "—as the Duke of Guise was denominated in 
 the secret correspondence of Philip,— and Mucio was 
 in Philip's pay, his confidential agent, spy, and con- 
 federate, long before the actual existence of the League 
 was generally suspected. 
 
 ^ The Queen-Mother, Catherine de' Medici, played 
 into the Duke's hands. Throughout the whole period 
 of her widowhood, having been accustomed to govern 
 her sons, she had, in a certain sense, been used to 
 govern the kingdom. By sowing dissensions among 
 her own children, by inflaming party against party, by 
 watching with care the oscillations of France— so that 
 none of the great divisions should obtain preponde- 
 rance—by alternately caressing and massacring the 
 Huguenots, by cajoling or confronting Philip, by keep- 
 ing, as she boasted, a spy in every family that possessed 
 the annual income of two thousand livres, by making 
 herself the head of an organized system of harlotry by 
 which the soldiers and politicians of France were 
 inveigled, their secrets faithfully revealed to her by 
 her well-disciplined maids of honour, by surrounding 
 her unfortunate sons with temptation from earliest 
 youth, and plunging them by cold calculation into 
 deepest debauchery, that their enervated faculties 
 might be ever forced to rely in political affairs on the 
 maternal counsel, and to abandon the administration 
 to the maternal will; such were the arts by which 
 Catherine had maintained her influence, and a great 
 country been governed for a generation— Machiavellian 
 state-craft blended with the more simple wiles of a 
 procuress. 
 
 Now that Alen^on was dead, and Henry III. hope- 
 less ot issue, It was her determination that the children 
 ot her daughter, the Duchess of Lorraine, should 
 succeed to the throne. The matter was discussed as 
 It the throne were already vacant, and Guise and the 
 gueen-Mother, if they agreed in nothing else, were 
 both cordial in their detestation of Henry of Navarre. 
 I he Duke affected to support the schemes in favour of 
 
 his relatives, the Princes of Lorraine, while he secretly 
 informed the Spanish court that this policy was only a 
 pretence. He was not likely, he said, to advance the 
 interests of the younger branch of a house of which he 
 was himself the chief, nor were their backs equal to the 
 burthen. It was necessary to amuse the old queen, but 
 he was profoundly of opinion that the only sovereign 
 for France, upon the death of Henry, was Philip II. 
 himself. This was the Duke's plan of arriving, by 
 means of Spanish assistance, at the throne of France ; 
 and such was Henry le Balafre, chief of the League.* 
 
 And the other Henry, the Huguenot, the Beamese, 
 Henry of Bourbon, Henry of Navarre, the chieftain of 
 the Gascon chivalry, the king errant, the hope and the 
 darling of the oppressed Protestants in every land — of 
 him it is scarce needful to say a single word. At his very 
 name a figure seems to leap forth from the mist of three 
 centuries, instinct with ruddy vigorous life. Such was 
 the intense vitality of the Bea nese prince, that even 
 now he seems more thoroughly alive and recognizable 
 than half the actual personages who are fretting their 
 hour upon the stage. 
 
 We see, at once, a man of moderate stature, light, 
 sinewy, and strong ; a face browned with continual 
 exposure ; small, mirthful, yet commanding blue eyes, 
 glittering from beneath an arching brow, and prominent 
 cheekbones ; a long hawk's nose, almost resting upon a 
 salient chin, a pendent moustache, and a thick, brown, 
 curly beard, prematurely grizzled ; we see the mien of 
 frank authority and magnificent good humour, we hear 
 the ready sallies of the shrewd Gascon mother-wit, we 
 feel the electricity which flashes out of him, and sets 
 all hearts around him on fire, when the trumpet sounds 
 to battle. The headlong desperate charge, the snow- 
 white plume waving where the fire is hottest, the large 
 capacity for enjoyment of the man, rioting without 
 affbctation in the certaminis gaiidia^ the insane gallop, 
 after the combat, to lay its trophies at the feet of the 
 Cynthia of the minute, and thus to forfeit its fruits ; 
 all are as familiar to us as if the seven distinct wars, 
 the hundred pitched battles, the two himdred sieges, in 
 
 1 De Thou, ix. 267 
 
44 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. II. 
 
 which the Beamese was personally present, had been 
 occurrences of our own day. 
 
 He at least was both king and man, if the monarch 
 who occupied the throne was neither. He was the 
 man to prove, too, for the instruction of the patient 
 letter-writer of the Escorial, that the crown of France 
 was to be won with foot in stirrup and carbine in hand, 
 rather than to be caught by the weaving and casting of 
 the most intricate nets of diplomatic intrigue, though 
 thoroughly weighted with Mexican gold. 
 
 The King of Navarre Was now thirty-one years old ; 
 for the three Henrys were nearly of the same age! 
 The first indications of his existence had been re- 
 cognized amid the cannon and trumpets of a camp in 
 Picardy, and his mother had sung a gay B^arnese song 
 as he was coming into the world at Pau. Thus, said 
 his grandfather, Henry of Navarre, thou shalt not bear 
 to us a morose and sulky child. The good king, with- 
 out a kingdom, taking the child, as soon as bom, in the 
 lappel of his dressing-gown, had brushed his infant 
 lips with a clove of garlic, and moistened them with a 
 drop of generous Gascon wine. Thus, said the grand- 
 father again, shall the boy be both merry and bold. 
 There was something mythologically prophetic in the 
 incidents of his birth. 
 
 The best part of Navarre had been long since ap- 
 propriated by Ferdinand of Aragon. In France there 
 reigned a young and warlike sovereign with four healthy 
 boys. But the new-bom infant had inherited the lilies 
 of France from St. Louis, and a later ancestor had added 
 to the escutcheon the motto ** Espoir." His grand- 
 father believed that the boy was bom to revenge upon 
 Spain the wrongs of the House of Albret, and Henry's 
 nature seemed ever pervaded with Robert of Clermont's 
 device. 
 
 The same sensible grandfather, having different 
 views on the subject of education from those manifested 
 by Catherine de' Medici towards her children, had the 
 boy taught to run about bareheaded and barefooted, 
 like a peasant, among the mountains and rocks of 
 B^arn, till he became as mgged as a young bear, and 
 as nimble as a kid. Black bread, and beef, and garlic, 
 were his simple fare ; and he was taught by his mother 
 
 1584. 
 
 HENRY OF NAVARRE. 
 
 45 
 
 and his grandfather to hate lies and liars, and to read 
 
 the Bible. 
 
 When he was fifteen the third religious war broke 
 out. Both his father and grandfather were dead. His 
 mother, who had openly professed the reformed faith, 
 since the death of her husband, who hated it, brought 
 her boy to the camp at Rochelle, where he was received 
 as the chief of the Huguenots. His culture was not 
 extensive. He had learned to speak the tmth, to ride, 
 to shoot, to do with little sleep and less food. He 
 could also constme a little Latin, and had read a few 
 military treatises ; but the mighty hours of an eventful 
 life were now to take him by the hand, and to teach 
 him much good and much evil, as they bore him on- 
 ward. He now saw military treatises expounded prac- 
 tically, by professors like his uncle Conde, and Admiral 
 Coligny, and Lewis Nassau, in such lecture-rooms as 
 Laudun, and Jamac, and Moncontour, and never was 
 apter scholar. 
 
 The peace of Amay-le-Duc succeeded, and then the 
 fatal Bartholomew marriage with the Messalina of Valois. 
 The faith taught in the mountains of Beam was no 
 buckler against the demand of "the mass or death,'* 
 thundered at his breast by the lunatic Charles, as he 
 pointed to thousands of massacred Huguenots. Henry 
 yielded to such conclusive arguments, and became a 
 Catholic. Four years of court-imprisonment succeeded, 
 and the 'y^^^S ^i^S ^^ Navarre, though proof to the 
 artifices of his gossip Guise, was not adamant to the 
 temptations spread for him by Catherine de' Medici. 
 In the harem entertained for him in the Louvre many 
 pitfalls entrapped him; and he became a stock- per- 
 former in the state comedies and tragedies of that plot- 
 ting age. 
 
 A silken web of palace-politics, palace-diplomacy, 
 palace-revolutions, enveloped him. Schemes and counter- 
 schemes, stratagems and conspiracies, assassinations and 
 poisonings; all the state-machinery which worked so 
 exquisitely in fair ladies' chambers, to spread havoc and 
 desolation over a kingdom, were displayed before his 
 eyes. Now campaigning with one royal brother against 
 Huguenots, now fighting with another on their side, now 
 solicited by the Queen-Mother to attempt the life of her 
 
 i 
 
 
46 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 CnAp. II. 
 
 1584. 
 
 HENRY OF NAVARRE. 
 
 'i 
 
 ^\ now implored by Henry III. to assassinate his 
 brother the Beamese, as fresh antagonisms, affinities 
 combinations, were developed, detected, neutralized 
 almost^ daily, became rapidly an adept in Medicean 
 state-chemistry Charles IX. in his grave, Heniy III. 
 on the throne Alencon in the Huguenot camp-Henry 
 at last made his escape. The brief war and peace of 
 Monsieur succeeded and the King of Navarre formally 
 abjured tiie Catholic creed. The parties were now 
 . sharply defined. Guise mounted upon the Lea<nie 
 Henry astnde upon the Keformation, were prepared t<; 
 do battle to the death. The temporary "war of the 
 amorous was followed by the peac^o of Fleix 
 
 i'our yeara of peace again ; four fat years of wanton- 
 vZr°„f W P'^-^f'^S fourteen hwigry famine-stricken 
 ^^rs of bloodiest civil war. The voluptuousness and 
 inlamy of the Louvre were almost paralleled in vice if 
 not m splendour, by the miniature court at Pan. HenrV's 
 bpartan grandfather would scarce have approved tho 
 courses of the youth whose education he had^cmmenced 
 
 her'^i^Zd ' r r"- ""^^ ''^^Saret of Valoirhat ng 
 her husband and Imng m most undisguised and pro- 
 miscuous infidelity to him, had profited by her mothers 
 
 H?W« l"""^^^ °f "'"''« °f honour^ministered to 
 lleniys pleasures, and were carefully instructed that 
 the peace and war of the kincrHr,™ J^.^ \ ii, • • 
 
 their hands. AVhile at pSovolT P Y^"JS^ « 
 sinViTio- in . ^„- . '^°y*"y ■"'as hopelessly 
 
 sinking m a poisonous marsh, there was dancer that 
 even the hardy nature of the Beamese wouW ^be mor 
 tally enervated by the atmosphere in which he lived ' 
 ried bv"?^'''''^' "T^-"^- ^'^'^ ^y *« Guises, wor- 
 
 Steir^hiof nf r^ ?™ """^ *'"' ^^*^°"« f^i A. M de 
 during a St rt^« ' "Tf' Z^" ^'^ ^««» ^"n ^^^r 
 =.; S:t.1i?nV!r^jt"anl?1 Tr'' '""^ 
 
 mends, next day privately showed Segur a palace- 
 
 » Perefijie, 28. 
 
 » • Memolres d'Agrlppa d'Aubtod ' ed is^i a i^"^* ^' ^^^ 
 
 A1 
 
 window opening on a very steep precipice over the 
 Bay«e, and cheerfully assured him that he should be 
 flung from it, did he not instantly reverse his proceed- 
 ings, and give his master different advice. If 1 am not 
 able to do the deed myself, said D'Aubigne, here are a 
 dozen more to help me. The chief of the council cast a 
 glance behind him, saw a number of grim Puritan sol- 
 diers, with their hats plucked down upon their brows, 
 looking very serious ; so made his bow, and quite 
 changed his line of conduct.' 
 
 At about the same time Philip II. confidentially offered 
 Henry of Navarre four hundred thousand crowns in 
 hand, and twelve hundred thousand yearly, if he would 
 consent to make war upon Henry 111.* Mucio, or the 
 Duke of Guise, being still in Philip's pay, the combina- 
 tion of Leaguers and Huguenots against the unfortunate 
 Valois would, it was thought, be a good triangular 
 contest. 
 
 But Henry — ^no longer the unsophisticated youth who 
 had been used to run barefoot among the cliffs of Coarasse 
 — was grown too crafty a politician to be entangled by 
 Spanish or Medicean wiles. The Duke of Anjou was 
 now dead. Of all the princes who had stood between 
 him and the throne, there was none remaining save the 
 helpless, childless, superannuated youth who was its 
 present occupant. The King of NavaiTe was legitimate 
 heir to the crown of France. "Espoir" was now in 
 letters of light upon his shield, but he knew that his 
 path to greatness led through manifold dangers, and 
 that it was only at the head of his Huguenot chi- 
 valry that he could cut his way. He was the leader 
 of the nobles of Gascony, and Dauphiny, and Guienne, 
 in their mountain fastnesses, of the weavers, cutlers, 
 and artizans, in their thriving manufacturing and 
 trading towns. It was not Spanish gold, but carbines 
 
 « D'Aubigne, • M^molres,' p. 67, 68. 
 
 « •• The Abp. of Colein told me that 
 the Prince of Orange had acquainted him 
 with a practice of the King of Spain's, 
 which was an offer made to the King of 
 Navarre of 400,Ouo A* in ready money, 
 ftnd a 100.000 A * monthly, if he would 
 make wars with the French king — where- 
 
 unto I answered, that I thought it done 
 with a Spanish mind and cunning to 
 draw the King of Navarre, as St-bastian 
 of Portugal was, to his ruin and loss of 
 life and kingdom, and by this means to 
 destroy also the religion and churches in 
 France," kc (Herle to Queen Elliabeth, 
 22nd July, 1684. S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 r 
 
 I. 
 
48 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. II. 
 
 and cutlasses, bows and bills, which could bring him to 
 the throne of his ancestors. 
 
 And thus he stood, the chieftain of that great, austere 
 party of Huguenots, the men who went on their knees 
 before the battle, beating their breasts with their iron 
 gauntlets, and singing in full chorus a psalm of David, 
 before smiting the Philistines hip and thigh. 
 
 Their chieftain — scarcely their representative — fit to 
 lead his Puritans on the battle-field, was hardly a model 
 for them elsewhere. Yet, though profligate in one respect, 
 he was temperate in every other. In food, wine, and 
 sleep he was always moderate. Subtle and crafty in 
 self-defence, he retained something of his old love of 
 truth, of his hatred for liars. Hardly generous perhaps, 
 he was a friend of justice, while economy in a wandering 
 King, like himself, was a necessary virtue, of which 
 France one day was to feel the beneficent action. Reck- 
 less and headlong in appearance, he was in truth the 
 most careful of men. •On the religious question, most 
 cautious of all, he always left the door open behind 
 him, disclaimed all bigotry of opinion, and earnestly 
 implored the Papists to seek, not his destruction, but his 
 instruction. Yet, prudent as he was by nature in every 
 other regard, he was all his life the slave of one woman 
 or another, and it was by good luck rather than by 
 sagacity that he did not repeatedly forfeit the fruits of 
 his courage and conduct, in obedience to his master- 
 passion. 
 
 Always open to conviction on the subject of his faith, 
 he repudiated the appellation of heretic. A creed, he 
 said, was not to be changed like a shirt, but only on due 
 deliberation, and under spiritual advice. In his secret 
 heart he probably regarded tbe two religions as his 
 chargers, and was ready to mount alternately the one or 
 the other, as each seemed the more likely to bear him 
 safely in the battle. The Beamese was no Puritan, but 
 he was most tnie to himself and to his own advance- 
 ment. His highest principle of action was to reach his 
 goal, and to that principle he was ever loyal. Feeling, 
 too, that it was the interest of France that he should 
 succeed, he was even inspired— compared with others 
 on the stfige— by an almost lofty patriotism. 
 
 Amiable by nature and by habit, he had preserved the 
 
 1584. 
 
 HENRY OF NAVARRE. 
 
 49 
 
 most unimpaired good-humour throughout the horrible 
 years which succeeded St. Bartholomew, during which 
 he carried his life in his hand, and learned not to wear 
 his heart upon his sleeve. W ithout gratitude, without 
 resentment, without fear, without remorse, entirely 
 arbitrary, yet with the capacity to use all men's 
 judgments ; without convictions, save in regard to his 
 dynastic interests, he possessed all the qualities neces- 
 sary to success. He knew how to use his enemies. He 
 knew how to use his friends, to abuse them, and to 
 throw them away. He refused to assassinate Francis 
 Alen9on at the bidding of Henry III., but he attempted 
 to procure the murder of the truest of his own friends, 
 and one of the noblest characters of the age— whose 
 
 breast showed twelve scars received in his service 
 
 Agrippa D'Aubign^, because the honest soldier had 
 refused to become his pimp— a service the King had 
 implored upon his knees.* 
 
 Beneath the mask of perpetual careless good-humour, 
 lurked the keenest eyes, a subtle, restless, widely-com- 
 bining brain, and an iron will. Native sagacity had 
 been tempered into consummate elasticity by the fiery 
 atmosphere in which feebler natures had been dis- 
 solved. His wit was as flashing and as quickly un- 
 sheathed as his sword. Desperate, apparently reckless 
 temerity on the battle-field was deliberately indulged 
 in, that the world might be brought to recognise a hero 
 and chieftain in a King. The do-nothings of the Mero- 
 vingian line had been succeeded by the Pepins ; to the 
 effete Carlovingians had come a Capet ; to the impotent 
 Valois should come a worthier descendant of St. Louis. 
 This was shrewd Gascon calculation, aided by constitu- 
 tional fearlessness. When despatch-writing, invisible 
 Philips, star-gazing Rudolphs, and petticoated Henrys 
 sat upon the thrones of Europe, it was wholesome to 
 show the world that there was a King left who could 
 move about in the bustle and business of the age, and 
 could charge as well as most soldiers at the head of his 
 cavalry ; that there was one more sovereign fit to reign 
 over men, besides the glorious Virgin who governed 
 England. 
 
 Thus courageous, crafty, far-seeing, consistent, un- 
 
 * D'Aubigne, • Memoires,' pp. 38-44. 
 VOL. I. g 
 
 
50 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. II. 
 
 hi 
 
 tiring, imperturbable, he was bom to command, and 
 had a right to reign. He had need of the throne' and 
 the throne had still more need of him. 
 
 This then was the third Henry, representative of the 
 third side of the triangle, the reformers of the kingdom 
 ^ And before this bubbling caldron of France, where 
 intrigues, foreign and domestic, conflicting ambitions, 
 stratagems, and hopes, were whirling in never-ceasing 
 tumult, was it strange if the plain Netherland envoys 
 should stand somewhat aghast ? 
 
 Yet it was necessary that they should ponder well 
 the aspect of affairs ; for all their hopes, the very exist- 
 ence of themselves and of their religion, depended upon 
 the organization which should come of this chaos. 
 
 It must be remembered, however, that those states- 
 men—even the wisest or the best-informed of them— 
 could not take so correct a view of France and its 
 politics as It IS possible for us, after the lapse of three 
 centuries, to do. The interior leagues, subterranean 
 schemes, conflicting factions, could only be guessed 
 at ; nor could the immediate future be predicted, even 
 by such far-seeing politicians as William of Orange, at 
 a distance, or Henry of Navarre, upon the spot. 
 
 It was obvious to the Netherlanders that France 
 
 although torn by faction, was a great and powerful 
 
 realm. There had now been, with the brief exception 
 
 of the lovers war in 1580, a religious peace of eight 
 
 years duration. The Huguenots had enjoyed tranquil 
 
 exercise of their worship during that period, and they 
 
 expressed perfect confidence in the good faith of the 
 
 »iing That the cities were inordinately taxed to 
 
 supply the luxury of the court could hardly be un- 
 
 faiown to the Netherlanders. Nevertheless they knew 
 
 tiiat the kingdom was the richest and most populous of 
 
 Christendom, after that of Spain. Its capital, already 
 
 called by contemporaries the "compendium of the 
 
 world, was described by travellers as " stupendous in 
 
 ext^ent and miraculous for its numbers." It was even 
 
 said to contain eight hundred thousand souls, and 
 
 although Its actual population did not probably exceed 
 
 tfiree hundred and twenty thousand, yet this was more 
 
 than double the number of London's inhabitants, and 
 
 ttinco as many as Antwerp could then boast, now that 
 
 1584. 
 
 PROPOSED ALLIANCE WITH FRANCE. 
 
 61 
 
 a great proportion of its foreign denizens had been 
 scared away. Paris was at least by one hundred thou- 
 sand more populous than any city of Europe, except 
 perhaps the remote and barbarous Moscow, while the 
 secondary cities of France, Kouen in the noiih, Lyons 
 in the centre, and Marseilles in the south, almost 
 equalled in size, business, wealth, and numbers, the 
 capitals of other countries. In the whole kingdom 
 were probably ten or twelve millions of inhabitants, 
 nearly as many as in Spain, without her colonies, 
 and perhaps three times the number that dwelt in 
 England. 
 
 In a military point of view, too, the alliance of France 
 was most valuable to the contiguous Netherlands. A 
 few regiments of French troops, under the command of 
 one of their experienced marshals, could block up the 
 Spaniards in the Walloon Provinces, effectually stop 
 their operations against Ghent, Antwerp, and the other 
 great cities of Flanders and Brabant, and, with the 
 combined action of the United Provinces on the north, 
 so surround and cripple the forces of Parma, as to 
 reduce the power of Philip, after a few vigorous and 
 well-concerted blows, to an absolute nullity in the Low 
 Countries. As this result was of as vital importance 
 to the real interests of France and of Europe, whether 
 Protestant or Catholic, as it was to the Provinces, and 
 as the French government had privately manifested a 
 strong desire to oppose the progress of Spain towards 
 universal empire, it was not surprising that the States 
 General, not feeling capable of standing alone, should 
 make their application to France. This they had done 
 with the knowledge and concurrence of the English 
 government. \V hat lay upon the surface the Nether- 
 land statesmen saw and pondered well. What lurked 
 beneath, they surmised as shrewdly as they could, but 
 it was impossible, with plummet and fathom-line ever 
 in hand, to sound the way with perfect accuracy, where 
 the quicksands were ever shifting, and the depth or 
 shallowness of the course perpetually varying. It was 
 not easy to discover the intentions of a government 
 which did not know its own intentions, and whose 
 changing policy was controlled by so many hidden 
 currents. 
 
 E 2 
 
 I*' 
 
62 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. II. 
 
 I 
 
 li 
 
 !l 
 
 Moreover, as already indicated, the envoys and those 
 whom they represented had not the same means of 
 arriving at a result as are granted to us. Thanks to the 
 liberality of many modem governments of Europe, 
 the archives where the state-secrets of the buried cen- 
 turies have so long mouldered, are now open to the 
 student of history. To him who has patience and 
 industry many mysteries are thus revealed, which no 
 political sagacity or critical acumen could have divined 
 He leans over the shoulder of Philip the Second at his 
 writing-table, as the King spells patiently out, with 
 cipher-key in hand, the most concealed hieroglyphics 
 of Parma or Guise or Mendoza. He reads the secret 
 thoughts of " Fabius,"^ as that cunctative Roman scrawls 
 his marginal apostilles on each despatch ; he pries into 
 all the stratagems of Camillus, Hortensius, Mucins, 
 Julius, Tullius, and the rest of those ancient heroes 
 who lent their names to the diplomatic masqueraders 
 of the 16th century : he enters the cabinet of the deeply- 
 pondering Burghley, and takes from the most private 
 drawer the memoranda which record that minister's 
 unutterable doubtings: he pulls from the dressinff- 
 gown folds of the stealthy, softly-gliding Walsingham 
 the last secret which he has picked from the Emperor's 
 pigeon-holes, or the Pope's pocket, and which, not 
 Hatton, nor Buckhurst, nor Leicester, nor the Lord 
 Treasurer, is to see ; nobody but Elizabeth herself: he 
 sits invisible at the mbst secret councils of the Nassaus 
 andBameveld and Buys, or pores with Famese over 
 commg victories, and vast schemes of universal con- 
 quest : he reads the latest bit of scandal, the minutest 
 characteristic of king or minister, chronicled by the 
 gossiping Venetians for the edification of the Forty : 
 and after all this prying and eavesdropping, having 
 seen the cross-purposes, the bribings, the windings, the 
 fencings in the dark, he is not sui-prised, if those who 
 were systematically deceived did not always arrive at 
 correct conclusions. 
 
 Noel de Caron, Seigneur de Schoneval, had been 
 agent of the States at the French court at the time of 
 the death of the Duke of Anjou. Upon the occurrence 
 
 > The name nanally assigned to Philip himself In the Parta Simancas Corre- 
 
 1584. 
 
 EMBASSY OF THE STATES TO FRANCE. 
 
 53 
 
 of that event. La Mouillerie and Asseliers were de- 
 puted by the Provinces to King Henry III., in order 
 to offer him the sovereignty which they had intended 
 to confer upon his brother.* Meantime that brother, 
 just before his death, and with the privity of Henry] 
 had been negotiating for a marriage with the younger 
 daughter of Philip II. — an arrangement somewhat in- 
 compatible with his contemporaneous scheme to assume 
 the sovereignty of Philip's revolted Provinces. An 
 attempt had been made at the same time to conciliate the 
 Duke of Savoy, and invite him to the French court ; 
 but the Due de Joyeuse, then on his return from 
 Turin, was bringing the news, not only that the match 
 with Anjou was not favoured — which, as Anjou was 
 dead, was of no great consequence— but that the Duke 
 of Savoy was himself to espouse the Infanta, and was 
 therefore compelled to decline the invitation to Paris, 
 for fear of offending his father-in-law.* Other matters 
 were in progress, to be afterwards indicated, very much 
 interfering with the negotiations of the Netherland 
 envoys. 
 
 When La Mouillerie and Asseliers arrived at Rouen, 
 on their road from Dieppe to Paris, they received a 
 peremptory order from the Queen-Mother to proceed 
 no farther. This prohibition was brought by an un- 
 official personage, and was delivered, not to them, but 
 to Des Pruneaux, French envoy to the States General, 
 who had accompanied the envoys to France.' 
 
 After three weeks' time, during which they " kept 
 themselves continually concealed in Rouen," there 
 arrived in that city a yoimg nephew of Secretary Bru- 
 lart, who brought letters empowering him to hear what 
 they had in charge for the King. The envoys, not 
 much flattered by such cavalier treatment on the part 
 of him to whom they were offering a crown, determined 
 to digest the affront as they best might, and, to save 
 time, opened the whole business to this subordinate 
 
 > " Verhael van 't gene de heeren de 
 la Mouillerie ende van Aaseliere habben 
 gedaan ende gcbesoigneert, mldtsgaders 
 veretaen in henluydon relse naer Vrank- 
 ryck aen den Coninck racckende den last 
 hen gegeven op mijne heeren de Generale 
 Stolen." (Royal Archives at the Hague, 
 MS.> 
 
 * Stafford to Walsingham, 29th Aug. 
 1584, in Murdln, ii. 419. 420. 
 
 ' ' Lettre des Deputes en France au 
 Prince d'Oranges du 16 Juillet, 1584,' 
 (Hague Archives, MS.) This letter to 
 William the Silent was written six days 
 after his death. 
 
 
54 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. II. 
 
 stripling. He received from them accordingly an ample 
 memoir to be laid before bis Majesty, and departed by 
 the post the same night. Then they waited ten days 
 longer, concealed as if they had been thieves or spies, 
 rather than the representatives of a friendly power, on 
 a more than friendly errand. ^ 
 
 At last, on the 24th of July, after the deputies had 
 
 24th July been thus shut up a whole month. Secretary 
 
 1584. Brulart himself arrived from Fontainebleau. » 
 
 lie stated that the King sent his royal thanks to the 
 
 States for the offer which they had made him, and to 
 
 the deputies in particular for taking the trouble of so 
 
 long a journey; but that he did not find his realm in 
 
 condition to undertake a foreign war so inopportunely. 
 
 In every other regard, his Majesty offered the States 
 
 "all possible favours and pleasures." « 
 
 Certainly, after having been thus kept in prison for 
 a month, the ambassadors had small cause to be con- 
 tented with this very cold communication. To bo 
 forbidden the royal presence, and to be turned out of 
 the country without even an official and accredited 
 answer to a communication in which they had offered 
 the sovereignty of their fatherland, was not flattering 
 to their dignity. " We little thought," said they to 
 Brulart,, after a brief consultation among themselves, 
 *'to receive such a reply as this. It displeases us 
 infinitely that his Majesty will not do us the honour to 
 grant us an audience. We must take the liberty of 
 saying, that 'tis treating the States, our masters, with 
 too much contempt. W ho ever heard before of refusing 
 audience to public personages? Kings often grant 
 audience to mere letter-carriers. Even the King of 
 Spain never refused a hearing to the deputies from the 
 Netherlands when they came to Spain to complain of 
 his own government. The States General have sent 
 envoys to many other kings and princes, and they have 
 instantly granted audience in every case. His Majesty, 
 too, has been very ill-informed of the contracts which 
 we formerly made with the Duke of Anjou, and therefore 
 
 * MS. letter in Hagne Archives, before Jestedu Roy de France, en I'assemblde 
 
 c»t«l- des diets Estats k Delft, le 5 Aofist, 
 
 2 'Rapport falct par Noel de Caron, 1584.' (Hague Archives. MS.) 
 
 alant est^ depute de la part de Mes- » Report of Noel de Caron,' MS. befor* 
 
 seigneurs les Etats generaux vers la Ma- cited. 
 
 1584. DES PRUNEAUX ENVOY TO THE NETHERLANDS. 55 
 
 a personal interview is the more necessary." * As the 
 envoys were obstinate on the point of Paris, Brulart 
 said " that the King, although he should himself be at 
 Lyons, would not prevent any one from going to the 
 capital on his own private affairs ; but would imques- 
 tionably take it very ill if they should visit that city in 
 a public manner, and as deputies." * 
 
 Des Pruneaux professed himself "very grievous at 
 this result, and desirous of a hundred deaths in conse- 
 quence." • 
 
 They stated that they should be ready within a month 
 to bring an army of 3000 horse and 13,000 foot into the 
 field for the relief of Ghent, besides their military- 
 operations against Zutphen; and that the enemy had 
 recently been ignominiously defeated in his attack 
 upon Fort Lillo, and had lost 2000 of his best soldiers.* 
 
 Here were encouraging facts ; and it certainly was 
 worth the while of the French sovereign to pause a 
 moment before rejecting, without a hearing, the offer of 
 such powerful and conveniently-situated Provinces. 
 
 Des Pruneaux, a man of probity and earnestness, but 
 perhaps of insufficient ability to deal with such grave 
 matters as now fell almost entirely upon his shoulders,* 
 soon afterwards obtained audience of the King. Being 
 most sincerely in favour of the annexation of the Nether- 
 lands to France, and feeling that now or never was the 
 opportunity of bringing it about, he persuaded the King 
 to send him back to the Provinces, in order to continue 
 the negotiation directly with the States General. The 
 timidity and procrastination of the court could be over- 
 come no further. 
 
 The two Dutch envoys, who had stolen secretly to 
 Paris, were indulged in a most barren and unmeaning 
 interview with the Queen-Mother. Before their depar- 
 ture from France, however, they had the advantange of 
 much conversation with leading members of the royal 
 council, of the parliaments of Paris and Eouen, and also 
 with various persons professing the reformed religion. 
 They endeavoured thus to inform themselves, as well as 
 
 1 Report of Noel de Caron, MS. before 
 cited. 
 
 a Ibid. 
 
 » " Dont le diet Sr. des Epruneaux 
 CBtoit en eon partlculler fort dolcnt, et 
 
 se soubhaita cent fois estre mort," tc. 
 (MS. Report before cited.) 
 
 ♦ MS. letter to the States-General be- 
 fore cltfd. 
 
 4 De Thou, ix. 251. 
 
 !i 
 
 ! 
 
56 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. II. 
 
 1584. 
 
 RELIGIOUS TOLERATION. 
 
 57 
 
 they could why the King made so much difficulty in 
 accepting their propositions, and whether, and by what 
 means his Majesty could be induced to make war in 
 thmr behalf upon the King of Spain.* 
 
 .. ^ \i!^T ^^^^™^e<i' that, sJioidd Holland and ZeeJand 
 unite mth the rest of tlie Netherlands, the King *' without 
 any doubt would undertake the cause most earnestly » 
 His councillors, also-even those who had been most 
 active m dissuading his Majesty from such a policy— 
 would then be unanimous in supporting the annexation 
 ot the 1 rovinees and the war with Spain. In such a 
 
 7^.« 3'?/ ' r *^ *^^ Pi^^r* ^««i«tance of Holland and 
 Zeeland, the King would have little difficulty, within a 
 
 274.?^ 1'"^!' '"^ m^^r^ ^''^^^ "^^S^^ Spaniard out of 
 the Netherlands. To further this end, many leading 
 personages in France avowed to the envoys their de- 
 temmation "to venture their lives and their fortunes, 
 
 court " '''^''''''' ^^""^ ^^^y VO^^^^^ at 
 
 The same persons expressed their conviction that the 
 King, once satisfied by the Provinces as to conditions 
 befn'Tr'' TT^^ <^^-^riu\\y go into the war, withou? 
 being deterred by any apprehension as to the power of 
 shm hi otr^' however, fitting that each Province 
 BhouH chaffer as little as possible about details, but 
 should give his Majesty every reasonable advantage 
 They should remember that they were dealing with "a 
 great, powerful monarch, who was putting hit realm in 
 jeopardy, and not with a Duke of Anjou, who had ev^r4 
 thing to gam and nothing to lose " » ^ 
 
 All the Huguenots with whom the envoys conversed 
 
 lroluZ''%T^^''- ^^"^^ '^' Kingbe oTce 
 t3n k^ ^'^' ^ n"""^'^^ *^^ Netherlanfi his pro- 
 tection there was not the least fear but that he would 
 keepjus word. He would use all the means wTtlT^s 
 power ; " yea, he would fcike the crown from his head '' 
 
 a war with so powerful a sovereign, having once nrc^ 
 
 ^ri L^''\^' "Tl' '^^P ^^« ^^^g- tofhe utm'ost 
 /o» he was a King of his word" and had never broken 
 
 » • Verhael,' *c.. MS. before cited. 
 
 ■ MouiUerie and Aiseliere, MS. before dted. 
 
 and would never break his faith with those of the 
 reformed religion.' 
 
 Thus spoke the leading Huguenots of France, in con- 
 fidential communication with the Netherland envoys, 
 not many months before the famous edict of extermi- 
 nation published at Nemours. 
 
 At that moment the refoimers were full of confidence ; 
 not foreseeing the long procession of battles and siepjes 
 which was soon to sweep through the land. Notwith- 
 standing the urgency of the Papists for their extirpation, 
 they extolled loudly the liberty of religious worship 
 which Calvinists, as well as Catholics, were enjoying in 
 France, and pointed to the fact that the adherents of 
 both religions were well received at court, and that they 
 shared equally in offices of trust and dignity throughout 
 the kingdom.' 
 
 The Netherland envoys themselves bore testimony to 
 the undisturbed tranquillity and harmony in which the 
 professors of both religions were living and worshiping 
 side by side *' without reproach or quarrel " in all the 
 great cities which they had visited. They expressed 
 the conviction that the same toleration would be 
 extended to all the Provinces when under French 
 dominion ; and, so far as their ancient constitutions and 
 privileges were concerned, they were assured that the 
 King of France would respect and maintain them with 
 as much fidelity as the States could possibly desire.' 
 
 Des Pruneaux, accompanied by the two States' envoys, 
 departed forthwith for the Netherlands. On the 24th 
 August, 1584, he delivered a discourse before 24th Aug. 
 the States General, in which he disclosed, in ^^^*- 
 very general terms, the expectations of Henry III., and 
 intimated very clearly that the different Provinces were 
 
 * " Dns Vcrclarende olck beznnder die 
 van do Religle, die wy gesproken hebben, 
 dat zoo verre wy coustcn den Coninck 
 loo verre bringen dat hy ons beloofde te 
 beschermen, wy niet en dorfden vreesen 
 oft hy en zoudt ons houden ende zoude 
 gebruyckcn alle zyne middelen, jae die 
 crone van zynen hoofde, seggende dat hoe 
 wel hy zeer qualycken es, cm totter oir- 
 looge te brengen-nict zonder oirzaecke, 
 midd het es tegen eenen alzulcken mach< 
 tigen Prince, dat hebbende belooft ona te 
 
 helpen.dat hy nyet laten en zoude tzelfde 
 int neerste te houden, want hy es (zoo 
 zy ons verclaerden) eenen Coninck van 
 zynen woorde zyn beloofte houdende, 
 ende zelver die van der rellgie scyden 
 ons, dat hy hen nemmermccr en badde 
 gt'failleert van tgene hy hen belooft 
 hadde." (Motiillerle and Assellers, Ver- 
 hael. kc, MS. before cited.) 
 
 2 Ibid. 
 
 » IWd. 
 
 s 
 
 If 
 
 
58 
 
 THE UKITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. II. 
 
 1584. 
 
 PROPOSED ANNEXATION TO FRANCE. 
 
 59 
 
 to lose no time in making an unconditional offer to that 
 monarch. With regard to Holland and Zeeland he 
 observed that he was provided with a special commission 
 to those Estates.' 
 
 It was not long before one Province after the other 
 came to the conclusion to offer the sovereignty to the 
 King without written conditions, but with a general 
 understanding that their religious freedom and their 
 ancient constitutions were to be sacredly respected. 
 Meantime, Des Pruneaux made his appejirance in Hol- 
 land and Zeeland, and declared the King's intentions of 
 espousing the cause of the States, and of accepting the 
 sovereignty of all the Provinces. He distinctly observed, 
 however, that it was as sovereign, not as protector, that 
 his Majesty must be recognised in Holland and Zeeland, 
 as well as in the rest of the country. 
 
 Upon this grave question there was much debate and 
 much difference of opinion. Holland and Zeeland had 
 never contemplated the possibility of accepting any 
 foreign sovereignty, and the opponents of the present 
 scheme were loud and angry, but very reasonable in 
 their remarks." 
 
 The French, they said, were no respecters of privileges 
 nor of persons. The Duke of Anjou had deceived ^V il- 
 liam of Orange and betrayed the Provinces. Could 
 they hope to see farther than that wisest and most 
 experienced prince? Had not the stout hearts of the 
 Antwerp burghers proved a stronger defence to Bra- 
 bant liberties than the "joyous entry " on the dread day 
 of the " French fury," it would have fared ill then and 
 for ever with the cause of freedom and religion in the 
 Netherlands. The King of France was a Papist, a Je- 
 suit. He was incapable of keeping his pledges. Should 
 they make the arrangement now proposed, and confer the 
 sovereignty upon him, he would forthwith make peace 
 with Spain, and transfer the Provinces back to that 
 crown in exchange for the duchy of Milan, which France 
 had ever coveted. The Netherlands, after a quarter of 
 a century of fighting in defence of their hearths and 
 altars, would find themselves handed over again, bound 
 
 1 Wagenaar. vt!l. 31 teq. 
 
 * Wagenaar, Bor, xlx. 482. 
 
 and fettered, to the tender mercies of the Spanish Inqui- 
 sition.^ 
 
 The Kings of France and of Spain always acted in con- 
 cert, for religion was the most potent of bonds. W itness 
 the sacrifice of thousands of French soldiers to Alva by 
 their own sovereign at Mens, witness the fate of Genlis, 
 witness the bloody night of St. Bartholomew, witness 
 the Antwerp fury. Men cited and relied upon the ad- 
 vice of ^Villiam of Orange as to this negotiation with 
 France. But Orange never dreamed of going so far 
 as now proposed. He was ever careful to keep the 
 Provinces of Holland and Zeeland safe from every fo- 
 reign master. That spot was to be holy ground. Not 
 out of personal ambition — God forbid that they should 
 accuse his memory of any such impurity — but because 
 he wished one safe refuge for the spirit of freedom. 
 
 Many years long they had held out by land and sea 
 against the Spaniards, and should they now, because this 
 Des Pruneaux shrugged his shoulders, be so alarmed as 
 to open the door to the same Spaniard wearing the dis- 
 guise of a Frenchman ? * 
 
 Prince Maurice also made a brief representation to 
 the States' Assembly of Holland, in which, without 
 distinctly opposing the negotiation with France, he 
 warned them not to proceed too hastily with so giave a 
 matter. He reminded them how far they had gone in 
 the presentation of the sovereignty to his late father, and 
 requested them, in their dealings with France, not to 
 forget his interests and those of his family. He reminded 
 them of the position of that family, overladen with debt 
 contracted in their service alone. He concluded by 
 offering most affectionately his service in any way in 
 which he, young and inexperienced as he knew himself 
 to be, might be thought useful ; as he was long since 
 resolved to devote his life to the welfare of his coun- 
 
 » tiy.' 
 
 These passionate appeals were answered with equal 
 vehemence by those who had made up their minds to 
 
 » • Vertoog van Gotida tegen den handel optrok. dermaate verbaazen, dat wy hem 
 
 met tVankryk,' apud Bor. il. 489 teq.; zelv' als een Franschman vermomd. gin- 
 
 Wagenaar. vill, 41 jc^. gen Inhaalen?" (Ibid.) 
 
 2 "En zou ons nu 't genigt van zyne a Bor, li. (xix.) 488 $eq.; Wagenaar 
 
 aankomst, en dat Pruneaux de schouders vlii. 39, 40. 
 
 I! 
 
60 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. II. 
 
 1584. 
 
 SUCCESS OF DES PRUNEAUX. 
 
 61 
 
 ^ii 
 
 11/ 
 
 ' \ 
 
 try the chances of the French sovereignty. Des rnineaux, 
 meanwhile, was travelling from province to province, 
 and from city to city, using the arguments which have 
 already been sufficiently indicated, and urging a speedy 
 compliance with the French King's propositions. At 
 the same time, in accordance with his instructions, he 
 was very cautious to confine himself to generalities, and 
 to avoid hampering his royal master with the restric- 
 tions which had proved so irksome to the Duke of 
 Anjou. 
 
 *' The States General demanded a copy of my speech," 
 be wrote the day after that harangue had been delivered, 
 
 25th Aug. "hut I only gave them a brief outline extend- 
 ^^^*- ing myself as little as I possibly could, accord- 
 ing to the intention and command of your Majesty. 
 When I got here I found them without hope of our 
 assistance, and terribly agitated by the partizans of 
 Spain. There was some danger of their going over in 
 a panic to the enemy. They are now much changed 
 again, and the Spanish partizans are beginning to lose 
 their tongues. I invite them, if they intend to address 
 your Majesty, to proceed as they ought towards a veri- 
 tably grand monarch, without hunting up any of their 
 old quibbles, or reservations of provinces, or anything 
 else which could inspire suspicion. I have sent into 
 Gelderland and Friesland^ for 1 find I must stay here in 
 Holland and Zeeland m3'self. These two Provinces are 
 the gates and rampaiis through which we must enter. 
 'Tis, in my opinion, what could be called superb, to com- 
 mand all the sea, thus subject to the crown of France. 
 And France, too, with assistance of this country, will 
 command the land as well. They are much astonished 
 here, however, that I communicate nothing of the inten- 
 tion of your Majesty. They say that if your Majesty 
 does not accept this offer of their country, your Majesty 
 puts the rope around their necks." * 
 
 The French envoy was more and more struck with 
 the brilliancy of the prize offered to his master. " IS 
 the King gets these Provinces," said he to Catherine, 
 " 'twill be the most splendid inheritance which prince 
 has ever conquered."* 
 
 In a very few weeks the assiduity of the envoy and of 
 
 the French party was successful. All the other Pro- 
 vinces had very soon repeated the offer which they had 
 previously made through Asseliers and La Mouillerie. 
 By the beginning of October the opposition of Holland 
 was vanquished. The Estates of that Province — three 
 cities excepted, however — determined *' to request Eng- 
 land and France to assume a joint protectorate over the 
 Netherlands. In case the King of France should refuse 
 this proposition, they were then ready to receive him as 
 prince and master, with knowledge and consent of the 
 Queen of England, and on such conditions as the United 
 States should approve." * 
 
 Immediately afterwards the General Assembly of all 
 the States determined to offer the sovereignty to King 
 Henry on conditions to be afteruxirds settled.^ 
 
 Des Pruneaux, thus triumphant, received a gold chain 
 of the value of two thousand florins, and departed before 
 the end of October for France.* 
 
 The departure of the solemn embassy to that country, 
 for the purpose of offering the sovereignty to the King, 
 was delayed till the beginning of January. Meantime 
 it is necessary to cast a glance at the position of England 
 in relation to these important transactions. 
 
 * Wagenaar, viil. 49. 
 
 « Ibid, ; Bor, IL 495, Hoofd, xxl. 945. 
 
 a Wagenaar, vlll. 61; 'ResoL IIolL, 
 24th OcU 1584, bl. 651. 
 
 > Oroen v. Prinsterer, * ArchiT"** ' ic. \. 1-3. 
 
 « Ihtd.. I A. 
 
 
62 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. HI. 
 
 
 
 li'^s 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Policy of England — Schemes of the Pretender of Portugal — Hesitation of the 
 French Court — Secret WiBhes of France — Contradictory Views as to the 
 Opinions of Netherlanders — Thtlr Love for England and Elizabeth — lYominent 
 Statt'**men of the Provinces — Koger Williams the Welshman — Views of Wal- 
 Bingham, Burghley, and the Queen — An Embassy to Holland decided upon — 
 Davison at the Hague— Cautious and Secret Measures of Burghley — Consequent 
 Dissatisfaction of Walsingham — English and Dutch Suspicion of France — 
 Increasing Affection of Holland for England. 
 
 The policy of England towards the Provinces had been 
 somewhat hesitating, but it had not been disloyal. It 
 was almost inevitable that there should be timidity in 
 the councils of Elizabeth, when so grave a question as 
 that of confronting the vast power of Spain was forcing 
 itself day by day more distinctly upon the consideration 
 of herself and her statesmen. It was very clear, now 
 that Orange was dead, that some new and decided step 
 would be taken. Elizabeth was in favour of combined 
 action by the French and English governments, in 
 behalf of the Netherlands — a joint protectorate of the 
 Provinces, until such time as adequate concessions on 
 the religious question could be obtained from Spain. 
 She was unwilling to plunge into the peril and expense 
 of a w^ar with the strongest power in the world. She 
 disliked the necessity under which she should be placed 
 of making repeated applications to her parliament, and 
 of thus fostering the political importance of the Com- 
 mons ; she was reluctant to encourage rebellious sub- 
 jects in another land, however just the cause of their 
 revolt. She felt herself vulnerable in Ireland and on 
 the Scottish border. Nevertheless, the Spanish power 
 was becoming so preponderant, that, if the Netherlands 
 were conquered, she could never feel a moment's se- 
 curity within her own territory. If the Provinces were 
 annexed to France, on the other hand, she could not 
 contemplate with complacency the increased power 
 thus placed in the hands of the treacherous and Jesuiti- 
 cal house of Valois. 
 The path of the Queen was thickly strewed with 
 
 1584. 
 
 DON BERNARDINO DE MENDOZA. 
 
 63 
 
 peril : her advisers were shrewd, far-seeing, patriotic, 
 but some of them were perhaps over-cautious. The 
 time had, however, arrived when the danger was to be 
 faced, if the whole balance of power in Europe were 
 not to come to an end, and weak states, like England 
 and the Netherlands, to submit to the tyranny of an 
 overwhelming absolutism. The instinct of the English 
 sovereign, of English statesmen, of the English nation, 
 taught them that the cause of the Netherlands was their 
 own. Nevertheless, they were inclined to look on yet 
 a little longer, although the part of spectator had be- 
 come an impossible one. The policy of the English 
 government was not treacherous, although it was timid. 
 That of the French court was both the one and the 
 other, and it would have been better both for England 
 and the I^rovinces, had they more justly appreciated 
 the character of Catherine de' Medici and her son. 
 
 The first covert negotiations between Henry and the 
 States had caused much anxiety among the foreign 
 envoys in France. Don Bernardino de Mendoza, who 
 had recently returned from Spain, after his compulsory 
 retreat from his post of English ambassador, was now 
 established in Paris, as representative of Philip. He 
 succeeded Tassis — a Netherlander by birth, and one ot 
 the ablest diplomatists in the Spanish service — and his 
 house soon became the focus of intrigue against the 
 government to which he was accredited — the very head- 
 quarters of the League. His salary was large, his way 
 of living magnificent, his insolence intolerable. 
 
 ** Tassis is gone to the Netherlands," wrote envoy 
 Busbecq to the Emperor, " and thence is to proceed to 
 Spain. Don Bernardino has arrived in his place. If it 
 be the duty of a good ambassador to expend largely, it 
 would be difficult to find a better one than he ; for they 
 say 'tis his intention to spend sixteen thousand dollars 
 yearly in his embassy. 1 would that all things were in 
 correspondence, and that he were not in other respects 
 so inferior to Tassis." ^ 
 
 It is, however, very certain that Mendoza was not 
 only a brave soldier, but a man of very considerable 
 capacity in civil affairs, although his inordinate arro- 
 gance interfered most seriously with his skill as a nego- 
 
 » Busbecqul. • Eplst. adlRud.' II. p. 132. 
 
64 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. III. 
 
 1584. 
 
 HESITATION OF THE FRENCH COURT. 
 
 §5 
 
 ii 
 
 4 
 
 '< 
 
 M 
 
 tiator. He was, of course, watching with much fierce- 
 ness the progress of these underhand proceedings be- 
 tween the French court and the rebellious subjects of his 
 master, and using threats and expostulations in great pro- 
 fusion. " Mucio," too, the great stipendiary of Philip, 
 was becoming daily more dangerous, and the adherents 
 of the League were multiplying with great celerity. 
 
 The pretender of Portugal, Don Antonio, prior of 
 Crato, was also in Paris ; and it was the policy of both 
 the French and the English governments to protect his 
 person, and to make use of him as a rod over the head 
 of Philip. Having escaped, after the most severe suf- 
 ferings, in the mountains of Spain, where he had been 
 tracked like a wild beast, with a price of thirty thou- 
 sand crowns placed upon his head, he was now most 
 anxious to stir the governments of Europe into espousing 
 his cause, and into attacking Spain through the re- 
 cently acquired kingdom of Portugal. Meantime, he 
 was very desirous of some active employment, to keep 
 himself from starving, and conceived the notion that it 
 would be an excellent thing for the Netherlands and 
 himself, were he to make good to them the loss of 
 William the Silent. 
 
 '* Don Antonio," wrote Stafford, " made a motion to 
 me yesterday, to move her Majesty, that now upon the 
 Prince of Orange's death, as it is a necessary thing for 
 them to have a governor and head, and him to be at her 
 Majesty's devotion, if her Majesty would be at the means 
 to work it for him, she should be assured nobody should 
 be more faithfully tied in devotion to her than he. 
 Truly you would pity the poor man's case, who is 
 almost next door to starving in effect."* 
 
 A starving condition being, however, not the only 
 requisite in a governor and head to replace the Prince 
 of Orange, nothing came of this motion. Don Antonio 
 remained in Paris, in a pitiable plight, and very much 
 environed by dangers ; for the Duke of Guise and his 
 brother had undertaken to deliver him into the hands 
 of Philip the Second, or those of his ministers, before 
 the feast of St. John of the coming year. Fifty thou- 
 sand dollars were to be the reward of this piece of work, 
 combined with other services ; " and the sooner they 
 
 * StafiFord to Walsinghom, Murdin, ii. 412-415. 
 
 set about it the better," said Philip, writing a few 
 months later, *' for the longer they delay it, the less 
 easy they will find it." * 
 
 The money was never earned, however, and mean- 
 time Don Antonio made himself as useful as he could, 
 in picking up information for Sir Edward Stafford and 
 the other opponents of Spanish policy in Paris. 
 
 The English envoy was much embarrassed by the 
 position of affairs. He felt sure that the French mo- 
 narch would never dare to enter the lists against the 
 I^ing of Spain, yet he was accurately informed of the 
 secret negotiations with the Netherlands, while in the 
 dark as to the ultimate intentions of his own govern- 
 ment. 
 
 " I was never set to school so much," he wrote 
 to Walsingham (27th July, 1584), ♦' as I have been 
 to decipher the cause of the deputies of the Low 
 Countries coming hither, the offers that they made 
 the King here, and the King's manner of dealing with 
 them." « 
 
 He expressed great jealousy at the mystery which 
 enveloped the whole transaction ; and much annoyance 
 with Noel de Caron, who "kept very secret, and was 
 angry at the motion," when he endeavoured to discover 
 the business in which they were engaged. Yet he had 
 the magnanimity to request Walsingham not to mention 
 the fact to the Queen, lest she should be thereby pre- 
 judiced against the States. 
 
 " For my part," said he, "I would be glad in any- 
 thing to further them, rather than to hinder them — 
 though they do not deserve it — yet for the good the 
 helping them at this time may bring ourselves." * 
 
 Meantime, the deputies went away from France, and 
 the King went to Lyons, where he had hoped to meet 
 both the Duke of Savoy and the King of Navarre. But 
 Joyeuse, who had been received at Chambery with 
 *' great triumphs and tourneys," brought back only a 
 broken wrist, without bringing the Duke of Savoy ; that 
 potentate sending word that the '' King of Spain had 
 done him the honour to give him his daughter, and that 
 
 » Philip II. to J. B. Tassis, 15 and 28 March, 1685. (Aithivo general de SimancM. 
 Negoclado de Estado. Flaiides. MS.) 
 * Murdin, ubi supra. * Ibid. 
 
 VOL. 1. F 
 
I* 
 
 1 
 
 I'll! 
 
 m 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. III. 
 
 it was not fit for him to do anything that might bring 
 jealousy." ' 
 
 Henry of Navarre also, as we have seen, declined the 
 invitation sent him, M. de Segur not feeling disposed 
 for ihe sudden flight out of window suggested by 
 Agrippa D'Aubign6 ; so that, on the whole, the King 
 and his mother, with all the court, returned from Lyons 
 in marvellous ill humour. 
 
 " The King storms greatly," said Stafford, ** and is in 
 a great dump." * It was less practicable than ever to 
 discover the intentions of the government ; for although 
 it was now very certain that active exertions were 
 making by Des Pruneaux in the Provinces, it was not 
 believed by the most sagacious that a serious resolution 
 against Spain had been taken in France. There was 
 even a talk of a double matrimonial alliance, at that 
 very moment, between the two courts. 
 
 *' It is for certain here said," wrote Stafford, '* that the 
 King of Spain doth presently marry the dowager of 
 France, and 'tis thought that, if the King of Spain 
 marry, he will not live a year. AVhensoever the mar- 
 riage be," added the envoy, " I would to God the effect 
 were true, for if it be not by some such handy- work of 
 God, I am afraid things will not go so well as I could 
 wish." • 
 
 There was a lull on the surface of affairs, and it was 
 not easy to sound the depths of unseen combinations and 
 intrigues. There was also considerable delay in the 
 appointment and the arrival of the new deputies from 
 the Netherlands : and Stafford was as doubtful as ever 
 as to the intentions of his own government. 
 
 '' They look daily here for the States," he wrote to 
 Wakingham (29th Dec. 1584), "and I pray that I may 
 hear from you, as soon as you may, what course I shall 
 take when they be here, either hot or cold or lukewarm 
 in the matter, and in what sort I shall behave myself. 
 Some badly affected have gone about to put into the 
 Kings head that they never meant to offer the sove- 
 reignty, which, though the King be not thoroughly 
 pei*suaded of, yet so much is won by this means that 
 the king hearkeneth to see the * end, and then to believe 
 us he seeth cause, and in the mean time to speak no 
 
 1584. 
 
 VALUE OF HOLLAND AND ZEELAND. 
 
 67 
 
 more of any such matter than if it had never been 
 moved." * 
 
 While his Majesty was thus hearkening in order to 
 see more, according to Sir Edward's somewhat Hiber- 
 nian mode of expressing himself, and keeping silent 
 that he might see the better, it was more difficult than 
 ever for the envoy to know what course to pursue. 
 Some persons went so far as to suggest that the whole 
 negotiation was a mere phantasmagoria devised by 
 Queen Elizabeth— her purpose being to breed a quarrel 
 between Henry and Philip for her own benefit ; and 
 " then, seeing them together by the ears, as her accus- 
 tomed manner was, to let them go alone, and sit still 
 to look on." * 
 
 The King did not appear to be much affected by these 
 msmuations against Elizabeth; but the doubt and the 
 delay were very harassing. »' I would to God," wrote 
 the English envoy, " that if the States mean to do any- 
 thing here with the King, and if her Majesty and the 
 council think it fit, they would delay no time, but go 
 roundly either to an agreement or to a breach with the 
 King. Otherwise, as the matter now sleepeth, so it 
 will die, for the King must be taken in his humour 
 when he begins to nibble at any bait, for else he wiU 
 come away, and never bite a full bite while he liveth " * 
 
 There is no doubt that the bait at which Henry 
 nibbled with much avidity was the maritime part of 
 the N etherlands. Holland and Zeeland in the posses- 
 sion of either England or Spain, was a perpetual incon- 
 venience to France. The King, or rather the Queen- 
 Mother and her advisers— for Henry himself hardly 
 indulged in any profound reflections on state-affairs,— 
 desired and had, made a nine qua mn of those Provinces 
 It had been the French policy, from the beginning, to 
 delay matters, in order to make the States feel the peril 
 of their position to the full. 
 
 "The King, differing and temporising," wrote Herle 
 to the Queen, - would have them fall into that necessity 
 and danger, as that they should offer unto him simply 
 the possession of all their estates. Otherwise, they were 
 to see, as in a glass, their evident and hasty min.'' * 
 
 1 Murdin. IL 419, 420. 
 
 •Ibid. 
 
 » Ibid. 
 
 » Murdin, il. 431. 2 ibij, 
 
 * Herle to Queen Elizabttli. MS. before cited. 
 
 Ibid. 
 
 p2 
 
 iji' 
 
68 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. HI, 
 
 1584. 
 
 CHARACTER OF COUNT HOHENLO. 
 
 69 
 
 'f 
 
 h 
 
 Even before the death of Orange, Henry had been 
 determined, if possible, to obtain possession of the 
 island of Walcheren, which controlled the whole coun- 
 try. ''To give him that," said Herle, "would be to 
 turn the hot end of the poker towards themselves, and 
 put the cold part in the King's hand.' He had accord- 
 ingly made a secret oflfer to \V illiam of Orange, through 
 the Princess, of two millions of livres in ready money, 
 or, if he preferred it, one hundred thousand livres 
 yearly ef perpetual inheritance, if he would secure to 
 him ^e island of Walcheren. In that case he promised 
 to declare war upon the King of Spain, to confirm to the 
 States their privileges, and to guarantee to the Prince 
 the earldoms of Holland and Zeeland, with all his other 
 lands and titles." * 
 
 It is superfluous to say that such offers were only 
 regarded by the Prince as an affront. It was, however, 
 so necessary, in his opinion, to maintain the cause of 
 the refonned churches in Fmnce, and to keep up the 
 antagonism between that country and Spain, that the 
 Prench policy was not abandoned, although the court 
 was always held in suspicion. 
 
 But on the death of William, there was a strong 
 reaction against France and in favour of England. Paul 
 Buys, one of tlie ablest statesmen of the Netherlands, 
 Advocate of Holland, and a confidential friend of \V il- 
 liam the Silent up to the time of his death, now became 
 the leader of the English party, and employed his most 
 
 > Tlerle to Quwn Elizabeth, MS. before 
 cited. 
 
 * "The French King's inward inten- 
 tion being (llst-overed in some mmnor to 
 them, and his faith holden suspected, 
 Paul Buys at Dellt to tiiis effect willed 
 me under secn-cy and lussurance to say 
 imto your Mnjesty from him, that the 
 gald French King bad two months since 
 fioundfd the Prince of Orange by the 
 IMncess his wife, that. In case he could 
 be content to put into his hands the 
 island of Walcheren. the said King would 
 immediately dt-clare ^^la his enemy, 
 confirm to the State's thoir privileges, and 
 unto the Prince of Orange the earldoms 
 of Holland and Z'^^land, with all his 
 other laiida and titleii, and give him over 
 
 and above 100,000 A* yearly of perpetual 
 Inherltitnce, well assured to him and his, 
 where he would choose the same ; ur, if 
 he thought better, he shoiild have In 
 ready money 2,000.000 A* to bestow at 
 bis pleasure. 
 
 " But, saith Buys (his scope b« ing 
 once seen), he shall never be trusted hy 
 us, what hazard and extremity soever we 
 run into; yet he excused the Prince that 
 he was not French in mind, but for ne- 
 cessity and connivency, to conserve the 
 churches In France, and to breed Jealousy 
 and pique between those great kings*, 
 whereof the defence and relief of those 
 countries and religion might ensue and 
 b*- continm-d." (Herle to q. Elizabeth, 
 MS. ubi tup.) 
 
 1 
 
 strenuous efforts against the French treaty — having 
 " seen the scope of that court." * 
 
 With regard to the other leading personages, there was 
 a strong inclination in favour of Queen Elizabeth, whose 
 commanding character inspired great respect. At the 
 same time wanner sentiments of adhesion seem to have 
 been expressed towards the French court, by the same 
 individuals, than the mere language of compliment 
 justified. 
 
 Thus, the widowed Princess of Orange was described 
 by Des Pruneaux to his sovereign as "very desolate, 
 but nevertheless doing all in her power to advance his 
 interests ; the Count Maurice, of gentle hopes, as also 
 most desirous of remaining his Majesty's humble ser- 
 vant ; while Elector Tnichsess was said to be employing 
 himself, in the same cause, with veiy great affection." * 
 
 A French statesman resident in the Provinces, whose 
 name has not been preserved, but who was evidently on 
 intimate terms with many eminent Netherlandors, de- 
 clared that Maurice, " who had a mind entirely French, 
 deplored infinitely the misfortunes of France, and 
 regiotted that all the Provinces could not be annexed 
 to so fair a kingdom. I do assure you," he added, " that 
 he is in no wise English." * 
 
 Of Count Hohenlo, general-in-chief of the States' army 
 under Prince Maurice, and afterwards his brother in-law, 
 the same gentleman spoke with even greater confidence. 
 " Count d'Oloc," said he (for by that ridiculous trans- 
 formation of his name the German general was known 
 to French and English), "with whom 1 have passed 
 three weeks on board the fleet of the States, is now 
 wholly French, and does not love the English at all. 
 The very first time I saw him, he protested twice or 
 thrice, in presence of members of the States General and 
 of the state-council, that if he had no Frenchmen he 
 could never cany on the war. He made more account, 
 he said, of two thousand French than of six thousand 
 others, English or Germans."* 
 
 Yet all tliese distinguished persons — the widowed 
 Princess of Omnge, Count Maurice, ex-elector Truchsess, 
 Count Hohenlo — were described to Queen Elizabeth by 
 
 * Wag^'naar, vlil. 50, 
 
 3 ibid- 15. 
 
 ' Groen v- lYinsterer, ' Archives,' Sec, i. 2, 3. 
 
 * ibid. 
 
70 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. III< 
 
 her confidential agent, then employed in the Provinces, 
 as entirely at that sovereign's devotion. 
 
 "Count Maurice holds nothing of the French, nor 
 esteems them," said Herle, " but humbly desired me to 
 signify unto your Majesty that he had in his mind and 
 determination faithfully vowed his sei'\'ice to your 
 Majesty, which should be continued in his actions with 
 all duty, and sealed witli his blood ; for he knew how 
 much his father and the cause were beholden ever to 
 3'our Highness's goodness." ' 
 
 The Trincess, together with her sister-in-law Countess 
 Schwartzenburg, and the young daughters of the late 
 Prince, were described on the same occasion "as recom- 
 mending their service unto her Majesty with a most 
 tender affection, as to a lady of all ladies." " Especially," 
 said Ilerle, " did the two Princesses in most humble and 
 wise sort, express a certain fervent devotion towards 
 your Majesty."* 
 
 Elector I'mchsess was spoken of as " a prince well 
 qualified and greatly devoted to her Majesty ; who, after 
 many grave and sincere words had of her Majesty's 
 virtue, calling her la fiUe unique de Dieu, and la bien 
 heureuse Princesse, desired of God that he might do her 
 service as she merited." " 
 
 And, finally, Count Hollock— who seemed to "be 
 reformed in sundry things, if it hold" (a delicate 
 allusion to the Count's propensity for strong potations), 
 was siiid " to desir§ humbly to be known for one that 
 would obey the commandment of her Majesty more than 
 of any earthly prince living besides."* 
 
 There can be no doubt that there was a strong party 
 in favour of an appeal to England rather than to France. 
 The ^etherlanders were too shrewd a people not to 
 recognise the ditlbrcnce between the king of a great 
 realm who painted his face and wore satin petticoats, 
 and ilia woman who entertained ambassjidors, eacli in 
 his own language, on gravest affairs of state, who 
 matched in her wit and wisdom the deepest or the most 
 sparkling intellects of her council, who made extempo- 
 raneous Latin orations to her universities, and who rode 
 on horseback among her generals along the lines of her 
 
 ' Letter ol Herle, before cited. 
 
 2 Ibid. 
 
 lbtd« 
 
 « Ibid. 
 
 1584. FEELING IN FAVOUR OF ENGLISH ALLIANCE. 71 
 
 troops in battle-array, and yet was only the unmarried 
 queen of a petty and turbulent state. 
 
 " The reverend respect that is borne to your Majesty 
 throughout these countries is great," said William 
 Herle. They would have thrown themselves into her 
 arms, heart and soul, had they been cordially extended 
 at that moment of their distress; but she was coy, 
 hesitating, and, for reasons already sufficiently indicated, 
 although not so conclusive as they seemed, disposed to 
 temporize, and to await the issue of the negotiations 
 between the Provinces and France. 
 
 In Holland and Zeeland especially there was an 
 enthusiastic feeling in favour of the English alliance. 
 " They recommend themselves," said Herle, " through- 
 out the country in their consultations and assemblies, 
 as also in their common and private speeches, to the 
 Queen of England's only favour and goodness, whom 
 they call their saviour, and the Princess of greatest per- 
 fection in wisdom and sincerity that ever governed. 
 Kotwithstanding their treaty now on foot by their 
 deputies with France, they are not more disposed to be 
 governed by the French than to be tyrannized over by 
 the Spaniard; concluding it to be alike; and even 
 commufare non sortem sed servifutem.^^ ^ 
 
 Paul Buys was indefatigable in his exertions against 
 the treaty with France, and in stimulating the enthu- 
 siasm for England and Elizabeth. He expressed sincere 
 and unaffected devotion to the Queen on all occasions, 
 and promised that no negotiations should take place, 
 however secret and confidential, that were not laid before 
 her Majesty.* " He has the chief administration among 
 
 » Letter of Herle, before cited. 
 
 Sainte Aldegonde and VilUers favoured 
 the French policy. Sainte Aldegonde 
 was burgomaster of Antwerp, but even 
 In that city, although so many influential 
 persons looked to France, the people 
 generally had more confidence in Eng- 
 land. "The accepting of the French 
 King as prince of these countries," wrote 
 I^e Sieur to Walsinghain, *' is much soupht 
 by some that povom this d ly here ; but 
 In the ears of the common people It 
 soundeth but evil, though the report be 
 here that Holland and Zeeland have al- 
 moet accepted bim. If it would please 
 
 her Miijesty to give ear unto It, she couM 
 have the country cheap enough. Je Juge 
 que sa Majestd auroit bon marche de oe 
 pays." (Ije Sleur to Walsingham, 7 Sept. 
 1584. S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 2 Treslong, too. Admiral of Holland 
 and Zeeland, and Govejnor of Ostend, 
 made no secret of his preference for Kng- 
 land. He avoweii himself publicly her 
 Mijjesty's faithful servant. Entertaining 
 hospitably, at his table in Osf<^nd, Cap- 
 tain Richards and other English officera 
 who had come with troops from Flu^h- 
 ing. he pledged a bumper to the Qneon'ii 
 health, and another to that of Walslng 
 
 I: 
 

 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. HI. 
 
 II I 
 
 f 
 
 the States," said Herle, "and to his credit and dexterity 
 they attribute the despatch of most things. He showed 
 unto me the state of the enemy throughout the Provinces, 
 and of the negotiation in France, whereof he had no 
 opinion at all of success, nor any will of his own part 
 but to please the Prince of Orange in his lifetime." ' 
 
 It will be seen in the sequel whether or not the views 
 «>f this experienced and able statesman were lucid and 
 comprehensive. It will also be seen whether his 
 strenuous exertions in favour of the English alliance 
 were rewarded as bountifully as they dcvserved by those 
 most indebted to him. 
 
 Meantime he was busily employed in making the 
 English government acquainted with the capacity, 
 disposition, and general plans of the Netherlanders. 
 
 "They have certain other things in consultation 
 amongst the States to determine of," wrote Herle, 
 " which they were sworn not to reveal to any, but Buys 
 protested that nothing should pass but to your liking 
 and surety, and the same to be altered and disposed as 
 should seem good to your Highness's own authority ; 
 affirming to me sincerely that Holland and Zeeland, 
 with the rest of the Provinces, for the estimation they 
 had of your high virtue and temperancy, would yield 
 themselves absolutely to your Majesty and crown for 
 ever, or to none other (their liberties only reserved), 
 whereof you should have immediate possession, without 
 reservation of place or privilege."" 
 
 The important point of the capability of the Provinces 
 to defend themselves, about which Elizabeth was most 
 anxious to be informed, was also fully elucidated by the 
 Advocate. *' The means should be such, proceeding 
 from the Provinces," said he, "as your Majesty might 
 defend your interest therein with facility against the 
 whule world." He then indicated a plan, which had 
 
 hara, praying that Elizabeth might yet 
 be his 8t)vere1gn. 
 
 •• NevertheU>8«," aaid he. " I have let- 
 ters from Zeeland, by which it apjKars 
 that that province is about to deliver 
 Itaelf to the queen-mother of France." 
 
 "And, begging your pardon," said 
 Richards, " what towns will you give 
 them for garriiion." 
 
 * 2so tuwnB at all," answered the Ad« 
 
 mlral ; •• let them lie on the dykes !" 
 
 After dinner he conducti'd liie English 
 officers over the town, showing them the 
 fortifications, and renewing bis protesta- 
 tions of devotion to h»»r .Majesty. 
 (Richards to Walsingham, 9 Sept. 1584, 
 S. P. Office MS.^ 
 » Letter of Herle, before cited, 
 s Ibid. 
 
 1584. 
 
 MILITARY LEVIES FOR THE PROVINCES. 
 
 7a 
 
 been proposed by the States of Brabant to the States 
 General, according to which they were to keep on foot 
 an army of 15,000 foot and 5000 horse, with which they 
 should be able *' to expulse the enemy and to reconquer 
 their towns and country lost, within three months." Of 
 this army they hoped to induce the Queen to furnish 
 6000 English footmen and 500 horse, to l3e paid monthly 
 by a treasurer of her own ; and for the assistance thus to 
 be funiished they proposed to give Ostend and Sluys as 
 pledge of payment. According to this scheme the 
 elector palatine, John Casimir, had promised to furnish, 
 equip, and pay 2000 cavalry, taking the towTi of 
 Maestricht and the country of Limburg, when freed 
 from the enemy, in pawn for his disbursements ; while 
 Antwerp and Brabant had agreed to supply 800,000 
 crowns in ready money for immediate use. Many 
 powerful politicians opposed this policy, however, and 
 urged reliance upon France, *' so that this course seemed 
 to be lame in many parts." ' 
 
 Agents had already been sent both to England and* 
 France, to procure, if possible, a levy of troops for 
 immediate necessity. The attempt was unsuccessful in 
 Fnince, but the Dutch community of the reformed 
 religion in London subscribed nine thousand and five 
 florins." This sum, with other contributions, proved 
 sufficient to set Morgan's regiment on foot, which soon 
 after began to arrive in the Netherlands by companies. 
 ** But if it were all here at once," said Stephen Le Sieur, 
 *' 't would be but a breakfaist for the enemy." * 
 
 The agent for the matter in England was De Griyse, 
 formerly bailitf of Bruges; and although tolerably 
 successful in his mission, he was not thought competent 
 for so impoi-tant a post, nor officially authorised for tlio 
 undertaking. While procuring this assistance in 
 English troops he had been very urgent w^ith the Queen 
 to further the negotiations between the States and 
 France ; * and Paul Pniys was offended with him as a 
 mischief-maker and an intriguer. He complained of 
 him as having " thrust himself in, to deal and inter- 
 meddle in the affairs of the Low Countries unavowed," 
 and desired that he might be closely looked after.* 
 
 * Letter of Herle, before cited. « Metcren, xll. 217. 
 » Le Sieur to Walsingham, 7 Sept. 1584. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 * aietercn, xU. 217. « Letter of Herle, MS. 
 
 • I 
 
 ■' > 
 
 1 
 
74 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. IIT. 
 
 I 1 
 
 '7 
 
 / 
 
 / 
 
 After the Advocate, Ihe next most important states- 
 man in the Provinces was perhaps 3Ieetkerk, president 
 of the high court of Flanders, a man of much learning, 
 Bincerity, and earnestness of character; having had 
 great experience in the diplomatic service of the 
 country on many important occasions. *' He stands 
 second in reputation here," said Herle, " and both Buys 
 and he have one special care in all practises that are 
 discovered, to examine how near anything may concern 
 your person or kingdom, whereof they will advertise as 
 matter shall fall out in importance." ' 
 
 John van Olden-Bameveld, afterwards so conspicuous 
 in the history of the coimtry, was rather inclined, at 
 this period, to favour the French party ; a policy Avhich 
 was strenuously furthered by Villiers and by Sainte 
 Aldegonde. 
 
 Besides ihe information furnished to the English 
 
 government, as to the state of feeling and resources of 
 
 ^the Netherlands, by Buys, Mectkerk, and William 
 
 Herle, Walsingham relied much upon the experienced 
 
 eye and the keen biting humour of Roger Williams. 
 
 A frank open-hearted Welshman, with no fortune 
 but his sword, but as true as its steel, he had done the 
 States much important service in the hard- fighting days 
 of Grand Commander Requesens and of iJgn John of 
 Austi-ia. W ith a shrewd Welsh head under his iron 
 morion, and a stout Welsh heart under his ta^vny 
 doublet, he had gained little but hard knocks and a 
 dozen wounds in his campaigning, and had but recently 
 been ransomed, rather giaidgingly, by his government, 
 from a Spanish prison in Brabant. lie was suffering in 
 health from its effects, but was still more distressed in 
 mind, from his sagacious reading of the signs of the times. 
 Fearing that England was growing lukowami, and the 
 Provinces desperate, he was beginning to find himself out 
 of work, and was already casting about him for other em- 
 ployment. Poor, honest, and proud, he had repeatedly 
 declined to enter the Spanish service. Bribes, such as 
 at a little hiter period were sufficient to sully conspi- 
 cuous reputations and noble names, among his country- 
 men in better circumstances than his own, had been 
 freely but unsuccessfully offered him. U'o sei-\'e under 
 
 » Letter of Herle, MS. 
 
 1584. 
 
 ROGER WILLIAMS. 
 
 75 
 
 any but the English or States' flag in the Provinces he 
 scorned ; and he thought the opportunity fast slipping 
 away there for taking the Papistical party in Europe 
 handsomely by the beard. He had done much manful 
 work in the Netherlands, and was destined to do much 
 more ; but he was now discontented, and thought 
 himself slighted. In more remote regions of the world 
 the thrifty soldier thought that there might be as good 
 harvesting for his sword as in the thrice-trampled stubble 
 of Flanders. 
 
 " I would refuse no hazard that is possible to be done 
 in the Queen's service," he said to \V alsingham ; " but 
 1 do persuade myself she makes no account of me. Had 
 it not been for the duty that nature bound me towards 
 her and my country, I needed not to have been in that 
 case that 1 am in. Perhaps I could have fingered more 
 pistoles than Mr. Newell, the late Latiner, and had 
 better usage and pension of the Spaniards than he. 
 Some can tell that I refused large oilers, in the misery 
 of Alost, of the Prince of Parma. Last of all, Verdugo 
 offered me very fair, being in Loccum, to quit the 
 States' service, and accept theirs, without treachery or 
 betraying of place or man." * 
 
 Not feeling inclined to teach Latin in Spain, like the 
 late Mr. Newell, or to violate oaths and surrender for- 
 tresses, like brave soldiers of fortune whose deeds will 
 be afterwards chronicled, he was disposed to cultivate 
 the " acquaintance of divers Pollacks," from whom ho 
 had received invitations. " Find I nothing there," said 
 he, " Duke Matthias has promised me coui-tesy if 1 
 would seive in Hungary. If not, I will offer service to 
 one of the Turk's bashaws against the Persians." * 
 
 Fortunately, work was found for the trusty Welshman 
 in the old fiekls. His brave honest face often reappeared ; 
 his sharp sensible tongue uttered much sage counsel; 
 and his i eady sword did various solid service, in leaguer^ 
 battle-field, and martial debate, in Flanders, Holland' 
 Spain, and France. 
 
 For the present, he was casting his keen glances 
 upon the negotiations in progress, and cavilling at the 
 general policy which seemed predominant. 
 
 1 Roger WUIiams to Sir F. Walsinfrham. Sept. 1584. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 a Ibid. 
 
76 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. III. 
 
 7. 
 
 Hi 
 
 He believed that the object of the French was to 
 .trifle with the States, to protract interminably their 
 negotiations, to prevent the P]nglish govenunent from 
 getting any hold upon the Provinces, and then to leave 
 them to their fate. 
 
 He advised Walsingham to advance men and money, 
 upon the security of iSlnys and Ostend. 
 
 " I dare venture my life," said he, with much energj', 
 "that were Norris, Bingham, Yorke, or Carlisle, in 
 those ports, he would keep them during the Spanish 
 King's life." ' 
 
 But the true way to attack Spain — a method soon 
 afterwards to be carried into such brilliant effect by 
 the naval heroes of England and the Netherlands — the 
 long-sighted ^^'elshman now indicated ; a combined 
 attack, namely, by sea upon the colonial possessions of 
 Philip. 
 
 " 1 dare be bound,'* said he, " if you join with 
 Treslong, the States* Admiral, and send off, both, three- 
 score sail into his Indies, we will force him to retire 
 from conquering further, and to be contented to let 
 other princes live as well as he." * 
 
 In particular, Williams urged rapid action, and there 
 is little doubt, that had the counsels of prompt, quick- 
 witted, ready-handed soldiers like himself, and those 
 who thought with him, been taken ; had the stealthy 
 but quick-darting policy of W^alsingham prevailed over 
 the solemn and stately but somewhat ponderous pro- 
 ceedings of Burghley, both Ghent and Antwerp might 
 have been saved, the trifling and treacherous diplomacy 
 of Catlierine de' Medici neutralized, and an altogether 
 more fortunate aspect given at once to tJbe state of 
 Protestant affairs. 
 
 '* If you mean to do anything," said he, " it is more 
 than time now. If you will send some man of credit 
 about it, will it plefise your honour, I will go with him, 
 because I know the humour of the people, and am 
 acquainted with a number of the best. I shall be able 
 to show him a number of their dealings, as well with the 
 French as in other affairs, and perhaps will find means 
 to send messengers to Ghent, and to other places, better 
 
 » Roger Williams to Sir F. WalsinKhnin, Sept. 1584. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 ' Ibid. 
 
 1584. WALSINGHAM, BURGHLEY, AND THE QUEEN. 77 
 
 than the States ; for the message of one soldier is better 
 than twenty boors." * 
 
 It was ultimately decided — as will soon be related — to 
 send a man of credit to the Provinces. Meantime, the 
 policy of England continued to be expectant and dilatory, 
 and Advocate Buys, after having in vain attempted to 
 conquer the French influence, and bring about the 
 annexation of the Provinces to England, threw do^^•n his 
 office in disgust, and retired for a time from the contest. 
 He even contemplated for a moment taking service in 
 Denmark, but renoimced the notion of abandoning his 
 country, and he will accordingly be found, at a later 
 l)eriod, conspicuous in public affairs.* 
 
 The deliberations in the English councils were grave 
 and anxious, for it became daily more obvious that the 
 >>"etherland question was the hinge upon which the 
 whole fate of Christendom was slowly turning. To 
 allow the Provinces to fall back again into the grasp of 
 Philip, was to offer England herself as a last sacrifice to 
 the Si)anish Inquisition. This was felt by all the 
 statesmen in the land ; but some of them, more than 
 the rest, had a vivid perception of the danger, and of 
 the necessity of dealing with it at once. 
 
 To the prophetic eye of Walsingham, the mists of the 
 future at times were lifted ; and the countless sails of 
 the invincible Armada, wafting defiance and destruction- 
 to England, became dimly visible. He felt that the 
 great Netherland bulwark of Pi*otestantism and liberty 
 was to be defended at all hazards, and that the death- 
 gi-apple could not long be deferred. 
 
 Burghley, deeply pondering, but less determined, 
 was still disposed to look on and to temporize. 
 
 The Queen, far-seeing and anxious, but somewhat 
 hesitating, still clung to the idea of a joint protectorate. 
 She knew that the re-establishment of Spanish authority 
 in the Low Countries would bo fatal to England, but 
 she was not yet prepared to tlirow down the gauntlet to 
 Philip. She felt that the proposed annexation of the 
 Provinces to France would be almost as formidable; 
 yet she could not resolve, frankly and fearlessly, to 
 assume the bui-then of their protection. Under the in- 
 
 > Ilogcr "Williams to Sir F. WHlsincham, Sept 1584. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 2 Wugcnaar, vhi. 50. 
 
 ^T 
 
78 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. HI. 
 
 ^j 
 
 I) 
 
 I 
 
 spiration of Burghley, she was therefore willing to 
 encourage the Netherlanders underhand; preventing 
 them at every hazard from slackening in their deter- 
 mined hostility to Spain; discountenancing, without 
 absolutely forbidding, their proposed absorption by 
 France ; intimating, without promising, an ultimate 
 and eifectual assistance from herself. Meantime, with 
 something of feline and feminine duplicity, by which 
 the sex of the great sovereign would so often manifest 
 itself in the most momentous affairs, she would watch 
 and wait, teasing the Provinces, dallying with the 
 danger, not quite prepared as yet to abandon the prize 
 to Henry or Philip, or to seize it herself. 
 
 The situation was rapidly tending to become an im- 
 possible one. 
 
 Late in October a grave conference was held in the 
 English council, " upon the question whether her Majesty 
 should presently relieve the States of the Low Coun- 
 tries." 
 
 It was shown, upon one side, tliat the " perils to the 
 Queen and to the realm were great, if the King of Spain 
 should recover Holland and Zeeland, as ho had the other 
 countries, for lack of succour in seasonable time, either 
 by the French King or the Queen's Majesty." 
 
 On the other side, the great difficulties in the way of 
 effectual assistance by England, were *' fully remem- 
 bered." 
 
 ** But in the end, and upon comparison made," said 
 Lord Burghley, summing up, " betwixt the perils on 
 the one part, and the difficulties on the other," it was 
 concluded that the Queen would be obliged to succumb 
 to the power of Spain, and the liberties of England be 
 hopelessly lost, if Philip were then allowed to carry- out 
 his designs, and if the Provinces should be left without 
 succour at his mercy.' 
 
 » The report of the conference is In the 
 State Paper Office, wrltUm In Burghlty's 
 own hand. A brief extract will give a 
 characteriiitic spetlmen of the Lord Taa- 
 surer's style.— "But in the end. and 
 upon comparison made betwixt the perils 
 on the «ne part an<i the difUculllesof the 
 other, it was concluded to advise her Ma- 
 jesty rather to eeelz the avoiding and 
 
 directing of the great perils, than, in 
 resp.H.t of any difflculties. to suffer the 
 King of Spain to grow to the full height 
 of his designs and conquests, whereby the 
 perils were to follow so evident as, if pre- 
 sently he were not by succouring of tlie 
 Hollanders and their party impeached 
 the Queen's Majesty should not hereafter 
 be any wlao able to wlihstaud the same. 
 
 1584. 
 
 AN ENGLISH EMBASSY DECIDED ON. 
 
 79 
 
 A "wise person" was accordingly to be sent into 
 Holland ; first, to ascertain whether the Provinces had 
 come to an actual agreement with the King of France, 
 and, if such should prove to bo the case, to inquire 
 whether that sovereign had pledged himself to declare 
 war upon Philip. In this event, the wise person was 
 to express her Majesty's satisfaction that the Provinces 
 were thus to be " relieved from the tyranny of the King 
 of Spain." 
 
 On the other hand, if it should appear that no such 
 conclusive arrangements had been made, and that the Pro- 
 vinces were likely to fall again victims to the " Spanish 
 tyranny," her Majesty would then "strain herself as far 
 as, with preservation of her own estate, she might, to 
 succour them at this time." * 
 
 The agent was then to ascertain " what conditions the 
 Provinces would require " upon the matter of succour, 
 and, if the terms seemed reasonable, he would assure 
 them that " they should not be left to the cruelties of 
 the Spaniards." 
 
 And further, the wise person, " being pressed to 
 answer, might by conference of speeches and persuasions 
 provoke them to oflfer to the Queen the ports of Flushing 
 and Middelbiu-g and the Brill, wherein she meant not 
 to claim any property, but to hold them as gages for her 
 expenses, and for performances of their covenants." 
 
 He was also to make minute inquiries as to the pecu- 
 niary resources of the Provinces, the monthly sums 
 which they would be able to contribute, the number of 
 troops and of ships of war that they would pledge them- 
 selves to maintain. These investigations were very 
 important, because the Queen, although very well dis- 
 posed to succour them, " so nevertheless she was to 
 consider how her j^ower might be extended, without 
 ruin or manifest peril to her omu estate." 
 
 It was also resolved, in the same conference, that a 
 preliminary step of great urgency was to " procure a 
 good peace with the King of Scots." AVhatever the 
 expense of bringing about such a pacification might be, 
 it was certain that a "great deal more would be ex- 
 
 And therefore it was thought good that Correspondence, S. P. Office, Oct. 10, 1584, 
 her Majesty should send presently some MS.) i ibkL 
 
 wlae peraou into Holland," Lc. (UoUand 
 
 \ 
 
80 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. Ill, 
 
 1584. 
 
 DAVICON SENT TO THE HAGUE. 
 
 81 
 
 I 
 
 fl 
 
 
 pended in defending the realm against Scotland," while 
 England was engaged in hostilities with Spain. Other- 
 wise, it was argued that her Majesty would be " so im- 
 peached by Scotland in favour of the King of Spain, 
 that her action against tliat King would be greatly 
 weakened." 
 
 Other measures necessary to be taken in view of the 
 Spanish war were also discussed. The ex-elector of 
 Cologne, *' a man of great account in Germany," was to 
 be assisted with money to make head against his rival 
 supported by the troops of Philip. 
 
 Duke Casimir of the Palatinate was to be solicited 
 to make a diversion in Gelderland. 
 
 The King of France was to be reminded of his treaty 
 with England for mutual assistiince in case of the in- 
 viision by a foreign power of either realm, and to be 
 informed '* not only of the intentions of the Spaniards 
 to invade England, upon their conquest of the Nether- 
 lands, but of their actual invasion of Ireland." 
 
 It was *' to be devised how the King of Navarre and 
 Don Antonio of Portugal, for their respective titles, 
 might be induced to otfend and occupy the King of 
 Spain, whereby to diminish his forces bent upon the 
 Low Countries." 
 
 It was also decided that Parliament should be imme- 
 diately summoned, in which, besides the request of a 
 subsidy, many other necessary provisions should be 
 made for her Majesty's safety. 
 
 " The conclusion of the whole," said Lord Burghley, 
 with much earnestness, " was this. Although her Majesty 
 should hereby enter into a war presently, yet were she 
 better to do it now, while she may make the same out 
 of her realm, having the help of the people of Holland, 
 and before the King of Spain shall have consummated 
 his conquests in those coimtries, whereby he shall be so 
 provoked with piide, solicited by the Pope, and tempted 
 by the Queen's own subjects, and shall be so strong by 
 sea, and so free from all other actions aild quarrels, — 
 yea, shall be so formidable to all the rest of Christen- 
 dom, as that her Majesty shall no wise be able with her 
 o\vn power, nor with aid of any other, neither by sea nor 
 land, to withstand his attempts, but shall be forced to 
 
 give place to his insatiable malice, which is most ter^ 
 lible to be thought of, but miserable to suffer." ' 
 
 Thus did the Lord Treasurer wisely, eloquently, and 
 well, describe the danger by which England was en- 
 vironed. Through the shield of Holland the spear was 
 aimed full at the heart of England. But was it a mo- 
 ment to linger ? Was that buckler to be suffered to fall 
 to the ground, or to be raised only upon the arm of a 
 doubtful and a treacherous friend? Was it an hour 
 when the protection of Protestantism and of European 
 liberty against Spain was to be entrusted to the hand of 
 a feeble and priest-ridden Valois ? AVas it wise to in- 
 dulge any longer in doubtings and dreamings, and in 
 yet a little more folding of the arms to sleep, while that 
 insatiable malice, so terrible to be thought of, so miser- 
 able to feel, was growing hourly more formidable, and 
 approaching nearer and near ? 
 
 Early in December, William Davison, gentleman-in- 
 ordinary of her Majesty's household, arrived at the 
 Hague; a man painstaking, earnest, and zealous, but 
 who was fated, on more than one great occasion, to be 
 made a scapegoat for the delinquencies of greater per- 
 sonages than himself. ^ 
 
 He had audience of the States General on the 8th 
 December. He then informed that body that the Queen 
 had heard, with sorrowful heart, of the great misfortunes 
 which the United Provinces had sustained since the 
 
 fl!* 1, :, ^ ^"''^^ ^^ Orange ; the many cities which 
 
 they had lost, and the disastrous aspect of the common 
 
 cause. Moved by the affection which she had always 
 
 borne the country, and anxious for its preservation, she 
 
 had ordered her ambassador Stafford to request the King 
 
 of France to undertake, jointly with herself, the defenct 
 
 ot the 1 rovinces against the King of Spain. Not tHl 
 
 very lately, however, had that envoy succeeded in 
 
 obtaining an audience, and he had then received "a 
 
 very cold answer.'' It being obvious to her Majesty, 
 
 therefore, that the French government intended to pro^ 
 
 ^ct these matters indefinitely, Davison informed the 
 
 btates that she had commissioned him to offer them 
 
 all possible assistance, to inquire into the state of the 
 
 country, and to investigate the proper means of making 
 
 * ^- l'^«?Port of Burghley, before dted. 
 VOL. I. ^ 
 
82 
 
 THB UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. III. 
 
 that assistance most useful." He accordingly requested 
 the appointment of a committee to confer with him 
 upon the subject ; and declared tiiat the Queen did 
 not desire to make herself mistress of the Provinces, 
 but only to be informed how she best could aid their 
 cause.* 
 
 A committee was accordingly appointed, and a long 
 series of somewhat concealed negotiations was com- 
 menced. As the deputies were upon the eve of their 
 departure for France, to ofifer the sovereignty of the 
 Provinces to Henry, these proceedings were necessarily 
 confused, dilatory, and at times contradictory. 
 ^ After the arrival of the deputies in France, the cuncta- 
 tive policy inspired by the Lord Treasurer was continued 
 by England. The delusion of a joint protectorate was 
 stiU clung to by the Queen, although the conduct of 
 France was becoming very ambiguous, and suspicion 
 growing darker as to the ultimate and secret purport of 
 the negotiations in progress.* 
 
 The anxiety and jealousy of Elizabeth were becoming 
 keener than ever. If the offers to the Kiug were un- 
 limited, he would accept them, and would thus become 
 as dangerous as Philip. If they were unsatisfactory, he 
 would turn his back upon the Provinces, and leave 
 them a prey to Philip." Still she would not yet re- 
 nounce the hope of bringing the French King over to 
 an ingenuous course of action. It was thought, too, 
 that something might be done with the great malcontent 
 nobles of Flanders, whose defection from the national 
 cause had been so disastrous, but who had been much 
 influenced in their course, it was thought, by their 
 jealousy of William the Silent. 
 
 Now that the Prince was dead, it was thought probable 
 that the Arschots and Havres, Chi mays and Lalaings, 
 might arouse themselves to more patriotic views than 
 they had manifested when they espoused the cause of 
 Spain. 
 
 It would be desirable to excite their jealousy of 
 French influence, and, at the same time, to inspire 
 throughout the popular mind the fear of another tyranny 
 
 > Register van de Resolution dcr « Queen to W. Davison, U Jan. 1586. 
 Staten General, 8 Dec 1584. (Hague (S. P. Office MS.) 
 Archives MS.) » ibid. 
 
 1585. 
 
 CAUTIOUS MEASURES OF BURGHLEY. 
 
 83 
 
 almost as absolute as that of Spain. "And if it be 
 objected," said Burghley, " that, except they shall admit 
 the French King to the absolute dominion, he will not aid 
 them, and they, for lack of succour, be forced to yield 
 to the Spaniard, it may be answered that, rather than 
 they should be wholly subjected to the French, or over- 
 come by the Spaniard, her Majesty would yield unto 
 them as much as, with preservation of her estate, and 
 defence of her own country, might be demanded." * 
 
 The real object kept in view by the Queen's govern- 
 ment was, in short, to obtain for the Provinces and for 
 the general cause of liberty the greatest possible amount 
 of assistance from Henry, and to allow him to acquire 
 in return the least possible amount of power. The end 
 proposed was a reasonable one, but the means employed 
 savoured too much of intrigue. 
 
 *' It may be easily made probable to the States," said 
 the Lord Treasurer, "that the govemment of the 
 French is likely to prove as cumbersome and perilous 
 as that of the Spaniards; and likewise it may pro- 
 bably be doubted how the French will keep touch and 
 covenants with them, when any opportunity shall be 
 offered to break them ; so that her Majesty thinketh no 
 good can be looked for to those countries by yielding 
 this laige authority to the French. If they shall con- 
 tinue their title by this grant to be absolute lords, there 
 is no end, for a long time, to be expected of this war ; 
 and, contrariwise, if they break oft', there is an end of 
 any good composition with the King of Spain." * 
 
 Shivering and shrinking, but still wading in deeper 
 and deeper, inch by inch, the cautious minister was fast 
 finding himself too far advanced to retreat. He was 
 rarely decided, however, and never lucid ; and least of 
 all in emergencies, when decision and lucidity would 
 have been more valuable than any other qualities. 
 
 Deeply doubting, painfully balancing, he at times 
 drove the unfortunate Davison almost distraught. 
 Puzzled himself and still more puzzling to others, he 
 rarely permitted the Netherlandera, or even his own 
 agents, to perceive his drift. It was fair enough, per- 
 haps, to circumvent the French government by its own 
 
 1 313. ubi tup. 
 
 «lbld. 
 G 2 
 
84 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. III. 
 
 arts, "but the Netherlanders meanwliile were in danger 
 of sinking into despair. 
 
 ♦' Thus," wrote the Lord Treasurer to the envoy, " I 
 have discoursed to you of these uncertainties and diffi- 
 culties, things not unknown to yourself, but now being 
 imparted to you by her Majesty's commandment, you 
 are, by your wisdom, to consider with whom to deal for 
 the stay of this French course, and yet, so to use it (as 
 near as you may) that they of the French faction there 
 be not able to charge you therewith, by advertising 
 into France. For it hath already appeared, by some 
 speeches past between our ambassador there and Des 
 Pruneaux, that you are had in some jealousy as a 
 hinderer of this French course, and at work for her 
 Majesty to have some entrance and partage in that 
 country. Nevertheless our ambassador, by his answer, 
 hath satisfied them to think the contrary." * 
 
 They must have been easily satisfied, if they knew as 
 much of the dealings of her Majesty's government as 
 the reader already knows. To inspire doubt of the 
 French, to insinuate the probability of their not " keep- 
 ing touch and covenant," to represent their rule as 
 "cumbersome and perilous," was wholesome conduct 
 enough towards the Netherlanders — and still more so, 
 had it been accompanied with frank offers of assistance 
 — -but it was certainly somewhat to " hinder the courses 
 of the French." 
 
 But in truth all parties were engaged for a season in 
 a round game of deception, in which nobody was 
 deceived. Walsingham was impatient, almost indignant 
 at this puerility. "Your doings, no doubt of it," he 
 wrote to Davison, *' are observed by the French faction, 
 and therefore you cannot proceed so closely but it will be espied. 
 Howsoever it be, seeing direction growethfrcm hence, we can- 
 not but blame ourselves, if the effects thereof do not fall out 
 to our liking." * 
 
 That sagacious statesman was too well informed, 
 and too much accustomed to penetrate the designs of 
 his antagonists, to expect anything from the present 
 intrigues. 
 
 To loiter thus, when moiial blows should bo struck, 
 
 1 MS. last cited. * Walsingham to Davison. 14 Jan. 1586. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 1585. 
 
 SUFFERINGS OF THE TROOPS. 
 
 85 
 
 was to give the Spanish government exactly that of 
 which it was always most gluttonous — time; and the 
 Netherlanders had none of it to spare. " With time and 
 myself, there are two of us," was Philip II. 's favourite 
 observation ; and the Prince of Parma was at this mo- 
 ment sorely perplexed by the parsimony and the hesita- 
 tions of his own government, by which his large, swift, 
 and most creative genius was so often hampered. 
 
 Thus the Spanish soldiers, deep in the trenches, went 
 with bare legs and empty stomachs in January; and 
 the Dutchmen, among their broken dykes, were up to 
 their ears in mud and water ; and German mercenaries, 
 in the obedient Provinces, were burning the. peasants' 
 houses in order to sell the iron to buy food withal;* 
 while grave-visaged statesmen, in comfortable cabinets, 
 wagged their long white beards at each other from a 
 distance, and exchanged grimaces and protocols which 
 nobody heede(^ 
 
 Walsingham was weary of this solemn trifling. " I 
 conclude," said he to Davison, *' that her Majesty — with 
 reverence be it spoken— is ill advised, to direct you in 
 a course that is like to work so great peril. I know 
 you will do your best endeavour to keep all things 
 upright, and yet it is hard — the disease being now come 
 to this state, or, as the physicians term it, crisis — to carry 
 yourself in such sort but that it will, I fear, breed a dan- 
 gerous alteration in the cause." " 
 
 ^ He denounced with impatience, almost with indigna- 
 tion, the insincerity and injustice of these intolerable 
 hesitations. *' Sorry am I," said he, "to see the coui-se 
 that is taken in this weighty cause, /or we will neither help 
 those poor countries ourselves, nor yet suffer others to do it. I 
 am not ignorant that in time to come the annexing 
 of these countries to the crown of France may prove 
 prejudicial to England ; but if France refuse to deal with 
 them, and the rather for that ice shall minister some cause of 
 impediment by a kind of dealing underhand, then shall they 
 be forced to return into the hands of Spain, which is 
 like to breed such a present peril towards her Majesty's 
 self, as never a wise man that seeth it, and loveth her, but 
 lamenteth it from the bottom of his heart."* 
 
 ^ Richards to Walsingham, Sept. 9, 2 Walsingham to Davison. (MS. befom 
 1684. (S. P. Office MS.) dted.) » Ibid. 
 
86 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. III. 
 
 Walsingham had made up his mind that it was 
 England, not France, that should take up the cause of 
 the Provinces, and defend them at every hazard. He 
 had been overruled, and the Queen's government had 
 decided to watch the course of the French negotiation, 
 doing what it could, underhand, to prevent that nego- 
 tiation from being successfid. The i>ocretary did not 
 approve of this disingenuous course. At the same time 
 he had no faith in the good intentions of the French 
 court. 
 
 " I could wish," said he, ** that the French King were 
 carried with that honourable mind into the defence of 
 these coimtries that her Majesty is, but France has not 
 been used to do things for God's sake ; neither do they 
 mean to use our advice or assistance in making of the 
 bargain. For they still hold a jealous conceit that, when 
 Spain and they are together by the ears, we will seek 
 underhand to work our own peace." ' \\'alsingham, 
 therefore, earnestly deprecated the attitude provisionally 
 maintained by England. 
 
 Meantime, early in January, the deputation from the 
 s Jan. Provinces had arrived in France. The progress 
 1585. of their negotiation will soon bo related, but, 
 before its result was known, a general dissatisfaction 
 had already manifested itself in the Netherlands. The 
 factitious enthusiasm which had been created in favour 
 of France, as well as the prejudice against England, 
 began to die out. It became probable, in the opinion 
 of those most accustomed to read the signs of the times, 
 that the French court was acting in connivance with 
 Philip, and that the negotiation was only intended to 
 amuse the Netherlanders, to circumvent the English, 
 and to gain time both for France and Spain. It was not 
 believed that the character of Henry or the policy of his 
 mother was likely to be the source of any substantial 
 aid to the cause of civil liberty or Protestant principles. 
 '* They look for no better fmit from the commission 
 to France," wrote Davison, who surveyed the general 
 state of affairs with much keenness and breadth of vision, 
 " than a dallying entertainment of the time, — neither 
 leaving them utterly hopeless, nor at full liberty to seek 
 
 1 Walslngbam to Davison. (MS. before cited ) 
 
 1585. SUSPICIONS AS TO THE VIEWS OF HENRY III. 
 
 87 
 
 for relief elsewhere, especially in England, — or else 
 some pleasing motion of peace, wherein the French 
 King will offer his mediation with Spain. Meantime 
 the people, wearied with the troubles, charges, and 
 hazard of the war, shall be rocked asleep, the provision 
 for their defence neglected, some Provinces nearest the 
 danger seduced, the rest by their defection astonished, 
 and the enemy, by their decay and confusions, strength- 
 ened. This is the scope whereto the doings of the 
 French King, not without intelligence with the Spanish 
 sovereign, doth aim, whatever is pretended." ^ 
 
 There was a wide conviction that the French King 
 was dealing falsely with the Provinces. It seemed 
 certain that he must be inspired by intense jealousy of 
 England, and that he was imlikely, for the sake of those 
 whose " religion, popular libert}^ and rebellion against 
 their sovereign " he could not but disapprove, to allow 
 Queen Elizabeth to steal a march upon him, and 
 ** make her own market with Spain, to his cost and dis- 
 advantage."* 
 
 In short, it was suspected — whether justly or not will 
 be presently shown — that Henry III. " was seeking to 
 blear the eyes of the world, as his brother Charles did 
 before the Massacre of St. Bartholomew."* As the 
 letters received from the Dutch envoys in France 
 became less and less encouraging, and as the Queen wafl 
 informed by her ambassador in Paris of the tei^ver- 
 sations in Paris, she became the more anxious lest the 
 States should be driven to despair. She therefore ^vrote 
 to Davison, instructing him " to nourish in them imder- 
 hand some hope — as a thing proceeding from himself — 
 that, though France should reject them, yet she would 
 not abandon them." * 
 
 He was directed to find out, by circuitous means, 
 what towns they would offer to her as security for any 
 advances she might be induced to make, and to ascertain 
 the amount of monthly contributions towards the support 
 of tlie war that they were stiU capable of furnishing. 
 She was beginning to look with dismay at the expatria- 
 tion of wealthy merchants and manufacturers going so 
 
 » Davison to Walsingham, 12 Feb. 1585. 
 (S. P. Oflice MS.) 
 2 Ibid. 
 
 ' Da\i8on to WaUinghara, ubi gup. 
 * Quwn to I>a\ison, 18 Feb. 1686. 
 (S. P. Office .MS.) 
 
88 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. HI. 
 
 rapidly forward, now that Ghent had fallen and Brussels 
 and Antwerp were in such imminent peril. She feared 
 that, while so much valuable time had been thrown 
 away, the Provinces had become too much impoverished 
 to do their own part in their own defence ; and she was 
 seriously alarmed at rumours which had become pre- 
 valent of a popular disposition towards treating for a 
 peace at any price with Spain. It soon became evident 
 that these rumours were utterly without foundation, but 
 the other reasons for Elizabeth's anxiety were sufficiently 
 valid. 
 
 On the whole, the feeling in favour of England was 
 rapidly gaining ground. In Holland especially there 
 was general indignation against the French party. The 
 lettera of the deputies occasioned '* murmur and mislike 
 of most persons, who noted them to contain more ample 
 report of ceremonies and compliments than solid argu- 
 ment of comfort." * 
 
 ^ Sir Edward Stafford, who looked with great penetra- 
 tion into the heart of the mysterious proceedings at 
 Paris, assured his government that no better result 
 was to be looked for, '' after long dalliance and enter- 
 tainment, than either a flat refusal or such a masked 
 embracing of their cause as would rather tend to the 
 increasing of their miseries and confusion than relief 
 for their declining estate." While "reposing upon a 
 broken reed," they were, he thought, " neglecting other 
 means more expedient for their necessities." * 
 
 This was already the universal opinion in Holland. 
 Men now remembered, with bitterness, the treachery 
 of the Duke of Anjou, which they had been striving so 
 hard to forget, but which less than two years ago had 
 nearly proved fatal to the cause of liberty in the Pro- 
 vinces. A committee of the States had an interview 
 with the Queen's envoy at the Hague ; implored her 
 Majesty through him not to abandon their cause ; ex- 
 pressed unlimited regret for the course which had been 
 pursued, and avowed a determination " to pluck their 
 heads out of the collar " so soon as the opportunity 
 should offer.* 
 
 » Davteon to Lf.rd BurRhley and Sir F. « Davison to Burghlcy and NVaUlng- 
 Walslngham, 28 Feb. 1585, (S. P. Office ham, «W tup. 
 MS.) » Ibid. 
 
 1585. COMMITTEE OF THE STATES VISIT QUEEN'S ENVOY. 89 
 
 They stated, moreover, that they had been directed 
 by the assembly to lay before him the instructions for 
 the envoys to France, and the articles proposed for the 
 acceptance of the King. The envoy knew his business 
 better than not to have secretly provided himself with 
 copies of these documents, which he had already laid 
 before his own government. 
 
 He affected, however, to feel hurt that he had been 
 thus kept in ignorance of papers which he really knew 
 by heart. "After some pretended quarrel," said he, 
 ** for their not acquainting me therewith sooner, I did 
 accept them, as if 1 had before neither seen nor heard 
 of them." ' 
 
 This then was the aspect of affairs in the Provinces 
 during the absence of the deputies in France. It is 
 now necessary to shift the scene to that country. 
 
 1 Daviflon to Borgbley a&d WaLsingbam, libi tup. 
 
90 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. IV. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Rsceptlon of the Dutch Envoys at the I^u\Te — Ignomlnloas Result of the Em- 
 bassy — Secret Influences at work — Bargaining between the French and 
 Spanish Courts — Claims of Catherine de' Medtcl upon Portugal — Letters of 
 Henry and Catherine — Secret I'roposal by France to invade England — States' 
 Mission to Henry of Navarre — Subsidies of Philip to Guise — Treaty of Join- 
 Ttlle — Philip's Share in the I^eague denied by Parma - Philip In reality ita 
 Chief — Manifesto of the l^eague — Attitude of Henry III. and of Navarre — 
 The League demands a Royal l>ecree — Designs of France and Spain against 
 England — Secret Interview of Mendoza and Villeroy — Complaints of English 
 Pfersecution — Edict of Nemours — Excommunication of Navarre, and his 
 Reply. 
 
 The King, notwithstanding his apparent reluctance, 
 had, in Sir Edward Stafford's language, " nibbled at the 
 bait." He had, however, not been secured at the first 
 attempt, and now a second effort was to be made, under 
 what were supposed to bo most favourable circum- 
 stances. In accordance with his own instructions, his 
 envoy, Des Pruneaux, had been busily employed in the 
 States, arranging the terms of a treaty which should be 
 entirely satisfactory. It had been laid down as an 
 indispensable condition that Holland and Zeeland should 
 unite in the offer of sovereignty, and, after the expen- 
 diture of much eloquence, diplomacy, and money, Hol- 
 land and Zeeland had given their consent. The court 
 had been for some time anxious and impatient for 
 the arrival of the deputies. Early in December, Des 
 Pruneaux wrote from Paris to Count Maurice, urging, 
 with some asperity, the necessity of immediate action. 
 
 " When I left you," he said, ** I thought that perform- 
 ance would follow promises. I have been a little 
 ashamed, as the time passed by, to hear nothing of the 
 deputies, nor of any excuse on the subject. It would 
 seem as though God had bandaged the eyes of those 
 who have so much cause to know their own adversity." 
 
 To the States his language was still more insolent. 
 " Excuse me, gentlemen," he said, " if I tell you that 
 I blush at hearing nothing from you. I shall have the 
 
 ' Oroen v. Prlnsterer, • Archives,' kc, 1. 7. 
 
 1585. RECEPTION OF DUTCH ENVOYS AT THE LOUVRE. 91 
 
 shame, and you the damage. I regret much the capture 
 of De Teligny, and other losses which are occasioned 
 by your delays and want of resolution." 
 
 Thus did the French court, which a few months before 
 had imprisoned, and then almost ignominiously dis- 
 missed the envoys who came to offer the sovereignty of 
 the Provinces, now rebuke the governments which had 
 ever since been • strenuously engaged in removing all 
 obstacles to the entire fulfilment of the King's demands. 
 The States were just despatching a solemn embassy to 
 renew that offer, with hardly any limitation as to 
 terms.' 
 
 The envoys arrived on January 3rd, 1585, at Bou- 
 logne, after a stormy voyage from Brielle. Yet it seems 
 incredible to relate, that, after all the ignominy heaped 
 upon the last, there was nothing but solemn trifling in 
 reserve for the present legation; although the object 
 of both embassies was to offer a crown. The deputies 
 were, however, not kept in prison, upon this occasion, 
 nor treated like thieves or spies. They were admirably 
 lodged, with plenty of cooks and lacqueys to minister 
 to them ; they fared sumptuously every day, at Henry's 
 expense; and, after they had been six weeks in the 
 kingdom, they at last succeeded in obtaining their first 
 audience. 
 
 On the 13th February the King sent five "very 
 splendid, richly-gilded, court-coach- waggons " to bring 
 the envoys to the palace. At one o'clock they arrived 
 at the Louvre, and were ushered through four mag- 
 nificient antechambers into the royal cabinet. The 
 apartments through which they passed swarmed with 
 the foremost nobles, court-functionaries, and ladies of 
 France, in blazing gala costume, who all greeted the 
 envoys with demonstrations of extreme respect. The 
 
 * The deputies were appointed from 
 each of the United Provinces; Merode, 
 Hlnkaert, Stralen.and Cornelius Aerssens 
 represented Brabant; Chancellor Leo- 
 iilnus, John van Ghent, and Gerard Voet 
 were appointed from Gelderland; Noel 
 de Caron was deputy for Flanders, Arend 
 van Dorp for Holland, Jacob Vakke for 
 Zeeland, Rengers and Amelia van Amstel 
 for Utrecht, Teitsma and Alsma for 
 Frleslaud, l^i Mouillerle and La Prd for 
 
 Mechlin. The Prince of Esplnoy, brother 
 of the Marquis of Rlchelx)urg, but a 
 patriotic Netherlander himself, was also 
 commissioned to be of the legation, and 
 he served at his own expense. (Wage- 
 naar, vili. 65, 56 ; ' Des lYuneaux aux 
 Etats generaux,' 3rd Dec. 1584, Hague 
 Archives, MS. ; ' Brief van de Gede> 
 puteerden in Frankryck aan de Staten 
 Gen.' 19th Jan. 1685. Hague Archives, 
 MS.) 
 
 N 
 
92 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. IV. 
 
 lialls and corridors were lined with archers, halberdiers, 
 Swiss guards, and grooms *' besmeared with gold," and 
 it was thought that all this rustle of fine feathers would 
 be somewhat startling to the barbarous republicans, 
 fresh from the fens of Holland. 
 
 Henry received them in his cabinet, where ho was 
 accompanied only by the Duke of Joyeuse — his foremost 
 and bravest "minion" — by the Count of Bouscaige, M. 
 de Valette, and the Count of Chateau Vieux.' 
 
 The most Christian King was neatly dressed, in white 
 satin doublet and hose, and well-starched ruff, with a 
 short cloak on his shoulders, a little velvet cap on the 
 side of his head, his long locks duly perfumed and 
 curled, his sword at his side, and a little basket, full of 
 puppies, suspended from his neck by a broad ribbon. 
 He held himself stiff and motionless, although his face 
 smiled a good-humoured welcome to the ambassadors ; 
 and he moved neither foot, hand, nor head, as they 
 advanced. 
 
 Chancellor Leoninus, the most experienced, eloquent, 
 and tedious of men, now made an interminable oration, 
 fertile in rhetoric and barren in facts; and the King 
 made a short and benignant reply, according to the 
 hallowed formula in such cases provided. And then 
 there was a presentation to the Queen, and to the 
 Queen-Mother, when Leoninus was more prolix than 
 before, and Catherine even more affectionate than her 
 son ; and there were consultations with Chivemy and 
 Villeroy, and Brulart and Pnmeaux, and great banquets 
 at the royal expense, and bales of protocols, and drafts 
 of articles, and conditions and programmes and apos- 
 tilles by the hundredweight, and at last articles of 
 annexation were presented by the envoys, and Pruneaux 
 looked at and pronounced them "too raw and impe- 
 rative," and the envoys took them home again, and 
 dressed them and cooked them till there was no sub- 
 stance left in them ; for, whereas the envoys originally 
 offered the crown of their country to France, on con- 
 dition that no religion but the reformed religion should 
 be tolerated there, no appointments made but by the 
 States, and no security offered for advances to be made 
 by the Christian King, save the hearts and oaths of his 
 
 > MS. letter of the envoys, before dted. 
 
 1585. IGNOMINIOUS RESULT OF THE EMBASSY. 93 
 
 new subjects— so they now ended by proposing the 
 sovereignty unconditionally, almost abjectly ; and, after 
 the expiration of nearly three months, even these terms 
 were absolutely refused, and the deputies were gra- 
 ciously permitted to go home as they came. The 
 annexation and sovereignty were definitely declined. 
 Henry regretted and sighed, Catherine de' Medici wept 
 --for tears were ever at her command— Chancellor 
 Chivemy and Secretary Brulart wept likewise, and 
 Pruneaux was overcome with emotion, at the parting 
 interview of the ambassadors with the court, in which 
 they were allowed a last opportunity for expressing; 
 what was called their gratitude. 
 
 And then, on the 16th March, M. d'Oignon came to 
 them, and presented, on the part of the King, to each 
 of the envoys a gold chain weighing twenty-one ounces 
 and two grains.^ 
 
 Des Pruneaux, too— Des Pruneaux who had spent the 
 previous summer in the Netherlands, who had travelled 
 from ^ province to province, from city to city, at the 
 King's command, offering boundless assistance, if they 
 would unanimously offer their sovereignty; who had 
 vanquished by his importunity the resistance of the 
 stem Hollanders, the last of all the Netherlands to 
 yield to the royal blandishments— Des Pruneaux, who 
 had *' blushed"— Des Pruneaux who had wept— now 
 thought proper to assume an airy tone, half encourage- 
 ment, half condolence. 
 
 *'Man proposes, gentlemen," said he.2 *'but God 
 disposes. We are frequently called on to observe that 
 things have a great variety of times and terms. Many 
 a man is refused by a woman twice, who succeeds the 
 third time :" and so on, with which wholesome apoph- 
 thegms Des Pruneaux faded away then and for ever 
 from the page of Netherland history. 
 
 In a few days afterwards the envoys took shippino- at 
 Dieppe, and arrived early in April at the Hague." "" 
 
 And thus teiminated the negotiation of the States 
 with France. 
 
 » MS. Report of the envojB. femme deax fols quy I'emportent la 
 
 'I -Messieurs, les hommes proposent, trolsleme," &c. ('Dea Pruneaux aux 
 
 et meu est le maitre qui dispose. Nous Etats generaux.' 14th Mar. 1585. Brlenne 
 
 vuyons tout»^ chosea avoir dlfferentz MS.) 
 
 lanpe et tennes ; Prou sent refuses d 'une » MS. Report ; Wagenaar, vUI. 66. 
 
94 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. W. 
 
 1585. 
 
 SECRET INFLUENCES AT WORK. 
 
 v 
 
 It had been a scene of elaborate trifling on the King's 
 part from begining to end. Yet the few grains of 
 wheat which have thus been extracted from the moun- 
 tains of diplomatic chaff so long mouldering in national 
 storehouses, contain, however dry and tasteless, still 
 something for human nourishment. It is something to 
 comprehend the inefifable meanness of the hands which 
 then could hold the destiny of mighty empires. Here 
 had been offered a magnificent prize to France ; a great 
 extent of frontier in the quarter where expansion was 
 most desirable, a protective network of towns and 
 fortresses on the side most vulnerable, flourishing cities 
 on the sea-coast where the marine traffic was most 
 lucrative, the sovereignty of a large population, the 
 most bustling, enterprising, and hardy in Europe — a 
 nation destined in a few short years to become the first 
 naval and commercial power in the world — all this was 
 laid at the feet of Henry Valois and Catherine de' 
 Medici, and rejected. 
 
 The envoys, with their predecessors, had wasted 
 eight months of most precious time ; they had heard 
 and made orations, they had read and written protocols, 
 they had witnessed banquets, masquerades, and revels 
 of stupendous frivolity, in honour of the English Garter, 
 brought solemnly to the Valois by Lord Derby, accom- 
 panied by one hundred gentlemen *' marvellously, 
 sumptuously, and richly accoutred," during that dread- 
 ful winter when the inhabitants of Brussels, Antwerp, 
 Mechlin — to save which splendid cities, and to annex 
 them to France, was a main object of the solemn 
 embassy from the Netherlands — were eating rats, and 
 cats, and dogs, and the weeds from the pavements, and 
 the grass from the churchyards, and were finding them- 
 selves more closely pressed than ever by the relentless 
 genius of Famese ; and in exchange for all these losses 
 and all this humiliation, the ambassadors now returned 
 to their constituents, bringing an account of Chivemy's 
 magnificent banquets and long orations, of the smiles 
 of Henry III., the tears of Catherine de' Medici, the 
 regrets of M. Des Pruneaux, besides sixteen gold chains, 
 each weighing twenty-one ounces and two grains.* 
 
 * Brleven van de Gedeputeerden nyt Handeling g^houden by de Gezanten, &c.; 
 Parla, 22nd Feb. 1585; Rapport van de Brief van de Gezanten uyt Parii,.li 
 
 95 
 
 It IS worth while to go for a moment behind the 
 scenes. We have seen the actors, with mask and 
 cothum and tinsel crown, playing their well-conned 
 parts upon the stage. Let us hear them threaten, and 
 whimper, and chatter among themselves. 
 • So soon as it was intimated that Henry III. was 
 about to grant the Netherland envoys an audience, the 
 wrath of ambassador Mendoza was kindled. That 
 magniloquent Spaniard instantly claimed an interview 
 with the King, before whom, according to the statement 
 of his colleagues, doing their best to pry into these 
 secrets, he blustered and bounced, and was more fan- 
 tastical in his insolence than even Spanish envoy had 
 ever been before. 
 
 ^ "He went presently to court," so Walsingham was 
 informed by Stafford, "and dealt very passionately 
 with the King and Queen-Mother to deny them audience 
 who being greatly offended with his presumptuous and 
 malapert manner of proceeding, the King did in choler 
 and with some sharp speeches let him plainly under- 
 stand that he was an absolute king, bound to yield 
 account of his doings to no man, and that it was lawful 
 lor him to give access to any man within his own 
 realm. The Queen -Mother answered him likewise very 
 
 Maart, 1585, (Hague Archives MS.) 
 Compare I)e Thou, Ix. 275 teq. ; Strada, 
 H. 292 seq. ; Meteren, xll. 221 $eq. ; Le 
 Petit. 11. xlv. 508 geq. ; Wagenaar, vlU. 
 68; Bor, ii. xlx. 528 teq. 
 
 It Is remarkable that In all the con- 
 ferences between the deputies and the 
 ministers of Henry, and In all the expres- 
 Blons used by the King and his mother, 
 as recorded by the envoys In their de- 
 i?)atche8 and reports, no allusion was 
 ever made to the chil war then brewing 
 In France, nor to the machinations of the 
 Qnlses,— the name of uhich family hym 
 never mentioned. The Court excused 
 Itself, as well as It could, for Its elaborate 
 trifling with the Netherlands, at so mo- 
 mentous an epoch, by general reflections 
 upon the condition of FYance, and the in- 
 convenience to the government, at that 
 moment, of engaging In the enterprise 
 which It had itself soUclted. AU the con- 
 temporaneous historians, whether Pro. 
 
 testant or Catholic, French, Flemish, or 
 Spanish, give a very brief. Imperfect, con- 
 ventional, and generally mistaken >iew 
 of these n^otiatlons. 
 
 Le Petit, Instead of the meagre farewell 
 address of the King (which we have 
 given in the text from the report of the 
 envoys to theh- constituents), does not 
 scruple to invent a very epigrammatic 
 little speech for Henry, in which that 
 monarch is made to complain bitterly of 
 the " violence done to him by the King 
 of Spain, the Guise famUy,and the Lea- 
 guers ;" to regret that he is thereby pre- 
 vented from assisting the Provinces, on 
 the ground that " his shirt is nearer to 
 him than his doublet;" and to hope that 
 they will sustain themselves until he 
 shall have got his kingdom quiet, after 
 which the States may depend upon his 
 assistance. It is superfluous to say that 
 this and similar harangues recorded by 
 various historians are purely imaginary. 
 
m 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. 17. 
 
 1585. 
 
 i*l 
 
 / 
 
 roundly, whereupon he departed for the time, very 
 much discontented." ^ 
 
 Brave words, on both sides, if they had ever been 
 spoken, or if there had been any action corresponding 
 to their spirit. 
 
 But, in truth, from the beginning, Henry and his 
 mother saw in the Netherland embassy only the means 
 of turning a dishonest penny. Since the disastrous 
 retreat of Anjou from the Provinces, the city of Cambray 
 had remained in the hands of the Seigneur de Balagny, 
 placed there by the Duke. The citadel, garrisoned by 
 French troops, it was not the intention of Catherine de' 
 Medici to restore to Philip, and a truce on the subject 
 had been arranged provisionally for a year. Philip, 
 taking Parma*s advice to prevent the French court, if 
 possible, from *' fomenting the Netherland rebellion," 
 had authorized the Prince to conclude that truce, as if 
 done on his own responsibility, and not by royal order." 
 Meantime, Balagny was gradually swelling into a petty 
 potentate, on his own account, making himself very 
 troublesome to the Prince of Parma, and requiriug a 
 great deal of watching. Cambray was however appa- 
 rently acquired for France. 
 
 But, besides this acquisition, there was another way 
 of earning something solid, by turning this Netherland 
 matter handsomely to account. Philip II. had recently 
 conquered Portugal. Among the many pretensions to 
 that crown, those of Catherine do' Medici had been put 
 forward, but had been little heeded. The claim went 
 back more than three hundred years, and to establish its 
 validity would have been to convert the peaceable pos- 
 session of a long line of sovereigns into usurpation. To 
 ascend to Alphonso III. was like fetching, as it was 
 said, a claim from Evander's grandmother. Neverthe- 
 less, ever since Philip had been upon the Portuguese 
 throne, Catherine had been watching the opportunity, 
 
 FRENCH AND SPANISH COURTS. 
 
 > Walslngham to Davison, — Jan. 1535, 
 
 S. p. Office MS. Compare Pe Thou, tx. 
 275 seq. ; Strada, • De Bello Belgico,' 
 1658. ii. 592 seq,\ Meteren, kU 221 teq. ; 
 Le Petit, li. xiv. 508 teq. ; fiunbequlus, 
 Epist.' passim. 
 
 * Philip II. to Prince of Parma, 2nd 
 Sept. 1584, and 15th Jan. 1585. (Archivo 
 de Simancas, MS.) "Sera bleu que la 
 concluyals & trueque de conseguir esto 
 con que no parezca orden, mla sino que lo 
 hacels como de meatro," &c. Comp. 
 Struda, 11. 295. 
 
 / 
 
 97 
 
 not of unseating that sovereign, but of oonvertin- her 
 claim into money. ° 
 
 The KetherlaAd embassy seemed to offer the coveted 
 opportunity There was, therefore, quite as much 
 warmth at the outset, on the part of Mendoza, in that 
 hrst interview after the arrival of the deputie.^ as had 
 been represented. There was however le^ digiJit v and 
 more cunning on the part of Henry and Catherine than 
 ^vas at all suspected. Even before that conference the 
 ivmg bad been impatiently expecting overtures from 
 the Spanish envoy, and had been disappointed. " He 
 told me, said Henry, " that he would make proposals 
 so soon as Tassis should be gone, but he has done no 
 ^hmgyet. He sa d to Gondi that all he meant was to 
 get the trace of Cambray accomplished. 1 hope how- 
 is riiht in 7 '' d '^■■' *^^ ^'°° '' ^P-^'"' -"1 ^" -tat 
 Tk! iM V ?)f f f *" •n''^'" "y '"'"^"'^ pretensions, 
 ♦i ! 11/ *^''.* ''® ■"'■" ^ "°- incited thereto seein"- 
 that the deputies of all the Netherland Provinces are at 
 present in my kingdom, to offer me carte hZcZ I 
 shall hear what they have to say, and do exactly what 
 the good of my own affairs shall seem to require The 
 Queen of England, too, has been very pLIL and 
 urgent with me for several months on this subkrt I 
 
 the Jving of bpain will now disclose himseJf and do 
 promp,ly what he ought, that we may set Christendom 
 
 Heniy then instructed his amliassador in Spain to 
 keep his eyes wide open, in order to penetrate the 
 schemes of Philip, and to this end ordered hmtnt- 
 crease of salary by a third, that he might follow that 
 monarch on his journey to Amigon. 
 
 Meanwhile Mendoza had audience of his Majesty 
 He made a very pressing remonstrance." said the KW 
 
 W reM« and t "T '' ^«»°"r'°S '^'^^^^ ^i" be- 
 was tree, and that I should hear from them all that thev 
 >^d to say, because I could not abandon madam mymotUeX 
 her pretens«>ns, not only for the filial obedience ,oh7jTl 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 ' Henry m. i Longlde, 11 Jan. 1585. Brlenmie MS. 
 
98 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. IV. 
 
 I 
 
 1^ I 
 
 w 
 
 b 
 
 hut because I am her only heir, Mendoza replied that he 
 should go and make the same remonstrance to the 
 Queen-Mother, which ho accordingly did, and she will 
 herself write you what passed between them. If they 
 do not act up to theii duty down there, I know how to 
 take my revenge upon them." * 
 
 This is the King's own statement— his veriest words 
 — and he was surely best aware of what occurred be- 
 tween himself and Mendoza, under their four eyes only. 
 The ambassador is not represented as extremely inso- 
 lent, but only pressing; and certainly there is little 
 left of the fine periods on Henry's part about listening 
 to the cry of the oppressed, or preventing the rays of 
 his ancestor's diadem from growing pale, with which 
 contemporary chronicles are filled. 
 
 There was not one word of the advancement and 
 glory of the French nation ; not a hint of the fame to 
 be acquired by a magnificent expansion of territory, 
 still less of the duty to deal generously or even honestly 
 with an oppressed people, who in good faith were seek- 
 ing an asylum in exchange for offered sovereignty ; not 
 a syllable upon liberty of conscience, of religious or 
 civil rights ; nothing but a petty and exclusive care for 
 the interest of his mother's pocket, and of his. own as 
 bis mother's heir. This farthing-candle was alone to 
 guide the steps of " the high and mighty King," whose 
 reputation was perpetually represented as so precious 
 to him in all the conferences between his ministers and 
 the Netherland deputies. Was it possible for those 
 envoys to imagine the almost invisible meanness of such 
 
 childish tricks ? 
 
 The Queen-Mother was still more explicit and un- 
 blushing throughout the whole aifair. 
 
 " The ambassador of Spain," she said, " has made the 
 most beautiful remonstrances he could think of about 
 these deputies from the Netherlands. All his talk, 
 however, cannot persuade me to anything else save to 
 increase my desire to have reparation for the wrong 
 that has been done me in regard to my claims upon 
 Portugal, which 1 am determined to pursue by every' 
 means within my power. Kevertheless I have told 
 
 » Henry ill. k Longlee, U Jan. 1585, Brienne MS. 
 
 1585. CLAIMS OF CATHERINE UPON PORTUGAL. 99 
 
 Thn Bernardino that I should always be ready to em 
 ct:L"^H7tr ^^^^^^^ bring abo^ut a peacefu cot 
 ^l^T'y. •i^'''' ^"^^""^^ '"^^ ^ discussion of my nVhts 
 
 in justice. But when 1 explained to him the nrinrinol 
 points (of which I possess all the pieces of evidenceTnd 
 justification), he hardly knew whit to say, save Xt he 
 was astounded that 1 had remained so^ loT .litl out 
 speaking of my claims. In reply I told hfrn ^'J*^'^"* 
 ously the truth." » ^ •^' ^^^ mgenu- 
 
 .Itl *'^*^- ^^'"^h ^^^ ingenuous Catherine thus re 
 vealed was, in brief, that all her predecessors hid W ' 
 
 S^ZTalid^^'S^"\- f atrrtt'm'Z 
 sh:^i:rtranced hf^t^^^^^^^ 
 
 ills master ot the mhnite words " whiph liari ..« i 
 between them at this interview.^ ^^ ^^"'^'^ 
 
 *M desire," said Catherine ♦' fhof +li^ t^ it-- 
 Spain should open his -ind LnktyUd'^^^^^^^^^^ 
 the recompense which he is wilW to^make me^ ^r 
 Portugal, in order that thino-g may i,^ss r^ff vl 
 
 gentleness than otherwise."" ^ ^ ^^^^"^ ^'^^ 
 
 It was expecting a great deal to look for fianl-no.s 
 and promptness from the Lord-Kino- J <^ - ''^"^^^^^'"^ 
 
 on the contn.^, I shall wait for l^im totTke the £' 
 
 • IvPttre de la Heine Ji Longlee. IC 
 Jan. 1585. Brlonne MS. "11 ne m'a 
 smi que dire anltre chose, slnon qu'il 
 sebala.ssoit comme javuiasi long temps 
 demoure sans parler de mes dictz droita 
 a quel je luy ay respondu ingenument la 
 veriie, qui est, ' &c. 
 
 2 J bid. "Et croy qu'lI n'y obmnetra 
 ri*'n d mflnles parulles qui se sont passees 
 ae la substiince deseua dicte en la dicte 
 
 audlance," ^-c. 
 
 ' Lettre do la Reine Mere h Ixjnglee. 
 16 Jan. 15.5. Brienne MS. "Je desi- 
 
 dLspagne s'ouvrit franchement et 
 pronipiement de la recompense qu'il me 
 veiiei et dolct laire pour le diet Purtueal 
 affin que les chos«^ pas^assentplustotpa^ 
 la doulcemtnt qu'aultremtnt.' 
 
 H 2 
 
100 
 
 THE UNITED NETHEULANDS. 
 
 Chap. IV. 
 
 h < 
 
 1^ 
 
 I expect it to be reasonable, because lie has seen fit to 
 seize and occupy that which I declare to be my pro- 
 perty." ' 
 
 This is the explanation of all the languor and trifling 
 of the French court in the Netherland negotiation. A 
 deep, constant, unseen cuiTcnt was nmning counter to 
 all the movement which appeared upon the suiface. 
 The tergiversations of the Spanish cabinet in the Portu- 
 gal matter were the cause of ihe shufflings of the French 
 ministers on the subject of the Provinces. 
 
 "I know well," said Henry a few days later, " that 
 the people dowTi there, and their ambassador heie, aie 
 leading us on with words, as far as they can, with 
 regard to the recompense of madam my mother for her 
 claims upon Portugal. But they had better remember 
 (and I think they will), that out of the offers which 
 these sixteen deputies of the Netherlands are bringing 
 me — and I believe it to be carte hlanche — I shall be able 
 to pay myself. 'Twill be better to come promptly to a 
 good bargain and a brief conclusion, than to spin the 
 matter out longer."* 
 
 ** Don Bernardino," said the Queen-Mother on the 
 same day, *' has been keeping us up to this hour in 
 hopes of a good offer, but 'tis to be feared, /err the good of 
 Christendom, that 'twill be too late. The deputies are 
 come, bringing carte blanche. Nevertheless, if the King 
 of Spain is willing to be reasonable, and that instantly, 
 it will be well, and it would seem as if God had been 
 pleased to place this means in our hands." * 
 
 After the conferences had been fairly got under way 
 between the French government and the envoys, the 
 demands upon Philip for a good bargain and a handsome 
 offer became still more pressing. 
 
 *' I have given audience to the deputies from the 
 Provinces," wrote Henry, " and the Queen-Mother has 
 done the same. Chancellor Chiveniy, Villequier, Bel- 
 
 » Ibid. " Je ne dlray Jamais ce que Je 
 demandt', an contraire, attendrai ses 
 offres qu'il fault qui sotent raisMtimables, 
 puis qu'il est saisy et (xxiipateur de ce 
 que Jp preteudz ra'appartenir," &c. 
 
 2 Henry 111. a Ijonglee, i;J JiUi. 15H5. 
 Brienne MS. " Mais 11 doibvent bicn 
 considerer— que sur les offres que me 
 viennent faire seize principaulx deputez 
 
 des pays bas (les quelz m'apportent, a ce 
 quej'entendz la carte blanche), J'y auray 
 consideration, et vauldroit b^^aucup 
 mieulx venlr promptement k une bonne 
 neRotlatlon et brielve conclusion d'icell**, 
 que de tenir alnsy les cboses a la longue." 
 kv. 
 
 3 La Ketne Mere 2t Longlee, 13 Jtin. 
 1S85. Brienne MS. 
 
 1585. INTERCOUI^E BETWEEN HENRY III. AND PARMA. IQl 
 
 lievre, and Brulart, will now confer with them from 
 day to day. I now tell you that it will be well, before 
 things go anr/ farther, for the King of Spain to come to 
 reason about the pretensions of madam motlier This 
 Will be a means of establishing the repo.so of Christen- 
 dom. I shall be very willing to concur in such an 
 arrangement, if I saw any approximation to it on the 
 part ot the Kmg or his ministers. But I fear thev will 
 delay too long, and so you had better tell them. Push 
 them to the point as much as possible, without letting 
 them susjDect that I have been writing about it, for 
 
 Ward " • '''^^'''^ '^'^''' ^^"-'^ *^^^^ ^^'^^^ 
 
 At the same time, during this alternate threatening 
 and coaxing between the French and the Spanish court 
 and in the midst of all the solemn and tedious proto: 
 colling of the ministry and the Dutch envoys, there 
 was a most sincere and affectionate intercouite main^ 
 
 iZL IT ^^^^'^ I"- -«d the Prince of Parma, 
 liie Spanish Governor-General was assured that nothing 
 but the warmest regard was entertained for him and 
 his m^ter on the part of the French court. Parma had 
 replied, however that so many French troops had in 
 times past crossed the frontier to assist the rebels, that 
 he hardly knew what to think. He expressed the hone 
 now that the Duke of Anjou was dead, that his ChrisS 
 
 Sttglod-wiD.* ^^^^^^"-- *^^ -b^"--. ^^^tmani- 
 " How can your Highness doubt it?" said Malnierre 
 Henry s envoy - for his Majesty has given proof enough 
 of his good-will, having prevented all enterprises In 
 this regard, and preferred to have his own subjects cut 
 into pieces rather than that they should cany out their 
 designs. Had his Majesty been willing merely to con- 
 nive at these undertakings, 'tis probable that the affairs 
 ot your Highness would not have succeeded so well as 
 they have done. * 
 
 » Henry III. h Tx)ngMe, 21 Feb. 15S5. 
 * 11 seroit tres k propos, avant que les 
 ch()8eg allassent plus avant q-ae le Roy 
 d'Ksp;i-jme regardasse h se niectre a la 
 raison pour les pretentions de la royne 
 madame et mere," &c.— " I^es Inclt^ni le 
 plus qu'il vouij sera possible, sans tonte- 
 
 fojs quils puissent cognoistre que vons 
 en ayant escrlpt, car cela pourroit estre 
 plustot cause de les en faire reculler 
 qu'auUremcnt," *c. Brienne MS. 
 
 2 Malpierre h Henry HI., 16 Fer. 
 15S5. Brienne MS. 
 
102 
 
 THE UKITED KETHEULANDS. 
 
 Chap. IV. 
 
 Witli regard to England, also, the conduct of Henry 
 and his niutlier in these negotiations was marked by the 
 same imtuthomable duplicity. There was an appearance 
 of cordiality on the surface ; but there was deep plotting, 
 and bargaining, and even deadly hostility, lurking be- 
 low. We have seen the efforts which Elizabeth's 
 government had been making to counteract the policy 
 which offered the sovereignty of the Provinces to the 
 French monarch. At the same time there was at least 
 a loyal disposition upon the Queen's part to assist the 
 Netherlands, in concurrence with Ilenry. The de- 
 meanour of Burghley and his colleagues was frankness 
 itself, compared with the secret schemings of the Yalois ; 
 for at least peace and good-will between the *' trium- 
 virate" of France, England, and the Netherlands, was 
 intended, as the true means of resisting the predominant 
 influence of Spain. 
 
 Yet very soon after the solemn reception by Ilenry 
 of the garter brought by Lord Derby, and in the midst 
 of the negotiations between the French court and the 
 United Trovinces, the French king was not only at- 
 tempting to barter the sovereignty offered him by the 
 Netherlanders against a handsome recompense for the 
 Portugal claim, but he was actually proposing to the 
 King of Spain to join with him in an invasion of Eng- 
 land! Even Philip himself must have admired and 
 respected such a couiplication of villany on the part of 
 his most Christian brother. lie was, however, not dis- 
 posed to put any confidence in his schemes. 
 
 ** With regard to the attempt against England," wrote 
 Philip to Meudoza, "you must keep your eyes open — 
 you must look at the danger of letting them, before they 
 have got rid of their rivals and reduced their heretics, 
 go out of their own house and kingdom, and thus of 
 being made fools of when they think of coming back 
 again. Let them first exterminate the heretics of 
 liance, and then we will look after those of Eng- 
 land ; because 'tis more important to finish those who 
 are near than those afar off. Perhaps the Queen- 
 Mother proposes this invasion in order to proceed 
 nu re feebly with matters in her own kingdom; and 
 thus Mucio (Duke of Guise j and his friendi will not 
 
 IS85. 
 
 DUPLICITY OF THE SPANISH AND FRENCH COURTS. 103 
 
 have so safe a game, and must take heed lest they be 
 deceived." ' 
 
 Thus it is obvious that Henry and Catherine intended, 
 on flic whole, to deceive the English and the Nether- 
 landers, and to get as good a bargain and as safe a 
 friendship from Philip as could be manufactured out of 
 the materials placed in the French King's hands by the 
 United Provinces. Elizabeth honestly wished well to 
 the States, but allowed Burghley and those who acted 
 with him to flatter themselves with the chimera that 
 Hemy could be induced to protect the Netherlands 
 without assuming the sovereignty of that common- 
 wealth. The Provinces were fighting for their exist- 
 ence, unconscious of their latent strength, and willing 
 to trust to France ^or to England, if they could only 
 save themselves from being swallowed by Spain. As 
 for Spain itself, that country was more practised in 
 duplicity even than the government of the Medici- 
 Valois, and was of course more than a match at the 
 game of deception for the franker politicians of England 
 and Holland. 
 
 The King of Navarre had meanwhile been looking 
 on at a distance. Too keen an observer, too subtle a 
 reasoner, to doubt the secret source of the movements 
 then agitating France to its centre, he was yet unable 
 to foresee the turn that all these intrigues were about 
 to take. He could hardly doubt that Spain was playing 
 a dark and desperate game with the unfortunate Henry 
 III.; for, as we have seen, he had himself not long 
 before received a secret and liberal offer from Philip II., 
 if he would agree to make war upon the King.* But 
 the Bearnese was not the man to play into the hands of 
 Spain, nor could he imagine the possibility of the Valois, 
 or even of his mother, taking so suicidal a course. 
 
 » lliUip II. to Bernardino de Men- 
 doza, 17 Au}j. 15H5. Archlvo de Si- 
 nunciia.' A. 56, No. 28, MS., in tlie 
 Archives de I'Kinpire at Paris. " En lo 
 de la impnsa de Inglaterra, le yd abrltn- 
 d'» lo8 oj<)s para que tche de ver el ptligro 
 en que se pone, si antes de desliazer su3 
 einulos y reduc'.r a loa horegrs o echerlos, 
 se do.\a sacar I'uera de su casa y del Reyno 
 y quan biirlado se p<Mlria hallar quaudu 
 peoiMiscie bolver. Que acaben prim" los 
 
 hereses de francia, y despues deraos traa 
 de Inglaterra, por que mas Importa a 
 tmios acabar los de ccrca quo los de lejos, 
 y qulfa la Reyna madre propone lanueva 
 impresa (de Inglaterra) por hazer afloxur 
 con los heri>ges de deiiiro de su reyno, y 
 assl pucs Muclo y los suyus no ternan 
 ct)6a segura rolentras estos Cotuviertu 
 aqul, miren bien no se dcxen engafiar." 
 
 ■•' Herle to Qjieen Elizabeth, 22nd July, 
 1584, S. P. Office MS. Vide ante, p. 47. 
 
104 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. W 
 
 After tlie Netherland deputies had received tlieir final 
 dismissal from the King, they sent Calvart, who liad 
 been secretary to their embassy, on a secret mission to 
 Henry of Navarre, then resident at Chartres. 
 
 The envoy c«jmmunicated to the Huguenot chief the 
 meagre result of the long negotiation with tlie Frencli 
 court. Henry bade him be of good cheer, and assured 
 him of his best wishes for their cause. He expressed 
 the opinion that the King of France would now either 
 attempt to overcume the Ciuise faction by gentle means, 
 or at once make war upon them. I'lie Bishop of Acqs 
 had strongly recommended the French monarch to send 
 the King of Navarre, with a strong force, to the assist- 
 aucc of the Netherlands, urging the point witli much 
 fervid eloquence and solid argument. Henry for a 
 moment had .•-eomed impressed, but such a vigorous 
 proceeding was of course entirely beyond his strength, 
 and ho had sunk back into his effeminate languor so 
 soon as the bold bishc^p's back was tumed.' 
 
 The Beaniese liud naturally conceived but little hope 
 that such a scheme Avould be carried into eflect ; but ho 
 assured Calvart that nothing could give him greater 
 delight than to mount and ride in such a cause.* 
 
 ^ *' Notwithstanding," said the Bearnese, " that the 
 villanous intentions of the Guises are becoming plainer 
 and plainer, and that they are obviously supplied with 
 Spanish dollars, I shall send a special envoy to the most 
 Christian King, and, altliough 'tis somewhat late, im- 
 plore liim to throw his weight into the scale, in order to 
 redeem your country from its miseiy. Meantime, be oj 
 good heart, and defend, as you have done, your liearths, 
 your liberty, and the honour of God."* 
 
 He advised the States unhesitatingly to continue 
 tlieir confidence in the French King, and to keep him 
 infonned of their plans and movements ; expressing the 
 opinion that these very intrigues of tlie Guise party 
 would soon justify or even force Henry III. openly to 
 assist the Netherlands. 
 
 ^o far, at that very moment, was so sharp a politician 
 
 > De Thou, ix. 29S seq. cboz le roy tres Cliretien,' 1 1 Juin, 1585. 
 
 « 'Kapport fait par le Sienr Calvnrt, (H;i.s?ne Archives, MS.) 
 
 aiant e>te envoie vers lo r.y d.> Navarre 3 iis. Rei^rt of Calx art, bef.Te cited, 
 
 df la part des d 'putez dcs EtatsGeticraux ' • 
 
 1585. KIN'G OF NAVAHKE Ori-ERS TO SEND TROOPS. 105 
 
 as the Buarnese from suspecting the secret schemes of 
 Henry of V alois. Calvart urged the King of NavaiTo 
 to assist the States at that moment with some sli"-ht 
 subsidy. Antwerp was in such imminent danger as to 
 fill the hearts of all true patriots with dismav ; and a 
 timely succour, even if a slender one, might be of in- 
 estimable value. 
 
 Henry expressed profound regret that his own means 
 were so limited, and his own position so dangerous, as 
 to make it difficult for him to manifest in broad daylioht 
 the full affection which he bore the Provinces. 
 
 " To mv sorrow," said he, "your proposition is made 
 in the midst of such dark and stormy weather, that 
 those who have clearest sight are unable to see to what 
 issue these troubles of France are tending." * 
 
 Nevertheless, with much generosity and manliness, 
 he promised Calvart to send two thousand soldiers, at 
 his own charges, to the Provinces without delay ; and 
 authorised that envoy to consult with his agent at the 
 court, of the Frencli King, in order to obtain the royal 
 permission for the tioops to cross the frontier.* 
 
 The crownless and almost houseless King had thus, 
 at a single interview, and in exchange for nothing but 
 good wishes, granted what the most Christian monarch 
 of France had refused, after months of negotiation, and 
 with sovereignty as the purchase-money. The envoy, 
 well pleased, sped as swiftly as possible to Paris ; but, 
 as may easily be imagined, Henry of Valois forbfede the 
 movement contemplated by Henry of Navaire. 
 
 "His Majesty," said Villeroy, secretary of state, 
 *' sees no occasion, in so weighty a business, thus sud- 
 denly to change his mind ; the less so, because he hopes 
 to be able eie long to smooth over these troubles which 
 have begun in France. Should tho, King either openly 
 or secretly assist the Netherlands or allow them to be 
 assisted, 'twould be a reason for all the Catholics now 
 sustaining his Majesty's party to go over to the Guise 
 faction. The Provinces must remain firm, and make 
 no pacification with the enemy. Meantime the Queen 
 of England is the only one to whom God has given 
 means to afford you succour. One of these days, when 
 
 > MS. Report of Calvart, before cited. 
 
 2 Ibid. 
 
106 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. IV. 
 
 1585. 
 
 the proper time conies, his Majesty will assist her in 
 affording yoii relief." * 
 
 Calvart, after this conference with the King of Na- 
 varre, and subsequently with the government, enter- 
 tiiined a lingering hope that the French King meant to 
 assist tlie I'rovinces. '* I know well who is the author 
 of these troubles," said the unhappy monarch, who 
 never once mentioned the name of Guise in all those 
 conferences ; *' but, if God grant mo life, I will give 
 him as good as he sends, and make him rue his con- 
 duct." * 
 
 They were not aware after how many strange vacilla- 
 tions Ilenry was one day to wreak this threatened 
 vengeance. As for Navarre, he remained upon the 
 watch, good-liunioured as ever, more merrj' and hopeful 
 as the tempest grew blacker; manifesting the most 
 frank and friendly sentiments towards the Provinces, 
 and ^vriting to Queen Elizabeth, in the chivalrous style 
 so dear to the heart of that sovereign, that he desired 
 nothing better than to be her ** servant and captain- 
 general against the common enemy." 
 
 But, indeed, the French King was not so well in- 
 fonned as he imagined himself to be of tlie authorship 
 of these troubles. Mucio, upon whoso head he thus 
 threatened vengeance, was but the instrument. The 
 conceah^d hand that was directing all these odious 
 intrigues, and lighting these flames of civil war which 
 were so long to make France a scene of desolation, was 
 that of the industrious letter-writer in the Escorial. 
 That which Henry of Navarre shrewdly suspected 
 when he talked of the Spanisli dollars in the Balafre's 
 pocket, that which was dimly visible to the bishop of 
 Acqs when he told Henry III. that the " Tagus had 
 emptied itself into the Seine and lioire, and that the 
 gold of Mexico was flowing into the royal cabinet," * was 
 much more certain than they supposed. 
 
 Philip, in truth, was neglecting his own most pressing 
 interests that he might direct all his energies towards 
 
 * It will be obeen-ed fhat the «'nvoj-s bien qui est I'autheiir de ces troubles 
 
 here sptak of Villeroy as mentioning the nial- s»i Dion mo dt-niie vie, je lay rendrai 
 
 Onises hy namp. parellle et r»n fcrai n'pentir." (MS. Re- 
 
 -' "Wiert (KKk verwittiRt dat Z. M. port of Oiilvart.) 
 
 Inttel dagen voer myii vertrcck, wesende ' De Tliou, M^t tvp. 
 onder zyne familieren seyde — Je scay 
 
 SECRET MEASURES OF PHILIP II. 
 
 107 
 
 entertaining civil war in France. That France should 
 remain internally at peace was contrary to all his plans. 
 He had therefore long kept Guise and his brother, the 
 Cardinal de Lorraine, in his pay, and he had been 
 spending large sums of money to bribe many of the 
 most considerable functionaries in the kingdom. 
 
 The most important entei-prises in the Netherlands 
 were allowed to languish, tliat these subterranean ope- 
 rations of the " prudent " monarch of Spain should be 
 pushed forward. The most brilliant and original genius 
 that Philip had tlie good fortune to have at his disposal, 
 the genius of Alexander Farnese, was cramped and 
 irritated almost to madness by the fetters imposed upon 
 it by the sluggish yet obstinate nature of him it was 
 bound to obey. Farnese was at that moment engaged 
 in a most arduous military undertaking, that famous 
 siege of Antwerp, the details of which will be related 
 in future chapters, yet he was never furnished with 
 men or money enough to ensure success to a much more 
 ordinaiy operation. His complaints, subdued but in- 
 tense, fell almost unheeded on his master's ear. He 
 had not "ten dollars at his command," his cavalry horses 
 were all dead of hunger or had been eaten by their 
 riders, who were starving to death themselves, his army 
 had dwindled to a *' handful," yet he still held on to his 
 purpose, in spite of famine, the desperate eflbrts of in- 
 defatigable enemies, and all the perils and privations of 
 a deadly winter. He, too, was kept for a long time in 
 l)iofound ignorance of Philip s designs. 
 . 31eantime, while the Spanish soldiers were starving* 
 in Flanders, Philip's dollars were employed by Mucio 
 and his adlierents in enlisting troops in Switzerland and 
 Germany, in order to carry on the civil war in France. 
 The French king was held systematically up to ridicule 
 or detestation in every village-pulpit in his own king- 
 dom, while the sister of Mucio, the Duchess of Mont- 
 pensier, carried the scissors at her girdle with which 
 she threatened to provide Henry with a thiid crown, in 
 addition to those of France and Poland, which he had dis- 
 graced—the coronal tonsure of a monk. The convent 
 should be, it was intimated, the eventual fate of the 
 modern Childeric, but meantime it was more impoi tant 
 than ever to supersede the ultimate pretensions of 
 
108 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. IV. 
 
 Henr}" of Navarre. To prevent that heretic of heretics, 
 who was not to bo bought with Spanish gold, from ever 
 reigning, was the first object of I'hilip and Miicio. 
 
 Accordingly, on the last day of the year 1584, a secret 
 treaty had been signed at Joinville between Henry of 
 Guise and his brother the Due de Mayenne, holding the 
 proxies of their brother the Cardinal and those of their 
 uncles Aumale and Elbenf, on the one part, and John 
 Baptist Tassis and Commander Moreo, on the other, as 
 representatives of Philip.* This transaction, — suffici- 
 ently well kiiuvvn now to the most supei-ficial student of 
 history, — was a profound mystery then, so far as re- 
 garded the action of the Spanish King. It was not a 
 secret, however, that the papistical party did not intend 
 that the Bearnese Prince should ever come to the 
 throne, and the matter of the succession was discussed 
 precisely as if the throne had been vacant. 
 
 It was decided that (Charles, paternal uncle to Henry 
 of Navarre, commonly called the Cardinal Bourbon, 
 should be considered successor to the crown, in place of 
 Henry, whose claim was forfeited by heresy. Moreover, 
 a great deal of superfluous money and learning was 
 expended in ordering some elaborate legal arguments to 
 be prepared by venal jurisconsults, proving not only that 
 the uncle ought to succeed before the nephew, but that 
 neither the one nor the other had any claim to succeed 
 at all. The pen having thus been employed to do the 
 work which the sword alone could accotnplish, the poor 
 old Cardinal was now formally established by the Guise 
 faction as presumptive heir to the crown.* 
 
 A man of straw, a superannuated court-dangler, a 
 credulous trifler, but an eamst Papist, as his brother 
 Antony had been, sixty-six years old, and feeble beyond 
 his years, who, his life long, had never achieved one 
 manly action, and had now one foot in the grave — this 
 was the puppet placed in the saddle to run a tilt against 
 the Beaniese, the man with foot ever in the stirrup, 
 with sword rarely in its sheath. 
 
 The contracting parties at Joinville agreed that the 
 Cardinal should succeed on the death of the reigning 
 king, and that no heretic should ever ascend the throne, 
 
 » Perpfixe. 5S, 59 ; De Thou, Ix. 272. 
 2 De Thou, ix. 262 seq. 
 
 1585. 
 
 TREATY OF JOLNTILLE. 
 
 109 
 
 or hold the meanest office in the kingdom. They agreed 
 further that all heretics should be *' exterminated " 
 without distinction, throughout France and the Nether- 
 lands. In order to procure the necessary reforms among 
 the clergy, the council of Trent was to be fully carried 
 into eUcct. Philip pledged himself to furnish at least 
 fifty thousand crowns monthly, for the advancement of 
 this Holy League, as it was denominated, aud as much 
 r more as should prove necessary. The sums advanced 
 were to be repaid by the Cardinal on his succeeding 
 to the throne. All the great officers of the crown, loids 
 and gentlemen, cities, chapters, and universities, all 
 Catholics, in short, in the kingdom, were deemed to be 
 included in the league. If any foreign Catholic prince 
 desired to enter the union, he should be admitted with 
 the consent of both parties. Neither his Catholic Ma- 
 jesty nor the confederated princes should treat with the 
 most Christian -King, either directly or indirectly. 
 Ihe compact was to remain strictly secret^one copy 
 of It being sent to Philip, while the other was to be re- 
 tained by Cardinal Bourbon and his fellow leaguers.' 
 
 And now— in accordance with this program— Philip 
 proceeded stealthily and industriously to further the 
 schemes of Mucio, to tlie exclusion of more urgent busi- 
 ness. Noiseless and secret himself, and delighting in 
 nothing so much as to glide, as it were, throughout 
 Europe, wrapped m the mantle of invisibility, he was 
 pei-petua ly provoked by the noise, the bombast, and 
 the bustle, which his late pmdent confederates per- 
 mitted themselves ^\•hile Philip for a long time hesi- 
 tated to confide the secret of the League to Parma, 
 whom It inost imported to understand these^schemes 
 of his master, the confederates were openly boasting 
 of the assistance which they were to derive from 
 larrnas co-operation. Even when the Prince had at 
 last been informed as to the state of alfairs, he stoutly de< 
 nied the facts of which the leaguers made their vaunt ; 
 
 stq ^ ^^ ^^ ^*""^> ^«""e ^ entendre que le^ 
 
 '"Mulpierre a Henry III 27 Av J'^'f^^J^ ^J^ '* dH^Migno se faisoi.nt 
 -»- a neiiry in., 27 av. foriz d avoir secours de de9a— a quui i. 
 
110 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. IV. 
 
 \ 
 
 " Tilings have now arrived at a point," wrote Philip 
 to Tassis, 15th March, 1585, "that this matter of the 
 League cannot and ought not to be concealed from 
 those who have a right to know it. Therefore you 
 must speak plainly to the Prince of Parma, informing 
 him of the whole scheme, and enjoining the utmost 
 secrecy. You must concert with hioi as to the best 
 means of rendering aid to this cause, after having ap- 
 prised him of the points which regard him, and also 
 that of the security of Cardinal de Bourbon, in case of 
 necessity." * 
 
 The Prince was anything but pleased, in the midst of 
 his anxiety and his almost superhuman labour in the 
 Antwerp siege, to be distracted, impoverished, and 
 weakened, in order to carry out these schemes against 
 France ; but he kept the secret manfully. 
 
 To Malpierre, the French envoy in Brussels — for there 
 was the closest diplomatic communication between 
 Henrj' III. and Philip, while each was tampering with 
 the rebellious subjects of the other— to Maipierre Parma 
 flatly contradicted all complicity on the part of the Spa- 
 nish King or himself with the Holy League, of which 
 he knew Philip to be the originator and the chief. 
 
 *' If 1 complain to the Prince of Parma," said the en- 
 voy, " of the companies going from Flanders to assist 
 the League, he will make me no other reply than that 
 which the President has done— that there is nothing at 
 all in it — until they are fairly arrived in France. The 
 President (Richardot) said that if the Catholic King 
 belonged to the League, as they insinuate, his Majesty 
 would declare the foot openly." * 
 
 And a few days later, the Prince himself averred, as 
 Malpierre had anticipated, that, " as to any intention on 
 the part of himself or his Catholic Majesty to send suc- 
 cour to the League, according to the boast of these gen- 
 tlemen, he had never thought of such a thing, nor had 
 received any order on the subject from his master. Jf 
 the King intended to do an}i;hing of the kind, ho would 
 
 in'a resporolu qne Jamais le d* Selgn. * Philip II. to J. B. Tassls, 15 
 
 Koy CathoHque ne l(> ferolt, et s'lls en March, 15S5. • Archive de Simaucas,' 
 
 fal>olent courir le bruit, ce estolt pour MS. 
 
 d >nner plus d'appuy & Uurs affaires," 2 Malpierre & De Orosne, 27 Av. 1585. 
 
 he, Briunne MS. 
 
 1585. SLOW MOVEMENT OF THE GUISE FACTION. 
 
 Ill 
 
 do it openly. He protested that he liad never seen any- 
 thing or known anything of the League." * 
 
 Here was a man who knew how to keep a secret, and 
 who had no scruples in the matter of dissimulation, how- 
 ever enraged he might be at seeing men and money 
 diverted from his OAvn masterly combinations in order to 
 carr^' out these schemes of his master. 
 
 Mucio, on the contrary, was imprudent and inclined to 
 boast. His contempt for Henry III. made him blind to 
 the dangers to bo apprehended from Henry of Navarre. 
 He did little, but talked a great deal. 
 
 Philip was very anxious that the work should be done 
 both secretly and thoroughly. " Let the business be 
 finished before Saint John's day," said he to Tassis, 
 when sending fifty thousand dollars for the use of the 
 brothers Guise. " Tell Iniquez to warn them not to be 
 sluggish. Let them not begin in a lukewarm manner, 
 but promise them plenty of assistance from me, if they 
 conduct themselves properly. Let them beware of wa- 
 vering, or of falling into plans of conciliation. If they 
 do their duty, I will do mine." * 
 
 But the Guise faction moved slowly despite of Philip's 
 secret promptings.^ The truth is, that the means pro- 
 posed by the Spanish monarch were ludicrously inade- 
 quate to his plans, and it was idle to suppose that the 
 world was to be turned upside down for his benefit at 
 the very low price which he was prepared to pay. 
 
 Nothing less than to exterminate all the heretics in 
 Christendom, to place himself on the thrones of France 
 and of England, and to extinguish the last spark of rebel- 
 lion in the Netherlands, was his secret thought, and yet 
 it was very difficult to get fifty thousand dollars from 
 him from month to month. Procrastinating and indo- 
 lent himself, he was for ever rebuking the torpid move- 
 ments of the Guises. 
 
 "Let Mucio set his game well at the outset," said 
 ho ; •' let him lay the axe to the root of the tree, for to 
 be wasting time fruitlessly is sharpening the knife for 
 himself." « 
 
 ' Malpierre k Henry III., 28 Mai, encargar a' Mucio ea que procure poner 
 
 "f • .' "''^""'^ ^^^■' bien sn Juego i los prJnclpios. am acudir 
 
 Hiillp JI. to Tassis. MS. before & la raiz. porque lo contrario y dejarse 
 
 ^ J • consumir del tlempo debalde, podra ear 
 
 ' Lo que sobre todo convlcne ecordar y su cucliillo." (Ibid.) 
 
112 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. IV. 
 
 This was almost prophetic. When, after so much 
 talking and tampering, there began to be recrimination 
 among the leaguers, Philip was very angry with his 
 subordinate. 
 
 " Here is Mucio," said he, " trying to throw the 
 blame of all the difficulties which have arisen upon us. 
 Not hastening, not keeping his secret, letting the execu- 
 tion of the entei-prise grow cold, and lending an ear to 
 suggestions about peace, without being sure of its con- 
 clusion, he has turned his followers into cowards, dis- 
 credited his cause, and given the King of France oppor- 
 tunity to strengthen his force and improve his party. 
 These are all very palpable things. 1 am willing to 
 continue my friendship for them, but not if, while they 
 accept it, they permit themselves to complain, instead 
 of manifesting gratitude." * 
 
 On the whole, however, the affairs of the League 
 seemed prosperous. There was doubtless too much dis- 
 play among the confederates, but there was a powing 
 uneasiness among the royalists. Cardinal Dourbon, 
 discarding his ecclesiastical robes and scarlet stockings, 
 pu-aded himself daily in public, clothed in military 
 costume, with all the airs of royalty. Many persons 
 thought him mad. On the other hand, Epergnon, the 
 haughty minion -in-chief, who governed Heniy 111. and 
 insulted all the world, was becoming almost polite. 
 
 **The progress of the League," said Busbecq, **is 
 teaching the Due d'Epergnon manners. *Tis a youth of 
 such insolence, that without uncovering he would talk 
 with men of royal descent, while they were bareheaded, 
 Tis a common jest now that he has found out where 
 
 his hat is."* ^^^.' a 
 
 Thus, for a long time, a network of secret political 
 combinations had been stretching itself over Christen- 
 dom. There were great movements of troops through- 
 
 i "Mucio no8 quiere bazer aca cargo 
 de todds laji diflcultades en que alia »e 
 ban metido, al principlo par apiwiirarse 
 y no Kuardar bU-n su segreto, y despues 
 por baver sc resfriailo la execuclon de la 
 empresa. y dado oydos a la pai, que tras 
 no led poder ser scgura la conclusion 
 d Ua, solo el trato ha acobardado los ani- 
 mos. de lo8 que le slguleran, desacredi- 
 tando 8U causa y dondo lugar a que el 
 
 Rey de Francla pudlesse n'ogf-r sus fuer- 
 zas y mejorar su partido. q\w «>n ioda« 
 tan palpabK'S— masno lea arceptando que 
 estan qu-xosos en lugar de t.bllgadiH}." 
 rhilip II. to Mendoia, 9 July, 15h5. 
 • Archlvo de Slniancas ' MS. In tlie 
 Aahives de I'Kiuplre at Paris, A. 56, 
 
 30. 
 2 Busb.-cqul. •Epi8LadRud.,'25Aprll 
 
 1585, p. 154. 
 
 1585. 
 
 NETHERLAND DEPUTIES DISMISSED. 
 
 113 
 
 out Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, slowly 
 concentrating themselves upon France ; yet, on the 
 whole, the great mass of the populations, the men and 
 women who were to pay, to fight, to starve, to be tram- 
 pled upon, to be outraged, to be plundered, to be burned 
 out of hou:-e and home, to bleed, and to die, were merelv 
 ignorant gaping spectatoi-s. That there was something- 
 very grave in prospect was obvious, but exactly what 
 was impending they knew no more than the generation 
 yet unborn. Very noiselessly had the patient manager 
 who sat in the Escorial been making preparations for 
 that European tragedy in which most of the actors had 
 such fatal parts assigned them, and of which few of the 
 spect4itors of its opening scenes were doomed to witness 
 the conclusion. A shifting and glancing of lights, a 
 visi..n of vanishing feet, a trampling and bustling of 
 unseen crowds, movements of concealed machinery, a 
 few incoherent words, much noise and confusion vague 
 and incomprehensible, till at last the tinkling of a small 
 bell, and a glimpse of the modest manager stealing 
 away as the curtain was rising— such was the spectacle 
 presented at Midsummer, 1 585. 
 
 And in truth the opening picture was effective. Six- 
 teen black-i-obed, long-bearded Ketherland envoys stalk- 
 ing away, discomfited and indignant, upon one side ; 
 Catherine de' Medici on the other, regarding them 
 with a sneer, painfully contorted into a pathetic smile ; 
 Henry the King, robed in a sack of penitence, trembling 
 and hesitating, leaning on the arm of Epergnon, but 
 quailing even under the protection of that mighty 
 swordsman; Mucio, careering, truncheon in hand, in 
 full panoply, npon his war-horse, waving forward a 
 mingled mass of German lanzknechts, Swiss musketeers, 
 and Loriaine pikemen ; the redoubtable Don Bernardino 
 de IMendoza, in front, frowning and ferocious, with his 
 drawn sword in his hand ; Elizabeth of England, in the 
 background, with the white-bearded Burghley and the 
 monastic W'alsingham, all surveying the scene with 
 eyes of deepest meaning; and, somewhat aside, but 
 m full view, silent, calm, and imperturbably good- 
 humoured, the bold Bearnese, standing with a mis- 
 chievous but prophetic smile glittering through hi8 
 VOL. I J 
 
114 
 
 THE rNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. lY. 
 
 "blue eyes and cnrly beard — tbus grouped were the 
 personages of the drama in the introductoiy scenes. 
 
 The course of public events which succeeded the 
 departure of the Netherland deputies is sufficiently well 
 known. The secret negotiations and intrigues, how- 
 ever, by which those external facts were preceded or 
 accompanied rest mainly in dusty archives, and it was 
 therefore necessary to dwell somewhat at length upon 
 them in the preceding pages. 
 
 The treaty of Joinville was signed on the last day of 
 the year 1584. 
 
 We have seen the real nature of the interview of 
 Ambassador Mendoza with Henry III. and his mother, 
 which took place early in January, 1585. Immediately 
 after that conference Don Bernardino betook himself to 
 the Duke of Guise, and lost no time in stimulating his 
 confederate to prompt but secret action. 
 
 The Netherland envoys had their last audience on 
 the 18th of March, and their departure and disappoint- 
 ment was the signal for the general exhibition and 
 explosion, llie great civil war began, and the man 
 who refused to annex the Netherlands to the French 
 kingdom soon ceased' to bo regarded as a king. 
 
 On the 31st March the heir presumptive, just manu- 
 f ictured by the Guises, sent forth his manifesto. Cardinal 
 Bourbon, by this document, declared that for twenty- 
 four years past no proper measures had been taken to 
 extirpate the heresy by which France was infested. 
 There was no natural heir to the King. Those who 
 claimed to succeed at his death had deprived themselves, 
 by heresy, of their rights. Should they gain their 
 ends, the ancient religion would be abolished through- 
 out the kingdom, as it had been in England, and 
 Catholics be subjected to the same frightful toiiures 
 which they were experiencing there. New men, ad 
 mitted to the confidence cf the crown, clothed with the 
 highest honours, and laden with enormous emoluments, 
 had excluded the ancient and honoured functionaries of 
 the state, who had been obliged to sell out their offices 
 to these upstart successors. These new favourites had 
 seized the finances of the kingdom, all of which were 
 now collected into the private coffers of the King, and 
 bhared by him with his courtiers. The people were 
 
 1585. 
 
 MANIFESTO OF THE LEAGUE. 
 
 115 
 
 panmg under new taxes invented every day, yet ih^v 
 knew nothing of the distribution of the public treasure 
 while the King was himself so impoverished as to h^ 
 unable to discharge his daily deb?s. Meantime thes^ 
 new advisers of the crown had renewed to the Pro- 
 testants of the kingdom the religious pHvile'es of 
 which they had so justly been depHved, yet he reli 
 gious peace which had followed had not brought wih 
 It the promised diminution of the popular burthlns 
 Never had the nation been so heavily^taxed or redS 
 to such profound misery. For these reasons he Car 
 dma Bourbon, with other princes of the blo^d ;eer 
 gentlemen, cities, and universities, had solemnly bound 
 themselves by oath to extirpate heresy down to th. W 
 root, and to save the people from the dreadful I'oad 
 mder which they were languishing. It was for this 
 that they had 1.tken up arms, and till that purpose was 
 accomplished they would never lay them down^ 
 
 Iho paper concluded with the hope that his*Maiesfv 
 would not take these warlike demonstrLon, aS 
 and^^a^copy of the document was placed in ^icf^i 
 
 It was very obvious to the most superficial observer 
 hat the manifesto was directed almost as much aSt 
 the reignmg sovereign .is against Henry of VlyZ^e 
 The adherents of the Guise faction, and ^speci.lh cer' 
 tain theologians in their employ, had tak^i v;^!?!!]; 
 grounds upon the relations hLlon ktg and\^^Ll;^ 
 
 who did not discharge^hi^tV^^^^^^^^ 
 was robbery, and it was as absurd to call hin^a tf^^ 
 who knew not how to govern, as it was to take a H nd 
 man for a guide, or to believe tliat a staturcould n 
 fluence the movements of liviu"- men '"^ 
 
 not find a smgle royal or manly wird of renl v H« 
 threw himself on his knees, when, if ever he should 
 have assumed an attitude of eomn^nd. He a~ed 
 the .nsolenee of the men who were ra,.ding fhet 
 
 » IHjTIjou, i.\. -iHistq. ., „ _ 
 
 ' ■' I'orc'fijie, 5». 
 
 1 2 
 
116 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 CUAP. IV. 
 
 1585. 
 
 ATTITUDE OF THE KING OF NAVARRE. 
 
 117 
 
 contempt for Ms authority, by humble excuses and 
 supplications for pardon. He threw his crown in the 
 dust before their feet, as if such humility would induce 
 them to place it again upon his head. He abandoned 
 the minions who had been his pride, his joy, and his 
 defence, and deprecated, with an abject whimper, all 
 responsibility for the unmeasured ambition and the 
 ins^itiable rapacity of a few private individuals. He 
 conjured the party-leaders, who had hurled defiance in 
 his face, to lay down their arms, and promised that 
 they should find in his wisdom and bounty more than 
 all the advantages which they were seeking to obtain 
 by war.* 
 
 Henry of Navarre answered in a different strain. 
 The gauntlet had at last been thrown down to him, 
 and he came forward to take it up ; not insolently nor 
 carelessly, but with the cold courtesy of a Christian 
 knight and valiant gentleman. He denied the charge 
 of heresy. He avowed detestation of all doctrines con- 
 trary to the Word of God, to the decrees of the Fathers 
 of the Church, or condemned by the councils. Hie 
 errors and abuses which had from time to time crept ^ 
 into the church, had long demanded, in the opinion of 
 all pious persons, some measures of reform. After 
 many bloody wars, no better remedy had been dis- 
 covered to arrest the cause of these dire religious 
 troubles, whether in France or Germany, than to per- 
 mit all men to obey the dictates of their own con- 
 science. The Protestants had thus obtained in France 
 many edicts by which the peace of the kingdom had 
 been secured. He could not himself be denounced as 
 a heretic, for he had always held himself ready to 
 receive instruction, and to be set right where he had 
 erred. To call him " relapsed " was an outrage. \N'ere 
 it true, he were indeed unworthy of the crown, but the 
 world knew that his change at the Massacre of St. Bar 
 tholomew had been made under duresse, and that he 
 had returned to the reformed faith when he had 
 recovered his liberty. Religious toleration had l)een 
 the object of his life. In what the tyranny of the 
 popes and the violence of the Spaniards had left him 
 of his kingdom of Navarre, Catholics and Protestants 
 
 1 De Thou, Ix. 288. 
 
 enjoyed a perfect religious liberty. No man had the 
 right, therefore, to denounce him as an enemy of the 
 church, or a disturber of the public repose, for he had 
 ever been willing to accept all propositions of peace 
 which left the rights of conscience protected. 
 
 He was a Frenchman, a prince of Franco, a living 
 member of the kingdom, feeling with its pains, and 
 bleeding with its wounds. They who denounced him 
 were alien to France, factitious portions of her body, 
 feeling no sutTering, even should she be consuming 
 with living fire. The Leaguers were the friends and 
 the sei'\'ants of the S))aniards, while he had been born 
 the enemy, and with too good reason, of the whole 
 Spanish race. 
 
 '' Let tlie name of Papist and of Huguenot," he said, 
 "be heard no more among us. Tliose terms were 
 buried in the edict of peace. Let us speak only of 
 Frenchmen and of Spaniards. It is the counter-lcao-ue 
 which we must all unite to form, the natural union of 
 the head with all its members." 
 
 Finally, to save the shedding of so much innocent 
 blood, to spare all the countless miseries of civil war, 
 he implored the royal permission to terminate this 
 quarrel in person, by single combat with the Duke of 
 Guise one to one, two to two, or in as large a number 
 as might be desired, and upon any spot within or without 
 the kingdom that should be assigned. " 'Die Duke of 
 Guise,' said Henry of Navarre, "cannot but accept my 
 challenge as an honour, coming as it does from a prince 
 inhnitely his sui)erior in rank; and thus, may God 
 defend tlie right." 
 
 This paper, dra^v^l up by the illustrious Duplessis- 
 Mornay, wlio was to have been the second of the Kin"- 
 ot Navarre in ihi, proposed duel, was signed 10 June*^ 
 
 .1 '■^^^^f^"^\^^»^^"^':j^.<^ I^enry IIL, not so dull as to doubt 
 that the true object of the Guise party was to reduce 
 iiim to msignifirance, and to open their own way to 
 the throne was too impotent of purpose to follow the 
 dictates which his wisest counsellors urged and his 
 
 >' Declaration duRoy do Navarre contre ed. 1824, vol. ill 91 ^n D« Tho., Iv 
 loscaluinni..sdelaI.)«uc.; In Dupl.-ssb- 3-.'u«.v. '•''"' ^^ ""i' »« "lou. U. 
 •Aloruay, •Alemoircs el Correspoudanci',' 
 
<* 
 
 118 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. IV. 
 
 1585. 
 
 DESIGNS OF FRANCE AND SPAIN, 
 
 119 
 
 il 
 
 I 
 
 own reason approved. His choice had lain between 
 open hoHtility with his Spanish enemy and a more ter- 
 rible coin])at with that implacable foe wearing the 
 mask of friendship. He had refused to annex to his 
 crown the rich and powerful Netherlands, from dread 
 iff a foreign war ; and he was now about to accept for 
 himself and kingdom all the horrors of a civil contest, 
 in which his avowed antagonist was the first captain 
 of the age, and his nominal allies the stipendiaries of 
 Philip II. 
 
 Villeroy, his prime minister, and Catherine de' 
 Medici, his mother, had both devoted him to disgrace 
 and ruin. The deputies from the Netherlands had 
 been dismissed, and now, notwithstanding the festivities 
 and exuberant demonstrations of friendship with which 
 the Earl of Derby's Nj)lendid embassy had been greeted, 
 it became necessary to bind Henry hand and foot to 
 the cfmspirators, who had sworn the destruction of that 
 Queen, as well as his own, and the extirpation of 
 heresy and heretics in every realui of Christendom. # 
 
 On the Dth Juno the League demanded a royal 
 decree, forbidding the practice of all religion but the 
 Eoman Catholic, on pain of death. In vain had the 
 clear-sighted Bishop of Acqs uttered his eloquent warn- 
 ings. Despite sueli timely counsels, which lie was 
 capable at once of appreciating and of neglecting, 
 Henry followed slavisldy the advice of those whom he 
 Icnew in his heart to be his foes, and authorised 
 the great conspiracy against Elizabeth, against Pro- 
 testantism, and against himself. 
 
 On tlu3 5th June Villeroy had expressed a wisli for a 
 very secret interview with Mendoza, on the subject of 
 the invasion oi' England. 
 
 ** It needed not this overture," said that magnilo- 
 quent Spaniard, *' to engender in a person of my 
 talents, and with the heart of a Mendoza, venom 
 enough for vengeance. I could not more desire than 
 I did already to assist in so holy a work ; nor could I 
 aspire to greater honour than would bo gained in 
 uniting those crowns (of France and Spain) in strict 
 friendship for the pui-jiose of extirpating heresy through- 
 out Europe, and of chastising the Queen of England— 
 whose alxmiinations I am never likely to forget, having 
 
 I 
 
 had them so long before my eyes— and of satisfying my 
 just resentment for the injuries she has inflicted on 
 myself. It was on this subject," continued the ambas- 
 sador, " that Monsieur de Villeroy wished a secret inter- 
 view with me, pledging himself— if your Majesty 
 would deign to unite yourself with this King, and to 
 aid him with your forces— to a successful result." ' 
 
 Mendoza accordingly expressed a willingness to meet 
 the ingenuous Secretary- of State— who had so recently 
 been assisting at the banquets and rejoicings with 
 Lord Derby and his companions, which had so much 
 enlivened the French capital— and assured him that his 
 most Catholic Majesty would be only too glad to draw 
 closer the bcmds of friendship with the most Christian 
 King, for the service of God and the glory of his 
 Church. 
 
 The next day the envoy and the Secretary of State 
 met very secretly, in the house of the Signer Gondi 
 V illeroy commenced his harangue by an allusion to the 
 current opinion, that Mendoza had arrived in France 
 with a torch in his hand, to light the fires of civil war 
 m that kingdom, as he had recently done in En^rland « 
 
 " I do not believe," replied Mendoza, " that discreet 
 and pnident persons in France attribute my actions to 
 any such motives. As for the ignorant people of the 
 kingdom, they do not appal me, although they evi- 
 dently imagine that I have imbibed, during mV resi- 
 dence m England, something of the spirit of the 
 enchanter I^Ierlin, that, by signs and cabalistic words 
 alono, I am thought capable of producing such com- 
 motions. * * O "* 
 
 * -1a abcrtura que estos royos me 
 havlan hoi ho .... no ha\1a d<^ enijen- 
 dmr en una persona de mis prendas y 
 cornfon de u» Mendoza veneno para pro- 
 curar v uRan^as, y no antes desseo de 
 ayudarobra tan sjinta. pues que me p<i. 
 drla r.-tlundar uwyor honra que de otr% 
 ninguua, (sl.-ndo iii.srruni<nfo para unir 
 estiis cor. mas c».n finne anilstad, del>axo 
 dr» Id qual pudio^se extfrpar las hereglas 
 d* Europa, daiido privH.-jno a esto, con 
 castigar a la r. yna de Iiigultierra, cuyas 
 alximlnacluncs creya que yo no tendria 
 olvldiidas. corao p«'rs«jna que las havia 
 tenld<. tantos aiios adelante los <Jos, y 
 causa de Justo resentimiento per lo que 
 
 havla hedio a la propria mla. Sobre esU 
 materia d«-ssara el Seflor Villeroy vene 
 t^ecretiimento conmlgo, y entender suyo, 
 me asogurara. si V. Mh. holgaria de ayudar 
 con sus fuer9as y Juntarse con este rey, 
 para el efeto." I ton BtTn'''"" d ■ Miiidoza 
 a Su Cai" R. Magd. (dt^lfrada). Paris, 7 
 June, 1585. Arch, de Simamas, in the 
 Archives de I'Empire at Paris, B. 56 
 220, 223. MS. 
 
 2 " Con el acha en la mano para em- 
 prendiT fu^go de puorra civil, como havia 
 h<>clio an Ingaltlerra." (MS. just cited, 7 
 June, 1585.) 
 
 ' " Y que los Ignorantes de francia no 
 me eepantarian, imaginandose haverse 
 
120 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. IT. 
 
 I 
 
 After this preliminary flourish the envoy proceeded 
 to cc-mplain bitterly of the most Christian King andi his 
 m«ither, who, after the propositions which they had 
 made him when on his way to Spain, had, since his 
 fetum, Ixjcomo so very cold and dry towards liim.* 
 And on this theme ho enlarged for some time. 
 
 Villerov replied by complaining, in his turn, about 
 the dealings of the most Catholic King with the 
 leaguers and the rebels of Franco ; and ]\Iendoza re- 
 joined by an intimation, that harping npon past 
 grievances and suspicions was hardly the way to bring 
 about harmony in present matters. 
 
 Struck with the justice of this remark, the French 
 Secretary of State entered at once upon business. He 
 made a very long speech' upon the tyranny which 
 ♦*that Englishwoman" was anew inflicting upon the 
 Catholics in her kingdom, upon the offences which she 
 had committed against tlie King of Spain, and against 
 the King of France and his brothers, and upon the 
 aliment which she had been yielding to the civil war 
 in the Xethtrlands and in France for so many years. 
 He then said that, if Mendoza would declare with sin- 
 cerity, and '^ without any of the duplicity of a minis- 
 ter," that Philip would league himself with Henry 
 for the purpose of invading England, in order to reduce 
 the three kingdoms to the Catholic faith, and to place 
 their crowns on the head of the Queen of Scotland, to 
 whom they of right belonged, then that the King, his 
 master, was most ready to join in so holv an enter- 
 Ijrise. He begged Mendoza to say with what number 
 of troops the invasion could bo made ; whether Philip 
 
 me pegad<> del tiemp<> que estnve en In- 
 galtlerra algo del spiritu de MerUn, para 
 hftfer, con sJgnos y palabras, s*'mejiuites 
 oommociunes." (MS. Just cited, T June, 
 1585.) 
 
 1 " Havellos hallado tan frioa y secos." 
 (Ibid.) 
 
 2 "■Reapondio me que era bien prtv 
 ponlendo me con prande arenga, la tiran- 
 nia con qu« proctKiia contra los catolicos 
 agora de nnevo k de liiKaltierra, off* nsas 
 que havia hecho a V. M"^., y el mlsrao a 
 este rey y hernianos, alUnentando la 
 gucrm »n los payses baxos, y en fraiicia, 
 por lungos alio*, que le dlxesse, oou 
 
 llaneza y sin dobler dfl mlnlstro, st V. 
 M"*. holgaria de Juntarse y llparee con 
 este rey, para hazer aquella Inipresa, re- 
 duziendo los tres reynos a la fee Cat.-» 
 Horn"*, y ponlendo la corona u la de la 
 reyna de Escozia. que era a la que de 
 derecho le tocava, y lo que el rey bu amo 
 solt* pretendla, que queda*^ a qu.l re3'no 
 en la neutralldad, que hasta aqul, tjue 
 por ser empresa tan santa, se pronutia 
 que v. M'. no nfusarla cl assistlr om 
 sus fuenas a ella, que de auinio de su 
 anio me asegurava de estar aparejedis- 
 sJuio para ello." (Ibid.) 
 
 1585. INTERVIEW OF MENDOZA AND VILLEROY. 121 
 
 could send any from Flanders or from Spain ; how 
 many it would be well to send from France, and under 
 what chieftain ; in what manner it would be best to 
 communicate with his most Catholic Majesty ; whether 
 it were desirable to despatch a secret envoy to him, 
 and of what quality such agent ought to be. He also 
 observed that the most Christian King could not him- 
 self speak to Mendoza on the subject before having 
 communicated the matter to the Queen-Mother, but 
 expressed a wish that a special carrier might be forth- 
 with despatched to Spain ; for he might be sure that 
 on an affair of such weight, he would not have per- 
 mitted himself to reveal the secret wishes of his master 
 except by his commands.' ' 
 
 Mendoza replied by enlarging with much enthusiasm 
 on the facility with which England could be conquered 
 by the combined power of France and Spain. If it 
 were not a very difficult matter before— even with the 
 jealousy between the two crowns— how much less so 
 now that they could join their fleets and annies ; now 
 that the arming by the one prince would not ins])ire 
 the other with suspicion ; now that they would be 
 certain of finding safe harbour in each other's kino-- 
 doms in case of unfavourable weather and head-winds 
 and tbvt they could arrange from what ports to sail, in 
 what direction, and under what commanders. He dis- 
 approved, however, of sending a special messenger to 
 Spain on the ground of wishing to keep the matter 
 entirely secret, but m reality-as he informed Philii>- 
 because ho chose to keep the management in his own 
 hands ; because he could always let slip Mucio upon 
 
 ^T:a '?^ Tl Vi"^"^"^^^ ^^""^ ^'"^ ^^«^' because he 
 feared that the leaking out of the secret might dis- 
 courage the Leaguers; and because he felt that the 
 bolder and more livelv were the Cardinal of Bourbon 
 and his confederates, the stronger was the party of the 
 King his master, and the more intimidated and dispirited 
 KW '/a ^"'JI!^ ^?^ ^^" ^^'""^ ^^^^^ most Christian 
 
 diplomat sf""^^^ '^' P^^^*'" ^i^ th- 
 
 diplomatist, '»at which a minister of your Maiestv 
 should aim at this season." * ^ i>iajest^ 
 
 i •• Quf^'e^o oueT; ''?' , "''"'^*™ '^^ ^- ^^^- ^ ^' ^^^ P^e.ta la 
 
 yue etj, en lo que en esta sazon el miru." (Ibid.) fu-^oui i» 
 
122 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. IV. 
 
 Thus the civil war in France— an indispensable part 
 of Philip's policy — was to be maintained at all hazards ; 
 and although the ambassador was of opinion that the 
 most Christian King was sincere in his proposition to 
 invade England, it would never do to allow any in- 
 terval of tranquillity to the wretched subjects of that 
 Christian King. 
 
 " I cannot doubt," said Mendoza, *' that the making 
 of this proposal to me with so much warmth was the 
 especial persuasion of God, who, hearing the groans of 
 the Catholics of England, so cruelly afflicted, wished 
 to force the French King and his minister to feel, in 
 the necessity which surrounds them, that the ofiending 
 Him, by impeding the grandeur of your Majesty, would 
 be their total ruin, and that their only salvation is to 
 unite in sincerity and truth with your Majesty for the 
 desti-uction of the heretics." ' 
 
 Therefore, although — .judging from the nature of the 
 French— he might imagine that they were attempting 
 to put him to sleep, Mendoz^i, on the whole, expressed 
 a conviction that the King was in earnest, having 
 arrived at the conclusion that he could only get rid of 
 tlie Guise faction by sending them over to England. 
 *• Seeing that ho cannot possibly eradicate the war from 
 his kingdom," said the envoy, " because of the boldness 
 Avith which the Leaguers maintain it, with the strong 
 assistance of your Majesty, he has detennincd to cm- 
 brace with much ferv^our, and without any deception 
 at all, the enteqirise against England, as the only 
 remedy to quiet his own dominions. The subjugation 
 of those three kingdoms, in order to restore them to 
 their rightful owner, is a purpose so holy, just, and 
 worthy of your Majesty, and one which you have had 
 BO constantly in view, that it is superfluous for me to 
 enlarge upon the subject. Your Majesty knt)ws that 
 its effects will be the tranquillity and preservation of 
 all your realms. The reasons for making the attempt, 
 even without the aid of France, become demonstrations 
 now that she is unanimously in favour of the scheme. 
 The most Cliristian King is resolutely bent— so far as I 
 can comprehend the intrigues of Villeroy — to carry out 
 this project on the foundation of a treaty with the Guise 
 
 » MS. Just cited, 7 June, 1585. 
 
 1585. ALLEGED PERSECLTIOX OF THE CATHOLICS. 123 
 
 party. It will not iake much time, therefere, to put 
 down the heretics here; nor will it consume much 
 more to conquer England with the armies of two such 
 powerful Princes.' The power of that island is of little 
 moment, there being no disciplined forces to oppose us, 
 even if they were all unanimous in its defence ; how 
 niuch less then, with so many Catholics to assist the 
 invaders, seeing them so powerful ! If your Majesty, 
 on account of your ^etherlands, is not afraid of puttino- 
 arms into the hands of the Guise family in France, 
 there need be less objection to sending one of that 
 house into England, particularly as you will send 
 forces of your own into that kingdom, by the reduction 
 of which the affairs of Flanders will be secured. To 
 effect the pacification of the Netherlands the sooner, it 
 would be desirable to conquer England as early as 
 October."* 
 
 Having thus sufficiently enlarged upon the sincerity 
 of the IVench King and his ^mme minister, in their 
 dark projects against a friendly power, and upon the 
 ease with whicli that friendly power could be subjected, 
 the ambassador begged for a reply from his royal master 
 without delay. He would be careful, meantime, to keep 
 the civil war alive in France— thus verifying the 
 poetical portmit of himself, the truth of which he had 
 just been so indignantly and rhetorically denying— but 
 It was desirable that the French should believe that this 
 civil war was not Philip's sole object. He concluded 
 by drawing his master s attention to the sufierings of the 
 English Catholics. '' I cannot ] efrain," he said, " from 
 placing before your eyes the terrible persecutions which 
 the Catholics arc sufiering in England ; the blood of the 
 martyi-s flowing in so many kinds of torments : the 
 groans of the prisoners, of the widows and orphans : the 
 general oppression and servitude, which is the greatest 
 ever endured by a people of God, under any tyrant 
 whatever. Your IMajesty, into whose hands God iJ now 
 
 * " Lo8 de Gnlsa, tenlendo las armas en 
 la mano, coiiibnten a los hereges de aqui, 
 que no pucde ser mucho titnipo, y assi 
 mismo, el que se consumira en nduzir a 
 Ingaltitrracuiifucrvasde tan i>o<iero!>lssl- 
 mo9 princlpes y la de la i.>la no de mo- 
 nitnto, para iiodellos contrastar gente do 
 
 exercltada, si bien estuviessen todos una- 
 nimos para dofenilarse, quanto nijis, 
 haviendo tantos Cat'« que han de acudir 
 a los estrangcros, viendo los tan podero- 
 SOS." (MS. just cited, 7 June, 15»50 
 2 Ibid. 
 
124 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. IV. 
 
 1585. 
 
 EDICT OF NEMOURS. 
 
 125 
 
 pleased to place the means, so long desired, of extir- 
 pating and totally destroying the heresies of oui- time, 
 can afone liberate them from their bondage." * 
 
 The picture of these kings, pnme ministers, and 
 ambassadors, thus plotting treason, stratagem, and mas- 
 sacre, is a dark and dreary one. The description of 
 Enf'-lish sufferings for conscience' sake, under the Pro- 
 testant Elizabeth, is even more painful; for it liad 
 unfortunately too much of truth, although as wilfully 
 darkened and exaggerated as could be done by religious 
 liatred and Spanish bombast. ITie Queen was surrounded 
 by legions of deadly enemies. Spain, the Pope, the 
 League, were united in one perpetual conspimcy against 
 her ; and they relied on the co-operation of those subjects 
 of hers whom her own cruelty was converting into 
 
 traitors. 
 
 We read with a shudder these gloomy secrets of con- 
 spiracy and wholestdo murder, which make up the 
 diplomatic history of the sixteenth century, and we 
 cease to wonder that a woman, feeling herself so con- 
 tinually the mark at wliich all the tyrants and assjissins 
 of Europe were aiming — although not possessing perhaps 
 the evidences of her peril so completely as they have 
 l>een revealed to us — should come to consider every 
 English Papist as a traitor and an assassin. It was 
 imtbrtunate that she was not able to rise beyond the vile 
 instincts of the age, and by a magnanimous and sublime 
 toleration to convert her secret enemies into loyal 
 •subjects. 
 
 And now Henry of Valois was to choose between 
 league and counter-league, between Henry of Guise and 
 Heniy of Kavarre, between France and Spain. The 
 whole chivalry of Gascony and Guienne, the vast swann 
 of industrious and hardy Iluguenot artisans, the Nether- 
 land rebels, the great English Queen, stood ready to 
 support the cause of French nationality, and of all 
 
 * " Ante cuyoa ojos no pnedo dexnr de 
 anteponer en esta la tenble p(>rs*>cucii)n 
 que iwuisan loa Cat"' eii Ingiilt', con 
 muchii Kingn* d* niartirt's (ierrt.'niada con 
 diversos generos de tonnentos, los genii- 
 dos de k)s prison ierus, de los viudas y 
 huerfanos. y opression gmK-ral y sent- 
 dumbre que ea la mayor que baparescido 
 
 Jamas'puehio de Dlos, dobaxo de ninguu 
 tinuio, «le tuya niano espera solo sit 
 llberlados por las de V'. M"*. a qnien DiiH 
 OS servidodo pont-r en las pruprias la ooi- 
 sion que tantus dlas ha procurado jiara la 
 extlrpaclon y tot;il dcstruycion de lea 
 hen-Rias de n"' tlemix), ol M?a servldo de re- 
 medlallo-s." (MS Just cited, 7 June, l&f^b.) 
 
 t 
 
 nationalities, against a threatening world-empire : of 
 religious liberty against sacerdotal absolutism ; and the 
 crown of a King, whose only merit had hitherto been to 
 acquiesce in a religious toleration dictated to him hy 
 others, against those who derided his authority and 
 insulted his person. The bold knight-errant of Christ 
 endom, the chamjiion to the utterance against Spain, 
 stood there with lance in rest, and tlie King scarcely 
 hesitated. 
 
 The League, gliding so long unheeded, now reared its 
 crest in the very palace of France, and full in the 
 monarch's face. \\ ith a single shudder the victim fell 
 into its coils. 
 
 The choice was made. On the 18th of July the 
 edict of Nemours was published, revoking all previous 
 edicts by which religious peace had been secured. 
 Death and confiscation of property were now proclaimed 
 as the penalty of practising any religious rites save those 
 of the lioman Catholic Church. Six months were 
 allowed to the Nonconformists to put their affairs in 
 order, after which they were to make public profession 
 of the Catholic religion, with regular attendence upon 
 its ceremonies, or else go into perpetual exile. To 
 remain in France without abjuring heresy was thence- 
 forth a mortal crime, to be expiated upon the gallows. 
 As a matter of course, all Huguenots were instan- 
 taneously incapacitated from public office, the mixed 
 chambers of justice were abolished, and the cautionary 
 towns were to be restored. On the other hand, the 
 Guise faction were to receive certain cities into their 
 possession, as pledges that this sanguinary edict should 
 be fulfilled.' 
 
 Thus did Henry III. abjectly kiss the hand which 
 smote him. His mother, having since the death of 
 Anjuu no farther interest in affecting to favour ,51^ jui 
 the Huguenots, had arranged the basis of this Jsms/' 
 treaty with the Spanish party. And now the unfor- 
 tunate King had gone solemnly down to the parliament 
 of Paris, to be present at the registration of the edict. 
 The counsellers and presidents were all assembled, and, 
 as they sat there in their crimson robes, they seemed' 
 to the excited imagination of those who loved their 
 
 » De Thou, ix. 32s seq. 
 
126 
 
 TEE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. IV. 
 
 country, like embodiments of the impending and most 
 sanguinary tragedy. As the monarch left the par- 
 liament-house a faint cr>^ of ** God save the King !" was 
 heard in the street. Henry hung his head, for it was 
 long since that cry had met his ears, and he knew that 
 it was a false and languid demonstration which had 
 been paid for by the Leaguers. 
 
 And thus was the compact signed— an unequal com- 
 pact. Madam League was on horseback, armed in 
 proof, said a contemporary ; the King was on foot, and 
 dressed in a shirt of penitence.' The alliance was not 
 an auspicious one. Not peace, but a firebrand— /acm, 
 non pacem—h'dd the King held forth to his subjects.* 
 
 When the news came to Henry of Navarre that the 
 Kino- had really promulgated this fatal edict, he re- 
 mained for a time, with amazement and sorrow, leaning 
 heavily upon a table, with his face in his right hand. 
 When he raised his head again— so he afterwards 
 asserted— one side of his moustachio had turned 
 
 wliite.' r J X 
 
 Meantime Gregory XIII., who had always refused to 
 
 sanction the League, was dead, and Cardinal Peretti, 
 
 24th April, under the name of Sixtus V., now reigned in 
 
 1585. ' his place. Born of an illustrious house, as he 
 said— for it was a house without a roof* — this monk of 
 humble origin was of inordinate ambition. Feigning 
 a humility which was but the cloak to his pride, he was 
 in reality as grasping, self-seeking, and revengeful, as 
 he seemed gentle and devout. It was inevitable that a 
 pontiff of this character should seize the opportunity 
 offered him to mimic Hildebrand, and to brandish on 
 high the thunderbolts of the Church. 
 
 With a flaming prelude concerning the omnipotence 
 delegated by Almighty God to St. Feter and his suc- 
 cessors—an authority infinitely superior to all earthly 
 powers— the decrees of which were irresistible alike 
 l)y the highest and the meanest, and which hurled mis- 
 guided princes from their thrones into the abyss, like 
 
 I UEstolle. 186. 
 
 « " Gulsiadis fiictum dum puto dicerp pacem, 
 Pdcem nou {K>b6um dicere, dico facem." 
 
 L'Estuile, 137. 
 » Mutliiou, anno 1535. * l>e Ihou, Ix. 368 teq. 
 
 1585. EXCOMMUNICAriON OF NAVARRE.-HIS REPLY. 127 
 
 children of Beelzebub, the Tope proceeded to fulminate 
 His sentence of excommunication against those children 
 ot wrath, Henry of Navarre and Henry of Conde 
 I hey were denounced as heretics, relapsed, and enemies 
 ot bod. 1 he King was declared dispossessed 2^^ ^uir 
 of his principality of Beam, and of what ^^^^ 
 remained to him of Navarre. He was stripped of all 
 dignities, privileges, and property, and especially pro- 
 clainied incapable of ever ascending the throne of 
 Jc ranee. 
 
 Tlie Bt^amcse replied by a clever political squib A 
 tei-so and spirited paper found its way to Borne and 
 was soon aftxed to the statues of I'asquin and Marforio 
 and m other public places of that city, and even to the 
 gates of the papal palace. A\ ithout going beyond his 
 own doors his Holiness had the opportunity oFrcadi^' 
 to his profound amazement, that Mr. Sixtus calliil^r 
 
 the King of Navarre a heretic. This Henry oflered to 
 prove before any free council legitimately cCen ]f 
 the Pope refused to submit to'such decision he was 
 himself no better than excommunicate and A tichrrt 
 and tlie king of Xayarro thereby declared mo • ^ "5 
 erpotual war upon him. The ancient kings of Fiance 
 had known how to chastise tlie insolence of fSrmer popes 
 and he hoped, when he ascended the throne toTke 
 ■^vngeanee on Mr. Sixtus for the insult thusoflWed to 
 al the kiujis of Christendom-and so on in a vei« 
 winch sho,u.,l the Bernese to be a man rathe? aniS 
 tlian blasted by these papal fireworks.' 
 TT. i^ ' I " f'S'' ""'porious, was far from beinc dull 
 lie knew how to appreciate a man when he ibund one 
 
 ri:LV!:nM-:s'Kn"au'^^^^^^^^^ 
 
 two persons fit to wear a cro A-t n^^-^f ^1;-.: a^d 
 
 ' De Thou, Ix. 369. L'Estollo, 190. 
 
 » De Thou, Ix. 376-378. iVrefixe, 62, 
 63. L'h^toilo. I9t». The last-nained 
 writer declares him.self tlie author of this 
 famous aii.sw.r to the hull of .Sixtus : 
 
 " Au Busdit writ, fait par Tauteur des 
 
 presena menioires. on a fait faire du pa- 
 als de rari.s un voyaire a IJuuio, ou Ton 
 1 a nns, signlfie. et affich^, et I'a l on in- 
 ser^ aux recueils de ce Urns, Imprimis a 
 la Lochelle. lant la vanlte et curiobitc de 
 ce tcmii estoit yraude." 
 
128 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. IV. 
 
 Elizabeth of England. " Twas pity," he said, *' that 
 both should be heretics." • v -ux i 
 
 And thus the fires of civil war had been lighted 
 throughout Christendom, and the monarch of 1 ranee hail 
 thrown himself head foremost into the flames. 
 
 » Dc lliou, PereBxe, mW tup. 
 
 1585. 
 
 EMBASSY TO ENGLAND. 
 
 129 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 PosiUon and Character of Farncae — PfeparaUons for Antwerp Siege — Its Charac- 
 teristics - Foresight of William the Silent — Sainte Aldegonde, the Burgomaster 
 
 — Anarchy in Antwerp — Character of Sainte Aldegonde — Admiral Treslong — 
 Justinus de Nassau — Hohenlo — Opposition to the l»lan of Orange — LlefTceiishotk 
 
 — Head-quart4'r8 of Parma at Kalloo - Difficulty of supplying the City — Resultg 
 of not piercing the Dykea - Preliminaries of the Siege — Succesaes of the Spaniards 
 -Energy of Famese with sword and pen — His Correspondence with the Ant- 
 werpers — Progress of the Bridge — Impoverished Condition of Parma - Patriots 
 attempt Bols-ie-I)uc — Their Misconduct — Failure of the Enterprise — The 
 Scheldt Bridge completed — Description of the Structure — Position of Alexander 
 and his Army- U Motte attempts In vain Ostend — Patriots gain Llefkenshoek 
 
 — Projects of Glanibelli- Alarm on the Bridge — The Fire-Ships - The Explo- 
 sion-Its Results - Death of the Viscount of Ghent - Perpetual Anxiety of Far- 
 neae- Impoverished State of the Spaniards - Intended Attack of the Kowenstyn 
 
 — Second Attack of the Kowenstyn — A lading elTected — A sharp Combat — 
 The Dyice pierced - Rally of the Spaniards - Parma comes to the Rescue - 
 I-^eroe Struggle on the Dyke -The Spaniards successful - Premature Triumph 
 at Antwerp -Defeat of the Patriots -The Ship •• War's End "-Despair of tie 
 Citizens -Sainte Aldegonde discouraged — His critical Position — His Negotia- 
 tions with the enemy -Correspondence with Richanlot - Commotion in the City 
 
 — Interview of Manilx with Parma — Suspicious conduct of Mamlx — I )eputation 
 to the Prince -Oration of Mam ix - Private Views of Parma -Capitulation of 
 Antwerp-Mistakes of Mamix- Philip on the Religious Question - Triumphal 
 Entrance of Alexivider — Rebuilding of the Citadel — GraUficatlon of Philip — 
 Note on Sainte Aldegonde. 
 
 The negotiations between France and the Netherlands 
 have been massed, in order to present a connected and 
 distinct view of the relative attitude of the different 
 countries of Europe. TJie conferences and diplomatic 
 protocolhng had resulted in nothing positive ; but it is 
 very necessary for the reader to understand the negative 
 effects of all this dissimulation and palace-politics upon 
 the destiny of the new commonwealth, and upon 
 Christendom at large. The League had now achieved 
 a great triumph ; the King of France had virtually 
 abdicated, and it was now requisite for the King of 
 Navarre, the Netherlands, and Queen Elizabeth, to dmw 
 more closely together than before, if the last hope of 
 forming a counter-league were not to be abandoned. 
 Ihe next step m political combination was therefore 
 a «c.lemn embassy of the States-General to England 
 lefore detiiilmg these negotiations, however, it is 
 
 VOL. 1. j^ '. 
 
130 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. V. 
 
 proper to direct attention to tlie external public events 
 which had been unrolling themselves in die Provinces 
 contemporaneously with the secret history which has 
 been detailed in the preceding chapters. 
 
 By presenting in their natural groupings various 
 distinct occurrences, rather than by detailing them in 
 strict chronological order, a clearer view of the wholo 
 picture will be furnished than could be done by inter- 
 mingling personages, transactions, and scenery, accord- 
 ing to the arbitrary command of Time alone. 
 
 The Netherlands, by the death of Orange, had been 
 left without a head. On the other hand, the Spanish 
 party had never been so fortunate in their chief at any 
 period since the destiny of the two nations had been 
 blended with each other. Alexander Famese, Prince 
 of Parma, was a general and a politician, whose character 
 had been steadily ripening since he came into the com- 
 mand of the country. He was now thirty-seven years 
 of age — with the experience of a sexagenarian. No 
 longer the impetuous, arbitrary, hot-headed youth, whose 
 intelligence and courage hardly atoned for his insolent 
 manner and stormy career, he had become pensive, 
 modest, almost gentle. His genius was rapid in con- 
 ception, patient in combination, fertile in expedients, 
 adamantine in the endurance of suffering ; for never did 
 a heroic general and a noble army of veterans manifest 
 more military virtue in the support of an infamous 
 cause than did Parma and his handful of Italians and 
 Spaniards. That which they considered to be their 
 duty they performed. The work before them they did 
 with all their might. 
 
 Alexander had vanquished the rebellion in the Celtic 
 provinces by the masterly diplomacy and liberal bribeiy 
 which have been related in a former work. Artois, 
 Hainault, Douay, Orchies, with the rich cities of Lille, 
 Tournay, Valenciennes, Arras, and othor important 
 places, were now the property of Philip. These un- 
 liappy and misguided lands, however, were already 
 reaping the reward of their treason. Beggared, trampled 
 upon, plundered, despised, they were at once the prey 
 of the Spaniards, and the cause that their sister-states, 
 which still held out, were placed in more desperate 
 condition than ever. They were also, even in their 
 
 1585 STRUGGLE IN FLANDERS AND BRABANT. 
 
 131 
 
 abject plight, made still more forlorn by the forays of 
 Balagny, who continued in command of Cambray. 
 Catherine de' Medici claimed that city as her property' 
 by will of the Duke of Anjou.» A strange title- 
 founded upon the treason and cowardice of her favourite 
 son— but one which, for a time, was made good by 
 the possession maintained by Balagny. That usurper 
 meantime, with a shrewd eye to his own interests 
 pronounced the truce of Cambray, which was soon 
 
 ^r^^T^-?^"^® ^^S^<^' ^^^^ year to year, by permission 
 of 1 hihp, as a " most excellent milch-cow ; " * and he 
 continued to fill his pails at the expense of the " recon- 
 ciled " provinces, till they were thoroughly exhausted. 
 
 This large south-western section of the Netherlands 
 being thus permanently re-annexed to the Spanish 
 crown, while Holland, Zeeland, and the other provinces 
 already constituting the new Dutch republic were 
 more obstmate in their hatred of Philip than ever there 
 remumed the rich and fertile territory of Flanders and 
 Brabant as the great debateable land. Here were the 
 royal and political capital, Brussels, the commercial 
 capital, Antwei-p, with Mechlin, Dendermonde Vil- 
 voorde, and other places of inferior importance,* all to 
 be struggled for to the death. With the subjection of 
 this district the last bulwark between the new com- 
 monwealth and the old empire would be overthrown, 
 and bpam and Holland would then meet face to face 
 
 If there had ever been a time when every nerve in 
 1 rotestant Christendom should be strained to weld all 
 those provinces together into one great commonwealth 
 as a bulwark for European liberty, rather than to allow 
 them to be broken into stepping-stones, over which 
 absolutism could stride across France and Holland into 
 J^ngland, that moment had arrived. Every sacrifice 
 should have been cheerfully made by all Netherlanders,' 
 the uttermost possible subsidies and auxiliaries should 
 have been furnished by all the friends of civil and 
 religious liberty in fevery land, to save Flanders and 
 lirabant from their impending fate. 
 
 No man felt more keenly the importance of tho 
 business m which he was engaged than Parma. He 
 knew his work exactly, and lie meant to execute it 
 
 * S.r.«lj, iL296. 
 
 * Le Petit, iL 499, 
 K 2 " 
 
132 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. V. 
 
 thorougHy. Antwerp was the hinge on which the fate 
 of the whole countr}', perhaps of all Christendom, was 
 to turn. " If we get Antwerp," said the Spanihh 
 soldiers— 80 frequently that the expression passed into 
 a proverb — " you shall all go to mass with us ; if you 
 save Antwerp, we will all go to conventicle with you." 
 
 Alexander rose with the difficulty and responsibility 
 of his situation. His vivid, almost poetic intellect 
 formed its schemes with peifect distinctness. Every 
 episode in his great, and, as he himself termed it, bis 
 '* heroic enterprise," was traced out beforehand with 
 the tranquil vision of creative genius ; and he was pre- 
 pared to convert his conceptions into reality, with the 
 aid of an iron nature that never knew fatigue or fear. 
 
 But the obstacles were many. Alexander's master 
 sat in his cabinet with his head full of Mucio, Don 
 Antonio, and Queen Elizabeth ; while Alexander him- 
 self was left neglected, almost forgotten. His army 
 was shrinking to a nullity. The demands upon him were 
 enormous, his finances delusive, almost exhausted. To 
 drain an ocean dry he had nothing but a sieve. What 
 was his position ? He could bring into the field per- 
 haps eight or ten thousand men over and above the 
 necessary garrisons. He had before him Brussels, Ant- 
 werp, Mechlin, Ghent, Dendermonde, and other power- 
 ful places, which he was to subjugate. Here was a 
 problem not easy of solution. Given an army of eight 
 thousand, more or less, to reduce therewith, in the least 
 possible time, half-a dozen cities, each containing fifteen 
 or twenty thousand men able to bear arms. To besiege 
 these places in form was obviously a mere chimsera. 
 Assault, battery, and surprises — these were all out of 
 the question. 
 
 Yet Alexander was never more truly heroic than in 
 this position of vast entanglement. Untiring, uncom- 
 plaining, thoughtful of others, prodigal of himself, 
 generous, modest, brave ; with so much intellect and so 
 much devotion to what he conlsidered his duty, he de- 
 served to be a patriot and a champion of the right, 
 rather than an instrument of despotism. 
 
 And thus he paused for a moment — with much work 
 already accomplished, but his hardest life -task before 
 him ; still in the noon of manhood, a fine martial figure, 
 
 1585. PREPARATIONS FOR ANTWERP SIEGE. 133 
 
 Standing, spear in hand, full in the sunlight, thou-h 
 all the scene around him was wrapped in gloom-a 
 noble commandmg shape, entitled to the aLiration 
 wh.ch the energetic display of great powers, however 
 unscnipulous, must always command A d^rk, meri- 
 dional physiognomy, a quick, alert, imposing head • iet 
 
 Si r^r^^PP'^ hair; a bold eagle'^face^ith fiUl 
 blight, restless eye; a man rarely reposing, alwavs 
 ready, never alarmed ; living in the saddle, with har! 
 ness on his back-such was the Prince if Parma . 
 matured and me owed, but still unbanned by tii^r ' 
 
 rJuolT'' ^^^^^^^«^« *^d Brabant he deteVmined to 
 reduce by gaming command of the Scheldt. The five 
 
 LTTL'^''''"^-^^'^*' Dendermonde, Mechlin, Bnis! 
 
 l.oh JX ^^-^}^ ^«, ^ narrow circle, at distances from 
 
 each other var>'ing from five miles to thirty and Z 
 
 al stmng together by the great Netherland r^e' orTts 
 
 tributaries. His plan wa« immensely furthered by the 
 
 success of Balthasar Gerard, an all/whom Alexander 
 
 had despised and distrusted, even while he eSyed 
 
 ?C f }^ T^^'^'^^'on of Orange was better to Pama 
 
 than forty thousand men. A crowd of allies instan^v 
 
 started up for him, in the shape of treason, f2t We/ 
 
 ness, envy, jealousy, insubordination, within the wa^^^^^ 
 
 of every beleaguered city. Alex;nder knew we 1 
 
 how to deal with those auxiliaries. Letters ^£^11; 
 
 cuS'- '"" '' conciliation and of promLe Were^^^^^ 
 
 culated m every council-room, in almost eve;y ho'!se 
 
 llie surrender of Ghent-brought about by tL 
 governor's eloquence, aided by the%olden arcumenf! 
 which he knew so well how to advance-had^ 
 
 tTe coas B^i";^'"'' T'^ ^^.^ ^^P^^^^t exception of 
 
 day whUe ^he fl^^'^^f^'T^^'P^*?^^*^^ ^* ^ still earlier 
 uay, wnue the fall of Brussels, which held mif +ni 
 
 however, was one of the moet striking eVents of Z 
 
 * Meteren. xii. 217 $eq 
 
134 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. V. 
 
 li>85. 
 
 ITS CHARACTERISTICS. 
 
 135 
 
 ago ; and althoiigli the change in military tactics and 
 the progress of science may have rendered this leaguer 
 of less technical importance than it possessed in the 
 sixteenth century, yet the illustration that it affords of 
 the splendid abilities of Parma, of the most cultivated 
 mode of warfare in use at that period, and of the in- 
 ternal politics by which the country was then regulated, 
 make it necessary to dwell upon the details of an 
 episode which must ever possess enduring interest. 
 
 It is agreeable to reflect, too, that the fame of the 
 general is not polluted with the wholesale butchery 
 which has stained the reputation of other Spanish 
 commanders so indelibly. There was no killing for the 
 mere love of slaughter. With but few exceptions, there 
 was no murder in cold blood : and the many lives that 
 were laid down upon those watery dykes were sacrificed 
 at least in bold, open combat ; in a contest, the ruling 
 spirits of which were patriotism, or at least honour. 
 
 It is instnictive, too, to observe the diligence and 
 accuracy with which the best lights of the age were 
 brought to bear upon the great problem which Paima 
 had undertaken to solve. All the science then at com- 
 mand was applied both by the Prince and by his 
 burgher antagonists to the advancement of their ends. 
 Hydrostatics, hydraulics, engineering, navigation, gun- 
 nery, pyrotechnics, mining, geometry, were summoned 
 as broadly, vigorously, and intelligently to the destruc- 
 tion or preservation of a trembling city, as they have 
 ever been, in more commercial days, to advance a 
 financial or manufacturing purpose. Land converted 
 into water, and water into land, castles built upon the 
 breast of rapid streams, rivers turned from their beds 
 and taught new courses ; the distant ocean driven across 
 ancient bulwarks, mines dug below the sea, and canals 
 made to percolate obscene morasses— which the red 
 hand of war, by the very act, converted into blooming 
 gardens— a mighty stream bridged and mastered in the 
 very teeth of winter, floating icebergs, ocean-tides, and 
 an alert and desperate foe, ever ready with fleets and 
 armies and batteries— such were the materials of which 
 the great spectacle was composed ; a spectacle which 
 enchained the attention of Europe for seven months, 
 and in the result of which, it was thought, depended 
 
 1 
 
 the fato of all the Netherlands, and perhaps of all 
 Christendom. 
 
 Antwerp, then the commercial centre of the Nether- 
 lands and of Europe, stands upon the Scheldt. The 
 river, flowing straight, broad, and full along the verge of 
 the city, subtends the arc into which the place arranges 
 itself as it falls back from the shore. Two thousand 
 ships of the largest capacity then known might easily 
 find room in its ample harbours. The stream, nearly 
 lialf a mile in width, and sixty feet in depth, with a 
 tidal rise and fall of eleven feet, moves, for a few miles, 
 in a broad and steady current between the provinces of 
 Brabant and Flanders. Then dividing itself into many 
 ample estuaries, and gathering up the level isles of 
 Zeeland into its bosom, it seems to sweep out with them 
 into the Northern Ocean. Here, at the junction of the 
 river and the sea, lay the perpetual hope of Antwerp, 
 for in all these creeks and currents swarmed the fleets 
 of the Zeelanders, that hardy and amphibious race, 
 with which few soldiers or mariners could successfully 
 contend, on land or water. 
 
 Even from the beginning of the year 1584 Parma 
 had been from time to time threatening Antwerp. The 
 victim instinctively felt that its enemy was poising and 
 hovering over head, although he still delayed to strike. 
 Early m the summer Sainte Aldegonde, Recorder 
 Martini, and other official personages, were at Delft, 
 upon the occasion of the christening-ceremonies of 
 Frederic Henry, youngest child of Orange. The Prince, 
 at that moment, was aware of the plans of Parma, and 
 held a long conversation with his friends upon the 
 measures which he desired to see immediately under- 
 taken. Unmindful of his usual hospitality, he insisted 
 that these gentlemen should immediately leave for 
 Antwerp. Alexander Farnese, he assured them, had 
 taken the firm determination to possess himself of that 
 place without further delay. He had privately sig- 
 nified his purpose of laying the axe at once to the root 
 of the tree, believing that with the fall of the com- 
 mercial capital the infant confederacy of the I^nited 
 States would fall likewise. In order to accomplish this 
 object, he would forthwith attempt to make himself 
 master of the banks of the Scheldt, and would even 
 
136 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. V. 
 
 throw a bridge across the stream, if his plans were not 
 instantly circumvented/ 
 
 William of Orange then briefly indicated his plan ; 
 adding that he had no fears for the result ; and assuring 
 his friends, who expressed much anxiety on the subject, 
 that if Parma really did attempt the siege of Antwerp 
 it should be his ruin. The plan was perfectly simple. 
 The city stood upon a river. It was practicable, 
 although extremely hazardous, for the enemy to bridge 
 that river, and by so doing ultimately to reduce the 
 place. But the ocean could not be bridged ; and it 
 was quite possible to convert Antwerp, for a season, 
 into an ocean-port. Standing alone upon an island, 
 with the sea flowing around it, and with full and free 
 marine communication with Zeeland and Holland, it 
 might safely bid defiance to the land-forces, even of so 
 great a commander as Parma. To the furtherance of 
 this great measure of defence, it was necessary to 
 lothJaue. destroy Certain bulwarks, the chief of which 
 
 1684. was called the Blauw-garen Dyke ; and Sainte 
 Aldegonde was therefore requested to return to the 
 city, in order to cause this task to be executed without 
 delay.* 
 
 Nothing could be more judicious than this advice. 
 The low lands along the Scheldt were protected against 
 marine encroachments, and the river itself was confined 
 to its bed, by a magnificent system of dykes, which 
 extended along its edge towards the ocean, in parallel 
 lines. Other b^irriers of a similar nature ran in oblique 
 directions, through the wide open pasture lands, which 
 they maintained in green fertility against the ever- 
 threatening sea. The Blaw-garen, to which the prince 
 mainly alluded, was connected with the great dyke 
 upon the right bank of the Scheldt. Between this and 
 the city, another bulwark called the Kowenstyn Dyke, 
 crossed the country at right angles to the river, and 
 joined the other two at a point, not very far from Lillo, 
 where the States had a strong fortress." 
 
 The country in this neighbourhood was low, spongy, 
 full of creeks, small meres, and the old bed of the 
 Scheldt. Orange, therefore, made it very clear, that, 
 
 1 Bor. li. xtx. 466. 
 
 * Bor, uW tup. Meteren, zil. 216-18. 
 
 * Bor, Meteren, ubi tup. Hoofd Yer- 
 ▼olgb, 4 teq. 
 
 1584. 
 
 FORESIGHT OF WILLIAM THE SlLENT. 
 
 137 
 
 by piercing the great dyke just described, such a vast 
 body of water would be made to pour over the land as 
 to submerge the Kowenstyn also, the only other obstacle 
 in the passage of fleets from Zeeland to Antwerp. The 
 city would then be connected with the sea and its 
 islands, by so vast an exjjanse of navigable water, that 
 any attempt on Parma's part to cut ofl" supplies and 
 succour would be hopeless. Antwerp would laugh the 
 idea of famine to scorn ; and although this immunity 
 would be purchased by the sacrifice of a large amount 
 of agricultural territory, the price so paid was but a 
 slender one, when the existence of the capital, and with 
 it perhaps of the whole confederacy, was at stake.* 
 
 Sainte Aldegonde and Martini suggested, that, as 
 there would be some opposition to the measure pro- 
 posed, it might be as well to make a similar attempt on 
 the Flemish side, in preference, by breaking through the 
 dykes in the neighbourhood of Saftingen. Orange re- 
 plied by demonstrating that the land in the region 
 which he had indicated was of a character to ensure 
 success, while in the other direction there were certain 
 yer}' unfavourable circumstances which rendered the 
 issue doutful.' The result was destined to prove the 
 sagacity of the Prince, for it will be shown in the sequel 
 that the Saftingen plan, afterwards really carried out, 
 was rather advantageous than detrimental to the ene- 
 my's projects. 
 
 Sainte Aldegonde, accordingly, yielded to the argu- 
 ments and entreaties of his friend, and repaired without 
 delay to Antwerp. 
 
 The advice of William the Silent— as will soon be 
 related— was not acted upon ; and within a few weeks 
 after it had been given he was in his grave. Nowheie 
 was his loss more severely felt than in Antwerp. It 
 seemed, said a contemporary, that with his death had 
 died all authority.* The Prince was the only head 
 which the many-membered body of that \ery demo- 
 cratic city ever spontaneously obeyed. Antwerp was a 
 small republic— in time of peace intelligently and suc- 
 cessfully administered— which in the reason of a great 
 foeign war, amid plagues, tumults, famine, and inter- 
 nal rebellion, required the firm hand and the clear brain 
 
 » Bor, Meteren, ubi tup. Hoofd Vervolgh. 4 teq. t ibid. » R«.yd. iv. 59. 
 
138 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. V. 
 
 1584. 
 
 ANAliCHY IN ANTWERP. 
 
 139 
 
 of a single chief. That brain and hand had been pos- 
 sessed by Orange alone. 
 
 Before his de^th he had desired that Sainte Aldegondo 
 should accept the office of burgomaster of the city. No- 
 minally, the position was not so elevated as were many 
 of the posts which that distinguished patriot had filled. 
 In reality, it was as responsible and arduous a place as 
 could be offered to any man's acceptance throughout 
 the country. Sainte Aldegonde consented, not without 
 some reluctance. He felt that there was odium to 
 be incurred ; he knew that much would be expected of 
 him, and that his means would be limited. His powers 
 would be liable to a constant and various restraint. 
 His measures were sure to be the subject of perpetual 
 cavil. If the city were besieged, there were nearly one 
 hundred thousand mouths to feed, and nearly one hun- 
 dred thousand tongues to dispute about furnishing the 
 
 food. 
 
 For the government of Antwerp had been degenerat- 
 ing from a well-organised municipal republicanism into 
 anarchy. The clashing of the various bodies exercising 
 power had become incessant and intolerable.' The 
 burgomaster was charged with the chief executive au- 
 thority, both for peace and war. Nevertheless he had 
 but a single vote in the board of magistrates, where a 
 mcijority decided. Moreover, he could not always at- 
 tend the sessions, because ho was also member of the 
 council of Brabant. Important measures might there- 
 fore be decided by the magistracy, not only against his 
 judgment, but without his knowledge. Then there was 
 a variety of boards or colleges, all arrogating concur- 
 rent — which in truth was conflicting —authority. There 
 was the board of militia colonels, which claimed great 
 powers. Here, too, the burgomaster was nominally 
 the chief, but he might be voted down by a majority, 
 and of course was often absent. Then there were six- 
 teen captains who came into the colonel's sessions 
 whenever they liked, and had their word to say upon 
 all subjects broached. If they were refused a hearing, 
 they were backed by eighty other captains, who were 
 ready at any moment to carry every disputed point be- 
 fore the. *' broad council." 
 
 1 Mctercu, :iii. 218. GultxianKui, in voce. 
 
 I 
 
 There were a college of ward-masters, a college of 
 select men, a college of deacons, a college of ammuni- 
 tion, of fortification, of ship-building, all claiming equal 
 authority, and all wrangling among themselves ; and 
 there was a college of *' peace-makers," who wrangled 
 more than all the rest together. 
 
 Once a week there was a session of the broad or 
 general council. Dire was the hissing and confusion, 
 jis the hydra heads of the multitudinous government 
 were laid together. Heads of colleges, presidents of 
 chambers, militia-chieftains, magistrates, ward-masters, 
 deans of fishmongers, of tailors, gardeners, butchers, all 
 met together pell-mell ; and there was no predominant 
 authority. This was not a convenient working machi- 
 nery for a city threatened with a siege by the first 
 captain of the age. Moreover there was a deficiency of 
 regular troops. The burgher- militia were well trained 
 and courageous, but not distinguished for their docility. 
 There was also a regiment of English under Colonel 
 Morgan, a soldier of great experience, and much re- 
 spected ; but, as Stephen Le Sieur said, " this force, 
 unless seconded with more, was but a breakfast for the 
 enemy." Unfortunately, too, the insubordination, which 
 was so ripe in the city, seemed to affect these auxiliaries. 
 A mutiny broke out among the English troops. Many 
 deserted to Parma, some escaped to England, and it 
 was not until Morgan had beheaded Captain Lee and 
 Captain Powell,' that discipline could be restored. 
 
 And into this scene of wild and deafening confusion 
 came Philip de Marnix, Lord of Sainte Aldegonde. 
 
 There were few more brilliant characters than he in 
 all Christendom. He was a man of a most rare and 
 verstitile genius. Educated in Geneva at the very feet 
 of Calvin, he had drunk, like mother's milk, the strong 
 and bitter waters of the stem reformer's creed ; but he 
 had in after-life attempted, although hardly with suc- 
 cess, to lift himself to the height of a general religious 
 toleration. He had also been trained in the severe 
 and thorough literary culture which chamcteriised that 
 rigid school. He was a scholar, ripe and rare ; no 
 holiday trifler in the gardens of learning. He spoke 
 and wrote Latin like his native tongue. He could 
 
 * Melertn, xii. 218. 
 
140 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Cha\. V. 
 
 1584. 
 
 CHARACTER OF SAINTE ALDEGONDE. 
 
 141 
 
 compose poignant Greek epigrams. He was so familiar 
 with Hebrew, that he had rendered the Psalms of 
 iJavid out of the original into flowing Flemish verse, 
 for the use of the reformed churches. That he pos- 
 wessed the modem tongues of civilised Europe, Spanish, 
 Italian, French, and German, was a matter of course. 
 He was a profound jurisconsult, capable of holding 
 debate against all competitors upon any point of theory 
 or practice of law, civil, municipal, international. He 
 was a learned theologian, and had often proved himself 
 a match for the doctors, bishops, or rabbin of Europe, 
 in highest argument of dogma, creed, or tradition. He 
 was a practised diplomatist, constantly employed in 
 delicate and diificult negotiations by William the Silent, 
 who ever admired his genius, cherished his friendship, 
 and relied upon his character. He was an eloquent 
 orator, whose memorable liarangue, beyond all his other 
 efforts, at the diet of Worms, had made the German 
 princes hang their heads with shame, when, taking a 
 broad and philosophical view of the Netherland matter, 
 he had shown that it was the great question of Europe ; 
 that Nether Germany was all Germany; that Pro- 
 testantism could not be unravelled into shreds; that 
 there was but one cause in Christendom — that of 
 absolutism against national liberty. Papacy against the 
 reform ; and that the seventeen rravinces were to be 
 assisted in building themselves into an eternal barrier 
 against Spain, or that the *' burning mark of shame 
 would be branded upon the forehead of Germany ;" that 
 the war, in short, was to be met by her on the threshold, 
 or else that it would come to seek her at home — a 
 prophecy which the horrible Thirty Years* War was in 
 after-time most signally to verify. 
 
 He was a poet of vigour and originality, for he had 
 accomplished what has been achieved by few ; he had 
 composed a national hymn, whose strophes, as soon as 
 heard, struck a chord in every Netherland heart, and 
 for three centuries long have rung like a clarion wher- 
 ever the Netherland tongue is spoken. *Wilhelmu8 
 van Nassouwe,' regarded simply as a literary com- 
 position, has many of the qualities which an ode 
 demands ; an electrical touch upon the sentiments, a 
 throb of patriotism, sympathetic tenderness, a dash of 
 
 indignation, with rhythmical harmony and graceful 
 expression ; and thus it has rung from millions of lips, 
 from generation to generation. 
 
 He was a soldier, courageous, untiring, prompt in 
 action, useful in council, and had distinguished himself 
 in many a hard-fought field. Taken prisoner in the 
 sanguinary skirmish at Maaslandssluys, he had been 
 confined a year, and, for more than three months, had 
 never laid his head, as he declared, upon the pillow 
 without commending his soul as for the last time to his 
 Maker, expecting daily the order for his immediate 
 execution, and escaping his doom only because W illiam 
 the Silent proclaimed that the proudest head among 
 the Spanish prisoners should fall to avenge his death ; 
 so that he was ultimately exchanged against the veteran 
 Mondragon. 
 
 From the incipient stages of the revolt he had been 
 foremost among the patriots. He was supposed to be 
 the author of the famous ' Compromise of the Nobles,* 
 that earliest and most conspicuous of the state-papers 
 of the republic, and of many other important political 
 documents ; and he had contributed to general literature 
 many works of European celebrity, of which the 
 * Koman Bee- Hive * was the nfost universally known. 
 
 Scholar, theologian, diplomatist, swordsman, orator, 
 poet, pamphleteer,— he had genius for all things, and was 
 eminent in all. He was even tamous for his dancing, 
 and had composed an intelligent and philosophical 
 treatise upon the value of that amusement, as an a^-ent 
 of civilisation, and as a counteractor of the grosser 
 pleasures of tlie table to which Upper and Nether 
 Germans were too much addicted. 
 
 Of ancient Savoyard extraction, and something of a 
 southern nature, he had been bom in Bmssels, and was 
 national to the heart's core. 
 
 A man of interesting, sympathetic presence; of a 
 physiognomy where many of the attaching and attrac- 
 tive qualities of his nature revealed themselves ; with 
 crisp curling hair, surmounting a tall, expansive 
 forehead- full of benevolence, idealism, and quick 
 perceptions; broad, brown, melancholy eyes, over- 
 flowing with tendemess ; a lean and hag<r:ard cheek, a 
 rugged Flemish nose; a thin flexible mouth; a slender 
 
142 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. V, 
 
 moustache, and a peaked and meagre beard ; so appeared 
 Sainte Aldegonde in the forty-seventh year of his age, 
 when he came to command in Antwerp. 
 
 Yet after all — many-sided, accomplished, courageous, 
 energetic, as he was — it may be doubted whether he was 
 the man for the hour or the post. He was too impres- 
 sionable ; he had too much of the temperament of 
 genius. Without being fickle, he had, besides his 
 versatility of intellect, a character which had much 
 facility in turning ; not, indeed, in the breeze of self- 
 interest, but because he seemed placed in so high and 
 clear an atmosphere of thought that he was often acted 
 upon and swayed by subtle and invisible influences. 
 At any rate his conduct was sometimes inexplicable. 
 He had been strangely fascinated by the ignoble Duke 
 of Anjou : and, in the sequel, it will be found that he 
 was destined to experience other magnetic or magical 
 impulses, which were once thought suspicious, and have 
 remained mysterious even to the present day. 
 
 He was imaginative. He was capable of broad and 
 boundless hopes. Ho was sometimes prone to deep 
 despair. His nature was exquisitely tempered; too 
 fine and polished a blade to be wielded among those 
 hydra-heads by which he *was now surrounded ; and for 
 which the stunning sledge-hammer of arbitrary force 
 was sometimes necessary. 
 
 He was perhaps deficient in that gift, which no 
 training and no culture can bestow, and which comes 
 from above alone by birthright divine — that which 
 men willingly call master — authority ; the effluence 
 which came so naturally from the tranquil eyes of 
 ^\ illiam the Silent. 
 
 Nevertheless, Sainte Aldegonde was prepared to do 
 his best, and all his best was to be tasked to the utmost. 
 His position was rendered still more difficult by the 
 unruly nature of some of his co-ordinates. 
 
 *' From the first day to the last," said one who lived 
 in Antwerp during the siege, " the mistakes committed 
 in the city were incredible." ' It had long been obvious 
 that a siege was contemplated by Parma. A liberal 
 sum of money had been voted by the States-General, of 
 which Holland and Zeeland contributed a very largo 
 
 » Le Petit, U. 516. 
 
 15S4. 
 
 ADMIRAL TRESLONG. 
 
 143 
 
 proportion (two hundred thousand florins); the city 
 Itself voted another large subsidy, and an order w£^ 
 issued to purchase at once and import into the city at 
 least a year's supply of every kind of provisions of life 
 and munitions of war.* 
 
 WiUiam de Blois, Lord of Treslong, Admiral of 
 Holland and Zeeland, was requested to carry out this 
 order, and superintend the victualling of Antwerp 
 But Treslong at once became troublesome. He was one 
 of the old - beggars of* the sea," a leader in the wild 
 band who had taken possession of the Brill, in tlie teetli 
 ot Alva, and so laid the foundation of the republic An 
 impetuous noble, of wealthy family, high connections 
 and refractory temper— a daring sailor, ever ready for 
 any rash adventure, but possessed of a very moderate 
 share of prudence or administrative ability, he fell into 
 loose and lawless courses on the death of Orange, whose 
 tirm hand was needed to control him. llie French 
 negotiation had excited his profound disgust, and, 
 knowing Sainte Aldegonde to be heart and soul in 
 tavour of that alliance, he was in no haste whatever to 
 carry out his orders with regard to Antwerp." He had 
 also an insignificant quairel with President Meetkerk 
 Ihe 1 rince of Parm^ever on the watch for such 
 opportunities- waii soon informed of the Admiral's dis- 
 content, and had long been acquainted with his turbu- 
 lent character. Alexander at once began to inflame liis 
 jealousy and soothe his vanity by letters and messengers 
 urging upon him the propriety of reconciling himself 
 with the King, and promising him large rewards and 
 magnificent employments in the royal service. Even 
 the splendid insignia of the Golden Fleece were 
 dangled before his eyes. It is certain that the bold 
 Hollander was not seduced by these visions, but theio 
 IS no doubt that he listened to the voice of the tempter 
 Ho unquestionably neglected his duty. Week after 
 week he remained at Ostend, sneering at the French 
 
 Zfh "^^ A??^ .If ^'^''^l'^' ^^ ^^"^"^ ^^ Q^^^" Eliza- 
 beth. At last, after much time had elapsed, he agreed 
 
 to victual Antwerp if he could be furnished with thirty 
 
 krom-ste^jens -a peciiliar kind of vessel, not to bo 
 
 found m Zeeland. The krom-stevens were sent to him 
 
 I 
 
144 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. V. 
 
 2584. 
 
 from Holland. Then, lieanng that his negligence had 
 been censured by the States-General, he became more 
 obstinate than ever, and went up and down proclaiming 
 that if people made themselves disagreeable to him he 
 would do that which should make all the women and 
 children in the Netherlands shriek and tremble. ^Vhat 
 this nameless horror was to be he never divulged, but 
 me^time he went down to Middelburg, and swore that 
 not a boat-load of com should go up to Antwerp until 
 two members of the magistracy, whom he considered 
 unpleasant, had been dismissed from their oftice. 
 Wearied with all this bluster, and imbued with grave 
 suspicion as to his motives, the States at last rose upon 
 their High Admiral and threw him into prison. He 
 was accused of many high crimes and misdemeanours, 
 and, it was thought, would be tried for his life. He 
 was suspected and even openly accused of having been 
 tampered with by Spain, but there was at any rate a 
 
 deficiency of proof. . 
 
 " Treslong is apprehended," wrote Davison to Imrgh- 
 ley, " and is charged to have been the cause that the 
 fleet passed not up to Antwerp. He is suspected to 
 have otherwise forgotten himself, but whether justly or 
 not will appear by his trial. Meantime he is kept in 
 the common prison of Middelburg, a treatment which 
 it is thought they would not offer him if they had not 
 somewhat of importance against him." ' 
 
 He was subsequently released at the intercession of 
 Queen Elizabeth, and passed some time in England. 
 He was afterwards put upon trial, but, no accuser 
 appearing to sustain the charges against him, he was 
 eventually released. He never received a command m 
 the navy again, but the very rich sinecures of Grand 
 Falconer and Chief Forester of Holland were bestowed 
 upon him, and he appears to have ended his days in 
 
 peace and plenty." . , r tt n a 
 
 He was succeeded in the post of Admiral of Holland 
 and Zeeland by Justinus de Nassau, natural sun of 
 William the Silent, a young man of much promise but 
 of little experience.' 
 
 » D»vi8on to Burghlry and Walsing- Bor. U. xx. 670-594. Wagenaor, vUL 
 ham. Feb. 2«, 1585. S. P. Office MS. 84-87. Meteren, xil. 318. 
 
 * Slradd, ii. 33i «<■(/. Keyd, iv. 69 » IbUi. 
 
 COUNT HOHENLO. 
 
 145 
 
 General Count Hohenlo, too, lieutenant for young 
 Maunoe, and virtual commander-in-chief of the States^ 
 forces, was apt to give much trouble. A German noble 
 of ancient descent and princely rank, brave to temerity' 
 making a jest of danger, and riding into a foray as if to a 
 meriymaking ; often furiously intoxicated, and always 
 turbulent and uncertein ; a handsome, dissipated ^ 
 vaher, with long curls floating over his shoulders,^ 
 imposing aristocratic face, and a graceful, athletic figure 
 he needed some cool brain and steady hand to Slide 
 him-valuable as he was to fulfil any darin^r proif^W 
 but was hardly willing to accept the authority of^^ 
 burgomaster, While the young'^Maurice yet needed 
 Hot^' ^l^^le^'thesaplingwas growing into the tree," 
 
 VVith such municipal machinery and such coadjutors 
 had baiute Aldegonde to deal, While, meantime iS^ 
 delusive French negotiation was dr^ging S slow 
 length along, and while Parma was noisfleLly a^d 
 patienUy proceeding with his preparations! ^ "^^ 
 
 was requested to viVw f>!l i vl ,^"^^ ^^^^ee^'s* 
 
 ^or^l^eL^^^^^ to take order 
 
 sion Sr\tt^^^ ""^^ ^*^- ^--^« - -s. 
 
 siacs that of the Schepens, manv other motives 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 * Bor, li. 467. 
 
if 
 
 146 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. V. 
 
 at work besides those of patriotism. The guild of 
 butchers held a meeting, so soon as the plan suggested 
 was known, and resolved with all their strength to 
 
 oppose its execution. rr. t xi. j 
 
 The butchers were indeed furious. Twelve thousand 
 oxen grazed annually upon the pastures which were 
 about to be submerged, and it was represented as un- 
 reasonable that all this good flesh and blood should be 
 sacrificed. At a meeting of the magistrates on the 
 following dav, sixteen butchers, delegates from their 
 guild, made their appearance, hoarse with indignation. 
 They represented the vast damage which would be 
 inflicted upon the estates of many private individuals 
 by the proposed inundation, by this sudden conversion 
 of teeming meadows, fertile farms, thriving homesteads, 
 prolific orchards, into sandy desolation. Above all 
 they depicted in glowing colours and with natural 
 pathos the vast destruction of beef which was imminent, 
 and they urged— with some show of reason— that, if 
 Parma were really about to reduce Antwerp by famine, 
 his scheme certainly would not be obstructed by the 
 premature annihilation of these wholesome supplies. 
 
 That the Scheldt could be closed in any manner was, 
 however, they said, a preposterous conception. That 
 it could be bridged was the dream of a lunatic. Even 
 . if it were possible to construct a bridge, and probable 
 that the Zeelanders and Antwerpers would look on 
 with folded arms while the work proceeded, the fabric, 
 when completed, would be at the mercy of the ice- 
 floods of the winter and the enormous power of the 
 ocean-tides. ITie Prince of Orange himself, on a 
 former occasion, when Antwerp was Spanish, had at- 
 tempted to close the river with rafts, sunken piles, and 
 other obstructions, but the whole had been swept away. 
 like a dam of bulrushes, by the first descent of the ice- 
 blocks of winter. It was witless to believe that 1 arma 
 contemplated any such measure, and utterly monstrous 
 to believe in its success.* . 
 
 Thus far the butchers. Soon afterwards came sixteen 
 colonels of militia, as representatives of their branch ot 
 the multiform government. These personages, attended 
 
 I Bor, H. 467 Kq. Meteren. xli. «6- « Bor, Meteren. Hoofd, uW sup. Le 
 318 wg. Hoofd Venrolgh, 4 leg. Patit. li. 600 r j. 
 
 f 
 
 1584. 
 
 OPERATIONS OF PARMA. 
 
 147 
 
 by many officers of inferior degree, sustained the 
 position of the butchers with many voluble and vehe 
 ment arguments. Not the least convincing of their 
 conclusions was the assurance that it would be idle for 
 the authorities to attempt the destruction of the dyke, 
 seeing that the municipal soldiery itself would prevent 
 the measure by main force, at all hazards, and without 
 regard to their own or others* lives. 
 
 ITie violence of this opposition, and the fear of a 
 serious internecine conflict at so critical a juncture, 
 proved fatal to the project. Much precious time was 
 lost ; and when at last the inhabitants of the city awoke 
 from their delusion, it was to find that repentance, 
 as usual, had come many hours too late.* 
 
 For Parma had been acting while his antagonists had 
 been wrangling. He was hampered in his means, but 
 he was assisted by what now seems the incredible 
 supineness of the Netherlanders. Even Sainte Alde- 
 gonde did not believe in the possibility of erecting the 
 bndge ; not a man in Antwerp seemed to believe it. 
 ** The preparations," said one who lived in the city, 
 "went on before our very noses, and every one was 
 ridiculing the Spanish commander's folly." ■ 
 
 A very great error was, moreover, committed in 
 abandoning Herenthals to the enemy. The city of 
 Antwerp governed Brabant, and it would have been far 
 better for the authorities of the commercial capital to 
 succour this small but important city, and, by so doinff, 
 to protract for a long time their own defence. Mon- 
 dragon saw and rejoiced over the mistake. " Now 'tis 
 easy to see that the Prince of Orange is dead," said the 
 veteran, as he took possession, in the King's name, of 
 the forsaken Herenthals.* 
 
 Early in the summer Parma's operations had been 
 of necessity desultory. He had sprinkled forts up and 
 
 nn^ i^^Lt^^^^^' ^^^ ^^ gradually been gaining 
 control of the navigation upon that river. Thus Ghent 
 and Dendermonde, Vilvoorde, Brussels, and Antwerp, 
 had each been isolated, and all prevented from render- 
 ing mutual assistance Below Antwerp, however, was 
 to be the scene of the great struggle. Here, within 
 
 • ?**^* *'**««'• Hoofd. vbi sup. Le PeUt. U. 500 sea. 
 » l4J PeUt, U. 498, 4W. . -w*^. 
 
 H 
 
 L 2 
 
148 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. V. 
 
 nine miles of tlie city, were two forts belonging to the 
 States, on opposite sides of the stream, Lillo and Lief- 
 kenshoek. It was important for the Spanish commander 
 to gain possession of both before commencing his con- 
 templated bridge. 
 
 Unfortunately for the States, the fortifications of 
 Liefkenshoek, on the Flemish side of the river, had not 
 been entirely completed. Eight hundred men lay 
 within it, under Colonel John Pettin of Arras, an old 
 patriotic officer of much experience. Parma, after recon- 
 noitring the place in person, despatched the famous 
 Viscount of Ghent— now called Marquis of Roubaix and 
 Kichebourg— to carry it by assault. The Marquis sent 
 one hundred men from his Walloon legion, under two 
 officers in whom he had confidence, to attempt a sur- 
 prise, with orders, if not successful, to return without 
 delay. They were successful. The one hundred gained 
 entrance into the fort at a point where the defences had 
 not been put into sufficient repair. 
 
 They were immediately followed by Richebourg, at 
 the head of his regiment. The day was a fatal one. It 
 loth July, was the lOth July, and W illiam of Orange was 
 1684. * falling at Delft by the hand of Balthazar 
 Gerard. Liefkenshoek was canied at a blow. Of the 
 eight hundred patriots in the place, scarcely a man 
 escaped. Four hundred were put to the sword, the 
 others were hunted into the river, when nearly all were 
 drowned. Of the royalists a single man was killed, and 
 two or three more were wounded. *' Our Lord was 
 pleased," wrote Parma piously to Philip, " that we 
 should cut the throats of four hundred of them in a 
 single instant, and that a great many more should be 
 killed upon the dykes ; so that I believe very few to 
 have escaped with life. We lost one man, besides two 
 or three wounded." ^ A few were taken prisoners, and 
 among them was the commander John Pettin. He was 
 at once brought before Richebourg, who was standing 
 in the presence of the Prince of Parma. The Marquis 
 drew his sword, walked calmly up to the captured 
 Colonel, and ran him through the body. Pettin fell 
 
 » "Y fue nnestro Seftor servido que 
 entraasen con sola perdida de un muerto 
 y 2 o 3 heridos. y qne 8e degollasen badta 
 400 taotnbres en el niiuroo instante, y que 
 ■e inatasseD en los diques mQcho«-de 
 
 manera quo cr<H) que ban quedado poco« 
 cc.n vida." Parma to PhiUp II., 15 July, 
 1584. Arcliivo de Simancas MS. Com- 
 pare Bor, ii. 469 seq. Meterfii, xU. 
 218V0. Strada. li. 304 «fq. 
 
 I 
 
 
 1584. 
 
 SIEGE OF LILLO. 
 
 149 
 
 dead upon the spot. The Prince was displeased. " Too 
 much choler, Marquis, too much choler"— said he 
 reprovingly. " Troppa colera, Signor Marchese, I 
 questa."' But Richebourg knew better. He had, 
 while still Viscount of Ghent, carried on a year pre- 
 viously a parallel intrigue with the royalists and the 
 patriots, llie Prince of Parma had bid highest for his 
 services, and had, accordingly, found him a most 
 effectual instrument in completing the reduction of the 
 Walloon Provinces. The Prince was not aware, how- 
 ever, that his brave but venal ally had, at the very 
 same momemt, been secretly treating with William of 
 Orange ; and as it so happened that Colonel Pettin had 
 been the agent in the unsuccessful negotiation, it was 
 possible that his duplicity would now be exposed.* The 
 Marquis had, therefore, been prompt to place his old 
 confederate in the condition wherein men tell no tales 
 and, if contemporary chronicles did not bely him it was 
 not the first time that he had been guilty of such cold- 
 blooded murder. The choler had not been superfluous 
 
 1 he fortress of LiUo was garrisoned by the Antwerp 
 volunteers, called the ** Young Bachelors." Telign/ 
 the brave son of the illustrious " Iron-armed " La Noue 
 commanded in chief: and he had, besides the militia a 
 company of French under Captain Gascoigne, and four 
 hundred Scotchmen under Colonel Morgan-perhaps two 
 thousand men in all. o x- r 
 
 Mondragon hero of the famous submarine expeditions 
 of 1 hihpslaiid and Zierickzee, was ordered by Parma to 
 take the place at every hazard. With five thousand 
 men-a large proportion of the Spanish effective force 
 at that moment- the veteran placed himself before the 
 fort, taking possession of the beautiful country-house and 
 farm of LiUo, where he planted his batteries, and com- 
 tTr'l -^fl^'^^ cannonade. The place was stronger , 
 than Liefkenshoek, however, and Teligny thoronghlv 
 comprehended the importance of maintaining it for the 
 
 mtned ^«^S^"^ .^"f .r^^«> ^^^ Teligny counter- 
 mined The Spanish daily cannonade was cheerfully 
 responded to by the besieged, and by the time Mon- 
 dragon ^/d^hot away fifty thousand pounds of powder, 
 he found that he had made no impression upon ihe 
 fortress, while the number of his troops hid been 
 
 » Meteren, xii. 213. 
 
 'Ibid. 
 
150 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. V. 
 
 diminislimg with great rapidity. Mondragon was not 
 80 impetuous as he had been on many former occasions. 
 He never ventured an assault. At last Teligny made a 
 sortie at the head of a considerable force. A warm 
 action succeeded, at the conclusion of which, without a 
 decided advantage on either side, the sluice-gate in the 
 fortress was opened, and the torrent of the Scheldt, 
 swollen by a high tide, was suddenly poured upon the 
 Spaniards. Assailed at once by the fire from the LiUo 
 batteries, and by the waters of the river, they were 
 forced to a rapid retreat. This they effected with great 
 loss, but with signal courage, struggling breast high m 
 the waves, and bearing off their field-pieces in their arms 
 in the very face of the enemy.' 
 
 Three weeks long Mondragon had been before J? ort 
 Lillo, and two thousand of his soldiers had been slain 
 in the trenches. The attempt was now abandoned. 
 Parma directed permanent batteries to be established at 
 Lillo-house, at Oordam, and at other places along the 
 river, and proceeded quietly with his carefully-matured 
 plan for closing the river.* , - ^v m 
 
 His own camp was in the neighbourhood of the vil- 
 lages of Beveren, Kalloo, and Borght. Of the ten 
 thousand foot and seventeen hundred horse which 
 composed at the moment his whole army, about one- 
 half lay with him, while the remainder were with Count 
 Peter Ernest Mansfeld, in the neighbourhood of Stab- 
 roek. Thus the Prince occupied a position on the left 
 bank of the Scheldt, nearly opposite Antwerp, while 
 Mansfeld was stationed upnon the right bank, and ten 
 miles farther down the river. From a point m the 
 neighbourhood of Kalloo, Alexander intended to throw 
 a fortified bridge to the opposite shore. When com- 
 pleted, all traffic up the river from Zeeland would be 
 cut off: and as the country on the land side, about 
 Antwerp, had been now reduced, the city would bo 
 effectually isolated. If the Prince could hold his bridge 
 until famine should break the resistance of the burghers, 
 Antwerp would fall into his hands. 
 
 His head-quarters were at Kalloo, and this obscure 
 epot soon underwent a strange transformation.- A 
 drowsy placid little village— with a modest pansh 
 
 » Hoofd Vervolgh. 7. 8. Stradft, tt. 304 wg. Bor, li. 4«9 lej. Meteren, xil. 218. 
 * Jieteren, xii. iiH, 
 
 1584. 
 
 KALLOO. 
 
 151 
 
 spire peeping above a clump of poplars, and with half- 
 a-dozen cottages, with 8torks*-nests on their roofs, 
 sprinkled here and there among pastures and orchards 
 — suddenly saw itself changed as it were into a thriving 
 bustling town ; for, saving the white tents which dot- 
 ted the green turf in every direction, the aspect of the 
 scene was, for a time, almost pacific. It was as if some 
 great manufacturing enterprise had been set on foot, and 
 the world had suddenly awoke to the hidden capabili- 
 ties of the situation. 
 
 A great dockyard and arsenal suddenly revealed them- 
 selves — rising like an exhalation — where shipbuilders, 
 armourers, blacksmiths, joiners, carpenters, caulkers, 
 gravers, were hard at work all day long. The din and 
 hum of what seemed a peaceful industiy were unceas- 
 ing. From Kalloo, Parma dug a canal twelve miles 
 long to a place called Steeken, hundreds of pioneers 
 being kept constantly at work with pick and spade till 
 it was completed. Through this artificial channel — so 
 soon as Ghent and Dendermonde had fallen — came 
 floats of timber, fleets of boats laden with provisions 
 of life and munitions of death, building-materials, and 
 every other requisite for the great undertaking, all to 
 be disembarked at Kalloo. The object was a temporary 
 and destructive one, but it remains a monument of the 
 great general's energy and a useful public improvement. 
 The amelioration of the fenny and barren soil, called 
 the Waesland, is dated from that epoch ; and the spot 
 in Europe which is the most prolific, and which nou- 
 rishes the largest proportion of inhabitants to the square 
 mile, is precisely the long dreary swamp which the 
 Prince thus drained for military purposes, and con- 
 verted into a garden. Drusus and Corbulo, in the days 
 of the Koman Empire, had done the same good service 
 for their barbarian foes. 
 
 At Kalloo itself, all the shipwrights, cutlers, masons, 
 brass-founders, rope-makers, anchor-forgers, sailors^ 
 boatmen, of Flanders and Brabant, with a herd of 
 bakers, brewers, and butchers, were congregated by 
 express order of Parma. In the little church itself 
 the main workshop was established, and all day long, 
 week after week, month after month, the sound of saw 
 and hammer, adze and plane, the rattle of machineiy, 
 the cry of sentinels, the cheers of mariners, resounde'd, 
 
152 
 
 THE tJNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. V. 
 
 where but lately had been heard nothing save the 
 diowsy homily and the devout hymn of rustic worship.* 
 Nevertheless the summer and autumn wore on, and 
 still the bridge was haidly commenced. The navigation 
 of the river — although impeded and rendered dangerous 
 by the forts which Farma held along the banks — was 
 still open ; and, so long as the price of com in Antwerp 
 remained three or four times as high as the sum for 
 which it could be purchased in Holland and Zeeland, 
 there were plenty of dare-devil skippers ready to bring 
 cargoes. Fleets of fly-boats, convoyed by anned vessels, 
 were perpetually running the gauntlet. Sharp actions 
 on fehore between the forts of the patriots and those of 
 Panna, which were all intermingled promiscuously along 
 the banks, and amphibious and most bloody encounters 
 on ship-board, dyke, and in the stream itself, between 
 the wild Zeelanders and the fierce pikemen of Italy and 
 Spain, were of repeated occurrence. Many a lagging 
 craft fell into the enemy's hands, when, as a matter 
 of course, the men, women, and children, on board 
 were horribly mutilated by the Spaniards, and were 
 then sent drifting in their boat with the tide — their 
 arms, legs, and ears lopped off — up to the city, in order 
 that the dangerous nature of this provision trade might 
 be fully illustrated.* 
 
 Yet that traffic still went on. It would havd continued 
 until Antwerp had been victualled for more than a year, 
 2>th Oct had not the city authorities, in the plenitude 
 iM4. Qf their wisdom, thought proper to issue orders 
 for its regulation. On the 2oth of October a census was 
 taken, when the number of persons inside the walls was 
 found to be ninety thousand. For this population it 
 was estimated that 300,000 veertels, or about 900,000 
 bushels of com, would be required annually.* The 
 grain was coming in veiy fast, notwithstanding the 
 perilous nature of the trade ; for wheat could be bought 
 in Holland for fifty florins the last, or about fifteen pence 
 sterling the buvshel, while it was worth five or six flo- 
 
 * Hoofi!. Bor, Meteivn, ubi mp. Le bommek et de« frromea, 1p« ana Inea, le« 
 Petit, li. 609 ttfj. Reyd, Iv. 68, 59. autres aans bra*, ny Jambes, mais tout 
 Strada, ik 321 Meq. V. d. Kampen. i. cela n'empeachoit puint le pastwge poor- 
 4«a. BenUvogllo, 'Guenra dl Fiandra.' tan t," Ac Le Petit, i v. 600. The hi»- 
 p. U. 1. ili. torian was in Antwerp daring the siege. 
 
 * " Bien est vray qn'W en arriralt ' Bor, liL 600. 
 jovrntllemtrnt aucuues qui amemilf nt dea 
 
 1584. 
 
 FOLLY OF ANTWERP MAGISTRATES. 
 
 153 
 
 rins the veertel, or about four shillings the bushel, in 
 Antwerp.' 
 
 The magistrates now committed a folly more stupen- 
 dous than it seemed possible for human creatures, under 
 such circumstances, to compass. They established a 
 maximum upon com.* The skippers who had run their 
 cargoes through the gauntlet, all the way from Flushing 
 to Antwerp, found on their arrival, that, instead of being 
 rewarded according to the natural laws of demand and 
 supply, they were required to exchange their wheat, 
 rj'e, butter, and beef, against the exact sum which the 
 Board of Schepens thought proper to consider a reason- 
 able remuneration. Moreover, in order to prevent the 
 accunmlation of provisions in private magazines, it was 
 enacted that all consumers of grain should be compelled 
 to make their purchases directly from the ships.* These 
 two measures were almost as fatal as the preservation of 
 the Blauw-garen Dyke, in the interest of the butchens. 
 Winter and famine were staring the city in the face, and 
 the maximum now stood sentinel against the gate, to 
 prevent the admission of food. The traffic ceased with- 
 out a struggle. Parma hunself could not have better 
 arranged the blockade. 
 
 Meantime a vast and almost general inundation had 
 taken place. The aspect of the country for many miles 
 around was strange and desolate. The sluices had been 
 opened in the neighbourhood of Saftingen, on the Flemish 
 side, so that all the way from Ilulst the waters were 
 out, and flowed nearly to the gates of Antwerp. A wide 
 and shallow sea rolled over the fertile plains, while 
 church-steeples, the tops of lofty trees, and here and 
 there the tunets of a castle, scarcely lifted themselves 
 above the black waters; the peasants' houses, the 
 granges, whole rural villages, having entirely disap- 
 peared. The high grounds of Doel, of Kalloo, and Be- 
 veren, where Alexander was established, remained out of 
 reach of the flood. Far below, on the opposite side of 
 the river, other sluices had been opened, and the sea 
 had buret over the wide, level plain. The villages of 
 \\ limerdonk, Orderen. Ekeren, were changed to iSands 
 in the ocean, while all the other hamlets, for miles 
 around, were utterly submerged.* 
 
 • Meteren, Bor, ubi tvp. 
 
 • Reyd, Bor, Meteren. 
 
 * Reyd. iv. 5». Bor, Meteren, vbi iwp. 
 
 * Bor, Meteren, Hoofd, Le P«Ut, Reyri, uM sup. 
 
154 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. T. 
 
 1584. 
 
 PRELIMINARIES OF THE SIEGE. 
 
 155 
 
 Ip M 
 
 I « 
 [) 
 i 
 
 Still, however, the Blauw-garen Dyke and its compa- 
 nion the Kowenstyn remained obstinately above the 
 waters, forming a present and more fatal obstruction to 
 the communication between Antwerp and Zeeland than 
 would be furnished even by the threatened and secretly- 
 advancing bridge across the Scheldt. Had Orange's pru- 
 dent advice been taken, the city had been safe. Over 
 the prostrate dykes, whose destruction he had so warmly 
 urged, the ocean would have rolled quite to the gates of 
 Antwerp, and it would have been as easy to bridge the 
 North Sea as to control the free navigation of the patriots 
 over so wide a surface. 
 
 When it was too late, the butchers, and colonels, and 
 captains became penitent enough. An order was 
 passed, by acclamation, in November, to do what Orange 
 had recommended in June. It was decreed that the 
 Blauw-garen and the Kowenstyn should be pierced.* 
 Alas ! the hour had long gone by. Alexander of Parma 
 was not the man to undertake the construction of a . 
 bridge across the river, at a vast expense, and at the 
 same time to permit the destruction of the already 
 existing barrier. There had been a time for such a 
 deed. The Seigneur de Kowenstyn, who had a castle 
 and manor on and near the dyke which bore his name, 
 had repeatedly urged upon the Antwerp magistracy 
 the propriety of piercing this bulwark, even after their 
 refusal to destroy the outer barrier. Sainte Aldegonde, 
 who vehemently urged the measure, protested that his 
 hair had stood on end, when he found, after repeated 
 entreaty, that the project was rejected." The Seigneur 
 de Kowenstyn, disgusted and indignant, forswore his 
 patriotism, and went over to Parma.' The dyke fell 
 into the hands of the enemy. And now from Stabroek, 
 where old Mansfeld lay with his army, all the way 
 across the flooded country, ran the great bulwark, 
 strengthened with new palisade-work and block-houses, 
 bristling with Spanish cannon, pike, and arquebus, even 
 to the bank of the Scheldt, in the immediate vicinity 
 of Fort Lillo. At the angle of its junction with the 
 main dyke of the river's bank, a strong fortress called 
 Holy Cross (Santa Cruz) had been constructed. That 
 
 > Bor, 11. 500. nalcR AntwcTplcnsea,' It. 100 aeq. 
 
 ' Merteng en Torp. Oencbiedenlii van » Bor, Meicren. Merteos en Torp, uW 
 Antwerpen. v. 206. Papebrochii, .' Au- ivp. 
 
 
 fortress and the whole line of the Kowenstyn were held 
 in the iron grip of Mondragon. To wrench it from 
 him would be no child's play. Five new strong redoubts 
 upon the dyke, and five or six thousand Spaniards 
 established there, made the enterprise more formidable 
 than it would have been in June. It had been better 
 to sacrifice the twelve thousand oxen. Twelve thou- 
 sand Hollanders might now be slaughtered, and still 
 the dyke remain above the waves. 
 
 Here was the key to the fate of Antwerp. 
 
 On the other hand, the opening of the Saftingen 
 Sluice had done Parma's work for him. Even there, 
 too, Orange had been prophetic. Kalloo was high and 
 dry, but Alexander had experienced some diflSculty in 
 bringing a fleet of thirty vessels, laden with cannon and 
 other valuable materials, from Ghent along the Scheldt, 
 into his encampment, because it was necessary for them, 
 before reaching their destination, to pass in front of 
 Antwerp. The inundation, together with a rupture in 
 the dyke of Borght, furnished him with a watery road, 
 over which his fleet completely avoided the city, and 
 came in triumph to Kalloo.* 
 
 Sainte Aldegonde, much provoked by this masterly 
 movement on the part of Parma, had followed the little 
 squadron closely with some armed vessels from the 
 city. A sharp action had succeeded, in which the 
 burgomaster, not being properly sustained by the 
 Zeeland ships on which ho relied, had been defeated. 
 Admiral Jacob Jacobzoon behaved with so little spirit 
 on the occasion that he acquired with the Antwerp 
 populace the name of "Runaway Jacob," "Koppen 
 gaet loppen ;" and Sainte Aldegonde declared, that, but 
 for his cowardice, the fleet of Parma would have fallen 
 into their hands. The burgomaster himself narrowly 
 escaped becoming a prisoner, and owed his safety only 
 to the swiftness of his barge, which was called the 
 "Flying Devil."* 
 
 The patriots, in order to counteract similar enter- 
 prises in future, now erected a sconce, which they 
 called Fort Teligny, upon the ruptured dyke of Borght, 
 directly in front of the Borght blockhouse, belonging 
 to the Spaniards, and just opposite Fort Hoboken. 
 
 > Meteren, xll. 218. Bor, Ij. 601. 
 
 « Har«ei. • Ann. Turn. Belg..' iU. 369. Bor, U. 501. Meteren, xil.-2l8 ttq. 
 
■.'.f 
 
 [ 
 
 156 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. V 
 
 Here, in this narrow passage, close under the walls of 
 Antwerp, where friends and foes were brought closely 
 face to face, was the scene of many a sanguinary 
 skirmiKh, from the commencement of the siege until its 
 close.' 
 
 Still the bridge was believed to be a mere fable, a 
 chimaera. Panna, men said, had become a lunatic from 
 pride. It was as easy to make the Netherlands submit 
 to the yoke of the Inquisition as to put a bridle on the 
 Scheldt. Its depth, breadth, the ice-floods of a northern 
 winter, the neighbourhood of the Zeeland* fleets, the 
 activity of the Antwerp authorities, all were pledges 
 that the attempt would be signally frustrated.* 
 
 And they should have been pledges — more than 
 enough. Unfortunately, however, there was dissen- 
 sion within, and no chieftain in the field, no sage in 
 the council, of sufficient authority to sustain the whole 
 burthen of the war, and to direct all the energies of the 
 commonwealth. Orange was dead. His son, one day 
 to become the most illustrious military commander in 
 Europe, was a boy of seventeen, nominally captain- 
 general, but in reality but a youthful apprentice to his 
 art. Hohenlo was wild, wilful, and obstinate. Young 
 William Lewis Nassau, already a soldier of marked 
 abilities, was fully occupied in Friesland, where he was 
 stadholder, and where he had quite enough to do in 
 making head against the Spanish governor and gene- 
 ral, the veteran Verdugo. Military operations against 
 Zutphen distracted the attention of the States, which 
 should have been fixed upon Antwerp. Admiral 
 Treslong, as we have seen, was refractory, the cause of 
 great delinquency on the part of the fleets, and of 
 infinite disaster to the commonwealth. More than all, 
 the French negotiation was betraying the States into 
 indolence and hesitation ; and creating a schism between 
 the leading politicians of the country. Several thou- 
 sand French troops, under Monsieur d'Allaynes, were 
 daily expected, but never arrived; and thus, while 
 English and French partisans were plotting and counter- 
 plotting, while a delusive diplomacy was usurping the 
 place of lansquenettes and gunboats— the only possible 
 agents at that moment to preserve Antwerp — the bridge 
 
 1 Harael. • Ann. Tom. Belg./ iil, 369. Bor, IL 601. Meteren, xU. 218 tea. 
 « Stmda, IL 312, 313. Reyd. Iv. 58, 59. 
 
 1584. 
 
 PRELIMINARIES OF THE SIEGE. 
 
 167 
 
 of Parma was slowly advancing. Before the winter 
 had closed in, the preparatory palisades had been 
 finished. 
 
 Between Kalloo and Oordam, upon the opposite side, a 
 sandbar had been discovered in the river's bed, which 
 diminished the depth of the stream, and rendered the 
 pile-driving comparatively easy. The breadth of the 
 Scheldt at this passage was twenty-four hundred feet ; 
 its depth, sixty feet. Upon the Flemish side, near 
 Kalloo, a strong fort was erected, called Saint Mary, in 
 honour of the blessed Virgin, to whom the whole siege 
 of Antwerp had been dedicated from the beginning. 
 ()n the opposite bank was a similar fort, named Philip, 
 for the King. From each of these two points, thus 
 fortified, a framework of heavy timber, suppoiied upon 
 huge piles, had been carried so far into the stream on 
 either side that the distance between the ends had at 
 last been reduced to thirteen hundred feet. The breadth 
 of the roadway — formed of strong sleepers firmly bound 
 together — was twelve feet, along which blockhouses 
 of great thickness were placed to defend the whole 
 against assault.' 
 
 Thus far the work had been comparatively easy. 
 To bridge the remaining open portion of the river, 
 however, where its current was deepest and strongest, 
 and where the action of tide, tempest, and icebergs 
 would be most formidable, seemed a desperate under- 
 taking ; for, as the enterprise advanced, this narrow 
 open space became the scene of daily amphibious en- 
 counters between the soldiers and sailors of Parma and 
 the forces of the States. Unfortunately for the patriots, 
 it was only skirmishing. Had a strong, concerted 
 attack, in large force, from Holland and Zeeland below 
 and fiom the city above, been agreed upon, there was 
 hardly a period, until very late in the winter, when it 
 might not have had the best chances of success. With 
 a vigorous commander against him, Parma, weak in men, 
 and at his wits' end for money, might, in a few hours, 
 have seen the labour of several months hopelessly anni- 
 hilated. On the other hand, the Prince was ably 
 seconded by his lieutenant. Marquis Richebourg, to 
 whom had been delegated the immediate supenntendence 
 
 • Bor, ii. 501 $fq 
 ft. L lii. 2A8 9eq. 
 
 . Meteren, xil. 218 teq. Strada, il. 313 feq. BtmtivogUo, p. 
 
M 
 
 158 
 
 THF UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. V. 
 
 1 '♦ 
 
 :|' 
 
 i'l' 
 
 of tlie bridge-building in its minutest details. He was 
 never idle. Audacious, indefatigable, ubiquitous, he at 
 least atoned by energy and brilliant courage for his 
 famous treason of the preceding year, while his striking 
 and now rapidly approaching doom upon the very scene 
 of his present labours made him appear to have been 
 building a magnificent though fleeting monument to his 
 own memory.* 
 
 Sainte Aldegonde, shut up in Antwerp, and hampered 
 by dissension within and obstinate jealousy without the 
 walls, did all in his power to frustrate tbe enemy's en- 
 terprise and animate the patriots. Through the whole 
 of the autumn and early winter he had urged the States 
 of Holland and Zeeland to make use of the long winter 
 nights, when moonless and stormy, to attempt the de- 
 struction of Parma's undertaking, but the fatal influ- 
 ences already indicated were more efficient against 
 Antwerp than even tbe genius of Famese ; and nothing 
 came of the burgomaster s entreaties save desultory skir- 
 mishing and unsuccessful enterprises. An especial mis- 
 fortune happened in one of these midnight undertakings. 
 Teligny ventured forth in a row-barge, with scarcely any 
 companions, to notify the Zeelanders of a contemplated 
 movement, in which their co-operation was desired. It 
 was proposed that the Antwerp troops should make a 
 fictitious demonstration upon Fort Oordam, while at the 
 same moment the States* troops from Fort Lillo should 
 make an assault upon the forts on Kowenstyn dyke; 
 and in this important enterprise the Zeeland vessels 
 were requested to assist. But the brave Teligny nearly 
 forfeited his life by his rashness, and his services were, 
 for a long time, lost to the cause of liberty. It had been 
 better to send a less valuable officer upon such hazard- 
 ous yet subordinate service. The drip of his oars was 
 heard in the darkness. He was pursued by a number 
 of armed barges, attacked, wounded severely in the 
 shoulder, and captured. He threw his letters overboard, 
 but they were fished out of the water, carried to Parma, 
 and deciphered, so that the projected attack upon the 
 Kowenstyn was discovered, and, of necessity, deferred. 
 As for Teligny, he was taken, as a most valuable prize, 
 into the enemy's camp, and was soon afterwards thrust 
 
 > BeotiTOglio, Strada, uM ntp. 
 
 1584. ENERGY OF FARNESE WITH SWORD AND PEN. 159 
 
 into prison at Toumay, where he remained six years — 
 one year longer than the period which his illustrious 
 father had been obliged to consume in the infamous 
 dungeon at Mons. Few disasters could have been more 
 keenly felt by the States than the loss of this brilliant 
 and devoted French chieftain, who, young as he was, 
 had already become very dear to the republic ; and 
 Sainte Aldegonde was severely blamed for sending so 
 eminent a personage on that dangerous expedition, and 
 for sending him, too, with an insufficient convoy.* 
 
 Still Alexander felt uncertain as to the result. He 
 was determined to secure Antwerp, but he yet thought 
 it possible to secure it by negotiation. The enigmatical 
 policy maintained by France perplexed him ; for it did 
 not seem possible that so much apparent solemnity and 
 earnestness were destined to lead to an impotent and in- 
 famous conclusion. He was left, too, for a long time in 
 ignorance of his own master's secret schemes ; he was at 
 liberty to guess, and to guess only, as to the.projects of 
 the League ; he was without adequate means to cany- 
 out to a certain triiunph his magnificent enterprise ; and 
 he was in constant alarm lest he should be suddenly 
 assailed by an overwhelming French force. Had a man 
 sat upon the throne of Heniy III. at tbat moment, 
 Parma's bridge-making and dyke-fortifying— skilful as 
 they were— would have been all in vain. Meantime, in 
 uncertainty as to the great issue, but resolved to hold 
 firmly to his purpose, he made repeated conciliatory 
 offers to the States with one hand, while he steadily pro- 
 secuted his aggressive schemes with the other. 
 
 Parma had become really gentle, almost affectionate, 
 towards the Netherlanders. He had not the disposition 
 of an Alva to smite and to blast, to exterminate the 
 rebels and heretics with fire and sword, with the axe, 
 the rack, and the gallows. Provided they would re^ 
 nounce the great object of the contest, he seemed really 
 desirous that they should escape further chastisement ; 
 but to admit the worship of God, according to the 
 reformed creed, was with him an inconceivable idea. To 
 do so was both unrighteous and impolitic. He had been 
 brought up to believe that mankind could be saved from 
 eternal perdition only by believing in the infallibility of 
 
 » Bor, iL 607, 608. Meteren. xll. 218. Strada. li. 319, 320. 
 
I)' 
 
 160 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. V, 
 
 the Bishop of Kome ; that the only keys to eternal para- 
 dise were in hands of St. Peter's representative. More- 
 over he instinctively felt that within this religions 
 liberty which the Netherlanders claimed was hidden the 
 germ of civil liberty ; and though no bigger than a grain 
 of mustard-seed, it was necessary to destroy it at once ; 
 for of course the idea of civil liberty could not enter the 
 brain of the brilliant general of Philip II. 
 
 On the 13th of November he addressed a letter to the 
 magistracy and broad-council of Antwerp. He asserted 
 13th Nov. that the instigators of the rebellion were not 
 i****- seeking to further the common weal, but their 
 own private ends. Especially had this been the ruling 
 motive with the Prince of Orange and the Duke of 
 Anjou, both of whom God had removed from the world, 
 in order to manifest to the States their own weakness, 
 and the omnipotence of Philip, whose prosperity the 
 Lord was constantly increasing. It was now more 
 than time /or the authorities of the country to have 
 regard for themselves, and for the miseries of the poor 
 people. The affection which he had always felt for the 
 Provinces — from which he had himself sprung — and the 
 favours which he had received from them in his youth, 
 had often moved him to propose measures which, before 
 God and his conscience, he believed adequate to the 
 restoration of peace. But his letters had been concealed 
 or falsely interpreted by the late Prince of Orange, who 
 had sought nothing but to spread desolation over the 
 land, and to shed the blood of the innocent. He now 
 ^Tote once more, and for the last time, in all fervour 
 and earnestness, to implore them to take compassion on 
 their own wives and children and forlorn fatherland, 
 to turn their eyes backward on the peace and prosperity 
 which they had formerly enjoyed when obedient to his 
 Majesty, and to cast a glance around them upon the 
 miseries which were so universal since the rebellion. 
 He exhorted them to close their ears to the insidious 
 tongues of those who were leading them into delusion 
 as to the benevolence and paternal sweetness of their 
 natural lord and master, which were even now so bound- 
 less that he did not hesitate once more to offer them his 
 entire forgiveness. If they rhosA to negotiate, they 
 would find everything granted that with right and rea- 
 
 > 
 
 i 
 
 1584. HIS CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE MAGISTRATES. 161 
 
 son could be proposed. The Prince concluded by de- 
 claring that he made these advances not from any doubt 
 as to the successful issue of the military operations in 
 which he was engaged, but simply out of paternal anx- 
 iety for the happiness of the Provinces. Bid they 
 remain obstinate, their ultimate conditions would be 
 rendered still more severe, and themselves, not he. 
 would be responsible for the misery and the bloodshed 
 to ensue.* 
 
 Ten days aften\^ards, the magistrates, thus addressed— 
 after communication with the broad council— answered 
 Parma's letter manfully, copiously, and with 23rd xov 
 the customary but superfluous historical sketch. "h4. ' 
 They begged leave to entertain a doubt as to the pater- 
 nal sweetness of a king who had dealt so long in racks 
 and gibbets. With Parma's owti mother, as they told 
 the Prince, the Netherlanders had once made a treaty 
 by which the right to worship God according to their 
 consciences had been secured ; yet for maintaining that 
 treaty they had been devoted to indiscriminate destnic- 
 tioii, and their land made desolate with fire and sword 
 Men had been massacred by thousands, who had never 
 been heard in their own defence, and who had never 
 been accused of any crime, "save that they had assem- 
 bled together in the name of God, to pray to Him, 
 through their only mediator and advocate Jesus Christ 
 according to His command." * 
 
 The axis of the revolt was the religious question ; 
 and It was impossible to hope anything from a monarch 
 who was himself a slave of the Inquisition, and who had 
 less independence of action than that enjoyed by Jews 
 and lurks, according to the express permission of the 
 lope. ^ therefore they informed Parma that they had 
 done with Phihp for ever, and that, in consequence of 
 the extraordinaiy wisdom, justice, and moderation of 
 the French King they had offered him the sovereignty 
 of their land, and had implored his protection. ' 
 
 .ff.r'T -^^ ^t"b!»/« to the character of Famese, who, 
 
 murh^Tr!^^ '"^""''^ ^I^"^ ^^ ^^^^' ^^^ manifested s^; 
 miK h gentleness and disposition to conciliate. They 
 doubted not that he would, if he possessed the power^ 
 
 VOL. 1. ^' 
 
 M 
 
162 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. V. 
 
 have guided the royal councils to better and more 
 generous results, and protested that they would not have 
 delayed to throw themselves into his arms, had they 
 been assured that he was authorized to admit that which 
 alcme could form the basis of a successfid negotiation — 
 religious freedom. They would in such case have been 
 tcilling to close with him, idthout talking ahout other conditions 
 than such as his Highness in his discretion and sweet- 
 ness might think reasonable. 
 
 Moreover, as they observed in conclusion, they were 
 precluded, by their present relations with France, frc»ni 
 entering into any other negotiation ; nor could they 
 listen to any such proposals without deserving to be 
 stigmatized as the most lewd, blasphemous, and tliank- 
 less mortals that ever cumbered the earth. 
 
 Being under equal obligations both to the Union and 
 to France, they announced that Parma's overtures would 
 be laid before the French government and the assembly 
 of the States-General.' 
 
 A day was to come, perhaps, when it would hardly 
 seem lewdness and blasphemy for the Nethcrlanders to 
 doubt the extraordinary justice and wisdom of thu 
 French King. Meantime, it cannot be denied that they 
 were at lea-st loyal to their own engagements, and long- 
 suftering wliere they had trusted and given their hearts. 
 
 Parma repliedby another letter, dated December 3rd. 
 He assured tlie citizens that Henry III. was far too dis- 
 
 lotb Dec. creet, and much too good a friend to Philip 
 
 1^*- II., to countenance this rebellion. If he were 
 to take up their quarrel, however, the King of Spain 
 had a thousjind means of foiling all his attempts. As 
 to the religious question — which they affirmed to be the 
 sole cause of the war — he was not inclined to waste 
 words upon that subject ; nevertheless, so far as he in 
 his simplicity could understand the true nature of a 
 (Christian, he could not believe that it comported with 
 the doctiines of Jesus, whom they called their only 
 mediator, nor with the dictates of conscience, to take up 
 arms against their lawful king, nor to bum, rob, plunder, 
 pierce dykes, overwhelm their fatherland, and reduce 
 all things to misery and chaos, in the name of religion.'' 
 
 Thus mondizing and dogmatizing, the Prince con- 
 
 » Letters in Bor, Meteren, Hoold, ubi tup. ' Ibid. 
 
 1584. 
 
 PROGRESS OF THE BRIDGE. 
 
 168 
 
 eluded his letter, and so the correspondence terminated. 
 This last despatch was comnmnicated at once both to 
 the States-General and to the French government, and 
 remained unanswered. Soon afterwards the Netherlands, 
 and England, France, and Spain, were engaged in that 
 vast game of delusion which has been described in the 
 
 itreceding chapters. Meantime both Antwerp and 
 :*arma remained among the deluded, and were left to 
 fight out their battle on their own resources. 
 
 Having found it impossible to subdue Antwerp by 
 his ihetoric, Alexander proceeded with his bridge. It 
 is impossible not to admire the steadiness and inge- 
 nuity with which the Prince persisted in his plans, the 
 courage with which he bore up against the parsimony 
 and neglect of his sovereign, the compassionate tender- 
 ness which he manifested for his patient little army. 
 So much intellectual energy commands enthusiasm, 
 while the supineness on the other side sometimes 
 excites indignation. Tliere is even a danger of being 
 entrapjied into sympathy with tyranny, when the cause 
 of tyranny is maintained by genius ; and of being sur- 
 prised into inditi'erence for human liberty, when the 
 sacred interests of liberty are endangered by self- 
 interest, perverseness, andVolly. 
 
 Even Sainte Aldegonde did not believe that the 
 bridge could be comjdeted. His fears were that the 
 city would be ruined rather by the cessation of its 
 conmierce than by want of daily food. Already, after 
 the capture of Liefkenshoek and the death of Orange, 
 tlie panic among commercial people had been so intense 
 that seventy or eighty merchants, representing the most 
 wealthy mercantile firms in Antwerp, made their 
 escape from the place, as if it had been smitten with 
 pestilence^ or were already in the hands of I'arma.' All 
 such refugees were ordered to return on peril of forfeit- 
 ing their ] property. Few came back, however, for they 
 had found means of converting and transferring their 
 funds to other more secure places, despite the threatened 
 confiscation. It was insinuated that Holland and Zee- 
 land were indifferent to the fate of Antwerp, because 
 m the sequel the commercial cities of those Provinces 
 succeeded to the vast traffic and the boundless wealth 
 
 1 Baudarlil • Polemographia,' li. 24. 
 
 H 2 
 
164 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. V, 
 
 y 
 
 which had been forfeited by the Brabantine capital. 
 The charge was an unjust one. At the very commence- 
 ment of the siege the States of Holland voted two 
 hundred thousand florins for its relief; and moreover, 
 these wealthy refugees were positively denied admit- 
 tance into the territory of the United States, and were 
 thus forced to settle in Germany or England.* This 
 cessation of traffic was that which principally excited 
 the anxiety of Aldegonde. He could not bring himself 
 to believe in the possibility of a blockade, by an aniiy 
 of eight or ten thousand men, of a great and wealthy 
 city, where at least twenty thousand citizens were 
 capable of bearing arms. Had he thoroughly understood 
 the deprivations under which Alexander was labouring, 
 perhaps he would have been even more confident as to 
 the result. 
 
 " V\ ilh regard to the aifair of the river Scheldt," 
 
 wrote Parma to Philip, *' I should like to send your 
 
 15th Ja 1. Majesty a drawing of the whole scheme ; for 
 
 i5»5. |;jje work is too vast to be explained by letters. 
 The more I examine it, the more astonished I am that 
 it should have been conducted to this point ; so many 
 forts, dykes, canals, new inventions, machinery, and 
 engines, have been necessarily required." * 
 
 He then proceeded to enlighten the King — as ho 
 never failed to do in all his letters — as to his own im- 
 poverished, almost helpless condition. Money, money, 
 men! lliis was his constant cry. All would be in 
 vain, he said, if he were thus neglected. '* 'Tis neces- 
 sary," said he, " for your Majesty fully to comprehend, 
 that henceforth the enterprise is your own. I have 
 done my work faithfully thus far ; it is now for your 
 Majesty to take it thoroughly to heart ; and embrace it 
 with the warmth with which an affair involving so much 
 of your own interests deserves to be embraced." ^ 
 
 He avowed that without full confidence in his sove- 
 reign's sympathy he would never have conceived the 
 project. " 1 confess that the enterprise is great," he 
 said, " and that by many it will be considered rash. 
 Certainly I should not have undertaken it, had I not 
 felt certain of your Majesty's full support."* 
 
 « Baudartll • Polemograpbla/ il. 24. 1585. Archivo de Simancas MS. 
 
 « Pjrince of Parma to Tiillip U., 15 Jan. a Ibid. * Ibid. 
 
 1585. 
 
 IMPOVERISHED CONDITION OF PARMA. 
 
 165 
 
 But he was already in danger of being forced to 
 abandon the whole scheme —although so nearly carried 
 into effect— for want of funds. '• The million promised," 
 he \^Tote, *' has arrived in bits and morsels, and with so 
 many ceremonies that 1 haven't ten crowns at lav 
 disj)osal. How I am to maintain even this handful of 
 soldiers — for the army is diminished to such a mere 
 handfid that it would astonish your Majesty — I am 
 unable to imagine. It would move you to witness their 
 condition. They have suffered as much as is humanly 
 possible." * 
 
 Many of the troops, indeed, were deserting, and 
 making their escape, beggared and desperate, into 
 France, where, with natural injustice, they denounced 
 their General, whose whole heart was occupied with 
 their miseries, for the delinquency of his master, whose 
 mind was full of other schemes. 
 
 *' There passed this way many Spanish soldiers," 
 ^vTote Stafford from Paris, '* so jioor and naked as I ever 
 saw any. There have been within this fort- 
 night two hundred at a time in this towTi, who ^gth j^' 
 report the extremity of want of victuals in *^***- 
 tlieir camp, and that they have been twenty-four months 
 without pay. They exclaim greatly upon the Prince of 
 Parma. Mendoza seeks to convey them away, and to 
 get money for them by all means he can." * 
 
 Stafford urged upon his government the propriety of 
 being at least as negligent as Philip had showed himself 
 to be of the Spaniards. By prohibiting supplies to the 
 besieging army, England might contribute, negatively, 
 if not otherwise, to the relief of Antwerp. ** There is 
 no place," he wrote to Walsingham, ''whence the 
 Spaniards are so thoroughly victualled as from us. 
 English boats go by sixteen and seventeen into Dunkirk* 
 well hiden with provisions." * 
 
 This was certainly not in accordance with the 
 interests nor the benevolent professions of the En^-lish 
 ministers. ° 
 
 These supplies were not to be regularly depended 
 upon, however. They were likewise not to be had with- 
 
 i Prince of Parma to PljIUp H.. tc., MS Jnst dted. 
 
 t Stafford to WaUlngham. ^^^ In Murdln. U. 434. 
 
166 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. V. 
 
 out paying a heavy price for f hem, and the Prince had 
 no money in his coffer. He lived from hand to mouth, 
 and waH obliged to borrow from every private individual 
 who had anything to lend. Merchants, nobles, official 
 personages, were all obliged to assist in eking out the 
 scanty pittance allowed by the sovereign. 
 
 "The million is all gone," wrote Parma to his 
 master : *' somo to Verdugo in Friesland ; some to 
 repay the advances of Marquis Kichebourg and other 
 gentlemen. There is not a farthing for the garrisons. I 
 can't go on a month longer, and, if not supplied, I shall 
 be obliged to abandon the work. I have not money 
 enough to pay my sailors, joiners, carpenters, and,other 
 mechanics, from week to week, and they will all' leave 
 mo in the lurch if 1 leave them unpaid. I have no 
 resource but to rely on your Majesty. Otherwise the 
 enterprise must wholly fail." ^ 
 
 In case it did fail, the Prince wiped his hands of the 
 responsibility. He certainly had the right to do so. 
 
 ( )ne of his main sources of supply was the city of 
 Hertogcnbosch, or Bois-le-Duc. It was one of the four 
 chief cities of Brabant, and still held for the King, 
 although many towns in its immediate neighbourhood 
 had espoused the cause of the republic. The States had 
 long been anxious to effect a diversion for the relief of 
 Antwerp, by making an attack on Bois-le-Duc. Could 
 they carry the place, Panna would be almost inevitably 
 compelled to abandon the siege in which he was at 
 present engaged ; and he could moreover spare no troops 
 tor its defence. Bois le-Duc was a popiilous, wealthy, 
 thriving town, situate on the Deeze, two leagues above 
 its confluence with the Meuse, and about twelve leagues 
 from Antwerp. It derived its name of " Duke's Wood " 
 from a magnificent park and forest, once the favourite 
 resort and residence of the old Dukes of Brabant, of 
 which some beautiful vestiges still remained. It was a 
 handsome well-built city, with two thousand houses of 
 the better class, besides more humble tenements. Its 
 qitizens were celebrated for their courage and belligerent 
 skill, both on foot and on horseback. They were said 
 to retain more of the antique Belgic ferocity which 
 Caesar had celebrated than that which had descended to 
 
 * M>1. Letter ol rarma, before cIUhL 
 
 1585. 
 
 PATKIOTS ATTEMIT BuIS-LE-DUC. 
 
 167 
 
 most of their kinsmen. The place was, moreover, the 
 soat of many prosperous manufactures, its clothiei-s 
 tM'iit the products of their looms over all Christendom, 
 and its linen and cutlery were equally renowned.' 
 
 It would be a most fortunate blow in the cause of 
 freedom to secure so thriving and conspicuous a town, 
 situated thus in the heart of what seemed the natural 
 territory of the United States ; and, by so doing, to 
 render nugatory the mighty preparations of l^anna 
 against Antwerp. Moreover, it was known that there 
 was no Sj)anish or other ganison within its walls, so 
 that there w;us no opposition to be feared, except from 
 tlic warlike nature of its citizens. 
 
 Count Huheido was entrusted, early in January, with 
 this important enterprise. He accordingly collected a 
 force of four thousand infantry, together with January, 
 two hundred mounted lancers; having pre- ^'>*^- 
 viously reconnoitred the ground. He relied verj'^ much, 
 for the success of the undertaking, on Captain Kleer- 
 hagen, a Brussels nobleman, whose wife was a native of 
 Bois-le-Duc, and who was thoroughly familiar with the 
 l»»cality. One dark winter's night, Kleerhagen, with 
 tifty picked soldiers, advanced to the Antwerp gate of 
 Bois-le-Duc, while Hohenlo, with his whole force, lay 
 in ambuscade as neiir as possible to the citv. 
 
 lietween the drawbridge and the portciillis were two 
 small guard-houses, which, very carelessly, had been 
 left empty. Kleerhagen, with his fifty followers, suc- 
 cessfully climl)ed into these lurking-places, where they 
 quietly ensconced themselves for the night. At ei^'-ht 
 o'clock of the following morning (20th Janu- 20fhJ^ 
 ary) the guards of the gate drew up the poi-t<- i^***- 
 cullis, and reconnoitred. At the same instant the 
 ambushed fifty sprang from their concealment, put tliem 
 to the sword, and made themselves masters of the gate. 
 >one of the night-watch escaped with life, save one 
 poor old invalided citizen, whose business had been to 
 draw up the portcullis, and who was severely wounded, 
 and left for dead. The fifty immediately summoned all 
 of Hohenlo's ambuscade that were witliin hearing, and 
 then, >vithout waiting for them, entered the town pell- 
 mell in the best of spirits, and shouting Victory, victor}' ! 
 
 * Guicdanliui, in vooe. 
 
168 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. V. 
 
 till they were hoarse. A single corporal, with two men, 
 was left to guard the entrance. Meantime, the old 
 wounded gate-opener, bleeding and crippled, crept into 
 a dark comer, and laid himself down, unnoticed, to die. 
 Soon afterwards Hohenlo galloped into the town, clad 
 in complete armour, his long curls floating in the wind, 
 with about two hundred troopers clattering behind him] 
 closely followed by five hundred pikemen on foot. 
 
 Very brutally, foolishly, and characteristically, he 
 had promised his followers the sacking of the city so 
 soon as it should be taken. They accordingly set about 
 the sacking, before it was taken. Hardly had the five 
 or six hundred effected their entrance, than, throwing off 
 all control, they dispersed through the principal streets, 
 and began bursting open the doors of the most opulent 
 households. The cries of "Victory!" "Gained city!" 
 " Down with the Spaniards !" resounded on all sides. 
 Many of the citizens, panic-stmck, fled from their homes, 
 which they thus abandoned to pillage ; while, meantime, 
 the loud shouts of the assailants reached the ears of the 
 corporal and his two companions, who had been left in 
 charge of the gate. Fearing that they 'should l)e cheated 
 of their rightful share in the plunder, they at once 
 abandoned their post, and set forth after their comrades 
 as fast as their legs could carry them. 
 
 Now it so chanced — although there was no garrison 
 in the town— that forty Burgundian and Italian lancers, 
 wath about thirty foot-soldiers, had come in the day 
 before to escort a train of merchandize. The Seigneur 
 de Haultepenne, governor of Breda, a famous royalist 
 commander—son of old Count Berlaymont, who first 
 gave the name of " beggars " to the patriots— had ac- 
 companied them in the expedition. The little troop 
 were already about to mount their horses to depart, when 
 they became aware of the sudden tumult. Elmont, 
 governor of the city, had also flown to the rescue, and 
 had endeavoured to rally the burghers. Kot unmindful 
 of their ancient warlike fame, they had obeyed his 
 entreaties. Elmont, with a strong party of armed 
 citizens, joined himself to Ilaultepenne's little band of 
 lancers. They fired a few shots at straggling parties of 
 plunderers, and pursued others up some narrow streets. 
 They were but a handful in comparison with the number 
 
 1585. 
 
 THEIU MISL'O.NDUCT. 
 
 169 
 
 of the pati-iois who had gained entrance tp the city. 
 They were, however, compact, united, and resolute. 
 The assailants were scattered, disorderly, and bent only 
 upon plunder. \N hen attacked by an aniied and regular 
 band, they were amazed. They had been told that 
 there was no garrison ; and behold a choice phalanx of 
 Spanish lancers, led on by one of the most famous of 
 Thilip's Netherland chieftains. They thought them- 
 selves betrayed by Kleerhagen, entrapped into a de- 
 liberately arranged ambush. There was a panic. The 
 soldiers, dispersed and doubtful, could not be rallied. 
 Hohenlo, seeing that nothing was to be done with his 
 five hundred, galloped furiously out of the gate, to bring 
 in the rest of his troops wlio had remained outside the 
 walls. The prize of the wealthy city of Bois-le-Duc 
 was too tempting to be lightly abandoned; but he had 
 much better have thought of making himself master of 
 it himself before he should present it as a prey to his 
 followers. 
 
 During his absence the panic spread. The States* 
 trcK)p8, bewildered, astonished, vigorously assaulted, 
 turned their backs upon their enemies, and fled helter- 
 skelter towards the gates, through which they had first 
 gained admittance. But, unfortunately for them, so soon 
 as the cori>oral had left his position, the wounded old 
 gate-opener, m a dying condition, had crawled forth on 
 his hands and knees from a dark hole in the tower cut 
 with a pocket-knife, the ropes of the portcullis, and'then 
 given up the ghost. Most effective was that blow struck 
 by a dead man's hand. Down came the portcullis. The 
 flying plunderers were entrapped. Close behind them 
 c^mo the excited burgliers-their antique Belgic ferocity 
 now fully arousod-iiriiig away with carbine and match- 
 ock, dealing about them with bludgeon and cutlass, and 
 led merrily on by Haultepenne and Ehnont, aimed in 
 proot, at the head of their squadron of lancers The 
 unfortimate patriots had risen very early in the moi-nin- 
 only to shear the wolf. Some were cut to pieces in the 
 streets ; others c imbed the walls, and threw themselves 
 head foremost into the moat. Many were drowned, and 
 but a very few effected their escape. Justinus de 
 Wu sprang over the parapet, and succeeded in 
 swimming the ditch. Kleerhagen, driven into the Holy ^ 
 
170 
 
 THE UNITED NETHEKLANDS. 
 
 Chap. V 
 
 Cross tower, ascended to its roof, leaped, all accoutred 
 as he .was, into the river, and, with the assistance of a 
 Scotch soldier, came safe to land. Ferdinand Tnichsess, 
 brother of the ex-elector of Cologne, was killed. Four 
 or five hundred of the assailants — nearly all who had 
 entered the city — were slain, and about fifty of the 
 burghers. 
 
 Ilohenlo soon came back, with Colonel Ysselsteiu 
 and two thousand fresh troops. But their noses, says a 
 contemporary, grew a hundred feet long with surprise 
 when they saw the gate shut in their faces.* It might 
 have occurred to the Count, when he rushed out of the 
 town for reinforcements, that it Avould be as well to 
 replace the guard, which— as he must have seen— had 
 abandoned their j)ost. 
 
 Cursing his folly, he returned, marvellously discom- 
 fited, and deservedly censured, to Certruydenberg. And 
 thus had a most important enterprise, which had nearly 
 been spendidly successful, ended in disaster and dis- 
 grace. To the recklessness of the general, to the cupidity 
 which he had himself awakened in his followers, was 
 the failure alonet o be attributed. Had he taken pos- 
 session of the city with a firm grasp at the head of his 
 four thousand men, nothing could have resisted him; 
 llaultepenne, and his insignificant force, would have 
 been dead, or his prisoners ; the basis of Parma*s magni- 
 ficent operations would have been withdrawn ; Antwerp 
 would have been saved.* 
 
 " Infinite gratitude," wrote Parma to Philip, ♦* should 
 be rendered to the Lord. Great thanks are also due to 
 llaultepenne. Had the rebels succeetied in their enterprise 
 wjainiit Boldttc, I should ham been cotnjyelkd to aliandon the siege 
 of Antwerp. The town, by its strength and situation, is 
 of infinite importance for the reduction both of that 
 pla(;e and of Brussels, and the rebels in possession of 
 Bolduc would have cut off my supplies."* 
 
 The Prince recommended llaultepenne most warmly 
 
 > liC Petit, li. 506. 
 
 * For the enterprise against Boi»-le- 
 I>uc. see Le Petit, il. 505-506 ; Baudurtil 
 Polemog. 11. 39 ; Meteren. xli. 222 ; Strada. 
 ii. 326, 327 (who by a singular lapse of 
 the pen repre^nts Justlnim de Nassau as 
 having been killed, " Reperti Inter eo«j, qui 
 
 deKlderati sunt.Ferd.Truchseslus. etyothus 
 Orangii Jilius," kc 327); Bor, li. 558 ; 
 Van Wyn op Wagenaar, vili. 34 m/.; 
 L»tter of Parma to the King, 12 Feb 
 15K5. (Anhivo de Slmancas Ma) 
 ' MS. Letter of Parma Jubt cited. 
 
 lObi>. 
 
 FAILURE OF THE ENTERPRISE. 
 
 171 
 
 to the King as desei-ving of a rich " merced." The true 
 hero of the day, hoAvever— at least the chief agent in 
 the victory— was the poor, crujshed, nameless victim 
 M-ho had cut the ropes of the portcullis at the Antwerp 
 gate. 
 
 Hohenlo was deeply stung by the disgrace which he 
 had incurred. For a time he sought oblivion in hard 
 drinking ; but— brave and energetic, though reckless- 
 he soon became desirous of retrieving his reputation by 
 more successful enterprises. There was no lack of 
 work, and assuredly his hands were rarely idle. 
 
 " Hollach (Hohenlo) is gone from hence on Friday 
 last," wrote Davison to W alsingham ; '' he will do what 
 he may to recover his reputation lost in the attempt of 
 Bois-le-Duc ; which, for the grief and trouble he hath 
 conceived thereof, hath for the time greatly altered 
 him." * 
 
 Meantime the turbulent Scheldt, lashed by the storms 
 of winter, was becoming a more formidable enemy to 
 Parma's great enterprise than the military demonstra- 
 tions of his enemies, or the famine which was makin^-- 
 such havoc with his little army. The ocean tides were 
 rolling huge ice-blocks up and down, which beat against 
 his palisade with the noise of thunder, and seemed to 
 threaten its immediate destruction. But the work stood 
 firm. The piles supporting the piers, which had been 
 thrust out from eacli bank into the stream, had been 
 driven fifty feet into the river's bed, and did their duty 
 well. But m the space between, twelve hundred and 
 forty feet in width, the current was too deep for pile- 
 di iving, and a permanent bridge was to be established 
 upon boats. And that bridge was to be laid across the 
 icy and tempestuous flood, in the depth of winter in 
 the teeth of a watchful enemy, with the probability of 
 an immediate invasion from France— where the rebel 
 envoys were known to be negotiating on express invi- 
 tation of the King-by half-naked, half-starving soldiers 
 and sailors, unpaid for years, and for the sake ol' a master 
 who seemed to have forgotten their existence 
 
 iiZv^^'\^'^/\r'^^ Alexander, -the palisade stands 
 firm m spite of the ice. Now, with the favour of the 
 l^ord, we shaU soon get the fruit we have been hoping, 
 
 » Davison to WaUingham, Fib. 12, 1685. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
172 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. V. 
 
 
 if your Majesty is not wanting in that to which your 
 grandeur, your great Christianity, your own interests, 
 oblige you. In tnith 'tis a great and heroic work, wor- 
 thy the great power of your Majesty." *'For my own 
 part," he continued, *' I have done what depended upon 
 me. From your own royal hand must emanate the rest ; 
 — men, namely, sufficient to maintain the posts, and 
 money enough to support them there." * 
 
 He expressed himself in the strongest language con- 
 cerning the danger to the royal cause from the weak 
 and gradually sinking condition of the army. Even 
 without the French intrigues with the rebels, conoeraing 
 which, in his ignorance of the exact state of affairs, he 
 expressed much anxiety, it would be impossible, he said, 
 to save the royal cause without men and money. 
 
 " I have spared myself," said the Prince, *' neither 
 day nor night. Let not your Majesty impute the blame 
 to me if we fail. Verdugo also is uttering a perpetual 
 cry out of Friesland for men— men and money."* 
 
 Yet, notwithstanding all these obstacles the bridge 
 23th Feb. was finished at last. On the 25th February, 
 
 1586. ^i^Q ^y^y. gacred to Saint Matthew, and of fortu- 
 nate augury to the Emperor Charles, father of Philip 
 and grandfather of Alexander, the Scheldt was closed." 
 
 As already stated, from Fort Saint Mary on the Kalloo 
 side, and from Fort Philip, not far fromOordam on the Bra- 
 bant shore of the Scheldt, strong stnictures, supported 
 upon piers, had been projected, reaching, respectively, 
 five hundred feet into the stream. These two opposite 
 ends were now connected by a permanent bridge of 
 boats. There were thirty-two of these barges, each of 
 them sixty -two feet in length and twelve in breadth, the 
 spaces between each couple being twenty-two feet wide, 
 and all being bound together, stem, stem, and midships, 
 by quadruple hawsers and chains. Each boat was an- 
 chored at stem and stem with loose cables. Strong 
 timbers, with cross rafters, were placed upon the boats, 
 upon which heavy framework the planked pathway 
 was laid down. A thick parapet of closely-fitting beanis 
 was erected along both the outer edges of the whole 
 fabric. Thus a continuous and well-fortified bridge, 
 
 1585. 
 
 THE BRIDGE COMPLETED. 
 
 173 
 
 ) MS. Letter of Parma before cited, 
 sibid. 
 
 » Parma to Philip. 27 F*. 1585. (At- 
 «bivo de Slmimcew MS.) 
 
 two thousand four hundred feet in length, was stretched 
 at last from shore to shore. Each of the thirty-two 
 boats on which the central portion of the structure re- 
 posed, was a small fortress provided with two heavy 
 pieces of artillery, pointing the one up, the other down 
 the stream, and manned by thirty-two soldiers and four 
 siiilors, defended by a breast- work formed of gabions of 
 great thickness. 
 
 The forts of Saint Philip and Saint Mary, at either 
 end of the bridge, had each ten great guns, and both 
 were filled with soldiers. In front of each fort, more- 
 over, was stationed a fleet of twenty armed vessels, car- 
 r^'iiig heavy pieces of artillery ; ten anchored at the 
 aiigle towards Antwerp, and as many looking down the 
 river. One hundred and seventy great guns, including 
 the armaments of the boats under the bridge, of the ar- 
 mada and the forts, protected the whole structure, point- 
 ing up and down the stream. 
 
 But, besides these batteries, an additional precaution 
 had been taken. On each side, above and below the 
 bridge, at a moderate distance— a bow-shot— was an- 
 chored a heavy raft floating upon empty barrels. Each 
 raft was composed of heavy timbers, bound together in 
 bunches of three, the spaces between being connected by 
 ships' masts and lighter spar-work, and with a tooth- 
 like projection along the whole outer edge, formed of 
 strong rafters, pointed and araied with sharp prongs and 
 hooks of iron. Thus a serried phalanx, as it were, of 
 spears stood ever on guard to protect the precious inner 
 stnicture. Vessels coming from Zeeland or Antwerp, 
 and the floating ice-masses, which were almost as for- 
 midable, were obliged to make their first attack upon 
 these dangerous outer defences. Eacii raft, floating 
 in the middle of the stream, extended twelve hun- 
 dred and fifty-two feet across, thus protecting the 
 wh(,le of the bridge of boats and a portion of that rest- 
 ing upon piles.* 
 
 Such was the famous bridge of Parma. The ma<rni- 
 iicent undertaking has been advantageously compared 
 
 » MS. Letter of Parma before cited. admlral>le plans. etclUne- and man.^ • 
 
 TTL"rt!- tr^^r i,r '"°*"^' '^•■•'""' '''^-'V «"^% r^r^:;^ 
 
174 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. V. 
 
 1585. POSITION OF ALEXANDER AND HIS ARMY. 
 
 ITU 
 
 
 with tlie celebrated Rhine-bridge of Julius Caesar. 
 When it is remembered, however, that the Roman 
 work was performed in summer, across a river only 
 half as broad as the Scheldt, free from the disturbing 
 action of the tides, and flowing through an unresisting 
 country, while the whole character of the structure, 
 intended only to serve for the single jmssage of an 
 army, was far inferior to the massive solidity of Parma's 
 bridge ; it seems not unreasonable to assign the supe- 
 riority to the general who had surmounted all the 
 obstacles of a northern winter, vehement ebb and flow 
 from the sea, and enterprising and desperate enemies 
 at every point. 
 
 When the citizens, at last, looked upon the completed 
 fabric, converted from the *' dream," which they had 
 pronounced it to be, into a terrible reality ; when they 
 saw the shining array of Spanish and Italian legions 
 marching and countermarching upon their new load, 
 and trampling, as it were, the turbulent river beneath 
 their feet ; when they witnessed the solemn military 
 spectacle with which the Governor-General celebrated 
 his success, amid peals of cannon and shouts of triumjih 
 from his army, they bitterly bewailed their o^vn folly. 
 Yet, even then, they could hardly believe that the work 
 had been accomplished by human agency, but they 
 loudly protested that invisible demons had been sum- 
 moned to plan and perfect this fatal and preterhuman 
 work. They were wrong. There had been but one 
 demon — one clear, lofty intelligence, inspiring a steady 
 and untiring hand. The demon was the intellect of 
 Alexander Farnese ; but it had been assisted in its 
 labour by the hundred devils of envy, covetousness, 
 jealousy, sefishness, distrust, and discord, that had 
 housed, not in his camp, but in the ranks of those who 
 were contending for their hearths and altars. 
 
 And thus had the Prince arrived at success in spite 
 of every obstacle. He took a just pride in the achieve- 
 ment, yet he knew by how many dangers he was still 
 surrounded, and he felt hurt, at his sovereign's neglect. 
 " The enterprise at Antwerp," he wrote to Philip on the 
 day the bridge was completed, " is so great and heroic, 
 that to celebrate it would require me to speak more at 
 large than I like to do, for fear of being tedious to your 
 
 Majesty. What I will say, is that the labours and difti- 
 culties have been every day so great, that, if your Alajesty 
 knew them, you would estimate what we have done more 
 highly than you do; atid not forget us so utterly, leaving us 
 to die uf hufif/er." * 
 
 lie considered the fabric in itself almost impregnable, 
 provided he were furnished with the means to maintain 
 what he had so painfully constructed. 
 
 *' The whole is in such condition," said he, " that in 
 opinion of all competent military judges it would stand 
 though all Holland and Zeeland should come to destroy 
 our palisades. Their attacks must be made at immense 
 danger and disadvantage, so severely can we play upon 
 them with our artillery and musketry. Every boat is 
 garnished with the most dainty captains and soMiers, so 
 that, if the enemy should attempt to assail us now, they 
 would come back with broken heads." * 
 
 Yet in the midst of his apparent triumph he had, at 
 times, almost despair in his heart. He felt really at the 
 last gasp. His troops had dwindled to the mere shadow 
 of an army, and they were forced to live almost upon air 
 1 he cavalry had nearly vanished. The garrisons in the 
 different cities were starving. ITie burghers had no 
 toed for the soldiers nor for themselves. - As for the 
 rest of the troops," said Alexander, -they are stationed 
 ^here they have nothing to subsist upon, save saltwater 
 and the dykes, and if the Lord does not grant a miracle 
 
 too late. He assured his ma-ster that he could not eo 
 
 feXT 1 n'' ""l '^^^^'« ^^"-"^' '^'^^ ^'^ had been 
 fe edmg his sohl.ers for a long time from hand to mouth, 
 
 and that it would soon be impossible for him to keep his 
 
 His j.ictures were most dismal, his supnlicatirms f..r 
 inoney very moving, but he never allS to Se f 
 
 i hey must have food," he said. - ' Tis impossible io 
 sustain them any longer by driblet., as I haTdone for 
 
 * " V no nos tenia tan olvid idos, nl per- 
 mitiHrt dtxaiTj** en nuita n.-cessidud que 
 ro h:»b<Mnos de nmrlr de hambre." *c 
 (MS. letter of I'anua to Philip, 27 Feb. 
 16(i5.) 
 
 2 Parma to PblUp II., 23 Feb. 15S5 
 (Archlvo de Simnnciis jSIS.) 
 
 » Smne to same. 27 Feb. 1685. (ArcLivo 
 de Simancas MS.) 
 * Ibid. 
 
176 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. V. 
 
 a long time. Yet how can T do it without money ? And 
 I have none at all, nor do I see where to get a sinde 
 florin." ° 
 
 But these revelations were made only to his master's 
 most secret ear. His letters, deciphered after three 
 centuries, alone make manifest the almost desperate 
 condition in which the apparently triumphant general 
 was placed, and the facility with which his antajronists 
 liad they been well guided and faithful to themselves' 
 might have driven him into the sea. 
 
 But to those adversaries he maintained an attitude of 
 serene and smiling triumph. A spy, sent from the city 
 to obtain intelligence for the anxious burghers, had 
 gamed admission into his lines, was captured and 
 brought before the Prince. He expected, of course, to 
 be immediately hanged. On the contrary, Alexander 
 gave orders that he should be conducted over everv mi-t 
 of the encampment. The forts, the palisades, the brido-e 
 were all to be carefully exhibited and explained to hhn 
 as if he had been a friendly visitor entitled to every 
 information. He was requested to count the pieces of 
 
 After thoroughly studying the scene he was then dis- 
 missed with a safe-conduct to the city 
 
 "Go back to thos-e who sent ^ou," said the Prince. 
 "Convey to them the information in quest of which 
 you came. Apprise them of everything which you 
 have inspected counted, heard explained. Tell tllem 
 further, that the siege will never be abandoned, and 
 
 !nto Arwer"?- " "'^ "^"'^'^^^ "^ ^^ ^^'"'^^y 
 
 And now the aspect of the scene was indeed por- 
 
 IwTnV/ a^?''^*"'' had become a vei^- visible brist- 
 
 Ll -n {• 1 ^ 1 T ''r^ '^^ ^''^^^ ^^i^h t^« citizens 
 had iidiculcd while it was growing before their faces. 
 
 There scowled the Kowenstyn-black with cannon, 
 
 covered all over with fortresses -which the butchers 
 
 had so sedulously preser^'ed. From Parma's camp at 
 
 Beveren and kalloo a great fortified road led across the 
 
 river and along the fatal dyke all the way to the 
 
 entrenchments at Stabroek, where Mansfeld's army lay. 
 
 Grim 3Iondragon held the " Holy Cross" and the whole 
 
 » Strada, ii. 325. 326. 
 
 1585. 
 
 BRUSSELS CAPITULATES. 
 
 177 
 
 Kowenstyn in his own iron grasp. A chain of forts, 
 built and occupied by the . contending hosts of the 
 patriots and the Spaniards, were closely packed to- 
 gether along both banks of the Scheldt, nine miles 
 long from Antwerp to Lillo, and interchanged per- 
 petual cannonades, llie country all around, once fertile 
 as a garden, had been changed into a wild and wintr}' 
 sea, where swarms of gun-boats and other armed vessels 
 manoeuvred and contended with each other over sub- 
 merged villages and orchards, and among half-drowned 
 turrets and steeples. Yet there rose the great bulwark 
 — whose early destruction would have made all this 
 desolation a blessing— unbroken and obstinate ; a per- 
 petual obstacle to communication between Antwerp and 
 Zeeland. The very spirit of the murdered Prince of 
 Orange seemed to rise sadly and reproachfully out of 
 the waste of waters, as if to rebuke the men who had 
 been so deaf to his solemn warnings. 
 
 Bi-ussels, too, wearied and worn, its heart sick with 
 hope deferred, now fell into despair a^ the futile result 
 of the French negotiation became apparent. The stately 
 and opulent city had long been in a most abject con- 
 dition. Many of its inhabitants attempted to escape 
 fiom the horrors of starving by flying from its walls, 
 ut the tugitives, the men were either scourged back by 
 the Spaniards into the city, or hanged up along the 
 road-side. 1 ho women were treated leniently, even 
 playfully, for it was thought an excellent jest to cut off 
 the petticoats of the unfortunate starving creatures up 
 to their knees, and then command them to go back and 
 starve at home with their friends and fellow-citizens 
 A great many persons literally died of hunger. Matrons 
 ^v th large families poisoned their children and them- 
 selves to avoid the more terrible death by star^-inir ' At 
 a*t, when Vilvoorde was taken, when the bareness of 
 1 w!'^r'i ""^ '^''' thoroughly understood, when 
 1 amas bridge was completed and the Scheldt 13th March 
 bridled, Bi-ussels capitulated on as favourable ' 
 
 terms as could well have been expected.' 
 
 1585. 
 
 ' Strada, Ii. 329. 330. 
 
 2 Ibid. ; Meteren. xH. 22»» ; U Petit, 
 
 i\ 511. The burghers were allowed two 
 
 years, during which tl.ey were to dei ide 
 
 beiwetii the Papacy and perpetual exile. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 The inimlclpal liberties were to depend 
 npon the pleasure of tly> King. The 
 houses of Cardinal Granville and of 
 Count Mansfeld were to be rebuilt ai.d 
 refomished. 
 
 H 
 
178 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. V. 
 
 Notwithstanding these triumphs, Panna was nmcli 
 inconvenienced by not possessing the sea-coast of Flan- 
 ders. Ostend was a pei-pctual stumbling-block to him. 
 He therefore assented, with pleasure, to a proposition 
 made by La Motte, one of the most experienced and 
 courageous of the \\alloon royalist commanders, to 
 attempt the place by surprise. And La ^Motte, at the 
 first blow, was more than half successful. On the night 
 29th March, of the 29th March, with two thousand foot and 
 15M5. twelve hundred cavalry, he carried the whole 
 of the old port of Ostend. Leaving a ^V\alloon officer, 
 in whom he had confidence, to guard the position 
 already gained, he went back in person for reinforce- 
 naents. During his advance the same ill luck attended 
 his enterprise which had blasted Ilohenlo's achievement 
 at Bois-le-Duc. The soldiers he left behind him deserted 
 their posts for the sake of rifling the town. The officer 
 in command, instead of keeping them to their duty, 
 joined in the chase. The citizens roused themselves^ 
 attacked their invaders, killed many of them, and j)ut 
 the rest to flight. When La Motte returned, he found 
 the panic general. His whole force, including the fiv.sli 
 soldiers just brought to tlie rescue, were beside them- 
 selves with fear. He killed several with his own hand, 
 but the troops were not to be rallied. ' IHs quick 
 triumph was changed into an absolute defeat. 
 
 Parma, furious at the ignominious result of a i)lan 
 from which so much had been expected, ordered the 
 AValloon captain, from whose delinquency so much 
 disaster had resulted, to be forthwith hanged. *' Such 
 villany," said he, '* must never go unpunished." ^ 
 
 It was impossible for the Prince to send a second 
 expedition to attempt the reduction of Ostend, for the 
 patriots were at last arousing themselves to the necessity 
 of exertion. It was very obvious— now that the bridge 
 had been built, and tlie Kowenst^Ti fortified— that one 
 or the other was to be destroyed, or Antwerp abandoned 
 to its fate. 
 
 The patriots had been sleeping, as it were, all the 
 
 » I^rma Ui Philip II.. lo Apr. is'ts. on account of the previous pood conduct 
 
 (Arrhivo d," Slinaiica.s MS.) Comiwre of one of them. Alexaud.r in his 1 tter 
 
 Strndi. ii, 332, who says tliat thrt>e of tlie infonns the Kiiij? tliat h- had ord. mi ..ne 
 
 cfticorswcrcionduniie*! to be exmitcd. to W ex««cut.-d lorthwith.us an cvuinple 
 
 but that all wore nib-e<iuently pardoned, to the oilier*. 
 
 1585. 
 
 PATRIOTS GAIN IJEFKENSHOElv. 
 
 179 
 
 winter, hugging the delusive dream of French sove- 
 reignty and French assistance. No language can 
 exaggerate the deadly effects from the slow poison of 
 that negotiation. At any rate, the negotiation was now 
 concluded. The dream was dispelled. Antweip must 
 nctw fall, or a decisive blow must be sti*uck by the 
 ])atriots themselves, and a telling blow had been secretly 
 and maturely meditated. Certain prejiaratory steps 
 were however necessary. 
 
 The fort of Liefkenshoek, *' Darling's Comer," was a 
 most important jwst. The patiiots had never ceased to 
 regret that precious possession, lost, as we have seen, in 
 so tmgical a manner on the very day of Orange's death. 
 Fort Lillo, exactly opposite, on the Brabant shore cf 
 the Scheldt, had always been securely held by them, 
 and was their strongest position. Were both places in 
 their power, the navigation of the liver, at least as far 
 as the bridge, would be comparatively secure. 
 
 A sudden dash was made upon Liefkenshoek A 
 number of armed vessels sailed up from Zeeland, 4th \prii 
 under command of J ustinus de Nassau. They i5«5. ' 
 were assisted from Fort Lillo by a detachment headed 
 by Count Ilohenlo. These two officers were desirous of 
 retrieving the reputation which they had lost at Bois-le- 
 JMic. They were successful, and the *' Darling" fort 
 was cariied at a blow. After a brief cannonade the 
 patiiots made a breach, efiected a landing, and sprano- 
 over the rami)arts. The W alloons and Spaniards fled m 
 dismay; many of them were killed in the fort and 
 along the dvkes ; othei-s were* hurled into the Scheldt 
 Ihe victors followed up their success by reducing, with 
 equal iinpetuosity, the fort of Saint Anthony, situate in 
 the neighUmrhood farther doMii the river. They thus 
 gained entire command of all the high ground, which 
 
 ''TT^^ 'W ^^f! ^''^'*^' ^^^"'^ ^^^ inundation, and was 
 called the Doel' 
 
 ^ The dvke on which Liefkenshoek stood, led uv the 
 river towards Kalloo, distant less than a league. There 
 
 p;;r«tFT^'-^fAi"'^"^'^r ^^^^ *^^« ^^^^^^^ bridge. 
 
 Lut at iort baint Mary, where the Flemish head of that 
 bridge rested, the djke was broken. Upon that broken 
 end the commanders of the expedition against Lief- 
 
 > Le KUt. il. 611 ; Stmda, il. 33a. 
 
 N 2 
 
180 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. V. 
 
 1585. 
 
 PROJECTS OF GIANIBELLI. 
 
 181 
 
 kenslioek were ordered to throw up an entrenchment, 
 without loss of a moment, so soon as thev should have 
 gained the fortresses which they were ordered first to 
 assault. Sainte Aldegonde had given urgent written 
 directions to this effect. From a redoubt situated thus, 
 in the very face of Saint Mary's, that position, the 
 palisade-work, the whole bridge, might be battered 
 with all the artillery that could be brought from Zeelaud. 
 
 But Parma was beforehand '^vith them. Notwith- 
 standing his rage and mortification that Spanish soldiers 
 should have ignominiously lost the important fortress 
 which Kichebourg had conquered so brilliantly nine 
 months before, he was not the man to spend time in 
 unavailing regrets. His quick eye instantly detected 
 the flaw which might soon be falal. In the very same 
 night of the loss of Liefkenshoek, he sent as strong a 
 party as could bo spared, with plenty of sappers and 
 miners, in flat-bottomed boats across from Kalloo. As 
 the morning dawned, an improvised fortress, with the 
 Spanish flag waving above its bulwarks, stood on the 
 broken end of the dyke. That done, he ordered one of 
 the two captains who had commanded in Liefkenshoek 
 and Saint Anthony to be beheaded on the same dyke. 
 The other was dismissed with ignominy.' Ostend was, of 
 course, given up ; " but it was not a small matter," said 
 Parma, **to fortify ourselves that very night upon the 
 ruptured place, and so prevent the rebels from doing it, 
 which would have been very mal ^-propos.* 
 
 Nevertheless, the rebels had achieved a considerable 
 success ; and now or never the telling blow, long 
 meditated, was to be struck. 
 
 There lived in Antwerp a subtle Mantuan, Gianibelli 
 by name, wlio had married and been long settled in the 
 city. He had made himself busy with various schemes 
 for victualling the place. He had especially urged 
 upon the autliorities, at an early period of the siege, 
 the propriety of making large purchases of com and 
 storing it in magazines at a time when the famine-price 
 had by no means been reached.' But the leading men had 
 
 J Strada, li. 32X Bor, U. 590, and Ben- but says nothing of the punishment in* 
 
 tlvugUo, p. li. I. lil. p. 291, say that both fllcted up^m the culprits, 
 
 the coramand.mts were beheaded. The ' MS. letter of Parma, Just cited. 
 
 Prince himself (MS. letter to Philip, 10 ' Bor, ii. 500- 
 April, 1585) rektes the loss of the fort^ 
 
 then their heads full of a great ship, or floating castle, 
 which they were building, and which they had pomp- 
 ously named the " War's End," " Fin de la Guerre." \Ve 
 shall hear something of this phenomenon at a later 
 period. Meanwhile, Gianibelli, who knew something 
 of Khipbuilding, as he did of most other useful matters, 
 ridiculed the design, which was likely to cost, in itself 
 before completion, as much money as would keep the 
 city in bread for a third of a year. 
 
 Gianibelli was no patriot. He was purely a man of 
 science and of great acquirements, who was looked upon 
 by the ignorant populace alternately as a dreamer and a 
 wizard. He was as indifferent to the cause of freedom 
 as of despotism, but he had a great love for chemistr3\ 
 He was also a j)rofound mechanician, second to no man 
 of his age in theoretic and practical engineering. 
 
 He had gone from Italy to Spain that he might offer 
 his services to Philip, and give him tlie benefit of many 
 original and ingenious inventions. Forced to dance 
 attendance, day after day, among sneering courtiers and 
 insolent placemen, and to submit to the criticism of 
 practical sages and philosophers of routine, while he 
 was constantly denied an opportunity of explaining his 
 projects, the quick-tempered Italian had gone away at 
 last indignant. He had tlien vowed revenge upon the 
 dulness by which his genius had been slighted, and had 
 Bworn that the next time the Spaniards heard the name 
 of the man whom they had dared to deride, they should 
 hear it with tears.' 
 
 He now laid before the senate of Antwerp a plan for 
 some vessels likely to prove more effective than the 
 gigantic " War's End," which he had prophesied would 
 prove a failure. With these he pledged himself to de- 
 stroy the bridge. He demanded three ships which he had 
 selected from the city fleet— the " Orange," the " Post," 
 and the '* Golden Lion,"— measuring, respectively, 
 one hundred and fifty, three hundred and fifty, and five 
 hundred tons. Besides these, he wished sixty flat- 
 lx)ttomed scows, which he proposed to send down the 
 river, partially submerged, disposed in the shape of a 
 half-moon, with innumerable anchore and grapnels 
 
 » Stnwia, M. 334, 335. 
 
182 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. V. 
 
 thrusting themselves out of the water at every point. 
 This machine was intended to operate against the raft. 
 
 Ignorance and incredulity did their work, as usual, 
 and Gianibelli's request was refused. As a quarter- 
 measure, nevertheless, ho was allowed to take two 
 smaller vessels of seventy and eighty tons. The Italian 
 was disgusted with this parsimony upon so momentous 
 an occa^sion, but he at the same time determined, even 
 with these slender materials, to give an exhibiti(»n of his 
 
 power.' 
 
 Not all his the glory, however, of the ingenious pro- 
 jeet. Associated with him were two skilful artizans of 
 Antwei-p ; aclockmaker named Bory, and a mechanician 
 named Timmerman ; ^ but Gianibelli was the chief and 
 superintendent of the w^hole daring enterprise. 
 
 Flo gave to his two ships the cheerful names of the 
 ** Fortune " and the " Hope," and set himself energeti- 
 cally to justify their titles by their efficiency. They were 
 to be floating marine volcanos, which, drifting down the 
 river with the ebb tide, were to deal destruction where 
 the Spaniards deemed themselves most secure. 
 
 In the hold of each vessel, along the whole length, 
 was laid down a solid flooring of brick and mortar, one 
 foot thick, and five feet wide. Upon this was built a 
 chamber of marble mason-work, forty feet long, three 
 and a half feet broad, as many high, and with side- walls 
 five feet in thickness. This was the crater. It was 
 filled with seven thousand pounds of gunpowder, of a 
 kind superior to anything kno\NTi, and prepared by 
 Gianibelli himself. It was covered with a roof, six feet 
 in thickness, formed of blue tombstones placed edgewise. 
 Over this crater rose a hollow cone, or pyramid, made 
 of heavy marble slabs, and filled with millstones, 
 cannon-balls, blocks of marble, chain-shot, iron hooks, 
 plough-coulters, and every dangerous missile that could 
 be imagined. The spaces between the mine and the sides 
 of each ship were likewise filled with paving stones, 
 
 » Bor, IL 696, 59T; Hoofd Vervc.lgh. 
 
 91. 
 
 » Bor, a. 596. 597 ; Hoofd Venolgh, 
 91; Strada, il. 33 1 teq.; Met»Tin. xll. 
 22V"; Baodartll Pnlomog. il. 24-27, with 
 very curious Illustrative plates; BeiitU 
 vv^glio. p. H. L m. 201. 292; lloyd. iv. Antwerpcn, v. 223 »f'i. 
 
 60. (T^ettcr of Parma to Philip, 10 April. 
 1585. Arch, de Sim. MS.) 
 
 ' Hundias, * Korte BeschryvinR ende 
 • Afbeeldlng van de penorale Regt'lon dt r 
 Fortlficatie.' "S Gravenbage, 1624, fol. 
 cited la Mertens and Torfs' Ge^ch. v. 
 
 1585. 
 
 ATTACK ON THE BRIDGE. 
 
 183 
 
 iron-bound stakes, harpoons, and other projectiles. The 
 whole fabric wa^ then covered by a smooth light flooring; 
 of planks and biick-work, upon which was a pile ot 
 wood. This was to be lighted at the proper time, in 
 order that the two vessels might present the appearance 
 of simple fire-ships, intended only to excite a con- 
 flagration of the bridge. On the "Fortune "a slow 
 mat<jh, very carefully prepared, communicated with the 
 submerged mine, which was to explode at a nicely- 
 calculated moment. The eruption of the other floating 
 volcano was to be regulated by an ingenious piece of 
 clock-work, by which, at the appointed time, fire, struck 
 from a flint, was to inflame the hidden mass of gun- 
 powder below. 
 
 In addition to these two infernal machines, or " hell- 
 burners," as they were called, a fleet of thirty-two 
 smaller vessels was prepared. Covered with tar, tur- 
 pentine, rosin, and tilled with inflammable and com- 
 bustible matepals, these barks were to be sent from 
 Antwerp down the river in detachments of eight every 
 half-hour with the ebb tide. The object was to clear 
 the way, if possible, of the raft, and to occupy the 
 attention of the Spaniards, until the " Fortune " and the 
 " Hope " should come do^vn upon the bridge. 
 
 The 5th April, being the day following that on which 
 the successful assault upon Liefltenshoek and 5tb April. 
 Saint Anthony had taken place, was fixed for ^^**^- 
 the descent of the fire-ships. So soon as it should be 
 dark, the thirty -two lesser burning vessels, under the 
 direction of Admiral Jacob Jacobzoon, were to be sent 
 forth from the neighbourhood of the " Boor's Sconce " — 
 a fort close to the city walls — in accordance with the 
 Italian's plan. " Runaway Jacob," however, or ** Kop- 
 pen Loppon," had earned no new laurels which could 
 throw into the shade that opprobrious appellation. He 
 was not one of Holland's naval heroes, but, on the 
 whole, a very incompetent officer ; exactly the man to 
 damage the best-concerted scheme which the genius ot 
 others could invent. Accordingly, Koppen Loppen 
 began with a grave mistake. Instead of allowing the 
 precursory fire-ships to drift down the stream, at the 
 regular intervals agreed upon, he despatched them all 
 rapidly, and helterskelter, one after another, as fast aa 
 
184 
 
 THE UN1TP:D NEfHEHLANDS. 
 
 Chap. V. 
 
 they could be set forth on their career. Xot long after- 
 wards, he sent the two " hell-biirners," the *' Fortune '* 
 and the " Hope," directly in their wake, llius the whole 
 fiery fleet had set forth, almost at once, upon its I'utal 
 voyage. 
 
 It was known to Parma that preparations for an 
 attack were making at Antwerp, but as to the nature of 
 the danger he was necessarily in the dark. He was 
 anticipating an invasion by a fleet from the city in 
 combination with a squadron of Zeelanders coming up 
 from beU)w. So soon as the first vessels, therefore, with 
 their trains not yet lighted, were discovered bearing 
 down from the city, he was confirmed in his conjecture. 
 His dnims and trumpets instantly called to arms, and 
 the whole body of his troops was mustered upon the 
 bridge, the palisades, and in the nearest forts, llius 
 the preparations to avoid or to contend with the danger, 
 were leading the Spaniards into the very jaws of 
 destruction. Alexander, after crossing and recrossing 
 the river, giving minute directions for repelling the 
 expected assault, finally stationed himself in the block- 
 house at the point of junction, on the Flemish side, 
 between the palisade and the bridge of boats. He wa.s 
 surrounded by a group of superior officers, among whom 
 Eichebourg, Billy, Gaetano, Cei^sis, and the Englishman 
 Sir Rowland Yorke, were conspicuous.- 
 
 It was a dark, mild evening of early spring. As the 
 fleet of vessels dropped slowly down the river, they 
 suddenly became luminous, each ship flaming out of the 
 darkness, a phantom of living fire. Tlio very waves of 
 the Scheldt seemed glowing with the conflagration, 
 while its banks were lighted up with a preternatural 
 glare. It was a wild, pompous, theatrical spectacle. 
 The array of soldiers on Doth sides the river, along the 
 dykes and upon the bridge, with banners waving, and 
 spear and cuirass glancing in the lurid light; the 
 demon fleet, guided by no human hand, wrapped in 
 flames, and flitting through the darkness, with irregular 
 movement, but portentous aspect, at the caprice of wind 
 and tide ; the death-like silence of expectation which 
 liad succeeded the sound of trumpet and the shouts of 
 the soldiers ; iind the weird glow which had supplanted 
 the darkness — all combined with the sense of iiiniiincnt 
 
 1585. 
 
 THE FIKE-SHIPS. 
 
 185 
 
 and mysterious danger to excite and ojjpress the imagi- 
 nation. 
 
 Presentl}", the Spaniards, as they gazed from the 
 bridge, began to take heart again. One after another, 
 many of the lesser vessels drifted blindly against the 
 raft, where they entangled themselves among the hooks 
 and gigantic spearheads, and burned slowly out without 
 causing any extensive conflagration. Others grounded 
 on the banks of the river, before reaching tlieir desti- 
 nation. Some sank in the stream. 
 
 Last of all came the two infernal ships, swaying un- 
 steadily with the current ; the pilots of course, as they 
 neared the bridge, having noiselessly effected their 
 escape in the skiff's. The slight fire upon the deck 
 scarcel}' illuminated the dark phantom-like hulls. Both 
 were carried by the current clear of the raft, which, by 
 a great error of judgment, as it now appeared, on the 
 part of the builders, had only been made to protect the 
 floating portion of the bridge. The " Fortune " came 
 first, staggering inside the raft, and then lurching 
 clumsily against the dyke, and groimding near Kalloo, 
 without touching the bridge. There was a moment's 
 pause of expectation. At last the slow match upon the 
 deck burned out, and there was a faint and partial ex- 
 plosion, by which little or no damage was produced. 
 
 Panna instantly called for volunteers to board the 
 mysterious vessel. The desperate expedition was 
 headed by the bold Powland Yorke,^ a Londoner, of 
 whom one day there was more to be heard in Nether- 
 land history. The pai-ty sprang into the deserted and 
 now harmless volcano, extinguishing the slight fires 
 that were smouldering on the deck, and thrusting 
 spears and long poles into the hidden recesses of the 
 hold. There was, however, little time to pursue these 
 periU)us investigations, and the party soon made their 
 escjipe to the bridge. 
 
 The troops of Parma, crowding on the palisade, and 
 looking over the i)arapet«, now began to greet the ex- 
 hibition with peals of derisive laughter. It was but 
 cliild's play, they thought, to threaten a Spanish army, 
 and a geneial like Alexander Farnese, with such paltry 
 
 » Stowe, • Chronicle of England,' ed. 1631, p. TOO. 
 
186 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 ClIAP. V. 
 
 fire-works as these. Nevertheless all eyes were 
 anxiously fixed ui>on the remaining fire-ship, or " hell- 
 bunier," iho '' Hope," which had now drifted very near 
 the place of its destination. Tearing h^r way between 
 tbe raft and the shore, she struck heavily against the 
 bridge on the Kallo side, close to the blockhouse at 
 the commencement of the floating portion of the bridge. 
 A thin wreath of smoke was seen curling over a slight 
 and smouldering fire upon her deck. 
 
 ^larcpiis Kichebourg, standing on the bridge, laughed 
 loudly at the apparently impotent conclusion of the 
 whole adventure. It was his last laugh on earth. A 
 number of soldiers, at Parma's summons, instantly 
 sprang on board this second mysterious vessel, and 
 occupied themselves, as the party on boai-d the *' For- 
 tune " had done, in extinguishing the flames, and in 
 endeavouring to ascertain the nature of the machine, 
 liichebourg boldly directed from the bridge their 
 hazardous experiments. 
 
 At the same moment a certain ensign Do Vega, who 
 stood near the Prince of Parma, close to the blockhouse, 
 approached him with vehement entreaties that he 
 should retire. Alexander refused to stir from the spot, 
 being anxious to learn the result of these investigations. 
 Vega, moved by some instinctive and irresistible appre- 
 hension, fell upon his knees, and, plucking the General 
 earnestly by the cloak, implored him with such 
 passionate words and gestures to leave the place, that 
 the Prince reluctantly yielded. 
 
 It was not a moment too soon. The clock-work in 
 the " Hope " had been better adjusted than the slow 
 match in the "Fortune." Scarcely had Alexander 
 reached the entrance of Saint Mary's Fort, at the end 
 of the bridge, when a horrible explosion was heartl. 
 The " Hope " disappeared, together with the men who 
 had boarded her, and the blockhouse, against which 
 she had struck, with all its garrison, while a large 
 portion of the bridge, with all the troops stationed upon 
 It, had vanished into air. It was the work of a single 
 instant. The Scheldt ya^vned to its lowest depth, and 
 then cast its waters across the dykes, deep into the 
 forts, and far over the land, llio earth shook as with 
 tlio throb of a volcano. A wild glare lighted up the 
 
 1585. 
 
 THE EXPLOSION. 
 
 187 
 
 scene for one moment, and was then succeeded by 
 pitchy darkness. Houses were toppled down miles 
 away, and not a living thing, even in remote places, 
 could keep its feet. The air was filled with a rain of 
 ploughshares, grave-stones, and marble balls, inter- 
 mixed with the heads, limbs, and bodies of what had 
 been human beings. Slabs of granite, vomited by the 
 flaming ship, were found afterwards at a league's 
 dist^mce, and buried deep in the earth. A thousand 
 soldiers were destroyed in a second of time ; many of 
 them l>eing torn to shreds, beyond even the semblance 
 of humanity. 
 
 Kichebourg disappeared, and was not found until 
 several days later, when his body was discovered, 
 doubled around an iron chain, which hung from one of 
 the bridge-boats in the centre of the river. The veteran 
 Kobles, Seigneur de Billy, a Portuguese officer of 
 eminent service and high military rank, was also 
 destroyed. Months afterwards, his body was discovered 
 adhering to the timber-work of the bridge, upon the 
 ultimate removal of that structure, and was only recog- 
 nised by a peculiar gold chain which he habitually 
 wore. Parma himself was thrown to the ground, 
 stunneil by a blow on the shoulder from a fljnng stake. 
 The page who was behind him, carrying his helmet, 
 fell dead without a wound, killed by the concussion of 
 the air. 
 
 Several strange and less tragical incidents occurred. 
 ITie Viscomte de Bruxelles was blown out of a boat on 
 the Flemish side, and descended safe and sound into 
 another in the centre of the stream. Captain Tucci, 
 clad in complete armour, was whirled out of a fort, bhot 
 perpendicularly into the air, and then fell back into the 
 river. Being of a cool terperament, a good swimmer, 
 and very ])ious, he skilfully divested himself of cuirass 
 and helmet, recommended himself to the Blessed Virgin, 
 and swanr safely asliore. Another young officer of 
 Parma's body-guard, Fran9ois de Liege by name, stand- 
 ing on the Kalloo end of the bridge, rose like a feather 
 into the clouds, and, flying quite across the river, 
 alighted on the opposite bank with no further harm than 
 a contused shoulder. He imagined himself (he said 
 afterwards) to have been changed into a cannon-ball, as 
 
188 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. V. 
 
 he rushed through the pitchy atmosphere, propelled hy 
 a blast of irresistible fury.' 
 
 It had been agreed that Admiral Jacobzoon should 
 immediately after the explosion of the fire-ships send 
 an eight-oared barge to ascertain the amount of damage. 
 If a breach had been effected, and a passage up to the 
 city opened, he was to fire a rocket. At this signal, 
 the fleet stationed at Lillo, carrying a heavy annament, 
 laden with provisions enough to relievo Antvvei-p from 
 all anxiety, and ready to sail on the instant, was at once 
 to force its way up the river. 
 
 The deed was done. A breach, two hundred feet in 
 width, was made. Had the most skilful pilot in Zeeland 
 held the helm of the "Hope," with a choice crew 
 obedient to his ordera, he could not have guided her 
 more carefully than she had been directed by wind and 
 tide. Avoiding the raft which lay in her way, she had, 
 as it were, M'ith the intelligence of a living creature, 
 fulfilled the wishes of the daring genius that had created 
 her; and laid herself alongside the bridge, exactly at 
 the most telling point. She had then destroyed herself, 
 precisely at the right moment. All the effects, and 
 more than all, that had been predicted by the MantuaH 
 wizard had come to pass. The famous bndge was cleft 
 through and through, and a thousand picked men— 
 Pai-maXvery "daintiest"— were blown out of existence. 
 The Governor-General himself was lying stark and stiff 
 upon the bridge which he said should be his triumphal 
 monument or his tomb. His most distinguished officers 
 were dead, and all the survivors were dumb and blind 
 with astonishment at the unheard-of convulsion. The 
 passage was open for the fleet, and the fleet lay below 
 with sails spread, and oars in the rowlocks, only waiting 
 for the signal to bear up at once to the scene of action, 
 to smite out of existence all that remained of the 
 
 J The chief authorities used In the fore- 
 gtrtng account of this famous enterprise 
 are those already cited on a previous page, 
 via.: the MS. letters of the Prince of 
 Parma in the Archives of Simancas ; Bor, 
 Jl. 596. 597 ; Strada. 11. 334 w/.; Meteren, 
 xil. 223«; Hoofd Vervoigh, 91; Bau- 
 dartli Polemographia, il. 24-27 ; Bentivo- 
 glio, p. il. i.lli. 291, 292; Reyd, Iv. 60; 
 
 Martens and Torfs, Gesch. v. Antw. v. 223 
 uq. ; Papcbroclil Ann. Antv. Iv, ido stq 
 et al.—\ have not thought it necessary 
 to cite them step by step ; for all the no- 
 counts, with som** Inevitable and unim- 
 portant discrepancies, agree with each 
 other. 'Ihe most copious details are to 
 be ibuud in Strada and in Bur. 
 
 1585. 
 
 ITS RESULTS. 
 
 189 
 
 Splendid structure, and to cany relief and triumph into 
 Antwerp. 
 
 Not a soul slept in the city. The explosion had 
 shook its walls, and thousands of people thronged the 
 streets, their hearts beating high with expectation. It 
 was a moment of exquisite triumph. The " Hope," word 
 of happy augury, had not been relied upon in vain, and 
 Parma's seven months of patient labour hud been anni- 
 hilated in a moment. Sainte Aldegonde and Gianibelli 
 stood in the "Boors' Sconce" on the edge of the river. 
 They had felt and heard the explosion, and they were 
 now straining their eyes through the darkness to mark 
 the flight of the welcome rocket. 
 
 That rocket never rose. And it is enough, even after 
 the lapse of three centuries, to cause a pang in every 
 heart that beats for human liberty to think of the bitter 
 di.sappointment which crushed these great and legitimate 
 hopes. The cause lay in the incompetency and coward- 
 ice of the man who had been so unfortunately entrusted 
 with a share in a noble enterprise. 
 
 Admiral Jacobzoon, paralyzed by the explosion, which 
 announced his own triumph, sent off the barge, but did 
 not wait for its return. The boatmen, too, appalled by 
 the sights and sounds which they had witnessed, and by 
 the murky darkness which encompassed them, did not 
 venture near the scene of action, but, after rowing for a 
 short mterval hither and thither, came back with the 
 lying report that nothing had been accomplished and 
 that the bridge remained unbroken. Sainte Aldegonde 
 and Gianibelli were beside themselves with rage as 
 tliey surmised the imbecility of the Admiral, 'and 
 devoted him in their hearts to the gallows, which he 
 rcrtainly deserved. The wrath of the keen Italian may 
 be conceived, now that his ingenious and entirely suc- 
 cessfiil scheme was thus rendered fruitless by the 
 blunders of the incompetent Fleming.* 
 
 On the other side, there was a man whom no danger 
 could appal. Alexander had been thought dead, and 
 tlie dismay among his followers was universal He was 
 known to have been standing an instant before the ex- 
 plosion on the veiy blockhouse where 'the "Hone" had 
 struck. After the first terrible moments had passed, 
 
 * Bor, Hoofd, Meteroa, ubi supra. 
 
190 
 
 THE UNITED NETHEIILANDS. 
 
 C.IAP. V. 
 
 158i 
 
 DEATH OF THE VISCOUNT OF GHENT. 
 
 191 
 
 liis soldiers found their general lying, as if in a trance, 
 on the threshold of St. Mary's Fort, his drawn sword 
 in his hand, with Cessis embracing his knees, and 
 Gaetano extended at his side, stunned with a blow upon 
 
 the head/ 
 
 Kecovering from his swoon, Parma was the hrst to 
 spring to his feet. Sword in hand, he rushed at once 
 upon the bridge to mark the extent of the disaster. 
 The admirable structure, the result of so much patient 
 and intelligent energy, was feaifully shattered; the 
 brid<»-e, the liver, and the shore, strewed with the 
 mangled bodies of his soldiers. He expected, as a 
 mattlir of certainty, that the fleet from below would 
 instantly force its passage, destroy the remainder of his 
 troops— stunned as they were with the sudden catas- 
 trophe—complete the demolition of the bridge, and 
 tlien make its way to Antwei-p, with ample reinforce- 
 ments and supplies. And Alexander saw that the 
 expedition would be successful. Momently expecting 
 the attack, he maintained his courage and semblance of 
 cheerfulness, with despair in his heart. 
 
 His winter's work seemed annihilated, and it w'as 
 probable that he should be obliged to raise the siege. 
 Nevertheless, he passed in person from rank to rank, 
 from post to post, seeing that the wounded were pro- 
 vided for, encouraging those that remained unhurt, and 
 endeavouring to infuse a portion of his own courage 
 into the survivors of his panic-stricken army. 
 
 Nor was he entirely unsuccessful, as the night wore 
 on and the expected assault was still delayed. Without 
 further loss of time, he employed his men to collect the 
 drifting boats, timber, and spar- work, and to make a 
 hasty and temporary restoration— in semblance at least 
 — of the ruined portion of his bridge. And thus he 
 employed himself steadily all the night, although expect- 
 ing every instant to liear the first broadside of the 
 Ze'eland cannon. When morning broke, and it became 
 obvious that the patriots were unable or unwilling to 
 
 » Such is the picture minutely painted 
 by Sirada, li. 342 ; and, aUhoujih the 
 Prinw. In bis own letters, wTilten from 
 th'- scene of action, and pn\>-prv.nl tn the 
 Siniancas Atvhivej, oniitf the nicid ut, 
 yei 1 aiu iucliiicd to rtly upon the very 
 
 ample materials possessed by the g'-nnll 
 Jesuit, in the shape of private conU-iu- 
 porary letters from Spanish ofRcers en- 
 gaged in the war— letters, alas ! which 
 have probttbly for ever disappeared. 
 
 follow up their o"svn success, the Governor-General felt 
 as secure as ever. He at once set about the thorough 
 repairs of his great work, and — before he could be 
 again molested — had made good the damage which it 
 liad sustained.' 
 
 It was not till three days afterwards that the truth 
 was known in Antwerp. Hohenlo then sent down a 
 messenger, who swam under the bridge, ascertained the 
 exact state of affairs, and returned, when it was too late, 
 witli the first intelligence of the triumph which had 
 been won and lost. The disappointment and mortifi- 
 cation were almost intolerable. And thus had Run- 
 away Jacob, " Koppen Loppen," blasted the hopes of so 
 many wiser and braver spirits than his own. 
 
 The loss to Parma and to the royalist cause in 
 Marquis Kichebourg was very great. The death of De 
 Billy, who was a faithful, experienced, and courageous 
 general, was also much lamented. "The misfortune 
 from their death," said Parma, *' is not to be exaggerated. 
 J]acli was ever ready to do his duty in your Majesty's 
 service, and to save me much fatigue in all my various 
 aflairs. Nevertheless," continued the I*rince, with great 
 piety, " we give the Lord thanks for all, and take as a 
 favour everj'thing which comes from His hand."* 
 
 Alexander had indeed reason to deplore the loss of 
 Robert de Melun, Viscount of Ghent, Marquis of Kou- 
 baix and Pichebourg. He was a most valuable officer. 
 His wealth was great. It had been recently largely 
 increased by the confiscation of his elder brother's estates 
 fur his benefit, a measure which at Panua's intercession 
 liad been accorded by the King. That brother was the 
 patriotic Prince of Espinoy, whom we have recentlv 
 seen heading the legation of the States to France. And 
 liichebourg was grateful to Alexander, for, besides these 
 fraternal spoils, he had received two marquisates througli 
 liis great patron, in addition to the highest militajy of- 
 fices. Insolent, overbearing, tniculent to all the world, 
 to Panua he was ever docile, affectionate, watchful, ob- 
 sequious. A man who knew not fatigue, nor fear,' nor 
 remorse, nor natural aflfection, who could patiently su- 
 
 » Bor, Stradv Meteren, Hoofd, Benti- u5» nipra ) 
 voglio lU-yd. Mertens «,d Torfs. I'ape- 1 MS. letter. 10 April. 1685. already 
 brochll Ann. (MS. letters of Parma, cited. . «v 
 
THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 CiiAr. V. 
 
 192 
 
 nerintend all tie details of a great militarj- ^^'rk^<^ 
 Slna-e a vit political intrigue by alternations of brow- 
 f^^*^! 1^ briberv or lead a forlorn hope, or murder a 
 beating ^T^^"^?^' ."""oV leap into the blazing crater of 
 ^"eVrd a Se vSio, the Marquis of Riche- 
 L'^ptver niado h^so^^^^^^^^ active y^and unscni- 
 
 Walloon Provinces, and in the I^^^^S^"^, , y^^ jjo 
 
 Srg:tlc&" ling a P^H and Uy doubled r^^ an 
 
 ^1.1^ KATioafVi the cnrrent of the restless rnei. 
 iron cable beneatn ^»^^^'" , p ^s alwavs, had 
 
 And in this eventful nighty, i arnic^, cw , 
 
 befn true to himself and to his sovereign ^\e e x^ 
 f.^ " Lid he " that the rebels would instantly attack 
 l::tn';il^s7de^after*e explosion. But ^1 -inajned s^ 
 astonished by the unheard-of -<=«f ent flwt J ery te . 
 
 understood what wa.s going on. /' ~^f ^"^een- 
 I_notwithstanding the risk of letting mj selt be seen 
 
 should encoumge the people no ♦» ^^ *^^^„ J^*^:^ 
 c. nnd remedied matters a little, but not so nmcu *» 
 hLt^^fTe enemy had then -attacked -— f ^^ ™ 
 have been in the rery greatest r,sk and n^'-J^^Xio- 
 to do what I am obliged to do, and al«a) s Wo ^^ J^" ' 
 \^v,t T R!iv no more of what passed, or what was aont. vy 
 myself Lcaurit does not Lcome me to speak of these 
 
 '^NSwiAstanding this discomfiture, tl^e patnots Jcop^^ 
 UD heart, and were incessantly making demonr,tra ions 
 
 ZinstParma's works. Their P^o-^f t'"^%hf«t 
 V,?;.l"e althou<'h energetic enough to keep the Spanish 
 commander in a state of perpetual anxiety, were never 
 s^Xk-nt however as on ?he memorable occasion when 
 ttie Manhian engineer and the P-t<=^:-'tTh;^„ti 
 exhausted all their ingenuity. >'«^«'-*«l«^V*7„ ""Zl- 
 barks sw.tnned all over the submerged tern orj^, "OT^ 
 threatening this po.st, and now tha^^ ^:^:^%'\l^^ 
 retreat at pleasure ; for "^'^'^ly *; ™emities of his 
 little armada was stationed at the t^° ^"'^^""ti^o to 
 brid.'e. Many firc-ships were sent do«n from time 
 
 , ._ y no dijo ma. «,«. do ,o qoc Ucn .r..ar del.o." (MS. l«»r before 
 .ntoncM paso, J yo bice por no estmne died.) 
 
 1585. 
 
 PERPETUAL ANXIETY OF FARNESE. 
 
 193 
 
 ^ 
 
 time, but Alexander had organized a systematic patrol 
 of a few sentry-boats, armed with scythes and hooks, 
 which rowed up and down in front of the rafts, and liro- 
 tected them against invasion. 
 
 Some little effect was occasionally produced, but there 
 was on the whole more anxiety excited than damage ac- 
 tually inflicted. The perturbation of spirit amon«- the 
 Spaniards when any of these '* demon fire-ships," as they 
 called them, appeared bearing down upon their brido-e 
 was excessive. It could not be forgotten that Sie 
 "Hope " had sent into space a thousand of the best sol- 
 diers of the little army within one moment of time. Such 
 rapid proceedings had naturally left an uneasy impression 
 on tho minds of the survivors. The fatigue of watch- 
 ing was enormous. Hardly an officer or soldier amono- 
 the besieging forces knew what it was to sleep. There was 
 a peq)etual exchanging of signals and beacon-fires and 
 rockets among the patriots—not a day or night, when a 
 concerted attack by the Antwerpers from above, and the 
 Hollanders from below, with gun-boats, and fire-ships, 
 and floating mines, and other devil's enginry, was not 
 expected. 
 
 *' We are always upon the alert," wrote Parma," with 
 arms in our hands. Eveiy one must mount guard, 
 myself as well a.s the rest, almost every night, and the 
 better part of every day." ' 
 
 He was quite aware that something was ever in pre- 
 paration ; and the nameless, almost sickening apprehen- 
 fcion which existed among his stout-hearted veterans 
 was a proof that the Mantuan's genius— notAvithstandin<^ 
 the disappointment as to tho great result— had not beeS 
 exercised entirely in vain. The image of the Antwerp 
 devil-ships imprinted itself indelibly upon the Spanish 
 mind, as of something preternatural, with which human 
 valour could only contend at a disadvantage ; and a 
 day was not very- for distant-one of the memorable 
 days of the world's history, big with the fate of Eno-- 
 land. Spam, Holland, and all Christendom— when the 
 sight of a half-dozen blazing vessels, and the cry of " the 
 Antwerp fire-ships," was to decide the issue of a most 
 momentous enterj^rise. The blow struck by the obscure 
 Italian against Antwerp bridge, although ineffective then, 
 
 • Tarma to Philip, 6 May. 1585. (Archlvo de Slmancas MS.) 
 VOL. I. ^ 
 
194 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. V. 
 
 was to be most sensibly felt after a few years had passed, 
 upon a wider field. 
 
 Meantime the uneasiness and the watchfulness in the 
 besieging army were very exhausting. " They are never 
 idle in the city," wrote Farma. " They are perpetually 
 proving their obstinacy and pertinaci^ by their indus- 
 trious genius and the machines which they devise. 
 Every day we are expecting some new invention. On 
 our side wo endeavour to counteract their efforts by every 
 human means in pur power. Nevertheless, 1 confess that 
 our merely human intellect is not competent to penetrate the 
 designs of their diabolical genius. Certainly, most wonder- 
 ful and extraordinary things have been exhibited, such as 
 the oldest soldiers here have never before witnessed." ' 
 
 Moreover, Alexander saw himself growing weaker 
 and weaker. His force had dwindled to a mere phan- 
 tom of an army. His soldiers, ill-fed, half-clothed, 
 unpaid, were fearfully overworked. He was obliged to 
 concentrate all the troops at his disposal around Ant- 
 werp. Diversions against Ostend, operations in Fries- 
 land and Gelderland, although most desirable, had thus 
 been rendered quite impossible. 
 
 " I have recalled my cavalry and infantrj^ from Os- 
 tend," he wrote, *' and Don Juan de Manrique has for- 
 tunately arrived in Stabroek with a thousand good 
 German folk. The commissary-general of the cavalry 
 has come in, too, with a good lot of the troops that had 
 been encamped in the open country. Nevertheless, we 
 remain wretchedly weak — quite insufficient to attempt 
 what ought to bo done. If the enemy were more in 
 force, or if the French wished to make trouble, your 
 Majesty would see how important it had been to provide 
 in time against such contingencies. And although our 
 neighbours, crestfollen and rushing upon their own de- 
 struction, leave us in quiet, we are not without plenty 
 of work. It would be of inestimable advantage to make 
 diversions in Gelderland and Friesland, because in that 
 case the Hollanders, seeing the enemy so near their own 
 borders, would be obliged to withdraw their assistance 
 
 1 .1 aunque confieso que nuestros aseguran cuantos eoldados vlejt* aqui 
 
 ingenios no alcaiizaii nl poiietran lo que hay." (Parma to I'hllip, 25 May, 15S5. 
 
 !o9 Buyos dlabolicos hazoii, porque cierto Arch, de Sim. MS.) 
 M veeu oosas estrafia:) y nuvvas a lo que 
 
 1585. IMPOVERISHED STATE OF THE SPANIARDS. 195 
 
 from Antwerp. Tis pity to see how few Spaniards 
 your Majesty has left, and how diminished is our army. 
 Now, also, is the time to expect sickness, and this affair 
 of Antwerp is obviously stretching out into large pro- 
 portions. Unless soon reinforced, we must inevitably 
 go to destruction. I implore your Majesty to ponder 
 the matter well, and not to defer the remedy." * 
 
 His Majesty was sure to ponder the matter well, if 
 that had been all. Philip was good at pondering ; but 
 it was equally certain that the remedy woiSd bo 
 deferred. Meantime Alexander and his starving but 
 heroic little army were left to fight their battles as they 
 could. 
 
 His complaints were incessant, most reasonable, but 
 unavailing. With all the forces he could muster, by 
 withdrawing from the neighbourhood of Ghent, Brussels, 
 Vilvoorde, and from all the garrisons, every man that 
 could b« spared, he had not strength enough to guard 
 his own posts. To attempt to win back the important 
 forts recently captured by the rebeLs on the Doel was 
 quite out of the question. The pictures he painted of 
 his iuiny were indeed most dismal. The Spaniards 
 were so^ reduced by sickness that it was pitiful to see 
 them. Tlie Italians were not in much better condition, 
 noi- the Germans. "As for the Walloons," said he,' 
 '* thcv aro deserting, as they always do. In truth, one 
 of my principal dangers is that the French civil wai-s 
 are now tempting my soldiers across the frontier ; the 
 country there is so much richer, and offers so much 
 more for the plundering." * 
 
 During tlio few weeks which immediately followed 
 the fmious descent of the '* Hope" and the *' Fortune," 
 there had accordingly been made a variety of less 
 elabijnite, but apparently mischievous, efforts against 
 the brulge. On the whole, however, the object was 
 rather to deceive and amuse the royalists, by keepincr 
 their attention fixed in that quarter, while a grea^t 
 attiiek was, m reality, preparing against the Kowenstyn. 
 lliat strong barrier, as repeatedly stated, was even a 
 more formidable obstacle than the bridge to the com- 
 munication between the beleaguered city and their aHies 
 
 J2^S. letter, lo April. 1585. before « MS. letter. Parma to PbUip, 6 May. 
 
 2 
 
196 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS, 
 
 Chap. V, 
 
 upon the oxitside. Its capture and demolition, even at 
 this late period, would open the navigation to all the 
 fleets of Zeeland 
 
 In the undertaking of the 5th of April all had been 
 accomplished that human ingenuity could devise ; yet 
 the triumph had been snatched away even at the very 
 moment when it was complete. A determined and vigo- 
 rous effort was soon to be made upon the Kowenstyn, in 
 the very face of Parma ; for it now seemed obvious that 
 the true crisis was to come upon that fatal dyke. The 
 gieat bulwark was three miles long. It reached from 
 8tabroek in Brabant, near which village Mansfeld's 
 troops were encamped, across the inundated country, 
 up to the line of the Scheldt. Thence along the river- 
 dyke, and across the bridge to Kalloo and Beveren, 
 where Parma's forces lay, was a continuous fortified 
 road some three leagues in length; so that the two 
 divisions of ihe besieging army, lying four leagues apart, 
 were all connected by this important line. 
 
 Could the Kowenstyn be pierced, the waters, now 
 divided by that great bulwark into two vast lakes, would 
 flow together in one continuous sea. Moreover the 
 Scheldt, it was thought, would, in that case, return to 
 its old channel through Brabant, deserting its present 
 bed, and thus leaving the famous bridge high and dr}-. 
 A wide sheet of navigable water would then roll between 
 Antwerp and the Zeeland coasts, and Parma's bridge, 
 the result of seven months' labour, would become as 
 useless as a child's broken toy. 
 
 Alexander had thoroughly comprehended the necessity 
 of maintaining the Kowenstj-n. All that it was possible 
 to do with the meagre forces at his disposal, he had 
 done. He had fringed both its margins, along its whole 
 length, with a breastwork of closely-driven stakes. He 
 had strengthened the whole body of the dyke with 
 timber-work and piles. Upon its river-end, just at the 
 junction with the great Scheldt dyke, a strong fortress, 
 called the Holy Cross, had been constructed, which was 
 under the special command of Mondragon.* Besides 
 this, three other forts had been built, at intervals of 
 about a mile, upon the dyke. TTie one nearest to 
 Mondragon was placed at the Kowenstyn manor-house, 
 
 1 Strada. li. 315. 346. 
 
 1585. INTENDED ATTACK ON THE KOWENSTFN. 197 
 
 and was called Saint James. This was entrusted to 
 Camillo Bourbon del Monte, an Italian officer, who 
 boasted the blood royal of France in his veins, and 
 was disposed on all occasions to vindicate that proud 
 pedigree by his deeds.' The next fort was Saint 
 George's, sometimes called the Black Sconce. It had 
 been built by La Motte, but it was now in command of 
 the Spanish officer Benites. The third was entitled the 
 Fort of the Palisades, because it had been necessarv to 
 support it by a stockade-work in the water, there being 
 absolutely not earth enough to hold the structure. It 
 %yas placed in the charge of Captain Gamboa. These 
 little castles had been created, as it were, out of water 
 and upon water, and under a hot fire from the enemy's 
 forts and fleets, which gave the pioneers no repose.* 
 
 " 'Twas very hard work," said Parma, " our soldiers 
 are so exposed during their labour, the rebels playino- 
 upon them perpetually from their musket-proof vessels^ 
 I hey fill the submerged land with their boats, skimming 
 everywhere as they like, while we have none at all. 
 We have been obliged to build these three forts with 
 neither material nor space ; making land enough for the 
 foundation by bringing thither bundles of hurdles and 
 ot earth, llie fatigue and anxiety are incredible. l\ot 
 a man can sleep at night ; not an officer nor soldier but 
 IS perpetually mounting guard. But they are animated 
 to their hard work by seeing that I share in it. like one 
 ot themselves. We have now got the dyke into ffood 
 order, so far as to be able to give them a warm reception 
 whenever they choose to come." * ' 
 
 Quite at the farther or land end of the Kowenstyn 
 was another fort, called the Stabroek, which commanded 
 and raked the whole dyke, and was in the neighbour- 
 hoo<l of Mansfeld's head-quarters. fe"i>eur 
 
 ^J^'^'if f-T/. !^^'^ H"^^ ^^*^^^^« ""Von a slender 
 and-a a bnef distance-invisible thread of land, with 
 
 nr^i^f 7^^'' '''i^'''^ ^"f"'^^ *^^^ ^^ ^^d near they 
 presented an unsubstantial dream-like aspect, seeming 
 
 actual fortifications-a deceptive mirage rather than 
 
 • De Thou, vili. 428. 
 
 * Strada, il. 345. 34«. Bor, U. 697. 698. 
 
 • Panna to Philip, 6 May, 1886, Ar- 
 chlvo de Simancas MS. 
 
198 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. V. 
 
 1585. 
 
 SECOND ATTACK ON THE KOWENSTYN. 
 
 199 
 
 reality. There was nothing imaginary, however, in the 
 work which they were to perform. 
 
 A series of attacks, some serious, others fictitious, had 
 been made, from time to time, upon both bridge and 
 i\h May, dyke ; but Alexander was unable to inspire his 
 1586. soldiers with his own watchfulness. Upon the 
 7th of May a more determined attempt was made upon 
 the Kowenstyn, by the fleet from Lillo. Hohenlo and 
 Colonel Ysselstein conducted the enterprise. The sen- 
 tinels at the point selected — having recently been so 
 often threatened by an enemy, who most frequently 
 made a rapid retreat, as to have grown weary and 
 indifferent — were surprised, at dawn of day, and put to 
 the sword. *' K the truth must be told," said Panna, 
 " the sentries were sound asleep." * Five hundred Zee- 
 landers, with a strong party of sappers and miners, fairly 
 established themselves upon the dyke, between St. 
 George's and Fort Palisade. The attack, although 
 spirited at its commencement, was doomed to be un- 
 successful. A co-operation, agreed upon by the fleet 
 from Antwerp, failed through a misunderstanding. 
 Sainte Aldegonde had stationed certain members of the 
 munition-chamber in the cathedral tower, with orders 
 to discharge three rockets when they should perceive a 
 beacon-fire which he should light in Fort Tholouse. 
 The watchmen mistook an accidental camp-fire in the 
 neighbourhood for the preconcerted signal, and sent up 
 the rockets. Hohenlo understanding, accordingly, that 
 the expedition was on the point of starting from Antwerp, 
 hastened to perform his portion of the work, and sailed 
 up from Lillo. He did his duty faithfully and well, 
 and established himself upon the dyke, but found him- 
 self alone and without sufficient force to maintain his 
 position. The Antwerp fleet never sailed. It was even 
 whispered that the delinquency was rather intended than 
 accidental ; the Antwerpers being supposed desirous to 
 ascertain the result of Hohenlo's attempt before coming 
 forth to share his fate. Such was the opinion expressed 
 by Famese in his letters to Philip, but it seems probable 
 that he was mistaken. Whatever the cause, however, 
 the fact of the Zeelanders* discomfiture was certain. 
 The St, Geoi-ge battery and that of the Palisade were 
 
 t In SUsdA, U. 349. 
 
 \ 
 
 opened at once upon them, the balls came plunging 
 among the sappers and miners before they had time 
 to throw up many spadefuls of earth, and the whole 
 party was soon dead or driven from the dyke. The 
 survivors effected their retreat as they best could, leav- 
 ing four of their ships behind them and three or four 
 hundred men. 
 
 *' Forty rebels lay dead on the dyke," said Parma, 
 *' and one hundred and fifty more, at least, were drowned. 
 The enemy confess a much larger loss than the number 
 I state, but I am not a friend of giving details larger 
 tlian my ascertained facts ; nor do I know how many 
 were killed in the boats." * 
 
 This enterprise was but a prelude, however, to the 
 great undertaking which had now been thoroughly 
 matured. Upon the 26th May another andpethMay, 
 most determined attack was to be made upon ^^**^- 
 the Kowenstj-n, by the Antwerpers and Hollanders 
 acting in concert. This time, it was to be hoped, there 
 would be no misconception of signals. "It was a 
 determination," said Parma, " so daring and desperate 
 that there was no substantial reason why we should 
 believe they would carry it out ; but they were at last 
 solemnly resolved to die or to effect their purpose." * 
 
 Two hundred ships in all had been got ready, part of 
 them under Hohenlo and Justinus de Nassau, to sail up 
 from Zeeland ; the others to advance from Antwerp 
 under Sainte Aldegonde. Their destination was the 
 Kowenstyn Dyke. Some of the vessels were laden with 
 provisions, others with gabions, hurdles, branches, 
 sacks of sand and of wool, and with other materials for 
 the rapid throwing up of fortifications. 
 
 It was two o'clock, half an hour before the chill 
 dawn of a May morning, Sunday, the 26th of the month. 
 The pale light of a waning moon was faintly percep- 
 tible in the sky. Suddenly the sentinels upon the 
 Kowenstyn — this time not asleep — descried, as they 
 looked towards Lillo, four fiery apparitions gliding 
 towards them across the waves. The alarm was given, 
 
 I Parma to Philip II., 25 May, 1685, p. 11, 1. lil. 294. 
 Arch, (le Sim. MS. Compare Rir, ii. ' Parma to Philip XL, 26 May, 1585. 
 
 598. 599. Strada, 348, 349. Le Petit, ii. Arch, de Sim. MS. 
 512. Meteren, xii. 224. BenUvogil« 
 
200 
 
 THE UNHED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. V. 
 
 
 ' 
 
 and soon afterwards the Spaniards began to muster, 
 somewhat reluctantly, upon the dyke, filled as they 
 always were with the mysterious dread which those 
 demon-vessels never failed to inspire. 
 
 The fire-ships floated slowly nearer, and at last struck 
 heavily against the stockade-work. There, covered 
 with tar, pitch, rosin, and gunpowder, they flamed, 
 flared, and exploded, during a brief period, with much 
 vigour, and then burned harmlessly out. One of the 
 objects for which they had been sent — to set fire to the 
 palisade — was not accomplished. The other was gained ; 
 for the enemy, expecting another volcanic shower of 
 tombstones and plough -coulters, and remembering the 
 recent fate of their comrades on the bridge, had retired 
 shuddering into the forts. Meantime, in the glare of 
 these vast torches, a great swarm of gun-boats and other 
 vessels, skimming across the leaden-coloured waters, 
 was seen gradually approaching the dyke. It was the 
 fleet of Hohenlo and Justinus de Nassau, who had been 
 sailing and rowing since ten o'clock of the preceding 
 night. The burning ships lighted them on their way, 
 while it had scared the Spaniards from their posts. 
 
 The boats ran ashore in the mile-long space between 
 Ibrts St. George and the Palisade, and a party of 
 Zeelanders, Admiral Haultain, governor of Walcheren, 
 at their head, sprang upon the dyke. Meantime, how- 
 ever, the royalists, finding that the fire-ships had come 
 to so innocent an end, had rallied and emerged from 
 their forts. Haultain and his Zeelanders, by the time 
 they had fairly mounted the dyke, found themselves in 
 the iron embrace of several hundred Spaniards. After 
 a brief fierce struggle, face to face, and at push of pike, 
 the patriots reeled backward down the bank, and took 
 refuge in their boats. Admiral Haultain slipped as he 
 left the shore, missed a rope's end which was thrown to 
 him, fell into the water, and, borne down by the weight 
 of his armour, was drowned. The enemy, pursuing 
 them, sprang to the waist in the ooze on the edge of 
 the dyke, and continued the contest. The boats 
 opened a hot fire, and there was a severe skirmish for 
 many minutes, with no certain result. It was, how- 
 ever, beginning to go hard with the Zeelanders, when, 
 just at the critical moment, a cheer from the other side 
 
 1585. 
 
 A LANDING EFFECTED. 
 
 201 
 
 ! 
 
 of the dyke was heard, and the Antwerp fleet was seen 
 coming swiftly to the rescue. The Spaniards, taken 
 between the two bands of assailants, were at a dis- 
 advantage, and it was impossible to prevent the landing 
 of these fresh antagonists. The Antwerpers sprang 
 ashore. Among the foremost was Sainte Aldegonde,' — 
 ix)et, orator, hymn-book maker, burgomaster, lawyer, 
 polemical divine — now armed to the teeth and cheering 
 un his men, in the very thickest of the fight. The 
 diversion was successful, and Sainte Aldegonde gal- 
 lantly drove the Spaniards quite off the field. The whole 
 combined force from Antwerp and Zeeland now effected 
 their landing. Three thousand men occupied all the 
 space between Fort George and the Palisade. 
 
 With Sainte Aldegonde came the unlucky Koppen 
 Loppen, and all that could be spared of the English and 
 Scotch troops in Antwerp, under Balfour and Morgan. 
 With Hohenlo and Justinus do Nassau came Eeinier 
 Kant, who had just succeeded Paul Buys as Advocate 
 of Holland. Besides these came two other men, side 
 by side, perhaps in the same boat, of whom the world 
 was like to hear much from that time forward, and 
 whose names are to be most solemnly linked together, 
 so long as Netherland history shall endure ; one a fair- 
 faced, flaxen-haired boy of eighteen, the other a square- 
 visaged, heavy-browed man of forty — Prince Maurice * 
 and John of Olden-Bameveld. The statesman had been 
 foremost to urge the claim of William the Silent 's son 
 upon the stadholderate of Holland and Zeeland, and had 
 been, as it were, the youth's political guardian. He 
 had himself borne arms more than once before, having 
 shouldered his matchlock under Batenburg,and marched 
 
 > " Monsr. Ste. Aldegonde being one of 
 the first." Letter of CapU Thomas James 
 
 to WaUlngham. ^ May, 1585, S. P. Office 
 
 MS. The Knglish soldier had no remark- 
 able tulent for description, but he had been 
 flKbtlng all day on the dyke, and sent off 
 a ruugb orconnt of the buslncfs, the same 
 night, U> Kngland. 
 
 ' "The Count Maurice, with divers of 
 the States, was here," says Capt. James, 
 lu the letter above cited. 
 
 There Is a doubt as to Olden-Bame- 
 
 veld's presence. My authority, in etaUng 
 the fact, rested on a contemporaneous MS., 
 but the note has unluckily been lost. The 
 common biographers of the great advo- 
 cate, and the contemporary Iilstorians, 
 are silent as to the fact, if It be one. It la 
 certain, however, that many members of 
 the States-General came up in Hobenlo's 
 fleet, and it was nut likely that Bameveld 
 would stay behind. His presence is dis- 
 tinctly stated by some one, but the reader 
 is at liberty to be incredulous if he choose. 
 
202 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. V. 
 
 1585. 
 
 A SHARP COMBAT. 
 
 203 
 
 4 
 
 on that officer's spirited but disastrous expedition for 
 the relief of Haarlem. But this was the life of those 
 Dutch rebels. Quill-driving, law-expounding, speech- 
 making, diplomatic missions, were intermingled with 
 very practical business in besieged towns or open fields, 
 with Italian musketeers and Spanish pikemen. And 
 here, too, young Maurice was taking his first solid 
 lesson in the art of which he was one day to be so dis- 
 tinguished a professor. It was a sharp beginning. 
 Upon this riband of earth, scarce six paces in breadth, 
 with miles of deep water on both sides — a position 
 recently fortified by the first general of the age, and 
 held by the famous infantry of Spain and Italy— -there 
 was likely to be no prentice-work. 
 
 To assault such a position was in truth, as Alexander 
 had declared it to be, a most daring and desperate reso- 
 lution on the part of the States. " Soldiers, citizens, 
 and all," said Parma, " they are obstinate as dogs to try 
 their fortune." ' 
 
 With wool-sacks, sand-bags, hurdles, planks, and 
 other materials brought with them, the patriots now 
 rapidly entrenched themselves in the position so 
 brilliantly gained; while, without deferring for an 
 instant the great purpose which they had come to eff"ect, 
 the sappers and miners fastened upon the iron-bound 
 soil of the dyke, tearing it with pick, mattock, and 
 shovel, digging, delving, and throwing up the earth 
 around them, busy as human beavers instinctively 
 engaged in a most congenial task. 
 
 But the beavers did not toil unmolested. The large 
 and determined force of Antwerpers and English, 
 Hollanders and Zeelanders, guarded the fortifications as 
 they were rapidly rising, and the pioneers as they were 
 so manfully delving; but the enemy was not idle. 
 From Fort Saint James, next beyond Saint George, 
 Camillo del Monte led a strong party to the rescue. 
 There was a tremendous action, foot to foot, breast to 
 breast, with pike and pistol, sword and dagger. Never 
 since the beginning of the war had there been harder 
 fighting than now upon that narrow isthmus. *' 'Twas 
 an affair of most brave obstinacy on both sides," said 
 Parma, who rarely used strong language. ** Soldiers, 
 
 » Parma to Thllip II., 6 June, 1685, Arch, de Sim, MS. 
 
 \ 
 
 citizens, and all — they were like mad bulldogs." * Hol- 
 landers, Italians, Scotchmen, Spaniards, Englishmen, 
 fell thick and fast. The contest was about the entrench- 
 ments before they were completed, and especially 
 around the sappers and miners, in whose picks and 
 shovels lay the whole fate of Antwerp. Many of the 
 dyke-breakers were digging their own graves, and 
 rolled, one after another, into the breach which they 
 were so obstinately creating. Upon that slender thread 
 of land the hopes of many thousands were hanging. To 
 tear it asunder, to roll the ocean-waves up to Antwerp, 
 and thus to snatch the great city triumphantly from the 
 grasp of Philip— to accomplish this, the three thousand 
 had come forth that May morning. To prevent it, to 
 hold firmly the great treasure entrusted to them, was 
 the determination of the Spaniards. And so, closely 
 pent and packed, discharging their carbines into each 
 other's faces, rolling, coiled together, down the slimy 
 sides of the dyke into the black waters, struggling to 
 and fro, while the cannon from the rebel fleet and from 
 the royal forts mingled their roar with the sharp crack 
 of the musketry, Catholics and patriots contended for 
 an hour, while still, through all the confufiion and 
 uproar, the miners dug and delved. 
 
 At fast the patriots were victorious. They made 
 good their entrenchments, drove the Spaniards, after 
 much slaughter, back to the fort of Saint George on the 
 one side, and of the Palisade on the other, and cleaied 
 the whole space between the two points. The centre of 
 the dyke was theirs ; the great Kowenstyn, the only key 
 by which the gates of Antwerp could be unlocked, was 
 in the deliverers* hands. They pursued their victoiy, 
 and attacked the Palisade Fort. Gamboa, its com- 
 mandant, was severely wounded; many other officers 
 dead or dying ; the outworks were in the hands of the 
 Hollanders; the slender piles on which the fortress 
 rested in the water were rudely shaken ; the victory 
 was almost complete. 
 
 And now there was a tremendous cheer of triumph. 
 The beavers had done their work, the barrier was 
 bitten through and through, the salt water rushed like 
 a river through the ruptured dyke. A few moments 
 
 > Same to same, 26 May, 1886, MS. 
 
204 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. V. 
 
 i 
 
 later, and a Zeeland barge, freighted with provisions, 
 floated triumphantly into the waters beyond, now no 
 longer an inland sea. The deed was done — the victor j 
 achieved. Nothing more was necessary than to secure 
 it, to tear the fatal barrier to fragments, to bury it, for 
 its whole length, beneath the waves. Then, after the 
 isthmus had been utterly submerged, when the Scheldt 
 was rolled back into its ancient bed, when Parma's 
 famous bridge had become useless, when the maritime 
 communication between Antwerp and Holland had 
 been thoroughly established, the Spaniards would have 
 nothing left for it but to drown like rats in their en- 
 trenchments or to abandon the siege in despair. All 
 this was in the hands of the patriots. The Kowenstyn 
 was theirs. The Spaniards were driven from the field, 
 the batteries of their forts silenced. For a long period 
 the rebels were unmolested, and felt themselves secure.' 
 " We remained thus some three hours," says Captain 
 James, an English officer who fought in the action, and 
 described it in rough, soldierly fashion to Walsingham 
 the same day, *' thinking all things to be secure." * Yet, 
 in the very supreme moment of victory, the leaders, both 
 of the Hollanders and of the Antwerpers, proved them- 
 selves incompetent to their position. With deep regret 
 it must be admitted, that not only the reckless Hohenlo, 
 but the all-accomplished Sainte Aldegonde, committed 
 the gravest error. In the hour of danger both had 
 comported themselves with perfect courage and conduct. 
 In the instant of triumph they gave way to puerile 
 exultation. With a celerity as censurable as it seems 
 incredible, both these commanders sprang into the 
 first barge which had thus floated across the dyke, in 
 order that they might, in person, carry the news of the 
 victory to Antwerp, and set all the bells ringing and 
 the bonfires blazing. They took with them Ferrante 
 Spinola, a mortally- wounded Italian officer of rank, as a 
 trophy of their battle, and a boat-load of beef and flour 
 as an earnest of the approaching relief.' 
 
 > Meteren, xli. 224. Bor, il. 599,600. ^., .„ .^ w , . . 17 „ .,„, o 
 
 Hoofd Vervolgh. 97-99 seq. Bentlv^gllo. ^"P'" ^ Walslnghain. - May. 1585. S. 
 
 p. 11. 1. 111. 297 seq. Slrada, 11. 354- P. Office MS. Parma to Philip II., 26 
 
 367. Baudarttl, ' Polemograpbia,' 11. 27-30. May and 6 June. 1586, Archive de Si- 
 
 Le Petit, 11. 614. Capt T. James to Wal- miincas MS. 
 
 Iff 
 
 Bingham, - May, 1585, S. P. Office MS. 
 
 2 MS. letter before dtcd. 
 
 > Meteren, Bor, Hoofd, Strada. ubi tup. 
 
 1585. 
 
 THE DYKE PIERCED. 
 
 205 
 
 While tlie conquerors were thus gone to enjoy their 
 triumph, the conquered, though perjilexed and silenced, 
 were not yet disposed to accept their defeat. They were 
 even ignorant that they were conquered. They had 
 been forced to abandon the field, and the patriots had 
 entrenched themselves upon the dyke, but neither Fort 
 Saint George nor the Palisade had been carried, althouoh 
 the latter was in imminent danger 
 
 Old Count Peter Ernest Mansfeld — a grizzled vete- 
 ran, who had passed his childhood, youth, manhood, and 
 old age under fire— commanded at the land-end of the 
 dyke, in the fortress of Stabroek, in which neighbour- 
 hood his whole division was stationed. Seeing how the 
 day was going, he called a council of war. The patriots 
 had gained a large section of the dyke. So much was 
 certain. Could they succeed in utterly demolishing that 
 bulwark in the course of the day ? If so, how were 
 they to be dislodged before their work was perfected ? 
 It was difficult to assault their position. Three 
 thousand Hollanders, Antwerpers, Englishmen—*' mad 
 bulldogs all," as Parma called them— showing their 
 teeth very mischievously, with one hundred and sixty 
 Zeeland vessels throwing in their broadsides from both 
 margins of the dyke, were a formidable company to 
 face. 
 
 *' Oh for one half-hour of Alexander in the field ! " 
 sighed one of the Spanish officers in council. But 
 Alexander was more than four leagues away, and it was 
 doubtful whether he even knew of the fatal occurrence. 
 Yet how to send him a messenger. Who could reach him 
 through that valley of death ? Would it not be better 
 to wait till nightfall ? Under the cover of darkness some- 
 thing might be attempted, which in the daylight would be 
 hopeless. There was much anxiety, and much diflerenco 
 of opinion had been expressed, when C^amiUo Capizucca 
 colonel of the Italian Legion, obtained a hearing A 
 man bold in words as in deeds, he vehemently de- 
 nounced the pusillanimity which would wait either for 
 Parma or for nightfall. - What difference will it 
 maJce, he a.sked, - whether we defer our action until 
 either darkness or the General arrives? In each case 
 we give the enemy time enough to destroy the dyke 
 and thoroughly to ml -eve the city. That done, whot 
 
206 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. V. 
 
 1585. 
 
 RALLY OF THE SPANIARDS. 
 
 207 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 good can be accomplished by our arms ? Then onr dis- 
 heartened soldiers will either shrink from a fruitless 
 combat or march to certain death." Having thus, very 
 warmly but very sagaciously, defined the position in 
 which all were placed, he proceeded to declare that he 
 claimed neither for himself nor for his legion any supe- 
 riority over the rest of the army. He knew not that 
 the Italians were more to be relied upon than others 
 in the time of danger, but this he did know, that no man 
 in the world was so devoted as he was to the Prince of 
 Parma. To show that devotion by waiting with folded 
 arms behind a wall until the Prince should arrive to 
 extricate his followers, was not in his constitution. He 
 claimed the right to lead his Italians against the enemy 
 at once — in the front rank, if others chose to follow ; 
 alone, if the rest preferred to wait till a better leader 
 should arrive.* 
 
 The words of the Italian colonel sent a thrill through 
 all who heard him. Next in command under Capizucca 
 was his camp-marshal, an officer who bore the illustrious 
 name of Piccolomini — father of the Duke Ottavio, of 
 whom so much was to be heard at a later day through- 
 out the fell scenes of that portion of the eighty years' 
 tragedy now enacting, which was to be called the 
 Thirty Years' War of Germany. The camp-marshal 
 wannly seconded the proposition of his colonel. Mans- 
 feld, pleased with such enthusiasm among his officers, 
 yielded to their wishes, which were, in truth, his own. 
 Six companies of the Italian Legion were in his encamp- 
 ment, while the remainder were stationed, far away, 
 upon the bridge, under command of his son, Count 
 Charles. Early in the morning, before the passage 
 across the dyke had been closed, the veteran condot- 
 tiere, pricking his ears as he snuffed the battle from 
 afar, had contrived to send a message to his son. 
 
 " Chai-les, my boy," were his words, *• to-day we must 
 either beat them or burst." * 
 
 Old Peter Ernest felt that the long-expected, long-de- 
 ferred assault was to be made that morning in full force, 
 and that it was necessary for the royalists, on both 
 bridge and dyke, to hold their own. Piccolomini now 
 
 « Strada. 11. 357. 358 ttq. 
 
 * Charles, mon fib. U te faut valncre ou crever." Le Tetlt, li. 514 
 
 drew up three hundred of his Italians, picked veterans 
 all, and led them in marching order to Mansfeld. That 
 general, at the same moment, received another small 
 but unexpected reinforcement. A portion of the Spa- 
 nish Legion, which had long been that of Pedro Pacchi, 
 lay at the extreme verge of the Stabroek encampment* 
 several miles away. Aroused by the distant cannon- 
 ading, and suspecting what had occurred, Don Juan 
 d' Aquila, the colonel in command, marched without a 
 moment's delay to Mansfeld's head -quarters, at the 
 head of all the force he could muster— about two hun- 
 dred strong. With him came Cardona, Gonzales de 
 Ca«tro, Toralva, and other distinguished officers. As 
 they aiTived, Capizucca was just setting forth for the 
 field. There arose a dispute for precedence between the 
 Italians and the Spaniards. Capizucca had first de- 
 manded the privilege of leading what seemed a forlorn 
 hope, and was unwilling to yield his claim to the new 
 comer. On the other hand, the Spaniards were not dis- 
 posed to follow where they felt entitled to lead. The 
 quarrel was growing warm, when Aquila, seizing his 
 Italian rival by the hand, protested that it was not a 
 moment for friends to wrangle for precedence. 
 
 "Shoulder to shoulder," said he, "let us go into this 
 business, and let our blows rather fall on our enemies' 
 heads than upon each other's." This terminated the 
 altercation. The Italians and Spaniards— in battle 
 array as they were— all dropped on their knees, offered 
 a brief prayer to the Holy Virgin, and then, in the best 
 possible spirits, set forth along the dvke. Next to fort 
 btabroek— whence they issued— was the Palisade Fort 
 nearly a mile removed, which the patriots had neariy 
 carried, and between which and St. George, another mile 
 larther ou, their whole force was established.* 
 
 I ho troops under Capizucca and Aquila soon reached 
 the I ahsade, and attacked the besiegers, while the gar- 
 rison, cheered by the unexpected relief, made a vigor- 
 ous sortie. Ihere was a brief sharp contest, in which 
 many were killed on both sides ; but at last the patriots 
 tell back upon their own entrenchments, and the fort 
 was saved. Its name was instantly changed to Fort 
 A lctorJ^ and the royalists then prepared to charge the 
 
 • Strada, ubi sup. 
 
< ' 
 
 208 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. V. 
 
 1585. 
 
 fortified camp of the rebels, in the centre of which the 
 dyke-cutting operations were still in progress. At the 
 same moment, from the opposite end of the bulwark, 
 a cry was heard along the whole line of the dyke. 
 From Fort Holy Cross, at the Scheldt end, the welcome 
 intelligence was suddenly communicated — as if by a 
 magnetic impulse — that Alexander was in the field.* 
 
 It was true. Having been up half the night, as usual, 
 keeping watch along his bridge, where he was ever ex- 
 pecting a fatal attack, he had retired for a few hours' 
 rest in his camp at Beveren. Aroused at daybreak by 
 the roar of the cannon, he had hastily thrown on his 
 armour, mounted his horse, and, at the head of two hun- 
 dred pikemen, set forth for the scene of action. De- 
 tained on the bridge by a detachment of the Antwerp 
 fleet, which had been ordered to make a diversion in 
 that quarter, he had, after beating off their vessels with 
 his boat-artillery, and charging Count Charles Mansfeld 
 to heed well the brief injunction of old Peter Ernest, 
 made all the haste he could to the Kowenstyn. Aniv- 
 ing at Fort Holy Cross, he learned from Mondragon how 
 the day was going. Three thousand rebels, he learned, 
 were established on the dyke, Fort Palisade was totter- 
 ing^ a fleet from both sides was cannonading the Spanish 
 entrenchments, the salt water was flowing across the 
 breach already made. His seven months' work, it 
 seemed, had come to nought. The navigation was 
 already open from the sea to Antwerp, the Kowenstj-n 
 was in the rebels' hands. But Alexander was not prone 
 to premature despair. " I arrived," said he to Philip in 
 a letter written on the same evening, *' at the verj- nick 
 of time." * A less hopeful person might have thought 
 that he had arrived several hours too late. Having 
 brought with him every man that could be spared fioiii 
 Beveren and from the bridge, he now ordered Camillo 
 del Monte to transport some additional pieces of artil- 
 lery from Holy Cross and from Saint James to Fort 
 Saint George. At the same time a sharp cannonade 
 was to be maintained upon the rebel fleet from all the 
 forts.* 
 
 Strada, ubi sup. fue qiiando se habia comenzado el fuego. 
 
 ' MS. letter tefore cited. " T.logiie ' Slrada. ubi sup. 
 a la mayor coi^uutura del mundo que 
 
 PARMA COMES TO THE RESCUE. 
 
 209 
 
 Mondragon, with a hundred musketeers and pikemen 
 was sent forward likewise as expeditiously as possible* 
 to Saint George. No one could be more alert. The 
 battered veteran, hero of some of the most remarkable 
 military adventures that history has ever recorded* 
 fought his way on foot, in the midst of the fray, like a 
 young ensign who had his first laurels to win. And, 
 m truth, the day was not one for cunning manoeuvres 
 directed, at a distance, by a skilful tactician. It was 
 a brisk close contest, hand to hand and eye to eye— a 
 Homeric encounter, in which the chieftains were to 
 prove a right to command by their personal prowess. 
 Alexander, descending suddenly— dramatically as it 
 were-when the battle seemed lost— like a deity from 
 the clouds-was to justify, by the strength of his aim 
 the enthusiasm which his name always awakened' 
 Having, at a glance, taken in the whole situation, he 
 made his bnef arrangements, going from rank to rank 
 aiid disposing his troops in the most eflective maimer 
 
 t^Ui^ effect. '" ""''• '"* ""'' ''''' ^^ ^^-^3-s a 
 
 "The man who refuses, this day, to follow me " he 
 
 ^.id, '^ ha« never had regard to his' ovvn honom,' nor 
 
 has^Gods cause or the King's ever been dear to his 
 
 His disheartened Spaniards and Italians-roused as 
 by a magic trumpet-eagerly demanded to be led 
 agamst the rebels. And now, from each end of the 
 dyke the royalists were advancing toward the central 
 position occupied by the patriots^ While Cap^^^^^^^^ 
 and Aquila were occupied at Fort Victory, Pamawas 
 
 gS' c^/lT -fr °?^^' ^^-s:^rs:i" 
 
 ueor^e. Un foot, armed with sword and shield and in 
 coat of mail, and marching at the head of his inenTw 
 the dyke, surrounded by Bevilacqua, Bentrvo^Ho^ 
 Manmiuez, Sforza, and other officers^ hisS nlme 
 and distinguished courage, now upon the sum^t r7T^ 
 causeway, now on its shelving banL now Wt 1 ^ 
 
 ^ni^d^^y^T'e^^tiT^il ^ \r?^X 
 
 the patriots, who slow^y^ ::^^ir^-t^:l 
 
 ' sT^^'r. 1^'' ^^^' ^^"'•^^•' ^•«'- "• ^'-P. ^".. -^ VOL ili. c^p. iu. 
 VOL. 1. 
 
210 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. V. 
 
 camp, and with the Antwei*p and Zeeland* vessels, 
 whose balls tore through the royalist ranks, the 
 General at last reached Saint George. On the preser- 
 vation of that post depended the whole fortune of the 
 day, for Panna had already received the welcome in- 
 telligence that the Palisade— now Fort Victory— had 
 been regained. He instantly ordered an outer breast- 
 work of wool-sacks and sand-bags to bo thrown up in 
 front of Saint George, and planted a battery to play 
 point-blank at the enemy's entrenchments. Here the 
 final issue was to be made. 
 
 The patriots and Spaniards were thus all enclosed in 
 the mile-long space between St. George and the Talisade. 
 IJpon that narrow strip of earth, scarce six paces in 
 wadth, more than five thousand men met in mortal 
 combat— a naiTOW arena for so many gladiators, hemmed 
 in on both sides by the sea. The patriots had, with 
 solemn ceremony, before starting upon their enterprise, 
 vowed to destroy the dyke and relieve Antwerp, or to 
 perish in the attempt. They were true to their vow. 
 Isot the ancient Batavians or Nervii had ever mani- 
 fested more tenacity against the Roman legions than did 
 their descendants against the far-famed Spanish infantry 
 upon this fVital day. The fight on the Kowenstyn was 
 to be long remembered in the military annals of Spam 
 and Holland. Never, since the curtain first rose upon 
 the great Netherland tragedy, had there been a fiercer 
 encounter.' Flinching was impossible. There was 
 scant room for the play of pike and dagger, and, cLisc 
 packed as were the combatants, the dead could hardly 
 fall to the ground. It was a mile-long series of separate 
 moiial duels, and the oozy dyke was soon slippery with 
 
 blood. 
 
 From both sides, under Capizucca and Aquila on the 
 one hand, and under Alexander on the other, the en- 
 trenchments of the patriots were at last assaulted ; and 
 as the royalists fell thick and fast beneath the breast- 
 work which they were stonning, their comrades 
 clambered upon their bodies, and attempted, from such 
 vantage-ground, to effect an entrance. Three times the 
 
 1 " Mihi tan to accuratius dicendum," vlctorlae, aut nobilioribos audpnUura ex- 
 says Strada. •' quanto raro alias in Belglo, empll^. aut prasenliore taelitum ope, 
 •udaciore loco, aut falUciorls aliematione dimicatum est," &c., ii. 319. 
 
 1585. 
 
 FIERCE STRUGGLE ON THE DYKE. 
 
 211 
 
 invaders were beaten back with heavy loss, and after 
 each repalse the attack was renewed with fresh vio-our 
 while within the entrenchments the pioneers still plied 
 the pick and shovel, undismayed by the uproar around 
 them. 
 
 A fmrth assault, vigorously made, was cheerfully 
 repelled by the Antweipers and Hollanders, clusterino- 
 behind their breast-works, and looking steadily into 
 ineir enemies' eyes. Captain Heraugiere— of whom 
 more was to be heard one day— had led two hundred 
 men into action, and now found himself at the head of 
 only thirteen.' The loss had been as severe among 
 many other patriot companies, as well as in the Spanish 
 ranks, and again the pikemen of Spain and Italy 
 ^Itered before the iron visages and cordial blows of the 
 Hollanders. 
 
 This work had lasted a good hour and a half, when 
 at last on the fifth assault, a wild and mysterious 
 apjmrition renewed the enthusiasm of the Spaniards, 
 Ihe ligiire of the dead commander of the old Spanish 
 Legion, Don Pedro Pacchi, who had fallen a few months 
 befi,re at the siege of Dendennonde, was seen chargincr 
 m front of his regiment, clad in his wel^kno^^^l armour 
 hit IT^ l\.S^^l^^f^ which had been habitual with 
 him n life, ^o satisfactory explanation was ever made 
 
 ^L ' r^^'V.^^l''"'^''' ^"^ ^* ^^« g^'^e^l throughout 
 as trut'h ' tL" '''"' -P-stitious 4e was as effective 
 nnr rfi; ^A "^^^^^S Spaniaixis rallied once more 
 under the guidance of their phantom-leader, and a-ain 
 charged the breast-work of the patriots. ToraJva mount 
 
 ^ault into the entrenchments. At the next instint ho 
 
 wiotrbTr^ "''""'''' ''^*^'' ground, but "^"/i 
 followea by Capizucca, sustained by a determined band 
 1 ho entrenchment was carried, but the furious conflict 
 ^t,ll continued. At nearly the same moment however 
 several of the patriot vessels wore observed to casroff 
 
 * Meterei), ubi tujt. 
 
 « Stcada. II. 364. 
 
 p 2 
 
212 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. V. 
 
 1585. 
 
 THE SPANIARDS SUCCESSFUL. 
 
 213 
 
 1./ 
 
 ■ 
 
 ] 
 
 f r 
 
 t 
 
 I f 
 
 to tho commander of the others but to retreat or to 
 remain and fall in to the enemy's hands, should ho gain 
 the day. Had they risked the dangerous alternative, it 
 might have ensured the triumph of the whole enterprise, 
 while their actual decision proved most disastrous m 
 
 "We* have conquered,'* cried Alexander, stretching 
 his arm towards the receding waters. " The sea deserts 
 the impious heretics. Strike from them now their last 
 hope, and cut oflf their retreat to the departing ships. 
 The Spaniards were not slow to perceive their advan- 
 tasce, wliile the courage of the patriots at last began to 
 ebb with the tide. The day was lost. In the hour of 
 transitory triumph the leaders of the expedition had 
 turned their backs on their followers, and now, after 
 so much heroism had been exhibited, fortune too had 
 averted her face. The grim resistance changed to 
 desperate panic, and a mad chase began along the 
 blood -stained dyke. Some were slain with spear and 
 bullet others were hunted into the sea, many were 
 smothered in the ooze along the edge of the embank- 
 ment. The fugitives, making their way to the retreat- 
 ing vessels, were pursued by the Spaniards, who swain 
 after them, with their swords in their teeth, and 
 engaged them in mortal combat in the midst ot the 
 
 waves 
 
 " And so we cut all their throats," said Parma, " the 
 rebels on every side remaining at our mercy, and I 
 having no doubt that my soldiers would avenge the loss 
 
 of their friends." ' , -r» ,i. i 
 
 The English and the Scotch, under Balfour and 
 Morgan, were the very last to abandon the position 
 which they had held so manfully seven hours long. 
 Honest Captain James, who fought to the last, and 
 described the action the same night m the fewest 
 possible words, was of opinion that the fleet had moved 
 away only to obtain a better position. ** ITiey put-off 
 to have more room to play on the enemy," said he ; 
 " but the Hollanders and Zcelanders, seeing the enemy 
 come on so hotly and thinking our galleys would leave 
 
 1 Stmla II 365 mlaericordia. y yo fiador que vengaron 
 
 J " Y a.i Im d.goUaron a todos. qne- la per.lida de Ion amlgos'' Paniu W 
 <!»n<lo iH>r una parte y olm a nueutra PUiUp U.. May 26. 1585. MS. 
 
 
 them, abandoned their string. The Scots, seeing them 
 to retire, left their string. The enemy pursued very 
 hotly; the Englishmen stood to repulse, and are put 
 most to the sword. In this shameful retreat there were 
 slain or drowned to the number of two thousand."* 
 llie blunt Englishman was justly indignant that an 
 entoiprise so nearly successful had been ruined by the 
 desertion of its chiefs. ** We had cut the dyke in three 
 places," said he ; " but left it nwst shamefully for want of 
 commnndmenty ' 
 
 Po«^>r Koppen Loppen — whose blunders on former 
 occa.sions had caused so much disaster — was now for- 
 tunate enough to expiate them by a soldier's death. 
 Admiral Haultain had, as we have seen, been drovTied 
 at the commencement of the action.* Justinus de 
 Nassau, at its close, was more successful in his retreat 
 to the ships. He, too, sprang into the water when the 
 overthrow was absolute ; but, alighting in some shallows, 
 was able to conceal himself among weeds and water- 
 lilies till he had divested himself of his armour, when 
 he made his escape by swimming to a boat, which con- 
 veyed him to Lillo. Roelke van Deest, an officer of 
 some note, was so honubly wounded in the face, that 
 he wfuj obliged to wear a mask for the remainder of his 
 life.* 
 
 Pai-rna, overjoj^ed at his victory, embraced Oapizucca 
 before the whole army, with warm expressions of 
 admimtion for his conduct. Both the Italian colonel 
 and his Spanish rival Aquila were earnestly recom- 
 mended to l^hilip for reward and promotion. The 
 wounded Toralva was carried to Alexander's own 
 quarters, and placed in Alexander's own bed, where he 
 remained till his recover^', and was then presented— a 
 disiinction which he much valued-M^th the armour 
 winch the Pnnce had woni on the day of the battle.' 
 rariiia himself, so soon as the action wa^ concluded 
 went with his chief officers straight from the field to 
 the little village-church of Stabroek, where he fell upon 
 hi8 knees and offered up fervent thanks for his victory. 
 
 ^^^'James to Wakingham.^ MS. before the death of the Admiral a. occurring in 
 
 • i-his appear, from the lelUr ^f Cap- ^X! W ™"' *'w ''''''"''''' '*"^^- 
 Uin JameTrhe other .cconu^^'X . IZ^M 3^ J*«^^"^' ^'^^ *»• 
 
214 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. V. 
 
 r 4 
 
 He next set about repairing the mptured dyke, 
 damaged in many places but not hopelessly mined, and 
 for this ptirpose the bodies of the rebels, among other 
 materials, were cast by hundreds into the ditches which 
 their own hands had dug.' 
 
 Thus ended the eight hours' fight on the Kowcnstyn. 
 *' The feast lasted from seven to eight hours," said 
 Fanua, '' with the most brave obstinacy on both sides 
 that has l>een seen for many a lung day." * A thousand 
 royalists wore killed and twice as many patriots, and 
 the issue of the conflict was most unceitain up to the 
 
 very last. 
 
 "Our loss is greater than I wish it was," wrote 
 Alexander to Philip. *' It was a ver>' close thing, and I 
 have never been more anxious in my life as to the result 
 for your Majesty's serv-ice. The whole fate of the battle 
 was hanging all the time by a thread.'" More than 
 ever were reinforcements necessary, and it was only by 
 a miracle that the victory had at last been gained with 
 such slender resources. ** 'Tis a large, long, laborious, 
 expensive, and most perilous war," said Parma, when 
 urging the claims of Capizucca and Aquila, '' for we 
 have to light every minute ; and there are no castles 
 and other rewards, so that, if soldiers are not to have 
 promotion, they will lose their spirit." * Thirty-two of 
 the rebel vessels grounded, and fell into the hands of 
 the Spaniards, who took from them many excellent pieces 
 of artillery. The result was most conclusive and most 
 disheartening for the patriots. 
 
 Meantime— as wo have seen — Hohenlo and Sainte 
 Aldeg<jnde had reached Antwerp in breathless haste to 
 announce their triumph. They had been met on the 
 quay by gruups of excited citizens, who eagerly ques- 
 tioned the two generals arriving thus covered with 
 laurels from the field of battle, and drank with delight 
 all the details of the victory. The poor dying Spinola 
 
 ' Simla, ii. 307. 
 
 2 " Y haliiendo tlnrado esta fiesta, obra 
 de 7 8 hore, con la mas brava obutlna- 
 cion de entrambus partes que se ha vlato 
 hartos dias ba." Panna to Pblllp 11., 
 MS. before citod. 
 
 » " De los nuestros Uimblen ban que- 
 dado mas de los que yo quklera— ha sido 
 pendencia tan reiilda— que bartaa vecea 
 
 ha poesto harto mas cuidado el ver Xer- 
 niino en que estaba el servicio de V. -M. 
 Todo esto ha estado colgado de un hilo." 
 Panna to Philip II. MS. before cited. 
 
 * "Gut^rra'larga, trab«yosa, costo&a, y 
 muy peligTosa, pues sempre se trata de 
 pelear, y que no se bay castUlos nl oiros 
 premlos," &c. (Ibid.) 
 
 1585. 
 
 PREMATURE TRIUMPH AT ANTWERP. 
 
 215 
 
 was exhibited in triumph, the boat -load of bread-stufis 
 received with satisfaction, and vast preparations were 
 made to receive, on wliai"ves and in storehouses, the 
 plentiful supplies about to arrive. Beacons andbonfii'es 
 were lighted, the bells from all the steeples rang their 
 merriest peals, cannon thundered in triumph not only 
 in Antwerp itself, but subsequently at Amsterdam and 
 other more distant cities. In due time a magnificent 
 banquet was spread in the town-house to greet the 
 conquering Hohenlo. Immense gratification was ex- 
 pres«ed by those of the reformed religion ; dire threats 
 were uttered against the Catholics. Some were for 
 hanging them all out of hand, others for throwing tliem 
 into the Scheldt ; the most moderate proposed packing 
 them all out of town so soon as the siege should be 
 raised — an event which could not now be delayed many 
 days longer. 
 
 Hohenlo, placed on high at the head of the banquet- 
 table, assumed the very god of war. Beside and near 
 liim sat the loveliest dames of Antwerp, rewarding his 
 bravery with their brightest smiles. The Count drained 
 huge goblets to their health, to the success of tlie patriot.^, 
 and to the confusion of the ro3'alists, while, as he still 
 drank and feasted, the trumpet, kettle-drum, and cym 
 bal, and meiTy peal of bell without, did honour to his 
 triumph. So gay and gallant was the victor, that he 
 announced another banquet on the following day, still 
 further to celebrate the happy release of Antwerp, and 
 invited the fair ladies around him again to grace the 
 boaid. It is recorded that the gentlewoman next him 
 responded with a sigh, that, if her presentiments were 
 just, the morrow would scarcely bo so joyful as the 
 present day liad been, and that she doubted whetlier the 
 triumph were not premature.' 
 
 Hardly had she spoken when sinister sounds were 
 heard in the streets. The first few stragglers, surv^ivors 
 of the deadly fight, had amved with the fatal news that 
 all wii8 lost, the dyke regained, the Spaniards victorious, 
 the whole band of patriots cut to pieces. A few frioht- 
 fully-wounded and dying sufferers were brought ?nto 
 the hanqueting-hall. Hohenlo sprang from the feast- 
 interrupted in so ghastly a manner— pursued by shouta 
 
 ^ Mortens en Torji.-, v. 212 
 
■*■ •i 
 
 t: 
 
 216 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. V. 
 
 / 1 
 
 m 
 
 *^, 
 
 f 4 
 
 
 and hisses. Howls of execration saluted him in the 
 Btreets, and he was obliged to conceal himself for a time, 
 to escape the fury of the populace.' 
 
 On the other hand, Parma was, not unnaturally, 
 Gverioyed at the successful issue to the combat and 
 expressed himself on the subject in lan^age of (for 
 him) unusual exultation. ** To-day, Sunday 26th of 
 June," said he, in a letter to Philip, despatched by 
 special courier on the very same night, " the Lord has 
 been pleased to grant to your Majesty a great and most 
 signal victory. In this conjuncture of so great import- 
 ance it may be easily conceived that the best results 
 that can be desired will be obtained if your Majesty is 
 now ready to do what is needful. I congratulate your 
 Majesty very many times on this occasion, and I desire 
 to render infinite thanks to Divine Providence." * ^ 
 
 He afterwards proceeded, in a rapid and hurried 
 manner, to give his Majesty the outlines of the battle, 
 mentioning, with great encomium, Capizucca .^d Aquila 
 Mondragon and Vasto, with many other ^ officers, and 
 recommending them for reward and promotion; praising 
 in short, heartily and earnestly, all who had contributed 
 to the victory, except himself, to whose personal exer- 
 tions it was ihiefly due. ** As for good old Mansfeld 
 said he, *'he bore himself like the man he is, and he 
 desert-es that your Majesty should send him a particular 
 mark of your royal approbation, writing to him yourseit 
 pleasantly in Spanish, which is that which will be 
 most highly esteemed by him." » Alexander hinted also 
 that Philip would do well to bestow upon Mansfeld the 
 countship of Biart, as a reward for his long years ot 
 faithful service.* . 
 
 1 Mertena enTorps. v. 242. Compare 
 Bor. Meteren. Hoofd, et ai., ubi tup. 
 
 2 " I)oy a V. M. muy muches vezes la 
 enora buena y Inftnltas gracias a la 1)1- 
 vlna," &c. MS. letter before cited. 
 
 > " El buen vlejo del conde de Mansfeld 
 anduvo como qulen e3, y ntiprece que V. M. 
 se le mande en partlailar agTadt>cer, escri- 
 bieudole en Espaflol regaladamente que 
 es lo que mas estimarla,' &c. (Ibid.) 
 
 * Ibid. The account of this remarkable 
 octlon haa been mainly gathered from the 
 niatmacript letters of Parma to Philip, 
 written from the scene itself of some 
 
 Englishmen, also eye-witnesses, and from 
 a careful comparison of conu-mporary his- 
 torians. Vide Bor, II. 699.600. Meteren. 
 xil 224. Hoofd Vervolgb, 97-99 seq. 
 Bentlvogllo, p. ii. I. IH. 2y7 seq., whose 
 brother, the Marchese HippolUo Bentlvo- 
 glio. distinguished himself In the action, 
 and was promoted. In consequence, to a 
 compiiny of lancers by Parma. Strada, 
 li. 354-367. • Baudartii, • Polemographla, 
 II. 27-30. I^ Petit, li. 614. Wagenaar. 
 vlil. 80. Van W>ti op Wagenaar, vUl. 
 39, 40, et al. 
 
 1585. 
 
 THE SHIP "WAR'S END.' 
 
 217 
 
 Tliis action on the Kowenstyn terminated the effective 
 resistance of Antwerp. A few daj's before, the monster- 
 vessel, in the construction of which so much time and 
 money had been consumed, had at last been set afloat. 
 She had been called the '* War's End," and, so far as 
 Antwerp was concerned, the fates that preside dover 
 her birth seemed to have been paltering in a double 
 sense when the ominous name was conferred. She was 
 larger than anything previously known in naval archi- 
 tecture ; she had four masts and three helms. Her 
 bulwarks were ten feet thick ; her tops were musket- 
 proof. Slie had twenty guns of largest- size, besides 
 many other pieces of artillery of lesser calibre, the lower 
 tier of which was almost at the water's level. She was 
 to caiTy one thousand men, and she was so supported on 
 corks and barrels as to be sure to float under any 
 circumstances. Thus she was a great swimmino- fortress 
 which could not be sunk, and was impervious* to shot. 
 Unluckily, however, in spite of her four masts and three 
 helms, she would neither sail nor steer, and she proved 
 but a great, unmanageable and very ridiculous tub, fully 
 justifying all the sarcasms that had been launched upon 
 lier during the period of her construction, which had 
 been almost as long as the siege itself.' 
 
 The Spaniards called her the Bugaboo— a monster to 
 scare children withal.* The patriots christened her the 
 Elephant, the Antwerp Folly, the Lost Penny, with 
 many similar appellations.* A small army might have 
 been maintained for a month, they said, on the money 
 she had cost, or the whole city kept in bread for three 
 months. At last, late in May, a few days before the 
 battle of the Kowenstyn, she set forth fiim Antwerp 
 across the submerged land, upon her expedition to 
 sweep all the Spanish forts out of existence, and to 
 bring the war to its end. She came to her own end 
 very briefly, for, after drifting helplessly about for an 
 hour, she .stuck fast in the sand in the neighbourhood of 
 Oordam, while the crew and soldiers made their escape 
 and came back to the city to share in the ridicufe 
 
 » Strada. ii. 353. Le Petit. 11. 512. Boofd, et al^ ubi sup 
 Riudartn, .Polemog.' i.. 30. with an 2 •• CaranjlTu^^- Strada uM sup 
 admirable en^rav.ng. Meteren, Bor. « Baudar tins. Le Petit. StradTuSp. 
 
 / ■ 
 
218 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. V. 
 
 1585. 
 
 STATE OF ANTWERP. 
 
 219 
 
 J. 
 
 ♦ 
 
 f 
 
 whicli, from first to last, had attached itself to the 
 
 monstor-ship.* «, . » , j 
 
 Two days after the Kowenstyn affair, Alexander sent 
 an expedition under Count Charles Mansfeld to take 
 possession of the great Bugaboo. The boat m which 
 were Count Charles, Count Aremberg, his brother de 
 Barban^on, and other noble volunteers, met with an 
 accident : a keg of gunpowder accidentally exploding, 
 blowing Aremberg into the water, whence he escaped 
 unharmed by swimming, and frightfully damaging 
 Mansfeld in the face.* This indirect mischief— the only 
 injury ever inflicted by the '* War's End " upon the enemy 
 —did not prevent the rest of the party in the boats from 
 taking possession of the ship, and bringing her m 
 triumph to the Prince of Parma. After being thoroughly 
 examined and heartily laughed at by the Spaniards, she 
 was broken up — her cannon, munitions, and other valu- 
 able materials, being taken from her— and then there 
 was an end of the " War's End." » 
 
 This useless expenditure— against the judgment and 
 entreaties of many leading personages— was but a typo 
 of the difficulties with which Sainte Aldegonde had 
 been obliged to contend from the first day of the siege 
 to the IjSt. Every one in the city had felt himself 
 called on to express an opinion as to the proper mea- 
 sures for defence. Diversity of humours, popular licence, 
 anarchy, did not constitute the best government for a 
 city beleagured by Alexander Famese. We have seen 
 the deadly injuiy inflicted upon the cause at the out- 
 set by the bmtality of the butchers, and the manful 
 stni"-<^le which Sainte Aldegonde had maintained against 
 their cupidity and that of their friends. Ho had dealt 
 with the thousand difficulties which rose up around him 
 from day to day, but his best intentions were perpetu- 
 ally misconstrued, his most strenuous exertions steadily 
 foiled. It was a city where there was much love of 
 money, and where commerce — always timid by nature, 
 particularly when controlled by alien residents— was 
 often the cause of almost abject cowardice. 
 
 From time to time there had been threatening demon- 
 strations made against the burgomaster, who, by pra- 
 
 1 Baudartlas, Le PeUt, Strada, ubi sup. 
 « Stiada, li. 36j». ' IWd. 
 
 tracting the resistance of Antwerp, was bringing about 
 the absolute destruction of a world-wide trade, and the 
 downfall of the most opulent capital in Christendom. 
 There were also many popular riots — very easily in- 
 flamed by the Catholic portion of the inhabitants for 
 
 bread. *' Bread, bread, or peace ! '* was hoarsely shouted 
 by ill-looking mischievous crowds, that dogged the 
 steps and besieged the doors of Sainte Aldegonde ; but 
 the burgomaster had done his best by eloquence of tongue 
 and pei-sonal courage, both against mobs and against the 
 enemy, to inspire the mass of his fellow-citizens w-ith his 
 own generous spirit. He had relied for a long time on 
 the negotiation with France, and it would be difficult to 
 exaggerate the disastrous effects produced by the trea- 
 chery of the Yalois court. The historian Le Petit, a 
 resident of Antwerp at the time of the siege, had been 
 despatched on secret mission to Paris, and had commu- 
 nicated to the States' deputies Sainte Aldegonde's ear- 
 nest adjurations that they should obtain, if possible, 
 before it should bo too late, an auxiliary force and a 
 pecuniary subsidy. An immediate assistance, even if 
 slight, might be sufficient to prevent Antwerp and its 
 sister cities from falling into the hands of the enemy. 
 On that messenger's return, the burgomaster, mucli 
 encourageil by his report, had made many eloquent 
 speeches in the senate, and for a longtime sustained the 
 sinking spirits of the citizens.' 
 
 The irritating termination to the triumph actually 
 achieved against the bridge, and the tragical result to 
 the great enterprise against the Kowenstyn, had now 
 thoroughly broken the heart of Antwerp. For the last 
 catastrophe Sainte Aldegonde himself was hip'hly cen 
 surable, although the chief portion of the blame rested 
 on the head of Hohenlo. Nevertheless the States of 
 Holland were yet true to the cause of the Union and of 
 liberty. N otwithstanding their heavy expenditures, and 
 heir own loss of men. they urged warmly and earnestly 
 the continuance of the resistance, and promised, ^vithin 
 at latest three months' time, to raise an army of twelve 
 thousand foot and seven thousand horse, with which 
 they pledged themselves to relieve the city, or to peri.h 
 m the endeavour.' At the same time, the legation 
 
 ^ Le ^eU^ 11. 505. , Meteren. xli. 325. 
 
220 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. V. 
 
 1585. 
 
 LA NOUE LIBERATED. 
 
 221 
 
 wliicli had been sent to England to offer the sovereignty 
 to Queen Elizabeth, sent encouraging despatches to 
 Antwerp, assuring the autliorities that arrangements for 
 an auxiliary' force had been effected ; while Elizabeth 
 herself wrote earnestly upon the subject with her own 
 hand.' 
 
 " I am informed," said that Princess, " that through 
 the closing of the Scheldt you are likely to enter into a 
 treaty with the Prince of Parma, the issue of which is 
 very much to be doubted, so far as the maintenance of 
 your privileges is concerned. Remembering the warm 
 friendship which has ever existed between this crown 
 and the house of Burgimdy, in the realms of which you 
 are an important member, and considering that my sub- 
 jects engaged in commerce have always met with more 
 privilege and comity in the Netherlands than in any 
 other country, I have resolved to send you at once assist- 
 ance, comfort, and aid. The details of the plan >vill be 
 stated by your envoys ; but be assured that by me you 
 will never be foi-saken or neglected." * 
 
 The negotiations with Queen Elizabeth — most import- 
 ant for the Netherlands, for England, and for the desti- 
 nies of Europe — which succeeded the futile diplomatic 
 transactions with France, will be laid before the reader in 
 a subsequent chapter. It is proper that they should be 
 massed by themselves, so that the eye can comprehend 
 at a single glance their whole progress and aspect, as 
 revealed both by public and official, and by secret and 
 hitherto unpublished records. Meantime, so far as 
 regards Antwerp, those negotiations had been too deli- 
 berately conducted for the hasty and impatient temper 
 of the citizens. 
 
 The spirit of the commercial metropolis, long flagging, 
 seemed at last broken. Despair was taking possession of 
 all hearts. The common people did nothing but com- 
 plain, the magistrates did nothing but wrangle. In the 
 broad council the debates and dissensions were discou- 
 raging and endless. Six of the eight militia-colonels 
 were for holding out at all hazards, while a majority of 
 the eighty captains were for capitulation. The populace 
 was tumultuous and threatening, demanding peace and 
 bread at any price. Holland sent promises in abundance, 
 
 » Bor, !1. 607-609. 
 
 * See the letter In Bor, II. 608. 
 
 and Holland was sincere ; but there had been much 
 disiippointment, and there was now infinite bitterness. 
 It seemed obvious that a crisis was fast approaching, 
 and — unless immediate aid should come from Holland 
 or from England — that a surrender was inevitable.' La 
 None, after five years* imprisonment, had at last been 
 exchanged against Count Philip Egmont. That noble, 
 chief of an ancient house, cousin of the Queen of France, 
 was mortified at being ransomed against a simple Hu- 
 guenot gentleman — even though that gentleman was the 
 illustrious " iron-armed " La None — but he preferred to 
 sacrifice his dignity for the sake of his liberty. He was 
 still more annoyed that one hundred thousand crowns 
 as security were exacted from La None — for which the 
 King of Navarre became bondsman — that he would 
 never again bear arms in the Netherlands except in obe- 
 dience to the French monarch, while no such pledges 
 were required of himself. La None visited the Prince of 
 Parma at Antwerp, to take leave, and was received with 
 the courtesy due to his high character and great distinc- 
 tion. Alexander took pleasure in showing him all his 
 fortifications, and explaining to him the whole system of 
 the siege, and La None was filled with honest amaze- 
 ment. He declared afterwards that the works were 
 superb and impregnable, and that, if he had been on the 
 outside at the head of twelve thousand troops, he should 
 have felt obliged to renounce the idea of relieving the 
 city.* " Antwerp cannot escape you," cc»nfes8ed the ve- 
 teran Huguenot, «' but must soon fall into your hands. 
 And when you enter, I would counsel you to hang up 
 your sword at its gate, and let its capture be the crown- 
 ing trophy in your list of victories." 
 
 /* You are right," answered Parma, " and many of my 
 fnends have given me the same advice; but how am I 
 to retird, engaged as I am for life in the service of mv 
 King?"' ^ 
 
 Such was the opinion of La Noue, a man whose love 
 for the reformed religion and for civil liberty can be as 
 little doubted as his competency to form an opinion 
 upon great military- subjects. As little could he bo 
 suspected— just coming as he did from an infamous 
 
 « Le PeUt, il. 518. Bor. il. 610-613 » Groen v. Prmsterer. ' Archive^ ' &c 
 '^' i.11-m, ^ Le Petit, il. 51S. 
 
 \ : 
 
222 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. V. 
 
 X. v.« "haa been at one time invited by 
 
 ^TlT^em^l^^^ co-Sition of allowing his eyes 
 
 K%ut"l^^^^^ partiality for that monarch or 
 
 his representative. ^ Holland and the 
 
 Moreover, although the °*^X desirous of relieving 
 
 English government were «^«/|y "^^[rioL with welf- 
 
 the°city, and were «-«-"Xd luthSs were lukc- 
 
 founded P-X:vfol tKeeland navy, from which so 
 
 warn, ll'^ °3X,^ere at last discouraged. They 
 much was expected ^^eie a j^^^j^i j„stmus de 
 
 drew up, signed ^^^ ™^^^ ^^^.^ that the Scheldt 
 Nassau, a formal opi"'°° ™ ,;„_rou8 places, and that 
 had now so many dry ^^.f *°f ^^rent from those 
 the tranquil B---;f -'S^f^Xo 71^, as to allow 
 
 'Ti; :rK--^^"'y ^° ^^ ^™^^^ *° ''''''' 
 
 %tf certainly was much to aisc°u«ge. and S^^^^^^ 
 Aldegondewasat.lengthdiscoumged^ Hef^^ ^^^ .^ 
 
 last hope of saving '^'^twerp was go , 
 all possibility of n^a'^t^VJ-'^S ^^Vw^Cn Provinces 
 Netherland <=o'?'"°'jrr*"-Rrussels Mechlin, had also 
 ^ere lost already ; Ghent, ^^^^^f^Xerp, Flanders 
 capitulated, and, .« h *o JaU of Antwe^?^^^^ ^^^^ 
 
 and Brabant must fall, ^f ^'^t,''"'";^ g^fered the heart 
 
 even to save Holland 't«f •. ^jXn J too soon to its 
 of the burgomaster and he hstenedto^^^^^^^^.^ 
 
 treacherous voice. \«t^'"\rinraained it practicable 
 
 state no lo^fj. "^ P°^^^Sb;n:goSn^^ IJ- 
 
 to secure religious Uborty oy "^S ^ otjects 
 
 He abandoned with a -^S^^^^ ^^ *X f^Hh Orange 
 
 for which he l'-^ «*["rt " ht it P«^^iWe to secure 
 for twenty years, but he tuougni y j. ye 
 
 the other. His purpose ''"^J *° ^^'"time to bring 
 capitulation for Antwerp and at *o ^^e tm ^^^^. 
 
 about the submission of Holland, Z««|'^*;* „^,„ <,er- 
 United Provinces, to the King of bpMn^ ^^^ 
 
 tainly was a 8^- Vh^AfrtolJ "nSltt! i'n the ranks 
 so conspicuous, and f "leito ^o c necessary, m 
 
 s-^cie™"'."-" « L - - * 
 
 2S1.298 ; • Rise of the DuU^h BepubUc. Metere 
 
 1.'85. 
 
 SAINTE ALDEGONDE DISCOURAGED. 
 
 223 
 
 crisis, to follow carefully his steps through the secret 
 path of negotiation into which he now entered, and in 
 which the Antwerp drama was to find its conclusion. In 
 these transactions the chief actors are, on the one side, 
 the Prince of Parma, as representative of absolutism and 
 the Papacy ; on the other, Sainte Aldegonde, who had 
 passed his life as the champion of the Eeformation. 
 
 No doubt the pressure upon the burgomaster was 
 very great. Tumults were of daily occurrence. Crowds 
 of rioters beset his door with cries of denunciations and 
 demands for bread. A large and turbulent mob upon 
 one occasion took possession of the horse-market, and 
 treated him with pei-sonal indignity and violence, when 
 he undertook to disperse them.^ On the other hand, 
 Parma had been holding out hopes of pardon with more 
 reasonable conditions than could well be expected, and 
 had, with a good deal of art, taken advantage of several 
 trivial circumstances to inspire the burghers with con- 
 fidence in his good-will. Thus, an infirm old lady in 
 the city happened to imagine herself so dependent upon 
 asses' milk as to have sent her purveyor out of the city, 
 at the peril of his life, to procure a sujjply from the 
 neiglihourhood. The young man was captured, brought 
 to Alexander, from whose hands he very naturally ex- 
 pected the punishment of a spy. The prince, however, 
 presented him, not only with his liberty, but with a 
 she-ass, and loaded the animal with partridges and 
 capons, as a present for the invalid. The magistrates, 
 hearing of the incident, and not choosing to be outdone 
 in courtesy, sent back a waggon-load of old wine and 
 remarkable confectionery as an offering to Alexander, 
 and with this interchange of dainties led the way to the 
 amenities of diplomacy.* 
 
 Sainto Aldegonde's position had become a painful one. 
 The net had been drawn closely about the city. The 
 bridge seemed impregnable, the great Kowenstj-n was 
 irrecoverably in the hands of the enemy, and now all 
 
 the lesser forts in the immediate vicinity of Antweip 
 
 Borght, lI(.l)oken, Cantecroix, Stralen, Berghen, and the 
 rest— had likewise fallen into his grasp. An account 
 of grain, taken on the 1st of June, gave an average of a 
 pound a-head for a month long, or half a pound for twc 
 
 > Bo ii. 605, 606. Hoofd Vervolgh, 108. 
 
 2 Slrada, ;L G72. 
 

 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. V. 
 
 1585. 
 
 HIS NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE ENEMY. 
 
 225 
 
 months.* This was not the famine -point according 
 Tthe standard which had once been established m 
 Leyden; but the courage of the burghers had been 
 rapidly oozing away, under the pressure of their recent 
 dS^^^ It neemed obvious to the burgomaster 
 
 that the time for yielding had amved. 
 
 - I had maintained the city," * he said, for a long 
 period, without any excessive tumult or great effusion 
 of bW-a city where there was such a multitude o 
 Vnh^hltants mostly merchants or artisans deprived ot 
 l-^K traffic! s4ped of their man^actures. des^tu^e 
 of all commodities and means of living. I had done this 
 in he midst of a great diversity of humours and 
 opinions, a vast popular licence, a confused anarchy, 
 among a great number of commanders, most of them 
 trxplrfenced in war; with very little authonty of my 
 o"™ with slender forces of ships, soldiers, and sailors; 
 with slight appearance of support from king or prmce 
 w hout, or of military garrison wiUim ; and under al 
 hese circumstances I exerted myse to do my uttermo. 
 duty in preserving the city, both in regard to its 
 Internal government, and by force of anns by land and 
 sea without sparing myself in any labour or peril. 
 
 '• 1 know very well that there aro many persons, who, 
 finding themselves quite at their ease, and far away 
 from the hard blows that are passing, are pleased to 
 exhibit their wisdom by sitting in judgment upon others 
 foiindinc their decision only upon the results. Hut l 
 domandTo be judged by equity and reason, when passion 
 hoLTen set' asfde. I claim that my honour sha 1 be 
 protected against my calumniators; for all diould 
 Remember that I am "^t^e first man nor shall I be 
 the last that has been blamed unjustly. All persons 
 emp oyed in PuW'c affairs are subject to such hazard.^ 
 but I submit myself to Ilim who knows aU hearts a'ul 
 who governs all. I take Him to witness that in th 
 affair of Antwerp, as in all my other actions since me 
 eariiest youth, I have most sincerely sought His gloo 
 
 vide 'Notices Historlqups ft BiblloRra- par Ldgar ^uUieh 
 phlques bur Philippe de Mumlx.' par 
 
 and the welfare of His poor people, without regard to 
 my own private interests." ' 
 
 For it is not alone the fate of Antwerp that is here to 
 be recorded. The fame of Sainte Aldegonde was now 
 seriously cunipromised. The character of a gi-eat man 
 must always be closely scanned and scrutinised ; pro- 
 tected, if needful, against calumny, but always unflinch- 
 ingly held up to the light. Names illustrious by genius 
 and virtue are History's most precious treasures, faith- 
 fully to be guarded by her, jealously to bo watched : 
 but it is always a misfortune when her eyes are deceived 
 by a glitter which is not genuine. 
 
 Sainte Aldegonde was a man of unquestionable 
 genius. His character had ever been beyond the re- 
 l)roach of self-seeking or ignoble ambition. He had 
 multiplied himself into a thousand forms to serve the 
 cause of the United Netherland States, and the services 
 so rendered had been brilliant and frequent. A great 
 change in his conduct and policy was now approaching-, 
 and It is therefore the more necessary to examine 
 closely at this epoch his attitude and his character. 
 
 Early m June, Kichardot, president of the council of 
 Artois, addressed a letter to Sainte Aldegonde, by com- 
 mand of Alexander of Tarma, suggesting a secret inter- 
 view between tlie burgomaster and the l*rince. 
 
 On the 8tli of June Sainte Aldegonde replied in 
 tavourublo ternus as to the interview ; but observed 
 that as he was an official personage, it was necessarv 
 tor hini to communicate the project to the magis£tacy of 
 the city. Ho expressed likewise the hope that Farma 
 would embrace the ])resent opportunity for ma^inff a 
 general treaty with ail the Provinces. A speiiidaccord 
 with Antwerp, leaving out Holland and Zeeland, would 
 he said, lead to the utter desolation of that citv and to 
 the destniction of its commerce and manufactures while 
 the occasion now presented itself to the Prince of 
 - winning prai.se and immortal glory by bringing back 
 all the country o a voluntary and prompt obedience to 
 his Majesty. He proposed, that, instead of his comin<. 
 alone, there should be a number of deputies sent from 
 Antwerp to confer with Alexander.'' 
 
 V OL. I. 
 
VI 
 
 Wt 
 
 226 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Ciup. V. 
 
 On the nth Juno Kiclm,-dot replied by expressing 
 his own rcc-rets and those of the Prince that Ihe inter- 
 V ew^nW not have been with the burgomaster alone, 
 but a^toowledging the weight of his reasons and aeqm- 
 escin^ in Ae pro^sition to send a larger deputation. 
 Thief days after^Wds, Sainte Aldegonde, on pnvato 
 ionritatt^n with some -uMential ,...onages ch^^^^ 
 his irround- announced his preference toi a pinaio 
 ill. view under four eyes, with Parma ; and requested 
 hata ;:i;port might be'sent The passport wa.a<.ord- 
 ingly forwarded the same day with ^-L f P™^.*";"" "^^ 
 Alexander's gratification, and with the offer, on the part 
 ^^Kfchardott to come himself to fnt^^T- as hostage 
 during the absence of the burgomaster m larmas camp 
 
 "iTintrAWegondo was accordingly about to start on 
 
 the follo^ne day (16th of June), but meantime tl,e 
 
 the fo"o«^^? ay ^ ^i„d. A secret interview, thus 
 
 loh jone. anajr iiau y ■- „„„„ipd bv the citizens as 
 
 ..».. projected, ^as regarded ^y ' « .^^.^^^ 
 
 extremely -X'^^I^^^Jalu^^mly Solent demonstra- 
 
 tZ ''""'SdSnX'theT -y. - g-"S *" -« ^^™f 
 •T' . ;^ fho hnr< hers " which^ives much dissatiN- 
 naid one of the ^^^r^'J.*^^^^', .y,^. l.e will make a treatv 
 taction, because 'tis feared that lie ^'^* ^^l' jx-^y^^eg. 
 accordimMo the appetite and pleasure of ^^^^^^/S*^^^^^^^^^ 
 
 number of burghers. Last Sunday .O'^tl^.-f ""^^X " 
 wL a meeting of the broad council. Ihe preachei-s 
 rame1nr:LLembly,and.soammated^h^^^^^^^^ 
 
 demonstrations of their religion *^te^\i^t they d^ not 
 council-house, crying with loud ^ oices tnai luej 
 
 unfortunately, *»»« ^ntwen^- h-^ - ;1;7^^: At 
 vigorous or so united in tneir re!3ibuiu^.u 
 
 . K,c^„. .0 Man.,..i. June u«». ^;^j:p:vir:i'':z':i 
 
 "!--A.d«onded,t lu'U veult .l..r. c. n,» >»^°"«;',' ^ ^^^Z'^wl 
 o,« plu,ieunrt.. bourgeoi, ne veument i™r ''"f,"";v^"'„, " Cl.e '"Ix <l"'i" 
 
 1585. 
 
 CORRESPONDENCE WITH RICHARDOT. 
 
 227 
 
 present, however, they were very furious, so soon as the 
 secret purpose of Sainte Aldegonde became generally 
 known. The proposed capitulation, which great mobs 
 had been for weeks long savagely demanding at the 
 hands of the burgomaster, was now ascribed to the 
 burgomaster's unblushing corruption. He had obviously, 
 they thought, been purchased by Spanish ducats to do 
 what he had hitherto been so steadily refusing-. A 
 certain Van Weme had gone from Antwerp into Holland 
 a few days before upon his own private affairs, with a 
 safe-conduct from Tarma. Sainte Aldegonde had not 
 communicated to him the project then on foot, but he 
 hatl permitted him to seek a secret interview with Count 
 Mansfeld. If that were granted, Van Wenie was to 
 hint that in case the Provinces could promise themselves 
 a religious peace, it would be possible, in the opinion of 
 Sainto Aldegonde, to induce Holland and Zeeland, and 
 all the rest of the United Provinces, to return to their 
 obedience. Van Weme, on his return to Antweii) 
 divulged these secret negotiations, and so put a stop to 
 bamte Aldegonde's scheme of going alone to Parma. 
 ** Ihis has given a bad suspicion to the people," wrote 
 the burgomaster to Kichardot, -so much so that I fear 
 to have trouble. Tlie broad council has been in session, 
 but 1 don t know what has taken place there, and I do 
 not dare to ask." > 
 
 Sainte Aldegonde's motive, as avowed by himself for 
 seeking a private interview, was because he had received 
 no answer to the main point in his first letter, as to the 
 proposition for a general accord. In order therefore 
 to make the deliberations more rapid, he had been 
 disposed to discuss that preliminary question in secret. 
 Put now, said he to Kichardot, - as the affair has been 
 too much divulged, as well by diverse reports and 
 writings sown about, very inopportunely, as by the 
 arrival of M. Van Weme, I have not found it practicable 
 o set out upon my road, without communication with 
 the members of the government. ITiis has been done 
 however, not in the way of consultation, but as the' 
 announcement of a thing already resolved upon " « 
 
 iiMMiucr, ecnw sera68 mal a propos, comme par la 
 venue de S' Van Wome. Je n'ay trouvtf 
 g 2 
 
22S 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. V. 
 
 :l 
 
 y 
 
 rt I 
 
 He proceeded to state that great difficulties had arisen, 
 exactly as he had foreseen, 'i'he magistrates would not 
 hear of a general accord, and it was therefore necessary 
 that a delay should bo interposed before it would be 
 possible for him to come. He begged Kichardot to 
 persuade Alexander that he was not trifling with him. 
 "It is not," said he, "from lightness, or any other 
 passion, that 1 am retarding this affair. I will do all in 
 my power to obtain leave to make a journey to the (^amp 
 of his Highness, at whatever price it may cost, and I 
 hope iKjfore long to arrive at my object. If I fail, it 
 must ho ascribed to the humours of the people ; for my 
 anxiety to restore all the Provinces to obedience to his 
 Majesty is extreme." ' 
 
 Kichardot, in reply, the next day, expressed regret, 
 without astonishment, on the part of Alexander and 
 n.h June, himself, at the intelligence thus received. 
 15^5. ' People had such difference of humour, he said, 
 and all men were not equally capable of reason. Never- 
 theless the citizens were warned not to misconstrue 
 Parma's gentleness, because he was determined to die, 
 with his whole army, rather than not take Antwerp. 
 " As for the King," said Kichardot, '* he will lay down 
 all his crowns sooner than abandon this enterprise."^ 
 Van Wenie was represented as free from blame, and 
 sincerely desirous of peace. Kichardot had only stated 
 to him, in general terms, tbat letters had been received 
 from Sainte Aldegonde, expressing an opinion in favour 
 of peace. As for the royalists, they were quite innocent 
 of the reports and writings that had so inopportunely 
 been circulated in the city. It was desirable, however, 
 that the negociation should not too long be deferred, for 
 otherwise Antwerp might perish before a geneml accord 
 with Holland and Zeeland could be made. He begged 
 Sainte Aldegonde to banish all anxiety as to Parma's 
 sentiments towards himself or the community. " Put 
 yourself. Sir, quite at your ease," said he. '* His Highness 
 is in no respects dissatisfied witli you, nor prone to 
 
 fuiaable de me mettre en chemln, sans le » Ibid. 
 
 communlqiier aux membree, non paa '•« Kichardot to Mamlx, 17 June, 1585, 
 
 toutelois en forme de deliberation, mala MS. " Mettra toutes seo couronn^s plu- 
 
 comme une chose que nous avlons reso- tot qu'abandonner cette enireprise," &c. 
 lue." Manil.x to Kichardot, MS., ubi sup. 
 
 I 
 
 1585. 
 
 COMMOTION IN THE CITY. 
 
 220 
 
 conceive any indignation against this poor people " » 
 He assured the burgomaster tliat he was not suspected 
 ot lightness, nor of a wish to delay matters but Im 
 expre«,s«d solicitude with regard to^h^ .hXa ienin-! 
 demonstrations >vhich had been made again.t him "S 
 
 lull of a thousand hazards, and it would be infinitelv 
 painful to mo if you should come to harm." ' """'"'^'^ 
 Ihus It ^yould appear that it was Sainte Aldegonde 
 «^ho was ehiefly anxious to eifeet the mooncilialfon of 
 Holland and Zeeland with the King. The initiative f 
 this p.„je<;t to mclude all the Inittd Provinces i one 
 scheme with the reduction of Antwerp came orij^ nX 
 om him and was opp.«ed, at the out.^t, by <he^n^ 'i2^ 
 trates of that city, by the Prince of Pama and 1^ 
 couneillors, and by the States of Holland and ZM 
 iho demonstmtions on the part of the preachers tie' 
 municipal authorities, and the burghers, Lil^ t &.in o 
 Aldegonde a,Ki his plan for a .ecret int^rfiew so ^on 
 
 ;:itrtoSr ' '"^^ ^' '-^-^^'^ ^ -^' ^ 
 
 about soiie kind of .u^5=ia !„ ft' anT;,*:, '^"j"f 
 ma«ifeste<l a desire to come hither for the 'ak; of a 
 personal inteixiew with me, which I jK^rmit ted Jt wVs 
 to have taken place last Sun.lay, 10th of ths month b»? 
 by reason of a certain popular tumult, whicCos^o 
 
 atT!:r;\rtSo^;Ts*"n^it^ 
 
 impertinent demonstration.s on the p-.n of som 7 ''"'^ 
 people," wrote Kichardot, ten days'^rt^r •• w HI IjT 
 destruction of the whole countrj^ aXwill ^l'^^ t 
 
 ^ 1 " Bref, Monsieur, mettez von* n repos. 
 Car son Altoss.. n'est en rlen mal satUfaite 
 <Je vous, ni ladle a amcevoir qiielque m- 
 Ulgnation cwitrc ce pauvre peuule " MS 
 ubimp. 
 
 2 " Car les gouvernemetjs populalres 
 fiont plains de mil hazards, et il me dts- 
 plalralt inHnimcut que vous eussiez maL" 
 i^ioid.) 
 
 * '*De ocho dia« La procurado AUe- 
 
 gonda. qnl golxma Anveres, travar alini,,.! 
 platica de acuenio con aquella villa, ni„s- 
 trando dessoo do qnerer venir el ml.mo 
 a verse conmlgo, lof,«el le perniite. Jfaviu 
 de haverlo hecho e.te ultimo donnnfio l« 
 
 tumi to p.,puiar, que sobrc el caso havl;i 
 Fucedldo la ha tenldo par differirlo " 
 
 'I 
 
 i 
 
 if 
 
230 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. V. 
 
 
 1\ 
 
 
 Prince's gentleness into anger. *Tis these good and 
 zealous patriots, trusting to a little favourable breeze 
 that blew for a few days past, who have been the cause 
 of all this disturbance, and who are mining their miser- 
 able country— miserable, I say, for having produced 
 such abortions as themselves." ' -r,. , j ^ 
 
 Notwithstanding what had passed, however, Kichardot 
 intimated that Alexander was still ready to negociate. 
 " And if you. Sir," he concluded, in his letter to Alde- 
 o-onde '• conceniing whom many of our friends have at 
 present a sinister opinion,-as if your object were to 
 circumvent ns,-are willing to proceed roundly and 
 frankly, as I myself fiimly believe that yon will do, we 
 may yet hope for a favourable issne." * 
 
 thus the burgomaster was already the object ot sus- 
 Dicion to both parties. The Antwerpers denounced him 
 as having been purchased by Spanish gold ; the royalists 
 accused him of intending to overreach the King. It was 
 not probable therefore that all were correct m their 
 
 ^^At^last it was arranged that deputies should be 
 appointed by the broad council to commence a negoci- 
 5tb July ation with Parma. Sainte Aldegonde informed 
 1585. ' Eiohardot. that he would accompany them, il 
 his affairs should permit. He protested his sincerity 
 and frankness throughout the whole affair. " 1 hey try 
 to calumniate me," he said, "as much on one side as on 
 the other, but I will overcome by my innocence a 1 the 
 malice of my slanderers. If his Highness should be 
 pleased to grant us some liberty for our religion, 1 dare 
 to promise such faithful sei^ice as will give very great 
 
 Rd>tis%faction 
 
 Four days later, Sainte Aldegonde himself, together 
 with M. de Duffel, U. de Schoonhoven, and Adrian 
 Hesselt, came to Parma's camp at Beveren, as deputies 
 on the part of the Antwerp authorities. They were 
 courteously received by the Prince, and remained three 
 days as his guests. During the period of this visit the 
 temis of a capitulation were thoronghly discussed, 
 
 1 Kichardot to Mamlx. 30 June. 1585. Arch, de Sim. MS 
 
 - Ce sont ces bons et zeleus patrlote« qui ^ n,cbard«t to Mam!^. 30 June. 1 5h^ 
 
 ruynont Uur miserable patrie. misemble. ' Mamlx to Rlcliaulot. 5 July. 158o. 
 
 dis Je, d'avolr prodult tela avortous." Arch, de Sim. MS. 
 
 1585. 
 
 INTERVIEW OF MAKNIX WITH PARMA. 
 
 231 
 
 between Alexander and his councillors upon one part 
 and the four deputies on the other. The envoys 
 endeavoured, with all the arguments at their command, 
 to obtain the consent of the Piince to three preliminary' 
 points which they laid down as indispensable. Keligious 
 liberty must be granted, the citadel must not be recon- 
 structed, a foreign garrison must not be admitted, they 
 said. As it was the firm intention of tlie King, however 
 not to make the slightest concession on any one of these 
 points, the discussion was not a very profitable one 
 Besides the public interviews at which all the nco-oci- 
 ators were present, there was a private confei^nce 
 between Panna and Sainte Aldegonde which lasted more 
 than four hours, in which each did his best to enforce his 
 opinions upon the other. The burgomaster endeavoured 
 to persuade the l»rince, with all the eloquence for which 
 he was so renowned, that the hearts not of the Antwerpers 
 only, but of the Hollanders and Zeelanders, were eiily 
 to be won at that moment. Give them religious liberty 
 and attempt to govern them by gentleness rather thaii 
 by bpanish garrisons, and the road was plain to a com- 
 plete reconciliation of all the Provinces with his 
 Majesty. 
 
 Alexander, who knew his master to be inexorable 
 upon these three points, was courteous but peremptory 
 in his statements. He recommended that the rebels 
 should take into consideration their own declinino- 
 strength, the inexhaustible resources of the Kino- th? 
 impossibility of obtaining succour from France, and the 
 perplexing dilatoriness of England, rather than waste 
 their time in idle expectations of a change in the 
 bpanish policy. He also intimated, obliquely but very 
 plainb% to Sainte Aldegonde, that his own fortune 
 would be made, and that he had everything to hope from 
 his Majesty 8 buuiity, if he were now willing to make 
 himself useful m carrying into effect the royal plans » 
 
 1 he Prince urged these views with so much eloquence, 
 that ho seemed, m his own words, to have been directly 
 inspired by the Lord for this special occasion.* Sainto 
 Aldegonde, too was signally impressed by Alexanders 
 language, and thoroughly fascinated-magnetized, as it 
 
 ' Strada. il 379. Comp. Bor. IL 606. Hoofd yervolgb, 109. 
 * btrada, ubi sup. 
 
 i 
 
 H 
 
 I « 
 
 ) E 4 
 
232 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. V. 
 
 ■I 
 
 were — by his character. He subsequently declared 
 that he had often conversed familiarly with many elo- 
 quent personages, but that he had never known a man 
 more powerful or persuasive than the Prince of Parma.' 
 He could honestly say of him— as Hasdrubal had said 
 of Scipio — that Farnese was even more admirable when 
 seen face to face, than he had seemed when one only 
 heard of his glorious achievements.* 
 
 " The burgomaster and three deputies," wrote Parma 
 to Philip, '* were here until the 12th July. We dis- 
 30th July, cussed the points and form of a capitulation, 
 1585. jm^i iiiey liave gone back thoroughly satisfied. 
 Sainte Aldegonde especially was much pleased with tho 
 long interview which he had with me, alone, and which 
 lasted more than three hours. I told him, as well as 
 my weakness and siiifering from the tertian fever 
 peimitted, all that God inspired me to say on our 
 behalf." ' 
 
 Nevertheless, if Sainte Aldegonde and his colleagues 
 went away thoroughly satisfied, they had reason, soon 
 after their return, to become thoroughly dejected. The 
 magistrates and burr:;hers would nut listen to a pro- 
 position to abandon the three points, however strongly 
 urged to do so by aiguments drawn from the necessity 
 of' the situation, and by representations of Parma's 
 benignity. As for the burgomaster, he became tho 
 target for calumny, so soon as his three hours' private 
 interview became known ; and the citizens loudly 
 declared that his head ought to be cut off, and sent in 
 a bag, as a present, to Pliilip, in order that the traitor 
 might meet tho sovereign with whom he sought a 
 reconciliation, face to face, as soon as possible.* 
 
 The deputies, immediately after their return, made 
 
 their report to the magistrates, as likewise to the 
 
 f. 15th July, cohmels and captains, and to the deans of 
 
 1585. guilds. Next day, although it was Sunday, 
 
 there was a session of the broad council, and Sainte 
 
 Aldegonde made a long address, in which—as he stated 
 
 » Stnida, «M sup. 3 horas tuve, dizlendole lo que Dios m'" 
 
 2 Ibid. Inspire a n™ propoelto, y mejor me per- 
 
 * "Se dieron los pnnfos y forma (\(\ niitl6 laflrquezay iravajodeliitrciana." 
 
 nraenlo. con qu<» t(in\aii>n ii yr niuy ranna to I'hiilp II., 30 July, 15S5, Aivh. 
 
 ^atlsfech^>««, y el Aldeg^« en psirHculur de de Sim. MS. 
 
 la larga platica que a solas tx>n el mas de * Bor, 11. 606. Hoofd Vervolgh, 109 
 
 I 
 
 1585. 
 
 SUSPICIOUS CONDUCT OF MARXIX. 
 
 233 
 
 in a letter to Eichardot — he related everything that had 
 passed in his private conversation Avith Alexander. An 
 answer was promised to Parma on the followino- 
 Tuesday, but the burgomaster spoke very discouragino-ly 
 as to the probability of an accord.^ ^ 
 
 *' The joy with w^hich our return was gieeted," he 
 said, " was followed by a general disappointment' and 
 sadness so soon as the result was known. The want of 
 a relitvious toleration, as well as the refusal to concede 
 on the other two points, has not a little altered the 
 hearts of all, evni of the Catholics. A citadel and a 
 garrison are considered iiiin and desolation to a great 
 commercial city. I have done what I can to urge the 
 acceptance of Mich conditions as the Prince is willin"- 
 to give, and have spoken in general terms of his benign 
 intentioiLs. The citiz.ens still desire peace. Had his 
 Highness been willing to take both religions under 
 his protection, he miglit have won all hearts, and very 
 soon all the other Provinces would have returned to 
 their obedience, while the clemency and magnanimity 
 of his Majesty would thus have been rendered admirable 
 throughout the Avorld." * 
 
 The power to form an accurate conception as to the 
 nature of Philip and of other personages Avith whom he 
 was dealing, and as to the general signs of his times, 
 seems to have been wanting in the character of the 
 gifted Aldegonde. 1 le had been dazzled by the personal 
 presence of Parma, find he now spoke of Philip II. as 
 if his tyranny over the Netherlands— which for twenty 
 years had been one horrible and uniform whole -^ were 
 the accidental result of circumstances, not the necessary 
 expression of his individual character, and mi<rht be 
 easily changed at will— as if Nero, at a moment's" warn- 
 ing, might transfonn himself into Trajan. It is true 
 that the innermost soul of the Spanish king could by 
 no possibility be displayed to any contemporary, as it 
 reveals itself, after three centuries, to those who study 
 the record of his most secret thoughts ; but, at any rate. 
 It would seem that his career had been sufficiently con- 
 sistent to manifest the amount of '^ clemency and mao-- 
 nanimity ' which he might be expected to exercise. ^ 
 " Had his Majesty," wrote Sainte Aldegonde, '• been 
 
 : ilamlx to Klchardot, 15 July, 15^5. MS. 2 ibid. 
 
 it 
 
 "t 
 
I 
 
 mK 
 
 234 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. V. 
 
 willing, since Ihe year sixty-six, to pursue a course of 
 15th July, toleration, the memory of his reign would 
 
 1585. have been sacred to all posterity, with an 
 immortal praise of sapience, benignity, and sovereign 
 felicity." ' 
 
 This might be true, but nevertheless a tolerating 
 Philip, in the year 1585, ought to have seemed to 
 Sainte Aldegonde an impoKsible idea. 
 
 " The emperors," continued the burgomaster, " who 
 immediately succeeded Tiberius were the cause of the 
 wisdom which displayed itself in the good Trajan — also 
 a Spaniard — and in Antoninus, Verus, and the rest.* 
 If you think that this city, by the banishment of a 
 certain number of persons, will be content to abandon 
 the profession of the reformed faith, you are much 
 mistaken. You will see, with time, that the exile of 
 this religion will be accompanied by a depopulation 
 and a sorrowful ruin and desolation of this flourishing 
 city. But this will be as it pleases God. Meantime 1 
 shall not fail to make all possible exertions to induce 
 the citizens to consent to a reconciliation with his 
 Majesty. The broad council will soon give their 
 answer, and then we shall send a deputation. We shall 
 invite Holland and Zeeland to join with us, but there is 
 little hope of their consent." ^ 
 
 Certainly there was little hope of their consent. 
 Sainte Aldegonde was now occupied in bringing about 
 the capitulation of Antwerp, without any provision for 
 religious liberty — a concession which Parma had most 
 distinctly refused— and it was not probable that Holland 
 and Zeeland, after twenty years of hard fighting, and 
 with an immediate prospect of assistance from England, 
 could now be induced to resign the groat object of 
 the contest without further struggle. 
 
 It was not until a month had elapsed that the 
 
 authorities of Antwerp sent their propositions to the 
 
 12th Aug. Prince of Parma. On the 12th August, ho w- 
 
 i5a5. ever, Sainte Aldegonde, accompanied by the 
 ssame three gentlemen who had been employed on the 
 first mission, and by seventeen others besides, proceeded 
 
 1 Marnix toIlichardot.JustcJted. ment le bon Trajan, anssl Espagnol, et 
 
 « * I^s premiers emperpurs apres Ty- puis Aiitonlii, Verus," &c (IbldJ 
 bere rendlreiii sages et advisez premiere- * Ibid. 
 
 1585. 
 
 DEPUTATION TO THE PRINCa 
 
 235 
 
 with safe-conduct to the camp at Beveren. Here they 
 were received with great urbanity, and hospitably 
 entertained by Alexander, who received their formal 
 draft of articles for a capitulation, and referred it to be 
 reported upon to llichardot, Pamel, and Vanden Burgh. 
 Meantime there were many long speeches and seveial 
 conferences — sometimes between all the twenty- one 
 envoys and the Prince together ; on other occasions, 
 more secret ones, at which only Aldegonde and one 
 or two of his colleagues were present. It had been 
 obvious, from the date of the first interview, in the 
 preceding month, that the negociation would be of no 
 avail until the government of Antwei'p was prepared to 
 abandon all the conditions which they had originally 
 announced as indispensable. Alexander had not much 
 disposition and no authority whatever to make con- 
 cessions. 
 
 "So far as I can understand," Parma had written on 
 the 30th July, "they are very far from a conclusion. 
 They have most exorbitant ideas, talking of some kind 
 of liberty of conscience, besides refusing on any account 
 to accept of garrisons, and having many reasons to 
 allege on such subjects." * 
 
 The discussions, therefore, after the deputies had 
 at last arrived, though courteously conducted, could 
 scarcely be satisfactory to both parties. " The articles 
 were thoroughly deliberated upon," WTote Alexander, 
 " by all the deputies, nor did I fail to have private con- 
 ferences with Aldegonde, that most skilful and practised 
 lawyer and politician,* as well as with two or three of 
 the others. I did all in my power to bring them to 
 a thorough recognition of their errors, and to produce 
 a confidence in his Majesty's clemency, in order that 
 they might concede what was needful for the interests 
 of the Catholic religion and the security of the city. 
 They hoard all I had to say without exasperating them- 
 selves, and without interposing any strong objections, 
 except in the matter of religion, and, still more, in the 
 matter of the citadel and the garrison. Aldegonde took 
 
 I « Hitota agora blen lejos de concluyr, cion. alepando nmchas cosas in su favor " 
 
 Bpgmn las exhorvitancias que pr^st-ntan MS. letter, 30 July, 1585 
 de qucrer alguna fomia de llbertad de 2 " Tan plaiico letrado y politico " 
 
 consclencla,y en nlnguiia ma«era, guanii- I-amm to PhUlp II., 25 Aug 1535, MS " 
 
 f 11 
 
 if 
 
236 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. V 
 
 
 much pains to persuade me that it would be ruinous 
 for a great, opulent, commercial city to submit to a 
 foreign military force. Even if compelled by necessity 
 to submit now, the inhabitants would soon be com- 
 pelled by the same necessity to abandon the place 
 entirely, and to leave in ruins one of the most si}lendid 
 and powerful cities in the world, and in this opinion 
 Catholics and heretics unanimously concurred. The de- 
 puties protested, with one accord, that so pernicious and 
 abominable a thing as a citadel and garrison could not 
 even be proposed to their constituents. I answered, 
 that, so long as the rebellion of Holland and Zeeland 
 lasted, it would be necessary for your Majesty to make 
 sure of Antwerp by one or the other of those means, 
 but promised that the city should be relieved of the 
 incumbrance so soon as those islands should be re- 
 duced. 
 
 *' Sainte Aldegonde was not discouraged by this state- 
 ment, but in the hope of convincing others, or with the 
 wish of showing that he had tried his best, desired that 
 I would hear him before the council of state. 1 granted 
 the request, and Sainte Aldegonde then made another 
 long and very elegant oration, intended to diveit me 
 from my resolution." ' 
 
 It must be confessed— if the reports, which have come 
 do^v^l to us of that long and elegant oration be correct — 
 that llie enthusiasm of the burgomaster for Alexander 
 was rapidly degenerating into idolatry. 
 
 " We are not here, O invincible Prince," he said, 
 *' that we may excuse, by an anxious legation, the long 
 defence which we have made of our homes. Who 
 could have feared any danger to the most powerful city 
 in the Netlierlands from so moderate a besieging force ? 
 You would yourself have rather wished for, than ap- 
 proved of, a greater facility on our part, for the bravo 
 cannot love the timid. We knew the number of your 
 troops, we had discovered the famine in your camp, wo 
 were aware of the paucity of your ships, we had heard of 
 the quarrels in your army, we were ex]iecting daily to 
 hear of a general mutiny among your soldiers. Were we 
 to believe that with ten or eleven thousand men you 
 
 » "Otra larga y mny ekgante oracion pue»t«>." JCc. Parma to Thilip II., MS. 
 directiva a desviar me tie ml pro- Just cited. • 
 
 158 
 
 o. 
 
 OI^ATION OF MARNIX. 
 
 237 
 
 would be able to block up the city by land and water, 
 to reduce the open coimtry of Brabant, to cut off all aid 
 as well from the neighbouring towns as from the pow- 
 erful provinces of Holland and Zeeland, to oppose, 
 without a navy, the whole strength of our fleets, di- 
 rected against the dyke ? Truly, if you had been at 
 the head of fit ty thousand soldiers, and every soldier 
 had possessed one hundred hands, it would have seemed 
 impossible for you to meet so many emergencies, in so 
 many places, and under so many distractions. A\hat 
 you have done we now believe possible to do, only 
 because we see that it has been done. You have subju- 
 gated the Scheldt, and forced it to bear its bridge, not- 
 withstanding the strength of its current, the fury of the 
 ocean-tides, the tremendous power of the icebergs, the 
 l)erpetual conflicts with our fleets. We destroyed your 
 bridge, with great slaughter of your troops. Kendered 
 more courageous by that slaughter, you restored that 
 mighty work. We assaulted the great dyke, pierced it 
 through and through, and opened a path for our ships. 
 You drove us oti' when victors, repaired the ruined bul- 
 wark, and again closed to us the avenue of relief. 
 Mhiit machine was there that we did not employ ? what 
 miracles of fire did we not invent? what fleets and 
 floating citadels did we not put in motion? All that 
 genius, audacity, and art could teach us we have exe- 
 cuted, calling to our assistance water, earth, heaven, 
 and hell itself. Yet with all these ettbrts, with all this 
 enginry, we have not only failed to drive you from our 
 walls, but we have seen- you gaining victories over other 
 cities at the same time. You have done a thing, O 
 Prince, than which there is nothing greater either in 
 ancient or modem story. It has often occurred, while 
 a general was besieging one city, that he lost another 
 situate iarther off. But you, while besieging Antwerp 
 have reduced simultaneously Dendermonde, Ghent' 
 Nymegen, Brussels, and Mechlin." » ' 
 
 » The oration is roportM by Strada, li. 
 n74-376, who Imd acci-ss to more of Far- 
 nose's papers than will probably ever be 
 In the possession of any other writer. It 
 is possible that the har.inpiie is indebted 
 for some of its d ■clamatorj* exuberance 
 to the imagination of ihe historian; but 
 
 I have foimd the Joswlt, In general, very 
 accurate in transcribing and translating 
 the diplomatic documents relating to his 
 hero. A circum>tantlal account of this 
 particular interview between the Prince 
 and Mamlx. with a full report of this 
 oration by the latter, Is not among Ute 
 
 IJ ' 
 
 I 
 
 1 
 
 
238 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. V. 
 
 ♦* 
 
 All this, and much more, with florid rhetoric, the 
 hurgomaster pronounced in honour of Farneso, and the 
 eulogy was entirely deserved. It was hardly becoming, 
 however, for such lips, at such a moment, to sound the 
 praise of him whoso victory had just decided the down- 
 fall of religious liberty, and of the national independence 
 of the Netherlands. His colleagues certainly must have 
 winced as they listened to commendations so lavishly 
 bestowed upon the representative of Philip, and it is 
 not surprising that Sainte Aldegonde's gro^idng unpo- 
 pularity should, from that hour, have rapidly increased. 
 To abandon the whole object of the siege, when resist- 
 ance seemed hopeless, was perhaps pardonable, but to 
 offer such lip-homage to the conqueror was surely trans- 
 gressing the bounds of decorum. 
 
 His conclusion, too, might to Alexander seem as inso- 
 lent as the whole tenor of his address had been humble ; 
 for, after pronouncing this solemn eulogy upon the con- 
 queror, he calmly proposed that the prize of the contest 
 should be transferred to the conquered. 
 
 ** So long as liberty of religion, and immunity from 
 citadel and garrison, can be relied ui)on," he said, '*so 
 long will Antwerp remain the most splendid and flou- 
 rishing city in Christendom ; but desolation will ensue 
 if the contrary policy is to prevail." * 
 
 But it was very certain that liberty of religion, as 
 well as immunity from citadel and garrison, were quite 
 out of the question, l^hilip and Parma had long been 
 inexorably resolved upon all the three points. 
 
 *' After the burgomaster had finished his oration," 
 wrote Alexander to his sovereign, "I discussed the 
 matter with him in private, very distinctly and mi- 
 
 mitely." * 
 
 The religious point was soon given up, Sainte Alde- 
 gonde finding it waste of breath to say anything more 
 about freedom of conscience. A suggestion was howevei 
 made on the subject of the garrison, which the Prince 
 accepted, because it contained a condition which it 
 would be easy to evade. 
 
 " Aldegonde proposed," said Parma, " that a garrison 
 might be admissible if I made my entrance into the city 
 
 Simancas MSS. ; and I have therefore 
 relied upon Strada. 
 
 « Strada, it 374-376. 
 
 * MS. letter of 24 Aug, IMS, before citc<l 
 
 1585. 
 
 PRIVATE VIEWS OF PARMA. 
 
 239 
 
 merely with infantry and cavalry of nations which were 
 acceptable— Walloons, namely, and Germans— and in 
 no greater numbers than sufficient for a body-o-uard. I 
 accepted, because, in substance, this would amount to a 
 garrison, and because, also, after the magistrates shall 
 have been changed, 1 shall have no difficulty in making 
 myself master of the people, continuing the gamson, 
 and rebuilding the citadel." * 
 
 The Prince proceeded to give his reasons why he was 
 willing to accept the capitulation on what he con- 
 sidered so favourable terms to the besieged. Autumn 
 was approaching. Already the fury of the storms had 
 driven vessels clean over the dykes; the rebels in 
 Holland and Zeeland were preparing their fleets aug- 
 mented by many new ships of war and fire-machines— 
 for another desperate attack upon the Palisades, in 
 which there was great possibility of their succeeding • 
 an auxiliary force from England was soon expected ; so 
 that, m view of all these circumstances, he had resolved 
 to throw himself at his Majesty's feet and implore his 
 clemency. "Jf this people of Antwerp, as the head 
 IS gained," said he, " there will be tranquillity in all the 
 members." * 
 
 These reasons were certainly conclusive ; nor is it 
 easy to believe that, under the circumstances thus 
 succinctly ytated by Alexander, it would have been 
 impossible for the patriots to hold out until the promised 
 succour from Holland and from England should arrive. 
 In point of fact, the bridge could not have stood the 
 winter which actually ensued ; for it was the repeatedly 
 expressed opinion of the Spanish officers in Antwerp 
 that the icebergs which then filled the Scheldt must 
 inevit^ibly have shattered twenty bridges to fragments 
 had there been so many.'* It certainly was superfluous 
 tor the 1 rince to make excuses to Philip for acceptincr 
 the proposed capitulation. All the prizes of victor? 
 had been thoroughly secured, unless pillage, massacre 
 and rape, which had been the regular accompaniments 
 ot Alvas victories, were to be reckoned amono- the 
 indispensable trophies of a Spanish triumph. "^ 
 
 I MS. letter of 25 Aiig. 1585, before blen y tninquilidad a lo« irlembroe que 
 
 , -.v ^ , restan.-'&c (Ibid.) 
 
 Y pues do la que ee usasse con » Le Petit, 11. 5u2. 
 cste pncblo, como cabeza, ha de resultar 
 
 'll 
 
 I' 
 
 
 ll! 
 
''\\ 
 
 240 
 
 <n 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. V. 
 
 T^everthelcss, the dearth in the city had been well 
 concealed froiu the enemy ; for, three days after the 
 surrender, not a loaf of bread was to be had for any 
 money in all Antwerp, and Alexander declared that he 
 would never have granted such easy conditions had he 
 been aware of the real condition of affairs.' 
 
 The articles of capitulation agreed upon between 
 Tarma and the deputies were brought before the broad 
 council on the 9th August There was much opposition 
 to them, as many magistrates and other influential 
 personages entertained sanguine expectations from the 
 English negotiation, and were beginning to rely with 
 confidence ui)on the promises of Queen Elizabeth. The 
 debate was waxing warm, when some of the councillors, 
 looking out of window of the great hall, perceived that 
 a violent mob had collected in the streets.* Furious 
 cries for bread were uttered, and some meagre-looking 
 individuals were thrust forward to indicate the famine 
 which was prevailing, and the necessity of concluding 
 the treaty without further delay. Thus the municipal 
 government was perpetually exposed to democratic 
 violence, excited by diametrically opposite influences. 
 Sometimes the burgomaster was denoimced for having 
 sold himself and his country to the Spaniards, and wjis 
 assailed with execrations for being willing to conclude 
 a sudden and disgraceful peace.=* At other moments he 
 was accused of forging letters containing promises of 
 succour from the Queen of England and from the 
 authorities of Holland, in order to protract the lingering 
 tortures of the war.* Upon this occasion the peace mob 
 oaiTied its point. The councillors looking out of win- 
 dow rushed into the hall with direful accounts of the 
 popular ferocity ; the magistrates and colonels who had 
 been warmest in opposition suddenly changed their 
 tone, and the whole body of the broad council accepted 
 the articles of capitulation by a unanimous vote.* 
 
 The window was instantly thrown open, and the 
 decision publicly announced. ITie populace, wild with 
 delight, rushed through the streets, tearing down the 
 arms of the Duke of Anjou, which had remained above 
 the public edifices since the period of that personage's 
 
 * Meteren. xll. 225. * U Petit. 11. 513. 
 
 4 iteDtiv«>gIlo, p. IL L iU. aS2. 
 
 « Bor, 11. 609. 
 * Le Petit, ubi tup. 
 
 1585. 
 
 CAPITULATION OF ANTWERP. 
 
 241 
 
 temporary residence m the Netheriands, and substi. 
 tutmg, with wonderful celerity, the escutcheon onZt 
 
 l«Lf'''"f ^^"' "-^^^f^^^ ^^"^^ -^ Antwerp mot^ 
 pass from democratic insolence to intense loyalty 
 
 Ihe articles, on the whole, were as liberal as could 
 have been expected. The only hope for Antwerp and 
 for a great commonwealth of all the XetherlandT was 
 
 and Holland, now united, had time to relieve the city 
 This was unquestionably, possible. Had Antwero 
 possessed the spint of Leyden, had William ofoZnll 
 been alive, that Spanish escutcheon, now rai ed with 
 such indecent haste, might have never been seen a -n 1 
 oil the outside wall of any Xetherland ed^ce. TeS 
 would have become at once a constituent portion oH 
 great independent national realm, instead of langi'^shin^ 
 until our own century the dependency of a distant and 
 a foreign metropolis. Nevertheless, as the Antwerpers 
 were not disposed to make themselves marfvr« :. 
 ^ething that they escaped thermlKo^^ ^ S 
 had often alighted upon cities subjected to an enTaJed 
 soldiery. It redounds to the eternal honour of aTcx 
 
 iteelfin the horrible ^^ Sp^^h^^^^^ 
 
 that here were no scenes of violent' and TuTra^e inlh^ 
 
 va uablo portion of the citizens seltttoIpeleteSi: 
 
 The treaty was signed on the 1 7th August Antw^r^ 
 was to return to its obedience. There wl tZ^ 
 entire amnesty and oblivion for the pal^ J^K^,'"' 
 smglo exception. Royalist absent^s w'^.^'to beTe' 
 
 to oonfom. were allowed toCVttTy:^ ?:S 
 
 VOt. r. -l^Peti^-Mw* 
 
 fl 
 
 •I 
 
242 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. V. 
 
 ■t1 
 
 I 
 
 purpose of winding up their affairs and selling out their 
 property, provided tliat during that period they lived 
 •'without scandal towards the ancient religion"— a 
 very vague and unsatisfactor}- condition. All prisoners 
 were to be released excepting Teligny. Four hundred 
 thousand florins were to be paid by the authorities as a 
 fine. The patriot garrison was to leave the city with 
 arms and baggage and all the honours of war.^ 
 
 This capitulation gave more satisfaction to the hungry 
 portion of the Antwerpers than to the patiiot party of 
 the Netherlands. Sainte Aldegonde was vehemently 
 and unsparingly denounced as a venal traitor. It is 
 certain, whatever his motives, that his attitude had 
 completely changed. For it was not Antwerp alone 
 that he had reconciled or was endeavouring to reconcile 
 with the King of Spain, but Holland and Zeeland as 
 well, and all the other independent Provinces. The 
 ancient champion of the patriot party, the earliest 
 signer of the " Compromise," the bosom friend of William 
 th*e Silent, the author of the "Wilhelmus" national 
 song, now avowed his conviction, in a published defence 
 of his conduct against the calumnious attacks upon it, 
 " that it was impossible, with a clear conscience, for 
 subjects, under any circumstances, to take up arms 
 against Philip, their king." " Certainly if he had always 
 entertained that opinion he must have suffered many 
 pangs of remorse during his twenty years of active and 
 illustrious rebellion. Ho now made himself secretly 
 active in promoting the schemes of Parma and in coun- 
 teracting the negotiation with England. ^ He flattered 
 himself, with an infatuation which it is difficult to 
 comprehend, that it would be possiblfe to obtain religious 
 liberty for the revolting Provinces, although he had con- 
 sented to its sacrifice in Antwerp. It is true that he 
 had not the privilege of reading Philip's secret letters 
 to Parma, but what was. there in the character of the 
 King— what intimation had ever been given by the 
 Governor-General— to induce a belief in even the pos- 
 sibility of such a concession ? 
 
 1 Bor, 11. eiO-613. Hoofd Vervolgh. L xtv., cap. 1316. and 1. xr., c 1-4, 
 
 111-116. Strada, H- 378-383. Compare, «3. 2«, 29. ^e also De Thou, ix., 1. 80 
 
 for the history of the siege, which he and 81; Bentlvoglio, p. il., 1. Ul. 
 
 calls " the most memorable 'n the world," the authorities previously cited. 
 H rrera, ' Hist. Gea del Mundo,' p. U. ' Strada, ii. 379. 
 
 and 
 
 1585. 
 
 MISTAKES OF MARNLX. 
 
 243 
 
 fV.oY?>?;-t^^l ^.^'''^- ^^d^g^^d^ « opinions, it is certain 
 that 1 hihp had no intention of changing his own policy. 
 He at first suspected the burgomaster of a wish to pro- 
 tract the negotiations for a perfidious purpose 
 
 "Necessity has forced Antwerp," he wote on the 
 l/th of August-the very day on which the capitula- 
 tion was actually signed—- to enter into nee-otiation 
 I understand the artifice of Aldegonde in seeking tj 
 pro ong and make difficult the whole affair under 
 pretext of treating for the reduction of Holland and 
 Zeeland at the same time. It was therefore very adioit 
 in you to defeat this joint scheme at once, and urg7the 
 Antwerp matter by itself, at the same time not shotting 
 the door on the others. With the prudence and del- 
 tenty with which this business has thus far been 
 managed I am thoroughly satisfied." ' 
 
 The King also expressed his gratification at hearino- 
 
 f^F^^^A '^^'1}' ^""^^^ ^^^ ^^^^'Si^"« libeiiy In tSe 
 Netherlands would soon be abandoned ^ " "^^ 
 
 manife8t^in^l*^^^'^'°'''''"'" ^" ^^^' ''^^^^ they 
 manliest m the religious matter, desiring some kind 
 
 ofhberty they will in the end, as you say th^y tm 
 content themselves with what the other cities whch 
 have returned to obedience, have obtained. I^i't^^ 
 be done ta all aises without flinching, and without n^ 
 mittmg any modification." » ^ wimout per- 
 
 What -had been obtained'* by Brussels Mpplil,-n 
 Ghent, was well known. The he';etics had Sed 
 the choice of renouncing their religion or of goinl \nto 
 perpetual exile and this wa^ to be the case^' wftho^t 
 flinching" m Holland and Zeeland, if those provinces 
 chose to return to obedience. Yet Sainte ACnde 
 deluded himself with the thought of a religious peace 
 In another and very important letter of the same 
 
 > " Bien se ve que necessldad ha forzado 
 Amberes a las platlcas de ooncierto que 
 andan, y el artifldo de Aldegonde en 
 haber tentodo dilatar el negoclo, so color 
 de traur la reduclou de Holanda y Ze- 
 landi Juntamente, y asl fud muy acertado 
 desbaratarle est* int^^nto, y apretarle en 
 10 que de Amberes, de casi no cerrando la 
 paeru a lo demas. y de la cordura y 
 destreia coq que todo esto se ha guiado 
 quedo muy enterado y aatlsfecho." Phil 
 
 Hpll^to Panna.i7Aug.i585.Arch.de 
 
 Jl'^"" f"" •"" **"^^ ^"6 muestran 
 fiLi*. '" '■^"«**'"' dcseando alguna 
 Ibertad. al cabo se reduciran fi conten- 
 tarse en esta parte con lo que las otnis 
 villas que han venido a la obediencla. 
 porque esto se ha de hacer as! en todo 
 caso, sin aflojar, ni permltir otra cosa en 
 ninguna manera." Philip to Panna. 17 
 Aug., MS. Just cited. 
 
 u 2 
 
 Vi 
 
244 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. V. 
 
 t' 
 
 flate Philip laid down his policy very distinctly. The 
 Prince of Pama, by no mea!« snch a bigot as his master 
 hlTSnted at the ^ssibility of ^oler.ii.S^er^^'-^f 
 religion in the places recovered from the rebew. *"* 
 ffi for a period not defined, and long enough for the 
 heretics to awake from their enors. . . ., „ 
 
 "You have got an expression of opinion, 1 see, 
 wrote Ae King to Alexander, '• of some grave men of 
 W^m and cLcience, that the limitation o^ time, 
 durine which the heretics may live without scanaai, 
 niav be left undefined; but I feel very keenly the 
 S.<.rof such a proposition. With regard to Holland 
 tf zLland, or ai^y other provinces or towns, the first 
 stTp mustbe for them to receive and maintain alo,^ the 
 oxerckeof the Catholic religion, and to subject them- 
 selves to the Boman church, without to erating the 
 rxerclse of any other religion, in cHjs village fariii- 
 house or building thereto destined, in the helds or m 
 anHlace wiiats-^ver; and in this regulation there is 
 K no flaw, no change, no concession ^y convention 
 or oUierwise of a religious peace, or any^^-S.^^^^^ 
 sort They are all to embrace the Roman Catnolic 
 ^ligion^and the exercise of that is alone to be per- 
 
 ""'ThU "(Certainly was distinct enough, and nothing had 
 be^evriid in public to ini"«« -^^^^^'^ ^^t^Jf 
 modification of the principles on ^^ ,^>« Vw'llf t m to 
 fnrmlv acted That monarch considered himselt bom to 
 I^lTheresy. and he had certainly been carrying out 
 this work durins; his whole lifetime. , i. i 
 
 ThT King wa^s willing, however, as Alexander had 
 intimated in his negotiations with Antwerp, and pre- 
 vSrin the capftnlations of Brussels, Ghent, and 
 Xer places, that there should be an absence of investi- 
 Son mfo^^ private chambers of jhe^-^^^^^^^^^^ 
 the period allotted them for chodsing between tuo 
 Papacy and exile. 
 
 I " 
 
 Con todo sentlera yo mucho ver 
 euta tolerancia sin Umite. Ha de set el 
 primo pasjo receblr y tener solamente el 
 Lerclcio catolico. y subJeUirse & la obe- 
 diencia de la Yglesia Konmna, 8ln tolerar 
 nl consentir por via de capltulaclon otro 
 ningun e«erclcio en nb.guna v\\\X rd 
 gpanja. nl parte destinada para el en el 
 
 campo nl dcntro en los lugares . . . • y 
 quanto & esto no ha de haber qulebra nl 
 mudanza nl concederles por conclerto nm- 
 guna llbertad de consclencias, ni religions- 
 fried, nl otra coea Bemtjante, slno quo 
 abracen la Cat" Rom" con solo el eger- 
 dclo della." Ac. Philip IL to Pama. 
 17 Aug. 1685. Archive de Simancas M5>. 
 
 1585. 
 
 TRIUMPHANT ENTRY OF ALEXANDER. 
 
 245 
 
 " It may be permitted," said Philip, '* to abstain from 
 inquiring as to what the heretics are doing within their 
 own doors, in a private way, without scandal, or any 
 public exhibition of their rites during a fixed time. But 
 this connivance, and the abstaining from executing the 
 heretics, or from chastising them, even altliough they 
 may be living very circumspectly, is to be expressed in 
 very vague terms." * 
 
 Being most anxious to provide against a second crop 
 of heretics to succeed the first, which he was determined 
 to uproot, he took pains to enjoin with his own hand 
 upon Parma the necessity of glutting in Catholic school- 
 masters and mistresses to the exclusion of reformed 
 teachers into all the seminaries of the recovered Pro- 
 vinces, in order that all the boys and. girls might grow 
 up in thorough orthodoxy.* , 
 
 Yet this was the man from 'whom Sainte Aldegonde 
 imagined the possibility of obtaining a religious peace. 
 
 Ten days after the capitulation Paima made his 
 triumphal entrance into Antwerp ; but, according to his 
 agreement, he spared the citizens the presence of the 
 Spanish and Italian soldiers, the military procession 
 being composed of the Germans and Walloons. Escorted 
 by his body-guard, and surrounded by a knot of mag- 
 nates and veterans, among whom the Duke of Arschot, 
 the Prince of Chimay, the Counts Mansfeld, Egmont, 
 and Aremberg, were conspicuous, Alexander proceeded 
 towards the captured city. He was met at the Keyser 
 Gate by a triumphal chariot of gorgeous workmanship, 
 in which sat the fair nymph Antwerpia, magnificently 
 bedizened, and accompanied by a group of beautiful 
 maidens. Antwerpia welcomed the conqueror with a 
 kiss, recited a poem in his honour, and l)estowed upon 
 liito the keys of the city, one of which was in gold. 
 This the Prince immediately fastened to the chain around 
 his neck, from vyhich was suspended the lamb of the 
 Golden Fleece, with which order he had just been, amid 
 great pomp and ceremony, invested. 
 
 » « Mas blen ge podradebaxo desto no que esta dissimulacion. y no los egecufar 
 
 fnquirtr lo qne los heregcs hlcieron dentro nl castigar aunque en lo del mal egemplo 
 
 de 8418 caua y los unos en las de Jo« otros vtven menos rccaUidos que debrian ha de 
 
 en forma privada y sin escandalo, ni ser en forma blcn larga." Philip 11. to 
 
 mneatra de eKerclcio publico de sue sectas Parma, MS. just cited, 
 
 y hen-ores durante el dicho tietupo, por- * IWd. 
 
 K 
 
246 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLx\Nr)S. 
 
 Chap. V. 
 
 1585. 
 
 KEBUILDING OF THE CITADEL. 
 
 247 
 
 On the public square called the Mere ihe Genoese 
 merchants had erected two rostral columns, each sur- 
 mounted by a colossal image, representing respectively 
 Alexander of Macedon and Alexander of I'arma. Before 
 the house of Portugal was an enormous phoenix, expand- 
 ing her wings quite across the street ; while, in other 
 parts of the town, the procession was met by ships of 
 war, elephants, dromediines, whales, dragons, and other 
 triumphal phenomena. In the market-place were seven 
 statues in copper, personifying the seven planets, 
 together with an eighth representing Bacchus ; and per- 
 haps there were good mythological reasons why the god 
 of wine, together with so large a portion of our solar 
 system, should 1x3 done in copper by Jacob Jongeling, 
 to honour the triumph of Alexander, although the key 
 .to the enigma has been lost.* 
 
 The cathedral had been thoroughly fumigated with 
 frankincense, and besprinkled with holy water, to 
 purify the sacred precincts from their recent pollution 
 by the reformed rites ; and the Protestant pulpits, which 
 had been placed there, had been soundly beaten w4th 
 rods, and then bunied to ashes.* The procession entered 
 within its walls, where a magnificent " Te Deum " was 
 l>erformed, and then, after much cannon-firing, bell- 
 ringing, torchlight exhibitions, and other p}Totechnics, 
 the Prince made his way at last to the palace provided 
 for him. The glittering display, by which the royalists 
 celebrated their triumph, lasted three days long, the 
 city being thronged from all the countiy round with 
 eager and frivolous spectators, who were never wearied 
 with examining the wonders of the bridge and the forts, 
 and with gazing at the tragic memorials which still 
 remained of the fight on the Kowenstyn. 
 
 During this interval the Spanish and Italian soldiery, 
 not willing to be outdone in demonstrations of respect 
 to their chief, nor defrauded of their rightful claim to a 
 holiday, amused themselves with preparing a demon- 
 stration of a novel character. The bridge, which, as it 
 was well known, was to be destroyed within a veiy few 
 days, was adorned with triumphal arches, and decked 
 with trees and flowering plants ; its roadway was 
 
 I Bor, ii. 622. Hoofd Verrolgh, 117. Mfrtens and Torfr, v, 258. 
 Strada, iL 3i*3 $eq. Metoren, xil. 225. 2 Le Petit, IL 519. 
 
 strewed with branches; and the palisades, parapets, 
 and forts, were garnished with wreaths, emblems, and 
 poetical inscriptions in honour of the Prince. The 
 soldiers themselves, attired in verdurous garments of 
 foliage and flower- work, their swart faces adorned with 
 roses and lilies, paraded the bridge and the dyke in 
 fantastic procession with clash of cymbal and flourish of 
 tiumpet, dancing, singing, and discharging their car- 
 bines, in all the delirium of triumph. Nor was a 
 suitable termination to the festival wanting, for Alex- 
 ander, pleased with the genial character of these 
 demonstrations, repaired himself to the bridge, where 
 he was received with shouts of rapture by his army, 
 thus whimsically converted into a horde of fauns and 
 satyrs. Afterwards a magnificent banquet was served 
 to the soldiers upon the bridge. The whole extent of 
 its surface, from the Flemish to the Brabant shore— the 
 scene so lately of deadly combats, and of the midnight 
 havoc caused by infernal enginry — was changed, as if 
 by the stroke of a wand, into a picture of sylvan and 
 Arcadian merrymaking, and spread with tables laden 
 with delicate viands. Here sat that host of war-bronzed 
 figures, banqueting at their ease, their heads cro^^^led 
 with flowers, while the highest magnates of the army, 
 humouring them in their masquerade, served them with 
 dainties, and filled their goblets with wine.' 
 
 After these festivities had been concluded, Paima set 
 himself to practical business. ITiere had been a great 
 opposition, during the discussion of the articles of capi- 
 tulation, to the reconstruction of the famous citadel. 
 That fortress had been always considered, not as a 
 defence of the place against a foreign enemy, but as an 
 instrument to curb the burghers themselves beneath a 
 hostile i>ower. The city magistrates, however, as well 
 as the deans and chief officei-s in all the guilds and 
 fraternities, were at once changed by Parma— Catholics 
 being uniformly substituted for heretics.* In conse- 
 quence, it was not difticult to bring about a change of 
 opinion in the broad council. It is true that neither 
 Papists nor Calvinists regarded with much satisfaction 
 the pr9si)ect of military- violence being substituted for 
 
 » Strada. H. 387 Archive de Simancas MS. Same to same, 
 
 2 VmoM, to Philip IL, 30 Sept. 1585. 11 Nov. 1565. (ibid.) 
 
 4 
 
 «. 
 
248 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. V. 
 
 ill 
 
 civic rule ; but in the first effusion of loyalty, and in the 
 triumph of the ancient religion, they forgot the absolute 
 ruin to which their own action was now condemning 
 their city. Champagny,.who had once covered himself 
 with glory by his heroic though unsuccessful efforts to 
 save Antwerp from the dreadful " Spanish fury" which 
 liad descended from that very citadel, was now appointed 
 governor of the town, and devoted himself to the re- 
 construction of the hated fortress. *' Champagny has 
 particularly aided me," wrote Parma, ** with his rhetoric 
 and clever management, and has brought the broad 
 council itself to propose that the citadel should be 
 rebuilt. It will therefore be done, as by the burghers 
 themselves, without your Majesty or myself appearing 
 to desire it." ' 
 
 This was, in truth, a triumph of " rhetoric and clever 
 management," nor could a city well abase itself more 
 completely, kneeling thus cheerfully at its conqueror's 
 feet, and requesting permission to put the yoke upon its 
 own neck. '* The erection of the castle has thus been 
 determined upon," said Parma, " and I am supposed to 
 know nothing of the resolution." * 
 
 A little later he obsei-ved that they were " working 
 away most furiously at the citadel, and that within a 
 month it would be stronger than it ever had been 
 before." * 
 
 The building went on, indeed, with astonishing 
 celerity, the fortress rising out of its ruins almost as 
 ' rapidly, under the hands of the royalists, as it had been 
 demolished, but a few years before, by the patriots. 
 The old foundations still remained, and blocks of houses, 
 which had been constructed out of its ruins, were thrown 
 down that the materials might be again employed in its 
 . restoration.* 
 
 The citizens, impoverished and wretched, humbly 
 demanded that the expense of building the citadel might 
 be in part defrayed by the four hundred thousand florins 
 in which they had been mulcted by the capitulation. 
 " I don't marvel at this," said Parma, " for ceiiainly the 
 poor city is most forlorn and poverty-stricken^ the heretics 
 
 1 MS. letter of 11 Nov. 15S5. before 
 dted. " Rhetorica y binna mafia," kc 
 
 2 MS. letter, 30 Sept. 1585, before cited 
 
 > I>etterof 11 Nov. 1585. 
 « Strada, 11. 394. 
 
 1585. 
 
 GRATinCATION OF PHILIP. 
 
 249 
 
 « 
 
 having all left it.'' > It was not long before it was very 
 satisfactorily established that the presence of those 
 same heretics and liberty of conscience for all men 
 were indispensable conditions for the prosperity of the 
 great capital. Its downfall was instantaneous. The 
 merchants and industrious artisans all wandered away 
 from the place which had been the seat of a world-wide 
 traffic. Civilization and commerce departed, and in 
 their stead were the citadel and the Jesuits. By 
 express command of Philip, that order, banished so 
 recently, was reinstated in Antwerp, as well as throu"-h- 
 out the obedient provinces; and all the schools and 
 colleges were placed under its especial care. No 
 children could be thenceforth instructed except by the 
 lips of those fathers.* Here was a curb more efficacious 
 even than the citadel. That fortress was at first garri- 
 soned with Walloons and Germans. " I have not yet 
 induced the citizens," said Parma, - to accept a Spanish 
 garrison, nor am I surprised ; so many of them remem- 
 bering past events " (alluding to the - Spanish fury," but 
 not mentioning it by name), and - observing the frequent 
 mutinies at the present time. Before long I expect 
 however, tc make ^e Spaniards a* acceptable and 
 sdveT^»^ ^ inhabitants of the country them- 
 
 It may easily be supposed that Philip was pleased 
 with the triumphs that had thus been achieved. He 
 was even grateful, or affected to be grateful, to him who 
 had achieved them. He awarded great praise to Alex- 
 ander for his exertions on the memorable occasions 
 ot the attack upon the bridge and the battle of the 
 Kowenstyn; but censured him affectionately for so 
 rashly exposing his life. " I have no words," he said, 
 to render the thanks which are merited for all that 
 jou have been doing. I recommend you earnestly 
 
 lor that IS of more consequence than all the rest." * 
 
 de^o los be.«es.» .. MS. letter last "T^IZ ^et^'Z^^^Z 
 2 Strada. 11 ift<» ^ vuestra persona, pues en esta va mas 
 
 • • la yo no 86 palabras con que daros 
 
7 
 
 250 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. V. 
 
 \iV 
 
 I . . 
 
 1 
 
 » 
 
 After tlio news of the reduction of the city he again 
 expressed gratification, but in rather cold language. 
 " From such obstinate people," said he, " not more could 
 be extracted than has been extracted ; therefore the 
 capitulation is satisfactory." ' ^Vhat more he wished to 
 extract it would be difficult to say, for certainly the 
 maiTow had been extracted ftom the bones, and the 
 dead city was henceforth left to moulder under the 
 bli"-ht of a foreign garrison and an army of Jesuits. 
 " l*erhap8 religious attairs will improve before long," * 
 said Philip. They did improve very soon, as he under- 
 stood the meaning of improvement. A solitude of 
 religion soon brought with it a solitude in every other 
 reo-ard, and Antwerp became a desert, as Sainte Alde- 
 gondo had foretold would be the case. 
 
 The King had been by no means so calm, however, 
 when the intelligence of the capitulation first reached 
 him at Madrid. On the contrary, his oldest courtiers 
 had never seen him exhibit such marks of hilarity. 
 
 WTien he first heard of the glorious victory at Lepanto, 
 his countenance had remained impassive, and he had 
 continued in the chapel at the devotional exercises 
 which the messenger from Don John had interrupted. 
 Only when the news of the Massacre of St. Bartholomew 
 first reached him had he displayed an amount of cheer- 
 fulness equal to that which he manifested at the fall 
 of Antwerp. " Never," said Granville, " had the King 
 been so radiant with joy as when he held in his hand 
 the despatches which announced the capitulation."^ 
 The letters were brought to him after he had retired to 
 rest, but his delight was so great that he could not 
 remain in his bed. Rushing from his chamber, so soon 
 as he had read them, to that of his dearly-beloved 
 daughter Clara Isabella, he knocked loudly at the door, 
 and, screaming through the keyhole the three words, 
 " Antwerp is ours," returned precipitately again to his 
 own apartment.* 
 
 It was the general opinion in Spain that the capture 
 of this city had terminated the resistance of the Nether- 
 lands. Holland and Zeeland would, it was 
 
 thought, 
 
 1 "Sacar mas que lo que se ha sacado," 
 &c. Philip to Paraia, 5 Sepi. 1585. Arch. 
 de Sim. :^1S. 
 
 2 IbkL . 
 
 3 Strada, ii. 3«', 389. 
 
 4 Ibid. 
 
 1585. 
 
 NOTE ON SAINTE ALDEGONDE. 
 
 251 
 
 accept wnth very little hesitation the terms which 
 Parma had been offering, through the agency of Sainte 
 Aldegonde ; and, with the reduction of those two pro- 
 vinces, the Spanish dominion over the whole country 
 would of course become absolute. Secretary Idiaquez 
 observed, on drawing up instructions for Carlo Coloma 
 a Spanish financier then departing on special mission 
 for the Provinces, that he would soon come back to 
 Spain, for the Prince of Parma was jubt putting an end 
 to the whole Belgic war.* 
 
 Time was to show whether Holland and Zeeland were 
 as malleable as Antwerp, and whether there would not 
 be a battle or two more to fight before that Belgic war 
 would come to its end. Meantime Antwerp was 
 securely fettered, while the spirit of commerce-to 
 which Its unexampled prosperity had been due— now 
 took Its flight to the lands where civil and religious 
 liberty had found a home. 
 
 NOTE ON MARNIX DE SAINTE ALDEGOljfDE. 
 
 As every illustration of the career and character of this eminent 
 personage excites constant interest in the NetherlandslThave 
 here thrown together, in the form of an Aj.i^ndix, mkny im- 
 IKjrtant and entirely unpublished details, dra>™ mainly from t"e 
 
 BSr^ri^if ™X;r. ^^'"" ''" '"^'^ ''^^ ^''^ -' 
 
 i 
 
 Ir^J^^Tft^", f""'^ <fetermined to counteract the po- 
 licy of those Netherlandcrs who wished to offer the soverei^Sv 
 of the Provinces to the English Qneen. He had been eaS v 
 m favour of annexation to France, for his s,-n,patWes and fSu 
 
 F^lTnT "^r""y '''™''*''- «« •''«' °^-" £en a'friend to 
 England, and he was soon awar« that a strong feelin-x of indi'- 
 
 fC" '!*""'".' -""I "' "njo't-existed against hiinbi^hfn 
 
 otlntwe"r7 '" ^""^''""'^^ ""^ ''^~»"' of the suS^^^der 
 
 No'rts to USkLv"^' conference with ViUiers," wrote Sir John 
 but wilUmmuef??rf " I'e condemneth Ste. Aldegonde's doings, 
 Dut win impute it to fear and not to malice. Ste. Aldegonde! 
 
 *- Strada, li. 389. 
 
 til 
 
252 
 
 THE U}fITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. V. 
 
 I 
 
 notwithstanding that lie was forbidden to come to Holland, and 
 1 lid for at the fleet, yet stole secretly to Dort, where they say he 
 is staid, but I doubt he will be heard speak, and then assuredly 
 
 he will do great hurt."* , , , . .• 
 
 It was most certainly Sainte Aldegonde s determination, so 
 soon as the capitulation of Antwerp had l^en resolved upon to 
 aohis utmost to restore all the independent Provinces to heir 
 ancient allegiance. Kather Spanish than hnglish was his settled 
 resolution. Liberty of religion, if possible-that was his che- 
 lished wish-but still more ardently, perhaps, did he desire to 
 nrevent the country from falling into the hands of Elizabeth 
 
 « The Prince of Parma hath conceived such an assured hope 
 of the fidelity of Aldegonde," wrote one of Walsingham s agents, 
 Richard Tomson, " in reducing the Provinces, yet enemies into 
 a perft>ct subjection, that the Spaniards are so wel persuaded of 
 thrman as if he had never been against them. TJiey say, about 
 the middle of this month, he departed for Zeeland and Holland, 
 to prosecute the effect of his promises, and I am the more 
 induced to believe that he is become altogether Simmsh, for that 
 the common bruit goeth that he hastened the surrendering of the 
 town of Antwerp after he had intelligence of the coming of the 
 
 English succours."^ ^ , . ., • j i 4. 
 
 There was naturally much indignation felt in the indeiiendent 
 Provinces against all who had been thought instnimental 111 
 brincnng about the re«luction of the great cities of I landers 
 Fam^arsT governor of Mechlin, Van den T>Tnpel, governor ot 
 Brussels, Martini, who had been active in effecting the capitula- 
 tion of Antwerp, were all arrested in Holland. From all iiiAt 
 I can hear," said Parma, "it is likely that they will be very 
 severely handled, which is the reastm why Ste. Aldegonde, 
 althou4 he sent his wife and children to Holland, has not ven- 
 tured thither himself. It api^ears that they threaten him there, 
 but he means now to go, under pretext of demanding to justity 
 himself from the imputations against him. Although he tells 
 me freely that, without some amplification of the concessions 
 hitherto made on the point of religion, he hopes for no good 
 result vet I trust that he will do good oflices in the mean time, 
 ,in spi'te'of the difficulties which obstruct his efforts. On my 
 l)art every exertion will be made, and not without hope of some 
 fruit, if not before, at least after, these people have become as 
 tired of the English as they were of the French."" 
 
 Of this mutual ill-feeling between the English and the burgo- 
 master there can be no doubt whatever. The Queen s govern- 
 ment was fully aware of his efforts to counteract its negotiation 
 
 Office MA 
 3 l^uTDA to Philip II. 
 
 RlehwtJ Tomson to Sir F. Walslng- MS. 
 ham, 29th Aagust, 1585 (O.S.> S. T. 
 
 I Sir John Norreya to Walsingham, 
 Aug. 24 (O.S.), 1585. & P. Office MS. 
 
 Arch, de Sim. 
 
 1585. 
 
 NOTE ON SAINTE ALDEGONDE. 
 
 253 
 
 with the Netherlands, and to bring about their reconciliation 
 with Spain. When the Earl of Leicester — as will soon be related 
 — arrived in the Provinces, he was not long in comprehending 
 his attitude and his* influence. 
 
 " 1 wrote somewhat of Ste. Aldegonde in putting his case," 
 wrote Leicester ; " but this is certain, 1 have the copy of his very 
 letters sent hither to practise the peace not two days before I 
 came, and this day one hath told me that loves him well, that 
 he hates our countrymen unrecoverably. I am sorry for it."^ 
 
 On the other hand, the Queen was very indignant with the 
 man whom she looked upon as the paid agent of Spain. She 
 considered him a renegade, the more dangerous because his pre- 
 vious services had been so illustrious. " Her Majesty's mislike 
 towards Ste. Aldegonde continueth," wrote Walsingham to Lei- 
 cester, " and she taketh offence that he was not restrained of his 
 liberty by your Lordship's order."^ It is unquestionable that 
 the ex-burgomaster intended to do his best towards effecting the 
 reconciliation of all the Provinces with Spain ; and it is equally 
 certain that the King had offered to pay him well if he proved 
 successful in his endeavours. There is no proof, however, and 
 no probability, that Sainte Aldegonde ever accepted or 'ever 
 intended to accept the proffered bribe. On the contrary, his 
 whole recorded career ought to disprove the supposition. Yet 
 it is painful to find him, at this crisi.s, assiduous in his attempts 
 to undo the great work of his own life, and still more distressing 
 to find that great rewards were distinctly offered to him for such 
 service. Immense promises had been frequently made no doubt 
 to William the Silent ; nor could any public man, in such 
 times, be so pure that an attempt to tamper with him might not 
 Ije made : but when the personage, thus solicited, was evidently 
 acting in the interests of the tempters, it is not surprising that 
 he should become the object of grave suspicion. 
 
 " It does not seem to me bad,"- wrote Philip to Parma, " this 
 negotiation which you have commenced with Ste. Aldegonde, in 
 order to gain him, and thus to employ his services in^brino^inf^ 
 about a reduction of the islands (Holland and Zeeland)." In 
 exchange for this work, anything which you think proper to 
 offer to him as a reward, will be capital well invested ; but it 
 must be not given until the job is done."* 
 
 But the job was hard to do, and Sainte Aldegonde cared 
 nothing for the offered bribe. He was, however, most stran^^ely 
 confident of being able to overcome, on the one hand, the oppo- 
 
 1 • Correspondence of Robert Dudley, p. 36, Dec 1586. 
 
 ^ll "iL-^l^rTi *V^* y^*«J5Mrand ' « que a trueque deUo sera bien 
 
 1536, edited by John Brace.' Printed for emplcado lo que vieredes que combendra 
 
 the Camden Society, 1844. p. 27. 28, ofrecelle para darselo dcspues de hecho el 
 
 -Dec. 1585. efecto."— Philip II. to Parma, 6th SepU 
 
 2 'Leycester Correspondence.' by Brace. '"'' ^^-^'^'^■^^' 
 
254 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. V. 
 
 I 
 
 «ll 
 
 sition of Holland and Zeeland to the bated authority of Spain, 
 and, on the othtr, the intense abhorrence entertained by Philip 
 to liberty of conscience. _. x • -. 
 
 Soon after the capitulation he applied for a passport to visit 
 those two Provinces. Permission to come was refused him. 
 Honest men from Antwerp, he was informed, would be always 
 welcome, but there was no room for him.» There was, however 
 —or Panna persuaded himself that there was— a considerable 
 party in those countries in favour of reconcdiation with Spain, 
 if the ex-burgomaster could gain a hearing, it was thought pro- 
 bable that his elotpience would prove very effective. 
 
 " We have been making efforts to bring about negotiations 
 with Holland and Zeeland," wrote Alexander to Philip. " Gelder- 
 land and Overyssel likewise show signs of good disposition, but 
 1 have not soldiers enough to animate the good and terrify the 
 Imd As for Holland and Zeeland, there is a strong inchnation 
 on the part of the people to a reconciliation, if some concession 
 could be made on the religious question, but the governors 
 oppose it, becattee thev are prverse, and are relying on assistance 
 from En^^land. Could this religious concession be made, an 
 arrangement could, without doubt, be accomplished, and more 
 quickly than i^ople think. Nevertheless, in such a delicate 
 matter, I am obliged to await your Majesty's exact instructions 
 and ultimatum."'' , , .^. , . ^ 
 
 He then proceeded to define exactly the position and inten- 
 tions of the burgomaster. , „ , ,«, .J „i. 
 
 *' The government of Holland and Zeeland, he said, have 
 refused a passiK)rt to Ste. Aldegonde, and express di^atisfaction 
 with him for having surrendered Antwerp so soon. Ihey know 
 that he has much credit with the people and with the ministers 
 of the sects, and they are in much fear of him,'because he is 
 inclined for peace, which is against their interests. They are, 
 therefore, endeavouring to counteract my negotiations with him. 
 These have been, thus far, only in general terms. I have sought 
 to induce him to perform the offices required, without giving his 
 reason to expect any concession as to the exercise of religion. 
 Ee persuades himself that, in the end, there will be some satisf ac- 
 tion obtained upon this point, and, under this impression, he 
 considers the peace as good as concluded, there remaining no 
 doubt as to other matters. He has sent his wife to Zeeland and 
 is himself going to Germany, Where, as he says, he will do all 
 the good service that he can. He hopes that very shortly the 
 Provinces will not only invite, but implore him to come to them ; 
 in which case, he promises me to perform miracles.*'^ 
 
 Alexander then proceeded to pay a distinct tribute to Samte 
 Aldec'onde's motives ; and, when it is remembered that the state- 
 
 1 Bor, li. 614-620. Hoofd Vervolgh, 11«. 
 
 * Panna to Philip U.. 30Ui Sept. 1585. Arch, de Sim. MS. 
 
 sibUL 
 
 1585. 
 
 NOTE ON SAINTE ALDEGONDE. 
 
 255 
 
 ment thus made is contained m a secret despatch, in cipher 
 to the King, It may be assumed to convey the sincere opinion of 
 the man most qualified to judge correctly as to this calumniated 
 person's character. "^i^aicu 
 
 " Ste. Aldegonde offers me wonders,*' he said, 'Smd I have 
 promised him that he shall be recompensed very lar^relv • vet 
 although he is ix)or, I do not find him influenced bv mefc'enary 
 or selfish considerations, but only very set in opinio'ns regarding 
 nis religion. ^ t3***^"^o 
 
 The Prince had however no doubt of Sainte Alde^onde's sin. 
 ceritr, for sincerity was a leading characteristic of the'' man Hi. 
 word, once given, wa(S sacred, and he had given his word to do 
 his best towards effecting a reconciliation of the Provinces with 
 Spain, and frustrating the efforts of England. " Throu-h the 
 agency ot Ste Aldegonde and that of othirs," wrote Panna "I 
 shall wach day and night, to bring about a reduction of Holland 
 and Zee and, if humanly possible. I am quite persuaded that 
 they will soon be sick of the English, who are now arriv n' 
 broken down, without arms or money, and obviously in^mWe 
 
 holding out very long. Doubtlei however^^L S' 
 alliance, and the determination of the Queen to do her utoos 
 
 • ?f^^;,"«^"^'f^^P\^cates matters, and assists the government of 
 HoU^d and Zeeland in opposing the inclinations oft hdr 
 
 r..;!J^l^'''° ^''''' "^^""'^ ""^ *^^«« intended negotiations The 
 nin^cles were never wrought ; and even had Sainte Aldeaonde 
 Wn as venal as he was suspected of beincr-which we"hav« 
 bus proof positive that he was' not-he nev?r c^uld h^ve ob! 
 ^med the recompense, which, according to Philt's thrifty 
 policy, ^VH. not to be paid until it had been earned. Sa nte 
 Aldegonde's hands were clean. It is pity that we (^nnot render 
 
 atTrLn'tttl"^^ ^''^' ^^°^^'^'^>' ^^ cWaS'ltt 
 aiso certain that he remained— not without reason— for a lone 
 
 time under a cloud. He became the object ofZbound^ an.f 
 reckless calumny. Antwerp had fallen, ind the neTerrv ^n 
 Kquence of its reduction was the complete and Snent 
 prostration of its commerce and manufactures. T^e™ were 
 transferred to the new, free, national, independent, and pr(«nerou» 
 commonwealth that had risen in the " islands " which 1 W and 
 .Z-^ ;*"tg»""le had vainly hoped to restore to their Tcient 
 servitude Jn a very few years after the subjugation of AnTwero 
 U appeared by statistical documents that nearly all the m^nnf.^ 
 tures of linen, coarse and fine cloths, ser 'es fus *s T^^^ 
 gold embroidery, arras-work, silks, and vefveChaT AranI' 
 
 1 — "enelcnal-caaoofrecemaravilUtt, solamente Dn»it/> #.n i« ««• i ^ 
 como le he ofrecidoyo de que «era recom- reSa."-?;^ t^ Ph^linV'^ w'* 
 pensado muy largamente, annque si blen MS Just cit^ ^ - ^^* 
 ea pobre no le veo interesado, mas tan « Ibid. 
 
 i 
 
 If 
 
256 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. V. 
 
 Planted to the towns of Holland and Zeeland which xyere 
 flourishing and thrivin-, while the Flemish and Brabantine 
 Shadl>ecome mere dens of thieves and beggars. It was in 
 the mistaken hope of averting this catastrophe-as melancholy as 
 it^^^ine^itabl^-and in despair of seeing all the ^etherlands 
 in™, unless united in slavery, and m deep-rooted distnist of 
 the de;i^s and policy of England, that this statesman once so 
 dlt nSd, had listened to the insid ous tongue ot Parma 
 He had soucrht to effect a general reconciliation with Spain, and 
 ^e only insult of his efforts was a blight upon his own illustrious 
 
 ^X' published a defence of his conduct, aVid a detailed account 
 of the famous siege. His apology, at the time, was no con- 
 sWered conclusive, but his narrative remains one of the cleares 
 Tnd most trustvvonhy sources for the history of these important 
 transactions. He was never brought to trial but he discovert.1, 
 with bit^n ess, that he had committed a fatal error, and that his 
 PitiS intiue'ncc had passed away. He addre^ed numerou^^ 
 ^vate epistles to eminent persons indignantly denying the 
 mputations against his character, and d^^^a^t'^^^^I^J^^^^^^^^^^ 
 tion Among other letters he observed in one to Count Hohenlo 
 hat he w^s astonished and grieved to find that a I h^« faithful 
 abours and sufferings in the cause of his father and had been 
 fo^otten in anhour.° In place of praise and gratitude he had 
 reaW nothing but censure and calumny; because men ever 
 ludW, not by the merits, but by the issue. That common 
 iSSe should be so unjust, he said, was not to be wondered at, bu 
 Kn like Hohenlo he had hoped better things. ^He asserted 
 thaThe had saved Antwerp from another « Spanish ury and 
 from impending destruction-a city m which there ^^ as not a 
 8 rie regular Soldier, and in which his personal authority was 
 80 slight Ihat he was unable to count the number of his masters 
 U a man had ever iK>rformed a service to his country, he claimed 
 o have done so in\his capitulation. Nevertheless, he declared 
 that he was the same Philip Marnix, earnestly devoted to the 
 service of God. the true religion, and the fatherland; althoiigh 
 TeTvowed himself weary of the war, and of this perpetual 
 offerincr of the Netherland sovereignty to foreign potentates, tie 
 wi now going, he said, to his estates in Zeeland ; here to turn 
 fl^er I4in ; renouncing public affairs, in the administration of 
 "he had experienced sO much ingratitude from his country- 
 len^ Count M^irice and the States of Holland and Zeeland 
 wrote to him, however, in very plain language, describing the 
 public indignation as so strong as to make it unsafe for him to 
 
 "l^f SriZnks and England-so soon as they were united 
 in policy— were, not without reason, mdignant with the man 
 
 1 Bur, il. 614. 
 
 « Ibid. 
 
 1585. 
 
 NOTE ON SAINTE ALDEGONDE. 
 
 257 
 
 who had made such strenuous efforts to prevent that union The 
 English were, in tmth, deeply offended. He had systematically 
 opposed their schemes, and to his prejudice against their country 
 and distrust of their intentions, they attributed the fall of Ant- 
 werp. Envoy Davison, after his return to Holland, on the con- 
 clusion of the English treaty, at once expressed his suspicions of 
 the ex-burgomaster, and the great dangers to be apprehended 
 from his presence in the free States. " Here is some workincr 
 underhand, said he to Walsingham, " to draw hither Saint^ 
 Aldegonde, under a pretext of his justification, which— as it has 
 hitherto been denied him— so is the sequel suspected, if he 
 should obtain it before they were well settled here, betwixt her 
 Majesty and them, considering the manifold presumptions that 
 the subject of his journey should be little profitable or advanta- 
 geous to the state of these poor countries, as tending, at the best 
 to trie propounding of some general reconcilement"' It was 
 certainly not without substantial grounds that the English and 
 Hollanders after concluding their articles of alliance, felt uneasy 
 at the possibility of finding their plans reversed by the intricni^ 
 of a man whom they knew to be a mediator between Spain'and 
 her revolted Provinces, and whom they suspected of being a 
 venal agent of the Catholic King. It was giveVout that Phflip 
 had been induced to promise liberty of religion, in case of recon- 
 ciliation. We have ^n that Panna was at heart in favour 
 
 Marnix to be leve in the possibility of obtaining such a Wn 
 however certain the Prince had been made by the^W's seTr^ 
 letters that such a belief was a delusion. -Martini hath S 
 examined,%vrote Davison, - who confesseth, both for hir^self and 
 others to be come hither by direction of he Prince Sw 
 and mtelhgence of Sainte Aldegonde, from whom te wasTst 
 
 ^isrc'e %lfT "^' ''fh'l '' ^^^- "^ '^^^- and 
 assistance. That the scope of this direction was to induce them 
 
 ^r.tK ^'^^^ ^ peace, wherein the Prince of Pa^a pr^ 
 miseth them toleration of religion, although he confeS y^ 
 to have no absolute power in that behalf, but hath SeTthei^f 
 to the King expressly, and holdeth hhnself assured th^^ofh^jL 
 
 tw r/' •? I ^/l' "^^^^^« ^^^° advertised from PowS YoJk 
 which if 1 had been propounded openlv here beforrthinaK>L.l 
 ^ura^r'"'"" r^' '^^ Majesty,^and ^l^er takeL'"^' W 
 assurance your honour can judge what confusion it must of 
 necessity have brought forth."» ^^^ ot 
 
 At last when Marnix had become convinced that the toleration 
 would not arnve "by the very next mail from Spain '' and^^^^^^^ 
 m truth, such a blessing was not to be expect^ throJ^h the 
 
 1 Davfaon to Walsingham. Sept. i i685, S. P. Office. MS. 
 
 » Daviaon to Walsingham, S-pt, 1585. 
 VOL* I. 
 
 8 
 
 I 
 
258 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS, 
 
 Chap. V. 
 
 post-office at all, he felt an inward consciousness of the mistake 
 which he had committed. Too credulously had he inclined his 
 ear to the voice of Parma; too obstinately had he steeled his 
 heart against Elizabeth ; and he was now the more anxious to 
 clear himself at least from the charges of corruption so cla- 
 morously made against him by Holland and by England. Con- 
 scious of no fault more censurable than credulity and prejudice, 
 feeling that his long fidelity to the reformed religion ought to be 
 » defence for him against his calumniators, he was desirous both 
 to clear his own honour, and to do at least a tardy justice to 
 England. He felt confident that loyal natures, like those of 
 Davison and his colleagues at home, would recognise his own 
 loyalty. He trusted, not without cause, to English honour, and, 
 coming to his manor-house of Zoubourg, near Flushing, he 
 addre^ed a letter to the ambassador of Elizabeth, in which 
 the strong desire to vindicate his aspersed integrity is quite 
 
 manifest. . i.»i • -. x 
 
 ** I am very joyous,*' said he, " that commg hither m order to 
 justify myself against the false and malignant imputations with 
 which they charge me, I have learned your arrival here on the 
 part of her Majesty, as well as the soon-expected coming of the 
 Earl of Leicester. I see, in truth, that the Lord God is just, 
 and never abandons his own. I have never spared myself in the 
 service of my country, and I would have sacrificed my life a 
 thousand times, had it been possible, in her cause. Now, I am 
 receiving for all this a guerdon of blame and calumny, which is 
 cast ui)on me in order to cover up faults which have been 
 committed by others in past days. I hope, however, to come 
 soon to give you welcome, and to speak more particularly to you 
 of all these things. Meantime demanding my justification 
 before these gentlemen, who ought to have known me lietter 
 than to have added faith to such villanous imputations, I will 
 entreat you that my definite justification, or condemnation,— 
 if I have merited it,— may be reserved till the arrival of Lord 
 Leicester." 
 
 1 Sainte Aldegonde to Davlaon, 
 
 Oct. SB 
 Not. 9 
 
 1585. S. P. Office MS. (The letter j» In 
 French.) 
 
 Wal«lngham always entertained a high 
 opinion of Sainte Aldegonde'a Intpgrity. 
 • Je pourrols k bon droit estre tox^," 
 wrote Mamlx, in answer to a letter from 
 Sir Francis, " ou dc stupidlte, on d'lngra- 
 titnde— d'autant plus qu'en une com- 
 mune opinion, mesmes de ceux qui 
 estoyent plus proches tesmolgns de me» 
 actions, et avoyent plus de commodity 
 d'en pouvoir Juger a la Terlte. »i ils en 
 eussent prendre la peine il vous a pleu. 
 
 en estant beancoup plus esloign^, et plus 
 environne de prejuges, uuUntenir con- 
 Btamment I'impresslon qu'aviez une fois 
 conceue de mon integrite. ^ » « Et pleut 
 i Dleu que J'eusse peu avoir gens de 
 quallte et de Jugement tela qu'est V. S. 
 ou spectateurs, ou juges d? mes conseils et 
 procedures. Je m' asseure qu'en lieu de 
 l>l&me, que, ou les Ignorans ou les mall* 
 cieux m'ont mis bus, J 'en eusse rapport^ 
 louange et gloire. Tant y a que rends 
 graces encore pour ce Jour d'huy k mon 
 Dien, de ce qu'en ces grandes extnmltes 
 environn^s de tant de difflcultes, il ne m'a 
 oncques si avant prlve de son esprit, qae 
 
 1585. 
 
 NOTE ON SAINTE ALDEGONDE. 
 
 259 
 
 Tliis certainly was not the language of a culprit. Neverthe- 
 less, his words did not immediately make a deep impression on 
 the hearts of those who heard him. He had come secretly to 
 his house at Zoubourg, having previously published his memor- 
 able apology ; and in accordance with the wishes of the Encrlish 
 government, he was immediately confined to his own house. 
 Confidence in the intention of a statesman who had at least 
 committed such grave errors of judgment, and who had been so 
 deeply suspected of darker faults, was not likely very soon to 
 revive. So far from shrinking from an investigation which 
 would have been dangerous, even to his life, had the charges 
 against his honour been founded in fact, he boldly demanded'^to 
 be confronted with his accusers, in order that he might explain 
 his conduct before all the world. "Sir, yesternight, at th« 
 shutting of the gates," wrote Davison to Walsingham— trans- 
 mitting the little note from Mamix which has just been cited 
 
 ** I was advertised that Ste. Aldegonde was not an hour before 
 secretly landed at the head on the other side the Rammekens 
 and come to his house at Zoubourg, having prepared his way by 
 an ajology, newly published in his defence, whereof I have as 
 yet rwjovered one only copy, which herewith I send your honour. 
 Ihis day, whilst I was at dinner, he sent his son unto me with 
 a few lines whereof I send you the copy, advertising me of his 
 arnval (which he knew I understood before), together with the 
 d^ire he had to see me, and speak Avith me, if the States, before 
 whom he was to come to purge himself of the crimes wherewith 
 he stood as hesaith, unjustly charged, would vouchsafe him so 
 much liberty. The same morning, the council of Zeeland 
 taking knowledge of his arrival, sent unto him the pensioner of 
 Middelhurgh and this town, to sound the causes of his comina 
 and to will him, in their behalf, to keep his house, and to forbeS 
 ail meddling, by word or writing, with any whatsoever till thev 
 should further advise and determine in his cause. In defence 
 thereof, he fell into large and particular discourse with the depu- 
 ties, accusing his enemies of malice and untruth, ofTerincr himself 
 to any trial, and to abide what punishment the laws should lay 
 
 cannot discern that Uiere is any doubt to 
 be had of him, that he should be led away 
 by any persuasion to seek his advance- 
 ment but by her Mi^esty; and Sainte 
 Aldegonde, contrary to the opinion con- 
 ceived of him, by her Majesty, is noted 
 here of all men to be a good patriot, and 
 worthy to be employed in the services here 
 in respect of his ability and wisdom, howl 
 beit J perceive (to take away the offence 
 tMt may be musUred to her Majesty) 
 they are contented to forbear the use of 
 his services." Wilkes to the Lords of 
 Council, 20th Aug. 1586. S. P. oiHce Mft 
 8 2 
 
 Je to'aye tot^onrs eu mon sen! but et la 
 gloire de son nom et la conservation de 
 ses egliscs. Ce que Je vous prle de crolre, 
 et vous asseure qu'en oette resolution Je 
 desire vivre et mourlr." Marnlx de Sainte 
 
 Aldegonde to Walsingham, May -. 1586, 
 from Zoubourg, S. P. Office MS. 
 
 - The Count Maurice," wrote envoy 
 and counsellor Wilkes, a year later, from 
 Utrecht, - Is loved and rttjpt'cU'd here of the 
 people, for the merits of his late father; 
 and Is (80 far as i can Judge) like to suc- 
 ceed hhn In wisdom and sufficiency I 
 
200 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. V. 
 
 
 upon him, if he were foTind.guilty of the crimes imputed to him. 
 Touching the cause of his coming, he pretended and protested 
 that he had no other end than his simple justification, prefernn<: 
 any hazard he might incur thereby to his honour and good 
 fame."* As to the great question at issue, Marnix had at last 
 become conscious that he had been a victim to Spanish dissimu- 
 lation, and that Alexander Farnese was in reality quite powerless 
 to make that concession of religious liberty, without which a 
 reconciliation between Holland and Philip was impossible. 
 " Whereas,** said Davison, ** it was supposed that Ste. Aldegonde 
 had commission from the Prince of Parma to make some otter of 
 peace, he assured them of the contrary as a thing which neither 
 the Prince had any power to yield unto with the surety of reli- 
 gion, or himself would, in conscience, persuade without it ; with 
 a number of other particularities in his excuse; amongst the 
 rest, allowing and commending in nis speech the course they 
 haii taken with her Majesty, as the only safe way of deliverance 
 for these afflicted countries— letting them understand how much 
 the news thereof, specially since the entry of our garnson into 
 this place (which before they would in no sort believe), hath 
 troubled the enemy, who doth what he may to suppress the 
 bruit thereof, and yet comforteth himself with the hope that be- 
 tween the factions and partialities nourished by his industay, and 
 musters among the towns, especially in Holland and Zeeland 
 (where he is persuaded to find some pliable to a reconcilement), 
 and the disorders and misgovemment of our people, there will be 
 vet occasion offered him to make his profit and advantage. I 
 find that the gentleman hath here many friends indifferently 
 persuaded of his innocency, notwithstanding the closing up of 
 his apology doth make but little for him. Howsoever it be, it 
 falleth out the better that the treaty with herMajesty is finished, 
 and the cautionary towns assured before his coming, which, if he 
 be ill affected, will I hope either reform his judgment or restrain 
 his will. I will not forget to do the best I can to sift and de- 
 cipher him vet more narrowly and particulariy."* 
 
 Thus, while the scales had at length fallen from the eyes of 
 Mamix, it was not strange that the confidence which he now 
 began to entertain in the policy of England should not be met, 
 at the outset, with a corresponding sentiment on the part of the 
 statesman by whom that policy was regulated. " Howsoever 
 Ste. Aldegonde would seem to purge himself,** said Davison, 
 " it is suspected that his end is dangerous. I have done wliat 
 I may to restrain him, so nevertheless as it may not seem to come 
 frtm me.*** And again—" Ste. Aldegonde," he wrote, "^n- 
 tinueth still our neighbour at his house between this and Mid- 
 delburg, yet unmolested. He findeth many favourers, and, 1 
 
 1 ItflnB to WalBlngham. Nov.-, 1685, S. P. Office MS. « Ibid. " IWd. 
 
 1585, 
 
 NOTE ON SAINTE ALDEGONDE. 
 
 261 
 
 fear, doth no good offices. He desireth to be reserved till the 
 TSilv^ "^'^ ^' ^^"^*-' »^^^- -^- he'^Jetends': 
 This covert demeanour on the part of the ambassador was in 
 accordance with the wishes of his government It warthonait 
 necessary that Sainte Aldegonde should be kep u?der am 
 until the arrival of the Eari, but deemed preferable that the 
 restraint should proceed from the action of the^States rather than 
 irom the order of the Queen. Davison was fuSforderstn 
 o hSfe'^ «tf .?' r"' '' '^^"^^ Marnix^foTf tie! 
 
 anv wise ''^^f ^ • "?' ^ P?^ ^''"' '^"^^^ ^^ good safety in 
 any wise, wrote Leicester, who was uneasv at th^ fK..., v?^ J 
 
 JO mfluential. and, as he thought, so Ul-aSt it.n fek^^ H 
 
 large, ont at the same time disp^ to look disiiSrateW ufon 
 
 bis past conduct, and to do jusiJce, according to^ result nf^^ 
 
 "fhi^vo.: !; '%TM ""»''• ^^ Wa"sin|h^"to dIv° 
 ^' AM ^T ""'^ ^° y"'"' ^«t endeavour to procure 5mt 
 
 fi to i^lLf r^ ■^k"^""*'''^' '''"<='' '■> mine opTon were 
 ll^f-'Ltet^irtfanXroursoS^^^ 
 
 t"rrL-drg,it'£{?r«^^^^^^^^^ 
 
 should make 3rself riSn . ??''^^^ "^^^ ^^^* >'«« 
 may receive examination ■•» "'™™'" " ^nat time his cause 
 
 not been ut^Sy in v^n a^Tiw" *' '^"'^ "^ '"^^y had 
 spirits to svmpath^I^th'.^i^ ""^ """y magnanimous 
 meshes of <i^umDyCtthf*n"\" ""f^'ing thus in the 
 
 shunned mvestT^Ln?htM"'lSlr"tt Wso^"'" -'rT 
 were a detected felon noon the ^inVT^ u P.""""' ^ '"^ he 
 heartless and superfluorpre^uS %^}^''^"'S, seemed a 
 still feared the man whom tt^f^i k.- f Davison and others 
 intriguer. " WhingThe^^t^^M *« Ilf"' "1 ^ '»««'» 
 Davison to Lord Burghley 'i^&i hL '/'^/^'"'^f'" "■™'« 
 tary to procure underhand I Tnd tL\?« "l^""" '^™'" ^'- ^^«- 
 regardofhisman/fSsandfavo,?^^*'"''^"''.' '"' ^^^^t in 
 opinion of his innUna alth^.lw T™' P-^^^ipied with some 
 
 of them «nderhanTa?rim ptm s^'^L "''''■''I,"'*.'''™" 
 1 find continual matte? ^^ .^-- , l^l^^f^;^-!^ 
 
 • ^°^- S' "*'• ^ P- ^ ^" ^^^ ^*^ 
 
 * Davlsoa to 
 OfflceMS. 
 
 ■"""" to D.vl«i. Nov." ,585, ap.Offloeas. 
 
 ■ Mtonte ofWaUliigh«l,KoT. JJ, I5(I5, 
 
 ii 
 
 ¥ 
 
 
262 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. V. 
 
 i 
 
 \m 
 
 m 
 
 I 
 
 as one notably prejudging our scope and proceeding in this cause, 
 doth lie in wait for an occasion to set it forward, being, as it 
 seems, fed with a hope of * telle quelle liberty de conscience,' which 
 the Prince of Parma and others of his council have, as he con- 
 fesseth, earnestly solicited at the King's hands. This appeareth, 
 in truth, the only apt and easy way for them to prevail both 
 ac'ainst religion and the liberty of these poor countnes, having 
 thereby once recovered the authority which must necessanly 
 follow a peace, to renew and alter the magistrates of the parti- 
 cular towns, which, being at their devotion, may turn, as we say, 
 all upside down, and so in an instant being under their servitude, 
 if not wholly, at the least in a great part of the country, leaving so 
 much the less to do about the rest, a thing confessed and looked 
 for of all men of any judgment here, if the drift of our peace- 
 makers may take effect."^ _ ,T7 1 l 
 Sainte Aldegonde had been cured of his suspicions of England, 
 and at last the purity of his own character shone through the 
 
 mists 
 
 One mnter's morning, two days after Christmas, 1585, Colonel 
 Morcran, an ingenuous Welshman, whom we have seen doing 
 much hard fighting on Kowenstyn Dyke, and at other places, 
 and who now commanded the garrison at Flushing, was taking a 
 walk outside the gates, and inhaling the salt breezes from the 
 ocean. While thus engaged he met a gentleman coming along, 
 staff in hand, at a brisk pace towards the town, who soon proved 
 to be no other than the distinguished and deeply suspected 
 Sainte Aldegonde. The two got at once into conversation. Me 
 began," said Morgan, " by cunning insinuations, to wade into 
 matters of state, and at the last fell to touching the pnncipal 
 points, to wit, her Majesty's entrance into the cause now m 
 • hand, which, quoth he, was an action of high importance, con- 
 siderinc^ how much it behoved her to go through the same aa 
 well in regard of the hope that thereby was given to the dis- 
 tressed people of these parts, as also in consideration ot that 
 worthy personage whom she hath here placed, whose estate and 
 credit may not be suffered to quail, but must be upholden as 
 becometh the lieutenant of such a princess as her Majesty. 
 
 "The opportunity thus offered," continued honest Morgan, 
 " and the way opened by himself, I thought good to discourse 
 with him to the full, partly to see the end and drift ot his 
 induced talk, and consequently to touch his quick in the sus- 
 pected cause of Antwerp."* And thus, word for word, taken 
 down faithfully the same day, proceeded the dialogue that wintry 
 morning, near three centuries ago. From that simple record— 
 mouldering unseen and unthought of for ages ^J^eajh piles ol 
 official dust— the forms of the illustrious Fleming and the bold 
 
 Vow.n •am Thomas Morgan to Sir F. Walslng- 
 
 aVSTMr '"^"'' ^" "'■ >-^ •"»• .-:..-.aP.o««Ma . m^ 
 
 U' 
 
 1585. 
 
 NOTE ON SAINTE ALDEGONDE. 
 
 263 
 
 Welsh colonel seem to start, for a brief moment, out of the 
 three hundred years of sleep which have succeeded their 
 energetic existence upon earth. And so, with the bleak winds 
 of December whistling over the breakers of the North Sea, the 
 two discoursed together, as they paced along the coast. 
 
 Morgan.—" I charge you with your want of confidence in her 
 Majesty's promised aid. 'Twas a thing of no small moment had 
 it been embraced when it was first most graciously ofiered." 
 
 Sainte Aldegonde.—" I left not her princelike purpose un- 
 known to the States, who too coldly and carelessly passed over 
 the benefit thereof, until it was too late to put the same in prac- 
 tice. For my own part, I acknowledge that indeed I thought 
 some future advice would either alter or at least detract from the 
 accomplishment of her determination. I thought this the rather 
 because she had so long been wedded to peace, and I supposed it 
 impossible to divorce her from so sweet a spouse. But set it 
 down that ghe were resolute, yet the sickness of Antwerp was 
 so dangerous, as it was to be doubted the patient would be dead 
 before the physician could come. I protest that the state of the 
 town was much worse than was known to any but myself and 
 some few private persons. The want of victuals was far greater 
 than they durst bewray, fearing lest the common people, per- 
 ceiving the plague of famine to be at hand, would iSer g5^w 
 desperate than patiently expect some happy event. For as thev 
 
 ^fnl'^M''^.-''';'''^^''' ''l.'^''^ ^^^y wonderfully divided : som^ 
 being Martmists some Papists, some neither the one nor the 
 other, but generally given to be factious, so that the horror at 
 home was equal to the hazard abroad." 
 
 Morgan.—" But you forget the motion made by the martial 
 men for putting out of the town such as were simple ardficers 
 with women and children, mouths that consumed meat but 
 stood m no stead for defence." ' 
 
 Sainte Aldegonde.-" Alas, alas ! would you have had me 
 guilty of he slaughter of so many innocents, whose lives w^ 
 committed to my charge, as well as the best ? Or mic^ht I W 
 answered my God when those massacred creatures should have 
 stood up agamst me. that the hope of Antwerp's deliverance wm 
 purchased with the blcK>d of so iany simple^«,uls ? No,^o - 
 I should have found my conscience such a hell and cont^niial 
 worm as the gnawing thereof would have been more paS and 
 
 ple^ant." ^"^'"'' '^ '^' ^^"^^ ^''^^ would We l^eu 
 Morgan continued to press the various points which had 
 excited suspicion as to the character and motives of Marnlx ^d 
 pomt by point Mamix answered his antagonist impressing h^ 
 armed as he had been in distrust, with an iS^blf con' 
 
 li 
 
264 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS 
 
 Chap. V, 
 
 Sainte Aldegonde (with vehemence). — "I do assnre yon in 
 coDclusioD, that I have solemnly vowed service and duty to 'her 
 Majesty, which I am ready to perform where and when it may 
 best like her to use the same. I will add moreover that I have 
 oftentimes determined to pass into England to make my own 
 purgation, yet, fearing lest her Highness would mislike so bold a 
 resolution, I have checked that purpose with a resolution to 
 tarry the Lord's leisure, until some better opportunity might 
 answer my desire. For since I know not how I stand in her 
 grace, unwilling I am to attempt her presence without permis- 
 sion ; but might it please her to command my attendance, I should 
 not only most joyfully accomplish the same, but also satisfy her 
 of and in all such matters as I jstand charged with, and after- 
 wards spend life, land, and goods to witness my duty towards 
 her Highness." 
 
 Morgan.—" I tell you plainly, that if you are in heart the 
 same man that you seem outwardly to be, I doubt not but her 
 Majesty might easily be persuaded to conceive a gracious opinion 
 of you. For mine own part, I will surely advertise Sir Francis 
 Walsingham of as much matter as this present conference hath 
 ministered,'* 
 
 " Hereof," said the Colonel— when, according to his promise 
 faithfully recording the conversation in all its details for Mr! 
 Secretary's benefit,— "he seemed not only content but most 
 glad. Therefore I beseech your honour to vouchsafe some few 
 lines herein, that I may return him some part of your mind. I 
 have already written thereof to Sir Philip Sidney, lord governor 
 of Flushing, with request that his Excellency the Earl of Lei- 
 cester may presently be made acquainted with the cause." 
 
 Indeed the brave Welshman was thoroughly converted from 
 his suspicions by the earnest language and sympathetic presence 
 of the fallen statesman. This result of the conference was credit- 
 able to the ingenuous character of both personages. 
 
 " Thus did he," wrote Morgan to Sir Francis, " from i)oint to 
 point answer all objections from the first to the last, and that in 
 such sound and substantial manner, with a strong show of truth 
 as I think his very enemies, having heard his tale, would be 
 satisfied. And truly, Sir, as heretofore I have thought hardly 
 of. him, being led by a superficial judgment of things as they 
 stood in outward appearance ; so now, having pierced deep, and 
 weighed causes by a sounder and more deliberate consideration, 
 I find myself somewhat changed in conceit ; not so much carried 
 away by the sweetness of his speech, as confirmed by the force 
 of his religious profession, wherein he remaineth constant, with- 
 out wavering— an argument of great strength to set him free 
 from treacherous attempts ; but as I am herein least able and 
 most unworthy to yield any censure, much less to give advice, 
 so I leave the man and the matter to your honour's opinion. 
 
 1585. 
 
 NOTE ON SAINTE ALDEGONDE. 
 
 265 
 
 Only (your graver judgment reserved) thus I think, that it were 
 good either to employ him as a friend, or as an enemy to remove 
 him farther from us, being a man of such action as the world 
 knoweth he is. And to conclude," added Morgan, ** this was the 
 upshot between us."* 
 
 Nevertheless, he remained in this obscurity for a long period.* 
 When, towards the close of the year 1585, the English govern- 
 ment was established in Holland, he was the object of constant 
 suspicion. 
 
 *' Here is Aldegonde," wrote Sir Philip Sidney to Lord Lei- 
 cester from Flushing, " a man greatly susiDCcted, but by no man 
 charged. He lives restrained to his own house, and, for aught 
 I can find, deals with nothing, only desiring to have his cause 
 wholly referred to your Lordship, and therefore, with the best 
 heed I can to his proceedings, I will leave him to his clearing or 
 condemning, when your Lordship shall hear him."» 
 
 In another letter Sir Philip again spoke of Sainte Aldegonde 
 as " one of whom he kept a good opinion, and yet a suspfcious 
 eye."* 
 
 Leicester himself was excessively anxious on the subject, 
 deeply fearing the designs of a man whom he deemed so mis- 
 chievous, and being earnestly desirous that he should not elude 
 the chastisement which he seemed to deserve. 
 
 " Touching Ste. Aldegonde," he wrote to Davison, " I grieve 
 that he is at his house without good guard. I do earnestly pray 
 you to move such as have power presently to commit a guard 
 about him, for I know he is a dangerous and a bold man, and 
 presumes yet to carry all, for he hath made many promises to 
 the Prince of Parma. I would he were in Fort Rammekyns or 
 else that Mr. Russell had charge of him, with a recommendation 
 from me to Russell to look well to him till I shall arrive. You 
 must have been so commanded in this from her Majesty, for she 
 thmks he is in close and safe guard. If he is not, look for a turn 
 of all things, for he hath friends, I know."* 
 
 But very soon after his arrival, the Earl, on examining into 
 ttie matter, saw fit to change his opinions and his language. 
 Persuaded, in spite of his previous convictions, even ^ the 
 honest Welsh colonel had been, of the ujjright character of the 
 man, and feelmg sure that a change had come over the feelirxTs 
 of Mamix himself in regard to the English alliance, Leicester at 
 once mterested himself in removing the prejudices entertained 
 towards him by the Queen. 
 
 " Now a few words for Ste. Aldegonde," said he in his earliest 
 
 1 Thomw Mor^ to Sir F. Walsing. 4 sir P. Sidney to Earl of Leicester. 
 
 h«n MS JuBt cited. 19th Feb. 1686. Brit Mus. Galba. a ix^ 
 
 * Bor, ii. 610-614. Hoofd Vervolgh, p. 93. »*. v- «• 
 
 116,117. Wagenaar, vlll. 83, 84. «t , . .. is 
 
 » Sir P. Sidney to Earl of Leicester Leicester to Davison Nov. ^ 1685. & 
 
 Brit Mus. Galbe, C. vllL 213 MS. ?• Office MS. 
 
266 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. V. 
 
 ^«m*trliM from Holland; "I will beseech her Majesty to stay 
 t^ul^en^Ull I w^^ iext. If the man Y^ as he now seeme^, 
 it wire ^tv to lose him, for he is indeed marvellously fnended. 
 HpTMaSywil think I know, that I am easily pacihed or led 
 ^ LchTmatter hnt 1 trust so to deal as she shall give me 
 thank^ On^^f he do offer service it is sure enough, lor he .s 
 
 ^ir -St;.-? irLi: t^'^^ ^^■ 
 
 Sty for thi3 work of hers to heaven and confesseth, till now 
 •n Ineel could not make him believe It. . ,„„„., 
 
 "■S «rUinly was a noble tribut^P* ^ "rr''"ibive a^^^ 
 rm^ irrTn^^t-l^'^oirheTve it.^^'w^ 
 
 ^t that^U SdSs against England should not have been 
 Xli' uUrtL U for Antwerp and [or Ms own use^u^es^ ! 
 w-^ hia aooa aneel really been present to make him oeiieve in 
 ^ "woTofT Majlty," when his ear was open to the 
 ^uotirs of Parma, thj dJstiny of Belgium and^s own ^V 
 sequent career might have been more fortunate than tliey 
 
 ""^^^bueen waa slow to return from her prejudices. She be- 
 
 ^SS»i^- LtistrHt-ut^itt^ 
 
 ""?dw"luaint Sir Christopher Hatton," wrote Walsingham 
 to Lei^t^ "with the letter which Ste. Aldegonde wrote to 
 ^Jf Ship, which, carrying a true picture o a^ -^f^^^f^ 
 Smotbut move an honest heart, weighmg the rare P"ta 'be 
 '^erZ is endowed withal, to pity his d.'tressed^tat^ -d 
 
 . to procure bun relief and <»?fort. «1^"* *'i; ^ TthoS"ht EoS 
 (Hatton) hath promised on his port to pe*™- .Li nW^ 
 
 SM, cause to acquaint her Majesty with the said letter. 
 
 B?t to high public career was closed. He lived down calumny 
 and niit his fneLies to shame, but the fatal error which he had 
 SZitted! in taking the side of S,«in rather than of England at 
 
 I Bruce. ' Leyceat Corresp.' pp. 33. 34. « Ibl«i PP- 31, 34. 
 
 1585. 
 
 NOTE ON SAINTE ALDEGONDE. 
 
 267 
 
 BO momentous a crisis, could never be repaired. He regained 
 the good opinion of the most virtuous and eminent personages in 
 Europe, but in the noon of life he voluntarily withdrew from 
 public affairs. The circumstances just detailed had made him 
 impossible as a political leader, and it was equally impossible for 
 him to play a secondary part. He occasionally consented to be 
 employed in special diplomatic missions, but the serious avoca- 
 tions of his life now became theological and literary. He sought 
 — in his own words — to penetrate himself still more deeply than 
 ever with the spirit of the Reformation, and to imbue the minus 
 of the young with that deep love for the reformed religion which 
 had been the guiding thought of his own career. He often spoke 
 with a sigh of his compulsory exile from the field where he had 
 been so conspicuous all his lifetime ; he bitterly lamented the 
 vanished dream of the great national union between Belgium and 
 Holland which had flattered his youth and his manhood ; and 
 he sometimes alluded with bitterness to the calumny which had 
 crippled him of his usefulness. He might have played a dis- 
 tinguished part in that powerful commonwealth which was so 
 steadily and splendidly arising out of the lagunes of Zeeland and 
 Holland, but destiny and calumny and his own error had decided 
 otherwise. 
 
 " From the depth of my exile," he said, *' for I am resolved 
 to retire, I know not where, into Germany, perhaps into Sar- 
 matia, I shall look from afar upon the calamities of my country. 
 That which to me is most mournful is no longer to be able to 
 assist my fatherland by my counsels and my actions."^ He did 
 not go into exile, but remained chiefly at his mansion of Zoubourg, 
 occupied with agriculture and with profound study. Many noble 
 works^-conspicuous in the literature of the epoch — were the 
 results of his learned leisure ; and the name of Mamix of Sainte 
 Aldegonde will be r^lways as dear to the lovers of science and 
 letters as to the believers in civil and religious liberty. At the 
 request of the States of Holland he undertook, in 1593, a trans- 
 lation of the Scriptures from the original, and he was at the 
 same time deeply engaged with a History of Christianity, which 
 he intended for his literary masterpiece. The man whose sword 
 had done knightly service on many a battle-field for freedom, 
 whose tongue had controlled mobs and senates, courts and 
 councils, whose subtle spirit had metamorphosed itself into a 
 thousand shapes to do battle with the genius of tyranny, now 
 quenched the feverish agitation of his youth and manhood in 
 Hebrew and classical lore. A grand and noble figure always ; 
 most pathetic when thus redeeming, by vigorous but solitary and 
 melancholy hard labour, the political error which had condemned 
 him to retirement. To work, ever to work, was the primary law 
 of his nature. Repose in the other world, " Repos ailleurs," was 
 
 1 • Commentaire but les Affaires d'Anvera.' 
 
 P 
 
268 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. V. 
 
 the device which he assmned in earliest youth, and to which he 
 
 ^"l^T.:^ 'Sd'Tan, whose life had heen brimfuU of noble 
 de^s^and who had been led astray from the path not of virtue, 
 b^of J^und policy, by his own prejudices and by the fascina- 
 tion of ^n^ntellect even more brilliant than his own he at least 
 enToyed m his retirement whatever go(^ may come from hearty 
 S gSuine labour, and from the high regard entertamed for 
 him by the noblest spirits among his contemporaries. 
 
 "Thev tell me "said La None, "that the Seigneur deSte. 
 Alde^Kasfeen suspected by the Hollanders and the Eng- 
 Ush I am deeply grieved, for 'tis a personage worthy to be 
 emnloved 1 haVe a^^^^ known him to be a zealous f^^iend of 
 Ms reuSon aud his country, and I will bear him this testimony, 
 m trends and his he7rt are clean Had it been otherw.^ 
 I must have known it. His example has made me regret the 
 leS the promise I was obliged to make, never to bear arms again 
 in the Netherlands. For I have thought that since th s man 
 who has 80 much credit and authority among your people, alter 
 havin- d^e his duty well, has not failed U> be calumniated and 
 Sd from service, what'would they have done with me, who 
 am a stranger, had I continued in their employment? Ihe 
 ^sul Terentius Varro lost, by his fault, the battle of Cann* ; 
 ^vertheless, when he returned to Rome, offering the remainder 
 of his life in the cause of his Republic reduced to extremity, he 
 was not rejected, but well received, because he hoped we 1 for the 
 7oZ%. It is not to be imputed as blame to Ste. AWegonde 
 that he lost Antwerp, for he surrendered when it could not be 
 saved. What I now say is drawn from me by the^compassion 
 I feel when persons of merit suffer without cause at the hands of 
 their fellow-citizens. In these terrible tcmi.ests, as it is a duty 
 ri<rorou8ly to punish the betrayers of their country, even so is it 
 an obligation upon us to honour good patriots, and to support 
 them in venial errors, that we all may encourage each other to 
 
 do the right."^ ... .. ^e tv^ 
 
 Strange too as it may now seem to us, a reconciliation of the 
 
 Netherlands with Philip was not thought an imposaibility by 
 
 • other experienced and sagacious patriots besides Marmx. J^ven 
 Olden-Bameveld, on taking office as Holland s Advocate, at this 
 period, made it a condition that his service was to last only unUl 
 the reunion of the Provinces with Spain.' . • i ^ ^i,^ 
 
 There was another illustrious personage m a foreign land who 
 ever rendered homage to the character of the retired Netherland 
 statesman. Amid the desolation of France, ^t^P^^w'^ T!5 
 often solaced himself by distant communion with that kindred 
 and sympathizing spirit. 
 
 1 Groen v. Prinsterer, • Archives,' 4c i., 79 SO. 
 « Wlllems, • MengeUngen.' p. 38». 
 
 1585. 
 
 NOTE ON SAINTE ALDEGONDE. 
 
 269 
 
 C( 
 
 Plunged in public annoyances,** he wrote to Sainte Alde- 
 gonde, " I find no consolation, except in conference with the 
 gooti, and among the good I hold you for one of the best. With 
 such men I had rather sigh profoundly than laugh heartily 
 with others. In particular. Sir, do me the honour to love me, 
 and btilieve that I honour you singularly. Impart to me some- 
 thing from your solitude, for I consider your deserts to be more 
 fruitful and fertile than our most cultivated habitations. As for 
 me, think of me as of a man drowning in the anxieties of the 
 time, but desirous, if possible, of swimming to solitude.'" 
 
 Thus solitary, yet thus befriended, — remote from public em- 
 ployment, yet ever employed, doing his daily work with all his 
 soul and strength, — Mamix passed the fifteen years yet remaiuiii]^ 
 to him. Death surprised him at last, at Leyden, in the year, 
 1598, while steadily labouring upon his Flemish translation of 
 the Old Testament, and upon the great political, theological, 
 controversial, and satirical work on the differences of religion, 
 which remains the most stately, though unfinished, monument 
 of his literary genius. At the age of sixty he went at last to 
 the repose which he had denied to himself on earth. " Repos 
 ailleurs."* 
 
 1 * Memolres et Corresp. de Daplessis- 
 Hornay,' vl. 35. 
 
 ' I am bound to state that there is a 
 single passage in one of Parma's letters to 
 Philip which contains a somewhat suspi- 
 cious allusion to Mamix. Were it not for 
 tlie distinct assertion of Famese, already 
 cited, to the disinterested character of 
 the burgomaster, and to his elevation 
 above mercenary considerations, the ol>- 
 aervatlon now alloded to would be still 
 more painful. 
 
 Six months after the fall of Antwerp 
 the Prince informed his sovereign that 
 Sainte Aldegoude had not yet gone to 
 Germany, but was still in Zeeland, where 
 they were treating him with great atten- 
 tion, but conferring no authority upon 
 him. " Those in power," added Famese, 
 " distrust him, because they see him 
 Inclined to that party to which, when he 
 can— unless I deceive myself — he will 
 give bis support If he bad not found the 
 
 English already Introduced, 1 think they 
 would have made less of him, and that he 
 would have accomplished some valuable 
 piece of service. I do not fail to serul 
 compliments, as well to him, as to others 
 who may prove useful agents, and to do 
 all 1 can to keep them in their good 
 dispositions, and in this course I shall 
 ever persist, keeping awake by day and 
 night" 
 
 " Oesconfiando por verle hicllnado a la 
 parte a la cual cuando puede, sino me 
 engaflo, creo i^udari, y sino hallarfi intro- 
 ducidos los Ingleses, creo hecharen menos 
 de el. y que hidera algun buen efeto. 
 Yo asi a el, como a los demas medios que 
 me parecen ser a prc-posito, no dejo de 
 embiar recaudos,* ni de procurar tenerlos 
 en 8u buen proposlto, y en la dicha con- 
 formldad lo hire, baciendo siempre, des- 
 velandome de dia y de noche," &c. &c 
 Parma to Philip IL, 28th Feb. 1586. Ar- 
 chivo de Simancas MS. 
 
 • The word • recaudo ' or • recado ' means a complimentary message, which might, 
 or might not, be accompanied with more solid arguments. 
 
 It has been seen that Philip authorized Famese to offer large rewards to Mamix, 
 with the stipulation that they were not to be conferred until the service require 
 had been rendered. On the other hand, the Prince privately assured the King that 
 the man whom they so much wished to gain was not to be won by a bribe. After 
 fcnjpulously examining the evidence, 1 cannot resist a conclusion favourable to the 
 purity of Mamix. 
 
 !i 
 
 4i» 
 
 ^ 
 
 i ) 
 
270 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap.VI 
 
 1585. 
 
 DIPLOMATIC COQUETRT. 
 
 271 
 
 CHAPTEB VI. 
 
 Pollcyof England-Diplomatic Co.j.t^-rm^^^^^^^ 
 of Ortel and VVal»ingham - Interview wi^ U.o«^er ^^^^ Despatch - Close 
 Queen -Lette,™ of the Stjt^GeneralJ^l effe^^^^ 
 Bargaining of theC^ieenandStote8^-Gtmran^ej.requ^ ^^^^^^ _^,^^ 
 
 con^parative Weakness -T^eEng^i«b^^^^^^^ described - Reception 
 
 Envoys in London - The*r O^wactera u _Memorial of the Envoys 
 
 7^'^r^^n -Sir John Norris sent ^^^ ""^^-^^^^^^^^^ 
 Philip Sidney— Hi« Arrival at Rushing. 
 
 EKGi^N,>-a8 we have seen-had '^^fi'^y watched the 
 negotiations between France and *« ^.^™^^^ 
 Alfhough Bhe had-upon the who e, <^^,*Ynth mrtief 
 fge-teeu loyal in her.beanngtowwds both partes 
 she was perhaps not entirely dmpleased with tlie result 
 XrhTcheriBh^d triumvirate was out of the q"e«t.o» ' 
 wM auite obvious that, now or never, she must come 
 ToZ^^aZ prevent the Provinces from fa Img back into 
 'Z^i^^i Spain. The futu« was pl jjy --^^ fo^ 
 shadowed, and it was already probab e, "^ «^«e ot a 
 OTdoneed resistance on the part of Holland that Philip 
 ll^Sertaie the reduction of his reWbo^-u^- 
 by a preliminary conquest of England It was the etore 
 q^te certain that the expense and danger of assisting 
 the Netherlands must devolve upon herself bu^»t*6 
 • same time, it was a consolation that her powerful next- 
 Z^ neighbour was not to be made still more powerful 
 t^the^Bexation to his own dominion of those import- 
 
 ant territories. . -ri^^^.. x^^A 
 
 Accordingly, so soon as the deputies in rrance had 
 
 received their definite and somewhat g"™°"^ 
 repulse from Henry III. and his '"0*«'' ^1\^, ^^"^'* 
 eovemment lost no time in intimating to the btates 
 tidltXy were not to be left without an aUy. Queen 
 EUzabeth was however resolutely averse from assuming 
 
 that sovereignty which she was not unwilling to see 
 offered for her acceptance ; and her accredited envoy at 
 the Hague, besides other more secret agents, were as 
 busily employed in the spring of 1585 — as Des Pruneaux 
 
 had been the previous winter on the part of France to 
 
 bring about an application, by solemn embassy, for her 
 assistance. 
 
 There was, however, a difference of view, from the 
 outset, between the leading politicians of the Nether- 
 lands and the English Queen. The Hollanders were 
 extremely desirous of becoming her subjects; for the 
 United States, although they had already formed them- 
 selves into an independent republic, were quite ignorant 
 of their latent powens. The leading personages of the 
 country— those who were soon to become the foremost 
 statesnien of the new commonwealth— were already 
 shrinking from the anarchy which was deemed insepa- 
 rable from a non-regal form of government, and were 
 seeking protection for and against the people under a 
 foreign sceptre. On the other hand, they were indis- 
 posed to mortgage large and important fortified towns, 
 such as Flushing, BrUl, and others, for the repayment 
 of the subsidies which Elizabeth might be induced 
 to advance. They preferred to pay in sovereignty rather 
 than m money, llie Queen, on the contrary, preferred 
 money to sovereignty, and was not at aU inclined to 
 sacrifice economy to ambition. Intending to drive a 
 hard bargain with the States, whose cause was her own, 
 and whose demands for aid she had secretly prompted,' 
 she meant to grant a certain number of soldiers for as 
 brief a period as possible, serving at her expense, and 
 to take for such outlay a most ample security in the 
 shape of cautionary towns. 
 
 Too intelligent a politician not to feel the absolute 
 necessity of at last coming into the field to help the 
 Netherlanders to fight her own battle, she was still 
 willing, for a season longer, to wear the mask of cov- 
 ness and coquetrj% which she thought most adapted to 
 irritate the ^etherianders into a full compliance with her 
 wishes. Her advisers in the Provinces were inclined to 
 take the same view. It seemed obvious, after the failure 
 in France That those countries must now become 
 either English or Spanish ; yet Elizabeth, knowing the 
 
 11 
 
 f 
 
272 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. V. 
 
 ^«V «f their falling back, from desperation, into the 
 
 \ nf her ri^l ^owed them to remain for a season 
 
 oTdxe Se of de«t™ction-which would probably 
 
 ? T>.rS!r ruin also-in the hope of bringing them 
 have been her inin aiso i r something 
 
 to her feet 0"l^«^°?^*f[,7•a^litwI^not without 
 "ifrc::":^h"h'^fter'a^ndf such insincere ma- 
 S:urr V the -e time - ^^-XH^lt 
 -rrSw^ -n^^^Stht entertain^ 
 S^Ubf of^una^ly^obUin^^^^^^^^^ l^ 
 
 SL^^ToVnoT^eern" u^stit^ted for a good deal of 
 
 T£"'a'"S7inteUigent agent of Ae English 
 
 Oilpin, a ."'S" J, , . ^. gir Francis Walsmgham 
 
 ^.ernment m Zee W, kept br^^^^ e>^tertained by 
 
 thoroughly ^f°r^^°l.^l towards England. Mixing 
 lliCft witL^h rStfluential polfticians he was 
 ^1^ rrJnder material assistance to the English council 
 ' !>.» ainlo^rZie which had been commenced, 
 Lndt wbSno kss important stake than the crown 
 
 •^^L't^rnct'^hrS" with i^rticular persons 
 i^^JloT^ rule or credit, I find a great inclmation 
 that «"^, ^yj^i^ " :oi„ed notwithstanding with a 
 v'^'i^'oo^^^ &y auSe that matters of such im 
 ^rt^cei^to'be maturely and thoroughly pondered 
 al^^meof them harp upon the old «tring^- i^^^ 
 Majesty, for the security of her own estate, was to have 
 
 ^TZTJ'l:^'^^-^^ insinuate the expediency 
 
 S^i^d.' For if they lee it t« come f^^^^iiter 
 doVey persuade themselves that '* J ^^^^^^^^^^^^ 
 security of our own country and her Higbness w lea 
 
 iail»to«oW.l.llWt«»n,^MMd..l585. S.P.Offl«MS. 
 
 1585. 
 
 DIPLOMATIC COQUETRl. 
 
 273 
 
 the King of Spain s greatness. But if thoy become seek- 
 
 I' Tit 'l^^ *'''J««'y' «H '^ *^y ""'^y- ty outward show, 
 deem that she accountefh not of the said King's micht 
 but able and sufficient to defend her oxvn realms then 
 ver,ly I ,h,nk thev may be brought to what^ever VH^t" 
 her Majesty may desire." ' F"iJi» 
 
 Certainly it was an age of intrigue, in which nothing' 
 seemed worth getting at all unless it could be .^ot bv 
 underhand means and in which it was thought fmpos- 
 sible for two parties to a bargain to meet together except 
 as antagonists, who believed that one could not der^e 
 ai.rofitfrom the tiunsaction unless the other had been 
 overreached. This was neither good morality nor sound 
 diplomacy, and the result of such trifling was much 
 loss of time and great disaster. In accordance witMWs 
 crafty system. ,ho agent expressed the opinion tha t 
 would "be good and requisite for the English govern 
 ment so.newhat to temporise," and to dallf for a se^Tn 
 onger, in order to see what measures the States wS 
 take to detend themselves, and how much abnitT^d 
 resources they would show for belligerent purposed If 
 
 jealou'r''" XTdinr ^^%' '""^ ^'T^^^ wll'd^bt^^' 
 jeaioub, J leldmg, as it were, the r power and vet 
 
 keeping the mdder in their own hands •' ^ 
 
 At the same time Gilpin was favourably imnresKP^ 
 with the character both of the country and^the natkm 
 
 Enl.d'""fe' '"/V.\^ ""P^'-*^"* relations Wth 
 mefnt .; ih>s people," he said, '• is such as by fair 
 means they «ill be won to yield and gnint any reaso^ 
 able motion or demand. ^\ hat these inlands of^ZeeZd 
 
 C Y t-'T'^' .r^ "" ""y ^"'^^ «f ^-^ °o""ca do 
 Jcno^v. let tor their government thus much I .n.,«t 
 
 Tan^ow"* Th vV'"^ *"'"'''^'' '* -- -- bTt to 
 and%:rrfullv ^hl^r'esoIudorbr,t• T "°^' ^""^ 
 
 .t-tt::::^""^ -ni^r^ JdVe^r^oiSXm t: 
 
 .iiau waj, Uilpin Had it not been as well then fi.r 
 tngl,shmen-who were themselves in that a^e =L. 1 
 eveiy other, apt to "perform to the uUe^most^fl^ris " 
 
 » Gilpin t«Wul8lnghani. MS. Just cited. 
 VOL. I, 
 
 2 Ibid. 
 
274 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. VI. 
 
 X 1- «^^ lYiailp " and to respect those endowed 
 
 ZZs at once in a cause which was so vital to both 
 
 ''^c""*!^ «« the definite refusal of Henry III. was 
 V ^° in ^da^d Leicester and Walsingham wrote 
 ^rCce "o thVKetherUnds. The Earl already saw 
 
 rhseWu^.yettop..eto^^^^^^^^^^ 
 
 S^r^tte™ ^w'thJ French Le dealt with these 
 
 S! , „;il >,Pa.rtilv and earnestly seek it. the Lord hath 
 f Join ed them a far better defence. But you must so 
 r thel«er «. tm tkeyn.., seek "- -" ^'^•^l^'^-S^f 
 wA shiU be partakers thereof also. They may now, ii 
 They wUl e^^^^ ^d liberally deal, bring th^- 
 
 selves to a better end than ever France would ha^e 
 
 ^TtfhU m^melt there were two diplomatic agents from 
 the S^telrs^ent in England-Jacques de Gryze, whom 
 pll Bny^^ formerly described as having thrus 
 
 Welf head and shoulders into the matter without 
 nronerauSity^ Joachim Ortel, a most experienced 
 TdS^man, speaking and wHUng English to 
 \i\Z ami thoroutrhly conversant with English habits 
 Td hai^^^^ as the despatches fi.m France 
 
 Svfd wlngham, 18th March, 1585, sent for Ortel, 
 and the two held a long conference. 
 
 1 Leicester to Davison. -Mar. 1686. 
 
 S. P. Office MS. 
 
 a Memorie van Ortel & de Gryze, 24 
 March. 1585. Hague Archives MS. 
 
 It is necessary, once for all. to state 
 that no personage is ever made, m the 
 text, to say or to write anything except 
 what, upon the best evidence of eye and 
 ear witnesses, he is known to have sa d 
 or written. It is no longer permitted to 
 historlana-as was formerly the case, 
 from the times of Livy to those of 
 Cardinal Bentivoglio- to tntwi ha- 
 wnguea, letters, and conferencea. Where 
 
 my narrative, for the conven.ence of the 
 reader, is thrown into a dramatic fom» 
 the wonis-not the substance merely 
 but the ipsissima i-erto-have beer, 
 gathered from authentic documents. 
 Utt«rs, speeches, and the Uke, are often 
 translated Into the text from various 
 languages -I^tin, French. Flem.s^ 
 Spanish, Italian, German; and- where 
 thT sources are EngUsb-the spelUng. 
 and, in a very slight measure, the dic- 
 tion, have been put Into modem garD. 
 But the reader may be sure that he w 
 never made to be present at imaginary 
 conversations, which, however agreeable 
 
 1585, CONFERENCE OF ORTEL AND WALSINGHAM. 275 
 
 Walsingham.—" We have just received letters from 
 Lord Derby and Sir Edward Stafford, dated the 13th 
 March. They inform us that your deputies— contrary 
 to all expectation and to the great hopes that had been 
 held out to them— have received, last Sunday, their 
 definite answer from the King of France. Ho tells 
 them, that, considering the present condition of his 
 kingdom, ho is unable to undertake the protection of 
 the Netherlands ; but says that if they like, and if the 
 Queen of England be willing to second his motion, he 
 IS disposed to send a mission of mediation to Spain for 
 the purpose of begging the King to take the condition 
 of the provinces to heart, and bringing about some 
 honourable composition, and so forth, and so forth. 
 
 *' Moreover the King of France has sent Monsieur de 
 Bellievre to Lord Derby and Mr. Staflford, and Bellievre 
 has made those envoys a long oration. He explained 
 to thein all about the original treaty between the States 
 and Monsieur, the King's brother, and what had taken 
 place from that day to this, concluding, after many 
 allegations and divers reasons, that the King could not 
 trouble himself with the provinces at present ; but hoped 
 her Majesty would make the best of it, and not be 
 oftended with him. 
 
 ^ *' The ambassadors say further, that they have had an 
 mtei-view with your deputies, who are excessively pro- 
 vokcd at this most unexpected answer from the Kinff 
 and are making loud complaints, being all determined 
 to take themselves off as fast as possible. The ambas- 
 satlors have recommended that some of the number 
 should come home by the way of England." 
 
 Ortel.— -It seems necessary to take active measures 
 at once and to leave no duty undone in this matter, 
 it will be advisable to confer, so soon as may be, with 
 some of the principal counsellors of her Majesty, and 
 recommend to them most earnestly the present condition 
 of the provinces They know the affectionate confi- 
 dence which the States entertain towards England, and 
 must now, remembering the sentiments of goodwill 
 
 and instructive in works Intentionally conference is derived from the Reoort 
 
 r;;:;rtot^rriir ^ "^ z:J' ^-l rn I- ^^ ^^^ 
 
 in this instance thr"J«>unt of the f^^^i^-"* >" the Royal A^ve. 
 
 T 2 
 
 • I 
 
 « 
 
 !l 
 
 I 
 
 • 
 
276 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VI. 
 
 which they have expressed towards the Netherlands, be 
 willing to employ their efforts with her Majesty in this 
 
 emergency." . 
 
 Walsingham (with much show of vexation).—" ihis 
 conduct on the part of the French court has been most 
 pernicious. Your envoys have been delayed, fed with 
 idle hopes, and then di^^gracefully sent away, so that the 
 best part of the year has been consumed, and it will 
 be most difficult now, in a gieat hurry, to get together a 
 sufficient force of horse and foot folk, with other neces- 
 saries in abundance. On the contrary, the enemy, wAo 
 kmwfrom the first what result was to l>e expected in J^ ranee, 
 has been doing his best to be beforehand with you in 
 the field : add, moreover, that this French negotiation 
 has given other princes a bad taste in their mouths. 
 This is the case with ner Majesty. The Queen is, not 
 without reason, annoyed that the States have not only 
 despised her friendly and good-hearted offers, but have 
 all along been endeavouring to embark her in this war, 
 for the defence of the Provinces, which would have cost 
 her several millions, without offering to her the slight- 
 est security. On the contrary, others, enemies of the 
 religion, who are not to be depended upon— who had 
 never deserved well of the States or assisted them in 
 their need, as she has done— have received this large 
 offer of sovereignty without any reserve whatever." 
 
 Ortel (not suffering himself to be disconcerted at this 
 unjust and somewhat insidious attack). — *' That which 
 has been transacted with France was not done except 
 with the express approbation and full foreknowledge of 
 her Majesty, so far back as the lifetime of his Excel- 
 lency (William of Orange), of high and laudable 
 memory. Things had already gone so far, and the 
 Pfovinces had agreed so entirely together, as to make 
 it inexpedient to bring about a separation in policy. 
 It was our duty to hold together, and, once for all, 
 thoroughly to understand what the King of France, after 
 such manifold presentations through Monsieiir Des 
 Pruneaulx and others, and in various letters of his own, 
 finally intended to do. At the same time, notwithstand- 
 ing these negotiations, we had always an especial e5'e 
 upon her Majesty. We felt a hopeful confidence that 
 she would never desert us, leaving us without aid or 
 
 1585. 
 
 INTERVIEW WITH LEICESTER. 
 
 277 
 
 counsel, but would consider that these affairs do not 
 concern the Provinces alono or even especially but are 
 just as deeply important to her and to all other princes 
 oi the religion. ^ 
 
 After this dialogue, with much more conversation of 
 a similar character, the Secretary and the Envoy set 
 themselves frankly and manfully to work. It was 
 agreed between them that every effort should be made 
 with the leading members of the councH to induce the 
 gueen, - in this terrible conjuncture, not to fort^ake the 
 Irovmces, but to extend good counsel and prompt 
 assistance to them in their present embaiTassments " 
 ^..I\T ^'f,"v^?7^^^^' «o ^^i»ch business in Parliament 
 just then, that it was impossible to obtain immediately 
 the desired interviews. ^ 
 
 • ^"^ ^^^J^.\^\ ^'^''} ^^^ ^^ ^^^^ ^ad another inter- 
 view with Walsmgham at the Palace of Greenwich 
 Ihe Secretary expressed the warmest and most March 20th * 
 smcore affection for the Provinces, and advised Ts^s '^• 
 that one of the two envoys should set forth at once for 
 home in order to declare to the States, without loss of 
 time, her Majesty's good inclination to assume the pro- 
 tection of the land, together with the maintenance of 
 the reformed religion and the ancient privileges. Kot 
 that she was seeking her otvti profit, or wished to obtain 
 that sovereignty which had just been offered to another 
 ot the contrary religion, but in order to make manifest 
 her affectionate solicitude to presci-v-e the Protestant 
 taith and to support her old allies and neighbours. 
 JNevertheless, as she could not assume this protectorate 
 wiOiout embarking in a dangerous war with the King 
 ot bpain, in which she woul<l not only be obliged to 
 spend the blood of her subjects, but also at least two 
 millions of gold, there was the more reason that the 
 bUites should give her certain cities as secuiity. Those 
 cities would be held by certain of her gentlemen, no- 
 minated thereto, of quality, credit, and religion, at the 
 head of good, ti-ue, and well-paid garrisons, who should 
 make oath never t» surrender them to ihe King of Spain 
 or to any one else without consent of the States, llie 
 1 rovinces were also reciprocally to bind themselves by 
 oath to make no treaty with the King, without the 
 advice and approval of her Majesty. It was likewise 
 
278 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VI. 
 
 thoroTiglily to be understood that such cautionary towns 
 should be restored to the States so soon as payment 
 should be made of all moneys advanced during the war. 
 Next day the envoys had an interview with the Earl 
 of Leicester, whom they found as amicably disposed 
 2i8t March towards their cause as Secretary \Valsingham 
 im. ' had been. *' Her Majesty," said the Earl, " is 
 excessively indignant with the King of France, that he 
 should so long have abused the Provinces, and at last 
 have dismissed their deputies so contemptuously. Never- 
 theless," he continued, ** 'tis all your own fault to have 
 placed your hopes so entirely upon him as to entirely 
 forget other princes, and more especially her Majesty. 
 Notwithstanding all that has passed, however, 1 find 
 her fully determined to maintain the cause of the Pro- 
 vinces. For my own part, I am ready to stake my 
 life, estates, and reputation upon this issue, and to 
 stand side by side with other gentlemen in persuading 
 her Majesty to do her utmost lor the assistance of your 
 
 country." 
 
 He intimated however, as Walsingham had done, 
 that the matter of cautionary towns would prove an 
 indispensable condition, and recommended that one of 
 the two envoys should proceed homeward at once, in 
 order to procure, as speedily as possible, the appoint- 
 ment of an embassy for that purpose to her Majesty. 
 " They must bring full powers," said the Earl, '' to give 
 her the necessary guarantees, and make a formal demand 
 for protection ; for it would be unbecoming, and against 
 her reputation, to be obliged to present herself, unsought 
 by the other party." 
 
 In conclusion, after many strong expressions of good- 
 will, Leicester promised to meet them next day at court, 
 where he would address the Queen personally on the 
 subject, and see that they spoke with her as well. 
 Meantime he sent one of his principal gentlemen to keep 
 company with the envoys, and make himself useful to 
 them. This personage, being " of good quality and a 
 member of Parliament," gave them much useful infor- 
 mation, assuring them that there was a strong feeling 
 in England in favour of the Netherlands, and that the 
 matter had been very vigorously taken up in the 
 national legislature. That assembly had been strongly 
 
 1585. PRIVATE AUDIENCE WITH THE QUEEN. 
 
 279 
 
 encouraging her Majesty boldly to assume the protec- 
 torate, and had manifested a willingness to assist her 
 with the needful. "And if," said he, "one subsidy 
 should not be enough, she shall have three, four, five, 
 or six, or as much as may be necessary." 
 
 The same day the envoys had an interview with 
 Lord Treasurer Burghley, who held the same language 
 as Walsingham and Leicester had done. " The Queen 
 to his knowledge," he said, " was quite ready to assume 
 the protectorate ; but it was necessary that it should be 
 formally offered, with the necessary guarantees, and that 
 Avithout further loss of time." 
 
 On the 22nd March, according to agreement, Ortel 
 and De Gryze went to the court at Greenwich. While 
 waiting there for the Queen, who had ridden out into 
 the country, they had more conversation with W alsing- 
 hani, whom they found even more energetically disposed 
 in their favour than ever, and who assured them that her 
 Majesty was quite ready to assume the protectorate so 
 soon as offered. " Witbin a month," he said, " after the 
 signing of a treaty, the troops would be on the spot 
 under command of such a personage of quality atd 
 religion as would be highly satisfactory." While they 
 were talking the Queen rode into the court-yard 
 accompanied by the Earl of Leicester and other gentle- 
 men. Very soon afterwards the envoys were summoned 
 to her presence, and allowed to recommend the aftairs 
 ot the I rovinces to her consideration. She lamented 
 the situation of their country, and in a few words 
 expressed her inclination to render assistance, provided 
 the states would manifest full confidence in her They 
 replied by offering to take instant measures to gratify 
 all her demands, so soon as those demands should be 
 made known ; and the Queen, finding herself surrounded 
 by so many gentlemen and by a crowd of people 
 appointed them accordingly to come to her private 
 apartments the same afterroon. 
 
 At that interview none were present save W^alsin^ham 
 and Lord Chamberlain Howard. The Queen showed 
 herself - extraordinary resolute " to take up the affairs 
 
 f;l ! Tv '''^''''''^; " ^^® ^^^ *l^^y« be^'i sure," she said, 
 
 tnat the l^ren h negotiation would have no other issue 
 
 than the one wiiich they had just seen. She was fully 
 
280 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VI. 
 
 1585. 
 
 LETTERS OF THE STATES-GENERAL. 
 
 281 
 
 aware what a powerful enemy she was about to make — 
 one who could easily create mischief for her in Scotland 
 and Ireland ; but sLe was nevertheless resolved, if the 
 States chose to deal with her frankly and generously, 
 to take them under her protection. She assured the 
 envoys that, if a deputation with full powers and 
 reasonable conditions should be immediately sent to 
 her, she would not delay and dally with them, as had 
 been the case in Franco, but would despatch them back 
 again at the speediest, and would make her good 
 inclination manifest by deeds as well as words. As she 
 was hazarding her treasure, together with the blood and 
 repose of her subjects, she was not at liberty to do this 
 except on receipt of proper securities." ^ 
 
 Accordingly De Gryze went to the Provinces, pro- 
 vided with complimentary and aftectionate letters from 
 the Queen, while Ortel remained in England. So far 
 all was plain and aboveboard; and Walsinghara, who, 
 from the first, had been warmly in favour of taking up 
 the Netherland caiise, was relieved by being able to 
 write in straightforward language. Stealthy and subtle 
 where the object was to get within the guard of an 
 enemy who menaced a mortal blow, he was, both by 
 nature and policy, disposed to deal frankly with those 
 he called his friends. 
 
 ** Monsieur de Gryze repaireth presently," he wrote 
 to Davison, " to try if ho can induce the States to send 
 their deputies hither, furnished with more ample in- 
 structions than they had to treat with the French King, 
 considering that her Majesty carrieth another manner 
 of princely disposition than that sovereign. Meanwhile, 
 for that she doubteth lest in this hard estate of their 
 affairs, and the distrust they have conceived to be 
 relieved from hence, they should from despair throw 
 themselves into the course of Spain, her pleasure there- 
 fore is — though by Burnbam i sent you directions to 
 put them in comfort of relief, only as of yourself —ihoX you 
 shall now, as it were, in her name, if you see cause 
 sufficient, assure some of the aptest instruments that 
 you shall make choice of for that purpose, that her 
 Majestjs rather thiin that they should peribh, will be 
 content to take them under her protection." 
 
 1 Menwrie van de Oiyze k OrteL MS. before cited. 
 
 He added that it was indispensable for the States, 
 upon their part, to offer " such sufficient cautions and 
 assurances as she might in reason demand." * 
 
 Matters were so well managed that by the 22nd 
 April the States-General addressed a letter to the 
 Queen, in which they notified her that the 22nd Apru, 
 desired deputation was on the point of setting i^ss. 
 forth. '* Kecognising," they said, "that there is no 
 prince or potentate to whom they are more obliged than 
 they are to your Majesty, w© are about to request you 
 very humbly to accept the sovereignty of these l^ro- 
 vinces, and the people of the same for your very 
 himible vassals and subjects." They added that, as the 
 necessity of the case was great, they hoped the Queen 
 would send, so soon as might be, a force of four or five 
 thousand men for the purpose of relieving the siege of 
 Antwerp.' 
 
 A similar letter was despatched by the same courier 
 to the Earl of Leicester.' 
 
 On the 1st of May, Ortel had audience of the Queen, to 
 deliver the letters from the States-General. He m^ ist. 
 found that despatches, veiy encouraging and i^^^- 
 agreeable in their tenor, had also just arrived from 
 Davison. The Queen was in good humour. She took 
 the letter from Ortel, read it attentively, and paused a 
 good while. Then she assured him that her good 
 affection towards the Provinces was not in the least 
 changed, and that she thanked the States for the con- 
 fidence in her that they were manifesting. '*It is 
 imnecessarj'," said the Queen, " for me to repeat over 
 and over again sentiments which I have so plainly 
 declared. You are to assure the States that they shall 
 never be disappointed in the trust that they have 
 reposed in my good intentions. Let them deal with me 
 sincerely, and without holding open any back-door. 
 Not that I am seeking the sovereignty of the Provinces, 
 for I wish only to maintain their privileges and ancient 
 liberties, and to defend them in this regard agpinst all 
 the world. Let them ripely consider, then, with what 
 
 > Walsingham to Davison. % March, l^:^^^ ^' ^^^'^ ''"'- ^^« 
 
 5685. S. P. Office MS. 3 Lettre des Etats au Cte. de Lel- 
 
 « licttre des Etats Generanx des cester, 21 April, 1585. Hague Ar- 
 
 Provinces Unies a la serenlsslme Reyne chives. MS, 
 
 I 
 
 It' 
 
 
282 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VI 
 
 1585. 
 
 ILL EFFECTS OF GILPIN'S DESPATCH. 
 
 283 
 
 fidelity I am espousing their cause, and how, without 
 fear of any one, 1 am arousing most powerful enemies."* 
 
 Ortel had afterwards an interview with Leicester, in 
 which the Earl assured him that her Majesty had not in 
 the least changed in her sentiments towards the Pro- 
 vinces. "For myself," said he, " I am ready, if her 
 Majesty choose to make use of me, to go over there in 
 person, and to place life, property, and all the assistance 
 1 can gain from my friends, upon the issue. Yea, with 
 so good a heart, that I pray the Lord may be good to 
 me only so far as I serve faithfully in this cause." He 
 added a warning that the deputies to be appointed 
 should come with absolute powers, in order that her 
 Majesty's bountiful intentions might not be retarded by 
 their own fault." 
 
 Ortel then visited Walsingham at his house, Barn- 
 Elms, where he was confined by illness. Sir Francis 
 assured the envoy that he would use every effort, by 
 letter to her Majesty and by verbal instructions to his 
 son-in-law, Sir Philip Sidney, to further the success of 
 the negotiation, and that he deeply regretted his enforced 
 absence from the court on so important an occasion. 
 
 Matters were proceeding most favourably, and the 
 all-important point of sending an auxiliary force of 
 Englishmen to the relief of Antwerp — before it should 
 be too late, and in advance of the final conclusion of the 
 treaty between the countries — had been nearly con- 
 ceded. Just at that moment, however, " as ill-luck 
 would have it," said Ortel, *' came a letter from Gilpin. 
 I don't think he meant it in malice, but the effect was 
 most pernicious." He sent the infonnation that a new 
 attack was to be made by the lOth May upon the 
 Kowenstyn, that it was sure to be successful, and that 
 the siege of Antwerp was as good as raised. So Lord 
 Burghley informed me, in presence of Lord Leicester, 
 that her Majesty was determined to await the issue of 
 this entei-prise. It was quite too late to get troops in 
 readiness to co-operate with the States' army so soon 
 as the 10th May, and, as Antwerp was so sure to be 
 
 1 Brief van Ortel aan de Staaten 
 Generaal. 8 Mai, 1585. Hague Ar- 
 chives, MS. 
 
 « Ibid. 
 
 » " Nu zynde in al desen geoccupeert. 
 
 voert liet ongelnck zeker missive van den 
 S netarls Gilpin, uyi Middelbourg, 
 daertot', lioewel Ick nyet pn dencke tzelve 
 uyt eenich malitie by hem gescliiet te 
 zyn."&c. (Ibid.) 
 
 relieved, there was no pressing necessity for haste. I 
 uttered most bitter complaints to these lords and to 
 other counsellors of the Queen, that she should thus 
 draw back, on account of a letter f^om a single indi- 
 vidual, without paying sufficient heed to the despatches 
 from the States-General, who certainly knew their own 
 affairs and their own necessities better than any one else 
 could do, but her Majesty sticks firm to her resolution."* " 
 
 Here were immense mistakes committed on all sides. 
 The premature shooting up of those three rockets from 
 the cathedral-tower, on the unlucky 10th Mav, had thus 
 not only ruined the first assault against the KowenstjTi, 
 but also the second and the more promising adventure! 
 Had the four thousand bold Englishmen there enlisted,' 
 and who could have reached the Provinces in timo 
 to co-operate in that great enterprise, have stood side 
 by side with the Hollanders, the Zeelanders, and the 
 Antwerpers, upon that fatal dyke, it is almost a certainty 
 that Antwerp would have been relieved, and the whole 
 of Flanders and Brabant permanently annexed to the 
 independent commonwealth, which would have thus 
 assumed at once most imposing proportions. 
 
 It was a great blunder of Sainte Aldegonde to station 
 in the cathedral, on so important an occasion, watchmen 
 in whose judgment he could not thoroughly rely. It 
 was a blunder in Gilpin, intelligent as he generally 
 showed himself, to write in such sanguine style before 
 the event. But it was the greatest blunder of all for 
 Queen Elizabeth to suspend her co-operation at the very 
 instant when, as the result showed, it was likely to 
 prove most successful. It was a chapter of blunders 
 from first to last, but the most fatal of all the errors was 
 the one thus prompted by the great Queen's most 
 traitorous characteristic, her obstinate parsimony. 
 
 And now began a series of sharp chafferings on both 
 Bides, not very much to the credit of either party. The 
 kingdom of England and the rebellious Provinces of 
 Spain were drawn to each other by an irresistible law 
 of political attraction. Their absorption into each other 
 seemed natural and almost inevitable ; and the weight 
 of the strong Protestant organism, had it been thui 
 
 » Brief van Ortel, 4c, JuBt cited. 
 
 i 
 
 ' 
 
 f 
 
 i 
 
284 
 
 I 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VI. 
 
 completed, might liave balanced the great Catholic 
 League which was clustering about Spain. It was 
 unfortunate that the two governments of England and 
 the Netherlands should now assume the attitude of 
 traders driving a hard bargain with each other, lather 
 than that of two important commonwealths, upon whose 
 action, at that momentous epoch, the weal and wo of 
 'Christendom was hanging. It is quite true that the 
 danger to England was great, but that danger in any 
 event was to be confronted. Philip was to be defied, 
 and, by assuming the cause of the Provinces to be her 
 own, which it unquestionably was, Elizabeth was taking 
 the diadem from her head — as the King of Sweden well 
 observed — and adventuring it upon the doubtful chance 
 of war.* Would it not have been better then — her mind 
 being once made up — promptly to accept all the benefits, 
 as well as all the hazards, of the bold game to which 
 she was of necessity a party ? But she could not yet 
 believe in the incredible meanness of Heni-y III. 
 *'I asked her Majesty" (3rd May, 1585), said Ortel, 
 " whether, in view of these vast preparations in France, 
 it did not behove her to be most circumspect and upon 
 her guard. For, in the opinion of many men, every- 
 thing showed one great scheme already laid down — a 
 general conspiracy throughout Christendom against the 
 reformed religion. She answered me, *that thus far 
 she could not perceive this to be the case ; nor could she 
 believe,' she said, ' that the King of Fi-ance could be so 
 faint-hearted as to submit to such injuries from the 
 Guises.' " * 
 
 Time was very soon to show the nature of that un- 
 happy monarch with regard to injuries, and to prove to 
 Elizabeth the error she had committed in doubting his 
 faint-heartedness. Meanwhile, time was passing, and 
 the Netherlands were shivering in the storm. They 
 needed the open sunshine which her caution kept too 
 long behind the clouds. For it was now enjoined upon 
 Walsingham to manifest a coldness upon the part of the 
 English government towards the States. Davison was 
 to be allowed to return; " but," said Sir Francis, *' her 
 Majesty would not have you accompany the commis- 
 sioners who are coming frum the Low Countries, but to 
 
 1 Camden, 321. 
 
 « MS. letter of Oriel, 8 May, 1585, before cited. 
 
 1585. CLOSE BARGAINING OF THE QUEEN AND STATES. 285 
 
 come over either before them or after them, lest it be 
 thought they come over by her Majesty's procurement."' 
 As if they were not coming over by her Majesty's 
 most especial procurement, and as if it would matter to 
 Philip — the union once made between England and 
 Holland — whether the invitation to that union came 
 first from the one party or the other ! 
 
 ** I am retired for my health from the court to mine 
 o\vn house," said Walsingham, " but I find those in 
 whose judgment her Majesty reposeth greatest trust so 
 coldly afi'ected unto the cause, as I have no great hope 
 of the matter ; and yet, for that the hearts of princes are 
 in the hands of God, who both can and will dispose them 
 at his pleasure, I would be loth to hinder the repair of 
 the commissioners." * 
 
 Here certainly had the sun gone most suddenly into a 
 cloud. Sir Francis would be loth to advise the commis- 
 sioners to stay at home, but he obviously thought them 
 coming on as bootless an errand as that which had taken 
 their colleagues so recently into France. 
 
 The cause of the trouble was Flushing. Hence the 
 tears, and the coldness, and the scoldings, on the part of 
 the imperious and the economical Queen. Flushing was 
 the p;itrimony — a large portion of that which was left to 
 him — of Count Maurice. It was deeply mortgaged for 
 the payment of the debts of William the Silent, but his 
 son Maurice, so long as the elder brother Philip \\ illiam 
 remained a captive in Spain, wrote himself Marquis of 
 Flushing and Kampveer, and derived both revenue and 
 importance from his rights in that important town. The 
 States of Zeeland, while desirous of a political fusion 
 of the two countries, were averse from the prospect of 
 converting, by exception, their commercial capital into 
 an English city, the remainder of the Provinces remain- 
 ing meanwhile upon their ancient footing. The nego- 
 ciations on the subject caused a most ill-timed delay. 
 The States, finding the English government cooling, 
 affected to giow tepid themselves. This was the true 
 mercantile system, j:>erhaps, for managing a transaction 
 most thriftily, but frankness and promptness would have 
 been more statesmanlike at such a juncture. 
 
 " I am sorry to understand," vrrote Walsingham, 
 
 1 Walsingham to Davibon, 22 April, 1585, S. P. Office Ma * Ibtd. 
 
 II 
 
 
286 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VI. 
 
 "that the States are not yet grown to a Ml resolution 
 for the delivering of the town of Flushing mto her 
 Maiestv's hands. The Queen, finding the pe^ple of 
 S island 80 wavering and inconstant, ^^esides that 
 they can hardly, after the so long enjoying a popular 
 liberty, bear a regal authority, would be loth to em- 
 bark herself into so dangerous a war without some 
 sufficient caution received from them. It is also greatly 
 to be doubted that if, by practice and corruption, that 
 town might be recovered by tl^^ ^P^^^^/'^^'/* T jj^^ 
 put all the rest of the country in peril I find her 
 Majesty, in case that town may be gotten, fully resolyed 
 to receive them into her protection, so as it may also 
 be made probable unto her that the promised three hun- 
 dred thousand guilders the month will be d^^y P^^^ 
 
 A day or two after writing this letter, W alsingham 
 sent, one afternoon, in a great l^^^^y v^^^^"^^^,' fT 
 informed him very secretly, t^^*' ^^^^^fj^^S.^^^^^Tm 
 tion just received, the deputies from the States were 
 coming without sufficient authority m regard to this 
 very matter. Thus all the good intentions of the English 
 coveniment were likely to be frustrated, and the 1 ro- 
 vinces to be reduced to direful extremity. ^^ 
 
 " What can we possibly advise her Majesty to do i 
 asked Walsingham, - since you are not willing to put 
 confidence in her intentions. You are trying to bring 
 her into a public war, in which she is to risk her trea- 
 sure and the blood of her subjects against the greatest 
 potentates of the world, and you hesitate meantime 
 at giving her such security as is required for the very 
 defence of the Provinces themselves. The depu les are 
 coming hither to otfer the sovereignty to l^^^JVlajesty 
 as was recently done in France, or, if that should not 
 prove acceptable, they are to ask assistance in men and 
 money upon a mere taliUr qucdifer guaranty, liiats not 
 the way. And there are plenty of ill-disposed persons 
 here to' take advantage of this position of aftaii-s to ruin 
 the interest of the Provinces now placed on so good a 
 footing. Moreover, in this perpetual sending ot de- 
 spatches back and forth, much precious time is consumed; 
 and this is exactly what our enemies most desire. 
 
 1 Minute to Gilpin, 
 8» P. Office MS. 
 
 17 
 
 « ftief Tan Ortel aan de Staaten 
 May, 1585. Qeneraal. 13 Mai, 1585. Hague Ar- 
 chives MS. 
 
 1585. GUARANTEES REQUIRED BY ENGLAND. 287 
 
 In accordance with Walsingham's urgent sugges- 
 tions, Ortel wrote at once to his constituents, imploring 
 them to remedy this matter. " Do not allow," he said 
 " any more time to bo waited. Let us not painfully 
 build a wall only to knock our o\ni heads against it to 
 the dismay of our friends and the gratification of our 
 enemies." * 
 
 It was at last arranged that an important blank 
 should be loft in the articles to be brought by the depu- 
 ties, upon which vacant place the names of certain cau- 
 tionary towns, afterwards to bo agreed upon, were to be 
 inscribed by common consent. Meantime the English 
 ministers were busy in preparing to receive the com- 
 mi8sioners, and to bring the Netherland matter hand- 
 somely before the legislature. 
 
 The integrity, the caution, the thrift, the hesitation 
 which characterized Elizabeth's government, were well 
 portrayed m the habitual language of the Lord Trea- 
 surer, chief minister of a third-rate kingdom now called 
 on to play a first-rate part, thoroughly acquainted with 
 the moral and intellectual power of the nation whose 
 policy he directed, and prophetically conscious of the 
 great destinies which were opening upon her horizon. 
 Lord Burghley could hardly, be censured- least of all 
 ridiculed-for the patient and somewhat timid attributes 
 ot Ins nature. The ineffable ponderings, which mi^rht 
 now be ludicrous, on the part of a minister of the British 
 Ji^mpire, with two hundred millions of subjects and near 
 a hundred millions of revenue, were ahnost inevitable in 
 a man guiding a realm of four millions of people with 
 nail a million of income. 
 
 It was, on the whole, a strange negotiation this be- 
 tween England and Holland. A commonwealth had 
 arisen, but was unconscious of the streng-th which it was 
 to find m the principle of states' union, and of religious 
 equality. It sought, on the contrary, to exchange its 
 federal sovereignty for provincial dependence, and to 
 imitate, to a certain extent, the very intolerance by 
 which it had been driven into revolt. It was not un- 
 natural that the Netherlanders should hate the Roman 
 Catholic religion, in the name of which they had en- 
 dured such infinite tortures, but it is, nevertheless. 
 
 1 Brief van Ortel, &C., Just cited. 
 
288 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VI. 
 
 painful to observe that they requested Queen Eliza- 
 beth, whom they styled defender, not of " the faith," 
 but of the " reformed religion," to exclude from the 
 Provinces, in case she accepted the sovereignty, the 
 exercise of all religious rites except those belonging 
 to the reformed church. They, however, expressly 
 provided against inquisition into conscience.^ Private 
 houses were to be sacred, the papists free within their 
 own walls, but the churches were to be closed to those 
 of the ancient faith. This was not so bad as to hang, 
 burn, drown, and bury alive nonconformists, as had 
 been' done by Philip and the holy inquisition in the 
 name of the church of Home : nor is it verj' surprising 
 that the horrible past should have caused that church 
 to be regarded with sentiments of such deep-rooted 
 hostility as to make the Hollander shudder at the idea 
 of its re-establishment. Yet, no doubt, it was idle 
 for either Holland or England, at that day, to talk 
 of a reconciliation with Rome. A step had separated 
 them, but it was a step from a precipice. No human 
 power could bridge the chasm. The steep contrast be- 
 tween the league and the counter-league, between the 
 systems of Philip and Mucio, and that of Elizabeth 
 and Olden-Barneveld, ran through the whole world of 
 thought, action, and Jife. 
 
 But still the negotiation between Holland and Eng- 
 land was a strange one. Holland wished to give herself 
 entirely, and England feared to accept. Elizabeth, in 
 place of sovereignty, wanted mortgages ; while Holland 
 was afrjiid to give a part, although offering the whole. 
 There was no great inequality between the two coun- 
 tries. Both were instinctively conscious, perhaps, of 
 standing on the edge of a vast expansion. Both felt 
 that they were about to stretch their wings suddenly for 
 a flight over the whole earth. Yet each was a very infe- 
 rior power, in comparison with the great Empires of the 
 past or those which then existed. 
 
 It is difficult, without a strong effort of the imagi- 
 nation, to reduce the English empire to the slender 
 
 1 Points et Articles concus et arres- Art. II. " Sans qu'icelle pourra estre 
 
 tps par le« etats generaulx de Pay Bas change ou altre Religion es diets pays 
 
 pi.nr traicter avez la Serenlsslrae Royne exercee. Pourveu toutefols que per- 
 
 d'Angleterre sur la souverainete. Hague sonne ne sera re<ierche en sa con- 
 
 ArcUives, MS. 
 
 Bcicnce." 
 
 1585. ENGLAND'S COMPARATIVE WEAKNESS. 289 
 
 proporHons which belonged to her in the davB of 
 EliEabeth. That epoch wL full of light and life^ The 
 
 Tthe Cf::!,"?'"'' "^1 '"' ^^•''"^^ been shining 
 n *-"?'"* firmament were then human creatures 
 
 ^t m^erfhf f Z''^- ^^ ^^P*^™- ^t-tes^en cor! 
 sairs, merchant-adventurers, poets, dramatists, the ereat 
 
 Queen herse f the Cecils, iJeigh, Walsingham I)Ske 
 
 Wr'b^t hrfir' !'r"t^' ^•f-"r' «hakspeare and the 
 lesser but briUiant lights which surrounded him • such 
 were the men who lifted England upon an e Wion to 
 
 It W ^tT r*/'' ^°'^''«^ ^y her material g^andeu^" 
 a\ a^ ^^^ ^^ '^°''® ^ith Borne, and her expand™, 
 dated from that moment. Holland and England bvZ 
 
 ThilT" ^^'^^^l^ stood excommunicated of the Pope 
 J^t sen?bv f""^ ^* '"°''* '"^•'■'=^ intelligence w^ 
 FrLc. th{. ^^ ""^ *^T-** ^"' °^ *« Netherlands and 
 
 th^r wkvt^^r'."': ^''^^ ^y ^^^'P' ^«^« "taking 
 ThliT^l , England to attempt the life of the Queen 
 Ji^ f «*«''^ders were rebels to the Spanish mon^ch' 
 
 Rome V„ °'^1,°"' ^^ ^'.^' ""^^^^ death-sentenrby 
 EHzabeth w«« r*" ^^ «eyitable and wholesome. 
 Elizabeth was, however, consistently opposed to the 
 
 S Tr«f 'r " «°--f g°ty. EnM was a weak 
 
 Ei'on f Tf ^^ * ^^'.'^^ ■" * «"»*« of chronic 
 lebelhon-a stepping-stone for Spain in its already 
 foreshadowed invasion. Scotland was at her back ^th 
 a strong party of Catholics, stipendiaries of Philip 
 encouruged by the Guises and periodically inflamed to 
 enthusiasm by the hope of rescuing Ma Jstua^T from 
 her imprisonment, bringing her rival's\ead to Z 
 block, and e evating the long-suffering martyr upon the 
 
 Thf ,^\ conspiracies were weaving every day 
 The mortal duel between the two queens was ^lowfy' 
 approaching its temination. In the fatal fo^of K 
 was embodied everything most perilous t^lnglS 
 &tkm It ^g'-d•s Queen. %ary Stuart tel 
 abroad VA T^A ^bj«ction to Bome and Spain 
 abroad. The uncle Guises were stipendiaries of Philip 
 Philip was the slave of the Pope. Mucio had frightened 
 the unlucky Henry UI. into submission, and thire wt« 
 
 VOL. 1. 
 
 a 
 
 I 
 
290 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 CUAP. VI. 
 
 no healtli nor hope in France. For England, Mary 
 Stuart embodied the possible relapse into sloth, depend- 
 ence, barbarism. For Elizabeth, Mary Stuart embodied 
 sedition, conspiracy, rebellion, battle, murder, and 
 
 sudden death. 
 
 It was not to be wondered at that the Queen tlius 
 situated should be cautious, when about throwing down 
 the gauntlet to the greatest powers of the earth. Yet 
 the commissioners from the United States were now on 
 their way to England to propose the throwing of that 
 gauntlet. What now was that England ? 
 
 Its population was, perhaps, not greater than the 
 numbers which dwell to-day within its capital and 
 immediate suburbs. Its revenue was perhaps equal to 
 the sixtieth part of the annual interest on the present 
 national debt. Single, highly-favoured individuals, not 
 only in England but in other countries cis- and trans- 
 Atlantic, enjoy incomes equal to more than half the 
 amount of Elizabeth's annual budget. London, then 
 containing perhaps one hundred and fifty thousand in- 
 habitants, was hardly so imposing a town as Antwerp, 
 and was inferior in most material respects to Paris and 
 Lisbon. Forty-two hundred children were bom every 
 year within its precincts, and the deaths were nearly as 
 many.* In plague years, which were only too frequent, 
 as many as twenty and even thirty thousand people 
 had been annually swept away.* At the present epoch 
 there are seventeen hundred births every week, and 
 about one thousand deaths. 
 
 It is instructive to throw a glance at the character 
 of the English people as it appeared to intelligent 
 foreigners at that day; for the various parts of the 
 world were not then so closely blended, nor did national 
 colours and characteristics flow so liquidly into each 
 other, as is the case in these days of intimate juxta- 
 position. 
 
 " The English are a very clever, handsome, and well- 
 made people," says a learned Antwerp historian and 
 merchant, who had resided a long time in London, " but, 
 like all islanders, by nature weak and tender. They are 
 generally fair, particularly the women, who all— even 
 
 1 Meteren, xlU. 2-13. The historian was, for a long period, resident in London at 
 thte epoch. ^ ^'''"^ 
 
 1585. 
 
 THE ENGLISH CHARACTERIZED. 
 
 291 
 
 to the peasant women— protect their complexions from 
 the sun with fans and veils, as only the stately gentle- 
 women do m Germany and the Netherlands. As a 
 people they are stout-hearted, vehement, eager cruel in 
 war, zealous in attack, little fearing death ; notVeven^e- 
 ful, but fickle, presumptuous, rash, boastful, deceitful 
 very suspicious, especially of strangers, whom they 
 despise. They are full of courteous and hypocritical 
 gestures and words, which they consider to imply g-ood 
 manners, civility, and wisdom. They are well spoken 
 and very hospitable. They feed well, eating much 
 meat, which— owing to the rainy climate and the 
 ranker character of the grass— is not so firm and suc- 
 culent as the meat of France and the Netherlands. The 
 people are not so laborious as the French and Hollanders 
 prefemng to lead an indolent life, like the Spaniards! 
 J h^ most difficult and ingenious of the handicrafts are 
 in the hands of foreigners, as is the case with the lazy 
 inhabitants of Spain. They feed many sheep, with fine 
 wool, from which, two hundred years ago, they learned 
 to make cloth. They keep many idle servants, and 
 many wild animals for their pleasure, instead of culti- 
 vating the soil. They have many ships, but they do not 
 even catch fish enough for their own consumption but 
 purchase of their neighbours. They dress very eleealitlv 
 -Their costume is light and costly, but they are very 
 changeable and capricious, altering their fashions every 
 year, both the men and the women. When they go 
 away from home, riding or traveUing, they always wear 
 their best clothes, contrary to the habit of other nations. 
 Ihe English language is broken Dutch, mixed with 
 t rench and British terms and words, but with a lighter 
 pronunciation. They do not speak from the chest; like 
 the Crermans, but prattle only with the tongue." * 
 
 Here are few statistical facts, but certainly it is curious 
 to see how many national traits thus photogi-aphed by a 
 contemporary have quite vanished, and have been ex- 
 changed for their very opposites. Certainly the last 
 physiological criticism of all would indicate as great a 
 national metamorphosis, during the last three centuries, 
 as IS offered by many other of the writer's observations. 
 * With regard to the women," continues the same 
 
 1 Emanuel van Jlcteren, • Xederlandsche Hlstcrien,' xill. 243 
 
 u 2 
 
 \ i\ 
 
m^Z 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 authority, " they are entirely in the power of the men, 
 except in matters of life and death, yet they are not kept 
 80 closely and strictly as in Spain and elsewhere. They 
 are not locked up, but have free management of their 
 household, like the Netherlanders and their other 
 neighbours. They are gay in their clothing, taking well 
 their ease, leaving house- work to the servant-maids, and 
 are fond of sitting, finely-dressed, before their doors to 
 see the passers-by and to be seen of them. In all 
 banquets and dinner-parties they have the most honour, 
 sitting at the upper end of the board, and being served 
 first. Their time is spent in riding, lounging, card- 
 playing, and making merry with their gossips at child- 
 bearings, chiistenings, churchings, and buryings ; and 
 all this conduct the men wink at, because such are the 
 customs of the land. They much commend however 
 the industry and careful habits of the German and 
 Netherland women, who do the work which in England 
 devolves upon the men. Hence, England is called the 
 paradise of married women, for the unmarried girls are 
 kept much more strictly than upon the continent. The 
 women are handsome, whit«, dressy, modest ; although 
 they go freely about the streets without bonnet, hood, or 
 veil ; but the noble dames have lately learned to cover 
 their faces with a silken mask or vizard with a plumage 
 of feathers, for they change their fashions every year, to 
 the astonishment of many." * 
 
 Paul Hentzner, a tourist from Germany at precisely 
 the same epoch, touches with equal minuteness on 
 English characteristics. It may be observed, that, with 
 8ome discrepancies, there is also much similarity in the 
 views of the two critics. 
 
 ** The English," says the whimsical Paul, ** are serious, 
 like the Germans, lovers of show, liking to be followed, 
 wherever they go, by troops of servants, who wear their 
 master's arms, in silver, fastened to their left sleeves, 
 and are justly ridiculed for wearing tails hanging down 
 their backs. They excel in dancing and music, for they 
 are active and lively, although they are of thicker build 
 than the Germans. They cut their hair close on the 
 forehead, letting it hang down on either side. They 
 are good sailors, and better pirates, cunning, treacherous, 
 
 1 Eroanuel van Meteren. Just cited. 
 
 1585. 
 
 PAUL HENTZNER. 
 
 293 
 
 thievish. Three hundred and upwards are han^red 
 annually in London Hawking is the favourite spor?of 
 the nobility. The English are more polite in eatin- 
 than the French, devouring less bread, but more meat 
 which they roast in perfection. Thev put a great deal 
 of sugar in their drink. Their beds' are covfred whh 
 tapestry, even those of farmers. They are powerful in 
 the field, successful against their enemies, impatient of 
 anything like slavery, vastly fond of great ear-fillinc 
 noises, such as cannon-firing, drum-beating, and bell- 
 ringing ; so that it is very common for a number of them 
 when they have got a cup too much in their heads to 
 go up to some belfry, and ring the bells for an hour 
 together, for the sake of the amusement. If they see a 
 foreigner very well made or particularly handsome, they 
 will say » tis pity he is not an Englishman.'" » 
 
 It is also somewhat amusing, at the present day to 
 find a German elaborately explaining to his countrymen 
 the mysteries of tobacco-smoking, as they appeared to 
 his unsophisticated eyes in England. - At the theatres 
 and everywhere else," says the traveller, " the Eno-lish 
 are constantly smoking tobacco in the following manner 
 Ih^y have pipes, made on purpose, of clay. At ih^ 
 farther end of these is a bowl. Into the bowl they put 
 the herb and then setting fire to it, they draw the 
 smoke into their mouths, which they puff out again 
 through their nostrils, like funnels," ''and so on • Con- 
 scientious explanations which a German tourist of our 
 own times might think it superfluous to offer to his 
 compatriots. 
 
 It is also instructive to read that the light-fincrered 
 gentry of the metropolis were nearly as adroit in their 
 calling as they are at present, after three additional 
 centuries of development for their delicate craft ; for the 
 learned Tobias Salander, the travelling companion of 
 I aul Hentzner, finding himself at a Lord Mayor's Show 
 was eased of his purse containing nine crowns, as skil^ 
 tully as the feat could have been done by the best pick- 
 pocket of the nineteenth century, much to that learned 
 person s discomfiture.* 
 
 » Paulus Hentznerus, • Itinerarinm Ger- 
 maniae, Galliae, Angliae, lulia«>,' Bres- 
 lae, 1617. 
 
 ' Paulufl Hentanerus, Just cited. 
 » Ibid. 
 
li 
 
 m 
 
 294 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VK 
 
 Into sucli an England and among such English the 
 Netherland envoys had now been despatched on their 
 most important errand. 
 
 After twice putting back, through stress of weather, 
 the commissioners, early in July, arrived at London, 
 and were *' lodged and very worshipfully appointed at 
 charges of her Majesty in the Cloth workers' Hall in 
 Pynchon-lane, near Tower-street." * About the Tower 
 and its faubourgs the buildings were stated to be as 
 elegant as they were in the city itself, although this was 
 hardly very extravagant commendation. From this 
 district a single street led along the river's strand to 
 Westminster, where were the old and new palaces, the 
 famous hall and abbey, the Parliament chambers, and 
 the bridge to Southwark, built of stone, with twenty 
 arches, sixty feet high, and with rows of shops and 
 dwelling-houses on both its sides. Thence, along the 
 broad and beautiful river, were dotted here and there 
 many stately mansions and villas, residences of bishops 
 and nobles, extending farther and farther west as the 
 city melted rapidly into the country. London itself 
 was a town lying high upon a hill — the hill of Lud — 
 and consisted of a coil of narrow, tortuous, unseemly 
 streets, each with a black, noisome rivulet running 
 through its centre, and with rows of three storied, 
 leaden-roofed houses, built of timber-work filled in with 
 lime, with many gables, and with the upper stories 
 overhanging and darkening the basements. There were 
 one hundred and twenty-one churches, small and large, 
 the most conspicuous of which was the Cathedral. Old 
 Saint Paul's was not a very magnificent edifice, but it 
 was an extremely large one, for it was seven hundred 
 and twenty feet long, one hundred and thirty broad, and 
 had a massive quadrangular tower, two hundred and 
 sixty feet high. Upon this tower had stood a timber- 
 steeple, rising to a height of five hundred and thirty- 
 four feet from the ground, but it had been stmck by 
 lightning in the year 1561, and consumed to the stone- 
 work." 
 
 The Queen's favourite residence was Greenwich 
 Palace, the place of her birth, and to this mansion, on 
 the 9th of July, the Netherland envoys were conveyed, 
 
 » Stowe's • Chionlcle,' p. 708. « Meteren, xlli. 243. Camden, 67. 
 
 1585. 
 
 THE ENVOYS IN LONDON. 
 
 295 
 
 „f '7»!l'^^S"'**'°° ""^ * ^'""""S one. There was Falck 
 of Zeeland, a man of consummate adroitness perhaps 
 
 fine • 'r ^^T^ ?'^S.'ty ; '' a shrewd felloes 
 hrm TW« Leicester soon afterwards characterised 
 him. 1 here was Memn, pensionary of Dort, an eloquent 
 and accomplished orator, and employed on this occasbu 
 a"nd 1 thrw''""T °f t»'«„legatW-.'a deeper Z" 
 l^i' -^u' *° J^onester," said the same personage 
 
 addmg, with an eye to business, "and he is but 3' 
 wtich you must consider, but with great secrecy^' ! 
 There was Paul Buys, whom we have met with befo^re ■ 
 keen, subtle, somewhat loose of life, veiy passionate a 
 most energetic and valuable friend to EnilaTa deter 
 
 ZtotHolLlrn' "'^? l>''<l««g"ed the important 
 post ot Holland s Advocate, when the mission offerins- 
 
 soverei^ty to Heniy III. had been resolved upon and 
 who had since that period been most influenti^Mn 
 CT"kI*''" P'"^"°* '"""^^ «f <ie EngHsh poic 
 
 Wr";r/ • *=' t "^^ S— -ent totUs ?he M^ 
 vinces, was doing his best to frustrate the subsequent 
 
 Hn^?, ^'""'7'*^^°S'''°'^' "'"'d whether or no he has 
 Holland under his thumb." • The same individuaf had 
 conceived hopes from Falck of Zeeland. Thai Province 
 m which lay the great bone of contention between the 
 Queen and the States-the important town of Flushing 
 
 policy. It IS to be feared that Falck was not the mo«t 
 ingenuous and disinterested politician^hat couW be 
 
 puritvTr'Lr "^r ^'«.*-g"-ted for frankn ss or 
 puiity , for even while setting forth upon the mission 
 
 to ^he'wrlwT,'*'-" ^"T"^' °^ a^ecting to r^ 
 to the wretched delusion of French assistlnce. "I 
 
 ^' Bruce'. -LeyoMt Comv.- «9, • Groea v. Prl„su,rer, ■ JMhi,^- 
 ~ Sept 1586. *c.. 1. U. 
 
 I 
 
 i\ 
 

 296 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VI. 
 
 
 regret infinitely," said Falck to the French agent just 
 mentioned, " that I am employed in this affair, and that 
 it is necessary in our present straits k) have recourse to 
 England. There is— so to speak— not a pereon m our 
 Province that is inclined that way, all recognising very 
 well that France is much more salutary for us, besides 
 that we all bear her a certain affection. Indeed, it i 
 were assured that the King still felt any goodwill 
 towards us, I would so manage matters that neither the 
 Queen of England nor any other prince whatever except 
 his most Christian Majesty should take a bite at this 
 country, at least at this Province ; and with that view, 
 while waiting for news from France, I will keep things 
 in suspense, and spin them out as long as it is possible 
 
 The news from France happened soon to be very 
 conclusive, and it then became difficult even for Falck 
 to believe— after intelligence received of the accord 
 between Henry III. and the Guises— that his Christian 
 Majesty would be inclined for a bite at the Netherlands. 
 This duplicity on the part of so leading a personage 
 furnishes a key to much of the apparent dilatoriness on 
 the part of the English government. It has been seen 
 that Elizabeth, up to the last moment, could not fairly 
 comprehend the ineffable meanness of the French mo- 
 narch. She told Ortel that she saw no reason to believe 
 in that great Catholic conspiracy against herself and 
 against all Protestantism which was so soon to be made 
 public by the King's edict of July, promulgated at the 
 very instant of the arrival in England of the Netherland 
 envoys. When that dread fiat had gone forth, the most 
 determined favourer of the French alliance could no 
 longer admit its possibility, and Falck became the more 
 open to that peculiar line of argument which Leicester 
 had suggested with regard to one of the other deputies. 
 *' I will du my best," wrote Walsingham, " to procure 
 that Paul Buys and Falck shall receive underhand some 
 
 reward."* 
 
 Besides Menin, Falck, and Buys, were Noel de Caron, 
 an experienced diplomatist; the poet-soldier. Van der 
 Does, heroic defender of Leyden ; De Gryze, Hersolte, 
 
 1 Groen v. Prinsterer, just dtod. 
 2 Wablughamtol-^vls -TsV' ^^^^' ^' ^' ^^^ ^*^ 
 
 ( 
 
 1585. 
 
 OLDEN-BARNEVELD DESCRIBED. 
 
 297 
 
 Francis Maalzoon, and three legal Frisians of pith and 
 substance, Feitsma, Aisma, and Jongema;^ a dozen 
 Du chmen together-as muscular champions as ever 
 little republic sent forth to wrestle with all comers in 
 the slippery ring of diplomacy. For it was instinctively 
 lelt that here were conclusions to be tried with a nation 
 ot deep, solid thinkei-s, who were aware that a great 
 cnsis in the world's history had occurred, and would 
 put torth their most substantial men to deal with it 
 Burghley and Walsingham, the great Queen herself* 
 were no feather-weights like the frivolous Henry III' 
 and his mmions. It was pity, however, that the disl 
 cussions about to ensue presented from the outset rather 
 the aspect of a hard-hitting encounter of antagonists 
 than that of a frank and friendly congress betwein two 
 great parties whose interests were identical 
 
 Since the death of William the SUent there was no 
 one individual m the Netherlands to impersonate the 
 great struggle of the Provinces with Spain and Eome 
 and to concentrate upon his own head a poetical, dra' 
 matic, and yet most legitimate interest. The gieat 
 purpose of the present history must be found in its 
 Uiustration of the creative power of civil and religious 
 freedom. Here was a little republic, just bom into the 
 worid, suddenly bereft of its tutelary saint, left to its 
 own resources, yet already instinct with healthy, vigo- 
 roiis life, and playing its difficult part among friends 
 and enemies with audacity, self-reliance, and success, 
 lo a certain extent its achievements were anonymous 
 but a great principle manifested itself through a series 
 of noble deeds. Statesmen, soldiers, patriots, came 
 forward on all sides to do the work which was to be 
 done, and those who were brought into closest contact 
 with the commonwealth acknowledged in strongest 
 language the signal ability with which, self-guided she 
 steered her course. Nevertheless, there was at this 
 moment one Netheriander, the chief of the present 
 mission to England, already the foremost statesman of 
 his country, whose name will not soon be effaced from 
 the record of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. 
 Ihat man was John of Olden-Bameveld 
 He was now in his thirty-eighth year, having been 
 
 1 Wagenaar, vlli. 90. 
 
 
 M f 
 
298 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VI. 
 
 bom at Amersfort on the 14tli of September, 1647.* He 
 bore an imposing name, for the Olden-Bamevelds of 
 Gelderland were a race of unquestionable and antique 
 nobility. His enemies, however, questioned his right to 
 the descent which he claimed. They did not dispute 
 that the great-grandfather, Claas van Olden-Bameveld, 
 was of distinguished lineage and allied to many illus- 
 trious houses, but they denied that Claas was really the 
 great-grandfather of John. John's father, Geritt, they 
 said, was a nameless outcast, a felon, a murderer, 
 who had escaped the punishment due to his crimes, but 
 had dragged out a miserable existence in the downs, 
 burrowing like a rabbit in the sand. They had also 
 much to say in disparagement of all John's connections. 
 Not only was his father a murderer, but his wife, whom 
 he had married for money, was the child of a most 
 horrible incest, his sisters were prostitutes, his sons 
 and brothers were debauchees and drunkards, and, in 
 short, never had a distinguished man a more uncomfort- 
 able and discreditable family-circle than that which 
 surrounded Bameveld, if the report of his enemies was 
 to be believed.' Yet it is agreeable to reflect that, with 
 all the venom which they had such power of secreting, 
 these malignant tongues had been unable to destioy the 
 reputation of the man himself. John's character was 
 honourable and upright, his intellectual power not dis- 
 puted even by those who at a later period hated him the 
 most bitterly. He had been a profound and indefati- 
 gable student from his earliest youth. He had read law 
 at Leyden, in France, at Heidelberg. Here, in the 
 head-quarters of German Calvinism, his youthful mind 
 had long pondered the dread themes of foreknowledge, 
 judgment absolute, free will, and predestination. To 
 believe it worth the while of a rational and intelligent 
 Deity to create annually several millions of thinking 
 beings, who were to struggle for a brief period on earth, 
 and to consume in perpetual brimstone afterwards, 
 while otheis were predestined to endless enjojTuent, 
 seemed to him an indififerent exchange for a faith in Che 
 
 I llMranas. ' Hish>rie ran het Leven wen.' ii. 247. 
 
 CB. Sterven van Johaus van Olden- « 'Gulden Legende van den Nieawen 
 
 Bamevelt,' 1648, p. 3. • Levensbeschry- St. Jan.' 1618. 
 ^ing Nederslondiicher Mannen en Vroa* 
 
 1585. 
 
 OLDEN-BARNEVELD DESCRIBED. 
 
 299 
 
 purgatory and paradise of Kome. Perplexed in iha 
 extreme, the youthful John bethought hf^elf^f an 
 inscription over the gateway of his faLus Cotstion 
 able great-grandfather's house at Amersfort ^TIT 
 ^Urssima fiUes.^ He resolved thencerrtf'^at^^^^ 
 s^-stem of Ignorance upon matters beyond the flam ns 
 walls of the world : to do thp wnrV 1^4- i!^- "^^^^'^s 
 fully and faithfully While^he waT^ed thf L'rth'andt 
 trust that a benevolent Creator would devote "nr^hw 
 h:m nor any other man to eternal hell fire? For tils 
 most offensive doctrine he was howled at by the sTrictlv 
 pious, while he earned still deeper opprobrium by darine 
 to advocate religions tolenition'. In'^Le of The end"eJ 
 horrors inflicted by the Spanish Inquisition upon hk 
 native land, he had the hardihood- although a det^^ 
 mined Protestant himself-to claim forSnCatholts 
 the right to exercise their religion in the fi-P« \ZtTT 
 equal terms with those of the ref^n^ed fal^^^.'^ff^yrn: " 
 said his enemies, " could smell what that meant who Ud 
 
 tian, both m theory and pratice, and he nobly confronted 
 n consequence the wrath of bigote on both sides At a 
 tt ^"°\^^ ■"?«* zealous Calvinists called Hm Pope 
 John and the opinions to which he was to owe such 
 appe lations had already been formed in his mSd 
 
 Alter completing his very thorough legal studleo >.« 
 
 had practised as an advocate in Hollanf and Zeeland 
 
 An early defender of civil and religious freedom heTd 
 
 been brought at an early day into contact with WUkm 
 
 the Silent, who recognised his ability. He had boZ 
 
 a snap-hance on his shoulder as a volunteer in Z 
 
 memorable attempt to relieve Haarlem, anrwas Tne of 
 
 the few survivors of that bloodv nie-ht Wa i,L 7 i 
 
 outside the walls of Leyden Hm"! ny of Ae plt tf 
 
 Orange when that magnificent dest™otion of thrdvkes 
 
 had token place by which the city had been saved from 
 
 the fate impending over it. At a still more rel^ 
 
 period we have seen him knding from tCLlZTu 
 
 upon the Kowenstyn, on the fatS 26th May^The*^ 
 
 military adventures were, however, but brief and a.^. 
 
 ' "''Zr drtalles so„d, streckon, T^ '^'"^" 
 konnen sy wel ruycken die ^oen houte 
 
 •Gulden Legende,' 
 
 
300 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chai'. VI. 
 
 I 
 
 \i 
 
 dental episodes in his career, which was that of a 
 statesman and diplomatist. As pensionary of Rotter- 
 dam, he was constantly a member of the General 
 Assembly, and had already begun to guide the policy 
 of the new commonwealth. His experience was consi- 
 derable, and he was now in the high noon of his vigour 
 and his usefulness. > 
 
 He was a man of noble and imposing presence, with 
 thick hair pushed from a broad forehead rising dome-like 
 above a square and massive face ; a strong deeply-co- 
 loured physiognomy, with shaggy brow, a chill blue 
 eye, not winning but commanding, high cheek-bones,' a 
 solid, somewhat scornful nose, a firm mouth and chin, 
 enveloped in a copious brown beard ; the whole head 
 not imfitly framed in the stiflf formal ruff of the period ; 
 and the tall stately figure well draped in magisterial 
 robes of velvet and sable— such was John of Olden- 
 Bameveld. 
 
 The Commissioners thus described arrived at Green- 
 wich Stairs, and were at once ushered into the palace, a 
 residence which had been much enlarged and decorated 
 by Henry VIII. They were received with stately cere- 
 mony. The presence-chamber was himg with Gobelin 
 tapestry, its floor stre^vn with rushes. Fifty gentlemen 
 pensioners, with gilt battle-axes, and a throng of buffe- 
 tiors, or beef-eaters, in that quaint old-world garb 
 which has survived so many centuries, were in attend- 
 ance, while the counsellors of the Queen, in their robes 
 of state, waited around the throne. 
 
 There, in close skull-cap and dark flowing gown, was 
 the subtle, monastic-looking Walsingham, with long, 
 grave, melancholy face and Spanish eyes. There too, 
 white staff in hand, was Lord High Treasurer Burghley, 
 then sixty-five years of age, with serene blue eye, large, 
 smooth, pale, scarce- wrinkled face and forehead ; seem- 
 ing, with his placid symmetrical features, and great velvet 
 bonnet, under which such silver hairs as remained were 
 soberly tucked away, and with his long dark robes which 
 swept the ground, more like a dignified gentlewoman 
 than a statesman, but for the wintry beard which lay 
 like a snow-drift on his ancient breast. 
 
 The Queen was then in the fifty-third year of her 
 
 1 Naeranos, l-U. ' Levensbeacbrijving,' ^c. ii. 246*241. 
 
 l«.:hlil<tk:.A)«;«i>.j>;»i*a>i*<.aai" 
 
 1585. 
 
 RECEPTION AT GREENWICH. 
 
 301 
 b!^;t?^ ^^^idered herself in the full bloom of her 
 
 Sor^'thTte' l-oo^ her lips tht: he"r'teftS, IZ 
 
 ^nts presented petitions up^n the'!™ t^^^^; 
 she glanced, a 1 prostrated themselves on the ff^ouni 
 
 wonder of beauty. sZ ^ fS ^h pSld' 
 
 and so forth, m a style which was ridiculed bvPk 
 rov^rel. '^ ""'^*^"'^^' *" '^^ -treme^at^/cT 
 Joes de Menin, pensionary of Dort, in the name of all 
 he envoys, made an elaborate address. He expresid 
 the graftude which the States entertained for her w 
 kindness, and particularly for the good offices rendered 
 
 Orange an'^'^r ^^T "^''^ '^' ^'^"^ °f *e Prfnce of 
 W^^f ' ^t ^"'j*''^ '^^'^P '•^S''*^* expressed by her Ma- 
 
 ae'^upt'Frir"''"^"' ^ *^' hopesVeyfi 
 
 ihl'IlT l^^ t*''' "*■ *t® ^"°'=e of Orange," he said 
 the States have lost many important cities, Ind now for 
 fte preservation of their existence, they hkve need of I 
 
 tCr adhTrf nr«"*wl*°"' °PP'''^^'"° "^ *t« SP^^iards Z 
 I^Z^aT^u^" *''® '"°'® "n-^ "ore determined ut- 
 terly to destioy their countiy, and reduce the poor people 
 
 1 Da Maurier, 'Memoires,' 257. 
 
JH 
 
 I, 
 ill 
 
 ■ 
 
 f 
 
 302 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VI. 
 
 to a perpetual slavery worse than that of Indians, nnder 
 the insupportable and detestable yoke of the Spanish In- 
 quisition. We have felt a confidence that your Majesty 
 will not choose to see us perish at the hands of the 
 enemy against whom we have been obliged to sustain 
 this long and cniel war. That war we have under- 
 taken in order to preserve for the poor people their 
 liberty, laws, and franchises, together with the exercise 
 of the true Christian religion, of which your Majesty 
 bears rightfully the title of defender, and against which 
 the enemy and his allies have made so many leagues 
 and devised so many ambushes and stratagems, besides 
 organizing every day so many plots against the life of 
 your Majesty and the safety of your realms— schemes 
 which thus far the good God has averted for the good 
 of Christianity and the maintenance of His churches. 
 For these reasons. Madam, the States have taken a 
 firm resolution to have recourse to your Majesty, seeing 
 that it is an ordinary thing for all oppressed nations 
 to apply in their calamity to neighbouring princes, and 
 especially to such as are endowed with piety, justice, 
 magnanimity, and other kingly virtues. For this rea- 
 son we have.been deputed to offer to your Majesty the 
 sovereignty over these Provinces, under certain good 
 and equitable conditions, having reference chiefly to 
 the maintenance of the reformed religion and of our an- 
 cient liberties and customs. And although, in the course 
 of these long and continued wars, the enemy has ob- 
 tained possession of many cities and strong places within 
 our country, nevertheless the Provinces of Holland, 
 Zeeland, Utrecht, and Friesland, are, thank God, still 
 entire. And in those lands are many large and stately 
 cities, beautiful and deep rivers, admirable seaports, 
 from which your Majesty and your successors can derive 
 much good fruit and commodity, of which it is scarcely 
 necessary to make a long recital. This point, however, 
 beyond the rest, merits a special consideration, namely, 
 that the conjunction of those Provinces of Holland, 
 Zeeland, Utrecht, and Friesland, together with the 
 cities of Sluys and Ostend, with the kingdoms of your 
 Majesty, carries with it the absolute empire of the 
 gieat ocean, and consequently an assurance of perpe- 
 tual felicity for your subjects. We therefore humbly 
 
 303 
 
 1585. SPEECH OF MEXIN-THE QUEEN'S REPLY. 
 
 safeguard of vour crown i^' i .^^® perpetual 
 
 speak without Wing, iany in all ChriSom ' ° 
 
 invasion of the Span^ia^s Zfth'llT **"; >°'\wtous 
 
 great comn^odity^of the sea t^dr ^^I'rnri'T/'^ 
 commerce and manufactures, for aU whinwt ' 1^^"" 
 such natural advantages-f^om rnin ^ *^^ ^^"^ 
 slavery of body a«d soul iCwIn bel fX^'^'t^ 
 lent work agreeable to God, profitable to S-"^?f 
 worthy of immortal nvai.^ . F'umaDie to L linstianity, 
 
 heroic^irtues of JL?MaTeWv jrP""'"'^ T"'' *« 
 perity of your coCtrFand ^opt '° U^ tb^ ?.'• P^°" 
 
 ;ai your enemies ia^^^XvT^irS: h^?y\X™ 
 
 French to this effectTi'^Gltlmen ""h ^' ?°'""v' '" 
 sand tongues I should not ^"i^i . '~^*^ ^ * *^o^- 
 
 ever preferred me fn «!] +v,« • certain that you have 
 Je wLd. EveTwtf y^'^^sKd th ittut 1 
 
 sooner have offered your couktry ,o me^f I h^^T/ •'^'f 
 that you should do so. Certah.Iv ?Jl -f ^"^"'^^ 
 thing that you wish to be gov^bv mf^ ^ w^'"* 
 much obliged to you in co^nsequenceTat' I wif/"'^ '° 
 abandon you, but, on the coLa^: tlsI/o^tmZ 
 
 » 'Vertoog door de Gpdeputeerden bv Tnl,, iro, 
 monde van der Heere Menln'den lx<«« Ha^e iSnv^Vs ^'""^^^ ^*^'^"'' 
 
304 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VI. 
 
 1585. 
 
 MEMORIAL OF THE ENVOYS. 
 
 305 
 
 last sigh of my life. I know very well that your 
 princes have treated you ill, and that the Spaniards 
 are endeavouring to ruin you entirely ; but I wQl come 
 to your aid, and I will consider what I can do, consist- 
 ently with my honour, in regard to the articles which 
 you have brought me. They shall be examined by the 
 members of my council, and I promise that I will not 
 keep you three or four months, for I know very well 
 that your affairs require haste, and that they will be- 
 come ruinous if you are not assisted. It is not my 
 custom to procrastinate, and upon this occasion 1 shall 
 not dally, as others have done, but let you have my 
 answer very soon." ^ , . i i 
 
 Certainly, if the Provinces needed a king, which they 
 had most nnequivocally declared to be the case, they 
 might have wandered the whole earth over, and, had it 
 been possible, searched through the whole range of 
 history, before finding a monarch with a more kingly 
 spirit than the great Queen to whom they had at last 
 had recourse. 
 
 Unfortunately, she was resolute in her refusal to 
 accept the offered sovereignty. The first interview 
 terminated with this exchange of addresses, and the 
 deputies departed in their barges for their lodgings in 
 Pynchon-lane. 
 
 The next two days were passed in perpetual confer- 
 ences, generally at Lord Burghley's house, between the 
 envoys and the lords of the <Jouncil, in which the accept- 
 ance of the sovereignty was vehemently urged on the 
 part of the Netherlanders, and steadily declined in the 
 name of her Majesty. 
 
 " Her Highness," said Burghley, *' cannot be induced, 
 by any writing or harangue that you can make, to 
 accept the principality or proprietorship as sovereign, 
 and it will therefore be labour lost for you to exhibit 
 any writing for the purpose of changing her intention. 
 It will be better to content yourselves with her Majesty's 
 consent to assist you, and to take you under her pro- 
 tection." • 
 
 Nevertheless, two days afterwards, a writing was ex- 
 
 1 Vertoog, Ac, MS- before cited. Com- » MS. Report of the Envoys- Comp. 
 pare Bor, ii. 636 seq^ Hoofd Vervolgh. Bor, Hoofd, ubi tup. 
 118. 
 
 hibited, drawn up by Menin,in which another elaborate 
 effort was made to alter the Queen's determination 
 Ihis anxiety, on the part of men already the principal 
 personages in a republic, to merge the independent 
 existence of their commonwealth in another and a 
 foreign political organism, proved, at any rate, that tliev 
 were influenced by patriotic motives alone. It is als6 
 instructive to observe the intense language with which 
 the necessity of a central paramount sovereignty for all 
 the Provinces, and the inconveniences of the separate 
 States' right prmciple were urged by a deputation, at 
 the head of which stocd Olden- Barneveld. " Although it is 
 not becoming in us," they said, "to inquire into your 
 Majesty s motives for refusing the soveieignty of our 
 country, nevertheless, we cannot help observino- that 
 your consent would be most profitable, as well io your 
 Majesty and your successor, as to the Provinces them- 
 selves. By your acceptance of the sovereignty the two 
 peoples would be, as it were, united in one body. This 
 would cause a fraternal benevolence between them and 
 a single reverence, love, and obedience to your Majesty 
 The two peoples being thus under the government of 
 the same sovereign prince, the intrigues and practices 
 which the enemy could attempt with persons under a 
 separate subjection would of necessity surcease. More- 
 over, those Provinces are all distinct duchies, counties 
 scignories, governed by their own magistrates, laws, and 
 ordinances ; each by itself, without any authority or 
 command to be exercised by one Province over another. 
 To this end they have need of a supreme power and t.f 
 one sovereign prince or seignor, who may command all 
 equally, having a constant regard to the public weal- 
 considered as a generality, and not with regard to the 
 profit of the one or the other individual Province— and 
 causing promptly and universally to be executed such 
 ordinances as may be made in XhQ matter of war or 
 police, according to various emergencies. Each Pro- 
 vince, on the contrary, retaining its sovereignty over 
 its own inhabitants, obedience will not be so promptly 
 and completely rendered to the commands of the 
 lieutenant-general of your Majesty, and many a good 
 enterprise and opportunity will be lost. Where there 
 IS not a single authority it is always found that one 
 
 VOL. I. y^ 
 
 i 
 
806 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chaf. VI. 
 
 1585. 
 
 tmrtv endeavours to usnrp power over another, or to 
 Escape doing bis duty so thoroughly as the others. And 
 this has notoriously been the case in the matter of con- 
 tributions, imposts, and similar matters.' ^ , . ,, 
 
 Thus much, and more of similar argument, logically 
 urged, made it sufficiently evident that twenty years of 
 revolt and of hard fighting against one king, had not 
 destroyed in the minds of the leading ^ etherlanders 
 their conviction of the necessity of kmgship. If the 
 new commonwealth was likely to remain a republic, it 
 was at that moment at any rate, because they could not 
 find a king. Certainly they did their best to annex 
 themselves to England, and to become loyal subjects of 
 England's Elizabeth. But the Queen, besides other 
 objections to the course proposed by the 1 rovinces 
 thought that she could do a better thing in the way of 
 mortliges. In this, perhaps, there was something of 
 the penny-wise policy which sprang from one great 
 defect in her character. At any rate much mischief was 
 done by the mercantile spirit which dictated the hard 
 chaffering on both sides the Channel at this important 
 juncture ; for during this tedious flint-paring, Antwerp, 
 which might have been saved, was falling into the 
 hands of Philip. It should never be forgotten, however 
 that the Queen had no standing army, and but a small 
 revenue. The men to be sent from England to the 
 Netherland wars were first to be levied wherever it was 
 possible to find them. In tnith, many wei e pressed m 
 tiie various wards of London, furnished with red coats 
 and matchlocks at the expense of the citizens, and so 
 despatched, helterskelter, in small squads as opportunity 
 offered.' General Sir John Norris was already super- 
 intending those operations, by command of the Queen, 
 before the present formal negotiation with thebtates 
 
 had begun. ^ , i • i. j *v,« 
 
 Subsequently to the 11th July, on which day the 
 
 second address had been made to Elizabeth, the envoys 
 
 had many conferences with Leicester, Burghley, Wal- 
 
 1 Remonstranae der Gedepulc«rden monarchical and centripetal tendencies, 
 
 aan H. M In the MS. Report before thus expressed by men subsequently the 
 
 cited. Compare Bor. ubi sup., who. as representatives of very different doc- 
 
 an historiaTof the States' right and trines ; and so omits these passages alto- 
 
 r«publlcan party, seems to have been gether from his abstract of the report, 
 ouwilling to give currency to the alrong 2 stowe, ' Chronicle,* 708-709. 
 
 DISCUSSIONS WITH THE MINISTERS. 
 
 307 
 
 VrotZ %i '^^'' councillors, without making much 
 
 Se^^ntil'"' "" ^^^^*^^^ "^^"^^-S about^ures 
 
 " What terms will you pledge for the repayment of 
 
 AvLsTngS ^ '^ ^^^^-^^^" -^ed B^^h^r^nd 
 
 ^^lotTa^i'^^^^^^ land,and%hr:ifi 
 
 Lord^lVeL^rr*^^^^^^^^^ '^'' again," said the 
 
 acceptLTtr^ovl'^^^^^^^^ Z^ think of 
 
 bat\o'id7ledge:^^^^ 
 
 Province.'" ^ * *°''" »" ^^ch 
 
 the States for .t "^^ respectively by the Queen and 
 me states tor the common cause. The Provinces wi^^ 
 
 ^hiuT%^ ^^y °"«-*'''r'i «f <te whX exTete 
 Mjilo her Majesty was reluctant to pay one-quS' 
 The btates wwhed a permanent force to be ke^f.nl ; 
 m the Netherlands ^f thirteen thousand in ^nt^ Ind 
 two thousand cavalry for the field, and twenty three 
 thousand for e-arrisnns Ti,^ ^ -n ''^«"i>-uiree 
 
 last item too much Then i *=°""«'"'"-« t'^«"gtt <ho 
 zr ^"d- Inen there were queries as in ih^ 
 
 expense of maintaining a force in the Provinces The 
 
 envoys reckoned one pound sterlinir nr w fl • 
 
 month torthe pay of eacLootsS,^:udlUrer 
 and for the cavalry, three times as much. Thfs seemed 
 
 thrrxpeise^onhe'" ""^"'=^1 *" ^^^ inquiries Whig 
 ine expense of the war-vessels and sailors were eauall? 
 
 satisfactory. Nevertheless it was difficult to brt^r/^I 
 
 garnsons for such cautionary to^ns as should be agreed 
 and loui bundled horse, and for deducting the garrisons 
 
 I JMS. Report. 
 
 X 2 
 
 l.i 
 
308 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VI. 
 
 1585. 
 
 SECOND SPEECH OF THE QUEEN. 
 
 even from Ihis slender force. As guarantee for the 
 expense thus to be incurred, she required that Flushing 
 and Brill should be placed in her hands. Moreover 
 the position of Antwerp complicated the negotiation. 
 Elizabeth, fully sensible of the importance of preserving 
 that (^reat capital, offered four thousand soldiers to serve 
 untiUhat city should be relieved, requiring repayment 
 within three months after the object should have been 
 accomplished. As special guarantee for such repay- 
 ment she required Slujs and Ostend.* This was sharp 
 bargaining, but at any rate, the envoys knew that the 
 Queen, though cavilling to the ninth-part of a hair, was 
 no trifler, and that she meant to perform whatever she 
 
 should promise. .^1,-0 
 
 There was another exchange of speeches at the ra- 
 lace of Nonesuch, on the 5th August ; and the position 
 of affairs and the respective attitudes of the Queen and 
 envoys were plainly characterized by the language then 
 
 employed. - , o • i 
 
 After an exordium about the cruelty of the bpanish 
 tyranny and the enormous expense entailed by the war 
 upon the Netherlands, Menin, who, as usual, was the 
 spokesman, alluded to the difhculty which the States at 
 last felt in maintaining themselves. ^ 
 
 " Five thousand foot and one thousand horse,* he said, 
 »' over and above the maintenance of garrisons in the 
 towns to be pledged as security to your Majesty, seemed 
 the very least amount of succour that would be proba- 
 bly obtained from your royal bounty. Considering the 
 great demonstrations of affection and promises of support 
 made as well by your Majesty's own letters as by the 
 mouth of your ambassador Davison, and by our envoys 
 De Gryze and Ortel, who have all declared publicly 
 that your Majesty would never forsake us, the States 
 sent us their deputies to this country in full confidence 
 that such reasonable demands as we had been authorized 
 to make would be satisfied.'* 
 
 The speaker then proceeded to declare that the offer 
 made by the royal councillors of four thousand foot and 
 four hundred horse, to serve during th# war, together 
 with a special force of four thousand for the relief of 
 Antwerp, to be paid for within three months after the 
 
 1 MS. Report. 
 
 309 
 
 siege should be raised, against a concession of the cities 
 otHushmg Brill, Sluys, and Ostend, did not come 
 within the limitations of the States-General. They 
 therefore begged the Queen to enlarge her offer to the 
 number of five thousand foot and oL thousand horse! 
 or at least to allow the envoys to conclude the treaty 
 
 M.t^fr^ f il^^'"''' l?'^^ concluded his address, her 
 fZfjorS:^%^^^^^ -^^^ --^ —tness' and 
 "Gentlemen," she said, - 1 will answer you upon the 
 first point because it touches my honour. You Sat 
 I promised you both by letters and through mngent 
 Davison, and also by my own lips, to assfst you ^^d 
 never to abandon you, and that this had moved yoiTS 
 come to me at present. Veiy well, masters ; do you no? 
 think I am assisting you when I am sending you four 
 
 tlTrrV'p r.^'^"T^ ^.""^^ ^-- 'o «e-e during 
 fwT/ ^^^^^^1^' I thmk, yes; and I say frankly 
 that I have never been wanting to my word. No man 
 shall ever say, .nth truth, that the Queen of EngS 
 had at any time and ever so slightly failed in her pro- 
 Zl'LT^"'^'' "" '^' mightiest^'monarch, to repubfics, 
 
 condition. Am I, then, m your opinion, forsaking you 
 when I send you English blood! which I love^ IZ 
 
 d^lt 9" T7 ""'^^ ^^"^^' ^^^ "'^^^^ I ^^ bound to 
 aetend / It seems to mo, no. For my part, I tell vou 
 again that I will never forsake you *^ ^ ' "^ ^"""^ 
 " ded de modo ? That is matter for agreement. You 
 are aware, gentlemen, that I have stems to fear from 
 many quarters-from France, Scotland, Ireland an^ 
 withm my own kingdom. AVhat would be said if I 
 looked only on one side, and if on that side I employed 
 all my resources ? No, I will give mysubjects no ca^ 
 for murmuring. I know that my councillors desire to 
 manage matters with pnidence ; sed cetatem habeo, and 
 you are to believe, that, of my own motion, I have 
 resolved not to extend my offer of assistance, at present, 
 
 1 Discours du Sr Menin «u nora des 1585. (Hague Archives. MS ^ 
 deputes des I'rovinces unies prononcd « ReDon^^ de Y* Sn^ "^ tv 
 devant S. M. a Nonsuch le 5'd'Aou,' prJ:::rc^:^:^^^::^^'^ 
 
 d 
 
310 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VI. 
 
 beyond the amount already stated. But I don't say that 
 at another time I may not be able to do more for you. 
 For my intention is never to abandon your cause, always 
 to assist you, and never more to suffer any foreign 
 nation to have dominion over you. 
 
 *' It is true that you present me with two places m 
 each of your Provinces. 1 thank you for them infinitely, 
 and certainly it is a great offer. But it will be said 
 instantly, the Queen of England wishes to embrace and 
 devour everything ; while, on the contrary, I only wish 
 to render you assistance.' 1 believe, in truth, that, if 
 other monarchs should have this offer, they would not 
 allow such an opportunity to escape. I do not let it 
 Flip because of fears that I entertain for any prince 
 whatever. For to think that I am not aware— doing 
 what I am doing— that I am embarking in a war against 
 the King of Spain is a great mistake. 1 know very well 
 that the succour which I am affording you will offend 
 him as much as if I should do a great deal more. But 
 what care I ? * Let him begin, I will answer him. For 
 my part, I say again, that never did fear enter my heart. 
 \Ve must all die once. I know very well that many 
 princes are mv enemies, and are seeking my ruin ; and 
 that, where malice is joined with force, malice often 
 arrives at its ends. But I am not so feeble a princess 
 that I have not the means and the will to defend myself 
 against them all. They are seeking to take my life, but 
 it troubles me not. He who is on high has defended me 
 until this hour, and will keep me still, for in Him do I 
 
 trust. 
 
 " As to the other point, yon say that your powers are 
 not extensive enough to allow your acceptance of the 
 offer I make you. Nevertheless, if I am not mistaken, 
 I have remarked in passing-for princes look very close 
 to words— that you would be content if I would give 
 you money in place of men, and that your powers speak 
 only of demanding a certain proportion of infantry and 
 another of cavalry. I believe this would be, as you say, 
 an e(iuivalent, secundum quod. But I say this only 
 
 1 •• mals on diroit incontinent que (Discours de la Royne, &c., MS. uW 
 
 la Uoyne dAngleterre rouldroit embraii- supra.) 
 
 ser et gourmander tout, et moy je ne - " mais II ne m'en chauU." 
 
 veulx qae voiw assister et ayder," Ac. 
 
 1585. 
 
 SECOND SPEECH OF THE QUEEN. 
 
 311 
 
 because you govern yourselves so precisely by the mea- 
 sure of your instructions. Nevertheless I don't wish 
 to contest these points with you. For very of ten dum 
 Homes disputatur Saguntum pent. Nevertheless, it would 
 be well for you to decide ; and, in any event, I do not 
 think it good that you should all take your departure, 
 but that, on the contrary, you should leave some of your 
 number here. Otherwise it would at once be said'that 
 all was broken off, and that I had chosen to do nothing 
 for you ; and with this the bad would comfort them- 
 selves, and the good would be much discourao*ed. 
 
 " Touching the last point of your demand— according 
 to which you desire a personage of quality— I know, 
 gentlemen, that you do not always agree very well 
 among yourselves, and that it would be good for you 
 to have some one to effect such agieement. For this 
 reason I have always intended, so soon as we should 
 have made our treaty, to send a lord of name and 
 authonty to reside with you, to assist yuu in governing, 
 and to aid, with his advice, in the better direction of 
 your affairs. 
 
 " Would to God that Antwerp were relieved ! Cer- 
 tainly I should be veiy glad, and veiy well content to 
 lose all that I am now expending if that city could be 
 saved. I hope, nevertheless, if it can hold out six weeks 
 longer, that we shall see something good. Already the 
 two thousand men of General N orris have crossed, or 
 are crossing, every day by companies. I will hasten the 
 rest as much as possible ; and I assure you, gentlemen, 
 that I will spare no diligence. Nevertheless you may] 
 if you choose, retire with my council, and see if together 
 you can come to some good conclusion."* 
 
 Thus spoke Elizabeth, like the wise, courageous, and 
 very parsimonious princess that she was. Alas, it 
 was too true, that Saguntum was perishing while the 
 higgling went on at Kome. Had those two thousand 
 under fciir John Norris and the rest of the four thousand 
 but gone a few weeks earlier, how much liappier might 
 have been the result ! 
 
 Nevertheless, it was thought in England that Antwerp 
 would still hold out ; and, meantime, a treaty 12th Aug. 
 for its relief, in combination with another for ^^^s- 
 
 ' Discours de la Royne, &c. (Hague Archives, MS.) 
 
312 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VI. 
 
 1585. 
 
 peniianent assistance to (he Provinces, was agreed upon 
 between the envoys and the lords of council. 
 
 On the 12th August Menin presented himself at 
 Nonesuch at the head of his colleagues, and, in a formal 
 speech, announced the arrangement which had thus 
 been entered into, subject to the approval of the States.* 
 Again Elizabeth, whose " tongue," in the homely phrase 
 of tlie Netherlanders, " was wonderfully well hung,"* 
 replied with energ\' and ready eloquence. 
 
 " You see, gentlemen," she said, " tha£ I have opened 
 the door ; that I am embarking once for all with you in 
 a war against the King of Spain. Veiy well ; I am not 
 anxious about the matter. I hope that God will aid 
 US, and that we shall strike a good blow in your cause. 
 Nevertheless, I pray you, with all my heart, and by the 
 aflection you bear me, to treat my soldiers well ; for 
 they are my own Englishmen, whom I love as I do 
 myself. Certainly it would be a great cnielty if you 
 shV)uld treat them ill, since they are about to hazard 
 their lives so freely in your defence, and I am sure that 
 my request in this regard will be received by you as it 
 deserves. 
 
 " In the next place, as you know that I am sending, 
 as commander of these English troops, an honest gentle- 
 man, who deserves most highly for his experience in 
 arms, so 1 am also informed that you have on your side 
 a gentleman of great valour. I pray you, therefore, that 
 good care be taken lest there be misunderstanding 
 between these two, which might prevent them from 
 agreeing well together, when great exploits of war are 
 to be taken in hand. For if that should happen-— which 
 God forbid— my succour would be rendered quite use- 
 less to you. I name Count Hohenlo, because him 
 alone have I heard mentioned. But 1 pray you to make 
 the same recommendation to all the colonels and gentle- 
 men in your army ; for 1 should be infinitely sad if 
 misadventures should arise from such a cause, for your 
 interest and my honour are lx)th at stake. 
 
 •' In the third place, I beg you, at your return, to 
 make a favourable report of me, and to thank the States, 
 in my behalf, for their great offers, which I esteem 
 so highl}^ as to be unable to express my thanks. Tell 
 
 I Diacoura du Sr. Menin. (Hague Archives. MS.) • Iloofd Venolgb. ll». 
 
 THIRD SPEECH OF THE QUEEN. 
 
 313 
 
 them that I shall remember them for ever. I consider 
 It a great honour, that, from the commencement you 
 have ever been so faithful to me, and that with such 
 great constancy you have preferred me to all other 
 princes and have chosen me for your Queen. And 
 chiefly do I thank the gentlemen of Holland and Zee- 
 land, who, as I have been informed, were the first who so 
 singularly loved me. And so on my own part I will have 
 a special care of them, and will do my best to uphold 
 them by every possible means, as I will do all the rest 
 who have put their trust in me. But I name Holland 
 and Zeeland more especiaUy, because they have been so 
 constant and faithful in their efibrts to assist the rest in 
 shaking oft the yoke of the enemy. 
 
 .1 'l?'"^"^'^'^' Sentlemen, I beg you to assure the States 
 that 1 do not decline the sovereignty of your country 
 from any dread of the King of Spain. For I t^ike God 
 to witness that I fear him not; and I hope, with the 
 blessing of God, to make such demonstrations arrainst 
 him, that men shall say the Queen of England does not 
 fear the Spaniards." ' 
 
 Elizabeth then smote herself upon the breast, and 
 cned, with great energy, - 7//a que virgo viri ; and is it 
 not quite the same to you, oven if I do not assume the 
 sovereignty, since I intend to protect you, and since 
 therefore the eff"ects will be the same ? It is true that 
 the sMDvereignty would serve to enhance my grandeur, 
 but I am content to do without it, if you, upon your 
 own part, ^vill only do your duty. For mvsjlf, I 
 promise you, in truth, that so long as I live, and even 
 to my last sigh, I will never forsake you. Go home 
 
 hUher''" « *^ ^ ^^ ^^*®^ "''^'''^ ^^^^ ^'""^ 
 
 Menin then replied with fresh expressions of thanks 
 
 1 Reponce de Sa M^joste. (Hague 
 Archives, MS.) " Car je jure Pieu que 
 Je lie le crains pas, et espere avecq layde 
 de Dieu faire telle preuve centre luy, 
 qu'on dira que la Koyne d' Angleterre ue 
 craint pas les Espagnols.' 
 
 * Ibid. 
 
 " Et frappant sur sa poltrine diet: TVa 
 qw Virgo viri. Ne vous est ce pas tout 
 ung, encoires que Je ne prenne pas la 
 Bouverainete, puisque Je vous veulx pro- 
 tecter, et que par la voos aujrez les nies- 
 
 mes aff'-ctz. II est vray que la souve- 
 rainete ser^•iroit a raoy pour grandeur. 
 Mais Je suis bien contente de ne I'avoir 
 pas, et que seulement vous faictes le 
 debvoir requis do voire port. Car de ma 
 part Je vous prometz en verite, que si 
 long temps que vivray, et Jusques a mon 
 dernier souspir, que Je ne vous deslalg- 
 seray pas. Co que pouve'. hardiment 
 a.sseurer et rapporter k Messrs. les 
 fistatz." 
 
314 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VI. 
 
 and compliments, and requested, in conclusion, that her 
 Majesty would be pleased to send, as soon as possible, a 
 personage of quality to the Netherlands. 
 
 " Gentlemen," replied Elizal>eth, *' I intend to do this 
 80 soon as our treaty shall be ratified, for, in contrary 
 case, the King of Spain, seeing your government continue 
 on its present footing, would do nothing but laugh at 
 lis. Certainly I do not mean this year to provide him 
 with so fine a banquet." * 
 
 The envoys were then dismissed, and soon afterwards 
 a portion of the deputation took their departure from 
 the Netherlands with the proposed treaty. It was how- 
 ever, as we know, quite too late for Saguntum. Two 
 days after the signing of the treaty, the remaining 
 envoys were at the palace of Nonesuch, in conference 
 with the Earl of Leicester, when a gentleman rushed 
 suddenly into the apartment, exclaiming with great 
 manifestations of anger : , • i 
 
 " Antwerp has fallen ! A treaty has been signed with 
 the Prince of Parma. Aldegonde is the author of it all. 
 He is the culprit who has betrayed us;" with many 
 more expressions of vehement denunciation.* 
 
 The Queen was disappointed, but stood firm. She 
 had been slow in taking her resolution, but she was 
 unflinching when her mind was made up. Instead of 
 retreating from her position, now that it became doubly 
 dangerous, she advanced several steps nearer towards 
 her allies. For it was obvious, if more precious time 
 should be lost, that Holland and Zeeland would share 
 the fate of Antwei*p. Already the belief that, with the 
 loss of that city, all had been lost, was spreading both 
 in the Provinces and in England, and Elizabeth felt that 
 the time had indeed come to confront the danger. 
 
 1 "C'est ce que j'entens anssy de faire 
 aussy to?t que serons (I'aicor'l. Car 
 certe» anltrement le Roy dKiSimignc, 
 voiant la continuation de vostre gou- 
 vernement, il ne ferat que rirc de nous. 
 Et je ne lul veulx donner pour ceste 
 annee si bon bancquet." (MS. Report, 
 Hague Archives.) 
 
 a " is corts daemaar by r.yne E.\cc 
 
 nyte earner van haere Mat. door eenen 
 idelman den ledepuieerden doen boot- 
 
 scbappen vant verlies ende overgaen der 
 Btadt van Antwerpen aen den vyand op 
 zelcer verdrach ofte tractaet metten 
 Prince van Parma gemaeckt. Daeraff 
 principal autheur ende culpabel werde 
 gebouden den Heere van St. Aldegonde, 
 als de voom. edelmann opentlyck ende 
 baestich verclaerde, geggende dat de 
 voom. Aldegonde ons alien verraden 
 hadde," ' kc. (MS. Report of the Envoys, 
 Hague Archives.) 
 
 1585. SIR JOHN NORRIS SENT TO HOLLAND. 315 
 
 Meantime the intrigues of the enemy in the inde- 
 pendent Provinces were rife. Blunt Roffer 
 Williams wrote in very plain language to ''^^"^• 
 
 AntwTi •!-' ^ ^^""^ ^^"^ ^^^^^ ^^^^"^ *^^ capitulation of 
 
 . '1 1^ ^^y Majesty means to have Holland and Zeeland " 
 said he, she must resolve presently. Aldegonde hath 
 promised the enemy to bring them to compound Here 
 arrived already his ministers which knew all his deal! 
 ings about Antwerp from first to last. Count Maurice 
 IS governed altogether by ViHiers, and Vil iers w^ 
 never worse for the English than 'at this horn' To 
 be short, the people say in general, they will accent a 
 peace unless her Majesty do sovereign them piesent y 
 All the men of war will be at her Hiihness' devotion if 
 
 presently, for I do assure your honour there is large 
 offers presented unto them by the enemies. If her 
 Majesty deals not roundly and resolutely with them 
 
 Her Majesty meant to deal roundly and resolutely 
 Her troops had already gone in considerable nunibei^' 
 bhe wrote encouraging letters with her own hand to the 
 States, imploring them not to falter now even though 
 the great city had fallen. She had long since ,Vo3 
 never to desert them, and she was, i? possible more 
 determined than ever to redeem her pledge X 
 especially recommended to their consideration General 
 JSorns, commander of the forces that had been de- 
 spatched to the relief of Antweip. 
 
 A most accomplished officer, sprung of a house re- 
 nowned fo^ its romantic valour, Si^ Joh'^n was the second 
 of the SIX sons of Lord Korris of Rycot, all soldiers of 
 high reputation. ; chickens of Mars," L an old writer 
 expressed himself. " Such a bunch of brethren for 
 eminent achievement," said he, '*was never seen So 
 great their states and stomachs that they often iostled 
 with others - Elizabeth called their^mother 'her 
 own crow; "3 and the darkness of her hair and visage 
 was thought not unbecoming to her martial issJe by 
 
 1 Capt. Roger Williams 'to Walsing. . - Martis pulli." Fuller's • Worthies.' 
 awn, - August, 1535. (S. P. Office MS.) *^' ^^^'' "• 227-229. 
 
 . ^ 3 Ibid. 
 
316 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VI. 
 
 whom it had been inherited. Daughter of Lord Wil- 
 liams of Tame, who had been keeper of the Tower in 
 the time of Elizabeth's imprisonment, she had been 
 affectionate and sei-viceable to the Princess in the hour 
 of her distress, and had been rewarded with her favour 
 in the days of her grandeur. We shall often meet this 
 crow-black Norris, and his younger brother Sir Edward 
 — the most daring soldiers of their time, posters of sea 
 and land— wherever the buffeting was closest, or ad- 
 venture the wildest, on shipboard or shore, fur they 
 were men who combined much of the knight-errantry 
 of a vanishing a^e with the more practical and ex- 
 pansive spirit of adventure that characterized the new 
 
 epoch. X 1 1 1 rm 
 
 Nor was he a stranger in the Netherlands. '* Tlie 
 i>etter 13 gentleman to whom we have committed the 
 Aug. 1585. government of the forces going to the relief of 
 Antwerp," said Elizabeth, *'has already given you such 
 proofs of his affection by the good sei-vices he has 
 rendered you, that, without recommendation on our 
 part, he should stand already recommended. Neverthe- 
 less,' in respect for his quality, the house from which 
 he is descended, and the valour which he has manifested 
 in your o^vn countr}% we desire to tell you that we 
 hold him dear, and that he deserves also to be dear to 
 
 1585. 
 
 PARSIMONY OF ELIZABETH. 
 
 317 
 
 »» 1 
 
 you. 
 
 AMien the fall of Antwerp was certain, the Queen sent 
 Davison, who had been for a brief period in England, 
 back again to his post. " We have learned," she sai 
 in the letter whicli she sent by that envoy, " with very 
 great regret of the surrender of Antwerp. Fearing 
 lest some apprehension should take possession of the 
 people's mind in consequence, and that some dangerous 
 change might ensue, we send you our faithful and well- 
 beloved Davison to represent to you how much we have 
 your affairs at heart, and to say that we are determined 
 to forget nothing that may be necessary to your pre- 
 servation. Assure yourselves that we shall never fail 
 to accomplish all that he may promise you in our 
 behalf." • 
 
 « Lettre de S. M. contenante credence 
 
 neraulx, - Aug. 1685. (Hague Archives pour le Sieur Davison, -Jse^ ^*®* 
 
 (Hague Archivea, MS.) 
 
 I Lettre de la Royne aux Etats ge- 
 erai 
 MS.) 
 
 Yet, notwithstanding the gravity of the situation, tho 
 thorough discussion that had taken place of the whole 
 matter, and the enormous loss which had resulted from 
 the money-saving insanity upon both sides, even then 
 the busy devil of petty economy was not quite exorcised 
 feeyeral precious weeks were wasted in renewed chaf- 
 ferings The Queen was willing that the permanent 
 torce should now be raised to five thousand foot and one 
 thousand horse— the additional sixteen hundred men 
 being taken from the Antwerp relieving force— but she 
 insisted that the garrisons for the cautionary towns 
 should be squeezed out of this general contingent The 
 btates, on the contrary, were determined to screw these 
 garrisons out of her grip, as an additional subsidy. 
 Lach party complained with reason of the other's close- 
 ness, ^o doubt the States were shrewd bargainers, 
 but It would have been difficult for the sharpest Hol- 
 lander that ever sent a cargo of herrings to Cadiz to 
 force open Elizabeth's beautiful hand when she cho.se to 
 shut it close. Walsingham and Leicester were alter- 
 nately driven to despair by the covetousness of the one 
 party or the other. 
 
 It was still uncertain what "personage of quality" 
 was to go to the Netheriands in the Queen's name, to 
 help govern the, countiy. Leicester had professed his 
 readiness to risk his life, estates, and reputation, in the 
 cause, and the States particularly desired his appoint- 
 ment. " The name of your Excellency is so veiy agree- 
 able to this people," said they in a letter to the Eari 
 *' as to give promise of a brief and happy end to this 
 grievous and almost immortal war." ' The Queen was 
 or affected to be, still undecided as to the appointment' 
 AN hile waiting week after week for the ratifications of 
 the treaty from Holland, affaire were looking gloomy at 
 home, and her Majesty was growing very uncertain in 
 her temper. 
 
 *'I i^ee not her Majesty disposed to use the service 
 of the Earl of Leicester," wrote Walsingham. '* I sui>- 
 pose the lot of goveiTiment will light on Lord Gray. I 
 would to God the ability of his purse were answerable 
 
 1 r^ttre des etafs generaux au Comte venir panie^a au gouveniement du pays, 
 de I^icester, afin qu'il pleust a son Exce (Hague Archives ilS.^ 
 accepter le conimandement de S. M. pour 
 
318 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VI. 
 
 to his sufficiency otherwise."* This was certainly a 
 most essential deticiency on the part of Lord Gray, and 
 it will soon be seen that the personage of quality to bo 
 selected as chief in the arduous and honourable enter- 
 prise now on foot would be obliged to rely quite as 
 much on that same ability of purse as upon the suffi- 
 ciency of his brain or arm. The Queen did not mean 
 to send her favourite forth to purchjise anything but ho- 
 nour in the Netherlands ; and it was not the Trovinces 
 only that were likely to straggle against her parsimony. 
 Yet that parsimony sprang from a nobler motive than 
 the mere love of pelf Bangers encompassed her on 
 every side ; and while husbanding her own exchequer, 
 she was saving her subjects' resources. " Here we are 
 but bookworms," said Walbingham, **yet from sundry 
 quarters we hear of great practices against this poor 
 crown. The revolt of Scotland is greatly feared, and 
 that out of hand." * 
 
 Scotland, France, Spain, these were dangerous ene- 
 mies and neighbours to a maiden Queen, who had a 
 rebellious Ireland to deal with on one sid^the Channel, 
 and Alexander of Parma on the other. 
 
 Davison experienced great inconvenience and annoy- 
 ance before the definite arrangements could be made. 
 There is no doubt that the Spanish party had made 
 great progress since the fall of Antwerp. Roger Wil- 
 liams was right in advising the Queen to deal " roundly 
 and resolutely" with the States, and to »' sovereign 
 them presently." 
 
 lliey had need of being sovereigned, for it must be 
 confessed that the self-government which prevailed at 
 that moment was very like no government. The death 
 of Orange, the treachery of Henry III., the triumphs of 
 Parma, disastrous facts, treading rapidly upon each 
 other, had produced a not very unnatural effect. The 
 peace-at-any-price party was straggling hard for the 
 ascendency, and the Spanish partizaus were doing their 
 best to hold up to suspicion the sharp practice of the 
 English Queen. She was even accused of underhand 
 dealing with Spain, to the disadvantage of the Provinces ; 
 so much had slander, anarchy, and despair been able to 
 effect. The States were reluctant to sign those articles 
 
 » Waklngham to Davison, *- Sept 1585. (S. P. Office MS.) • IbkL 
 
 1585. 
 
 ENERGY OF DAVISON. 
 
 319 
 
 ^I'Lt^'r''''^ "^"^ "^^^ ^^^^^"^^^^ necessary to their 
 
 poinfr^^^^^^ ui.n t, 
 
 — elo^ndtor'^^^^^^^^^ ^^^ ^^ thousanV^rn' 
 Ihis, as Davison proceeded to observe, was considered 
 
 interests and the temper of both countries. 
 *., . '«Penous Elizabeth was not fond of beino- 
 thwarted, least of all by anything savourine of th? 
 democratic principle, and alread/ there w£ Lch 
 
 routrlT'" ^^<^J^ior spirit of absolutism and "he 
 rough mechanical nature with which it was to allv 
 
 w^ notM': ^^'^f .-<J- I'ho economical Ehl^be^ 
 was not pleased at being overreached in a bar-ain • and 
 at a moment when she thought herself doing fmaCi 
 mous act she was vexed at the cavilling wit\ w^td? !«; 
 generosity was received. " 'Tis a manner of proceed^" 
 
 wen Zt^^^r' : "°' *° ^ ''""-^'l of, aK^y vfi^y 
 Teketh .T-1 "'^<^J«!"^<^. «on«Mering that her jfajes^ 
 the Fr^M ^.*«"^^ ■» that countiy-as Monsieur and 
 w^^^houHeird"^ ,' V*^' °"'y ^^'^'^ g-^od and benefi"; 
 
 IwLlf fnfn » ^^^^"^ ^"^^ • ^««Wes throwing 
 
 ^^ltlri.l^T\^^' ^"^ «h«'^ «akes with the 
 greatest prince and potentate in Europe. But seeino- 
 the government of those countries reste^tb in the hand! 
 of merchants and advocates-the one regarding profiT 
 
 ' ^'■'*"' '» a^Moy. 24 S«pu 1585. (S. p. Offlce MS.) 
 
•320 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VI. 
 
 tlie other standing upon vantage of quirks— there is no 
 better fruit to be looked to from them,"* 
 
 Yet it was, after all, no quirk in those merchants and 
 advocates to urge that the Queen was not going to war 
 with the great jX)tentato for their sakes alone. To 
 Elizabeth's honour, she did thoroughly comprehend that 
 the war of the Netherlands was the war of England, of 
 Protestantism, and of European liberty, and that bho 
 could no longer, without courting her own destniction, 
 defer taking a part in active military operations. It 
 was no quirk, then, but solid reasoning, for the States 
 to regard the subject in the same light. Holland and 
 England were embarked in one boat, and were to sink 
 or swim together. It was waste of time to wrangle so 
 fiercely over pounds and shillings, but the fault was not 
 to be exclusively imputed to the one side or the other. 
 There were bitter recriminations, particularly on the 
 part of Elizabeth, for it was not safe to touch too closely 
 either the pride or the pocket of that frugal and despotic 
 heroine. " The two thousand pounds promised by the 
 States to Norris upon the muster of the two thousand 
 volunteers,'* said Walsingham, " were not paid. Her 
 Majesty is not a little otlended therewith, seeing how 
 little care they have to yield her satisfaction, which she 
 imputeth to proceed rather from contempt than from 
 necessity. If it should fall out, however, to be such 
 as by them is pretended, then doth she conceive her 
 bargain to be very ill made, to join her fortune with so 
 weak and broken an estate."* Already there were 
 indications that the innocent might be made to suffer 
 for the shortcomings of the real culprits ; nor would it 
 be the first time, or by any means the last, for Davison 
 to appear in the character of a scapegoat. 
 
 " Surely, sir," continued Mr. Secretary, " it is a thing 
 greatly to be feared that the contributions they will 
 yield will fall not more true in paper than in payment ; 
 which if it should so happen, it would turn some to 
 blame, whereof you among others are to bear your part."^ 
 
 And thus the months of September and of October 
 wore away, and the ratifications of the treaty had not 
 arrived from the Netherlands. Elizabeth became furious, 
 and those of the Netherland deputation who had remained 
 
 1 Walaiiigham to Davidon, 23 Oct. 1585. (S. P. Office MS.) " IWd. ' ibtd. 
 
 1585. 
 
 PROTRACTED NEGOTIATIONS. 
 
 321 
 
 in England were at their wits' end to appease her cholen 
 No news arrived for many weeks. Those were not the 
 days of steam and magnetic telegraphs— inventions by 
 which the nature of man and the aspect of history seem 
 altered— and the Queen had nothing for it but to fret, 
 and the envoys to concert with her ministers expedients 
 to mitigate her spleen. Towards the end of the month 
 the commissioners chartered a vessel which they des- 
 patched for news to Holland. On his way across the 
 sea the captain was hailed on the 28th October by a boat, 
 in which one Hans ^^'yghans was leisurely proceeding 
 to England with Netherland despatches dated on the 5th 
 of the same month. Tliis was the freshest intelligence 
 that had yet been received. 
 
 So soon as the envoys were put in possession of the 
 documents, they obtained an audience of the Queen. 
 This was the last day of October. Elizabeth 31st oct. ' 
 read her letters, and listened to the apologies ^•'*«^5. 
 made by the deputies for the delay with an^i;hing but a 
 benignant countenance. Then, with much vehemence of 
 language, and manifestations of ill-temper, she expressed 
 her displeasure at the dilatoriness of the States. Having 
 sent so many troops, and so many gentlemen of quality, 
 she had considered the whole affair concluded. 
 
 *' I have been unhandsomely treated," she said, '* and 
 not as comports with a prince of my quality. My 
 inclination for your support — because you show your- 
 selves unworthy of so gieat benefits— will be entirely 
 destroyed, unless you deal with me and mine more 
 worthily for the future than you have done in the past. 
 Through my great and especial affection for your 
 welfare, I had ordered the Earl of Leicester to proceed 
 to the Netherlands, and conduct your affairs ; a man of 
 such quality as all the world knows, and one whom I 
 love as if he were my own brother. He was getting 
 himself ready in all diligence, putting himself in many 
 perils through the practices of the enemy ; and if I should 
 have reason to believe that he would not be respected 
 there according to his due, I should be indeed offended. 
 He and many others are not going thither to advance 
 their own affaire, to make themselves rich, or because 
 they have not means enough to live magnificently at 
 home. They proceed to the Netherlands from pui-e 
 
 VOL. I. " Y 
 
322 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VI. 
 
 i\^ 
 
 affection for your cause. This is the case, too, with 
 many other of my subjects, all dear to me, and of much 
 worth. For I have sent a fine heap of folk thither — in 
 all, with those his Excellency is taking with him, not 
 under ten thousand soldiers of the English nation. This 
 is no small succour, and no little unbaring of this realm 
 of mine, threatened as it is with war from many quarters. 
 Yet I am seeking no sovereignty, nor anything else 
 prejudicial to the freedom of your country. I wish only, 
 in your utmost need, to help you out of this lamentable 
 war, to maintain for you liberty of ccmscience, and to 
 see that law and justice are preserved." ' 
 
 All this, and more, with great eagerness of expression 
 and gesture, was urged by the Queen, much to the dis- 
 comfiture of the envoys. In vain they attempted to 
 modify and to explain. Their faltering excuses were 
 swept rapidly away upon the current of royal wrath ; 
 until at last Elizabeth stormed herself into exhaustion 
 and comparative tranquillity. She then dismissed them 
 with an assurance that her good-will towards the States 
 was not diminished, as would be found to be the case, 
 did they not continue to prove themselves unworthy of 
 her favour.* 
 
 It was not long, however, before the whole matter 
 was arranged to the satisfaction of all parties. It was 
 agreed that a permanent force of five thousand foot and 
 one thousand horse should serve in the Provinces at the 
 Queen's expense ; and that the cities of Flushing and 
 Brill should be placed in her Majesty's hands imtil the 
 entire reimbursement of the debt thus incurred by the 
 States. Elizabeth also — at last overcoming her reluc- 
 tance—agreed that the force necessary to garrison these 
 towns should form an additional contingent, instead of 
 being deducted from the general auxiliary force." 
 
 Count Maurice of Nassau had been confirmed by the 
 States of Holland and Zeeland as permanent stadholder 
 of those provinces. This measure excited some sus- 
 picion on the part of Leicester, who, as it was now 
 understood, was the " personage of quality " to be sent 
 
 1 Brief der Gedepateerden in England ' Report of the Envoys, MS. ; Articles 
 
 aan de Staaten General, 1 Nov. 1585, of Treaty, kc. MS. (Hague Archives). 
 
 (Hague Archives. MS.) Compare Dor, 11. 664 ; Hoofd Vervolgh, 
 
 « Ibid, 123. 
 
 1585. FRIENDLY SENTIMENTS OF COUNT MAURICE. 323 
 
 to the Netherlands as representative of the Queen's 
 authority. " Touching the election of Count Maurice " 
 said the Earl, " I hope it will be no impairing of the 
 authoiity heretofore allotted to me, for, if it wHl be I 
 shall tarry but awhile." * ' 
 
 Nothing, however, could be more frank or chival- 
 rously devoted than the language of Maurice to the 
 Queen. 
 
 " Madam, if I have ever had occasion," he wrote "to 
 thank God for his benefits, I confess that it was When 
 receiving in all humility the letters with which it 
 pleased your Majesty to honour me, I learned that the 
 great disaster of my lord and father's death had not 
 diminished the debonaire aff'ection and favour which 
 It has^ always pleased your Majesty to manifest to my 
 father s house. It has been likewise grateful to me to 
 learn that your Majesty, surrounded by so many OTeat 
 and important affairs, had been pleased to approve the 
 command which the States-General have conferred upon 
 me. I am indeed grieved that my actions cannot 
 correspond with the ardent desire which I feel to servo 
 your Majesty and these Provinces, for which I hope that 
 my extreme youth will be accepted as an excuse. And 
 although I find myself feeble enough for the charge thus 
 imposed upon me, yet God will assist my efforts to 
 supply by diligence and sincere intention the defect of 
 the other qualities requisite for my thorough discharge 
 of my duty to the contentment of your Majesty. To 
 fulfil these obligations, which are growing greater day 
 by day, I trust to prove by my actions that I will never 
 spare either my labour or life." * 
 
 When it was foimd that the important town of 
 Flushing was required as part of the guaranty to the 
 Queen, Maurice, as hereditary seignor and proprietor of 
 the place— during the captivity of his elder brother in 
 Spain— signified his concurrence in the transfer, to- 
 gether with the most friendly feelings towards the Earl 
 of Leicester, and to Sir Philip Sidney, appointed English 
 governor of the town. He wrote to Davison, whom he 
 called '* one of the best and most certain friends that the 
 
 >• Leicester to Davison, Nov. 18, 1585. 
 (S. F. Office MS.) 
 
 * Count Maurice to the Qnecn, — Oct. 
 
 I5ft6. (S. P. Office MS.) The letter ia 
 in French. 
 
 Y 9 
 
ii 
 
 S24 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VI. 
 
 House of Nassau possessed in England," begging that he 
 would recommend the interests of the family to the 
 Queen, " whose favour could do more than anything 
 else in the world towards maintaining what remained 
 of the dignity of their house." * After solemn delibera- 
 tion with his step-mother, Louisa de Coligny, and the 
 other members of his family, he made a formal announce- 
 ment of adhesion on the part of the House of Nassau to 
 the arrangements concluded with the English govern- 
 ment, and asked the benediction of God upon the treaty. 
 While renouncing, for the moment, any compensation 
 for his consent to the pledging of Flushing—*' his patri- 
 monial property, and a place of such great importance " 
 
 he expressed a confidence that the long services of 
 
 his father, as well as those which he himself hoped to 
 render, would meet in time with '* condign recognition." 
 He requested the Earl of Leicester to consider the 
 friendship which had existed between himself and the 
 late Prince of Orange, as an hereditary affection to be 
 continued to the children, and he entreated the Earl to 
 do him the honour in future to hold him as a son, and 
 to extend to him counsel and authority ; declaring, on 
 his part, that he should ever deem it an honour to be 
 allowed to call him father. And in order still more 
 strongly to confirm his friendship, he begged Sir Philip 
 Sidney to consider him as his brother, and as his com- 
 panion in arms, promising upon his own part the most 
 faithful friendship. In the name of Louisa de Coligny, 
 and of his whole family, he also particularly recom- 
 mended to the Queen the interests of the eldest brother 
 of the house, Philip William, *' who had been so long 
 and so iniquitously detained captive in Spain;" and 
 begged that, in case prisoners of war of high rank should 
 fall into the hands of the English commanders, they 
 might be employed as a means of effecting the liberation 
 of that much-injured Prince. He likewise desired the 
 friendly offices of the Queen to protect the principality 
 of Orange against the possible designs of the French 
 monarch, and intimated that occasions might arise in 
 which the confiscated estates of the family in Burgundy 
 
 » Maurice de Naaaau to Daviion, 12 176". MS.; same to same, 25 Oct. 15»'5j 
 Oct. 1685, Brit. Mus., Galba, C. viiL Galba, C. vilL 189 \ MS. 
 
 1585. LETTERS FROM HIM AND LOUISA DE COLIGNY. 325 
 
 might be recovered through the influence of the Swiss 
 cantons, particularly those of the Grisons and of Berne. 
 
 And, in conclusion, in case the Queen should please 
 — as both Count Maurice and the Princess of Orange 
 desired with all their hearts — to assume the sovereignty 
 of these Provinces, she was especially entreated gra- 
 ciously to observe those suggestions regarding the in- 
 terests of the House of Nassau which had been made in 
 the articles of the treaty.* 
 
 Thus the path had been smoothed, mainly through 
 the indefatigable energy of Davison. Yet that envoy 
 was not able to give satisfaction to his imperious and 
 somewhat whimsical mistress, whose zeal seemed to cool 
 in proportion to the readiness with which the obstacles 
 to her wishes were removed. Davison was, with rea- 
 son, discontented. He had done more than Rnj other 
 man, either in England or the Provinces, to bring about 
 a hearty co-operation in the common cause, and to allay 
 mutual heartburnings and suspicions. He had also, 
 owing to the negligence of the English treasurer for the 
 Netherlands, and the niggardliness of Elizabeth, been 
 placed in a position of great financial embarrassment. 
 His situation was very irksome. 
 
 ** I mused at the sentence you sent me," he wrote, 
 " for I know no cause her Majesty hath to shrink at her 
 charges hitherto. The treasure she hath yet disbursed 
 here is not above five or six thousand pounds, besides 
 that which I have been obliged to take up for the 
 saving of her honour, and necessity of her service, in 
 danger otherwise of some notable disgrace. I will not, 
 for shame, say how I have been left here to myself." * 
 
 The delay in the formal appointment of Leicester, 
 and more particularly of the govemora for the cautionary 
 towns, was the cause of gieat confusion and anarchy in 
 the transitional condition of the country. " The burden 
 I am driven to sustain," said Davison, " doth utterly 
 weary me. If Sir Philip Sidney were here, and if my 
 Lord of Leicester follow not all the sooner, I would use 
 her Majesty's liberty to return home. If her ]\Iajesty 
 think me worthy the reputation of a poor, honest, and 
 
 I 
 
 I Ijouisa de Coligny and Maurice de « Davison to - 
 Nassau U> Earl cf Leicester, 19 Oct. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 1685. (Brit. Mus. Galba, C. viii. 180, MS.) 
 
 11 Nov. 1585. 
 
326 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 CThap. VI. 
 
 1585. 
 
 DlSSATISFACnON OF LEICESTER. 
 
 327 
 
 loyal servant, I have that contents me. For the rest, I 
 wish 
 
 " Vivere sine invtdia, mollesqiie InRlorios anDOS 
 Exlgere, amicitiati et mihi Juni;ere pares." 
 
 There was something almost prophetic in the tone 
 which this faithful public servant — to whom, on more 
 than one occasion, stich hard measure was to be dealt — 
 habitually adopted in his private letters and conver- 
 sation. He did his work, but he had not his reward ; 
 and he was already weary of place without power, and 
 industry without recognition. 
 
 " For mine own particular," he said, " I will say with 
 the poet, 
 
 " Crede mlhi, bene qui Intuit hme vixit." 
 Et intra fortonum debet qulsque manere saam * 
 
 For, notwithstanding the avidity with which Elizabeth 
 liad sought the cautionary towns, and the fierceness 
 with which she had censured the tardiness of the States, 
 she seemed now half inclined to drop the prize which 
 she had so much coveted, and to imitate the very 
 languor which she had so lately rebuked. *' She hath 
 what she desired," said Davison, '*and might yet have 
 more, if this content her not. Howsoever you value the 
 ])lacos at home, they are esteemed here, by such as know 
 them best, no little increase to her Majesty's honour, 
 surety, and greatness, if she be as careful to keep them 
 as happy in getting them. Of this our cold beginning 
 doth already make me jealous." ' 
 
 Sagacious and resolute princess as she was, she 
 showed something of feminine caprice upon this grave 
 occasion. Not Davison alone, but her most confidential 
 ministers and favourites at home, were perplexed and 
 provoked by her misplaced political coquetries. But 
 while the alternation of her hot and cold fits drove her 
 most devoted coi'irtiers out of patience, there was one 
 symptom that remained invariable throughout all her 
 paroxysms, the rigidity with which her hand was 
 locked. W'alsingham, stealthy enough when an ad- 
 vantage was to be gained by subtlety, was manful and 
 determined in his dealings with his friends ; and he had 
 
 1 Davison to 
 
 -, U Nov. 1585. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 • lUd. 
 
 more than once been offended with Elizabeth's want of 
 frankness in these transactions. 
 
 " I find you grieved, and not without cause," he wrote 
 to Davison, " in respect to the over thwart proceedings 
 as well there as here. The disorders in those countries 
 would be easily redressed if we could take a thoroughly 
 resolute course here — a matter that men may rather pray 
 for than hope for. It is very doubtful whether the 
 action now in hand will be accompanied by very hard 
 success, unless they of the country there may be drawn 
 to bear the greatest part of the burden of the wars." ' 
 
 And now the great favourite of all had received the 
 appointment which he coveted. The Earl of Leicester 
 was to be Commander-in-Chief of her Majesty's forces in 
 the Netherlands, and representative of her authority in 
 those countries, whatever that office might prove to be. 
 The nature of his post was anomalous from the be- 
 ginning. It was environed with difficulties, not the 
 least irritating of which proceeded from the captious 
 spirit of the Queen. The Earl was to proceed in great 
 pomp to Holland, but the pomp was to be prepared 
 mainly at his own expense. Besides the auxiliary forces 
 that had been shipped during the latter period of the 
 year, Leicester was raising a force of lancers, from four 
 to eight hundred in number ; but to pay for that levy 
 he w{is forced to mortgage his o^vn property, while the 
 Queen not only refused to advance ready money, but 
 declined endorsing his bills. 
 
 It must be confessed that the Earl's courtship of 
 Elizabeth was anything at that moment but a gentle 
 dalliance. In those thorny regions of finance were no 
 beds of asphodel or amaranthine bowers. There was no 
 talk but of troopers, saltpetre, and sulphur, of books of 
 assurance, and bills of exchange; and the aspect of 
 Elizabeth, when the budget was under discussion, must 
 effectually have neutralized for the time any verj^ tender 
 sentiment. The sharpness with which she clipped 
 Leicester's authority, when authority was indispensable 
 to his dignity, and the heavy demands upon his resources 
 that were the result of her avarice, were obstacles more 
 than enough to the calm fruition of his triumphs. He 
 had succeeded, in appearance at least, in the gi-eat object 
 
 1 Minute to Davison, 19 Nov. 1586. (S. F. OlBce MS.) 
 
 M 
 
 ii 
 
328 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VI. 
 
 1585. 
 
 HIS VEHEMENT COMPLAINTS. 
 
 329 
 
 of his ambition, this appointment to the Netherlands ; 
 but the appointment was no sinecure, and least of all a 
 promising pecuniary speculation. Elizabeth had told 
 the envoys, with reason, that she was not sending forth 
 that man— whom she loved as a brother — in order that 
 he might make himself rich. On the contrary, the Earl 
 seemed likely to make himself comparatively poor before 
 he got to the Provinces, while his political powxr, at 
 the nioment, did not seem of more hopeful growth. 
 
 Leicester had been determined and consistent in this 
 great enterprise from the beginning. He felt intensely 
 the importance of the crisis. He saw that the time had 
 come for swift and uncompromising action ; and the im- 
 patience with which he bore the fetters imposed upon 
 him may be easily conceived. • 
 
 '* The cause is such," he wrote to "Walsingham, " that 
 I had as lief be dead as be in the case I shall be in if 
 this restraint hold for taking the oath there, or if some 
 more authority be not granted than I see her Majesty 
 would I should have. I trust you all will hold hard 
 for this, or else banish me England withal. I have sent 
 you the books to be signed by her Majesty. I beseech 
 you return them with all haste, for I get no money till 
 they be under seal." * 
 
 But her Majesty would not put them under her seal 
 much to the favourite's discomfiture. * 
 
 '' Your letter yioldeth but cold answer," he wrote 
 two days afterwards. '* Above all things yet that her 
 Majesty doth stick at, I marvel most at her refusal to 
 sign my book of assurance ; for there passeth nothing 
 m the earth against her profit by that act, nor any eood 
 to me but to satisfy the creditors, who were more scru- 
 pulous than needs. I did complain to her of those who 
 did refuse to lend me money, and she was greatly 
 offended with them. But if her Majesty were to stay 
 this If I were half seas over, I must of necessity come 
 tack again for I may not go without money. I beseech, 
 ^ the matter be refused by her, bestow a post on me to 
 
 V""?^ A ul tI *?^f "^^^^ ** S^^ J^^^ I'et^^s'' an^ but 
 for this doubt I had been to-morrow at Harwich. I pray 
 
 God make you all that be counsellors plain and direct 
 to the furtherance of all good service for her Majesty 
 
 1 Leicester to Walsingham. 3 Dec. 1585. (S. P. Office MS.^ 
 
 and the realm ; and if it be the will of God to piague us 
 that go, and you that tarry, for our sins, yet let us not 
 be negligent to seek to please the Lord." ' 
 
 The Earl was not negligent at any rate in seeking to 
 l^lease the Queen, but she was singularly hard to please. 
 She had never been so uncei'tain in her humours as at 
 this important crisis. She knew, and had publicly 
 stated as much, that she was " embarking in a war with 
 the greatest potentate in Europe ;" yet now that the 
 voyage had fairly commenced, and the waves were rolling 
 around her, she seemed anxious to put back to the shore. 
 For there was even a whisper of peace-negotiations, 
 than which nothing could have been more ill-timed. 
 *' I perceive by your message," said Leicester to \\ al- 
 singham, "that your peace with Spain will go fast on, 
 but this is not the way."* Unquestionably it was not 
 the way, and the whisper was, for the moment at least, 
 suppressed. Meanwhile Leicester had reached Harwich, 
 but the post "bestowed on him," contained, as usual, 
 but cold comfort. He was resolved, however, to go 
 manfully forward, and do the work before him, until 
 the enterprise should prove wholly impracticable. It is 
 by the light afforded by the secret never-published 
 correspondence of the period with which we are now 
 occupied, that the true characteristics of Elizabeth, the 
 Earl of Leicester, and other prominent personages, must 
 be scanned ; and the study is most important, for it 
 was by those characteristics, in combination with other 
 human elements embodied in distant parts of Christen- 
 dom, that the destiny of the world Avas determined. In 
 that age, more than in our own perhaps, the influence 
 of the individual was widely and intensely felt. His- 
 torical chemistry is only rendered possible by a detec- 
 tion of the subtle emanations, which it was supposed 
 would for ever elude analysis, but which survive in 
 those secret, frequently ciphered intercommunications. 
 Philip II., William of Orange, Queen Elizabeth, Alex- 
 ander Famese, Kobert Dudley, never dreamed — when 
 disclosing their inmost thoughts to their tnisted friends 
 at momentous epochs — that the day would come on 
 earth when those secrets would be no longer hid from 
 
 I ■ 
 
 ill 
 
 I Leicester to Walsingham, 5 Dec. 
 1585. (S. P. Office MS-X 
 
 « Same to same, 3 Dec. 1585. (S. P. 
 Office MS.) 
 
330 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VI. 
 
 1585. 
 
 THE QUEEN'S AVARICE. 
 
 331 
 
 tlie patient inquirer after truth. Well for those whose 
 reputations before the judgment-seat of history- appear 
 even comparatively pure, after impartial comparison of 
 their motives with their deeds. 
 
 " For mine own part, Mr. Secretary," wrote Leicester, 
 " I am resolved to do that which shall be fit for a poor 
 man's honour, and honestly to obey her Majesty's com- 
 mandment. Let the rest Ml out to others, it shall not 
 concern me. I mean to assemble myself to the camp, 
 where my authority must wholly lie, and will there do 
 that which in good reason and duty I shall be bound to 
 do. / am sorry that her Majesty doth deal in this sort, and, 
 is content to overthrow so willingly her own cause. If there 
 can be means to salve this sore, I will. If not, — I tell 
 you what shall become of me, as truly as God lives." * 
 
 Yet it is remarkable that, in spite of this dark inti- 
 mation, the Earl, after all, did not state what was to 
 become of him if the sore was not salved. He was, how- 
 ever, explicit enough as to the causes of his grief, and 
 very vehement in its manifestations. " Another matter 
 which shall concern me deeply," he said, " and all the 
 subjects there, is now by you to be carefully considered, 
 which is— money. I find that the money is already 
 gone, and this now given to the treasuier will do no 
 more than pay to the end of the month. I beseech you 
 look to it, for, by the Lord ! 1 will bear no more so 
 miserable burdens ; for if I have no mouc}- to pay them, 
 let them come home, or what else. I will not starve 
 them, nor stay them. There was never gentleman nor 
 general so sent out as I am ; and if neither Queen nor 
 council care to help it, but leave men desperate, as I see 
 men shall be, that inconvenience will follow which I 
 trust in the Lord I shall be free of." * 
 
 He then used language about himself singularly 
 resembling the phraseology employed by Elizabeth 
 concerning him, when she was scolding the Netherland 
 commissioners for the dilatoriness and parsimony of the 
 States. 
 
 **For mine own part," he said, "I have taken upon 
 me this voyage, not as a desperate nor forlorn man, but 
 as one as well contented with his place and calling at 
 home as any subject was ever. My cause was not, nor 
 
 1 Ulcester to Walaingham, 5 Dec. 1685. (S. P. Office MS.) « Ibid. 
 
 18, any other than the Lord's and the Queen's. If the 
 Queen fail, yet must I trust in the Lord, and on Him, I 
 see, I am. wholly to depend. I can say no more, but pray to 
 God that her Majesty never send general again as 1 am 
 sent. And yet I will do what I can for her and my 
 country." * 
 
 The Earl had raised a choice body of lancers to 
 accompany him to the Netherlands, but the expense of 
 the levy had come mainly upon his own purse. The 
 Queen had advanced five thousand pounds, which was 
 much less than the requisite amount, while for the 
 balance required, as well as for other necessary exj^enses, 
 she obstinately declined to furnish Leicester with 
 funds, even refusing him, at last, a temporary loan. She 
 violently accused him of cheating her, reclaimed money 
 which he had wrung from her on good security, and, 
 when he had repaid the sum, objected to give him a 
 discharge. As for receiving anything by way of salary, 
 that was quite out of the question. At that moment he 
 would have been only too happy to be reimbursed for 
 what he was already out of pocket. W hether Elizabeth 
 loved Leicester as a brother, or better than a brother, 
 may be a historical question, but it is no question at all 
 that she loved money better than she did Leicester. 
 Unhappy the man, whether foe or favourite, who had 
 pecuniary transactions with her Highness. 
 
 *♦ I am sorry," said the Earl, " that her Majesty hath* 
 so hard a conceit of me, that I should go about to cozen 
 her, as though I hjid got a fee simple from her, and had 
 it not before, or that I had not had her full release for 
 payment of the money I borrowed. I pray God, any 
 that did put such scruple in her have not deceived her 
 more than I have done. I thank God I have a clear 
 conscience for deceiving her, and for money matters. 
 I think I may justly say I have been the only cause of 
 more gain to her coffers than all her chequer-men have 
 been. But so is the hap of some, that all they do is 
 nothing, and others that do nothing, do all, and have all 
 the thanks. But I would this were all the grief I carry 
 with me ; but God is my comfort, and on Him I cast all, 
 for there is no surety in this world beside. What hope 
 of help can I have, finding her Majesty so strait with 
 
 1 Same to tame, 5 L»ec. 1585. (S. P. Office, MS.) 
 
 'li; 
 
 i 
 
332 
 
 THE UxMTED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VI. 
 
 1585. 
 
 PERPLEXITY OF DAVISON. 
 
 333 
 
 myself as she is ? I did trust that— the cause being 
 hers and this reahn's— if I could have gotten no money 
 of her merchants, she would not have refused to have 
 lent money on so easy prized land as mine, to have been 
 gainer and no loser by it. Her Majesty, I see, will make 
 trial of me how I love her, and what wiU discourage 
 me from her service. But resolved am I that no 
 worldly respect shall draw me back from my faithful 
 discharge of my duty towards her, though she shall 
 show to hate me, as it goeth very near ; for 1 find no 
 luve or favour at all. And I pray you to remember that 
 1 have not had one penny of her Majesty towards all 
 these charges of mine— not one penny — and, by all tnith 
 I have already laid out above five thousand pounds. 
 Her Majesty appointed eight thousand pounds for the 
 levy, which was after the rate of four hundred horse, 
 and, upon my fidelity, there is shipped, of horse of 
 service, eight hundred, so that there ought eight 
 thousand more to have been paid me. No general that 
 ever went that was not paid to the uttermost of these 
 things before he went, but had cash for his provision, 
 which her Majesty would not allow me— not one groat. 
 Well, let all this go : it is like I shall be the last shall 
 bear this, and some must sujffer for the people. Good 
 Mr. Secretary, let her Majesty know this, for I deserve 
 God-a-mercy, at the lea^t." » 
 
 Leicester, to do him justice, was thoroughly alive to 
 the importance of the crisis. On political principle, at 
 any rate, he was a firm supporter of Protestantism, and 
 even of Puritanism ; a form of religion which Elizabeth 
 detested, and in which, with keen instinct, she detected 
 a mutinous element against the divine right of kings. 
 The Earl was quite convinced of the absolute necessity 
 that England should take up the Netherland matter 
 most vigorously, on pain of being herself destroyed. 
 All the most sagacious counsellors of Elizabeth were 
 day by day more and more confirmed in this opinion, 
 and were inclined heartily to support the new Lieu- 
 tenant-General. As for Leicester himself, while fully 
 conscious of his own merits, and of his firm intent to do 
 his duty, he was also gi-ateful to those who were 
 willing to befriend him in his arduous enterprise. 
 
 1 Leicester to Wnbingham, 7 Dec. 1586. (S. P. OflJoe MS.) 
 
 " T have received a letter from my Lord Willougliby," 
 he said, *' to my seeming, as wise a letter as 1 have read 
 a great while, and not unfit for her Majesty's sight. I 
 pray God open her eyes, that they may behold her 
 present estate indeed, and the wonderful means that God 
 doth ojfer unto her. If she lose these opportunities^ icho can. 
 look for other hut dishonour and destruction ? My Loid 
 Treasurer hath also written me a most hearty and 
 comfortable letter touching this voyage, not only in 
 showing the importance of it, both for her Majesty's own 
 safety and the realm's, but that the wlide state of religion 
 doth depend thereon, and therefore doth faithfully promise 
 his whole and best assistance for the supply of all wants. 
 I was not a little glad to receive such a letter from him 
 at this time." ' 
 
 And from on board the *' Amity," ready to set sail, he 
 expressed his thanks to Burghley, at finding him " so 
 earnestly bent for the good supply and maintenance of 
 us poor men sent in her Majesty's service and our 
 country's." * 
 
 As for Walsingham, eaniestly a defender of the Nether- 
 land cause from the beginning, he was wearied and 
 disgusted with fighting against the Queen's parsimony 
 and caprice. *' He is utterly discouraged," said Leices- 
 ter io Burghley, '* to deal any more in these causes. I 
 pray God your Lordship grow net so too ; for then all 
 will to the ground on my poor side especially."' 
 
 And to Sir Francis himself, he wrote, even as his 
 vessel was casting off her moorings : — " I am sorry, Mr. 
 Secretary," he said, " to find you so discouraged, and 
 that her Majesty doth deem you so partial. And yet 
 my suits to her Majesty have not of late been so many 
 nor great, while the greatest, I am sure, are for her 
 Majesty's own service. For my part, 1 will discharge 
 my duty as far as my poor ability and capacity shall 
 serve ; and if I shall not have her gracious and princely 
 support and supply, the lack will be to us for the 
 present, but the shame and dishonour will be hers." * 
 
 And with these parting woids the Earl committed 
 himself to the December seas. 
 
 1 I^iccster to Walsingham, 7 Dec. (S. P. Office MS.) » Ibid 
 
 1585. (S. P. Office MS.) * Leicester i<. Walsinghaui. 9 Dec 
 
 » Leicester to Burghley, 9 Dec. 1585. 1586. (S. P. Office Mg.) 
 
 H 
 
334 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VI. 
 
 Davison had been meantime doing his best to prepare 
 the way in the Netherlands for the reception of the 
 English administration. What man could do, without 
 money and without authority, he had done. The go- 
 vernors for Flushing and the Brill, Sir Philip Sidney 
 and Sir Thomas Cecil, eldest son of Lord Burghley, had 
 been appointed, but had not arrived. Their coming was 
 anxiously looked for, as during the interval tJbe condi- 
 tion of the garrisons was deplorable. The English 
 treasurer — by some unaccountable and unpardonable 
 negligence, for which it is to be feared the Queen was 
 herself to blame — wtis not upon the spot, and Davison 
 M'as driven out of his wits to devise expedients to save 
 the soldiers from starving. 
 
 " Your Lordship has seen by my former letters," wrote 
 
 the Ambassador to Burghley from Flushing, *' what shift 
 
 iith Nov. I have been driven to for the relief of this gar- 
 
 1585. rison here, left a Vabandon ; without which 
 mean they had all fallen into wild and shameful dis- 
 order, to her Majesty's great disgi-ace and overthrow of 
 her service. I am compelled, unless 1 would see the poor 
 men famish, and her Majesty dishonoured, to try my 
 poor credit for them." * 
 
 General Sir John Norris was in the Betuwe threaten- 
 ing Xymegen, a town which he found " not so flexible as 
 he had hoped ;'* * and, as he had but two thousand men, 
 while Alexander Fameso was thought to be marching 
 upon him with ten thousand, his position caused great 
 anxiety. Meantime his brother. Sir Edward, a hot- 
 headed and somewhat wilful young man, who " thought 
 that all was too little for him," was giving the sober Davi- 
 son a good deal of trouble." He had got himself into a 
 quarrel both with that envoy and with Koger Williams, 
 by claiming the right to control military' matters in 
 Flushing until the arrival of Sidney. " If Sir Thomas 
 and Sir Philip," said Davison, **do not make choice of 
 more discreet, staid, and expert commanders than those 
 thrust into these places by Mr. Norris, they will do 
 themselves a great deal of worry, and her Majesty a 
 great deal of hurt." * 
 
 As might naturally be expected, the lamentable con- 
 
 i Davison to Burghley, 11 Nov. 1585. Brit Mus. (Galba, C. viii. p. 217, MS.) 
 * IbkL * Ibid. * ibid. 
 
 r , 
 I.'' 
 
 1585. 
 
 MANIFESTO OF ELIZABETH. 
 
 335 
 
 dition of the English soldiers, unpaid and starv'ing— 
 according to the report of the Queen's envoy himself— 
 exercised anything but a salutary influence upon the 
 minds of the Netherlanders, and perpetually fed the 
 hopes of the Spanish partizans that a composition with 
 Philip and Parma would yet take place. On the other 
 hand, the States had been far more liberal in raising 
 funds than the Queen had shown herself to be, and 
 were somewhat indignant at being perpetually taunted 
 with parsimony by her agents. Davison was ofifended 
 by the injustice of Norris in this regard. "The com- 
 plaints which the General hath made of the States to 
 her Majesty," said he, " are without cause, and I think, 
 when your Lordship shall examine it well, you will 
 find it no little sum they have already disbursed unto 
 him for their part. Wherein, nevertheless, if they had 
 been looked into, they were somewhat the more ex- 
 cusable, considering how ill our people at her Majesty's 
 entertainment were satisfied hitherto— a thing that doth 
 much prejudice her reputation, and hurt her service." * 
 At last, however, the die had been cast. The Queen, 
 although rejecting the proposed sovereignty of the Ne- 
 therlands, had espoused their cause, by solemn treaty of 
 alliance, and thereby had thrown down the gauntlet to 
 Spain. She deemed it necessary, therefore, out of 
 respect for the opinions of mankind, to issue a manifesto 
 of her motives to the world. The document was pub- 
 lished simultaneously in Dutch, French, English, and 
 Italian." * 
 
 In this solemn state-paper she spoke of the responsibi- 
 lity of princes to the Almighty, of the ancient friendship 
 between England and the Netherlands, of the cruelty 
 and tyranny of the Spaniards, of their violation of the 
 liberties of the Provinces, of their hanging, beheading, 
 banishing without law and against justice, in the space 
 of a few months, so many of the highest nobles in the 
 land. Although, in the beginning of the cruel per- 
 secution, the pretext had been the maintenance of the 
 Catholic religion, yet it was affirmed they had not 
 failed to exercise their barbarity upon Catholics also, 
 and even upon ecclesiastics. Of the principal persons 
 
 1 Davison to Burglilpy, MS. last cited. 
 « The Declaratloa is given in Bor, ii, 607*671. 
 
 li 
 
 N! 
 
336 
 
 • THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XI. 
 
 1585. 
 
 MANIFESTO OF ELIZABETH. 
 
 337 
 
 put to death, no one, it was asserted, had been more 
 devoted to the ancient church than was the brave Count 
 Egmont, who, for his famous victories in the service of 
 Spain, could never be forgotten in veracious history any- 
 more than could be the cruelty of his execution. 
 
 The land had been made desolate, continued the 
 Queen, with fire, sword, famine, and murder. These 
 misfortunes had ever been bitterly deplored by friendly 
 nations, and none could more truly regret such suflfer- 
 ings than did the English, the oldest allies and familiar 
 neighbours of the Provinces, who had been as close to 
 them in the olden time by community of connexion and 
 of language, as man and wife. She declared that she 
 had frequently, by amicable embassies, warned her bro- 
 ther of Spain— speaking to him like a good, dear sister 
 and neighbour — that, unless he restrained the cruelty of 
 his governors and their soldiers, he was sure to force 
 his Provinces into allegiance to some other power. She 
 expressed the danger in which she should be placed if 
 the Spaniards succeeded in establishing their absolute 
 government in the Netherlands, from which position 
 their attacks upon England would be incessant. She 
 spoke of the enterprise favoured and set on foot by the 
 Pope and by Spain against the kingdom of Ireland. 
 She alluded to the dismissal of the Spanish envoy, Don 
 Bernardino de Mendoza, who had been treated by her 
 with great regard for a long time, but who had been 
 afterwards discovered in league with certain ill-disposed 
 and seditious subjects of hers, and with publicly con- 
 demned traitors. That envoy had an-anged a plot, 
 according to which, as appeared by his secret de- 
 spatches, an invasion of England by a force of men, 
 coming partly from Spain and partly from the Nether- 
 lands, might be successfully managed, and he had even 
 noted down the necessary number of ships and men, 
 with various other details. Some of the conspiratore 
 had fled, she observed, and were now consortiug with 
 Mendoza, who, after his expulsion from England, had 
 been appointed ambassador in Paris ; while some had 
 been arrested, and had confessed the plot. So soon as this 
 envoy had been discovered to b© the chief of a rebellion 
 and projected invasion, the Queen had requested him, she 
 said, to leave the kingdom within a reasonable time, as 
 
 one who was the object of deadly hatred to the English 
 people. She had then sent an agent to Spain, in order 
 to explain the whole transaction. That agent had not 
 been allowed even to deliver despatches to the King. 
 
 When the French had sought, at a previous period, to 
 establish their authority in Scotland, even as the Spaniards 
 had attempted to do in the Netherlands, and through 
 the enormous ambition of the House of Guise, to under- 
 take the invasion of her kingdom, she had frustrated 
 their plots, even as she meant to suppress these Spanish 
 conspiracies. She spoke of the Prince of Parma as 
 more disposed by nature to mercy and humanity than 
 preceding governors had been, but as unable to restrain 
 the bloodthirstiness of Spaniards, increased by lon«- 
 indulgence. She avowed, in assuming the protection 
 of the Netherlands, and in sending her troops to those 
 countries, but three objects: peace, founded upon the 
 recognition of religious freedom in the Provinces, re- 
 storation of their ancient political liberties, and secunty 
 for England. Never could there be tranquillity for her 
 own realm until these neighbouring countries were 
 tranquil. These were her ends and aims, dfespite all 
 that slanderous tongues might invent. The world, she 
 observed, was overflowing with blasphemous libels, ca- 
 lumnies, scandalous pamphlets ; for never had the Devil 
 been so busy in supplying evil tongues with venom 
 against the professors of the Christian religion. 
 
 She added, that in a pamphlet, ascribed to the Arch- 
 bishop of Milan, just published, she had been accused 
 of ingratitude to the King of Spain, and of plots to take 
 the life of Alexander Famese. In answer to the first 
 charge, she willingly acknowledged her obligations to 
 tlie King of Spain during the reign of her sister. She 
 pronounced it, however, an absolute falsehood that ho 
 hud ever saved her life, as if she had ever been con- 
 demned to death. She likewise denied earnestly the 
 charge regarding the Prince of Parma. She protested 
 herself incapable of such a crime, besides declaring that 
 he had never given her offence. On the contrary, he 
 was a man whom she had ever honoured for the rare 
 qualities that she had noted in him, and for which he 
 had deservedly acquired a high reputation.' 
 
 , 1 Declaration, ubi suj). 
 
 VOL. I. . 5: 
 
338 
 
 THE UNIltD NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VI. 
 
 Sucli, in brief analysis, was the memorable Declaration 
 of Elizabeth iu favour of the Netherlands— a document 
 which was a hardly disguised proclamation of war 
 against Philip. In no age of the world could an un- 
 equivocal agreement to assist rebellious subjects, vsdth 
 men and money, against their sovereign, be considered 
 otherwise than tis a hostile demonstration. The King of 
 Spain so regarded the movement, and forthwith issued a 
 decree, ordering the seizure of all English as well as 
 all Netherland vessels within his ports, together with 
 the arrest of persons, and contiscation of property. 
 
 Subsequently to the publication of the Queen's 
 memorial, and before the departure of the Earl of 
 Leicester, Sir Philip Sidney having received his appoint- 
 ment, together with the rank of general of cavalry, 
 arrived in the Isle of Walcheren, as governor of Flushing, 
 at the head of a portion of the English contingent. 
 
 It is imt)ossible not to contemplate with affection so 
 radiant a figure, shining through the cold mists of that 
 Zeeland winter, and that distant and disastrous epoch. 
 There is hardly a character in history upon which the 
 imagination can dwell with more unalloyed delight. 
 Not in romantic fiction was there ever created a more 
 attractive incarnation of martial valour, poetic genius, 
 and purity of heart. If the mocking spirit of the 
 soldier of Lepanto could *' smile chivalry away," the 
 name alone of his English contempomry is potent enough 
 to conjure it back again, so long as humanity is alive to 
 the nobler impulses. 
 
 ** I cannot pass him over in silence," says a dusty 
 chronicler, "that glorious star, that lively pattern of 
 virtue, and the lovely joy of all the learned sort. It 
 was God's will that he should be bom into the world, 
 even to show unto our age a sample of ancient virtue." ' 
 The descendant of an ancient Norman race, and allied 
 to many of the proudest nobles in England, Sidney him- 
 self was but a commoner, a private individual, a soldier 
 of fortune. He was now in his thirty-second year, and 
 should have been foremost among the statesmen of 
 Elizabeth, had it not been, according to Lord Bacon, a 
 maxim of the Cecils, that "able men should be by 
 design and of purpose suppressed." Whatever of truth 
 
 1 Camden'B ' Britannia' (1637). p. 329. 
 
 1585. 
 
 SIR PHILIP SIDNEY. 
 
 339 
 
 there may have been in the bitter remark, it is certainly 
 strange that a man so gifted as Sidney— of whom his 
 father-in-law Walsingham ha»l declared, that " although 
 he had influence in all countries, and a hand upon all 
 affairs, his Philip did far overshoot him with his own 
 bow" ' — should have passed so much of his life in retire- 
 ment, or in comparatively insignificant employments. 
 The Queen, as he himself observed, was most apt to 
 interpret everj^thing to his disadvantage. Among those 
 who knew him well, there seems never to have been a 
 dissenting voice. His father. Sir Henry Sidney, lord- 
 deputy of Ireland and president of Wales, a statesman 
 of accomplishments and experience, called him ''lumen 
 familicB sua!,'' and said of him, with pardonable pride, 
 J* that he had the most virtues which he had ever found 
 in any man ; that he was the very formular that all 
 well-disposed young gentlemen do form their manners 
 and life by." * The learned Hubert Languet, companion 
 of Melancthon, tried friend of William the Silent, was 
 his fervent admirer and correspondent. The gi-eat 
 Prince of Orange held him in high esteem, and sent 
 word to Queen Elizabeth, that having himself been an 
 actor in the most important affairs of Europe, and 
 acquainted with her foremost men, he could " pledge 
 his credit " that her Majesty had one of the ripest and 
 greatest counsellors of state in Sir Philip Sidney that 
 lived in Europe." * 
 
 The incidents of his brief and brilliant life, up to his 
 arrival upon the fatal soil of the Netherlands, are too 
 well kno^vn to need recalling. Adorned with the best 
 culture that, in a learaed age, could be obtained in the 
 best seminaries of his native country, where, during 
 childhood and youth, he had been distinguished for a 
 " lovely and familiar giavity beyond his years," he 
 i-apidly acquired the admiration of his comrades and the 
 esteem of all his teachers. 
 
 Travelling for three years, he made the acquaintance 
 and gained the personal regard of such opposite cha- 
 racters as Charles IX. of France, Heniy of Navarre, Don 
 John of Austria, and W^illiam of Orange, and perfected 
 his accomplishments by residence and study, alternately, 
 
 1 Life of Sidney by Fulke Greville. Lord Brooke, edited by Sir E. Brydges. p. 23. 
 • Sydney Papers, edited by Collins. I. 246. . Brooke/p lb^ Je^. 
 
 z 2 
 
 l!^ 
 
340 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VI. 
 
 in courts, camps, and learned universities. lie was in 
 Paris during the memorable days of August, 1572, and 
 narrowly escaped perishing in the St. Bartholomew 
 Massacre. On his return, he was, for a brief period, the 
 idol of the English court, which, it was said, '* was 
 maimed without his company." * At the age of twenty- 
 one he was appointed special envoy to Vienna, ostensibly 
 for the purpose of congratulating the Emperor lUidolph 
 upon his accession, but in reality that he might take the 
 opportunity of sounding the secret purposes of tho 
 protestant princes of Germany, in regard to tho great 
 contest of the age. In this mission, young as he was, he 
 acquitted himself, not only to tho satisfaction, but to 
 the admiration of Walsingham, certainly a master him- 
 self in that occult science, the diplomacy of the sixteenth 
 century. *' There hath not been," said he, •* any gentle- 
 man, I am sure, that hath gone through so honourable a 
 charge with as great commendations as he." * 
 
 When the memorable marriage-project of Queen 
 Elizabeth with Anjou seemed about to take effect, ho 
 denounced the scheme in a most spirited and candid 
 letter, addressed to her Majesty ; nor is it recorded that 
 the QvLQQn was offended with his frankness. Indeed we 
 are informed that *' although he found a sweet stream of 
 sovereign humours in that well-tempered lady to run 
 against him, yet found ho safety in herself against that 
 selfness which appeared to threaten him in her."* 
 Whatever this might mean, translated out of euphuism 
 into English, it is certain that his conduct was regarded 
 with small favour by the court-grandees, by whom 
 " worth, duty, and justice, were looked upon with no 
 other eyes than Lamia's." * 
 
 The difficulty of swimming against that sweet stream 
 of sovereign humours in the well-tempered Elizabeth, 
 was aggravated by his quarrel, at this period, with tlio 
 niagniticent Oxford. A dispute at a tennis-court, where 
 many courtiers and foreigners were looking on, pro- 
 ceeded rapidly from one extremity to another. Tho 
 Earl commanded Sir Philip to leave the place. Sir 
 Philip responded, that if he were of a mind that 
 he should go, ho was himself of a mind that he 
 
 » Fnller'B • Worthies.' i. 499. ed. 1811. 
 ^ Brooke, p. 51i 
 
 S Naanton, Regalia,' p. 63. 
 « Ibid. 
 
 1585. 
 
 SIR PHILIP SIDNEY. 
 
 341 
 
 should remain ; adding that if he had entreated, where 
 he had no right to command, he might have done more 
 than " with the scourge of fury." *' ITiis answer," says 
 Fulke Greville, in a style worthy of Don Adriano de 
 Armado, *' did, like a bellows, blowing up the sparks of 
 excess already kindled, make my lord scornfully call 
 Sir Philip by the name of puppy. In which progress of 
 heat, as the tempest grew more and more vehement 
 within, so did their hearts breathe out their pertur- 
 bations in a more loud and shrill accent ;" * and so on ; 
 but the impending duel was the next day forbidden by 
 express command of her Majesty. Sidney, not feeling 
 the full force of the royal homily upon the necessity of 
 great deference from gentlemen to their superiors in 
 rank, in order to protect all orders from the insults of 
 plebeians, soon afterwards retired from the court. To 
 his sylvan seclusion the world owes the pastoral and 
 chivalrous romance of the * Arcadia,' and to the pompous 
 Earl, in consequence, an emotion of gratitude. Never- 
 theless, it was in him to do, rather than to write, and 
 humanity seems defrauded, when forced to accept tho 
 * Arcadia,' the * Defence of Poesy,' and the * Astrophel 
 and Stella,' in discharge of its claims upon so great and 
 pure a soul. 
 
 Notwithstanding this disagreeable affair, and despite 
 the memorable letter against Anjou, Sir Philip sud- 
 denly flashes upon us again, as one of the four chal- 
 lengers in a tournament to honour the duke's presence 
 in England. A vision of him in blue gilded aimour — 
 with horses caparisoned in cloth of gold, pearl-em- 
 broidered, attended by pages in cloth of silver, Venetian 
 liose, laced hats, and by gentlemen, yeomen, and trum- 
 peters, in yellow velvet cassocks, buskins, and feathers 
 — as one of " the four fostered children of virtuous 
 Desire" (to wit, Anjou) storming *' the castle of perfect 
 Beauty " * (to wit. Queen Elizabeth, setatis 47) rises out 
 of the cloud-dusts of ancient chionicle for a moment, 
 and then vanishes into air again. 
 
 •* Having that day his hand, his horse, his lance. 
 Guided so well thai they attained the prize 
 Both in the Judgment of our English eyes. 
 But of some sent by that sweet enemy, France," 
 
 > Brooke, p. 63. 
 
 ■ Stowe's Continuation of Holinsbed, iv. 436 seq 
 
 • I 
 
 U 
 
 W 
 
 * ,. 
 
342 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VI 
 
 ii 
 
 as lie chivalrously sings, lie soon afterwards felt in- 
 clined for wider fields of honourable adventure. It 
 was impossible that knight-errant so true should not 
 feel keenest sympathy with an oppressed people strug- 
 gling against such odds, as the Netherlanders were 
 doing in their contest with Spain. So soon as the 
 treaty with England was aiTanged, it was his ambition 
 to take part in the dark and dangerous enterprise, and, 
 being son-in-law to Walsingham and nephew to Lei- 
 cester, he had a right to believe that his talents and 
 character would, on this occasion, be recognized. But, 
 like his " very friend," Lord Willoughby, he was *' not 
 of the genus Eeptilia, and could neither creep nor 
 crouch," * and he failed, as usual, to win his way to the 
 Queen's favour. The governorship of Flushing was 
 denied him, and, stung to the heart by such neglect, he 
 determined to seek his fortune beyond the seas. 
 
 "Sir Philip hath taken a very hard resolution," 
 wrote Walsingham to Davison, "to accompany Sir 
 Francis Drake in this voyage, moved thereto for that he 
 saw her Majesty disposed to commit the charge of 
 Flushing unto some other ; which he reputed would fall 
 out greatly to his disgrace, to see another preferred be- 
 fore him, both for birth and judgment inferior unto 
 him. The despair thereof and the disgrace that he 
 doubted he should receive have carried him into a dif- 
 ferent course." * 
 
 The Queen, however, relenting at last, interfered to 
 frustrate his design. Having thus balked his ambition 
 in the Indian seas, she felt pledged to offer him the 
 employment which he had originally solicited, and she 
 accordingly conferred upon him the governorship of 
 Flushing, with the rank of general of horse, under tho 
 Earl of Leicest^er. In the latter part of November he 
 cast anchor, in the midst of a violent storm, at Ram- 
 mekins, and thence came to the city of his government. 
 Young, and looking even younger than his years—*' not 
 only of an excellent wit, but extremely beautiful of 
 face"*— with delicately chiselled Anglo-Norman fea- 
 tures, smooth fair cheek, a faint moustache, blue eyes, 
 
 1 Nanuton. • Regalia,' p. 68. » Expression of Aubrey, cited by Gray, 
 
 « Walsingham to Davison, 13 Sept Life of Sidney, 61. 
 1585. CS. P. CMHce MS.) 
 
 1585. 
 
 HIS ARRIVAL AT FLUSHING. 
 
 343 
 
 and a mass of amber-coloured hair ; such was tho 
 author of Arcadia' and the governor of Flushing. 
 
 And thus an Anglo-Norman representative of ancient 
 race had come back to the home of his ancestors. 
 Scholar, poet, knight-errant, finished gentleman, he 
 aptly typified the result of seven centuries of civiliza- 
 tion upon the wild Danish pirate. For among these 
 very quicksands of storm-beaten Walachria that won- 
 drous Normandy first cairie into existence whose wings 
 were to sweep over all the high places of Christendom. 
 Out of these creeks, lagunes, and almost inaccessible 
 sand-banks, those bold freebooters sailed forth on their 
 forays against England, Fmnce, and other adjacent 
 coimtries, and here they brought and buried the booty 
 of many a wild adventure. Here, at a later day, Kollo 
 the Dane had that memorable dream of leprosy,* the 
 cure of which was the conversion of North Gaul into 
 Normandy, of Pagans into Christians, and the subse- 
 quent conquest of every throne in Christendom from 
 Ultima Thule to Byzantium. And now the descendant 
 of those early freebooters had come back to the spot, at 
 a moment when a wider and even more imperial swoop 
 was to be made by their modem representatives. For 
 the sea-kings of the sixteenth century — the Drakes, 
 Hawkinses, Frobishers, Kaleighs, Cavendishes— the De 
 Moors, Heemskirks, Barendts — all sprung of the old 
 pirate-lineage, whether called Englanders or Hol- 
 landers, and instinct with the same hereditary love of 
 adventure, were about to wrestle with ancient tyran- 
 nies, to explore the most inaccessible regions, and to 
 establish new commonwealths in worlds undreamed of 
 by their ancestors — to accomplish, in short, more woun- 
 drous feats than had been attempted by the Knuts, and 
 Kollos, Rurics, Rogers, and Tancreds of an earlier age. 
 
 The place which Sidney was appointed to govern was 
 one of great military and commercial importance. 
 Flushing was the key to the navigation of the North 
 Seas, ever since the disastrous storm of a century before, 
 in which a great trading city on the outermost verge 
 of the island had been swallowed bodily by the ocean.* 
 The Emperor had so thoroughly recognized its value, as 
 
 1 Guicdardlni, ' Description de tous les Pays Bas, p. 354. 
 * GuicclATdiui, in voce. 
 
 
 it 
 
 Hi 
 
 II 
 
344 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VI. 
 
 'I 
 
 t 
 
 [ill 
 
 w 
 
 ) lit 
 
 to make special mention of the necessity for its preser- 
 vation, in his private instinictions to Philip, and now 
 the Queen of England had confided it to one who was 
 competent to appreciate and to defend the prize. ** How 
 great a jewel this place (Flushing) is to the crown of 
 England," wrote Sidney to his uncle Leicester, " and to 
 the Queen's safet}^ I need not now write it to your 
 lordship, who knows it so well. Yet I must needs say, 
 the better I know it, the more I find the preciousness of 
 it"» 
 
 He did not enter into his government, however, with 
 much pomp and circumstance, but came afoot into 
 Flushing in the midst of winter and foul weatlier. 
 ** Driven to land at Rammekins," said he, ** because the 
 wind began to rise in such soii; as our mariners durst 
 not enter the town, I came from thence with as diiiy a 
 walk as ever poor governor entered his charge withal."* 
 But he was cordially welcomed, nor did he arrive by 
 any means too soon. 
 
 *' I find the people very glad of our coming," he said, 
 "and promise myself as much surety in keeping this 
 town, as popular good-will, gotten by light hojies, and 
 by as slight conceits, may breed ; for indeed the garrison 
 is far too weak to command by authority, which is 
 pity. ... I think, truly, that if my coming had been 
 longer delayed, some alteration would have followed ; 
 for the truth is, this people is weary of war, and if they 
 do not see such a course taken as may be likely to defend 
 them, they will in a sudden give over the cause. . . . 
 All will be lost if government be not presently used." " 
 
 He expressed much anxiety for the arrival of his uncle, 
 with which sentiments he assured the Earl that the 
 Netherlanders fully sjTnpathized. "Your Lordship's 
 coming," he said, " is as much longed for as Messias is 
 of the Jews. It is indeed most necessary that your 
 Lordship make great speed to reform both the Dutch 
 and English abuses." * 
 
 » Sir p. Sydney to Earl of Uicestcr, 22 Nov. 1585. Brit. Mas. «alb«. C. vilU 
 pk 213, MS. * Ibitl. > Lbid. « Ibid. 
 
 1585. 
 
 THE EARL OF LEICESTER. 
 
 345 
 
 CHAPTER VIL 
 
 rhe Earl of Leicester — Hia Triumphal Entrance Into Holland — English Spies 
 about him — Importance of Holland to England — Spanish Schemes for invading 
 England — Letter of the Grand Commander — Periloua Position of England — 
 True Nature of the Contest — Wealth and Strength of the Provinces — Power of 
 tlie Dutch and English People — Affection of the Hollanders for the Queen — 
 Secrel purposes of Leicester — Wretched Condition of English Troops — The 
 Nassaus and Hohenlo — The Earl's Opinion of them — Clerk and Killigrew — 
 Interview with the States — Government General oCTered to the Earl — Dis- 
 cussions on the Subject — The Earl accepts the OflBce — His Ambition and Mis- 
 taltes — His Installation at the Hague — Intimations of the Queen's Displeasure 
 — Deprecatory Letters of Leicester — Davison's Mission to England — Queen's 
 Anger and Jealousy — Her angry Letters to the Earl and the States — Arrival 
 of Davison — Stormy Interview with the Queen — The second one Is calmer — 
 Queens Wrath somewhat mitigated — Mission of Heneage to the States — 
 Sliirley sent to England by the Earl — His Interview with Elizabeth — I^eicester's 
 letters to his Friends — Paltry Conduct of the Earl to Davison — He excuses 
 himself at Davison's Expense — His Letter to Burghley — Eifect of the Queen's 
 Letters to the States — Suspicion and Discontent in Holland — States excuse 
 their Conduct to the Queen — Leicester discredited in Holland — Evil Con- 
 sequences to Holland and England — Magic Effect of a I^etter from L»ict>ster — 
 The Qticen appeased — Her Letters to the States and the Earl — She permits the 
 granted Authority — Unhappy Results of the Queen's Course — Her variable 
 Moods — She attempts to deceive Walsingham — Her Ityustice to Heneage — 
 His Perplexity and Distress — Humiliating Position of Leicester — His melan« 
 choly Letters to the Queen — He receives a little Consolation — And writes 
 more cheerfully — The Queen is more benignant — The States less contented 
 than the Earl — His Quarrels with them begin. 
 
 )'( 
 
 4 
 
 At last the Earl of Leicester came. Embarking at 
 Harwich, with a fleet of fifty ships, and at- Dec. 9, 19, 
 tended " by the flower and chief gallants of ^^^^• 
 England " »--the Lords Sheffield, Willoughby, Korth, 
 Burroughs, Sir Gervase Clifton, Sir William Russell, 
 Sir Robert Sidney, and others among the number — the 
 new lieutenant-general of the English forces in the 
 Netherlands arrived on the 19th December, 1585, at 
 Flushing. His nephew. Sir Philip Sidney, and Count 
 Maurice of Nassau, with a body of troops and a great 
 procession of civil functionaries, were in readiness to 
 receive him, and to escort him to the lodgings prepared 
 for him.* 
 
 »Stowe,711. 133, 134; Waj?enaar, vili. 112 $eq.: 
 
 * Bor, a 684, 685; Hoofd Vervolgh, Siowe, 711; Strada, il. 408, 4C9. 
 
 u 
 
VIvi 
 
 i if 
 
 346 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VII. 
 
 t/ 
 
 Kobert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, was then fifty-four 
 years of age. There are few personages in English 
 history whose adventures, real or fictitious, have been 
 made more familiar to the world than his have been, or 
 whose individuality has been presented in more pic- 
 turesque fashion, by chronicle, tragedy, or romance. 
 Bom in the same day of the month and hour of the day 
 with the Queen, but two years before her birth, the sup- 
 posed synastry of their destinies * might partly account, 
 in that age of astrological superstition, for the influence 
 which he perpetually exerted. They had, moreover, 
 been fellow-prisoners together, in the commencement of 
 the reign of Mary, and it is possible that he may have 
 been the medium through which the indulgent ex- 
 pressions of Philip II, were conveyed to the Princess 
 Elizabeth. 
 
 His grandfather, John Dudley, that '* caterpillar of the 
 commonwealth," who lost his head in the first year of 
 Henry VIII. as a reward for the *' grist which he brought 
 to the mill"* of Henry VII.; his father, the mighty 
 Duke of Northumberland, who rose out of the wreck of 
 an obscure and ruined family to almost regal power, 
 only to perish, like his predecessor, upon the scaffold, 
 had bequeathed him nothing save rapacity, ambition, 
 and the genius to succeed. But Elizabeth seemed to 
 ascend the throne only to bestow gifts upon her favourite. 
 Baronies and earldoms, stars and garters, manors and 
 monopolies, castles and forests, church livings and 
 college chancellorships, advowsons and sinecures, emolu- 
 ments and dignities, the most copious and the most 
 exalted, were conferred upon him in breathless suc^ces- 
 sion. Wine, oil, currants, velvets, ecclesiastical benefices, 
 university headships, licenses to preach, to teach, to 
 ride, to sail, to pick and to steal, all brought *' grist to 
 his mill." His grandfather, »'the horse leach and 
 shearer," never filled his coffers more mpidly than did 
 Lord Robert, the fortunate courtier. Of his early 
 wedlock with the ill-starred Amy Robsart, of his nuptial 
 projects with the Queen, of his subsequent marriages 
 and mock-marriages with Douglas Sheffield and Lettice 
 of Essex, of his plottings, poisonings, imaginary or 
 otherwise, of his countless intrigues, amatory and polit- 
 
 » Naunton, 34. and note, « Expreaslon of Loid Bacon, 
 
 1585. 
 
 THE EAIIL OF LEICESTER. 
 
 347 
 
 ical— of that luxuriant, creeping, flaunting, all-pervading 
 existence which struck its fibres into the mould, and 
 coiled itself through the whole fabric, of Elizabeth's 
 life and reign — of all this the world has long known too 
 much to render a repetition needful here. The inmost 
 nature and the secret deeds of a man placed so high by 
 wealth and station, can be seen but darkly through the 
 glass of contemporary record. There was no tribunal 
 to sit upon his guilt. A grandee could be judged only 
 when no longer a favourite, and the infatuation of 
 Elizabeth for Leicester terminated only with his life. 
 He stood now upon the soil of the Netherlands in the 
 character of a " Messiah," yet he had been charged with 
 crimes sufficient to send twenty humbler malefactors to 
 the gibbet. ** I think," said a most malignant arraigner 
 of the man, in a published pamphlet, *' that the Earl of 
 Leicester hath more blood lying upon his head at this 
 day, crjung for vengeance, than ever had piivate man 
 before, were he never so wicked." ^ 
 
 Certainly the mass of misdemeanonrs and infamies 
 hurled at the head of the favourite by that '* green-coated 
 Jesuit," father Parsons, under the title of * Leycester's 
 Commonwealth,* were never accepted as literal verities ; 
 yet the value of the precept, to calumniate boldly, with 
 the certainty that much of the calumny would last for 
 ever, was never better illustrated than in the case of 
 Kobert Dudley. Besides the lesser delinquencies of 
 tilling his purse by the sale of honours and dignities, by 
 violent ejectments from land, fraudulent titles, rapacious 
 enclosures of commons, by taking bribes for matters of 
 justice, grace, and supplication to the royal authority, 
 he was accused of forging various letters to the Queen, 
 often to ruin his political adversaries, and of plottings 
 to entrap them into conspiracies, playing first the 
 comrade and then the informer. The list of his murders 
 and attempts to murder was almost endless. " His 
 lordship hath a special fortune," said the Jesuit, " that 
 when he desireth any woman's favour, whatsoever 
 person standeth in his way hath the luck to die quickly."* 
 
 
 1 ' LeycesUr's Commonwealth : con- whose good only It Is made common to 
 
 ceived, spoken, and published with moat many (by Robt. Parsons),' 4to. London, 
 
 earnest protestation of all dutiful good- 1641. 
 
 will and affection towards the realm, for « Leycester's 'Ccanmonwealth/ ut tup. 
 
 I 
 
''"! 
 
 348 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VH. 
 
 h 
 
 'I 
 
 IIo was said to have poisoned Alice Drayton, Lady 
 Lennox, Lord Sussex, Sir Nicholas Throgmorton, Lord 
 Sheffield, whose widow he married and then poisoned, 
 Lord Essex, whose widow he also married and intended 
 to poison, but who was said to have subsequently 
 poisoned him — besides murders or schemes for murder 
 of various other individuals, both French and English.^ 
 "He was a rare artist in poison," said Sir l^obert 
 Naunton,* and ceiiainly not Caesar Borgia, nor his 
 father or sister, was more accomplished in that difficult 
 profession than was Dudley, if half the charges against 
 him could be believed. Fortunately for his fame, many 
 of them were proved to be false. Sir Henr)^ Sidney, 
 lord deputy of Ireland, at the time of the death of Lord 
 Essex, having caused a diligent inquiiy to be made into 
 that dark affair, wrote to the council that it was usual 
 for the Earl to fall into a bloody flux when disturbed in 
 his mind, and that his body when opened showed no 
 signs of poison." It is true that Sir Henry, although an 
 honourable man, was Leicester's brother-in-law, and that 
 perhaps an autopsy was not conducted at that day in 
 Ireland on very scientific principles. 
 
 His participation in the strange death of his firet wife 
 was a matter of current belief among his contemporaries. 
 *' He is infamed by the death of his wife," said Burghley,* 
 and the tale has since become so interwoven with 
 classic and legendary fiction, as well as with more 
 authentic history, that the phantom of the murdered 
 Amy Robsart is sure to arise at every mention of the 
 Earl's name. Yet a coroner's inquest— as appears from 
 his own secret correspondence with his relative and 
 agent at Cumnor — was immediately and persistently 
 demanded by Dudley. A jury was impannelled— every 
 man of them a stranger to him, and some of them ene- 
 mies. Antony Forster, Appleyard, and Arthur Eobsaii, 
 brother-in law and brother of the lady, were present, 
 according to Dudley's special request ; " and if more of 
 her friends could have been sent," said he, *' I would 
 have sent them;" but with all their minuteness of 
 inquiry, " they could find," wrote Blount, " no pre- 
 sumptions of evil," although he expressed a suspicion 
 
 • Tioycester's ' Common we:ilth,' ut tup. 
 > Naootun, 'Ilegalk,' 43. 44. 
 
 » Sydney Papers, by CoUinfl, i. 48. 
 * Lodge, il. 202. 
 
 1585. 
 
 THE EARL OF LEICESTER. 
 
 349 
 
 that " some of the jurymen were sorry that they could 
 not.'* That the unfortunate lady was killed by a fall 
 down stairs was all that could be made of it by a 
 coroner's inquest, rather hostile than otherwise, and 
 urged to rigorous investigation by the supposed culprit 
 himself.* Nevertheless, the calumny has endured for 
 three centuries, and is like to survive as many more. 
 
 AVhatever crimes Dudley may have committed in the 
 courfcse of his career, there is no doubt whatever that he 
 was the most abused man in Europe. He had been 
 deeply wounded by the Jesuit's artful publication, in 
 which all the misdeeds with which he was falsely or 
 justly charged were drawn up in awful array, in a form 
 half colloquial, half judicial. " You had better give 
 some contentment to my Lord Leicester," wrote the 
 Frerch envoy from London to his government, " on 
 accoimt of the bitter feelings excited in him by these 
 villanous books lately written against him."* 
 
 The Earl himself ascribed these calumnies to the 
 Jesuits, to the Guise faction, and particularly to the 
 Queen of Scots. He was said, in consequence, to have 
 vowed an eternal hatred to that most unfortunate and 
 most intriguing Princess. •' Leicester has lately told a 
 friend," wrote Charles Paget, *' that he will persecute 
 you to the uttermost, for that he supposeth your Majesty 
 to be privy to the setting forth of the book against 
 him." ' Nevertheless, calumniated or innocent, he was 
 at least triumphant over calumny. Nothing could 
 shake his hold upon Elizabeth's affections. The Queen 
 scorned but resented the malignant attacks upon the 
 reputation of her favourite. She declared " before God 
 and in her conscience, that she knew the libels against 
 him to be most scandalous, and such as none but an 
 incarnate devil himself could dream to be true." His 
 power, founded not upon genius nor virtue, but upon 
 woman's caprice, shone serenely above the gulf where 
 there had been so many shipwrecks. " I am now 
 
 1 Abstract of the Correspondence pre- 
 serveil in the Pepysian Library at Cam- 
 bridge, between Lonl Robert Dudley and 
 Thomas Blount, an agent of his at Cum- 
 nor, during the inquest held on Amy 
 Robsart, published in Craik, ' Romance 
 of the Peerage.' 
 
 * " il sera bqp de donner quel- 
 
 am 
 
 que amtentement au diet sieur Conte de 
 Lestre pour ce qu'il a sy affection de 
 ces vilains livres fetz contre luy," kc. 
 (' Castelnau-Mauvisslere k M. de Brulart,' 
 Brienne, MS.) 
 
 ' Charles Paget to Queen of Scota, 14 
 Jan. 1585, in Murdin, ii. 437. 
 

 ' i 
 
 11 
 
 1^ 
 
 350 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VII. 
 
 passing into another world," said Sussex, upon his 
 death-bed, to his friends, "and I must leave you to 
 your fortunes ; but beware of the gipsy, or he will bo 
 too hard for you. You know not the beeist so well as I 
 do." ' 
 
 The '* gipsy," as he had been called from his dark 
 complexion, had been renowned in youth for the beauty 
 of his person, being " tall and singularly well-featured, 
 of a sweet aspect, but high foreheaded, which was of no 
 discommendation," according to Naunton. The Queen, 
 who had the passion of her father for tall and proper 
 men, was easier won by externals, from her youth even 
 to the days of her dotage, than befitted so very sagacious 
 a personage. Chamberlains, squires of the body, carvers, 
 cup-bearers, gentlemen-ushers, porters, could obtain 
 neither place nor favour at court, unless distinguished 
 for stature, strength, or extraordinary activity. To lose 
 a tooth had been known to cause the loss of a place, and 
 the excellent constitution of leg which helped Sir 
 Christopher Ilatton into the chancellorship, was not 
 more remarkable perhaps than the success of similar en- 
 dowments in other contemporaries. Leicester, although 
 stately and imposing, had passed his summer solstice. A 
 big bulky man, with a long red face, a bald head, a de- 
 fiant somewhat sinister eye, a high nose, and a little tor- 
 rent of foam-white curly beard, he was still magnificent 
 in costume. Rustling in satin and feathers, with jewels 
 in his ears, and his velvet toque stuck as airily as ever 
 upon the side of his head, he amazed the honest Hol- 
 landers, who had been used to less gorgeous chieftains. 
 " Every body is wondering at the great magnificence 
 and splendour of his clothes,"* said the plain chronicler 
 of Utrecht. For, not much more than a year before, 
 Fulke Greville had met at Delft a man whose external 
 adornments were simpler ; a somewhat slip-shod per- 
 sonage, whom he thus portrayed : — " His uppermost 
 garment was a gown," said the euphuistic Fulke, " yet 
 such as, I confidently affirm, a mean-bom student of our 
 Inns of Court would not have been well disposed to 
 walk the streets in. Unbuttoned his doublet was, and 
 of like precious matter and form to the other. His 
 waistcoat, which showed itself under it, not unlike the 
 
 1 Naunton, p. 49. 2 Bor, ii. 686. 
 
 1585. HIS TRIUMPHAL ENTRANCE INTO HOLLAND. 351 
 
 best sort of those woollen knit ones which our ordinarj^ 
 barge-watermen row us in. His company about him, 
 the burgesses of that beer-brewing town, ^q external 
 sign of degree could have discovered the inequality of his worth 
 or estate from that multitude. Nevertheless, upon con- 
 versing with him, there vcas an outward passage of inward 
 greatness.^' * 
 
 Of a cei-tainty there must have been an outward 
 passage of inward greatness about him; for the in- 
 tlividual in unbuttoned doublet, and bargeman's waist- 
 coast, was no other than William the Silent. A different 
 kind of leader had now descended among those rebels, 
 yet it would be a great mistake to deny the capacity or 
 vigorous intentions of the magnificent Earl, who cer- 
 tainly was like to find himself in a more difficult and 
 responsible situation than any he had yet occupied. 
 
 And now began a triumphal progress through the 
 land, with a series of mighty banquets and festivities, in 
 which no man could play a better part than Leicester. 
 From Flushing he came to Middelburg, where, upon 
 Christmas eve (according to the new reckoning), there 
 was an entertainment, every dish of which has been 
 duly chronicled. Pigs served on their feet, pheasants 
 in their feathers, and baked swans with their necks 
 thrust through gigantic piecrust; crystal castles of 
 confectionery with silver streams flowing at their base, 
 and fair virgins leaning from the battlements, looking 
 for their new English champion, " wine in abundance, 
 variety of all sorts, and wonderful welcomes"* — such 
 was the bill of fare. The next day the Lieutenant- 
 General returned the compliment to the magistrates of 
 Middelburg with a tremendous feast. Then came an 
 interlude of unexpected famine; for as the Earl sailed 
 with his suite in a fleet of two hundred vessels for 
 Dort— a voyage of not many hours' usual duration — 
 there descended a mighty frozen fog upon the waters, 
 and they lay five whole days and nights in their ships,' 
 almost starved with hunger and cold— offering in vain 
 a " pound of silver for a pound of bread." • Emerging 
 at last from this dismal predicament, he landed at Dort, 
 and so went to Eotterdam and Delft, everywhere 
 
 » Brooke's Sidney, 16 teq. 
 * Stowe's Holinsbed. iv. $41. 
 
 " Sir John Conway to , 27 Dec 
 
 1686. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
I > 
 
 ■1/ 
 ill 
 
 11 
 
 >i 
 
 •ii'( 
 
 it! 
 
 :it 
 
 352 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VII, 
 
 making his way through lines of musketeers and civic 
 functionaries, amid roaring cannon, pealing bells, burn- 
 ing cressets, blazing tar-barrels, fiery winged diagons, 
 wreaths of flowers, and Latin orations.* 
 
 The farther he went the braver seemed the country, 
 and the better beloved his Lordship. Nothing was left 
 undone, in the language of ancient chronicle, to fill the 
 bellies and the heads, of the whole company. At the 
 close of the year he came to the Hague, where the 
 festivities were unusually magnificent. A fleet of barges 
 was sent to escort him. Peter, James, and John, met 
 him upon the shore, while the Saviour appeared 
 walking upon the waves, and ordered his disciples to 
 cast their nets, and to present the fish to his Excellency. 
 Farther on, he was confronted by Mars and Bellona, 
 who recited Latin odes in his honour. Seven beautiful 
 damsels upon a stage, representing the United States, 
 offered him golden keys ; seven others equally beautiful, 
 embodying the seven sciences, presented him with 
 garlands, while an enthusiastic barber adorned his shop 
 with seven score of copper baains, with a wax-light in 
 each, together with a rose, and a Latin posy in praise of 
 Qiieen Elizabeth.' Then there were tiltings in the 
 water between champions mounted upon whales, and 
 other monsters of the deep— representatives of siege, 
 famine, pestilence, and murder— the whole interspersed 
 with fireworks, poetry, charades, and harangues. Not 
 Matthias, nor Anjou, nor King Philip, nor the Emperor 
 Charles* in their triumphal progresses, had been re- 
 ceived with more spontaneous or more magnificent 
 demonstrations. Never had the living pictures been 
 more startling, the allegories more incomprehensible, 
 the banquets more elaborate, the orations more tedious. 
 Beside himself with rapture, Leicester almost assumed 
 the God. In Delft, a city which he described as 
 " another London almost for beauty and fairness," * ho 
 
 1 sir John Conway to , 27 Dec 
 
 1585. (S. P. Office MS.) Stowe. ubi sup. 
 
 « Stowe's Holinsbed. iv. 641 seq. 
 
 » " It to thought that when Charles V. 
 made his entries here in these towns, 
 there was not greater ceremonies; the 
 people so joyful, and thnniging so great, 
 to see his Lordship, as it was wonder," 
 
 &c Edward Bumham to Sir F. Walslng- 
 ham, Dec. 27, 1586. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 * lieicester to ^Val8lngha^l, 26 Dec. 
 1585, in Brace, p. 31 ; and writing to 
 Burghley the next day, he says, "the 
 other towns I have passed by are very 
 goo<lly towns, but this is the fairest of 
 them all." (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 1585. 
 
 ENGLISH SPIES ABOUT HIM. 
 
 353 
 
 is said so far to have forgotten himself as to declare that 
 his family had — in the person of Lady Jane Grey, his 
 father, and brother — been unjustly "deprived of the 
 crown of England; an indiscretion which caused a 
 shudder in all who heard him.^ It was also veiy 
 dangerous for the Lieutenant-General to exceed the 
 bounds of becoming modesty at that momentous ejioch. 
 His power, as we shall soon have occasion to observe, 
 was anomalous, and he was surrounded by enemies. He 
 was not only to grapple with a rapidly developing 
 opposition in the States, but he was surrounded with 
 masked enemies, whom he had brought with him from 
 England. Every act and word of his were liable to 
 closest scrutiny, and likely to be turned against him. 
 For it was most characteristic of that intriguing age, 
 that even the astute W'alsingham, who had an eye 
 and an ear at every keyhole in Europe, was himself 
 under closest domestic inspection. There was one 
 Foley, a trusted servant of Lady Sidney, then living in 
 the house of her father Walsingham, during Sir Philip's 
 absence, who was in close communication w4th Lord 
 Montjoy's brother, * Blount, then high in favour of 
 Queen Elizabeth — " whose grandmother she might be 
 for his age and hers " — and with another brother, 
 Christopher Blount, at that moment in confidential 
 attendance upon Lord Leicester in Holland. Now 
 Foley, and both the Blounts, were, in reality, Papists, 
 and in intimate correspondence with the agents of the 
 Queen of Scots, both at home and abroad, although 
 ** forced to fawn upon Leicester, to see if they might 
 thereby live quiet." They had a secret " alphabet," or 
 cipher, among them, and protested waimly, that they 
 *' honoured the ground whereon Queen Mary trod 
 better than Leicester with all his generation ; and that 
 they felt bound to serve her who was the only saint 
 living on the earth." * 
 
 It may be well understood then that the Earl's posi- 
 tion was a slippery one, and that great assumption might 
 be unsafe. *' He taketh the matter upon him," wrote 
 Morgan to the Queen of Scots, *' as though he were an 
 absolute king ; but he hath many personages about him 
 of good place out of England, the best number whereof 
 
 1 HcK)fd Vervulgb. 131. » Morgan io Ciueen of Scots, in Murdin. ii. 495-501. 
 VOL. 1. ' 2 A 
 
 >ll 
 
854 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VH. 
 
 desire nothing more than his confusion. Some of them 
 be gone with him to avoid the persecution for religion 
 in England. My poor advice and labour shall not be 
 wanting to give Leicester all dishonour, which will fall 
 upon him in the end with shame enough ; though for 
 the present he be very strong." ^ Many of these person- 
 ages of good place, and enjoying ** charge and credit " 
 with the Earl had very serious plans in their heads. 
 Some of them meant " for the service of God, and the 
 advantage of the King of Spain, to further the delivery 
 of some notable towns in Holland and Zeeland to the 
 said King and his ministers," * and we are like to hear 
 of these individuals again. 
 
 Meantime, the Earl of Leicester was at the Hague. 
 Why was he there ? What was his work ? Why had 
 Elizabeth done such violence to her affection as to part 
 with her favourite-in-chief; and so far overcome her 
 thrift, as to furnish forth, rather meagrely to be sure, 
 that little army of Englishmen? AVhy had the flower 
 of England's chivalry set foot upon that dark and 
 bloody ground where there seemed so much disaster to 
 encounter, and so little glory to reap ? Why had Eng- 
 land thrown herself so heroically into the breach, just as 
 the last bulwarks were falling which protected Holland 
 from the overwhelming onslaught of Spain? It was 
 because Holland was the threshold of England ; because 
 the two countries were one by danger and by destiny ; 
 because the naval expedition from Spain against Eng- 
 land was already secretly preparing ; because the 
 deposed tyrant of Spain intended the Provinces, when 
 again subjugated, as a stepping-stone to the conquest of 
 England ; because the naval and military forces of 
 Holland — her numerous ships, her hardy mariners, her 
 vast wealth, her commodious sea-poi-ts, close to the 
 English coast — if made Spanish property would render 
 Philip invincible by sea and land; and because the 
 downfall of Holland and of Protestantism would be death 
 to Elizabeth, and annihilation to England. 
 
 There was little doubt on the subject in the minds of 
 those engaged in this expedition. All felt most keenly 
 the importance of the game, in which the Queen was 
 staking her crown, and England its national existence. 
 
 1 Morgan to Queen of Scots, In Murdln, 11. 495-501. ^ Ibid. 
 
 1585. IMPORTANCE OF HOLLAND TO ENGLAND. 
 
 355 
 
 ^ **1 pray God," said Wilford, an officer much in ^^'al- 
 singhain's confidence, " that I live not to see this enter- 
 prise quail, and with it the utter subversion of religion 
 throughout all Christendom. It may be I may bo 
 judged to be afraid of my own shadow. God grant it 
 be so. But if her Majesty had not taken the helm in 
 hand, and my Lord of Leicester sent over, this country 
 
 had been gone ere this This war doth 
 
 defend England. Who is he that will refuse to spend 
 his life and living in it ? If her Majesty consume twenty 
 thousand men in the cause, the experimented men that 
 will remain will double that strength to the realm." * 
 
 This same Wilford commanded a company in Ostend, 
 and was employed by Leicester in examining the de- 
 fences of that important place. 'He often sent informa- 
 tion to the Secretary, "troubling him with the rude 
 style of a poor soldier, being driven to scribble in haste." 
 He reiterated, in more than one letter, the opinion, that 
 twenty thousand men consumed in the war would be a 
 saving in the end, and his own determination — although 
 he had intended retiring from the military profession— 
 to spend not only his life in the cause, but also the poor 
 living that God had given him. " Her Highness hath 
 now entered into it," he said ; *' the fire is kindled ; 
 whosoever suffers it to go out, it will grow dangerous to 
 that side. The whole state of religion is in question, 
 and the realm of England also, if this action quail. God 
 grant we never live to see that doleful day. Her Majesty hath 
 such footing now in these parts, as I judge it impossible 
 for the King to weary her out, if every man will put to 
 the work his helping hand, whereby it may be lustily 
 followed, and the war not su fibred to cool. The freehold 
 of England will be worth hut little, if this action quail, and 
 therefore I wish no subject to spare his purse towards 
 it.'** 
 
 Spain moved slowly. Philip the Prudent was not 
 sudden or rash, but his whole life had proved, and was 
 to prove, him inflexible in his purposes, and patient in 
 his attempts to carry them into effect, even when the 
 purposes had become chimerical, and the execution 
 impossible. Before the fall of Antwerp he had matured 
 
 1 ThomaB Willbrd to Walsingham, ^ Dec. 1685. (S. P. Office MS.) a Ibid. 
 
 2 A 2 
 
356 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VII 
 
 his scheme for the invasion of England, in most of its 
 details— a necessary part of which was of course the 
 reduction of Holland and Zeeland. " Surely no ^danger 
 nor fear of any attempt can grow to England/' wrote 
 \Vilford, " so long as we can hold this country good." 
 But never was honest soldier more mistaken than he, 
 when he added :— " The Papists will make her Highness 
 afraid of a great fleet now preparing in Spain. We 
 hear it also, but it is only a scarecrow to cool the 
 enterprise here." * 
 
 It was no scarecrow. On the very day on which 
 Wilford was thus writing to Walsingham, Philip the 
 Second was writing to Alexander Farnese. '* The 
 English," he said, ** with their troops having gained a 
 footing in the Islands (Holland and Zeeland), give me 
 much anxiety. The English Catholics are imploring 
 me with much importunity to relieve them from the 
 persecution they are suffering. When you sent me a 
 plan, with the coasts, soundings, quicksands, and poiis 
 of England, you said that the enterprise of invading that 
 country should be deferred till we had reduced the Isles ; 
 that, having them, we could much more conveniently 
 attack England ; or that at least we should wait till we 
 had got Antwerp. As the city is now taken, I want 
 your advice now about the invasion of England. To cut 
 the root of the evils constantly growing up there, both 
 for God's service and mine, is desirable. So many evils 
 will thus be remedied, which would not be by only 
 warring with the Islands. It would be an uncertain 
 and expensive war to go to sea for the purpose of chas- 
 tising the insolent English corsairs, however much they 
 deserve chastisement. I charge you to be secret, to 
 give the matter your deepest attention, and to let me 
 have your opinions at once." Philip then added a 
 postscript, in his own hand, concerning the importance 
 of acquiring a sea-port in Holland, as a basis of opera- 
 tions against England. " Without a port,'* he said, 
 ** we can do nothing whatever." " 
 
 A few weeks later, the Grand Commander of Castile, 
 by Philip's orders, and upon subsequent information 
 
 1 wilford to Burghley. „ Dec. 1585. ^^^^ ^^^^„ ^p^^^^p ^j ^ p^rma. 29 
 (S.P. Offlce MS.) 
 
 « "Porque sin puerto no se puede 
 acer nada." (Philip II. to Panna, 
 Dec. 1585. Archivo de Simancas MS.) 
 
 J585. SPANISH SCHEMES FOR INVADING ENGLAND. 357 
 
 received from the Prince of Parma, drew up an elaborate 
 scheme for the invasion of England, and for the govern- 
 ment of that country afterwards ; a program according 
 to which the King was to shape his course for a long 
 time to come. The plot was an excellent plot. Nothing 
 could be more artistic, more satisfactory to the prudent 
 monarch; but time was to show whether there might 
 not be some difficulty in the way of its satisfactory 
 development. 
 
 '* The entei-prise," said the Commander, " ought cer- 
 tainly to be undertaken as serving the cause of the 
 Lord. From the Pope we must endeavour to extract a 
 promise of the largest aid we can get for the time when 
 the enterprise can be undertaken. We must not declare 
 that time however, in order to keep the thing a secret, 
 and because perhaps thus more will be promised, under 
 the impression that it will never take effect." ' Ho 
 added that the work could not well be attempted before 
 August or September of the following year ; the only 
 fear of such delay being that the French could hardly be 
 kept during all that time in a state of revolt."* For 
 this was a uniform portion of the great scheme. France 
 was to be kept, at Philip's expense, in a state of pei-pe- 
 tual civil war; its every city and village to be the 
 scene of unceasing conflict and bloodshed — subjects in 
 arms against king, and family against family ; — and 
 the Netherlands were to be ravaged with fire and 
 sword; all this in order that the path might be pre- 
 pared for Spanish soldiers into the homes of England. 
 So much of misery to the whole human race was it in 
 the power of one painstaking elderly valetudinarian to 
 inflict, by never for an instant neglecting the business 
 of his life. 
 
 Troops and vessels for the English invasion ought, in 
 the Commander's opinion, to be collected in Flanders, 
 under colour of an enterprise against Holland and Zee- 
 land, while the armada to be assembled in Spain, of 
 
 1 Parecer del Comendador Mayor dado sin declararle el tietnpo, por rospeto del 
 
 a S. M. Bobre la empn;sa de InRlaterra, secrete, y porque quiza asi prometera 
 
 anno 15»6. (Archivo de Simancas MS.) mas, fiensando que no hade haberefecto." 
 
 " Y al papa se procure sacar promesa • " No se pueden tener tauto tienapo 
 
 de la mas gruesa ayuda que se pudiese rebueltos." (Ibid.) 
 para cuando se poedo hacer la empresa, 
 
358 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VII. 
 
 1585. 
 
 LETTER OF THE GRAND COMMANDER. 
 
 359 
 
 galleons, galeazzas, and galleys should be ostensibly for 
 an expedition to the Indies. 
 
 Then, after the conquest, came arrangements for the 
 government of England. Should Philip administer his 
 new kingdom by a viceroy, or should he appoint a king 
 out of his own family? On the whole the chances 
 for the Prince of Parma seemed the best of any. ** We 
 must liberate the Queen of Scotland," said the Grand 
 Commander, " and marry her to some one or another, both 
 in order to put her out of love with her son, and to con- 
 ciliate her devoted adherents. Of course the husband 
 should be one of your Majesty's 'nephews, and none 
 could be so appropriate as the Prince of Parma, that 
 great captain, whom his talents, and the part he has 
 to bear in the business, especially indicate for that 
 honour." * 
 
 Then there was a difficulty about the possible issue 
 of such a marriage. The Fanieses claimed Poi-tugal ; 
 80 that children sprung from the blood-royal of England 
 blended with that of Parma might choose to make those 
 pretensions valid. But the objection was promptly 
 solved by the Commander : — ** The Queen of Scotland is 
 sure to have no children," he said.* 
 
 That matter being adjusted, Parma's probable attitude 
 as King of England was examined. It was true his 
 ambition might cause occasional uneasiness, but then 
 he might make himself more unpleasant in the Nether- 
 lands. ** If your Majesty suspects him," said the Com- 
 mander, *' which, after all, is unfair, seeing the way in 
 which he has been conducting himself— it is to be 
 remembered that in Flanders are similar circumstances 
 and opportunities, and that he is well armed, much 
 beloved in the country, and that the natives are of 
 various humours. The English plan will furnish an 
 honourable departure for him out of the Provinces ; and 
 the principle of loyal obligation will have much influ- 
 ence over so chivalrous a knight as he, when he is once 
 placed on the English throne. Moreover, as he will be 
 new there, he will liave need of your Majesty's favour 
 to maintain himself, and there will accordingly be good 
 correspondence with Holland and the Islands. Thus 
 
 > MS. just died. no ha de tener hyos la Reyoa de Escoda. 
 
 s •• aesbace esta tombra. qoe como (iWd.) 
 
 your Majesty can put the Infanta and her husband into 
 full possession of all the Netherlands ; having provided 
 them with so excellent a neighbour in England, and one 
 so closely bound and allied to them. Then, as he is to 
 have no English children " (we have seen that the Com- 
 mander "had settled that point), *' he will be a very good 
 mediator to arrange adoptions,* especially if yon make 
 good provision for his son Rainuccio in Italy. The lea- 
 sons in favour of this plan being so much stronger than 
 those against it, it would be well that your Majesty 
 should write clearly to the Prince of Parma, directing 
 him to conduct the entei-prise " (the English invasion), 
 " and to give him the first offer for this maiTiage (with 
 Queen Mary) if he likes the scheme. If not, he had 
 better mention which of the Archdukes should be sub- 
 stituted in his place." ■ 
 
 There happened to be no lack of archdukes at that 
 period for anything comfortable that might offer— such 
 as a throne in England, Holland, or France— and the 
 Austrian House was not remarkable for refusing conve- 
 nient marriages ; but the immediate future only could 
 show whether Alexander. I. of the House of Faraese was 
 to reign in England, or whether the next king of that 
 country was to be called Matthias, Maximilian, or Ernest 
 of Hapsburg. 
 
 Meantime the Grand Commander was of opinion that 
 the invasion-project was to be pushed forward as rapidly 
 and as secretly as possible ; because, before any one of 
 Philip's nephews could place himself upon the English 
 throne, it was first necessary to remove Elizabeth from 
 that position. Before disposing of the kingdom, the 
 preliminar}^ step of conquering it was necessary. After- 
 wards it would be desirable, without wasting more time 
 than was requisite, to return with a large portion of the 
 invading force out of England, in order to complete the* 
 conquest of Holland. For after all, England was to bo 
 
 » ** Y esta PS honrada saUda y qae a el 
 le obligaria mucbo en ley de tan gran 
 caballero; de mas, como nuevo, para 
 mantenerse en Inglaterra babia menesier 
 el favor de V. M. Y en entronizandose 
 el alii, no faltaria concierto en Hullanda 
 y las Islas, y podria V. M. meter en llena 
 posMSbion de todtw los estados b^jos a la 
 
 Senora Infanta y su marido, dandoles tan 
 buen vicino y tan obligado; y el no Im- 
 biendode tener iiiji.s en Inglaterra, podria 
 ser buen medianero para adopciones," 
 &C. Parecer del Coniondador Mayor, &c. 
 (MS. before cited.) 
 
 » Parecer del Comendador Mayor. &c 
 CMS. before cited.) 
 
360 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VII. 
 
 1585. 
 
 PERILOUS POSITION OF ENGLAND. 
 
 361 
 
 subjugated only as a portion of one general scheme ; 
 the main features of which were the reannexation of Hol- 
 land and *' the Islands," and the acquisition of unlimited 
 control upon the seas. ^ 
 
 Thus the invasion of England was no " scarecrow, as 
 Wilford imagined, but a scheme already thoroughly ma- 
 tured. If Holland and Zeeland should meantime fall 
 into the hands of Philip, it was no exaggeration on that 
 soldier's part to observe that the " freehold of England 
 would be worth but little." * 
 
 To oppose this formidable array against the liberties 
 of Europe stood Elizabeth Tudor and the Dutch Ke- 
 public. For the Queen, however arbitrary her nature, 
 fitly embodied much of the nobler elements in the 
 expanding English national character. She felt instinct- 
 ively that her reliance in the impending death-grapple 
 was upon the popular principle, the national sentiment, 
 both in her own country and in Holland. That prin- 
 ciple and that sentiment were symbolised in the 
 Netherland revolt ; and England, although under a 
 somewhat despotic rule, was already fully pei-^^aded 
 with the instinct of self-government. The people held 
 
 1 Upon that point there was no dif- 
 ference of opinion. The statesmen and 
 soldiers of England were unanimous. 
 ♦• If I should not," said Burghley, '• with 
 all the powers of my heart, continually 
 both wish and work advantrment unto 
 this action, I were an accursed person in 
 the sight of God ; considering the ends 
 thereof tend to the glory of God, to the 
 safety of the Queen's person, to ihe pre- 
 serration of this realm in a perpetual 
 quietness, wherein, for my particular in- 
 terest, both for myself and my posterity, 
 I have as much interest as any of my 
 'degree.'* (Bruce, • l^yc. Corresp." p. 24.) 
 Walsingham had been straightforward 
 from the first in his advocacy of the 
 Netherland cause, which he knew to lie 
 identical with that of England, and, as 
 we have seen, had l)een often indignant 
 at the shufflings practised by the Queen's 
 government in the matter. He was sin- 
 cerely glad that Ixicester had gone to 
 the Provinces before It was quite too 
 late. " All honest and well-affected sub- 
 jects." said he to the Earl, " have cause 
 to thank God that you arrived there so 
 
 seasonably as you did ; for, howsoever we 
 mislike of the enterprise here, all Eng- 
 land thoxild have smarted if the same 
 had not been taken in hand." (Ibid. p. 
 36.) 
 
 As for I^icester himself, he was always 
 vehement upon the f^ubjcct. After his 
 arrival in the country he was more in- 
 tensely alive than ever to the dangers 
 impending over England, in case the 
 rebel Provinces should be re-annex«Hi to 
 Spain. " He is senseless," sjud he, " that 
 conceiveth not that if the King of Spain 
 had these countries at his commandment 
 —let her Maj sty have the best peace 
 that ever was, or can be made — and we 
 shall find, as the world now standeth, 
 that he will force the Queen of England 
 and England to be at his disposition. 
 What with Spain for the west, and what 
 with these coimtries for the east, Eng- 
 land shall traffic no farther any of these 
 ways, than he shall give leave, without 
 every voyag** shall ask the charge of a 
 whole navy to pass withal." (Ibid. p. 
 82.) 
 
 the purse and the sword. No tyranny could be per- 
 manently established so long as the sovereign was 
 obliged to come every year before Parliament to ask for 
 subsidies ; so long as all the citizens and yeomen of 
 England had weapons in their possession, and were 
 carefully trained to use them ; so long, in short, as the 
 militia was the only army, and private adventurers or 
 trading companies created and controlled the only 
 navy. \yar, colonization, conquest, traffic, formed a 
 joint business and a private speculation. If there were 
 danger that England, yielding to purely mercantile 
 habits of thought and action, plight degenerate from the 
 more martial standard to which she had been accus- 
 tomed, there might be virtue in that Ketherland enter- 
 prise, which was now to call forth all her energies. 
 The Provinces would be a seminary- for English soldiers. 
 " There can be no doubt of our driving the enemy 
 out of the country through famine and excessive 
 charges," said the plain-spoken English soldier already 
 quoted, who came out with Leicester, *' if every one of 
 us will put our minds to go forw^ard vnthout making a 
 miserable gain hy the wars. A man may see, by this little 
 progress-journey, what this long peace hath wrought in 
 us. We are weary of the war before we come where it 
 groweth, such a danger hath this long peace brought us 
 into. This is, and will be, in my opinion, a most fit 
 school and nursery to nourish soldiers to be able to keep 
 and defend our country hereafter, if men will follow 
 it." » 
 
 Wilford was vehement in denouncing the mercantile 
 tendencies of his countrjmen, and returned frequently 
 to that point in his communications with W^alsingham 
 and other statesmen. ''God hath stirred up this action,'' he 
 repeated again, " to be a school to breed up soldiers to 
 defend the freedom of England, which through these 
 long times of peace and quietness is brought into a most 
 dangerous estate, if it should be attempted. Our de- 
 licacy is such that we are already weary, yet this jour- 
 ney is naught in respect to the misery and hardship 
 that soldiers must and do endure."* 
 
 » Thomas Wilford to Walsingham. ^ « Wflford to Burghley, ^ Dec., 1585. 
 
 1 
 
 Dec. 1586. (8. P. Office MS.) 
 
 (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
362 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VH. 
 
 1585. 
 
 TRUE NATURE OF THE CONTEST. 
 
 363 
 
 He was right in his estimate of the effect likely to 
 be produced by the war upon the military habits of* 
 Englishmen ; for there can be no doubt that the organ- 
 ization and discipline of English troops was in any tiling 
 but a satisfactory state at that period. There was 
 certainly vast room for improvement. Nevertheless he 
 was wrong in his views of the leading tendencies 
 of his age. Holland and England, self-helping, self- 
 moving, were already inaugurating a new era in 
 the history- of the world. The spirit of commercial 
 maritime enterprize — then expanding rapidly into large 
 proportions — was to be matched against the religious 
 and knightly enthusiasm which had accomplished such 
 wonders in an age that was passing away. Spain still 
 personified, and had ever personified, chivalry, loyalty, 
 piety : but its chivalry, loyalty, and piety, were now in 
 a corrupted condition. The form was hollow, and the 
 sacred spark had fled. In Holland and England intelli- 
 gent enterj)rise had not yet degenerated into mere greed 
 for material prosperity. The love of danger, the thirst 
 for adventure, the thrilling sense of personal responsi- 
 bility and human dignity — not the base love for land 
 and lucre — were the governing sentiments which led 
 those bold Dutch and English rovers to circumnavigate 
 the world in cockle-shells, and to beard the most potent 
 monarch on the earth, both at home and abroad, with a 
 handful of volunteers. 
 
 This then was the contest, and this the machinery 
 by which it was to be maintained. A struggle for 
 national independence, liberty of conscience, freedom of 
 the seas, against sacerdotal and world-absorbing t^ ranny ; 
 a mortal combat of the splendid infantry of Spain and 
 Italy, the professional reiters of Germany, the floating 
 castles of a world-empire, with the militiamen and 
 mercantile marine of England and Holland united. 
 Holland had been engaged twenty years long in the 
 conflict. England had thus far escaped it; but there 
 was no doubt, and could be none, that her time had 
 come. She must fight the battle of Protestantism on sea 
 and shore, shoulder to shoulder, with the Netherlanders, 
 or await the conqueror's foot on her own soil. 
 
 What now was the disposition and what the means of 
 the Provinces to do their pait in the contest ? If the 
 
 twain, as Holland wished, had become of one flesh, 
 would England have been the loser ? Was it quite sure 
 that Elizabeth— had she even accepted ihe less compro- 
 mising title which she refused— would not have been 
 quite as much the protected as the " protectress ?" 
 
 It is very certain that the English, on their aniv?fl in 
 the Provinces, were singularly impressed by the opu- 
 lent and stately appearance of the country and its in- 
 habitants. Notwithstanding the tremendous war which 
 the Hollanders had been waging against Spain for 
 twenty years, their commerce had continued to thrive, 
 and their resources to increase. Leicester was in a 
 state of constant rapture at the magnificence which 
 surrounded him, from his first entrance into the country. 
 Notwithstanding the admiration expressed by the Hol- 
 landers for the individual sumptuousness of the Lieu- 
 tenant - General, his followers, on their part, were 
 startled by the general luxury of their new allies. " The 
 realm is rich and full of men," said AN'ilford, '' the sums 
 men exceed in apparel would bear the brunt of this 
 war;"^ and again, "if the excess used in sumptuous 
 apparel were only abated, and that we could convert 
 the same to these wars, it would stop a great gap." * 
 
 The favourable view taken by the English as to the 
 resources and inclination of the Netherland common- 
 wealth was universal. " The general wish and desire 
 of these countrymen," wrote Sir Thomas Shirley, " is 
 that the amity begun between England and this nation 
 may be everlasting, and there is not any of our company 
 of judgment but wish the same. For all they that see 
 the goodliness and stateliness of these towns, strength- 
 ened both with fortification and natural situation, all 
 able to defend themselves with their own abilities, 
 must needs think it too fair a prey to be let pass, and a 
 thing most worthy to be embraced."* 
 
 Leicester, whose enthusiasm continued to increase as 
 rapidly as the Queen's zeal seemed to be cooling, was 
 most anxious lest the short-comings of his own Govern- 
 ment should work irreparable evil. " I pray you, my 
 
 H,l?T"^°"* ^ Walsingham. (MS. before • Sir Thomas Shirley to Earl of UL 
 
 Clt6d<^ ^ t)ec 1384 
 
 « Wilford to Barghley. (MS. befor* ^*^^' yj m'uag' ^^ ^- ^^* ^^0 
 cited.) 
 
 
364 
 
 THE UNITED NE'raERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VII. 
 
 lord," he wrote to Burghley, " forget not us poor exiles ; 
 if you do, God must and will forget you. And great 
 pity it were that so noble provinces and goodly havens, 
 with such infinite ships and mariners, should not be 
 always as they may now easily be, at the assured devo- 
 tion of England. In my opinion he can neither love 
 Queen nor coimtry that would not wish and further it 
 should be so. And seeing her Majesty is thus far 
 entered into the cause, and that these people comfort 
 themselves in full hope of her favour, it were a sin and 
 a shame it should not be handled accordingly, both for 
 honour and surety." * 
 
 Sir John Conway, who accompanied the Earl through 
 the whole of his *' progress-journey," was quite as much 
 struck as he by the flourishing aspect and English pro- 
 clivities of the Provinces. "The countries which we 
 have passed," he said, " are fertile in their nature ; the 
 towns, cities, buildings, of more state and beauty, to such 
 as have travelled other countries, than any they have 
 ever seen. The people the most industrious by all 
 means to live that be in the world, and, no doubt, 
 passing rich. They outwardly show themselves of good 
 heart, zeal, and loyalty, towards the Queen our mistress. 
 There is no doubt that the general number of them had 
 rather come under her Majesty's regiment, than to 
 continue under the States and burgomasters of their 
 coimtry. The impositions which they lay in defence of 
 their State is wonderful. If her Highness proceed in 
 this beginning, she may retain these parts hers, with 
 their good love, and her great glory and gain. I would 
 she might as perfectly see the whole country, towns, 
 profits, and pleasures thereof, in a glass, as she may her 
 own face; I do then assure myself she would with 
 careful consideration receive them, and not allow of any 
 man's reason to the contrary. . . . The country is 
 worthy any prince in the world, the people do reverence 
 the Queen, and in love of her do so believe that the 
 Grave of Leicester is by God and her sent among them 
 for her good. And they believe in him for the redemp- 
 tion of their bodies, as they do in God for their souls. 
 I dare pawn my soul, that if her Majesty, will allow 
 him the just and rightful mean to manage this cause, 
 
 1 Leicester to Burghley, 27 Dec 1685. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 .1585. WEALTH AND STRENGTH OF THE PROVINCES. 365 
 
 that he will so handle the manner and matter as shall 
 highly both please and profit her Majesty, and increase 
 her countiy, and his own honour." * 
 
 Lord Korth, who held a high command in the auxi- 
 liary force, spoke also with great enthusiasm. " Had 
 your Lordship seen," he wrote to Burghley, "with 
 what thankful hearts these countries receive all her 
 Majesty's subjects, what multitudes of people they be, 
 what stately cities and buildings they have, how notably 
 fortified by art, how strong by nature, how fertile the 
 whole country, and how wealthy it is, you would, I 
 know, praise the Lord that opened your lips to under- 
 take this enterprise, the continuance and good success 
 whereof will eternise her Majesty, beautify her crown, 
 with the most shipping, with the most populous and 
 wealthy countries, that ever prince added to his kingdom, 
 or that is or can be found in Europe. I lack wit, good 
 my Lord, to dilate this matter." * 
 
 Leicester, better informed than some of those in his 
 employment, entertained strong suspicions concerning 
 l*hilip'8 intentions with regard to England ; but he felt 
 sure that the only way to laugh at a Spanish invasion 
 was to make Holland and England as nearly one as it 
 was possible to do. 
 
 " No doubt that the King of Spain's preparations by 
 sea be great," he said ; *' but I know that all that he 
 and his friends can make are not able to match with her 
 Majesty's forces, if it please her to use the means that 
 God hath given her. But besides her own, if she need, 
 I will undertake to furnish her from hence, upon two 
 months' warning, a navy for strong and tall ships, with 
 their furniture and mariners, that the King of Spain, 
 and all that he can make, shall not be able to encounter 
 with them. I think the bmit of his preparations is 
 made the greater to terrify her Majesty and this country 
 people. But, thanked be God, her Majesty hath little 
 cause to fear him. And in this country they esteem no more 
 of hispomr by sea than I do of six Jisher-boats of Bye" ' 
 
 Thus suggestive is it to peep occasionally behind the 
 curtain. In the calm cabinet of the Escorial, Philip 
 
 » Sir John Conway to , 27 Dec Dec 1585. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 1585. (S. P. Office MS.) » Leicester to Burghley, 29 Jan. 1586 
 
 •Lord North to -Lord Bui^hley, 27 (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
366 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VII. 
 
 and his comendador majpr are laying their Leads together, 
 preparing the invasion of England; making arrange- 
 ments for King Alexander's coronation in that island, 
 and — like sensible, far-sighted persons as they are — 
 even settling the succession to the throne after Alex- 
 ander's death, instead of carelessly leaving such distant 
 details to chance, or subsequent consideration. On the 
 other hand, plain Dutch sea-captains, grim beggars of 
 the sea, and the like, denizens of a free commonwealth 
 and of the boundless ocean — men who are at home on 
 blue water, and who have burned gunpowder against 
 those prodigious slave-rowed galleys of Spain — together 
 with their new allies, the dauntless mariners of England 
 — ^who at this very moment are " singeing the King of 
 Spain's beard," as it had never been singed before— are 
 not so much awe-struck with the famous preparations 
 for invasion as was perhaps to be expected. There 
 may be a delay, after all, before Parma can be got 
 safely established in London, and Elizabeth in Orcus, 
 and before the blood-tribunal of the Inquisition can 
 substitute its sway for that of the " most noble, wise, 
 and learned United States." Certainly, Philip the 
 Prudent would have been startled, diflBcult as he was to 
 astonish, could he have known that those rebel Hol- 
 landers of his made no more account of his slowly- 
 preparing invincible armada than of six fisher-boats off 
 Eye. Time alone could show where confidence had 
 been best placed. Meantime it was certain, that it well 
 "behoved Holland and England to hold hard together, 
 nor let " that enterprise quail." 
 
 The famous expedition of Sir Francis Drake was the 
 commencement of a revelation. " That is the string," 
 said Leicester, " that touches the King indeed." ' It 
 was soon to be made known to the world that the ocean 
 was not a Spanish lake, nor both the Indies the private 
 property of Philip. " While the riches of the Indies 
 continue," said Leicester, " he thinketh he will be able 
 to weary out all other princes : and I know, by good 
 means, that he more feareth this action of Sir Francis 
 than he ever did anj-thing that has been attempted 
 against him." * With these continued assaults upon the 
 golden treasure-houses of Spain, and by a determined 
 
 1 Leicester to Barghlcy. 29 Jaa. 1686. (a P OfDoe li&) i i^M 
 
 1585. AFFECTION OF THE HOLLANDERS FOR THE QUEEN. 367 
 
 effort to maintain the still more important stronghold 
 which had been wrested from her in the Netherlands, 
 England might still be safe. " This country is so full 
 of ships and mariners," said Leicester, " so abundant in 
 wealth, and in the means to make money, that, had it 
 but stood neutral, what an aid had her Majesty been 
 deprived of ! But if it had been the enemy's also, I 
 leave it to your consideration what had been likely to 
 ensue. These people do now honour and love ^her 
 Majesty in marvellous sort." * 
 
 There was but one feeling on this most important 
 subject among the English who went to the Nether- 
 lands. All held the same language. The question was 
 plainly presented to England whether she would secure 
 to herself the great bulwark of her defence, or place it 
 in the hands of her moi-tal foe ? How could there be 
 doubt or supineness on such a momentous subject ? 
 " Surely, my^ Lord," wrote Richard Cavendish to 
 Burghley, " if you saw the wealth, the strength, the 
 shipping, and abundance of mariners, whereof these 
 countries stand furnished, your heart would quake to 
 think that so hateful an enemy as Spain should again 
 be furnished with such instruments ; and the Spaniards 
 themselves do nothing doubt upon the hope of the 
 consequence hereof, to assure themselves of the certain 
 ruin of her Majesty and the whole estate." * 
 
 And yet at the very outset of Leicester's administra- 
 tion, there was a whisper of peace-overtures to Spain, 
 secretly made by Elizabeth in her own behalf, and in 
 that of the Provinces. We shall have soon occasion 
 to examine into the truth of these rumours, which, 
 whether originating in truth or falsehood, were most 
 pernicious in their effects. The Hollanders were deter- 
 mined never to return to slaveiy again, so long as they 
 could fire a shot in their own defence. They earnestly 
 wished English cooperation, but it was the cooperation 
 of English matchlocks and English cutlasses, not Eng- 
 lish protocols and apostilles. It was military, not 
 diplomatic machinery that they required. If they could 
 make up their minds to submit to Philip and the 
 Inquisition again, Philip and the Holy Office were but 
 
 » Leicester to Borghley (MS. before « Richard Cavendish to Lord Burghley, 
 «lted-) . 18 March, 1585. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
868 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VIL 
 
 ir.85. 
 
 V) 
 
 f\ 
 
 
 too ready to receive the erring penitents to their 
 embrace without a go-between. 
 
 It waa war, not peace, therefore, that Holland meant 
 by the English alliance. It was war, not peace, that 
 Philip intended. It was wac, not peace, that Elizabeth's 
 most trusty counsellors knew to be inevitable. There 
 was also, as we have shown, no doubt whatever as to 
 the good disposition, and the great power of the republic 
 to boar its share in the common cause. The enthusiasm 
 of the Hollanders was excessive. " There was such a 
 noise, both in Delft, Rotterdam, and Dort," said Lei- 
 cester, " in crying ' God save the Queen !' as if she had 
 been in Cheapside." ' Her own subjects could not be 
 more loyal than were the citizens and yeomen of Hol- 
 land. *' The members of the States dare not but be 
 Queen Elizabeth's," continued the Earl, " for by the 
 living God ! if there should fall but the least unkindness 
 through their default, the people would ^ill them. All 
 sorts of people, from highest to lowest, assure them- 
 selves, now that they have her Majesty's good counte- 
 nance, to beat all the Spaniards out of their country. 
 Never was there people in such jollity as these be. 
 I could be content to lose a limb, could her Majesty see 
 these countries and towns as I have done." * He was in 
 truth excessively elated, and had already, in imagination, 
 vanquished Alexander Fameso, and eclipsed the fame 
 of VVilliam the Silent. *' They will serve under me," 
 ho observed, ** with a better will than ever they served 
 under the Prince of Orange. Yet they loved him well, 
 but they never hoped of the liberty of this coimtry till 
 
 SECRET PLT.POSES OF LEICESTER. 
 
 '» s 
 
 now. 
 
 Thus the English government had every reason to be 
 satisfied with the aspect of its affairs in the Netherlands. 
 But the nature of the Earl's authority was indefinite. 
 The Queen had refused the sovereignty and the pro- 
 tectorate. She had also distinctly and peremptorily 
 forbidden Leicester to assume any office or title that 
 might seem at variance with such a refusal on her part. 
 Yet it is certain, that, from the verj" first, he liad con- 
 templated some slight disobedience to these prohibitions. 
 
 ^ Brace, 'Leyc Corresp.' p. 30, 31, 32, 
 
 KDec. 1585. 
 5 Jan. 1566. 
 
 « Itid. 
 
 17 
 
 » Ibid. p. 61, ^ Jan. 1686. 
 
 369 
 
 " ^^'hat government is requisite "-wrote he in a secret 
 meinorandum of "things most necessary to understand '' 
 ~ o be appointed to him that shall be their governor ^ 
 ± irst, that he have as much authority as the l^rince of 
 Orange, or any other governor or captain -general hath 
 had heretofore." ' Now the Prince of Orafge had been 
 stadholder of each of the United Provinces, govemor- 
 general, commander-in-chief, count of Holland in pros- 
 pect and sovereign, if he had so willed it. It vv^uld 
 doubtless have been most desirable for the coimtrv in 
 Its confused condition, had there been a person com 
 potent to wield, and willing to accept, the aThorT; 
 once exercised by William I. But it was also ceii ^ 
 that this wa^ exactly the authority which Elizabeth had 
 lorbidden Leicester to assume. Yet it is difficult to 
 unders^nd what position the Queen intended that her 
 favourite should ma ni^in, nor how he was to cany out 
 
 He wa^ directed to cause the confused government of 
 
 polity to be established. He was ordered, in particular 
 to procure a radical change in the coWitS on by 
 causing the deputies to the General Assembly to he 
 empowered to decide upon important matters, without! 
 as had always been the custom, making direct reference 
 to the assemblies of the sepamte Provinces He was 
 instructed to bring about, in some indefinite wnv a 
 
 ,^"•1 l^o^y.^^ this radical change in the institutions 
 
 of the Provinces to be made by an English earl, ^vhose 
 
 only author, y was that of commander-in-chief o;er five 
 
 ^? ""*• "°^'*^'*' "tterfy-forlom English 
 
 The Netherland envoys in England, in their parting 
 
 goueral of the whole country,»_for it was a political 
 
 15^5°™"'' '^^'^ ^'"'^■' "• '"• "■•'■ "-15. necemtcr. 15«5. 
 
 2 li 
 
370 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VII. 
 
 head that was wanted in order to restore unity of action 
 — not an additional general, where there were already 
 generals in plenty. Sir John Norris, valiant, courageous, 
 experienced — even if not, as Walsingham observed, ti 
 " religious soldier," nor learned in anything " but a 
 kind of licentious and corrupt government" ^— was not 
 likely to require the assistance of the new lieutenant- 
 general in field operations, nor could the army bo 
 biought into a state of thorough discipline and efficiency 
 by the magic of Leicester's name. The rank and file 
 of the English army — not the commanders — needed 
 strengthening. The soldiers required shoes and stock- 
 ings, bread and meat, and for these articles there were 
 not the necessary funds, nor would the title of Lieii- 
 tenant-General supply the deficiency. The little auxi- 
 liary force was, in truth, in a condition most pitiable to 
 behold : it was difficult to say whether the soldiers who 
 had been already for a considerable period in the 
 Netherlands, or those who had been recently levied in 
 the purlieus of London, were in the most unpromising 
 plight. The beggarly state in which Elizabeth had 
 been willing that her troops should go foiih to the wars 
 was a sin and a disgrace. Well might her Lieutenant- 
 General say that her *' poor subjects were no better than 
 abjects." " There were few etiective companies remain- 
 ing of the old force. " There is Imt a small number of 
 the first bands left," said Sir John Conway, " and those s»> 
 pitiful and unable ever to servo again, as I leave lo 
 speak further of them, to avoid grief to your heart. A 
 monstrous fault there hath been somewhere." * 
 
 Leicester took a manful and sagacious course at 
 starting. Those who had no stomach for the fight wei e 
 ordered to depart. The chaplain gave them sermons ; 
 the Lieutenant-General, on St. Stephen's day, made 
 them a " pithy and honourable " oration, and those who 
 had the wish or the means to buy themselves out of the 
 adventure, were allowed to do so : for the Earl was 
 much disgusted with the raw material out of which 
 ho was expected to manufacture serviceable troops. 
 Swaggering ruffians from the disreputable haunts ot 
 London, cockney apprentices, broken-down tapsters, dis- 
 
 J Bruces • I^yc. Conrwp.' 222, - April, 1586. 
 
 « Ibid. 23, - Dec. 1686. 
 
 Id 
 
 5 Sir .John Couway to 27 Lee. 1685, (S P. Office MS.) 
 
 1585. WRETCHED CONDITION OF ENGLISH TROOPS. 371 
 
 carded serving men ; the Bardolphs and Pistols, Mould vs 
 Warts and the like— more at home in tavern- brawls' or 
 in dark lanes than on the battle-field— were not the men 
 to be entrusted with the honour of England at a mo- 
 menti)us crisis. He spoke with grief and shame of the 
 worthless character and condition of the Eno-lish youths 
 sent over to the Netherlands. - Believe me " said he 
 *' you will all repent the cockney kind of brinj^inc. un 
 at this day of young men. They be gone hence with 
 sliaiiie enough, and too many, that I will warrant will 
 luake as many frays with bludgeons and bucklers aL any 
 in London shall do ; but such shall never have credit 
 with me again. Our simplest men in show have been 
 our best men, and your gaUant blood and ruffiaa men t/ie 
 worst of all others. ^ 
 
 Much winnowed, as it was, the small force might in 
 time become more eifective ; and the Earl spent freely 
 of his own substance to supply the wants of his followers 
 and to atone for the avarice of his sovereic-n TJiJ 
 picture painted however by muster-master iJiffffcs of 
 the plumed troops that had thus come forth to maintain 
 the honour ot England and the cause of liberty, was 
 anything but imposing. None knew better than Diao-es 
 their squalid and slovenly condition, or was mure 
 anxious to etfect a reformation therein. ** A very wis.^ 
 stout fellow he is," said the Eari, - and very careful to 
 serve thoroughly her Majesty."" Leicester relied much 
 upon his etiorts. "There is good hope," said the 
 muster- master, -that his excellency will shortly es- 
 tablish such good order for tlie government and trainiinr 
 ot our nation, that these weak, bad-furnished, ill-armed 
 and worse trained bands, thus rawly fbft unto him ^hali 
 within a few months prove as well armed, trained 
 coinplete, gallant companies as shall be found elsewherj 
 m Europe. J he damage they were likely to inflict 
 upon the enemy seemed very problematical,\mtil they 
 sJiould bave been improved by some wholesome ball- 
 ^fwl *^\ "Iheyareso unskilful," said Digges, - that 
 1 they should be carried to the field no betttr iraiued 
 than yet they are, |hey would prove much more 
 
 I Brace's • L,>j c. Corresp.' 228. 'I April. 1586. 2 itid. 135. ^*J^^ , i5«5.6. 
 
 * Dlgges to WalsingUam, j^ Jan. 1585. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 2 B 2 
 
o-i> 
 
 Oi it 
 
 THE UNITED NETHEHLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VII. 
 
 dangerous to their own leaders and companies than any 
 ways serviceable on their enemies. The hard and 
 miserable estate of the soldiers generally, excepting 
 officers, hath been such, as by the confessions of the 
 captains themselves, they have been offered by many of 
 their soldiers thirty and forty pounds a-piece to be 
 dismissed and sent away ; whereby I doubt not the 
 flower of the pressed English bands are gone, and the 
 remnant supplied with such paddy persons as com- 
 monly, in voluntary procurements, men are glad to 
 accept.'* * 
 
 Even after the expiration of four months the condi- 
 tion of the paddy persons continued most destitute. 
 The English soldiers became mere barefoot starving 
 Ix^ggars in the streets, as had never been the case in the 
 worst of times, when the States were their paymasters.* 
 The little money brought from the treasuiy by the Earl, 
 and the large sums which he had contributed out of his 
 own pocket, had been spent in settling, and not fully 
 settling, old scores. " Let me entreat yuu," wrote Lei- 
 cester to Walsingham, " to be a mean to her Majesty, that 
 the poor soldiers be not beaten for my sake. There came 
 no penny of treasure over since my coming hither. I'hat 
 which then came was most part due before it came. 
 There is much still due. They cannot get a penny, 
 their credit is spent, tfiey perish for want of victuals and 
 dothing in gi'eat numbers. The whole are ready to mu- 
 tiny. They cannot be gotten ont to service, because 
 they cannot discharge the debts they owe in the places 
 where they are. I have let of my own more than T may 
 spare."" ** There was no soldier yet able to buy himself 
 a pair of hose,'' saicf the Earl again, " and it is too, too 
 great shame to see how they go, and it kills their hearts to 
 s/i&w themselves among men J' * 
 
 > IMggea to Wabiiigliam, MS. before 
 ritpd- 
 
 - " My piHid T/jrd," wrote Cavendish to 
 Burghlty," what i-jiglish heart can with- 
 wit shjune or grief hear the Flushinpere 
 mpnijichfully say, that even in their 
 hartiest estate the soldiers of that town 
 were alw;jy8 paid at eveiy 15 days* end, 
 whereas the same being now in H. Ma- 
 j»*»iy'8 hands, her people there can get 
 u<i pay iD ihrfc months, so that they be 
 
 almost driven either to starve or bep In 
 the streets. Tht.'se be heavy spwtat It-s 
 In the eyes of such as look for relitf at 
 H. Majesty's hands. My good Lord, the 
 storm of my careful and grieved mind 
 dotli carry me I know not whither," &c. 
 18 Manh, 1586. (S. P. Oiliip MS.) 
 
 ' Lftcester to Burghl-y and Walsing- 
 ham. March 15, ISett. (S. F. Office MS.) 
 
 * Bruce, 1C7, — March, 1586. 
 
 |9 
 
 1585. 
 
 THE NASSAUS AND HOHENLO. 
 
 373 
 
 There wa,s no one to dispute the Earl's claims. The 
 >assau family was desperately poor, and its chief, youncr 
 Maurice, although he had been elected stadholder (rf 
 Itolland and /eeland, had every disposition- as Sir 
 I hihp upon his arrival in Flushing immediately in- 
 formed his uncle— to submit to the authority of the new 
 governor Louisa de Coligny, widow of A\ ilHam 
 .0 bi lent, was most anxious for the English alliance, 
 tiirough which alone she believed that the tallen fur- 
 tunes of the family could be raised. It was thus only 
 she thought, that the vengeance for which she thirstexl 
 upon the murderers of her father and her husband could 
 be obtained. - We see now," she wrote to Walsingham 
 m a fiercer strain than would seem to comport wfth so 
 gentle a nature -deeply wronged as the <laughter of 
 Cohgny and the wife of Orange had been by Papists-^ 
 - we see now the effects of our God's promises. He 
 knows when it pleases Him to avenge the blood of His 
 own and I confess that I feel most keenly the ioy 
 which IS shared in by the whole Church of God. There 
 IS none that has received more wrong from these mur- 
 derers than I have done, and I esteem myself happy n 
 the midst of my miseries that God has peimitted me o 
 Zi'ZUr^"'"'"":- ^^^^«? .^tgi"«i^g« make me hope 
 to he good, both m your country and in these isles "> 
 
 Iheie was no disguise as to the impoverished condi- 
 ton to which the Isassau family had been reduced by 
 the self devotion of its chief They were oblio-ed to isk 
 a ms of England,^ .ntil the ^' saplig should teeonif a 
 ree - bmce it is the will of God," wrote the Princess 
 to Davison, - I am not ashamed to declare the necessity 
 ot our house, for it is m His cause that it has fallen I 
 pray you, Sir, therefore, to do me and these children 'the 
 tavour to employ your thoughts in this regard""^ If 
 
 • "Nous voyons. Monsieur, les cffets 
 des promesses do notre Dieu qui scait 
 quand il luy plait vonger le sang des 
 siens, y laut qiie je confesse que je 
 rf>«ens fort particuliirement ceste Joye 
 comnmne a tout I'eglise de Dieu ; comme 
 ny ayant personne qui eust receu plus 
 d'offence de ccs nmssacreurs, et m'esiirae 
 hfunuse piirnii !uus mes malheurs de c« 
 que Ijieu a penuiii que^J'en aye veu la 
 
 vengeance. Ces commencomens me font 
 esperer que j'cn verrai encores d auties 
 qui ne seront moins utiles aux gens de 
 bien, et en partlcuUer en votre ro, aume 
 et en ces Isles." I>rlncess of Orange to 
 Sir F. Walsiqgham, 1 Jan. 1586. (S. I*. 
 Office MS.) 
 
 2 Princess of Orange to Davison. 7 Jan. 
 1586. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
'f i 4- 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VII, 
 
 1585. 
 
 THE EAKL'S OPINION OF THEM. 
 
 there had been any strong French proclivities on their 
 part — {18 had been »o warmly asserted — they were likely 
 to disappear. Villiere, who had been a confidential 
 ii iend of William the Silent, and a strong favourer of 
 France, in vain endeavoured to keep alive the ancient 
 sentiments towards that country, although he was 
 thought to be really endeavouring to bring about a 
 submission of the Nassaus to Spain. *' This Villiers," 
 said Leicester, " is a most vile traitorous knave, and 
 doth abuse a young nobleman here extremely, the Count 
 Maurice. For all his religion, he is a more earnest 
 persuader secretly to have him yield to a reconciliation 
 tlian Sainte Aldegonde was. He shall not tarry ten 
 days neither in Holland nor Zeeland. He is greatly 
 hated here of all sorts, and it shall go hard but 1 will 
 win the young Count." * 
 
 As for Hohenlo, wliatever his opinions might once 
 have been regarding the comparative merits of French- 
 men and Englishmen, he was now warmly in favour of 
 England, and expressed an intention of putting an end 
 to tlie Villiers influence by simply drowning Villiers. 
 The announcement of tJiis summary process towards the 
 (•uunsellor was not untinged with rudeness towards the 
 pupil. " The young Count," said Leicester, " by Vil- 
 liers' means, was not willing to have Flushing rendered, 
 which the Count IloUock .perceiving, told the Count 
 INIaurice, in a great rage, that if he took any course 
 than that of the Queen of England, and swore by no 
 beggars, he would drown his priest in the haven before 
 his face, and turn himself and his mother-in-law out of 
 their house there, and thereupon went with Mr. Da- 
 vison to the deliveiy of it." * Certainly, if Hohenlo 
 permitted himself such startling demonstrations towards 
 the son and widow of William the Silent, it must have 
 been after his habitual potations had been of the deej)- 
 est. Nevertheless it was satifactory for the new chief- 
 tain to know that the influence of so vehement a partisan 
 was secured for England. The Count's zeal deserved 
 gratitude upon Leicester's part, and Leicester was grate- 
 ful. "This man must be cherished," said the Earl; 
 " he is sound and faithful, and hath indeed all the chief 
 
 375 
 
 1 Bruce, 73, ^^l?-.1685.e. 
 
 holds m his hands, and at liis commandment. Ye shall 
 do well to procure him a letter of thanks, taking know- 
 ledge in general of his good-will to her Majesty. He is 
 a right Alraayn in manner and fashion, free of his purse 
 and of his drink, yet do I wish him her Majesty's pen- 
 sioner before any prince in Germany, for he loves her 
 and IS able to serve her, and doth desire to be known 
 her servant He hath been laboured by his nearest 
 kinstolk and friends in Germany to have left the States 
 and to have the King of Spain's pension and very great 
 reward ; but he would not. I trust her Majesty will 
 accept of his offer to be her servant during his life 
 lieing indeed a very noble soldier." • The Earl was 
 indeed inclined to take so cheerful view of matters as to 
 beiieve that he should even eff-ect a reform in the noble 
 Koldiers most unpleasant characteristic. "Hollock is 
 a wise gallant gentleman," he said, "and very well 
 esteemed. He hath only one fault, which is drinking • 
 but good hope that he will amend it. Some make me 
 believe that 1 shall be able to do much with him, and I 
 inean to do my best, for I see no man that knows all 
 these countnes, and the people of all sorts, like him 
 and this fault overthrows all."* 
 
 Accordingly, so long as Maurice continued under the 
 tutelage of this uproarious cavalier— who, at a later day, 
 was to become his brother-in-law— he was not likely 
 to interfere with Leicester's authority. I'he character 
 of the young Count was developing slowly. More than 
 his father had ever done, he desei-ved the character of 
 the taciturn. A quiet keen obsei^er of men and things, 
 not demonstrative nor talkative, nor much given 'to 
 writing— a modest, calm, deeply reflecting student of 
 military and mathematical science— he was not at that 
 moment deeply inspired by political ambition. He was 
 perhaps more desirous of raising the fallen fortunes of 
 his house than of securing the independence of his 
 country. Even at that early age, however, his mind 
 was not easy to read, and his character was somewhat 
 ot a puzzle to those who studied it. " I see him much 
 discontented with the States," said Leicester; "he hath 
 a sullen deep vjrit. The young gentleman is yet to be won 
 
 Feb. 
 
 « Brace, 74, 75, date jost quoted. 
 
 » Brace, 74, 75, iUte just quoted 
 
 * Brace, 61, - Jdu. 1586. 
 
376 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VH. 
 
 only to her Majesty, I perceive, of his own inclination. 
 The house is mai-vellous poor and little regarded by the 
 Stfites, and if they get anything it is like to be by her 
 Majesty, which should be altogether, and she may 
 easily do for him to win him sure. I will undertake 
 it." * Yet the Earl was ever anxious about some of the 
 influences which surrounded Maurice, for he thought 
 him more easily guided than he wished him to be by 
 any others but himself. *' He stands upon making and 
 marring," he said, " as he meets with good counsel." * 
 And at another time he observed, *' The young gentle- 
 man hath a soJemn sly wit ; but, in troth, if any be to 
 be doubted toward the King of Spain, it is he and his 
 counsellors, for they have been altogether, so far, 
 French, and so far in mislike with England as they 
 cannot almost hide it." * , 
 
 And there was still another member of the house of 
 Nassau who was already an honour to his illustrious 
 race. Count William Lewis, hardly more than a boy in 
 years, had already served many campaigns, and had 
 been desperately wounded in the cause for which su 
 much of the heroic blood of his race had been shed. 
 Of the five Nassau brethren, his father Count John 
 was the sole survivor, and as devoted as ever to the 
 cause of Netherland liberty. The other four had 
 already laid down their lives in its defence. And 
 William Lewis was worthy to be the nephew of Wil- 
 liam and Lewis, Henry and Adolphus, and the son of 
 John. Not at all a beautiful or romantic hero in appear- 
 ance, but an odd-looking little man, with a round 
 bullet-head, close-clipped hair, a small, twinklin*»-, 
 sagacious eye, rugged, somewhat putfy features screwed 
 whimsically awry, with several prominent warts dot- 
 ting without ornamenting all that was visible of a 
 face which was buried up to the ears in a furzy thicket 
 of yellow brown beard, the tough young stadholder of 
 Friesland, in his iron corslet, and halting upon his 
 maimed leg, had come forth with other notable person- 
 ages to the Hague. He wished to do honour heartily 
 and freely to Queen Elizabeth and her representative. 
 
 » Brace's • Leyc. Corresp.,' 61, 62, — 
 Jul. 15s3-t>. 
 
 U 
 
 « Ibid. 374. f/;;^ 1586. 
 ' ibid. 74. ""Jf, 1586. 
 
 1585. 
 
 CLERK AND KILLJGKEVV. 
 
 377 
 
 And Leicester was favourably impressed with his new 
 acquain ance. " Here is another little fellow," he said 
 
 as little as may be, but one of the gravest and wisest 
 young men that ever I spake withal ; it is the Count 
 uruilliam of Nassau. He governs Friedand; I would 
 every Province had such another." » 
 
 Thus upon the great question which presented it- 
 self upon the veiy threshold-the nature and extent 
 of the authority to be exercised by Leicester th. 
 most influential Netherlanders were in'^fat^oTrff ^^^^^^^^ 
 and hbeml interpretation of his powers. The envovs 
 in England the Nassau family, Hohenlo, the p^om^nent 
 members of the States, such as the shrewd,^pl3e 
 i'of ^2T'*r^ painful " Falk,« and'tL chan 
 J eoninul Gelderland-'' that very great, wise, old man 
 iiZTl: u ' ^^^^c«ter called, him-were all desirous 
 that he should assume an absolute governor-ffeneralshrD 
 
 delav R?,f h f'^i^^ ^" .'"^""^^^ «^^^^d' without 
 delay. Hut besides the natives, there were two En<- 
 
 hshmen -together with ambassador Davison-who we?e 
 
 his official advisers. Bartholomew Clerk, LL.D., and 
 
 Sir Henry Kilhgrew had been appointed by the Oueen 
 
 to be members of the council of the UnUed Stltes 
 
 according to the provisions of the August treaty The 
 
 rZ'''\l^"''^"l"°^"" ^""'^^y «^^"^^d equa/to his 
 responsible position among those Ions-headed Dutch 
 
 Chirac?'" '^'^''^- ^^^r t^he only fiemish in w W 
 character was an intolerable tendency to puns-ob- 
 served that "Doctor Cierk was of those clerL that 
 are not always the wisest, and so my lord too late was 
 hndinghim."* The Earl himself, who never under 
 valued the intellect of the Netherlanders whom he cat e 
 
 Fno^T""' .f."*^^^P^V^d. H"* '°^^" assistance from the 
 English civilian. -I find no great stufl" in my little 
 colleague," he said, " nothing that I looked fon^ It i« 
 a pity you have no more of his profession, able men to 
 serve. This man hath good will, and a pretty schoTai's 
 
 > Bruce 61, - Jan. 1586. 
 
 « Ibid. 33, 
 
 WDec.JS85 
 & Feb. I5M 
 
 * Gray'g Sidney, p. 313. Thus: 
 Turner, I hope, will serve my turn 
 well ; • and again, " Mr. Paul Bus hath 
 
 'Leicester to BiirRhley, isth Fi-b. ^'."^'"y busses in his head," and so on. 
 
 1*86. CS.r. Office MSJ 
 
 (Ibid. 313, 327.) 
 
378 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VII. 
 
 1586. 
 
 INTERVIEW WITH THE STATES. 
 
 f/ 
 
 wit ; but he is too little for these big fellovcs, as heavy as her 
 Majesty thinks them to be. I would she had but one or two, 
 such as the worst of half a score be here." ' The other 
 English state-counsellor seemed more promising. *' I 
 have one here," stiid the Earl, '* in whom I take no 
 small comfort ; that is little Hal Killigrew. I assure 
 yon, my lord, he is a notable servant, and more in him 
 tnan ever I heretofore thought of him, tliough I always 
 knew him to be an honest man and an able.' * 
 
 But of all the men that stood by Leicester's side, the 
 most faithful, devoted, sagacious, exf)erienced, and sin- 
 cere of his counsellore, English or Flemish, was envoy 
 Davison. It is important to note exactly the opinion 
 that had been formed of him l)y those most competent 
 to judge, before events in which he was called on to 
 l>lay a prominent and responsible though secondary 
 part, had placed him in a somewhat false position. 
 
 " Mr. Davison," wrote Sidney, "is here very careful 
 in her Majesty's causes, and in your Lordship's. He 
 takes great pains and goes to great charges for it."^ 
 The Eiirl himself was always vehement in his praise. 
 *' 3Ir. Davison," said he at another time, " has dealt 
 most painfully and chargeably in her Majesty's ser- 
 vice here, and you shall find him a« "sufficiently 
 able to deliver the whole state of this country as anv 
 man that ever was in it, acquainted with all sorts here 
 that are men of dealing. Surely, my Lord, vou shall 
 do a good deed that he may be remembered with 
 her Majesty's gracious consideraticm, for his being 
 hero has been very chargeable, having kept a veiv 
 good countenance, and a very good table, all his abode 
 here, and of such credit with all the chief sort, as I 
 know no stranger in any place hath the like. As I am 
 a suitor to you to be his good friend to her Majesty, so 
 I must heartily pray you, good my Lord, to procure' his 
 coming hither shortly to me again,' for I know not almost 
 how to do without him. I confess it is a wrong to the 
 gentlemen, and I protest before God, if it were for 
 mine own particular respect, 1 would not re((uire it for 
 oOOO/. But your Lordship doth little think how 
 
 : £"^^;^^X^"r*. u„. "'"■ ''-i «»«>*• <=• ""• '"' "^ ^- 
 
 (S. F. (Iffice MS.) *o «»m«. jj Feb. 15S6. (;i P. Office MS.) 
 
 ' Siduey to Leicester, 22 Nov. 1585. 
 
 379 
 
 greatly I h'ave to do, as also how needful for her 
 ]\Iajesty's sers'ice his being here will be. A\ herefore, 
 good my Lord, if it may not offend her Majesty, be a 
 mean for this my request, for her own service' sake 
 wholly." ^ 
 
 Such were the personages who surrounded the Earl 
 on his ariival in the Netherlands, and such their 
 sentiments respecting the position that it was desirable 
 for him to assume. But there was one very impoi-tant 
 fact. He had studiously concealed from Davison that 
 the Queen had peremptorily and distinctly forbidden his 
 accepting the office of governor-general. It seemed 
 reasonable, if he came thither at all, that he shoidd 
 come in that elevated capacity. The States wished it. 
 The Earl ardently longed for it. The ambassador, who 
 knew more of Ketherland politics and Netherland 
 humours than any man did, approved of it. The 
 interests ^ of both England and Holland seemed to 
 require it. No one but Leicester knew that her 
 Majesty had forbidden it. 
 
 Accordingly, no sooner had the bell-ringing, cannon- 
 explosions, bonfires, and charades, come to an end, and 
 the Earl got fairly housed in the Hague, than the 
 States took the aftair of government seriously in hand. 
 
 On the Dth January, Chancellor Leoninus and Paul 
 Buys waited upon Davison, and requested a copy of 
 the commission granted by the Queen to the Earl. The 
 copy v^as refused, but the commission was read ; * by 
 which it appeared that he had received absolute command 
 over her Majesty's forces in the Netherlands by land 
 and sea, together with authority to send for all gentle- 
 men and other personages out of England that he might 
 think useful to him. On the 10th the States passed a 
 resolution to offer him the governor-generalship overall 
 the Provinces. On the same day another committee 
 waited upon his " Excellency "—as the States chose to 
 denominate the Earl, much to the subsequent wrath of 
 the Queen— and made an appointment for the whole 
 body to wait upon him the following moniing.'* 
 
 Upon that day accordingly— New Year's Day, by the 
 
 .^'nl!^'*''«*C^"'^*''*'y'2'^-^^^5- 16«6- (Hague Archives. MS.. A Jan. 
 (S, p. Office MS.) • ,, "• '• 
 
 » IleM)luLicn van dcStatcn General, ao ^^f^,?.. « t» i. ^ . 
 
 ' Ibid. Compare Bor il. 6cS6 teq. 
 
380 THE UXITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. Vlf. 
 
 English reckoning, 11th January by the New Style— 
 -^ Jan. 1686 ^*^ deputies of all the States at an early hour 
 " came to his lodgings, with much pomp, pre- 
 
 ceded by a herald and trumpeters. Leicester not 
 expecting them quite so soon, was in his dressing-room 
 getting ready for the solemn audience, when, somewhat 
 to his dismay, a flourish of trumpets announced the 
 arrival of the whole body in his principal hall of audi- 
 ence. Hastening his preparations as much as possible 
 he descended to that apartment, and was instantly 
 saluted by a flourish of rhetoric still more formidable • 
 lor that -very great, and wise old Leoninus," forthwith 
 began an oratiun, which promised to be of portentous 
 length and serious meaning. The Earl was slightlv 
 flustered, when, fortunately, some one whispered in his 
 ear that they had come to offer him the much-coveted 
 prize of the stadholderate-general. Thereupon he made 
 bold to interrupt the flow of the chancellor's eloquence 
 in Its first outpourings. "As this is a ver>^ private 
 matter, said he, "it will be better to treat of it in a 
 more private place. I pray you therefore to come into 
 my chamber, where these things may be more con- 
 veniently discussed." » 
 
 " You hear what my Lord says," cried Leoninus, 
 turning to his companions; " we are to withdraw into 
 nis chamber." * 
 
 Accordingly they withdrew, accompanied by the 
 J^.arl, and by five or six select counsellors, among Whom 
 were Davison and Dr. Clerk. Then the chancellor once 
 more commenced his harangue, and went handsomely 
 tiirough the usual forms of compliment, first to the 
 gueon, and then to her representative, concluding with 
 an earnest request that the Earl— although her Maiesty 
 had declined the sovereignty-" would take the name 
 and place of absolute governor and general of all their 
 forces and soldiers, with the disposition of their whole 
 revenues and taxes." ^ 
 
 So soon as the oration was concluded, Leicester, who 
 did not speak Irench, directed Davison to reply in that 
 language. . ^ "^ 
 
 > Brace's 'Leyc. Corresp.* p. 58. 
 Jan. 15S6. 
 
 14 
 
 • Il)id. 
 
 u 
 
 » Brace. 58, - Jan. 1586. 
 
 158G. GOVERNMENT-GENERAL OFFERED TO THE EARL. 38 1 
 
 The envoy accordingly, in name of the Earl, expressed 
 the deepest gratitude for this mark of the affection and 
 confidence of the States-General towards the Queen. 
 He assured them that the step thus taken by them 
 would be the cause of still more favour and affection on 
 the part of her Majesty, who would unquestionably, 
 from day to day, augment the succour that she was ex- 
 tending to the Provinces in order to relieve men from 
 their misery. For himself, the Earl protested that ho 
 could never sufficiently recompense the States for tlio 
 honour which had thus been conferred upon him, even 
 if he should live one hundred lives. Although he felt 
 himself quite unable to sustain the weight of so great an 
 office, yet he declared that they might repose with full 
 confidence on his integrity and good intentions. Never- 
 theless, as the authority thus offered to him was very 
 arduous, and as the subject required deep deliberation, 
 he requested that the proposition should be reduced ro 
 writing, and delivered into his hands. He might then 
 come to a conclusion thereupon, most conducive to tho 
 glory of God and the welfare of the land.' 
 
 Three days afterwards, 14th January, the offer, dra^sTi 
 up formally in writing, was presented to envoy Davison, 
 according to the request of Leicester. Three ±j^^ jj^g 
 days later, 17th January, his Excellency having y 
 deliberated upon the proposition, requested a I? '^*"" ^^''*' 
 committee of conference.* The conference took place the 
 same day, and there was some discussion upon matters 
 of detail, principally relating to the matter of contri- 
 butions. The Earl, according to the report of the 
 committee, manifested no repugnance to the acceptanee 
 of the office, provided these j^oints could be satisfactorily 
 adjusted. He seemed, on the contrary, impatient, 
 rather than reluctant ; for, on the day following the 
 confeience, he sent his secretary Gilpin with a some- 
 what impoi-tunate message. " llis Excellency was sur- 
 
 1586. °^ *^® proposition, and upon its " J>piiig 
 further than hail past in the contract 
 with her M;ijosty." The account in the 
 text is from tlie MS. journal of ihe Ses- 
 sions of the Stat<'s-General, kopt from tity 
 to day by the ckrl: of tliat assembly. 
 
 » Resol. Stat General, Jan. 
 
 (HaKue Archives, MS.) According to 
 the Earls own account of his speech, 
 throiiph the mouth of Davison, he had 
 much more distinctly expressed his re- 
 luctance to accept the authority offered, 
 placing his refusal, not on the ground of 
 untiUiess. but on the unexpect«i nature 
 
 s KeeoL Stat. Gen. 
 
 4 
 
 ii' 
 
 — Jan. 1586. 
 
 <>J 
 
382 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VN. 
 
 1586. 
 
 DISCUSSION ON THE SUBJECT. 
 
 383 
 
 prised," said the secretary, *' that the States were so 
 long in coming to a resolution on the matters suggested 
 by him in relation to the ofler of the government- 
 general ; nor could his Excellency imagine the cause of 
 the delay." ^ 
 
 For, in truth, the delay was caused by an excessive, 
 rather than a deficient, appetite for power on the part 
 of his Excellency. The JStates, while conferring what 
 they called the *' absolute" government — by which it 
 afterwards appeared that they meant absolute, in regard 
 to time, not to function — were very properly desirous 
 of retaining a wholesome control over that government 
 by means of the state-council. They wished not only 
 to establish such a council, as a check upon the authority 
 t)f the new governor, but to sliare with him at least in 
 the appointment of the members who were to compoho 
 the board. But the aristocratic Earl was already restive 
 imder the thought of any restraint — most of all the 
 restraint of individuals belonging to what he considered 
 the humbler classes. 
 
 ** Cousin, my lord ambassador," said he to Davison, 
 *' among your sober companions be it always remem- 
 bered, 1 beseech you, that your cousin have no other 
 alliance but with gentle blood. By no means consent 
 that he be linked in fiister bonds than their absolute 
 grant may yield him a free and honourable government, 
 to be able to do such service as shall be meet for an 
 honest man to perform in such a calling, which of itself 
 is very noble. But yet it is not more to be embraced, 
 if 1 were to be led in alliance by such keepers as will 
 sooner draw my nose irom the light scent of the chace, 
 than to lead my feet in the true pace to pursue the game 
 I desire to reach. Consider, 1 pray you, therefore, 
 what is to be done, and how unfit it will be in respect 
 of my poor self, and how unacceptable to her Majesty, 
 and how advantageous to enemies that will seek holes 
 in my coat, if 1 should take so great a name upon me, 
 and so little power. They challenge acceptation already, 
 and 1 challenge their absolute grant and offer to me, 
 l>efore they spoke of any instnictiuns ; for so it was 
 when Leoninus fii-st spoke to me with them all on ^ew 
 
 » Resol. Stat. G.n. * Jau. 1586. (^SS.) 
 
 YearVDay, as you heard— offering in his spoeoh all 
 manner of absolute authority. If it please them to 
 confirm this, without restraining instructions, I will 
 willingly serve the States, or el«e, with such advising 
 inKtructions as the Dowager of Hungary had." ^ 
 
 This was explicit enough, and Davison, who always 
 acted for Leicester in the negociations with the States, 
 could certainly have no doubt as to the desires of the 
 Earl, on the subject of "absolute " authority. He did 
 accordingly what he could to bring the States to his 
 Excellency's way of thinking; nor was he unsuccessful. 
 
 On the 22nd January, a committee of conference was 
 sent by the States to Leyden, in which city Leicester 
 w^as making a brief visit. They were instructed to 
 procure his consent, if poss<ible, to the appoint ment, bv 
 the States themselves, of a council consisting of membei s 
 from each Province. If they could not obtain this 
 concession, they were directed to insist as eaniestly as 
 possible upon their right to present a double list of 
 candidates, from which he was to make nominations. 
 And if the one, and the other proposition should be 
 refused, the States were then to agree that his Excel- 
 lency should freely choose and appoint a council of state, 
 consisting of native lesidents from every Province, for 
 the period of one year. The committee was further 
 authorised to arrange the commission for the governor, 
 in accordance with these points ; and to draw up a set 
 of uistructions for the state-council, to the satisfaction 
 of his Excellency. The committee was also empowered 
 to Conclude the matter at once, without further reference 
 to the States.* 
 
 Certainly a committee thus instructed was likely to 
 be sufiiciently pliant. It had heed to be, in order to 
 bend to the humour of his Excellency, which was 
 already becoming imperious. The adulation which he 
 had received, the triumphal marches, the Latin orations, 
 
 » Leicester to Davison, - Jan. 15S6. ■5"'*^^^ distaste bim." Davison to Lei- 
 
 Sl 12 
 
 (S P. OfiHce MS.) Davison answered in coster, - Jan. 1586. Brit. Mus. Galba. 
 
 4, MS. ^ Jan. 168G. See 
 
 the same strain, assuring the Earl that he 
 
 had taken the Estates well to task for ^' ^'"■ 
 
 wishing to " prescribe instructions after Bruce, p. 69. 
 
 tlioir grant of an authority absolute," and 
 
 informing him that tiny were "very 
 
 Borry any ihiug should lall out might MS. 
 
 2 Rcsol. Stat Gen. --'^' Jan. 1586, 
 
 10 ki ' 
 
384 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VII. 
 
 the flowers strewn in his path, had produced their effect, 
 {Old the Earl was almost inclined to assume the airs of 
 royalty. The committee waited upon him at Leyden. 
 He aft'ected a reluctance to accept the *' absolute " 
 government, but his coyness could not deceive such 
 experienced state^^men as the " wise old Leonmus, or 
 Menin, Maalzoon, Floris Thin, or Aitzraa, who composed 
 the deputation. It was obvious enough to them that it 
 was not a King Log that had descended among them ; 
 but it was not a moment for complaining. The governor- 
 elect insisted, of course, that the two Englishmen, 
 according to the treaty with her Majesty, should be 
 members of the council. He also, at once, nominated 
 Leoninus, Meetkerk, Brederode, Falck, and Paul Buys, 
 to the same office ; thinking no doubt, that these were 
 five keepem— if keepers he must have— who would not 
 draw his nose off the scent, nor prevent his reaching the 
 game he hunted, whatever that game might be. It was 
 reserved for the future, however, to show, whether the 
 five were like to hunt in company with him as har- 
 moniously as he hoped. As to the other counsellors, he 
 expressed a willingness that candidates should be pro- 
 posed for him, as to whose qualifications he would make 
 up his mind at leisure.' 
 
 This matter being satisfactorily adjusted— and cer- 
 tainly unless the game pursued by the Earl was a crown 
 royal, he ought to have been satisfied with his success 
 —the States received a letter from their committee at 
 Leyden, informing them that his Excellency, after some 
 previous protestations, had accepted the government 
 (24th Jannarv, 1586).* 
 
 It was agreed that he should be inaugurated Govenior- 
 Gencral of the United Provinces of Gehlerland and 
 Zutphen, Flanders, Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Friesland, 
 and all others in confederacy with them. He was to 
 have supreme military command by land and sea. Ho 
 was to exercise supreme authority in matters civil and 
 jxditical, according to the customs prevalent in the 
 reign of the Emperor Charles V. All officers, political, 
 civil, legal, weie to be appointed by him out of a 
 douple or triple nomination made by the States of tho 
 
 » lUaol. Stat. Gen. ^ Jan. 1586, MS. 
 
 • Ibid. 
 
 1586. 
 
 THE EARL ACCEPTS THE OFFICE. 
 
 3S5 
 
 Provinces in which vacancies might occur. The States- 
 General were to assemble whenever and wherever he 
 should summon them. They were also — as were the 
 States of each separate Province — competent to meet 
 together by their own appointment. The Governor- 
 General was to receive an oath of fidelity from the States 
 and himself to swear the maintenance of the ancient 
 laws, customs, and privileges of the country.* 
 ^ The deed was done. In vain had an emissary of tho 
 French court been exerting his utmost to prevent the 
 consummation of this close alliance. For the wretched 
 government of Henry III., while abasing itself before 
 Philip II., and offering the fair cities and fertile plains 
 of France as a sacrifice to that insatiable ambition which 
 wore the mask of religious bigotry, was most anxious 
 that Holland and England should not escape the meshes 
 by which it was itself enveloped. The agent at the 
 Hague came nominally upon some mercantile affairs, 
 but in reality, according to Leicester, " to impeach the 
 States from binding themselves to her Majesty.* But he 
 was informed that there was then no leisure for his 
 affairs, '* for the States would attend to the service of 
 the Queen of England before all princes in the world." 
 The agent did not feel complimented by the coolness of 
 this reception ; yet it was reasoQable enough, certainly, 
 that the Hollanders should remember with bitterness 
 the contumely which they had experienced the previous 
 year in France. The emissary was, however, much 
 disgusted. « The fellow," said Leicester, '* took it in 
 such snuff, that he came proudly to the States, and 
 offered his letters, saying, *' Now I trust you have done 
 all your sacrifices to the Queen of England, and may 
 peld me some leisure to read my master's letters." 
 *' But they so shook him up," continued the Earl, "for 
 naming her Majesty in scorn— as they took it— that 
 they hurled him his letters, and bid him content him- 
 self;" and so on, much to the agent's discomfiture, 
 who retired in greater " snuff" than ever.' 
 
 So much for the French influence. And now Leicester 
 had done exactly what the most imperious woman in 
 
 ' Groot Plakaatboek. iv. 81. Bor, U. 686. Wagenaar, viU. 115-117. 
 
 , WJan. iMb - 'lOJan.l.%86 
 
 VOL. I. 2 c 
 
386 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VII. 
 
 the world, whose favour was the breath of his life, had 
 expressly forbidden him to do. The step having been 
 taken, the prize so tempting to his ambition having been 
 snatched, and the policy which had governed the united 
 action of the States and himself seeming so sound, what 
 ought he to have done in order to avert the tempest 
 which he must have foreseen? Surely a man who 
 knew so much of woman's nature, and of Elizabeth s 
 nature, as he did, ought to have attempted to conciliate 
 her affections, after having so deeply wounded her pnde. 
 He knew his power. Besides the graces of his person 
 and manner— which few women, once impressed by 
 them, could ever forget— he possessed the most insidious 
 and flattering eloquence, and, in absence, his pen was as 
 wily as his tongue. For the Earl was imbued with the 
 very genius of courtship. None was better skilled than 
 he in the phrases of rapturous devotion, which were 
 music to the ear both of the woman and the queen ; 
 and he knew his royal mistress too well not to be aware 
 that the language of passionate idolatry, however 
 extravagant, had rarely fallen unheeded upon her soul. 
 It was strange, therefore, that, in this emergency, he 
 should not at once throw himself upon her compassion 
 without any mediator. Yet, on the contrary, he com- 
 mitted the monstrous error of entrusting his defence to 
 envoy Davison, whom he determined to despatch at once 
 with instructions to the Queen, and towards whom he 
 committed the grave offence of concealing from him her 
 previous prohibitions. But how could the Earl fail to 
 perceive 8iat it was the woman, not the queen, whom ho 
 should have implored for pardon ; that it was Robert 
 Dudley, not William Davison, who ought to have sued 
 upon his knees ? This whole matter of the Netherland 
 sovereignty and the Leicester stadholderate forms a 
 strange psychological study, which deserves and re- 
 quires some minuteness of attention ; for it was by the 
 characteristics of these eminent personages that the 
 current history was deeply stamped. 
 
 Certainly, under the peculiar circumstances of the 
 case, the first letter conveying intelligence so likely to 
 pique the pride of Elizabeth should have been a letter 
 from Leicester. On the contrary, it proved to bo a dull, 
 formal epistle fix)m the States. 
 
 1586. 
 
 HIS AMBITION AND MISTAKES. 
 
 387 
 
 And here again the assistance of the indispensable 
 Davison was considered necessary. On the 3rd February 
 the ambassador— having announced his inten- 3rd Feb 
 tion of going to England, by command of his ^^^^- ' 
 Excellency, so soon as the Earl should have been inau- 
 gurated, for the purpose of explaining all these important 
 transactions to her Majesty— waited upon the States with 
 the request that they should prepare as speedily as might 
 be their letter to the Queen, with other necessary docu- 
 ments, to be entrusted to his care. He also suggested 
 that the draft or minute of their proposed epistle should 
 be submitted to him for advice — " because the humours 
 of her Majesty were best known to him." ' 
 
 Now the humours of her Majesty were best known to 
 Leicester of all men in the whole world, and it is incon- 
 ceivable that he should have allowed so many days and 
 weeks to pass without taking these humours properly 
 into account. But the Earl's head was slightly turned 
 by his sudden and unexpected success. The game that 
 he had been pursuing had fallen into his grasp, almost 
 at the very start, and it is not astonishing that he should 
 have been somewhat absorbed in the enjoyment of his 
 victory. 
 
 Three days later (6th February) the minute of a letter 
 to Elizabeth, drawn up by Menin, was submitted to the 
 ambassador; eight days after that (14th February) 
 Mr. Davison took leave of the States, and set forth for 
 the Brill on his way to England; and three or four 
 days later yet, he was still in that seaport, waiting for 
 a favourable wind.* Thus from the 1 1th January, N.S., 
 upon which day the first offer of the absolute govern- 
 ment had been made to Leicester, nearly forty days had 
 elapsed, during which long period the disobedient Earl 
 had not sent one line, private or official, to her Majesty 
 on this most important subject. And when at last the 
 Queen was to receive information of her favourite's de- 
 linquency, it was not to be in his well-known hand- 
 %vriting and accompanied by his penitent tears and 
 written caresses, but to be laid before her with all the 
 formality of parchment and sealing-wax, in the stilted 
 diplomatic jargon of those " highly-mighty, very learned, 
 wise, and very foreseeing gentlemen, my lords the States- 
 
 I 
 
 » Kesol. Stat Geiu.3 Feb. I5s«, MS. 
 
 « Ibid. 6-20 Feb. 1686, MS. 
 
 2 c 2 
 
338 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VII. 
 
 General." Notliing could have been managed with less 
 
 adroitness. , ^i • i j 
 
 Meantime, not heeding the storm gathering beyond 
 
 the narrow seas, the new governor was enjoying the full 
 
 ,th Feb snnshino of power. On the 4th February the 
 
 1586. ' ceremony of his inauguration took place, with 
 
 ffreat pomp and ceremony, at the Hagiie."^ 
 
 The beautiful, placid, village-capital of Holland wore 
 much the same aspect at that day as now. Clean, quiet, 
 spacious streets, shaded with rows of whispenng poplars 
 and umbrageous limes, broad sleepy canals— those liquid 
 highways along which glided in phantom silence the 
 bustle, and traffic, and countless cares of a stimng popu- 
 lation—quaint toppling houses, ^vith tower and gable ; 
 ancient brick churches, with slender spire and musical 
 chimes ; thatched cottages on the outskirts, \\iih. stork- 
 nests on the roofs— the whole without fortification, save 
 the watery defences which enclosed it with long-drawn 
 lines on every side ; — such was the Count's Park, 
 or s'Graven Haage, in English called the Hague. 
 
 It was embowered and almost buried out of sight by 
 vast groves of oaks and beeches. Ancient Badhuaennan 
 forests of sanguinary Druids, the " wild wood without 
 mercy " of Saxon savages, where, at a later period, sove- 
 reign Dirks and Florences, in long succession of cen- 
 tunes, had ridden abroad with lance in rest, or hawk on 
 fist, or under whose boughs, in still nearer days, the 
 gentle Jacqueline had pondered and wept over her 
 sorrows, stretched out in every direction between the 
 city and the neighbouring sea. In the heart of the 
 place stood the ancient palace of the counts, built in the 
 thirteenth century by William II. of Holland, King of 
 the Eomans, with massive brick walls, cylindrical 
 turrets, pointed gable and rose-shaped windows, and 
 with spacious courtyard, enclosed by feudal moat, draw- 
 bridge, and portcullis. 
 
 In the great banqueting-hall of the ancient palace, 
 whose cedam-roof of magnificent timber-work, brought 
 by crusading counts from the Holy Land, had rung with 
 the echoes of many a gigantic revel in the days of 
 chivalry — an apartment one hundred and fifty feet long 
 and forty feet high— there had been arranged an elevated 
 
 i BeaoL Stat Gen. 4 Feb. 1586, MS. 
 
 1586. 
 
 HIS INSTALLATION AT THZ HAGUE. 
 
 389 
 
 platform, with a splendid chair of state for the " abso- 
 lute" governor, and with a great profusion of gilding 
 and velvet tapestry, hangings, gilt emblems, complimen- 
 tarj^ devices, lions, unicorns, and other imposing appur- 
 tenances. Prince Maurice, and all the members of his 
 house, the States-General in full costume, and all the 
 great functionaries, civil and military, Vere assembled. 
 There was an elaborate harangue by orator Menin, in 
 which it was proved, by copious citations from Holy 
 Writ and from ancient chronicle, that the Lord never 
 forsakes his own ; so that now, when the Provinces were 
 at their last gasp by the death of Orange and the loss of 
 Antwerp, the Queen of England and the Earl of Leicester 
 had suddenly descended, as if from heaven, to their 
 rescue. Then the oaths of mutual fidelity were ex- 
 changed between the governor and the States, and, in 
 conclusion, Dr. Bartholomew Clerk ventured to measure 
 himself with the " big fellows," by pronouncing an ora- 
 tion which seemed to command universal approbation. 
 And thus the Earl was duly installed Governor-General 
 of the United States of the Netherlands.^ 
 
 But already the first mutterings of the storm were 
 audible. A bird in the air had whispered to the Queen 
 that her favourite was inclined to disobedience. " Some 
 flying tale hath been told me here," wrote Leicester to 
 Walsingham, *' that her Majesty should mislike my name 
 of Excellency. But if I had delighted, or would have 
 received titles, I refused a title higher than Excellency, 
 as Mr. Davison, if you ask him, will tell you ; and that 
 I, my own self, refused most earnestly that, and, if I 
 might have done it, this also." * Certainly, if the Queen 
 objected to this common form of address, which had 
 always been bestowed upon Leicester, as he himself ob- 
 served, ever since she had made him an earl,' it might 
 be supposed that her wrath would mount high when she 
 should hear of him as absolute governor-general. It is 
 also difficult to say what higher title he had refused, for 
 certainly the records show that he had refused nothing. 
 
 » Resol. Stat Gen. 4 Feb. 1586. MS. 
 Bor, li. 688, 689. Wagenaar, viii. 115 
 teq. Holinshed, Iv. 647 seg. Stowe, 715 
 
 • Brace's 'Leyc. Corresp.' 84, — Feb. 
 
 1586. 
 
 3 Compare Camden, liL 399, "being 
 derided by those that envied him, and 
 the title of Excellency, which, of all En- 
 glishmen, he was the first that over used, 
 exploded and trippod off the stage." 
 
 , I 
 
 * 
 
390 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VII. 
 
 in the way of power and dignity, that it was possible for 
 
 him to obtain. , xi. x- • .. it 
 
 But very soon afterwards arrived authentic intelli- 
 gence that the Queen had been informed of the proposi- 
 tion made on New Year's Day (O.S.), and that, although 
 she could not imagine the possibility of his accepting, 
 she was indignMit that he had not peremptorily rejected 
 
 the offer. „ ^ t> vi 
 
 '* As to the proposal made to you, wrote Burghley, 
 ♦* by the mouth of Leoninus, her Majesty hath been in- 
 formed that you had thanked them in her name, and al- 
 leged that there was no such thing in the contract, and 
 that therefore you could not accept nor knew how to 
 
 answer the same."* . , - i. * 
 
 Now this information was obviously far from correct, 
 although it had been furnished by the Earl himself to 
 Burghley. We have seen that Leicester had by no 
 means rejected, but very gratefully entertained, the pro- 
 position as soon as made. Nevertheless the Queen was 
 dissatisfied, even without suspecting that she had been 
 directly disobeyed. '* Her Majesty," continued the Lord- 
 Treasurer, " is much offended with this proceeding. 
 She allows not that you should give them thanks, but 
 findeth it very strange that you did not plainly declare 
 to them that they did well know how often her Majesty 
 had refused to have any one for her take any such go- 
 vernment there, and that she had always so answered 
 peremptorily. Therefore there might be some suspicion 
 conceived that by offering on their part, and refusal on 
 hers, some further mischief might be secretly hidden by 
 some odd person's device to the hurt of the cause. But 
 in that your Lordship did not flatly say to them that 
 yourself did know her Majesty's mind therein, that she 
 never meant, in this sort, to take the absolute govern- 
 ment, she is offended ; considering, as she saith, that 
 none knew her determination therein better than your- 
 self. For at your going hence, she did peremptorily 
 charge you not to accept any such title and office ; and 
 therefore her straight commandment now is that you 
 shall not accept the same, for she will never assent 
 thereto, nor avow you with any such title." * 
 
 J BargWey (In hia own hand) to Leicester. "^^ 1686. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 t Burghley to Leicester, MS. Just cited. 
 
 1586. INTIMATIONS OF THE QUEEN'S DISPLEASURE. 391 
 
 i 
 
 If Elizabeth was so wrathful, even while supposing 
 that the offer had been gratefully declined, what were 
 likely to be her emotions when she should be informed 
 that it had been gratefully accepted ! The Earl already 
 began to tremble at the probable consequences of his 
 mal-adroitness. Grave was the error he had committed 
 in getting himself made governor-general against or- 
 ders; graver still, perhaps fatal, the blunder of not 
 being swift to confess his fault, and cry for pardon, 
 before other tongues should have time to aggravate his 
 offence. Yet even now he shrank from addressing the 
 Queen in person, but hoped to conjure the rising storm 
 by means of the magic wand of the Lord-Treasurer. 
 He implored his friend's interposition to shield him in 
 the emergency, and begged that at least her Majesty 
 and the lords of council would suspend their judgment 
 until Mr. Davison should deliver those messages and 
 eicplanations with which, fully freighted, he was about 
 to set sail from the Brill. 
 
 ** If my reasons seem to your wisdoms,'* said he, 
 *' other than such as might well move a true and u 
 faithful, careful man to her Majesty to do as I have 
 done, I do desire, for my mistaking offence, to bear the 
 burden of it ; to be disavowed with all displeasure and 
 disgrace : a matter of as great reproach and grief as 
 ever can happen to any man." He begged that another 
 person might be sent as soon as possible in his place — 
 protesting, however, by his faith in Christ, that he had 
 done only what he was bound to do by his regard for 
 her Majesty's service — and that when he set foot in the 
 country he had no more expected to be made Governor 
 of the Netherlands than to be made King of Spain.' 
 Certainly he had been paying dear for the honour, if 
 honour it wtis, and he had not intended on setting forth 
 for the Provinces to ruin himself, for the sake of an 
 empty title. His motives — and he was honest when he 
 so avowed them — were motives of state at least as much 
 as of self-advancement.* " I have no cause," he said, 
 '*to have played the fool thus far for myself; first, to 
 have her. Majesty's displeasure, which no kingdom in 
 the world could make me willingly deserve ; next, to 
 undo myself in my later days; to consume all that 
 
 » Bmce'8 'Leyc. Corresp.' 96. 97, - Feb. 1588. * Ibid. 
 
392 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VH. 
 
 1580. 
 
 DEPRECATORY LETTERS OF LEICESTER. 
 
 should have kept me all my life in one half-year. But 
 I must thank God for all, and am most heartily giieved at 
 her Majesty's heavy displeasure. I neither desire to live, 
 nor to see my countrj^ with it." * 
 
 And at this bitter thought, he began to sigh like a 
 furnace, and to shed the big tears of penitence. 
 
 " For if I have not done her Majesty good service at 
 this time," he said, " I shall never hope to do her any, 
 but will withdraw me into some out-comer of the world, 
 where I will languish out the rest of my few — too many 
 — days, praying ever for her Majesty's long and prosper- 
 ous life, and with this only comfort to live an exile, that 
 this disgrace hath happened for no other cause but for 
 my mere regard for her Majesty's estate." * 
 
 Having painted this dismal picture of the probable 
 termination to his career — not in the hope of melting 
 Burghley, but of touching the heart of Elizabeth — he 
 proceeded to argue the point in question with much logic 
 and sagacity. He had satisfied himself on his arrival in 
 the Provinces, that, if he did not take the governor-gene- 
 ralship, some other pei-son would ; and that it certainly 
 was for the interest of her Majesty that her devoted 
 servant, rather than an indifferent person, should be 
 placed in that important position. He maintained that 
 the Queen had intimated to him in private her wil- 
 lingness that he should accept the office in question, 
 provided the proposition should come from the States, 
 and not from her ; he reasoned that the double nature 
 of his functions — being general and counsellor for her, 
 as well as general and counsellor for the Provinces — 
 made his acceptance of the authority conferred on him 
 almost indispensable ; that for him to bo merely com- 
 mander over five thousand English troops, when an abler 
 soldier than himself, Sir John Norris, was at their head, 
 was hardly worthy her Majesty's service or himself, and 
 that in reality the Queen had lost nothing by his 
 appointment, but had gained much benefit and honour 
 by thus having " the whole command of the Provinces, of 
 their forces by land and sea, of their towns and treasures, 
 with knowledge of all their secrets of state." * 
 
 393 
 
 1 Brace, M, 97, ^^ Feb. 168«. 
 
 » Ibid., 98, ^ Feb. 1686. 
 
 • Ibid. 100-102, - Feb. 1686. 
 
 ■8 
 
 Then, relapsing into a vein of tender but reproach- 
 ful melancholy, he observed that if it had been anv 
 man but himself that had done as he had done, lie 
 would have been thanked, not censured. *' But such is 
 now my wretched case," he said, ''as for my faithful, 
 true, and loving heart to her Majesty and my country^' 
 I have utterly undone myself. For favour, I have 
 disgrace ; for reward, utter spoil and ruin. But if this 
 taking upon me the name of governor is so evil taken 
 as it hath deserved dishonour, discredit, disfavor, \yith 
 all giiefs that may be laid upon a man, I must receive 
 it as deserved of God and not of my Queen, whom I 
 have reverenced with all humility, and whom I have 
 loved with all fidelity." ' 
 
 This was the true way, no doubt, to reach the heart 
 of Elizabeth, and Leicester had always plenty of such 
 shafts in his quiver. Unfortunately he had delayed too 
 long, and even now he dared not take a direct aim. He 
 feared to write to the Queen herself, thinking that his 
 so doing, " while she had such conceipts of him, would 
 only trouble her," and he therefore continued to employ 
 the Lord-Treasurer and Mr. Secretarj^ as his mediators. 
 Thus he committed error upon error. 
 
 Meantime, as if there had not been procrastination 
 enough, Davison was loitering at the Brill, detained by 
 wind and weather. Two days after the letter just cited 
 liad been despatched to Walsingham, Leicester sent an 
 impatient message to the envoy. " I am lo 
 heartily sorry, with all my heart," ho said, ^ ^^^' "^*' 
 •* to hear of your long stay at Brill, the wind serving 
 so fair as it hath done these two days. I would have 
 laid any wager that you had been in England ere this. 
 I pray you make haste, lest our cause take too great a 
 prejudice there ere you come, although I cannot fear it, 
 because it is so good and honest. I pray you imagine 
 in what care I dwell till I shall hear from you, albeit 
 some way very resolute."* 
 
 Thus it was obvious that he had no secret despair of 
 his cause when it should be thoroughly laid before the 
 the Queen* The wonder was that he had added the 
 
 1 Brnoe, 100-102, Just cited. 
 
 » Lelcestor to Davison, ij Feb. 1585. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
394 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VII. 
 
 1586. 
 
 DAVISON'S MISSION TO ENGLAND. 
 
 395 
 
 i 
 
 r 
 
 offence of long silence to the sin of disobedience. 
 Davison had sailed, however^ before the receipt of the 
 EarFs letter. He had been furnished with careful 
 instructions upon the subject of his mission. He was 
 to show how eager the States had been to have Leices- 
 ter for their absolute governor— which was perfectly 
 true— and how anxious the Earl had been to decline 
 the proffered honour— which was certainly false, if 
 contemporary record and the minutes of the States- 
 General are to be believed. He was to sketch the 
 general confusion which had descended upon the coun- 
 try the quarrelling of politicians, and the discontent of 
 officera and soldiers, from out of all which chaos one of 
 two results was sure to arise : the election of a single 
 chieftain, or a reconciliation of the Provinc^ with 
 Spain. That it would be impossible for the Earl to 
 execute the double functions with which he was charged 
 —of general of her Majesty*s forces, and general 
 and chief counsellor of the States— if any other man 
 than himself should be appointed governor, was obvious. 
 It was equally plain that the Provinces could only be 
 kept at her Majesty's disposition by choosing the course 
 which, at their own suggestion, had been adopted. 
 The offer of the government by the States, and its 
 acceptance by the Earl, were the logical consequence of 
 the step which the Queen had already taken. It was thus 
 only that England could retain her hold upon the coun- 
 try, and even upon the cautionary towns. As to a re- 
 conciliation of the Provinces with Spain— which would 
 have been the probable result of Leicester's rejection of 
 the proposition made by the States— it was unnecessary 
 to do more than allude to such a catastrophe. No one but 
 a madman could doubt that, in such an event, the 
 subjugation of England was almost certain.* 
 
 But, before the arrival of the ambassador, the Queen 
 had been thoroughly informed as to the whole extent of 
 the Earl's delinquency. Dire was the result, llie 
 wintry gales which had been lashing the North Sea, and 
 preventing the unfortunate Davison from setting forth 
 on his disastrous mission, were nothing to the tempest 
 of royal wrath which had been shaking the court-world 
 to its centre. The Queen had been swearing most 
 
 I Rememl>rancefl for Mr. Daviwii, in Bruce, 80-82, Feb. 1686. 
 
 fearfully ever since she read the news, which Leicester 
 had not dared to communicate directly to herself. No 
 one was allowed to speak a word in extenuation of the 
 favourite's offence. Burghley, who lifted up his voice 
 somewhat feebly to appease her wrath, was bid, with a 
 curse, to hold his peace. So he took to his bed— partly 
 from prudence, partly from gout— and thus sheltered 
 himself for a season from the peltings of the storm. 
 Walsmgham, more manful, stood to his post, but could 
 not gam a hearing. It was the culprit that should have 
 spoken, and spoken in time. " Why, why did you not 
 write yourself? " was the plaintive cry of all the Earl's 
 friends, from highest to humblest. " But write to her 
 now," they exclaimed, "at any rate; and, above all 
 send her a present, a love-gift." " Lay out two or three 
 hundred crowns in some rare thing, for a token to her 
 Majesty," said Christopher Hatton.* 
 
 Strange that his colleagues and his rivals should have 
 been obliged to advise Leicester upon the proper course 
 to pursue ; that they— not himself— should have been 
 first to perceive that it was the enraged woman, oven 
 more than the offended sovereign, who was to be pro- 
 pitiated and soothed. In truth, all the woman had 
 been aroused in Elizabeth's bosom. She was displeased 
 that her favourite should derive power and splendour 
 from any source but her own bounty. She was furious 
 that his wife, whom she hated, was about to share in 
 his honours. For the mischievous tongues of court- 
 ladies had been collecting or fabricating many un- 
 pleasant rumours. A swarm of idle but piquant stories 
 had been buzzing about the Queen's ears, and stinging 
 her into a frenzy of jealousy. The Countess— it was 
 said— was on the point of setting forth for the Nether- 
 lands, to join the Earl, with a train of courtiers and 
 ladies, coaches, and side-saddles, such as were never 
 seen before— where the two were about to establish 
 themselves in conjugal felicity, as well as almost royal 
 state. What a prospect for the jealous and imperious 
 sovereign I "Coaches and side-saddles! She would 
 show the upstarts that there was one Queen, and that * 
 her name was Elizabeth, and that there was no court but 
 
 » Brute's 'Leyc Corresp,* 113, 114, ^ Feb. 1586. 
 
396 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VH. 
 
 l! 
 
 i 
 
 hers." And so slie contimied to storm, and swear, and 
 threaten unutterable vengeance, till all her courtiers 
 quaked in their shoes.* 
 
 Thomas Dudley, however, warmly contradicted the 
 report, declaring, of his own knowledge, that the 
 Countess had no wish to go to the Provinces, nor the 
 Earl any intention of receiving her there. JThis infor- 
 mation was at once conveyed to the Queen, " and, said 
 Dudley, *' it did greatly pacify her stomach. ' His 
 friends did what they could to maintain the governor s 
 cause; but Burghley, Walsingham, Hatton, and the 
 rest of them, were all *' at their wits' end," * and were 
 nearly distraught at the delay in Davison's arrival- 
 Meantime the Queen's stomach was not so much pacified 
 but that she was determined to humiliate the Earl with 
 the least possible delay. Having waited sufficiently 
 long for his explanations, she now appointed Sir Thomas 
 Heneage as special commissioner to the States, withont 
 waiting any longer. Her wrath vented itself at once in 
 the preamble to the instructions for this agent. 
 
 " Whereas," she said, " we have been given to under- 
 stand that the Earl of Leicester hath in a very con- 
 temptuous sort— contrary to our express commandment 
 given unto him by ourself, accepted of an offer of a more 
 absolute government made by the States imto him, than 
 was agreed on between us and their commissioners— 
 which kind of contemptible manner of proceeding giveth 
 the world just cause to think that there is not that 
 reverent respect carried towards us by our subjects as m 
 duty appertaineth ; especially seeing so notorious a con- 
 tempt committed by one whom we have raised up and 
 yielded in the eye of the world, even from the beginning 
 of our reign, as great portion of our favour as ever 
 subject enjoyed at any prince's hands ; we therefore, 
 
 » " It was told her Majesty," wrote 
 Thomas Dudley, " that my lady was pre- 
 pared presently to come over to your 
 Excellency, with such a train of ladies 
 and gentlewomen, and such rich coaches. 
 Utters, and side-saddles, as her Ms^Jesty 
 had none such ; and that there should be 
 such a court of ladies as should far pass 
 her Msijesty's court here. This informa- 
 tion (though most false) did not a little 
 stir her Mf^esty to extreme cbolcr and 
 
 dislike of all your doings there ; saying, 
 with great oaths, she would have no 
 more courts under her obeisance than 
 her own, and would revoke you from 
 thence with all speed. This Mr. Vice- 
 Chamberlain (Hatton) told me In great 
 secret, and afterwards Mr. Secretary, and 
 last of all my Lord-Treasurer." Bruce'i 
 
 •Leyc.Corresp.' 112, - Feb. 1686. 
 
 81 
 
 *Ibid. 
 
 9 Ibid. 
 
 J586. 
 
 QUEEN'S ANGER AXD JEALOUSY. 
 
 397 
 
 holding nothing dearer than our honour, and considerin"" 
 that no one thing could more touch our reputation than 
 to mduoe so open and public a faction of a prince and 
 work a greater reproach than contempt at a subject's 
 hand, without reparation of our honour, have found it 
 necessary to send you unto him, as well to charge him 
 with the said contempt, as also to execute such other 
 things as we think meet to be done, for the justifying of 
 ourselves to the world, as the repairing of the indiff^ity 
 cast upon us by his undutiful manner of proceedino- 
 
 towards us And for that we find ourselves alsS 
 
 not well dealt withal by the States, in that they have 
 pressed the said Earl, without our assent or privity, to 
 accept of a more absolute government than was agreed 
 on between us and their commissioners, we have also 
 thought meet that you shall charge them therewith 
 according to the directions hereafter ensuing. And to 
 the end there may be no delay used in the execution of 
 that which we think meet to be presently done, you shall 
 charge the said States, even as they tender the continu- 
 ance of our good-will towards them, to proceed to the 
 speedy execution of our request." ^ 
 
 After this trumpet-like preamble it may be supposed 
 that the blast which followed would be piercing and 
 shrill. The instructions, in truth, consisted in wild 
 scornful flourishes upon one theme. The word contempt 
 had occurred five times in the brief preamble. It was 
 repeated in almost every line of the instnictions. 
 
 "You shall let the Eari" (our cousin no lono-er) 
 "understand," said the Queen, "how highly and justly 
 we are offended with his acceptation of the government, 
 which we do repute to be a very great and strange contempt 
 least looked for at our hands, being, as he is, a creature 
 of our ovm." His omission to acquaint her by letter 
 with the causes moving him " so contemptumsly to break " 
 her commandment, his delay in sending Davison " to 
 answer the said contempt :' ha^di much "aggravated the 
 tault, although the Queen protested herself unable to 
 imagine any " excuse for so manifest a cmtempt." The 
 btates were to be informed that she " held it strange '* 
 
 ^^» The Queen to Sir Thomas Heneage, rest of the document is given in Bruce. 
 55 Feb. 1586. (S. P. Office MS.) The ^^'^ **«• 
 
 i 
 
398 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Cujlp. VII. 
 
 that "tliis creature of her own" should have been 
 pressed by them to " commit so notorious a contempt " 
 against her, both on account of this very exhibition of 
 contempt on Leicester's part, and because they thereby 
 " showed themselves to have a very slender and weak 
 conceit of her judgment, by pressing a minister of hers 
 to accept that which she had refused, aj3 though her long 
 experience in government had not taught her to discover 
 what was fit to do in matters of state." As the result of 
 such a proceeding would be to disgrace her in the eyes 
 of mankind, by inducing an opinion that her published 
 solemn declaration on this great subject had been in- 
 tended to abuse the world, he was directed — in order to 
 remove the hard conceit justly to be taken by the world, 
 " in consideration of the said contempt"— to make a public 
 and open resignation of the government in the place 
 where he had accepted the same.* 
 
 Thus it had been made obvious to the unlucky " crea- 
 ture of her own," that the Queen did not easily digest 
 ** contempt." Nevertheless these instructions to Heneage 
 were gentle, compared with the fierce billet which she 
 addressed directly to the Earl. It was brief, too, as the 
 posy of a ring ; and thus it ran :— " To my Lord of Lei- 
 cester, from the Queen, by Sir Thomas Heneage. How 
 contemptuoudy we conceive ourself to have been used 
 by you, you shall by this bearer understand, whom we 
 have expressly sent imto you to charge you withal. We 
 could never have imagined, had we not seen it fall out 
 in experience, that a man raised up by ourself, and ex- 
 traordinarily favoured by us above any other subject of 
 tills land, would have, in so contemptible a sort, broken 
 our commandment, in a cause that so greatly toucheth 
 us in honour ; whereof, although you have showed your- 
 self to make but little account, in most imdutiful a sort, 
 you may not therefore think that we have so little care 
 of the reparation thereof as we mind to pass so great a 
 wrong in silence imredressed. And therefore our express 
 pleasure and commandment is, that — all delays and ex- 
 cuses laid apart — you do presently, upon the duty of your 
 allegiance, obey and fulfil whatsoever the bearer hereof 
 shall direct you to do in our name. Whereof fail not, 
 
 I The Queen to Sir ThomM Heneage, Jnit dted. 
 
 1586. HER ANGRY LETTERS TO THE EARL AND STATES. 399 
 
 as you will answer the contrary at your uttermost 
 peril.'* * 
 
 Here waa no billing and cooing, certainly, but a terse, 
 biting phraseology, about which Uiere could be no mis- 
 conception. 
 
 By the same messenger the Queen also sent a formal 
 letter to the States-General ; the epistle — mutatis mutandis 
 — being also addressed to the state-council. 
 
 In this document her Majesty expressed her great sur- 
 prise that Leicester should have accepted their offer of 
 the absolute government, " both for police and war," 
 when she had so expressly rejected it herself. »' To tell 
 the truth," she observed, "you seem to have treated us 
 with very little respect, and put a too manifest insult 
 upon us, in presenting anew to one of our subjects the 
 same proposition which we had already declined, without 
 at least waiting for our answer whether we should like 
 it or no ; as if we had not sense enough to be able to 
 decide upon what we ought to accept or refuse." * She 
 proceeded to express her dissatisfaction with the course 
 pursued, because so repugnant to her published declara- 
 tion, in which she had stated to the world her intention 
 of aiding the Provinces, without meddling in the least 
 with the sovereignty of the country. *' The contrary 
 would now be believed," she said, " at least by those 
 who take the liberty of censuring, accoiding to their 
 pleasure, the actions of princes." Thus her honour was 
 at stake. She signified her will, therefore, that, in order 
 to convince the world of her sincerity, the authority 
 conferred should be revoked, and that " the Earl," whom 
 she had decided to recall very soon," should, during his 
 brief residence there, only exercise the power agreed 
 upon by the original contract. She warmly reiterated 
 her intention, however, of observing inviolably the 
 promise of assistance which she had given to the States. 
 ** And if," she said, " any malicious or turbulent spirits 
 should endeavour, perchance, to persuade the people 
 that this our refusal proceeds from lack of affection or 
 
 > Brace's 'Leyc Corresp.' 110, - Feb. *« ^^ Council of State— mutoiumutafuitfc 
 
 1M6. a P. Office, i «Ki ^ Feb. 16M. 
 
 Ma 
 
 * Minute to the State»^eneral : the 'Ike 
 
 (S. P. Office MS.. Feb. ^. 1586.) 
 
 88 
 
 ' " Lequel sommes deliberee de rap- 
 peUer bientet," 4c HS.ubi$up. 
 
400 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 CirAP. VH. 
 
 I 
 
 
 11 r 
 
 !tlf 
 
 honest disposition to assist you— instead of being founded 
 only on respect for our honour, which is dearer to us 
 than life— we beg you, by every possible means, to shut 
 their mouths, and prevent their pernicious designs." i 
 
 Thus, heavily laden with the royal wrath, Heneago 
 was on the point of leaving London for the Netherlands, 
 on the very day upon which Davison arrived, charged 
 with deprecatory missives from that country-. After his 
 long detention he had a short passage, crossing from the 
 Brill to Margate in a single night. Coming immediately 
 to London, he sent to Walsingham to inquire which way 
 the wind was blowing at court, but received a somewhat 
 discouraging reply. " Your long detention by his Lord- 
 ship," said the Secretarj% " has wounded the whole 
 cause ;" adding, that he thought her Majesty would not 
 speak with him. On the other hand, it seemed indis- 
 pensable for him to go to the court, because if the Queen 
 should hear of his ai-rival before he had presented him- 
 self, she was likely to be more angry than ever.* 
 
 So, the same afternoon, Davison waited upon Walsing- 
 ham, and found him in a state of despondency. " She 
 takes his Lordship's acceptance of the government most 
 haynously," said Sir Fmncis, " and has resolved to send 
 Sir Thomas Heneage at once, with orders for him to re- 
 sign the office. She has been threatening you and Sir 
 Philip Sidney, whom she considers the chief actors and 
 persuaders in the matter, according to information re- 
 ceived from some persons about my Lord of Leicester."^' 
 
 Davison protested himself amazed at the Secretary's 
 discourse, and at once took great pains to show the 
 reasons by which all parties had been influenced m the 
 matter of the government. He declared roundly that if 
 the Queen should carry out her present intentions, the 
 Earl would be most unworthily disgraced, the cause 
 utterly overthrown, the Queen's honour perpetually 
 Stained, and that her kingdom would incur great disaster. 
 
 Directly after this brief conversation, Walsingham 
 went up-stairs to the Queen, while Davison proceeded 
 to the apartments of Sir Christopher Hatton. Thence 
 he was soon summoned to the royal presence, and found 
 
 I •• Voua tascbiez par tons moyens de 
 clolre la bouche et emp«cher lea perni- 
 cieux desselns de tela dangereux iustra- 
 aientV kc. MS. tibi tup. 
 
 17 
 
 « Brace's 'Leyc. Corresp.' 117, 118,^ 
 
 Feb. 1586. 
 » Ibid. 
 
 158G. 
 
 ARRIVAL OF DAVISOX. 
 
 401 
 
 that he had not been misinformod o« +/^ +t,« * 
 her Majesty, lie Queen ^y^iMin^'t^Tl:! 
 began swearing at Davison so soon as he Kto th« 
 chamber; abusing Leicester for haTinira«t,$!LT ^^ 
 of the States, agaiist her many timis reS^ . ^ °^T 
 ment, and the ambassador for not hS in '^'^- " 
 
 f if .h ^ »"■- "''°'^"* '""* ^""^ °f no consequence^ 
 as if the matter in no way concerned her ''"1""^°'=*'' »' 
 
 So soon as she paused to take breatl, tt,„ 
 
 jes^ s cold beginning," the general unpopul^ty of the 
 
 S •? wCw" *''•'. ".^?"-P«-. Aialityand con! 
 
 : ndUion^oS Sr l! ataThfit nS- 
 of some immediate reform ^^i^soiuie necessity- 
 
 pe2 rwir3'iKcid''tK tiTher 
 
 Among the Netherlanders none ^^Med for sucL^ 
 charge. Lord Maurice is a child, por and of but ?^f |* 
 
 E' ZXr ^'^'T' '^^""^'''-•' Co-t HoUn o 
 hZ2 Th„ •:. **'?°^"'? ^'^ incapable of the 
 
 Durden. These considerations influenced the States tn 
 
 rest of her benevolence was to little purpose " Although 
 the contract between the commissionWand the Quef n 
 had not literally provided for sueh an arrangement It^ 
 t had always been contemplated by the StTtfs who had 
 g^themselves without a head until the airiVal of the 
 
 " mv^l'frJi Ti P™*?* f ?r*«'"'" continued the envoy, 
 -T^d fn ^t"?'*®'.^'*^ '°°g ^""^^y^^ to satisfy them/' 
 fen^nf V "",***!'?? I'? r°t somewhat further in il 
 tence of his absent fnend than the facts would warrant), 
 
 accent It "*^-,' ^"^ ^/"^^^ "• "°^ ^«« ^^^^ ^ 
 accept ^it, untiL your Majesty's pleasure should b^ 
 
 I 
 
^Q2 THE XJOTTED NETHERLANDS. Ch*p VH. 
 
 Vnown " > Certaflnly the records show no reservation of 
 toTceptanc: nntif the Queen had been oonsvdted^bn^ 
 the defence by Davison of the offending Earl was so 
 
 '"'iflt W^rS'^y their in.portunity,n.oved 
 with their%e;«ons, and compelled by necessUy^he 
 thoueht it better to take the course he did. proceeded 
 Hplomatist, "for otherwise he must have been an 
 eve-wito^ of the dismemberment of the whole country, 
 XcTS not be kent together but by a re^e^ hope 
 in her Majesty's founl^ fevour which had }f f° "tto^^y 
 despaired of by his refusal. He thought it better, by 
 SiS. to increase the honour, pn,fit, and surety of 
 W Etv and the good of the cause, than, by refiis- 
 S. to utt^rTy haaSd the one. and overthrow the 
 
 °*To' 111 this and more, well and wmly urged by 
 Davison the Queen listened by fits and starts, oitenin- 
 ter^tinrWs discourse by violent abuse .of Leicester^ 
 Incusing him of contempt for her, chaining him with 
 Si^ more of his own particular greatness than of her 
 Coi^and service, and then " digre^^^g '"^ °1^ 
 ^efs," said the envoy, "too long «^d odious to ^te^ 
 ihe vehemently denounced Davison also fo-; f«'«lic*'°^ 
 of duty in not opposing the measure ; but he msmful^ 
 deci^d that he ilver deemed so mean y of her Majesty 
 or of his Lordship as to suppose that she would send 
 him! or that he would go to the Provinces, merely ''^ 
 X command of the relics of Mr. Norns's worn and d^ 
 Tayed troops." Such a chai|e prot^ted D?'^^""'/^? 
 ntterly unworthy a person of the Earl's quahty, and ut- 
 ?eriy unsuited to^ the necessity of the time and state.' 
 
 But Davison went farther in defence of Leicester. He 
 had been present at many of the conferences with the 
 Netherland envoys during the precedmg summer m 
 England, and he now told the Queen stoutly to her face 
 that she herself, or at any rate one of her chief coun- 
 seUors. in her hearing and his, had expressed her royal 
 determination not to prevent the accepbmce of whatever 
 authority the States might choose to confer, by any one 
 whom she might choose to send. She had declined to 
 accept it in person, but she had been willing that it 
 
 *■ . ««.<.. 1 TMA 101 a«me date 
 
 1 Bruoe. 120, aame date. 
 
 tlMd. 
 
 * Ibid. 121. aame date 
 
 ai 
 
 1586. 
 
 STORMY INTERVIEW WITH THE QUEEN. 
 
 403 
 
 sione™ since their return, ^t* fcl*^5?S 
 
 Z'^^r V °i 'rr* «'"K'« ^^^ living any W 
 ing onthe subject. Under such circumstancesT " I mi^t 
 
 expedient for your ^^^^IS^tZ^TP^^t 
 ness. If ,t were to do over again, he aVowed^d 
 " were hw opinion demanded, he coid gCno oa.i 
 advice than that which he had given, ha^g receS 
 no contrary commandment from her HiehneS "■ 
 And so ended the first evening's Inno- o«.i ' i 
 debate, and Davison depar^d -MfalinT W " J^''^"'^^* 
 "much qualified, though in manr^fes^^is^'ed '^J 
 She had, however, absolutely refuie5 to rec^™ , 1 1 
 from Leicester, with which'^ho S been c Wd ^^J 
 
 :Ssbefore°^""°"''^'^"^'^-»---^ntwo' 
 
 to?e%^:s?aSd:*"rSaf» t^* ^r^^ -" 
 
 Davison ac'cordingly requTsLd^Nmrdlaterdrce"- 
 So soon as admitted to the presence he Wt- *""'*'"*. 
 ^d implored the Queen to ^ZZf^l ^^Luld inflT; 
 the contemplated disgmce on one whom she Ki.^f^f 
 
 furious Ln ever that moi^^ng^eliS^vI^^-- 
 
 im^^rtiStoL r-' '° r"^ * d«oiion without a? e^a^ 
 imparting it to me ? —and so on, as so many times beforr 
 
 And again Davison, with all the eloquencT^d wftvi 
 every soothing art he had at commanns^vedto Zt 
 
 tSA:T- ''r'^ ""' ^"*'-^^ uSi „Tfo 
 t..!!j ^ ® ^^^^^ became so calm again that he vZ 
 
 Sh^b^Zth *"■' *? P'T°* *^« --ejeotedttter of he C" 
 ^tW^t^"^"^' ""1^* «igbtof the well-known W 
 
 h^^AjTrft^K'^"'' S""*J«- ""d so soraTshe 
 f Iv^, !^ *r^* "^ ^^^ favourite's honeyed phrases «),« 
 S t^ft P>-ecio«s document into her poffi„ ^^der to 
 read it afterwards, as Davison observed, at her leisured 
 
 'B™*la.,«m.d.!.. •IWlm-m.d.te. ■ Ibid. m. L' Feb. .«.. 
 
 2 D 2 
 
 * 
 
404 THE UNITED NETHERtANDS. Chap VII. 
 
 The opening thus BuccessWly made, and the envoy 
 V,av;T,t thus "by many insinuations," prepared her to 
 W him a •'• more patient and willing ear than she had 
 iTuSed before/ he again ^'^^^.y^^^:^^'^,''^ 
 impassioned argument to show the entire wisdom 
 
 TtlsCrisL'r^t^Sat the conversation. Suffice 
 to Lv aaTno^Tn could have more eloquently and 
 MtK supported an absent friend ^^^^.^^^^^ 
 than Davison now defended the Earl. ^"^ ""®. "' Jjj^ 
 ment is already familiar to the reader, and, m truth, 
 Zoueen had nothing to reply, save to insist upon the 
 tovemor^s delinquency in maintaining so ong and inex- 
 ^^So a silence. And at this thought, in spite of the 
 ^nvov's eCuence, she went o«F again in a paroxysm oi 
 ZlZ£^T^^o Earl, and deeply censuring Davison 
 for his " peremptory and partial dealing. ^_ 
 
 "I had'^conceived a better opinion of J on she^d 
 " and I had intended more good to you than I now tnd 
 
 ^°"rwbry "thank your Highness," replied the am- 
 Wdo" tat^" I takeVouTself to witness that I have 
 n^^r affected or sought any such grace at your hands 
 
 Ind if your Majesty Uj^t^ in tl^e d-gei^^Xv: n 
 which vou are now entering, I only pray >our leave, in 
 ^Tcompense for all my travails, to ret^-e myself home 
 where I may spend the rest of my life m prajing 'o^ 
 ;^ whom Salvation itself is not aWe tojve, if the e 
 purposes are continued. Henceforth, Madam, he is to 
 Cdoemed happiest who is least interested in the public 
 
 "" lid 'si ended the second day's debate. The next 
 mo^ng the Lord-Treasurer, who, ^ecordmg to Davison^ 
 Tmrloyed himself diligently-as did aj^ ^\?^^'^g,^^7t 
 and Hatton--in dissuading the Queen fjom Jhe violen^ 
 measures which she had resolved upon, effected so much 
 
 I Bmce, 122, same date. "The begin- 
 ning of our comedy was uncommon 
 sharp," said Davison, "but tl.is much I 
 do be bold to assure you. that, if I had 
 not arrived as I did, t^th his Lordship 
 had been utterly disowned and the cause 
 overthrown." Pavison to Her'.e. 17 Feb. 
 1586. (Brit. Mu8. Galba. C viu. 33. MS.) 
 
 » Bruce, 123, same date. 
 
 a Ibid. 124, same date. 
 
 4 1bJd.l43.^-JJ^1586;buttoWal. 
 
 sincham Leicester "owed more." accord- 
 ing to Davison. " for his constant fnend- 
 ship and sufferance for his sake, than to 
 all others at court." Davison to Herle. 
 (Brit Mus. Galba, C. viiL MS.) 
 
 1686. QUEEN'S WRATH SOMEWHAT MITIGATED. 405 
 
 of a change as to produce the insertion of those analifxr 
 
 rrL-^'^l".?^ Heneage's instructions whLh LTbe^^^^ 
 previously disallowed. The odpti s^t^a ^..\.^' j- 
 
 of the Eak which was to haTw'pP^^^^ ri^Te' 
 manded, was now to be deferred if J^iT^ ^ 
 seemed detrimental to the putSr^L^'^L^r mS" 
 however, protested herself as deeply offended as -^bvE' 
 although she had consented to address Tbrief some 
 
 Soon after this Davison retired for a few davs frnm 
 ^theTetv'^fS^ ^r.^^"«^^ ^^**- to the eT/S 
 
 disposed both to ?ear a^nd r^t^^no^t tetp^^^^^^^^^^ 
 
 ^mm,y^ ^ ^^ ^^^'l^^ation thereunto, he could not 
 
 his^mLlrto^th' ^^;r F'""^'^' ^^« despatched on 
 eipSaf^nlVn^^ ?^ "'' i^'P^*" ^^^ *^^ argUents and 
 Zison An fl n^^''^?^^^' ^^rghley^ Hatton, and 
 -uavison. All the Queen's counsellors were unequivo- 
 
 was not a little embarrassed as to the proper method of 
 
 ' -Monsieur Davison nous a bien au 
 long discouru et reprpsente." said the 
 <^een. "de quel rele vous avez 6t6 pous- 
 SI'S a faire loffre du gouvemement absolu 
 de ct>8 pays la au Comte de Leycestre 
 *vec les plus grandes signcs et demon- 
 Btrationsd-une vehemente et devotionnee 
 affection envera nous, qu'on scauroit 
 fli'slrer dont on nous pourroit a bon droit 
 taxer d ingratitude, si eussions oubUe de 
 vous en remercier bien expressement. et 
 ue vous rendre certains des effects reci- 
 proques que cela cause en nous d'une 
 entlere affection envers vous. comblen 
 que pour plusieurs grandes et impor- 
 tantes considerations ne puLssona uom 
 
 accorder a I'acceptatlon du dlt offre 
 Nous asseurant que si scaviez de quelle 
 consequence sont les ralsons et consldera- 
 tlons que ne nous pouvons communiqtur 
 pour plusieurs respects dimportance, et 
 sur les queues notre repos m fonde, vous 
 memes seriez cU notre advis, et demeure- 
 nez contents du diet refus. lequel sera 
 cause d'augraenter encores de tant plus 
 le soln qu'avons promls d'avoir du bien 
 et conservation de ces pays la.' Minute 
 of H. Mejesty's Letter to the Stateg 
 General. (S. P. Office MS. Feb. 1681.) 
 « Bruce. 124. i? Feb. 1686. 
 • Ibid. 125, same date. * Ibid. 
 
 I 
 
 * 
 
tf 
 
 406 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VII. 
 
 
 II 
 
 conducting the affair. Everything, in truth, was in a 
 most confused condition. He hardly understood to 
 what power he was accredited. *' Heneage writes even 
 now unto me," said Walsingham to Davison, " that he 
 cannot yet receive any information who be the States, 
 which he thinketh will be a great maimer unto him in 
 his negotiation. I have told hun that it is an assembly 
 much like that of our burgesses that represent the 
 State, and that my Lord of Leicester may cause some of 
 them to meet together, unto whom he may deliver his 
 letters and messages." » Thus the new envoy was to 
 request the culprit to summon the very assembly by 
 which his downfall and disgrace were to be solemnized 
 as formally as had been so recently his elevation to the 
 height of power. The prospect was not an agreeable 
 one, and the less so because of his general want of fami- 
 liarity with the constitutional forms of the country he 
 was about to visit. Davison accordingly, at the request 
 of Sir Francis, furnished Heneage with much valuable 
 infoi-mation and advice upon the subject.* 
 
 > Walsini^m to Davlaon, 35 Feb, 
 1586. (S. P. OfBce MS.) 
 « •* The govenjmcnt aa It is now," said 
 
 lie, ••you shall find altered from the form 
 whereof I delivered you »ome notes the 
 last year. The general commandment 
 rests presently In the hands of my Lord 
 of Leicester, as governor of the countries 
 tor them, over and besides his lieutenancy 
 from the Queen. The nature of his au- 
 thority reaches to an absolute command 
 In matters belonging to the wars, though 
 in dvll things Ihnlled to the lawful power 
 of other governors-general In times past, 
 as you shall better perceive by the com- 
 mission and acts themselves, which I 
 know my lx>rd will not conceal fh>m 
 you. The contributions towards the war 
 of 200,000 florins, or 20,0001. the month, 
 agreed to by the four provinces of Hol- 
 land, Zeeland, Frlesland, and Utrecht, 
 •re to be levied chiefly on the ordinary 
 means of consumption, or things spent 
 and consumed in the country, which, in 
 Holland alone, doth now amount to 
 M.OOO flodns monthly, besides the quoU 
 of the other provinces, and over and 
 above their customs upon all mercbandlxe 
 going out and coming In, and, besides, all 
 this may be levied in the other provinces 
 
 of Gelderland, Overyssel, Brabant, and 
 Flanders. They are to put into my 
 Lord's hands the letting and farming of 
 thttie impositions yet in force till April 
 next, which, coming short of the general 
 Biun, they have promised to supply by 
 a contribution extraordinary, such as 
 tax on land and other things, whereof 
 my Lord can and will thoroughly Inform 
 you. The sovereignty, notwithstanding, 
 remains penet ordines, which we call the 
 Estates, lliese consist of the whole pro- 
 vinces united, to the number ordinarily 
 of some eighteen or twenty persons, each 
 province deputing some four or five, as 
 the occasion and time require. These 
 are chosen out by their provinces, and 
 are sent to the general assembly upon 
 extraordinary occasions— as when there 
 is occasion for making some new ordi- 
 nance, either for contributions or other 
 occurrences, concerning the whole gener- 
 ality. The place of their ordinary meet- 
 ing Is the Hague. The time of their 
 continuance together Is not longer than 
 till the matter in question be resolved, 
 or remitted to a new report, which often 
 happcneth. These, having remained to- 
 gether upon my Lord's coming till he 
 had agreed to the acceptance of the 
 
 1586. MISSION OF HENEAGE TO THE STATES. 407 
 
 Thus provided with information, forewarned of danger 
 furnished with a double set of letters from the Queen tj 
 the States— the first expressed in language of extreme 
 exasperation the others couched in almost affectionate 
 torms-aiid laden with messages brimfuU of wrathful 
 denunciation from her Majesty to one who was note- 
 nously ^er Majesty's dearly-beloved, Sir Thomas 
 Heneage set forth on his mission. These were perilous 
 times for the Davisons and the Heneages, when even 
 Leicesters and Burghleys were scarcely secure 
 
 Meantime the fair weather at court could not be 
 depended upon from one day to another, and the clouds 
 were perpetually returning after the rain 
 
 - Since my second and third da/s audience," said 
 Davison, the storms I met with at my arrival have 
 overblown and abated daily. On Saturday again she 
 feU mto some new heat, which lasted not loni This 
 day I was myself at the court, and found her m 'reason- 
 able good terms, though she will not yet seem satisfied 
 
 government, were to depart home— 
 about the time of my coming thence— 
 to return within some few days after for 
 the determining of a new proposiUon for 
 the Increase of their ordinary contrlbu- 
 ti<M», and are by this time, I think, dis- 
 solved again. In this case, your letters 
 to them— ^ you have any— most tarry 
 a new convocation, for to them only it 
 appertains to answer the matter of my 
 Lord's election, forasmuch as concemeth 
 the country. The councU of estate, re- 
 sident with my Lord, hath been chosen 
 since his elecUpn to the government, 
 composed of some ten or twelve persons, 
 at the denomination of the provinces, 
 »nd my Lord's election. These you 
 shaU find attending upon my Lord as 
 his ordinary assistanta in aU matters con- 
 cerning the public government, but to 
 tbem it belongeth not to deliver any- 
 thing touching this case of my Lord's, 
 without special direction. And thus 
 much touching the form of that govern- 
 ment, as far forth as the time will suffer 
 me to discourse unto you, or may belong 
 to your present charge, leaving you for 
 other things to be more particularly 
 satisfied by Sir Philip Sidney, Mr. KllU- 
 gtew, and others of your friends, at your 
 Mrtval then." 
 
 Having given this correct and graphic 
 outUne of the government to which 
 Heneage had thus been despatched, upon 
 such delicate and perilous business, Djfc. 
 vlson proceeded to whbper a woixi of 
 timely caution in his ear. 
 
 " I cannot but let you know," he said, 
 "how heartily sorry I am that it is not 
 more plausible to my Lord, and profiuble 
 to that poor country. What may move 
 her Majesty to take this course I know 
 not; but this I protest unto you before 
 God, that I know not what other course 
 the Estates or my Lord might have taken 
 than they have done, nor how the coun- 
 try may be saved. If this act be dis- 
 countenanced and overthrown. To advise 
 yon how to carry yourself I will not take 
 upon me, and yet dare be bold to affirm 
 this much, that your message, if it be 
 not all the better handled in your wis- 
 dom, cannot but breed utter dishonour 
 to my Lord, ruin to the cause, and n- 
 pentance ere long to her M^esty's self 
 which will better appear unto you when 
 you shall be there to look into their 
 estate. But, seeing God hath so disposed 
 thereof, I will cast my care upon his 
 providence, and recommend the cause to 
 Him that governs all." Davison to Hene> 
 age, 26 Feb. 1586. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
408 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VII. 
 
 W 
 
 to me either with the matter or manner of your proceed- 
 ing notwithstanding all the labour I have taken in that 
 behalf. Yet I find not her Majesty altogether so sharp 
 as some men look, though her favour has outwardly 
 cooled in respect both of fhis action and of ourplam pro- 
 ceeding with her here in defence thereof." * 
 
 The poor Countess— whose imaginary exodus, with 
 the long procession of coaches and side-saddles, had 
 excited so much ire— found herself in a most distressing 
 position. "I have not seen my Lady these ten or 
 twelve days," said Davison. " To-morrow I hope to do 
 my duty towards her. I found her greatly troubled 
 with tempestuous news she received from court, but 
 somewhat comforted when she understood how I had 
 proceeded with her Majesty. . . . But, these pas- 
 sions overblown, I hope her Majesty will have a 
 gracious regard both towards myself and the cause." * 
 
 But the passions seemed not likely to blow oyer so 
 soon as was desirable. Leicester's brother, the Earl of 
 Warwick, took a most gloomy view of the whole trans- 
 action, and hoarser than the raven's was his boding 
 
 tone. 
 
 " Well, our mistress's extreme rage doth increase 
 rather than diminish," he wrote, " and she giveth out 
 great threatening words against you. Therefore make 
 the best assurance you can for yourself, and tnist not 
 her oath, for that her malice is great and unquenchable 
 in the wisest of their opinions here, and as for other 
 friendships, as far as I can learn, it is as doubtful as the 
 other. Wherefore, my good brother, repose your whole 
 trust in God, and He\vill defend you in despite of all 
 your enemies. And let this be a great comfort to you, 
 and so it is likewise to myself and all your assured 
 friends, and that is, that you were never so honoured 
 and loved in your life amongst all good people as you 
 are at this day, only for dealing so nobly and wisely in 
 this action as you have done; so that, whatsoever 
 cometh of it, you have done your part. I praise God 
 from my heart for it. Once again, have great care of 
 youi-self, (I mean for your safety), and if she will needs 
 
 fS Feb 
 1 Brace's 'Leyc Corresp.' 142, ^^ ^^ 1586. 
 
 t Ibid. 144. MS. Just cited. 
 
 1586. SHIRLEY SENT TO ENGLAND BY THE EARL. 409 
 
 revoke you, to the overthroAving of the cause, if I were 
 as you, if I could not be assured there, I would go to the 
 jtarthest part of Christendom rather than ever come into 
 England again. Take heed whom you trust, for that 
 you have some false hoys about t/mi." * 
 
 Ajid the false boys were busy enough, and seemed 
 likely to triumph m the result of their schemes. For a 
 glance into the secret correspondence of Mary of Scotland 
 has already revealed the Earl to us constantly sur- 
 rounded by men in masks. Many of those nearest his 
 person, and of highest credit out of England, were his 
 deadly foes, sworn to compass his dishonour, his con- 
 fiision, and eventually his death, and in correspondence 
 with Ins most powerful adversaries at home and abroad 
 Certainly his path was slippery and perilous along those 
 icy summits of power, and he had need to look well to 
 his footsteps. 
 
 Before Heneage had arrived in the Netherlands, Sir 
 Ihomas Shirley, despatched by Leicester to England 
 with a commission to procure supplies for the famishing 
 soldiers, and, if possible, to mitigate the Queen's wrath, 
 had been admitted more than once to her Majesty's 
 presence. He had fought the Earl's battle as m^fully 
 as l)avison had done, and, like that envoy, had received 
 nothing in exchange for his plausible arguments but 
 bitter words and big oaths. Eight days after his arrival 
 he was introduced by Hatton into the privy chamber, 
 and at the moment of his entrance was received with a 
 volley of execrations.* 
 
 " I did expressly and peremptorily forbid his accept- 
 ance of the absolute government, in the hearing of 
 divers of my council," said the Queen. 
 
 Shirley.—" The necessity of the case was imminent, 
 your Highness. It was his Lordship's intent to do all 
 for your Majesty's service. Those countries did expect 
 him as a governor at his first landing, and the States 
 durst do no other than satisfy the people also with that 
 opinion. The people's mislike of their present govern- 
 ment IS such and so great as that the name of States is 
 grown odious amongst them. Therefore the States, 
 doubting the furious rage of the people, conferred the 
 
 » Bruce'g • Leyc Corresp.' 150. 151, ^ March. 1586. » Ibid. 1 72. ^ March. 1686. 
 
 I 
 
410 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VH. 
 
 \h 
 
 authority upon his Lordship with incessant suit to him 
 to receive it. Notwithstanding this, however, he did 
 deny it until he saw plainly both confusion and ruin of 
 that country if he should refuse. On the other hand, 
 when he had seen into their estates, his Lordship found 
 great profit and commodity like to come unto your 
 Majesty by your acceptance of it. Your Highness may 
 now have garrisons of English in as many towns as 
 pleaseth you, without any more charge than you are now 
 at. Nor can any peace be made with Spain at any time 
 hereafter, but through you and by you. Your Majesty 
 should remember, likewise, that if a man of another 
 nation had been chosen governor it might have wought 
 great danger. Moreover it would have been an indig- 
 nity that your lieutenant-general should of necessity be 
 under him that so should have been elected. Finally, 
 this is a stop to any other that may affect the place of 
 government there." 
 
 Queen (who has manifested many signs of impatience 
 during this discourse).—" Your speech is all in vain. 
 His Lordship's proceeding is sufficient to make me 
 infamous to all princes, having protested the contrary, 
 as I have done, in a book which is translated into divers 
 and sundry languages. His Lordship, being my servant, 
 a creature of my own, ought not, in duty towards me, 
 have entered into this course without my knowledge 
 and good allowance." 
 
 Shirley.— ** But the world hath conceived a high 
 judgment of your Majesty's great wisdom and pro- 
 vidence, shown by your assailing the King of Spain at 
 one time both in the Low Countries and also by Sir 
 Francis Drake. I do assure myself that the same judg- 
 ment which did first cause you to take this in hand 
 must continue a certain knowledge in your Majesty that 
 one of these actions must needs stand much better by 
 the other. If Sir Francis do prosper, then all is well. 
 And though he should not prosper, yet this hold that 
 his Lordship hath taken for you on the Low Countries 
 must always assure an honourable peace at your High- 
 ness's pleasure. I beseech your Majesty to remember 
 that to the King of Spain the government of his Lord- 
 ship is no greater matter than if he were but your 
 
 1586. 
 
 HIS INTERVIEW WITH ELIZABETH. 
 
 411 
 
 lieutenant-general there ; but the voyage of Sir Francis 
 is of much greater offence than all." 
 
 Queen (interrupting).—" I can very well answer for 
 Sir Francis. Moreover, if need be, the gentleman careth 
 not if I should disavow him." 
 
 Shirley. — " Even so standeth my Lord, if your dis- 
 avowing of him may also stand with your Highness's 
 favour towards him. Nevertheless, should this bruit 
 of your mislike of his Lordship's authority there come 
 unto the ears of those people— being a nation both sudden 
 and suspicious, and having been heretofore used to 
 stratagem— I fear it may work some strange notion in 
 them, considering that, at this time, there is an increase 
 of taxation raised upon them, the bestowing whereof 
 perchance they know not of. His Lordship's giving up 
 of the government may leave them altogether without 
 government, and in worse case than they were ever in 
 before. For now the authority of the States is dissolved, and 
 hts Lordship's govemmerU is the only thing that hddeth them 
 together. I do beseech your Highness, then, to consider 
 well of it, and if there be any private cause for which 
 you take grief against his Lordship, nevertheless to have 
 regard unto the public cause, and to have a care of your 
 own safety, which, in many wise men's opinions, standeth 
 much upon the good maintenance and upholding of this 
 matter." ° 
 
 Queen.—" I believe nothing of what you say con- 
 cerning the dissolving of the authority of the States. I 
 know well enough that the States do remain states still 
 I mean not to do harm to the cause, but only to reform 
 tiiat which his Lordship hath done beyond his warrant 
 from me." * 
 
 And with this the Queen swept suddenly from the 
 apartment. Sir Thomas, at different stages of the con- 
 versation, had in vain besought her to accept a letter 
 ^om the Earl which had been entrusted to his care, 
 bhe obstinately refused to touch it. Shirley had even 
 had recourse to stratagem : affecting ignorance on many 
 pomts concerning which the Queen desired information, 
 and suggesting that doubtless she would find those 
 matters fully explained in his Lordship's letter." The 
 
 » Bruce'g 'Leyc. Corresp.' 171-176. J^ March, 1686. t ftkl. 
 
 ffi 
 
412 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VII. 
 
 
 \ 
 
 axtifice was in vain, and the discussion was, on the 
 whole, unsatisfactory. Yet there is no doubt that the 
 Queen had had the worst of the argument, and she was 
 far too sagacious a politician not to feel the weight of 
 that which had been urged so often in defence of the 
 course pursued. But it was with her partly a matter of 
 temper and offended pride, perhaps even of wounded 
 
 affection. 
 
 On the following morning Shirley saw the Queen 
 walking in the garden of the palace, and made bold to 
 accost her. Thinking, as he said, *' to test her affection 
 to Lord Leicester by another means," the artful Sir 
 Thomas stepped up to her, and observed that his 
 Lordship was seriously ill. . " It is feared," he said, 
 " that the Earl is again attacked by the disease of which 
 Dr. Goodrowse did once cure him. Wherefore his 
 Lordship is now a humble suitor to your Highness that 
 it would please you to spare Goodrowse, and give him 
 leave to go thither for some time." 
 The Queen was instantly touched. 
 " Certainly— with all my heart, with all my heart, he 
 shall have him." she replied, '* and sorry I am that his 
 Lordship hath that need of him." 
 
 "And indeed," returned sly Sir Thomas, "your 
 Highness is a very gracious prince, who are pleased not 
 to suffer his Lordship to perish in health, though other- 
 wise you remain deeply offended with him." 
 
 " You know my mind," returned Elizabeth, now all 
 the queen again, and perhaps suspecting the trick ; *| I 
 may not endure that my man should alter my commis- 
 sion and the authority that I gave him, upon his own 
 fancies and without me." 
 
 With this she instantly mimmoned one of her gentle- 
 men, in order to break off the interview, fearing that 
 Shirley was about to enter again upon a discus-sion of 
 the whole subject, and again to attempt the delivery of 
 the Earl's lettter.* 
 
 In all this there was much of superannuated coquetry, 
 no doubt, and much of Tudor despotism, but there was 
 also a strong infusion of artifice. For it will soon be 
 necessary to direct attention to certain secret trans- 
 
 « Bnioe'a 'L^c Oorretp.' 175, 170, bmom date. 
 
 1586. 
 
 HIS INTERVIEW WITH ELIZABETH. 
 
 413 
 
 aotions of an important nature in which the Queen was 
 engaged, and which were even hidden from the all- 
 seeing eye of Wahjingham-although shrewdly suspected 
 both by that statesman and by Leicester— but which 
 were most influential in modifying her policy at that 
 moment towards the Netherlands. 
 
 There could be no doubt, however, of the stanch and 
 strenuous manner in which the delinquent Earl was 
 supported by his confidential messengers and by some 
 ot his fellow-councillors. His true friends were urgent 
 that the great cause in which he was engaged should 
 be forwarded sincerely and without delay. Shiriey 
 had been sent for money ; but to draw money from 
 Elizabeth was like coining her life-blood, drachma by 
 drachma. -^ 
 
 " Your Lordship is like to have but a poor supply of 
 money at this time," said Sir Thomas. - To be plain 
 with you I fear she groweth weary of the charge, and 
 will hardly be brought to deal thoroughly in the 
 action. ^ '' 
 
 He was also more explicit than he might have been 
 --had he been better informed as to the disposition of 
 the chief personages of the court, concerning whoso 
 temper the absent Earl was naturally anxious. Hatton 
 was most in favour at the moment, and it was through 
 Hatton that the communications upon Netherland 
 matters passed; "for," said Shiriey, -she will hardly 
 endure Mr. Secretary (Walsingham) to speak unto her 
 therein. 
 
 " And truly, my Lord," he continued, " as Mr. Secre- 
 tary IS a noble, good, and true friend unto you, so doth 
 Mr. Vice-Chamberlain show himself an honourable true 
 and faithful gentleman, and doth carefully and 'most 
 like a good friend for your Lordship." 
 
 And thus very succinctly and graphically had the 
 envoy painted the situation to his principal. »' Your 
 Lordship now sees things jnst as they stand," he 
 moralized. "Y^our Lordship is exceeding wise. You 
 knmc the Queen and her nature best of any man. You know 
 all men here. Your Lordship can judge the sequel by 
 this that you see : only this I must tell your Lordship ; 
 1 perceive that fears and doubts from thence are like to 
 work better effects here than comforts and assurance. 
 
 
414 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VII. 
 
 \ 
 
 i 
 
 I think It my part to send your Lordship this as it is, 
 
 rather than to be silent." * . . x« xi> 
 
 And with these rather ominous insinuations the envoy 
 concluded for the time his narrative. , , •„„ » 
 
 While these storms were blowmg and overblo^ng 
 in England, Leicester remained greatly embarrassed and 
 Lnxious in Holland. He had sown the wind more 
 extensively than he had dreamed of when accepting the 
 government, and he was now awaiting, with niuch 
 trepidation, the usual harvest. And we have seen that 
 it was rapidly ripening. Meantime, the good which he 
 had really effected in the Provinces by the course he 
 had taken was likely to be neutralized by the sinister 
 rumoure as to his impending disgrace while the enemy 
 was proportionally encouraged. -I understand cre- 
 diblv " he said, " tjfiat the Prince of Parma feels himself 
 in great jollity that her Majesty doth rather mislike 
 thai allow of our doings here whieh,j^ it be true, let 
 her be sure her own sweet self shall first smart. 
 
 Moreover, the English troops were, as we have se^, 
 mere shoeless, shivering, starving vagabonds. Ihe 
 Earl had generously advanced very large sums of money 
 from his own pocket to relieve their necessity. Phe 
 States, on the other hand, had voluntarily increased the 
 monthly contribution of 200,000 floniis, to which their 
 contract with Elizabeth obliged them,- and were more 
 disposed than ever they had been since the death of 
 Orancre to proceed vigorously and harmoniously against 
 the cSmmon enemy of Christendom. Under such cir- 
 cumstances it may well be imagined that there was 
 cause on Leicester's part for deep mortification at the 
 tragical turn which the Queen's temper seemed to be 
 
 ^I^know not," he said, " how her Majesty doth mean 
 
 » Brace's ' Leyc. Cormtp.' Jost cited. 
 
 « Bruce. 148, ~ March, 1586. 
 
 » " They have, 1 say, added," wrote 
 Lord North to Lord Barghley, " to their 
 first offer as much more, which amount- 
 eth to at least forty thousand pounds a 
 month." 28 Feb. 1686. (S. P. OfBce MS.) 
 
 But he seems to have much overstated 
 the amount. The regular contribution 
 of the States was twenty thousand 
 pounds (or 300,000 florlnt, as It was then 
 
 always reckoned) a month, and they had 
 recently granted, at Leicester's urgent 
 request, an additional sum of forty thou- 
 sand pounds (400,000 florins) for four 
 months, making thirty thousand pounds 
 a month. It is, however, quite impossible 
 to ascertain at this day the exact sums 
 voted or collected In the republic for war- 
 expenses, although there is no doubt that 
 their efforts were enormous. Comp. Bruce, 
 
 •Leyc Oorresp.' 136, ^^-j^ 1586. 
 
 1586. LEICESTER'S LETTERS TO HIS TRIENDS. 415 
 
 to dispose of me. It hath grieved me more than I can 
 express that for faithful and good service she should so 
 
 S^'T'^^'''^ ^^T^ S?-, ^^ ^^^« ^«^ what 
 mind I have served her Highness, and perhaps some 
 
 others might have failed. Yet she is neither tied one 
 
 jot by covenant or promise by me in any way, nor at 
 
 one groat the more charges, but myself two or three 
 
 thousand pounds steriing more than now is like to h« 
 
 weU spent I will desire no partial speech in my 
 
 favour. If my doings be ill for her Majesty and the 
 
 realm let me feel the smart of it. The'cause is now 
 
 well forward ; let not her Majesty suffer it to quaU If 
 
 sfrVir l^u ^'""^l^^ .^ ^^^^ ^ff^^t' «e^d away 
 Sir William Pelham with all the haste you can. I mean 
 not to complain but with so weighty a cause a* this is 
 
 Ww""" w7^ ^r^ '^. "^^^'^ ^''^^' Her Majest; 
 hath far better choice for my place, and with any thS 
 
 may succeed me let Sir William Pelham be fir^f that 
 
 may come. I speak from my soul for her Majesty's ser- 
 
 Thus far the Eari had maintained his dimity. He 
 had yielded to the solicitations of the States, and had 
 thereby exceeded his commission, and gratified his ambi- 
 tion, but he had m no wise forfeited his self-respect 
 But so soon as the first unquestionable intelligence 
 of the passion to which the Queen had given way at Us 
 misdoings reached him, he began to whimper^ T^e 
 straightforward tone which Davison had adopted in his 
 interviews with Elizabeth, and the firmness ^th which 
 he had defended the cause of his absent friend at a 
 moment when he had plunged himself into disgrace 
 wa^ worthy of applause. He deserved at least a word 
 of honest thanks. 
 
 Ignoble however, was the demeanour of the Earl 
 
 «^.Tti / -^ ""? ^?' ^^^'^ ^" ^«^ ^^t ^^^^ently been 
 unable to invent eulogies sufficiently warm, so soon as he 
 conceived the possibility of sacrificing his friend as the 
 scapegoat for his own fault. An honeft schoolboy wo^d 
 
 ti ^ °g*^*i"g Jiis battles so honestly. 
 
 ** How earnest I was," he wrote to the lords of the 
 
 1 Leicester to Burghley, 18 Feb. 1686. (S. P. OfBce, MS.) 
 
 
 'It 
 
w 
 
 I 
 
 w 
 
 J' 
 
 ( 
 
 416 THE CXITED NETHERLANDS. CHiP. VII. 
 
 coiincll, Oth March, 1586, "not only to acquaint her 
 Zesty, hut, immediately upon the first motion made hy 
 Z StJt^s, U> send Mr. Davison over to her -ith letters 
 •I doubt not hut he will truly affirm for me ; j ea, and 
 how far against my will it was, notwithstanding any 
 reln^deTered me, that he and others persisted in, to 
 Wme accept first of this place. . ... The extremity 
 of the case, and my being persuaded that Mr. Davison 
 might have better satisfied her Majesty than I perceive he 
 ^„^ caused me -neither arrogantly nor contemptuously, 
 but even merely and faithfully-to do her Majesty the 
 
 ^He'^knowledged, certainly, that Davison had been 
 influenced by honest motives, although his importuni- 
 SeshXenthe real cause of the Earl's neglect of his 
 o^ obligations. But he protested that he had lumself 
 onlv erred through an excessive pliancy to the wiU ot 
 others " My yielding was my own fault, he admitted, 
 ° whateover his persuasions ; but far from a contemptu- 
 ous heart, or else God pluck out both heart and bowels 
 
 with utter shame." ' „i„j i,:~ 
 
 So soon as Sir Thomas Heneage had presented him- 
 self, and revealed the full extent of the Queen s wrath, 
 the Earl's disposition to cast the whole crime on the 
 shoulders of Davison became quite undisguised. 
 
 " I thank you for you letters," wrote Leicester to 
 Walsingham, "though your can send me no comfort. 
 Her Majesty doth deal hardly to believe so lU of me. It 
 S true I faulted, .... but she doth not consider what 
 commodities she hath withal, and herself no way en- 
 eaged for it, as Mr. Davison might have better declared 
 uTit had pleased him. And I must thank him only 
 tor my blaie, and so he will confess to you, for, 1 
 protest before God, no necessity here could have made 
 me leave her Majesty unacquainted with Ae cause be- 
 fore I would have accepted of it, but only hj so earned 
 prming me with his faithful assured promise to d'schargeme, 
 
 Cre? h^ Majesty shoM take U ^^P^^Jl^J^^Z 
 she had no other cause to be offended but this, and.^ 
 the Lord, he was the only cause ; ^beit it .s °o «"ffi««^* 
 allegation, being as I am He had, I think, saved 
 
 » Brace's • Leyc Corresp.' l«2. - March. 1686. 
 
 2 Ibid 163, same data. 
 
 1580. PALTRV CO.VDUCT OF THE EARL TO DAVISOX. 417 
 
 all to have told her, as he promised me. But now it is laid 
 upon>ne, God send the cause to take no harm mv^kt 
 must be ho less .... How far Mr. Heneai?J Sm 
 mission shall deface me I know not. He i^ warT to 
 observe his commission, and I consent withal. iTuo^ 
 the tune w.ll be her Majesty will be sorry fo "7 
 In the mean time I am too, too weary of the hi<^h 
 dignity. I would that any that could irve her sfa 
 Cs" ■'' ^ "'^ "" "■ ''"•^ ^ *" "* '^""'^ with all my 
 In more manful strain he then alluded to the suffer 
 ngs of his army. " \\ hatsoever become of me," he said 
 '' give me leave to speak for the poor soldiers If Sev 
 tWe J^n f ■" «^'f ^'-^l. feeing » this stmng; coun^rT 
 JZi Ju ^ """^r ^'^ ««'-^'«e done, nor be without 
 great dishonour to her Majesty. . . Well vn.,T»l V^ 
 wants, and it is one cause'tli will glad me foLIld of 
 his heavy high calling, and wish „^ a! ZZ^, cot- 
 tage agam if any I shall find. But let her Maj^v pfy 
 them well, and appoint such a man as Sir Wil Ham llT 
 am to govern them, and she never wan moreZnour 
 than these men here will do, I am persuaded.'" 
 
 verS^U^fh^V !,"■? T""?!^. "'■S'''^ fey «" »»«' con- 
 versant with Netherland politics to assume the covem- 
 ment was a fact admitted by all. That ho maStTd 
 rather eagerness th.-m reluctance on the subfect and 
 that his only hesitation arose from the Zposed re 
 stramtsupon the power, not from scruples llZt accepl 
 rng the power, are facts upon record. 'I'here ^ nothint 
 
 mrt to" °r, ^ff '^^t'on to/''ow any backwardness on Sf 
 part to snatch the coveted prizo ; and that assertion wa^ 
 flatly denied by Davison, and was indeed refuted bv 
 every circumstance in the case. It is certain that he 
 had concealed from Davison the previous prohibitions 
 
 cou IcrDal?". !' T'"^ "?""P'*"^ much ^better than 
 couid Davison, therefore, the probable indignation of 
 
 Wse^lsfoit «n ■■^,f TrS-^tJ^en tfeat he should^ave Thu 
 W? Itr A i^""^'- ""** '**'^°S«'' «'"! tfeat he should 
 ow?+ V ? *^ "''""^^ eloquence instead of his 
 own to mitigate that emotion. Had he placed his dl 
 fence simply upon its tme basis, the necessity of the 
 
 ' Bnice'.'Leyc. CoiTKp.' 165-HI, 1 March, I68C. 
 VOL. 1. 
 
 'Ibid. 
 
 2 E 
 
THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VH. 
 
 418 
 
 case, and the impossibility of carrying o^t the Queen' s 
 intentions in anv other way, it would be difficult to cen- 
 sure him ; but that he should seek to screen himself by 
 laying the whole blame on a subordinate was enough to 
 make any honest man who heard him hang his head 
 ^I meant not to do it, but Davison told me to do it 
 please your Majesty, and if there was naughtiness in it 
 tZAe would make it all right with your Majesty. 
 Such, reduced to its simplest expression, was the defence 
 of the magnificent Earl of Leicester. _ 
 
 And as he had gone cringing and whining to li^s ro>al 
 mistress, so it was natural that he should be brutal and 
 
 blustering to his friend. , 
 
 - By your means," said he,» "I have fallen mto her 
 
 Majesty's deep displeasure. ... J^ ^^^^.^ ^^^.r 
 to her the tmth of my dealing, her Highness never 
 could have conceived, as I perceive she doth. .... J> or 
 doth her Majesty know how hardly * I was drawn to accept 
 this place before I had acquainted her- as to which 
 you promised you would not only give her full Batisfac- 
 
 tion, but would procure me great thanks lou did 
 
 chiefly persuade me to take this charge upon me. . . . . 
 You can remember how many treaties you and others 
 had with the States, before 1 agreed, for all ymrs and 
 their persuasion to take it.^ .... You gave me assurance to 
 satisfy her Majesty, but I see not that you have done 
 
 anything I did not hide from you the doubt I . 
 
 had of her Majesty's ill taking it iou chiefy 
 
 brought me into lY,* .... and it could no way have been 
 heavy to you, though you had told the uttermost of your 
 own doing, as you faithfully promised you would . . . . 
 J did very nnmllingly came into the matter,' doubting that to 
 
 fall out which is come to pass, and it doth so Jail 
 
 out by your negligent carelessness, whereof I many hundred times 
 told you that you would' both mar the goodness of the 
 
 1 Leicester to Davbon, with hto com- 
 ments in reply wrlttan in the margin. 
 
 Bruce, 168-171. ^ March, 1686. 
 
 « The words italicized in the text 
 were underscored by r>avlson, with the 
 marginal comment— " I^t Sir Philip Sid- 
 ney and others wltneas." 
 
 » "All this while there was no note of 
 
 any contrary commandment."— Comment 
 of Davison. 
 « ♦• Absolutely denied."— Comment of 
 
 Davison. 
 » " Hereof let the world Judge."— 
 
 DaviiJon. 
 
 • Worda underscored by Davison, with 
 the comment—" Yon might doubt it, but 
 if you had uttered so much, you should 
 
 1586. HE EXCUSES HIMSELF AT DAVISON'S EXPENSa 419 
 
 matter and breed me her Majesty's displeasure. . 
 nils fare you weU, and except your embassae-es have 
 Wter^ success. I shall have no^ cause to cTrnmend 
 
 And so was the unfortunate Davison ground into 
 finest dust between the upper and lower milktones of 
 royal wrath and loyal subserviency """^^tones of 
 
 Meantime the other special envoy had made b;« 
 appearance in the Kethcrlands; the ofter gXTween 
 
 layourite. It has already been made snfficientlv obvious 
 by the sketch g.ven of his instructions, that his S on 
 was a delicate one. In obedience to those inMons 
 
 Se severe n;,\v''"-P''^'?°*=« delivered to them 
 the severe and bitmg repnmand which Elizabeth had 
 ehosen to inflict upon the States and upon the governor 
 Iho envoy performed his ungracious task as daS 
 as he could, and after preliminary consultation wh 
 Wester; but the proud Earl was"^ deeply iLortified 
 The fourteenth day of this month of March," sa d he' 
 
 her m1 Wvl^r*^' '^f^'^ ^ ^'^y ^'"T letter from 
 ner Majesty to the council of estate, besides his message 
 
 -myself being present, for so was her M^fesTIs 
 pleasure a« he said, and I do think he did but as helfas 
 commanded How great a grief it must be to an hon^s? 
 heart and a true, faithful servant, before his own face to 
 a company of very wise and grave counsellorsT^ho had 
 conceived a marvellous opinion before of my cVdU ^th 
 her Ma csty o be charged now with a manifest and^l- 
 
 heart that looked rather for thanks, as God doth W 
 I did when I first heard of Mr. Heneage's anivafll 
 must say to your Lordship, for discharge™! mv 
 duty. I can bo no fit man to serve here-my dis^n^e is 
 too great-protesting to you that since that day I^no 
 find It in my heart to come into that place where, by 
 
 m»ch.pr««l„g well «,„„gh how ttamk. 1M6 S KC^ mIJ "^^ ' "'""■ 
 
 2 E 2 
 
 J 
 
420 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VII. 
 
 He then comforted himself— as he had a right to do 
 —with the reflection that this disgrace mflicted was 
 more than he deserv^ed, and that such would be tho 
 opinion of those by whom he was surrounded. 
 
 " Albeit one thing," he said, - did greatly comfort 
 me, that they all best knew the wrong was great i had, 
 and that her Majesty was very wrongfully imformed ot 
 the state of my cause. I doubt not but they can and 
 will discharge me, howsoever they shall f^^^^y^^®^ 
 Maiesty. And as I would rather wish for death than 
 justly to deserve her displeasure, so, good my l^ord, 
 this disgrace not coming for any ill service to her pray 
 procure me a speedy resolution, that I may go hide me 
 and pray for her. My heart is broken, though thus far 
 1 can quiet myself, that I know I have done her 
 Majesty as faithful and good service in these countries 
 as ever she had done her since she was Queen ot ±.ng- 
 
 land Under correction, my good Lord, i have 
 
 had Halifax law— to bo condemned first and inquired 
 upon after. I pray God that no man find^ this measure 
 that I have done, and deserved no worse.' ' 
 
 He defended himself— as Davison had already de- 
 fended him— upon the necessities of the case. 
 
 "la poor gentleman," he said, " who have wholly 
 depended upon herself alone- and now, being com- 
 mjmded to a service of the greatest import^ce that 
 ever her Majesty employed any servant in, and tinding 
 the occasion so serving me, and the necessity of time 
 such as would not permit such delays, flatly seeing that 
 if that opportunity were lost, the like again tor her 
 service and the good of the realm was never to bo 
 looked for, presuming upon the favour of my prince, as 
 many servants have done, exceeding somewhat there- 
 upon, rather than breaking any part of my commission, 
 taking upon me a place whereby I found these whole 
 countries could be held at her best devotion, without 
 binding her Majesty to any such matter as she had 
 forbidden to the States before-finding, I say, both the 
 time and opportunity to serve, and no^l^ck but to 
 trust to her gracious acceptation, I now feel that how 
 good, how honourable, how profitable soever it be it is 
 turned to a worse part than if I had broken all her 
 
 » LelctiBter to Burghley. (AIS. last cited.) 
 
 1586. 
 
 HIS LETTER TO BURGHLEY. 
 
 421 
 
 commissions and commandments, to the greatest harm, 
 and dishonour, and danger, that may be imagined 
 against her person, state, and dignity." * 
 
 He protested, not without a show of reason, that he 
 was hke to be worse punished " for well-doing than 
 any man that had committed a most h einous or traitor- 
 ous offence," and he maintained that if he had not 
 accepted the government, as he had done, " the whole 
 fetate had been gone and wholly lost." * All this— as 
 we have seen— had already been stoutly urged by Davi- 
 son, in the very face of the tempest, but with no result 
 except to gain tho enmity of both parties to the quarrel. 
 1 he ungrateful Leicester now expressed confidence that 
 the second go-between would be more adroit than tho 
 first had proved. -The causes why," said he, "Mr. 
 Davison could have told— mo man better,— but Mr 
 Heneage can now tell, who hath sought to the uttermost 
 the bottom of all things. I will stand to his report, 
 whether glory or vain desire of tide caused me to step 
 one foot forAvard in the matter. My place was great 
 enough and high enough before, with much less trouble 
 than by this, besides the great indignation of her Ma- 
 jesty. ... Jf I had overslipt the good occasion then 
 m danger, I had been worthy to be hanged, and to be 
 taken for a most lewd sei-A^ant to her Majesty, and a dis- 
 nonest wretch to my country."^ 
 
 But diligently as Heneage had sought to the bottom 
 of all things, he had not gained the approbation of 
 •11 u^^\ ^''" ^^'^'P *^^"Sht that the new man had only 
 111 botched a piece of work that had been most awk- 
 wardly contrived from the beginning. " Sir Thomas 
 Heneage said he, - hath with as much honesty, in my 
 opinion, done as much hurt as any man this twelvemonth 
 hath done with naughtiness. But I hope in God, when 
 her Majesty finds the truth of things, her graciousness 
 will not utterly overthrow a cause so behooveful and 
 costly unto her. * 
 
 He briefly warned the government that most disastrous 
 effects were likely to ensue, if the Earl should be pub- 
 licly disgmced, and the recent action of the States re- 
 versed. The penny-wise economy, too, of the Queen, 
 
 U^cester to Burjhiey. (MS. last . Sir P. Sidney to Rurghley, 18 MarcJ 
 ciuMi.; . 2bid. 3 Ibid. 1586. (S. 1\ Office MS.) 
 
422 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VII. 
 
 was rapidly pro^dng a most ruinous extravagance. " I 
 only cry for Flushing," said Sidney, '* but, unless the 
 moneys be sent over, there will some terrible accident 
 follow, particularly to the cautionary towns, if her Ma- 
 jesty mean to have them cautions." * 
 
 The efiect produced by the first explosion of the Queen's 
 wrath was indeed one of universal suspicion and dis- 
 trust. The greatest care had been taken, however, that 
 the affair should be delicately handled, for Heneage, 
 while doing as much hurt by honesty as others by naugh- 
 tiness, had modified his course as much as he dared in 
 deference to the opinions of the Earl himself, and that 
 of his English coimsellors. The great culprit himself, 
 assisted by his two lawyers, Clerk and Killigrew, had 
 himself drawn the bill of his own indictment. The 
 letters of the Queen to the States, to the council, and to 
 the Earl himself, were, of necessity, delivered, but the 
 reprimand which Heneage had been instructed to ful- 
 minate was made as harmless as possible. It was ar- 
 ranged that he should make a speech before the council, 
 but abstain from a protocol. The oration was duly pro- 
 nounced, and it was, of necessity, stinging. Otherwise 
 the disobedience to the Queen would have been flagrant. 
 But the pain inflicted was to disappear with the first 
 castigation. The humiliation was to bo public and 
 solemn, but it was not to be placed on perpetual record. 
 
 " We thought best," said Leicester, Heneage, Clerk, 
 and Killigrew — "according to her Majesty's secret 
 instructions — to take that course which might least 
 endanger the weak estate of the Provinces — that is to 
 say, to utter so much in words as we hoped might 
 satisfy her excellent Majesty's expectation, and yet 
 leave them nothing in writing to confinn that which 
 was secretly spread in many places to the hindrance of 
 the good course of settling these aflairs. Which speech, 
 after Sir Thomas Heneage had devised, and we both 
 perused and allowed, he, by our consent and advice, 
 pronounced to the council of state. This wo did think 
 needful, especially because every one of the council 
 that was present at the reading of her Majesty's first 
 letters was of the full mind that, if her Majesty should 
 again show the least mislike of the present government, 
 
 I Sir PMllp Sidney to Burghley. (MS. just clteU.) 
 
 158G. EFFECT OF QUEEN'S LETTERS TO THE STATES. 423 
 
 or should not by her next letters confinn it, they were 
 all undone— for tJiat every rmn would cast with himself which 
 way to make his peace,'' ' 
 
 Thus adroitly had the " poor gentleman, who could 
 not hnd It in his heart to come again into the place 
 where-by his own sufferings torn-he was made to 
 appear so lewd a person "—provided that there should 
 remain no trace of that lewdness and of his sovereiim's 
 displeasure upon the record of the States.* It was not 
 long too before the Earl was enabled to surmount his 
 mortification ; but the end was not yet. 
 
 The universal suspicion, consequent on these pro- 
 ceedings, grew most painful. It pointed in one in4ri- 
 able quarter. It was believed by all that the Queen 
 was privately treating for peace, and that the transaction 
 was kept a secret not only from the States but from her 
 own most trusted counsellors also. It would be diflicult 
 to exaggerate the pernicious effects of this suspicion. 
 VVhether it was a well-grounded one or not, will be 
 shown in a subsequent chapter, but there is no doubt 
 that the vigour of the entei-prise was thus sapped at a 
 most critical moment The Pmvinces had never been 
 more heartily banded together since tlie fatal 10th of 
 July, 1584, than they were in the early spring of 1580. 
 
 nor Is there in the daily register of the 
 sessions of the States General for 1586— 
 which I have examined, page by page, 
 very carefnlly-a trace of the dissatisfac- 
 tion of the Queen, or of the angty 
 correspondence which ensnetl. after the 
 acceptance by Leicester of the "absolute " 
 government. All the pieces have been 
 lost— probably secreted at the period ; so 
 that no one could tell at present, by 
 consulting the Hague Archives only, that 
 there had been a quarrel. Bor, Metertn 
 and other contemporaries, give an ac- 
 count of the transaction, in the main 
 correct, although most of th?m are of the 
 opinion that the Queen's anger was mere 
 pretence, and that she was desirous 6f 
 assuming the sovereignty, in ca.se the 
 l^rovinces were deemed by I^icesUr 
 capable of maintaining their own cause. 
 This view, as we have seen, was quite 
 erroneous. 
 
 It is remarkable that between 23 Feb. 
 and 11 April, 1586, the Statcs-Geuerai 
 Were not in session. 
 
 1 " The Resolution of my Lord. &c., 
 for the speech I should use to the Coun- 
 cil of the States upon the letters written 
 from H. Majesty in March. 14 March, 
 1586." Signed by Leicester, Heneage, 
 Clerk, and Killigrew. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 * In the foreign correspondence, or 
 "despatch books," between the States- 
 Genera! and England, there are no letters 
 either from Queen Elizabeth, or from 
 Ortell, who was in Eitgland during the 
 whole of the year 1586, as agent of Holland 
 and Zeeland, and, at the close of the year, 
 was added to the number of commission- 
 ers sent by the States-General to the 
 Queen. Nor are there any letters ad- 
 dressed to Elizabeth or to Ortell, although 
 there are a few notes (which I have 
 used) made by the persons to whom was 
 entrusted tke task of drawing up letters 
 to be sent by Davison In the middle of 
 February 1586, and afterwartls. There 
 are, indeed, no letters of 1586 relative to 
 England, or to the Leicester govtrnment. 
 to be Ibuud in the archives of the Hague; 
 
4?4 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VII. 
 
 t 
 
 They were rapidly organizing their own army, and, if 
 the Queen had manifested more sympathy with her ovm 
 starving troops,' the united Englishmen and Hollanders 
 would have been invincible even by Alexander Famese. 
 
 Moreover, they had sent out nine war-vessels to cruise 
 off the Cape Verd Islands for the homeward-bound 
 Spanish treasure-fleet from America, with orders, if 
 they missed it, to proceed to the West Indies ; so that, 
 said Leicester, " the King of Spain will have enough to 
 do between these men and Drake." ' All parties had 
 united in conferring a generous amount of power upon 
 the Earl, who was, in truth, stadhokler-general under 
 grant from the States— and both Leicester and the 
 Provinces themselves were eager and earnest for the 
 war. In war alone lay the salvation of England and 
 Holland. Peace was an impossibility. It seemed to 
 the most experienced statesmen of both countries even 
 an absurdity. It may well be imagined, therefore, that 
 the idea of an underhand negotiation by Elizabeth would 
 cause a frenzy in the Ketherlands. In Leicester's 
 opinion, nothing short of a general massacre of tho 
 English would be the probable consequence. " No doubt, * 
 said he, " the very way it is to put us all to the sword 
 here. For mine own part it would be happiest for me, 
 though I wish and trust to lose my life in better sort." ** 
 
 Champagny, however, was giving out mysterious hints 
 that the King of Spain could have peace with England 
 when he wished for it. Sir Thomas Cecil, son of Lord 
 Burghley, on whose countenance the Stiites especially 
 relied, was returning on sick-leave from his government 
 of the Brill, and this sudden departure of so eminent a 
 personage, joined with tho public disavowal of the recent 
 transaction between Leicester and the Trovinces, was 
 
 1 " I will not trouble your Lordship," 
 wrote Leicester to Burghley on the 15th 
 March. 1586, " with anything that may 
 privately concern myself. I see what the 
 acceptation of my services is, and how 
 little it avalleth to allege most Juat 
 reasons In defence of them. But though 
 I see I am. and must be, disgraced, which 
 God I hope will give me strength to bear 
 patiently, yet let me entreai your L'p 
 to be a mean to her M. that the poor 
 soldiers be not beaten for my sake. 
 
 There came no penny of treasure over 
 since my coming hither. That whidi 
 then came was most part due before it 
 came. There is much due to ihem. 
 They cannot get a penny. Their credit 
 is spent. They i>erish for want qf 
 victual and clotkivg in gieat numbers. 
 The whole and some are ready to 
 mutiny," &c. S. P. Office MS. 
 
 « Leicester to Burghley, 17 March, 
 1684. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 » Ibid. 
 
 1586. STATES EXCUSE THEIR CONDUCT TO THE QUEEN. 42;» 
 
 producing a general and most sickening apprehension 
 as to the Queen's good faith. The Earf dE M to 
 urge these matters most warmly on the consideration of 
 the English council setting forth that the States wei^ 
 stanch for the war, but that they would be beforehand 
 with her If she attempted by underhand means to com- 
 pass a peace. - ]f these men once smell any such 
 matter, wrote Leicester to Burghley, ''be ycfu " e 
 they will soon come before you, to the utter overthrow 
 of her Majesty and state for ever." ' 
 
 The Earl was suspecting the -folse boys," by whom 
 he was surrounded, although it was impossible for h m 
 to perceive, as we have been enabled to do, the wide- 
 spread and intricate meshes by which he was enveloped. 
 
 \ouv Papists m England," said he, - have sent over 
 word to some m this company, that all that they ever 
 
 shall be called away m greatest indignation with her 
 Majesty, and, to confirm this of Champagny, I have 
 myse f seen a letter that her Majesty is n hand with a 
 secret peace. God forbid ! for if it be so, her Swy 
 her realm, and we, are all undone " * ^ 
 
 .J^^^''^''''? '"l *^^ Provinces was still sincerely loyal 
 towards England. " These men," said Leicester, "yet 
 honour and most dearly love her Majesty, and haiX 
 I know will be brought to believe ill of W any way " 
 Aevertheless these rumours, to the discredit of her good 
 faith, were doing infinite harm ; while the Earl, although 
 keeping his eyes and ears wide open, was anxious not 
 to comprx)mise himself any fnrtlier with his sovereign 
 by appearing himself to suspect her of duplicity.' 
 (^ood my Lord," he besought Burghley, "do not let 
 her Majesty know of this concerning Champa^y as 
 coming from me, for she will think it" is doncTr^my 
 own cause, which, by the Lord God, it is not, but even 
 on the necessity of the case for her own safety, and the 
 realm, and us all. Good my Lord, as you will do any 
 good in the matter, let not her Majesty understand any 
 piece of It to come from me." » ^ 
 
 The Stafes-General, on the 25th March, N.S., addressed 
 a respectful letter to the Queen, in reply to .5 
 her vehement chidings. They expressed their S^'"--^=^««- 
 
 Leicester to Burghley, MS. last cited. 2 u,i^ , ^^^ 
 
426 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VH. 
 
 1586. 
 
 deep regret that her Majesty should be so offended 
 with the election of the Earl of Leicester as absolute 
 Kovemor. They confessed that she had just cause of 
 displeasure, but hoped that when she should be informed 
 of the whole matter she would rest better satisfaed 
 with their proceedings. They stated that the authority 
 was the same which had been previously bestowed 
 upon provemors-general ; observing that by the word 
 "absolute," which had been used in designation of 
 thiit authority, nothing more had been intended than to 
 give to the Earl full power to execute his commission, 
 while the sovereignty of the country was reserved to the people. 
 This commission, they said, could not be without danger 
 revoked. And therefore they most humbly besoiight 
 her Majesty to approve what had been done, and to 
 remember its conformity with her own advice to them, 
 that a multitude of heads, whereby confusion m tlic 
 government is bred, should be avoided.' 
 
 Leicester, upon the same occasion, addressed a letter 
 to Burghley and Walsingham, expressing himself as 
 became a crushed and contrite man, never more to 
 raise his drooping head again, but warmly and maniully 
 urging upon the attention of the English government— 
 for the honour and interest of the Queen herself—" the 
 miserable state of the poor soldiers." The necessity of 
 immediate remittances, in order to keep them from 
 starving, was most imperious. For himself, ho was 
 smothering his wretchedness until he should learn her 
 Majesty's final decision as to what was to become of 
 him. *' Meantime," said he, " I caiTy my grief inward, 
 
 LEICESTER DISCREDITED IX HOLLAND. 
 
 » The letter is given in Meteren, xli. 
 234. Wagenaar (vlll. 121. note 4) ob- 
 serves very correctly, that, when the 
 States were thus Rlibly explaining away 
 the word " absolute, " they had either not 
 read over very carefully the commission 
 granted by themselves to Leicester, or 
 trusted that the (jueen would not cloaely 
 examine that document. In this ori- 
 ginal contract with the Earl were these 
 words : " Item, his Excellency shall have 
 lull authority and absolute power (voile 
 macht en absoluyt geweld) within the 
 Provinces in the matter of polity and 
 Justice (in 't stuck van de politie en 
 Justitie)." Comp. Bor. 11. 686. Groot 
 Pldkaat Boek, iv. i»i. Metereu, ubi sup. 
 
 Bor, Meteren, and many contemporary 
 writers, as well as Wagenaar and other 
 more modern authorities, are quite mis- 
 taken in representing the whole angry 
 demonstration made by the Queen in 
 n'gard to this acceptance by Leicester of 
 the "absolute," government as a farce, 
 and a farce which had been previously 
 arranged. We have seen from the pri- 
 vate letters of the period how very 
 genuine was the ill humour of Elizabeth. 
 
 Tlie state-council also, on the 27 March, 
 1586 (N.S.), addresstd a letter to the 
 Queen, of similar tenour to that written 
 by the States-Gt- neral. Printed In Bruce's 
 ' Leyc. Corresp.' Append. 468, 469. 
 
 427 
 
 and will proceed till her Maiestv'a fnii ^i 
 
 by the enemy." i ^ ^ ^"^^ '^ ^^^^^^» ^^t not 
 
 There is no doubt that the mihlin ri;.^ 
 flicted upon the broken-heaSed gove^orfrd'tW^"' '"• 
 censure administered to the States T? f I.', n ° ^'''''^''^ 
 both ill-timed and undese^ed Yvht?evtr"Li;"r 
 ingenuousness towards Davison, whatve/ h^ H " 
 
 sti^t^^ti^L ^^^ ix -^^^ ^ '- 
 
 ^J^ far he &^^^ ^f iS^iJ 
 
 poSSs^fTdJt-itr ''V''' ^^"- ^p- 
 
 subject. " It is a ?hi,Hr«l f ^°°^ language on the 
 "that the care and duLn'J "^«edible," said he, 
 could, in so smaH tin.n T "'^ °^ *"^ '''"' '"an living 
 jointed and W an ±L' '" °'""^r '^P*''«d «° '^^^ 
 country in. BuTC heTouS s^^ll'-rprfrof th 1 
 bis good success, your Lordship knoweth that Co/), fl 
 so tempered the cause with lie WMWtinn <^ ^•'**^ 
 way well hold him in J^ construction thereof, as 
 
 things." » Cal Ided wf ^ v» '^''^^'''*'°° "^ ^"""^n 
 ne|tiatio* i^t^^^^^^^ 
 
 ■h-mg his master anrl +ha+ ,•+ • • i • -^tidjesiy unto the 
 
 Provinces anrl ir, Vr.J\ I /.?P , ^^ *^® obedient 
 
 which the oueen^h^^^^^^ P^^^^^^^ ^^ 
 
 ^ tne gueen had placed the favourite. Most 
 
428 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VIl. 
 
 I 
 
 / 
 
 I 
 
 « 
 
 galling to the haughty Earl—most damaging to the 
 cause of England, Holland, and liberty— were the tales 
 to his discredit, which circulated on the Bourse at 
 Antwerp, Middelburg, Amsterdam, and in all the other 
 commercial centres. The most influential bankers and 
 merchants were assured by a thousand chattering— but 
 as it were invisible — tongues, that the Queen had for a 
 long time disliked Leicester ; that he was a man of no 
 account among the statesmen of England ; that he was 
 a beggar and a bankrupt ; that, if he had waited two 
 months longer, ho would have made his appearance in 
 the Provinces with one man and one boy for his fol- 
 lowers ; that the Queen had sent him thither to be rid 
 c.f him; that she never intended him to have more 
 authority than Sir John N orris had ; that she could not 
 abide the bestowing the title of Excellency upon him, 
 and that she had not disguised her fury at his elevation 
 to the post of governor-general.' 
 
 All who attempted a refutation of these statements 
 were asked, with a sneer, whether her Majesty had ever 
 written a line to him, or in commendation of him, since 
 hiTs arrival. Minute inquiries were made by the Dutch 
 merchants of their commercial coiTesi)ondent8, both in 
 their own country and in England, as to Leicester's 
 real condition and character at home. What was his 
 rank, they asked, what his ability, what his influence 
 at court ? Why, if he were really of so high quality as 
 had been reported, was he thus neglected, and at last 
 disgraced ? Had he any landed property in England ? 
 Had he really ever held any other office but that of 
 master of the horse ? *' And then," asked one particular 
 busybody, who made himself very unpleasant on the 
 Amsterdam exchange, " why has her Majesty forbidden 
 all noblemen and gentlemen from coming hither, as was 
 the case at the beginning? Is it because she is 
 hearkening to a peace ? And if it be so," quoth he, " we 
 are well handled ; for if her Majesty hath sent a dis- 
 graced man to amuse us, while she is secretly working 
 a peace for herself, when we — on the contrary — had 
 broken off" all our negotiations, upon confidence of her 
 Majesty's goodness, such conduct will be remembered 
 
 a Bruce'B • Leyc. Corresp." 214-219. ^ April. 1586. 
 
 1536. EVIL CONSEQUENCES TO HOLLAND AND ENGLAND. 420 
 
 to the end of the world, and the Hollanders will never 
 abide the name of England again." ' 
 
 On such a bed of nettles there was small chance of 
 repose for the governor. Some of the rumours were 
 even more stinging. So incomprehensible did it seem 
 that the proud sovereign of England should send over 
 her siibjects to stai-^^e or beg in the streets of Flu^hin- 
 and Ostend, that it was darkly intimated that Leicester 
 had embezzled the funds, which, no doubt, had been 
 remitted for the poor soldiers.^ This was the most cruel 
 blow of all. The Earl had been put to enomuus 
 charges. His household at the Hague cost liim a 
 thousand pounds a month. He had been paying and 
 furnishing five hundred and fifty men out of hi? own 
 purse. He had also a choice regiment of cavalry 
 numbering seven hundred and fifty horse, three hundred 
 and titty of which number were over and above those 
 allowed for by the Queen, and were entirely at his 
 expense. He was most liberal in making presents of 
 money to every gentleman in his employment. He had 
 deeply mortgaged his estates in order to provide for 
 these heavy demands upon him, and professed his 
 willingness " to spend more, if he might have got any 
 more money for his land that wa^ left ;" and in the face 
 of such unquestionable facts—much to the credit cer- 
 tainly oi his generosity «— he was accused of swindlin"- 
 a Queen whom neither Jew nor Gentile had ever yet 
 been sharp enough to swindle ; while he was in reality 
 plunging forward in a course of reckless extravao-ance 
 m order to obviate the fatal eff'ects of her penurious- 
 ness. ^ 
 
 Yet these sinister reports were beginning to have a 
 poisonous effect. Already an alteration of mien was 
 perceptible in the States-Geneml. " Some buzzing there 
 18 amongst them," said Leicester, " whatsoever it be 
 Ihey begin to deal veiy strangely within these few 
 days Moreover, the industry of the Poleys, Blunts, 
 and lagets, had turned these unfavourable circum- 
 stances to such good account that a mutiny had been 
 near breaking out among the English troops. " And, 
 
 » Bruce'g • Leyc. Corresp.,' last cited. 3 jM(J. 2U-2I9. 
 
 • 'Leyc. Corresp,' 216, ^ April, 15S6. * ^^"*- 
 
430 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VH. 
 
 before the Lord I speak it," said the Earl, " T am sure 
 some of these good to^vns had been gone ere this, but 
 for my money. As for the States, I warrant you, they 
 see day at a little hole. God doth know what a forward 
 and a joyful country here was within a month. God 
 send her Majesty to recover it so again, and to take care 
 of it, on the condition she send me after Sir Francis 
 Drake to the Indies, my service here being no more 
 
 acceptable." ' 
 
 Such was the aspect of affairs in the Provinces after 
 the first explosion of the Queen's anger had become 
 known. Meanwhile the court- weather was very change- 
 able in England, being sometimes serene, sometimes 
 cloud}-, always treacherous. Mr. Vavasour, sent by the 
 Earl with desi>atches to her Majesty and the council, 
 had met with a sufficiently benignant reception. She 
 accepted the letters, which, however, owing to a bad 
 cold with a defluxion in the eyes, she was unable at 
 once to read ; but she talked ambiguously with the 
 messenger. Vavasour took pains to show the immediate 
 necessity of sending supplies, so that the armies in the 
 Netherlands might take the field at the earliest possible 
 moment. ** And what," said she, " if a peace should 
 come in the mean time ?" * ^^ 
 
 "If your Majesty desireth a convenient peace,* 
 replied Vavasour, " to take the field is the readiest way 
 to obtain it ; for as yet the King of Spain hath had no 
 reason to fear you. He is daily expecting that your 
 own slackness may give your Majesty an overthrow. 
 Moreover, the Spaniards are soldiers, and are not to be 
 moved by shadows." " 
 
 But the Queen had no ears for these remonstrances, 
 and no disposition to open her coff"er8. A warrant for 
 twenty-four thousand pounds * had been signed by her 
 at the end of the month of March, and was about to be 
 sent, when Vavasour arrived ; but it was not possible 
 for him, although assisted by the eloquence of Wal- 
 singham and Burghley, to obtain an enlargement of the 
 
 J • Leyc. Corresp.,' last cited. 
 
 « Bniwe 'Leyc. Corresp.' 194, 195, 
 
 SI March 
 '?i-==^, 1586. 
 10 April ' 
 
 3 Ibid. 
 
 * This sum, added to the 62.00nf. al- 
 
 ready advanced, maile 76.0001. in all, 
 "which," eaid Burghley, "her Mtjesty 
 doth often repeat with great offence." 
 _ SI March ,,„^ 
 
 • Uyc. Comsp/ 199, -^^ , 1580. 
 
 1586. EVJL CONSEQUENCES TO HOLLAND AND ENGLAND. 431 
 
 Elm "" b„t 'w ° '*°™' r ?\'''^1°^"." said WaUing- 
 Jiam, but I fear your Lordship shall receive vei v 
 scarce measure fn,m hence. You will not believe how 
 the sparing humour doth increase upon ns " ' 
 
 *!, * L'^^''^ ^^'^ ^^"7^^ ^° thoroughly overblown but 
 that there were not daily indications of retumi^ fo { 
 
 weather. Accordmgly-after a conference wi"h Va- 
 
 ^thTrn"'^^'"^ ^""u- >^^«'°g>>am had an interviet 
 with the Queen, m which the Lord Treasurer used bold 
 
 Z 1T°.JT^"°".- "<^ protested to her that he was 
 bound both by his duty to himself and his oath as her 
 councillor to declare that the course she was holdin' 
 to Lord Leicester was most dangerous to her owS 
 I'l.Tk i?. T*' ""f "^^^'^^ "'*''« '°t<=°"^^d to continue 
 LorH Til„ """'^"l*'. ^^ ^^Sed to resign his office of 
 Lord Treasurer ; wishing, before God and man, to wash 
 his hands of the shame and peril which he s^w c^uld 
 not be avoided. The Qucen.'Ltonished at the audadU 
 of Burghley 's attitude and language, hardly knew 
 whether to chide him for his presumVion or to listen 
 to his arguments. She did both. She"^ taxed him with 
 insolence in daring to address her so roundly, and then 
 o,?t ."? i"^*^ speaking even m amarUudim animce and 
 W;™; A T <=o°«Fi<^°<=e, she became calm again, and 
 
 abse"^t^ri/''P°'^*'°'' *° "l""^'^^ ^'' "^"g^^ ^^^'^t '^^ 
 
 thfi*;>i n^' *° ^M"" ^^°'^' *^<' *^o councillors found 
 tLt b^H 9"««^^l»^d again changed her mind-" as one 
 mt hod been by some adverse counsel seduced." She 
 expressed the opinion that affairs would do well enou<.h 
 ^\^A ^l*^^!?'"^' even though Leicester were d?s- 
 &„■ ^,<'°i''^^«JJ<=e followed between Walsingham, 
 
 to W M*^ .^"'i^J^^' """^ *«" *'^« tl>^<'« went again 
 to her Majesty. They assured her that if she did not 
 
 B^nllTfh P^ '-'P' to.^^ti'^fy the States' and the 
 and W ^ P^'O^'nces, she would lose those countries 
 
 ^ev w Vr ^°™'" *** *° '^'"^ t^'"^ : and that then 
 woteM?ni ^^7 * s^roo .of danger to her instead of 
 protection and glory. At this she was greatly troubled, 
 and agreed to do anything they mi|ht ^vise coj 
 
 ^ Bruces • Leyc. Corresp.' 191,*'^*"'', 
 
 7 April' - - 10 April 
 
 1586. 
 
 » Ibid. 197. "'^•-I^. 1586. 
 10 Apnl 
 
 » Bruce, • Loyc. Corresp 198. last cited. 
 
432 
 
 THt: UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VII. 
 
 ) 
 
 \i} 
 
 Kistently witli her lionour. It was then agreed that 
 Leicester should be continued in the government which 
 he liad accepted until the matter should bo further con- 
 sidered, and letters to that effect were at once written. 
 Then came a messenger from Sir Thomas Heneage, 
 briuo-ina; despatches from that envoy, and a second and 
 most^'secret one from the Earl himself. Burghley took 
 the precious letter which the favourite had addressed 
 to his royal mistress, and had occasion to observe its 
 magical effect.' W aLsingham and the Lord Treasurer 
 had been right in so earnestly remonstrating with him 
 on his preVious silence. ,, a - 
 
 " She read your letter/' said Burghley, '' and, m 
 very truth, I found her princely heart touched with 
 favourable interpretation of your actions; affirming 
 them to be only offensive to her in that she vm not rnad^ 
 vriw to them ; not mw mulikimj that you luid the authority: ^ 
 Such, at fifty-three, was Elizabeth Tudor. A gentle 
 whisper of idolatry from the lips of the man she loved, 
 and she was wax in his hands. Where now were the 
 vehement protestations of horror that her public declara- 
 tion of principles and motives had been set at nought? 
 AVhere now were her vociferous denunciations ot the 
 States, her shrill invectives against Leicester, her big 
 oaths, and all the hystenca passio, which had se^t poor 
 Lord Burghley to bed with the gout, and inspired the 
 soul of Walsingham with dismal forebodings? Her 
 anger had dissolved into a shower of tenderness, and it 
 her pai-simony still remained it was because that could 
 only vanish when she too should cease to be. 
 
 And thus, for a moment, the gi*ave diplomatic differ- 
 ence between the cro^vn of England and their high 
 mightinesses the United States-upon the solution of 
 which the fate of Christendom was hangmg-seemed to 
 shrink to the dimensions of a lovers quarrel. W as it 
 not strange tliat the letter had been so long delayed .'' 
 
 » This letter was prolmbly very tender 
 and personal, for no trace of it is to be 
 found in the Knglish archives. 
 
 « Bruce'8 ' Leyc Curresp.' 193, 199, 
 3lM*rrh ^^^g ^^^^ ^^^^^ wwk^ later. 
 10 April' 
 
 after the news of the success of the h-arl 
 before Grave (to be d ■sctJImhI hi a sob- 
 sequent chapter) had reached England 
 
 Walsingham ob9er\ed to Leicester, " I do 
 assure your Lordship I think her Majesty 
 took OA much joy upon tlie view of your 
 letter, in seeing you restored to your 
 firmer comfort, grounded upon her fa- 
 \ our, as she did in the overthrow of the 
 
 enemy.' Ibid. 230, y^. 1M6. 
 
 1586. MAGIC EFFECT OF A LETTEU FROM LEICESTER. 433 
 
 the States, an'd td gained 'otht^^^^^^ ''^• 
 
 ■save abuse from the Oueen . ^ 1 ^ • ^ • <=lo4«ence, 
 
 iVom the Earl. He ^J^^^ly TsLZZTC^rr' 
 the cause of the errino- fivmirifT i ^<^^^i by pleading 
 
 8h..ld have .poke'n'forhlre r*':. ?^':Mr%^°""*i 
 said Walsingham, " doth tat,> it J ■ "^''^^", 
 
 your Lordship should conceive so h^rl^fT^^^^^' '^"* 
 do. I find the conceit of vC Lordsl fn^, a ^"^ ""V' 
 greatly dejected him But at Z^Tl-^ disfavour hath 
 her Majesty was so incensed as aH tT "' ''" """'''''^ 
 ^in the world co^lt hat ^l^" tl^! 
 
 remained the same but tho n,.! , ° •■"•gumcnts 
 
 that Leicester shlhf tV^rthX"' t"'"' 
 natural that the Lord Treisi.rer ILf ?i ^' , ■"* """^ 
 faction at this auspicious rcTidt ^^°"" "^I"*^^^ ^'^ «^««- 
 
 an'owin^yr":"' LTeiZrV^*"^*''.'' '"^ «»''^' "- 
 spot of ?vil meaCo- an") T ti . !^*"'TS y^" °f "">■ 
 resolution,. ^^lohTou mit . "° ' ^'"^ *° '"*«*^" ''e'r 
 fevourablJ gooteiesrVrn^^'t^Lni^'" ^ 
 nahjre to throw over your shoulder hat Xlit^t"- 
 pes'ncX^.^ SS;.t:d%n K been'-t/iCnd 
 
 him on the chan-e In wT . * T"^ *^ congratulate 
 i\.,^ • • ^"^^"o^ "1 Jier Majesty '.s demeanour " Th,^ 
 
 ^ZT,'^ T 7'^ ^'^^^ *^^™ ^^th you now "he sa/d 
 and, thanks be to God wpII r»ooifi^:i i ' ^^^' 
 her ' sweet Robin: "^ pacified, and you are again 
 
 ho had be°en repr^^^^^^^^ as ^^^1 '" ?"' ^^"^^ '''^' 
 
 1 Tlr*iiyvA t T ^>t 1 
 
 ' ^««. 'Loyc. Corresp.' 206, i April. 1586. 
 
 2 Ibid. 190,^1^"^'' 
 
 VOL. r. 
 
 ' Ibid.193, m.*'"'^'' 
 
 8 April, 
 
 1« April ' 
 
 1586. 
 
 15S6. 
 
 2 F 
 
434 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 ciiAr. vn. 
 
 ijf 
 
 bade Walsingliam declare to the Earl, upon lier honour, 
 that Raleigh had dune good offices for him, and that in 
 the time of her anger, he had been as earnest in his 
 defence as the best friend could be. It would have 
 been singular, indeed, had it been otherwise. " ^our 
 Lordship," said Sir Walter, - doth well understand ray 
 affection toward Spain, and how I have consumed the 
 best part of my fortune, hating the tyrannous prosperity 
 of that state. It were strange and monstrous that i 
 should now become an enemy to my country and con- 
 science. All that I have desired at your Lordships 
 hands is that you will evermore deal directly with me 
 in all matters of suspect doubleness, and so ever esteem 
 me as you shall find me deserving good or bad. In the 
 mean time, let no poetical scribe work your Lordship by 
 any device to doubt that I am a hollow or cold servant 
 
 to the action." ' , , , ,_ i 
 
 It was now agreed that letters should be drawn up 
 authorising Leicester to continue in the office which he 
 held, untilthc state-council should devise some moditi- 
 cation in his commission. As it seemed, however, very 
 improbable that the board would devise anything of 
 the kind, Burgliley expressed the belief that the country 
 was like to continue in the Earl's government without 
 any change wliatever. The Lord Treasurer was also of 
 opinion that the (Queen's letters to Leicester would 
 convey as much comfort as he had received discomfort ; 
 although he admitted that there was a great differ- 
 ence. Tlie former letters he knew had deeply wounded 
 his heart, while the new ones could not suddenly sink 
 so low as the wound.* . 
 
 The despatch to the States-General was benignant, 
 elaborate, slightly diffuse. Tlie Queen's letter to ' sweet 
 Eobin ' was caressing but argumentative. ^ ^ 
 
 "It is alwavs thought," said she, " in the opinion of 
 the world, a liard bargain when both parties are losei-s, 
 and so doth fall out in the case between us two. You, 
 as we hear, are greatly grieved in respect of the great 
 displeasure you find we have conceived against you. 
 We are no less grieved that a subject of ours of that 
 quality that you are, a creature of our own, and one 
 
 1 Bruce, • Loyc. Coircsp.' just dted. 
 
 t Ibid. 202, 'l-""f. 1586. 
 10 A\>Til, 
 
 1586. HER. LETTERS TO THE STATES .AND THE EARL. 435 
 
 ning of our reTg^^iXtl t' Z'l'jT ,:„^<^ ^^ 
 contemptuous y, as to give the wmor/ ■ f •*' *" "^'y 
 that wi are ha'd'in co„?empt b^L m hft ZZ *° '""l''^ 
 respect and reverence us, which wc r ntc ^ """f* **" 
 wrought as great grief in us as i^ otX: S '"''* 
 happened unto us. ^ ^^^ *^^* ^^'"^^ 
 
 •' ^^e are persuaded that you that linvn^.i i 
 us, cannot think that evor^eTuh^^^^ 
 
 grieved and wounded mind Whl; * ^"'i^"^ >"'"' 
 
 LX« *; -• rH "£H '-*' 
 
 do find so littfe ISf ^'' ""'^'"'''"' "'« ourselves 
 
 professeth to ve j'ubJs ^'S ^ i'"' ^^r'^'^ 
 your well doinc: or dU-w 7 7 * '"'"''' '^^'^^oH of 
 ourself."' ^' '*'*<='""'^"rt of your evil doing, than 
 
 "cariy as possible into hi tw„ tnds tV^ T'"'-'^ 
 
 "u'cffrr^'" *''^ -^'"4 of^bJo^^r^^^^^^^ 
 witU:' stt- riro-^L^Th^c'r ^^^^^^^^ 
 
 2-enorfll T+ L^ **^"^"& only that of her heuteuant- 
 tlierefore willinir Xt *l rovmces, and she was 
 
 ' Bruce, • Leyc. Corresp.' 2C9. April y^r u r. . 
 
 I 15S6 V"'^' '^^ ^'^ addressed a shorter letter 
 
 *• ' of similar tenour to the FJarl. 
 
 'Ibid. Quoen to Leicester ""'"'=»' 30 ^» h«r litters of the same date to 
 
 16S6- (S. P Office M*{^ n' fr^'°' "7*^^*"' ^''<^ *^«°S^"tul.aed lK.th h-rsel/ 
 
 ko. r. uffice MS.) On the duy and Uie envoy that he liad not bc-en SQ 
 
 2 F 2 
 
436 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VII. 
 
 Until this soothing intelligence could arrive in tlie 
 Ketherlands the suspicions concerning the underhand 
 
 precipitate in executinp, as she had been 
 in ordaining, the condign and public 
 chastisement of the great delinquent. 
 Sir Thomas might, in the humour in 
 which the t^een now found herself, have 
 even ventured upon a still longer delay, 
 aiid a more decided mitigation, of the 
 sentence. Tender, Indet-d, was the tone, 
 compared with that in which she had so 
 lately communicated her sentiments to 
 the departing diplomatist, in which she 
 now expressed her satisfaction that he 
 had not been hasty In obeying "her 
 secret directions touching the revocation 
 of her cousin the Earl's goveniment." 
 
 •* We perceive by your letters," she 
 observed, " that if the same had been 
 executed according to our first purpose, 
 it would have wrought some dangerous 
 alteration in the state there, and utterly 
 have overthrown the reputation and 
 credit of our cousin, no lets prejudicial to 
 our service than the utter defacing and 
 overthrow of one whom we ourselves 
 have raiseii up, and have always found 
 as greatly devoted to our service as ever 
 sovereign found any subject. Though 
 in his late proceeding touching the ab- 
 solute government he did greatly lor- 
 get himself, yet we would never have 
 proceeded against him so severely had 
 not our honour been touched. We are 
 well persuatkHi that this ollence and error 
 grew not out of any evil m^anins toward 
 "o, whose service we know he doth prefer 
 even before his own life. And although 
 we luve assured him »> nuuh by our 
 own letters, directed t<» him, yet we think 
 meet you should lalxinr. by all means, to 
 comfort him, whose mind— as we under- 
 stand from yoursi'lf and others— is greatly 
 woundtxi and overthrown, and also to re- 
 move any hard opinion that may be 
 formed against him. as a man quite 
 shaken out of our favour." Queen to 
 Heneage. April ~, 1586. (S. P. Office 
 
 MS.) 
 
 She reiterated her instructions as to 
 the repairing, as handsomely as possible, 
 of tlie luirl's broken heart. In a style which 
 was almost pathetic. 
 
 " You have been an eye-witness," she 
 said, *• of the great love we have always 
 borne him above any subject we have, and 
 
 therefore you can easily guess Ihe grief 
 we should conceive if he should miscaiTy. 
 We doubt not therefore that you will 
 leave nothing undone that may salvo his 
 wounded mind, and repair his credit. If 
 you find the same decayed." 
 
 She was desirous that Sir Thomas 
 should be the medium through which 
 the Earl's pardon should be communi- 
 cated to the States, as he had already been 
 the vehicle which had borne to them her 
 wrath. Although, therefore, she had 
 written to themselves very much at 
 length, sht' had yet rtserved certaui poltitii 
 upon which they were referred to the 
 envoy for details, This proceeding she 
 intended as an especial compliintnt to 
 Heneage. " Forasmuch," so she expressed 
 herself, " as you have already yielded the 
 one part of the scorpion which is to 
 wound, we think that we should do you 
 wrong if you should not deliver some 
 matter of contentment, whereby you may 
 cure." (Ibid.) 
 
 She then proceeded to handle the two 
 points contained in the last missive of the 
 States-General to herself. Upon tlie lirst, 
 namely, that the absolute government 
 conferred on the Earl was not repugnant 
 to the original treaty, and was offensive 
 rather In name than In matter, she rea- 
 soned at considerable length. Her KTounds 
 of objection are, however, suflicienily 
 well known. She considered that the 
 acceptance without her permlssit)n sa- 
 voun-d of contempt, and that an implied 
 permission on her part was an Impeach- 
 ment on the self-denying nature of her 
 orlpinal declarations. She had b<?< n mcist 
 anxious, therefore, lest " the world should 
 condemn her. as guilty of cunning and 
 unprincely dealing ; " nor had she seen 
 the need of the extreme haste with 
 which the matter had been concluded 
 without previous communication to her- 
 self. 
 
 As to the second point in the messnpe 
 of the States— that the Queen would lie 
 pleased to " stay the revocation of the 
 authority granted " to Leicester, because 
 of the imminent danger of such a proceed- 
 ing— her Majesty's benignity, comparil 
 with her ferwlty but a few short weeks 
 before, seemed almost incredible. 
 
 1586. SHE PERMITS THE GRANTED AUTHORITY. 437 
 
 negotiations with Spain grew daily more rife, and the 
 discredit cast upon the Earl more embarrassino-. Tlie 
 
 "You shall proceed, in the answering 
 of this point," said she, " according to such 
 resolution as shall be taken by our cousin 
 the Earl, upon debathig the matter with 
 you and such others as he shall call unto 
 him for that purpose." (Ibid.) 
 
 Just one fortnight before, the Earl had 
 been forced to statjd, as it were, in a white 
 sheet, with candle in hand, before the 
 state-council. His heart had been broken 
 in consequence, and he hatl resolved 
 never again to appear in that chamber 
 ■where he had been maile to enact so sorry 
 a part. Now a blank paper was fur- 
 nished to himself and Heneage, which 
 they were to inscribe with the most flat- 
 tering expressions that could be desired 
 from royal lips. 
 
 " You shall use all the persuasions you 
 may," said Elizabeth, "to remove any 
 opinion that may be conceived by the 
 council of state to the hlnderance or pre- 
 judice of our cousin the Earl's former 
 reputation, as though the qualification 
 which we now seek proceeded of any mis- 
 like that we had of any honour that hath 
 been or may be yielded to him. . . . 
 Assure them that they can no way better 
 show the good-will they bear towards us 
 than by continuing their former devotion 
 toward the Earl, of whose love and devo- 
 tion towards us, you may tell them, we 
 make that account as of no other subject 
 more." (Ibid.) 
 
 She then alluded to the reports " thrown 
 abroad" that she had a secret intention 
 of treating for her own peace with the 
 enemy apart, as " malicious bruits " :— 
 "For as our fortune," said she, in the 
 the most explicit language which pen 
 could write, "is so joined with thelr.s, 
 tliat the good or evil success of their 
 affairs must needs harm or prosjjer ours, 
 so you may assure them that we, for our 
 part, are resolved to do nothing that may 
 concern them without their own knowledge 
 and good lik-ing." ( Ibid. ) 
 
 The despatch to the States-General was 
 very explicit on the subject of the title, 
 but most affectionate In style. 
 
 •• We find by your late letters," said 
 tie Queen, " that you are greatly grieved 
 through some mislike conceived by us 
 against you, In respect of the ofifer to our 
 
 cousin of Ivolcester of the absolute l'o- 
 vei^ment of the United Provinas being 
 made without our privity, and contrary 
 to our express commandment to the siiid 
 fjarl. We pray you. In this case, to con- 
 s der that we were not rashly carried Into 
 this mislike, neither could we have l>een 
 drawn into so hani and severe a course 
 had we not Iwn provoked by two thingj 
 that do greatly Import us in honour. The 
 one, that the Ejirl's acceptation, contrary 
 to our commandment, might work in the 
 opinion of the world, that it proceeded of 
 contempt; the other, that we sought to 
 abuse the world, iu pretending outwardly 
 that our proceedings with those countries 
 tended only to relieve them In their dls- 
 tressed state against such as sought to 
 tyrannise them, when tlie acceptation of 
 the absolute government by the Earl, 
 being a creature of our own. and known 
 to be wholly at our devotion, could not 
 but give them just cause to conceive 
 otherwise of us. A matter we had just 
 cause to look into, considering what a 
 number of evil and malignant spirits do 
 reign In these days, that are apt, upc^n 
 tlie least advantage that may be, to 
 deliver out hard and wicked censures of 
 princes' doings." Queen to the States- 
 
 ^ , ao March 
 
 General, ^ ^^^.^ , 1586. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 The States were then reminded that, 
 although there was nothing absolutely 
 incomjKitible in the absolute goveniment 
 as accepted by Leicester with the nature 
 of the original treaty, the Queen had reso- 
 lutely set her face from the beginning 
 against any such step, because she was 
 " loath to give the world cause to think 
 that she was moved by any other respect 
 to assist them than by the love she bore 
 them and the commiseration she had for 
 their affiiction." (Ibid.) 
 
 "And therefore," she continued, " seeing 
 there was no special matter contained In 
 the treaty that might any v.-ay give him 
 any authority to accept the offer, reason 
 would that before the matter had been 
 proceeded in, we had been first made 
 acquainted therewith. For we do not 
 see, for anything that yet hath been 
 declared unto us touching certain pre- 
 tended dangers, but that the acceptation 
 
 1 
 
438 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chai-. VII. 
 
 private letters whicli passed between the Earl's enemies 
 Fn Holland and in England contained matter more damag- 
 i„<r to himself and to the cause which he had at heart 
 than the more public reports of modem days can d s- 
 Snare, which"! being pLtent to all can ^o more cas,ly 
 contradicted. Leicester inces.santly ^^f^^^? "^^ 
 Icag^tes of her Majesty's council against the malignant 
 
 mamifacturers of intelligence " I P'"''/ ;^°"; " f, ^^Cu 
 
 as von are wise," said he, " beware of them all. iou 
 
 'Jhall find them here to bo .M pick-thinks, and hardly 
 
 worth the heuikening unto." ' *i, * wo« Lpaned" 
 
 He complained bitterly of the disgrace that ^v"« ^eapeJ 
 
 upon him both publicly and privately, «»d of the e^.l 
 
 consequences which were sure to follow ?;«««'« «°"'^^^. 
 
 pursued. " Never was man so villanonsly handled by 
 
 etters out of England as 1 have been, «aid he _ not 
 
 only advertising her Ma csty's great di.liko ^1*1 ."« 
 
 Se this my "coming "^ • ^"\**M 7^^^ »" "'l'^, 
 min in England, and so long as I tarried here that no 
 Tip was to%e iJoked for, thai her Majesty would send 
 
 thereof might have beon d.'luye<i tintU 
 onr pleasure had been first known. We 
 hope iJiat you have put on tliat conceit of 
 us. as we would have l>een loath, either In 
 relpect of yourselves or of our cousin the 
 Karl, to have proceeded so severely as we 
 Intei'idwl. if we hud not Ixnn Justly pro- 
 v.'kiHl thereunto. For yourst>lvcs. our 
 love towaixls you cannot more plainly 
 appear than in that we do opi^ose our- 
 selves, for your sake, unto one of the 
 mightiest p«»tenUtes In Europe, without 
 n^Md either to the expense of our trea- 
 sure, or of our subjrcto' lives. And as 
 touching the l-Jii I, all the world knowelh 
 that he Is one of onr own raising, and we 
 do acknowledge that no man can airry 
 moro love than he hath ever shewed to 
 bear towards ua. And touching the 
 ctuse of this our prest^nt offence, we do 
 acknowledge our pt^rsuaslon that the 
 same proceeded of no evil meaning to 
 wards us. though good intents many 
 times bring forth dangerous and evil 
 frulta. If the offence hatl not grown out 
 of a public and op«'n action, none would 
 have been more ready to have hidden the 
 same than ourselves. Therelore. we pray 
 you U) think that this mlsllke of ours 
 hatU grown rather out of grief, In respect 
 
 of the love we bear him, than out of 
 indignation, as one of whom we have con- 
 ceived a minister opinlt)ii, whom we do 
 esteem jvs greatly devote d towards ua as 
 ever subject was to prlnc?; and so we 
 hope you will use him, without either 
 diminishing any part of tliut good-will 
 and love that y<mhave hitherto professeil 
 Ujwards him, or leaving that respect that 
 Is due unto him as our mitilster, or that 
 he may Justly challenge at your handn. 
 who. for your'sakes. Is content to expose 
 both his life and fortune unto any peril, 
 which Is not the Icjisl cause why wo 
 esteem so greatly of him. And whenas. 
 by your late letters, you have slgidfle»l 
 that the commission and authority grant- 
 ed unto him cannot be revoked without 
 great p<rll to the state, we liave given 
 authority to our cousin the Fj\rl. and 
 to our servant Sir Thomas Ileneage. to 
 oMifer with you upon 8«jme course to 
 ha taken, as we conceive both onr honour 
 maybe savni and the pt>rll avolde«l. We 
 pray you to bend y..ur*lves U) do that, 
 as both the one and the other may be 
 provided for." (Ibid.) 
 
 » Leicester to Burghley, -- April, 1586. 
 (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 SSC. UNHAPPY RESULTS OF THE QUEEN'S COUUSE. 439 
 
 no more men or money, and that I was nsed here but for 
 a time till a jieace were concluded between her Majesty 
 and the Prince of Parma. What the cuntinuance of a 
 man's discredit thus will turn out is to be thouo-ht of 
 for better 1 were a thousand times displaced than that 
 her Majesty's great advantage of so notable Provinces 
 should be hindered." ' 
 
 As to the peace-negotiations— which, hoAvever cun- 
 ningly managed, could not remain entirely concealed— 
 the Earl declared them to be as idle as they were disin- 
 genuous. " I will boldly pronounce that all the peace 
 you can make in the world, leaving these countries " 
 said he to Burghley, " wnll never prove other than a fair 
 spring for a few days, to be all over blasted with a hard 
 storm after."* Two days later her Majesty's comforting- 
 letters amved, and the Earl began to raise his droopin^ 
 head. Heneage, too, was much relieved, but he was, at 
 the same time, not a little perplexed. It was not to 
 easy to und(j all the mischief created by the Queen's 
 petulance. Tlie " scorpion's sting "—as her Majesty ex- 
 pressed herself— might be balsamed, but the poison had 
 spread far beyond the original wound. 
 
 "The letters just brought in," wrote Heneao-e to 
 Burghley, '* have well relieved a most noble and ''suffi- 
 cient servant, but 1 fear they will not restore the much- 
 repaired wrecks of these far-decayed noble countries 
 into the same state I found them in. A loose, disordered, 
 and unknit state needs no shaking, but propping. A 
 subtle and fearful kind of people should not be made 
 more distrustful, but assured." *« He then expressed an- 
 noyance at the fault already found with him, and surely 
 if ever man had cause to complain of reproofs admi- 
 nistered him, in quick succession, for not obeying contra- 
 dictory directions following upon each other as*quickly, 
 that man was Sir Thomas Heneage. He had been, as 
 he thought, over cautious in administering the rebuke 
 to the Earl's arrogance, which he had been exi)ressly 
 sent over to administer; but scarcely had he accom- 
 plished his task, with as much delicacy as he could 
 devise, when he found himself censured, not for dila- 
 toriness, but for liaste. '* J^aidt, 1 perceive,'' said he to 
 
 J I>>ice8t€r to Burghley. MS. last cited. s «,.„„„„„ , . « , , « . .. 
 
 2 lua. Heneage to Burghley, ^^ April, 1586. 
 
 S. P. Office 31S.) 
 
 •« .-;:,»».•> a^^ 
 
440 
 
 THE UNITED NETFIIIILANDS. 
 
 Chap. VII. 
 
 1586. 
 
 HEK VARIABLE MOODS. 
 
 441 
 
 Bnrgbley, " is found in me, not by your Lordship, but by 
 some other, that I did not stay proceeding if 1 found tJiepaUui 
 cmise might take hurt. It is true I bad good warrant for 
 the manner, the place, and the persons, hnt ior the matter 
 wne, for done it must he. Her Majesty's offence must be 
 declared. Yet if I did not all I possibly could to uphold 
 the cause, and to keep the tottering cause upon the 
 wheels, 1 desei-ve no thanks, but reproof." ' 
 
 Certainly, when the blasts of royal rage are remem- 
 bered, by which the envoy had been, as it were, blown 
 out of England into Holland, it is astonishing to find his 
 actions censured for undue precipitancy. But it was 
 not the first, nor was it likely to bo the last time lor 
 comparatively subordinate agents in Elizabeth's govern- 
 ment to be distressed by contradictory- commands, when 
 the sovereign did not know, or did not choose to make 
 known, her own mind on importiint occasions. *' Well, 
 my Lord," said plaintive Sir Thomas, " wiser men may 
 serve more pleasingly and happily, but never shall any 
 serve her Majesty more faithfully and heartily. And so 
 I cannot be persuaded her Majesty thinketh ; for from 
 herself I find nothing but most sweet and gracious 
 favour, though by others' censures I may gather other- 
 wise of her judgment, which I confess doth cumber 
 
 " a 
 
 me. 
 
 He was destined to be cumbered more than once before 
 these negotiations should be concluded, but meantime 
 there was a brief gleam of sunshine. The English friends 
 of Leicester in the Netherlands were enchanted with 
 the sudden change in the Queen's humour ; and to Lord 
 Burghley, who was not, in reality, the most stanch of 
 the absent Earl's defenders, they poured themselves out 
 in profuse and somewhat superfluous gratitude.* 
 
 Cavendish, in strains exultant, was sure that Hurghley's 
 children, grandchildren, and remotest posterity, would 
 rejoice that their great ancestor, in such a time of need, 
 had been " found and felt to be indeed a pater patrite, a 
 
 « I^etter to Burgbley. MS. last cited. 
 
 » Ibid. 
 
 » North to Burghley, - April, 1586. 
 
 (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 N'o greater mistake could have been 
 made than to insinuate, as I.elccster'a 
 ikiglisli correspoudeuts had Insinuated, 
 
 that North was a secn-t enemy to IxMces- 
 ter.andhad maligned him in hib letters to 
 influential personages at home. I have 
 read many of Northe unpublished letters 
 to Burghley and other statesmen, and 
 they all speak of the Earl in strongest 
 language of admiration and attachment. 
 
 good father to a happy land." And, altliough unwillin"- 
 to " stir up the old Adam " in his Lordship's soul, he vet 
 took the liberty of comparing the Lord Treasurer, in his 
 old and declining years, to Mary Magdalen, assuring him, 
 that tor ever after, when the tale of the preservation of 
 the Church of God, of her Majesty, and of the Nether- 
 land cause, which were all one, should be told, his name 
 and well doing would be held in memory also.' 
 
 And truly there was much of honest and generous en- 
 thusiasm, even if couched in language somewhat startliii"- 
 to the eai-s of a colder and more material age, in the 
 hearts of these noble volunteers. ITiey were fio-htino- 
 the cause of England, of the Netherland republic, and 
 ot human liberty, with a valour worthy the best days of 
 English chivalry, against manifold obstacles, and they 
 were certainly not too often cheered by the beams of 
 royal favour. 
 
 It was pity that a dark cloud was so soon again to 
 sweep over the scene. For the temper of Elizabeth at 
 this important juncture seemed as capricious as the 
 April weather in which the scenes were enacting A\ e 
 have seen the genial warmth of her letters and messao-es 
 to Leicester, to licneage, to the States-General on The 
 first of the month. Nevertheless it was hardly three 
 weeks after they had been despatched, when W'alsino-- 
 ham and Burghley found her Majesty one morning in^a 
 towering passion, because the Earl had not already laid 
 down the government. The Lord Treasurer ventured 
 to remonstrate, but was bid to hold his tongue. Ever 
 variable and mutable as woman, Elizabeth was perplex- 
 ing and baffling to her counsellors, at this epoch, beyond 
 
 ' Richard Cavendish to Burghley, — 
 
 April. 1586. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 " It may please j-ou to think with 
 yourself what a favour the Ix)rd hath 
 liereln bestowed upon you in these your 
 old and declining years, nanxiy, from 
 yt'ur good and happy labours to adoni 
 your posterity with the note of this most 
 Just and worthy renown, that such a 
 father, a grandfather, or ancestor of theirs, 
 hi such a needful time, was both foimd 
 and fell to be indeed pater patriae, a good 
 father to a happy land. Suspicion of 
 flattery ought of right to be secluded. 
 
 where assured truth doth etiforcethe con- 
 clusion. Neither do 1 write this to stir 
 up in your Lordship old Adam, but 
 knowing you well have learned Christ. I 
 do It only to quicken in you the Jov of 
 well-doing, grounded upon faith. For 
 If the I»i-d himself refrained not to 
 add unlo Mary Magdalen's well-dolng 
 this ornament unto her name for ever, 
 that wheresoever the Gospel should be' 
 preached, there should also the me- 
 morial of that her act be had in record, 
 then doubt I not but tliat example may 
 well warrant me," &c. 
 
 .«»-*- 
 
 ; 
 
442 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VII. 
 
 all divination. The " sparing humour " was increasing 
 fearfully, and she thought it would be easier fur her to 
 slip out of the whole expensive enterprise, provided 
 Leicester were merely her lieutenant-general, and not 
 stadholder for the Provinces. Moreover the secret ne- 
 gotiations for peace were producing a deleterious effect 
 upon her mind. Upon this subject, the Queen and 
 Burghley, notwithstanding his resemblance to Maiy 
 Magdalen, were better informed than the Secretary, 
 whom, however, it had been impossible wholly to de- 
 ceive. The man who could read secrets so far removed 
 as the Vatican was not to be blinded to intrigues going 
 on before his face, llie Queen, without revealing more 
 than she could help, had been obliged to admit that in- 
 fonnal transactions were pending, but had authorised the 
 Secretary to assure the United States that no treaty 
 would be made without their knowledge and full con- 
 currence. ''She doth think," wrote Walsingham to 
 Leicester, " that you should, if you shall see no cause 
 to the contrary, acquaint the council of state there that 
 certain overtures of peace are daily made unto her, but 
 that she meaneth not to proceed therein without their good 
 Ukincf and pnmty, being persuaded that there can no peace 
 be made profitable or sure for her that shall not also 
 stand with their siifety ; and she doth acknowledge hei-s 
 to bo 80 linked with theirs as nothing can fall out to their 
 prejudice, but she must be partaker of their harm." > 
 
 This communication was dated on the 21st April, ex- 
 actly three weeks after the Queen's letter to Heneage, 
 in which she had spoken of tlie " malicious bruits" con- 
 cerning the pretended peace-negotiations ; and the 
 Secretaiy was now confirming, by her order, what she 
 had then stated under her own hand, that she would 
 " do nothing that might concern them without their own 
 knowledge and good liking J* 
 
 And surely nothing could bo more reasonable. Even 
 if the strict letter of the August treaty between the 
 (^ueen and the States did not provide against any sepa- 
 rate negotiations by the one party without the know- 
 ledire of the other, there could be no doubt at all that 
 its spirit absolutely forbade the clandestine conclusion 
 
 tl April 
 
 » Bruce'8 • Leyc. Corrcsp.' 232, -f'tu' ^*®'* 
 
 1586. SHE ATTEMPTS TO DECEIVE WALSINGHAM. 443 
 
 of a peace with Spain by Englaml alone, or by the Xc- 
 herlands alone, and that such an arrangcn.ent wouKl 
 be disingennons, If not positively dishononrable. 
 
 >,»^ k'' ! f"" '' r"'*^ *'""""* ««'<>"> th'it Elizabeth 
 had been taking advantage of the day when she Is 
 
 wratmg her letter to Heneage on the Ist of A, 
 Xever was painstaking envoy more elaborately tr fled 
 with. On the 2(ith of the month-and only five d"v8 
 after the coinmnnication by Walsingham ji.st noticcd- 
 the Queen was furions that any admission should have 
 been made to the States of their right to particitto 
 with her m peace-negotiations. ^ "cipato 
 
 " W e find that Sir ITiomas Ilcneasce " said she to 
 Leicester, ..hath gone further-in assuring^he S^te^ 
 that we would make no peace without their privitv and 
 assent-than he had commission; for that our direc 
 tion was -If our meaning had been well set dov™ and 
 not m.s aken by our Secretary-that they should'havo 
 been only let understand that, in any treaty that mioht 
 pass between us and Spain, they might be well ai red 
 we would have no less care of their°safety than of our 
 
 Secretaiy Walsingham was not likely to mistake her 
 
 llTl^' Ar"'""' 'V^\'' ^"^ other^important ato 
 ot state. Moreover, it so happened that the Queen had 
 
 m her own letter to Heneage, made the same statenient 
 which she now chose to disavow. She had often a con- 
 venient way of making herself misunderstood, when slie 
 thought It desirable to shift responsibility from her own 
 shoulders upon those of others ; but upon this occa- 
 sion she had been sufficiently explicit. Nevertheless a 
 scapegoat was necessary, and unhappy the subordinate 
 who happened to be .N-ithin her Majesty's reach when a 
 vicarious sacrifice was to be made. Sir Francis \\ al- 
 
 1 Queen to Leicester, *'^^I'-"-.i586. (S. 
 P. Office MS.) ' *"^ 
 
 Almost the same words wore used In a 
 letter to Sir Thomas Heneage of the same 
 
 . . 86 April 
 ^^' « May • ^5*«- (S- P- Office MS.) 
 
 Printed .ilso in Bruce, p. 241, from a copy 
 in the handwriting of Heneage in the 
 British Museum. 
 
 2 "When she chargeth your Lord- 
 »lilp," wrote Walsingham to Leicester, 
 
 (- May, 15S6), "with the acquainting 
 the council of State there with th^ ovr-r- 
 tures of peace made unto her by tht- Pi In( e 
 of Parma as a fault, herein your Lord-hip 
 is wronged, for the fault is mine, if Miiy 
 were committed. But in vtry truth, ghg 
 gave me commavdment to direct you to 
 acquaint them v-ithal, though nmi the does 
 tfewy it. I have received, within the.>;e 
 few days, many of these hard measurcb." 
 Brace's ' Ltyc, Corn sp." p. 272. 
 
 I 
 
 ||||[^|||||||j|j|{|||:)l|||g:]||{g , 
 
444 
 
 THE UNITED ^LTHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VII. 
 
 singliani was not a man to be brow-beaten or hood- 
 winked, but Heneage was doomed to absorb a feaiful 
 amount of royal wrath. 
 
 "What phlegmatical reasons soever were made 
 you,'* wrote the Queen, who but three weeks before had 
 been so gentle and aftectionate to her ambassador, " liow 
 happeneth it that you will not remember, that when a 
 man hath faulted and committed by abettors tliereto, 
 neither the one nor the other \n\l willingly make their 
 owTi retreat. Jesus! whiit availeth wit, when it fails 
 the owner at greatest need ? Do that you are bidden, 
 and leave your considerations for your own affairs. For 
 in some things you had clear commandment, which you 
 did not, and in others none, and did. We princes be 
 wary enough of our bargains. Think you I will be 
 bound by your own speech to make no peace for mine oicn 
 vuitters without their consent ? It is enough that I injure not 
 tlieir count)^ nor tfiemselves in making peace for them without 
 tfieir consent. I am assured of your dutiful thoughts, but 
 I am utterly at squares with this childish dealing." * 
 
 Blasted by this thunderbolt iiiUing upon his head out 
 of serenest sky, the said Sir Thomas remained, for a 
 time, in a state of political annihilation. " Sweet Rubin " 
 meanwhile, though stunned, was unscathed— thanks to 
 the convenient conductor at his t^ide. For, in Eliza- 
 beth's court, mediocrity was not always golden, nor was 
 it usually the loftiest mountains that the lightnings 
 smote. The Earl was deceived by his royal mistress, 
 kept in the dark as to impoi-tant transactions, left to 
 provide for his famishing soldiers as he best might ; but 
 the Queen at that moment, though angry, was not dis- 
 posed to trample upon him. Tsow that his heart was 
 known to be broken and his sole object in life to be 
 retirement to remote regions — India* or elsewhere— 
 tliere to languish out the brief remainder of his days in 
 prayers for Elizabeth's happiness, Elizabeth was not 
 inclined very bitterly to upbraid him. She had too 
 recently been employing herself in binding up his 
 bi-oken heart, and pouring balm into the "scorpion's 
 sting," to be willing so soon to deprive him of those 
 alle\iation8. 
 
 .„ _ « April,,.- ^^ from a copy In the handwriting of Hene- 
 
 1 QueentoHeneage. -, ^^^ . 1586. (S.P. ^^^ ^^ ^^^ p^,^ ^^^ 
 
 Office MS.) Printed also in Brace (p. 243), a Bracc't • Leyc. Corresp.' p. 21 7. 
 
 ^s 
 
 1586. 
 
 HER INJUSTICE TO HENEAGE. 
 
 445 
 
 Her tone was, however, no longer benignant, and her 
 directions were extremely peremptory. On the 1st of 
 Apnl she had congratulated Leicester, Heneage the 
 States and all the world, that her secret command; had 
 been stayed, and that the ruin which wouM W fol 
 owed, had those decrees been executed accordin/to 
 her first violent wish, was fortunately averted IJe 
 neage was even censured, not by hei-elf Lnf 1 
 courtiers in her confidence and witLercoL^;!^^^^ 
 for being over hast, in going before the state com oil a ^ 
 
 he ooth nT A ""• \^'' '^''''^'' ^^^ commands On' 
 the 2Gth of April she expressed a^stonishment that He 
 neage had dared to be .. dilaforg, and that the title of 
 
 hanP"" Sh/'* ^''u Y"" ^^"^ ^y Leicester Zut / 
 strlL. il f . ^f^7^"^d greatly, and found it very 
 strange that " ministers in matters of moment shn^ilrl 
 presume to do things c^ their own head'Sut" 
 ho ;. accordingly gave orders that there should 
 
 be no more dallying, but that the Earl should i 
 media ely hold a conference with the state-council ?n 
 order to arrange a modification in his commiss on It 
 was her pleasure that he should retain all he ^utho 
 niy granted to him by the States, but as aWv 
 intimated by her, that he should abandon the t tie o^f 
 absolute governor," and retain only that of hoi 
 heutenant-general.« ^ ^^ ^^^^ 
 
 «ihll^!.'*-f'!?^^ ^^""^ Heneage, placed in so respon- 
 sible a situation and with the f^xte of England of 
 Holland, and perhaps of all Christendom, hano- n- in 
 great measure upon this delicate negotiation shmid b^ 
 amazed at such contiadictoi^^ orders, anrgrTeved by 
 such inconsistent censures ? ^ ^ 
 
 wrJ"" i^^^ y""'' "^^V S''^'''^^ ''^"^ "^y lacks," said he to 
 Walsmgham, "would little pleasi you or help me 
 Iherefore I will say nothing, but think there was neve; 
 man in so great a seivice received so little comfmr.^.? 
 so contrarious directions. But * Dominus estTdt w 
 tribulationibus.' If it be possibSm: rt^^':oZ 
 certam direction, in following which I shalTnot oS 
 
 1 Queen to Leicester, ^~^\ i586. (S.P. ' ^^'d. See also Queen to Honoage 
 
 Office AIS.) ' ,,ui. faniedate. (S. P. Office MS. ; and priuted 
 
 iDia. in Bruce, p. 242.) 
 
 H 
 
 Pi 
 
446 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VII. 
 
 I'i 
 
 her Majesty, what good or hurt soever 1 do he- 
 sides " ' 
 
 Th'is certainly seemed a loyal and reasonahle request, 
 yet it was not one likely to he granted. Sir Thomas, 
 perplexed, puzzled, hlindfolded, and hrow-heaten, al- 
 ways endeavouring to obey orders when he could com- 
 prehend them, and always hectored and lectured whether 
 he obeyed them or not-ruined in purse by the expenses 
 of a mission on which he had been sent without ade- 
 quate salarj^-appalled at the disaffection waxing more 
 lormidable every hour in Provinces which were re- 
 cently so loyal to her Majesty, but which were now 
 pervaded by a suspicion that there was aouble-dealiug 
 upon her part-because quite sick of his life. He fell 
 seriously ill, and was disappointed, when, after a time, 
 tlie physicians declared him convalescent, i^ or when 
 he rose from his sick-bed, it was only to plunge once 
 more, without a clue, into the labyrinth where he seemed 
 
 to be losing his reason.. „r , • i .. • t 
 "It is not long," said he to Walsingham, " since 1 
 looked to have written you no more letters, my extre- 
 mity was BO great But God's will is best ; other- 
 wise I could have liked better to have cumbered the 
 earth no longer, where I find myself contemned, and 
 which 1 find no reason to see will be the better m the 
 
 wearing'- It were better for her Majesty's service 
 
 that the directions which come were not contrarious one 
 to another, and that those you would have serve might 
 know what is meant, else they cannot but much deceive 
 you, as well as displease you." * 
 
 Public opinion concerning the political morality ot 
 the English court was not gratifying, nor was it 
 rendered more favourable by these recent transactions. 
 -1 fear," said Ileneage, "that the world will judge 
 what Champagny wrote in one of his letters out of 
 England (which I have lately seen) to be over trite. 
 His words be these, ' Et de vray, c'est le plus fascheux 
 ot le plus incertiiin negocier de ceste court, que je 
 pense soit au monde.' " * And so " hasting," as he said, 
 " with a weak body and a willing mind, to do, he 
 feared, no good work," he set forth from Middelburg 
 
 1 Heneage to WaLsinghtun. ^ May. 1 586. « Same to same, 1 May. 15S6. (S. P. 
 
 (S. P Office Md.) 
 
 Office MS.) 
 
 •Ibid. 
 
 1586. 
 
 HIS PERPLEXlir AND DISTRESS. 
 
 447 
 to rejoin Leicester at Arnheim, in order to obey as well 
 
 if .'?l^' ^H ^"""^'^ ^^^^«* directions.' ^ ' " 
 
 iiut before he could set to work fli^r^ r.o,., 
 ;'c.p„trari.,us" orders. The iJi^MLTH:?. 
 Leicester and himself, were that the EarF hould r^si-^ 
 the post of governor absohite " out of hand " l^wP 
 ueen had been vehement in denounig":'; delL on 
 such an occasion. He was now informed thnfnft 
 consulting with Leicester and with the stato 1' ,'' 
 he was to return to England witrthert^J^ttS 
 Fnr^' n"'\ -^^ T\'^ ^ afterwards decided how ,e 
 Ear could retain aU the authority of governor absohe 
 
 ~^«"'"fCii;!''-' ''''' ^' 'he Qien'slL"^: 
 
 " that i,;« T^ J ^- f °,'."S '" ""'• ^'^ Walsiugham 
 that his Lordship should presently give it over T,r 
 she foreseeth in her princely iudjnuf.n+tl/i ."^^r-.'"' 
 over the government ?,pon7 Sn anlwl^^jr"^^ 
 countries without a heid or director' cannot b.^t^^'^^ 
 » most dangerous alteration ther;!"»'~ seeretrrv 
 therefore stated the royal wish at mesoJfc,hT?!T2' 
 •'renunciation of the' title" sUrbe dew" tiU 
 lleneage could visit England, and subsequentty return 
 
 the as^^"i' ^i''-\ Majesty's further dir^cetionrEve™ 
 
 tJie astute W alsingham was himself puzzled howevo, 
 
 while conveying these ambiguous orders Vndh^.' 
 
 fessed that he was doubtful whether 1^' i ad rW. ' J 
 
 comprehended the Queen's intentions. Bw^Wey t>;^ 
 
 ever, was better at guessing riddles than he was "nd 
 
 so I eneagc Mas advised to rely chiefly upon Kighlo- 
 
 But Hencage had now ceased to be interested in m^ 
 
 enigmas that luightbe propomided hy iClngutCotu! 
 
 «or could he find comfort, as Walsingham had recoml 
 
 Hene.iRe to Burghley, same date (S. P. 
 OfTue MS.) " For her M^esty's service," 
 said he to the Lord Treastirer, as he had 
 MJd to the Secretary of State, " it wero 
 vory convenient, that sudi as you would 
 have serve you here might know tnUy 
 what you meiui, and might accordingly 
 hive cort.iin directions what to do. And 
 surely Jiitherto. so have not I had, wliich 
 Is the only cause why I cannot in this ser- 
 vice please you there, which God knoweth 
 1 most care for. If J could tell how." 
 
 ' \\'alsirigliam to Heneage. '* May, 
 
 1586. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 ^ Same to same. Same date 
 
 Mbid "This I take to l; the sub. 
 sUtnce of her Majesty's pleasure." sa.d 
 Sir Hancis." which she willed both the 
 I/.rd Ireasurer and Mr. Vice-Cham l>er- 
 la.n. together with myself, to signify unto 
 yuu praying you, for that I think my 
 l.ord Treasurer hath best conc^-ived her 
 Majesty's meaning, that you will cln. fly 
 rely upon such direction as you biiall 
 receive from blm." MS. last cited 
 
 i:! 
 
 f! 
 
448 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VII. 
 
 mended ho should do, in railing. " I wish I conld 
 follow your counsel," he said, - but sure the uttering 
 of my choler doth little ease my gnef or help my 
 
 »» 1 
 
 He rebuked, however, the inconsistency and iho ter- 
 giversations of the government with a good dea of 
 dLmitv " This certainly shall I tell her Majesty, ho 
 safd '^if I live to see her, that except a more constant 
 course be taken with this inconstant people it is not 
 the blaming of her ministers will advance her Highness s 
 ser^'ice, or better the state of things. And shall I tell 
 von what they now say here of u«-I/f^^^^^^ "^^^^^ 
 ;ome cause-even as Lipsius wrote of the French ' Do 
 Gallis quidem enigmata veniunt, non veniunt, voiunt, 
 nolunt, andent, timent, omnia, ancipiti metu, suspcnsa 
 et suspecta.' God grant better, and ever keep you and 
 
 '^le'^announced to Burghley that he was about to 
 attend a meeting of the state-council the next day, for 
 the puiTOso of a conference on these matters at Amheim 
 and that he would then set forth for England to report 
 proceedings to her Majesty. He supposed on the 
 whole, that this was what was expected of him but 
 acknowledged it hopeless to fathom the royal intentions. 
 Yet if he went wrong, he was always sure to make 
 mischief, and, though innocent, to be held accountable 
 for others' mistakes. - Every prick I make, said he, 
 -is made a gash; and to follow the words of my 
 directions from England is not enough, except 1 likewise 
 see into your minds. And surely mine eyesight is not 
 so good. But I will pray to God tor his help herein. 
 With all the wit I have, I will use all the care I can- 
 first, to satisfy her Majesty, as God knoweth I have ever 
 most desired ; then, not to hurt this cause but that i 
 despair of." ' Leicester, as may be supposed, had been 
 muih discomfited and perplexed during the course of 
 these contradictory and pei-verse direc^tions. IhcBC is 
 no doubt whatever that his position had been made dis- 
 creditable and almost ridiculous, while he was really 
 doing his best, and spending large sums out ol his 
 private fortune to advance the true interests of the 
 
 •- Heneage to Walsingham. ^ . 1586. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 » Ibid. 
 
 »lbJd. 
 
 1586. 
 
 HUMILIATING POSITION OF LEICESTER. 
 
 449 
 
 ?^7\ ^^ ^f become a suspected man in the Nether- 
 lands having been, m the beginning of the year aWi 
 adored as a Messiah He had submitted to&umiH 
 ation which had been imposed upon him, of bdi^' 
 himself the medium to convey to the council the sever! 
 
 oTthlTtaZ^t^^^^^^ 
 
 forted by the aifectionat: e'^Sons'l^^^^^^^^^^^ rt 
 explosion of femmme and royal wrath had been sue 
 ceeded. He was now again distressed by the peremptu v 
 conmiand to do what wa« a disgrace^ to h^r^nd an 
 
 gmedy for all his anguis^ WuiL^ to^l^Zfe of 
 El zabeth s presence. He felt that her coui^e if per 
 sisted in, would ead to the destniction of the\ ether" 
 land commonwealth, and eventually to the downfaU of 
 England ; and that the Provinces, believing ihZlttel 
 deceived by the Queen, were ready to revoU aS an 
 authority to which, but a short time before ?hevlr« 
 so devotedly loyal. Nevertheless, he ony tisLd o 
 know wha his sovereign's commands distfnct y were 
 in order to set himself to their fulfilment He had 
 come from the camp before Nymegen in order to attend 
 the conference with the state-council at Arnheim and 
 he would then be ready and anxious to despatch 
 mSl'' ^""^'^'^ '' '^^^^ ^^^ ^lajesty s'finSetr' 
 He protested to the Queen that he had come upon this 
 arduous and perilous serviee only because he consideH 
 her throne m danger, and that this was the only means 
 of preserving it ; that, in accepting the absolute g^em' 
 ment;, he had been free from all ambitious motiv^^ b"^ 
 deeply impressed with the idea that only by .o doinl 
 could he conduct the enterprise entrusted to him to hf 
 desired consummation; and he declared with ffieat 
 
 PenTt^ htn! r ^'^T''''. '?: ^'^^ '^'' could Ln- 
 pensate him for this enforced absence from her. To bo 
 
 sent^back even in disgrace would still be a boon to him 
 lor he should cease to be an exile from her sight. He 
 knew that his enemies had been busy in defaming him 
 while he had been no longer there to defend himself 
 Dut his conscience acquitted him of any thought which 
 VOL. I. 2 Q 
 
 
450 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VII. 
 
 ] 
 
 t 
 
 \ 
 
 r 
 
 was not for her liappiness and glory Yet gnevons it 
 is to me," said lie in a tone of tender reproach that 
 having left all— yea, all that may be imagined— for yon, 
 you have left me for very little, even to the uttermost 
 of all hard fortune. For what have I, unhappy man, to 
 do here either with cause or country but for you . 
 
 He stated boldly that his services had not been in- 
 effective, that the enemy had never been m worse 
 plight than now, that he had lost at least five thousand 
 men in divers overthrows, and that, on the other hand, 
 the people and towns of the Seven Provinces had been 
 safely preserved. " Since my arrival,' he said, (jr(Ml 
 hath blessed the action which you have taken in hand, 
 and committed to the charge of me your poor unhappy 
 servant. I have good cause to say somewhat for myselt, 
 for that I think I have as few friends to speak for me as 
 
 any man." * ^ -,• i • -u 
 
 Nevertheless— as he warmly protested— his only wish 
 
 was to return ; for the country in which he had lost her 
 favour, which was more precious than life, had become 
 odious to him. The most lowly office in her presence 
 was more to be coveted than the possession of unlimited 
 power away from her. It was by these tender and soft 
 insinuations, as the Earl knew full well, that he was 
 sure to obtain what he really coveted— her sanction for 
 retaining the absolute government in the Provinces. 
 And most artfully did he strike the key. 
 
 »*Most dear and gracious Lady," he cried, "my care 
 and service here do breed me nothing but grief and un- 
 happiness. I have never had your Majesty's good 
 favour since I came into this charge— a matter that 
 from my first beholding your eyes hath been most dear 
 unto me above all earthly treasures. Never shall I love 
 that place or like that soil which shall cause the lack of 
 it. Most gracious Lady, consider my long, true, and 
 faithful heart toward yon. Let not this unfortunate 
 place here bereave me of that which, above all the 
 world, I esteem there, which is your favour and your 
 presence. I see my service is not acceptable, but rather 
 more and more disliketh you. Here I can do your 
 Majesty no service ; there I can do you some, at the 
 
 » lidoestertotheQueeo, ^^. 1W6. (S.P OflBceMS.) 
 
 >I1M 
 
 1586. 
 
 HIS MELANCHOLY LETTERS TO THE QUEEN. 
 
 451 
 least nib your horse's heels— a R*^rviV« -™,i. • i, r i, , 
 much more welcome to me tha^ fh™ A AS « "^ 
 men may give me. I do, humbly and WrnvV.? 
 prostrate at your feet bee- thJ. ^^ . ^^ "''*'■*• 
 hands, that you will be pissed tnW ""^ ^°"'" '^"^^ 
 home4ervice, with your fevotr let thT ''*"™.> ""^ 
 used in what sort shiil plelrand ike you r/r ^ 
 spark of favour was i„*^your Maiestv tow« J ^^"1 
 servant, let me obtain this mvhlttl -f "^ ^'°'"' °^<* 
 before the Majesty of all MaiS t ^rt^' P'"*''""*^ 
 cause under ri'ea/en but h3 yi„t ^t^^ °" 
 
 chamber touching thZoiTZZulZl Z^t 
 confirmation of his authoritv Thic T "^®„^^d the 
 
 pleasure is deolarprl fr. iV,^ «^y, , ^^^^^^^r. 'Your 
 
 willed it. How i^wil fin ont"""-' ^^'^ ^ ^'°" ^'-^ 
 
 construction, Z LTd knoweth •^"" '° ^"^ ^^J^'*^^'^ 
 
 Leicester might be forgiven for referrino- t« i,- i, 
 
 c^C"^ ^'"- ^'•y P-^iWe interpreSion o7hfrMaSl 
 changing humour; but meantime while IfrTf^ 
 
 was getting ready for his expeS^Ttion to^Englald^Z 
 
 wm.lAU yueen. ihe alternation of emotions 
 
 would however prove too much for him, he feared and 
 
 ' I^loester to tbe Queen. ^^, ,588. « Same to «.n^ «7 M.. 
 
 MS. last cit«l ' '"-' ^^ ^l *" ''™"' -«7un« • ^636. (S P. 
 
 Offlce MSt) 
 
 2 G 2 
 
 i 
 
452 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VII 
 
 Pi 
 
 lie was reluctant to open his heart to so unwonted a 
 
 tenant as joy. , j • 
 
 " But that my fear is such, most dear and gracious 
 Lady," he said, " as my unfortunate destiny will hardly 
 permit, whilst I remain here, any good acceptation of 
 so simple a service as mine. I should greatly rejoice 
 anil comfort myself with the hope of your Majesty's most 
 prayed for favour. But of late, being by your own 
 sacred hand lifted even up into Heaven with joy of 
 your favour, I was bye and bye,.without any new desert 
 or offence at all, cast down and down again into the 
 depth of all grief. God doth know, my dear and dread 
 Sovereign, that after I first received your resolute 
 pleasure by Sir Thomas Heneage, I made neither stop 
 nor stay, nor any excuse to be rid of this place, and to 
 
 satisfy your command So much I inislike 
 
 this place and fortune of mine, as I desire nothing in 
 the world so much as to be delivered, with your favour, 
 from all charge here, fearing still some new cross of 
 your displeasure to fall upon me, trembling continually 
 with the fear thereof, in such sort as till 1 may be 
 fully confirmed in my new regeneration of your wonted 
 favour, 1 cannot receive that true comfort which doth 
 appertain to so great a hope. Yet I will not only 
 acknowledge with all humbleness and dutiful thanks 
 the exceeding joy these last blessed lines brought to 
 my long-wearied heart, but will, with all true loyal 
 at^ectiun, attend that further joy from your sweet self 
 which may utterly extinguish all consuming fear away. 
 
 Poor Heneage — who 1 ikewise received a kind word 
 or two after having been so capriciously and petulantly 
 dealt with— was less extravagant in his expressions of 
 gratitude. *' The Queen hath hent me a paper plai^ter, 
 whi'ih must please for a time," he said. '* God Almighty 
 bless her Majesty ever, and best direct her."* He was 
 on the point of starting, for England, the bearer of the 
 States' urgent entreaties that Leicester might retain 
 the government, and of despatches announcing the 
 recent success of the allies before Grave. '* God pros- 
 pereth the action in these countries beyond all expecta- 
 tion," he said, " which all amongst you will not be over 
 
 » Leicester to the Queen, , j— . l!^*'^- 
 (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 Igst } 
 
 » Heneagp to Walsingham, 
 (S. r. Office MS.) 
 
 to May 
 Juoa' 
 
 15SG. 
 
 1586. HE RECEIVES A LITTLE CONSOLATION. 453 
 
 glad of, for somewhat I know." ' The intrimies of 
 Grafigny, Champagny, and Bodman, with Croft, Burgh- 
 
 republic. (Bruce. 469-471. i May. 1586.) 
 Six weeks later (June ll. 1686, NJS.). 
 aft^r receiving the last communications 
 of the Queen, the council again addressed 
 her m a similar strain, entrusting their 
 despatches to Heneage. who was settimr 
 forth according to her commands. They 
 expressed thelp deep aCaiction that she 
 should again so urgently demand ihe ab- 
 rogation of the government-general Kot 
 to comply with a requisition so seriously 
 and repeatedly made, was, as they acknow- 
 ledged. a grave offence. To comply with 
 It, however, without manifest peril to 
 the republic, was impossible. For the 
 whole conservation of authority depended 
 upon the Utle and office of governor If 
 that should shake and vacillate, they 
 feared that In this very beginning of their 
 prosperity, which was, through Divine 
 Providence, every day augmenting, all 
 things would fall headlong into utter ruin, 
 to the Joy of the common enemy, to whom 
 the authority conferred upon the Earl was 
 most formidable. For the lieutenancy of 
 the Queen, however great in Itself, could 
 never suffice to the administration of 
 political affairs, without the government- 
 general, which could not be adjoined to 
 the lieutenancy, but must proceed from 
 the superior power residing in the States- 
 QeneraL Again, therefore, they most 
 eamesUy besought her Majesty to pardon 
 the error which they had committed, 
 through immoderate devotion to herself, 
 and through the necessity of the times! 
 Her sacred breast would, It was hoped, be 
 moved to pretermit the proposed revoca- 
 tion, which could only be accompUshed 
 by solemn convocation of the orders, and 
 by exposhig the whole affair to the world, 
 a step which, on account of the fluctua- 
 tion of men's minds, and the insidious 
 suggestions of the enemy, would be at- 
 tended with infinite peril. They there- 
 fore most urgently demanded that the 
 execution of her demand should be de- 
 ferred, at least, to a more convenient 
 season. For the rest they referred the 
 whole matter to the report of Heneage. 
 who was about to return to Knglarid. 
 fully instructed as to the views and 
 wishes of the States. Uruce's 'Leyc. 
 Corresp.' 472. June J 1. 1586, N.S. 
 
 » Heneage to Walslngham, MS. Just 
 cited. Just before the envoy had sig- 
 nified to the States the last change in 
 the royal humour, the Netherland council 
 of state had addressed a letter to the 
 Queen. In this document they had ex- 
 cused the celerity with which, mov(d by 
 the necessity of the case, they bad conferred 
 the absolute government upon the Earl. 
 This measure, they said, passed by the 
 unanimous vote of the Provinces, had 
 wonderfully elevated the collapsed minds 
 of the patriots, and filled the enemy with 
 extreme consternation. The renewal of 
 a general authority had laid an excellent 
 foundation for completely restoring the re- 
 public, had curbed the ferocious hearts of 
 the enemy, had restrained the prc^ess of 
 a hostile army exulthig in a career of 
 extraordhiary victories, and, with the 
 blessing of God. ha.1 changed the fortunes 
 ofthe war. The prosperity of the United 
 Provinces had been restored by the 
 dignity, virtue, and assiduous solicitude 
 ot the illustrious Earl, and was dally on 
 the increase. They had therefore thanked 
 her Majesty for accepting so benlgnantly 
 their excuses for the authority conferred, 
 and for no longer requiring its dlminu- 
 Uon. They expressed th& opinion that 
 it would be perilous— in the fragile conr 
 dIUon of the republic -to change the 
 word (vocabulum) absolute government, 
 v^ich could only be done at a special 
 session of the States, called for that pur- 
 po«e. They feared that, by such a step, 
 at the very moment of restored authority', 
 they should throw prostrate all author- 
 ity, and overwhelm the commonwealth 
 with confuilon. They declared their de- 
 termination to cherish the dignity and 
 honour of Leicester, as being under God 
 and Her Majesty the foundation of their 
 existence and their felicity. The States 
 of the Provinces, and all individuals, 
 were agreed In admiring and venerating 
 his extraordinary prudence and assiduity. 
 'i'hey acknowledged that the eafety of 
 the whole republic depended upon the 
 care of the governor, who, moved by his 
 zeal for the true religion, and his pity for 
 their afflicted fortunes, had abandoned his 
 private Interests, his country, and the 
 I'reseuce of his sovereign, to encounter all 
 t-ie adverse chances of their perturbed 
 
 II 
 
454 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VII. 
 
 1586. 
 
 ley, and the others, were not so profound a secret as 
 they could wish. 
 
 The tone adopted by Leicester has been made manitest 
 in his letters to the Queen. He had held the same 
 lano-uago of weariness and dissatisfaction in his commu- 
 nications to his friends. He would not keep the office, 
 he avowed, if they should give him *' all Holland and 
 Zeeland, with all their appurtenances," and he was 
 ready to resign at any mom»mt. He was not " cere- 
 monious for reputation," he said, but he gave warning 
 that the Netherlanders would grow desperate if they 
 found her Majesty dealing weakly or carelessly with 
 them. As for himself he had already had enough of 
 government. " I am weary, Mr. Secretary," he plain- 
 tively exclaimed, " indeed I am weary ; but neither of 
 pains nor travail. My ill hap that I can please her 
 Majesty no better hath quite discouraged me." * 
 
 He had recently, however— as we have seen — received 
 some comfort, and he was still farther encouraged, upon 
 the eve of Heneage's departure, by receiving another 
 aflfectionato epistle from the Queen. Amends seemed 
 at last to be offered for her long and angry silence, and 
 the Earl was deeply grateful. 
 
 *• If it hath not been, my most dear and gracious 
 Lady,'* said he in reply, " no small comfort to your poor 
 old servant to receive but one line of your blessed hand- 
 writing in many months, for the relief of a most grieved, 
 wounded heart, how far more exceeding joy must it be, 
 in the midst of all sorrow, to receive from the same 
 sacred hand so many comfortable lines as my good friend 
 Mr. George hath at once brought me ! Pardon me, my 
 sweet Lady, if they cause me to forget myself. Only 
 this I do say, with most humble dutiful thanks, that the 
 scope of all my service hath ever been to content and 
 please you ; and if I may do that, then is all sacrifice, 
 either of life or whatsoever, well offered for you." * 
 
 The matter of the government absolute having been 
 so fully discussed during the preceding four months, and 
 the last opinions of the state-council having been so 
 lucidly expounded in the despatches to be carried by 
 
 » Brace's ' Leyc. Correep.' pp. 262, 263, 2 Leicester to the Queen, - June, 1586. 
 ^ May, 1M6. (s. P. Office M&) 
 
 AND WHITES MORE CHEERFULLY. 
 
 455 
 
 fxlaS" f'^^'f' '^^r^^^rsht be considered a, 
 exhausted. Leicester contented himself, therefore witl 
 
 TLZ^" n'v « l^fr M-^Je^ty'-ttentio; .0 the feet Aat 
 If he had not himself accepted the office thus conferred 
 upon h,m by the States, it would hare been Wowed 
 upon some other personage. It would hardly hive 
 
 or Count W.lham, or Count Moeurs, had been appointed 
 governor absolute, for in that case the Earl, aJ^geS 
 of the auxrliar,' English force, would have heTnlZeot 
 to the authority of the chieftain thus selected. It was 
 .mrK.ssible as the state-council had very plain y shown 
 for Leicester to exercise supreme LLrity, whi?e 
 merely holding the military office of her Maiesfv! 
 lieutenant-general. The authority of governor or stad! 
 holder could only be derived from the sup, erne powelo 
 «otr"*7- £ \?'" ""^'i'^'y ^^ ^ho^en to accqT he 
 »?Jwf *^**?wt^*^l"« ^"^ ever desired, the requisite 
 authonty could then have been derived from her a^ 
 
 refused that ofifer, however, his authority was necessarily 
 to be drawn from the States-Geneml, or else the Si 
 mus content herself with seeing 'him serve asT 
 English military officer, only subject to the ordei^ of 
 the supreme power, wherever that power might reside 
 
 ^Lt /'• u ''*^*''>«'' t'''^* her general might be 
 clo bed with the privileges of her viceroy. wWle she 
 
 dec med herself to be the sovereign, was illogical and 
 could not be complied with.' 'ofcicai, anu 
 
 Very soon after inditing these last epistles to the 
 1 royinces, the Queen became more reasonable on the 
 subject; and an elaborate communication was soon 
 received by the state-council, in which the roval 
 acquiescence was signified to the latest propositions of 
 the States. The various topics, suggested in previous 
 despatehes from Leicester and from the council, were 
 reviewed and the whole subject was suddenly placed in 
 a somewhat different light from that in which it seemed 
 to have been previously regarded by her Majesty. She 
 alluded to the excuse offered by the state-council, which 
 had been drawn from the necessity of the case, and 
 from their " great liking for her cousin of Leicester," 
 
 * Leicester to the Queen. MS. last cited. 
 
li! 
 
 456 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VIL 
 
 nlthougli in violation of the original contract. " As j'on 
 acknowledge, however," she 8aid, "that therein you 
 were justly to l^e blamed, and do crave pardon for the 
 same, we cannot, upon this acknowledgment of your 
 fault, but remove our former dislike." ^ 
 
 Nevertheless it would now seem that her "mistake " 
 had proceeded, not from the excess, but from^ the in- 
 sufficiency of the powers conferred upon the Earl, and 
 she complained, accordingly, that they had given him 
 shadow rather than substance* 
 
 Simultaneously with this royal communication, came 
 a joint letter to Leicester, from Burghley, Walsingham, 
 and Hatton, depicting the long and strenuous conflict 
 which they had maintained in his behalf with the 
 rapidly varying inclinations of the Queen. They ex- 
 pressed a warm sympathy with the difficulties of his 
 position, and spoke in strong terms of the necessity that 
 the Netherlands and England should work heartily 
 together. For otherwise, they said, ** the cause will 
 fall, the enemy will rise, and we must stagger." Not- 
 withstanding the secret negociations with the enemy, 
 which Leicester and Walsingham suspected, and which 
 will be more fully examined in a subsequent chapter, 
 they held a language on that subject, which in the 
 Secretary's mouth at least was sincere. " Whatsoever 
 speeches be blown abroad of parleys of peace," they 
 said, " all will be but smoke, yea, fire will follow." * 
 
 16 
 
 Qaeen to Council of State — June, 
 
 1596 (S. P. Offlce MS.) ; much corrected 
 In Burghley'8 bandwritlng. 
 
 « Ibid. " Yet when we look," she pro- 
 ceeded, "into the little profit that the 
 common cause hath received hitherto by 
 the yielding unto htm rather in words 
 and writings a title of a kind of absolute 
 government, than any effect of the au- 
 thority sijmified by the words of the 
 irrant ; for that by virtue thereof we un- 
 derstand that he can neither be made 
 thoroughly acquainted with the true state 
 of your affairs there, requisite for such 
 an ofQcc as you have given him in name, 
 Ror yet receive the due performance of 
 such contributions of money and other 
 necessaries as were specialty promised 
 unto him bt-fore the acceptation of the 
 government ; inasmuch as, for the lack of 
 
 due satisfaction of the things promised, 
 he hath been enforced to employ part of 
 our treasure — sent over for tlie payment 
 of such of our people as by the contract 
 we promised to maintain— to pay and re- 
 lieve such other forces as were enter- 
 tained by the States besides many 
 
 other like burdens laid upon our cousin, 
 contrary to our expoctitlon ; all this doth 
 give us cause to mislike not to mitch the 
 title itself, as the lack of performance 
 which the title carries show of— a matter, 
 yea, of things most necessary for your 
 own defence ; a matter that, without 
 8i>eedy redress, cannot but breed both im- 
 min)-nt peril to those countries and dis- 
 honour to us." 
 > Burghley, Hatton, and Walsingham, 
 17 
 V 
 MS.) 
 
 to Uicester, ^ June, 1856. (S. P. Office 
 
 1586. THE QUEEN IS MORE BENIGXAXT. 457 
 
 They excused themselves for their previous and 
 enforced silence by the fact that they had been unablo 
 communicate any tidings but messages of distress 
 bu they now congratulated the Earl that her Maies'v 
 a.s he would see by her letter to the council waffirn h' 
 resolved, not only to countenance his goveriSin but 
 to sustain him in the most thorough mLnen t^^uld 
 be therefore quite out of the question/or them to iZTto 
 his earnest proposithns to he recalled ' 
 
 Moreover, the Lord Treasurer had already apprized 
 Leicester that Heneage had safely arrived in^EKd 
 that he had made his report to the Queen, and t a her 
 
 inS.-'' """' "'" ^^"'^"^^^ -^^^^- and Lis 
 It may be easily believed that the Earl would feel a 
 sensation of relief, if not of triumph, at this teminaTion 
 to the embarrassments under which he had beeTlabouT 
 ing ever since he listened to the oration of ^he Xe 
 Leoninus upon ^ ew Year's Day. At last the QueenTad 
 formally acquiesced in the action of the States and in 
 his acceptance of their offer. He now saw himself unds 
 puted - governor absolute," having been sixTon^ W 
 a suspected discredited, almost disgraced man It was 
 natural that he should express himself cheerfully 
 
 i^ady, he said, by your most favourable lines written 
 by your own sacred hand, 1 did most humbly a^know 
 edge by my former letter; albeit I can no way m^^^^ 
 testimony oft enough of the great joy I took thereby 
 And seeing my wounded heart is by this means almost mMe 
 Me} do pray unto God that either I may n^er feel 
 the like again from you, or not be suffererto liVe 
 rather than I should fall again into those torments of 
 your displeasure. Most gracious Queen, I beseech you 
 
 Place I iT"'"''''' -^'T'' ^^" ^^^ ^"' ^^^ident to the 
 place 1 serve you in, be accompanied with greater 
 
 mind^/' i^yZi6''tK'LZ'S'' "'"I "'™"^'^' "'^ ^P^"«"3^ -^^ ^ouej 
 resolutely detemrin^d;! ^'"^T: ""'^ '"*^" ^""^ maintenance of those coun- 
 
 fuT-thatutT^7^ryLT.? T..r'"\'^\^^^^y' W^^ould 
 
 but to have it more amply establisbed and 2 Bruce 307 ^ 
 
 perfected to all purposes for your credit 
 
 II 
 
 f'l 
 
458 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS, 
 
 Chap. VII. 
 
 troubles and fears indeed than all the horrors of death 
 can bring me. My strong hope doth now so assure me, 
 as I have almost won the battle against despair, and I 
 do arm myself with as many of those wonted comfortable 
 conceits as may confirm my new revived spirits re- 
 posing myself evermore under the shadow of those blessed 
 beams that must yield the only nourishment to this 
 
 disease." i 
 
 But however nourishing the shade of those blessed 
 beams might prove to Leicester's disease, it was not so 
 easy to bring about a very sunny condition in the Pro- 
 vinces. It was easier for Elizabeth to mend the broken 
 heart of the governor than to repair the damage which 
 had been caused to the commonwealth by her caprice 
 and her deceit. ITie dispute concerning the government 
 absolute had died away, but the authority of the Earl had 
 got a " crack in it " which never could be handsomely 
 made whole.* The States, during the long period of 
 Leicester's discredit— feeling more and more doiabtful 
 as to the secret intentions of Elizabeth— disappointed in 
 the condition of the auxiliary troops and in the amount 
 of supplies furnished from England, and, above all, 
 having had time to regret their delegation of a power 
 which they began to find agreeable to exercise with 
 their own hands, became indisposed to entrust the Earl 
 with the administration and full insjiection of their 
 resources. To the enthusiasm which had greeted the 
 first arrival of Elizabeth's representative had succeeded 
 a jealous, carping, suspicious sentiment. The two hun- 
 dred thousand florins monthly were paid, according to the 
 original agreement, but the four hundred thousand of 
 extra service-money subsequently voted were withheld, 
 and withheld expressly on account of Heneage's original 
 mission to disgrace ths governor." ' 
 
 1 Leicester to the Queen, - June, 
 
 1586. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 « "My credit hath been cracked ever 
 fclnce her Mj^esty sent Sir Thomas Hene- 
 age hither, m all men can tell you." 
 
 Bnice'H 'Leyc Corresp." 434, Oct -• 
 
 15H6. 
 
 a " Aa to the not paying by the 
 
 8tate« of the 200.000 florins a month, 
 •greed upon," said Lelcedter to the Queen* 
 
 " I must needs say that they have paid 
 that 200,000, but that I stand upon of 
 late with them is 200.000 mure, which 
 they long since agreed upon, and I sent 
 word to your Majesty. And herein, in- 
 deed, they liave been very slack; but If 
 yonr Majesty will pardon me to speak 
 the truth of that sUy, it grew only vpon 
 Sir Tkomaa Heneage'$ coming with the 
 message of your displeasure ; for from, 
 that (iflM till this they have not only 
 
 1586. 
 
 THE STATES LESS CONTENTED THAN THE EARL. 
 
 459 
 
 T "7x? ¥® ""^^"^^ ^^ Sir Thomas Heneaffe " s«i.1 
 Lord Aorth,^^hath put such busses fnthel' heads 
 as ^they march forward with leaden heels and doubtM 
 
 ..r.^ l^% through the discredit cast by the Queen 
 
 TZl '^®f°."'*^Ie, It was too lafe to induce them to oart 
 
 Jttlr^ ^''^J Leicester had become to a certain 
 extent disgraced and disliked by the Estate, TI^ 
 
 pS o rf • 'T *'^ "^^''-"y °f the i?fo ced' : 
 
 aK,. *i^ Z^"?^^.'^*'"^* ^^''^ legal representatives 
 and thus the foundation of a nominally democratic riart^ 
 in opposition to the municipal onef w^Sy t^! 
 for we"LT ' f.'^-'^^-fortnn.te' at'that jlltS 
 sUioTto tl; ^*";?' .*""^ *!>« Earl in perpetual opt^ 
 vinces to t^r"'* •^"^t'^&l'i^ted statesmen in the t?^ 
 
 rnfluentilj InVtr^^' ""!? '""^^"^ ^l*" ^^ ^^^ most 
 ir^r ■ I- "^?"°S the sovereignty to England and 
 
 cov^ter^K "" "" "^^ P°«'*'°" ^hich he had so much 
 Sbfth tn°twT 'u''^"'" ^''^ ^'^ ^^^^ confirmeTby 
 wt 5 *T ^^"^ ^'^^ °*<=e ^^^ his arrogance broke 
 
 Stfv" l^tr""'"^ ^^*"«- l^elf a-d the repre! 
 Bt-niacive body became incessant. 
 
 sai^ if'*" T """^ '° somewhat better terms than I did " 
 ^iL^.l Ti?"' '" '*^^ *'" °f l^te to deal rou" dh . 
 r^mbtof fi^» ^*^' "•°'" '^°°^- I l-^^e established i 
 I dm,?,f "^.^."""eeS' against some of their wills, whereby 
 I doubt not to procure great benefit to increase our abf- 
 Wy for payments hereafter. The people I find sHl 
 
 tttLT "^^'^ ^'^J'^^*^- tl^O'-gh of ?ite ml, lewd 
 practices have been used to withdraw their good wMs 
 
 festVLly b:"*?- = '""'^ ^^'" P^'^y <5°1 tl^al her M^I 
 wh.^ ^ .X. *''"' so'^ereign. She should then see 
 what a contribution they will all bring forth i J", m! 
 
 which did appertain to my office. To ^'**°' u '^""^' ^^^^- (S. P. Office MS ") 
 withstand them-to be plaln-I durst *t mm 
 
 not. and they have applied it dlllgendy ^°'"' ^ BurgLlcy. -""'', igge. (S. 
 
 fitnce to work that conceit into eveiy P. Office MS.) 
 
 
430 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VII. 
 
 '■iji 
 
 I 
 
 I'*' 
 
 St(aes they wHJ never return, which will breed some great 
 mischief, there is sw:h mislike of the iStates universally. ^ 1 
 would your Lordship had seen the case I had lived in 
 among tbem these four months, especially after her Ma- 
 jesty's mislike was found. You would then marvel to 
 see how 1 have waded, as I have done, through no small 
 obstacles, without help, counsel, or assistance." ' 
 
 Thus the part which he felt at last called upon to 
 enact was that of an aristocratic demagogue, in pei-pe- 
 tual conflict with the burgher-representative body. 
 
 It is now necessaiy to lift a corner of the curtain, by 
 which some international— or rather interpalatial— in- 
 trigues were concealed, as much as possible, even from 
 the piercing eyes of VValsingham. The Secretary was, 
 however, quite aware — despite the pains taken to de- 
 ceive him— of the nature of the plots and of the some- 
 what ignoble character of the actors concerned in 
 them. 
 
 1 Ldcpster to BurgWey, ^ June, 158C. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 1586. 
 
 FORLORN CONDITION OF FLANDERS. 
 
 461 
 
 • CHAPTEE VIII. 
 
 ^OmTjTn*!,' rI;, '^ Fla,.der8- Parma's 8«n-et Negotiations with the Quecn- 
 Grafigniand Bodnian - 1 he.r IVallngs ulth English Counsellors -In.nlicltv of 
 Farnese-Secna Offer, of the Knglish Peace-Party - I.tt^-ns nTint iX oH e 
 
 sr^heved by the News from Engla,.d-Qneen'8 secret I^tt^ to iS- His 
 Letters and Instmctlons to Bodnum - Bodn.an's secret Transactions at (ireenwi i 
 -Walslngham detects and expos..s the Plot -The Intriguers baffled- Qu"n. 
 W to Parma and his to the Klng-Unlccky P^sults of the Peace Intrigu.-s 
 - Unhandsome I reatn.eo t of Ix.i<«ster - Indigna, ion of the Rarl and WaWngS^ 
 
 Alexander Farnp:se and his heroic little army had been 
 lett by their sovereign in as destitute a condition as 
 that m which Lord Leicester and his unfortunate 
 
 paddy persons " had found themselves since their 
 arrival in the Netherlands. These mortal men were 
 but the weapons to be used and broken in the hands of 
 the two great sovereigns, already pitted against each 
 other m mortal combat. That the distant invisible 
 potentate, the work of whose life was to do his best 
 to destroy all European nationality, all civil and reli- 
 gious freedom, should be careless of the instiiiments by 
 which his purpose was to be effected, wa.s but natural 
 It IS painful to reflect that the gTuat champion of liberty 
 and of Protestantism was almost equally indifferent 
 to the welfare of the human creatures enlisted in her 
 cause. Spaniards and Italians, English and Irish, went 
 halt naked and half starving through the whole incle- 
 ment winter, and perished of pestilence in droves after 
 confronting the less formidable dangers of battle-field 
 and leaguer. Manfully and sympathetically did the 
 l!.arl of Leicester— while whining in absurd hyperbole 
 oyer the angry demeanour of his sovereign towards 
 himself— represent the imperative duty of an English 
 government to succour English troops. 
 
 Alexander Famese was equally plain-spoken to a 
 sovereign with whom plain-speaking was a crime. Jn 
 bold, almost scornful language, the Prince leproKeiited 
 
 a 
 
 I 
 
 i 
 
4r>2 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VIII. 
 
 to Philip the sufferings and destitntion of the little 
 hand of heroes, hy whom that magnificent military 
 enterprise, the conquest of Antwerp, had just been 
 effected. " Ood will be weary of working miracles for 
 lis," he cried, " and nothing but miracles can save the 
 troops from starving." There was no question of paying 
 them their wages, there was no pretence at keeping 
 them reasonably j^rovided with lodging and clothing, 
 but he asserted the undeniable proposition that they 
 "could not pass their lives without eating,"' and he 
 implored his sovereign to send at least money enough 
 to buy the soldiers shoes. To go foodless and barefoot 
 without complaining, on the frozen swamps of Flandeis 
 in January, was more than was to be expected from 
 Spaniards and Italians. The country itself was eaten 
 bare. The obedient Provinces had reaped absolute 
 ruin as the reward of their obedience. Bruges, Ghent, 
 and the other cities of Brabant and Flanders, once so 
 opulent and powerful, had become mere dens of thieves 
 and paupers. Agriculture, commerce, manufactures — 
 all were dead. The condition of Antwerp was most 
 tragical. The city, which had been so recently the 
 commercial centre of the earth, was reduced to absolute 
 beggary. Its world-wid e traffic was abruptly terminated, 
 for the mouth of its great river was controlled by 
 Flushing, and Flushing was in the firm grasp of Sir 
 Philip Sidney, as governor for the English Queen. 
 Merchants and bankers, who had lately been possessed 
 of enormous resources, were stripped of all. Such of 
 the industrial classes as could leave the place had 
 wandered away to Holland and England. There was 
 no industry possible, for there was no market for the 
 products of industry. Antwerp was hemmed in by the 
 enemy on every side, surrounded by royal troops in a 
 condition of open mutiny, cut off from the ocean, de- 
 prived of daily bread, and yet obliged to contribute out 
 of its poverty to the maintenance of the Spanish soldiers, 
 who were there for its destruction. Its burghers, com- 
 pelled to furnish four hundred thousand florins, as the 
 price of their capitulation, and at least six hundred 
 thousand more ' for the repairs of the dykes, the destruc- 
 
 1 •• Xo se pnede paaar la vlda sin ' Parma to Philip II. 19 April, 1586. 
 cwmer." I'arma to Philip II. 28 Feb. (Arch, de Sim. MS.) 
 1S»6. (Archive de Slmancaii, MS.) The contemporaiy bUtorlans of the 
 
 1586. PARMA'S NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE QUEEN. 453 
 
 tjon Of which, loo long .leferred, had only spread desola- 
 tion over the country without saving the city and ovi; 
 and above all forced to TphnJIrl „t *i, • •'' ^' 
 
 th^t «.* 1 -7 1 , '>^'-" r« reouild, at their own expense 
 that fatal citadel by which their liberty and lives were 
 to be perpetually endangered, might now reS-eTlt 
 leisure that they had not been 'as stedfastTurinrtheiJ 
 siege as had been the heroic inhabitants of Levden Tn 
 their time of trial twelve years before Obedient 
 Antwerp was, in truth, most forlorn. But there wis oZ 
 consolation for her and for Philip, one bright spo7S Z 
 else universal gloom. The ecclesiastics assured Parma 
 that, notwithstanding the frightful diminution inTe 
 population of the city, they had confessed and absolved 
 more persons that Easter than they had ever done s nee 
 he commencement of the revolt.^ Great w^PhilTp's 
 fV consequence.' "You cannot imagine mvlatl! 
 
 . Z'^l * ruined country, starving and mutinous troops 
 a bankrupt exchequer, and a desperate and muT; 
 population Alexander Famese wal not urwiuCTo 
 gun time by simulated negotiations for peace. It wl^ 
 strange, however that so sagacious a monarch as Z 
 Queen of England should suppose it for her interest to 
 grant at hat moment the verf delay which w^ deemed 
 most desirable by her antagonist aeemea 
 
 r^ruf '* '^^.''^, wounded affection alone, nor insulted 
 fiii^ AfTlf "n"^^'\ parsimony, that had carried the 
 fuj of the Queen to such a height on the occasion of 
 Leicester s elevation t» absolute government. It was 
 
 StiZr'vwr* *''•' '^"P ^ ♦h"''Sht likely to 
 ^l^^^ll "^^ *? PJ''^''^ of those negotiations into 
 which the Queen had allowed herself to be drawn 
 
 A certain Grafigni— a Genoese merchant residing 
 much m London and in Antwerp, a meddling intS 
 and irresponsible kind of individual, whose icuS 
 
 country do not paint more frightful pic- 
 tares of the desolation of Antwerp, and 
 of the obedient Provinces generally, than 
 tliose ftimished by the Prince of Parma 
 in bis secret letters to his sovereign. 
 Compare Bor, 11. 984 ; Meteren, xlli, 
 253^ ; Hoofd Vervolgh. 251, et mult, al 
 "Grandissima lastiroa," said Famese 
 Of Antwerp, "ver perdida tan principal 
 
 villa, y la navigacion.de ribera tan linda 
 y provechosa no solo para el puis mas 
 para todo el mundo." MS. before cited. 
 •Letter to Philip TI. Just cited. 
 "No podreys pensar el contento que 
 me ha dado el aviso de la f^equencia que 
 huvo a l08 sacramentos la pasqua pasada " 
 &c. Philip II. to Parma, 5 July, i^ 
 (Arch, de Sim. MS.) 
 
 J' 
 
4C4 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. Mil, 
 
 1586. 
 
 GRAFIGNI AND BODMAN. 
 
 
 1/ 
 
 t 
 
 was gone with the cessation of Flemish trade— had 
 recently made his appearance as a volunteer diplomatist. 
 The principal reason for accepting or rather for winking 
 at his services, seemed to be the possibility of disavow- 
 incr him, on both sides, whenever it should be thought 
 advisable. He had a partner or colleague, too, named 
 Bodman, who seemed a not much more creditable 
 negotiator than himself. The chief director of the 
 intrigue was, however, Champagny, brother of Cardinal 
 Granvelle, restored to the King's favour and disposed 
 to atone by his exuberant loyalty for his heroic patriot- 
 ism on a former and most memorable occasion.' 
 Andrea de Loo, another subordinate politician, was 
 likewise employed at various stages of the negotiation. 
 It will soon be perceived that the part enacted by 
 Burghley, Hatton, Croft, and other counsellors, wad 
 even by the Queen herself, was not a model of in- 
 t^enuousness towards the absent Leicester and the 
 States-General. The gentlemen sent at various times 
 to and from the Earl and her Majesty's government,— 
 Davison, Shirley, V^avasor, Heneage, and the rest,— had 
 all expressed themselves in the strongest language con- 
 cerning the good faith and the friendliness of the Lord- 
 TreasTU-er and the Vice-Chamberlain,' but they weie 
 not so well informed as they would have been had 
 they seen the private letters of Parma to Philip II. 
 
 Walsingham, although kept in the dark as much as it 
 was possible, discovered from time to time the mys- 
 terious practices of his political antagonists, and warned 
 the Queen of the danger and dishonour she was bringing 
 upon herseU? Elizabeth, when thus boldly charged, 
 equivocated and stoimed alternately. She authorized 
 \\ alsingham to communicate the secrets — which he had 
 thus surprised— to the States-General, and then denied 
 having given any such orders.* 
 
 In truth, Walsingham was only entrusted with such 
 portions of the negotiations as he had been able, by his 
 own astuteness, to divine ; and as he was very much a 
 
 46d 
 
 « In the memorable Antwerp fury. See 
 • Rise of ibe Dutch Republic,' vol. Hi. 
 
 2 Brace's ' Leyc. Convsp.' pp. 112. 124, 
 143. 161, 176. 231. Leicester U) Burghley, 
 18 Match, 1586. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 «I Avnl 
 
 3 Bruce'8 • Leyc. Corresp.' 231, j-^' 
 15-6; 272,^ May. 1686. 
 
 Mbid.240.^\l586j272,^ MuJ 
 UIM. 
 
 46 
 
 friend to the ProvincM on^ * t • 
 
 failed to keep themTnZetedt^^A'"*''*^^' ^« ""^er 
 It must be co,^e^^i^t'^^^^\]^'^' '^l^t ''^^^i'y^ 
 paltering among grekt men I^d jU^ ""^'"^ and 
 
 a tt-^eirdr ^* p"-- -£ oTei;:4t 
 ^^^^'i^t::i::ii^r^fi- ^ —^ ^om 
 
 Pnnce of Parma, at BruIeL In l^*^^^'''• *» &<> 
 passport.' They entered ^!n'- °'^^^ *° P^'oc^e a 
 the mise^ of thecountrj "n^ T^i'TT"^''''^ "PO" 
 the troubles to which S^w^?''"'^^ concerning 
 Wn exposed. Ale^nder 'f ^""""^^ merchante had 
 with the^commercfarc^i' Jt^InT** ^"^ ^>'"P''% 
 the ancient friendship bS'nh*'*'°"^ '*""«'*»'« 
 
 Queen of England mig^ht be 7id T'^' .^^ the 
 tiie Pnnce-as the lesult ofl^? &ra£gni assured 
 England-that the Ouepn LS ' °T^ observation in 
 ^ntiments. "You aTLFn^l^^^ '^ .J^'^'^e pacific 
 Pnnce, "and you may sa5 f^ i^ •'^' '^P^'^'^ *J'« 
 Majesty, that, after my aUeSinn^f^^ "J'"'"*^'* °^ ^er 
 fevouraWy and affeSf elvInT^ ^"'S' ^ *«> n>o«t 
 
 If it pleases them that I it^..,"^'?'*'^ *""'»"1« her. 
 attempt to bring^aW an accS"td y"'"""^' ^^""^^J 
 sioners could bS assured of ^^5' " "'"'' '^°""'" 
 
 would take care thrtTve,^„^X^,'?' ^"«''"<'' ^ 
 with due regard tn tt.!. t^*^ ^ should be conducted 
 Majesty.'" ^ *° ^^ ^°'«*" ^^ reputation of her 
 
 Grafigni then asked for a written letter of ., A 
 
 ihat cannot be," renlipH AloJ^ j °* credence. 
 
 return to me I shaKwf "'^^'" ' "^""^ 'f you 
 
 proper person c^n be ll^JT 'T"*' ''"d then a 
 
 KingtoieatwaThh^MSt;- ''"*''°"*^ "'"'^ ^^ 
 
 withtfd' Cbhat' A W' T^ "^'^ - -terview 
 gave the merchanra Jn^^ '*^'' '"*"' *^* '""""'"an 
 
 a«HeproLdedts«^-reta^7ofe ^Z^^ 
 
 VUL, 1, % 
 
 2 H 
 
(it 
 
 466 THE UNITED SETHERLANDS. Chap. VHI. 
 
 good inclination. Being, l^''^'^;,"^' * ''^"na disposed to 
 
 tvilling to l-e -"f -- ;:X t" W he' ear to a 
 avoid bloodshed, she was leaay ^^^ 
 
 negotiation f- P-^V ,7:^: ^^'a^^Veased .hat his 
 and secure one. *^""Vy °,° „, mediator of such a 
 Highness of Panna «l^^"W^f„^',t"^f«t and honourable 
 *'"'^''*^'-TntuZ P^olerarTcV;:. Her Majesty 
 
 a a"coln b-Cld ^^^^^tlXT^ 
 the honourable com-x^rs alluded ^-^^^^^^ 
 that even- step taken by his llignnebs 
 with her honour and safety. j^j^ 
 
 At about the same ^."Jf.^Vod^n mnmunicatcd 
 diplomatic e«t«T'™«V^Vf VroS^^«^°"^'" ^ug\anA. 
 ^He^X-dlhltrSll.^^^^^^^^^^ 
 
 iilk uS ?=thl^=----^^^^ 
 
 said, to g<^^,^t\ '% x^^^r, floTip to be pure matter of 
 evervthina; whicli had been done to iw **-,.. 
 
 :;ciint entirely with., t^^^^^^^^^^ 
 
 and each f «^'"g. *° ? G^fi.mi informed Bodman, 
 pees of her M-J'^^^y^j^T^aTquite to be depended 
 however, that Lord i^oonaiu c* i T^rivatelv, 
 
 Croft would teect Bodman as to his course, and would 
 
 Bo,leLn de IM liitencloues df Ingla- iwa. 
 
 >586. THEm DEALINGS WITH ENGLISH COUNSELLORS. 467 
 by name, was a Papist a. man ^^f i. i ^ 
 fonnerly a spy of the^uke TLl "^^^ tlT^' ^"/ 
 ship or myself should use s,,.^, • . ' ^"'"" ^•^i^- 
 
 ^vr^te Wal'singham to Leicester \'!f T'"*' "^ *'"''•" 
 bear no small reproach • but ?t ; k '™,°,'^ '"^ ''''""I'l 
 
 and doubtful ^ZZ\''tTtlXfrt^"^''Bf''''' 
 thought the ords of the peace fooH, ., i .V' • '^"'^man 
 not sufficiently strong ro'tethe".^''''^''- ^'It^rent^ 
 
 success He assured^arneT^V a mota^fthf/f 
 
 cause of the Q«!en a^d thVi/, vk'!*" "'•'^'"*»"' *e 
 chance of peace wL^esnor^f/'^'^^' ""'^ *'^''t 'I'e 
 
 turn the til, -ns.trCai:;trS"of ^:f 
 
 or an invasion by Philip of Ireland ors«,Vhnd ' 
 
 Jr^"i.t7„XA" ES^-a EC'S 
 
 i-ach party was desirous of forcing or whL^ll^ .1 " 
 antagonist to show his hand " Y™ wlJ! ^ ^ .*''* 
 
 nnn and lasting peace." * "o "* na\e a 
 
 Molf?"*w'* ^"^^ ^°'^ Cobham," said Richardot to La 
 Motte, that you are not at liberty to go into a cones 
 
 » Bmce'8 ' Leyc. Corresp.' 231. '^-^^^J, ' ' ^ V^e ^n particular sienle G Bode- 
 
 »M.7 n«m.'&c. MS. lastdted. 
 
 * I>.rd Cobham to Sigr. de la Motte. 
 2 March, 1586. (Arch, de Sim. MS) 
 
 2 H 2 
 
 1586 
 
468 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VHI. 
 
 1586. 
 
 ponrtence, until assured of the intentions of Queen 
 Elizabeth. Her Majesty ought to speak first, in order 
 to make her good-will manifest," * and so on. 
 
 " The 'friend ' can confer viith you," said Kichardot to 
 Champagny; "but his Highness is not to appear to 
 know anything at all about it. The Queen must signify 
 her intentions." * 
 
 " You answered Champagny correctly," said Burghley 
 to De Loo, "as to what 1 said last winter concerning 
 her Majesty's wishes in regard to a pacification. Tha 
 Netherlands must be compelled to return to obedience to the King ; 
 but their ancient privileges are to be maintained. You 
 omitted, however, to say a word about toleration, in the 
 Provinces, of the reformed religion. But I said then, 
 as I say now, that this is a condition indispensable to 
 
 peace." " 
 
 This was a somewhat important omission on the part 
 of De Loo, and gives the measure of his conscientious- 
 ness or his capacity as a negotiator. Certainly for the 
 Lord-Treasurer of England to off'er, on the part of her 
 Majesty, to bring about the reduction of her allies under 
 the yoke which they had thrown off without her 
 assistance, and this without leave asked of them, and 
 with no provision for the great principle of religious 
 liberty, which was the cause of the revolt, was a most 
 flagitious trifling with the honour of Elizabeth and of 
 England. Certainly the more this mysterious corres- 
 pondence is examined, the more conclusive is the 
 justification of the vague and instinctive jealousy felt 
 by Leicester and the Stat^es-General as to English 
 diplomacy during the winter and spring of 1586. 
 
 Burghley summoned De Loo, accordingly, to recall 
 to his memory all that had been privately said to him on 
 the necessity of protecting the reformed religion in the 
 Provinces. If a peace were to be perpetual, toleration 
 was indispensable, he observed, and her Majesty was 
 said to desire this condition most earnestly.* 
 
 The Lord-Treasurer also made the not unreasonable 
 suggestion, that, in case of a pacification, it would be 
 necessary to provide that English subjects — peaceful 
 
 » Richardot to La Motte, 23 March, d'luglpterra a Andrea de Loo, verbatim 
 
 IS^^fi. (Arch, de Sim. MS.) traslatau dalla sua llnpia In quesU, 
 
 « Richardot to Champagny, 24 March, 6 Marte, 1586.' (Arch, de Sim. MS.) 
 
 1586. (Arch, de Sim. MS.) « 'Leltera,' &c. Just clt«d. 
 
 > • Leticra del Sr. Gran Tbesoriero 
 
 DCJPLICITY OF FARNESE. 
 
 469 
 traders, mariners, and the lilrA ci.^, i.^ i 
 
 had already been the ca^e ■ ' ' '*^ 8"^^* multitudes, 
 
 Elizabeth/- he corr^otT/ob::^edto'SrL a ;?""" 
 she IS also by no nieai4 fond of exnensp '^'ti t^""?^"" 
 
 accustomed to repose, is already Z^ of wir ,^'"^"^.°"'' 
 they are all pacifically inclined "'^ "17 V. ^'■^^"'^' 
 
 and perhaps the Earl vcouldtrS^d"' ^^ T'T*^' 
 
 immense success * T}i^ P^,-« »^^"^^' ^^a^ would be an 
 
 trickeiy was to be expected Ttt^'/^^J^^ '"'* 
 hoped for was to " chill tt?n' • ^^'^^ ^ood to bo 
 
 and allianl^ and durin. tte'lvV? ^T P^°*^' '^''«"««' 
 their own grkt d^si^n "? T Y\ *° *"'""y '""'^^''l 
 
 their preparToL^:%.t th'^QttVste^^i^'* ? 
 
 ^ * Lettera,' &c., lost dted > t>- 
 
 ' " U „,„.. ^ ,, '^„^, ^ ^„„^ .' ^ to PbHIp ,1.. MS. u,. ciM. 
 
 Para adonnecerla." fibld.) 
 
470 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VHI. 
 
 internal dissensions and civil war ;—mch. was the game 
 of the King and the governor, as expounded between 
 
 i'hf^niRplires ' 
 
 President Kichardot, at the same time, stated to Car- 
 dinal Granvelle that the English desire for peace was 
 considered certain at Brussels. Grafigni had informed 
 the Prince of Parma and his counsellors that the Queen 
 was most amicably disposed, and that there would bo 
 no trouble on the point of religion, her Majesty not 
 wishing to obtain more than she would hert^elf bo 
 willing to grant. " In this," said Kichardot, "there is 
 both hard and soft ; " * for, knowing that the Spanish 
 game was deception, pure and simple, the excellent 
 President could not bring himself to suspect a possible 
 grain of good faith in the English intentions. Much 
 anxiety was perpetually felt in the French quarter, her 
 Majesty's government*^ being supposed to be secretly 
 preparing an invasion of the obedient Netherlands 
 across the French frontier, in combination, not with 
 the Bearnese, but with Henry ill. So much in the dark 
 were even the most astute politicians. "I can't feel 
 satisfied in this French matter," said the President: 
 "we mustn't tickle ourselves to make ourselves laugh." ^ 
 Moreover, there was no self-deception nor self-tickling 
 possible as to the unmitigated misery of the obedient 
 Netherlands. Famine was a more formidable foe than 
 Frenchmen, Hollanders, and Englishmen combined ; so 
 that Kichardot avowed that the " negotiation would be 
 indeed holy, if it would restore Holland and Zeeland to 
 the Kina; without fighting. The prospect seemed on the 
 whole rather dismal to loyal N etherlanders like the old 
 leaguing, intriguing, Hispaniolized president of the 
 privy council. " I confess," said he plaintively, " that 
 England needs chastisement; but 1 don't see how we 
 are to give it to her. Only let us secure Holland and 
 Zeeland, and then we shall always find a stick whenever 
 we like to beat the dog." * 
 
 Meantime Andrea de Loo had been bustling and buzz- 
 
 » Parma to Philip II.. MS. laat cited. could then foresee that within two months 
 
 2 "En cecy il y a du dur & du moL" Henry III. would be proposing to Philip 
 
 Kichardot to Oranvelle. 30 Mars, 15«6. 11. a Joint Invasion of England ! 
 
 (Arch, de Sim. MS.) * " Kt nous sera ayse do trouver le has- 
 
 8 " 11 ne fnut pas que nous nous cha- ton quaud nous voulous battre le chlen. 
 
 touillons pour nous falre rire. ' (Ibid.) (Ibid.) 
 
 Neither Rlclmrdot nor Parnia himself 
 
 1586. SECRET OFFERS OF THE ENGLISH PEACE-PARTr. 471 
 
 ing about the ears of the chief counsellors at the English 
 court during all the early spring. Most busily he had 
 been endeavouring to eflace the prevalent suspicion tliat 
 Philip and Alexander were only trifling by these in- 
 formal negotiations. We have just seen whether or not 
 there was ground for that suspicion. De Loo, being 
 importunate, however—*' as he usually was," according 
 , to his own statement— obtained in Burghley's hand a 
 confirmation, by order of the Queen, of De Loo's letter 
 of the 26th December. The matter of religion gave the 
 worthy merchant much difficulty^ and he begged Lord 
 Buckhurst, the Lord-Treasurer, and many other counsel- 
 lors, not to allow this point of toleration to ruin the 
 whole affair; "for," said he, ''his Majesty will never 
 permit any exercise of the reformed religion."* 
 
 At last Buckhurst sent for him, and, in presence of 
 Comptroller Croft, gave him information that he had 
 brought the Queen to this conclusion : firstly, that she 
 would be satisfied with as great a proportion of reli- 
 gious toleration for Holland, Zeeland, and the other 
 United Provinces, as his Majesty could concede with 
 safety to his conscience and his honour ; * secondly, that 
 she required an act of amnesty ; thirdly, that she claimed 
 reimbursement by Philip for the money advanced by her 
 to the States.** 
 
 Certainly a more wonderful claim was never made than 
 this— a demand upon an absolute monarch for indemnity 
 for expenses incuiTcd in fomenting a rebellion of his 
 o^Ti subjects. The measure of toleration proposed for 
 the Provinces — the conscience, namely, of the greatest 
 bigot ever born into the world — was likely to prove as 
 satisfactory as the claim for damages propounded by the 
 most pai-siraonious sovereign in Christendom. Itwas, 
 however, stipulated that the non-conformists of Holland 
 and Zeeland who should be forced into exile were to 
 have their property administered by Papist trustees v 
 and further that the Spanish Inquisition was not to be 
 established in the Netherlands. Philip could hardly 
 demand better terms than these last, after a career of vic- 
 
 1 Memorial d' Andrea de Loo del nego- gione rhe d' ottenere dal lie quolla tanta 
 
 tiato alia corte d'lnglaterra nel mesf; di toltrantla per la Hollanda y la Zelan.^a 
 
 FebraloeMarzo, 1586. (ArchlvodeSiman- con le altre provincie unite, che potra 
 
 cas, MS.) conce<lere con sua salva cunstlenza et 
 
 ' " Imprimis, che S. M"- si contenta di honore." (ll)id.) 
 
 oa estai- allrimeutl sul punto della rcli- » Ibid. 
 
47! 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VIII. 
 
 1 
 
 I 
 
 Kl 
 
 torj. That they should be offered now by Elizabeth was 
 hardly compatible with good faith to the States. 
 
 On account of Lord Burghley's gout, it was suggested 
 that the negotiators had better meet in England, as it 
 would be necessary for him to take the lead in the 
 matter, and as he wa« but an indifferent traveller.' 
 Thus, according to De Loo, the Queen was willing to 
 hand over the United Provinces to l*hilip, and to toss 
 religious toleration to the winds, if she could only 
 get back the se\^enty thousand pounds — more or less — 
 which she had invested in an unpromising speculation. 
 A few weeks later, and at almost the very moment when 
 Elizabeth had so suddenly overturned her last vial of 
 wrath upon the discomfited Heneagefor having commu- 
 nicated—according to her express command — the fact 
 of the pending negotiations to the Netherland States ; 
 at that very instant Panna was wiiting secretly, and in 
 cipher, to Philip. His communication— could Sir 
 Thomas have read it — might have partly explained 
 her Majesty's rage. 
 
 Parma had heard, he said, through Bodman, from 
 Comptroller Croft, that the Queen would willingly 
 receive a proper envoy. It was very easy to see, he 
 observed, that the English counsellors were seeking 
 every means of entering into communication with 
 Spain, and that they were doing so with the participa- 
 tion of the Queen." Lord-Treasurer Burghley and 
 Comptroller Croft had expressed surprise that the 
 Prince had not yet sent a secret agent to her Majesty, 
 under pretext of demanding explanations concerning 
 Lord Leicester's presence in the Provinces, but in 
 reality to treat for peace. Such an agent, it had been 
 intimated, would be well received." The Lord-Treasurer 
 and the Comptroller would do all in their power to ad- 
 vance the negotiation, so that, with their aid and with the 
 pacific inclination of the Queen, the measures proposed 
 in favour of Leicester would be suspended, and perhaps 
 the Earl himself and all the English would be recalled.* 
 
 ' MS. Just cited. I Ibid. 
 
 « " Blen claro ccha de ver qne van bus- * •• Y con esto y la Inclinacion qno 
 
 candu U)dm los que lea parectn a propo- liene la Reyna & la paz. se suspende- 
 
 6ltu imra entrar en comunicacion. y que riaii las pruposlciones que se hazen en 
 
 lo hazen con la participjicion iHa Reyna." favor del Cunde de I^estre, y quiza sorla 
 
 rinuit U>I'hillp a., za April, 15JJ6. (Arch, revwado el con mdus lo» Ingleaes." 
 
 de 6.1U. MS.) (Ibid.) 
 
 1586. LETTERS AND INTRIGUES OF DE LOO. 473 
 
 The Queen was fiirther represented as taking creat 
 pains to excuse both the expedition of Sir Fmncis Drake 
 to the Indies and the mission of Leicester to the Pro 
 vinces. She was said to throw the whole blame of 
 these enterprises upon Walsingham and other ill-inten- 
 tioned personages, and to avow that she now understoofi 
 matters better ; so that, if Parma would at once send^ 
 
 Parma had expressed his gratification at these hope- 
 ful dispositions on the part of Burghley and Croft and 
 held out hopes of sending an ageiTt to'ireat wkh the" 
 If not directly with her Majesty. For some time pSt 
 -according to the Prince-the English government 
 had not seemed to be honestly seconding the EaS of 
 Leicester, nor to correspond with his desires - Tliis 
 makes me think," he said, - that the counsellors before 
 mentioned, being his rivals, are trying to trip him up "« 
 In such a caballing, prevaricating age, it is difficult 
 to know which of all the plotters and^'ounterpi™ 
 engaged m these intrigues could accomplish the great- 
 est amount of what-for the sake of diluting in nine 
 syllables that which could be more forcibly expressed 
 m one-was tben called diplomatic dissimulation. It 
 IS to be feared notwithstanding her frequent and voci- 
 ferous denials, that the robes of the " imperial votaress " 
 were not so unsullied as could be wished. AVe know 
 how loud y Leicester had complained-we have seen 
 how cdearly )\ alsmgham could convict ; but Elizabeth 
 though convicted, could always confute : for an absolute 
 sovereign, even without resorting to Philip's syllogisms 
 of axe and faggot was apt in the sixteenth century to 
 dulfs ^"^ argument with private indivi- 
 
 The secret statements of Parma-made, not for public 
 effect, but for the purpose of furnishing his master with 
 the most accurate mfonnation he could gather as to 
 English pohcy-are certainly entitled to consideration. 
 ^V^-^-7T ^?^¥^«« ^^^^^«d upon the statements of 
 ndividuals rejoicing m no very elevated character; but 
 those individuals had no motive to deceive their patron. 
 
 1 " Eamerando se mucho en excusar la tenclonados. y qne ya la Revna com*»n 
 
I 
 
 474 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VUI. 
 
 If they clashed with the vehement declarations of very 
 eminent i>er8onage8, it must be admitted on the other 
 hand that they were singularly in accordance with the 
 silent eloquence of important and mysterious events. 
 
 As to Alexander Famese — without deciding the 
 question whether Elizabeth and Burghley were de- 
 ceiving Walsingham and Leicester, or only trying to 
 delude Philip and himself-he had no hesitation, of 
 course, on his part in recommending to Philip the em- 
 ployment of unlimited dissimulation. ^ othing could bo 
 more ingenuous than the intercourse between the King 
 and his confidential advisers. It was perfectly under- 
 stood among them that they were always to deceive 
 every one, upon every occasion. Only let tnem De 
 false and it was impossible to be wholly wrong ; but 
 grave mistakes might occur from occasional deviations 
 Lto sincerity. It was no question at all, therefore 
 that it was Parma's duty to delude Elizabeth and 
 Burghley. Alexanders course was plain. He informed 
 his master that he would keep these difficulties alive as 
 much as it was possible. In order to - put them all to 
 sleep with regard to the great enterprise of the inva- 
 sion " ' ho would send back Bodman to Burghley and 
 Croft, and thus keep this unofficial negotiation upon its 
 legs The King was quite uncommitted, and could always 
 disavow what had been done. Meanwhile he was gaining, 
 and his adversaries losing, much precious time. - If by 
 this course," said Parma, - we can induce the EngUsh to 
 hand over to us the places which they hold in Holland 
 and Zeeland, that ^^^\l be a great triumph. Ac- 
 cordingly he urged the King not to slacken m the least, 
 his preparations for invasion, and, above all, to have a 
 care that the French were kept entangled and em- 
 barrassed among themselves, which was a most 
 
 substantial point.* . , ., » 
 
 Meantime Europe was ringing with the American suc- 
 cesses of the bold corsair Drake. San Domingo, Porto 
 Kico, Santiago, Caithagena, Florida, were sacked and 
 destroyed, and the supplies drawn so steadily from the 
 oppre.4i()n of the Western World to maintain Spanish 
 tyranny in Europe were for a time extinguished, i arma 
 
 1 .• ftr endomiecerlo3 por lo que toca embara^ados entre se que es punto sua- 
 el negiKlo principal." (IWd.) tancialissimo. (Ibid.) 
 
 - " Que los frauceses ae entietengaa 
 
 1586. DRAKE'S VICTORIES AND THEIR EFFECT. 475 
 
 was appalled at these triumphs of the Sea-Kin^— " a 
 fearful man to the King of Spain" '—as Lord Bur-hie v 
 well observed. The Spanish troops were star^^Sg in 
 Inlanders, all Flanders itself was starving, and Philip as 
 usual had sent but insignificant remittances to save his 
 perishing soldiers. Parma had already exhausted his cre- 
 dit. Money was most difficult to obtain in such a forlorn 
 country; and now the few rich merchants and bankers of 
 Antwerp that were left looked very black at these crush- 
 ing news from America. " They are drawing their purse- 
 striDgs very tight," said Alexander, " and will make no 
 accommodation. The most contemplative of them ponder 
 much over this success of Drake, and think that your 
 Majesty will forget our matters here altogether "* For 
 this reason he informed the King that it would be ad- 
 visable to drop all further negotiation witli England for 
 the time, as it was hardly probable that, with such advan- 
 tages gained by the Queen, she would be inclined to pro- 
 ceed m the path whicli had been just secretly opened ^ 
 Moreover, the Prince was in a state of alarm as to the 
 intentions of France. Mendoza and Tassis had given him 
 to understand that a very good feeling prevailed between 
 the court of Henry and of Elizabeth, and that the French 
 were likely to come to a pacification among themselves. ^ 
 In this the Spanish envoys were hardly anticipating so 
 great an effect as we have seen that they had the rio-ht 
 to do from their own indefatigable exertions; for 
 thanks to their zeal, backed by the moderate subsidies 
 furnushed by their master, the civil war in France 
 already seemed likely to be as enduring as that of the 
 Netherlands. But Parma— still quite in the dark as to 
 French politics— was haunted by the vision of seventy 
 thousand foot and six thousand horse * ready to be let 
 slip upon him at any moment, out of a pacified and 
 harmonious France ; while he had nothing but a few 
 starving and crippled regiments to withstand such an 
 invasion. AVhen all these events should have taken 
 place, and France, in alliance with England, should 
 have formally declared war against Spain, Aiexander 
 protested that he should have learned nothing new.' 
 The Prince was somewhat mistaken as to political 
 
 I ; 
 
 I 
 
 > Brace's • Leyc. Correspond.* 199, 
 
 81 March ^ 
 
 2 Parma to Philip II., 9 jklay, 1586 
 (Arch, de Sim. M.S.) 
 
 3 Ibid. * Ibid. 5 Ibid. « Ibid 
 
476 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VIII. 
 
 !♦ 
 
 iii 
 
 affairs : but his doubts concerning his neigbbours.blended 
 with the forlorn condition of himself and army, about 
 which there was no doubt at all, showed the exigencies 
 of his situation. In the midst of such embarrassments 
 it is impossible not to admire his heroism as a milit^ry 
 chieftain, and his singular adroitness as a diplomatist. 
 He had painted for his sovereign a most faithful and 
 horrible portrait of the obedient Provinces. The soil 
 was untilled ; the manufactories had all stopped ; trade 
 had ceased to exist. It was a pity only t<^) look upon 
 the raggedness of his soldiers. No language could 
 describe the misery of ihe reconciled Provinces — Artois, 
 Hainault, Flanders. The condition of Bruges would 
 melt the hardest heart; other cities were no better; 
 Antwerp was utterly ruined ; its inhabitants were all 
 starving. The famine throughout the obedient Nether- 
 lands was such as had not been known for a century. 
 The whole country had been picked bare by the troops, 
 and the plough was not put into the ground. Deputa- 
 tions were constantly with him from Bruges, Dender- 
 monde, Bois-le-Duc, Brussels, Antwerp, Nymegen, 
 proving to him by the most palpable evidence that the 
 whole population of those cities had almost literally 
 nothing to eat. He had nothing, however, but exhor- 
 tations to patience to feed them withal. He was left 
 without a groat even to save his soldiers from starving, 
 and he wildly and bitterly, day after day, implored 
 his sovereign for aid.^ These pictures are not the 
 sketches of a historian striving for effect, but literal 
 transcripts from the most secret revelations of the 
 Prince himself to his sovereign. On the other hand, 
 although Leicester's complaints of the destitution of the 
 English troops in the republic were almost as bitter, yet 
 the condition of the United Provinces was comparatively 
 healthy. Trade, external and internal, was increasing 
 daily. Distant commercial and military expeditions 
 were fitted out, manufactures were prosperous, and the 
 war of independence was gradually becoming — strange 
 to say — a source of prosperity to the new common- 
 wealth. ^ 
 
 Philip — being now less alarmed than his nephew 
 
 1 Letters of Pamm to PhlUp II.. 19 April, 1586; 9 May, 1586; 27 May, 1566, 
 et ai. (Arch, de Sim. MSS.) 
 
 1586. PARMA'S PERPLEXITY AND ANXIETY. 477 
 
 concerning French affairs, and not feeling so keenlv 
 the misery of the obedient Provinces, or &e wants of 
 the fepanish army-sent to Alexander six >mdred 
 thousand ducats by way of Genoa. In the letter sub- 
 mitted by his secretary recording this remittance, the 
 !^J"^' ^f 4f ' however, a characteristic marginal note :- 
 bee if it will not be as well to tell him something 
 concerning the two hundred thousand ducats to he 
 deducted for Mucio, for fear of more mischief, if the 
 Prince should expect the whole six hundred thousand '» » 
 
 niT'^'^'f J/^""^^^ S^* *^^ *^^^ h^^dred thousand. 
 Chie-third of the meagre supply destined for the relief 
 ot the King s starving and valiant little army in the 
 Netherlands was cut off to go into the pocket's of the 
 intrigiung Duke of Guise. - We must keep the French," 
 said Phihp, - m a state of confusion at home, and feed 
 their civil war. We must not allow them to come to a 
 general peace which would be destruction for the 
 Catholics. 1 know you will put a good face on the 
 matter ; and, after all, 'tis in the interest of the Nether- 
 Sed » « ''''^^''' ^^ "^"^"^^y *^h^ll ^e immediately re- 
 Alexander was more likely to make a wrj^ face, not- 
 withstanding his views of the necessity of fomenting 
 the rebellion against the House of Valois. Certainly if 
 a monarch intended to conquer such countries as France, 
 Jljngland, and Holland, without stirring from his easy 
 chair m the Escorial, it would have been at least ^ 
 well--so Alexander thought-to invest a little more 
 capital m the speculation. No monarch ever dreamed 
 ot arriving at universal empire with less personal 
 Pi.-K^^TT^'' exposure, or at a cheaper rate, than did 
 rnuip IL His only fatigue was at his writing-table, 
 ^ut even here his merit was of a subordinate description 
 We sat a great while at a time,— he had a genius for 
 sitting,— but he now wrote few letters himself. A dozen 
 words or so, scrawled in hieroglyphics at the top, 
 bottom, or along the margin of the interminable des- 
 patches of his secretaries, contained the suggestions, 
 
 * "Mirad si es bien declrle algo de los de Sim. MS ) 
 20nm ducad.« para Mrfcio. en caso que 2 "Sustentando los (franceses) el ruido 
 
 sean mene8ter-p.,rque despuos no se en su casa, y uo les dcjando consegulr la 
 
 haga mas de mal.esperando todos 600".." paz general, que uo ha de ser sino dea- 
 
 1 hlUp II. to Parma, 1 4 May. 1 586. (Arch, tracclon de los Catollcoa." &c ( Ibid ) 
 
 I 
 
47 R 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VIII. 
 
 more or less luminous, whicli arose in his mmd concem- 
 ina: public affairs. But he held firmly to his purpose. 
 He had devoted his life to the extermination of 1 rotes- 
 tantism, to the conquest of France and England, to the 
 Bubiuo-ation of Holland. ITiese were vast schemes. A 
 king who should succeed in such enterprises, by his 
 personal courage and genius, at the head of his armies, 
 or bv consummate diplomacy, or by a masterly system 
 of finance— husbanding and concentrating the resources 
 of his almost boundless realms-might be in truth 
 commended for capacity. Hitherto, however, Philip s 
 triumph had seemed problematical ; and perhaps some- 
 thing more would be necessary than letters to 1 arma, 
 and paltry remittances to Mucio, notwithstanding 
 Alexander's splendid but local victories in Flanders. 
 
 Parma, although in reality almost at bay, concealed 
 his despair, and accomplished wonders in the lieid. 
 The military events during the spring and summer of 
 1586 will be sketched in a subsequent chapter, lor 
 the present it is necessary to combine into a complete 
 whole the subterranean negotiations between Brussels 
 
 and England. .„ .. -n ^ i 
 
 Much to his surprise and gratification, Parma found 
 that the peace-party were not inclined to change their 
 views in consequence of the triumphs of Drake. He 
 soon informed the King that— according to Champagny 
 and Bodman— the Lord Treasurer, the Comptroller, 
 Lord Cobham, and Sir Christopher Hatton, were more 
 pacific than they had ever been. These four were 
 represented by Grafigni as secretly m league against 
 Leicester and Walsingham, and ver>' anxious to bring 
 about a reconciliation between the crowns of England 
 and Spain.' Hie merchant-diplomatist, according to 
 his own statement, was expressly sent by Queen Eliza- 
 beth to the Prince of Parma, although without letter ot 
 credence or signed instructions, but with the lull 
 knowledge and approbation of the four counsellors just 
 mentioned. He assured Alexander that the Queen and 
 the majority' of her council felt a strong desire for peace, 
 and had mamfested much repentance for ichat had been done. 
 
 1 Parma to Philip II.. 11 Jane. 1586. 1* paz. y de ammcxlarse con V. M.. y del 
 (An^ de Sim. MS.) arret>cntimentoquemu^trandclohecho. 
 
 2 " La Incllnaclon y deseo que tiene la (Ibid.) 
 Reyna y la mayor parte de su consejo de 
 
 h 
 
 1586. HE IS RELIEVED BY THE NEWS FROM ENGLAND. 479 
 
 Tliey had explained their proceedings by the necessity 
 ot selt-defence. 1 hey had avowed— in case they should 
 be made sure of peace— that they should, not with 
 reluctance and against their will, but, on the contrary 
 with the utmost alacrity and at once, surrender to the 
 King of Spain the territory which they possessed in the 
 Aetherlands. and especially the fortified towns in 
 Holland and Zeeland ;' for the English object had never 
 been conquest. Parma had also been informed of the 
 Queen's strong desire that he (should be employed as 
 neguiiatoi, on account oi hur great conriaeiioe ju hia 
 sincerity lliey had expressed much satisfaction on 
 hearing that he was about to send an agent to En<rland 
 and had protested themselves rejoiced at Drake's 
 triumphs, only because of their hope that a peace with 
 bpam would thus be rendered the easier of accompli^h- 
 T^*i:-|. , ^^ w^^^ «i"ch afraid, according to Grafigni, 
 ot 1 hihp s power, and dreaded a Spanish invasion of 
 their country, in conjunction with the Pope. They 
 were now extremely anxious that Parma— as he himself 
 inlormed the King— should send an agent of good 
 capacity, m great secrecy, to England. The Comp- 
 troller had said that he had pledged himself to such a 
 result, and, if it failed, that they would probably cut off 
 his head. The four counsellors were excessively 
 solicitous for the negotiation, and each of them was 
 expecting to gain favour by advancing it to the best of 
 his ability. 
 
 ^ Parma hinted at the possibility that all these profes- 
 sions were false, and that the English were only intend- 
 ing to keep the King from the contemplated invasion. 
 At the same time he drew Philip's attention to the fact 
 thatBurghley aiui his party had mos't evidently been doing every- 
 thmg m their power to obstruct Leicester's progress in the 
 JSetherlands, and to keep back the reinforcements of troops aud 
 money which he so much required.^ 
 
 No doubt these communications of Parma to the Kino- 
 were made upon the faith of an a^ent not over-scrupulous^ 
 and of no elevated or recognised rank in diplomacy. 
 It must be borne in mind, however, that he had been 
 
 1 " Antes, se allanaran en volver y Zelanda," &c. (Ibid.) 
 TOti^gar a V. M". lo que ocupan y poseen 2 " Que le corten la caboza." Parma 
 y en particular las fuerzas de Holanda y to Philip JJ-, MS. Just cited. » Ibi.1, 
 
^^^^ 
 
 480 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VIII. 
 
 made use of by both parties ; perhaps because it would 
 be easy to thiow otf and discredit him whenever such 
 a step' should be convenient ; and that, on the other 
 hand, coming fresh from Burghley and the rest into the 
 presence of the keen eyed Faniese, he would hardly 
 invent for his employer a budget of falsehoods. That 
 man must have been a subtle negotiator who could 
 outwit such statesmen as Burghley and the other 
 counsellors of Elizabeth, and a bold one who could 
 dare to trifle on a momentous occasion with Alexander 
 
 of Parma. 
 
 Leicester thoucjht Burghley very much his friend, 
 
 and so thought Davison and Heneage ; and the Lord- 
 Treasurer had, in truth, stood stoutly by the Earl in 
 the affair of the absolute governorship; — *'a matter 
 more severe and cumbersome to him and others," said 
 Burghley, *' than any whatsoever since he was a coun- 
 sellor." ' But there "is no doubt that these negotiations 
 were going forward all the spring and summer, that 
 they were most detrimental to Leicester's success, and 
 that they were kept— so far as it was possible— a pro- 
 found secret from him, from Walsingham, and from the 
 States-General. N othing was told them except what their 
 own astuteness had discovered beforehand : and the 
 game of the counsellors— so far as their attitude towards 
 Leicester and Walsingham was concerned — seems both 
 disingenuous and impolitic. 
 
 Parma, it was to be feared, was more than a match 
 for the English governor-general in the field ; and it 
 was certainly hopeless for poor old Comptroller Croft, 
 even though backed by the sagacious Burghley, to 
 accomplish so great an amount of dissimulation in a 
 year as the Spanish cabinet, without effort, could com- 
 pass in a week. Kor were they attempting to do so. It 
 IS probable that England was acting towards Philip in 
 nmch better faith than he deserved, or than Parma 
 believed; but it is hardly to be wondered at that 
 Leicester should think himself injured by being kept 
 perpetually in the dark. 
 
 Elizabeth was very impatient at not receiving direct 
 letters from Parma, and her anxiety on the subject 
 
 13 
 
 » 'Leyc. Corresp.' 268. -- May, 1586. 
 
 1386. 
 
 QUEEN'S SECKET LETTERS TO PARMA. 
 
 explains much of her cannV^ a ■ 
 the govenior-generalshTr Man?"5 *« ^'^'''^ about 
 ^"f«. thought those vXJ.SlT'"''^^^^'^^^- 
 that had been arranced with T ° f *^''°®' ^nd a farce 
 this they were mi^^.^Xl'^^l^ forehand. Z 
 
 secret correspondence of the period? '?^*',°'' "f t^e 
 -which to contemporaries'^werl TT}^ *^« "'"tives 
 strange transactions. The O.I i'dden-of many 
 tremely anxious, and with cans? a^ T\ "° •^°"'^*' ^^^ 
 gathenng over her head; h^tht'^^ l^T^^^ slowly 
 ened, the more was her ovm offiTr,*^'' '^^"S^'^ thick- 
 1" h,gh places befitting tCoveS oTfT *° '^'^^ 
 
 She expressed her surprisl t„T ^^ England, 
 not written to her on tKutw nf ?..''^*^»* ^^ ^ad 
 Bodman affair. The fir«t T^ -f ^^^ Grafigni and 
 -hich he had narked 'a^e'in'v' ""^ i^^^&^int 
 had sent him. The oft;r had nn^" T ?^'°'' *^^*t «he 
 because he had not come providpr. •!^**'"^^ audience, 
 direct or indirect. Ha^ns now , f ^*^ *''^' credentials 
 de Lo ,„^ ^^^ SeiSde cL''°°'^ fr*"" Andrea 
 had the power to coSL „ ^hampagny that Parma 
 very much to des"™ she oCZ\^}t^ ^« ««^e ™d 
 necessaiyforhimtobesocharvir /*!^^ ^' ^"^ "o* 
 of the proposed negotiations^ n "^^T'^S ^^^^ b^sis 
 into a straightforward patnLA '^^ ^?"^'- *° enter 
 to spin out to great IenXmatter« t^ .«mbiguous words 
 at once conclude.' ^ ""'^ "^"^'ch princes should 
 
 ing Sj;lToK'S^V?orf°'.:;i^"* ^ ^-n^eek. 
 that which is mine own But h """^'^ ^ ^^ek only 
 good heed of the s?ord which T ^* ^ ^" ^^^ 
 destruction, nor think that T .f^ ^^^eatens me with 
 to endure a wrono- nf+r^ i ^ ^ so craven-spirited »« 
 ?iy enemy. ^^rf^^ZkitfT^"^^ ''' theCrcyrf 
 from Spain that tWear 2 11 L-f'^^'"!''^ ^"^ letters 
 England; for the iZi^a} T^^V^^ ^o^^M ^f; 
 dJtvided, with great liCl'^ ^ ^t ^""ter who 
 body and limbs^f the wo^ l^e W *??! ft ^'^nds the 
 have partitioned tbiskinSmand tW ^^I'^t" ^'^^^~ 
 the conquest has been efecrd r!.* of Ireland before 
 no whit appalled by sucXeaS* TtS '^^1^^^ 
 
 ' Queen Elizabeth to PHn . t> ' ^*^ *^® 
 
 2 I 
 
482 THE UNITED NETHEELANDS. Chap. VUL 
 
 1, i„ ^f tTie Divine hand— which has thus far miracu- 
 Sv p rt^r^eTmo-to smite all these braggart powers 
 Z ^n^'and to preserve my bonour and the kmg- 
 Ilnm, which He has given me for my heritage, 
 ^"vertheless, ifV ta- authority to enter npon 
 
 and to conclude this negotiation, y°"7/l /'^^^^rther 
 Ta^la^^s WTXXi tl^'U:'^t'^ 
 
 hani ""^ily 1-- «ff-«* -^'^ ^^•'*""^"*^ '^°" 
 
 "'^s'JTliterwards, Bodm»i was again despat^^od to 
 England Grafigni being already there. He was pro^ 
 vWTdw^th unsigned instructions, according to which 
 he was to say Uiat the Prince, having heard of the 
 Oueln's gooTintentions had despatehed him and Gra- 
 Sto h^r court. They were to listen to any «ug|es- 
 tk^s made by the Queen to her ministers ; b"t they 
 IZ t'dono^ing but listen. .1^ t^e -unsell^rs^^^^ 
 enter into their grievances against his MaJ^^y- ^^ ^^ 
 for explanations, the agents were to say that they had 
 no aXrity or instructions to speak for bo gr^at and 
 Christian a monarch. Thus they were to cut the 
 thrcadTf ^y such discoui-se, or any other observations 
 
 '"liknJ: Sort! was recommended, first and last, as 
 the oneVeat business of their mission; and it was 
 mauckv that men whose talent for taciturnity was thus 
 riSv reUed upon should be somewhat remarkable for 
 k,Sy Grafigni was also the bearer of a letter from 
 Kndertothe>een_of which Bodman received a 
 copy-but it was strictly enjoined upon them to keep 
 ^letter, their instructions, and the objects of their 
 innrnev a secrot from all the world. 
 J°X^ieUer of the Prince consisted mainly of compli- 
 mentarv flourishes. He had heard, he said, all that 
 SSo Grafigni had communicated, and he now begged 
 heTCesty tolet him understand the course which it 
 w^ p^Vto t^° : ^'^^S lier of his gratitude for 
 
 . MS ) " Ck)rtaiido el hllo a la platica y 
 
 1 MS. just cited. „„„^,^„ Bo- dLscursos a.mo atos dolos demas queno- 
 
 1586. HIS LETTERS AKD INSTRUCTIONS TO BODMAN. 483 
 
 her good opinion touching his sincerity, and his desire 
 to save the effusion of blood, and so on concluding of 
 
 ^dTevTtion ■'^'''''°°' "^ °'°'' P^°f°'«'l conside Jion 
 Early in July Bodman arrived in London. He found 
 Grafigni in very low spirits. He had been with Lord 
 Cobham and was much disappointed with his reception 
 for Cobham-ang^ that Grafigni had brought no^S,m: 
 mission from the King-had refused to receive I>am?s 
 letter to the Queen, and had expressed annoyanceTha? 
 
 WhT), t?^*^ ^ '"'P^°y^'^ '"^ '^'^ ■mission, ha^W 
 heard that ho was very ill-tempered and pa^ionlte 
 The same evening, he had been sent for by Lord 
 Burghley-who had accepted the letter for her Makstv 
 mthout saving a word-and on the following mSg 
 he had been taken to task by several counsellors^ 
 
 ite^Zt thfo*^' ""TT' '"^ *^^* communication C 
 stated that the Queen had expressed a desire for peace « 
 
 It has just been shown that there was no such ^^t^' 
 mationatali in the letter; but as neither cXni^or 
 Bodman had read the epistle itself, but only tte copy 
 furnished them they could merely say that such an 
 assertion, rf made by the Prince, i^d Wn foimded on 
 no statement of theirs. Bodman consoled his cXatT 
 as well as he could, by assurances that when theS; 
 
 a"^ Sl'^'"''\^f ^'"dication would be ^mS 
 and Grafigni, upon that point, was comforted. He was 
 
 He ifdllfrfc^"^''^"',^-'' ^"«''* counsellors. 
 «e said that they had forced him, against his will to 
 
 make this journey to Bnissels, that th!y had ofi-eredhim 
 presents, that they would leave him no rest in his o^ 
 house, but had made him neglect all his private buSm!^ 
 and caused him a great loss of time and money, in orde^ 
 
 ston^^st");! ^* tn i^'"^- .^^^y ^^ 'nantf;sted the 
 
 S aL Wl h*'- ^^"^ '^"'^'^ °P^"» '^ communi- 
 cation and had led him to expect a very large recompense 
 
 rLfi,^^-'*T- '"n*^" transaction. "And now."^said 
 no f«^fK his colleague, with great bitterness, "I find 
 no taith nor honour in them at all. They don't keep 
 
 2 I 2 
 
 II 
 
 I'i 
 
 f^i 
 
484 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VHI. 
 
 their word, and every one of them is trying to slide out 
 of the very business, in which each was but the other 
 day striving to outrival the other, in order that it 
 might be brought to a satisfactory conclusion." * 
 
 After exploding in this way to Bodman, he went 
 back to Cobham, and protested, with angry vehemence, 
 that Parma had never written such a word to the Queen, 
 and that so it would prove, if the letter were pro- 
 duced. 
 
 Next day, Bodman was sent for to Greenwich, where 
 her Majesty was, as usual, residing. A secret pavilion 
 was indicated to him, where he was to stay until sunset. 
 When that time arrived. Lord Cobham's secretary came 
 with great mystery, and begged the emif sary to follow 
 him, but at a considerable distance, towards the apart- 
 ments of Lord Burghley in the palace. Arriving there, 
 they found the Lord-Treasurer accompanied by Cobham 
 and Croft. Burghley, instantly opened the interv'iew 
 by a defence of the Queen's policy in sending troops to 
 the Netherlands, and in espousing their cause, and then 
 the conversation proceeded to the immediate matter in 
 
 hand." 
 
 Bodman (after listening respectfully to the Lord- 
 Treasurer's observations).—" His Highness has, how- 
 ever, been extremely surprised that my Lord Leicester 
 should take an oath as governor-general of the King's 
 Provinces. He is shocked likewise by the great demon- 
 strations of hostility on the part of her Majesty." 
 
 Burghley. — " The oath was indispensable. The Queen 
 was obliged to tolerate the step on account of the great 
 urgency of the States to have a head. But her Majesty 
 has commanded us to meet you on this occasion, in order 
 to hear what you have to communicate on the part of the 
 
 Prince of Parma." 
 
 Bodman (after a profusion of complimentary phrases). 
 — " I have no commission to say anything, I am only 
 instructed to listen to anji;hing that may be said to me, 
 and that her Majesty may be pleased to command." 
 
 Burghley. — " 'Tis very discreet to begin thus. But 
 time is pressing, and it is necessary to be brief We 
 
 1 "No faallaba f%, palabra, nl honra qulen prlmero lo podrio ac abar." 'Rela- 
 entre ellos, porque cada uno querla cion de lo sucedldo,' &c. (Arch, de Sim. 
 saline aftiera que de antes estrlbaban MS. last dted.) « Ibid. 
 
 1586. BOUMAN'S TRANSACTIONS AT GREENWICH. 485 
 
 beg vou therefore to communicate, without furthpr 
 preface, that which you have been charged to J " 
 
 Bodman.-"! can only repeat to you? Lordship that 
 I have been charged to say nothing " ^' 
 
 After this Barmecide feast of diplomacy, to partake of 
 which It seemed hardly necessaiy that the guertsTould 
 have previously attired themselves in such imifnte of 
 mystery, the parties separated for the night F^™*"*" °^ 
 
 A T\^.°^^^'''\ ^^'•<'' it '"'oi'W seem that the Artrus 
 eyed Walsingham had been able to see after sunset Tr 
 the next evening-after Bodman had been introdliced 
 with the same precautions to the same company in the 
 
 Bodman was profoundly astonished, for he had beer, 
 expressly informed that Walsingham was to know 
 ^othing of the transaction.' ThI Secret^^y of St^tT 
 could not so easily be outwitted, however, md he was 
 soon seated at the table, surveying the sc^ne wirtilt 
 grave melancholy eyes, which hid fookedquft'e Through 
 the whole paltry intrigue. ^ ^nrougli 
 
 Burghley.-" Her Majesty has commanded us to 
 assemble together, in order that, in my presence it mav 
 
 LetTlV '' •'l!^* '*'' ^'^ T' "='""'"enJe?hi8negot S 
 ijet (jrafigni be summoned." <»""u. 
 
 Grafigni immediately made his appearance. 
 
 Burghley.-" You will please to explain how von 
 came to enter into this business " ^ ^ " 
 
 Grafigni.-'' The first time I went to the States it 
 was on my private affairs ; I had no order from aTy one 
 to treat witi the Prince of Pama. His Highnes^ 
 having axjcidentally heard, however, that I resided S 
 England expressed a wish to see mo. I had an inter 
 
 rr r*rf ^" ^T-^^- ^ *°'<1 ^^^ °"t of my own he^ 
 that the Queen had a strong inclination to W pro' 
 position of peace, and that-ts some of her counseHo™ 
 were of the same opinion-I believed that if his SS 
 
 The pCi * "T^^ff; T-^^'.SOod would be eCc?ed 
 Ihe Pnnce replied that he felt bv no means sure of 
 s^ich a result; but that, if I should come Wk from 
 Engird, sent by the Queen or her council, he would 
 then despatch a person with a commission to treat of 
 
 »'EeUciondelo8nc«lido,'4c. MS. last cltM. t ma. j „,y 
 
486 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VHI. 
 
 peace. This statement, together with other matters 
 that had passed between ns, was afterwards drawn up 
 in writing by command of his Highness." 
 
 Biirghlej.— " Who bade you say, after your second 
 return to Brussels, that you came on the part of the 
 Queen ? For you well know that her Majesty did not 
 send you." 
 
 Grafigni.— " I never said so. I stated that my Lord 
 Cobham had set down in writing what I was to say to 
 the Prince of Parma. It will never appear that I re- 
 presented the Queen as desiring peace. I said that 
 her Majesty vxmld lend her ears to peace. Bodman knows 
 this too ; and he has a copy of the letter of his High- 
 ness." 
 
 Walsingham to Bodman.—" Have you the copy still ?" 
 
 Bodman. — ** Yes, Mr. Secretary." 
 
 Walsingham.—** Please to produce it, in order that 
 this matter may be sifted to the bottom." 
 
 Bodman.—*' I supplicate your Lordships to pardon 
 me, but indeed that cannot be. My instructions forbid 
 my showing the letter." 
 
 Walsingham (rising).—** I will forthwith go to her 
 Majesty, and fetch the originaL" A pause. Mr. Secre- 
 tary returns in a few minutes, having obtained the 
 document, which the Queen, up to that time, had kept 
 by her, without showing it to any one.^ 
 
 Walsingham (after reading the letter attentively, and 
 aloud).—'* ITiere is not such a word, as that her Majesty 
 is desirous of peace, in the whole paper."* 
 
 Burghley (taking the letter, and slowly construing it 
 out of Italian into English).-** It would seem that his 
 Highness hath written this, assuming that the Signer 
 Grafigni came from the Queen, although he had re- 
 ceived his instructions from my Lord Cobham. It is 
 plain, however, that the negotiation was commenced 
 accidentally." 
 
 Comptroller Croft (nervously, and with the air of a 
 man fearful of getting into trouble).—*' You know very 
 well, Mr. Bodman, that my servant came to Dunkirk 
 only to buy and truck away horses ; and that you then, 
 
 » • Relacion de lo sucedido,' &c. MS. • Leyc. Corresp.' 321, ■ "'" ^, 1586 ; and 
 
 before cited. gojnne ,.^^ 
 
 5» ' Relacion,' &c. Compare Bruce's 327, j^-j^. lose. 
 
 1586. WALSINGHAM DETECTS AND EXPOSES THE PLOT. 487 
 
 by chance, entered into talk with him about the best 
 means of procunng a peace between the two kingdoms 
 f^^CZ^; "^irtfJtF^J^^^^ that pr&i 
 
 ■r> v*uv^ic trausaciion. 
 
 Burghley.—- That is quite true." 
 
 Crolt.—** My servant subsequently returned to the 
 
 Bodman (with immense politeness,' but very de- 
 cidedly) " Pardon me, Mr Comptrol er ; butjn^tht 
 matter, I must speak the truth, even if the honour and 
 life of my father were on the issue. I declare that 
 your servant ^ orris came to me, directly commissioned 
 for that purpose byyourself, and informed me from you, 
 Sfnn?nf° .^°"' ^tJ^o^ty, that if 1 would solicit the 
 Pnnce of I'arma to send a secret agent to England a 
 peace would be at once negotiated. Your Snt 
 entreated me to go to his Highness at BrusselJ I 
 refused, but agreed to consider the proposition. After 
 the lapse of several days, the servant returned to make 
 
 f^ nn/"^ • ""'"'-XT ^ ^^^ ^'"^ ^''t tJ^e P™«« tad come 
 to no decision. Norns continued to press the matter. 
 
 ie a W T •''^ i^" *''"" ^""""^d a^d obtained from 
 h^s H.V^ ° '°?°'J°«t'0'? to De Loo, the secretaiy of 
 
 and had an interview-as I found, four days later-with 
 \w "*r' ^ ^o'lsequence of the representations of 
 ^ orris, those of Signer Grafigni, and those by way of 
 
 EngTanT" ^''' determined to send^ ,^1 to 
 
 Burghley to Croft.-" Did you order your servant to 
 speak with Andrea de Loo ? " 
 
 Croft. — " I cannot deny it." 
 
 Burghley.— " The fellow" seems to have travelled a 
 good way out of hi^ commission. His mast^rl^^ds him 
 to buy horses, and he commences a peace-negotiation 
 between two kingdoms. It would be well he were 
 chastised. As regards the Antwerp matter, too, we 
 have had many letters, and I have seen one from the 
 
 • 'Retaclon,' *c. MS. . "Con bue.,. crlama," &c. • Itelaci™,' ic. MS. 
 
 »"Muzo." (Ibid.) 
 
488 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VHI. 
 
 Seigneur de Champagny, to the same effect as that of all 
 the rest." 
 
 Walsingham. — " I see not to what end his Highness 
 of Parma hath sent Mr. Bodman hither. The Trince 
 avows that he hath no commission from Spain." 
 
 Bodman. — " His Highness was anxious to know what 
 was her Majesty's pleasure. So soon as that should be 
 known, the Prince could obtain ample authority. He 
 would never have proceeded so far without meaning a 
 good end." 
 
 Walsingham. — ** Very like. I daro say that his 
 Highness will obtain the commission. Meantime as 
 Prince of Parma, he writes these letters, and assists his 
 sovereign perhaps more than he doth ourselves." ^ 
 
 Here the interview terminated. A few days later, 
 
 Bodman had another conversation with Burghley and 
 
 14th July, Cobham. Reluctantly, at their urgent request, 
 
 1586. * lie set down in writing all that he had said 
 concerning his mission. The Lord Treasurer said that 
 the Queen and her counsellors were *' ready to embrace 
 peace when it was treated of sincerely." Meantime the 
 Queen had learned that the Prince had been sending 
 letters to the cautionary towns in Holland and Zee- 
 land, stating that her Majesty was about to surrender 
 them to the king of Spain. These were tricks to make 
 mischief, and were very detrimental to the Queen. 
 
 Bodman replied that these were merely the idle 
 stories of quidnuncs ; and that the Prince and all his 
 counsellors were dealing with the utmost sincerity. 
 
 Burghley answered that he had intercepted the very 
 letters, and had them in his possession. 
 
 A week afterwards, Bodman saw Walsingham alone, 
 20th July, and was informed by him that the Queen had 
 
 1586. written an answer to Parma's letter, and that 
 negociations for the future were to be carried on in the 
 usual form, or not at all. Walsingham, having thus got 
 the better of his rivals, and delved below their mines, 
 dismissed the agent with brief courtesy. Afterwards 
 the discomfited Mr. Comptroller wished a private inter- 
 view with Bodman. Bodman refused to speak with him 
 except in presence of Lord Cobham. This Croft refused. 
 In the same way Bodman contrived to get rid, as he 
 
 1 ' Relaclon,' &c. MS. 
 
 1586. QUEEN'S LETTER TO PARMA-HIS TO THE KING. 489 
 
 said of Lord Burghley and Lord Cobham, declining to 
 speak with either of them alone. Soon afterwards he 
 returned to the Provinces. ' 
 
 The Queen's letter to Parma was somewhat caustic. 
 It was obviously composed through the inspiration of 
 \\alsingham rather than that of Burghley. The letter 
 brought by a certain Grafigni and a certain Bodman she 
 said, was a very strange one, and written under a 
 Sif'Tl 1 ^^^a/e^y g^ave error that, in her name, 
 without her knowledge, contrary to her disposition, and 
 to the prejudice of her honour, such a person as this 
 Grafigni, or any one like him, should have the audacitv 
 to commence such a business, as if she had by messages 
 to the Prince sought a treaty with his King, who Ld 
 so often returned evil for her good. Grafigni, after 
 representing the contrary to his Highness, had now 
 denied in presence of her counsellors havine; received 
 any commission from the Queen. She also brieflv 
 gave the result of Hodman's interviews with Bur-hie v 
 ^ . ^ fu""! n'' J'''* narrated. That agent had inti- 
 mated that Parma would procure authority to treat 
 tor peace, if assured that the Queen would lend her ear 
 to any propositions. 
 
 She replied by referring to her published declara- 
 tions, as showing her powerful motives for interfering in 
 these affairs. It was her purpose to save her own realm 
 and to rescue her ancient neighbours from misery and 
 from slavery To this end she should still direct her 
 actions, notwithstanding the sinister rumoura which had 
 been spread that she was inclined to peace before pro- 
 viding fur the security and liberty of her allies. She 
 was determined never to separate their cause from her 
 own. Propositions tending to the security of herself 
 received «'' neighbours would always be favourably 
 
 Parma, on his part, informed his master that there 
 could be no doubt that the Queen and the majority of 
 
 I 'Relaclon de lo sucedldo.' &c. MS. A «• Carta desclfrada de la Reyna de In- 
 
 J^rot proceedings is m the State Paper 15S6. (Arch, de ^m. MS.) ^' 
 
 t^r? *"a I ^ ^""^ Correspondence, en- A copy is also-written In the Italian 
 
 tr^atlnlf '"'""? "^ '^' "^'^""^^ «^ language-in the S. P. Office. Flande^ 
 treathig of peace underhand to the Earl of Correspondence MS. 
 Leicester.' MS. A" 1586. 
 
490 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VTII. 
 
 her council abhorred the war, and that already much 
 had been gained by the fictitious negociation. Lord- 
 Treasurer Burghleyhad been interposing endless delays 
 and difficulties in the way of every measure proposed for 
 the relief of Lord Leicester, and the assistance rendered 
 him had been most lukewarm. Meantime the Prince had 
 been able/ he said, to achieve much success in the field, 
 and the English had done nothing to prevent it. Since the 
 return of Grafigni and Bodman, however, it was obvious 
 that the English government had disowned these non- 
 4th Angust, commissioned diplomatists. The whole nego- 
 i«^'*«- tiation and all the negotiators were now dis- 
 credited, but there was no doubt that there had been a 
 strong desire to treat, and great disappointment at the 
 result. Grafigni and Andrea de Loo had been publish- 
 ing everywhere in Antwerp that England would con- 
 sider the peace as made, so soon as his Majesty should 
 be willing to accept any propositions.* 
 
 His Majesty, meanwhile, sat in his cabinet, without 
 the slightest intention of making or accepting any 
 propositions save those that were impossible. lie 
 smiled benignantly at his nephew's dissimulation and at 
 the good results which it had already produced. He 
 approved of gaining time, he said, by fictitious nego- 
 tiations and by the use of a mercantile agent ; for, no 
 doubt, such a course would prevent the proper succours 
 from being sent to the Earl of Leicester. If the English 
 would hand over to him the cautionary towns held by 
 them in Holland and Zeeland, promise no longer to 
 infest the seas, the Indies, and the Isles, with their 
 corsairs, and guarantee the complete obedience to their 
 King and submission to the holy Catholic Church of the 
 rebellious Provinces, perhaps something might be done 
 with them ; but, on the whole, he was inclined to think 
 that they had been influenced by knavish and deceitful 
 18th Sept. motives from the beginning. He enjoined it 
 1686. upon Parma, therefore, to proceed with equal 
 knavery — taking care, however, not to injure his repu- 
 tation — and to enter into negociations wherever occasion 
 might serve, in order to put the English off their guard 
 and to keep back the reinforcements so imperatively 
 required by Leicester.* 
 
 1 I^anua tu Philip II. 4 Aug. 1586. 
 (Arch, de Sim. MS.) 
 
 > Philip II. to Parma, 18 July, 1686. 
 (Arch, de Slin. MB.) 
 
 1586. UNLUCKY RESULTS OF THE PEACE INTRIGUES. 491 
 
 And the reinforcements were indeed kept back. Had 
 B'jrghley and Croft been in the pay of Philip II. they 
 C(juld hardly have served him better than they had been 
 doing by the course pursued. Here then is the explana- 
 tion of the shortcomings of the English government 
 towards Leicester and the States during the memorable 
 spring and summer of 1586. Ko money, no soldiers, 
 when most important operations in the field were re- 
 quired. The first general of the age was to be opposed 
 by a man who had certainly never gained many laurels 
 as a military chieftain, but who was brave and confident, 
 and who, had he been faithfully supported by the go- 
 vernment which sent him to the Netherlands, would 
 have had his antagonist at a great disadvantage. Alex- 
 ander had scarcely eight thousand efi*ective men. 
 Famine, pestilence, poverty, mutiny, beset and almost 
 paralyzed him. Language could not exaggerate the 
 absolute destitution of the country. Only miracles 
 could save the King's cause, as Earnese repeatedly ob- 
 served. A sharp vigorous campaign, heartily carried 
 on against him by Leicester and Hohenlo, with plenty 
 of troops and money at command, would have brought 
 the heroic champion of Catholicism to the ground. He 
 was hemmed in upon all sides ; he was cut off from the 
 sea ; he stood as it were in a narrowing circle, sur- 
 rounded by increasing dangers. His own veterans, 
 maddened by misery, stung by their King's ingratitude, 
 naked, starving, ferocious, were turning against him. 
 Mucio, like his evil genius, was spiriting away his sup- 
 plies just as they were reaching his hands ; a threatening 
 tempest seemed rolling up from France; the whole 
 population of the Provinces which he had " reconciled " 
 — a million of paupers— were crying to him for bread ; 
 great commercial cities, suddenly blasted and converted 
 into dens of thieves and beggars, were cursing the royal 
 author of their ruin, and uttering wild threats against 
 his vicegerent ; there seemed in truth, nothing left for 
 Alexander but to plunge headlong into destruction, 
 when, lo ! Mr. Comptroller Croft, advancing out of the 
 clouds, like a propitious divinity, disguised in the garb 
 of a foe — and the scene was changed. 
 
 The feeble old man, with his shuffling, horse- trucking 
 servant, ex-spy of Monsieur, had accomplished more 
 
492 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VHI. 
 
 work for Philip and Alexander than many regiments of 
 Spaniards and Walloons could have done. The arm of 
 Leicester was paralyzed upon the very threshold of 
 success. The picture of these palace-intrigues has been 
 presented with minute elaboration, because, however 
 petty and barren in appearance, they were in reality 
 prolific of grave results. A series of victories by Parma 
 was substituted for the possible triumphs of Elizabeth 
 and the States. 
 
 The dissimulation of the Spanish court was fathom- 
 less. The secret correspondence of the times reveals to 
 us that its only purpose was to deceive the Queen and 
 her counsellors, and to gain time to prepare the grand 
 invasion of England and subjugation of Holland — that 
 double purpose which Philip could only abandon with 
 life. There was never a thought, on his part, of honest 
 negotiation. On the other hand, the Queen was sincere ; 
 Burghley and Hatton and Cobham were sincere ; Croft 
 was sincere, so far as Spain was concerned. At least 
 they had been sincere. In the private and doleful 
 dialogues between Bodman and Graiigni which we have 
 just been overhearing, these intriguers spoke the truth, 
 for they could have no wish to deceive each other, and 
 no fear of eaves-droppers not to be bom till centuries 
 aftewards. These conversations have revealed to us that 
 the Lord-Treasurer and three of his colleagues had been 
 secretly doing their best to cripple Leicester, to stop 
 the supplies for the Netherlands, and to patch up a 
 hurried and unsatisfactory, if not a disgraceful peace ; 
 and this, with the concurrence of her Majesty. After 
 their plots had been discovered by the vigilant Secretary 
 of State, there was a disposition to discredit the humbler 
 instruments in the cabal. Elizabeth was not desirous of 
 peace. Far from it. She was qualmish at the very sug- 
 gestion. Dire was her wrath against Bodman, De Loo, 
 Grafigni, and the rest, at their misrepresentations on the 
 subject. But she would '*lend her ear." And that 
 royal ear was lent, and almost fatal was the distilment 
 poured into its porches. The pith and marrow of the 
 great Netherland enterprise was sapped by the slow 
 poison of the ill-timed negotiation. The fruit of Drake's 
 splendid triumphs in America was blighted by it. The 
 stout heart of the vainglorious but courageous Leicester 
 
 1586. UNHANDSOME TREATMENT OF LEICESTER. 493 
 
 was sickened by it, while meantime, the maturing of 
 the great armada-scheme, by which the destruction of 
 England was to be accomplished, was furthered, throudi 
 Philip procrastination so precious to the heart of 
 
 thfw^fTf ^i^' subtle Walsingham was there upon 
 
 too Ztl ''//T.''''l'' ^^^ l^^^^^y ^^^^'^ it was quite 
 too lat^ ; and to him England and the Netherlands were 
 under lasting obligations. While Alexander and PhiHp 
 suspected a purpose on the part of the English govem- 
 
 that the Earl of Leicester was both deserted and 
 deceived Yet it had been impossible for the peace 
 party in the government wholly to conceal their desicms 
 when such prating fellows as Grafigni and De Loo ITre 
 employed m what was intended to be a secret negotk! 
 
 X^i. ^ r'""/'^ *^^ ^"^'^^^ ^f Leicester in the 
 Netherlands endeavour to account for the neglect with 
 which he was treated, and for the destitution of hi^ 
 
 "^vl^^^'P f^V'^ they attempt to counteract those 
 advertisements of most fearful instance," as Eichard 
 
 e::^^r:^''''''' ""^^^''^ ^-^^^^ --^ --^^^^4 
 
 inl^?°r ' *"" ^v% babbling of the very men whose chief 
 nstructions had been to hold their tongues and to 
 hsten with all tbeir eai. the secret negotiations between 
 f.ir /a /^^ ^""-^"^ counsellors became the town 
 T o^^n ^?,^^.^^' ^^'\ Hague, Amsterdam, Brussels, 
 London. It is true that it was impossible to know 
 what wa^ actually said and done ; but that there was 
 something doing concerning which Leicester was not to 
 
 visits to the obedient Provinces, brought a brace of 
 greyhounds and a couple of horses from England, as a 
 
 » CavendtsL to Burghley, 18 March. 
 1686. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 "Champagny doth not spare most 
 Uberally to bruit abroad, "said Cavendish, 
 ** that he hath in his hands the conditions 
 of peace offered by her Majesty unto the 
 King his master, and that it is in his 
 power U> conclude at pleasure, wherein 
 he afflrmeth that one or two of the chiefest 
 counsellors about her are to handle the 
 
 cause with him. This fearful and mis- 
 chievous plot cannot but prove the root 
 of great ruin; for this people, beaten 
 with tedious, long, and sharp miseries, is 
 made wonderful provident and suspicious; 
 saying, that, if they icould suffer the 
 Spanish yoke anetc, they need no mediator, 
 for they can eatily conclude far them- 
 selves, how, u-ith leatt mischief, to become 
 miserable again." 
 
494 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VIII. 
 
 present to Alexander,* and he perpetually went about 
 bragging to every one of important negotiations which 
 he was conducting, and of his intimacy with great per- 
 sonages in both countries. Leicester, on the other hand, 
 was kept in the dark. To him Grafigni made no com- 
 munications, but he once sent him a dish of plums, 
 *' which," said the Earl with superfluous energy, "I 
 will boldly say to you, by the living God, is all that I 
 have ever had since I came into these countries."* 
 When it is remembered that Leicester had spent many 
 thousand pounds in the Ketherland cause,* that he had 
 deeply mortgaged his property in order to provide more 
 funds, that he had never received a penny of salary from 
 the Queen,* that his soldiers were '* ragged and torn 
 like rogues -pity to see them," * and were left without 
 the means of supporting life ; that he had been neglected, 
 deceived, humiliated, until he was forced to describe 
 
 I • Leyc Corresp.' 289, - June, 1686. 
 i Ibid. 246, ^4^'. 1586. 
 
 ' 8 May 
 
 » " I myself have prested," wrote the 
 E«rl to Burghley, " above 30001. among 
 our men here since I came, and yet what 
 need they be in, even when there is most 
 need of Bervice, all the world here doth 
 see. Here hath been as lewd and dan- 
 gerous mutinies as 1 cannot but grieve to 
 think on it." &c March 29, 1586. (S. P. 
 Office MS.) 
 
 * On the 14 May, 1586, the States- 
 General resolved, in consequence of re- 
 peated applications on behalf of Leicester, 
 for money for his own personal expenses 
 by way of salary, that, although the 
 Queen had expressly agreed, by the con- 
 tract with the States, to pay the salary of 
 the governor-general and other military 
 chiefs, they would themselves very wil- 
 lingly provide for his salary and mainten- 
 ance, according to his petition. They 
 previously requested Mr. Killigrew, how- 
 ever, to famish them information as to 
 how much monthly allowance her Ma- 
 jesty was then paying the lieutenant- 
 general. 
 
 On the 16 May, 1586, the committee of 
 the States appointeif to confer with Mr. 
 Killigrew concerning the amount of 
 monthly allowance paid to the Earl of 
 Leicester, reported that Mr. Killigrew bad 
 
 openly and roundly declared that his 
 Excellency, up to that hour, had never 
 received one stiver of salary, and that 
 bis Excellency bad told him so, on the 
 word of a prince. " De zelve Heere Killi- 
 grew hen opentlyk ende rondelyk heeft 
 vercleert dat Zyne Exc« tot op dejBC ure 
 toe nyet eenen styver voer tractement 
 hadde ontfangen van heere Ma'., ende dat 
 dezelve Zyne Ex" hem hadde geseyt en 
 parole de prince, dat van zyn tractement 
 by heere Ma*, nyet een woort was ge- 
 sproken." ' Resoiutien van de Staten- 
 general, ao 1586.' Hague Archives MS. 
 It was subsequently voted by the States- 
 General (4 July, 1586) that the Earl 
 should receive a salary of 60,000 florins 
 yearly, to be drawn from the general 
 duties upon cloth ; and that, in case her 
 Majesty should continue in her refusal to 
 contribute to his salary, the annual al- 
 lowance furnished by the States should 
 be Increased to 100,000 florins. 
 
 Ten thousand pounds sterling a year in 
 the sixteenth century was certainly a 
 princely salary, and it was hardly be- 
 coming in the Queon, who refused to pay 
 her own favourite " a stiver," to censure 
 any shortcomings of the States, who 
 proved themselves so much more liberal 
 than herself. ' Resoiutien,' *c. ubi sup. 
 
 » • Lcya Conrespi' 286, %P^, 1688. 
 
 ' *^ 10 June 
 
 1586. INDIGNATION OF THE EARL AND WALSINGHAM. 495 
 
 himself as a " forlorn man set upon a forlorn hope " » it 
 must be conceded that Grafigni's present of a di^h of 
 plums could hardly be sufficient to make him very 
 
 From time to time he wa^ enlightened by Sir Francis 
 who occasiona y forced his adversaries' hands, and who 
 always faithfully informed the Earl of everythincr he 
 could discover. " We are so greedy of a peace in 
 respect of the charges of the wars," he wrote in April 
 
 ^ m the procuring thereof we weigh neither honou^ 
 nor safety Somewhat here is a-dealing underhand 
 wherein there is great care taken that I should not be 
 made acquainted withal." « But with all their ereat 
 care, the conspi^tors, as it has been seen, were some- 
 times outwitted by the Secretary, and, when put to the 
 blush, were forced to take him into half-confidence. 
 
 Your Lordship may see," he wrote, after getting pos- 
 session of Parma's letter to the Queen, and unravelling 
 Croft 8 intrigues, - what effects are wrought by such 
 weak ministers Thei/ that have been the employers of them 
 are ashamed of the matter.'* » r ^ j 
 
 Unutterable was the amazement, as we have seen, of 
 Bodman and Grafigni when they had suddenly found 
 themselves confronted in Burghley's private apartments 
 m Greenwich Palace, whither they had been conducted 
 BO mysteriously after dark from the secret pavilion-bv 
 the grave Secretary of State, whom they had been so 
 anxious to deceive ; and great was ihe embarrassment 
 Bur hie ^^^^^» ^^d even of the imperturbable 
 
 And thus patiently did Walsingham pick his course 
 plummet m hand, through the mists and alone the 
 quick^nds, and faithfully did he hold out signals to his 
 comrade embarked on the same dangerous voyage. As 
 for the Larl himself, he was shocked at the shortsighted 
 policy of his mistress, mortified by the neglect to which 
 he was exposed disappointed in his ambitious schemes. 
 Vehemently and judiciously he insisted upon the ne- 
 cessity of vigorous field-operations throughout the spring: 
 and summer thus frittered away in frivolous negotiations: 
 
 . » 'Leyc Oorresp.' 290, 1 June, 1586. . ibid. 223. i| April. I58f 
 
 a ¥ujj nn, ** June 
 ^^^^ 221, ^-^. 1586. 
 
1586. 
 
 ;, 
 
 496 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VIII. 
 
 SECRET LETTERS OF PARMA TO PHILIP. 
 
 He was for peace, if a lasting and honouraHe peace 
 "ouW te prolured; but he insisted that the onlyo^ 
 to such a result was through a " good sharp war. H:^ 
 troops were mutinous for want of pay. so that he had 
 been obliged to have a few of them executed, although 
 he protested that he would have " rather gone a thousand 
 miles a-foof" than have done so; and he was cnppled 
 by Ws government at exactly the time when his. great 
 adversary's condition was most forlorn. Was it strange 
 Al'Xe proud Earl should be fretting his h^rt awaj 
 when such colden chances were eluding his grasp ? He 
 wou?d " cre?p upon the ground," he said. " as far as his 
 Zds and toees would carry him, to have a good peace 
 for her Maiesty, but his care was to have a peace indeed 
 and not a diow of it." ' It was the cue of Holland and 
 England to fight before they could expect to deal uj^on 
 favourable teSns with their enemy. He was quick 
 enough to see that his false colleagues at home were 
 playing into the enemy's hands. Vic ory was what was 
 wanted ; victory the Earl pledged himself, if properly 
 Tconded, to obtain; and, braggart though he was, it is 
 by no m;ans impossible that he might have redeemed 
 his pledge. " If her Majesty will use her ad^^^t^^'. 
 he said, " she shall bring the King, and specially this 
 Prince of Parma, to seek peace in other sort than by 
 way of merchants."* Of courage and confidence the 
 governor had no lack. Whether he was capable of out- 
 generalling Alexander Famese or no, will be better 
 feen, perhlps, in subsequent chapters ; but there is no 
 doubt that he was reasonable enough u. thinking at 
 that juncture, that a hard campaip rather than a 
 "merchant's brokemge"' was ^/q"'^<^d ^o obtain an 
 honourable peace. Lofty, indeed, was the ^com of the 
 aristocratic ^^Leicester that "merchants and pedlare 
 should be paltering in so weighty a cause and daring 
 to send him a dish of plums when he was hoping half-a- 
 dozen regimente from the Queen ; and a soiry business, 
 in truth, the pedlars had made of it. 
 
 1 'Leyc. Corrwp.' 254. j^^. 1586. 
 
 2 Leicester to Burgbley, 29 March, 
 1686. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 » 'Leyc Corresp.' 263, ^^. 1586. 
 
 « Ibid. 251, same date, 
 
 88 April 
 
 5 Ibid. 247, 
 
 -. 1586. 
 
 8 May 
 80 April ,_„- 
 
 497 
 
 Never had there been a more delusive diplomacy 
 and It was natural that the lieutenant-general abroad 
 and the statesman at home should bo sad and inditna^t 
 seeing England drifting to utter shipwreck while „,«: 
 suing tlmt phantasm of a pacific haven. Had \Vals?nr 
 ham and himself tampered with the enemy I 3 
 counsellors he could name had done, Leicester ^serted 
 that the gallows would be thought t^o good "em •' 
 and vet he hoped he might be hanged if the whole TnL 
 nish faction m England could procure for the Queen a 
 peace fit for her to accept.' ' * 
 
 tion*^h!f.i* r;'?"''^ impossible for the Spanish fac- 
 tion to bnng about a peace. No human power could 
 bring It about. Even if England had been^iH^g and 
 able to surrender Holland, bound hand and foSt to 
 Phihp, even then she could only have obtained » 
 hollow armistice. Philip had swor^ in his inmos" ll 
 
 EuJZr%-\ ^"S'*"*^ ^^^ *•-« dethrgnro, t o 
 Elizabeth. His heart was fixed. It wa.s only bv the 
 
 subjugation of England that he hoped to recover he 
 
 Hoknt Th ^^^"^^ ^^ *° '^ hi« stepping-stone to 
 Holland. 1 he invasion was slowly but steadily ma- 
 turing, and nothing could have diverted the C/fr^m 
 his great purpose. In the very midst of all those plX 
 and counterplots, Bodmans and Grafignis. English geU^ 
 
 Zh'tettetf ^/Y'^T.'^?' '''^^^^ of^plims^a^d aC 
 graph letters of her Majesty and his Highness the 
 
 1 nnce was deliberately discussing all the details of he 
 
 .nvas.on. which, as it was then hoped, would be ready 
 
 by the autumn of the year 1586. Although he had 
 
 of mmm'^^-\*?.™"P' ^'^^ ^^ t° «tate by wo^ 
 ot mouth that which it was deemed unsafe to write ^ yet 
 
 ttTorrvuir-^r'^^j'^f ^y*"-'^ --*-•• --t': 
 
 t^L. / iy/°'° particulars than he had ever ven- 
 
 to n.<,n •^^^"' ""f '"°'* '''"°"«ly " lending her ear" 
 wra?hTt st Ti; *°^ w ""* vehemently expressing her 
 CstlSentT ""'""^^ '°' '•'^""S candidl/with 
 
 I I Wc Comsp.' 254. agent allnded to In the teit) . Don Juan 
 
 vZ , '"'""J"''-^-'^""" <">« AprtI, I586,bffureclt«l. 
 
 2 K 
 
408 
 
 THE UNITED NETHEKLANDS. 
 
 CUAP. VIII. 
 
 The Prince observed that when, two or three years 
 before, he had sent hi.s master an account of the coasts, 
 anchoring-places, and harbours of England, he had then 
 expressed the opinion that the conquest of England was 
 an enterprise worthy of the grandeur and Christianity 
 of his Majesty, and not so difficult as to be considered 
 altogether impossible. To make himself absolutely mas- ^ 
 ter of the business, however, he had then thought that 
 the King should have no associates in the scheme, and 
 should make no account of the inhabitants of England.' 
 Since that time the project had become more difficult of 
 accomplishment, because it was now a stale and common 
 topic of conversation everywhere— in Italy, Germany, 
 and France— so that there could be little doubt that ru- 
 mours on the subject were daily reaching the ears of 
 Queen Elizabeth and of every one in her kingdom. 
 Hence she had made a strict alliance with Sweden, Den- 
 mark, the Protestant princes of Germany, and even 
 with the Turks and the French. Nevertheless, in spite 
 of these obstacles, the King, placing his royal hand to 
 the work, might well accomplish the task; for the 
 favour of the Lord, whose cause it was, would be sure 
 to give him success. 
 
 Being so Christian and Catholic a king, Philip natu- 
 rally desired to extend the area of the Holy Church, 
 and to come to the relief of so many poor innocent 
 martyrs in England, crying aloud before the Lord for 
 help.* Moreover Elizabeth had fomented rebellion in 
 the King's provinces for a long time secretly, and now, 
 since the fall of Antwerp, and just as Holland and Zee- 
 land were falling into his grasp, openly. 
 
 Thus, in secret and in public, she had done the very 
 worst she could do ; and it was very clear that the Lord, 
 for her sins, had deprived her of understanding," m 
 order that his Majesty might be the instrument of that 
 chastisement which she iso fully deserved. A monarch 
 of such great prudence, valour, and talent as Philip, 
 could now give all the world to understand that those 
 who dared to lose a just and decorous respect for him, 
 as this good lady had done, would receive such chastise- 
 
 1 "NohaciendocasodelospropriOBdel conspecto," &c. (Ibid.) 
 
 pals." (MS. Letter of Parma to PMllp, » " Que nuestro Sefior por sus pecados le 
 
 &c..JU8t.clted.) ba qultado de todo punto el entendl- 
 
 « "Tantospobreaylnocenteaymartlres miento." (IWd.) 
 qui aeon esclamando delante del divlno 
 
 1586. INVASION OF ENGLAND RECOMMENDED. 499 
 
 ment as royal power guided by prudent counsel could 
 inflict. I anna assured his sovereign, that, if the con- 
 quest of England were effected, that of the Ketheriands 
 would be finished with much facility and brevity ; but 
 that otherwise, on account of the situation, strength 
 and obstinacy of those people, it would be a very lono-' 
 perilous, and at best doubtful business.* *" 
 
 " Three points," he said, " were most vital to the inva- 
 tion of England— secrecy, maintenance of the civil war 
 m France, and judicious arrangement of matters in the 
 Provinces." 
 
 The French, if unoccupied at home, would be sure to 
 make the enterprise so dangerous as to become almost 
 impossible ; for it might be laid down as a general 
 maxim that that nation, jealous of Philip's power had 
 always done and would always do what it could to coun- 
 teract his puiposes. 
 
 With regard to the Netheriands, it would be desirable 
 to leave a good number of troops in those countries— at 
 least as many as were then stationed there— besides the 
 garrisons, and also to hold many German and Swiss mer- 
 cenaries m - wartgeld." It would be further desirable 
 that Alexander should take most of the personages of 
 quality and sufficiency in the JVovinces over with him 
 to England, in order that •they should not make mischief 
 m his absence.^ 
 
 With legard to the point of secrecy, that was, in 
 1 arma's opinion, the most important of all. All leagues 
 must become more or less public, particulariy those 
 contrived at or with IJome. SivAi being the case, the 
 Queen of England would be well aware of the Spanish 
 projects, and, besides her militia at home, would lew 
 trerman infantry and cavalry, and provide plenty of 
 vessels, relying therein upon Holland and Zeeland, 
 where ships and sailors were in such abundance. More- 
 over, the English and the Netherianders knew the 
 coasts, currents, tides, shallows, quicksands, ports, better 
 than did the pilots of any fleets that the King could send 
 thither. Thus, having his back assured, the enemy 
 
 » " Que no se ban a perdor ol decoro j- vedad lo de aca (viz. the Notlierlnnds) qu 
 
 respoto a V. M. como lo ha hecho esia de otra manera. por la sitiiacion, furtaleza 
 
 buena dama." &c. (MS. letter of I'arnja y obeilnaclou de esUis gcntcs. sera neg-cio 
 
 to Philip, last ciu-d.) largo, peligroso. y aun dudoso." (ll.id.) 
 
 ' •* be acabariC con harta facilldad y brc- 8 i^id. 
 
600 
 
 THE UNITED NB:THEKLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VIII. 
 
 1586. 
 
 DETAILS OF THE PROJECT. 
 
 would meet them in front at a disadvantage. Although, 
 notwithstanding this inequality, the enemy would be 
 beaten, yet if the engagement should be warm, the 
 Spaniards would receive an amount of damage which 
 could not fail to be inconvenient, particularly as they 
 would be obliged to land their troups, and to give battle 
 to those who would be watching their landing. More- 
 over the English would be provided with cavalry, of 
 which his Majesty's forces would have very little, on 
 account of the difficulty of its embarkation.^ 
 
 The obedient Netherlands would be the proper place 
 in which to organize the whole expedition. There the 
 regiments could be filled up, provisions collected, the 
 best way of ejecting the passage ascei-tained,and the force 
 largely increased without exciting suspicion ; but with 
 regard to the fleet, there were no ports there capacious 
 enough for large vessels. Antwerp had ceased to be a 
 seaport; but a large number of flat- bottomed barges, 
 hoys, and other barks, more suitable for transporting 
 soldiers, could be assembled in Dunkirk, Gravelines, and 
 Newport, which, with some five-and-twenty larger ves- 
 sels, would be sufficient to accompany the fleet. 
 
 The Queen, knowing that there were no large ships, 
 nor ports to hold them in the obedient Provinces, would 
 be unsuspicious, if no greater levies seemed to be 
 making than the exigencies of the Netherlands might 
 apparently require. 
 
 The flat-bottomed boats, drawing two or three feet of 
 water, would be more appropriate than ships of war 
 drawing twenty feet. The passage across, in favourable 
 weather, might (»ccupy from eight to twelve hours. 
 
 The number of troops for the invading force should be 
 thirty thousand infantry, besides five hundred light 
 troopers, with saddles, bridles, and lances, but without 
 horses, because, in Alexander's opinion, it would be 
 easier to muunt them in England. Of these thirty 
 thousand thete should be six thousand Spaniards, six 
 thousand Italians, six thousand Walloons, nine thousand 
 Germans, and three thousand Burgundians. 
 
 Much money would be required ; at least three hun- 
 dred thousand dollars the month for the new force, 
 besides the regular one hundred and fifty thousand for 
 I MS. Litter of Parma to Philip IL, last cited. 
 
 501 
 
 the ordinary provision in the Netherlands- and this 
 ordinary provision would be more neccessaVr fW/.; 
 because a mutiny breakino- f.r^L • tf T- T^""' 
 
 Marpte, became the Spaniards, having no footiL "^ 
 
 £ Su' i^:f' "%1 "'^^■■^-'l '^ -«ke theh^fan- 
 ing point in t landera. The country about Dover was 
 
 divided bj hedges ; advantageous for infentrv and not 
 requiring a larger amount of cavali^- thanTe Ji'u^S foZ 
 at hi« di«posa , while the people there tere domestic i« 
 
 iLromLrSotvSul' V't ''^ll^'^T -•> 
 
 encounters would X .date vet aff •''ti.'''*''""^^ ^"'"^ 
 r.f +1.^ • J- piace, yet alter the commander** 
 
 hlndT'ofV!". 1.^ necessary to leave the re.t in the 
 hands of God who governs all things, and from whose 
 bounty and mercy it was to be hoped that H^ would 
 
 ,1.„ T- i . ""cessary to make immediately for Lon 
 
 Sen iv"*^'"?"^''°?'°?'fi'^^' -°«ld be /e^-easily 
 taken. Ihis point gained, the whole framework nf tC 
 business might be considered as well prioge her ' K 
 ^e Queen should fly-as, being a woman, sfcprobablv 
 would do-everything would be left in such ooX^n« 
 
 Hpr Afl- ''°'>'.r'^ '''^'■"'o ^ork had been accomplished" 
 Her Majesty it was suggested, would probably niake her 
 escape m a boat before she could be captured but thl 
 conquest would be nevertheless effec ed Althoul^h 
 
 reiuui and try their fortune, yet it would be quite use- 
 
 I «• n. • 
 
 Domostica y rlca. y U ge.ite de 
 ella coiisigulente es n.fnos annigem y 
 be llcosa yuada a .sus trabnjos y como- 
 du^des." AIS. Letter of i'aru.a; before 
 
 1 J " ^" "'*""^ *^^' ^^'** ^^'^ K'»>>icrua todas 
 ia« cosas. y de cuya bundad y miseri- 
 «mll4 be debe e^in-rar que faborec^ra 
 causa tan sauta, JusU. y propria suya." 
 
 (Ibid.) 
 
 3 '* Sara tan facll de ganar, lo cual con- 
 seguldo. se puede tener por tan buen 
 entablado el ncg-^io.' (Ibid.) 
 
 * " Se aa.glessc, como slendo mugor es 
 
 *^^^<^" 10" laayudaden°Sefior 
 
 podrla tener por acabada obra tan suva v 
 heroica." Ibid. ^ ' 
 
502 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. VHI. 
 
 less ; for the invaders would have already planted them- 
 selves upon the soil, and then, by means of frequent ex- 
 cursions and forays hither and thither, about the islands 
 all other places of importance would be gained, and the 
 prosperous and fortunate termination of the adventure 
 
 As, however, everything was to be provided for, so, in 
 case the secret could not be preserved, it would be ne- 
 cessary for Philip, under pretext of defending himself 
 against the English and French corsairs, to send a large 
 armada to sea, as doubtless the Queen would take the 
 same measure. If the King should prefer, however, 
 notwithstanding Alexander's advice to the contrary, to 
 have confederates in the enterprise,— then, the matter 
 being public, it would be necessary to prepare a larger 
 and stronger fleet than any which Elizabeth, with 
 the assistance of her Fremch and Netherland allies, could 
 oppose to him. That fleet should be well provided with 
 vast stores of provisions, sufficient to enable the in- 
 vading force, independently of forage, to occupy three or 
 four places in England at once, as the enemy would be 
 able to come from various towns and strong places to 
 
 attack them. . 
 
 As for the proper season for the expedition, it would 
 be advisable to select the month of October of the cur- 
 rent year, because the English barns would then be full 
 of wheat and other forage, and the earth would have 
 been sown for the next year— points of such extreme 
 importance, that if the plan could not be executed at 
 that time, it would be as well to defer it until the 
 following October.* . . 
 
 The Prince recommended that the negociations with 
 the League should be kept spinning, without allowing 
 them to come to a definite conclusion; because there 
 would be no lack of difficulties perpetually off'ering 
 themselves,* and the more intricate and involved the 
 policy of France, the better it would be for the interests 
 of Spain. Alexander expressed the utmost confidence 
 that his Majesty, with his powerful aim, would over- 
 come all obstacles in the path of his great project, and 
 
 I " Discurriendo la Jsla. ganando plazas » « Que la pltica de la liga vaya adel- 
 
 de importancia . . . . y se puede tener por ante sin concluyrse, alargardola todo lo 
 
 asegurado el prospero y felice tin." aiS. que se pudiese, pues no faltaran dificul- 
 
 Letter to Parma before cited. « Ibid. tades que se ofreceraii .'• (Ibid.) 
 
 DETAILS OF THE PKOJECT. 
 
 1586. ... 
 
 503 
 
 would show the world that he - could do a little more 
 than what was possible." ' He also assured his maTter 
 
 seSs n fhil ^l" "f^ecessary for him to off-er his 
 hirbirth h^h r^'?}^^'J^^m^-^. because, ever since 
 
 shoiw^T^e^t n^"^'"'^ that old Peter Ernest Mansfeld 
 snou Id bo left commander-in-chief of the forces in the 
 Netherlands during his own absence in Enlnd 
 ''Mansfeld wa^ an honourable cavalier," he said ''and 
 a faithfu servant of the King; and al though ^me what 
 1-conditioned at times, yet he had essential goorquali 
 ties and was the only general fit to be trusted alone ^ 
 . Ihe reader having thus been permitted to read the 
 nmost thoughts of Philip and Alexander, and to study 
 their secret plans for conquering England in October 
 while their frivolous yet mischievous Lgocia^ions Sh 
 the Queen had been going on from April to June ^1 
 
 werelSit or no'" YT.*^ ^^/^' '^^^^^ ^^^^^^' 
 rtatne d hv /^^ m doubting if a good peace could be 
 Obtained by a "merchant's brokerage." 
 
 nnli^l'''''^' f *^'' ^^?«^i^^^g these pictures of interaulic 
 Cl^ch^'^/^^^^^^^ diplomacy, Vhich represent^ 
 large and characteristic a phasis of European historv 
 eSl'^' year 1586, we ^must throw a gTance at Z 
 external, more stimng, but not more significant public 
 events which were taking place during the same pS! 
 
 "• Y se llegarfi a hacer algo mas de lo posible." MS. Letter of Parma before cited 
 
 2 Ibid. 
 
 END OF VOL. I. 
 
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 Continental Copyright Edition. 
 
 HISTORY 
 
 OP THE 
 
 UNITED NETHERLANDS: 
 
 FROM THE DEATH OF WILLIAM THE SIUINT TO 
 THE SYNOD OF DORT. 
 
 By JOHN LOTHKOP MOTLEY, D.C.L., 
 
 €0BRESFONDTNG MElfBER OF THE INOTITCTE OF FRANCI, 
 AUTHOR or ' THE USE OF THE DUTCH HEPCBUC' 
 
 VOLUME IL 
 
 THE HAGUE: 
 MARTINUS NIJHOFF. 
 
 1860. 
 
 Thi right of Trantlation it rettrved. 
 
'/ 
 
 
 
 \ 
 
 \ 
 
 CONTENTS OF VOL. II. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Military Plans in the Netherlands — The Elector and Electorate of Colojjne 
 
 — Martin Schenk — His Career before serving the States — Franeker 
 University founded — Parma attempts Grave — Battle on the Meuse — 
 Success and Vainglory of Leicester — St. George's Day triumphantly 
 kept at Utrecht — Parma not so much appalled as it was thought — He 
 besieges and reduces Grave — And is master of the Meuse — Leicester's 
 Rage at the Surrender of Grave — His Revenge — Parma on the Rhine 
 
 — He besieges and assaults Neusz — Honnble fate of the Garrison and 
 City — Which Leicester was unable to relieve — Axel surprised by 
 Maurice and Sidney — The Zeeland Regiment given to Sidney — Condi- 
 tion of the Irish and English Troops — Leicester takes the Field — He 
 i-educes Doesburg — He lays siege to Zutphen — Which Parma prepares 
 to relieve — The English intercept the Convoy — Battle of Wamsfeld 
 
 — Sir Philip Sidney wounded — Results of the Encounter — Death of 
 Sidney at Amheim — Gallantry of Edward Stanley 
 
 Page 1 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 .ould Elizabeth accept the Sovereignty? — The Effects of her Anger — 
 Quanels between the Earl and States — The Earl's three Counsellors — 
 Leicester's Finance -Chamber — Discontent of the Mercantile Classes — 
 Paul Buys and the Opposition — Keen insight of Paul Buys — Truchsess 
 becomes a Spy upon him — Intrigues of Buys with Denmark — His 
 Imprisonment — The EarPs Unpopularity — His Quarrels with the 
 States — And with the Norrise* — His Counsellors Wilkes and Gierke 
 
 — Letter from the Queen to Leicester — A Supper Party at Hohenlo's 
 
 — A Drunken Quarrel — Hohenlo's Assault upon Edward Norris — III 
 effects of the Riot 58 
 
 a 2 
 
IV 
 
 CONTENTS OF VOL. U. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Drake in the Netherlands — Good Results of his Visit — The Babington 
 Conspiracy — Leicester decides to visit England — Exchange of parting 
 Compliments Page 95 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 nUtimed Interregnum in the Provinces — Firmness of the English and 
 Dutch People — Factions daring Leicester's Government — Democratic 
 Theories of the Leicestrians — Suspicions as to the Earl's Designs — 
 Extreme views of the Calvinists — Political Ambition of the Church — 
 Antagonism of the Church and States — The States inclined to Tolerance 
 — Desolation of the Obedient Provinces — Pauperism and Famine — 
 Prosperity of the Republic — The Year of Expectation . . . . 105 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Bameveld's Influence in the Provinces — Unpopularity of Leicester — ; 
 Intrigues of his Servants — Gossip of his Secretary — Its mischievous 
 Effects — The Quarrel of Norris and Hollock — The Earl's Participation 
 in the Affair — His increased Animosity to Norris — Seizure of Deventer 
 — Stanley appointed its Governor — York and Stanley — Leicester's 
 secret Instructions — Wilkes remonstrates with Stanley — Stanley's 
 Insolence and Equivocation — Painful Rumours as to him and York — 
 Duplicity of York — Stanley's Banquet at Deventer — He surrendei-s 
 the City to Tassis — Terms of the Bargain — Feeble Defence of Stanley's 
 Conduct — Subsequent Fate of Stanley and York — Betrayal of Gelder 
 to Parma — These Treasons cast Odium on the English — Miserable 
 Plight of the English Troops — Honesty and Energy of Wilkes — Indig- 
 nant Discussion in the Assembly 129 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Leicester in England — Trial of the Queen of Scots — Fearful Perplexity 
 at the English Court — Infatuation and Obstinacy of the Queen — 
 Netherland Envoys in England — Queen's bitter Invective against them 
 
 — Amazement of the Envoys — They consult with her chief Councillors 
 
 — Remarks of Burghley and Davison — Fourth of February Letter 
 Ironi the States — Its severe Language towards Leicester — Painful 
 roc.tion of the Envoys at Court — Queen's Pai^simony towards Lei- 
 cestir 179 
 
 CONTENTS OF VOL. II. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Buckhurst sent to the Netherlands — Alarming State of Affairs on his 
 
 Arrival — His Efforts to conciliate — Democratic Theories of Wilkes 
 
 Sophistry of the Argument — Dispute between Wilkes and Bameveld 
 
 — Religious Tolerance by the States — Their Constitutional Theory — 
 Deventer's bad Counsels to Leicester— Their pernicious Effect — Real 
 and supposed Plots against Hohenlo — Mutual Suspicion and Distrust 
 
 — Buckhurst seeks to restore good Feeling — The Queen angry and 
 vindictive — She censures Buckhurst's Course — Leicester's Wrath at 
 Hohenlo's Chaises of a Plot by the Earl to mui-der him — Buckhurst's 
 eloquent Appeals to the Queen — Her perplexing and contradictory 
 Orders — Despair of Wilkes — Leicester announces his Return — His 
 Instructions — Letter to Junius — Bameveld denounces him in the 
 S*»te8 Page 204 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Situation of Sluys — Its Dutch and English Ganison — Williams writes 
 from Sluys to the Queen — Jealousy between the Earl and States — 
 Schemes to relieve Sluys — Which are feeble and unsuccessful — The 
 Town capitulates — Parma enters — Leicester enraged — The Queen 
 angry with the Anti-Leicestrians — Norris, Wilkes, and Buckhurst 
 punished — Drake sails for Spain — His Exploits at Cadiz and Lisbon 
 
 — He is rebuked by Elizabeth 247 
 
 CHAPTER XVn. 
 
 Secret treating between Queen and Parma — Excitement and Alarm in the 
 States — Religious Persecution in England — Queen's Sincerity toward 
 Spain — Language and Letters of Parma — Negotiations of De Loo — 
 English Commissioners appointed — Parma's affectionate Letter to the 
 Queen — Philip at his Writing-table — His Plots with Parma against 
 England— Parma's Secret Letters to the King — Philip's Letters to 
 Parma — Wonderful Duplicity of Philip — His sanguine Views as to 
 England — He is reluctant to hear of the Obstacles — And imagines 
 Parma in England — But Alexander's Difficulties are great — He de- 
 nounces Philip's wild Schemes — Walsingham aware of the Spanish Plot 
 
 — Which the States well understand — Leicester's great Unpopularity 
 
 — The Queen warned against Treating — Leicester's Schemes against 
 Bameveld — Leicestrian Conspiracy at Leyden — The Plot to seize the 
 City discovered — Three Ringleadei-s sentenced to Death — Civil War in 
 France — Victoiy gained by Navarre, and one by Guise — Queen recalls 
 Leicester — Who retires on ill Tenns with the States — Queen wamed 
 as to Sjanish Designs — Results of Leicester's Administi-ation . . 272 
 
VI 
 
 CONTENTS OF VOL. 11. 
 
 CONTElfTS OF VOL. II. 
 
 ▼U 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 Prophecies as to the Year 1 588 — Distracted Condition of the Dutch 
 Republic — Willonghby reluctantly takes Command — English Com- 
 missioDers come to Ostend — Secretary Gamier and Robert Cecil — 
 Cecil accompanies Dale to Ghent — And finds the Desolation complete — 
 Interview of Dale and Cecil with Parma — His fervent Expressions in 
 favour of Peace — Cecil makes a Tour in Flanders — And sees much 
 that is remarkable — Interviews of Dr. Rogers with Parma — Wonderful 
 Harangues of the Envoy — Extraoixlinary Amenity of Alexander — 
 With which Rogers is much touched — The Queen not pleased with her 
 Envoy — Credulity of the English Commissioners — Ceremonious Meet- 
 ing of all the Envoys — Consummate Art in wasting Time — Long 
 Disputes about Commissions — The Spanish Commissions meant to 
 deceive — Disputes about Cessation of Aims — Spanish Duplicity and 
 Procrastination — Pedantry and Credulity of Dr. Dale — The Papal 
 Bull and Dr. Allen's Pamphlet — Dale sent to ask Explanations — 
 Parma denies all knowledge of either — Croft believes to the last in 
 Alexander — Dangerous Discord in North Holland — Leicester's Resigna- 
 tion arrives — Enmity of Willoughby and Maurice — Willoughby's 
 dark Picture of Affairs — Hatred between States and Leicestrians — • 
 Maurice's Answer to the Queen's Charges — End of Sonoy's RebelUon — 
 Philip foments the Civil War in France — League's Threats and Plots 
 against Henry — Mucio arrives in Paris — He is received with Enthu- 
 siasm — The King flies, and Spain triumphs in Paris — States expostu- 
 late with the Queen — English Statesmen still deceived — Deputies from 
 Netherland Churches — Hold Conference with the Queen — And present 
 long Memorials — More Conversations with the Queen — National 
 Spirit of England and Holland — Dissatisfaction with Queen's Course— 
 Bitter Complaints of Lord Howard — Want of Preparation in Army and 
 Navy — Sanguine Statements of Leicester — Activity of Parma — The 
 painful Suspense continues Page 335 
 
 CHAPl'ER XIX. 
 
 Philip Second in his Cabinet — His system of Work and Deception — His 
 vast but vague Schemes of Conquest — The Aniiada saib — Description 
 of the Fleet — The Junction with Parma unprovided for — The Gale 
 off' Finisterre — Exploits of David Gwynn — First Engagements in the 
 English Channel — Considerable Losses of the Spaniards — > General 
 Engagement near Portland — Superior Seamanship of the English — 
 Both Fleets off" Calais — A Night of Anxiety — Project of Howard and 
 Winter — Impatience of the Spaniards — Fire-Ships sent against the 
 Arm;ula — A great Galeasse disabled — Attacked and captured by 
 
 
 English Boats— General Engagement of both Fleets — Loss of several 
 Spanish Ships — Armada flies, followed by the English — English in- 
 sufficiently provided — Are obliged to relinquish the Chase — A great 
 Storm disperses the Armada — Great Energy of Parma — Made fruitless 
 
 by Philip's Dukess — England readier at Sea than on Shore The 
 
 ^LieutenantpGeneral's Complaints — His Quarrels with Norris and 
 Williams — Harsh Statements as to the English Troops — Want of 
 Organization in England — Royal Parsimony and Delay — Quarrels of 
 English Admirals — England's narrow Escape from great Peril Va- 
 rious Rumours as to the Armada's Fate — Philip for a long time in 
 doubt — He believes himself victorious — Is tranquil when undeceived. 
 
 Page 435 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 Alexander besieges Bergen-op-Zoom — Pallavicini's Attempt to seduce 
 Parma — Alexander's Fury — He is forced to raise the Siege of Bergen 
 
 — Gertruydenberg betrayed to Parma — Indignation of the States 
 
 Exploits of Schenk — His Attack on Nj-megen — He is defeated and 
 
 drowned — English-Dutch Expedition to Spain— Its meagre Results 
 
 Death of Guise and of the Queen-Mother — Combinations after the 
 MurderofHenry III. — Tandem fit Surculus Arbor 509 
 
N 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Military Plans in the Netherlands — The Elector and Electorate of Cologne 
 
 — Martin Schenk — His Career before serving the States — Franeker Univer- 
 sity founded — Panna attempts Grave — Battle on the Meuae — Success and 
 Vainglory of Leicester — St. George's Day triumphantly kept at Utrecht 
 
 — Parma not so much appalled as it was thought — He besieges and re- 
 duces Grave — And is Master of the Meuse — Leicester's Rage at the 
 Surrender of Grave — His Revenge — Parma on the Rhine — He besieges 
 and assaults Neusz — Horrible fate of the Garrison and City — Which 
 Leicester was unable to relieve — Axel surprised by Maurice and Sidney 
 
 — The Zeeland Regiment given to Sidney — Condition of the Irish and 
 English Troops — Leicester takes the Field — He reduces Doesburg — He 
 lays siege to Zutphen — Which Parma prepares to relieve — The English 
 intercept the Convoy — Battle of Wamsfeld — Sir I'hilip Sidney wounded 
 
 — Results of the Encounter — Death of Sidney at Arnheim — Gallantry of 
 Edward Stanley. 
 
 Five great rivers hold the Netherland territory in their 
 coils. Three are but slightly separated — the Yssel, 
 Waal, and ancient Rhine, while the Scheldt and Meuse 
 are spread more widely asunder. Along each of these 
 streams were various fortified cities, the possession of 
 which, in those days, when modern fortification was in 
 its infancy, implied the control of the surrounding 
 country. The lower part of all the rivers, where they 
 mingled with the sea and became wide estuaries, be- 
 longed to the Republic, for the coasts and the ocean 
 were in the hands of the Hollanders and English. Above, 
 the various strong places were alternately in the hands 
 of the Spaniards and of the patriots. 
 
 Thus Antwerp, with the other Scheldt cities, had 
 fallen into Parma's power, but Flushing, which con- 
 trolled them all, was held by Philip Sidney for tlie 
 Queen and States. On the IMeuse, Maastricht and Roer- 
 mond were Spanish, but Yenloo, Grave, Meghem, and 
 
 VOL. 11. a 
 
THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. IX. 
 
 other towns, held for the commonwealth. On the Waal, 
 the t«^vn of Nymegen had, through the dexterity of 
 Martin Schenk, been recently transferred to the royal- 
 ists, while the rest of that river's course was true to the 
 republic. The Rhine, strictly so called, from its en- 
 trance into Netherland, belonged to the rebels. Upon 
 its elder branch, the Yssel, Zutphen was in Parma's 
 hands, while, a little below, Deventer had been recently 
 and adroitly saved by Leicester and Count Meurs from 
 falling into the same dangerous grasp. 
 
 Thus the triple Rhine, after it had crossed the German 
 frontier, belonged mainly, although not exclusively, to 
 the States. But on the edge of the Batavian territory, 
 the ancient river, just before dividing itself into its 
 three branches, flowed through a debateable country 
 which was even more desolate and forlorn, if possible, 
 than the land of the obedient l*rovinces.* 
 
 This unfortunate district was the archi episcopal elec- 
 torate of Cologne. The city of Cologne itself, Neusz, 
 and Rheinberg, on the river, Werll and other places in 
 Westphalia, and the whole country around, were endan- 
 gered, invaded, ravaged, and the inhabitants plundered, 
 murdered, and subjected to every imaginable outrage, 
 by rival bands of highwaymen, enlisted in the support 
 of the two rival bishops— beggars, outcasts, but high- 
 bom and learned churchmen both — who disputed the 
 electorate. 
 
 At the commencement of the year a portion of the 
 bishopric was still in the control of the deposed pro- 
 testant elector Gebhard Truchsess, assisted of course by 
 the English and the States. The city of Cologne was 
 held by the Catholic elector, Ernest of Bavaria, bishop 
 of Liege ; but Neusz and Rheinberg were in the hands 
 of the Dutch republic. 
 
 The military operations of the year were, accoidingly, 
 along the Meuse, where the main object of Parma was 
 to wrest Grave from the N etherlands ; along the Waal 
 where, on the other hand, the patriots wished to recover 
 Nymegen ; on the Yssel, where they desired to obtain 
 the possession of Zutphen ; and in the Cologne electo- 
 rate, where the Spaniards meant, if possible, to transfer 
 Nensz and Rheinberg from Truchsess to Elector Ernest. 
 
 1 Meteren, xlii. aas-^. 
 
 
 1586. THE ELECTOR AND ELECTORATE OF COLOGNE. 3 
 
 To clear the coui-se of these streams, and especially to 
 set free that debateable portion of the river-territory 
 which hemmed him in from neutral Geimany, and to 
 cut off the supplies from his starving troops, was the 
 immediate design of Alexander Faniese. 
 
 Nothing could be more desolate than the condition of 
 the electorate. Ever since Gebhard Truchsess had re- 
 nounced the communion of the Catholic Church for the 
 love of Agnes Man^feld, and so gained a wife and lost 
 his principality, he had been a dependant upon the im- 
 poverished Nassans, or a supplicant for alms to the 
 thrifty Elizabeth. The Queen was frequently implored 
 by Leicester, without much efl'ect, to send the ex-elector 
 a few hundred pounds to keep him from starving, as 
 " he had not one groat to live upon," * and, a little later, 
 he was employed as a go-between, and almost a spy, 
 by the Earl, in his quarrels with the patrician party 
 rapidly forming against him in the States. 
 
 At Godesbeig — the romantic ruins of which strong- 
 hold the traveller still regaixis with interest, placed as 
 it is in the midst of that enchanting region where 
 Drachenfels looks down on the crumbling tower of Ro- 
 land and the convent of >ionnenwerth — the unfortunate 
 Gebhard had sustained a conclusive defeat. A small, 
 melancholy man, accomplished, religious, learned, " very 
 poor, but very wise," comely, but of mean stature, alto- 
 gether an unlucky and forlorn individual,* he was not, 
 after all, in very much inferior plight to that in which 
 his rival, the Bavarian bishop, had found himself. Prince 
 
 1 'LeycCorresp.' 378. 
 
 • •• When 1 spake of the Elector here," 
 said Leicester, " 1 assure you he Is a very 
 wise gentleman; and if it were possible 
 to net him in his place again, these coun- 
 tries were soon at quiet He is ex- 
 ceeding poor, and great pity. Believe me, 
 my Lord, he is worthy to be esteemed. 
 He doth greatly love and honour her 
 Majesty. I would to God your Lordsbip 
 could but procure her Majesty to bestow 
 600 or 600 pound on him for a token. I 
 have received more comfort and po«d 
 advice of him than of any man htre. He 
 is very virtuous, and very M>und in reli- 
 gion ; very grave, and a comely person, 
 but of a mean stattire. His adversary 
 duth all he cun to put the King of Spain 
 
 into his territories, yea, even Into Cologne 
 itself —He is very poor, »nd weary ol his 
 keeping that place with such charge. His 
 bishopric of Liege is all spoiled also with 
 these wars, and he no longer able u» main- 
 tain his charges. A small matter would 
 set up this man now. He hath many 
 friends In Germany, and more of late 
 than ever he had." I^icester to 
 Burghley, 28 Feb. 1586. (S. P. Office 
 MS.) 
 
 l>oni North had also conceived a fa- 
 vourable opinion of Truchsess, whom he 
 spoke of as a "rare gentleman, notably 
 furnished with excellent gifts, religious, 
 and worthy of all honour and estimation." 
 North to Burghley, 2S Feb. 159»». (S. P. 
 Office MS.) 
 
 B 2 
 
/ 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. IX. 
 
 1 
 
 Emest, archbishop of Liege and Cologne, a hanger-on 
 of his brother, who sought to shake him off, and a sti- 
 pendiary of Philip, who was a worse paymaster than 
 Elizabeth, had a sorry life of it, notwithstanding his 
 nominal possession of the t^ee. He was forced to go, 
 disguised and in secret, to the Prince of Parma, at 
 Brussels,* to ask for assistance, and to mention, with 
 lacrymose vehemence, that both his brother and himself 
 had determined to renounce the episcopate, unless the 
 forces of the Spanish King could be employed to recover 
 the cities on the Khine. Jf Neusz and Eheinberg were 
 not wrested from the rebels, Cologne itself would soon 
 be gone. Ernest represented most eloquently to Alex- 
 ander, that if the Protestant archbishop were reinstated 
 in the ancient see, it would be a most perilous result for 
 the ancient church throughout all northern Europe. 
 Parma kept the wandering prelate for a few days in his 
 palace in Brussels, and then dismissed him, disguised 
 and on foot, in the dusk of the evening, through the 
 park-gate.* He encouraged him with hopes of assist- 
 ance, he represented to his sovereign the importance of 
 preserving the Khenish territory to Bishop Ernest and 
 to Catholicism, but hinted that the declared intention 
 of the Bavarian io resign the dignity, was probably a 
 trick, because the archiepiscopate was no such very bad 
 thing after all.' 
 
 The arcniepiscopate might be no very bad thing, but 
 it was a most uncomfortable place of residence, at the 
 moment, for prince or peasant. Overrun by hordes of 
 brigands, and crushed almost out of existence by that 
 roost deadly of all systems of taxations, the *' brand- 
 Bchatzung/' it was fast becoming a mere den of thieves. 
 The ** brandschiitzung " had no name in English, but it 
 was the well-known impost, levied by roving com- 
 manders, and even by respectable generals of all nations. 
 
 1586. 
 
 MARTIN SCHENK. 
 
 » Purma to Philip II. 2^ Feb. 1586 (Ar- 
 chive de Simancas, MS.). Compare Strada, 
 11. 426. 
 
 2 Parma to Philip II. (MS. last cited.) 
 Compare Str ida, who appears to be very 
 much mistaken in repri»senting the Elec- 
 tor Ernest as having been dismissed by 
 Parma with great state, and with a mag- 
 nificent escort of Belgian nobility,—" be- 
 canae uo musk v»n ever entirely di>guise a 
 
 prince, and because sans, even when 
 under a cloud, have more spectators than 
 ever." 
 
 " Nempe nulla larva totum prindpem 
 tegit ; immo soles, etiam Isti quum defl* 
 ciunt, tunc maxime spectatores babent," 
 and so on, 11. 427. 
 
 » "Porque no le esta tan mal el 
 electorado." MS. Letter of Parma last 
 cited. 
 
 
 A hamlet, cluster of farm-houses, country district, or 
 wealthy city, in order to escape being burned and ra- 
 vaged, as the penalty of having fallen into a conqueror's 
 hands, paid a heavy sum of ready money on the nail at 
 command of the conqueror. The free companions of the 
 sixteenth century drove a lucrative business in this par- 
 ticular branch of industry ; and when to this was added 
 the more direct profits derived from actual plunder, sack, 
 and ransoming, it was natural that a large fortune was 
 often the result to the thrifty and persevering commander 
 of free lances. 
 
 Of all the professors of this comprehensive aii, the 
 terrible Martin Schenk was pre-eminent ; and he was 
 now ravaging the Cologne territory, having recently 
 passed again to the service of the States. Intimately 
 connected with the chief militarj^ events of the period 
 which now occupies us, he was also the very archetype 
 of the marauders whose existence was characteristic of 
 the epoch. Bom in 1 549 of an ancient and noble family 
 of Gelderland, Martin Schenk had inherited no property 
 but a sword. Serving for a brief tenn as page to the 
 Seigneur of Ysselstein, he joined, while yet a youth, the 
 banner of William of Orange, at the head of two men-at- 
 arms. The humble knight-errant, with his brace of 
 squires, was received with courtesy by the Prince and 
 the Estates, but he soon quarrelled with his patrons. 
 There was a castle of Blyenbeek, belonging to his cousin, 
 which he chose to consider his rightful property, because 
 he was of the same race, and because it was a convenient 
 and productive estate and residence. The courts had 
 different views of public law, and supported the ousted 
 cousin. Martin shut himself up in the castle, and hav- 
 ing recently committed a rather discreditable homicide, 
 which still further increased his unpopularity with tlie 
 patriots, he made overtures to Parma.^ Alexander was 
 glad to enlist so bold a soldier on his side, and assisted 
 Schenk in his besieged stronghold. For years afterwards, 
 his services under the King's banner were most brilliant, 
 and he rose to the highest military command, while his 
 coffers, meantime, were rapidly filling with the results 
 of his robberies and " brandschatzungs." ** 'Tis a most 
 
 » Meteren, xili. 231. • Levensbeschryviiig Nederl. Mannen,' voL it in voce 
 Strada, 11. 633, et aliunde. 
 
THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. IX. 
 
 courageous fellow," said Parma, " hut rather a desperate 
 highwayman than a valiant soldier." » Martin's couple 
 of lances had expanded into a corps of free companions 
 the most truculent, the most obedient, the most rapacious 
 m Christendom. Never were freebooters more formid- 
 able to the world at large, or more docile to their chief 
 than were the followers of General Schenk. Never wa^ 
 a more finished captain of highwaymen. He was a man 
 who was never sober, yet who never smiled. His ha- 
 bitual intoxication seemed only to increase both his au- 
 dacity and his taciturnity, without disturbing his reason 
 He was incapable of fear, of fatigue, of remorse He 
 could remain for days and nights without dismounting— 
 eating, drinking, and sleeping in the saddle ; so that to 
 this terrible centaur his horse seemed actually a part of 
 himself. His soldiers followed him about like hounds 
 and were treated by him like hounds. He habituallv 
 scourged them often took with his own hand the lives 
 of such as displeased him, and had been kno^vn to cause 
 individuals of them to jump from the top of church 
 steeples at his command ; yet the pack were ever stanch 
 to his orders, for they knew that he always led them 
 where the game was plenty. While serving under Parma 
 he had twice most brilliantly defeated Hohenlo. At the 
 battle of Hardenberg Heath he had completely oute-ene. 
 
 ^If A f J'^^'if'^^^ chieftain, slaying fifteen 
 hundred of his soldiers at the expense of only fifty or 
 sixty of his own By this triumph he had preserved the 
 important city of Groningen for Philip, during an addi- 
 tional quarter of a century, and had been received in 
 that city with rapture. Several startling years of vic- 
 tory and rapine he had thus run through as a royalist 
 partisan. He became the terror and scourge of his native 
 C^eldorland, and he was covered with wounds received 
 in the King s service. He had been twice captured and 
 held for ransom. Twice he had effected his escape He 
 had recently gained the city of Nymegen. He Vas the 
 most formidable, the most unscrupulous, the most auda- 
 cious Netherlander that wore Philip's colours ; but he 
 had received small public reward for his services, and 
 the wealth which he earned on the high-road did not 
 
 t Parm» to Philip II., 6 June, 1585. (Arch, de Sim. M&i 
 « Archer, In Stowe, 739. '' 
 
 
 1586. HIS CAREER BEFORE SERVING THE STATES. 7 
 
 suffice for his ambition. He had been deeply disgusted, 
 when, at the deatb of Count Renneberg, Verdugo, a 
 former stable-boy of Mansfeld, a Spaniard who had risen 
 from the humblest rank to be a colonel and general, had 
 been made governor of Friesland. He had smothered 
 his resentment for a time, however, but had sworn within 
 himself to desei*t at the most favourable opportunity. 
 At last, after he had brilliantly saved the city of Breda 
 from falling into the hands of the patriots, he was more 
 enraged than he had ever been before, when Haulte- 
 penne, of the house of Berlaymont, was made governor 
 of that place in his stead. 
 
 On the 25th of May, 1585, at an hour after midnight, 
 he had a secret interview with Count Meurs, stadliolder 
 for the States of Gelderland, and agreed to transfer his 
 mercenary allegiance to the republic. He made good 
 terms. He was to be lieutenant-governor of Gelderland, 
 and he was to have rank as marshal of the camp in the 
 States' army, with a salary of twelve hundred and fifty 
 guilders a month. He agreed to resign his famous castle 
 of Blyenbeek, but was to be reimbursed with estates in 
 Holland and Zeeland, of the annual value of four thou- 
 sand florins.* 
 
 After this treaty, Martin and his free lances served 
 the States faithfully, and became sworn foes to Parma 
 and the King. He gave and took no quarter, and his 
 men, if captured, " paid their ransom with their heads." * 
 He ceased to be the scourge of Gelderland, but he be- 
 came the terror of the electorate. Early in 1586, ac- 
 companied by Herman Kloet, the young and daring 
 Dutch commandant of Neusz, he had swept down into 
 the Westphalian countr}% at the head of five hundred 
 foot and five hundred horse. On the 18th of March he 
 captured the city of Werll by a neat stratagem. The 
 citizens, hemmed in on all sides by marauders, were in 
 want of many necessaries of life, among other things, of 
 salt. Martin had, from time to time, sent some of his 
 soldiers into the place, disguised as boors from the 
 neighbourhood, and carrying bags of that article. A 
 pacific trading-intercourse had thus been established 
 between the burghers within and the banditti without 
 
 1 ' Nederl. Mannen,' &c., uhi sup. 
 • Doyle to Bui^hley, June 24, 1586. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 -■g—i 
 
THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. IX. 
 
 the gates. Agreeable relations were formed within tho 
 walls, and a party of townsmen had agreed to cooperate 
 with the followers of Schenk. One morning a train of 
 waggons, laden with soldiers neatly covered with salt, 
 made their appearance at the gate. At the same time a 
 fire broke out most opportunely within the town. The 
 citizens busily employed themselves in extinguishing 
 the flames. The salted soldiers, after passing through 
 the ^teway, sprang from the waggons, and mastered the 
 watch. The town was carried at a blow. Some of the 
 inhabitants were massacred as a warning to the rest ; 
 others were taken prisoners and held for ransom ; a few[ 
 more fortunate, made their escape to the citadel. ITiat 
 fortress was stormed in vain, but the city was thoroughly 
 sacked. Eveiy house was rifled of its contents. Mean- 
 time Haultepenne collected a force of nearly four thou- 
 sand men, boors, citizens, and soldiers, and came to be- 
 siege Schenk in the town, while, at the same time, attacks 
 were made upon him from the castle. It waa impossible 
 for him to hold the city, but he had completely robbed 
 It of everything valuable. Accordingly he loaded .a 
 train of waggons with his booty, took with him thirty 
 of the magistrates as hostages, with other wealthy citi 
 zens, and marching in good order against Haultepenne, 
 completely routed him, killing a number variously esti- 
 mated at from five hundred to two thousand, and efiected 
 his retreat, desperately wounded in the thigh, but tri- 
 umphant and laden with the spoils, to Venlo on the 
 Meuse, of which city he was governor." » 
 
 *' Surely this is a noble fellow, a worthy fellow," ex- 
 claimed Leicester, who was filled with admiration at 
 the bold marauder's progress, and vowed that he was 
 " the only soldier in truth that they had, for he was 
 never idle, and had succeeded hitherto very happily." ■ 
 And thus, at every point of the doomed territory of 
 the httle commonwealth, the natural atmosphere in 
 which the inhabitants existed was one of blood and 
 rapine. Yet during the ver>^ slight lull, which was 
 interposed in the winter of 1585-6 to the eternal clang 
 
 iMetereii,Strada,'XederLMannen.&c. same date. Ibid. MS. Leicester to 
 l*6in»pBor. .1.699. 700. Bruce's • Leyc. Burghley and Walsingham. 15 March. 
 Corresp.- 79. 139. 141. 1«7. 227. 266, 475. 1586. Ibid. MS. ^ 
 
 (i>. I . Office Mb.) Leicester to Burghley, ham. MS. ubi sup. 
 
 1586. 
 
 FRANEKER UNIVERSITY FOUNDED. 
 
 9 
 
 of arms in Friesland, the Estates of that Province, to 
 their lasting honour, founded the university of Franeker. 
 A dozen years before, the famous institution at Leyden 
 had been established, as a reward to the burghers for 
 their heroic defence of the city. And now this new 
 proof was given of the love of Netherlanders, even in 
 the midst of their misery and their warfare, for the 
 more humane arts. The new college was well endowed 
 from ancient church-lands, and not only was the educa- 
 tion made nearly gratuitous, while handsome salaries 
 were provided for the professors, but provision was 
 made by which the poorer scholars could be fed and 
 boarded at a very moderate expense. There was a table 
 provided at an annual cost to the student of but fifty 
 florins (5/.), and a second and third table at the very 
 low price of forty and thirty florins respectively. 
 Thus the sum to be paid by the poorer class of scholars 
 for a year*s maintenance was less than three pounds 
 sterling a year. The voice with which this infant 
 seminary of tlie Muses first made itself heard above the 
 din of war was but feeble, but the institution was 
 destined to thrive, and to endow the world, for many 
 successive generations, with the golden fruits of science 
 and genius.* 
 
 Early in the spring, the war was seriously taken in 
 hand by Famese. It has already been seen that the 
 republic had been almost entirely driven out of Flanders 
 and Brabant. The Estates, however, still held Grave, 
 Megem, Batenburg, and Venlo upon the Meuse. That 
 river formed, as it were, a perfect circle of protection 
 for the whole Province of Brabant, and Famese deter- 
 mined to make himself master of this great natural 
 moat. Afterwards, he meant to possess himself of the 
 Rhine, flowing in a parallel course, about twenty-five 
 miles farther to the east. In order to gain and hold 
 the Meuse, the first step was to reduce the city of 
 Grave. That town, upon the left or Brabant bank, was 
 strongly fortified on its land -side, where it was sur- 
 rounded by luw and fertile pastures, while, upon the 
 other, it depended upon its natural foss, the river. It 
 was, according to Lord North and the Earl of Leicester, 
 
 I Bor, 11. 672. 
 
10 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. IX. 
 
 1586. 
 
 PARMA ATTEMPTS GRAVE. 
 
 11 
 
 the " strongest town in all the Low Countries, though 
 but a little one." * 
 
 Baron Hemart, a young Gueldrian noble, of small 
 experience in military affairs, commanded in the city, 
 his garrison being eight hundred soldiers, and about 
 one thousand burgher guards.* As early as January, 
 Farnese had ordered Count Mansfeld to lay siege to the 
 place. Five forts had accordingly been constructed, 
 above and below the town, upon the left bank of the 
 river, while a bridge of boats thrown across the stream 
 led to a fortified camp on the opposite side. Mansfeld, 
 Mondragon, Bobadil, Aquila, and other distinguished 
 veterans in Philip*s service, were engaged in the enter- 
 prise. A few unimportant skirmishes between Schenk 
 and the Spaniards had taken place, but the city was 
 already hard pressed, and, by the series of forts which 
 environed it, was cut off from its supplies. It was 
 highly important, therefore, that Grave should be re- 
 lieved with the least possible delay. 
 
 Early in Easter week, a force of three thousand men, 
 under Hohenlo and Sir John NoiTis, was accordingly 
 April ^. despatched by Leicester, with orders, at every 
 1586. hazard, to throw reinforcements and provisions 
 into the place. They took possession, at once, of a 
 stone sconce, called the Mill-Fort, which was guarded 
 by fifty men, mostly boors of the country.* These were 
 neariy all hanged for '* using malicious words," and for 
 "railing against Queen Elizabeth,"* and— a sufficient 
 number of men being left to maintain the fort— the 
 whole relieving force marched with great difficulty— 
 for the river was rapidly rising, and flooding the country 
 •—along the right bank of the Meuse, taking possession 
 of Batenburg and Ravenstein castles, as they went. A 
 force of four or five hundred Englishmen was then 
 pushed forward to a point almost exactly opposite 
 Grave, and within an English mile of the head of the 
 bndge constructed by the Spaniards. Here, in the 
 night of Easter Tuesday, they rapidly formed an 
 
 » North to Burghley, 39 May, 158«. . „ „ 
 
 CS. P. Office MS.) Leicester to Queen Occurrences from Holland, April -, 
 
 Elizabeth. 16 June. 1586. (S. P. Office 1586. (S. P. Office MS.) **' 
 
 ^'•■^« .. * ibid. Compare • LeycesL Corresn ' d. 
 
 « Bor. II. TOT. T08. Hoofd Verv. 154, 218. AprU 6, 1686. ^' ^ 
 
 156. Strada, il. 410. Wagen«ar,viii. 126. 
 
 entrenched camp upon the dyke along the river, and, 
 although molested by some armed vessels, succeeded 
 in establishing themselves in a most important position.' 
 On the morning of Easter Wednesday, April 16, 
 Mansfeld, perceiving that the enemy had thus stolen a 
 march upon him, ordered one thousand picked April -, 
 troops, all Spaniards, under Casco and other isse. *" 
 veterans, to assault this advanced post.* A reserve of 
 two thousand was placed in readiness to support the 
 attack. The Spaniards slowly crossed the bridge, which 
 was swaying very dangerously with the current, and 
 then charged the entrenched camp at a run. A quarrel 
 between the different regiments as to the right of pre- 
 cedence precipitated the attack, before the reserve, 
 consisting of some picked companies of Mondragon's 
 veterans had been able to arrive. Coming in breathless 
 and fatigued, the first assailants were readily repulsed 
 in their first onset. Aquila then opportunely made his 
 appearance, and the attack was renewed with great 
 vigour. The defenders of the camp yielded at the third 
 charge and fled in dismay, while the Spaniards, leaping 
 the barriers, scattered hither and thither in the ardour 
 of pursuit. The routed Englishmen fled swiftly along 
 the oozy dyke, in hopes of joining the main body of the 
 relieving party, who were expected to advance, with 
 the dawn, from their position six miles farther down 
 the river. Two miles long the chace lasted, and it 
 seemed probable that the fugitives would be overtaken 
 and destroyed, when, at last, from behind a line of 
 mounds which stretched towards Batenburg and had 
 masked their approach, appeared Count Hohenlo and 
 Sir John N orris, at the head of twenty-five hundred 
 Englishmen and Hollanders. This force advanced as 
 rapidly as the slippery ground and the fatigue of a two 
 hours' march would permit to the rescue of their friends, 
 while the retreating English rallied, turned upon their 
 pursuers, and drove them back over the path along 
 which they had just been charging in the full career of 
 victory. The fortune of the day was changed, and in a 
 few minutes Hohenlo and Norris would have crossed 
 the river and entered Grave, when the Spanish com- 
 
 * Occurrences from Holland, MS. 154.155. Occurrences, &c MS. Bruce'* 
 
 2 Strada, U. 413 ^ej. Hoofd Vervolgh, • Le^cest. Corresp.' 223, 226. 
 
\l 
 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. IX. 
 
 
 panics of Bobadil and other commanders were seen 
 marching along the quaking bridge. 
 
 Three thousand men on each side now met at push of 
 pike on the bank of the Meuse.* llio rain was pouring 
 in torrents, the wind was blowing a gale, the stream 
 was rapidly rising, and threatening to overwhelm its 
 shores. By a tacit and mutual consent, both armies 
 paused for a few moments in full view of each other. 
 After this brief interval they closed again, breast to 
 breast, in sharp and steady conflict. The ground, 
 slippery witli rain and with blood, which was soon 
 flowing almost as fast as the rain, afforded an unsteady 
 footing to the combatants. They staggered like diiinken 
 men, fell upon their knees, or upon their backs, and 
 still, kneeling or rolling prostrate, maintained the 
 deadly conflict. For the space of an hour and a half the 
 fierce encounter of human passion outmastered the fury 
 of the elements. Norris and Hohenlo fought at the head 
 of their columns, like paladins of old. The Englishman 
 was wounded in the mouth and breast, the Count was 
 seen to gallop past one thousand musketeers and caliver- 
 men of the enemy, and to escape unscathed. But as the 
 strength of the soldiers exhausted itself, the violence of 
 the tempest increased. The floods of rain and the 
 blasts of the hurricane at last terminated the atfray. 
 The Spaniards, fairly conquered, were compelled to a 
 retreat, lest the i-apidly rising river should sweep away 
 the frail and trembling bridge, over which they had 
 passed to their unsuccessful assault. The English and 
 Netherlanders remained masters of the field. The rising 
 flood, too, which was fast converting the meadows into 
 a lake, was as useful to the conquerors as it was 
 damaging to the Spaniards. 
 
 In the course of the few following days, a large 
 number of boats was despatched before the very eyes of 
 
 April 1. Parma, from Batenburg into Grave ; Hohenlo, 
 who had " most desperately adventured his 
 
 1586. 
 
 person " throughout the whole affair, entering the town 
 himself. A force of five hundred men, together with 
 provisions enough to last a year, was thrown into the 
 (dty, and the course of the Meuse was, apparently, 
 secured to the republic. In this important action about 
 
 I Strada. 11. 413, 414. Occurrences from Holland. MS. 
 
 1586. 
 
 SUCCESS OF LEICESTER. 
 
 13 
 
 one hundred and fifty Dutch and English were killed, 
 and probably four hundred Spaniards, including several 
 distinguished officers.* 
 
 The Earl of Leicester was incredibly elated so soon 
 as the success of this enterprise was known. " Oh that 
 her Majesty knew," he cried, *' how easy a match now 
 she hath with the King of Spain, and what millions of 
 afflicted people she hath relieved in these countries. 
 This summer, this summer, I say, would make an end 
 to her immortal glory." * He was no friend to his 
 countryman, the gallant Sir John Nonis — whom, how- 
 ever, he could not help applauding on this occasion, — 
 but he was in raptures with Hohenlo. Next to God, he 
 assured the Queen's government that the victoiy was 
 owing to the Count. " He is both a valiant man and a 
 wise man, and the painfullest that ever I knew," he said ; 
 adding — as a secret — that " five hundred Englishmen of 
 the best Flemish training had flatly and shamefully run 
 away," when the fight had been renewed by Hohenlo 
 and Norris. He recommended that her Majesty should 
 send her picture to the Count, worth two hundred 
 pounds, which he would value at more than one thousand 
 pounds in money, and he added that " for her sake the 
 Count had greatly left his drinking." * 
 
 As for the Prince of Parma, Leicester looked upon 
 him as conclusively beaten. He spoke of him as '* mar- 
 vellously appalled " by this overthrow of his forces, but 
 he assured the government that if the Prince's " choler 
 
 • Leicester to Burghley, April — , 1586. 
 (S. p. Omce MS.) R. Cavendish to Burgh- 
 ley, April -, 1586. (S. P. Office MS.) Lord 
 
 Willoughby to Bnrghley, - April, 1586. 
 
 (S. P. Office MS ) Occurrences from Hol- 
 land. MS.) Brace's • Leyc. Corresp.' 226, 
 244, 245, 252, 253. Parma to Philip 11. 
 
 — April, and 9 May, 1586. (Archivo de 
 
 Simancas, MS.) 
 
 Lord North to Burghley, — May, 1586. 
 
 (S. P. Office MS.) "Count Holloclc per- 
 formed this service with wisdom and 
 most valiantly In his own person. I can- 
 not give him too much praise, because 
 there is so much du« to him." 
 
 Compare Strada, 11. 413, 414 ; Meieren, 
 xlil. 234; Hoofd, 155 teq. et cU. It is of 
 slight consequence, at the present liay, to 
 know the exact number of the conibauinfs 
 who perished in this hotly-contesud, but 
 now forgotten, field. As a specimen of 
 conflicting statistics after a battle, it is 
 worth while to observe that, accurding to 
 some eye-u-itnefses, nine hundred Spa- 
 niards were killed, and, accoi-ding to others 
 thirty ; while, on the other liand, the 
 statement of the loss sustained by their 
 ahtagonlsts varied from fifty to seven 
 hundred. 
 
 2 Bruce's • Leyc. Corresp.' 26 1. May 
 
 -, 1686. 
 
 18' 
 
 ' Bruce's ' Leyc. Corresp.' 245. 
 
 
I 
 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. IX, 
 
 should press him to seek revenge," he should soon be 
 driven out of the country. The Earl would follow him 
 " at an inch," and effectually frustrate all his under- 
 takings. *' If the Spaniard have such a May as he has 
 had an April," said Lord North, *' it will put water in 
 his wine." * 
 
 Meantime, as St. George's Day was approaching, and 
 as the Earl was fond of banquets and ceremonies, it was 
 thought desirable to hold a great triumphal feast at 
 Utrecht. His journey to that city from the Hague was 
 a triumphal procession. In all the towns thi-ough 
 which he passed he was entertained with militaiy 
 display, pompous harangues, interludes, dumb shows, 
 and allegories. At Amsterdam— a city which he com- 
 pared to Venice for situation and splendour, and where 
 one thousand ships were constantly lying— he was 
 received with *' sundry great whales and other fishes of 
 hugeness," that gambolled about his vessel, and con- 
 voyed him to the shore. These monsters of the deep 
 presented him to ihe burgomaster and magistrates who 
 were awaiting him on the quay. The burgomaster 
 made him a Latin oration, to which Dr. Bartholomew 
 Clerk responded, and then the Earl was ushered to the 
 grand square, upon which, in his honour, a magnificent 
 living picture was exhibited, in which he figured as 
 Moses at the head of the Israelites smiting the I'hilis- 
 tines hip and thigh.* After much mighty banquetting 
 in Amsterdam, as in the other cities, the governor- 
 general came to Utrecht. Through the streets of this 
 antique and most picturesque city flows the pa1«ied 
 current of the Rhine, and every barge and bridge were 
 decorated with the flowers of spring. Upon this spot, 
 where, eight centuries before, the Anglo-Saxon Wille- 
 brod had first astonished the wild Frisians with the 
 pacific doctrines of Jesus, and had been stoned to death 
 as his reward, stood now a more aiTogant representative 
 of English piety. The balconies were crowded with 
 fair women, and decorated with scarves and banneis. 
 From the Earl's residence— the ancient palace of the 
 Knights of Rhodes— to the cathedral, the way was lined 
 with a double row of burgher guards, wearing red roses 
 
 » North to Burghley.-i May,15S6. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 2 • Leyc. Conresp.' 476 seq. 
 
 
 1586. 
 
 ST. GEORGES DAY KEPT AT UTRECHT. 
 
 15 
 
 on their arms, and apparelled in the splendid uniforms 
 for which the >«'etherlander8 were celebrated. Trum- 
 peters in scarlet and silver, barons, knights, and gieat 
 officei-s, in cloth of gold and silks of all colours ; the 
 young Earl of Essex, whose career was to be so romantic, 
 and whose fate so tragic ; those two ominous personages, 
 the deposed little archbishop-elector of Cologne, with 
 his melancholy face, and the unlucky Don Antonio, 
 Pretender of Portugal, for whom, dead or alive, thirty 
 thousand crowns and a dukedom * were perpetually 
 offered by Philip II. ; young Maurice of Nassau, the 
 future controller of European destinies ; great coun- 
 sellors of state, gentlemen, guardsmen, and portcullis- 
 herald, with the coat of aims of Elizabeth, rode in 
 solemn procession along. Then great Leicester himself, 
 ** most princelike in the robes of his order," guarded by 
 a troop of burghers, and by his own fifty halberd-men in 
 scarlet cloaks trimmed with white and purple velvet, 
 pranced gorgeously by.* 
 
 The ancient cathedral, built on the spot where Saint 
 Willebrod had once ministered, with its light, tapering, 
 brick tower, three hundred and sixty feet in height, its 
 exquisitely mullioned windows, and its elegantly foliaged 
 columns, soon received the glittering throng. Hence, 
 after due religious ceremonies, and an English sermon 
 from Master Kncwstubs, Leicester's chaplain, April, 
 was a solemn march back again to the palace, ^^**®- 
 where a stupendous banquet was already laid in the 
 great hall.* 
 
 On the dais at the upper end of the table, blazing 
 with plate and crystal, stood the royal chair, with the 
 Queen's plate and knife and fork before it, exactly as if 
 she had been present, while Leicester's trencher and 
 stool were set respectfully quite at the edge of the board. 
 In the neighbourhood of this post of honour sat Count 
 Maurice, the Elector, the Pretender, and many illus- 
 trious English personages, with the fair Agnes Mansfeld, 
 Princess Chimay, the daughters of William the Silent, 
 and other dames of high degree. 
 
 Before the covers were removed, came limping up to 
 the dais grim-visaged Martin Schenk, freshly wounded, 
 
 * IVclaration of Don Antonio, in Bor, ' Holinshed, iv. 658 teq. Stowe, 71X 
 ti. 769. Hoofd Vervolgh, 145. • ibid. 
 
M 
 
 i 
 
 
 V 
 
 I I 
 
 16 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. IX. 
 
 "but trmmphant, from the sack of Werll, and black John 
 Norris. scarcely cured of the spear-wounds in his face 
 and breast received at the relief of Grave. The sword 
 of knighthood ' was laid upon the shoulder of each hero, 
 by the Earl of Leicester, as her Majesty's vicegerent ; 
 and then the ushers marslialled the mighty feast. Meats 
 in the shape of lions, tigers, dragons, and leopards, 
 flanked by peacocks, swans, pheasants, and turkeys *' in 
 their natural feathers as in their greatest pride," disap- 
 peared, course after course, — sonorous metal blowing 
 meanwhile the most triumphant airs. After the ban- 
 quet came dancing, vaulting, tumbling, together with 
 the "forces of Hercules, which gave great delight to 
 the strangers," after which the company separated until 
 evensong. 
 
 Then again, "great was the feast," says the chro- 
 nicler, — a mighty supper following hard upon the 
 gigantic dinner. After this there was tilting at the 
 barriers, the young Earl of Essex and other knights 
 bearing themselves more chivalrously than would seem 
 to comport with so much eating and drinking. Then, 
 horrible to relate, came another "most sumptuous ban- 
 quet of sugar-meats for the men at arms and the ladies," 
 after which, it being now midnight, the Lord of Leices- 
 ter bade the whole company good rest, and the men at 
 arms and ladies took their leave." 
 
 But while all this chivalrous banquetting and holiday- 
 making was in hand, the Prince of Parma was in reality 
 not quite so much " appalled " by the relief of Grave 
 as his antagonist had imagined. The Earl, flushed 
 with the success of Hohenlo, already believed himself 
 master of the country, and assured his government that, 
 if he should be reasonably well supplied, he would have 
 Antwerp back again and Bruges besides " before mid 
 June." » 
 
 > Bor, it. 699, 700. Stowe, Holinshed, 
 vbi tup. ' Leyc. Cornsp.' 252, 253, April 
 
 2. 1586. 
 
 "Shenks is a worthy fellow," said 
 Leicester, who never could get nearer 
 than this to the name of the terrible par- 
 tisan. He also mentioned that he had 
 given the worthy fellow a chain, as from 
 her Majesty; adding, with an eye to 
 
 Elizabeth's thria. that if she thought he 
 had paid too much fur it, he would cheer, 
 fully pay the balance over what seemed 
 the right sum out of his own pocket. 
 Leyc. Corresp.' 227, 228. 
 » Stowe, Holinshed, Bor, Hoofd. ubi 
 stqpra. 
 
 - aO Anril 
 
 1586. 
 
 «• Leyc. Corresp.' 251,-^**"' 
 
 1586. PARMA LESS APPALLED THAN WAS THOUGHT. 17 
 
 Never, said he, was the Prince of Parma so dejected 
 nor so melancholy since he came into these countries, 
 nor so far out of courage."* And it is quite true 
 that Alexander had reason to be discouraged. He had 
 but eight or nine thousand men, and no money to pay 
 even this little force. The soldiers were perishing 
 daily, and nearly all the survivors were described by 
 their chief as sick or maimed. The famine in the obe- 
 dient Provinces was universal, the whole population 
 was desperate with himger ; and the merchants, fright- 
 ened by Drake's successes, and appalled by the ruin all 
 around them, drew their purse-strings inexorably.* " I 
 know not to what saint to devote myself," said Alex- 
 ander.' He had been compelled, by the movement 
 before Grave, to withdraw Haultepenne from the pro- 
 jected enterprise against Neusz, and he was quite aware 
 of the cheerful view which Leicester was inclined to 
 take of their relative positions. *' The English think 
 they are going to do great things," said he, *' and con- 
 sider themselves masters of the field." * 
 
 Nevertheless, on the 11th May, the dejected melan- 
 choly man had left Brussels, and joined his little army, 
 consisting of three thousand Spaniards and five thou- 
 sand of all other nations.* His veterans, though unpaid, 
 ragged, and half-starved, were in raptures to have their 
 idolised commander among them again, and nth May, 
 vowed that under his guidance there was no- ^''^^• 
 thing which they could not accomplish. The King's 
 honour, his own, that of the army, all were pledged to 
 take the city. On the success of that enterprise, he said, 
 depended all his past conquests, and every hope for the 
 future. Leicester and the English, whom he called the 
 head and body of the rebel forces, were equally pledged 
 to relieve the place, and were bent upon meeting him 
 in the field." The Earl had taken some forts in the 
 Batavia — Betuwe, or "good meadow," which he pro- 
 nounced as fertile and about as large as Herefordshire,^ 
 — and was now threatening Nymegen, a city which had 
 
 10 Hay' 
 
 » • Leyc. Corresp.' just dted. 
 ' "Cierran la bolsa." Parma to Philip, 
 9 May, 1686. (Arch, de Simancaa MS.) 
 
 ' Same to same, 27 April, 16s6. (Arch, 
 de Slmancas, MS.) 
 
 Letter of 9 May, MS. 
 VOL. n. 
 
 * Parma to Philip II 27 May, 1586. 
 CArch. de Sim. MS.) 
 
 « Parma to Philip II., 27 May, 11 June, 
 1586. (Ibid.) 
 
 ' Leicester to the Queen, 27 May, 1586. 
 (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
) 
 
 18 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. IX 
 
 1586. 
 
 HE BESIEGES AND REDUCES GRAVE. 
 
 19 
 
 
 a 
 
 been gained for Philip by the last effort of Schenk, on 
 the royalist side. He was now observing Alexander's 
 demonstrations against Grave, but, after the recent suc- 
 cess in victualling that place, he felt a just confidence 
 in its security. 
 
 On the 31st May the trenches were commenced, and 
 
 on the 5th June the batteries were opened. The work 
 
 3i8tMay. went rapidly forward when Famese was in 
 
 15S6. lY^Q field. " The Prince of Parma doth batter it 
 like a prince," ' said Lord North, admiring the enemy 
 with the enthusiasm of an honest soldier. On the 6th 
 of June, as Alexander rode through the camp to recon- 
 noitre, previous to an attack, a well-directed cannon- 
 ball canied away the hinder half of his horse.* The 
 Prince fell to the ground, and, for a moment, dismay 
 was in the Spanish ranks. At the next instant, though 
 somewhat bmised, he was on his feet again, and, having 
 found the breach sufficiently promising, he determined 
 on the assault. 
 
 As a preliminary measure, he wished to occupy a 
 tower which had been battered nearly to ruins, situate 
 near the river. Captain de Solis was ordered, with 
 sixty veterans, to take possession of this tower, and to 
 " have a look at the countenance of the enemy, without 
 amusing himself with anything else." * The tower was 
 soon secured, but Solis, in disobedience to his written 
 instructions * led his men against the ravelin, which was 
 still in a state of perfect defence. A musket-ball soon 
 stretched him dead beneath the wall, and his followers, 
 still attempting to enter the impracticable breach, were 
 repelled by a shower of stones and blazing pitch-hoops. 
 Hot sand, too, poured from sieves and baskets, insinu- 
 ated itself within the armour of the Spaniards, and 
 occasioned such exquisite suffering, that many threw 
 themselves into the river to allay the pain. Emerging 
 refreshed, but confused, they attempted in vain to renew 
 the onset. Several of the little band were slain, the 
 assault was quite unsuccessful, and the trumpet soimded 
 a recal.' So completely discomfited were the Spaniards 
 
 1 North to Burghley, 29 May, 1586. (S. de Simancas, MS.) 
 
 P. OflSce MS.) « Panna to Philip II., MS. Just cited. 
 
 2 Stowe, 718. Strada, ii. 416. » Strada, 11. 417. Bor, 11. 707, 708. 
 a Parma to Philip, 1 1 Juoe, 1586. (Arch. 
 
 by this repulse, and so thoroughly at their ease were the 
 besieged, that a soldier let himself down from the ram- 
 parts of the town for the sake of plundering the body 
 of Captain Solis, who was richly dressed, and, having 
 accomplished this feat, was quietly helped back again 
 by his comrades from above.* 
 
 To the surprise of the besiegers, however, on the 
 very next morning came a request from the governor of 
 the city. Baron Hemart, to negociate for a surrender. 
 Alexander was, naturally, but too glad to grant easy 
 terms, and upon the 7th of June the garrison left the 
 town with colours displayed and drums beating, and the 
 Prince of Parma marched into it, at the head of his 
 troops. He found a year's provision there for six thou- 
 sand men, while, at the same time, the •^^alls had 
 suffered so little, that he must have been obliged to 
 wait long for a practicable breach.' 
 
 " There was no good reason even for women to have 
 surrendered the place," exclaimed Leicester, when he 
 heard the news.* And the Earl had cause to be enraged 
 at such a result. He had received a letter only the day 
 before, signed by Hemart himself and by aU the officers 
 in Grave, asserting their determination and ability to 
 hold the place for a good five months, or for an indefinite 
 period, and until they should be relieved. And indeed 
 all the officers, with three exceptions, had protested 
 against the base surrender. But at the bottom of the 
 catastrophe — of the disastrous loss of the city and the 
 utter ruin of young Hemart — was a woman. The 
 governor was governed by his mistress, a lady of good 
 family in the place, but of Spanish inclinations, and she, 
 for some mysterious reasons, had j^ei-suaded him thus 
 voluntarily to capitulate.* 
 
 * Brace's • Leyc. Corresp,' 288. 
 
 2 Strada, 11. 418. Bor, ii. 707, 708. 
 Parma to Philip II. 27 May, 11 June, 
 1586. (Arch, de Simancas. MS.) North to 
 
 Burghley. ^^'^ 
 
 le 
 
 Office MS.) North to Bm^ley. ^ June,. 
 
 •6 
 
 1586. (Ibid). 
 
 " The governor, Hemart," said Nort b 
 " is a gentleman of Gelder, of great kin- 
 
 8 June' ^^^*' ^^' ^' ^^^ ^^'^ ^'"^' ^*^°8' "^^^ acquaintance. There be 
 
 many vehement presimiptions to argue a 
 treacherous practice with the enemy. The 
 best that can bo made of It was most vile 
 cowardice, mixed with such negligence as 
 is unspeakable. In the time of that siege 
 he spent his time in his house, followed 
 with his harlot, and when he came abroad, 
 he could not be gotten by entreaty qf 
 
 c 2 
 
 Leicester to the Queen, - June, 1686. 
 (Ibid.) 
 
 ' Bruce's ' Leyc. Corresp.' 288. 
 
 < Meteren, xlil. 235. Bruce's ' Leyc 
 Corresp.' 299-310. Strada, 11. 418. Leices- 
 ter to the Queen, ^ June, 1586. (S. P. 
 
 10 
 
20 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. IX. 
 
 Pama lost no time, however, in exulting over liis 
 success. Upon the same day the tow-ns of Megen and 
 Batenburg surrendered to him, and immediately after- 
 wards siege was laid to Venlo, a town of importance, 
 lyincr thirty miles farther up the Meuse. The wife and 
 family of Martin Schenck were in the city, together 
 with two hundred horses, and from forty to one hundred 
 thousand crowns in money, plate, and furniture belong- 
 That bold partisan, accompanied by the mad Welsh- 
 man Roger Williams, at the head of one hundred and 
 thirty English lances and thirty of Schenk's men, made 
 a wild nocturnal attempt to cut their way through the 
 besieging force, and penetrate to the city. They passed 
 throuc'h the enemy's lines, killed all the corps-de-garde, 
 and many Spanish troopers— the terrible Martin's own 
 hand being most effective in this midnight slaughter 
 —and reached the very door of Parma's tent, where 
 they killed his secretary and many of his guards. It 
 was even reported, and generally believed, that Farnese 
 himself had been in imminent danger, that Schenk hud 
 fired his pistol at him unsuccessfully, and had then 
 struck him on the head with its butt-end, and that the 
 Prince had only saved his life by leaping from his horse, 
 and scrambling thi'ough a ditch.* But these seem to 
 have been fables. The alarm at last became general, 
 the dawn of a summer's day was fast approaching, the 
 drums beat to arms, and the bold marauders were 
 obliged to effect their retreat, as they best might, hotly 
 purs^ied by near two thousand men. Having slain 
 many cf the Spanish army, and lost nearly half their 
 own number, they at last obtained shelter in Wachten- 
 
 doiik.* 
 Soon afterwards the place capitulated, without waiting 
 
 captains, burf^cTS, or soldiers to do any- 
 thing for the defence of the town, bnt 
 straightway entered Into a continence of 
 the people, wishing rather to give np the 
 town than suffer the blood of so many 
 Innocenta to be spilt Which purpose hi 
 did prosecute with speed, and sent a dram 
 to the enemy for parley. The town was 
 impossible to be assaulted." &c. kc 
 I North to Burghley. ^^, 1588. (S. 
 
 P. Office MS.) T. Doyley to Burehley, 
 
 ^ii^',1686. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 « July 
 
 « North to Burghley, ^ June, 1586. (S. 
 
 P. Office MS.) 
 » Ibid. Meteren, xiii. 235. Doyley to 
 
 Burghley, ^tl^, 1586. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 1586. 
 
 AND IS MASTER OF THE MEUSE. 
 
 21 
 
 for a battery, upon moderate terms. Schenk's wife was 
 sent away courteously with her family, in a 28th June, 
 coach and four, and with as much "apparel" i^'^^- 
 as might be carried with her. His property was confis- 
 cated, for " no fair wars could be made v^dth him.'" ^ 
 
 Thus, within a few weeks after taking the field, the 
 "dejected, melancholy" man, who was so "out of 
 coumge," and the soldiers who were so " marvellously 
 beginning to run away" — according to the Earl of 
 Leicester — had swept their enemy from every town on 
 the Meuse. That river was now, throughout its whole 
 course, in the power of the Spaniards. The Province 
 of Brabant became thoroughly guarded again by its 
 foss, and the enemy's road was opened into 3ie northern 
 Provinces. 
 
 Leicester, meantime, had not distinguished himself. 
 It must be confessed that he had been sadly outgene- 
 ralled. ^ The man who had talked of following the 
 enemy inch by inch, and who had pledged himself not 
 only to protect Grave, and any other place that might 
 be attacked, but even to recover Antwerp and Bruges 
 within a few weeks, had wasted the time in very 
 desultory operations. After ihe St. George feasting, 
 Knewstub sermons, and forces of Hercules, were all 
 finished, the Earl had taken the field with five thousand 
 foot and fifteen hundied horse. His intention was to 
 clear the Yssel, by getting possession of Doesburg and 
 Zutphen, but, hearing of Parma's demonstration upon 
 Grave, he abandoned the contemplated siege of those 
 cities, and came to Amheim. He then crossed the 
 Khine into the Isle of Batavia, and thence, after taking 
 a few sconces of inferior importance— while Schenk, 
 meanwhile, was building on the Island of Gravenweert, 
 at the bifurcation of the Rhine and Waal, the sconce so 
 celebrated a century later as " Schenk's Fort" (Schen- 
 kenschans)— he was preparing to pass the Waal in order 
 to attack Farnese, when he heard, to his astonishment, 
 of the surrender of Grave." 
 
 He could therefore — to his chagrin — no longer save 
 
 ^ Doyley to Burghley, uW sup. Lei- II. 8 July, 1586. (Arch.de Simancas, 
 
 cester to the Queen, ^•'""^ 1586. (S. P, ^^S.) Compare Strada. U. 423. Meteren. 
 
 6 July ' • \ • • vjii 235 
 
 Office MS.) North to Burghley. same » Meteren, xiU. BSSt* 
 <wi€. (S. P. Office MS.) Parma to Philip 
 
22 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. IX. 
 
 tliat important city, but lie could, at least, cut off the 
 head of the culprit, Leicester was in Bommel when he 
 heard of Baron Hemart's faint-heartedness or treachery, 
 and his wrath was extravagant in proportion to the 
 exultation with which his previous success had inspired 
 him. He breathed nothing but revenge against the 
 coward and the traitor, who had delivered up the town in 
 "such lewd and beastly sort." * 
 
 ** I will never depart hence," he said, " till by the 
 goodness of God I be satisfied someway of this villain's 
 treachery." * There could be little doubt that Hemart 
 deserved punishment. There could be as little that 
 Leicester would mete it out to him in ample measure. 
 " The lewd villain who gave up Grave," said he, *' and 
 the captains as deep in fault as himself, shall all suifer 
 together." • 
 
 Hemart came boldly to meet him. " The honest man 
 came to me at Bommel," said Leicester, and he assured 
 the government that it was in the hope of persuadino" 
 the magistrates of that and other towns to imitate hS 
 own treachery.* 
 
 But the magistrates straightway delivered the culprit 
 
 . to the governor-general, who immediately placed him 
 
 26th June. Under arrest. A court-martial was summoned, 
 
 ^5^5- 26th of June, at Utrecht, consisting of Hohenlo, 
 Essex, and other distinguished officers. They found 
 that the conduct of the prisoner merited death, but left 
 it to the Earl to decide whether various extenuating 
 circumstances did not justify a pardon.* Hohenlo and 
 Korris exerted themselves to procure a mitigation of the 
 young man's sentence, and they excited thereby the 
 governor's deep indignation. Norris, according to Lei- 
 cester, was in love with the culprit's aunt, and was 
 therefore especially desirous of saving his life.' More- 
 over, much use was made of the discredit which had 
 been thrown by the Queen on the Earl's authority, and 
 it was openly maintained, that, being no longer govemor- 
 
 » Leicester to the Queen, - Jane. 1586. ^^' 
 
 \9 
 
 (S. P. Office Ma) " * North to Burghley, ^ June, 1586. (S. 
 
 2 Brace's ' Leyc Corresp.' 285. P. Office MS.) Hoofd Vervolgh. 156. 
 
 •Ibid. 287. « Brace's 'Leyc Corresp.' 301, 310, 
 
 « Leicester to the Queen, MS. before 313. 
 
 1586. LEICESTER'S RAGE AT SURRENDER OF GRAVE. 23 
 
 general, he had no authority to order execution upon a 
 Netherland officer.^ 
 
 The favourable circumstances urged in the case, were, 
 that Hemart was a young man, without experience in 
 military matters, and that he had been overcome by 
 the supplications and outcries of the women, panic- 
 struck after the first assault. There were no direct 
 proofs of treachery, or even of personal cowardice. He 
 begged hard for a pardon, not on account of his life, but 
 for the sake of his reputation. He earnestly implored 
 permission to serve under the Queen of England, as a 
 private soldier, without pay, on land or sea, for as many 
 years as she should specify, and to be selected for the 
 most dangerous employments, in order that, before he 
 died, he might wipe out the disgrace, which, throuo-h 
 his fault, in an hour of weakness, had come upon an 
 ancient and honourable house.* Much interest was 
 made for him — his family connections being powerful 
 — and a general impression prevailing that he had erred 
 through folly rather than deeper guilt. But Leicester, 
 beating himself upon the breast — as he was wont when 
 excited — swore that there should be no pardon for such 
 a traitor.' The States of Holland and Zeeland, likewise, 
 were decidedly in favour of a severe example."* 
 
 Hemart was accordingly led to the scaffold on the 
 28th June. He spoke to the people with great 
 calmness, and, in two languages, French and 28th June, 
 Flemish, declared that he was guiltless of i^'*^- 
 treachery, but that the terror and tears of the women, 
 in an hour of panic, had made a coward of him.* He 
 was beheaded, standing. The two captains, Du Ban and 
 Koeboekum, who had also been condemned, suffered with 
 him." A third captain, likewise convicted, was, "for 
 very just cause," pardoned by Leicester.^ The Earl 
 persisted in believing that Hemart had surrendered the 
 city as part of a deliberate plan, and affirmed that in 
 such a time, when men had come to think no more of 
 giving up a town than of abandoning a house, it was 
 
 ' Leicester to the Queen, - June, 1586. ^^- 220. Wagenaar, vlil. 128. 
 
 (S. P. Office MS.) *" * ^^^ ^''^'^' W'^enaar. ubi sup, 
 
 » Hoofd Vervolgh, 166. Meteren.xiil. ,„ 
 
 236vo. ' Leicester to Burghley, - June, 1586. 
 
 ' Hoofd. u6i«up. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 * • Kesol. HoU.,' 24 June, 1 July, 1586 
 
24 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. IX. 
 
 1586. 
 
 HIS REVENGE—PARMA ON THE RHINE. 
 
 25 
 
 higlily necessary to afford an example to traitors and satis- 
 faction to tlie people/ And the people were thoroughly 
 satisfied, according to the governor, and only expressed 
 their regret that three or four members of the States- 
 General could not have their heads cut off as well, being 
 as arrant knaves as Hemart ; " and so I think they be," 
 added Leicester.' 
 
 Parma having thus made himself master of the Meuse, 
 lost no time in making a demonstration upon the parallel 
 course of the Rhine, thirty miles farther east.* Schenk, 
 Kloet, and other partisans, kept that portion of the 
 archiepiscopate and of Westphalia in a state of perpe- 
 tual commotion.* Early in the preceding year, Count de 
 Meurs had, by a fortunate stratagem, captured the town 
 of Neusz for the deposed elector, and Herman Kloet, a 
 young and most determined Geldrian soldier, now com- 
 manded in the place.* 
 
 The Elector Ernest had made a visit in disguise to the 
 camp of Parma, and had represented the necessity of 
 recovering the city. It had become the stronghold . of 
 heretics, rebels, and banditti. The Rhine was in their 
 hands, and with it the perpetual power of disturbing the 
 loyal Netherlands. It was as much the interest of his 
 Catholic Majesty as that of the Archbishop that Neusz 
 should be restored to its lawful owner. Parma had felt 
 the force of this reasoning, and had early in the year 
 sent Haultepenne to invest the city. He had been 
 obliged to recal that commander during the siege of 
 Grave. The place being reduced, Alexander, before the 
 grass could grow beneath his feet, advanced to the Rhine 
 in person. Early in July he appeared before the walls 
 of Neusz with eight thousand foot and two thousand 
 horse. The garrison under Kloet numbered scarcely 
 more than sixteen hundred effective soldiers," all Nether- 
 landers and Germans, none being English. 
 
 The city is twenty miles below Cologne. It was so 
 well fortified that a century before it had stood a year's 
 siege from the famous Charles the Bold, who, after all, 
 
 » Brace's • Leyc. Corresp.' 309 jcg. ' Panna to Philip II. 8 July, 1586. 
 
 Office, MSS.) • Strada, &c., MS. Just cited. 
 
 had been obliged to retire. * It had also resisted the 
 strenuous efforts of Charles the Fifth,* and it was now 
 stronger than it ever had been. It was thoroughly well 
 provisioned, so that it was safe enough, " if those within 
 it," said Leicester, *' be men." * The Earl expressed the 
 opinion, however, that " those fellows were not good to 
 defend towns, unless the besiegers were obliged to swim 
 to the attack." * The issue was to show whether the 
 sarcasm were just or not. Meantime the town was con- 
 sidered by the governor-general to be secure, ** unless 
 towns were to be had for the asking." * 
 
 Neusz is not immediately upon the Rhine, but that 
 river, which sweeps away in a north-easterly direction 
 from the walls, throws out an arm which completely 
 encircles the town. A part of the place, cut into an 
 island by the Erpt, was strengthened by two redoubts. 
 This island was abandoned, as being too weak to hold, 
 and the Spaniards took possession of it immediately.* 
 There were various preliminary and sanguinary sorties 
 and skirmishes, during which the Spaniards, after having 
 been once driven from the island, again occupied that 
 position. Arcbishop Ernest came into the camp, and, 
 before proceeding to a cannonade, Parma offered to the 
 city certain terms of capitulation, which were approved 
 by that prelate. Kloet replied to this proposal, that he 
 was wedded to the town and to his honour, which were 
 as one. These he was incapable of sacrificing, but his 
 life he was ready to lay down.^ There was, through 
 some misapprehension, a delay in reporting this answer 
 to Famese. Meantime that general became impatient, 
 and advanced to the battery of the Italian regiment. 
 Pretending to be a plenipotentiary from the commander- 
 in-chief, he expostulated in a loud voice at the slowness 
 of their counsels. Hardly had he begun to speak, when 
 a shower of balls rattled about him. His own soldiers 
 were temfied at his danger, and a cry arose in the town 
 that " Holofemese " — as the Flemings and Germans were 
 accustomed to nickname Famese — was dead.® Strange 
 
 1 Meteren. xlii. 235'o. 2 ibji Qff^f^ j^g j 
 
 ^ Bruce's • Leyc. Corresp.' 250. 6 Strada, 11. 430. 
 
 < Leicester to Burghley, - July, 1686. ^ North to Burghley, 26 July 1586. (S 
 
 (S. P. Office MS.) P. Office MS.) 
 
 »c *.u^ 8^ „ ^ * Hoofd Vervolgh, 179. 
 
 » Same to the Queen, ^ July. ^ P b". • 
 
26 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. IX. 
 
 to relate, he was quite unharmed, and walked back to 
 his tent with dignified slowness and a very frowning 
 face. It was said that this breach of truce had been 
 begun by the Spaniards, who had fired first, and had 
 been immediately answered by the town. This was 
 hotly denied, and Farma sent Colonel Tassis with a flag 
 of truce to the commander, to rebuke and to desire an 
 explanation of this dishonourable conduct.* 
 
 The answer given, or imagined, was that Commander 
 Kloet had been sound asleep, but that he now much 
 regretted this untoward accident. The explanation was 
 received with derision, for it seemed hardly probable 
 that so young and energetic a soldier would take the 
 opportunity to refresh himself with slumber at a moment 
 when a treaty for the capitulation of a city imder his 
 charge was under discussion. This terminated the nego- 
 tiation.* 
 
 A few days afterwards, the feast of St. James was 
 celebrated in the Spanish camp, with bonfires and other 
 demonstrations of hilarity. The townsmen are said to 
 have desecrated the same holiday by roasting alive in 
 the market-place two unfortunate soldiers, who had been 
 captured in a sortie a few days before ; besides burning 
 the body of the holy Saint Quirinus, with other holy 
 relics." The detestable deed was to be most horribly 
 avenged. 
 
 A steady cannonade from forty-five great guns was 
 
 kept up from 2 a.m. of July 1 5 imtil the dawn of the 
 
 16th July, following day ; the cannoneers being all pro- 
 
 1M6. vided with milk and vinegar to cool the pieces.* 
 At daybreak the assault was ordered. Eight separate 
 attacks were made with the usual impetuosity of 
 Spaniards, and were steadily repulsed.* At the ninth, 
 the outer wall was carried, and the Spaniards shouting 
 " Santiago," poured over it, bearing baick all resistance. 
 An Italian Knight of the Sepulchre, Cesar Guidiccioni 
 by name, and a Spanish ensign, one Alphonso de Mesa, 
 with his colours in one hand and a ladder in the other, 
 
 1 Stradft, ii. 433. Hoofd, «M tup. There Is no authority but that of 
 
 2 Hoofd. Strada, ubi n^ Meteren, Faroese for the statement of this hor- 
 xiii. 236 teq. rible crime, bat I feel It my duty to 
 
 » Parma to Philip TI. 4 Ang. 1586. record it. 
 (Arch, de Slmaacas, M&) Compare * North to Burghley, 26 July, 1586. (S. 
 Strada, IL 434. P. Office MS.) # * Ibid. 
 
 1586. 
 
 HE BESIEGES AND ASSAULTS NEUSZ. 
 
 27 
 
 each claimed the honour of having first mounted the 
 breach. Both being deemed equally worthy of reward, 
 Parma, after the city had been won, took from his own 
 cap a sprig of jewels and a golden wheat-ear ornamented 
 with a gem, which he had himself worn in place of a 
 plume, and thus presented each with a brilliant token of 
 his regard.^ The wall was then strengthened against 
 the inner line of fortification, and all night lono- a des- 
 perate conflict was maintained in the dark upon the 
 naiTow space between the two barriers. Before day- 
 light Kloet, who then, as always, had led his men in the 
 most desperate adventures, was carried into the town, 
 wounded in five places, and with his leg almost severed 
 at the thigh.* ♦* 'Tis the bravest man," said the enthu- 
 siastic Lord North, ** that was ever heai-d of in the 
 world."" *' He is but a boy," said Alexander Famese, 
 " but a commander of extraordinaiy capacity and 
 valour." * 
 
 Early in the morning, when this mishap was known, 
 an officer was sent to the camp of the besiegers to treat, 
 llie soldiers received him with furious laughter, and 
 denied him access to the general. " Commander Kloet 
 had waked from his nap at a wrong time," they said, 
 "and the Prince of Parma was now sound asleep, in 
 his turn." * There was no possibility of commencing a 
 negotiation. The Spaniards, heated by the conflict, 
 maddened by opposition, and inspired by the desire to 
 sack a wealthy city, overpowered all resistance. " My 
 little soldiers were not to be restrained," * said Famese, 
 and so compelling a reluctant consent on the part of the 
 conimander-in -chief to an assault, the Italian and Spanish 
 legions poured into the town at two opposite gates, 
 which were no longer strong enough to withstand the 
 enemy. The two streams met in the heart of the place, 
 and swept every living thing in their path out of 
 existence. The garrison was butchered to a man, and 
 subsequently many of the inhabitants— men, women, 
 and children — also, although the women, to the honour 
 of Alexander, had been at first secured from harm in 
 
 » Strada, ii. 435. » Strada, ii. 437. 
 
 » Ibid. 436. North to Burghley, MS. « Parma to PhlUp, 4 Aug. 1586. (Aich. 
 
 * North to Burghley, MS. de Slmancas, MS.) 
 
 * Parma to Philip, 4 Aug. 1586. MS. 
 
28 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS, 
 
 Chap. IX. 
 
 some of the cliiirches, where they had been ordered to 
 take refuge. The first blast of indignation was against 
 the commandant of the place. Alexander, who had 
 admired his courage, was not unfavourably disposed 
 towards him, but Archbishop Ernest vehemently de- 
 manded his immediate death, as a personal favour to 
 himself.^ As the churchman was nominally sovereign 
 of the city, although in reality a beggarly dependant on 
 Philip's alms, Farnese felt bound to comply. The 
 manner in which it was at first supposed that the 
 Bishop's Christian request had been complied with, sent 
 a shudder through every heart in the Netherlands. 
 "They took Kloet, wounded as he was," said Lord 
 North, *' and first stnmgled him, then smeared him with 
 pitch, and burnt him with gunpowder ; thus, with their 
 holiness, they made a tragical end of an heroical service. 
 It is wondered that the Prince would suffer so gieat an 
 outrage to be done to so noble a soldier, who did but his 
 duty." " 
 
 But this was an error. A Jesuit priest • was sent to 
 the house of the commandant, for a humane effort wae 
 thought necessary in order to save the soul of the man 
 whose life was forfeited for the crime of defending his 
 city. The culprit was found lying in bed. His wife, 
 a woman of remarkable beauty,* with her sister, was in 
 attendance upon him. The spectacle of those two fair 
 women, nursing a wounded soldier fallen upon the 
 field of honour, might have softened devils with sym- 
 pathy. But the Jesuit was closely followed by a band 
 
 1 The Jesuit Strada, H. 438, Is the 
 anthority for the Btatement, founded upon 
 Alexander's own letters ; more of which 
 were before him than can now be found 
 in any single collection of documents. I 
 have noticed very few of the Simancas 
 letters relating to Farnese that do not 
 seem to have been at Strada's disposal — 
 although, of course, he only gives a very 
 brief epitome of them in the LAtin lan- 
 guage—while he has used many others of 
 which there are no copieii at Simancas. 
 
 te July 
 a Aug.' 
 
 1586. 
 
 » North to Burghley, 
 
 S. P. OfBce MS.) Leicester's account was 
 still more horrible !—" After Kloet was 
 brought to the market-place/' he wrote 
 
 to Walslnghara, " being sore wounded 
 before, they laid him upon a table, and 
 bound him, and anointed him with tar 
 all over his body, and half-strangling 
 him, burnt him cruelly." Brace's ' Leya 
 
 Corresp.' 369, ?^, 1586. 
 
 *^ 8 Aug. 
 
 Other English letters described the 
 fate of the commandant in a similar 
 manner, but the crime, although odious, 
 was not quite so atrocious as it was at 
 first believed to be. 
 
 ' "Ad quem lecto Jacentem misso 
 Socletatls Jesu sacerdote, ci^us operft in 
 eo saltern mortis articulo & secunda se 
 morte prajriperat," &c. Strada, ii 438. 
 
 < Strada, ii. MS. lastdted. 
 
 1586. HORRIBLE FATE OF THE GARRISON AND CITY. 29 
 
 of soldiers, who, notwithstanding the supplications of 
 the women, and the demand of Kloet to be indulged 
 with a soldier's death, tied a rope round the comman- 
 dant's neck, dragged him from his bed, and hanged him 
 from his own window. The Calvinist clergyman, 
 Fosserus of Oppenheim, the deacons of the congregation, 
 two military officers, and — said Parma — "forty other 
 rascals," were murdered in the same way at the same 
 time.* The bodies remained at the window till they 
 were devoured by the flames, which soon consumed the 
 house. For a , vast conflagration, caused none knew 
 whether by accident, by the despair of the inhabitants, 
 by the previous arrangements of the commandant, by 
 the latest-arrived bands of the besiegers enraged that 
 the Italians and Spaniards had been beforehand with 
 them in the spoils, or — as Farnese more naturally 
 believed — by the special agency of the Almighty, 
 oflfended with the burning of Saint Quirinus,* now came 
 to complete the horror of the scene. Three quarters Oi 
 the town were at once in a blaze. The churches, where 
 the affrighted women had been cowering during the sack 
 and slaughter, were soon on fire, and now, amid the 
 crash of Mling houses and the uproar of the drunken 
 soldiery, those unhappy victims were seen flitting along 
 the flaming streets, seeking refuge against the fury of 
 the elements in the more horrible cruelty of man. The 
 fire lasted all day and night, and not one stone would 
 have been left upon another, had not the body of a 
 second saint, saved on a former occasion from the heretics 
 by the piety of a citizen, been fortunately deposited in 
 his house. At this point the conflagration was stayed — 
 for the flames refused to consume these holy relics* — 
 but almost the whole of the town was destroyed, while 
 at least four thousand people, citizens and soldiers, had 
 perished by sword or fire." * 
 
 Three hundred survivors of the garrison took refuge 
 in a tower. Its base was surrounded, and, after brief 
 parley, they descended as prisoners. The 4th August, 
 Prince and Haultepenne attempted in vain to ^^^** 
 
 * •* Se ahorcaron con el comandante, el 236. Hoofd Vervolgh, 119, 180. Bor, 
 
 fiiinistro, los cousistoriantes, y quaranta ii. 738. 
 otros vellacos," &c. Parma to l*hilip, 4 « Strada, U. 441, 442. 
 Aug. 1586. (Arch, de Simancas, MS.) » Ibid. 440. 
 Coofua strada. ii. 438. Meteren, xiii. * Ibid. 442. 
 
30 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. IX. 
 
 protect them against the fury of the soldiers, and every 
 man of them was instantly put to death. ^ 
 
 The next day, Alexander gave orders that the wife 
 and sister of the commandant should be protected — for 
 they had escaped, as if by miracle, from all the horrors 
 of that day and night— and sent, under escort, to their 
 friends.* Neusz had nearly ceased to exist, for, accord- 
 ing to contemporaneous accounts, but eight houses had 
 escaped destruction.* 
 
 And the reflection was most painful to Leicester and 
 to every generous Englishman or Netherlander in the 
 countr}% that this importiint city and its heroic defenders 
 might have been preserved, but for want of harmony 
 and want of money/ Twice had the Earl got together 
 a force of four thousand men for the relief of the place, 
 and twice had he been obliged to disband them again 
 for the lack of funds to set them in the field. He had 
 pawned his plate and other valuables,* exhausted his 
 credit, and had nothing for it but to wait for the Queen's 
 tardy remittances, and to wrangle with the States ; .for 
 the leaders of that body were unwilling to accord large 
 supplies to a man who had become personally suspected 
 by them, and was the representative of a deeply- 
 
 » Strada, ii. 439. « Ibid. 438. 
 
 ' Bor, ii, 738. Stowe, 734. Hoofd 
 
 Vervolgh, 179, 180. Metercn. xllL 236 
 
 seq. Strada. il. 436-442. Parma to Philip 
 
 II. 4 A\xg. 1686, (Aich. de Simancai), 
 
 MS.) 
 
 86 Juir 
 North to Burghley, -r— , 1686. Same 
 
 to same, - Aug. 
 
 Burghley. 
 July. 
 
 29 July 
 
 8 Aug 
 
 B. Gierke to same, 
 
 'sAug. 
 
 1686. Leicester to 
 T. Cecil to same, — 
 
 81 
 
 24 Julf 
 
 w. 
 
 a Aug.' 
 Knollys to same, — Aug. T. Doyley to 
 
 BMne, ^ Aug. (S. P. Office MSS.) 
 
 shrew he knoweth not" He was much 
 disgusted with the perpetual discord 
 which had succeeded the brief enthu- 
 siasm upon Leicester's arrival. The 
 wrangling between Leicester and his 
 officers, and between them all and the 
 States, offended the young soldier so 
 much that he was anxious to leave the 
 Netherlands. ♦'Bravely was Nuys de- 
 fended by Kloet, but evil relieved by 
 us," he wrote to his father. "Our 
 affairs here be such as that which we 
 conclude overnight is broke in the 
 monilng; we agree not one with an- 
 other, but we are divided in many fac- 
 tions, 80 as if the enemy were as strong 
 as we are factious and Irresolute, I 
 tliiiik we should make shipwreck of 
 the cause this summer." Sir T. Cecil 
 
 il 
 
 * Sir lliomas Cecil, eldest son of the 
 Lord Treasurer, was then governor of the 
 cautionary town of Brill. It had been j, 
 
 proposed to him to change this govern- ^ ^^^ Burghley, - July, 1686. (S. P 
 ment for that of Harllngen in Frieslund, Office MS.) 
 where Lord North was then installed. 
 But Cecil observed that he was " resolved 
 to keep the Brill still, as one that would (S. P. Office MS.) 
 rather keep a shrew he knoweth than a 
 
 « Leicester to Burghley, - Aug. 1586. 
 
 1586. WHICH LEICESTER WAS UNABLE TO RELIEVE. 31 
 
 suspected government. Meanwhile, one-third at least 
 of the money which really found its way from time to 
 time out of England, was filched from the " poor starved 
 wretches," as Leicester called his soldiers, by the 
 dishonesty of Norris, uncle of Sir John and army-trea- 
 surer. This man was growing so rich on his pecula- 
 tions, on his commissions, and on his profits from paying 
 the troops in a depreciated coin, that Leicester declared 
 the whole revenue of his own landed estates in England 
 to be less than that functionary's annual income.' Thus 
 it was difficult to say whether the " ragged rogues " of 
 Elizabeth or the maimed and neglected soldiers of 
 Philip were in the more pitiable plight. 
 
 The only consolation in the recent reduction of Keusz 
 was to be found in the fact that Parma had only gained 
 a position, for the town had ceased to exist ; and in the 
 fiction that he had paid for his triumph by the loss ot 
 six thousand soldiers, killed and wounded.* In realit}' 
 not more than five hundred of Famese's aimy lost their 
 lives ;* and although the town, excepting some churches, 
 had certainly been destroyed, yet the Prince was now 
 master of the Khine as far as Cologne, and of the Meuse 
 as far as Grave. The famine which pressed so sorely 
 upon him might now be relieved, and his military com- 
 munications with Germany be considered secure. 
 
 The conqueror now turned his attention to Rheinberg, 
 twenty-five miles farther down the river.* 
 
 Sir Philip Sidney had not been well satisfied by the 
 comparative idleness in whicli, from these various cir- 
 cumstances, he had been compelled to remain. Early 
 in the spring he had been desirous of making an attack 
 upon Flanders by capturing the town of Steenberg. The 
 faithful Roger Williams had strongly seconded the pro- 
 posal. " We wish to show your Excellency," said he to 
 Leicester, " that we are not sound asleep." * The Welsh- 
 
 » Brace's * Leyc. Corresp.' 260, 264, 299, 
 303. 
 
 =* Bruce, 'Leyc. Corresp.' 363. "He 
 has lost 3000 of his soldiers and as 
 niany hurt." (!) Leicester to Walsing- 
 ham, 27 July, 1586. " Of the enemy not 
 less than 3000 slain," said North, 26 
 July, MS. ubi supra. "The town is 
 gone, clean burnt to the ground," WTote ^'^^^- (J^^^ ^^^' Galba, C. Ix. p. 86, 
 l^lcester to Burghley, " and to the num- ^S.) 
 ber of 40CO dead in the ditdtes ' Jitter 
 
 . 29 July --„ . . 
 
 of — - — , MS. libi supra. 
 
 8 Aug. ^ 
 
 » North to Burghley, ^ Aug. MS. 
 
 * Bor, Hoofd, Meteren, Strada, u6i 
 supra. * 
 
 * Williams to Leicester, — Feb. 
 
32 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. IX. 
 
 jaan was not likely to be accused of somnolence, but on 
 this occasion Sidney and himself had been overruled. At 
 a later moment, and during the siege of Neusz, Sir 
 Philip had the satisfaction of making a successful foray 
 into Flanders. 
 
 The expedition had been planned by Prince Maurice 
 of Nassau, and was his earliest military achievement. 
 He proposed carrying by surprise the city of Axel, a 
 well-built, strongly-fortified town on the south-westeni 
 edge of the great Scheldt estuary, and very important 
 from its position. Its acquisition would make the hold 
 of the patriots and the English upon Sluys and Ostend 
 more secure, and give them many opportunities of annoy 
 ing the enemy in Flanders. 
 
 Early in July, Maurice wrote to the Earl of Leicester, 
 communicating the particulars of his scheme, but begging 
 that the affair might be " very secretly handled,'* and 
 kept from every one but Sidney. Leicester accordingly 
 sent his nephew to Maurice, that they might consult 
 together upon the enterprise, and make sure *' that there 
 was no ill intent, there being so much treachery in the 
 world." * Sidney found no treachery in young Maurice, 
 but only a noble and intelligent love of adventure, and 
 the two arranged their plans in harmony. 
 
 Leicester, then, in order to deceive the enemy, came 
 to Bergen-op-Zoom, with five hundred men, where ho 
 18, 17. July, remained two days, not sleeping a wink, as he 
 1686. averred, during the whole time. In the night 
 of Tuesday, 16th of July, the five hundred English sol- 
 diers were despatched by water, under charge of Lord 
 Willoughby, *' who," said the Earl, " would needs go 
 with them." Young Hatton, too, son of Sir Christopher, 
 also volunteered on the service, " as his first nursling." * 
 Sidney had five hundred of his own Zeeland regiment 
 in readiness, and the rendezvous was upon the broad 
 waters of the Scheldt, opposite Flushing.* The plan 
 was neatly carried out, and the united flotilla, in a dark, 
 calm, midsummer's night, rowed across the smooth es- 
 tuary and landed at Ter Neuse. about a league from 
 
 , , . ^ * .1. ,^_ 8 T 1 ' "Before Flushing, upon the water. 
 
 1 Leicester to the Queen. - July. ^^^ ^^ ^,gj^^ ^ j^^ ^^^^., ^.^^^ 
 
 1586. (S. P. C)fflce MS.) to the Queen, MS. before cited. 
 
 « Bruoe's • Leyc Corresp.' 338. 
 
 1586. AXEL SURPRISED BY MAURICE AND SIDNEY. 33 
 
 Axel. Here they were joined by Maurice with some 
 ^ etherland companies, and the united troops, between 
 two and three thousand strong, marched at once to the 
 place proposed. Before two in the morning they had 
 reached Axel, but found the moat veiy deep. Forty 
 soldiers immediately plunged in, however, carrying their 
 ladders with them, swam across, scaled the rampart, 
 killed the guard, whom they found asleep in their beds 
 and opened the gates for their comrades. The whole 
 force then marched in, the Dutch companies under Co- 
 lonel Pyron being first. Lord Willoughby's men being 
 second, and SirThilip with his Zeelanders bringing up 
 the rear.» The garrison, between five and six hundred 
 m number, though surprised, resisted gallantlv, and were 
 all put to the sword. Of the invaders, not a'single man 
 lost his life. Sidney most generously rewarded from 
 his own purse the adventurous soldiers who had swum 
 the moat ; and it was to his care and intelligence that 
 the success of Prince Maurice's scheme was generally 
 attnbuted. The achievement was hailed with great 
 satisfaction, and it somewhat raised the drooping spirits 
 of the patriots after their severe losses at Grave and 
 Venlo. " This victory hath happened in good time," 
 wrote Thomas Cecil to his father, " and hath made us 
 somewhat to lift up our heads." * A garrison of eight 
 hundred, under Colonel Pyron, was left in Axel, and the 
 dykes around were then pierced. Upwards of two mil- 
 lions' worth of property in grass, cattle, com, was thus 
 immediately destroyed ' in the territory of the obedient 
 .^ etherlands. 
 
 Aft^r an unsuccessful attempt to surprise Gravelines * 
 the governor of which place, the veteran La Motte, was 
 not so easily taken napping, Sir Philip, having gained 
 much reputation by this conquest of Axel, then joined 
 
 » sir T. Cecil to Lo«l Burghley. - 
 July, 1586. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 Leicester, however, says, " My nephew 
 Sidney, with his band, would needs have 
 the first entry, as the messenger told me," 
 (Utt^'r to the Qu^n. vbi sup.); but 
 the messenger seems to have been mis- 
 taken. 
 
 * Cecil to Burghley, ubi supra. 
 VOL. U. 
 
 3 Leicester to Burghley, ^±!!l, isge. 
 (S. P. Office MS.) *'^"*' 
 
 " Your Lordship will not believe how 
 the town of Axel is is like to annoy these 
 parts. There Is already so much corn, 
 cattle, and grass destroyed, as Is worth 
 two millions of florins." 
 
 * Moteren, xlii. 236*". 
 
84 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. IX. 
 
 tlie main body of the army, under Leicester, at Am- 
 lieim.* 
 
 Yet, after all, Sir Philip had not grown in favour with 
 her Majesty during his service in the Low Countries. 
 He had also been disappointed in the government of 
 Zeeland, to which post his uncle had destined him. The 
 cause of Leicester's ambition had been frustrated by the 
 policy of Bameveld and Buys, in pursuance of which 
 Count or Prince Maurice — as he was now purposely de- 
 signated, in order that his rank might surpass that of the 
 Earl • — had become stadholder and captain-general both 
 of Holland and Zeeland. The Earl had given his 
 nephew, however, the colonelcy of the Zeeland regi- 
 ment, vacant by the death of Admiral Haul tain on the 
 Kowenstyn Dyke. This promotion had excited much 
 anger among the high officers in the Netherlands, who, 
 at the instigation of Count Hohenlo, had presented a re- 
 monstrance upon the subject to the governor-general. 
 It had always been the custom, they said, with the late 
 Prince of Orange, to confer promotion according to se- 
 niority, without regard to social rank, and they were 
 therefore unwilling that a young foreigner, who had 
 just entered the service, should thus be advanced over 
 the heads of veterans who had been campaigning there 
 so many weary years.' At the same time the gentlemen 
 who si^ed thi paper protested to Sir Philip, in another 
 letter, ** with all the same hands," that they had no per- 
 sonal feeling towards him, but, on the contrary, that 
 they wished him all honour.* 
 
 Young Maurice himself had always manifested the 
 most friendly feelings towards Sidney, although influ- 
 enced in his action by the statesmen who were already 
 
 > Letters of Leicester and of Sir T. 
 Cecil above cited. Compare Meteren, xitl. 
 236. Brooke's Life of Sidney, ii. 15. 
 Hoofd Vervolgh, 181, 182 ; Bor, ii. 738 ; 
 Wagenaar, vlil. 134, Brace's ' Leyc. 
 Corresp.' 337, 338. 
 
 • His elder brother Philip William, son 
 of William the Silent, by his Brst wife 
 Anna de Buren, was IMnce of Orange, but 
 was still detained captive In Spain. The 
 title of IMnce was given by courtesy to 
 Maurice, on the ground that in Germany 
 All the sons succeodfd to the father's title. 
 
 As the principality of Orange was not 
 
 in Germany, and as the title of William 
 In that country was only that of Count, 
 it was difBcult to see any claim of Mau* 
 rice to be entitled Prince so long as his 
 brother was alive. Leicester always 
 considered bis assumption of this su- 
 perlor ranlc as a personal affront to 
 himself. 
 
 3 Sidney to Davison. 24 Feb. 15«6. 
 (Brit. Mus. Gall^ C. ix. 75, MS.) Com- 
 pare letters of Hohenlo In Bt>r, iii. 123 
 teq. Hoofd Vervolgh, 156, 157. Wage- 
 naar, viil. 129. 
 
 ♦ Sidney to Davison, itbi tupra. 
 
 1586. THE ZEELAND REGIMENT GIVEN TO SIDNEY. 35 " 
 
 organizing a powerful opposition to Leicester. " Count 
 Maunce showed himself constantly kind in the matter 
 of the regiment," said Sir Philip, " but Mr. Paul Buss 
 has so many busses in his head, such as you shall find 
 he will be to God and man about one pitch. Happy is 
 the communication of them that join in the fear of God."' 
 Hohenlo, too, or Hollock, as he was called by the 
 French and English, was much governed by Buys and 
 Olden-Bameveld. Reckless and daring, but loose of 
 life and uncertain of purpose, he was most dangerous 
 unless under safe guidance. Roger Williams— who 
 vowed that but for the love he bore to Sidney and 
 Leicester, he would not remain ten days in the Nether- 
 lands—was much disgusted by Hohenlo's conduct in 
 regard to the Zeeland regiment. "Tis a mutinous 
 request of Hollock," said he, " that strangers should not 
 command Netherlanders. He and his Alemaynes are 
 farther bom from Zeeland than Sir Philip is. Either 
 you must make Hollock assured to you, or you must 
 disgrace him. If he will not be yours, I will show you 
 means to disinherit him of all his commands at small 
 danger. What service doth he, Count Solms, Count 
 Overstein, with their Alemaynes, but spend treasure 
 and consume great contributions ? " * 
 
 It was very natural that the chivalrous Sidney, who 
 had come to the Netherlands to win glory in the field, 
 should be desirous of posts that would bring danger and 
 distinction with them. He was not there merely that 
 he might govern Flushing, important as it was, particu- 
 larly as the garrison was, according to his statement, 
 about as able to maintain the town, " as the Tower was 
 to answer for London." He disapproved of his wife's 
 mchnation to join him in Holland, for he was likely— 
 so he wrote to her father, Walsingham— " to run such a 
 course as would not be fit for any of the feminine 
 gender." » He had been, however, grieved to ihe heart, 
 by the spectacle which was perpetually exhibited of the 
 Queen's parsimony, and of the consequent suffering of 
 the soldiers. Twelve or fifteen thousand Englishmen 
 were serving in the Netheriands— more than two-thirds 
 
 » Sidney to Davison, ubi supra. 1586. (Brit. Mus. Galba, C. ix. 85, MS.) 
 
 • II. Williams to Leicester, - Feb ' Letters in Gray's Life of Sydaey, 
 
 V ' 291, 
 
 D 2 
 
36 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Ciup. IX* 
 
 of them in her Majesty's immediate emplojTnent. No 
 troops had ever fought better, or more honourably 
 maintained the ancient glory of England. But rarely 
 had more ragged and wretched warriors been seen than 
 they, after a few months* campaigning. 
 
 The Irish Kernes — some fifteen hundred of whom 
 were among the auxiliaries — were better off, for they 
 habitually dispensed with clothing ; an apron from waist 
 to knee being the only protection of these wild Kelts, 
 who fought with the valour, and nearly in the costume 
 of Homeric heroes. Fearing nothing, needing nothing, 
 sparing nothing, they stalked about the fens of Zeeland 
 upon their long stilts, or leaped across running rivers, 
 scaling ramparts, robbing the highways, burning, 
 butchering, and maltreating the villages and their 
 inhabitants, with as little regard for the laws of 
 Christian warfare as for those of civilized costume.* 
 
 Other soldiers, more sophisticated as to apparel, were 
 less at their ease. The generous Sidney spent all his 
 means, and loaded himself with debt, in order to relieve 
 the necessities of the poor soldiers. He protested that 
 if the Queen would not pay her troops, she would lose 
 her troops, but that no living man should say the fault 
 was in him. " \V hat relief I can do them I will," he 
 wrote to his father-in-law ; "I will spare no danger, if 
 occasion serves. I am sure that no creature shall lay 
 injustice to my charge." * 
 
 Very soon it was discovered that the starving troops 
 had to contend not only with the Queen's niggardliness 
 but with the dishonesty of her agents. Treasurer 
 Norris was constantly accused by Leicester and Sidney 
 of gross peculation. Five per cent., according to Sir 
 Philip, was lost to the Zeeland soldiers in every pay- 
 ment, "and God knows," he said, "they want no such 
 hindrance, being scarce able to keep life with their 
 entire pay. Tnily it is but poor increase to her Majesty, 
 considering what loss it is to the miserable soldier." 
 Discipline and endurance were sure to be sacrificed, ic 
 the end, to such short-sighted economy. " When 
 soldiers," said Sidney, " gi'ow to despair,' and give up 
 
 * Reyd, v. 101. Hoofd Vervolgh. 220. Strada, ii. 446 
 2 Letters, lu Gray, 200. 
 
 1586. 
 
 LEICESTER TAKES THE FIELD. 
 
 37 
 
 towns, then it is too late to buy with hundred thousands 
 what might have been saved with a trifle." * 
 
 This plain dealing, on the part of Sidney, was any- 
 thing but agreeable to the Queen, who was far from 
 feeling regret that his high-soaring expectations had 
 been somewhat blighted in the Provinces. He often 
 expressed his mortification that her Majesty was dis- 
 posed to interpret everything to his disadvantage. " I 
 understand," said he, " that I am called ambitious and 
 very proud at home, but certainly, if they knew my 
 heart, they would not altogether so judge me." * Eliza- 
 beth had taken part with Hoheulo against Sir Philip in 
 the matter of the Zeeland regiment, and in this perhaps 
 she was not entirely to be blamed. But she inveighed 
 needlessly against his ambitious seeking of the office, 
 and— as Walsingham observed — "she was very apt, 
 upon every light occasion, to find fault with him." * It 
 is probable that his complaints against the army- 
 treasurer, and his manful defence of the " miserable 
 soldiers," more than counterbalanced, in the Queen's 
 estimation, his chivalry in the field. 
 
 Nevei-theless he had now the satisfaction of having 
 gained an important city in Flanders ; and on subse- 
 quently joining the army under his uncle, he indulged 
 the hope of earning still greater distinction. 
 
 Martin Schenk had meanwhile been successfully 
 defending Rheinberg, for several weeks, against Parma's 
 forces. It was necessary, however, that Leicester, not- 
 withstanding the impoverished condition of his troops, 
 should make some diversion, while his formidable 
 antagonist was thus carrying all before him. 
 
 He assembled, accordingly, in the month of August, 
 all the troops that could be brought into the field, and 
 reviewed them, with much ceremony, in the neighbour- 
 hood of Amheim. His army barely numbered seven 
 thousand foot and two thousand horse,* but he gave out, 
 very extensively, that he had fourteen thousand under 
 his command,* and he was moreover expecting a force 
 
 » Letters, in Gray, 214, 321. 
 « Ibid. 290. Bruce's ' Leyc Correqj 
 345. 
 » Letters, In Gray, &c, just cited. 
 
 to Burghley, 6 Sept 1586. (S. P. Office 
 MS.) 
 
 * Ibid. Compare Strada, who states 
 the number of Leicester's forces at 13,000 
 
 < Leicester to the Queen, 11 Oct. foot and 2000 horse, besides relnforce- 
 1586. (S. P. Office MS.) Huddleston ments of 1000 English and Scotch who 
 
38 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. UL 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 
 of three thousand reiters, and as many pikemen recently 
 levied in Germany. Lord Essex was general of the 
 cavalry, Sir William Pelham ' — a distinguished soldier, 
 who had recently arrived out of England, after the most 
 urgent solicitations to the Queen, for that end, by 
 Leicester — was lord-marshal of the camp, and Sir John 
 Norris was colonel-general of the infantry. 
 
 After the parade, two sermons were preached upon 
 the hill-side to the soldiers, and then there was a council 
 of war. It was decided — notwithstanding the Earl's 
 announcement of his intentions to attack Parma in per- 
 son — that the condition of the army did not warrant 
 such an enterprise. It was thought better to lay siege 
 to Zutphen. This step, if successful, would place in 
 the power of the republic and her ally a city of great 
 importance and strength. In every event the attempt 
 
 were shortly expected. Bor, IL TS8. 
 WAgeuiar. tIU. 135. 
 
 * Sir William Pelham had been out of 
 favour with the Queen for many months. 
 He had been held responsible for some 
 abnses in the Ordnance Office, and a heavy 
 claim made ixpoa him by the crown had 
 reduced him to Insolvency. The Queen 
 was excessively indignant at his conduct, 
 •od refused for a long time to allow him 
 to accept the responsible post under Lei- 
 cester which the Earl was anxioiB to 
 confer np<m him. Ldoestmr, who was the 
 mo6t generous of nen, sent him large 
 sums of money to extricate him fh>m his 
 dlflRcultles, bat it was many months be- 
 fore the Quem relented. The Earl had an 
 exalted opinion of Pelham's military ca- 
 pacity, knew him to be one of his own 
 most devoted adherents, and earnestly 
 desired his suppcni to keep down the 
 hostility and insubordination of Sir John 
 Norris and his brothers. " I begin to be 
 prettily accompanied now with men," he 
 wrote to the Queen, " only lacking gover- 
 nors and leaders, especially a marshal. I 
 must still saj to your Mijesty it had been 
 better to have wanted the nse of 20,000 
 than the service of Sir W. Pelham here 
 tills long, it is. not only an insufferable 
 want to all our people, but the enemy 
 hath bragged of It. I do assure your 
 Mi^esty, by the allegiance I owe you, I 
 know the Prince of Parma hath spoken it 
 some months past, that he was sure nei- 
 ther Peliuun Qor the Lord Gray ihoold 
 
 come, nor that any more men by your 
 licence or mutter Aotdd pau, which falls 
 out somerchat to be true, to our discomfort. 
 But if either Pelham or Lord Gray, or ra- 
 ther both, may come, I trust your MiO^s^J 
 shall reap the greatest honour and good by 
 it ; but first Sir William, for he is readiest. 
 For God't take and your honour't sake, 
 let him come. We have now some num- 
 bers increased, but no man fit for such a 
 government as Sir W. Pelham is. I be- 
 seech your MtOesty trust me, and bdiete 
 me there is not one, no, not one for it, 
 whatsoever you have heard or may hear, 
 or of whomsoever, that I know to be em- 
 ployed at this time here. 1 find it, I feel 
 it, to my great hindrance and no lean 
 danger every day. I know here be wor- 
 thy and very valiant gentlemen, but for 
 so great a charge, believe me, there is not 
 one yet here for it. I am loath to 
 hinder any man. It hath not been my 
 custom to your Majesty. I beseech you 
 that all men may have their deserts, and 
 your poor army here comforted. Let all 
 the haste possible be used with Sir W. 
 Pelham, on whose coming with that 
 worthy gentleman Sir W. Stanley, I trust 
 your MiOeBty shall hear well of us," &c 
 &C. It was natural that Sir John Norris 
 should be taidignant a^ being supplanted 
 by Pelham, and their mutual rivalry did 
 Infinite mischief. Leicester to the Queen, 
 
 2 June, 1S86. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 OonqMure • LeycCorresp.' 37. 45, 55. 125. 
 
 1586. 
 
 HE REDUCES DOESBURG. 
 
 39 
 
 would probably compel Famese to raise the siege of 
 
 Berg. 
 
 Leicester, accordingly, with " his brave troop of able 
 and likely men "»— five thousand of the infantry being 
 English*— advanced as far as Doesburg. This city, 
 seated at the confluence of the ancient canal of Drusus 
 and the Yssel, five miles above Zutphen, it was necessary, 
 as a preliminary measure, to secure. It was 30th Aug. 
 not a very strong place, being rather slightly oth Sept. 
 walled with brick, and with a foss drawing 
 not more than three feet of water.' By the 30th August 
 it had been completely invested. 
 
 On the same night, at ten o'clock. Sir William Pelham 
 came to the Earl to tell him ** what beastly pioneers the 
 Dutehmen were." Leicester accordingly determined, 
 notwithstanding the lord-marshal's entreaties, to proceed 
 to the trenches in person. There being but faint light, 
 the two lost their way, and soon found themselves nearly 
 at the gate of the town. Here, while groping about in 
 the dark, and trying to effect their retreat, they were 
 saluted with a shot, which struck Sir William in the 
 stomach. For an instant, thinking himself mortaUy in- 
 jured, he expressed his satisfaction that he had been 
 between the commander-in-chief and the blow, and made 
 other " comfortable and resolute speeches." Very for- 
 tunately, however, it proved that the marshal was not 
 seriously hurt, and, after a few days, he was about his 
 work as usual, although obliged— as the Earl of Leicester 
 expressed it—" to carry a bullet in his belly as long as: 
 
 he should live." * 
 
 Roger Williams too, that valiant adventurer— ** but no 
 more valiant than wise, and worth his weight in gold," 
 according to the appreciative Leicester— was shot through 
 the arm. For the dare-devil Welshman, much to the 
 Earl's regret, persisted in running up and down the 
 trenches ** with a great plume of feathers in his gilt 
 morion," and in otherwise making a very conspicuous 
 mark of himself " within point-blank of a caliver. * 
 
 Notwithstanding these mishaps, however, the siege 
 went successfully forward. Upon the 2nd September 
 the Earl began to batter, and after a brisk cannonade. 
 
 I Hoddleston to Burghley, MS. before cited. 
 * Bmoe's • Leyc Corresp.' 401, 407. 
 
 « Ibid. 
 
 • mi. 
 
 , 
 
 » Ibid. 
 
40 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. IX 
 
 1586. 
 
 HE LAYS SIEGE TO ZUTPHEN. 
 
 41 
 
 from dawn till two in the afternoon, he had consi- 
 
 Fri(iay. dcrablv damaged the wall in two places. One 
 
 ^ Sept. of the breaches was eighty feet wide, the other 
 
 1586. half as large, but the besieged had stuffed them 
 
 full of beds, tubs, logs of wood, boards, and ** such like 
 
 trash," by means whereof the ascent was not so easy as 
 
 it seemed.* The soldiers were excessively eager for the 
 
 assault. Sir John N orris came to Leicester to receive 
 
 his orders as to the command of the attacking party. 
 
 The Earl referred the matter to him. "There is no 
 
 man," answered Sir John, ** fitter for that purpose than 
 
 myself; for I am colonel-general of the infantry." * 
 
 But Leicester, not willing to indulge so unreasonable 
 a proposal, replied that he would reserve him for service 
 of less hazard and greater importance. Norris being, as 
 usual, ** satis prodigus magnae animae,"* was out of 
 humour at the refusal, and ascribed it to the Earl's per- 
 sistent hostility to him and his family. It was then 
 arranged that the assault upon the principal breach 
 should be led by younger officers, to be supported by 
 Sir John and other veterans. The other breach was 
 assigned to the Dutch and Scotch — black Norris scowling 
 at them the while with jealous eyes ; fearing that they 
 might get the start of the English party, and be first to 
 enter the town.* A party of noble volunteers clustered 
 about Sir John — Lord Bui^h, Sir Thomas Cecil, Sir 
 Philip Sidney, and his brother Robert among the rest — 
 most impatient for the signal. The race was obviously 
 to be a sharp one. The governor-general forbade these 
 violent demonstrations, but Lord Burgh, ** in a most 
 vehement passion, waived the countermand,"' and his 
 insubordination was very generally imitated. Before 
 the signal was given, however, Leicester sent a trumpet 
 -Se L1586 ^ summon the town to surrender, and could 
 " ' with difficulty restrain his soldiers till the 
 
 answer should bo returned. To the universal disappoint- 
 ment, the garrison agreed to surrender. Norris himself 
 then stepped forward to the breach, and cried aloud the 
 terms, lest the returning herald, who had. been sent 
 back by Leicester, should offer too favourable a capitu- 
 
 lation.* It was arranged that the soldiers should retire 
 without arms, with white wands in their hands — the 
 officers remaining prisoners — and that the burghers, their 
 lives, and property, should be at Leicester's disposal.* 
 The Earl gave most peremptory orders that persons and 
 goods should be respected, but his commands were dis- 
 obeyed. Sir William Stanley's men committed frightful 
 disorders, and thoroughly rifled the town." 
 
 " And because," said Norris, " I found fault herewith, 
 Sir William began to quarrel with me, hath braved me 
 extremely, refuseth to take any direction from me, and 
 although I have sought for redress, yet it is proceeded 
 in so coldly, that he taketh encouragement rather to in- 
 crease the quarrel than to leave it." * 
 
 Notwithstanding therefore the decree of Leicester, 
 the expostulations and anger of Norris, and the energetic 
 efforts of Lord Essex and other generals, who went 
 about smiting the marauders on the head, the soldiers 
 sacked the city, and committed various disorders, in 
 spite of the capitulation.* 
 
 Doesburg having been thus reduced, the Earl now 
 proceeded toward the more important city which he had 
 determined to besiege. Zutphen, or South-Fen, an 
 antique town of wealth and elegance, was the capital of 
 the old Landgraves of Zutphen. It is situate on the 
 right bank of the Yssel, that branch of the Rhine which 
 flows between Gelderland and Overyssel into the Zuyder 
 Zee. 
 
 The ancient river, broad, deep, and languid, glides 
 through a plain of almost boundless extent, till it loses 
 itself in the flat and misty horizon. On the other side 
 of the stream, in the district called the Veluwe,* or bad 
 
 I Huddleston to Barghley,- Sept. IS86. 
 S. r. Office MS.) 
 
 « MS. last cited. 
 
 * Ibid. 
 
 • ibid. 
 
 » Ibid. 
 
 1 "Lest the trumpet should offer too 
 largely, I stepped to the breach myself 
 and proposed the conditions," &c. Sir 
 
 John Norris to Mr. Wilkes, - Sept 1586. 
 
 (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 * Leicester to the Privy Council, — 
 
 S-pt. 1586. Sir J. Norris to Wilkes, ubi 
 tup. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 » Norris to Wilkes. MS. 
 
 * Hnddleston to Burghley, 3 Sept. 
 1586. (S. P. Office MS.) Leicester to 
 Privy Council, 6 Sept. 1586. (S. P. Office 
 MS.) Sir John Norris to Wilkes, 6 Sept. 
 
 1588. (S. P. Office MS.) Compare Hoofd 
 Vervolgh, 184. Bor, ii. 750. Stowe, 
 736. Bruce's • Leyc. Corresp.' 406, 407. 
 
 The town was " rifled," but It was •* but 
 poor, with nothing to answer the need 
 and greediness of the soldiers," said Hud- 
 dleston, adding that, " divers disorders 
 were committed, as In such cases It hap- 
 peneth, though (God be thanked) none 
 specially notorious." 
 
 * Veluwe, ' bad meadow,' In opposition 
 to Betuwe (Batavia), *good meadow.' 
 Bet Is the positive, now obsolete In Ger- 
 man, Dutch, and English, of the compa- 
 rative, better. 
 
 i< 
 
 I 
 
42 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. IX. 
 
 158G. 
 
 WHICH PARMA PREPARES TO PJILIEVE. 
 
 43 
 
 meadow, were three sconces, one of them of remarkable 
 strength. An island between the city and the shore was 
 likewise well fortified. On the landward side the town 
 was protected by a wall and moat sufficiently strong in 
 those infant days of artillery. Near the hospital-gate, 
 on the east, was an external fortress guarding the road 
 to Wamsfeld. This was a small village, with a solitary 
 slender church-spire, shooting up above a cluster of 
 neat one-storied houses. It was about an English mile 
 from Zutphen, in the midst of a wide, low, somewhat 
 fenny plain, which, in winter, became so completely a 
 lake, that peasants were not unfrequently drowned in 
 attempting to pass from the city to the village. In sum- 
 mer, the vague expanse of country was fertile and cheerful 
 of aspect. Long rows of poplars marking the straight 
 highways, clumps of pollard willows scattered around 
 the little meres, snug farm-houses, with kitchen-gardens 
 and brilliant flower-patches dotting the level plain, 
 verdant pastures sweeping off into seemingly infinite 
 distance, where the innumerable cattle seemed to swarm 
 like insects, windmills swinging their arms in all 
 directions, like protective giants, to save the country 
 from inundation, the lagging sail of market-boats shining 
 through rows of orchard trees — all gave to the environs 
 of Zutphen a tranquil and domestic charm. 
 
 Deventer and Kampen, the two other places on the 
 river, were in the hands of the States.* It was, there- 
 fore, desirable for the English and the patriots, by 
 gaining possession of Zutphen, to obtain control of the 
 Yssel ; driven, as they had been, from the Meuse and 
 Bhine. 
 
 Sir John Norris, by Leicester's direction, took posses- 
 sion of a small rising-ground, called *' Gibbet Hill," on 
 the land-side, where he established a fortified camp, and 
 proceeded to invest the city. With him were Count 
 Lewis William of Nassau, and Sir Philip Sidney, while 
 the Earl himself, crossing the Yssel on a bridge of boats 
 which he had constructed, reserved for himself the re- 
 duction of the forts upon the Veluwe side. 
 
 Famese, meantime, was not idle ; and Leicester's cal- 
 culations proved correct. So soon as the Prince w^as 
 informed of this important demonstration of the enemy 
 he broke up — after brief debate with his officers — his 
 
 camp before Rheinberg, and came to Wesel.* At this 
 place he built a bridge over the Ehine, and fortified it 
 with two block-houses. These he placed under com- 
 mand of Claude Berlot, who was ordered to watch strictly 
 all communication up the river with the city of Ehein- 
 berg, which he thus kept in a partially beleaguered 
 state. Alexander then advanced rapidly by way of 
 Groll and Burik, both which places he took possession 
 of, to the neighbourhood of Zutphen. He was deter 
 mined, at every hazard, to relieve that important city ; 
 and although, after leaving necessary detachments on 
 the way, he had but five thousand men under his com- 
 mand, besides fifteen hundred under Verdugo — making 
 sixty-five hundred in all — he had decided that the neces- 
 sity of the case, and his own honour, required him to 
 seek the enemy, and to leave, as he said, ilie issue with 
 the God of battles, whose cause it was.* 
 
 Tassis, lieutenant-governor of Gelderland, was ordered 
 into the city with two comets of horse and six hundred 
 foot. As large a number had already been stationed 
 there. Verdugo, who had been awaiting the arrival of 
 the Prince at Borkelo, a dozen miles from Zutphen, with 
 four hundred foot and two hundred horse, now likewise 
 entered the city.* 
 
 On the night of 29th August (St. Nov.) Alexander 
 himself entered Zutphen, for the purpose of encouraging 
 the garrison by promises of relief, and of ascer- 29th Aug. 
 taining the position of the enemy by personal ^^^*- 
 observation. His presence, as it always did, inspired 
 the soldiers with enthusiasm, so that they could with 
 difficulty be restrained from rushing forth to assault the 
 besiegers.* In regard to the enemy, he foimd that Gibbet 
 Hill was still occupied by Sir John Norris, ** the best 
 soldier, in his opinion, that they had,"* who had en- 
 trenched himself very strongly, and was supposed to 
 have thirty-five hundred men under his command. His 
 position seemed quite impregnable. The rest of the 
 English were on lie other side of the river, and Alex- 
 ander observed, with satisfaction, that they had aban- 
 doned a small redoubt, near the leper-house, outside the 
 
 « Strada, il. 448, 
 » Parma to Philip, 30OcL 1586. 
 de Slmaacas. MS.) 
 
 (Arch. 
 
 > Ibid. Compare Strada, IL 448, 450. 
 * Letter to Philip, ubi $up. 
 
 I 
 
 »Ibid. 
 
44 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. IX. 
 
 1586. 
 
 THE ENGLISH INTERCEPT THE CONVOY. 
 
 45 
 
 Loor-Gate, through which the reinforcements must enter 
 the city. The Prince determined to profit by this mis- 
 take, and to seize the opportunity thus afforded of sending 
 those much-needed supplies. During the night the 
 enemy were found to be throwing up works " most fu- 
 riously," * and skirmishing parties were sent out of the 
 town to annoy them. In the darkness nothing of conse- 
 quence was effected, but a Scotch officer was captured, 
 who informed the Spanish commander that the enemy 
 was fifteen thousand strong— a number which was nearly 
 double that of Leicester's actual force. In the morning 
 Alexander returned to his camp at Berkelo— leaving 
 Tassis in command of the Veluwe Forts, and Verdugo 
 in the city itself— and he at once made rapid work in 
 collecting victuals. He had soon wheat and other sup- 
 plies in readiness, sufficient to feed four thousand mouths 
 for three months, and these he determined to send into 
 the city immediately, and at every hazard. 
 
 The great convoy which was now to bo dispatched 
 required great care and a powerful escort. Twenty-five 
 hundred musketeers and pikemen, of whom one thou- 
 sand were Spaniards, and six hundred cavalry, Epirotes, 
 1 Oct.. N.8. Spaniards, and Italians, under Hannibal Gon- 
 1588. zaga, George Crescia, Bentivoglio, Sesa, and 
 others, were accordingly detailed for this expedition.* 
 The Marquis del Vasto, to whom was entrusted the chief 
 command, was ordered to march from Berkelo at mid- 
 night on Wednesday, October 1 (St. Nov.). It was cal- 
 culated that he would reach a certain hillock not far 
 from Wamsfeld by dawn of day. Here he was to pause, 
 and send forward an officer towards the town, communi- 
 cating his arrival, and requesting the cooperation of 
 Verdugo, who was to make a sortie with one thousand 
 men, according to Alexander's previous arrangements. 
 The plan was successfully carried out. The Marquis 
 arrived by daybreak at the spot indicated, and dispatched 
 Captain de Vega, who contrived to send intelligence of 
 the fact. A trooper, whom Parma had himself sent to 
 Verdugo with earlier information of the movement, had 
 
 » Parnia to Philip, "a ftiria." MS. one from another. Leicester declared 
 
 before cited. that Crescia told him " upon his honow, 
 
 « Theae are Parma's own figarea. that there were fifteen comets of horse 
 
 (Letter to Philip, as above.) Every and 3000 foot" Bruce's ' Leyc. Corresp.* 
 
 historian gives a different statement 417. 
 
 been captured on the way. Leicester had, therefore, 
 been apprized, at an early moment, of the Prince's in- 
 tentions, but he was not aware that the convoy would 
 be accompanied by so strong a force as had really been 
 detailed. 
 
 He had accordingly ordered Sir John Norris, who 
 commanded on the outside of the town near the road 
 which the Spaniards must traverse, to place an ambus- 
 cade in his way. Sir John, always ready for adventu- 
 rous enterprises, took a body of two hundred cavalrj-, 
 all picked men, and ordered Sir William Stanley, with 
 three hundred pikemen, to follow. A much stronger 
 force of infantry was held in reserve and readiness, but 
 it was not thought that it would be required. The am„ 
 buscade was successfully placed, before the da\\Ti of 
 Thursday morning, in the neighbourhood of oct.2.K.s. 
 Wamsfeld church. On the other hand, the ^^^^-^ 
 Earl of Leicester himself, anxious as to the result, came 
 across the river just at daybreak. He was accompanied 
 by the chief gentlemen in his camp, who could never be 
 restrained when blows were passing current. 
 
 The business that morning was a commonplace and 
 practical, though an important, one — to "impeach" a 
 convoy of wheat and barley, butter, cheese, and beef — 
 but the names of those noble and knightly volunteers, 
 familiar throughout Christendom, sound like the roll- 
 call for some chivalrous tournament. There were Essex 
 and Audley, Stanley, Pelham, Russell, both the Sidneys, 
 all the Norrises, men whose valour had been proved on 
 many a hard-fought battle-field. There, too, was the 
 famous hero of British ballad, whose name was so often 
 to ring on the plains of the Netherlands — 
 
 " The brave Lord Willoughby, 
 Of courage fierce and fell, 
 Who would not give one inch of way 
 For all the devils in hell." 
 
 Twenty such volunteers as these sat on horseback that 
 morning around the stately Earl of Leicester. It 
 seemed an incredible extravagance to send a handful of 
 such heroes against an army. 
 
 But the English commander-in-chief had been listen- 
 
 1 Thursday. ^S^. 1S86. 
 
 « 
 
 1 
 
 
46 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. IX. 
 
 1586. 
 
 BATTLE OF WARNSFELD. 
 
 47 
 
 fr 
 
 list 
 
 f 
 
 ,1 
 
 il 
 
 III' 
 
 ing to the insidious tongue of Roland York — that bold, 
 plausible, unscrupulous partisan, already twice a rene- 
 gade, of whom more was ere long to be heard in the 
 Netherlands and England. Of the man's courage there 
 could be no doubt, and he was about to fight that morn- 
 ing in the front rank at the head of his company. But 
 he had for some mysterious reason, been bent upon per- 
 suading the Earl that the Spaniards were no match for 
 Englishmen at a hand-to-hand contest. When they could 
 ride freely up and down, he said, and used their lances 
 as they liked, they were formidable. But the English 
 were stronger men, better riders, better mounted, and 
 better armed. The Spaniards hated helmets and proof 
 armour, while the English trooper, in casque, cuirass, 
 and greaves, was a living fortress, impregnable to Spanish 
 or Italian light horsemen. And Leicester seemed almost 
 convinced by his reasoning.' 
 
 It was five o'clock of a chill autumn morning. It was 
 time for day to break, but the fog was so thick that a 
 
 Oct. 2nd, man at the distance of five yards was quite 
 16m. invisible. The creaking of waggon-wheels and 
 the measured tramp of soldiers soon became faintly 
 audible, however, to Sir John Norris and his five hun- 
 dred as they sat there in the mist. Presently came 
 galloping forward in hot haste those nobles and gentle- 
 men, with their esquires, fifty men in all — Sidney, 
 Willoughby, and the rest — whom Leicester had no 
 longer been able to restrain from taking part in the 
 adventure. 
 
 A force of infantry, the amount of which cannot be 
 satisfactorily ascertained, had been ordered by the Earl 
 to cross the bridge at a later moment. Sidney's comet 
 of horse was then in Deventer, to which place it had 
 been sent in order to assist in quelling an anticipated 
 revolt, so that he came like most of his companions, as a 
 private volunteer and knight-errant. 
 
 The arrival of the expected convoy was soon more 
 
 » Reyd, v. 82, 83. Bor, IL 750. 751. 
 Compare Meteren. xili. 237, who aays 
 that York was suspected of being secretly 
 in league with Famese, to amtrive this 
 ambuscade, and thus to bring so many 
 English nobles of distinction to death 
 or captivity. There Is no doubt that 
 
 when he deserted the Spanish for the 
 English party, he pledged himself to 
 Piirma to do him good service, and 
 that he was always secretly In leaguA 
 with the enemy. We shall sec at a later 
 day whether he was ready to redeem hU 
 pledge. 
 
 distinctly heard, but no scouts or outposts had been 
 stationed to give timely notice of the enemy's move- 
 ments.* Suddenly the fog, which had shrouded the 
 scene so closely, rolled away like a curtain, and in the 
 full light of an October morning the Englishmen found 
 themselves face to face with a compact body of more 
 than three thousand men. The Marquis del Vasto rode 
 at the head of the force, surrounded by a band of mounted 
 arquebus men. The cavalry, under the famous Epirote 
 chief George Crescia, Hannibal Gonzaga, Bentivoglio, 
 Sesa, Conti, and other distinguished commanders, 
 followed; the columns of pikemen and musketeers 
 lined the hedgerows on both sides the causeway; 
 while between them the long train of waggons came 
 slowly along under their protection.* The whole force 
 had got in motion after having sent notice of their 
 arrival to Verdugo, who, with one or two thousand men, 
 was expected to sally forth almost immediately from the 
 city-gate. 
 
 There was but brief time for deliberation. Notwith- 
 standing the tremendous odds there was no thought of 
 retreat. Black Norris called to Sir William Stanley, 
 with whom he had been at variance so lately at 
 Doesburg : — 
 
 "There hath been ill-blood between us," he said. 
 " Let us be friends together this day, and die side by 
 side, if need be, in her Majesty's cause." 
 
 ** If you see me not serve my prince with faithful 
 courage now," replied Stanley, " account me for ever a 
 coward. Living or dying I will stand or lie by you in 
 friendship." 
 
 As they were speaking these words the young Earl 
 of Essex, general of the horse, cried to his han&il of 
 troopers : — * 
 
 *' Follow me, good fellows, for the honour of England 
 and of England's Queen !"» 
 
 As he spoke he dashed, lance in rest, upon the enemy's 
 cavalry, overthrew the foremost man, horse and rider, 
 shivered his own spear to splinters, and then, swinging 
 his curtel-axe, rode merrily forward."* His whole little 
 
 > Hoofd Vervolgh, 1P6. da, li. 450, 452. Bentivoglio, p. U. 1. Iv. 
 
 2 Parma to Philip II. 30 Oct 1586. 311. Bor. 11. 750. 761. 
 (Arch, de Simancas, MS.) Compare Stra- ^ Archer, in Stowe, 736. * Ibid. 
 
 fji'* 
 
48 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. IX. 
 
 troop, compact as an arrow-head, flew with an irresistible 
 shock against the opposing columns, pierced clean 
 through them, and scattered them in all directions. At 
 the verj' first charge one hundred English horsemen 
 drove the Spanish and Albanian cavalry back upon the 
 musketeers and pikemen. \Vheeling with rapidity, 
 they retired before a volley of musket-shot, by which 
 many horses and a few riders were killed, and then 
 formed again to renew the attack. Sir Philip Sidney, 
 on coming to the field, having met Sir William Pelham, 
 the veteran lord marshal, lightly armed, had with 
 chivalrous extravagance thrown ofi" his own cuishes, 
 and now rode to the battle with no armour but his 
 cuirass.' At the second charge his horse was shot under 
 him, but, mounting another, he was seen everywhere in 
 the thick of the fight, behaving himself with a gallantry 
 which extorted admiration even from the enemy. 
 
 For the battle was a series of personal encounters in 
 which high officers were doing the work of private 
 soldiers. Lord North, who had been lying *' bed-rid" 
 with a musket-shot in the leg, had got himself put on 
 horseback, and "with one boot on and one boot off," 
 bore himself ** most lustily " through the whole affair.* 
 *' I desire that her Majesty may know," he said, *' that 
 I live but to serve her. A better barony than I have 
 could not hire the Lord North to live on meaner terms." * 
 Sir William Russel laid about him with his curtel-axe to 
 such purpose that the Spaniards pronounced him a devil 
 and not a man. " Wherever," said an eye-witness, *' he 
 saw five or six of the enemy together, thither would he ; 
 and with his hard knocks soon separated their friend- 
 ship."* Lord Willoughby encountered George Crescia, 
 general of the famed Albanian cavalry, unhorsed him at 
 the first shock,* and rolled him into the ditch. " I yield 
 me thy prisoner," called out the Epirote in French, *' for 
 thou art a preux chevalier ;" while Willoughby, trusting 
 to his captive's word, galloped onward, and with him 
 the rest of the little troop, till they seemed swallowed 
 
 1 Brooke's Sidney, li. 31. 32. 
 * Archer, in Stowe, ubi sup. 
 ' Leyc. Corresp.' 417. 
 
 » North to Burghley, 
 
 1» May 
 8 Juiw 
 
 (S. p. Office MS.) 
 Brace's * Archer in Stowe, 737. 
 
 * Ibid. Leicester to Burghley, Sept 
 
 1586. 
 
 1586. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 1586. 
 
 SIR PHILIP SIDNEY WOUNDED. 
 
 49 
 
 up by the superior numbers of the enemy. His horse 
 was shot under him, his basses were torn from his legs, 
 and he was nearly taken a prisoner, but fought his way 
 back with incredible strength and good fortune. Sir 
 William Stanley's horse had seven bullets in him, but 
 bore his rider unhurt to the end of the battle. Leicester 
 declared Sir William and "oldEeade" to be *' worth 
 tlieir weight in pearl." ^ 
 
 Hannibal Gonzaga, leader of the Spanish cavalry, fell 
 mortally wounded.* The Marquis del Vasto, commander 
 of the expedition, n^early met the same fate. An English- 
 man was just cleaving his head with a battle-axe, when 
 a Spaniard transfixed the soldier with his pike.'* The 
 most obstinate struggle took place about the train of 
 waggons. The teamsters had fled in the beginning of 
 the action, but the English and Spanish soldiers, 
 struggling with the horses, and pulling them forvN^ard 
 and backward, tried in vain to get exclusive possession 
 of the convov which was the cause of the action.* The 
 carts at last forced their w^ay slowly nearer and nearer 
 to the town, while the combat still went on, warm as 
 ever, between the hostile squadrons. The action lasted 
 an hour and a half, and again and again the Spanish 
 horsemen wavered and broke before the handful of 
 English, and fell back upon their musketeers. Sir 
 Philip Sidney, in the last charge, rode quite through 
 the enemy's ranks till he came upon their entrenchments, 
 when a musket-ball from the camp struck him upon the 
 thigh, three inches above the knee. Although despe- 
 rately wounded in a part which should have been 
 protected by the cuishes which he had thrown aside, he 
 was not inclined to leave the field ; but his own horse 
 had been shot under him at the beginning of the action, 
 and the one upon which he was now mounted became 
 too restive for him, thus crippled, to control. He turned 
 reluctantly away, and rode a mile and a half back to the 
 
 ' " I will leave no lalx)ur nor dungcr," 
 said Lord North, "but serve as a private 
 soldier, and have thrust myself tor ser- 
 vice on foot under Captain Reade, whom 
 I find a noble and notable soldier." 
 (North to Burghley, MS. last cited.) 
 This is the mettle the pallants of Eliza- 
 beth's court were made of. Compare 
 VOL. n. 
 
 • Leyc. Corresp.' 417. 
 
 2 " The Count Hannibal Gonzapa was 
 killed, with three others whose names we 
 know not, but they had cassocks all em- 
 broidered and laced with silver and gold." 
 Leicester to Burghley, Sept. 1586. (S. P. 
 Office MS.) 
 
 3 Strada, ii. 462. * Ibid, 
 
 E 
 
60 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 CuAr. IX. 
 
 entrenchments, suffering extreme pain, for Lis leg was 
 dreadfully shattered. As he passed along the edge of the 
 battle-field his attendants brought him a bottle of water 
 to quench his raging thirst. At that moment a wounded 
 English soldier, " who had eaten his last at the same 
 feast," looked up wistfully in his face, when Sidney 
 instantly handed him the flask, exclaiming, " Thy 
 necessity is even greater than mine."' He then pledged 
 his dying comrade in a draught, and was soon afterwards 
 met by his uncle. " Oh, Philip," cried Leicester, in 
 despair, *' I am truly grieved to see thee in this plight." 
 But Sidney comforted him with manful words, and 
 assured him that death was sweet in the cause of his 
 Queen and country. Sir ^Villiam Russell, too, all blood- 
 stained from the fight, threw his aims around his friend, 
 wept like a child, and, kissing his hand, exclaimed, 
 " Oh ! noble Sir Philip, never did man attain hurt so 
 honourably or serve so valiantly as 3'ou." * Sir William 
 Pelham declared " that Sidney's noble courage in the 
 face of our enemies had won him a name of continuing 
 honour." ' 
 
 The wounded gentleman was borne back to the camp, 
 and thence in a barge to Amheim. The fight was over. 
 Sir John NoiTis bade Lord Leicester *' be men-y, for," 
 said he, "you have had the honourablestday. A hand- 
 ful of men has driven the enemy three times to retreat."* 
 But, in truth, it was now time for the English to retire 
 in tlieir turn. Their reserve never arrived. The whole 
 force engiiged against the thirty-five hundred Spaniards 
 had never exceeded two hundred and fifty horse and 
 three hundred foot, and of this number the chief work 
 had been done by the fifty or sixty volunteers and their 
 followers.'* The heroism which had been displayed was 
 fruitless, except as a proof— and so Leicester wrote to 
 
 1 Brooke's Sidney, ii. 32. It Is to be 
 rejtn-tted tiuit Lord Brooke does not give 
 the auihorlty for thia beautiful and uni- 
 versiilly cherished anecdote. I have 
 s«*ttrched in vain for Its confirmation 
 through many contemporary letters and 
 chronicles. There is no reason for reject- 
 ing Its authenticity, but it would have 
 been an exquisite pleasure to find It 
 reconled, fur Instance. In a letter from 
 I^lbam, or North, or Norrls, or Leicester 
 
 —all of whom speak of Sidney's gallantry 
 in the action, but not one of whom was 
 acquainted with, or thought it worth 
 while to mention, the characteristic and 
 touching trait. 
 2 Stowe, 737. 
 
 ' Pelham to Walsingham. ^ 
 
 eoct. 
 
 (S. P. Office MS.) 
 * Stowe, tibi sup. 
 » Bruce s ' Leyc. Corresp." 417. 
 
 1586. 
 
 1^86. 
 
 RESULTS OF THE ENCOUNTER. 
 
 51 
 
 the Palatine John Casimir — "that Spaniards were not 
 invincible."^ Two thousand men now sallied from the 
 Loor-Gate, under Verdugo and Tassis,* to join the force 
 under Vasto, and the English were forced to retreat. 
 The whole convoy was then carried into the city, and 
 the Spaniards remained masters of the field.-* 
 
 Thirteen troopers and twenty-two foot-soldiers, upon 
 the English side, were killed. The enemy lost perhaps 
 two hnndred men. They were thrice turned gept. 22 
 from their position, and thrice routed, but OcTTT' 
 they succeeded at last in their attempt to carry ^^^^• 
 their convoy into Zutphen. Upon that day and the 
 succeeding ones the town was completely victualled. 
 Very little, therefore, save honour was gained by the 
 display of English valour against overwhelming numbers 
 — five hundred against near four thousand. Never in 
 the whole course of the war had there been such fight- 
 ing, for the troops npon both sides were picked men and 
 veterans. For a long time afterwards it was the custom 
 of Spaniards and N etherlanders, in characterising a 
 hardly -contested action, to call it as warm as the fight 
 at Zutphen.* 
 
 » Reyd, v. 83. 
 
 2 Parma to PLilip, 30 Oct. 1586. 
 MS. 
 
 ' Ibid. Leicester observes in his letter 
 to Burghley (Sept. — , 1586, S. P. Offl«e 
 MS.) that, " notwithstanding all these 
 troops, the Prince did not put in one wag- 
 gon, save thirty which got in in the 
 night" Alesaud'% however, states ex- 
 pressly the reverse, and congratulates 
 Phlllf) on the entire success of the under- 
 taking : — 
 
 " Pero no8 debemos contentar con ]o 
 succdido, pues allende de haber quedado 
 la campana por n«sotros, y salido con 
 nuestra pretension, y a la barba de tan 
 bu€n numeio con tanta poca gente (.') 
 haber metido y sacado tanto carnage," 
 &c. I>etter to Philip, 30 Oct. 1586. MS. 
 
 ITiere can be no doubt whatever that 
 the lYince was entirely correct in his 
 statement The result proves it, if there 
 f»uld be any question of it before. It is 
 difficult to see how Leicester could be 
 mi-^taken, but he ha<i a temptation to 
 nilsrepresent an alfair in which his own 
 bad generalship had been as signal as the 
 
 heroism which it had called forth. Cer- 
 tainly Zutphen, on that and Uie succecd- 
 days, was thoroughly relle\ed. The 
 errors, wilful or otherwise, as to th« 
 numbers engaged and respectively lost 
 were greater on both sides tlid»i usual on 
 such occa.sions, Uit this kind of misstate- 
 ment has always Ix'en universal. 
 
 Compare Sidney Papers, i. 104, con- 
 taining a letter of Leicester to Heneage ; 
 I have not found the original. Straila, ii. 
 450, 452. Bor, ii. 750, 751. Stowe, 737, 
 738. Hoofd Vervolgh, 186, 1h7. Keyd, 
 V. 83, 84. Meteren, xliL 237. Lenti- 
 vogllo, p. ii. 1. Iv; 'iU,et vudt. al. 
 
 See also R. W. TaAima, ' Gesehledenlii 
 der Stad Zutphen ' ( Arnhcim en Zutplten, 
 1856), an interesting work, carelully 
 written, and of great research ; compose*.! 
 mainly from original unpublished docu- 
 ments. I desire to express my thanks to 
 the learned author for the kindness with 
 which he guided me over Zutphen and 
 its neighbourhood, pointUig out every- 
 thing connected with the battle and tlie 
 bioge. 
 
 * Strada, Ii. 451. 
 
 £ 2 
 
52 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. IX. 
 
 ** I think I may call it," said Leicester, " the most 
 notable encounter that hath been in our age, and it 
 will remain to our posterity famous."' 
 
 Nevertheless it is probable that the encounter would 
 have been forgotten by posterity but for the melancholy 
 close upon that field to Sidney's bright career. And 
 perhaps the Queen of England had as much reason to 
 blush for the incompetency of her general and favourite 
 as to be proud of the heroism displayed by her officers 
 and soldiera. 
 
 " There were too many indeed at this skirmish of the 
 better surt," said Leicester; "only a two hundred and 
 fifty horse, and most of them the best of this camp, and 
 unawares to me. I was offended when I knew it, but 
 could not fetch them back ; but since they all so'well 
 escaped (save my dear nephew), 1 would not for ten 
 thousand pounds but they had been there, since they 
 
 > Bnice's ' l^yc. Corresp.' 416:—" That 
 Thursday may run amongst any of our 
 Thursilays," said the Earl, (* Ix-yc. Cor- 
 resp.' -^30). addirip, with a mostlng«>nuous 
 reference to himself, " In my fonner let- 
 ters I forgot one, who not only on that 
 day but at every day's servic liath been 
 u principal actor himstlf. A tall, vise, 
 rare servant he is, as any I know, and of 
 marvellous good government and Judge- 
 ment. That gentleman may take a great 
 tharge upon him, I warrant you." Self- 
 depreciation was not the Karl's foible. 
 
 There is hardly a battle on record 
 about which the accounts are so hope- 
 lessly conflicting as are thoie which 
 relate to the btittle of Zutphon. The 
 reason la obvious. 'I'he skirmish was 
 a comparatively unimiK)rtant one. The 
 fate of Sidney has invested It with un- 
 dying Interest, but it was not supjwsed 
 •It that lime that he was mortally 
 wouuiled. I^nl North, whose letters 
 are always spirlte«l, went Into the fleld 
 In such a distibled condition that it was 
 not in hia power to send any account 
 of the action, as ho doubtless would 
 otherwise have done, to Lord Burghlcy. 
 Pel ham, Xorris, and I^eicester, are all 
 meagre on this occasion in d.tail.s. 
 Archer, in Stowe, is fuller, l)ut I'arma. 
 in hb letters to Philip, though ctipious, 
 Is confused. As a siK«cinien of con- 
 Hictiiig statistics It may be observed 
 
 that the number of English actually 
 engaged, according to the statement of 
 the comnumderln chief to his govern- 
 ment, was 550, horse and foot together. 
 The Spanish, according to Famese's let- 
 ter to Philip, were about 3100 In all, 
 Strada gives the same numL>er, WTltlng 
 from other letters of Piutna, and puts the 
 EnglUh at 3000 foot ajvl Ho horse, 
 exactly the same numlxr tli is given 
 in the MS. letters of Simaiic.o, i\iid about 
 seven times as many as were really in 
 the fleld. Leicester puts the Spaniards 
 at 1200 horse and 3000 fogt— about 
 1000 more than the actual numbers. 
 No doubt the numbers engaged on each 
 side should be taken as correctly stated 
 by the respective generals. There were 
 therefore about 3100 Spaniards to 550 
 English. 
 
 Leicester gives the number of killed 
 and wounded as 33 English and Irom 260 
 to 350 Spaniards. 
 
 Parma states the number of Spaniards 
 killed as 9 (!). wounded 29, while he 
 reports 200 English killed. 
 
 It seems Impossible that there could 
 have been less than 150 or 200 Spaniards 
 killed, which is not more than half the 
 niunbiT claimed by Leicester on the 
 authority of Spaniards themselves. But 
 It Is a waste of time to indulge in ihetjc 
 fruitless calculations. 
 
 1586. 
 
 SIDNEr AT ARNHEIM. 
 
 53 
 
 have all won that honour they have. Your Lordship 
 never heard of such desperate charges as they gave upon 
 the enemies in the face of their muskets."^ 
 
 He described Sidney's wound as " very dangerous, the 
 bone being broken in pieces ;*' but said that the surgeons 
 were in good hope. *' I pray God to save his life," said 
 the Earl, •' and 1 care not how lame he be.'* Sir Philip 
 was carried to Amheim, where the best surgeons were 
 immediately in attendance upon him. He submitted to 
 their examination and the pain which they inflicted, 
 with great cheerfulness, although himself persuaded 
 that his wound was mortal. For many days the result 
 was doubtful, and messages were sent day by day to 
 England that he was convalescent — intelligence which 
 was hailed by the Queen and people as a matter not 
 of private but of public rejoicing. He soon began to 
 fail, however. Count Hohenlo was badly wounded a 
 few days later before the great fort of Zutphen. A 
 musket-ball entered his mouth, and passed throTigh his 
 cheek, carrying off a jewel which hung in his ear.'' 
 Notwithstanding his own critical condition, however, 
 Hohenlo sent his surgeon, Adrian van den Spiegel, a 
 man of great skill, to wait upon Sir Philip,^ but Adrian 
 soon felt that the case was hopeless. Meantime fever 
 and gangrene attacked the Count himself; and those in 
 attendance upon him, fearing for his life, sent for hi.s 
 surgeon. Leicester refused to allow Adrian to depart, 
 and Hohenlo very generously acquiescing in the decree, 
 but also requiring the surgeon's personal care, caused 
 himself to be transported in a litter to Arnheim."* 
 
 Sidney was first to recognise the sjTnptoms of morti- 
 fication, which made a fatal result inevitable. His 
 demeanour during his sickness and upon his death-bed 
 was as beautiful as his life. He discoursed with his 
 friends concerning the immortality of the soul, com- 
 paring the doctrines of Plato and of other ancient 
 philosophers, whose writings were so familar to him, 
 with the revelations of Scripture and with the dictates 
 of natural religion. He made his will with minute and 
 elaborate provisions, leaving bequests, remembrances, 
 
 * 
 
 I 
 
 1 letter to Barghley, MS. before 
 cited. 
 a Stowe, 738. Bor, ii. 728. 
 
 3 Letter of Hohenlo in Bor, iii. 123. 
 ♦ Ibid. 
 
54 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. IX. 
 
 1586. 
 
 DEATH OF SIDNEY. 
 
 55" 
 
 and rings, to all his friends. Then he indulged himself 
 with music, and listened particularly to a strange son"- 
 which he had himself composed during his illness, and 
 which he had entitled ' La Cuisse rompue.' He took 
 leave of the friends around him with perfect calmness, 
 saying to his brother Eobert, "Love my memory! 
 Cherish my friends. Above all, govern your will and 
 affections by the will and word of your Creator ; in me 
 beholding the end of this world with all her vanities." 
 
 And thus this gentle and heroic spirit took its flight. 
 
 Parma, after thoroughly victualling Zutphen, turned 
 his attention to the German levies which Leicester was 
 expecting under the care of Count Meurs. *' If the 
 enemy is reinforced by these six thousand fresh troops,'* 
 said Alexander, " it will make him master of the field." - 
 And well he might hold this opinion, for, in the meagre 
 state of both the Spanish and the liberating armies, the 
 addition of three thousand fresh reiters and as many 
 infantry would be enough to turn the scale. The Duke 
 of Parma— for, since the recent death of his father, 
 Farnese had succeeded to his title *— determined in per- 
 son to seek the German troops, and to destroy them if 
 possible. But they never gave him the chance.* Their 
 muster-place was Bremen, but when they heard that 
 the terrible " Holofernese " was in puruit of them, and 
 that the commencement of their service would be a 
 pitched battle with his Spaniards and Italians, they 
 broke up and scattered about the country.* Soon after- 
 wards the Duke tried another method of effectually 
 dispersing them, in case they still retained a wish to 
 fulfil their engagement with Leicester. He sent a mes- 
 senger to treat with them, and in consequence two of 
 their *' rittmeisters " paid him a visit. He offered to 
 give them higher pay, and " ready money in place of 
 tricks and promises." The mercenary heroes listened 
 ver>^ favourably to his proposals, although they had 
 
 t Brooke's Sidney, li. 32, 40. Sidney 
 Papera, 104 seq. 
 
 « Parma to Philip, 30 Oct. 1586. Arch, 
 de Slmancas, MS. 
 
 » Philip II. to Parma, 19 Oct. 1586. 
 (Archiv. de Simancas, MS.) "Hence- 
 forth," said the King. "I wlU be both 
 father and mother to you." 
 
 « Bentlvoglio is much mistaken (p. 11. 
 
 L iv. 311) In giving an account of a 
 pitched battle between Alexander and 
 these mercenaries. In which they are 
 represented as having been utterly de- 
 feated. The victory was quite bloodless, 
 and it cost the victor only a couple of 
 gold chains. 
 
 » Parma to Philip, 30 Oct, 1586. MS. 
 last cited. 
 
 already received— besides the tricks and promises—- 
 at least one hundred thousand florins out of the States' 
 
 treasury.^ 
 
 After proceeding thus far in the negotiation, however, 
 Parma concluded, as the season was so far advanced, 
 that it was sufficient to have dispersed them, and to 
 have deprived the English and patriots of their ser- 
 vices. So he gave the two majors a gold chain a-piece, 
 and they went their way thoroughly satisfied. " I have 
 got them away from the enemy for this year," said Alex- 
 ander ; *' and this I hold to be one of the best services 
 that has been rendered for many a long day to your 
 
 Majesty." * 
 
 During the period which intervened between the 
 action at Warnsfeld and the death of Sidney, the siege- 
 operations before Zutphen had been continued. The 
 city, strongly garrisoned and well supplied with provi- 
 sions, as it had been by Parma's care, remained impreg- 
 nable ; but the sconces beyond the river and upon the 
 island fell into Leicester's hands.* The great fortress 
 
 1 Meteren, xill, 236. 
 
 2 Parma to Philip, MS. last cited. 
 According to Meteren (uhi sup.) this 
 
 mysterious dispersion of the German 
 troops was owing to the intrigues of 
 Ivelcester's English advisers, who were 
 unwilling tliat he should send the money 
 of the states anywht-re but to England, 
 and who therefore by their machinations 
 contrived to spirit away this auxiliary 
 Jorce Just at the moment when by Its 
 function with his own army the Earl was 
 abo\it to have Farnese in his power. 
 "From this time forth," says Meteren, 
 "it was obvious that Leicester was 
 governed entirely by English counsels," 
 and 80 on. It has Just been shown by 
 the Duke's private letters that the gener- 
 ally most accurate chronicler was mis- 
 taken in this Instance, and that the deed 
 was accomplished by Ale.xander's clever 
 management alone. Some of the German 
 princes In whose territories these levies 
 had been made, were honourably indig- 
 nant at the treachery which had been 
 thus practised on the States. Some of 
 the officers were punished with imprison- 
 ment, degradation, and loss of nobility 
 and armorial bearings, and the money 
 paid as their "waartgeld" was sent 
 
 back to Holland. (Le Petit, 'Grand 
 Chronlque,' il. 536.) 
 
 Reyd Is still more severe. He main- 
 tains that Leicester withheld the pay 
 which the States had furnished for those 
 important levies, whose arrival at tb." 
 time agreed upon would have changed 
 the fortune of the war; and that he 
 secretly prevented their coming, from a 
 fear that they would adhere too closely 
 to Hohenlo and Count William Ixjwls. 
 Count YsselsUMH, who had been sent by 
 the Earl to deal with these mercenaries 
 and to promise their money, was furious 
 at the treachery of which he conceiv.-d 
 Leicester guilty, and did not scruple 
 to say In large companies: " Leicest/^v 
 has done two great things In his life. He 
 has made my old page, Martin Schenk, a 
 knight, and myself a liar." (Reyd, 
 • Nederl. Gesch.' v. 86.) 
 
 the suspicion, as we have seen, was 
 quite groundless, and Ysselstein and 
 the historian (who was private secretary 
 to Count William Lewis) very much 
 niistaken. 
 
 3 Strada. il. 453, 454. Hoofd > er- 
 volgh. 188. Bor, II. 752. Wagenaar. 
 viii. 136. 
 
 i 
 
56 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. IX. 
 
 which commanded the Velnwe, and which was strone: 
 enough to have resisted Connt Hohonlo on a forme? 
 W rhtW T ^' "" ^¥e/ear, was the scene of much 
 
 nf FdlorH ^4f. V'^'P'?'^ ^* ^*'* ^>"*''« "S"^l valour 
 of Ed wa.d Stanley, lieutenant to Sir ANilliam. That 
 
 offi.^er, at the commencement of an assault upon a not 
 veo^ practicable breach, sprang at the long pike of a 
 Spanish soldier, who was endeavouring to thnist him 
 from the wal , and seized it with both hands. The Spa- 
 niard struggled to maintain his hold of the weapon 
 Stanley to wrest it from his grasp. A dozen oVw 
 soldiers broke their pikes «pon%if -cuiL or sho Tt 
 urn w. h their muskets. Conspicuous by his dress 
 being all m yel low but his corslet, he was in full si<rht of 
 Leicester and of five thousand men. The earth was so 
 shifty and sandy that the soldiers who were to follow 
 him were not able to climb the wall. Still Stanley 
 grasped his adversar/s pike, but, suddenly chang n^ 
 ^ oifnd"' ^;*"°^«4 tl^« SvanM to lift him from°thl 
 fl r 11 ^ "• r"^'?S himself with his feet against 
 
 , .r. 1 '^ • T"^ *" *^ astonishment of the spectators, 
 sc.aral.led quite over the parapet, and dashed sword in 
 hand among the defenders of the fort. Had he been en" 
 dowed with a hundred lives it seemed impossible for him 
 to escape death. But his followers, stimulated by ],S 
 exainple, made ladders for themselWs of each other's 
 
 he"w; '"T"''^ "' ''*«* ^-^'^ S'^^' e.xert on over 
 the broken wall overpowered the garrison, and made 
 themselves masters of the sconce Leicester trans 
 ported with enthusiasm for this noble deed o?'dal' 
 knighted Edward Stanley upon the spot, besides 01°: 
 senting hini next day with forty pound^ in gold and 
 an annuity of one hundred mirks sterling for life 
 " femce I was bom, I did never see any mfn behave 
 
 it. It 1 live a thousand years, and he shall have a nart of 
 myliving for it as long as I live." ' ^ 
 
 The occupation of these foHs terminated the military 
 
 tT: winter Id" '"""• /■"■ *V '•"•■"•>• ^<^--- P~r 7f 
 tiie winter, had now set in. Leicester-leaving Sir Wil- 
 
 1586. 
 
 GALLANTRY OF EDWARD STANLEY. 
 
 57 
 
 liam Stanley, witli twelve huudred English and Irish 
 horse, in command of Deventer ; Sir John Burro wes, 
 with one thousand men, in Doeshurg ; and Sir Robert 
 Yorke, with one thousand more, in the great sconce 
 before Zutphen — took his departure for the Hague.* 
 Zutphen seemed so surrounded as to authorise the 
 governor to expect ere long its capitulation. Never- 
 theless, the results of the campaign had not been encou- 
 raging. The States had lost ground, having been driven 
 from the Meuse and Khine, while they had with diffi- 
 culty maintained themselves on the Flemish coast and 
 upon the Yssel. 
 
 It is now necessary to glance at the internal politics 
 of the Republic during the period of Leicester's admi- 
 nistration, and to explain the position in which he found 
 himself at the close of the year. 
 
 1 Hot, U. 763. 
 
 ' II 
 
58 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap, X. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Should Elizabeth accept tho Sovreigntyf — The Effects of her Anger — 
 Quarrels between the Earl and States — The Earl's three CounsK'llors — 
 Leicester's Finance-Chamber — Discontent of the Mercantile Classes — 
 Paul Buys and the Opposition — Keen Insight of Paul Buys — Truchsess 
 becomes a spy upon him — Intrigues of Buys with Denmark — Hl.< 
 Imprisonment — The F:arr8 Unpopularity — His Quarrels with the States 
 — And with the Norrlses — His Counsellors Wilkes and Clerke — letter 
 from the Queen to Leicester — A Supper Party at Hohenlo's — A drunk, n 
 Quarrel — Hoheulo's Assault upon Edward Norrla — 111 ECfecta of the 
 Blot. 
 
 The brief period of sunshine had been swiftly followed 
 by storms. The Governor Absolute had, from the outset, 
 been placed in a false position. Before he came to the 
 Netherlands the Queen had refused the sovereignty. 
 Perhaps it was wise in her to decline so magnificent an 
 offer; yet certainly her acceptance would have been 
 perfectly honourable. Tlio constituted authorities of 
 the Provinces formally made the proposition. There is 
 no doubt whatever that the whole population ardently- 
 desired to become her subjects. So far as the Nether- 
 lands were concerned, then, she would have been fully 
 justified in extending her sceptre over a free people, 
 who, under no compulsion and without any diplomatic 
 chicane, had selected her for their hereditary chief. So 
 far as regarded England, the annexation to that country 
 of a continental cluster of states, inhabited by a race 
 closely allied to it by blood, religion, and the instinct 
 for political freedom, seemed, on the whole, desirable. 
 
 In a financial point of view, England would certainly 
 lose nothing by the union. The resources of the Pro- 
 vinces were at least equal to her own. We have seen 
 the astonishment which the wealth and strength of the 
 Netherlands excited in their English visitors. They 
 were amazed by the evidences of commercial and manu- 
 facturing prosperity, by the spectacle of luxury and ad- 
 vanced culture which met them on every side. Had 
 the Queen— as it had been generally supposed— desired 
 to learn whether the Provinces were able and willing to 
 pay the expenses of their own defence before she should 
 
 1586. SHOULD ELIZABETH ACCEPT THE SOVEREIGNTY ? 59 
 
 definitely decide on their offer of sovereignty, she was 
 soon thoroughly enlightened upon the subject.^ Her 
 confidential agents all held one language. If she would 
 only accept the sovereignty, the amount which the Pro- 
 vinces w^ould pay was in a manner boundless. She was 
 assured that the revenue of her own hereditary i ealm 
 was much inferior to that of the possessions thus offered 
 to her sway.* 
 
 In regard to constitutional polity, the condition of the 
 Netherlands was at least as satisfactory as that of Eng- 
 land. The great, amount of civil freedom enjoyed by 
 those countries— although perhaps an objection in the 
 eyes of Elizabeth Tudor— should certainly have been a 
 recommendation to her liberty-loving subjects. The 
 question of defence had been satisfactorily answered. 
 The Provinces, if an integral part of the English empire, 
 could protect themselves, and would become an addi- 
 tional element of strength, not a troublesome encum- 
 brance. 
 
 The difference of language was far less than that 
 which already existed between the English and their 
 Irish fellow-subjects, while it was counterbalanced by 
 sympathy, instead of being aggravated by mutual hos- 
 tility in the matter of religion. 
 
 With regard to the great question of abstract sove- 
 reionty, it was cei*tainly impolitic for an absolute monarch 
 to recognize the right of a nation to repudiate its natural 
 
 1 Hooffl, xxlll. 1039, 1042. Wagenaar, 
 Vlll. 102, 104 ; 141, 142. 
 
 2 " Neither do I easily see," wrote 
 Richard Cavendish, " how the cause may 
 be remedied, unless It may please her 
 most excellent Majesty to take that upon 
 her which the whole people (and specially 
 they of the wiser sort) both crave and cry 
 for, namely, the sovereignty 
 
 That u no doubt but the reventui tvill 
 tuffice to the driving of the enemy out of 
 these countries for ever and afterward 
 in clear profit unto her Majetbj far sur- 
 mount the receipts at home." Cavendish 
 to Burghley, 9 April, 1586. (S. P. Office 
 MS.) 
 
 "The people," said Leicester, "still 
 pray God that her Majesty will be their 
 sovereign. She would then see what a 
 contribution they wiU all bring forth." 
 
 Ixicester to Burghley, 18 June, 1586. 
 (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 " I may safely say to your Majesty," 
 said he at about the same period, " that 
 if your aid had been in such apparent 
 sort to the countries that they might 
 assure themselves of any certain time 
 of continuance of the same, and that you 
 had taken their cause indeed to heart, 
 I am verily persuaded that they would 
 have given very good testimonies by 
 their very large contributions to main- 
 tain their wars for such certain nimiber 
 of years to be set down as your Majesty 
 should appoint, and no prince nor prac- 
 tice of any person living able to draw 
 them from you." Leicester to the 
 Queen, 27 June, 1586. (S. P. Office 
 MS.) 
 
 II 
 
 ii 
 
 i 
 
60 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. X. 
 
 1586. 
 
 THE EFFECTS OF HEK ANGER. 
 
 61 
 
 allegiance. But Elizabeth liad already countenanced 
 that step by assisting the rebellion against Philip. To 
 allow the rebels to transfer their obedience from the 
 King of Spain to herself was only another step in the 
 same direction. The Queen, should she annex the Pro- 
 vinces, would certiiinly bo accused by the world of am- 
 bition ; but the ambition was a noble one, if, by thus 
 consenting to the urgent solicitations of a free people, 
 she extended the region of civil and religious liberty, 
 and raised up a permanent bulwark against sacerdotal 
 and royal absolutism. 
 
 A war between herself and Spain was inevitable if she 
 accepted the sovereignty, but peace had been already 
 rendered impossible by the treaty of alliance. It is tine 
 that the Queen imagined the possibility of combining 
 her engagements towards the States with a conciliatoiy 
 attitude towards their ancient master, but it was here 
 that she committed the gravest error. The negotiations 
 of Parma and his sovereign with the English court were 
 a masterpiece of deceit on the part of Spain. We have 
 shown, by the secret correspondence, and we shall in the 
 sequel make it still clearer, that Philip only intended to 
 amuse his antagonists ; that he had already prepared his 
 plan for the conquest of England, down to the minutest 
 details ; that tlie idea of tolerating religious liberty had 
 never entered his mind ; and that his fixed purpose was 
 not only thorouglily to chastise the Dutch rebels, but 
 to deprive the heretic Queen who had fostered their 
 rebellion both of throne and life. So far as regarded 
 the Spanish King, then, the quarrel between him and 
 Elizabeth was already mortal ; while, in a religious, 
 moral, political, and financial point of view, it would 
 be difficult to show that it was wrong or imprudent for 
 England to accept the sovereignty over his ancient 
 subjects. The cause of human freedom seemed likely 
 to gain by the step, for the States did not consider 
 themselves strong enough to maintain the independent 
 republic which had already risen. 
 
 It might be a question whether, on the whole, Eliza- 
 beth made a mistake in declining the sovereignty. She 
 was certainly wrong, however, in wishing the lieu- 
 tenant-general of her six thousand auxiliary troops to 
 be clothed, as such, with viceregal powers. The States- 
 
 General, in a moment of enthusiasm, appointed him 
 governor absolute, and placed in his hands, not only the 
 command of the forces, but the entire control of their 
 revenues, imposts, and customs, together with the ap- 
 pointment of civil and military officers. Such an amount 
 of power could only be delegated by the sovereign. 
 Elizabeth had refused the sovereignty : it then rested 
 with the States. They only, therefore, were competent 
 to confer the power which Elizabeth wished her favourite 
 to exercise simply as her lieutenant-general. 
 
 Her wrathful aiid vituperative language damaged hor 
 cause and that of the K etherlands more severely than 
 can now be accurately estimated. The Earl was placed 
 at once in a false, a humiliating, almost a ridiculous po- 
 sition. The authority which the States had thus a 
 second time offered to England was a second time and 
 most scornfully thrust back upon them. Elizabeth was 
 indignant that " her own man " should clothe himself in 
 the supreme attributes which she had refused. The 
 States were forced by the violence of the Queen to take 
 the authority into their own hands again, and Leicester 
 was looked upon as a disgraced man. 
 
 Then came the neglect with which the Earl was treated 
 by her Majesty and her ill-timed parsimony towards the 
 cause. No letters to him in four months, no remittances 
 for the English troops, not a penny of salary for him. 
 The whole expense of the war was thrown for the time 
 upon their hands, and the English soldiers seemed only 
 a few thousand starving, naked, dying vagrants, an in- 
 cumbrance instead of an aid.^ 
 
 The States, in their turn, drew the purse-strings. The 
 two hundred thousand florins monthly were paid. The 
 four hundred thousand florins which had been voted as 
 an additional supply were for a time held back, as Lei 
 cester expressly stated, because of the discredit which 
 had been thrown upon him from home.* 
 
 1 •• I find the most part of the bands graves, yet the rest are so 111 contented of 
 
 that came over in August and Septem 
 ber," said Quartermaster Diggos, " more 
 than half wasted, dead and gone, and 
 many of the remainder sick, lame, and 
 shrewdly enfeebled, fitter to be relieved 
 at home in hospitals than to take her 
 
 MjvJcsty's pay here for soldiers ± JIarch. 1586 
 
 Our soldiers, notwithstanding great num.- J3 
 
 bers of them be jwid vnth earth in their ^ Strangely enough. 
 
 their due for the time past, that, If pay 
 come not speedily, before they be drawn 
 to deal with the enemy, I doubt some 
 worse adventure than I will divine be- 
 forehand." ' Advertisement of tae present 
 state of these Low Countries, byT. Dlgges,' 
 
 (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 Elizaljeth woa 
 
 I 
 
 t 
 
62 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. X. 
 
 The military operations were crippled for want of 
 funds, but more fatal than everything else were the 
 secret negotiations for peace. Subordinate individuals, 
 like Grafigny and De Loo, went up and down, bringing 
 presents out of England for Alexander Farnese,* and 
 bragging that Parma and themselves could have peace 
 whenever they liked to make it, and affirming that Lei- 
 cester's opinions were of no account whatever. Eliza- 
 beth's coldness to the Earl and to the Netherlands was 
 affirmed to be the Prince of Parma's sheet-anchor; 
 while meantime a house was ostentatiously* prepared 
 in Brussels by their direction for the reception of an 
 English ambassador, who was every moment expected 
 to arrive.^ Under such circumstances it was in vain 
 for the governor-general to protest that the accounts of 
 secret negotiations were false, and quite natural that 
 the States should lose their confidence in the Queen. 
 An unfriendly and suspicious attitude towards her 
 representative was a necessary result, and the demon- 
 
 under the impression that the extra 
 prant of 400,000 fifrrins (40,000^) for 
 four monthii was four hundred thousand 
 jjvunds sterling! .... "The rest that 
 was granted by the States, as extra- 
 ordinary to levy an army, which was 
 400,000 florins, not pouuds, as 1 hear 
 your Majesty taketh It. It is forty 
 thousand ixmnds, and to be paid in March, 
 April, May, and June last,'" &c. Ijcices- 
 ter to the Queen, 11 Oct. 1586. (S. P. 
 Office MS.) 
 
 She had corlalnly formed already an 
 exalted idea of the capacity of the Pro- 
 vinces to protf-ct themselves. She had 
 in a year paid but seventy thousand 
 pounds herself and believed the States 
 able, over and above their regular con- 
 tributions, to furnish an extraordinary 
 supply of one hundred thousand pounds 
 a month. 
 
 * Leicfster to the Queen, 6 June, 1586. 
 /,S. r. Omce MS.) 
 
 * " Amongst all the enemy's means 
 to persuade his discoiitente<l and ill 
 fed companions," said Cavendish, " this 
 seemeth to 1k^ his sheet-anchor, namely, 
 that where the only comfort of this 
 people dependeth wholly upon her 
 JIaj.'s most gracious relief and sup- 
 port, now is the disposition thereof iu 
 
 her so cooled, as she very faintly 
 stretched forth her hand thereunto, 
 which evidently appears, as well by 
 the many disgraces which hen* my 
 Lord hath received from her Maj., to 
 the great blemish of his authority, as 
 also by the slack payment of her 
 troops . . . .' and so l«ng as my Lord 
 shall be unable to front him in the 
 field, so long will this people be with- 
 out hope, and the enemy Inflamed with 
 assured hope of victory." Cavendish 
 to Burghley, 15 June, 15d6. (S. P. Office 
 MS.) 
 
 3 "It is certainly known that the 
 enemy hath not a little prevailed with 
 that stratagem, caushig to be published 
 that there was a treaty of peace between 
 her Majesty and him, and that the 
 same should be shortly concludid; 
 and to make this device to carrj' 
 the more show of truth, he caused 
 a house to be prepan-d In Brussels, 
 saying that it was for an ambassa- 
 dor coming out of England to conclude 
 tlie peace, by which means he hath 
 contained divers towns In terms of 
 olxHiience that were ready to revolt, 
 in respect of their misery, jwverty, and 
 famine." Wilkes to Uurghley, 7 Aug. 
 15t<6. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 1586. QUARRELS BETWEEN THE EARL AND THE STATES. 63 
 
 strations against the common enemy became still more 
 languid. But for these underhand dealings, Grave, 
 A^enlo, and Neusz, might have been saved,* and the 
 current of the Meuse and Ehine have remained in the 
 hands of the patriots. 
 
 The Earl was industrious, generous, and desirous of 
 playing well his part. His personal courage was un- 
 doubted, and, in the opinion of his admirers — them- 
 selves, some of them, men of large military experience 
 — his ability as a commander was of a high order.* The 
 valour displayed by the English nobles and gentlemen 
 who accompanied him was magnificent, worthy the 
 descendants of the victors at Crecy, Poictiers, and Agin- 
 court ; and the good behaviour of their followers — with 
 a few rare exceptions — had been equally signal. But 
 now the army was dwindling to a ghastly array of scare- 
 crows, and the recruits, as they came from England, 
 were appalled by the spectacle presented by their pre- 
 decessors.* " Our old ragged rogues here have so dis- 
 couraged our new men," said Leicester ; " as I protest 
 to you they look like dead men." * Out of eleven hun- 
 dred freshly- arrived Englishmen, five hundred ran 
 away in two days.* Some were caught and hanged, and 
 all seemed to prefer hanging to remaining in the ser- 
 vice, while the Earl declared that he would be hanged 
 as well rather than again undertake such a charge 
 without being assured payment for his troops before- 
 hand." 
 
 The valour of Sidnev and Essex, Willou«:hbv and Pel- 
 
 V * CD \ 
 
 ham, Koger Williams and Martin Schenk, was set at 
 nought by such untoward circumstances. Had not Philip 
 also left his army to stirve and Alexander Famese to 
 work miracles, it would have fared still worse with 
 Holland and England, and with the cause of civil and 
 religious liberty in the year 158H. 
 
 The States having resumed, as much as possible, their 
 former authority, were on very unsatisfactory terms with 
 tlie governor-general. Before long, it was impossible 
 
 > Leicester to the Queen, 20 June, 1586. 
 (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 « North to Burghley, 23 May, 15«6. 
 Same to same, 29 May, 15>j6. Heneage 
 to Walsins^ham, 25 May, 15»6. (S. P. 
 Office M.SS.) 
 
 5 Ijeicester to Burghley, 18 June, 15S6. 
 (S. P. Office M S.) Brace's ' Leyc. Corresp.' 
 338. 
 
 * Bruce's ' Ijeyc Corresp.' .338. 
 
 * Iveicester U> Burghley, MS. List cited. 
 Bruce, ubi sujj « Ibid. 
 
 
 t 
 
64 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. X. 
 
 15S6. 
 
 THE EARL'S THREE COUNSELLORS. 
 
 65 
 
 for the twenty or thirty individuals called the States to 
 be in the same town with the man whom at the com- 
 mencement of the year they had greeted so warmly.' 
 The hatred between the Leicester faction and the muni- 
 cipalities became intense, for the foundation of the two 
 great parties which were long to divide the Netherland 
 commonwealth was already laid. The mercantile patri- 
 cian interest, embodied in the states of Holland and 
 Zeeland, and inclined to a largo toleration in the matter 
 of religion, which afterwards took the form of Arminian- 
 ism, was opposed by a strict Calvinist party, which 
 desired to subject the political commonweath to the 
 reformed church ; which nevertheless indulged in very 
 democratic views of the social compact ; and which was 
 controlled by a few refugees from Flanders and Bra- 
 bant, who had succeeded in obtaining the confidence of 
 Leicester. 
 
 Thus the Earl was the nominal head of the Calvinist 
 democratic party ; while young Maurice of Nassau, stad- 
 holder of Holland and Zeeland, and guided by Bame- 
 veld, Buys, and other leading statesmen of these Pro- 
 vinces, was in an attitude precisely the reverse of the 
 one which he was destined at a later and equally 
 memorable epoch to assume. The chiefs of the faction 
 which had now succeeded in gaining the confidence 
 of Leicester were Keingault, Burgrave, and Doventer, 
 all refugees. 
 
 The laws of Holland and of the other United States 
 were very strict on the subject of citizenship, and no 
 one but a native was competent to hold office in each 
 Province. Doubtless, such regulations were narrow- 
 spirited ; but to fly in the ftice of them was the act of a 
 despot, and this is w^hat Leicester did. Keingault was 
 a Fleming. He was a bankrupt meichant, who had 
 been taken into the protection of Lamoral Egmont, and 
 by that nobleman recommended to Granvelle for an 
 office under the Cardinal's government. The refusal of 
 this fiivour was one of the original causes of Egmont's 
 hostility to Granvelle. Keingault subsequently en- 
 tered the service of the Cardinal, however, and 
 rewarded the kindness of his former benefactor by 
 
 * Doyley to Burghley, 8 Aug. 1586. (S. P. Office MS.) Compare Wugenaar 
 TilL 142, 143. 
 
 great exertions in finding, or inventing, evidence to 
 justify the execution of that unfortunate nobleman. He 
 was afterwards much employed by the Duke of Alva 
 and by the Grand Commander Kequesens ; but after the 
 pacification of Ghent he had been completely thrown out 
 of service. He had recently, in a subordinate capa- 
 city, accompanied the legations of the States to France 
 and to England, and had now contrived to ingratiate 
 himself with the Earl of Leicester. He affected great 
 zeal for the Calvinistic religion — an exhibition which, 
 in the old servant of Granvelle and Alva, was far from 
 edifying — and would employ no man or maidservant in 
 his household until their religious principles had been 
 thoroughly examined by one or two clergymen. In 
 brief, he was one of those, who, according to a homely 
 Flemish proverb, are wont to hang their piety on the 
 bell-rope ; but, with the exception of this brief inter- 
 lude in his career, he lived and died a Papist.^ 
 
 Gerard Proninck, called Deventer, was a respectable 
 inhabitant of Bois-le-Duc, who had left that city after 
 it had again become subject to the authority of Spain. 
 He was of decent life and conversation, but a restless 
 and ambitious demagogue. As a Brabantine, he was 
 unfit for office ; and yet, through Leicester's influence 
 and the intrigues of the democratic party, he obtained 
 the appointment of burgomaster in the city of Utrecht. 
 The States-General, however, always refused to allow 
 him to appear at their sessions as representative of that 
 city.* 
 
 Daniel de Burgrave was a Flemish mechanic, who, 
 by the exertion of much energy and talent, had risen to 
 the post of procureur-general of Flanders. After the 
 conquest of the principal portion of that Province by 
 Parma, he had made himself useful to the English 
 govemor-geneml in various ways, and particularly as a 
 linguist. He spoke English — a tongue with which few 
 Netherlanders of that day were familiar — and as the 
 Earl knew no other, except (very imperfectly) Italian, 
 he found his services in speaking and >vriting a variety 
 of languages very convenient. He was the governor s 
 private secretary, and, of course, had no entrance to the 
 council of state, but he was accused of frequently 
 
 » Hoofd Vervolgh, U2, 143. Reydani, V. 89, 90. « Hoofd Vervolgh, kc just cited. 
 VOL. II. F 
 
 I 
 
I 
 
 66 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. X. 
 
 thrusting himself into their hall of sessions, where. 
 Tinder pretence of arranging the Earl's table, or port- 
 folio, or papers, he was much addicted to whispering 
 into his master's ear, listening to conversation, — to 
 eaves-dropping, in short, and general intnisiveness.^ 
 
 *' A most faithful, honest servant is Burgrave," said 
 Leicester ; *' a substantial, wise man." 'Tis as sufficient 
 a man as ever I met withal of any nation ; very well 
 learned, exceeding wise, and sincere in religion. I 
 cannot commend the man too much. He is the only 
 comfort I have had of any of this nation." • 
 
 These three personages were the leaders of the Lei- 
 cester faction. They had much influence with all the 
 refugees from Flanders, Brabant, and the Walloon 
 Provinces. In Utrecht, especially, where the Earl 
 mainly resided, their intrigues were very successful. 
 De venter was appointed, as already stated, to the 
 important post of burgomaster ; many of the influential 
 citizens were banished, without cause or trial ; the 
 upper branch of the municipal government, consisting 
 of the clerical delegates of the colleges, was in an 
 arbitrary^ manner abolished ; and finally, the absolute 
 sovereignty of the Province, without condition, was 
 offered to the Queen of England.* 
 
 Leicester was now determined to cany out one of 
 the great objects which the Queen had in view when 
 she sent him to the Netherlands. She desired tho- 
 roughly to ascertain the financial resources of the 
 Provinces, and their capacity to defend themselves.* 
 It was supposed by the States, and hoped by the Earl 
 and by a majority of the Netherland people, that she 
 would, in case the results were satisfactory, accept, after 
 all, the sovereignty. She certainly was not to be blamed 
 that she wished to make this most important investi- 
 gation, but it was her own fault that any new machinery 
 had been rendered necessary. The whole control of the 
 finances had, in the beginning of tlie year, been placed 
 in the EarFs hands," and it was only by her violently 
 
 * Hoofd. Reyd, ubi tup. 
 
 2 Brace's • Leyc. Corresp.' 363, 422. 
 ' Leicester ti> Walslngham, 27 July, 
 1586. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 * Bor, U. 722- 
 
 » Hoofd. 1039. 1042. Wagenaar, vlii. 
 143. 
 
 •Brace's 'Leya Corresp.' 1585; 
 "And," said he to the Ix>rd Mayor and 
 Aldermen of London, " you may all sleep 
 
 1586. 
 
 LEICESTER'S FINANCE-CHAMBER. 
 
 67 
 
 
 depriving him of his credit and of the confidence of the 
 country that he had not retained it. He now established 
 a finance-chamber, under the chief control of Eeingault, 
 who promised him mountains of money, and who was to 
 be chief treasurer.' Paul Buys was appointed by Lei- 
 cester to fill a subordinate position in the new council. 
 He spumed the ofier with great indignation, saying that 
 Eeingault was not fit to be his clerk, and that he was 
 not likely himself, therefore, to accept a humble post 
 under the administration of such an individual. This 
 scornful refusal filled to the fall the hatred of Leicester 
 against the ex-AdvOcate of Holland.* 
 
 The mercantile interest at once took the alarm, be- 
 cause it was supposed that the finance-chamber was 
 intended to crush the merchants. Eaily in April an 
 Act had been passed by the state- council, prohibiting 
 commerce with the Spanish possessions. The embargo 
 
 quietly in England, so long as these 
 countries may be held In their earnest 
 good-will." 
 
 I Bor, 11. 722. 
 
 Leicester to Burghley, 28 June, 1586. 
 Cavendish to same, 19 June, 1586. I^i- 
 cester to the t^ueen, 26 June, 1586. 
 Same to same, 27 June, 1586. Willces to 
 Lords of Council 20 Aug. 1586. (S. P. 
 Office MSS.) 
 
 " The Prince of Orange." said Caven- 
 dish (MS. uU sup.), " being not ignorant 
 of th\» frauds of the States, often levelled 
 at this matter (a finance-council), but 
 was never able to hit it, because they 
 knew he was poor, and had no way else 
 to live but upon their alms-basket. . . . 
 Amongst other things, there is one im- 
 post granu-dby favour to some parties 
 for iQOl. by the year, which is indeed 
 worth SOOOi. With these tricks have 
 they enriched themselves, all which de- 
 vices must now quail" If such stories, 
 which were daily whispered into Leices- 
 ter's ears, had a shadow of foundation, it 
 was not surprising that he should expect 
 to increase the revenue by a more judi- 
 cious farming. But he never found his 
 "mounUlns of gold," nor any collector 
 wIm> could turn a hundred pounds 
 Into eight thousand. " 1 have," said 
 Leicester (Letters to the (jueen, ubi 
 tup.), " established, against, the wills of 
 •owe here, a chamber of finance, by 
 
 which I shall be sure to be privy to the 
 levying and bestowing of all their 
 revenues— a matter your Majesty hath 
 often sought to understand thereof, 
 but, with all the wit and means I could 
 use, could never certainly bring it to pass, 
 nor never will, but by this only way. 1 
 trust shortly to have very assured know 
 ledge to satisfy your Majesty of the 
 States' ability, which thing 1 have gone 
 about from the beginning. I hope, 
 within twenty days, to give your Jlajesty 
 some near reckoning of all their revenues 
 every way. Your Majesty doth suppose 
 I deal weakly with these men, but I 
 would you knew how I have dealt with 
 them of late, to bring the office of financ*! 
 to pass. I had a good will to have dealt 
 long since roundly with them, I confess, 
 but my case was too well known to them. 
 But as soon as my heartening came from 
 mine old supporter, 1 was found a more 
 shrew than your Majesty will believe ; for 
 mine old patience hath been too much 
 tried since 1 came from my quiet home to 
 this A'ayward goneratlon." 
 
 " I find that until the time of my 
 coming hither," said Wilkes (Letter to 
 Council, ubi sup.), " the Slates have been 
 contented to disguise and conceal the truth 
 of many particularities, which now they 
 profess to discover, meaning, as they say, 
 to anatomise unto her Majesty the whole 
 state of their strength." * Bor, iL 722. 
 
 F 2 
 
 f 
 
68 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. X. 
 
 I 
 
 was intended to injure the obedient Provinces and their 
 sovereign, but it was shown thai its effect would be to 
 blast the commerce of Holland. It forbade the exporta- 
 tion from the republic not only of all provisions and 
 munitions of war, but of all goods and merchandize 
 whatever, to Spain, Portugal, the Spanish Netherlands, 
 or any other of Philip's territories, either in Dutch or 
 neutral vessels.* It would certainly seem, at first sight, 
 that such an act was reasonable, although the result 
 would really be, not to deprive the enemy of supplies, 
 but to throw the whole Baltic trade into the hands of 
 the Bremen, Hamburg, and "Osterling" merchants. 
 Leicester expected to derive a considerable revenue by 
 granting passports and licences to such neutral traders, 
 but the edict became so unpopular that it was never 
 thoroughly enforced, and was before long rescinded.* 
 
 The ociinm of the measure was thrown upon the 
 governor-general, yet he had in tnith opposed it in the 
 state-council, and was influential in procuring its 
 
 repeal.' 
 
 Another important Act had been directed against the 
 mercantile interest, and excited much general discontent. 
 The Netherlands wished the staple of the English cloth 
 manufacture to be removed from Emden— the petty 
 sovereign of which place was the humble servant of Spain 
 —to Amsterdam or Delft. The desire was certainly 
 natural, and the Dutch merchants sent a committee to 
 confer with Leicester. He was much impressed with 
 their views, and with the sagacity of their chairman, 
 
 1 Bor. ii. 703 seq., who is, however, 
 mistaken In ascribing the measure to the 
 inspirution of I>eicester. 
 
 * Bor, li. 703 s^q. Wagenaar, viil. 147, 
 seq., who Is In this matter even niore 
 ui\ju8t to the Earl than contemporary 
 auibortties. 
 
 ' Leicester to the Queen, 11 Oct 1586, 
 (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 " I have very good testimony of all the 
 council here," said the Earl, "that I 
 only in council stood against the placard, 
 insomuch it lay a month by, for indeed 
 1 thought it unreasonable and that it 
 would give all princes Just cause of 
 offence toward this country, and, by all 
 duty to your Majesty, I did refute to Ut 
 U pau. At length, both States and 
 
 council renewed the matter again to me, 
 and showed me presently how the like had 
 been done, and what profit it would bring, 
 pressing me to give it some consideration 
 in council to be del)ated. It went so 
 through them all as there was not a man 
 spake against It, yet my resolution being 
 to be had. I would give no consent till I 
 had advertised your Mi^esty thereof, 
 which they all liked well. And after it 
 was agreed and published, it was again 
 by my means revoked and qualified, us 
 doth appear by record." 
 
 Compare Meteren, xlii. 234«', Waue- 
 naar, ubi sup. Bor, ubi sup., who seems 
 to be mistaken on this point. 
 
 The real author of the edict was Retai- 
 gault (Meteren, ttW«/jj.) 
 
 1586. DISCONTENT OF THE MERCANTILE CLASSES. 69 
 
 one Mylward, " a wise fellow and well languaged, an 
 ancient man and very religious," as the Eaii pronounced 
 him to be.* 
 
 Notwithstanding the wisdom of this well -languaged 
 fellow, however, the Queen, for some strange reason, 
 could not be induced to change the staple from Emden, 
 although it was shown that the public revenue of the 
 Netherlands would gain twenty thousand pounds a 
 year by the measure. " All Holland will cry out for 
 it," said Leicester ; but I had rather they cried than 
 that England should weep." * 
 
 Thus the mercantile community, and especially the 
 patrician families of Holland and Zeeland, all engaged 
 in trade, became more and more hostile to the governor- 
 general and to his financial trio, who were soon almost as 
 unpopular as the famous Consulta of Cardinal Granvelle 
 had been. It was the custom of the States to consider the 
 men who surrounded the Earl as needy, unprincipled 
 renegades and adventurers. It was the policy of his 
 advisers to represent the merchants and the States — • 
 which mainly consisted of, or were controlled by, mer- 
 chants — as a body of corrupt, selfish, greedj^ money- 
 getters.' 
 
 I Ijcicester to Burghley, 29 July, 1586. 
 (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 > Leicester to Burghley, 10 Aug. 1686. 
 (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 ' "The wonderful cunning dealing 
 of those fellows here called the states 
 concerning the finances and the receipt of 
 revenue, whereupon the people rest 
 greatly grieved, and themselves, as is 
 t bought, no less enriched." Cavendish 
 to Burghley, 9 April, 1586. (S. P. Office 
 MS.) 
 
 "The States be sly persons," said 
 I»rd North, " inconstant and treacherous, 
 the most of them Papists (!), and 
 so rich as they will do any turn to 
 serve themselves. If they again find 
 that her Mtjesty likes not of my 
 liord's authority, they will doubt of 
 their own safety, practise their own 
 peace, and leave my Lord and all his 
 to the spirit of the enemy." North to 
 Burghley, 23 May, 1586. (S. P. Office 
 
 Ma) 
 
 "These be daltiy and dangerous 
 people to deal withal," said Leicester, 
 
 "specially when they shall be des- 
 perate of their hope, and disappointed 
 of their help. 1 must say truly to 
 your Majesty I do find some of the 
 best sort as honest and as thankful as 
 ever I knew men, and some others as 
 perverse and as Ingrate as might well 
 l>e spared out of all good company. 
 There are also men who are able, and 
 do most hurt. . . . These men begin 
 utterly to despah- of your Majesty's 
 good assistance, and an apt time is 
 offered now for the lewd and bad dis- 
 posed persons to work their feat." Lei- 
 cester to the Queen, 6 June, 1586. (S. P. 
 Office MS.) 
 
 "The whole people," said Caven- 
 dish, " are here so addicted to her Ma- 
 jesty, and in respect of her to my Lord, 
 in whom they find such incessant 
 travail ana care for her service and 
 their general good, and in respect of 
 whom they would willingly cashier or 
 rather hang all those called Sutes. 
 Your Ijordshlp may thmk I write vehe- 
 mently, but I know 1 write truly." 
 
 ! 
 
 k 
 
70 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. X. 
 
 1586. 
 
 PAUL BUYS AND THE OPPOSITION. 
 
 71 
 
 |i 
 
 The calumnies put in circulation against the States 
 by Eeingault and his associates grew at last so out^ 
 rageous, and the prejudice created in the mind of Lei- 
 cester and his immediate English adherents so intense, 
 that it was rendered necessary for the States of Holland 
 and Zeeland to write to their agent Ortell in London, 
 that he might forestall the effect of these perpetual mis- 
 representations on her Majesty's government.* Leicester, 
 
 Cavendish to Burghley, 19 June, 1586. 
 (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 "It will be a harder matter," Raid 
 Leicester again, '• than you can imagine, 
 io bring this State in that tune it was 
 three months past. It will require a 
 whole and full countenance from her 
 Majesty and with all speed possible. If 
 you will have It kept from the enemy. 
 And beware these fellows do not prevent 
 her Majesty. If they do you can con- 
 sider how harmful It is like to prove, and 
 though they be counted dullards and 
 drunkards, Uiey have shrewd and subtle 
 
 heads as ever I found anywhere 
 
 The best man in England uere not too 
 good, as matters stand, to be ernploytd 
 hither, eitiur to encourage them 
 thoroughly, or to understand their 
 estate nuire deeply." Ijeicester to Burgh- 
 ley, 20 July, 1586. (S. P. OfBce MS.) 
 
 "1 did never see such heady people 
 as these States are," said the Earl, once 
 more, " I cannot blame the common sort 
 to mlslike them, for there is no reason- 
 ing against their resolutions 
 
 There must be very wi^e and gi>od 
 handling had in these causes. There Is 
 no more such people to deal withal again. 
 I mean these that be rich and politic 
 fellows. They hunt after their own 
 wealth and surety, and without an 
 assurance of a strange assistance they 
 will be sudilenly gone, and It Is high lime 
 to look into the course her Majesty will 
 take hereafter." Simie to same, 29 July, 
 1586. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 " They have given to my Ix)rd of Ijei- 
 cester," said Wilkes, "a government 
 with the word absolute, but with so 
 many restrictions that his authority Is 
 limited almost to nothing, and he Is in 
 truth for the politic government but 
 their servant ; having reserved to them- 
 selves, besides the sovereignty, the dis- 
 potilng of all the contributions (saving the 
 
 monthly allowance), the church goods, 
 contiscatlons, choice of officers .... and 
 to keep themselves from rendering 
 account of anything, they do impugn his 
 court of finances now erected, alleging 
 that he hath not authority to erect any 
 such court, or to establish offices without 
 their licence." Wilkes to Lords of 
 Council. 20 Aug, 1586. (S. P. Office 
 
 "The exactions and excises are Incre- 
 dible that are laid on this people," said 
 Digges, " and such as in all probability do 
 amount to three times as much (.') at the 
 200,000 florin s monthly which they allow 
 his Excellency to prosecute the war. 
 The rest they divide among themselTes 
 . . . giving great stipends to Count Hol- 
 lock, Count Maurice, Count Meurs, Count 
 William, and many Colonels. But for all 
 this, the States offer that there shall 
 be new Impositions to levy more." T. 
 Digges 's * Advertisement of present state 
 
 of the Low Countries,' — March, 1586. 
 
 ' 18 ' 
 
 (S. p. Office MS.) 
 
 1 " You have doubtless understood," 
 said the States, " of the erection of the 
 finance-council for the better husbanding 
 of the money furnished by these coun- 
 tries, of the which Jacques Klngault Is 
 
 ordained treasurer Stephen Perret 
 
 (a seditious person, often imprisoned, and 
 a friiudulent bankrupt), being come out 
 of Antwerp after the yielding up of the 
 same, hath kept correspondence with Kln- 
 gault, whilst he was in England. Very 
 shortly after the coming of his Excel- 
 lency into these countries, he hath sought 
 by all possible means to bring him iu 
 suspicion and Jealousy by the Estates of 
 the country, and propounded manifold 
 novelties unto his Excellency whereby to 
 levy money, and in the propounding 
 thereof ahainefully slanda-ed the Estatts 
 with injurious, seditious, and untrut 
 
 on the other hand, under the inspiration of his artful 
 advisers, was vehement in his entreaties that Ortell 
 ishould be sent away from England.^ 
 
 The ablest and busiest of the opposition party, the 
 "nimblest head"* in the States-General, was the ex- 
 Advocate of Holland, Paul Buys. This man was then 
 the foremost statesman in the Netherlands. He had 
 been the firmest friend to the English alliance ; he had 
 resigned his office when tlie States were offering the 
 sovereignty to France, and had been on the point of 
 taking service in Denmark. He had afterwanis been 
 prominent in the legation which offered the sovereignty 
 to Elizabeth, and, for a long time, had been the most 
 firm, earnest, and eloquent advocate of the English 
 policy. Leicester had originally courted him, caressed 
 him, especially recommended him to the Queen's favour, 
 given him money — as he said, " two hundred pounds 
 
 reports and drifts. After Rlngault's 
 arrival here, he hath found means to get 
 In better credit by his Excellency, and, 
 laying their beads together, and tWier 
 being set avoork by the enemy or else 
 thinking to enrich themselr^ out of the 
 calamity and misery of these countries, 
 have made agreement between them in 
 April last that all that which they, by 
 means of any new invention by them 
 already propounded or yet to be pro- 
 pounded unto his Excellency, should get 
 or enjoy, that the same sliould be divided 
 between them. And after that he sought 
 of his Excellency the 20th penny of all 
 that which should proceed of his pretend- 
 ed Inventions. To which end Rlngault, 
 with his own hand, has drawn an octroi, 
 or warrant, and got his Excellency to 
 sign the same, without knowledge of the 
 council, or any of the secretaries, namely, 
 that he should have the 30th penny. They 
 have also taken great pains to change the 
 course of the common means, which so 
 laudably and with such great travail his 
 Exa'llencyof worthy memory (William of 
 Orange) brought in train, and so to bring 
 It into coUectation, thereby to intrude 
 themselves and such other (having no 
 credit) to farm any of the said general 
 means in the coUectation. The foresaid 
 Perret and Klngault have also travailed 
 by all means to set misunderstanding 
 between his Excellency and the Estates 
 
 and the council of state, and practised 
 many unlawful devices to alter Uie estate 
 of the countries, and to get Ills Excel- 
 lency to do all that which they Imagined 
 to serve to their intent To which end 
 they have used many unheard-of and 
 indecent proceedings without order of 
 law, and against the privileges and cus- 
 toms of these countries, and against the 
 estate and welfare of the same, through 
 a company of inconstant and base persons, 
 for the greater part being strangers, apply- 
 ing unto themselves and their friends (a 
 company of strangers) many offices and 
 receipts, thinking to deal with the same 
 according to their own pleasure and 
 appetite. All which we have at large 
 imparted to Mr. Wilkes, shoioed him the 
 original pieces, and given him good 
 instruction by writing thereof, to the end 
 he may give her Majesty and her honour- 
 able coimcil to understand the personage 
 of these two spirits." States of Holland 
 and Zeeland to Ortell, 12 Sept. 1586. (S. P. 
 Office MS.) 
 
 1 " You have there his (Paul Buys's) 
 agent, Ortell. It were well he were 
 thence. I did send twice for him, but he 
 excuseth himself." Leicester to Burgh- 
 ley, 20 July, 1586. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 Compare * Lej'c. Corresp.' 311. 
 
 2 Bart. Clerk to Burghley, 24 July, 
 1586. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
12 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. X, 
 
 i|> 
 
 sterlinf*" thick at a time " — and openly pronounced him 
 to be '''in ability above all men." * " ^'o man hath ever 
 sought a man," he said, " as I have sought P. B." * 
 
 The period of their friendship was, however, very 
 brief. Before many weeks had passed there was no 
 vituperative epithet that Leicester was not in the daily 
 habit of bestowing upon Paul. The Earl's vocabulary 
 of abuse was not a limited one, but he exhausted it on 
 the head of the Advocate. He lacked at last words and 
 breath to utter what was like him. He pronounced his 
 former friend *' a very dang'erous man, altogether hated 
 of the people and the States ;" " a lewd sinner, nursled 
 in revolutions ;" " a most covetous, bribing fellow, caring 
 for nothing but to bear the sway and grow rich;" "a man 
 who had played many parts, both lewd and audacious ;*' 
 " a very knave, a traitor to his country ;" " the most 
 ungrateful wretch alive, a hater of the Queen and of all 
 the English ; a most unthankful man to her ^lajesty ; a 
 practiser to make himself rich and great, and nobody 
 else ;" " among all villains the greatest ;" " a bolsterer 
 of all papists and ill men, a dissembler, a devil, an 
 atheist," a ** most naughty man, and a most notorious 
 dninkard in the worst degree." 
 
 Where the Earl hated, his hatred was apt to be deadly,, 
 and he was determined, if possible, to have the life of 
 the detested Paul. "You shall see I will do well enough 
 with him, and that shortly," he said. " I will course 
 him as he was not so this twenty year. I will warrant 
 him hanged and one or two of his fellows, but you must 
 not tell your shirt of this yet ;" and when he was con- 
 gi-atulating the government on his having at length pro- 
 cured the execution of Captain Hemart, the surrenderer 
 of Grave, he added pithily, *' and you shall hear that 
 Mr. P. B. shall follow.' "» 
 
 Yet the Earl's real griefs against Buys may be easily 
 summed up. The lewd sinner, nursled in revolutions, 
 
 1 Leicester to Burghley, 10 Aug. 1586. 
 (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 « Ibid. 
 
 » Ijeicester to Burghley, 20 June, 
 1586. Same to same, 10 Aug. 1586. 
 Same to same, 20 July. 1586. B. 
 
 Brace's • Ijeyc. Corresp.' 130,291,303, 
 310, 311, 312, 352. Cavendish ob- 
 served that " there were many false 
 brethren in the higher form among the 
 people, of whom he feared that Paul 
 Bays would not prove the puUne." Cav- 
 
 Cterk to same, 24 July. (S. P. Office eod«h ^ Burghley, 15 June, 1586. (a P 
 
 MSS.) 
 
 Office M&) 
 
 \S 
 
 1586. 
 
 KEEN INSIGHT OF PAUL BUYS. 
 
 73 
 
 had detected the secret policy of the Queen's govern- 
 ment, and was therefore perpetually denouncing the 
 intrigues going on with 8pain. He complained that 
 her Majesty was tired of having engaged in the Nether- 
 land enterprise ; he declared that she would be glad 
 to be fairly out of it ; that her reluctance to spend a 
 farthing more in the cause than she was obliged to do 
 was hourly increasing upon her ; that she was deceiving 
 and misleading the States-General ; and that she was 
 hankering after a peace. He said that the Earl had a 
 secret intention to. possess himself of certain towns in 
 Holland, in which case the whole question of peace and 
 war would be in the hands of the Queen, who would 
 also have it thus it in her power to reimburse herself at 
 once for all exj)onses that she had incurred.* 
 
 It would be difficult to show that there was anything 
 very calumnious in these charges, which, no doubt, Paul 
 was in the habit of making. As to the economical ten- 
 dencies of her Majesty, sufficient evidence has been 
 given already from Leicester's private letters. ** Eather 
 than spend one hundred pounds," said Walsingham, 
 "she can be content to be deceived of five thousand."* 
 That she had been concealing from the States, from Wal- 
 singham, from Leicester, during the whole summer, her 
 secret negotiations with Spain, has also been made ap- 
 parent. That she was disgusted with the enterprise in 
 which she had embarked, Walsingham, Burghley, Hatton, 
 and all the other statesmen of England, most abundantly 
 testified. W hether Leicester had really an intention to 
 ] ossess himself of certain cities in Holland — a charge 
 made by Paul Buys, and denounced as especially slan- 
 derous by the Earl — may better appear from his own 
 private statements. 
 
 " This 1 vnll do,'* he wrote to the Queen, " and I hope 
 not to fail of it, to get into my hands three or four most prin- 
 cipal places in North Holland, which mil he such a strength and 
 assurance for your Majesty, as you shall see you shall both rule 
 these men, and make war or peace as you list, always provided 
 — whatsoever you Jiear^ or is — part not with the Birill ; and 
 
 1 " Paul Buys — still giving out slan- should hereby be able to compel them to 
 
 doroos speeches— for that I only sought what end she should think good." Lei- 
 
 Xo ... get their totms .... that there- coster to Walsingham, 20 July, 1586, In 
 
 by, whensoever her Majesty should Bruce, 376. 
 
 think good to treat fir peace, .... I • Bruce" s ' Leyc. Corresp.' 273. 
 
74 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. X. 
 
 il 
 
 having these places in your hands, whatsoever should chance to 
 these countries^ your Majesty, J will warrant sure enough to 
 make whaJt peace you will in an hour, and to have your debts and 
 cfiarges readily answered.'' ^ At a somewhat later moment 
 it will be seen what came of these secret designs. For 
 the present, Leicester was very angry with Paul for 
 daring to suspect him of such treachery-. 
 
 The Earl complained, too, that the influence of Buys 
 with Hohenlo and young Maurice of Nassau was most 
 pernicious. Hohenlo had foimerly stood high in Lei- 
 cester's opinion. He was a " plain, faithful soldier, a 
 most valiant gentleman," and he was still more im- 
 portant, because about to marry Mary of Nassau, eldest 
 daughter of William the Silent, and coheiress with 
 Philip William to the Buren property. But he had 
 been tampered with by the intriguing Paul Buys, and 
 had then wished to resign his office under Leicester. 
 Being pressed for reasons, he had "grown solemn," and 
 withdrawn himself almost entirely. 
 
 JMaurice, with his *' solemn sly wit," also gave the 
 Earl much trouble, saying little, but thinking much, and 
 listening to the insidious Paul. He " stood much on 
 making or marring," so Leicester thought, " as he met 
 witli good counsel." He had formerly been on inti- 
 mate terms with the governor-general, who affected to 
 call him his son ; but he had subsequently kept aloof, 
 and in three months had not come near him.* The Earl 
 thought that money might do much, and was anxious for 
 Sir Francis Brake to come home from the Indies with 
 millions of gold, that the Queen might make both 
 Hohenlo and Maurice a handsome present before it 
 should be too late.* 
 
 Meantime he did what he could with Elector Truch- 
 
 J Leicester to the Queen, 27 June, 
 16M. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 * " The Count Maurice bath not been 
 three months with hia Lordship. He is 
 utterly discontented, and much advised 
 by Ste. Aldt'gonde, who is assuredly the 
 King of Spain's, and practiseth (as an 
 instrument of sedititm) to animate the 
 Count, by all means possible, to thwart 
 my Lord in the course of her M^tsty's 
 ■ervice. The Count, well advised by Ste. 
 Aldegonde and Villiers, replneih secretly 
 that her Mtjesty should have anythiug 
 
 to do in the government of the country. 
 It Is to be feared his hidden malice will 
 do much mischief, and many ill offices 
 In the common cause now in hand." 
 * Matters to be related to her Majesty by 
 a special messenger from the Earl of 
 Leicester,' 20 June, 1586. (S. P. OfBce 
 MS.) 
 
 The opinion here expressed in re- 
 gard to Sainte Aldegonde was subse- 
 quently and distinctly contradicted by 
 Wilkes. 
 
 3 Bruce's • Leyc. Corresp.' 374. 
 
 1586. 
 
 TRUCHSESS BECOMES A SPY UPON HIM. 
 
 75 
 
 sess to lure them back again. That forlorn little prelate 
 was now poorer and more wretched than ever. IJe was 
 becoming paralytic, though young, and his heart was 
 broken through want. Leicester, always generous as 
 the sun, gave him money, four thousand florins at a time, 
 and was most earnest that the Queen should put him on 
 her pension list.^ " His wisdom, his behaviour, his lan- 
 guages, his person," said the Earl, " all would like her 
 well. He is in great melancholy for his town of Neiisz, 
 and for his poverty, having a very noble mind. If ho be 
 lost, her Majesty had better lose a hundred thousand 
 pounds."* 
 
 The melancholy Truchsess now became a spy and a 
 go-between. He insinuated himself into the confidence 
 of Paul Buys, wormed his secrets from him, and then 
 communicated them to Hohenlo and to Leicester ; *' but 
 he did it very wisely," said the Earl, " so that he was 
 not mistrusted." * The governor always affected, in order 
 to screen the elector from suspicion, to obtain his informa- 
 tion from persons in Utrecht ; and he had indeed many 
 spies in that city, who diligently reported Paul's table- 
 talk. Nevertheless, that " noble gentleman, the elector," 
 said Leicester, " hath dealt most deeply with him, to 
 seek out the bottom.*' * As the ex-Advocate of Holland 
 was very communicative in his cups, and veiy bitter 
 against the governor-general, there was soon such a fund 
 of information collected on the subject by various eaves- 
 droppers, that Leicester was in hopes of very soon hang- 
 ing Mr. Paul Buys, as we have already seen. 
 
 The burthen of the charges against the culprit was 
 his statement that the Provinces would be gone if her 
 Majesty did not declare herself, vigorously and gene- 
 rously, in their favour ; but, as this was the perpetual 
 cry of Leicester himself, there seemed hardly hanging 
 matter in that. That noble gentleman, the elector, 
 however, had nearly saved the hangman his trouble, 
 having so dealt with Hohenlo as to " bring him into as 
 good a mind as ever he was ;" and the first fruits of this 
 good mind were, that the honest Count — a man of prompt 
 dealings — walked straight to Paul's house in order to 
 kill him on the spot.* Something fortunately prevented 
 the execution of this plan ; but for a time at least the 
 
 » Bruce's • Leyc. Corresp.' 378. » Ibid. 374. ' Ibid. 377. * Ibid. * Ibid. 372. 
 
 % 
 
 iri 
 
)^i 
 
 f€ 
 
 THK UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. X. 
 
 1586. 
 
 INTRIGUES OF BUrS WITH DENMARK. 
 
 77 
 
 energetic Count continued to be " governed greatly'* by 
 the ex-archbishop, and " did impart wholly unto him his 
 most secret heart." 
 
 Thus the " deep wise Tnixy," as Leicester called him, 
 continued io earn golden opinions, and followed up his 
 conversion of Hohcnlo by undertaking to *' bring Maurice 
 into tune again also," and the young Prince was soon on 
 better terms with his "affectionate father" than he had 
 ever been before.* 
 
 Paul Buys was not so easily put do^Ti, however, nor 
 the two magnates so thoroughly gained over. Before 
 the end of the season Maurice stood in his old position, 
 the nominal head of the Holland or patrician party,' 
 chief of the opposition to Leicester, while Hohenlo had 
 become more bitter than ever against the Earl. The 
 quarrel between himself and Edward Norris, to which 
 allusion will soon be made, tended to increase the dis- 
 satisfaction, although he singularly misunderstood Lei- 
 cester's sentiments throughout the whole affair. Hohenlo 
 recovered of his wound before Zutphen ; but, on his re- 
 covery, was more malcontent than ever.* The Earl was 
 obliged at last to confess that " he was a very dangerous 
 man, inconstant, envious, and hateful to all our nation, 
 and a very traitor to the cause. There is no dealing to 
 win him," he added, '' 1 have sought it to my cost. His 
 best friends tell me he is not to be tnisted."' 
 
 Meantime that lewd sinner, the indefatigable Paul, was 
 plotting desperately— so Leicester said and believed— 
 to transfer the sovereignty of the Provinces to the King 
 of Denmark. Buys, who was privately of opinion that 
 the States required an absolute head, " though it were 
 but an onion's head,"* and that they would thankfully 
 continue under Leicester as governor absolute if Eliza- 
 beth would accept the sovereignty, had made up his 
 mmd that the Queen would never take that step. He 
 was therefore disposed to offer the crown to the King of 
 Denmark, and was believed to have brought Maurice 
 —who was to espouse that King's daughter *— to the 
 
 t fK?H*^'V«^^*^ ^""^P-' ^'*' nnfortunate, and subject to many iraper- 
 
 a II •^* «r fections. They would willingly be rid 
 
 ibid. 446. Wilkes had also fonned an of him. if they might without danger" 
 
 unfavourable opinion of the Count. '• I do Wilkes ti, the I^rds of Council, 20 Aug 
 
 not hnd that the States or people." he said. 1 586. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 "have any great affection for him The « Notes by Paul Buyg, 1586 fS P 
 
 man ladoubtleas valiant, but rash, bloody. Office MS.) « ibli. 
 
 same way of thinking. Young Count Eantzan, son of 
 a distinguished Danish statesman, made a visit to the 
 Netherlands in order to confer with Buys. Paul was 
 also anxious to be appointed envoy to Denmark, osten- 
 sibly to arrange for the two thousand cavalr}% which 
 the King had long before promised for the assistance of 
 the Provinces, but, in reality, to examine the details of 
 this new project ; and Leicester represented to the 
 Queen very earnestly how poweiful the Danish monarch 
 would become, thus rendered master of the narrow seas, 
 and how formidable to England.* 
 
 In the midst of tliese plottings, real or supposed, a 
 
 * Paul Buys . . perceiving of late," 
 said Leicester, " that your MaJ. meaneth 
 not to proceed so far in these countries as 
 he looked for, or rather not finding him- 
 self the al)solute director and governor as 
 he would be, is secretly working to make 
 a king indeed over those two countries, 
 Holland and Zeeland, and one he doth 
 insinuate unto men's minds already all 
 that ever he can, is the King of Denmark 
 — a matter not unlike to come to pass. If 
 your MaJ. shall not assure these people of 
 the continuance of your favor, which if 
 they should be, all the princes of the 
 world cannot win them from you. But 
 this lewd sinner loseth no time, where he 
 can be heard, to inform men how fickle a 
 trust there is to be had of your Majesty's 
 favor or promise, repenting withal greatly 
 that he ever procured me over, being 
 indeed, as he says, since fallen out in no 
 
 better grace with you If the 
 
 King should have these two provinces ab- 
 solutely as king, you must assure your- 
 self he will be lord and commander over 
 the narrow seas, and all your traffics, east 
 and northward, wholly under his restraint, 
 for he will be the only mighty prince by 
 tea. ... I refused P. B. to go to the 
 King as ambassador, being marvellous 
 earnest therein . . . but I trust to come to 
 nirther knowledge of this matter, and to 
 prevent Master Buys well enongh. P. B. 
 hath flatly said to me, of late, that the 
 King of Denmark were the fittest lord for 
 them in Christendom, next your Majesty." 
 Leicester to the Queen, 20 June, 1586, 
 (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 •• It is feared," said Cox, specially de- 
 puted by Leicester to report this matter 
 
 to the Queen's government, " that the 
 King of Denmark is alienated, and would 
 be glad to have the sovereignty of these 
 countries himself. Paul Buys hath not 
 spared of late to intend such a practice, 
 and participating the same with Count 
 Maurice, alleging plainly to his Lordship, 
 that It is commonly spoken and received 
 as current money, that her Majesty will 
 abandon that cause and people at Michael- 
 mas, and this being so, that it were fit for 
 them to think of some other prince, who 
 might protect and defend them, before 
 they should fall Into further misery. He 
 was of opinion that the King of Denmark 
 would most gladly entertain the action- 
 He was strong in shipping, and best able, 
 In that respect, to defend the best part of 
 their countries, which was Holland and 
 Zeeland. His speeches were often inter- 
 mingled with many coloured protestations 
 how much he desired that her MtJ. would 
 continue their giacious lady in the cau^ei 
 as the fittest princess to yield them com- 
 fort In their calamities, yet hath his 
 I/)rdship been certainly informed that he 
 practiselh with all earnestness to bring 
 this matter to pass for the King of Den- 
 mark. and hath greatly desired that he n\nj 
 be the man to go into Denmark to solicit 
 for the 2000 horses promised, for the end 
 he may better disguise his purpose under 
 this colour," &c. ' Matters to be related 
 to her Majesty.' 20 June, 1586. (S. P 
 Office MS.) 
 
 Robert Sidney was subsequently sent 
 to Denmark by Leicester to look into 
 this matter. Wilkes to Lords of 
 Council, 20 Atig. 1586. (S. P. OflCce 
 MS.) 
 
 V 
 
78 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. X, 
 
 party of armed men, one fine summer's morning, suddenly 
 entered Paul's bedroom as he lay asleep at the house of 
 the burgomaster, seized his papers, and threw him into 
 prison in the wine-cellar of the town-house. " Oh my 
 papers, oh my papers ! " cried the unfortunate poli- 
 tician, according to Leicester's statement : " the Queen 
 of England will for ever hate me." The Earl disa- 
 avowed all participation in the arrest ; but he was not 
 believed. He declared himself not sorry that the mea- 
 sure had been taken, and promised that he would not 
 *' be hasty to release him," not doubting that " he would 
 be found faulty enough." Leicester maintained that 
 there was stuff enough discovered to cost Paul his 
 head ; but he never lost his head, nor was anything 
 treasonable or criminal ever found against him. The in- 
 trigue with Denmark — never proved — and commenced, 
 if undertaken at all, in utter despair of Elizabeth's 
 accepting the sovereignty, was the gravest charge. He 
 remained, however, six months in -prison, and at the 
 beginning of 1587 was released, without trial or accusa- 
 tion, at the request of the English Queen.* 
 
 The States could hardly be blamed for their opposi- 
 tion to the Earl's administration, for he had thrown 
 himself completely into the amis of a faction, whose 
 object was to vilipend and traduce them, and it was now 
 difficult for him to recover the functions of which the 
 Queen had deprived him. " The goverament they had 
 given from themselves to me stuck in their stomachs 
 always," he said. Thus, on the one side, the States 
 were "growing more stately than ever," and were 
 always ** jumbling underhand," while the aristocratic 
 Earl, on his part, was resolute not to be put down by 
 ''churls and tinkers."* He was sure that the people 
 were with him, and that, ** having always been governed 
 by some prince, they never did nor could consent to be 
 ruled by bakers, brewers, and hired advocates. 1 know 
 they hate them,"* said this high-born tribune of the 
 people. He was much disgusted with the many-headed 
 chimaera, the monstrous republic, with which he found 
 
 1 Bor, U, 725. 728, 889, 890. Hoofd B. Clerk to sara?, 24 July, 1586. (S. P. 
 
 Vervolgh, 165. Wagenaar, vili. 161-163. Office MSS.) 
 
 Bruce's • Leyc Corresp.' 352, 362-364, « Bince's ' Uyc. Corresp.' 312. 
 
 386. 43«. 3 Ibid 424 
 
 LviccAtcr to Burgliley, 20 July, !5»6. 
 
 1586. HIS IMPRISONMENT— THE EARL'S UNPOPULARITY. 79 
 
 himself in such unceasing conflict, and was disposed to 
 take a manful stand. " I have been fain of late," ho 
 said, " to set the better leg foremost, to handle some of 
 my masters somewhat plainly, for they thought I would 
 droop ; and whatsoever becomes of me, you shall hear I 
 will keep my reputation, or die for it." » 
 
 But one great accusation made against the churls and 
 tinkers, and bakers and hired advocates, and Mr. Paul 
 Buys at their head, was that they were liberal towards 
 the Papists. They were willing that Catholics should 
 remain m the country and exercise the rights of citi- 
 zens, provided they conducted themselves like good citi- 
 zens. For this toleration— a lesson which statesmen 
 l^e Buys and Barneveld had learned in the school of 
 William the Silent — the opposition-party were denounced 
 as bolsterers of Papists, and Papists themselves at heart 
 and " worshippers of idolatrous idols."* 
 
 From words, too, the government of Leicester passed 
 to acts. Seventy Papists were banished from the city 
 of Utrecht at the time of the arrest of Buys.' The 
 Queen had constantly enforced upon Leicester the im- 
 portance of dealing justly with the Catholics in the 
 Netherlands, on the ground that they might be as good 
 patriots and were as much interested in the welfare of 
 their country as were the Protestants ; * and he was 
 especially enjoined "not to meddle in matters of reli- 
 gion." This wholesome advice it would have been quite 
 impossible for the Earl, under the guidance of Kein- 
 gault, Burgrave, and Stephen Perret, to carry out. He 
 protested that he should have liked to treat Papists and 
 Calvinists '* with indifference," but that it had proved 
 impossible ; that the Catholics were pei-petually plotting 
 with the Spanish faction, and that no towns were safe 
 except those in which Papists had been excluded from 
 office. " They love the Pope above all," he said, " and 
 the Prince of Parma hath continual intelligence with 
 them." Nor was it the Catholics alone who gave 
 the governor trouble. He was likewise very busy in 
 putting dowTi other denominations that differed from 
 the Calvinists. *' Your Majesty will not believe," he 
 
 1 Brucc'8 • Leyc Corresp.' 312. » B. Clerk to Burghley. 24 July 1588. 
 
 « Digges-8 • Advertisement of the Pre- (S. P. Office MS ) ^' 
 
 sent state,- &c. (S. P. Office MS. before * Leicester to the Queen -6 June 
 
 ""^•' 15»6. (S. P. Office >IS.) 
 
80 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. X. 
 
 1586. 
 
 HIS QUARRELS WITH THE STATES. 
 
 81 
 
 said, "the number of sects that are in most towns; 
 especially Anabaptists, Families of Love, Georgians, and 
 I know not what. The godly and good ministers were 
 molested by them in many places, and ready to give 
 over ; and even such diversities grew among magistrates 
 in towns, being caused by some sedition-sowers here.'" 
 It is, however, satisfactory to reflect that the Anabaptists 
 and Families of Love, although discouraged and frowned 
 upon, were not burned alive, buried alive, drowned in 
 dungeons, and roasted at slow fires, as had been the 
 case with them and with every other species of Pro- 
 testants, by thousands and tens of thousands, so long as 
 Charles V. and Philip 11. had ruled the territory of that 
 commonwealth. Humanity had ac^quired something by 
 the war which the Netherlanders had been waging for 
 twenty years, and no man or woman was ever put to 
 death for religious causes after the establishment of the 
 republic. 
 
 With his hands thus full of business, it was difficult 
 for the Earl to obey the Queen's command not to meddle 
 in religious matters ; for he was not of the stature of 
 William the Silent, and could not comprehend that the 
 great lesson taught by the sixteenth century was that 
 men were not to meddle with men in matters of religion. 
 
 But besides his especial nightmare — Mr. Paul Buys — 
 the govenior-general Imd a whole set of incubi in the 
 Norris family. Probably no two persons ever detested 
 each other more cordially than did Leicester and Sir 
 John Norris. Sir John had been commander of the 
 forces in the Netherlands before Leicester's arrival, and 
 was unquestionably a man of larger experience than 
 the Earl. He had, however, as Walsingham complained, 
 acquired by his services in " countries where neither 
 discipline military nor religion carried any sway," a 
 very nide and licentious kind of government. *' Would 
 to God," said the secretary, " that, with his value and 
 courage, he carried the mind and reputation of a religious 
 soldier." * But that was past praying for. Sir John 
 was proud, untractable, turbulent, very difficult to 
 manage. He hated Leicester, and was furious with Sir 
 William Pelham, whom Leicester had made marshal of 
 
 i Leicester to the Queen, Just cited. 
 
 * Bruce'a ' Leyc. Corresp." 222. 
 
 the camp.* ^ He complained, not unjustly, that from the 
 first place in the army, which he had occupied in the 
 Netherlands, he had been reduced to the fifth.* The 
 governor-general— who chose to call Sir John the son 
 of his ancient enemy, the Earl of Sussex— often de- 
 nounced him in good set terms. " His brother Edward 
 ^ as ill as he," he said, »' but John is right the late 
 Earl of Sussex' son; he will so dissemble and crouch, 
 and so cunningly carry his doings, as no man livin<^ 
 would imagine that there were half the malice or 
 vindictive mind that plainly his words prove to be." ^ 
 Leicester accused him of constant insubordination, 
 insolence, and malice, complained of being traduced by 
 him everywhere in the Netherlands and in England, 
 and declared that he was followed about by " a pack of 
 lewd audacious fellows," whom the Earl vowed he 
 would hang, one and all, before he had done with them.* 
 He swore openly, in presence of all his camp, that he 
 would hang Sir John likewise ; so that both the brothers, 
 who had never been afraid of anjrthing since they had 
 been bom into the world, affected to be in danger of 
 their lives.* 
 
 The Norrises were on bad terms with many officers 
 
 with Sir William Pelham of course, with " old Reade," 
 Lord North, Roger Williams, Hohenlo, Essex, and other 
 nobles— but with Sir Philip Sidney, the gentle and 
 chivalrous, they were friends.*' Sir John had quarrelled 
 in former times— according to Leicester— with Hohenlo 
 and even with the " good and brave " La Noue, of the 
 iron arm ; *' for his pride," said the Earl, " was the spirit 
 of the devil," ^ The governor complained every day of 
 
 1 *• He stomachs greatly the Marshal," 
 said Leicester. (Ibid. 379.) 
 
 * Ibid. 380. 
 
 ' Bruce's 'Leyc. Corresp.' 301. 
 
 * • Notes of Remembrances, by Sir. 
 Edward Norris/ Sept. 1586. (S. P. Office 
 MS.) ^ 
 
 * •*His Excellency did not only not 
 mislike withal that Lord North. Captain 
 Williams, and others, should rail at him, 
 but in his own presence did sufTer divers 
 capuins and noblemen to brave him, and 
 did himself also grow in great rages 
 
 VOL. II. 
 
 against him, disallowing him openly for 
 wise man, honest man, or soldier; prefer- 
 ring many men's wisdom and experience^ 
 saying his patience and slyness should not 
 save him, not sparing openly to threaten 
 him to hang him ; so that of every honest 
 man It is feared lest tome mischief shall 
 shortly heyrought him." (Ibid.) 
 
 " Sir John Norris to Walsuagbam, 25 
 Oct. 1586. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 7 Leicester to Wilkes, 22 Aug. (S. P. 
 Office MS.) 
 
 M 
 
82 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. X. 
 
 1586. 
 
 AND WITH THE NORRISES. 
 
 83 
 
 his malignity, and vowed that he " neither regarded the 
 cause of God, nor of his prince, nor country.*'^ 
 
 He consorted chiefly with Sir Thomas Cecil,* governor 
 of Brill, son of Lord Burghley, and therefore no friend 
 to Leicester; but the Earl protested that *' Master 
 Thomas should bear small rule,'* * so long as he was 
 himself governor-general. " Now I have Pelham and 
 Stanley, we shall do well enough," he said, " though my 
 young master would countenance him. I will be master 
 while I remain here, will they, nill they." * 
 
 Edward Norris, brother of Sir John, gave the gover- 
 nor almost as much trouble as he ; but the treasurer 
 Nonis, uncle to them both, was, if possible, more odious 
 to him than all. He was — if half Leicester's accusa- 
 tions are to be believed — a most infamous peculator. 
 One-third of the money sent by the Queen for the sol- 
 diers stuck in his fingers. He paid them their wretched 
 fourpence a-day in depreciated coin, so that for their 
 "naughty money they could get but naughty ware."* 
 Never was such " fleecing of poor soldiers," said Lei- 
 cester.' 
 
 On the other hand. Sir John maintained that his 
 uncle's accounts were always ready for examination, and 
 earnestly begged the home government not to condemn 
 that functionary without a hearing.^ For himself, he 
 complained that he was uniformly kept in the back- 
 ground, left in ignorance of important enterprises, and 
 sent on difiicult duty with inadequate forces. It was 
 believed that Leicester's course was inspired by env)% 
 lest any military triumph that might be gained should 
 redound to the glory of Sir John, one of the first com- 
 manders of the age, rather than to that of the govemor- 
 
 * Leicester to Wilkes, Just cited. 
 
 Wilkes on the contrary, had a very 
 favourable opinion of Norris, and always 
 secretly defended him to the Queen's 
 government against Ijcicetster's charges. 
 •* Besides the value, wisdom, and many 
 other good parts that are in the man," he 
 said. " I have noted a wonderful patience 
 and modeasty in bearing many apparent 
 Injuries done unto him, which 1 have 
 known to be countenanced and nourished, 
 contrary to all reason, to disgrace him. 
 Whatsoever may be reported maliciously 
 to his disadvantage, I dare avouch that 
 
 the Queen hath not a second subject of 
 bis place and quality so able to serve 
 in these countries as he." Wilkes to 
 Burghley, 17 Nov. 1586. (S. P. Office 
 MS.) 
 2 letter to Wilkes, MS. last dted. 
 
 * Bruce's ' Leyc. Corresp.' 380. 
 
 * Ibid. 
 
 * Ibid. 299, 303. 
 
 * Leicester to the Queen, 37 June, 
 1586. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 ' Sir J. Norris to Burghley, 25 May, 
 1586. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 general He was perpetually thwarted, crossed, ca- 
 lumniated, subjected to coarse and indecent insults, even 
 from such brave men as Lord North and Roger Williams 
 and in the very presence of the commander-in-chief, so 
 that his talents were of no avaU, and he was most 
 anxious to be gone from the country.' 
 
 Thus with the tremendous opposition formed to his 
 government in the States-General, the incessant bicker- 
 ings with the N orrises, the peculations of the treasurer 
 the secret negotiations with Spain, and the impossibility 
 ot obtaining money from home for himself or for his 
 starving little annj-^ the Earl was in anything but a com- 
 fortable position. He was severely censured in England • 
 but he doubted, with much reason, whether there were 
 many who would take his office, and spend twenty 
 thousand pounds sterling out of their own pockets, as 
 he tad done.« The Earl was generous and brave as man 
 could be, fuU of wit, quick of apprehension; but inor- 
 dinately vain, arrogant, and withal easily led by desien- 
 ing persons. He stood up manfully for the cause in 
 which he was embarked, and was most strenuous in his 
 demands for money. " Personally he cared," he said, 
 not sixpence for his post, but would giye five thousand 
 sixpences, and six thousand shillings^ beside, to be rid 
 ot It; but it was contrary to his dignity to "stand 
 
 h^. V^.'^u'^i^^^T^i**"' ^°' ^'^ «^1*^J- " 1« it reason," 
 he asked, " that I, being sent from so great a prince L 
 
 our sovereign IS, must come to .trangei-s to beg my en- 
 tertainment? If they are to pay me, why is there no 
 
 ^ 'Notes of Remembraiicfc,' by Ed. 
 Norris. (MS. before cited.) » His Excel- 
 lency doth wonderfully hate my brother. 
 .... I only gather these causes," said 
 Captain Norris .- " first, an envy of some 
 unworthy men about him, who put into 
 his Excellency's head that as long as 
 Norris were here, the honour of every- 
 thing would be attributed to him. and 
 that he would be a continual hindrance to 
 the course that his Excellency meant to 
 hold toncernlng some things, neither 
 should bis E.xcellency have any absolute 
 commandment as long as his credit 
 continued.' 
 
 ' Leicester lo the Queen, 27 June, 
 158C. "I pray God I may live to see 
 
 you employ some of them that are thus 
 careless of me, to see whether they will 
 spend 20,000i. of their own for you in 
 seven months; but all is in mine own 
 heart so little, though the greatest 
 portion of all my land pay for it, 
 so your Majesty do well accept of 
 It," &C. 
 
 The Earl expondod— according to 
 his own report to the States— three 
 hundred thousand florins (30,000i.) in the 
 course of the year 1587. (Bor,ii. 783; 
 Hoofd Vervolgh, 206.) Of course, he 
 had a claim for such disbursements on 
 the Queen's exchequer, and was like to 
 enforce it at the proper season. 
 
 ' ' Leyc. Corresp.' 378. 
 
 G 2 
 
84 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. X. 
 
 remembrance made of it by her Majesty's letters, or 
 8ome of the lords ? " * 
 
 The Earl and those around him perpetually and vehe- 
 mently urged upon the Queen to reconsider her decision, 
 and accept the sovereignty of the Provinces at once. 
 There was no other remedy for the distracted state of 
 the country — no other safeguard for England. The 
 Netherland people anxiously, eagerly desired it. Her 
 Majesty was adored by all the inhabitants, who would 
 gladly hang the fellows called the States. Lord North 
 was of this opinion — so was Cavendish ; Leicester had 
 always held it. " Sure I am," he said, '* there is but 
 one way for our safety, and that is, that her Majesty 
 may take that upon her which I fear she will not." * 
 Thomas Wilkes, who now made his appearance on the 
 scene, held the same language. This distinguished 
 civilian had been sent by the Queen, early in August, 
 to look into the state of Netherland affairs. Leicester 
 ha\'ing expressly urged the importance of selecting as 
 wise as politician as could be found — because the best 
 man in England would hardly be found a match for the 
 dullards and drunkards, as it was the fashion there to 
 call the Dutch statesmen ' — had selected Wilkes. After 
 fulfilling this important special mission, he was imme- 
 diately afterwards to return to the Netherlands as 
 English member of the state-council at forty shillings 
 a-day, in the place of *' little Hal Killigrew," whom 
 Leicester pronounced a '* quicker and stouter fellow " 
 than he had at first taken him for, although he had 
 always thought well of him. The other English coun- 
 sellor, Dr. Bartholomew Clerk, was to remain, and the 
 Earl declared that he too, whom he had formerly under- 
 valued, and thought -to have *' little stuff in him," was 
 now " increasing greatly in understanding." * But, not- 
 withstanding this intellectual progress, poor Bartholo- 
 mew, who was no beginner, was most anxious to retire. 
 He was a man of peace, a professor, a doctor of laws, 
 fonder of the learned leisure and the trim gardens of 
 England than of the scenes which now surrounded him. 
 *' I beseech your good Lordship to consider," he dis- 
 
 1 ' l^eyc. Corresp.' 323. 
 * Leicester to Burghley, 10 Aug. 1586. 
 (S. l\ Office MS.) 
 
 ' S«me to same, 20 July, 1686. 
 * ' Lcyc. Corresp." 375. 
 
 1586. 
 
 HIS COUNSELLORS WILKES AND CLERK. 
 
 85 
 
 mally observed to Burghley, " what a hard case it is for 
 a man that these fifteen years hath had vitajn sedentanam, 
 unworthily in a place judicial, always in his long robe, 
 and who, twenty-four years since, was a public reader 
 in the University (and therefore cannot be young), to 
 come now among guns and drums, tumbling up and 
 down, day and night, over waters and banks, dykes and 
 ditches, upon eveiy occasion that falleth out ; hearino- 
 many insolences with silence, bearing many hard mea- 
 sures with patience — a course most different from my 
 nature, and most unmeet for him that hath ever professed 
 learning." » 
 
 Wilkes was of sterner stuff. Always ready to follow 
 the camp and to face the guns and drums with equani- 
 mity, and endowed beside with keen political insight, 
 he was more competent than most men to imravel the 
 confused skein of Netherland politics. He soon found 
 that the Queen*8 secret negotiations with Spain, and the 
 general distrust of her intentions in regard to the 
 Provinces, were like to have fatal consequences. Both 
 he and Leicester painted the anxiety of the Netherland 
 people as to the intention of her Majesty in vivid 
 colours.* 
 
 The Queen could not make up her mind — in the very 
 midst of the Greenwich secret conferences, already 
 described — to accept the Netherland sovereignty. " She 
 gathereth from your letter," wrote Walsingham, " that 
 the only salve for this sore is to make herself proprietary 
 of the country, and to put in such an army as may be 
 able to make head to the enemy. These two things 
 being so contrary to her Majesty's disposition— -the one, 
 for that it breedoth a doubt of a perpetual war, the other, 
 for that it requireth an increase of charges — do mar- 
 vellously distract her, and make her repent that ever she entered 
 into the action." ' 
 
 Upon the great subject of the sovereignty, therefore, 
 she was unable to adopt the resolution so much desired 
 by Leicester and by the people of the Provinces ; but 
 she answered the Earl's communications concerning 
 Maurice and Hohenlo, Sir John Norris and the trea- 
 
 1 B. Clerk to Burnley, 11 Aug. 1686. (S. P. Office MSS ) 
 
 (S. P. Office MS.) 3 Bruce's • Leyc Corresp.' 340, 9th 
 
 • WJlkes to the Queen. 7 Aug. 1586. July, 1686. 
 Leicester to the Queen, 27 June, 1586. 
 
86 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. X. 
 
 surer, in characteristic but affectionate language. And 
 thus she wrote : — 
 
 '* Rob, I am afraid you will suppose, by my wandering 
 writings, that a midsummer's moon hath taken large 
 possession of my brains this month ; but you must needs 
 take things as they come in my head, though order be 
 left behind mo. When I remember your request to have 
 a discreet and honest man that may carry my mind, and 
 see how all goes there, I have chosen this bearer (Thomas 
 Wilkes), whom you know and have made good trial of. 
 I have fraught him full of my conceipts of those country 
 matters, and imparted what way I mind to take and what 
 is fit for you to use. I am sure you can credit him, and 
 go I will be short with these few notes. First, that 
 Count Maurice and Count Hollock (Hohenlo) find them- 
 selves trusted of you, esteemed oi me, and to be care- 
 fully regarded, if ever peace should happen, and of that 
 assure them on my word, that yet never deceived any. 
 And for N orris and other captains that voluntarily , without 
 commandment^ have many years ventured their lives and won our 
 nation honour and themselves fame^ let them not be dis- 
 couraged by any means, neither by new-come men nor 
 by old trained soldiers elsewhere. If there be fault in 
 using of soldiers, or making of profit by them, let them 
 hear of it without open shame, and doubt not I will well 
 chasten them therefore. It frets me not a little that the 
 poor soldiers that hourly venture life should want their 
 due, that well deserve rather reward ; and look, in whom 
 the fault may tnily be proved, let them smart therefore. 
 And if the treasurer be found untrue or negligent, 
 according to desert he shall be used. But you know my 
 old wont, that love not to discharge from office without 
 desert. God forbid ! I pray you let this bearer know 
 what may be learned herein, and for the treasure I have 
 joined Sir Thomas Shirley to see all this money dis- 
 charged in due sort, where it needeth and behoveth. 
 
 " Now will I end, that do imagine I talk still with 
 you, and therefore loathly say farewell one hundred 
 thousand times, though ever I pray God bless you from 
 all harm, and save you from all foes. With my million 
 and legion of thanks for all your pains and cares, 
 •* As you know over the same, 
 
 ** E. E. 
 
 1586. 
 
 A SUPPER PARTY AT HOHENLO'S. 
 
 87 
 
 " P.S. Let Wilkes see that he is acceptable to you. If 
 anything there be that W. shall desire answer of be 
 such as you would have but me to know, write it to 
 myself. You know I can keep both others' counsel and 
 mine own. Mistrust not that anything you would have 
 kept shall be disclosed by me, for although this bearer 
 ask many things, yet you may answer him such as you 
 shall think meet, and write to me the rest." ^ 
 
 Thus, not even her favourite Leicester's misrepresen- 
 tations could make^the Queen forget her ancient friend- 
 ship for '* her own crow ;" but meantime the relations 
 between that " bunch of brethren," black Norris and the 
 rest, and Pelham, Hollock, and other high officers in 
 Leicester's army, had grown worse than ever. 
 
 One August evening there was a supper-party at 
 Count Hollock's * quarters in Gertruydenberg. A mili- 
 tary foray into Brabant had just taken place, Aug. 6th, 
 under the lead of the Count, and of the Lord ^^^^ 
 Marshal, Sir William Pelham. The marshal had re- 
 quested Lord Willoughby, with his troop of horse and 
 five hundred foot, to join in the enterprise, but, as usual, 
 particular pains had been taken that Sir John Norris 
 should know nothing of the affair.^ Pelham and Hollock 
 — who was " greatly in love with Mr. Pelham"* — had 
 invited several other gentlemen high in Leicester's con- 
 fidence to accompany the expedition ; and, among the 
 rest. Sir Philip Sidney, telling him that he " should see 
 some good service." Sidney came accordingly, in great 
 haste, from Flushing, bringing along with him Edward 
 Norris — that hot-headed young man, who, according to 
 Leicester, " greatly governed his elder brother," — but 
 they arrived at Gertruydenberg too late. The foray 
 was over, and the party — '* having burned a village, and 
 killed same boors" — were on their return. Sidney, not 
 
 » Queen to Leicester, 19 July, 1586. 
 (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 * It has been already stated that Ho- 
 henlo was uniformly called Hollach or 
 Hollock by the English and French, and 
 very often by the Netherlanders. In our 
 text, eometimes the one, sometimes the 
 other, appellation is used. The reader 
 will understand that there was but one 
 
 of the name in the Provinces— Count 
 Philip William Hohenlo or Hohenlohe, 
 oftener called Hollock. 
 
 3 " ^Vhereunto the colonel-general 
 must not in any wise be made privy." 
 • Advertisement of a difference at Gertruy- 
 denberg.' 8 Aug. 1586. (S. P. Office 
 MS.) 
 
 * Bruce's ' Leyc. Corresp.' 374. 
 
 > »j- »-j Lv Ji »'. .< j^ :. 
 
88 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. X. 
 
 perhaps much regretting the loss of his share in this 
 rather inglorious shooting-party, went down to the 
 water-side accompanied by Captain Norris, to meet 
 Hollock and the other commanders. 
 
 As the Count stepped on shore he scowled ominously 
 and looked very much out of temper 
 
 "WTiat has come to Hollock?" whispered Captain 
 Patton, a Scotchman, to Sidney. "Has he a quarrel 
 with any of the party? Look at his face ! He means 
 mischief to somebody.*' 
 
 • ?^* ^^^^^y ^^^ equally amazed at the sudden chance 
 in the German general's countenance, and as unable to 
 explain it. 
 
 Soon afterwards, the whole party, Hollock, Lewis 
 William of Nassau, Lord Carew, Lord Essex, Lord 
 Willoughby, both the Sidneys, Roger Williams, Pdham, 
 Edward Morris, and the rest, went to the Count's lodg- 
 ings, where they supped, and afterwards set themselves 
 seriously to drinking. 
 
 Norris soon perceived that he was no welcome ffuest • 
 for he was not-like Sidney-a stranger to the deep 
 animosity which had long existed between Sir John 
 ^oms and Sir William Pelham and his friends The 
 carouse was a tremendous one, as usually was the case 
 where Hollock wa^ the Amphitryon, and, as the pota- 
 tions grew deeper, an intention became evident on the 
 L No^ -^"^^^ company to behave unhandsomely 
 
 For a time the young Captain ostentatiously restrained 
 himself, very much after the fashion of those meek indi- 
 viduals who lay their swords on the tavern-table, with 
 Uod grant I may have no need of thee ! " The custom 
 was then prevalent at banquets for the revellers to 
 pledge each other in rotation, each draining a great 
 cup, and exacting the same feat from his neighbour 
 who then emptied his goblet as a challenge to his next 
 comrade. 
 
 p7^^Ht^ ^^"^^ i^.^^ a Weaker, and called out to 
 Edward Norns-"! dnnk to the health of my Lord 
 
 .-^'/^"^ of my lady, your mother." So saying, he 
 emptied his glass. ° 
 
 The young man did not accept the pledge. 
 
 " Your Lordship knows," he said somewhat sullenly. 
 
 1586. 
 
 A DRUNKEN QUARREL. 
 
 89 
 
 " that I am not wont to drink deep. Mr. Sidney there 
 can tell you that, for my health's sake, I have drank no 
 wine these eight days. If your Lordship desires the 
 pleasure of seeing me drunk, I am not of the same mind • 
 I pray you at least to take a smaller glass." ' 
 
 Sir William insisted on the pledge. Norris then, in 
 no very good humour, emptied his cup to the Earl of 
 Essex. 
 
 Essex responded by draining a goblet to Count Hollock. 
 
 "A Norris's father," said the young Earl, as he 
 pledged the Count, who was already very drunk and 
 looking blacker than ever. * 
 
 " An 'orse's father— an 'orse's father ! " growled Hol- 
 lock ; " I never drink to horses, nor to their fathers 
 either :" and with this wonderful witticism he declined 
 the pledge. 
 
 Essex explained that the toast was Lord Norris, father 
 of the Captain ; but the Count refused to understand, and 
 held fiercely, and with damnable iteration, to his jest. 
 
 The Earl repeated his explanation several times with 
 no better success. Norris meanwhile sat swelling with 
 wrath, but said nothing. 
 
 Again the Lord Marshal took the same great glass and 
 emptied it to the young Captain. * 
 
 Norris, not knowing exactly what course to take, 
 placed the glass at the side of his plate, and glared 
 grimly at Sir William. ^ 
 
 Pelham was furious. Beaching over the table, he 
 shoved the glass towards Norris with an angry gesture. 
 
 " Take your glass, Captain Norris," he cried; ** and 
 if you have a mind to jest, seek other companions. I am 
 not to be trifled with ; therefore, I say, pledge me at 
 once." 
 
 ** Your Lordship shall not force me to drink more wine 
 than I list," returned the other. " It is your pleasure 
 to take advantage of your militaiy rank. Were we both 
 at home, you would be glad to be my companion." 
 
 Norris was hard beset, and although his language was 
 studiously moderate, it was not surprising that his 
 manner should be somewhat insolent. The veteran 
 Lord Marshal, on the other hand, had distinguished 
 himself on many battle-fields, but his deportment at this 
 banquetmg-table was not much to his credit. He paused 
 
90 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. X. 
 
 a moment, and Norris, too, held his peace, thinking that 
 his enemy would desist. 
 
 It was but for a moment. 
 
 " Captain Norris," cried Pelham, " I bid you pledge 
 me without more ado. Neither you nor your best 
 friends shall use me as you list. I am better bom than 
 you and your brother, the colonel-general, and the whole 
 of you." 
 
 *' I warn you to say nothing disrespectful against my 
 brother," replied the Captain. " As for yourself, I know 
 how to respect your age and superior rank." 
 
 *' Drink, drink, drink !" roared the old Marshal. " I 
 tell you I am better bom than the best of you. I have 
 advanced you all too, and you know it ; therefore drink 
 to me." 
 
 Sir William was as logical as men in their cups aie 
 prone to be. 
 
 ** Indeed, you have behaved well to my brother 
 Thomas," answered Norris, suddenly becoming very 
 courteous, *' and for this I have ever loved your Lord- 
 ship, and would do you any service." 
 
 *' Well, then," said the Marshal, becoming tender in 
 Ms turn, " forget what hath past this night, and do as 
 you would have done before." 
 
 ** Very well said, indeed! " cried Sir Philip Sidney, 
 trying to help the matter into the smoother channel 
 towards which it was tending. 
 
 Norris, seeing that the eyes of the whole company 
 were upon them, took the glass accordingly, and rose to 
 his feet. 
 
 ** My Lord Marshal," he said, ** you have done me 
 more wrong this night than you can easily make satis- 
 faction for. But I am unwilling that any trouble or 
 offence should grow through me. Therefore once more 
 I pledge you." 
 
 He raised the cup to his lips. At that instant Hollock, 
 to whom nothing had been said, and who had spoken no 
 word since his happy remark about the horse's father, 
 suddenly indulged in a more practical jest ; and seizing 
 the heavy gilt cover of a silver vase, hurled it at the 
 head of Norris. It struck him full on the forehead, 
 cutting him to the bone. The Captain, stunned for a 
 moment, fell back in his chair, with the blood running 
 
 1586. HOHENLO'S ASSAULT UPON EDWARD NORRIS. 91 
 
 down his eyes and face. The Count, always a man of 
 few words, but prompt in action, now drew his dagger, 
 and strode forward, with the intention of despatching 
 him upon the spot. Sir Philip Sidney threw his arms 
 around Hollock, however, and, with the assistance of 
 others in the company, succeeded in dragging him from 
 the room. The affair was over in a few seconds. 
 
 Norris, coming back to consciousness, sat for a mo- 
 ment as one amazed, rubbing the blood out of his eyes ; 
 then rose from the table to seek his adversary ; but he 
 was gone. 
 
 Soon afterwards he went to his lodgings. The next 
 morning he was advised to leave the town as speedily 
 as possible ; for, as it was under the government of 
 Hollock, and filled with his soldiers, he was warned 
 that his life would not be safe there an hour. Accord- 
 ingly he went to his boat, accompanied only by his 
 man and his page, and so departed with his broken 
 head, breathing vengeance against Hollock, Pelham, 
 Leicester, and the whole crew, by whom he had been 
 thus abused. 
 
 The next evening there was another tremendous 
 carouse at the Count*s, and, says the reporter of the 
 preceding scene, " they were all on such good terms, 
 that not one of the company had falling band or ruff left 
 about his neck. All were clean torn away, and yet 
 there was no blood drawn."^ 
 
 Edward Norris — so soon as might be afterwards — 
 sent a cartel to the Count, demanding mortal combat 
 with sword and dagger.* Sir Philip Sidney bore the 
 
 I 'Advertisement of a difFerenoe at 
 Gertniydenberg,' 8 August, 1586. T. 
 Doyley to Burghley, 8 Aug. 1586. B. 
 Clerk to same, 11 Aug. 1586. E. Norris 
 to Leicester, 21 Nov. 1586. (S. P. Office 
 MSS.) Compare Bor, 11. 786-788 ; Bruce's 
 •Leyc Corresp.' 390-392. 
 
 I have painted this uproarious scene 
 thus minutely and In detail, because its 
 consequences upon the relations between 
 England and Holland, between Leicester, 
 the Queen, and the Norrlses, Pelham, Ho- 
 henlo, and others, were so long, compli- 
 cated, and important ; because the brawl, 
 although brutal and vulgar, assumed the 
 dignity of a political matter ; because, on 
 
 account of the distinguished personages 
 engaged in it, and the epoch at which it 
 occurred, the event furnishes us with a 
 valuable interior picture of English and 
 Dutch military life ; and because, lastly, 
 in the MSS. which I have consulted, are 
 preserved the ipsissima verba of the 
 actors in the riot. It Is superfluous to 
 repeat what has so often been stated, that 
 no historical personage is ever made, in 
 the text, to say or write an^'lhing, save 
 what, on ample evidence, he is known to 
 have said or written. 
 
 « BoT,vbisup. Bruce's 'Leyc. Corresp.* 
 474. 
 
92 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. X. 
 
 1586. 
 
 ILL EFFECTS OF THE RIOT. 
 
 93 
 
 1/ 
 
 
 message. Sir John Norris, of course, warmly and vio- 
 lently espoused the cause of his brother, and was 
 naturally more incensed against the Lord Marshal than 
 ever, for Sir William Pelham was considered the cause 
 of the whole affray. " Even if the quarrel is to be ex- 
 cused by drink," said an eye-witness, " 'tis but a slender 
 defence for my Lord to excuse himself by his cups ; and 
 often drink doth bewray men's humours and unmask 
 their malice. Certainly the Count Hollock thought to 
 have done a pleasure to the company in killing him."* 
 
 Nothing could be more ill-timed than this quarrel, or 
 more vexatious to Leicester. The Count — although con- 
 sidering himself excessively injured at being challenged 
 by a simple captain and an untitled gentleman, whom 
 he had attempted to murder — consented to waive his 
 privilege, and grant the meeting. 
 
 Leicester interposed, however, to delay, and, if pos- 
 sible, to patch up the affair. They were on the eve of 
 active military operations, and it was most vexatious for 
 the commander-in-chief to see, as he said, " the quarrel 
 with the enemy changed to private revenge among our- 
 selves." The intended duel did not t^e place, for 
 various influential personages succeeded in deferring the 
 meeting. Then came the battle of Zutphen. Sidney 
 fell, and Hollock was dangerously wounded in the 
 attack which was soon afterwards made upon the fort. 
 He was still pressed to afford the promised satisfaction, 
 however, and agreed to do so whenever he should rise 
 from his bed.* 
 
 Strange to say, the Count considered Leicester, 
 throughout the whole business, to have taken part 
 against him.* 
 
 Yet there is no doubt whatever that the Earl — who 
 detested the Norrises, and was fonder of Pelham than of 
 any man living — uniformly narrated the story must im- 
 justly, to the discredit of the young Captain. He con- 
 sidered him extremely troublesome, represented him as 
 always quarrelling with some one — with Colonel Mor- 
 gan, Roger Williams, old Read, and all the rest — while 
 the Lord Marshal, on the contrary, was depicted as the 
 
 1 • 
 
 cited.) 
 
 Adverti^ment,' &o. (MS. already 209. 
 
 mildest of men. " This I must say," he observed, '* that 
 all present, except my two nephews (the Sidneys), who 
 are not here yet, declare the greatest fault to be in 
 Edward Norris, and that he did most arrogantly use the 
 Marshal."* ^ ^ 
 
 It is plain, however, that the old Marshal, under the 
 influence of wine, was at least as much to blame as 
 the yoimg Captain ; and Sir Philip Sidney sufficiently 
 showed his sense of the matter by being the bearer of 
 Edward Norris's cartel. After Sidney's death, Sir John 
 Norris, in his letter of condolence to Walsingham for 
 the death of his illustrious son-in-law, expressed the 
 deeper regret at his loss because Sir Philip's opinion 
 had been that the Norrises were wronged." Hollock 
 had conducted himself like a lunatic, but this he was 
 apt to do whether in his cups or not. He was always 
 for killing some one or another on the slightest provo- 
 cation, and, while the dog-star of 1586 was raging, it 
 was not his fault if he had not already despatched both 
 Edward Norris and the objectionable '* Mr. P. B." 
 
 For these energetic demonstrations against Leicester's 
 enemies he considered himself entitled to the Earl's 
 eternal gratitude, and was deeply disgusted at his appa- 
 rent coldness. The governor was driven almost to 
 despair by these quarrels. His colonel-goneral, his 
 lord-marshal, his lieutenant-general, were all at daggers 
 drawn. " Would God I were rid of this place !" he 
 exclaimed. *' What man living would go to the field 
 and have his officers divided almost into mortal quarrel ? 
 One blow but by any of their lackeys brings us alto- 
 gether by the ears." * 
 
 It was clear that there was not room enough on the 
 Netherland soil for the Earl of Leicester and the 
 brothers Norris. The Queen, while apparently siding 
 
 « Bor, U. 786-788. Hoofd Vervolgh, $eq. 
 
 * Letter of Hohenlo, in Bor, ill. 123 
 
 1 Bruce'a • Leyc. Corresp.' 391, 
 " In all actions," wrote Sir J. Norris 
 to Burghley, " I am crossed, and sought 
 to be disgraced, and suffered to be 
 braved by the worst and simplest in 
 the company, only to draw me Into 
 quarrels. These things 1 am fain to 
 endure, lest the hindrance of the ser- 
 vice should be laid to my charge— a 
 thing greatly sought for. . . . The 
 dishonourable violence olTerod to my 
 brother in Coimt HoUock's house is 
 
 so coldly proceeded in as I fear thft 
 despair of orderly repairing his honour 
 will drive him to a more dangerous 
 course, and, in truth, it Is used as if we 
 were the basest in the company." Sir J. 
 Norris to Burghley, 16 Aug. 1586. (S.P. 
 Office MS.) 
 
 » J. Norris to Walsingham, 25 Oct. 
 15S6. (S. P. Office MS.) B. Clerk to 
 Burghley, 11 Aug. 1586. (S. P. Office 
 MS.) 
 
 ' Bruce's ' Leyc. Corresp.' 392. 
 
u 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. X. 
 
 1586. 
 
 DRAKE IN THE NETHERLANDS. 
 
 with the Earl, intimated to Sir John that she did not 
 disapprove his conduct, that she should probably recall 
 him to England, and that she should send him back to 
 the Provinces after the Earl had left that country.' 
 
 Such had been the position of the governor-general 
 towards the Queen, towards the States-General, and 
 towards his own countrymen, during the year 1586. 
 
 95 
 
 1 "I had not much to do." wrote 
 Wilkes to Sir John, •* to re-establish in her 
 MiOesty and Mr. Secretary a singular 
 good opinion of you and your actions. 
 . . . Believe me, I do not find any man 
 on that side equal with you in her Majes- 
 ty's grace. She protests to me she will 
 not have your safety hazarded for any 
 treasure, and hath resolved to revoke you. 
 ... I do find a disposiUon in her Majes- 
 ty to return you thither again, after his 
 Excellency shall be come home, which 
 her Majesty meaneth directly, although 
 there is much variety of oplulon here, 
 whether it be fit to revoke him or not. 
 Such aadesirt the good of that State do 
 
 hold that question affirmatively, but such 
 as do not love him (who are the greater 
 number) do maintain the negative. Her 
 Majesty and her council do greatly stagger 
 at the excessive charge of those wars 
 mider his Excellency's government for 
 the past six months, affirming (as it is 
 true) that the reahn of England is not 
 able to supply the moiety of that charge, 
 notwithstanding the necessity of the 
 defence of those countries is so cnr;jt)ined 
 *1th her Majesty's own safety as the 
 same is not to be abandoned." Wilkes to 
 Sir J. Norrla, 23 Sept. 1586. (S. P. Office 
 MS.) 
 
 CHAPTEK XL 
 
 Drake in the Netherlands — Good Results of his Visit — The Babington Con. 
 splracy — Leicester decides to visit England — Exchange of parting Com- 
 pliments. 
 
 Late in the autunln of the same year an Englishman 
 arrived in the Netherlands, bearer of despatches from 
 the Qiieen. He had been entrusted by her Majesty with 
 a special mission to the States-General, and he had soon 
 an interview with that assembly at the Hague. 
 
 He was a small man, apparently forty -live years of 
 age, of a fair but somewhat weather-stained complexion, 
 with light-brown, closely-curling hair, an expansive 
 forehead, a clear blue eye, rather commonplace features, 
 a thin, brown, pointed beard, and a slight moustache. 
 Though low of stature, he was broad-chested, with well- 
 knit limbs. His hands, which were small and nervous, 
 were brown and callous with the marks of toil. There 
 was something in his brow and glance not to be mis- 
 taken, and which men willingly call master ; yet he did 
 not seem to have sprung of the bom magnates of the 
 earth. He wore a heavy gold chain about his neck, and 
 it might be observed that upon the light full sleeves of 
 his slashed doublet the image of a small ship on a 
 terrestrial globe was curiously and many times em- 
 broidered. 
 
 It was not the first time that he had visited the 
 Netherlands. Thirty years before the man had been 
 apprentice on board a small lugger, which traded be- 
 tween the English coast and the ports of Zeeland. 
 Emerging in early boyhood from his parental mansion — 
 an old boat, turned bottom upwards on a sandy down 
 — he had naturally taken to the sea, and his master, 
 dying childless not long afterwards, bequeathed to him 
 the lugger. But in time his spirit, too much confined 
 by coasting in the narrow seas, had taken a bolder 
 flight. He had risked his hard-earned savings in a 
 voyage with the old slave-trader, John Hawkins— whoso 
 
M' 
 
 1/ 
 
 96 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. X. 
 
 exertions, in what was then considered an honourable 
 and useful vocation, had been rewarded by Queen 
 Elizabeth with her special favour, and with a coat of 
 arms the crest whereof was a negro's head, proper, 
 chained— but the lad's first and last enterprise in this 
 field was unfortunate. Captured by Spaniards, and only 
 escaping with life, he determined to revenge himself on 
 the whole Spanish nation ; and this was considered a 
 most legitimate proceeding according to the "sea 
 divinity " in which he had been schooled. His subse- 
 quent expeditions against the Spanish possessions in the 
 West Indies were eminently successful, and soon the 
 name of Francis Drake rang through the world, and 
 startled Philip in the depths of his Escorial. The first 
 Englishman, and the second of any nation he then 
 ploughed his memorable " furrow round the earth, 
 cairying amazement and destruction to the Spaniards as 
 he sailed, and after three years brought to the Queen 
 treasure enough, as it was asserted, to maintain a war 
 with the Spanish King for seven years, and to pay him- 
 self and companions, and the merchant-adventurers who 
 had participated in his enterprise, forty-seven pounds 
 sterling for every pound invested in the voyage. Ihe 
 speculation had been a fortunate one both for himself 
 and for the kingdom. 
 
 The terrible Sea-King was one of the great types of 
 the sixteenth century. The self-helping private adven- 
 turer in his little vessel the * Golden Hind, one hun- 
 dred tons burthen, had waged successful war against a 
 mighty empire, and had shown England how to humble 
 Philip When he again set foot on his native soil he 
 was followed by admiring crowds, and became the 
 favourite hero of romance and ballad ; for it was not 
 the ignoble pursuit of gold alone, through toil and peril, 
 which had endeared his name to the nation. Ihe popu- 
 lar instinct recognized that the true means had been 
 found at la^t for rescuing England and Protestantism 
 from the overshadowing empire of bpain. The Queen 
 visited him in his ^Golden Hind,' and gave him the 
 
 honour of knighthood. . , ^^ ,, i j j -r^ 
 
 The treaty between the United Netherlands and Eng- 
 land had been followed by an embargo upon English 
 vessels, pei-sons, and property, in the ports of Spain; 
 
 1586. 
 
 GOOD RESULTS OF HIS VISIT. 
 
 97 
 
 and, after five years of unwonted repose, the privateers- 
 
 ^fXoTfi ^"""^"^'^ twenty-five small vessX ' 
 -of which five or six only were armed-under ''''' 
 his command, conjoined with that of General Carlisle 
 This time the voyage was undertaken with MlpeZt 
 sion and assistance of the Queen, who, howeve^inSed 
 to disavow him, if she should find such a step conve 
 IT/ .^^^« T the expedition in which Philip mney 
 ^d desired to take part. The Queen watched L 3 
 with intense anxiety, for the fate of her Netheiland 
 
 life and dea^hnffr^"' "'" ^^^^ ^r^^h, dependeth the 
 Ltt^tKall^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^ '^ --'« J-<ig- 
 
 The issue was encoumging, even if the voyage-as a 
 mercantile speculation-proved not so brilliant as^he 
 previous enterprises of Sir Francis had been He re 
 turned m the midsummer of 1586, having cap iired a?rf 
 
 ^"tt^le '' 5T^^^ ^^' CaVthagen\ ?nd bur^^d 
 at. Augustine^ " A fearful man to the Kinfr of Snain is 
 
 S.r Francis Drake," said Lord Bnrghley/ NeVSthe 
 less, the Queen and the Lord-Treaturer-as wlhave 
 ^o^r^ A^ '^- ""T conferences at GreenwioT-td 
 
 Z^^l^T^ 7 *''^ successes, expressed a more 
 earnest desire for peace than ever. 
 
 A simple seafaring Englishman, with half-a-dozen 
 miserable little vessels, had carried terror into the 
 Spanish possessions all over the earth : but even then 
 the great Queen had not learned to rely on the vidow 
 of her volunteers against her most formidable eneLy • 
 
 Drake was however, bent on another enterprise 
 The preparations for Philip's great fleet had been ^5^0 
 steadily fonvard in Lisbon, Cadiz, and other ports of 
 Spain and Portugal, and, despite assurances to the con- 
 trary, there was a growing belief that England was to 
 tl^^'^^'t T" destroy those ships before the mon^^h^ 
 face, would be, indeed, to "singe his beard." But 
 whose arm was daring enough for such a stroke? 
 
 • For the life „d.dv.„.„re'„fZV ^y Z'utJ^Z^'/;^ ':"''^- 
 
 ^ ►^ner. ■ The Holy SU.. a„a the Pr.' ^^.'^r slrX'^^SX' "T^oto 
 
 fane State.' tnixxre. Stowe's • Chronicle,' Barrow, ma. ^yJoim 
 
 VOU II. ^ 
 
98 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS, 
 
 Chap. XI. 
 
 Ui 
 
 Whose but that of the Devonshire skipper who had 
 already accomplished so much ? 
 
 And so Sir Francis, " a man true to his word, merciful 
 to those under him, and hating nothing so much as 
 idleness,"' had come to the Netherlands to talk over 
 his project with the States-General, and with the Dutch 
 merchants and sea-captains.* His visit was not un- 
 fmitful. As a body the assembly did nothing ; but 
 they recommended that in every maritime city of Hol- 
 land and Zeeland one or two ships should be got ready, 
 to participate in all the future enterprises of Sir Francis 
 and his comrades.* 
 
 The martial spirit of volunteer sailors, and the keen 
 instinct of mercantile speculation, were relied upon — 
 exactly as in England — to furnish men, ships, and 
 money, for these daring and profitable adventures. 
 llie foundation of a still more intimate connection 
 between England and Holland was laid, and thenceforth 
 Dutchmen and Englishmen fought side by side, on land 
 and sea, wherever a blow was to be struck in the cause 
 of human freedom against despotic Spain. 
 
 The famous Babington conspiracy, discovered by 
 Walsingham's '* travail and cost," had come to convince 
 
 1 Fuller. 
 
 2 Wagenaar, vlil. 233-234, who is, 
 however, mistaken in saying that " they 
 liad no ears fur Drake in the Nether- 
 lands.'' 
 
 "* •* The voyage of Sir Francis Drake 
 Into these countries," wrote Wilkes, "Is 
 not likely to be unfruitful, although at 
 his arrival he found no dispOvSition In the 
 States and people at all to a.ssent of his 
 motions. They cannot yield to assist his 
 *royage with any general contribution, 
 but are contented to deal with the inhabi- 
 tants of the principal maritime towns, to 
 funiish in every of them a ship or two, 
 according to the ability of the merchants 
 there residing, from whom the States-Ge- 
 neral, now assembled at the Hague, do 
 expect a siieedy answer and resolution ; 
 w) as if her Majesty shall determine that 
 Sir F. Drake do venture again to the 
 Indies, it is mot to be doubted that he 
 ahall fiaiY mme gotid assistance from 
 hevcf. or what necessity it is that the 
 Qu'-ens principal enemy be attempted 
 Uiiii way, your honour caii bf st perceive ; 
 
 but we find it more than probable hero, 
 that if he may evjoi/ his Indies quietly, he 
 trill make her Majesty and these countries 
 soon veary of their defence. I have 
 partly instructed Sir F. Drake of the 
 state of these countries. How and in 
 what sort my l>ord of Leicester depart- 
 eth hence, he hath best discerned by his 
 own exj)erlence, which, because it is long 
 to be written. I am bold to refer your 
 honour to his declaration. I do find the 
 state of things here so disjointed and un- 
 settloti, that I have Just cause to fear 
 some dangerous alteration in the absence 
 of our governt»r. Therefore I beseech 
 you, as you tender the preservation of her 
 Majesty's estate, depending, as you know, 
 upon the maintenance of this, that you 
 will procure some speedy re8t>lution at 
 home, and the return of some governor of 
 wisdom and value, to reunite these dis- 
 tracted proviiiws, who, for lack of ahead, 
 are apt enough to be the workers of their 
 own ruin." Wilkes to Wnlsinghaiu, 17 
 Nov. 1586. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 1586. 
 
 THE BABINGTON CONSPIRACY^. 
 
 99 
 
 the Queen and her counsellors-if further proof were 
 not siiperfluous-that her throne and life we?e both ^n 
 compatible with Philip « deep designs, and that to L^^^^^ 
 that monarch out of the Netherlands was as vital to he? 
 as to keep him out of England. ** She is forced by this 
 discovery to countenance the cause by all oufward 
 means she may," said Walsingham, '' for ft appe^eth 
 unto her most plain, that uJs she' kad Jer^^-To t 
 action, she had been utterly undom, and that if she do no^ 
 prosecute the same sh^ cannot continue." ^ The Secre 
 tary had sent Leicester information at an early d^y of 
 the great secret begging his friend to "make the letter 
 a heretic after he liad read the same," and exp^^^^^^^^^ 
 the opinion that "the matter, if wel handled wouW 
 
 ^^r:^^^^ ^" ^-^— practices d^r^rW 
 
 England and Holland, and, through them^^of Llf 
 
 s^.1T:^^ r r'"P'f.'^'-Wroached'its cS 
 strophe, and Leicester could not restrain his anxietv 
 for her immediate execution. He reminded WalsinS 
 
 ttZ^f:' r/ ''' '^^" P"* "P^^ ^ wairant fof W 
 execution tor a less crime seventeen years beforp nn 
 
 rebe lion. -For who can warrant these villains from 
 
 time ? God forbid ! And be you all stout and resolute 
 m this speedy execution, or be condemned of all he 
 world for ever. It is most certain, if you will have W 
 
 sa^^-3-r '^ <^"-- f- r ice dXrve 
 
 DCMQe policy. His own personal safetv was d^pnU- 
 compromised. " Your Lordsl^p and I," wt^Burg ,S 
 rll^t-^H^reatmotesin the traitors' eyes ; for your 
 Lordship there and I here should first, about one time 
 
 > Brnce's • Leyc. Corresp.' 341. 
 
 • Ibid. 342. 
 
 « Ibid. 431. (10 Oct. 1686.) See also 
 
 ♦k'T!"*' ^^^ proceeding of Justice against 
 the Queen of Scots is deferred until a 
 parliament. whe,-eat 1 do greatly n.arvel 
 " It should be tme, considering how 
 dangero.,8 such d-^Liy might be. for !he 
 mischief that might in the mean time be 
 
 practised agamst her Majesty's person. 
 I hough some sniaH branches of these 
 conspiracies be taken away, yet the 
 greater boughs are not unknown to re- 
 main. To whom it were not gcHxi. in my 
 opinion, to give that opportunity which 
 might be tak.u. while a parliament may 
 l>e called, and such a cau«e debated and 
 detennlned." Sec Leicester to WuLsing. 
 ham, 9 Sept 1686. (S. P. Office MS ) 
 H 2 
 
100 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XI. 
 
 have been killed. Of your Lordship they thought 
 rather of poisoning than slaying. After us two gone, 
 they purposed her Majesty's death," * 
 
 But on this great affair of state the Earl was not 
 swayed by such personal considerations. He honestly 
 thought— as did all the statesmen who governed Eng- 
 land—that English liberty, the very existence of the 
 English commonwealth, was impossible so long as Mary 
 Stuart lived.* Under these circumstances he was not 
 impatient, for a time at least, to leave the Netherlands. 
 His administration had not been very successful. He 
 had been led away by his own vanity, and by the flat- 
 tery of artful demagogues, but the immense obstacles 
 with which he had to contend in the Queen's wavering 
 policy, and in the rivalry of both English and Hutch 
 politicians, have been amply exhibited. That he had 
 been generous, courageous, and zealous, could not be 
 denied ; and, on the whole, he had accomplished as 
 much in the field as could have been expected of him 
 with such meagre forces, and so barren an exchequer.* 
 
 It must be confessed, however, that his leaving the 
 Netherlands at that moment wa^ a most unfortunate 
 step, both for his own reputation and for the security of 
 the Provinces. Party-spirit was running high, and a 
 political revolution was much to be dreaded in so grave 
 a position of affairs, both in England and Holland. The 
 arrangements— and particularly the secret arrangements 
 which he made at his departure— were the most fatal 
 measures of all ; but these will be described in the fol- 
 lowing chapter. 
 
 On the 3l8t October, the Earl announced to the state- 
 council his intention of returning tx) England, stating, 
 
 3ist Oct. as the cause of this sudden determination, that 
 1586. lie had been summoned to attend the parlia- 
 ment then sitting in Westminster. Wilkes, who was of 
 
 1 Brace's ' Leyc. Conresp.' 412. (15 Sept. 
 
 1686.) 
 
 2 One of the Bablngton conspirators, 
 Ralph Salisbury, was a tenant of Leices- 
 ter's and had "a farm under the very 
 castle-wall of Denbigh." I^eicester to 
 Burghley, 29 Aug. 1586. (S. P. Office 
 MS.) 
 
 * " Oh I^rd ! who would think It p««- 
 •Ible," he cried on one occasi(m, " for any 
 
 man sent as we are, and in action for 
 that iralm (of England) chiefly, and for 
 aU Chrittendom alto, to be so carelessly 
 and overwilllngly overthrown for ordinary 
 wanta. . . . To-morrow and to-morrow 
 they shall have. . . . What opportunities 
 we have lately lost ! We are ready to eat 
 our own flesh for anger, but that cannot 
 help." • Leyc Corresp.' 366. 
 
 1586. 
 
 LEICESTER DECIDES TO VISIT ENGLAND. 
 
 101 
 
 course present having now succeeded KiUigrew as one 
 Of the two English members, observed that ''the States 
 
 ?of hr.r' "!f^ ^"' '''''''' ^^^-^*^*- ^- Excellency 
 for his stay and countenance there among them, whereat 
 
 his Excellency and we that were of the counci for her 
 Majesty did not a little marvel." > 
 
 Some weeks later, however, upon the 21st November 
 Leicester summoned Bameveld, and five other of the 
 States^eneral, to discuss the necessaiy mea- Lt^ov 
 sures for his departure, when those gentlemen i^se? ' 
 remonstrated ver>^ earnestly upon the step, pleading the 
 
 fn«f '^T^ T^tn^^ affairs which must"^ necessarily 
 ensue. 1 he Earl declared that he was not retirin<r from 
 the country because he was offended, although h'e had 
 inany causes for offence : and he then alluded to the 
 Navigation Act, to the establishment of the finance- 
 council, and spoke of Burgrave and Eeingault, for his 
 employment of which individuals so much obloquy had 
 been heaped upon his head. Burgrave he pronounced, 
 as usual, a substantial, wise, faithful, religious perl 
 sonage, entitled to fullest confidence; while KeingLlt 
 --who had been thrown into prison by the States on 
 charges of fraud, peculation, and sedition-he declared to 
 be ^ a great financier, who had promised, on penalty of 
 his head to bring great sums into the treasury for carry- 
 
 'J^^f ""l u ^'f ' r^^''''^ ^""y ^^^'^^e^ to ^l^e commu- 
 nity. Had he been able to do this, he had certainly 
 
 a claim to be considered the greatest of financiers ; but 
 the promised - mountains of gold" were never disco- 
 vered, and Kemgault was now awaiting his trial. « 
 
 1 Bnice's ' T^yc. Corresp.' 443 note. 
 « Bor, ii. 777-779. Hoofd, 207-209. 
 Wagenaar, viil. 183-187. 
 
 ' " I must pray you and require you to 
 be careful in satisfying the States touch- 
 ing Reingault," said Leicester: *'l did 
 promise upon mine honour he should be 
 brought back again, and so 1 have done, 
 but 1 will be no butcher to the greatest 
 monarch in the world, much less the be- 
 trayer of a man's life, whom 1 myself 
 caused to be apprehended to please them, 
 and kept htm in safe guard. And now I 
 have been advertised of the intent in pro- 
 ceeding with him. and with what violence, 
 and what some of themselves have sworn 
 and vowed touching bis death, you know, 
 
 and I prny you declare, for as I will keep 
 promise with them for the prison of the 
 man, so do I look to have mine own 
 honour regarded at their himds, seeing 
 more malice than just desert against him. 
 I take the man to have faults enough, 
 but not capital." I^eicester to Wilkes, 
 20 Nov. 15H6, (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 Wilkes, finding that the .States of Hol- 
 land were furious against Relr.gault, and 
 were demanding his execution, had 
 managed to place him under the charge 
 of the provost marshal of the English 
 troops at Utrecht AVhen he had thiw 
 saved the culprit's life, he Informed Bar- 
 neveld of what he bad done, and that 
 statesman severely censured the act, on 
 
102 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XI. 
 
 The deputies replied that the concessions upon the 
 Navigation Act had satisfied the country, but that 
 Eeingault was a known instrument of the Spaniards, 
 and Burgrave a mischief-making demagogue, who con- 
 sorted with malignants, and sent slanderous reports con- 
 cerning the States and the country to her Majesty. They 
 had in consequence felt obliged to write private de- 
 spatches to envoy Ortel in England, not because they 
 suspected the Earl, but in order to counteract the calum- 
 nies of his chief advisers. They had urged the agent 
 to bring the imprisonment of Paul Buys before her Ma- 
 jesty, but for that transaction Leicester boldly disclaimed 
 all responsibility.^ 
 
 It was agreed between the Earl and the deputies that, 
 during his absence, the whole government, civil and 
 military, should devolve upon the state-council, and that 
 Sir John Norris should remain in command of the English 
 
 forces.* 
 
 IVo days afterwards Leicester, who knew very well 
 that a legation was about to proceed to England, without 
 any previous concurrence on his part, summoned a 
 committee of the States-General, together with Bame- 
 veld, into the state-council. Counsellor Wilkes on his 
 behalf then made a speech, in which he observed^ that 
 more ample communications on the part of the States 
 were to be expected. They had in previous colloquies 
 touched upon comparatively unimportant matters, but 
 he now begged to be informed why these commissioners 
 were proceeding to England, and what was the nature 
 of their instructions. Why did not they formally offer 
 the sovereignty of the Provinces to the Queen without 
 conditions? That step had already been taken by 
 Utrecht." 
 
 The deputies conferred apart for a little while, and 
 then replied that the proposition made by Utrecht was 
 
 the ground that grave consequences 
 might follow this interposition in li^'half 
 of so siRiial an offender. Reinjiaulf s life 
 was pn>8«rved. however, and lie subse- 
 quently wiis permuted to retire to the 
 Spanish Netherlands, where the violent 
 democrat atid Calvinist ended his days an 
 obe<llent subject of Philip H.. and an ex- 
 emplary pHpist Wilkes to 1/elcester, 3 
 aiid 12 I)tc. 1586. (S. P. OflBce MS.) 
 
 Reyd, v. «2. 
 
 Burgrave accompanied the Earl to 
 England, as his chief secret.>ry and advi- 
 ser in Netherland matters, while r)even- 
 ter remained In Utrecht, principal direc- 
 tor of the l^lcestrlan party, and centre 
 of all Us cabals against the States. 
 
 J Wilkes to l^icester. Ac. MS, Jtist 
 cited. ' Wagenaar, viU. 187 
 
 3 Bor, ii. 780-783. 
 
 1586. EXCHANGE OF PARTING COMPLIMENTS. 103 
 
 notoriously i^ictious, illegal, and altogether futile With- 
 out the sanction of all the United IStates, of what vahie 
 was the declaration of Utrecht? Moreover, the charter 
 of that province had been recklessly violated, its ffovern- 
 ment overthrown, and its leading citizens banished. 
 J he action of the Province under such circumstances 
 was not deserving of comment ; but should it appear 
 that her Majesty was desirous of assuming the sove- 
 reignty of the l>rovinces upon reasonable conditions, thi. 
 btates of Holland and of Zeeland would not be fJund 
 backward in the business.* 
 
 Leicester proposed that Prince Maurice of Nassau 
 should go with him to England, as nominal chief of the 
 embassy, and some of the deputies favoured the sujr. 
 gestion It was, however, vigorously and successful Iv 
 opposed by Bameveld, who urged that to leave the 
 country without a head in such a dangerous position 
 of affairs, would be an act of madness.* Leicester was 
 much annoyed when informed of this decision. He wks 
 suspected of a design, during his absence, of convertino- 
 Maurice entirely to his own way of thinking. If unsuc- 
 cessful, it wa.s believed by the Advocate and bv many 
 others that the Eari would cause the vouno- Prince to 
 be detained in England as long as Philip William, his 
 brother had been kept in Spain. He observed peevishlv 
 that he knew how it had all been brought about.^ 
 
 Words, of course, and handsome compliments were 
 exchanged between the Governor and the States-General 
 on his departure. He protested that he had never pur- 
 sued any private ends during his administration, but 
 had ever sought to promote the good of the countiT and 
 the glory of the Queen, and that he had spent three 
 hundred thousand florins of his own money in the brief 
 period of his residence there.* 
 
 The Advocate, on the part of the States, assured him 
 that they were all aware that in the friendship of Eno-. 
 land lay their only chance of salvation, but that unite'd 
 action was the sole means by which that salvation could 
 be effected, and the one which had enabled the late 
 Prince of Orange to maintain a contest unequalled by 
 
 > Ror. 11. 780-783. 
 
 2 Bor, ubi sup. Hoofd Vervolgh, 206. 
 Wagenaar, vlli. 185. 
 
 ' Bor, ubi sttp. 
 
 * Bor. ii. 7b5. Hoofd, ubi sup. 
 
104 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XI. 
 
 anvthing recorded in history. There was also much 
 disquisition on the subject of finance— the Advocate 
 observing that the States now raised as much in a month 
 as the Provinces in the time of the Emperor used to levy 
 in a year — and expressed the hope that the Queen would 
 increase her contingent to ten thousand foot and two 
 thousand horse. He repudiated, in the name of the 
 States-General and his own, the possibility of peace- 
 negotiations ; deprecated any allusion to the subject as 
 fatal to their religion, their liberty, their very existence, 
 and equally disastrous to England and to Protestantism, 
 and implored the Earl, therefore, to use all his influence 
 in opposition to any pacific overtures to or from Spain.* 
 
 On the 24th November, acts were drawn up and 
 
 si"-ned by the Earl, according to which the supreme 
 
 24th Not. government of the United Netherlands was 
 
 *s»«- formally committed to the state-council during 
 his absence. Decrees were to be pronounced in the 
 name of his Excellency, and countersigned by Maurice 
 <if Nassau. 
 
 On the following day, Leicester, being somewhat in- 
 disposed, requested a deputation of the States-General 
 to wait upon him in his own house. This was done, 
 and a formal and affectionate farewell was then read to 
 him by his secretarj% Mr. Atye. It was responded to 
 in complimentary fashion by Advocate r»ameveld, who 
 again took occasion at this parting interview to impress 
 upon the governor the utter impossibility, in his own 
 opinion and that of the other deputies, of reconciling 
 the Provinces with Spain.* 
 
 Leicester received from the States — as a magnificent 
 parting present — a ?iilver gilt vase, ** as tall as a man," 
 and then departed for Flushing, to take shipping for 
 England.* 
 
 * Bor, Hoofd, Wagenaar, ubi tup. StatfM* pronounced it " aa singular a 
 
 Rpyd, V. los, 109. Jewel as could be found in any of the 
 
 =* Ibid. Mett'ren, xlii. 23«. surrounding kinRdoms." It was said 
 
 ' Bt>r, ii. 754. Reyd, IIoll. 4 Oct. that, on atxoiiiit of its size, It could 
 
 9 Nov. 442, 493. Wagenaar, vlii. only have been gilded at the peril of 
 
 173. the artisan's life. Van Wyu op Wagen, 
 
 The vaae or cup (kop). as it was vill. ti2. 
 
 called, had cost 9Ui)U florins. The 
 
 1586. ILL-TIMED INTERREGNUM IN THE PROVINCES. 105 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Ill-timed Interregnum in the Provinces — Firmness of the English and Dutch 
 People — Factions during Leicester's Government — Democratic Theories 
 of the Leicestrians — Suspicions as to the E^rl"s Designs — Extreme Views 
 of the Calvinists — Political Ambition of the Church — Antagonism of the 
 Church and States — The States inclined to Tolerance — Desolation of the 
 Obedient Provinces — Pauperism and Famine — Prosperity of the Republic — 
 The Year of Expectation. 
 
 It was not unnatural that the Queen should desire the 
 presence of her favourite at that momentous epoch, 
 when the dread question, " aut fer ant feri" had at last 
 demanded its definite solution. It was inevitable, too, 
 that Leicester should feel great anxiety to be upon the 
 spot where the great tragedy, so full of fate to all Chris- 
 tendom, and in which his own fortunes were so closely 
 involved, was to be enacted. But it was most cruel to 
 the Netherlands — whose well-being was nearly as im- 
 ])ortant to Elizabeth as that of her own realm — to 
 j)lunge them into anarch^' at such a moment. Yet this 
 was the necessary result of the sudden retirement of 
 Leicester. 
 
 He did not resign his government. He did not bind 
 himself to return. The question of sovereignty was 
 still unsettled, for it was still hoped by a large and in- 
 fluential party that the English Queen would a(;cept 
 the proposed annexation. It was yet doubtful, whether, 
 during the period of abeyance the States-General or the 
 States- Provincial, each within their separate sphere, 
 were entitled to supreme authority. Meantime, as if 
 here were not already sufficient elements of dissension 
 and doubt, came a sudden and indefinite interregnum, 
 a provisional, an abnormal, and an impotent govern- 
 ment. To the state-council was deputed the executive 
 authority. But the state-council was a creature of the 
 States-General, acting in concert with the governor- 
 general, and having no actual life of its own. It was a 
 board of consultation, not of decision, for it could neither 
 
106 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XII. 
 
 enact its own decrees nor interpose a veto upon the 
 decrees of the governor. 
 
 Certainly the selection of Leicester to fill so important 
 a post had not been a very fortunate one ; and the en- 
 thusiasm which had greeted him, *' as if he had been a 
 Messiah," on his arrival, had very rapidly dwindled 
 away, as his personal character became known. The 
 leading politicians of the country had already been 
 aware of the error which they had committed in clothing 
 with almost sovereign powers the delegate of one who 
 had refused the sovereignty. They were too adroit to 
 neglect the opportunity, which her Majesty's anger 
 offered them, of repairing what they considered their 
 blunder. When at last the quarrel, which looked so 
 much like a lovers' quarrel, between Elizabeth and 
 *' Sweet Kobin," had been appeased to the satisfaction of 
 Kobin, his royal mistress became more angrj' with the 
 States for circumscribing than she had before been for 
 their exaggeration of his authority. Hence the im- 
 placable hatred of Leicester 16 Paul Buys and Bame- 
 veld. 
 
 Those two statesmen, for eloquence, learning, readi- 
 ness, administrative faculty, surpassed by few who have 
 ever wielded the destinies of free commonwealths, were 
 fully equal to the task thrown upon their hands by the 
 progress of events. That task was no slight one, for 
 it was to the leading statesmen of Holland and Eng- 
 land, sustained by the indomitable resistance to despot- 
 ism almost universal in the English and Dutch nations, 
 that the liberty of Europe was entrusted at that momen- 
 tous epoch. Whether united under one cro^^^l, as the 
 Netherlanders ardently desired, or closely allied for 
 aggression and defence, the two peoples were bound 
 indissolubly together. The clouds were rolling up from 
 the fatal south, blacker and more portentous than ever ; 
 the artificial equilibrium of forces, by which the fate of 
 France was kept in suspense, was obviously growing 
 every day more uncertain ; but the prolonged and 
 awful interval before the tempest should burst over the 
 lands of freedom and Protestantism, gave at least time 
 for the pmdent to prepare. The Armada was growing 
 every day in the ports of Spain and Portugal, and 
 Walsingham doubted as little as did Buys or Barne- 
 
 1586. FIRMNESS OF THE ENGLISH AND DUTCH PEOPLE. 107 
 
 veld toward what shores that invasion was to be 
 directed. England was to be conquered in order that 
 the rebellious Netherlands might be reduced ; and 
 *• Mucio was to be let slip upon the unhappy Henry III 
 so soon as it was thought probable that the Bearnese 
 and the Valois had sufficiently exhausted each other 
 1 hilip was to reign in Paris, Amsterdam, London, and 
 Edinburgh, without stirring from the Escorial. An 
 excellent programme, had there not been some Eno-lish 
 gentlemen, some subtle secretaries of state, some Devon- 
 shire skippers, some Dutch advocates and merchants 
 some Zeeland fly-boatsmen, and six million men, women' 
 T^ ^^l^^^^^^ ^^ *^e two sides of the North Sea, who 
 had the power of expressing their thoughts rather 
 bluntly^ than otherwise in different dialects of old 
 Anglo-Saxon speech. 
 
 Certainly it would be unjust and ungracious to dis- 
 parage the heroism of the great Queen, when the hour 
 of danger really came, nor would it be legitimate for 
 us, who can scan that momentous year of expectation, 
 1587, by the light of subsequent events and of secret 
 contemporaneous record, to censure or even sharply to 
 criticise the loyal hankering for peace, when peace had 
 really become impossible. But as we shall have occa- 
 sion to examine rather closely the secrets of the Spanish, 
 French, English, and Dutch councils, during this epoch,' 
 we are likely to find, perhaps, that at least as great a 
 debt IS due to the English and Dutch people, in mass, 
 for the pieservation of European liberty at that disas- 
 tnnis epoch as to any soveraign, general, or statesman. 
 
 For it was in the great waters of the sixteenth cen- 
 tury that the nations whose eyes were open discovered 
 the fountain of perpetual youth, while others, who were 
 blind, passed rapidly onward to decrepitude. England 
 was, in many respects, a despotism so far as regarded 
 governmental forms ; and no doubt the Catholics were 
 treated with greater rigour than could be justified even 
 by the perpetual and most dangerous machinations of 
 the seminary priests and their instigators against the 
 throne and lite of Elizabeth. The word liberty was 
 never musical in Tudor ears, yet Englishmen had bbmt 
 tongues and sharp weapons which rarely rusted for want 
 of use. In the presence of a parliament and the ab- 
 
 
108 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap XII. 
 
 sence of a standing army, a people accustomed to read 
 the Bible in the vernacular, to handle great questions 
 of religion and government freely, and to bear aims at 
 will, was most formidable to despotism. There was an 
 advance on the olden time. A Francis Drake, a John 
 Hawkins, a Koger Williams, might have been sold, 
 under the Plantagenets, like an ox or an ass. A " female 
 villain "in the reign of Henry III. could have been 
 purchased for eighteen shillings— hardly the price of a 
 fatted pig, and not one-third the value of an ambling 
 palfrey— and a male villain, such an one as could in 
 Elizabeth's reign circumnavigate the globe in his own 
 ship, or take imperial field-marshals by the beard, was 
 worth but two or three pounds sterling in the market. 
 Here was progress in three centuries, for the villains 
 were now become admirals and generals in England 
 and Holland, and constituted the mainstay of these two 
 little commonwealths, while the commanders who 
 governed the " invincible " fleets and armies of omnipo- 
 tent Spain, were all cousins of emperors, or grandees 
 of bluest blood. Perhaps the system of the l\*eforma- 
 tion would not prove the least eflective in the impending 
 crisis. 
 
 It was most important, then, that these two nations 
 should be united in council, and should stand shoulder 
 to shoulder as their great enemy advanced. But this 
 was precisely what had been rendered almost impossible 
 by the course of events during Leicester's year of ad- 
 ministration, and by his sudden but not final retirement 
 at its close. The two great national parties which had 
 gradually been forming had remained in a fluid state 
 during the presence of the governor-general. During 
 liis absence they gradually hardened into the forms 
 which they were destined to retain for centuries. In 
 the history of civil liberty, these incessant contests, 
 these oral and written disquisitions, these sharp con- 
 cussions of opinion, and the still harder blows, which, 
 unfortunately, were dealt on a few occasions by the 
 combatants upon each other, make the year 1587 a 
 memorable one. The great questions of the origin of 
 government, the balance of dynastic forces, the distribu- 
 tion of powers, were dealt with by the able st heads, both 
 Dutch and English that could be employ ed in the ser- 
 
 1586. FACTIONS DURING LEICESTER'S GOVERNMENT. 109 
 
 vice of the kingdom and republic. It was a war of 
 protocols, arguments, orations, rejoinders, apostilles, and 
 pamphlets, very wholesome for the cause of free insti- 
 tutions and the intellectual progress of mankind. The 
 reader may perhaps be surprised to see with how much 
 \ngour and boldness the grave questions which underlie 
 all polity were handled so many years before the days 
 of Russell and Sidney, of Montesquieu and Locke, 
 Franklin, Jeff'erson, Rousseau, and Voltaire; and he 
 may be even more astonished to find exceedingly demo- 
 cratic doctrines propounded, if not believed in, by 
 trained statesmen of the Elizabethan school. He will 
 be also apt to wonder that a more fitting time could not 
 be found for such philosophical deb^e than, the epoch 
 at which both the kingdom and the republic were called 
 upon to strain every sinew against the most formidable 
 and aggressive despotism that the world had known 
 since the fall of the Roman Empire. 
 
 The great dividing line between the two parties, 
 that of Leicester and that of Holland, which controlled 
 the action of the States-General, was the question of 
 sovereignty. After the declaration of independence 
 and the repudiation of Philip, to whom did the 
 sovereignty belong? To the people, said the Leices- 
 tnans.^ To the States-General and the States- Provincial, 
 as legitimate representatives of the people, said the 
 Holland party. Without looking for the moment more 
 closely into this question, which we shall soon find ablv 
 discussed by the most acute reasoners of the time, it is 
 only important at present to make a preliminaiy reflec- 
 tion. The Earl of Leicester, of all men in the world, 
 would seem to have been precluded by his owti action,' 
 and by the action of his Queen, from taking ground 
 against the States. It was the States who, by solemn 
 embassy, had offered the sovereignty to Elizabeth. She 
 had not accepted the offer, but she had deliberated on 
 the subject, and certainly she had never expressed a 
 doubt whether or not the offer had been legally made. 
 By the States, too, that governor-generalship had been 
 conferred upon the Earl, which had been so thankfully 
 and eagerly accepted. It was strange, then, that he 
 should deny the existence of the power whence his 
 own authority was derived. If the States were not 
 
110 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XI I. 
 
 sovereigns of the Netherlands, he certainly was no- 
 thinj.^. He was but geneiul of a few thousand English 
 troops. 
 
 The Leicester party, then, proclaimed extreme demo- 
 cratic principles as to the origin of government and the 
 sovereignty of the people. They sought to strengtlien 
 and to make almost absolute the executive authority of 
 their chief, on the ground that such was the popular 
 will ; and they denounced with great acrimony the in- 
 solence of the upstart members of the States, half a 
 dozen traders, hired advocates, churls, tinkers, and the 
 like — as Leicester was fond of designating the men wlio 
 opposed him — in assuming these airs of sovereignty.' 
 
 This might, perliaps, be philosophical doctrine, had 
 its supporter not forgotten that there had never been 
 any pretence at an expression of the national will, ex- 
 cept through the mouths of the States. The States- 
 General and the States-Provincial, without any usurpa- 
 tion, but as a matter of fact and of great political con- 
 venience, had, during fifteen years, exercised the 
 authority which had fallen from I*hilip's hands. The 
 people hitherto had acquiesced in their action, and cer- 
 tainly there had not yet been any call for a popular 
 convention, or any other device to ascertain the popular 
 will. It was also difficult to imagine what was the 
 exact entity of this abstraction called the " people " by 
 men who expressed such extreme contempt for " mer- 
 chants, advocates, town-orators, churls, tinkers, and bise 
 mechanic men, born not to command but to obey." 
 
 » •• They which have all authority In 
 this State,'' said an honest Cieraiaii 
 traveller who happened to be in Arnh<im 
 that winter, "are for the most part nier- 
 chants. orators of towns, mechanic men, 
 ignorant, loving gain naturally, without 
 
 respect of honour; born to 
 
 obey ratht-r than command ; who, having 
 once ijisted the sweetness of authority, 
 have by little and little persuaded them- 
 selves that they are sovereigns ; insultitig 
 over the people, and controlling him to 
 whom they had by oath n-ferred the abso- 
 lute and i;eneral government 
 
 S"eing tluu the s»)v<reignty really belongs 
 tu the people, to whom they are but ser- 
 
 vants and deputies'. ... I see no 
 other remedy for this mischief, but that 
 the people Imi wary how they give such 
 power and authority, and suffer It to con- 
 tinue so long in the hands of men of 
 mechanic and base condiilon, who, giown 
 proud with the command, abuse it daily, 
 as well against the people as against the 
 governors, to whom the people have re • 
 ferred the government both over them- 
 selves and over the whole estate." Ray- 
 mond Slockeler to a friend in Knglanil, 
 15 Feb. 1587. (S. P. Office MS.") The Utt.-r 
 is printed In Grimstone'a '^'etherlands,' 
 pp. 9 9 «t-.^. 
 
 1586. DEMOCKATIC THEORIES OK THE LElCESTklANS. HI 
 
 AVho were the people when the educated classes and tho 
 working Clares were thns carefully eliminated ? H«rdlv 
 At' thT d ^'''^r*"^-*^^ boor^-who tilled the soil. 
 fL, ^ ^^ ^^ agricultural labourers less than all 
 others dreanjed of popular sovereignty, and more th4 
 all otho>-s submitted to the mild authori y of the Stites 
 According to the tl.eory of the Netherland constitmions' 
 they were supposed- and they had themselves not yei 
 discovered the fallacies to which such doctrines could 
 kad-to be represented by the nobles and count y- 
 squires who maintained in the States of each Province 
 the general farming interests of the republic. Moreover 
 stali"" T^ 1 -g"«"l*"'al peasants «4s comparative^ 
 T.t 1 i T '•"l"'*'**'^ '^'='"6 '•ather accustomed to 
 
 plough the sea than the land, and their harvests were 
 reaped from that element, which to Hollanders and 
 /eelanders was less capricious than the solid earth 
 Almost every inhabitant of those sea bom territories 
 was in one sense or another, a mariner ; for every 
 highway was a canal ; the soil was percolated by rivere 
 and estuaries, pools and meres ; the fisheries were the 
 nurseries ,n which still more daring navigators rapidly 
 earned their tmde and every child took naturally t^ 
 the ocean as to its legitimate home. 
 
 The " people," therefore, thus enthroned by the I ei- 
 cestnans over all the inliabitw.ts of the country, appeared 
 to many eyes rather a misty abstraction, and its claim 
 ?W f ll sovereignty a doctrine almost as fantastic a.s 
 that of the divine right of kings. The Ketherlanders 
 were, on the whole, a law-abiding people, prefemng to 
 conduct even a revolution accoiding to precedent ^erv 
 much attached to ancient usages and traditions, valuing 
 the hherties, as they called them, which they had 
 wrested from what had been superior force, with their 
 own nglit hands, preferring facts to theories, and ieel- 
 mg competent to deal wiih tyrants in the concrete 
 ■ a her than to annihilate tyranny in the abstract by a 
 
 n»il? Ffr''''T'""S phi-a.seology. Moreover the op- 
 ponents of the Leicester party complained that the 
 P'lncipal use to which this newly-di.^coveied '-people " 
 had been app led, was to confer iis absolute sovereignty 
 unconditionally upon one man. The people was to be 
 
112 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XII. 
 
 sovereign in order that it might immediately abdicate 
 in favour of the Earl/ 
 
 Utrecht, the capital of the- Leicestrians, had already 
 been deprived of its constitution. The magistracy was, 
 according to law, changed every year. A list of candi- 
 dates was furnished by the retiring board, an equal 
 number of names was added by the governor of the 
 Province, and from the catalogue thus composed the 
 governor with his council selected the new magistrates 
 for the year. But De Villiers, the governor of the 
 Province, had been made a prisoner by the enemy in 
 the last campaign ; Count Moeurs had been appointed 
 provisional stadholder by the States ; and, during his 
 temporary absence on public affairs, the Leicestrians 
 had seized upon the government, excluded all the an- 
 cient magistrates, banished many leading citizens from 
 the town, and installed an entirely new board, with 
 Gerard Proninck, called Deventer, for chief burgomaster, 
 who was a Brabantine refugee just arrived in the Pro- 
 vince, and not eligible to office until after ten years' 
 residence." 
 
 It was not unnatural that the Netherlanders, who 
 remembered the scenes of bloodshed and disorder pro- 
 duced by the memorable attempt of the Duke of Anjou 
 to obtain possession of Antwerp and other cities, should 
 be suspicious of Leicester. Anjou, too, had been called 
 to the Provinces by the voluntary action of the States. 
 
 I Even Leicester hiintjelf was astonished 
 at the subserviency of the democratic 
 party. " I remember," said his confiden- 
 tial secretary. " tliat your Excellency told 
 me once a very tvise itvMYi— that those of 
 Utrecht had given you more authority 
 than they could irell do." 
 
 « Your council," he said further, *• can- 
 not allow of all the doings of M. Deventer 
 and of M. Modet. True It Is that they 
 both and all those of Utrecht do love you 
 with all their hearts, but they do many 
 things very rashly, and do disunite them- 
 selves from the generality of the United 
 Provinces. Insomuch that, at this pre- 
 sent, those of the magistrates of Utrecht 
 iiavo disunited themselves from the States 
 of their own Province, and work every day 
 one against another. . , I had written 
 to you by M. Modet and M. Rataller, but 
 they both ttoleaway secretly from hence, 
 
 and surely this proceeding Is .not very 
 well liked here of the best sort, as though 
 he would have prevented the other party, 
 and made his own reasons good first to 
 your Excellency." Othoman to Leicester, 
 7 Jan. 1687. (Br. Mus. Galba, C. xl. 
 p. 72. MS.) 
 
 •' Cupimus ut sua Excellentla (Lelces- 
 trius) abtoluti imperet, et pro sua discre- 
 tione, salva religione et privlleglis suam 
 Mt^estatem non ofrendenllbus." So ran 
 a p«'tition, to which Deventer procured 
 signatures among the Utrecht citizens, 
 and then handed it to Leicester. " Such 
 a government as that would be," says a 
 Frisian contemporary, •* was never seen 
 In the Netherlands, and could hardly be 
 found in Christendom." Reyd, v. 86. 
 
 « Bor. 11. xxi. 722, 735. Reyd, v. 86, 
 86. Wagenaar. vUL lt>6, 168. 
 
 1586. SUSPICIONS AS TO THE EARL'S DESIGNS. 113 
 
 He too had been hailed as a Messiah and a deliverer 
 In him too had unimited confidence been reposed ^d 
 he had repaid their affection and their gratSbTa 
 desperate attempt to obtain the control of their chief 
 cities by the armed hand, and thus to constitute himsdf 
 absolute sovereign of the Netherlands. The inhabi- 
 tants had, after a bloody contest, averted the intended 
 massacre and the impending tyranny ; but it was not 
 astonishing tha so very few years having elap^^ed 
 since those tragical events-they should be inclined to 
 scan severely the actions of the man wlio had alreadv 
 obtained by unconstitutional means the mastery of a 
 most important city, and was supposed to harbour de- 
 signs upon all. ^ 
 
 No doubt it was a most illiberal and unwise policy 
 for the inhabitants of the independent States to exxlude 
 from office the wanderers, for conscience' sake, from 
 the obedient Provinces. They should have beeA we^ 
 comed heart and hand by those who were their brethren 
 m religion and m the love of freedom. Moreover it 
 was notorious that Hohenlo, lieutenant-general under 
 Maunce of Nassau, was a German, and that, by the 
 
 treaty withEngland,twoforeigners sat in thestate-council 
 while the army swarmed with English, Irish, and Ger- 
 man officers m high command. Nevertheless, violently 
 to subvert the constitution of a Province, and to place 
 in posts of high responsibility men who were ineblible 
 -some whose characters were suspicious, and tome 
 who were known to be dangerous, and to banish large 
 numbers of respectable burghers-was the act of a 
 
 1 It was especially unfortunate that 
 Leicester should fall so completely into 
 the control of Deventer. That subtle 
 politician filled the governor's mind full 
 with spite against the States-General, In- 
 spiring him perpetually with jealousy of 
 all bodies or individuaU that interfered 
 with his hopes of attaining arbitrary, per- 
 haps sovereign power. "The States- 
 General," Deventer whispered in Leices- 
 ter's ear, " are becoming more presump- 
 tuous dally. They have dared to retain 
 our old members to the assembly whom 
 we (after the municipal revolution) 
 VOL. II. ^ 
 
 "bad recalled. They have released Paul 
 Buys. We are all marvellously scan- 
 dalized, for truly these States assume 
 more Jurisdiction than was ever done by 
 the greatest tyrant that ever usurped In 
 this land. You shall hear many parti- 
 culars by an agent which it is best not to 
 wnte . Let A<r Majesty reflect 
 
 ^ her's will be the $tiame, on her head 
 descendt the scorn, and ruin to her realm 
 ictW be the result. I^t her break up this 
 conspiracy by a sudden and heroic reso- 
 lutlon, let her send your Excellency 
 hither, yiWh plenty of money and soldiers 
 
 I 
 
114 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XIL 
 
 Besides their democratic doctrines, the Leicestrians 
 proclaimed and encouraged an exclusive and rigid Cal- 
 Yinism. It would certainly be unjust and futile to de- 
 tract from the vast debt which the republic owed to the 
 Geneva Church. The reformation had entered the 
 Netherlands by the Walloon gate. The earliest and 
 most eloquent preachers, the most impassioned converts, 
 the sublimest martyrs, had lived, preached, fought, 
 suifered, and died with the precepts of Calvin in their 
 hearts. ' The fire which had consumed the last vestige 
 of royal and sacerdotal despotism throughout the inde- 
 pendent republic, had been lighted by the hands of 
 
 Calvinists. .,1.17 
 
 Throughout the blood-stained soil of France, too, the 
 men who were fighting the same great battle as were 
 the Netherlanders against Philip II. and the Inquisi- 
 tion, the valiant cavaliers of Dauphiny and Provence, 
 knelt on the ground, before the battle, smote their iron 
 breasts with their mailed hands, uttered a Calvinistic 
 pi-ayer, sang a psalm of Marot, and then charged upon 
 Guise, or upon Joyeuae, under the white plume of the 
 Beamese. And it was on the Calvinist weavers and 
 clothiers of Eochelle that the great Prince relied in the 
 hour of danger as much as on his mountain chivalry. 
 In England, too, the seeds of liberty, wrapped up in 
 Calvinism and hoarded through many trjang years, were 
 at last destined to float over land and sea, and to bear 
 large harvests of temperate freedom for great com- 
 monwealths, which were still unborn. Nevertheless 
 
 and we on oar side will take care not to 
 ke dishonoured suddenly, while waiting 
 lor your return." 
 
 Such were the prudent counsels given 
 to Queen Elizabeth, by Leicester's chief 
 adviser, In a moBftent full of darkness and 
 difHculty. Toselie by violence on the 
 cities of the Provinces, to subvert their 
 ancient constitutions, to enact, in short, 
 all that had been done or attempted by 
 former tyranU, was the object proposeii 
 to the Kni^h sovereign and the English 
 governor. 6. de Pronlnck to Leicester, 
 20 Jan. 1587. (Br. Mus., Galba C. xl. 95. 
 MS.) 
 
 Otheman, too, boldly assured the Queen, 
 In a letter addressed directly to her Ma- 
 jesty, that th« " root of the whole evil in 
 
 the Netherlands waa the ochlocra4^ and 
 bad government of the Slate," and that 
 the reformation could only come from her. 
 He was also of opinion that the country 
 had been badly handled for a long time. 
 ♦* 1 believe. Madam," he observed, " that 
 this sick person has had so many diseases 
 for twenty years, and ha.s had s<> many 
 different doctors— some without experi- 
 ence and others without fidelity— that the 
 more despairing the patient is of his own 
 case, the more honour It will be to the 
 one who cures him ; and 'tis your Majesty 
 alone who can now admltibter the re- 
 m«'dy."— Oiheman to the Queen, 15 Feb. 
 15^7. (Br. Mus., Galba C. xi. p. 263. 
 MS.) 
 
 1586. EXTREME VIEWS OF THE CALVINISTS. 115 
 
 there was a growing aversion in many parts of ih. 
 States for the rigid and intolerant splifoT the t- 
 formed religion. IWe were many men in Holland 
 who had already imbibed the true lesson-the only one 
 worth earning of the Keformation-liberty of ZuZ- 
 but toleration m the eyes of the extreme CalS L' 
 party w^ as great a vice as it could be in the es^^l 
 tion of Papists. To a favoured few of other habtts of 
 thought. It had come to be regarded a^ a virtue but 
 he day was still far distant when men were to ^corn 
 the very word toleration a. an insult to the dignh^^^^^^^ 
 man ; a^ if for any human being, or set of human^e iW 
 m caste, class, synod, or church, the right could evfn 
 m imagination be conceded of controlling the con 
 sciences of their fellow-creatures. ^ 
 
 But it was progiess for the sixteenth centurv thof 
 there were individuals, and prominent indiv'dualT who 
 dared io proclaim liberty of conscience for^Jra 
 of Orange wa^ a Calvinist, sincere and rigid, but he X 
 
 ZlnnJVF''''^''' "^ ^^^^^^^' and <,pened wide 
 the doors of the commonwealth to Papists, Lutherans 
 and Anabaptists alike. The Eari of Leicester w^^^^^ 
 Calvinist most rigid in tenet, most edifying of conver 
 sation, the acknowledged head of the Puritan mrtv of 
 England, but he was intolerant, and wa TnC?ced 
 
 would Lv' °^''- T'^^'^'^^* '^ ^^' ''''' Ceiia nly ft 
 would have required great magnanimity upon his mrt 
 
 to assume a friendly demeanour towards ^the PapFs^s 
 
 heiXnf Ih-r' i-^ore favoured ages, to rise t^'he 
 
 Heights of philosophical abstraction, than for a man 
 
 placed as wa« Leicester, in the front 'rank of a 1^1.^ 
 
 battle, m which the triumph of either religion seemed 
 
 ^require the bodily annihilation of all its^adVrsaries 
 
 He be leved that the success of a Catholic conspimcv 
 
 a^mst the life of Elizabeth, or of a Spanish invas^ion o^f 
 
 England, would raise Maiy to the throne and cons^c^ 
 
 r of ^ *^^«^^ff^i^- He believed that the sul^ug^ 
 
 tion of the independent Netheriands would place &e 
 
 bl^aniards instantly in England, and he frequttly re! 
 
 Zee^^^Z^r^ *•"' ''•'^'^^' ^' Popish'plots^that 
 r4?nst tL 1 r ? n ^^"?^« P^^^« of the Provinces 
 a^amst the English Queen.* It was not surprising, 
 
 i " May it please your sacred Majesty." wrote Wilkes, « there is come into my 
 
 I 2 
 
116 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 CilAP. XII. 
 
 therefore, although it was unwise, that he should incline 
 his ear most seriously to those who counselled severe 
 measures not only against Papists, but against those 
 who were not persecutors of Papists, and that he should 
 allow himself to be guided by adventurer, who wore 
 the mask of religion only that they might plunder the 
 exchequer and rob upon the highway. 
 
 Under the administration of this extreme party, there- 
 fore the Papists were maltreated, disfranchised, 
 banished, and plundered.* The distribution of the 
 heavy war-taxes, more than two-thirds of which were 
 raised in Holland only, was confided to foreigners, and 
 reoiilated mainly at Utrecht, where not one-tenth part of 
 the same revenue was collected. This naturally excited 
 the wrath of the merchants and manufacturers of Holland 
 
 hands the copy of a letter written by the 
 Prince of Parma to the Bishop of Liege, 
 dated 24th of last month ; by the which, 
 among other things, doth appear, that 
 there Is yet some bloody purpose in hand 
 to be executed upon your Majesty's sa- 
 cred person, as by the same here incio«d 
 doth appear. ... It is signified by the 
 letter, that, although the exterior of the 
 treasons and practices plotted and con- 
 trived against your Ms^jesty be disco- 
 vered, yet the core and marrow thereof is 
 not as yet uncovered or known, whereby 
 your enemies doubt not but to achieve 
 in time their wicked and horrible pur- 
 poses against you." Wilkes to the 
 Queen, It Dec 1586. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 It can haitily excite surprise that the 
 Queen, receiving almost every week such 
 intimations out of the Spanish Nether- 
 lands of attempU against her life, should 
 desire to deal severely with seminary 
 priesta and their associates coming from 
 those regions. 
 
 I Yet strange to say. It was Lord 
 Buckhurat's opinion that the opponents 
 of the Catholic religion were but a small 
 minority of the Dutch people. - For the 
 commonwealth of these l»rov luces," wrote 
 that envoy. *• consisting of divers parts 
 •nd professions, as, namely, l^rotestants, 
 Puritans. Anabaptists, and Spanish hearts, 
 which are no small number, it la most 
 eerUin, that, dividing this in five parts, 
 the Protestants and Puritans do hardly 
 tnrtain «i«n one part in five; although 
 at this prejient, the Protestants and I>uri- 
 
 tans, by having their rule and sovereignty 
 in their hands, do wholly wage and com- 
 mand the captains and soldiers." Buck- 
 hurst to the Queen. 27 May, 1587. Printed 
 in • Cabala, or Mysteries of State,' p. 37. 
 
 And again, in a letter to Walsingham, 
 the same diplomatist remarks that the 
 real object of the revolt of the NVther- 
 landers was not to defend their relJgioug 
 but their civil freedom, and that Catholics 
 and lYotCitants were all united to that 
 end. " If her Majesty," he said. •♦ should 
 not only refuse the sovereignty, but not 
 give stifflcient aid. it is in a manner cer- 
 tain that the people, not being the fifth 
 man a Protestant, and not making their 
 war in truth for religion, but for their 
 country and liberty only, and to resist 
 the tyranny of the Spaniards, whose 
 hatred Is ingraft in the hearts of them all, 
 when they shall see her Mt^esty fail In 
 their defence, will turn and revolt to the 
 enemy." &C&C. Ibid., p. 11,13. 13 April, 
 
 1687. 
 
 These sweeping statements may not be 
 strictly accurate, but there Is no doubt 
 that Buckhurst was struck by the general 
 and growing feeling of mutual toleration 
 among the adherents to the various forms 
 of religion In Holland, and by the Instinct 
 which prompted the whole common- 
 wealth to strike for civil and religions 
 liberty in one. Compare Kluit, 'Holl. 
 Staatsreg,' ii. 360, who sUtes expressly 
 that the majority of every town and vil- 
 lage in the Provinces were. In heart, faith- 
 ful to the Roman Catholic religion. 
 
 1586. POLITICAL AMBITION OF THE CHURCH. 117 
 
 and the other Provinces, who liked not that these hard- 
 earned and lavishly-paid subsidies should be meddled 
 with by any but the cleanest hands. ^^aaiea 
 
 ,. .Jr^'^yu!^"": arrogated a direct influence in poli- 
 tical affairs Their demonstrations were opposed by the 
 anti-Leicestnans, who cared not to see a (Geneva tli^! 
 cracy m the place of the vanished Papacy Th^^^^^ 
 as httle reverence m secular affairs for C^vinistic dea 
 cons a.s for the college of cardinals, and would as soon 
 St '''%i^'^'f''''y -f Sixtus v/as that of iTeZn 
 in?.fi . The reformed clergy who had dispossessed and 
 confiscated the property of the ancient ecclesiastics who 
 once held a constitutional place in the Estates of Utrecht 
 -although many of those individuals were now manied 
 and had embraced the reformed religion— who had de- 
 molished and sold at public auction, for 12,300 florins.^ 
 the time-honoured cathedral where the earliest Chris- 
 tians of the Netherlands had worshipped, and St. WiUi- 
 brod had ministered, were roundly rebuked, on more 
 than one occasion, by the blunt Hollanders for meddUnff 
 with matters beyond their sphere.* 
 
 * Bor, ilL xxiil. 108. 
 
 « Ibid. 
 
 •• There Is a controversy." wrote Wilkes, 
 " within the town and province of Utrecht 
 (their estate being compounded of the 
 noblUty, clergy, and towns, contatalng 
 three several members) between the 
 towns and the clergy, whom the towns 
 have inhibited to appear any more In the 
 public assemblies, meaning to cass them 
 upon pretence that the clergy, their third 
 member, is ahhxlrance to their good pro- 
 ceedlngs. The nobility taketh part with 
 the clergy, and do not think It fit nor 
 agreeable with order or Justice that one 
 third member, Inferior to the other two, 
 should take upon him to depose the first 
 member, being the clergy, without the 
 authority of the sovereign governor or the 
 general assent of the Union. At the be- 
 ginning of the garboUe. it was thought 
 fit by this council to depute the Count 
 Moeurs, Mons. de Meetkerk, and Doctor 
 Hottman, persons of judgment, to hear 
 the controversy. ... and as they 
 were travailing to reduce them to an 
 •ocord. there came a letter to the captains 
 of the bourgeoisie of the town of Utrecht 
 
 (being the principal movers of this dis- 
 sension), written by Mr. Herle. by which 
 they have taken heart to persist obsti- 
 nately in their purpose, persuading them- 
 selves that their proceedings will be 
 avowed by her Majesty. And alb<"it this 
 letter do not directly touch the matter, 
 yet the large promises he maketh in her 
 Majesty's name of her absolute purpose to 
 embrace their cause. ' avec laplelne main,' 
 as he termeth it, hath been occasion that 
 they have uttered m public tjpeeches that 
 the letters of her Majesty's ambassador 
 Herle hath given them sufficient hope 
 that her Majesty will not mlsllke of their 
 doings in going about to banish Popery 
 out of that Province, which they make to 
 l>e a show and countenance of their 
 dealings: but, as 1 am Informed, the 
 most part of those that are of this ciergy, 
 and do hold the ecclesiastical livings, are 
 married and of the religion. And in 
 truth, as far as I can perceive, their quar- 
 rel is not against the jKirsons of the eccle- 
 siastics, because they are contented that 
 the persons shall continue in their assem- 
 blies, but agamst the livings, which they 
 mean to convert to some other uses. And 
 
118 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XII. 
 
 The party of the States-General, as opposed to the 
 Leicester party, was guided by the statesmen of Hol- 
 land. At a somewhat later period was formed the 
 States-right party, which claimed sovereignty for each 
 province, and by necessary consequence the hegemony 
 throughout the confederacy, for Holland. At present 
 the doctrine maintained was that the sovereignty for- 
 feited by Philip had naturally devolved upon the States- 
 General. The statesmen of this party repudiated the 
 calumny that it had therefore lapsed into the hands of 
 half-a-dozen mechanics and men of low degree. The 
 States of each Province were, they maintained, com- 
 posed of nobles and country- gentlemen, as reprenenting 
 the agricultural interest, and of deputies from the 
 " \Toedschappen," or municipal governments, of every 
 city and smallest town. 
 
 Such men as Adrian van der Werff, the heroic burgo- 
 master of Leyden during its famous siege, John Van der 
 Does, statesman, orator, soldier, poet, Adolphus Meet- 
 kerke, judge, financier, politician, Carl Eoorda, Noel de 
 Caron, diplomatist of most signal ability, Floris Thin, 
 Paul Buys, and Oldeh-Bameveld, with many others, 
 who would have done honour to the legislative assem- 
 blies and national councils in any country or any age, 
 
 althoogh. for mine own poor opinion, I 
 think the church-livings were most fitly 
 to be converted to the defence of the 
 public cause, yet the manner of the doing 
 thereof should be speedily prevented, for 
 all men of judgment here are of opinion 
 that If it be not stayed, it will hazard the 
 loss of the town, and consequently of the 
 whole Province. 1 am Informed that the 
 magistrates of Utrecht have despatched 
 towards my lord-general and her Majesty 
 one Herman Model, their chief minirft*'r, 
 to acquaint them with the matter, and to 
 make good their proceedings. The said 
 Mo«iet, by the report of M. de Villiers, the 
 minister, and Saravia, a great learned 
 preacher of Leyden, Is taken to be the 
 greatest mutyne in all these countries ; 
 and It Is avouched by them and others of 
 the beet condition that he was the only 
 occasion of the loss of Ghent, upon the 
 like matter iH'gun by him within the 
 town. Tue IMnce of Orange, In his time, 
 could never brook the strat Modet, and, 
 
 as the Count Maurice telleth me, he did 
 always oppose himself againtt the coun- 
 sel and designs of the Prince his father. 1 
 thought it not unfit to give you this taste 
 of the condition of Modet, because I 
 know that my Lord North, Mr. Killigrew, 
 and Mr. Webbe have greatly supported 
 hhn in his humours at Utrecht, and it is 
 not to be doubted that they will do the 
 like at home." Wilkes to Walslngbam, 
 Dec. 24, 1586. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 Such letters, written on the spot, by a 
 man thoroughly acquainted with Nether- 
 land politics, and the experienced faithful 
 representative of her Majesty in the 
 state-council, e.xplain the intrigues and the 
 instruments of the Leicestrian party. It 
 was by honest and lucid expositions like 
 these, that the writer Incurred the deadly 
 hatred of the Earl, and was In danger of 
 losing his life. (Compare Bor and Reyd, 
 tt6i tup. Le Petit, ii. xiv. 633. Wage- 
 naar, vill. 168.) 
 
 1586. ANTAGONISM OF THE CHL'RCH AND STATES. 119 
 
 were constantly returned as members of the different 
 vroedschaps in the commonwealth. 
 
 So far from its being true then that haJf-a-dozeu i^o^ 
 rant mechanics had usurped the sovereignty of the 
 Provinces, after the abjuration of the Spanish King, it 
 may be asserted in general terms, that of the eight hun- 
 dred thousand inhabitants of Holland at least eight 
 hundred persons were always engaged in the adminis- 
 tration of public affairs, that these individuals were 
 perpetually exchanged for others, and that those whoso 
 names became most prominent in the politics of the day 
 were remarkable for thorough education, high talents, 
 and eloquence with tongue and pen.^ It was acknow- 
 ledged by the leading statesmen of England and France, 
 on rq)eated occasions throughout the sixteenth century,' 
 that the diplomatists and statesmen of the Netherlands 
 were even more than a match for any politicians who 
 were destined to encounter them, and the profound 
 respect which Leicester expressed for these solid states- 
 men, these "substantial, wise, well-Ian guaged " men, 
 these " big fellows," so soon as he came in contact with 
 them, and before he began to hate them for outwitting 
 him, has already appeared. They were generally men 
 of the people, bom without any of the accidents of 
 fortune; but the leaders had studied in the common 
 schools, and later in the noble universities of a land 
 where to be learned and eloquent was fast becoming 
 almost as great an honour as to be wealthy or high 
 bom. ° 
 
 The executive, the legislative, and the judiciary de- 
 partments were more carefully and scientifically sepa- 
 rated than could perhaps have been expected in that 
 age. The lesser municipal courts, in which city-senators 
 presided, were subordinate to the supreme court of 
 Holland, whose officers were appointed by the stad- 
 holders and council ; the supplies were in the hands of 
 the States-Provincial, and the supreme administrative 
 authority was confided to a stadholder appointed bv 
 the States. 
 
 The States-General were constituted of similar mate- 
 rials to those of which the States-Provincial were 
 constructed, and the same individuals were generally 
 
 » Kluit, • Holl. Staatsregerlng,' 11. 203. 
 
120 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XI I. 
 
 promitient in both. They were deputies appointed by 
 the Fiovincial Estates, were in truth rather more like 
 diplomatic envoys than senators, were generally bound 
 very strictly by instructions, and were often obliged, by 
 the jealousy springing from the States-right principle, 
 to refer to their constituents, on questions when the 
 times demanded a sudden decision, and when the neces- 
 sary delay was inconvenient and dangerous. 
 
 In religious matters, the States-party, to their honour, 
 already leaned to a wide toleration. Not only Catholics 
 were not burned, but they were not banished, and very 
 large numbers remained in the territory, and were quite 
 undisturbed in religious matters within their own 
 doors. There were even men employed in public aifaiis 
 who were suspected of papistical tendencies, although 
 their hostility to Spain and their attachment to their 
 native land could not fairly be disputed. The leaders 
 of the States-party had a rooted aversion to any political 
 influence on the part of the clergy of any denomination 
 whatever. Disposed to be lenient to all forms of wor- 
 ship, they were disinclined to an established church, 
 but still more opposed to allowing church-influence in 
 secular affairs. As a matter of course, political men 
 with such bold views in religious matters were bitterly 
 assailed by their rigid opponents. Bameveld with his 
 ** nil scire tutissima fides," was denounced as a disguised 
 Catholic or an infidel, and as for Paul Buys, he was a 
 '' bolsterer of Papists, an atheist, a devil," as it has long 
 since been made manifest. 
 
 Nevertheless these men believed that they understood 
 the spirit of their country and of the age. In encourage- 
 ment to an expanding commerce, the elevation and 
 education of the masses, the toleration of all creeds, and 
 a wide distribution of political functions and rights, 
 they looked for the salvation of their nascent republic 
 from destruction, and the maintenance of the true 
 interests of the people. They were still loyal to Queen 
 Elizabeth, and desirous that she should accept the 
 sovereignty of the Provinces. But they were deter- 
 mined that the sovereignty should be a constitutional 
 one, founded upon and limited by the time-honoured 
 laws and traditions of their comonwealth ; for they re- 
 cognised the value of a free republic with an heredi- 
 
 1586. THE STATES INCLINED TO TOLERANCE. 121 
 
 tary chief however anomalous it might in theory 
 appear. They knew that in Utrecht the Leices- 
 tnan party were about to off-er the Queen the sove- 
 reignty of their Province, without conditions, but they were 
 determined that neither Queen Elizabeth nor any other 
 monarch should ever reign in the Netherlands, except 
 under conditions to be very accurately defined and well 
 secured. 
 
 .T,'^ vwif'''?*''^.'*^^' *^^''' ^^""^ *^^ *^^ g^eat parties in 
 the Netherlands, at the conclusion of Leicester's fir.t 
 year of administration. It may easily be understood 
 tnat It was not an auspicious moment to leave the 
 country without a chief. 
 
 yZtrA^'-^^^ ""I tl States-party lay in Holland, 
 Zeeland, Iriesland. The mainstay of the democratic 
 or Leicester faction was in the city of Utrecht, but the 
 Jl^arl had many partizans in Gelderland, Friesland, and 
 m Overyssel, the capital of which Province, the wealthy 
 and thriving Deventer, second only in the republic to 
 Amsterdam for commercial and political importance, 
 had been but recently secured for the Provinces bv the 
 vigorous measures of Sir William Pelham. 
 
 The condition of the republic and of the Spanish 
 Provinces was, at that moment, most signally contrasted. 
 It The effects of despotism and of liberty could ever be 
 exhibited at a single glance, it was certainly only ne- 
 cessary to look for a moment at the picture of the 
 obedient and of the rebel Netherlands. 
 
 Since the fall of Antwerp, the desolation of Brabant 
 I landers, and of the Walloon territories had become 
 complete. The King had recovered the great commer- 
 cial capital, but its commerce was gone. The Scheldt 
 which, till recently, had been the chief mercantile river 
 m the world, had become as barren as if its fountains 
 had suddenly dried up. It was as if it no longer flowed 
 ^ the ocean, for its mouth was controlled by Flushin"- 
 Thus Antwerp was imprisoned and pamlyzed ifs 
 docks and basins, where 2500 ships had once * been 
 counted, were empty, grass was growing in its streets. 
 Its industrious population had vanished, and the Jesuits 
 had returned in swarms. And the same spectacle was 
 presented by Ghent, Bruges, Valenciennes, Touniay 
 and those other fair cities, which had once been types 
 
122 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XH. 
 
 of vigorous industry and tumultuous life. The sea 
 coast was in the hands of two rising commercial powers, 
 the great and free commonwealths of the future. Those 
 powers were acting in concert, and commanding the 
 traffic of the world, while the obedient Provinces were 
 excluded from all foreign intercourse and all markets, 
 as the result of their obedience. Commerce, manufac- 
 tures, agriculture, were dying lingering deaths. The 
 thrifty farms, orchards, and gardens, which had been 
 a proverb and wonder of industry, were becoming wil- 
 dernesses. The demand for their produce by the opulent 
 and thriving cities which had been the workshops of 
 the world was gone. Foraging bands of Spanish and 
 Italian mercenaries had succeeded to the famous tramp 
 of the artizans and mechanics, which had often been 
 likened to an army, but these new customers were less 
 profitable to the gardeners and farmers. The clothiers, 
 the fullers, the tapestry-workers, the weavers, the 
 cutlers, had all wandered away, and the cities of Hol- 
 land, Friesland, and of England, were growing skilful 
 and lich by the lessons and the industry of the exiles to 
 whom they aiforded a home. There were villages and 
 small towns in the Spanish Netherlands that had been 
 literally depopulated. Largo districts of country had 
 gone to waste, and cane-brakes and squalid morasses 
 usurped the place of yellow harvest-fields. The fox, the 
 wild boar, and the wolf, infested the abandoned homes 
 of the peasantry ; children could not walk in safety in 
 the neighbourhood even of the larger cities ; wolves 
 littered their young in the deserted farm-houses ; two 
 hundred persons, in the winter of 1 586-7 were devoured 
 by wild beasts in the outskirts of Ghent.' Such of the 
 remaining labourers and artizans as had not been con- 
 verted into soldiers, found their most profitable employ- 
 ment as brigands, so that the portion of the population 
 spared by war and emigration was assisting the enemy 
 in preying upon their native country. Brandschtitzung, 
 burglary, highway-robbery, and murder, had become the 
 chief branches of industry among the working classes. 
 
 1 Bor. ii. xxU. 984. 985. Meiercn.xiv. "The bedsteads of the abandoned rot- 
 
 253. Hoofd, Vervolgh. 251. WaRenaar, tagea," says Meteren. " swarmed with 
 
 vUl. 224, 225. Van Wyn op Wagen, Utile wolves," ubi sup. 
 viiL67. 
 
 1586. DESOLATION OF THE OBEDIENT PROVINCES. 123 
 
 Nobles and wealthy burghers had been changed to 
 paupers and mendicants. Many a family of ancient 
 lineage, and once of large possessions, could be seen 
 begging their bread, at the dusk of evening, in the 
 streets of great cities, where they had once exerci.<^ed 
 luxurious hospitality ; and they often begged in vain.* 
 
 For while such was the forlorn aspect of the countr>^ 
 —and the portrait, faithfully sketched from many con- 
 temporary pictures, has not been exaggerated in any of 
 its dark details— a great famine smote the land with its 
 additional scourge. The whole population, soldiers and 
 brigands, Spaniards and Flemings, beggars and work- 
 men, were in danger of perishing together. Where the 
 want of employment had been so great as to cause a 
 rapid depopulation, where the demand for labour had 
 almost entirely ceased, it was a necessary result, that, 
 during the process, prices should be low, even in the 
 presence of foreign soldiery, and despite the inflamed 
 profits, which such capitalists as remained required, by 
 way not only of profit but insurance, in such troublous 
 times. Accordingly, for the last year or two, the price 
 of rye at Antwerp and Brussels had been one florin for 
 the veertel (three bushels) of one hundred and twenty 
 pounds ; that of wheat, about one-third of a florin more. 
 Five pounds of rj^e, therefore, were worth one penny 
 sterling, reckoning, as was then usual, two shillings to 
 the florin. A pound weight of wheat was worth about 
 one farthing.' Yet this was forty-one years after the 
 discovery of the mines of Potosi (a.d. 1545), and full 
 sixteen years after the epoch from which is dated that 
 rapid fall in the value of silver which, in the course of 
 seventy years, caused the average price of com and of 
 all other commodities, to be tripled or even quadrupled. 
 At that very moment the average cost of wheat in Eng- 
 
 * Bor, Meteren, Hoofd, Wagenaar. 
 
 ' A contemporary chronicler has pre- 
 served a droll medley of prices in the 
 Netherlands In the year 1548, but one 
 which, if accurate, furnishes a striking 
 instance of the low money-valuation of 
 the various necessaries of life, before the 
 great revolution In the value of sliver 
 imd begun. For one hundred and sixty 
 florins (\6l.) there were bcjught a last 
 (108 bushels, or 80 bushels English) of 
 
 wheat, a last of rye, a last of barley, a 
 last of oats, a quarter hundredweight of 
 butter, 300 pounds of lard, one hundreil 
 cheeses, a doublet, a pair of shoes, a bon- 
 net, a bag, a barrel of excellent beer, and 
 there were six stuyvers over for drink- 
 money. " And let this serve as a me- 
 morial," he piously observes, "of how 
 much the wrath of God and how much 
 his benignity can do for us." Met. xiv. 
 253. 
 
 *J1 
 
124 THE UNITED KETHERLANDS. Chap. XII. 
 
 W was sixty-four shniings |he qu^J^ ^fZl^ZZ 
 and sixpence sterling the bushel , »°°/° '°; ,5^^ ^^^ 
 Hollanl whi^h in |-^t^^ -f^ ^hea ^E^'gl-d - 
 pncos prevailed /^/'"?,^^^el, in Brussels, 
 equal therefore to eight busneisin Spanish 
 
 ^Thus the silver mines, ^^^ *./Xt everyvvhere 
 
 Kings. property, ^^^d produced ;he^f««^^^^ .^,^^ 
 
 more signally than within his obedeut ,^ 
 
 South American specie f«"°^ '^^ ^j ^his troops in 
 
 coffers, thence to the P*> ~^^°rcial centres of 
 Flanders, and thence *" the comme ^^ ^^^^ 
 
 Holland and England. Those coun re , 
 
 and obey the f-o"^ > VXdHy '0^"^: it to gilt- 
 were moving surely and "^i'y^" ^^mpled rapidity, 
 neas. Prices were rising ^'* "^^X a d^ug. a 
 the precious metals were <=fP'^^"^^4en dreamed 
 world-wide commerce, such as had ne>^r been a 
 
 of, had become an every-day <="°=°™'j*^%^ ..tools 
 sciences and a n^ostgenewus culture mfom^^^^^^^ 
 
 and universities, which had ^t^^^^^^^Z republic, 
 of tumult and Woodshed characterized ^he p ^^ ^ 
 
 and the golden age of English V^^' ^ ^ ^-.^^ 
 make the Elizatbethan era famous througn au 
 
 had already begun. ^^ , , , ,, „ „Bwlv.found trea- 
 
 In the f<^>^lJ^t^V^^r:7tS^r.e. in a 
 sure served to pay the oniy la ^ pikemen 
 
 Hubjugated -/d, almosyese^^^^^^^^ ^^.^^^ 
 
 of Spain and Italy, and the r^.^^^^^!^''' ^^^ o aetioDula- 
 coulS not sustain themselves in th face o^^ depoP^'^a^ 
 tion. Where tbere was no secnriTy ^" {^ Jf. , -" 
 home-market, no foreign interconi^e ^^^u^^^^^^^^^ 
 
 auits had become almost ^^^^^0^^%^^^^ ^^ pear 
 mand for labour had caused it, as itjere, to ?^ H 
 
 altogether. All men had ^^-^l^^l^^^^ ^^f^e were 
 soldiers. A tempor-y reac^^^^ ^^o^^^^ ^^^, ^, ,,,, 
 
 no producers. ^^^^^^^^^y.J; ."^^ Jl' ^as no harvest. A 
 had been planted, and that t^-^^J^^^>^^^,3 ^hen rose 
 famine was the inevitable lesuit. 
 
 1 Tables In MacCuUoch's edition of 
 Adam Smith, p. 117. 
 
 » Bor. Metcreu. A veertel is about 
 three bushels. A florin wan then always 
 reckoned at two shillings sterlmR. Ihe 
 price of a bushel of rye at Brussels aud 
 
 Antwerp was therefore eightpence ; that 
 of a bushel of wheat about one-llilrd 
 more say elevenpence, or seven and 
 four-pence for the quarter (eight bushels), 
 about an eighth or ninth of the price in 
 Eugland and Holland. 
 
 1586. 
 
 PAUPERISM AND FAMINE. 
 
 12.5 
 
 With most frightful rapidity. The veertel of ry^e, which 
 m the previous year had been worth one florin at 
 Brussels and Antwerp, rose in the winter of 1586-7 to 
 twenty, twenty-two, and even twenty-four florins ; and 
 wheat advanced from one and one-third florin to thirty- 
 two florins the veertel.* Other articles were propor- 
 tionally increased in market-value; but it is worthy 
 of remark that mutton was quoted in the midst of this 
 famine at nine stuyvers (a little more than nine-pence 
 sterling) the pound, and beef at five-pence, while a 
 single cod-fish sold for twenty-two florins.* Thus 
 wheat was worth sixpence sterling the pound weight 
 (reckoning the veertel of one hundred and twenty 
 pounds at thirty florins), which was a penny more 
 than the price of a pound of beef; while an ordinary 
 fish was equal in value to one hundred and six pounds 
 of beef. No better evidence could be given that the 
 obedient Provinces were relapsing into barbarism, 
 that the only agricultural industry then practised was 
 to allow what flocks and herds were remaining to 
 graze at will over the ruined farms and gardens, and 
 that their fishermen were excluded from the sea. 
 
 The evil cured itself, however, and, before the ex 
 piration of another year, prices were again at their 
 previous level. The land was sufficiently cultivated 
 to funiish the necessaries of life for a diminishing 
 population, and the supply of labour was more than 
 enough for the languishing demand. Wheat was again 
 at ten-pence the bushel, and other commodities valued 
 in like proportion, and far below the market-prices in 
 Holland and England.* 
 
 On the other hand, the prosperity of the republic 
 was rapidly increasing. Notwithstanding the war, 
 which had been raging for a terrible quarter of a cen- 
 tury without any interruption, population was in- 
 creasing, property rapidly advancing in value, labour 
 in active demand. Famine was impossible to a staf^ 
 which commanded the ocean. No com grew in Hol- 
 land aud Zeeland, but their ports were the granaiy of 
 
 » Bor, Meteren, HoofU, ubi sup. A the bushel for rye. and one-third more 
 
 ]!wi of rye is quoted by Meteren (xiv. or twenty-peven shillings— that is to 
 
 253 ) at HOO florins. A last Is equal to say. lOt. Us. the quarter, for wheat. 
 
 «0 bushels. English measure. This is « Bor. Hoofd, Meter«n, ubi sup. 
 
 just t«n florins, or one pound sterling, » Ibid. 
 
126 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. Xll. 
 
 il 
 
 of the world. The fisheries were a mine of wealth almost 
 equal to the famous Fotosi, with which the commercial 
 world was then ringing. Their commerce with the 
 Baltic nations was enoimous. In one month eight 
 hundred vessels left their havens for the eastern ports 
 alone. There was also no doubt whatever— and the 
 circnmBlance was a source of constant complaint and 
 of frequent ineffective legislation— that the rebellious 
 Provinces were driving a most profitable trade with 
 Spain and the Spanish possessions, in spite of their revo- 
 lutionar\' war. The mines of Peru and Mexico were as 
 fertile for the Hollanders and Zeelanders as for the 
 Spaniards themselves. The war paid for the war one 
 hundred large frigates were constantly cruising along 
 the coasts to protect the fast-growing traffic, and an army 
 of twenty thousand foot-soldiers and two thousand 
 cavalry were maintained on land. There were more 
 ships and sailors at that moment in HoUand and Zeeland 
 than in the whole kingdom of England.' 
 
 NN'hile the seaports were thus rapidly increasing in 
 importance, the towns in the interior was advancing as 
 steadily. The woollen manufacture, the tapestry, the 
 embroideries of Gelderland,and Friesland, and Overyssel, 
 wore becoming as famous as had been those of Toumay, 
 Ypres, Brussels, and Valenciennes. The emigration 
 from the obedient Provinces and from other countries 
 was very great. It was difficult to obtain lodgings in the 
 principal cities ; new houses, new streets, new towns, 
 were rising every day. The single Province of Holland 
 furnished regularly, for war-expenses alone, two millions 
 of florins (two hundred thousand pounds) a-year, be- 
 sides frequent extraordinary grants for the same pur- 
 pose ; yet the burthen imposed upon the vigorous young 
 commonwealth seemed only to make it the more elastic. 
 " The coming generations may see," says a contemporary 
 historian, '*the fortifications erected at that epoch in the 
 cities, the costly and magnificent havens, the docks, the 
 
 » Six years later it was asserted by the 
 magistrates of Amsterdam, in a commu- 
 nication made to the States-General, 
 •' that no one could doubt that in regard 
 to the mercantile marine and the amount 
 of tonnage, the Provinces were so far su- 
 ^;erlor to England tliat hardly any com- 
 
 parison could he made on the subject, 4c. 
 Koop vaardy-Schepen in Nederland a" 
 1593. Brief v. d. Burgemaasteren en 
 Raden der stad Amsterdam aan de 
 Staaten-Gencral." (Hague Archives, 
 MS.) 
 
 1586. 
 
 PROSPERITY OF THE REPUBLIC. 
 
 127 
 
 great extension of the cities ; for truly the war had become 
 a great benediction to the inhabitants "« 
 
 nrfr^ ^^F''f^^lT^ commonwealth as this was not a 
 Iwf 1 V^^*^^ ^^^'^^'^ ^^^y- There is no doubt 
 
 Z^^'Z \^^*^ ^^T ^^^J^"*^ ^^ *^^ inhabitants, and 
 ot the States by whom the people were represented 
 ardently and aff-ectionately desired to be annexed to ^e 
 Lnghsh crown. Leicester had become unpopular, but 
 ijlizabeth was adored, and there was nothing unre^on- 
 able in the desire entertained by the Provinces of retain- 
 ing their ancient constitutions, and of transferring their 
 allegiance to the English Queen. ^ 
 
 But the English Queen could not resolve to take the 
 step. Although the great tragedy which was swiftly 
 approaching its inevitable catastrophe, the execution of 
 tne Scottish Queen, was to make peace with Philip im- 
 possible—even if it were imaginable before— Elizabeth 
 during the year 1587, was earnestly bent on peace! 
 Ihis will be made manifest in subsequent pa^es, by an 
 examination of the secret correspondence of the court 
 Her most sagacious statesmen disapproved her course' 
 opposed it, and were often overruled, although never 
 convinced ; for her imperious will would have its way 
 
 Ihe States-General loathed the veiy name of peace 
 with Spam. The people loathed it. All knew that 
 peace with Spain meant the exchange of a thrivins: 
 prosperous commonwealth, with freedom of religion 
 constitutional liberty, and self-government, for provin* 
 cial subjection to the Inquisition and to despotism To 
 dream of any concession from Philip on the religious 
 point was ridiculous. There was a mirror ever held up 
 before their eyes by the obedient Provinces, in which 
 they might see their own image, should they too return 
 to obedience. And there- was never a pretence, on the 
 part of any honest adviser of Queen Elizabeth in the 
 Jj^etherlands, whether Englishman or Hollander, that 
 the idea of peace-negotiation could be tolerated' for a 
 moment by States or people. Yet the sum of the Queen's 
 policy, for the year 1587, may be summed up in one 
 word— peace ; peace for the Provinces, peace for herself, 
 with their implacable enemy. 
 
 In France, during the same year of expectation, we 
 
 1 Meteren, xiv. 25Cvt> 
 
 *1 
 
128 THE USITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XII. 
 
 y,.\\ «^ the Ion.' prologue to the tragic and memorable 
 ^^Irwlvena^Hng; the same triangular con est be- 
 
 ;feu th^ 'tTe He^k-rj-s and their partisans shl Ip.^ 
 iwebu lu. misguided and wittcueu 
 
 secretary ot state, lod^u^. extended m 
 
 tr.^Yo^a\if sC:o5S^^^^ 
 
 ^^■ttl^inTrvic^orr-- t wZg a^tago- 
 ^it S^ftS\uiU of victory p^^^^^^^^^^ 
 
 s^^fij^tis'in^rLS^iw^^^^^^^^^^ 
 
 parsimony .ai^j' in love, always cheerful, and 
 
 :S :onSt to oTwit the Guises and Philip. Parma 
 
 '"'iS'in'LCin we shall have occasion to look over the 
 wtluC as he sits ^»^>«f fS«cy f^th 
 
 --^sf s— ei uTtnTo ISJ^^^^^^ 
 Cl'ILrrylnZrdently as^iza^^^ 
 
 nt ISdC^d^eTrLmlt'irdeltruction of 
 with England ana ine ^^^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^ 
 
 Sir "... S S" S':.i^A-»it';K^;?; 
 
 80 thoroughly their party-contests. 
 
 1587. BARNEVELD'S IXFIUEXCE IN THE PROVINCES. 129 
 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Rumoure as to him and York Stiu^ r% I l/Iu,voctlon - Fal„ii,i 
 
 s:::ra.:'rS?::p~£4-"'~-™" 
 
 indignant Dis?u«ion In the A«e Jb^f ~ ""^ ''°'' *•''''«' "' ^""'^- 
 
 The government had not been laid doiv-n by Leicester 
 on his departure. It had been provisionally deSed 
 as already mentioned, to the statU>unciI. In this body 
 -consisting of eighteen pei^ons-originally appoi^^ 
 by the Earl on nomination by the States, se^veml mem 
 bers were friendly to the governor, and othere were 
 violently opposed to him. The States of Holland by 
 whom the action of the States-General was mainly 'cor^ 
 trolled, were influenced in their action by Buys and bTt 
 neveld. Young Maurice of Nassau, nineteen Tears of 
 age, was stadholder of Holland and Zeeland A florTd 
 complexioned, fair-haired young man, of sanguine biHo"s 
 temperament; reser^-ed, quie\ reflectivet sin<n^ ar"y 
 
 dtlL^ r^' ^??' *^* «PPell«tion of the taciturn; 
 discreet, sober, studious. " Count Maurice saith but 
 little, but I cannot tell what he thinketh," wrote Lei- 
 cesters eaves-dropper-in-chief.' Mathematics, foitifica- 
 '' tL ! 'r^°^^ of war-theso were his daily pureuits. 
 thlL^t""^ "^"^ *° ^""T ^^^ *'^^" and meantime 
 he fit li W P'-^Pa""? fo"- the great destiny which, 
 he felt, lay before h.m. To ponder over the works and 
 the daring conceptions of Stevinus, to build up and to 
 batter the wooden blocks of mimic citadels; to aiSnge! 
 
 \oT^ *° "'"""■ ^'"^'" ""'• °'"'"' ^- ^'- ""• ' *"'"• ='"• MS-) 
 
130 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XIII. 
 
 1587. 
 
 UNPOPULARITY OF LEICESTER. 
 
 131 
 
 > I, ) 
 > 
 
 n-" 
 
 in countless combinations great armies of pewter sol- 
 diers ; these were the occupations of his leisure-hours. 
 Yet he was hardly suspected of bearing within him the 
 germs of the great military commander. " Small desire 
 hath Count Maurice to follow the wars," said one who 
 fancied himself an acute observer at exactly this epoch. 
 ** And whereas it might be supposed that in respect of his 
 birth and place, he would affect the chief military com- 
 mand in these countries, it ia found by eocperience had of his 
 humour, that there is no chance of his entering into competition 
 with the others."^ A modest young man, who could 
 bide his time— but who, meanwhile, under the guidance 
 of his elders, was doing his best, both in field and cabi 
 net, to learn the great lessons of the age— he had already 
 enjoyed much solid practical instruction, under such a 
 desperate fighter as Hohenlo, and under so profound a 
 statesman as Bameveld. For at this epoch Olden-Bar- 
 neveld was the preceptor, almost the political patron of 
 Maurice, and Maurice, the official head of the Holland 
 party, was the declared opponent of the democratic-Cal- 
 vinist organization. It is not necessary, at this early 
 moment, to foreshadow the changes which time was to 
 bring. Meantime it would be seen, perhaps ere long, 
 whether or no it would be his humour to follow the 
 wars. As to his prudent and dignified deportment there 
 was little doubt. " Count Maurice behaveth himselt 
 very discreetly all this while," wrote one, who did not 
 love him, to Leicester, who loved him less: "He 
 Cometh every day to the council, keepcth no company 
 with Count Hollock, nor with any of them all, and never 
 drinks himself full with any of them, as they do every 
 day among themselves." * 
 
 Certainly the most profitable intercourse that Maurice 
 could enjoy with Hohenlo was upon the battle-field. In 
 winter-quarters, that hard-fighting, hard-drinking, and 
 most turbulent chieftain, was not the best Mentor for a 
 youth whose destiny pointed him out as the leader of a 
 free commonwealth. After the campaigns were over— 
 if they ever could be over — the Count and other nobles 
 from the same country were too apt to indulge in those 
 
 » Project for the Government of the « Otheman to Leicester, 16 Jaa 1587. 
 Provinces. (• Cabala,' p. 23.) (Brit Mus. Galba, C. xi. 99. MS.) 
 
 mighty potations, which were rather characteristic of 
 their nation and the age. 
 
 "Since your Excellency's departure," wrote Lei- 
 cester s secretary, "there hath been among the Dutch 
 *f^,?*i.^^*^^^g ^iit dancing and drinking, to the mef 
 of all this people, which foresee that there can come no 
 good of It. Specially Count Hollock, who hath been 
 drunk almost a fortnight together." * 
 
 Leicester had rendered himself unpopular with the 
 States-General, and with all the leading politicians and 
 generals ; yet, at that moment, he had deeply mort- 
 gaged his English estates in order to raise funds to ex- 
 pend m the Netlierland cause. Thirty thousand pounds 
 sterling— according to his own statement— he was al- 
 ready out of pocket, and, unless the Queen would 
 advance him the means to redeem his property, his broad 
 lands were to be brought to the hammer.* But it 
 was the Queen, not the States-General, who owed the 
 money ; for the Earl had advanced these sums as a por- 
 tion of the royal contingent. Five hundred and sixty 
 thousand pounds sterling had been the cost of one year's 
 war during the English governor's administration ; and 
 of this sum one hundred and forty thousand had been 
 paid by England.' There was a portion of the sum, 
 over and above their monthly levies, for which the States 
 had contracted a debt, and they were extremely desirous 
 to obtain, at that moment, an additional loan of fifty 
 thousand pounds from Elizabeth; a favour which Eliza- 
 beth was veiy firmly determined not to grant. It was 
 this terror at the expense into which the Netherland 
 war was plunging her, which made the English sove- 
 reign so desirous for peace, and filled the anxious mind 
 of Walsingham with the most painful forebodings. 
 
 Leicester, in spite of his good qualities— such as they 
 were — had not that most necessary gift for a man in his 
 
 » Otheman to Leicester, 7 Jan. 1587. 
 (Ibid. p. 72, MS.) 
 
 * • List of the Earl of Leicester's mort- 
 gages, to raise money spent in doing her 
 MiOesty service In the Low Coimtries.' 
 (S. P. Office, 1687, MS.) 
 
 There were five diflferent mortgages of 
 estates and manors in England, amountr 
 Ing In aU to 18,0001. " All tlie mortgages 
 
 above written are past redemption, ex- 
 cept on present payment of the due debts. 
 His Ix)rdship doth owe an infinite sum 
 besides for his expenses made in these 
 services, over and besides these debts." 
 
 » Wilkes to Walsingham, 12 Jan. 1587. 
 Same to Burghley, 12 Jan. 1587. (S. V, 
 Office MSS.) 
 
 K 2 
 
XOctf 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XHI. 
 
 1587. 
 
 INTRIGUES OF HIS SERVANTS. 
 
 133 
 
 \h 
 
 position, tlie art of making friends. No man made so 
 many enemies. He was an excellent hater, and few- 
 men have been more cordially hated in return. He was 
 imperious, insolent, hot-tempered. He could brook no 
 equal. He had also the fatal defect of enjoying the 
 flatteiy of his inferiors in station. Adroit intriguers 
 burned incense to him as a god, and employed him as 
 their tool. And now he had mortally offended Ho- 
 henlo, and Buys, and Bameveld, while he hated Sir 
 John Norris with a most passionate hatred. Wilkes, 
 the English representative, was already a special object 
 of his aversion. The unvarnished statements made by 
 the stiff counsellor, of the expense of the past year's ad- 
 ministration, and the various errors committed, had in- 
 spired Leicester with such ferocious resentment, that 
 the friends of Wilkes trembled for his life.^ Cordiality 
 
 1 " It is generally bruited here." wrote 
 Henry Smith to his brother-in-law 
 Wilkes, "of a most heavy displeasure 
 conceived by my Lord of Leicester 
 against you, and it is sal* to be so great 
 M that he bath protested to be revenged 
 of you ; and to procure you tbe more 
 enemies, it is said he hath revealed to my 
 Lord Treasurer and Secretary Davison 
 some injurious speeches (which I cannot 
 report) you should have used of them to 
 him at your last being with him. Fur- 
 thermore some of the said Lord's secre- 
 taries have reported here that it were 
 good for you never to return hither, or, 
 If their Lord be appointed to go over 
 again, it will be too hot for you to tarry 
 there. These things thus coming to the 
 ears of your fHends have stricken a great 
 fear and grief hito the minds of such as 
 love you, lest the wonderful force and 
 authority of this man being bent against 
 you, fehould do you hurt, while there is 
 none to answer for you." Smith to 
 Wilkes. 26 Jan. 1587. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 Wilkes immediately wrote to Lord 
 Burghley, indignantly denying that he 
 had cvtT spoken disrespectfully or iujuri- 
 ously of hiflii, as thus meanly reported of 
 him by Leicester. 
 
 " I do briefly assme your liordship," 
 he said, " which I will avow with mine 
 oath uixm the Holy Testamont, that I 
 am therein as falsely and ii^rlonsly 
 abased as ever was poor man, and, uiK>a 
 
 that protestation, I utterly deny that 
 ever I advised my Lord to beware of 
 yonr Ix>rdship, or of any counsellor at 
 your devotion, or that I ever used unto 
 him, or to any creature living, any vile, 
 uncivil, lewd, or undutiful term of your 
 Lordship. I trust In the observation you 
 have made of my conversation, serving 
 her Majesty a dozen years under your 
 wing, did never see that I was so indis- 
 creet as to speak irreverently of men of 
 your Lordship's place, and 1 hope you 
 have not found me so foolish as by such 
 lightness to draw myself into tlie hatred 
 of so great personages, to overthrow my- 
 self wilfully. I thank God I was never 
 so mad, and I might speak it without 
 vaunt, that there was no man in court 
 of my sort that had more good- will of 
 high and low than myself, before the 
 acceptance of this cursed and unfortunate 
 Journey, which, as I declared to your 
 Lordship at the beginning, will be, I 
 fear, the Cause of my ruin ; and then it 
 pleased you to give me this advice, that 
 I should serve her Majesty truly, and 
 refer the rest to God. Your Lordship 
 doth know the humours and disposition 
 of my great adversary better than I, and 
 can Judge thereof accordingly, which, 
 with silence, I will leave to plead for me 
 In your grave conceipt, together with the 
 unlikelihood that I, having no cause of 
 offence and landing you my good Lord, 
 and that I am not mad, or used to pre- 
 
 between the governor-general and Count Maurice had 
 become impossible. As for Willoughby and Sir William 
 Pelham, they were both friendly to him, but Willoughby 
 was a magnificent cavalry officer, who detested politics, 
 and cared little for the Netherlands, except as the best 
 battle-field in Europe, and the old marshal of the camp 
 — the only man that Leicest-er ever loved — was growing 
 feeble in health, was broken down by debt, and hardly 
 possessed or wished for any general influence. 
 
 Besides Deventer of Utrecht, then, on whom the Earl 
 chiefly relied during his absence, there were none to 
 support him cordially, except two or three members of 
 the state-council. "Madame de Brederode hath sent 
 unto you a kind of rose," said his intelligencer, " which 
 you have asked for, and beseeches you to conmiand any- 
 thing she has in her garden, or wheresoever. M. Meet- 
 kerke, M. Brederode, and Mr. Dorius, wish your return 
 with all their hearts. For the rest I cannot tell, and 
 will not swear. But Mr. Bameveld is not your very 
 great friend, whereof I can write no more at this 
 time." ' 
 
 This certainly was a small proportion out of a council 
 of eighteen, when all the leading politicians of the country 
 were in avowed hostility to the governor. And thus 
 the Earl was, at this most important crisis, to depend 
 upon the subtle and dangerous Deventer, and upon two 
 inferior personages, the *' fellow Junius," * and a non- 
 descript, whom Hohenlo characterized as a '* long lean 
 Englishman, with a little black beard." * This meagre 
 individual, however, seems to have been of somewhat 
 doubtful nationality. He called himself Otheman, 
 claimed to be a Frenchman, had lived much in England, 
 wrote with great fluency and spirit, both in French 
 
 cipitate myself in that manner, should in 
 any probability be so great an enemy to 
 niTself as to make your Lordship my foe 
 by any such levity. . . . Your Lord- 
 ship hath herein dealt with me according 
 to yourself, that you have not directly 
 condemned me before you heard me. . . . 
 If my adversary were as mean in quality 
 as myself, I would not doubt but by God's 
 grace and help, to make mine innocency 
 appear upon him with my hand." 
 Wilkes to Burghley, 17 Feb. 15»7. (S- 1*. 
 
 Office MS.) 
 
 Thus it appears that the Lord Trea- 
 surer's conduct towards the counsellor, who 
 had been taking his advice of " serving 
 her Majesty truly and referring the rest 
 to God,'' was as honourable as that of 
 Leicester was base. 
 
 > Otheman to Leicester, 16 Jan. 1537. 
 (MS. already cited.) 
 
 * Common expression of Hoheolp. 
 (Bor, iii. xxili. 2s.) 
 
 3 Bor, lU. MS. last cited. 
 
134 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XIH. 
 
 1587. 
 
 GOSSIP OF HIS SECRETARY. 
 
 135 
 
 and English, bnt was said, in reality, to be named 
 Kobert Dale.' 
 
 It was not the best policy for the representative of 
 the English Queen to trust to such counsellors at a 
 moment when the elements of strife between Holland 
 and England were actively at work ; and when the 
 safety, almost the existence, of the two commonwealths 
 depended upon their acting cordially in concert. 
 " Overyssel, Utrecht, Friesland, and Gelderland, have 
 agreed to renew the offer of sovereignty to her Majesty," 
 said Leicester. ** I shall be able to make a better re- 
 port of their love and good inclination than I can of 
 Holland."*- It was thought very desirable by the Eng- 
 lish government that this great demonstration should be 
 made once more, whatever might be the ultimate deci- 
 sion of her Majesty upon so momentous a measure. It 
 seemed proper that a solemn embassy should once more 
 proceed to England in order to confer with Elizabeth ; 
 but there was much delay in regard to the step, and 
 much indignation, in consequence, on the part of the 
 Earl. The opposition came, of course, from the Bame- 
 veld party. " They are in no great haste to offer the 
 sovereignty," said Wilkes. " First some towns of Hol- 
 land made bones thereat, and now they say that Zeeland 
 is not resolved." " 
 
 The nature and the causes of the opposition offered 
 by Bameveld and the States of Holland have been suffi- 
 ciently explained. Buys, maddened by his long and 
 unjustifiable imprisonment, had just been released by 
 the express desire of Hohenlo ; and that unruly chief- 
 tain, who guided the German and Dutch magnates, such 
 as Moeurs and Overstein, and who even much influenced 
 Maurice and his cousin Count Lewis William, was him- 
 self governed by Bameveld. It Would have been far 
 
 i 
 
 I Fowler to Burghley, 7 Oct 1589, In 
 Murdln'8 State Papers, p. 63d. 
 
 « Speech of Leicester to the deputies 
 of States-General, Just before his depar- 
 ture, Nov. 1586. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 *• The town of Utrecht," said Wilkes 
 ft few weeks later, ''doth dissent from 
 the rest of the provinces in the manner 
 of their sovereignty, who, seeming to he 
 best affected to her Majesty, do mean to 
 yield her the same as Charles V.cUd hotd 
 it, reserving only their printipal privi- 
 
 leges and religion, which the rest do not 
 intend to do, a» I can learn, who do pur- 
 pose to charge the same with many 
 strange eonditums. I would be glad to 
 know your honour's opinion of her Ma- 
 jesty's purpose therein, whereby 1 may 
 better direct my services here." Wilkes 
 to Walslngham. 19 Jan. 1587. (S. P. 
 Office MS.) 
 
 » Wilkes to Leicester, 24 Dec. 1588. 
 (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 from impossible for Leicester, even then, to conciliate 
 the whole paii^y. It was highly desirable that he should 
 do so, for not one of the Provinces where he boasted his 
 strength was quite secure for England. Count Moeurs 
 a potent and wealthy noble, was governor of Utrecht 
 and Gelderland and he had already begun to favour 
 the party in Holland which claimed for that Province a 
 legal jurisdiction over the whole ancient episcopate. 
 Under these circumstances common prudence would 
 have suggested that as good an understanding as pos- 
 sible might be kept up with the Dutch and German 
 counts, and that the breach might not be rendered quite 
 irreparable. ^ 
 
 Yet, as if there had not been administrative blunders 
 enough committed in one year, the unlucky lean Eng- 
 lishman with the black beard, who was the EarPs chief 
 representative, contrived— almost before his master's 
 back was tumed-to draw upon himself the wrath of all 
 the fine ladies in HoUand. That this should be the 
 direful spring of unutterable disasters, social and politi- 
 cal, was easy to foretell. ^ 
 
 Just before the governor's departure Otheman came 
 to pay his farewell respects, and receive his last com- 
 mands. He found Leicester seated at ehess with Sir 
 ± rancis Drake. 
 
 ** I do leave you here, my poor Otheman," said the 
 ±.arl, " but so soon as 1 leave you I know very well that 
 nobody will give you a good look." * 
 
 " Your excellency was a true prophet," wrote the secre- 
 tary a few weeks later, " for, my good Lord, I have 
 been in as great danger of my life as ever man was. I 
 have been hunted at Delft from house to house, and then 
 besieged m my lodgings four or five hours, as though I 
 had been the greatest thief, murderer, and traitor in the 
 land. 
 
 And why was the unfortunate Otheman thus hunted 
 K) his lair ? Because he had chosen to indulge in scan- 
 dalum ma^mtum, and had thereby excited the frenzy of 
 ^1 the great nobles whom it was most important for the 
 English party to conciliate. 
 
 There had been gossip about the Princess of Chimay 
 and one Calvaert, who lived in her house, much against 
 
 » otheman to Leicester, 29 Jan. 1587. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
136 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. Xlll. 
 
 1587. 
 
 ITS MISCHIEVOUS EFFECTS. 
 
 137 
 
 M 
 
 lu 
 
 the advice of all lior best friends. One day she com- 
 plained bitterly to Master Otheman of the spiteful ways 
 of the world. 
 
 ** I protest," said she, ** that I am the unhappiest lady 
 npon earth to have my name thus called in question." ^ 
 
 So said Otheman, in order to comfort her: "Your 
 Highness is aware that such things are said of all. I 
 am sure I hear every day plenty of speeches about lords 
 and ladies, queens and princesses. You have little cause 
 to trouble yourself for such matters, being known to live 
 honestly and like a good Christian lady. Your Highness 
 is not the only lady spoken of" 
 
 The Princess listened with attention. 
 
 " Think of t/ie stories about the Queen of England and my 
 Lord of Leicester !"* said Otheman, with infinite tact. 
 " No person is exempted from the tongues of evil 
 speakers ; but virtuous and godly men do put all such 
 foolish matter under their feet. Then there is the 
 Countess of Moeurs, how much evil talk does one hear 
 about her ! " 
 
 The Princess seemed still more interested and even 
 excited; and the adroit Otheman having thus, as he 
 imagined, very successfully smoothed away her anger, 
 went off to have a little more harmless gossip about the 
 Princess and the Countess, with Madame de Meetkerke, 
 who had sent Leicester the rose from her garden. 
 
 But, no sooner had he gone, than away went her 
 Highness to Madame de Moeurs, "a marvellous wise 
 and well-spoken gentlewoman and a grave,"* and in- 
 formed her and the Count, with some trifling exaggera- 
 tion, that the vile Englishman, secretary to the odious 
 Leicester, had just been there, abusing and calumniating 
 the Countess in most lewd and abominable fashion. He 
 had also, she protested, used " very evil speeches of all 
 the ladies in the country."* For her own part the 
 Princess avowed her determination to have him instantly 
 murdered.* Count Moeurs was quite of the same mind, 
 and desired nothing better than to be one of his execu- 
 tioners. Accordingly, the next Sunday, when the bab- 
 
 1 Otheman to Leicester, last cited. 
 
 « VM,—totidem. rtrbit. It is Bome- 
 what amusing to find. In a letter to Lei- 
 cester from his own secretary, these 
 allusions to the "scandal about Queen 
 
 Elizabeth." 
 
 * Leicester to Walslngham, in Bruce, 
 p. 217. 
 
 < Otheman to Leicester. MS. before 
 dted. • lUd. 
 
 bling secretary had gone down to Delft to hear the 
 French sermon, a select party, consisting of Moeurs, 
 Lewis William of Nassau, Count Overstein, and others, 
 set forth for that city, laid violent hands on the culprit, 
 and brought him bodily before Princess Chimay! 
 There, being called upon to explain his innuendos, he 
 fell into much trepidation, and gave the names of 
 several English captains, whom he supposed to be at 
 that time in England. " For if I had denied the whole 
 matter," said he, " they would have given me the lie, 
 and used me according to their evil mind." * Upon this 
 they relented, and released their prisoner, but, the next 
 day, they made another attack upon him, himted him 
 from house to house, through the whole city of Delft, 
 and at last drove him to earth in his own lodgings, where 
 they kept him besieged several hours. Through the 
 intercession of Wilkes and the authority of the council 
 of state, to which body he succeeded in conveying infor- 
 mation of his dangerous predicament, he was, in his own 
 language, " miraculously preserved," although remaining 
 still in daily danger of Jiis life. " I pray God keep me 
 hereafter from the anger of a woman," he exclaimed, 
 *' quia non est ira supra iram mulieris." * 
 
 He was immediately examined before the council, and 
 succeeded in clearing and justifying himself to the 
 satisfaction of his friends. His part was afterwards 
 taken by the councillors, by all the preachers and godly 
 men, and by the university of Leyden. But it was well 
 understood that the blow and the affront had been 
 levelled at the English governor and the English na- 
 tion. 
 
 "AH your friends do see," said Otheman, *' that this 
 disgrace is not meant so much to me as to your Excel- 
 lency ; the Dutch earls having used such speeches unto 
 me, and against all law, custom, and reason, used such 
 violence to me, that your Excellency shall wonder to 
 hear of it.*' ■ 
 
 Now the Princess Chimay, besides being of honour- 
 able character, was a sincere and exemplary member of 
 the Calvinist church, and well inclined to the Leices- 
 trians. She was daughter of Count Meghem, one of the 
 
 » Otheman to Leicester. MS. before » Otheman to Leicester, 1 Feb. 1587. 
 dted- » Ibid. (Brit. Mus. Galba, C. xl. 21 g. MS.) 
 
138 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XIH. 
 
 earliest victims of PhUip II., in the long tragedy of 
 Netherland independence, and widow of Lancelot Ber- 
 laymont. Count Moeurs was governor of Utrecht, and 
 by no means, np to that time, a thorough supporter of 
 the Holland party;* but thenceforward he went off 
 most abruptly from the party of England, became hand 
 and glove with Hohenlo, accepted the influence of Bar- 
 neveld, and did his best to wrest the city of Utrecht 
 from English authority. Such was the effect of the 
 
 secretary's harmless gossip. .^ , ,, - . , 
 
 " I thought Count Moeurs and his wife better friends 
 to your Excellency than I do see them to be," said 
 Otheman afterwards. "But he doth now disgiuce the 
 English nation many ways in his speeches— saying 
 that they are no soldiers, that they do no good to this 
 country, and that these Englishmen that are at Amheim 
 have an intent to sell and betray the town to the 
 
 "8 
 
 enemy. , , , , tt i i j 
 
 But the disgraceful squabble between Hohenlo and 
 
 Edward Norris had been more unlucky for Leicester 
 
 than any other incident during the year, for its result 
 
 was to turn the hatred of both parties against himself. 
 
 Yet the Earl, of all men, was originally least to blame 
 
 for the transaction. It has been seen that Sir Philip 
 
 Sidney had borne Norris's cartel to Hohenlo, very soon 
 
 after the outrage had been committed. The Count had 
 
 promised satisfaction, but meantime was desperately 
 
 wounded in the attack on Fort Zutphen. Leicester 
 
 afterwards did his best to keep Edward Norris employed 
 
 in distant places, for he was quite aware that Hohenlo, 
 
 as lieutenant-general and count of the empire, would 
 
 consider himself aggrieved at being called to the field 
 
 by a simple English captain, however deeply he might 
 
 have injured him. The governor accordingly induced 
 
 the Queen to recall the young man to England, and 
 
 » On the contrary, although Hohenlo 
 had been dotng his best to gain him, 
 having been drunk with him most con- 
 scientiously for a fortnight at a time, his 
 wife, who was his commanding ofiBcer, 
 had expressed aversion to the German 
 party, and great affection for that of Lei- 
 cester. " The Countess told me but yes- 
 terday," Otheman had written only a few 
 
 days before, " that her husband was not 
 so foolish as to trust him who had de- 
 ceived him so often, and that the toill 
 never permit her hxaband to go from the 
 party of England." Otheman to Leices- 
 ter, 16th Jan. 1587. (Brit Mus. Galba, 
 C. xl. p. 99. MS.) 
 
 > Otheman to Leicester. 1 Feb. 158T. 
 (MS. before cited.) 
 
 1587. THE QUARREL OF NORRIS AND HOLLOCK. I39 
 
 invited him-much as he disliked his whole race-to 
 ac^mpany him on his departure for that country. 
 
 Ihe Captain then consulted with his brother Sir 
 John regarding the pending dispute with Hohenlo. 
 His brother advised that the Count should be summoned 
 to keep his promise, but that Lord Leicester's permission 
 should previously be requested. 
 
 t:^/ week before the governor's departure, accordinglv 
 Edward Noms presented himself one morning in the 
 dining-room, and, finding the Earl reclining on a window- 
 seat, observed to him that " he desired his Lordship's 
 favour towards the discharging of his reputation." 
 ^^ The Count HoUock is now well,- he proceeded, 
 
 and 18 feasting and banqueting in his lodgings, 
 although he does not come abroad." 
 
 " And what way will you take ? " inquired Leicester, 
 
 considering that he keeps his house." 
 
 "'Twill be best, I thought," answered Norris, "to 
 write unto him to perform his promise he made me U 
 answer me m the field." 
 
 Ea^l"^^ ^^^°^ ^'^ ^^ ^^^^ *^^* promise ? » asked the 
 " To Sir Philip Sidney," answered the Captain. 
 
 To my nephew Sidney," said Leicester musingly • 
 very well ; do as you think best, and I will do for you 
 
 what I can." * "^ 
 
 And the governor then added many kind expressions 
 concerning the interest he felt in the young man's 
 reputation Passing to other matters, Norris then 
 spoke of the great charges he had recently been put to 
 by reason of having exchanged out of the States' ser- 
 vice in order to accept a commission from his Lordship 
 to levy a company of horse. This levy had cost him 
 and his friends three hundred pounds, for which he had 
 not been able to " get one groat." 
 
 •^q'^i.^®®^^ ^^"^ Lordship to stand good for me *• 
 said he ; ♦' considering the meanest captain in all the 
 country hath as good entertainment as I." 
 
 "I can do but little for you before my departure " 
 said Leicester; " but at my return I will advise to do 
 more. 
 
 M 
 
140 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XHI. 
 
 After this amicable conversation Norris thanked his 
 Lordship, took his leave, and straightway wrote his 
 letter to Count HoUock/ 
 
 That personage, in his answer, expressed astonish- 
 ment that Norris should summon him, in his " weak- 
 ness and indisposition;" but agreed to give him the 
 desired meeting, with sword and dagger, so soon as he 
 should be sufficiently recovered. Norris, in reply, 
 acknowledged his courteous promise, and hoped that he 
 might be speedily restored to health.* 
 
 The state-council, sitting at the Hague, took up the 
 matter at once, however, and requested immediate in- 
 formation of the Earl. He accordingly sent for Norris 
 and his brother Sir John, who waited upon him in his 
 bed-chamber, and were requested to set down in 
 writing the reasons which had moved them in the 
 matter. This statement was accordingly furnished, 
 together with a copy of the correspondence. The Earl 
 took the papers, and promised " to allow most honour- 
 ably of it in the Council." ' 
 
 Such is the exact narrative, word for word, as given 
 by Sir John and Edward Norris, in a solemn memorial 
 to the Lords of her Majesty's privy council, as well as 
 to the state-council of the United Provinces. A very 
 few days afterwards Leicester departed for England, 
 taking Edward Norris with him. 
 
 Count Hohenlo was furious at the indignity, notwith- 
 standing the polite language in which he had accepted 
 the challenge. *''Twa8 a matter punishable with 
 death," he said, " in all kingdoms and countries, for a 
 simple captain to send such a summons to a man of his 
 station, without consent of the supreme authority. It 
 was plain," he added, "that the English governor- 
 general had connived at the affront, for Norris had been 
 living in his family and dining at his table. Nay, more : 
 Lord Leicester had made him a knight at Flushing just 
 before their voyage to England." * 
 
 1 Edward Norris to the Lords, 28 July. 
 1687. Sir John Norris to Walsingham, 
 same date. (S. P. Office MS3.) 
 
 " Edward Norris to Leicester, (the cor- 
 respondence with Hohenlo enclosed), 
 Nov. 1586. (S. P. Office MS.) Compare 
 Bmce's ' Leyc Corresp.,' Appendix, 474, 
 475. Remooatrance of Count Hohenlo to 
 
 the States-General, 3 Dec. 1587, apud 
 Bor, ill. xxllL 121-129. Reyd, v. 80, 81. 
 
 * E. Norris to the Lords. J. Norris to 
 Leicester. (MSS. before dted.) E. Norrte 
 to Leicester, 21 Nov. 1586. (S. P. Office 
 MS.) 
 
 * Remonstrance of Hohenlo, before 
 cited. Hoofd Vervolgh, 209. 
 
 1587. THE EARL'S PAKTICIPATION IN THE AFFAIR. 141 
 
 There seems no good reason to doubt the general 
 veracity of the brothers Norris, although, for the express 
 purpose of screening Leicester, Sir John represented at 
 the time to Hohenlo and others that the Eari had not 
 been privy to the transaction.* It is very certain, how- 
 ever that so soon as the general indignation of Hohenlo 
 and his partizans began to be directed against Leicester 
 he at once denied, in passionate and abusive laneuage' 
 havmg had any knowledge whatever of Norris's inten- 
 tions. He protested that he learned, for the first time 
 of the cartel from information furnished to the council 
 of state. 
 
 The quarrel between Hohenlo and Norris was after- 
 wards amicably arranged by Lord Buckhurst, during his 
 embassy to the States, at the express desire of the 
 gueen Hohenlo and Sir John Norris became very 
 good friends, while the enmity between them and Lei- 
 cester grew more deadly every day. The Eari was 
 trantic with rage whenever he spoke of the transaction 
 and denounced Sir John Norris as "a fool, liar, and 
 coward on all occasions, besides overwhelming his 
 brother, Buckhurst, Wilkes, and every other person 
 who took their part, with a torrent of abuse ; and it is 
 well known that the Eari was a master of Billingsgate * 
 
 " Hollock says that I did procure Edward Norris to 
 send him his cartel," observed Leicester on one occa- 
 sion, "wherein, I protest before the Lord, I was as 
 Ignorant as any man in England. His brother John 
 can teU whether I did not send for him to have com- 
 mitted him for It; but that, in very truth, upon the 
 perusing of it (after it had been sent), " it was very 
 reasonably written, and I did consider also the great 
 wrong ofifered him by the Count, and so forbore it I 
 was so careful for the Count's safety after the brawl 
 
 1 " For all this I wlH assure yon that 
 I did always, both to the Council, the 
 States, and Count Hollock, confidently 
 deny [i. e. maintain] that my Lord knew 
 not of it, because they should not for 
 this matter have any advantage against 
 his Lordship " Sir John Norris to Sir 
 F. Walsingham, before cited. 
 
 The two negatives do not here make 
 an affirmative; but it Is evident that 
 Leicester made great use of this 
 
 damaging denial on the part of Norris. 
 
 2 J. Norris to Walsingham, 14 March, 
 1587. Same to same, 3 June. 1587' 
 (S. P. Office MSS.) 
 
 "The best is, such tales can no more 
 irritate my Lord's anger against me," 
 said sir John; for since he afBnneth 
 that I am a fool, a coward, and a 
 hinderer of all these services, I know 
 not what more he can be provoked 
 
142 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS, 
 
 Chap. XIII. 
 
 M 
 
 t ' i: 
 
 between him and Norris, that I charged Sir John, if 
 any harm came to the Count's person by any of his or 
 under him, that he should answer it. Therefore, I take 
 the story to be bred in the bosom of some much like a 
 thief or villain, whatsoever he were." * 
 
 And all this was doubtless true bo far as regarded the 
 Earl's original exertions to prevent the consequences of 
 the quarrel, but did not touch the point of the second 
 correspondence preceded by the conversation in the 
 dining-room, eight days before the voyage to England. 
 The affair, in itself of slight importance, would not 
 merit so much comment at this late day had it not been 
 for its endless consequences. The ferocity with which 
 the Earl came to regard every prominent German; 
 Hollander, and Englishman, engaged in the service of 
 the States, sprang very much from the complications of 
 this vulgar brawl. Norris, Hohenlo, Wilkes, Buck- 
 hurst, were all denounced to the Queen as calumniators, 
 traitors, and villains ; and it may easily be understood 
 how grave and extensive must have been the effects of 
 such vituperation upon the mind of Elizabeth,* who, 
 until the last day of his life, doubtless entertained for 
 the Earl the deepest affection of which her nature was 
 susceptible. Hohenlo, with Count Maurice, were the 
 acknowledged chiefs of the anti-English party, and the 
 possibility of cordial co-operation between the countries 
 may be judged of by the entanglement which had thus 
 
 occurred. 
 
 Leicester had always hated Sir John Norris, but he 
 knew that the mother had still much favour with the 
 Queen, and he was therefore the more vehement in his 
 denunciations of the son, the more difficulty he found in 
 entirely destroying his character, and the keener 
 jealousy he felt that any other tongue but his should 
 influence her Majesty. " The story of John Norris 
 about the cartel is, by the Lord God, most false," he 
 exclaimed ; ** I do beseech you not to see me so dealt 
 
 I lieloester to Buckhuret, 30 April, 1 587 . 
 Same to Walslngham, 4 Aug. 1&87. 
 (S. P. Office MSS.) 
 
 ^ Kg. " The lies which Lord Buck- 
 huret, Sir J. Norrig. and Wilkes, did wtth 
 their malicious wits and slanderous tongues 
 devise and utter," wrote Leicester t© the 
 
 Privy Council, " concern my honour and 
 my life, 1 demand that I, being found 
 clear, and they to have slandered me, 
 may have that remedy against them 
 which 18 in Justice due." Leicester to the 
 Privy Council, 19 Aug. 16a7. (S. P. 
 Office MS.) 
 
 1587. HIS INCREASED ANIMOSITr TO NORRIS. 143 
 
 withal, but that especially her Majesty may understand 
 these untruths, who perhaps, by the mother^ s fair speeches 
 and tliesmi s smooth words, may take some other conceit of 
 my doings than I deserve.'' » 
 
 He was most resolute to stamp the character of false- 
 hood upon both the brothers, for he was more malignant 
 towards Sir John than towards any man in the world 
 not even excepting Wilkes. To the Queen, to the 
 Lords of the Trivy C'ouncil, to Walsingham, to Burg-hlev 
 he poured forth endless quantities of venom, enouo-h to 
 destroy the characters of a hundred honest men. 
 
 " Ihe declaration of the two Norrises for the cartel is 
 most false, ^ I am a Christian," he said to Walsingham. 
 1 nave a dozen witnesses, as good and some better 
 than they who will testify that they were present when 
 1 misliked the writing of the letter before ever I saw 
 It. And by the allegiance I owe to her Maiesty I 
 never knew ^ the letter, nor gave consent to it, nor 
 neard ol it till it was complained of from Count HoUock 
 Jtiut, as they are false in this, so you will find J. N. as 
 talse in his other answers ; so that he would be ashamed 
 but that his old conceit hath made him past shame, I 
 lear. His companions in Ireland, as in these countries 
 report that Sir John Norris would often say that he was 
 but an a^s and a fool, who, if a lie would serve his. turn, would 
 spare it. I remember I have heard t^iat the Earl of Sussex 
 would say so ; and indeed this gentleman doth imitate him in 
 divers things.'** 
 
 1 Leicester to Burghley, 11 Sept 15R7. 
 (S. P. Office MS.) Themt'ddlingOtbeman 
 seems to have made himself privately 
 very busy in this affair. He sent Lei- 
 cester copies of the letters written by the 
 brothers Norris, and declared that he was 
 "enticed by them. In the Earl's absence, 
 to become a forger and liar In this 
 matter, but utterly refused." MS. last 
 cited. 
 
 2 Leicester to Walsingham, 12 Aug. 
 1587. (S. P. Office MS.) To the Lord 
 Treasurer the Earl took pains to narrate 
 the whole story, with much emphasis, 
 and in minute detail ; and it is important 
 to lay it before the reader, as an oflTset to 
 the simple and apparently truthful nar- 
 rative of Edward Norris, because such 
 intimate revelaUous indicate to U3 the 
 
 really trifling springs of numerous great 
 events. As before observed, the affair in 
 itself is one which history should Justly 
 disdain, but It swells into considerable im- 
 portance, both on account of its extensive 
 results, and from the light which it 
 throws on the character of Leicester, the 
 most important personage, during his 
 lifetime, in the whole kingdom of Eng- 
 land. 
 
 '• Would God," said I^elcester to Burgh- 
 ley. " that it had pleased her M^esty to 
 have suffered my Lord Buckhurst and Sir 
 John Norris to have gone on with their 
 plot, for they laid a most malicious plot 
 against me. As for the answer that Sir 
 John Norris and his brother have made 
 touchhig their acquainting me with the 
 cartel to Count UoUock, thus made now 
 
144 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XITI. 
 
 But a veiy ^rave disaster to Holland and England 
 was soon the fruit of the hatred borne by Leicester to 
 
 1587. 
 
 SEIZURE OF DEVENTER. 
 
 to your lx)rdshtp, if ever I knew or h«?ard 
 any news of this cArtel tiil complaint 
 came to me from the Count. I renounce 
 my allegiance and fidelity to my Sovereign 
 Lady. 'ITierefore mark the arrogant bold- 
 ness of those young fellows that will face 
 a He of that sort. But I have here Sir 
 William Pelham and Sir William Russell, 
 Ijesides others tliat were present when I 
 calle«i Sir John to me, and threatened to 
 lay his brother by the heels, and himself 
 too, if he were privy to it. , He then be- 
 sought me to hear his brother and xo see 
 the letters, assuring me there was no such 
 cartel as was reported. I commanded him 
 to give me the copy of his letups, and 
 bring it to me. Meanwhile, I was gone 
 to the council, and whilst we were at 
 council, an hour or two after, Etlward 
 Norris sent me his letters, which I took 
 to Wilkes before 1 did so much as look 
 into them. Being openly read there, we 
 did Indeed perceive so direct a airtel as 
 could be made, and divers of the council 
 matle the best of it, and so did I, declar- 
 ing what the gent. was. Yet did I then 
 declare to them all what order I had taken 
 for Norris, that he should go with me to 
 England, and that her Majesty had also 
 sent for him, protesting to your Lordships, 
 by all faith, honour, and truth, that 
 neither the one nor the other did dare to 
 use those speeches that they have set 
 down ; saving that one of the scr\ants of 
 Sir John Norris came to me, hearing that 
 his brother should go over, to know how 
 his credit should be saved with the 
 Count Hollock, touching the disgrace he 
 was In, with such like words. I answered, 
 •The Count Hollock Is now sick and sore, 
 and it were no honesty for Sir John's 
 brother to offer him any quarrel. Be- 
 sides, I will not suffer it, so long as I am 
 here, and Wward Norris is commanded 
 to go into llngland. No doiibt the Count 
 will rertiemljer his promisf, which— as 
 Sir John Norris had told me— was, that 
 when the camp was broken up, he tnll 
 answer his brother in the field like a gen- 
 tleman: Never was there more— never 
 did any of iheni tell me of any cartel to 
 be sent— never did any speak with me at 
 De venter. 
 
 Besides, after 1 was gone, lying on 
 shipboard at Brill, Edward Norria being 
 
 then In ship with me, there came a mes- 
 senger from the Count Hollock, with a 
 letter to me, about midnight. This mes- 
 senger was only to let me know of the 
 Count's having received such letters and 
 brags from Norris, and that now he began 
 to amend, Norris, as he heard, was gone 
 away with me into England. He mar- 
 velled much he would do so, and sent his 
 messenger to see if it were so. I answered 
 him. It was so, for the gentleman. Sir 
 Edward Norris, lay th«^e asleep, and he 
 was to go into England by her Majesty's 
 express ccmimandment. For my part, I 
 said, I was willing also to carry him with 
 me, for that I would be loth to leave any 
 occasion behind me of trouble or discord, 
 knowing already some mislike to be be- 
 tween his brother John and the Count. 
 This was my answer. Now, Judge how 
 likely these tales be that I would con- 
 sent that Norris should send a cartel, 
 and yet take him away when he should 
 perform the matter. Either he must show 
 to be a coward, or else, if he were in 
 earnest, he must seem to be angry with 
 me for taking him away. If ever there 
 were other speeches, either by the one 
 Norris or the other, or if ever I knew of 
 his cartel, directly or indirectly, more than 
 your lx)rdship that was in England, till 
 the complaint came to me of it, I am 
 the falsest wretch that lives. If I had 
 liked of their quarrels or cartels, there 
 was means enough for me to leave them 
 to their own revenge. 1 have troubled 
 your lordship too long with this trifle, 
 but you should know the shameless au- 
 dacity of these young fellows, whose 
 cunning sly heads you had need look 
 into.' Leici-ster to Burghlcy, 12 Aug. 
 1587. (Br. Mus. Galba, 1). I. 240, MS.) 
 Thus the November letter was not 
 seen by Leicester before it was sent, al- 
 though he was aware that It was to be 
 sent, and in that circumstance seemed to 
 reside the whole strength of his case. So 
 soon as it appeari>d that the state-council 
 was angry, and that the Count considered 
 himself outraged, the Earl seems to have 
 taken advanti\ge of a subterfuge, and to 
 have made up by violence wliut he lacked 
 in argument. 
 
 It is difficult to imagine a more paltry 
 affair to occupy the atteutiou of grave 
 
 145 
 
 tmd« of tl.f^v^v.''' .''"^ ^^^ S'-*^"* centre of the internal 
 
 tiacy were disposed to side with Parma It w,« 
 notorious that provisions and munitions Tere suLl «1 
 
 &;^^^ss^Sin^?^ 
 
 ordered the magistmtes to present then'elv ; foSth 
 
 them a S.l^M ""'*"'■ ^^T*^ ^'"^'"^^ fro« '"''king 
 Sir Philln Sidn^ - !'"^ ''^^'' ^"' Sriof at the death ol 
 
 lL disaster H^^V ° l?'"'' T f "i" '"'^' ^^^ ««<->«« of 
 reaui,t tint H'^^^cellency had therefore sent him to 
 lequno the to^vn to receive an English s-arrison " 4^ 
 make up your minds, and delay ^not/'^^lid P^Iham- 
 tor I have many important aflairs on mv liands p,!!,! 
 must send word to his Excelleney at onee^ Tomorrow 
 
 "TeK If °'^'?f ■ } ^•^"11 -P-' our rw"°" 
 town ^... ^ 'w """gi^t'-ates were all assembled in the 
 town-house before six. Stanley had filled the "reat 
 square with his troops, but he found that the burghers 
 -five thousand of whom constituted the muniVinil 
 mil.tia-had chained the streets and locked Z Sk " 
 
 ^nd'^i^ir ° tl"^ '^^"^"" ^'^'"'''^'^ to the town 4,^:- 
 and. followed by his train, made his appearance bS 
 
 VOL. II Leycester Correspondence,' 478-480. 
 
 L 
 
146 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XIH. 
 
 the magisterial board. Tlien there was a knocking at 
 the door, and Sir William Stanley entered, having 
 left a strong guard of soldiers at the entrance to the 
 
 "I am come for an answer," said the Lord Marshal ; 
 «'tell me straight." The magistrates hesitated, whispered, 
 and presently°ono of iheni slipped away. ^ ^^ . . 
 
 "There's one of you gone," cried the Mai-shal. 
 ** Fetch him straight back ; or, by the living God be- 
 fore whom I stand, there is not one of you shall leave 
 
 this place with life." , -^ v ^ 
 
 So the burgomasters sent for the culprit, who re- 
 turned. „ - 1 ^i,- 
 "Now, tell me," said Telham, "why you have, this 
 ni"-ht, chained your streets and kept such strong watch 
 while your friends and defenders were in the town . 
 Do you think we came over here to spend our lives and 
 our goods and to leave all we have, to be thus used 
 and thus betrayed by you? Nay, you shall find us 
 trusty to our friends, but as politic as yourselves. ^ ow, 
 then, set your hands to this document," he proceeded 
 as he gave them a new list of magistrates, all selected 
 from stanch Protestants. 
 
 " Give over your government to the men here nomi- 
 nated. Straight ; dally not ! " 
 
 The burgomasters signed the paper. 
 "Now," said Telham, "let one of you go to the 
 watch, discharge the guard, bid them unarm, and go 
 home to their lodgings." 
 
 A magistrate departed on the errand. ,,_,,, 
 
 " Now fetch me the keys of the gate," said Pelham, 
 and that straightway, or, before God, you shall die." 
 
 The kevs were brought, and handed to the peremptory 
 old Marshal. ITie old board of magistrates were thtii 
 clapped into prison, the new ones instalk-d, and 
 Deventer was gained for the English and rrotestuut 
 
 ^^There could be no doubt that a city so important and 
 thus fortunately secured was woi-thy to be well guarded. 
 lliere could be' no doubt either that it would be well to 
 conciliate the rich and intluential Papists in the place, 
 who, although attached to the ancient religion, were 
 
 I l/tter of Ilenrj- Archer, &c., Just cited. 
 
 1587. 
 
 STANLEY APPOINTED ITS GOVERNOR. 
 
 147 
 
 Sir William was a cadet of one of the noblest Fn<.l,M, 
 houses He was the bmvest of the brave Hi?LlS 
 
 ^n^m neaiiy all had performed wondrous ovr^l^i^c i. 1 
 Was It stmnge that there should be im, m^ at tL 
 
 the service of the republic " Tf .oif omeily tioops m 
 
 vui TO i^mzil. Moreover, they were ill Var^^^i. o i 
 
 STuCS l: -''''' ]^ dVedt eeTu^ ^t 
 ^■TJ^Tt i ^^'''. 'cl'S'ous intolerance-whioh 
 
 Detti as in those of Philip-it was certainly a most fafcil 
 pohcy to place such a garrison, at that criticaMunctnre 
 b,n i^ newly-acquired city. Yet Leicester, il o M 
 
 iJevenL^ ' ^^'"'^ """"^ ""^""""^ Catholics in 
 
 Zutphen, which was still besieged by the Ecglish 
 
 'IbU. vill. 196. Mettn.n..xlv.250 
 
 L 2 
 
 A 
 
143 THE UNITED NETHERLASDS. Chap. XIII. 
 
 and the patriots, was much crippled by the loss of the 
 S^eat foil the capture of which, mainly through the 
 Sant valour of Stanley's brother Edward, has already 
 been related. The possession of Deventer and of th,s 
 fort <4ve Uie control of the whole north-eastern territory 
 to the patriots ; but, as if it were not enough to place 
 )oventer in the hands of Sir William Stanley Leicester 
 thought proper to confide the Sf^.^^'^'^f, t*l^^«,.^/* ?^ 
 Rowland York. Not a worse choice could be made m 
 
 ^^YoAwaHn" adventurer of the most audacious and 
 dissolute character. He was a Londoner by birth, one 
 ofThose "ruffling blades" inveighed against by o 
 "ovemor-gcneral on his first taking command of the 
 forces A man of desperate courage, a gambler, a pru- 
 Snal duellist, a bU famous in his time among 
 the " common hacksters and swaggerers as the fii f.t to 
 ntroduce the custom of foining, or thrusting with the 
 ^^er in single combats-whereas before h>s day it 
 had been customary among the English to fight with 
 sword a»d shield, and held unmanly to strike below 
 the^dlo'-he had perpetually changed sides in the 
 Netheriand wars, with the shameless disregard to prin- 
 ciple which chamcterized all his actions. He had been 
 Iteutenant to the infamous John Van I mbyze and had 
 been concerned with him in the notorious attempt to 
 surLdor Dendermonde and Ghent to the enemy, which 
 hTd cost that traitor his head. York had been throvvii 
 into prison at Brussels, but there had been some delay 
 S his execution, and the conquest of *« «ty ^y 
 Parma saved him from the gibbet. He had then taken 
 service under the Spanish commander-in-chief, and had 
 distincuished himself, as usual, by deeds of extia- 
 oiSy valour, having sprung on board the burning 
 vScaMship at the siege of Antwerp. Subsequently 
 Jetumhit t'o England, he had, on Leicester's appomt- 
 menrobtained the command of a company m the 
 English contingent, and had been consi„cuous on the 
 SofWamsveld; for the courage which he always 
 dispkyed under any standard was only equalled by the 
 
 audacUrwith which t\ ^^^7^^ ""fL*" ot'/'i^tnh °u 
 it. Bid it seem credible that the fort of /utphcu 
 
 should be placed in the hands of llowland York? 
 
 1 CMtdcn, iU. 397. Baker's 'Chromclc.' 375. 
 
 1587. 
 
 YORK AND STANLEY. 
 
 149 
 
 .n!i u-^r*"'' T'® "•■^'^'^ ^y *l^e States-General at 
 once. With regard to Stanley, Leicester maintained 
 that he was, m his opinion, the fittest man to take cC'o 
 of the whole Enghsb anny, during his absence in Eng- 
 land. In answer to a petition made by the Statls 
 against the appointment of York, "in respect o his pei' 
 fidious dealings before," the Earl replied that he w.S 
 answer for his fidelity as for his own brother all 
 pei^mptonly " Do you t.nist me ? Then trust York "" 
 «nt, besides his other qualifications for high command 
 Stanley possessed an inestimable one in Leicester's e cs 
 
 iNoiris. To be this made a Papist pardonable. It was 
 even bettor than to be a Puritan. 
 
 v.^r* ^^''J^'^ ^'-^ """^ ^^'^ *o ''PPoint the traitor 
 T^orkandtho Papi.st Stanley to these important pos^ 
 On the very day of his departure, and ininediatelv after 
 his final quarrel w th Sir John about the HohenloiarteT, 
 which had renewed all the ancient venom, he si<nied a 
 secret paper, by which he especially forbade the Council 
 ot state to interfere with or set aside any appointments 
 to the government of towns or forts, or to invoke any 
 inihtai-y or naval commissions, without his consent '' 
 tn t^r ^"IT""'' <=-^?,'^"t've authority had been delegated 
 to the state-council by the Govemor-Geneml during 
 his absence Command in chief over all the Eno-lish 
 forces, whether in the Queen's pay or the States' mv. 
 had been conferml upon Nonis, while command iver 
 
 W ^"**''./"'^,^*l™"" t'°0P« belonged to Hohenlo : 
 but by virtue of the Eari's secret paper, Stanley and 
 lork were now made independentof all authority. The 
 evil consequences natural to such a step were not slow 
 m displaying themselves. 
 
 Stanley at once manifested great insolence towards 
 ^x orris. J hat distinguished general was placed in a 
 most painfu position. A post of immense responsibility 
 was confided to him. The honour of Englai' d's Queen 
 fincl ot England s soldiers was entnistcd to his keepin<r 
 at a moment full of danger, and in a country where evei y 
 Ju'ur might bring forth some terrible change; yet ho 
 knew himself the maik at which the most powerful man 
 
 (s'p*0ffl«MJT"'""'" •''■"• ""• '■""••28J-™-15l"- (S. P. Offico MS.) 
 
 i^.M. s.r.„i.u„„y.o w».,„6. ,;7.*'^;^i^!!-^:;.:„r.»»;'''":-"^ 
 
 n 
 
150 
 
 THE UN-ITED KKTHERLANDS. 
 
 CHAr. XIII. 
 
 1587. LKICESTER'S SECRET INSTRUCTIONS. 
 
 151 
 
 iu England was directing all Ins malice and that tLe 
 Oueen; who was wax in her great favourite s hands, was 
 even then receiving the most fatal impres.sions as to his 
 character and conduct. "Well I know," said he to 
 Burghloy, " that the root of the former malice boino 
 me I not withered, but that 1 must look for like frm s 
 therefrom as before ;" > and he implored the Lo'^-^ea- 
 Mirer, that when his honour and reputation should be 
 called in que.stion, he might be '^U^^^^d,,*" .'/"'". ^» 
 England and clear himself. " For myse f said he I 
 ha °e not yet received any commission, although I ha^ o 
 attended his Lordship of Leicester to his ship It is 
 promised to be sent me, and in the mean time I undei- 
 itand that my Lord hath granted separate commissions 
 to Sir William Stanley and Kowland \ork exempting 
 them from obeying of me. If this be true, tis only done 
 to nourish factions, and to interrupt any better course n 
 our doings than before hatli been." He earnestly re- 
 quested to be furnished with a commission dircctlj 
 from her Majesty. " The enemy is remlorcing, he 
 added " We are very weak, our troops arc unpaid 
 these three months, and we are grown odious to our 
 
 *' Hot^st counsellor AYilkes, who did his best to con- 
 ciliate all parties, and to do his duty to England and 
 Holland, to Leicester and toNonis, had the strongest 
 sympathy with Sir John. " Tnily, besides the value, 
 wisdom, and many other good parts that are 'n him 
 he said " I have noted wonderful patience and mode.sty 
 in the man, in bearing many apparent injuries done unto 
 hi.u, which I have known to be countenanced and 
 nourished, contrary to all reason, to disgrace him lease 
 therefore, continue your honourable opinion of him u 
 his absence, whatsoever may bo maliciously 'epoited to 
 his disadvantage : for I dare avouch, of my own poox 
 skill, that her Majesty hath not a second ^i^J^'^t ot h s 
 place and quality so able to servo in those ''"''"*»<=« /^« 
 ho . . I doubt not but God will move her Ma- 
 
 jesty in despite of the devU, to respect him as ho 
 
 ^''sirjohn disclaimed any personal jealousy in regard 
 
 _ ...... ^_ T». -^i-_ ^•^ "Knv ^K(i': 
 
 1 J. Norris to Burghley, 17 Nov. 1587. 
 (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 s ibia. 
 
 » Wilkes to Burghley, 17 Nov. 1587. 
 Same to Walslngbam, 17 May, 1587. 
 (S. P. Oace MSS.) 
 
 to Stanley's appointment, but, within a week or two of 
 the Earl's departure, he already felt strong anxiety as to 
 Its probable results. " If it prove no hindrance to the 
 service, he said, - it shall nothing trouble me. I desire 
 that my doings may show Avhat I am ; neither will I 
 seek, by indirect means, to calumniate him or anv other 
 but will let them show themselves." ^ " ' 
 
 Early in December he informed the Lord-Treasurer 
 that Stanley's uwn men were boasting that their master 
 acknowledged no superior authority to his own, and 
 that he hath said as much himself to the magistracy of 
 Deventer. The burghens had already complained 
 through the constituted guardians of their liberties, of 
 his insolence and rapacity, and of the turbulence of 
 his troops, and had appealed to Sir John; but the 
 colonel-general's remonstrances had been received by Sir 
 William with contumely and abuse, and by the vaunt 
 that he had even a greater commission than any he had 
 yet shown.^ 
 
 " Tlu-ee sheep, an ox, and a whole hog,'* were required 
 weekly of the peasants for his table, in a time of great 
 scarcity, and it was impossible to satisfy the rapacious 
 appetites of the Irish kenies.^ The paymaster-general of 
 the English forces was daily appealed to by Stanley for 
 funds— an application which was certainly not unreason- 
 able, as her Majesty's troops had not received any pay- 
 ment for three months —but there *' was not a denier m 
 the treasury," and he was therefore implored to wait. 
 At last the States-General sent him a month's pay for 
 himself and all his troops, although, as he was in the 
 Queen's service, no claim could justly bo made upon 
 them.* 
 
 Wilkes, also, as English member of the state-council. 
 
 ' J. Norris to Walsiugbam, 9 Dec. 
 1586. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 ' Same to Burghley, 12 Dec. 1586. 
 (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 3 Wilkes to AValslngham, 19 Jan. 1587. 
 Ca P. Office MS.) 
 
 * ** He is not contented with the enter- 
 tainment of 40i. (Sterling a month allowed 
 him by the Sutes as governor of the 
 place, but hath taken perforce from the 
 commissioners lately sent thltlier to 
 iklivtr a month's pay, an allowance of 
 ml sterlbig a month over and besides for 
 
 every company of his regiment, being, as 
 he sayeth, ten coniiuxnles, amounting l)>- 
 the muster to 1400 florins (I4oZ.), besides 
 a pay lor his own company, which is 
 more than is allowed to Sir J. Norris hy 
 3(»o florins a month, and as much as Is 
 given for entertainment to Count Ho- 
 heiilo, or to any earl that serveth in these 
 countries. He is charged furtlier to take 
 within the country hereabouts, from the 
 poor villagers, weekly, for the provisions 
 of his table, one whole ox, three sheep, 
 and one hog, or, iu lieu of the bog, twenty 
 
 i 
 
152 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XIII, 
 
 ^ 
 
 n 
 
 faithfully conveyed to the governor-general in England 
 the complaints which came up to all the authorities of 
 the republic, against Sir William Stanley's conduct in 
 Deventer. He had seized the keys of the gates, he 
 kept possession of the towers and fortifications, be had 
 meddled with the civil government, be had infringed all 
 their privileges. Yet this was the board of magistrates, 
 expressly set up by Leicester, with the armed hand, by 
 the agency of Marsbal Pelham and this very Colonel 
 Stanley — a board of Calvinist magistrates placed but a 
 few weeks before in power to control a city of Catholic 
 tendencies. And here was a papist commander display- 
 ing Leicester's commission in their faces, and making it 
 a warrant for dealing with the towTi as if it were under 
 martial law, and as if he were an officer of the Duke of 
 Parma. It might easily be judged whether such conduct 
 were likely to win the hearts of Netherlanders to Lei- 
 cester and to England.' 
 
 *' Albeit, for my owti part," said Wilkes, " I do hold 
 Sir William Stanley to be a wise and a discreet gent., yet 
 when I consider that the magistracy is such as was 
 established by your Lordship, and of the religion, and 
 well affected to her IVIajesty, and that I see how heavily 
 the matter is conceived of hero by the States and council, 
 I do fear that all is not well. The very bruit of this 
 doth begin to draw hatred upon our nation, ^^'ero it 
 not that I doubt some dangerous issue of this matter, 
 and that I might be justly charged with negligence if I 
 should not advertise you beforehand, T would have for- 
 borne to mention this dissension, for the States are about 
 to write to your Lordship and to her Majesty for refor- 
 mation in this matter." * He added ^hat he had already 
 written earnestly to Sir William, "hoping to persuade 
 him to carry a mild hand over the people." 
 
 Thus wrote Councillor Wilkes, as in duty bound, to 
 Lord Leicester, so early as the 9th December, and the 
 warning voice of Norris had made itself heard in Eng- 
 land quite as soon. Certainly the governor-general, 
 having, upon his own responsibility, and prompted, it 
 
 iihnilnjp sterllnK ; and ff it be not broaght 
 every week, thoy sent the soldiers to take 
 It perforce," kc. kc. Wilkes to Walslng- 
 ham, 19 Jan. isar. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 Ibis certainly was stronger diet than 
 
 the " hare cheese " of which Sir William 
 cotnplalnevi. Compare Rcyd, vi. 96-97. 
 lior. li. xxli. 878. 879. 
 
 > Wilkes to Leicester, 9 Dec. i5:^6. 
 (S. P. Office MS.) 2 Ibid. 
 
 1587. WILKES REMONSTRATES WITH STANLEY. 153 
 
 would seem, by passion more than reason, made this 
 dangerous appointment, was fortunate in receiving time] v 
 and frequent notice of its probable results "" ^ 
 
 oA t^\^?^^f ^.n^ious Wilkes wrote most earnestly 
 as he said he had done, to the turbulent Stanley. ^' 
 Good Sir William," said he, "the magistrates and 
 burgesses of Deventer complain to this council, that you 
 have by violence wrested from them the keys of one o^' 
 heir gates, that you assemble your garrison in arms to 
 errify them that you have seized one of their forts, that 
 the Irish soldiers do commit many extortions and exac- 
 tions upon the inhabitants, that you have imprisoned 
 their burgesses, and do many things against their laws 
 and privileges, so that it is feared the best affected of 
 
 1 rV l^^;^*^«\^"y ^f these things be true, yourself 
 doth best know, but I do assure you that the apprehen- 
 sion thereof here doth make us and our government 
 hateful, lor mine own part, I have always known you 
 for a gentleman of value, wisdom, and iudgment and 
 therefore should hardly believe an; such thhT 
 I earnestly require you to take heed of consequences' 
 and to be careful of the honour of her Majesty and the 
 reputation of our nation. You will consider that the 
 gaming possession of the town grew by them that are 
 nowmoffice who being of the religion, and well affected 
 to his Lxcellency s government, wrought his entry into 
 tlie same. .... 1 know that Lord Leicester is sworn 
 to maintain all the inhabitants of the Provinces in their 
 ancient privileges and customs. 1 know further that 
 your commission carrieth no authority to warrant you 
 to intermeddle any further than with the govemment 
 ot the soldiers and guard of the town. Well, you mav 
 m your own conceipt, confer some words to authorize you in 
 some larger sort, but, believe me. Sir, they will not 
 warrant you sufficiently to deal any farther than I have 
 said, tor I have penised a copy of your commission for 
 that purpose. I know the mrm itself of a governor of a toini 
 w odious to this people, and hath been ever since the re7mm- 
 Orance of the Spanish government, and if we, by any lack of 
 toresight, should give the like occasion, ice should mahc 
 ourselves as odious as they are, which God forbid. 
 
 *' You are to consider that we are not come into these 
 
154 
 
 THE UNITED NETHEKLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XIII. 
 
 countries /or their defence on\\\ but for the defence of her 
 Majesty and our own native country, knowing that 
 the preservatim of both dependeth altogether upon the preserd) g 
 of these. Wherefore 1 do eftsoons intreat and require 
 you to forbear to inteimeddle any further. If tliere 
 hhall follow any dangerous effect of your proceedings 
 after this my friendly advice, I shall be heartily sorry 
 for your sake, but 1 shall be able to testif^v to her Ma- 
 jesty that I have dune my duty in admonishing you." * 
 
 Thus spake the stiff councillor, earnestly and well, in 
 behalf of England's honour and the good name of Eng- 
 land's Queen. 
 
 But the ))rave soldier, whose feet were fast sliding 
 into the paths of destruction, replied, in a tone of indig- 
 nant innocence, more likely to aggravate than to allny 
 suspicion. " Finding," siiicl Stanley, " that you already 
 threaten, I have gone so far as to scan the terms of my 
 commission, which I doubt not to execute, according to 
 his Excellency s meanvig and mine honour. First, I assure 
 you that I have maintained justice, and that severely : 
 else hardly would the soldiers have been contented mth 
 bread and bare cheese." * 
 
 He acknowledged possessing himself of the keys of 
 the town, but defended it on the ground of necessity, 
 and of the character of the people, *' who thrust out the 
 Spaniards and Almaynes, and afterwards never would 
 obey the Prince and States." ** I would be," he said, 
 ** the sorriest man that lives ^ if by my negligence the place 
 should be lost. Therefore I thought goud to seize the 
 great tower and ports. If 1 meant evil, I needed no kegs, 
 for /lere is force enough '^^ 
 
 With much effrontery, he then affected to rely for 
 evidence of his courteous and equitable conduct towards 
 the citizens, upon the very magistrates who hud btnai 
 petitioning the States-General, the state-council, and the 
 English Queen, against his violence. 
 
 '* For my courtesy and humanity," he said, " I refer 
 me unto the magistrat<}s themselves. But 1 think they 
 sent some rhetoricians, who coidd allege of little gi'ief, 
 and speak pitiful, and truly 1 find your ears have been 
 as pitiful in so timorously condemning me. / assure you 
 
 M Wilkes to Stanley. 9 Dec 1586. (S. P. "Stanley to Wilkes, 14 Dec. 1586. 
 Office MS.) (S. P. Office MS.) = Ibid. 
 
 15S7. STANLEY'S INSOLENCE AND EQUIVOCATION. 155 
 
 that her Maj^ty hath not a better servant than I nor a more 
 faithful m these parts This I will prove with my Ch 
 and blood. Although I know there be divers flyW rt^ 
 ports spread by my enemies, which are come to my far« 
 I doubt not my virtue and truth will prove them caW 
 mators » and men of little. So, good Mr. AVilkt^ iZy 
 you, consider gravely, give ear discreetly, and advertise 
 mto England soundly. For me, I have been anfam 
 your friend, and glad to hear any admonition from one 
 so wise as yourself" ® 
 
 He then alluded ironically to the " ffood favour and 
 tW^Af" w-n^"^ he hadVen so cLented of k^^^^ 
 hat If Mr. ^\ likes would discharge him of his promise 
 to Lord Leicester, he would take his leave with all his 
 lieai-t Captain, officers, and soldiers, had been livin- 
 on half a pound of cheese a day. For himself, he had 
 received but one hundred and twenty pounds in five 
 months, and was living at three pounds by the day 
 Ihis my wea th will not long hold out," he observed; 
 but yet I will never fail of my promise to his Excel- 
 lency, whatsoever I endure. It is for her Majesty's 
 service and for the love I bear to him." 
 
 He bitterly complained of the unwillingness of the 
 country.people to furnish vivers, waggons, and other 
 necessaries, lor the fort before Zutphen. '' Had it not 
 been," he said, " for the travail extraordinary of myself 
 and patience of my brother York, that fort would have* been 
 m danger. J^\xiiiCCord.mg to his desire and forethought I 
 tumished that place with cavalry and infantry ; for I 
 know the troops there be marvellous weak." * 
 
 In reply, Wilkes stated that the complaints had been 
 made *' by no rhetorician, but by letter from the mao-is- 
 trates themselves (on whom he relied so confidently'? to 
 the state-council. The councillor added, rather tartly 
 that since his honest words of defence and of warninw-' 
 had been "taken in so scoffing a manner," Sir William 
 might be sure of not being troubled with any more of 
 his letters.* '^ 
 
 «.,Vh?J^"*'""^"'" "^ ^^' ^^"^'^"' ""'^ * °^^ ^ ^^^^ and 80 Gamble 
 
 called the men who were speaking the should have throw n himself awav 
 
 truth about him. (MS. uW ««j,.) He * Stanley to Wilkes. uW ««» 
 
 was more used to handle the sword than 3 ^yilkes to Stanley. 18 Dec 15S6 
 
 the pen, yet the untaught vigour of (S p. Office MS.) 
 
 hid style causes an additioial rearet 
 

 156 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XHI. 
 
 But, a day or two before thus addressing him, he had 
 already enclosed to Leicester very important letters 
 addressed by the council of Gelderland to Coimt Moeurs, 
 stadholdor of the Province, and by him forwarded to tho 
 state-council. For there were now very grave inimours 
 concerning the fidelity of " that patient and foreseeing 
 brother York," whom Stanley had been so generously 
 strengthening in Fort Zutphen. The lieutenant of 
 York, a certain Mr. Zouch, had been seen within the 
 city of Zutphen, in close conference with Colonel Tassis, 
 Spanish governor of the placc.^ Moreover there had 
 been a very frequent exchange of courtesies— by which 
 the horrors of war seemed to be much mitigated— be- 
 tween York on the outside and Tassis within. Tho 
 English commander sent baskets of venison, wild fowl, 
 and other game, which were rare in tho market of a 
 besieged town. The Spanish governor responded with 
 baskets of excellent wine and barrels of beer.* A very 
 pleasant state of feeling, perhaps, to contemplate— as an 
 advance in civilization over the not very distant days ot 
 tho Hiuirlera and Leyden sieges, when barrels of pri- 
 Bonei-s' heads, cut off a dozen or two at a time, were the 
 social amenities usually exchanged between Spaniards 
 and Dutchmen— but somewluit suspicious to those who 
 had grown grey in this hoiTible warfare. 
 
 The Irish kernes, too, were allowed to come to mass 
 within the city, and were received there with as much 
 fraternitv by the Catholic soldiei-s of Tassis as the want 
 of any C()ramon dialect would allow— a proceeding which 
 seemed better perhaps for the salvation of their souls 
 than for the advancement of the siege.^ 
 
 The state-council had written concerning these m- 
 moui-s to Kovvland York, but the patient man had replied 
 in a manner which Wilkes characterized as " unfit to 
 have been given to such as were the executors of the 
 Earl of Leicester's authority." The councillor implored 
 the governor-general accordingly to send some speedy 
 direction in this matter, as well to Eowland York as to 
 Sir William Stanley; for he explicitly and earnestly 
 
 1 • Le Conseil de Gueldrw au Comte de » Wilkes to Stanley. 17 Dec. 15S6. MS. 
 
 Moeurs et Nieuwenaer. U Dec. 1586.' strougly remonstrating against the prac- 
 
 WilkestoI^lcester,16Dec.l586. (S.P. tice. Hoofd. Keyd. uW sup. Wagenaar, 
 
 Uthce MSS.) vlll. 196. 
 
 a Hoofd, Vervolgb, 220. Reyd, vi. 96. 
 
 1587. PAINFUL RUMOUx^lS AS TO HIM AND YORK. I57 
 
 warned him, that those personages would pay no heed 
 to the remonstmnces of tlie state-council.* 
 
 Thus again and again was Leicester— on whose head 
 rested, by his own deliberate act, the whole responsi- 
 bility—forewarned that some great mischief was im- 
 pending. There was time enough even then— for it was 
 but the 16th December— to place full powers in the 
 hands of the state-council, of Norris, or of Hohenlo, and 
 secretly and swiftly to secure the suspected persons, 
 and avert the danger. Leicester did nothing. How 
 could he acknowledge his eiTor ? How could he mani- 
 fest confidence in the detested Norris ? How appeal to 
 the violent and deeply incensed Hohenlo ? 
 
 Three weeks more rolled by, and the much-enduring 
 Rowland Y^ork was still in confidential correspondence 
 with Leicester and Walsingham, although his social 
 intercourse with tho Spanish governor of Zutphen con- 
 tinued to be upon the most liberal and agreeable footing. 
 He was not quite satisfied with the general aspect of 
 the Queen's cause in the Kethcrlands, and wrote to tlie 
 Secretary of State in a tone of despondency and mild 
 expostulation. Walsingham would have been less edi- 
 fied by these communications, had he been aware that 
 Y^ork, u-pon first entering Leicester's service, had immediately 
 opened a correspondence with the Duke of Panna, and 
 had secretly given him to understand that his object was 
 to serve the cause of Spain. I'his was indeed the fact, as 
 the Duke infonned the King, " but then he is such a 
 scatter-brained, reckless dare-devil," said Parma, "that 
 I hardly expected much of him."« Thus the astute Sir 
 Francis had been outwitted by the adventurous Row- 
 land, who was perhaps destined also to suipass the anti- 
 cipations of the Spanish commander-in-chief. 
 
 3Ieantime Y^ork informed his English patrons, on the 
 7th Januaiy, that mattei-s were not proceeding so 
 smoothly in the political world as he could wish. '^ He 
 had found '' many cross and indirect proceedings," and 
 so, according to Lord Leicester's desire, he sent him a 
 " discourse " on the subject, which he begged Sir Francis 
 to *' peruse, add to, or take away from," and then to en- 
 
 ra^V}!^^ ,*? Leicester, 16 Dec. 1580. "Tanllvlanoyarrlscado/'&c. (Arrh.de 
 (b. P. Office MS.) Simuncas MS.) 
 
 » Paima to riiilip 11. 12 Feb. 15s7. 
 
158 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XIII. 
 
 close to the Earl. He hoped he should be forgiven il 
 the style of the production was not quite satistactop' ; 
 for, said he, " the place where I am doth too much tor- 
 ment my memor}', to caU every point to my remem- 
 brance/'* , ^ 1 1 X .1. 
 
 It must, in truth, have been somewhfvt a hard task 
 upon his memory, to keep freshly in mind every detail 
 of the parallel correspondence which he was carrying 
 on with the Spanish and with the English government. 
 Even a cool head like Kowland's might bo torgiven for 
 being occasionally puzzled. " So if there be anything 
 hard to be understood," he observed to \Valsingham, 
 -advertise me, and I will make it plainer Nothing 
 could bo more ingenuous. He confessed, however to 
 being out of pocket. *' Please your honour said he, 
 " I h'ave taken great pains to make a bad place some- 
 thing, and it ha» cost me all the money 1 had and here 
 I caS receive nothing but discontcntinent. I dare not 
 tnnt6 you all lest you should think it impossible, he 
 addcd-and it is quite probable that even Walsingham 
 would have been astonished, had Eowland wntten all. 
 llie game playing by York and Stanley was not one to 
 which Eimlish gentlemen were much addicted. 
 
 " I trust the bearer, Edward Stanley, a discreet, brave 
 gentleman," he said, ''with details." And the remark 
 proves that the gallant youth who had captured this 
 very Fort Zutphen in so brilliant a manner was not 
 privy to the designs of his brother and of \ork ; Jor the 
 object of the " discourse " was to deceive the English 
 
 government. .,, _ _ , ,, 
 
 »' I liumbly beseech that you will send for me home, 
 concluded Kowland, "for true as I humbhHl my mmd to 
 please her :Majesty, your honour, and the dead, now am 
 1 content to humble myself lower to please myself for 
 now, since his Excellency's departure there is^ no form 
 of proceeding neither honourably nor honestly. ^ 
 
 Three other weeks passed over, weeks of anxiety and 
 
 dread throughout the republic. Suspicion grew darker 
 
 han ever, not only as to York and bt^uiley, but as to all 
 
 the English commanders, as to the whole English nation. 
 
 1 Rowland York to Walslngham. 7 Jan. friendly feeling for the adventurer. Me- 
 
 i\Hl CSP Office MS) teren, xlv. 250. 
 
 . „v'm,!.S, " i™nt Sir rHUip ' Vork to Walstagham. (MS. I» 
 
 S!duij, who had been dewlTtd Into a cited.) 
 
 15S7. 
 
 DL'PUciTy OF yor;K. 
 
 150 
 
 An Anjoii plot, a general massacre, vm expected by 
 w:my, yet there were no definite gronnds for snch dark 
 a at cpations. In vain had painstaking, tn.th-tdlin^ 
 W likes suiumoned Stanley to his dutyrand cal o 1 on 
 Leicester, time after time, to interfere. In vain did sIr 
 John Non-is, Sir John Conway, the membe^ of the 
 state-council, and all others who should have had 
 aiitl ority, do heir utmost to avert a catastrophe Their 
 hands were all tied by the fatal letter of t]!e94fh x" 
 veiuber. Most anxiously did all implc-e the Earl of 
 Leicester to return. Never was a more danc^Jions 
 moment than this for a countiy to be left to it" fet" 
 .scarcely over in historj- was there a more striking exeml 
 1 lification of the need of a man-of an individual-w ho 
 should embody the powers and wishes, and concentrate 
 
 ANealth. J, ut there was no such man, for the lepublic 
 had lost Its chief when Orange died. There was m„ 'h 
 wisdom and patnotisni now. (Jlden-Bameveld was en 
 pet^en , and .so was Buys, to direct the councils of t le 
 lopubhc, and there were few better soldiei-s than Kon^s 
 and Ilohenlo to lead her armies against Spain. But flio 
 supreme autliority had been confided to Leicester He 
 had not perhaps proved himself extraordinarily qualified 
 for his post, but he uas the governor-in-chief, and his 
 departure w-ithout resigning his powers, left lie con ? 
 mon«ealth headless, at a moment when singlenerof 
 action was vitally important. 
 
 At last, very late in January, one Hugh Overins a 
 haberdasher from Ludgate Hill, was ca,.|ht at iXr^ 
 
 fZsTrWni-'''^'^? Leland with a bundle of lettci^ 
 t om Sir W illiam Stanley, and was sent, as a suspicious 
 character, to the state-council at the Hague.' On the 
 same day another Englishman, a small youth, " well- 
 tiivoured, reioicing in a " very little red '^beard, and in 
 io ll?^^"^ clothes," unknown byname, but ,-.sc;rt^ined 
 o be in the senice of Kowland York and to have been 
 ho bearer of letters to Bni.sels, also passed throu.rh 
 
 .k,.^!; F"-r^'^"''°"'r'""<'°^*''° innkeeper, one Jovc'e, 
 also an Englishman, he succeeded in making his esca'pe ' 
 Ihe infoi-mation contained in tho letters thus inter- 
 cepted was important, but it came too late, even if tlien 
 
 > anwnj- to Watehigliam, 28 JiUi I5S1 (S. P. CUce MS.) 2 IblO. 
 
160 THE UXITED SETHERLAKDS. CiiAP. XIU. 
 
 the statc-councU conld have acted without giving mortal 
 offeuce to Elizabeth and to Leicester wilHam 
 
 On the evening of 28th Januarj- (> .b.) SirA\iUiam 
 StaSey entertained the magistrates ot Devcnter at a 
 sXndid banquet. There was free conversation at tabic 
 concerSng the idle suspicions which had been nfe lu 
 the rroviSces as to his good intentions and the ccn- 
 l"^v.LThfcr, cast Upon him for the repressive 
 rSuTe*^ S thaT tJught necessary to adopt for 
 Sr^eXitv of the city. He took that occasion to 
 ^nThirln°,ts that the Queen of England had not a 
 more loval subject than himself, nor the ^etherlands 
 rZe devoted friend. The company expressed them- 
 seh-es fully restored to confidence in his character and 
 ™ses and the burgomasters, having exchanged 
 Kes of faith and friendship with the commandant m 
 flowfng goblets, went home comfortably to bed, highly 
 pS with their noble entertainer and with themse ves." 
 ^ Very late that same night, Stanley placed three 
 
 hundred of his wild Irish in the ^oorenbel•g tower a 
 hundred ol ^^^.^ ^^^^^^^ ^^.^^ commanded the 
 
 L Jan. 1587. j^ ° hen gate, and sent bodies of chosen troops 
 to surprise all the burgher-guards at their respective 
 s Jions. Strong pickets of cavalry were also placed m 
 all the principal thoroughfares of the city. At thiee 
 o'clock in the following morning ho told his office™ that 
 he was about to leave Deventer for a few hours in order to 
 bring in some reinforcements for which he had sent as 
 he htd felt much anxiety for some time past as to the 
 dkposition of the burghers. His oiiicers, honest 
 Sushmen, suspecting no evil and having confidence 
 Tn "their chief, saw nothing strange ";;1"« l--^^^; 
 ine and Sir William rode deliberately out ot Zut- 
 phen After he had been absent an hour or two, the 
 clatter of hoofs and the tramp of infantry was heard 
 without, and presently the commandant returned, fol- 
 lowed by a thousand musketeers and three or four 
 Wred troopei-s. It was still pitch-dark ; but, d.mly 
 iXtA by torches, small detad,unen,s of the fresh 
 tSopB picked their way through the black narrow 
 
 streets, while the "^^^-^ t'0'J>, P°«^«^ •** ^"^'^^"P^^ft . 
 Brink, or great square. Here, quietly and b^MftlJ, 
 
 I Rei(i.vt.««. 
 
 158T. 
 
 HE SURRENDERS THE CITT TO TASSIS. 
 
 161 
 
 they were marshalled into onler. the cavalry pikemen 
 and musketeers, lining all sides of the K a^d a 
 
 =£i^^ central space it.:^^^^^^^, 
 
 ilwrerte "'" *nr '"""'^^^' -d-liied^foSl 
 into the streets to inquire the cause of the disturbancw 
 
 they soon discovered that they had in som« ml/t.!° ' 
 
 & ss tr-f ri;j^ii£B 
 
 feaSLShK^quS-^^^^^^^^ 
 
 and sent a militia-captain to inqubrtheTa^se of t?; 
 
 to L Znlt:^ioT Th^SigKlS SI- Jr 
 gle-ended houses r^d^^VlUt^^^^^ 
 
 wifh cold-fru h^^h*""^ °^'' *'"^'"' haff periXd 
 wun coio— tor it had been raining disraallv all nitrW 
 
 fTn^ .t .''"g'^C'«- ^-iA wives afd children ttertled 
 
 about, with perplexed faces and despairinir o-eshfr^f 
 As he approached the town-houso-one of ?hol - 
 
 Bor, li. xxil. 878-879. llevd vi qr - .. r^ u . 
 
 220-221. Le Petit ii ";, .J^'""'^"' Sereyst hadderi. in seer quaet en kout 
 viU.l96«,. '"'"•"•3^1- ^Vagenuur. weder. ende dat het den selven v^rmW- 
 VOL. II. '^*'*^' '^^'^ regheude." &c Reyd. vi. 96. 
 
 M 
 
 — •§ 
 
1C2 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XHI. 
 
 and officers, in yellow jerkin and black bandoleer, 
 grouped in the balcony itself. 
 
 The Flemish captain stood bewildered, when sud- 
 denly the familiar form of Stanley detached itself from 
 the central group and advanced towards him. Taking 
 him by the hand with much urbanity, Sir William led 
 the militia-man through two or three ranks of soldiers, 
 and presented him to the stmnge officer on horse- 
 back.' 
 
 *' Colonel Tassis," said he, **I recommend to you a 
 Tery particular friend of mine. Let me bespeak your 
 best offices in his behalf." ^ • . 
 
 "Ah God!" cried the honest burgher, "lassis! 
 Tassis ! Then are wo indeed most miserably be- 
 trayed."* , ^^1 . 1 . • 
 
 Even the Spanish colonel, who was of Flemish ongin, 
 was affected by the despair of tlie Netherlander. 
 
 " Let those look to the matter of treachery whom it 
 concerns," said he ; " my business hero is to servo the 
 King ray master." 
 
 '^ Kender unto Cresar the things which are Caesar s, 
 and unto God the things which are God's," said Stanley, 
 
 with piety.' -, i . u 
 
 The bur^-her-captain was then assured that no harm 
 was intended to the city, but that it now belonged to 
 his most Catholic Majesty of Spain— Colonel btanley, 
 to whom its custody had been entrusted, ha\nng treely 
 and deliberately restored it to its lawful owner. He 
 was then bid to go and fetch the burgomasters and 
 
 magistrates. 
 
 .Presently they appcarcd-a dismal group, weeping 
 and woe-begone—the same board of strict Calvinists 
 forcibly placed in office but three months before by 
 Leicester, through the agency of this very Stanley, wlio 
 had so summarilv elected their popish predecessors, and 
 who only the night before had so handsomely feasted 
 themselves. " They came fomard, the tears mnnmg 
 down their cheeks, crying indeed so pitcously that even 
 Stanley began to weep bitterly himself. "I have not 
 done this," he sobbed, "for power or pelf, ^ot the 
 hope of reward, but the love of God hath moved me. 
 
 1 Rey(l,vi.96. 
 > Ibid. 
 
 « Ibid. 
 
 ♦ « Sir William Stanley did fetch somo 
 of the conimona and magistrates to wme 
 
 1587. 
 
 TERMS OF THE BARGAIN. 
 
 163 
 
 Presently some of the ex-magistrates made their 
 appearance, and a party of leading citizens went into a 
 private house with Tassis and Stanley to hear sta?e- 
 
 re^Ltle!^^^^^^^^^^^ '' ^^>' ^^^^^^ -- 
 
 Sir William still in a melancholy tone, be-an to 
 make a speech, through an interpreter, and a|2 to 
 protest that he had not been influenced by W of 
 lucre. But as he stammered and grew incoherent as he 
 approached the point, Tassis suddenly interrupted the 
 conference " Let us look after our soldiers," said e 
 
 tlie night. So the Spanish troops, who had been 
 standing pa lently to be rained upin after their lonr. 
 
 Tni}^ ^V^J^' l>"rghers had all deposited their arms 
 in tlie city-hall, were now billeted on the townspeople 
 iassis gave peremptory orders that no injury should b<^ 
 Iw w. 4- Pff''' """^ property on pain of death ; and, 
 by way of wholesome example, hung several Hibernians 
 
 inh^^^^^^^^ "^^ ^^^ ^^^^" ^^'^^^^^^ '^ plunderingX 
 
 The citizens were, as usual in such cases, offered the 
 
 choice between embracing the Catholic religion or 
 
 going into exile, a certain interval being allowed them 
 
 ftS SZ/'""' f ?"" ^''''^ "^^'^ '-^^ requhed t" 
 Kn^/ 0/ Me^r service since commg to the Provinces, and 
 to lassis three months' wages for his Spaniards ii. 
 adAance.^ Stanley offered his troops the privik-e of 
 
 and welcome Taxis. With weeping tears 
 and sad countenances they gave liim re- 
 verence, sorry Ut see themselves bo be- 
 trayed. 
 
 '; When Sir William Stanley did see the 
 pitiful state and sorrowful hearts of the 
 burghers, God made him have some feel- 
 . 1«K of his sins. His own conscience, it 
 seemed, accused him, and he wept tcith Oie 
 Ouryhtrs for company, protesting with 
 vehement words and oaths that lie had 
 done it with no covetous mind for profit, 
 but only for the discharge of his con- 
 science. It is now said he hath and 
 slwll have 30,000i.» Sir John Conway 
 
 to U uUhigbam. 2S Jan. 1587. (S. P. Office 
 MS.) 
 
 Compare lieyd. ubi sup. Wilkes to 
 
 Leicester, MS. before cited. Norrls to 
 Burghley, ?J Jan. 15«7. (S. P. Office ilS.) 
 * Reyd, ubi sup. 
 
 2 Willcos to Leicester, 24 Jan. los? rs 
 P. Office MS.) ■ ^ 
 
 "From the market-place Taxis and 
 SUnlcy went to the town-hcu?e, whither 
 the woeful magistrates were called and 
 made to welcome Taxis, and were then 
 required with aU expedition to furnish 
 and make ready eo much money as should 
 pay all the arrwirage due to Stanley and 
 his reghnent, sithence their coming into 
 these countries, who had received a 
 month's pay of the States not eight days 
 before he received the enemy into the 
 town. They were also required tofur- 
 M 2 
 
164 
 
 THE UNITED NLfHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XIII. 
 
 remaining with him in the service of Spain, or of taking 
 their departure unmolested. The Irish troops were 
 quite willing to continue under their old chieftain, par- 
 ticularly as it was intimated to them that there was an 
 immediate prospect of a hrisk campaign in their native 
 island against the tyrant Elizabeth, under the liberating 
 banners of Philip. And certainly, in an age where 
 religion constituted country, these fervent Catholics 
 could scarcely bo censured for taking arms against the 
 sovereign who persecuted their religion and themselves. 
 These honest barbarians had broken no oath, violated 
 no trust, had never pretended sympathy with freedom 
 or affection for their Queen. They had fought fiercely 
 under iho chief who led them into battle— they had 
 robbed and plundered voraciously as opportunity 
 served, and had been occasionally hanged for their 
 exploits ; but Deventer and Fort Zutphen had not been 
 confided to their keeping ; and it was a pleasant thought 
 to them, that approaching invasion of Ireland. 
 
 ** I will ruin the whole country from Holland to 
 Friesland," said Stanley to Captain Newton, " and then 
 I will play such a game in Ireland as the Queen has 
 never seen the like all the days of her life." ' 
 
 Newton had already been solicited by Rowland York 
 to take service under Panna, and had indignantly 
 declined. Sir Edminul Carey and his men, four hun- 
 dred in all, refused, to a man, to take part in the 
 monstrous treason, and were allowed to leave the city.* 
 ITiis was the case with all the English officers. Stanley 
 and York were the only gentlemen who on this occasion 
 sullied the honour of England. 
 
 Captain Henchman, who had been taken prisoner in 
 
 nish and deliver as nimh more monpy as 
 might give three montha to tlie troops of 
 the enemy then newly entered. " 
 
 J '• Que le Colonel Stanley lnl a pro- 
 fere, Je me comporteral tellcmint que 
 le pays Jusqu'eu Hollande el tntre 
 Wezel et Embden serout en tout rulne 
 dedans six Jours ; et causeral en Irlaiide 
 ttl jeu de guerre que la Relne ii'u vu 
 en sa vie." Examination of Captain 
 Thomas Newton touching the loss of 
 l>eventer, before the Council of State, 
 
 SI 
 
 " That he (Lieutenant John Reonan, in 
 StanUy's service, an earnot man) may 
 deliver to Sir Francis Walsingham pome 
 circumstances of the surrendering of De- 
 vcntfT, and what speeches parsed from 
 Sir William StanUy touching Ireland, 
 whither he thinks to be stiit to work her 
 Majesty some trouble and annoy, if be 
 shall bo able." Sir John Norrls to F. Wal- 
 slngham. 29 Jan. 1587. (S. P. Off. MS.) 
 
 » Wilkes to Leicester, 24 Jan. (MS. 
 before cited.) 
 
 91 
 
 Jan. 1587. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 1587. FEEBLE DEFENCE OF STANLEY'S CONDUCT. 165 
 
 a skirmish a few days before the surrender of Deventer 
 wa^ now brought to that city, and earnestly entreated 
 by Ta^sis and by Stanley to seize this opportunky of 
 entering the service of Spain. ^ ^ 
 
 "You shall have great advancement and prefer- 
 ment, said Tassis. "His Catholic Majesty haflot 
 ready very many ships for Ireland, and Sir Wmm 
 btanley is to be general of the expedition^ 
 
 J' ^"^^ ir T \'^^^ ''^^''^^ y^"^ ^^^^ preferment," said 
 Stanley, - for I know you to be a brave man." 
 
 ; I would rather," replied Henchman, " serve my 
 prince m loyal y as a beggar, than to be known and 
 reported a rich tmitor, with breach of conscience." 
 
 /Continue so," replied Stanley, unabashed; -for 
 this IS the very principle of my own enlargement ; for. 
 before, I served the devil, and now I am serving God » * 
 
 The offers and the arguments of the Spaniard and the 
 renegade wore powerless with the blunt captain, and 
 notwithstanding " divers other traitorous alledgements 
 by Sir Wil ham for his most vile facts," as Henchman 
 expressed It, that officer remained in poverty andTap^ 
 tn^ty until such time as he could be exchanored » 
 
 btanley subsequently attempted in various ways to 
 defend his character. He had a commission from Lei- 
 cester, he said, to serve whom he chose-as if the 
 governor-general had contemplated his serving Philip II 
 with that commission ; he had a passport to go whither* 
 he hked-as if his passport entitled him to take the 
 city of Deventer along with him : he owed no alle- 
 giance to the States; he was discharged from his 
 promise to the Earl ; he was his o^vn master ; he wanted 
 neither money nor preferment ; he had been compelled 
 b} his co^cience and his duty to God to restore the city 
 to its lawtul master, and so on, and so on * 
 
 But, whether he owed the States allegiance or not, it 
 IS certain that he had accepted their money to relieve 
 himself and his troops eight days before his treason. 
 Ihat Leicester had discharged him from his promises 
 to such an extent as to justify his surrendering a town 
 
 -^iml^rx^^^T^ ^f''"^^' ^ ^'«"*' Wagenaar. «6i ,up. Bentlvo- 
 -2^March. 1587 (S.P. Office MS.), totid^v, giio. p. IL 1. v. 312. F. Ha4l Amt iil. 
 
 'B«r.Keyd.Stnula.Hoofd,Vervolgh. '''• C^^«^' ^'- 3"-393. 
 
166 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XHI. 
 
 committed to his honour for safe keeping, certainly de- 
 gei-^'cd no answer ; that his duty to conscience required 
 him to restore the city argued a somewhat tardy awaken- 
 incr of that monitor in the hreast of the man who three 
 months before had wrested the place with the armed hand 
 from men suspected of Catholic inclinations ; that his 
 first motive, however, was not the mere love of money, 
 was doubtless true. Attachment to his religion a de- 
 sire to atone for his sins against it, the insidious tempt- 
 incra of his evil spirit, York,* who was the chief organizer 
 of ''the conspiracy, and the prospect of gratifying a wild 
 and wicked ambition— these were the springs that 
 moved him. Sums-varj4ng from 30,000J. to a pension 
 of 1 500 pistolets a year— were mentioned, as the stipu- 
 lated price of his treason, by Norns, Wilkes, Conway, 
 and others;* but the Duke of Parma, m narrating the 
 whole affair in a private letter to the King explicitly 
 stated that he had found Stanley "singularly disin- 
 
 terested 
 
 *' The colonel was only actuated by religious motives,' 
 he said, " asking for no reward, except that he might 
 gen^e in his Majesty's aimy thenceforth- and this is 
 
 worthy to be noted." * 
 
 At the same time it appears from this correspondence 
 that the Duke recommended, and that the King bestowed, 
 a "merced," which Stanley did not refuse ;* and it was 
 
 1 AccoTdlngto Camden, York had per- 
 suaded Stanley that he had been accused 
 by the conspirators of b(?lng engaged In 
 the Babington plot, and that he was 
 " forthwith to be sent into England, to be 
 hangtd." Haraeus {ubi sap.) has a slight 
 allusion to the same effect, but I have 
 found no other intimation of this very 
 improbable suspicion with regard to Sir 
 William. The English historian also 
 states that after the treason Stanley calUxl 
 his troops the Seminary regiment of sol- 
 diers, to defend the Ilomish religion by 
 their swords, as the Seminary priests by 
 their writings. Cardinal Allen pralstnl 
 bis deed in his famous book, and excited 
 all others to go and do likewise. Camden, 
 
 b.Ui.398. 
 
 « MS. Tetters before cited. Doyley 
 to WalsAngham,25 March, 1587. (S. P. 
 
 OmceMS.) ^ ^ 
 
 3 •• Que ha sldo de nota," &c rarma to 
 
 Philip, 12 Feb. 1587. (Arch, de Sim. MS.) 
 * Ibid. Compare Bentlvogllo, p. il. 1. 
 V, 312. •• Era CattoUco lo Stanley, o 
 mostro di farlo per zelo principalmente di 
 Religione," says the Cardinal, " contuc- 
 clo ne fupremiato largamente dal Re, e 
 tanto plu, perche egll tlr(5 seco nel me- 
 desimo servitio tutti gli Inglesi ch' era- 
 vano in Deventer," &c. This last state- 
 ment we have seen to be entirely a 
 mistake. 
 
 Compare Strada, 11. 46H. 469, who is 
 very emphatic with regard to the purity 
 of Stanley's motives: " Motum se ad de- 
 dendani urbem Stanlaeus a«JJunxit, nou 
 largllionlhus, aut honorum tltulis, prodl- 
 torum pretiis ; qitof qtuimvis ohiata res- 
 jmerit utl allena a majorum claritudino, 
 vltaque sua," &c. The Jesuit adds, that 
 the Duke warmly ac^ured his sovereign 
 not to allow such disinterestedness to go 
 unrewarded— and it did not. 
 
 1587. SUBSEQUENT FATE OF STANLEY AND YORK. 107 
 
 very well known that to no persons in the world was 
 Philip apt to be so generous as to men of high rank, 
 Flemish, Walloon, or P^nglish, who deserted the cause 
 of his rebellious subjects to serve under his own banners. 
 Yet, strange to relate, almost at the very moment that 
 Stanley was communicating his fatal act of treason, in 
 order that he might open a high career for his ambition, 
 a most brilliant destiny was about to dawn upon him! 
 The Queen had it in contemplation, in recompense for 
 his distinguished services, and by advice of Leicester, to 
 bestow great honours and titles upon him, and to ap- 
 point him Viceroy of Ireland— of that very country 
 which he was now proposing, as an enemy to his sove- 
 reign and as the purchased tool of a foreign despot, to 
 invade.' 
 
 Stanley's subsequent fate was obscure. A price of 
 3000 florins was put by the States upon his head and 
 upon that of York.* He went to Spain, and afterwards 
 returned to the Provinces. He was even reported to 
 have become, through the judgment of God, a lunatic,^ 
 although the tale wanted confirmation; and it is certain 
 that at the close of the year he had mustered his regi- 
 ment under Famese, prepared to join the Duke in the 
 great invasion of England.* 
 
 Eowland York, who was used to such practices, cheer- 
 
 1 This is stated distinctly by Leicester 
 In his letter to the Stiites-General, on first 
 being informed of the surrender of Deven- 
 ter: — "L' afTectlon et soing qu ay tou- 
 jours eu a la conservation de I'estat des 
 prov«« unies m'auginontent tant plus de 
 regrvt qu ay eu d'entendre la trahison de 
 la ville de Deventer, qu elle a este forme 
 par la laschete de celuy auquel S. M. eut 
 voulu confier royaumes evtiers et lequel 
 elle pensoit annoblir des plus grands titres 
 avccq recompenses condignes, pour lepro- 
 mouvoir a la dignlte de Vice Koy d'lr- 
 lande," &c. Leicester to the States- 
 General, - Feb. 1587. (Hague Archives, 
 MS.) 
 
 2 Bor, il. xxii. 882. Wagenaar, vili. 
 199. 
 
 =* " By letters from Deventer, they 
 write that the traitor Stanley groweth 
 fnmtic— a Just punishment of God— and 
 his men very poor and in misery. The 
 
 other traitor, York, has been seen of late 
 in Antwerp and Brussels, little regarded, 
 whose determination Is to go to Spain or 
 Naples, there to live on his stipend, out 
 of the stir of tLese wars, fearing that 
 which I hope to God he shall never es- 
 cape." Captain Ed. Bumham to Wal- 
 slngham, 7 March, 1587. (S. P. Office 
 MS.) 
 
 *' It is bruited that Stanley was now 
 lately become a lunatic, void of govern- 
 ment and discretion. . . If this be true, 
 as he was known for a traitor, so he may 
 be noted for a fool." Lloyd to Walslng- 
 liam, 15 Oct. 1 5.S7. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 * •' Among them. Sir William Stanley 
 was the leader of his comj»anie8, 800 or 
 900 men, the most part Irish and Scotch, 
 and the rest English. I heard an Italian 
 captain report that Stanley's companies 
 were the best that they make account of." 
 John Giles to Walsingham, 4 Dec. 1587. 
 (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 
108 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XHI. 
 
 1587. 
 
 BETRAYAL OF GELDER TO PARMA. 
 
 169 
 
 fully consiimmated his crime on the same day that wit- 
 nessed the surrender of Deventer. He rode up to the 
 gates of that city on the morning of the 29th January, 
 inquired quietly whether Tassis was master of the place, 
 and then galloped furiously back the ten miles to his 
 fort. Entering, he called his soldiers together, bade 
 them tear in pieces the colours of England, and follow 
 him into the city of Zutphen.* Two companies of 
 States' troops offered resistance, and attempted to hold 
 the place ; but they were ovei-powered by the English 
 and Irish, assisted by a force of Spaniards, who, by a 
 concerted movement, made their appearance from the 
 town. He received a handsome reward, having far sur- 
 passed the Duke of Parma's expectations, when he made 
 his original otfer of sei-vice. He died very suddenly, 
 after a great banquet at Deventer, in the course of the 
 same year, not having succeeded in making his escape 
 into Spain to live at ease on his stipend. It Avas sup- 
 posed that he was poisoned ; but the charge in those 
 days was a common one, and nobody cared to investigate 
 the subject. His body was subsequently exhumed— 
 when Deventer came into the hands of the patriots — 
 and with impotent and contemptible malice hanged 
 upon a gibbet. This was the end of Rowland York.* 
 
 Parma was highly gratified, as may be imagined, at 
 such successful results. " Thus Fort Zutplien," said he, 
 " about which there have been so many fisticuffs, and 
 Deventer— which was the real object of the last cam- 
 paign, and which has cost the English so much blood 
 and*' money, and is the safety of Groningen and of all 
 tliose Provinces— is now your Majesty's. Moreover, the 
 effect of this treason must be to sow great distrust be- 
 tween the English and the rebels, who will henceforth 
 never know in whom they can confide." * 
 
 Parma was very right in this conjecture. Moreover, 
 there was just then a fearful nin against the States. 
 The castle of Wauw, within a league of Bergen-op- 
 Zoom, which had been entrusted to one Le Marchand, a 
 
 1 WUkea to Leicester, 24 Jan. 1687. Meteren. xiv. 249-250. MS. Letters al- 
 
 /«3 p <>fHr« MS ^ ready cited. 
 
 ^ /BoT^yd. Hoofd. Wagenaar. Strada, » Pamu. to Philip IL 12 Feb. 1587. 
 
 Bontivoglio. Cdinden. Le PeUt. Haraeus. (Arch, de Simancas. Mb.) 
 locis ntatis. Baker's Chrunicle, 385. 
 
 Frerichman m the service of the republic, was delivered 
 by him to Parma for 16,000 florins. " 'Tis a very im- 
 portant post," said the Duke, -and the money was well 
 laid out. ' '^ 
 
 The loss of the city of Gelder, capital of the Province 
 of the same name, took place in the summer. This 
 town belonged to the jurisdiction of Alartin Schenk, and 
 was his chief place of deposit for the large and miscel- 
 laneous property acquired by him during his desultory^ 
 but most profitable, freebooting career. The famous 
 partisan was then absent, engaged in a lucrative job in 
 the way of his profession. He had made a contract— in 
 a very business-like way-with the States, to defend 
 the city ol Rhemberg and all the country round against 
 the Duke of Panna, pledging himself to keep on foot 
 tor that purpose an army of 3300 foot and 700 horse. 
 ± or this extensive and important operation he was to 
 receive 20,000 florins a month from the general exche- 
 quer, and in addition he was to be allowed the brand- 
 schatz— the black-mail, that is to say— of the whole 
 country-side, and the taxation upon all vessels goinff 
 up and down the river before Rheinberg ; an ad valorem 
 Uiity, m short, upon all river merchandise, assessed and 
 collected m summary fashion.* A tariff thus enforced 
 was not likely to be a mild one ; and although the States 
 considered that they had got a " good pennyworth " by 
 the job It was no easy thing to get the better, in a bar- 
 gain, of the vigilant Martin, who was as thrifty a specu- 
 lator as he was a desperate fighter. A more accom- 
 plished highwayman, artistically and enthusiastically 
 devoted to his pursuit, never lived. Kobody did his 
 work more thoroughly— nobody got himself better paid 
 tor his T<rork-and Thomas AVilkes, tliat excellent man 
 ot business, thought the States not likely to make much 
 by their contract.' Nevertheless, it was a comfort to 
 know that the work would not be neglected. 
 
 Schenk was accordingly absent, jobbing the Ehein- 
 berg siege, and in his place one Aristotle Patton a 
 Scotch colonel in the States' service, was command^t 
 of Gelders. Now the thrifty Scot had an eye to busi- 
 
 ,a' TTo **" ^"'P "•• ^^ ^^^- ^'^"- ' W«"^<*« to Leicester, 3 Dec. 1686. fS 
 (Ardi.de Simancas. MS.) Compare Bor, p. Office MS.) 
 
 iL xxii. 878; Strada, ii. 466; Wagenaar, 3 jbij, 
 vili. 196 ; Haraeus. ili. 397, et mult. al. 
 
 I 
 
170 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 ClIAP. XIII. 
 
 ness too, and was no more troubled with qualms of con- 
 science than Kowland York himself. Moreover he knew 
 himself to be in great danger of losing his place, tor 
 Leicester was no friend to him, and intended to super- 
 sede him. Patton had also a decided grudge against 
 Martin Schenk, for that tniculent personage had recently 
 administered to him a drubbing, which no doubt ho 
 had richly deserved.* Accordingly, when the Duke ot 
 Parma made a secret offer to him of 36,000 florins if he 
 would quietly surrender the city entrusted to hini, the 
 colonel lumped at so excellent an opportunity ot cir- 
 cumventing Leicester, feeding his grudge against 
 Martin, and making a handsome fortune for himselt. 
 He knew his trade too well, however, to accept the oiler 
 too eagerly, and bargained awhile for better terras and 
 to such good pui-pose, that it was agreed he should have 
 not only the 36,000 florins, but aU the horses aims, 
 plate, furniture, and other moveables in the city belong- 
 insc to Schenk, that he could lay his hands upon. Here 
 were revenge and solid damages for the unforgotten 
 assault and battery-for Schenk's property alone made 
 no inconsiderable fortune -and accordingly the city, 
 towards midsummer, was surrendered to the beigneur 
 d'Haultepenne.* Moreover, the excellent 1 atton had 
 another and a loftier motive. He was in love He had 
 also a rival. The lady of his thoughts was the wuluw 
 of Pontus de Koyelle, Seigneur de Pours, who IkkI once 
 saved the citadel of AntweiT, and afterwards sold that 
 city and himself His rrv-al was no other than the great 
 Seigneur de Champagny, brother of Cardinal Granvelle. 
 emment as soldier, diplomatist, and financier, but now 
 growing old, not in affluent circumstances, and much 
 troubled with the gout. IVIadame de Pours had how- 
 ever, accepted his hand, and had fixed the day for the 
 Avedding, when the Scotchman, thus suddenly enriched, 
 nnewed a previously unsuccessful suit. Ihe widow 
 then, partially keeping her promise, actually celebrated 
 her nuptials on the appointed evening; but, to tlie 
 
 1 Strada, 11. 600. Baudartil roleraogra- July. 4 Aug. 1587. Ll^yJi^^Valslnsham 
 
 nh'aiW Compare Wageimr.viil. 226. 3 July. 1587. (S. P. Office Mb^O But 
 
 t^ s the autbCnty for the illustrious Strada states that the P^to and o^h^ 
 
 mgannanieoftheScot. pn-IK^rty were reserved to the Spanish 
 
 a Ibid. U'icester to Wabingbani, -1 government. 
 
 1587. THESE TREASONS CAST ODIUM OX THE ENGLISH. 171 
 
 surprise of the Provinces, she became not the haulte d 
 pmssaitte dame de CJuimpagny, but Mrs. Aristotle Patton.' 
 
 For this last treason neither Leicester nor the Eno-- 
 lish were responsible. Patton was not only a Scot, but 
 a follower of Hohenlo, as Leicester loudly protested.* 
 Le Marchant was a Frenchman. But Deventer and 
 Zutphen were places of vital importance, and Stanley 
 an Englishman of highest consideration, one who had 
 been deemed worthy of the command in chief in Lei- 
 cester's absence. Moreover, a comet in the service of 
 the Earl's nephew. Sir Robert Sidney, had been seen at 
 Zutphen in conference with Tassis; and the horrible 
 suspicion went abroad that even the illustrious name of 
 Sidney was to be polluted also.^ This fear was for- 
 tunately false, although the comet was unquestionably 
 a traitor, with whom the enemy had been tampering ; 
 but the mere thought that Sir Robert Sidney couM 
 betray the trust reposed in him was almost enough to 
 make the still unburied corpse of his brother arise from 
 the dead. 
 
 Parma was right when he said that all confidence of 
 the Ketherlanders in the Englishmen would now be 
 gone, and that the Provinces would begin to doubt their 
 best friends. No fresh treasons followed, but they were 
 expected every day. An organized plot to betray the 
 country was believed in, and a howl of execration swept 
 through the land. The noble deeds of Sidney and Wil- 
 loughby, and Norris and Pelham, and Roger Williams, 
 the honest and valuable services of Wilkes, the gene- 
 rosity and courage of Leicester, were for a season for- 
 gotten. The English were denounced in every city and 
 village of the Netherlands as traitors and miscreants. 
 Respectable English merchants went from hostelr}^ to 
 
 I Baudart, uU tup. Le Petit, il. 346- 
 347. 
 
 * " It is so that Gelders is lost, given 
 up by Patton, the Scotchman, and com- 
 manded thither by the Count Hollock, 
 and hath been wholly at his direction 
 and commandment. Yet for the good 
 nature of Norris and Wilkes, so soon as 
 they heard of this, reported to the States 
 that this Patton was a colonel of my pre- 
 ferment, to make the people to hate me,** 
 
 &c. Leicester to Walslngham, 2 July, 
 1587. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 It will be perceived that this occurrence 
 has been placed in Juxtaposition witli 
 similar occurrences in the nanrative, 
 although a few months removed from 
 them in chronological sequence, 
 
 » Examination of Newton. (MS. before 
 cited.) Compare Meteren, xiv. 249-2&0. 
 Reyd, vl. 97-98. 
 
 
172 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XIII. 
 
 hostelry, and from town to town, and were refused a 
 lodKinK for love or money. Tho nation was put under 
 ban • A most melancholy change from the beginning 
 of the year, when the very men who were now loudest 
 in denunciation, and fiercest m hate, had been the 
 warmest friends of Elizabeth, of England, and of Lex- 
 
 "" iTilohenlo's table the opinion ^,«f.,}?"dly ffr^T^f • 
 even in the presence of Sir Roger Wilhamsthat^ it was 
 highly improbable, if a man like Stanley, of such high 
 rank in the kingdom of England, of such great connec- 
 tions and large means, could commit such a treason, that 
 he could do so without the knowledge and consent of 
 
 ^'bSu! in council of state, declared that Leicester 
 by his restrictive letter of 24th November, had intended 
 to carry the authority over the republic into England, 
 in orde'r to dispose of everything at his pleasure, m con- 
 junction with the English <=f ^■^^^^''.1 '^ri^^LIt 
 country had never been so cheated by the French as it 
 M n7w been by the English, and that their govern- 
 ment had become insupportable. ' 
 
 Councillor Carl Koorda maintained at the table of 
 Elector Truchsess that the countiy had fdlen de tyr<v^ 
 tick m turannider,'., and-if they had spumed the oppres- 
 s fn of the Spai^iards and the French-that it was now 
 t me to rebel against the English. Lameveld and Buys 
 loudly declared that the Provinces were «Wo to protect 
 themselves without foreign assistance, and that it was 
 verj' injurious to impress a contrary opimon upon tne 
 
 ^"Xhe whole college of the States-General came before 
 the state-council, and demanded the name of the man to 
 ^hom the Earl's restrictive letter had ^een delivered- 
 that document by which the governor had daied suiiep- 
 titiously to annul the authority which pubhcly he had 
 deleted to that body, and thus to deprive it of the 
 
 „ .. n. Tar, iKHT 1587 f S. P. Offlcc MS.) Slf. J. NoiTis 
 1 ivuicp^ to Hatton, 24 Jan. io87. losi. ^o.*. vtx» ' _ ,c p 
 
 *"*"':• .'Sil"'M4''t'*'"° °?M Ui«r,St«d..H.469i Ben- 
 16M. (S. P. Office MSb.) ^ » V !v 312-318: Bor, 11. 
 
 . . AbuBes offered to her Majesty and tlvogUo P- ^^ > J^' ^^ ^/^ ' ^^ ^'^j,. 
 
 his Excellency and the whole English xxU. 88 J, Wagenaar, 
 
 nation by the States and others.' April, al. 
 
 1587. MISERABLE PLIGHT OF THE ENGLISH TROOPS. 173 
 
 po^-er of preventing anticipated crimes. After much 
 colloquy the name of Brackel was given, and, had not 
 the culprit fortunately been absent, his life might have 
 been m danger, for rarely had grave statesmen been so 
 thoroughly infuriated.^ 
 
 No language can exaggerate the consequences of this 
 wretched tre^ison. Unfortunately, too, the abject con- 
 dition to which the English troops had been reduced by 
 the niggardliness of their sovereign was an additional 
 cause of danger. Leicester was gone, and, since her 
 favourite wa^ no longer in the Netherlands, the Queen 
 seemed to forget that there was a single Englishman 
 upon that fatal soil. In Jive months not-one penny had been 
 sent to her troops. AVhile the Earl had been there one 
 hundred and forty thousand pounds had been sent in 
 seven or eight months. After his departure not five 
 thousand pounds were sent in one half-year * 
 
 The EngHsh soldiers, who had fought so well in every 
 Flemish battle-field of freedom, had become-such Z 
 were left of them-mere famishing, half-naked vaga- 
 bonds and marauders. Brave soldiers had been changed 
 by their sovereign into brigands, and now the universal 
 odium which suddenly attached itself to the Endish 
 name converted them into outcasts. Forlorn and crippled 
 creatures swarmed about the Provinces, but were for- 
 bidden to come through the towns, and so wandered 
 about, robbing hen-roosts and pillaging the peasantry. - 
 Many deserted to the enemy. Many begged their way 
 to England and even to the very gates of the palace, 
 and exhibited their wounds and their misery before the 
 eyes of that good Queen Bess who claimed to be the 
 mother of her subjects,-and begged for bread in 
 >ain. 
 
 The English cavalr>^ dwindled now to a body of five 
 fiimdred starving and mutinous, made a foray into Hol- 
 land, rather as highwaymen than soldiers. Count Maurice 
 commanded their instant departure, and Hohenlo swore 
 tnat It, the order were not instantly obeyed, he would 
 
 '^iE€r rr" ^^^^'^^^^'^:^ J' 
 
 wiuces to the (^ueen, 16 Feb. 1587, Office MS.) •» '.<.». i. 
 
174 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XHI. 
 
 1587. 
 
 put Mmself at the head of his troops and cut every man 
 of them to pieces.* A most painful and humiliating 
 condition for brave men who had been fighting the battles 
 of their Queen and of the republic, to behold themselves 
 
 through the parsimony of the one and the infuriated 
 
 sentiment of the other— compelled to starve, to rob, or 
 to be massacred by those whom they had left their homes 
 
 to defend ! , ^ , ^ , . -, . 
 
 At last, honest AYilkes, ever watchful of his duty, suc- 
 ceeded in borrowing eight hundred pounds sterling for 
 two months, by "pawning his own carcase," as he ex- 
 pressed himself. This gave the troopers about thirty 
 shillings a man, with which relief they became, for a 
 time, contented and well-disposed.* 
 
 HONESTY AND ENERGY OF WJLKES. 
 
 70 
 
 « Wilkes to Leicester, 12 March, 1B87. 
 (MS.) 
 
 " Ibtd. " So great is the lack ofdisclpline 
 among the garrisons," wrote Wllkea, 
 *• especially of our nation, that I am 
 ashamed to hoar the continual complaints 
 which come to this council against th«-m. 
 And albeit Sir John Norris and I have 
 written often unto the captains and gover- 
 nors to see reformation had of the inso- 
 lences and disorders of their soldiers 
 within the towns. It is notwithstanding 
 so slenderly respected as there followeth 
 no amendment at all; so as we begin to 
 grow as hateful to the people as the 
 Spaniard himself, irAo goirmetk Aw 
 toims of conquest icith a mil'ler hand 
 than tve do our friends and allies. The 
 causes hereof we And to be two. The 
 one Is for lack of pay, without which 
 it is imp«)8sible to preserve discipline 
 among the soldiers ; and most of the troops 
 In her Majesty's pay (excepting the gar- 
 risons of Brill and Flushing) have not 
 been jxiid from the beginning of St>ptem- 
 ber last, being now about live months. 
 The other is lack of government In the 
 captains and officers, who for the most 
 part are either such as never served before, 
 and have no judgment— no not to rule 
 themselve.^, and such as make their profit 
 of the iK)or soldiers so extremely as they 
 are liateful to the companies, wherein if 
 there Is no redress, it were better her 
 MiOesty did revoke all ; for, as the avse of 
 the comm«)n soldier now standeth. the 
 Sutes receive little or no service of them 
 but spoil and ruin of their towns and 
 
 countrtes." Wilkes to Walsingham, 19 
 Jan. 1587. (MS.) 
 
 And again he writes to the Queen, 
 about " the weakness and confusion to 
 which her troops are reduced for want of 
 pay, having received nothing from 1 Sept. 
 to tliat day " (16 Feb.). "The captains of 
 the horsemen," he says, "are all In Eng- 
 land, and thereby the most of the compa- 
 nies evil le<i and governed, committing 
 dally upon the villages and people extreme 
 spoils, insolences, and mischiefs, which, 
 together with the example of the late 
 treasons of Stanley and York, hath drawn 
 our nation Into the hatred of this people 
 very deeply, so as they are for the most 
 part turned out of the towns, and re- 
 fused to be taken Into garrison. The 
 horsemen, destitute of money and food, 
 are, without order, entere<l now Into 
 Holland (an unfit place for their abode), 
 where the people are risen against them, 
 and they to the number of 500 or 600^ In 
 tenns either themselves to do mischief, 
 or themselves to be cut in pieces by the 
 country— a case very lamentable to m 
 thai feel the grief of so hard a choice, and 
 can find almost no way to prevent the 
 peril. I have urged the Stiites by earnest 
 letters (myself being at this present sick, 
 by GchVs visitation, to the danger of my 
 life) to take some order to relieve your 
 people in this distress, myself offering my 
 carouse in pawn, to answer as much as 
 th -y !«hall eat, after a certain rate. I find 
 tl'.om reasonably inclined, yet affected by 
 t'.v- 1 iniiKvllnienta— a strange Jealousy, by 
 them conceived of all our nation; the 
 
 Is this picture e.xaggerated ? Is it drawn by pencils 
 ho&^tile to the English nation or the English Queen ' It 
 IS her own generals and confidential counsellors who 
 have told a story m all its painful details, which has 
 hardly found a place in other chronicles. The parsi- 
 mony of the great Queen must ever remain a blemish 
 ""^-vfv ^"^fj"^^^^^'' and it was never more painfully 
 exhibited than towards her brave soldiers in Flanders 
 m the year 1587. Thomas Wilkes, a man of truth, and 
 a man of accounts, had informed Elizabeth that the 
 expenses of one year's war, since Leicester had been 
 governor-general, had amounted to exactly five hun- 
 dred and seventy-nine thousand three hundred and 
 sixty pounds and nineteen shillings, of which sum one 
 hundred and forty-six thousand three hundred and 
 eighty-six pounds and eleven shillings had been spent 
 by her Majesty, and the balance had been paid, or was 
 partly owing by the States.' These were not agreeable 
 ^gures, but the figures of honest accountant? rarely 
 flatter and Wilkes Avas not one of those financiers who 
 have the wish or the gift to make things pleasant. He 
 had transmitted the accomits just as they had been 
 delivered, certified by the treasurers of the States and 
 by the Enghsh paymasters, and the Queen was appalled 
 at the sum-totals. She could never proceed wit h such 
 a war as that, she said, and she declined a loan of sixty 
 thousand pounds which the States requested, besides 
 stoutly refusing to advance her darling Robin a penny 
 to pay off the mortgages upon two-thirds of his estates, 
 on which the equity of redemption was fast expirin^r 
 or to give him the slightest help in furnishing him fortTI 
 anew for the wars. 
 
 Yet not one of her statesmen doubted that these 
 JSetherland battles were English battles, almost as much 
 
 other their own want The con- 
 fusions are wonderful that are grown In 
 this State In the absence of my Lord of 
 Leicester, which hath opened many gaps 
 U) disoi-ders," &c. Wilkes to the Queen, 
 16 Fob. 1587. (.S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 And once more he writes, " 1 saw no 
 remedy for them but to eni?age mj'self for 
 tome means to fetil them until other order 
 iiJlijUt be taken, whereupon with the help 
 
 of mine own credit, and pawn of my owjx 
 carcase, to rep<»y at the end of two 
 months »00l. which I divided among the 
 companies distressed, behig eight in num- 
 ber, which extended to thh-ty shillings a 
 man," kc. Wilkes to lieicester, 13 
 ISIarch, 1587. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 1 Wilkes to Wa[slngham, 12 Jan. 1587. 
 Same to Burghley, 12 Jan. 1587. (S. P. 
 Office MSS.) 
 
1 
 
 / 
 
 176 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XIK. 
 
 as if the fighting-ground had been the Isle of Wight or 
 the coast Sf Kent, the charts of which the statesmen 
 and generals of Spain were daily conning. ^ , . , 
 
 Wilkes, too, while defending Leicester stoutly behind 
 his back, doing his best to explain his shortcomings, 
 landing his courage and generosity, and advocating his 
 beloved theory of popular sovereignty with much 
 ingenuity and eloquence, had toid him the truth to his 
 face. Although assuring him that if he came back soon, 
 he might rule the States *'as a schoolmaster doth his 
 boys " ' he did not fail to set before him the disastrous 
 effects of his sudden departure and of his protracted 
 absence ; he had painted in darkest colours the results 
 of the Deventer treason, ho had unveiled the cabals 
 against his authority, he had repeatedly and velie- 
 niently implored his return ; he had informed the 
 Queen that, notwithstanding some errors of administm- 
 tion, he was much the fittest man to represent her m 
 the Netherlands, and that he could accomplish, by 
 reason of his experience, more in three months than 
 any other man could do in a year. He had done his 
 best to reconcile the feuds which existed between him 
 and important personages in the Netheriands, he had 
 been the author of the complimentary letters sent to 
 him in the name of the States-General— to the great 
 satisfaction of the Queen,— but he had not given up his 
 friendship with Sir John Norris, because he said " the 
 virtues of the man made him as worthy of love as any 
 one living, and because the more he knew him, the 
 more he had cause to aft*ect and to admire him. 
 
 This was the unpardonable otfence, and for this, and 
 for having told the truth about the accounts, Leicester 
 denounced Wilkes to the Queen as a traitor and a 
 hypocrite, and threatened repeatedly to take his lite. 
 He had even the meanness to prejudice Burghley against 
 him— by insinuating to the Lord-Treasurer that he too 
 had been maligned by Wilkes— and thus most effec- 
 tually damaged the character of the plam-spoken coun- 
 cillor with the Queen and many of her advisers ; not- 
 withstanding that he plaintively besought her to 
 
 lWUkc8toWabingham.17Feb.1587. 1587. Same to Walsingham, 17 May. 
 S. P. Office MS.) 1^87. (S. P. Office MSS.) 
 
 a ibid. Same to the Queeu, 10 Feb. 
 
 1587. INDIGNANT DISCUSSION IN THE ASSEMBLY. 1 77 
 
 t 
 
 Immediate action was taken on the Deventer treason 
 
 and the English government. Barneveld immediatelv 
 i'^^'o "P ^ '<=^«'e l«"er to the Earl of Lei^^ter On 
 the 2nd February Wilkes came by chance ![; *^^ 
 assembly of the States-General with the rest of 
 councillors, and found Barneveld i„st dom,f ^• 
 '. T.. \h°^ """' '■"'^ ^""^ ■"^'1« ^ few remarks 
 
 he obsenod -T' '*-^'' '}^'P'n->on his Excellency," 
 ne oDser\ed. Ihere is not a word in it," answered 
 Barneveld curtly, "that is not perfectly trut -^ and 
 with this he cut the matter short, and made a lon^ 
 Temur" other matters which Were theT JeVre "th! 
 
 Wilkes, very anxious as to the effect of the letter 
 both upon public feeling in En-land and T.L,? ;^^' 
 
 ZnTS Tr ^"S"^— "^"ftedtSate'y 
 pon C ount Maurice, President van der Jlyle and 
 
 pon A illiers the clergyman, and implored thei^rintot 
 position to prevent the tmnsmissioi of the em" le 
 They promised to make an effort to delay its de^m ch 
 
 ever wl E*", ''' 'T' ■ ^ ''''*^'^'^' afLwlrt 'w 
 /.if . V- ^ learned with dismay that the ducimpnt 
 pho leading passages of which will be given Wter 
 had been sent to its destination." "eieattei; 
 
 Meantime, a consultation of civilians and nf <l,„ 
 family council of Count Maurice wa held "nd U was 
 
 .-"■ (s.l. Snl^Msr™' " ^'■'^•' '^* °f"^"^- " "■'■^ "" '"'• '-- 
 
 «■- r.^ -■> proved by wE Z vir^r-M", "'' "^ ^^ '"■ '^'"«'"-^- 
 
 N 
 
 1 
 
178 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XIII. 
 
 Ilolienlo for liis lieutenant-general.* That formidable 
 personage, now fully restored to health, made himself 
 veiT busy in securing towns and garrisons for the party 
 of Holland, and in cashiering all functionaries sus- 
 pected of English tendencies. Especially he became 
 most intimate with Count ISIoeurs, stadholder of Utrecht 
 
 the hatred of which individual and his wife towards 
 
 Leicester and the English nation, springing originally 
 from the unfortunate babble of Otheman, had gro\NTi 
 more intense than ever,— " banqueting and feasting" 
 with him all day long, and concocting a scheme, by 
 which, for certain considerations, the pnjvmce of 
 Utrecht was to be annexed to Holland under the per- 
 petual stadholderate of Prince Maurice. 
 
 * Meuren. xiv. 250. Wagcnaar, vUl. 204. Reyd, vl. 100. 
 
 1587. 
 
 LEICESTER L\ ENGLAND. 
 
 179 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Leicester in England -Trial of the Queen vf Scots- Fearful Pon^l^xitv at the 
 Kng ..h Court - I.ifatuation and Obstinacy of the gt.een- NetiuTla d Ernlyl 
 m Kugl.uid- Queen's bitter Invective against them-AmaJn"nt o 1 
 hnvoy. - 1 hoy a^nsult with her chief Councillors - Ke.narks of l>,„rd,lev Z 
 bavison^Jourthof February Letter from the States -Its severe Lan^Ce 
 towards Uu-ester- Painful position of the Envoys at Court - Queen's! "S 
 luony towards Leicester. W^it-en b i aisi- 
 
 The scene shifts for a brief interval to En-ltnd 
 Leicester had reached the court late in November Those 
 •' blessed beams," under whose shade he was wont to 
 find so much -refreshment and nutrition," had again 
 fallen with lull radiance upon him. -Never since I 
 was born s^aid he, -did I receive a .more gracious 
 welcome. Alas ! there was not so much boniLmity for 
 the starving English soldiers, nor for the IWinces 
 which were fast growing desperate ; but althoucrh their 
 ciiuse was so intimately connected with the " e-re^t 
 cause," which then occupied Elizabeth, almost to the 
 exclusion of other matter, it was, perhai-s, not wonder- 
 liil, although unfortunate, that for a time the N etheriands 
 should be neglected. 
 
 The - daughter of debate " had at last brought her- 
 self, It was supposed, witliin the letter of the law and 
 now began those odious scenes of hypocrisy on the i.art 
 of Elizabeth that frightful comedy-more melancholv 
 even than the solemn tragedy which it preceded and 
 ollowed--which nuKst ever remain the darkest passage 
 in the history ot the Queen. It is unnecessary, iu these 
 pages, to make more than a passing allusion to the con- 
 demnation and death of the Queen of Scots. Who 
 aoiibts her participation in the Babington conspiracy ^ 
 Who doubts that she was the centre of one endless con- 
 .-piracy by fepain and Kome against the throne and life 
 
 in 1^^ 1 • ^^^'^. ^r'^^' ^^''"^ ^^^ ^^"g imprisonment 
 n England was a violation of all law, all mstice all 
 
 Jiumaiuty? Mho doubts that the fining, \vhippinsl 
 
 » Leicester to Wilkes. 4 Dec. 1&87. (S. P. Office MS ) 
 
 .V 2 
 
 I 
 
180 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XIV. 
 
 torturing, lianging, embowelling of men, women, and 
 children, guilty of no other crime than adhesion to the 
 Catholic faith, had assisted the Pope and Philip, and 
 their band of English, Scotch, and Irish conspirators, to 
 shake Elizabeth's throne and endanger her life ? Who 
 doubts that, had the English sovereign been capable of 
 conceiving the gi'eat thought of religious toleration, her 
 i*eign would have been more glorious than it was, the 
 cause of Protestantism and freedom more triumphant, 
 the name of Elizabeth Tudor dearer to human hearts ? 
 Who doubts that there were many enlightened and 
 noble spirits among her Protestant subjects who lifted 
 up their voices, over and over again, in parliament and 
 out of it, to denounce that wicked persecution exercised 
 upon their innocent Catholic brethren, which was fast 
 converting loyal Englishmen, against their will, into 
 traitors and conspirators ? Yet who doubts that it would 
 have required, at exactly that moment, and in the midst 
 of that crisis, more elevation of soul than could fairly 
 be predicated of any individual, for Elizabeth in 1587 
 to pardon Mary, or to relax in the severity of her legis- 
 lation towards English Papists ? 
 
 Yet, although a display of sublime virtue, such as the 
 world has rarely seen, was not to be expected, it was 
 reasonable to look for honest and royal dealing from a 
 great sovereign brought at last face to face with a great 
 event. The *' great cause " demanded a great, straight- 
 forward blow. It was obvious, however, that it would 
 be difficult, in the midst of the tragedy and the comedy, 
 for the Netherland business to come fairly before her 
 Majesty. *' Touching the Low Country causes," said 
 Leicester, "very little is done yet, by reason of the 
 continued business we have had about the Queen of 
 Scots' matters. All the speech I have had with her 
 Majesty hitherto touching those causes hath been but 
 private."^ Walsingham, longing for retirement, not 
 only on account of *' his infinite grief for the death of 
 Sir Philip Sidney, which hath been the cause," he said, 
 " that I have ever since betaken myself into solitariness, 
 and withdrawn from public affairs," but also by reason 
 of the perverseness and difficulty manifested in the 
 gravest affairs by the sovereign he so faithfully served, 
 
 > Leicester to Wilkes. 4 Dec. 1586. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 1587. 
 
 TRIAL OF THE QUEEN OF SCOTS. 
 
 181 
 
 sent "ifomation that, notwithstanding the arrival of 
 some of the States' deputies, Leicester was persuadino- 
 her Majesty to proceed first in the great cause. " Ce °- 
 tam principal persons, chosen as committees," he said 
 of both Houses are sent as humble suitors to hei^ 
 Majesty, t^o desire that she would be pleased to ffive 
 order for the execution of the Scottish Queen. Her 
 Majesty made answer that she was loath to proceed in 
 80 violent a course against the said Qneen as the taking 
 away of her life, and therefore prayed them to think of 
 
 LTt? Thr^ "r".^ "^'^^^ ^' ''' '''' ^-^ -^ '^^ 
 safety They replied, no other way but her execution 
 
 Her Majesty, though she yielded no answer to this their 
 latter reply, is contented to give order that the procla- 
 mation be published, and so also it is hoped that she 
 will be moved by this their earnest instanc^e to proceed 
 to the thorough ending of the cause."* 
 
 And so the cause went slowly on to its thoroucrh end- 
 
 Wfo /'l''A?"^''^•^/^"^^"^>^" ^^"1^ ^^ thought of 
 but to take Mar/s life, and when "no other way" of 
 
 taking that life could be -devised," at Elizabeth's suo-- 
 geshon, except by public execution, when none of the 
 gentlemen - of the association," nor Paulet nor Dnir^ 
 --how skilfully soever their -pulses had been felt "^ by 
 f.Zl n' ^^"^^^'^d-would commit assassination to 
 serve a Queen who was capable of punishing them after- 
 wards for the murder, the great cause lime to its 
 inevitable cone usion and Mary Stuart was executed by 
 comniand of Elizabeth Tudor. The worid may continue 
 to differ as to the necessity of the execution, but it has 
 long since pronounced a unanimous verdict as to the 
 
 3^1 W 'P>^ "^-""^'"^ ^^Snity by the two Queens 
 upon that great occasion. 
 
 vit^rti^'f ^^'' 'f*'"!?^ the Netherland matter, almost as 
 Tital to England as the execution of Mary, was comna. 
 ratively neglected. It was not absolutel? n TheZle 
 
 stiite .ff "''\t".'' *^^. ^"^^^'« "-^ colouredCrv 
 ^xtou!7 "^^^ ''I *'^^' ^"^^- ^^ii-abeth, harassed, 
 
 querade T"^'"^^ ^I"'^'' ""^ ^^^^^'^"^ ^ horrible masl 
 ?^r 1 7f '"^ *^^ ^'^^st possible temper to be 
 approached by the envoys. She was furious with ihl 
 
 » Walsingham to Wllkes. 3 Dec. 1586. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 > Davison, in Camden, iii. 39a. 
 
I 
 
 182 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 CiiAP. XIV. 
 
 I 
 
 Netherlanders for having maltreated her favourite. She 
 was still more furious because their war was costing so 
 much money. Her disposition became so uncertain, her 
 temper so ungovernable, as to drive her counsellors to 
 their wits' ends. Burghley confessed himself " wearj- 
 of his miserable life," and protested '*that the only 
 desire he had in the world was to be delivered from the 
 ungrateful burthen of service, which her IMajesty laid 
 upon him so very heavily." * Walsingham wished him- 
 self " well established in Basle." * The Queen set them 
 all together by the ears. She wrangled spitefully oyer 
 the sum- totals from the Netherlands; she worried 
 licicester, she scolded Burghley for defending Leicester, 
 and Leicester abused Burghley for taking part against 
 
 him." 
 
 The Lord-Treasurer, overcome with "grief which 
 pierced both his body and his heart," battled his way— 
 as best he could— through the throng of dangers which 
 
 1 Burghley to Leicester, 1 Feb. 1587. 
 (Brit. Mus. Giilha. C. xi. 252. MS.) 
 
 2 Walsingham to Wilkes, 2 May, 1587. 
 (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 * Burghley to I.«icester. (MS. before 
 cited.) 
 
 " Your TiOrdship is greatly ofTended," 
 said the Lord Treasurer, " lor my 
 eiM-eches iu her Miyesty's presence. 
 What you conceive, my good Lord, Is 
 best known to yourself; what I meant 
 k best known to me : and- 1 do avow in 
 the presence of God that I no more 
 meant to offend you in any thing 1 
 spoke than I meant to offend the beat 
 and dearest friend I can imagine in 
 England. And yet her Majesty many 
 times chargeth me that I conceit, I 
 flatter, I dare not si>eak anything that 
 you should mislike. 1 stte my hard 
 fortune continueth to be subject to your 
 doubtful opinion, howsoever i do b<*have 
 myself. .... You believe me to 
 have moved her Majesty to be offended 
 wifh you for lack of your pn curing a 
 more certainty of the expenses and ac- 
 counts of the last year's charges on the 
 Sutes' behalf. . . . But 1 never did 
 say, nor mean to say, that j'our Lordship 
 ought to be blamed for tho«e accounts ; 
 for I did say, and do still say, that their 
 accounts are obscure, confused, and with- 
 out credit. . I say that they ought 
 
 to have been commanded by your au- 
 thority to have refonued the Simie, and 
 made your Lordship more privy to their 
 doings. For not doing so 1 condemned 
 them, and not your Lord^hip, who had 
 so often complained tliat you wore not 
 better obeyed by them in those points. 
 And so your Lordship did fully answer 
 my speeches, and 1 also did atliim the 
 same by often repetition to her ]M;ycsty 
 that both in that as in many other thinirs 
 the States had grossly and most rudely 
 encotmtered your Lordship. And al- 
 though her Majesty was disposed to 
 leave the cause unrelieved, persisting on 
 her misliking of the accounts, and so to 
 take occasion to deny their requesb*, yet 
 1 trust that your Ijordship and the rest 
 did see how earnest I was to draw her 
 Majesty from these reckonings of ex- 
 penses, and to take regard to the cause 
 which / said and do my u ay vot vow be 
 hjt at ratidvmfor raipert to any charges. 
 1 do persist iu the opinion that her Ma- 
 jesty may not abandon the cause with- 
 out manifest injury to her state, as the 
 
 caae and time now forceth her 
 
 Your I..ordship hath seen and beard her 
 tax me very sharply, that in not ap- 
 plauding to her censures, I do commonly 
 flatter you ; and that I do against m? 
 conscience hold opinions to please you — 
 a very bard cose held against me." 
 
 1587. FE.^RFUL PERPLEXITY AT THE ENGLISH COURT. 183 
 
 beset the path of England in that great crisis. It was 
 most obvious to every statesman in the realm that this 
 was not the time— when the gauntlet had been thrown 
 full in the face of Philip and Sixtus and all Catholicism, 
 by the condemnation of Mary— to leave the Netherland 
 cause " at random," and these outer bulwarks of her 
 own kingdom insufficiently protected. 
 
 ** Your Majesty will hear," wrote Tarma to Philip, 
 *' of the disastrous, lamentable, and pitiful end of the 
 poor Queen of Scots. Although for her it will be im- 
 mortal glory, and she will be placed among the number 
 of the many martyrs whose blood has been shed in the 
 kingdom of England, and be crowned in heaven with a 
 diadem more precious than the one she wore on earth, 
 nevertheless one cannot repress one's natural emotions! 
 I believe firmly that this cruel deed will be the con- 
 cluding crime of the many which that Englishwoman 
 has committed, and that our Lord will be pleased that 
 she shall at last receive the chastisement which she has 
 these many long years deserved, and which has been 
 reserved till now for her greater ruin and confusion." ' 
 And with this, the Duke proceeded to discuss the all- 
 important and rapidly preparing invasion of England. 
 FaiTiese was not the man to be deceived by the affected 
 reluctance of Elizabeth before Mary's scaflbld, although 
 he was soon to show that he was himself a master in the 
 science of grimace. For Elizabeth— more than ever 
 disposed to be friends with Spain and Kome, now that 
 war to the knife was made inevitable— was wistfully 
 regarding that trap of negotiation, against which all 
 her best friends were endeavouring to warn her. She 
 was more ill-natured than ever to the Provinces, she 
 turned her back upon the B^amese, she affronted 
 Henr}' III. by affecting to believe in the fable of his 
 envoy's complicity in the Stafford conspiracy against 
 her life.* 
 
 ^^ "I pray God to open her eyes," said Walsingham, 
 *'to see ihQ evident peril of the course she nowholdeth. 
 . . If it had pleased her to have followed the advice given 
 
 /A ^u^'^ *° ^"'P '^ • ^2 ^^'*'"'^^' ^^S'- P'"*- »* ^e Lord-Treasurer's house,' 12 
 
 5 . rU^ Sunancas, MS.) Jan. 1587. in Murdin, 579-583. Compare 
 
 iJeclaration of the Negotiations Mignet, 'Hist, de Marie Stuart,' 3rd 
 
 with the French Ambassador, I'Aubes- edition, ii. 344 seq. 
 
184 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XIV. 
 
 her touching the French ambassador, our ships had been 
 released . . . but she has taken a very stmnge course 
 by writing a very ^harp letter unto the French King, 
 which I fear will cause hiui to give ear to those of the 
 League, and make himself a party with them, seeing so 
 little regard had to him here. Your Lordship may see 
 that our coumge doth greatly increase, for that we make 
 no difficulty to fall out with all the world. ... I never 
 saw her worse affected to the poor King of Navarre, 
 and yet doth she seek in no sort to yield contentment 
 to the French King. If to offend all the world," 
 repeated the Secretary bitterly, " be a good cause of 
 government, then can we not do amiss. ... I never 
 found her less disposed to take a course of prevention 
 of the approaching mischiefs towards this realm than at 
 this present. And, to bo plain with you, there is none 
 here that hath either credit or courage to deal effectually 
 with her in any of her great causes." * 
 
 Thus distracted by doubta and dangers, at war with 
 her best friends, with herself, and with all the world, 
 was Elizabeth during the dark days and months which 
 preceded and followed the execution of the Scottish 
 Queen. If the great fight was at last to be fought 
 triumphantly through, it was obvious that England was 
 to depend upon Englishmen of all ranks and classes, 
 upon her prudent and far-seeing statesmen, upon her 
 nobles and her adventurers, on her Anglo-Saxon and 
 Anglo-Norman blood ever mounting against oppression, 
 on Howard and Essex, Drake and Williams, N orris and 
 Willoughby, upon highborn magnates, plebeian cap- 
 tains, London merchants, upon yeomen whose limbs 
 were made in England, and upon Hollanders and 
 Zeelanders whose fearless mariners were to swarm to 
 the protection of her coasts, quite as much in that year 
 of anxious expectation as upon the great Qiieen herself. 
 Unquestionable as were her mental capacity and her 
 more than woman's courage, when fairly brought face 
 to face with the danger, it was fortunately not on one 
 man or woman's brain and arm that England's salvation 
 depended in that crisis of her fate. 
 
 As to the Provinces, no one ventured to speak very 
 
 > WalBingham to Leicester. 8 April. (Drit. Mus. 
 1587. Saiue to same, 10 April, 1587. MSS.) 
 
 Galba, C. xL 319-321 
 
 1537. INFATUATION AND OBSTINACY OF THE QUEEN. 185 
 
 bcldly in their defence. « ^Vhen I lay before her the 
 penl, said Walsmgham, -she scometh at it. The 
 liope of a peace with Spain has put her into a most dan- 
 gerous Becunty. '^ Nor would any man now assume 
 responsibility. The fate of Davison-of the man who 
 had already m so detestable a manner been made the 
 scapegoat for Leicester's sins in the Netherlands and 
 who had now b 13^^^^^.^^^^^ sacrificed bv the 
 
 Queen for faithfully obeying her orders in regard to the 
 death-warrant, had sickened all courtiers and counsellors 
 for he time. " The late severe dealing used by her 
 Highness towards Mr. Secretary Davison," said AA'al- 
 smgham to ^Vilkes, -maketh us ver>' circumspect and 
 careful not to proceed in anything but wherein we 
 receive direction from herself, and therefore you must 
 not hnd it strange if we now be more sparing than liere- 
 tofore hath been accustomed." * 
 
 Such being the portentous state of the political atmos- 
 phere, and such the stormy condition of the «., ,, «, 
 royal mmd it may be supposed that the in- Ti^T^ 
 terviews of the Netherland envoys with her ^^^'• 
 Majesty during this period were not likely to be genial 
 ±.xactly at the most gloomy moment-thirteen days 
 before the execution of Mar>^-they came first into Eli- 
 zabeth s presence at Greenwich.^ 
 
 r^^V''7\T''^ ^""^ '"^ ^"^^^^^' ^^1 ^^ them expe- 
 rienced and able statesmen -Zuylen van N>-^relt Joos 
 de Menyn, Nicasius de Silla, Jacob Valck,^Tnd YiL 
 van Kamminga.^ The Queen was in the privy councn! 
 chamber attended by the admiral of England, Lord 
 Ihomas Howard Lord Hunsdon, great- chaiuberlain, Sir 
 Christopher Hatton, vice-chamberlain. Secretary Davi- 
 son and many other persons of distinction. 
 
 llie letters of credence were duly presented but it 
 w^ obvious from the beginning of^h^ intervL tlat 
 hVA ^ . T T ^^^-^.^''^P^s^d towards the deputies, and 
 nad not only been misinformed as to mattei-s of fact, but 
 
 ^^^ Walsingham to Leicester. Sec. MS. Conipare Bor. i,. «ii. ,n ,e^. Wage 
 J ur I ." . naar, viii. 214 tea 
 
 .a« ^n.XMs?'"' " ^'"'' <,.: ■"™'-» '- 'P*-!"""^ of Dort; 
 
 »BriefvanrtA«J . . ^ '^'lla. Pensionary of Amsterdam ; Valck 
 
 BnefvandeGedeputeerdenultEng. member of the state-council. Wagt' 
 
 land, -3 Feb. 1687. (Hague Arch., MS.) °"*''' ''^^- ^92. 
 
180 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XIV. 
 
 as to the state of feeling of the Netherlanders and of the 
 States-General towards hereelf.^ . 
 
 Menyn, however, who was an orator by professicn— 
 iDeing pensionary of Dort-made, in the name of his 
 colleagues, a brief but pregnant speeeh to ^vhic-h the 
 Qneen listened attentively, although with frequent indi- 
 cations of anger and impatience. He commenced by 
 obsei-ving that the United Provinces still entertained he 
 hope that her IVIajesty would conclude, upon furtlier 
 tUoushts, to accept the sovereignty over them, with 7Ta. 
 somll conditions ; but the most important passages of his 
 address were those relating to the cost of the ^ ar. 
 " Besides our stipulated contributions, said the P'^n- 
 sionary, " of 200,000 florins the month, we have tur- 
 nished 500,000 as an extraordinary grant; making lor 
 the year 2,900,000 florins, and this over and above the par- 
 ticular and special expenditures of the Provinces, and 
 other sums for militaiy purposes. We confess, Madam, 
 that the succour of your Majesty is a truly royal one, 
 and that there have been few pnnces m history who 
 have given such assistance to their neighbours unjusly 
 oppresed. It is certein that by means of that help 
 ioined with the forces of the United Provinces, the Earl 
 of Leicester has been able to arrest the course of the 
 Duke of Parma s victories and to counteract his designs. 
 >s evertheless, it appears, IVIadam, that these forces have 
 not been sufficient to drive the enemy out of the country. 
 We are obliged, for regular gam son- work and defence 
 of cities, to keep up an army of at least 27,000 foot and 
 3500 horse. Of this number your Majesty pays 5000 
 foot and 1000 horse, and we are now commissioned, 
 Madam, humbly to request an increase o^ }'^;j;;^^^g"^^^' 
 succour during the war to 10,000 foot and 2000 horse. 
 We also implore the loan of 60,000/. steriing, in order 
 to assist us in maintaining for the coming season a sufti- 
 
 cient force in the field." ** . ^ . y.^ 
 
 Such in brief, was the oration of pensionary Menyn, 
 delivered in the French language. He had scarcely con- 
 cluded, when the Queen— evidently m a great passion -- 
 rose to her feet, and, without any hesitation, replied m 
 a strain of vehement eloquence in the same tongue. 
 
 I Letter of the Deputies last cited. Greenwich. (lY^'lf^jr^^-^^f}..^ „.,. 
 (Hague Archives. MS.) ' " Z^" gealtereert. M.b. Letter. t*b. 
 
 > Diacours de Menin — Audience a mp 
 
 1587. NETHERLAND ENVOYS IN ENGLAND. 187 
 
 ,^. *7T I ft '"''^ ^^^^^^;^d, gentlemen," she said, - and 
 that which I have been fearing has occurred. Our com 
 mon adage, which we have in England, is a very ^o^d 
 
 It arrives tJio better. Here is a quarter of a year tb-it T 
 have been expecting yon, and certainly, for the great 
 benefit I have conferred on yon, yon have cxhibi^d a 
 great mgmtitnde, and I consider myself very ill treated 
 ^y >•»«•. Tis very strange that you sLnld begin uZlt 
 « tng still greater succonr without rendering litany 
 satisfaction lor yonr past actions, which have been so 
 extraordinary, that I swear by the living God I think H 
 impassible to find peoples or states more nngra eful oi- 
 ill-advised than yourselves 
 
 ,J„^''^.''Z^y''^^!^^^ye^rmeen, sixteen, aye seven- 
 teen or eighteen thousand men. You have left them 
 without payment, you have let some of them d e of 
 Wp^'h' "^T^" /the"^ to such despemtion that ftev 
 have deserted to the enemy. Is it not mortifyin.. for 
 the English nation and a great shame for /ou that 
 Englishmen should say that they have found more cour 
 tesy from Spaniards than from Netherlanders ? Tn.?y 
 
 nities Rather will I act according to my will and von 
 may do exactly as you think best. ^ ' ^ ^"^ 
 
 " ^^i^l^of , I could do something ver^- good without 
 .ron, although some persons are so fond ?f slyTng that 
 
 Xlhe 1°'T"? ^'^'" '^' Q"^*^" «f EngLfto do 
 «hat she does for her own protection. Ko, no t Dis- 
 abuse yourselves of that impression. These are but 
 Mse persuasions. Believe boldly that I can play an 
 
 o„Tth.°n f "" "i-5°"*- r^^ '«^'«*-««' -"d ^ ^«tter 
 one than 1 ever did witli it.' Nevertheless I do not 
 
 choose to do that, nor do I wish you so m';ch harm 
 
 laf., 'T'" ^'^ \"".* "^^"'^ '^^^ y°" ^^O'-W hold s™h 
 language to me. It is true that I should not wish the 
 Spaniarf so near me if he should be my enemy C 
 
 to each other? At the commencement of my reitrn we 
 lived honourably together, the King of Spain^dl^and 
 
 I 
 
188 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XIV. 
 
 h^ pvpn asked me to marry him, and, after that, we lived 
 ^lon'timeve,; peacefully, without any attempt having 
 Len made against my life. H we both choose, we can 
 
 •=° "tnX o?htrhand, I sent yon the Earl of Leicester. 
 a« lientenant of my forces, and ^y^^^'^^^'^^^^^'^^^ 
 he shonld have exact knowledge of yo""^ A"^^;^^;^"/^ 
 contributions. But, on the contrary 1 ^ ^as ne^ er 
 known anything about them, and you ha^e hanUlca 
 them in your own manner and amongst yourselves. \ ou 
 hate gVen him the title of governor m order, under 
 thb nfme, t» cast all your evils on his head That title 
 he accepted against my will, ty^doing which he^n the 
 risk of losing his life, and his estates, and the grace ana 
 f ,™,.r of his Princess, which was more important to 
 him thTn an But he did it in order to maintain your 
 ^ ttoriTstate And what authority, I pray you, have 
 ™u gfvL ht ? A shadowy authority,, a pure y ima- 
 ginary one. This is but mockery. He is at any rate 
 a gentleman, a man of honour ^d of counsel. \ on had 
 no right to treat him thus. If I had accepted the title 
 which you wished to give me, by the living God, I 
 would not have suffered yo" * ^ treat "lo. 
 
 " But you are so badly advised that when theie is^ 
 
 „an of worth who discovers .yof t"*^„ y^'Jji.eTf 
 ill, and make an outcry against him ; ^nd j et some oi 
 you, in order to save your money, and others ui the 
 Lp; of bribes, have been favo-ng^^ Span ard. and 
 
 XS XS'wC t ^^St^r benefit wi.i to 
 roturi me so much evil. Believe, boldly too, that the 
 K^n^of Sp^n will never trust men who have abandoned 
 ^.nartv to which they belonged, and from which they 
 ^e'S^efso manjbenefits, and fl never brieve 
 a word of what they promise him. ^ ^t.in order to cove 
 L their filth, they spread the ?toiy that the Queen of 
 Aland is thinking^ tr^aungfor^pe^^^^^^ ^^^^^ 
 
 ^rSd hav:i:So ^^y that l had not kept my 
 
 • T:t«f r^riTipps must listcii to Dotn siQCS, ana 
 
 ZrZ belonrwThout breach of faith.' For they 
 
 " Tli^r6 is A 
 
 1587. QUEEN'S BITTER LWECTIVE AGAINST THEM. 189 
 
 transact business in a certain way, and with a princely 
 mtelhgence, such as private persons cannot imitate » 
 ^ You are States, to be sure, but private individuals 
 
 In d'/f ^ A" P"^'!^' ^^^"^^^^' I ^^^^d never choose 
 to do anything without your knowledge, and I would 
 never allow the authority which you ha%e among your 
 selves nor your privileges, nor your statutes, to be in- 
 fringed. Isor will I allow you to be perturbed in your 
 consciences. AVhat, then, would you more of me ^ You 
 have issued a proclamation in your country that no one 
 IS to talk of peace. A'ery well, very goodf But per^Tt 
 princes hkewise to do as they shall think best for the 
 secunty of their state, provided it does you no iniurv 
 Among us princes we are not wont to make such lonc^ 
 orations as you do, but you ought to be content with tht 
 
 $uTet7wfc* '"^^ ^'''""' '"^"'' ^^""' "^^ ^"^^ ^'^^^^^^^f 
 
 "If 1 ever do anything for you again, I choose to be 
 
 reated more honourably. I shal? therefore appoint 
 
 some personages of my council to communicate with 
 
 }ou. And m the first place I choose to hear and see for 
 
 tioii about that, before I make any reply to what you 
 have said to me a^ to greater assistance. And so I will 
 leave you to-day, without troubling you further.'" 
 
 >N ith this her Majesty swept from the apartment 
 leaving the deputies somcNvhat astounded at the fiercJ 
 but adroit manner in which the tables had for a moment 
 been turned upon them. ^i"«iii, 
 
 It wa^s certainly a most unexpected blow, this charge 
 
 nmn^ fl?' n ''"'^ ['^^ *^" ^""^^'^^ soldiers-whose 
 numbers the Queen had so suddenly multiplied by 
 
 hree-unpaid and unfed. Those Englishmen who, as 
 ndividuals, had entered the States' service had beek^ 
 iiKe all the other troops— regularly paid. This dis- 
 tinctly appeared from the statements of her own coun- 
 
 whlch seems to require a phrase similar 
 to the one which I have supplied • Ke- 
 I-onse,' &c., just cited. 
 
 "Car iU besoignent avecq une 
 
 maiuere de fuire et intelligence des 
 
 princes, ce que lea particulicrs ue 
 
 tcaiiroient faire." Ibid. 
 
 ' " Eutre nous princes nous ne scavons 
 
 ainsi orercomme vous faictes, mais vous 
 devriez estre contentz ^vecq ce peu de 
 parollcs quon vous diet, et voua as- 
 seurer la dessus." • Reponse.' &c.. just 
 cited. 
 
 3 ibid. Compare Bor. ii, xxii. 
 874. Wagcnaar, vui. 193-194. 
 
 873« 
 
I'lM) 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XIV. 
 
 1587 
 
 AMAZEMENT OF THE ENVOYS. 
 
 sellers and generals.^ On the other hand, the Queen's 
 contingent, now dwindled to about half their original 
 number, had been notoriously unpaid for nearly six 
 
 months. 
 
 This has already been made sufficiently clear from 
 the private letters of most responsible persons. That 
 these soldiers were starving, deserting, and pillaging, 
 was, alas ! too true ; but the envoys of the States hardly 
 expected to be censured by her Majesty because she had 
 neglected to pay her own troops. It was one of the 
 points concerning which they had been especially en- 
 joined to complain, that the English cavalry, converted 
 into highwaymen by want of pay, had been plundering 
 the pciisantry," and Ave have seen that Thomas Wilkes 
 had " pawned his carcase " to provide for their tempo- 
 rary relief. 
 
 With regard to the insinuation that prominent per- 
 Bonao-es in the country had been tampered with by the 
 enemy, the envoys were equally astonished by such an 
 attack. The great Deventer treason had not yet been 
 heard of in England— for it had occurred only a week 
 before this first interview — but something of the kind 
 was already feared ; for the slippery dealings of York 
 and Stanley with Tassis and Parma had long been 
 causing painful anxiety, and had formed the subject of 
 repeated remonstrances on the part of the States to 
 Leicester and to the (Jueen. The deputies were hardly 
 prepared therefore to defend their own people against 
 dealhig privately with the King of Sj^ain. The only 
 man suspected of such practices was Leicester's own 
 favourite and financier, Jacques Kingault, whom tlie 
 Earl had persisted in employing against the anj^ry 
 remonstrances of the States, who believed hiui to be a 
 
 > Memorial given by Wilkes to Sir R. 
 Williams, Feb. 1587. (S. I*. Office MS.) 
 
 3 " Ijes compiigniert Aiiglaiee*," wrote 
 the States-Genenil to Li icester, " taut de 
 cheval quo de pied h la charge de S. 
 M.jjeste. ayans delai8s«< les fronti^res se 
 sont jevtez en HoUatide. ou ils foulenl et 
 mangent le bon homme soubs pretexte 
 qu'ils diseiit n'avoir re^u aulcun pay- 
 ment en cincq niois. ce que cause grande 
 aiteniiion paidoiisuii ramoiudrinbement 
 
 des contributions du Plat Pays. Kt 
 commc ils tiennent journtllcment plu- 
 sieura propos estrunpos contre la dite 
 province d Hollande, et qu'ils y veuillont 
 iwurchasser leur imyom' nt, a est^ trouve 
 bon de les faire contenir on ils sont," Ike. 
 Sta'es-General to Leicester, 1 March, 
 15»7. (Hague Archives, MS.) 
 
 Tlie stattuienis of Wilkes to hitf go- 
 vernment, of like Import, have b«*en 
 givtii \u the notes onpivceding pai;eii. 
 
 191 
 
 Spanish spy; and the man was now in Drison o«^ 
 threatened with capital punishment ^ ' ^^ 
 
 lo snppose that Buys or Bameveld, Roorda MePt 
 kerk, or any other leading statesman in the NetheViands" 
 was contemplating a private arrangement wifh PhTl p II ' 
 was as ludicrous a conception as to imagine \Vals .tliam 
 a pensioner of the l>ope, or Cecil in league wi"rtZ 
 Uukc ofGu.se. The end and aim of the^StatJs' m tv 
 wa-s war In war they not only saw the safety of hi 
 reformed religion, but the only means of n a nt^ l;, ! 
 .he commercial prosperity of tli comn onl^ f'''^; f 
 ■hole correspondence of the times shows tha no poH 
 tician in the country dreamed of peace, either b, public 
 or secret negotiation. On the oflier hand-as\v' H lo 
 made st> II clearer than ever-the Queen was Ion Jni t 
 l-eaco and was treating for peace at that momeSro^.o 
 I'nvate agents quite without the knowledge orthe States 
 tll^'en^C """''' '"'''«"^"* '"«^--l« - hei sje'echt 
 Yet if Elizabeth could have had the priviler^e of 
 en ering-a_s we are about to do-into the private cabinet 
 of that excellent King of Spain, with whom she had once 
 hcen such good friends, who had even sought her C| 
 
 fi, f it"' should not hve at peace, she might have modi- 
 fied her expressions on this subject. Certainlv if .1. . 
 
 luti'rd^^'f- I'^r^'^ t'^'^ ri'esof7pei-ast 
 1 ?u '^°-'^hich lay upon that library-table fir 
 heyond the seas and mountains, she would have' per 
 ce.ved some objections to the scheme of ° vino^arpeC; 
 with that diligent letter-writer. ° ^"^^ 
 
 nl^nlT^P"' '""^ v-'*" '"'°'''° ''°- *he subtle Farnese wis 
 
 l"uti:,rTAHrr"'' 'iT'*^™'"^' '^-^ fi-t-appro" i^l 
 ixccution of JIary and the as inevitably impending 
 
 destruction ot "that Englishwoman" thr3i h^ 
 
 schemes of his master and himself, she would have pSd 
 
 ess heed to the sentiments couched in most exnuR^i^ 
 
 alian which Alexander was at the same timethiZ W 
 
 already somewhat discomfited the dopmies" 
 
192 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 CUAP. XIV. 
 
 Twn d W8 afterwards, tho five envoys liad an inter- 
 
 the private apartment of ^^^'^^^J^^^,, iyi„. 
 .vicli Palace. Bu.ghley bem ^ P^ ^^^^^^^ 
 
 npon his ted- L« ^«stm Aa ^^^^ p^.^hurst, and 
 
 Hunsdon, Sir Ch"stopuer ""^ ^ Lord-Treasurer 
 
 Si>rretarv Davison, were present, auu I"" t „♦;„ <l,ot 
 proposed that the conversation should be '» L^*-"' ^'^f, 
 Cng the common language ^^f^^^^l^ '^Zmoi 
 rri.^^ tnrnino- over the leaves of the leport, a copy oi 
 
 rh'ad Sl^^derlrS of Leicester, their country 
 
 would not have been utterly """^d- 
 
 " To all appearance, yes," replied Menyn. . 
 
 " Tint •• continued 1 nrghlcy, still running through 
 the Ss onhe document,"and\ere and ^ere deman^^^^^^ 
 an explanation of an obscure passage or two j ou a^e 
 
 ?So7=Tn^^o^s^or%^^^^^^^^^^^^ 
 
 2000 ^I'O'^^' •?"_„„_:,„ Nobodu tciK ever dare even to 
 monstrous and oxcchsi\e. ^'. "^•^ ,,.,^„ ,„„£„* „ame 
 fiieak to her Majesty on the subject, ^\hen jou hrst came 
 ?^, ro. ' , asked for 12,000 men, but you were fuUj 
 in 1585, jou asKea w' • , ^^ ^j^j j tj^o case 
 
 autliorized to accept COOO. INo Qouot luai. 
 
 ""^n that occasion," answered Menyn "o"r main 
 ^n,™so was to induce her Majesty to accept the 
 ^3^niTv 01 "at least the perpetual protection of our 
 Tm tT FaWng in that, wUroached the thud point 
 
 Tnd l^-beliig able to get 12 000 -1^?^ -? ^^Slon 
 for 5000,. the ^f ~t b^ng^jl^ect^ .^^^^^^^^^ 
 by our principals. We ga%o ^P'« ^^ ^^ ^^ 
 
 of the mortgaged cities, liut expeiience i^ = 
 ^LltiiZ forces and this succour are insufficient, ^\o 
 £1 therefore been sent to beg her Majesty to make up 
 the coX-ent to the amount originally requested. 
 "Rut we are obliged to increase the garnsons in the 
 liut we are ^""h „ ^ Engl sh councillors, 
 
 rautionarv towns, saul one oi tu" •""& i.»4i„ » 
 
 ^'^ 800 men in a city like Flushing ai^ very little. 
 ^ Pardon me,'' replied Valck, "the burghers are not 
 
 ^ Rapport deU Legation. Conference M..^ Feb. 1587. (Hague Archive., 
 des Deputes avec les Commissaires de S. ^^ ) i Ibid. 
 
 1587. THEY CONSULT WITH HER CHIEF COUNCILLORS. 193 
 
 enemies but friends to her Majesty and to the English 
 itation. Ihey are her dutiful subjects, like aU the in- 
 liabitants of the Netherlands." 
 
 -It is quite true " said Burghley, after having made 
 some critical remarks upon the military system of the 
 1 rovmces, " and a very common adage, quod tunc tua re, 
 agitur, panes cum proximus ardet, but, nevertheless this 
 war principally concerns you. Therefore you are bound 
 to do your utmost to meet its expenses in your own 
 country, quite as much as a man who means to build a 
 hoyse is expected to provide the stone and timber him- 
 selt. But the States have not done their best. They 
 have not at the appointed time come forward with their 
 extraordinary contributions for the last campaign 
 
 How many men," he asked, "are required for gar- 
 risons m all the fortresses and cities, and for the field ' " 
 
 " But," intei-posed Lord Hunsdon, - not half so many 
 men are needed in the garrisons ; for the burghers ought 
 to be able to defend their own cities. Moreover it is 
 probable that your ordinary contributions might be continued 
 and doubled, and even tripled," » 
 
 c. A ^I"^ ""V^^. T^'^^^'" observed the Lord Admiral, 
 don t you think that the putting an army in the field mia-hi 
 be dispensed with for this year ? Her Majesty at present 
 must get together and equip a fleet of war-vessels against 
 the King of fepam, which will be an excessively large 
 pennyworth, besides the assistance which she gives her 
 neighbours." ^ 
 
 Vffi ^'?f' i^d^^d," said Secretary Davison, "it would be 
 diftcult to exaggerate the enormous expense which her 
 Majesty must encounter this year for defending and 
 liberating her own kingdoms against the King of Spain. 
 Ihat monarch IS making great naval preparations, and 
 IS treating all Englishmen in the most hostile manner. 
 
 the h rench King, who is arresting all English persons 
 and property within his kingdom, tnd with Scotll^d, all 
 Which countnes are understood to have made a leaL^ie 
 ^gether on account of the Queen of Scotland, whom it wUl he 
 oftrM ^T^^'^y.^^i^"^ io death in order to preserve the life 
 Tl^s miff ^ir^ aiX3 about to make war upon England. 
 Ihis matter, then, will cost us, the current year, at least 
 
 > MS. lieport laat cited. 
 
 
 
194 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XIV. 
 
 lii 
 
 eiglit hundred thousand pounds sterling. Nevertheless 
 her Majesty is sure to assist you so far as her means 
 allow ; and I, for my part, will do my best to keep her 
 Majesty well disposed to your cause, even as I have ever 
 done, as you well know." ' 
 
 Thus spoke poor Davison, but a few days before the 
 fatal 8th of February, little dreaming that the day for 
 his influencing the disposition of her Majesty would soon 
 be gone, and that he was himself to be crushed for ever 
 by the blow which was about to destroy the captive 
 Queen. The political combinations resulting from the 
 tragedy were not to be exactly as he foretold, but there 
 is little doubt that in him the ]S etherlands, and Lei- 
 cester, and the Queen of England, were to lose an 
 honest, diligent, and faithful friend. 
 
 " Well, gentlemen," said the Lord-Treasurer, after a 
 few more questions concerning the financial abilities of 
 the States had been asked and answered, *' it is getting 
 late into the evening, and time for you all to get back 
 to London. Let me request you, as soon as may be, to 
 draw up some articles in writing, to which we will 
 respond immediately."* 
 
 IMenyn then, in the name of the deputies, expressed 
 thanks for the urbanity shown them in the conference, 
 and spoke of the deep regret with which they had per- 
 ceived, by her Majesty's answer two days before, that 
 she was so highly olfended with them and with the 
 States-General. He then, notwithstanding Burghley's 
 previous hint as to the lateness of the hour, took up the 
 Queen's answer, point by point, contradicted all its 
 statements, appealing frequently to Lord Leicester for 
 confirmation of what he advanced, and concluded by 
 begging the councillors to defend the cause of the 
 Netherlands to her Majesty. Burghley requested them 
 to make an excuse or reply to the Queen in writing, and 
 send it to him to present." 
 
 Thus the conference terminated, and the envoys re- 
 turned to London. They were fully convinced by the 
 result of these interviews, as they told their con- 
 stituents, that her Majesty, by false statements and 
 reports of persons either grossly ignorant or not having 
 
 > MS. Report last cited. 
 3 Ibid. 
 
 3 Ibid. Compare Bor. ii. xxii. 875- 
 877 seq. 
 
 1587. FOURTH OF FEBRUARY LETTER FROM THE STATES. 195 
 
 tiie good of the commonwealth before their eyes had 
 been veiy incorrectly informed as to the condition of the 
 1 rovinccs, and of the great efforts made by tlie States- 
 Geneiul to defend their country against the enemy. It 
 was obvior,s, they said, that their resources had been 
 
 And tlius statements and counter-statements, protocols 
 
 mali^'rubbft ""^"^ ^•'^'^' ^^^S^A, the hea /of diplo! 
 mafic rubbish was rising higher and higher, and the 
 councillors and envoys, pleased ^-ith their wmk were 
 growing more and more amicable, when the court was 
 suddenly startled by the news of the Beventer Tml 
 Zutphcn trea..on. The intelligence was accompanied bv 
 ,ke ^Tl ,"n °^ ^^^''"''>' '''*t'^^' ^^^'^^ descended 
 chamber" ^ 1^ T *' ""'?"'. °^ '^' '^*'°«'"»« ^ouncil- 
 the F.rl nf T • l""^"'"?'' l''*'^ '■'''■^•y ^^^"^ addressed to 
 the Karl of Leicester, and, through him, to the imperious 
 sovereign lierse f, as the h<,mely truths wit^Xh 
 Rirneveld, spealcing with the voice of the States^ 
 General nowsmote the delinquent govemor. 
 
 Aly Lord, said he, " it is notorious, and needs no 
 illns ration whatever, wi.h what true confidence and 
 
 knd'^tt'''st'^*r°r" '""ri^ your Excellencrfn our 
 land, the States-General, the States-Provincial the 
 magistrates, and the communities of the chief cities in 
 the Ln, ed Provinces, all uniting to do honour to her 
 
 upon jou the government-general over us And 
 a hough we should willingi; have placed some itm 
 
 iat bv S'^' "*''"*^ **""* ^''^^*°"'^' "" y""' i" o^de'- 
 and con.r, .• ^°»"^e J-o""- 0"n honour and the good 
 and constitutional condition of the country micht be 
 
 SVirZ'* r*-^'^"'^ y^- ^-ellen^ylfltS 
 ned ^Mth those limitations, we postponed every obieo 
 ti-a, and conformed oureelves to your ple^itr? Yet 
 
 thtrT.'^ *" *•"* ^'TT ^^''^'^ tir:o"sider:d 
 
 ambitin,,^ ^ '°^^ ""^^* ^^ "P'^^'^g <» door to many 
 
 ?h^e conntnr""rf ' ^"d pernicics persons, both of 
 
 the occasron to ^A ^''"^,^^^''' "«««"«. who might seize 
 
 ne occasion to advance their own private profits, to the 
 
 '{ 
 
 • MS. Rtport, - Feb. 1587, before died. 
 
 2 
 
196 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XIV. 
 
 P\ 
 
 / 
 
 detriment of the country and the dishonour of your 
 
 Excellency. 
 
 ** And in truth, such persons have done their work so 
 efficiently as to inspire you with distrust against the 
 most faithful and capable men in the Provinces, against 
 the Estates General and Provincial, magistrates, and 
 private persons, knowing very well that they could never 
 arrive at their own ends so long as you were guided by 
 the constitutional authorities of the country. And pre- 
 cisely upon the distrust, thus created as a foundation, 
 they raised a back-stairs council, by means of which they 
 were able to further their ambitious, avaricious, and 
 seditious practices, notwithstanding the good advic^e and 
 remonstrances of the council of state, ^nd the btates 
 General and Provincial. ' ^ *. , -r. v i. 
 
 He proceeded to handle the subjects of the J^nglish 
 rose-noble, put in circulation by Leicester's finance or 
 back-stairs council at two florins above its value, to the 
 manifest detriment of the Provinces, to the detestable 
 embargo which had prevented them from using the means 
 bestowed upon them by God himself to defend their 
 country, to the squandering and embezzlement of the 
 large sums contributed by the Provinces and entrusted 
 to the Earl's administration, to the starving condition of 
 the soldiers, maltreated by government, and thus com- 
 pelled to prey upon the inhabitants— so that troops m 
 the States' service had never been so abused during the 
 whole war, although the States had never before voted 
 such largo contributions nor paid them so promptly,— to 
 the placing in posts of high honour and trust men of 
 notoriously bad character and even Spanish spies ; to the 
 taking awky the public authority from those to whom it 
 legitimately belonged, and conferring it on incompetent 
 and unqualified persons ; to the illegal banishment of 
 respectable citizens, to the violation of time-honoured 
 laws and privileges, to the shameful attempts to re- 
 pudiate the ancient authority of the States, and to usurp 
 a control over the communities and nobles by them 
 represented, and to the perpetual eftbrts to foster dis- 
 sension, disunion, and rebellion among the inhabitants. 
 Having thus drawn up a heavy bill of indictment, 
 
 1 Uttre des Etats k Leycestre. 4 Feb. Bor. il. xxii. 944 seq. Wagenaar. viil. 202. 
 15«7. (Hiigiit: Ardiivea. MS.) Compare U Petit, ii. xiv. 541. 
 
 1587. ITS SEVERE LANGUAGE TOWARDS LEICESTER. 197 
 
 nominally against the Earl's illegal counsellors, but in 
 reality against the Earl himself, he proceeded to deal 
 witn the most important matter of all. 
 
 " The principal cities and fortresses in the country 
 have been placed m hands of men suspected by the 
 States on legitimate grounds, men who had been con- 
 victed of treason against these Provinces, and who 
 continued to be suspected, notwithstanding that your 
 frif/'^%>^^ P[^dg^d your own honour for their 
 fidelity Finally by means of these scoundrels,' it was 
 brought to pass, that-the council of state havii^ been 
 invested by your Excellency with supreme authority 
 dunng your absence— a secret document was brought to 
 light after your departure, by which the most sub- 
 stantial matters, and those most vital to the defence of 
 the country, were withdrawn from the disposition of 
 
 ScesT ^^ ^""^ "^"'^ ^^ ^^ '^' ^^^^^ ^^ '^'^^ 
 
 '* Sir William Stanley, by you appointed governor of 
 Deventer, and Kowland York, governor of Fort ZuTphen 
 have refused, by virtue of that secret document to 
 acknowledge any authority in this country. And iiot^ 
 withstanding that since your departure they and thet 
 o diers have been supported at our expense, and had 
 
 CetTr'^ ^^" r^if ^ P"^ ^^^^ *^^ States, they 
 thTfoHti Tl^ ^""^ villanously delivered the city and 
 Stl^ ?l!^*l*^^.r?"'^' ^'^^ * declaration made by 
 Stanley that he did the deed to ease his conscience and 
 to render to the King of Spain the city wh^^of riS 
 wai, belonging to him. And this is a crime so dis- 
 thaTr^^'* scandalous, ruinous, and treasonaWe, as 
 that, during this whole war, we have never seen the 
 iiKe. And we are now in daily fear lest the English 
 commanders in Bergen-op-Zoom, Ostend, and either 
 c les, should commit the same crime. And although wl 
 fully suspected the designs of Stanley and York It 
 Cpol^lTcf «^^^^* '^^^^^* ^^^ depri^ef ;.^:^ 
 
 » "Gibler." MS. tetter U«t cited. 
 
198 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XIV. 
 
 
 
 our repeated remonshances, and that, moreover, this 
 Tery Stunlev should have been recoDimended by your 
 Excellency ifor general c.f all the forces. And although 
 ^ve had many just and grave reasons for opposing your 
 administration— even as our ancestors were otten wont 
 to rise against the sovereigns of the countiy— vv^J have, 
 nevertheless, patiently sutlered for a long time, in order 
 not to diminish your authority, which we deemed so 
 important to our welfare, and in the hope that you would 
 at last be moved by the perilous condition of the com- 
 monwealth, and awake to the artifices of your advisers 
 
 " But at last-feeling that the existence of the state 
 can no longer be preserved without proper authority 
 and that the whole community is full of emotion and 
 distrust, on account of these great treasons-we, the 
 States-General, as well as the States-Provincial, have 
 felt constrained to establish such a government as we 
 deem meet for the emergency. And of this we think 
 proper to apprise your Excellency." 
 
 He then expressed the conviction that all these evil 
 deeds had been accomplished against the intentions ot the 
 Earl and the English government, and reqiiested his 
 Excellency so to deal with her Majesty that the contin- 
 gent of horse and foot hitherto accorded by her ' might 
 be maintained in good order, and m better pay. 
 
 Here, then, was substantial choleric phraseology, as 
 good plain-speaking as her Majesty had just been employ- 
 ing and with quite as sufficient cause. Here was no 
 pleasant diplomatic fencing, but straight foi-ward vigorous 
 thrusts. It was no wonder that poor W ilkes^ should 
 have thought the letter - too sharp," when he heard it 
 read in the assembly, and that he should have done his 
 best to prevent it from being despatched. He would 
 have thought it sharper could he have seen how the 
 pride of her Majesty and of Leicester was wounded by 
 It to the quick. Her list of grievances against the State^ 
 seemed to vanish into air. ^^ ho had been tampering with 
 ihe Spaniards now ? Had that - shadowy and imagmaiy 
 authority " granted to Leicester not proved substantial 
 enough? Was it the States-General, the state-council, 
 or was it the " absolute governor "—who had carried 
 off the supreme control of the commonwealth m his 
 pocket— that was responsible for the ruin effected by 
 
 1587. PAINFUL POSITION OF THE ENVOYS AT COURT. 199 
 
 Englishmen who had scorned all " authority " but his 
 own ? 
 
 The States, in another blunt letter to the Queen her- 
 self, declared the loss of Deventer to be more disastrous 
 to them than even the fall of Antwei-p had been ; for the 
 republic had now been split asunder, and its most 
 ancient and vital portions almost cut away. Neverthe- 
 less they were not " dazzled nor despairing,'' they said, but 
 more determined than ever to maintain their liberties, 
 and bid defiance to the Spanish tyrant. And again they 
 demanded of, rather than implored, her Majesty to be 
 tnie to her engagements with them.^ 
 
 The interviews which followed were more tempestuous 
 than ever. '* 1 had intended that my Lord of Leicester 
 should return to you," she said to the envoys. ** But 
 that shall never be. He has been treated with gross 
 ingratitude, he has served the Provinces with ability, 
 he has consumed his own property there, he has risked 
 his life, he has lost his near kinsman. Sir Philip Sidney, 
 whose life I should be glad to purchase with many 
 millions, and, in place of all reward, he receives these 
 venomous letters, of which a copy has been sent to his 
 sovereign to blacken him with her." She had been 
 advising him to return, she added, " but she was now 
 resolved that he should never set foot in the Provinces 
 again." * 
 
 Here the Earl, who was present, exclaimed— beating 
 himself on the breast — " A tali officio libera nos 
 Domine ! " * 
 
 But the States, undaunted by these explosions of 
 wrath, replied that it had ever been their custom, 
 when their laws and liberties were invaded, to speak 
 their mind boldly to kings and governors, and to pro- 
 cure redress of their grievances, as became free men.* 
 
 * " Car si k perte d'Anvera a estd tres 
 grande pour tout le pays, ceste cy tire 
 avec 8oi plus graude consequence, tout 
 au regard de plusieurs autres villes cir- 
 cumvoibines de Deventer, lesquelles ne 
 pourront etre avictuaillees que par force, 
 que aultrement. Non pas que nous 
 diaons cesq comme esblouys et par de- 
 
 ^"Po'r Car nous ne nianquerons 
 
 jamais en nos premieres resolutions de 
 nouft vouloir maintenir contre le Roi 
 
 d'Espaigne, pour la conservation de la 
 religion Chrestienne, nos privileges, fran- 
 chises, et libertc's." States-General to 
 the Queon, 6 Feb. 1587. (Hague Ar- 
 chives, MS.) 
 
 ' Bor. ii. xxlL 949. 
 
 » Ibid. 
 
 * " Nous sommes accoustumez, comme 
 aussi ont ete nos predecesseurs, d© re- 
 monstrer a nos princes et gouverneurs 
 librement des desordres et contraveutiuus 
 
200 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XIV. 
 
 During that whole spring the Queen was at daggers 
 drawn with all her leading counsellors, mainly in regard 
 to that great question of questions — the relations of 
 England with the Netherlands and Spain. "VValsingham 
 — who felt it madness to dream of peace, and who 
 believed it the soundest policy to deal with Parma and 
 his veterans upon the soil of Flanders, with the forces 
 of the republic for allies, rather than to await his arrival 
 in London — was driven almost to frenzy by what he 
 deemed the Queen's perverseness. 
 
 " Our sharp words continue," said the Secretary, 
 "which doth greatly disquiet her Majesty, and dis- 
 comfort her poor servants that attend her. The Lord- 
 Treasurer remaineth still in disgrace, and, behind my 
 back, her Majesty giveth out very hard speeches of my- 
 self, which I the rather credit, for that I find, in dealing 
 with her, I am nothing gracious ; and if her Majesty 
 could be otherwise served, I know I should not be used. 
 . . . . Her Majesty doth wholly bend herself to 
 devise some further means to disgrace her poor council, 
 in respect whereof she neglecteth all other causes. 
 . . . . The discord between her Majesty and her 
 council hindereth the necessary consultations that were 
 to be destined for the preventing of the manifold perils 
 
 that hang over this realm Sir Christopher 
 
 Hatton hath dealt very plainly and dutifully with her, 
 which hath been accepted in so evil part as he is re- 
 solved to retire for a time. I assure you I find every 
 
 man weary of attendance here I would to 
 
 God I could find as good resolution in her Majesty to 
 proceed in a princely course in relieving the United 
 Provinces as 1 find an honourable disposition in your 
 Lordship to employ yourself in their service." ' 
 
 The Lord-Treasurer was much puzzled, very wretched, 
 but philosophically resigned. *' VV hy her Majesty useth 
 me thus strangely, I know not," he observed. "To 
 some she saith that she meant not I should have gone 
 from the court ; to some she saith, she may not admit 
 me, nor give me contentment. I shall dispose myself 
 
 que nous trouvons coutre nos privileges ordres,"&c. States-Geueral to Leicester, 
 
 elllbertes, comme avons fait a V. K. 1 Alaivh, 1587. (Hague Arcbives, MS.) 
 
 etant ici,— ce que nous avons toujours > Walsinghara to Leicester, 3 April, 
 
 tenu eire de notre devoir et vrai nioyen 158t. Same to same, 10 April, 1587. 
 
 pour parvtuir au redres des dites d«j- (BriU Mu8.Galba, C. xL 316-319.) 
 
 1587. QUEEN'S PARSIMONY TOWARDS LEICESTER. 201 
 
 to enjoy God's favour, and shall do nothing to deserve 
 her dLsfavour. Aud if I be suff-ered to be a stranger to 
 her attairs, I shall have a quieter life " * 
 
 Leicester, after the first burst of his anger was over 
 
 Zm *' ''l''"'^^ ^" Provinces. He protested 
 that he had a greater aff-ection for the Netherland people 
 -not for the governing powers-even than he felt for 
 the people of Eugland. » - There is nothing sticks iu 
 my stomach,' he said " but the good-wiU of^that poor 
 afflicted people for whom, I take God to record, I could 
 ^content to lose any limb I have to do them good " ^ 
 But he was cnppled with debt, and the Queen resolutely 
 refused to lend him a few thousand pounds, without 
 which he could not stir. Walsingham in vain did battle 
 with her parsimony, representing how urgently and 
 vividly the necessity of his return had been depicted by 
 all her ministers m both countries, and how much it 
 imported to her own safety and service. But she was 
 obdurate. "She would rather," he said bitterly to 
 Leicester, hazard the increase of confusion there-^ 
 which may put the whole country in peril-than supply 
 your want. The like course she holdeth in the rest 
 of her causes, which maketh me to wish myself from 
 the helm. At last she agreed to advance him ten 
 
 ' Burghley to Leicester, 16 April, 
 1587. (Brit. Mus. Galba, C. xi. 333). 
 
 ' Bor. iL xxii. 95(t-952. 
 
 ' Leicester to Walsingiiam, 16 April. 
 1687. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 * " For the 10,000/. for your particular," 
 F*id Walsingham, " I have dealt very 
 earnestly, but cannot prevail to win her 
 iMajesty to assent thereunto. I caused 
 Mr. Barker to set down a note of your 
 mortgages that stand upon forfeiture for 
 lack of this promLsed support of the 
 10,0001., wherewith ohe has been made 
 acquainted, but not moved thereby to 
 relieve you." Walsingham to Leicester. 
 6 April, 1587. (Brit. Muri. Galba, C. xi. 
 323. MS.) 
 
 And again, two days later—" I am 
 sorry that her Majesty sticketh with you 
 for the loan, for I see, without your re- 
 turn, both the cause and many an honest 
 man that have showed them most con- 
 stantly affet ted to you will go to ruin. 
 I wish you had it, though it were but for 
 
 two months. The enemy is not like to 
 attempt any great matter in respect of 
 his wants. But I am most sorry to see 
 so great an advantage lost as her Majesty 
 might have had, in case slie had been in- 
 duced to contribute towards the putting 
 an army Into the field." Same to same. 
 8 April, 1587. Ibid. p. 321-331. MS. 
 
 And once more, a week afterwards— 
 " She can be content to funiish you with 
 10,000^, so as you would devise, out of 
 her entertainment and the States, to pay 
 her In one year the said sum, which she 
 saith you promised unto herself, and 
 therefore willed me to write to you to 
 know whether you can make repayment 
 in such order as she requireth." Same 
 to same, 14 April. 1587. Ibid. 326. 
 
 There was not much sentiment be- 
 tween the " throned vestal " and " Sweet 
 Robin " when pounds and shillings were 
 discusj;ed ; and it will be seen that the 
 Karl was rendered quite frantic by the 
 screwing process to which he found him- 
 
O02 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Ghap. XIV. 
 
 thousand pounds, but on so severe conditions, that the 
 Eavl declared himself heart-broken again, and protested 
 that he would neither accept the money ^^I'^^^V^^ 
 foot in the Netherlands. " Let Norns stay there he 
 s^id in a fury ; " he will do admirably, no doubt. Only 
 k it not l7suppo«ed that I can be there also. No 
 for one hundred"^ thousand pounds would I be in that 
 
 ''"Meantime it T^ agreed that Lord Buckhurst should 
 be sent forth on what Wilkes termed a mission of ex- 
 postulation, and a very ill-timed one. This new envoy 
 las to inquire into the causes ot the di^co^t^"^*- -"f *» 
 do his best to remove tbem : as if any man in Lngland 
 or in Holland doubted as to the causes, or as to the best 
 means of removing them ; or as if it were not absolutely 
 certain that delay was the very worst specific that 
 co^d be adopted-delay-which the Netheiland states- 
 men as well as the Queens wisest counsellors, most 
 SecTted, which Alexander and Philip most desired, 
 and bv indulging in which her Majesty was most directly 
 p?ayin "nto he? adversary's hand. Elizabeth was pre- 
 Lring'to put cards upon the table against an antagonist 
 Ihose game was close, whose honesty was always to be 
 suspected, and who was a consummate master in what 
 was then considered diplomatic sleight of hand. So 
 
 self subjected by her whose " blessed 
 beams" had formerly betn so "nutri- 
 tious." 
 
 » •• I perceive by your letters," said 
 
 I^icester, " that her Majesty would now 1 
 
 should go over, and will lend me 10,0001. 
 
 8o she may be sure to receive it back 
 
 within a year. I did offer to her M ajesty 
 
 heretofore that she should have all 1 
 
 receive of her entertainment, and as much 
 
 besides as shall yield her 2000l., paid 
 
 either lOOOl. at Michaelmas and the other 
 
 at our Lady-day, or else both at our l.Ady, 
 
 which is less than a year ; and so long as 
 
 I shall receive, then her Majesty shall 
 
 receive after this sort till her lO.OOOi. be 
 
 paid. And this Is more, I am now per 
 
 i«uaded, than I shull be able to do, and 
 
 keep any countenance fit for the place 
 
 .... but seeing I find her Majesty's 
 
 hardness continue still to me as it doth, 
 
 I pray you let me your earnest and true 
 
 furtherance for my abode at home and 
 
 discharge ... for my heart is more 
 than balf-broken, and 1 do think her 
 Majesty had rather far continue Sir J. 
 Norris there, in respect to the reconcilia- 
 tion between him and Count Hollock. 
 .... But I will never serve with him 
 ^ain as long as I live ; no, not for to 
 have lOO.OOoL given me .... 1 know 
 the man too well to trust to his service. 
 I shall have no good thereby- not if 1 
 wore an angel, for he cannot obey nor 
 almost like of an equal .... and al- 
 ready he hath taken advantage to curry 
 favour with captains and soldiers. . . . 
 He shall never bear sway under me ; his 
 di.->dain and craft hath no moderation; 
 and I know, for all those speeches of my 
 going, his friends make full account that 
 he shall remain there as her M^esty's 
 general of the forces." Leicester to Wal- 
 singham. 16 April, 1587. (S. P. Office 
 MS.) 
 
 1587. BUCKHURST SENT TO THE NETHERLANDS. 
 
 203 
 
 Lord Buckhurst was to go forth to expostulate at the 
 Hague, while transports were loading in Cadiz and 
 Lisbon, reiters levying in Germany, pikemen and 
 musketeers in Spain and Italy, for a purpose concern- 
 ing which Walsingham and Bameveld had for a long 
 time felt little doubt. 
 
 Meantime Lord Leicester went to Bath to drink the 
 waters, and after he had drunk the waters, the Queen, 
 ever anxious for his health, was resolved that he should 
 not lose the benefit of those salubrious draughts by 
 travelling too soon, or by plunging anew into the 
 fountains of bitterness which flowed perennially in the 
 Netherlands.' 
 
 * •* Finding your presence here neces- 
 sary," wrote Walsingham, " for the ex- 
 pedition of the Low Country causes, I 
 moved her M^esty that I might be 
 authorised In her name to hasten your 
 repair hither, whereunto she would in no 
 Bort consent, prttending that, after the 
 
 use of the Bath, it would be dangerous 
 for your Lordship to take any extra- 
 ordinary travail. There is some doubt 
 tliat Ostend will be presently besieged," 
 Sec. &c. Walsingham to Leicester, 17 
 April, 1587. (B. Mus. Galba, 0. xi. 327. 
 M&) 
 
204 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 CuAP. XV. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Biickhurst sent to the Netherlanda— Alarming State of Affairs on hia Arrival— His 
 Efforts to conciliate— Dem(XTatic Theories of Wilkes— vSophistry of ^he Argu- 
 ment— Dispute between Wilkes and Bumeveld— Religious Tolerance by the 
 States— Their Couatitutional Theory— Deventer's bad Counsels to Leicester— 
 Their pernicious Effect— Real and supposed Plots against Hohenlo— Mutual 
 Suspicion and Distrust— Buckhurst seeks to restore good Feeling— The Queen 
 angry and vindictive— She censures Buckhurst's Course— Leicester's Wraih at 
 Hoheulo's charges of a Plot by the I-^rl to murder him— Buckhurst's eloquenc 
 Appeals to the Queen— Her perplexing and contradictory Ordern— Despair of 
 Wilkes— Leicester announces his Return— His Instructions— Letter to Junius 
 — Bameveld denounces him in the States. 
 
 We return to the Ketherlands. If ever proof were 
 afforded of the influence of individual character on the 
 destiny of nations and of the world, it certainly was 
 seen in the year 1587. We have lifted the curtain of 
 the secret council-chamber at Greenwich. We have 
 seen all Elizabeth's advisers anxious to arouse her from 
 her fatal credulity, from her almost as fatal parsimony. 
 We have seen Leicester anxious to return, despite all 
 fancied indignities, Walsingham eager to expedite the 
 enterprise, and the Queen remaining obdurate, while 
 month after month of precious time was melting away. 
 
 In the Netherlands, meantime, discord and confusion 
 had been increasing every day ; and the first great cause 
 of such a dangerous condition of affairs was the absence 
 of the governor. In this all parties agreed. The Lei- 
 cestrians, the anti-Leicestrians, the Holland party, the 
 Utrecht party, the English counsellors, the English 
 generals, in private letter, in solemn act, all warned 
 the Queen against the lamentable effects resulting from 
 Leicester's inopportune departure and prolonged ab- 
 sence.* 
 
 On the first outbreak of indignation after the Deventer 
 affair, Prince Maurice was placed at the head of the 
 general government, with the violent Hohenlo as his 
 lieutenant.* The greatest exertions were made by these 
 two nobles and by Bameveld, who guided the whole 
 
 » Documents In Bor, ill. xxiii. 76-80. 
 
 • Wogenaar, vili. 204. 
 
 1587. BTOKHURST SENT TO THE NETHERLANDS. 205 
 
 policy of the party, to secure as mauy cities as possible 
 to their cause. Magistrates and commandants of gar- 
 risons in many towns willingly gave in their adheS.n 
 TV A^ ^^I government ; othere refused, especiallv 
 Diednch Soaoy. an officer of distinction who wE 
 
 IwTh n /"''''"y^e". and influential througho^ 
 >.orth Ho land, and who remained a stanch partisan of 
 Leicester.' Utrecht, the stronghold of the Lcicestrians 
 was wavermg and much torn by faction; Hohenlo and 
 Moeurs had ''banqueted and feasted" to such g^d 
 purpose that they had gained over half tho captains of 
 the burgher-guard, and, aided by the branch of nobles 
 were making a good fight against the Leicester magisi 
 r^lTr .." f'T^ force, enriched by the plundefof 
 the old tathoho livings, who denounced as Papistical 
 
 and fiSeir ° ^^^""""'"^ *^' ^^""^ ^^ ^^^'^^ 
 
 By the end of March the envoys returned from Lon- 
 don, and in their company came Lord Buckhurst, as 
 special ambassador from the Queen * 
 
 -Diomas Sackville, Lord Buckhurst-afterwards Earl 
 ot Uorset and lord-treasurer— was then fifty-one years 
 ^iT; K rr^i'*'"^^ culture-poet, dramatist, diplo 
 matist-bred to the bar ; afterwards elevated to the 
 peerage ; endowed with high character and strong in! 
 Ind'wV; W / ^.'*V°"S^|/nd pen, handsome of person, 
 and with a fascinating address, he was as fit a person 
 to send on a mission of expostulation as any man to be 
 found in England. But the author of the ' InducHon 
 to the Mirror for Magistrates' and of < Gorboduc " h°d 
 come to the Netherlands on a forlorn hope To et 
 postulate in favour of peace with a people who knew 
 that their existence depended on war, to reconcile thosi 
 
 InimSieltt'''* *'"' '''t' ^"^ ^^^*^' and to t 1 
 mZs f. tl. • ^^° ""'^ ^^°, ^'^^« ^"•^•"'es from their 
 
 cW n J ^r/ ^^*''' "T ^ •''*8™lt n>i««ion- But the 
 chief ostensible object of Buckhurst was to smooth the 
 
 SramlrTt*" *^^ ^""^ inclinations of the English 
 §°\®"""ent. This was no easy task, for they knew thnt 
 their envoys had been dismissed, witkout ev?n a roS 
 
 ' ''"™"- ^"- "•• "MrAV,'r V '^'' '"■ =-^'"- ■» *^- «^^-^' V'- '«'■ 
 
 i>or, x\ii. 952. Wagenaar, ai6. 
 
206 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XV. 
 
 of subsidy. They had asked for twelve thousand soldiers 
 and sixty thousand pounds, and had received a volley of 
 abuse. Over and over again, through many months, 
 the Queen fell into a paroxysm of rage when even an 
 allusion was made to the loan of fifty or sixty thouKand 
 pound«; and even had she promised the money, it 
 would have given but little satisfaction. As Count 
 Moeurs observed, he would rather see one English rose- 
 noble than a hundred royal promises. So the Hollanders 
 and Zeehmders— not fearing Leicester's influence within 
 their little morsel of a territory— were concentrating 
 their means of resistance upon their own soil, intending 
 to resist Spain, and, if necessary, England, in their last 
 ditch, and with the last drop of their blood. 
 
 While such was the condition of affairs, Lord Buck- 
 hurst landed at Flushing— four months after the de- 
 parture of Leicester— on the 24th March, having been 
 tossing three days and nights at sea in a great storm, 
 *' miserably sick and in great danger of drovming." ^ Sir 
 William llussell, governor of Flushing, informed him of 
 the progress making by Prince Maurice in virtue of his 
 new authority. He told him that the Zeeland regiment, 
 vacant by Sidney's death, and which the Queen wished 
 bestowed upon Russell himself, had been given to 
 Count Solms— a circumstance which was very sure to 
 excite her Majesty's ire ; but that the greater number, 
 and those of the better sort, disliked the alteration of 
 government, and relied entirely upon the Queen. Sainte 
 Aldegondo visited him at Middleburgh, and in a "long 
 discourse" expressed the most friendly sentiments 
 towards England, with free offers of pei-sonal service. 
 *' Nevertheless," said Buckhurst, cautiously, " I mean to 
 trust the effect, not his words, and so I hope he shall 
 not much deceive me. His opinion is that the Earl of 
 Leicester's absence hath chiefly caused this change, and 
 that without his return it will hardly be restored again, 
 but that upon his arrival all these clouds will prove but 
 a summer-shower." * 
 
 As a matter of course the new ambassador lifted up 
 his voice, immediately after setting foot on shore, in 
 favour of the starving soldiers of his Queen. " 'Tis a 
 
 1 Buckhurst to WaUingham, 26thMarch, 1587. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 a Ibid. 
 
 1587. ALARMING STATE OF AFFAIRS AT HIS ARRIVAL. 207 
 
 most lamentable thing," said he, " to hear the com- 
 ]>laints ot soldiers and captains for want of pay " 
 W hole companies made their way into his presence! 
 literally crying aloud for bread. "For Jesus' sake," 
 wrote Luckhurst, 'Miasten to send relief with all speed 
 and let such victualleis be appointed as have a con- 
 Mience not to make themselves rich with the famine of 
 poor soldiers if her Majesty send not money, and that 
 with speecl, for their payment, I am afraid to think 
 wliat misihiet and miseries are like to follow." » 
 ^ Then the ambassador proceeded to the Hague, holdinc 
 interviews witli influential personages in private, and 
 with the btiites-Geueral in public. Such wa^ the charm 
 ot his manner, and so firm the conviction of sinceriiv 
 and good-will which he inspired, that in the course of a 
 tortnight there was already a sensible change in the 
 aspect of aftairs. The enemy, who, at the time of their 
 arrival, had been making bcnfires and holding triumphal "^ 
 proces.sions for joy of the great breach between Holland 
 and England, and had been - hoping to swallow them 
 all up, while there were so few left who knew how to 
 act were already manifesting disappointment.'^ 
 
 In a solemn meeting of the States-General with the 
 state-council, Buckhurst addressed the assembly ui.on 
 the general subject of her Majesty's goodness ^to the 
 ^etherlands. He spoke of the gracious assistance ren- 
 rtered by her, notwithstanding her many special charges 
 tur the common cause, and of the mighty enmities which 
 she hac incurred for their sake. He sharply censured 
 t^e Hullanders for their cruelty to men who had shed 
 tneir blood m their cause, but who were now driven 
 torth from their to^^•ns, and left to starve on the hioh- 
 ways, and hated for their nation's sake ; as if the whole 
 J'^nghsh name deserved to be soiled ''for iho treachery 
 "t two miscreants." He spoke strongly of their de- 
 meanour towards the Karl of Leicester, and of the 
 wrongs they had done him, and told them that if they 
 were not ready to atone to her Majesty for such injuries 
 they were not to wonder if their deputies received no 
 better answer at her hands. - She who embraced your 
 
 ^^^J^uckhurst to WaUingham. MS. last « Bartholomew Clerk to Burghley 12 
 
 April. 1587. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 (I 
 
208 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XVt 
 
 cause," he said, " when other mighty princes forsook 
 you, will still stand fast unto you, yea, and increase her 
 goodness, if her present state may suffer it." ^ 
 
 After being addressed in this manner the council of 
 state made what Counsellor Clerk called a ''very 
 honest, modest, and wise answer;" but the States- 
 General, not being able " so easily to discharge that 
 which had so long boiled within them," deferred their 
 reply until the following day. They then brought for- 
 ward a deliberate rejoinder, in which they expressed 
 themselves devoted to her Majesty, and, on the whole, 
 well disposed to the Earl. As to the 4th February 
 letter, it had been written "in amaritudine cordis," 
 upon hearing the treasons of York and Stanley, and in 
 accordance with " their custom and liberty used towards 
 all princes, whereby they had long preserved their 
 estate," and in the conviction that the real culprits foi- 
 all the sins of his Excellency's government were certain 
 *' lewd persons who sought to seduce his Lordship, and 
 to cause him to hate the States.'* 
 
 Buckhurst did not think it well to reply, at that 
 moment, upon the ground that there had been already 
 crimination and recrimination more than enough, and 
 that a " little bitterness more had rather caused them to 
 determine dangerously than resolve for the best." * 
 
 They then held counsel together— the envoys and the 
 States-General, as to the amount of troops absolutely 
 necessary— casting up the matter "as pinchingly as 
 possibly might be." And the result was, that 20,000 foot 
 and 2000 horse for garrison work, and an army of 13,000 
 foot, 5000 horse, and 1000 pioneers, for a campaign of 
 five or six months, were pronounced indispensable. 
 This would require all their 240,000/. sterling a-year, 
 regular contribution, her Majesty's contingent of 
 140,000/., and an extra sum of 150,000/. sterling. Of 
 this sum the States requested her Majesty should furnish 
 two-thirds, while they agreed to furnish the other third, 
 which would make in all 240,000/. for the Queen, and 
 290,000/. for the States. As it was understood that the 
 English subsidies were onlv a loan, secured by mortgage 
 of the cautionary towns, this did not seem very unrea- 
 
 1 Barthulumew Clerk U> Burghley, lUti sup. 
 
 2 Ibid. 
 
 15S7. 
 
 HIS EFFORTS TO CONCILIATE. 
 
 209 
 
 ^'Ar^^l^^t'''^^^^ blending of England's welfare 
 >vitli that ot the Provinces was considered * 
 
 Thus it will be observed that Lord Buckhurst-while 
 domg his best to conciliate personal feuds and heart- 
 bummgs-had done full justice to the merits of Leicester 
 
 bf htr VS ^'"''"' ''"'* ^'^ '^^^^"'^ ^^^^"^^ 
 He then proceeded to Utrecht, where he was received 
 with many demonstrations of respect, - with solemn 
 speexjhes from magistrates and bui^her-captains, with 
 military processions, and with great banquets, Which 
 were, however, conducted with decorum, and at which 
 even Count Moeurs excited universal astonishment by 
 his sobriety.^ It was difficult, however, for matters to 
 f i^F s^^oothly, except upon the suri-ace. What 
 could be more disastrous than for a little^ommonwealth 
 -a mere handful of people, like these Netherlanders 
 engaged m mortal combat with the most powerful 
 monarch in the worid, and with the fii^t general of the 
 age, withm a league of their borders-thus to be de- 
 prived of a 1 organized government at a most critical 
 moment and to be left to ^vrangle with their allies and 
 among themselves as to the form of polity to be adopted 
 
 ihf'''^ *¥ J^^y foimdation of the autboritv by which 
 ff%rr^r^'t'^^ ^^^^ ^^J'»'^d» the;o^4eignty 
 
 ^.^Ted o^ T -'"^f ^' ""^i^^ government-general fon^ 
 leiTed on Leicester, was fiercely assailed by the confi- 
 dential agents of Elizabeth herself. The dfspute went 
 111 o the veiy depths of the social contract. Already 
 VV likes, standing up stoutly for the democratic views of 
 
 as.sured the English government that the " people were 
 
 om^tn^'^^ *^"J^' ^' '^^ States-Gen^era? 'at any 
 ton^enlent moment. The sovereign people not thi 
 depu les, were alone to be heeded, h^e sa^d although 
 
 learned tl!''^T'^'-l^ '^'' '^''^^ ^^ ^^^* Pr«^^«« ^^ l^ad 
 
 here h.*.\^"^'^"'^*" opinion of that sovereign, as 
 
 tiiere had been no assembly excepting those of the 
 
 ,.^. (b. r. Office MS,) 
 
 VOL. II. '' 
 
 P 
 
210 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XV. 
 
 1587. 
 
 Stiites General and States-Provincial— he was none the 
 less fully satisfied that the people were all with Lei- 
 cester, and bitterly opposed to the States. ^^ 
 
 " For the sovereignty, or supreme authority, said he, 
 "through failure of a legitimate prince, belongs to the 
 people, and not to you, gentlemen, who are only ser- 
 vants, ministers, and deputies of the people. \ou have 
 vour commissions or instructions surrounded by limita- 
 tions—which conditions are so widely diflferent from the 
 power of sovereignty as the might of the subject is m 
 regard to his prince, or of a seivant in respect to his 
 master. For sovereignty is not limited either as to 
 power or as to time. Still less do you represent tho 
 sovereignty ; for tho people, in giving the general and 
 absolute government to the Earl of Leicester, have 
 conferred upon him at once the exercise of justice, the 
 administration of polity, of naval affairs, of war, and 
 of all the other points of sovereignty. Of these a 
 governor-general is, however, only the depositary or 
 jruardian, until such time as it may please the prince or 
 people to revoke the trust, there being no other m this 
 state who can do this, seeing that it was the people who, 
 through the instrumentality of your offices— through 
 you as its servants— conferred on his Excellency this 
 power, authority, and government. According to the 
 common rule of law, therefore, quo jure quid datmtur 
 eodemjure tdli debet You having been fully empowered 
 by the provinces and cities, or, to speak more correctly, 
 bv vour masters and superiors, to confer the government 
 on his Excellency, it follows that you require a like 
 power in order to take it away either in whole or in 
 part If then, you had no commission to curtail his 
 authoritv, or even that of the state-council, and thus to 
 tread u^n and usurp his power as governor-general and 
 absolute, there follows of two things one : either you 
 did not well understand what you were doing, nor duly 
 consider how far that power reached; or much more 
 probably, you have fallen into the sm of disobedience, 
 considering how solemnly you swore allegiance to him. 
 
 '^r^Jrr^r\::::To^r.. t.at thegueen on the Uth ^u.y 15«T that 
 W Ikes retracts! the^ democratic views in case she refused the Bovercignty. it 
 blfore tTe end of the «ummer. and gm- - should remain with such a. by the lau, 
 
 SOPHISTRY OF THE ARGUMENT. 
 
 211 
 
 Thus subtly and ably did Wilkes defend the authority 
 of the man who had deserted his post at a most critical 
 moment and had compelled the States, by his derelic- 
 tion, to take the government into their own hands 
 
 For, after all, the whole argument of the Endish 
 counsellor rested upon a quibble. The people were 
 absolutely sovereign, he said, and had lent that sove- 
 reignty to Leices^ter. How had they made that loan ? 
 i hrough the machinery of the States-General. So lono- 
 then, as the Earl retained the absolute sovereicmty the 
 States were not even representatives of the soverei^ 
 peeple The sovereign people was merged in one 
 English Earl. The English Eari had retired-indefi- 
 nitely— to England. Was the sovereign people to wait 
 for months or yeai-s before it regained its existence ? 
 And if not how was it to reassert its vitality ? How 
 but through the agency of the States-Geneml, who- 
 according to Wilkes himself~Aa^ been fuU^ e^npowered by 
 the Frovmces and Cities to confer the government on the EarU 
 Ihe people then, after all, were the provinces and cities. 
 And the States-General were at that moment as much 
 qualified to represent those provinces and cities as they 
 
 of Vie country do retain it, which is not 
 in the common people, but in some fifty 
 or sixty persons in every city and town 
 
 called by the name of Vroedschap 
 
 If the F^rl of Leicester," said he, "should 
 attempt to remove any of those persons, 
 constituting this Vroedschap, as it is ru- 
 moured he intends doing, it will hazard 
 the ruin of the whole country, endanger 
 tiie Earl greatly, and prove the loss of all 
 her Majesty's charge employed in the 
 defence of the country. It is a mistake 
 to suppose that it will be a facile matter 
 to carry the common people icto any such 
 violence at any time agahist the States ; 
 «or tlie magistrates of every city and 
 town, upon premonition already given 
 are holding a vigilant eye and severe 
 hand over any that shall stir withm any 
 of their jurisdiction. 
 
 "The remedy," continued Wilkes. " to 
 prevent any mischief that might ensue 
 ot any popular commotion, would be to 
 I«^ave that course, and to follow the ex- 
 ample of the late I>rince of Orange, who 
 had quite as many difficulties to contend 
 w. h as the Iv.rl of Leicester, and yet 
 lo.bore to discredit the States with the 
 
 people— gaining five or six of the States' 
 members that had the most credit with 
 the assemblies, and through them work- 
 ing upon all the rest; there being no- 
 thing determined or to be handled in 
 their assemblies but he knew of it always 
 beforehand ; and whensoever he had any- 
 thing to propound ur bring to pass among 
 them, he first consulted with these per- 
 sons, and by them was made acquainted 
 whether the matter would pass or be 
 inipugned, and acted accordingly. The 
 lYince," said Wilkes. •• never attempted 
 anything of importance without consult- 
 ing the Sutes. The people are the same 
 now as they were then, and do not love 
 to be subject to any monarchical govern- 
 ment." Wilkes to the Queen. 12 July 
 1587. (S.K Office MS.) 
 
 It is obvious, from this change of opl- 
 nion on the part of the counsellor, that 
 he would become liable to the disappro- 
 bation of Leicester ; but it seems hardly 
 credible that he should have thereby in- 
 spired the Earl witJi such a hatred and 
 longing for revenge against him as he 
 unquestionably did excite. 
 
 P2' 
 
212 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XT. 
 
 ever had been, and they claimed no more. Wilkes, nor 
 any other of the Leicester party, ever hinted at a general 
 assembly of the people. Universal suffrage was not 
 dreamed of at that day. By the people he meant, if he 
 meant anything, only that very small fraction ot the 
 inhabitants of a country who, according to the J^ngUsli 
 system in the reign of Elizabeth, constituted its Com- 
 mons. Ho chose, rather from personal and political 
 motives than philosophical ones, to draw a distinction 
 between the people and the - States," but it is quite 
 obvious, from the tone of his private communications, 
 that by the -States" he meant the individuals who 
 happened, for the time being, to be the deputies of the 
 States of each province. But it was almost an affecta- 
 tion to accuse those individuals of calling or considering 
 themselves "sovereigns," for it was very well known 
 that they sat as envoys, rather than as immhers of a con- 
 gress, and were pei-petually obliged to recur to then- 
 constituents, the States of each Province, for instructions. 
 It was idle, because Buys and Bameveld, and Koorda, 
 and other leaders, exercised the influence due to then- 
 talents, patriotism, and experience, to stigmatise tlicni as 
 usurpei-s of sovereignty, and to hound the rabble upon 
 them as tyrants and mischief-makers, let to take tins 
 course pleased the Earl of Leicester, who saw no hope 
 for the liberty of the people, unless absolute and uncon- 
 ( itional authority over the people, in war, naval attairs, 
 justice, and polity, were placed in his hands, llus was 
 the view sustiiined by the clergy of the Keformed 
 Church, because they found it convenient, through such 
 a theory, and by Leicester's power, to banish 1 apists, 
 exercise intolerance in matters of religion, sequestrate 
 for their own private uses the property of the Catholic 
 Church, and obtain for their own a political power which 
 was repugnant to the more libeml ideas of the Barneveld 
 
 ^The States of Holland— inspired as it were by the 
 memory of that great martyr to religious and political 
 liberty, William the Silent-maintamed freedom of 
 
 conscience. . 
 
 The Leicester party advocated a different theory on 
 the religious question. They were also determined to 
 omit no effort to make the States odious. 
 
 1587. DISPUTE BETWEEN WILKES AND BAKNEVELD. 213 
 
 *; Seeing their violent courses," said Wilkes to 
 Leicester, "I have not been negligent, as well by soli- 
 citations ^o tlie ministers, as by my letters to such as have 
 continued constant m affection to your Lordship, to have 
 the people informed of the ungrateful and dangerous pro- 
 ceedings of the States. They have therein ti^vailed with 
 so good effect, as the people are now wonderfully well 
 disposed and have delivered everywhere in speeches, 
 that if, by he overthwart dealings of the States, her 
 Majesty shall be drawn to stay her succours and goodness 
 to them and that thereby your Lordship be also dis- 
 couraged to return, they will cut timr throats^' 
 
 wl/i f^n"" "^'Tf^'." ^^^""^^^ ^^^^' *^at tad been so 
 wonderfully well disposed to throat-cutting by the 
 
 ministers of the Gospel, did not distinctly appeal- It 
 Avjis certain, however, that they were the special fiiends 
 auCo^ : greatorators, very pious, and the sovereigns 
 of the country. So much could not be gainsaid, 
 nillnr u^f Lordship would wonder," continued the coun- 
 f !2 ' •? ^l^ *^^ people-who so lately, by the practice 
 of the said States and the ac(»dent of beventc?r,^^re 
 notably ahenated-so returned to their former devXn 
 tovv^jrds her Majesty, your Lordship, and our nation/' 
 vn^' "^^1 ^^\^^:eover to gratify the absent go- 
 
 vernor-general with the intelligence-of somewhat 
 questionable authenticity, however-that the Stat"e 
 very " much terrified with these threats of the people." 
 Lut Bameveld came down to the council to inquire wha^ 
 mernber of that body it was who had accused VsLt^ . 
 of violating the Earl's authority. - Whoever he is " 
 said the Advocate, '' let him deliver hisS fitkT; 
 
 muoW "^fh. ^^r^'l^-' The man did no seem 
 much terrified by the throat-cutting orations. -It is 
 
 Ir- .^"^h^ ^^,'^^^"' perceiving himself to be the per! 
 Bon intended, - that you have ve^ry injuriously, in many 
 
 a itC[J'?T^?^^'^ ^'""^^'^^ *^^°^ -«d tr'^dden the 
 ft4t » « . ^ of his Lordship and of this council under your 
 
 ^i~*^tr« ^^ Tf V^^*^ particulai^, and discussed, 
 more 5,^, the constitutional question, in which various 
 Leicestnan counsellors seconded him. 
 ±5ut Bameveld grimly maintained that the States were 
 
 Wilke, to Leicester, 12 Ma«:h, 1587. (S. P. OfBce MS.) , RiO. 
 
 I 
 
 '!♦ 
 
214 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XV. 
 
 the sovereigns, and that it was therefore unfit that the 
 aam y^ho drew his auth^ty from th.m^ ^^^^^^^/^^^^ 
 th?m t^ account for their doings. "It was as if the 
 xnem tu a^ ., ^ ..^^ o nharles V said the Advocate, 
 governors m the time ot i^naries v., »«*iu ^ , . 
 
 S should have taxed that Emperor for any action ot his 
 
 ^Tt^err^Sd'Barneyeld. with «^ing 
 voice and lion port, seemed to impersonate the btates 
 and to hold reclaimed sovereignty in his grasp. It 
 seemed difficult to tear it from him again. 
 
 ^I did what I could," said Wilkes, "to heat themfi^n 
 rt« hanwuv of their sovereignty Aowing that ^'^'^^^ 
 error they had grounded the rest of their wUJul 
 
 '^^IxtZu he drew up sixteen articles showing the 
 disorders of the States, their breach of oaths, and 
 violations of the Earl's ''»thori«y ; and wiA that com- 
 menced a series of papers interchanged by the two 
 St in which the topics of the origin of government 
 D the principles of religious freedom were handled with 
 much ability on both sides, but at unmerciful length. 
 
 On Ae religious question, the States-General, led by 
 Bameveld and by Francis Franck, expressed themselves 
 manfully on various occasions during the mission ot 
 
 ^"^ThTnoblos and cities constituting the States," they 
 said " have been denounced to Lord Leicester as enemies 
 
 S religfon, by the self-seeking "li^^lV'^""^'':^';^ 
 surround him.' Why ? Because they had >cfeed the 
 demand of certain preachers to call a general sj-nod, m 
 defiance of the States-General, and to introduce a set ot 
 ordinances with a system of discipline according to «ter 
 
 States-General had always thought detomentol both to 
 religion and polity. They respected the difference in 
 Sous opiSons, and, leaving all churches in their 
 freedom, they.cAose to compel no ,mn's co-^'jce-a cou^e 
 which all statesmen, knowing the diversity of human 
 opinions, had considered necessary in order to maintam 
 fraternal harmony."" 
 
 1587. RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE Br THE STATES. 215 
 
 Such words shine through the prevailing darkness of 
 the religious atmosphere at that epoch, like characters 
 of light. They are beacons in the upward path of 
 mankind. Never before had so bold and wise a tribute 
 to the genius of the Reformation been paid by an 
 organized community. Individuals walking in advance 
 of their age had enunciated such truths, and their voices 
 had seemed to die away ; but at last, a little, strugglinc- 
 half-developed commonwealth had proclaimed thlriffhts 
 of conscience for all mankind— for Papists and Calvinists 
 Jews and Anabaptists-because, "having a respect for 
 diiferences m religious opinions, and leaving all churches 
 in their freedom, they chose to compel no man's 
 conscience. *^ 
 
 On the constitutional question, the States commenced 
 by an astounding absurdity. " These mischief-makers, 
 moreover, said they, " have not been ashamed to dispute 
 and to cause the Earl of Leicester to dispute, the la\vfiii 
 constitution of the Provinces ; a matter which has Mt 
 been disputed for eight hundred years." ' 
 
 This was indeed to claim a respectable ape for their 
 republic Eight hundred years took them back to tho 
 (lays ot Char emagne, m whose time it would have been 
 somewhat difficult to detect a germ of theTstates 
 General and States-Pi.,vincial. That the consJitut W • 
 government — consisting of nobles and of the vroeds- 
 chaps of chartered cities -sliould have been in existence 
 
 I Wilkes to UJcestcr, MS last cited. 
 Coiupare Kluit, ii 281 »eq. Bor. ii. 
 xxU.918, 9il Sfi Wdgenaar, vill. 208. 
 
 t Wilkes to Ijeicegtcr, MS. last cited. 
 
 » Meteren, xiv. 250-253. 
 
 The States of Holland, under the guid- 
 
 ance of Barneveld, took strong ground, 
 on several occasions this year, against 
 attempts made by the Reformed Church 
 to meddle with secular matters. On the 
 presentation of a petition relative to 
 politics, by a committee of four preachers 
 representing the churches of Holland,' 
 wiswer was made, through the mouth of 
 Barneveld. that " the Stiites were very 
 well acquainted with the matters men- 
 ti')ned in the petition, and with many 
 other things besides; that the States 
 were quite as much Interested as the 
 churches could be in the welfare of the 
 land, and that they could provide for It 
 without the asblstance of the preachers " 
 ihe petitioners were accordingly atl- 
 vised to go home, and leave the States to 
 
 A few days later, a resolution upon the 
 
 subject of the petition was passed by the 
 States, printed, and sent to all the cities 
 in the Province, with an order to the 
 magistrates to summon the preachers 
 before them, deliver them a copy of the 
 resolution, warn them to keep their con- 
 gregations in tranquillity and harmony 
 and, for their own part, to occupy them-* 
 selves with praying, teachhig. and preach- 
 ing, and to allow the States and the 
 magistrates to administer the govern- 
 ment. 
 
 The resolution itself— which the 
 preachers characterised as a rude answer 
 to a courteous request-was conceived 
 much m the spirit of Bameveld's ori- 
 ginal verbal reply. (See the documents 
 In Bor, iil. xxiii. 76, 85 seq.) 
 
 ^ Bor. Iil. xxlil. 76-84. Meteren, xiv. 
 250-253. Kluit, ii. 286 *C2. 
 
216 THE U.NITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XV. 
 
 four hundred and seventeen years before the first charter 
 had ever been granted to a city, was a very W style 
 
 the ^W ^"^'T^'J ^^ ^'°'^"*^ ''"'^ Co„n';esses, on wK 
 let^ZlZf a'''^'^' ?" '•«P'-e«enting the States, had 
 legally conferred sovereignty." ' 
 
 laml°tw ® ^"^^ incorporated city of Holland and Zee- 
 land that ever existed was Middelburg, which received 
 
 e^s jtf Jf F1?J"""* ''?^"*" ^- ''^ H°"-'» »^ 
 
 that ^»^ Of *^landers, in the year 1217. The first Count 
 
 that had any legal or recognized authority was Dirk the 
 
 General f,; J '<'/*«'"«-P»*?°t' "« 922. Yet the S.ates- 
 .Uf 7f. ' • ^^""^^ ^^ eloquent document, gravelv 
 
 Se r^eS^r Z^ --*^«<^ 1^ «- year 787, and Sll 
 tut regular possession and habitual delegation of sove- 
 reignty from that epoch down ' 
 
 th„^*'t!/''^/f »J°'».« P^aniWe, they proceeded to handle 
 
 thev^d ?h ^f ir\Vf.'^'''='*' P--^^'^'""- It ^«« -absurd! 
 aZtM; f Mr. Wilkes and Lord Leicester should 
 
 semblv ,^f;r\v f^r^""', ^^^ "PP^^^^i '" *e as 
 cSd nr\ ^ ^^*? themselves ; a« if those individuals 
 ofcd wwTT^ sovereignty. Any man who had 
 ve^rtil ^ tfen passing during the last fifteen 
 nnr^ol "2 ""f} t*"** ^^^ ^"P'emo authority did 
 
 not belong to the thirty or forty individuals who •came 
 
 ^c?entd?™-f- •^- • ■, The "obles, by reason of th^ir 
 ^^Shl£.Vf 'P*^"**'"^ possessions, took counsel 
 together over state matters, and then, appearins at tb« 
 
 SS if h"^'"*,'^ "'* *'■<' deputieroScHes 
 1 he cities had mainly one form of govemment^a college 
 
 of counsellors, or wise men 40 V> 9a r,, 9j • T^ 
 
 ot the most respectable out of the whole communitv 
 
 my were chosen for life, and vacancies were supplkd 
 
 by the colleges themselves out of the mass of citSs 
 
 ITiese colleges' alone governed the city, and tLt wWch 
 
 1587. 
 
 THEIR CONSTITUTIONAL THEORY. 
 
 217 
 
 » Bor. Meteren. Kluit, ubi sup. 
 
 2 " These colleges," says the document, 
 
 are as old as the cities; or so old at 
 »^t, that there is no memory left of 
 their commencement." 
 
 Here, too, was a gross misstatement, 
 
 for the colleges of Vroedschappen dated 
 only from the time of Philip the Good- 
 not much more than a century before 
 the publication of this document; and 
 the cities Uiomselvep, as orgarHzed cor- 
 porations, were but 350 years old, at 
 
 had been ordained by them was to be obeyed by all \hQ 
 inhabitants-a system against which there had never 
 been any rebellion. The colleges again, united with 
 those of the nobles, represented the whole state, the whole 
 body of the population ; and no form of government 
 could be imagined, they said, that could resolve, with a 
 more thorough knowledge of the necessities of the 
 country or that could execute its resolves with more 
 miity of purpose and decisive authority. To bring the 
 colleges into an assembly could only be done by means 
 of deputies These deputies, chosen by their colleges 
 and properly instructed, were sent to the place of meet! 
 mg. Uunng the war they had always been com- 
 missioned to resolve in common on matters regarding 
 the liberty of the land. These deputies, thus assembled 
 presented, by commission, the States ; but they are not in 
 their own persons the States, and no one of them had 
 any such pretension. " The people of this country," said 
 the btates, - have an aversion to all ambition : and in 
 these disastrous times, wherein nothing but trouble and 
 odium IS to be gathered by public employment, these com- 
 missions are accounted jnunera necessaria. , . . This form 
 of government has, by God's favour, protected Holland 
 and Zeeland, during this war, against a powerful foe 
 wi hout loss of teiTitoiy, without any popular outbreak 
 without military mutiny, because all business has been 
 transacted xotth open doors, and because the very smallest 
 towns are all represented, and vote in the assembly." i 
 
 In brief the constitution of the United Provinces was 
 a matter of fact. It was there in good working order, 
 and had, for a generation of mankind, and throughout a 
 tremendous war, done good service. Judged by the 
 pnnciples of reason and justice, it was in the main a 
 Wholesome constitution, securing the independence and 
 welfare of the state, and the liberty and property of the 
 individual, as well certainly as did any polity then 
 existing m the world. It seemed more hopeful to abide 
 
 «w ^1.* t^ ^^"^^^ *^^"^ *^ ^^^P* t^e throat-cutting 
 system by the people, recommended by Wilkes and 
 x^eicester as an improvement on the old constitution. 
 
 Tf\ ^* '* ^^^'^^^ *o understand how Kliiit. • Hull. Staatsrcgerlne ' H 291 ^ 
 
21S 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XV. 
 
 This was the view of Lord Buckhurst. He felt that 
 threats of throat-cutting were not the best means of 
 smoothing and conciliating, and he had come oyer to 
 smooth and conciliate. " To spend the time," said he, 
 *' in private brabbles and piques between the States and 
 Lord Leicester, when we ought to prepare an anny 
 against the enemy, and to repair the shaken and torn 
 state, is not a good course for her Majesty's service." * 
 Letters were continually circulating from hand to hand 
 among the antagonists of the Holland party, written out 
 of England by Leicester, exciting the ill-will of the 
 populace against the organized government. " By such 
 means to bring the States into hatred," said Buckhurst, 
 " and to stir up the people against them, tends to great 
 damage and miserable end. This his Lordship doth full 
 little consider, being the very way to dissolve all govern- 
 ment, and so to bring all into confusion, and open the 
 door for the enemy. But oh, how lamentable a thing it 
 is, and how doth my Lord of Leicester abuse her Majesty, 
 making her authority the means to uphold and justify, 
 and under her name to defend and maintain, all his in- 
 tolerable errors ! I thank God that neither his might 
 nor his malice shall deter me from laying open all those 
 things which my conscience knoweth, and which apper- 
 taineth to be done for the good of this cause and of her 
 Majesty's service. Herein, though I were sure to lose 
 my life, yet will I not offend neither the one nor the 
 other, knowing very well that I must die ; and to die in 
 her Majesty's faithful service, and with a good conscience, 
 is far more happy than the miserable life that I am in. 
 If Leicester do in this sort stir up the people against 
 the States to follow his revenge against them, and if the 
 Queen do yield no better aid, and the minds of Count 
 Maurice and Hohenlo remain thus in fear and hatred of 
 him, what good end or service can be hoped for here ?" * 
 Buckhurst was a man of unimpeached integrity and 
 gentle manners. He had come over with the best in- 
 tentions towards the governor-general, and it has been 
 seen that he boldly defended him in his first interviews 
 with the States. But as the intrigues and underhand 
 plottings of the Earl's agents were revealed to him, he 
 
 » Buckhurst to Walalngham, 13lh Jnne, 1587. (Br. Mus. Galba, D. 1. p. 96, MS.) 
 > ibid. 
 
 1587. DEVENTER'S BAD COUNSELS TO LEICESTER. 219 
 
 felt more and more convinced that there was a deep-laid 
 scheme to destroy the government, and to constitute a 
 virtual and obsolute sovereignty for Leicester. It was 
 not wonderful that the States were standing vigorously 
 on the defensive. 
 
 The subtle Deventer, Leicester's evil genius, did not 
 cease to poison the mind of the governor, during his 
 protracted absence, against all persons who offered im- 
 pediments to the cherished schemes of his master and 
 himself. " Your Excellency knows very well," he said, 
 " that the state of this country is democratic, since, by 
 failure of a prince, the sovereign disposition of affairs 
 has returned to the people. That same people is every- 
 where so incredibly affectionate towards you that the 
 delay in your return drives them to extreme despair. 
 Any one who would know the real truth has but to re- 
 member the fine fear the States-General were in when 
 the news of your displeasure about the 4th February 
 letter became known." ' 
 
 Had it not been for the efforts of Lord Buckhurst in 
 calming the popular rage, Deventer assured the Earl that 
 the writers of the letter would " have scarcely saved 
 their skins ;" and that they had always continued in 
 great danger. 
 
 He vehemently urged upon Leicester the necessity of 
 his immediate return— not so much for reasons drawn 
 from the distracted state of the country, thus left to a 
 provisional government and torn by faction— but because 
 of the facility with which he might at once seize upon 
 arbitrary power. He gratified his master by depicting 
 m lively colours the abject condition into which Barne- 
 veld, Maurice, Hohenlo, and similar cowards, would be 
 throM-Ti by his sudden return. 
 
 " If," said he, *' the States' members and the counts, 
 every one of them, are so desperately afraid of the people 
 even while your Excellency is afar off, in what trepi- 
 dation will they be when you are here ! God, reason, the 
 attection of the sovereign people, are on vour side. 
 Ihere needs, in a little commonwealth like ours, bat a 
 wink of the eye, the slightest indication of dissatisfaction 
 on your part, to take away all their valour from men who 
 
 Ga'lK D. l!^"lT MsJ''^''^^'^ '" ^""^^ ^^ Leycestre, 22 May. 158T. (Brit Mu3. 
 
220 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XV. 
 
 are only brave where swords are too short. A magnani-* 
 inous prince like yourself should seek at once the place 
 where such plots are hatching, and you would see the 
 fury of the rebels change at once to cowardice. There 
 is more than one man here in the Netherlands that brags 
 of what he will do against the greatest and most highly 
 endowed prince in England, because he thinks he shall 
 never see him again, who, at the very first news of your 
 return, my Lord, would think only of packing his port- 
 manteau, greasing his boots, or, at the very least, of 
 sneaking back into his hole.'* ' 
 
 But the sturdy democrat was quite sure that his 
 Excellency, that most magnanimous prince of England, 
 would not desert his faithful followers— thereby giving 
 those "filthy rascals," his opponents, a triumph, and 
 " doing so great an injury to the sovereign people, who 
 were ready to get rid of them all at a single blow, if his 
 Excellency would but say the word." * 
 
 He then implored the magnanimous prince to imitate 
 the example of Moses, Joshua, David, and that of all 
 great emperors and captains, Hebrew, Greek, and 
 Roman, to come at once to the scene of action, and to 
 smite his enemies hip and thigh. He also informed his 
 Excellency that, if the delay should last much longer, 
 he would lose all chance of regaining power, because 
 the sovereign people had quite made up their mind to 
 return to the dominion of Spain within three months, 
 if they could not induce his Excellency to rule over 
 them. In that way at least, if in no other, they could 
 circumvent those filthy rascals whom they so much 
 abhorred, and frustrate the designs of Maurice, Hohenlo, 
 and Sir John Norris, who were represented as occupying 
 the position of the triumvirs after the death of Julius 
 Ca3sar. 
 
 1 " Tel bravera es Pays Bas centre le 
 plus grand ei qualifie prince d'Angle- 
 terre, lequel il s'asseure ne revolr Jamais 
 pardefa, qui aux denileres nouvellea de 
 votre retour, Monseigneur, ne pensolt 
 qu'ji trousser bagage et falre graisaer aes 
 bottes, ou du moins se desrober en sa 
 taniere," 4c. (G. de Pronlnck. MS. last 
 cited.) 
 
 ' " Mais im prince si trea magnanlme, 
 ne fera jamais ce tort ny a soy musme, ni 
 
 au bon peuple belgique. Point a soy 
 mesme, comme s'll avalt cedd a la 
 bravade des pouceux, dont toute sa 
 jxisterit^ et histoires et memoires du 
 temps a venir portera I'ignominie. Point 
 au peuple, lequel, comme souverain, ne 
 dolt recevoir le tort de cette ir\Juro, 
 puisque ne luy que I'lnformatlon de 
 vostre mescontentement pour se desfaire 
 en un coup de cest obstacle," &c. (Ibid.) 
 
 1587. 
 
 THEIR PERNICIOUS EFFECT. 
 
 221 
 
 To place its neck under the yoke of Philip II. and tlio 
 Inquisition, after having so handsomely got rid of both, 
 did not seem a sublime manifestation of sovereignty on 
 the part of the people, and even Deventer had some 
 misgivings as to the propriety of such a result. " What 
 then will become of our beautiful churches?" he cried 
 '* What will princes say, what will the world in general 
 say, what will historians say, about the honour of the 
 English nation?"' 
 
 As to the first question, it is probable that the prospect 
 of the reformed churches would not have been cheerful 
 had the Inquisition been re-established in Holland and 
 Utrecht, three months after that date. As to the second 
 the world and history were likely to reply, that the 
 honour of the English nation was fortunately not en- 
 tirely entrusted at that epoch to the '' magnanimous 
 prince of Leicester, and his democratic counsellor-in- 
 chief, burgomaster Deventer. 
 
 ^ These are but samples of the ravings which sounded 
 incessantly in the ears of the governor-general. Was it 
 strange that a man, so thirsty for power, so gluttonous 
 ot llatteiy, should be influenced by such passionate 
 appeals? Addressed in strains of fulsome adulation 
 convinced that arbitrary power was within his reach* 
 and assured that he had but to wink his eye to see his 
 enemies scattered before him, he became impatient of 
 all restraint, and determined, on his return, to crush the 
 otates into insignificance. 
 
 Thus, while Buckhurst had been doing his best as a 
 mediator to prepare the path for his return, Leicester 
 liimself and his partisans had been secretly exertin<r 
 themselves to make his arrival the signal for discord' 
 perhaps of civil war. The calm, then, immediately sud 
 ceeding the mission of Buckhurst, was a deceitful one • 
 but It seemed very promising. The best feelings were 
 
 * " II plaira a V. Exc de nous veolr 
 Incontinent Espagnol. ou de nous en con- 
 server par I'empescbement de ce dcsseing. 
 • . . . Car il ne pent lomber en aucune 
 imagination raisonnable, en cas que ce 
 desseing ne se renverse tout subit. que 
 raute d'autorile Jolnte. un desespoir ex- 4u. .eur auroni r 
 lw"IT^'^"^^*''^^'P^^*^''^^''^"' Votre Excellence." &c 
 de^^ n?.. .T*"' ^»« «^~ ce alors ninck. MS. Just cited.) 
 OfiKwpauvresdelabsez.? Que devicnd- 
 
 ront ces belles eglises.que dlra le monde, 
 que diront les princes, que ^liront les 
 bistoriens, de I'honneur de la nation 
 Anglaise.' Le desespoir enrage du 
 peuple choislra plutot quel parti que ce 
 soit avec I'Espagnol, que- dVndurer ceux 
 qui leur auront renvers^ le retour de 
 
 (G. de Pro- 
 
 \ 
 
 \ 
 
222 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XV. 
 
 avowed, and perhaps entertained. The States professed 
 great devotion to her Majesty and friendly regard for 
 the governor. They distinctly declared that the arrange- 
 ments hy which Maurice and Hohenlo had heen placed 
 in their new positions were purely provisional ones, 
 subject to modifications on the arrival of the Earl.* 
 " All things are reduced to a quiet calm," said Buck- 
 hurst, " ready to recive my Lord of Leicester and his 
 authority, whenever he cometli." ■ 
 
 The quarrel of Hohenlo with Sir Edward Norris had 
 heen, by the exertions of Buckhurst, amicably arranged : * 
 the Count became an intimate friend of Sir John, " to 
 the gladding of all such as wished well to the country ;" * 
 but he nourished a deadly hatred to the Earl. He ran 
 up and down like a madman whenever his return was 
 mentioned.* " if the Queen be willing to take the 
 sovereignty," he cried out at his own dinner-table to a 
 large company, "and is ready to proceed roundly in 
 this actior., 1 will serve her to the last drop of my 
 blood; but if she embrace it in no other sort than 
 hitherto she hath done, and if Leicester is to return, 
 then am I as good a man as Leicester, and will never 
 be commanded by him. I mean to continue on my 
 frontier, where all who love me can come and find me." * 
 
 He declared to several persons that he had detected a 
 plot on the part of Leicester to have him assassinated ; 
 and the assertion seemed so important, that Villiers 
 came to Councillor Clerk to confer with him on the 
 subject. The worthy Bartholomew, who had again, 
 most reluctantly, left his quiet chambers in the Temple 
 to come again among the guns and drums, which his 
 soul abhoned, was appalled by such a charge. It was 
 best to keep it a secret, he said, at least till the matter 
 
 1 Wilkes to Walslngham, 8 April, 1587. 
 Same to same. 13 and 19 April, 15H7. 
 Cleric to Burghlty, 12 April, 1587 (S. P. 
 Office MSS.) 
 
 2 Buckhurst to Burghlcy, 19 April, 
 1687. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 » Wilkes to Walslngham, 8 April, 
 1587. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 * Memorandum of a speech between 
 the Ijord Buckhurst and Count Hohenlo, 
 n April, 15!J7. (Br. Mus. Galba, xi. 
 345. MS.) 
 
 » Otheman to Walsingham, 23rd 
 March. 1587. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 •■• Wilkes to Walslngham, 29 April, 
 15-7. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 '• Hohenlo is their Hercules," said 
 Wilkes, *• and a man fit for any desperate 
 attempt, altogether directed by Bameveld 
 and Paul Buys, who seeks (viz. P. B.) by 
 all naanniT of devices to be revenged of 
 1-ord lieicester for his imprisonment." 
 AVilkes t<^ the Queen, 12 jAily, 15»7. (S. 
 P. Office MS.) 
 
 1587. REAL AND SUPPOSED PLOTS AGAINST HOHENLO. 223 
 
 could be thoroughly investigated. Villiers was of the 
 same opinion, and accordingly the councillor, in the 
 excess of his caution, confided the secret only— to whom ? 
 To Mr. Atye, Leicester's private secretary. Atye of 
 course, instantly told his master- his master, in a frenzy 
 of rage, told the Queen, and her Majesty, in a paroxysm 
 of royal indignation at this new insult to her favourite 
 sent furious letters to her envoys, to the States-General* 
 to everybody m the Netherlands— so that the assertion 
 of Hohenlo became the subject of endless recrimination. 
 Leicester became very violent, and denounced the state- 
 ment as an impudent falsehood, devised wilfully in 
 order to cast odium upon him and to prevent his 
 return. » Unquestionably there was nothing in the storv 
 but table-talk; but the Count would have been still 
 more ferocious towards Leicester than he was, had he 
 known what was actually happening at that very 
 moment. *^ 
 
 While Buckhurst was at Utrecht, listening to the 
 *' solemn speeches" of the militia-captains and ex- 
 changing friendly expressions at stately banquets with 
 Moeurs, he suddenly received a letter in cipher from 
 her Majesty. Not having the key, he sent to Wilkes 
 at the Hague. Wilkes was very ill ; but the despatch 
 was marked pressing and immediate, so he got out of 
 bed and made the journey to Utrecht. The letter on 
 being deciphered, proved to be an order from the Queen 
 to decoy Hohenlo into some safe town, on pretence of 
 consultation, and then to throw him into prison, on the 
 ground that he had been tampering with the enemy 
 and was about to betray the republic to Thilip.* ' 
 
 The Queens letter is as follows:— 
 " Finding by a later letter written to our 
 secretary by our ambassador Willses, that 
 lie hath been given to understand how 
 Hollock should have some secret intel- 
 ligence with the Prince of Parma. wh.ch 
 being true, considering how the said 
 Hollock is possessed of divers principal 
 towns, in tlie which the captains and 
 soldiers are altogether at his devotion, it 
 is greatly to be doubted that he may be 
 drawn by comiptlon U) deliver up into 
 the lYlnce of I'arma's hmids the said 
 towns, whereby the enemy may have the 
 more easy entry Into those countries. 
 We have therefore thought good, for 
 
 ' ' Kffect of what passed between Dr. 
 Villers and me, Bartholomew Clerk, 
 touching the discontentment of Count 
 Hohenlo.' 22 May, I5b7. (S. P. Office 
 M.S.) 
 
 Wilkes to Lord Chancellor, 3 June, 
 15«7. (S. P. Office MS.) Ci.mpare 
 klU'rs of Leicester to Sonoy, and of 
 Buclihurst to Treslong, in Bor. ii. xxii. 
 99-2. Groen v. I»rlnst. Archives, 1. 63, 
 6P, 69. 
 
 2 <^»^n to Buckhurst, 15 April. 1587. 
 Wilkes to Wal^iiigham, 29th April, 1587. 
 Buckhurst to same. 29 April, 1587. Same 
 to same, 30th April, 1687. (S. P. Office 
 MbSJ. 
 
 \ 
 
224 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XV 
 
 The commotion which would have been excited hv 
 any attempt to enforce this order could be easily 
 imagined by those familiar with Hoheulo and with the 
 powerful party in the Netherlands of which he was cue 
 of the chiefs. Wilkes stood aghast as he deciphered the 
 letter. Buckhurst felt the impossibility of obeying the 
 royal will. Both knew the cause, and both /oresaw 
 thi consequences of the proposed step ^^^^,^^;jf 
 heard some rumours of intrigues between ranna s agent, 
 at Deventer and Hohenlo, and had confided them to 
 Walsingham, hoping that the Secretary would keep the 
 matter in hi^ own breast, at least till further advice. 
 He was appalled at the sudden action proposed on a 
 mere rumoir, which both Buckhurst and liimself had 
 becrun to consider an idle one. He protested, therefore, 
 to Walsingham that to comply with her Majesty s com- 
 mand would not only be nearly impossible but would 
 if successful, hazard the mm of the republic \Nilkes 
 was also very anxious lest the Earl of Leicester should 
 hear of the matter. He was already the object uf hatred 
 to that powerful personage, and thought him capable 
 of accomplishing his destruction in any m<.dc. But it 
 Leicester could wreak his vengeance upon his enemy 
 W^ilkes bv the hand of his other deadly enemy Hohenlo, 
 the councillor felt that this kind of revenge would have 
 a double sweetness for him. llie Queen knows what 
 I have been saying, thought Wilkes, and therefore 
 Leicester knows it; and if Leicester knows it he will 
 take care that Hohenlo shall hear of it too, and then ^vo 
 be unto me. " Your honour knoweth,' he said to \Val- 
 Bingham, - that her Majesty can holdm secrets, and if she 
 do impart it to Leicester, then am I sped.'' * 
 
 Nothing came of it, however, and the relations ot 
 W'ilkes and Buckhurst with Hohenlo continued to be 
 
 prevntion thereof, that you should con- 
 fV^i- with our sen-ants Colonel Norrla and 
 V/ilkes whut course were meet to be 
 taken therein, which, as we perceive, 
 may be best performed by staying of the 
 person of Hollock ; wherein. U'fore the 
 execution thereof, espc-cial care would lie 
 had that he might be drawn, under 
 oiour of conference with you abi)Ut 
 matters of great importance cuntainod in 
 certain Utters sent fri)m us unto you 
 in groat diligeuce, int«) some of th? towns 
 
 which you shall understand to be devoted 
 to us, and not affected to liim ; whereia 
 you may take order fur his restraliiT. 
 being first well furnish.Hi with sufflcicut 
 matter to charge hlra witlial, which wc 
 wish to be done in the presence of such 
 principal persons of the country as nr- 
 held for pood patriots and have credii 
 with the people " 
 » Wilkes to Walsingham, 29 Apnli 
 
 15s7. 
 
 If t I 
 
 1587. 
 
 MUTUAL SUSPICION AND DISTRUST. 
 
 225 
 
 friendly. It was a lesson to Wilkes to be more cautious 
 even with ihe cautious W^alsingham. " We had but 
 bare suspicions," said Buckhurst, '' nothing fit, God 
 knoweth, to come to such a reckoning. Wilkes saith 
 lie meant it but for a premonition to you there ; but I 
 think it will henceforth be a premonition to himself— 
 there being but bare presumptions, and yet shrewd 
 lircsumptions." * 
 
 Here then were Deventer and Leicester plotting to 
 overthrow the government of the States ; the States and 
 Hohenlo arming against Leicester ; the extreme demo- 
 cnitic party threatening to go over to the Spaniards 
 within three months ; the Earl accused of attempting 
 the life of Hohenlo ; Hohenlo offering to shed the last 
 drop of his blood for Queen Elizabeth ; Queen Elizabeth 
 giving orders to throw Hohenlo into prison as a traitor ; 
 I'ouncillur Wilkes trembling for his life at the hands 
 both of Leicester and Hohenlo ; and Buckhurst doing 
 his best to conciliate all parties, and imploring her 
 I^Iajesty in vain to send over money to help on the war, 
 and to save her soldiers from starving. 
 
 For the Queen continued to refuse the loan of fifty 
 thousand pounds which the Provinces solicited, and in 
 hope of which the States had just agreed to an extra 
 contribution of a million florins (100,000/.), a larger 
 sum than had been levied by a single vote since tlie 
 commencement of the war. It must be remembered, 
 too, that the whole expense of the war fell upon Holland 
 and Zeeland. The Province of Utrecht, where there 
 was so strong a disposition to confer absolute authority 
 Ti^l^on Leicester, and to destroy the power of the States- 
 Gtineral, contributed absolutely nothing. Since the loss 
 of Deventer, nothing could be raised in the Provinces 
 of Utrecht, Geldcrland, or Overyssel ; the Spaniards 
 levying black mail upon the whole territory, and im- 
 poyenshing the inhabitants till they became almost a 
 nullity.* Wag it strange then that the States of Holland 
 and Zeeland, thus bearing nearly the whole burden of 
 tlie war, should be dissatisfied with the hatred felt 
 towards them by their sister Provinces so generously 
 protected by them ? Was it unnatural that Bameveld, 
 
 already dtJ' '" ^^''^''''' '' "^P"^' ^^^- " ^^"^^^ ^ Walsingham. 15 JIay. 
 vn, „ 1587. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 VOL. 11, '' _ 
 
 II 
 
22i5 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 CuAP. XV. 
 
 I*»! ,' 
 
 N' 
 
 and Maurice, and ITolienlo, should be disposed to bridle 
 the despotic inclinations of Leicester, thus fostered by 
 those who existed, as it were, at their expense ? 
 
 But the Queen refused the 50,000/., although Holland 
 and Zeeland had voted the 100,000/. *'No reason that 
 breedeth charges," sighed Walsingham, "can in any 
 sort be digested." ' 
 
 It was not for want of vehement entreaty on the part 
 of the Secretary of State and of Buckhurst that the loan 
 was denied. At least she was entreated to send over 
 money for her troops, who for six months past were 
 unpaid. "Keeping the money in your cotters," said 
 Buckhurst, " doth yield no interest to you, and— which 
 is above all earthly respects -it shall be the means of 
 preserving the lives of many of your faithful subjects 
 which otherwise must needs daily perish. Their 
 miseries, through want of meat and money, I do protest 
 to God so much moves my soul with commiseration of 
 that which is past, and makes my heart tremble to think 
 of the like to come again, that I humbly beseech yonr 
 Majesty, for Jesus Christ* sake, to have compassion on 
 their lamentable estate past, and send some money to 
 prevent the like hereafter."* 
 
 These were moving words, but the money did not 
 come— charges could not be digested. 
 
 *' The eternal God," cried Buckhurst, " incline your 
 heart to grant the petition of the Stiites for the loan of 
 the 50,000/., and that speedily ; for the dangerous terms 
 of the State here and the mighty and forward prepara- 
 tion of the enemy admit no minute of delay, so that 
 even to grant it slowly is to deny it utterly." ^ ^ 
 
 He then drew a vivid picture of the capacity of the 
 Netherlands to assist the endangered realm of England, 
 if delay were not suffered to destroy both common- 
 weahhs, by placing the Provinces in an enemy's hand. 
 
 " Their many and notable good havens," he said, " the 
 great number of ships and mariners, their impregnable 
 towns, if they were in the hands of a potent prince that 
 would defend them, and, lastly, the state of this shore, 
 so near and opposite unto the land and coast of England 
 — lo, the sight of all this daily in mine eye, conjoined 
 
 » Walsingham to Wilkes, 2 May. 1587. * Buckhurst to the Queen, 19 April, 
 
 (S. r. Oaice ilS.) 
 
 1587. C-. ^- Office Ai: .) 
 
 » ibid 
 
 1587. BUCKHURST SEEKS TO RESTORE GOOD FEELING. 227 
 
 with the deep, enrooted malice of that your so mighty 
 enemy who seeketh to regain them ; these things enterin^^ 
 continually into the meditations of my heart-so much 
 do they import the safety of yourself and your estate- 
 do enforce me, m the abundance of my love and duty to 
 your Majesty, most earnestly to speak, write, and weep unto 
 ym, lest when the occasion yet offered shall be gone by 
 this blessed means of your defence, by God's provident 
 goodness thus put into your hand, will then be utterly 
 lost, Jo, never, never more to be recovered again." ' 
 
 It was a noble, wise, and eloquent appeal, but it was 
 uttered m vain. Was not Leicester— his soul filled with • 
 petty schemes for reigning in Utrecht, and destroy in o- 
 the constitutional government of the Provinces— in full 
 j)ossession of the royal ear ? And was not the same ear 
 lent, at that most critical moment, to the insidious 
 Alexander Farnese, with his whispers of peace, which 
 were potent enough to drown all the preparations for 
 the Invincible Armada ? 
 
 Six months had rolled away since Leicester had left 
 the ^etherlands; six months long, the Provinces, left 
 in a condition which might have become anarchy, had 
 been saved^ by the wi«o government of the States- 
 General ; SIX months long the English soldiers had 
 remained unpaid by their sovereign ; and now for six 
 W .\^%^''^'^^^?^"^''*' intrepid, but gentle Buck- 
 Z^^t T.t\ ^^f ^ conciliate all parties, and to 
 mould the Netherlands into an impregnable bulwark 
 for the realm of England. But his efforts were treated 
 with scorn by the Queen. She was still maddened by 
 a sense of he injuries done by the Stiites to Leicester 
 :^he was indignant that her envoy should have accepted 
 
 insoW ^ Y^^ received no better atonement for their 
 insolent infringements of the Earl's orders during his 
 absence; that he should have excused the7r^coii! 
 temptuous proceedings ; and that, in short, he shou d 
 .h2uT ^'^^'"'^ *^ conciliate and forgi;e when he 
 
 eeme1h^'''-A"'"?? -""^ '^^''^' ^' You conceived, it 
 seemeth, said her Majesty, -that a more sharper man 
 
 SieptelfTh ""^'^ ^--exasperated m^tterto 
 "t prejudice of the service, and therefore you did think 
 
 1 Buckhurtt to the Queen, MS.just cited. 
 
 q2 ^ 
 
 I 
 
 * I 
 
228 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XV. 
 
 1587. 
 
 THE QUEEN ANGRY AND VINDICTIVE. 
 
 229 
 
 IX ' 
 
 M- 
 
 ' 
 
 it more fit to wash the wounds rather with water than 
 vinegar, wherein we would rather have wished, on the 
 other side, that you had better considered that festering 
 wounds had more need of corrosives than lenitives. 
 Your own judgment ought to have taught that such a 
 slight and mild kind of dealing with a people so mgrate 
 and void of consideration as the said Estates have 
 showed themselves towards us, is the ready way to 
 increase their contempt." * , ,. . xv x * 
 
 The envoy might be forgiven for believing that at 
 any rate there would be no lack of corrosives or vinegar, 
 . so long as the royal tongue or pen could do their office, 
 aK the unfortunate deputies had found to their cost m 
 their late interviews at Greenwich, and as her own 
 envoys in the Netherlands were perpetually finding 
 now.« The Queen was especially indignant that the 
 Estates should defend the tone of their letters to the 
 Eirl on the ground that he had written a piqiiant 
 epistle to them. " But you can manifestly see their 
 untruths in naming it a piquant letter," said Elizabeth, 
 *• for it has no sour or sharp word therein, nor any 
 clause of reprehension, but is full of gravity and gentle 
 admonition. It deserved a thankful answer, and so you 
 may maintain it to them to their reproof." ' 
 
 The States doubtless thought that the loss of Deventer, 
 and, with it, the almost ruinous condition of three out 
 of the seven Provinces, might excuse on their part a 
 little piquancy of phraseology, nor was it easy for them 
 to express gratitude to the governor for his grave and 
 gentle admonitions, after he had, by his secret document 
 of 24th November, rendered himself fully responsible 
 for the disaster they deplored. . , tt v i 
 
 She expressed unbounded indignation with Hohenlo, 
 who, as she was well aware, continued to chensh a 
 deadly hatred for Leicester. Especially she was exas- 
 perated, and with reason, by the assertion the C ount 
 had made concerning the governor's murderous designs 
 upcm him. " 'Tis a matter," said the Queen, " so foul 
 and dishonourable that doth not only touch greatly the 
 credit of the Earl, but also our o\\ti honour, to have 
 
 1 gueen to Buckhurst. 3 May. 1587. ' Qtie^n to Buckhurst. (MS. last 
 (Bt. Mas. Galba, I) 1. 4, MS.) cited.) 
 
 2 Leicester to Wiikiugbam. 
 
 one who hath been nourished and brought up by us, 
 and of whom we have made show to the world to have 
 extraordinarily favoured above any other of our own sub- 
 jects, and used his service in those countries in a place 
 of that reputation he held there, stand charged with so 
 horrible and unworthy a crime. And therefore our 
 pleasure is, even as you tender the continuance of our 
 favour towards you, that you seek, by all the means you 
 may, examining the Count Hollock, or any other party 
 in this matter, to discover and to sift out how this 
 malicious imputation hath been wrought ; for we have 
 reason to think that it hath grown out of some cun- 
 ning device to stay the Earl's coming, and to dis- 
 courage him from the continuance of his service in 
 those countries." ' 
 
 And there the Queen was undoubtedly in the right. 
 Hohenlo was resolved, if possible, to make the Earl's 
 government of the Netherlands impossible. There was 
 nothing m the story, however ; and all that by the most 
 diligent *^' sifting" could ever bo discovered, and all 
 that the Count could be prevailed upon to confess, was 
 an opinion expressed by him that if he had gone with 
 Leicester to England, it might perhaps have fared ill 
 with him.« But men were given to loose talk in those 
 countries. There was great freedom of tongue and pen • 
 and as the Earl, whether with justice or not, had always 
 been suspected of strong tendencies to assassination, it 
 was not very wonderful that so reckless an individual 
 as Hohenlo should promulgate opinions on such subjects 
 without much reserve. - The number of crimes that 
 have been imputed to me," said Leicester, " would be 
 incomplete, had this calumny not been added to all 
 preceding ones."« It is possible that assassination, 
 especially poisoning, may have been a more common- 
 place aff-air m those days than our own. At any rate, 
 It 18 certain that accusations of such crimes were of 
 ordmary occurrence. Men were apt to die suddenly if 
 mey had mortal enemies, and people would gossip. At 
 ine very same moment, Leicester was deliberately 
 accused not only of murderous intentions towards 
 
 I Queen to Buckhuret. MS. last cited. MS). 
 
 June Ts^T^^JbAt^^*'^'"?'*"'' '^'^ » G«>cn V. Prtnst. Archives. 1. 36. 
 June. 1587. (Br. Mus. Gall>a, D I. «»6, Compare Bor. U. xxU. 992. 
 
 9 
 
 i| 
 
 ^1 
 
230 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XV. 
 
 ,i 
 
 Hohenlo, but towards Thomas Wilkes and Count Lewis 
 William of Nassau likewise. A trumpeter, arrested ni 
 Friesland, had just confessed that he had been employed 
 by the Spanish governor of that province, Colonel 
 Verdugo, to murder Count Lewis, and that four other 
 persons had been entrusted with the same commission. 
 The Count wrote to Verdugo, and received in reply an 
 indignant denial of the charge. " Had I heard ol such 
 m project," said the Spaniard, " I would, on the con- 
 trary, have given you warning. And I give you one 
 now." He then stated, as a fact known to him on un- 
 questionable authority, that the Earl of Leicester had 
 assassins at that moment in his employ to take the lite 
 of Count Lewis, adding, that as for the trumpeter, who 
 had just been hanged for the crime suborned by the 
 writer, he was a most notorious lunatic. In reply, 
 Lewis, while he ridiculed this plea of insanity set up 
 for a culprit who had confessed his crime succinctly and 
 voluntarily, expressed great contempt for the^ counter- 
 charge against Leicester. " His Excellency, said the 
 sturdy little Count, " is a virtuous gentleman, the most 
 pious and God-fearing I have ever known. I am very 
 sure that he could never treat his enemies m the man- 
 ner stated, much less his friends. As for yourself, may 
 God give me grace, in requital of your knavish tnck, to 
 make such a war upon you as becomes an upnght 
 soldier and a man of honour.' . 
 
 Thus there was at least one man— and a most im- 
 portant one— in the opposition-party who thoroughly 
 believed in the honour of the governor-general. 
 
 The Queen then proceeded to lecture Lord Buck- 
 hurst very severely for having tolerated an instant the 
 States' proposition to her for a loan of 50,000^ " Ihe 
 enemy," she observ^ed, " is quite unable to attempt tlie 
 
 siege of any town." * ^ - n 
 
 Buckhurst was, however, instructed, m case tlie 
 States' million should prove insufficient to enable the 
 army to make head against the enemy, and in the event 
 of »' any alteration of the good-will of the people towards 
 her, caused by her not yielding, in this their necessity, 
 some convenient support," to let them then understand, 
 
 1 Letters of Verdugo and of Count « Queen to Buckburet, 3 May (MS. 
 Lewis William, In Bor. UI. xxIiL p. U. last cited.) 
 
 1587. SHE CENSURES BUCKHURST'S COURSE. 
 
 231 
 
 " as of himself, that if they would be satisfied with a 
 loan often or fifteen thousand pounds, he would do his best 
 endeavour to draw her Majesty to yield unto the fur- 
 nishing of such a sum, with assured hope to obtain 
 the same at her hands." ' 
 
 Truly Walsingham was right in saying that cliaro-os 
 of any kind were difficult of digestion. Yet, even^'at 
 that moment, Elizabeth had no more attached subjects 
 in England than were the bur^ghers of tlie Netherlands, 
 who were as anxious a^ ever to annex their ten-itory to 
 her realms. 
 
 Tlins, having expressed an affiiction for Leicester 
 which no one doubted, having once more thorou«-hly 
 hrowheaten the States, and having soundly lectured 
 Bnckhurst— as a requital for his successful efforts to 
 hrirjg about a more wholesome condition of affairs— she 
 gave the envoy a parting stab, with this postscript •— 
 "There is small disproportion," she said, ''betwixt a 
 fool who useth not vdt because he hath it not, and him 
 that useth it not when it should avail him."* Leicester 
 too, was very violent in his attacks upon Buckhurst! 
 J ho envoy had succeeded in reconciling Hohenlo with 
 the hrothers Xorris, and had persuaded Sir John to offer 
 the liand of friendsliip to Leicester, provided it were 
 sure of being accepted. Yet in this desire to conciliate, 
 the Earl found renewed cause for violence. *' I would 
 have had more regard of my Lord of Buckhurst," he 
 Kiiid *' if the case had been between him and Nonns 
 l»ut I must regard my own reputation the more that I 
 see others would impair it. Yon have desei-^'cd little 
 thanks of me, if I must deal plainly, who do equal me 
 -itter this sort w^ith liim, whose best place is colonel 
 under me, and once my servant, and preferred bv me to 
 all lionourable place he had."« And thus were enter- 
 l»rises of great moment, intimately affecting the safety 
 «'f Hoi and of England, of all Protestantism, to be 
 Mispeiuled between triumph and ruin, in order that the 
 bo in^ f 'T i"^i^i<i"^l-one Queen's favourite -might 
 1)0 indulged llie contempt of an insolent grandee for 
 a distinguished commander-himself the son of a Baron, 
 
 Jt^^tT "^ ^"'""^''^ ' ""^ '^'^' ' '-'-^^^ to Buckhurst. 30 April. 
 2Xl,ij. 1587. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 i 
 
232 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XV. 
 
 with a mother the dear friend of het sovereign— was to 
 endanger the existence of great commonwealths. Can 
 the influence of the individual for good or had upon 
 the destinies of the race ho douhted, when the characters 
 and conduct of Elizabeth and Leicester, Burghley and 
 Walsingham, Philip and Parma, are closely scrutinized 
 and broadly traced throughout the wide range of their 
 
 effects? 
 
 " And I must now, in your Lordship's sight," con- 
 tinued Leicester, " be made a counsellor with this com- 
 panion, who never yet to this day hath done so much 
 as take knowledge of my mislike of him ; no, not to say 
 this much, which I think would well become his better, 
 that he was sorry to hear I had mislike to him, that ho 
 desired my suspension till he might either speak with 
 me, or be charged from me, and if then he were not 
 able to satisfy me, he would acknowledge his fault, and 
 make me any honest satisfaction. This manner of deal- 
 ing woidd have been no disparagement to his better. 
 And even so I must think that your Lordship doth mo 
 wrong, knowing what you do, to make so little diiFer- 
 ence between John Nonis, my man not long since, and 
 now but my colonel under mo, as though w^ were equals. 
 And I cannot but more than marvel at this your proceed- 
 ing, when I remember your promises of friend.ship, and 
 
 your opinions resolutely set down You wero 
 
 so determined before you went hence, but must have 
 become wonderfully enamoured of those men's unknown 
 virtues in a few days of acquaintance, from the altera- 
 tion that is gi-own by their own commendations of 
 themselves. You knew very well that all the world 
 should not make me serve with John Norris. Your 
 sudden change from mislike to liking has, by conse- 
 quence, presently cast disgrace upon me. But all is 
 not gold that glitters, nor every shadow a perfect re- 
 presentation You knew he should not servo 
 
 with me, but either you thouglit me a very inconstant 
 man, or else a very simple soul, resolving with you as 
 I did, for you to takfe the course you have done."* 
 He felt, however, quite strong in her INIajesty's favour. 
 He knew himself her favourite, beyond all chance or 
 
 » Leicester to Buckhurst. The letter is from Ciojdou, and pathetically signed, 
 " Your poor friend, K. Leyceater." 
 
 1587. LEICESTER'S WRATH AT HOHENLO'S CHARGES. 233 
 
 change, and was sure, so long as either lived, to thrust 
 his enemies, by* her aid, into outer darkness. Woe to 
 Buckhurst, and Norris, and Wilkes, and all others who 
 consorted with his enemies. Let them flee from tho 
 wrath to come I And truly they were only too anxious 
 to do so, for they knew that Leicester's hatred was 
 poisonous. " He is not so facile to forget as ready to 
 revenge," * said poor Wilkes, with neat alliteration. 
 *' My very heavy and mighty adversary will disgrace 
 and undo me."* 
 
 '* It sufificeth," continued Leicester, " that her 
 Majesty doth find my dealings well enough, and so, I 
 trust, will graciously use me. As for the reconciliations 
 and love-days you have made there, truly I have liked 
 well of it ; for you did show me your disposition therein 
 before, and I allowed of it, and I had received letters 
 both from Count Maurice and Hohenlo of their humility 
 and kindness, but now in your last letters you say they 
 have uttered the cause of their mislike towards me, 
 which you forbear to write of, looking so speedily fur 
 my return." ^ 
 
 But the Earl knew well enough what the secret was, 
 for had it not been specially confided by the judicious 
 Bartholomew to Atye, who had incontinently told his 
 master ? " This pretence that I should kill Hohenlo," 
 cried Leicester, "is a matter properly foisted in to 
 bring me to choler. I will not suffer it to rest thus. 
 Its authors shall be duly and severely punished. And 
 albeit I see well enough the plot of this wicked device, 
 yet shall it not work the effect the devisers have done 
 it for. No, my Lord, he is a villain and a false, lying 
 knave whosoever he be, and of what nation soever, that 
 hath forged this device. Count Hohenlo doth know I 
 never gave him cause to fear me so much. There were 
 ways and means offered me to have quitted him of the 
 country if I had so liked. This new monstrous villany 
 which is now found out I do hate and detest, as I would 
 look fur the right judgment of God to fall upon myself, 
 if I had but once imagined it. All this makes good 
 proof of Wilkes's good dealing with me, that hath heard 
 
 » Wilkes to Walsingham, 13 April, June, 158t. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 1587. (S. P. Office MS.) » l^icester to Buckhurst, 30 April. 
 
 « Same to the Lord Chancellor, 3rd (MS. already cited.) 
 
234 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XV. 
 
 of so vile and villanous a reproach of me, and never 
 gave me knowledge. But I trust your Lordship shall 
 receive her Majesty's order for this, as for a matter that 
 toucheth herself in honour, and me her poor servant 
 and minister, as dearly as any matter can do ; and I will 
 so take it and use it to the uttermost." * 
 
 We have seen how anxiously Buckhurst had striven 
 to do his duty upon a most difficult mission. Was it 
 unnatural that so fine a nature as his should be dis- 
 heartened, at reaping nothing but sneers and contumely 
 from the haughty sovereign he served, and from the 
 insolent favourite who controlled her councils. *' I 
 beseech your Lordship," he said to Burghley, "keep 
 one ear for me, and do not hastily condemn me before 
 you hear mine answer. For if I ever did or shall do any 
 acceptable service to her Majesty, it was in the stay and 
 appeasing of these countries, ever ready at my coming 
 to have cast off all good respect towards us, and to have 
 entered even into some desperate cause. In the mean 
 time 1 am hardly thought of by her IMajesty, and in her 
 opinion condemned before mine answer be understood. 
 Therefore I beseech you to help me to return, and not 
 thus to lose her Majesty's favour for my good desert, 
 wasting here my mind, body, my wits, wealth, and all, 
 with continual toils, cares, and troubles, more than I 
 am able to endure." * 
 
 But besides his instructions to smooth and expostulate, 
 in which he had succeeded so well, and had been re- 
 quited so ill, Buckhurst had received a still more difficult 
 commission. He had been ordered to broach the subject 
 of peace, as delicately as possible, but without delay ; 
 first sounding the leading politicians, inducing them to 
 listen to the Queen's suggestions on the subject, per- 
 suading them that they ought to be satisfied with the 
 principles of the pacificjition of Ghent, and that it was f 
 hopeless for the Provinces to continue the war with 
 their mighty advei-sary any longer.' 
 
 1 Ijeiceater to Buckharst, 30 April. 
 (MS. already cittKi.) 
 
 « Buckhurst to Bnrgbley, 27th May, 
 1587. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 ' " Whereas we have late used your 
 service in an intended treaty of peace 
 betwixt the King of Spain and us, dealt 
 
 in by tlie Duke of Parmd ... we send 
 you copies of such letters as have lately 
 been written to ourself by the Duke, and 
 by Champagny to the Controller. .... 
 We have taken order that the Duke 
 shall be put in mind of the treaty of 
 Ghent, auno '7 6 . . . which being after- 
 
 1587. BUCKHURSrs ELOQUENT APPEALS TO THE QUEEN. 235 
 
 Most reluctantly had Buckhurst fulfilled his sove- 
 reign's commands in this disastrous course. To talk to 
 the Hollanders of the Ghent pacification seemed puerile. 
 That memorable treaty, ten years before, had been one 
 of the great landmarks of progress, one of the gi-eat 
 achievements of William tlie Silent. By its provisions, 
 public exercise of the reformed religion had been secured 
 for the two Provinces of Holland and Zeeland, and it 
 had been agreed that the secret practice of those rites 
 should be elsewhere winked at, until such time as the 
 States-General, under the auspices of Philip II., should 
 otherwise ordain. But was it conceivable, that now,— 
 after Philip's authority had been solemnly abjured, and 
 the reformed worship had become the public dominant 
 religion throughout all the l^rovinces,— the whole re- 
 public should return to the Spanish dominion, and to 
 such toleration as might be sanctioned by an assembly 
 professing loyalty to the IVIost Catholic King? 
 
 Buckhurst had repeatedly warned the Queen, in fervid 
 and eloquent language, as to the intentions of Spain. 
 '' Ihere was never peace well made," he observed, 
 ;' without a mighty war preceding, and, always, the sword 
 m hand is the best pen to write the conditions of peace." 
 
 *' If ever prince had cause," he continued, "to think 
 himself beset with doubt and danger, you, sacred Queen, 
 have most just cause not only to think it, but even 
 
 wards approved by the King, was pub- 
 lished in 1577, . . . having just cjiuse to 
 hope that, if the King be willing to 
 embrace peace, and the Duke to further 
 the same, as he pretendeth, he may be 
 induced to assent to such a tolerance as 
 in the said pjicification is contained. Now 
 it resteth that you should seek to frame 
 the minds of the people of those coun- 
 tries to such good means as by you shall 
 ba thought expedient to content them- 
 selves witii the said tolerance ; for which 
 purpose you shall, as of yourself, as one 
 that wisheth well to those countries, deal 
 with some well-chosen persons there, 
 such as you shall learn to be good 
 patriots, . . . laying before them how 
 impossible it is for them, by moans of 
 •heir contributions, with the burden 
 whereof the people do already find them- 
 •Hves so much grieved, to continue the 
 war, and to make head any longer against 
 
 so mighty and puissant a prince as the 
 King of Spain, and how unable ourselves 
 shall be to (supply them still with such 
 relief as the necessity of their state shall 
 require. . . . You may advise them to 
 dispose both their own minds and those 
 of the people to a sound peace, which, in 
 your opinion, they cannot at any time 
 treat of with greater advantage than at 
 this present, the King of Spain being aJt 
 to U)iv an ebb both at home and in these 
 countries, for want as well of victuals as 
 of other necessary things to continue the 
 wars. . . . And if you shall find that the 
 using of these reasons and persuasions 
 in our vame may further the cause, by 
 moving them rather to hearken unto 
 peace, we leave it to yourself to use. in 
 such case, your own discretion therein," 
 &c. Queen to Buckhurst. May, i587. 
 (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 
236 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS, 
 
 Chap. XV. 
 
 certainly to believe it. The Pope doth daily plot 
 nothincr else but how he may bring to pass your utter 
 overthrow ; the French King hath already sent you 
 threatenings of revenge, and though for that pre ended 
 cause I think little will ensue, yet he is blind that seetli 
 not the mortal dislike that boileth deep m his heart tor 
 other respects a|^inst you. Tlie Scottish King, not 
 only in regard of his future hope, but also ^y J-^'^smi 
 of some over-conceit in his heart may be thought 
 a dangerous neighbour 1^ you. The King of bpani 
 armeth and extendeth all his power to ruin both you 
 and your estate. And if the Indian gold have corrupted 
 also the King of Denmark, and made him likewise 
 Spanish, as 1 marvellously fear ; why will not your 
 Maiesty, beholding tne flames of your enemies on every 
 Bide kindling around, unlock all your coffers and convert your 
 treasure for the admncmg of worthy mni, and jor tlie ami^(7 
 of ships and men-of-war that may defe id you, siiwe princes 
 treasures serve only to that end, ai,d, lu they never so fast or 
 so full in their chests, can no ways so defend them / . . . _ 
 " The eternal God, in whose hands the hearts of kings 
 do rest, dispose and guide your sacred Majesty to d.) 
 that which may be most according to His blessed will, 
 and best for you, as I trust he will, even for His mercy s 
 sake, both toward your Majesty and the whole realii 
 of England, whoso desolation is thus sought and 
 
 compassed." * . , . ... „^-, ^ 
 
 Was this the language of a mischievous intriguer, who 
 was sacrificing the true interests of his country and 
 whose proceedings were justly earning for him rebuke 
 and disgrace at the hands of his sovereign ? Or was it 
 rather the noble advice of an upright statesman, a lover 
 of his country, a faithful servant of his Queen, whu 
 had looked through the atmosphere of falsehood m 
 which he was doing his work, and who had detected, 
 with rare sagacity, the secret pui-poses of those who 
 were then misruling the world? 
 
 Buckhurst bid no choice, however, but to obey, iiis 
 private efforts were of course fruitless, but he announced 
 to her Majesty that it was his intention very shortly to 
 bring the matter— according to her wish-before the 
 assembly. 
 
 1 Buckhurst to the Queen. 30 AprU. 1587. (Br. Mus. Galha. C. xl. p. 438. MS.) 
 
 1587. HER PERPLEXING AND CONTRADICTORY ORDERS. 237 
 
 But Elizabeth, seeing that her counsel had been un- 
 wise and her action premature, turned upon her envoy, 
 as she was apt to do, and rebuked him for his obedience] 
 80 soon as obedience had proved inconvenient to herself 
 
 " Having perused your letters," she said, " by which 
 you so at large debate unto us what you have done in 
 tlie matter of peace ... we find it strange that you 
 should proceed farther. And although we had given 
 you full and ample direction to proceed to a public 
 <lealing in that cause, yet your own discretion, seeing tho 
 diflSculties and dangers that you yourself saw in the 
 ))ropounding of the matter, ought to have led you to 
 delay till further command from us." ^ 
 
 Her Majesty then instructed her envoy, in cjuse he 
 had not yet " propounded the matter in the state-house 
 to the general assembly," to pause entirely until he 
 heard her further pleasure. She concluded, as usual, 
 with a characteristic postscript in her owti hand. 
 
 ;'0h! weigh deeplier this matter," she said, "than, 
 with so shallow a judgment, to spill the cause, impair 
 my honour, and shame yourself, with all your wit, that 
 once was supposed better than to lose a bargain for the 
 handling."* 
 
 Certainly the sphinx could have propounded no more 
 puzzling riddles than those which Eh'zabeth thus sug- 
 gested to Buckhurst To make war without an army 
 to siipport ananny without pay, to frame the hearts of a 
 whole people to peace who were unanimous for war, and 
 this without saying a word either in private or public • 
 to dispose the Netherlanders favourably to herself and 
 to Leicester, by refusing them men and money, brow- 
 beating them for asking for it, and subjecting them to 
 a course of perpetual insults, which she called " corro- 
 sives, ' to do all this and more seemed diflficult. If not 
 to do It were to spill the cause and to lose the bargain, 
 It was more than probable that they would be spilt and 
 
 IJnt the ambassador was no (Edipus— although a man 
 <'t dtdicate perceptions and brilliant intellect- and he 
 t umed imploringly to a wi«e counsellor for aid against the 
 tormentor who chose to be so stony-faced and enigmatical. 
 
 1 Qvjeen to Buckhurst, 4 Juno. 1587. (S. T. Office MS.) 
 
 » Ibid. 
 
 \ 
 
238 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XV. 
 
 *' Touching the matter of peace," said he to Walsing- 
 ham, *'I have written somewhat to Her Majesty in 
 cipher, so as I am sure you will be called for to decipher 
 it. If you did know how infinitely her Majesty did at my 
 departure and before— for in this matter of peace she hath 
 specially used me this good while — command me, pray me, and 
 persuade 7ne to further and hasten the same with all the speed 
 possible that might be, and Aoic, on the other side, I have con- 
 tinually been the man and the mean that have most plainly 
 dehorted her from such post-haste, and that she should never 
 make good peace without a puissant army in the field, 
 you would then say that I had now cause to fear her 
 displeasure for being too slow, and not too foi-ward. And as 
 for all the reasons wliich in my last letters are set down, 
 her Majesty hath debated them with me many times." * 
 
 And thus midsummer was fast approaching, the com- 
 monwealth was without a regidar government, Leicester 
 remained in England nursing his wrath and preparing 
 his schemes, the Queen was at Greenwich, corresponding 
 with Alexander Farnese, and sending riddles to Buck- 
 hurst, when the enemy— who, according to her Majesty, 
 was *' quite imable to attempt the siege of any town " — 
 suddenly appeared in force in Flanders, and invested 
 Sluys. This most important seaport, both for the des- 
 tiny of the republic and of England at that critical 
 moment, was insufficiently defended. It was quite time 
 to put an army in the field, with a governor-general to 
 command it. 
 
 On the 5th June there was a meeting of the state- 
 council at the Hague. Count Maurice, Hohenlo, and 
 Moeurs were present, besides several members of the 
 States-General. Two propositions were before the 
 council. The first was that it was absolutely necessary 
 to the safety of the republic, now that the enemy had 
 taken the field, and the important city of Sluys was 
 besieged, for Prince Maurice to be appointed captain- 
 general, until such time as the Earl of Leicester or some 
 other should be sent by her Majesty. The second was 
 to confer upon the state-council the supreme govern- 
 ment in civil affairs, for the same period, and to repeal 
 all limitations and restrictions upon the powers of the 
 council made secretly by the Earl. 
 
 \ Buckhuwt to Wal»ingl»am, 13 June. 1587. (Br. Mus. Galba, D I. 96. MS.) 
 
 1587. LEICESTER ANXOUNCES HIS RETURN. 239 
 
 Chancellor Leoninus, - that grave, wise old man " 
 moved the propositions. The deputies of the States 
 were requested to withdraw. Thi vote of eac^i coun- 
 cillor was demanded. Buckhurst, who, as the Queen's 
 representative-together with Wilkes a'nd M.nlZ'l 
 -had a seat in the council, refused to vote. " It was a 
 matter," he discreetly observed, " with which he had 
 not been mstnictec by her Majesty to intermeddle " 
 Wi« and AV likes also begged to be excused from voting, 
 and, although earnestly urged to do so by the whole 
 council, persisted in their refusal. Both measures were 
 tlien earned.' . 
 
 No sooner was fhe vote taken, than an English courier 
 entered the council chamber, with pressing" despatches 
 
 tZf^H ^'^"''^^'Tu- ^'^' ^'^^'^'-^ «"^ ^^ o°cl read 
 The Earl announced his .peedy arrival, and summoned 
 
 both the Sta es-Ge„eral and the council to meet him a^ 
 
 Uort, where his lodgnigs were already taken. All were 
 
 siirprised but none more than Buckhurst, Wilkes, and 
 
 Wr."r ' ^ 'JV"!V"''*'°" °^ ""■« ^"•^'l^" resolution had 
 been received by hem, nor any answer given to various 
 propositions, considered by her Majesty as indispensable 
 piehminaries to the governors visit ' 
 The council adjourned till after dinner, and Buckhurst 
 eld conference meantime with various counsellors and 
 deputies. On the reassembling of the board, it was 
 urged by Banieveld, in the name of the States, 'that th^ 
 
 " Al,r i / 'If * ^^^""'^'^ "''""I'l «*'" I'"!'! good. 
 
 that her Majesty had resolved upon the speedy return of ' 
 his Excellency, yet, inasmuch as the counsels and reso- 
 tutions of princes are often subject to change upon new 
 occasion it does not seem fit that our late purpose con- 
 cerning Prince Maurice should receive any interruption " 
 Accordingly, after brief debate, both resolutions^ voted 
 in the morning were confirmed in the afternoon. 
 
 bo now," said Wilkes, "Maurice is general of all 
 me torces, et quid sequitur nesclmus." ' 
 
 that VvTl^*^"^'" i!" '^"^ ^ ^""°^' ^' ^"^ ^•e'-y certain 
 that W likes would not stay. His great enemy had 
 
 Mvorn his destruction, and would now take his choice, 
 
 Wilkes to Walslngham, 8 June, 1587. (S. P. Office MS ) 
 ' Ibid. 1 u,^ 
 
 I 
 
 llj 
 
240 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XV. 
 
 whetlier to do him to death himself, or to throw him 
 into the clutch of the ferocious Hohenlo. " As for my 
 own particular," said the counsellor, ** the word is go, 
 whosoever cometh or cometh not," » and he announced 
 to Walsingham his intention of departing without per- 
 mission, should he not immediately receive it from 
 England. " 1 shall stay to be dandled with no love- 
 days nor leave-takings," he observed.^ 
 
 • Wilkes to Walsingham, 29 April, 
 1587. (S. P. 0fflc« MS.) 
 
 « Wilkes to Walsingham, 8 June, 
 1587. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 From the very moment of I^icester's 
 arrival in England, he seems |to have 
 ( onceived a violent hatred to Councillor 
 AVilkes. Yet a careful inspection of tlie 
 correspondence shows that never was 
 hatred more unjust. Wilkes had told 
 the truth concerning the expenses in- 
 curred by England and the States during 
 the Earl's first term of administration. 
 He could not have done less without 
 fUreliction of duty, and he for^^'arded 
 certified vouchers for all his statements. 
 He always did his best to sustain the 
 governor's character, and to carry out 
 his legitimate views. As time wore on, 
 he was obliged to state tlie disadvantapes 
 resulting from his protracted absence, 
 and he was forced, at last, to admit the 
 truth as to his great unpopularity. He 
 <>ven admitted privately, on one occasion, 
 that. In consequence of that unpopu- 
 larity, some other governor might be 
 sent from England more acceptable to 
 the Provinces. This was the sura of his 
 offences in regard to Leicester, Towards 
 the tiueen he manifested himself an in- 
 telligent, honest, and most assiduous 
 servant, but he had incurred the hostility 
 of the favourite, and for that there was 
 no redri'ss. Even so early as January 
 he felt that he had lost l^eicester's favour, 
 although he protested he " would re- 
 purchase it with the loss of his two best 
 fingers " (Wilkes to lieicester, 27 Jan. 
 J5H7.—S. P. Office MS.); and he wrote 
 at the same time to the yueen, complain- 
 inj; that he was in danger of his life, as 
 r»comi>cnse for his faithful service— a 
 life which he hoped to venture in better 
 Fort for her Majesty's service. He was 
 threatened at home, he said, and en- 
 dangered abroad. Wilkes to the (jueen, 
 
 30 Jan. 1687. (S. P. Office MS.) A 
 few months later, matters had grown 
 much worse. Leicester was intending 
 to wreak his revenge upon him by 
 means of third persons, who, by his 
 malignant insinuations, had been made 
 hostile to the councillor. " Whereunto 
 is now added the danger of my poor 
 life," he says, " and fortune, for that I 
 am secretly given to understand, by a 
 doar friend of mine, and inward with my 
 great and heavy enemy, tliat he hath 
 sworn and protested, even now of late, 
 to take his revenge on me— how or in 
 what sort I know not, but have good 
 cause to doubt, considering the mind of 
 my enemy, that he will not be satisfied 
 with any mere offence to be done unto 
 me, which I suppose he will never do of 
 himself, nor by any of his o>*-n, but a 
 third means, whereunto he hath a gap 
 opened unto him by my own letters 
 written unto him from hence, wherein 
 I had touched some persons of quality 
 here for their indirect proceedings against 
 
 her Mt^Jesty and our nation 
 
 Therefore, I humbly beseech yon to 
 move her Mt^jesty for my speedy return." 
 WUkes to Hatton, 19 April, 1587. (S, P. 
 Office MS.) In a letter to Walsing- 
 ham of same djite, ho alluded to the 
 " deadly revenpe threatened against him 
 by the Earl with very bitter words," and 
 indicates the same scheme by which third 
 persons are to inflict it. " I would l>e 
 loth to commit myself to his mercy, " he '' 
 says ; " your honour knoweth him better 
 
 than I do Ood is my witness, 
 
 I have, since his departiire from these 
 countries, deserved as well of him as 
 ever did any. ... 1 will stand to 
 my justification, and prove that 1 have 
 done him with her Majesty as many pood 
 offices as any man that came from 
 hence," and he then most urgently 
 solicited pertnission to depart This 
 
 ^^''^ DBSPAIR OF WILKES. 241 
 
 But Leicester had delayed his comiDe too lono- TJ,^ 
 county felt that it had 4en trifled ^th b? iislbse^^ 
 -at so cnhcal a period-of seven monfhs It was 
 known too that the Queen was secretly treating widiThp 
 enemy, and that Buckhurst had been pri'atehfsZdin^ 
 leadmg person^es upon that subject, Cher orderf 
 This had caused a deep, suppressed indication tZ^ 
 and over again had the EngliA govemSbeen waraed 
 as to the danger of delay. " Y^ur length in resoS " 
 
 .' .^ P"* "?,to new plunges before lon<r." « The 
 mission of Buckhurst was believed to be "but a stale 
 haying some other intent than was expressed " Ind at 
 last, the new plunge had been fairly taken It stemed 
 
 TuXrTS 1 1 ''"rr "% -gain ihe abXtJ 
 autnority which he coveted, and which he had for a 
 
 bnef season possessed. The States-Genewl, under able 
 ^ders, had become used to a government whch had 
 been forced upon them, and which they hrd wielded 
 with success Holland and Zeeland, pa/inrthe whole 
 expense of the war, were not likely t^Srea^aSe 
 absolute sovereignty of a foreigner, guided by^a back 
 stairs council of reckless politiciLs-most of whom were" 
 
 pemnssion the government were most 
 reluctant to grant, and Wilkes protested 
 loudly ajfainst his continuance in office 
 at such " hazard to bis poor life, without 
 means of defence, in the quality of his 
 rum or death. '• Tis a hard reward for 
 "ly faithful services," he said. " to be left 
 to the mercy of such as have will and 
 means by revenge to bereave her Majesty 
 '•fa true and obedient servant, and me 
 of my life, in an obscure sort, to my per- 
 petual infamy, to the pleasing of mine 
 j-nemies, and the discomlbrting of all 
 honest men. by an example, from servingi 
 of her M^esty with sincerity." &c. W 
 Jo Walsing., 29th April, 1587. (S. P. 
 f>ffice MS.) And he soon after^^ards 
 decartHi to Walsingham (15 May. 1587. 
 ^ I. Office MS.), that, in case be should 
 oe left there to the mercy of his great 
 enemy, if he returned, he would venture 
 to hazard her M^esty's favour in re- 
 tummg home without license." His 
 alarm was no greater for his life than 
 Jor his reputation, both which Leicester 
 m his belief, was sworn to destroy •• 1 
 VOL. 11. 
 
 do find that my very heavy and mighty 
 adversary," he writes to the Lord Chan- 
 cellor (3 June, 1 587. S. P. Office MS ) 
 '' doth perpetually travail with her Ma- 
 jesty to disgrace and undo me. and I have 
 cause to doubt that he doth or shall pre- 
 vail against me. considering the goodness 
 ot her Majesty's nature to be induced to 
 believe whom she favoureth. and his 
 subtlety to persuade. I have therefore 
 no mean in respect of the great in- 
 equality between him and me. but either 
 to be held up by my honourable friends 
 assisted with the wings of mine ovm* 
 integrity, or to fall to the ground with 
 disgrace and infamy, to the discourage- 
 ment of all that shall serve her MaJestv 
 in like places." ^ 
 
 Such passages paint the condition of 
 the civil service in England, during the 
 reign of Leicester and Elizabeth, more 
 vividly than could be done by a lone 
 dissertation. 
 
 ' Wilkes to Walsingham. 17 Mav 
 15S7. (S. P. Office MS.) ^' 
 
242 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XV. 
 
 unprincipled, and some of whom had been proved to be 
 felons— and established at Utrecht, which contributed 
 nothing to the general purse. If Leicester were really 
 coming, it seemed certain that he would be held to ac- 
 knowledge the ancient constitution, and to respect the 
 sovereignty of the States-General. It was resolved that 
 he should be well bndled. The sensations of Barneveld 
 and his party may therefore be imagined, when a private 
 letter of Leicester to his secretary—" the fellow named 
 Junius," as Ilohcnlo called him— having been inter- 
 cepted at this moment, gave them an opportunity of 
 Studying the Earl's secret thoughts. 
 
 The Earl infoinied his correspondent that he was on 
 the i)oint of starting for the Netherlands. He ordered 
 him therefore to luoceed at once to reassure those whom 
 he knew well disposed as to the good intentions of her 
 Majesty and of the goveraor-general. And if, on the 
 part of Lord Buckhurst or others, it should be intimated 
 that the Queen was resolved to treat for peace with the 
 King of Spain, and wished to have the opinion of the 
 Netherlanders on that subject, he was to mt/ huklh/ that 
 Lord Huckhurd never had any such charge, and that her 
 3Iajesty had not been treating at all. She had only been 
 attempting to sound the King's intentions towards the 
 Netherlands, in case of any accord. Having received 
 no satisfactory assurance on the subject, her Majesty was 
 determined to proceed with the defence of these corm- 
 tries. This appeared by the expedition of Drake against 
 Spain, and l)y the return of the Earl, with a good num- 
 ber of soldiers paid by her Majesty over and above her 
 ordinary subsidy.' 
 
 '* You are also," said the Earl, " to tell those who have 
 the ctire of the people " (the ministers of the reformed 
 church and others), "that lam returning in the confi- 
 dence that they will, in futuH), cause all past difficulties 
 to cease, and 'that they will yield to me a legitimate 
 authority, such as befits for administering the sovereignty 
 of the Provinces, without my being obliged to endure 
 all the oppositions and counterminings of the States, as 
 in times past. The States must content themselves >yith 
 retaining the power which they claim to have exercised 
 
 1 liCicoster to Junius, Greenwich, 15 pure Meterin, xiv. 266. Hoofd, Vervolgb, 
 June, 15»T. (S. P. Offlce MS.) Com- 249, et mult. al. 
 
 1587. LEICESTER'S INSTRUCTIONS-LETTER TO JUNIUS. 243 
 
 under the governor of the Emperor and the Kin., 
 without attempting anything farther during my goverSI 
 mont, smce I desire to do nothing of importance without 
 tne advice of the council, which will bi composed legi- 
 
 Lem l^at hoHf""' f *^' ^"'"^'y- ^ou wifl also tell 
 them that hor Majesty commands me to return unless I 
 can obtain from the States the authority which is neces- 
 sary, m ordern„t to be governor in appeamnce only and 
 on paper. And I wish that those who are good ra^v be 
 appmed of all this, in order that nothing ^may halen 
 wishe!"' ^'■'•' '' ^""^ ™^"' ^""^ contrary to thek 
 
 r,^!!^Z'^T ^^^ '■®'y "^''^""^ comments to be made 
 upon this document. Firstly, the States-^ Jure, as 
 hey claimed, and do facto most unquestionably-were i^ 
 the position of the Emperor and King. They wire Z 
 soverc^s. The Earl wished them to content t^hemsdves 
 with the power which they exercised under the Em- 
 peror s governors This was like requesting the Emper^ 
 when in the Netherlands, to consider himlelf suWt to 
 SatTeTT'"- ,.Th«.«'>o-d obvious reflection ' 
 that the Earl, m limiting his authority bv a state- 
 
 "Zt'tlT^'V^'"''^'^ ^"^PI'^'"* that^bodvliimse^ 
 -as he had done before -and to allow the members only 
 
 enf J °V«l'"ng.a.nd of voting, without the power of 
 enforcing their decisions. In short, it was very plain 
 that Leicester meant to be more absolute than ever 
 As to the flat contradiction given to Buckhuret's pro- 
 
 TJnT r *>^ '°''"°'' "^ V""-"^' »h** statement could 
 scarcely deceive any one who had seen her Maiesty's 
 letters and mstmctions to her envoy. ^ 
 
 It was also a singularly deceitful couree to be adonted 
 by Leicester towards Buckhurst and towards the Nether- 
 lands, because his own private instructions, dra^-n up at 
 
 WW K ^ uu"'^"*^: Jl'^'^'^y «°J""ied him to do exactly 
 what Buckhurst had been doing. He was most strictly 
 and earnestly commanded to deal privately with all such 
 per^ons^ as had influence with the " common sort of 
 people in order that they should use their influence 
 
 7ividIvTf ""T*"" 11°^^" '" ^*^°'"' °f P'^^e- bringing 
 vividly before them the excessive burthens of the war 
 
 meir inability to cope with so potent a prince as Thilip' 
 
 * Leicester to Junius, ubi sup. 
 
 R 2 
 
 ii; 
 
244 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XV. 
 
 and the necessity tlie Queen was under of discontinuing 
 her contributions to their support. He was to make the 
 same representations to the States, and he was further 
 most explicitly to inform all concerned, that, in case 
 they were unmoved by these suggestions, her Majesty 
 had quite made up her mind to accept the handsome 
 offers of peace held out by the King of Spain, and to 
 leave them to their fate. 
 
 It seemed scarcely possible that the letter to Junius 
 and the instructions for the Earl should have been dated 
 the sam^ week, and should have emanated from the 
 same mind ; but such was the fact. 
 
 He was likewise privately to assure Maurice and 
 Hohenlo — in order to remove their anticipated opposi- 
 tion to the peace — that such care should be taken in 
 providing for them as that " they should have no just 
 cause to dislike thereof, but to rest satisfied withal." 
 
 With regard to the nature of his authority, he was 
 instructed to claim a kind of dictatorship in everything 
 regarding the command of the forces, and the distri- 
 bution of the public treasure. All offices were to be at 
 his disposal. Everj' florin contributed by the States 
 was to be placed in his hands, and spent according to 
 his single will. He was also to have plenary power to 
 prevent the trade in victuals with the enemy by death 
 and confiscation. 
 
 If opposition to any of these proposals were made by 
 the States-General, he was to appeal to the States of 
 each Province, to the towns and communities, and in 
 case it should prove impossible for him " to be furnished 
 with the desired authority," he was then instructed to 
 say that it was ** her Majesty's meaning to leave them 
 to their own counsel and defence, and to withdraw the 
 support that she had yielded to them ; seeing plainly 
 tliat the continuance of the confused government now 
 reigning among them could not but work their ruin." * 
 
 Both these papers came into Bam e veld's hands, 
 through the agency of Ortel, the States' envoy in Eng- 
 land, before the arrival of the Earl in the Netherlands.* 
 
 1 Ingtruclions for the Earl of Leices- 
 ter. 20 June. 1587. Corrected by Lord 
 Burghley and Secretary WaUingham. 
 (8. P. Office MS.) Compare Bor, II. xxi. 
 
 906, 91'7. 
 
 « Bor, IL xxll. 906. 907. " By the 
 way." writes Leicester to Burghley, " send 
 away Ortel ; he is a bad felU»w." Lei- 
 cester to Burghley, 17th Aug. 1587. 
 (3. P. Office MS. 
 
 1587. BARNEVELD DENOUxVCES HIM TO THE STATES. 245 
 
 Of course they soon became the topics of excited con- 
 versation and of alann in eveiy part of the country. 
 Buckhurst, touched to the quick by the reflection upon 
 those proceedings of his which had been so explicitly 
 enjoined upon him, and so reluctantly undertaken, ap- 
 pealed earnestly to her Majesty. He reminded he^, L 
 delicately as possible, that her honour, as well as his 
 own, was at stake by Leicester's insolent disavowals of 
 her authorised ambassador. He besought her to re- 
 member "what even her own royal hand had written 
 to the Duke of Parma;" and how much his honour was 
 interested by the disavowing of his dealings about the 
 peace begun by her Majesty's commandment " He ad- 
 jured her with much eloquence to think upon the conse- 
 quences of stirring up the common and unstable multi- 
 tude against their rulers; upon the pernicious effects 
 of allowing the clergy to inflame the passions of the 
 people against the government. *' Under the name of 
 such as have charge over the people," said Buckhurst, 
 are understood the ministers and chaplains of the 
 churches m every town, by the means of whom it seems 
 that his Lordship tendeth his whole purpose to attain to 
 ins desire of the administration of the sovereigntv " He 
 assured the Queen that this scheme of Leicester to seize 
 virtual y upon that sovereignty would be a disastrous 
 one. The States are resolved," said he, "since your 
 Majesty doth refuse the sovereignty, to lay it upon no 
 creature else, as a thing contrary te their oath and allo- 
 wance to their country." He reminded her also that 
 the fetates had been dissatisfied with the Earl's former 
 administration, believing that he had exceeded his com- 
 . mission, and that they were determined therefore to 
 limit his authority at his return. " Your sacred Maiestv 
 may consider," he said, " what effect all this may work 
 among the common and ignorant people, by intimating 
 that, unless they shall procure him the administration 
 ot such a sovereignty as he requireth, their ruin may 
 ensue Buckhurst also informed her that he had 
 
 despatched Councillor Wilkes to England, in order that 
 ne might give more ample information on all these 
 atlairs by word of mouth than could well be written 
 It need hardly be stated that Bameveld came down 
 
 i Buckhurst to the Queen. 28 June. 1587. (Brit. Mus. Galba, C. xi. p. 61, MS.) * 
 
 ll 
 
246 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XV. 
 
 lii 
 "'1 
 
 ''|ii 
 
 to tlie States'-hoTise with these papers in his hand, and 
 thundered against the delinquent and intriguing go- 
 vernor till the general indignation rose to an alarming 
 height. False statements of course were made to Lei- 
 cester as to the substance of the Advocate's discourse. 
 He was said to have charged upon the English govern- 
 ment an intention to seize forcibly upon their cities, 
 and to transfer them to Spain on payment of the sums 
 due to the Queen from the States, and to have declared 
 that he had found all this treason in the secret instruc- 
 tions of the Earl.* But Bameveld had read the mstmc- 
 tions, to which the attention of the reader has just been 
 called, and had strictly stated the tmth, which was 
 damaging enough, without need of exaggeration. 
 
 1 Memorial in Burghley's hand, Sept. 
 1687. Killigrew and Beale to the I^rds, 
 11th Sept. 1587. Leicester to Burghley, 
 17 Aug. 1587. Same to same, 11 Sept 
 1587. (S. P. Office MSS.) 
 
 "Those persuasions of this fellow 
 Bamevelt," says the Earl in the last- 
 cited letter, " wrought great impressionB 
 in many men that her Majesty had a 
 former resolution in herself to make 
 peace without these countries, and that 
 my now sending was only to get autho- 
 rity here with the commandmtnt of 
 places and people, that, if these men 
 would not agree to such peace as her 
 Majesty would appoint, they should be 
 comiielled thereto by such forces &a I 
 ghould have at my disposition ; alleging 
 also that these few supplies which 1 
 brought was to augment my power the 
 
 stronger for this only end. These infor- 
 mations, assistfxi with the report of the 
 copy of my instructions and letters, for 
 the verifying of which the party took 
 new oath that they were the true copies 
 which he had, and moved him to speak 
 so plainly, which matters were very pro- 
 bable and greatly persuadable to the 
 common sort ; yet is the matter so used 
 as notwithstanding all his allegations 
 both of instructions and letters, all men 
 are satisfied ; and I have not denied but 
 such words are in my instructions and 
 such a letter written, and yet we made 
 all to agree with an honourable and 
 gracious intention in her Majesty 
 towards them all," &c. (Compare Jkle- 
 tereu, xiv. 255 seq. Bor.ll.xxii. 906,907. 
 Hoofd Vervolgh, 239. Wagenaar, viii. 
 223. 224. 
 
 H 
 
 ') 
 
 Chap. XVI. 
 
 SITUATION OF SLUYS. 
 
 247 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Norris WilkpITn^ R ^^K ~ ^ ^'''^'^ *"^ ^'^'^ theAnti-Leicestrians- 
 
 lIfe™o^'*fl'''t^ passed throngh the thirf circle of the 
 
 Infemo-a desert of red-hot sand, in which lay a multi- 
 
 ude of victims of divine wrath, additionally tortured by 
 
 caufewav 4 "' /r'"^ ^ildeniess along a narrow 
 causeway. This path was protected, he said, against 
 the showers of flame by the lines of vapour which rose 
 e emally from a boiling brook. Kven by such shadowy 
 bulwarks, added the poet, do the Flemings betvv^Tn 
 
 tSrl™ t!:>"^^ ^^°*^«' *^- ^"^ «S^-* the ev:r^ 
 
 pilV?,! ^"'T^'^^y '^'"""g these slender dykes between 
 ^l!«^H ll";^ /"^'' that Alexander Farnese had now 
 planted all the troops that ho could musler in the field 
 n was his determination to conquer the city of Sluvs • 
 for he possession of that important seaport was necesl 
 wW- i "" "". ^"^ f"'' 'J^e invasion of England 
 
 Exactly opposite the city was the island of Kadzand, 
 
 r^V '"■ """If ^'^'^"'^ *"'T'tory, with a city and man^ 
 flourishing villages upon its surf^ace, but at that epoch 
 
 m^t^K^nf It *" ""^^ ^'^^"^ sand-bank by the encroach- 
 inents or the ocean. 
 
 » "Hora cen porta 1' un de* duri 
 margin! 
 
 E il fumo del rusceP dl sopra 
 
 aduggia 
 Si ciie d;il fuoco salva 1' acqua e gP 
 
 arglnl 
 
 Temendo il fiotto che ver lor s' 
 
 avventa 
 Fanno li schermi acciochb '1 mar si 
 fuggia." 
 
 Inferno, Canto xv. 
 Compare Guicciardinl, • Descript. des 
 
 ^^"^ 487. BentivogUo, p. ii. 1. V. 313. 
 
pi 
 
 248 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XVI. 
 
 1 *'■[) 
 
 h 
 
 A stream of inland water, rising a few leagues to the 
 south of Sluys, divided itself into many branches just 
 before reaching the city, converted the surrounding 
 territory into a miniature archipelago — the islands of 
 which were shifting, treacherous sand-banks at low 
 water, and submerged ones at flood — and then widening 
 and deepening into a considerable estuary, opened for 
 the city a capacious harbour, and an excellent although 
 intricate passage to the sea. The city, which was well 
 built and thriving, was so hidden in its labyrinth of 
 canals and streamlets, that it seemed almost as difficult 
 a matter to find Sluys as to conquer it. It afforded safe 
 harbour for five hundred large vessels ; and its posses- 
 sion, therefore, was extremely important for Parma. 
 Besides these natural defences, the place was also pro- 
 tected by fortifications, which were as well constructed 
 as the best of that period. There was a strong rampire 
 and many towers. There was also a detached citadel 
 of great strength, looking towards the sea ; and there 
 was a ravelin, called St. Anne's, looking in the direction 
 of Bruges. A mere riband of dry land in that quarter 
 was all of solid earth to be found in the environs of 
 Sluys. 
 
 The city itself stood upon firm soil, but that soil had 
 been hollowed into a vast system of subterranean maga- 
 zines, not for warlike purposes, but for cellars, as Sluys 
 had been from a remote period the great entrepot of 
 foreieii wines in the Netherlands.* 
 
 While the eternal disputes between Leicester and the 
 States were going on both in Holland and in England, 
 while the secret negotiations betweeli Alexander Far- 
 nese and Queen Elizabeth were slowly proceeding at 
 Brussels and Greenwich, the Duke, notwithstanding the 
 destitute condition of his troops, and the famine which 
 prevailed throughout the obedient Provinces, had suc- 
 ceeded in bringing a little army of five thousand foot, 
 and something less than one thousand horse, into the 
 field.' A portion of this force he placed under the com- 
 
 1 Authorities last cited. Meteren.xlv. ever, to arrive at the exact numbers. 
 
 254'">, 255. Hoofd, Verv. 254. They are not stated by Farnese in his 
 
 « Parma to Philip II., 6 Aug. 16S1. letters to the King, preserved in the 
 
 (Arch, de Simancas, MS.) Archives of Siniancas. Strada (ii. 489) 
 
 This force was subsequently very gives the numbers as stated in the t«xt. 
 
 much Increased. It is impossible, how- Roger Williams, however, in a letter to 
 
 1587. ITS DUTCH AND ENGLISH GARRISON. 249 
 
 mand of the veteran La Motte. That distinguished 
 campaigner had assured the commander-in-chfef that 
 the reduction of the city would be an easy achievement ' 
 Alexander soon declared that the enterprise w^Ae 
 most difficult one that he had ever undertaken.' Yet 
 two years before, he had carried to its triumphant con- 
 clusion the famous siege of Antwerp. He stationed Ws 
 own division upon the isle of Kadzand, and strengthened 
 his camp by additionally fortifying those shadowy C 
 warks by which the island, since the age of Dante h^ 
 entrenched itself against the assaults of ocean. 
 On the other hand, La Motte. by the orders of his 
 
 til- ^Vr?*^"*^ ^^''' "■ *^T «t"^ggle in camming 
 the fort of bt. Anne. A still more important step w^ 
 the surprising of Blankenberg. a small fortified pkce^ 
 the coast about midway between Ostend and sfuys, by 
 
 tT. ^»r f%'!t*'r!"'"''''**'°°« ^'^^ tlie former city for 
 the relief of the beleaguered town, were interrupted.' 
 
 ■Ji^ll^ T'^^^^T^ against Sluys had commended 
 in the early days of June. The commandant of the 
 place was Arnold de Groenevelt. a Dutch nob e of 
 ancient lineage and approved valour. His force wa^ 
 however, very meagre, hardly numbering more than 
 eight hundred, all Ke.herlandL. but counting a~ 
 Its officers several most distinguished personaires 
 Nicholas de Maulde. Adolphus de MeetkeAe aThk 
 
 successor of Sir Philip Sidney in the g^ver^mTnf/f 
 Flushing. He had received from him. in consequence 
 a remfoi-cement of eight hundred Englidi soldier? unde; 
 
 grapher of the Duke allows. R Williams 
 
 Qaeen Elizabeth, sent from Sluys at an 
 early period of the siege, says that the 
 ^Ke of Parma had come before the 
 town, a week before. In person, with four 
 ryraents of Walloons, four of Germans, 
 mty-two companies of Spaniaids, twenty- 
 four comets of horse, and forty^ight 
 pieces of battery, and that the next day 
 there arrived one regiment of Italians 
 and one of Burgundians. This would 
 g^ve a total of at least 17,600 men. more 
 tnan thrice as many as the historio- 
 
 to the Queen ^ June, 1687. (Brit. Mus. 
 
 Galba, D. I. p.40,MS.) 
 
 » Parma to Philip II., 6 Aug. 1587. 
 (Arch, de Simancas, MS.) 
 
 » Ibid. " En mio poco Jnlcio la mas 
 diflcultosa y laboriosa cosa que bo visto 
 e acometldo en Flandes." 
 
 'Strada, il. 488. ^ Meteren. vbi mp 
 Bor. II. xxli. 984. Bentivogllo, Hoofd 
 ubi sup. 
 
Iiif 
 
 250 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XVI. 
 
 several eminent chieftains, foremost among whom were 
 the famous Welshman Roger Williams, Captain Huntley, 
 Baskei-ville, Sir Francis Vere, Ferdinando Gorges, and 
 Captain Hart. This combined force, however, was but 
 a slender one, there being but sixteen hundred men to 
 protect two miles and a half of rampart, besides the 
 forts and ravelins.* 
 
 But, such as it was, no time was lost in vain regrets. 
 The sorties against the besiegers were incessant and 
 brilliant. On one occasion Sir Francis Vere — conspi- 
 cuous in the throng in his red mantilla, and supported 
 only by one hundred Englishmen and Dutchmen under 
 Captaiia Baskervillo— held at bay eight companies of 
 the famous Spanish legion called the Terzo Veijo, at 
 push of pike, took many prisoners, and forced the 
 Spaniards from the position in which they were en- 
 trenching themselves.* On the other hand, Famese 
 declared that he had never in his life witnessed any- 
 thing so unflinching as the courage of his troops ; em- 
 ployed as they were in digging trenches where the soil 
 was neither land nor water, exposed to inundation by 
 the suddenly-opened sluices, to a phmging fire from the 
 forts, and to perpetual hand-to-hand combats with an 
 active and fearless foe, and yet pumping away in the 
 coffer-dams — which they had invented by way of ob- 
 taining a standing -ground for their operations — as 
 steadily and sedately as if engaged in purely pacific 
 employments.'* The besieged were inspired by a cou- 
 rage equally remarkable. The regular gamson was 
 small enough, but the burghers were courageous, and 
 even the women organized themselves into a band of 
 pioneers. This corps of amazons, led by two female 
 captains, rejoicing in the names of * May in the Heart * 
 and * Catharine the Rose,' actually constructed an im- 
 ■ portant redoubt between the citadel and the rampart, 
 which received, in compliment to its builders, the ap- 
 pellation of * Fort Venus.' * 
 
 The demands of the beleaguered garrison, however, 
 upon the States and upon Leicester were most pressing. 
 
 » Parma to Philip II. ^~^, 1587. 
 
 6 Auk. 
 
 » Strada, Meteren, Bor, Bentlvogllo, 
 Hoofd, ttW sup. RoRer Williams, 'Dis- 
 course of War.' aptMf Grimstone. 'Hist (Arch, de Simancas. MS.) Strada, ii. 
 Neihorlnnds,' I. xili. 902. •*9'- 
 
 » K. WiUiams. ubi sup. * ^^' ^^^- ^^^- ^ «=2- 
 
 1587. WILLIAMS WRITES FROM SLUYS TO THE QUEEX. 261 
 
 Captein Hart swam thrice out of the city with letters to 
 he htates to the governor-general, and to Queen Eliza- 
 beth ; and the same perilous feat was perfomed seveml 
 times by a Iv etherland officer.- The besieged meant To 
 selltieir lives dearly; but it was obvioufly imZ"ib k 
 
 "Our ground is great and our men not so many " 
 ^vrote Roger VVilhams to his sovereign; " but wTt^k 
 m God and our valour to defend it. . ^ . . . Vvrme^n 
 w.th God's help, to make their downs red and Uack 
 Sr\i^sterdZr:l""/ ^^-^^ ^orathousattf 
 
 .^th^tfT"" """"^ "° l"-aggart. and had proved often 
 3ses . W.Tn r'' r'"" *° P<^rformances than ' 
 us" TeL-d "? doubt not your Majesty will succour 
 us, he said, for our honest mind and plain dealinfr 
 toward your royal person and dear eounfyFldding J 
 
 m icu your peace-makers. Had thev their mind +l,n^ 
 will not only undo your friends abroad but i^ th^ end 
 your royal estate." " ' ®''^' 
 
 from wte'^ti*/"' from no want of wholesome wai-ning 
 irom wise statesmen and blunt soldiers that the Queen 
 was ventunng into that labyrintt of negotiation wWch 
 might prove so treacherous. Never had been ^°noppo7 
 tune a moment for that princess to listen to the voTce of 
 him who was charming her so wisely, while he ^^s at 
 he same moment battering the place which was to be 
 the basis of his operations against her realm. Her delav 
 
 ILrnt"}^ fr'' '"''"''"''' "•*'' ^* '«««* - modei^te c^- 
 
 -ir^rlt of tr'n ' ^''f """^ P«™i«i°»«- The States 
 Ignorant of the Queen's exact relations with Snain 
 
 peidrf:"*"^ her disingenuousness into absS 
 pel hdy -became on their own part exceedingly to blame 
 Ihere ,s no doubt whatever that both Hoflande^ Td 
 
 adrSuv^lf r? P''^y'"g ,«*« the hands of Pama as 
 adroitly as if he lad actually directed their movements 
 Deep were the denunciations of Leicester and C par- 
 tisans by the States' party, and incessant the compS 
 
 . Mete... Bo, r. WH.Un.,, ^- „,. ,5,, (Brit. Mu., Galba. r>. I. p. ,.. 
 ' R. Williams to the (Jueeo, - June "^ ) 
 
 >» ' ' Ibid. 
 
 
252 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XVI. 
 
 V, 
 
 1 i 
 
 of the Englisli and Dutch troops shut up in Sluys against 
 the inactivity or treachery of Maurice and Hohenlo. 
 " If Count Maurice and his base brother, the Admiral 
 
 gustinus de Nassau), be too young to govern, must 
 olland and Zeeland lose their countries and towns to 
 make them expert men of war ?" asked Roger Williams.* 
 A pregnant question certainly, but the answer was, that 
 by suspicion and jealousy, rather than by youth and 
 inexperience, the arms were paralyzed which should 
 have saved the garrison. " If these base fellows (the 
 States) will make Count Hollock their instrument," 
 continued the Welshman, "to cover and maintain their 
 folly and lewd dealing, is it necessary for her royal 
 Majesty to suffer it p These are too great matters to be 
 rehearsed by me; but because I am in the town, and do 
 resolve to sign with my blood my duty in serving my 
 sovereign and country, I trust her Majesty will pardon 
 me."* Certainly the gallant adventurer on whom de- 
 volved at least half the work of directing the defence of 
 the city, had a right to express his opinions. Had he 
 known the whole truth, however, those opinions would 
 have been modified. And he wrote amid the smoke and 
 turmoil of daily and nightly battle. 
 
 " Yesterday was the fifth sally we made," he observed. 
 " Since I followed the wars I never saw valianter cap- 
 tains, nor willinger soldiers. At eleven o'clock the 
 enemy entered the ditch of our fort, with trenches upon 
 wheels, artillery-proof. We sallied out, recovered their 
 trenches, slew the governor of Dam, two Spanish cap- 
 tains, with a number of others, repulsed them into their 
 artillery, kept the ditch until yesternight, and will 
 recover it, with God's help, this night, or else pay 
 
 dearly for it I care not what may become of 
 
 me in this world, so that her Majesty's honour, with the 
 rest of honourable good friends, will think nw an honest 
 
 "8 
 
 man. 
 
 No one ever doubted the simple-hearted Welshman's 
 honesty, any more than his valour ; but he confided in 
 the candour of others who were somewhat more sophis- 
 ticated than himself. When he warned her royal 
 Majesty against the peace-makers, it was impossible 
 
 » WlUlama to Walslngham, "''."1^ , 1687. (Brit Mus. Galba, C. xi. 102, MS.) 
 
 > Ibid. 
 
 9 July 
 
 3 Ibid. 
 
 1587. JEAIOUSV BETWEEN THE EARL AND STATES. 253 
 
 teth h"rsd?°" '''' *^^ ^'^' peace-maker was Eliza- 
 ruotf fatSin?''^''" °^" r^*'^ '^^^ori had become 
 
 been pushed forward towISde^tC*.?'"'-'' "^' ^'^ 
 caverns below the citv «Z!h! a ^^^'"^i"^ wine- 
 
 seemed to the inhabitants imminent. Eight dav7lrZ' 
 
 pTe ^^^^^''^^'^^^ 
 
 earth.'^ ■ ^""^ "^"Sger, within the bowels ^f the 
 me^dablr'''^! ?P«^«°'^? of .the States were not com- 
 
 c£M?,r£^^^^^^^^ 
 
 rhere was no hearty effort for the relief of Sluv« Thl 
 tional vanta^e-no;n7 fi ,!.ll^".r**^'-' ^ ^"^ ''^di- 
 
 prioeforneace tL '^ "^ ^I'^^fbeth as part of the 
 
 part of the Holknrtpr« t J! <• i disposition on the 
 mainedrf FlanS and wf""'/" ^T*""* ^*"'* '^^ 
 
 of her whom the;; we" W ^nin ' to^fo T '^' ^^"''^ 
 enemy' oegmning to look upon as an 
 
 '■^■M, lii. «02.404. "''"^l Ha- J^J-^Kllency f.,r the Relief of Slavs 
 
 26July, 16»7. (S. r. Office ILS.) . 
 
 If 
 
254 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XVI. 
 
 > ■<! 
 
 »t 
 
 'I 
 
 unsuccessful. There was some sharp skinnishing be- 
 tween Hohenlo and Haultepenne, in which the Litter, 
 one of the most valuable and distinguished generals on 
 the royal side, was defeated and slain ; the fort of Engel, 
 near Bois le-I)nc, was taken, and that important city 
 itself endangered ; but, on the other hand, the contin- 
 gent on which Leicester relied from the States to assist 
 in relieving Slnys was not forthcoming.^ 
 
 For, meantime, the governor general had at last been 
 sent biick by his sovereign to the post which he had so 
 
 wjune long abandoned. Leaving Leicester IIou.se on 
 
 i?ju^yr the 4th July (N.S.), he had come on board the 
 1587. £^g^ |^<3 (Jays afterwards at Margate, lie was 
 bringing with him to the Netherlands three thousand 
 fresh initmtry, and thirty thousand pounds, of which sum 
 fifteen thousand pounds had been at last wrung from 
 Elizabeth as an extra loan, in place of the sixty thousand 
 pounds which the States had requested. As he sailed 
 past Ostend and towards Flushing, the Earl was witness 
 to the constant cannonading between the besieged city 
 and the camp of Famese, and saw that the work could 
 hardly be more serious ; for in one short day more shots 
 were fired than had ever been known before in a single 
 day in all Parma's expenence.' 
 
 Arriving at Flushing, the governor-general was well 
 received by the inhabitants ; but the mischief which 
 had been set a-foot six months before had done its work. 
 ITie political intrigues, disputes, and the conflicting 
 party-organizations, have already been set in great 
 detail before the reader, in order that their effect might 
 now be thoroughly undei-stood without explanation. 
 The governor-general came to Flushing at a most 
 critical moment. The fate of all the Spanish Nether- 
 lands, of Sluys, and with it the whole of Philip and 
 Parma's great project, were, in Farnese's own language, 
 hanging by a thread.* 
 
 It would have been possible — had the transactions of 
 the \WL&t six months, so far as regarded Holland and 
 Eno-land, been the reverse of what they had been— to 
 
 1 BoT, Meteren, Hoofd, Bentivogllo, 
 Slrada, ubi sup. 
 
 2 Authorities last cited. Lloyd to 
 Walsin«?hain, 25 June, 1587. (S. P. 
 Office MS.) Baudart, PoUmog. ii. 96, 
 
 " IT, 800 shots." 
 
 3 Parma to Philip II., 6 Aug. 1587. 
 (Arch, de Simancas, MS.) " Colgados da 
 un hilo todos los estados y todo lo 
 dcpendlcntc," &c 
 
 1587. 
 
 SCHEMES TO RELIEVE SLUYS. 
 
 255 
 
 that summer, a^ would hiT"''^ T^"" ^"^^^ « blow 
 time to come and have ^W^ paralyzed it for a long 
 comparative security ^ ^^^ commonwealths iS 
 
 lousrprevSol! ^'feS^^S*"^^* ''"'^ ""*-' i- 
 departuro from England s,?^. '^ P|-eviously to his 
 
 Such of the Ite-councmo,^\. :* ^ T^ "PPearcd. 
 came to him. and Count Ar?-; -^^^ creatures 
 
 mony. M^cussions Xut a X f "" ?-^ •'''* "^ '''■^- 
 became mere scenes of Lt"^- 'lelieving the siege 
 
 officers within Sluys were ^/-"^ *! confusion. The 
 force its way into tie harW "T, ^''^ ^ ^''^^ ^^ould 
 the Englisli arm s eJ^T; ^^[^"'f- '-^t the same time, 
 
 -1.ich Leicester hid d 3ed"fimVs. T *'>^"* 
 advance against the Duko f T-o! t^^c *>*ates, should 
 in truth, the onl v w v%n ^^™'' ^y^'"''^- it was, 
 scheme wa« qui^e p^racttLbTe "T""" J^' P'^<^«- '^'^^ 
 Jt, the Hollldcrs^remeJ^, tTirr'^Z''"' 
 Groenevelt and Roger Williams u'^ed iJ '^'''""^'"'''^"t 
 
 LeicestTr,'^' Ifto'u wiU^om*^ '^/ ''T'' ''''^'^^"^'^- *» 
 'nany galliots a'nd ^IZTs^tZ""' Z",""' "'*»' «« 
 cause two men-of-war to entfrf^."''' ^°^** '^ «*» 
 passage, if yo„r maHners will t^' """""i:* '*°P *^<-'''- 
 d;.ty as I saw them do divert tmes 'rIT':."*" *''^^' 
 their entrance, we wll rnm^ ! vf ' f "'"*' ^''^J" make 
 
 with the greatk plrt a^d sW tlC t^*^'" ''"' ^^'^^ 
 great danger. \\ ere it w f "^'^ '^ "^ such 
 
 >vould be Fn your first boat tn . ""^ ^^ounded am, I 
 
 I and other ^Englie^tira?pro,i:1r-''r"'^'"^' 
 such sort, that we will force fh£T- *'''f ^°^^^ '" 
 of artillery upon us f -nnr p! if ^"^ *^''" ^^ker 
 unto those false lewd felioZ " rih! r "? ^'" ^ive ear 
 States -General) " vou Zll '"''P**'" '"^'^'^t the 
 
 ,\Vithin ten or twelve dav« 1 '^ «^^ opportunity, 
 l^ridge from Kadllnd unto s/ a """""y ^'" '"''ke his 
 ^azard battle l^C vou suclotirTv"".'^ '""'"^'^ ^'°« *<> 
 I^ord WiUoughbv and <^ir u^v '^ J^'"''- ^^^ my 
 Terhoven, rifht a-afnst I^^/ i'*"" • ?"^«'" l«"d at 
 trench hard by ^f walr^fn V"^'* 4000, and en- 
 oy tue water-side, where their boats can 
 
 ^ 
 
 I 
 
 II. 
 
P" 
 
 li 
 
 256 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XVI. 
 
 carry them victual and munition. They may approach 
 
 by trenches without engaging any dangerous fight 
 
 We dare not show the estate of this town more than we 
 have done by Captain Herte. We must fight this night 
 within our rampart in the fort. You may assure the 
 world here are no Hamerts, but valiant captains and 
 valiant soldiers, such as, with God's help, had rather be 
 buried in the place than be disgraced in any point that 
 belongs to such a number of men-of-war." ^ 
 
 But in vain did the governor of the place, stout 
 Arnold Groenevelt, assisted by the rough and direct 
 eloquence of Roger Williams, urge upon the Earl of 
 Leicester and the States-General the necessity and the 
 practicability of the plan proposed. The fleet never 
 entered the harbour. There was no William of Orange 
 to save Antwerp and Sluys, as Leyden had once been 
 saved, and his son was not old enough to unravel the 
 web of intrigue by which he was surrounded, or to 
 direct the whole energies of the commonwealth towards 
 an all-important end. Leicester had lost all influence, 
 all authority, nor were his military abilities equal to the 
 occasion, even if he had been cordially obeyed. 
 
 Ten days longer the perpetual battles on the ram- 
 parts and within the mines continued, the plans con- 
 veyed by the bold swimmer, Captain Hart., for saving 
 the place were still unattempted, and the city was 
 tottering to its fall. ** Had Captain Hart's words taken 
 place," wrote \\ illiams, bitterly, *' we had been suc- 
 coured, or, if my letters had prevailed, our pain had 
 been no peril. All wars are best executed in sight 
 of the enemy. . . . The last night of June (10th 
 July, N.S.) the enemy entered the ditches of our fort in 
 three several places, continuing in fight in mine and on 
 rampart for the space of eight nights. The ninth he 
 battered us furiously, made a breach of five score paces 
 saltable for horse and man. That day he attempted us 
 in all places with a general assault for the space of 
 almost five hours." * 
 
 S9 June first year of Leicester's administration. 
 
 1 Williams to Leicester, -r-rr ' 1*^'* , , » r . ,ro, 
 
 » J»>y • Williams to Leicester, - July, 1587. 
 
 (Brit. Mus Galba, P. I. p. 152, MS.) , ^ ^'\^^ ^ ^ 
 
 It will be remembered Uiat Baron (Brit Miw. Galba, I). I. 179. MS.) Com- 
 
 Homart was the unfortunate ollicfr who pare Uor, MeUren, Hoofd. B^ntlvogU-'. 
 
 •o dlsgracctully surrendered Grave in the Strada, Haraeus, ubi tup. et mult. al. 
 
 1587. WHICH ARE FEEBLE AND UNSUCCESSFUL 257 
 
 resolutelv to LT • J , ^"' *'^'"® ""^e do remain 
 [n£St JoLt." ■ "''• '"''''' ^'^^'^ *° ">' dishonoured 
 It was still possible for the fleet to succour the citv 
 'I do assure you," said Williams, " that your capS 
 
 no trtToL" h" r ''"''' •'"*y ^'-^^^ thi; enters 
 r S SJ'"]^'°'' """^t <'°°«ider that'^^, wars may 
 '« tnaae without danger. What you mean to do w« 
 
 se t that we will die valiant honest men. Your Ex- 
 £S foV:."^" *° ^^.-"^ *« "Id President de 
 
 now rndfrtoorth?*^ ^'' °"*r^ ^"''^''' '^' ^dmiml, 
 iiuw unaertook the succour by sea; but accordino- tn 
 
 Xir^T' t^y, -»*--d dilatVandt-m- 
 
 Ki IW W' '' '^'="^''' ^J""' tW did nothing. 
 At last, 1 arma had completed the brido-e whoso cnn 
 struction was so much drPA/1<.,1 T^k i? ^"°^® "^O"" 
 enclosed hv o cTil dreaded. The haven was now 
 
 on a ^r» •^ * •, "S "^r*^^" structure, resting on boats 
 
 Z,^.U^l VT^^' *° "^''* °f the famous bridge with 
 
 Sys\t^h1,"" 'T YT ''"•^'^d *e Scheldt, and 
 shi^^ Z complflely shut in from the sea. Fire- 
 
 tWhaTw„f«r'^^r^''l"'P'*"** conduct a floet into 
 ine harbour of feluys.' But the Nassa.is are said to have 
 
 to Leicester. (MS. last 
 
 * Williams 
 cited) 
 
 'R. Williams to Walsingham, 1 July. 
 
 1587. (Brit. Mus. Galba, D.L p. 179. MS) 
 Compare 'Discourse of War' apud 
 
 >utch and Walloons," says Sir IJoger, 
 showed themselves consfant. re.olL 
 
 Zi!^ ' ''P*^'*"^ ^^"^ ^'^^^ and 
 ^alunt captama Meetkerke and Herau- 
 
 VOL. IJ. 
 
 g«ere. • He also especially commends 
 the valour of Huntley. Udall, Scott. 
 Ferdinando Gorges, St. Leger. and 
 Nicholas Baskerville. 
 
 3 A brief Report of the Proceedings of 
 his ^:xa'llency for the relief of Sluys 26 
 July, 1597. (S. P. Office MS.) Wil- 
 loughby. Russell. Pelham. and others to 
 the Lords. 12 Aug. 1587. (S. P. Office 
 Mb.) 
 
 8 
 
258 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XVI. 
 
 I' / 
 
 ' It 
 
 hi 
 
 expressed great disgust that low-bom burghers should 
 presume to meddle with so important an enterprise, 
 which of right belonged to their family.' Thus, in the 
 midst of these altercations and contradictory schemes, 
 the month of July wore away, and the city was reduced 
 to its last gasp. 
 
 For the cannonading had thoroughly done its work. 
 Eighteen days long the burghers and what remained of 
 the garrison had lived upon the ramparts, never leaving 
 their posts, but eating, sleeping, and fighting day and 
 night. Of the sixteen hundred Dutch and English but 
 seven hundred remained. At last a swimming mes- 
 senger was sent out by the besieged with despatches 
 for the States, to the purport that the city could hold 
 out no longer. A breach in the wall had been effected 
 wide enough to admit a hundred men abreast. Sluys 
 had, in truth, already fallen, and it was hopeless any 
 longer to conceal the fact. If not relieved within a day 
 or two, the garrison would be obliged to surrender; 
 but they distinctly stated, that they had all pledged 
 themselves, soldiers and burghers, men, women, and all, 
 unless the most honourable terms were granted, to set 
 fire to the city in a hundred places, and then sally, in 
 mass, from the gates, determined to fight their way 
 through, or be slain in the attempt. The messenger 
 who carried these despatches was drowned, but the 
 letters were saved, and fell into Parma's hands.* 
 
 At the same moment, Leicester was making, at last, 
 an effort to raise the siege. He brought three or four 
 thousand men from Flushing, and landed them at 
 Ostend : thence he marched to Blanckenburg. He sup- 
 posed that if he could secure that little port, and thus 
 cut the Duke completely off from the sea, he should 
 force the Spanish commander to raise (or at least 
 suspend) the siege in order to give him battle. Mean- 
 time, an opportunity would be afibrded for Maurice and 
 
 » '• Burghers of Flushing proffered fearing to offend them, gave his consent, 
 
 their services, which were accepted with .... Maurice declared the enterprise 
 
 thanks ; but that upon Count Maurice to be impossible without better means. 
 
 and Admiral Nassau being applied to for from which It appeared plainly that all 
 
 necessaries, they seemed to be touched had been devised on purpose of delay, 
 
 very much in reputation that a piece of until it should be too late to help the 
 
 service so respectable should have been town." Willoughby, Russell, et al. to 
 
 left to persons of base quality instead of the Lords. (MS. last cited.) 
 to themselves, who readily would adven- ' Strada, Bor, Meteren, Hoofd, R. 
 
 ture their best means. His Excellency, WlUiama, in Grimstone, uW tup. el aU 
 
 1587. THE RELIEVING FLEET SAILS AWAY. 259 
 
 Hohenlo to force an entrance into the harbour of Sluvs 
 In this conjecture he was quite correct ; but unfor- 
 tunately he dul not thoroughly cariy out his owq 
 scheme If the Earl had established himself at Blancken- 
 burg. It would have been necessary for Parma-as he 
 himself subsequently declared— to raise the siege » Lei 
 cester carried the outposts of the place successfully' 
 but so soon a^ 1 arnese was aware of this demonstration 
 he detached a few companies with orders to skirmish 
 with the enemy until the commander-in-chief with as 
 large a force as he could spare, should come ik person 
 to his support. To the unexpected gratification of Far- 
 nese, however, no sooner did the advancing Spaniards 
 come m sight, than the Earl, supposing himself invaded 
 by the whole of the Duke^s army, under their famous 
 general, and not feeling himself strong enough for such 
 an encounter, retired, with great precipitation, to his 
 boats, re-embarked his troops with the utmost celerity 
 and set sail fur Ostend." ^' 
 
 The next night had been fixed for spending forth the 
 fire-ships against the bridge, and for the entrance of the 
 lieet into the harbour. One fire-ship floated a little way 
 towards the bridge and exploded ingloriously. Leicester 
 rowed m his barge about the fleet, supenntendine; the 
 soundings and markings of the channel, and hastening 
 the preparations ; but, as the decisive moment approached 
 the pilots who had promised to conduct the expedition 
 came aboard his pinnace and positively refused to have 
 aught to do with the enterprise, which they now declared 
 an impossibility.^ The Earl was furious with the pilots 
 with Maurice, with Hohenlo, with Admiral de Nassau' 
 with the States, with all the worid. He stoi^ned and 
 raged and beat his breast, but all in vain. His ferocity 
 would have been more useful the day before, in face of 
 the Spaniards, than now, against the Zeeland mariners 
 ^ut the invasion by the fleet alone, unsupported ]>y a 
 successtul land operation, was pronounced impracticable 
 and very soon the relieving fleet was seen by the dis- 
 tressed garrison sailing away from the neighbourhood 
 and It soon disappeared beneath the horizon. Their fate 
 
 ' Strada, ii. 508, 5(»e, sea. , , , »_ . , 
 
 J Strada, Bor, Meteren. Hoofd. Haraeus, ^'^^^^ *<^ Walsingham. f^''^\ iggj. 
 
 Bentivoglio, u6i«ui>. (S. P. Office MS.) '^' 
 
 S 2 
 
260 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XVI. 
 
 was sealed. They entered into treaty with Parma, who, 
 secretly instructed, as has been seen, of their desperate 
 intentions, in case any but the most honourable con- 
 ditions were offered, granted those conditions. The 
 garrison were allowed to go out with colours displayed, 
 lighted matches, bullet in mouth, and with bag and 
 baggage. Such of the burghers as chose to conform to 
 the government of Spain and the church of Kome, were 
 permitted to remain. Those who preferred to depart 
 were allowed reasonable time to make their necessary 
 arr.angements." ^ 
 
 *' We have hurt and slain very near eight himdred," 
 said Sir Koger Williams. "We had not powder to 
 fight two hours. There was a breach of almost four 
 hundred paces, another of three score, another of fifty, 
 ealtable for horse and men. Wo had lain continually 
 eighteen nights all on the breaches. He gave us honour- 
 able composition. Had tlie state of England lain on it, 
 our lives could not defend the place three hours, for 
 half the rampires were his, neither had we any pioneers 
 but ourselves. We were sold by their negligence who 
 are now angry with us." * 
 
 On the 5th August Parma entered the city. Eoger 
 Williams— with his gilt morion rather battered, and his 
 great plume of feathers much bedraggled — was a witness 
 to the victor's entrance. Alexander saluted respectfully 
 an officer so well known to him by reputation, and with 
 some complimentary remarks urged him to enter the 
 Spanish service, and to take the field against the Turks.^ 
 *' My sword," replied the doughty Welshman, " be- 
 longs to hef royal Majesty, Queen Elizabeth, above and 
 before all the world. ' A\ hen her Highness has no farther 
 use for it, it is at the service of the King of Navarre." * 
 Considering himself sufficiently answered, the Duke 
 then requested Sir Eoger to point out Captain Basker- 
 
 J Brief Report, &c. MS. alretuJy cited. 
 Lloyd to WalsinRlmm. MS. already 
 cited. Lelcest«r to >anie, 12 Aug. 1587. 
 Willoughby and utiitrs to the Lords, 12 
 Aug. 1687. Lekfstir to same, 12 Aug. 
 1587. Same to Burfthloy. 27 July, 16S7. 
 Same to uaino, 13 July, 1587. Siime to 
 the Ijords, 27 July, lii!*". S;ime to same, 
 17 Aug. I5»7. F. Ncetlliam to W'alslng- 
 ham, 12 Aug. 1587. (S. P. Office MSS.) 
 
 Compare Bor, Meteren, Hoofd, Haraeus, 
 Ik'ntivoglio, Strada, R. Williams, mW sup. 
 Wagenaar, vlii. 225-227. Baudart. Pole- 
 mog., li. 96, et mult. cd. 
 
 « W^illiams to Leicester, 5 Aug. 1587. 
 (Brit. Mus. Galba, I). I. p. 214, MS) 
 
 3 Needham to Walsingham, 12 Aug. 
 1587. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 * Ibid. 
 
 158; 
 
 THE TOWN CAPITULATES, AND fARMA ENTERS. 261 
 tw „ffi I " Welshman himself— and embraced 
 
 "'TLt::;v:^n7SYn %iz y™-""'^ 
 
 this Englishman," S Ve^Twho wKew tZ 
 to appreciate high military qualities ^^h^Cr in W 
 army or in that of his foes - '"'^etlier m his o«t^ 
 
 The garrison then retired, Sluys became Spanish and 
 f on'e^ w"lV°"^ '''' 9"^^« "^« requesid t; cf ri«h tt 
 
 against^W^/""°-' ^^ j?^ec«ves against Hohenio, 
 thflos^ of StT'°1-*' ^^*^'' unifonnly ascribing 
 Tnhn V -J ^ negligence and faction. As for Sir 
 John Morris, he protested that his misdeeds in re^rd to 
 
 ^ R. Williams, in Grimstone, Ixiii. 962. 
 "I pray you be gooii to this bearer 
 Sir Roger Williams, for he is to b^ 
 cherished. Her M^esty I trust will 
 help him ; and if these wars continue 
 return him with speed, but set him well 
 on horseback, for he Is not worth the 
 saddle of a horse." I^icester to AVal- 
 singhani, 12 Aug. I5b7. (S. P. Office 
 ■Mb). Yet according to the report of 
 Captain Needham. even Williams had at 
 ast become an ebject of the Earl's 
 jealousy and suspicion, on account of the 
 natu-ring offers made to him by Farnese. 
 1 be Duke of Parma had essayed." says 
 ^oedl^am. « by all possible means to g>ain 
 Sir Roger Williams, but could not pre- 
 vail although he thought the hard us.,ge 
 he had received from the E^irl of Lei- 
 cester would be an occasion to make him 
 leave his party. Themistocles (Ix>icester) 
 had hereupon conceived great jealousy, 
 and hath not spared to give warning to 
 ^'r W. Russell to beware of Williams as 
 Of one who would be his undoing, and as 
 It seems reported as much to the Lord 
 ■North and Sir W. Pelham. ... The 
 gentleman (Williams) was wonderfully 
 perplexed that for his faithful service he 
 
 should reap his utter undoing, and to be 
 accounted a traitor to his prince. He 
 wished he were at home, upon condition 
 he should never bear arms here, for he 
 knew the nature of Themistocles. as he 
 would leave no means unsought to over- 
 throw his credit," &c. The conversation 
 of the Duke with the Welshman has been 
 reported in the text. 
 
 " The I>:arl of Essex promises me " 
 wrote Williams subsequently, " that her 
 Majesty will do something for me For 
 my part I do hardly believe it, for I can 
 get no countenance from her Highness 
 1 humbly desire your Excellency to T^Tite 
 this for me, either to give me something 
 or discharge me away with nothing. 
 .... I fear things will not fall out 
 here as well as you would wish. Were 
 your Excellency here, her Majesty would 
 do more. The more the merrier. With- 
 out your presence your friends dare not 
 speak what they would, for the simplest 
 that speaks of the peace is better here 
 than the wisest that contraries it. I fear 
 me It is passed so far that the King of 
 Navarre is like to smart for it," &c. R 
 AVilliams to Leicester, i Sept 1587* 
 (Brit. Mus. Galba, D. IL p. 4, MS ) * ' 
 

 262 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVI. 
 
 this business would, in King Henry YIH.'s time, have 
 
 ** cost him his pate." ^ , , . • ^ «„;« fr^rpshidowed 
 The loss of Sluys y^ the begjnmng^^^^^^^^^^ 
 
 the inevitable end of Leicester s ^eco^u "" 
 The inaction of the States wa« one of tj^o causes of m 
 loss Distrust of Leicester was the cause of the "lact on. 
 §T' William Kussell, Lord WiUoughby S'^ JVilliam 
 Pelham. and other English officers, ^-^^t^d in sU^ements 
 exonerating the Earl from all blame for the great to.lure 
 
 t^Z^:^^^^^ tTBia^eSu^r^ 
 
 "en^orrcoit^mtl^^^^ H 
 
 1 Leicester to Walsingham. 12 Aug. 
 1687. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 « As for this matter of Slnys,' said 
 the Earl, •• I may stand before the tri- 
 bunal seat of God for any fault in me. '1 he 
 greatest is that I did trust Count Maurice 
 too much, but either I must have trusted 
 him or not have had any means at all for 
 shipping. As it is well known l)e8ide, 
 he offered his service most frankly and 
 Villingly, and did take upon him and his 
 bautard brother to attempt the bridge by 
 such men as they had chosen, to whom I 
 gave 301. beforehand." And in the same 
 ▼ein he says to Burghley, " i am grieved 
 to think, much more to speak, of the loss 
 of Sluys. God knoweth we have done for 
 our parts as much as If a kingdom had stood 
 upon it. But these men have strange 
 designs in their heads, which will in the 
 
 end breed their own ruin Tl>e 
 
 dregs of their dealing will, I fear, remain 
 a good while, for the practice and fashion 
 
 continue 1 must beg you to bear 
 
 with me, for I scarce know what I write, 
 what with grief for the loss of this town, 
 ffud with anger for the vile lewd dealing 
 of these men that have so naughtily 
 carried themselves in this matter for 
 
 Sluys. Fi rst. bv lotting me have no men 
 of theirs, when I had but a few men 
 fumisluMl; then, their long deferring our 
 men to be turnished ; after, their lack of 
 provisions of all sorts ; lastly, vessels 
 and Urk.s to land our men. And these 
 With such like hath brought this poor 
 town to be lost." .... He then makes 
 an insinuation against the brave and true- 
 hearte^i Welshman, who had been fight- 
 ing night and day. from the begliming of 
 the siege to the end. "And yet lean- 
 not, for many respecta, how well soever 
 I think of Sir Roger Williams' valour and 
 the other captolns, give them counte- 
 nance w access to me, before they do give 
 some good reasm for the delivery of the 
 town without sending to me first." Lei- 
 cester to Burghley, ^-j^' (S- T- Office 
 
 MS.) , , , 
 
 « " Your honour may see." said Lloyd. 
 '• how Cotmt Ilohenlo's proceedings, an-l 
 States' practices, and this late action, il" 
 concur as matters that have been ham- 
 mered on one anvil and issued from one 
 
 forge." Ri Lloyd to WaUUifiham, —|j ■ 
 
 1587. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 1587. QUEEN ANGRY WITH THE ANTI-LEICESTRIANS. 263 
 
 the fall of the city. She severely denounced the Xether- 
 landers, and even went so far as to express dissatis- 
 foction with the great Leicester himself.* Meantime 
 Farnese was well satisfied with his trinmph, for he had 
 heen informed that -all England was about to charge 
 upon him, m order to relieve the place,* All England 
 however, had been but feebly represented by three 
 thousand raw recruits, with a paltry sum of 15,000/. to 
 help pay a long bill of arrears. 
 
 Wilkes and Norris had taken their departure from the 
 Netherlands before the termination of the siege and 
 immediately after the return of Leicester. TheV did 
 not think It expedient to wait upon the governor before 
 leaving the countiy,3 for they had very good reason to 
 believe that such an opportunity of personal vengeance 
 would be turned to account by the Earl. Wilkes had 
 already avowed his intention of making his escape with- 
 out being dandled with leave-takings, and no doubt he 
 was right. ^ The Earl was indignant when he found that 
 they had given him the slip, and denounced them with 
 freshacrimony to the Queen, imploring her to wreak full 
 measure of wrath upon their heads ; * and he well knew 
 that his intreaties would meet with the royal attention. 
 
 Buckhurst had a parting interview ^vith the governor- 
 general at which Killigrew and Beale, the new Eno-lish 
 counsellors who had replaced Wilkes and Clerk, were 
 present, llie conversation was marked by insolence 
 on the part of Leicester, and by much bitterness on that 
 of Buckhurst The parting envoy refused to lay before 
 the Earl a ful statement of the grievances between the 
 fetates- General and the governor, on the ground that 
 Leicester had no right to be judge in his own cause. 
 
 1 Essex to I^lcester. ^}J^ 1537. 
 
 10 Aug- 
 
 (S. P. Office MS.) Walsingham to same. 
 2 Aug. 1587. (Brit. Mus. Galba. I). I. 
 p. 234, MS.) « The ill success of Sluys 
 causeth her to pick some quarrel towards 
 your Ldship in that action, as by her 
 letters you may perceive." 
 
 « •'Corria la voz que cargava toda 
 Inglaterra. ' Parma to Philip. 6 Aug. 
 15»<7. (Arch, de Simancas, MS.) 
 
 ' Wilkes to the Ix)rds 20th July, 1587 
 (S. P. Office MS.), explaining— what had 
 been sufficiently explained before -why 
 
 he left the Netheriands without greeting 
 Leicester, " for that he was too terrified 
 to come into his presence, knowing his 
 animosity." He expresses the hope 
 that "her Majesty, being the image of 
 God on earth, will be like to Him in 
 mercy, and not suffer more to be laid 
 uix)n him than flesh and blood can 
 bear." 
 
 * Leicester to Walsingham, 4 July, 
 1587. Same to Queen, 7 July, 1587. Same 
 to Burghley. 13 July, 1587. (S. P. Office 
 MSS.) 
 
 
 iti 
 
264 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XVI. 
 
 The matter, he said, should be laid before the Queen in 
 council, and by her august decision he was willing to 
 abide. On ever}' other subject he was ready to give 
 any information in his power. The interview lasted a 
 whole forenoon and afternoon. Buckhnrst, according 
 to his own statement, answered freely all questions put 
 to him by Leicester and his counsellors ; while, if the 
 report of those personages is to be trusted, he passion- 
 ately refused to make any satisfactory communication. 
 Under the circumstances, however, it may well be 
 believed that no satisfactory commimication was 
 possible.^ 
 
 On arriving in England, Sir John Norris was for- 
 bidden to come into her Majesty's presence, Wilkes was 
 thrown into the Fleet Trison, and Buckhnrst was con- 
 fined in his own country-house.* 
 
 Norris had done absolutely nothing, which, even by 
 implication, could be construed into a dereliction of 
 duty ; but it was sufficient that he was hated by Leices- 
 ter, who had not scrupled, over and over again, to 
 denounce this first general of England as a fool, a coward, 
 a knave, and a liar. 
 
 As for Wilkes, his only crime was a most consci- 
 entious discharge of his duty, in the course of which 
 he had found cause to modify his abstract opinions in 
 regard to the origin of sovereignty, and had come re- 
 luctantly to the conviction that Leicester's unpopularity 
 had made perhaps another governor-general desirable. 
 But this admission had only been made privately and 
 with extreme caution ; while, on the other hand, he had 
 constantly defended the absent Earl, with all the elo- 
 quence at his command. But the hatred of Leicester 
 was sufficient to consign this able and painstaking 
 public servant to a prison ; and thus was a man of worth, 
 honour, and talent, who had been placed in a position 
 of grave responsibility and immense fiUigue, and who 
 had done his duty like an upright, straightforward 
 Englishman, sacrificed to the wrath of a favourite. 
 
 1 Killigrew and Beale to Wnlslngham, « Buckhuret to Walsingham. 24 July, 
 
 13th July. 1587. Buckhurat to Burgbley. 1587. Same to Burghley. 24 July, 15M7. 
 
 22 July, 1587. A true Declaration of the Same to same, 28 July, 1587. Walsing- 
 
 Proceedings of Lord Buckhurst and Dr. ham to Leicester, 29 July, 1587. (S. P. 
 
 Clerke, 24 July, 1687. (S. P. Office Office MSS.) 
 MSS.) 
 
 1587. XORRIS. WILKES. AND BlTCICHtTRST PUXKHED. 265 
 
 As for Buckhurst himsplf ;+ ;« , 
 
 word in his defence. The stoi^ of W«"'''' •'''\*° l*^ * 
 
 xiitj sTory ot ills mission has been 
 
 1 Leicester to Walsingham, 4 Aue 
 
 'r'\f' ^' ^'"^^ ^^'^ i^"<^khurst w^' 
 of a different opinion. 
 
 " Mr. Wilkes, having had so long expe- 
 nence in these parts," he wrote, "and 
 being so careful and diligent for the good 
 preservation and furtherance of tlie 
 cause, whereof in the late dangerous 
 times and troubles here he made right 
 good testimony, is able therein 1o do 
 your M^esty most especial and notable 
 service, being also otherwise so suffi- 
 ciently practised in the estate of other 
 countries and so well trained in your 
 affairs at home, with such excellent 
 gifts of utterance, memary. uH, courage 
 and knowledge, and mth $o faithful and 
 careful a heart to serve your Majesty, 
 as It uere a woful coK if such a worthy 
 servant should for any respect be dis- 
 comforted and disgraced by your Mi^esty's 
 .lispleasure." Buckhurst to the Queen 
 28 June, 1687. (Brit. Mus. Galba, C xi' 
 p. 61, MS.) 
 
 Yet such a euiogy from so illustrious 
 a man, and fully borne out by the deeds 
 and words of Wilkes himself, could not 
 save the councillor from the gaol He 
 had loved Sir John Norris. which was 
 enough to secure him the hatred of 
 i^icester, and consequently the unmiti- 
 gated wrath of the Queen. 
 
 But these pages have already illus- 
 trated the copiousness of the great P:arrs 
 vocaculary in vituperation. Mr. P. B 
 Sir John Norris, Hollock, Wilkes, Buck- 
 hurst himself, the States-General, the 
 btates-Provlncial, and, in brief, any one 
 who crossed his schemes, were sure to 
 draw down the fiiU tempest of wrath. 
 He was now very angry with those who 
 surrounded young Maurice, especially 
 with the minister Villiers, whom he pro- 
 nounced to be « a condemned man. not 
 only among all honest and godly men 
 but also with all the churches through 
 all the Provinces." Sainte Aldegonde. 
 too. whom before and after this point of 
 time, he seemed to appreciate and ap- 
 
 plaud, was now held up as an object of 
 suspu ion. .. I have found cause of^te '' 
 he«ays. "to fear Sainte Aldegonde to 
 be an unsound and hollow man There 
 are great presumptions that he is dealine 
 ta secret with Parma. He is lately 
 married. All men condemn him for it 
 ai^hls best friends did greatly dissuade 
 him from it. but it would not be. And 
 now Is he to return again for two or 
 three months, being known to be greatly 
 favoured on the other side, and can enjoy 
 no penny but by that favour. I see he 
 takes no course to please the church. The 
 young Count is directed by both him and 
 Villiers, albeit the one. Sainte Aldegonde 
 doth make less show than the other! 
 Oh God, what a world it Is! Both these 
 hot men heretofore are become less than 
 lukewarm now. and wholly given to 
 policy." Leicester to Walsingham. MS 
 above £l ted. 
 
 Yet Wore the end of the year Sainte 
 Aldegonde was violently abused by others 
 for opposite tendencies. " The Count of 
 Hollock being dnmk the other day," says 
 Sir Robert Sidney, "took a quarrel to 
 Monsieur de Sainte Aldegonde, saying he 
 was wont to be a lover of the house of 
 Nassau, but now he was grown altogether 
 a Lelce.-trian, the which he repeated 
 sundry times upon him before the Count 
 Maurice and many other gentlemen. In 
 truth. I think Sainte Aldegonde very 
 well affected unto your Excellency. 
 Surely he mislikes the proceedings here 
 and meddles nothing with them." Sidney 
 to Lei(^8ter, 31 Dec. 1687. (Brit. Mus. 
 Galba, D. II. p. 288.) 
 
 Nothing could be more unscrupulous 
 than the denunciations of Leicester 
 whenever he was offended. They would 
 seem almost risible, were it not that the 
 capricious wrath of the all-powerful 
 favourite was often sufficient to blast 
 the character, the career, the hopes, 
 and even take away the lives, of honest 
 men. 
 
266 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XVI. 
 
 completely detailed from the most authentic and secret 
 documents, and there is not a single line written to the 
 Queen, to her ministers, to the States, to any public 
 body or to any private friend, in England or elsewhere, 
 that does not reflect honour on his name. With sagacity, 
 without passion, with unaffected sincerity, he had un- 
 ravelled the complicated web of Netherland politics, 
 and, with clear vision, had penetrated the desips of 
 the mighty enemy whom England and Holland had to 
 encounter in mortal combat. He had pointed out the 
 enors of the Earl's administration— he had feailessly, 
 earnestly, but respectfully deplored the misplaced par- 
 simony of the Queen— he had warned her against the 
 delusions which had taken possession of her keen intel- 
 lect—he had done his best to place the governor-general 
 upon good terms with the States and with his sovereign ; 
 but it had been impossible for him to further his schemes 
 for the acquisition of a virtual sovereignty over the 
 Netherlands, or to extinguish the suspicions of the 
 States that the Queen was secretly negotiating with 
 the Spaniard, when he knew those suspicions to be just. 
 For deeds such as these, the able and high-minded 
 ambassador, the accomplished statesman and poet, was 
 forbidden to approach his sovereign's presence, and was 
 itrnominiously imprisoned in his own house until the 
 death of Leicester. After that event, Buckhurst emerged 
 from confinement, received the Order of the Garter 
 and the Earldom of Dorset, and on the death of Burgh- 
 ley succeeded that statesman in the offioe of Lord- 
 Treasurer. Such was the substantial recognition of the 
 merits of a man who was now disgraced for the con- 
 scientious discharge of the most important functions 
 that had yet been confided to him. 
 
 It would be a thankless and superfluous task to give 
 the details of the renewed attempt, during a few months 
 made by Leicester to govern the Provinces. His second 
 administration consisted mainly of the same altercations 
 with the States, on the subject of sovereignty, the sanif 
 mutual recriminations and wranglings, that had charac- 
 terized the period of his former rule. He rarely met 
 the States in person, and almost never resided at the 
 Hague, holding his court at Middelburg, Dort, ov 
 Utrecht, as his humour led him. 
 
 1587. 
 
 DRAKE SAILS FOR SPAIN. 
 
 267 
 
 The one great feature of the autumn of 1587 was the 
 C ^'^"*^^*^^^ ^^t---^ Elizabeth and the Duke of 
 Before taking a glance at the nature of those secrets 
 
 e\TnrwU\"Srh^*^ "^'^ 5 r^-^ alhrnTotn 
 event wnich m ght have seemed likely to render «11 
 
 For while so much time had been lost in England and 
 Holland by misunderstandings and jealousies.fhTre wa^ 
 ^e Englishman who had not been losing time InZ 
 ^nter and early spring of 1587, the Devonshire skipper 
 had organized that expedition which he had come to 
 
 mtn'to S': n ' p'Ti'^s ^"^"-"-^ *« discur h: 
 
 ^K^^V,.-? ** ^^""^ ^* ^^^ ^eiy heart of that proiect 
 wS J^wlZr ''^'■°'"^'"^ ""^ «° """^h myste^ ind 
 
 mo*Jth*^tjf?'^ ^^'^^' ^T"'' ^'^^"^ ^"ed from Ply. 
 tZntv four fil'-tP/M?S^°Sto the Queen, and wi4 
 oaer^nHvJt^ ™'r'^-^ ^^ the merchants of London and 
 SediC nn"^-''-'^"*\- ^t ^"^ * ^°^^ buccaneering 
 chance r7r^""°S chivalrous enterprise with thi 
 caance of enormous profit— which was most suited to 
 
 ltV''-f English adventurers aT tCex'^'ding 
 tte Quarr!? w-.t7? ^^ ^"S^""''' »°* ^y Elizabeth, that 
 ^LVZ r* .^P*"* ^"^ '■^It to be a mortal one. It 
 
 r™iS^it°fil"°*-? T''''^' ^^' ^'^ instinctively 
 arming, at all points, to grapple with the great enemy 
 
 self rXC? '^'^ ^* ^""« '^^ «P'rit of self.help,Tf 
 
 to take th«'cf^ T P/TP""g *'"' English nation 
 to take the great work of the age into its own hands 
 
 lie mercantile instinct of the nation was flattred wS 
 
 the <,L\ pP tf" ^'""•^ "^^ •'''S®'- to confront danger 
 ttnln comwf "* "^f^^^ against a decrepid supeStil 
 nelled tTr^ t "" "^ •* ^"^ aggressive tyranny, all im- 
 pelled the best energies of the English people asrainst 
 Spain, as the embodiment of all which was odiouTa^d 
 
 Tnd S ':. *'^''?' "°^r"^ "'^'^'^ t^«y felt tCt th^ S 
 A r^T^ «t™ggle could not long be deferred. 
 And of these various tendencies, there were no moro 
 
 fitting representatives than Drake 'and Frobrhe^^K 
 
268 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XVI. 
 
 1587. 
 
 H! 
 
 kins and Essex, Cavendish and Grenfell, and the other 
 privateersmen of the sixteenth century. The same greed 
 for danger, for gold, and for power, which, seven cen- 
 turies before, had sent the Norman race forth to conquer 
 all Christendom, was now sending its Anglo-Saxon and 
 Anglo-Norman kindred to take possession of the old 
 
 world and the new. . -r. i 4.1, 
 
 " The wind commands me away,'* said Drake on the 
 2nd April, 1587 ; " our ship is under sail. God grant 
 that we may so live in his fear, that the enemy may 
 have cause to say that God doth fight for her Majesty 
 abroad as well as at home." * . . 1 • j 
 
 But he felt that he was not without enemies behind 
 him, for the strong influence brought to bear against 
 the bold policy which Walsingham favoured, was no 
 secret to Drake. " K we deserve iU," said he, *' let us 
 be punished. If we discharge our duty, in doing our 
 best, it is a hard measure to be reported ill by those 
 who will either keep their fingers out of the fire, or who 
 too well affect that alteration in our government which 
 I hope in God they shall never live to see."* In lati- 
 tude 40° he spoke two Zeeland ships, homeward bound, 
 and obtained information of great warlike stores accu- 
 mulating in Cadiz and Lisbon. His mind was instantly 
 made up. Fortunately, the pinnace which the Queen 
 despatched with orders to stay his hand * in the very 
 act of smiting her great adversary, did not sail fast 
 enough to overtake the swift corsair and his fleet, bir 
 Francis had too promptly obeyed the wind, when it 
 "commanded him away," to receive the royal counter- 
 mand. On the 19th April, the English ships entered 
 the harbour of Cadiz, and destroyed ten thousand tons 
 of shipping, with their contents, in the very face of a 
 dozen great galleys, which the nimble English vessels 
 soon drove under their forts for shelter. Two nights 
 and a day. Sir Francis, that ** hater of idleness," was 
 steadily doing his work ; unloadmg, rifling, scuttling, 
 sinking, and burning those transport-ships which con- 
 tained a portion of the preparations painfully made by 
 
 » Drake to Walsingham fn Barrow's 1587. Same to same, 11 April. 1587. 
 
 'Life of Drake' (Murray, 1843), p. 223. (BriU Mus. Galba, C. xL p. 327-344. 
 
 t n,id. MSS.) 
 » Wdlsint^uon to Leicester, 17 April. 
 
 HIS EXPLOITS AT CADIZ AND LISBON. 
 
 269 
 
 figs, misins, biscS a^d STm,-r*^r''' ^'"'' °"' 
 ingredients long brew.W W V), "^'^""H^^^ous mass of 
 were emptied into Z. £ Z ** *?^^^^ °^ England, 
 night, the^ blal of a J:„dSrnd'fift t°'' >'"^ «" *'°''<i 
 played merrily upon the «-imwi^f ^1^™'"^ vessels 
 Some of these shLswere^ftw,? l^^'^t fortresses. 
 
 There was one belZfnf tt fc Quif s' *^"n """"• 
 1500 tons, there wa« » «• ^*'^1'"s Santa Cruz of 
 
 seveml othe^'of Two SoTS 1 ''"',' '^'''' ^'^^ 
 mansions. ' ^""' ^^ "^ '•^arly equal di- 
 
 Thence sailina: for Lklmti q;- t?_ • 
 destroyed a hundred vessdsiZ"' ''■^^"'^ t"<^ 
 ^vas portable of the caries and « .^J? I'T-'''*"'? ^^""^ 
 At Lisbon, Marquis ZSTbZ^, Cd wftmLrf 
 bpam and £renerali>!R;nir. ^f *i, ■ . » aannrai of 
 
 mortified an^ amtSl b'.^^ff ' '°^^''"'' ^""^^^ °'' 
 the Plymouth SeiVfZfth: Z^^!' ""^I" 
 great monarch of the world Aftlr it m "^ °^ *^^ 
 
 II «, ^n.&rtv^oEETn 'ts'- Iff- 
 
 fell in with nn^ r.f +l^ ^ ^^.a^ues. iiom fet. Michaels, 
 Mould be forty thousand men ,mder way ore Ion/' T 
 
 * Barrow, 232, 233. " 
 
 J 
 
 \ 
 
 I.' , 
 
 ■ar*- 
 
270 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XVI. 
 
 K! 
 
 
 :1. 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 not he too energetic in its measures of resistance. He 
 had done something with his little fleet, but he was no 
 braggart, and had no disposition to underrate the 
 enemy's power. " God make us all thankful agam and 
 aeain," he observed, that we have, although it be little, 
 2juie a beginning upon the coast of Spaing ' And modestly 
 BS he spoke of what he had accomplished, so with quiet 
 self-reliance did he allude to the probable consequences. 
 It was certain, he intimated, that the enemy would soon 
 seek revenge with all his strength and "with all the 
 devices and traps he could devise." This was a matter 
 which could not be doubted. " But," said Sir Francis 
 «* I thank them much that they have staid so long, and 
 when they come they shall be but tJie sons of mortal men. 
 
 Perhaps the most precious result of the expedition 
 was the lesson which the Englishmen had thus learned 
 in handling the great galleys of Spain. It ^iigbt soon 
 stand them in stead. ITie little war-vessels which had 
 come from Plymouth, had sailed round and round these 
 vast unwieldy hulks, and had fairly driven them off 
 the field, with very slight damage to themselves, bir 
 Francis had already taught the mariners of England, 
 even if he had done nothing else by this famous Cadiz 
 expedition, that an armada of Spain might not be so 
 invincible as men imagined. 
 
 Yet when the conqueror returned from his great toray, 
 he received no kurels. His sovereign met him, not 
 with smiles, but with frowns and cold rebukes. He had 
 done his duty, and helped to save her endangered 
 throne, but Elizabeth was now the dear friend ot Alex- 
 ander Famese, and in amicable correspondence with his 
 royal master. This -little" beginning on the coast of 
 Spain might not seem to his Catholic Majesty a matter 
 to be thankful for, nor be likely to further a pacifica- 
 tion, and so Elizabeth hastened to disavow her 1 lymouth 
 captain.* 
 
 I Barrow, 233. 
 
 » IbW. Compare Camden, iil. 396. 
 Meteren. xiv. 253, 254. Bor, II. xxl. 753- 
 768. xxii. 9S1, xxill. 77. 
 
 » *• True it la, and I avow It on my 
 
 which messenger by contrary winds could 
 never come to the place where he was, 
 but was constrained to come home, and 
 hearivg of Sir F. Drake's actions, her 
 M^esty commanded the party that 
 
 pSy^t^l^ wtnt "c^iix wlu, . he «:nu..«d him«lf by the cOis of 
 SZVby letters charging Sir Francis himseVf .n1 .11 "» ~7'"£- ^"^ " 
 Uiake^ to rtew any <M <if ImtUitv. mmttmg ya. unvMxng to her Mojal) 
 
 1587. 
 
 HE IS REBUKED BY ELFZABETH. 
 
 those actions were committed by Sir F 
 Drake, for the which hor Majesty is as 
 yetgi-eatly offended with him.'' Burgh- 
 ley to Andreas de Loo, is July, 1587 
 ' Flanders Correspondence.' (S. P.' Office* 
 
 "There are letters written to Sir 
 Francis Drake." said Walslngham, " sent 
 unto him by a pinnance sent forth 
 especially for that purpose, to command 
 him not to attempt anything by land 
 nor to enter into the ports to distress the 
 ships. This resolution proceedeth alto- 
 getber upon a hope of peace which I fear 
 w,l draw a dangerous war upon her 
 :M'\jesty. by the alienation of the hearts 
 of the well-affected people in the Low 
 Countries." Walslngham to Leicester 
 11 April 1587. (Brit. Mu8.Galba Cxi' 
 p. 344. MS.) ' ^'* 
 
 And again, a week later-" As for 
 Span./' says the Secretarjr, •• they are so 
 far off from any intention to assail 
 tngland. as they stand now upon their 
 own guard for fear of Sir Francis Drake 
 There are letters written from certain of 
 
 271 
 
 commandment, to inhibit him to attempt 
 
 thJ. '"f ^^ ''^"^' ^^ ^'^h'" the pom of 
 the kingdom of Spain. He is at hberty 
 to take any of the Kings fleets eiSer 
 going out of Spain or ^eturnfngtL 
 
 the despatch of these letters that therj^s 
 order pven for his revocaUon." Sa^' to 
 
 S r'"? ^P'^'' ''''' (Brit!Tu^ 
 <»alba, C. XI. p. 327. MS.) 
 
 haiV'toTrT^f "^"''"«' "° '^' °'her 
 hand, to find Leicester claiming credit for 
 
 her Majesty, for this domcnstra ion 
 
 against Spain, and using it in his cL^ 
 
 raunications with the States as a proof of 
 
 Xr "" A, "^"^'^"^ ^^--^' that 
 Kr'; ^^"^ '' °° «"<=h meaning in 
 her Majesty to abuse you." he observed 
 as you might perceive both by the 
 sending of Sir Francis Drake into Spain 
 and by the return of myself hither to 
 have prosecuted the war If I had found 
 any means here." Leicester to the Stated 
 6 Sept. 1587. (S. P. Office MS.i ^ 
 
 i' 
 
 vi 
 
 \ , 
 
272 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XVH. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIT. 
 
 t) 
 
 Secret Treating between Queen and Parma — Excitement and Alarm in the States 
 
 — Religious Persecution in England — Queen's Sincerity towards Spain — 
 Language and Letters of Parma — Negotiations of De Loo — English 
 Commissioners appointed — Parma's affectionate letter to the Queen - 
 Philip at his Writing-Table — His Plots with Parma against England 
 
 — I'arma's Secret Letters to the King — Philip's Letters to Parma — 
 Wonderful I>upliclty of Philip — His sanguine Views as to EngUind — He i,* 
 reluctant to hear of the Obstacles — And imagines Parma in England — But 
 Alexander's Difficulties are great — He denounces Philip's wild Schemes- 
 Walsingham aware of the Spanish Rot - Which the States well understatid 
 
 — Leicester's great Unpopularity — The Queen warned against Treating - 
 I^lcester's Schemes against Bameveld - Lelcestrian Conspiracy at Leyden - 
 The Plot to seize the City discovered - Three Ringleaders sentenctd 
 to Death— Civil War in France — Victory gained by Navarre, and one 
 by Guise — Queen recalls Leicester — Who retires on ill Tenns with the 
 States -Queen warned as to Spanish Designs -Results of Leicester's 
 Administration. 
 
 The course of Elizat)etli towards the Provinces, in tlio 
 matter of the peace, was certainly not ingenuous, but it 
 was not absolutely deceitful. She concealed and denied 
 the negotiations, when the Ketherland statesmen were 
 perfectly aware of their existence, if not of their tenor ; 
 but she was not prepared, as they suspected, to sacrifice 
 their liberties and their religion, as the price of her own 
 reconciliation with Spain. Her attitude towards the 
 States was imperious, overbearing, and abusive. She 
 had allowed the Earl of Leicester to return, she said, 
 because of her love for the poor and oppressed people, 
 but in many of her official, and in all her private com- 
 munications, she denounced the men who governed that 
 people as ungrateful wretches and impudent liars.^ 
 
 1 E. g. "Nous avons renvoy^ notre 
 cousin de Ijeyce»tre— nonobstant que 
 nous fussions k pen pres degoutes. . . . 
 vus les deaordres et confusions depuls son 
 partement de li . . . les traverses In- 
 grates de quelques uns mal affectes par 
 de la, dont nous memes avons eu occasion 
 de bien fort nous repentlr. Touiefois la 
 consideration que nous avons eu de I'lnno- 
 cence d'un si bon peuple, et le desir 
 
 qu'avons eu de leur bien Jointe la 
 prompte volonie de notre cousin, ont eu 
 plus de force a nous retenlr en notre 
 premiere aCTection . . . et attendons qu<> 
 ce qu'est pass^ sera repare k I'avenir 
 . , . ." Queen to State-Council, 20 Jun<', 
 158T. (S. P. Office MS.) A letter to tb.' 
 States, of nearly the same date, is Ukewlr-' 
 filled with expressions of her disgust at 
 the " etrange et h)grate maniere de vos 
 
 1587. SECRET TREATING BETWEEN QUEEN AND PARMA. 273 
 
 These were the corrosives and vinegar which she 
 thought suitab e for the case; and the irl was never 
 weaiy m depicting the same statesmen as seditions pes- 
 tilent self-seeking, mischief-making tiuitore The'e 
 
 jim^Ornft '"*^' ' ^°' •* 7'" ""' recollecterthat S 
 
 alwavs W Trr^' fj'"^ '"*"*'°'=^« ^Wlities, had 
 always been more busy than any other Eno-lish noli 
 tician m these transactions. He acted, however on^fte 
 
 SedYhe^Li-as hSreTdfdniJsdtl 
 
 upon Its treacherous suggestions.' When the S ^ote 
 
 inaZrtw'h:^ '":' *° ^'^ «°^°'-"?»' of so s^e^ 
 a nature that he did not even retain a single cobv for 
 
 diW' that The 1 1'°^^'^' ^' ^°"''^' *o hV i^finSte 
 aispst tnat the States were at once provided with «.n 
 
 authentic transcript of eveiy line that he ha^^^lte^ 
 
 deportements envers notre cousin, votre 
 ingratitude et traverees," and of praise of 
 the cousin, who, "nonobstant toutes ces 
 discourtesies et ingratitudes, ne voudra 
 espargiier pour le bien de vous tous de 
 hasarder nl sa vie ni sa fortune," &c. 
 Queen to States, |22 June, 1587. (S. P 
 Office MS.) 
 
 "And three months later— "How the 
 town of Sluys was lost, we wiU spare to 
 write that which thousands of your 
 native people did affirm; how traitorously 
 this town was lost, or rather betrayed, the 
 world knoweth, and we do not think that 
 yourselves can deny it, from want of sup- 
 ply from you and your chief Ulns, . . . 
 and yet not without the honour and repu^ 
 
 tatlon of ours that defended It Our 
 
 lieutenant (Leicester) could not have 
 ?,T'f^^* t»me to deal with you 
 (about the peace), for that he was so 
 entangled with your overthwart dealing 
 against hhn. with sundiy false reports of 
 VOL. IL 
 
 us and:himself, that we had agreed to « 
 peace with the King of Spahi, without 
 regard to you. . . . ITiat the Earl of 
 Leicester was by us directed to surprise 
 divers towns, to yield to the King, If you 
 would not as.sent to peace, with many 
 more such false and slanderous bruits 
 spread -yea believed and maintained for 
 some time by some of your own number 
 all which we affirm on the word of a' 
 prince, most false and maliciously devised 
 with devilish minds, abhorrtog, as it 
 seemeth. all liking of godly peace and 
 quietness." &c. Queen to the States. 20 
 Sept 1587. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 J Meteren, xiv. 255. "This letter 
 they have taken perforce from him. and 
 committed first my man to prison, which 
 I think was never durst to be attempted 
 before, and puts me past my patience, 
 I assure you." Leicester to Walshigham. 
 4 July, 1587. (S. P. Office MS.) ^^ 
 2 " I am credibly informed by an 
 
 T 
 
 i!, 
 
 Hi 
 
274 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XVH. 
 
 It was therefore useless, almost puerile, to deny facts 
 which were quite as much within the knowledge of the 
 Netherlanders as of himself. The worst consequence of 
 the concealment was, that a deeper treachery was thought 
 possible than actually existed. " The fellow they call 
 Bameveld," * as Leicester was in the habit of designating 
 one of the first statesmen in Europe, was perhaps justi- 
 fied, knowing what he did, in suspecting more. Being 
 furnished with a list of commissioners, already secretly 
 agreed upon between the English and Spanish govern- 
 ments, to treat for peace, while at the same time the 
 Earl was beating his breast, and flatly denying that 
 there was any intention of treating with Panna at all, 
 it was not unnatural that he should imagine a still wider 
 and deeper scheme than really existed, against the best 
 interests of his country. He may have expressed, in 
 private conversation, some suspicions of this nature, but 
 there is direct evidence that he never stated in public 
 anything which was not afterwards proved to be matter 
 of fact, or of legitimate inference from the secret docu- 
 ments which had come into his hands. The Queen ex- 
 hausted herself in opprobrious language against those 
 who dared to impute to her a design to obtain possession 
 of the cities and strong places of the Netherlands, in 
 order to secure a position in which to compel the Pro- 
 vinces into obedience to her policy. She urged, with 
 much logic, that, as she had refused the sovereignty of 
 the whole country when offered to her, she was not 
 likely to form surreptitious schemes to make herself 
 mistress of a portion of it. On the other hand, it was 
 very obvious, that to accept the sovereignty of Philip's 
 rebellious Provinces, was to declare war upon Philip ; 
 
 honest man," says Leicester, " who says 
 he saw It, that the States have a copy of 
 my last Instrument, as also of the letter 
 of her Majesty written lately privately to 
 me, touching the dealing in the peace. 
 Yea, further, that they are thoroughly and 
 particularly made acquainted with a late 
 letter of mine to her Majesty, written 
 with my own hand, whereof I would 
 have no copy taken, because I would 
 have no man acquaint with it. In which 
 letter 1 informed her Majesty at lenglh 
 of all things here, and gave her also, in 
 acme sort, my private advice. They 
 
 have, by some means, got knowledge of 
 the contents thereof, and have intimated 
 the same secretly to the Provinces, in- 
 tending thereby to draw me into hatred 
 and suspicion of the people, as though 
 this dealing for peace were procured for 
 me. But for this matter, I shall hope to 
 deal well enough, for this treacherous 
 usage of her Majesty's secrets," &c. I>el- 
 cester to Walsingham, 28 Aug. 1587. 
 (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 > Leicester to Burghley, 10-11 Sept, 
 1587. (S..P. Office MS.) 
 
 1587. EXCITEMENT AND ALARM IN THE STATES. 275 
 
 whereas, had she been pacifically inclined towards that 
 sovereign and treacherously disposed towards the 
 >(ether]ands, it would be a decided advantage to her to 
 have those strong places in her power. But the suspi- 
 cions as to her good faith were exaggerated. As to the 
 intentions of Leicester, the States were justified in their 
 almost unlimited distrust It is very certain that both 
 m 1086, and again, at this very moment, when Eliza- 
 beth was most vehement in denouncing such aspersions 
 on her government, he had unequivocally declared to 
 her his intention of getting possession, if possible, of 
 several cities, and of the whole island of Walcheren 
 which, together with the cautionary towns already in 
 his power would enable the Queen to make good terms 
 for herself with Spain, - if the worst came to tJce worst:' » 
 it will also soon be shown that he did his best to carry 
 these schemes into execution. There is no evidence 
 however, and no probability, that he had received the 
 royal commands to perpetrate such a crime. 
 
 The States believed also, that in those secret negotia- 
 tions with Parma the Queen was disposed to sacHfice 
 the religious interests of the Netherlands. In this they 
 were mistaken. But they had reason for their mistake 
 because the negotiator De Loo had expressly said, that' 
 m her overtures to Famese, she had abandoned that 
 point altogether.^ If this had been so, it would have 
 
 * " I will go to Medenblik (the next 
 town to Enkhuyzen), which is at your 
 Majesty's devotion, as the governor there- 
 of (Sonoy) is, and will do my best to re- 
 cover Enlthuyzen ere I depart thence. 
 Then, indeed, your Majesty, having 
 Flushing. BriU, and Utrecht, as you 
 have, and these, ye shall be able to bring 
 the peace to better conditions, and bridle 
 these States of Holland at your pleasure. 
 • . . . They are full of shifts, and yet 
 «ucA(M/or this matter may ask tolera- 
 tion, for how hattful a matter peace hath 
 beej} to the generality almost of all these 
 coimtrles, la u-dl Icnoum to all persons, 
 and how loathsome a thing i7 is to all but 
 to such as for love and trust in your 
 M^esty will conform themselves, I can 
 sufficiently testify; and it is the only 
 cause of the world for them to be careful 
 In their dealing, for it doth confirm them 
 and theh- posterity both hi theh: lives and 
 
 liberties, and therefore to be borne withal, 
 if they take deliberation." Leicester to' 
 the Queen, 9 Oct. 1587. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 Yet the Karl, notwithstanding this admis- 
 sion, avows his determination of bridling 
 the states by gahilng possession of their 
 cities. 
 
 And again, a month later: "I will not 
 be Idle to do all that in me shall lie to 
 make this island of Walcheren assured, 
 whatsoever shall fall out ; which. If it 
 may be, your Majesty shall the less fear 
 to make a good bargain for yourself, when 
 the worst shall come." Leicester to the 
 Queen, 6th Nov. 1587. (S. P. Office 
 MS.) 
 
 2 " I have sent her Majesty another 
 letter from De Loo, whereby it seemeth 
 that now very lately her M^esty hath 
 given him to understand that she will not 
 insist upon the matter of religion further 
 than shall be with the King's honour and 
 T 2 
 
276 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XVII. 
 
 i 
 
 simply Been a consent on the part of Elizabeth, that the 
 Catholic religion and the Inquisition should be re-esta- 
 blished in the Provinces, to the exclusion of ever}' other 
 form of worship or polity. In truth, however, the 
 position taken by her Majesty on the subject was as 
 fair as could be reasonably expected. Certainly she 
 was no advocate for religious liberty. She chose that 
 her own subjects should be Protestants, because she had 
 chosen to be a Protestant herself, and because it was an 
 incident of her supremacy, to dictate uniformity of creed 
 to all beneath her sceptre. No more than her father, who 
 sent to the stake or gallows heretics to transubstantiation 
 as well as believers in the Pope, had Elizabeth the faintest 
 idea of religious freedom. Heretics to the English 
 Church were persecuted, fined, imprisoned, mutilated, 
 and murdered by sword, rope, and fire. In some 
 respects, the practice towards those who dissented from 
 Elizabeth was more immoral and illogical, even if less 
 cruel, than that to which those were subjected who re- 
 belled against Sixtus. The Act of Uniformity required 
 Papists to assist at the Protestant worship, but wealthy 
 Papists could obtain immunity by an enoimous fine. 
 The Roman excuse to destroy bodies in order to save 
 souls, could scarcely be alleged by a Church which 
 might be bribed into connivance at heresy, and which 
 derived a revenue from the very nonconformity for 
 which humbler victims were sent to the gallows. It 
 would, however, be unjust in the extreme to overlook 
 the enormous difference in the amount of persecution, 
 exercised respectively by the Protestant and the Eoman 
 Church. It is probable that not many more than two 
 hundred Catholics * were executed, as such, in Eliza- 
 
 consdence. Whereupon Pe Loo taketh 
 no small hold, and If she keep that course, 
 all win go to ruin, as I have written to 
 her Majesty." Buckhurst to Walslng- 
 ham, 18 June, 1587. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 1 "Dod reckons them at 191 ; Mllner 
 has raised the list to 204. Fifteen of these, 
 according to him, sufifered for denying the 
 Queen's supremacy, 126 for exercising 
 their ministry, and the rest for being re- 
 conciled to the Romish church. Many 
 others died of hardships in prison, and 
 many were deprived of their property. 
 There seems. lievertheless, to be good 
 
 reason for doubting whether any one who 
 was executed might not have saved his 
 life by explicitly denying the Pope's 
 power to depose the Queen. This cer- 
 tainly furnishes a distinction between the 
 persecution under Elizabeth (which, un- 
 just as it was In Its operation, yet, so far 
 as It extended to capital Inflictions, had in 
 view the security of the government) and 
 that which the Protestants had sustained 
 In her sister's reign, sprlnghig from mere 
 bigotry and vindictive rancour." (Hal- 
 lam's 'Constitutional History,' fifth 
 edition (Murray 1846), 1. 163. Compare 
 
 1587. 
 
 RELIGIOUS PERSECUTIOxV IN ENGLAND. 
 
 277 
 wwV''fi?' ^°^.*^^' ^^« *^^ «^«re too many But 
 
 gainst he vast numbers of ProtltantT, X W they 
 
 TT^ yj '^'^^ "^ ^y hundreds of thonl^nds who 
 perished by the edicts of Charles V in the \^wi a 
 
 or m the single Saint Bartholomew m^^L^eftieS 
 Moreover, it should never be forgotten-from undue 
 anxiety for impartiality-that molt of the Catholics 
 who were executed in England, suffered a^ oonsp rators 
 rather than as heretics. No foreign potentatrXiW 
 to bo vicegerent of Christ, had denoLced PhiSTf 
 
 S^wWcnF"' °' ^' ""y-"""'^' °f - blaspYei^u: 
 fiction, which then was a terrible reality, severed the 
 
 bonds of allegiance by which his subjec s werrheM 
 
 cut him off from all communion with his fellow-cr^atures' 
 
 and promised temporal rewards and a cro^ of gW?n 
 
 heaven to those who should succeed in dem^vinf h^ nf 
 
 c larlrb^Ro^" ■f^}'"'^^ ^*^««'i her and Kome, de- 
 th^ithT^^ '^if '• °°'" "^^ ^^^^^ ^"^y doubt whatever 
 £i*n\ •^'^ Pnests-seedlings transplanted from 
 
 the fmwtn^r' ^^''^ ^^"^ ^ watered' gardens Z 
 tbe growth of treason— were a peipetually organized 
 band of conspirators and assassins, with wLm^ft w2 
 hardly an act of excessive barbarity to deal insomewh^ 
 ummary fashion. Doubtless it would have been a more 
 ofty policy, and a far more intelligent one to extend 
 
 Wt tti^?*''''? '' ^"S'*""^' ^'^'^ as a^'boarwere 
 could t5 T""^"^- ^\ *'"P''^ toleration. IBut it 
 could scarcely bo expected that Elizabeth Tudor as 
 imperious and absolute by tempeiument as her father 
 
 prt cTpTe. '"• "'"'' *" '^^''''''' '^"^^y'-S tlat Sat 
 
 1587^tW f *^«. P'«li«»«arie8 to the negotiations of 
 
 tbe b* e!n • '\""^' "i"^'*^ ""^ **•« P'^rt of Spain, that 
 Uie Queen was demanding a concession of relieious 
 hberty from PhUip to the Netherlanders whiclf she 
 
 ilallam. in which the dealings of Eliza- ""^^^^^^^"^ 
 
278 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XVH. 
 
 W 
 
 refused to English heretics, and that he only claimed 
 the same right of dictating a creed to his subjects which 
 she exercised in regard to her own, Lord Burghley 
 replied that the statement was correct. The Queen 
 permitted— it was true— no man to profess any religion 
 but the one which she professed. At the same time it 
 was declared to be unjust, that those persons in the 
 Netherlands who had been for years m the habit oi 
 practising Protestant rites, should be suddenly compelled, 
 without instruction, to abandon that form of worship. It 
 was well known that many would rather die than submit 
 to such oppression, and it was affirmed that the exercise 
 of this cruelty would be resisted by her to the utter- 
 most. There was no hint of the propriety— on any 
 logical basis— of leaving the question of creed as a matter 
 between man and his Maker, with which any dictation 
 on the part of crown or state was an act of odious 
 tyranny. There was not even a suggestion that the 
 Protestant doctrines were true, and the Catholic doc- 
 trines false. The matter was merely taken up on the 
 uti possidetis principle, that they who had acquired the 
 fact of Protestant worship had a right to retain it, and 
 could not justly be deprived of it, except by instruction 
 and persuasion. It was also affirmed that it was not 
 the English practice to inquire into men's consciences. 
 It would have been difficult, however, to make that very 
 clear to Philip's comprehension, because, if men, women, 
 and children, were scourged w4th rods, imprisoned, and 
 hanged, if they refused to conform publicly to a cere- 
 mony at which their consciences revolted— unless they 
 had '1! money enough to purchase nonconformity— it 
 seemed to be the practice to inquire very effectively into 
 their consciences.^ 
 
 1 "And when De Loo reporteth an 
 objection made to him, that there Is no 
 more reason for the King to yield to any 
 of his subjects liberty of religion contrary 
 to the one he professeth no more than her 
 Majesty doth to any 'of hers ; indeed, at 
 the first appearance, this objection seem- 
 eth of good moment to be allowed, and, 
 until it be answered, ought to be taken 
 by the Duke of Parma ; but if the diver- 
 sities of the comparison shall be marked, 
 the case also will therein be changed. The 
 Queen's Majesty indeed never did permit. 
 
 either publicly or privately, that any per. 
 sons for these seven years should use any 
 exercise of religion contrary to that form 
 received and established by public autho- 
 rity ; 80 aa none can challenge that they 
 were by any liberty suffered to use any 
 other, which Is contrary to the Low 
 Coimtrles, for the space of about six years. 
 But if her Majesty had so permitted, 
 surely reason would move her not to con- 
 strain, otherwise than by instruction, any 
 that by reason of her permission had go- 
 verned their consciences to the contrarj'. 
 
 1587. QUEEN'S SINCERITy TOWARDS SCAIK. 279 
 
 on tte iart of pZf Ti^^ ^!^^^ of disingenuousness 
 
 Queen m these negotiations was almost pathetic Lie 
 
 Sr &£? "* S^^/Joing^X: t E 
 
 ness as she bt hi f T't "T""^^ ^^''''^^^ ^r ^^^ f^^^' 
 that Troval L ^'*l««l'°«d. It never entered his head 
 ^Jf^ } personage and the trusted counsellors of a 
 
 KSnfl t™r"r ^ *^"i°« '^' *"^* - a secret fn! 
 ternational transaction, and he justified the industnr 
 
 with which h,s master and himsilf piled fiction uS 
 
 raSrhad W '"'S°t'*«°"« ^ad been commenced, or 
 vei DurW f^^Tf ' ^'•'T ''^rfy ^^ February of this 
 and follnw.T.^ ' whole critical period which preceded 
 ana tollowed the execution of Mary, in the cmirsp nf 
 
 ^^^so^'llS^^ ^' f ^/^^^ '^^^^'^ ''' ^^ 
 coorn^ wT ^^'^^'^'^ ^^^ ^^^^ *^^ g^^tlest diplomatic 
 coomg between Famese and herself. It was— Dear 
 Cousin, you know how truly I confide in your sTnceritt 
 
 fc arTnrd ' 'V^t' *^" T^' ^^^^'^^^^ peace sToufd 
 W much tl Tf 1 ' ^^«-Sf ^^.^d Majesty, you know 
 now much joy I feel m your desire for the repose of the 
 
 And because it may be also further ob- 
 jected, as most falsely is divulged to 
 more offence against her Majesty from 
 Catholic places, that she doth so severely 
 punish them that are in conscience con- 
 trarily affected, it is to be avowed for a 
 certain truth that her Mi^esty never did 
 allow that any person was by inquisition 
 urged to show his conscience In any mat- 
 ter of faith, nor ever was punished for 
 professing only of his opinion in his con- 
 science, but what any have beside their 
 profession of their conscience, moved by 
 others, by open acts to break the law, or 
 have, under colour of encouraging others 
 
 to change their form of religion, persuaded 
 them also to alter their obedience In aU 
 worldly duties, to practise rebi^lllon In 
 the realm, to solicit invasions, and flatly 
 to deny the Queen's Majesty to be their 
 lawful Queen. In those cases, her M^es- 
 ty and all her ministers of Justice had 
 cause to withstand such violent courses 
 under colours of religion ; and otherwise 
 than to withstand these most dangerous 
 attempts, her Majesty did never allow 
 any should lose their lives and shed their 
 blood." (Rough draft of Burghlev 9 
 foo't'cl"'- ^^-Mus, Galba.O»ix.p. 
 
280 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XVH. 
 
 world, and for a solid peace between your Highness and 
 the King my master ; how much I delight in concord — 
 how incapable I am by ambiguous tcords of spinning out these 
 transactions J or of deceiving your Majesty, and what a hatred 
 I feel for steel, fire, and blood. ^ 
 
 Four or five months rolled on, during which Leicester 
 had been wasting time in England, Famese wasting 
 none before Sluys, and the States doing their best to 
 counteract the schemes both of their enemy and of their 
 ally. De Loo made a visit, in July, to the camp of the 
 Duke of Parma, and received the warmest assurances of 
 his pacific dispositions. "I am much pained," said 
 Alexander, " with this procrastination. I am so full of sin- 
 cerity myself, that it seems to me a very strange matter, 
 this hostile descent by Drake upon the coasts of Spain. 
 The result of such courses will be, that the King will 
 end by being exasperated, and I shall be touched in my 
 honour — so great is the hopes I have held out of being 
 able to secure a peace. I have ever been and Instill am 
 most anxious for concord, from the afi'ection I bear to 
 her sacred Majesty. I have been obliged, much against 
 my will, to take the field again. I could wish now that 
 our negotiations might terminate before the arrival of 
 my fresh troops, namely, 9000 Spaniards and 9000 
 Italians, which, with Walloons, Germans, and Lorrainers, 
 will give me an effective total of 30,000 soldiers. Of 
 this I give you my word as a gentleman. Go then, 
 Andrew de Loo," continued the Duke, " write to her 
 sacred Majesty, that I desire to make peace, and to serve 
 her faithfully ; and that I shall not change my mind, 
 even in case of any great success, for I like to proceed 
 rather by the ways of love than of rigour and effusion 
 of blood." « 
 
 » Parma to Queen Elizabeth, 18 Feb. 
 1587. Same to same, 5 April, 1587. 
 Queen to Panna, 13 April, 1587. (Arch, 
 de Simancas, MSS.) And even later 
 8tiU:— 
 
 " Such Is the good opinion conceived of 
 the Duke of Parma," wrote Burghley, 
 " fof his own nature and worthiness In all 
 plao>s, that he is a prince of honour In 
 ket'plng his promise, without respect of 
 any gain or lx>neflt. And, to tell you tnie. 
 It is the only foundation which her Ma- 
 jesty maketh to proceed in this treaty. 
 
 against the opinion of very many. In that 
 she esteemeth the Duke to have gn>at 
 regard to his word and promise, and also 
 an opinion that she hath, though be be a 
 great man of war, that he Is Cbrlstlanly 
 disposed rather to maintain peace tlian to 
 raise war, whereof her Mi^esty loolteth 
 to make proof by this treaty," &c. &c. 
 Burghley to Andr. de Loo, 10 Oct. 1587. 
 (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 2 De Loo to Burghley, 11 July, 1687. 
 (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 \ 
 
 1587. 
 
 LANGUAGE AND LETTERS OF PARMA. 
 
 7 «< 
 
 281 
 same dispositions with yourself" ^""^ ^^^^ 
 
 ties on both sldetTe VpS^dtetttr '.^^ ^^ ^^^^ 
 A leeble proposition was then made on the r^arf nf +1,. 
 
 them^1;/a few fine Ut <i"|.«-es only to abandon 
 
 but they raised n'o°:i:°:f.^- iz.:::tz7jt'^i 
 
 w.ly tong;.e of the Duke had been more effective t£ 
 h.8 batteries m obtaining the much-eoveted city Th^ 
 
 denTof et*'r''''^' ^^'-^ •'^'^'^ ^«^^ "»«« and money, confi! 
 dent of effecting a treaty whether Sluys fell or not wL 
 
 i teSstd Sh?r ^'r'-^ t-o diSiZl of he" 
 mentions, and, m their turn, become neglectful of their 
 
 Sti"*^ *^?i, ™"""^'' ^"^^ '"to autumn, Sluys fell the 
 th^ Xe^l^^'j" g^^^^^r-general were at dag^rs-di^^ 
 f1i ? if '^^'■','^*''« f»" of (listnist with reeaTto 
 JnSrTtJ- '^111^'^^^%^^'-^ doubts as to theXen^: 
 sincerity, the secret negotiations, thoueh fertiln ;« 
 suspicions, jealousies, delays, and such foul weeds hIS 
 pioduced no wholesome fruit, and the excel Wtrf' t 
 became yery much depressed At last a letter °^ 
 
 from Burghley relie^4d his droop nj spS/ "f.st"'- 
 
 woTd t rlS:rhf h^"/ -elan'oho^ly'^^an in the 
 quiet ' H.'i?, • ir ^ ^^^ """^ ^"""^^ merry and 
 
 h-^ndlelthf i\ ' pocket a_nd translated it to him 
 t>i candlelight, as he was careful to state as an important 
 
 (S.'p^X'mS)"' ""• " •'"'^- ""• ?,«? ->"'««'<• = ««<« »t.r .Ueg,,." *,. 
 
282 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XVH. 
 
 ■ i 
 
 .'I 
 
 point in his narrative. And Famese was fuller of fine 
 phrases than ever. 
 
 " There is no cause whatever," said he, in a most 
 loving manner, " to doubt my sincerity. Yet the Lord- 
 Treasurer intimates that the most serene Queen is dis- 
 posed so to do. But if I had not the very best intentions 
 and desires for peace, I should never have made the first 
 overtures. If 1 did not wish a pacific conclusion, what 
 in the world forced me to do what I have done ? On 
 the contrary, it is I that have reason to suspect the 
 other parties with their long delays, by which they have 
 made me lose the best part of the summer." ^ 
 
 He then commented on the strong expressions in the 
 English letters, as to the continuance of her Majesty in 
 her pious resolutions ; observed that he was thoroughly 
 advised of the disputes between the Earl of Leicester 
 and the States ; and added that it was very important 
 for the deputies to arrive at the time indicated by the 
 Queen. 
 
 " Whatever is to be done," said he, in conclusion, 
 " let it be done quickly ; " and with that he said he 
 would go and eat a bit of supper. 
 
 " And may I communicate Lord Burghley's letter to 
 any one else ? " asked De Loo. 
 
 "Yes, yes, to the Seigneur de Champagny, and to my 
 secretary Cosimo," answered his Highness. 
 
 So the merchant-negotiator proceeded at once to the 
 mansion of Champagny, in company with the secretary 
 Cosimo. There was a long conference, in which De Loo 
 was informed of many things which he thoroughly be- 
 lieved, and faithfully transmitted to the court of Eliza- 
 beth. Alexander had clone his best, they said, to delay 
 the arrival of his fresh troops. He had withdrawn from 
 the field, on various pretexts, hoping, day after day, that 
 the English commissioners would arrive, and that a firm 
 and perpetual peace would succeed to the miseries of 
 war. But as time wore away, and there came no com- 
 
 1 "Con dire amorevolmente lo che 
 slgue— non e (disse), causa alcana didubi- 
 tare della mia sincera mente— si come 
 BuUo fine della l" si fa menzlone che la 
 8er">» reglna lo potrebbe fare— perche se 
 non avessi havato bonlss™* disposizione 
 e desiderio della pace non sarei gla ito a 
 fame la prima apertura mi medesimo, e 
 
 condescendere alle cose che sapete (disse 
 a me) se non si fosse stata intenzione di 
 volerne venir a una concluslone (agion- 
 gendo) che cosa mi forzava di farlo? 
 Anzi piuttosto avrei occasione lo dl sus- 
 pettar loro con tante sorte di dilazioni e 
 haver ml fatto perdere la megUor parte 
 de r estate," ic. (Ibid.) 
 
 1587. 
 
 NEGOTIATIONS OF DE LOO. 
 
 283 
 
 missioners, the Duke had come to the painful conclusion 
 that he had been trifled with.i His forces would now 
 be sent into Holland to find something to eat ; and this 
 would ensure the total destruction of all that territory. 
 He had also written to command all the officers of the 
 coming troops to hasten their march, in order that he 
 might avoid incurring still deeper censure. He was 
 much ashamed, in truth, to have been wheedled into 
 passing the whole fine season in idleness.* He had been 
 sacrificing himself for her sacred Majesty, and to serve 
 her best interests ; and now he found himself the obiect 
 of her mirth.^ Those who ought to be well informed 
 had assured him that the Queen wa^ only waiting to see 
 how the King of Navarre was getting on with the auxi- 
 liary force just going to him from Gennany, that she had 
 no intention whatever to make peace, and that, before 
 long, he might expect all these German mercenaries upon 
 his shoiilders in the Netheriands. Nevertheless he was 
 prepared to receive them with 40,000 good infantry, a 
 splendid cavalry force, and plenty of money.* 
 
 All this and more did the credulous Andrew greedily 
 devour, and he lost no time in communicating the im- 
 portant intelligence to her Majesty and the Lord- 
 Treasurer. He implored her, he said, upon his bare 
 knees, prostrate on the ground, and from the most pro- 
 lound and veritable centre of his heart and with all his 
 soul and all his strength,* to believe in the truth of the 
 matters thus confided to him. He would pledge his im- 
 mortal soul, which was of more value to him— as he 
 correctly obseri^ed-than even the crown of Spain, that 
 the King, the Duke, and his counsellors, were most sin- 
 cerely desirous of peace, and actuated by the most loving 
 and benevolent motives. Alexander Farnese was "the 
 antidote to the Duke of Alva," kindly sent by heaven, 
 ut contraria contrarm curentur, and if the entire security 
 ot the sacred Queen were not now obtained, together 
 with a perfect re-integration of love between her Maiesty 
 and the King of Spain, and with the assured tranquillity 
 
 * •* Ma a r ultimo 11 Duca vedendo la &c. (Ibid.) 
 contlnua dilazione, con giudicare che si 3 Ibid. ' 4 Thi^ 
 
 lit S')*'- ^"^"^"^ """^^'^'^ • ''"• ' " ^^^-^^« ^^^'^^^ ^-'b^ h"» 
 
 2 .. T, J 1 tratus, dal piu profondo e vero centre 
 
 Trovandosi vergognlato davere. las- del mio cuore et ex corde et ex tot* ani- 
 
 clato scorrere si bdla stagione in ozio." ma." &c. (Ibid.) tot* am- 
 
1587. 
 
 284 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XVH. 
 
 ENGLISH COMMISSIONERS APPOIJsTED. 
 
 and perpetual prosperity of the Netherlands, it would be 
 the fault of England, not of Spain.* 
 
 And no doubt the merchant believed all that was told 
 him, and — what was worse — that he fully impressed hia 
 own convictions upon her Majesty and Lord Burghley, 
 to say nothing of the comptroller, who, poor man, had 
 great facility in believing anything that came from the 
 court of the Most Catholic King. Yet it is painful to 
 reflect, that in all these communications of Alexander 
 and his agents, there was not one single word of truth. 
 It was all false from beginning to end, as to the counter- 
 manding of the troops, as to the pacific intentions of the 
 King and Duke, and as to the proposed campaign in 
 Friesland, in case of rupture, and all the rest. But this 
 will be conclusively proved a little later. 
 
 Meantime the conference had been most amicable and 
 satisfactory. And when business was over, Champagny 
 — not a whit the worse for the severe jilting which ho 
 had so recently sustained from the widow De Bours, 
 now Mrs. Aristotle Patton — invited De Loo and Secre- 
 tary Cosimo to supper. And the three made a night of 
 it, sitting up late, and draining such huge bimipers to 
 the health of the Queen of England, that — as the excel- 
 lent Andrew subsequently informed Lord Burghley — 
 his head ached most bravely next morning.* 
 
 And so, amid the din of hostile preparation not only 
 in Cadiz and Lisbon, but in Ghent, and Sluys, and 
 Antwerp, the import of which it seemed difficult to mis- 
 take, the comedy of negotiation was still rehearsing, and 
 the principal actors were already familiar with their 
 respective parts. There were the Earl of Derby, Knight 
 of the Garter, and my Lord Cobham, and puzzling James 
 Croft, and other Englishmen, actually believing that 
 the farce was a solemn reality. There was Alexander 
 of Parma thoroughly aware of the contrary. There 
 was Andrew De Loo, more talkative, more credulous, 
 more busy than ever, and more fully impressed with the 
 importance of his mission ; and there was the white- 
 bearded Lord- Treasurer turning complicated paragraphs, 
 
 1 De Loo to Barghley, MS. last dted. alia sanlt^ di sua sacra Maesta, mi dolse 
 
 > " Con sommo contentamento del uno (con llcenza per dirlo come va) la mattlna 
 
 e 1' altro, a tal segno, che tenendoci il Sr seguente bravamente la testa." A. de 
 
 de Champagny a cena, con far 11 raglone Loo to Burghley, 26 Sept. 1587. (S. P. 
 
 di buon cuore d' im gran brindisl che fece Office MS.) 
 
 285 
 
 iw l.^•f ^'^^' \°*^ ^*''»S ^'« ^^"d across the 
 bur&t over England could be dispersed. 
 
 Ihe commissioners should come, if only the Duke of 
 Parma would declare on his word of honour/^hat there 
 hostile preparations, with which all Christ;ndom was 
 nnging. were not intended against England ,^r-i? 
 that really were the case-if he would request his 
 master to abandon all such scheme., and if Phi in ^n 
 consequence would promise, on the honour of a prfnce 
 to make no hostile attempts against that countn./ 
 
 Ihere would really seem an almost Arcadian simpli- 
 
 ma^ Z The f'^Tr'' """^"S from so pi^ctised a tX 
 man as the Lord-Treasurer, and from a woman of such 
 
 b" r reTd'Mn^"^^''^ unquestionably posseZd 
 But we read the history of 1587, not only by the light 
 of subsequent events, but by the almost microscopic 
 revelations of sentimente and motives, which rfuU 
 
 IZt ° Ai^r r ''""T"*^ '"^ *^°^<^ -cienttbineS 
 aaords. At that moment, it was not ignorance nor 
 
 dulness which was leading England towards the pitfall 
 
 so artfully dug by Spain. There was trust in the 
 
 plighted word of a chivalrous soldier like Alexander 
 
 Snip IT ''rrTvVf^r '''^\-^'>^^<i monarch iS 
 i Mlip n. English frankness, playing cards upon the 
 
 table, was no match for Italian and Spanish fegerde- 
 
 "If you can possibly, I require you 
 to obtain of the Duke, in writing under 
 his hand, an assurance either of his know- 
 ledge that these preparations are not nor 
 shall be meant against any of her Ma- 
 jesty's dominions; or otherwise, if he be 
 not able to assure the same, then, at the 
 least, that he will, by his writing, assure 
 her Miyesty that he will, upon his honour, 
 with all expedition, send to the King his 
 advice to stay all hostile actions, or to 
 have the King's answer, like a prince of 
 honour, whether he intendeth or no to 
 employ these forces against her Majesty, 
 which, though in some construction may 
 seem hard to require of a king intending 
 hostility, yet, as the case is, when her 
 Mi^esty yleldeth to a cessation of arms 
 and to a treaty of peace with the king, is 
 a request most reasonable to make, and 
 honourable for the king to grant. . 
 Such are the frequent reports out of 
 
 Spain of these preparations, and yet her 
 Majesty xLill stand to Vie Dukt's ansioer 
 If the army shall not be known to be' 
 actually prepared against England-which 
 Ifit shall be, no man will think It meet 
 that her commissioners should come" 
 Burghley to A. De Loo, lo Oct. 1587. CS. 
 P. Office MS.) ^ 
 
 2 As early as August, the Duke had 
 proposed a cessation of arms, to grant 
 which, as has been abundantly shown by 
 his private correspondence, was never In 
 his thoughts. "The Duke of Parma, to 
 the end the treaty may proceed with 
 better success, hathfmade ofiFer unto us to 
 yield to a cessation of arms, having put 
 us also In hope that such forces as are now 
 preparing in Italy, amounting to 15.000 
 footmen, at the least, shall be stayed" 
 Queen to Leicester, 9 Aug. 1587. (Br. 
 Mus. Galba, D. I., 293. MS.) 
 
 I 
 
 il 
 
 i 
 
 '[ 
 
286 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap XVII. 
 
 main,— a system according to which, to defraud the 
 antagonist by every kind of falsehood and trickery was 
 the legitimate end of diplomacy and statesmanship. It 
 was well known that there were great preparations in 
 Spain, Portugal, and the obedient Netherlands, by land 
 and sea. But Sir Eobert Sidney* was persuaded that 
 the expedition was intended for Africa ; even the Pope 
 was completely mystified— to the intense delight of 
 Philip— and Burghley, enlightened by the sagacious Do 
 Loo, was convinced, that even in case of a rupture, the 
 whole strength of the Spanish arms was to be exerted 
 in reducing Friesland and Overyssel. But Walsingham 
 was never deceived ; for he had learned from Demo- 
 sthenes a lesson with which William the Silent, in his 
 famous Apology, had made the world familiar, that the 
 only citadel against a tyrant and a corviueror teas distrust. 
 
 Alexander, much grieved that doubts should still be 
 felt as to his sincerity, renewed the most exuberant ex- 
 pressions of that sentiment, together with gentle com- 
 plaints against the dilatoriness which had proceeded 
 from the doubt. Her Majesty had long been aware, he 
 said, of his anxiety to bring about a perfect reconcilia- 
 tion ; but he had waited, month after month, for her 
 commissioners, and had waited in vain. His hopes had 
 been dashed to the ground. The affair had been inde- 
 finitely spun out, and he could not resist the conviction 
 that her Majesty had changed her mind. Nevertheless, 
 as Andrew De Loo was again proceeding to England, 
 the Duke seized the opportunity once more to kiss her 
 hand, and— although he had well nigh resolved to think 
 no more on the subject — to renew his declarations, that, 
 if the much-coveted peace were not concluded, the 
 blame could not be imputed to him, and that he should 
 stand guiltless before God and the world. He had 
 done, and was still ready to do, all which became a 
 Christian and a man desirous of the public welfare and 
 tranquillity.* 
 
 1 •• There came some out of Spain very 
 lately, that say the preparations there are 
 for a certain place In Africk, which greatly 
 imports the passage of both the Indies. 
 The admiral of the Turks was to leave it 
 last year with sixty galleyB.** Sir R. Sidney 
 to l^lcester, 31 Dec. 1537. (Br. Mus. 
 Galba, D. II. p. 2«8. MS.) 
 
 2 " E cosl da canto mio haveva pre- 
 parato gli affari di manera, e messo il 
 tutto in termine, che Vra Ma** haveva 
 potuto conoscere qual zelo ch' io abbra- 
 ciara questa occasione, e quanto io de- 
 siderava di veder river tire la buona e 
 mutua intelligenza fra il Re mio slgnore 
 et la Vra M«a. Ma vedendo che non ob- 
 
 1587. PARMA'S AFFECTIONATE LETTER TO THE QUEEN. 287 
 
 When Burghley read these fine phrases he was much 
 impressed; and they were pronounced at the End sh 
 court to be "very princely and Christianly " ^ An 
 elaborate comment too was drawn up by the comn 
 troller on every line of the letter. "These be v^?v 
 good words," said the comptroller ■ ^ 
 
 pro^of*o?the"n';!lJ''-''''''-.'"°'e P'^^^^d ^"1^ the last 
 FwJ I?„\l K T.? ""^^enty, than oven Burghley and 
 
 Croft had been. Disregarding all the warnings of Wal- 
 smgham, she renewed her expressions of bound ess 
 confidence m the wily Italian. "^ " We do assume you " 
 wrote the Lords, " and so you shall do well to avow it to 
 
 tfiinketh both their minds to accord upon one good and 
 Christian meaning, though their ministers mapper, 
 chance sound upon a discord.- And she repeated her 
 resolution to send over her commissioners, so soon as 
 the Duke had satisfied her as to the hostile prepa^ti^ns 
 We have now seen the good faith of the S"^ 
 Queen towards the Spanish govemment. We have seen 
 
 mster" w'\*™'\'° '"T h'^^'y °f Famese and W^ 
 master. \Ve have heard the exuberant professions of 
 an honest intention to bring about a firm and lasting 
 peace, which fell from the^lips of Parnere and of h"f 
 confidential agents. It is now necessary to glide for a 
 moment into the secret cabinet of Philip, in order to 
 ^tisfy ourselves as to the value of all those professions 
 The attention of the reader is solicited to these inves°i 
 ^tions, because the year 1587 was a most cXal 
 
 Crtt'^Th! ''"'■'■^ °^ English Dutch, and European 
 liberty. The coming year 1588 had been long spoken 
 
 stante le tante speranze che m' eravano 
 
 state date della venuta del commissarii 
 
 dl Vra Mta, la cosa si va tuttavla tirando 
 
 al lunqro, io non posso se non dubitare ch' 
 
 ella habbia mutato d* opinione, e seben 
 
 10 cro quasi rtsolutodi non ci pensar piu. 
 
 tuttavia ritomandosene per di la U detto' 
 
 Andrea ml parse di scriver ancor questl 
 
 pochl versi, tanto per non perder T occa- 
 
 Blone di baciar humilte le mani a Vra 
 
 Mau quanto per assigiiraria che non 
 
 restara per me, che la rlsoluzione prcsa, 
 
 non passi avanti, e che succedendo altri- 
 
 mente ne saro scnsato inanzl a Dlo et al 
 
 niondo, e havero almeno satisfatto a me 
 
 medeslmo, d' haver fatto quello che 1' 
 obligoChristiano.et di persona deslderosa 
 del bene e riposo publico m' obligara." 
 
 Parma to Queen Elizabeth, 2£iJ? 15Q7 
 
 Nov 9' *°°'» 
 
 (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 » The Lords to "A. de Loo. 11 Nov 
 1587. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 And if blunt Sir Roger Williams had 
 been standing by when the remark was 
 made, he might have exclaimed, with his 
 countryman, honest Hugh Evans, "Good 
 worts, good worts— good cabbage i" 
 
 « Ibid. ^* ■ 
 
 I 
 
 ♦ ■' 
 
 / 
 
288 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XVII. 
 
 1587. 
 
 PHILIP AT HIS WRITIXG-TABLE. 
 
 of in prophecy, as the year of doom, perhaps of the 
 destraction of the world, but it was in 1687, the year of 
 expectation and preparation, that the materials were 
 slowly combining out of which that year's history was 
 
 to be formed. 
 
 And there sat the patient letter-writer in his cabinet, 
 busy with his schemes. His grey head was whitening 
 fast. He was sixty years of age. His frame was 
 slight, his figure stooping, his digestion very weak, his 
 manner more glacial and sepulchral than ever ; but if 
 there were a hard-working man in Europe, that man 
 was Philip II. And there he sat at his table, scrawling 
 his apostilles. The fine innumerable threads which 
 stretched across the surface of Christendom, and covered 
 it as with a net, all converged in that silent cheerless 
 cell. France was kept in a state of perpetual civil war ; 
 the Netherlands had been converted into a shambles ; 
 Ireland was maintained in a state of chronic rebellion ; 
 Scotland was torn with internal feuds, regularly organ- 
 ized and paid for by Philip ; and its young monarch— 
 " that lying King of Scots," as Leicester called him— 
 was kept in a leash ready to be slipped upon England 
 when his master should give the word; and England 
 herself was palpitating with the daily expectation of 
 seeing a disciplined horde of brigands let loose upon 
 her shores; and all this misery, past, present, and 
 future, was almost wholly due to the exertions of 
 that gray-haired letter-writer at his peaceful library 
 
 table. 
 
 At the very beginning of the year the King of Den- 
 mark had made an offer to Philip of mediation. The 
 letter, entrusted to a young Count de Rantzan, had been 
 intercepted by the States— the envoy not having availed 
 himself, in time, of his diplomatic capacity, and having 
 in consequence been treated, for a moment, like a 
 prisoner of war. The States had immediately addressed 
 earnest letters of protest to Queen Elizabeth, declaring 
 that nothing which the enemy could do in war was half 
 so horrible to them as the mere mention of peace. Life, 
 honour, religion, liberty, their all, were at stake, they 
 said, and would go down in one universal shipwreck, if 
 peace should be concluded; and they implored her 
 Majesty to avert the proposed intercession of the Danish 
 
 289 
 
 Kmg.i Wilkes wrote to Walsingham,* denouncing that 
 monarch and his ministers as stipendiaries of Spain 
 while, on the other hand, the Duke of Parma K 
 courteously thanking the King for his offer of mediat^n 
 described him to Philip as such a dogged heretic »thrf 
 no good was to be derived from him, f^ by m;etS 
 
 Ke'S t """T- ^^f ^° ''^'''''y fraudu^lent\-e";on^^^^ 
 Iheie will be nothing lost, said Alexander, by affecting 
 to listen to his proposals, and meantime your Majestf 
 must proceed with the preparations against EngS 
 Ihis was in the first week of the year 1587 
 
 In J^ebruary and almost on the very day when Parma 
 was ^vn-iting those affectionate letters to Elizabeth 
 breathing nothing but peace, he was carefully connin- 
 
 liiV flT''"''' ^" 'l^''^ *^ '^' all-impoi4nt bus^ 
 ness of the invasion. He was informed by his master 
 that one hundred vessels, forty of them of largest size' 
 were quite ready, together with 12,000 Spanish infant^' 
 i;^ uding 3000 of the old legion, and Wt there weYj 
 
 nofP h. '•r'^A*^'' T"":'^^'-' ^^i^^P ^^^ ^l«o taken 
 note, he said, of Alexander's advice as to choosin^r the 
 season when the^crops in England had just been .tt in 
 as the harvest of so fertile a country would easily sup: 
 
 ZlfZ '""^^^'"l^ iTr '\^^* ^^ ^^^i«^d nevertheless 
 
 W « FinT "^r!\\' *^r"S^^^ victualled at start- 
 
 ig. Finding that Alexander did not quite approve of 
 
 n^l r V"'* '^ ^.P^^' ^^^ ^^"^^ ^^^-"«id^- t^hl point 
 somo nth. "^T "^ -^1 ^l' "f . ^^'^^' ' b"* P^^l^-P« «til 
 Xh 1 L^- ''''•"'^^u * ^^ discovered, a descent upon 
 
 nd oorfl^ ""'^r '^^l^l^^y^^^^ still greater terror 
 and confusion. It would be difficult for him he said 
 to grant the GOOO men asked for by the Scotch maW 
 tents, without seriously weakening his armad^i ; but 
 
 tZ%Zt ^f Ti "^f'''^'. 7^"^^^' ^^^ ^ ^«^^^^^d action 
 IhlV T^""*'^ ^^J^^T] *^'^^" adherents was indispen- 
 renfnn^ '!r*' -^'i ^^'^ ^^"^- ^^^ ^^^^ profoundly 
 ho?n' n ''^'^^!'' '"^ ^^'^"^ ^^^' ^^ K«^^ ^a^ anything 
 been allowed to transpire. Alexander was warned 
 tlierefore to do his best to maintain the mystery, for the 
 
 ^^J Bor. il. xxil. 945-948. Meteren, xli. Plnlip. lo Jan. 1587. (Arcb. dcSimancas. 
 
 (J^.V^^Offl^ J?,^^*'^'"^'^*™. 3 Dec. 1586. 4 li„d. 
 
 * "Em^mido^reire" kc P„rr« . , .* ^;»'i»P "■ to Parma. 28 Feb. 158T. 
 VOL II Parma to (Arch, dc Simanras, MS.) e ibid. . 
 
290 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVII. 
 
 enemy was trying very hard to penetrate their actions 
 and their thoughts.^ 
 
 And certainly Alexander did his best. He replied to 
 his master, by tiansmitting copies of the letters he had 
 been writing with his own hand to the Queen, and of 
 the pacific messages he had sent her through Champagny 
 and De Loo.* She is just now somewhat confused, said 
 he, and those of her counsellors who desire peace are 
 more eager than ever for negotiation. She is very much 
 afflicted with the loss of Deventer, and is quarrelling 
 with the French ambassador about the new conspiracy 
 for her assassination. The opportunity is a good one, 
 and if she writes an answer to my letter, said Alexander, 
 we can keep the negotiation alive ; while, if she does not, 
 'twill be a proof that she has contracted leagues with 
 other parties. But, in any event, the Duke fervently 
 implored Philip not to pause in his preparations for the 
 great enterprise which he had conceived in his royal 
 breast." So urgent for the invasion was the peace-loving 
 general. 
 
 He alluded also to the supposition that the quarrel 
 between her Majesty and the French envoy was a mere 
 fetch, and only one of the results of Bellievre's mission. 
 Whether that diplomatist had been sent to censure, or in 
 reality to approve, in the name of his master, of the 
 Scottish Queen's execution, Alexander would leave to be 
 discussed by Don Bernardino de Mendoza, the Spanish 
 ambassador in Paris; but he was of opinion that the 
 anger of the Queen with France was a fiction, and her 
 supposed league with France and Germany against Spain 
 a fact.* Upon this point, as it appears from Secretary 
 Walsingham's lamentations, the astute Famese was mis- 
 taken. In tnith he was frequently led into error by 
 attributing to the English policy the same serpentine 
 movement and venomous purpose which characterized 
 his own ; and we have already seen, that Elizabeth was 
 ready, on the contrary, to quanel with the States, with 
 France, with all the world, if she could only secure the 
 good-will of Philip. 
 
 The French matter, indissolubly connected in that 
 monarch's schemes, with his designs upon England and 
 
 > Philip to Parma, MS. last cited. (Arch, de Slmancas, MS.) 
 
 » Parma to Philip 11. 22 March, 1687. » Ibid. 
 
 1587. HIS PLOTS WITH PARMA AGAINST ENGLAND. 291 
 Holland, was causing Alexander much anxietv Hp 
 
 iXvaf L'*&'*^ '". r^t"^^ *^^* "d^JnsaS: 
 civil war m i- ranee, and thought that a peace mig-ht 
 
 some fine day be declared between Henry mardTh' 
 Huguenots^ when least expected. In consequence L 
 VhlL^ ^^-^ ^^ becoming very importunate for 
 
 J^ ' V , *"'' ^"'■y greatest earnestness and uttpr« 
 nothing but lamentations and cries of misery ■ H« 
 asked for 25,000 of the 150.000 ducatf pr^mi ^d him 
 I gave them. Soon afterwards he writes with fust a.! 
 much anxiety, for 25,000 more. These I dTd no gTve 
 hi^ly, because I had them not " (which would seem a 
 
 protect m^tter^' "and secondly'; because I wished t^ 
 protiact matters as much as possible. Ho is constantlv 
 
 d!.cats Tn^r' f ^"°"'' '^'^•''»*y'^ P'«--« of ?00 oJo 
 ducats, in case ho comes to a rupture with the Kina- of 
 
 keTali "^S:^' --- ^"^ *^* ^-^ ''^^'^ 
 ^:^P^^ ^JTeSst^orSVid™ 
 
 f*J ;•,, T^^^ ^'^'ds *e sum demanded by them but 
 not till after they had done the deed agreed upoT" and 
 
 maUer'forT T' '^ '^'^"'^'?'*- ^^ -''• *° ^eL that 
 t to the T),,tt ^''1"'°*' ^"t *° '"^^^^ t''^ decision upon 
 
 nllnned^f^lt Tt- ''"P* ^'' sovereign minutely 
 imonued of the negotiations carried on thrSu-h Cham- 
 
 hftl: O ^' ''°°' "^"^ ^^P"'^^'"^ »•■■« constant opinrn 
 that the Queen was influenced by motives as hvpocri- 
 tical as his own. She was only seeking he elfd to 
 
 JeSi I'^'Tf' "? P"* ^'"^ *° «'-P' bf those f'Jked 
 w1?h wl ' ^n '''^ "^^ '"^'''"g l»er combinations 
 w^ n! 2tL^f K '™'"y 'f '^^ "^^ «f Sp«i«- There 
 
 cZnellodft . v.'^'P"''"^ ^^"^ •>«'' «^°<^Pt ^-he was 
 compelled thereto by pure necessity." The Eno'lish he 
 
 said, were hated and abhorred by the natives of Holli 
 
 and Zeeland,'and it behoved Philip to seize so favourable 
 
 * Ibid. 
 
 clarandome lastimas y miserias" MS 
 Letter of Parma to I^hiUp. last cited. 
 
 * Ibid. 
 
 ix K^'ll'^o ^ ^^'^^' ^P"l 15. 1587. 
 (Arch, de Simancas, MS.) 
 
 * "No es aguardar de eUa ninguna 
 
 necesidad." Parma to PhJlipri2'"*Aprir 
 1587. (Arch, de Siraancas, MS.) 
 
 » " Odiados y aborrecidos de los na- 
 nJ^!^^ do Olanda y Zelauda." (Parma to 
 Philip, MS. last cited.) 
 
 i. 
 I 
 
 U 
 
 2 
 
292 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XYII. 
 
 an opportunity for urging on his great plan with all the 
 speed in the world. It might be that the Queen, seeing 
 these mighty preparations, even although not suspecting 
 that she herself was to be invaded, would tremble fur 
 her safety, if the Netherlands should be crushed. But 
 if she succeeded in deceiving Spain, and putting Philip 
 and Famia to sleep, she might well boast of having made 
 fools of them all.^ The negotiations for peace and the 
 preparations for the invasion should go simultaneously 
 forward, therefore, and the money would, in consequence, 
 come more sparingly to the Provinces from the English 
 coffers, and the disputes between England and the States 
 would be multiplied. The Duke also begged to be in- 
 formed whetlier any tenns could be laid down, upon 
 which the King really would conclude peace, in order 
 that he might make no mistake for want of instructions 
 or requisite powers. The condition of France was be- 
 coming more alarming every day, he said. In other 
 words, there was an ever-growing chance of peace for 
 that distracted country. The Queen of England was 
 cementing a strong league between herself, the French 
 King, and the Huguenots, and matters were looking 
 very serious. The impending peace in France would 
 never do, and Philip should prevent it in time by giving 
 Mucio his money. Unless the French are entangled and 
 at war among themselves, it is quite clear, said Alex- 
 ander, that we can never think of carrying out our great 
 scheme of invading England.* 
 
 The King thoroughly concurred in all that was said 
 and done by his fiiithful governor and general, lie had 
 no intention of concluding a peace on any terms what- 
 ever, and therefore could name no conditions ; but he 
 quite approved of a continuance of the negotiations. 
 The English, he was convinced, were utterly false on 
 their part, and the King of Denmark's proposition to 
 mediate was part and parcel of the same general fiction. 
 He was quite sensible of the necessity of giving Mucio 
 the money to prevent a pacification in France, and would 
 send letters of exchange on Agostino Spinola for the 
 
 1 " Se pcjdrla jactar de habor nos bur- pensar a la efoctuacion dol nepocio. 
 
 lado." (Parma u> Philip. MS. last citKi.) Parma to Philip, 12 April, 15s7. (Arch. 
 
 > " Sin quedar embarazados los fran- de Simancas, MS.) 
 ceses entre si es claro quo no se podria 
 
 1587. 
 
 PHILIP'S LETTERS TO PARMA. 
 
 293^ 
 
 i 
 
 300,000 ducats. Meantime Famese wasto go on steadily 
 
 with his preparations fur the invasion.^ 
 
 The secretary of state, Don Juan de Idiaquez, also 
 wrote most earnestly on the great subject to the Duke. 
 "It 18 not to be exaggerated," he said, *' how set his 
 Majesty is m the all-impoi-tant business. If you wish 
 to manifest towards him the most flattering obedience 
 on earth, and to oblige him as much as you could wish, 
 give him this great satisfaction this year. Since you have 
 money, prepare everything out there, conquer all diffi- 
 culties, and do the deed so soon as the forces of Spain 
 and Italy arrive, according to the plan laid down by 
 your Excellency last year. Make use of tlie negotiations for 
 peace for this one purpose, and no more, and do the business 
 like the man you are. Attribute the liberty of this 
 advice to my desire to serve you more than any other, 
 to my knowledge of how much you will thereby gratify 
 his Majesty, and to my fear of his resentment towards 
 you, in the contrar}- case.'"* 
 
 ^And, on the same day, in order that there might be no 
 doubt of the royal sentiments, I'hilip expressed himself 
 at length on the whole subject. The dealings of Farnese 
 with the English, and his feeding them with hopes of 
 peace, would have given him more satisfaction, he ob- 
 served, if it had caused their preparations to slacken ; 
 but, on the contrary, their boldness had increased! 
 They had perpetrated the inhuman murder of the Queen 
 of Scots, and moreover, not content with their piracies 
 at sea and in the Indies, they had dared to invade the 
 ports of Spain, as would appear in the narrative trans- 
 mitted to Farnese of the late events at Cadiz. And 
 although that damage icas small, said Philip, there resulted 
 a very great obligation to take them seriously in hand.* 
 
 ' Philip to Parma. 15 April, 1587. 
 (Arch, de Simancas, MS.) 
 
 ^ " No se puede enairecer quan puesto 
 estA su Mag<J en el negocio princi|ial (the 
 invasion of Kngland). Si V'ra Ex^'^ le 
 quierc hazer la mayor lisonja de la tierra, 
 y obligarla a quanto quislere, de le este 
 contentamto este afio, y pues tiene dinero 
 preiMire ttxlo lo de alhl, y venca las difi- 
 cultadeay haga el efeto que a tiemix) lle- 
 para lo de Kspafla y Italia, piira el q V'a 
 ilxca dezia el afio pasado, y sirva se de 
 
 Io8 tratos de paz para este mlsmo fin. no 
 mas, y haga ej-to hecho tan de qulen es, 
 y atrlbnya Vra Exu. la llbertad desto aviso 
 a lu q deseo servirle mas que nadie, y a 
 lo que viHj que obligara a su JIagtl con 
 ello, y lo que temo que sentiria lo a)n- 
 trarlo." Don Juan de Idiariuez to Parma, 
 13 May, 1587. (Arch, de Simancas, MS.) 
 3 Y aunque el dafio fue poco es ya 
 mucha la obligaclon de yr les muy de 
 vera* a la mano." Plilllp to Parma 13 
 May, 1587. (Arch, de Simancas, ^S.) 
 
 r 
 
294 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 CiiAr. XVH. 
 
 1587. 
 
 WONDEIIFUL DUPLICITY OF PHILIP. 
 
 295 
 
 He declined sending fuU powers for treating ; but in order 
 to make use of the same aiis employed by the Eng:li8h, 
 he preferred that Alexander shoiild not undeceive them, 
 but desired him to express, as out of his own head, to tlie 
 negotiators, his astonishment that while they weie 
 holding such language they should commit such actions. 
 Even their want of pmdence in thus provoking the 
 King, when their strength was compared to his, should 
 be spoken of by Faraese as wonderful, and he was to 
 express the opinion that his Majesty would think him 
 much wanting in circumsjxjction, should he go on nego- 
 tiating while they were playing such tricks. "\ou 
 must show yourself very sensitive about this event," 
 continued Thilip, *' and you must give them to under- 
 stand that I am quite as angiy as you. You must try to 
 draw from them some offer of satisfaction— however 
 false it will be in reality — such as a proposal to recal 
 the fleet, or an assertion that the deeds of Drake in 
 Cadiz were without the knowledge and contrary to the 
 will of the Queen, and tliat she verj^ much regrets them, 
 or something of that sort." ^ 
 
 It has been already shown that Famese was very 
 successful in eliciting from the Queen, through the 
 mouth of Lord Burghley, as ample a disavowal and 
 repudiation of Sir Francis Drake as the King could 
 possibly desire. Whether it would have the desired 
 effect of allaying the wrath of Philip, might have been 
 better foretold, could the letter, with which we are 
 now occupied, have been laid upon the Greenwich 
 council-board. 
 
 " \\ hen you have got such a disavowal," continued 
 his Majesty, *' you are to act as if entirely taken in and 
 imposed upon by them, and, pretending to believe 
 everything they tell you, you must renew the negotia- 
 tions, proceed to name commissioner, and propose a 
 meeting upon neutral territory.* As for powers, say 
 that you, as my govenior-general, will entrust them to 
 your deputies, in regard to the Netherlands. For all 
 other matters, say that you have had full powers fur 
 many months, but that you cannot exhibit them until 
 
 » Philip to Parma, 13 May, 1587. (MS. 
 last cited.) 
 » " Y tntonces hazer vos del cngafiado 
 
 y qne creyendo lo que os dlren de nuovo 
 volvays a la platlca," &c. (MS. last cittd.) 
 
 conditions worthy of my acceptance have been offered. 
 Say this only for the sake of appearance.* This is the 
 true way to take them in, and so the peace-commis- 
 sioners may meet. But to you only do I declare that 
 my intention is that this shall never lead to any result, whatever 
 conditions rmy he offered hy them. On the contraiy, all this 
 is done— just as they do— to deceive them, and to cool 
 them in their preparations for defence, by inducing 
 them to believe that such preparations will be unneces- 
 sary.* You are well aware that tJie reverse of all this is the 
 truth, and that on our part there is to be no slackness, 
 but the greatest diligence in our efforts for the invasion 
 of England, for which we have already made the most 
 abundant provision in men, ships, and money, of which 
 you are well aware." * 
 
 Is it strange that the Queen of England was de- 
 ceived? Is it matter of surprise, censure, or shame, 
 that no English statesman was astute enough or base 
 enough to contend with such diplomacy, which seemed 
 inspired only by the very father of lies? 
 
 " Although we thus enter into negotiations," con- 
 tinued the King— unveiling himself, with a solemn 
 indecency, not agreeable to contemplate — " without 
 any intention of concluding them, you can always get 
 out of them with great honour, by taking umbrage 
 about the point of religion and about some other of the 
 outrageous propositions which they are like to propose, 
 and of which there are plenty in the letters of Andrew 
 de Loo.* Your commissioners must be instructed to 
 refer all important matters to your personal decision. 
 The English will bo asking for damages for money 
 spent in assisting my rebels ; your commissioners will 
 contend that damages are rather due to me. Thus, and 
 in other ways, time will be spent. Your own envoys 
 are not to know the secret any more than the English 
 themselves. I tell it to you only. Thus you will ^pro- 
 ceed with the negotiations, now yielding on one point, 
 and now insisting on another, but directing all to the 
 
 ■ " Que es camino dlsimulado." (MS. 
 last cited.) 
 
 2 •• pero con vos solo rae aclaro que mia 
 intenclon no es de que aquoUo Ucpue a 
 effcto con nlngunas condlclones, sino que 
 todo esto 86 tome por medio, como lo 
 hazcu eUoii,do entretenerlosy eufrimlos," 
 
 &c. (Ibid.) 3 Ibid, 
 
 * "Con mucha honra, desconcertan- 
 dovos sobre el puntu de la religion o otro 
 de lo8 desaforados, que ellos ban de pr<>- 
 poner, que harto lo son log del papel de 
 Andrea de Loo." (MS. last cite^J 
 
 
 i 
 
296 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XVII. 
 
 1587. HIS SANGUINE VIEWS AS TO ENGLAND. 
 
 297 
 
 same object — to gain time while proceeding with the 
 preparation for the invasion, according to the plan 
 already agreed upon." * 
 
 Certainly the Most Catholic King seemed, in this 
 remarkable letter, to have outdone himself ; and Famese 
 that sincere Farnese, in whoso loyal, truth-telling, chi- 
 valrous character, the Queen and her counsellors placed 
 such implicit reliance — could thencefoi-ward no longer 
 be embarrassed as to the course he was to adopt. To 
 lie daily, through thick and thin, and with ever}' 
 variety of circumstance and detail which a genius 
 fertile in fiction could suggest, such was the simple 
 rule prescribed by his sovereign. And the rule was 
 implicitly obeyed, and the English sovereign thoroughly 
 deceived. The secret confided only to the faithful 
 breast of Alexander was religiously kept. Even the 
 Pope was outwitted. His Holiness proposed to Philip 
 the invasion of England, and oftered a million to further 
 the plan. He was most desirous to be informed if the 
 project was resolved upon, and, if so, when it was to 
 be accomplished. The King took the Pope's million, 
 but refused the desired information. He answered 
 evasively. He had a very good will to invade the 
 country, he said, but there were gi*eat difficulties in 
 the way.* After a time, the Pope again tried to pry 
 into the matter,^ and again offered the million, which 
 Philip had only accepted for the time when it might 
 be wanted, giving him at the same time to understand 
 that it was not necessaiy at that time, because there 
 were then great impediments. *' Thus he is pledged 
 to give me the subsidy, and 1 am not pledged for the 
 time," said Philip, " and I keep my secret, which is the 
 most important of all.*' * 
 
 Yet, after all, Farnese did not see his way clear 
 towards the consummation of the plan. His array had 
 wofully dwindled, and before he could seriously set 
 about ulterior matters, it would be necessary to take 
 the city of Sluys. This was to prove — as already seen 
 
 1 " Podreys yr afioxando en unos pun- de Simancas, MS.) 
 
 tos, y aftrmundo en otros, todo enderezado ' " Se ha venldo de rodear." (Ibid.) 
 al nilsino fin por ganar tiempo, prepa- * " Por tenirlo prendado en la ayuda, 
 
 raudo tutlo con diHgenza segun la traza y de no preudarme yo en lo tlenipo, y 
 
 concebida." &c. (MS. last cited.) mas por el sfcrtto que es la cosa prlii- 
 
 2 PbilliJ to Parma, 5 June, 1587. (Arch, cipal." (ibid.) 
 
 —a most arduous enterprise. He complained to Philip » 
 of his inadequate supplies both in men and money. 
 The project conceived in the royal breast was worth 
 spending millions for, he said ; and although by zeal and 
 devotion he could accomplish something, yet after all 
 he was no more than a man, and without the necessary 
 means the scheme could not succeed.* But Philip, on 
 the contrary, was in the highest possible spirits. He 
 had collected more money, he declared, than had ever 
 been seen before in the world. ^ He had two million 
 ducats in reserve, besides the Pope's million, the 
 French were in a most excellent state of division, and 
 the invasion should be made this year without fail. 
 The fleet would arrive in the English Channel by the 
 end of the summer, which would be exactly in con- 
 formity with Alexander's ideas. The invasion was to 
 be threefold: from Scotland, under the Scotch earls 
 and their followers, with the money and troops fur- 
 nished by Philip ; from the Netherlands, under Parma ; 
 and by the great Spanish armada itself, upon the Isle 
 of Wight. Alexander must recommend himself to God, 
 in whose cause ho was acting, and then do his duty, 
 which lay very plain before him. If he ever wished 
 to give his sovereign satisfaction in his life, he was to 
 do the deed that year, whatever might betide.* Never 
 could there be so fortunate a conjunction of circum- 
 stances again. France was in a state of revolution, the 
 German levies were weak, the Turk was fully occupied 
 in Persia, an enormous mass of money, over and above 
 the Pope's million, had been got together, and although 
 the season was somewhat advanced, it was certain that 
 the Duke would conquer all impediments, and be the 
 instrument by which his royal master might render to 
 God that service which he was so anxious to perform. 
 Enthusiastic, though gouty, Philip grasped the pen in 
 order to scrawl a few words with his own royal hand. 
 " This business is of such importance," he said, '* and 
 
 » Parma to Philip, 31 May, 1587. 
 (Arch, de Simaucas, MS.) 
 
 2 Ibid. 
 
 ' He had sent, he said, besides the 
 regular remittances, 700,000 ducats, and 
 tiicre were then coming 2,300,000 ducats, 
 additional— 300,000 of which wei« for 
 
 Mucio, in ease of rupture with the French 
 king. Otherwise not a penny was to be 
 diverted from the great cause. Philip to 
 Famese, 5 June, 1587. (Arch. de Simancas, 
 
 MS.) 
 
 * Philip toParma, 5 June, 1587. (Arch, 
 de Simancas, MS.) 
 
 4 
 
298 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XVH. 
 
 it is so necessary that it should not be delayed, that I 
 cannot refrain from urging it upon you as much as I 
 can. I should do it even more amply, if this hand 
 would allow me, which has been crippled with gout 
 these several days, and my feet as well, and although 
 it is unattended with pain, yet it is an impediment to 
 writing." ' 
 
 Struggling thus against his own difficulties, and 
 triumphantly accomplishing a whole paragraph witli 
 disabled hand, it was natural that the King should 
 expect Alexander, then deep in the siege of tSluys, to 
 vanquish ail his obstacles as successfully, and to eifect 
 the conquest of England so soon as the harvests of that 
 kingdom should be garnered. 
 
 Sluys was surrendered at last, and the great enter- 
 prise seemed ripening from hour to hour. During the 
 months of autumn, upon the very days when those 
 loving messages, mixed with gentle reproaches, were 
 sent by Alexander to Elizabeth, and almost at the self- 
 same hours in which honest Andrew de Loo was 
 getting such head-aches by drinking the Queen's health 
 with Cosimo and Champagny, the Duke and Philip 
 were interchanging detailed infoiTaation as to the pro- 
 gress of the invasion. The King calculated that by the 
 middle of September Alexander would have 30,000 
 men in the Netherlands ready for embarkation. Mar- 
 quis Santa Cruz was announced as nearly ready to sail 
 for the English Channel with 22,000 more, among 
 whom were to be 16,000 seasoned Spanish infantry. 
 The Marquis was then to extend the hand to Tarma, 
 and protect that passage to England which the Duke 
 was at (mce to effect. The danger might be great for 
 so large a fleet to navigate the seas at so late a season 
 of the year ; but Philip was sure that God, whose cause 
 it was, would be pleased to give good weather."* The 
 Duke was to send, with infinite precautions of seci'ecy, 
 information which the Marquis woukl expect off Ushant, 
 
 » " Importa tanto esse negocio, y'qne 
 no se dilate, que no puedo dexar de en- 
 cargarosle tx>do quantu puedo y hlziera lo 
 aun mas largaraente hi me dlera lugar 
 esta mano que he tenido con la gota estos 
 dlas y los pies, y aunque esta ya sin dolor, 
 esta impedida para esto." (MS. last citctl.) 
 
 ' '• Aunque no dexa de ver lo que ^e 
 aventura en navegar con gniessa annada 
 in inviemo, y por esse canal, sin lencr 
 puerto cierto ; y el tiempo plazera a Dios 
 cuya es la causa darle bueno." Philip to 
 Parma, 4 Sept. 1587. (Arch de Simancas, 
 MS.) 
 
 1587. HE IS RELUCTANT TO HEAR OF THE OBSTACLES. 299 
 
 and be quite ready to act so soon as Santa Cruz should 
 arrive. Most earnestly and anxiously did the Kino- 
 deprecate any thought of deferring the expedition tZ 
 another year. If delayed, the obstacles of the follow- 
 ing summer— a peace in France, a peace between the 
 lurk and Persia, and other contingencies— would cause 
 the whole project to fail, and Philip declared, with 
 much iteration, that money, reputation, honour, his 
 own character and that of Famese, and God's service, 
 were all at stake.^ He was impatient at suggestions of 
 difhculties occasionally ventured by the Duke, who 
 was reminded that he had been appointed chief of the 
 great enterprise by the spontaneous choice of his 
 master, and that all his plans had been minutely fol- 
 lowed. " You are the author of the whole scheme," 
 said Phihp, " and if it is all to vanish into space, what 
 kind of a figure shall we cut the coming year?"* 
 Again and again he referred to the immense sum col- 
 lected—such as never before had been seen since the 
 world was made— 4,800,000 ducats witlf 2,000,000 in 
 reserve, of which he was authorized to draw for 500,000 
 m advance, to say nothing of the Pope's million.'* 
 
 But Alexander, while straining every nei-ve to obey 
 his master's wishes about the invasion, and to blind 
 the English by the fictitious negotiations, was not so 
 sanguine as his sovereign. Jn truth, there was some- 
 ^ing puerile in the eagerness which Philip manifested. 
 He had made up his mind that England was to be con- 
 quered that autumn, and had endeavoured— as well as 
 he could— to comprehend the plans which his illus- 
 trious general had laid down for accomplibhing that 
 purpose. Of course, to any man of average intellect, 
 or, m truth, to any man outside a madhouse, it would 
 seem an essential part of the conquest that the Armada 
 should arrive. Yet— wonderful to relate— Philip in his 
 impatience, absolutely suggested that the Duke might 
 take possession of England icithout waiting for ISanta Cruz 
 and his Armaxia. As the autumn had been wearing 
 away, and there had been unavoidable delays about the 
 
 in\^*!Il^^ ^'*™*' * ^P*' ^^®^' ^^^- ^"^^ quedariamos el afSo que viene." &c 
 JUSl Clt«l.) pijjjjp ^^ p^^^^ j^ g^p^ ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^ 
 
 l^ que V08 solo seys autor. Veed Simanais. MS.) 
 w hubiesse de caer todo en vacio, quel es 3 ibij. 
 
300 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XVH. 
 
 1587. 
 
 AND IMAGINES PARMA IN ENGLAND. 
 
 301 
 
 H 
 
 shipping in Spanish ports, the King thought it best not 
 to defer matters till the winter. *' You are, doubtless, 
 ready," he said to Farnese. "If you think you can 
 make the passage to England before the fleet from Spain 
 arrives, go at once. You may be sure that it will come 
 ere long to support you. But if you prefer to wait, 
 wait. The dangers of winter to the fleet and to your 
 own person are to be regretted, but God, whose cause 
 it is, will protect you." * 
 
 It was easy to sit quite out of harm's way, and to 
 make such excellent arrangements for smooth weather 
 in the wintry Channel, and for the^conquest of a mari- 
 time and martial kingdom by a few flat bottoms. Philip 
 had little difficulty on that score, but the affairs of 
 Franco were not quite to his mind. The battle of 
 Coutras, and the entrance of the German and Swiss 
 mercenaries into that country, were somewhat perplex- 
 ing. Either those auxiliaries of the Huguenots would 
 be defeated, or they would be victorious, or both parties 
 would come to an agreement. In the first event, the 
 Duke, after sending a little assistance to Mucio, was to 
 effect his passage to England cit once. In the second 
 case, those troops, even though successful, would doubt- 
 less be so much disorganized that it might be still safe 
 for Farnese to go on. In the third contingency — that 
 of an accord — it would bo necessary for him to wait till 
 the foreign troops had disbanded and left France. Ho 
 was to maintain all his forces in perfect readiness, on 
 pretext of the threatening aspect of French matters, 
 and, so soon as the Swiss and Germans were dispersed, 
 ho was to proceed to business without delay.* The fleet 
 would be ready in Spain in all November, but as sea- 
 affairs were so doubtful, particularly in winter, and as 
 the Annada could not reach the Chamiel till mid- winter, 
 the Dake was not to icaitfor its arriviil. " Whenever you 
 see a favourable opportunity," said Philip, *' jou must 
 take care not to lose it, even if the fleet has not made 
 its appearance. For you may be sure that it will so(jn 
 come to give you assistance, in one way or another.""* 
 
 » Philip to I'anna, 4 Nov. 1587. (Arch, de no perdcrla. aimqiie no aya llegado 
 
 de Simancas, MS.) la armada— siondo clerto quo luego lUgani 
 
 * I*hUip to Parma, 14 Nov. 1587. (MS. a hazer espaldaa y ayudaros de una mano 
 JustcUwl.) ootra." (Ibid.) 
 
 * •' \ kndo buena ocasion procurays de 
 
 Farnese had also been strictly enjoined to deal 
 gently with the English, after the conquest, so that they 
 would have cause to love their new master. His troops 
 were not to forget discipline after victory. There was 
 to be no pillage or rapine. The Catholics were to be 
 handsomely rewarded, and all the inhabitants were to 
 be treated with so much indulgence that, instead of 
 abhon-mg Parma and his soldiers, thev would conceive 
 a strong affection for them all, as the source of so many 
 benefits ^ Again the Duke was waimly commended for 
 the skill with which he had handled the peace-negotia- 
 tion. It was quite right to appoint commissioners, but 
 It was never for an instant to be forgotten that the sole 
 object of treating was to take the English unawares 
 •'And therefore do you guide them to this end," said 
 the King with pious unction, "which is what you owe 
 to God, m whose sei-vice I have engaged in this enter- 
 prise, and to whom I have dedicated the whole."* The 
 King of France, too— that unfortunate Henry III 
 against whose throne and life Philip maintained m con' 
 stant pay an organized band of conspirators— was affec- 
 tionately adjured, through the Spanish envoy in Paris 
 Mendoza to reflect upon the advantages to France of a 
 Catholic king and kingdom of England, in place of the 
 heretics now in power.^ 
 
 But Philip, growing more and more sanguine, as 
 those visions of fresh crowns and conquered kingdoms 
 rose before him in his solitary cell, had even persuaded 
 himself that the deed was already done. In the early 
 days of December, he expressed a doubt whether his 
 14th November letter had reached the Duke, who by 
 that time was prohaUy in EnglamL* One would have 
 thought the King addressing a tourist just starting on a 
 little pleasure excursion. And this was precisely the 
 moment when Alexander had been writing those affec- 
 tionate phrases to the Queen which had been considered 
 by the counsellors at Greenwich so "princely and 
 thristianly," and which Croft had pronounced such 
 very good words." 
 
 de'sirSlnca^MTT'''*^'-''''-^'^"^^- ''f[!^" ^Philip to Parma, last cited.) 
 
 » » Por t^mn^i Jh n .. ^ '^'"P ^ ^" »>mardino de Mendoza 
 
 cmUH ^^ ^'^^'*P^"''^'^''«-^^*'« 4Nov. 15«7. (Arch, de Slmancas MS ^ 
 
 pulad a esta hn que es el que deve a IMos. * Phflfp to Parma. 11 he^^sS^'fAr^i^ 
 
 pur cuyo «>rv,clo hago lo principal, y se de SimanL. M^T ^ 
 
302 
 
 THE IINITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XVIf. 
 
 If there had been no hostile fleet to prevent, it 
 was to be hoped, said Philip, that, in the name of 
 God, the passage had been made. " Once landed 
 there," continued the King, " I am persuaded that you 
 will give me a good account of yourself, and, with 
 the help of our Lord, that you will do that service 
 which 1 desire to render to Him, and that Tie will 
 guide our cause, which is His own, and of such great 
 importance to His church."* A part of the fleet would 
 soon after aiTive and bring six thousand Spaniards, 
 the Pope's million, and other good things, which might 
 prove useful to Parma, presupposing that they would 
 find him established on the enemy's territory.'' 
 
 This conviction that the enterprise had been already 
 accomplished. grew stronger in the King's breast every- 
 day. He was only a little disturbed lest Farnese 
 should have misunderstood that 14th November letter. 
 Philip— as his wont was— had gone into so many 
 petty and puzzling details, and had laid down rules 
 of action suitable for various contingencies, so easy to 
 put comfortably upon paper, but which might become 
 perplexing in action, that it was no wonder he should 
 be a little anxious. The third contingency suggested 
 by him had really occurred. There had been a com- 
 position between the foreign mercenaries and the 
 French King. Nevertheless they had also been once or 
 twice defeated, and this was contingency nmnber two. 
 Now which of the events would the Duke consider as 
 having really occurred. It was to be hoped that he 
 would have not seen cause for delay, for in truth number 
 three was not exactly the contingency which existed. 
 France was still in a very satisfactory state of discord 
 and rebellion. The civil war was by no means over. 
 There was small fear of peace that winter. Give Mucio 
 his pittance with frugal hand, and that dangerous per- 
 sonage would ensure tranquillity for Philip's project, 
 and misery for Henry III. and his subjects for an inde- 
 finite period longer. The King thought it improbable 
 that Farnese could have made any mistake.* He ex- 
 
 1 " Y aviendo paaado estoy muy per- cansa suya y tan importantc a su yglesla.' 
 
 suadido de vos que con ayuda de Nro (Ibid.) 
 
 Sofior me darey^ la buena cuenta que dezlo « Phil Ip to Parma, MS. last cited, 
 
 que Bareya clerto de bazerle el servlclo • Same to same, 24 Dec. 1587. (Arch, 
 
 que yo en esto pretendo— el lo gala cumo deSlmancas, MS.) 
 
 1587. BUT ALEXANDER'S DIFFICULTIES ARE GREAT. 303 
 
 pressed therefore a little anxiety at having received no 
 intelligence from him, but great confidence that, with 
 the aid of the Lord and of his own courage he had 
 accomplished the great exploit, Philip had only recom- 
 mended delay in event of a general peace in France- 
 Huguenots, loyalists. Leaguers, and all. This had not 
 happened. *' Therefore, I tnist," said the King, -that 
 you— perceiving that this is not contingency number 
 three which was to justify a pau.se— will have already 
 executed the enterprise, and fulfilled my desire. I am 
 confident that the deed i^ done, and that God has 
 bles-sed it, and I am now expecting the news from hour 
 to hour."* 
 
 But Alexander had not>et arrived in England. The 
 preliminaries for the conquest caused him more per- 
 plexity than the whole enterpri.se occasioned to Philip 
 He was very short of funds. The five millions were 
 not to be touched, except for the expenses of the inva- 
 Mon. But as England was to be subjugated, in oi-der 
 that rebellious Holland might be recovered, it was 
 hardly reasonable to go away leaving such inadequate 
 forces in the Netherlands as to ensure not only inde- 
 pendence to the new republic, but to hold out temptation 
 for revolt to the obedient Provinces. Yet this was the 
 dilemma in which the Duke was placed. So much 
 money had been set aside for the grand project that 
 there was scarcely anything for the regular military 
 business. The customary supplies had not been sent, 
 larma had leave to draw for six hundred thousand 
 ducats, and he was able to get that draft discounted on 
 the Antwerp Exchange by consenting to receive five 
 hundred thousand, or sacrificing sixteen per cent, of the 
 sum.* A good number of transports and scows had been 
 collected, but there had been a deficiency of money for 
 their proper equipment, as the five milfions had been 
 very slow in coming, and were still upon the road. The 
 whole enterprise was on the point of being sacrificed 
 according to Farnese, for want of funds. The time for 
 doing the deed had arrived, and he declared himself 
 
 fVB J' T *** "*°* ^^^ conoclendo que no es quedo aguardando el aviso de ora en era " 
 t^ie ei caso tercero. en que avladcs de (Philip to Parma. MS. last cited) 
 
 EZnlir'nf,' ^^^"^<^ ^ «°»P^«*. y * Parma to Philip. 18 Sept. 158i. (Arch. 
 cumpUdo mlo ^deseo .... de que de Slmancas, MS.) 
 
304 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVII. 
 
 incapacitated by poverty. He expressed his disgust and 
 resentment in language more energetic than courtly, 
 and protested that he was not to blame. ** I always 
 thought," said he, bitterly, " that your Majesty would 
 provide all that was necessary even m superfluity, and 
 not limit me beneath the ordinary. I did not suppose, 
 when it was most important to have ready money, that 
 I should be kept short, and not allowed to draw cei-tam 
 suras by anticipation, which I should have done had you 
 
 not forbidden."' ^ • i- v 
 
 This was through life a striking characteristic ot 
 Philip. Enormous schemes were laid out with utterly 
 inadequate provision for their accomplishment, and a 
 confident expectation entertained that wild visions were 
 in some indefinite way, to be converted into substantial 
 realities, without fatigue or personal exertion on his 
 part, and with a very trifling outlay of ready money. 
 
 Meantime the faithful Famese did his best. He was 
 indefatigable night and day in getting his boats together 
 and providing his munitions of war. He dug a canal 
 from Sas de Gand— which was one of his principal 
 depots— all the way to Sluys, because the water com- 
 munication between those two points was entirely in 
 the hands of the Hollanders and Zeelanders. The rebel 
 cmisers swarmed in the Scheldt, from Flushing almost 
 to Antwerp, so that it was quite impossible fur Parma s 
 forces to venture forth at all ; and it also seemed hope- 
 less to hazard putting to sea from Sluys.* At the same 
 time he had appointed his commissioners' to treat with 
 the Eno'lish envoys already named by the Queen. There 
 had been much delay in the arrival of those deputies, 
 on account of the noise raised by Bameveld and his 
 followers ; but Burghley was now sanguine that the 
 exposure of what he called the Advocate s seditious, 
 false, and perverse proceedings, would enable Leicester 
 to procure the consent of the States to a universal 
 
 And thus, with these parallel schemes of invasion and 
 
 I Panna to Philip, MS. last cited. 
 
 « Parma to Philip. 21 Dec. 1587. (Arch, 
 de Slmancas, MS.) " Pues de razon Olan- 
 deses y Zelandeses solos estan siempre a 
 l:i mira y asi como tienen medio de estor- 
 barnoa lu J unta y aallda de nuestros baxeles 
 
 lo teman cada dla mayor para hazer lo 
 misnio en el pasage." 
 
 » Aremberg, Champa^jny, Rlchardot, 
 Maas, Gamier. Parma to Philip, 18 Sept. 
 1687. (Arch, de Simancas, MS.) 
 
 1587. HE DENOUNCES PHILIP'S WILD SCHEMES. 305 
 
 negotiation,spring, summer, and autumn, had worn away. 
 Santa Cniz was still with his fleet in Lisbon, Cadiz, and 
 the Azores ; and Parma was in Brussels, when Philip 
 fondly imagined him established in Greenwich Palace. 
 >\hen made aware of his master's preposterous expecta- 
 tions, Alexander would have been perhaps amused, had 
 he not been half beside himself with indignation. Such 
 folly seemed incredible. There was not the slightest 
 appearance of a possibility of making a passage without 
 the protection of the Spanish fleet, he observed. His 
 vessels were mere transport-boats, without the least 
 power of resisting an enemy. The Hollanders and 
 Zeelanders, with one hundred and forty cmisers, had 
 shut him up in all directions. He could neither get 
 out from Antwerp nor from Sluys. There were large 
 English ships, too, cruising in the Channel, and they 
 were getting ready in the Netherlands and in England 
 most furiously." ^ The delays had been so greatf that 
 their secret had been poorly kept, and the enemy was 
 on his guard If Santa Cruz had come, Alexander 
 declared that he should have already been in England. 
 VVhen he did come he should still be prepared to make 
 the passage ; but to talk of such an attempt without the 
 Armada was senseless, and he denounced the madness 
 ot that proposition to his Majestv in vehement and un- 
 measured terms.* His army, by sickness and other 
 causes had been reduced to one-half the number con- 
 sidered necessary for the invasion, and the rebels had 
 established regular squadrons in the Scheldt, in the 
 very teeth of the forts at Lillo, Lief kenshoek, Saftingen 
 and other points close to Antwerp. There were so 
 many of these war-vessels, and all in such excellent 
 order that they were a most notable embaiTassment to 
 nim, he observed, and his own flotilla would run great 
 risk of being utterly destroyed. Alexander had been 
 personally superintending matters at Sluys, Ghent, and 
 Antvverp and had strengthened with artillery the canal 
 wnich he had constructed between Sas and Sluys. Mean- 
 m^l, '/'^'^ *'*''^P' ^^^ ^^^^ «^^^^'b' arriving, but 
 
 were dt?^r. P'r "^^'^r "^- *^^^^- The Italians 
 t^Li ^^^I^g fast, almost all the Spaniards were in hos- 
 pital, and the others were so crippled and worn out 
 
 • Panna to Philip. 21 Dec. 1587. (Arch, de Simancas. MS.) z m^ 
 
306 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XVU. 
 
 t'l 
 ■ii 1 
 
 I 
 
 that it was most pitiable to behold them ; yet it was ab- 
 solutely necessary that those who were in health should 
 accompany him to England,* since otherwise his Spanish 
 force would be altogether too weak to do the service 
 expected. He had got together a good number of trans- 
 ports. Not counting his Antwerp fleet — which could 
 not stir from port, as he bitterly complained, nor be of 
 any use, on account of the rebel blockade — he had 
 between Dunkerk and Newport seventy-four vessels of 
 various kinds fit for sea-service, one hundred and fifty 
 flat-bottoms (pleytas), and seventy river-hoys, all which 
 were to be assembled at Sluys, whence they would— so 
 soon as Santa Cruz should make his appearance— set 
 forth for England.* This force of transports he pro- 
 nounced sufficient, when properly protected by the 
 Spanish Armada, to carry himself and his troops across 
 the Channel. If, therefore, the matter did not become 
 publicly known, and if the weather proved favourable, 
 it was probable that his Majesty's desire would soon be 
 fulfilled according to the plan proposed. The companies 
 of light horse and of arquebus-men, with which he meant 
 to make his entrance into London, had been clothed, 
 armed, and mounted, he said, in a manner delightful to 
 contemplate, and those soldiers at least might be trusted 
 — if they could only effect their passage— to do good 
 service, and make matters quite secure.* 
 
 But craftily as the King and Duke had been dealing, 
 it had been found impossible to keep such vast prepara- 
 tions entirely secret. Walsingham was in full possession 
 of their plans down to the most minute details. The 
 misfortune was that he was unable to persuade his 
 sovereign, Lord Burghley, and others of the peace- 
 party, as to the accuracy of his information. Not only 
 was he thoroughly instructed in regard to the number 
 of men, vessels, horses, mules, saddles, spurs, lances, 
 barrels of beer and tons of biscuit, and other particulars 
 of the contemplated invasion, but he had even received 
 curious intelligence as to the gorgeous equipment of 
 those very troops with which the Duke was just secretly 
 
 1 Parma to Philip, Dec, 21, 1587. (Arch, desca de ellas es tal que, si pucdon pa&ar, 
 
 de Simanca8, MS.) haran a V, M. buen servizlo y asegiiram- 
 
 a ll)i(j. ran raucho el aervlzlo." MS. letter taat 
 
 * " So hao vestldo, armado, j encalail- cited, 
 gado. que e» pUicer de Terlats, y la bolda- 
 
 1587. WALSINGHAM AWARE OF THE SPANISH FLEET. 307 
 
 announcing to the King his intention of making his tri- 
 umphal entrance into the English capital. Sir Francis 
 knew how many thousand yards of cramoisy velvet, how 
 many hundredweight of gold and silver embroidery, 
 how much satin and feathers, and what quantity of 
 pearls and diamonds, Farnese had been providing him- 
 self withal. He knew the tailors, jewellers, silver- 
 smiths, and haberdashers, with whom the great Alexander 
 —as he now began to be called— had been dealing ;^ but 
 when he spoke at the council-board, it was to ears 
 
 1 '• There Is provided for lights a great 
 number of torches, and so tempered that 
 no water can put them out A great 
 number of little mills for grinding com, 
 great store of biscuit baked and oxen 
 salted, great number of saddles and boots ; 
 also there is made 500 pair of velvet shoes 
 —red, crlm.son velvet; and In every 
 cloister throughout the country great 
 quantity of roses made of silk, white and 
 red, which are to be badges for divers of 
 his gentlemen. By reason of these roses 
 It Is expected he Is going for England. 
 There Is sold to the Prince by John Angel, 
 pei^^aman, ten hundredweight of velvet, 
 gold and silver to embroider his aRMu-el 
 withal. The covering to his mules Is 
 most gorgeously embroidered with gold 
 and silver, which carry his baggage. There 
 is also sold to him by the Italian mer- 
 chants at least 670 pieces of velvet to ap- 
 parel him and his train. Every captain 
 has received a gift from the Prince to 
 ULike himself brave, and for Captain Cor- 
 ralini, an Italian, who hath one comet of 
 horse, I have seen with my eyes a saddle, 
 with the trappings of his horse, his cocU 
 and rapier and dagger, vhich cost 3,500 
 French croumt. (.' I) All their lances are 
 paint«d of divers colours, blue and white, 
 green and white, and most part blood red 
 —so there is as great preparation for a 
 triumph as for war. A great number of 
 English priests come to Antwerp from all 
 places. The commandment is given to 
 all the churches to read the Litany dally 
 for the prosperity of the Prince in his 
 enterprise." John Giles to Walsingham, 
 i I>ec. 1687. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 The same letter conveyed aLso ver> 
 detailed information concerning the naval 
 preparaUons by the Duke, besides ac- 
 curate intelligence In regard to tlie pro- 
 gresa of the armada In Cadiz and Lisbon. 
 
 Sir William Russell wrote also from 
 Flushing concerning these preparations In 
 much the same strain ; but It is worthy 
 of note that he considered Famese to be 
 rather Intending a movement against 
 France. 
 
 '• The Prince of Piarma," he said, " is 
 making great preparations for war, and 
 with all expedition means to march a 
 great army ; and for a triumph, the coats 
 and costly apparel for his own body doth 
 exceed for embroidery, and beset with 
 Jewels ; for all the embroiderers and dia- 
 mond-cutters work both night and day, 
 such haste is made. Five hundred velvet 
 coats of one sort for lances, and a great 
 number of brave new coats made for 
 horsemen; 30,000 men are ready, and 
 gather In Brabant and Flanders. It is 
 said that there shall be in two days 10,000 
 to do some great exploit In these parts, 
 and 20,000 to march with the Prince into 
 Prance, and for certain it is not known 
 what way or how they shall march, but 
 all are ready at an hour's warning- 4,000 
 saddles, 4,000 lances, 6,000 pairs of boots. 
 2,000 barrels of beer, biscuit sufficient for 
 a camp of 20,000 men. &c. The Prince 
 hath received a marvellous costly garland 
 or crown from the Pope, and Is chogin chief 
 of the holy league, and now puts in his 
 arms two cross keys. The King of France 
 hath written for the Prince with expedi- 
 tion, and 'tis said he marches thither, and, 
 on the way will besiege Cambray," &c. 
 Occurrences, from the Govemor of Flush- 
 ing. Nov. 9, 1587. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 Thus Sir William seems to have been 
 less accurately acquainted with the move- 
 ments of Famese than was John Giles, 
 and the mysterious precautions of the 
 King and his general had been far from 
 fruitless. 
 
 X 2 
 
308 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XVII. 
 
 1587. WHICH THE STATES WELL UNDERSTAND. 
 
 309 
 
 wilfully deaf. Nor was much concealed from the Argus- 
 eyed politicians in the republic. The States were more 
 and more intractable. They knew nearly all the truth 
 with regard to the intercourse between the Queen's 
 government and Famese, and they suspected more than 
 the truth. The list of English commissioners privately 
 agreed upon between Burghley and De Loo was known 
 to Bameveld, Maurice, and Hohenlo, before it came to 
 the ears of Leicester. In June Buckhurst had been 
 censured by Elizabeth for opening the peace matter to 
 members of the States, according to her bidding, and in 
 July Leicester was rebuked for exactly the opposite 
 delinquency. She was very angry that he had delayed 
 the communication of her policy so long, but she ex- 
 pressed her anger only when that policy had proved so 
 transparent as to make concealment hopeless. Leicester, 
 as well as Buckhurst, knew that it was idle to talk to 
 the Netherlanders of peace, because of their profound 
 distrust in every word that came from Spanish or Italian 
 lips ; but Leicester, less frank than Buckhurst, prefened 
 to flatter his sovereign, rather than to tell her unwelcome 
 truths. More fortunate than Buckhurst, ho was re- 
 warded for his flattery by boundless afl'ection, and pro- 
 motion to the very highest post in England when the 
 hour of England's greatest peril had arrived, while the 
 truth-telling counsellor was consigned to imprisonment 
 and disgrace. When the Queen complained sharply 
 that the States were mocking her, and that she was 
 touched in honour at the prospect of not keeping her 
 plighted word to Famese, the Earl assured her that the 
 Netherlanders were fast changing their views; that 
 although the very name of peace had till then been 
 odious and loathsome,' yet now, as coming from her 
 Majesty, they would accept it with thankful hearts.* 
 The States, or the leading members of that assembly, 
 factious fellows, pestilent and seditious knaves,* were 
 doing their utmost, and were singing sirens' songs* to 
 enchant and delude the people, but they were fast losing 
 their influence — so warmly did the country desire to 
 
 1 Leicester to the Queen, 9 Oct 1587. » Same to same, 5 Nov. 1587. (S. P. 
 
 {S. P. Offlo? MS.) Office MS.) 
 
 •Samp to same, I.Oct. ,1587. (S. P. * Same to Burghley, 30 Oct. 15S7. (Brit. 
 
 Office MS.) Mu8. Galbo, D. U. p. 67. MS.) 
 
 confoi-m to her Majesty's pleasure. He expatiated, how- 
 ever, upon the difiiculties in his path. The knowledge 
 possessed by the pestilent fellows as to the actual posi- 
 tion of affairs was very mischievous. It was honey to 
 Maurice and Hohenlo,* he said, that the Queen's secret 
 l)ractice8 with Farnese had thus been discovered. 
 Nothing could be more marked than the jollity with 
 which the ringleaders hailed these preparations for 
 peace-making,* for they now felt certain that the govern- 
 ment of their country had been fixed securely in their 
 own hands. They were canonized, said the Earl, for 
 their hostility to peace.'' 
 
 Should not this conviction, on the part of men who 
 had so many means of feeling the popular pulse, have 
 given the Queen's government pause. To serve his 
 sovereign in truth, Leicester might have admitted a 
 l)0ssibility at least of honesty on the part of men who 
 were so ready to offer up their lives for their countrj\ 
 For in a very few weeks he was obliged to confess that 
 the people were no longer so well disposed to acquiesce 
 in her Majesty's policy. The great majority, both of 
 the States and the people, were in favour, he agreed, of 
 continuing the war. The inhabitants of the little Pro- 
 vince of Holland alone, he said, had avowed their deter- 
 mination to maintain their rights— even if obliged to 
 fight single-handed— and to shed the last drop in their 
 veins, rather than to submit again to Spanish tyranny.* 
 This seemed a heroic resolution, worthy the sympathy 
 of a brave Englishman, but the Earl's only comment 
 upon it was, that it proved the ringleaders " either to be 
 traitors, or else the most blindest asses in the world'*'' He 
 never scrupled, on repeated occasions, to insinuate that 
 Barneveld, Hohenlo, Buys, Roorda, Sainte Aldegonde, 
 and the Nassaus, had organized a plot to sell their 
 country' to Spain.® Of this there was not the faintest 
 evidence, but it was the only way in which he chose to 
 
 » Leicester to Burghley, 17 Aug. 1587 
 (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 « Same to same, 30 Oct. 1587. (Brit. 
 Mu8, Galba, 1), II. p. 57. MS.) 
 
 » Leicester to Walsingham, 9 Oct. 1587- 
 (S. I'. Office MS.) 
 
 * Leicester to Burghley, 30 Oct. 1587. 
 (firit. Mus. Galba, D. II. 57. MS.) Same 
 
 to the Queen, 11 Oct. 1587. (S. P. Office 
 MS.) 
 
 * Leicester to the Queen, 17 Nov. 1687. 
 (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 « I^icestor to the Queen, 5 Nov. 1587. 
 (S. P. Office MS.) Same to Burghley, 6 
 Nov. 1587. (Brit. Mus. Galba, U. II. p. 
 176. MS.) 
 
 
 u 
 
310 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XVII. 
 
 1587. 
 
 LEICESTER'S GREAT UNPOPULARITY. 
 
 311 
 
 account for their persistent opposition to the peace- 
 negotiations, and to their reluctance to confer absolute 
 power on himself. " 'Tis a crabbed, sullen, proud kind 
 of people," said he, " and bent on establishing a popular 
 government," '—a purpose which seemed somewhat in- 
 consistent with the plot for selling their country to 
 Spain, which he charged in the same breath on the same 
 
 persons. i i i. i 
 
 Early in August, by the Queen's command, he had 
 sent a formal communication respecting the private 
 negotiationri to the States, but he could tell them no 
 secret. The names of the commissioners, and even the 
 supposed articles of a treaty already concluded, were 
 flying from town to town, from mouth to mouth, so that 
 the Earl pronounced it impossible for one not on the 
 spot to imagine the excitement which existed.^ 
 
 He had sent a state-counsellor, one Bardesius, to the 
 Hague, to open the matter ; but that personage had only 
 ventured to whisper a word to one or two members of 
 the States, and was assured that the proposition, if made, 
 would raise such a tumult of fury, that he might fear for 
 his life. So poor Bardesius came back to Leicester, fell 
 on his knees, and implored him at least to pause in these 
 fatal proceedings.* After an interval he sent two emi- 
 nent statesmen, Valk and Menin, to lay the subject 
 before the assembly. ITiey did so, and it was met by 
 fierce denunciation. On their return, the Earl, finding 
 that so much violence had been excited, pretended that 
 they had misunderstood his meaning, and that he had 
 never meant to propose peace-negotiations. But Valk 
 and Menin were too old politicians to be caught in such 
 a trap, and they produced a brief, drawn up in Italian— 
 the foreign language best understood by the Earl— 
 with his own corrections and interlineations, so that ho 
 was forced to admit that there had been no misconcep- 
 tion.* , , ^ ^ ^ 
 
 Leicester at last could no longer doubt that he was 
 universally odious in the Provinces. Hohenlo, Bame- 
 
 » Leicester to the Queen, 11 Oct 158T. 
 (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 » Leicester to Burghley, 30 Sept. 1587. 
 (Brit. Mus. Galba, D. II. p. 34. MS.) 
 
 3 Bor, ill. xxi».34. Hoofd Vervolgh, 
 276. Wagenaar, vUL 236. Meteren,xlv. 
 
 260. Compare Keyd, vl. 109, who says 
 however that Valk and Menin could pro- 
 dace no written Instructions from Leices- 
 ter, but that the characters of such well- 
 known statesmen carried conviction of 
 the truth of their statements. 
 
 veld, and the rest, who had *' championed the country 
 against the peace," were carrying all before them. 
 They had persuaded the people that the " Queen was 
 but a tickle stay for them," and had inflated young 
 Maurice with vast ideas of his importance, telling 
 him that he was *' a natural patriot, the image of his 
 noble father, whose memory was yet great among them, 
 as good reason, dying in their cause, as he had done." * 
 The country was bent on a popular government, and on 
 maintaining the war. There was no possibility, he 
 confessed, that they would ever confer the authority on 
 him which they had formerly bestowed.* The Queen 
 had promised, when he left England the second time, 
 that his absence should be for but three months,^ and he 
 now most anxiously claimed peimission to depart. Above 
 all things, he deprecated being employed as a peace- 
 commissioner. He was, of all men, the most unfit for 
 such a post. At the same time he implored the states- 
 men at home to be wary in selecting the wisest persons 
 for that arduous duty, in order that the peace might be 
 made for Queen Elizabeth, as well as for King Philip. 
 He strongly recommended, for that duty, Beale, the 
 councillor, who with Killigrew had replaced the hated 
 Wilkes and the pacific Bartholomew Clerk. " Mr. Beale, 
 brother-in-law to Walsingham, is in my books a prince," 
 said the Earl. " He was drowned in England, but most 
 useful in the Netherlands. Without him I am naked." * 
 And at last the governor told the Queen what Buck- 
 huret and AValsingham had been perpetually telling her, 
 that the Duke of Parma meant mischief ; and he sent 
 the same information as to hundreds of boats preparing, 
 with COOO shirts for camisados, 7000 pairs of wading 
 boots, and saddles, stirrups, and spurs, enough for a 
 choice band of 3000 men.* A shrewd troop, said the 
 Earl, of the first soldiers in Christendom, to be landed 
 some fine morning in England. And he too had heard of 
 the jewelled suits of cramoisy velvet, and all the rest of 
 the finery with which the triumphant Alexander ^as 
 
 » lyelcpster to the Lords, 21 Nov. 1587. < Leicester to Walsingham, 4 Aug. 
 
 (S. P. Office MS.) 1587. Same to same, 16 Sept 1687. 
 
 « Leicester to Walsingham, 13 Oct. (S. P. Office MSS.) 
 
 1587. (S. P. Office MS.) » l^elcester to Burghley, 5 Nov. 1587. 
 
 Leicester to Burghley, 30 Sept. 1687. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 (S. P. Office MS.) •' *- V f 
 
 i\ 
 
 hi 
 
 M 
 
312 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. X\1I. 
 
 intending to astonish London. " Get horses enough and 
 muskets enough in England," exclaimed Leicester, *'and 
 then our people will not be beaten, I warrant you, if 
 well led." ' 
 
 And now, the governor — who, in order to soothe his 
 sovereign and comply with her vehement wishes, had so 
 long misrepresented the state of public feeling— not only 
 confessed that Papists and Protestants, gentle and simple, 
 the States and the people, throughout the republic, were 
 all opposed to any negotiation with the enemy, but lifted 
 up his own voice, and in earnest language expressed his 
 opinion of the Queen's infatuation. 
 
 " Oh, my Lord, what a treaty is this for peace," said 
 he to Burghley, " that we must treat, altogether disarmed 
 and weakened, and the King having made his forces 
 stronger than ever he had known in these parts, besides 
 what is coming out of Spain, and yet we will presume of 
 good conditions ! It grieveth me to the heart. But I 
 fear you will all smart for it, and I pray God her Majesty 
 feel it not, if it be His blessed will. She meaneth well 
 and sincerely to have peace, but God knows that this is 
 not the way. Well, God Almighty defend us and the 
 realm, and especially her Majesty. But look for a shai-p 
 war, or a miserable peace, to undo others and ourselves 
 after:' * 
 
 Walsingham, too, was determined not to act as a com- 
 missioner. K his failing health did not serve as an 
 
 1 Leicester to Burghley, 6 Nov. 1587. 
 (3. P. Office MS.) 
 
 « Leicester to Burghley, 7 Nov. 1587. 
 (S. P. OfBce MS.) 
 
 And to Walsingham he wrote most 
 earnestly In the same vein. " Our ene- 
 mies have dealt more like politic men 
 than we have," he saM, "for it was 
 always agreed heretofore among us that 
 there was no way to make a g<)od peace 
 but by a strong war. . . . Now Is the 
 difference put in experience, for we see 
 the I|dnce of Parma did not weaken him- 
 self TO trust upon peace, but hath in- 
 creased his forces In the highest degree, 
 whilst we talked of peace ; that if we 
 break oflf, he might either compel us to 
 his peace or be beforehand with us by the 
 readiness of his forces. This was told and 
 foretold, but yet no ear given nor care 
 taken. . . . Surely you shall find the 
 
 Prince meaveth no peace. I see money 
 doth undo aM— the care to keep It, and 
 not upon Just cause to spend It. Her 
 j^lajesty doth still blame me for the 
 expense of her treasury here, which 
 doth nuLke »»« weary of my life ; but 
 her Majesty will rue tlu sparing couu' 
 sel at such times." 
 
 He then sent Information as to Par- 
 ma's Intentions, derived from an Inter- 
 cepted letter of a man hi Sir William 
 Stanley's regiment to a priest in l-Jig- 
 land, "bidding his friend be sure they 
 
 are shortly to be In England." 
 
 " It were better to her Majesty," addod 
 Leicester, " than a million pounds ster- 
 ling, that she had done as the Duke of 
 I'arma hath done." Leicester to 
 "Walsingham, 7 Nov. 1587. (S. P. Office 
 MS.) _ . 
 
 1587. THE QUEEN WARXED AGAINST TREATING. 313 
 
 excuse, he should be obliged to refuse, he said, and so 
 forfeit her Majesty's favour, rather than be instrumental 
 in bringing about her ruin, and that of his country-. 
 Never for an instant had the Secretary of State faltered 
 in his opposition to the timid policy of Burghley. Again 
 and again he had detected the intrigues of the Lord- 
 Treasurer andJSir James Croft, and ridiculed the " comp- 
 troller s peace." ^ 
 
 And especially did Walsingham bewail the implicit 
 confidence which the Queen placed in the sugary words 
 of Alexander, and the fatal parsimony which caused her 
 , to neglect defending herself against Scotland ; * for he 
 was as well informed as was Farnese himself of Philip's 
 aiTangements with the Scotch lords, and of the subsidies 
 m men and money by which their invasion of England 
 was to be made part of the great scheme. *' No one 
 thing," sighed Walsingham, "doth more prognosticate 
 an alteration of this estate, than that a prince of her 
 Majesty's judgment should neglect, in respect of a little 
 
 charges, the stopping of so dangerous a gap 
 
 The manner of our cold and careless proceeding here, in 
 this time of peril, maketh me to take no comfort of my 
 recovery of health, for that I see, unless it shall please 
 God in mercy and miraculously to preserve us, m cannot 
 long standi ^ 
 
 Leicester, finding himself unable to counteract the 
 policy of Bameveld and his party, by expostulation or 
 argument, conceived a very dangerous and criminal 
 project before he left the country. The facts are some- 
 what veiled in mystery; but he was suspected, on 
 weighty evidence, of a design to kidnap both Maurice 
 and Bameveld, and carry them off to England. Of this 
 intention, which was foiled at any rate before it could 
 be carried into execution, there is perhaps not conclu- 
 sive proof, but it has already been shown, from a deci- 
 
 1 Walsingham to Leicester, 21 Sept. 
 1587. (Brit. Mus. Galba, D. IL p. 78. 
 MS.) 
 
 * Walsingham to I^elcester, 12 Nov. 
 1587. Brit. Mus. Galba, D. II. p. 178. MS. 
 
 * " A letter from the Duke of I'arma," 
 says the Secretary, "bred in her Majesty 
 such a dangerous security, as all adver- 
 tisements of danger are neglected, and 
 great expedition used In despatching of 
 
 the commissioners. I was fully resolved 
 In no sort to have accepted the charge, 
 had not my sickness prevented, for that 
 I would be loth to be engaged in a ser- 
 vice that all men of judgment may 
 see cannot but work her Majesty's ruin. 
 I pray God I and others of my 
 opinion prove In this false prophets." 
 (Ibid.) 
 
 I 
 
 . ) 
 
 fj 
 
 i 
 h 
 
314 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XVH. 
 
 phered letter, that the Queen had once given Buckhurst 
 and Wilkes peremptory orders to seize the person of 
 Hohenlo, and it is quite possible that similar orders may 
 have been received at a later moment with regard to the 
 young Count and the Advocate. At any rate, it is cer- 
 tain that late in the autumn some friends of Bameveld 
 entered his bedroom, at the Hague, in the dead of night, 
 and informed him that a plot was on foot to lay violent 
 hands upon him, and that an armed force was already 
 on its way to execute this purpose of Leicester before 
 the dawn of day. The Advocate, without loss of time, 
 took his departure for Delft, a step which was followed, 
 shortly afterwards, by Maurice.' 
 
 Nor was this the only daring stroke which the Earl 
 had meditated. During the progress of the secret nego- 
 tiations with Parma, he had not neglected those still 
 more secret schemes to which he had occasionally made 
 allusion. He had determined, if possible, to obtain 
 possession of the most important cities in Holland and 
 Zeeland. It was very plain to him that he could no 
 longer hope, by fair means, for the great authority once 
 conferred upon him by the free will of the States. It 
 was his purpose, therefore, by force and stratagem to 
 recover his lost power. We have heard the violent 
 terms in which both the Queen and the Earl denounced 
 the men who accused the English government of any 
 such intention. It had been formally denied by the 
 States-General that Bameveld had ever used the language 
 in that assembly with which he had been charged. He 
 had only revealed to them the exact purport of the letter 
 to Junius, and of the Queen's secret instructions to Lei- 
 cester.* Whatever he may have said in private conver- 
 sation, and whatever deductions he may have made 
 among his intimate friends from the admitted facts in 
 the case, could hardly be made matters of record. It 
 does not appear that he, or the statesmen who acted with 
 him, considered the Earl capable of a deliberate design 
 to sell the cities, thus to be acquired, to Spain, as the 
 price of peace for England. Certainly Elizabeth would 
 have scorned siich a crime, and was justly indignant at 
 
 1 Bor, lH.xxm.51. Hoofd, Venrolgh. « Resol. HoU. 16, 16, 18 Sept 1587, 
 287. Wagenaar. vlll. 240. Van Wyn bl. 253, 254, 258, cited In Van Wyn, 
 op Wagenaair, vlil. 68, 69. ^i »up. 
 
 1587. LEICESTER'S GREAT UNPOPUIAriTr. 315 
 
 rumours prevalent to that effect ; but the wrath of the 
 Queen and of her favourite were perhaps somewhat 
 simulated, in order to cover their real mortification at 
 the disco veiy of designs on the part of the Earl which 
 could not be denied. Not only had they been at last 
 compelled to confess those negotiations, which for several 
 months had been concealed and stubbornly denied but 
 the still graver plots of the Earl to regain his much- 
 coveted autliority had been, in a startling manner 
 revealed. The leaders of the States- General had a riffht 
 to suspect tU English Earl of a design to re-enact the 
 part of the Duke of Anjou, and were justified in taking 
 stringent measures to prevent a calamity, which, as they 
 believed, wns impending over their little commonwealth. 
 Ihe high-handed dealings of Leicester in the city of 
 Utrecht have been already described. The most re- 
 spectable and influential burghers of the place had been 
 imprisoned and banished, the municipal govemment 
 wrested from the hands to which it legitimately belonged 
 and confided to adventurers who wore the cloak of Cal- 
 vinism to conceal their designs, and a successful effort 
 had been made, in the name of democracy, to eradicate 
 from one ancient province the liberty on which it prided 
 iLsei I. 
 
 In the course of the autumn an attempt was made to 
 play the same game at Amsterdam. A plot was dis- 
 covered, before it was fairly matured, to seize the 
 magistrates of that important city, to gain possession 
 ot the arsenals, and to -place the govemment in the hands 
 of well-known Leicestrians. A list of fourteen influen- 
 t-al citizens, drawn up in the writing of Burgrave, the 
 Earl's confidential secretary, was found, all of whom, it 
 >^'as asserted, had been doomed to the scaffold.^ 
 
 The plot to secure Amsterdam had failed, but, in 
 JSorth Holland, Medenblik was held firmly for Leicester 
 by Diedrich Sonoy, in the very teeth of the States.*^ 
 
 Wagenaar, 
 
 ' Hoofd, xxvl. 1199, 1200. 
 vill. 243-246. 
 
 AmoriK them was the name of bnrgo- 
 miister Hoofd, father of the illustrious 
 historian of the Netherlands. Much 
 caution should be observed, however. 
 In accepting, to their full extent, charges 
 made In times of such violent party-spirit. 
 Leicester would have hardly ventured to 
 o»Dg fourteen such men as Hoofd and his 
 
 compeers, although he would willingly 
 have brought Bameveld and Buys to the 
 gibbet. He would have imprisoned and 
 banished, no doubt, as many Amsterdam 
 burghers of tlie States party as he could 
 lay hands on. 
 
 2 Bor, ill. xxlll. 7; xxlv. 179-204 
 208-233,279-290. Reyd.vl.loi. Wage- 
 naar, 209, 210, 270-278. 
 
 I 
 
 4 II 
 
 ' 1, 
 
316 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XVII. 
 
 The important city of Enkhuyzen, too, was very near 
 being secured for the Earl, but a still more significant 
 movement was made at Leyden. That heroic city, ever 
 since the famous siege of 1574, in which the Spaniard 
 had been so signally foiled, had distinguished itself by 
 great liberality of sentiment in religious matters. The 
 burghers were inspired by a love of country, and a 
 hatred of oppression, both civil and ecclesiastical ; and 
 Papists and Protestants, who had fought side by side 
 against the common foe, were not disposed to tear each 
 other to pieces, now that he had been excluded from their 
 gates. Meanwhile, however, refugee Flemings and 
 Brabantines had sought an asylum in the city, and being, 
 as usual, of the strictest sect of the Calvinists, were 
 shocked at the latitudinarianism which prevailed. To 
 the honour of the city — as it seems to us now — but, to 
 their horror, it was even found that one or two Papists 
 had seats in the magistracy.^ More than all this, there 
 was a school in the town kept by a Catholic, and Adrian 
 van der Werff himself — the renowned burgomaster, who 
 had sustained the city during the dreadful leaguer of 
 1574:, and who had told the famishing burghers that 
 they might eat him if they liked, but that they should 
 never surrender to the Spaniards while he remained 
 alive — even Adrian van der Werff had sent his son to 
 this veiy school.* To the clamour made by the refugees 
 against this spirit of toleration, one of the favouiite 
 preachers in the town, of Arminian tendencies, had de- 
 clared in the pulpit, that he would as lieve see the 
 Spanish as the Calvinistic inquisition established over 
 his country; using an expression, in regard to the 
 church of Geneva, more energetic than decorous.^ 
 
 It was from Leyden that the chief opposition came to 
 a synod, by which a great attempt was to be made 
 towards subjecting the new commonwealth to a masked 
 theocracy ; a scheme which the States of Holland had 
 resisted with might and main. The Calvinistic party, 
 waxing stronger in Leyden, although still in a minority, 
 at last resolved upon a strong effort to place the city in 
 tlie hands of that great representative of Calvinism, the 
 Earl of Leicester. Jacques Volmar, a deacon of the 
 
 1 Bor.xxill. 93-105. « Ibid. dan de Geneefse discipline, die pocklge 
 
 3 Ibid. " Liever de Spaense Inqulsitie hoere," p. 98, 
 
 1587. LEICESTRIAX CONSPIRACY AT LEYDEN. 317 
 
 church ; Cosmo de Pescarengis, a Genoese captain of 
 much experience in the service of the republic ; Adolphus 
 de Meetkerke. former president of Flanders, who had 
 been, by the States, deprived of the seat in the c-reat 
 council to which the Earl had appointed him ; Doctor 
 baravia, professor of theology in the university • with 
 other deacons, preachers, and captains, went at different 
 times from Leyden to Utrecht, and had secret interviews 
 with Leicester. 
 
 A plan was at last agi-eed upon, according to which 
 about the middle of October, a revolution should be 
 effected in Leyden. Captain Nicholas de Maulde, who 
 had recently so much distinguished himself in the de- 
 fence of Sluys, was stationed with two companies of 
 States' troops in the city. He had been much dis.gusted 
 --not without reason — at the culpable nedigence 
 through which the courageous efforts of the Sluys gar- 
 rison had been set at nought, and the place sacrificed, 
 when It might so easily have been relieved ; and he 
 ascribed the whole of the guilt to Maurice, Hohenlo, and 
 the States, although it could hardly be denied that at 
 least an equal portion belonged to Leicester and his 
 party. The young Captain listened, therefore, to a 
 scheme propounded to him by Colonel Cosmo and Deacon 
 Volmar in the name of Leicester. He agreed, on a 
 certain day, to muster his company, to leave the city by 
 the Delft gate— as if by command of superior authority 
 —to effect a junction with Captain Heraugiere, another 
 ot the distinguished malcontent defenders of Sluys who 
 was stationed, with his command, at Delft, and then to 
 re-enter Leyden, take possession of the town-hall, arrest 
 all the magistrates, together with Adrian van der Werff 
 ex-burgomaster, and proclaim Lord Leicester, in the 
 name of Queen Elizabeth, legitimate master of the citv.» 
 A list of burghers who were to be executed was like- 
 wise agreed upon, at a final meeting of the conspirators 
 m a hostelry which bore the ominous name of '* The 
 Ihunderbolt." A desire had been signified by Lei- 
 !i?lT' ?i.*H® preliminary interviews at Utrecht, that 
 aubloodshed, if possible, should be spared ;« but it was 
 certainly an extravagant expectation, considering the 
 
 Bor, uhi sup, Reyd, vil. 133, 134., Mettren, xlv. 261. 
 
 * Bor, Reyd, Meteren, ubi tup. • 
 
 ) \ 
 
318 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XVII 
 
 temper, the political convictions, and the known courage 
 of the Leyden burghers, that the city would submit, 
 without a struggle, to this invasion of all their rights. 
 It could hardly be doubted that the streets would run 
 red with blood, as those of Antwerp had done, when a 
 similar attempt, on the part of Anjou, had been foiled. 
 
 Unfortunately for the scheme, a day or two before the 
 great stroke was to be hazarded, Cosmo de Pescarengis 
 had been accidentally arrested for debt.* A subordinate 
 accomplice, taking alarm, had then gone before the 
 magistrate and revealed the plot. Volmar and De Maulde 
 fled at once, but were soon arrested in the neighbour- 
 hood. President de Meetkerke, Professor Saravia, the 
 preacher Van der Wouw, and others most compromised, 
 effected their escape.* The matter was instantly laid 
 before the States of Holland by the magistracy of Leyden. 
 and seemed of the gravest moment. In the beginning 
 of the year the fatal treason jof York and Stanley had 
 implanted a deep suspicion of Leicester in the hearts of 
 almost all the Netherlanders, which could not be eradi- 
 cated. The painful rumours concerning the secret nego- 
 tiations with Spain, and the design falsely attributed to 
 the English Queen, of selling the chief cities of the 
 republic to Philip as the price of peace, and of reim- 
 bursement for expenses incurred by her, increased the 
 general excitement to fever. It was felt by the leaders 
 of the States that as mortal a combat lay before them 
 with the Earl of Leicester as with the King of Spain, 
 and that it was necessary to strike a severe blow, in 
 order to vindicate their imperilled authority. 
 
 A commission was appointed by the high court of 
 Holland, acting in conjunction with the States of the 
 Provinces, to try the offenders. Among the commis- 
 sioners were Adrian van der Werff, John van der Does, 
 who had been military commandant of Leyden during 
 the siege, Barneveld, and other distinguished person- 
 ages, over whom Count Maurice presided.^ The accused 
 were subjected to an impartial trial. Without torture 
 they confessed their guilt.* It is true, however, that 
 Cosmo was placed within sight of the mck. He avowed 
 
 » Bor, Reyd, Meteren, ubt s>tp. says that thoy were put to the torliir**. 
 
 « Ibid. . » Ibid. p. 153. •• Nae pljnlijke ondenrae- 
 
 * So say Bor and Meteren ; but Reyd glnge." 
 
 1587. THE PLOT TO SEIZE THE CITY DISCOVERED. 319 
 
 that his object had been to place the city under the an- 
 thonty of Leicester, and to effect this purpose, if pos- 
 sible without bloodshed. He declared that the attempt 
 was to be made with the full knowledge and approbation 
 of the Earl, who had promised him the command of a 
 regiment of twelve companies, as a recompense for his 
 services if they proved successful. Leicester, said 
 Cosmo had also pledged himself, in case the men, thus 
 executing his plans, should be discovered and endan- 
 ^rii V^ JP^^*^^* and rescue them, even at the sacrifice 
 ot all his fortune, and of the office he held. ^^ hen asked 
 It he had any wntten statement from his Excellency to 
 that effect, Cosmo replied, no, nothing but his princely 
 word, which he had voluntarily given.* 
 
 .1. Tl^^f T^"" ? ^\'^^^'^'^ confession. * He, too, declared 
 that he had acted throughout the affair by express com- 
 mand of the Eari of Leicester. Being asked if he had any 
 wntten evidence of the fact, he, likewise, replied in the 
 negative. - Then his Excellency will unquestionably 
 deny your assertion," said the judges. - Alas ! then am 
 1 a dead man, replied Volmar, and the unfortunate 
 deacon never spoke truer words. Captain de Maulde 
 also confessed his crime. He did not pretend, however 
 to have had any personal communication with Leicester' 
 but said that the affair had been confided to him by 
 Colonel Cosmo, on the express authority of the Earl 
 and that he had believed himself to be acting in obe- 
 dience to his Excellency's commands.* 
 
 On the 26th October, after a thorough investigation 
 lollowed by a full confession on the part of the culprits' 
 tHe three were sentenced to death." The decree was 
 surely a most severe one. They had been guilty of no 
 actua crime, and only in case of high treason could an 
 intention to commit a crime be considered, by the laws 
 01 the state, an offence punishable with death. But it 
 was exactly because it was important to make the crime 
 ^igh treason that the prisoners were condemned. The 
 
 clare^tLf^Km?"' "^f f"^* ^'^'^ ^^' ^'^"^ ^'^ ^^« ^^ ^^^^' denied all com- 
 
 wr^^rite/\TThi"^ "''' ^'^'' P«^"y»th«-ff»«- Cosmo, according to 
 rpnLr w ? *^® 8tateHX)uncil aa the same authority, called out, when 
 lZ^''^''''^^^^^<i^^^)^oimedihe upon the rack, « Oh. Ex^llen^ a 
 
 ?SJ:ir 1' ^'"!?«^ '"' '^"^^^ ^^ ' Bor. Jleteren. lleyd. u6.- sup.' 
 
 i 
 
320 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XVII. 
 
 offence was considered as a crime not against Ley den, 
 but as an attempt to levy war upon a city which was a 
 member of the States of Holland and of the United 
 States. If the States were sovereign, then this was a 
 lesion of their sovereignty. Moreover, the offence had 
 been aggravated by the emplo\nnent of United States' 
 troops against the commonwealth of the United States 
 itself. To cut off the heads of these prisoners was a sharp 
 practical answer to the claims of sovereignty by Lei- 
 cester, as representing the people, and a terrible ^vaming 
 to all who might, in future, be disposed to revive the 
 theories of De venter and Burgrave. 
 
 In the case of De Maulde the punishment seemed 
 especially severe. His fate excited universal sympathy, 
 and great efforts were made to obtain his pardon. He 
 was a universal favourite ; he was young ; he was very 
 handsome ; his manners were attractive : he belonged 
 to an ancient and honourable race. His father, the 
 Seigneur de Mansart, had done great ser\'ices in the war 
 of independence, had been an intimate friend of the 
 great Prince of Orange, and had even advanced large 
 sums of money to assist his noble efforts to liberate the 
 country. Two brothers of the young captain had fallen 
 in the service of the republic. He, too, had distin- 
 guished himself at Ostend, and his gallantry during the 
 recent siege of Sluys had been in every mouth, and had 
 excited the warm applause of so good a judge of soldier- 
 ship as the veteran Koger Williams. The scars of the 
 wounds received in the desperate conflicts of that siege 
 were fresh upon his breast. He had not intended to 
 commit treason, but, convinced by the sophistry of older 
 soldiers than himself, as well as by learned deacons and 
 theologians, he had imagined himself doing his duty, 
 while obeying the Earl of Leicester. If there were 
 ever a time for mercy, this seemed one, and young 
 Maurice of Nassau might have remembered, that, even 
 in the case of the assassins who had attempted the life 
 of his lather, that great-hearted man had lifted up his 
 voice — which seemed his dying one — in favour of those 
 who had sought his life. 
 
 But the authorities were inexorable. There was no 
 hope of a mitigation of punishment, but a last effort 
 was made, under favour of a singular ancient custom, to 
 
 1587. 
 
 EXECUTION OF THE PRISONERS. 
 
 321 
 
 save the life of De Maulde. A young lady of noble 
 family in Leyden — Uytonbroek by name— claimed tlie 
 right ^f rescuing the condemned malefactor from the 
 axe, by appearing upon the scaffold, and offering to take 
 him for her husband.* 
 
 Intelligence was brought to the prisoner in his dun- 
 geon, that the young lady liad made the proposition, and 
 he was told to be of good cheer. But he refused to be 
 comfoi-ted. He was slightly acquainted with the gen- 
 tlewoman, he observed, and doubted much whether her 
 request would be granted. Moreover — if contemporary 
 chronicle can be trusted — he even expressed a preference 
 for the scaffold, ns the milder fate of the two.* The 
 lady, however, not being aware of those uncomplimen- 
 tary sentiments, made her proposal to the magistrates, 
 but was dismissed with harsh rebukes. She had need be 
 ashamed, they said, of her willingness to take a con- 
 demned traitor for her husband. It was urged, in her 
 behalf, that even in the cruel Alva's time the ancient 
 custom had been respected, and that victims had been 
 saved from the executioners, on a demand in man iage 
 made even by women of abandoned character. ** But 
 all was of no avail. The prisoners were exe- oct. 26th, 
 cuted on the 26th October, the same day on ^^ht. 
 which the sentence had been pronounced. The heads 
 of Volmar and Cosmo were exposed on one of the turrets 
 of the city. That of Maulde was interred with his 
 body.* 
 
 I'he Earl was indignant when he heard of the event. 
 As there had been no written proof of his complicity in 
 the conspiracy, the judges had thought it improper to 
 mention his name in the sentences. Jle, of course, 
 denied any knowledge of the plot, and its proof rested 
 therefore only on the assertion of the prisoners them- 
 seives, which, however, was circumstantial, voluntary, 
 and generally believed.* 
 
 Van Wyn op Wagen, 
 
 . * Bor, 97. 
 vlll. 72. 
 
 » " Maer hy hoerende de sclve noeme n, 
 en In haer goselschap wel geweest zijnd.', 
 haddo weynlg moeds dat hy door verlost 
 wordcnroude, of ooA: de selve ten huue- 
 lijke niet begeeiende, koude hem nlet te 
 vreden btellen." tc. Bor, xxiil. (UJ.) 
 
 VOL. II. 
 
 3 Bor, ubi sup. 
 
 * Bor, Meteren, Reyd, ubi sup. Le 
 Petit, 11. xiv. 651. 
 
 « Ibid. 
 
 The only passage bearing on the subject 
 which 1 have found in Leicester's secret 
 correspondence is this extract from a 
 letter to the Queen :— •* The States have 
 used great cruelty of late ^ in Leyden 
 
322 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XVH. 
 
 1587. 
 
 DEFEAT AND DEATH OF JOYEUSE. 
 
 323 
 
 France, during the whole of this year of expectation, 
 was ploughed throughout its whole surface hy perpe- 
 tual civil war. The fatal edict of June, 1585, had 
 drowned the unhappy land in blood. Foreign armies, 
 called in by the various contending factions, ravaged 
 its fair territory, butchered its peasantry, and changed 
 its fertile plains to a wilderness. The unhappy crea- 
 ture who wore the crown of Charlemagne and of Hugh 
 Capet was but the tool in the hands of the most pro- 
 fligate and designing of his own subjects, and of 
 foreigners. Slowly and surely the net, spread by the 
 hands of his own mother, of his own prime minister/ of 
 the Duke of Guise, all obeying the command and 
 receiving the stipend of Philip, seemed closing over 
 him. He was without friends, without power to know 
 his friends, if he had them. In his hatred to the 
 Eeformation, he had allowed himself to be made the 
 enemy of the only man who could be his friend, or 
 the friend of France. Allied with his mortal foe, 
 whose aimies were strengthened by contingents from 
 Parma's forces, and paid for by Spanish gold, he was 
 
 against three persons that favoured your 
 Majesty, whom they put to death, and 
 bauished twenty others, whereof their 
 devoted head was one, old Count Meet- 
 kerke another. This gentleman can in- 
 form you of it, and I will send it, shortly, 
 at more length." Ijci coster to the Queen, 
 27 Oct. 1587. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 This very meagre allusion to so impor- 
 tant an event is almost suspicious in 
 itself, when coupled with the fact that 
 the details were entrusted to a special 
 messenger to communicate by word of 
 mouth. The Earl knew very well that 
 his most secret despatches were read by 
 his antagonists, and he might not be un- 
 willing to deceive them by the slighting 
 tone of these allusions in his private 
 letters. 
 
 Of course, it is unfair to place implicit 
 reliance on the confessions of prisoners, 
 anxious to save their lives by implicating 
 the powerful governor. Yet It is difficult 
 to know why they should expect his 
 intercession if they knew themselves to 
 be blasting his character by an Impudent 
 falsehood. Moreover, an elaborate pam- 
 phlet, published in defence of those per- 
 
 sons who had effected their escape, was 
 dedicated to the Earl himself, and con- 
 tained a statement of the interview of the 
 ringleaders with the Earl, although a 
 strong attempt was made by the writer 
 to deprive the plot of any criminal cha- 
 racter. (Bor, 111. xxiii. 95, seq., gives the 
 document.) But the pamphlet was de- 
 nounced and prohibited in Leyden, as an 
 Infamous libel and a tissue of falsehoods, 
 and It is hardlyjust, therefore, to put it in 
 as good evidence either for or against the 
 Earl. 
 
 The secret Intention of Leicester to 
 obtain possession of certain cities, in 
 order to bridle the States, and to make 
 a good bargain for the Queen, should 
 the worst come to the worst, has 
 been already showR from his private 
 letters. 
 
 1 In October of this year, 1687, Eper- 
 non called Villeroy. in the king" s presence, 
 " un petit coquin," accused him of being 
 a stipendiary of Philip II. and the League, 
 and threatened to spur him as he would 
 an obstinate horse. (L'Estoile, 'Re- 
 gistre Journal de Henry 111,' ed. 1587, 
 p. 32.) 
 
 i 
 
 forced to a mock triumph over the foreign mercenaries 
 who came to save his crown, and to submit to the defeat 
 of the flower of his chivalry by the only man who 
 could rescue France from ruin, and whom France could 
 look up to with respect. 
 
 For, on the 20th October, Henry of Navarre had at 
 last gained a victory. After twenty-seven years of 
 perpetual defeat, during which they had been growing 
 stronger and stronger, the Protestants had met the 
 picked troops of Henry III., under the Due de Joyeuse, 
 near the burgh of Coutras. His cousins Conde and 
 Soissons each commanded a wing in the army of the 
 Beamese. ** You are both of my family," said Henry, 
 before the engagement, " and the Lord so help me, but 
 I will show you that I am the eldest born." ^ And 
 during that bloody day the white plume was ever 
 tossing where the battle was fiercest. " I choose to 
 show myself. They shall see the Bearnese," was his 
 reply to those who implored him to have a care for his 
 personal safety. And at last, when the day was done, 
 the victory gained, and more French nobles lay dead 
 on the field, as Catharine de' Medici bitterly declared, 
 than had fallen in a battle for twenty years ; when two 
 thousand of the King's best troops had been slain, and 
 when the bodies of Joyeuse and his brother had been 
 'aid out in the very room where the conqueror's supper, 
 after the battle, was served, but where he refused, with 
 a shudder, to eat, he was still as eager as before — had 
 the wretched Valois been possessed of a spark of man- 
 hood, or of intelligence — to shield him and his king- 
 tiom from the common enemy.* 
 
 For it could hardly be doubtful, even to Henry III., 
 at that moment, that Philip II. and his jackal, the Duke 
 of Guise, were pursuing him to the death, and that, in 
 his breathless doublings to escape, he had been forced 
 to turn upon his natural protector. And now Joyeuse 
 was defeated and slain. "Had it been my brother's 
 son," exclaimed Cardinal de Bourbon, weeping and 
 wailing, " how much better it would have been." It 
 was not easy to slay the champion of French Protes- 
 tantism ; yet, to one less buoyant, the game, even after 
 
 » Perefixe, 73. 
 * De Thou, X. L. Ixxxvii. Perefixe, 75-78. L'Estoile, 232. 
 
 Y 2 
 
324 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVII. 
 
 the brilliant but fruitless victory of Coutras, might 
 have seemed desperate. Beggared and outcast, with 
 literally scarce a shirt to his back, without money to 
 pay a corporal's guard, how was he to maintain an 
 
 army? ^ , , _ , _ 
 
 But " Mucio" was more successful than Joyeuse had 
 been, and the German and Swiss mercenaries, who had 
 come across the border to assist the Beamese, were 
 adroitly handled by Philip's great stipendiary. Heniy 
 of Valois, whose troops had just been defeated at 
 Coutras, was now compelled to participate in a more 
 fatal series of triumphs. For, alas ! the victim had tied 
 himself to the apron-string of " Madam League," and 
 was paraded by her, in triumph, before the eyes of his 
 own subjects and of the world. The passage of the 
 Loire by the auxiliaries was resisted, a series of petty 
 victories was gained by Guise, and, at last, after it 
 was obvious that the leaders of the legions had been 
 corrupted with Spanish ducats, Henry allowed them to 
 depart, rather than give the Balafre opportunity for 
 still further successes.* . 
 
 Then came the triumph in Bans— hosannahs m the 
 churches, huzzas in the public places— not for the King, 
 but for Guise. Paris, more madly in love with her 
 champion than ever, prostrated herself at his feet. ± or 
 him paeans as to a deliverer. ^Vithout him the ark 
 would have foUen into the hands of the Philistines. 
 For the Valois, shouts of scorn- from the populace, 
 thunders from the pulpit, anathemas from monk and 
 priest, elaborate invectives from all the pedants of the 
 Sorbonne, distant mutterings of excommunication from 
 Bome— not the toothless beldame of modem days, but 
 the avenging divinity of priest-rid monarchs. Such 
 were the results of the edicts of June. Spain and the 
 Pope had trampled upon France, and the populace in 
 her capital clapped their hands and jumped for joy. 
 ** Miserable country, miserable King," sighed an illus- 
 trious patriot, "whom his own countrymen wish rather 
 to survive, than to die to defend him ! Let the name 
 of Huguenot and of Papist be never heard of more. 
 Let us think only of the counter-league. Is France to 
 be saved by opening all its gates to Spain? Is France 
 
 I De Thou, ubi sup. L'EstoUe, 232, 234. 
 
 1587. 
 
 THE QUEEN RECALLS LEICESTER. 
 
 325 
 
 to be turned out of France, to make a lodging for the 
 Lorrainer and the Spaniard ?" Pregnant questions, 
 which could not yet be answered, for the end was not 
 yet. France was to become still more and more a 
 wilderness. And well did that same brave and thought- 
 ful lover of his country declare that he who should 
 suddenly awake from a sleep of twenty-five years, and 
 revisit that once beautiful land, would deem himself 
 transplanted to a barbarous island of cannibals.' 
 
 It had now become quite obvious that the game of 
 Leicester was played out. His career — as it has now 
 been fully exhibited —could have but one termination. 
 He had made himself thoroughly odious to the nation 
 whom he came to govern. He had lost for ever the 
 authority once spontaneously bestowed, and he had 
 attempted in vain, both by fair means and foul, to 
 recover that power. There was nothing left him but 
 retreat. Of this he was thoroughly convinced.* He 
 was anxious to be gone, the republic most desirous to 
 be rid of him, her Majesty impatient to have her 
 favourite back again. The indulgent Queen, seeing 
 nothing to blame in his conduct, while her indigna- 
 tion at the attitude maintained by the Provinces was 
 boundless, permitted him, accordingly, to return ; and 
 in her letter to the States, announcing this decision, she 
 took a fresh opportunity of emptying her wrath upon 
 their heads. 
 
 bhe told them, that, notwithstanding her frequent 
 messages to them, signifying her evil contentment with 
 their un thankfulness for her exceeding great benefits, 
 and with their gross violations of their contract with 
 herself and with Leicester, whom they had, of their 
 own accord, made absolute governor without her insti- 
 gation ; Khe had never received any good answer to 
 move her to commit their sins to oblivion, nor had she 
 remarked any amendment in their conduct. On the 
 contrary, she complained that they daily increased 
 their oifences most notoriously in the sight of the 
 world, and in so many points that she lacked words to 
 express them in one letter. She however thought it 
 
 i J>"P'e8si8 Mornay, ' Mem.' iv. 1-34. la mia testa." he Is said to have exclaimed 
 1 Is time for me now to look after wlien the Ix^ydtn plot was dbcovertU 
 my own head-sta tempo ch' io guard! (Reyd, vil. 134.) 
 
326 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVII. 
 
 worth while to allude to some of their transgressions. 
 She declared that their sinister or rather barbarons 
 interpretation of her condnct had been notorious in 
 per\'erting and falsifying her princely and Christian 
 intentions, when she imparted to them the overtures 
 that had been made to her for a treaty of peace for her- 
 self and for them with the King of Spain. Yet although 
 she had required their allowance, before she would give 
 her assent, she had been grieved that the world should 
 see what impudent untniths had been forged upon her, 
 not only by their sufterance, but by their special per- 
 mission for her Christian good meaning towards them. 
 She denounced the statements as to her having con- 
 cluded a treaty, not only without their knowledge, but 
 with the sacrifice of their liberty and religion, as 
 utterly false, either for anything done in act, or in- 
 tended in thought, by her. She complained that upon 
 this most false ground had been heaped a number of 
 like untruths and malicious slanders against her cousin 
 Leicester, who had hazarded his life, spent his sub- 
 stance, left his native country, absented himself from 
 her, and lost his time, only for their service. It had 
 been falsely stated among them, she said, that the Earl 
 had come over the last time, knowing that peace had 
 been secretly concluded. It was false that he had 
 intended to surprise divers of their towns, and deliver 
 them to the King of Spain. All such untruths con- 
 tained matter so improbable, that it was most strange 
 that any person, having any sense, could imagine them 
 correct. Having thus slightly animadverted upon their 
 wilfulness, unthankfulness, and bad government, and 
 having, in very plain English, given them the lie, eight 
 distinct and separate times upon a single page, she pro- 
 ceeded to inform them that she had recalled her cousin 
 Leicester, having great cause to use his services in 
 England, and not seeing how, by his tarrying there, he 
 could either profit them or herself. Nevertheless she 
 protested herself not void of compassion for their estate, 
 and for the pitifiil condition of the great multitude of 
 kind and godly people, subject to the miseries which, 
 by the States' government, were like to fall upon them, 
 unless God should specially interpose; and she had 
 therefore determined, for the time, to continue her sub- 
 
 1587. ILL-FEELING BETWEEN LEICESTER AND STATES. 327 
 
 sidles, according to the covenant between them. If, 
 meantime, she should conclude a peace with Spain, she 
 promised to them the same care for their country as for 
 her own.' 
 
 Accordingly the Earl, after despatching an equally 
 ill-tempered letter to the States, in which he alluded, 
 at unmerciful length, to all the old grievances, blamed 
 them for the loss of Sluys, for which place he protested 
 that they had manifested no more interest than if it 
 had been San Domingo in Hispaniola, took his depar- 
 ture for Flushing.* After remaining there, in a very 
 moody frame of mind, for several days, expecting that 
 th6 States would, at least, send a committee to wait 
 upon him and receive his farewells, he took leave of 
 them by letter. "• God send me shortly a wind to blow 
 me from them all," ^ he exclaimed— a prayer which was 
 soon granted— and before the end of the year he was 
 safely landed in England. "These legs of mine," said 
 he, clapping his hands upon them as he sat in his 
 chamber at Margate, " shall never go again into Hol- 
 land. Let the States get others to serve their mer- 
 cenary turn, for me they shall not have."* Upon 
 giving up the government, he caused a medal to be 
 struck in his own honour. The device was a flock of 
 sheep watched by an English mastift'. Two mottoes— 
 "Non gregem sed ingratos," and *' Invitus desero"— 
 expressed his opinion of Dutch ingratitude and his own 
 fidelity. The Hollanders, on their part, struck several 
 medals to commemorate the same event, some of which 
 were not destitute of invention. Upon one of them, 
 for instance, was represented an ape smothering her 
 young ones to death in her embrace, with the device, 
 *' Libertas ne ita chara ut simiae catuli ;" while upon 
 the reverse was a man avoiding smoke and falling into 
 the fire, with the inscription, " Fugiens fumum, incidit 
 in ignem." * 
 
 Leicester found the usual sunshine at Greenwich. 
 AH the efforts of K orris, Wilkes, and Buckhurst had 
 been msufficient to raise even a doubt in Elizabeth^s 
 
 J^?^ ^ ^^ ^^^ 8 Nov. 1587. Office MS.) 
 
 ^ i il. o ^^-^ * S^^«' 'Chronicle/ 713. 
 
 262 ' **"** ^**' ^^^^^' ^'^- * fio'"' "i- xxiii. 153. Hoofd Ver- 
 
 i*r^^. . . volgh, 210. Meteren, xiii. 238. 
 
 » Ldcester to Atye. 4 Dec. 1687. (S. P. . ^ . 
 
328 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVII. 
 
 mind as to the wisdom and integrity by whicli his admi- 
 nistration of the Provinces had been characterised from 
 beginning to end. Those who had appealed from his 
 hatred to the justice of their sovereign had met with 
 disgrace and chastisement. But fur the great Earl the 
 Queen's favour was a rock of adamant. At a private 
 interview he threw himself at her feet, and with tears 
 and sobs implored her not to receive him in disgrace 
 whom she had sent forth in honour. His blandishments 
 prevailed, as they had always done. Instead, therefore, 
 of appearing before the council, kneeling, to answer 
 such inquiries as ought surely to have been instituted, 
 he took his seat boldly among his colleagues, replying 
 haughtily to all murmurs by a reference to her Majesty's 
 secret instructions.* 
 
 The unhappy English soldiers, who had gone forth 
 under his banner in midstimmer, had been returning, as 
 they best might, in winter, starving, half-naked wretches, 
 to beg a morsel of bread at the gates of Greenwich 
 palace, and to be driven away as vagabonds, with threats 
 . of the stocks.* This was not the fault of the Earl, for 
 he had fed them with his o^\^l generous hand in the 
 Netherlands, week after week, when no monev for their 
 necessities could be obtained from the pa>Tnasters. Two 
 thousand pounds had been sent by Elizabeth to her 
 soldiers when sixty-four thousand ]^nunds arrearage were 
 due,* and no language could exaggerate the misery to 
 which these outcasts, according to eye-witnesses of their 
 own nation, were reduced. 
 
 Lord V\ illoughby was appointed to the command of 
 what remained of these unfortunate troops, upon the 
 Earl's departure. The sovereignty of the Netherlands 
 remained undisputed with the States. Leicester re- 
 signed his commission by an instrument dated - 
 
 December, which, however, never reached the Nether- 
 lands till April of the following year.* From that time 
 
 J Camden, iii. 400. Baker, 375. there the first of July last 44,000^, and, 
 
 * Memorial, in Burghley's own hand, l>t'fore it could arrive there, at the least 
 
 Nov. 1587. (S. P. Office MS). 64.0((o/."' Walsingham to I^icester, 14 
 
 3 " She would by no means yield to send Aug. 15«7. (Br. Mus. Galba, d. I. p. 
 
 ovor any greater sum than 2(>0t)L, though 253, MS.) 
 
 th(? Uird Treasurer, Sir Thomas Shirley, * Bor, iii. xxiil. M3feq. Meteren, xiv. 
 
 and myself, did let her nndersUnd that 262. Kiyd, vii. 137, 138. 
 
 there was due unto the soldiera serving 
 
 1587. NEGOTIATION FOR A TREATY CARRIED ON. 329 
 
 forth the government of the republic maintained the 
 same foims which the assembly had claimed for it in the 
 long controversy with the governor-general, and which 
 have been sufficiently described. 
 
 Meantime the negotiations for a treaty, no lono-er 
 secret, continued. The Queen, infatuated as ever, still 
 believed in the sincerity of Famese, while that astute 
 personage and his master were steadily maturing their 
 schemes. A matrimonial alliance was secretly projected 
 between the King of Scots and Philip's daughter, the 
 Inflinta Isabella, with the consent of the Pope and the 
 whole college of cardinals ; and James, by the whole 
 force of tlie Holy League, was to be placed upon tho 
 throne of Elizabeth. In case of his death without issue, 
 I hihp was to succeed quietly to the crowns of England,' 
 Scotland, and Ireland.' Aothing could be simpler or more 
 rational, and accordingly these arrangements were the 
 table-talk at Pome, and met with general approbation. 
 
 Communications to this effect, coming straight from 
 the Colonna palace, were thought sufficiently circum- - 
 stantial to be transmitted to the English government. 
 Maurice of Nassau wrote with his own hand to Wal- 
 singham, professing a warm attachment to the cause in 
 which Holland and England were united, and perfect 
 personal devotion to the English Queen.'^ His language 
 
 ' Le Sieur to Walsinpham, 3 TX>c. 1587. 
 Maurice de Nassau to same, 9 Dec. 1587. 
 (S. P. Office MSS.) 
 
 ' "Je ne vous escrirai rien sur les 
 proiws d Odo Colonnii," wTote Maurice, 
 "car vous lesent^^ndrezhienparla lecture 
 du somraaire que Je vous envoie, mais 
 hien Je vous assure qu'll est im Jeune 
 homme d' esprit vif ot prompt, qui parle 
 wen et a ete blennourrl. Toutefois mon- 
 sirant par ses propos qu'il ne s<rait puores 
 de choses hors k cour de Rome, de la 
 connu.s.ance des bonnes maisons. et a 
 
 ociK^nmentes que moi, qu'il y avolt fonde. 
 dire nl *^ntpour la quallte de son 
 
 quand I occasion se pr<«entoit que le hii 
 s".^ res aff..:tione serviteur. ce q Ti eon 
 
 jt uxL buis trouve en oeste 
 
 annee assemblee par ma diligence de 
 tous les endroite de mes gouvemements, 
 en intention, si Dleu mVn fait la grace! 
 de combattre la puissance des plus grands 
 ennemis de Sji MaJeste, et de toute la 
 Chr.Hientd, ce sont le -Roi d'F:spagne et 
 le Prince de Parme, lequel, de tout mon 
 cceur, je ddsire trouver en personne ou 
 J'espere avec I'aide de Dleu lui faire con- 
 naitre qu'il n'est pas si bon soldat ou il 
 trouve resistance, que quand les hommes 
 mal conseilles lui mettent les victoiresen 
 main de conccvoir par leur lachete de tant 
 de prises de belles villes. Je vous sup- 
 pi ie me tenir en la bonne grace de Sa M. , 
 de me continuer I'amitie que vous avez 
 porte h monseigneur mon pere, car j'es- 
 j»ereque Dieu me fait grace de I'ensuivre 
 promptement en Constance et femie reso- 
 lution. Jusqu'aJeprieraiDieu, &c. Mau- 
 rice de Nassau to Walsingham, 9 l>ec 
 1587. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
3S0 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XVII. 
 
 was not that of a youth who, according to Leicester's 
 repeated insinuations, was leagued with the most distin- 
 guished soldiers and statesmen of the Netherlands to 
 sell their country to Spain. 
 
 But Elizabeth was not to be convinced. She thought 
 it extremely probable that the Provinces would be 
 invaded, and doubtless felt some anxiety for England. 
 It was unfortunate that the possession of Sluys had 
 given x\lexander such a point of vantage, and there was 
 moreover a fear that he might take possession of Ostend. 
 She had, therefore, already recommended that her own 
 troops should be removed from that city, that its walls 
 should be razed, its marine bulwarks destroyed, and that 
 the ocean should be let in to swallow the devoted city 
 for ever — the inhabitants having been previously allowed 
 to take their departure. For it was assumed by her 
 Majesty that to attempt resistance would be idle, and 
 that Ostend could never stand a siege.* 
 
 The advice was not taken, and before the end of her 
 reign Elizabeth was destined to see this indefensible 
 city — only fit, in her judgment, to be abandoned to the 
 waves — become memorable, throughout all time, for the 
 longest, and, in many respects, the most remarkable 
 siege which modern history has recorded, the famous 
 leaguer in which the first European captains of the 
 coming age were to take their lessons, year after year, 
 in the school of the great Dutch soldier, who was now 
 but a *' solemn, sly youth," just turned of twenty. 
 
 The only military achievement which characterized 
 the close of the year, to the great satisfaction of the 
 Provinces and the annoyance of Parma, was the sui-priso 
 of the city of Bonn. The indefatigable Martin Schenk 
 — in fulfilment of his great coirtract with the States- 
 General, by which the war on the Khine had been 
 farmed out to him on such profitable terms — had led his 
 mercenaries against this important town. Tie had found 
 one of its gates somewhat insecurely guarded, placed a 
 mortar under it at night, and occupied a neighbouring 
 pig-stye with a number of his men, who, by chasing, 
 maltreating, and slaughtering the swine, had raised an 
 unearthly din, sufficient to drown the martial operations 
 at the gate. In brief, the place was easily mastered, 
 
 1 Queen to Leicester, 8 Nov. 1587, In Burghley's hand. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 1587. RESULTS OF LEICESTER'S ADMINISTRATION. 331 
 
 and taken possession of by Martin, in the name of the 
 deposed elector, Gebhard Truchsess— the first stroke of 
 good fortune which had for a long time befallen that 
 melancholy prelate.* 
 
 The administration of Leicester has been so minutely 
 pictured, that it would be superfluous to indidgo in 
 many concluding reflections. His acts and words have 
 been made to speak for themselves. His career in the 
 country has been described with much detail, because 
 the period was a great epoch of transition. The republic 
 of the Netherlands, duiing those years, acquired con- 
 sistency and permanent form. It seemed possible, on 
 the Earl's first advent, that the Provinces might become 
 part and parcel of the English realm. \\ hether such a 
 consummation would have been desirable or not, is a 
 fruitless inquiry. But it is certain that the selection of 
 such a man as Leicester made that result impossible. 
 Doubtless there were many errors committed by all 
 parties. The Queen was supposed by the Xetherlanders 
 to be secretly desirous of accepting the sovereignty of 
 the Provinces, provided she were made sure, by the 
 Earl's experience, that they were competent to protect 
 themselves. But this suspicion was unfounded. The 
 result of every- investigation showed the country so full 
 of resources, of wealth, and of military and naval capa- 
 bilities, that, united with England, it would have been 
 a source of great revenue and power, not a burthen and 
 an expense. Yet, when convinced of such facts by 
 the statistics which were liberally laid before her by 
 her confidential agents, she never manifested, either in 
 public or private, any intention of accepting the sove- 
 reignty. This being her avowed determination, it was 
 an error on the part of the States, before becoming 
 thoroughly acquainted with the man's character, to con- 
 fer upon Leicester the almost boundless authority which 
 they granted on his first arrival. It was a still graver 
 mistake, on the part of Elizabeth, to give way to such 
 explosions of fury, both against the governor and the 
 btates, when infoimed of the off"er and acceptance of 
 
 Bor, iU. xxii. 143. Meteren, xiv. 262. dead yet, as reported " (segun esto no es 
 
 II S°D^ ^"'' ^^^' ^*™* ^ ^'^•''P ni«erto como habian dicho), was Philip's 
 
 jUjg V • ^*^^' (Arch, de Simancas, judicious niarginal observation on the 
 
 " Ac«r>r^< * ^^^^^ *° which Panna communicated this 
 
 Acooraing to this, Schenck is not clever exploit of Martin. * 
 
332 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XVH. 
 
 1587. RESULTS OF LEICESTER'S ADMINISTRATION. 
 
 ooo 
 
 that authority. The Earl, elevated by the adulation of 
 others, and by his own vanity, into an almost sovereio;n 
 attitude, saw himself chastised before the world, like 
 an aspiring lackey, by her in whose favour he had felt 
 most secure. He found himself, in an instant, humbled 
 and ridiculous. Between himself and the Queen it was 
 something of a lovers' quarrel, and he soon found bal- 
 sam in the hand that smote him. But though reinstated 
 in authoiity, he was never again the object of reverence 
 in the land he was attempting to nile. As he came to 
 knuw the Netherlanders better, he recognised the great 
 capacity which their statesmen concealed under a plain 
 and sometimes a plebeian exterior, and the splendid 
 grandee hated, where at first he had only despised. 
 The Netherlanders, too, who had been used to look 
 up almost with worship to a plain man of kindly 
 manners, in felt hat and bargeman's woollen jacket, 
 whom they called " Father William," did not appreciate, 
 as they ought, the magnificence of the stranger who 
 had been sent to govern them. The Earl was hand- 
 some, quick-witted, brave ; but he was neither wise in 
 council nor capable in the field. He was intolerably 
 arrogant, passionate, and revengeful. He hated easily, 
 and he hated for life. It was soon obvious that no 
 cordiality of feeling or of action could exist between 
 him and the plain, stubborn Hollanders. He had the 
 fatal characteristic of loving only the persons who flat- 
 tered him. AVith much perception of character, sense 
 of humour, and appreciation of intellect, he recognised 
 the power of the leading men in the nation and sought 
 to gain them. So long as he hoped success, he was loud 
 in their praises. They were all wise, substantial, well- 
 languaged, big fellows, such as were not to be found in 
 England or anywhere else. When they refused to be 
 made his tools, they became tinkers, boors, devils, and 
 atheists. He covered them with curses and devoted 
 them to the gibbet. He began by warmly commending 
 Buys and Bameveld, Hohenlo and Maurice, and endow- 
 ing^ them with every virtue. Before he left the country 
 he had accused them of every crime, and would cheer- 
 fully, if he could, have taken the life of every one of 
 them. And it was quite the same with nearly every 
 Eno-lishman who served with or under him. Wilkes 
 
 and Buckhurst, however much the objects of his pre- 
 vious esteem, so soon as they ventured to censure or 
 even to criticise his proceedings, were at once devoted 
 to perdition. Yet, after minute examination of the 
 record, public and private, neither W ilkes nor Buck- 
 hurst can be fuund guilty of treachery or animosity to- 
 wards him, but are proved to have been governed in all 
 their conduct by a strong sense of duty to their sove- 
 reign, the Netherlands, and Leicester himself. 
 
 To Sir John Norris, it must be allowed, that he was 
 never fickle, for he had always entertained for that dis- 
 tinguished general an honest, unswerving, and infinite 
 hatre'l which was not susceptible of increase or diminu- 
 tion by any act or word. I'elham, too, whose davs weie 
 numbered, and who was dying bankrupt and broken- 
 hearted, at the close of the Earl's administration, had 
 always been regarded by him with tenderness and aft'ec- 
 tion. But Pelham had never thwarted him, had exposed 
 his life for him, and was always proud of being his 
 faithful, unquestioning, humble adherent. \\ ith perhaps 
 this single exception, Leicester found himself, at the 
 end of his second term in the Provinces, without a sino-le 
 friend and with few respectable partisans. Subordinate 
 mischievous intriguers like Deventer, Junius, and Ot he- 
 man, were his chief advisers and the instruments of his 
 schemes. 
 
 With such qualifications it was hardly possible— even 
 if the current of affairs had been flowing smoothl}'— 
 that he should prove a successful governor of the new 
 republic. But when the numerous errors and adven- 
 titious circumstances are considered— for some of which 
 he was responsible, while of others he was the victim 
 —it must be esteemed fortunate that no great catastrophe 
 occurred. His immoderate elevation, his sudden degra- 
 dation, his controversy in regard to the sovereignty 
 his abrupt departure for England, his protracted absence' 
 His niistimod return, ihe secret instructions for his second 
 aclmini«tration, the obstinate parsimony and persistent 
 m-temper of the Queen-who, from the beginning to 
 tlie end of the Earl's government, never addressed a 
 Jvinaiy word to the Netherlanders, but was ever censurino- 
 and browbeating them in public state -papers and private 
 epistles-the treason of York and Stanley ; above all the 
 
 1! 
 
334 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XVH. 
 
 disastrous and concealed negotiations with Parma, and 
 the desperate attempts upon Amsterdam and Leyden — 
 all placed him in a most unfortunate position from first 
 to last. But he was not competent for his post under 
 any circumstances. He was not the statesman to deal 
 in policy with Buys, Bameveld, Ortel, Sainte Alde- 
 gonde ; nor the soldier to measure himself against 
 Alexander Famese. His administration was a failure 
 and although he repeatedly hazarded his life, and poured 
 out his wealth in their behalf with an almost unequalled 
 liberality, he could never gain the hearts of the Aether- 
 landers. English valour, English intelligence, English 
 truthfulness, English generosity, were endearing Eng- 
 land more and more to Holland. The statesmen of both 
 countries were brought into closest union, and learned 
 to appreciate and to respect each other, while they re- 
 cognized that the fate of their respective commonwealths 
 was indissolubly united. But it was to the eiforts of 
 Walsingham, Drake, Kaleigh, Wilkes, Buckhurst, Norris, 
 AVilloughby, VV illiams, Vere, Russell, and the brave men 
 who fought under their banners or their counsels, on 
 every battle-field, and in every beleaguered town in the 
 Netherlands, and to the universal spirit and sagacity of 
 the English nation, in this grand crisis of its fate, that 
 these fortunate results were owing ; not to the Earl of 
 Leicester, nor— during the term of his administration 
 — to Queen Elizabeth herself. 
 
 In brief, the proper sphere of this remarkable per- 
 sonage, and the one in which he passed the greater 
 portion of his existence, was that of a magnificent court- 
 favourite, the spoiled darling, from youth to his death- 
 bed, of the great English Queen ; whether to the advan- 
 tao-e or not of his country and the true interests of his 
 sovereign, there can hardly be at this day any difference 
 of opinion. 
 
 1588. 
 
 PROPHECIES AS TO THE YEAR 1588. 
 
 335 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 Prophecies as to the Year 1588 — Distracted Condition of the Dutch Republic — 
 Willoughby reluctantly takes Command — English Commissioners come to Ostend 
 - Secretary Gamier and Robert Cecil - Cecil accompanies Dale to Ghent— And 
 finds the Desolation complete — Interview of Dale and Cecil with Parma— His 
 fervent Expressions in favour of Peace — Cecil makes a Tour in Flanders — And 
 sees much that is remarkable — Interviews of Dr. Rogers with Parma — Wonderful 
 Harangues of the Envoy — Extraordinary Amenity of Alexander— With which 
 Rogers is much touched —The Queen not pleased with her Envoy — Credulity of 
 tlie English Commissioners — Ceremonious Meeting of all the Envoys — Consum- 
 mate Art in wasting Time — Long Disputes about Commissions — The Spanish 
 Commissions meant to deceive — Disputes about Cessation of Arms — Spanish 
 Duplicity and IVwrastlnation — Pedantry and Credulity of Dr. Dale — The Papal 
 Bull and Dr. Allen's Pamphlet — Dale sent to ask Explanations — Parma denies 
 all Knowledge of either - Croft believes to the last in Alexander - Dangerous 
 Discord m North Holland - Leicester's Resignation arrives - Enmity of Wll- 
 loughby and Maurice - Willoughby's dark Picture of Affairs -Hatred between 
 Sutes and Leicestrians — Maurice's Answer to the Queen's Charges— End of 
 Sonoy's Rebellion - Pl.ilip foments the Civil War in France - League's Threats 
 and Plots against Henrj-Mucio arrives in Paris - He is received with Enthu- 
 siasm-The King flies, and Spain triumphs in Paris- States expostulate with 
 the Queen - English Statesmen still deceived - Deputies from Netheriand 
 Churches — Hold Conference with the Queen — And present long Memorials — 
 More Conversations with the Queen - National Spirit of England and Holland 
 
 — Dissatisfaction with Queen's Course - Bitter Complaints of Lord Howard — 
 Want of I»reparati<.n it Army and Navy -Sanguine Statements of Leicester 
 
 — Activity of Parma — The painful Suspense continues. 
 
 The year 1588 had at last arrived— that fatal year con- 
 cerning which the German astrologers— more than a 
 century before— had prognosticated such dire events.* 
 As the epoch approached it was firmly believed by many 
 that the end of the world was at hand, while the least 
 superstitious could not doubt that great calamities were 
 impending over the nations. Portents observed during 
 the winter and in various parts of Europe came to in- 
 crease the prevailing panic. It rained blood in Sweden 
 monstrous births occurred in France, and at Weimar it 
 was gravely reported by eminent chroniclers that the 
 sun had appeared at mid-day holding a drawn sword in 
 nis mouth— a warlike portent whose meaning could not 
 be mistaken.* ^ 
 
 ^»^De Thou. X. 218. Camden. IIL 402. Strada, IL ix. 630. Pasquier, Oeuvres, 
 
 « Ibid., uhi sup. 
 
c 
 
 336 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVUT. 
 
 But, in truth, it needed no miracles nor prophecies to 
 enforce the conviction that a long procession of disasters 
 was steadily advancing. With France rent asunder by 
 internal convulsions, with its imbecile king not even 
 capable of commanding a petty faction among his own 
 subjects, with- Spain the dark cause of unnumbered 
 evils, holding Italy in its grasp, firmly allied with the 
 Pope, already having reduced and nearly absorbed 
 France, and now, after long and patient preparation, 
 about to hurl the concentrated vengeance and hatred of 
 long years upon the little kingdom of England, and 
 its only ally —the just organized commonwealth of the 
 Netherlands— it would have been strange indeed if the 
 dullest intellect had not dreamed of tragical events. It 
 was not encouraging that there should be distraction in 
 the counsels of the two States so immediately threatened ; 
 that the Queen of England should be at variance with 
 her wisest and most faithful -statesmen as to their course 
 of action, and that deadly quarrels should exist between 
 the leading men of the Dutch republic and the English 
 governor, who had assumed the responsibility of directing 
 its energies against the common enemy. 
 
 The blackest night that ever descended upon the 
 Ketherlands — more disappointing because succeeding a 
 period of comparative prosperity and triumph— -was the 
 winter of 1587-8, when Leicester had terminated his 
 career by his abrupt departure for England, after his 
 second brief attempt at administration. For it was 
 exactly at this moment of anxious expectation, when 
 dangers were rolling up from the south till not a ray of 
 light or hope could pierce the universal darkness, that 
 the little commonwealth was left without a chief. The 
 English Earl departed, shaking the dust from his feet ; 
 but he did not resign. The supreme authority— so far 
 as he could claim it — was again transferred, with his 
 person, to England. 
 
 The consequences were immediate and disastrous. All 
 the Leicestrians refused to obey the States-General. 
 Utrecht, the stronghold of that pai-ty, announced its 
 unequivocal intention to annex itself, without any con- 
 ditions whatever, to the English crown ; while, in Hol- 
 land, young Maurice was solemly installed stadholder, 
 and captain-general of the Provinces, under the guidance 
 
 1588. DISTRACTED CONDITION OF DUTCH REPUBLIC. 337 
 
 of Hohenlo and Bameveld. But his authority was 
 openly defied m many important cities within his iuris- 
 diction by military chieftains who had taken the oaths of 
 allegiance to Leicester as governor, and who reftised to 
 renounce fidelity to the man who had deserted thei^ 
 country, but who had not resigned his authority. Of 
 these mutineers the most eminent was Diedrich Sonov 
 governor of ^orth Holland, a soldier of much S 
 rience, sagacity, and courage, who had rendered great 
 
 ZlTi ^^ltV^"«^ «f liberty and Protest.tntism,^and 
 had defaced it by acts of barbarity which had made his 
 name infamous. Against this refractory chieftain it was 
 necessary for Hohenlo and Maurice to^ lead an armed 
 force, and to besiege him in his stronghold-the ^m- 
 ix>itant city of Medenblik-which he resolutely heTd 
 for Leicester, although Leicester had definitely departed 
 and which he closed against Maurice, although M^aurice 
 wkhin fhr^- /epresentative of order and' authority 
 Zl I it ^l^t^^ted commonwealth. And thus civil 
 war had broken out in the little scarcely-organizld 
 republic, as if there were not dangers and blS^ 
 
 war"t.'Tr'"^ '"'' '' ^^'^^ "^^^^^- ^-d *b- ci>^ 
 p^rtu^ necessary consequence of the Earl's de- 
 
 The English forces -reduced as they were by sick 
 ness famine, and abject poverty-were but a remnant of 
 the brave and well -seasoned bands which had faced the 
 Spaniards with success on so many battle-fields 
 
 i\. T^^^^""^ ^^"^ "^""^ assumed chief command over 
 tbem--by direction of Leicester, subsequently confiCd 
 l^ *^^ Q"«en-^as Lord Willoughby. A darW 
 
 etSof K"' " Wst, chivalroul and dev"te^d 
 servant of his Queen, a conscientious adherent of Lei- 
 he w^L to ' """^ ""''''^'^ '"^ ^^*« capacity and characJ^, 
 t.Z : ^^^^^^e'-' not a man of sufticient experience or 
 -^tlety to perform the various tasks imposeHp^^^^^^^^ 
 
 e4n brirT-*^'\"f/"'^ " ^^^^^^^^^ Quick^^tS 
 Tthe Stlf fieM ^ ^"!l.^^^ ^^-^^^-f the brave 
 
 tmtor nor "1 ' f T' """'^^T ^ ^^^^^^us adminis- 
 crnfe^ed hi. T^''^''^ connuander. And he honestly 
 trhad W. deficiencies and disliked the post to which 
 an/llf elevf ed. He sconied baseness, intrigue 
 and^peuy quarrels, a..d he was impatient of coS 
 
 z 
 
338 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS, Chap. XYHI. 
 
 Testy, choleric, and quarrelsome, with a high sense of 
 honour, and a keen perception of insult, very modest 
 and very proud, he was not likely to feed with whole- 
 some appetite upon the unsavoury annoyances which 
 were the daily bread of a chief commander in the 
 Netherlands. " I ambitiously aflect not high titles, but 
 round dealing," he said; "desiring rather to be a 
 private lance with indifferent reputation, than a colonel- 
 general spotted or defamed with wants." ' He was not 
 the politician to be matched against the unscrupulous 
 and all-accomplished Fainese ; and indeed no man better 
 than Willoughby could illustrate the enormous disad- 
 vantage under which Englishmen laboured at that 
 epoch in their dealings with Italians and Spaniards. 
 The profuse indulgence in falsehood which characterized 
 southern statesmanship, was more than a match for 
 English love of truth. English soldiers and negotiators 
 went naked into a contest with enemies armed in a 
 panoply of lies. It was an unequal match, as we have 
 already seen, and as we are soon more clearly to see. 
 How was an English soldier who valued his knightly 
 word— how were English diplomatists— among whom 
 one of the most famous— then a lad of twenty, secretary 
 to Lord Essex in the Netherlands— had poetically 
 avowed that '* simple truth was highest skill,"— to deal 
 with the thronging Spanish deceits sent northward by 
 the great father of lies who sat in the Escorial? 
 ■ " it were an ill lesson," said Willoughby, *' to teach 
 soldiers tlie dissimulations of such as follow princes' 
 courts in Italy. For my own part, it is my only end to 
 be loyal and dutiful to my sovereign, and plain to all 
 others that 1 honour. I see the finest reynard loses his 
 best coat as well as the poorest sheep." * He was also a 
 strong Leicestrian, and had imbibed much of the Eari's 
 resentment against the leading politicians of the States. 
 Willoughby was sorely in need of counsel. That shrewd 
 and honest Welshman— Roger W illiams— was, for the 
 moment, absent. Another of the same race and character 
 commanded in Bergen-op-Zoom, but was not more gifted 
 with administrative talent than the general himself. 
 *' Sir Thomas Morgan is a very sufficient, gallant gen- 
 
 1 willoughby to UU-estpr, Sept. 1687. • Same to BnrgWey. 16 July, 1587. 
 (Br. Mu8.. Galbe, D. 11.. p. 141. MS.) (BrlU Mus., Galba, D. I. p. 10, MS.) 
 
 1588. WILLOUGHBY RELUCTANTLY TAKES COMMAND. 339 
 
 tleman," said AVilloughby, "and in truth a ver>^ old 
 soldier ; but we both have need of one that can both 
 give and keep counsel better than ourselves. For action 
 he is undoubtedly very able, if there were no other means 
 to conquer but only to give blows." * 
 
 In brief, the new commander of the English forces in 
 the Netheriands was little satisfied with the States with 
 the enemy, or with himself; and was inclined to take 
 but a dismal view of the disjointed commonwealth 
 which required so incompetent a person as he professed 
 himself to be to set it right. 
 
 " 'Tis a shame to show my wants," he said, "but too 
 great a fault of duty that the Queen's reputation be 
 frustrate. What is my slender experience ! What an 
 honourable pei-son do I succeed ! \V hat an encumbered 
 popular state is left! What withered sinews, which it 
 l)asses my cunning to restore ! What an enemy in head 
 greater than heretofore! And wherewithal should I 
 sustain this burthen ? For the wars I am fitter to obey 
 than to command. For the state, I am a man prejudi- 
 cated in their opinion, and not the better liked of them 
 that I have earnestly followed the general, and, beino- 
 one that wants both opinion and experience with them 
 I have to deal, and means to win more or to maintain 
 that which is left, what good may be looked for?"* 
 
 The supreme authority— by the retirement of Lei- 
 cester—was once more the subject of dispute. As on 
 his first departure, so also on this his second and final 
 one, he had left a commission to the state-council to act 
 as an executive body during his absence. But, although 
 he nominally still retained his office, in reality no man 
 f>elieved in his return ; and the States-General were ill 
 inclined to brook a species of guardianship over them, 
 with which they believed themselves mature enough to 
 dispense. Moreover the state-council, composed mainly 
 ot Leicestrians, would expire, by limitation of its com- 
 mission, early in February of that year. The dispute, 
 lor power would necessarily terminate, therefore, in 
 favour of the States-General. « 
 
 Meantime— while this internal revolution was taking 
 
 [ Willoughby to Burghley, last dted. MS.) 
 
 "87. (Bnt Mus., Galba, D. II. 210. van .Nassau,' I. 5h, jej. 
 
 x*2 
 
340 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVUI. 
 
 place in the polity of the commonwealth— the gravest 
 disturbances were its natural consequence. There were 
 mutinies in the garrisons of Heusden, of Gertruydenberg, 
 of Medenblik, as alarming, and threatening to become as 
 chronic in their character, as those extensive military 
 rebellions which often rendered the Spanish troops 
 powerless at the most critical epochs. The cause uf 
 these mutinies was unifonnly want of pay, the pretext, 
 the oath to the Earl of Leicester, which was declared 
 incompatible with the allegiance claimed by Maurice 
 in the name of the States-General. The mutiny of 
 Gertniydenberg was destined to be protracted ; that of 
 Medenblik, dividing, as it did, the little territoiy of 
 Holland in its very heart, it was most important at once 
 to suppress. Sonoy, however— who was so stanch a 
 Leicestrian, that his Spanish contemporaries uniformly 
 believed him to be an Englishman '—held out for a long 
 time, as will be seen, against the threats and even the 
 armed demonstrations of Maurice and the States. 
 
 Meantime the English sovereign, persisting in her 
 delusion, and despite the solemn warnings of her own 
 wisest counsellors, and the passionate remonstrances of 
 the States-General of the Netherlands, sent her peace- 
 commissioners to the Duke of Parma. 
 
 The Earl of Derby, Lord Cobham, Sir James Croft, 
 Valentine Dale, doctor of laws, and foimer ambassador 
 at Vienna, and Dr. Kogers, envoys on the part of the 
 Queen, amved in the Netherlands in February." The 
 commissioners appointed on the part of Famese were 
 Count Aremberg, Champagny, Richardot, Jacob Maas, 
 and Secretary Gamier. 
 
 If histor)' has ever famished a lesson, how an un- 
 scmpulous tyrant, who has determined upon enlarging 
 his own territories at the expense of his neighbours, 
 upon suppressing human freedom wherever it dared to 
 manifest itself, with fine phrases of religion and order 
 for ever in his mouth, on deceiving his friends and 
 enemies alike, as to his nefarious and almost incredible 
 designs, by means of perpetual and colossal falsehoods ; 
 and "if such lessons desei-ve to be pondered, as a source 
 uf instmction and guidance, for every age, then certamly 
 
 1 Herrera, III. 11, 84. Cornero, • Guerras de Flandes,' 224. 
 * Camden. III. 4U7. 
 
 1588. ENGLISH COMMISSIONERS COME TO OSTEND. 341 
 
 the secret story of the negotiations by which the wise 
 Queen of England was beguiled, and her kingdom 
 brought to the verge of ruin, in the spring of 1588, is 
 worthy of serious attention. ' 
 
 The English commissioners arrived at Ostend. With 
 hem came Robert Cecil, youngest son of Lord-Treasurer 
 Burghley, then twenty-five years of age. He had no 
 ofticial^ capacity but was sent by his father, that lie 
 might improve his diplomatic talents, and obtain some 
 information as to the condition of the Netheriands. A 
 slight crooked, hump-backed young gentleman, dwarfish 
 in stature but with a face not irregular in feature, and 
 thoughtful and subtle in expression, with reddish hair, a 
 thm ta^vny beard and large, pathetic, greenish-coloured 
 eyes, with a mind and manners already trained to courts 
 and cabinets, and with a disposition almost ingenuous, 
 as compared to the massive dissimulation with which it 
 was to be contrasted, and with what was, in after-times, 
 to constitute a portion of his own character, Cecil, younc; 
 as he was, could not be considered the least importont of 
 the envoys. ^ The Queen, who loved proper men, called 
 him her pigmy" and -although," he observed with 
 whimsical courtliness, - 1 may not find fault with the 
 sporting name she gives me, yet ,seem I only not to mislike 
 
 LlTT J ^^'^' f- ' /^'^^ '*^^"g^«^ ^^^ ^^ong them 
 was Valentine Dale who had much shrewdness, expe- 
 
 TllT' ri-^^^^^ learning, but who valued himself, 
 above all things, upon his Latinity. It was a conso- 
 Jation to him while his adversaries were breaking 
 Inscians head as fast as the Duke, their master, was 
 breakmg his oaths, that his own s^Titax was as clear as 
 his conscience « The feeblest commissioner was James- 
 
 nnVi? V "" ^^^ ^^""^""^y exhibited himself with very 
 anile characteristics, and whose subsequent manifes- 
 tat ons were to seem like dotage. Doctor Kogers, learned 
 road iL r ^^ he unquestionably was, had less skill in 
 reading human character, or in deciphering the phy- 
 
 Se7wth f Tr?%-^i^^ I^-^ Ay, efezy in^c^a 
 man to cope with the astute Richardot, the profound and 
 
 (S. p. Office MS.) 
 
 March, 1588, (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
342 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVIII. 
 
 experienced Champagny, or tliat most voluble and most 
 rhetorical of doctors of law, Jacob Maas of Antwerp. 
 
 The commissioners, on their arrival, were welcomed 
 by Secretary Gamier, who had been sent to Ostend to 
 gi-eet them. Ah adroit, pleasing, courteous gentleman, 
 thirty-six years of age, small, handsome, and attired not 
 quite as a soldier, nor exactly as one of the lo«g/'{>'^^' 
 wearing a cloak furred to the knee, a cassock ot black 
 velvet, with plain gold buttons, and a gold chain about 
 his neck, the secretary delivered handsomely the Duke 
 of Tarma's congratulations, recommended great expedi- 
 tion in the negotiations, and was then invited by the 
 Earl of Derby to dine with the commissioners.' He was 
 accompanied by a servant in plain livery, who— so soon 
 as his master had made his bow to the Engli^^h envoys- 
 had set forth for a stroll through the town. The modest- 
 looking valet, however, was a distinguished engineer in 
 disguise, who had been sent by Alexander for the 
 especial purpose of examining the fortifications of 
 Ostend"-— that town being a point much coveted, and 
 liable to immediate attack by the Spanish commander. 
 
 Meanwhile Secretary Gamier made himself very 
 agreeable, showing wit, experience, and good education ; 
 and, after dinner, was accompanied to his lodgings by 
 Dr. Eogers and other gentlemen, with whom— especially 
 with Cecil — ^he held much conversation. 
 
 Knowing that this young gentleman " wanted not an 
 honourable father," the Secretary was very desirous 
 that he should take this opportunity to make a torn- 
 through the Provinces, examine the cities, and especially 
 *'note the miserable ruins of the poor country and 
 people." He would then feelingly perceive how much 
 they had to answer for, whose mad rebellion against 
 their sovereign lord and master had caused so great an 
 effusion of blood, and the wide desolation of such 
 goodly towns and territories. 
 
 Cecil probably entertained a suspicion that the sove- 
 reign lord and master, who had been employed, twenty 
 years long, in butchering his subjects and in ravaging 
 their territory to feed his executioners and soldiers, 
 
 » R. Cecil to Bnrghley. - March, 1588. « Parma to Philip 11.. 20 March, 1588. 
 (8. P. Office TflS.) •'' ^^^^- •*" "^'"*^"*^' ^^-^ 
 
 1588. SECRETARY GARNIER AND ROBERT CECIL. S43 
 
 might almost be justified in treating human beino-s as 
 beasts and reptiles, if they had not at last rebelled He 
 simply and diplomatically answered, however, that he 
 could not but concur with the Secretary in lamenting 
 the misery of the Provinces and people so utterly 
 despoiled and ruined, but. a^ it might be matter of dis- 
 pute - from what head this fountain of calamity was 
 both ted and derived, he would not enter farther therein 
 It being a matter much too high for his capacity " He 
 expressed also the hope that the King's heart mi-ht 
 sympathize vvith that of her Majesty, in earnest com- 
 passion for all this sufiering, and in detennination to 
 compound their differences.' 
 
 On the following day there was some conversation 
 with Orarnier, on preliminary and formal matters, fol- 
 owed m the evening by a dinner at Lord Cobham's 
 lodgings— a banquet which the forlorn condition of the 
 country scarcely permitted to be luxurious. " We rather 
 pray here for satiety," said Cecil, " than ever think of 
 varietv. 
 
 It was hoped by the Englishmen that the Secretary 
 would take his departure after dinner; for the governor 
 01 Ostend, Sir John Conway, had an uneasy sensation,' 
 during his visit, that the unsatisfoctory condition of the 
 defences would attract his attention, and that a sudden 
 attack by Farnese might be the result. Sir John was 
 not aware, however, of the minute and scientific ob- 
 servations then making-at the very moment when 
 Mr. Cxarnier was entertaining the commissioners with 
 Ills witty and instructive conversation- by the unob- 
 trusive menial who had accompanied the Secretary to 
 Ustend. In order that those observations might be as 
 thorough as possible, rather than with any view to 
 ostensible business, the envoy of Parma now declared 
 tnat -on account of the unfevourable state of the tide- 
 he had resolved to pass another night at Ostend. »^ We 
 coukl have spared his company," said Cecil, -but their 
 it?.? ?f»'''''J?'^^''^^ ^* convenient that he should be 
 ZorJ J"" ^^^- Comptroller Croft gave the affable 
 secretary a dmner-invitation for the following day.^ 
 
 Here certainly was a masterly commencement on the 
 
 * Cecil to Burghley, MS. last cited. 
 
 3 Cecil to Burghley, MS. last cited. 
 
 2 Ibid. 
 
344 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVIII. 
 
 1588, CECIL ACCOMPANIES DALE TO GHENT. 
 
 345 
 
 part of tho Spanish diplomatists. There was not one 
 stroke of business during the visit of the Secretary. He 
 had been sent simply to convey a formal greeting, and 
 to take the names of the English commissioners — a mat- 
 ter which could have been done in an hour as well as 
 in a week. But it must be remembered that, at that 
 very moment, the Duke was daily expecting intelligence 
 of the sailing of the Armada, and that Philip, on his 
 part, supposed the Duke already in England, at the 
 head of his army. Under these circumstances, there- 
 fore — when the whole object of the negotiation, so far 
 as Parma and his master were concerned, was to amuse 
 and to gain time — it was already ingenious in Gamier 
 to have consumed several days in doing nothing, and 
 to have obtained plans and descriptions of Ostend into 
 the bargain. 
 
 Gamier — when his departure could no longer, on any 
 pretext, be deferred — took his leave, once more warmly 
 urging Robert Cecil to make a little tour in the obe- 
 dient Netherlands, and to satisfy himself, by personal 
 observation, of their miserable condition. As l-)r. Dale 
 purposed making a preliminary visit to the Duke of 
 Parma at Ghent, it was determined accordingly that he 
 should be accompanied by Cecil. 
 
 That young gentleman had already been much im- 
 pressed by the forlorn aspect of the country about 
 Ostend — for, although the tovm was itself in possession 
 of the English, it was in the midst of the enemy's terri- 
 tory. Since the fall of Sluys the Spaniards were masters 
 of all Flanders, save this one much-coveted point. And 
 although the Queen had been disposed to abandon that 
 city, and to suffer the ocean to overwhelm it, rather 
 than that she should be at charges to defend it, yet its 
 possession was of vital consequence to the English-Dutch 
 cause, as time was ultimately to show. Meanwhile the 
 position was already a very important one, for— accord- 
 ing to the predatory system of warfare of the day—it 
 was an excellent starting-point for those marauding 
 expeditions against persons and property, in which 
 neither the Dutch nor English were less skilled than 
 the Flemings or Spaniards. ** The land all about here," 
 said Cecil, " is . so devastated, that where the open 
 country was wont to be covered with kine and sheep, 
 
 it 18 now fuller of wild boars and wolves ; whereof 
 many come so nigh the town that the sentinels— three 
 ot whom watch every night upon a sand-hill outside 
 the gates— have had them in a dark night upon them 
 ere they were aware." ' 
 
 But the garrison of Ostend was quite as dangerous to 
 the peasants and the country squires of Flanders, as 
 were the wolves or wild boars; and many a pacific 
 individual of retired habits, and with a remnant of 
 property worth a ransom, was doomed to see himself 
 whisked from his seclusion by Conway's troopers, and 
 made a compulsory guest at the city. Prisoners were 
 brought m from a distance of sixty miles; and there 
 was one old gentleman, -well languaged," who "con- 
 fessed merrily to Cecil, that when the soldiers fetched 
 mm out of his own mansion-house, sitting safe in his 
 study, he was as little in fear of the garrison of Ostend 
 as he was of the Turk or the devil." - 
 
 Three days after the departure of Gamier, Dr. Dale 
 and his attendants started upon their expedition from 
 Ostend to Ghent— an hour's journey or so in 
 these modern times. Hie English envoys, in f? '^"♦^^»'- ' 
 the sixteenth century, found it a more formid- '^^^' 
 able undertaking, lliey were many hours traversing 
 the four miles to Oudenburg, their first halting-place 
 
 hL\^ Tf!""'^ ^T^ "^"^^ **^^^^ ^^^^"g ^^en a great 
 breach of the sea-dyke of Ostend, a disaster threatening 
 destruction to town and country.^ At Oudenburg, I 
 small and wretched hole," as Gamier had described it 
 ^r.^- !^^'^,7^' however, a garrison of three thousand 
 fopanish soldiers, under the Maiquis de Renti. From 
 
 JhrpL'r Y? ""^ ^f ^ ^''^^P^^ ^^« appointed to protect 
 It tW^ ^/T'"''' to Bmges. Here they arrived 
 at thieeo clock, tvere met outside the gates by the 
 famous General La Motte, and by him escorted to^their 
 
 And Doctor Rogers held very similar 
 language.. -The most dolorous and 
 heavy sights In this voyage to Ghent, by 
 me WHghed.- he said ; " seeing the coun. 
 tries which, heretofore, by traffic of 
 merchants, as much as any other I had 
 •een flourish, now partly drowned, and 
 ^inL ''*i'" ^"""^ "•^•^' ^hoUv burned. 
 With wolves, wild boars, and foxes-i 
 
 great testimony of the wrath of God," 
 
 &c., &c. Dr. Rogers to the Queen. - 
 
 11 
 April, 1588. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 2 Cecil to Burghley, 1 March, Ma 
 already cited. 
 
 ' Same to same. — March. 
 (S. P. Office M&) 
 
 1588. 
 
346 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVni. 
 
 lodgings in the " English house," and afterwards hand- 
 somely entertained at supper in his own quarters. 
 
 The General's wife, Madame de la Motte, was, ac- 
 cording to Cecil, "afair gentlewoman of discreet and 
 modest behaviour, and yet not unwilling sometimes to 
 hear herself speak ;" ' so that in her society, and in that 
 of her sister — **a nun of the order of the Mounts, but 
 who, like the rest of the sisterhood, wore an ordinary 
 dress in the evening, and might leave the convent if 
 asked in marriage" — the supper passed off very 
 agreeably. 
 
 In the evening Cecil found that his father had for- 
 merly occupied the same bedroom of the English hotel 
 Friday ^^ which he was then lodged; for he found 
 March 8. that l.ord Burghley had scrawled his name in 
 '^'***' the chimney-corner— a fact which was highly 
 gratifying to the son.* 
 
 The next morning, at seven o'clock, the travellers set 
 forth for Ghent. The journey was a miserable one. it 
 was as cold and gloomy weather as even a Flemish 
 month of March could furnish. A drizzling rain was 
 tailing all day long, the lanes were foul and miry, the 
 frequent thickets which overhung their path were 
 swarming with the freebooters of Zeeland, who were 
 *' ever at hand," says Cecil, " to have picked our purses, 
 but that they descried our convoy, and so saved them- 
 selves in the woods." Sitting on horseback ten hours 
 without alighting, under such circumstances as these, 
 was not luxurious for a fragile little gentleman like 
 Queen Elizabeth's " pigmy ;" especially as Dr. Dale and 
 himself had only half a red hening between them for 
 luncheon, and supped afterwards upon an orange." The 
 envoy protested that when they could get a couple of 
 eggs a piece, while travelling in Flanders, " they thought 
 they fared like princes." * 
 
 Nevertheless Cecil and himself fought it out manfully, 
 and when they reached Ghent, at five in the evening, 
 they were met by their acquaintance Gamier, and 
 escorted to their lodgings. Here they were waited 
 upon by President Kichardot, " a tall gentleman," on 
 
 1 Cecil to Burghley. (MS. last cited.) s Dale to Burghley, ^ March, 1588. 
 
 a Ibid. 
 
 (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 « Ibid. 
 
 1588. CECIL FINDS THE DESOLATION COMPLETE. 347 
 
 behalf of the Duke of Tarma, and then left to their 
 much-needed repose. 
 
 Nothing could be more forlorn than the country of 
 the obedient Netherlands, through which their day's 
 journey had led them. Desolation had been the reward 
 of obedience. - The misery of the inhabitants," said 
 Cecil, 18 incredible, both without the town, where all 
 things are wasted, houses spoiled, and grounds un- 
 laboured, and also, even in these great cities, where 
 
 fcwL '' • ""' P"' p^°^ '^^^^^" ''^'^ '^ ^^^ 
 
 And all this human wretchedness was the elaborate 
 work of one man-one dull, heartless bigot, living, far 
 away, a life of labonous ease and solemn sensuality 
 and, m reality, almost as much removed from these 
 fellow-cre^atures of his, whom he called his subjects, as 
 If he had been the inhabitant of another planet. Has 
 history many more instructive warnings against the 
 horrors of arbitrary govemment-against the folly of 
 mankind m ever tolerating the rule of a single irre- 
 sponsib e indnidual, than the lesson furnished by the 
 life-work of that crowned criminal, Philip the Second ? 
 ni. i-*" \^^f/"S(*^^ peace on the part of these unfortunate 
 obedient Flemings was intense. Incessant cries for 
 peace reached the ears of the envoys on every side. 
 Alas It would have been better for these peace-wisheI>^ 
 
 nohlo R^ii i"^ ''^^ H ^'^^ ^'^^ *^ei^ brethren, the 
 UT esti,^.'^^^^^^^ "^^^ Zeelanders, when they had been 
 
 fmnf P^-V ^^^.^ P^,f e' X^t independence and liberty, 
 
 M^i *le"ii"g« were but fuel for the vast flame 
 
 cJril. l' '^'^''^rV^. ^^"^^^"S ^^^ *^e destruction of 
 aco^niT "!.~1^ ^^\ Christendom were not willing to 
 accept his absolute dominion. ^ 
 
 poSrful^'rf 'f -^^ Ghent~of Ghent, once the 
 cU es in th^ ^^,^»«^'-^^"«' *he opulent, the free, of all 
 came /n fl '^'''^^- "^^ *^^ ^^^'^* ^^.i^^t ^^^ foHom- 
 and to nri f r^"^ *^ ^^^* ^^P^^ Elizabeth^s envoy, 
 
 dTownl^eir 1 J""' ^^'^ "^"^^ ^'^ *^^^« streaming 
 aown their cheeks, earnestly expressing the desire of 
 
 ) Dale to Burghley. ^ March. 1588. (S. P. Office MS.)* 
 
 \^l 
 
348 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVIII. 
 
 their hearts for peace, and their joy that at least it had 
 now ♦* begun to be thought on." ' ,, ^. . x. 
 
 " It is quite true," replied Dr. Dale, " that her ex- 
 cellent Majesty the Queen-filled with compassion for 
 your ^ndition, and having been informed that the Duke 
 of Parma is desirous of peace-has vouchsafed to make 
 this overture. If it take not the desired effect, let not 
 the blame rest upon her, but upon her adversaries. 
 To these words the magistrates all said Amen, and 
 invoked blessings on her Majesty." And most certamly, 
 Elizabeth was sincerely desirous of peace, even at 
 greater sacrifices than the Duke could well have 
 imaiiined ; but there was something almost diabolic in 
 the cold dissimulation by which her honest compassion 
 was mocked, and the tears of a whole people m its 
 agony made the laughing-stock of a despot and his 
 
 *"" On Saturday morning, Kichardot and Gamier waited 
 upon the envoy to escort him to the presence of the 
 Duke. Cecil, who accompanied him, wa«^ not mucn 
 impressed with the grandeur of Alexanders lodgings 
 and made unfavourable and rather unreasonable 
 S *'"*''• comparisons between them and the splendour ot 
 ^^^'' Elizabeth's court. They passed through an 
 ante-chamber into a dining-room, thence into an inner 
 chamber, and next into the Duke's room. In theante- 
 chamber stood Sir William Stanley, the Deventer tra tor 
 conversing with one Mockett, an Englishman, long 
 resident in Flanders. Stanley was meanly dressed in 
 the Spanish fashion, and as young Cecil, passing through 
 the chamber, looked him in the face, he abmptly turned 
 from him, and pulled his hat over his eyes. /"^f 
 well he did so," said that young gentleman, for his 
 taking it off would hardly have cost me mine. (- ecil 
 was infoimed that Stanley was to have a commandery 
 of Malta, and was in good favour with the Duke who 
 was, however, quite weary of his mutinous and dis- 
 
 orderly Irish regiment.* • j v +1,^ 
 
 In the bed-chamber, Famese-accompanied by the 
 
 Marquis del Guasto, the Marquis of Kenty, the 1 nnce 
 
 10 
 
 ' Odl to Bur^tey. 5j March, 
 already cited. 
 
 MS. 
 
 I Ibid. 
 ' Ibid. 
 < Ibid. 
 
 1588. INTERVIEW OF THE ENVOY WITH PARMA. 349 
 
 Of Aremberg President Richardot, and Secretaiy Cosimo 
 -received the envoy and his companion. " Small and 
 mean wa« the furniture of the chamber," said CecH 
 
 and although they attribute this to his love of pri4cy 
 yet ,t IS a sign that peace is the mother of allhonow 
 and state, as may best be perceived by the court of 
 England, which her Majest^s royal presence doth so 
 adorn as that at exceedeth this as far as the sun su^! 
 passeth in light the other stars of the firmament "' 
 
 Here was a compliment to the Queen and her uphol- 
 sterers drawn m by the ears. Certainly, if the first 
 and best fruit of the much longed-for peace were only 
 
 t Sr^ ^^^ ^?''"''t °^ '°^»' ^''d dLal apartment"^ 
 It might be as well perhaps for the war to go on while 
 the Queen continued to outshine all the Lrs irthe 
 
 knTwTh ; ^"* '^' .'""^•^'"S *=°"^'«^ «»•! «^te"man 
 Knew that a personal compliment to Elizabeth could 
 never be amiss or ill-timed. 
 
 to^JheTuk/'^'':,"'"^ '^t ^r*^"^ "f j^^"- »r«i««ty 
 
 Ale^ndi^^H *"f 7^' ^T^ ^■*^ e-'^^' attention. 
 Alexander attempted a reply in French, which was 
 
 lor Italian. He alluded with great fervour to the 
 "honourable opinion concerning^ his sincerity and 
 word/' expressed to him by her Vjesty throZh the 
 mouth of her envoy. " And indeed," said he " I have 
 always had especial care of keepiiig my w^rd My 
 body and service are at the commandment of the Kin/ 
 my.lord and master, but my hono.ir is my own and hf^ 
 
 Sanv r rf'^ *^' ' '^'^«" "^i-.- have :rp": 
 
 hef Majest,^? """''^ *° '' ^'^^^ ^^d famous a Queen as 
 
 NeSrthekJF °°' 1 P^f """^ri^s and of ceremony, 
 envoy andTf'" ^-"""^ opportunity to impress the 
 
 crfL^i^ 3 wrcS inrSeitrd 
 
 L^^^dTQ^nE^IS^^^^^^^ 
 
 serviw"!?/* "°*.-^ ^^'""' '" ^^^ ^"'•I'J "-he said, "re- 
 
 masteT toir*'"?^*^''" ^'' Majesty and my'royal 
 master- to whom I desire more to do sen-ice. So much 
 
 ' C«il to Burghley, MS. last cited. 
 
 Ibid. 
 
350 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVHI. 
 
 t \ 
 
 have I heard of her perfections, that I wish earnestly 
 that things might so fall out, as that it might be my 
 fortune to look upon her face before my return to my 
 own country. Yet I desire to behold her, not as a ser- 
 vant to him who is not able still to maintain war, or as 
 one that feared any harm that might befall him ; for in 
 such matters my account was made long ago, to endure 
 all which God may send. But, in truth, I am weary to 
 behold the miserable estate of this people, fallen upon 
 them through their own folly, and methinks that he 
 who should do the best offices of peace would perform a 
 pium et sanctissimum opus. Eight glad am I that the 
 Queen is not behind me in zeal for peace." He then 
 complimented Cecil in regard to his father, whom he 
 understood to be the principal mover in these negotia- 
 tions.' 
 
 The young man expressed his thanks, and especially 
 for the good affection which the Duke had manifested 
 to the Queen and in the blessed cause of peace. He 
 was well aware that her Majesty esteemed him a prince 
 of great honour and virtue, and that for this good work, 
 thus auspiciously begun, no man could possibly doubt 
 that her Majesty, like himself, was most zealously 
 affected to bring all things to a perfect peace. 
 
 The matters discussed in this first interview were 
 only in regard to the place to be appointed for the 
 coming conferences, and the exchange of powers. The 
 Queen's commissioners had expected to treat at Ostend. 
 Alexander, on the contrary, was unable to listen to such 
 a suggestion, as it would be utter dereliction of his 
 master's dignity to send envoys to a city of his own, 
 now in hostile occupation by her Majesty's forces. Ihe 
 place of conference, therefore, would be matter of future 
 consideration. In respect to the exchange of powers, 
 Alexander expressed the hope that no man would doubt 
 as to the production on his commissioners' part, of ample 
 authority both from himself and from the King.* 
 
 Yet it will be remembered, that, at this moment, the 
 Duke had not only no powers from the King, but that 
 Philip had most expressly refused to send a commission, 
 
 1 Cecil to Barghley, ^ March. MS. already cited. 
 3 Ibid. 
 
 351 
 
 1588. DR. DALE'S KETURN TO OSTEND. 
 
 ti.e letter lay in his Cabinet fn 2t veTr ^tm in J" k' 
 Philip expressed his convirfion tllfT- ' ^ ^""^'^ 
 
 attendants made the best of Their wafbacJt '"'^ ^'' 
 
 Sndfr ^^«'»P^S"y. ««t ionh on a little tour in 
 
 The journey from Ghent to Antwern ^.. 
 he was agreeably surprised hi n,7T^ ^ ''^^•^' *"d 
 of the country/ At^nterva^I of evCfelP'T^'-'y 
 was refreshed with the snertp.l^ 7 'ew miles, he 
 garnished with dan-Hns-^WK! * "^ ^ S''''^* ^e" 
 therefore, in comparafeecS"'?' -^^ ''^''''^^' 
 the energetic bailflof wSnllJ^ ■V^'^"^ *••** 
 
 tion upon the proprietors oHhelSntlL,'' '°"'"^- 
 mainly in hanffina bri<n,n^o •^untry, to be expended 
 
 Wn applied, U^tnof^tlorylZ'"''' t"" '^' ^^^^^ 
 appeamnce but they were instentt^' could make their 
 and hanged forthwith witTn^?-^ J'"'"®*' ^^ ^°^^'^^' 
 counted twelve s^cl p W "f ^'^^V *"^i- Ceoil 
 Ween Ghent and Anfcj .°^ '^''"*""' '»« l"'^ road 
 
 Lan?ran'4i-'°br:L': ':?a'" :"t' ^" '"^'^'^ »-''-*. 
 Antwern in ihJA ,. ^^^^ commercial house in 
 
 and b7him on hiTrr7Jir\.^"*""P ''^ -~ce! 
 town, he was moil f ^^^ ^""^ evening in that 
 
 fathers ir\ri^ir'.f'"i '^'} f- '^« 
 
 city that ever I saw," sa^ Cecil "f ^'^^P^'^f^antest 
 
 hnilding. but utterly left IndZ;^ for situation and 
 
 "ch merchants that were wont tn f °'^"r ^^ ^^^''^ 
 
 His host was much^^tTli a ^ ""^V^"* ^^^ Pl^ce."' 
 
 as much interested m the peace-negotia- 
 
 ^ ^' ii ^'^' 1588. (S. P. Office MS.) • , i^^^ 
 
352 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVHI. 
 
 1588. CECIL MAKES A TOUR IN FLANDERS. 
 
 S53 
 
 tions, and, indeed, through his relations with Cham- 
 pagny and Andreas de Loo, had been one of the 
 instruments by which it had been oommenced. He 
 inveighed bitterly against the Spanish captains and 
 soldiers, to whose rapacity and ferocity he mainly 
 ascribed the continuance of the war; and he was 
 especially incensed with Stanley and other English 
 renegades, who were thought fiercer haters of England 
 than were the Spaniards themselves. Even in the 
 desolate and abject condition of Antwerp and its neigh- 
 bourhood, at that moment, the quick eye of Cecil 
 detected the latent signs of a possible splendour. 
 Should peace be restored, the territory once more be 
 tilled, and the foreign merchants attracted thither again, 
 he believed that the governor of the obedient Nether- 
 lands might live there in more magnificence than the 
 King of Spain himself, exhausted as were his revenues 
 by the enormous expense of this protracted war. Eight 
 hundred thousand dollars monthly, so Lanfranchi in- 
 formed Cecil, were the cost of the forces on the footing 
 then established. This, however, was probably an 
 exaggeration, for the royal account-books showed a less 
 formidable sum,' although a sufficiently large one to 
 appal a less obstinate bigot than Philip. But what to 
 him were the ruin of the Netherlands, the impoverish- 
 ment of Spain, and the downfall of her ancient grandeur, 
 compared to the glory of establishing the Inquisition in 
 England and Holland ? 
 
 While at dinner in Lanfranchi's house, Cecil was 
 
 1 •• Relaclon particular de lo que monta 
 un mes de sueldo de toda la getite de 
 este exereito asi Infant" como caba» y 
 entrett'nidos de todos nacioues, artlll* 
 armada, Yttuallas, y el numoro de la 
 gente que hay conforme a la ultima 
 muestra de 21) Apr., 1588 : — 
 
 Per Mm. 
 
 . 6.508 
 
 Infanlrriii. Hoinbret. Vaniierat. 
 
 Ee^panola ... 8,718 
 Ital» 6,339 
 
 Irlandesca V 3,2T8 
 »>coc(sia ' 
 Wallona ... 
 Alem> Alta 
 Baya 
 
 89 
 62 
 
 29 
 
 17,825 144 
 
 11,309 60 
 
 8,616 34 
 
 Cuballeria ligera. 
 3,650 Atom* ebtaudaries 
 
 »t 
 
 Per M«. 
 62.239 
 35,225 
 
 20,591 
 
 t9.341 
 86.fi97 
 61.195 
 
 , 38.631 
 
 Castillos. 
 Anversa "'\ 
 
 Gande V 1,180 
 
 CbarleniontI 
 
 Entrelenidos. 
 
 668 23.204 
 
 El Armada de Mar, gasto ordi- ) ^g 400 
 
 narlo piT mes ' 
 
 ArtiUerla 8.2<>0 
 
 Vituallas, spediile.&c 4,384 
 
 SuQiario total. 
 69,915 hombres, per mes, oscudos 380.427 
 Sua Alteza AU'Ssandro Fainese. per mes. 
 
 3000 escudos d' oro. 
 Maesse del camp* gen>. per mes. lOOO. 
 Monta el gasto ordiu* de cada mihasU 
 aqui pesos 454,316 per mes = 37 000 
 escudos de oro." (Archive de Simaucaa, 
 MS.) 
 
 Witness to another characteristic of the times, and one 
 which afforded proof of even moi^ formidable f^e! 
 hooters abroad than those for whom the bailiff of Vv'^s 
 land had erected his gibbets. A canal-boat had ^ft 
 Antwerp for Brussels that morning, and in the vicinitv 
 
 from the^^k'l^''^ ^^.^" ''' ^P- "^y- ^^etacS 
 trom the English garrison of Bergen-op-Zoom and 
 
 captured, with twelve prisoners and a'freig^hf of 60 000 
 florins m money. -This struck the company at the 
 dmner-table all in a dump," said Cecil. And^well it 
 migh ; for the property mainly belonged to themTSvef 
 and they forthwith did their best to hfve the mTra^S 
 waylaid on their return. But Cecil, notwithsLS 
 his gmtitude for the hospitality of Lanfranchi, sent wd 
 next day to the garrison of Bergen of the desi^s aL^nst 
 them, and on his arrival at the place had theTt LEn 
 of being informed by Lord Willoughby that the pirtv 
 had got safe home with their plunder » ^ ^ 
 
 - And well worthy they are of it," said young Eobert 
 " considering how far they go for it " ^ ^oDert, 
 
 the^ WT bT^^^^ ^'"r^ ^^^^^' P^^^^<i^^ <^own 
 me rner to Bergen-op-Zoom, where he was hosnitablv 
 
 entertained by that doughty old soldier Sir Sam 
 Eeade, and met Lord \Villoughby, whom he acUpanTed 
 toBrielle on a visit to the deposed elector Truchsess 
 then living m that neighbourhood. Cecil-:who w^ 
 not passion's slave-had small sympathy withl^he man 
 iLr^f^ }X " «-'--g-ty for fhe s'Lke of A^es 
 
 ^woti V ^^^ ^""'7 ^^^^^y gentleman," saidTe 
 well fashioned, and of good speech, for which I mus; 
 
 l^Alff 1 • , ?., ^"^* -^^ence he proceeded bv wav nf 
 i"u unest Duilt town that ever he raw " +^ +1. 
 
 tour L ^""^ "'^^ ^^^ "»"«* of his three weeW 
 tour, had seen many important towns both in fhe^. 
 
 VOi, II ^S. last dted. 
 
 2 1 
 
354 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVIII. 
 
 public and in the obedient Netherlands, and had con- 
 versed with many "tall gentlemen," as he expressed 
 himself, among the English commanders, having been 
 especially impressed by the heroes of Sluys, Baskervillo 
 and that " proper gentleman Francis Vere." ^ 
 
 He was also presented by Lord Willoughby to 
 Maurice of Nassau, and was perhaps not very benign- 
 antly received by the young prince. At that particular 
 moment, when Leicester's deferred resignation, the 
 rebellion of Sonoy in North Holland, founded on a 
 fictitious allegianco to the late governor-general, the 
 perverse determination of the Queen to treat for peace 
 against the advice of all the leading statesmen of the 
 Netherlands, and the sharp rebukes perjietually ad- 
 ministered by her, in consequence, to the young stad- 
 holder and all his supporters, had not tended to produce 
 the most tender feelings upon their part towards the 
 English government, it was not surprising that the 
 handsome soldier should look askance at the crooked 
 little courtier, whom even the great Queen smiled at 
 while she petted him. Cecil was veiy angry with 
 
 Maurice. 
 
 *' In my life I never saw worse behaviour," he said, 
 ** except it were in one lately come from school. There 
 is neither outward appearance in him of any noble mind 
 nor inward virtue." * 
 
 Although Cecil had consumed nearly the whole month 
 of March in his tour, he had been more profitably em- 
 ployed than were the royal commissioners during the 
 same period at Ostend. 
 
 Never did statesmen know better how not to do that 
 which they were ostensibly occupied in doing than 
 Alexander Famese and his agents, Champagny, Kichar- 
 dot, Jacob Maas, and Gamier. The first pretext by 
 which much time was cleverly consumed was the dispute 
 as to the place of meeting. Doctor Dale had already 
 expressed his desire for Ostend as the place of colloquy. 
 ** 'Tis a very slow old gentleman,^ this Doctor Dale," 
 said Alexander ; *' he was here in the time of Madam 
 
 1 CeciltoBurghley. 5-^**' 1588. (S. MS. last cited. 
 
 « ^P'"' « » Vlejo y pesado." Parma to Philip 
 
 P.OlBceMS.) ^^ jL 20 March, 1588. (Arch, de Slmaa- 
 
 « CecU to Burghley, - March, 1588. cas, MS.) 
 
 1588. DISCUSSIONS PROLONGED TO GAIN TIME. 355 
 
 my mother, and has also been ambassador at Yienna 
 1 have received him and his attendants with great 
 courtesy, and held out great hopes of peace. We 
 had conversations about the place of meeting. He 
 wishes Ostend : I object. The first conference will 
 probably be at some point between that place and 
 Newport. *i ^ 
 
 The next opportunity for discussion and delay was 
 afforded by the question of powers. And it must be 
 ever borne in mind that Alexander was daily expectino- 
 the arrival of the invading fleets and armies of Spain'' 
 and was holding himself in readiness to place himself at 
 their head for the conquest of England. This was of 
 course so strenuously denied by himself and those under 
 his influence, that Queen Elizabeth implicitly believed 
 him Burghley was lost in doubt, and even the astute 
 ^\ alsingham began to distrust his own senses. So much 
 
 i"-?? f ^ . ^ falsehood acquire in determined and 
 skilful hands. 
 
 " As to the commissions, it will be absolutely necessary 
 for your Majesty to send them," wrote Alexander at the 
 moment when he was receiving the English envoy at 
 Orhent, tor— unless the Armada arrive soon—it will be 
 indispensable for me to have them, in order to keep the 
 negotiation alive. Of course they will never broach the 
 pnncipal matters without exhibition of powers. Eichar- 
 dot IS aware of the secret which your Majesty confided 
 to me, namely, that the negotiations are only intended 
 to deceive the Queen and to gain time for the fleet ; but 
 the powers must be set in order that we may be able to 
 produce them, although your secret intentions will be 
 obeyed. * 
 
 The Duke commented, however, on the extreme 
 difficulty of carrying out the plan, as originally proposed. 
 
 1 he conquest of England would have been difficult " 
 iie said, " even although the country had been taken by 
 surprise. Now they are strong and armed; we are 
 comparatively weak. The danger and the doubt are 
 great; and the English deputies, I think, are really 
 desirous of peace. Nevertheless I am at your Majesty's 
 disposition— life and all~and probably, before the answer 
 
 ArchTsro'c^^^:; • ' ''"^'' ''''■ M;.r^c!;t """' "- '' !^^^' ''''' 
 
 2 A 2 
 
356 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVUI. 
 
 mrives to this letter, the fleet will have ^arrived, and I shall 
 have undertaken the passage to England.'' ^ 
 
 After three weeks had thus adroitly been frittered 
 away the English commissioners became somewhat 
 impatient, and despatched Doctor Eogers to the Dnke 
 at Ghent. This was extremely obliging upon their part, 
 for if Valentine Dale were a '^ slow old gentleman, he 
 was keen, caustic, and rapid, as compared to Daniel 
 Eoo-ers. A formalist and a pedant, a man of red tape 
 and routine, full of precedents and declamatory common- 
 places which he mistook for eloquence, honest as daylight 
 and tedious as a king, he was just the time-consumer for 
 Alexander's purpose. The wily Italian listened with 
 profound attention to the wise saws in which the excel- 
 lent diplomatist revelled, and his fine eyes often filled 
 with tears at the Doctor*s rhetoric. 
 
 Three interviews— each three mortal hours long— did 
 the two indulge in at Ghent, and never was high com- 
 missioner better satisfied with himself than was Daniel 
 Eocrers upon those occasions. He carried ever>' point ; 
 he*convinced, he softened, he captivated the great Duke; 
 he turned the great Duke round his finger. Ihc great 
 Duke smiled, or wept, or fell into his arms, by turns. 
 Alexander's military exploits had rung through the 
 world his genius for diplomacy and statesmanship had 
 never been disputed ; but his talents as a light comedian 
 were, in these interviews, for the first time fully 
 
 revealed. , ^ . t r- ii j. 
 
 On the 26th March the learned Doctor made his tirst 
 bow and performed his first flourish of compliments at 
 
 M March Ghcut. ** I assuro your Majcsty,' said he, his 
 -» April • Highness followed my compliments of entertam- 
 ' ^^^^' ment with so much honour, as that— his High- 
 ness or I, speaking of the Queen of England- he never 
 did less than uncover his head ; not covering the same 
 unless I was covered also." « And after these salutations 
 had at last been got through with, thus spake the Doctor 
 of Laws to the Duke of Panna :— 
 
 " Almighty God, the light of lights, be pleased to 
 enlighten the understanding of your Alteza, and to 
 direct the same to his glor>% to the uniting of both their 
 
 1 Panna to Philip II., 20 March, 1588. 
 (Arch, de Simancas, MS.) 
 
 1 
 a Daniel Rogers to the Queen, j^ 
 
 April, 1588. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 3588. DR ROGERS'S INTERVIEWS WITH PARMA. 357 
 
 Majesties and the finishing of these most bloody wars 
 whereby these countries, being in the highest de-ree of 
 misery^ desolate, lie as it were prostrate before the wrath- 
 ful presence of the most mighty God, most lamentably 
 beseeching his Divine Majesty to withdraw his scourge 
 of war from them, and to move the hearts of princes ?o 
 restore them unto peace, whereby they might attain 
 unto their ancient flower and dignity. Into the hands 
 ot your Alteza are now the lives of many thousands, the 
 destruction of cities, towns, and countries, which to put 
 to the fortune of war how perilous it were, I pray con- 
 sider. Ihink ye, ye see the mothers left alive tendering 
 their offspring m your presence, nam matribus detestata 
 heUa, continued the orator. " Think also of others of 
 all sexes ages, and conditions, on their knees before 
 your Alteza, most humbly praying and crying most 
 dolorously to spare their lives, and save their pioperty 
 trom the ensanguined scourge of the insane soldiers » 
 andsotn, and so on.» ' 
 
 Now Philip II was slow in resolving, slower in action. 
 The ponderous three-deckers of Biscay were notoriously 
 the dullest sailers ever known, nor were the fettered 
 slaves who rowed the great galleys of Portugal or of 
 Andalusia very brisk in their movements ; and yet the 
 ivmg might have found time to marshal his ideas and 
 his squadrons, and the Armada had leisure to circum- 
 navigate the globe and invade England afterwards, if a 
 succession of Daniel Rogerses could have entertained 
 his Highness with compliments while the preparations 
 were making. ^ ^ 
 
 But Alexander— at the very outset of the Doctor^s 
 eloquence-found it diflBcult to suppress his feelings. 
 J..^l T"'*'' yo^r, ^^ajesty," said Eogers, -that his 
 f in! .^^ ^ ^"^"^^ ^^""Se eye— were moistened. Some- 
 
 W wo77^!i^*^r'''' "P"^^"^ *^ ^^^^'^^^ sometimes 
 iney Aveie fixed full upon me, sometimes tliev w^ere cast 
 
 downward well declai-ing ho'w his heart wa^Xted- 
 
 the effppf fT' ^i!? *^^"^^* ^* necessary to mitigate 
 the effect of his rhetoric, and to assure- his Highness 
 
 the nJl-If ' f "" ^"' ^.^^^ ^^' ^^^t«^ ^^g^rS' and not 
 
 Maie^ V ii^^'^^'P^*"?^^^^'^ ^^ *^^^ Qneen'a most serene 
 J^ajesty, who was exciting all this emotion. 
 
 1 Daniel Rogers to the Queen, MS. last cited. i %i^ 
 
358 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVIII. 
 
 " At this part of my speech," said he, "I prayed his 
 Hi-hness not to be troubled,' for that the same only 
 p^Mfr^rr. Doctor Rogers who, it -jf/ P f ^ J',';^^ ^ 
 know was so much moved with the pitiful case of these 
 JouTtries, as also that which of war was sure to ensue, 
 
 that I wished, if my body were full "f "'"'''^^vL^ere 
 the same to be poured forth to satisfy ™y t^atjere 
 
 blood-thirsty, so there might an ^™«'l^.P^''';^/""?rto 
 His Highness, at any rate, '"^'^'f^t^^ fho Doctor's 
 drink of such sanguinary streams-even had the Doctoi s 
 body contained them-Rogers became calmer. He then 
 descended from rhetoric to jurisprudence and .^-Bt^, 
 and arsuod at intolerable length the P^P^ety « pom- 
 menclnl the conferences at Ostend, and of exhibiting 
 
 •"t^ilSureST i« follow him as closely as d^d 
 
 second point," Alexander at last interrupted thetorrent 
 "'Jj^He'Sh't my divisions. and -bdivisions" wrote 
 
 the Doctor, " were perfectly in his .'■^^"'I'Xma' dt 
 that he would first answer the first point, and ^f^;™^ 
 give audience to the second, and answer the same 
 
 ""Accordingly Alexander put on his hat, and begged 
 the envoy ^aL to be covered. Then " w^ g-^ 
 gravity, as one inwardly much moved, the Duke tooK 
 
 -eSr: %^^^ he, " you have pr^^undea 
 ..ntoiSrsDecchts of two sorts: the one proceeds from 
 CtoTRrgTeil «ie other from the lord ambassador of 
 £ most seilne Queen of England. Touching the first 
 I do give you my hearty thanks for your godly speech^, 
 assurino- vou that though, by reason 1 have alwajs 
 foil" wed the wars, I cannot be ignorant of the calam.t. 
 by you alleged, yet you have BO^^b' rep'-esented tt^ 
 • same before mine eyes as to eflectuate in me at this 
 tostant, not <»nly the confirmation of mine own d 
 JLitionto have peace, but also an '^7^*"«« *YhVt 
 tteaty shall take good and speedy end, seeing that 
 
 1 «• Soontcntorsi," MS. last cited. 
 
 « Rogers to the Queen. MS. before cited. 
 
 1588. 
 
 GROSS DISSIMULATION OF PARMA. 
 
 359 
 
 hath pleased God to raise up such a good instrument as 
 you are." ' 
 
 "Many are the causes," continued the Duke, " which, 
 besides my disposition, move me to peace. My father 
 and mother are dead, my son is a young prince, my 
 house has truly need of my presence. I am not ignorant 
 how ticklish a thing is the fortune of war, which— how 
 victorious soever I have been— may in one moment not 
 only deface the same, but also deprive me of my life. 
 '^??i ^^°^' ™^ "lister, is now stricken in years, his 
 children are young, his dominions in trouble. His 
 desire IS to live, and to leave his posterity, in quietness. 
 Ihe glory of God, the honour of both their Majesties, 
 and the good of these countries, with the stay of the 
 eftusion of Christian blood, and divers other like reasons 
 force him to peace."* ' 
 
 Thus spoke Alexander, like an honest Christian gentle- 
 man, avowing the most equitable and pacific dispositions 
 on the part of his master and himself. Yet at that 
 moment he knew that the Armada was about to sail, 
 that his own nights and days were passed in active 
 preparations for war, and that no earthly power could 
 move Philip by one hair*s-breadth from his purpose to 
 conquer England that summer.^ 
 
 It would be superfluous to follow the Duke or the 
 Doctor through their long dialogue on the place of con- 
 terence, and the commissions. Alexander considered it 
 *' mfamy " on his name if he should send envoys to a 
 place of his master's held by the enemy. He was also 
 ot ojumon that it was unheard of to exhibit commissions 
 previous to a preliminary colloquy. 
 
 Both propositions were strenuously contested by Eogers. 
 Jn regard to the second point in particular, he showed 
 triumphantly, by citations from the *' Polonians, Prus- 
 sians, and Lithuanians," that commissions ought to be 
 previously exhibited.* But it was not probable that 
 even the Doctor's learning and logic would persuade 
 
 * Rogers to the Queen, MS. before 
 cited. 
 
 » J bid. 
 
 f ui?^'^ ^*^ snfflclently proved the good 
 lalth of the Queen on entering upon these 
 negoti*tion.H. Alexander himself felt as 
 •ure of her sincerity as he did of his 
 
 master's duplicity. " I believe that she 
 desires peace earnestly," said he to Philip, 
 "on account of her fear of expense." 
 Parma to Philip II. 31 Jan. 1588. (Arch, 
 de Siraancas, MS.) 
 
 * Rogers to the Queen* MS. already 
 cited. 
 
'I 
 
 360 THE UNITED KETHERLANDS. CiUP. XVIII. 
 
 Alexander to produce his commission, because, unfortu- 
 S he had no commission to produce A comfortable 
 Sument otthe subject, however, would, none the less, 
 
 '^KZ IZ. of this work brougM them, exlmnsted -1 
 hunirrv to the hour of noon and of dmner. Alexander, 
 Sh^ie and smiling thanks for the e^oy spkm 
 dealing and eloquence, assured him that there would 
 hive been peace long ago "had Doctor Eogei« a waj^ 
 
 E the Lrn,ment,'>U -g^<>"?f ^^^^f J^1„^™1^ 
 not learned enough to deal creditably ^ylth him. He 
 would,Towever, Ld Richardot to bear him company at 
 +i>>.lp and chop logic with him afterwards. 
 
 NexTday a? thf same hour, the Duke and Doctor had 
 anoAer encounter. So soon as the envoy made his ap- 
 ?^ara^ce he found himself " embraced most cheerfully 
 Sd femilia^y by his Alteza," who. then entering at 
 Se Into i^iness, asked as to the Doctor's second 
 
 ^°The Doctor answered with great alacrity. 
 
 " Certain expressions have been reported to her Ma 
 jesty," said he^' as coming both from jour "ighness and 
 iom Richardot, hinting at a possible attempt by the 
 Kins of Spain's forces against the Queen. Her Majestj , 
 gathiYnfthat you axe going about belike to tennfy her, 
 commands me to inform jx)U very clearly and veiy ex- 
 pressly that she does not deal so weakly m her go^ em 
 Lnt, nor so improvidently, but hat «ho is provided for 
 anything that might be attempted against her by the 
 KW and as able to offend him as he her MaJest5^ ' 
 
 Akxander-with a sad countenance, as much offended 
 his eyes declaring miscontentment-asked who had made 
 
 '"*Upon tht honour of a gentleman," ^id he, "who- 
 ever has said this has much abused me. and evil acquitted 
 himself They who know me best are aware that it is 
 Smy manner to let any word pass my lips hat might 
 offend any prince." ITien, speaking most solemnly he 
 added, "I declare really and truly (whichtwo words e 
 ^id in Spanish), that / hum wt of auy .utenUon of the 
 King of Spain, against her Majesty or her realms. 
 
 1588. 
 
 ASSEVERATIONS OF PARMA. 
 
 361 
 
 At that moment the earth did not open— year of por- 
 tents though it was— and the Doctor, *' singularly re- 
 joicing " at this authentic infomation from the highest 
 source, proceeded cheerfully with the conversation. 
 
 *' I hold myself," he exclaimed, -the man most satis- 
 vf in the world, because I may now write to her Majesty 
 that 1 have heard your Highness upon your honour use 
 these words." 
 
 " Upon my honour, it is true," repeated the Duke : 
 
 for so honourably do I think of her Majesty, as that, 
 
 alter the King, my master, I would honour and serve 
 
 her before any jirince in Christendom." He added many 
 
 earnest asseverations of similar import. 
 
 u 1 \ T ^ ^^* ^^"^' however," continued Alexander, 
 that 1 have heard of certain ships having been armed 
 
 by the King against that Draak "—he pronounced the 
 a m Drake's name very broadly, or Donee—'' who 
 
 has committed so many outrages ; but I repeat that I 
 
 En \lnd '^''''''^ ^/ «^'^ d^^m against her Majesty or against 
 
 The Duke then manifested much anxiety to know by 
 whom he had been so misrepresented. "There has 
 been no one with me but Dr. Dale," said he. -and I 
 marvel that he should thus wantonly have injured me." 
 Dr. Dale," replied Rogers, - is a man of honour, of 
 good years, learned, and well experienced ; but perhaps 
 He untortunately misapprehended some of your Alteza's 
 words, and thought himself bound by his allegiance 
 strictly to report them to her Majesty." 
 
 " I grieve that I should be misrepresented and injured," 
 answered Famese, " in a manner so important to my 
 nonour. Nevertheless, knowing the virtues with which 
 iier Majesty is endued, I assure myself that the protes- 
 lations 1 am now making will entirdy satisfy her." 
 
 tie then expressed the fervent hope that the holy work 
 01 negotiation now commencing would result in a renewal 
 01 the ancient friendship between the Houses of Bur- 
 g^ndy and of England, asserting that - there had never 
 »>een so favourable a time as the present." 
 hni Ik ^'^"^^'' governments of the Netherlands there 
 
 u rnf '^ "^^^y mistakes and misunderstandings. 
 Ihe Duke of Alva," said he, -has learned by this 
 
 ' Rogers to the Queen, MS. last cited. 
 
^ i 
 
 362 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XVHI. 
 
 4 
 
 time, before the judgment-seat of God, how he dis- 
 charged his functions, succeeding as he did my mother, 
 the Duchess of Parma, who left the Provinces in so 
 flourishing a condition. Of this, however, I will say no 
 more, because of a feud "between the Houses of Famese 
 and of Alva. As for Kequosens, he was a good fellow, 
 but didn't understand his business. Don John of Austria 
 again, whose soul I doubt not is in heaven, was young 
 and poor, and disappointed in all his designs ; but God 
 has never offered so great a hope of assured peace as 
 might now be accomplished by her Majesty." ' 
 
 Finding the Duke in so fervent and favourable a state 
 of mind, the envoy renewed his demand that at least 
 the first meeting of the commissioners might be held at 
 Ostend. 
 
 " Her Majesty finds herself so touched in honour upon 
 this point, that if it be not conceded— as 1 doubt not it 
 will be, seeing the singular forwardness of your High- 
 ness " — said the artful Doctor with a smile,* " we are 
 no less than commanded to return to her Majesty's pre- 
 sence." 
 
 •* I sent Eichardot to you yesterday," said Alexander ; 
 " did he not content you ? " 
 
 " Your Highness, no,'* replied Eogers. " Moreover, 
 her Majesty sent me to your Alteza, and not to Richardot. 
 And the matter is of such importance that I pray you to 
 add to all your graces and favours heaped upon me, this 
 one of sending your commissioners to Ostend." 
 
 His Highness could hold out no longer ; but suddenly 
 catching the Doctor in his arms, and hugging him " in 
 most honourable and amiable manner," he cried — * 
 
 " Be contented, be cheerful, my lord ambassador. 
 You shall be satisfied upon this point also." 
 
 " And never did envoy depart," cried the lord am- 
 bassador, when he could get his breath, *' more bound 
 to you, and more resolute to speak honour of your High- 
 ness than I do." 
 
 " To-morrow we will ride together towards Binges," 
 said the Duke, in concbision. " Till then farewell." 
 
 Upon this he again heartily embraced the envoy, and 
 the friends parted for the day. 
 
 1 Kogers to the Queen, MS. last 
 cited. 
 
 « ** I spake it souriant," &c. 
 » Ibid. 
 
 Ibid. 
 
 1588. COITVERSATION OF ROGERS AND PARMA. 363 
 
 Next morning, 28th March, the Duke, who was on his 
 
 way to Bruges and Sluys to look after his ffun- «„ . • 
 boats, and other naval and military prepam- ^^' 
 tions, set lorth on horseback, accompanied by ^'^**^- 
 the Marquis del Vasto, and, for part of the way, by 
 Kogers. ./ » ^ 
 
 ^ They conversed on the general topics of the approach- 
 mg negotiations ; the Duke expressing the opinion that 
 the treaty of peace would be made short work with, for 
 It only needed to renew the old ones between the Houses 
 ot England and Burgundy. As for the Hollanders and 
 Zeelanders, and their accomplices, he thought there 
 would be no cause of stay on their account ; and, in 
 regard to the cautionary towns, he felt sure that her 
 Majesty had never had any intention of appropriating- 
 them to herself, and would willingly surrender them 
 to the King. 
 
 Bogers thought it a good opportunity to put in a 
 word for the Dutchmen, who certainly would not have 
 thanked him for his assistance at that moment. 
 
 "Not to give oflfence to your Highness," he said, " if 
 the Hollanders and Zeelanders, with their confederates, 
 like to come into this treaty, surely your Highness 
 would not object ? " 
 
 Alexander, who had been riding along quietly during 
 this conversation, with his right hand on his hip, now 
 threw out his arm energetically. 
 
 1 '\^,?^ !^®^^ ^^™^ ^^^ ^*' ^^^ *^e^ *reat, let them con- 
 clude he exclaimed, " in the name of Almighty God ! 
 1 have always been well disposed to peace, and am now 
 more so than ever. I could even, with the loss of my 
 lil^ be content to have peace made at this time." 
 
 Nothing more, worthy of commemoration, occurred 
 during this concluding interview ; and the envoy took 
 his leave at Bruges, and returned to Ostend.* 
 
 I have furnished the reader with a minute account of 
 these conversations, drawn entirely from the original 
 records, not so much because the interviews were in 
 themselves of vital importance, but because they afford 
 a living and breathing example— better than a thousand 
 homilies— of the easy victory which diplomatic or royal 
 
 1 " Entrlno. trattino, conchiudino." Rogers to tbe Queen. MS. last cited, 
 a Rogers to th^ Queen. MS. last cited. 
 
364 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XVIH. 
 
 I 
 
 SI 
 
 mendacity may always obtain over innocence and cre- 
 dulity. 
 
 Certainly never was envoy more thoroughly beguiled 
 than the excellent Daniel upon this occasion. Wiser 
 than a sei-pent, as he imagined himself to be, more 
 harmless than a dove, as Alexander found him, he couki 
 not sufficiently congratulate himself upon the triumphs 
 of his eloquence and his adroitness ; and despatched 
 most glowing accounts of his proceedings to the Queen. 
 
 His ardour was somewhat damped, however, at re- 
 ceiving a message from her Majesty in reply, which 
 was anything but benignant. His eloquence was not 
 commended ; and even his preamble, with its touching 
 allusion to the live mothers tendering their offspring — 
 the passage which had brought the tears into the large 
 eyes of Alexander — was coldly and cmelly censured. 
 
 " Her Majesty can in no sort like such speeches " — so 
 ran the return-despatch — " in which she is made to beg 
 for peace. The King of Spain standeth in as great need 
 of peace as herself ; and she doth greatlj' mislike the 
 preamble of Dr. Eogers in his address to tlie Duke at 
 Ghent, findinrj it, in very truth, quite fond and vain. I am 
 commanded by a particular letter to let him understand 
 how much her Majesty is offended with him." ' 
 
 Alexander, on his part, informed his royal master of 
 these interviews, in which there had been so much effu- 
 sion of sentiment, in very brief fashion. 
 
 " Dr. Eogers, one of the Queen's commissioners, has 
 been here," he said, ** urging me with all his might to 
 let all your Majestj^'s deputies go, if only for one hour, 
 to Ostend. I refused, saying I would rather they should 
 go to England than into a city of your Majesty held by 
 English troops. I told him it ought to be satisfactory 
 that I had offered the Queen, as a lady, her choice 
 of any place in the Provinces, or on neutral ground. 
 Eogers expressed regret for all the bloodshed and other 
 consequences if the negotiations should fall through for 
 so trifling a cause ; the more so as in return for this 
 little compliment to the Queen she would not only re- 
 store to your Majesty everything that she holds in the 
 Netherlands, but would assist you to recover the part 
 
 11 
 
 1 Lords of Council to Earl of Derby and Lord Oobham« - April, 1589. (S. P. 
 Office MS.) *^ 
 
 1588. THE QUEExVS ANGER OUT OF DATE. 35)5 
 
 which remains obstinate.* To quiet him and to consume 
 time I have promised that President Eichardot shall go 
 and try to satisfy them. Thus two or three weeks mo^l 
 wil he wasted. But at last the time will come for exh^! 
 bitmg the powers. They are very anxious to see mTne • 
 and when at last they find I have none, I fear that they 
 will break off the negotiations." * ^ 
 
 Could the Queen have been informed of this volun- 
 tary offer on the part of her envoy to give up the cau- 
 tionaiy towns, and to assist in reducing the rebellion 
 she might have used stronger language of rebuke. It is 
 quite possible, however, that Faniese-not so attentively 
 following the Doctor's eloquence as he had appeared to 
 do-had somewhat inaccurately reported the conversa- 
 tions, which, after all, he knew to be of no consequence 
 whatever, except as time-consumers. For Elizabeth 
 desirous of peace as she was, and trusting to Famese's 
 sincerity as s^e was disposed to do, was more sensitive 
 than ever as to her dignity. 
 
 "We charge yon all," she ^vrote with her own hand 
 to the commissioners, " that no word be overslipt by 
 them, that may touch our honour and greatness, that be 
 no answered with good sharp words. "l am a king that 
 will be ever known not to fear any but God "« 
 
 It would have been better, however, had the Queen 
 more thoroughly understood that the day for scolding 
 had quite gone by, and that something sharper than the 
 sharpest words would soon be wanted to protect Eno-- 
 land and herself from impending doom. For there was 
 something almost gigantic in the frivolities with which 
 weeks and months of such precious time were no« 
 squandered. Plenary powers-- commision bastantis- 
 sima --from his sovereign had been announced by 
 Alexander as m his possession ; although the reader 
 has seen that he had no such power at all. The mission 
 ot Eogers had quieted the envoys at Ostend for a time 
 and they waited quietly for the visit of Eichardot to 
 ustend into which the promised meeting of all the 
 fepanish commissioners in that city had dwindled. 
 
 ' "Poresta poca honra que se haraS 16 Anril iiss /'Ar/^Ki.,^ a c- 
 
 la Royna ella non solo 'restituyre I MS.) ' ' ^ X^ ""'"'''' 
 > . Magd todo lo que tlene destos estados , ^ 
 
 mas ayudara d cobrar la parte que que- ^^^" ^ ^^® Commissioners, -' 
 
 dara obstlnada." Parma to Philip II* April, 1588. (S. P. Office MS) " 
 
 if 
 H 
 
I 
 
 366 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XVIII. 
 
 Meantime there was an exchange of the most friendly 
 amenities between the English and their mortal ene- 
 mies. Hardly a day passed that La Motte, or Renty, 
 or Aremberg, did not send Lord Derby, or Cobham, or 
 Robert Cecil, a hare or a pheasant, or a cast of hawks,' 
 and they in return sent barrel upon barrel of Ostend 
 oysters, five or six hundred at a time.* I'he English- 
 men, too, had it in their power to gratify Alexander 
 himself with English greyhounds, for which he had a 
 special liking. *' You would wonder," wrote Cecil to 
 his father, '' how fond he is of English dogs."" There 
 was also much good preaching, among other occupa- 
 tions, at Ostend. *' 'Sly Lord of Derby's two chaplains," 
 said Cecil, " have seasoned this town better with ser- 
 mons than it had been before for a year's space." * But 
 all this did not expedite the negotiations, nor did the 
 Duke manifest so much anxiety for colloquies as for 
 gi-ey hounds. So, in an unlucky hour for himself, an- 
 other *'fond and vain" old gentleman — James Croft, 
 the comptroller, who had already figured, not much to 
 his credit, in the secret negotiations between the Brus- 
 sels and English courts — betook himself, unauthorized 
 and alone, to the Duke at Bruges. Here he had an in- 
 terview very similar in character to that in wliich Daniel 
 Rogers had been indulged, declared to Farnese that the 
 Queen was most anxious for peace, and invited him to 
 send a secret envoy to England, who would instantly 
 have ocular demonstration of the fact. Croft returned 
 as triumphantly as the excellent Doctor had done, 
 averring that there was no doubt as to the immediate 
 conclusion of a treaty. His grounds of belief were very 
 similar to those upon which Rogers had founded his 
 faith. " 'Tis a weak old man of seventy," said Parma, 
 " with very little sagacity. I am inclined to think that 
 his colleagues are taking him in, that they may the 
 better deceive us.* I will see that they do nothing of 
 the kind." But the movement was purely one of the 
 comptroller's own inspiration ; for Sir James had a sin- 
 gular facility for getting himself into trouble, and for 
 
 ,„ „ _. ^, *..,,„« * " Como muestra poca sagacidad dexa 
 I Cecil to Burghley. - Apnl. 1688. ^^ ^^^ ^^^^^ ^^ ^^^ iVengafian a el para 
 
 (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 2 Ibid. 
 « Ibid. 
 
 ' Ibid. 
 
 mas engaflar," 8cc. Parma to Philip II., 
 13 May, 1588. (Ajrch. de Simancad 
 MS) 
 
 1588. THE COMPTROLLER RECALLED BY THE QUEEN. 367 
 
 rtv f "n ^""''r*! ^h'^y^ ^^^^^ ^^ ^^^ ^^^^ scarcely 
 a day in Ostend he had insulted the governor of the 
 place, bir John Conway, had given him the lie in the 
 hearing of many of his own soldiers, had gone about 
 telling all the world that he had express authority from 
 her Majesty to send him home in disgrace, and that th^ 
 Queen tad^Hed him a fool, and quitS unfit for his post." 
 And as if this had not been mischief-making enoudi in 
 addition to the absurd De Loo and Bodman negotiatk)ns 
 of the prev^^^s J^ar, m which he had been the principal 
 actor, he had crowned his absurdities by this secret and 
 officious visit to Ghent. The Queen,*" naturally very 
 indignant at this conduct, reprehended him severelv 
 and ordered him back to England.^' The comptrollei^ 
 was wretched. He expressed his readiness to obey her 
 commands, but nevertheless implored his dread sove- 
 reign to take merciful consideration of the manifold 
 misfortunes, ruin and utter undoing, which thereby 
 should fall upon him and liis unfortunate tamily All 
 this he protected he would nothing esteem if it tended 
 to her Majesty s pleasure or sei-vice, - but seeing it 
 should efiectuate nothing but to bring the aged carLe 
 of her poor vassal to present decay, he implored com- 
 passion upon his hoary hairs, and promised to repair the 
 error of his former proceedings. He avowed that he 
 would not have ventured to disobey for a moment her 
 orders to return, but -that his aged and feeble limbs 
 did not retain sufhcient force, without present death to 
 comply with her commandment." « And with that'he 
 took to his bed, and remained there until the Queen 
 was graciously pleased to grant him her pardon 
 
 At last, early m May, instead of the visit of Kichardot 
 there was a preliminary meeting of all the commissioners 
 in tents on the sands, within a cannon-shot of Ostend 
 and between that place and Newport. It was a showy 
 and ceremonious interview, in which no business was 
 transacted. 1 he commissioners of Philip were attended 
 by a body of one hundred and fifty light horse, and bv 
 three hundred private gentlemen in magnificent costume. 
 
 » Queen to Derby and Cobham, ]^ Burgliley's handwriting. - May 1588 
 
 April 1588. (S.P.Offi(*MS0 MS. last cited. '" 
 
 Qneen to the Commissioners for the 3 croft to the Queen 28 Mav i&fts 
 
 reprehension of Sir James Croft, in Lord Ibid. ^' "^^• 
 
 
308 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XVHI. 
 
 1588. 
 
 M 
 
 i 
 
 \ 
 
 I,a Motte also came from Newport with one thousand 
 Walloon cavalry, while the English commissioners on 
 their part were escorted from Ostend by an imposing 
 array of English and Dutch troops.^ As the territory 
 was Spanish, the dignity of the King was supposed to 
 be preserved ; and Alexander, who had promised Dr. 
 Rogers that the first interview should take place within 
 Ostend itself, thought it necessary to apologize to his 
 sovereign for so nearly keeping his word as to send the 
 envoys within cannon-shot of the town. " Ihe English 
 commissioners," said he, " begged with so much sub- 
 mission for this concession, that I thought it as well to 
 X it " * 
 
 ITie Spanish envoys were despatched by the Dnke of 
 Parma, well provided with full powers for himself 
 which were not desired by the English government, but 
 unfurnished with a commission from I'hilip, which bad 
 been pronounced indispensable.^ There was therefore 
 much prancing of cavalry, flourishing of trumpets, and 
 eating of oysters, at the first conference, but not one 
 stroke of business. As the English envovs had now 
 been three whole months in Ostend, and as this was the 
 first occasion on which they had been brought face to 
 face with the Spanish commissioners, it must bo con- 
 fessed that the tactics of Famese had been masterly. 
 Had the haste in the dock-yards of Lisbon and Cadiz 
 been at all equal to the magnificent procrastination in 
 the councilchambei-s of Bruges and Ghent, Medina 
 Sidonia might already have been in the 1 hames. 
 
 But although little ostensible business was performed, 
 there was one man who had always an eye to has work 
 The same servant in plain livery, who had accompanied 
 Secretary Gamier on his first visit to the English com- 
 missioners at Ostend, had now come thither again, accom- 
 panied by a fellow-lackey. While the complimentary 
 dinner, offered in the name of the absent Farnese to the 
 Queen's representatives, was going forward, the two 
 menials strayed off together to the downs for the pur- 
 pose of rabbit-shooting." ITie one of them was the same 
 engineer who had already, on the foniier occasion, taken 
 
 .Parma to Philip II. 13 May. ISSO. ic Parma to Philip 11. (MS. last 
 
 (Arch, de Slmancas, MS.) "="*"■> , ,^j. 
 
 s " Soplicaiio con grande submlcion ' lUd. i"'"- 
 
 que se diese esU satlsraccion i la Reyna," 
 
 CONSUMMATE ART IN WASTING TIME. 
 
 369 
 
 a complete survey of the fortifications of Ostend • the 
 
 h mJelT' Th.'"' " ^""^°"''? ^''^'^ *»»« Duke of p;™: 
 himself. The pair now made a thorough examination 
 
 of the town and Its neighbourhood, and, having finrshed 
 
 Biwes''T"-r"^- °lf "^ '^'^ ^''' of their waybako 
 ^h^T\ ^ '^ ""■?" *'•''" o"** of Alexander's favourite 
 objects to reduce tho city of Ostend at the earlfest pos! 
 sible moment, it mu.st be allowed that this ?relinXv 
 conference was not so banen to himself as it was o the 
 commissioners. Philip, when informed of this man Juvre 
 was naturally gratified at such masterly durdtv' 
 while he gently rebuked his nephew for exposChis 
 valuable life ; and certainly it /ould have been an n- 
 
 ter t^™'"f o« to the Dike's splendid career had 
 he been hanged as a spy within the trenches of Ostend 
 
 Phi^^^ w,^^";-^."*",'" of this fii^t diplomatic colloquy 
 
 tWoLhW "t ^^''•."*- ';^ '^'' y°" understand U 
 tlioroughl> , he said. " Keep the negotiation alive till 
 
 ray Annada appears, and then carry out my determina 
 England'-"^'''"* '""^ '''''''''''' ''^'^Sion onMie L'of 
 
 loJw ^tT ''■"' "°* '? *™'' ^'gh spirits. She was 
 
 osing her temper very fast, as she became more and 
 
 more convinced that she had been trifled with Ko 
 
 powers had been yet exhibited, no permanent p ace of 
 
 conference hxed upon, and the ces.'ation of aiLs de 
 
 "rtte X^; '"■, '^T'^'-io^f s for England, S^H: Z 
 
 s red Lr n • "^'' '''■''' ^hsolutely refu.sed.» She de- 
 
 siied her commissioners to inform the Duke of Pama 
 
 that It greatly touched his honour-as both before the r 
 
 coming and afterwards he had a.ssnred her that he liad 
 
 TnZ '^''''''rr from his sovereign-to clear himself 
 
 lie ]5,!k^f?''r..'T""'*'°" °f insincerity. "Let not 
 the Ihike think," she wrote with her own hand "that 
 
 unkindly dealings, but that we desire all the world to 
 enTJ""" ^''''' ^^ ^}"'Sh peace, and that we will 
 
 » Parma to Philip IL. 13 May. 1588. 
 (ATch. de Simancas, MS ) 
 
 (LX^'^IK!^- '^ ^''''™"' 2^ J"«e' 1588. 
 (.Arch, de Slmaiicas, MS.) ♦ 
 
 VOL. ir. 
 
 » Parma to Philip II. 13 May, 158^. 
 (Arch, de Simancas. MS.) 
 
 < Queen to the Commissioners."'^''" 
 1588. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 2 B 
 
 10 May 
 
■f i 
 
 'fr 
 
 370 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XVIII. 
 
 I 
 
 11 
 
 1 May. 
 15S8. 
 
 Accordingly — by her Majesty's special command — Dr. 
 Dale made another visit to Bruges, to discover, once for 
 all, whether there was a commission from Philip or not, 
 and, if so, to see it with his own eyes. On the 7th May 
 he had an intei'\aew with the Duke. After thanking 
 his Highness for the honourable and stately 
 manner in which the conferences had been 
 inaugurated near Ostend, Dale laid very 
 plainly before him her Majesty's complaints of the ter- 
 giversations and equivocations concerning the commis- 
 sion, which had now lasted three months long.' 
 
 In answer, Alexander made a complimentary ha- 
 rangue, confining himself entirely to the first part uf 
 the envoy's address, and assuring him in redundant 
 phraseology, that he should hold himself very guilty 
 before ihe world, if he had not suriounded the first col- 
 loquy between the plenipotentiaries of two such mighty 
 princes, with as much ])omp as the circumstances of 
 time and place would allow. After this superfluous 
 rhetoric had been poured forth, he calmly dismissed the 
 topic which Dr. Dale had come Jill the way from 
 Ostend to discuss, by carelessly observing that President 
 Eicharddt would confer with him on the subject of the 
 commission.* 
 
 " But," said the envov, *' 'tis no matter of conforonco 
 or dispute. I desire simply to see the commission." 
 
 " Kichardot and Champagny shall deal with you in 
 tli6 afternoon," repeated Alexander ; and, with this 
 reply, the Doctor was fain to be contented. 
 
 Dale then alluded to the point of cessation of arms. 
 
 " xVlthough," said he. " the Queen might justly lequire 
 that the cessation should be general for all the King's 
 doaiinion, yet in order not to stand on precise ])oints, 
 she is content that it should extend no further than to 
 the towns of Flushing, l^rill, Osttnd, and Bergen-op- 
 Zoom." 
 
 " To this he said nothing," wrote the envo}', " and fo 
 I went no further." 
 
 In the afternoon Dale had conference with Champagny 
 and Eichardot. As usual, Champagny was bound hand 
 
 1 Dale to the Quocii. ^ May, 1588. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 ^ Ibid. 
 
 1588. LONG DISPUTES ABOUT COMMISSIONS. 371 
 
 and foot by the gout, but was as quick-witted and dispu- 
 
 ^^r Tf' . "^.f ^"^ ^^^^ ""'"'^^ '^'' «^^^«t harangue, 
 piovmg satLsfactonly-as if any proof were necesLr; 
 
 on such a point-that a commission from Philip ought 
 to be produced and that a commi.ssion had beln mt 
 mised, over and over again.' ^ 
 
 bp^n'^M ^^""^', ^""^'N ^^''? ^'^P^esentatives of Parma 
 
 iaslion T^^f':T\ '^ '""^^y "^ ^'«ry insolent 
 tasiiion. "Richardot is always their mouthpiece" 
 said Dale; " only Champagny choppeth in at everV 
 
 sX; i?.- "^ '^' '" ^^^"^^'^^ "^ ^"^'^ ^f '^'^ ^-^"Id 
 
 "We shall never have done with these impertinent 
 
 fied with tho Duke's promise of ratification contained in 
 his commission. We confess what you sav concerning 
 
 wl^n '^?l' '''"^T^'''"'^ ^^^^ P^-^>"^i^-es to be tnie, but 
 ^^hen will you have done ? Have we not showed it to 
 .ur. L rott, one of your own colleagues ? And if we show 
 It you now another may come to-morrow, and m we 
 shall never have an end." 
 
 i^ " l^'^.^^i'^y^ c^^^^^ f^-o^^^ yourselves," roimdlv replied 
 the .Englishman, -for you refuse to do wliat in reason 
 and law you are bound to do. And the more demands 
 the more 7nora aid potius culpa in you. You, of all men 
 have least cause to hold such language, who so confi- 
 dently and even disdainfully answered our demand for 
 the commission, in Mr. Cecil's presence, and promised 
 to show a perfect one at the very first meeting. As for 
 Mr. Comptroller Croft, he came hither withoiit the com- 
 mand of her Majesty and without the knowledge of his 
 colleagues. ^ 
 
 Kichardot then began to insinuate that, as (^roft had 
 come without authority, so-for anglit thev could trll- 
 might Dale also. But Champagnv here inter: in.tcd, 
 protested that the president was goino- too far,\an(l 
 oegged him to show the commission without further 
 argument.^ 
 
 Cpon this Pichardot pulled out the commission from 
 inider his gown, and placed it in Dr. Dale's hands!* 
 
 ' Hulc to tlie Queen, 5IS. last cited. 
 2 Cummissioners to Privv Council 7 
 June, 1588. (S. P. Office 3IS.) 
 
 3 Dale to the Queen p May, l',63. 
 
 (S. P. Office MS.) 
 * Ibid. 
 
 2 B 2 
 
372 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVHI. 
 
 '■m 
 
 ii 
 
 "I 
 
 I' 
 
 It was dated 17th April, 1588, signed and sealed by 
 the King, and written in French, and was to the effect, 
 that as there had been differences between her IVIajesty 
 and himself, as her Majesty had sent ambassadors into 
 the Netherlands, as the Duke of Parma had entered into 
 treaty with her Majesty, therefore the King authorised 
 the Duke to appoint commissioners to treat, conclude, 
 and determine all controversies and misunderstandings, 
 confirmed any such appointment already made, and 
 ])romised to ratify all that might be done by them in 
 the premises.* 
 
 Dr. Dale expressed his satisfaction with the tenor of 
 this document, and begged to be funii.shed with a copy 
 of it, but this was peremptorily refused.* There was 
 then a long conversation — ending, as usual, in nothing — 
 on the two other points, the place for the conferences, 
 namely, and the cessation of arms. 
 
 ' Next moniing Dale, in taking leave of the Duke of 
 Parma, expressed the gratification which he felt, and 
 which her Majesty was sure to feel at the production of 
 the commission. It was now proved, said the envoy, 
 that the King was as earnestly in favour of peace as the 
 Duke was himself. 
 
 Dale then returned, well satisfied, to Ostend. 
 
 In truth the commission had an-ived just in time. 
 '■'- Had I nut received it soon enough to produce it then," 
 said Alexander, "the Queen would have broken off the 
 negotiations. So I ordered Eichardot, who is quite 
 aware of your Majesty's secret intentions, from which 
 we shall not swerve one jot, to show it privately to 
 Croft, and afterwards to Dr. Dale, but without allowing 
 a copy of it to be taken." ^ 
 
 *' You have done very well,** replied Philip, "but 
 that commission is, on no account^ to be usedj except for 
 show. You know my mind thoroughly." * 
 
 1 Dale to the Queen. MS. last cited. 
 
 2 Ibid. 
 
 3 Parma to niilip II. 8 June, 1588. 
 (Arch, de Sim. MS.) 
 
 * IMiillp to Purma. 21 June. 1588. 
 (Arcli. dSlm. MS.) 
 
 The KiiiK. when he at last gont the 
 power on the 13th May, 13«8, hud ob- 
 iiTved to Farnese — " 1 don't think that 
 there will be any trouble on account of 
 
 your having no commission from me. 
 Nevertheless, in order to dispel their 
 doubts and to remove all suspicion, I 
 have ordered for tlie nonce one to b<' 
 sent in French. Tills, as I have already 
 stated, is not to be used for the purpose 
 of concluding or agreeing to anything, in 
 any case whatever, but only for the sake 
 of keeping the negotiation alive, in order 
 to enable us the better to execute our 
 
 1588. THE SPANISH COMMISSIONS MKANT TO DECEIVE. 373 
 
 Thus three months had been consumed, and at last 
 one indispensable preliminary' to any negotiation had 
 m appearance, been performed. Full powers on both 
 sides l>ad been exhibited. When the Queen of England 
 
 frZl" ^-fJ 1 ^'^^^^ r^ ^^' colleagues commission 
 to treat with the King's envoys, and pledged herself 
 beforehand to ratify all their proceedings, she meant to 
 perform the promise to which she had affixed her roval 
 name and seal. She could not know that the Spanish 
 nionarch was deliberately putting hi, name to a lie, and 
 chuckling m secret over the credulity of his English 
 sister, who was willing to take his word and his bond. 
 ()1 a certainty the English were no match for southern 
 diplomacy. 
 
 But Elizabeth was now more impatient than ever that 
 the other two preliminaries should be settled— the place 
 ot conferences, and the armistice. 
 ^^ *♦ Be plain with the Duke," she wrote to her envoys, 
 
 that we have tolerated so many weeks in tarrying a 
 commission that I will never endure more delays: Let 
 liim know he deals with a prince who prizes her honour 
 more than her life. Make yourselves such as stand of 
 your reputations." ^ 
 
 Sharp words but not sharp enough to prevent a 
 lurther delay of a month; for it was not till the 0th 
 June that the commissioners at last came to- gjune 
 gether at Bourbourg,* that " miserable little isss. * 
 hole, on the coast between Ostend and Newport 
 against which Gamier had warned them. And now 
 there was ample opportunity to wrangle at full length 
 
 armed enterprise ; and so I again charge 
 it upcn you, with a renewed prohibition 
 of anything in a contrary sense, referring 
 you always to my letter of 24th April, 
 and to my orders so often given, which 
 you are to fulfil exactly without depart- 
 ing one jot therefrom. " Para sacarlos 
 de duda. y quitarlos to<la sospecha. ho 
 mandado xm poder por lu via en frances, 
 del qual, conm eiitonces, os lo advorti y 
 declare, no ae ha de usar para asentar ni 
 concluyr por ningim caso, cosa alpina, 
 ^ino solo que acude la platica para poder 
 exeaitar mejor lo de las armas y empresa, 
 y asl 08 lo t<»mo a enc«rgar con nueva 
 prohiblcion de lo contrario, remitiendomtf 
 
 a la carta que on esta materia se os 
 escrlblo i or esta via a lo 24 April, que es 
 la orden que aveys de cnmplir puntual- 
 n»ente sin apartaros della," &c. Philip 
 II. to Parma, 13 May, 1588. (Archive 
 de Simancas, MS.) 
 
 1 Queen's Minute to the Commission- 
 ers, *~ May. 1588. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 s Parma to Philip. 8 June. 158«. 
 (Arch, de Simjincas, MS.) Dale to Wal- 
 
 . , 29 May 
 
 ^mgham, _^. 1588. (S. P. OflRce 
 
 MS.) Commissioners to the Queen 
 (ibid.) 
 
374 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVIH. 
 
 on the next preliminary, the cessation of arms. It wonld 
 he sujxsrfluous to follow the altercations step by step — 
 for negotiations there were none — and it is only for the 
 Bake of exhibiting at full length the infamy of diplo- 
 macy, when diplomacy is unaccompanied by honesty, 
 that we are hanging up this series of pictures at all. 
 Those bloodless encounters between credulity and vanity 
 TilK)n one side, and gigfintic fraud on the other, near 
 those very sands of Newport, and in sight of the 
 Northern Ocean, where, before long, the most terrible 
 battles, both by land and sea, which the age had yet 
 witnessed, were to occur, are quite a.s full of instruction 
 and moral as the most sanguinary combats ever waged. 
 
 At last the commissioners exchanged copies of their 
 
 respective powers. After four months of waiting and 
 
 87 May wTangliug, so much had been achieved — a show 
 
 «J"ne' of commiss«ions and a selection of the place for 
 
 1588 
 
 conference. And now began the long debate 
 about the cessation of arms. The P^nglish claimed an 
 annistice for the whole dominion of Philip and Eliza- 
 beth respectively, during the term of negotiation, and 
 for twenty days after. The Spanish would grant only 
 a temporaiy trace, tenninable at six days' notice, and 
 that only for the four cautionary towns of Holland held 
 by the Queen. Thus Philip would be free to invade 
 England at his leisure out of the obedient Netherlands 
 or Spain. This was inadmissible, of course, but a week 
 was spent at the outset in reducing the teims to writing : 
 and when the Duke's propositions were at last produced 
 in the French tongue, they were refused by the Queen's 
 commissioners, who required that the documents should 
 be in Latin. Great was the triumph of Dr. Dale, when, 
 after another inten^al, he found their Latin full of bar- 
 barisms and blunders, at which a schoolboy would have 
 blushed.' The King's commissioners, however, while 
 halting in their syntax, had kept steadily to their point. 
 " You promised a general cessation of arms at our 
 
 coming," said Dale, at a conference on the ~ June, 
 
 " and now ye have lingered five times twenty days, and 
 nothing done at all. The world may see the delays 
 
 1 Dale to WaUinghviiu, 21 June, 1588. (S. P. OflBce MS.) 
 
 1588. 
 
 DISPUTES ABOUT CESSATION OF ARMS. 
 
 375 
 
 come of you and not of us, and that ye are not so de- 
 sirous of peace as ye pretend." * 
 
 " But as for your invasion of England," stoutly ob- 
 serv^ed the Earl of Derby, '* ye shall find it hot coming 
 thither. England was never so ready in any former 
 age, neither by sea nor by land ; but we would show 
 your unreasonableness in proposing a cessation of arms 
 by which ye would bind her Majesty to forbear touch- 
 ing all the Low Countries, and yet leave yourselves at 
 liberty to invade England."* 
 
 While they were thus disputing, Secretary Gamier 
 rushed into the room, looking very much frightened, 
 and announced that Lord Henry Seymour's fleet of thiiiy- 
 two ships of war was riding off Gravelines, and that he 
 had sent two men on shore who were now waiting in the 
 antechamber. 
 
 The men being accordingly admitted handed letters 
 to the English commissioners from Lord Henry, in 
 ^vhich he begged to be informed in what terms they 
 were standing, and whether they needed his assistance 
 or countenance in the cause in which they were en- 
 gaged. The envoys found his presence very *' comfort- 
 able,** as it showed the Spanish commissioners that her 
 Majesty was so well provided as to make a cessation of 
 arms less necessary to her than it was to the King. 
 They therefore sent their thanks to the Lord Admiral, 
 begging him to cruise for a time off Dunkirk and its 
 neighbourliood, that both their enemies and their friends 
 might have a sight of the English ships.^ 
 
 Great was the panic all along the coast at this unex- 
 pected demonstration. The King's commissioners got 
 into their coaches, and drove down to the coast to look 
 at the fleet, and — so soon as they appeared — were re- 
 ceived with such a thundering cannonade an hour long, 
 by way of salute, as to convince them, in the opinion of 
 the English envoys, that the Queen had no cause to be 
 afraid of any enemies afloat or ashore.* 
 
 But these noisy arguments were not much more 
 effective than the interchange of diplomatic broadsides 
 which they had for a moment superseded. The day had 
 
 ^ Commissioners to Vrivj Council, 3 
 June. 1588. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 » Ibid. 3 11,10, 
 
 * Commissioners to Privy Council, 
 June, 1588. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 17 
 
376 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 CiiAP. XVIII. 
 
 gone by for blank cartridges and empty protocols. Ne- 
 vertheless Lord Henry's harmless thunder was answered, 
 the next day, by a " Quintuplication " in worse Latin 
 than ever, presented to Dr. Dale and his colleagues by 
 Kichardot and Champagny, on the subject of the ar- 
 mistice. And then there was a return quintuplication, 
 in choice Latin, by the classic Dale, and then there was 
 a colloquy on the quintuplication, and everything that 
 had been charged, and truly charged, by the English, 
 was now denied by the King's commissioners; and 
 Champagny — more gouty and more irascible than ever 
 — '* chopped in " at every word spoken by King's 
 envoys or Queen's, contradicted everybody, repudiated 
 everything stiid or done by Andrew de Loo, or any of 
 the other secret negotiators during the past year, de- 
 clared that there never had been a general cessation of 
 arms promised, and that, at any rate, times were now 
 changed, and such an armistice was inadmissible.' Then 
 the English answered with equal impatience, and re- 
 proached the King's representatives with duplicity and 
 want of faith, and censured them for their unseemly 
 language, and begged to inform Champagny and Kich- 
 ardot that they had not then to deal with such persons 
 as they might formerly have been in the habit of treat- 
 ing withal, but with a " great prince who did justify 
 the honour of her actions," and they confuted the posi- 
 tions now assumed by their opponents with official docu- 
 ments and former statements from those very opponents' 
 lips. And then, after all this diplomatic and rhetorical 
 splutter, the high commissioners recovered their temper 
 and grew more polite, and the King's "envoys excused 
 themselves in a mild, merry manner," for the rudeness 
 of their speeches, and the Queen's envoys accepted their 
 apologies with majestic urbanity, and so they separated 
 for the day in a more friendly manner than they had 
 done the day before.* 
 
 "You see to what a scholar's shift wo have been 
 driven for want of resolution," said Valentine Dale. 
 *' If we should linger here until there should be broken 
 heads, in what case we should be God knoweth. For I 
 
 ^ Commissioners to Privy Council. 
 (MS. last cited.) 
 
 81 
 
 ' Commissioners to Privy Council, -- 
 June, 1588. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 1588. SPANISH DUPLICITV AND PROCRASTINATION. 377 
 
 can trust Champagny and Eichardot no farther than I 
 can see rnem. 
 
 And so the whole month of June passed by; the 
 English commissjoners " leaving no stone unturned to 
 get a quiet cessation of arms in general terms " ' and 
 be.ng constantly foiled, yet perpetually kept k hojo 
 that the point would soon be carried.' At the same 
 time the signs of the approaching invasion seemed o 
 
 spake m matters of wars, it were veiy requisite that my 
 
 wni «t^nT^ .'f""''^ ^ ^^"^^^^ °" t^'« «o««*. for they 
 will stea out from hence as closely as they can, either 
 
 to join with the Spanish navy or to land, and th;y may 
 be very easily scattered, by God's grace." Andf with 
 the honest pride of a protocol-maker, he added, "our 
 postulates do trouble the Kings commissioner; very 
 much, and do bring them to depair " * ^ 
 
 fh JkI^^""*'"''"* ^°- ^°'' ^""^ not even yet discovered that 
 the King s commissioners were delighted with his pos- 
 tAilates : and that to hixve kept them postulating thus five 
 months in succession, while naval and military prepara- 
 tions were slowly bringing forth a great eventLwhich 
 w^ soon to strike them with as much amazement as if 
 the moon had fallen out of heaven- was one of the most 
 Th,?ih! *""'"Pl'! ever achieved by Spanish diplomacy. 
 
 K?l nf ^— T *.^""^'?* *''''* '^'■'^ l^S''^ h"d driven the 
 King of Spain to despair. 
 
 At the same time he wa.s not insensible to the merits 
 ot another and more peremptory style of rhetoric. " I 
 pray you said he to Walsingham, " let us hear some 
 arguments from my Lord Haiiy out of her Majesty's 
 navy now and then. I think they will do more good 
 than any bolt that we can shoot here. If they be met with 
 at their going out, there i.s no po.ssibility for them to make 
 any resistance, having so few men that can abide the sea : 
 tor the rest, as you know, must be sea-sick at first." ' 
 ♦T,-r'i ■ .^"^"^^^^^e'-e completely puzzled. Even at 
 the beginning of July, Sir James Croft was quite con- 
 
 » Dale to Walsingham, - June, 1588. ^^"^^^R of her Afajesiy's commissioners. 
 
 (S. P. Office MS.) " '^"'^ ^■''•ch is now denied as ever spoken.' 
 
 " And if her Mi^esty list to break, she ***■ ^ '^ performed If promised." (Ibid.) 
 
 may now do it up.)n their present denial - Dale to Burgbley, i? June 1588 rS 
 
 of the cessation of arms, which Richard..t * P. Offlco MS ) ^ 
 
 did in open council promise to Xorris and 3 ibid 4 iKid sun 
 
 Andrea de Loo should be accorded at the ^ ^^**^* 
 
 I 
 
 1 
 
 (I 
 
378 
 
 THE UNITED KETHEULASDS. Chap. XVI!I. 
 
 vinced of the innocence of the King and the Duke,' but 
 Croft was in his dotage. As for Dale, ho occasionally 
 opened his eves and his ears, but more comnionly kept 
 them well closed to the significance of passing events, 
 and consoled himself with his protocols and his classics, 
 
 and the purity of his own Latm 
 
 - 'Tis a vorj- wise saving of Terence, said he, om- 
 
 nil„s nMs, nt res dant'sese, ita «,«i,m- oj.tA'ymfes-^ »«»««• 
 AVhon the King's commissioners hear of the Kmgsnav 
 fromSpain, they are in such jollity t'-t they ta k oud^ 
 In the wean time-as the wife of 15ath saitU in 
 Chaucer by her husband, we owe them not a word. J 
 we should die to-mon-ow, I hope her Majesty will find 
 bv our writings that the honour of the cause, in the 
 opinion of the world, must be with her Majesty, and 
 that her commissioners are neither of such imperfection 
 in their reasons or so barbarous in lang-uagc, as they who 
 fail not, almost in every line, of some barl>a.ism not to 
 be borne in a grammar-school, although in subthness 
 and impudent affirming of untruths and denying ot 
 truths, her commissioners are not in any respect to 
 match with Champagny and Kichardot, who are doctors 
 
 ill that faculty.' e • 3'£c +. 
 
 It might perhaps prove a matter of indifference to 
 Elizabeth and to England, when the (Meen should be a 
 state-prisoner in Spain, and the Inquisition qu^ctl^ 
 established in her kingdom, whether the world shou d 
 admit or not, in case of his decease, the superiont.v ot 
 Dr Dale's logic and Latin to those of his antagonists 
 And even if mankind conceded the best oi the argiimont 
 to the English diplomatists, that diplomacy migl^t «<^em 
 worthless which could be blind to the colossal falsehoods 
 growing daily before its eyes. Had the commissioners 
 
 1 „ ,.^.,.^..i,Aii« the toleration of religion, and the point 
 I « I niiiv Ik^ psteemcd unTP credulous mc t<>«^-i«i.« o . •, ,i „ 
 
 tn n izf m.:;:::;™ yet i a..ure your of her m^ ^'^!';:::tfi^z 
 
 Lora.hip 1 never etubraced any opinion ^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^J^/ ^ ^widJ ';;^re 
 
 thereof other than such as by ...n.o con- «««^>^:^^';^^ ^^ ^;,j ^.,,^^ ,„. \J, ,o 
 
 J cmral argument was made very pro- ^^^ ^ ^' ^, ,", „ that which he under- 
 
 bable unto me. like as 1 t»-"Kh S-'^J^^ hU would advise us unto, re^uirivg 
 
 this time to mform your L;^ulsb.p ha hanu j,,tif,cution tobeprt,,ed 
 
 ye.terday by chance had con^-mc; ^ ^ ,,Kick LnsHres muck Lire" 
 
 with one of the commissioners on the other to ^ ^^^^ 
 
 side, and was l>y him in sort assured that (< .•) &c. Croft to Burghley, ^-j^^ . 
 
 'the matter of ihta treaty will fall out— ^^^^ g p q^^^^ j,j.^ 
 
 m far as In that side lieth-to as g.H3d | ^^^^^^^ 
 
 purpose as her Mi^esty will require It ; ' I'aie to im 
 
 he uot d.jubtiug that the two years for (S. P. Office, ^IS.) 
 
 21 
 
 2 Dale to Kurghley, - June, 158S. 
 
 1588. BULL OF POPE SIXTUS V. FULMINATED. 
 
 379 
 
 been able to read the secret correspondence between 
 Parma and his master —as we have had the opportunity 
 of doing— they would certainly not have left their 
 homes in Febi-uary, to be made fools of until July, but 
 would, on their knees, have implored their royal mistress 
 to awake from her ftital delusion before it should be too 
 late. Even without that advantage, it seems incredible 
 that they should have been unable to pierce through the 
 atmosphere of duplicity which suiTOunded them, and to 
 obtain one clear glimpse of the destruction so steadily 
 advancing upun England. 
 
 For the famous bull of Sixtus V. had now been fulmi- 
 nated. Elizabeth had been again denounced as a bastard 
 and usurper, and her kingdom had been solemnly con- 
 ferred upon Philip, with title of defender of the Christian 
 ftiith, to have and to hold as tributary and feudatorj^ of 
 Kome. The so-called Queen had usurped the crown 
 contrary to the ancient treaties between the apostolic 
 stool and the kingdom of England, which country, on 
 its reconciliation with the head of the church after the 
 death of St. Thomas of Canterbury, had recognised the 
 necessity of the Pope's consent in the succession to its 
 throne ; she had desei*ved chastisement for the terrible 
 tortures intlicted by her upon English Catholics and 
 God's own saints ; and it was declared an act of virtue, 
 to be repaid with plenary indulgence and forgiveness of 
 all sins, to lay violent hands on the usuiper, and deliver 
 her into the hands of the Catholic party. And of the 
 holy league against the usurper, PhilipVas appointed 
 the head, and Alexander of Parma chief commander. 
 This document was published in large numbers in Ant- 
 wei-p in the I]nglish tongue/ 
 
 The pamphlet of Dr. Allen, just named Cardinal, war, 
 also translated in the same city, under the direction of 
 the Duke of Parma, in order to be distributed through- 
 out England on the arrival in that kingdom of the 
 Catholic troops.* The well-known ' Admonition to the 
 Nobility and People of England and Ireland ' accused 
 the Queen of eveiy crime and vice which can pollute 
 humanity, and was filled with foul details unfit for the 
 public eye in these more decent days.^ 
 
 * Meteren, xv. 270 seq. 
 
 2 Piarma to Philip II. 21 June, 1588. 
 
 (Arch.de Sim. MS.) 
 3 Lhigard, vlli. 442 seq. 
 
380 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLxVNDS. 
 
 Chap. XVIII. 
 
 1588. 
 
 DALE SENT TO ASK EXPLANATIONS. 
 
 381 
 
 So soon as the intelligence of these publications 
 reached England, the Queen ordered her commissioners 
 at Bourbourg to take instant cognizance of them, and 
 to obtain a categorical explanation on the subject from 
 Alexander himself; as if an explanation were possible, 
 as if tlie designs of Sixtus, Philip, and Alexander could 
 any longer be doubted, and as if the Duke were more 
 likely now than before to make a succinct statement of 
 them for the benefit of her Majesty. 
 
 ** Having discovered," wrote Elizabeth on the 9th 
 July (N.S.), " that this treaty of peace is entertained 
 only to abuse us, and being many ways given to under- 
 stand that the preparations which have so long been 
 making and which now are consummated, both in Spain 
 and the Low Countries, are purposely to be employed 
 against us and our country ; finding that, for the fur- 
 therance of these exploits, there is ready to be published 
 a vile, slanderous, and blasphemous book, containing as 
 many lies as lines, entitled * An Admonition,' &c., and 
 contrived by a lewd-born subject of ours, now become 
 an arrant traitor, named Dr. Allen, lately made a car- 
 dinal at Rome ; as also a bull of the I*ope, whereof we 
 send you a copy, both very lately brought into those 
 Low Countries, the one whereof is alrejuly jainted at 
 Antwerp in a great multitude, in the English tongue, 
 and the other ordered to be printed, only to stir up our 
 subjects, contrary to the laws of G6d and their alle- 
 giance, to join with such foreign purposes as are prepared 
 against us and our realm, to come out of those Low 
 Countries and out of Spain ; and as it appears by the 
 said bull that the Duke of Parma is expressly named 
 and chosen by the Pope and the King of Spain to be 
 principal executioner of these intended enterprises, we 
 cannot think it honourable for us to continue longer the 
 treaty of petice with them that, under colour of treaty, 
 arm themselves with all the power they can to a bloody 
 
 war. 
 
 »» 1 
 
 Accordingly the Queen commanded Dr. Dale, as one 
 of the commissioners, to proceed forthwith to the Duke, 
 ill order to obtain explanations as to his contemplated 
 conquest of her realm, and as to his share in the publi- 
 
 1 Queen to Commissioners, -7""*, 15S8. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 9 July 
 
 cation of the bull and pamphlet, and to " require him 
 as he would be accounted a prince of honour, to let her 
 plainly understand what she might think thereof" The 
 envoy was to assure him that the Queen would trust 
 implicitly to his statement, to adjure him to declare the 
 truth, and, m case he avowed the publications and the 
 belligerent intentions suspected, to demand instant safe- 
 conduct to England for her commissioners, who would 
 ot course, instantly leave the Netherlands. On the other 
 hand, if the Duke disavowed those infamous documents 
 he was to be requested to punish the printers, and have 
 the books burned by the hangman.' 
 
 Dr. Dale, although suffering from cholic, was obliged 
 to set forth at once upon what he felt would be a boot- 
 less journey. At his return— which was upon the 22nd 
 of July (N.S.)— the shrewd old gentleman had nearly 
 arrived at the opinion that her Majesty might as well 
 break off the negotiations. He had a " comfortless 
 voyage and a ticklish message;''* found all along the 
 road signs of an approaching enterprise, diflScult to be 
 mistaken; reported 10,000 veteran Spaniards, to which 
 force Stanley's regiment was united; GOOO Italians, 
 3000 Germans, all with pikes, corselets, and slash swords 
 complete : besides 10,000 Walloons. The transports for 
 the cavalry at Gravelingen he did not see, nor was lie 
 much impressed with what he heard as to the magnitude 
 ot the naval prepamtions at Newport. He was informed 
 that the Duke was about making a foot-pilgrimage from 
 Brussels to Our Lady of Halle, to implore victory for 
 his banners, and had daily evidence of the soldiers' ex- 
 pectation to invade and to "devour England."* All 
 this had not tended to cure him of the low spirits with 
 which he began the journey. Nevertheless, although 
 he was unable— as will be seen— to report an entirely 
 satisfactory answer from Famese to the Queen upon the 
 momentous questions entrusted to him, he, at least, 
 thought of a choice passage in * The ^neid,' so \Qry 
 apt to the circumstances, as almost to console him for the 
 
 1 Queen to Commissioners. ^-,-~. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 9 July » r. 
 
 158S. (S. p. Office MS.) „\P*Jl*° ^Vulsing!u;m, date last cited. 
 
 - Dale to Buigliley, ^ July, !583 
 
 (S. p. Office MS.) 
 
 « 
 
V' 
 
 382 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVHI. 
 
 *' pangs of his cholic " and the terrors of the approach- 
 
 • • • 
 
 mg invasion. 
 
 *' 1 have written two or three verses out of Virgil for 
 the Queen to read," said he, " which I pray your Lord- 
 ship to present unto her. God grant her to weigh tli^m.^ If 
 your Lordship do read the whole discourse of Virgil in 
 that place, it will make your heart melt. Observe the report 
 of the ambassadors that were sent to Diomedes to make 
 war against the Trojans, for the old hatred that he, being 
 a Grecian, did bear unto them ; and note the answer of 
 Diomedes dissuading them from entering into war with 
 the Trojans, the perplexity of the king, the miseiies of 
 the couiitiy, the reasons of Drances that spake against 
 them which would have war, the violent persuasions of 
 Turnus to war ; and note, I pray you, one word, ' nee te 
 ulliiis I'iolentia frangat: ' ^Vhat a lecture coukl I make 
 with Mr. Cecil upon that passage in Virgil !"* 
 
 The most important point for the reader to remark is 
 the date of this letter. It was received in the very laf<t 
 dags of the month of Julg. Let him observe— as he will 
 soon have occasion to do— the events wliich wure oc- 
 curring on land and sea exactly at the moment when 
 this classic despatch reached its destination, and judge 
 whether the hearts of the Queen and Lord Burghley 
 would be then quite at leisure to melt at the sorrows 
 of the Trojan war. Perhaps the doings of Drake and 
 Howard, Medina Sidonia, and Ilicalde, would be pressing 
 as much on their attention as the eloquence of Diomede 
 or the wrath of Turnus. Yet it may be doubted wliether 
 the reports of these Grecian envoys might not, in truth, 
 be almost as much to the purpose as the despatches of 
 the diplomatic pedant, with his Virgil and his cholic, 
 into wdiose hands grave matters of peace and war 
 were entrusted in what seemed the day of England's 
 doom. 
 
 " What a lecture T could make with Mr. Cecil on the 
 subject!" An English ambassador, at the court of 
 Philip II.'s viceroy, could indulge himself in imaginary 
 
 » The reader who will take Jhe trouble nUins violentia vinoat (frangat)," kc, 
 to refer to the .Eneicyib.xi., may amuse 354. 
 
 himself by observing that the aptness of 
 the analogy was by no means so wonder- 
 ful as it seemed to Dr. Dale, " nee te ^- ^^^^ ^^^O 
 
 ' Dale to Burghloy ^ July, 1588. 
 
 (S. 
 
 1588. DALE'S AUDIENCE OF THE DUKE AT BRUGES. 
 
 SS."" 
 
 e.) 
 
 prelections on the ^Eneid, in the last days of July of 
 the year of our Lord 1 588 ! 
 
 The Doctor, liowever— to do him justice— had put the 
 questions categorically to his Higbiiess, as he had been 
 instructed to do. He went to Bruges so mys- » 
 teriously, that no living man that side the sea. Fa "^"'y- 
 have Lord Derby and Lord Cobham, knew the ^^^^• 
 cause of his journey.' Poor puzzling James Croft in 
 particular, was moved almost to tears, by being kept'out 
 
 of the secret.=^ On the ^ July, Dale had audience of 
 
 1 o 
 
 tlie Duke at Bmges. After a few commonplaces, he was 
 invited by the Duke to state what special purpose had 
 brought him to Bruges. 
 
 " There is a book printed at Antwerp," said Dale 
 "and set fortli by a fugitive from England, who calleth 
 himself a cardinal."^ 
 
 Upon this the Duke began diligently to listen. 
 *' This book," resumed Dale, " is an Admonition to the 
 nobility and people of England and Ireland touchiuiv 
 the execution of the sentence of the Tope a"-ainst tho 
 Queen, which the King Catholic hath entrusted to vour 
 Highness as chief of the enterprise. There is also a^bull 
 ot the Pope declaring my sovereign mistress illegitimate 
 and an usurper, with other matters too odious for any 
 prince or gentleman to name or hoar. In this bull tin- 
 Pope saith that he hath dealt with the Most Catholic 
 King to emi)luy all the means in his power to the depri- 
 vation and deposition of my sovereign, and doth char^-e 
 her subjects to assist the army appointed bv the Kino- 
 Catholic for that purpose, under the conduct of you? 
 Highness. Therefore Her Majesty would be satisfied 
 Irom your Highness in that point, and will take satis- 
 laction of none other ; not doubting but that as vou are 
 a prince of word and credit, you will deal plainlv with 
 her Alajesty. Whatsoever it may be, her IMajesty will 
 not take it amiss against your Highness, so she maV only 
 be mfonned by you of the tmth. W herefore I do requii"e 
 you to satisfy the Queen."' 
 
 " I am glad," replied the Duke, '* that her Majesty 
 and her commissioners do take in good part my good- 
 will towards them. I am especially touched by the good 
 
 1 Dale to Burghley, MS. last cited.* 2 n^jd. 3 ibjd. 4 ji^jj. 
 
384 
 
 THK UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVIII. 
 
 opinion her Majesty liatli of my sincerity, which I should 
 be glad always to maintain. As to the book to which 
 yoiTrefer, I have never read it nor seen it, nor do I take 
 heed of it. It may well be that her Majesty, whom it 
 concemeth, should t-ake notice of it ; but for my part I 
 have nought to do with it, nor can I prevent men from 
 writing oi' printing at their pleasure. I am at the com- 
 mandment of my master only." * 
 
 As Alexander made no reference to the Pope's bull, 
 Dr. Dale obsei-ved, that if a war had been, of purpose, 
 undertaken at the instance of the Pope, all this nego- 
 tiation had been in vain, and her Majesty would be 
 obliged to withdmw her commissioners, not doubting 
 that^'they would receive safe-conduct, as occasion should 
 
 require. , _ , 
 
 *' Yea, God forbid else," replied Alexander; "and 
 further, / know nothing of any bull of the Pope, nor do I 
 care for any, nor do 1 undertake anything for him. But 
 as for any misunderstanding (mil entendu) between my 
 master and her Majesty, I must, as a soldier, act at the 
 command of my sovereign. For my part, I have always 
 had such respect for her Majesty, being so noble a (^ueen, 
 as that I would never hearken to anything that might 
 be reproachful to her. After my master, 1 would do 
 most to serve your Queen, and I hope she will take my 
 word for her satisiiiction on that point. And for avoid- 
 in"- of bloodshed and the burning of houses and such 
 other calamities as do follow the wars, I have been a 
 petitioner to my sovereign that all things might be 
 ended quietly by a peace. That is a thing, however," 
 added the Diike, *' which you have more cause to desire 
 than we, for if the King, my master, should lose a battle, 
 he would be able to recover it well enough, without 
 hai-m to liimself, being far enough off in Spain, while, 
 if the battle be lost on your side, you may lose kingdom 
 
 and all." * -i-. -l 
 
 *'By God's sufferance," rejoined the Doctor, "her 
 Majesty is not without means to defend her crown, that 
 hath descended to her from so long a succession of an- 
 cestors. Moreover your Highness knows very well 
 that one battle cannot conquer a kingdom m another 
 country." 
 
 » Dale to Burghley, MS. last cited. » Ibid. 
 
 1588. PARMA DENIES ALL KNOWLEDGE OF EITHER. 385 
 
 " Well," said the Duke, " that is in God's hand." 
 
 " So it IS," said the Doctor. 
 
 " But make an end of it," continued Alexander quietly ; 
 * and if you have anything to put into writing, you will 
 do me a pleasure by sending it to me." » 
 
 Dr. Valentine Dale was not the man to resist the 
 temptation to make a protocol, and promised one for the 
 next day. 
 
 " I am charged only to give your Highness satisfac- 
 tion, he said, " as to her Majesty's sincere intentions, 
 which have already been published to the world in 
 ±.nglish, French, and Italian, in the hope that you may 
 also satisfy the Queen upon this other point. I am but 
 one of her commissioners, and could not deal without 
 my colleagues. I crave leave to depart to-mon-ow morn- 
 ing, and with safe-convoy, as I had in coming." 
 
 After the envoy had taken leave, the Duke summoned 
 ?• 1^* ■^^^' ^^^ related to him the conversation 
 which had taken place. He then, in the presence of 
 that personage, again declared, upon his honour and with 
 very constant affimations, that he had never seen nor 
 heard of t/ie book— the ' Admonition ' by Cardinal Allen— 
 and that he knew nothing of any bull, and had no 
 regard to it.* 
 
 The plausible Andrew accompanied the Doctor to his 
 lodgings, protesting all the way of his own and his 
 master's sincerity, and of their unequivocal intentions 
 to conclude a peace. The next day the Doctor, by 
 agi-eement, brought a most able protocol of demands in 
 the name of all the commissioners of her Majesty ; * 
 which able protocol the Duke did not at that moment 
 read, which he assuredly never read subsequently, 
 ^^^l^^ich no human soul ever read aftei-wards. Let 
 the dust lie upon it, and upon all the vast heap of pro- 
 tocols raised mountains high during the spring and 
 summer of 1588. 
 
 "^- I^ale has been w^th me two or three times," 
 P^-r^^^"^*' in giving his account of these interviews to 
 1 hihp. " I don't know why he came, but I think he 
 wished to make it appear, by coming to Bruges, that 
 the rupture, when it occurs, was caused by us, not by 
 the English. He has been complaining of Cardinal 
 
 » Dale to Burghley. MS. last cited. 2 ibid. » Ibid 
 
 VOL. n. "2c' 
 
 !l 
 
 1 
 
886 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVIII. 
 
 Allen '8 hook, and I told him that I didn't understand 
 a word of English, and knew nothing whatever of the 
 matter." * 
 
 It has been already seen that the Duke had declared, 
 on his word of honour, that he had never heard of the 
 famous pamphlet. Yet at that very moment letters were 
 lying in his cabinet, received more than a fortnight 
 before from Philip, in which that monarch thanked 
 Alexander for having had the Cardinars book translated at 
 Antwerp!"* Certainly few English diplomatists could 
 be a match for a Highness so liberal of his word of 
 honour. 
 
 But even Dr. Dale had at last convinced himself — 
 even although the Duke knew nothing of bull or 
 pamphlet — that mischief was brewing against England. 
 The sagacious man, having seen large bodies of Spaniards 
 and Walloons making such demonstrations of eageniess 
 to be led against his country, and "professing it as 
 openly as if they wore going to a fair or market," while 
 even Alexander himself could " no more hide it than 
 did Henry VIII. when he went to Boulogne,"^ could 
 not help suspecting something amiss. 
 
 His colleague, however, Comptroller Croft, was more 
 judicious, for he valued himself on taking a sound, 
 temperate, and conciliator}^ view of affairs. He was not 
 the man to offend a magnanimous neighlx)ur — who 
 meant nothing unfriendly — by regarding his manoeuvres 
 with superfluous suspicion. So this envoy wrote to 
 .Lord Burghley on the 2nd August (N.S.)— let the reader 
 niark the date— that, " although a great doubt had been 
 conceived as to the King's sincerity, .... yet 
 that discretion and experience induced him — the envoy — to 
 think, that besides the reverent opinion to he had of pnnces' 
 oaths, and the general incommodity which will come by 
 the contrary, God had so balanced princes' powers in 
 that age, as they rather desire to assure them^hes at honie, 
 than with danger to invade their neighbours**^ 
 
 Perhaps the mariners of England— a^ that very instant 
 exchanging broadsides off the coast of Devon and Dorset 
 
 1 Parma to Philip, 21 July, 1588. » Dale to Burghly - July, 1588. (S. 
 (Arch, de Sim. MS.) p q^^^^ ^g . ' *» 
 
 2 Philip II. to Punna, 21 June, 1588, '. ^ ,. "4 ,, ssJuIt 
 
 MS. la;.t cited * ^^^oft to Burghley, "^ - % 1588. MS. 
 
 a Aug. 
 
 last ciUxL 
 
 1588. DISUNION OF HOLLAND AND ENGLAND. 387 
 
 with the Spanish Armada, and doing their best to pro- 
 tect their native land from the most horrible calamity 
 which had ever impended over it- had arrived at a less 
 reverent opinion of princes' oaths ; and it was well for 
 ±.ngland m that supreme hour that there were such 
 men as Howard and Drake, and Winter and Frobisher, 
 and a who e people with hearts of oak to defend her, 
 while bungling diplomatists and credulous dotards were 
 domg their best to imperil her existence. 
 
 But it is necessary— in order to obtain a complete 
 picture of that famous year 1588, and to understand the 
 causes from which such great events were sprino-ing— 
 to cast a glance at the internal politics of the States 
 most involved in Philip's meshes. 
 
 Certainly, if there had ever been a time when the 
 new commonwealth of the Netherlands should be both 
 united m itself ani on thoroughly friendly terms with 
 ±.ngland, it was exactly that epoch of which we are 
 treating. There could be no reasonable doubt that the 
 designs of Spain against England were hostile, and 
 fp;^,* ?^^^^°^ r^^engeful. It was at least possible 
 that 1 hilip meant to undertake the conquest of England, 
 
 ^?u n"^^®^^^ ^* ^^ ^ stepping-stone to the cominest 
 ot Holland. Both the kingdom and the republic should 
 iiave been alert, armed, fuU of suspicion towards the 
 common foe, full of confidence in each other. What 
 decisive blows might have been struck against Parma 
 m the Netherlands, when his troops were starving 
 fiickly, and mutinous, if the Hollanders and Englishmen 
 had been united under one chieftain, and thorouo-hly 
 convinced of the impossibility of peace ! Could^'the 
 -t-nghsh and Dutch statesmen of that day have read all 
 the secrets of their gieat enemy's heart-, as it is our pri- 
 vilege at this hour to do, they would have known that 
 m sudden and deadly strokes lay their best chance of 
 salvation. But, without that advantage, there were 
 men whose sagacity told them that it was the hour for 
 deeds and not for dreams. For to Leicester and \Val- 
 singham, as well as to Paul Buys and Bameveld, peace 
 with Spam seemed an idle vision. It was unfortunate 
 tliat they were overruled by Queen Elizabeth and 
 iiurghley, who still clung tonhat delusion; it was still 
 more disastrous that the intrigues of Leicester had done 
 
 2 c 2 
 
 ^\ 
 
 I 
 
383 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVIII. 
 
 so much to paralyze the republig ; it was almost fatal 
 tliat his departure, without laying down his authority, 
 had given the signal for civil war. 
 
 During the winter, spring, and summer of 1588, while 
 the Duke— in the face of mighty obstacles— was slowly 
 proceeding with his preparations in Flanders, to co- 
 operate with the armaments from Spain, it would have 
 been possible by a combined movement to destroy his 
 whole plan, to liberate all the Netherlands, and to avert, 
 by one great effort, the ruin impending over England. 
 Instead of such vigorous action, it was thought wiser to 
 send commissioners, to make protocols, to ask for armis- 
 tices, to give profusely to the enemy that which he was 
 most in need of— time. Meanwhile the Hollanders and 
 English could quarrel comfortably among themselves, 
 and the little republic, for want of a legal head, could 
 come as near as possible to its dissolution. 
 
 Young Maurice— deep thinker for his years and 
 peremptory in action— was not the man to see his great 
 father's life-work annihilated before his eyes, so long as 
 he had an arm and brain of his own. He accepted his 
 position at the head of the government of Holland and 
 Zeeland, and as chief of the war-party. Ihe council ot 
 istate, mainly composed of Leicester's creatures, whose 
 commissions would soon expire by their own limitation, 
 could offer but a feeble resistaAce to such determined 
 individuals as Maurice, Buys, and Barneveld. The 
 party made rapid progress. On the other hand, the 
 Eno-lish Leicestrians did their best to foment discord in 
 the'^Provinces. Sonoy was sustained in his rebellion m 
 North Holland, not only by the Earl's partizans, but by 
 Elizabeth herself. Her rebukes to Maunce, when 
 IMaurice was pursuing the only course which seemed 
 to him consistent with honour and sound policy, were 
 sharper than a sword. Well might Duplessis Mornay 
 observe, that the commonwealth had been rather 
 strangled than embraced by the English Queen. Sonoy, 
 in the name of Leicester, took arms against Maurice and 
 the States ; Maurice marched against him ; and Lord 
 AVilloughby, commander-in-chief of the English forces, 
 was anxious to march against Maurice. It was a 
 spectacle to make angels weep, that of Englishmen and 
 Hollanders preparing to cut each other's throats, at the 
 
 1588. DANGEROUS DISCORDS IN NORTH HOLLAND. 389 
 
 moment when Philip and Parma were bending all their 
 energies to crush England and Holland at once. 
 
 Indeed, the interregnum between the departure of 
 Leicester and his abdication was diligently employed by 
 his more reckless partizans to defeat and destroy the 
 authority of the States. By prolonging the interval, it 
 was hoped that no government would be possible except 
 the arbitrary rule of the Earl, or of a successor with 
 similar views : for a republic — a free commonwealth — 
 was thought an absurdity. To entrust supreme power 
 to advocates, merchants, and mechanics, seemed as hope- 
 less as it was vulgar. Willoughby, much devoted to 
 Leicester and much detesting Barneveld, had small 
 scruple in fanning the flames of discord. 
 
 There was open mutiny against the States by the 
 garrison of Gertruydenberg, and Willoughby's brother- 
 in-law. Captain Wingfield, commanded in Gertruyden- 
 berg. There were rebellious demonstrations in Kaarden, 
 and Willoughby went to Kaarden. The garrison was 
 troublesome, but most of the magistrates were firm. 
 So Willoughby supped with the burgomasters, and found 
 that Paul Buys had been setting the people against 
 Queen Elizabeth, Leicester, and the whole English 
 nation, making them all odious. Colonel Dorp said 
 openly that it was a shame for the country to refuse 
 their own natural-bom Count for strangers. He swore 
 that he would sing his song whose bread he had eaten.* 
 A *'fat militia captain" of the place, one Soyssons, on 
 the other hand, privately informed Willoughby that 
 Maurice and Banieveld were treating underhand with 
 Spain. Willoughby was inclined to believe the calumny, 
 but feared that his corpulent friend would lose his head 
 for reporting it. Meantime the English commander did 
 his best to strengthen the English party in their rebel- 
 lion against the States. 
 
 " But how if they make war upon us ?'* asked the 
 Leicestrians. 
 
 " It is very likely," replied AVilloughby, " that if they 
 use violence you will have her Majesty's assistance, and 
 then you who continue constant to the end will be 
 rewarded accordingly. Moreover, who would not 
 
 1 Willoughby to , ^eb. 1588. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 !! 
 
390 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XYHI. 
 
 rather be a horse-keeper to her Majesty than a captain 
 to Bameveld or Buys?"* 
 
 When at last the resignation of Leicester— presented 
 to the States by Killigrew on the 31st March *— seemed 
 to promise comparative repose to the republic, the 
 vexation of the Leicestrians was intense. Their efforts 
 to effect a dissolution of the government had been ren- 
 dered unsuccessful, when success seemed within their 
 grasp. *' Albeit what is once executed cannot be pre- 
 vented," said Captain Champemoun, " yet 'tis thought 
 certain that, if the resignation of Lord Leicester's com- 
 mission had been deferred yet some little time, the whole 
 country and towTis would have so revolted and mutinied 
 against the government and authority of the States, as 
 that they should have had no more credit given them by 
 the people than pleased her Majesty. Most part of the 
 people could see — in consequence of the troubles, dis- 
 content, mutiny of garrisons, and the like, that it was 
 most necessary for the good success of their affairs that 
 the power of the States should be abolished, and the 
 whole government of his Excellency erected. As these 
 Diatters icere husUy working into the likelihood of some^ good 
 effect, came the resignation of his Excellency's commission 
 and authority, which so dashed the proceedings of it, 
 as that all people and commanders well affected unto 
 her Majesty and my Lord of Leicester are utterly dis- 
 couraged. The States, with thfeir adherents, before 
 they had my Lord's resignation, were much perplexed 
 what course to take, but now begin to hoist their heads." 
 The excellent Leicestrian entertained hopes, however, 
 that mutiny and intrigue might still carry the day. He 
 
 WlUonghby to 
 
 10 
 
 - Feb. 1588. 
 
 z8 
 
 less to assure the unfortunate captain, 
 whose head I fear will pay for all. 
 (S. P. OfRce MS.) " It was likewise said Further, I said it was sure that the 
 openly to Count Maurice at his table,' Sir, States-General, the council of state, 
 if the Prince your father had been offered which I was somewhat acquainted with, 
 the third part by the enemy which you nor the two counts who had feasted us 
 have been, he would have accepted it ; and and dnmk the health of his Excellency, 
 is it not a gootl occasion that you may meant but all well to us.' * Well,' said 
 
 the old Burgomaster, 'but that 1 hear 
 you say so, 1 would scarcely believe it, 
 for mine ears have often borne witness 
 to the eontrary,"' &c. Willoughby to 
 
 ^^^'"^ (S. P. Office MS.3 ; 
 
 article what you will, and have whatever 
 you may demand. S^jyssons, a fat cap- 
 Uin of Naarden, fed for their tooth, con- 
 fessed to me that they had practised with 
 the enemy. Thus you may see their dis- 
 positions ; much ado had I to persuade 
 the burgomasters of the honourable 
 course her Mivjesty would hold, and no 
 
 — , , 1588. 
 
 • S March 
 
 « Bor, iii. 224. Wageuaar, viii. 265. 
 
 1588. INTRIGUES OF LEICESTER AXD HIS PARTF. 391 
 
 had seen the fat militiaman of Naarden and other cap- 
 tains, and hoped much mischief from their schemes. 
 '' The chief mutineers of Gertruydenberg," he said, 
 *'may be wrought to send unto the States, that, if they 
 do not procure them some English governor, they will 
 compound with the enemy, whereon the States shall he 
 driven to request her Majesty to accept the place, them- 
 selves entertaining the garrison. I know certain cap- 
 tains discontented with the States for arrears of pay, 
 who will contrive to get into Naarden with their companies, 
 with the States' consent, who, once entered, will keep 
 the place for their satisfaction, pay their soldiers out of 
 the contributions of the country, and yet secretly hold 
 the place at her Majesty's command." * 
 
 This is not an agreeable picture ; yet it is but one out 
 of many examples of the intrigues by which Leicester 
 and his party were doing their best to destroy the 
 commonwealth of the Netherlands at a moment when 
 its existence was most important to that of England. 
 
 To foment mutiny in order to subveii; the authority of 
 Maurice, was not a friendly or honourable course of 
 action either towards Holland or England ; and it was 
 to play into the hands of Philip as adroitly as his own 
 stipendiaries could have done.* 
 
 With mischief-makers like Champeraoun in every 
 city, and with such diplomatists at Ostcnd as Ci'oft and 
 Rogers and Valentine Dale, was it wonderful that the 
 King and the Duke of Parma found time to mature their 
 plans for the destruction of both countnes ? 
 
 Lord Willoughby, too, was extremely dissatisfied 
 with his own position. He received no commission 
 from the Queen for several months. "When it at last 
 reached him, it seemed inadequate, and he became more 
 sullen than ever. He declared that he would rather 
 serve the Queen as a private soldier, at his own expense 
 — " lean as his purse was " — than accept the limited 
 authority confen-ed on him. He preferred to show his 
 devotion " in a beggarly state, than in a formal show." 
 
 * Arthur Cliampemoun to Walsing- Famese, " upon the disputes between the 
 
 ham. 1 April, 1588. (S. P. Office MS.) '"^^^^ *"** ^^^ English, and among 
 
 '* themselves. I tnist you will get good 
 
 He commanded an English company at fmit from their quarrels " Philip to 
 
 ^^'^^'^ * Parma, 13 May, 1588. (Arch, de Sim. 
 
 2 -I congratulate jou," wrote Philip to MS.) 
 
 •<f 
 
 \\ 
 
392 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XVIII. 
 
 He considered it beneath her Majesty's dignity that 
 he should act in the field under the States, but his 
 instnictions forbade his acceptance of any office from 
 that body but that of general in their serrice. He was 
 very discontented, and more anxious than ever to be rid 
 of his functions. Without being extremely ambitious, 
 he was impatient of control. He desired not *' a larger- 
 shaped coat," but one that fitted him better. " I wish 
 to shape my garment homely, after my cloth," he said, 
 ** that the better of my parish may not be misled by 
 my sumptuousness. I would live quietly, without 
 great noise, my poor roof low and near the ground, not 
 subject to be overblown with unlooked-for storms, while 
 the sun seems most shining." * 
 
 Being the deadly enemy of the States and their 
 leaders, it was a matter of course that he should be bitter 
 against Maurice. ITiat young Prince, bold, enteiprising, 
 and determined as he was, did not ostensibly meddle 
 with political affairs more than became his years ; but 
 he accepted the counsels of the able statesmen in whom 
 his father had trusted. Hiding, hunting, and hawking 
 seemed to be his chief delight at the Hague, in the 
 intervals of military occupations. He rarely made his 
 appearance in the state-council during the winter, and 
 referred public matters to the States-General, to the 
 States of Holland, to Barneveld, ^Buys, and Hohenlo.2 
 Superficial observers like George Gilpin regarded him 
 as a cipher ; others, like Robert Cecil, thought him an 
 unmannerly schoolboy ; but Willoughby, although con- 
 sidering him insolent and conceited, could not deny his 
 ability. The peace-partisans among the burghers— a 
 very small faction— were furious against him, for they 
 knew that Maurice of Nassau represented war. They 
 accused of deep designs against the liberties of their 
 country the youth who was ever ready to risk his life in 
 their defence. A burgomaster from Friesland, who had 
 come across the Zuyder Zee to intrigue against the States' 
 party, was full of spleen at being obliged to dance 
 attendance for a long time at the Hague. He com- 
 plained that Count Maurice, green of years, and seconded 
 
 » Willoughby to Burghley. 
 1688. (S. P. Office MS.) . 
 
 tS Jan. 
 a Feb. ' 
 
 « Gilpin to Walsingham, - Feb. 1588. 
 MS. last cited. 
 
 1688. ENMITY OF WILLOUGHBY AND MAURICE. 
 
 393 
 
 by greener counsellors, was meditating the dissolution 
 of the state-council, the appointment of a new board 
 from his own creatures, the overthrow of all other 
 authority, and the assumption of the sovereignty of 
 Holland and Zeeland, with absolute power. " And 
 when this is done," said the rueful burgomaster, *' he 
 and his turbulent fellows may make what terms they 
 like with Spain, to the disadvantage of the Queen and 
 of us poor wretches." ^ 
 
 But there was nothing farther from the thoughts of 
 the turbulent fellows than any negotiations with Spain. 
 Maurice was ambitious enough, perhaps, but his ambi- 
 tion i-an in no such direction. Willoughby knew better, 
 and thought that by humouring the petulant young man 
 it might be possible to manage him. 
 
 " Maurice is young," he said, '* hot-headed, coveting 
 honour. If we do but look at him through our fingers, 
 without much words, but with providence enough,* 
 baiting his hook a little to his appetite, there is "no 
 doubt but he might be caught and kept in a fish-pool, 
 while in his imagination he may judge it a sea. If not* 
 'tis likely he will make us fish in troubled waters." 2 
 
 Maurice was hardly the fish for a mill-pond even at 
 that epoch, and it might one day be seen whether or not 
 he could float in the great ocean of events. Meanwhile, 
 he swam his course without superfluous gambols or 
 spoutings. 
 
 ITie commander of her Majesty's forces was not satis- 
 fied with the States, nor their generals, nor their poli- 
 ticians. " Affairs are going a malo in pejus" he said. 
 " They embrace their liberty as apes their young. To 
 this end are Counts Hollock and Maurice set upon the 
 stage to entertain the pepular sort. Her Majesty and 
 my Lord of Leicester are not forgotten. The Counts are 
 in Holland, especially Hollock, for the other is but the 
 cipher. And yet I can assure you Maurice hath wit and 
 spirit too much for his time." * 
 
 As the troubles of the interregnum increased Wil- 
 loughby was more dissatisfied than ever with the 
 miserable condition of the Provinces, but chose to ascribe 
 
 • Willoughby to Burghley. 
 1688. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 IS 
 
 i« 
 
 « Ibid. 
 
 Jan.^ s Same to same, - Jan. 1588. MS. 
 
 last cited. 
 
 m 
 
 * 
 
 4 
 
 if 
 
394 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVIII, 
 
 it to the machinations of tlie States' party, mther than to 
 the ambiguous conduct of Leicester. *' These evils," he 
 said, " are especially derived from the childish ambition 
 of the young Count Maurice, from the covetous and 
 furious counsels of the proud Hollanders, now chief of 
 the States-General, and, if with pardon it may be said, 
 from our slackness and coldness to entertain our friends. 
 The provident and wiser sort— weighing what a slender 
 ground tlie appetite of a young man is, unfurnished with 
 the sinews of war to manage so great a cause— for a 
 good space after my Lord of Leicester's dejiarture, 
 gave him far looking on, to see him play his part on the 
 
 stage." ^ 
 
 Willoughby's spleen caused him to mix his metaphors 
 more recklessly than strict taste would wanant, but his 
 violent expressions painted the relative situation of 
 parties more vividly than could be done by a calm dis- 
 quisition. Maurice thus playing his part upon the 
 stage — as the general proceeded to observe — "was a 
 skittish horse, becoming by little and little assured of 
 what he had feared, and perceiving the harmlessness 
 thereof; while his companions, finding no safety of 
 neutrality in so gi'eat practices, and no overturning nor 
 barricado to stop his rash wilded chariot, followed 
 without fear ; and when some of the first had passed the 
 bog, the rest, as the fashicm is, never started after. The 
 variable democracy, embracing novelty , began to applaud 
 their prosperity ; the base and lewdest sorts of men, to 
 whom there is nothing more agreeable than change of 
 estates, as a better monture to degrees than their merit, 
 took present hold thereof. Hereby Paul Buys, Baiiie- 
 veld, and divers others, who were before mantled vnth 
 a tolerable affection, though sQp,soned with a poisoned 
 intention, caught the occasion, and made themselves the 
 r>eelzebubs of all these mischiefs, and, for want of better 
 angels, spared not to let fly our golden-winged ones in 
 the name of guilders, to prepare the hearts and hands 
 that hold money more dearer than honesty, of which 
 sort, the country troubles and the Spanish practices 
 having suckled up many, they found enough to serv^e 
 their purpose. As the breach is safely saltable where 
 
 19 Feb 
 
 » WiUoughby to Walslngham, ^ ^^^ ,1588. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 1588. HATRED BETWEEN STATES AND LEICESTRIANS. 395 
 
 no defence is made, so they, finding no head, but those 
 scattered arms that were disavowed, drew the sword 
 with I eter, and gave pardon with the Pope, as you shall 
 plainly perceive by the proceedings at Horn. Thus 
 their force, fair words, or corruption, prevailinc^ every- 
 where, it grew to this conclusion— that the worst were 
 encouraged with their good success, and the best sort 
 assured of no fortune or favour." * 
 
 Out of all this hubbub of stage-actors, skittish horses 
 rash wilded chariots, bogs, Beelzebubs, and golden- 
 wmged angels, one truth was distinctly audible • that 
 Beelzebub, m the shape of Bameveld, had been gettino- 
 the upper hand in the Netherlands, and that the Lei^ 
 cestrians were at a disadvantage. In tnith those par- 
 tisans were becoming extremely impatient. Findino. 
 themselves deserted by their great protector, they 
 naturally turned their eyes towards Spain, and were 
 now threaten mg to sell themselves to Philip. The Earl 
 at his departure, had given them privately much encou- 
 ragement. But month after month had passed by while 
 they were waiting in vain for comfort. At last the 
 
 r ?f*i'r"*¥* ^"^ *^ ^^^^' *^^ unhappy Leicestrians— came 
 to VV illoughby, asking his advice in their " declinino- 
 and despeiate cause." ° 
 
 '' Well nigh a month longer," said that general, " I 
 nourished them with compliments, and assured them 
 that my Lord of Leicester would take care of them." 2 
 Ihe diet was not fattening. So they began to grumble 
 more loudly than ever, and complained with great 
 bitterness of the miserable condition in which they had' 
 been left by the Earl, and expressed their fears lest the. 
 Queen likewise meant to abandon them. They protested' 
 that their poverty, their powerful foes, and their slow' 
 tnends, would compel them either to make their peace 
 with the States' party, or " compound with the enemy." 
 ^ It would have seemed that real patriots, under such 
 circumstances, would hardly hesitate in their choice, 
 and would sooner accept the dominion of " Beelzebub " 
 or even Paul Buys, than that of i'hilip II. But the 
 Leicestrians of Utrecht and Friesland— patriots as they 
 were— hated Holland worse than they hated the Inqui- 
 sition. Willoughby encouraged them in that hatred. 
 
 i I 
 1 
 
 'ii 
 
 )ughby .„_..c.^, 
 » Willoughby to Walsingham, MS. last cited. 
 
 " Ibid. 
 
396 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVIII. 
 
 He assured them of her Majesty's affection for them, 
 complained of the factious proceedings of the States, and 
 alluded to the unfavourable state of the weather, as a 
 reason why — near four months long — they had not 
 received the comfort out of England which they had a 
 right to expect. He assured them that neither the 
 Queen nor Leicester, would conclude this honourable 
 action, wherein much had been hazarded, '* so rawly and 
 tragically " as they seemed to fear, and warned them, 
 that, " if they did join with Holland, it would neither 
 ease nor help them, but draw them into a more dis- 
 honourable loss of their liberties ; and that, after having 
 wound them in, the Hollanders would make their own 
 peace with the enemy." * 
 
 It seemed somewhat unfair — while the Queen's 
 government was straining every nerve to obtain a peace 
 from Philip, and while the Hollanders were obstinately 
 deaf to any propositions for treating— that Willoughby 
 should accuse them of secret intentions to negotiate. 
 But it must be confessed that faction has rarely worn a 
 more mischievous aspect than was presented by the 
 politics of Holland and England in the winter and 
 spring of 1588. 
 
 Young Maurice was placed in a very painfid position. 
 He liked not to be '* strangled in the gi'eat Queen's 
 embrace ;" but he felt most keenly the necessity of her 
 friendship, and the importance to both countries of a 
 close alliance. It was impossible for him, however, to 
 tolerate the rebellion of Sonoy, althi^ugh Sonoy was 
 encouraged by Elizabeth, or to fly in the face of Bame- 
 veld, although Bameveld was detested by Leicester. 
 So with much firmness and courtesy, notwithstanding 
 the extravagant pictures painted by AVilloughby, ho 
 suppressed mutiny in Holland, while avowing the most 
 chivalrous attachment to the sovereign of England. 
 
 Her Majesty expressed her surprise and her discon- 
 tent, that, notwithstanding his expressions of devotion 
 to herself, he should thus deal with Sonoy, whose only 
 crime was an equal devotion. " If you do not behave 
 with more moderation in future," she said, " you may 
 believe that we are not a princess of so little courage as 
 not to know how to lend a helping hand to those who 
 
 1 Willougbby to WaUingbam, MS. last cited. 
 
 lo88. MAURICE'S ANSWER TO THE QUEEN'S CHARGES. 397 
 
 are unjustly oppressed. We should be sorry if we had 
 cause to be disgusted with your actions, and if we were 
 compelled to make you a stranger to the ancient good 
 affection which we bore to your late father, and have 
 continued towards yourself." ^ 
 
 But Maurice maintained a dignified attitude, worthy 
 of his great father's name. He was not the man to 
 crouch like Leicester, when he could no longer refresh 
 himself in the *' shadow of the Queen's golden beams," 
 important as he knew her friendship to be to himself 
 and his country. So he defended himself in a manly 
 letter to the privy council against the censures of 
 Elizabeth.* He avowed his displeasure, that, within 
 his own jurisdiction, Sonoy should give a special oath of 
 obedience to Leicester; a thing never done before in 
 the country, and entirely illegal. It would not even be 
 tolerated in England, he said, if a private gentleman 
 should receive a military appointment in Warwickshire 
 or Norfolk without the knowledge of the lord-lieutenant 
 of the shire. He had treated the contumacious Sonoy 
 with mildness during a long period, but without effect. 
 He had abstained from violence towards him, out of 
 reverence to the Queen, under whose sacred name he 
 fc'heltered himself Sonoy had not desisted, but had 
 established himself in organized rebellion at Medenblik, 
 declaring that he would drown the whole country, and 
 levy black-mail upon its whole property, if he were not 
 paid one hundred thousand crowns. He had declared 
 that he would crush Holland like a glass beneath his feet. 
 Having nothing but religion in his mouth, and pro- 
 tecting himself with the Queen's name, he had been 
 exciting all the cities of North Holland to rebellion, 
 and bringing the poor people to destruction. He had 
 been offered money enough to satisfy the most avaricious 
 soldier in the world, but he stood out for six years' full 
 pay for his soldiers, a demand with which it was im- 
 possible to comply. It was necessary to prevent him 
 from inundating the land and destroying the estates of 
 the country gentlemen and the peasants. *' This, gen- 
 tlemen," said Maurice, *' is the plain truth ; nor do I 
 
 ri 
 
 
 ' Maurice of Nassau to Privy Coimcil, 
 
 » Queen to Maurice of Nassau, 4 Fub. 
 1588. (S, P. Office MS.) Ti ^^''^^'^^^' 1588. (S. P. Office M&) 
 
398 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVni. 
 
 M 
 
 believe that j^ou will sustain against me a man who was 
 under such vast obligations to my late father, and who 
 requites his debt by daring to speak of myself as a 
 rascal; or that you will countenance his rebellion 
 against a country to which he brought only his cloak 
 and sword, and whence he has filched one hundred 
 thousand crowns. You will not, I am sure, permit a 
 simple captain, by his insubordination, to cause so much 
 mischief, and to set on fire this and other Provinces. 
 
 "If, by your advice," continued the Count, *'the 
 Queen should appoint fitting personages to office here — 
 men who know what honour is, bom of illustrious and 
 noble race, or who by their gi-eat virtue have been 
 elevated to the honours of the kingdom — to them I will 
 render an account of my actions. And it shall appear 
 that I have more ability and more desire to do my duty 
 to her Majesty than those who render her lip-service 
 only, and only make use of her sacred name to fill their 
 purses, while I and mine have been ever ready to employ 
 our lives, and what remains of our fortunes, in the cause 
 of God, her Majesty, and our country." ^ 
 
 Certainly no man had a better right to speak with 
 consciousness of the worth of race than the son of 
 William the Silent, the nephew of Lewis, Adolphus, 
 and Henry of Nassau, who had all laid down their lives 
 for the liberty of their countr3\ But Elizabeth continued 
 to threaten the States-General, through the mouth of 
 AVilloughby, with the loss of her protection, if they 
 should continue thus to requite her favours with ingra- 
 titude and insubordination : * and Maurice once more 
 respectfully but firmly replied that Sonoy's rebellion 
 could not and would not be tolerated ; appealing boldly 
 to her sense of justice, which was the noblest attribute 
 of kings." 
 
 At last the Queen informed Willoughby, that— as the 
 cause of Sonoy's course seemed to be his oath of 
 obedience to Leicester, whose resignation of office had 
 not yet been received in tlie Netherlands — she had now 
 ordered Councillor Killigrew to communicate the fact of 
 
 1 Maurice of Nassau to Privy Council, 1588. MS. last cited. 
 (S. P. Office MS.) 3 Maurice of Nassau to Queen Eliza- 
 
 » Queen to Willoughby, ^ Marcb, b^^^. 1» i»«rcli. 15ti3. (S. P. Office, MS.) 
 
 r 
 
 1588. 
 
 END OF SONOY'S REBELLION. 
 
 399 
 
 
 that resignation. She also wrote to Sonoy, requiring 
 him to obey the States and Count Maurice, and to accept 
 a fresh commission from them, or at least to suiTcnder 
 Medenblik, and to fulfil all their orders wdth zeal and 
 docility.^ 
 
 This act of abdication by Leicester, which had been 
 received on the 22nd of January by the English envoy, 
 Herbert, at the moment of his departure from the 
 Netherlands, had been carried back by him to England, 
 on the ground that its communication to the States at 
 that moment would cause him inconveniently to postpom 
 his journey. It never officially reached the States-General 
 until the 31st of March, so that this most dangerous 
 crisis was protracted nearly five months long — certainly 
 without necessity or excuse — and whether through 
 design, malice, wantonness, or incomprehensible care- 
 lessness, it is difficult to say.* 
 
 So soon as the news reached Sonoy, that contumacious 
 chieftain found his position untenable, and ho allowed 
 the States' troops to take possession of Medenblik, and 
 with it the impoi*tant territory of North Holland, of 
 which province Maurice now saw himself undisputed 
 governor. Sonoy was in the course of the summer 
 deprived of all office, and betook himself to England. 
 Here he was kindly received by the Queen, who be- 
 stowed upon him a ruined tower, and a swamp among 
 the fens of Lincolnshire. He brought over some of his 
 countrymen well-skilled in' such operations, sot himself 
 to draining and dyking, and hoped to find himself at 
 home and comfortable in his ruined tower. But unfor- 
 tunately, as neither he nor his wife, notwithstanding 
 their English proclivities, could speak a w^ord of tho 
 language, they found their social enjoyments very 
 limited. Moreover, as his workpeople w^ere equally 
 without the power of making their wants understood, 
 the dyking operations made but little progress. So tho 
 
 1 Queen to Willoughby, - March, 
 
 1588. Queen to Sonoy, - April, 1588. 
 
 (S. P. Office MSS.) 
 
 2 Bor, lii. xxlv. 179 «eq,233se7. Van 
 der Kemp, i. 62. Wagmaar, viii. 270.- 
 Kesol. UuU. 1 April, 1588. 
 
 This business of Col. Diedrich Sonoy 
 occupies an enormous* simce in the 
 archives and chronicles of the day. It 
 has been here reduced to the smallest 
 compass consistent with a purpose of pre- 
 senting an intelligible account of the 
 politics of Leicester's administration and 
 iU> conaeiiucuces. 
 
 i 
 
400 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVIII. 
 
 unlucky colonel soon abandoned his swamp, and retired 
 to East Friesland, where he lived a morose and melan- 
 choly life on a pension of one thousand florins, granted 
 him by the States of Holland, until the year 1597, when 
 he lost his mind, fell into the fire, and thus perished.' 
 
 And thus, in the Netherlands, through hollow nego- 
 tiations between enemies and ill-timed bickerings among 
 friends, the path of Philip and Parma had been made 
 comparatively smooth during the spring and early sum- 
 mer of 1588. What was the aspect of affaire in Ger- 
 many and France ? 
 
 The adroit capture of Bonn by Martin Schenk had 
 given much trouble. Parma was obliged to detach a 
 strong force, under Prince Chimay,* to attempt the 
 recovery of that important place, which — so long as it 
 remained in the power of the States— rendered the 
 whole electorate insecure and a source of danger to the 
 Spanish party. Faraese endeavoured in vain to win 
 back the famous partizan by most liberal offers, for he 
 felt bitterly the mistake he had made in alienating so 
 formidable a freebooter. But the truculent Martin 
 remained obdurate and irascible. Philip, much offended 
 that the news of his decease had proved false, ordered 
 rather than requested the Emperor Kudolph to have a 
 care that nothing was done in Germany to interfere 
 with the great design upon England." The King gave 
 warning that he would suffer no disturbance from that 
 quarter, but certainly the lethargic condition of Ger- 
 many rendered such threats supei-fluous. There were 
 riders enough, and musketeers enough, to be sold to the 
 highest bidder. German food for powder was offered 
 largely in the market to any foreign consumer, for the 
 trade in their subjects' lives was ever a prolific source 
 of revenue to the petty sovereigns — numerous as the 
 days of the year — who owned Germany and the 
 
 Germans. 
 
 The mercenaries who had so recently been making 
 their inglorious campaign in Franco had been excluded 
 from that country at the close of 1587, and furious were 
 the denunciations of the pulpits and the populace of 
 
 1 Biir, Hi. 290. ^ Philip II. to Parma, 24 April, 1588. 
 
 a Parma to Philip II. 31 Jau. 1588, (MS. last cited.) 
 (Arcli. de Sim. MS.) 
 
 1588. PHILIP FOMENTS THE CIVIL WAR IN FRANCE. 401 
 
 Paris that the foreign brigands who had been devas- 
 tating the soil of France, and attempting to oppose the 
 decrees of the Holy Father of Kome, should have made 
 their escape so easily. Rabid Lincestre and other priests 
 and monks foamed with rage, as they execrated and 
 anathematized the devil-wonshipper Heniy of Valois 
 ill all the churches of that monarch's capital The 
 Spanish ducats were flying about, more profusely than 
 ever among the butchers and porters, and fishwomen 
 of the great city ; and Madam League paraded herself 
 m the daylight with still increasing insolence. There 
 was scarcely a pretence at recognition of any authority 
 save that of Philip and Sixtus. France had become 
 a wilderness -an uncultivated, barbarous province of 
 Spam. Mucio-Guise had been secretly to Rome had 
 held interviews with the Pope and cardinals, and had 
 come back with a sword presented by his Holiness, its 
 hilt adorned with jewels, and its blade engraved with 
 tongues of fire.^ And with this flaming sword the 
 avenging messenger of the Holy Father was to smite 
 the wicked, and to drive them into outer darkness. 
 
 And there had been fresh conferences among the 
 chiefs of the sacred League within the Lorraine terri- 
 tory, and it was resolved to require of the Valois an 
 immediate extermination of heresy and heretics throuo-h- 
 out the kingdom, the publication of the Council of Trent, 
 and the formal establishment of the Holy Inquisitioil 
 in every province of France. Thus, while doing his 
 Spanish master's bidding, the great lieutenant of the 
 League might, if he was adroit enough to outwit Philip 
 ultimately carve out a throne for himself. 
 
 Yet Philip felt occasional pangs of uneasiness lest 
 there should, after all, be peace in France, and lest his 
 schemes against Holland and England might be inter- 
 fered with from that quarter. Even Farnese, nearer 
 the scene, could not feel completely secure that a sud- 
 den reconciliation among contending factions might not 
 give rise to a dangerous inroad across the Flemish 
 border. So Guise was plied more vigorously than ever 
 by the Duke with advice and encouragement, and 
 assisted with such \^alloon carabineers as could be 
 
 14 
 
 ■J 
 
 VOL. II. 
 
 L'Egloile, 236. 
 
 2 D 
 
402 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XVju. 
 
 spared,* while large subsidies and larger promises came 
 from Philip,* whose prudent policy was never to pay 
 excessive sums, until the work contracted for was dune. 
 •' Mucio must do the job long since agreed upon," said 
 Philip to Famesc, '* and you and Menduza must see 
 that he prevents the King of France from troubling me 
 in my enterprise against England."" If the unlucky 
 Henry III. had retained one spark of intelligence, he 
 would have seen that his only chance of rescue lay in 
 the arm of the Beamese, and in an honest alliance with 
 England. Yet so strong was his love for the monks, 
 who were daily raving against him, that he was willing 
 to commit any baseness in order to win back their 
 affection. He was ready to exterminate heresy and to 
 establish the Inquisition, but he was incapable of taking 
 energetic measures of any kind, even when throne and 
 life were in imminent peril. Moreover, he clung to 
 Epernon and the '^ polifirfues" in whose swords he alone 
 found protection, and he knew that Epemon and the 
 politiques were the objects of horror to Paris and to 
 the League. At the same time he looked imploringly 
 towards England and towards the great Huguenot 
 chieftain, Elizabeth's knight-errant. He had a secret 
 interview with Sir Edward Stafford, in the garden of 
 the Beruardine convent, and importuned that envoy to 
 implore the Queen to break off her negotiations with 
 Philip, and even dared to offer the English ambassador 
 a large reward, if such a result could be obtained. 
 
 * Herrara, III. lii. 72. 2000 infantry 
 and inoo hurse. 
 
 » Philip to Purma, 27 Nov. 1587. Same 
 to same, 29 Jan. 1588. (Arch, de Sim. 
 MSS.) 
 
 3 Philip to Parma, 24 April, 1588. 
 (Arch, de Sim. MS.) Philip II. to Men- 
 doza, 1(5 Ffb. 1588. (Arch, de Sim. 
 [Paris], MS.) 
 
 " A Mucio anlmad y aconsejad como 
 
 Boleys, lo que so cuniple y le 
 
 pncurad hazer tin)." Philip II. to Men- 
 d07a, 2 June. 1588. (Arch, de Simancas. 
 [Paris], MS.) 
 
 The KiniE was, however, perpetually 
 warning Guise not to allow hiniiielf or 
 l.ls coiifedcratfs " to brag openly of the 
 ns^istance whiclj they were receiving 
 from Spain, k-tit the ministers of Henry 
 
 should thivk Philip partial ; hut in 
 reality not to waver a hair's breadth in 
 his determination, relying upon the 
 Spanish King and on tlie Hiikeof Parma," 
 kc. Philip 11. to Mendoza, 16 July, 
 1588. (Arch, de Sim. [Paris], MS. 
 
 " The public report that we are assist- 
 ing Guise," said the King a year before, 
 *'ls very inconvenient, and must b<? sup- 
 pressed. , . . My nephew, ilie Duke of 
 Parma, has assured Guise that he will 
 assist him, and Guise ought to be grateful. 
 At the same time Longl^e has been tell- 
 ing me that his King desired to join me 
 against Kngland. All this was to de- 
 ceive, and I have answered all with 
 equal deception," &c. Philip II. in 
 Mendoza, 6 July, 1587. MS. 
 
 
 1588. LEAGUE'S THREATS AND PLOTS AGAINST HENRY. 403 
 
 Stafford was also earnestly requested to beseech tlie 
 Queen's influence with Henry of Navarre, that he should 
 convert himself to Catholicism, and thus destroy the 
 League. 
 
 On the other hand, the magniloquent Mendoza, who 
 was fond of describing himself as *' so violent and 
 terrible to the French that they wished to be rid of 
 him,"' had— as usual— been frightening the poor King, 
 who, after a futile attempt at dignity, had shrunk 
 before the bhisterings of the ambassador. '* This King," 
 said Don Bernardino, " thought that he could impose 
 upon me and silence me, by talking loud, but, as I 
 didn't talk softly to him, he has undeceived himself. . . . 
 I have had another interview with him, and found him 
 softer than silk, and he made me many caresses, and 
 after I went out he said that I was a very skilful 
 minister."* 
 
 It was the purpose of the League to obtain possession 
 of the King's person, and, if necessary, to dispose of the 
 politiques by a general massacre, such as sixteen years 
 before had been so successful in the case of Coligny and 
 the Huguenots. So the populace— more rabid ^ than 
 ever—were impatient that their adored Balafre should 
 come to Paris and begin the holy work. 
 
 He came as far as Gonesse'to do the job he had 
 promised to Thilip, but having heard that Henry had 
 reinforced himself with four thousand Swiss from tlie 
 garrison of Lagny, he fell back to Soissons. The King 
 sent him a most abject message, imploring him not to 
 expose his sovereign to so much danger, by setting his 
 foot at that moment in the capital. The l^alafre hesi- 
 tated, but the populace raved and roared for its darling. 
 The Queen-Mother urged her unhappy son to yield his 
 consent, and the I\Iontpensier— fatal sister of Guise, 
 with the famous scissors ever at her girdle ' — insisted 
 
 - *' El serlo fyo tan terible, violente, 
 y sedigioso, que impido no se estreche 
 este rey muy de veras con V. M;yd lo 
 qual se herla si faltasse yo dest^puesto." 
 Minduza to Philip II., 30 Jan. 1588. 
 (Arch, de Sim. [Paris], MS.) 
 
 * " Efite rey creyo que me espantara 
 hizlera callar con hallar me alto, y con el 
 no respondalle yo baxo, se ha desengafiado." 
 Ha teuido despues audiencla, y halle lo 
 
 mas blando que una seda, y me hizo 
 muchas caricias que yo le reconoii con 
 las palabras devidas, y despues del s;!lir 
 de hablalle, entlendo que dixo que yo era 
 un ministro bien avise," kc. Don B. <le 
 Mendoza to Don Juan de Idiaquez, 5 
 April, 15!«8. (Arch, de Sim. [Pails], 
 MS.) 
 3 L'EstolIe, 244. 
 
 2 D 2 
 
 III 
 
 I ii 
 
 '• I 
 
 U 
 
 i 
 
 i 
 
404 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVIII. 
 
 1588. 
 
 MUCIO ARRIVES IN PARIS. 
 
 405 
 
 that her brother had as good a right as any man to come 
 to the city. Meantime the great chief of the politiques, 
 the hated and insolent Epemon, had been appointed 
 governor of Normandy, and Henry had accompanied his 
 beloved minion a part of the way towards Konen. A 
 plot contrived by the Montpensier to waylay the 
 monarch on his return, and to take him into the safe- 
 keeping of the League, miscarried, for the King re- 
 entered the city before the scheme was ripe. On the 
 other hand, Nicholas Toulain, bought for twenty thou- 
 sand crowns by the politiques, gave the King and his 
 advisers full information of all these intrigues, and, 
 standing in Henry's cabinet, oftered, at peril of his life, 
 if he might be confronted with the conspirators — the 
 leaders of the League within the city — to prove the 
 truth of the charges which he had made/ 
 
 For the whole city was now thoroughly organized. 
 The number of its districts had been reduced from 
 sixteen to five, the better to bring it under the control 
 of the Leaguers ; and, while it could not be denied that 
 Mucio had been doing his master's work very thoroughly, 
 yet it was still in the power of the King — through the 
 treachery of Poulain — to strike a blow for life and free- 
 dom, before he was quite taken in the trap. But he 
 stood helpless, paralyzed, gazing in dreamy stupor — 
 like one fascinated — at the destruction awaiting him. 
 
 At last, one memorable May morning, a traveller 
 alighted outside the gate of Saint Maitin, and proceeded 
 on foot through the streets of Paris. He was 
 ^^'niJs!^^' wrapped in a large cloak, which he held care- 
 fully over his face. When he had got as far as 
 the street of Saint Denis, a young gentleman among the 
 pjissers-by, a good Leaguer, accosted the stranger, and, 
 with coarse pleasantry, plucked the cloak from his face, 
 and the hat from his head. Looking at the handsome, 
 swarthy features, marked with a deep scar, and the 
 dark, dangerous eyes which were then revealed, the 
 practical jester at once recognized in the simple tra- 
 veller the terrible Balafre, and kissed the hem of his 
 gannents with submissive rapture. Shouts of " Vive 
 Guise ! " rent the air from all the bystanders, as the 
 
 » T>eThou, X. 1. S9, p. 251 $eq. Hcrrera. Poulain, kc, 320-332. Apnd L'Estoile, 
 ii. 118 seq. 'Proces verbal ' de Nicolas lieglstre Journal de Henry ill. 
 
 Duke, no longer affecting concealment, proceeded with 
 slow and stately step toward the residence of Catharine 
 de' Medici.' That queen of compromises and of magic 
 had been holding many a conference with the leaders 
 of both parties ; had been increasing her son's stupe- 
 faction by her enigmatical counsels ; had been anxiously 
 consulting her talisman of goat's and human blood, 
 mixed with metals melted under the influence of the 
 star of her nativity, and had been daily visiting the 
 wizard Ruggieri, in whose magic circle— peopled^'with 
 a thousand fantastic heads— she had held high converse 
 with the world of spirits, and derived much sound 
 advice as to the true course of action to be pursued be- 
 tween her son and Philip, and between the politicians 
 and the League. But, in spite of these various sources 
 of instruction, Catharine was somewhat perplexed, now 
 that decisive action seemed necessary— a dethronement 
 and a new massacre impending, and judicious compro- 
 mise difficult. So, after a hurried conversation with 
 Mucio, who insisted on an interview with the King, she 
 set forth for the Louvre, the Duke lounging calmly by 
 the side of her sedan-chair, on foot, receiving the homage 
 of the populace, as men, women, and children together, 
 they swanned around him as he walked, kissing his 
 gannents, and rending the air with their shouts.* For 
 that wolfish mob of Paris, which had once lapped the 
 blood of ten thousand Huguenots in a single night, and 
 was again i-abid with thirst, was most docile and fawn- 
 ing to the great Balafre. It grovelled before him, it 
 hung upon his look, it licked his hand, and, at the 
 lifting of his finger, or the glance of his eye, would 
 have sprung at the throat of King or Queen-Mother, 
 minister, or minion, and devoured them all before his 
 eyes. It was longing for the sign ; for much as Paris 
 adored and was besotted with Guise and the League, 
 even more, if possible, did it hate those godless poli- 
 ticians, who had grown fat on extortions from the poor, 
 and who had converted their substance into the daily 
 bread of luxury. 
 
 Nevertheless the city was full of armed men, Swiss 
 
 » L'Eatoile, 250. De Thou, uhi svp. Beforme,' &c., iv. 378. 
 •Recit du Bourgeois de ParLV MS. » De Thou, L'Estoile, ttW ««,. , 
 Dupuys, cited by Capeflgue, • Hiit. de U 
 
 
406 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XVHI. 
 
 and German mercenaries, and burgher guards, sworn to 
 fidelity to the throne. The place might have been swept 
 clean, at that moment, of rebels who were not yet armed 
 or fortified in their positions. The Lord had delivered 
 Guise into Henry's hands. ** Oh, the madman !" cried 
 Sixtus v., when he heard that the Duke had gone to 
 Paris, **thus to put himself into the clutches of the 
 King whom he had so deeply offended!" And, "Oh, 
 the wretched coward, the imbecile ! " ho added, when he 
 heard how the King had dealt with his great enemy.* 
 
 For the monarch was in his cabinet that May morning, 
 irresolutely awaiting the announced visit of the Duke. 
 By his side stood Alphonse Corse, attached as a mastiff 
 to his master, and fearing not Guise nor Leaguer, man 
 nor devil. 
 
 " Sire, is the Duke of Guise your friend or enemy r" 
 said Alphonse. The King answered by an expressive 
 shrug. 
 
 "Say the word. Sire," continued Alphonse, "and I 
 pledge myself to bring his head this instant, and lay it 
 at your feet." - 
 
 And he would have done it. Even at the side of 
 Catharine's sedan-chair, and in the very teeth of the 
 worshipping mob, the Corsican would have had the 
 Balafre's life, even though he laid down his own. 
 
 But Henry — irresolute and fascinated— said it was not 
 yet time for such a blow.^ 
 
 Soon aftei-ward, the Duke was announced. The chief 
 of the League and the last of the Valois met, face to face, 
 but not for the last time. The interview was coldly re- 
 spectful on the pai-t of ^lucio, anxious and embarrassed 
 on that of the King. W hen the visit, which was merely 
 one of ceremony, was over, the Duke departed as he 
 came receiving the renewed homage of the populace as 
 he walked to his hotel. 
 
 That night precautions were taken. All the guards were 
 doubled around the palace and through the streets. The 
 Hotel de Ville and the Place de la Greve were made 
 secure, and the whole city was filled with troops. But 
 luh May, the Place Maubert was left unguarded, and a 
 1588. rabble rout — all night long — was collecting in 
 that distant spot. Four companies of burgher-guards 
 
 1 De Thou, X. 266. * L'Estoile, 248. ' Ibid. 
 
 1588. 
 
 HE IS RECEIVED WITH ENTHUSIASM. 
 
 407 
 
 went over to the League at three o'clock in the morning. 
 The rest stood firm in the cemeter>^ of the Innocents, 
 awaiting the orders of the King. At daybreak on the 
 nth the town was still quiet. There was an awful 
 pause of expectation. The shops remained closed all the 
 morning, the royal troops were drawn up in battle-array, 
 upon the Greve and around the Hotel de Ville, but they 
 stood motionless as statues, until the populace began 
 taunting them with cowardice, and then laughing them 
 to scorn. For their sovereign lord and master still sat 
 paralyzed in his palace. 
 
 The mob had been surging through all the streets and 
 lanes, until, as by a single impulse, chains were stretched 
 across the streets, and barricades thromi up in all the 
 principal thoroughfares. About noon the Duke of Guise, 
 who had been sitting quietly in his hotel, with a very 
 few armed followers, came out into the street of the 
 Hotel Montmoiency, and walked calmly up and down, 
 arm-in-arm with the Archbishop of Lyons, between a 
 double hedge-row of spectatois and admirers, three or 
 four ranks thick. He was dressed in a white slashed 
 doublet and hose, and wore a very large hat.' Shouts of 
 triumph resounded from a thousand brazen throats, as 
 he moved calmly about, receiving, at every instant, ex- 
 presses from the great gathering in the Place Maubert. 
 
 " Enough, too much, my good friends," he said, taking 
 off the great hat— (" I don't know whether he wa« 
 laughing in it," observed one who- was looking on that 
 day)—" Enough of ' Long live Guise ! ' Cry ' Long; live 
 the King! '"-^ ^ b 
 
 There was no response, as might be expected, and the 
 people shouted more hoarsely than ever for Madam 
 Lcjigue and the Balafr6. The Duke's face was full of 
 gaiety ; there was not a shadow of anxiety upon it in 
 that perilous and eventful moment. He saw that the 
 day was his own. 
 
 For now, the people, ripe, ready, mustered, armed, 
 barricaded, awaited but a signal to assault the King's 
 mercenaries, before rushing to the palace. On every 
 house-top missiles were provided to hurl upon their 
 heads. There seemed no escape for Henry or his Ger- 
 mans from impending dogm, when Guise, thoroughly 
 triumphant, vouchsafed them their lives. 
 
 * L'Estoile, 250. 
 
 « IblO. 
 
408 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XVIII. 
 
 ** You must give me these soldiers as a present, my 
 friends," said he to the populace. 
 
 And so the armed Swiss, French, and German troopers 
 and infantry, submitted to be led out of Paris, following 
 with docility the aide-de-camp of Guise, Captain St. Paul, 
 who walked quietly before them, with his sword in its 
 scabbard, and directing their movements with a cane. 
 Sixty of them were slain by the mob, who could not, 
 even at the command of their beloved chieftain, quite 
 forego their expected banquet. But this was all the 
 blood shed on the memorable day of Barricades, when 
 another Bartholomew Massacre had been expected.^ 
 
 Meantime, while Guise was making his promenade 
 through the city, exchanging embraces with the rabble, 
 and listening to the coarse congratulations and obscene 
 jests of the porters and fishwomen, the poor King sat 
 crying all day long in the Louvre. The Queen-Mother 
 was with him, reproaching him bitterly with his irreso- 
 lution and want of confidence in her, and scolding him 
 for his tears. But the unlucky Henry only wept the 
 more as he cowered in a comer. 
 
 " These are idle tears," said Catharine. ** This is no 
 time for crydng. And for myself, though women weep so 
 easily, I feel my heart too deeply wrung for tears. If 
 they came to my eyes they would be tears of blood." ^ 
 
 Next day the last Valois walked out of the Louvre, as 
 if for a promenade in the Tuileries, and proceeded 
 straightway to the stalls, where his horse stood saddled. 
 Du Halde, his equerry, buckled his master's spurs on, 
 upside down. '* No matter," said Henry, *' I am not 
 riding to see my mistress. I have a longer journey 
 before me.'* ^ 
 
 And so — followed by a rabble rout of courtiers, with- 
 out boots or cloaks, and mounted on sorrv hacks — the 
 King of France rode forth from his capital post-haste, 
 and, turning as he left the gates, hurled back impotent 
 
 > 'L'Estoile.' De Thou, 257-261. Her- 
 rem, «W sup. 
 
 ' " I^ Reyna Madre dizo al Rey qnan 
 mal avisado havia sido quexaiido(»ele de 
 la poca confian^a que tenia de ella, y que 
 nunca la haria descuhierto sus 8e<Tetos, 
 nl procurado su dafio para executar seme- 
 Jant« resohicion sin su parescer y esto 
 con palahraa de taiito sentimiento que el 
 Bey se entemecio Uoraado, y ella le dizo 
 
 ser lagnmas perdidas aquellas, per no ser 
 tiempo de llorar ; que si bien las mugeres 
 lo hazian tan facilraente, que ella tenia 
 tan zerrado el pecho que no podria llorar, 
 y que si la vinlessen a los ojos lagrimas, 
 serian de sangre." Relation de lo sub- 
 cedido k Paris desde los 9 hasta 13 de 
 Mayo, 1588. (Arch, de Sim [rarl.>], 
 MS.) 
 s L'Estoile, 252. 
 
 1588. THE KING FLIES, AND SPAIN TRIUMPHS IN PARIS. 409 
 
 imprecations upon Paris and its mob. * Thenceforth, 
 for a long interval, there was no king in that country. 
 Mucio had done his work, and earned his wages, and 
 Philip II. reigned in Paris. The commands of the 
 League were now complied with. Heretics were doomed 
 to extermination. The edict of 19th July, 19th Juiy. 
 1588, was published with the most exclusive i^***- 
 and stringent provisions that the most bitter Eomanist 
 could imagine,* and, as a fair beginning, two young 
 girls, daughters of Jacques Forcade, once ' procureur au 
 parlement,' were burned in Paris, for the crime of 
 Protestantism.^ 
 
 The Duke of Guise was named Generalissimo of the 
 Kingdom (2Gth August, 1588). Henry gave in his sub- 
 mission to the Council of Trent, the edicts, the Inqui- 
 sition, and the rest of the League's infernal machinery, 
 and was formally reconciled to Guise, with how much 
 sincerity time was soon to show."* 
 
 Meantime Philip, for whom and at whose expense all 
 this work had been done by the hands of the faithful 
 Mucio, was constantly assuring his royal brother of 
 France, through envoy Longlee, at Madrid, of his most 
 affectionate friendship, and utterly repudiating all know- 
 ledge of these troublesome and dangerous plots. Yet 
 they had been especially organized — as we have seen 
 —by himself and the Balafre, in order that France might 
 be kept a prey to civil war, and thus rendered incapable 
 of offering any obstruction to his great enterprise against 
 England. Any complicity of Mendoza, the Spanish 
 ambassador in Paris, or of the Duke of Parma, who were 
 important agents in all these proceedings, with the Duke 
 of Guise, was strenuously and circumstantially denied ; 
 and the Balafre, on the day of the barricades, sent 
 
 1 L'Estoile, De Thou, Herrera, ubi sup. 
 Pasquler, vol. ii., lettre iv., 331-334 (ed. 
 1723). 
 
 * The King bound hlm8elf by oath to 
 extirpate heresy, to remove all persons 
 suspected of that crime from oflRce, and 
 never to lay down arms so long as a 
 single heretic remained. By secret arti- 
 cles, two armies against the Huguenots 
 were agreed upon, one under the Duke of 
 Mayenne, the other under some geneml 
 to be appointed by the King. The 
 
 Council of Trent was forthwith to be 
 proclaimed, and by a refinement of 
 malic-e the I^eague stipulated that all 
 officers appointed in Paris by the Duke of 
 Guise on the day after the barricades 
 should resign their powers, and be imme- 
 diately re-appointed by the King hims^'lf. 
 De Thou. X. I. 86, pp. 324, 325. 
 
 3 Duplessis Mornay, iv. 246. L'Ea- 
 toile, 258. 
 
 * De Thou, ubi sup. 
 
 A 
 

 10 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XVIII. 
 
 Brissac to Elizabeth's envoy, Sir Edward Stafford, to 
 ansure him as to his personal safety, and as to the deep 
 affection with which England and its Queen were re- 
 garded by himself and all his friends. Stafford had also 
 been advised to accept a guard for his house of embassy. 
 His reply was noble. 
 
 " I represent the majesty of England," he said, '* and 
 can take no safeguard from a subject of the sovereign to 
 whom I am accredited." 
 
 To the threat of being invaded, and to the advice to 
 close his gates, he answered, " Do you see these two 
 doors? Know then, if 1 am attacked, I am detei mined 
 to defend myself to the last drop of my blood, to serve 
 as an example to the universe of the law of nations, 
 violated in my person. Do not imagine that I shall 
 follow your advice. The gates of an ambassador shall 
 be open to all the world." 
 
 Bi issac returned with this answer to Guise, who saw 
 that it was hopeless to attempt making a display in the 
 eyes of Queen Elizabeth, but gave private orders that 
 the ambassador should not be molested.' 
 
 Such were the consequences of the day of the barri- 
 cades—and thus the path of Philip was cleared of all 
 obstructions on the part of France. His Mucio was now 
 generalissimo. Henry was virtually deposed. Henry 
 of Navarre, poor and good-humoured as ever, was scarcely 
 so formidable at that moment as he might one day be- 
 come. When the news of the day of barricades was 
 brought at night to that cheerful monarch, he started 
 from his couch. *' Ha," he exclaimed with a laugh, *' but 
 they havn't yet caught the Beaniese ! " '^ 
 
 And it might be long before the League would catch 
 the Bearae^e ; but, meantime, he could render slight 
 assistance to Queen Elizabeth. 
 
 In England there had been much fruitless negotiation 
 between the government of that country and the com- 
 missioners from the States-General. There was per- 
 petual altercation on the subject of Utrecht, Leyden, 
 Sonoy, and the other causes of contention ; the Queen — 
 as usual — being imperious and choleric, and the envoys, 
 
 ' r>e Thon, X. 264-266. 'lis ne tiennent encore le Beamois.'" 
 
 ' "Etant couchd sur son lit vert, il se L'Efituile, 252, 
 leva, et tout gaiment dit ces motii: 
 
 1588. STATES EXPOSTULATE WITH THE QUEEN. 411 
 
 in her opinion, very insolent. But the principal topic 
 of discussion was the peace negotiations, which tho 
 States-General, both at home and through their dele- 
 gation in England, had been doing their best to prevent ; 
 steadily refusing her Majesty's demand that commis- 
 sioners, on their part, should be appointed to participate 
 in the conferences at Ostend. Elizabeth promised that 
 there should be as strict regard paid to the interests of 
 Holland as to those of England, in case of a pacification, 
 and that she would never forget her duty to them, to 
 herself, and to the world, as the protectress of the re- 
 fonned religion. Tho deputies, on the other hand, 
 warned her that peace with Spain was impossible ; that 
 the intention of the Spanish court was to deceive her, 
 while preparing her destruction and theirs ; that it was 
 hopeless to attempt the concession of any freedom of 
 conscience from Philip II. ; and that any stipulations 
 which might be made upon that, or any other subject, 
 by the Spanish commissioners, would be tossed to the 
 wind. In reply to the Queen's loud complaints that the 
 States had been trifling with her, and undutiful to her, 
 and that they hud kept her waiting seven months long 
 for an answer to her summons to participate in the ne- 
 gotiations, they replied, that up to the 15th October of 
 the previous year, although there had been flying ru- 
 mours of an intention on the part of her Majesty's 
 government to open those communications with the 
 enemy, it had, ''nevertheless been earnestly and ex- 
 pressly, and with high words and oaths, denied that 
 there was any truth in those rumours." Since that time 
 the States had not once only, but many times, in private 
 letters, in public documents, and in conversations with 
 Lord Leicester and other eminent personages, depre- 
 cated any communications whatever with Spain, asserting 
 uniformly their conviction that such proceedings would 
 bring ruin on their country, and imploring her Majesty 
 nut to give ear to any propositions whatever.' 
 
 And not only were tho envoys, regularly appointed 
 by the States-General, most active in England in their 
 attempts to prevent the negotiations, but delegates from 
 the Xetherland churches were also sent to the Queen, 
 to reason with her on the subject, and to utter solemn 
 
 ' Bor, III. xxiv. 223. 
 
 I 
 
 r 
 
 I 
 
412 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVIII. 
 
 It 
 
 
 1 
 
 warnings that the cause of the reformed religion would 
 be lost for ever, in case of a treaty on her part witli 
 Spain. When these clerical envoys reached England 
 the Queen was already beginning to wake from her 
 dehision ; although her commissioners were still — as we 
 have seen— hai-d at work, pouring sand through their 
 sieves at Ostend, and although the steady protestations 
 of the Duke of Farma, and the industrious circulation 
 of falsehoods by Spanish emissaries, had even caused 
 her wisest statesmen, for a time, to participate in that 
 delusion. 
 
 For it is not so great an impeachment on the sagacity 
 of the great Queen of England, as it would now appear 
 to those who judge by the light of subsequent facts, that 
 she still doubted whether the armaments, notoriously 
 preparing in Spain and Flanders, were intended against 
 herself; and that— even if such were the case— she still 
 believed in the possibility of averting the danger by 
 negotiation. 
 
 So late as the beginning of May, even the far-seeing 
 and anxious Walsingham could' say that in England 
 ** they were doing nothing but honouring St. George, of 
 whom the Spanish Armada seemed to be afmid. We 
 hear," he added, " that they will not be ready to set for- 
 ward before the midst of May, but I trust that it will Ite 
 May mm twelvemonths. The 'King of Spain is too old and 
 too sickly to fall to conquer hingdoms. If he be well coun- 
 selled, his best course will be to settle his own kingdoms 
 in his own hands."' 
 
 And even much later, in the middle of July— when 
 the mask was hardly maintained— even then there was 
 no certainty as to the movements of the Armada ; and 
 Walsingham believed, just ten davs before the famous 
 fleet was to appear off Plymouth, 'that it had dispersed 
 and returned to Spain, never to re-appear.* As to 
 
 • Walsingham to 
 
 « April 
 
 1588. 
 
 Sir Ed. Norrte, 
 (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 91 Majr 
 
 *• By the middle of July," says Stowe, 
 "it wais said by some of honourable rank 
 and great judgment, that the whole fleet 
 of the invasion was a Popish brag and a 
 French tale." 760. 
 
 « Walsingham to E. Norris, - July, 
 
 1588. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 •* And for the navy of Spain, we have 
 lately received advertisements that by 
 reason of their great wants, as well of 
 mariners as of necessary provision, but 
 especially through the infection fallen 
 among their men, they are forced 
 to return, and have dispersed them- 
 selves." (! !) 
 
 1588. ENGLISH STATESMEN STILL DECEIVED. 413 
 
 Parma's intentions, they were thought to lie rather in 
 the direction of Ostend than of England; and Elizabeth, 
 on the 20th July, was more anxious for that city than 
 for her o\^ kingdom. " Mr. Ked, I am persuaded," she 
 wrote to Norris, *' that if the Spanish fleet break the 
 Prince of Parma's enterprise for England will fall to the 
 ground, and then are you to look to Ostend. Haste vour 
 works." 1 ^ 
 
 All through the spring and early summer, Stafford, in 
 Paris, was kept in a state of much perplexity as to the 
 designs of Spain — so contradictory were the stories cir- 
 culated, and so bewildering the actions of men known to 
 be hostile to England. In the last days of April he 
 intimated it as a common opinion in Paris, that these 
 naval preparations of Philip were an elaborate farce ; 
 " that the great elephant would bring forth but a mouse ; 
 thai the great processions, prayers, and pardons at 
 Rome, for the prosperous success of the Armada against 
 England, would be of no effect ; that the King of Spain 
 was laughing in his sleeve at the Pope, that he could 
 make such a fool of him ; and that such an enterprise 
 wa^ a thing the King never durst think of in deed, but 
 only m show to feed the world." * 
 
 Thus, although furnished with minute details as to 
 these armaments, and as to the exact designs of Spain 
 against his country, by the ostentatious statements of 
 the Spanish ambassador in Paris himself, the English 
 envoy was still inclined to believe that these statements 
 were a figment, expressly intended to deceive. Yet he 
 was aware that Lord Westmoreland, Lord Paget. Sir 
 Charles Paget, Morgan, and other English retugees, 
 were constantly meeting with Mendoza, that they were 
 told to get themselves in readiness, and to go down -as 
 well apix)inted as might be— to the Luke of Parma • 
 that they had been '* sending for their tailor to make 
 them apparel, and to put themselves in equipage ;" that, 
 in particular, Westmoreland had been assured of beino^ 
 restored by Philip to his native country in better con- 
 dition than before. The Catholic and Spanish party in 
 I*ans were, however, much dissatisfied with the news 
 
 » Leicester to E. Norris. P.S. by Queen - o. t. « -. i9 
 
 115 J ^' » ^ >■ '•"*<•« April, 1588. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
414 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XVIII. 
 
 from Scotland, and were getting more and more afraid 
 that King James would object to the Spaniards getting 
 a foot-hold in his coimtrj% and that " the Scots would 
 soon be playing them a Scottish trick." * 
 
 Stafford was plunged still more inextricably into doubt 
 by the accounts from Longlee in Madrid.* That diplo- 
 matist, who had been completely convinced by l*hilip 
 as to his innocence of any participation in the criminal 
 enterprises of Guise against Heniy 111., was now almost 
 staggered by the unscrupulous mendacity of that mo- 
 narch with regard to any supposed designs against 
 England. Although the Armada was to be ready by 
 the 1 5th May, Longlee was of opinion — notwithstanding 
 many bold announcements of an attack upon Elizabeth 
 — that the real object of the expedition was America. 
 There had recently been discovered, it was said, '' a new 
 country, more rich in gold and silver than an}' yet foimd, 
 but so full of stout people that they could not master 
 them." ' To reduce these stout people beyond the At- 
 lantic, therefore, and to get possession of new gold mines, 
 was the real object at which Philip was driving, and 
 Longlee and Stafford were both very doubtful whether 
 it were worth the Queen's while to exhaust her finances 
 in order to protect herself against an imaginary invasion. 
 Even so late as the middle of July, six'to one teas offered on 
 the Paris Exchange that the Spanish fleet would never 
 be seen in the English seas, and those that offered the 
 bets were known to be well-wishers to the Spanish 
 party.'' 
 
 Thus sharp diplomatists and statesmen like Longlee, 
 Stafford, and Walsingham, were beginning to lose their 
 fear of the great bugbear by which England had so long 
 been haunted. It was therefore no deep stain on the 
 Queen's sagacity that she, too, was willing to place cre- 
 dence in the plighted honour of Alexander Farnese, the 
 great prince who prided himself on his sincerity, and 
 who, next to the King his master, adored the virgin 
 Queen of England. 
 
 S4 April 
 4 May' 
 
 » Stafford to Walsingham, 
 
 1588. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 ' Depeches de Ijouglee envoye de 
 Menri 111. en Kspajme, Mars, Avril, Mai, 
 15M8, Funds St. dtimain. (liib. imp. 
 de France, MS.) 
 
 3 Stafford to Walsingham, 
 1588. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 < Stafford to Walsingham, 
 1588. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 84 April 
 4 May' 
 
 13 
 
 July, 
 
 1588. DEPUTIES FROM NETHERLAND CHURCHES. 415 
 
 The deputies of the Netherland churches had come, 
 with the pel-mission of Count Maurice and of the Stateaj- 
 General, but they represented more strongly than any 
 other envoys could do the English and the monarchical 
 party. They were instructed especially to implore the 
 Queen to accept the sovereignty of their country • to 
 assure her that the restoration of Philip— who had been 
 a wolf instead of a shepherd to his flock— was an im- 
 possibility, that he had been solemnly and for ever 
 deposed ; that under her sceptre only could the Provinces 
 ever recover their ancient prosperity ; that ancient and 
 modem history alike made it manifest that a free republic 
 could never maintain itself, but that it must, of necessity, 
 run Its coui-se through sedition, bloodshed, and anarchy^ 
 until liberty was at last crushed by an absolute des- 
 potism ; that equality of condition, the basis of democratic 
 institutions, cuuld never be made firm : and that a for- 
 tunate exception, like that of Switzerland, whose his- 
 torical and political circumstances were peculiar, could 
 never serve as a model to the Netherlands, accustomed 
 as those Provinces had ever been to a monarchical form 
 of government ; and that the antagonism of aristocratic 
 and democratic elements in the States had already pro- 
 duced discord, and was threatening destruction to the 
 whole country. To avert such dangers the splendour 
 of royal authority was necessary, according to the 
 venerable commands of Holy Writ ; and therefore the 
 Netherland churches adknowl edged themselves the 
 foster children of England, and begged that in political 
 matters also the inhabitants of the Provinces might be 
 accepted as the subjects of her Majesty. They also 
 implored the Queen to break off these accursed nego- 
 tiations with Spain, and to provide that hencefortlwn 
 the Netherlands the reformed religion might be freely 
 exercised, to the exclusion of am/ other.'' ' 
 
 Thus it was very evident that these clerical envoys, 
 although they were sent by permission of the States, did 
 not come as the representatives of the dominant party 
 Jf or that *' Beelzebub," Barneveld, had different notions 
 from theirs as to the possibility of a republic, and as to 
 the propriety of tolerating other forms of worship than 
 
 •Instructions from the Churches or the qneon of England, apud Bor. lii. 255- 
 Kethtrlands for the Deputies to the 2.9. 
 
 II 
 
416 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVni. 
 
 his own. But it was for such pernicious doctrines, on 
 religious matters in particular, that he was called Beel- 
 zebub, Pope John, a papist in disguise, and an atheist : 
 and denounced, as leading young Maurice and the whole 
 country to destruction. 
 
 On the basis of these instructions, the deputies drew 
 up a memorial of pitiless length, filled with astounding 
 12 July, parallels between their own position and that 
 1588. ' Qf the Hebrews, Assyrians, and other distin- 
 guished nations of antiquity. 'They brought it to W'al- 
 singham on the 12th July, 1588, and the much-enduring 
 man heard it read from beginning to end. He expressed 
 his approbation of its sentiments, but said it was too 
 long. It must be put on one sheet of paper, he said, if 
 her Majesty was expected to read it. 
 
 *' Moreover," said the Secretary of State, *' although 
 your arguments are full of piety, and your examples 
 from Holy Writ very apt, 1 must tell you the plain 
 truth. Great princes are not always so zealous in 
 religious matters as they might be. Political transac- 
 tions move them more deeply, and they depend too much 
 on worldly things. However, there is no longer much 
 dan O'er, for our envoys will return from Flanders in a 
 few days." ^ 
 
 " But," asked a deputy, " if the Spanish fleet does not 
 succeed in its entei-prise, will the peace-negotiations be 
 renewed ? " 
 
 '*Byno means," said Walsingham ; "the Queen can 
 never do that, consistently with her honour. They 
 have scattered infamous libels against her — so scanda- 
 lous, that you would be astounded should you read 
 them. Arguments drawn from honour are more valid 
 with princes than any other." 
 
 He alluded to the point in their memorial touching 
 the free exercise of the reformed religion in the 
 {*rovinces. 
 
 ** 'Tis well and piously said," he observed; "but 
 princes and great lords are not always very earnest in 
 such matters. I think that her IVIajesty's envoys will 
 not press for the free exercise of the religion so very 
 much ; not more than for two or three years. By that 
 time— should our negotiations succeed — the foreign 
 
 I ' Report of the Deputies,' in Bor, ili. 259. 
 
 1588. HOLD CONFERENCE WITH THE QUEEN. 417 
 
 troops will have evacuated the Netherlands on condi- 
 tion that the States-General shall settle the religious 
 question. ' o^'^^^o 
 
 '• ^,''K ffiP.^'"'''^^^ ^^^"' ^^ ^^ t^^ deputies, " the 
 
 majority of the States w Popish:' 
 
 " Be it so," replied Sir Francis ; - nevertheless they 
 will sooner permit the exercise of the reformed reli-ion 
 tlian take up arms and begin the war anew " * 
 
 He then alluded to the proposition of the deiuities to 
 exclude all religious worship but that of the reformed 
 
 1^ M M ' T y,^l^?\^!^-^« ^^^y expressed themselves. 
 Her Majesty, said he, - is well disposed to iH'imit 
 some exercise of their religion to the l>apists. So far as 
 regards my own feelings, if we were now in the begin- 
 ning of the reformation, and the papacy were .till entire 
 1 should willingly concede such exercise ; but now that 
 the papacy has been overthrown, I think it would not 
 be safe to give such pennission. When we were dis- 
 puting, at the time of the pacification of Ghent, whether 
 the 1 opish religion should be partially permitted, the 
 i nnce of Orange im.9 of the affinnative opinion ; but I 
 who was then at Antwerp, entertained the contrary? 
 conviction. ^ 
 
 \v\^-'^H' ^^'^ ^^^ ^^ ^^'^ ^deputies-pleased to find that 
 ^^alslngham was more of their way of thinking on reli- 
 gious toleration than the great IVince of Oran-e had 
 hL'cn or than 3Iaurice and Bameveld then were-- but 
 her Majesty will, we hope, follow the advice of her good 
 and faithful counsellors." ^ 
 
 ;* To tell you the truth," answered Sir Francis " creat 
 pnnces are not always inspired with a sincere and 
 upright zeal ; -it was the third time he had made this 
 oDservahon-" although, so far as regards the mainte- 
 nance of the religion in the Xetherlands, that is a matter 
 of necessity. Of that there is no fear, since otherwise 
 all the pious would depart, and none would remain but 
 ' apists, and, what is more, enemies of England, l^here- 
 lore the Queen is aware that the religion mu.t be 
 maintained. " o ^^ 
 
 Ue then advised the deputies to hand in the memorial 
 to her 31ajesty, without any long speeches, for which 
 there was then no time or opportunity ; and it was sub- 
 
 ' • Report of the Deputies,' ii^iior. last cited. « ibid. 
 
 t 
 
 
418 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVIII. 
 
 seqiiently arranged that they should be presented to tlie 
 Queen as she would be mounting her horse at 8t. James's 
 to ride to Kichmond. 
 
 Accordingly on the 1 5th July, as her ]\Iaiesty came 
 forth at the gate, with a throng of nobles and ladies — 
 
 July 15, f^ome about to accompany her and some biddin^-* 
 ^^"^^ her adieu— the deputies fell on their knees 
 before her. Notwithstanding the advice of Walsingham, 
 Daniel de Dieu was bent upon an oration. 
 
 *' Oh illustrious Queen ! " he began, *'the churches of 
 the Uniti'd Netherlands " 
 
 He had got no further, when the Queen, interrupting, 
 exclaimed, " Oh ! I beg you— at another time— I cannot 
 now listen to a speech. Let me see the memorial." 
 
 Daniel de Dieu then humbly presented that document, 
 which her Majesty g^aciou^ly received, and then, getting 
 on horseback rode off" to IiMchmond.* 
 
 The memorial was in the nature of an exhortation to 
 sustain the religion, and to keep clear of all negotiations 
 with idolaters and unbelievers; and the memorialists 
 supported themselves by copious references to Deutero- 
 noniy, Proverbs, Isaiah, Timothy, and Psalms, relying 
 mainly on the case of .lehosaphat, who came to disgi-ace 
 and disiister through his treaty with the idolatrous King 
 Ahab. With regard to any composition with Spain, 
 they observed, in homely language, that a l)urnt cat 
 feare the tire : and they assured the Queen that, by fol- 
 lowing their advice, she would gjiin a glorious and im- 
 mortal name, like those of David, Ezekiel, Josiah, and 
 others, whose fragrant memory, even as precious in- 
 cense from the apothecary's, endureth to the end of the 
 world.* 
 
 It was not surprising that Elizabeth, getting on 
 horseback on the 15tli July, 1588, with her head full 
 of Tilbury Fort and Medina Sidonia, should have as 
 little relish for the aftairs of Ahab and JehosayJiat, as 
 for those melting s))eeches of Diomede and of Turnus 
 to which Dr. \'alentine Dale on his part was at that 
 moment invoking her attention. 
 
 On the 20th July the deputies were infoimed by 
 
 > '.Report of the Deputies,' 259, 260- Churches; ic, apud Bor. iii. 260-262 
 262. «e2. 
 
 3 • Memorial from the United 
 
 1588. 
 
 AND PRESENT LONG MEMORIALS. 
 
 419 
 
 Leicester that her Majesty would grant them an inter- 
 view, and that they must come into his quarter juiy 20. 
 of the palace and await her arrival. '588. ' 
 
 Between six and seven in the evening she came into 
 the throne-room, and the deputies again fell on their 
 knees before lier.^ 
 
 She then seated herself — the deputies remaining on 
 their knees on her right side and the Earl of Leicester 
 standing at her left— and proceeded to make many re- 
 marks touching her earnestness in the pending negotia- 
 tions to provide for their religious freedom. It seemed 
 that she must have received a hint from Walsingham on 
 the subject. 
 
 " I shall provide," she said, " for the maintenance of 
 the reformed worship." 
 
 De Dieu. — *' The enemy will never concede it." 
 
 The Queen.—'' I think differently." 
 
 De Dieu. — " There is no place within his dominions 
 where he has permitted the exercise of the pure religion. 
 lie has never done so." 
 
 The Queen.—" He conceded it in the pacification of 
 Ghent." 
 
 De Dieu. — " But he did not keep his agreement. Don 
 John had concluded with the States, but said he was 
 not held to his promise, in case he should repent ; and 
 the King wrote afterwards to our States, apd said that 
 he was no longer bound to his pledge." 
 
 The Queen. — " That is quite another thing." 
 De Dieu. — " He has very often broken his faith." 
 The Queen. — " He shall no longer be allowed to do 
 so. K he does not keep his word, that is my affair, not 
 yours. It is my business to find the remedy. Men 
 would say, See in what a desolation the Queen of Eng- 
 land has brought this poor peojjle. As to the freedom 
 of worship, I should have proposed three or four years' 
 interval — leaving it afterwards to the decision of the 
 States." 
 
 De Dieu. — "But the majority of the States is 
 Popish." 
 
 The Queen. — " I mean the States-General, not the 
 States of any particular Province." 
 
 » Bor. «1. 262, 263. 
 
 hti 
 
 2 E 2 
 
420 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XVHI. 
 
 De Dieu. — " The greater part of the States-General 
 
 is Popish." 
 
 The Queen.—" I mean the three estates— the clergy, 
 the nobles, and the cities." The Queen— as the deputies 
 observed— here fell into an error. She thought that 
 prelates of the reformed church, as in England, had 
 seats in the States-General. Daniel de Dieu explained 
 that they had no such position. 
 
 The (Jueen.— " Then how were you sent hither?" 
 De Dieu. — " We came with the consent^ of Count 
 Maurice of Nassau." 
 
 The Queen.—" And of the States ? " 
 De Dieu. — " We came with their knowledge." 
 The Queen. — " Are you sent only from Holland and 
 Zeeland ? Is there no envoy from Utrecht and the 
 other Provinces ? " 
 
 Helmichius.— " We two," pointing to his colleague 
 Sossingius, " are from Utrecht." 
 
 The Queen.— "What? Is this young man also a 
 minister?" She meant Helmichius, who had a verj^ 
 little beard, and looked young. 
 
 Sossingius.—" He is not so young as he looks." 
 
 The Queen. — " Youths are sometimes as able as old 
 
 men." . 
 
 De Dieu. — " I have heard our brother preach m 
 
 France more than fourteen years ago," 
 
 The Queen.- "He must have begim young.^^ How 
 old were vou when you first became a preacher ? " 
 
 Helmichius. — " Twenty-three or twenty-four years of 
 
 age. 
 
 The Queen. — " It was with us, at first, considered a 
 scandal that a man so young as that should be admitted 
 to the pulpit. Our antagonists reproached us with it in 
 a book called * Sciindale de FAngleterre,' saying that w^e 
 had none but schoolboys for ministers. I understand 
 that you pray for me as warmly as if I were your sove- 
 reign princess. I think I have done as much for the 
 religion as if I were your Queen." 
 
 Helmichius.—" We are far from thinking otherwise. 
 ^Xe acknowledge willingly your Majesty's benefits to 
 our churches." 
 
 The Queen.—" It would else be ingratitude on your 
 
 part." 
 
 1588. MORE CONVERSATIONS WITH THE QUEEN. 421 
 
 Helmichius.— "Ihit the King of Spain will never keep 
 any promise about ihe religion." 
 
 The Queen. — " He will never come so far : he does 
 nothing but make a noise on all sides. Item, I don't 
 think he has much confidence in himself." 
 
 De Dieu.—" Your Majesty has many enemies. The 
 Lord hath hitherto supported you, and we pray that He 
 may continue to uphold your Majesty." 
 
 The Queen. — " I have indeed many enemies ; but I 
 make no great account of them. Is there anything else 
 you seek ? " 
 
 De Dieu. — " There is a special point : it concerns our, 
 or rather your Majesty's, city of Flushing. We Impc 
 that Kusselius — (so he called Sir William Russell) — 
 may be continued in its government, although he wishes 
 his discharge." 
 
 " Aha ! " said the Queen, laughing and lising from her 
 seat, " I shall not answer you ; I shall call some one else 
 to answer you." 
 
 She then summoned Russell's sister. Lady AVarwick. 
 
 " If you could speak French," said the Queen to that 
 gentlewoman, " I should bid you reply to these gentle- 
 men, who beg that your brother may remain in Flush- 
 ing, so very agreeable has he made himself to them." 
 
 The Queen was pleased to hear this good opinion of 
 Sir William, and this request that he might continue to 
 be governor of Flushing, because he had uniformly sup- 
 ported the Leicester party, and was at that monient in 
 high quarrel with Count Maurice and the leading mem- 
 bers of the States. 
 
 As the deputies took their leave, they requested an 
 answer to their memorial, which was graciously ino- 
 mised.* 
 
 Three days aftei-w^ards, 23rd July, Walsingham gave 
 them a written answer to their memorial — conceived in 
 the same sense as had been the expressions of 
 her Majesty and her connsellors. Support to ^^jsJg^' 
 the Ketherlands and stipulations for the free 
 exercise of their religion were promised ; but it was im- 
 possible for these deputies of the churches to obtain a 
 guarantee from England that the Popish religion should 
 
 1 • Report of the Deputies of the Netherland Churches,' iu Bor, iii. 2G2 seq. 
 
VWM 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XYHI. 
 
 be excluded from the Provinces, in case of a successful 
 issue to the Queen's negotiation with Spain.^ 
 
 And thus during all those eventful days — the last weehs 
 of July and the first we^ks of August— the clerical deputa- 
 tion remained in England, indulging in voluminous pro- 
 tocols and lengthened conversations with the Queen and 
 the principal members of her government. It is aston- 
 ishing, in that breathless interval of history, that so 
 much time could be found for quill- driving and ora- 
 tory. 
 
 Nevertheless, both in Holland and England, there had 
 been other work than protocol] ing. One throb of i)a- 
 triotism moved the breast of both nations. A longing to 
 grapple, once for all, with the great enemy of civil and 
 religious liberty inspired both. In Holland, the States- 
 General and all the men to whom the people looked for 
 guidance, had been long deprecating the peace-negotia- 
 tions. Extraordinary supplies — more than had ever 
 been gi-anted before — were voted for the expensas of the 
 campaign ; and Maurice of Nassau, fitly embodying the 
 warlike tendencies of his coimtry and race, had been 
 most importunate with Queen Elizabeth that she would 
 accept his services and his advice.* Armed vessels of 
 every size, from the gim-boat to the galleon of 1200 tons 
 — then the most imposing ship in those watei-s — swarmed 
 in all tlie estuaries and rivei-s, and along the Dutch and 
 Flemish coast, bidding defiance to Parma and his anna- 
 ments : and ofters of a large contingent from the fleets 
 of Joost de Moor and Justinus de Nassau, to serve under 
 Seymour and Howard, were freely made by the States- 
 General. 
 
 It was decided early in July, by the board of admiralty, 
 presided over by Prince Maurice, that the largest square- 
 rigged vessels of Holland and Zeeland should cruise 
 between England and the Flemish coast, outside the 
 banks ; that a squadron of lesser ships should be stationed 
 within the banks ; and that a fleet of sloops and fly-boats 
 should hover close in shore, about Flushing and Ram- 
 mekens. All the war-vessels of the little republic were 
 thus fiiUy employed. But, besides this arrangement, 
 Maurice was empowered to lay an embargo — under what 
 
 1588. THE QUEEN ROUSED FROM HER DELUSION. 423 
 
 penalty he chose and during his pleasure— on all square- 
 rigged vessels over JOO tons, in order tliat there might 
 be an additional supply in case of need. Ninety ships 
 of war under W armond, admiral, and Van der Does, 
 vice-admiral of Holland; and Justinus de Nassau, 
 admiral, and Joost de Moor, vice-admiral of Zeeland ; 
 together with fifty merchant-vessels of the best and 
 strongest, equipped and armed for active service, com- 
 posed a formidable fleet.' 
 
 The States-General, a month before, had sent twenty- 
 five or thirty good ships, under Admiral Kosendael, to 
 join Lord Henry Se^nnour, then cmising between Hover 
 and Calais. A tempest drove them back, and their 
 absence from Lord Henry's fleet being misinterpreted by 
 the English, the States were censured for ingratitude 
 and want of good faith. But the injustice of the accusa- 
 tion was soon made manifest, for these vessels, reinforcing 
 the great Dutch fleet outside the banks, did better service 
 than they could have done in the straits. A squadron 
 of strong well-armed vessels, having on board, in addi- 
 tion to their regular equipment, a picked force of twelve 
 hundred musketeers, long accustomed to this peculiar 
 kind of naval warfare, with crews of grim Zeelanders, 
 who had faced Alva and Valdez in their day, now kept 
 close watch over Famese, determined that he should 
 never thrust his face out of any haven or nook on the 
 coast so long as they should be in existence to prevent 
 him.* 
 
 And in England the protracted diplomacy at Ostend, 
 ill-timed though it was, had nut paralyzed' the arm or 
 chilled the heart, of the nation. A\ hen the great Queen, 
 arousing herself from the delusion in which the false- 
 hoods of Famese and of l*hilip had lulled her, should 
 
 1 • Report,' Sec ubi sup. 
 
 « Bor, iii. 318, 319. 
 
 1 So soon as the Sonny difflonlty, by 
 which so much mischief liad been cmiiod, 
 should Iw terminated, Maurice aufiounccd 
 his hitentiou to the C^uecn, "a a)ml)aiti*- 
 I'ennpmt par mer et par terre, p».ur 
 I'empecher qu'il ne pronne terrc." " Je 
 supplio V. M.," he continued, "d- com- 
 mander h M. I'admiral Howard de tenir 
 correspondance avec moi, conmie aussi 
 je ferai avec Sa Si•igni^ ' Maurice de 
 
 <o 
 
 so 
 (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 Nassau to the Qiuen. ™ April, }^3. 
 
 " So pouvant, pour mon devoir vous 
 celer qu'un des plus grands empediements 
 que jr 1 1 on It en vos ajrains de paniega 
 <.-t v((li. inyatiation de paix qui engcndre 
 de telles confusions que les forces ne 
 peuvent etre employees par mer et par 
 terre si t6t et si bien que je desirenU. 
 Je feral toute fols toute diligence d'etre 
 prest assez a temps pour rompre les 
 desseins du Due de Parma, &c. Same to 
 same, same date. 
 
 - Bor, iil. xxiil. 319-321. 
 
42-t 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XVIII. 
 
 once more represent — as no man or woman better than 
 Elizabeth Tudor could represent — the defiance of England 
 to foreign insolence ; the resolve of a whole people to 
 die rather than yield ; there Avas a thrill of joy tlirougli 
 the national heart. When the enforced restraint was at 
 last taken oft', there was one bound towards the enemy. 
 Few more magnificent spectacles have been seen in 
 history than the enthusiasm which pervaded the country 
 as the great danger, so long defen-ed, was felt at last t(> 
 be closely approaching. The little nation of four millions, 
 the merry England of the sixteenth century, went for- 
 ward to the death-grapple with its gigantic antagonist 
 as cheerfully as to a long-expected holiday. Spain wjis 
 a vast empire, overshadowing the world ; England, in 
 comparison, but a province ; yet nothing could surpass 
 the steadiness with which the conflict was awaited. 
 
 For, during all the months of suspense, the soldiers 
 and sailore, and many statesmen of England, had depre- 
 cated, even as the Hollanders had been doing, the 
 dangerous delays of Ostend. Elizabeth was not em- 
 bodying the national instinct, when she t«dked of peace, 
 and shrank penuriously from the exi)enses of war. 
 There wtus much disappointment, even indignation, at 
 the slothfidness with which the prepamtions for defence 
 went on, during the period when there was yet time to 
 make them. It was feared with justice that England, 
 utterly mifoiiified as were its cities, and defended only 
 bv its little navy without, and by imtaught enthusiasm 
 within, might, after all, prove an easier conquest than 
 Holland and Zeeland, every town in whose temtorj' 
 bristled with fortifications. If the English ships— well- 
 tiuined and swift sailers as they were— were unprovided 
 with spai-s and cordage, beef and biscuit, powder and 
 shot, and the militia-men, however enthusiastic, were 
 neither drilled nor armed, was it so very certain, after 
 all, that successful resistance would be made to the great 
 Armada, and to the veteran pikemen and musketeers 
 of Famese, seasoned on a himdred battle-fields, and 
 equi]>ped as for a tournament? There was generous 
 confidence and chivalrous loyalty on the part of Eliza- 
 beth's naval and military commanders ; but there had 
 been deep regret and disappointment at her course. 
 Hawkins was anxious, all through the winter and 
 
 1588. DISSATISFACTION WITH QUEEN'S COURSE. 425 
 
 spring, to cruise with a small squadron off the coast of 
 Spam. With a dozen vessels he undertook to " distress 
 anythmg that went through the seas." The cost of such 
 a squadron, with eighteen hundred men, to be relieved 
 every four months, he estimated at two thousand seven 
 hundred pounds sterling the month, or a shilling a day 
 for each man ; and it would be a very unlucky month, 
 he said, in which they did not make captures to three 
 tunes that amount ; for they would see nothing that 
 would not be presently their own. " We might'' have 
 peace, but not with God," said the pious old slave-trader ; 
 *'but rather than serve Baal, let us die a thousand 
 deaths. Let us have open war with these Jesuits, and 
 every man will contribute, fight, devise, or do, for the 
 liberty of our country." ' 
 
 And it was oi)en war with the Jesuits for which those 
 stout-hearted sailors longed. All were afraid of secret 
 mischief. The diplomatists— who were knuwTi to be 
 flitting about France, Flanders, Scotland, and England- 
 were birds of ill omen. King James was beset by a 
 thousand bribes and expostulations to avenge his mother's 
 death ; and although that mother had murdered his 
 father, and done her best to disinherit himself, yet it 
 was feared that Spanish ducats might induce him to be 
 true to his mother^s revenge, and false to the reformed 
 religion.* Nothing of good was hoped for from France. 
 "For my part," said Lord Admiral Howard, "I have 
 made of the French King, the Scottish King, and the 
 King of Spain, a trinity that I mean never to trust to 
 be saved by, and I would that others were of my 
 opinion."^ 
 
 The noble sailor, on whom so much responsibility 
 rested, yet who was so trammelled and thwarted by the 
 timid and parsimonious policy of Elizabeth and of 
 
 Hawkins to Walsinghara, — Feb. 
 1588. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 2 "En hora, buena ayen llegado el 
 Conde de Morton y Coronel St'niple," 
 says Philip, speaking of one of the hun- 
 dred attempts' of the Scotch Catholics 
 employed by him to bring about a co- 
 «>peratlon on the part of James with the 
 Spanish designs upon England, " aunqwe 
 s^un los avisos que embiastes de Ingla- 
 
 tierra menos frutos baran que se prome- 
 tian. pues tienen horeses al Rey tan de 
 su niano. Pero bien es que hagaos las 
 diiigeuclas que se pueden, tentando si la 
 sangre de su madre le estlmola a la ven- 
 gan^a," &c. Philip II. to Mendoza, 21 
 June, 1588. (Arch, de Simancaji [in the 
 Arch, de I'Empire, at Paris], MS.) 
 
 3 Howard to Walsingham, 
 
 i\ 
 
 1588. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 27 'an. 
 6 Feb.' 
 
 ^'i 
 
426 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XVIII. 
 
 Burghley, chafed and shook his chains like a captive. 
 *' Since England was England," he exclaimed, " there 
 was never such a stratagem and mask to deceive her as 
 this treaty of peace. I pray God that we do not curse 
 for this a long grey beard with a white head witless, 
 that will make all the world think us heai-tless. Yon 
 know whom I mean.'" And it certiiinly was not difficult 
 to understand the allusion to tlie pondering Lord-Trea- 
 surer. — ^''Opus est aliquo Dcedalo, to direct us out of the 
 maze," * said that much puzzled statesman ; but lie hardly 
 seemed to be making himself wings with which to lift 
 England and himself out of the labyrinth. The ships 
 were good ships, but there was intolerable delay in 
 getting a sufficient number of them as ready for action 
 as was the spirit of their commanders. 
 
 *' Our ships do show like gallants here," said Winter ; 
 " it would do a man's heart good to behold them. Would 
 to God the Prince of Parma were on the seas with all 
 his forces, and we in sight of them 1 You should hear 
 that we would make his enterprise very unpleasant to 
 him."^ 
 
 And Howard, too, was delighted not only with his 
 own little flag-ship the Ark-Rnyal—'' the odd ship of the 
 world for all conditions," — but with all of his fleet that 
 could be mustered. Although wonders were reported, 
 by ©very arrival from the south, of the coming Armada, 
 the Lord-Admiral was not appalled. He was perhaps 
 rather imprudent in the defiance he flung to the enemy. 
 **Let me have the four great ships and twenty hoys, 
 with but twenty men a-piece, and each with but two 
 iron pieces, and her Majesty shall have a good account 
 of the Spanish forces ; and I will make the King wish 
 his galleys home again. Few as we are, if his forces 
 be not hundreds, we will make good sport with them."* 
 
 But those four great ships of her Majesty, so much 
 longed for by Howard, were not foithcoming. He com- 
 plained that the Queen was " keeping them to protect 
 Chatham Church withal, when they should be serving 
 
 I Howard to Walslngham, MS. last 
 cited. 
 
 3 Sir Will. Winter to Hawkins, 
 
 « Burghley to WiUoughby. 1 Feb. '''•'• ^^^ ^' ""^'^ ^'^-^ 
 
 16 
 
 «8Feh., 
 U Mar. 
 
 1588. (a P. Office MS.) 
 
 * Howard to Burghley, ^^^' , 15)^8. 
 
 10 Mar. 
 
 (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 1588. BITTER COMPLAINTS OF LORD HOWARD. 427 
 
 their turn abroad." ' The Spanish fleet was already re- 
 ported as numbering from 210 sail, with 36,000 men,* 
 to 400 or 500 ships, and 80,000 soldiers and mariners ^ 
 and yet Drake was not ready with his squadron. " The 
 fault is not in him," said Howard, " but I pray God her 
 Majesty do not repent her slack dealing. We must all 
 lie together, for we shall be stirred very shortly with 
 heave ho ! I fear ere long her Majesty will be sorry 
 she hath believed some so much as she hath done."* 
 
 Howard had got to sea, and was cruising all the 
 stormy month of March in the Channel with his little 
 unprepared squadron, expecting at any moment— such 
 was the profound darkness which enveloped the world 
 at that day— that the sails of the Armada might appear 
 in the offing. He made a visit to the Dutch coast, and 
 was delighted with the enthusiasm ^dth which he was 
 received. Five thousand people a day came on board 
 his ships, full of congratulation and delight ; and he in- 
 formed the Queen that she was not more assured of the 
 Isle of Sheppey than of Walcheren,^ 
 
 Nevertheless time wore on, and both the army and 
 navy of England were quite unprepared, and the Queen 
 was more reluctant than ever to incur the expense 
 necessary to the defence of her kingdom. At least one 
 of those galleys, which, as Howard bitterly complained, 
 seemed destined to defend Chatham ( liuVch, was im- 
 portunately demanded; but it was already Easter-day 
 (17th April), and she was demanded in vain. " Lord! 
 when should she serve," said the Admiral, " if not at such 
 a time as this ? Either she is fit now to serve, or fit for 
 the fire. I hope never in my time to see so great a 
 cause for her to be used. I dare say her Majesty will 
 look that men should fight for her, and I know they 
 will at this time. The King of Spain doth not keep 
 any ship at home, either of his own or any other, that 
 he can get for money. Well, well, I must pray heartily 
 for peace," said Howard with increasing spleen, '* for I 
 
 > Howard to Walsingham, - March, 
 
 1588. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 2 Ibid. 
 
 ' Drake to the IQueen, ^^'. 1588. 
 
 8 Mar 
 
 (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 II 
 
 * Howard to Walsingham, - March, 
 
 1588, MS. 
 
 * Sanie to 
 (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 same, - March, 1588. 
 
 I 
 
 ) ! 
 
 !j 
 
428 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XVIH. 
 
 see the support of an honourable war will never appear. 
 Sparing and war have no affinity together." * 
 
 In trnth Elizabeth's most faithful subjects weie 
 appalled at the ruin which she seemed by her mistaken 
 policy to be rendering inevitable. "I am sorry," said 
 the Admiral, " that her Majesty is so careless of this 
 most dangerous time. I fear me much, and with grief 
 I think it, that she relieth on a hope that will deceive 
 her, and greatly endanger her, and then it will not be 
 her money nor her jewels that will help ; for as they 
 will do good in time, so they will help nothing for the 
 redeeming of time." * 
 
 The preparations on shore were even more dilatory 
 than thijse on the sea. We have seen that the Duke of 
 Parma, once landed, expected to march directly upon 
 London ; and it was notorious that there were no 
 fortresses to oppose a march of the first general in 
 Europe and his veterans upon that unprotected and 
 wealthy metropolis. An army had been enrolled— a 
 force of 86,010 foot, and 13,8;U cavalry; but it was an 
 army on paper merely. Even of the 80,000, only 48,000 
 were set down as trained; and it is certain that the 
 training had been of the most meagre and unsatisfactory 
 description.^ Leicester was to be commander-in-chief; 
 but we have already seen that nobleman measuring 
 himself, not much to his advantage, with Alexander 
 Farnese, in the Isle of Bommel, on the sands of Blanken- 
 burg, and at the gates of Sluys. His army was to con- 
 sist of 27,000 infontry and 2000 horse ; yet at mid- 
 summer it had not reached half that number. Lord 
 Chamberlain Ilunsdon was to protect the Queen's person 
 with another army of 36,000 ; but this force was purely 
 an imaginary one ; and the lord-lieutenant of each 
 county was to do his best with the militia. But men 
 were perpetually escaping out of the general service, 
 in order to make themselves retainers for private noble- 
 men, and be kept at their expense. " You sliall hardly 
 believe, said Leicester, *'how many new liveries be 
 gotten within these six weeks, and no man fears the 
 
 ' Howard to Wabingham, — April, 
 
 158*». (S. P. Office MS.) 
 • Same to same, MS. last cited. 
 
 » Murden, 60S-613. ' Hardwicke Pa- 
 pers,' I. 676. Lingard, viii. 273. Camden, 
 ili. 405. Stowc, 750. 
 
 1588. WANT OF PREPARATION IN ARMY AND NAVY. 429 
 
 penalty. It would be better that every nobleman did 
 as Lord Dacres, than to take away from the principal 
 service such as are set down to serve."* 
 
 Of enthusiasm and courage, then, there was enough, 
 while of drill and discipline, of powder and shot, there 
 was a deficiency. No braver or more competent soldier 
 could be found than Sir Edward Stanley— the man 
 whom we have seen in his yellow jerkin, helping him- 
 self into Fort Zutj^hen with the Spanish soldier's pike— 
 and yet Sir Edward Stanley gave but a sorry account of 
 the choicest soldiers of Chester and Lancashire, whom 
 he had been sent to inspect. '' I find them not," he 
 said, "according to your expectation, nor mine own 
 liking. They were appointed two years past to have 
 been trained six days by the year or more, at the dis- 
 cretion of the muster-master, but, as yet, they have not 
 been trained one daij, so that they have benefited nothing, 
 nor yet know their leaders. There is now promise of 
 amendment, which, T doubt, will be very sIoav, in re- 
 spect to my Lord Derby's absence."* 
 
 My Lord Derby was at that moment, and for many 
 months afterwards, assisting Valentine Dale in his 
 classical prolusions on the sands of Bourbourg. He had 
 better ha\ e been mustering the train-bands of Lancashire. 
 There was a general indisposition in the rural districts 
 to expend money and time in military business, until 
 the necessity should become imperative. I^rofessional 
 soldiers complained bitterly of the canker of a lono- 
 peace. " For our long quietness, which it hath pleased 
 God to send us," said Stanley, " they think their money 
 very ill bestowed which they expend on armour or 
 weapon, fur that they be in hope they shall never have 
 occasion to use it, so they may pass muster, as they have 
 done heretofore. I want gTcatly powder, for there is 
 little or none at all."^ 
 
 ' Uicester to Walsingbam, !i^, 
 1888. (S. P. Office MS) 
 - Kdward Stanley to the PrivT Council. 
 
 S8 Feb. 
 
 ^ivwd;' ^^^^- (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 » Ibid. 
 
 All the spring, Sir John Norris waa 
 doing what he could to exercise the 
 
 soldiers in London, The captains of the 
 Artilkrj- -Garden had been tolerablj' well 
 drilled for several years, but the rank 
 and file were ignorant enough of the art 
 of war. "There has been a general 
 muster of men fit to bear arms here," 
 said a resident of London in April, " and 
 t1i"re have not been found ten thousand 
 bufficieut .men. This will seem strange 
 
 I 
 
 
430 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVHI. 
 
 The day was fast approaching when all the powder 
 in England would be too little for the demand. But 
 matters had not very much mended even at midsummer. 
 
 3 It is true that Leicester, who was apt to be 
 
 15 '^"^^' sanguine — particularly in matters under his 
 ^^^^' immediate control — spoke of the handful of 
 recruits assembled at his camp in Essex, as "soldiers 
 of a year's experience, rather than a month's camping ;" 
 but in this opinion he differed from many competent 
 authorities, and was somewhat in contradiction to 
 himself. Nevertheless he was glad that the Queen 
 had determined to visit him, and encourage his sol- 
 diers. 
 
 "I have received in secret," he said, "those news 
 that please me, that your Majesty doth intend to behokl 
 the poor and bare company that lie here in the field, 
 most willingly to serve you, yea, most ready to die for 
 you. You shall, dear Lady, behold as goodly, loyal, 
 and as able men as any prince Christian can show you, 
 and yet but a handful of your own, in comparison of the 
 rest you have. What comfort not only these shall re- 
 ceive who shall be the happiest to behold yourself I 
 cannot express ; but assuredly it will give no small 
 comfort to the rest, that shall be overshined with the 
 beams of so gracious and princely a party, for what 
 your royal Majesty shall do to these will be accepted as 
 done to all. Good sweet Queen, alter not your purpose, 
 if God give you health. It will be your pain for the 
 time, but your pleasure to behold such people. And 
 surely the place must content you, being as fair a soil 
 and as goodly a prospect as may be seen or found, as 
 this extreme weather hath made trial, which doth us 
 
 to you, but it is as true as the Gospel 
 of St. Jolin. There is a great want of 
 puwder. and no hope of supply, except 
 that which can be manufacturwl in 
 England." Avis de I^ndres, Avril, 1588. 
 (Arch, de Siraancas, MS.) 
 
 The eneouraKfment glvon to the peace- 
 party In the metropolis by the Ostend 
 negotiations was acting like a poison. 
 " 'Fhe i)eople here are anxious for peace," 
 wrote a secret correspondent of the 
 Spanish government ; " and if the Duke 
 
 of Parma gives the least hope in the 
 world of it, they will all throw down 
 their anns." Much encouragenu^nt, too, 
 was given to Philip by the alleged dis- 
 loyalty of many inhabitants of Ix>ndon. 
 " There is an Infinity of fellows here," 
 said the writer, " who desire the sacking 
 of London not less than the Spaniards 
 themselves do, and are doing all they 
 am to advance the Catholic cause." 
 Avisos de Londres, 21-25-2H Mayo, 1588. 
 (Arch, de Slmancas [Paris], MS.) 
 
 1588. PATRIOTISM OF MERCHANTS AND OTHERS. 431 
 
 little annoyance, it is so firm and dry a giound. Your 
 usher also liketh your lodging— a proper, secret, cleanly 
 house. Your camp is a little mile off, and your person 
 will be as sure as at St. James's, for my life." ' 
 
 But notwithstanding this cheerful view of the position 
 expressed by the commander-in-chief, the month of July 
 had passed, and the earit/ days of August had already 
 arrived ; and yet the camp was not fonned, nor any- 
 thing more 'than that mere handful of troops mustered 
 about Tilbury, to defend the road from Dover to Lon- 
 don. The army at Tilbury never exceeded sixteen or 
 seventeen thousand men.'' 
 
 The whole royal navy— numbering about thirty-four 
 vessels in all— of difterent sizes, ranging from 1100 and 
 1000 tons to 30, had at last been got ready for sea. Its 
 aggregate tonnage was 11,820;^ not half so much as at 
 the present moment — in the case of one marvellous 
 merchant steamer— /oaAv upon a single keel. 
 
 These vessels carried 837 guns and G279 men. But 
 the navy was reinforced by the patriotism and liberality 
 of English merchants and private gentlemen. The city 
 of London, having been requested to furnish 15 ships of 
 war and 5000 men, asked two days for deliberation, and 
 then gave 30 ships and 10,000 men,-* of which number 
 2710 were seamen. Other cities, particularly Plymouth, 
 canie forward with proportionate liberality, and private 
 individuals, nobles, merchants, and men of humblest 
 rank, were enthusiastic in volunteering into the naval 
 sei-vice, to risk property and life in defence of the 
 country. By midsummer there had been a total force 
 uf 197 vessels manned, and pai-tially equipped, with 
 an aggregate of 29,744 tons, and 15,785 seamen. Of 
 this fleet a very large number were mere coasters 
 of less than 100 tons each; scarcely ten ships were 
 above 500, and but one above 1000 tons— the Tnuinph, 
 Captain Frobisher, of 1100 tons, 42 guns, and 500 
 sailors.' 
 
 Lord Howard of Effingham, Lord High- Admiral of 
 
 » Leicester to the Queen, -^ July, 1588. 
 
 (S. P. Office MS.) 
 * Stowe, 750. 
 
 8 Barrow, 266, 267. 
 
 * Stowe, 743. Compare estimates in 
 Barrow, 268. 
 » Ibid. 
 
 i 'I 
 
 !i 
 
 :i- 
 
 I 
 
432 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVHI. 
 
 England, distinguished for his martial character, public 
 spirit, and admirable temper, rather than for experience 
 or skill as a seaman, took command of the whule fleet, 
 in his " little mid ship for all conditions," the Ark Royal, 
 of 800 tons, 425 sailors, and 55 gims. 
 
 Next in rank was Vice- Admiral Drake, m the Revenge, 
 of 500 tons, 250 men and 40 gims. Lord Henry Sey- 
 mour, in the Rainbow, of precisely the same size and 
 streno-th, commanded the inner squadron, which cnused 
 in the neighbourhood of the French and Flemish coa.st. 
 
 The Hollanders and Zeelanders had undertaken to 
 l)lockade the Duke of Parma still more closely, and 
 pledged themselves that he should never venture to 
 show liimself upon the open sea at all. Ihe mouth ot 
 the Scheldt, and the dangerous shallows of!* the coast 
 of Newport and Dunkirk, swarmed with their deter- 
 mined and well-seasoned craft, from the flybooter or 
 filibuster of the rivers, to the larger armed vessels, 
 built to confront every danger, and to deal with any 
 
 adversaiy. , „ t i ^ • 
 
 Farnese, on his part, within that well- guarded tem- 
 tory, had, for months long, scarcely, slackened m his 
 preparations, day or night. Whole forests had been 
 felled in the land of AVaasto furnish him with transports 
 and gun-boats, and with such rapidity, that— according 
 to his enthusiastic historiographer— each tree seemed 
 by mao-ic to metamorpliose itself into a vessel at the 
 woi-d of command.' Shipbuilders, pilots, and seamen 
 were brought from the Baltic, from Hamburg, from 
 Genoa. The whole surface of the obedient Netherlands, 
 whence wholesome industry had long been banished, 
 was now the scene of a prodigious baleful activity. 
 Tortable bridges for fording the rivers of England, 
 stockades for entrenchments, rafts and oars, were pro- 
 vided in vast numl)ers, and Alexander dug canals and 
 widened natural streams to fticilitate his opiratK»ns. 
 These wretched Provinces, crippled, impoverislied, lan- 
 gui«hing for peace, were forced to contribute out ot 
 their povertv, and to find strength even in their ex- 
 haustion, to furnish the machinery for destroying their 
 
 1 Strada, il. ix. 542. 21 Dec. 1587. (Arch, de Simancas. MS.) 
 
 2 Strada, ubi tup. Panna to Philip, Metereu, xv. 270. 
 
 1588. 
 
 ACTIVITY OF PARMA. 
 
 433 
 
 own countrymen, and fur hurling to perdition their 
 most healthiul neighbour. 
 
 And this approaching destruction of England—now 
 genera ly believed in-wa^ like the sound of a trumpet 
 throughout Catholic Europe. Scions of royal hou.^s 
 gi-andees ot azure blood, the baistard of Philip II the 
 bastard of Savoy, the bastard of Medici, the Margrave of 
 Burghaut, the Archduke Charles, nephew of the Em- 
 peror, the Princes of Ascoli and of Melfi, the Prince of 
 Morocco, and others of illustrious name, with many a 
 noble English traitor, like Paget, and Westmoreland, and 
 Stanley, all hurried to the camp of Faniese, as to some 
 tamous tournament, in which it was a disgrace to chi- 
 valry if their names were not enrolled. The roads were 
 trampled witli levies of fresh troops from Spain, Naples, 
 Corsica the States of the Church, the Milanese, Ger- 
 many, Burgundy. 
 
 Bias Capizuuca was sent in person to conduct rein- 
 forcements from the north of Italy. The famous Tcrzio 
 ot Naples, under Carlos Pinelo, arrived 3500 stron<r_ 
 the most splendid regiment ever known in the history 
 
 T^\ ^'r""^ ''''''' ^^^ ^^ engraved corslet and 
 musket-barrel, and there were many who wore gilded 
 armour, while tlieir waving plumes and festive capa- 
 risons made them look like holiday-makers, rather than 
 real campaigners, in the eyes of the inhabiUmts of the 
 various cities through which their road led (hem to 
 Flanders.' By the end of April the Duke of Parma saw 
 himself at the head of 60,000 men, at a monthly expense 
 of 4o4,31o crowns or dollars.* Yet so rapid was the 
 progress of disease— incident to northern climates— 
 among those southern soldiers, that we shall find the 
 uuniber woefully diminished before they were likely to 
 set foot upon the English shore. 
 
 Thus great prepamtions, simultaneously with pompous 
 negotiations, had been going forward month after month 
 m England, Holland, Flanders. Nevertheless, winter' 
 tf "of :/T;*^''"^' ^^ summer, ha.1 passed away, and on 
 the 29th July, 1588, there remained the same siekenin< 
 
 ''^ 
 
 'Camero.'Guerra8deFlandes'(lG25). 1588. (Arch, de Simancas, MS.) Com. 
 
 3 .1L, . „ P^r*^ ytri*da II. ix. 540. 
 
 Heladoii PaillcuUr; &c. 29 April, 
 
 VOL. II. * o „ ■ 
 
 -i F 
 
434 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XVHI. 
 
 1588. 
 
 PHILIP IL IN HIS CABINET. 
 
 uncertainty, which was the atmosphere in which the 
 nations had existed for a twelvemonth. 
 
 Howard had cruised for a few weeks between Eng- 
 land and Spain, without any results, and, on his return, 
 had found it necessary to implore her Majesty, as late as 
 July, to "trust no more to Judas' kisses, but to her 
 Bword, not her enemy's word." * 
 
 I Howard to Walslngham. ^^. 15S8, In Botow. 2f?C 
 
 4aj 
 
 CHAPTEK XIX. 
 
 riii,rli„n «lih ^ '"'""•' "" '""IMilSMls—liiscrililiciiuf il„. H„.t_n„. 
 
 M»* fruuloss by l>„iU,,-s 1,„1,K.,» - Koglund r,,„t,„ a, fe^, ^ , ;;^ «; .^''L^Ti- 
 S. f rZ, ti 'v"-^''T''' "' "'"■"'* •'^J""™1»- England's „arr„w 
 h^p, Iran. Briat 1 ml - Various Rum<,urs as to Iho Armada's Fat- -Pl.ilin for 
 ^on. l,me „. l*,ubt-He Mlcv.. him^lf victorious - Is tr.,„un J^^ 
 
 ll ILT *''?^ ^ 'r"" '? "P°" ^'^'^ '^^'''^y lottei-writer 
 Ihe drama ' " '"' "'' ''^ "'"^ l'^''^"'S ^'^ P'"* "' 
 IIi« counsellors wore very few. ni.s chief advisors 
 wf '?*''"; V.ke Pi'vate secretaries tlian cabiuet ,nini.s- 
 teis; for I'luhi, had been withdnnviug „ore and anoie 
 in o seelnsion and my..tery as the webwork of his schemes 
 luultip led and widened. He liked to do liis work 
 assisted by a very few confidential sei^ants. The Priuee 
 
 Cardinal Granvee. So were Erasso and Delga.lo. His 
 midnight council -/««ta d, „,.•/,— fur tliusf from its 
 original hour of assembling, and the air of secrecy in 
 w leh ,t was enwrapped, it was habitually atHed-was 
 
 m ni.f f T^ °^ TV *'"' ^'"""t '^« Cliinehon was 
 minster for the household, for Italian allaii^, and for the 
 
 monarcV l-^/P"^'. ^"'^ ^Hstoval dc Moura, the 
 cSle" ' ^'^"^""^teied the affairs of Portugal and 
 
 « llerrtra, 111. il. 13.45, .^^ .jg^ 
 
 !l 
 
 i 
 
 ^ i ml 
 
436 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XIX. 
 
 The president of the council of Italy, after Granvelle's 
 death, was Quiroga, cardinal of Toledo, and inquisitor- 
 general.* Enoraiously long letters, in the King's name, 
 were prepared chiefly by the two secretaries, Idiaquez 
 and Moura. In their hands was the vast con-espondence 
 with Mendoza and Parma, and Olivarez at Kome, and 
 with Mucio, in which all the stratagems for the subju- 
 gation of Protestant Europe were slowly and artistically 
 contrived. Of the great conspiracy against human liberty, 
 of which the Pope and Philip were the double head, 
 this midnight triumvirate was the chief executive com- 
 mittee. 
 
 These innumerable despatches, signed by Philip, were 
 not the emanations of his own mind. ITie King had a 
 fixed purpose to subdue Protestantism and to conquer 
 the world ; but the plans for carrying the jmii^ose into 
 effect were developed by subtler and more comprehen- 
 sive minds than his own. It was enough for him to 
 ponder wearily over schemes which he was supposed to 
 dictate, and to give himself the appearance of super- 
 yisine: what he scarcely comprehended. And his work 
 of supervision was often confined to pettiest details. 
 The handwriting of Spain and Italy at that day was 
 beautiful, and in our modem eyes seems neither anti- 
 quated nor ungraceful. But Philip's scrawl was like 
 that of a clown just admitted to a writing-school, and the 
 whole margin of a fairly penned despatch, perhaps fifty 
 pages long, laid before him for comment and signatiire 
 by Idiaquez or Moura, would be sometimes covered with 
 a few awkward sentences, which it was almost impos- 
 sible to read, and which, when deciphered, were apt to 
 reveal suggestions of astounding triviality.* 
 
 Thus a most important despatch— in which the King, 
 with his own hand, was supposed to be conveying secret 
 intelligence to IMendoza concerning the Armada, together 
 with minute directions for the regulation of Guise's 
 conduct at the memorable epoch of the banicades— 
 
 ' Herrera, uhi sup. 
 
 ' No man who has had personal expfri- 
 ence in the Archives of Simancosi, or who 
 has Btudied with his own eyes the great 
 collection of document-s originally Ix-long- 
 j!if to that depository, and now presorvi d 
 m the Archives of the Emiiire at rarid, 
 
 will assert that th^ description in the text 
 is exaggeratal. The pai agraphs written 
 in the King's own hand are almost ille- 
 gible, and evidently wrltU'n with great 
 dlfficnUy. When deciphered, they are 
 foiuid to be always awkward, generally 
 ungrammatical, and very often puerile. 
 
 1588. HIS SYiJTEM OF WORK AND DECEPTIOX. 437 
 
 contained but a single comment from the monarch's own 
 pen. . ' The Armada has been in Lisbon about a month 
 —quassi un rms —wrote the secretary. *- There is but 
 one s m quasi;' said Philip.' 
 
 Again a despatch of Mendoza to the King contained 
 he intelligence that Queen Elizabeth was, at the date of 
 the letter residing at St. James's. Philip, who had no 
 objection to display his knowledge of English aifairs— as 
 became the man who had already been almost sovereicm 
 of England and meant to be entirely so-supplied a 
 piece of information in an apostille to this despatch. 
 fet. James is a house of recreation," he said " which 
 was once a monastery. There is a park between it. and 
 the palace which is called Huytal ; but ichy it is called 
 HayM, I am sure I do'nt know."* His researches in 
 the English language had not enabled him to recojmize 
 the adjective and substantive out of which the abstruse 
 compound White-Hall {Huyt-al), was formed. 
 ^ On another occasion, a letter from England containing 
 impoi-tant intelligence concerning the number of soldiers 
 enrolled in that country to resist the Spanish invasion, 
 11 quantity of gunpowder and various munitions 
 collected, with other details of like nature, furnished 
 besides a bit of information of less vital interest. " In 
 the windows of the Queen's presence-chamber they have 
 discovered a great quantity of lice, all clustered toLrether," 
 said the writer. ^ 
 
 Such a minute piece of statistics could not escape the 
 microscopic eye of Philip. So, disregarding the soldiers 
 and the gunpowder, he commented o>.ly on this last- 
 nientioned clause of the letter ; and he did it cautiously 
 too, as a King surnamed the Prudent should :— 
 
 " But perhaps they were fleas," wrote Philip.^ 
 
 xW^l^? J A ^*'!"^^^' ^ J»"«' 158«. espaiioles con voz de ser deshecha toda la 
 
 \lT< .. ix ^ o • ^^ Simancas [Paris], armada de V^. M.«." &c. 
 ^ ^•.r/^r^'^'^'T" . ^^'^^ »» J'hillp's hand: "Casa de pla- 
 
 Gpm.« ^^ f ""^^ '^^'^^'' * '*^'" «''■ '1"« f"^ monasterio-es un parque 
 
 ^ic. ;ri^:,""P^'^ ^' ""y'*^' entreellayelpalacioquesellamaHTtal! 
 U CA8.a de Londres. y para guarda do su y no se porque yo." Alendoza to Philln 
 
 KTtr'T"^'^'*'""^^'^"- "• 20 Aug. 15S8. (Arch. dTsimS 
 t>rc8, y mil cavalleros que estuviessen [Paris], MS) 
 
 P^mTv M ''"^'^'' "'''''^'■^" '^ '^'^ presonc M-n la courde !a Hevneon a trouve 
 
 Pedro d. Valdez y a todus los de mas que fort grand non.br. de poulx qui 8e s^nt 
 
 etomaron en carros a Londres para que coule. ensemble." iCe is a Sp(^"h 
 
 vies«. el pueblo que avian tornado pr.^s translation appended to thL l2^^ 
 
43 S 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XIX. 
 
 Such examples — and man}' more might be given — 
 gnfficiently indicate the nature of the man on whom 
 snch enonnons responsibilities rested, and who had been, 
 by the adnlation of his fellow-creatnres, elevated into a 
 god. And wo may east a glance upon him as he sits in 
 his cabinet — bnried among those piles of despatches — 
 and receiving inetliodically, at stated hours, Idiaquez, or 
 Moura, or Chincon, to settle the affairs of so many 
 millions of the human race ; and we may watch exactly 
 the progress of th-.it scheme, concerning which so many 
 contradictory rumouis were circulating in Europe. In 
 the month of April a Walsingham could doubt, even in 
 August an ingenuous comptroller could disbelieve, the 
 reality of the great project, and the Pope himself, even 
 while pledging himself to assistance, had been systemati- 
 cally deceived. He had supposed the whole scheme 
 Tendered futile by the exploit of Drake at Cadiz, and 
 had declared that '' the Queen of England's distaff was 
 worth more than I*hilip's sword, that the King was a 
 poor creature, that he would never be able to come to 
 a resolution, and that even if he should do so, it would 
 be too late ;" ' and he had subsequently been doing his 
 best, through his nuncio in France, to persuade the 
 Queen to embrace the Catholic religion, and thus save 
 herself from the impending danger, llenrj' III. had 
 even been urged by the Pope to send a special ambassa- 
 dor to her for this purpose — as if the persuasions of the 
 wretched A^alois were likely to be eflective with Eliza- 
 beth Tudor— and Burghley had, by means of spies in 
 Home, who pretended to be Catholics, given out intima- 
 tions that the Queen was seriously contemplating such 
 a step.* Thus the Pope, notwithstanding Cardinal Allan, 
 
 and on the nwrgin, in Philip's hand, is 
 written : " Gran uiimero de piojos o qulza 
 pulgoa." Avisos de Londn^s, 1 April. 
 1586. (Arch, de Simancaa [Paris], MS.) 
 • Un Vandini, griui vanquero de Roma, 
 que ti'*ne correspondencia con este Rey 
 Xmo y intelligcncia con muchos Cat*** le 
 ha escrito haver dicho el Papa quando 
 Bupo lo que Draques avia hecho en Gales, 
 que Su Magt* (Riilip II.) era iK-rsona de 
 poco, que nunca se acaveva de rewdver, y 
 quatido lo hiziesse no serla en tiempo — 
 han aqul no solo solemnirAdo pero publi- 
 cudu afiadiendo que valia mas la rueca de 
 
 la Reyna de Insrlaterra que h\ espada del 
 Rey de Espafia, &c, kc. MendoZii to 
 Idiaiiuiz, 16 July, 1587. (.Vrch de Sim- 
 ancas [Paris], MS.) 
 
 * " Me he visto con el nuncio, y me li;i 
 dlclioque Su Santi**, avlamese«i,que pitlio 
 a pste Rey embiasse a la dc Inglaterra lo 
 l)ifn que le estaria hazerse Catolica, y esto 
 per tener Su S«l avisos poder vtnir en ello 
 con 3emejantes persuasiones que cstc lUy 
 escrlvio a su embaxre que tlene en Ingla- 
 terra le avisasse si estava en esta disposl- 
 cion la Reyna, el qual respondio el Toso- 
 rero Cecil per medio de esplones que teuii 
 
 }5Si. HIS VAST BUT VAGUE SCHEME OF CONQUEST. 439 
 
 the famous million, and tho bull, was thought by Mcu- 
 doza to be growing lukowam in the Spanish cause, and 
 to be urging upon the " Englishwoman " the prop iety 
 of ^convertnig herself, even at tho late hour of Ma/, 
 
 «-1^li* ^^"'P-' *°'" ^'*'*'"'''' ^'^ ^^°» maturing his scheme, 
 «lule reposing entire confidence-beyond his own 
 
 th^'?h tl'"'V"I'T Vr'^ '"" Alexander Faniese; and 
 the Duke-alone of all men-was perfectly certain that 
 the invasion would, this year, bo artempted. 
 
 n,I !ft<P'f' "/.^''"°'*^ °^ ^^^ e^Ptdition was the Mar- 
 wllf '", ^''"='' ^ •"'*'' "f considerable naval expe- 
 
 IZ« S;'"? •'°"''*''* ?^ ^"'^•"^e- ^l^o. i'l thirty 
 
 J ears, had never sustained a defeat." He had however 
 
 shown no desire to risk one, when Drake liad oflered 
 him tho memorable challenge in the year lo87 and 
 perhaps h,« reputation of the invincible captain had 
 Wn obtained by the same adroitness on previous occa 
 sions. He was no friend to Alexander Farnese, and was 
 much disgusted when infonnod of the share allotted to 
 tue Duke in the great undertaking." A course of rc- 
 wl?f I if P'^'Tctual reprimand was the treatment to 
 which ho was, in consequence, subjected, which was not 
 more conducive to the advancement of tho expedition 
 han It was to the health of tho captain-goneral Early 
 nJanuaiy the Cardinal Archduke was sent to Lisbon 
 to lecture him, with instructions to turn a deaf ear to 
 a 1 his remonstrances, to deal with him peremptorily, to 
 
 ^■^^ f. 'i'^'',"-"'? ^"''"■^ °? *''« '^"^^"t to •"« Majesty, 
 and to order lunito accept his post or to decline it witli- 
 
 ? " conditions m which latter contingency lie.was to be 
 mtormed tliat his successor was already decided upon ' 
 
 ini r ^^J^^*- ""^ "'?* *^''SiWe way perhaps for bring- 
 ng the captain-general into a cheerful mood ; particu- 
 teiTv^'' "^T expected to be ready w Junuwy to sail 
 to the Flemish coast.' Nevertheless the Marquis ex- 
 en Ronu flngiendo ser Catolicos avIa hecho MS ) 
 liegar esu voj a Su Sd para ganar tieinpo > Herrera I II iil 7n 
 y entlblar 1» ™ persuadlr la emprcsa a V " 
 
 ncaao al Canjl de Joyoaa que »ei ia muy de SImancas MS 1 
 b.ea que eate Rey embtase un embaxr. . lis °^cl!«i 
 
 » i^ms ;imh r^' '° '"''r',"" 'V f ^' ^'•'="'-'»1»«- ^'O. "» (Arch, 
 o ^iaj , 1&88. (Arch de bmiancas [Paris], de SImancas MS.), 
 
 » Ibid. 
 
 ^-.v.m*«, **a, ill, I \/, 
 
 ' 1-is Adverttiiclas de Su Magd para 
 el Maiquts de Sjinta Cruz, 1588. (Arch 
 
440 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XIX. 
 
 1588. 
 
 DEATH OF SANTA CRUZ. 
 
 441 
 
 pressed a hope to accomplish his sovereign's wishes; 
 and gi-eat had been the bustle in all the dockyards of 
 Naples, Sicily, and Spain ; particularly in the provinces 
 of Guipuzcoa, Biscay, and Andalusia, and in the four 
 great cities of the coast. War-ships of all dimensions, 
 tenders, transports, soldiers, sailors, sutlers, munitions 
 of war, provisions, were all rapidly concentrating in 
 Lisbon as the great place of rendezvous; and Philip 
 confidently believed, and as confidently informed the 
 Duke of Parma, that he might be expecting the Armada 
 at any time after the end of January.* 
 
 Perhaps -in the historj^ of mankind there has never 
 been a vast project of conquest conceived and matured 
 in so protracted and yet so desultory a manner, as was 
 this fjxmous Spanish invasion. There was something 
 almost ]>uei'ile in the whims rather than schemes of 
 Philip for carrying out his purpose. It was probable 
 that some resistance would be ofibred, at least by the 
 navy of England, to the subjugation of that country, and 
 the King had enjoyed an opportunity, the preceding 
 summer, of seeing the way in which English sailors did 
 their work. He had also appeared to understand the 
 necessity of covering the passage of Famese from the 
 Flemish ports into the Thames, by means of the great 
 Spanish fleet from Lisbon. Nevertheless he never 
 seemed to be aware that Farnese could not invade 
 England quite by himself, and was perpetually expect- 
 ing to hear that he had done so. 
 
 **Ht»lland and Zeeland," wrote Alexander to Philip, 
 *' have been arming with their accustomed promptness ; 
 England has made great preparations. I have done my 
 best to make the impossible possible ; but your letter 
 told me to wait for Santa Cruz, and to expect him very 
 shortly. If, on the contrary, you had told me to make 
 the passage without him, I would have made the attempt, 
 although we had eveiy one of us perished. Four ships 
 of war could sink every one of my boats. Nevei-theless 
 I beg to be informed of your Majesty's final order. If 
 I am seriously expected to make the passage without 
 Santa Cniz, I am ready to do it, although I should go 
 all alone in a cock-boat."' f 
 
 1 Herrera, III. iii. 90, 91. una zabra." Pamia to Philip, 21 Dec. 
 
 s " Aunque huviesse de passar sulu en 1587. (Arch, de Simancas, MS.) 
 
 But Santa Cruz at least was not destined to assist in 
 the conquest of England ; for, worn out with fati-ue 
 and vexation, goaded by the reproaches and insults of 
 Philip, banta Cruz was dead.» He was replaced in the 
 chief command of the fleet by the Duke of Medina 
 bidonia, a grandee of vast wealth, but with little capacity 
 and less experience. To the iron marquis it was said 
 lA ^.P^^^"" ^"ke* tad succeeded; but the duke of 
 gold did not find it easier to accomplish impossibilities 
 than his predecessor had done. Day after day, through- 
 out the, months of winter and spring, the King had been 
 writing that the fleet was just on the point of sailino- 
 and as frequently he had been renewing to Alexander 
 farnese the intimation that perliaps, after all, he mi<^ht 
 find an opportunity of crossing to England, without 
 waiting for its arrival.^ And Alexander, with the 
 same regularity, had been informing his master that 
 the troops m the Netherlands had been daily dwindlini? 
 from sickness and other causes, till at last, instead of 
 the 30,000 effective infantry, with which it had been 
 originally intended to make tlie enterprise, he had not 
 more than 17,000, in the month of April.* The 6000 
 bpaniards whom he was to receive from the fleet of 
 iUedma bidonia, would therefore be the very mainsprino- 
 ot his army.* After leaving no more soldiers in the 
 Aetherlands than were absolutelv necessary fur the 
 defence of the obedient Provinces against the rebels, he 
 could only take with him to England 23,000 men, even 
 atter the reinforcements from Medina. " AVhen we 
 talked of taking England by siirju-ise," said Alexander, 
 ^ we never thought of le.-s than 30,000. Now that she 
 is alert and ready for us, and that it is certain we must 
 hght by sea and by land, 50,000 would be few."« Ho 
 almost ridiculed the King's suggestion that a feint might 
 De made by way of besieging some few places in Holland 
 or Zeeland. The whole matter in hand, he said, had 
 become as public as possible, and the only efficient blind 
 was the peace-negotiation ; for many believed, as the 
 
 IsV^r?^;-"'^?;''!-.^**'^*™^ * ^*™^ *^ f"^"'?' 20 March, 1588. 
 18 Feb. 1588. (Arch, de Simancas. MS.) (Arch, de Siniaiicas, MS.) 
 
 s p^y^ f * V*P' ' " Kl nlervo principal." (Ibid.) 
 
 (irch difsiln ""M«f ^'^'■'^' ''''• ' ^""^''^'^ Philip,3lJan. ISSd.CArch. 
 I ATch. de Simancas. MS.) de Simancas, MS.) 
 
 \\ 
 
442 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XIX. 
 
 1588. 
 
 DESCRIPTION OF THE FLEET. 
 
 443 
 
 English depTities were now treating at Ostend, that 
 peace would follow.* 
 
 At last, on the 28th, 29th, and 30th May, 1588, the 
 fleet, which had been waiting at Lisbon more than a 
 month for favourable weather, set sail from that port, 
 after having been duly l^lessed by the Cardinal Archduke 
 Albert, viceroy of Portugal.* 
 
 There were rather more than one hundred and thirty 
 ships in all, divided into ten squadrons.' There was 
 the squadron of Portugal, consisting of ten galleons, and 
 commanded by the captain-general, Medina Sidonia. 
 In the squadron of Castile were fourteen ships of various 
 sizes, under General Diego Flores de Yaldez. This 
 officer was one of the most experienced naval officers 
 in the Spanish service, and was subsequently ordered, 
 in consequence, to sail with the generalissimo in his 
 flag-ship.* In the squadron of Andalusia were ten 
 galleons and other vessels, under General Pedro de 
 Yaldez. In the squadron of Biscay were ten galleons 
 and lesser ships, under General Juan Martinez de lle- 
 calde, upper admiral of the fleet. In the squadron of 
 Guipuzcoa were ten galleons, under General Miguel de 
 Oquendo. In the squadron of Italy were ten ships, 
 under General Martin de Bertendona. In the squadron 
 of Ureas, or store-ships, wei*e twenty-three sail, under 
 General Juan Gomez de Medina. The squadron of ten- 
 ders, caravels, and other vessels, numbered twwity-two 
 sail, under General Antonio Hurtado de Mendoza. The 
 squadron of four galeasses was commanded by Don Hugo 
 de Moncada. I'he squadron of four galeras, or galleys, 
 was in charge of Captain Diego de Medrado. 
 
 Next in command to Medina Sidonia was Don Alonzo 
 de Leyva, captain-general of the light horse of Milan. 
 Don Francisco de Bobadilla was marshal-general of the 
 camp. Don Diego de Pimentel was marshal of the camp 
 to the famous Terzio or legion of Sicily.* 
 
 I Parma to rJiilip. 20 March, 1588. 
 (Arch, de Simanuis, MS.) 
 
 s Philip II. to Mendozii, 24 April, 1588, 
 and 2 June, 1588. (Arch, de Simancas 
 [PariO. MSS.) Bor, iii. 321, 322. 
 
 3 Herrera, lll.lii. 93. seq. Philip 11. 
 to Parma, 13 May, 1588, says 150, but 
 there were many small vessels and trans- 
 ports equipped, which never left Spain. 
 
 The number of effective ships of all kinds 
 was probably less than 140. 
 
 * Herrera, ttbi sup. 
 
 * Herrera, ubi sup. Compare Stradii, 
 II. Ix. 546, Siq. Bor, III. xxv. 317, stq. 
 Meteren, xv. 270. Camden, iil. 410, scq. 
 Ciiniero, 226. Colon>a, f. 5, seq. Barrow 
 266-270. 
 
 h 
 
 The total tonnage of the fleet was 59,120 : the number 
 of guns was 8165. Of Spanish troops there were 19,295 
 on board : there were 8252 sailors and 2088 galley-slaves. 
 Besides these, there was a force of noble volunteers, 
 belonging to the most illustrious houses of Spain, with 
 their attendants, amounting to nearly 2000 in all. There 
 was also Don Martin Alaccon, administrator and vicar- 
 general of the Holy Inquisition, at the head of some 
 290 monks of the mendicant orders, priests and familiars.* 
 The grand total of those embarked was about :jO,OUO. 
 The expense of the fleet was estimated by Don Diego 
 de Pimentel at 12,000 ducats a-da3% and the daily 
 cost of the combined naval and military force under 
 Farnese and Medina Sidonia was stated at 30,000 
 ducats.^ 
 
 The size of the ships ranged from 1200 tons to 300. 
 The galleons, of which there were about sixty, were 
 huge round-stemmed clumsy vessels, with bulwarks three 
 or four feet thick, and built up at stem and stern, like 
 castles. The galeasses— of which there were four — 
 were a third larger than the ordinary galley, and were 
 rowed each by three hundred galley-slaves. They con- 
 sisted of an enormous towering fortress at the stem, a 
 castellated structure almost equally massive in front, 
 with seats for the rowers a-midships. At stem and stern 
 and between each of the slaves' benches were heavy 
 cannon. These galeasses were floating edifices, very 
 wonderful to contemplate. They were gorgeously de- 
 corated. There were splendid state-apartments, cabins, 
 chapels, and pulpits in each, and they were amply pro- 
 vided with awnings, cushions, streamers, standards, 
 gilded saints, and bands of music.^ To take part in an 
 ostentatious pageant, nothing could be better devised. 
 To fulfil the great objects of a war-vessel —to sail and 
 to fight — they were the worst machines ever launched 
 upon the ocean. The four galleys were similar to the 
 galeasses in every respect except that of size, in which 
 they were by one-third inferior. 
 
 All the ships of the fleet— galeasses, galleys, galleons, 
 and hulks — were so encumbered with top-hamper, so 
 
 1 Meteren, tthi svp. Bor, iii. .?25 seq. 
 
 « Examination of f)on Diopo d-- Pimon- » Strada II. ix. 546. Meteren, xv. 270. 
 tel before the council of Holland ; apud 
 
444 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XIX. 
 
 overweighted in proportion to their draught of water, 
 tliat they could bear but little canvas, even with smooth 
 seas and light and favourable winds. In violent tem- 
 pests, therefore, they seemed likely to suffer. To the 
 eyea of the IGth century these vessels seemed enormous. 
 A ship of 1300 tons was then a monster rarely seen, and 
 a fleet, numbering from 130 to 150 sail, with an aggre- 
 gate tonnage of 60,000, seemed sufficient to conquer the 
 world, and to justify the an-ogant title, by which it had 
 baptised itself, of tVic Invincible. 
 
 Such was the machhiery which Philip had at last set 
 afloat, for the purpose of dethroning Elizabeth and esta- 
 blishing the Inquisition in England. One hundred and 
 forty ships, eleven thousand Spanish veterans, as many 
 more recniits, partly Spanish, partly Portuguese, two 
 thousand grandees, as many galley-slaves, and three 
 hundred barefooted friars and inquisitors. 
 
 The plan was simple. Medina Sidonia was to proceed 
 straight from I.isbtm to Calais roads : there he was to 
 wait for the Duke of Panna, who was to come forth from 
 Newport, Sluys, and Dunkirk, bringing with him his 
 17,000 veterans, and to assume the chief command of 
 the whole ex[)edition. ITiey were then to cross the 
 channel to Dover, land the army of Parnia, reinforced 
 with 6000 Spaniards from the fleet, and with these 
 23,000 men Alexander was to march at once upon 
 London. Medina Sidonia was to seize and fortify the 
 Isle of Wight, guard the entrance of the harbours against 
 any interference from the Dutch and English fleets, and 
 — so soon as the conquest of England had been effected 
 — he w'as to proceed to Ireland.' It had been the wish 
 of Sir William Stanley that Ireland should be subjugated 
 first, as a basis of operations against England ; but this 
 had been overniled. The intrigues of Mendoza and 
 Farnese, too, with the Catholic nobles of Scotland, 
 had proved, after all, unsucce.sisfnl. King James had 
 yielded to superior offers of money and advancement 
 held out to him by Elizabeth, and was now, in Alex- 
 ander's words, a confirmed heretic* 
 
 There was no course left, therefore, but to conquer 
 England at once. A strange omission had, however, 
 
 » Letters of PhlUp and of Parma already « Parma to Philip 11. 8 June, 1588. 
 cited. (Arch, de Sim. MS.) (Arch, do Sim. MS.) 
 
 1588. THE JUNCTION WITH PARMA UNPROVIDED FOR. 445 
 
 been made in the plan from first to last. The com- 
 mander of ihe whole expedition was the Duke of Parma : 
 on his head Wiis the whole responsibility. Not a gun 
 was to be fired-if it could be avoided— until he had 
 come forth with his veterans to make his junction \n ith 
 the Invincible Armada ofl* Calais. Yet there was no 
 arrangement whatever to enable him to come forth— 
 not the slightest provision to efl'ect that junction. It 
 would almost seem that the letter-writer of the Escorial 
 had been quite ignorant of the existence of the Dutch 
 fleets off" Dunkirk, Newport and Flushing, although he 
 had certainly received infonnation enough of this for- 
 midable obstacle to his plan. 
 
 " Most joyful I shall be," said Farnese— writing on 
 one of the days when he had seemed most convinced by 
 Valentine Dale's arguments, and driven to despair by 
 his postulates—** to see myself with these soldiers on 
 English ground, where, with God's help, I hope to ac- 
 complish your Majesty's demands.'" He was much 
 troubled, however, to find doubts entei-tained at the last 
 moment as to his 6000 Spaniards; and certainly it 
 hardly needed an argument to prove that the invasion 
 of England with but 17,000 soldiers was a somewhat 
 hazardous scheme. Yet the pilot Moresini had brought 
 him letters from Medina Sidonia, in which the Duke 
 expressed hesitation about parting with those COOO 
 veterans, unless the English fleet should have been pre- 
 viously destroyed, and had also again expressed his 
 hope that Farma would be punctual to the rendezvous.* 
 Alexander immediately combated these views in letters 
 to Medina and to the King. He avowed that he would 
 not depart one tittle from the plan originally laid down. 
 The 6000 men, and more if possible, were to be fur- 
 nished him, and the Spanish Armada was to protect his 
 own flotilla, and to keep the channel clear of enemies. 
 No other scheme was possible, he said, for it was clear 
 that his collection of small flat-bottomed river-boats and 
 hoys could not even make the passage, except in smooth 
 weather. They could not contend with a storm, much 
 less with the enemy's ships, which would destroy them 
 Titterly in case of a meeting, without his being able to 
 avail himself of his soldiers— who would be so closely 
 
 1 Parmu to Philip, 22 June, 1588. (Arch, de Sim. MS.) z ibid. 
 
f 
 
 446 
 
 THE UNITED NETHEliLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XIX. 
 
 packed as to be hardly moveable — or of any human help. 
 The preposterous notion that he should come out with 
 his flotilla to make a junction with Medina off Calais, 
 was over and over again denounced by Alexander with 
 vehemence and bitterness, and most boding expressions 
 were used by him as to the probable result, were such a 
 delusion persisted in.' 
 
 Every possible precaution, therefore, but one had 
 been taken. The King of France — almost at the same 
 instant in which Guise had been receiving his latest 
 instructions from the Escorial for dethroning and destroy- 
 ing that monarch — had been assured by Philip of his 
 inalienable affection : had been informed of the object of 
 this great naval expedition — which was not by any means, 
 as Mendoza had stated to Henry, an enterprise against 
 France or England, but only a deteimined attempt to 
 clear the sea, once for all, of those English pirates who 
 had done so much damage for years past on the high 
 seas— and had been requested, in case any Spanish ship 
 should be driven by stress of weather into French poi-ts, 
 to afford them that comfort and protection to which the 
 vessels of so close and friendly an ally were entitled.* 
 
 Thus there was bread, beef, and powder enough — 
 there were monks and priests enough— standards, galley- 
 slaves, and inquisitors enough ; but there were no light 
 vessels in the Armada, and no heavy vessels in Parma's 
 fleet. Medina could not go to Famese, nor could Famese 
 come to Medina. The junction was likoly to be difficult, 
 and yet it had never once entered the heads of Philip 
 or his counsellors to provide fur that difficulty. The 
 King never seemed to imagine that Famese, with 40,000 
 
 22 Juno, 1588. 
 
 » Parma to Philip, 
 (Arch, de Sim. MS.) 
 
 a " Habl'-ys antes al Roy dc mi parte, 
 y convlniendo hablarle, le direys qvic el 
 attrovimiento de los corsiirios iuglebes me 
 ha obliRado a dessear liiiipiar d«-llos la 
 mar, este verano, y que assi he mandado 
 hazeruna armada piira este cfTioto, m la 
 qnal avra cuydado de hazer ttxio el buen 
 tratamiento que es razon a t^us buenos 
 subditcsquetoparen.de que lehe qucrldo 
 dar parte y pedlr le como tanibicn lo 
 Ivareys en mi norabre, y si aipiuiDS buxeles 
 de mi armada aportaran con temporal a 
 sus puertos ordene, que S'-an tratiid >s c< -n- 
 foruie a la buena paz y hermandud que 
 
 entre m 'sotros hay, qnitandole por aqui la 
 Bo^pecha destas fuerzas, y gravgeandole 
 jMta lo que se pretende, y este oficio bas- 
 tara por agora, sin llegar a' mas particu- 
 laridudes," &c Philip II. to Mendozii, 
 24 April, 15H8. (Arch, de Sim. [Paris], 
 A. 5t), 148, MS.) 
 
 Thitt letter reached Mendoza in Paris 
 Just before that envoy, according to his 
 master's instructions, wjis assisting Guise 
 to make his memorable btroke of the 
 • barriuvdes." 
 
 There is another letter of tlie same 
 purport nearly three months later. Philip 
 II. to Mendoza, 18 July, 1588. (Arch.de 
 Sim. [Parisl A. 56, 159, MS.) 
 
 1588. 
 
 THE GALE OFF FINISTERRE. 
 
 447 
 
 or 50,000 soldiers in the Netherlands, a fleet of 300 
 transports, and power to dispose of very large funds for 
 one great purpose, could be kept in prison by a fleet of 
 Dutch skippers and corsairs. 
 
 With as much sluggishness as might have been ex- 
 pected from their clumsy architecture, the ships of the 
 Armada consumed nearly three weeks in sailing from 
 Lisbon to the neighbourhood of Cape Finisterre. Here 
 they were overtaken by a tempest, and were scattered 
 hither and thither, almost at the mercy of the winds 
 and waves :' for those unwieldy hulks were ill adapted 
 to a tempest in the Bay of Biscay. There were those 
 in the Armada, however, to whom the storm was a 
 blessing. David Gwynn, a Welsh mariner, had sat in 
 the Spanish hulks a wretched galley-slave— as prisoner 
 of war — for more than eleven years, hoping, year after 
 year, for a chance of escape from bondage.* He sat now 
 among the rowers of the great galley, the Vasam, onu 
 of the humblest instruments by which the subjugation 
 of his native land to Spain and Ttome was to be effected. 
 
 Very naturally, among the ships wliioh suffered most 
 in the gale were the four huge unwieldy galleys— a 
 squadron of four under Don Diego de Medrado— with 
 their enormous turrets at stem and stern, and their low 
 and open waists. The chapels, pulpits, and gilded 
 Madonnas proved of little avail in a hurricane. The 
 Diana, largest of the four, went down with all hands ; 
 the Princess was labouring severely in the trough of the 
 sea, and the V^asana was likewise in imminent danger. 
 So the master of this galley asked the AN'elsh slave, who 
 had far more experiencB and seamanship than he pos- 
 sessed himself, if it were possible to save the vessel. 
 Gwynn saw an oportunity for which he had been waiting 
 eleven years. He was ready to improve it. He pointed 
 out to the captain the hopelessness of attempting to 
 overtake the Armada. They should go down, he said, 
 as the Diana had already done, and as the Princess was 
 like at any moment to do, unless they took in every rag 
 of sail, and did their best with their oars to gain the 
 nearest port. But in order that the rowers might exert 
 themselves lo the utmost, it was necessary that the 
 
 1 Herrera, Strada^Bor, Meteren, Camdon, Camero Coloma, Barrow, ubi sup. 
 
 « Bor, iii, 322 seg. 
 
448 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XIX. 
 
 i! 
 
 soldiers, who were a useless incumbrance on deck, should 
 go below. Thus only could the ship be properly handled. 
 The captain, anxious to save his ship and his life, con- 
 sented. Most of the soldiers were sent beneath the 
 hatches : a few were ordered to sit on the benches among 
 the slaves. Now there had been a secret understanding 
 for many days among these unfortunate men, nor were 
 tliey wholly without weapons. They had been accus- 
 tomed to make toothpicks and other trifling articles for 
 sale out of broken sword-blades and other refuse bits of 
 steel. There was not a man among them who had not 
 thus provided himself with a secret stiletto.^ 
 
 At first Gwynn occupied himself with arrangements 
 for weathering the gale. So soon, however, as the ship 
 liad been made comparatively easy, he looked around 
 him, suddenly threw down his cap, and raised his hand 
 to the rigging. It was a preconcerted signal. The next 
 instant he stabbed the captain to the heart, while each 
 one of the galley-slaves killed the soldier nearest him ; 
 then, i-ushing below, they surprised and overpowered 
 the rest of the troops, and put them all to death.* 
 
 Coming again upon deck, David Gwynn descried the 
 fourth galley of the squadron, called the Royal, com- 
 manded by Commodore Medrado in person, bearing 
 down upon them, before the wind. It was obvious that 
 the Vasana was already an object of suspicion. 
 
 " Comrades," said Gwynn, " God has given us libei-ty, 
 and by our courage we must prove ourselves worthy of 
 
 the boon." * 
 
 As he spoke there came a broadside from the galley 
 Royd which killed nine of his crew. David, nothing 
 daunted, laid his ship close alongside of tlie Royal, with 
 such a shock that the timbers quivered again. Then, 
 at the head of his liberated slaves, now thoroughly 
 armed, he dashed on board the galley, and, after a furious 
 conflict, in which he was assisted by the slaves of the 
 Royal, succeeded in mastering the vessel, and putting all 
 the Spanish soldiei-s to death. This done, the combined 
 rowers, welcoming Gwynn as their deliverer from an 
 abject slavery which seemed their lot for life, willingly 
 accepted his orders. The gale had meantime abated, 
 and the two galleys, well conducted by the experienced 
 
 I Uor, iii. 322 it(i. 
 
 » Ibid. 
 
 8 Ibid. 
 
 1588. 
 
 EXPLOITS OF DAVID GWYNN. 
 
 449 
 
 and intrepid Welshman, made their way to the coast of 
 Fmnce, and landed at Bayonne on the 3 1st, dividino- 
 aniong them ihe property found on board the two galleys'! 
 Thence, by land, the fugitives, four hundred and sixty- 
 six m number-Frenchmen, Spaniards, Englishmen, 
 lurks, and Moore— made their way to Kochelle. Gwynn 
 had an interview with Henry of Navarre, and received 
 from that chivalrous king a handsome present. After- 
 wards he found his way to England, and was well com- 
 mended by the Queen. The rest of the liberated slaves 
 dispersed m various directions.* 
 
 I'his was the first adventure of the invincible Annada. 
 Of the squadron of galleys, one was already sunk in the 
 sea, and two of the others had been conquered by their 
 own slaves. The fourth rode out the gale with difficulty 
 
 re- 
 put 
 „ ., . - , ^ijon, and other northern 
 
 ports of Spain.* At the Groyne-a^ the English of that 
 day were accustomed to call Comna— they remained a 
 month, repairing damages and recruiting ; and on the 
 22nd of July« (N.S.) the Armada set sail. Six days 
 later, the Spaniards took soundings, thirty leagues from 
 the SciUy Islands, and on Friday, the 29th of July ofl* 
 the Lizard,-* they had their first glimpse of the land of 
 promise presented them by Sixtus Y., of which they 
 had at last come to take possession. 
 
 On the same day and night the blaze and smoke of 
 ten thousand beacon-fires from the Land's End to Mar- 
 gate, and from the Isle of Wight to Cumberland, gave 
 wai-ning to every Englishman that the enemy was at 
 last upon them. Almost at that veiy instant intelli- 
 gence had been brought from the court to the Lord- 
 Admiral at Plymouth, that the Armada, dispersed and 
 shattered by the gales of June, was not likely to make 
 Its appearance that year; and orders had consequently 
 
 » Bor. Metcren. xv. 272. Compare Cam- 
 
 den Iv. 410, wbo had beard, bowever, 
 
 / nothing but the name of Gwynn. and 
 
 / who speaks of the " trtackcry of the 
 
 ^ Turkish rowers." (!) 
 
 * Herrera, HI. iji, 94. 
 ' Medina Sidonia from bis galleon San 
 Mnrtin to Parma. 25 July, 1586. (Arch. 
 d.' Sim. MS.) 
 VOL. II. 
 
 The dates in the narrative will be 
 always piven according to the New Style, 
 then already adopted by Spain, Holland* 
 and France, although not by England. 
 The dates thus given are, of course, ten 
 days later^than they appear in contem- 
 porary English record?. 
 
 * llerrera, uld sup. 
 
 2 Q 
 
450 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XIX. 
 
 been given to disarm the four largest ships, and send 
 them into dock.' Even Walsingham, as already stated, 
 had participated in this strange delusion.* 
 
 Before Howard had time to act npon this ill-tiraod 
 suggestion— even had he been disposed to do so— he 
 received authentic intelligence that the great fleet was 
 off the Lizard. Neither he nor Francis Drake were 
 the men to lose time in such an emergency, and before 
 that Friday night was spent, sixty of the best English 
 ships had been warped out of Plymouth harbour.^ 
 
 On Saturday, 30th July, the wind was very light at 
 south-west, with a mist and drizzling rain,* but by three 
 in the afternoon the two fleets could descry and count 
 each other through the haze.* 
 
 By nine o'clock, lilst July, about two miles from 
 liOoe,' on the Cornish coast, the fleets had their meet- 
 ing. There were 136 sail of the Spaniards, of which 
 ninety were large ships, and sixty-seven of the English.' 
 It was a solemn moment. The long-expected Armada 
 presented a pompous, almost a theatrical appearance. 
 The ships seemed arranged for a pageant in honour of 
 a victory already won. Disposed in form of a crescent, 
 the horns of which were seven miles asunder, those 
 gilded, towered, floating castles, with their gaudy 
 standards and their martial music, moved slowly along 
 the channel, with an air of indolent pomp. Their 
 captain-general, the Golden Duke, stood in his private 
 shot-proof fortress,"* on the deck of his great galleon the 
 SiiiHt Martin, surrounded by generals of infantry and 
 colonels of cavalry, who knew as little as he did himself 
 of naval matters. The English vessels, on the other 
 hand— with a few exceptions, light, swift, and easily 
 handled— could sail round and round those unwieldy 
 galleons, hulks, and galleys rowed by fettered slave- 
 gangs. The superior seamanship of free Englishmen, 
 commanded by such experienced captains as Drake, 
 
 1 Meteren, xt. 272. Camden. HI. 410. 
 Mnrdin. 615-621. Tbe ships were the 
 Triumph, White Bftar, ElizaMh, Jonat, 
 and Vietary. Livgard, vili. 280. 
 
 * Walsingham to Sir Ed. 
 
 July, 1.188. (a P. Offlw MS.) 
 
 » Herrera, uW tup. Howard to Wal- 
 singham, — July. 1588, in Barruw, 230. 
 
 * Herrera, 101. 
 
 * Ibid. Howard to Walsingham. uhi 
 sup. 
 
 e R Tomson to — 
 
 so July, 
 
 Norri^ - 
 
 (S, P. Office MS.) 
 
 7 Ibid. 
 
 8 Meuren, xv. 274. 
 
 9 Aug. 
 
 1588. 
 
 1388. FIRST EXGAGEMENTS IN ENGLISH CHANNEL. 451 
 
 Frobisher, and navvkjns-from infancy at home on blue 
 water-was manifest m the veiy first encounter. They 
 obtained the weather-gage at once, and cannonaded the 
 enemy at intervals with considerable effect, easily 
 escaping at will out of range of tlie sluggish Armada 
 which was incapable of bearing ,.ail in pu^Juit, althou4 
 provided with an armament which could si;k all its 
 enemies at clo^ quarters. " We had some small fi-ht 
 with them that Sunday afternoon," said Hawkins ' ^ 
 
 f r. A .v! '^ ,''"'f '^'^ ""^ '•":>»1 standard at tlie 
 
 httle to offer general battle It was in vain. The 
 l^nghsh, fol owing at the heels of the enemy, refused all 
 such invitations, and attacked <,nly the /ear-guard of 
 the Armada, where Recalde commmukd. That Admiral 
 steadily maintaining his post, faced liis nimble anta- 
 gonists, who contmued to teaze, to maltreat, and to 
 elude hin, while the rest of the fleet proceeded slowly 
 "P the Channel, closely followed by the enemy. And 
 !iw o? ™'""S fgl^' ^""tinued along the coast, in full 
 view of riymouth, whence boats with reinforcements 
 and volunteers were peipetually awiving to the English 
 ships, until the battle had drifted quite out of read, of 
 the town. 
 
 l.i^'T^^r ^^"^ ^'1 "'.'^^^^ ^Slit" the Spaniards had 
 earned a lesson, and might even entertain a doubt of 
 their invincibility. But before the sun set there were 
 serious disasters. Much powder and .hot had 
 e^xpended by the Spaniards to veJy little purpose and 
 so a master-gunner on board Admiral Oquendo's flan;. 
 *^liip was reprimanded for careless ball-practice Tho 
 
 U^Til ' ? T ^ ^^f ""^g' ^^^^^ged with his captain, 
 iciid d train to tlie powder-magazine, fired it, and threw 
 himself into the sea.« The two decks blew up The 
 
 whf ?!' '* *''" '^"'^ ''''^ ^"^^ ^^^ ^^^"^«' Carrying 
 with it the paymaster-general of the fleet, a large poi - 
 
 T on of treasure, and nearly two hundred mon « 'ITio 
 
 'Miip was a wreck, but it was possible to save the rest c f 
 
 tlie crew. So Medina Sidonia sent light .-^^I^ ^f 
 
 'Hawkins to Walsingham ^Li^, (S. P. Office MS.) 
 IS'^S. (S.P.0fficeMS.) *'"^- ..' "^'-f^ra. III. Hi. 100.102. CarodciL 
 
 ^ Report of certain Marlher«. Aug. 15S8. "'•'''• ^'"''"•323. 
 
 2 G 2 
 

 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XIX. 
 
 remove them, and wore with his flagship, to defend 
 Oquendo, who had already been fastened upon by his 
 English pursuers. But the Spaniards, not being so 
 light in hand as their enemies, involved themselves in 
 much emburrassment by this manoeuvre ; and there was 
 much falling fonl of each other, entanglement of 
 rigging, and carrying away of yards. Oquendo's men, 
 however, were ultimately saved, and taken to other 
 
 ships.* 
 
 Meantime Don Pedro do Valdez, commander of the 
 Andalusian squadron, having got his galleon into col- 
 lision with two or three Spaaish ships successively, had 
 at last carried away his fore-mast close to the deck, and 
 the wreck had fallen against his main-mast. He lay 
 crippled and helpless, the Armada was slowly deserting 
 him, night was coming on, the sea was running high, 
 and the English, ever hovering near, were ready to 
 grapple with him. In vain did Don Pedro fire signals 
 of distress. The captain-general — even as though the un- 
 lucky galleon had not been connected with the Catholic 
 fleet — calmly fired a gun to collect his scattered ships, 
 and abandoned Valdez to his fate. " He left me com- 
 fortless in sight of the whole fleet," said poor Pedro, 
 **and greater inhumanity and unthankfulness I think 
 was never heard of among men." * . 
 
 Yet the Spaniard comported himself most gallantly. 
 Frobisher, in the largest ship of the English fleet, the 
 Tnumph, of 1100 tons, and Hawkins in the Victory, of 
 800, cannonaded him at a distance, but, night coming 
 on, he was able to resist ; and it was not till the follow- 
 ing morning that he surrendered to the Revenge.^ 
 
 Drake then received the gallant prisoner on board his 
 flagship— much to the disgust and indignation of Fro- 
 bisher and Hawkins, thus disappointed of their prizc- 
 
 1 Herrara. III. III. 100-102. Camden, 
 iii. 412. Bor. ili. 323. 
 
 2 Valdez to Philip II. (" Englished "), 
 31 Aug. 158t». (S. P. Office MS.) Com- 
 pare Herrera, Bor, Camden, ubi sup. 
 
 3 MS, letter of VaMez before cited. 
 Bor, Camden, uW iup. Meteren, xv. 272. 
 Herrera, III. 111. 100-102, who draws en- 
 tirely from the journal of a Spanish offi- 
 cer In the Armada, and who calls the 
 two famous English naval commtmdcrs, 
 
 Frobesquerio and Avesnlsio. 
 
 Many EnjjUsh names look almost as 
 strangely In their Spanish dress as these 
 two familiar ones of Frobisher and Haw- 
 kins. Thus l)r. Bartholomew Clerk is 
 called, for some mysterious reason, I>r. 
 Quiberich; Col. Patton becomes Col. 
 Reyton ; while Lord High Admiral How- 
 ard of Effingham figures in the chroni- 
 cles as Carlos Haurat, Count of ContulxT- 
 land. Herrera, Hi. p. 49. 
 
 1588. CONSIDERABLE LO.^SES OF THE SPANIARDS. 453 
 
 and ransom-money'-treated him with much courtesy 
 and gave his word of lionour that he and his men should 
 be treated fairly, like good prisoners of war. ^^his 
 pledge wa^ redeemed, for it was not the English, as it 
 was the bpanish custom, to convert captives into slaves 
 but only to hold them for ransom. Valdez responded 
 •to Drakes politeness by kissing his hand, embracing 
 him, and overpowering him with magnificent compli- 
 ments. He was then sent on board the Lord-Admiral 
 who received him with similar urbanity, and expressed 
 his regret that so distinguished a personage should have 
 been so coolly deserted by the Duke of Medina. Don 
 redro then returned to the Revenge, where, as the guest 
 ot Drake, he was a witness to all subsequent events up 
 to the 10th of August, on which day he was sent to 
 London with some other officers,^ Sir Francis claimins: 
 his ramsom as his lawful due.* 
 
 Here certainly was no very trimphant beginning for 
 the Invincible Armada. On the very first day of their 
 being in presence of the English fleet— then but sixty- 
 seven in number, and vastly their inferior in size and 
 weight of metal— they had lost tlie flagships of the 
 Guipuzcoan and of the Andalusian squadrons, with a 
 general-admiral, 450 officers and men, and some 100 GOO 
 ducats of treasure. They had been out-manoeuvred 
 out-sailed, and thoioughly maltreated by their anta- 
 gonists, and they had been unable to inflict a sino-le 
 blow m return. Thus the » small fight " had been a 
 cheerful one for the opponents of the Inquisition, and 
 the Lnghsh were propurtionably encouraged. 
 
 On Monday, 1st of August, Medina Sidonia placed 
 the rear-guard— consisting of the galeasses, the galleons, 
 ^t MattJiew, St. Luke, St. James, and the Floretwe, and 
 other ships, forty-tbree in all— under command of Don 
 Antonio de Leyva. He was instructed to entertain the 
 enemy-j-so constantly hanging on the rear— to accept 
 every chance of battle, and to come to close quarters 
 whenever it should be possible. The Spaniards felt 
 conhdent of sinking ever}^ ship in the English iiavi^ if 
 they could but once come to grappling; but it was 
 
 ' See pape 498, note \ , ^ ^, ,„. 
 
 2 Meteren, Bor, uW sup. ^''''^^ **" Walsingliam, 'j^, 1588, 
 
 in Barrow, p, 303. * Ibid. 
 
454 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XIX. 
 
 growinf^ more obvious every hour that the giving or 
 withholding battle was entirely in the hands of their 
 foes. Meantime — while the rear was thus protected by 
 Leyva's division — the vanguard and main body of the 
 Aimada, led by the captain-general, would steadily 
 pursue its way, according to the royal instructions, 
 until it arrived at its appointed meeting-place with 
 the Duko of Farnia. Moreover, the Duke of Medina, 
 dissatisfied with the want of discipline and of good 
 (Seamanship hitherto displayed in his fleet, now took 
 occasion to send a serjeant-major, with wiitten sailing 
 directions, on board each ship in ihe Armada, witli 
 express orders to hang every captain, without appeal 
 or consultation, who should leave the position assigned 
 him ; and the hangmen were sent with the serjeant- 
 majors to ensure immediate attention to these arrange- 
 ments.* Juan Gil was at the same time sent off in a 
 sloop to the Duke of Parma, to carry the news of the 
 movements of the Aimada, to request information as to 
 the exact spot and moment of the junction, and to beg 
 for pilots acquainted with the French and Flemish 
 coasts. " In case of the slightest gale in the world," 
 said Medina, " I don't know how or where to shelter 
 such large ships as ours." * 
 
 Disposed in this manner, the Spaniards sailed leisurely 
 along the English coast with light westerly breezes, 
 watched closely by the Queen's fleet, which hovered at 
 a moderate distance to windward, without offering, that 
 day, any obstruction to their course. 
 
 By five o'clock on Tuesday morning, 2nd of August, 
 the Armada lay between Portland Bill and St. Alban's 
 Tue8.,2 Aug. Head, when the wind shifted to the north-east, 
 
 ^^^^- and gave the Spaniards the weather-gage.* 
 The English did their best to get to windward, but the 
 Ihikc, standing close into the land with the whole 
 Armada, maintained his advantage. The English then 
 went about, making a tack seaward, and were soon after- 
 wards assaulted by the Spaniards. A long and spirited 
 action ensued. Howard in his little Ark Rmjal — *' the 
 
 » Herrera, III. 111. 105. "Sin replica to P&nna, 2 Aug. 1688. (Arch de 
 
 nl consulta," &c. Sim. MS.) 
 
 2 "Conelmenor temporal del mundo ' Declaration of the Proceedings of 
 
 oon se sabe donde se puedcn abrigar the two Fle«'ts, July 19-31 (O.S.), 1588. 
 
 mm tan grandes." Medina Sidonia (S. P. Office MS.) Herrera, 111. lit 1(J6. 
 
 1588. ] GENERAL ENGAGEMENT NEAR PORTLAND. 455 
 
 odd ship of the world for all conditions "—was engaged 
 at different times with Bertendona, of the Italian 
 squadron, with Alonzo de Leyva in the Ratta, and with 
 other large vessels. He was hard pressed for a time 
 but was gallantly supported by the Nonpareil Captain 
 lanner ; and after a long and confused combat, in wliich 
 the bt. Mark, the St. Luke, the St. Matthew, the St. Philip 
 the St. John, ihe St. Jame.^ the St. John- Baptist, the St 
 Martin and many other great galleons, with saintly and 
 apostolic names, fought pell-mell with the Lion, the 
 hear, the Bull, the Tiger, the Dreadnought, the Revenge, the 
 \ ictory, the Triumph, and other of the more profanely- 
 baptized English sliips, the Spaniards were again baffled 
 m all their attempts to close with, and to board, their 
 ever-attacking, ever-flying adversaries. The cannon- 
 ading^ was incessant. " We had a sharp and a long 
 hght, said Hawkins.' Boat-loads of men and munitions 
 were perpetually arriving to the English, and many 
 high-bom volunteers— like Cumberland, Oxford, North- 
 umberland, Raleigh, Brooke, Dudley, Willoughby, Noel, 
 William Hatton, Thomas Cecil, and others-could no 
 longer restrain their impatience, as the roar of battle 
 sounded along the coasts of Dorset, but flocked merrily 
 on board the ships of Drake, Hawkins. Howard, and 
 J^robisher, or came in small vessels which they had 
 chartered for themselves, in order to have their share in 
 the delights of the long-expected struggle.* 
 
 The action, irregular, desultory, but lively, continued 
 nearly all day, and until the English had fired away 
 most of their powder and shot.=* The Spaniards, too, 
 notwithstanding their years of preparation, were already 
 short of light metal, and Medina Sidonia had been daily 
 sending to Parma for a supply of four, six, and ten pound 
 balls. So much lead and gunpowder had never before 
 been wasted in a single day ; for there was no great 
 damage inflicted on either side. The artillery practice 
 wa^ certainly not much to the credit of either nation. 
 
 *' If her Majesty's ships had been manned with a full 
 
 1 Hawklna to Walslngham, -'i^ «"/'• 
 
 1588 rs P rvffl.^ Mv.^ J*"^"*^- ' MS. Utter of Hawkins last cited. "• 
 
 III 111 uifi-L ^ !f. • "':!"■*• * **^'"* «*'*'>"»* to Pamm. 2 Aug. 
 
 ren vv tl o ^/v"^ '''• ^^'^- l^^''' (^rch. de Sim. MS.) Herrerf^ 
 
 twl ^\ ^''^^' "'• '*12.413. III. lU. 108. ^ ^ 
 
 ' tterrera, Bor, Meteren, Camden, ubi 
 
456 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XIX. 
 
 supply of good gimners," said honest William Thomas 
 an old artilTeryirfan, - it wonld have been the woefullest 
 time ever the Spaniard took in hand, and the most noble 
 victory ever heard of wonkl have been her Majesty s 
 But our sins were the cause that so miich powder and 
 shot were spent, so long time in fight, and m comparison 
 so little harm done. It were greatly to be wished^that 
 her Majesty were no longer deceived m this way. 
 
 Yet the English, at any rate, had succeeded m dis- 
 playing their seamanship, if not their gimnery, to ad- 
 vantege. In vain the unwieldy hulks and galleons had 
 attempted to grapple with their l^g^^T^^S!;^ ^^^^' 1^,^ 
 pelted them, braved them, damaged their sails and geai- 
 ing, and then danced lightly off into the distance ; until 
 at last, as night fell, the wind came out from the west 
 again, and the English regained and kept the weather- 
 
 ^fhe Queen's fleet, now divided into four squadrons, 
 under Howard, Drake, Hawkins, and Frobisher 
 amounted to near one hundred sail, exclusive of Lord 
 Henry Seymour's division, which was cruising in the 
 Straits of Dover. But few of all this number were ships 
 of war, however, and the merchant vessels, although 
 zealous and active enough, were not thought very effec- 
 tive " If vou had seen the simple service done by the 
 merchants ^nd coast ships," said Winter, - you would 
 have said we had been little holpen by them, otherwise 
 than that they did make a show." • ^ ^ 
 
 All night the Spaniards, holding their course towards 
 Calais, after the long but indecisive conflict had ter- 
 minated, were closely pursued by their wary 
 !^::^ antagonists. On Wednesday, 3rd of August 
 1588. xliQVG was some slight cannonading, with but 
 slender results; and on Thursday, the 4th, b.>th fleets 
 were off Dunnose, on the Isle of A\ ight. The great 
 hulk Smtana and a galleon of Port^igal, having been 
 somewhat damaged the previous day, were^ lagging 
 behind the rest of the Armada, and were vigorously 
 
 1 WUllam Tliomas. master-crunner of ^^ Burghley. ^^ 1588. (S. P. Office 
 Flashing (who much annplalnod Uiat 
 
 the loss of Its charter by the worehip- Mh.) ^ 
 
 ful corporation of Rtmners. founded 2 sir W. Whiter to Walslngham, - 
 by Henry VIH.. had caused Its de- p ^^ j^g.) 
 
 ci'.iindmuchmlschlef to consequence), ^"S- "^ "^ 
 
 1588. SUPERIOR SEAMANSHIP OF THE ENGLISH. 457 
 
 attacked by the Tnumph and a few other vessels. Don 
 Antonio de Ley va, with some of the galeasses and large 
 galleons, came to the rescue, and Frobisher, although in 
 much peril, maintained an unequal conflict, within close 
 range, with great spirit.* 
 
 Seeing his danger, the Lord Admiral in the Ark Royal 
 accompanied by the Golden Liov, the White Bear, the 
 Elizaheth, the Victory, and the Leicester, bore boldly down 
 into the very midst of the Spanish fleet, and laid himself 
 withm three or four hundred yards of Medina's flag- 
 ship, the St. MaHin, while his comrades were at equally 
 close quarters with Vice-Admiral Recalde and the gal- 
 leons of Oquendo, Mexia, and Almanza. It was the 
 hottest conflict which had yet taken place.* Here at 
 last was thorough English work. The two great fleets, 
 which were there to subjugate and to defend the realm 
 of Elizabeth, were nearly yard-arm and yard-arm toge- 
 ther—all England on the lee. Broadside after broadside 
 of great guns, volley after volley of arquebusry from 
 maintop and rigging, were warmly exchanged, and much 
 daniage was inflicted on the Spaniards, whose gigantic 
 ships were so easy a mark to aim at, while from their 
 turreted heights they themselves fired for the most part 
 harmlessly over the heads of their adversaries. The 
 leaders of the Annada, however, were encouraged, for 
 they expected at last to come to even closer quarters, 
 and there were some among the English who were mad 
 enough to wish to board. 
 
 But so soon as Frobisher, who was the hero of the 
 day, had extricated himself from his difficulty, the 
 Lord- Admiral— having no intention of risking the 
 existence of his fleet, and with it perhaps of the English 
 crown, upon the hazard of a single battle, and having 
 
 been himself somewhat damaged in the fight gave the 
 
 signal for retreat, and caused the Ark Moyal to be towed 
 out of action. Thus the Spaniards were frustrated of 
 their hopes, and the English, having inflicted much 
 punishment at comparatively small loss to themselves, 
 again stood off to windward, and the Armada continued 
 it>< indolent course along the cliffs of Fieshwater and 
 Blackgang.* « 
 
 J Declaration of the.Procoedlnjfs. Ac. Camden, wfti «mj>. 
 (MS. before cited.) Bor, Henrera, Meteren, 2 Ibid. 
 
 » Ibid. 
 
453 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XIX. 
 
 On Friday, 5th Angiist, the English, having received 
 men and munitions from shore, pursued their antagonists 
 Fri..5Atig. at a moderate distance ; and the Lord- Admiral, 
 {588. profiting by the pause — for it was almost a flat 
 calm— sent for IVIartin Frobisher, John Hawkins, Roger 
 Townsend, Lord lliomas Howard, son of the Duke of 
 Norfolk, and Lord Edmund Sheffield, and on the deck 
 of the Royal Ark conferred the honour of knighthood 
 on each for his gallantry in the action of the previous 
 day.' Medina Sidonia, on his part, was again despatch- 
 ing messenger after messenger to the Duke of Parma, 
 asking for small shot, pilots, and forty fly-boats, with 
 which to pursue the teasing English clippers.* Ihe 
 Catholic Armada, he said, being so large and heavy 
 was quite in the power of its adversaries, who could 
 assault, retreat, fight, or leave ofif fighting, while he 
 had nothing for it but to proceed, as expeditiously as 
 might be, to his rendezvous in Calais roads. 
 
 And in Calais roads the great fleet— sailing slowly all 
 Sat.. 6 Aug. next day in company with the English, with- 
 1588. out a shot being fired on either side— at last 
 dropped anchor on Saturday afternoon, August 6th. ^ 
 
 Here, then, the Invincible Armada had anived at its 
 appointed resting-place. Here the great junction of 
 Medina Sidonia with the Duke of Tarma was to be 
 effected, and now at last the curtain was to nse upon the 
 last act of the great drama so slowly and elaborately 
 
 prepared. , .r^ o j 
 
 That Saturday afternoon, Lord Henry Seymour and 
 his squadron of sixteen lay between Dungeness and 
 Folkestone, waiting the approach of the two fleets. He 
 spoke several coasting-vessels coming from the west ; 
 but they could give him no information— strange to say 
 —either of the Spaniards or of his own countrymen.^ 
 Seymour, having hardly three days' provision in his 
 fleet, thought that there might be time to take in sup- 
 plies, and so bore into the Downs. Hardly had he been 
 there half an hour, when a pinnace arrived from the 
 Lord- Admiral, with orders for Lord Henry's squadron 
 
 1 Camden, Hi. 414. Bor, III. 323, , ^.^ ^ Winter* to WalslnRliam. -J 
 
 324 
 
 2 Medina Sidonia to P iraia, 4 Aug. Aug. 15SS. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 1588. (Arch, de Sim. MS.) 
 
 1588. 
 
 BOTH FLEETS OFF CALAIS. 
 
 459 
 
 to hold Itself in readiness. There was no longer time for 
 victualling and very soon afterwards the order was given 
 to make sail and bear fur the French coast. The wind 
 was, however, so light that tl.e whole day was spent be- 
 fore Seymour with his ships could cross the Channd. At 
 last, towards seven in the evening, he saw the great 
 nnpTf fr'?^ ^"^'^'^ "I^ ^'^ ^ balf-moon, and riding at 
 J^^, Afn]'"^^ ^^7 ''^^'' ^^^^^ other-a little to the 
 eastward of Calais, and very near the shore.' The Encr- 
 lish, under Howard, Drake, Frobisher, and Hawkin'l 
 were slowly following, and-so soon as Lord Henry 
 arriving from the opposite sliore, had made his junction 
 with them-the wliole combined fleet dropped anchor 
 
 halt of the Spaniards. That invincible force had at last 
 almost reached itj destination. It was now to recei^ 
 the co-operation of the great Famese, at the head of an 
 Z'^^L 7^^'^''^' disciplined on a hundred battle-fields, 
 confident from countless victories, and anayed, as they 
 bri^lln?""' ^f.^^tf ?^s splendour, to follow the mos^t 
 biilliant general m Christendom on his triumphal march 
 mto the capital of England. The long-threaLedTua 
 sion was no longer an idle figment of "politicians, mall 
 Clous y spread abroad to poison men's minds as to the 
 intentions of a long-enduring but magiianimous, and on 
 he whole friendly sovereign, llie inask had been a^ 
 last thrown down, and the mild accents of rhilin's 
 diplomatists and their English dupes, interchanging 
 protocols so decorously month after month on the sinds 
 ot Bourbourg, had been drowned by the peremntorv 
 
 m upon their placid conferences. It had now becomi 
 supererogatory^ to ask for Alexander's word of honour 
 Tr wl /v.^ l^'^ ^'^^'* ^^^'^ ^^ ^'^''^'^^^^ Allan's pamphlet. 
 Q^^^£:tir'''' contemplated hostilities a^^ainst 
 
 Never, since England was England, had such a sight 
 been seen as now revealed itself in those narrow strlits 
 between Dover and Calais. Along that long, low, sandy 
 shore, and quite within the range'of the Calais forS 
 
 ^^ iL''''^^"^'^^^^ ^^^ ^^'^^y Sp^^i«h ships-tiie greater 
 number of them the largest and most heavily armed in 
 
 » Sir W. Winter to Walsingham, just cited. 
 
460 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XIX. 
 
 the world-lay face to face, and scarcely out of cannon- 
 Bbot. with one hundred and fifty English sloops and 
 frigates, the strongest and swiftest that the •''lYirw 
 furaish, and commanded by men whose exploits had 
 nintr throuo"li the world. , ^ , 
 
 fJ^^^llon^ the coast, invisible but l^'-wn to be 
 
 performing a most perilous and .^^t^V'^'''''?.'nfh the 
 squadron of Dutch vessels of all sizes, lining bo h the 
 inner and outer edges of the sandbanks off the Flemish 
 coasts, and swarming in all the estuaries and mlets of 
 that intricate and dangerous cruismg-ground between 
 
 Dunkirk and Walcheren. Th-^^fl^f ^^ .^^^^^^^^^ 
 Zeeland, numbering some one hundred and fifty g^^lleons 
 8loops, and fly-boate, under Warmond, Nassau Van der 
 Does, de Moor, and Rosendael, lay patiently blockading 
 every possible egress from Newport, or Gravelines, or 
 ^iTyror Flushinl, or Dunkirk, and longing to g^^^^^^^^^ 
 with the Duke of Fai-ma,' so soon as his fleet of gunboate 
 and hoys, packed with his Spanish and Italian veterans, 
 XuW vc^nture to set forth upon the sea for their long- 
 
 nritT^tpous spectacle, that mid.immer night 
 ,ipon those naiTow sea^. Tlie moon whidi was at the 
 full was rising calmly upon a scene of anxious expecta- 
 tion. Would s"ie- not be looking, by the morrow's night, 
 upon a subjugated England a re-enslaved Holland^^ 
 upon the downfoll of civil and religious liberty ? Those 
 ships of Spain, which lay there with their banners 
 wavincr in the moonlight, discharging salvoes of antici- 
 pated triumph and filfing the air with strains of insolent 
 fnusic, would they not, by daybreak, be ^lovrng str^^^^^^ 
 to their pui-pose, bearing the conquerors of the world to 
 the scene of their cherished hopes ? 
 
 That English fleet, too, which rode there at anchor so 
 anxiously on the watch-^would that swarm of nimble 
 li^vUtly-handled. but slender vessels, which had held 
 their own hitherto in hurried and desultory skirmishes-- 
 be able to cope with their great antagonist now that the 
 moment had anived for the death grapple? Wo^^^ not 
 Howard, Drake, Frobisher, Seymour, W inter, and Haw- 
 kins, be swept out of the stmits at last yielding an open 
 pass^e to Medina, Oquendo, Kecalde, and Farnese ^ 
 
 I Box, IVL 321 teq. Meteren, xv. 272, 273. _ 
 
 1588. 
 
 PROJECT OF HOWARD AND WINTER. 
 
 4G1 
 
 Would those Hollanders and Zeelanders, cruising so 
 vigilantly among their treacherous shallows, dare to 
 maintain their post, now that the terrible " Holofernese," 
 with his invincible legions, was resolved to come forth? 
 So soon as he had cast anchor, Howard despatched a 
 pinnace to the Vanguard, with a message to Winter to 
 come on board the flagship.^ When Sir W illiam reached 
 the Ark, it was already nine in the evening. He was 
 anxiously consulted by the Lord-Admiral as to the couise 
 now to be taken. Hitherto the English had been teasino- 
 and perplexing an enemy, on the retreat, as it were, by 
 the nature of his instructions. Although anxious to o-ive 
 battle, the Spaniard was forbidden to descend upon'^the 
 coast until after his junction with Parma. So the Eng- 
 lish had played a comparatively easy game, hangin'g 
 upon their enemy's skirts, maltreating him as they 
 doubled about him, cannonading him from a distance 
 and slipping out of his reach at their pleasure. But he 
 was now to be met face to face, and the fate of the two 
 free commonwealths of the world was upon the issue of 
 the struggle, which could no longer be deferred. 
 
 Winter, standing side by side with the Lord-Admiral 
 on the deck of the little Ark Royal, gazed for the fiist 
 time on those enormous galleons and galleys with which 
 his companion was already sufficiently familiar. 
 
 *' Considering their hugeness," said he, "'twill not be 
 possible to remove them but by a device." * 
 
 Then remembering, in a lucky moment, somethino- 
 that he had heard four years before of the fire-ships seni 
 by the Antwerpers against Parma's bridge— the inventor 
 of which, the Italian Gianibelli,was at that very moment 
 constructing fortifications on the Thames * to assist the 
 English against his old enemy Famese— Winter sug- 
 gested that some stratagem of the same kind should be 
 attempted against the Invincible Armada.* There was 
 no time nor opportunity to prepare such submarine vol- 
 (^noes as had been employed on that memorable occa- 
 sion ; but burning ships at least might be sent among 
 the fleet. Some damage would doubtless be thus in- 
 
 cit'ed ^ '"^^"^ ^ Walsingbara, MS. already * Thus distinctly stated by Sir Wm. 
 
 * ll.ld. Winter, In his admirable letter of - 
 
 * MetercD, xv. 2:i • Aug. (MS. already cited.) 
 
462 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XIX. 
 
 flictcd by the fire, and perhaps a panic, suggested by 
 momories of Antwei-p and by the knowledge that the 
 fliinous Mantnan wizard was then a resident of England, 
 would be still more eftective. In Winter's opinion, the 
 Armada might at least be compelled to slip its cables, 
 and be thrown into some confusion if the project were 
 fairly carried out. 
 
 Howard approved of the device, and determined to 
 hold, next morning, a council of war for arranging the 
 details of its execution.^ 
 
 While the two sat in the cabin, conversing thus 
 earnestly, there had well nigh been a serious misfortune. 
 The ship White Bear, of 1000 tons burthen, and three 
 others of the English fleet, all tangled together, came 
 drifting with the tide against the Ark. There were 
 many yards carried away, much tackle spoiled, and fur a 
 time there 'was great danger, in the opinion of \\' inter, 
 that some of the \ery best ships in the fleet would be 
 crippled and quite destroyed on the eve of a general en- 
 gagement. By alacrity and good handling, however, 
 the ships were separated, and the ill consequences of an 
 accident — such as had already proved fatal to several 
 Spanish vessels — were fortunately averted.* 
 
 Next day, Sunday, 7th August, the two great fleets 
 were still lying but a mile and a half apart, calmly 
 Sun., 7 Aug. gazing at each other, and rising and falling 
 i5>»8. at their anchors as idly as if some vast summer 
 regatta were the only purpose of that great assemblage 
 of shipping. Nothing as yet was heard of Farnese. 
 Thus far, at least, the Hollanders had held him at bay, 
 and there was still breathing-time before the catastrophe. 
 So Howard hung out his signal for council early in the 
 morning, and very soon after Drake and Hawkins, Sey- 
 mour. Winter, and the rest, were gravely consulting in 
 his cabin. ^ 
 
 1 Winter's Letter. MS. 
 
 It has been stated by many writers 
 —Camden, ill. 415, Meteron, xv. 2T3, 
 and others— that this project of the 
 fire-ships was directly commanded by 
 the Qusen. Others attribute the de- 
 vice to the Lord-Admiral (Bor, Hi. 
 324), or to Drake (Strada, \x. 559), 
 while Coloma (i. 7) prefers to regard 
 the whole matter as quite a trilling 
 
 accident, " harto peqiieiio accidente ; " 
 but there is no doubt that the merit 
 of the original suggestion belongs exclu- 
 sively to winter. To give the glory 
 of the achievement to her Mtgesty, 
 who knew nothing of it whatever, 
 was a most gratuitous exhibition of 
 loyalty. 
 
 •i Winter's Tetter. 3HS. 
 
 » Ibid. 
 
 1588. 
 
 IMrATIEXCE OF THE SPANIARDS. 
 
 4(33 
 It^was decided that Winter's suggestion should be 
 
 TotiTT- '''^- ^'' ^^'""'-y ralmerwas immediately 
 despatched m a pinnace to Dover, to bring off a number of 
 old vessels ht to be fired, together with f supply Thgh 
 T ; tar, rosin, .ulphur, and other combu.^les most 
 adapted to the purpose.^ But as time wore away, irbe- 
 came obviously impossible for Palmer to return that 
 nigh and it was determined to make the most of wha 
 could be collected in the fleet itself.^ Otherwise it was 
 to be leared that the opportunity might be for evcT lo 't 
 I arma, crushing all opposition, might suddenly appear 
 at any moment upon the Channel ; and the whole SiE 
 Arniada, placing itself between him and his enemies 
 would engage the English and Dutch fleets, and cTe; 
 "X^^J^^ ''--''' ^^- ^^ t- ^^te to think 
 On the other hand, upon the decks of the Armada 
 
 every W "V"^^''''"'' '^'f ^^^'^ ^^'^"^^ ^"-^"^--d 
 evciy hour. 1 he governor of Calais, M. de Gouidon, 
 
 had sent his nephew on board the flagship of Medina 
 Sidonia, with courteous salutations, professions of friend- 
 ship, and bountiful refreshments. There was no fear- 
 Tw.i I"''''' was for the time in the ascendancy- 
 fliat the sc^hemes of Philip would be interfered witlAy 
 
 incf T;!, A S^^^"^^^* ¥.^' however, sent serious warn- 
 ing of the dangerous position in which the Armada had 
 placed itse f. He was quite right. Calais roads were 
 no safe anchorage for huge vessels like those of Spain 
 and Poitugal; for the tides and cross-currents to S 
 they were exposed were most treacherous.^ It was calm 
 enough at the moment, but a westerly gale midit in a 
 ew hours, dnye the whole fleet hop^ssly ^ng^h^ 
 ^and_banks of the dangerous Flemish coast. Moreover 
 
 IndS' f^2^\!'^'jt^y -ell furnished with charts 
 and pilots lor the English coast, was comparatively un- 
 
 Cv'v T'""'' '^' ^r«^^^ "'^^'^^ might beset hfm off 
 gers, day after day, to Farnese, begging for a^-sistance 
 
 p e::;ron Th^ ^!5 ^'r^ .^"^ '^^^^-^ ^^^^^^^^ 
 
 presence on the field of action.* It was the time and 
 
 , Whiter. Utter. MS. ,588. 4 Aug. I58«. 5 Aug. 1588. 
 
 » Horrera, ITT. ,„ io8 !*"."* ^ ^'^'"'P ^'- ' ^"«- 1S««. 
 
 * Medina Sidunla to'rarma. 2 Aug. MS^)^' ' ^^'^- ^'. '^'^"^^' 
 
464 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XIX. 
 
 place for Alexander to assume the chief command. The 
 Armada was ready to make front against the English 
 fleet on the left, while on the right, the Duke, thus pro- 
 tected, might proceed across the Channel and take 
 possession of England. 
 
 And the impatience of the soldiers and sailors on 
 board the fleet was equal to that of their commanders. 
 There was London almost before their eyes— a huge 
 mass of treasure, richer and more accessible than those 
 mines beyond the Atlantic which had so often rewarded 
 Spanish chivalry with fabulous wealth. And there were 
 men in those galleons who remembered the sack of 
 Antwerp, eleven years before— men who could tell, from 
 personal experience, how helpless was a great conimer- 
 cial city, when once in the clutch of disciplined brigands 
 — men who, in that dread '' fury of Antwerp," had en- 
 riched themselves in an hour with the accumulations of 
 a merchant's life-time, and who had slain fathers and 
 mothers, sons and daughters, brides and bridegrooms, 
 before each other's eyes, until the number of inhabitants 
 butchered in the blazing streets rose to many thousands ; 
 and the plunder from palaces and warehouses was counted 
 by millions, before the sun had set on the *' gieat fury." 
 Those Spaniards, and Italians, and Walloons, were now 
 thirsting for more gold, for more blood; and as the 
 capital of England was even more wealthy and 'far more 
 defenceless than the commercial metropolis of the Nether- 
 lands had been, so it was resolved that the London " fury " 
 should be more thorough and more productive than the 
 **fury" of Antwerp, at the memory of which the world 
 still shuddered. And these ]>rofessiunal soldiers had 
 been taught to consider the English as a pacific, delicate, 
 effeminate race, dependent on good living, without ex- 
 perience of war, quickly fatigued and discouraged,' and 
 even more easily to be plundered and butchered than 
 were the excellent burghers of Antwei*p. 
 
 And so these southern conquerors looked down from 
 their great galleons and galeasses upon the English 
 vessels. More than three-quarters of them were mer- 
 chantmen. There was no comparison whatever between 
 the relative strength of the fleets. Tn number they were 
 about equal— being each from one himdred and thirty 
 
 » Examination of Don Diego de Hmeutel, In Bor, 111. 325, 326.. 
 
 1583. FIRE^HIPS SENT AGAINST THE ARMADA. 465 
 
 to one hundred and fifty strong,-but the Spaniards had 
 twice the tonnage of the English, four times the artillcr? 
 and nearly three times the number of men ' ' 
 
 Where was Farnese? Most imi^tiently the Golden 
 Duke paced the deck of the Saint Martin. Most eagerly 
 were thousands of eyes strained towards the eS 
 
 But the day wore on to it« close, and still the same 
 inexplicable and mysterious silence prevailed. ThZt 
 was utter solitude on the waters in the direction of 
 Gravelmes and Dunkirk-not a sail upon the ^an the 
 
 entered the LT ?'^' '"'*' P'"*""""''' ^"^ '' ^^^ never 
 entered the head of any man in the Armada that Alex- 
 ander could not come out when ho chose ' 
 
 And now to impatience succeeded suspicion and in- 
 dignation ; and there were curses upon sluggishneL a ml 
 upon treachery For, in the horrible afmosX^e of 
 
 epo h t ''!, "'"'^ ''' ^1^°'^'-<1« --i ItalianTof tha 
 lllTJVi'- ^"S'^ ™*" suspected his brother, and 
 already Medina Sidonia suspected Famese of playing 
 
 the Duke and the English commissioners at Bourboure 
 Ihere were hints that Alexander was playing hiVown 
 game, that he meant to divide the sovereignty of the 
 Netherlands with the heretic Elizabeth, to°desert his 
 
 f^JT! "f 'V^'^'j '^ P"*^'"^!*^- the destructL of 
 his master s Armada, and the downfall of his master's 
 sovereignty in the north. Men told each other too of 
 
 hJ«^! ^'IJ"""; """".e^'ng ^hich Alexander might 
 have received information, and in which many believed 
 
 ttroSn:,''"'?'!"!? *^^ ^^^^^' °f «-'«* -*i-« to 
 to Z J?;- i"*° ^""/'^e, so soon as he should appear, 
 
 ment an^ * ^''^TI '^^'''"' ^'^ ^ ^pain for punish: 
 tW f»nV ^Pn"^! *'"' ''"♦on of command in the hand of 
 Th,„ • .k"*^ Pastrana, Philip's bastard by the Eboli « 
 liZ'cZ ^f^'"'\°^ Alexander, all wa. Suspense and 
 triuZZ ■ ^^''J^'^^VOs^'^le that disaster instead of 
 
 the l^m^'.'" ?*°'".".*^"/ *'"^™ t'''-o"g»i the treachery of 
 the commander-m-chief. Four and twenty hours and 
 
 Sfh'^ tt^'"'' ^y'^'S in that dangerous roadstead 
 and although the weather had been calm and the sea 
 
 » Examination, &c.,1ast cited. 
 VOL. IX. 
 
 * Strada, II. x. 567, 568. 
 2 H 
 
466 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XIX. 
 
 tranquil, there seemed sometliing brooding in the atmos- 
 phere. 
 
 As the twilight deepened, the moon became totally 
 obscured, dark cloud-masses spread over the heavens, 
 the sea grew black, distant thunder rolled, and the sob 
 of an approaching tempest became distinctly audible.^ 
 Such indications of a westerly gale were not encouraging 
 to those cumbrous vessels, with the treacherous quick- 
 sands of Flanders under their lee. 
 
 At an hour past midnight, it was so dark that it was 
 difficult for the most practised eye to pierce far into the 
 gloom. But a faint drip of oars now struck the ears of 
 the Spaniards as they watched from the decks. A few 
 moments afterwards the sea became suddenly luminous, 
 and six flaming vessels appeared at a slight distance, 
 bearing steadily down upon them before the wind and 
 tide.* 
 
 There were men in the Armada who had been at the 
 siege of Antwei-p only three years before. They remem- 
 bered with horror the devil-ships of Gianibelli, those 
 floating volcanoes, which had seemed to rend earth 
 and ocean, whose explosion had laid so many thousands 
 of soldiers dead at a blow, and which had shattered the 
 bridge and floating forts of Famese, as though they had 
 been toys of glass. They knew, too, that the famous 
 engineer was at that moment in England. 
 
 In a moment one of those hon-ible panics, which 
 spread with such contagious rapidity among large bodies 
 of men, seized upon the Spaniards. There was a yell 
 throughout the fleet— " The fire-ships of Antwerp, the 
 fire-ships of Antwerp ! " and in an instant every cable 
 was cut, and frantic attempts were made by each galleon 
 and galeasse to escape what seemed imminent destruc- 
 tion. The confusion was beyond description. Four or 
 five of the largest ships became entangled with each 
 other. Two others* were set on fire by the flaming 
 vessels, and were consumed. Medina Sidonia, who 
 
 1 Strada, II. x. 560. distinctly appears from Winter's letter. 
 
 2 Winter's Letter, MS. already cited- so often cited. " We perceived that 
 Compare Herrera, III, ill. 108. Mete- there were two great fires more than 
 ren, xv. 273. Bor, lil. 324 teq. Strada, ours (previously stated by him as six In 
 II. X. 660, 561. Camden, ill. 415. number), and far greater and huger tlian 
 
 3 This fact, menUoned by no historian, any our fired vessels could make." 
 
 1588. 
 
 A GREAT GALEASSE DISABLED. 
 
 4G7 
 
 had been warned, even before his departure from Spain,^ 
 that some such artifice would probably be attempted, 
 and who had even, early that morning, sent out a party 
 of sailors in a pinnace* to search for indications of the 
 scheme, was not surprised or dismayed. He gave orders 
 —as well as might be— that everj- ship, after the danger 
 should be passed, was to return to its post, and await 
 his further orders.^ But it was useless, in that moment 
 of unreasonable panic, to issue commands. The despised 
 Mantuan, who had met with so many rebuffs at Philip's 
 court, and who— owing to official incredulity— had been 
 but partially successful in his magnificent enterprise at 
 Antwerp, had now, by the mere terror of his name, 
 inflicted more damage on Philip's Armada than had 
 hitherto been accomplished by Howard and Drake, 
 Hawkins and Frobisher, combined. 
 
 So long as night and darkness lasted, the confusion 
 and uproar continued. When the Monday morning 
 dawned, several of the Spanish vessels lay dis- 
 abled, while the rest of the fleet was seen at a Aug!^f' 
 distance of two leagues from Calais, driving ^^**«- ' 
 towards the Flemish cpast. The threatened gale had 
 not yet begun to blow, but there were fresh squalls from 
 the W.S.W., which, to such awkward sailers as the 
 Spanish vessels, were difficult to contend with. On the 
 other hand, the English fleet was all astir, and ready to 
 pursue the Spaniards, now rapidly drifting into the 
 North Sea. In the immediate neighbourhood of Calais, 
 the flagship of the squadron of galeasses, commanded 
 by Don Hugo de Moncada, was discovered using her 
 foresail and oars, and endeavouring to enter the harbour. 
 She had been damaged by collision with the St. John of 
 Sicily and other ships< during the night's panic, and had 
 her rudder quite torn away.* She was the largest and 
 most splendid vessel in the Armada— the show-ship of 
 the fleet, '* the very glory and stay of the Spanish navy ;" "^ 
 and during the previous two days she had been visited 
 and admired by great numbers of Frenchmen from the 
 shore. 
 
 ^ •' Advertldo va el dunque del Intento 
 de Drake quanto al quemar los navlos." 
 Philip il. to Mendoza, 21st June, 1588. 
 (Archives de Simancas [IVis], MS.) 
 
 ' Herrera, III. in. io». 3 ibld. 
 
 * 'Declaration of the Proceedings of 
 the two Fleets.' (MS. already cited.) 
 
 * R. Tomson to , ?^'^ 1588. 
 
 Aug. 
 
 fS. P. Office MS.) 
 
 2 H 2 
 
ii 
 
 468 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XIX. 
 
 h^ 
 
 Lord Admiral Howard bore down upon her at once, 
 but as she was already in shallow water, and was rowing 
 steadily towards the town, he saw that the Ark could 
 not follow with safety. So he sent his long-boat to cut 
 her out, manned with fifty or sixty volunteers, most of 
 them *' as valiant in courage as gentle in birth" '—as a 
 partaker in the adventure declared. The Margaret and 
 Joan of London, also following in pursuit, ran herself 
 a-ground, but the master despatched his pinnace with 
 a body of musketeers, to aid in the capture of the 
 cral passe 
 
 ° That huge vessel failed to enter the harbour, and 
 stuck fast upon the bar. There was much dismay on 
 board, but Don Hugo prepared resolutely to defend him- 
 self. The quays of Calais and the line of the French 
 shore were lined with thousands of eager spectators, as 
 the two boats— rowing steadily towards a galeasse, 
 which carried forty brass pieces of artillery, and was 
 manned with three hundred soldiers and four hundred 
 and fifty slaves— seemed rushing upon their own destnic- 
 tion. Of these daring Englishmen, patricians and ple- 
 beians together, in two open pinnaces, there were not 
 more than one hundred in numj)er, all told. They soon 
 laid themselves close to the Capitana, far below her lofty 
 sides, and called on Don Hugo to surrender. The 
 answer was a smile of derision from the haughty 
 Spaniard, as he looked down upon them from what 
 seemed an inaccessible height. Then one Wilton cox- 
 swain of the Delight, of \V inter's squadron, clambered 
 up to the enemy's deck and fell dead the same instant.' 
 Then the English volunteers opened a volley iipon the 
 Spaniards. " Tliey seemed safely ensconced in then- 
 ships," said bold Dick Tomson, of the Margaret and 
 Joan, " while we in our open pinnaces, and far under 
 them, had nothing to shroud and cover us." Moreover 
 the numbers were seven hundred and fifty to one hun- 
 dred. But the Spaniards, still quite disconcerted by the 
 events of the preceding night, seemed under a spell. 
 Otherwise it would have been an easy matter for the 
 
 » Tomson's Letter. MS. jutt cited. 
 « Ibid. 
 
 » Winter to Walslngham, M.S. before 
 cited. 
 
 1588. ATTACKED AND CAPTURED Br ENGLISH BOATS. 4G9 
 
 great galeasse to annihilate such puny antagonists in a 
 very short space of time.' jt ^ -» 
 
 The English pelted the Spaniards quite cheerfully 
 however, with arquebus-shot, whenever they showed 
 themselves above the bulwarks, picked off a consider- 
 able number, and sustained a rather severe loss them- 
 selves, Lieutenant Preston, of the Ark R.yyal, among 
 others, being dangerously wounded. " We had a prett? 
 skirmish for half an hour," said Tomson. At last Don 
 Hugo de Moncada, furious at the inefficiency of his men 
 and leading them for^vard in person, fell back on his deck 
 with a bullet through both eyes.^ The panic was in- 
 stantaneous, for, meantime, several other Enrfish boats 
 -some with eight, ten, or twelve men on board— were 
 seen pulling towards the galeasse ; while the dismayed 
 soldiers at once leaped overboard on the land side, and 
 attempted to escape by swimming and wading to the 
 shore. Some of them succeeded, but the greater 
 number were drowned. The few who remained-not 
 more than twenty in alP-hoisted two handkerchiefs 
 upon two rapiers as a signal of truce.* The English 
 accepting it as a symbol of defeat, scrambled with great 
 difficulty up the lofty sides of the Capitam, and, for an 
 hour and a halt, occupied themselves most agreeably in 
 plundering the ship and in liberating the slaves * 
 
 It was their intention, with the flood-tide, to get 
 the vessel off as she was but slightly damaged, and of 
 very great value. But a serious obstacle arose to this 
 arrangement For presently a boat came alongside, 
 with young M. de Gourdon and another French captain 
 and hailed the galeasse. There was nobody on board 
 who could speak French but Richard Tomson. So 
 Richard returned the hail, and asked their business.^ 
 iney said they came from the governor. 
 
 " And what is the governor's pleasure ?" asked Tom- 
 son, when they had come up the side. 
 
 " The governor has stood and beheld your fight 
 and rejoiced in your victory," was the reply; -and 
 ne says that for your prowess and manhood you well 
 
 ! 
 
 H 
 
 4 I 
 
 I I 
 
 I 
 
 i ' 
 
 1 Tomson's Letter, MS. Compare Ilor- 
 rwa, III. lii. 108. Bor, iJi. 324, 325. 
 Metcren, xv. 27.?. Camden, iil. 415. 
 Strada, II. ix. 561. Coloma*!. 7. 8 
 
 •Ibid. 
 
 ' Coloma, Mfci *i(p. 
 
 * Tomson's Letter, MS. before cited. 
 
 * Bor, iii. 325. 
 
 6 Tomson's Letter, MS. before cited. 
 
I: 
 
 11 
 III 
 
 470 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XIX. 
 
 deserve fhe pillage of the galeasse. He requires and 
 commands you, however, not to attempt carrj'ing off 
 either the ship or its ordnance ; for she lies a-ground 
 under the battery of his castle, and within his juris- 
 diction, and does of%right appertain to him." 
 
 This seemed hard upon the hundred volunteers, who, 
 in their two open boats, had so manfully earned a ship 
 of 1200 tons, 40 guns, and 750 men; but Eichard an- 
 swered diplomatically. 
 
 "We thank M. de Gourdon," said he, "for granting 
 the pillage to mariners and soldiei-s who had fought 
 for it, and we acknowledge that without his goodwill 
 wo cannot carry away anything we have got, for the 
 ship lies on ground directly under his batteries and 
 bulwarks. Concerning the ship and ordnance, we 
 pray that he would send a pinnace to my Lord Admiral 
 Howard, who is here in pereon hard by, from whom he 
 will have an honourable and friendly answer, which we 
 shall all obey." 
 
 With this the French officers, being apparently con- 
 tent, were about to depart; and it is not impossible 
 that the soft answer might have obtained the galeasse 
 and the ordnance, notwithstanding the an-angemcnt 
 which Philip II. had made with his excellent friend 
 Heniy III. for aid and comfort to Spanish vessels in 
 French ports. Unluckily, however, the inclination for 
 plunder being rife that morning, some of the English- 
 men hustled their French visitors, phmdered them of 
 their rings and jewels, as if they had been enemies, 
 and then permitted them to depart. They rowed off 
 to the shore, vowing vengeance, and within a few 
 minutes after their return the battery of the fort was 
 opened upon the English, and they were compelled to 
 make their escape as they could with the plunder 
 already secured, leaving the galeasse in the possession 
 of M. do Gourdon.* 
 
 This adventure being terminated, and the pinnaces 
 having returned to the fleet, the Lord- Admiral, who had 
 l>een lying off and on," now bore away with all his force 
 in pursuit of the Spaniards. The Invincible Armada, 
 already sorely crippled, was standing n.n.e. directly be- 
 
 1 Tomson'a Letter, MS. before cited. Stra.la. Coloma, wW mp. 
 Compare Herrera, Bor. Meteren, Camden. * Winter's Utter, MS. before cited. 
 
 1588. GENERAL ENGAGEMENT OF BOTH FLEETS. 471 
 
 fore a fresh topsail breeze from the s.s.w. The English 
 came up with them soon after nine o'clock a.m. off 
 Gravelines, and found them sailing in a half-moon, 
 the admiral and vice-admiral in the centre, and the 
 flanks protected by the three remaining galeasses and 
 by the great galleons of Portugal.* 
 
 Seeing the enemy approaching, Medina Sidonia 
 ordered his whole fleet to luff to the wind, and prepare 
 for action.* The wind, shifting a few points, was now at 
 W.X.W., so that the English had both the weather-gage 
 and the tide in their favour. A general combat began 
 at about ten, and it was soon obvious to the Spaniards 
 that their adversaries were intending warm work. Sir 
 Francis Drake in the Revenge, followed by Frobisher in 
 the Triumph, Hawkins in the Victory, and some smaller 
 vessels, made the first attack upon the Spanish flag- 
 ships. Lord Henry in the Rainbow, Sir Henry Palmer 
 in the Antelojye, and others, engaged with three of the 
 largest galleons of the Armada, while Sir William 
 Winter in the Vanguard, supported by most of his 
 squadron, charged the starboard wing.* 
 
 The portion of the fleet thus assaulted fell back into 
 the main body. Four of the ships ran foul of each 
 other,* and Winter, driving into their centre, found him- 
 self within musket-shot of many of their most formidable 
 ships. 
 
 " I tell you, on the credit of a poor gentleman," he 
 said, " that there were five hundred discharges of demi- 
 cannon, culverin, and demi-culverin, from the Vanguard; 
 and when I was farthest off in firing my pieces, I was 
 not out of shot of their harquebus, and most time within 
 speech, one of another.",^ 
 
 The battle lasted six hours long, hot and furious ; for 
 now there was no excuse for retreat on the pai;t of the 
 Spaniards, but, on the contrary, it was the intention of 
 the Captain-General to return to his station off Calais, if 
 it were within his power. Nevertheless the English 
 still partially maintained the tactics which had proved 
 so successful, and resolutely refused the fierce attempts 
 of the Spaniards to lay themselves alongside. Keeping 
 
 » Winter's Tetter, MS. before citetl. MS. Lord H.Seymour to the Queen In 
 
 « Herrera, III. lil/iio, Barrow. 305. 
 
 » Herrera, last cited. Winter's Letter, * Winter's Letter, MS. a Hid. 
 
472 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XIX. 
 
 within imisket-range, the well- disciplined English 
 mariners poured broadside after broadside against the 
 towering ships of the Armada, which afforded so easy a 
 mark ; while the Spaniards, on their part, found it im- 
 possible, while wasting incredible quantities of powder 
 and shot, to inflict any severe damage on their enemies. 
 Throughout the action, not an English ship was de- 
 stroyed, and not a hundred men were killed.* On the 
 other hand, all the best ships of the Spaniards were 
 riddled through and through, and with masts and yards 
 shattered, sails and rigging torn to shreds, and a north- 
 west wind still drifting thom towards the fatal sand- 
 banks of Holland, they laboured heavily in a chopping 
 sea, firing wildly, and receiving tremendous punishment 
 at the hands of Howard, Drake, Seymour, Winter, and 
 their followers. Not even master-gunner Thomas could 
 complain that day of " blind exercise " on the part of 
 the English, with " little harm done " to the enemy. 
 There was scarcely a ship in the Armada that did not 
 suffer severely;* for nearly all were engaged in that 
 memorable action off the sands of Gravelines. The 
 Captain-General himself. Admiral Ilecalde, Alonzo de 
 Leyva, Oquendo, Diego Flores de Valdez, Bertendona, 
 Don Francisco de Toledo, Don Diego de Piraentel, Telles 
 Enriquez, Alonzo de Luzon, Garibay, with most of the 
 great galleons and galeasses, were in the thickest of the 
 fight, and one after the other each of those huge ships 
 was disabled. Three sank before the fight was over, 
 many others were soon drifting helpless wrecks towards 
 a hostile shore, and, before five o'clock in the afternoon, 
 at least sixteen of their best ships had been sacrificed, 
 and from four to five thousand soldiers killed.^ 
 
 Nearly all the largest vessels of the Armada, there- 
 fore, having been disabled or damaged — according to 
 a Spanish eye-witness— and all their small shot ex- 
 
 » Herrera, m.Ui. 110. MS.) 
 
 2 " God hath mightily presenred her ' Bor, iii. 327. Heirera, vbi svp. ' Pe- 
 Majesty's forces with the least losses that claration of the Proceedmgs,' MS. Howard 
 
 ever hath been heard of being within toVValsingham 1 Aug. 1586. Drake to 
 
 the compass of so great volleys of shot, i/ 
 
 both small and great. I verily believe ^^ Queen, ^ Aug. 1586; in Barrow, 
 
 there Is not three-score men lost of her 
 
 Majesty's forces." Captain J. Fenner to 306-310. 
 
 Wftlsingham, - Aug. 1588. (S. P. Office 
 
 18 
 
 iv 
 
 1588. 
 
 LOSS OF SEVERAL SPANISH SHIPS. 
 
 473 
 
 hausted, Medina Sidonia reluctantly gave orders to 
 retreat. The Captain- General was a bad sailor, but he 
 was a chivalrous Spaniard of ancient Gothic blood, 
 and he felt deep mortification at the plight of his in- 
 vincible fleet, together with undisguised resentment 
 against Alexander Famese, through whose treachery 
 and incapacity he considered the great Catholic cause 
 to have been so foully sacrificed. Crippled, maltreated, 
 and diminished in number, as were his ships, he would 
 have still faced the enemy, but the winds and currents 
 were fast driving him on a lee-shore, and the pilots, 
 one and all, assured him that it would be inevitable 
 destruction to remain. After a slight and very inef- 
 fectual attempt to rescue Don Diego de Pimentel in 
 the St, Matt/iew — who refused to leave his disabled ship 
 —and Don Francisco de Toledo, whose great galleon, 
 the St. Philip^ was fast driving, a helpless wreck, 
 towards Zeeland, the Armada bore away n.n.e. into 
 the open sea, leaving those who could not follow to 
 their fate.^ 
 
 The St. MattJiew, in a sinking condition, hailed a 
 Dutch fisherman, who was offered a gold chain to pilot 
 her into Newport. But the fisherman, being a patriot, 
 steered her close to the Holland fleet, where she was 
 immediately assaulted by Admiral Van der Does, to 
 whom, after a two hours' bloody fight, she struck her 
 flag.* Don Diego, marshal of the camp to the famous 
 legion of Sicily, brother of the Marquis of Tavei-a, 
 nephew of the Viceroy of Sicily, uncle to the Viceroy 
 of Naples, and numbering as many titles, dignities, 
 and high affinities, as could be expected of a grandee 
 of the first class, was taken, with his officers, to the 
 Hague." " I was the means," said Captain Borlase, 
 " that the best sort were saved, and the rest were cast 
 overboard and slain at our entry. He fought with us 
 two hours, and hurt divers of our men, but at last 
 yielded."* 
 
 John Van der Does, his captor, presented the banner 
 of the St. Matthew to the great church of Leyden, 
 where— such was its prodigious length— it hung from 
 
 » Herrera, III. lil. 109. Meteren, xv. « Ibid. 
 273,274. Bor,lil. 325. Camden, iii. 416, .„ , ,„ , a 
 
 416. * Borlase t^WalsUigham, - Aug. 1588^ 
 
 « Bor, ubi tup. * (s. p. Office MS.) 
 
474 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XIX. 
 
 ceiling to floor without being entirely unrolled ;* and 
 there it hung, from generation to generation, a worthy 
 companion to the Spanish flags which had been left 
 behind when Yaldez abandoned the siege of that heroic 
 city fifteen years before. 
 
 The galleon St. Philip, one of the four largest ships in 
 the Armada, dismasted and foundering, drifted towards 
 Newport, where camp-marshal Don Francisco de Toledo 
 hoped in vain for succour. La IVIotte made a feeble 
 attempt at rescue, but some vessels from the Holland 
 fleet, being much more active, seized the unfortunate 
 galleon, and carried her into Flushing. The captors 
 found forty-eight brass cannon and other things of 
 value on board, but there were some casks of Ribadavia 
 wine which was more fatal to her enemies than those 
 pieces of artillery had proved. For while the rebels 
 were refreshing themselves, after the fatigues of the 
 capture, with large draughts of that famous vintage, the 
 St. Philip, which had been bored through and through 
 with English shot, and had been rapidly filling with 
 water, gave a sudden luich, and went down in a 
 moment, carrying with her to the bottom three hundred 
 of those convivial Hollanders." * 
 
 A large Biscay galleon, too, of Recalde's squadron, 
 much disabled in action, and now, like many others, 
 unable to follow the Armada, was summoned by Captain 
 Cross, of ''the Hope, 48 guns, to surrender. Although 
 foundering, she resisted, and refused to strike her flag. 
 One of her officei-s attempted to haul down her colours, 
 and was run through the body by the captain, who, in 
 his turn, was struck dead by a brother of the officer thus 
 slain. In the midst of this quarrel the ship "^ent down 
 with all her crew.^ 
 
 Six hours and more, from ten till nearly five, the fight 
 had lasted — a most cruel battle, as the Spaniards declared. 
 There were men in the Armada who had served in the 
 action of Lepanto,* and who declared that famous en- 
 
 * Bor, Meteren, uhi Slip. 
 
 ehe sank. ' Declaration of the Proceed- 
 
 2 Coloraa, 1. 8vo. Compare Meteren, ings,' &c. MS. 
 
 Bor, ubi sup. etal. ... , x ,.- , . . 8 . 
 
 3 Meteren. xv. 273- who Irelates the * ^"^''''^ ^"^ ^Nalsmgham. - Aiig. 
 anecdote on the authority of some sailors 158?^. (S. P. Oflflce MS.) "Some make 
 who made their escape by jumping over- little account," says the Lord- Admiral, 
 board, and who were picked up Just before " of the Spanish forces by sea, but I do 
 
 1588. ARMADA FLIES, FOLLOWED BY THE EX.GLISH. 475 
 
 counter to have been far surpassed in severity and spirit 
 by this fight off Gravelines. " Surely every man in 
 our fleet did well," said Winter, " and the slaughter the 
 enemy received was great." ^ Nor would the Spaniards 
 have escaped even worse punishment, had not, most un- 
 fortunately, the penurious policy of the Queen's govern- 
 ment rendered her ships useless at last, even in this 
 supreme moment. They never ceased cannonading the 
 discomfited enemy until the ammunition was exhausted. 
 " When the cartridges were all spent," said Winter, " and 
 the munitions in some vessels gone altogether, we 
 ceased fighting, but followed the enemy, who still kept 
 away." * And the enemy — although still numerous, and 
 seeming strong enough, if properly handled, to destroy 
 the whole English fleet — fled before them. There re- 
 mained more than fifty Spanish vessels, above six 
 hundred tons in size, besides sixty hulks and other 
 vessels of less account ; while in the whole English navy 
 were but thirteen ships of or above that burthen. 
 "Their force is wonderful great and strong," said 
 Howard, '*but we pluck their feathers by little and 
 little." « 
 
 For Medina Sidonia had now satisfied himself that he 
 should never succeed in boarding those hard-fighting and 
 swift-sailing craft, while, meantime, the horrible panic 
 of Sunday night and the succession of fights throughout 
 the following day, had completely disorganised his fol- 
 lowers. Crippled, riddled, shoni, but still numerous, 
 and by no means entirely vanquished, the Armada was 
 flying with a gentle breeze before an enemy who, to save 
 his existence, could not have fired a broadside. 
 
 " Though our powder and shot was well nigh spent," 
 said the Lord- Admiral, " we put on a brag countenance 
 and gave them chase, as though we had wanted nothing. 
 
 »»4 
 
 warrant you, all the world never saw 
 such a force as theirs was. And some 
 Spanish there we have taken that were 
 in the fight of Lepanto do say, that the 
 worst of our four fights that we have had 
 with them did exceed far the fight they 
 had there ; and they say that at some of 
 our fights we had twenty times as much 
 great shot there played than they had 
 there." 
 
 " It was a most cmel battle" (crudelis- 
 
 sima batalla), says Herrera, from the 
 Journal of a Spaniard present (iii. 108). 
 
 1 Winter's Letter, ^ Aug. 1588. (MS. 
 
 before cited.) 
 » Winter's Letter, MS. last cited. 
 
 ' Howard to Walsingham, — ^'1588. 
 
 8 Aug. 
 
 (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 * Same to same, —Aug. 1588, in Bar- 
 row, 306, 307. 
 
 H: 
 
 17 
 
476 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XIX. 
 
 1588. 
 
 ENGLISH INSUFFICIENTLY PROVIDED. 
 
 477 
 
 And the brag countenance was successful, for that " one 
 day*s service had much appalled the enemy," ' as Drake 
 observed ; and still the Spaniards fled with a freshening 
 8 Aug. gale all through the Monday night. " A thino- 
 1588. greatly to be regarded," said Fenner, of the 
 Nonpareil, *' is that that the Almighty hath stricken them 
 with a wondeiful fear. I have hardly seen any of their 
 companies succoured of the extremities which befell 
 them after their fights, but they have been left at utter 
 
 ^"^» ^^il® tliey t>ear as much sail as ever they possibly 
 can. 
 
 On Tuesday momins:, 0th August, the English ships 
 were off the Isle of Walcheren, at a safe distance from 
 Toes.. Aug. 9. the shore. *' The wind is hanging westerly," 
 »***«• said Richard Tomson, of the Margaret and 
 Joan, " and we drive our enemies apace, much marvellino- 
 m what port they will direct themselves. Those that 
 are left alive are so weak and heartless that they could 
 be well content to lose all charges and to be at home 
 both rich and poor." ' ' 
 
 ;* In my conscience," said Sir William Winter, " I 
 thmk the Duke would give his dukedom to be in Spain 
 again." * ^ 
 
 The English ships, one hundred and four in number,* 
 being that morning half a league to windward, the Duke 
 gave orders for the whole Armada to lay to and await 
 their approach. But the English had no disposition to 
 e^^age, for at that moment the instantaneous destruction 
 of their enemies seemed inevitable. Ill-managed, panic- 
 struck, staggering before their foes, the Spanish fleet 
 was now close upon the fatal sands of Zeeland. Already 
 there were but six and a half fathoms of water, rapidly 
 shoaling under their keels, and iha pilots told Medina 
 that all were irretrievably lost, for the freshening north- 
 wester was driving them steadily upon the banks. The 
 English, easily escaping the danger, hauled their wind, 
 and paused to see the ruin of the proud Armada accom- 
 plished before their eyes. Nothing but a change of 
 wind at the instant could save them from perdTtion. 
 
 :> Prake to Walsingham, in Barrow, (S. P.OfBceMS.) 
 3***- » Tomaon'tf Letter. MS, before dtod. 
 
 * ■ * Winter's Letter, MS. before cited. 
 
 * Herrera, 110. 
 
 * Fenner to Wakingham, - Aug. 1588 
 
 i4 ' 
 
 There was a breathless shudder of suspense, and then 
 there came the change. Just as the foremost ships, were 
 about to ground on the Ooster Zand, the wind suddenly 
 veered to the south-west, and the Spanish ships quickly 
 squaring their sails to the new impulse, stood out once 
 more into the open sea.* 
 
 All that day the galleons and galeasses, under all the 
 canvas which they d!ared to spread, continued their flight 
 before the south-westerly breeze, and- still the Lord- 
 Admiral, maintaining the brag countenance, followed, at 
 an easy distance, the retreating foe. At 4 p.m., Howard 
 fired a signal gun, andean up a flag of council. Winter 
 could not go, for he had been wounded in action, but 
 Se}Tnour and Drake, Hawkins, Frobisher, and the rest 
 were present, and it was decided that Lord Henry should 
 return, accompanied by Winter and the rest of the inner 
 squadron, to guard the Thames-mouth against any 
 attempt of the Duke of Parma, while the Lord-Admiral 
 and the rest of the navy should continue the pursuit of 
 the Armada.* 
 
 Very wroth was Lord Henry at being deprived of his 
 share in the chase. *' The Lord-Admiral was altogether 
 desirous to have me strengthen him," said he, "and 
 having done so to the uttermost of my goodwill and the 
 venture of my life, and to the distressing of the Spaniards, 
 which was thoroughly done on the Monday last, I now 
 find his Lordship jealous and loath to take part of the 
 honour which is to come. So he has used his authority to 
 command me to look to our English coast, threatened 
 by the Duke of Parma. I pray God my Lord-Admiral 
 do not find the lack of the liambcnc and her companions, 
 for I protest before God I vowed I would be as near or 
 nearer with my little ship to encounter our enemies as 
 any of the greatest ships in both armies."^ 
 
 There was no insubordination, however, and Sey- 
 mour's squadron, at twilight of Tuesday evening, August 
 9th— according to orders, so that the enemy might not 
 see their departure— bore away fur Margate." But 
 although Winter and Seymour were much disappointed 
 at their enforced return, there was less enthusiasm among 
 
 1 Herrera, no. Camden, ill. 416. i 
 
 • Winter's Letter, MS. ,7 -^"8- '588. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 » Lord H. Seymour to Walsingham, « \\'lnter'8 Letter. MS. 
 
 . 
 
 It 
 
 « 
 
478 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XIX 
 
 the sailors of the fleet. Pursuing the Spaniards without 
 powder to fire, and without beef and bread to eat, was 
 not thought amusing by the English crews. Howard 
 had not three days' supply of food in his lockers, and 
 Seymour and his squadron had not food for one day. 
 Accordingly, when Seymour and Winter took their de- 
 parture, '*they had much ado," so Winter said, "with 
 the staying of many ships that would have retunied with 
 them, besides their own company.'* * Had the Spaniards, 
 instead of being panic- struck, but turned on their pur- 
 suers, what might have been the result of a conflict with 
 starving and unarmed men ? • • 
 
 Howard, Drake, and Frobisher, with the rest of the 
 fleet, followed the Armada through the North Sea from 
 Tuesday night (9th August) till Friday (the 12th), and 
 still, the strong south-wester swept the Spaniards before 
 them, uncertain whether to seek refuge, food, water, and 
 room to repair damages, in the realms of the treacherous 
 King of Scots, or on the iron-bound coasts of Norway. 
 Medina Sidonia had, however, quite abandoned his inten- 
 tion of returning to England, and was only anxious for a 
 safe return to Spain. So much did he dread that northern 
 passage, unpiloted, around the grim Hebrides, that he 
 would probably have surrendered, had the English over- 
 taken him and once more offered battle. He was on the 
 point of hanging out a white flag — as they approached 
 him for the last time—but yielded to the expostulations 
 of the ecclesiastics on board the Saint Martin, who thought, 
 no doubt, that they had more to fear from England than 
 from the sea, should they be earned captive to that 
 countiy, and who persuaded him that it would be a sin 
 and a disgrace to surrender before they had been once 
 more attacked.' 
 
 On the other hand, the Devonshire skipper, Vice- 
 Admiral Drake, now thoroughly in his element, could 
 not restrain his hilarity, as he saw the Invincible 
 Armada of the man whose beard he had so often singed, 
 
 I Winter's I.€tter, MS. 
 
 > " Had the English been well/urnished 
 with victuals and munition," saysStowe, 
 " they would in the pursuit have brought 
 the Spaniards to their mercy. On the 
 other hand, had the Spaniards but two 
 days longer continued fight, they must 
 
 have driven the English to retreat, for 
 want of shot and powder, leaving the 
 Spaniards masters of the field," 719. 
 
 « Meteren, xv. 274, on the authority 
 of certain Dutch fishermen, who had been 
 impressed on board the San Martin 
 Reyd, viil. 147. 
 
 1588. A GREAT STORM DISPERSES THE ARMADA. 479 
 
 rolling through the German Ocean, in full flight from 
 the country which was to have been made, that week, a 
 Spanish province. Unprovided as were his ships, he 
 was for risking another battle, and it is quite possible 
 that the brag countenance might have proved even more 
 successful than Howai'd thought. 
 
 " We have the army of Spain before us," wrote Drake, 
 from the llevenge, *' and hope with the grace of God to 
 wrestle a pull with him. There never was any thing 
 pleased me better than seeing the enemy fly in o- with a 
 southerly wind to the northward. God grant you have 
 a good eye to the Duke of Parma, for with the grace of 
 God, if we live, I doubt not so to handle the matter with 
 the Duke of Sidonia as he shall wish himself at St. Mary's 
 Port among his orange-trees." ' 
 
 But Howard decided to wrestle no further pull. 
 Having followed the Spaniards till Friday, 12th of 
 August, as far as the latitude of 56° 17', the Lord 
 Admiral called a council. It was then decided, JJffiy, 
 in order to save English lives and ships, to put ^^^^- ' 
 into the Frith of Forth for water and provisions, leaving 
 two "pinnaces do dog the fleet «ntil it should be past 
 the Isles of Scotland." * But the next day, as the wind 
 shifted to the north-west, another council decided to 
 take advantage of the change, and bear away for the 
 North Foreland, in order to obtain a supply of powder, 
 shot, and provisions." 
 
 Up to this period, the weather, though occasionally 
 threatening, had been moderate. During the week 
 which succeeded the eventful night off Calais, neither 
 the Armada nor the English ships had been much im- 
 peded in their manoeuvres by storms or heavy seas. 
 But on the following Sunday, 14th of August, there was 
 a change. The wind shifted again to the south-west, 
 and, during the whole of that day and the Monday, blew 
 a tremendous gale.* " 'Twas a more violent storm,^' said 
 Howard, " than was ever seen before at this time of the 
 
 1 Drake to.Walsingham, JJi^^ 1588. ham, T- Aug. 1586. in Rarrow, 
 
 lU Aug. 
 
 in Barrow, 304. 
 
 « Fenner to Walsingham, - Aug. 158S. 
 (S. P . Office MS.) Howard to Walslng- 
 
 306. 
 
 3 Fenner's Letter, MS. last cited. 
 < Ibid. 
 
480 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XIX. 
 
 year."^ The retreating English fleet was scattered, 
 many ships were in peril, " among the ill-favoured 
 sands off Norfolk," but within four or five days all 
 arrived safely in Margate roads.* 
 
 Far different was the fate of the Spaniards. Over 
 their Invincible Armada, last seen* by the departing 
 English midway between the coasts of Scotland and 
 Denmark, the blackness of night seemed suddenly to 
 descend. A mystery hung for a long time over their 
 fate. Damaged, leaking, without pilots, without a com- 
 petent commander, the great fleet entered that furious 
 storm, and was whirled along the iron crags of Norway 
 and between the savage rocks of Faroe and the Hebrides. 
 In those regions of tempest the insulted North wreaked 
 its full vengeance on the insolent Spaniards. Disaster 
 after disaster marked their perilous track ; gale after 
 gale swept them hither and thither, tossing them on 
 sand-banks or shattering them against granite cliffs. The 
 coasts of Norway, Scotland, Ireland, were strewn with 
 the wrecks of that pompous fleet which claimed the do- 
 minion of the seas ; with the bones of those invincible 
 legions which were to have sacked London and made 
 England a Spanish viceroyalty. 
 
 Through the remainder of the month of August there 
 was a succession of storms. On the 2iid September a 
 fierce south-wester drove Admiral Oquendo in his gal- 
 leon, together with one of the great galeasses, two large 
 Venetian ships, the Ratta and the Bdmzara, and thirty- 
 six other vessels, upon the Irish coast, where nearly 
 every soul on board perished, while the few who escaped 
 to the shore— notwithstanding their religious affinity 
 with the inhabitants— were either butchered in cold 
 blood, or sent coupled in halters from village to village, 
 in order to be shipped to England.* A few ships were 
 driven on the English coast ; others went ashore near 
 
 Kochelle. 
 
 Of the four galeasses and four galleys, one of each 
 returned to Spain. Of the ninety-one great galleons and 
 hulks, fifty-eight were lost and thirty-three returned.* 
 
 1 Howard to Walslngham, - Aug. 1688. 
 
 18 
 
 <3. P. Office Ma) 
 Ibid. 
 
 » Drake, In Stowe, 750 seq. Barrow, 
 319. Meteren, xv. 274. Bor, iii. 326, 
 327. 
 
 * Meteren and Bor, ubi sup. 
 
 1588. 
 
 RESULT OF THE INVASION. 
 
 481 
 
 Of the tenders and zabras, seventeen were lost and 
 eighteen returned. Of one hundred and thirty-four 
 vessels, which sailed from Conifia in July, but fifty- 
 three,' great and small, made their escape to Spain, and 
 •these were so damaged as to be utterly worthless. The 
 Invincible Armada had not only been vanquished but 
 annihilated. 
 
 Of the 30,000 men who sailed in the fleet, it is pro- 
 bable that not more than 10,000 ever saw their native 
 land again. Most of the leaders of the expedition lost 
 their lives. Medina Sidonia reached Santander in Oc- 
 tober, and, as Philip for a moment believed, " with 
 the greater part of the Armada," although the King 
 soon discovered his mistake.* Eecalde, Diego Flores de 
 Valdez, Oquendo, Maldonado, Bobadilla, Manriquez, 
 either perished at sea or died of exhaustion immediately 
 after their return. Pedro de Valdez, Vasco de Silva, 
 Alonzo de Sayas, Pimentel, Toledo, with many other 
 nobles, were prisoners in England and Holland. There 
 was hardly a distinguished family in Spain not placed 
 in mourning, so that, to relieve the universal gloom, an 
 edict was published forbidding the wearing of mourning 
 at all. On the other hand, a merchant of Lisbon, not 
 yet reconciled to the Spanish conquest of his country^ 
 permitted himself some tokens of hilarity at the defeat 
 of the Armada, and was immediately hanged by express 
 command of Philip. Thus — as men said — one could 
 neither cry nor laugh within the Spanish dominions.' 
 
 This was the result of the invasion, so many years 
 preparing, and at an expense almost incalculable. In the 
 year 1588 alone, the cost of Philip's annaments for the 
 subjugation of England could not have been less than 
 six millions of ducats, and there was at least as large a 
 sum on board the Armada itself, although the Pope re- 
 fused to pay his promised million.* And with all this 
 outlay, and with the sacrifice of so many thousand lives. 
 
 I Meteren and Bor, ubi sup. Compare 
 Strada, ii. ix. 563, who seta before hia 
 readers the " absurd discrepancy " between 
 the English-Dutch and the Spanish ac- 
 counts of these losses. According to 
 tht; Spaniards, thirty-three vessels were 
 lost or captured, and 10,000 men were 
 missing. According to their enemies, 
 
 VOL. II. 
 
 only 10,000 men and about sixty ships 
 escaped. Meteren's account, xv. 274, 
 is minute, and seems truthful, and is 
 followed In the text. 
 
 2 Philip II, to Parma, 10 Oct. 1588. 
 (Arch, de Simancas, MS.) 
 
 3 Reyd. viii. 148. 
 
 * Philip II. to Parma (MS. Just cited.) 
 
 2 I 
 
482 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XIX. 
 
 1588. 
 
 GREAT ENERGY OF PARMA. 
 
 483 
 
 nothing had been accomplished, and Spain, in a moment, 
 instead of seeming terrible to all the world, had become 
 
 ridiculous.* 
 
 "Beaten and shuifled together from the Lizard to 
 Calais, from Calais driven with squibs from their anchors/ 
 and chased out of sight of England about Scotland and 
 Ireland," as the Devonshire skipper expressed himself, 
 it must be confessed that the Spaniards presented a sorry 
 sight. "Their invincible and dreadful navy," said 
 Drake, *' with all its great and temble ostentation, did 
 not in all their sailing about England so much as sink 
 or take one ship, bark, pinnace, or cock-boat of ours, or 
 even bum so much as one sheep-cote on this land."* 
 
 Meanwhile Famese sat chafing under the unjust re- 
 proaches heaped upon him, as if he, and not his master, 
 had been responsible for the gigantic blunders of the 
 
 invasion." ■ 
 
 "As for the Prince of Parma," said Drake, " I take 
 him to be as a bear robbed of her whelps." * The Ad- 
 miral was quite right. Alexander was beside himself 
 with rage. Day after day, he had been repeating to 
 Medina Sidonia and to Philip that his flotilla and tmns- 
 ports could scarcely live in any but the smootliest sea, 
 while the supposition that they could ser^-e a warlike 
 purpose he pronounced absolutely ludicrous. He had 
 always counselled the seizing of a place like Flushing, 
 as a basis of operations against England, but had been 
 overruled ; and he had at least reckoned upon the In- 
 vincible Armada to clear the way for him, before he 
 should be expected to take the sea.* 
 
 With prodigious energ>% and at great expense, he had 
 constructed or improved internal water-communications 
 from Ghent to Sluys, Newport, and Dunkerk. He had 
 
 1 The wits of Rome were very severe 
 upon Philip. " S'il y a auciin." aaid a 
 Piistiviil stuck up in thnt city, "qui sache 
 d;s iiouvelles de Tarmee d'Hspajaie, i»er- 
 dtip en mer depiils troia scmaines oa 
 environ, et qui puisse apprendrt- ce qu'elle 
 est devenue, qu'il en vienne a revelation, 
 et s'addresse au palain St. I*ierre, ou le St. 
 Pere lui fera donner son vin." L'Etoile, 
 263. 
 
 » Drake, in Stowe, before cited. 
 
 3 " It seems the Hulce of Parma is in 
 a great chafe," said Seymour," to lee his 
 
 ships in durance at Dunlcirlc, also to find 
 such disaimfiture of the Spanish fleet hard 
 by his nose I can say no more, but (io«l 
 duth show his mighty hand for protectinp 
 this little island." • Seymour to Walsln^- 
 
 ham. Aug. - 1588. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 * Drake to Walslngham, ^ Aug. 1588, 
 
 in Barrow, 310. 
 
 4 Parma's Letters to Pliillp, before 
 cited, pattim. (Arch, de Simancas, ilS.) 
 
 thus transported all his hoys, barges, and munitions for 
 the invasion, from all points of the obedient Netherlands 
 to the sea-coast, without coming within reach of the 
 Hollanders and Zeelanders, who were keeping close 
 watch on the outside. But those Hollandei*s and Zee- 
 landen*^, guarding every outlet to the ocean, occupying 
 every hole and cranny of the coast, laughed the invaders 
 of England to scorn, braving them, jeering them, daring 
 them to come forth, while the A\ alloons and Spaniards 
 slirank before such amphibious assailants, to whom ^ 
 combat on the water was as natnral as upon dry land. 
 Alexander, upon one occasio^, transported with rage, 
 selected a band of one thousand musketeers, partly 
 Spanish, partly Irish, and ordered an assault upon those 
 insolent boatmen". With his own hand — so it was related 
 — he struck dead more than one of his own officers who 
 remonstrated against these commands ; and then the 
 attack was made by his thousand musketeers upon the 
 Hollanders, and every man of the thousand was slain.* 
 
 He had been reproached for not being ready, for not 
 having embarked his me^ ; but he had been ready for a 
 month, and his men could be embarked in a single day. 
 " But it was impossible," he said, '* to keep them long 
 packed up on board vessels so small that there was no 
 room to turn about in : the people would sickeVi, would 
 rot, would die." * So soon as he had received informa- 
 tion of the arrival of the fleet before Calais — which was 
 on the 8th August — he had proceeded the same night to 
 Newport, and embarked 16,000 men, and before dawn 
 he was at Dunkerk, where the troops stationed in that 
 port were as i-apidly placed on board the transports.* 
 Sir William Stanley, with his 700 Irish kernes, were 
 among the first shipped for the enterprise.* Two days 
 long these regiments lay heaped together, like sacks of 
 com, in the boats — as one of their officers described it ' 
 —and they lay cheeifully, hoping that the Dutch fleet 
 would be swept out of the sea by the Invincible Annada, 
 and patiently expecting the signal for setting sail to 
 
 ' Bor. lil. 323, 324. Strada, li. Ix. 562. 1588. (Arch, de Simancas. MS.) 
 P^eyd. viil. 147. 3 Parma to Philip, lo Aug. 1588. 
 
 * " Porque los baxeles son tan petjue- (Arch, de Sim. MS.) 
 fios que no hay plaza para revol- * Meteren, xv. 273, 274. 
 verse. U gonte se enfermeria, pudriera, * Strada, II. x. 659. 562. 
 yperderia." Parma to •Philip, 8 Aug. 
 
 2 I 2 
 
y 
 
 484 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XIX. 
 
 1588. 
 
 MADE FRUITLESS BY PHILIP'S DULNESS. 
 
 485 
 
 Ensland. Then came the Prince of Ascoli, who had 
 gone ashore from the Spanish fleet at Calais, accompa- 
 nied by sergeant-major Gallinato and other messengers 
 from Medina Sidonia, bringing the news of the fire-ships 
 and the dispersion and flight of the Armada.' 
 
 ** God knows," said Alexander, " the distress in which 
 this event has plunged me, at the very moment when I 
 expected to be sending your Majesty my congi-atulations 
 on the success of the great undertaking. But these are 
 the works of the Lord, who can recompense your Majesty 
 by giving you many victories, and the fulfilment of your 
 Majesty's desires, when He thinks the proper time 
 arrived. Meantime let ^lim be praised for all, and let 
 your Majesty take great care of your health, which is 
 the most important thing of all." * 
 
 Evidently th« Lord did not think the proper time yet 
 arrived for fulfilling his Majesty's desires for the subju- 
 gation of England, and meanwhile the King might find 
 what comfort he could in pious commonplaces and in 
 attention to his health. 
 
 But it is very certain that, of all the high parties con- 
 cenied, Alexander Farnese was the least reprehensible 
 for the overthrow of Philip's hopes. No man could have 
 been more judicious — as it has been sufficiently made 
 evident fn the course of this narrative — in arranging all 
 the details of the great enterprise, in pointing out all 
 the obstacles, in J)roviding for all emergencies. No 
 man could have been more minutely faithful to his 
 master, more treacherous to all the world beside. Ener- 
 getic, inventive, patient, courageous, and stupendously 
 false, he had covered Flanders with canals and bridges, 
 had constructed flotillas, and equipped a splendid army, 
 as thoroughly as he had puzzled Comptroller Croft And 
 not only had that diplomatist and his wiser colleagues 
 been hoodwinked, but Elizabeth and Burghley, and, for 
 a moment, even Walsingham, were in ^the dark ; while 
 Henry III. had been his passive victim, and the magni- 
 ficent Balafre a blind instrument in his hands. Nothing 
 could equal Alexander's fidelity but his perfidy. Nothing 
 could surpass his ability to command but his obedience. 
 And it is ver}^ jjossible that, had Philip followed his 
 nephew's large designs, instead of imposing upon him 
 
 » Parma to Phllip'^lo Aug. (MS. last clttd.) 2 Ibid. 
 
 his own most puerile schemes, the result for England, 
 Holland, and all Christendom, might have been very 
 different from the actual one. The blunder against 
 which Farnese had in vain warned his master was the 
 stolid ignorance in which the King and all his counsellors 
 chose to remain of the Holland and Zeeland fleet. For 
 them, Warmond and Nassau, and Van der Does and 
 Joost de Moor, did not exist, and it was precisely these 
 gallant sailors, with their intrepid crews, who held the 
 key to the whole situation. 
 
 To the Queen's glorious naval commanders, to the 
 dauntless mariners of England, with their well-handled 
 vessels, their admirable seamanship, their tact and their 
 courage, belonged the joys of the contest, the triumph, 
 and the glorious pursuit ; but to the patient Hollanders 
 and Zeelanders, who, with their hundred vessels, held 
 Farnese, the chief of the great enteq^rise, at bay, a close 
 prisoner with his whole army in his own ports, daring 
 him to the issue, and ready — to the last plank of their 
 fleet, and to the' last drop of their blood — to confront 
 both him and the Duke of Medina Sidonia, an equal 
 share of honour is due. The safety of the two free com- 
 monwealths of the world in that terrible contest was 
 achieved by the people and the mariners of the two states 
 combined. 
 
 Great was the enthusiasm, certainly, of the English 
 people as the volunteers marched through London to 
 the place of rendezvous, and tremendous were the cheers 
 when the brave Queen rode on horseback along the lines 
 of Tilbury. Glowing pictures are revealed to us of 
 merry little England, arising in its strength, and danc- 
 ing forth to encounter the Spaniards, as if to a great 
 holiday. " It was a pleasant sight," says that enthu- 
 siastic merchant-tailor John Stowe, *'to behold the 
 cheerful countenances, courageous words, and gestures 
 of the soldiers, as they marched to Tilbuiy, dancing, 
 leaping wherever they came, as joyful At the news of 
 the foe's approach as if lusty giants were to run a race. 
 And Bellona-like did the Queen infuse a second spirit 
 of loyalty, love, and resolutiou into every soldier of 
 her army, who, ravished with their sovereign's sight, 
 prayed heartily that the Spaniards might land quickly, 
 and, when they*heard they were fled, began to lamopt,'' ' 
 
 1 Stowe. 749. 
 
486 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 CiiAP. XIX. 
 
 But if the Spaniards had not fled, if there had been 
 no English navy in the Channel, no squibs at Calais, no 
 Dutchmen off Dunkerk, there might have been a dif- 
 ferent picture to paint. No man who has studied the 
 history of those times can doubt the universal and en- 
 thusiastic determination of the English nation to repel 
 the invaders. Catholics and Protestants felt alike on 
 the gi-eat subject. Philip did not flatter himself with 
 assistance from any English Papists, save ejtiles and 
 renegades like Westmoreland, Paget, Throgmorton, 
 Morgan, Stanley, and the rest. The bulk of the Catholics, 
 who may have constituted half the population of England, 
 although malcontent, were not rebellious ; and, notwith- 
 standing the precautionary measures taken by govern- 
 ment against them, Elizabeth proudly acknowledged 
 their loyalty.* 
 
 But loyalty, courage, and enthusiasm might not have 
 sufficed to supply the want of numbers and discipline. 
 According to the generally accepted statement of con- 
 temporary chroniclers, there were some 75,000 men 
 under arms: 20,000 along the southern coast, 23,000 
 Tinder Leicester, and 33,000 under Lord Chamberlain 
 Hundson, for the special defence of the Queen's person.* 
 
 But it would have been very difficult, in the moment 
 of danger, to bring anything like these numbers into 
 the field. A drilled and disciplined army— whether of 
 regulars or of militia-men— had no existence whatever. 
 If the merchant-vessels, which had been joined to the 
 royal fleet, were thought by old naval commanders to 
 be only good to make a show, the volunteers on land 
 were likely to be even less effective than the marine 
 
 1 " Said It was their Intention lo occupy 
 the whole kingdom of England— to keep 
 the English Queen a prisoner, but to treat 
 her as a Queeti, until the King should 
 otherwise ordain. Said that they had 
 understood there were many Catholics In 
 England, but that they made not much 
 account of them, knowing that the Queen 
 had taken care that they should not give 
 any assistance, and believing that most 
 of them would have fought for their 
 native land," «tc. &c. Answers of I>on 
 Diego de Bmentel to Interrogations be- 
 fore Adrian van der Myle, John van 
 Olden- Rirnevcld, Admiral Villers, and 
 Famars, in Bor, III. xxilL 325, 326. 
 
 " This Invasion, tending to the reducing 
 ©f this realm to the subjection of a stran- 
 ger—a matter so greatly misllked gene- 
 rally by the subjects of this reahn of all 
 sorts and of all religions, yea, by no 
 small number of them tliat are known to 
 be addicted to the Romish religion— who 
 are resolutely bent to withstand the 
 same with the employment of their goods 
 and hazard of their lives," &c Queen to 
 the Commissioners at Bourbourg (signed, 
 but stayed by her Majesty's order), July 
 
 -.1588. (S. P.Office MS.) 
 
 * Camden, ili. 405. 
 
 1588. ENGLAND READIER AT SEA THAN ON LAND. 487 
 
 militia, so much more accustomed than they to hard 
 work. Magnificent was the spirit of the great feudal 
 lords as they rallied round their Queen. The Earl of 
 Pembroke offered to serve at the head of three hundred 
 hor^e and five hundred footmen, armed at his own cost, 
 and all ready to *' hazard the blood of their hearts" in 
 defence of her person. " Accept hereof, most excellent 
 sovereign," said the Earl, " from a person desirous to 
 live no longer than he may see your Highness enjoy 
 your blessed estate, maugre the beards of all confe- 
 derated leaguers." * 
 
 The Earl of Shrewsbury, too, was ready to serve at 
 the head of his retainers, to the last drop of his blood. 
 "Though I be old," he said, *'yet shall your quarrel 
 make me young again. Though lame in body, yet lusty 
 in heart to lend your greatest enemy one blow, and to 
 stand near your defence, every way wherein your 
 Highness shall employ me." * 
 
 But there was perhaps too much of this feudal spirit. 
 The lieutenant-general complained bitterly that there 
 was a most mischievous tendency among all the militia- 
 men to escape from the Queen's colours, in order to 
 enrol themselves as retainers to the great lords.^ This 
 spirit was not favourable to efficient organization of a 
 national army. Even had the commander-in-chief been 
 a man of genius and experience, it would have been 
 difficult for him, under such circumstances, to resist a 
 splendid army, once landed and led by Alexander 
 Farnese ; but even Leicester's most determined flatterers 
 hardly ventured to compare him in military ability 
 with that first general of his age. The best soldier 
 in England was unquestionably Sir John Norris, and 
 Sir John was now marshal of the camp to Leicester. The 
 ancient quarrel between the two had been smoothed 
 oyer, and — as might be expected — the Earl hated 
 Norris more bitterly than before, and was perpetually 
 vituperating him, as he had so often done in the 
 Netherlands. Eoger Williams, too, was entrusted with 
 the important duties of master of the horse, under the 
 
 I Pembroke to the Queen, -f^. ^^^^- (^- ?• Office MS.) 
 1688. (S. P. Office MS.) ^ ^"* * Leicester to Walslngham. ^^ 
 
 » Shrewsbury to the Queen, - Aug. 
 
 1588. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
488 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XIX. 
 
 lieutenant-general, and Leicester continued to bear the 
 grudge towards that honest Welshman which had begun 
 in Holland. These were not promising conditions in a 
 camp, when an invading army was every day expected ; 
 nor was the completeness or readiness of the forces suffi- 
 cient to jender harmless the quarrels of the com- 
 manders. 
 
 The Armada had arrived in Calais roads on Saturday 
 afternoon, the 6th August. If it had been joined on 
 that day, or the next— as Philip and Medina Sidonia 
 fully expected— by the Duke of Parma's flotilla, the 
 invasion would have been made at once. If a Spanish 
 army had ever landed in England at all, that event 
 would have occurred on the 7th August. The weather 
 was not unfavourable, the sea was smooth, and the cir- 
 cumstances under which the catastrophe of the great 
 drama was that night accomplished were a profoimd 
 mystery to every soul in England. For aught that 
 Leicester, or Burghley, or Queen Elizabeth knew at 
 the time, the army of Famese might, on Monday, have 
 'been marching upon London. Now, on that Monday 
 morning, the army of Lord Hundson was not assembled 
 at all, and Leicester, with but four thousand men under 
 his command, was just commencing his camp at Tilbury.* 
 lilie " Bellona-like " appearance of the Queen on her 
 ^hite palfrey, with truncheon in hand, addressing her 
 troops in that magnificent burst of eloquence which has 
 so often been repeated, was not till eleven days after- 
 wards, August - ;* not till the great Armada, shattered 
 and tempest-tossed, had been, a week long, dashing 
 itself against the cliffs of Norway and the Faroes, on its 
 forlorn retreat to Spain. 
 
 Leicester, courageous, self-confident, and sanguine as 
 ever, could not restrain his indignation at the parsi- 
 mony with which his own impatient spirit had to con- 
 tend. " Be you assured," said he, on the Srd August^ 
 
 I • I have a most apt place to begin ground for the encamping of the soldiers, 
 our camp In, not far from the fort, at a Yesterday went to Chelmsford to order 
 place called West Tilbury." Leicester all the soldiers hither this day." Same to 
 
 to Privy CouncU..^i^, 1588. (S. P. Walslngham. -^^^ 1588. CS.P- Office 
 
 Office MS.) MS.) 
 
 " I did peruse and make choice of the * Lingard, viii. 285. 
 
 1588. 
 
 THE LIEUTENANT-GENERAL'S COMPLAINTS. 
 
 489 
 
 when the Armada teas off the Isle of Wight ^ " if the Spanish 
 fleet arrive safely in the narrow seas, the Duke of 
 Parma will join presently with all his forces, and lose 
 no time in invading this realm. Therefore I beseech 
 you, my good Lords, let no man, by hope or other 
 abuse, prevent your speedy providing defence against 
 this mighty enemy now knocking at our gate." ^ 
 
 For even at this supreme moment doubts were enter- 
 tained at court as to the intentions of the Spaniards. 
 
 Next day he informed Walsingham that his four 
 thousand men had arrived. *' They be as forward men 
 and willing to meet the enemy as I ever saw," 4 Aug. 
 said he.* He could not say as much in*praise of ^^^**- 
 the commissariat. '* Some want the captains showed," 
 he observed, " for these men arrived without one meal 
 of victuals, so that, on their arrival, they had not one 
 barrel of beer nor loaf of bread — enough after twenty 
 miles' march to have discouraged them, and brought 
 them to mutiny. I see many causes to increase my 
 former opinion of the dilatory wants you shall find 
 upon all sudden hurley-burleys. In no former time 
 was ever so great a cause ; and albeit her Majesty hath 
 appointed an army to resist her enemies if they land, 
 yet how hard a matter it will be to gather men 
 together, I find it now. If it will be five days to 
 gather these countrymen, judge what it will be to look 
 in short space for those that dwell forty, fifty, sixty 
 miles off"." ' 
 
 He had immense difficulty in feeding even this 
 slender force. " I made proclamation," said he, " two 
 days ago, in all market towns, that victuallers should 
 come to the camp and receive money for their provi- 
 sions, but there is not one victualler come in to this 
 hour. I have sent to all the justices of peace about it 
 from place to place. I speak it that timely consideration 
 be had of these things, and that they be not deferred 
 till the worst come. Let her Majesty 710^ defer the time, 
 upon any supposed hope, to assemble a convenient force of 
 horse and foot about her. Her Majesty cannot be strong 
 
 1 Leicester to Privy Council. -^"'^. («. P. Office MS.) 
 
 ]58d. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 • Leicester to Walsingham, 
 
 « Same to Walslngham. \'^^. 1588. "88. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 so 3\i\j 
 
490 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XIX. 
 
 1588. HIS QUARRELS WITH NORRIS AND WILLIAMS. 491 
 
 enough too soon ; and if her navy had not heen strong 
 and abroad as it is, what care had herself and her 
 whole realm been in by this time ! And what care she 
 will be in if her forces be not only assembled, but an 
 array presently dressed to withstand the mighty enemy 
 that is to approach her gates ! 
 
 "God doth know, I speak it not to bring her to 
 charges. I would she had less cause to spend than 
 ever she had, and her cotters fuller than ever they 
 were ; but I will prefer her life and safety, and the 
 defence of the realm, before all sparing of charges in 
 the present danger." * 
 
 Thus, on the 5th August, no army had been assem- 
 bled — not even the body-guard of the Queen, — and 
 Leicester, with four thousand men, unprovided with a 
 barrel of beer or a loaf of bread, was about commencing 
 his entrenched camp at Tilbury. On the 6th August 
 the Armada was in Calais roads, expecting Alexander 
 Famese to lead his troops upon London ! 
 
 Norris and Williams, on the news of Medina Sidonia's 
 approach, had rushed to Dover, much to the indignation 
 of Leicester, just as the Earl was beginning his en- 
 trenchments at Tilbury. '* I assuie you I am angiy 
 with Sir John Norris and Sir Roger Williams," he said. 
 " I am here cook, caterer, and huntsman. I am left with 
 no one to supply Sir John's place as marshal, but, for a 
 day or two, am willing to work the harder myself. I 
 ordered them both to return this day early, which they 
 faithfully promised. Yet, on arriving this morning, I 
 hear nothing of either, and have nobody to marshal the 
 camp either for horse or foot. This manner of dealing doth 
 much mislike me in them both. I am ill-used. 'Tis now 
 four o'clock, but here's not one of them. If they come 
 not this night, I assure you I will not receive them into 
 office, nor bear such loose, careless dealing at their hands. 
 If you saw how weakly I am assisted you would be 
 sorry to think that we here should be the front against 
 the enemy that is so mighty, if he should land here. 
 And seeing her Majesty hath appointed me her lieu- 
 tenant-general, I look that respect be used towards me, 
 such as is due to my place." * 
 
 I Leicester to Walslngham, -j^"^. 
 1588. (MS. already cited.) 
 
 s Same to some, 
 already cited.) 
 
 tSJuly 
 4 Aug. ' 
 
 (MS. 
 
 Thus the ancient grudge between Leicester and the 
 Earl of Sussex's son was ever breaking forth, and was 
 not likely to prove beneficial at this eventful season. 
 
 Next day the Welshman anived, and Sir John pro- 
 mised to come back in the evening. Sir Roger brought 
 word from the coast that Lord Henry Seymour's fleet 
 was in want both of men and powder. ** Good Lord ! " 
 exclaimed Leicester, '* how is this come to pase, that 
 both he and my Lord- Admiral are so weakened of men ? 
 I hear they be running away. I beseech you, assemble 
 your forces, and play not away this kingdom by delays. 
 Hasten our horsemen hither and footmen. . . s Aug. 
 If the Spanish fleet come to the narrow seas, the ^^'***- 
 Trinceof Parma will play another part than is looked for."^ 
 
 As the Armada approached Calais, Leicester was in- 
 formed that the soldiers at Dover began to leave the 
 coast. It seemed that they were dissatisfied with the 
 penuriousness of the government. "Our soldiers do 
 break away at Dover, or are not pleased. I assure you, 
 without wages, the people will not tarry, and contribu- 
 tions go hard with them. Surely I find that her Majesty 
 must needs deal liberally, and be at charges to entertain 
 her subjects that have chargeably and liberally used 
 themselves to serve her." * The lieutenant-general even 
 thought it might be necessary for him to proceed to 
 Dover in person, in order to remonstrate with these 
 discontented troops ; for it was possible that those ill- 
 paid, undisciplined, and very meagre forces would find 
 much difficulty in opposing Alexander's march to 
 London, if he should once succeed in landing. Leicester 
 had a very indifferent opinion too of the train-bands of 
 the metropolis. *' For your Londoners," he said, " I see 
 their service will be little^ except they have their own 
 captains, and, having them, / look for none at all by them, 
 when we shall meet the enemy." * This was not com- 
 plimentary, certainly, to the training of the famous 
 Artillery Garden, and furnished a still stronger motive 
 for defending the road over which the capital was to be 
 approached. But there was much jealousy, both among 
 citizens and nobles, of any authority entrusted to pro- 
 fessional soldiers. "I know what burghers be, well 
 
 1 Same to same. fi^^. i588. .(MS. « Same to same. ^. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 already cited s ibid. "*" 
 
 f 
 
 \ 
 
 \ 
 
492 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XIX. 
 
 f T 
 
 enough," said the Earl, "as brave and well-entertained 
 as ever the Londoners were. If they should go forth 
 from the city they should have good leaders. You know 
 the imperfections of the time, how few leaders you have, 
 and the gentlemen of the counties are very loth to have 
 any captains placed with them. So that the beating out 
 of our best captains is like to be cause of great danger." ^ 
 'Sir John Smith, a soldier of experience, employed to 
 drill and organize some of the levies, expressed still 
 more disparaging opinions than those of Leicester con- 
 cerning the probable efficiency in the field of these 
 English armies.' The Earl was very angry with the 
 knight, however, and considered him incompetent, inso- 
 lent, and ridiculous. Sir John seemed,* indeed, more 
 disposed to keep himself out of harm's way than to 
 render service to the Queen by leading awkward 
 recruits against Alexander Famese. He thought it 
 better to nurse himself. 
 
 " You would laugh to see how Sir John Smith has 
 dealt since my coming," said Leicester. " He came to 
 me, and told me that his disease so grew upon him as he 
 must needs go to the baths. I told him I would not be 
 against his health, but he saw what the time was, and 
 what pains he had taken with his coimtrymen, and that 
 I had provided a good place for him. Next day he 
 came again, saying little to my offer then, and seemed 
 desirous, for his health, to be gone. I told him what 
 place I did appoint, which was a regiment of a great 
 part of his countrymen. He said his health was dear to 
 him, and he desired to take leave of me, which I yielded 
 imto. Yesterday, being our muster-day, he came again 
 to me to dinner; but such foolish and vainglorious 
 paradoxes he burst withal, without any cause offered, 
 as made all that knew anything smile and answer little, 
 but in sort rather to satisfy men present than to argue 
 with him." » 
 
 And the knight went that day to review Leicester's 
 choice troops — the four thousand men of Essex — but was 
 not much more deeply impressed with their proficiency 
 
 * Leicester to Walsingham, 
 
 aeJuly 47. Llngard, vill. 273. 
 
 "■ ' Leicester to Walsingham, y ^ug. ^ 
 
 1588. (S. P. 0fflc« MS.) 
 a Hardwicke Papers, 1. 675. Strype, iv. 1588. 0^ already cited.) 
 
 1588. WANT OF ORGANIZATION* IN ENGLAND. 
 
 493 
 
 than ho had been with that of his own regiment. He 
 became very censorious. 
 
 " After the muster," said the lieutenant-general, " he 
 entered again into such strange cries for ordering of men, 
 and for the fight with the weapon, as made me think he 
 was not well. God forbid he should have charge of 
 men that knoweth so little, as I dare pronounce that he 
 doth ! " » 
 
 Yet the critical knight was a professional campaigner, 
 whose opinions were entitled to respect ; and the more so, 
 it would seem, because they did not materially vary from 
 those which Leicester himself was in the habit of ex- 
 pressing. And these interior scenes of discord, tumult, 
 persimony, want of organization, and unsatisfactoiy 
 mustering of troops, were occurring on the very Saturday 
 and Sunday when the Armada lay in sight of Dover 
 cliffs, and when the approach of the Spaniards on the 
 Dover-road might at any moment be expected. 
 
 Leicester's jealous and overbearing temper itself was 
 also proving a formidable obstacle to a wholesome 
 system of defence. He was already displeased with the 
 amount of authority entrusted to Lord Hunsdon, dis- 
 posed to think his own rights invaded, and desirous 
 that the Lord Chamberlain should accept office under 
 himself. He wished saving clauses as to his own autho- 
 rity inserted in Hunsdon's patent. " Either it must be 
 so, or I shall have wrong," said he, " if he absolutely 
 command where my patent doth give me power. You 
 may easily conceive what absurd dealings are likely to 
 fall out, if you allow two absolute commanders." * 
 
 Looking at these pictures of commander-in-chief, 
 officers, and rank and file— as painted by themselves— 
 we feel an inexpressible satisfaction that in this great 
 crisis of England's destiny there were such men as 
 Howard, Drake, Frobisher, Hawkins, Seymour, Winter, 
 Fenner, and their gallant brethren, cniising that week 
 in the Channel, and that Nassau and Warmond, De Moor 
 and Van der Does, were blockading the Flemish coast. 
 
 Ihere was but little preparation to resist the enemy 
 once landed. There were no fortresses, no regular anny 
 no population trained to any weapon. There were 
 
 1 Leicester to Walsingham ^-i^ ^^^^' (MS- already cited.) « Ibid. 
 
 * ° 7 Aug. • 
 
 iii 
 
494 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XIX. 
 
 patriotism, loyalty, courage, and enthusiasm, in abun- 
 dance ; but the commander-in-chief was a queen's 
 favourite, odious to the people, with very moderate 
 abilities, and eternally quarrelling with officers more 
 competent than himself; and all the arrangements were 
 so hopelessly behindhand that, although great disasters 
 might have been avenged, they could scarcely have been 
 
 avoided. ' . 
 
 Eemembering that the Invincible Armada was lying 
 in Calais roads on the 6th of August, hoping to cross to 
 Dover the next morning, let us ponder the words ad- 
 dressed on that ver>^ day to Queen Elizabeth by the 
 Lieutenant-General of England. ^ 
 
 «* My most dear and gracious Lady," said the Earl, 
 ** it is most true that those enemies that approach your 
 kingdom and person are your undeserved foes, and being 
 so, and hating you for a righteous cause, there is the 
 less fear to be had of their malice or their forces ; for 
 there is a most just God that beholdeth the innocence 
 of that heart, the cause you are assailed for is His and 
 His Church's, and He never failed any that faithfully 
 do put their chief trust in His goodness. He hath, to 
 comfort you withal, given you great and mighty means 
 to defend yourself, which means I doubt not but your 
 Majesty will timely and princely use them, and your 
 good God that ruleth all will assist you and bless you 
 with victory." * 
 
 He then proceeded to give his opinion on two points 
 concerning which the Queen had just consulted him— 
 the propriety of assembling her army, and her desire to 
 place herself at the head of it in person. 
 
 On the first point one would have thought discussion 
 superfluous on the 6th of August. " For your army, it 
 ui more than time it were gathered and about you" said Lei- 
 cester, " or so near you as you may have the use of it at 
 a few hours' warning. The reason is that your mighty 
 enemies are at hand, and, if God suifers them to pass by 
 your fleet, you are sure they will attempt their purpose 
 of landing with all expedition. And albeit your navy 
 be very strong, but, as we have always heard, the other 
 is not only far greater, but their forces of men much 
 
 87 July 
 
 1 Leicester to the Queen, J^. 158?. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 8 Aug. 
 
 1588. 
 
 ROYAL PARSIMONY AND DELAY. 
 
 495 
 
 beyond yours. No doubt, if the Prince of Parma come 
 forth, their forces by sea shall not only be greatly aug- 
 mented, but his power to land shall the easier take efiect 
 whensoever he shall attempt it. Therefore it is most 
 requisite that your Majesty at all events have as great a 
 force every way as you can devise; for there is no 
 dalliance at such a time nor with sUch an enemy. You 
 shall othei-wise hazard your own honour, besides your 
 person and country, and must ofiend your gracious God 
 that gave you these forces and power, though you will not 
 use them wlien you should.'^ ^ 
 
 It seems strange enough that such phrases should be 
 necessary when the enemy was knocking at the gate ; 
 but it is only too true that the land-forces were never 
 organized until the hour of danger had, most fortunately 
 and unexpectedly, passed by. Suggestions at this late 
 moment were now given for the defence of the throne, 
 the capital, the kingdom, and the life of the great 
 Queen, which would not have seemed premature had 
 they been made six months before, but which, when 
 oftered in August, excite unbounded amazement. Alex- 
 ander would have had time to march from Dover to 
 Durham before these directions, now leisurely stated 
 with all the air of novelty, could be carried into efi*ect. 
 
 ** Now for the placing of your army," says the lieu- 
 tenant-general on the memorable Saturday, 6th of 
 August: "no doubt but I think about London the 
 meetest, and I suppose that others will be of the same 
 mind. And your Majesty should forthwith give the 
 charge thereof to some special nobleman about you, and like- 
 wise place all your chief officers that every man may 
 know what he sfiall do, and gather as many good horse above 
 all things as you can, and the oldest, best, and assuredest 
 captains to lead ; for therein will consist the greatest 
 hope of good success under God. And so soon as your 
 army is assembled, let them by and ly be exercised, evei-y man 
 to know his weapon, and that there be all other things 
 prepared in readiness for your army, as if they should 
 march upon a day's warning, especially carriages, and a 
 commissary of victuals, and a master of ordnance."* 
 
 Certainly, with Alexander of Parma on his way to 
 London, at the head of his Italian pikemen, his Spanish 
 
 » Leicester to the Queen, MS. last cited. s ibid. 
 
 • I V 
 
*! 
 
 ii 
 
 (IP 
 
 ; « 
 
 496 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XIX. 
 
 musketeers, his famous veteran legion—" that nursing 
 mother of 'great soldiers " »^it was indeed more *^?J^ 
 time that every man should know what he should do 
 that an army of Englishmen should be assembled, and 
 that every man should know his weapon By and 
 by " was easily said, and yet on the 6th of August it 
 was by and by that an army, not yet mustered, not yet 
 officered, not yet provided with a general, a commissary 
 of victuals, or a master of ordnance, was to be exercised 
 
 »« every man to know his weapon." 
 
 English courage might ultimately triumph over the 
 mistakes of those who governed the country, and over 
 those disciplined brigands by whom it was to be mvaded 
 But meantime every man of those invaders had already 
 learned on a hundred battle-fields to know Ai. weapon. 
 
 It was a magnificent determination on the part ot 
 Elizabeth to place herself at the head of her troops ; and 
 the enthusiasm which her attitude inspired, whep she 
 had at last emancipated herself from the delusions of di- 
 plomacy and the seductions of thrift, was some recompense 
 at least for the perils caused by her procrastination. 
 But Leicester could not approve of this hazardous thougli 
 
 heroic resolution." x • -u k.^^A<. 
 
 The danger passed away. The Invincible Armada 
 
 was driven out of the Channel by the courage, the 
 
 splendid seamanship, and the enthusiasm of J^nglisti 
 
 1 " Aquel terclo viejo, padre de todos 
 los demas, y scmlnario de los mayores 
 soldados que ha visto en nuestxo liefflpo 
 Europa." Coloma. ii. 26'o. 
 
 « Leicester to the Ciiieen, MS. before 
 
 cited. 
 
 « Now for your person," he said, "being 
 the most dainty and sacred thing we 
 have in this world to care for, a man 
 must tremble when he thinks of It, 
 especially finding your Majesty to have 
 that princely couraRC to transport your- 
 self to the uttermost confines of your 
 realm to meet your enemies and defend 
 your subjects. I cannot, most dear gucen, 
 consent to that; for upon your well-doing 
 consists all and some for your whole 
 kingdom, and therefore presefve it above 
 all ! Yet will 1 not that, in some sort, so 
 princely and so rare a magnanimity 
 ■hould not appear to your people and 
 the world as It is, and thus far. If it please 
 
 you, you may do it to draw yourself to 
 your house at Havering ; and your army, 
 btlng .ibout London, as at Stratford. 
 Eastham, Hackney, and the villages there 
 about, shall be alway not only a defence 
 but a ready supply to those counties of 
 Essex and Kent, if need be, and in the 
 meantime your Majesty may comfort this 
 army and ilie people of both those coun- 
 ties, and ma}' see both the camp and the 
 forts. It is not above fourteen miles from 
 Havering, and a very convenient place for 
 your Majesty to lie in by the way. To 
 rest you at the camp, I trust you will 
 be pleased with your poor lieutenant's 
 cibin, and within a mile there is a gentle- 
 man's house where you may also lie. 
 Thus you may comfort not only these 
 thousands, but many more that shall 
 hear of it, and thus far, but no farther, 
 can I consent to adventure your person." 
 
 1588. 
 
 QUARRELS OF ENGLISH ADMIRALS. 
 
 497 
 
 sailors and volunteers. The Duke of Parma was kept 
 a close prisoner by the fleets of Holland and Zeeland • 
 and the great stoim of the 14th and 15th of August at 
 last completed the overthrow of the Spaniards 
 
 It was, however, supposed for a long time that they 
 would come bac.k, for the disasters which had befallen 
 them in the north were but tardily known in England. 
 Ihe sailors by whom England had been thus defended 
 m her utmost need, were dying by hundreds, and even 
 thousands, of «hip-fever, in the latter days of August. 
 Men sickened one day, and died the next, so that it 
 seemed probable that the ten thousand sailors by whom 
 the English ships of war were manned would have 
 almost wholly disappeared, at a moment when their 
 services might be imperatively required. Nor had there 
 been the least precaution taken for cherishing and saving 
 these brave defenders of their country. They rotted in 
 their ships, or died in the streets of the naval ports 
 because there were no hospitals to receive them » ' 
 
 ^'' lis a most pitiful sight," said the Lord- Admiral, 
 to see here at Margate how the men, having no place 
 where they can be received, die in the streets. lam 
 driven of force myself to come on land to see them 
 bestowed m some lodgings ; and the best I can get is 
 bams and such outhouses, and the relief is small that I 
 can provide for them here. It would grieve any man's 
 heart to see men that have served so valiantly die so misera}>hj ^ ^ 
 Ihe survivors, too, were greatly discontented; for, 
 after having been eight months at sea, and enduring 
 great privations, they could not get their wages. - Find- 
 ing it to come thus scantily," said Howard, -it breeds 
 a maiTellous alteration among them."^ 
 
 But more dangerous than the pestilence or the discon- 
 tent was the misunderstanding which existed at the 
 moment between the leading admirals of the English 
 Hawkin. T i^ was Seymour angry with HowardTbut 
 Hawkins aiid Irobisher were at daggers drawn With 
 Drake; and Sir Martm-if contemporary affidavits can 
 
 'Lord Howard to the Queen ; same 
 toVValshigham; same to IVivy Council, 
 
 iSepT"- (S- p. Office MSS.) 
 
 VOL. II. 
 
 2 Howard to Burghlcy. ^ Aug. (S. P. 
 Office ais.) 
 
 ' Howard to Privy Council, "^"'^- 
 1588. (S. r. Office MS.) ' ^ ^^^ 
 
 2 K 
 
498 
 
 THE UNITED KETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XIX. 
 
 be tmsted— did not scruple to heap the most virulent 
 abuse upon Sir Francis, calling him, in language better 
 fitted for the forecastle than the quarter-deck, a thief 
 and a coward, for appropriating the ransom of Don 
 Pedro Valdez, in which both Frobisher and Hawkinn 
 claimed at least an equal share with himself.' 
 
 And anxious enough was the Lord-Admiral, ^4th his 
 sailors perishing by pestilence, with many of his ships 
 so weakly manned that— as Lord Henry Sejnnour de- 
 
 1 "The -°th day of August, 1588, 
 
 I arrived at Harwich," sjiys Matthew 
 Suirke, mariner on boanl the Kevevge, 
 flagship of Sir KruiK is Drake, " and de- 
 livered letters sent by the Ix>rd- Admiral 
 to the l>onl Sheffield. ... I found wtih 
 him Sir John Hawkins, Sir Martin Fro- 
 bisher, with divers others. . . . Then Sir 
 Martin Frobisher began some speeches 
 concerning the service done in this action, 
 and said :— ' Sir Francis Drake reporteth 
 that no man hath dune any good service 
 but he, but he sliall well understand tliat 
 others have done as good service as he, 
 and better too. He came braggltig up at 
 the first Indeed, and gave them his prow 
 and his broatlslde, and then kept his lolT, 
 and was glad that he was gone again, 
 like a cowardly knave or traitor— 1 rest 
 doubtful which, but the one I will 
 swear. 
 
 " ' Further, said he, be hath done good 
 gervlce indeed, for he took Don Pedro; 
 for after he had seen her In the evening 
 thiit she had spent her masts, then, like a 
 coward, he kept by lier all night, becauw? 
 he would have the spoil. He thinketh to 
 cozen ua of our shares of I5.(t00 ducats, 
 but we will have our sharee, or I vill 
 make him upend the best blood in his belly, 
 for he hath done enough of those cozen- 
 ing cheats already. 
 
 •• ' He hath used certain speeches of me 
 (continued Sir Martin) which I will 
 make hlra eat again, or I will make him 
 spend the best blood In his belly. Fur- 
 thermore, he reporteth tliat no man hath 
 done so good service as he, but he lleth 
 in his teeth, for there are others that 
 have done as good, and better too. 
 
 " • Then he demanded of me if we (In 
 the Rettnge) did not see Don I'edro over- 
 night or no. Unto which I answered 
 No. Then he told me that I lied, for 
 she was seen to all the fleet. Unto 
 
 which I answered I would lay my head 
 that not any one man in the fleet did w^e 
 her until it wa.s morning, that we were 
 within two or three cables' lengths of her. 
 AVhereunto he answered. Aye. marry, you 
 were within two or three cables' lengths, 
 for you were no farther off all night, but 
 lay a-hull by her. Whereunt< • I answen d 
 No. for we bear a good sail all night, off 
 and on. 
 
 " • Then he asked me to what end we 
 stood off from the fleet all night, I an- 
 swered that we had descried three or four 
 hulks, and to that end we wrought, not 
 knowing what they were. Th»^n stiid he, 
 sir Francis was appointed to bear a light 
 all that night, which light we looked for, 
 but there was none to l>e seen ; and In the 
 morning, when we should hav^ dealt with 
 them, there was not about five or i<ix 
 near to the admiral, by reas'on we saw 
 not his light. After this, and many more 
 speeches which I am not able to remem- 
 ber, the Lord Sheffield demanded of me 
 what I was. Unto which I answered I 
 had been In the action with Sir Francis In 
 the Revenge this seven or eight months. 
 Then he demanded of me. What art ihou 
 —a soldier ? And I answered, I am a ma- 
 riner, like your Honour. Then, said he, 
 I have no more to say unto you. You 
 may depart.' 
 
 " All this I do confess to be true, as It 
 was spoken by Sir Martin Frobisher. and 
 do acknowledge it in the presence of these 
 parties whose names are hereunder writ- 
 ten. Captain Flatt ; Captain Vaughan ; 
 Mr. Grange, master of the ArKr : John 
 Grave, masU'r of the Revenge; Captain 
 Si>endeloe. 
 
 "Moreover, he said that Sir Francii* 
 was the cause of all these troubles, and 
 lO this action he showed himself the most 
 coward. By me, Matthew Starke, Aug. 
 
 10 
 
 -, 1588." (S. P. Office \LS.) 
 
 1588. ENGLAND'S NARROW ESCAPE FROM GREAT PERIL. 499 
 
 clared— there were not mariners enough to weigh the 
 anchors,' and with the great naval heroes, on whose 
 efforts thQ safety of the realm depended, wrangling like 
 fishwomen among themselves, when rumours came, as 
 they did almost daily, of the return of the Spanish 
 Armada, and of new demonstrations on the part of Far- 
 nese He was naturally unwilling that the fruits of 
 English valour on the seas should now be sacrificed by 
 the false economy of the government. He felt that, 
 after all that had been endured and accomplished, the 
 Queen and her counsellors were still capable of leaving 
 England at the mercy of a renewed attempt. " I know 
 not what you think at the court," said he ; " but I think, 
 and so do all here, that there cannot be too great forces 
 maintained for the next five or six weeks. God knoweth 
 whether the Spanish fleet will not, after refreshino- 
 themselves in Norway, Denmark, and the Orkneys'^ 
 return. I think they dare not go back to Spain, with 
 this dishonour to their King and overthrow of the Pope's 
 credit. Sir, sure bind, sure find. A kingdom is a grand 
 wager. Security is dangerous, and, if God had not been 
 our best f fiend, we should have found it so."* 
 
 Nothing could be more replete with sound common 
 sense than this simple advice, given as it was in utter 
 ignoiance of the fate of the Armada, after it had been 
 lost sight of by the English vessels off the Frith of Forth, 
 and of the cold refreshment which it had found in Nor- 
 way and the Orkneys. But Burghley had a store of 
 pithy apophthegms, for which he knew he could always 
 find sympathy in the Queen's breast, and with which he 
 could answer these demands of admirals and generals. 
 ** To spend in time convenient is wisdom ;" he observed 
 — *' to continue charges without needful cause bringeth 
 repentance ;" — " to hold on charges without knowledgn 
 of the certainty thereof and of means how to support 
 them, is lack of wisdom ;" * and so on. 
 
 saving of a little charge. The Duke of 
 Parma Is nigh, and will not let to send 
 dally to the Duke of Sldonla, If he may 
 ^ Ho»a«l to W.ls.„ghan.. - Aug. a„j „„ ,. j^^ ^ Walsl,«h™. H 
 
 '"'^Ir^h'^TLTiy .a. ,-,„te. — <-•'—., ■" 
 
 cometh on apace," said Drake, » but my ^ Memorial in Burghley's hand, - 
 
 poor opinion is that I dare not advise her Aug. 1588. (S. P. Office MS) "" 
 
 Majesty to hazard a kingdom with the '' 
 
 » Seymour to Walslnghara, 
 1588. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 23 Aug. 
 i Sept." 
 
 2 K 2 
 
600 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XIX. 
 
 Yet the Spanish fleet might have returned into the 
 Channel— for aught the Lord-Treasurer on the 22nd 
 August knew— or the Dutch fleet might have relaxed in 
 its vigilant watching of Famese's movements. It might 
 have then seemed a most plentiful lack of wisdom to 
 allow English sailors to die of plague in the streets for 
 want of hospitals, and to grow mutinous for default ot 
 pay. To have saved under such circumstances would 
 perhaps have brought repentance. 
 
 The invasion of England by Spam had been most por- 
 tentous, lliat the danger was at last averted is to be 
 ascribed to the enthusiasm of the English nation- both 
 patricians and plebeians-to the heroism of the little 
 English fleet, to the spirit of the naval commanders and 
 volunteers, to the stanch and effective support of the 
 Hollanders, and to the hand of God shattering the Ar- 
 mada at last; but very little credit can be conscien- 
 tiously awarded to the diplomatic or the military efforts 
 of the Queen's government.^ Miracles alone in the 
 opinion of Roger Williams, had saved England on this 
 
 occasion from perdition.* . , . , -, x- -a 
 
 Towards the end of August, Admiral do Nassau paid 
 a visit to Dover with forty ships, " well appointed and 
 furnished."^ He dined and conferred with Seymour, 
 Palmer, and other officers— Winter being still laid up 
 with his wound— and expressed the opinion that Medina 
 Sidonia would hardly return to the Channel, after the 
 banquet he had received from her Majesty s navy be- 
 
 i An exception Is always to be made In 
 favour of the SecreUiry of State. Although 
 stunned for a moment by tlie superhimmn 
 iwrfidy of Philip and Farnese. and de- 
 ceived by false intelligence as to the con- 
 ditions of tlie Armada after the gale near 
 Corm^ii, Walsingham had been ever watch- 
 ful, and constantly uttering words of 
 s*ilemn warning. " Plain dealing is be!>t 
 amonp friends." said Seymour. "I will 
 not flutter you, but you have fought more 
 with your pen than many here In our 
 English navy with their enemies. But 
 that your place and moet necessary attend- 
 ance about her Majesty cannot be spared, 
 your value and deserts opposite the enemy 
 liad showed Itself. 
 
 «' For myself," added tlie b..ld sailor, who 
 was much dis:^atisQed at the prosjxct of 
 
 " being penned and moored in roads," in- 
 stead of cruizing after tlie Spaniards, " I 
 have not spared my body, which, I thanlc 
 God, is able to go through thlclc and thin. 
 .... Spare me not while 1 am abroad, for 
 when God shall return me, I will be kin to 
 the bear. I will hold to the stake b^'fore I 
 come abroad again." Lord H. Seymour 
 
 to Walsingham, from the Rainbow, - 
 
 Aug. 1588. (S. P. Office MS.) Same to 
 
 S3AUK. >.Q 
 
 same, ^^^ MS. 
 
 2 R. Williams to Walsingham, July, 
 158S. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 17 
 
 3 SejTnour to Walsingham, — Aug. 
 
 15^1*. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 1588. VARIOUS RUMOURS AS TO THE ARMADA'S FATE. 501 
 
 tween Calais and Gravelines. He also gave the infor- 
 mation that the States had sent fifty Dutch vessels in 
 pursuit of the Spaniards, and had compelled all the 
 herring-fishermen for the time to serve in the ships of 
 war, although the prosperity of the country depended 
 on that industry. " I find the man very wise, subtle, 
 and cunning," said Seymour of the Dutch Admiral, "and 
 therefore do I trust him." * 
 
 Nassau represented the Duke of Parma as evidently 
 discouraged, as having already disembarked his troops, 
 and as very little disposed to hazard any further enter- 
 prise against England. " I have left twenty-five Krom- 
 stevens," said he, " to prevent his egress from Sluys, and 
 I am immediately returning thither myself. The tide will 
 not allow his vessels at present to leave Dunkirk, and I 
 shall not fail— before the next full moon— to place my- 
 self before that place, to prevent their coming out, or 
 to have a brush with them if they venture to put to 
 
 sea. 
 
 '» 8 
 
 But, after the scenes on which the last full moon had 
 looked down in those waters, there could be no further 
 pretence on the part of Famese to issue from Sluys and 
 Dunkirk, and England and Holland, were thencefoilh 
 saved from all naval enterprises on the part of Spain. 
 
 IMeantime, the same uncertainty which prevailed in 
 England as to the condition and the intentions of the 
 Armada was still more remarkable elsewhere. Theie 
 was a systematic deception practised not only upon 
 other governments, but upon the King of Spain as well. 
 Philip, as he sat at his writing-desk, was regarding him- 
 self as the monarch of England, long after his Armada 
 had been hopelessly dispersed.* 
 
 In Paris, rumours were circulated during the first 
 ten days of August that England was vanquished, and 
 that the Queen was already on her way to Rome as a 
 prisoner, where she was to make expiation, barefoot, 
 before his Holiness. Mendoza — now more magnificent 
 
 > Seymour to Walsingham, — Aug. 
 
 se deliberent se mettre en mer." Just, de 
 
 17 
 
 Nassau to Walsingham, — Aug. 1588. 
 
 1588. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 ' "Cependant Je ne fauldral de me re- (S. P. Office MS.) 
 touroer contre la prochalne lune devant 3 pbiup jj ^^ Parma, 18 Aug. 1588. 
 Dunquerque pour empecher la sortie a (Arch, de Sim. MS.) 
 ceux dedans, ou de me nagler avec eux s'Ua 
 
602 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XIX. 
 
 1588. PHILIP FOR A LONG TIME IN DOUBT. 
 
 503 
 
 than ever— stalked into Notre Dame with his drawn 
 sword in his hand, crying out with a loud voice, " Vic- 
 tory, victor}' !"* and on the 10th of August ordered bon- 
 fires to be made before his house; but afterwards 
 thought better of that scheme.* He had been deceived 
 by a variety of reports sent to him day after day by 
 agents on the coast ; and the King of France— better 
 informed by Stafford, but not unwilling thus to feed his 
 spite against the insolent ambassador — affected to be- 
 lieve his fables. He even confirmed them by intelli- 
 gence, which he pretended to have himself received 
 from other sources, of the landing of the Spaniards in 
 England without opposition, and of the entire subjuga- 
 tion of that country without the striking of a blow." 
 
 Hereupon, on the night of August 10th, the envoy 
 — "like a wise man," as Stafford obsei-ved* — sent off 
 four couriers, one after another, with the great news to 
 Spain, that his master's heart might be rejoiced, and 
 caused a pamphlet on the subject to be printed and dis- 
 tributed over Paris.* " I will not waste a large sheet of 
 paper to express the joy which we must all feel," he 
 wrote to Idiaquez, *' at this good news. God be praised 
 for all, who gives us small chastisements to make us 
 better, and then, like a merciful Father, sends us 
 infinite rewards.'" And in the same strain he wrote, 
 day after day, to Moura and Idiaquez, and to Philip 
 himself. 
 
 Staffoi-d, on his side, was anxious to be infoimed by 
 his government of the exact truth, whatever it were, in 
 order that these figments of Mendoza might be contra- 
 dicted. ** That which cometh from me," he said, " will 
 be believed, for I have not been used to tell lies, and in 
 very truth I have not the face to do it."' 
 
 I Stowe, 744>750. 
 
 * Sir E. Stafford to Walaingham. - 
 
 Aug. 1588. (S. F. Office MS.) 
 » Reyd, viii. 148. 
 
 * Stafford to Walslngham, MS. last 
 cited. 
 
 * Ibid. Reyd, irf)» tup 
 
 cedes 7 beneficlos." Mendoza to Idlaqupz, 
 13 Aug. 1 588. ( Arch, de Sim. [lliris], MS.) 
 Same lo Ililllp II., same date. 
 
 The wivoy thought that the *• Almighty 
 Father of mercy Imd conferred, as infinitt^ 
 rewards and benefits," u|x)n his Spanish 
 children, the sacking of Ix>ndon, and the 
 butchering of the Kngllsh nation— rewards 
 
 • " No quiero ocupar V. M. con larga and ixmeflts similar to those which tluy 
 carta el Regoiljo que tendra con las bueruis had formerly enjoyed in the Nether- 
 nuevascon que queria despacfaar. IWos lands. 
 MA alavado por tudo. qui noo muesira 
 chieos castlgos por enmendanios, y da 
 oomo padre dc miaerlcordia lofinitoe mer- 
 
 T Stafford to Wahiingbam, 
 MS. before cited. 
 
 1 
 
 a 
 
 And the news of the Calais squibs, of the fight off 
 Gravelines, and the retreat of the Armada towards the 
 north, could not be very long concealed. So soon, 
 therefore, as authentic intelligence reached the English 
 envoy of those events— which was not, however, for 
 marJi/ ten days after their occurrence '—Stafford in his 
 turn wrote a pamphlet, in answer to that of Mendoza, 
 and decidedly the more successful one of the two. It 
 cost him but five crowns, he said, to-print four hundred 
 copies of it ; but those in whose name it was published 
 got one hundred crowns by its sale. The English 
 ambassador was unwilling to be known as the author — 
 although *' desirous of touching up the impudence of 
 the Spaniard; "—but the King had no doubt of its 
 origin. Poor Henry, still smarting under the insults of 
 Mendoza and " Mucio," was delighted with this blow to 
 Philip's presumption, was loud in his praises of Queen 
 Elizabeth's valour, prudence, and mai-vellous fortune, 
 and declared that what she had just done could be com- 
 liared to the greatest exploits of the most illustrious 
 men in history.* " So soon as ever he saw the pam- 
 phlet," said Stafford, "he offered to lay a wager it 
 was my doing, and laughed at it heartily."^ And there 
 were malicious pages about the French court, who also 
 found much amusement in writing to the ambassador, 
 begging his interest with the Duke of Parma that they 
 might obtain from that conqueror some odd refuse town 
 or so in England, such as York, Canterbury, London, or 
 the like — till the luckless Don Bernardino was ashamed 
 to show his face.* 
 
 Aug. 
 
 ' Stafford to Walsingham, — Aug. 
 
 15S8. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 2 " VAte Rey ha loado, hablandose con 
 algunos de sag favoridus grandt-mente del 
 valor, animo, y prudencla de la Rej-na 
 di In^laterra, favorecidade una maravil- 
 lojia fortuna, dl/Jendo que lo que ella avia 
 liacho ultlniamente se pudia o)mparar con 
 l.mmayores hazaflasde los hombres mas 
 r.ustres d'-'l tiempo passadu, pues avio 
 osado con solas sus fUerzau aguardar las 
 qu ; eran tan pujantes como las de Espaiia 
 y corabatlr las, cerrando Juntamente el 
 pdso a la armada del ducade Parma, que 
 era no mcnos poderosa, y aver tardado 
 
 quatro afios V. Mag**, con juntar semejan- 
 tes armadas, poniendo al uuindo en admi- 
 raclon de ser las de lasquales se podia 
 dezir aver trionfudo la Ileyna de Ingia- 
 terra." Mendoza to Philip, 13 OcL 1588. 
 (Arch, de Sim. [Paris], MS.) 
 
 Of course all the exploits of the English 
 and Dutch admirals and their crews were, 
 in the opinion of Uenry III., the work of 
 Queen Elizabeth. It was the royal pru- 
 dence, valour, and good fortune, which 
 saved England, not the merits of Drak^ 
 and Howard, Nassau and De Moor. 
 
 8 Stafford to Walsingham, ftlS. before 
 cited. 
 
 4 Slowe, 744-750. 
 
504 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XIX. 
 
 A letter from Famese, however, of 10th Align st, 
 apprized Philip before the end of August of the Calais 
 disaster, and caused him great uneasiness, without 
 driving him to despair. " At the very moment," wrote 
 the King to Medina Sidonia, " when I was expecting 
 news of the effect hoped for from my Armada, I have 
 learned the retreat from before C^alais, to which it teas cmn- 
 pdkd by the weather ; [!] and I have received a very great 
 shock, which keeps me in anxiety not to be exaggerated. 
 Nevertheless I hope in our Lord that He will have pro- 
 vided a remedy, and that if it was possible for you to 
 return upon the enemy, to come back to the appointed 
 post, and to watch an opportunity for the great stroke, 
 you will have done as the case required ; and so I am 
 expecting, with solicitude, to hear what has happened, 
 and please God it may be that which is so suitable for 
 His service." ^ 
 
 And in the same strain, melancholy yet hopeful, were 
 other letters despatched on that day to the Duke of 
 Farma. ** The satisfaction c^ised by your advices on 
 the 8th August of the arrival df the Armada near Calais, 
 and of your preparations to lembark your troops, was 
 changed into a sentiment which you can imagine, by 
 your letter of the 10th. The aWiety thus occasioned' it 
 would be impossible to exaggerat^;-al though — the cause 
 being such as it is — there is no ground for distrust, 
 l^erhaps the Armada, keeping together, has returned upon 
 the enemy, and given a good account of itself, with the 
 help of the Lord. So I still promise myself that you will 
 have performed your part in the enterprise in such wise 
 as that the service intended to the Lord may have been 
 executed, and repairs made to the reputation of all, which 
 has been so much compromised." * 
 
 * "Al tteinpo que se agiiardavan 
 nuevas del effeto que de las fuenas degsa 
 armada se esperaba, se ba entendldo la 
 dt-rrota que desde sobre Gales la fori^o a 
 tomar el temporal, y recibido muy gran 
 lobresalto que me tiene con mas cuydado 
 que se puede encarecer, aunque esjiero en 
 nuestro Se&or que avra proveydo de re- 
 medio, y que os fue posible rebolver sobre 
 el enemigo y acndir al puesto sefialado. y 
 atender el eifecto principal lo pariades 
 cumo pedia el caso, y eml aguanlo con des- 
 
 seo aviso de lo sucedldo, que plega a Dlos 
 sea lo que tanto conviene a su servlcio." 
 Philip II. to Medina SidonIa, 31 Aug. 
 1588. (Arch, de Sim. MS.) 
 
 3 " Prometo me de voa que a\Teys 
 executado lo que os toca de manera que se 
 conslga al servlcio que se ha pretendido 
 hazer a Dios, y el reparo de la reputacion 
 de todos que esta tan empetlada." The 
 underlined words were stricken out by 
 I'hlllp, from the draft of the letter— pre- 
 pared as usual by the secretary— with the 
 
 1588. HE BELIEVES HIMSELF VICTORIOUS. 505 
 
 And the King's drooping spirits were revived by fre^h 
 accounts which reached him in September, by way of 
 France. He now learned that the Armada had taken 
 captive four Dutch men-of-war and many English ships ; 
 that, after the Spaniards had been followed from Calais 
 roads by the enemy's fleet, there had been an action, 
 which the English had attempted in vain to avoid, off 
 Newcastle; that Medina Sidonia had charged upon 
 them so vigorously as to sink twenty of their bhips, and 
 to capture twenty-six othei-s, good and sound ; that the 
 others, to escape perdition, had fled, after sufiering great 
 damage, and had then gone to pieces, all hands peii.sh- 
 ing; that the Armada had taken a port in Scotland, 
 where it was very comfortably established; that the 
 flagship of Lord- Admiral Howard, of Drake, and of that 
 I' distinguished mariner Hawkins," had been all sunk 
 in action, and that no soul had been saved except Drake, 
 who had escaped in a cock-boat. " This is good news," 
 added the writer, " and it is most certain." ^ 
 
 The King pondered seriously over these conflicting 
 accounts, and remained very much in the dark. Half 
 the month of September went by, and he had heard 
 nothing official since the news of the Calais catastrophe. 
 It may be easily understood that Medina Sidonia, while 
 flying round the Orkneys, had not much opportunity for 
 despatching couriers to Spain, and, as Farnese had not 
 written since the 10th August, Philip was quite at a 
 loss whether to consider himself triumphant or defeated. 
 From the reports by way of Calais, Dunkirk, and Kouen,' 
 he supposed that the Armada had inflicted much damage 
 on the enemy. He suggested accordingly, on the 3rd 
 September, to the Duke of Parma, that he might now 
 make the passage to England, while the English fleet, 
 if anything was left of it, was repairing its damages! 
 ** "I'will be easy enough to conquer the country," said 
 Philip, "so soon as you set foot on the soil. Then 
 perhaps our Armada can come back and station itself in 
 the Thames to support you." * 
 
 note In the King's hand :" See If It be well Parma, 31 Aug. 1588. (Arch, de Sim. MS.) 
 
 to omit the passage erased, because in that i Avisos de lAinqucrque, 30 Aug. 15H8 
 
 which God does, or by which He Is ser\'ed. Carta de Roan de Juan de Gamarra, 31 
 
 there is no gahilng or losing of reputation, Aug. 1588. " A sido buona nueva y esto 
 
 and It is better not to speak of It at all." es certlssimo." (Arch, de Sim. [Parisl 
 
 (" Pues en lo que Dlos haze, y es servido, MSS.) 
 
 noayqueperdernl ganar reputacion, y es » ITjiKp II. to Parma, 3 Sept. 1588- 
 
 nftjor no hablar ea ello.") Philip U. to (Arch, de Sim. MS.) 
 
 r 
 
506 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XIX. 
 
 1588. 
 
 IS TRANQUIL WHEN UNDECEIVED. 
 
 607 
 
 Nothing could be simpler. Nevertheless the King 
 felt a pang of doubt lest affairs, after all, might not be 
 going on ko swimmingly : so he dipped his pen in the 
 inkstand again, and observed with much pathos, " But 
 if this hope must be given up, you must take the Isle 
 of Walcheren: something must be done to console 
 me."^ 
 
 And on the 1 5th September he was still no wiser. 
 *' This business of the Annada leaves me no repose," he 
 said ; " I can think of nothing else. 1 don't content 
 myself with what 1 have written, but write again and 
 again, although in great want of light. I heai- that the 
 Annada has sunk and captured many English ships, 
 and is refitting in a Scotch port. If this is in the 
 territory of Lord Huntley, I hope he will stir up the 
 Catholics of that countr}-." * 
 
 And so, in letter after letter, Philip clung to the 
 delusion that Alexander could yet cross to England, 
 and that the Armada might sail up the Thames. The 
 Duke was directed to make immediate arrangements to 
 that effect with Medina Sidonia, at the very moment 
 when that tempest-tosstd grandee was painfully creep- 
 ing back towards the Bay of Biscay, with what remained 
 of his invincible fleet. 
 
 Sanguine and pertinacious, the King refused to believe 
 in the downfall of his long-cherished scheme ; and even 
 when the light was at last dawning upon him, he was 
 like a child crj'ing for a fresh toy, when the one which 
 had long amused him had been broken. If the Armada 
 were really very much damaged, it was easy enough, 
 he thought, for the Duke of Parma to make him a new 
 one, while the old one was repairing. *' In case the 
 Armada is too much shattered to come out," said Philip, 
 *' and winter compels it to stay in that port, ijou must 
 came another Armada to he constructed at Einden and the 
 adjacent towns, at my expense, and, with the two 
 together, you will certainly be able to conquer Eno;- 
 land." « 
 
 And he wrote to Medina Sidonia in similar terras. 
 That naval commander was instructed to enter the 
 Thames at once, if strong enough. If not, he was to 
 
 1 Philip II. to Parma, 3 Sept. 1588. » Philip 11. to Parma, 15 Sept. 15H8. 
 (Arch, de Sim. MSO / (Arch, de Sim. MS.) 8 iwd. 
 
 winter in the Scotch poii which he was supposed to 
 have captured. Meantime Farnese would build a new 
 fleet at Emden, and in the spring the two dukes would 
 proceed to accomplish the great purpose.* 
 
 But at last the arrival of Medina Sidonia at Santander * 
 dispelled these visions, and now the King appeared in 
 another attitude. A messenger, coming post-haste from 
 the captain-general, arrived in the early days of October 
 at the Escorial. Entering the palace he found Idiaquez 
 and Moura pacing up and down the corridor, before the 
 door of Philip's cabinet, and was immediately interro- 
 gated by those counsellors, most anxious, of course, to 
 receive authentic intelligence, at last, as to the fate of 
 the Armada.^ The entire overthrow of the gi-eat pro- 
 ject was now, for the first time, fully revealed in Spain ; 
 the fabulous victories over the English, and the anni- 
 hilation of Howard and all his ships, were dispersed in 
 Broken, ruined, forlorn, the Invincible Armada — 
 
 air. 
 
 so far as it still existed — had reached a Spanish port. 
 Great was the consternation of Idiaquez and Moura, as 
 they listened to the tale, and very desirous was each of 
 the two secretaries that the other should discharge the 
 unwelcome duty of communicating the fatal intelligence 
 to the King.* 
 
 At last Moura consented to undertake the task, and 
 entering the cabinet, he found Philip seated at his desk. 
 Of course he was writing letters.'* Being informed of 
 the arrival of a messenger from the North, he laid down 
 his pen, and inquired the news. The secretary replied 
 that the accounts concerning the Armada were b}' no 
 means so favourable as could be wished. The courier 
 was then introduced, and made his dismal re])ort. The 
 King did not change countenance. *' Great thanks," he 
 observed, "do I render to Almighty God, by whose 
 generous hand I am gifted with such power that I 
 could easily, if I chose, place another fleet upon the 
 seas. Nor is it of very gi'eat importance that a run- 
 ning stream should be sometimes intercepted, so long 
 as the fountain from which it flows remains inex- 
 haustible." 
 
 » Philip II. to Medina Sidonia, 15 Sept. 
 1588. (Arch, de Sim. MS.) 
 
 2 iniUip II. to Parma, 10 Oct. 
 (Arcb.de Sim. MS.) 
 
 8 Strada, II. Ix. 564. 
 
 « Ibid. 
 
 1588. * " Regem llteras scrlbentem reperlt." 
 (Ibid.) 
 
 li 
 
 I'xB J 
 
508 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XIX. 
 
 So saying lie resumed his pen, and serenely pro- 
 ceeded with his letters.* Christopher Moura stared 
 with unafifected amazement at his sovereign, thus tran- 
 quil while a shattered world was falling on his head, 
 and then retired to confer with his colleague. 
 
 *' And how did his Majesty receive the blow?" asked 
 Idiaquez. 
 
 "His Majesty thinks nothing of the blow," answered 
 Moura, " nor do I, consequently, make more of this 
 gi*eat calamity than does his Majesty." * 
 
 So the King — as fortune flew away from him — 
 wrapped himself in his virtue; and his counsellors, 
 imitating their sovereign, arrayed themselves in the 
 same garment. Thus draped, they were all prepared 
 to bide the pelting of the storm which was only beat- 
 ing figuratively on their heads, while it had been 
 dashing the King's mighty galleons on the rocks, and 
 drowning by thousands the wretched victims of his am- 
 bition. Soon afterwards, when the particulars of the 
 great disaster were thoroughly known, Philip ordered a 
 letter to be addressed in his name to all the bishops of 
 Spain, ordering a solemn thanksgiving to the Almighty 
 for the safety of that portion of the Invincible Armada 
 which it had pleased Him to preserve.' 
 
 And thus, with the sound of mourning throughout 
 Spain — for there was scarce a household of which some 
 beloved member had not perished in the great cata- 
 strophe — and with the peals of meny bells over all Eng- 
 land and Holland, and with a solemn '* Te Deum " 
 resounding in every church, the curtain fell upon the 
 great tragedy of the Armada. 
 
 J IblA *• His dlctls calamum resumit, nIbiU faclt, noc ego pluris quam ipse." 
 
 et eadt'm qua ctjMTat tranqullliute vultus (Ibid.) 
 
 ad scribeiidum redlt. ' s strada, II. Ix. 565. Herrera, III. ill. 
 
 » •• Bex, Inquit, totum hoc Infortunium 1 13. 
 
 1588. ALEXANDER BESIEGES BERGEN-OP-ZOOJI. 
 
 509 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 Alexander besieges Bergen-op-Zoora— Pallaviclnrs Attempt to seduce Parma- 
 Alexander's Fury— He is forced to raise the Siege of Bergen— Gertruydenberg 
 betrayed to Parma-Iudlgnation of the States-Exploits of Schenk-His Attack 
 on Nymegen— He Is defeated and drowned— English-Dutch Expedition to 
 Spain— Its meagre Results— Death of Guise and of the Queen-Mother— Combi- 
 nations after the Murder of Henry III.— Tandem fit Surculus Arbor. 
 
 The fever of the past two years was followed by com- 
 parative languor. The deadly crisis was past, the 
 freedom of Europe was saved, Holland and England 
 breathed again; but tension now gave place to ex- 
 haustion. The events in the remainder of the year 
 1588, with those of 1589— although important in them- 
 selves—were tlie immediate results of that history which 
 has been so minutely detailed in these volumes, and can 
 be indicated in a very few pages. 
 
 The Duke of Parma, melancholy, disappointed, angry 
 — stung to the soul by calumnies as stupid as they were 
 venomous, and already afflicted with a painful and 
 lingering disease, which his friends attributed to poison 
 administered by command of the master whom he had 
 so faithfully served— determined, if possible, to afford 
 the consolation which that master was so plaintively 
 demanding at his hands. 
 
 So Alexander led the splendid army which had been 
 packed in, and unpacked from, the flat boats of A'e^NT)ort 
 and Dunkirk, against Bergen-op-Zoom, and besieged 
 that city in form. Once of great commercial imjiurtance, 
 although somewhat fallen away from its original pios- 
 perity, Bergen was well situate on a little stream which 
 connected it with the tide-waters of the Scheldt, and was 
 the only place in Brabant, except Willemstad, still 
 remaining to the States. Opposite lay the Jsle of Tholen, 
 from which it was easily to be supplied and reinforced. 
 The Vosmeer, a branch of the Scheldt, separated the 
 island from the main, and there was a path along the 
 bed of that estuary, which, at dead low-water, was prac- 
 
510 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XX. 
 
 ticable for wading. Alexander, accordingly sent a party 
 of eight Inmdred pikemen, under Montigny, Marquis of 
 Renty, and Ottavio Mansfeld, supported on the dyke by 
 three thousand musketeers, across the dangerous ford, at 
 ebb-tide, in order to seize this important island. It was 
 an adventure similar to those which, in the days of the 
 grand commander, and under the guidance of Mon- 
 dragon, had been on two occasions so brilliantly suc- 
 cessful. But the Isle of Tholen was now defended by 
 Count Solnis and a garrison of fierce amphibious Zee- 
 landers— of those determined bands which had just been 
 holding Farnese and his fleet in prison, and daring him 
 to the issue— and the invading party, after fortunately 
 accomplishing their night-journey along the bottom of 
 the Vosmeer, were unable to effect a landmg, were 
 driven with considerable loss into the waves again, and 
 compelled to find their way back as best they could, 
 along their dangerous path, and with a rapidly rising 
 tide. It was a blind and desperate venture, and the 
 Vosmeer soon swallowed four hundred of the Spaniards. 
 The rest, half-drowned or smothered, succeeded in 
 reaching the shore— the chiefs of the expedition, Eenty 
 and Mansfeld, having been with difficulty rescued by 
 their followers, when nearly sinking in the tide.' 
 
 The Duke continued the siege, but the place was well 
 defended by an English and Dutch garrison, to the 
 number of five thousand, and commanded by Colonel 
 Morgan, that bold and much experienced Welshman, so 
 well known in the Netherland wars. AVilloughby and 
 Maurice of Nassau, and Olden-Bameveld were, at 
 different times, within the walls; for the Duke had 
 been unable to invest the place so closely as to prevent 
 all communications from without ; and, while Maurice 
 was present, there were almost daily sorties from the 
 town, with many a spirited skirmish, to give pleasure to 
 the martial voung Prince.* The English officers, V ere 
 10 Oct and Baskerville, and two Netherland colonels, 
 1W8.' the brothers Bax, most distinguished them- 
 selves on these occasions. The siege was not going on 
 with the good fortune which had usually attended the 
 Spanish leaguer of Dutch cities, while on the 29th Sep- 
 
 > Bor, ill. XXV. 33«-341. Parma to MS.) Heirera, III. ii. 114 «e«j[. 
 Philip U., 1 Oct 1588. (Arch, de Sim. « Bor, uhi sup. 
 
 1588. PALLAVICINI'S ATTEMPT TO SEDUCE PARMA. 511 
 
 tember, a personal incident came to increase Alexander's 
 dissatisfaction and melancholy. 
 
 On that day the Duke was sitting in his tent, brooding, 
 as he was apt to do, over the unjust accusations which 
 had been heaped upon him in regard to the failure of the 
 Armada, when a stranger was announced. His name, 
 he said, was Giacomo Moron e, and he was the bearer of 
 a letter from Sir Horace Pallavicini, a Genoese gentle- 
 man long established in London, and known to be on 
 confidential terms with the English government. Alex- 
 ander took the letter, and, glancing at the bottom of the 
 last page, saw that it was not signed. 
 
 *' How dare you bring me a despatch without a sig- 
 nature ? " he exclaimed. The messenger, who was him- 
 self a Genoese, assured the Duke that the letter was 
 most certainly written by Tallavicini— who had himself 
 placed it, sealed, in his hands— and that he had suppo.sed 
 it signed, although he had, of course, not seen the 
 inside. 
 
 Alexander began to read the note, which was not a 
 very long one, and his brow instantly darkened. He 
 read a line or two more, when, with an exclamation of 
 fury, he drew his dagger, and, seizing the astonished 
 Genoese by the throat, was about to strike him dead. 
 Suddenly mastering his rage, however, by a strong 
 effort, and remembering that the man might be a useful 
 witness, he flung Morone from him. 
 
 " If I had Pallavicini here," he said, '* I would treat 
 him as I have just refrained from using you. And if I 
 had any suspicion that you were aware of the contents 
 of this letter, I would send you this instant to be 
 hancjed." ^ 
 
 The unlucky despatch-bearer protested his innocence 
 of all complicity with Pallavicini, and his ignorance of 
 the tenor of the communication by which the Duke's 
 ^vrath had been so much excited. He was then searched 
 
 ^ " Y como fue viendo la desvergucnza 
 y vollaqueria me altero de manera que 
 nje levante de donde estaba con resolu- 
 clon de darle estocadas, y Dios me alum- 
 bro con ponerme delante que convenia 
 que este hombre se guardase a buen 
 recado, porque V. M. pueda entenderdel 
 lo que para este neg° reporte me ; y le 
 
 d1j(5 que si yo tuviesse al Palavlcino se 
 la darla cual el nierece, y a vos si suj'iese 
 que sabeis este neg", os mandaria hippo 
 colgar. Acab^ de leer la carta, y cuarito 
 mas la vi y considere la halld masvollaoa 
 y enconsonada." Parma to Philip II., 
 29 Sept. 1588. (Arcl;. de Sim. MS.) Com- 
 pare Strada, II. 1. lii. 5T3 seq. 
 
 f 
 
 t 
 
512 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS, Chap. XX. 
 
 and cross-examined most carefully by Kichardot and 
 other counsellors, and-his innocence being made 
 apparent— he was ultimately discharged. 
 
 The letter of Pallavicini was simply an attempt to 
 sound FaiTiese as to his sentiments in regard to a secret 
 scheme, which could afterwards be arranged m form and 
 according to which he was to assume the sovereignty ot 
 the Netherlands himself, to the exclusion of his King, to 
 guarantee to England the possession of the cautionary 
 ?own8, until her advances to the States should be re- 
 funded, and to receive the support and perpetual alliance 
 of the Queen in his new and rebellious position. 
 
 Here was additional evidence, if any were wanting ot 
 the universal belief in his disloyalty ; and Alexander 
 faithful, if man ever were, to his master, was cut to the 
 heart, and initated almost to madness, by such "isolent 
 propositions. There is neither proof nor probability 
 that the Queen's government wa« implicated m this 
 intrigue of Pallavicini, who appears to have been 
 inspired by the ambition of achieving a bit of Machia- 
 vellian policy quite on his own account. Nothing came 
 of the proposition, and the Duke, having transinitted to 
 the King a minute narrative of the affair, together with 
 indignant protestations of the fidelity which all the 
 world seemed determined to dispute, received most 
 affectionate replies from that monarch, breathing nothing 
 but unbounded confidence in his nephew s innocence 
 
 and devotion.* • +v.^ w^vlrl 
 
 Such assurances from any other man in the wo Id 
 might have disarmed suspicion, but Alexander knew his 
 maSter too well to repose upon his woi^, and remem. 
 bered too bitterly the last hours of Don John of Austria 
 —whose dying pillow he had soothed, and whose death 
 had been hastened, as he knew, either by actual poi.on 
 or by the hardly less fatal venom of slander— to regain 
 tranquillity as to his owii position. 
 
 The King was desirous that rallavicini should be 
 invited ove? to Flanders, in order that Alexander under 
 pretence of listening to his propositions, might draw 
 
 1 Parma to Philip. MS. la«t cited. ^ Parma to ^diaquo^. 1 /Oct 1588^^ 
 Ora.io Pallavicini to\;iacomo M<.rone. Philip ^« I'f "-'",, ^^^ ^^^j, '^"^^ 
 31 Aug. 1588. (Arch, do Sim, MSS.) to Parma. 17 Oct. 15S8. (Arch, de &mi. 
 
 SiracUi, ttW suf. ^^'^ 
 
 1588. 
 
 ALEXANDER'S FURY. 
 
 513 
 
 from the Genoese all the particulars of his scheme, and 
 then, at eis^re, inflict the punishment which he had 
 deserved. But insuperable obstacles presented them- 
 selves, nor was Alexander desirous of affording still 
 further pretexts for his slanderers ^ 
 
 Very soon after this incident^most important as 
 showing the i^al situation of various parties^^though 
 without any immediate result- Alexander received a 
 visit m his tent from another stranger, lliig time the 
 visitor was an Englishman, one Lieutenant Grimstone, 
 and the object of his interview with the Duke was not 
 political, but had a direct reference to the siege of 
 ?^''^^^' A^^r^ accompanied by a countryman of his 
 own Redhead by name, a camp-suttler by profession. 
 The two represented themselves as deserters from the 
 besieged city, and offered, for a handsome reward to 
 conduct a force of Spaniards, by a secret path, into one 
 of the gates. The Duke questioned them iarrowly 
 and, being satisfied with their intelligence and coolness 
 caused them to take an oath on the Evangelists that 
 they were not playing him false. He then selected a 
 .1 ...^,?® liundred musketeers, partly Spaniards 
 partly Walloons-to be followed at a distance ' 
 
 by a much more considerable force, two thou- ^o Oct 
 sand in number, under Sancho de Leyva and ''''' 
 the Marquis of Renti-and appointed the following 
 night for an enterprise against the city, under the 
 guidance of Grimstone. 
 
 It was a wild autumnal night, moonless, pitch-dark 
 with a storm of wind and rain. The waters were out-J 
 for the dykes had been cut in all directions by the 
 defenders of the city-and, with exception of some 
 elevated points occupied by Parma's forces, the whole 
 country wa^ overflowed. Before the party set forth on 
 their danng expedition, the two Englishmen were 
 tightly bound with cords, and led, each, by two soldiers 
 instructed to put them to instant death if their conduct 
 ITa^ fjve cause for suspicion. But both Grimstone 
 ana Redhead preserved a cheerful countenance, and 
 inspired a strong confidence in their honest intention to 
 betray their countrymen. And thus the band of bold 
 adventurers plunged at once into the darkness, and soon 
 
 * IdUquez to Parma, MS. last dted. 
 VOL. II. 2 L 
 
514 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XX. 
 
 found themselves contending with the tempest, and 
 wading breast high in the black waters of the Scheldt. 
 
 After a long and perilous struggle they at length 
 reached the appointed gate. The external portcullis 
 was raised, and the fifteen foremost of the band rushed 
 into the town. At the next moment. Lord Willoughby, 
 who had been privy to the whole scheme, cut with his 
 own hand the cords which held the portcullis, and 
 entrapped the leaders of the expedition, who were all 
 at once put to the sword, while their followers were 
 thundering at the gate. The lieutenant and suttler, 
 who had thus overreached that great master of dissimu- 
 lation, Alexander Farnese, were at the same time un- 
 bound by their comrades, and rescued from the fate 
 intended for them. 
 
 Notwithstanding the probability — when the portcullis 
 fell — that the whole party had been deceived by an 
 artifice of war, the adventurers, who had come so far, 
 refused to abandon the enterprise, and continued an 
 impatient battery upon the gate. At last it was swung 
 wide open, and a furious onslaught was made by the 
 garrison upon the Spaniards. There was a fierce, brief 
 struggle, and then the assailants were utterly routed. 
 Some were killed under the walls, while the rest were 
 hunted into the waves. Nearly every one of the expe- 
 dition (a thousand in number) perished.* 
 
 It had now become obvious to the Duke that his 
 siege must be raised. The days were gone when the 
 walls of Dutch towns seemed to melt before the first 
 
 1 Parma to Philip II. 30 Oct. 1588, 
 (Arch, de Sim. MS.) Meteren, xv. 275»». 
 Bor, lU. XXV. 340. Herrera, iii. 11. 118, 
 seq. Strada, ii. x. 5U2-585. Camero, 
 Guerras de Flandes (Bniseles, 1625), p. 
 231, 232. Coloma, Guerras de los Estados 
 Biixos, i. 10, 11. Sir W. Drury to 
 
 Burghley. ^ Oct. 1588. (Q. P. Office 
 
 MS.) 
 
 " Seemeth to my simple opinion a 
 great commendation unto the gentleman 
 that cuuld BO sweetly charm so wise and 
 learned a master in his own art as the 
 Duke of Parma is," &c. 
 
 The Jesuit Strada, however— who nar- 
 rates all the trickeries of Philip and 
 of Farnese with so much applause— is 
 
 shocked at the duplicity of Lieutenant 
 Grimstone ; and Coloma is ineffably dis- 
 gusted at such sharp practice. 
 
 It has been stated by Meteren (xv. 
 275'°) and others, that Sir William Stan- 
 ley was in this expedition, and that he 
 very narrowly escaped being taken with 
 the first fifteen. This would have been 
 probable enough, had he been there, for 
 his valour was equal to his treachery. 
 But Parma does not mention bis name in 
 the letters describing tlie adventure, and 
 it is therefore unlikely that he was pre- 
 sent. At any rate he escaped capture 
 and, with it, a traitor's death. Strada 
 says expressly, "Stanlaeo ad id operis 
 nequaquam adhibito." 
 
 1588. HE IS FORCED TO RAISE THE SIEGE OF BERGEN. 515 
 
 scornful glance of the Spanish invader, and when a 
 summons meant a surrender, and a surrender a massacre. 
 Now, strong in the feeling of independence, and sup- 
 ported by the courage and endurance of their English 
 allies, the Hollanders had learned to humble the pride 
 of Spain as it had never been humbled before. The 
 hero of a hundred battle-fields, the inventive and bril- 
 liant conqueror of Antwerp, seemed in the deplorable 
 issue of the English invasion to have lost all his genius, 
 all his fortune. A cloud had fallen upon his fame, and 
 he now saw himself, at the head of the best army in 
 Europe, compelled to retire, defeated and hiimiliated, 
 from the walls of Bergen. Winter was coming on 
 apace; the country was flooded; the storms in that 
 bleak region and inclement season were incessant ; and 
 he was obliged to retreat before his army should be 
 drowned. 
 
 On the night of 12-13 November he set fire to his 
 camp, and took his departure. By daybreak he was 
 descried in full retreat, and was hotly pursued by the 
 English and Dutch from the city, who drove the great 
 Alexander and his legions before them in ignominious 
 flight. Lord Willoughby, in full view of the retiring 
 enemy, indulged the allied forces with a chivalrous 
 spectacle. Calling a halt, after it had become obviously 
 useless, with their small force of cavalry, to follow any 
 longer, through a flooded country, an enemy who had 
 abandoned his design, he solemnly conferred the honour 
 of knighthood, in the name of Queen Elizabeth, on the 
 officers who had most distinguished themselves during 
 the siege, Francis Vere, Ba^kerville, Powell, Parker, 
 Knowl^s, and on the two Netherland brothers, Paul 
 and Marcellus Bax.^ 
 
 The Duke of Parma then went into winter-quarters 
 in Brabant, and, before the spring, that obedient Pro- 
 vince had been eaten as bare as Flanders had already 
 been by the friendly Spaniards. 
 
 An excellent understanding between England and 
 Holland had been the result of their united and splendid 
 exertions against the Invincible Armada. Late in the 
 year 1588 Sir John Norris had been sent by the Queen 
 
 ^ BoT,vbitup, Meteren. CompareColoma, i. 11, 12. Herrera, u6i <ttp. Strada, 
 X. 688. 
 
 2 L 2 
 
616 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XX. 
 
 to offer her congratulations and earnest tlianks to the 
 States for their valuable assistance in preserving her 
 throne, and to solicit their co-operation in some new 
 designs against the common fee.* Unfortunately, how- 
 ever, this epoch of good feeling was but of brief dura- 
 tion. Bitterness and dissension seemed the inevitable 
 conditions of the English-Dutch alliance. It will be 
 remembered that, on 5ie departure of Leicester, several 
 cities had refused to acknowledge the authority of 
 Count Maurice and the States; and that civil war in 
 the scarcely-born commonwealth had been the result. 
 Medenblik, Naarden, and the other contumacious cities, 
 had however been reduced to obedience after the recep- 
 tion of the Earl's resignation, but the important city 
 of Gertruydenbei^ had remained in a chronic state of 
 mutiny. This rebellion had been partially appeased 
 during the year 1588 by the efforts of Willoughby, who 
 had strengthened the garrison by reinforcements of 
 ETigliwh troops under command of his brother-in-law. 
 Sir John Wingfield. Early in 1589, however, 
 *"** the whole garrison became rebellious, disarmed 
 and maltreated the burghers, and demanded immediate 
 payment of the heavy arrearages still due to the troops. 
 Willoughby, who — much disgusted with his career in 
 the Netherlands— was about leaving for England, com- 
 plaining that the States had not only left him without 
 remuneration for his services, but had not repaid his 
 own advances, nor even given him a complimentary 
 dinner, tried in vain to pacify them. A rumour became 
 very current, moreover, that the garrison had opened 
 negotiations with Alexander Famese, and accordingly 
 Maurice of Nassau— of whose patrimonial property the 
 city of Gertruydenberg made a considerable proportion, 
 to the amount of eight thousand pounds sterling a year* 
 — after summoning the garrison, in his own name and 
 in that of the States, to surrender, laid siege to the place 
 in form. It would have been cheaper, no doubt, to pay 
 the demands of the garrison in full, and allow them to 
 depart. But Maurice considered his honour at stake. 
 
 1 Propodtions of Sir John Norria to (S. P. Office MS.) 
 Coimcll of State. Bor, Hi. xsv. 361, 362. « Ortell to WoUey, 9 April, 1689. (8. 
 
 «» Oct. P.QflaceMS.) 
 
 Sir Ed. Norrls to 
 
 8 Not. 
 
 1588. 
 
 1589. GERTRUYDENBERG BETRAYED TO PARJilA. 517 
 
 His letters of summons, in which he spoke of the re- 
 bellious commandant and his garrison as self-seeking 
 foreigners and mercenaries, were taken in very ill part. 
 Wingfield resented the statement in very insolent lan- 
 guage, and offered to prove its falsehood with his sword 
 against any man and in any place whatever. Wil- 
 loughby wrote to his brother-in-law, from Flushing, 
 when about to embark, disapproving of his conduct and 
 of his language ; and to Maurice, deprecating hostile 
 measures against a city under the protection of Queen 
 Elizabeth. At any rate, he claimed that Sir John Wing- 
 field and his wife, the Countess of Kent, with their 
 newly-born child, should be allowed to depart from the 
 place. But Wingfield expressed great scorn at any 
 suggestion of retreat, and vowed that he would rather 
 surrender the city to the Spaniards than tolerate the 
 presumption of Maurice and the States. The young 
 Prince accordingly opened his batteries, but, before an 
 entrance could be effected into the town, was obliged to 
 retire at the approach of Count Mansfeld with a much 
 superior force. Gertruydenberg was now sur- lo April, 
 rendered to the Spaniards (10 April, 1589), in ^^^^- ' 
 accordance with a secret negotiation which had been 
 proceeding all the spring, and had been brought to a 
 conclusion at last. The garrison received twelve months' 
 pay in full and a gratuity of five months in addition, 
 and the city was then reduced into obedience to Spain 
 and Kome on the terms which had been usual during 
 the government of Famese.* 
 
 The loss of this city was most severe to the republic, 
 for the enemy had thus gained an entrance into the very 
 heart of Holland. It was a more important acquisition 
 to Alexander than even Bergen-op-Zoom would have 
 been, and it was a bitter reflection that to the treachery 
 of Netherlanders and of their English allies this great 
 disaster was owing. All the wrath aroused a year 
 before by the famous treason of York and Stanley, and 
 which had been successfully extinguished, now flamed 
 forth afresh. The States published a placard denouncing 
 the men who had thus betrayed the cause of freedom, 
 and surrendered the city of Gertruydenberg to the 
 Spaniards, as perjured traitors whom it was made lawful 
 
 * Bor, Ui. XX vt 403-419. Strada, 11. x. 600-609. Coloma, i. 20-23. 
 
 ♦l 
 
 ¥i 
 
518 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XX. 
 
 to hang whenever or wherever caught, without trial or 
 sentence, and offering fifty florins a-head for every private 
 soldier and one hundred florins for any officer ot the 
 garrisoQ. A list of these Englishmen and Netherlanders, 
 80 far as known, was appended to the placard, and the 
 catalogue was headed by the name of Sir John W mg- 
 
 ITius the consequences of the fatal event were even 
 more deplorable than the loss of the city itself. The 
 fury of Olden-Bameveld at the treason was excessive, 
 and the great Advocate governed the policy of the 
 republic, at this period, almost like a dictator. Ihe 
 States, easily acknowledging the sway of the imperious 
 orator, became bitter and wrathful with the English, 
 side by side with whom they had lately been so cordially 
 
 standing. ., t^ t i ^ 
 
 Willoughby, on his part, now at the English court, 
 was furious with the States, and persuaded the leading 
 counsellors of the Queen, as weU as her Majesty herself, 
 to adopt his view of the transaction. W ingfield, it was 
 asserted, was quite innocent in the matter; he wad 
 entirely ignorant of the French language, and therefore 
 was unable to read a word of the letters addressed to 
 him by Maurice and the replies which had been signed 
 by himself. Whether this strange excuse ought to be 
 accepted or not, it is quite certain that he was no traitor 
 like York and Stanley, and no friend to Spam ; for he 
 had stipulated for himself the right to return to England, 
 and had neither received nor desired any reward. He 
 hated Maurice and he hated the States, but he asserted 
 that he had been held in durance, that the garrison was 
 mutinous, and that he was no more responsible for the 
 
 .1589. 
 
 INDIGNATION OF THE STATES. 
 
 519 
 
 10 
 
 1 Bor, vbi tup. Bodley to Burghley, 
 - April. 1589. (B. Mus. Galba, D. iv. 
 
 144, MS.) 
 
 s " For all here is directed by Holland, 
 Mid Holland Is carried away by Bame- 
 veld, whose resolutions are so full of self- 
 will, and 80 opposite to her Majesty's 
 proceedings, as there are of the wisest 
 among themselves that fear by his deal- 
 ing some great alteration. For the hin- 
 drance of which, I cannot propose any 
 better means than if that course which 
 is held between him and Ortell might 
 be stopped in England. For matters 
 
 here are so handled at this present, as 
 In whatsoever cause the States-General, 
 or they of Holland and Zeeland. have to 
 deal with her Majesty, they neither pro- 
 pose it before to the council of state, nor 
 impart it with her Majesty's lieutenant 
 or counsellors ; but, by Bame veil's di- 
 rection, solicit all by Ortell, and so re- 
 ceive their despatch. Whereunto the 
 reputation of every action doth redound 
 unto him, and her Majesty's lieutenant 
 and ministers are little regarded." Bod- 
 
 20 Feb. 
 
 loss of the city than Sir Francis Vere had been, who had 
 also been present, and whose name had been subse- 
 quently withdrawn, in honourable fashion, from the list 
 of traitors, by authority of the States. His position— so 
 far as he was personally concerned — seemed defensible, 
 and the Queen was thoroughly convinced of his inno- 
 cence. Willoughby complained that the republic was 
 utterly in the hands of Barneveld, that no man ventured 
 to lift his voice or his eyes in presence of the temble 
 Advocate who ruled every Netherlander with a rod of 
 iron, and that his violent and threatening language to 
 Wingfield and himself at the dinner-table in Bergen-op- 
 Zoom on the subject of the mutiny (when one hundred 
 of the Gertruydenberg garrison were within sound of 
 his voice) had been the chief cause of the rebellion.* 
 Inspired by these remonstrances, the Queen once more 
 emptied the vials of her wrath upon the United Nether- 
 lands. The criminations and recriminations seemed 
 endless, and it was most fortunate that Spain had been 
 weakened, that Alexander, a prey to melancholy and to 
 lingering disease, had gone to the baths of Spa to recruit 
 his shattered health, and that his attention and the 
 schemes of Philip for the year 1589 and the following 
 period were to be directed towards France. Otherwise 
 the commonwealth could hardly have escaped still more 
 severe disasters than those already experienced in this 
 unfortunate condition of its affairs, and this almost 
 hopeless misunderstanding with its most important and 
 vigorous friend.* 
 
 ley to Burghley, ^^^^^. 
 Mus. Galba, D. iv. 55, MS.) 
 
 1689. (Br. 
 
 * Bor, vbi sup. 
 
 * Bor, ubi sup. and 443-457. 
 Willoughby published a very bitter 
 
 pamphlet In reply to the severe attacks 
 of Olden-Bameveld and his partisans. 
 " The child of milord Willoughby Is bom 
 at last," said Joachim Ortell : " the book 
 is printed, and is as full of lies as an egg 
 is of meat" (so vol leugens als een ey 
 vol suyvela). 
 
 Walsingham — as might l^ supposed — 
 much regretted these misunderstandings, 
 although he was inclined to censure the 
 States. " I like very well," he said, " that 
 the placard should rather be answered 
 by Lord Willoughby than by her Ma- 
 jesty. But to have it not answered at 
 all were the best .... Their ingrati- 
 
 tude Is great, yet. seeing we cannot "sever 
 ourselves from them without Infinite 
 danger, their errors are to be winked at 
 for a time. It may be that the disgrace 
 inflicted on them through the loss of 
 Gertraydenberg will somewhat humble 
 them ; for seeing Barnevelt, the principal 
 ringleader amongst them, begins to stick 
 sail, I think the rest will stoop. But 
 when I look into their strange course in 
 publishing their placard, after the loss 
 of the town to hazard the loss of her Ma- 
 jesty's favour, I must conclude that with 
 the loss of the town they have lost 
 their wits." Walsingham to Burghley, 
 
 ^— . 1589. (Br. Mus. Galba, D. iv. 
 
 9 May ^ 
 
 171, MS.) 
 
 * 
 
 i\' ■ 
 
620 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XX. 
 
 1589. 
 
 EXPLOITS OF SCHENK. 
 
 621 
 
 While these events had been occurring in the heart of 
 the republic, Martin Schenk, that restless freebooter, 
 had been pursuing a bustling and most lucrative career 
 on its outskirts. All the episcopate of Cologne — that 
 debatable land of the two rival paupers, Bavarian 
 Ernest and Gebhard Truchsess — trembled before him. 
 Mothers scared their children into quiet with the terrible 
 name of Schenk, and farmers and land-younkers through- 
 out the electorate and the land of Berg, Cleves, and 
 Juliers, paid their black-mail, as if it were a constitu- 
 tional impost, to escape the levjdng process of the 
 redoubtable partisan. 
 
 But Martin was no longer seconded, as he should have 
 been, by the States, to whom he had been ever faithful 
 since he forsook the banner of Spain for their own ; and 
 he had even gone to England and complained to the 
 Queen of the shortcomings of those who owed him so 
 much. His ingenious and daring exploit — the capture 
 of Bonn — has already been narrated, but the States had 
 neglected the proper precautions to secure that im- 
 portant city. It had consequently, after a six months* 
 siege, been surrendered to the Spaniards under Prince 
 Chimay, on the 19th of September ; ' while, in December 
 following, the city of Wachtendonk, between the Khine 
 and Meuse, had fallen into Mansfeld's hands.* Rhein- 
 berg, the only city of the episcopate which remained to 
 the deposed Truchsess, was soon afterwards invested by 
 the troops of Parma, and Schenk in vain summoned the 
 States-General to take proper measures for its defence. 
 But with the enemy now eating his way towards the 
 heart of Holland, and with so many dangers threatening 
 them on every side, it was thought imprudent to go so 
 far away to seek the enemy. So Gebhard retired in 
 despair into Germany, and Martin did what he could to 
 protect Rheinberg, and to fill his own coffers at the 
 expense of the whole country side. 
 
 He had built a fort, which then and long afterwards 
 bore his name — Schenken Schans, or Schenk's Sconce — 
 at that important point where the Rhine, opening its 
 
 t Strada, x. 584-595. 
 BoT, Hi. XXV, 328. 
 
 2 Strada, x. 599, who states that bomb- 
 shells—which he elaborately describes — 
 were first used at thia siege of Wachten- 
 donk. They had been invented, he says. 
 
 Coloma, L 12-14. a few days before its commencement, by 
 an artisan of Venlo, for his own misfor- 
 tune and that of his city ; for he set the 
 town of Venlo on fire, and burned down 
 two- thirds of it, by a premature explo- 
 sion of his new projectiles. 
 
 two arms to enclose the *' good-meadow" island of 
 Batavia, becomes on the left the Waal, while on the 
 right it retains its ancient name; and here on the 
 outermost edge of the republic, and looking straight 
 from his fastness into the fruitful fields of Munster, 
 Westphalia, and the electorate, the industrious Martin 
 devoted himself with advantage to his favourite pursuits. 
 
 On the 7th of August, on the heath of Lippe, he had 
 attacked a body of Spanish musketeers, more than a 
 thousand strong, who were protecting a convoy of provi- 
 sions, treasure, and furniture, sent by Famese to 7 Aug. 
 Verdugo, royal governor of Friesland. Schenk, i^sg." 
 without the loss of a single man, had put the greater 
 part of these Spaniards and Walloons to the sword, and 
 routed the rest. The leader of the expedition, Colonel 
 Aristotle Patton, who had once played him so foul a 
 trick in the surrender of G elder, had soon taken to 
 flight when he found his ancient enemy upon him, and, 
 dashing into the Lippe, had succeeded, by the strength 
 and speed of his horse, in gaining the opposite bank, 
 and effecting his escape. Had he waited many minutes 
 longer it is probable that the treacherous Aristotle would 
 have passed a comfortless half-hour with his former 
 comrade. Treasure to the amount of seven thousand 
 crowns in gold, five hundred horses, with jewels, plate, 
 and other articles of value, were the fruit of this adven- 
 ture, and Schenk returned with his followers, highly 
 delighted, to Schenkenschans,* and sent the captured 
 Spanish colours to her Majesty of England as a token.* 
 
 A few miles below his fortress was NjTnegen, and 
 towards that ancient and wealthy city Schenk had often 
 cast longing eyes. It still held for the King, although 
 on the very confines of Batavia ; but while acknow- 
 ledging the supremacy of Philip, it claimed the pri- 
 vileges of the empire. From earliest times it had held 
 its head very high among imperial towns, had been one 
 of the three chief residences of the Emperor Charle- 
 magne, and still paid the annual tribute of a glove full 
 of pepper to the German empire.* 
 
 to 
 
 * Bodley to Burghley, — Aug. 1589. 
 
 1 Strada, x. 630, 631. Coloma, ii. 26- 
 
 27. Bor, iiL xxvi. 459. Bodley to Wal- 
 
 rf«„»,a«, * A ,,^« .^ Tir (Br. Mus. Galba, D. iv. p. 65, MS.) 
 Bingham, -^, Aug. 1689. (Br. Mus. . r. . • _j. 1 • 
 
 isy "»• » ". Kui. uiua. 3 Gulcciardmi, tn wee. 
 
 .Galba, D. v. p. 60. MS.) 
 
 i 
 
■ 
 
 I 
 
 •1 1 
 
 522 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XX. 
 
 On the evening of the 10th of August, 1589, there 
 was a wedding-feast in one of the splendid mansions of 
 the stately city. The festivities were prolonged until 
 deep in the midsummer's night, and harp and viol were 
 still inspiring the feet of the dancers, when on a sudden, 
 in iihe midst of the holiday-groups, appeared the grim 
 visage of Martin Schenk, the man who never smiled. 
 Clad in no wedding-garment, but in armour of proof, 
 with morion on head, and sword in hand, the great free- 
 booter strode heavily through the ball-room, followed by 
 a party of those terrible musketeers who never gave or 
 asked for quarter, while the affrighted revellers fluttered 
 away before them. 
 
 Taking advantage of a dark night, he had just dropped 
 down the river from his castle, with five-and-twenty 
 barges, had landed with his most trusted soldiers in the 
 foremost vessels, had battered down the gate of St. 
 Anthony, and surprised and slain the guard. Without 
 waiting for the rest of his boats, he had then stolen 
 with his comrades through the silent streets, and torn 
 away the lattice- work and other slight defences on the 
 rear of the house which they had now entered, and 
 through which they intended to possess themselves of 
 the market-place. Martin had long since selected this 
 mansion as a proper position for his enterprise, but he 
 had not been bidden to the wedding, and was somewhat 
 disconcerted when he found himself on the festive scene 
 which he had so grimly interrupted. Some of the 
 merry-makers escaped from the house, and proceeded 
 to alarm the town; while Schenk hastily fortified his 
 position, and took possession of the square. But the 
 burghers and garrison were soon on foot, and he was 
 driven back into the house. Three times he recovered 
 the square by main strength of his own arm, seconded 
 by the handful of men whom he had brought with him, 
 and three times he was beaten back by overwhelming 
 numbers into the wedding-mansion. The arriv^ of the 
 greater part of his followers, with whose assistance he 
 could easily have mastered the city in the first moments 
 of surprise, was mysteriously delayed. He could not 
 account for their prolonged absence, and was meanwhile 
 supported only by those who had arrived with him in 
 the foremost barges. 
 
 1589. 
 
 HIS ATTACK ON NYMEGEN. 
 
 523 
 
 The truth — of which he was ignorant— was, that the 
 remainder of the flotilla, borne along by the strong and 
 deep current of the Waal, then in a state of freshet, had 
 shot past the landing-place, and had ever since been 
 vainly struggling against wind and tide to force their 
 way back to the necessarj^ point. Meantime Schenk 
 and his followers fought desperately in the market- 
 place, and desperately in the house which he had seized. 
 But a whole garrison, and a town full of citizens in 
 arms, proved too much for him, and he was now hotly 
 besieged in the mansion, and at last driven forth into 
 the streets. 
 
 By this time day was dawning ; the whole population, 
 soldiers and burghers, men, wome^, and children, were 
 thronging about the little band of marauders, and assail- 
 ing them with every weapon and every missile to be 
 found. Schenk fought with his usual ferocity, but at 
 last the musketeers, in spite of his indignant commands, 
 began rapidly to retreat towards the quay. In vain 
 Martin stormed and cursed, in vain with his own hand 
 he struck more than one of his soldiers dead.^ He was 
 swept along with the panic-stricken band, and when, 
 shouting and gnashing his teeth with frenzy, he reached 
 the quay at last, he saw at a glance why his great en- 
 terprise had failed. The few empty barges of his own 
 party were moored at the steps ; the rest were half a 
 mile off", contending hopelessly against the swollen and 
 rapid Waal. Schenk, desperately wounded, was left 
 almost alone upon the wharf, for his routed followers 
 had, plunged helter skelter into the boats, several of 
 which, overladen in tlie panic, sank at once, leaving the 
 soldiers to drown or struggle with the waves. The 
 game was lost. .Nothing was left the freebooter but 
 retreat. Reluctantly turning his back on his enemies, 
 now in full cry close behind him, Schenk sprang into 
 the last remaining boat just pushing from the quay. 
 Already overladen, it foundered with his additional 
 weight, and Martin Schenk, encumbered with his heavy 
 armour, sank at once to the bottom of the Waal." 
 
 I "Schenclus Irft furens et frendens Coloma, ii. 27. Bodley to Walsingham, 
 
 suorum nonnullis sua manu 3 . ,.„« .o »> r\m„^ mo \ -o^^ 
 
 intomnptis/' &c Strada. x. 632. fa Aug. 1589. (S. P. Office MS.) Ben- 
 
 « Bor, ill. xxvL 459, 460. Wagenaar, tlvoglio, 11. v. 335. Haraei Turn. Belg. 
 vliL 307, 308. Strada, x. 631-633. iil 425. 
 
 / V 
 
 \ 
 
524 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XX. 
 
 Some of the fiigitives succeeded in swimming down 
 the stream, and were picked up by their comrades in 
 the barges below the town, and so made their escape. 
 Many were drowned with their captain. A few days 
 afterwards the inhabitants of Nymegen fished up the 
 body of the fam6u8 partisan. He was easily recognized 
 by his armour, and by his truculent face, still wearing 
 the scowl with which he had last rebuked his followers. 
 His head was taken off at once, and placed on one of 
 the turrets of the town, and his body, divided in four, 
 was made to adorn other portions of the battlements ; 
 so that the burghers were enabled to feast their eyes on 
 the remnants of the nmn at whose name the whole coun- 
 try had so often trembled. 
 
 This was the end of Sir Martin Schenk of Niddegem, 
 knight, colonel, and brigand ; save that ultimately his 
 dissevered limbs were packed in a chest, and kept in a 
 church-tower, until Maurice of Nassau, in course of 
 time becoming master of Nymegen, honoured the vali- 
 ant and on the whole faithful freebooter with a Christian 
 and military burial.* 
 
 A few months later (October, 1589) another man who 
 had been playing an important part in the Netherlands* 
 drama lost his life. Count Moeurs and Niewenaar, stad- 
 holder of Utrecht, Gelderland, and Overyssel, while 
 inspecting some newly-invented fireworks, was suddenly 
 killed by their accidental ignition and explosion.* His 
 death left vacant three great stadholderates, which before 
 long were to be conferred upon a youth whose power 
 henceforth was rapidly to grow greater. 
 
 The misunderstanding between Holland and England 
 continuing, Olden-Bameveld, Aerssens, and Buys, re- 
 fusing to see that they had done wrong in denouncing 
 the Dutch and English traitors who had sold Gertruy- 
 denberg to the enemy, and the Queen and her counsel- 
 lors persisting in their anger at so insolent a proceeding, 
 it may easily be supposed that there was no great hearti- 
 ness in the joint expedition against Spain, which had 
 
 1 Bor, Wagenaar, Strada, tibi sup. States as they will publish an edict upon 
 
 ** The townsmen since have fished for It, that no quarter shall be kept with 
 
 Schenk. aiKl found him in his armour ^ymegea" Bodley to Walsingham. ^ 
 
 and since have cut him in quarters and •' • ' 10 
 
 set him on their gates : which extraordi- Aug. 1689. (S. P. Office MS.) 
 
 nary inhumanity doth so exasperate the • Bor. i^i- *xvi. 480. 
 
 1589. ENGLISH-DUTCH EXPEDITION TO SPAIN. 
 
 525 
 
 been projected in the autumn of 1588, and was accom- 
 plished in the spring and summer of 1589. 
 
 Nor was this well-known enterprise fruitful of any 
 remarkable result. It had been decided to carry the 
 war into Spain itself, and Don Antonio, prior of Crato, 
 bastard of Portugal, and pretender to its crown, had 
 persuaded himself and the English government that his 
 name would be potent to conjure with in that kingdom, 
 hardly yet content with the Spanish yoke. Supported 
 •by a determined force of English and Dutch adventurers, 
 he boasted that he should excite a revolution by the 
 magic of his presence, and cause Philip's throne to 
 tremble, in return for the audacious enterprise of that 
 monarch against England. 
 
 If a f )ray were to be made into Spain, no general and 
 no admiral could be found in the world so competent to 
 the adventure as Sir John Norris and Sir Francis Drake. 
 They were accompanied, too, by Sir Edward Norris, 
 and another of those *' chickens of Mars," Henry Norris ; 
 by the indomitable and ubiquitous Welshman, Roger 
 Williams ; and by the young Earl of Essex, whom the 
 Queen in vain commanded to remain at home, and who, 
 somewhat to the annoyance of the leaders of the expedi- 
 tion, concealed himself from her Majesty's pursuit, and 
 at last embarked in a vessel which he had equipped, in 
 order not to be cheated of his share in the hazard and 
 the booty. " If I speed well," said the spendthrift but 
 valiant youth, " I will adventure to be rich; if not, I 
 will never live to see the end of my poverty." * 
 
 But no great riches were to be gathered in the expe- 
 dition. With some fourteen thousand men, and one 
 hundred and sixty vessels — of which six were the 
 Queen's ships of war, including the famous Revenge and 
 the Dreadnought^ and the rest armed merchantmen, Eng- 
 lish, and forty Hollanders — and with a contingent of 
 fifteen hundred Dutchmen under Nicolas van 
 Meetkerke and Van Laen, the adventurers set ^^^^^^ 
 sail from Plymouth on the 18th of April, 1589. 
 
 They landed at Coruua — at which place they certainly 
 could not expect to create a Portuguese revolution, 
 which was the first object of the expedition — destroyed 
 some shipping in the harbour, captured and sacked the 
 
 I Essex to the Vice-Chamberla'n, March, 16s9, in Barrow's 'Life of Drake,' 377. 
 
 \i 
 
 h 
 
526 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XX. 
 
 1589. 
 
 ITS MEAGRE RESULTS. 
 
 527 
 
 lower town, and were repulsed in the upper ; marched 
 with six thousand men to Burgos, crossed the bridge at 
 push of pike, and routed ten thousand Spaniards under 
 Andrada and Altamira— Edward Norris receiving a 
 desperate blow on the head at the passage of the bridge, 
 and being rescued from death by his brother John- 
 took sail for the south after this action, in which they 
 had killed a thousand Spaniards, and had lost but two 
 men of their own ; were joined off Cape Finisterre by 
 Essex ; landed a force at Peniche, the castle of which 
 place surrendered to them, and acknowledged the autho- 
 rity of Don Antonio; and thence marched with the 
 main body of the troops, under Sir John Norris, forty- 
 eight miles to Lisbon, while Drake, with the fleet, was 
 
 to'sail up the Tagus. «. . j • -n 
 
 Nothing like a revolution had been effected in i:'or- 
 tugal. No one seemed to care for the Pretender, or 
 even to be aware that he had ever existed, except the 
 governor of Peniche Castle, a few ragged and barefooted 
 peasants, who, once upon the road, shouted " Viva Don 
 Antonio," and one old gentlemau by the wayside, who 
 brought him a plate of phims. His hopes of a crown 
 faded rapidly ; and when the army reached Lisbon it had 
 dwindled to not much more than four thousand effective 
 men— the rest being dead of dysentery, or on the sick- 
 list from imprudence in eating and drinking— while 
 they found that they had made an unfortunate omission 
 in their machinery for assailing the capital, having not 
 a single fieldpiece in the whole army. Moreover, as 
 Drake was prevented by bad weather and head-winds 
 from sailing up the Tagus, it seemed a difficult matter to 
 carry the city. A few cannon, and the co-operation of 
 the fleet, were hardly to be dispensed with on such an 
 occasion. Nevertheless it would perhaps have proved 
 an easier task than it appeared— for so great was the 
 panic within the place that a large number of the in- 
 habitants had fled, the Cardinal Viceroy Archduke 
 Albert had but a verv insufficient guard, and there were 
 many gentlemen of high station who were anxious to 
 further the entrance of the English, and who were after- 
 wards hanged or garotted for their hostile sentiments to 
 the Spanish government.* 
 
 1 Bor, ili. xxvi. 439. 
 
 While the leaders were deliberating what course to 
 take, they were informed that Count Fuentes and Henri- 
 quez de Guzman, with six thousand men, lay at a 
 distance of two miles from Lisbon, and that they had 
 been proclaiming by sound of trumpet that the English 
 had been signally defeated before Lisbon, and^'that they 
 were in full retreat. 
 
 Fired at this bravado, Norris sent a trumpet to Fuentes 
 and Guzman, with a letter signed and sealed, giving 
 them the lie in plainest terms, appointing the next day 
 for a meeting of the two forces, and assuring them that, 
 when the next encounter should take place, it should bo 
 seen whether a Spaniard or an Englishman would be 
 first to fly ; while Essex, on his part, sent a note, de- 
 fying either or both those boastful geiierals to single 
 combat. Next day the English army took the field, 
 but the Spaniards retired before them ; and nothing 
 came of this exchange of cartels, save a threat on the 
 part of Fuentes to hang the trumpeter who had brought 
 the messages. From the execution of this menace he 
 refrained, however, on being assured that the deed 
 would be avenged by the death of the Spanish prisoner 
 of highest rank then in English hands, and thus the 
 trumpeter escaped. 
 
 Soon afterwards the fleet set sail from the Tagus, 
 landed, and burned Vigo on their way homeward, and 
 returned to Plymouth by the middle of July. 
 
 Of the thirteen thousand came home six thousand, 
 the rest having perished of dysentery and other disorders. 
 They had braved and insulted Spain, humbled her 
 generals, defied her power, burned some defenceless 
 villages, frightened the peasantry, set fire to some ship- 
 ping, destroyed wine, oil, and other merchandize, and 
 had divided among the sui*vivors of the expedition, 
 after landing in England, five shillings a head prize- 
 money ; but they had not effected a revolution in Portugal. 
 Don Antonio had been offered nothing by his faithful 
 subjects but a dish of plums — so that he retired into 
 obscurity from that time forward— and all this was 
 scarcely a magnificent result for the death of six or 
 seven thousand good English and Dutch soldiers, and 
 the outlay of considerable treasure. 
 
 As a freebooting foray — and it was nothing else — it 
 
 ii" 
 
 I i 
 
528 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XX. 
 
 could hardly be thought successful ; although it was a 
 splendid triumph compared with the result of the long 
 and loudly heralded Invincible Armada.^ 
 
 In France, great events during the remainder of 1588 
 and the following year, and which are well known even 
 to the most superficial student of history, had much 
 changed the aspect of European affairs. It was fortunate 
 for the two commonwealths of Holland and England, 
 engaged in the great struggle for civil and religious 
 liberty and national independence, that the attention 
 of Philip became more and more absorbed— as time 
 wore on— with the affairs of France. It seemed neces- 
 sary for him firmly to establish his dominion in that 
 country before attempting once more the conquest of 
 England, or the recovery of the Netherlands. For 
 France had been brought more nearly to anarchy and 
 utter decomposition than ever. Henry III., after his 
 fatal forgiveness of the deadly offence of Guise, felt day 
 by day more keenly that he had transferred his sceptre 
 —such as it was— to that dangerous intriguer. Bitterly 
 did the King regret having refused the prompt offer of 
 
 1 For particulars of this expedition, 
 see Camden, iv. 429-433. Stowe, 751- 
 756. Barrow's • Life of l>rake,' with the 
 letters of Drake, Norris, and others, 335- 
 379. Bor, Hi. xxvl. 430-443. Herrera, 
 ill. V. 170 $eq. 
 
 Sir Roger Williams to the Lord Chan- 
 cellor, Lord Treasurer, and Secretary 
 Walsingham, July, 1689. (S. P. Office 
 MS.) 
 
 " Had we gone to Lisbon," sa3rs the 
 Welsh knight, " and not touched at the 
 Groyne, we had found the town unpro- 
 vided with men of war ; in such sort, 
 with the favour of God, we had carried it 
 
 away without blows We have 
 
 returned the most of our ships int« Eng- 
 land that thould have been laden with 
 rich merchandise and great treasure. 
 With that lading, our sovereign and your 
 honours might have returned our ship- 
 ping unto us with a new supply. In 
 going Into the Groyne we lost a number 
 of brave men in dislodging. At the 
 least 2000 took their course— some for 
 England, some for France. There we 
 took our sickness, partly by the hot 
 winds, but chiefly by the old clothes and 
 
 baggage of those which returned with 
 the Duke of Medina out of England. 
 There we lost many a day, in the which 
 time the enemy arrived, and placed his 
 forces where he thought most necessari- 
 est, chiefly in Lisbon. Notwithstanding, 
 when we arrived, we gave the law in the 
 field, that none durst fight with us, to 
 twelve days, with 5000 footmen, and, God 
 knows, poor people, save 2000, and those 
 all volunteers. All the horsomen we 
 had amounted not to 45 ; we had not any 
 PortuRuese to speak of, and such as we 
 
 had did us more hurt than good 
 
 Some will say. How could you have kept 
 Lisbon ? Believe it not With six thou- 
 sand we would have kept it against all 
 Spain and Portugal. ... Our journey 
 was most honourable and profitable unto 
 our sovereign and estate. First, and 
 principally, the world will speak how 
 6000 Englishmen dared the Spaniards 
 to battle at the gates of Lisbon— not 
 stealing, but after giving leave to arm 
 two months ; for the world must think 
 they knew where we meant to direct 
 our course, when Don Antonio dislodged 
 from his house at Loudon," &c. kc 
 
 1589. DEATH OF GUISE AND THE QUEEN-MOTHEH. 529 
 
 Alphonse Corse on the day of the bamcades ; for now, 
 so long as the new generalissimo should live, the luck- 
 less Henry felt himself a superfluity in his own reahu. 
 The halcyon days were for ever past, when, protected 
 by the swords of Joyense and of Epernon, the monarch 
 of France could pass his life playing at cup and ball, 
 or snipping images out of pasteboard, or teaching his 
 parrots to talk, or his lapdogs to dance. His royal 
 occupations were gone, and murder now became a neces- 
 sary preliminary to any future tranquillity or enjoyment. 
 Discrowned, as he felt himself already, he knew that 
 life or liberty was only held by him now at the will of 
 Guise. The assassination of the l)uke in December was 
 the necessary result of the barricades in May; and 
 accordingly that assassination was arranged with an 
 artistic precision of which the world had hardly sus- 
 pected the Valois to bq capable, and which Philip him- 
 self might have envied. 
 
 The story of the murders of Blois — the destruction of 
 Guise and his brother the Cardinal, and the subsequent 
 imprisonment of the Archbishop of Lyons, the Cardinal 
 Bourbon, and the Prince de Joinville, now, through the 
 death of his father, become the young Duke of Guise — 
 all these events are too familiar in the realms of history, 
 song, romance, and painting, to require more than this 
 slight allusion here. 
 
 Never had an assassination been more technically 
 successful ; yet its results were not commensurate with 
 the monarch's hopes. The deed which he had thought 
 premature in May was already too late in December. 
 His mother denounced his cruelty now, as she had, six 
 months before, execrated his cowardice. And the old 
 Queen, seeing that her game was played out— that the 
 cards had all gone against her — that her son was doomed, 
 and her own influence dissolved in air, felt that there 
 was nothing left for her but to die. In a week she was 
 dead, and men spoke no more of Catherine de' Medici, 
 and thought no more of her than if— in the words of a 
 splenetic contemporary — ** she had been a dead she- 
 goat." * Paris howled with rage when it learned the 
 murders of Blois, and the sixteen quarters became more 
 furious than ever against the Valois. Some wild talk 
 
 I ' L'Estoile.* 
 
 VOL. II. 
 
 2 M 
 
530 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XX. 
 
 there was of democracy and republicanism after the 
 manner of Switzerland, and of dividing France into 
 cantons— and there was an earnest desire on the part 
 of every grandee, every general, every soldier of fortune, 
 to carve out a portion of French territory with his 
 sword, and to appropriato it for himself and his heirs. 
 Disintegration was making rapid progress, and the epoch 
 of the last Valois seemed more dark and barbarous than 
 the times of the degenerate Carlovingians had been. 
 The letter-writer of the Escorial, who had earnestly 
 warned his faithful Mucio, * week after week,^ that 
 dangers were impending over him, and that "some 
 trick would be played upon him," should he venture 
 into the royal presence, now acquiesced in his assassin- 
 ation, and placidly busied himself with fresh combina- 
 tions and newer tools. 
 
 Baffled, hunted, scorned by all beside, the luckless 
 Henry now threw himself into the arms of the Beamese 
 
 the man who could and would have protected him 
 
 long before, had the King been capable of understanding 
 their relative positions and his own true interests. Could 
 the Valois have conceived the thought of religious tole- 
 ration, his throne even then might have been safe. But 
 he preferred playing the game of the priests and bigots, 
 who execrated his name and were bent upon his destruc- 
 tion. At last, at Plessis les Tours, the Beamese, m his 
 shabby old chamois jacket and his well-dinted cuirass, 
 took the silken Henry in his arms, and the two — the 
 hero and the fribble— swearing eternal friendship, pro- 
 a Ann. ceeded to besiege Paris. A few weeks later, 
 1589.* the dagger of Jacques Clement put an end for 
 ever to the line of Valois.^ Luckless Henry III. slept 
 
 ' A. 56. >«. Arch, de SimancM, [at 
 Paris,] MS. pamm. 
 
 E.g., "Con Mitclo a qulen sriempre 
 aconaejad que mire por si y no se dexe 
 engaflar j Kazer aJlffuna burla, pnes anda 
 a tanto peligro." And. In the King's 
 own hand, " Y se acuerde de su padre." 
 PhlUp to Mendoxa, 3 Sept 1688, MS. 
 
 • The spelling of the sixteenth cen- 
 tury. In all European languagfs. was 
 capricious and unsettled ; yt-t the little 
 note In which the Duchess Mary of Lux- 
 emburg announced the death of Henry 
 III. is a curiosi^, even for that age :— 
 
 "Qui la ette tue — sa ette par un 
 Jacobin qui luy a* donne dun cou de 
 pissetolle dan la tayte. Ill i a dotre 
 nouvclle beaucoup avantf^jeuse pour les 
 bon Catolique. jay donne charge a se de- 
 porteur de les vous dire." I>uches3 Maria 
 de Luxembourg au Commandeur Moreo, 
 9 Aug. 1589. (Archivo de SImancas, 
 
 MS.) 
 
 Philip's wonderftil comment on the 
 words " ptesetolle " and " tayte" in this 
 communication has been already pub- 
 lished, but will bear repetition :- 
 
 " Perhaps." he wrote with his own 
 
 1589. COMBINATIONS AFTER DEATH OF HENRY HI. 531 
 
 with his forefathers, and Henry of Bourbon and Navarre 
 proclaimed himself King of France. Catherine and her 
 four sons had all passed away at last, and it would be a 
 daring and a dexterous schemer who should now tear 
 the crown, for which he had so long and so patiently 
 waited, from the iron grasp of the B^ai nese. Philip had 
 a more difficult game than ever to play in France. It 
 would be hard for him to make valid the claims of the 
 Infanta and any husband he might select for her to the 
 crown of her grandfather Heniy 11. It seemed simple 
 enough for him, while waiting the course of events, to 
 set up a royal effigy before the world in the shape of an 
 eflfete old Cardinal Bourbon, to pour oil upon its head 
 and to baptize it Charles X. ; but meantime the other 
 Bourbon was no effigy, and he called himself Henrys IV. 
 
 It was easy enough for I*aris, and Madam League, 
 and Philip the Prudent, to cry wo upon the heretic ; 
 but the cheerful leader of the Huguenots was a philo- 
 sopher, who in the days of St. Bartholomew had become 
 orthodox to save his life, and who was already " in- 
 sti-ucting himself * anew in order to secure his crown. 
 Philip was used to deal with fanatics, and had often 
 been opposed by a religious bigotry as fierce as his own; 
 but he might perhaps be baffled by a good-humoured 
 freethinker, who was to teach him a lesson in political 
 .theology of which he had never dreamed. 
 
 The Leaguers were not long in doubt as to the mean- 
 ing of "instruction," and they were thoroughly per- 
 suaded that — so soon as Henry IV. should reconcile 
 himself with Rome — their game was likely to become 
 desperate. 
 
 Nevertheless prudent Philip sat in his elbow-chair, 
 writing his apostilles, improving himself and his secre- 
 taries in orthography, but chiefly confining his attention 
 to the affairs of France. The departed Mucio's brother 
 Mayenne was installed as chief stipendiary of Spain and 
 lieutenant-general for the League in France, until 
 Philip should determine within himself in what form to 
 assimie the sovereignty of that kingdom. It might be 
 
 hand. " 'pissetolle' is some kind of •« Quizzes alguna manera de cuchlllo. 
 
 knife, and • tayte,' I don't know if it can y la tayte no se si podria ser tra coz» 
 
 be anything else than head, which Is not que cabeza, qui no es tayte. sino tete. o 
 
 • uyte,' but • tete ' or ' teyte.' as you teyte. corao sabreys." 
 know." 
 
 2 M 2 
 
532 
 
 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Chap. XX. 
 
 questionable however whether that corpulent Duke, who 
 spent more time in eating than Henry IV. did in sleep- 
 ing, and was longer in reading a letter than Henry in 
 winning a battle, were likely to prove a very dangerous 
 rival— even with all Spain at his back — to the lively 
 Beamese. But time would necessarily be consumed 
 before the end was reached, and time and Philip were 
 two. Henry of IS'avarre and France was ready to open 
 his ears to instruction ; but even he had declared, seve- 
 ml years before, that " a religion was not to be changed 
 like a shirt." So while the fresh garment was airing 
 for him at Rome, and while he was leisurely stripping 
 off the old, he might perhaps be taken at a disadvantage. 
 Fanaticism on both sides, during this piocess of instruc- 
 tion, might be roused. The Huguenots on their part 
 might denounce the ti eason of their great chief, and the 
 Papists, on theirs, howl at the hypocrisy of the pre- 
 tended conversion. But Henry IV. had philosophically 
 prepared himself for the denunciations of the Protes- 
 tants, while determined to protect them against the per- 
 secutions of the Romanism to which he meant to give 
 his adhesion. While accepting the title of renegade, 
 together with an undisputed crown, he was not the man 
 to rekindle those fires of religious bigotry which it was 
 his task to quench, now that they had lighted his way 
 to the throne. The demands of his Catholic supporters 
 for the exclusion from the kingdom of all religions but 
 their own, were steadily refused.* 
 
 And thus the events of 1588 and 1589 indicated that 
 the great game of despotism against freedom would be 
 ])layed, in the coming years, upon the soil of France. 
 Already Elizabeth had furnished the new King with 
 22,000/. in gold — a larger sum, as he observed, than he 
 had ever seen before in his life,* and the States of the 
 Netherlands had provided him with as much more." 
 Willougliby too, and tough Roger Williams, and Basker- 
 ville, and Umpton, and Vere, with 4000 English pike- 
 men at their back, had already made a brief but spirited 
 campaign in France;* and the Duke of Parma, after 
 recruiting his health, so far as it was possible, at Spa, 
 
 > De Thou, X. I. 89, pp. 270, 680. » Bodley to Burghley, 20 Aug, 1589. 
 rerenxe, 80, 96. L'Etoile, 253, 291. <LBr. Mus. Galba. I), iv. p. 65, MS.) 
 
 * Camden, iv. 436. * Camden, ubi tup. 
 
 1590. 
 
 TANDEM FIT SURCULUS ARBOR. 
 
 533 
 
 was preparmg himself to measure swords with that 
 great captam of Huguenots, who now assumed the 
 crown of his ancestors, upon the same ground. It 
 seemed probable that for the coming years England 
 would be safe from Spanish invasion, and that Holland 
 would have a better opportunity than it had ever en- 
 joyed before of securing its liberty and perfecting its 
 political organization. While Pariia, Philip, and May- 
 enne were fighting the Beamese for the crown of France, 
 there might be a fairer field for the new commonwealth 
 of the United Netherlands. 
 
 And thus many of the personages who have figured 
 in these volumes have already passed away. Leicester 
 had died just after the defeat of the Armada, and the 
 thrifty Queen, while dropping a tear upon the grave of 
 ''sweet Kobin," had sold his goods at auction to defray 
 his debts to herself; and Moeurs and Martin Schenk, 
 and " Mucio," and Henry III., and Catherine de' Medici, 
 were all dead. But Philip the Prudent remained, and 
 Elizabeth of England, and Henry of France and Na- 
 varre, and John of Olden-Bameveld ; and there was 
 still another personage, a very yomig man still, but a 
 deep-thinking, hard-working sWent, fagging steadily 
 at mathematics and deep in the works of Stevinus, who, 
 before long, might play a conspicuous part in the world's 
 great drama. But, previously to 1590, Maurice of 
 Nassau seemed comparatively insignificant, and he 
 could be spoken of by courtiers as a cipher, and as an 
 unmannerly boy just let loose from school. 
 
 END OF VOL. II. 
 
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