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History  of  the  United 
Netherlands 

John  Lothrop  Motley 


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TUB  EARL  OF  LEICESTER. 

Fnmtispieoe,  VoL  IL 


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HISTORY 


prvoa 


UNITED  NETHERLANDS: 


FBOH  THE  DEATH  OF  WILLIAM  THE  SILENT  TO  THE 
TWELVE  TEAKS'  TEUCE-1609. 


Br  JOHN  LOTHROP  MOTLEY,  D.C.L., 

OOSEKSPOVDIHO  XVMBEB   OF  THS  IN8TITUTB  OF  FaASfOK  ; 
AUTHOS  or  *  THE  EISB  OF  THE  DUTCH  EEPUBUO.' 


IN  FOUR  VOLUMES.— Vol.  IL 
1586-89. 

WITH    PORTRAITS. 


NEW   YORK: 
HARPER  &  BROTHERS,  PUBLISHERS, 

327    TO   336    PEARL   STREET. 
1874. 


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H-^i^fr-mrrtrt^rr^ 


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Harvar.l  Collofi^c  Libraiy, 
t  of  C; ■.'.;. Ill  i^r.y  7"hc 

Deeeiubcr  U,  IMW. 


.  Bequest  of  C.;v.Mii  ::!.>■  Thompson, 


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Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  one  tlioosand  eight  bondred 

and  sixty,  by 

John  Loturop  Motley, 

in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  tbe  District  of  Massachusetts. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  tbe  year  one  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  sixty-seven,  by 

John  Lothrop  Motley, 

in  the  Clerk*8  Office  of  the  District  Couit  of  the  District  of  Massachusetts. 


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CONTENTS  OF  VOL.   II. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


MHitary  Plans  in  the  Netherlands — ^TUe  Elector  and  Electorate  of  Cologne^ 
Martin  Schenk— Hia  Career  before  serving  the  States — Franeker  Univer- 
sitj  founded — ^Parma  attempts  Grave — Battle  on  the  Meuse-— Success  and 
Vainglory  of  Leicester — SL  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  Hevenge — ^Parma  on  the  Rhine— -He  besieges  and  assaults 
Nensz — ^Horriblo  Fate  of  the  Garrison  and  City — ^Which  Leicester  was  un- 
able 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  lajra  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 


CHAPTER  X. 

Should  Elizabeth  accept  the  Sovereignty? — ^The  Effects  of  her  Anger-— 
Quarrels  between  the  Earl  and.  States — ^the  Earl's  three  Counsellors — 
Leicester's  Finance-Chamber — Discontent  of  the  MercantUe  Classes— Paul 
Boys  and  the  Opposition — ^Keen  Lisight  of  Paul  Buys— Truchsess  becomes 
a  Spy  upon  him — ^Intrigues  of  Buys  with  Denmark — His  Imprisonment — 
The  Earl's  Unpopularity— His  Quarrels  with  the  States— And  with  the 
Noirises— His  Counsellors  Wilkes  and  Clerk — Letter  firom  the  Queen  to 
Letoester— A  Supper-Party  at  Hohenlo's — A  drunken  Quarrel — ^Hohenlo's 
Assault  upon  Edward  Norris— 111  Effects  of  the  Riot ., 61 


CHAPTER  XI. 

Drake  in  the  Netherlands — Good  Results  of  his  Visit — ^The  Babington  Con* 
spirac^— Leicester  decides  to  visit  England— Exchange  of  parting  Com- 
pliments.  100 


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iy  CONTENTS  OP  VOL.  H. 

CHAPTER  XII. 

ni-timed  Intenregnum  in  the  Prorinces — Firmness  of  the  English  and  Datch 
People — ^Factions  during  Leicester's  Goyemment-— Democratic  Tlieorics  of 
the  Leicestrians— Suspicions  as  to  the  Earl's  Designs — Extreme  Views  of 
the  Oalvinists— Political  Ambition  of  the  Church — Antagonism  of  the 
Church  and  States — ^Tho  States  inclined  to  Tolerance— Desolation  of  the 
Obedient  Provinces — ^Pauperism  and  Famine — Prosperity  of  the  Republic 
— The  Year  of  Expectation^ ! Ill 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

Bameveld's  Influence  in  the  Provinces— Unpopularity  of  Leicester— Intrigues 
of  his  Servants — Gosaip  of  bis  Secretary — ^Its  mischievous  E£fects — ^The 
Quarrel  of  Norria  and  HoUodc— The  Earl's  Participation  in  the  Affair — 
His  increased  Animosity  to  Korris — Seizure  of  Deventer — Stanley  appointed 
its  Governor — ^York  and  Stanley — ^Leicester's  secret  Instructions — ^Wilkes 
remonstrates  with  Stanley — Stanley's  Insolence  and  Equivocation — ^Painful 
Rumours  as  to  him  and  York — Duplicity  of  York — Stanley's  Banquet  at 
Deventer — He  surrenders  the  City  to  Tassis — ^Terms  of  the  Bai:gain — Feebb 
Defence  of  Stanley's  Conduct — Subsequent  Fate  of  Stanley  and  York — 
Betrayal  of  Gilder  to  Parma — ^Thcse  Treasons  cast  Odium  on  the  English 
—Miserable  Plight  of  the  English  Troops — ^Honesty  and  Energy  of  Wilkes 
—Indignant  Discussion  in  the  Assembly. 136 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

Leioeeter  in  EngUmdr-rTrial  of  the  Queen  of  Scots-rFearful  Perplexity  at  the 
English  Court-r-^In&tuation  and  Obstinacy  of  the  Queen— Netherland  En- 
voys in  Englimd^-Queen's  bitter  Invective  against  them — Amazement 
of  the  £nvoy»7-Theiy  consult  with  her  chief  CounciUors — Remarks  of 
Buigbl^.and  Davison-r-Fourth  of  February  Letter  from  the  States— Its 
severe  Language  towards  Leicestei^-Painful  position  of  the  Envoys  at 
Court — Queen's  Parsimony  towards  Leteester 189 


CHAPTER   XV. 

Budchurst  sent  to  the  Netherlands — Alarming  state  of  Affairs  on  his  Arrival 
—His  Efforts  to  conciliate— Democratlo  Theories  of  "VTilkes— Sophistry  of 
the  Argument— Dispute  between  Wilkes  and  Bamevold— Religious  Toler- 
ance by  the  States— -Their 'ConstituUonalTheory-^Dcventer's  bad  Counsels 


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OONTEOTS  OP  VOL.  IL  y 

FAOS 

to  Leicester— Their  pernicious  Effect— Real  and  sapposed  Plots  against 
Hohenlo— Mutual  Suspicion  and  Distrust — ^Buckhurst  seeks  to  restore  good 
Feeling — ^The  Queen  angiy  and  vindictlTe— ^e  censures  Buckhurst's 
Course — Leicester's 'Wrath  at  Hohenlo's  Charges  of  a  Pk)t  by  the  Earl  to 
murdor  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— Bameyeld  denounces  hhn 
in  the  States.., 215 


CHAPTER   XVI. 

Situation  of  Sluy^— Its  Butch  and  English  Garrison — ^Williams  writes  from 
Slujs  to  the  Queen — Jealousy  between  the  Earl  and  States — Schemes  to 
relieve  Slujs — ^Which  are  feeble  and  unsuccessful— The  Town  Capitulates 
— ^Parma  enters — ^Leicester  enraged- The  Queen  angiy  with  the  Anti- 
Leioestrians — ^Norris,  Wilkes,  and  Buckhurst  punished — Drake  sails  for 
Spain — ^His  Exploits  at  Cadiz  and  Lisbon — He  is  rebuked  by  Elizabeth. . .  260 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

Secret  Treaty  between  Queen  and  Parma — Excitement  and  Alarm  in  the 
States — Keligious  Persecution  in  England — Queen^s  Sincerity  toward 
Spain — ^Language  and  Letters  of  Parma — ^Negotiations  of  De  Loo— En- 
glish Commissioners  appointed — Parma's  affectionate  Letter  to  the  Queen 
— Philip  at  his  Writing-Table — ^His  Plots  with  Parma  against  England — 
Panna*8  secret  Letters  to  the  King — ^Philip's  Letters  to  Parma — ^Wonderful 
Duplicity  of  Philip— His  sangmne  Views  us  to  England — ^He  is  reluctant  to 
hear  of  the  Obstacles — and  imagines  Parma  in  England — ^But  Alexander's 
Difficulties  are  great — Ho  denounces  Philip's  wild  Schemes — ^Walsingham 
aware  of  the  Spanish  Plot — which  the  States  well  understand — ^Leicester's 
ffToat  Unpopularity — ^Tho  Queen  warned  against  Treating — Leicester's 
Schemes  agamst  Bameveld^Leicestrian  Consphttcy  at  Leyden — ^The  Plot 
to  seize  the  City  discovered — ^Throo  Ringleaders  sentenced  to  Death — Civil 
War  in  France-^Victoiy  gained  by  Navarre,  and  one  by  Guise— Queen  re- 
calls Leicester — ^Who  retires  on  ill  Terms  with  the  States — Queen  warned 
as  to  Spanish  designs— Results  of  Leicester's  Administration. 286 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

Prophecies  as  to  the  Tear  1688 — ^Distracted  Condition  of  the  Dutch  Republic 
— ^Willoughby  reltlctantly  takes  Command-r-English  CommissionerB  come 
to  Ostend — Secretary  Gamier  and  Robert  Cecil— Cecil  accompanies  Dale  to 


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^i  CONTENTS  OP  VOL.  II. 

PAOB 

Ohent— And  finds  the  Beaolatlon  complete— Intenriew  of  Dale  and  Cecil 
with  Parma— His  feryent  Expressions  in  &Tor  of  Peace — Cecil  makes  a 
Tour  in  Flanders — ^And  sees  much  that  is  remarkable — Interyiews  of  Dr. 
Rogers  with  Parma — ^Wonderful  Harangues  of  the  Envoy — Extraordinary 
Amenity  of  Alexander— With  which  Rogers  is  much  touched — ^Tho  Queen 
not  pleased  with  her  Envoy — Credulity  of  the  English  Commissioners— 
Ceremdnious  Meeting  of  all  the  Envoys — Consummate  Art  in  wasting 
Time — ^Long  Di^Hites  about  Commissions— The  Spanish  Commissions 
meant  to  deceive— Disputes  about  Cessation  of  Arms — Spanish  Duplicity 
and  Procrastination — Pedantry  and  Credulity  cf  Dr.  Dale— The  Papal  Bull 
and  Dr.  Allen's  Pamphlet — Dale  sent  to  ask  Explanations — Parma  denies 
all  Knowledge  of  either — Crofl  believes  to  the  last  in  Alexander — 
Dangerous  Discord  hi  North  Holland — Leicester's  Resignation  arrives — 
Enmity  of  Willoughby  and  Maurice— Willoughby's  dark  Picture  of  Afikirs 
— ^Hatred  between  States  and  Leicestrians — ^Maurice^s  Answer  to  the 
Queen's  Charges — ^Eod  of  Sonoy's  Rebellion — Philip  foments  the  Civil 
War  in  France — League's  Threats  and  Plots  agahist  Heniy — Mucio  arrives 
in  Paris — ^He  is  received  with  Enthusiasm — ^The  King  flies,  and  Spain 
triumphs  in  Paris — States  expostulate  with  the  Queen — English  Statesmen 
still  deceived — ^Deputies  fh>m  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  PainM  Suspense  continues. 353 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

Philip  Second  m  his  Cabmet — His  System  of  Work  and  Deception — ^His  vast 
but  vague  Schemes  of  Conquest — The  Armada  sails — Description  of  the 
Fleet — ^The  Junction  with  Parma  unprovided  for — ^The  Gale  off  Hnisterre 
— Exploits  of  David  Gwynn — ^First  Engagement  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  Armada — ^A  great  Galeasse  disabled— At- 
tacked and  captured  by  English  Boats — General  Engagement  of  both 
Fleets— Loss  of  several  Spanish  Ships— Armada  flies,  followed  by  the  Eng- 
lish— ^English  insuffidenUy  provided — ore  obliged  to  relinquish  the  Chaso 
—A  great  Storm  disperses  the  Armada— Great  Energy  of  Parma— mado 
fruitless  by  Philip's  Dubess— England  readier  at  Sea  than  on  Shore— The 
Lieutenant-General's  Complaints— His  Quarrels  with  Norris  and  Williams 
— Harsh  Statements  as  to  the  English  Troops— Want  of  Organization  in 
England — ^R<^  Farsunony  and  Delay — Quarrels  of  English  Admirals — 


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CONTENTS  OP  VOL.  IL 


Vll 


Eogland's  narrow  fisoape  fipom  great  Poril — ^Varioos  Rumoors  ag  to  the 
Armada's  Fate— Philip  for  a  long  time  ia  Doubt — He  believes  himself 
victorious — is  tranquil  whan  uudcoeived. « 45ft 


CHAPTER  XX. 

Alexander  besieges  Bergen-op-Zoom— Pallavichii's  Attempt  to  seduce  Parma 
— Alexander's  Foiy— He  Is  forced  to  raise  the  Siege  of  Bergen— Gertruy- 
denberg  betrayed  to  Parma — ^Indignation  of  the  States — Exploits  of  Schenk 
— EQs  Attack  on  Nymegen — He  is  defeated  and  drowned — English-Datch 
Expedition  to  Spain — Its  meagre  Results— Death  of  Guise  and  of  the 
Qtie6n-&Cother--Combinations  after  the  Murder  of  Henry  III.— Tandem  fit 
Stntmlns  Arbor. 6^7 


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THE  raiTED  NETHERLANDS. 


CHAPTER-  IX. 

Militaiy  Plans  la  the  Netherlands — The  Elector  and  Electorate  of  Cologne 
— Martin  Schenk  —  His  Career  before  serving  the  States  —  Franeker  Unl- 
versitj  founded — Parma  attempts  Grave — Battle  on  the  Mouse  —  Suc- 
cess and  Vainglory  of  Leicester —  St  Geoi^^s  Daj  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 — Horrible  Fate  of  the  Garrison  and  City — Which 
Leicester  tvas  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  Doesbuig — 
He  lays  siege  to  Zutphen — Which  Parma  prepares  to  relieve — The 
English  intercept  the  Convoy  —  Battle  of  Wamsfeld  —  Sir  Ph'dip  Sidney 
mounded  —  Results  of  the  Encounter  —  Death  of  Sidney  at  Amheim — 
Gallantry  of  Edward  Stanley. 

Five  great  rivers  hold  tho  Netherland  territory  in  their  coils. 
Three  are  but  slightly  separated — the  Yssel,  Waal,  and 
'  ancient  Rhine,  while  the  Scheldt  and  Meuse  are  spread  moro 
widely  asunder.  Along  each  of  these  •streams  were  various 
fortified  cities,  the  possession  of  which,  in  those  days,  when 
modem  fortification  was  in  its  infancy,  implied  the  control 
of  the  surrounding  country.  The  lower  part  of .  all  tho 
rivers,  where  they  mingled  vrith  tho  sea  and  became  wide 
estuaries,  belonged  to  the  Bepublic,  for  tho  coasts  and  tho 
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  controlled  them  all,  was 

VOL.  II. — B 


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2  THE  UNITED  NETHERLANDS.  Chap.  IX. 

held  by  Philip  Sidney  for  the  Queen  m^  States.  On  the  Meuse, 
Maastricht  and  Koermond  were  Spanish,  but  Venloo,  Grave, 
Meghem,  and  other  towns,  held  for  the  commonwealth.  On  the 
Waal,  the  town  of  Nym^n  had,  through  the  dexterity  of  Martin 
Schenk,  been  recently  transferred  to  the  royalists,  while  the 
rest  of  that  river's  course  was  true  to  the  republic.  TKe 
Rhine,  strictly  so  called,  from  its  entrance  into  Netherland, 
belonged  to  the  rebels.  Upon  its  elder  branch,  the  Tssel, 
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  Rhino,  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 
Provinces.^ 

This  unfortunate  district  was  the  archi-episcopal  electorate 
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  endangered,  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 — b^gars, 
outcasts,  but  high-bom  and  learned  churchmen  both — ^who 
disputed  the  electorate. 

At  the  conmiencement  of  the  year  a  portion  of  the  bishopric 
was  still  in  the  control  of  the  deposed  protestant  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,  accordingly, 
along  the  Meuse,  where  the  main  object  of  Parma  was  to 

>  Mctercn,  sili.  235'». 


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1586. 


THE  ELECTOR  A2^  Ei:.EOTORA.TE  OF  COLOGNE. 


wrest  (Jrave  from  the  Netherlands ;  abhg  the  Waal,  where, 
on  the  other  hand,  the  patriots  wished  to  recover  Hym^n  ; 
on  the  Yssel,  where  they  desired  to  obtain  the  possession  of 
Zutphen  ;  and  in  the  Cologne  electorate^  where  the  Spaniards 
meant,  if  possibly  to  transfer  Neosz  and  Bheinberg  from 
Truchsess  to  Elector  Ernest.  To  clear  the  course  of  these 
streams,  and  especially  to  set  free  that  debateable  portion 
of  the  river-territory  which  hemmed  him  in  from  neutral 
Germany,  and  cut  off  the  supplies  from  his  starving  troops, 
was  the  immediate  design  of  Alexander  Famese. 

Nothing  could  be  morie  desolate  than  the  condition  of  the 
electorate.  Ever  since  Qebbard  Truchsess  had  renounced 
the  communion  of  the  Catholic  Church  for  the.  love  of  Agnes 
Mansfeld,  and  so  gained  a  wife  and  lost  his  principality,  he 
had  been  a  dependant  upon  the  impoverished  Nassaus,  or  a 
supplicant  for  alms  to  the  thrifty  Elizabeth.  The  Queen 
was  frequently  implored  by  Leicester,  without  much  effect, 
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  Lis  quarrels  with  the  patrician  party 
rapidly  forming  against  him  in  the  States. 

At  (Jodesberg — ^the  romantic  ruins  of  which  stronghold  thQ 
traveller  still  regards  with  iuterest,  placed  as  it  is  in  the 
midst  of  that  enchanting  region  where  Drachenfels  looks 
down  on  the  crumbling  tower  of  Koland  and  the  convent  of 
Nonnenwerth— the  unfortunate  Gebhard  had  sustained  a  con- 
clusive defeat.  A  small,  melancholy  man,  accomplished, 
religious,  learned,  "  very  poor  but  very  wise,"  comely,  but  of 
mean  stature,  altogether  an  imlucky  and  forlorn  individual,* 


'  *  Leyc.  Correep.'  378. 

•  "When  I  spake  of  the  Elector 
here^"  said  lieioeeter,.  "1  assure  joa 
he  is  a  yety  wise  gen^emau ;  and  if  it 
irare  pofsible  to  set  him  in  his  place 
again,  these  countries  were  soon  at 
qpksL  ....  He*  is  bzcdeding  poor,  and 
great  pitf.  Believe  me,  mj  Lord,  he 
is  wdthy  to  be  esteemed.  He  doth 
greatly  love  and  honour  her  Majesty. 


I  would  to  God  your  Lorddiip  could 
but  procu^  her  Majesty  to  bestow 
600  or  600  pound  on  him  for  a  token. 
I  have  reodved  more  comfort  and  good 
advice  of  him  than  of  any  man  here. 
He  is  very  virtuous,  and  very  sound  in 
religion;  very  grave,  and  a  comely 
person,  but  of  a  mean  stature.  His 
adyersary  doth  all  he  can  to  put  the 
King  of  Spain  into  his  territories,  yc% 


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4 


THE  UNITED  KETHEBLAlirDa 


Chap.  IX 


he  was  not,  after  all,  in  very  mnch  inferior  plight  to  that  in 
which  his  rival,  the  Bavarian  bishop,  had  found  himself. 
Prince  Ernest,  archbishop  of  Liege  and  Cologne,  a  hanger- 
on  of  his  brother,  who  sought  to  shake  him  off,  and  a 
stipendiary  of  Philip,  who  was  a  worse  paymaster  than 
Elizabeth,  had  a  sorry  life  of  it,  notwithstanding  his  nominal 
possession  of  the  see.  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  Rhine.  If  Neusz  and 
Rheinberg  were  not  wrested  from  the  rebels,  Cologne  itself 
would  soon  be  gone.  Ernest  represented  most  eloquently  to 
Alexander,  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  assistance,  he  represented  to 
his  sovereign  the  importance  of  preserving  the  Bhenish 
territory  to  Bishop  Ernest  and  to  Catholicism,  but  hinted 
that  the  declared  intention  of  the  Bavarian  to  resign  the 


even,  into  Cologne  itaelt  He  is  veiy 
poor,  and  weaiy  of  his  keeping  that 
place  with  sadi  ofaarge.  His  bishopric 
of  liege  is  all  spoUed  also  with  these 
wars,  and  he  no  longer  able  to  main- 
tain his  charges.  A  small  matter 
would  set  up  this  man  now.  He  hath 
many  friends  in  G^ermany,  and  more  of 
late  than  ever  he  had."  Ldoestcr  to 
Burghley,  28  Feb.  1586.  (S.  P.  Office 
HS.) 

Lord  North  had  also  conceiyed  a 
favourable  opinion  of  Truchsess,  whom 
ho  spoke  of  as  a  ''rare  gentleman, 
notably  fiimished  with  exc^lent  gifts, 
religious,  and  worthy  of  all  honour  and 
estimation.**  North  to  Burghley,  28 
Peb.  158&    (a  P.  Office  Ma) 


'  Panna  to  PbUip  IL  28  Feb.  1586. 
(Ardiivo  de  Simancas,  MS.)  Compare 
Btrada,  IL  426. 

■  Parma  to  Philip  II.  (MS.  last 
cited.)  Compare  Strada^  who  ap- 
pears to  be  very  much  mistaken  in 
representing  the  Elector  Ernest  as 
having  been  dismissed  by  Parma  with 
great  state,  and  with  a  magnificent 
escort  of  Belgian  nobUity, — ''because 
no  mask  can  ever  entirely  disguise  a 
prince,  and  because  suns,  even  when 
under  a  doud,  have  more  spectators 
than  ever.'*  .  , 

"Nempe  nulla  larva  totum  prind* 
pern  tegit;  immo  soles,  etiam  isti  quum 
defldunt,  tunc  maxime  spoctatoreB  ha- 
bent^**  and  so  on,  IL  427* 


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1586.  MABTIK   SOHENK.  5 

dignity,  was  probably  a  trick,  because  the  archi-episcopate 
\raB  no  Buch  very  bad  thing  after  all.^ 

The  archi-episcopate  might  be  no  very  bad  thing,  but  it 
-was  a  most  imcomfortable  place  of  residence,  at  the  moment, 
for  prince  or  peasant.  Overrun  by  hordes  of  brigands,  and 
crushed  almost  out  of  existence  by  that  most  deadly  of  all 
systems  of  taxations,  the  ^  brandschatzung,'  it  was  fast 
becoming  a  mere  den  of  thieves.  The  ^brandschatzung' 
had  no  name  in  English,  but  it  was  the  well-known  impost, 
levied  by  roving  commanders,  and  even  by  respectable  gene- 
rals of  all  nations.  A  hamlet,  cluster  of  farm-houses,  country 
district,  or  wealthy  city,  in  order  to  escape  being  burned  and 
ravaged,  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  art,  the  terrible 
Martin  Schenk  was  preeminent ;  and  he  was  now  ravaging 
the  Cologne  territory,  having  recently  passed  again  to  the 
service  of  the  States.  Immediately  connected  yrith  the  chief 
military  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  1549  of  an  ancient  and 
noble  family  of  Gelderland,  Martin  Schenk  had  inherited  no 
property  but  a  sword.  Serving  for  a  brief-  term  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 

'  'Toiquo  DO  b  csta  tan  tual  cl  clectorado/'  MS.  letter  of  Parma  last 
cited. 


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THE  UNITED  NETHERLANDS. 


Chap.  IX 


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 
casUe,  and  having  recently  committed  a  rather  discreditable 
homicide,  T^hich  still  further  increased  his  unpopularity  with 
the  patriots,  he  made  oyerturess  to  Parma.^  Alexander  was 
glad  to  enlist  ^o  bold  a  soldier  on  his  side,  and  assisted 
Schenk  in  his  besieged  stronghold.  For  years  afterwards, 
his  services  un^er  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  courageous  fellow," 
said  Parma,  ^^but  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  in  Christendom.  Never  were 
freebooters  more  formidable  to  the  world  at  large,  or  more 
docile  to  their  chief,  than  were  the  followers  of  General 
Schenk.  Never  was  a  more  finished  captain  of  highwaymen. 
He  was  a  man  who  was  never  sober,  yet  who  never  smiled. 
His  habitual  intoxication  seemed  only  to  increase  both  his 
audacity  and  his  taciturnity,  without  disturbing  his  reason. 
He  was  incapable  of  fear,  of  fatigue,  of  remorse.  He  cotdd 
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,  fiis 
soldiers  followed,  him  about  like  hounds,  and  were  treated  by 
him  like  hounds.  He  habitually  scourged  them,  often  took 
with  his  own  hand  the  lives  of  such  as  displeased  him,  and 
had  been  known  to  cause  individuals  of  them  to  jump  from 
the  top  of  churqh  steeply*  at  bis  command ;  yet  the  pack 
were  ever  stanch  to  his  orders,  for  they  knew  that  he  always 


'  Meteren,  xiil  231,  ^Levensbeschry- 
yiDg  NederL  Mannen/  voL  il  in  voce, 
Straida)  IL  633;  et  aliunde. 


>  Panna  to  Philip  IL,  6  June,  1585. 
(Arch,  do  Sim.  MS.) 
»  Archer,  in  Stowe,  T39. 


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15S6.  HIS  CABEER  BEFOEE  SEBVINa  TBE  STATES.  7 

led  them  where  the  game  was  plenty.  While  servmg  under 
Parma  he  had  twice  most  brilliantly  defeated  Hohenlo.  At 
the  battle  of  Hardenberg  Heath  he  had  completely  outgene- 
ralled  that  distingoished  chieftain,  slaying  fifteen  hundred  of 
Ws  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  additional  quarter  of  a 
century,  and  had  been  received  in  that  city  with  rapture. 
Several  startling  years  of  victory  and  rapine  ho  had  thus  run 
through  as  a  royalist  partisan.  He  became  the  terror  and  the 
scourge  of  his  native  Grelderland,  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 
was  the  most  formidable,  the  most  unscrupulous,  the  most 
audacious  Netherlander  that  wore  Philip's  colours ;  but  ho 
had  received  small  public  reward  for  his  services,  and  the 
wealUi  which  he  earned  on  the  high-road  did  not  suffice  for 
his  ambition.  He  had  been  deeply  disgusted,  when,  at  the 
death  of  Count  Kenneb6rg,  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  smoth^^  his  resentment  for  a  time 
however,  but  had  sworn  within  himself  to  desert  at  the  most 
&Yourable  opportunity.  At  last,  after  he  bad  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  Haultepenne,  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,  stadholder  for  the 
States  of  Gelderland,  and  agreed  to  transfer  his  mercenary 
allegiance  to  the  repuUic.  -  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 


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8  THB  UNITED  NBTHERLANDa  Chap.  IX. 

be  reimbursed  with' estates  in  Holland  and  Zeeland,  of  the 
annual  value  of  four  thousand  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." ^  Ho 
ceased  to  be  the  scourge  of  Gelderland,  but  he  became 
the  terror  of  the  electorate.  Early  in  1586,  accompanied 
by  Herman  Kloet,  the  young  and  daring  Dutch  commandant 
of  Neusz,  ho  had  swept  down  into  the  Westphalian  country, 
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  neighbour- 
hood, and  carrying  bags  of  that  article.  A  pacific  trading- 
intercourse,  had  thus  been  established  between  the  burghers 
within  and  .  the  banditti  without  the  gates.  Agreeable 
relations  were  formed  within  the  walls,  and  a  party  of 
townsmen  had  agreed  to  cooperate  with  the  followers  of 
Schenk.  One  morning  a  train  of  wagons  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  gateway,  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.  That  fortress  was 
stormed  in  vain,  but  the  city  was  thoroughly  sacked.  Every 
house  was  rifled  of  its  contents.  Meantime  Haultepenno 
collected  a  force  of  nearly  four  thousand  men,  boors,  citizens, 
and  soldiers,  and  came  to  besiege  Schenk  in  the  town,  whUe, 

'  *  NoderL  Maanen,*  &c.,  tibi  sup. 
t  Doyley  to  Burgbley,  Jtmo  24,  1586.    (S.  P.  Offico  Ufi,) 


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1586. 


FEAKEKEB  UNIVERSITY  FOUNDED. 


at  the  same  time,  attacks  were  made  upon  him  from  the 
castle.  It  was  impossible  for  him  to  hold  the  city,  but  he  had 
completely  robbed  it  of  every  thing  valuable.  Accordingly  he 
loaded  a  train  of  waggons  with  his  booty,  took  with  him  thirty 
of  the  magistrates  as  hostages,  with  other  wealthy  citizens, 
and  marching  in  good  order  against  Haultepenne,  completely 
routed  him,  killing  a  number  variously  estimated  at  from 
five  hundred  to  two  thousand,  and  effected  his  retreat,  despe- 
rately wounded  in  the  thigh,  but  triumphant,  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,"  exclaimed 
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  suc- 
ceeded hitherto  very  happily/' ' 

And  thus,  at  every  point  of  the  doomed  territory  of  the 
little  conmionwealth,  the  natural  atmosphere  in  which  the  in- 
habitants existed  was  one  of  blood  and  rapine.  Tet  during  the 
very  slight  lull,  which  was  interposed  in  the  winter  of  1585-6 
to  the  eternal  clang  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  coll^  was  well  endowed  from  ancient  church- 
lands,  and  not  only  was  the  education  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 


>  Meteren,  Stnda,  NederL  Maimeii, 
kc,ubi9up,  Bor.  II.  699, 700.  Brace's 
*Leyc  Corresp.'  79,  139,  141, 167,  227, 
265,  475.  Lord  North  to  Burgbley, 
Ffeb.  28,  1686.     (a  P.  Office  MS.)    Lei- 


cester to  Bmgfaley,  same  date.  Ibid. 
MS.  Leicester  to  Burgbley  and  Wal- 
siugham,  16  March,  1686.    Ibid.  MS. 

'  Leicester  .to  Buighley  and  Wal- 
singbam.    MS.  ubi  sup. 


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10 


THE  UNITED  NETHERLANDa 


Chap.  IX. 


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  the  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  circb  of  protection  for  the  whole  Province  of 
Brabant,  and  Farnese  determined  to  make  himself  master  of 
this  great  natural  moat.  Afterwards,  he  meant  to  possess 
himself  of  the  Bhine,  flowing  in  a  parallel  course,  about 
Iwenty-five  miles  further  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  forti- 
fied on  its  land-side,  where  it  was  surrounded  by  low  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,  the  "strongest  town  in  all  the  Low 
Countries,  though  but  a  little  one."  * 

Baron  Hemart,  a  young  Gueldriaii  noble,  of  small  experi- 
ence in  military  afiairs,  commanded  in  the  city,  his  garrison 
being  eight  hundred  soldiers,  and  about  one  thousand  burgher 
guard.*  As  early  as  January,  Famese  had  ordered  Count 
Mansfeld  to  lay  siege  to  the  place.     Five  forts  had  accord- 


*  Bor,  n.  672. 

'  North  to  Burghloj,  29  May,  1586. 
a  P.  Office  MS.  Leicester  to  Queen 
Elizab^  16  Jane,  1586.  &  P.  Office 
MS. 


•  Bor,  n.  707,  f  oa  Ho<tfd,  Verr.  154, 
156.  Strada,  IL  410.  Wagenaar,  yiU. 
126. 


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X586w 


PAEMA  ATTEMPTS  GRAYB. 


11 


ingly  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  distin-^ 
guished  veterans  in  Philip's  service,  were  engaged  in  the 
enterprise.  A  few  unimportant  skirmishes  between  Schtok 
and  the  Spaniards  had  taken  place,  but  the  city  was  already 
hard  pressed,  and,  by  the  series  of  forts  which  environed  it, 
was  cut  oflf  from  its  supplies.  It  was  highly  important, 
therefore,  that  Grave  should  bo  relieved,  with  the  least 
possible  delay. 

Early  in  Easter  wedc,  a  force  of  three  thousand  men,  under 
Hohenlo  and  Sir  John  Norris,  was  accordingly  despatched  by 
lidcester,  with  orders,  at  every  hazard,  to  throw  ^pni  i^ 
reinforcements  and  provisions  into  the  place.  They  isse!^ 
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  nearly  all  hanged  for  '^  using  malicious  words," 
and  for  '^railing  against  Queen  Elizabeth,"^  and— a  suflScient 
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 
Eavenstein  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  bridge  constructed  by  the  Spaniards.  Here, 
in  the  night  of  Easter  Tuesday,  they  rapidly  formed  an 
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^ 


'  Occurrences  from  Holland,  April, 
11^  1586.    (a  P.  Office  Ma) 


'  Ibid.    Compare  ^Leyccst  Correep.* 
p.  218,  April  6,  1686. 
*  Occurrences  (h>m  Holland,  MS. 


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12  THE  UNITED  NETHERLANDS.  Chap.  IX. 

ordered  one  thousand  picked  troops,  all  Spaniards,  under 
April-  Casco  and  other  veterans,  to  assatdt  this  advanced 
1586.  post.^  A  reserve  of  two  thousand  was  placed  in  readi- 
ness 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  raiments  as  to  the  right  of  precedence 
precipitated  the  attack,  before  the  reserve,  consisting  of  some 
pickoi  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  oppor- 
tunely 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  probablo  that  the  fugitives 
would  be  overtaken  and  destroyed,  when,  at  last,  from  behind 
a.line  of  moimds  which  stretched  towards  Batenburg  and  had 
masked  their  approach,  appeared  Count  Hohenlo  and  Sir 
John  Norris,  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  woxild 
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 
companies  of  Bobadil  and  other  commanders  were  seen  march- 
ing along  the  quaking  bridge. 


'  Strada,  II.  413,  seq.     Hoofd,  Yeirolgh,  154,  155.     Oocoirenoefl,  tc.  MS 
Brace's  ^Leycest  Corresp.  223,  226. 


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158G.  SUOCESS  OF  LEICESTER.  13 

Three  thousand  men  on  each  side  now  met  at  push  of  pike 
on  the  bank  of  the  Meusa.^  The  rain  was  pouring  in  torrents, 
the  wind  was  blowing  a  gale,  the  stream  was  rapidly  rising, 
and  threatening  to  overwhelm  its  shores.  By  a  tacit  and 
mutual  consent,  both  armies  paused  for  a  few  moments  in  full 
view  of  each  other.  After  this  brief  interval  they  closed 
again,  breast  to  breast,  in  sharp  and  steady  conflict.  The 
ground,  slippery  with  rain  and  with  blood,  which  was  soon 
flowing  almost  as  fast  as  the  rain,  afibrded  an  unsteady  footing 
to  the  combatants.  They  staggered  like  drunken  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  woimded  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  aflray.  The  Spaniards, 
fiurly  conquered,  were  compelled  to  a  retreat,  lest  the  rapic^ly 
rifling  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  Parma,  from 

April  -  3atenburg  into  Grave ;  Hohenlo,  who  had  "  most 

1586.  desperately  adventured  his  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  city,  and  the  course  of  the  Meuse  was, 

'  Stroda,  IL  413, 414.    OccmreQces  IVom  HoUand,  KS. 


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14 


THE  UNITED  NETHERLANDS 


Chap.  IX 


apparently,  secured  to  the  republic.  In  this  important  action 
about  one  hundred  and  fifty  Dutch  and  English  were  killed, 
and  probably  four  hundred  Spamards,  including  several  dis- 
tinguished officers.V 

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  afllicted  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 
Norris — whom,  however,  he  could  not  help  applauding  on  this 
occasion, — but  he  was  in  raptures  with  Hohenlo.  Next  to 
God,  ho  assured  the  Queen's  government  that  the  victory  was 
owing  to  the  Count.  "He  is  both  a  valiant  man  and  a  wise 
man,  and  th^  painfullest  that  ever  I  knew,"  he. said  ;  adding 
— ^as  a  secret — that  "  five  himdred  Englishmen  of  the  best 
Flemish  training  had  flatly  and  shamefully  run  away,"  when 
the  fight  had  been  renewed  by  Hohenlo  and  Norris.  Ho 
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  driiik- 
ing."» 

toliim." 

Compare  Strada,  n.  413,  4U.  Ke* 
teren,  ziii  234.  Hoofd,  165,  seq.etdL 
It  is  of  filigbt  oonsequence,  at  ^e  pre- 
sent daj,  to  know  the  exact  number  of 
the  combatants  who  perished  in  this 
hotly-contested,  but  now  forgotten 
field.  As  a  specimen  of  conflicting 
statistios,  after  a  battle,  it  is  worth 
while  to  observe  that,  according  to  some 
eye-vfitneaaeSf  nine  hundred  Spaniards 
were  killed,  and,  acoordhig  to  others^ 
thirty,  while,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
statement  of  the  loss  sustained  by 
their  antagonists  yaried  fixnn  fifty  to 
seven  hundred. 

3  Brace's  'Leya  Corresp.'  264»  May 

4  1686. 
•  Bruco's  *  Leya  Corresp.*  246. 


1  Leicester  to  Burghley,  April     -t 

1586.    (S.  P.  Office  MS.)   R.  Cavendish 

to  Burghley,   April  j^,   1586.     (S.  P. 

Ofiace    M&)      Lord    Willoughby    to 

Buighley,  -  April,  1686.    (S.  P.  Office 

MS.)  Occurrences  from  Holland,  MS. 
Brace's  Leya  Corresp.'  226,  244,  245, 

262,  263.      Parma    to    Philip  II    - 

April  and  9  May,  1586.  (Archivo  de 
^amflncas,  MS.) 

Lord  North  to  Burghley,  »    May, 

1686.  (a  P.  Office  M&)  "  Count  Hoi- 
lock  performed  this  service  with  wis- 
dom ai^d  most  valiantly  in  his  own 
person.  I  cannot  give  him  too  much 
praise,  because  there  is  so  much  duo 


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158«.       ST.  GKORGE'S-DAT  KEPT  AT  UTRECHT.         16 

As  for  the  Prince  of  Parima,  Leicester  looked  upon  him  as 
conclusively' beaten.  He  spoke  of  him  as  "marvellously  ap- 
palled" by  this  overthrow  of  his  forces,  but  he  assured  the 
government  that  if  the  Prince's  "choler  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 
finstrate  all  his  undertakings.  "  If  the  Spaniard  have  such  a 
May  as  ho  has  had  an  Apr^"  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  proces- 
sion. In  all  the  towns  through  which  he  passed  he  was 
entertained  with  military  display,  pompous  harangues,  inter- 
ludes, dumb  shows,  and  allegories.  At  Amsterdam — a  city 
which  he  compared  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  convoyed  him 
to  the  shore.  These  monsters  of  the  deep  presented  him  to 
the  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  tho  Israelites,  smiting  the  Philistines 
hip  and  thigh.^  After  much  mighty  banqueting  in  Amster- 
dam, as  in  the  other  cities,  the  governor-general  came  to 
Utrecht  Through  the  streets  of  this  antique  and  most  pic-* 
turesque  city  flows  the  palsied  current  of  the  Khine,  and  every 
bai^  and  bridge  were  decorated  with  the  flowers  of  spring. 
Upon  this  spot,  where,  eight  centuries  before  the  Anglo-Saxon 
Willebrod  had  first  astonished    the  wild  Frisians  with  the 

>  North  to  Bupghley,  ^  May,  1586.    a  P.  Offlco  MS. 
•  '  Ley  a  Corrcsp.'  476,  seq. 


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X6  THB  UNITED  NETHERLANDS.  Chap.  IX. 

pacific  doctrines  of  Jesus,  and  had  been  stoned  to  death  as  his 
reward,  stood  now  a  more  arrc^ant  representative  of  English 
piety.  The  balconies  were  crowded  with  fair  women,  and 
decorated  with  scarves  and  banners.  From  the  Earl's  resi- 
dence— the  ancient  palace  of  the  Knights  of  Ehodes — to  the 
cathedral,  the  way  was  lined  with  a  double  row  of  burgher 
guards,  wearing  red  roses  on  their  arms,  and  apparelled  in 
the  splendid  uniforms  for  which  the  Netherlanders  were  cele- 
brated. Trumpeters  in  scarlet  and  silver,  baronsj  knights, 
and  great  officers,  in  cloth  of  gold  and  silks  of  all  colours  ;  tho 
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  melan- 
choly face,  c^nd  the  unlucky  Don  Antonio,  Pretender  of  Por- 
tugal, for  whoni,  dead  or  alive,  thirty  thousand  crowns  and  a 
diJtedom^  were  perpetuaDy  offered  by  Philip  II.;  young 
Maurice  of  Nassau,  the  future  controller  of  European  destinies; 
great  counsellors  of  state,  gentlemen,  guardsmen,  and  port- 
cullis-herald, with  the  coat  of  arms  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.* 

Tho  ancient  cathedral,  built  on  tho  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  elc^pntly  foliaged  columns,  soon 
received  the  glittering  throng.  Hence,  after  due  religious 
ceremonies,  and  an  English  sermon  from  Master  Knewstubs, 
Leicester's  chaplain,  was  a  solemn  march  back  April, 
again  to  tho  palace,  where  a  stupendous  banquet  was  ^^^^ 
ahready  laid  in  the  great  halL* 

On  tho  dais  at  the  upper  end  of  tho  table,  blazing  with 

*  Declaration  of  Don  Antonio^  in  Bor,  11. 169. 
•  Holingshcd,  iy.  658,  seq.    Stowe^  717.    Hoofii,  Venrol^  145.        "Ibia. 


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1686.  ST.  GEORGE'S  DAY  KEPT  AT  UTBEOHT.  17 

plate  and  cryBtal^  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  respect- 
fully quite  at  the  edge  of  the  board.  In  the  neighbourhood 
of  this  post  of  honour  sat  Count  Maurice,  the  Elector,  the 
Pretender,  and  many  illustrious  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  woimded,  but 
triumphant,  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 
marshalled  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,"  disappeared,  course  after  course, — sonoroud 
metal  blowing  meanwhile  the  most  triumphant  airs.  After 
the  banquet  came  dancing,  vaulting,  tumbling,  tc^ther  with 
the  "forces  of  Hercules,  which  gave  great  delight  to  the 
strangers,"  after  which  the  company  separated  until  even- 
song. 

Then  again,  "great  was  the  feast,"  says  the  chronicler, — ■ 
a  mighty  suppier  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 
banquet    of  sugar-meates    for    the    men-at-arms    and  the 


'  Bar.  II.  699,  700.  Stowc,  Holin- 
Bhed,  «M  sup,     'Leyc.  Ck)TTef^*  252, 

253,  April  ^  1586. 

'^Shenks  is  a  worthy  fellow,"  said 
Leioe^er,  who  never  oould  get  nearer 
than  this  to  the  name  of  the  terrible 
partisan.    He  also  mentioned  that  bo 

VOL.  IT. — C 


had  given  the  worthy  fellow  a  chain, 
as  ft^  her  Majesty;  adding,  with  an 
eye  to  Elizabeth's  thrift,  that  if  she 
thought  he  had  paid  too  much  for  it, 
he  would  cheerfully  pay  the  balance 
over  what  seemed  the  right  sum  out 
of  his  own  pocket  *L^c.  Corresp.' 
227,  228. 


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18 


THS  UNITED  KKTHRRLANDSL 


Chap.  IS. 


ladies/'  after  which,  it  being  now  midnight,  the  Lord  of 
Leicester  bade  the  whole  company  good  rest,  and  the  men-at- 
arms  and  ladies  took  their  leave.^ 

But  while  all  this  chivalrous  banqueting  and  holiday- 
making  was  in  hand,  the  Prince  of  Parma  was  in  reality  not 
quite  so  much  "appalled"  by  the  relief  of  Grave  as  his  an- 
tagonist 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."^ 

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  obedient  Provinces  was  universal,  the  whole 
population  was  desperate  with  hunger ;  and  the  merchants, 
frightened  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  Alexander.^  He  had 
been  compelled,  by  the  movement  before  Grave,  to  withdraw 
Haultepenne  fix>m  the  projected  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  melancholy 
man  had  left  Brussels,  and  joined  his  little  army,  consisting 
of  three  thousand  Spaniards  and  five  thousand  of  all  other 


*  Stowe,    Holinahed,    Bor,    Hooia, 
ubi  supra. 

«  *Leyc.  Corresp.'  251,^^^,  158G. 


•Ibid. 

*  "Cierrah   la   bolaa." 


Panna   to 


Phflip,  9  May,  1586.     (Aidb.  do  Si- 
inw>cftg,  MS.) 

•  Same   to  same,  27   April,  1586. 
(Arch,  de  Simancaa,  Ma) 

•  Letter  of9  May,  MS. 


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PABMA  LESS  APPALLED  THAN  WAS  THOUGHT. 


19 


nations.^  His  veterans,  though  unpaid,  ragged,  and  half- 
starved,  were  in  raptures  to  have  their  idolized  uay  ii, 
commander  among  them  again^  and  vowed  that  under  ^^^• 
his  guidance  there  was  nothing  which  they  could  not  accom- 
plish. 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  pronounced  as  fertile 
and  about  as  large  as  Herefordshire,* — and  was  now  threaten- 
ing Nymegen,  a  city  which  had  been  gained  for  Philip  by  the 
last  dOTort  of  Schenk,  on  the  royalist  •  side.  He  was  now 
observing  Alexander's  demonstrations  against  Grave,  but, 
after  the  recent  success  in  victualling  that  place,  he  felt  a  just 
confidence  in  its  security. 

On  the  Slst  May  the  trenches  were  commenced,  and  on 
the  5th  June  the  batteries  were  opened.  The  work  went 
rapidly  forward  when  Famese  was  in  the  field,  sigt  May, 
"  The  PriQce  of  Parma  doth  batter  it  fike  a  Prince,"  *  ^^®^-  ' 
said  Lord  North,  admiring  the  enemy  with  the  enthusiasm  of 
an  honest  soldier.  On  the  6th  o^  June,  as  Alexander  rode 
through  the  camp  to  reconnoitre,  previous  to  an  attack,  a  well- 
directed  cannon  ball  carried  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  bruised,  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 


'  Parma  to  Philip  II.  2t  May,  1686. 
(Arch,  de  Sim.  MS.) 

•  Parma  to  Philip  It  27  May,  11 
June,  1586.    (Ibid.) 

>  Leicester  to  the  Qneen,  27  May, 


1686.    (S.  P.  Office  MS.) 

*  North  to  Burghley,  29  May,  1686. 
(S.  P.  Office  Ma) 

s  Stowe»  718.     Strada  IL  416. 


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THB  UNITED  NETHERLANDa 


Chap.  IX 


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,  stiH  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,  insinuated 
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  sounded  a  recal.'  So  completely  discomfited 
were  the  Spaniards  by  this  repulse,  and  so  thoroughly  at  their 
ease  were  the  besieged,  that  a  soldier  let  himself  down  from 
the  ramparts  of  the  town  for  the  sake  of  plundering  the  body 
of  Captain  Solis,  who  was  richly  dressed,  and,  having  accom- 
plished this  feat,  was  quietly  helped  back  again  by  his  com- 
rades from  above.* 

To  the  surprise  of  the  ])esiegers,  however,  on  the  very  next 
morning  came  a  request  from  tho  governor  of  the  city,  Baron 
Hemart,  to  negociate  for  a  surrender.  Alexander  was,  natu- 
rally, but  too  glad  to  grant  easy  terms,  and  upon  the  7th 
of  June  the  garrison  left  tho  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  thousand  men,  while,  at  the  same  time,  the  walls  had 
suffered  so  little,  that  he  must  have  been  obliged  to  wait  long 
for  a  practicable  breach.* 


1  Panna  to  Philip,  11  Juno,   1586. 
(Arch,  de  Simancas,  MS.) 

2  Parma  to  Philip  IL,  MS.  just  cited. 

3  Strada^  II.  417.    Bor,  IL  707,  70S. 


*  Broce's  *  Leyc.  Corresp.*  288. 

«  Strada,  II.  418.  Bor,  IL  707,  708. 
Parma  to  Philip  IL  27  May,  11  June, 
1536.   (Arch,  de  Simancas^  MS.)  Nortli 


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HE  BBSIEGES  AND  REDUCES  GEAYK 


21 


"  There  was  no  good  reason  even  for  women  to  have  sur- 
rendered the  place/'  exdaimed  Leicester,  when  he  heard  the 
newB.^  And  the  Earl  had  cause  to  bo  enraged  at  such  a 
result  He  had  received  a  letter  only  the. day  before,  signed 
by  Hemart  himself  and  by  all  the  officers  in  Grave,  asserting 
their  determination  and  ability  to  hold  the  place  for  a  ^ood 
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'myTs- 
terious  reasons,  had  persuaded  him  thus  voluntarily  'to  capi- 
tulate.' 

Parma  lost  no  time,  however,  in  exulting  over  his  success. 
Upon  the  same  day  the  towns  of  M^en  and  Batenburg  sur- 
rendered to  him,  and  immediately  afterwards  si^  was  laid 
to  Venlo,  a  town  of  importance,  lying  thirty  miles  farther  up 
the  Mouse.  The  wife  and  family  of  Martin  Schenk  were  in 
the  city,  together  with  two  hundred  horses,  and  from  fprty  to 
one  hundred  thousand  crowns  in  money,  plate,  and  furniture 
belonging  to  him,* 

That  bold  partisan,  accompanied  by  the  mad  Welshman, 


to  Baixhley,  2J^  1686.    (3.  V.  Office 

°       ""8  Jam 

a 
M&)    Leicester  to  the  Queen,  -  June, 

1586.    (Ibid.) 

*  Brace's  'Leya  Corresp.*  288. 

•  Meteren,  xiii.  236.  Brace's  'Leyc. 
Conosp:    299-310.      Strada,   IL    418. 

Leicester  to  the  Queen,  -  June,  158G. 

(S.  P.  Office  MS.)    North  to  Burgblejr, 

-  June,  1586.     (Jbid.) 

"The  governor,  Hemart,*'  said 
North,  "  is  a  gentleman  of  Gelder,  of 
great  kindred,  living,  and  acquaint- 
anoe.  There  be  many  vehement  pre- 
snmpiioDfl  to  aigue  a  treadierous 
practice  with  the  enemy.  The  best 
that  can  bo  made  of  it  was  most  vile 


cowardice,  mixed  with  such  negligenca 
as  is  unspeakable.  In  the  time  of  that 
siege  ho  spent  his  time  in  his  house, 
followed  with  his  harlot,  and  when  he 
came  abroad  he  could  not  be  gotten 
by  entreaty  of  captains,  burghers,  or 
soldiers  to  do  anything  for  the  defeoco 
of  the  town,  but  straightway  entered 
into  a  continence  of  the  people,  wish- 
ing rather  to  give  up  the  town  than 
si^er  the  bk)od  of  so  many  innocents 
to  be  spilt  Which  purpose  he  did  pro- 
secuto  wiUi  speed,  and  sent  a  drum  to 
the  enemy  for  parley.  The  town  was 
impossible  to  be  assaulted,"  to.  &c 
»  North  to  BuigWey  Uli!!!,  issc. 


(S.  P.  Office  MS.) 

,         24  Jane   ,_«_ 


6  July 

T.  Doyley  to  Burgh- 
(S.  P.  Office  MS) 


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THE  TjyiTKD  ^Jgl'HKRTiANDS 


Chap.  IX. 


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  through  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  Famese 
himself  had  been  in  imminent  danger,  that  Schenk  had  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  through  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 
pursued  by  near  two  thousand  men.  Having  slain  many  of 
the  Spanish  army,  and  lost  nearly  half  their  own  number, 
they  at  last  obtained  shelter  in  Wachtendonk.^ 

Soon  afterwards  the  place  capitulated  without  waiting  for  a 

battery,  upon  moderate  terms.     Schenk's  wife  was  sent  away 

28  June^  courtcously  with  her  family,  'in  a  coach  and  four, 

1586.     an^  yf[i]^  Q^  much  "apparel"  as  might  be  carried 

with  her.    His  property  was  confiscated,  for  "  no  fair  wars 

could  be  made  with  him."  * 

Thus,  within  a  few  weeks  after  taking  the  field,  the 
"dejected,  melancholy"  man,  who  was  so  "out  of  courage," 
and  the  soldiers  who  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, 


»  North  to  Burghley,  —  Juno,  168G. 

(S.  P.  Office  Ma) 
s  Ibid.    Meteren,  xiil  235.    Dojlej 

2i  JniM 

to  Bui^hley,  1  1686.   (S.  P.  Office 

MS.) 
*  Doyley  to  Burghley,  vbi  sup,     Lei- 


cester to  tho  Quoen,  — ^  1686.  (S.  P. 

Office  MS.)  North  to  Burgfalejr,  samo 
date.  (S.  P.  Office  M&)  Parma  to 
PhOip  II.  8  July,  1686.  (Arch,  do 
Simancas,  MS.)  Compare  btrada,  IL 
423.    MeteroD,  ziU.  236. 


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1&86.  AND  IS  MASTER  OF  THB  MEUSE.  23 

thronglioat  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  the  northern 
Provinces. 

Leicester,  meantime,  had  not  distinguished  himself.  It 
must  be  confessed  that  he  had  been  sadly  outgeneralled. 
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  wast<3d 
the  time  in  very  desultory  operations.  After  the  St.  George 
feasting,  Knewstub  sermons,  and  forces  of  Hercules,  were  all 
finished,  the  Earl  had  taken  the  field  with  five .  thousand  foot 
and  fifteen  hundred  horse.  His  intention  was  to  clear  the 
Yssd,  by  getting  possession  of  Doesburg  and  Zutphen,  but, 
hearing  of  Parma's  demonstrations  upon  Grave,  he  abandoned 
the  contemplated  siege  of  those  cities,  and  came  to  Arnheim. 
He  then  crossed  the  Bhine  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  Khine  and  Waal,  the 
sconce  so  celebrated  a  century  later  as  ^Schenk's  Fort' 
(Schenkenschans) — ^he  was  preparing  to  pass  the  Waal  in 
order  to  attack  Famese,  when  he  heard,  to  his  astonishment, 
of  tho  surrender  of.  Grave."  * 

.  He  could  therefore — to  his  chagrin — ^no  longer  save  that 
important  city,  but  he  could,  at  least,  cut  off  the  head  of  the 
culprit.  Leicester  was  in  Bommel  when  he  heard  of  Baron 
Hemarfs  faint-heartedness  or  treachery,  and  his  wrath  was 
extravajgant  in  proportion  to  the  exultation  with  which  his 
previous  success  had  inspired  him.  He  breathed  nothing  but 
revenge  against  the  coward  and  tho  traitor,  who  had  delivered 
up  the  town  in  /*  such  lewd  and  beastly  sort.* 

'*  I  will  never  depart  hence,"  he  said,  "  till  by  the  goodness 

1  Meteren,  xiU.  235^'. 
Leicester  to  tho  Queen,  —  June,  158G.    (3.  P.  Office  MS.) 

14 


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THE  UNITED  NETHERLANDS. 


Chap.  IX. 


of  God  I  be  Batisfied  someway  of  this  villain'B  treacheiy/'* 
There  could  be  little  doubt  that  Hemart  deserved  pumshment. 
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  suffer  together."  ^ 

Hemart  came  boldly  to  meet  him,  "  The  honest  man  came 
to  me  at  Bommel,*'  said  Leicester,  and  he  assured  the  govern- 
ment that  it  was  in  the  hope  of  persuading  the  magistrates  of 
that  and  other  towns  to  imitate  his  own  treachery.* 

But  the  magistrates  straightway  delivered  the  culprit  to 

the  governor-general,   who  immediately  placed    him  under 

26  June,  arrest  A  court-martial  was  summoned,  26th  of  June, 

1586.  Q^  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  Norris  exerted  themselves  to  procure 
a  mitigation  of  the  young  man's  sentence,  and  they  excited 
thereby  the  governor's  deep  indignation.  Norris,  accord- 
ing to  Leicester,  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  governor-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 


*  Bruce'a  *  Lerc  Coiresp.'  285. 

•  Ibid.  28T. 

•  Leicester  to  tho  Queen,    MS.  be- 
fore cited. 

*  North  to  rurghlcj,  —  Juno,  1586. 


(S.   P.  Office  MS.)    KoofO,  Yervolgh, 
166. 

*  Bruoe's  *Lcjc.  Correrp.'  301,  310, 
313. 

•  LciccEtcr  to  tlio  Queen,  —  Joni^ 
158G.     (S.  r.  CfficoMSJ 


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LEICESTER'S  EAGE  AT  SUBBSNDEE  OF  GRAVE. 


25 


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  bo  selected  for  the  most 
dangerous  employments,  in  order  that,  before  he  died,  he 
might  wipe  out  the  disgrace,  which,  through  his  fault,  in  an 
hour  of  weakness,  had  come  upon  an  ancient  and  honourable 
house.^  Much  interest  was  made  for  him — ^his  family  connec- 
tion being  powerful — ^and  a  general  impression  prevailing 
that  he  had  erred  through  folly,  rather  than  deep  guilt. 
But  Leicester  beating  himself  upon  the  breast — as  ho  was 
wont  when  excited — swore  that  there  should  bo  no  pardon 
for  such  a  traitor.^  The  States  of  Holland  and  Zeeland, 
likewise,  were  decidedly  in  favour  of  a  severe  example.' 

Hemart  was  accordingly  lal  to  the  scaffold  on  the  28th 
June.  He  spoke  to  the  people  with  great  calmness,  and,  in 
20th  June,  two  languages,  French  and  Flemish,  declared  that 
158G.  he  was  guiltless  of  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  con- 
denmed,  suffered  with  him.*  A  third  captain,  likewise  con- 
victed, 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  como  to  think  no  more  of  giving  up  a 
town  than  of  abandoniug  a  house,  it  was  highly  necessary  to 
afford  an  example  to  traitors  and  satisfaction  to  the  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 


^Hoofd,   Venrolgh,  1C6.      Mctercn, 
xiit  236^<». 

*  Hoofd,  ubi  ntpra, 

»  'Reeol.  Holl,'    24  June,     1   July, 
1586,  bL  220.     Wagenaar,  viil  128. 

*  Jloofd,     IXcteren,   WagCDaar,    ubi 


*  Ibid. 

•  Leiceatcr    lo    Burghley,  —  Junc^ 

158G.    (S.P.  Office  M&) 
^  Unice,  '  Leyc.  CorreEp^'  309  9cq, 


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THl  TTIOTBD  JgBTHKRLANDS. 


Ohap.  DL 


cut  off  as  well,  being  as  arrant  knaTes  as  Hemart ;  ^^and  so  I 
think  they  be/'  added  Leicester.* 

Parma  having  thus  made  himself  master  of  the  Mease,  lost 
no  time  in  making  a  demonstration  upon  the  parallel  course 
of  the  Ehine,  thirty  miles  fartiier  east.*  Schenk,  Kloet,  and 
other  partisans,  kept  that  portion  of  the  archi-episcopate  and 
of  Westphalia  in  a  state  of  perpetual  commotion.'  Early 
in  the  preceding  year.  Count  de  Meurs  had,  by  a  fortunate 
stratagem,  captmred  the  town  of  Neusz  for  the  deposed  elector, 
and  Herman  Kloet,  a  young  and  most  determined  Greldrian 
soldier,  now  commanded  in  the  place.^ 

The  Elector  Ernest  had  made  a  visit  in  disguise  to  the 
camp  of  Parma,  and  had  represented  the  necessity  of  recover- ' 
ing  the  city.  It  had  become  the  stronghold  of  heretics,  rebels, 
and  banditti.  The  Bhine  was  in  their  hands,  and  with  it  the  per- 
petual 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  tliis  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  Bhine  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  Netherlanders  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,  had  been  obliged 
to  retire.^    It  had  also  resisted  the  strenuous  efforts  of  Charles 


'  Leicester  to  the  Queen,  —  Juno, 

18 

168G.    Same  to  Burghky,- June,  158ft. 

(S.  P.  Office  MSS.) 

s  Panna  to  Philip  IL  8  July,  158G. 


(Arcb.  de  Simancas,  MS.) 

•  Wagenaar,  vliL  131.    Hoofd.  Ter- 
Tdgh,  164. 

*  Strada,  IL  425.  Wagenaar,  Till  132. 

•  Strada,  Ac,  Ma  Just  cited. 

*  Meteren,  xill  235^. 


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HIS  BEYENOE— PAEICA  ON  THB  BHINE. 


27 


the  Fifth/  and  was  now  stronger  than  it  ever  had  been. 
It  was  thorooghlj  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  jost  or  not.  Meantime  the  town  was  considered 
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.  Archbishop  Ernest  came  into  the  camp,  and, 
before  proceeding  to  a  cannonade,  Parma  offered  to  the  city  cer- 
tain 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  tp  Famese.  Meantime  that  general  became  impatient, 
and  advanced  to  the  battery  of  the  Italian  regiment.  Pre- 
tending 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  terrified  at 
his  danger,  and  a  cry  arose  in  the  town  that  "  Holofemese" — 


*  MetercD,  xiii.  235'«>. 

«  Brace's  *  Leyc.  Correftp.'  250. 

£0 

'Leioester   to    Burg^ey,    —   July, 
1586.    (a  r.  Office  MS.) 


*  Same  to  the  Queen,-  July.    (S.  P. 

Office  Ma) 
6  Strada^  IL  430. 

•  North  to  Burghley,  26  July,  16861 
(S.  P.  Office  M&) 


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THE  UNITBD  NETHERLANDS. 


COAP.  IX 


as  the  Flemings  and  Germans  were  accustcmied  to  nickname 
Famese — ^was  dead.^  Strange  to  relate,  he  was  quite  un- 
harmed/and  walked  back  to  his  tent  with  dignified  slowness 
and  a  very  frowning  fiice.  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  Parma  sent  Colonel  Tassis  with  a  flag  of 
truce  to  the  commander,  to  rebuke  and  to  desire  an  explana- 
tion of  this  dishonourable  conduct^ 

The  answer  given,  or  imagined,  was  that  Commander  Kloet 
had  been  sound  aslfeep,  but  that  he  now  much  regretted  this 
untoward  accident.  The  explanation  was  received  with  deri- 
sion, for  it  seemed  hardly  probable  that  so  young  and  energetic 
a  soldier  would  take  the  opportunity  to  refresh  himself  with 
dumber  at  a  moment  when  a  treaty  for  the  capitulation  of  a 
city  under  his  chai^  was  under  discussion.  This  terminated 
the  negociation.* 

A  few  days  afterwards,  tho  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  un- 
fortunate soldiers,  who  had  been  captured  in  a  sortie  a  few 
days  before  ;  besides  burning  the  body  of  the  holy  Saint  Qui- 
rinus,  with  other  holy  relics.^  The  detestable  deed  was  to 
bo  most  horribly  avenged. 

A  steady  cannonade  from  forty-five  great  guns  was  kept  up 
from  2  A.M.  of  July  15  imtil  the  dawn  of  the  following  day; 

16  Juij,  tho  cannoneers  being  all  provided  with  mUk  and 

358G.  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.^ 


» Iloofd,  Vervolgb,  179. 

*Strada,  IL  433.     Hoofd,  vhisup, 

^Hoofd.  Btrada,  ubi  #up.  lie- 
teren,  xiil  236  aeq, 

*  Parma  to  Philip  II.  4  Aufc.  1586. 
(Arch,  de  Simancas,  MS.)  Compare 
8trada  II.  434. 


There  is  no  authority  but  that  of 
Famese  for  the  statement  of  tliis 
horrible  crime^  but  I  feel  it  my  duty 
to  record  it 

»  North  to  Bui^ghley,  26  July,  15Sa 
(a  P.  Office  Ma) 

•  Ibid. 


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HE  BESIEGBS  AND  ASSAULTS  NEUSZ. 


29 


At  the  ninth,  the  outer  wall  was  carried,  and  the  Spaniards 
shonting  "  Santiago"  poured  oVer  it,  bearing  back  all  resistance. 
An  Italian  Knight  of  the  Sepulchre,  Cesar  Guidiccioni  by 
name,  and  a  Spcuush  ensign,  one  Alphonso  de  Mesa,  with  his 
colours  in  one  hand  and  a  ladder  in  the  other,  each  claimed 
the  honour  of  having  first  mounted  the  breach.  Both  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*  r^ard.*  The  wall  was  then 
strengthened  against  the  inner  line  of  fortification,  and  all 
night  long  a  desperate  conflict  was  m^ntained  in  the  dark 
upon  the  narrow  space  between  the  two  barriers.  Before  day- 
light Eloet,  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  enthusiastic  Lord  North, 
"  that  was  ever  heard  of  in  the  world."*  "  He  is  but  a  boy," 
said  Alexander  Famese,  "  but  a  commander  of  extraordinary 
capacity  and  valour."  * 

Early  in  the  morning,  when  this  mishap  was  known,  an 
officer  was  sent  to  the  camp  of  the  besiegers  to  treat.  The 
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  negociation.  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  tho 
commander-in-chief  to  an  assault,  the  Italian  end   Spanish 


>  Strada.  IL  435. 

■  Jbid,  436.     North  to  Burghlej,  Ma 

*  North  to  Burghley,  MS. 

*  Panna  to  Philip,  4  Aug.  1586.  MS. 


•  Strada,  n.  437. 

•  Panna   to    Philip, 


(Ajch.  de  SimancaB,  MS.) 


4   Aug.   158a 


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THB  UNITED  NETHEBLANDa 


Chap.  IX. 


l^ons  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  some  of  the  churches,  where  they  had  been  ordered  to  take 
refuge.  The  first  blast  of  indignation  was  against  the  com- 
mandant of  the  place.  Alexander,  who  had  admired  his 
courage,  was  not  unfavourably  disposed  towards  him,  but 
Archbishop  Ernest  vehemently  demanded  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,  Famese  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 
strangled  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  great  an  outrage  to  be  done  to  so  noble 
a  soldier,  who  did  but  his  duty."* 

But  this  was  an  error.    A  Jesuit  priest*  was  sent  to  the 


^  Tho  Jesuit  Strado,  IL  438,  ia  Uio 
autboritj  for  the  statoment^  founded 
upon  Alexander's  own  letters;  more 
of  which  were  before  him  than  can 
now  be  found  in  any  single  coUcction 
of  documents.  I  liaTe  notioed  yery 
fow  of  the  Simancas  letters  relating 
to  Famese  that  do  not  seem  to  have 
been  at  Strada's  disposal — although,  of 
course,  he  only  gives  a  very  brief  epi- 
tome of  them  in  the  Latin  language 
— ^while  he  has  used  many  others  of 
which  there  are  no  copies  at  Simancas. 

•  North  to  Burghley,  ^-^,  1686. 
(S.  P.  Office  MS.)  Leicester's  account 
was  still  more  horrible— ''After  Elect 
was  brought  to  the  market-place,"  ho 


wroto  to  Walsingfaaro,  *'  being  sore- 
wounded  before,  they  laid  him  upon  a 
table,  and  bound  him,  and  anointed 
him  with  tar  all  over  his  body,  and 
half'Strcmgling  him,  burnt  him  cruelly." 

Bruoe's  *Leyc.  Corresp.' 3G9,  ^^ 
1686.  ^        '     8A««. 

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  beliered  to  be. 

'  "Ad  quern  lecto  Jaoentum  misso 
Sodetatis  Jesu  sacerdote,  cpjus  operA 
in  eo  saltem  mortis  articub  t  secunda 
se  morte  praeriperatj"  &a  Strada»  IL 
438. 


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HORBIBLE  PATB  OP  THB  GABRISON  AND  CITT. 


31 


house  of  the  commandant^  for  a  humane  effort  was  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 
foxmd  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 
symipathy.  But  the  Jesuit  was  closely  followed  by  a  band  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  tho  commandant'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  ofiScers,  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  acci- 
dent, 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  Famese  more 
maturely  believed — ^by  the  special  agency  of  the  Almighty, 
ojSfended  with  the  burning  of  Saint  Quirinus,*  now  came  to 
complete  the  horror  of  the  scene.  Three-quarters  of  the  town 
were  at  once  in  a  blaze.  The  churches,  where  the  affiighted 
women  had  been  cowering  during  tho  sack  and  slaughter, 
ware  soon  on  fire,  and  now,  amid  the  crash  of  falling  houses 
and  the  uproar  of  the  dnmken  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 


>  Strada,  IL  US.  last  cited. 

s  "Se  ahorcaron  oon  el  comandante^ 
^  zninistro,  los  consistoriaDtes,  j  qua- 
ranta  otros  vellacos,"  &c  Parma  to 
Phflip,  4  Aug.  1586.    (Arch,  do  Siman- 


eaSy   Ma)     Compare  Strada^   n.  438 
Meteren,  xiii  236.    Hoofd,  Vorvolgh, 
179,  180.    Bor,  IT.  738. 
>  Strada,  IL  441,  442. 


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THE  UNITED  NBTHEBLANDa 


Chap.  IX. 


a  second  Baint,  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  thou- 
sand 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 

4  Aug:,    descended  as  prisoners.    The  Prince  and  Haultepenno 

1586.,  attempted  in  vain  to  protect  them  against  the  fury 
of  the  soldiers,  and  every  man  of  thein  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,  according  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  country,  that 
this  important  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  dis- 
band them  again  for  the  lack  of  funds  to  set  them  in  the  field. 


»  Strada,  II.  440.  *  Ibid.  442. 

»  Ibid.  439.  *  Ibid.  438. 

»  Bor,  n.  738.  Stow©,  734.  Hoofd, 
Vervolg^,  179,  180.  Meteren,  xiii. 
236,  seq,  Strada,  IL  436-442.  Parma 
to  Philip  IL  4  Aug.  1686.  (Arch,  de 
Simancaa,  MS.) 

North    to    Bui^hley,    ^^,    W30. 


Samo  to  samo,  —  Aug.  1586. 


n  July, 

81 

W.  KnoUys  to  same,  1  Aug. 
11 


Leicester 
T.  Cecil  to  same, 


B.   Gcrko  to  same, 


S  Aag. 

T.  Doy- 


ley  to  samo,   -  Aug.     (3.   P.   OflBce 
MSS.)  " 

'  Sir  Thomas  Cecil,  eldest  son  of 
the  Lord  Treasurer,  was  then  governor 
of  the  cautionary  town  of  Brill.  It 
had  been  proposed  to  him  to  change 
this  goremment  for  that  of  Harhngton 
in  Friesland,  where  Lord  North  was 
then  installed.  But  CecU  obsenred 
that  he  was  "resolved  to  keep  the 
Brill  stOl, .  as  one  that  would  rather 
keep  a  shrew  he  knoweth  than  a  shrew 
he  knoweth  not"  He  was  much  dis- 
gusted with  the  perpetual  discord 
which  had  succeeded  tlio  brief  cnthu- 


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1686.         WHICH  LEICESTER  "WAS  HNAJBLE  TO  EELIEVK 


33 


He  had  pawned  liis  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  representatiye  of  a  deeply-suspected  government.  Mean- 
while, one-third  at  least  of  the  money  which  really  found  its 
way  firotti  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- 
Burer.  This  man  was  growing  so  rich  on  his  peculations, 
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  bo 
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  Neusz  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  of  six  thousand  soldiers, 
killed  and  wounded.*  In  reality  not  more  than  five  hundred 
of  Famese's  armv  lost  their  lives,^  and  although  the  town. 


liasm  upon  Leicester's  arrival  The 
wrangling  between  Leicester  and  his 
officers,  and  between  them  all  and  tho 
States  offended  the  yoong  fio]4ier  so 
mach  that  bo  was  anxious  to  leave  the 
Ne^erlands.  "  Bravely  was  Nuys  de- 
truded by  Kloet,  but  evil  relieved  by 
nat"  he  wrote  to  his  fether.  "  Our 
aShirB  here  be  such  9s  that  which  we 
coodnde  overnight  is  broke  in  tho 
morning;  we  agree  not  one  with  an- 
other, but  we  are  divided  in  many  fao- 
tions,  so  as  if  the  enemy  were  as  strong 
as  we  are  &ctious  and  irresolute,  I 
think  we  should  make  shipwreck  of 
the  cause  this  summer.'*    Sir  T.  Cecil 

to  Lord  Burghley,  -  July,  1686.  (8.  P. 
OfficoMS.) 

VOL.  II. — D 


10 

'  Leicester   to  Burghley,    —    Aug. 

1686.    (S.  P.  Office  MS.) 

'  Bruce's  'Leyc.  Corresp.'  260,  264, 
299,  303. 

»  Bruce's  *  Leya  Corresp.*  363.  "  He 
has  lost  3,000  of  his  soldiers  and 
as  many  hurt.'*  (I).  Leicester  to 
Walsingham,  27  July,  1686.  "Of 
the  enemy  not  less  than  3,000  slain," 
said  North,  26  July,  MS.  ubi  supra, 
•*Tho  town  is  gone,  dean  burnt  to 
the  ground,"  wrote  Leicester  to  Burgh- 
ley, "and  to  the  number  of  4,000 
dead  in  Vie  ditches,^*  Letter  of 
29  July     .  ,0     , . 

MS.  wnn^cu 


8  Aug. 


12 


*  KortU  to  Buighley,  —  Aug.  MS. 


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34 


THE  UNITED  NETHERLANDS. 


Chap.  IX. 


excepting  some  churches,  had  certainly  been  destroyed;  yet 
the  Prince  was  now  master  of  the  Rhine  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 
communications  with  Germany  be  considered  secure.  . 

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

Sir  Philip  Sidney  had  not  been  well  satisfied  by  the  com- 
parative idleness  in  which,  from  these  various  circumstances, 
he  had  been  compelled  to  remain.  Early  in  the  spring  ho 
had  been  desirous  of  making  an  attack  upon  Flanders  by 
capturing  the  town  of  Steenberg.  The  faithful  Roger  Williams 
had  strongly  seconded  the  proposal.  "  We  wish  to  show  your 
Excellency,"  said  he  to  Leicester,  "that  wo  are  not  sound 
asleep."?'  The  Welshman  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  pro- 
posed carrying  by  surprise  the  city  of  Axel,  a  well-built, 
strongly-fortified  town  on  the  south-western  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  annoying  the  enemy  in  Flanders. 

Early  in  July,  Maurice  wrote  to  the  Earl  of  Leicester,  com- 
municating 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  enter- 
prise, and  make  sure  "  that  there  was  no  ill  intent,  there  being 


1  Bor,   Iloofd,  Meteren,  Strada,  ttbi 
mpra. 

•  Wflliama    to 


17 


Leicoeter,    -   Feb. 


1586.    (Brit  Hus.  Galba.  a  ix.  p.  8S. 
MS.) 


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1586L  AXEL  SXJRPRISBD  BY  MAUEICE  AND  SIDNET.  35 

80  much  treachery  in  the  worl(i"i  Sidney,  found  no  trea- 
chery in  young  Maurice,  but  only  a  noble  and  intelligent 
love  of  adventure,  and  tho  two  arranged  their  plans  in  har- 
mony. 

Leicester,  then,  in  order  to  deceive  tho  enemy,  came  to 
Beigen-op-Zoom,  with  five  hundred  men,  where  he  remained 
two  days,  not  sleeping  a  wink,  as  he  averred,  during  is,  17  juij, 
the  whole  time.  In  tho  night  of  Tuesday,  16 6h  of  ^^®^- 
July,  the  five  hundred  English  soldiers  were  despatched  by 
water,  under  chaige  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  estuary  ai^d 
landed  at  Ter  Neuse,  about  a  league  from  Axel.  Hero  they 
were  joined  by  Maurice  with  some  Netherland  companies,  and 
the  united  troopS,  between  two  and  three  thousand  strong, 
marched  at  once  to  tho  place  proposed.  Before  two  in  tho 
morning  they  had  reached  Axel,  but  found  the  moat  very 
deep.  Forty  soldiers  immediately  plunged  in,  however,  carry- 
ing 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  Colonel  Pyron  being 
first.  Lord  Willoughby's  men  being  second,  and  Sir  Philip 
with  his  Zeelanders  bringing  up  the  rear.*  The  garrison, 
between  five  and  six  hundred  in  number,  though  surprised, 
resisted  gallantly,  and  were  all  put  to  tho  sword.    Of  the 


g 

•  Leicester  to  tho   Quoen,  —  July, 

1586.    (S.  P.  Office  MS.) 
'  Brace's  *  Leyc  Corresp.'  338. 

•  "Before  Flashing,  upon  the  water, 
that  it  might  be  lees  noted.**  Leicester 
to  the  Queen,  MS.  before  cited. 

•  Sr  T.  Cecfl  to  Lord  Burghley,  i 


July,  1586.     (&  P.  Office  M&) 

Leicester,  however,  says,  "My  ne- 
phew Sidney,  with  his  band,  would 
needs  have  the  first  entry,  as  the  mes- 
senger told  me"  (Letter  to  the  Queen, 
ubi  8up,);  but  the  messenger  seems  to 
have  been  mistaken. 


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36 


TTTTC  UNITED  NETHEELANDS. 


Chap.  IX. 


invaders,  not  a  jingle  maa  lost  his  life.  Sidney  most  gene- 
rously rewarded  from  his  own  purse  the  adventurous  soldiers 
who  had  swum  the  moat;  and  it  was  to  his  care  and  intelli- 
gence that  the  success  of  Prince  Maurice's  scheme  was  generally 
attributed.  The  achievement  was  hailed  with  great  satisfac- 
tion, and  it  somewhat  raised  the  drooping  spirits  of  the  patriots 
after  their  severe  losses  at  Gmve  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  millions'  worth  of  property  in  grass,  cattle,  com,  was 
thus  immediately  destroyed^  in  the  territory  of  the  obedient 
Netherlands. 

Afl»r  an  unsuccessful  attempt  to  surprise  Gravolines,^  the 
governor  of  which  place,  tho  veteran  La  Motte,  was  not  so 
easily  taken  napping,  Sir  Philip  having  gained  much  reputa- 
tion by  this  conquest  of  Axel,  then  joined  the  main  body  of 
the  army,  under  Leicester,  at  Amheim.^ 

Tet,  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  liim.  The  cause  of  Leicester's  ambi- 
tion had  been  frustrated  by  the  policy  of  Bameveld  and  Buys, 
in  pursuance  of  which  Count  or  Prince  M::urice — ^as  he  was 
now  jpurposely  designated,  in  order  that  his  rank  might  sur- 
pass that  of  the  Earl* — ^had  become  stadholder  and  captain- 


^  CocQ  to  Buigbley,  ubi  supra. 

s   Leicester    to    Burglilej,    -^ 

1586.    (a  p;  Office  MS.)  /^'** 

"Your  LordBhip  wUl  not  believo 
how  the  town  of  Axel  is  like  to  annoy 
these  parts.  There  is  already  so  much 
com,  cattle,  and  grass  destroyed,  as  is 
worth  two  millions  of  florins." 

3  Meteren,  xiii  236'*. 
.    *  Letters  of  Leicester  and  of  Sir  T. 
Cecil  above  cited..   Compare  Meteren, 
xiii.  236.     Brockets  Life  of  Sidney,  11. 
15.    Hoofd,  VeiTolgh,  181,  182  j  Bor^ 


IL  T3S;  Wagenaar,  vlii.  134.    Bnice's 
*Leya  Corresp.'  337,  338. 

*  His  elder  brother,  Philip  William, 
son  of  William  the  Silent,  by  his  first 
wife  Anna  de  Bnren,  was  Prince  of 
Orange,  but  was  still  detained  ci^tiye 
in  Spain.  Tho  title  of  Prince  was 
given  by  courtesy  to  Maurice,  on  tho 
ground  that  in  Germany  all  the  sons 
succeeded  to  the  father's  title.  As 
tlie  principality'  of  Orange  was  not  in 
Germany,  and  as  the  title  of  William 
in  tliat  country  was  only  that  of 
Count,  it  was  difficult  to  see  any  claim 


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WSe.  THE  ZEETiAJgD  EEGIMENT  GIVEN  TO  SIDNEY.  37 . 

general  both  of  Holland  and  Zeeland.  The  Earl  had  given 
his  nephew,  however,  the  colonelcy  of  the  Zeeland  regiment, 
vacant  by  the  death  of  Admiral  Haultain  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  remonstrance  upon  the  sub- 
ject to  the  governor-general.  It  had  always  been  the  custom, 
they  said,  with  the  late  Prince  of  Orange,  to  confer  promotion 
according  to  seniority,  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  thero  so  many  weary 
years.^  At  the  same  time  the  gentlemen  who  signed  the 
paper  protested  to  Sir  Philip,  in  another  letter,  "  with  all  the 
same  hands,''  that  tiiey  had  no  personal  feeling  towards  him, 
but,  on  the  contrary,  that  they  wished  him  all  honour."  ^ 

Young  Mamice  himself  had  always  manifested  tho  most 
friendly  feelings  toward  Sidney,  although  influenced  in  his 
action  by  the  statesmen  who  were  already  organizing  a  power- 
ful opposition  to  Leicester.  ^^  Count  Mamice  showed  himself 
constantly  kind  in  the  matter  of  the  regiment,"  said  Sir 
PhiKp,  "  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 
pitcL  Happy  is  the  communication  of  them  that  join  in  the 
fear  of  God."*  Hohenlo,  too,  or  Hollock,  as  he  was  called 
by  tho  French  and  English,  was  much  governed  by  Buys  and 
Olden-Bameveld.  Eeckless  and  daring,  but  loose  of  life  and 
uncertain  of  purpose,  ho  was  most  dangerous,  unless  under 
safe  guidance.  Koger  Williams— who  vowed  that  but  for 
the  love  he  bore  to  Sidney  and  Leicester,  he  would  not  remain 
ten  days  in  the  Netherlands — ^was  much  disgusted  by  Ho- 
henlo's  conduct  in  regard  to  the  Zeeland  regiment.  "Tis  a 
mutinous  request  of  Hollock,"  said  he,  "  that  strangers  should 
not  command  Netherlanders.     Ho  and  his  Alemaynes  are 


of  Hamice  to  bo  entitled  Princo  so 
long  as  his  brother  was  alive.  Lei- 
cester always  considered  his  assomp- 
tion  of  this  superior  rank  as  a  per- 
sonal oflfront  to  himselt 
*  Sidney  to  Pavisoa,  24  Feb.  158G. 


(Brit  Mus.  Galba  0.  ix.  t6,  MS.)  Com. 
pare  letters  of  Hohenlo  in  Bor,  IIL 
123  aeq,  Hoofd,  Vervolgh,  156,  157, 
Wagenaar,  yiil  129. 

*  Sidney  to  Davison,  vbi  svpra, 

»  Ibid. 


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38'  THE  UNITED  NETHERLANDa  -   Chap.  IX. 

farther  bom  from  Zeeland  than  Sir  Philip  is.  Either  yon  must 
make  Hollock  assured  to  yon,  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,  Coimt  Overstein,  with  their  Almaynes,  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  bo 
desirous  of  posts  that  would  bring  danger  and  distinction  with 
them.  He  was  not  there  merely  that  ho  might  govern  Flush- 
ing, important  as  it  was,  particularly  as  the  garrison  was, 
according  to  his  statement,  about  as  able  to  maintain  the 
town,  "as  the  Tower  was  to  answer  for  London."  He  dis- 
approved of  his  wife's  inclination  to  join  him  in  Holland,  for 
ho  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  the  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  tho 
Nethierlands — moro  than  two  thirds  of  them  in  her  Majesty's 
immediate  employment.  No  troops  had  ever  fought  better, 
or  more  honourably  maintained  the  ancient  glory  of  England. 
But  rarely  had  moro  ragged  and  wretched  warriors  been  seen 
than  they,  after  a  few  months'  campaigning. 

The  Irish  Kemos — some  fifteen  hundred  cf  v/hcm  were 
among  the  auxiUarics — ^were  better  off,  for  they  habitually 
dispensed  with  clothing ;  an  apron  frdnx  waist  to  knco  being 
the  only  protection  of  these  wild  Kelts,  who  fought  with  the 
valour,  and  nearly  in  the  costume  of  Homeric  heroes.  Fear- 
ing nothing,  needing  nothing,  sparing  nothing,  they  stalked 
about  tho  fens  of  Zeeland  upon  their  long  stilts,  cr  leaped 
across  running  rivers,  scaling  ramparts,  robbing  the  highways, 
burning,  butchering,  and  maltreating  tho  villages  and  their 
inhabitants,  with  as  little  regard  for  the  laws  of  Christian 
warfare  as  for  those  of  civilized  costume.^ 

'  n.  WOliaxna  to  Leicester,  -  Feb.  1586.     (Brit  Mua.  Oalba,  C.  be  85.  MS.) 

"  Letters  in  Gray's  Life  of  Sydney,  291. 
»  r.cycl,  V.  101.     Iloofd,  TciTclgb,  2':0.    Strada,  IL  UG, 


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1586.  CONDITION  OP  IRISH  AND  ENGLISH  TROOPa  39 

• 

Other  soldiers,  more  sophisticated  as  to  apparel,  were  less 
at  their  ease.  The  generous  Sidney  spent  all  his  means,  and 
loaded  himself  with  deht,  in  order  to  relieve  the  necessities 
of  the  poor  soldiers.  He  protested  that  if  tho  Queen  would 
not  pay  her  troops,  she  would  lose  her  troops,  but  that  no 
living  man  should  say  the  fault  was  in  him.  "  What  relief  I 
can  do  them  I  will,"  he  wrote  to  his  father-in-law ;  "  I  wDl 
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  tho  Queen's  niggardliness  but  with  the 
dishonesty  of  her  agents.  Treasurer  Norris  was  constantly 
accused  by  Leicester  arid  Sidney  of  gross  peculation.  -  Five 
per  cent,  according  to  Sir  Philip,  was  lost  to  the  Zeeland 
soldiers  in  every  payment,  "and  God  knows,"  he  said,  "they 
want  no  such  hindrance,  being  scarce  able  to  keep  life  with 
their  entire  pay.  Truly  it  is  but  poor  increase,  to  her  Ma- 
jesty, considering  what  loss  it  is  to  the  miserable  soldier." 
Discipline  and  endurance  were  sure  to  be  sacrificed,  in  tho 
end,  to  such  short-sighted  economy,  "When  soldiers,"  said 
Sidney,  "  grow  to  despair,  and  give  up  towns,  then  it  is  too 
late  to  buy  with  hundred  thousands  what  might  have  been 
saved  with  a  trifle."  ^ 

This  plain  dealing,  on  tho  part  of  Sidney,  was  anything  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  disposed  to  interpret  everything  to  his  dis- 
advantage. "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  Hohenlo  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  Walsing* 
ham  observed — "  she  was  very  apt,  upon  every  light  occasion, 

*  Lettera,  in  Groj.  290.  *  Ibid.  214,  321. 

•  Ibid.  290.    Brace's  '  Leyc.  Corresp.'  345. 


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40 


THE  UNITED  NETHERLANDS 


Chip.  IX. 


to  find  fault  with  him.''  ^  It  is  probable  that  his  complaints 
against  the  armj  treasurer,  and  his  manful  defence  of  the 
"miserable  soldiers/'  more  than  counterbalanced,  in  the 
Queen's  estimation,  his  chivalry  in  the  field. 

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

Martin  Schenk  had  meanwhile  been  successfully  defending 
Eheinberg,  for  several  weeks,  against  Parma's  forces.  It  was 
necessary,  however,  that  Leicester,  notwithstanding  the  im- 
poverished condition  of  his  troops,  should  make  some  diver- 
sion, 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  neighbourhood  of  Arn- 
heim.  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  of  three  thousand  reiters,  and  as 
many  pikemen  recently  levied  in  Germany.  Loi"d  Essex  was 
general  of  the  cavalry.  Sir  William  Pelham  * — a  distinguished 


*  Letters,  in  Gray,  Ac,  just  cited. 

*  Leicester  to  the  Queen,  11  Oct. 
1686.  (a  P.  Office  M&)  Huddleston 
to  Burghley,  6  Sept.  1586.  (S.  P. 
Office  Ma) 

'  Ibid.  Compare  Stradn,  who  states 
the  number  of  Leicester's  forces  at 
13,000  foot  and  2,000  horse,  besides 
reinforcements  of  1,000  English  and 
Scotch  who  were  shortly  expected. 
Bor,  IL  738.    Wagenaar,  yiil  136. 

^  Sir  William  Pelham  had  been  out 
of  favour  with  the  Queen  for  many 
months.  He  had  been  held^  respon- 
sible for  some  abuses  in  the  ordnance 
office,  and  a  heavy  claim  made  upon 
him  by  the  crown  had  reduced  him 
to  insolvency.  The  Queen  was  ex- 
cessivelv  indignant  at  his  conduct, 
and  refused  for  a  long  time  to  allow 
him  to  accept  the  responsible  post 
under  Leicester  which  the  Earl  was 
anxious  to  confer  upon  him.    Leicester, 


who  was  the  most  generous  of  men, 
sent  him  laige  sums  of  money  to  extri- 
cate him  fi^m  his  difficulties,  but  it 
was  many  months  before  the  Queen 
relented.  The  Earl  had  an  exalted 
opinion  of  Pelham's  military  capacity, 
knew  him  to  be  one  of  his  own  most 
devoted  adherents,  and  earnestly  do- 
sired  his  support  to  keep  down  the 
hostility  and  insubordlnatbn  of  Sir 
John  Norris  and  his  brothers.  "I 
beg^  to  be  prettily  accompanied  now 
with  men,"  he  wrote  to  the  Queen, 
''only  lacking  governors  and  l^era, 
especially  a  marshal  I  must  still  say 
to  your  Uajeaty  it  bad  been  better  to 
have  wanted  the  use  of  20,000  than 
the  service  of  l^r  W,  Pelham  here  thus 
long.  It  is  not  only  an  insufferable 
want  to  all  our  people,  but  the  enemy 
hath  bragged  of  it.  I  do  assure  your 
Majesty,  by  the  allegiance  I  owe  you, 
I  know  the  Prince   of  Parma  hath 


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1586L 


LEICESTEB  TAXES  THE  FIELD. 


41 


soldier,  who  had  recently  arrived  out  of  England,  after  the 
most  urgent  solicitations  to  the  Queen,  for  that  end,  by  Lei- 
cester— ^was  lord-marshal  of  the  camp,  and  Sir  John  Norris 
was  colonel-general  of  the  infantry. 

Aft^  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  person — that  the  condition 
of  the  army  did  not  warrant* such  an  enterinrise.  It  was 
thought  better  to  lay  siege  to  Zutphon.  Thid  step,  if  success- 
ful, would  place  in  the  power  of  the  republic  and  her  ally 
a  city  of  great  importance  and  strength.  In  every  event  the 
attempt  would  probably  compel  Farnese  to  raise  the  siege  of 
Berg. 

Leicester,  accordingly,  with  "  his  bravo  troop  of  able  and 
likely  men"* — ^five  thousand  of  the  infantry  being  English* 
— advanced  as  far  as  Doesburg.  This  city,  seated  at  the  con- 
fluence of  the  ancient  canal  of  Drusus  and  the  Yssel,  five 
miles  above  Zutphen,  it  was  necessary,  as  a  preliminary  mea- 
sure, to  secure.  It  was  not  a  very  strong  place,  ^.^^ 
being  rather  slightly  walled  with  brick,  and  with  a  1586. 
foss  drawing  not  more  than  three  feet  of  water.*  By  tho 
30th  August  it  had  been  completely  invested. 


spoken  it  some  nx>Qths  past^  that  be 
was  sure  neither  Pelham  nor  the  Lord 
Grej  should  oome,  nor  (hat  any  more 
men  ly  your  license  or  muster  should 
pasSf  whidi  fidls  out  somewhcA  to  he 
trusy  to  our  discomforL  But  if  either 
Pelham  or  Lord  Grey,  or  rather  both 
may  come,  I  trust  your  Majesty  shall 
reap  Uie  greatest  honour  and  good  by 
it;  but  first  Sir  WUliam,  for  he  is 
roadiest  Fbr  God's  sake  and  your 
honour's  sake^  lei  him  come.  Wo  have 
now  some  numbers  increased,  but  no 
man  fit  for  such  a  government  as  Sir 
W.  Pelham  is.  I  beseech  your  Majesty 
trust  me,  and  bdieve  me  there  is  not 
one^  noy  not  one  for  itf  tohaisoever  you 
have  heard  or  may  hear^  or  of  whom' 
soetfer,  that  I  know  to  be  employed  ai 
ffiis  time  here.  I  find  it,  I  feel  it,  to 
my  great  hindrance  and  no  less  danger 
every  day.  I  know  here  be  worttiy 
and  very  valiant  gentlemen,   but  for 


so  great  a  charge,  believe  me,  (here  is 
not  one  yet  here  for  it  I  am  loath  to 
hinder  any  man.  It  hath  not  been 
my  custom  to  your  Majesty.  I  be- 
seech you  that  all  men  may  have  their 
deserts,  and  your  poor  army  here  com- 
forted. Let  all  the  haste  poadble  be 
used  with  Sbr  W.  Pelham,  on  whose 
coming  with  that  worthy  gentleman 
Sir  W.  Stanley,  I  trust  your  Majesty 
shall  hear  well  of  us,"  &c.  &c.  It  was 
natural  that  Sir  John  Korris  should 
be  indignant  at  being  supplanted  by 
Pelham,  f^id  their  mutual  rivalry  did 
infinite    mischief      Leioester    to    the 

Queen,  -  June,   1686.     (3.  P.  Office 

MS.)  Compare  *  Leya  Corresp.*  37,  45, 
65,  125. 

'  HuddlcstOQ  to  Buigfaley,  MS.  be- 
fore dted. 

•  Ibid.  •  Ibid. 


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42  THE  UNITBD  NBTHBRLANDa  Chap  IX 

On  the  same  nighty  6t  ten  o'clock.  Sir  William  Pelham 
came  to  the  Earl  to  tell  him  '^what  beastly  pioneers  the 
Dutchmen  were."  Leicester  accordingly  determined,  not- 
withstanding 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  eflfect  their  retreat,  they  were  saluted  with  a  shot, 
which  struck.  Sir  William  in  the  stomach..  For  an  instant, 
thinking  himself  mortally  injured,  he  expressed  his  satis- 
faction that  he  had  been  between  the  commander-in-chief 
and  the  blow,  and  made  other  ^^comfortable  and  resolute 
speeches."  Very  fortunately,  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."  ^ 

Eoger  Williams,  too,  that  valiant  adventurer — "but  no 
more  valiant  than  wise,  and  worth  his  wefght  in  gold,"  ac- 
cording 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 

Friday,   began  to  batter,  and  after  a  brisk  cannonade,  from 
^  Sept    dawn  till  two  in  the  afternoon,  ho  had  consider- 

1586.  ably  damaged  the  wall  in  two  places.  One  of  the 
breaches  was  eighty  feet  wide,  the  other  half  as  large,  but  the 
besieged  had  stuffed  them  full  of  beds,  tubs,  logs  of  wood, 
boards,  and  "  such  like  trash,"  by  means  whereof  the  ascent 
was  not  so  easy  as  it  seemed.*  The  soldiers  were  excessively 
eager  for  the  assault.  Sir  John  Norris  came  to  Leicester  to 
receive  his  orders  as  to  the  command  of  the  attacking  party. 

'  Brace's  'Leya  Cerrcsp.,  401,  407.  •  Ibid. 

'  Huddleston  to  Burghley,  -  Sept  158G.    (&  P.  Office  Ma) 

16 


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1586.  HE  REDUCES  DOESBXTRG.  43 

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  unreasonahle  a  pro- 
posal, replied  that  he  would  reserve  him  for  servicD  of  less 
hazard  and  greater  importance.  Norris  being,  as  usual, 
"satis  prodigus  magnaB  animaa,'  ^  was  out  of  humour  at  the 
refusal,  and  ascribed  it  to  the  Earl's  persistent  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  whilo  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  Burgh,  Sir  Thomas  Cecil,  Sir.  Philip  Sidney, 
and  his  brother  Robert  among  the  rest — most  impatient  for 
thp  signal  Tho  race  was  obviously  to  ba  a  sharp  one.  The 
governor-general  forbade  these  violent  demonstrations,  but 
Lord  Burgh,  "  in  a  most  vehement  passion,  waived  tho  coun- 
termand,"^ and  his  insubordination  was  very  generally  imi- 
tated. Before  the  signal  was  given,  however,  Leicester  sent 
a  trumpet  to  summon  the  town  to  surrender,  and  Ig^p^ 
could  with  difficulty  restrain  his  soldiers  till  the  158G. 
answer  should  be  returned.  To  tho  universal  disappointment, 
the  garrison  agreed  to  surrender.  Norris  himself  then  stepped 
forward  to  the  breach,  and  cried  aloud  the  terms,  lest  the  re- 
turning herald,  who  had  been  sent  back  by  Leicester,  should 
offer  too  favourable  a  capitulation.*  It  was  arranged  that  tho 
soldiers  should  retire  without  arms,  with  whito  wands  in 
their  hands— the  officers  remaining  prisoners — and  that  tho 
burghers,  their  lives,  and  property,  should  bo  at  Leicester's 
disposal*  The  Earl  gave  most  peremptory  orders  that  persons 
and  goods  should  be  respected,  but  his  commands  were  dis- 


«  Maiastdted.  •Ibid. 

»  Ibid.  *  Ibid. 

•  "Le«t  the  trumpet  should  ofifer 
too  largely,  I  stepped  to  the  breach 
myself  and  proposed  the  conditions," 
ic.    Sir  John  Korria  to  Mr.  Wilkes, 


4  Sept  1580.    (a  P.  Office  MS.) 
15 

•  Leicester  to  the  Privy  Council, 
-  Sept  1586.  Sir  J.  Norris  to  Wilkes, 
ubi  sup.    (S.  r.  Office  Ma) 


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44 


THE  UNITED  NETHERLANDS. 


Chap.  IX. 


obeyed.  Sir  William  Stanley's  men  committed  frightful  dis- 
orders, 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  increase  the  quarrel  than  to 
leave  it."  1 

Notwithstanding  therefore  the  decree  of  Leicester,  the  ex- 
postulations 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  com- 
mitted various  disorders,  in  spite  of  the  capitulation.* 

Doesburg  having  been  thus  reduced,  the  Earl  now  pro- 
ceeded toward  the  more  important  city  which  he  had  deter- 
mined to  besiege.  Zutphen,  or  South-Fen,  an  antique  town  of 
wealth  and  elegance,  was  tho  capital  of  the  old  Landgraves 
of  Zutphen.  It  is  situate  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Yssel,  th^t 
branch  of  the  Rhine  which  flows  between  Golderland  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  tho  Veluwe,*  or  bad  meadow,  were  three 
sconces,  one  of  them  of  remarkable  strength.  An  island 
between  tho  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  tho  road  to  Wamsfeld.    This  was  a  small  village. 


>  Noma  to  Wilkes,  Ma 

*  Huddleston  to  Burghley/  3  Sept 
1586.  (S.  P.  Office  MS.)  Jjeiceeter  to 
Privy  Council,  6  Sept  1586.  (a  P. 
Off.  MS.)  Sir  John  Noma  to  Wilkes, 
6  Sept  1586.  (S.  P.  Office  Ma)  Ck)m- 
pare  Hoofd,  Veirolgh,  184.  Bor,  II. 
750.  Stowe,  fae.  Brace*8  *Leyc. 
Coiresp.'  406,  407, 

The  town  was  "  rifled,"  but  it  was 
"  but  poor,  with  nothing  to  answer  tho 


need  and  greediness  of  tlio  soldiers," 
said  Huddleston,  adding  that  "  divers 
disorders  were  committed,  as  in  such 
cases  it  happeneth,  though  (God  be 
thanked)  none  speciaUj  notorious." 

•  Yeluwe,  *  bad  meadow,'  in  opposi- 
tion to  Betuwe  (BataviaX  'good 
meadow.'  Bet  is  the  positive,  now 
obsolete  in  CrermaD,  Dutch,  and  £np 
lish,  of  tho  comparative,  better. 


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1586.  HE  LAYS  SISGE  TO  ZUTPHEN.  45 

with  a  aolitary  slender  chorchHspire,  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  unfi^uently  drowned  in  at- 
tempting to  pass  from  the  city  to  the  village.  In  summer, 
the  vague  expanse  of  country  was  fertile  and  cheerful  of 
aspect.  Long  rows  of  poplars  marking  the  straight  high- 
ways, 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  sweep- 
ing off  into  seemingly  infinite  distance,  where  the  innumer- 
able cattle  seemed  to  swarm  like  insects,  wind-mills  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  en- 
virons 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,  therefore,  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  Jileuse  and  Khine. 

Sir  John  Norris,  by  Leicester's  direction,  took  possession  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  Ead  himself,  crossing  the 
Yssel  on  a  bridge  of  boats  which  he  had  constructed,  reserved 
for  himself  the  reduction  of  the  forts  upon  the  Veluwe  side. 

Famese,  meantime,  was  not  idle ;  and  Leicester's  cal- 
culations proved  correct.  So  soon  as  the  Prince  was  in- 
formed of  this  important  demonstration  of  the  enemy  he 
broke  up — after  brief  debate  with  his  officers — ^his  camp  be- 
fore RheinlJerg,  and  came  to  Wesel.*  At  this  place  he  built 
a  bridge  over  the  Rhine,  and  fortified  it  with  two  block-housesi 
These  he  placed  under  command  of  Claude  Berlot,  who  was 
ordered  to  watch  strictly  all  communication  up  the  river  With 

1  Strado,  II.  448. 


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46  THE  UNITED  NETHERLANDS,  Chap.  IX 

the  city  of  Bheinberg,  which  he  thus  kept  in  a  partially 
beleaguered  state.  Alexander  then  advanced  rapidly  by  way 
of  Qroll  and  Burik,  both  which  places  he  took  possession  of, 
to  the  neighbourhood  of  Zutphen.  He  was  determined/ 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  command,  besides  fifteen  hundred 
under  Verdugo— making  sixty-five  hundred  in  all— he  had 
decided  that  the  necessity  of  the  case,  and  his  own  honour, 
required  him  to  seek  the  enemy,  and  to  leave,  as  he  said,  the 
issue  with  the  God  of  battles,  whose  cause  it  was.^ 

Tassis,  lieutenant-governor  of  Gelderland,  was  ordered 
into  the  city  with  two  cornets  of  horse  and  six  bundred  foot. 
As  lai^  a  number  had  already  been  stationed  there.  Ver- 
dugo, 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 

29  Aug.   by  promise  of  relief,  and  of  ascertaining  the  position 

1586.  qf  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  found 
that  Gibbet  Hill  was  still  occupied  by  Sir  John  Norris,  "  the 
best  soldier,  in  his  opinion,  that  they  had,"*  who  iad  en- 
trenched himself  very*  strongly,  and  was  supposed  to  have 
thuiy-five  hundred  men  under  his  conunand.  His  position 
seemed  quite  impregnable.  The  rest  of  the  English  were  on 
the  other  side  of  the  river,  and  Alexander  observed,  with 
satisfaction,  that  they  had  abandoned  a  small  redoubt,  near 
the  leper-house,  outside  the  Loor-Gate,  through  which  the 
reinforcements  must  enter  the  city.  The  Prince  determined 
to  profit  by  this  mistake,  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 

1  Parma  to  Philip,  30  Oct  1586.    (Arch,  de  Simapcas,  MS.) 
2  Ibid.   .Compare  Sirada,  IL  448,  460. 
*  Letter  to  Philip,  ubi  9up,  *  Ibid. 


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15S6. 


WmCH  PABMA  PREPARBS  TO  RBLIEVB. 


47 


furiously,"*  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  monxing  Alexander  returned 
to  his  camp  at  Borkelo — Cleaving  Tassis  in  command  of  the 
Vduwe  Forts,  and  Verdugo  in  the  city  itself— and  he  at  once 
made  rapid  work  in  collecting  victuals.  He  had  soon  wheat 
and  other  supplies  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  be  despatched  re- 
quired great  care  and  a  powerful  escort.  Twenty-five  hun- 
dred musketeers  and  pikemen,  of  whom  one  thousand  were 
Spaniards,  and  six  hundred  cavalry,  Epirotes,  Spaniards,  and 
Italians,  under  Hannibal  Gonzaga,  George  Crescia,  i  oct,  n.b^ 
Bentivoglio,  Sesa,  and  others,  were  accordingly  de-  1586. 
tailed  for  this  expedition.*  The  Marquis  del  Vasto,  to  whom 
was  entrusted  the  chief  command,  was  ordered  to  march  from 
Borkelo  at  midnight  on  Wednesday,  October  1  (St.  Nov.). 
It  was  calculated  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,  communicating 
his  arrival,  and  requesting  the  cooperation  of  Verdugo,  who  was 
to  make  a  sortie  with  one  thousand  men,  according  to  Alex- 
ander's' previous  arrangements.  The  'plan  was  successfully 
carried  out.  The  Marquis  arrived  by  daybreak  at  the  spot 
indicated,  and  despatched  Captain  de  Vega  who  contrived  to 
send  intelligence  of  the  fact.  A  trooper,  whom  Parma  had 
himself  fient  to  Verdugo  with  earlier  information  of  the  move- 
ment, had  been  captured  on  the  way.  Leicester  had  therefore 
been  apprized,  at  an  early  moment,  of  the  Prince's  intentions, 


1  Parma  to  Philip^  "a  furia."  MS. 
before  cited. 

*The80  are  Panna's  own  figures. 
(Letter  to  Phflip,  as  above.)  Every 
hisU^n   gives  a  different  statement 


one  fh>m  another.  Leicester  declared 
that  Crescia  told  him,  *'upon  his 
honour,  that  there  were  fifteen  cornets 
of  horse  and  3,000  foot."  Bruce's 
*  Leyc.  Correspw*  417. 


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48  THE  UNITED  NBTHBRLANDa  Chap.  IX 

but  he  was  not  aware  that  the  convoy  would  be  accompanied 
by  80  strong  a  force  as  had  really  been  detailed. 

He  had  accordingly  ordered  Sir  John  Norris,  who  com- 
manded on  the  outside  of  the  town  near  the  road  which  the 
Spaniards  must  traverse,  to  place  an  ambuscade  in  his  way. 
Sir  John,  always  ready  for  adventurous  enterprises,  took  a 
body  of  two  hundred  cavalry,  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  ambuscade  was  successfully  placed,  before  the  dawn  of 
♦Oct  2,  N.8,  Thursday  morning,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  -Warns- 

1586.  feld  church.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Earl  of  Lei- 
cester himself,  anxious  as  to  the  result,  came  across  the  river 
just  at  daybreak.  He  was  accompanied  by  the  chief  gentle- 
men in  his  camp,  who  could  never  be  restrained  when  blows 
were  passing  current. 

The  business  that  morning  was  a  commonplace  and  prac- 
tical 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,  soimd  like  the  roll-call  for  some  chivalrous 
tournament.  There  were  Essex  and  Audley,  Stanley,  Pel- 
ham,  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  onr  the  plains  of  the  Netherlands — 

"  The  brave  Lord  Willoaghby, 
Of  courage  fierce  and  fell, 
Wbo  wonld  not  give  one  inch  of  way 
For  aU  the  devils  in  helL" 

Twenty  such  volunteers  as  these  sat  on  horseback  that  morn- 
ing around  the  stately  Earl  of  Leicester.  It  seemed  an  in- 
credible extravagance  to  send  a  handful  of  such  heroes  against 
an  army. 

But  the  English  commander-in-chief  had  been  listening 

« 

♦  Thursday,  — r— rr^  ^^^^ 


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16S6.  THB  ENGLISH  INTEBCEPT  TH^  CONVOY.  49 

to  the  insidious  tongue  of  Roland  York — that  hold,  plausible, 
unscrupulous  partisan,  already  twice  a  renegade,  of  whom 
more  was  ere  long  to  he  heard  in  the  Netherlands  and  Eng- 
land. Of  the  man's  courage  there  could  he  no  doubt,  and  he 
was  about  to  fight  that  morning  in  the  front  rank  at  the  head 
of  his  company.  But  he  had,  for  some  mysterious  reason, 
been  bent  upon  persuading  the  Earl  that  the  Spaniards  were 
no  match  for  Englishm^i  at  a  hand-to-hand  contest.  When 
they  could  ride  freely  up  and  down,  ho  said,  and  use  their 
lances  as  they  liked,  they  were  formidable.  But  the  English 
wore  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  impr^nable  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  man  at 
the  distance  of  five  yards  was  quite  invisible.  The  oct  2, 
creaking  of  waggon- wheels  and  the  measured  tramp  1^®^ 
of  soldiers  soon  became  faintly  audible  however  to  Sir  John 
Norris  and  his  five  hundred  as  they  sat  there  in  the  mist. 
Presently  came  galloping  forward  in  hot  haste  those  nobles 
and  gentlemen,  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  satis- 
factorily 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 

>  Beyd,  v.  82,  83.  Bor,  IL  160,  761, 
Compere  Meteren,  ziiL  237,  who  says 
that  York  was  sospeeted  of  being 
secreUy  in  league  with  Famese,  to 
oontrive  this  amhoscade,  and  thus  to 
bring  so  many  English  nobles  of  dis- 
tinction to  death  or  captivity.    There 

VOL.  II. — E 


is  no  donbt  that  when  be  deserted  the 
Spanish  for  the  English  party,  he 
pledged  himself  to  Parma  to  do  him 
good  service,  and  that  he  was  always 
secretly  in  league  with  the  enemy. 
We  shall  see  at  a  later  day  whether 
he  was  ready  to  redeem  his  pledge. 


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50  THE  UNITED  NETHERLANDa  Chap.  Dl. 

The  arrival  of  the  expected  convoy  was  soon  more  distinctly 
heard;  but  no  scouts  or  outposts  had  been  stationed  to  give 
timely  notice  of  the  enemy's  movements.^  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  Eng- 
lishmen found  themselves  face  to  face  with  a  compact  body  of 
more  than  three  thousand  men.  The  Marquis  del  Vastb  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  connnanders,  followed ;  the  columns 
of  pikemen  and  musketeers  lined  the  hedge-rows  on  both 
sides  the  causeway ;  while  between  them  the  long  train 
of  wagons  came  slowly  along  imder  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.  Notwithstand- 
ing 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  handful  of  troopers : — 

"Follow  me,  good  fellows,  for  the  honour  of  England  and 
of  England's  Queen!"* 

As  ho  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  troop,  compact  as  an 

»  Hoofd,  Yervolgb,  186.  I  Strada,    IT.    450,    462.      Bentivoglio, 

•  Parma  to  Philip  n.  30  Oct  1686.       P.  II.  L.  iv.  311.    Bor,  H.  t60,  761. 
(Arcli.  do  Simancaa,   MS.)     Compare  |       *  Aroher,  in  Stowe,  736.         *  Ibid. 


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1586. 


BATTLE  OF  WAENSFELD. 


51 


fOTOw-head,  flew  with  an  irresistible  shock  against  the  op- 
posing columns,  pierced  clean  through  them,  and  scattered 
them  in  all  directions.  At  the  very  first  charge  one  hundred 
English  horsemen  drove  the  Spanish  and  Albanian  cavalry 
back  upon  the  musketeers  and  pikemen.  Wheeling  with 
rapidity,  they  retired  before  a  volley  of  musket-shot,  by 
which  many  horses  and  a  few  riders  were  killed,  and  then 
fonned  again  to  renew  the  attack.  Sir  Philip  Sidney,  on 
coming  to  the  field,  having  met  Sir  William  Pelhatn,  the 
veteran'  lord  marshal,  lightly  armed,  had  with'  chivalrous 
extravagance  thrown  off  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  affitir.*  "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  Kussell  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  friendship."  *  Lord 
WiUoughby  encountered  George  Crescia,  general  of  the 
famed  Albanian  cavalry,  unhorsed  him  at  the  first  shock,^ 
and  rolled  him  into  the  ditch.  "  I  yield  mo  thy  prisoner," 
called  out  the  Epirote  in  French,  "for  thou  art  a  preux 
chevalier;"  while  WiUoughby,  trusting  to  his  captive's  word. 


*  Brooke's  Sidney  IL  31,  32. 

*  Archer,  in  Stowe,  vibi  sup.    Lnico's 
*Leyc.  Correep.'  417. 


*^orth  to  Burghley, 


29Mty 

8  JODO 


158C. 


(S.  p.  Office  MS.), 

*  Archer,  in  Stowe,  T37. 

<  Ibid.    Leicester  to  Burghley,  Sept 
1586.    (a  P.  Office  MS.) 


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52 


THB  UNITED  NETHERLANBa 


Chap.  IX 


galloped  onward,  and  with  him  the  rest  of  the  little  troop,  till 
they  seemed  swallowed  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  hod  seven  bullets  in  him,  but  bore 
his  rider  unhurt  to  the  end  of  the  battle.  Leicester  declared 
Sir  William  and  "  old  Beade  "  to  be  "  worth  their  weight  in 
pearl."  ^ 

Hannibal  GU)nzaga,  leader  of  the  Spanish  cavalry,  fell 
mortally  wounded.^  The  Marquis  del  Vasto,  commander  of 
the  expedition,  nearly  met  the  same  fate.  An  Englishman 
was  just  cleaving  his  head  with  a  battle-axe,  when  a  Spaniard 
transfixed  the  soldier  with  his  pike.'  The  most  obstinate 
struggle  took  ^lace  about  the  train  of  waggons.  The  team- 
sters had  fled  in  the  beginning  of  the  action,  but  the  English 
and  Spanish  soldiers,  struggling  with  the  horses,  and  pulling 
them  forward  and  backward,  tried  in  vain  to  get  exclusive 
possession  of  the  convoy  which  was  the  cause  of  the  action.* 
The  carts  at  last  forced  their  way  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 
chai^,  tode  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  desperately  wounded  in  a  part  which  should  have 
been  protected  by  the  cuishes  which  he  had  thrown  aside,  ho 
was  not  inclined  to  leave  the  field ;  but  his  own  horse  had 
been  shot  imder  him  at  the  beginning  of  the  action,  and  the  one 


>  "I  will  leave  no  labottr  nor  dan* 
ger,"  said  Lord  North,  **  but  serve  as  a 
private  soldier,  and  have  thrust  my- 
self for  service  on  foot  under  Captain 
Reade,  whom  I  find  a  noble  and  nota- 
ble soldier.''  Qlorth  to  Buivfaley,  Ma 
last  cited.)  This  is  the  metUe  the  gal- 
lants of  Elizabeth's  court  were  made 


of    Compare  'Leya  Corresp.'  41^. 

*  '*The  Count  Hannibal  Gonzaga 
was  killed,  with  three  others  whose 
names  we  know  not^  but  thej  had  cas- 
socks all  embroidered  and  laoed  with 
silver  and  gold."  Leicester  to  Burgh- 
lev,  Sept  1686.    (8.  P.  Office  MS.) 

•  Strada,  IL  452.  ♦  Ibid 


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1586.  SIR  PHILIP  SIDNEY  WOUNDED.  53 

upon  whicli  he  was  now  moiuited  became  too  restive  for  him, 
thus  crippled,  to  coHtrol.  He  turned  reluctantly  away,  and 
rode  a  mile  and  a  half  back  to  the  entrenchments,  suffering 
extreme  pain,  for  his  1^  was  dreadfully  shattered.  As  he 
past  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  pigged  his 
dying  comrade  in  a  draught,  and  was  soon  afterwards  met  by 
his  unde.  "  Oh,  Philip,"  cried  Leicester,  in  despair,  "  I  am 
truly  grieved  to  see  thee  in  this  plight."  But  Sidney  com- 
forted him  with  manful  words,  and  assured  him  that  death 
was  sweet  in  the  cause  of  his  Queen  and  country.  Sir  Wil- 
liam Bussell,  too,  all  blood-stained  from  the  fight,  threw  his 
arms  around  his  friend,  wept  like  a  child,  and  kissing  his 
hand,  exclaimed,  "  Oh  1  noble  Sir  Philip,  never  did  man 
attain  hurt  so  honourably  or  serve  so  valiantly  as  you."^  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 
Norris  bade  Lord  Leicester  "  be  merry,  for,"  said  he,  "  you  have 
had  the  honourablest  day.  A  handful  of  men  has  driven  the 
enemy  three  times  to  retreat."*  But,  in  truth,  it  was  now 
time  for  the  English  to  retire  in  their  turn.  Their  reserve 
never  arrived.  The  whole  force  engaged  against  the  thirty- 
five  hundred  Spaniards  had  never  exceeded  two  hundred  and 
fifty  horse  and  three  hundred   foot,   and  of   this   number 


'  Brooke's  Sidney,  IL  32.  It  is  to 
be  r^reited  that  Lord  Brooke  does 
not  give  the  authoiity  for  this  beauti- 
flil  and  ixniyenallj  cherished  anec- 
dote. I  have  searched  in  vain  for  its 
ooofiznation  tbroogh  manj  oontem- 
porarj  letten  and  cfaronicies.  There 
is  no  reason,  for  rejecting  its  antben- 
tictty,  bnt  it  would  have  been  an  ez« 
qnisite  pleasuoo  to  find  it  recorded, 
for  instance,  in  a  letter  from  Pelham, 


or  North,  or  Norris,  or  Leicester— idl 
of  whom  speak  of  Sidney's  gallantry 
in  the  action,  but  not  one  of  whom 
was  acquainted  with,  or  thought  it 
wortti  while  to  mention  the  charao 
teristic  and  toudiing  trait 

•  Stowe,  m. 

•Pelham   to   WaWngham,  ^"^ 
1586.    (8.  P.  Office  MS.) 

*  Stowe,  M  tftcp. 


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54 


THE  UNITED  NETHERLANDS. 


Chap.  IX 


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 
the  Palatine  John  Casimir — "that  Spaniards  were  not  in- 
vincible/' ^  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  hun- 

8!?L!!,    dred    men.     They  were  thrice  turned  from  their 

Oct,  % 

1586.  position,  and  thrice  routed,  but  they  succeeded  at 
last  in  their  attempt  to  carry  their  convoy  into  Zutphen. 
Upon  that  day,  and  the  succeeding  ones,  the  town  was  com- 
pletely victualled.  Very  little,  therefore,  save  honour,  was 
gained  by  the  display  of  English  valour  against  overwhelm- 
ing numbers— five  hundred  against  near  four  thousand. 
Never  in  the  whole  course  of  the  war  had  there  been  such 


*  Bnice*8  *  Leyc.  Corresp.*  41 T. 

•  Reyd,  v.  83. 

•  Parma  to  Philip,  30  Oct  158G. 
MS. 

*  Ibid.  Leicester  obsenres  in  the 
letter  to  Bm^ey  (Sept  — ,  1586,  a  P. 
Office  MS.)  that,  '*  notwithstandiog 
all  these  troops,  the  Prince  did  not 
put  in  one  waggon,  saye  thirty  which 
got  in  in  the  night"  Alexander, 
however,  states  ex^essly  the  reverse, 
and  congratulates  Philip  on  the  entire 
success  of  the  undertaking: — 

"Pero  nos  debemos  contentor  con 
lo.  suoedido^  pues  allendp  de  haber 
qucdado  la  campana  por  nosotros^  y 
salido  con  fwestra  pretensumy  y  a  la 
barba  de  ian  buen  numero  con  ianta 
poca  genu  (!)  haber  metido  y  sacado 
ianto  carnage,^  Aa  Letter  to  Philip, 
30  Oct  1586.  Ma 

There  can  be  no  doubt  whatever 
that  the  Prince  was  entirely  oorreot  in 
his  statement  The  rrault  proves  it, 
if  there  could  be  any  question  of  it 
before.  It  is  difficult  to  see  how 
Leicester  could  be  mistaken,  but  he 
had  a  temptation  to  misrepresent  an 
afiair  in  which  his  own  bad  general- 


ship had  been  as  signal  as  the  heroism 
which  it  had  called  forth.  Certainly 
Zutphen,  on  that  and  the  succeeding 
days,  was  thoroughly  relieved.  The 
errors,  wiKhl  or  otherwise,  as  to  the 
numbers  engaged  and  respectively 
lost  were  greater  on  both  sides  tiian 
usual  on  such  occasions,  but  -  this  kind 
of  misstatement  has  always  been  uni- 
versaL 

Compare  Sidney  Papers,  I.  104, 
containing  a  letter  of  Leicester  to 
Heneage;  I  have  not  found  the  ori- 
ginal Strada,  If.  450,  452.  Bor,  II. 
750,  151,  Stowe,  737,  738.  Hoofd, 
Vervolgh,  186,  187.  Reyd,  v.  83,  84. 
Meteren,  xiil  237.  Bentivoglio,  P.  IL 
L.  IV.  Sll,  et  muU.  al. 

See  also  R.  W.  Tadama,  Geschiedenis 
der  Stad  Zutphen  ('Amhem  en  Zut- 
phen,' 1586),  an  interesting  work,  caro- 
Ailly  writt^  and  of  great  research; 
composed  mainly  fhxn  original  un- 
published documents.  I  desire  to  ex- 
press my  thatkks  to  the  learned  author 
for  the  kindness  with  which  he  guided 
me  over  Zutphen  and  its  neighbour- 
hood, pointing  out  eveiything  con- 
nected with  the  battle  and  the  siege. 


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1586. 


EESULTS  OF  THE  ENCOUNTER 


55 


fightings  for  the  troops  upon  both  sides  were  picked  men  and 
veterans.  For  a  long  time  afterwards  it  was  the  custom  of 
Spaniards  and  Netherlanders^  in  characterising  a  hardly-con- 
tested action^  to  call  it  as  warm  as  the  fight  at  Zutphen.^ 

"I  think  I  may  call  it/'said  Leicester,  "the  most  notable 
encounter  that  hath  been  in  our  age,  and  it  will  remain  to 
our  p(wterity  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  soldiers. 

"  There  were  too  many  indeed  at  this  skirmish  of  the  better 
sort/'  said  Leicester ;  "  only  a  two  hundred  and  fifty  horse, 


'  S^ada,  n.  451. 

•  Brace's  *Leyc.  Corresp.'  41G: — 
''That  ThoTsdaj  may  ran  amongst 
any  of  our  Thursdays,"  said  the  Earl, 
(*Leya  Corresp.'  430),  adding,  with  a 
most  mgennoos  letsreDCQ  to  himself, 
"In  my  former  letters  I  forgot  07i«, 
who  not  only  on  that  day  but  at  every 
day's  service  bath  been  a  principal 
actor  Hmself.  A  iaUy  wiae,  rasrt  scr^ 
vant  he  is,  as  any  I  know,  and  of  mor- 
veUoos  good  government  and  judg^ 
ment  That  gentleman  may  take  a 
great  charge  upon  him,  I  warrant 
you."  Self-depreciation  was  not  the 
Earl's  foible. 

Tbero  is  hardly  a  battle  on  record 
about  which  the  accounts  are  so  hope- 
lessly conflk^Ung  as  are  those  which 
T^ate  to  tiio  battle  of  Zutphcn.  The 
reason  is  obvious.  The  skirmish  was 
a  comparatively  unimportant  one. 
The  &£d  of  Sidney  has  invested  it 
with  undying  interrat,  but  it  was  not 
supposed  at  that  time  that  he  was 
mortally  wounded.  Lord  North,  whose 
letters  are  always  spirited,  went  into 
the  field  in  such  a  disabled  condition 
that  it  was  not  in  his  power  to  send 
any  account  of  the  action,  as  he  doubt- 
lees  would  otherwise  have  done,  to 
Lord  Burghley.  Pelham,  Korris,  and 
Leicester,  are  all  meagre  on  this  occa- 
aon  in  details.  An^er,  in  Stowe,  is 
fuller,  but  Parma,  in  his  letters  to 
PhUip,  though   oopioas,    is   oonfuadd. 


As  a  specimen  of  conflictmg  statistics 
it  may  be  observed  that  the  number  of 
English  actually  engaged,  accordmg 
to  the  statement  of  the  commander-in- 
chief  to  his  government,  was  650, 
horse  and  foot  together.  The  Span- 
ish, accordmg  to  Famese's  letter  to 
Philip,  was  about  3,100  in  aJL  Strada 
gives  the  same  number,  writing  from 
other  letters  of  Parma,  and  puts  the 
English  at  3000  foot  and  400  horse, 
exactly  the  same  number  that  is  given . 
in  the  MS.  letters  of  Simancas,  and 
about  seven  times  as  many  as  were 
really  in  tho  field.  Leicester  puts  the 
Spaniards  at  1,200  horse  and  3,000 
foot— about  1,000  more  than  tlie  actual 
numbers.  No  doubt  the  numbers  en- 
gaged on  each  side  should  be  taken 
as  correctly  stated  by  the  rcFpective 
generals.  There  were  therefore  about 
3,100  Spaniards  to  650  English. 

Leicester  gives  the  number  of  killed 
and  wounded  as  33  English  and  lh>m 
250  to  350  Spaniards. 

Parma  states  tho  number  of  Spaniards 
killed  as  9  (!),  wounded  29,  while  ho 
reports  200  English  killed. 

It  seems  impossible  that  there 
could  have  been  less  than  150  or  200 
Spaniards  killed,  which  is  not  moro 
than  half  the  number  claimed  by 
Leicester  on  the  authority  of  Spaniards 
'  themselves.  -  But  it  is  a  waste  of 
time  to  indulge  in  these  fruitleea 
;  calculations. 


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56  THE  UNITED  NETHEBLAKDa  Chap.  IX. 

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  thej  all  so  well  escaped  (save  my  dear 
nephew),  I  would  not/or  ten  thousand  pounds  but  thej  had 
been  there,  since  they  have  all  Won  that  honour  they  have. 
Tour  Lordship  never  heard  of  such  desperate  chai^ges  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  I  care  not  how  lame  he  be."  Sir  Philip  was  carried  to 
Amheim,  where  the  best  surgeons  were  immediately  in  at- 
tendance upon  him.  He  submitted  to  their  examination  and 
the  pain  which  they  inflicted,  with  great  cheerfulness,  al- 
though 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 — intelli- 
gence 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  Hohonlo  was  badly  wounded  a  few  days 
later  before  the  great  fort  of  Zutphen.  A  musket-ball  en- 
tered his  mouth,  and  passed  through  his  cheek,  carrying  off 
a  jewel  which  hung  in  his  ear.*  Notwithstanding  his  own 
critical  condition,  however,  Hohenlo  sent  his  smgeon,  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 
his  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  bo 
transported  in  a  litter  to  Amheim.* 

Sidney  was  first  to  recognise  the  symptoms  of  mortification, 
which  made  a  fatal  result  inevitable.  His  demeanour  during 
his  sickness  and  upon  his  death-bed  was  as  beautiful  as  his 

'  Letter  to  Bnii^hlef,  MS.  before  I  '  Letter  of  Hoh^o,  in  Bor,  m. 
cited.  I  123. 

•  Stowe,  738.    Bor,  II.  728.  |      *  Letter  of  Hohenlo,  in  Bor,  in.  12a 


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1686.  DEATH  OF  SIDNEY  AT  ABNHEIK.  ffj 

life.    He  discoursed  with  his  friends  concerning  the  immor- 
tality of  the  soul,  comparing  the  doctrines  of  Plato  and  of 
other  ancient  philosophers,  whose  writings  were  so  familiar  to 
bim,  with  the  revdations  of  Scripture  and  with  the  dictates 
of  natural  religion.     He  made  his  will  with  minute  and  ela- 
borate proTisions,  leaving  bequests,  remembrances,  and  rings, 
to  all  his  friends.    Then  he  indulged  himself  with  music,  and 
listened  particularly  to  a  strange  song  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  Kobert, 
"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 
Male.    The  Duke  of  Parma — ^for,  since  the  recent  death  of 
his  father,  Famese  had  succeeded  to  his  title*— determined  in 
person  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  th^  heard  that  the 
terrible  ^Holofemese'  was  in  pursuit  of  them,  and  that  the 
commencement  of  their  service  would  be  a  pitched  battle  with 
his  Spaniards  cLnd  Italians,  they  broke  up  and  scattered  about 

4  Bentivoglio  is  much  mistaken  (P. 
IL  L.  iv.  811)  in  giving  an  aooount  of 
a  nitcfaed  battle  between  Alexander 
and  theae  meroeiuiriefl^  in  which  they 
are  represented  as  having  been  ntterlj 
defeated.  The  victory  was  quite 
bloodless,  and  it  cost  the  victor  oaly 
o  conple  of  gold  chains. 


*  Brooke's  Sidney,  IL  32,  40.  Sid- 
n^  Papers,  IH  «g. 

•Parma  to  Phflip,  30  Oct  1586. 
Arch,  de  SiTPgn<^  MS. 

'  Philip  II.  to  Parma,  19  Oct  1586. 
i^iv.  de  Simancas,  Ma)  "Hcnce- 
fK  said  the  King,  "I  wiU  be  both 
wwer  and  mother  to  yoo." 


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58 


THE  UNITED  NETHKRT1AND& 


Chap.  IX 


the  country.  Soon  afterwards  the  Duke  tried  another 
method  of  effectually  dispersing  them,  in  case  they  still  re- 
tained a  wish  to  fulfil  their  engagement  with  Leicester.  He 
sent  a  messenger  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  herpes  listened  very  favourably 
to  his  proposals,  although  they  had  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  sp  far  advanced,  that  it 
was  sufficient  to  have  dispersed  them,  and  to  have  deprived 
the  English  and  patriots  of  their  services.  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  Alexander ;  "  and  this  I  hold  to 
be  one  of  the  best  services  that  has  been  rendered  for  many  a 
long  day  to  your  Majesty."^ 

1  Parma  to  Philip,  30  Oct  1686.  MS. 
bst  cited.  '  Meteren,  xiil  236. 

»  Parma  to  Philip,  MS.  last  citod. 

According  to  Meteren  Utbi  stip.) 
this  mysterious  dispersion  01  tho  Ger- 
man troops  was  owing  to  the  intrigaes 
of  Leicester's  English  adyisers,  who 
were  unwilling  thiat  he  should  send 
the  money  of  the  States  anywhere  but 
to  England,  and  who  therefore  by 
their  machinations  contrived  to  spirit 
away  this  auxiliary  force  Just  at  the 
moment  when  bv  its  junction  with  his 
own  army  the  Earl  was  about  to  have 
famese  in  his  power.  "  From  this 
time  forth,",  says  Meteren,  "it  was 
obyious  that  Leicester  was  goyemod 
entirely  by  English  counsels,"  and  so 
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  Alexander's 
clever  management  alone.  ■  Some  of 
the  German  princes  in  whose  terri- 
tories these  levies  had  been  made, 
were  honourably  indignant  at  the  trea- 
chery which  had  been  thus  practised  on 
the  States.  Some  of  the  oflBcer^  were 
punished  with  imprisonment;  degrada- 


tion, and  less  of  nobility  and  armorial 
bearings,  and  the  money  paid  as  their 
"waart  g^ld"  was  sent  back  to  Hol- 
land. (Le  Petit,  *  Grand  Chronique,' 
IL  636.) 

Reyd  is  still  more  severe.  He 
maintains  that  Leicester  withheld  tho 
pay  which  the  States  had  furnished 
ibr  these  important  levies,  whose  ar- 
rival at  the  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  Lowia  Count  Tssel- 
stein,  who  had  been  sent  by  the  Earl 
to  dcNEd  with  these  mercenaries  and  to 
IHX)mise  their  money,  was  furious  at 
the  treachery  of  which  he  conceived 
Leicester  gcdlty,  and  did  not  scrupio 
tosayinlaige  companies:  '* Leicester 
has  done  two  great  things  in  his  life. 
He  has  made  my  M  page,  Martin 
Schenk  a  knight,  and  xiiyself  a  liar.'* 
(Reyd,  *Nedert.  Gesch.'  v.  86.) 

The  suspicion,  as  we  have  seen,  was 
quite  groundless,  and  Tsselstein  and 
the  historian  (who  was  private  secre- 
tary to  Count  William  Lewis)  very 
much  mistaken. 


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158a  GALLANTRY  OF  BDWAED  STANLEY.  59 

Daring  the  period  which  intervened  between  the  action  at 
Wamsfeld  and  the  death  of  Sidney^  the  siege-operations  be- 
fore Zutphen  had  been  continued.     The  city,  strongly  gar- 
risoned and  well  supplied  with  provisions,  as  it  had  been  by 
Parma's  care,  remained  impregnable  ;  but  the  sconces  beyond 
the  river  and  upon  the  island  fell  into  Leicester's  hands.^ 
The  great  fortress  which  commanded  the  Veluwe,  and  which 
was  strong  enough  to  have  resisted  Count  Hohenlo  on  a 
former  occasion  for  nearly  a  whole  year,  was  the  scene  of 
much  hard  fighting.     It  was  gained  at  last  by  the  signal 
valour  of  Edward  Stanley,  lieutenant  to  Sir  William.    That 
officer,  at  the  commencement  of  an  assault  upon  a  not  very 
practicable  breach,  sprang  at  the  long  pike  of  a  Spanish 
soldier,  who  was  endeavoring  to  thrust  him  from  the  wall, 
and  seized  it  with  both  hands.     The  Spaniard  struggled  to 
maintain  his  hold  of  the  weapon,  Stanley  to  wrest  it  from  his 
grasp.     A  dozen  other  soldiers  broke  their  pikes  upon  his 
cuirass  or  shot  at  him  with  their  muskets.     Conspicuous  by 
his  dress,  being  all  in  yellow  but  his  corslet,  he  was  in  full 
sight  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  adversary's  pike,  but,  suddenly  changing  his   plan,  he 
allowed  the  Spaniard  to  lift  him  from  the  ground.     Then, 
assisting  himself  with  his  feet  against  the  wall,  he,  much  to 
the  astonishment  of  the  spectators,  scrambled  quite  over  the 
parapet,  and  dashed  sword  in  hand  among  the  defenders  of 
the  fort.     Had  he  been  endowed  with  a  hundred  lives  it 
seemed  impossible  for  him  to  escape  death.    But  his  followers, 
stimulated  by  his  example,  made  ladders  for  themselves  of 
each  others'  shoulders,  clambered  at  last  with  great  exertion 
over  the  broken  wall,  overpowered  the  garrison,  and  made 
themselves    masters   of   the  sconce.     Leicester,   transported 
with  enthusiasm  for  this  noble  deed  of  daring,  knighted  Ed- 
ward Stanley  upon  the  spot,  besides  presenting  him  next  day 
with  forty  pounds  in  gold  and  an  annuity  of  one  hundred 

*  Slrada,  H  453,  434.     Hoofd,  Yeirolgh,  188.     Bot,  IL  752.    Wagenaar, 
Till  136. 


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60  THE  UNITED  NETHERLANDS.  Chap.  IX 

marks  sterling  for  life.  "  Since  I  was  bom,  I  did  never  see 
any  man  behave  himself  as  he  did/'  said  the  Earl.  "  I  shall 
never  forget  it,  if  I  live  a  thousand  year,  and  he  shall  have 
a  part  of  my  living  for  it  as  long  as  I  live."^ 

The  occupation  of  these  forts  terminated  the  military 
operations  of  the  year,  for  the  rainy  season,  precursor  of  the 
winter,  had  now  set  in.  Leicester,  leaving  Sir  William 
Stanley,  with  twelve  hundred  English  and  Irish  horse,  in  com- 
mand of  Deventer ;  Sir  John  Burrowes,  with  one  thousand 
men,  in  Doesburg ;  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  au- 
thorize the  governor  to  expect  ere  long  its  capitulation. 
Nevertheless,  the  results  of  the  campaign  had  not  been 
encouraging.  The  States  had  lost  ground,  having  been 
driven  from  the  Meuse  and  Bhine,  while  they  had  with  diffi- 
culty maintained  themselves  on  the  Flemish  coast  and  upon 
the  Tssel. 

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

'  Brace's  *  Leyc.  Corresp.'  428.  I  who  Eays  that  Leicester  presented 
Ck>mpare  Strada^  II.  46S,  456.  Hoofd,  Stanley  with  a  life-rent  of  six  hundred 
Vervolgh,    188.     Meteren,    adil    237,      florins  (£60).  •  Bor,  n.  "TOS, 


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1586.        SHOULD  ELIZABETH  ACOEFT  THE  SOYEBEIGNTT  ?  61 


CHAPTER     X. 

Should  EUfabeth  accept  the  Sovereignty?  — The  Effects  of  ber  Anger— 
Qoaireta  between  the  Earl  and  the  States  —  The  EarFs  three  Counsellors- 
Lttcester's  lEInance-Chamber — Discontent  of  the  Mercantile  Classes  — 
Paul  Bnjs  and  the  Opposition  —  Keen  Insight  of  Faol  Bays — Tnidisess 
beonnes  a  Spj  npon  him  —  Intrigoes  of  Bnys  with  Deomaric— His 
Imprisonment— The  EarFs  Unpopularity  —  His  Quarrels  with  the  States 
—  And  with  the  Norrises — His  Counsellors  Wilkes  and  Clerke  —  Letter 
from  the  Queen  to  Leicester  —  A  Supper  Party  at  Hobenlo^s  —  A  drunken 
Quarrel — Hc^enlo*a  Assault  upon  Edward  Norris— 111  Effects  of  the 
Riot 

The  brief  period  of  sunshine  bad  been  swiftly  fallowed  by 
storms.  The  Governor  Absolute  had,  from  the  outset,  been 
placed  in  a  false  position.  Before  he  came  to  the  Nether- 
lands the  Queen  had  refused  the  sovereignty.  Perhaps  it 
was  wise  in  her  to  decline  so  magnificent  an  offer ;  yet  cer- 
tainly her  acceptance  would  have  been  perfectly  honourable. 
The  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  Netherlands  were  concerned,  then,  she  would  have 
b^n  fully  justified  in  extending  her  sceptre  over  a  free  people, 
who,  under  no  compukion  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  fi-eedom,  seemed, 
on  the  whole,  desirable. 

In  a  financial  point  of  view,  England  would  certainly  lose 
nothing  by  the  union.  The  resources  of  the  Provinces  were 
at  least  equal  to  her  own.  We  have  seen  the  astonishment 
which  the  w^th  and  strength  of  the  Netherlands  excited  in 
their  English  visitors.  They  were  amazed  by  the  evidences 
of  commercial  and  manufacturing  prosperity,  by  the  spectacle 
of  luxury  and  advanced  culture,  which  met  them  on  every 


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62 


THE  UNITED  NETHERLANBa 


Chap.  X. 


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 
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  Provinces  would  pay  was 
in  a  manner  boundless.  She  was  assured  that  the  revenue  of 
her  own  hereditary  realm  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  England. 
The  great  amount  of  civil  freedom  enjoyed  by  those  cbuntries 
— 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  additional  clement  of  strength,  not  a  troublesome 
encumbrance. 

The  difierenco  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 


>  Hoofd,  xxiii.  1039,  1042.  Wage- 
naar,  vuL  102,  104;  141,  142. 

•  "  Neither  do*  I  easilj  see,"  wrote 
Richard  Cavendish,  "how  the  cause 
maj  be  remedied,  unless  it  maj  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 JTiereisno 

doubt  btU  (/(«  revenues  unU  suffice  to 
the  driving  of  the  enemy  out  of  theso 
countries  for  ever,  and  afterward  in 
dear  profit  unio  her  Mqjesiy  far  sur- 
mount the  receipts  at  homer  Caven- 
dish to  Burghley,  9  April,  1586.  (&  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  will  all  bring 
forth."  Leicester  to  Burghley,  18 
June,  1586.    (S.  P.  Office  Mi^)  . 

"  I  may  safely  say  to  your  Majesty," 
said  be  at  about  the .  same  period, 
"  that  if  your  aid  had  .  been  in  such 
apparent  sort  to  the  countries  that 
they  mig^t  assure  themselves  of  any 
certain  time  of  continuance  of  tho 
same,  and  that  you  had  taken  theur 
cause  indeed  to  heart,  I  am  verily 
persuaded  that  they  would  have  given 
very  good  testimonies  by  their  veiy 
large  contributions  to  maintain  their 
wars  for  such  certain  number  of  years 
to  be  set  down  as  your  Majesty  should 
appoint,  and  no  prince  nor  practice  of 
any  person  living  able  to  draw  them 
from  you."  Leicester  to  the  Queen, 
27  June,  1586.    (a  P.  Office  Ma) 


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1586.         SHOULD  EMZABBTH  ACCEPT  THE  SOVEREIGNTY  ?  63 

of  being  aggravated  by  mutual  hostility  in  the  matter  of 
religion. 

With  r^ard  to  the  great  question  of  abstract  sovereignty, 
it  was  certainly  impolitic  for  an  absolute  monarch  to  recog- 
nize the  right  of  a  nation  to  repudiate  its  natural  alliance. 
But  Elizabeth  had  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  Provinces,  would  certainly  be  accused  by  the  world 
of  ambition  ;  but  the  an^bition  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  ab- 
solutism. 

A  war  between  herself  and  Spain  was  inevitable  if  she 
accepted  the  sovereignty,  but  peace  had  been  already  ren- 
dered impossible  by  the  treaty  of  alliance.  It  is  true  that 
the  Queen  imagined  the  possibility  of  combining  her  engage- 
ments towards  the  States  with  a  conciliatory  attitude  towards 
their  ancient  master,  but  it  was  here  that  she  committed  the 
gravest  <)rror.  The  negotiations  of  Parma  and  his  sovereign 
with  the  English  court  were  a  masterpiece  of  deceit  on  the 
part  of  Spain.  Wo  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  the  idea  of  tolerating  religious  liberty 
had  never  entered  his  mind  ;  and  that  his  fixed  purpose  was 
not  only  thoroughly  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 ;  "vdiile,  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 


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54  THE  UNITEIJ)  NSTHERLANDa  Chap.  X. 

Beemed  likely  to  gain  by  the  step,  for  th:e  States  did  not 
consider  themselves  strong  enough  to  maintain  the  inder 
pendent  republic  which  had  already  risen. 

It  might  be  a  question  whether,  on  the  whole,  Elizabeth 
made  a  mistake  in  declining  the  sovereignty.  She  was  cer- 
tainly wrong,  however,  in  wishing  the  lieutenant-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  appointment  of  civil  and  military  officers.  .  Such  an 
amount  of  power  could  only  be  del^ated  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  and  vituperative  language  damaged  her  cause 
and  that  of  the  Netherlands  more  severely  than  can  now  be 
accurately  estimated.  The  Earl  was  placed  at  once  in  a 
false,  a  humiliating,  almost  a  ridiculous  position.  The  au- 
thority 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  incumbrance  instead  of  an  aid.^ 

'  "  I  find  the  most  part  of  the  bands  I  tember/'  said  Quartermaster  Biggo^ 
that  came  oyer  in  August  and  Sep-  |  "more  than  half  wasted,  dead   ana 


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1586. 


THB  EFFECTS  OF  HER  AISTGER. 


65 


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  addi- 
tional supply  were  for  a  time  held  back,  as  Leicester  expressly 
sti^ed,  because  of  the  discredit  which  had  been  thrown  upon 
him  from  home.^ 

The  military  operations  were  crippled  for  want  of  funds, 
bat  more  fatal  than  everything  else  were  the  secret  negotia- 
tions for  peace.  Subordinate  individuals,  like  Grafigni  and 
De  Loo,  went  up  and  down,  bringing  presents  out  of  England 
for  Alexander  Famese,*  and  bragging  that  Parma  and  them- 
sdves  could  have  peace  whenever  they  liked  to  make  it,  and 
afiSrming  that  Leicester's  opinions  were  of  no  account  what- 
ever. Elizabeth's  coldness  to  the  Earl  and  to  the  Nether- 
lands was  affirmed  to  be  the  Prince  of  Parma's  sheet-anchor ; 
while  meantime  a    house  was    ostentatiously'  prepared   in 


gone,  and  numj  of  the  remainder  dck, 
lame,  imd  shrewdly  enfeebled,  fitter 
to  he  relieyed  at  home  in  hospitals 
than  to  take  her  M^ieaty's  pay  here 

fbr861dier& Our  soldiers,  not- 

withstanding  greai  nutnberB  </  ihem  he 
paid  with  eaarih  in  their  ffraves,  yet  the 
rest  are  bo  ill  contented  of  their  due 
lor  the  time  pa8t»  that,  if  pay  oome 
not  speedily,  belbre  they  be  drawn  to 
deal  with  the  enemy,  I  doubt  some 
worse  adventure  than  I  will  divine  be- 
forehand." '  Advertisement  of  the  pre- 
sent state  of  these  Low  Countries,  by 

LDigges,'  ^  Hareh,    1586.     (a    P. 

0£ElceH&) 

>  Strangely  enough,  Elizabeth  was 
under  the  impression  that  the  extra 
Rant  of  400,000  florins  (40,0001)  ibr 
KMir  months  was  four  hundred  tiiou- 

SBttd  potmda  sUrling! **The  rest 

that  was  granted  by  the  States,  as  ex- 
traordbaiy  to  levy  an  army,' which 
was  400,000  florins,  not  pounds,  as  I 
bear  your  Ifigesty  taketh  it  It  is 
ibrty  thousand  pounds^  and  to  be  pud 
hi  March,  April,  May,  and  June  last," 
Ac.  Leicester  to  the  Queen,  11  Oct. 
168S.     ^  P.  Office  Ma) 

She  bad  certainly  formed  already  nn 
exalted  idea  of  the  capacity  of  the 
VOL.  II. — ^F 


Provinces  to  protect  themselves.  She 
had  in  a  year  paid  but  seventy  thou- 
sand pounds  herself  and  believed  the 
States  able,  over  arid  above  their  regit- 
lor  contributions,  to  fhmish  an  extra- 
ordinaiy  supply  of  one  hundred  thou- 
sand pounds  a  month. 

'  Leicester  to  the  Queen,  G  June, 
1586.    (a  P.  Office  MS.) 

*  **  Amongst  all  the  enemy's  means 
to  persuade  his  discontented  and  ill-fed 
companions,"  said  Cavendish,  ^this 
seemeth  to  be  his  sheet-anchor,  name- 
ly, \hBJL  where  the  only  comfort  of  this 
people  dependeth  wholly  upon  her 
Mij.'g  most  gracious  rdief  and  sup- 
port, now  is  the  disposition  thereof  in 
her  BO  cooled,  as  she  very  faintly 
stretcheth  forth  her  hand  thereunto, 
which  evidently  appears,  as  well  by 
the  many  disgraces  which  here  my 
Lord  hath  received  fh>m  her  Mig.,  to 
the  great  blemish  of  his  authority,  as 
also  by    the    slack   payment  of  her 

troops and  so  long  as  my  Lord 

shall  be  unable  to  firont  hhn  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^  158e.  (a  P. 
Office  MS.) 


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66 


THE  UNITED  NBTHERLANDa 


Chap.  X. 


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  atti- 
tude towaifds  her  representative  was  a  necessary  result,  and 
the  demonstrations  against  the  common  enemy  became  still 
more  languid.  But  for  these  underhand  dealings,  Grave, 
Venlo,  and  Neusz,  might  have  been  saved,^  and  the  current 
of  the  Meuso  and  Rhine  have  remained  in  the  hands  of  the 
patriots. 

The  Earl  was  industrious,  generous,  and  desirous  of  playing 
well  his  part.  His  personal  courage  was  undoubted,  and,  in 
the  opinion  of  his  admirers — themselves,  somo  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 
Agincourt ;  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  scarecrows,  and 
the  recruits,  as  they  came  from  England,  were  appalled  by 
the  spectacle  presented  by  their  predecessors.*  "  Our  old 
ragged  rogues  here  have  so  discouraged  our  new  men,"  said 
Leicester;  "as  I  protest  to  you  they  look  like  dead  mea"* 
Out  of  eleven  hundred  freshly-arrived  Englishmen,  five  hun- 


'  "It  is  certainly  known  that  tbo 
enemy  lia^  not  a  little  prevailed  with 
that  stratagem,  causmg  to  be  pub- 
lished that  there  was  a  treaty  of  peace 
between  her  Majesty  and  him,  and 
that  the  same  shonld  be  shortly  con- 
cluded; and  to  make  this  deyice  to 
carry  the  more  shew  of  truth,  ho 
caused  a  house  to  be  prepared  in 
Brussels,  saying  that  it  was  for  an 
ambassador  coming  out  of  England  to 
.conclude  tiie  peapo,  by  which  means 
he  hath  contained  divers  t^wns  in 
terms  of  obedience  that  were  ready  to 


revolti  in  respect  of  their  misery,  po- 
verty, and  famine."  Wilkes  to  Burgh- 
ley,  7  Aug.  1586.    (a  P.  OfBoe  M&) 

'  Leicester  to  the  Queen,  20  June, 
1586.    (S.  P.  Office  MS.) 

»  North  to  Burghley,  23  May,  1686. 
Same  to  same,  29  May,  1586.  Heneago 
to  Walsingham,  25  May,  1586.  (S.  P. 
Office  Ma) 

*  Leicester  to  Buiighley,  18  Juno, 
1686.  (S.  P.  Office  Ma)  Bruce'a 
*Leyc  Corresp.'  338. 

*  Bruce'a  *Leya  Corresp.'  338. 


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1586,  QUARRELS  BETWEEN  THE  EARL  AND  STATES.  67 

dred  ran  away  in  two  days.*  Some  were  caught  and  hanged, 
and  all  seemed  to  prefer  hanging  to  remaining  in  the  service, 
while  the  Earl  declared  that  he  would  be  hanged  as  well 
rather  than .  again  undertake  such  a  chaige  without  being 
assured  payment  for  his  troops  beforehand.' 

The  valour  of  Sidney  and  Essex,  Willoughby  and  Pelham, 
Roger  Williams  and  Martin  Schenk,  was  set  at  nought  by 
such  untoward  circumstances.  Had  not  Philip  also  left  his 
army  to  starve  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 
1586.  ,        , 

The  States  having  resumed,  as  much  as  possible,  their 
former  authority,  were  on  very  unsatisfactory  terms  with  the 
governor-general.  Before  long,  it  was  impossible  for  the 
twenty  or  thirty  individuals  called  the  States  to  be  in  the 
same  town  with  the  man  whom,  at  the  commencement  of  the 
year,  they  had  greeted  so,  warmly.*  -  The  hatred  between  the 
Leicester  &ction  and  the  municipalities  became  intense,  for 
the  foundation  of  the  two  great  parties  which  were  long  to 
divide  the  Netherland  commonwealth  was  already  laid.  The 
mercantile  patrician  interest,  embodied  in  the  states  of  Hol- 
land and  Zeeland,  and  inclined  to  a  large  toleration  in  the 
matter  of  religion,  which  afterwards- took  the  form  of  Armi- 
nianism,  was  opposed  by  a  strict  Calvinist  party,  which  desired 
to  subject  the  political  commonwealth  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  Brabant,  who  had  succeeded  in 
obtaining  the  confidence  of  Leicester. 

Thus  the  Earl  was  the  nominal  head  of  the  Calvinist  demo- 
cratic party;  while  young  Maurice  of  Nassau,  stadholder  of  Hol- 
land and  Zfeeland,  and  guided  by  Bameveld,  Buys,  and  other 
leading  statesmen  of  these  Provinces,  was  in  an  attitude  pre- 

'  Leicester  to  Burgbley,  M&  last  I  (S.  P.  Office  MS.)  CompGre  Wagonaar 
cited.    Brace,  vbist^,  >  Ibid.      viiL  142,  143. 

•  Doyley  to  Borghley,  8  Aug.  1686.   | 


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G8  THB  UNITED  NBTHEBLANDS.  Chap.  X. 

cisely  the  reverse  of  the  one  which  he  was  destmed  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  Beingault,  Burgrave^  and  Deventer,  all 
refugees. 

The  laws  of  Holland  and  of  the  other  United  States  were 
very  strict  on  the  subjecJt  of  citizenship,  and  no  one  but  a 
native  was  competent  to  hold  office  in  each  Province.  Doubt- 
less, such  regulations  were  narrow-spirited ;  but  to  fly  in  the 
face  of  them  was  the  act  of  a  despot,  and  this  is  what  Lei- 
cester did.  Beingault  was  a  Fleming.  He  was  a  bankrupt 
merchant,  who  had  been  taken  into  the  protection  of  Lamoral 
Egmont,  and  by  that  nobleman  recommended  to  Granvelle 
for  an  office  under  the  Cardinars  government.  The  refusal 
of  this  favour  was  one  of  the  original  causes  of  Egmonfs 
hostility  to  Granvelle.  Beingault  subsequently  entered  the 
sCTvice  of  the  Cardinal,  howeter,  and  rewarded  the  kindness 
of  his  former  benefector  by  great  exertions  in  finding,  or 
inventing,  evidence  to  justify  the  execution  of  that  unfor- 
tunate nobleman.  He  was  afterwards  much  employed  by  the 
Duke  of  Alva  and  by  the  Grand  Commander  Requesens ; 
but  after  the  ^pacification  of  Ghent  he  had  been  completely 
thrown  out  of  service.  He  had  recently,  in  a  subordinate 
capacity,  accompanied  the  legations  of  ihe  States  to  France 
and  to  En^and,  and  had  now  contrived  to  ingratiate  him- 
self with  the  Earl  of  Leicester.  He  affected  great  zeal  for 
the  Calvinistio  religion — an  exhibition  which,  in  the  old 
servant  of  Granvelle  aad  Alva,  was  far  from  edifying— and 
would  employ  no  man  or  maid-servant  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  interlude  in  his  career,  he  lived  and  died  a 
Papist.^ 

>  Hoom,  Yenrolgb,  142,  143.    ReTdani^  Y.  89,  »0. 


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1586.  THE  EAEL*S  THBE;E  GOUNSELLOBa  69 

Gherard  Proninck,  galied  Deventer^  was  a  respectable  inha- 
bittmt  of  Bois-le-Duc,  who  hfi4  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  burgo- 
master 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  pf  the 
principal  portion  of  that  Province  by  Parma,  he  had  m^de 
lumself  useful  to  the  English  governor-general  in  various 
ways,  and  particularly  as  a  linguist.  He  spoke  English— a 
tongue  with  whidi  few  Netherlanders  of  that  day  were  fami- 
liar— and  as  the  Earl  knew  no  other,  exji?ept  (yery  imper- 
fectly) Italian,  he  foimd  hii^  services  in  speaking  and  writing 
a  variety  of  languages  very  convetdent. ,  He  was  the  governor's 
private  secretary,  and,  of  course,  had  no.  entrance  to  the 
council  of  state,  but  he  was  accused  of  frequently  thrusting 
himsetf  into  their  hall  of  sessions,  where,  under  pretence 
of  arranging  the  Earl's  table,  or  pqrt&lio,  or  papers,  he  was 
much  addicted  to  whispering  into  his  master's  ear,  listening 
to  conversation, — to  eaves-dropping,  in  short,  and  general 
intrusiveness.*  . 

"A  most  faithful,  honest  servant. is  Burgrave,"  said  Lei- 
cester; "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  Leicester 


•  HooH,  Vervolgh,  Ac^  just  dtod. 

•  Hoom,  Reyd.,  ubi  sup. 

•  Brace's  *Leyc,  Corrcsp.'  363,  422. 


*  Leicester  to  Walsingham,  27  Julj, 
1586.    (a  P.  Office  KS.) 


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THE  UNITED  KETHERLANDa 


Chap.  X 


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  Deventer  was  appointed,  as  already 
stated,  to  the  important  post  of  burgomaster ;  many  of  the 
influential  citizens  were  banished,  without  cause  or  trial ;  ihc 
upper  branch  of  the  municipal  government,  consisting  of 
the  clerical  delegates  of  the  colleges,  was  in  an  arbitrary 
manner  abolished ;  and  finally,  the  absolute  sovere^ty  of 
the  Province,  without  condition,  was  offered  to  the  Queen  of 
England.^  ' 

Leicester  was  now  determined  to  carry  out  one  of  the  great 
objects  which  the  Queen  had  in  view  when  she  sent  him  to 
the  Netherlands.  She  desired  thoroughly  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 
investigation,  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  the  year,  been  placed  in  the 
Earl's  hands,*.atid  it  was  only  by  her  violently  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  Reingault,  who  promised  him 
mountains  of  money,  and  who  was  to  be  chief  treasurer.*  Paul 


»  Bor,  n.  122. 

»  Hoofd,  1039, 1042.  Wagonaar,  viiL 
142.. 

»  Bnice'a  *Leyc.  Corresp.*  1585; 
"And,"  said  he  to  the  Lord  Mayor  and 
AldennoQ  of  London,  **70u  may  all 
sleep  quietly  in  England,  so  long  as 
these  countries  may  bo  held  in  their 
earnest  good-wilL" 

*  Bor,  n.  722. 

Leicester  to  Buighley,  28  Juno, 
1336.  CaTcndish  to  same,  19  Junoy  l5dG. 


Leicester  to  the  Queen,  26  June,  1686. 
Same  to  same,  27  June,  1686.  Wilkes 
to  Lords  of  Council,  20  Aug.  1686, 
(a  P.  Office  MSS.) 

"The  Prince  of  Orange,"  said 
Cavendish  (MS.  vhi  8up.%  *' being  not 
ignorant  of  the  fiauds  H  the  States, 
often  levelled  at  this  matter  (a  finance- 
coundlX  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 


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LEICBSTER'S  FINANCE^nAMBER. 


71 


Buys  was  appointed  by  Leicester  to  fill  a  subordinate  position 
in  the  new  council  .  He  spurned  the  offer  with  great  indig- 
nation, saying  that  Beingault  was  not  fit  to  be  his  clerk,  and 
that  ho  was  not  likely  himself,  therefore,  to  accept  a  humble 
post  under  the  administration  of  such  an  individual.  This 
scornful  refusal  filled  to  the  full  the  hatred  of  Leicester 
against  the  ex- Advocate  of  Holland.^ 

The  mercantile  interest  at  once  took  the  alarm,  because  it 
was  supposed  that  the  finance-chamber  was  intended  to  crush 
the  merchants.  Early  in  April  an  Act  had  been  passed  by 
the  state-council,  prohibiting  commerce  with  the  Spanish 
possessions.  The  embargo  was  intended  to  injure  the  obe- 
dient Provinces  and  their  sovereign,  but  it  was  shown  that  its 
effect  would  be  to  blast  the  commerce  of  Holland.  It  for- 
bade the  exportation  from  the  republic  not  only,  of  all  provi- 
sions 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 
It  would  certainly  seem,  at  first  sight,  that  such  an 


things,  thero  ia  one  impost  granted  by 
favour  to  somo  parties  for  lOOL  by  tho 
year,  which  is  indeed  worth  8,000/. 
With  these  tricks  have  they  enriched 
themselves,  all  which  devices  must 
now  quail.'*  If  such  stories,  which 
were  daily  whispered  into  Leicester's 
cars^  had  a  shadow  of  foundation,  it 
was  not  surprising  that  ho  should  ex- 
pect to  increase  tho  revenue  by  a  more 
judicious  farming.  But  he  never 
found  his  "  mountains  of  gold,"  nor 
any  collector  who  could  turn  a  hun- 
dred pounds  into  eight  thousand.  '*I 
have/'  said  Leicester  (Letters  to  the 
Queen,  ubi  sup.\  "established,  against 
the  wills  of  somo  here,  a  chamber  of 
linanoe,  by  which  I  sliall  be  sure  to 
bo  privy  to  tho  levying  and  bestowing 
of  all  their  revenues — a  matter  your 
Majesty  hath  often  sought  to  under- 
stand  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.  I  trust 
shortly  to  have  very  assured  know- 
ledge to  satisfy  your  Majesty  of  the 
States*   ability,    which    thing    I    havo 


gono  about  from  tlio  beginning.  I 
hope,  within  twenty  days,  to  givo 
your  Majesty  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  witli  them  of  late, 
to  bring  the  office  of  finance  to  pass. 
I  had  a  g^ood  will  to  have  dealt  long 
since  roundly  with  them,  I  confess, 
but  my  caso  was  too  well  known  to 
them.  But  as  soon  as  my  heartening 
came  from  mine  old  supporter,  I  was 
found  a  more  shrew  than  your  Mijesty 
will  beUeve;  fc«r  mine  old  patience 
hath  been  too  much  tried  since  I 
came  from  my  quiet  home  to  this 
wayward  generation." 

"I  find  that  until  tho  thne  of  my 
coming  hither,"  said  Wilkes  (Letter 
to  Council,  ubi  sup.),  "  the  States  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  hir  Majesty  the  whole  state  of 
their  strength.  »  Eor,  IL  722. 

•  Bor,  IL  703,  scq,  who  is,  however, 


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THE  UNITED  NETHERLAlSrDS. 


Chap^  X 


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.  Leic^ter  expected  to  derive  a  con- 
siderable revenue  by  granting  passports  and  licenses  to 
such  neutral  traders,  but  the  edict  became  so  unpopular 
that  it  wtfs  never  thoroughly  enforced,  atid  was  before  long 
rescinded/ 

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

Another  important  Act  had  been  directed  against  the  mer- 
cantile interest,  and  excited  much  general  discontent.  The 
Netherlands  wished  the  staple  of  the  English  cloth  manufac- 
ture 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  conmiittee  to  confer  with  Leicester.  Ho 
was  much  impressed  with  their  views,  and  with  the  sagacity 
of  their  chairman,  one  Mylward,  "a  wise  fellow  and  well 
languaged,  an  ancient  man  and  very  religious,"  as  the  Earl 
pronounced  him  to  be.* 

Notwithstanding  the  wisdom  of  this  well-languaged  fellow, 
however,  the  Queen,  for  some  strange  reason,  could  not  bo 


mistaken  in  nscribing  tho  measure  to 
the  inspiration  of  Leicester. 

*  Bor,  II.,  103,  aeq,  Wagenaar,  viil 
14t,  acq.  who  is  in  this  matter  even 
more  unjust  to  tlio  Earl  than  con- 
temporary authorities. 

■  Leicester  to  the  Queen,  11  Oct 
1586.    (S.  P.  Office  MS.) 

*'  I  have  very  good  testimony  of  aU 
the  council  here,"  said  the  £ari,  "that 
I  only  in  council  stood  against  the 
placard,  insomuch  it  lay  a  month  by, 
for  indeed  I  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  i 
did  refuse  to  let  it  pass,  M  length, 
holh  States  and  eomcU  renewed  the 
matter  again  to  me,  and  showed  me 


presently  how  the  like  had  been  done, 
and  what  profit  it  would  bring,  pres- 
sing me  to  give  it  some  consideration 
in  council  to  be  debated.  It  went  so 
through  them  all  as  there  was  not  a 
man  spake  against  it,  yet  my  resolu- 
tion being  to  be  had,  I  would  give  no 
consent  tUl  I  had  advertised  your  Ma- 
jesty thereoC  which  they  all  liked  wolL 
And  after  it  was  agreed  and  published, 
it  was  again  by  my  means  revoked  and 
qualified,  as  doth  appear  by  record.** 

Compare  Meteren,  xiil  234'*.  Wago- 
naar,  ubi  sup,  Bor,  tibi  wp,  who 
seems  to  bo  mistaken  on  this  pdnt 

The  real  author  of  tiie  edict  was 
Reingault    (Meteren,  uU  sup) 

•  Leicester  to  Bui^ey,  29  July. 
1686.    (S.  P.  Office  MS.) 


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1586L 


DISCONTENT  OP  THE  IfBEOAKTUB  CLASSEa 


T3 


induced  to  change  the  staple  from  Emden,  although  it  was 
diown  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 
ihey  cried  than  that  England  should  weep."^ 

Thus  the  mercantile  community,  and  especially  the  patri- 
cian &iDilies  of  Holland  and  Zeeland,  all  engaged  in  trade, . 
became  more  and  more  hostile  to  the  governor-general  and 
to  Ms' financial  trio,  who  were  soon  almost  as  impopular  a3 
the  famous  Consul ta  of  Cardinal  Granvelle  had  been.     It  was 
the  custom  of  the  States  to  consider  the  men  who  surrounded 
the  Earl  as  needy  and  unprincipled  renegades  and  adventurers. 
It  ^vas  the  policy  of  his  advisers  to  represent  the  merchants 
and  tho  States — ^which  mainly  consisted  of,  or  were  controlled 
^7  nierchants — ^as  a  body  of  corrupt,  selfish,  greedy  money- 
gutters.* 


/ 


.^L^cester   to  Burghley,    10   Aug. 
lo86.^     (a  P.  Office  MS.) 

*  The  wonderfhl  cunning  dealing 

^  (hose  fOatos  here  called  the  States 

2°?coming   tho  finances  and  the  re- 

JrJ*  ^  revenue,  whereupon  the  people 

f^  .S^^eatlj  grieyed,  and  themselvea, 

^    *«     thought^    no    less    enriched." 

^^reoOish  to  Buighler,  0  April,  1686. 

^^,,^Offloe  M&) 

Xjot^^^  States  bo  dy  persons,"  said 
^ij^^  ^orth,  "inconstant  and  troachcr- 
gQ^  .^l>e  most  of  them  Papists  (I),  and 
set-^IP^  as  ihey  will  do  any  turn  to 
H^TT^  themselves.  If  they  again  find 
Jx^^^  ^er  M«^*esty  likes  not  of  my 
tii,^^^  authority,  they  will  doubt  of 
-Qj^^"  own  safety,  practise  their  own 
p[^?^»  and  leave  my  Lord  and  all  his 
rt^j^?'^  spirit  of  tho  enemy.  North  to 
•o^^^ley,  23  May,  158G.    (S.  P.  Office 

^^  TThese  bo  dainty  and  dangerous 
^plo  to  deal  withal,"  said  Leicester, 
Tspedally  when  they  shall  be  des- 
perate of  their  hope,  and  disappointed 
of  tbeh*  help.  I  must  say  truly  to 
par  Mtjesty  I  do  find  some  of  the 
best  sort  as  honest  and  as  thankM  as 
orer  I  knew  men,  and  some  others  as 
perverse  and  as  ingrate  as  might  weU 
be  Fpared  out  of  all  good  company. 


There  aro  also  men  who  are  able,  and 
do  most  hurt  .  .  •  These  men  begin 
utterly  to  despair  of  your  Majesty's 
good  assistance,  and  an  apt  time  is 
offered  now  for  the  lewd  and  bad 
disposed  persons  to  work  their  feat" 
Leicester  to  the  Queen,  6  June,  1586. 
(a  P.  Office  MS.) 

"The  whole  i)eople,"  said  Caven- 
dish, "  are  hero  so  addicted  to  her 
Majesty,  and  in  respect  of  her  to  my 
Lord,  in  whom  they  find  such  inces- 
sant travail  and  care  ibr  her  service 
and  their  general  good,  and  in  respect 
of  whom  tiiey  would  willingly  easier 
or  rather  hang  all  those  called  States. 
Your  Lordship  may  think  I  write 
veh^nently,  but  I  know  I  write  truly." 
Cavendish  to  Burghley,  10  June,  1586. 
(S.  P.  Office  M&) 

"It  will  be  a  harder  matter,"  said 
Leicester  again,  "than  jou  can  ima- 
gine, to  bring  this  State  in  that  tune 
it  was  three  months  past  It  will 
require  a  whole  and  fiill  countenanco 
from  her  M^sty  and  witli  all  speed 
possible,  if  you  will  have  it  kept  fi^m 
the  enemy.  And  beware  these  fellows 
do  not  prevent  her  Majesty.  If  th^ 
do,  you  can  consider  how  harmibl  it 
is  like  to  prove,  and  (hough  Ihey  he 
I  counted  dullards  and  drunkards^  thrj 


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THB  XTNITBD  KETHERLANDa 


Chap.  X.' 


The  calumnies. put  in  circulation  against  the  States  by 
Beingault  and  his  associates  grew  at  last  so  outrageous,  and 
the  prejudice  created  in  the  mind  of  Leicester  and  his  imme- 
diate 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  misrepresentations  on  her  Majesty's 
government.^      Leicester,    on    the    other    hand,    under    tho 


Tiave  shrewd  and  subOe  heads  as  ever  I 
found  anywhere.  ....  The  lest  man 
in  England  were  not  too  good^  as  mat- 
ters standi  to  be  employed  kUher^  either 
to  encourage  them  thoroughly^  or  to 
understand  their  estate  more  deeply.^* 
Leicester  to  Bui^hley,  20  July,  1586. 
(S.  P.  Office  MS.) 

"  I  did  never  see  such  heady  people 
as  these  States  are,"  said  the  Earl,  once 
more,  '^I  cannot  blame  the  common 
scrt  to  mislike  them,  for  there  is  no 
reasoning    against     their    resolutions. 

There  must  be  very  wise  and 

good  handlmg  had  in  these  causea 
There  is  no  more  such  people  to  deal 
withal  again.  I  mean  these  that  bo 
rich  and  politic  fellows.  They  hunt 
after  their  o^ti  wealth  and  surety, 
and  without  an  assurance  of  a  strange 
assistance  they  will  bo  suddenly  gone, 
and  it  Is  high  time  to  look  into  the 
course  her  Majesty  will  take  here- 
after." Same  to  Eame,  29  July,  1586. 
(a  P.  Office  Ma) 

"They  have  given  to  my  Lord  of 
Leicester,"  said  Wilkes,  "  a  govern- 
ment with  the  word  absolute,  but  wiUi 
so  many  restrictions  that  his  authority 
is  limited  almost  to  nothing,  and  he  is 
in  truth  for  tho  politio  government 
but  their  servant;  having  reserved  to 
themselves,  besides  the  sovereignty, 
the  disposing  of  all  the  contributions 
(saving  the  monthly  allowance^  the 
church  goods,  confiscations,  choice  of 
officers  ....  and  to  keep  themselvea 
fbom  rendering  account  of  anything, 
they  do  impugn  his  court  of  &iances 
now  erected,  alleging  that  he  hath 
not  authority  to  erect  any  such  court, 
or  to  establish  offices  without  their 
license."  Wilkes  to  Lords  of  Council, 
20  Aug.  1686.    (a  P.  Office  MS.) 

"  Tho  exactions  and  excises  aro  in- 


credible that  are  laid  on  tills  people," 
said  Bigges,  "and  such  as  in  all  pro- 
bability do  amount  to  three  times  as 
much  (/)  as  the  200,000  Jlorins  monthly 
which  they  allow  his  Excellency  to 
prosecute  tho  war.  The  rest  they 
divide  among  themselves  .  .  .  giving 
great  stipends  to  €k>unt  HoUodc, 
Count  Maurice,  Count  Meiu^  Count 
"William,  and  many  colonels.  But,  for 
all  thut,  the  States  offer  that  thero 
shall  bo  new  impositions  to  levy 
more."  T.  Digges's  *  Advertisement  of 
present  state  of  tho  Low  Countries,' 

-  March,  1586.    (a  P.  Office  Ma) 

*  "  You  have  doubtless  understood," 
said  the  States,  "of  the  erection  of 
the  finance-council  for  the  better  hus- 
banding of  the  money  furnished  by 
thiBse  countries,  of  the  which  Jacques 
Bingault  is  ordained  treasurer.  .... 
Stephen  Perret  (a  seditious  person, 
often '  imprisoned,  and  a  fraudulent 
bankrupt),  being  come  out  of  Antwerp 
after  the  jrielding  up  of  tho  same, 
hath  kept  correspondenco  with  Bin- 
gault, whilst  he  was  in  England. 
Very  shortly  after  the  coming  of  his 
Excellency  into  these  countries,  ho 
hath  sought  by  all  possible  means  to 
bring  him  in  suspicion  and  jealousy 
by  the  Estates  of  tho  country,  and 
propounded  manifold  novelties  unto 
his  Excellency  whereby  to  levy  money, 
femd  in  the  propounding  thereof  shame" 
fuUy  slandered  (he  Estates  with  ir\ju- 
rious,  seditious,  and  untrue  reports  and 
drifts.  After  Ringault's  arrival  hero^ 
he  hath  found  means  to  get  in  better 
credit  by  his  Excellency,  and,  laying 
their  heads  together,  and  either  being 
set  awork  by  the  enemy  or  else  thinking 
to  enrich  themsetves  out  of  the  calamity 
and  misery  of  these  countries^  have 


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1586. 


PAUL  BUYS  AND  THE  OPPOSITION. 


75 


inspiration  of  his  artful  advisers,  was  vehement  in  his  en- 
treaties that  Orteli  should  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  Hol- 
land, 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  the  States 
were  offering  the  sovereignty  to  France,  and  had  been  on  the 
point  of  taking  service  in  Denmark.  ■  He  had  afterwards  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.  Lei- 
cester had  originally  courted  him,  caressed  him,  especially  re- 
commended him  to  the  Queen's  favour,  given  him  money — as 
he  said,  "  two  hundred  pounds  sterling  ttiick  at  a  time" — and 


mado  agreement  between  them  in 
April  kst  that  all  that  which  they,  by 
means  of  any  new  invention  bj  them 
already  propounded  or  yet  to  be  pro- 
ponnded  unto  his  Excellency,  should 
get  or  enjoy,  (hat  Vie  dome  should  be 
divided  hdwem  (hem.  And  after  that 
be  sought  of  his  Excellency  the  20th 
penny  of  all  that  which  should 
proceed  of  his  pretended  inventions. 
To  which  end  Biogault,  with  his  own 
band,  has  drawn  an  octroi,  or  warrant, 
and  got  his  Excdlonoy  to  sign  tho 
some,  without  knowledge  of  the  coun- 
cil, or  any  of  the  secretaries,  namely, 
that  he  should  have  the  30th  penny. 
They  have  also  taken  great  pains  to 
change  the  course  of  tho  common 
means,  which  so  laudably  and  with 
sudi  great  travail  his  Excellency  of 
worthy  memorr  (William  of  Orange) 
brought  in  tram,  and  so  to  bring  it 
into  coDectation,  thereby  to  intrude 
themselves  and  such  other  (havhig  no 
credit)  to  fkrm  any  of  the  said  general 
means  in  the  coUectation.'  The  fore- 
said Perret  and  Rmgault  have  also 
travailed  by  all  means  to  set  mis- 
understanding between  his  Excellency 
and  the  Estates  and  the  council  •  of 
state,  and  practised  many  unlawful 
devices  to  alter  the  estate  of  the 
countries,  and  to  get  bis  Excellency 


to  do  all  that  which  they  imagmcd  to 
serve  to  their  intent  To  which:  end 
they  have  used  many  imheard-of  and 
indecent  proceedings  without  order  of 
law,  and  agamst  the  privileges  and 
customs  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,  applying  unto  them- 
selves and  their  fhends  (a  company  of 
strangers)  many  offices  and  receipts, 
thinking  to  deal  with  the  same  ac- 
cording, to  their  own  pleasure  and 
appetite.  All  which  wo  have  at  lai^ 
imparted  to  Mr,  WiUcea,  showed  him 
the  original  pieces^  and  given  him  good 
instruction  by  writing  thereol^  to  tho 
end  he  may  give  her  Majesty  and  her 
honourable  council  to  understand  the 
personage  of  these  two  spirits.*'  States 
of  Holland  and  Zeeland  to  Orteli,  12 
Sept  158&    (a  P.  Office  MR) 

*  "  You  have  there  his  (Paul  Buys's) 
agent  OrteU.  It  were  well  he  were 
thence.  I  did  send  twice  for  him, 
but  bo  oxcuseth  himself"  Leicester 
to  Burghley,  20  July,  1686.  (S.  P. 
Office  MS.)  Compare  *Leyc  Corresp.' 
311. 

»  Bart  Clerk  to  Burghley,  24  July, 
1586.    <S.  P.  Office  Ma) 


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THB  UNITBD  NETHKBLAKDS. 


Chap.  X. 


openly  pronounced  him  to  be  "in  ability  above  all  men."^ 
<^No  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  4&iigerous  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  f  "  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  Majesty ;  a  prac- 
tiser  to  make  himself  rich  and  great,  and  nobody  else ;" 
^^  among  aU  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  drunkard  in  the  worst  degree." 

Where  the  Earl  hated,  his  hatred  was  apt  to  be  deadly,  and 
ho  was  determined,  if  possible,  to  have  the  life  of  the  detested 
Paul  "  You  shaU  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  congratulating  the  government  on  his 
having  at  length  procured  the  execution  of  Captain  Hemart, 
the  surrenderor  of  Grave,  he  added,  pithily,  "and  you  shall 
hear  that  Mr.  P.  B.  shall  follow." « 


*  Leicester  to  Burghlcy,  10  Aug. 
1586.    (S.  P.  Office  MS.) 

«  n)id. 

8  Leicester  to  Bqrghley,  20  Jane, 
1086.  Same  to  same,  10  Aug.  Ij586. 
Same  to  same,  20  JtUy,  1586.  B. 
Clerk  to  same,  24  July.  (&  P.  Offioe 
MSS.) 


Bruce^B  'Leya  Corre^*  130,  291, 
303,  310,  311,  313,  352.  Cavendish 
observed  that  ^  there  were  many  false 
brethren  in  the  higher  Ibnn  among 
the  people,  of  whom  he  feared  that 
Paul  Buys  would  not  prove  Uie 
pmanS,"  Cavendish  to  Buighley,  15 
June,  1586.    (S.  P.  Office  MS!) 


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1586. 


KEXS  TSSLQIBT  OF  PAUL  BUYS. 


77 


Yet  tke  Eai'l's  real  griefs  agamst  Buys  may  foe  easily 
Bommed  up.  The  lewd  sinner,  nursled  in  revolutions,  had 
detected  the  secret  policy  of  the  Queen's  government,  and 
wag  therefore  perpetually  denouncing  the  intrigues  going  on 
with  Spain.  He  complained  that  her  Majesty  was  tired  of 
havmg  engaged  in  the  Netherland  enterprise  ;  he  declared  that 
she  would  be  glad  to  get  faurly  out  of  it ;  that  her  reluctance 
to  spend  a  farthing  mote  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  hank- 
ering after  a  p^u;e.  He  ^  said  that  the  Earl  had  a  secret 
intention  to  possess  himself  of  certain  towns  in  Holland,  in 
which  case  tiie  whole  question  of  peace  and  war  woidd  be  in 
the  hands  of  the  Queen,  who  would  also  have  it  thus  in  her 
power  to  reimbursd  herself  at  once  for  all  expenses  that  she 
had  incurred.^ 

It  would  be  difficult  to  show  that  there  was  anything  very 
calumnious  in  these  chaiges,  which,  no  doubt,  Paul  was  in 
the  habit  of  makings  As  to  the  economical  tendencies  of 
her  Majesty,  sufficient  evidence  has  been  given  already  from 
Leicester's  private  letters.  "  Rather  than  spend  one  hundred 
pounds,"  said  Walsingham,  "she  can  be  content  to  be  de- 
ceived of  five  thousand."^  That  she  had  been  concealing 
fix)m  the  States,  from  Walsingham,  from  Leicester,  during 
the  whole  summer,  her  secret  n^otiations  with  Spain,  has 
also  been  made  apparent.  That  she  was  disgusted  with 
the  enterprise  in  which  she  had  embarked,  Walsingham, 
Borghley,  Hatton,  and  all  the  other  statesmen  of  England, 
most  abundantly  testified.  Whether  Leicester  had  really  an 
intention  to  possess  himself  of  certain  cities  in  Holland — a 
charge  made  by  Paul  Buys,  and  denounced  as  especially 
slanderous  by  the  Earl — ^may  better  appear  from  his  own 
private  statements. 


"Paul  Boya— atfH  giving  out 
daoderous  speeches— for  that  1  only 
sought  Uy  .  .  .  ifet  their  towns  .... 
that  thereby,  whensoever  her  Mcjestj 
should  think  good  to  treat  for  peace, 


....  I  should    hereby   bo    able   to 
compel  them  to  what  end  she  should 
think   good."    Leicester   to  Walaiiig- 
ham,  20  July,  1586,  in  Bruce,  376. 
•  Bruco's  'Loyc.  Ck)rresp.'  273.  * 


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78 


THE  UNITED  NETHERLANDS. 


Chap.  Z. 


'•'  This  I  mil  do"  he  wrote  to  the  Queen,  "  and  I  hope  not 
to  fail  o/ity  to  get  into  my  hands  three  or  four  most  principal 
places  in  North  Holland^  which  will  be  such  a  strength  and 
assurance  for  your  Majesty^  as  you  shall  see  you  shaU  both 
rule  these  men  and  make  war  or  peace  as  you  listy  always 
provided — whatsoever  you  heary  or  is— part  not  with  tJie 
Brill ;  and  having  these  places  in  your  handSj  whensoever 
should  chance  to  these  countries,  your  Majesty j  I  will  warrant 
sure  enough  to  make  what  peace  you  will  in  an  hour,  and  to 
have  your  debts  and  charges  readily  answered"  ^  At  a  some- 
what 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  formerly  stood  high  in  Leicester's  opinion.  He 
was  a  '^  plain,  faithful  soldier,  a  most  valiant  gentleman,"  and 
ho  was  still  more  important,  because  about  to  marry  Mary  of 
Nassau,  eldest  daughter  of  William  the  Silent,  and  coheiress 
with  Philip  William,  to  the  Buren  projierty.  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  solenm,''  and  withdrawn 
himself  almost  entirely. 

Maurice,  with  his  "solenm  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  mar- 
ring," so  Leicester  thought,  "as  he  met  with  good  counsel." 
He  had  formerly  been  on  intimate  terms  with  the  governor- 
general,  who  affected  to  call  him  his  son  ;  but  he  had  subse- 
quently kept  aloof,  and  in  three  months  had  not  come  near 
him.^    The  Earl  thought  that  money  might  do  much,  and  was 


'  Leicester  to  tbo  Queen,  27  Juno, 
1586.    (S.  P.  Office  MS.) 

*  **The  Ck)unt  Maurice  bath  not 
been  three  months  with  his  Lordship. 
He  is  utterly  discontej^ted,  and  mudi 
advised    by  Ste.  Aldegondc,  who   h 


assuredly  the  King  of  Spain's,  and 
practiseth  (as  an  instrument  of  sedi- 
tion) to  animate  the  Goun^  by  all 
means  possible,  to  thwart  my  Lord  in 
the  course  of  her  Miyesty's  service. 
The  Ck>unt,  well  advised  by  Ste.  Aide- 


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1580. 


TEUCflSBSS  BECOMES  A  SPY  UPON  HIM. 


79 


anxiotis  for  Sir  Francis  Drake  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 
toolate.^ 

Meantime  ho  did  what  he  could  with  Elector  Truchsess  to 
lure  them  back  again.  That  forlorn  little  prelate  was  now 
poorer  and  more  wretched  than  ever.  He  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  languages,  his  person,"  said  the  Earl,  "all 
would  like  her  well.  He  is  in  great  melancholy  for  his  town 
of  Neusz,  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  commuiiicated 
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  susjHcion,  to  obtain  his  information  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  wag  very  communicative  in  his  cups, 
and  very  bitter  against  the  governor-general,  there  was  soon 
such  a  fund  of  information  collected  on  the  subject  by  various 


gonde  and  Vflliera,  repineth  secretly 
that  her  Majesty  ehomd  ha^e  any- 
thing  to  do  in  the  government  of  ihe 
country.  It  is  to  be  feared  his  hidden 
maiice  will  do  mach  misobief,  and 
many  ill  ofiBcea  in  the  common  cause 
now  in  band."  '  Matters  to  be  related 
to  her  Majesty  by  a  special  messenger 
from  the  Earl  of  Leicester/  20  Jane, 
1586.    (a  P.  Office  MS.) 


The  opinion  hero  expressed  in  re- 
gard to  Sainte  Aldegonde  was  subse- 
quently and  distinctly  contradicted  by 
"Wilkes. 

*  Brace's  'Loya  Corresp.'  374. 
«  Ibid.  378. 

«  Ibid.  374. 
4  Ibid.  377. 

•  Ibid.  377. 


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80  THE  XJNITBD  NBTHERLANDa  Chap.  X 

eaves-droppers,  that  Leicester  was  in  hopes  of  very  soon 
hangipg  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  dechure  herself,  vigorously  and  generously,  in  their 
favour  ;  but,  as  this  was  the  perpetual  cry  of  Leicester  him- 
self, there  seemed  hardly  hanging  matter  in  thai  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  f  and  the  first 
fruits  of  this  good  mind  were,  that  the  holiest  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  ener- 
getic Count  continued  to  be  "  governed  greatly "  by  the  ex- 
archbishop,  and  "  did  impart  wholly  unto  him  his  most  secret 
heart." 

Thus  the  "  deep  wise  Truxy,"  as  Leicester  called  him,  con- 
tinued to  earn  golden  opinions,  and  followed  up  his  conversion 
of  Hohenlo  by  undertaking  to  "  bring  Maurice  into  tune  again 
also,"  and  the  young  Prince  was  soon  on  better  terms  with  "his 
"  affectionate  fether  "  than  he  had  ever  been  before.* 

Paul  Buys  was  not  so  easily  put  down,  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  q^uarrel  between  himself  and  Edward 
Norris,  to  which  allusion  will  soon  be  made,  tended  to 
increase  the  dissatisfaction,  althougb  he  singularly  misun- 
derstood Leicester's  sentiments  throughout  the  whole  affair. 
Hohenlo  recovered  of  his  wound  before  Zutphen ;  but,  on  his 
recovery,  was  more  malcontent  than  ever.*  The  Earl  was 
obliged  at  last  to  confess  iliat  ^^  he  was  a  very  dangerous  man, 
inconstant,  envious,  and  hateful  to  all  our  nation,  and  a  very 

*  Bnioe'a  'Lejx.  Correap.'  372. 
*  Ibid.  87e.  •  Ibid.  878. 


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INTBIGUBS  OF  BUYS  WITH  DKNMARK. 


81 


traitor  to  the  cause.  There  is  no  dealing  to  win  him/'  he 
added,  "  I  have  sought  it  to  my  cost.  His  best  friends  tell  me 
he  is  not  to  be  trusted."  ^ 

Meantime  that  lewd  sinnqr^  the  indefatigable  Paul,  was 
plotting   desperately — so    Leicester    said    and    believed— to 
transfer  the  sovereignty  of  the  Provinces  to  the  King  of  Den- 
mark.   Buys,  who  was  privately  of  opinion  that  the  States 
required  a^  absolute  head,  ^'  though  it  were  but  an  onion's 
head,"*  and    that    they  would  thankfully  continue    under 
Leicester  as  governor  absolute  if  Elizabeth  would  accept  the 
sovereignty,  had  made  up  his  mind  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 
same  way  of  thinking.     Young  Count  Bantzan,  son  of  a  dis- 
tinguished Danish  statesman,  made  a  visit  to  the  Netherlands 
JQ  order  to  confer  with  Buys.    Paul  was  also  anxious  to  be 
'Appointed  envoy  to  Denmark,  ostensibly  to  arrange  for  the 
*^o  thousand  cavalry,  which  the  King  had  long  before  pro- 
mised  for  the  assistance  of  the  Provinces,  but  in  reality,  to 
examine  the  details  of  this  new  project ;  and  Leicester  repre- 
sented to  the  Queen  very  earnestly  how  powerful  the  Danish 
monarch  would  become,  thus  rendered  master  of  the  nan-ow 
^^^7  and  how  formidable  to  England.* 

.--^ce's  'Leya  Corrcsp.'  446. 
-VjjJ**®*  ^""1  *^  formed  an  trnik- 
!??^^^  opinion  of  the  Count.  '•  I  do 
^nijd  that  the  States  or  people,"  he 
hS  J^^^  *°y  8^^®*^  affection  for 
batiM?*®  man  is  doubtless  valiant, 
'^ao,  bloody,  unfortunate,  and^b- 


woold '  ™any  imperfections.  They 
mj^^  "Willingly  be  rid  of  him,  if  they 
^^  Without  danger."  Wilkes  to 
/Q  tT^*^  of  Counca,  20  Aug.  1586. 
^  t^i  OflQoe  Ma) 

jjjjl  jT^^  Buys  .  .  perceiving  of  late," 
etjj  r^lcester,  "that  your  Uaj.  mean- 
couuS?*  to  proceed  so  fSur  in  these 
not  fi»?^  ^  *^®  looked^for,  or  rather 
^^Qlng  himself  the  absolute  dirco- 


tor  and  governor  as  he  would  be,  is 
secretly  working  to  make  a  king  in- 
deed over  those  two  countries,  Hol- 
land and  Zeeland,  and  one  he  doth 
insinuate  unto  men's  minds  already  all 
Uiat  ever  he  can,  is  the  King  of  Den- 
mark—A matter  not  unlike  to  come  to 
pass,  if  your  M%j.  shall  not  assure  these 
people  of  the  continnance  of  your 
&vonr,  whidi,  if  they  should  be,  all  the 
princes  of  the  world  cannot  win  them 
from  you.  But  this  lewd  sinner  loseth 
no  Ume,  where  he  can  be  heard,  to 
inform  men  how  fickle  a  trust  there  is 
to  be  had  of  your  Migesty's  fiivour  or 
promise^  repenting  withal  greatly  that 
he  ever  procured  me  over,  being  in- 
deed, as  he  says,  sinee  Men  out  in  no 

better  grace  ^ith  you. If  the 

King  should  have  these  two  provinces 


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THB  UNITED  NETHERLANDS. 


Chap.  X 


In  the  midst  of  these  plottings^  real  or  supposed^  a  party  of 
armed  meD^  one  fine  Bummer's  morning^  suddenly  entered 
Paul's  bedroom  as  he  lay  asleep  at  the  house  of  the  buigo- 
master,  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  politician,  according  to  Leicester's  state- 
ment, "  the  Queen  of  England  will  for  ever  hate  me."  The 
Earl  disavowed  all  participation  in  the  arrest;  but  he  was 
not  believed.  He  declared  himself  not  sorry  that  the  measure 
had  been  taken,  and  promised  that  he  would  not  ^'  be  hasty 
to  release  him,"  not  doubting  thflit  "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  intrigue  with  Denmark — ^never  proved — and  com- 
menced, if  undertaken  at  all,  in  utter  despair  of  Elizabeth's 
accepting  the   sovereignty,  was  the   gravest  charge.    He  re- 


absoluteljr  as  kiog,  70U  must  assure 
yourself  he  will  be  lord  and  commander 
over  t^e  narrow  seas,  and  all  your 
traffics,  east  and  northward,  wholly* 
under  bis  restraint,  for  he  vkU  be  the 
wdy  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  Airther  know- 
le^  of  this  matter,  and  to  prevent 
Master  Buys  well  enough.  P.  B.  hath 
flatly  said  to  me,  of  late,  that  the  King 
of  Denmark  were  the  fittest  lord  for 
them  in  Christendom,  next  your  Mch 
jesty,"  Leicester  to  tiie  Queen,  20 
Juno,  1586.    (&  P.  Office  Ma) 

"It  is  feared,"  said  Coz,  specially 
deputed  by  Leicester  to  report  this 
matter  to  the  Queen's  government, 
**  that  the  King  of  Denmark  is  aliena- 
ted, and  wouM  bo  glad  to  have  the 
sovereignty  of  these  countries  himself 
Paul  Buys  hath  not  spared  of  late  to 
intend  such  a  practice,  and  partici- 
pating the  same  with  Ck>unt  Maurice^ 
alleging  plainly  to  his  Lordship,  that 
it  is  commonly  spoken  and  received  as 
current  money,  that  her  Mqesty  will 
abandon  that  cause  and  people  at 
Michaehnas,  and  this  being  so,  that  it 
were  fit  for  them  to  think  of 


other  prince,  who  might  protect  and 
defend  them,  before  they  should  fall 
into  fhrther  misery.  He  was  of  opmion 
that  the  King  of  Denmark  would  most 
gladly  entertain  the  action.  He  was 
strong  m  shippmg,  and  best  able^  in 
that  respect,  to  defend  the  best  part 
of  their  countries,  which  was  Holland 
and  Zeeland.  His  speeches  were  often 
intermingled  with  many  coloured  pro- 
testations, how  much  he  desired  that 
her  Mi^.  would  continue  their  gracious 
lady  in  the  cause,  as  the  fittest  prin- 
cess to  yield  them  comfort  in  their 
calamities,  yet  hath  his  Lordship  been 
certainly  informed  that  he  practiseth 
with  all  earnestness  to  bring  this  mat- 
ter to  pass  for  the  King  of  Denmark, 
and  hath  greatiy  desired  that  he  may 
be  the  man  to  go  into  Denmark  to 
solicit  for  the  2000  horses  promised, 
for  the  end  be  may  better  disguise  his 
purpose  under  this  colour,"  kc  'Mat- 
ters to  be  related  to  her  Majesty,'  20 
June,  1686.    (S.  P.  Office  Ma) 

Robert  8idney  was  subsequently 
sent  lo  Denmark  by  Leicester  to  look 
into  this  matter.  Wilkes  to  Lords  of 
Council   20  Aug.   1586.    (S.  P.  Office 

Ma) 


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1586.        HIS  IMPRISONMENT.— THE  EARL»S  UNPOPULARITY. 


83 


mained,  however,  six  months  in  prison,  and  at  the  beginning 
of  1587  was  released,  without  trial  or  accusation,  at  the 
request  of  the  En^h  Queen.^ 

The  States  could  hardly  be  blamed  for  their  opposition  to 
the  Earl's  administration,  for  he  had  thrown  himself  com- 
pletely into  the  arms  of  a  faction,  whose  object  was  to  vilipend 
and  traduce  them,  and  it  was  now  difficult  for  him  to  recovor 
the  functions  of  which  the  Queen  had  deprived  him.  ^^The 
government  they  had  given  from  themselves  to  me  stuck  in 
iheir  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  advo- 
cates. I  know  they  hate  ihem,"^  said  this  high-bom  tribune 
of  the  people.  He  was  much  disgusted  with  the  many-headed 
dumsBra,  tiie  monstrous  republic,  with  which  he  found  himself 
in  such  unceasing  conflict,  and  was  disposed  to  take  a  manful 
stand,  "  I  have  been  fain  of  late,"  he  said,  "  to  set  the  better 
1^  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  thdr  head,  was  that  they  were  liberal  towards  the  Papists. 
They  were  willing  that  Catholics  should  remain  in  the  country 
and  exercise  the  ri^ts  of  citiz^is,  provided  they  conducted 
themselves  like  good  citizens.  For  this  toleration — a  lesson 
which  statesmen  like  Buys  and  Bameveld  had  learned  in  the 
school  of  William  tlie  Silent — the  opposition-party  were  de- 


*Bor.  n.  726,  T26,  889,  890. 
HoofJ,  VeiTolgh,  166.  Wagenaar, 
YuL  16M63.  Bnioe's  *  Leya  Corresp.' 
352,  362-364^  386,  436. 

Leycester    to    Borghley,   20    Jul/, 


1586.    B.    Clerk   to   same,    24   Julr. 
1586.    (S.  P.  Office  MSS.) 
■  Brace's  'Leyc,  Corresp.'  312. 

•  Ibid.  424. 

*  Ibid.  312. 


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THE  UNITED  NETHERLANDS. 


Chap.  X. 


nounced  as  bolsterers  of  Papists,  and  Papists  themselves  at 
heart,  and  "  worshippers  of  idolatrous  idols."* 

f'rom  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  importance  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  tho 
welfare  of  their  country  as  were  the  Protestants  ;*  and  ho  was 
especially  enjoined  "  not  to  meddle  in  matters  of  religion." 
This  wholesome  advice  it  would  have  been  quite  impossible 
for  the  Earl,  under  the  guidsance  of  Reingault,  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 
perpetually  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  Catholics  alone  who  gave  tho 
governor  trouble.  He  was  likewise  very  busy  in  putting  down 
other  denominations  that  differed  from  the  Calvinists.  ^^  Your 
Majesty  will  not  believe,"  he  said,  "  the  number  of  sects  that 
are  in  most  towns  ;  especially  Anabiaptists,' Families  of  Love, 
Georgians,  and  I  know  not  what.  Tho  godly  and  good 
ministers  wero  molested  by  them  in  many  places,  and  ready 
to  give  over ;  and  even  such  diversities  grew  among  magis- 
trates in  towns,  being  caused  by  some  sedition-sowers  here."  * 
It  is  however,  satisfactory  to  reflect  that  tho  anabaptists  and 
&milie8  of  love,  although  discouraged  and  frowned  upon,  were 
not  biimed  alive,  buried  alive,  drowned  in  dungeons,  and 
roasted  at  slow  fires,  as  had  been  the  case  with  them  and  with. 


*  Digges's  '  Advertisement  of  the 
present  State/  fta  (a  P.  Office  liS. 
before  cited. 

« B.    aerk    to  Burghley,   24   July, 


1686.     (3.  P.  Office  Ma) 

8  Leicester  to  the  Qaeen,  20  Jmie^ 
1586.    (a  P.  Office  Ma) 

♦Ibid. 


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15S6.  HIS  QUABRKLS  WITH , THE  STATES.  85 

every  other  gpecies  of  Protestants,  by  thousands  and  tens '  of 
thousands,  so  long  as  Charles  Y.  and  Philip  II.  had  ruled  the 
territory  of  that  commonwealth.  Humanity  had  acqmred 
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 
governor-general  had  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 
beforo  Leicester's  arrival,  and  was  unquestionably  a  man  of 
larger  experience  than  the  Earl.  He  had,  however,  as  Wal- 
singham  complained,  acquired  by  his  services  in  "  countries 
where  neither  discipline  military  nor  religion  carried  any 
sway,"  a  very  rude  and  licentious  kind  of  government. 
"  Would  to  God,"  said  the  secretary,  "  that,  with  his  value 
and  courage,  ho  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.  Ho 
hated  Leicester,  and  was  furious  with  Sir  William  Pelham, 
whom  Leicester  had  made  marshal  of  the  camp.^  Ho  com- 
plained, not  tmjustly,  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  denounced  him  in  good  set  terms.  "  His  brother  Ed- 
ward is  as  ill  as  he,"  he  said,  "but  John  is  right  the  late  Earl 

'  Bruce's  *Leyc  Corresp.'  222. 
*  "Ho  stoisachs  greatly  tbo  Mareba],"  said  Leicester.  Ibid.  C79.     *  Ibid.  8 SO. 


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THE  UNITSD  NEtHBRLAKDS. 


Chap.  3L 


of  Sussex.'  son  ;  he  will  so  dissemble  and  croach,  and  so  cun- 
ningly carry  his  doings,  as  no  man  living  would  imagine  that 
there  were  half  the  malice  or  vindictiye  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  Eng- 
land, 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  like- 
wise ;  so  that  both  the  brothers,  who  had  never  been  afraid  of 
anything  since  they  had  been  born  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, 
Eoger  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  None,  of  the  iron  arm ;  "for  his  pride,"  said  the 
Earl,  "  was  the  spirit  of  the  deviL"*  The  governor  complained 
every  day  of  his  malignity,  and  vowed  that  he  "  neither  re- 
garded the  cause  of  God,  nor  of  his  prince,  nor  country."* 


*  Brace*a  *  Leya  CJorresp.*  301. 

•  *  Notes  of  Remembrances,  by  Mr. 
Edward  Norris,'  Sept  158a  (&  P. 
Office  MS.) 

•  "  His  Excellency  did  not  only  not 
mislike  withal  that  Lord  North,  Cap- 
tain William,  and  others,  should  rail 
•at  him,  bat  in  his  own  presence  did 
sofiTer  diyers  captains  and  noblemen  to 
brave  him,  and  did  himself  also  grow 
in  great  rages  against  him,  disallowing 
him  openly  for  wise  man,  honest  man, 
or  soldier;  preferring  many  men's 
wisdom  and  experience,  saymg  his 
patience  and  slyness  should  not  save 
him,  not  sparing  openly  to  threaten 
him  to  hBDf  him ;  so  that  of  every 
honest  man  it  is  feared  lest  some  mia- 
chief  shaU  ehorUy  he  wrought  hkny  Ibid. 

*  Sir  John  Norris  to  Walaingham, 
25  Oct  1686.    (a  P.  Office  M&) 


'  Leicester  to  Wilkes,  23  Aug.  (S.  P. 
Office  Ma)  •  Ibid. 

Wilkes,  on  the  contrary,  had  a  veiy 
favourable  opinion  of  Norris,  and 
always  secretly  defended  him  to  the 
Queen's  government  against  Leicester's 
chaiges.  **  Besides  the  value,  wisdom, 
and  many  other  good  parts  that  are  in 
the  man,"  he  said,  "I  have  noted  a 
wonderibl  patience  and  modesty  in 
bearing  many  apparent  ii^uries  done 
unto  him,  which  I  have  known  to  be 
countenanced  and  nourished,  contnuy 
to  all  reason,  to  disgrace  hun.  What- 
soever may  be  reported  maliciously  to 
his  disadvantage,  I  dare  avouch  that 
the  Queen  hath  not  a  second  sobfject  of 
his  place  and  quality  so  able  to  servo 
in  these  countries  as  he."  Wilkes  to 
Burghley,  17  Nov.  1586.  (S.  P.  Office 
Ma) 


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1586L 


AKD  WITH  THE  NORRISBS. 


87 


He  consorted  chiefly  with  Sir  Thomas  Cecil/  governor  of 
Brill,  son  of  Lord  Boi^hlej,  and  therefore  no  friend  to 
Leicester;  bat  the  Earl  protested  that  ^^ Master  Thomas 
shonld  bear  small  rule/'  ^  so  long  as  he  -was  himself  govemor- 
generaL  "  Now  I  have  Pelham  and  Stanley,  we  shall  do  well 
enough/'  he  said,  "  though  my  young  master  would  counte- 
nance him.  I  will  be  master  while  I  remain  here,  will  they, 
nillthey/'^ 

Edward  Norris,  brother  of  Sir  John,  gave  the  governor 
almost  as  much  trouble  as  he  ;  but  the  treasurer  Norris,  uncle 
to  them  both,  was,  if  possible,  more  odious  to  him  than  alL 
He  was — ^if  half  Leicester's  accusations  are  to  be  believed — 
a  most  in&mous  peculator.  One-third  of  the  money  sent  by 
the  Queen  for  the  soldiers  stuck  in  his  fingers.  He  paid  them 
their  wretched  four-pence  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  Leicester.* 

On  the  other  band.  Sir  John  maintained  that  his  uncle's 
accounts  were  always  ready  for  examination,  and  earnestly 
be^ed  the  home-government  not  to  condemn  that  functionary 
without  a  hearing.^  For  himself,  he  complained  that  he  was 
uniformly  kept  in  the  background,  left  in  ignorance  of  im- 
portant enterprises,  and  sent  on  difficult  duty  with  inade- 
quate forces.  It  was  believed  that  Leicester's  course  was 
inspired  by  envy,  lest  any  military  triumph  that  might  be 
gained  should  redound  to  the  glory  of  Sir  John,  one  of  the 
first  commanders  of  the  age,  rather  than  to  that  of  the 
governor-general.  He  was  perpetually  thwarted,  crossed, 
calumniated,  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  avail,  and  he  was  most  anxious  to  be  gone 
from  the  country.^ 


>  Letter  to  WDkea,  Ma  last  dtod. 

•  Brace's  *Leyc  Corresp.'  380. 
•Rid. 

•  Ibid.  299,  303. 

•  Leicester  to  the  Queen,  27  June, 


1586.    (a  P.  Office  MS.) 

*  Sir  J.  Norris  to  Burghley,  25  Uaj, 
1586.     (a  P.  Office  Ma) 

^  *  Notes  of  Remembrance,'  by  Ed. 
Norris^   Ma  before  dted     "His  Ex- 


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THB  UNITED  NBTHEBLANDa 


Chap.  X 


Thns  with  the  tremendous  opposition  formed  to  his  govern- 
ment in  the  States-Q^neral,  the  incessant  bickerings  with  the 
Norrises^  the  peculations  of  the  treasurer^  the  secret  negotiations 
with  Spain,  and  the  impossibility  of  obtaining  money  from  home 
for  himself  or  for  his  starving  little  army,  the  Earl  was  in  any- 
thing but  a  comfortable  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  had 
donc.^  The  Earl  was  generous  and  brave  as  man  could  be, 
full  of  wit,  quick  of  apprehension  ;  but  inordinately  vain, 
arrogant,  and  withal  easily  led  by  designing  persons.  He 
stood  up  manfully  for  the  cause  in  which  he  was  embarked, 
and  was  most  strenuous  in  his  demands  for  money.  "  Per- 
sonally he  cared,"  he  said,  "not  sixpence  for  his  post,  but 
would  givo  five  thousand  sixpences,  and  six  thousand  shillings 
beside,  to  bo  rid  of  it ; "  ^  but  it  was  contrary  to  his  dignity  to 
"  stand  bucking  with  the  States  "  for  his  salary.  "  Is  it  reason," 
he  asked,  "  that  I,  being  sent  from  so  great  a  prince  as  our 
sovereign  is,  must  come  to  strangers  to  beg  my*  entertainment 
If  they  are  to  pay  me,  why  is  there  no  remembrance  made  of 
it  by  her  Majesty^s  letters,  or  some  of  the  lords  ?  "^ 

The  Earl  and  those  around  him  perpetually  and  vehemently 
urged  upon  the  Queen  to  reconsider  her  decbion,  and  accept 
the  sovereignty  of  the  Provinces  at  once.    There  was  no  other 


cellency    doth  wonderfully    hate   my 

brother I  only  gather  these 

causes^"  said  Captain  Nonis:  "first, 
an  enTy  of  some  unworthy  men  about 
him^  who  put  into  his  Ezoellency^a 
head  that  as  long  as  Norris  were  here, 
the  honour  of  everything  would  be 
attributed  to  him,  and  that  he  would 
be  a  continual  hindrance  to  the  course 
that  his  Excellency  meant  to  hold 
concerning  some  things,  neither  should 
his  Excellency  have  any  absolute 
commandment  as  long  as  his  credit 
continued." 

'  Leicester  to  the  Queen,  27  June, 
1686.  "  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  2O,000L  of  their  own 
for  you  in  eeyen  months;  but  all  is 
in  mine  own  heart  so  little,  though 
the  greatest  portion  of  all  mr  land 
pay  for  it,  so  your  Majesty  do  well 
accept  of  it,"  &o* 

The  Eaii  expended — according  to 
his  own  report  to  the  States— three 
hundred  thousand  florins  (30,0001)  in 
the  course  of  the  year  1687.  (Bor, 
II.  783.  Hoofd,  Venrolgh,  206.)  Of 
course,  he  had  a  claim  for  such  dis- 
bursements on  the  Queen^s  exchequer, 
and  was  like  to  enforce  it  at  the  proper 
season. 

•  *L^c.Corpe8p.*378. 

*  mi  323. 


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1586.  HIS  CX)UNSEIiLO£S  WILEBS  AND  CLEBE.  89 

remedy  for  the  distracted  state  of  the  country— no  other 
8a%aard  for  England.  The  Netherland  people  anxiously, 
eeg^ly  desired  it.  Her  Majesty  was  adored  by  all  the  inha- 
bitants, 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  ain/'  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 
aflBiirs.  Leicester  having  expressly  ui^ed  the  importance  of 
selecting  as  wise  a  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  immediately  afterwards  to 
return  to  the  Netherlands  as  English  member  of  the  state- 
cormcil,  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  counsellor, 
Dr.  Bartholomew  Clerk,  was  to  remain,  and  the  Earl  declared 
that  he  too,  whom  he  had  formeirly  undervalued,  and  thought 
to  have  *' little  stuff  in  him,"  was  now  "increasing  greatly  in 
understanding."  '  But  notwithstanding  this  intellectual  pro- 
gress, poor  Bartholomew,  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- 
mally observed  to  Burghley,  "  what  a  hard  case  it  is  for  a  man 
that  these  fifteen  years  hath  had  vitam  sedentariamy  un- 


'  Leicester  to  Bnrghler,  10  Aug.  1586.    (&  P.  Office  Ma) 
'  Same  to  same,  20  Jmy,  1686. 
•  'Loyc.  Corresp.'  3t6, 


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90 


THB  UNHBD  IffBTHKBTiANDS. 


Chap.  X 


worthily  in  a  place  jadicid^  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  every  occasion  that 
falleth  out ;  hearing  many  insolences  with  silence,  bearing 
many  hard  measures  with  patience — a  course  most  different 
from  my  nature,  and  most  unmeet  for  him  that  hath  ever 
professed  learning."  ^ 

Wilkes  was  of  staner  stuff.  Always  ready  to  follow  the 
camp  and  to  face  Ihe  guns  and  drums  with  equanimity,  and 
endowed  beside  with  keen  political  insight,  he  was  more 
competent  than  most  men  to  unravel  the  confused  skein  of 
Netherland  politics.  He  soon  found  that  the  Queen's  secret 
n^tiations  with  Spain,  and  the  general  distrust  of  her  inten- 
tions in  regard  to  the  Provinces,  were  like  to  have  fatal  con- 
sequences. 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  Greenmch  secret  xsonferences,  ahready  described — to 
accept  the  Netherland  sovereignty.  ^^She  gathereth  from 
your  letter,"  wrote  Walsingfaam,  "  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  disposi- 
tion— ^the  one,  for  that  it  breedeth  a  doubt  qf  a  perpetual 
war,  the  other,  for  that  it  requireth  an  increase  of  chaiges — 
do  marveUoualy  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 


'  B.  Gerk  to  Burgfaley,  11  Aug. 
1586.    (a  P.  Office  Ma) 

'  Wilkes  to  the  Queen,  *l  Aug.  1586. 
Leicester  to  the  Queen,  27  June,  1586. 


(S.  P.  Office  MSa) 

*  Brace's  *Lejc  Corresp.*  340,  9th 
July,  1686. 


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U86.  LBTTES  FROM  THE  QUESK  TO  LEIOESTEa  91 

Earl's  commnnioatioiui  concerning  Maurice  and  Hohenio,  Sir 
John  Norris  and  the  treasurer^  in  characteristic  but  affectionate 
language.     And  thus  she  wrote  : — 

"Bob,  I  ^m  afraid  you  will  suppose,  by  my  wandering 
writings,  that  a  midsummer's  moon  hath  taken  large  posses- 
i|ion  of  my  brains  this  month ;  but  you  must  needs  take  thipgs 
as  they  come  in  my  head,  though  order  be  left  behind  me. 
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  so  I  will  be  diort  with  these  few  notes. 
First,  that  Count  Maurice  and  Count  HoUock  (Hoheolo)  find 
themselves  trusted  of  you,  esteemed  of  me,  and  to  be  carefully 
regarded,  if  ever  peace  should  happen,  and  of  that  assure  them 
•on  my  word,  that  yet  never  deceived  any.  And  for  Norris 
and  other  captains  ihatvoluntarilyy  withotttcommandmenty  have 
many  years  ventiored  their  lives  and  won  our  nation  honour  and 
themselves  fame,  let  them  not  be  discouraged  by  any  means, 
neither  by  new-come  men  nor  by  old  trained  soldiers  else- 
where. 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,  tiiat  well  deserve  rather  reward ;  and  look,  in 
whom  the  fault  may  truly  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  t 
I  pray  you  let  this  bearer  know  what  may  be  learned  herein, 
and  for  the  treasure  I  have  joined  Sir  Thomas  Shirley  to  see 
aU  this  money  discharged  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 ; 


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92 


THB  UNITED  NBTHERLANDa 


Chap.  X- 


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  ever  the  same, 

"E.R. 

"  P.  S.  Let  Wilkes  see  that  he  is  acceptable  to  you.  If  any- 
thing there  be  that  W.  shall  desire  answer  of  bo  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  mo  the  rest."  ^ 

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

One  August  evening  there  was  a  supper-party  at  Count 
HoUock's^  quarters  in  Gertruydenberg.    A  military  foray  into 

Aug.  6,    Brabant  had  just  taken  place,  under  the  lead  of 

1686.  the  Coimt,  and  of  the  Lord  Marshal,  Sir  William 
Pelham.  The  marshal  had  requested  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  HoUock — who  was  "greatly  in  love 
with  Mr.  Pelham"^— had  invited  several  other  gentlemen 
high  in  Leicester's  confidence  to  accompany  the  expe- 
dition ;  and,  among  the  rest,  Sir  Philip  Sidney,  telling  him 


*  Queen  to  Leicester,  19  July,  168G. 
(a  P.  Offioo  MS.) 

'  It  has  been  already  stated  that 
Hohenlo  was  uniformly  called  Hollach 
or  Hollodc  by  the  English  and  French, 
and  yery  often  by  the  Netherlanders. 
In  our  text,  sometimes  the  one,  some- 
times the  other,  appellaticm  is  used. 
The  reader  will  understand  that  there 


was  but  one  of  the  name  In  the  Pit>- 
Tmoes— Count  Philip  William  Hohenlo 
or  Hobenlohe^  oftener  called  HoUock. 

•  "Whereunto  the  colonel-general 
must  not  in  anywise  be  made  privy." 
'  Adyertisement  of  a  difference  at  Ger* 
truydenbei^.'  8  Aug.  1686.  (3.  P. 
Office  Ma) 

*  Brace's  *  Leya  Coiresp.*  374 


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^^^  A  SUPPER  PARTY  AT  HOHBNLCPS.  93 

^uat  ie  "fihonld    see    some  good   service."     Sidney  camo 

^riingly,  in  great  haste,  from  Flushing,  bringing  along 

^th  him  Edward  Norris — that  hot-headed  young  man,  who, 

^rding  to  Leicester,  ^'greatly  governed  his  elder  brother" 

"^but  they  arrived  at  Gtertruydenberg  too  late.    The  foray  was 

^^er,  and  the  party — "  having  burned  a  village^  and  hilled  some 

^^^*"— were  on  their  return.      Sidney,  not  perhaps  much 

^^^^netting  the  loss  of  his  share  in  this  rather  inglorious  shoot- 

^S  party,  went  down  to  the  water-side,  accompanied  by  Cap- 

^'^  Morris,  to  meet  Hollock  and  the  other  commanders. 

^  the  Count  stepi)ed  on  shore  he  scowled  ominously,  and 
loosed  Tcry  much  out  of  temper. 

^VTiat  has  come  to  Hollock  ?"  whispered  Captain  Patton, 
a  Scot<5hinan,  to  Sidney.  "  Has  ho  a  quarrel  with  any  of  the 
party  ?  Look  at  his  face  1  He  means  mischief  to  somebody." 
But  Sidney  was  equally  amazed  at  the  sudden  change  in 
the  G^eralan  general's  countenance,  and  as  unable  to  ex- 
plain it. 

"^O.  afterwards,  the  whole  party,  Hollock,  Lewis  William 

of  Naasau,  Lord  Carew,  Lord  Essex,  Lord  Willbughby,  both 

the  Sidneys,  Boger  Williams,  Pelham,  Edward  Norris,  and 

™  i^t,  went  to  the  Count's  lodgings,  where  they  supped, 

^^  ^terwards  set  themselves  seriously  to  drinking. 

•^orris  soon  perceived  that  he  was  no  welcome  guest ;  for 

^aa  not — ^like  Sidney — a  stranger  to  the  deep  animosity 

^^H  had  long  existed  between   Sir  John  Norris  and  Sir 

"'^iam  Pelham  and  his  friends.    Tho  carouse  was  a  tre- 

^^dotis  one,  as  usually  was  the  case  where  Hollock  was  the 

^^'phitiTOii?  ^^^i  ^  the  potations  grew  deeper,  an  intention 

^)^(»aino  evident  on  the  part  of  some  of  the  company  to  behave 

^jjjiandsomely  to  Norris. 

For  a  time  the  young  Captain  ostentatiously  restrained 
ijmself,  very  much  after  the  fashion  of  those  meek  individuals 
who  lay  their  swords  on  the  tavern-table^  with  "  God  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  draibing  a  great  cup,  and  exacting  the  same  feat  from 


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94  THB  UNITED  NETHEBLAKDa  Chap.  X 

his  neighbour^  who  then  emptied  his  goblet  as  a  challenge  to 
his  next  comrade. 

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

The  young  man  did  not  accept  the  pledge. 

"  Your  Lordship  knows,"  he  said  somewhat  sullenly,  "  that 
I  am  not  wont  to  drink  deep.  Mr.  Sidney  there  can  tell  you 
that,  for  my  health's  sake,  I  have  drank  no  wine  these  eig^t 
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  HoUock. 

"  A  Norris's  feiher,"  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  Hollock  ; 
"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,  &ther  of 
the  Captain ;  but  the  Count  refused  to  tmderstand,  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. 

Aglun  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." 


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^86.  A  DEUNKBN  QUAERBL.  95 

''Tour  Lordship  shall  not  force  me  to  drink  more  wine 

^W I  list/'  returned  the  other.     "  It  is  yeur  pleasure  to  take 

^vantage  of  your  military  rank.   Were  we  both  at  home,  you 

^ould  be  glad  to  be  my  companion." 
Korris  was  hard  beset,   and  although  his  language  was 

fitudiotisly  moderate,  it  was  not  surprising  that  his  manner 

shonld  be  somewhat  insolent.    The  veteran  Lord  Marshal, 

on  the  other    hand,   ha^  distinguished  himself    on    many 

iittle-fields,   but  his    deportment  at  this  banqueting-table 

H713  not  much  to  his  credit.    He.  paused  a  moment,  and 

Norris^  too,  held  his  peace,  thinking  that  his  enemy  would 

desist. 

It  -was  but  for  a  moment. 

''  Captain  Norris,"  cried  Pelham,  "  I  bid  you  pledge  me 
witlxout  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 
^  i^espect  your  age  and  superior  rank." 

^*  Drink,  drink,  drink  ! "  roared  the  old  Marshal.  "  I  teU 
y^^  I  am  better  bom  than  the  best  of  you.  I  have  advanced 
y^^  all  too,  £^nd  you  know  it ;  therefore  drink  to  me." 

®fr  William  was  as  logical  as  men  in  their  cups  are  prone 
^  be, 

**  Indeed,  you  have  behaved  well  to  my  brother  Thomas," 
j^jjswered  Norris,  suddenly  becoming  very  courteous,  "  and  for 
this  I  have  ever  loved  your  Lordship,  and  would  do  you  any 
service," 

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

"  Very  well  said,  indeed  1 "  aied  Sir  Philip  Sidney,  trjring 
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. 


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96 


THB  UNITED  NETHERLANDa 


Chap.  X. 


"  My  Lord  Marshal/'  lie  said,  "  you  have  done  me  more 
wrong  this  night  than  you  can  easily  make  satisfaction  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  HoUock,  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  Nonis.  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  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  despatch- 
ing him  upon  the  spot.  Sir  Philip  Sidney  threw  his  arms 
around  HoUock,  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. 

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

Soon  afterwards  he  went  to  his  lodgings.  The  next  morn- 
ing he  was  advised  to  leave  the  town  as  speedily  as  possible  j 
for  as  it  was  under  the  government  of  Hollock,  and  filled  with 
his  soldiers,  he  was  warned  that  his  life  would  not  b^  safe 
there  an  hour.  Accordingly  ho  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  com- 
pany had  fidling  band  or  ruff  left  about  his  neck.  All  were 
clean  torn  away,  and  yet  there  was  no  blood  drawn."  ^ 


'  *  Advertisement  of  a  Difference  at 
Gertrujdenberg/  8  August  1586.  T. 
Doylej  to  Burghlej,  8  Aug.  1586. 
B.    Clerk    to    eame,  11  Aug.    1686. 


E.  Norria  to  Leicester,  21  Nov.  1586. 
(a  P.  Office  MSa)  Compare  Bor.  II. 
786-788.  Bruce's  *Leyc.  Corresp.' 
390-392. 


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me. 


HOHENLO^S  ASSAULT  UPON  EDWABD  N0RBI8. 


97 


; 


Edward  Norris — so  soon  as  might  be  afterwards — sent  a 
cartel  to  tlie  County  demanding  mortal  combat  with  sword 
and  dagger.^  Sir  Philip  Sidney  bore  the  message.  Sir  John 
Norris,  of  course,  warmly  and  violently  espoused  the  cause  of 
his  brother^  and  was  naturally  more  incensed  against  the  Lord 
Marshal  them  ever,  for  Sir  William  Pelham  was  considered 
the  cause  of  the  whole  affray.  "  Even  if  the  quarrel  is  to  be 
excused  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  HoUock  thought  to  have  done  a  pleasure 
to  the  company  in  killing  him."  ^ 

Nothing  could  bo  more  ill-timed  than  this  quarrel,  or 
more  vexatious  to  Leicester.  ,  The  Count — although  consider- 
ing 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  possible,  to 
patch  up  the  affiair.  They  were  on  the  eve  of  active  military 
operations,  and  it  was  most  vexatious  for  the  conmiander-in- 
chief  to  see,  as  he  said,  "  the  quarrel  with  the  enemy  changed 
to  private  revenge  among  ourselves."  The  intended  duel  did 
not  take  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 


I  have  painted  this  uproarious  scene 
thus  minutely  and  in  detail,  because 
its  consequences  upon  the  relations 
between  England  and  Holland,  be- 
tween Leicester,  the  Queen,  and  the 
Korriaes,  Pelham,  Hohenlo,  and  others, 
were  so  long,  complicated,  and  im- 
portant, because  the  brawl,  although 
brutal  and  vulgar,  assumed  the  dignity 
of  a  political  matter;  because,  on  ac- 
count of  the  distinguisbed  person- 
ages engaged  in  it,  and  the  epoch 
at  which  it  occurred,  the  event  ftir- 
nishes  us  wiA  a  valuable  interior  pio- 

voL.  n. — ^H 


ture  of  English  and  Dutdi  military 
life;  and  because,  lastly,  in  the 
MSS.  which  I  have  consulted,  are 
preserved  the  tpsidsima  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  any- 
thing, save  what»  on  ample  evidence, 
he  is  known  to  have  said  or  written. 

'  Bor,  ubi  sup.  Bruoe's  *Leya 
Corresp.'  474. 

*  'Advertisement)*  &c.  MS.  already 
cited. 


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98 


THE  UNITED  NETHERLANPa 


Chap.  X 


was  still  pressed  to  afford  the  pronaised  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  de- 
tested the  Norrises,  and  was  fonder  of  Pelham  than  of  any 
man  living — uniformly  narrated  the  story  most  unjustly,  to 
the  discredit  of  the  young  Captain.  He  considered  him  ex- 
tremely troublesome,  represented  him  as  always  quarrelling 
with  some  one — ^with  Colonel  Morgan,  Boger  Williams,  old 
Reade,  and  all  the  rest — while  the  Lord  Marshal,  on  the  con- 
trary, was  depicted  as  the  mildest  of  men.  "  This  I  must 
say,"  he  observed,  "  that  all  present,  except  my  two  nephews 
(the  Sidneys),  who  are  not  hero  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  influ- 
ence of  wine,  was  at  least  quite  as  much,  to  blame  as  the 
young  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.* 
HoUock  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  sh'ghtest  provocation,  and. 


>  Bor,  n.  786-t88.  HoofO,  Yervolgli, 
209. 

•  Letter  of  Hohenlo,  in  Bor,  IIL 
123  acq, 

•  Bruoe*a  *L©ya  Corresp.'  391. 

"In  all  actions,"  wrote  Sir  J.  Norris 
to  Bur^hlej,  "  I  am  crossed,  and  sought 
to  bo  disgraoed,  and  suffered  to  be 
braved  bj  the  worst  and  simplest  in 
the  company,  only  to  draw  me  into 
quarrels.  These  things  I  am  fiun  to 
endure,  lest  the  hindrance  of  the  ser- 
vice should  be  laid  to  my  chaige — & 
thmg  greatly  sought  for.  ....  The 


dishonourable  violence  offered  to  my 
brother  in  Count  Hollock's  house,  is 
eo  coldly  proceeded  in  as  I  fear  the 
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,  IG  Aug.  1686. 
(&  P.  Office  MS.) 

*  J.  Norris  to  Walsingham,  26  Oct 
1586.  (S.  P.  Office  Ma)  B.  Clerk  to 
Burghley,  11  Aug.  1686.  (8.  P.  Office 
Ma) 


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1586. 


ILL  EFFECTS  OF  THE  BIOT. 


99 


wlule  the^og-Btar  of  1586  was  raging,  it  was  not  his  fault  if 
he  had  not  ahready  despatched  both  Edward  Norris  and  the 
objectionable  "Mr.  P.  B." 

For  these  energetic  demonstrations  against  Leicester's  ene- 
mies he  considered  himself  entitled  to  the  Earl's  eternal 
gratitude,  and  was  deeply  disgusted  at  his  apparent  coldness. 
The  governor  was  driven  almost  to  despair  by  these  quarrels. 

His  colonel-general,  his  lord  marshal,  his  lieutenant-gene- 
ral, were  all  at  da^ers  drawn.  "Would  God  I  were  rid 
of  this  place  1 "  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  ujs 
altogether  by  the  ears,"  ^ 

It  was  clear  that  there  was  not  room  enough  on  the  Nether- 
land  soil  for  the  Earl  of  Leicester  and  the  brothers  Norris. 
The  Queen,  while  apparently  siding  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  bad  left  that 
coimtry.* 

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


*  Bnioe*s  *Leya  Corresp.'  392. 

*  "I  had  not  much  to  do,"  wrote 
WOkes  to  Sir  John,  "to  re-estaldish 
in  her  Majosty  and  Ur,  Secretary  a 
ain^ialar  good  opinion  of  you  and  your 
actiODS.  .  .  .  Belieye  me,  I  do  not  find 
any  man  on  that  side  equal  with  you 
in  her  M^jes^'s  grace.  She  protests 
to  me  she  will  not  have  your  safety 
hazarded  for  any  treasure^  and  hatifi 
rescdyed  to  revoke  you.  ...  I  do  find 
a  disposition  iq  her  M^'esty  to  return 
you  thither  again,  after  his  Excellency 
shall  he  oome  home,  which  her  Majesty 
meaneth  du-ectly,  although  there  is 
mticfa  variety  of  opinion  here,  whether 
it  be  fit  to  revoke  him  or  not.    Such 


as  desire  (he  good  of  Ihca  SkUe  do  hold 
that  question  affirmatively^  but  such  as 
do  not  love  ^m  (who  are  the  greater 
number)  do  .maintain  the  negative. 
Her  Mfy  esty  and  her  council  do  greatly 
stagger  at  &e  ezoessive  charge  of  tho^e 
wars  under,  his  EzceUency^s  govern- 
ment for  the  past  six  months,  affirming 
(as  it  is  true)  that  the  realm  of  England 
is  not  able  to  supply  the  moiety  of  that 
charge,  notwithstending  the  necessity 
of  the  defence  of  those  countries  is  so 
cox^'oined  with  her  Miyesty's  own  safety 
as  the  same  is  not  to  be  abandoned." 
Wilkes  to  Sir  J.  Norris.  23  Sept  1586. 
(aP.  Office  Ma) 


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100  THE  UNITED  NBTHRRT1AND&  Chap  XL 


CHAPTER     XI. 

Drake  in  the  Netherlands— Good  Results  of  his  Ylait— The  Bahington  Con* 
spiraoy -7  Leicester  decides  to  yisit  England  —  Exchange  of  parting 
CompUments. 

Late  in  the  aatumn  of  the  same  year  an  Englishman  arrived 
in  the  Netherlands,  bearer  of  despatches  from  the  Queen. 
He  had  been  entrusted  by  her  Majesty  with  a  special  mission 
to  the  States-General,  and  he  had  soon  an  interview  with  thai 
assembly  at  the  Hague. 

He  was  a  small  man,  apparently  forty-five  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  common-place  features,  a  thin,  brown,  pointed  beard, 
and  a  slight  moustache.  Though  low  of  stature,  he  was  broad- 
ohested,  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,  fie 
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  embroidered. 

It  was  not  the  first  time  that  he  had  visited  the  Nether- 
lands. Thirty  years  before  the  man  had  been  apprentice  on 
board  a  small  lugger,  which  traded  between  the  English  coast 
and  the  ports  of  Zeeland.  Emerging  in  early  boyl^ood  from 
his  parental  mansion— an  old  boat,  turned  bottom  upwards  on 
a  sandy  down-^e  had  naturally  taken  to  the  sea,  and  his 
master,  dying  childless  not  long  afterward^  bequeathed  to 
him  the  lugger.    But  in  time  his  spirit,  too  much  confined 


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1586.  DRAKE  IN  IHB  NETHERLANDS.  IQl 

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 — whose  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  orest  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 
whola  Spanish  nation ;  and  this  was  considered  a  most  Inti- 
mate proceeding  according  to  the  ^^3ea  divinity"  in  which  he 
had  been  schooled.  His  subsequent  expeditions  against  the 
Spanish  possessions  in  the  West  Indies  were  eminently  suc- 
cessful, and  soon  the  name  of  Francis  Drake  rang  thorough 
the  world,  and  startled  Philip  in  the  depths  of  his  Escoiial. 
The  first  Englishman,  and  the  second  of  any  nation,  he 
then  ploughed  his  memorable  '^  furrow  round  the  earth," 
canyiDg  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  himself 
and  companions,  and  the  merchant-adventurers  who  had 
participated  in  his  enterprise,  forty-seven  pounds  sterling 
for  every  pound  invested  in  the  voyage.  The  specula- 
tion had  been  a  fortimate  one  both  for  himself  and  for  the 
kingdom. 

The  terrible  Sea-King  was  one  of  the  great  types  of  the 
sixteoith  century.  The  self-helping  private  adventurer,  in 
his  little  vessel  the  '  Golden  Hind,'  one  hundred  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  fi^vourite  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.  The 
popular  instinct  recognized  that  the  true  means  had  been 
found  at  last  for  rescuing  England  and  Protestantism  from 


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102  THE  UNITED  NETHERLANDa  Chap.  23. 

the  overshadowing  empire  of  Spain.  The  Queen  visited  him 
in  his  *  Golden  Hind/  and  gave  him  the  honour  of  knight- 
hood. . 

The  treaty  between  the  United  Netherlands  and  England 
had  been  followed  by  an  embargo  upon  English  vessels,  per- 
sons, and  property,  in  the  ports  of  Spain ;  and, 
after  five  years  of  unwonted  repose,  the  privateers- 
man  again  set  forth  with  twenty-five  small  vessels — of  which 
five  or  six  only  were  armed — ^under  his  command,  conjoined 
with  that  of  General  Carlisle.  This  time  the  voyage  was 
undertaken' with  full  permission  and  assistance  of  the  Queen 
who,  however,  intended  to  disavow  him,  if  she  should  find 
such  a  step  convenient.^  .  This  was  the  expedition  in  which 
Philip.  Sidney  had  desired  to  take  part.  The  Queen  watched 
its  result  with  intense  anxiety,  for  the  fate  of  her  Netherland 
adventure  was  thought  to  be  hanging  on  the  issue.  "  Upon 
Drake's  voyage,  in  very  truth,  dependeth  the  life  and  death 
of  the  cause,  according  to  man's  judgment,"  said  Walsing- 
ham.* 

.  The  issue  was  encouraging,  even  if  the  voyage — ^as  a  mer- 
cantile speculation — ^proved  not  so  brilliant  as  the  previous 
enterprises  of  Sir  Francis  had  been.  He  returned  in  the 
midsummer  of  1586,  having  captured  and  brandschatzed  St. 
Domingo  and  Carthagena,  and  burned  St.  Augustine.  ^^A 
fearful  man  to  the  King  of  Spain  is  Sir  Francis  Drake,''  said 
Lord  Burghley.'  Nevertheless,  the  Queen  and  the  Lord- 
Treasurer — as  we  have  shown  by  the  secret  conferences  at 
Greenwich — had,  notwithstianding  these  successes,  expressed  a 
more  earnest  desire  for  peace  than  ever. 

A  simple,  sea-faring  Englishman,  with  half-a-dozen  miser- 
able little  vessels,  had  carried  terror  into  the  Spanish  pos- 
sessions all  over  the  earth :  but  even  then  the  great  Queen 
had  not  learned  to  rely  on  the  valour  of  her  volunteers  against 
her  most  formidable  enemy/ 


*  ^Lejc.  Corresp.'  173.  I       •  Ibid  199. 

*  Ibid.  341.  I      *  For  the  life   and  adTcntoros   of 


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1586. 


GOOD  RESULTS  OF  HIS  VISIT. 


103 


Drake  was,  however,  bent  on  another  enterprise.  The  pre- 
parations for  Philip's  great  fleet  had  been  going  steadily 
forward  in  Lisbon,  Cadiz,  and  other  ports  of  Spain  and  Por- 
tugal, and,  despite  assurances  to  the  contraiy,  there  was  a 
growing  belief  that  England  was  to  be  invaded.  To  destroy 
those  ships  before  the  monarch's  face,  would  be,  indeed,  to 
•^  singe  his  beard."  But  whose  arm  was  daring  enough  for 
such  a  stroke?  Whose  but  that  of  the  Devonshire  skipper 
^ho  had  already  accomplished  so  much  ? 

And  so  Sir  Francb,  "  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-cap- 
tains.' His  visit  was  not  unfruitful.  As  a  body  the  assembly 
did  nothing ;  but  they  recommended  that  in  every  maritime 
city  of  Holland  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  in- 
Btmct  of  mercantile  speculation,  were  relied  upon— exactly  as 


Brake,  Bee  Fuller,  *Tho  H(^y  State  and 
the  Ptofime  State,'  in  voce.  Stowe's 
'Ghronide/  806-812.  Em.  v.  Meteren, 
175, 9eq,  "The  World  Encompassed," 
and  particcdarly  the  'Life,  Voyages, 
mi  Exploits  of  Admind  Sir  lYancia 
Drake.'  By  John  Barrow.  1843. 
>  Puller.   • 

•  Wagenaar,  viii.  233-234,  who  is, 
bowerer,  mistaken  in  saying  that  "  they 
had  no  ears  fi>r  Drako  in  tho  Nether- 
landa." 

•  "The  voyage  of  Sir  Francis  Drako 
into  these  countries,"  wrote  Wilkes, 
"is  not  likely  to  be  unfhiitihl,  although 
at  his  arriyal  be  found  no'  dispomtion 
in  the  States  and  people  at  all  to  assent 
of  his  motions.  They  cannot  yield  to 
assist  his  voyage  with  any  general 
oontribntion,  but  are  contented  to  deal 
with  the  inhabitants  of  the  principal 
maritime  towns,  to  furnish  in  every 
of  them  a  ship  or  two,  accorduig  to 
the  ability  of  the  merchants  there  re- 
aiding,  fh>m  whom  the  States-General, 
oow  assembled  at  tho  Hague,  do  ex- 


pect a  speedy  answer  and  resolution ; 
so  as  if  her  Majesty  shall  determiuo 
that  Sir  F.  Drake  do  venture  again  to 
the  Indies,  it  is  not  to  be  dcmbUd  that 
Jie  shall  ?iave  some  good  assistance  from 
hence.  Of  what  necessity  it  is  that  tho 
Queen^s  principal  enemy  be  attempted 
that  way,  your  honour  can  best  per- 
caive;  but  we  find  it  more  than  pro- 
bable hero,  that  if  he  may  eiy'oy  his 
indies  quietly^  fie  wUl  make  her  Majesty 
and  these  countries  soon  weary  of  their 
defence.  I  have  partly  instructed  Sir 
F.  Drake  of  the  stata  of  these  coun- 
tries. How  and  in  what  sort  my  Lord 
of  Leicester  departeth  hcnc^  he  hath 
best  discerned  by  his  own  experience, 
wliich,  becauso  it  is  long  to  bo  written, 
I  am  bold  to  refer  your  honour  to  his 
declaration.  I  do  find  tlio  state  of 
things  here  so  disjbinted  and  unsettled, 
that  I  have  just  cause  to  fear  some 
dangerous  alteration  in  the  absence  of 
our  ;  governor.  Therefore  I  beseech 
you,  as  you  tender  thi  preservation  of 
her  Mcy'esty's  estate^  depending^  at  you 


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104 


THE  UNITED  NETHBRLANDa 


Chap.  XL 


ia  England — to  furnish  men,  ships,  and  money,  for  these 
daring  and  profitable  adventures.  The  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  Walsing- 
ham's  ^^  travail  and  cost,"  had  come  to  convince  the  Queen  and 
her  counsellors — ^if  further  proof  were  not  superfluous — that 
her  throne  and  life  were  both  incompatible  with  Philip's  deep 
designs,  and  that  to  keep  that  monarch  out  of  the  Nether- 
lands was  as  vital  to  her  as  to  keep  him  out  of  England. 
''She  is  forced  by  this  discovery  to  countenance  the 
cause  by  all  outward  means  she  may,"  said  Walsingham, 
''  for  it  appeareth  unto  her  most  plain,  that  unless  she  had 
entered  into  the  action,  she  had  been  utterly  undone,  and  that 
if  she  do  not  prosecute  the  same  she  cannot  continue."? 
The  Secretary  had  sent  Leicester  information  at  an  early 
day  of  the  great  secret,  begging  his  friend  to  ''make  the 
letter  a  heretic  after  he  had  read  the  same,"  and  express- 
ing the  opinion  that  "the  matter,  if  well  handled,  would 
break  the  neck  of  all  dangerous  practices  during  her  Majesty's 
reign."  ^ 

The  tragedy  of  Mary  Stuart — a  sad  but  inevitable  por- 
tion of  the  vast  drama  in  which  the  emancipation  of  England 
and  Holland,  and,  through  them,  of  half  Christendom,  was 
accomplished — approached  its  catastrophe  ;  and  Leicester 
could  not  restrain  his  an^ety  for  her  immediate  execution. 
He  reminded  Walsingham  that  the  great  seal  had  been  put 
upon  a  warrant  for  her  execution  for  a  less  crime  seventeen 
years  before,  on  the  occasion  of  the  Northumberland  and 
Westmorland  rebellion.    "  For  who  can  warrant  these  villains 


hnowj  upon  Via  moMmance  of  (hUy  that 
you  will  prooore  some  Bpeedj  reeola- 
tion  at  home,  and  the  return  of  some* 
governor  of  wisdom  and  vahie^  to  re- 
tmite  these  distracted  proyinoes,  who, 
for  ladE  of  a  head,  are  apt  enough  to 


be  the  workers  of  their  own  ruin." 
WUkes  to  Walsingham,  17  Nov.  158a 
(a  P.  Office  MS.) 

'  Bruce's  *  Leyc.  Corresp.*  341. 

*  Ibid.  342. 


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1586^ 


THB  BABINGTON  OONSPIRAOT. 


105 


from  her/'  he  said,  "if  that  person  live,  or  shall  live  any 
time  ?    (hA  forbid  1    And  be  yon  all  stout  and  resolute  in 
this  speedy  execution,  or  be  condemned  of  all  the  world  for 
ever.    It  is  most  certain,  if  you  will  have  your  Majesty  safe,  it 
m\wt be  done,  for  justice  doth  crave  it  beside  policy/'^    His 
own  personal  safety  was  deeply  compromised.    "  Your  Lord- 
ship and  I,"  wrote  Burghley,  "  were  very  great  motes  in  the 
traitois'  eyes  ;  for  your  Lordship  there  and  I  here  should  first, 
about  one  time,  have  been  killed.    Of  your  Lordship  they 
thought  rather  of  poisoning  than  slaying.    After  us  two  gone, 
ihey  purposed  her  Majesty's  death."  ^ 

But  on  this  great  affidr  of  state  the  Earl  was  not  swayed 
hy  Bach  personal  considerations.  He  honestly  thought — as 
did  all  ihe  statesmen  who  governed  England — ^that  English 
liberty,  the  very  existence  of  the  English  commonwealth,  was 
unpossible  so  long  as  Mary  Stuart  lived.'  Under  these  cir- 
<^iun8tances  he  was  not  impatient,  for  a  time  at  least,  to  leave 
the  Netherlands.  His  administration  had  not  been  very  sue* 
CGfisfuL  He  had  been  led  away  by  his  own  vanity,  and  by 
^  flattery  of  artful  demagogues,  but  the  immense  obstacles 
^tti  which  he  had  to  contend  in  the  Queen's  wavering  policy, 
^  in  the  rivalry  of  both  English  and  Dutch  politicians, 
We  been  amply  exhibited.  That  he  had  been  generous, 
^^UBgeous,  and  zealous,  could  not  be  denied ;  and,  on  the 
^hole,  he  had  accomplished  as  much  in  the  field  as  could 
We  been  expected  of  him  with  such  meagre  forces,  and  so 
Wren  an  exchequer.* 


^    Brace's  *  Leyc  Correro.'  431.    (10 
Oct  1586.)    See  also  447. 

"Thftt  the  proceeding  of  justioe 
^ga^  the  Queen  of  Scots  is  deferred 
^ta  ft  parliament)  whereat  I  do  greatly 
J>*fvel  if  it  should  be  true,  considering 
Jow  daogeroos  such  delay  might  be, 
vt  the  mischief  that  might  in  the 
oeantimo  bo  practiced  •  against  her 
J^jesty'g  person.  Though  some  «nall 
'^ches  of  these  conspiracies  be  taken, 
*^ay,  yet  the  greater  boughs  are  not 
^known  to  remain.  To  whom  it  were 
^  good,  in  my  opinion,  to  giro  that 


opportunity  which  might  be  taken, 
while  a  parliament  may  be  called,  and 
such  a  cause  debated  and  determined," 
fta  Leicester  to  Walsingham,  9  Sept. 
1586.    (a  P.  Office  MS.) 

«  Bruce's  *Leya  Corresp.'  412.  (16 
Sept  1586.) 

*  One  of  the  Babington  conspirators, 
Ralph  Salisbury,  was  a  tenant  of  Lei- 
cester's, and  had  *'a  farm  under  the 
very  castle-wall  of  Denbigh.'*  Leicester 
to  Burghley,  29  Aug.  1586.  (S.  P. 
OfBce  If  a) 

*  "Oh  Lord!   who  would  think  it 


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106 


THE  UNITBD  NETHERLANDS. 


Chap.  XL 


It  must  be  confessed,  however,  that  his  leaving  the  Nether- 
lands at  that  moment  was  a  most  unfortunate  step,  both  for 
his  own  reputation  and  for  the  security  of  the  Provinces. 
Partynspirit  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  particu- 
larly the  secret  arrangements  which  he  made  at  his  de- 
parture— ^were  the  most  fatal  measures  of  all ;  but  thesa  will 
be  described  in  the  following  chapter. 

On  the  31st  October,  the  Earl  announced  to  the  state- 
council  his  intention  of  returning  to  England,  stating,  as  the 

31  Oct,  cause  of  this  sudden  determination,  that  he  had 
^^^^'  been  summoned  to  attend  the  parliament  then  sit- 
ting in  Westminster.  Wilkes,  who  was  of  course  present, 
having  now  succeeded  Killigrew  as  one  of  the  two  English 
members,  observed  that  ^^the  States  and  council  used  but 
slender  entreaty  to  his  E3:cellency  for  his  stay  and  counte- 
nance there  among  them,  whereat  his  Excellency  and -we 
that  were  of  the  council  for  her  Majesty  did  not  a  little 
marvel"^ 

.  Some  weeks  later,  however,  upon  the  2l8t  November, 
Leicester  summoned  Bamevold,  and  five  other  of  the  States- 

21  Nov.,  (General,  to  discuss  the  necessary  measures  for  his 
^^^^'  departure,  when  those  gentlemen  remonstrated  very 
earnestly  upon  the  step,  pleading  the  danger  and  confusion  of 
affairs  which  must  necessarily  ensue.  The  Earl  declared  that 
he  was  not  retiring  from  the  country  because  he  was  offended, 
although  he  had  many  causes  for  offence  :  and  he  then  alluded 
to  the  Navigation  Act,  to  the  establishment  of  the  finance- 
council,  and  spoke  of  Burgrave  and  Reingault,  for  his  em- 
ployment of  which  individuals  so  much  obloquy  had  been 
heaped  upon  his  head.     Burgrave  ho  pronounced,  as  usual,  a 


possible,"  he  cried  on  one  occasion, 
"for  any  man  sent  as  we  are,  and  in 
action  for  (hat  realm  (of  England) 
ehi^yj  and  for  aU  Christendom  aiso^ 
'to  be  80  carelessly  and  overwillingljr 
oyertiirown  for  ordinary  wants 


To-morrow  and  to-morrow  tbey  shall 
have. .  .  .  What  opportunities  we  have 
lately  lost  We  are  ready  to  eat  our 
own  flesh  for  anger,  but  that  cannot 
help."     'Loyc.  Corresp.' 366. 

>  Bruco's  *Leyc.  Corresp/443,  note. 


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158& 


LEICE8TBB  DECIDES  TO  VISIT  ENGLAND. 


107 


substantial^  wise^  faithful,  rdigious  personage,  entitled  to 
fullest  confidence ;  while  Beingault — who  had  been  thrown 
into  prison  by  the  States  on  charges  of  fraud,  peculation,  and 
sedition — ^he  declared  to  be  a  great  financier,  tvho  had  pro* 
raised,  on  penalty  of  his  head,  to  bring  great  sums  into  the 
treasury  for  carrying  on  the  war,  without  any  burthen  to  the 
community/'  ^  Had  he  been  able  to  do  this,  he  had  certainly 
a  daim  to  be  considered  the  greatest  of  financiers ;  but  the 
promised  "mountains  of  gold''  were  never  *  discovered,  and 
Beingault  was  ^ow  awaiting  his  triaL^ 

The  deputies  replied  that  the  concessions  upon  the  Navi- 
gation Act  had  satisfied  the  country,  but  that  Beingault  was 
a  known  instrument  of  the  Spaniards,  and  Burgrave  a  mis- 
chief-making demagogue,  who  consorted  with  malignants,  and 
sent  slanderous  reports  concerning  the  States  and  the  country 
to  her  Majesty.  They  had  in  consequence  felt  obliged  to 
write  private  despatches  to  envoy  Ortel  in  England,  not  be- 
cause they  suspected  the  Earl,  but  in  order  to  counteract  the 
calumnies  of  his  chief  advisers.    They  had  urged  the  agent 


»  Bor,  IL  777-779.    Hoofd,  207-209. 
Vagenaar,  yUL  183-187. 

'  "I  must  praj  you  and  require  you 

to  be  careful  in  aatiaQring  the  States 

touching   Beingault)"  said   Leicester : 

"I  did  promise  upon  mine  honour  he 

should  be  brought  back  again,  and  so 

I  hare  done,  but  I  will  be  no  butcher 

to  the  greatest  monarch  in  the  world, 

much  less  the  betra3rer  of  a  man's  life, 

whom  I  myself  caused  to  be  appre- 

hsa^  to  please  them,  and  kept  him 

in  nile  guard.     And  now  I  have  been 

•drertised  of  the  intent  in  proceeding 

with  him,  and  with  what  yiolence,  and 

what  some  of  themselTes  have  sworn 

And  Towed    toudiing  his  death,  you 

know,  and  I  pray  you  dedare^  for  as  I 

^  keep  promise  with  them  for  the 

piisoQ  of  the  man,  so  do  I  look  to  have 

n»me  own   honour  regarded  at  their 

^nda,  seeing   more  malice  than  just 

^^3ert  against  hiuL    I  take  the  man 

to  hare  fitults  enough,  but  not  capital." 

I«iceeter  to   Wilkes,   20  Nov.    1586. 

(8.  P.  Office  Ma) 

Wilkesi   finding  that  the  States  of 


Holland  were  thrious  agamst  Rehi- 
gault,  and  were  demanding  his  execu- 
tion, had  managed  to  place  him  under 
the  charge  of  the  provost-marshal  of 
the  English  troops  at  Utrecht  When 
h^  had  thus  saved  the  culprit's  life,  he 
informed  Bameveld  of  what  he  had 
done,  and  that  statesman  severely  cen- 
sured the  act^  on  the  groimd  that 
grave  consequences  might  follow  this 
interposition  in  behalf  of  so  signal  an 
offender.  Eeingault's  lifo  was  pre- 
served, however,  and  he  subsequently 
was  permitted  to  retire  to  the  Spanish 
Netherlands,  where  the  violent  demo- 
crat and  Calvlnist  ended  his  days  an 
obedient  subject  of  Philip  IL,  and  an 
oxemplaiy  papist  Wilkes  to  Leices- 
ter, 3  and  12  Dec.  158C.  (S.  P.  Office 
Ma)    Reyd,V.  82. 

Burgrave  cccompanied  the  Earl  to 
England,  as  his  diief  secretary  and 
adviser  in  Netherland  matters,  whilo 
Peventer  remained  in  Utrech^  prin- 
cipal director  of  the  Leicestrian  party, 
and  centre  of  all  its  cabals  agaioist 
the  States. 


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108  THE  UNITED  NETHKRT.AND&  Chap.  XL 

to  bring  tlie  imprisonment  of  Paul  Buys  before  her  Majesty, 
but  for  that  transactioa  Leicester  boldly  disclaimed  all  re- 
sponsibility.^ 

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  conunand  of  the  English  forces.' 

Two  days  afterwards  Leicester,  who  knew  very  well  that  a 
legation  was  about  to  proceed  to  England,  without  any  pre- 
vious concurrence  on  his  part,  sunmioned  a  committee  of  the 
States-General,  together  with  Bameveld,  into  the  state-coun- 
cil. 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  mattcars, 
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  notoriously 
factious,  illegal,  and  altogether  futile.  Without  the  sanction 
of  all  the  United  States,  of  what  value  was  the  declaration  of 
Utrecht?  Moreover  the  charter  of  that  province  had  been 
recklessly  violated,  its  govwument  overthrown,  and  its  leading 
citizens  banished.  The  action  of  the  Province  imder  such 
circumstances  was  not  deserving  of  comment ;  but  should  it 
appear  that  her  Majesty  was  desirous  of  assuming  the  sove- 
reignty of  the  Provinces  upon  reasonable  conditions,  the 
States  of  Holland  and  of  Zeeland  would  not  be  found  back^- 
ward  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  suggestion.    It  was 

'  Wilkes  to  Leicester,  &c.,  liiS.  Jost  cited.  *  Wagenaar,  viiL  187. 

»  Bor.  IL  780-783.  *  Ibid. 


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15S6.  SXCHAITQS  07  PAHTTNG  C01£PLUi£NTS.  109 

however,  vigaronsly  and  sncceBsfully  opposed  by  Baraeveld, 
who  urged  that  to  leave  the  countrj  without  a  head  in  such  a 
danga-ons  position  of  affiurs,  would  be  an  act  of  madness.^ 
Leicester  was  much  annoyed  when  informed  of  this  decision. 
He  was  suspected  of  a  design,  during  his  absence,  of  converting 
Matirice  entirely  to  his  own  way  of  thinking.  If  unsuccessful, 
it  was  believed  by  the  Advocate  and  by  many  others  that  the 
Earl  would  cause  the  young  Prince  to  be  detained  in  England 
as  long  as  Philip  William,  his  brother,  had  been  kept  in 
Spaia  He  observed  peevishly  that  he  knew  how  it  had  all 
been  brought  about* 

Words,  of  course,  and  handsome  compliments  were  ex* 
changed  between  the  Governor  and  the  States-General  on  his 
departure.  He  protested  that  he  had  never  pursued  any 
private  ends  during  his  administration,  but  had  ever  sought 
to  promote  the  good  of  the  coimtry  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  part  of  the  States,  assured  him  that  they 
were  all  aware  that  in  the  friendship  of  England  lay  their 
only  chance  of  salvation,  but  that  united  action  was  the  sole 
means  by  which  that  salvation  could  bo  effected,  and  the  one 
which  had  enabled  the  late  Prince  of  Orange  to  maintain  a 
contest  unequalled  by  anything  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  tho  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 
allnsion  to  the  subject  as  &tal  to  their  religion,  their  liberty, 
their  very  existence,  and  equally  disastrous  to  England  and 
to  Protestantism,  and  implored  the  Earl,  therefore,  to  use  all 


*  Bor,  itbi  sup.    Hoofcl,  Tervolgh,  |      *  Bor,  ubi  sup, 
20e.    Wagenaar,  viil  185.  |       »  Bor,  IL  186.    Bootd,  ubi  aup. 


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THE  UNITBD  NETHERLANDS. 


Chap.  XL 


his  influence  in  opposition  to  any  pacific  overtures  to  or  from 
Spain.^ 

On  the  24th  November,  acts  were  drawn  up  and  signed 

by  the  Earl,  according  to  which  the  supreme  government  of 

24  Nov.,  the  United  Netherlands  was  formally  committed  to 

1586.  the  state-council  during  his  absence.  Decrees  were 
to  be  pronounced  in  the  name  of  his  Excellency,  and  counter- 
signed by  Maurice  of  Nassau. 

On  the  following  day,  Leicester,  being  somewhat  indisposed, 
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  secretary, 
Mr.  Atyo.  It  was  responded  to  in  complimentary  fashion  by 
Advocate  Bameveld,  who  again  took  occasion  at  this  pacrting 
interview  to  impress  upon  the  governor  the  utter  impossi- 
bility, in  his  own  opinion  and  that  of  the  other  deputies,  of 
reconciling  the  Provinces  with  Spain.^ 

Leicester  received  from  the  States — ^as  a  magnificent  part- 
ing present — a  silver  gilt  vase  ^^  as  tall  as  a  man,"  and  then 
departed  for  Flushing  to  take  shipping  for  England.' 


'  Bor,  Hoofd,  Wogena&r,  vbi  sup, 
Revd,  V.  108,  109. 

•  Ibid.     Meteren,  xiil  238. 

■  Bor,  XL  754  Reyd,  HoD.  4  Oct 
9  Not.  442,  493.  Wagenaar,  yiil 
173. 

Tho  yaso  or  cup  (kop)  as  it  was 
called,  had   cost    9000  nodos,     Tho 


States  proDounced  it  "as  singalar  a 
Jewel  as  could  be  found  in  any  of  the 
BUiTounding  kingdoma"  It  was  said 
that  on  account  of  its  size,  it  could 
only  have  been  gilded  at  the  peril  of 
the  artisan's  life.  Yon  Wjn  op  WagexL 
yiiL62. 


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mt.         lUrXmED  INTEBBEGNDU  IN  THB  PBOTIKOBa  HI 


CHAPTER  XII. 

m-^imed  Interregnmn  in  the  Provinoos — ilnnness  of  the  English  and  Dntdi 
People  ^  Factions  during  Leicester's  Government  —  Democrado  Theories 
of  the  Leicestrians — Sospidons  as  to  the  Earl's  Designs -r- Extreme  Views 
of  the  Calyinists  —  Political  Ambition  of  the  Church  —  !A.ntagonism  of  the 
Church  and  States  —  The  States  hidmed  to  Tderance — Desolation  of 
the  Obedient  Provinces — Pauperism  and  Famine — Trospenty  of  tho 
Eepublic — The  Tear  of  Expectation. 

It  was  not  nnnatural  that  the  Queen  should  desire  tho  pre- 
sence of  her  favourite  at  that  momentous  epoch,  when  the 
dread  question,  "  aut  fer  aut  feriy'.  had  at  last  demanded  its 
definite  solution.  It  was  inevitable,  too,  that  Leicester  should 
fed  great  anxiety  to  be  upon  the  spot  where  the  great  tragedy, 
80  fiill  of  fate  to  all  Christendom,  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  important  to  Elizabeth  as  that  of  her  own  realm — 
to  plunge  them  into  anarchy  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  him- 
self to  return.  The  question  of  sovereignty  was  still  unsettled, 
for  it  was  still  hoped  by  a  large  and  inflaential  party,  that  tho 
English  Queen  would  accept  the  proposed  annexation.  It 
was  yet  doubtful,  whether,  during,  tho  period  of  abeyance,  the 
States-General  or  the  States-Provincial,  each  within  their 
separate  sphere,  were  entitled  to  supreme  authority.  Mean- 
time, as  if  here  were  not  already  suflSlcient  elements  of  dis- 
sension and  doubt,  came  a  sudden  and  indefinite  interregnum, 
ft  provisional,  an  abnormal,  and  an  impotent  government. 
To  the  state-council  was  deputed  the  executive  authority. 
But  the  state-council  was  a  creature  of  tho  States-Gkneral, 
acting  in  concert  with  the  governor-general,  and  having  no 
actual  life  of  its  own.    It  was  a  board  of  consultation,  not  of 


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112  THE  UNITED  NETHERLANDS.  Chap.  XIL 

decision,  for  it  could  neither  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  enthusiasm 
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 
del^ate  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 
blundeh  When  at  last  the  quarrel,  which  looked  so  much 
like  a  lovers'  quarrel,  between  Elizabeth  and  '  Sweet  Bobin,' 
had  been  appeased  to  the  satid&ction  of  Bobin,  his  royal 
mistress  became  more  angry  with  ihe  States  for  circumscribing 
than  she  had  before  been  for  their  exaggeration  of  his  autho- 
rity. Hence  the  implacable  hatred  of  Leicester  to  Paul  Buys 
and  Bameveld. 

Those  two  statesmen,  for  eloquence,  learning,  readiness, 
administrative  faculty,  surpassed  by  few  who  have  ev^ 
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  states- 
men of  Holland  and  England,  sustained  by  the  indomitable 
resistwce  to  despotism  sdmost  universal  in  the  English  and 
Butch  nations,  that  the  liberty  of  Europe  was  entruisted  at 
that  momentous  epoch.  Whether  imited  imder  one  crown, 
as  the  Netherlands  ardently  desired,  or  closely  allied  for 
aggression  and  defence,  the  two  peoples  were  bound  indis- 
solubly  together.  The  clouds  were  rolling  up  from  the  &tal 
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  prudent  to  prepare.    The  Armada 


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1^      PIRMNBSS  OP  THB  ENGLISH  AND  DUTCH  PEOPLE.        113 

^^  growing  every  day  in  the  ports  of  Spain  and  Portugal, 
and  Walsingham  doubted,  as  little  as  did  Buys  or  Bameveld, 
toward  what  shores  that  invasion  was  to  be  directed.  Eng- 
land was  to  be  conquered  in  order  that  the  rebellious  Nether- 
lands might  be  reduced  ;  and  ^  Mucio '  was  to  be  let  slip  upon 
the  unhappy  Henry  III.  so  soon  as  it  was  thoi^ht  probable 
that  the  B&umesa  and  the  Valois  had  sufficiently  exhausted 
each  other.  Philip  was  to  reign  in  Paris,  Amsterdam, 
London,  and  Edinburgl^^  without  stirring  from  the  Escorial. 
An  excellent,  programme,  had  there  not  been  some  English 
gentlemen,  some  subtle  secretaries  of  state,  some  Devonshire 
Uppers,  some  Dutch  advocates  and  merchants,  some  Zeeland 
fly-boatsmen,  and  six  million  men,  women,  and  children,  on 
the  two  Bides  of  the  North  Sea,  who  had  the  power,  of  ex- 
pressing their  thoughts  rather  bluntly  than  otherwise  in 
different  dialects  of  old  Anglo-Saxon  speech. 

Certainly  it  would  be  uiyust  and  ungracious  to  disparage 

the  heroism  of  the  grea:t  Queen  when  the  hour  of  danger 

really  came,  nor  would  it  be  l^itimato  for  us,  who  can  scan 

that  momentous  year  of  expectation,  1587,  by  the  light  of 

fluhsequent  events  and  of  secret  contemporaneous  record,  to 

censure  or  even  sharply  to  criticise  the  royal  hankering  for 

peace,  when  peace  had  really  become  impossible.     But  as  we 

shall  have  occasion  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 

preservation  of  European  liberty  at  that  disastrous  epoch  as 

to  any  sovereign,  general,  or.  statesman* 

For  it  was  in  the  great  waters  of  the  sixteenth  century  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 

VOL.  II.— I 


{ 


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114  THE  UNITBD  NETHERLANDS.  Chap.  XIL 

against  the  throne  and  life  of  Elizabeth.  The  word  liberty 
was  never  musical  in  Tudor  ears,  yet  Englishmen  had  blunt 
tongues  and  sharp  weapons  which  rarely  rusted  for  want  of 
use.  In  the  presence  of  a  parliament,  and  the  absence  of  a 
standing  army,  a  people  accustomed  to  read  the  Bible  in  the 
vernacular,  to  handle  great  questions  of  religion  and  govern- 
ment freely,  and  to  bear  arms  at  will,  was  most  formidable  to 
despotism.  There  was  an  advance  on  the  olden  time.  A 
Francis  Drake,  a  John  Hawkins,  a  Roger  Williams,  might 
have  been  sold,  under  the  Plantagen^ts,  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  main  stay  of  these 
two  little  commonwealths,  while  the  commanders  who  governed 
the  'invincible'  fleets  and  armies  of  omnipotent  Spain,  were 
all  cousins  of  emperors,  or  grandees  of  bluest  blood.  Perhaps 
the  system  of  the  reformation  would  not  prove  the  least 
effective  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  administration,  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  his  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  concussions  of  opinion,  and 
the  still  harder  blows,  which,  unfortunately,  were  dealt  on  a 


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I 


I 


1586.  FACTIONS  DXTRINa  LEICESTEE»S  GOVERNMENT.  115 

few  occasions  by  the  combatants  upon  each  other^  make  the 
year  1587  a  memorable  one.    The  great  questions  of  the 
origin  of  government,   tfte  balance  of  dynastic   forces,   the 
distribution  of  powers,  were  dealt  with  by  the  ablest  heads, 
l^th  Batch  and  English,  that  could  be  employed  in  the  service 
of  the  kingdom   and  republic.    It  was  a  war  of  protocols, 
^'guments,    orations,   rejoinders,  apostilles.   Mid  pamphlets, 
^ery  wholesome  for   the  cause  of  free  institutions  and  the 
intellectual  progress  of  mankind. .  The  reader  may  perhaps 
"^  surprised  to  see  with  how  much  vigour  and  boldness  the 
g^ve  questions  which  underlie  all  polity,  wore  handled  so 
ffiany  years  before  the  days  of  Eussell  and  Sidney,  of  Montes- 
quieu and  Locke,  Franklin,  Jefferson,  Eousseau,  and  Voltaire  ; 
^nd.  he  may  bo  even  more  astonished  to  find  exceedingly 
democratic  doctrines  propounded,  if  not  believed  in,  by  trained 
statesmen  of  the  Elizabethan  school.  -Ho  will  be  also  apt  to 
wonder  that  a  more  fitting  time  could  not  be  found  for  such 
philosophical  debate  than  the  epoch  at  which  both  the  king- 
dom 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  Koman  Empire. 

The  great  dividing-line  between  the  two  parties,  that  of 
Leicester  and  that  of  Holland,  which  controlled  the  action  of 
*"0  States-General,  was  the  question  of  sovereignty.  After 
^'^^  declaration  of  independence  and  the  repudiation  of  Philip, 
^  ^hom  did  tho  sovereignty  belong  ?  To  the  people,  said 
^  I-eioestrians.  To  the  States-General  and  the  States-Pro- 
^iiicial^  as  legitimate  representatives  of  the  people,  said  the 
Hollaxi^  party.  Without  looking  for  the  moment  more  closely 
^^^^  this  question,  which  we  shall  soon  find  ably  discussed  by 
^^^  Uiost  acute  reasoners  of  tho  time,  it  is  only  important  at 
preseui;  to  make  a  preliminary  reflection.  The  Earl  of  Lei- 
^*^,  of  all  men  in  the  world,  would  seem  to  have  been 
P^^luded  by  his  own  action,  and  by  the  action  of  his  Queen, 
^  taking  ground  against  the  States.  It  was  the  States 
^  .>  by  solemn  embassy,  had  offered  the  sovereignty  to 
^^^beth.     She  had  not    accepted  the  offer,  but  she  had 


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116 


TfflB  UNITED  NETHERLANDS. 


Chap.  XII 


deliberated  on  the  subject,  and  certainly  she  had  never  ex- 
pressed 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 
arid  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  sovereigns  of  the  Netherr 
lands,  bo  certainly  was  nothing.  Ho  was  but  general  of  a 
few  thousaYid  English  troops. 

The  Leicester  party,  then,  proclaimed  extreme  democratic 
principles  as  to  the  origin  of  government  and  the  sovereignty 
of  the  people.  They  sought  to  strengthen  and  to  make  almost 
absolute  tho  executive  authority  of  their  chief,  on  the  ground 
that  such  was  the  popular  will ;  and  they  denoimced  with 
great  acrimony  the  insolenco  of  the  upstart  members  of  thp 
States,  half  a  dozen  traders,  hired  advocates,  churls,  tinkers, 
and  the  like — as  Leicester  was  fond  of  designating  the  men 
who  opposed  him — ^in  assuming  these  airs  of  sovereignty.^ 

This  might,  perhaps,  be  philosophical  doctrine,  had  its 
supporters  not  forgotten  that  there  had  never  been  any  pre- 
tence at  an  expression  of  the  national  will,  except  through 
the  mouths  of  the  States.  The  States-General  and  the  States- 
Provincial,  without  any  usurpation,  but  as  a  matter  of  fact 
and  of  great  political  convenience,  had,  during  fifteen  years, 
exercised  tho  authority  which  had  fallen  from  Philip's  hands. 
The  people  hitherto  had  acquiesced  in  their  action,  and  cer- 


*  "  They  which  havo  tA\  anthority 
in  this  State,"  said  an  honest  German 
traveller,  who  happened  to  be  in  Am- 
heim  that  winter,  "are  for  the  most 
part  merchants^  orators  of  towns, 
mechanic  men,  ignorant,  loving  gain 
naturollj,  without  req)ect  of  bonoor ; 
....  born  to  obey  rather  tdan  com- 
mand, who  having  once  tasted  the 
sweetness  of  authority,  have  by  little 
and  little  persuaded  themselves  that 
they  are  sovereigns;  insulting  over 
the  people,  and  controlling  him  to 
whom  they  had  by  oath  referred  the 
absolute  and  general  goverament  ,  .  • 
Seeing  that  the  sovereignty  really  be- 
longs to  the  people^  to  whom  they  aro 


but  servants  and  deputies  ....  I 
SCO  no  other  remedy  for  this  mischief 
but  that  the  people  be  waty  how  they 
give  such  po\^er  and  autliority,  and 
suffer  it  to  conUnue  so  long  iii  the 
liands  of  men  of  mechanic  and  base 
condition,  who,  grown  proud  with  the 
cooimand,  abuse  it  daily,  as  well 
against  the  people  as  against  the  go- 
vernors, to  whom  the  people  have  re- 
ferred the  government  both  over 
themselves  and  over  tlie  whole  estate." 
Raymond  Stockeler  to  a  friend  in 
England,  16  Feb.  1587.  (S.  P.  Offioe 
^S.)  The  letter  is  printeil  in  Grind- 
stone's *  Netherlands,*  pp.  949,  seq. 


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^^^^        DEMOCRATIC  THEORIES  OF  THE  LBICESTRIANS.  117 

7%  there  had  not  yet  been  any  call  for  a  popular  conven- 
^%or  any  other  device  to  ascertain  the  popular  will.    It 
^^  also  difficult  to  imagine  what  wag  the  exact  entity  of  this 
^oetraction  called  the  "  people "  by  men  who  expressed  such 
^^tTeme  contempt  for  '^merchants,  advocates,  town-orators, 
^^nrh^  tinkers,  and  boso  mechanic  men,  bom  not  to  command 
*^ut  to   obey."    Who  were  the   people  when  the  educated 
^i^a^ses  and  the  working  classes  were  thus  carefully  eliminated  ? 
Sardly  the  simple  peasantry — the  boorfr—who  tilled  the  soil. 
-^^  that  day  the  agricultural  labourers  less  than  aU  others 
dreamed  of  popiular  soverieignty,  and  more  than  all  others 
submitted  to  the  mild  authority  of  the  States.    According  to 
the    tlieory  of  the  Netherland  constitutions,  they  were  sup- 
pose^^ — Qj^([  they,  ijad    themselves    not   yet    discovered    the 
fallaeies  to  which  such  doctrines  could  lead— to  be  repre- 
sented,  by  the  nobles  and  country-squires  who  maintained  in 
tbe   States  of  each  Province  the  general  farming  interests  of 
the  i^public.    Moreover,  the  number  of  agricultural  peasants 
''^^    Comparatively  small.      The   lower  classes  were    rather 
a^^iatomed    to    plough    the    sei^  than  the  land,   and  their 
harvests  were   reaped    from    that    element,   which  to  Hol- 
^^^^^  and  Zeelanders  was  less  capricious  than  the  solid 
^"*^     Almost  every  inhabitant  of  those  sea-bom  territories 
^^>  in  one  sense  or  another,  a  mariner ;  for  every  highway 
^^^  ^  canal ;  the  soil  was  percolated  by  rivers  and  estuaries, 
^^^    and  meres;    the  fisheries  were  the  nurseries  in  which 
^"^  Uiore  daring  navigators  rapidly  learned  their  trade,  and 
^^^Ty  ciiiid  took  naturally  to  the  ocean  as  to  its  legitimate 


"*^o  "  people,"  therefore,  thus  enthroned  by  the  Leicestrians 

^^^  ccU  the  inhabitants  of  the  country,  appeared  to  many  eyes 

'lier  a  misty  abstraction,  and  its  claim  of  absolute  sove- 

,  ^tity  a  doctrine  almost  as  fantastic  as  that  of  the  divine 

A    ^  cf  kings.    The  Netherlanders  were,  on  the  whole,  a  law- 

^i>:ig   people,  preferring    to    conduct   even   a   revolution 

5^^^ing  to  precedent,  very  much  attached  to  ancient  usages 

'tx'aditions,  valuing  the  liberties,  as  they  called  them,  which 


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118 


THE  UNITED  NETHERLANDS. 


Ciup.  XIL 


they  had  wrested  from  what  had  been  superior  force,  with 
their  own  right  hands,  preferring  facts  to  theories,  and  feeling 
competent  to  deal  with  tyrants  in  the  concrete  rather  than 
to  annihilate  tyranny  in  the  abstract  by  a  bold  and  generalizing 
phraseology.  Moreover  the  opponents  of  the  Leicester  party 
complained  that  the  principal  use  to  which  this  newly  dis- 
covered "  people  "  had  been  applied,  was  to  confer  its  absolute 
sovereignty  unconditionally  upon  one  man.  The  people  was 
to  be  sovereign  in  order  that  it  might  immediately  abdicate 
in  favour  of  the  Earl.^ 

Utrecht,  the  capital  of  tho  Leicestrians,  had  already  been 
deprived  of  its  constitution.  The  magistracy  was,  according 
to  law,  changed  every  year.  A. list  of  candidates  was  fur- 
nished by  the  retiring  board,  an  equal  number  of  names 
was  added  by  tho  governor  of  the  Province,  and  from  the 
catalogue  thus  composed  the  governor  with  his  council 
selected  tho  new  magistrates  fcr  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  afiairs,  the  Lei- 
cestrians had  seized  upon  tho  government,  excluded  all 
the  ancient    magistrates,    banished    many    leading    citizens 


'  Even  Leicester  himself  was  asto- 
nished at  the  sabservlency  of  the  de- 
mocratic par^.  .  **I  remember/'  said 
his  confidential  secretaiy,  "that  your 
Excellency  told  mo  once  a  very  wise 
word^iXiaX  those  of  Utrecht  had 
given  you  more  auOiority  than  Viey 
could  weU  do:' 

"Your  council,"  ho  said  further, 
"  cannot  allow  of  all  tho  doings  of  M. 
Doventer  and  of  M.  Modet.  True 
it  is  that  they  both  and  all  those  of 
Utrecht  do  lovo  yoa  with  all  their 
hearts,  but  they  do  many  things  very 
rashly,  and  do  disunite  themselves 
firom  tho  generality  of  the  United 
Provinces.  Lisomuch  that,  at  this 
present,  those  of  the  magistrates  of 
Utrecht'  have,  disunited  themselves 
from  the  States  of  their  own  Province, 
and  work  every  day  one  agabst  an- 
other.   ....  I  had  written  to  you  by 


M.  Modet  and  M.  Rataller,  but  they 
both  stole  away  eecretly  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  make  his  own  reasons 
good  first  to  your  Excellency."  Otlic- 
roan  to  Leicester,  7  Jan.  1587.  (Br. 
Mu&  Galba,  0.  xl  p.  72,  MS.) 

"Oupiinus  ut  sua  ExceUentia  (Lei- 
cestrius)  ahsohdi  impertt^  et  pro  sua 
discretione,  salva  religlono  et  privi- 
legiis  suam  Majestatem  non  ofiend- 
entibus."  So  ran  a  petition,  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  con- 
temporary, "was  never  seen  in  the 
Netherlands,  and  could  hardly  be 
found  in  Christendom."    Reyd,  v.  86. 


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^586.  SUSPICIONS  AS  TO  THE  EAUL'S  DESlGNa  119 

from  the  town,  and  installed  an  entirely  new  board,  with 
^^Tard  Proninck,  called  Deventer,  for  chief  burgomaster, 
^lao  was  a  Brabantine  refugee  just  arrived  in  the  Province, 
^i  not  eligible  to  office  until  after  ten  years'  residence.^ 

It  was  not  unnatural  that  the  Netherlanders,  who  remem- 

Wed  the  scenes  of  bloodshed  and  disorder  produced  by  the 

Memorable  attempt  of  the  Duke  of  Anjou  to  obtain  possession 

of  Antwerp  and  other  cities,  should  be  si^spicious  of  Leicester. 

-Adjou,  too,  had  been  called  to  the  Provinces  by  the  voluntary 

faction  of  the  States.     Ho  too  had  been  hailed  as  a  Messiah 

^fld  a  deliverer.    In  him  too  had  unlimited  confidence  been 

^posed,  and  he  had  repaid  their  affection  and  their  gratitude 

V  a  desperate  attempt  to  obtain  the  control  of  their  chief 

Cities    "by  the  armed  hand,  and  thus  to  constitute  himself 

absolute  sovereign  of  the  Netherlands.    The  inhabitants  had, 

after  a  bloody  contest,  averted  the  intended  massacre  and  the 

impending  tyranny  ;  but  it  was  not  astonishing  that — so  very 

fevr    years  having  elapsed  since  those  tragical  events — they 

should  bo  inclined  to  scan  severely  the  actions  of  the  man 

who     l^ad  already  obtained  by   imconstitutional    means  the 

niastei-y  of  a  most  important  city,  and  was  supposed  to  harbour 

desigi^  upon  all  the  cities. 

-N^o  doubt  it  was  a  most  illiberal  and  unwise  policy  for  the 

inaatitants  of  the  independent  States  to  exclude  from  office 

tno    Wanderers,  for  conscience'  sake,  from  the  obedient  Pro- 

Jiacoa^     They  should  have  been  welcomed  heart  and  hand 

y  *^l>08e  who  were  their  brethren  in  religion  and  in  the  love 

***^^om.     Moreover,  it  was  notorious  that  Hohenlo,  lieu- 

^^t-general  under  Maurice  of  Nassau,  was  a  German,  and 

*•    \)j  the  treaty  with  England,  two  foreigners  sat  in  the 

J^     council,  while  the  army  swarmed  with  English,  Irish, 

^orerman  officers  in  high  command.     Nevertheless,  violently 

^^Ivert  the  constitution  of  a  Province,  and  to  place  in 

y^  ^^    of  high  responsibility  men  who  were  ineligible — some 

^^^  charact^:^  were  suspicious,  and  some  who  were  known 

•  Bor,  n.  xxL  722,  735.     Bejrd,  v.  85,  sa     TTagcnaar,  via.  1C6,  168. 


i 


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120 


THE  UNITED  NETHERLANDS. 


Chap.  XH 


to  be  dangerous,  and  to  banish  large  numbers  of  respectable 
burghers — was  the  act  of  a  despot.^ 

Besides  their  democratic  doctrines,  the  Leicestrians  pro- 
claimed and  encouraged  an  exclusive  and  rigid  Calvinism. 

It  would  certainly  be  unjust  and  futile  to  detract  from  tho 
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, 
pi-eached,  fought,  suffered,  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 
independent  republic,  had  been  lighted  by  tho  hands  of 
Calvinists. 

Throughout  tho  blood-stained  soil  of  France,  too,  tho  men  who 


'  It  was  especially  unfortanate  that 
Leicester  should  foil  so  completely 
into  tho  control  of  Deventer.  That 
subtle  politician  filled  the  govemor'B 
mmd  full  with  spite  against  the  States- 
General,  inspinng  £am  perpetually 
with  jealousy  of  all  bodies  or  ludi- 
viduals  that  interfered  with  his  hopes 
of  attaining  arbitrary,  perhaps  sove- 
reign power.  "Tho  States-General," 
Deventer  whispered  in  Leicester's 
car,  **are  becoming  more  presumptuous 
daily.  They  have  dared  to  return  our 
old  members  to  the  assembly  whom 
we"  (after  the  municipal  revolution) 
"had  recalled.  They  havo  releasea 
Paul  Buys.  We  are  all  marvellously 
scandalized,  for  truly  these  States 
assume  more  jurisdiction  than  was 
over  done  by  the  greatest  tyrant  that 
ever  usurped  in  tliis  land.  You  shall 
hear  many  particulars   by  on   agent 

which  it  is  best  not  to  write 

Let  Tier  Majesty  reflect  Viat  her^s  will 
he  the  shame^  on  hir  head  descends  the 
scom^  and  ruin  to  her  realm  will  be  the 
resuU,  Let  her  break  up  this  con- 
spiracy by  a  sudden  and  heroic  reso- 
lution, let  her  send  your  Excellency 
)iitIior,  with  plenty  of  money  and  sol- 
dierSf  and  wo  on  our  side  will  take 
care  not  to  be  dishonoured  suddenly, 
while  waiting  for  your  return." 

Such   were   tho    prudent   counsels 


given  to  Queen  Elizabeth,  by  Leices- 
ter's chief  adviser,  in  a  moment  full 
of  darkness  and  difficulty.  To  seize 
by  violence  on  tho  cities  of  the  Pro- 
vinces, to  subvert  their  ancient  con* 
stitutions,  to  enact,  in  short,  all  that 
had  been  done  or  attempted  by  former 
tyrants,  was  the  object  proposed  to 
the  English  sovereign  and  the  English 
governor.  G.  de  Proninck  to  Lei- 
cester, 20  Jan.  1587.  (Br.  Mus.,  Galba 
C.  xl  95,  M&) 

Otheman,  too,  boldly  assured  tho 
Queen,  in  a  letter  addressed  directly 
to  her  Majesty,  that  the  ''root  of  Uio 
whole  evil  in  the  Netherlands  was  tho 
ochlocracy  and  bad  government  of  the 
State,"  and  that  the  reformation  could 
only  como  from  her.  Ho  was  also  of 
opinion  that  tho  country  had  been 
badly  handled  for  a  long  time.  *'I 
beUeve,  madam,"  ho  observed,  "that 
this  sick  person  has  had  so  many 
diseases  for  twenty  years,  and  has  had 
so  many  different  doctors — some  with- 
out experience  and  others  without 
fidelity— that  the  more  despairing  tho 
patient  is  of  his  own  case,  the  more 
honour  it  will  be  to  the  one  who  cures 
bun ;  and  'tis  your  Majesty  alone  who 
can  now  administer  the  remedy." 
Otheman  to  the  Queen,  15  Feb.  1587. 
(Br.  Mus.,  Galba  C.  xL  p.  263,  MS.) 


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we.  EXTREME  VIEWS  OF  THE  CALVINlSTa  121 

were  fighting  the  same  great  battle  as  were  the  Netherlanders 
against  Philip  II.  and  the  Inquisition,  the  valiant  cavaliers  of 
Dauphiny  and  Provence,  knelt  on  the  ground,   before  the 
battle,  smote  their  Irdn  breasts  with  their  mailed  hands, 
uttered  a  Calvinistic  prayer,  sang  a  psalm  of  Marot,  and  then 
charged  upon  Guise,  or  upon  Joyeuse,  under  the  white  plume 
of  the  Beamese.    And  it  was  on  the  Calvinist  weavers  and 
clothiers  of  Rochelle  that  the  great  Prince  relied  in  the  hour 
of  clanger  as  much  as  on  his  moimtain  chivalry.    In  England 
too,  the  seeds  of  liberty,  wrapped  up  in  Calvinism  and  hoarded 
through  many  trying  years,  wore  at  last  destined  to  float  over 
land  and  ssa,  and  to  bear  large  harvests  of  temperate  freedom 
for  great  commonwealths,  which  were  still  unborn.    Never- 
theless there  was  a  growing  aversion  in  many  parts  of  the 
States  for  the  rigid  and  intolerant  Spirit  of  the  reformed 
religion.    There  were  many  men  in  Holland  who  had  already 
iflibibed  the  true  lesson — the  only  one  worth  learning  of  the 
reformation — ^liberty  of  thought ;  but  toleration  in  the  eyes  of 
the  extreme  Calvinistic  party  was  as  great  a  vice  as  it  could 
te  in  the  estimation  of  Papists.     To  a  favoured  few  of  other 
habits  of  thought,  it  had  come  to  be  regarded  as  a  virtue  ;  but 
the  day  was  still  far  distant  when  men  were  to  scorn  the  very 
^ord  toleration  as  an  insult  to  the  dignity  of  man  ;  as  if  for 
any  human  being  or  set  of  human  beings,  in  caste,  class, 
synod,  or  church,  the  right  could  even  in  imagination  bo 
conceded   of   controlling    the    consciences    of   their    fellow- 
creatures. 

But  it  was  progress  for  the  sixteenth  century  that  thero 

^ere  individuals,  and  prominent  individuals,  who  dared  to 

proclaim  liberty  of  conscience  for  all.     William  of  Orange 

vas  a  Calvinist,   sincere  and  rigid,  but  he   denounced  all 

oppression  of  religion,  and  opened  wide  the  doors  of  the 

commonwealth  to  Papists,  Lutherans,  and  Anabaptists  alike. 

The  Earl  of  Leicester  was  a  Calvinist,  most  rigid  in  tenet, 

most  edifying  of  conversation,  the  acknowledged  head  of  the 

Puritan  party  of  England,  but  he  was  intolerant  and  was 

influenced  only  by  the  most  intolerant  of  his  sect.     Certainly 


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122 


THE  UNITED  NETHERLANDa 


Chap.  XIL- 


it  would  have  required  great  magnanimity  upon  his  part  to 
assume  a  iriendly  demeanour  towards  the  Papists.  It  is 
easier  for  us,  in  more  favoured  ages,  to  rise  to  the  heights 
of  philosophical  abstraction,  than  for  a  man  placed  as  was 
Leicester,  in  the  front  rank  of  a  mighty  battle,  in  which 
the  triumph  of  either  religion  seemed  to  require  the  bodily 
annihilation  of  all  its  adversaries.  Ho  believed  that  the 
success  of  a  Catholic  conspiracy  against  the  life  of  Elizabeth 
or  of  a  Spanish  invasion  of  England,  would  raise  Mary  to  the 
throne  and  consign  himself  to  the  scaffold.  He  believed  that 
the  subjugation  of  the  independent  Netherlands  would  place 
the  Spaniards  instantly  in  England,  and  he  frequently  received 
information,  true  or  false,  of  Popish  plots  that  were  ever 
hatching  in  various  parts  of  the  Provinces  against  the  English 
Queen.^  It  was  not  surprising,  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  adventurers, 
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,  therefore, 
the  Papists  were  maltreated,  disfranchised,  banished,  and 
plundered.^     The  distribution  of  the  heavy  war-taxes,  more 


>  "May  it  please  your  sacred  Ma- 
jesty," wrote  Wilkes,  "there  is  come 
into  my  bands  the  copy  of  a  letter 
written  by  tbe  Prince  of  Parma  to  the 
Bisbop  of  Liege,  dated  24th  of 
last  month;  by  tbe  which,  among 
other  things,  doth  appear,  that  there 
is  yet  some  bloody  pmpose  in  hand  to 
be  executed  upon  your  Majesty's 
sacred  person,  as  by  the  same  here 
inclosed  doth  appear  .....  It  is 
signified  by  the  letter,  that,  although 
the  exterior  of  the  treasons  and  prac- 
tices plotted  and  contriyed  against 
your  Majesty  be  discovered,  yet  the 
core  and  marrow  thereof  is  not  as  yet 
uncovered  or  known,  whereby  your 
enemies  doubt  not  but  to  achievQ  in 
time  their  wicked  and  horrible  pur- 


poses against  you."  Wilkes  to  the 
Queen,  17  Dea  1586.  (S.  P.  Office 
MS.) 

•  It  can  hardly  excite  surprise  that 
the  Queen,  receiving  almost  every 
week  such  intimations  out  of  the 
Spanish  Netherlands  of  attempts 
against  her  life,  should  desire  to  deal 
severely  with  seminary  priests  and 
their  associates  coming  m>m  those 
regiona 

•  Yet,  strange  to- say,  it  was  Lord 
Buckhurst's  opinion  that  the  oppo- 
nents of  the  Catholic  religion  were 
but  a  small  minority  of  the  Dutdi 
people.  "For  the  commonwealth  of 
these  Provinces,"  wrote  that  envoy, 
"consisting  of  divers  parts  and  pro- 
fessions, as,  namely,  Protestants^  Puri- 


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1586. 


POLITICAL  AMBITION  OF  THE  CHURCH. 


123 


than  two- thirds  of  which  were  raised  in  Holland  only,  was 
confided  to  foreigners,  and  r^ulated  mainly  at  Utrecht,  where 
not  one-tenth  part  of  the  same  revenue  was  collected.  This 
naturally  excited  the  wrath  of  the  merchants  and  manu- 
fecturers  of  Holland  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. 

The  clei^,  too,  arrogated  a  direct  influence  in  political 
affairs.  Their  demonstrations  were  opposed  by  the  anti- 
Leicestrians,  who  cared  not  to  see  a  Geneva  theocracy  in  the 
place  of  the  vanished  Papacy.  They  had  as  little  reverence  in 
secular  afiairs  for  Calvinistic  deacons  as  for  the  college  of 
cardinals,  and  would  as  soon  accept  the  infallibility  of 
Sixtua  V.  as  that  of  Herman  Modet.  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  married  and  had  embraced  the  reformed  religion — » 
T^ho  had  demolished,  and  sold  at  public  auction,  for  12,300 
florins,*  tho  time-honoured  cathedral  where  the  earliest 
Christians    of  the    Netherlands    had   worshipped,    and    St. 


taoS)  Anabaptists,  and  Spanish  hearts, 
which  are  no  small  number,  it  is  most 
certain,  that,  dividing  this  in  five 
parts,  the  Protestants  and  Puritans  do 
hardly  contain  even  one  part  of  five; 
althoagh,  at  this  present,  the  Pro- 
teetODts  and  Puritans,  by  having  the 
rule  and  sovereignty  in  their  hands, 
do  wholly  wage  and  command  the 
captains  and  soldiers."  Buckhurst  to 
the  Queen,  27  May,  15S7.  Printed  in 
'Cabala,  or  Mysteries  of  3tate,'  p.  37. 

And  again,  in  a  letter  to  Walsing- 
ham,  the  same  diplomatist  remarks 
that  the  real  object  of  the  revolt  of 
the  Netherlandera  was  not  to  defend 
tiieir  religkms  but  their  oivil  freedom, 
and  that  Catholics  and  Protestants 
wwe  all  united  to  that  end.  *'If  her 
Majesty,",  he  said,  **  should  not  only 
refoae  the  sovereignty,  but  not  give 
soiBcient  aid,  it  is  in  a  manner  certain 
that  the  people,  not  being  the  fifth 
man   a  Protestant,    and   not   makmg 


their  war  in  truth  for  religion,  but 
for  their  country  and  Ubeiiy  only,  and 
to  resist  tiie  tyranny  of  the  Spaniards, 
whose  hatred  is  ingraft  in  the  hearts 
of  them  all,  when  they  shall  see  her 
Migesty  fail  in  their  defence,  will  turn 
and  revolt  to  the  enemy,"  &c  &a 
Ibid.  p.  11,  13.     13  April,  1687. 

These  sweeping  statements  may  not 
be  strictly  accurate,  but  there  is  no 
doubt  that  Budchurst  was  struck  by 
the  general  and  growing  feeling  of 
mutual  toleration  anH>ng  the  adherents  ^ 
to  the  various  forms  of  religion  in 
Holland,  and  by  tho  instinct  which 
prompted  the  whole  commonwealth 
to  stnke  for  civil  and  religious  liberty 
in  one.  Ck>mpare  Kluit,  *HolL  Staats- 
reg.'  II.  360,  who  states  expressly  that 
the  mcyority  of  every  town  and  village 
in  the  Provinces  were,  in  heart,  &ith« 
ful  to  the  B<Hnan  Oatholic  religion. 

*  Bor,  m.  TTlii.  108. 


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124 


TBB  UinTKD  NKTHEELAKDa 


Chap.  Xll 


WiUibrod  had  ministered,  were  roundly  rebuked,  on  more 
than  one  occasion,  by  the  blunt  Hollanders  for  meddling  with 
matters  beyond  their  sphere.^ 


*  Bor,  in.  xxiiL  108. 

"  There  ia  a  controTerey,"  wroto 
"Wllkefl^  "  within  tho  town  and  pro- 
Tince  of  Utrecht  (their  estate  bemg 
compounded  of  tho  nobihtj,  clergy, 
and .  towns,  oontaming'  three  several 
members)  betweeai  the  towns  and  the 
clergy,  whom  the  towns  have  inhibited 
to  appear  any  more  in  the  public 
aaaemblies,  meaning  to  cass  them 
upon  pretence  that  tho  clergy,  their 
third  member,  is  a  hindrance  to  thou* 
good  proceedinga  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  otiicr  two,  should  take  upon 
him  to  depose  the  first  member,  being 
the  dergy,  without  the  authority  of 
the  tovereign  goyemor  or  the  general 
assent  of  Uie  Union.  At  the  begin- 
ning of  the  garboile,  it  was  thought 
fit  by  thitf  council  to  depute  the  Count 
Hoeurs,  Mons.  do  Meetkerk,  and 
Doctor  Hottman,  persons  of  judgment, 

to  hear  the  contcoyersy and 

as  they  were  travailing  to  reduce  them 
to  an  accord,  there  oamo  a  letter  to 
the  captains  of  the  bourgeoisie  of  tho 
town  of  Utrecht  (being  tho  principal 
iDovers  of  this  di^ensionX  'Written  by 
Mr.  Herle,  by  which  they  have  taken 
heart  to  persist  obstinately  in  their 
purpose,  persuading  themselves  that 
their  proceedings  will  be  avowed  by 
her  Majesty.  And  albeit  this  letter 
do  not  directly  touch  the  matter,  yet 
tiie  large  promises  he  maketh  in  her 
Mn^'eety's  name  of  her  absolute  pur- 
pose to  embrace  theur  cause,  *avec  la 
pleine  main,'  as  be  termeth  it,  hath 
been  occasion  that  they  have  uttered 
in  public  speeches  that  the  letters  of 
her  Majesty's  ambassador  Herle  hath 
given  them  sufficient  hope  that  her 
Majesty  will  •  not  mislike  of  their 
doings  in  going  about  to  banish 
Popery  out  of  that  Province,  which 
they  make  to  be  a  show  and  counte* 
nance  of  their  dealings;  but,  as  I  am 
informed,  tho  most  part  of  those  that 
aro  of  this  •  dergy,  and  do  hold  the 
ecclesiastical  livkigs,  are.  married  and 
cf  the  religion.    And  ia  truth,  as  £ir 


as  I  can  perceive,  tlieir  quarrel  is  not 
against  the  persons  of  the  ecdesiastics, 
because  they  are  contented  that  tho 
persons  shall  continue  in  their  assem- 
blies^ but  against  the  livings,  which 
they  mean  to  convert  to  some  other 
uses.  And  although,  for  mine  own 
poor  opinion,  I  think  the  diurch- 
llvhigs  wero  most  fitly  to  be  converted 
to  the  defence  of  the  public  cause, 
yet  tho  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  Provmco.  I  am  informed 
that  tho  magistrates  of  Utrecht  havo 
despatched  towards  my  lord-general 
and  her  Majesty  one  Herman  Modet, 
their  chief  muiistor,  to  acquaint  them 
with  the  matter,  and  to  make  good 
their  proceedings.  The  said  Modet, 
by  the  report  of  M.  de  Villiers,  tho 
minister,  and  Saravio,  a  great  learned 
preacher  of  Leyden,  is  taken  to  bo 
the  greatest  mutyne  in  all  theso  coun- 
tries;  and  it  is  avouched  by  them  and 
others  of  the  best  condition  that  ho 
was  the  only  occasion  of  tho  loss  of 
Ghent,  upon  the  liko  matter  begun  by 
him  witUn  the  town.  Tho  Princo  of 
Orange,  in  his  time,  could  never  brook 
the  same  Modet,  and,  as  tho  Count 
Maurice  telleth  me,  ho  did  alwayn 
oi^pose  himself  agtdnst  the  counsel 
and  designs  of  the  Prince  his  fiither. 
I  thought  it  not  unfit  to  give  you  this 
taste  of  tho  condition  of  Modet^  be- 
cause I  know  that  my  Lord  North, 
Mr.  Killigrew,  and  Mr.  "Webbo  havo 
greatly  supported  him  in  his  humours 
at  Utrecht,  and  it  is  not  to  be  doubted 
that  they  will  do  the  liko  at  home." 
Wilkes  to  Walsingham,  Doc  24,  1586. 
(a  P.  Office  MS.) 

Sudi  letters,  written  on  the  spot, 
by  a  man  thoroughly  acquainted  with 
Netheriand  politics,  and  the  ezpc* 
rienced  faithfol  representative  of  her 
Majesty  in  the  state-council,  explain 
the  intrigues  and  the  instrumenta  of 
the  Loicestrian  party.  It  was  by 
honest  and  lucid  expositions  like 
these,  that  -  tlio    \vriter    incurred    lb:* 


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1586. 


ANTAGONISM  OF  THB  CHURCH  AND  STATEa 


125 


The  party  of  the  States-General,  as  opposed  to  the  Leicester 
party,  was  guided  by  the  statesmen  of  Holland.  At  a 
somewhat  later  period  was  formed  the  Stat^right  party, 
which  claimed  sovereignty  for  each  Province,  and  by  necessary 
consequence  the  h^mony  throughout  the  confederacy,  for 
Holland.  At  present  the  doctrine  maintained  was  that  tho 
sovereignty  forfeited  by  Philip  had  naturally  devolved  upon 
the  States-General.  The  statesmen  of  this  party  repudiated 
the  calumny  that  it  had  therefore  lapsed  into  tho  hands  of 
half  a  dozen  mechanics  and  men  of  low  degree.  The  States 
of  eadi  Province  were,  they  maintained,  composed  of  nobles 
and  country-gentlemen,  as  representing  the  agricultural 
interest,  and  of  deputies  from  the  ^  vroedschappen,'  or  mu- 
nicipal governments,  of  every  city  and  smallest  town. 

Such  men  as  Adrian  Van  der  Werflf,  tho  heroic  burgo- 
master of  Leydeu  during  its  femous  siege,  John  Van  der 
Does,  statesman,  orator,  soldier,  poet,  Adolphus  Meetkerke, 
judge,  financier,  politician,  Carl  Boorda,  Noel  de  Caron, 
diplomatist  of  most  signal  ability,  Floris  Thin,  Paul  Buys, 
and  Olden-Bameveld,  with  many  others,  who  would  have  done 
honour  to  the  legislative .  assemblies  and  national  councils  in 
any  country  or  any  age,  were  constantly  returned  as  members 
of  the  different  yroed^hapS  in  the  commonwealth. 

So  far  from  its  being  true  then  that  half  a  dozen  ignorant 
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  hundred  thousand  inhabitants 
of  Holland  at  least  eight  hundred  persons  were  always 
engaged  in  tho  administration  of  public  afiairs,  that  these 
individuals  were  perpetually  exchanged  for  others,  and  that 
tho^e  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  acknowledged 
by  the  leading  statesmen  of  England  and  France,  on  repeated 


deadly  hatred  of  the  Earl,  and  was  in 
danger  of  losing  his  lilb.  (Compare 
Bor  and  Beyd,  uM  Mtp.    Le  Petit^  IL 


ziv.  533.    Wagenaar,  vilL  168.) 

»  Kluit,   *HolL    Staataregering/   IL 
203. 


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126  THE  UNITED  NETHERLANDS.  Chap.  XIL 

occasions  throughout  the  sixteenth  century,  that  the  diplo- 
matists 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  statesmen,  these  "  substantial,  wise, 
well-languaged "  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  gene- 
rally men  of  the  people,  bom  without  any  of  the  accidents  of 
fortune  ;  but  the  leaders  had  studied  in  the  common  scbools, 
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  tho  judiciary  depart- 
ments were  more  carefully  and  scientifically  separated  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  stadholders  and  council ;  the  supplies 
were  in  the  hands  of  the  States-Provincial,  and  the  supreme 
administrative  authority  was  confided  to  a  stadholder  appointed 
by  the  States. 

The  States-General  wore  constituted  of  similar  materials 
to  those  of  which  tho  States-Provincial  were  constructed,  and 
the  same  individuals  wero  generally  prominent  in  both. 
They  wero  deputies  appointed  by  the  Provincial  Estates,  wero 
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  necessary 
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 


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1586.  THE  STATES  INCLINED  TO  TOLERANCE.  127 

even  men  employed  in  public  aflFairs  who  were  suspected  of 
l)api8tical  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  worship,  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 
ouch  bold  views  in  religious  matters  were  bitterly  assailed 
by  their  rigid  oi>ponents.  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  encouragement  to 
an  expanding  commerce,  the  elevation  and  education  of  the 
mass^,  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 
Boviereignty  of  the  Provinces.  But  they  were  determined 
that  the  sovereignty  should  bo  a  constitutional  one,  founded 
upon  and  limited  by  the  time-honoured  laws  and  traditions 
of  their  commonwealth  ;  for  they  recognised  the  value  of  a 
free  republic  with  an  hereditary  chief,  however  anomalous 
it  might  in  theory  appear.  They  knew  that  in  Utrecht 
the  Leicestrian  party  were  about  to  offer  the  Queen  the 
sovereignty  of  their  Province,  without  conditional  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. 

Thus  contrasted,  then,  were  the  two  great  parties  in  the 
Netherlands,  at  the  conclusion  of  Leicester's  first  year  of 
administration.  It  may  easily  be  understood  that  it  was  not 
an  auspicious  moment  to  leave  the  country  without  a  chief. 


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128  "THE  UNITED  NBTHEELANDa  Chap.  XII; 

The  strength  of  th(3  Stales-party  lay  in  Holland,  Zeeland, 
Friesland.  The  main  stay  of  the  democratic  or  Leicester 
faction  was  in  the  city  of  Utrecht,  but  the  Earl  had,  many 
partizans  in  Gelderland,  Friesland,  and  in  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  by  the  vigorous   measures  of   Sir  William 

Pelham. 

The  condition  of  the  republic  and  of  the  Spanish  Provinces 
was,  at  that  moment,  most  signally  contrasted.  If  the  effects 
of  despotism  and  of  liberty  could  ever  bo  exhibited  at  a 
single  glance,  it  was  certainly  only  necessary  to  look  for  A 
moment  at  the  picture  of  the  obedient  and  of  the  rebel 
Netherlands. 

Since  the  fJl  of  Antwerp,  tho  desolation  of  Brabant, 
Flanders,  and  of  tho  Walloon  territories  had  become  com- 
plete. The  King  had  recovered  the  great  commercial 
capital,  but  its  commerce  was  gone.  The  Scheldt,  which,  till 
recently,  had  been  the  chief  mercantile  river  in  tho  world, 
had  become  as  barren  as  if.  its  fountains  had  suddenly  dried 
up.  It  was  as  if  it  no  longer  flowed  to  the  ocean,  for  its 
mouth  was  controlled  by  Flushing.  Thus  Antwerp  was 
imprisoned  and  paralyzed.  Its  docks  and  basins,  where 
2500  ships  had  onco  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, 
Toumay,  and  thosQ  other  fair  cities,  which  had  once  been 
types  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,  manufactures,  agriculture,  werp  dying 
lingering  deaths.    The  thrifty  farms,  orchards,  and  gardens, 


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1686.  DESOLATION  OF  THE  OBEDIENT  PROVINCES.  129 

which  had   been  a  proverb  and  wonder  of  industry  were 
becoming  wildernesses.     The  demand  for  their  produce  by 
the  opulent  and  thriving  cities,  which  had  been  the  work- 
shops of  tho  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  tho 
gardejiers  and  farmers.   The  clothiers,  the  fullers,  the  tapestry- 
workers,  the  weavers,  the  cutlers,  had  all  wandered  away,  and 
the  cities  of  Holland,  Friesland,  and  of  England,  were  growing 
skilful  and  rich  by  tho  lessons  and  the  industry  of  the  exiles 
to  whom   they  afforded  a  home.     There,  were  villages  and 
small  towns  in  the  Spanish  Netherlands  that  had  been  literally 
depopulated    Large  districts  of  country  had  gone  to  waste, 
and  cane-brakes  and  squalid  morasses  usurped  tho  place  of 
yellow  harvest-fields.     The  fox,  the  wild  boar,  and  the  wolf, 
infested  tho  abandoned  homes  of  the  peasantry ;   children 
could  not  walk  in  safety  in  the  neighbourhood  even  of  tho 
laiger  cities ;    wolves  littered  their  young  in  the  deserted 
fann-houses ;  two  hundred  persons,  in  the  winter  of  1586-7, 
^ere  devoured  by  wild  beasts  in  the  outskirts  of  Ghent.^ 
Such  of  the  remaining  labourers  and  artizans  as  had  not  .been 
converted  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.    Brandschatzung,  burgl^, 
bi^way-robbery,  and  murder,  had  become  the  chief  branches 
of  industry  among  the  working  classes.    Nobles  and  wealthy 
huighers    had    been  changed    to    paupers  and    mendicants. 
Uany  a  family  of  ancient  lineage,  and  once  of  large  posses- 
sions, could  be  seen  begging  their  bread,  at  the  dusk  of 
evening,  in  the  streets  of  great  cities,  where  they  had  once 
exercised  luxurious  hospitality;   and  they  often  begged  in 
vain.' 


*  fior,  IL  zzil  984,  985.  Meteren, 
3riv.  263.  Hoofd,  Verrolgh,  251. 
Wagenaar,  vi!l  224,  225.  Van  Wyu 
opWagen,viiL67. 

VOL.  II.— K 


"The  bedsteads  of  the  abandoned 
cottages,"  says  Meteren,  "swanned 
with  littie  wolves,"  ubi  sup, 

'  Bor,  Meteren,  Hooid,  VTagmiaar. 


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130 


THE  UNITED  NBTHEBLANDa 


Ohap.  XIL 


For  while  such  was  the  forlorn  aspect  'of  the  country — and 
the  portrait,  faithfully  sketched  from  many  contemporary 
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,  b^gars  and  workmen,  were  m  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  bo  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  rye, 
therefore,  were  worth  one  penny  sterling,  reckoning,  as  was 
then  nsual,  two  shillings  to  the  florin.  A  pound  weight  of 
wheat  was  worth  about  one  farthing.^  Yet  this  was  forty-one 
years  after  the  discovwy  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  yefirs,  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  England  was 
sixty-four  shillings  the  quarter,  or  about  seven  and  sixpence 
sterling  the  bushel,^  and  in  the  markets  of  Holland,  which  in 


'  A  oootemporary  chronicler  has 
preserved  a  droll  medley  of  prices  in 
the  Netherlands  in  the  year  1648,  but 
one  which,  if  accurate,  furnishes  a 
striking  instance  of  the  lovr  monej- 
valuation  of  the  yarious  necessaries  of 
life,  before  the  great  revolution  in  the 
value  of  sQver  had  begun.  For  one 
hundred  and  sixty  florins  (162.)  there 
were  bought  a  last  (108  bushels,  or  80 
bushels  English)  of  wheat,  a  last  of 
lye,  a  last  of  baiiey,  a  last  of  oata^  a 


quarter  hnndred-weight  of  batter,  300 
pounds  of  lard,  one  hundred  cheese^ 
a  doublet^  a  pair  of  shoes;  a  bonnet, 
a  bag,  a  barrel  of  excellent  beer,  and 
there  were  six  stuyvers  over  for  drink- 
money.  "And  let  this  serve  as  a 
memorial,"  he  piously  observes,  "of 
how  much  the  wrath  of  God  and  how 
much  his  benignly  can  do  tbr  us." 
Met  xiv.  263. 

*  Tables  in  McChiUoch's  edition  of 
Adam  Smith,  p.  117. 


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1686. 


PAUPERISM  AND  FAMINE 


131 


tmth  regulated  all  others,  the  same  prices  prevailed.^  A 
bushel  of  wheat  in  England  was  equal  therefore  to  eight 
bushels  in  Brussels. 

Thus  the  silver  mines,  which  were  the  Spanish  King's 
property,  had  produced  thdr  effect  everywhere  more  signally 
than  within  the  obedient  Provinces.  The  South  American 
specie  found  its  way  to  Philip's  coffers,  thence  to  the  pay- 
masters of  his  troops  in  Flanders,  and  thence  to  the  com- 
mercial centres  of  Holland  and  England.  Those  countries, 
first  to  feel  and  obey  the  favourable  expanding  impulse  of 
the  age,  were  moving  surely  and  steadily  on  before  it  to 
greatness.  Prices  were  rising  with  unexampled  rapidity,  the 
precious  metals  were  comparatively  a  drug,  a  world-wide 
commerce,  such  as  had  never  been  dreamed  of,  had  become 
an  every-day  concern,  the  arts  and  sciences  and  a  m6st 
generous  culture  in  famous  schools  and  universities,  which 
had  been  founded  in  the  midst  of  tumult  and  bloodshed, 
characterized  the  republic,  and  the  golden  age  of  English 
poetry,  which  was  to  make  the  Elizabethan  era  famous  through 
all  time,  had  already  begun. 

In  the  Spanish  Netherlands  the  newly-found  treasure 
served  to. pay  the  only  labourers  required  in  a  subjiigated  and 
almost  desferted  country,  the  pikemen  of  Spain  and  Italy,  and 
the  reiters  of  Germany.  Prices  could  not  sustain  themselves 
in  the  face  of  depopulation.  Where  there  was  no  security  for 
property,  no  home-market,  no  foreign  intercourse,  industrial 
pursuits  had  become  almost  impossible.  The  small  denwmd 
for  labour  had  caused  it,  as  it  were,  to  disappear  altogether. 
All  men  had  become  b^gars,  brigands,  or  soldiers.  A 
temporary  reaction  followed.  There  were  no  producers. 
Suddenly  it  was  discovered  that  no  corn  had  been  planted, 
and  that  there  was  no  harvest.    A  famine  was  the  inevitable 


*  Bor,  Meteren.  A  veertel  is  about 
three  bushels.  A  florin  was  then 
always  reckoned  at  two  shillings  ster- 
ling. The  price  of  a  bushel  of  rye 
at  Brussels  and  Antwerp  was  there- 
fore eightpence;   that  of  a  bushel  of 


wheat  about  one-third  more,  say  eleyen- 
pence,  or  seven  and  fourpence  for  the 
quarter  (eight  bushels),  alK>ut  an  eighth 
or  ninth  of  the  price  in  England  and 
Holland. 


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132 


THE  UNITED  NETHERLAITDS. 


Chap.  XH 


result.  Prices  then  rose  with  most  frightful  rapidity.  The 
veertel  of  rye,  which  in  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  proportionally 
increased  in  market-value ;  but  it  is  worthy  of  remark  that 
mutton  was  quoted  in  the  midst  of  the  famine  at  nine  stuy vers 
(a  little  more  than  ninepence  sterling)  the  pound,  and  beef 
at  fivepence,  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,  than  that  the  only  agricultural  indus- 
try 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  expiration 
of  another  year,  prices  were  again  at  their  previous  level. 
The  land  was  sufficiently  cultivated  to  furnish  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  tenpence  the  bushel,  and  other  commodities 
valued  in  like  jproportion,  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  century  without  any 
interruption,   population    was    increasing,    property    rapidly 


'  Bor,  Metcron,  Hoofd,  v&i  $up,  A 
last  of  rye  is  quoted  by  Meteren  (xiv-. 
253^0)  At  800  florins.  A  last  is  equal 
to  80  bushels^  Euglish  measure.  Tliis 
is  just  ten  florins,  or  one  pound  sterling, 


the  bushel  for  lye,  and  one-third  more^ 
or  twenty-seven  shilUnga — that  is  to 
say,  lOL  IBs.  the  quarter — for  wheat. 

*  Bor,  Hoofd,  Metcron,  vbi  «ttp. 

•  n)id. 


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1586. 


PROSPERITT  OP  THE  REPUBUC. 


133 


advancing  in  valne^  labour  in  active  demand.  Famine  was 
impossible  to  a  state  which  commanded  the  ocean.  No  com 
grew  in  Holland  and  Zeeland,  but  their  ports  were  the 
granary  of  the  world.  The  fisheries  were  a  mine  of  wealth 
almost  equal  to  the  famous  Potosi,  with  which  the  commercial 
world  was  then  ringing.  Their  commerce  with  the  Baltic 
nations  was  enormous.  In  one  month  eight  hundred  vessels 
left  their  havens  for  the  eastern  ports  alone.  There  was  also 
no  doubt  whatever — ^and  the  circumstance  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 
revolutionary  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 
fiigates  were  constantly  cruising  along  the  coasts  to  protect 
the  &st-gr6wing  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  Holland 
and  Zeeland  than  in  the  whole  kingdom  of  England.^ 
.  While  the  sea-ports  were  thus  rapidly  increasing  in 
importance,  the  towns  in  the  interior  were  advancing  as 
steadily.  The  woollen. manufacture,  the  tapestry,  the  em- 
broideries of  (Jelderland,  and  Friesland,  and  Overyssel,  were 
becoming  as  famous  as  had  been  those  of  Tournay,  Ypres, 
Brussels,  and .  Valenciennes.  The  emigration  from  the 
obedient  Provinces  and  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,  besides  frequent  extraordinary  grants  for  the 

'  Six  years  later  it  was  asserted  by 
the  magistrates  of  Amsterdam,  la  a 
oommunioatlon  made  to  the  States- 
General,  ''that  DO  one  could  doubt 
that  in  regard  to  the  mercantile  marine 
and  the  amount  of  tonnage^  the  Pro- 
Tincea  were  so  far  superior  to  England 


tliat  ?iarcUy  any  comparison  cottld  be 
made  on  the  mibjeei^  &c  Koop  yaardy- 
Schepen  in  Nederlahd  tfi  1693.  Brief 
T.  d.  Burgemaastef^n  en  Raden  der 
stad  Anwterdam  aan  de'  Staaten- 
General."    (Hague  Archires,  MS) 


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134  ^™S  UNITED  NETHERLANDS.  Chap.  33IL 

same  purpose^  yet  the  burthen  imposed  upon  the  vigorou3 
young  commonwealth  seemed  only  to  make  it  the  more 
elastic.  "  The  coming  generations  may  see/'  says  a  contem- 
porary historian^  ^^  the  fortifications  erected  at  that  epoch  in 
the  cities,  the  costly  and  magnificent  havens,  the  docks,  the 
great  extension  of  the  cities  ;  for  truly  the  war  had  become  a 
great  benediction  to  the  inhabitants.''  ^ 

8uch  a  prosperous  commonwealth  as  this  was  not  a  prize 
to  be  lightly  thrown  away.  There  is  no  doubt  whatever  that 
a  large  majority  of  the  inhabitants,  and  of  the  States  by 
whom  the  people  were  represented,  turdently  and  affectionately 
desired  to  be  annexed  to  the  English  crown.  Leicester  had 
become  unpopular,  but  Elizabeth  was  adored,  and  there  was 
nothing  unreasonable  in  the  desire  entertained  by  the  Pro- 
vinces of  retaining  their  ancient  constitutions,  and  of  trans- 
ferring their  allegiance  to  the  English  Queen. 

But  the  English  Queen  could  not  resolve  to  take  the  Btep. 
Although  the  great  tragedy  which  was  swiftly  approaching 
its  inevitable' catastrophe,  the  execution  of  the  Scottish  Queen, 
was  to  make  peaci3  with  Philip  impossible — even  if  it  were 
imaginable  before — Elizabeth,  during  the  year  1587,  was 
earnestly  bent  on  peace.  This  will  be  made  manifest  in  sub- 
sequent, pages,  by  an  e^mination  of  the  secret  correspond- 
ence of  the  court.  Her  most  sagacious  statesmen  disapproved 
her  course,  opposed  it,  and  wei-e  often  overruled,  although 
never  convinced ;  for  her  imperious  will  would  have  its  way. 

The  States-General  loathed  the  very  name  of  peace  with 
Spain.  The  people  loathed  it.  All  knew  that  peace  with 
Spain  meant  the  exchange  of  a  thriving  prosperous  common- 
wealth, with  freedom  of  religion,  constitutional  liberty,  and 
self-government,  for  provincial  subjection  to  the  inquisition 
and  to  despotism.  To  dream  of  any  concession  from  Philip 
on  the  reli^us  point  was  ridiculous.  There  was  a  mirror 
ever  held  upi  before  their  eyes  by  the  obedient  Provinces,  in 
which  they  Dflight  see  their  own  image,  should  they  too  re- 
turn to  obedience.    And  there  was  never  a  pretence,  on  the 

*  MetereD,  xiv.  263^o. 


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168«.  THE  YEAR  OF  BXPEOTATIOST.  I35 

part  of  any  honest  adviser  of  Queen  Elizabeth  in  the  Nether- 
lands;  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  shall 
see  the  long  prologue  to  the  tragic  and  memorable  1588 
slowly  enacting ;  the  same  triangular  contest  between  the 
three  Henrys  and  their  partizans  still  proceeding.  We  shall 
see  the  mi^uided  and  wretched  Yalois  lamenting  over  his 
victories,  and  rejoicing  over  his  defeats ;  forced  into  hollow 
alliance  with  his  deadly  enemy  ;  arrayed  in  arms  against  his 
only  protector  and  the  true  champion  of  the  realm  ;  and 
struggling  vainly  in  the  toils  of  his  own  mother  and  his  own 
secretary  of  state,  leagued  with  his  most  powerful  foes.  We 
shall  see  ^  Mucio,'  with  one  hand  extended  in  mock  friend- 
ship toward  the  King,  and  with  the  other  thrust  backward  to 
grasp  the  purse  of  300,000  crowns  held  forth  to  aid  his  fellow- 
conspirator's  dark  designs  against  their  common  victim  ;  and 
the  B6amese,  ever  with  lance  in  rest,  victorious  over  the 
wrong  antagonist,  foiled  of  the  fruits  of  victory,  proclaiming 
himself  the  English  Queen's  devoted  knight,  but  railing  at  her 
parsimony  ;  always  in  the  saddle,  always  triumphant^  always  a 
beggar,  always  in  love,  always  cheerful,  and  always  confident  to 
outwit  the  Guises  and  Philip,  Parma  and  the  Pope. 

And  in  Spain  we  shall  have  occasion  to  look  over  the  King's 
shoulder,  as  he  sits  at  Jiis  study-table,  in  his  most  sacred  re- 
tirement ;  and  wo  shall  find  his  policy  for  the  year  1587 
Bummed  up  in  two  words — invasion  of  England.  Sincerely 
and  ardently  as  Elizabeth  meant  peace  with  Philip,  just  so 
siocerely  did  Philip  intend  war  with  England,  and  the  de- 
thronement and  destruction  of  the  Queen.  To  this  great 
design  all  others  were  now  subservient,  and  it  was  mainly  on 
account  of  this  determination  that  there  was  sufficient  leisure 
in  the  republic  for  the  Leicestrians  and  ihe  States-Gkneral 
to  fighl  out  so  thoroughly  their  party-contests. 


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236  TBSVNItED  KEIHEBLANDS.  nniP.  TTH 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

Bameveld^B  I:iilaenco  in  the  Proyinces — Unpopularity  of  Leioester— • 
Intrigaes  of  his  Servants — Goflsip  of  his  Secretary — Its  ^  mischierons 
Effects » The  Quarrel  of  Norris  and  HoUock— The  Earl's  PartioipatioQ 
in  the  Afiair  —  His  increased  Animosity  to  Norris  —  Seizure  of  Deveoter 
— Stanley  appointed  its  Governor  — York  and  Stanley  —  Leicester's  secret 
Instructions — WOkes  remonstrates  with  Stanley  —  Stanley's  Insolence  and 
Equivocation  —  Painful  Bumours  as  to  him  and  York  —  Duplicity  of  York 
—  Stanley's  Banquet  at  Beventer  —  He  surrenders  the  City  to  Tassis — 
Terms  of  the  Bargain — Feeble  Defence  of  Stanley's  Conduct  —  Subsequent 
Fate  of  Stanley  and  York — Betrayal  of  Gelder  to  Parma —  These  Treasons 
cast  Odium  on  the  English  —  Miserable  Plight  of  the  English  Troo|)6— 
Honesty  and  Energy  of  Wilkes  —  Indignant  Discussion  in  the  Assembly. 

The  government  had  nofc  been  laid  down  by  Leicester  on  his 
departure.  It  had  been  provisionally  delegated,  as  already 
mentioned  to  the  state-council.  In  this  body— consisting  of 
eighteen  persons — originally  appointed  by  the  Earl,  on  no- 
mination by  the  States,  several  members  were  friendly  to 
the  governor,  and  others  were  violently  opposed  to  him.  .The 
States  of  Holland,  by  whom  the  action  of  the  States-General 
was  mainly  controlled,  were  influenced  in  their  action  by  Buys 
and  Bameveld.  Young  Maurice  of  Nassau,  nineteen  years  of 
age,  was  stadholder  of  Holland  and  Zeeland.  A  florid  com- 
plexioned,  &ir-haired  young  man,  of  sanguine-bilious  tem- 
perament ;  reserved,  quiet,  reflective,  singularly  self-possessed  ; 
meriting  at  that  time,  more  than  his  father  had  ever  done, 
the  appellation  of  the  taciturn ;  discreet,  sober,  studious. 
^'  Count  Maurice  saith  but  little,  but  I  cannot  tell  what  he 
thinketh,''  wrote  Leicester's  eaves-dropper-in-chief.*  Ma- 
thematics, fortification,  the  science  of  war — these  were  his 
daily  pursuits.  "  The  sapling  was  to  become  the  tree,"  and 
meantime  the  youth  was  preparing  for  the  great  destiny 
which  he  felt,  lay  before  him.  To  ponder  over  the  works  and 
the  daring  conceptions  of  Stevinus,  to  build  up  and  to  batter 
the  wooden  blocks  of  mimic  citadels  ;  to  arrange  in  countless 
>  Otheman  to  Lek»8ter.    (Brit  Kus.  Qalba,  C.  xi.  216,  1  Feb.  1687,  US,) 


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158t.  BARNEVELD'S  INFLUBNCB  IN  THB  PROVINCEa  137 

combinations,  great  armies  of  pewter  soldiers;  these  were 
the  occupations  of  his  leisure-hours.  Yet  he  was  hardly  sus- 
pected of  bearing  within  him  the  germs  of  the  great  military 
commander.  '^  Small  desire  hath  Count  Maurice  to  follow 
Uie  wars,''  said  one  who  fancied  himself  an  acute  observer  at 
exactly  this  epoch.  ^'  And  whaieas  it  might  be  supposed  that 
in  respect  to  his  birth  and  place,  he  would  affect  the  chief 
military  command  in  these  countries,  it  is  found  by  experience 
had  (/his  humour,  thai  there  is  no  chance  of  his  entering  into 
competition  with  the  othens."^  A  modest  young  man,  who 
could  bide  his  time — but  who,  meanwhile,  under  the  guidance 
of  his  elders,  was  doing  hki  best,  both  in  field  and  cabinet,  to 
learn  the  great  lessons  of  tho  age — ho  had  already  enjoyed 
much  solid  practical  instruction,  under  such  a  desperate 
filter  as  Hohenlo,  and  under  so  profound  a  statesman  as 
Bameyeld.  For  at  this  epoch  Olden-Bameveld  was  the  pre- 
ceptor, almost  the  political  patron  of  Maurice,  and  Maurice, 
the  official  head  of  the  Holland  party,  was  the  declared 
opponent  of  the  democratic-Calvinist  organization.  It  is  not 
necessary,  at  this  early  moment,  to  foreshadow  the  changes 
which  time  was  to  bring.  Meantime  it  would  be  seen,  per- 
haps ere  long,  whether  or  no,  it  would  be  his  hiunour  to 
follow  the  wars.  As  to  his  prudent  and  dignified  deportment 
there  was  liltle  doubt.  ^^  Count  Maurice  bdhaveth  himself  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,  keeping  no  company  with  Count  Hollock,  nor  with 
any  of  them  all,  and  never  drinks  himself  full  with*  any  of 
Ihem,  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,  thai  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  com- 
monwealth.    After  the  campaigns  were   over — if  they  ever 

*  Project  for  the  Goremment  of  the   I       *  Otheman    to    Leicester,    16    Jan. 
ProTiDces.    {'  Cabala,'  p.  23.)  |   1687.    (Brit.  Una,  Galba,  0.  xL  99,  M&) 


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138 


THE  UNITED  NETHSBLAima; 


Chap.  "K^^. 


could  be  over — the  Count  and  other  nobles  from  the  8»me 
country  were  too  apt  to  indulge  in  those  might j  potations^ 
which  were  rather  characteristic  of  their  nation  and  the  age. 

"Since  your  Excellency's  departure/'  wrote  Leicester's 
secretary^  "  there  hath  been  among  the  Dutch  Counts  nothing 
but  dancing  and  drinking,  to  the  grief  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  mortgaged  his  English 
estates  in  order  to  raise  funds  to  expend  in  the  Nethedand 
causa  Thirty  thousand  pounds  sterling— according  to  his 
own  statement — ^he  was  already  out  of  pocket,  and,  unless 
the  Queen  would  advance  him  tho  means  to  redeem  his  pro- 
perty, his  broad  lands  were  to  be  brought  to  the  hammer.' 
But  it  wa^tho  Queen,  not  tho  States-General,  who  owed  tho 
money ;  for  the  Earl  had  advanced  these  sums  as  a  portion 
of  tho  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  delSt,  and  they 
were  extremely  desirous  to  obtain,  at  that  moment,  an  addi- 
tional loan  of  fifty  thousand  pounds  from  Elizabeth  ;  a  &vour 
which  Elizabeth  was  vety  firmly  determined  not  to  grant.  It 
was  this  terror  at  the  expense  into  which  the  Netherland  war 
was  plunging  her,  which  made  tho  English  sovereign  so 
desirous  for  peace,  and  filled  the  anxious  mind  of  Walsingham 
with  the  most  painful  forebodings. 

mortgages  above  written  ara  past  re- 
demption, except  on  present  payment 
of  the  due  debts.  His  Lordship  doth 
owe  an  infinite  sam  besides  for  his  ex- 
penses made  in  these  servicas,  over 
and  besides  these  debt&^ 

*  Wilkes  to  WalsiDgfaam,  12  Jan. 
1687.  SametoBnn^er,  12  Jan.1587. 
(a  P.  Office  MSa) 


*  Otheman  to  Leicester,  7  Jan.  1587. 
(Ibid.  p.  72,  MS.) 

*  "last  of  the  Earl  of  Leicester's 
mortgages,  to  raise  monej  spent  in 
domg  her  Majesty  service  in  the  Low 
Countries."    (S.  P.  Office,  1687,  MS.) 

There  were  fi^re  different  mortgages 
of  estates  and  manors  in  Bngland, 
amounting  hi  all  to  18,00(U.    *'  AU  the 


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I 


1587. 


UNPOPULAKITY  OP  LBI0E3rBR. 


139 


Ldoester^  in  spite  of  his  good  qualities — such  as  they  were 
—had  not  that  most  neoe^ary  gift  for  a  man  in  his  poaitbn, 
the  art  of  making  friends.  No  man  made  so  many  enemies. 
He  was  an  ezcell^it  hater,  and  few  men  hare  been  more 
cordially  hated  in  return  He  was  imperious,  insolent,  hot- 
tempered.  Ho  could  brook  no  equal  He  had  also  the  fatal 
defect  of  enjoying  the  flattery  of  his  inferiors  in  station. 
Adroit  intriguers  burned  incense  to  him  as  a  god,  and  em- 
ployed him  as  their  tool.  And  now  he  had  mortally  offended 
Hohenlo,  and  Buys,  and  Bameveld,  while  he  hated  Sir  John 
Nonis  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  administration,  and  the  various 
errors  committed,  had  inspired  Leicester  with  such  ferocious 
resentment,  that  the  friends  of  Wilkes  trembled  for  his  life.* 


*  "It  is  generallj  bruited  hero," 
wrote  Beanry  Smith  to  his  brother-m- 
law  WDkefl^  "  of  a  most  heavy  displea- 
8ore  oonoeived  by  my  Lord  of  Leicester 
against  yoo,  and  it  is  said  to  be  so 
great,  as  that  he  hath  protested  to 
be  revenged  of  yon;  ana  to  procure 
joa  the  more  enemies,  it  is  said  ho 
hathi  revealed  to  my  Lord  Treasurer, 
and.  Secretary  Davison  some  injurious 
speeches  (which  I  cannot  report)  you 
should^  have  used  of  them  to  lum  at 
jonr  last  being  with  him.  Further- 
more some  of  the  said  LonTs  secretaries 
have  reported  here  that  it  were  good 
for  you  never  to  return  hither,  or,  if 
their  Lord  be  appointed  to  go  over 
again,  it  will  be  too  hot  for  you  to 
tany  there*  These  things  thus  coming 
to  &e  eais  of  your  friends  have  stricken 
a  great  fear  and  grief  into  the  minds 
of  lodi  as  love  you,  lest  the  wonderful 
force  and  authority  of  this  man  being 
bent  against  you,^  should  do  you  hurt, 
while  there  is  none  to  answer  for  3rou." 
Smith  to  Wilkes,  26  Jan.  1587.  (a  P. 
Office  MS.) 

Wilkes  immediately  wrote  to  Lord 
Bmghley,  indignantly  d^iying  that  he 
had  evec  spoken  disrespectfully  or  in- 
juriottsly  of  him,  as  ^us  meanly  re- 
ported of  him  by  Leicester. 

"I  do  briefly  assure  your  Lordship," 


h3  said,  "  which  I  wDl  avow  with  mine 
oath  upon  the  Holy  Testament,  that  I 
am  therein  as  wisely  and  injuriously 
abused  as  ever  was  poor  man,  and, 
upon  that  protestation,  I  utterly  deny 
that  ever  I  advised  my  Lord  to  bewaro 
of  your  Lordship,  or  of  any  counsellor 
at  your  devotion,  or  that  I  ever  used 
unto  him,  or  to  any  creature  living, 
any  vile,  imcivil,  lewd,  or  undutiful 
term  of  your  Lordship.  I  trust  in  tho 
observation  you  have  made  of  my  con- 
versation, serving  her  Miuesty  a  dozen 
years  under  your  wing,  did  never  soo 
that  I  was  so  indiscreet. as  to  speak 
irreverently  of  men  of  your  Lordship's 
place,  and  I  hope  you  have  not  found 
me  BO  foolish  as  by  Budi  lightness  to 
draw  myself  into  the  hatred  of  so  great 
personages,  to  overthrow  myself  wil- 
fully. I  thank  God  I  was  never  so 
mad,  and  I  might  ^peak  it  without 
vaunt,  that  there  was  no  man  in  court 
of  my  sort  that  had  more  good-wiU  of 
high  and  low  than  myself  before  tho 
acceptance  of  this  cursed  and  unfor- 
tunate journey,  which,  as  I  declared 
to  your  Lordship  at  the  begmning, 
win  be,  I  fear,  the  cause  of  my  ruin ; 
and  then  it  pleased  you  to  give  mo 
this  advice,  that  I  should  serve  her 
Majesty  truly,  and  refer  the  rest  to 
God.    Your  Lordship  doth  know  tha 


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140 


THE  UNITED  NETHBRLANDa 


Chap.  XIII. 


Cordiality  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 
Leicester  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  command  anything  she  has  in  her 
garden,  or  whatsoever.  M.  Meetkerke,  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  waa, 
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  cha- 


humoara  and  disposition  of  my  great 
adTersary  better  than  I,  and  can 
judge  thereof  accordingly,  whic£,  with 
silence^  I  will  leare  to  plead  for  me  in 
your  grave  conceipt,  together  with  the 
unl^elihood  that  I.  having  no  cause 
of  oflfbnae  and  finoing  you  my  good 
Lord,  and  that  I  am  not  mad,  or  used 
to  precipitate  myself  in  that  manner, 
should  iu  any  probability  be  so  great 
an  enemy  to  myself  as  to  make  your 
Lordship  my  foe  by  any  such  levity. 
.  .  .  Tour  Lordship  hath  herem  dealt 
with  me  according  to  yourself  that 
you  have  not  directly  condemned  me 
before  you  heard  me.  ....  If  my  ad- 


TersaiT  were  as  mean  in  quality  as 
myself  I  would  not  doubt  but  by  Qod's 
grace  and  help,  to  make  mine  inno* 
cency  appear  upon  him  with  my  hand." 
Wilkes  to  Bur^ey,  17  Feb.  1587.  (& 
P.  OiBce  Ma) 

Thus  it  appears  that  the  Lord  Trea- 
surer's conduct  towards  the 'Counsellor, 
who  had  been  taking  his  advice  of 
"  serving  her  Uajeety  truly  and  refer- 
ring the  rest  to  Qod,"  was  as  honour^ 
able  as  that  of  Leicester  was  base. 

*  Otheman  to  Leicester,  16  Jan.  1587. 
(Ma  already  cited.) 

*  Common  expression  of  Hohenla 
(Bar,  IIL  xxUi.  28.) 


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1587. 


INTRIGUES  OF  HIS  SEBYANTa 


141 


racterized  as  a  ^^long  lean  Englishman^  Mritli  a  little  black 
beard."  ^  This  meagre  individual  however  seems  to  have  been 
of  somewhat  doubtfdl  nationality.  He  called  himself  Othe- 
man,  claimed  to  bo  a  Frenchman^  had  lived  much  in  Eng- 
land, wrote  with  great  fluency  and  spirit^  both  in  French  and 
English,  but  was  said,  in  reality,  to  be  named  Robert  Dale.^ 

It  was  not  the  best  policy  for  the  representative  of  the 
English  Queen  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  conmionwealths  depended  upon  their  acting  cor- 
dially in  concert.  "  Overyssel,  Utrecht,  Friesland,  and  Grel- 
derland,  have  agreed  to  renew  the  oflfer  of  sovereignty  to  her 
Majesty,"  said  Leicester.  ^^  I  shall  be  able  to  make  a  better 
report  of  their  love  and  good  inclination  than  I  can  of  Hol- 
land."^ It  was  thought  very  desirable  by  the  English  govern- 
ment that  this  great  demonstration  should  be  made  once 
more,  whatever  might  be  the  ultimate  decision  of  her  Majesty 
upon  so  momentous  a  measure.  It  seemed  proper  that  a 
solemn  embassy  should  once  moro  proceed  to  England  in 
order  to  confer  with  Elizabeth ;  but  there  was  much  delay  in 
legard  to  the  step,  and  much  indignation,  in  consequence,  on 
the  part  of  the  EarL  The  opposition  came,  of  course,  from 
the  Bameveld  party.  *^  They  are  in  no  great  haste  to  oflfer 
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  oflfered  by 


'Bor.IIL,  MS.  last  cited. 

•Fowler  to  Burghley,  1  Oct  1689, 
inMordui*8  State  Papers,  p.  639. 

'  Speech  of  Leicester  to  the  deputies 
of  States^General,  just  before  his  de- 
parture, Nov.  1586.     (S.  P.  Office  Ma) 

"The  town  of  Utrecht,"  said  Wilkes 
a  lew  weeks  later,  "doth  dissent  from 
the  rest  of  tiie  proTinces  in  the  manner 
of  their  sorerwgnty,  who  seeming  to 
be  best  affected  to  her  Majesty,  do 
mean  to  jield  her  the  same  a$  Charks 


V,  did  hM  it,  resenrmg  only  their 
principal  privileges  and  religion,  which 
the  rest  do  not  mtend  to  do,  as  I  can 
learn,  who  do  purpose  to  charge  the 
same  with  mcmy  strange  conditiona.  1 
would  be  glad  to  know  your  honour^s 
opimon  of  her  Miy'esty's  purpose  there- 
in, whereby  I '  may  better  direct  my 
services  here."  "Wilkes  to  Walsing- 
kun,  19  Jan.  1587.  (S,  P.  Office  MS.) 
«  Wilkes  to  Leicester,  24  Dec.  1586. 
(S.  P.  Office  MS.) 


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X42  ^SB  UNITED  NETHEELANDa  Chap.  XfTT 

Bameveld  and  the  States  of  Holland  have  been  sufficiently 
explained.  Buys^  maddened  by  his  long  and  t^njostifiable  im- 
prisonment, had  just  been  released  by  the  express  desire  of 
Hohenlo  ;  and  that  unruly  chieftain,  who  guided  the  German 
and  Dutch  magnates,  such  as  Moeurs  and  Overstein,  and  who 
even  much  influenced  Maurice  and  hid  cousin  Count  Lewis 
William,  was  himself  governed  by  Bameveld.  It  would  have 
been  far  from  impossible  for  Leicester,  even  then,  to  conciliate 
the  whole  party.  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  &  legal  jurisdiction  over  the  whole 
ancient  episcopate.  Under  thes^  circumstances  common  pru- 
dence would  have  suggested  that  as  good  an  understanding  as 
possible  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  Englishman, 
with  the  black  beard,  who  was  the  Earl's  chief  representative, 
contrived — almost  before  his  master's  back  was  turned — to 
draw  upon  himself  the  wrath  of  all  the  fine  ladies  in  Holland. 
That  this  should  be  the  direful  spring  of  unutterable  disastersi^ 
social  and  political,  was  easy  to  foretell. 

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

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

"  Your  Excellency  was  a  true  prophet,"  wrote  the  secretary 
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  in  my  lodg- 

*  Otheman  to  Leicester,  29  Jan.  1587.    (S.  P.  Office  MS.) 


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IW. 


aOSSJi*  OF  BIS  SBCBKTABi: 


143 


ings  four  or  five  hourg^  as  though  I  had  been  the  greatest 
thief,  murderer,  and  traitor  in  the  land." 

And  why  was  ihe  unfortunate  Otheman  thus  hunted  to  his 
kir  ?  Because  he  had  chosen  to  indulge  in  scandalum  mcbg- 
natumy  and  had  thereby  excited  the  frenzy  of  all  the  great 
DoUes  whom  it  was  most  important  for  the  English  party  to 
condliata 

There  had  been  gossip  about  the  Princess  of  Ohimay  and 
one  Calvaert,  who  liv^  in  her  house,  much  against  the  advice 
of  all  her  best  friends.  One  day  she  complained  bitterly  to 
Master  Otheman  of  the  spiteful  ways  of  the  world. 

"I  protest/'  said  she,  "  that  I  am  the  unhappiest  lady  upon 
earth  to  have  my  name  thus  called  in  question/'  ^ 

So  Biud  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 
Bpoken  ot" 

The  Princess  listened  with  attention. 

^^  Think  of  the  stories  about  the  Queen  of  England  and  my 
Lord  of  Leicester  !  "  ^  said  Otheman,  with  infinite  tact.  "  No 
persoh  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  o/Moeurs,  how  much 
eril  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 
Buocessfully  smoothed  away  her  anger,  went  off  to  have  a 
litde  more  harmless  gossip  about  the  Princess  and  the 
Coimtess,  with  Madame  de  Meetkerke,  who  had  sent  Leicester 
the  rose  firom  her  garden. 

But,  no  sooner  had  he  gone,  than  away  went  her  Highness 


^OUienum  to  Leicester,  last  cited. 
Ibid— totiefem  vtrbis.    It  is  eome- 
wjat  am\i8bg  to  find,  in  a  letter  to 


Leicester  fh>m  his  own  secretary,  these 
alhuionstotthe  "scandal  about  Quoea 
Elizabeth." 


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144  THE  UNITED  NBTHEBLANBa  Chap.  Xm. 

to  Madame  de  Moeurs,  ^^  a  marvelloas  wise  and  well-spoken 
gentlewoman  and  a  grave/'  *  and  informed  her  and  the  Count, 
with  some  trifling  exaggeration,  that  the  vile  Englishman, 
secretary  to  the  odious  Leicester,  had  just  been  there,  abusing 
and  calumniating  the  Countess  in  most  lewd  and  abomin- 
able fashion.  He  had  also,  she  protested,  used  "very  evil 
speeches  of  all  the  ladies  in  the  country.""  For  her  own  pfurt 
the  Princess  avowed  her  determination  to  have  him  instantly 
murdered.*  Count  Moeurs  was  quite  of  the  same  mind,  and 
desired  nothing  better  than  to  bo  one  of  his  executioners. 
Accordingly,  the  next  Sunday,  when  the  babbling  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  cabled  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  wouldi  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,  hunted  him  from  house  to  house,  through  the  wholo 
city  of  Delft,  and  at  last  drove  him  to  earth  in  his  own  lodg- 
ings, 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  information 
of  his  dangerous  predicament,  he  was,  in  his  own  language, 
"  miraculously  preserved,"  although  remaining  still  in  daily 
danger  of  his  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  suc- 
ceeded in  clearing  and  justifying  himself  to  the  satisfisu^tion  of 


'  Leicester  to  WalaioghaiD,  in  Brace,  p.  21*7. 
•  Otheman  to  Leicester.    Ma  before  cited.        •Ibid.        •Ibid.        •Ibid. 


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1587.  ITS  MI30HIBV0U3  EPPECXa  145 

his  friends.  His  part  was  afterwards  taken  by  the  conncillors, 
by  all  the  preachers  and  godly  men,  and  by  the  university  of 
Leyden.  Bat  it  was  well  understood  that  the  blow  and  the 
affiont  had  been  levelled  at  the  English  governor  and  the 
English  nation. 

"  All  your  friends  do  see,"  said  Otheman,  "  that  this  dis- 
grace is  not  meant  so  much  to  me  as  to  your  Excellency ; 
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  honourable 
character,  was  a  sincere  and  exemplary  member  of  the 
Galvinist  church,  and  well  inclined  to  the  Leicestrians.  She 
was  daughter  of  Count  Meghem,  one  of  the  earliest  victims  of 
Philip  II.,  in  the  long  tragedy  of  Netherland  independence, 
and  widow  of  Lancelot  Berlaymont.  Count  Moeurs  was 
governor  of  Utrecht,  and  by  no  means,  up  to  that  time,  a 
thorough  supporter  of  the  Holland  party  ;*  but  thenceforward 
he  went  oflf  most  abruptly  from  the  party  of  England,  became 
hand  and  glove  with  Hohenlo,  accepted  the  influence  of 
Bameveld,  and  did  his  best  to  wrest  the  city  of  Utrecht  from 
English  authority.  Such  was  the  effect  of  the  secretaiy'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  disgrace  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  English- 
men that  are  at  Amheim  have  an  intent  to  sell  and  betray 
the  town  to  the  enemy."  ^ 


>  Otheman  to  Leicester,  1  Feb.  15S7. 
(Brit  Mua.  Galba,  C.  xi.  216.  MS.) 

'  On  the  oontraiy,  although  Hohenlo 
had  been  doing  his  best  to  gain  him, 
having  been  drunk  with  him  most 
coQSoientionaly  for  a  fortnight  at  a 
time,  his  wife,  who  was  his  command- 
ing offioer,  had  expressed  aversion  to 
the  German  party,  and  great  affection 
for  that  of  Leicester.  **The  Ckmntess 
told  me  but  yesterday,"  Otheman  had 

VOL.  n. — L 


written  only  a  few  days  before,  '*that 
her  husband  was  not  so  foolish  as  to 
trust  him,  who  had  deceived  him  so 
oAien,  and  that  she  will  never  permit 
her  husband  to  go  from  the  party  of 
England."  Otheman  to  Leicester,  16th 
Jan.  1587.  (Brit  Mus.  Qalba^  0.  zi. 
p.  99.  Ma) 

*  Otheman  to  Leicester,  1  Feb.  1587. 
(MS.  befi^re  cited.) 


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146  THE  IJNITEO  NETHEBLANDS.  Chap.  XTTT, 

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.  Lei- 
cester afterwards  did  his  best  to  keep  Edward  Norris  em- 
ployed in  distant  places,  for  he  was  quite  aware  that  Hohenlo, 
as  lieutenant-general  and  count  of  the  empire,  would  con- 
sider himself  aggrieved  at  being  called  to  the  field  by  a 
simple  English  captain,  however  deeply  he  might  have  in- 
jured him.  The  governor  accordingly  induced  the  Queen  to 
recall  the  yoimg  man  to  England,  and  invited  him — ^much  as 
he  disliked  his  whole  race — to  accompany  him  on  his  depar- 
ture for  that  country. 

The  Captain  then  consulted  with  his  brother  Sir  John, 
regarding  the  pending  dispute  with  Hohenlo.  His  brother 
(idvised  that  the  Count  should  be  summoned  to  keep  his 
promise,  but  that  Lord  Leicester's  permission  should  pre- 
viously be  requested. 

A  week  before  the  governor's  departure,  accordingly, 
Edward  Norris  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  Hollock  is  now  well,"  he  proceeded,  "and  is 
feasting  and  banqueting  in  his  lodgings,  although  he  does  not 
come  abroad." 

"  And  what  way  will  you  take  ?"  inquired  Leicester,  "  con- 
sidering that  he  keeps  his  house." 

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

"  To  whom  did  he  make  that  promise  ?"  asked  the  EarL 

"  To  Sir  Philip  Sidney,"  answered  the  Captain. 


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1587. 


THE  QUARREL  OF  NORRK  AKD  HOLLOCK 


147 


"  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'  service  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." 

*'I  beseech  your  Lordship  to  stand  good  forme,"  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." 

After  this  amicable  conversation  Norris  thanked  his  Lord- 
ship, took  his  leave,  and  straightway  wrote  his  letter  to  Count 
Hollock.' 

That  personage,  in  his  answer,  expressed  astonishment  that 
Norris  should  summon  him,  in  his  ^^  weakness  and  indisposi- 
tion;" but  agreed  to  give  him  the  desired  meeting,  with 
sword  and  dagger,  so  soon  as  he  should  be  sufficiently  re- 
coverei  Norris,  in  reply,  acknowledged  his  courteous 
promise,  and  hoped  that  he  might  bo  speedily  restored  to 
health.* 

The  state-council,  sitting  at  the  Hague,  took  up  the 
matter  at  once  however,  and  requested  immediate  information 
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 


*  Edward  Korria  to  tho  Lords,  28 
Joly,  1587.  Sir  John  Noma  to  Wal- 
singbam,  same  date.,   (a  P.  Office  MS.) 

•Ibid. 

3  Edward  Norris  to  Leicester  (the  oor- 
Tcsponde&ce  with  HoheDlo  enclosed), 


Nov.  1686.  (a  P.  Office  MS.)  Com- 
pare Brace's  'Leya  Gorresp.,'  Appen- 
dix, 474,  476.  Ridmonatrance  of  Count 
Hohenlo  to  the  States-General,  3  Dea 
1687 ;  apud  Bor,  IIL  TTJii.  121-129 
Reyd,  V.  80,  81. 


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THE  UNITED  NETHERLANDS. 


Chap.  ^Hr 


furnished,  together  with  a  copy  of  the  correspondence.  The 
Jiarl  took  the  papers,  and  promised  to  allow  most  honourably 
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  after- 
wards 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.  "  'T  was  a  matter  punishable  with  death,"  he  said, 
^^  in  all  kingdoma  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,"  ho  added,  "  that  the 
English  governor-general  had  connived  at  the  aflfront,  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."^ 

There  seems  no  good  reason  to  doubt  the  general  veracity 
of  the  brothers  Norris,  although,  for  the  express  purpose  of 
screening  Leicester,  Sir  Joha  represented  at  the  time  to 
Hohenlo  and  others  that  the  Earl  had  not  been  privy  to  the 
transaction.*  It  is  very  certain,  however,  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  language,  having  had  any  knowledge  whatever  of 
Norris's  intentions.  He  protested  that  he  learned,  for  the 
first  time,  of  the  cartel  from  information  furnished  to  the 
council  of  state. 


*  R  Norris  to  the  Lords.  J.  Norris 
to  Leicester.  (MSS.  before  cited.)  E. 
Norris  to  Leicester,  21  Not.  1686. 
(3.  P.  Office  MS.) 

'  Remonstrance  of  Hohenlo,  before 
cited.    Hoofd,  Verrolgh,  209. 

*  "For  all  this  I  will  assure  jou 
that  I  did  always,  both  to  the  Ckrancil, 
the  States,  and  Coont  Hollock,  con- 
fidently deny  [i,  «.  maintain]  that  my 


Lord  knew  not  of  it,  because  they 
should  not  for  this  matter  have  any 
advantage  against  his  Lordship."  8v 
John  Norris  to  Sir  F.  Walsinghani, 
before  cited. 

The  two  negatives  do  not  here  make 
an  afflrmative;  but  it  is  evident  that 
Leicester  made  great  use  of  this 
damaging  denial  on  the  part  of  Norris. 


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THE  EARL»S  PARTICIPATION  IN  THE  AFFAIR. 


X49 


The  quarrel  between  Hohenlo  and  Norris  was  afterwards 
amicably  arranged  by  Lord  Buckhurst,  during  his  embassy  to 
the  Btates^  at  the  express  desire  of  the  Queen.  Hohenlo  and 
Sir  John  Norris  became  very  good  friends^  while  the  enmity 
between  them  and  Leicester  grew  more  deadly  every  day. 
The  Earl  was  frantic  with  rage  whienever  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  Earl  was  a  master  of  Billingsgate.^ 

"Hollock  says  that  I  did  procure  Edward  Norris  to  send 
him  his  cartel,"  observed  Leicester  on  one  occasion,  "  wherein 
I  protest  before  the  Lord,  I  was  as  ignorant  as  any  man  in 
England.  His  brother  John  can  tell  whether  I  did  not  send 
for  him  to  have  committed  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  offered  him  by  the  Count,  and  so  forbore  it.  I  was  so 
careful  for  the  Count's  safety  after  the  brawl  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."  2 

And  all  this  was  doubtless  true  so  far  as  regarded  the 
Earl's  original  exertions  to  prevent  the  consequences  of  the 
quarrel,  but  did  not  touch  the  point  of  the  second  correspond- 
ence 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 


'  J.  Norris  to  Walsingham,  14  March, 
1587.  Same  to  same,  3  June,  158T. 
(a  P.  Office  MSS.) 

**The  best  is,  sach  tales  can  no 
more  irritate  my  Lord's  anger  against 
me,"  said  Sir  John;  "for  since  he 
affirmeth  that  I  am  a  fool,  a  coward. 


and  a  hinderer  of  aU  these  services,  I 
know  not  what  more  he  can  be  pro- 
voked to." 

*  Leicester  to  Buckhurst,  30  April, 
168*7.  Same  to  Wateingfaam,  4  Aug^ 
1587.    (aP.  OfflceMS&) 


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THE  UNITED  NETHERLANDa 


Chap.  XIIL 


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,  Backhurst^ 
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  affec- 
tion of  which  her  nature  was  susceptible.  Hohenlo,  with 
Count  Maurice,  were  the  acknowledged  chiefs  of  the  anti- 
English  party,  and  the  possibility  of  cordial  cooperation  be- 
tween 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 
withal,  but  that  especially  her  Majesty  may  understand  these 
imtruths,  who  perhaps,  by  the  mother's  fair  speeches  and  the 
son's  smooth  words,  may  take  some  other  conceit  of  my  doings 
than  I  deserve."  * 

He  was  most  resolute  to  stamp  the  character  of  falsehood 
upon  both  the  brothers,  for  he  was  more  malignant  towards 
Sir  John  than  towards  any  man  in  the  world,  not  even  ex- 


'  K  g.  **The  lies  which  Lord  Back* 
hont,  Sir  J.  Norris,  and  Wilkes,  did 
with  their  maUcioos  wits  and  slander- 
ous tongues  devise  and  utter,"  wrote 
Leicester  to  the  Privy  Council,  "con- 
cern mj  honour  and  m j  life,  I  demand 
that  I,  being  found  dear,  and  thej  to 
have  dandered  me,  may  have  that 
remedy  against  them  which  is  in  justice 
due."  Leicester  to  the  Privy  Council, 
19  Aug.  1587.    (a  P.  Office  MS.) 


•  Ldcester  to  Buitthley,  11  Sept 
1587.  (S.  P.  OMce  MS!)  The  meddline 
Otheman  seems  to  have  made  himselF 
privately  very  busy  in  this  aflair.  He 
sent  Leicester  copies  of  the  letters 
written  by. the  brothers  Norris,  and 
declared  that  he  was  "entiocKl  by 
them,  in  the  Bari's  absence,  to  become 
a  forger  and  liar  in  this  matter,  but 
utterly  reftised."    Ma  last  dted. 


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IMT. 


HIS  INCREASED  ANIMOSITY  TO  NORBIS. 


151 


oeptiiig  Wilkes.  To  the  Queen,  to  the  Lords  of  the  Privy 
Council,  to  Walsingham,  to  Burghley,  ho  poured  forth  endless 
qtiantities  of  venom,  enough  to  destroy  the  characters  of  a 
hundred  honest  men 

"  The  declaration  of  tho  two  Norrises  for  tho  cartel  is  most 
felse,  as  I  am  a  Christian,''  he  said  to  Walsingham.  "  I  have 
a  dozen  witnesses,  as  good  and  some  better  than  they,  who 
will  testify  that  they  were  present  when  I  misliked  the 
writing  of  the  letter  before  ever  I  saw  it.  And  by  the  alle- 
giance I  owe  to  her  Majesty,  I  never  know  of  the  letter,  nor 
gave  consent  to  it,  nor  heard  of  it  till  it  was  complained  of 
from  Count  HoUock.  But,  as  they  are  false  in  this,  so  you 
will  find  J.  N.  as  false  in  his  other  answers  ;  so  that  he  would 
be  ashamed,  but  that  his  old  conceit  hath  made  him  past 
shame,  I  fear.  His  companions  in  Ireland,  as  in  these  coun- 
tries, report  that  Sir  John  Norris  would  often  say  that  he  was 
btU  an  ass  and  afooly  whoy  if  a  He  would  serve  Ms  turUy  wovld 
spare  it.  I  remember  I  have  heard  that  the  Earl  of  Sussex 
toould  say  so  ;  and  indeed  this  gentleman  doth  imitate  him  in 
divers  things" ^ 


'  Leicester  to  WalsiDgbam,  12  Au^. 
1587.  (S.  P.  Offiee  kS.)  To  the  Lord 
Treasurer  the  Earl  took  pains  to  nar- 
rate the  Tvhole  stoiy,  with  much  em- 
pbasia^  and  in  minute  detail ;  and  it  is 
important  to  lay  it  be£)re  the  reader, 
as  an  offset  to  the  simple  and  appa- 
rentlj  truthful  narrative  of  Edward 
Nonis,  because  such  intimate  revcla* 
tkxis  indicate  to  us  tho  reallj  trilling 
firings  of  numerous  great  events.  As 
before  observed,  the  affair  in  itself  is 
one  which  history  should  justly  dis- 
dain, but  it  swells  into  considerablo 
importance,  both  on  account  of  its 
extensive  results,  and  from  the  light 
which  it  throws  on  the  character  of 
Leicester,  the  most  important  person- 
age, during  his  lifetime,  iu  the  whole 
kingdom  of  England. 

"Would  Grod,"  said  Leicester  to 
Burghley,  "that  it  had  pleased  her 
ICtjeBfy  to  have  suffered  my  Lord 
Bockhurst  and  Sir  John  Korris  to  have 
gone  on  with  their  pbt;  for  they  laid 
a  most  malicious  plot  against  mo.    As 


for  the  answer  that  Sir  John  Norris 
and  his  brother  have  made  touchmg 
their  acquainting  me  with  the  cartel 
to  Count  HoUock,  thus  made  now  to 
your  Lordship^  if  ever  I  knew  or 
heard  any  news  of  this  cartel  tfll 
complaint  came  to  me  ih>m  the  Count, 
I  renounce  my  allegiance  and  fidelity 
to  my  Sovereign  Lady.  Therefore 
mark  the  arrogant  boldness  of  those 
young  fellows  that  will  face  a  lie  of 
that  sort  But  I  have  here  Sir 
William  Pelham  and  Sir  William 
Bussel,  besides  others  that  were  pre- 
sent when  I  called  Sir  John  to  me, 
and  threatened  to  lay  his  brother  by 
the  heels,  and  himself  too^  if  he  were 
privy  to  it.  ne  then  besought  me  to 
hear  his  brother  and  to  see  the  letter^ 
assuring  me  there  was  no  such  cartel 
OS  was  reported.,  I  commanded  hUn 
to  give  me  the  copy  of  his  letters,  and 
bring  it  to  me.  ,  Meanwhile^-  I  was 
gone  to  tlie  council,  and  whilst  we 
were  at  council,  an  hour  or  two  after,. 
Edward   Norris  sent  me  his   letters^ 


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CHAP.Xin. 


But  a  very  grave  disaster  to  Holland  and  England  was 
soon  the  fruit  of  the  hatred  borne  by  Leicester  to  Sir  John 
Norris.  Immediately  after  the  battle  of  Zutphen  and  the 
investment  of  that  town  by  the  English  and  Netherlanders, 


which  I  took  to  Wilkes  before  I  did 
so  much  as  look  into  them.  Being 
openly  read  there,  we  did  indeed  per- 
ceive so  direct  a  cartel  as  could  bo 
made,  and  divers  of  the  council  made 
the  best  of  it,  and  so  did  I,  dedaring 
what  the  gent  was.  Yet  did  I  then 
declare  to  them  all  what  order  I  had 
taken  for  Norris,  that  ho  should  go 
with  me  to  England,  and  that  her  Ma- 
jesty had  also  sent  for  him,  protesting 
to  your  Lordships,  by  all  faith,  honour, 
and  truth,  that  neither  the  <me  nor  tho 
other  did  dare  to  use  those  speeches 
that  they  have  set  down;  saving 
that  one  of  the  servants  of  Sir  John 
Norris  came  to  me,  hearing  that  his 
brother  should  go  over,  to  know  how 
his  credit  should  be  saved  with  the 
Ck>unt  HoUock,  touching  tho  disgraco 
he  was  in,  with  such  like  words.  I 
answered,  'the  Count  IloUock  is  now 
sick  and  sore,  and  it  were  no  honesty 
for  Sir  John's  brother  to  ofifer  him  any 
quarrel.  Besides,  I  will  not  suffer 
it,  so  long  as  I  am  here,  and  Edward 
Norris  is  commanded  to  go  mto  Eng- 
land. No  doubt  the  Count  wiU  remem- 
ber his  promise,  which — as  Sir  John 
Norris  had  toM  me — ^was^  that  when 
the  camp  was  broken  op,  he  will  answer 
his  broOur  in  the  field,  like  a  gentle- 
man,^ Never  was  there  more — never 
did  any  of  them  tell  me  of  any  cartel 
to  be  sent — never  did  any  sp^tk  with 
me  at  Deventer. 

Besides,  after  I  was  gone,  lying  on 
shipboard  at  Brill,  Edward  Norris 
being  then  in  ship  with  me,  there 
came  a  messenger  from  the  Count 
Hollock,  with  a  letter  to  me,  about 
midnight  This  messenger  was  only 
to  let  me  know  of  the  (Grant's  having 
received  such  letters  and  brags  from 
Norris,  and  that  now  he  b^n  to 
amend,  Norris,  as  he  heard,  was  gone 
away  with  me  into  England.  He 
marvelled  much  he  would  do  so,  and 
sent  his  messenger  to  see  if  it  were  sa 
I  answered  him,  it  was  so,  for  the 
gentleman.  Sir  Edward  Norris,  lay 
there  asleep,  and  he  was  to  go  into 


England  by  her  Majesty's  express 
commandment  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  misliko 
to  be  between  his  brother  John  and 
the  Count  This  was  my  answer. 
Now,  judge  how  likely  these  tales  be 
that  I  would  consent  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 
wiih  me  for  taking  him  away.  If 
ever  there  were  other  speeches^  either 
by  tho  one  Norris  or  the  other,  or  if 
over  I  knew  of  this  cartel,  directly  or 
indirectly,  more  than  your  Lordship 
that  was  in  England,  till  the  com- 
plaint came  to  me  of  it,  I  am  tlio 
folsest  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.  I 
have  troubled  your  Lordship  too  long 
with  this  trifle,  but  you  should  know 
the  shameless  audacity  of  these  yoang 
fellows,  whose  cunning  sly  heads  you 
had  need  look  into.'*  Leicester  to 
Burghley,  12  Aug.  1587.  (Br.  Mus. 
Galba,  D.  L  240,  Ma) 

Thus  the  November  letter  was  not 
seen  by  Leicester  before  it  was  sent, 
although  he  was  aware  that  it  was  to 
be  sent,  and  in  that  circumstance 
seemed  to  reside  tho  whole  strength 
of  his  case.  So  soon  as  it  appeared 
that  tho  state-council  was  angry,  and 
that  the  Count  considered  himself 
outraged,  tho  Eari  seems  to  have 
taken  advantage  of  a  subterfuge,  and 
to  have  made  up  by  violence  what  ho 
lacked  in  argument 

It  is  difficult  to  imagine  a  more 
paltry  a£fair  to  occupy  the  attention 
of  grave  statesmen  and  generals  for 
months,  and  to  fill  the  archives  of 
kingdom  nnd  commonwealth  with 
mountains  of  correspondence. 


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IMt.  SEIZURB  OF  DEVBNTBR.  153 

great  pains  were  taken  to  secure  the  city  of  Deventer.    This 

'^as,  after  Amsterdam  and  Antwerp,   the  most  important 

mercantile  place  in  all  the  Provinces.     It  was  a  large  pros- 

perons  commercial  and  manufacturing  capital,  a  member  of 

the  Hanseatic  League,  and  the  great  centre  of  the  internal 

trade  of  the  Netherlands  with  the  Baltic  nations.     There  was 

a  strong  Catholic  party  in  the  town,  and  the  magistracy  were 

disposed  to  side  with  Parma.    It  was  notorious  that  provisions 

and  munitions  were  supplied  from  thence  to  the  beleaguered 

Zutphen ;   and  Leicester  despatched   Sir  William   Pelham, 

accordingly,  to  bring  the  inhabitants  to  reason.     The  stout 

^rshal  made  short  work  of  it.     Taking  Sir  William  Stanley 

and  the  greater  part  of  his  regiment  with  him,  he  caused 

^hem,  day  by  day,  to  steal  into  the  town,  in  small  parties  of 

ten  and  fifteen.     No  objection  was  made  to  this  proceeding 

^^  the  part  of  the  city  government.    Then  Stanley  himself 

arrired  in  the  morning,  and  the  Marshal  in  the  evening,  of 

the  20th  of  October.     Pelham  ordered  the  magistrates  to 

present  themselves  forthwith  at  his  lodgings,  and  told  them, 

^ith  grim  courtesy,  that  the  Earl  of  Leicester  excused  himself 

from  making  them  a  visit,  not  being  able,  for  grief  at  the 

death  of  Sir  Philip  Sidney,  to  come  so  soon  near  the  scene  of 

™  disaster.     His  Excellency  had  therefore  sent  him  to  re- 

V^tq  the  town  to  receive  an  English  garrison.     "  So  mako 

^P  your  minds,  and  delay  not,"  said  Pelham ;   "  for  I  have 

^^y  important  affairs  on  my  hands,  and  must  send  word  to 

"^  Excellency  at  once.    To-morrow  morning,  at  eight  o'clock, 

^  shall  expect  your  answer."  ^ 

^e^t  day,  the  magistrates  were  all  assembled  in  the  town- 

^^ise  before  six.     Stanley  had  filled  the  great  square  with 

^  ^''oops,  but  he  found  that  the  burghers — ^five  thousand  of 

^^Hi  constituted  the  municipal  militia — had  chained   the 

^^ta  and  locked  the  gates.    At  seven  o'clock  Pelham  pro- 

rr^^^  to  the  town-house,  and,  followed  by  his  train,  made 

appearance  before  the  magisterial  board.     Then  there  was 

Utt-^^-^tter   of  Honry   Archer,    from      volume  of  *  Leycester  Correspondence,* 
to   ^?*^  23  Oct  1586,  in  the  Appendix      478-480. 
*^^.     Bruce*s     admirably    edited 


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154  ^HB  USITED  KErHEBLAND&  Chap.  tttt. 

a  knocking  at  the  door,  and  Sir  William  Stanley  entered, 
having  left  a  strong  goard  of  soldiers  at  the  entrance  to 
thehalL 

^'  I  am  come  for  an  answer/'  said  the  Lord  Marshal ;  '^  tell 
me  straight/'  The  ma^trates  hesitated,  whispered,  and 
presently  one  of  them  slipped  away. 

"  There's  one  of  you  gone,"  cried  the  Marshal.  "  Fetdx  him 
strai^t  back ;  or,  by  the  living  God,  before  whom  I  stand, 
there  is  not  one  of  you  shall  leave  this  place  with  life." 

So  the  burgomasters  sent  for  the  culprit,  who  returned. 

"  Now,  tell  me,"  said  Pelham,  "  why  you  have,  this  night, 
chained  your  streets  and  kept  such  strong  watch  while  your 
friends  eaid  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.  Now,  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  nconinated, 
Straight ;  dally  not !" 

The  burgomasters  signed  the  paper. 

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

A  magistrate  departed  on  the  errand. 

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

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

There  could  be  no  doubt  that  a  city  so  important  and  thus 
fortunately  secured  was  worthy  to  be  well  guarded.  There 
could  be  no  doubt  either  that  it  would  be  well  to  conciliate 
the  rich  and  influential  Papists  in  the  place,  who,  although 

'  Letter  of  Henrjr  Archer,  Ac.,  Juat  dtod. 


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1581.  STANLEY  APPOINTED  ITS  GOVERNOR.  155 

attached  to  the  ancient  religion,  were  not  necessarily  disloyal 
to  the  republic ;  but  there  could  be  as  little  that,  under  the 
circumstances  of  this  sudden  municipal  revolution,  it  would 
be  important  to  place  a  garrison  of  Protestant  soldiers  there, 
under  the  command  of  a  Protestant  officer  of  known  fidelity. 

To  the  astonishment  of  the  whole  commonwealth,  the  Earl 
appointed  Sir  William  Stanley  to  bo  governor  of  the  town, 
and  stationed  in  it  a  garrison  of  twelve  hundred  wild  Irish- 
men.* 

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

The  Irish  kernes — and  they  aro  described  by  all  con- 
temporaries, English  and  Flemish,  in  the  same  language- 
were  accounted  as  the  wildest  and  fiercest  of  barbarians. 
There  was  something  grotesque,  yet  appalling,  in  the  pic- 
tures painted  of  these  rude,  almost  naked,  brigands,  who  ate 
raw  flesh,  spoke  no  intelligible  language,  and  ranged  about  the 
country,  burning,  slaying,  plundering,  a  terror  to  the  pea- 
santry aod  a  source  of  constant  embarrassment  to  the  more 
orderly  troops  in  the  service  of  the  republic.  "  It  seemed," 
said  one  who  had  seen  them,  'Uhat  they  belonged  not  to 
Christendom,  but  to  Brazil"*  Moreover,  they  were  all 
Papists,  and,  however  much  one  might  bo  disposed  to  censure 
that  great  curse  of  the  age,  religious  intolerance — which  was 
almost  as  flagrant  in  the  councils  of  Queen  Elizabeth  as  in 
those  of  Philip — it  was  certainly  a  most  fatal  policy  to  place 
such  a  garrison,  at  that  critical  juncture,  in  the  newly-acquired 

*  Beyd.  y.  85.    J.  Noms  to  Burghley,  21  Jan.  1587.    (&  P.  Office  Ma) 
«  Ibid.  »  Ibid. 


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156 


THE  UNITED  NETHBRLANDa 


Chap.  Xm. 


city.  Yet  Leicester,  who  had  banished  -Papists  from  Utrecht 
without  cause  and  without  trial,  now  placed  most  notorious 
Catholics  in  Deventer.^ 

Zutphen,  which  was  still  besieged  by  the  English  and  the 
patriots,  was  much  crippled  by  the  loss  of  the  great  fort,  the 
capture  of  which,  mainly  through  the  brilliant  valour  of 
Stanley's  brother  Edward,  has  already  been  related.  The 
possession  of  Deventer  and  of  this  fort  gave  the  control  of 
the  whole  north-eajstcrn  territory  to  the  patriots ;  but,  as  if 
it  were  not  enough  to  place  Deventer  in  the  hands  of  Sir 
William  Stanley,  Leicester  thought  proper  to  confide  the 
government  of  the  fort  to  Roland  York.  Not  a  worse  choice 
could  be  made  in  the  whole  army. 

York  was  an  adventurer  of  the  most  audacious  and  disso- 
lute character.  He  was  a  Londoner  by  birth,  one  of  those 
"ruffling  blades"  inveighed  against  by  the  governor-general 
on  his  first  taking  command  of  the  forces.  A  man  of  des- 
perate courage,  a  gambler,  a  professional  duellist,  a  bravo, 
famous  in  his  time  among  the  "  common  hacksters  and  swag- 
gerers" as  the  first  to  introduce  the  custom  of  foining, 
or  thrusting  with  the  rapier  in  single  combats — ^whereas 
before  his  day  it  had  been  customary  among  the  English  to 
fight  with  sword  and  shield,  and  held  unmanly  to  strike  below 
the  girdle^ — ^hc  had  perpetually  changed  sides,  in  the 
Netherland  wars,  with  the  shameless  disregard  to  principle 
which  characterized  all  his  actions.  He  had  been  lieutenant 
to  the  infamous  John  Van  Imbyze,  and  had  been  concerned 
with  him  in  the  notorious  attempt  to  surrender  Dendermonde 
and  Ghent  to  the  enemy,  which  had  cost  that  traitor  his 
head.  York  had  been  thrown  into  prison  at  Brussels,  but 
there  had  been  some  delay  about  his  execution,  and  the  con- 
quest of  the  city  by  Parma  saved  him  from  the  gibbet.  He 
had  then  taken  service  under  the  Spanish  commander-in- 
chief,  and  had  distinguished  himself,  as  usual,  by  deeds  of 
extraordinary  valour,  having  sprung  on  board  the  burning 


*  Reyd.  ubi  sup,  Lo  Petit,  IT.  xiv. 
341.  Bor,  II.  xxiL  878-879.  Wago- 
naar,  yiii.  19G.    Meteren,  xir.  250. 


»    Camden,     m. 
*  Chronicle,' 375. 


307.       Baker'8 


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1586. 


YORK  AND  STANLEY. 


157 


volcano-ship  at  the  siege  of  Antwerp.  Subsequently  returning 
to  Englan(l5  he  had,  on.  Leicester's  appointment,  obtained  the 
command  of  a  company  in  the  English  contingent,  and  had 
been  conspicnous  on  the  field  of  Wamsveld  ;  for  the  courage 
which  he  always  displayed  under  any  standard  was  only 
equalled  by  the  audacity  with  which  he  was  ever  ready  to 
desert  from  it.  Did  it  seem  credible  that  the  fort  of  Zutphen 
should  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  Boland  York  ? 

Bemonstrances  were  made  by  the  States-General  at  once. 
With  regard  to  Stanley,  Leicester  maintained  that  he  was,  in 
his  opinion,  the  fittest  man  to  take  chai^  of  the  whole 
English  army,  during  his  absence  in  England.^  In  answer 
to  a  petition  made  by  the  States  against  the  appointment  of 
¥ork,  "  in  respect  to  his  perfidious  dealings  before,"  the  Earl 
replied  that  he  would  answer  for  his  fidelity  as  for  his  own 
brother ;  adding  peremptorily — "  Do  you  trust  me  ?  Then 
trust  York."  ^ 

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

But  the  Earl  did  more  than  to  appoint  the  traitor  York 
'and  the  Papist  Stanley  to  these  important  posts.  On  the 
very  day  of  his  departure,  and  immediately  after  his  final 
quarrel  vrith  Sir  John  about  the  Hohenlo  cartel,  which  had 
renewed  all  the  ancient  venom,  he  signed  a  secret  paper,  by 
which  he  especially  forbade  the  council  of  state  to  interfere 
with  or  set  aside  any  appointments  to  the  government  of 
towns  or  forts,  or  to  revoke  any  military  or  naval  commissions, 
without  his  consent* 

Now  supreme  executive  authority  had  been  delegated  to 
the  state-council  by  the  Govemor-Q-eneral  during  his 
absence.    Command  in  chief  over   all   the   English   forces. 


'Wnkee  to  Leicester,  24  Jan.  1537. 
(3.  P.  Office  MS.) 
*Ibkl    Sir  John  Conway  to  Wal- 


singham,  28  Jan.  1587.  (S.  P.  Office  MS.) 
9  Meteren,  xiil  238.     Bor,  XL  xxiL 
786-787.    Wagenaar,  viiL  188-189. 


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158  THE  UNITED  NETHERLANDS.  Chap.  XHL 

whether  ia  the  Queen's  pay  or  the  State's  pay,  had  been 
conferred  upon  Norris,  while  command  over  the  Dutch  and 
(lerman  troops  belonged  to  Hohenlo ;  but,  by  virtue  of  the 
Earl's  secret  paper,  Stanley  and  York  were  now  made  inde- 
pendent of  all  authority.  The  evil  consequences  natural  to  such 
a  step  were  not  slow  in  displaying  themselves. 

Stanley  at  once  manifested  great  insolence  towards  Norris. 
That  distinguished  general  was  placed  in  a  most  painful 
position.  A  post  of  immense  responsibility  was  confided  to 
him.  The  honour  of  England's  Queen  and  of  England's 
soldiers  was  entrusted  to  his  keeping,  at  a  moment  full  of 
danger,  and  in  a  country  where  every  hour  might  bring  forth 
some  terrible  change  ;  yet  he  knew  himself  the  mark  at  which 
the  most  powerful  man  in  England  was  directing  all  his 
malice,  and  that  the  Queen,  who  was  wax  in  her  great 
favourite's  hands,  was  even  then  receiving  the  most  fatal 
impressions  as  to  his  character  and  conduct.  '•  Well  I  know," 
said  he  to  Burghley,  "that  the  root  of  the  former  malico 
borne  me  is  not  withered,  but  that  I  must  look  for  like  fruits 
therefrom  as  before  ; "  ^  and  he  implored  the  Lord-Treasurer, 
that  when  his  honour  and  reputation  should  be  called  in 
question,  ho  might  bo  allowed  to  return  to  England  and  clear 
himself.  "For  myself,"  said  he,  "I  have  not  yet  received 
any  commission,  although  I  have  attended  his  Lordship  of  * 
Leicester  to  his  ship.  It  is  promised  to  be  sent  me,  and  in 
the  meantime  I  understand  that  my  Lord  hath  granted  sepa- 
rate commissions  to  Sir  William  Stanley  and  Boland  York, 
exempting  them  from  obeying  of  me.  If  this  be  true,  'tis 
only  done  to  nourish  factions,  and  to  interrupt  any  better 
course  in  our  doings  than  before  hath  been."  He  earnestly 
requested  to  be  furnished  with  a  commission  directly  from 
her  Majesty.  "  The  enemy  is  reinforcing,"  he  added.  "  We 
are  very  weak,  our  troops  are  unpaid  these  three  months,  and 
we  are  grown  odious  to  our  friends."* 

Honest  Councillor  Wilkes,  who  did  his  best  to  conciliate  all 
parties,   and  to  do  his  duty  to  England   and  Holland,    to 

'  J.  Nonis  to  BuT^hlej,  17  Nov.  1586.     (a  P.  Office  M&)  •  Ibid. 


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1687. 


LEICBSTEB'S  SECRET  INSTRUOnONa 


159 


Leicester  and  to  Norris,  had  the  strongest  sympathy  with  Sir 
John.  "  Truly,  besides  the  value,  wisdom,  and  many  other 
good  parts  that  are  in  him,"  he  said,  "  I  have  noted  wonderful 
patience  and  modesty  in  the  man,  in  bearing  many  apparent 
injuries  done  unto  him,  which  I  have  known  to  be  counte- 
nanced and  nourished,  contrary  to  all  reason,  to  disgrace  him. 
Please  therefore  continue  your  honourable  opinion  of  him  in 
his  absence,  whatsoever  may  be  maliciously  reported  to  his 
disadvantage,  for  I  daro  avouch,  of  my  own  poor  skill,  that 
her  Majesty  hath  not  a  second  subject  of  his  place  and  quality 
80  able  to  serve  in  those  countries  as  he.  ...  .  I  doubt  not 
l>nt  God  will  movo  her  Majesty,  in  despite  of  the  devil,  to 
^'espect  him  as  he  deserves."  ^ 

Sir  John  disclaimed  any  personal  jealousy  in  r^ard  to 
Stanley's  appointment,  but,  within  a  week  or  two  of  the 
E^l's  departure,  he  already  felt  strong  anxiety  as  to  its 
probable  results.  "  If  it  prove  no  hindrance  to  the  service," 
^^  said,  "it  shall  nothing  trouble  me.  I  desire  that  my 
domgg  inay  show  what  I  am  ;  neither  will  I  seek,  by  indirect 
nieang  to  calumniate  him  or  any  other,  but  will  lot  them 
show  themselves."^ 

Early  in  December  he  informed  the  Lord-Treasurer  that 
Stanley's  own  men  were  boasting  that  their  master  acknow- 
^^<iged  no  superior  authority  to  his  own,  and  that  he  had  said 
^  much  himself  to  the  magistracy  of  Deventer.  The 
'>Orghers  had  already  complained,  through  the  constituted 
S^^dians  of  their  liberties,  of  his  insolence  and  rapacity,  and 
^^  the  turbulence  of  his  troops,  and  had  appealed  to  Sir 
Johu  ;  but  the  colonel-general's  remonstrances  had  been  re- 
^^ed  by  Sir  William  with  contumely  and  abuse,  and  by 
*^^  vaunt  that  he  had  even  a  greater  commission  than  any 
"®  had  yet  shown.* 

^*  Three  sheep,  an  ox,  and  a  whole  hog,"  were  required 


J.  *  '^Vkas  to  Burghley,  17  Nov.  1586. 
^^  to  Walsingbam,  11  Maj,  1687. 
^%I*.  Office  MSSL) 

•*-    Noma  to  Waldngham,  9  Dec. 


1586.    (a  P.  Office  MS.) 

*  Same  to  Boighler,  12  Dec.  1586. 
(a  P.  Office  Ma) 


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160 


THE  UNITED  ISTETHERLANDS. 


Chap.  xm. 


weekly  of  the  peasants  for  his  table,  in  a  time  of  great 
scarcity,  and  it  was  impossible  to  satisfy  the  rapacious  appe- 
tites of  the  Irish  kernes.^  The  paymaster-general  of  the 
English  forces  was  daily  appealed  to  by  Stanley  for  funds — 
an  application  which  was  certainly  not  tmreasonable,  as  her 
Majesty's  troops  had  not  received  any  payment  for  three 
months — ^but  there  "  was  not  a  denier  in  the  treasury/'  and 
he  was  therefore  implored  to  wait.  At  last  the  States-Q^neral 
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  be 
made  upon  them." 

Wilkes,  also,  as  English  member  of  the  state  conncil, 
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,  he  had  meddled  with  the  civil  government, 
he  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  Marshal  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  displaying  Leicester's  com- 
mission in  their  faces,  and  making  it  a  warrant  for  dealing 
with  the  town  as  if  it  were  under  martial  law,  and  as  if  he 


>  Wilkes  to  Wfdsingfaam,  19  Jan. 
1587.    (S.  P.  Office  MS.) 

*  **He  is  not  contented  with  tho 
entertainment  of  40^  sterling  a  month 
allowed  him  hj  the  States  as  governor 
of  the  place,  but  hath  taken  perforce 
from  the  commissioners  lately  sent 
thither  to  ddiver  a  morUKa  pay,  an 
allowance  of  lOiL  sterling  a  month 
over  and  besides  for  every  company  of 
his  regiment,  being,  as  he  sayeth,  ten 
companies,  amonntins  by  the  muster 
to  1400  florins  (1401),  besides  a  pay 
for  his  own  company,  which  is  more 
than  is  allowed  to  Sir  J.  Norris  by 
300  florins  a  month,  and  as  much  as  is 
given    for    entertainment     to    Ck>unt 


Hohenlo,  or  to  any  earl  that  serveth 
in  these  countries.  He  is  charged 
further  to  take  within  the  coontiy 
hereabouts,  from  the  poor  villagen^ 
weekly,  for  tho  provisions  of  his  table, 
<me  whole  ox,  three  sbeep^  and  one 
bog,  or  in  lieu  of  the  hog^  twenty 
shUlings  sterling;  and  if  it  be  not 
brought  every  week,  they  sent  the 
soldiers  to  take  it  perforce,"  to  Ac. 
Wilkes  to  Walsingham,  19  Jan.  1687. 
(S.  P.  Office  Ma) 

This  certainly  was  stronger  diet 
than  the  "bare  cheese  "  of  whidi  Sir 
William  complained.  Compare  Reyd, 
vL  96-97.    Bor,  IL  xxU.  878-879. 


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1581  .  WILKES  REMONSTRATES  WITH  STANLEY.  161 

were  aa  officer  of  the  Duke  of  Parma.  It  might  easUy  be 
judged  whether 'such  conduct  were  likely  to  win  the  hearts 
of  Netherlanders  to  Leicester  and  to  England.^ 

"Albeit,  for  my  own  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 
Majesty,  and  that  I  see  how  heavily  the  matter  is  conceived 
of  here  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.  Were  it  not  that  I  doubt  some  dangerous  issue 
of  this  matter,  and  that  I  might  be  justly  charged  with  n^li- 
gence,  if  I  should  not  advertise  you  beforehand,  I  would  have 
forborne  to  mention  this  dissension,  for  the  States  are  about 
to  write  to  your  Lordship  and  to  her  Majesty  for  reformation 
in  this  matter."^  He  added  that  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  England  quite  as  soon. 
Certainly  the  governor-general,  having,  upon  his  own  respon- 
sibility, and  prompted,  it  would  seem,  by  passion  more  than 
reason,  made  this  dangerous  appointment,  was  fortunate  in 
receiving  timely  and  frequent  notice  of  its  probable  results. 

And  the  conscientious  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  of  their  gates,  that  you 
assemble  your  garrison  in  arms  to  terrify  them,  that  yon  have 
seized  one  of  their  forts,  that  the  Iri^h  soldiers  do  commit 
many  extortions  and  exactions  upon  the  inhabitants,  that  you 
have  imprisoned  their  burgesses,  and  do  many  things  against 
their  laws  and  privil^es,  so  that  it  is  feared  the  best  affected 

'  WDkeg  to  Leicester,  9  Dec.  1686.    (S.  P.  Office  MS.)  •  Ibid. 

OL.  n.— M 


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162  '^^^^  UNITED  NETHBBLANDa  Ohap.  Xm. 

of  the  inhabitants  towards  her  Majesty  will  forsake  the  town. 
Whether  any  of  these  things  be  true,  yourself  doth  best  know, 
but  I  do  assure  you  that  the  apprehension  thereof  here  doth 
make  us  and  our  government  hateful.  For  mine  own  part,  I 
have  always  known  you  for  a  gentleman  of  value,  wisdom,  and 
judgment,  and  therefore  should  hardly  believe  any  such  thing. 

I  earnestly  require  you  to  take  heed  of  consequences, 

and  to  be  careful  of  the  honour  of  her  Majesty  and  tiie  reputa- 
tion of  our  nation.  You  will  consider  that  the  gaining  posses- 
sion of  the  town  grew  by  them  that  are  now  in  office,  who 
being  of  the  religion,  and  well  affected  to  his  Excellency's 

government,  wrought  his  entry  into  the  same I  know 

that  Lord  Leicester  is  sworn  to  maintain  all  the  inhabitants  of 
the  Provinces  in  their  ancient  privil^es  and  customs.  I 
know*  further  that  your  commission  carreeth  no  authority  to 
warrant  you  to  intermeddle  any  further  than  with  the  govern- 
ment of  the  soldiers  and  guard  of  the  town.  Well,  you  may, 
in  your  oum  conceipty  confer  some  words  to  authorize  you  in 
some  larger  sort,  but,  believe  me.  Sir,  they  will  not  warrant 
you  sufficiently  to  deal  any  further  than  I  have  said,  for  I 
have  perused  a  copy  of  your  commission  for  that  purpose.  I 
know  (he  narne  Useff  of  a  governor  of  a  town  is  odious  to  this 
people^  and  hath  been  ever  since  the  remembrance  of  the  Spanish 
governments  and  if  we,  by  any  lack  of  foresight,  should  give 
the  like  occasion,  we  should  make  ourselves  as  odious  as  they 
arey  which  Gh)d  forbid. 

"  Tou  are  to  consider  that  we  are  not  come  into  these  coun- 
tries for  their  d^ence  only,  but  for  the  defence  of  her  Majesty 
and  our  own  native  country,  knowing  that  the  preservation  of 
both  dependeth  altogether  upon  the  preserving  of  these.  Where- 
fore I  do  eftsoons  intreat  and  require  you  to  forbear  to  inter- 
meddle any  further.  •  K  there  shall  follow  any  dangerous 
effect  of  your  proceedings  after  this  my  friendly  advice,  I  shall 
be  heartily  sorry  for  your  sake,  but  I  shall  be  able  to  testify 
to  her  Majesty  that  I  have  done  my  duty  in  admonishing 
you."» 

'  Wilkes  to  Stanley,  9  Bea  1686.    (a  P.  Office  Ma) 


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1587.  fflANLETQ  INSOLENCB  ANP  BQUZVOOATIOK  Ifig 

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

But  ihe  brave  soldier,  whose  feet  were  fast  sliding  into  the 
paths  of  destruction,  replied,  in  a  tone  of  indignant  innocence, 
more  likely  to  aggravate  than  to  allay  suspicion.  "  Finding," 
said  Stanley,  '^  that  you  already  threaten,  I  have  gon6  so  far 
as  to  scan  the  terms  of  my  commission,  which  I  doubt  not  to 
execute,  according  to  his  Excellency's  meaning  and  mine  honour. 
First,  I  assure  you  that  I  have  maintained  justice,  and  that 
severely ;  else  hardly  would  the  soldiers  have  been  contented 
inth  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  n^ligence  the  place  should  be  lost  Therefore  I 
thought  good  to  seize  the  great  tower  and  ports.  K  I  meant 
evil,  I  needed  no  keys,  for  here  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  had  been  petitioning  the 
States-General,  the  state-council,  and  the  English  Queen, 
against  his  violence. 

"For  my  courtesy  and  humanity,"  he  said,  "I  refer  me 
imto  the  magistrates  themselves.  But  I  think,  they  sent 
some  rhetoricians,  who  could  allege  of  little  grief,  and  speak 
pitifol,  and  truly  I  find  your  ears  have  been  as  pitiful  in  so 
timorously  condemning  me.  /  assure  you  that  her  Mqjesty 
haih  not  a  better  servant  than  I  nor  a  more  faithful  in  these 
parts.  This  I  will  prove  with  my  flesh  and  Wood.  Although 
I  know  there  be  divers  flying  reports  spread  by  my  enemies, 
which  are  come  to  my  ears,  I  doubt  not  my  virtue  and  truth 
will  prove  them  calumniators^  and  men  of  little.     So,  good 

>  Stanley  to  Wilkea,  14  Dec  1586.  I  called  the  men  who  were  speakbg  the 

(S.  P.  Office  MS.)  *  Ibid.         truth  aboat  him.    (MS.  kM  Mip.)    He 

*  "^  CaJaamiwders,^^  bo    Sir  William  j  was  more  uaed  to  handle  the  sword 


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164 


THE  UNITED  NETHERLAlSTDa 


Chap.  XIIL 


Mr.  Wilkes,  I  pray  you,  consider  gravely,  give  ear  discreetly, 
and  advertise  into  England  soundly.  For  me,  I  have  been 
and  am  your  friend,  and  glad  to  hear  any  admonition  from 
one  so  wise  as  yourself" 

He  then  alluded  ironically  to  the  "  good  favour  and  money  " 
with  which  he  had  been  so  contented  of  late,  that  if  Mr. 
Wilkes  would  discharge  him  of  his  promise  to  Lord  Leicester, 
he  would  take  his  leave  with  all  his  heart.  Captain,  officers, 
and  soldiers,  had  been  living  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.  "  This  my  wealth  will  not  long  hold  out,"  he  observed, 
"  but  yet  I  will  never  fail  of  my  promise  to  his  Excellency, 
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,  for 
the  fort  before  Zutphen.  "Had  it  not  been,"  he  said,  "for 
the  travail  extraordinary  of  myself,  and  patience  of  my  brother 
Forie,  that  fort  would  have  been  in  danger.  But,  according 
to  his  desire  and  forethoughty  I  furnished  that  place  with 
cavalry  and  infantry ;  for  I  know  the  troops  there  be  mar- 
vellous weak."  ^ 

In  reply,  Wilkes  stated  that  the  complaints  had  been  made 
"by  no  rhetorician,  but  by  letter  from  the  magistrates  them- 
selves (on  whom  he  relied  so  confidently)  to  the  state-council. 
The  councillor  added,  rather  tartly,  that  since  his  honest 
words  of  defence  and  of  warning,  had  been  "taken  in  so 
scoffing  a  manner,"  Sir  William  might  be  sure  of  not  being 
troubled  with  any  more  of  his  letters.^ 

But,  a  day  or  two  before  thus  addressing  him,  he  had 
already  enclosed  to  Leicester  very  important  letters  addressed 
by  the  council  of  Q^lderland  to  Count  Moeurs,  stadholder  of 
the  Province,  and  by  him  forwarded  to  the  state-council.     For 


than  the  peD,  yet  the  untaught  yigovr 
of  his  style  causes  an  additional  re- 
gret that  a  man  so  braye  and  eo 
capable  should  hare  thrown  himself 


away. 
'  Stanley  to  Wilkes,  vbi  sup, 
«  Wilkes  to  Stanley,   18  Dec. 

(3.  P.  Office  MS.) 


158& 


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1687. 


PAINFUL  RUMOURS  AS  TO  HDC  AND  YORK. 


165 


there  were  now  very  grave  rumours  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  place.^  Moreover  there  had 
been  a  very  frequent  exchange  of  courtesies — by  which  the 
horrors  of  war  seemed  to  be  much  mitigated — ^between  York 
on  the  outside  and  Tassis  within.  The  English  commander 
sent  baskets  of  venison,  wild  fowl,  and  other  game,  which  were 
rare  in  the  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-^s 
an  advance  in  civilization  over  the  not  very  distant  days  of 
the  Haarlem  and  Leyden  sieges,  when  barrels  of  prisoners' 
heads,  cut  off,  a  dozen  or  two  at  a  time,  were  the  social 
Amenities  usually  exchanged  between  Spaniards  and  Dutch- 
men— ^but  somewhat  suspicious  to  those  who  had  grown  grey 
in  this  horrible  warfare. 

The  Irish  kernes  too,  were  allowed  to  come  to  mass  within 
the  city,  and  were  received  there  with  as  much  fraternity  by 
the  Catholic  soldiers  of  Tassis  as  the  want  of  any  common 
dialect  would  allow— a  .  proceeding  which  seemed  better 
perhaps  for  the  salvation  of  their  souls,  than  for  the  advance- 
ment of  the  si^.' 

The  state-coomcil  had  written  concerning  these  rumours  to 
Boland  York,  but  the  patient  man  had  replied  in  a  manner 
which  Wilkes  characterized  as  "  unfit  to  have  been  given  to 
sudi  as  were  the;  executors  of  the  Earl  of  Leicester's  autho- 
rity." The  councillor  implored  the  governor-general  accord- 
ingly to  send  some  speedy  direction  in  this  matter,  as  well  to 
Boland  York  as  to  Sir  William  Stanley ;  for  he  explicitly 


>  ''Le  Cooseil  de  Ghieldres  aa  Ck>mte 
de  MoeoTB  et  Nieuwenaer,  14  Dec 
1586.  Wilkes  to  Leicester,  16  Dec. 
1&86.    (S.  P.  OfEice  MSa) 

•  HooM,  Venrolgh,  220.  Rejd,  vi.  95. 


*  Wilkes  to  Stanley,  17  Deo.  1586, 
MS.  BtroD^'lj  lemonstratiiig  .against 
tho  practioe.  Hoofd,  Rejd,  vbi  supk 
Wagenaar,  viiL  196. 


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Igg  THB  UNITED  NSTHEBLAISTDS.  Chap.  XHL 

and  earnefitly  warned  him,  that  those  personages  would  pay 
no  heed  to  the  remonstrances  of  the  state-counciL^ 

Thus  again  and  again  was  Leicester— on  whose  head  rested^ 
by  his  own  deliberate  act,  the  whole  responsibility — fore- 
warned that  some  great  mischief  was  impending.  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  error  ?  How  could  he  manifest 
confidence  in  the  detested  Norris  ?  How  appeal  to  the  violent 
and  deeply  incensed  Hohenlo  ? 

Three  weeks  more  rolled  by,  and  the  much-enduring 
Boland  York  was  still  in  confidential  correspondence  with 
Leicester  and  Walsingham^  although  his  social  intercourse 
with  the  Spanish  governor  of  Zutphen  continued  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 
Netherlands,  and  wrote  to  the  Secretary  of  State  in  a  tone 
of  despondency,  and  mild  expostulation.  Walsingham  would 
have  been  less  edified  by  these  communications,  had  he  been 
aware  that  York,  upon  first  entering  Leicester's  service^  had 
immediately  opened  a  correspondence  with  the  Duke  of 
Parma,  and  had  sea*etiy  given  him  to  understand  that  his 
olgect  was  to  serve  the  cause  of  Spain,  This  was  indeed  the 
fact,  as  the  Duke  informed  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  Boland,  who  was 
perhaps  destined  also  to  surpass  the  anticipations  of  the 
Spanish  commander-in-chief. 

Meantime  York  informed  his  English  patrons,  on  the  7th 
January,  that  matters  were  not  proceeding  so  smoothly  in  the 


^  WHkes  to  Leioester,  16  Dea  1586.  i   "  Tan  liyiano  y  arrisoado^"  fta    (Arch 
3.  P.  Office  MS.)  do  Simaacaa»  MS.) 

•  Panna  to  PhiKp  XL  12  Fob.  158t.  1 


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1687. 


Dupucrrr  of  torjl 


167 


political  world  as  he  could  wish.    He  bad  found  ^^  many  cross 
and  indirect  proceedings/'  and  so,  according  to  Lqrd  Leicester's 
desire,  he  sent  him  a  '^discourse"  on  the  subject,  which  he 
begged  Sbr  Francis  to  "peruse,  add  to,  or  take  away  from," 
and  then  to  inclose  to  the  EarL    He  hoped  he  should  be 
forgiven  if  tiie  style  of  the  production  was  not  quite  satisfac- 
tory ;  for,  said  he,  "  the  place  where  I  am  doth  too  much 
tonnait  my  memory,  to  call  every  point  to  my  remembrance."  ^ 
It  must,  in  truth,  have  been  somewhat  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 
Boland's  might  be  forgiven  for  being  occasionally  puzzled. 
"  So  if  there  \^  anything  hard  to  be  understood,"  he  observed 
to  "Walsingham,  "  advertise  me,  and  I  will  make  it  plaiAer." 
l^olJLing  could  be  more  ingenuous.    He  confessed,  however, 
to  being  out  of  pocket.     "  Please  your  honour,"  said  he,  "  I 
have  taken  great  pains  to  make  a  bad  place  something,  and 
it  has  cost  me  all  the  money  I  had,  and  here  I  can  receive 
nothing  but  discontentment.    I  dare  not  write  you  all  lest  you 
should  think  it  impossible,"  he  added — and  it  is  quite  probable 
that  even  Walsingham  would   have  been  astonished,  had 
Boland  written  all     The  game  playing  by  York  and  Stanley 
was  not  one  to  which  English  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  York ;  for  the  object  of  the 
"  discourse"  was  to  deceive  the  English  government. 

"  I  humbly  beseech  that  you  will  send  for  me  home,"  con- 
cluded Boland,  ''  for  true  as  I  humbled  my  mind  to  please 
ha:  Majesty,  your  honour,  and  the  dead,^  now  am  I  content 
to  humble  myself  lower  to  please  myself,  for,  now,  since  his 


*  Bowland    York   to   Walsmgham, 
7  Jan.  1687.    (a  P.  Office  Ma) 

*  Bj  tho  dead,  he  meant  Sir  Philip 


Sidney,  who  had  been  deceived  into  a 
Mendiy  fbeling  for  the  adyentnrer. 
Heteren,  xiy.  250. 


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168  THE  UIOTBD  NETHERLANDS.  Chap.  XHL 

Excellency^B  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  than 
ever,  not  only  as  to  York  and  Stanley,  but  as  to  all  the 
English  commanders,  as  to  the  whole  English  nation.  An 
Anjou  plot,  a  general  massacre,  was  expected  by  many,  yet 
there  were  no  definite  grounds  for  such  dark'  anticipations. 
In  vain  had  painstaking,  truth-telling  Wilkes  summoned 
Stanley  to  his  duty,  and  called  on  Leicester,  time  after  time, 
to  interfere.  In  vain  did  Sir  John  Norris,  Sir  John  Conway, 
the  members  of  the  state-council,  and  all  others  who  should 
have  had  authority,  do  their  utmost  to  avert  a  catastrophe. 
Their  hands  were  all  tied  by  the  fatal  letter  of  the  24ih 
November.  Most  anxiously  did  all  implore  the  Earl  of 
Leicester  to  return.  Never  was  a  more  dangerous  moment 
than  this  for  a  country  to  be  left  to  its  fate.  Scarcely  ever 
in  history  was  there  a  more  striking  exemplification  of  the 
need  of  a  man — of  an  individual — ^who  should  embody  the 
powers  and  wishes,  and  concentrate  in  one  brain  and  arm,  the 
whole  energy,  of  a  commonwealth.  But  there  was  no  such 
man,  for  the  republic  had  lost  its  chief  when  Orange  died. 
There  was  much  wisdom  and  patriotism  now.  Olden-Bame- 
veld  was  competent,  and  so  was  Buys,  to  direct  the  councils 
of  the  republic,  and  there  were  few  better  soldiers  than 
Norris  and  Hohenlo  to  lead  her  armies  against  Spain.  But 
the  supreme  authority  had  been  confided  to  Leicester.  He 
had  not  perhaps  proved  himself  extrabrdinarily  qualified  for 
his  post,  but  he  was  the  govemor-in-chief,  and  his  departure, 
without  resigning  his  powers,  left  the  commonwealth  headless, 
at  a  moment  when  singleness  of  action  was  vitally  important. 

At  last,  very  late  in  January,  one  Hugh  Ov^ring,  a 
ha'berdasher  from  Ludgate  Hill,  was  caught  at  Botterdam, 
on  his  way  to  Ireland,  with  a  bundle  of  letters  from  Sir 
William  Stanley,  and  was  sent,  as  a  suspicious  character,  to 

'  York  to  Walainghain.     (MS.  last  cited) 


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1681  STANLBrS  BANQUET  AT  DEVBNTBR.  169 

the  state-council  at  the  Hague.^  On  the  same  day,  another 
Englishman,  a  small  youth,  ^^  well-fayoured/'  rejoicing  in  a 
"very  little  red  beard,  and  in  very  ragged  clothes,''  unknown 
by  name,  but  ascertained  to  be  in  the  service  of  Boland  York 
and  to  have  been  the  bearer  of  letters  to  Brussels,  also  passed 
through  Botterdam.  By  connivance  of  the  innkeeper,  one 
Joyce,  also  an  Englishman,  he  succeeded  in  making  his 
escape.'  The'  information  contained  in  the  letters  thus  inter- 
cepted "was  important,  but  it  came  too  late,  even  if  then  the 
state-council  could  have  acted  without  giving  mortal  offence 
to  Elizabeth  and  to  Leicester. 

On  the  evening  of  28th  January  (N.  8.),  Sir  William  Stanley 
^itertained  the  magistrates  of  Deventer  at  a  splendid  banquet. 
There  was  free  conversation  at  table  concerning  the  idle  sus- 
picions which  had  been  rifo  in  the  Provinces  as  to  his  good 
intentions  and  the  censures  which  had  been  cast  upon  him  for 
the  repressive  measures  which  ho  had  thought  necessary  to 
adopt  for  the  security  of  the  city.  He  took  that  occasion  to 
assure  his  guests  that  the  Queen  of  England  had  not  a  more 
loyal  subject  than  himself,  nor  the  Netherlands  a  more  devoted 
friend.  The  company  expressed  themselves  fully  restored  to 
confid^ice  in  his  character  and  purposes,  and  the  burgomasters, 
having  exchanged  pledges  of  faith  and  friendship  with  the 
commandant  in  flowing  goblets,  went  home  comfortably  to 
bed,  highly  pleased  with  their  noble  entertainer  and  with 
themselves.* 

Very  late  that  same  night,  Stanley  placed  three  hundred  of 
his  wild  Irish  in  the  Noorenberg  tower,  a  large  white  structure 
which  commanded  the  Zutphen  gate,  and  sent  bodies  ^  jan. 
of  chosen  troops  to  surprise  all  the  burgher-guards  i587. 
at  their  respective  stations.  Strong  pickets  of  cavalry  were 
also  placed  in  all  the  principal  thoroughfares  of  the  city.  At 
three  o'clock  in  the  following  morning  he  told  his  officers  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 

I  Conway  to  Walsingham,  28  Jan.  1587.     (S.  P.  Offioo  MS.) 
•  Ibid.  ■  Reyd.  vi.  90. 


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170  THE  UNITED  NETHERLANDS.  Chap.  XIIL 

had  felt  much  anxiety  for  some  time  past  as  to  the  dispoflition 
of  the  burghers.  His  officers,  honest  Englishmen,  suspecting 
no  evil  and  having  confidence  in  their  chief,  saw  nothing 
strange  in  this  proceeding,  and  Sir  William  rode  deliberately 
out  of  Zutphen.  After  he  had  been  absent  an  hour  or  two, 
the  clatter  of  hoofs  and  the  tramp  of  in&ntry  was  heard 
without,  and  presently,  the  commandant  returned,  followed  by 
a  thousand  musketeers  and  three  or  four  hundred  troopers. 
It  was  still  pitch  dark ;  but,  dimly  lighted  by  torches,  small 
detachments  of  the  fresh  troops  picked  their  way  through  the 
black  narrow  streets,  while  the  main  body  poured  at  once 
upon  the  Brink,  or  great  square.  Here,  quietly  and  swiffly, 
they  were  marshalled  into  order,  the  cavalry,  pikemen,  and 
musketeers,  lining  all  sides  of  the  place,  and  a  chosen  band — 
among  whom  stood  Sir  William  Stanley,  on  foot,  and  an 
officer  of  high  rank  on  horseback — occupying  the  central 
space  immediately  in  front  of  the  town-house.^ 

The  drums  then  beat,  and  proclamation  went  forth  through 
the  city  that  all  burghers,  without  any  distinction — ^municipal 
guards  and  all — ^were  to  repair  forthwith  to  the  city-hall,  and 
deposit  their  arms.  As  the  inhabitants  arose  from  their 
slmnbers,  and  sallied  forth  into  the  streets  to  inquire  the  cause 
of  the  disturbance,  they  soon  discovered  that  they  had,  in 
some  mysterious  manner,  been  entrapped.  Wild  Irishmen, 
with  uncouth  garb,  threatening  gesture,  and  unintelligible 
jargon,  stood  gibbering  at  every  comer,  instead  of  the  com- 
fortable Flemish  faces  of  the  familiar  burgher-guard.  The 
chief  burgomaster,  sleeping  heavily  after  Sir  William's  hos- 
pitable banquet,  aroused  himself  at  last,  and  sent  a  militia- 
captain  to  inquire  the  cause  of  the  imseasonable  drum-beat 
and  monstrous  proclamation.  Day  was  breaking  as  the  trusty 
captain  made  his  way  to  the  scene  of  action.  The  wan  light 
of  a  cold,  drizzly  January  morning  showed  him  the  wide, 
stately  square — with  its  leafless  lime-trees  and  its  tall  many- 
storied,  gable-ended  houses  rising  dim  and  spectral  through 

'  Bor,  IL  xxil  878-879.  Reyd,  vl  1  volgh,  220-221.  Le  Petit,  n.  3-4L 
96-97.    Strada,  IL  467.    Hoofd,  Yer-  |   Wagenaar,  viil  196,  acq. 


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158t. 


HB  SUBBSNDBBS  THE  GUTT  TO  TASST8. 


171 


the  mist — ^filled  to  overflowiiig  with  troops^  whose  uniforms 
and  bamiers  resembled  nothing  that  he  remembered  in  Dutch 
and  y^ngb'flh  regiments.  Fires  were  lighted  at  various  comers^ 
kettles  were  boiling,  and  camp-followers  and  sutlers  were 
crouching  over  them,  half  perished  with  cold — for  it  had  been 
raining  dismally  all  night  ^ — ^while  burghers,  with  wives  and 
children,  startled  from  their  dreams  by  the  sudden  reveille, 
stood  gaping  about,  with  perplexed  faces  and  despairing 
gestures.  As  he  approached  the  town-house — one  of  those  mag- 
nificent, muiy-towered,  highly-decorated,  municipal  palaces 
of  the  Netherlands — ^he  found  troops  all  around  it ;  troops 
^goarding  the  main  entrance,,  troops  on  the  great  external 
staircase  leading  to  the  front  balcony,  and  officers,  in  yellow 
jerkin  and  black  bandoleer,  grouped  in  the  balcony  itself 

The  Flemish  captain  stood  bewildered,  when  suddenly  the 
familiar  form  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  strange 
officer  on  horseback.* 

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

"  Ah  God  !"  cried  the  honest  burgher,  "  Tassis  !  Tassis  I 
Then  are  we  indeed  most  miserably  betrayed."^ 

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

"Let  "ttiose  look  to  the  matter  of  treachery  whom  it  con- 
cerns," said  he  ;  "  my  business  here  is  to  serve  the  King,  my 
master." 

"Bender  unto  Ceesar  the  things  which  are  CsBsar's,  and 

unto  Qt)d  the  things  which  are  God's,"  said  Stanley,  with  piety.* 

The  burgher-captain  was  then  assured  that  no  harm  was 

intended  to  the  city,  but  that  it  now  belonged  to  his  most 


'  "Ongeacht  dat  ze  de  gantsche 
nacht  fs^steynt  hadden,  in  seer  qtiaet 
en  koat  weder,  enda  dat  bet  den  Bel- 


yen  Yoonniddags  oock  reghende,"  Aa 
Reyd,  vi  96. 
^  Ibid.  >  Ibid.  *  Ibid. 


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172 


THE  UKITBD  NETHERLANDS. 


OhAP.  XfTT, 


Catholic  Majesty  of  Spain — Colonel  Stanley^  to  whom  its 
custody  had  been  entrusted,  having  freely  and  deliberately 
restored  it  to  its  lawful  owner.  He  was  then  bid  to  go  and 
fetch  the  burgomasters  and  magistrates. 

Presently  they  appeared — 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,  who  had  so  summarily  ejected 
their  popish  predecessors,  and  who  only  the  night  before  had 
so  handsomely  feasted  themselves.  They  came  forward,  the 
tears  running  down  their  cheeks,  crying  indeed  so  piteously 
that  even  Stanley  b^n  to  weep  bitterly  himself.  "  I  have  - 
not  done  this,''  he  sobbed,  "  for  power  or  pelf.  Not  the  hope 
of  reward,  but  the  love  of  God  hath  moved  me.*'  ^ 

Presently  some  of  the  ex-magistrates  made  their  appear- 
ance, and  a  party  of  leading  citizens  went  into  a  private  houso 
with  Tassis  and  Stanley  to  hear  statements  and  explanations — 
as  if  any  satisfactory  ones  were  possible. 

Sir  William,  still  in  a  melancholy  tone,  began  to  make  a 
speech,  through  an  interpreter,  and  again  to  protest  that  he 
had  not  been  influenced  by  love  of  lucre.  But  as  ho  stam- 
mered and  grew  incoherent  as  he  approached  the  point,  Tassis 
suddenly  interrupted  the  conference.  "Let  us  look  after  our 
soldiers,"  said  he,  "  for  they  have  been  marching  in  the  foul 
weather  half  the  night."  So  the  Spanish  troops,  who  had 
been  standing  patiently  to  be  rained  upon  after  their  long 
march,  until  the  burghers  had  all  deposited  their  arms  in  the 
city-hall,  were  now  billeted  on  the  townspeople!     Tassis  gave 


>  "Sir  William  Stanley  did  fetch 
some  of  the  commons  and  magistrates 
to  come  and  wdoome  Taxis.  With 
weeping  tears  and  sad  countenances 
they  gave  him  reverence,  sony  to  see 
tbemselves  so  betrayed. 

"  When  Sir  William  Stanley  did  see 
the  pitlfnl  state  and  sorrowM  hearts 
of  the  burghers,  God  made  him  have 
some  feeling  of  his  sins.  His  own 
oonsdenoe,  it  seemed,  aocnsed  him, 
and  he  wept  vnth  the  hwrghers  for  com' 
jpany^  protestbg  with  vehement  words 


and  oaths  that  ho  had  done  it  with  no 
covetous  mind  for  profit,  but  only  for 
the  discharge  of  his  conscienca  It 
is  now  said  he  hath  and  shall  have 
30,0001"  Sir  John  Oonway  to  Wal- 
sing^iam,  28  Jan.  1587.  (S.  P.  Office 
MS.) 

Compare  Reyd,  vbi  svp.    Wilkes  to 
Leicester,   MS.   before   cited.      Korris 

to  Buiighley,  -  Jan.  1687.    (a  P.  Office 
SI 

Ma) 


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TBBHS  OF  THB  BARGAIN. 


173 


peremptory  orders  that  no  injury  should  be  offered  to  persons 
or  property  on  pain  of  death ;  and,  by  way  of  wholesome 
example,  hung  several  Hibernians  the  same  day  who  had  been 
detected  in  plundering  the  inhabitants.^ 

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  to  wind  up  their  affairs. 
They  were  also  required  to  furnish  Stanley  and  his  regiment 
full  i^j  for  the  whole  period  of  their  service  since  coming  to 
the  Provinces,  and  to  Tassis  three  months'  wages  for  his 
Spaniards  in  advance.'  Stanley  offered  his  troops  the  privilege 
of  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,  particularly  as  it 
was  intimated  to  them  that  there  was  an  inmiediate  proispect 
of  a  brisk  campaign  in  their  native  island  against  the  tyrant 
Elizabeth,  under  the  liberating  banners  of  Philip.  And 
certainly,  in  an  age  where  religion  constituted  coxmtry,  these 
fervent  Catholics  could  scarcely  be  censured  for  taking  arms 
against  the  sovereign  who  persecuted  their  religion  and  them- 
selves. These  honest  barbarians  had  broken  no  oath,  vio- 
lated no  trust,  had  never  pretended  sympathy  with  freedom 
or  affection  for  their  Queen.  They  had  fought  fiercely  under 
die  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 


'  Eeyd,  nM  aup. 

*  Willies  to  Leicester,  24  Jan.  1587. 
(&  P.  Office  MS.) 

''From  the  marketplace  Taxis  and 
Stanlej  went  to  the  town-house, 
whither  the  woefUl  magistrates  were 
called  and  made  to  wdoome  Taxis, 
and  were  then  required  with  aU  expe- 
didon  to  furnish  and  make  readj  so 
much    monej  as  should  pay  all  the 


arrearage  duo  to  Stanley  and  his 
regiment,  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  re- 
quired to  fhmish  and  ddiver  as  mudi 
more  money  as  might  give  three 
months  to  the  troops  of  the  enemy 
then  newly  entered." 


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174 


THE  UNITED  NETHEBLAin)S. 


Chap,  tttt 


a  game  in  Ireland  as  the  Queen  has  never  seen  the  like  all 
the  days  of  her  life/'  ^ 

Newton  had  already  been  solicited  by  Boland  York  to  take 
service  under  Parma,  and  had  indignantly  declined.  Sir 
Edmund  Carey  and  his  m^  four  hundred  in  all,  refused,  to 
a  man,  to  take  part  in  the  monstrous  treason,  and  were  allowed 
to  leave  the  city.'  This  was  the  case  with  all  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  a 
skirmish  a  few  days  before  the  surrender  of  Deventer,  was  now 
brought  to  that  city,  and  earnestly  entreated  by  Tassis  and  by 
Stanley  to  seize  this  opportunity  of  entering  the  service  of  Spain. 

"  You  shall  have  great  advancement  and  preferment,"  said 
Tassis.  ^^  His  Catholic  Majesty  has  got  ready  very  many  ships 
for  Ireland,  and  Sir  William  Stanley  is  to  he  general  of  the 
expedition" 

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

"  I  would  rather,"  replied  Henchman,  "  serve  my  prince  in 
loyalty  as  a  be^ar,  than  to  be  known  and  reported  a  rich 
traitor,  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  were  powerless  with  the  blunt  captain,  and  notwith- 
standing "  divers  other  traitorous  alledgements  by  Sfir  William 
for  his  most  vile  &cts,"  as  Henchman  ex|)ressed  it,  that  officer 


'  "Que  le  Colonel  Stanley  lui  a 
profer^  Je  me  oomporteral  tellement 
que  le  pays  jusqu'en  Hollande  et  entre 
Wezel  et  Embden,  seront  en  tout 
ruin4  dedans  six  joura;  et  causerai  en 
Irlande  tel  jeu  de  g^uerre  que  la  Reine 
n*a  vu  en  sa  vie."  Examination  of  Oapt 
Thomas  Newton  touching  the  loss  of 
Deventer,  before  the  Coundl  of  State^ 

-Jan.  1687.    (S.  P.  Office  MS.) 

'*That  he  (lieatenant  John  Beenan, 


in  Stanley^s  service,  an  earnest  man) 
may  deliver  to  Sir  Francis  Walsing- 
ham  some  circumstance  of  the  sur^ 
rendering  of  Deventer,  and  what 
speedies  passed  from  Sir  WiDiam 
Stanley  touching  Ireland,  whither  he 
tiiinks  to  be  sent  to  work  her  Mijes^ 
some  trouble  and  annoy,  if  he  shiul 
be  able."  Sir  John  Norris  to  F.  Wal- 
smgham,  29  Jan.  1587.  (&  P.  0£  Ica) 
*  Wilkes  to  Leicester,  24  Jan.  (MS- 
before  cited.) 


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FEEBLE  DEFENCE  OP  ^STANLEY'S  CONDUCT. 


175 


remained  in  poTerty  and  captivity  until  such  time  as  he  could 
be  exchanged.^ 

Stanley  subsequently  attempted  in  yarious  ways  to  defend 
his  character.  He  had  a  commission  from  Leicester,  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  liked — as  if  his  passport 
entitled  him  to  take  the  city  of  Deventer  along  with  him ;  he 
owed  no  alliance  to  the  States  ;  he  was  dischaiged  from  his 
promise  to  Ihe  Earl ;  he  was  his  own  master  ;  he  wanted 
nather  money  nor  preferment ;  he  had  been  compelled  by  his 
conscience  and  his  duty  to  God  to  restore  the  city  to  its  lawful 
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.  That  Leicester 
had  discharged  him  from  his  promises  to  such  an  extent  as  to 
justify  his  surrendering  a  town  committed  to  his  honour  for 
safe  keeping,  certainly  deserved  no  answer ;  that  his  duty  to 
conscience  required  him  to  restore  the  city  argued  a  somewhat 
tardy  awakening  of  that  monitor  in  the  breast  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  desire  to  atone 
for  his  sins  against  it,  the  insidious  temptings  of  his  evil  spirit, 
York,*  who  was  the  chief  organizer  of  the  conspiracy,  and  the 


*  Henrf  H<aichmaii  to  WaklDgham, 
22  March,  1587.  (S.  P.  <^oe  MR) 
ToUdem  verbis, 

•  Bor,  Eeyd,  Strada,  Hoofd,  *Verw 
Yolgh,'  Ld  Petit^  Wagenaar,  ubi  sup. 
Bentivoglio,  P.  U.  I  v.  312.  F. 
Haraei  Ann.  IIL  398.  Camden,  UL 
39*7-398. 

'  According  to  Camden,  York  bad 
persoaded  Stanley  that  he  had  been 
aocuiied  by  the  conapirators  of  being 
engaged  in  the  Babington  plot,  and 
that  he  was  "forthwith  to  be  sent 
into  England,  to  be  hanged."    Haraens 


{ubiety.)  has  a  slight  allusion  to  the 
same  effect,  bnt  I  have  fotmd  no  other 
intimation  of  this  yery  hnprobable 
sospicion  with  regard  to  Sir  William. 
The  English  historian  also  states  that 
after  the  treason  Stanly  called  his 
troops  the  Seminary  regiment  of  sol- 
diers, to  defend  the  Romish  religion 
by  their  swords,  as  the  Seminary 
priests  by  their  writings.  Cardinal 
Allen  praised  his  deed  in  his  fiunoos 
book,  and  excited  idl  others  to  go  and 
do  likewise.    Camden,  B.  IIL  398. 


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THE  UNITED  NBTHERLANDa 


Chap.  XTTT. 


prospect  of  gratifying  a  wild  and  wicked  ambition — ^these  were 
the  springs  that  moved  him.  Sums — varying  from  30,000?. 
to  a  pension  of  1500  pistolets  a  year — ^were  mentioned,  as 
the  stipulated  price  of  his  treason,  by  Norris,  Wilkes,  Conway, 
and  others  ;  ^  but  the  Duke  of  Parma,  in  narrating  the  whole 
affair  in  a  private  letter  to  the  King,  explicitly  stated  that  he 
had  found  Stanley  "  singularly  disinterested." 

"  The  colonel  was  only  actuated  by  religious  motives,"  he 
said,  **  asking  for  no  reward,  except  that  he  might  serve  in  his 
Majesty's  army  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  f  and  it  was  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  English, 
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  honors  and  titles  upon  him,  and  to  appoint  him  Yiceroy 
of  Ireland — of  that  very  country  which  he  was  now  proposing, 
as  an  enemy  to  his  sovereign  and  as  the  purchased  tool  of  a 
foreign  despot,  to  invade.* 


*  MS.  Letters  before  cited.  Doyloy 
to  Walsingham,  25  March,  1587.  (S.  P. 
Office  MS.) 

'  "Que  ha  sido  do  nota,"  Ac 
Paitna  to  Philip,  12  Feb.  1587.  (Arch, 
do  Simancas,  MS^) 

'  Ibid.  (Compare  Bentivoglio,  P.  IL 
L  V.  312.  "Era  CattoUoo  lo  Stanley, 
e  mostrd  di  iarlo  per  zelo  principal- 
mente  di  Relinone,"  sajs  the  Caxdi- 
nal,  "oontucdo  ne  fU  premicUo  largor 
mente  dal  R^  e  tanto  pin,  perche  ^ 
tir6  8000  nel  medesimo  serritio  tutH 
gU  Inglesi  ch*  eravano  m  Derenter," 
9lc  This  last  statement  we  have  seen 
to  be  entirely  a  mistake. 


Compare  Strada,  II.  468^  469,  who  is 
very  emphatb  with  regard  to  the 
parity  of  Stanley's  motires:  "Motom 
se  ad  dedendam  urbem  Stanlaens  ad- 
jnnzit^  non  largitionibos,  aut  honomm 
titolis,  proditorum  pretiis;  quae  quam^ 
via  oblcUa  respuerit  utl  alieoa  &  mijo- 
rom  daritudine,  vitaque  soa^"  io. 
The  Jesoit  adds,  that  the  Dnke  warmly 
abjured  his  sovereign  not  to  allow  sudi 
disinterestedness  to  go  unrewarded — 
and  it  did  not 

*  This  is  stated  distinctly  by  Le{« 
oester  in  his  letter  to  the  SteteshGene- 
ral,  on  first  being  informed  of  the 
surrender   of   Deventer:    "L*affectioa 


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SUBSEQUENT  FATE  OF  STAOT.BY  AND  YOEK. 


177 


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  con- 
firmation ;  and  it  is  certain  that  at  the  close  of  the  year  he  had 
mustered  his  raiment  under  Famese,  prepared  to  join  the 
Duke  in  the  great  invasion  of  England.^ 

Boland  York,  .who  was  used  to  such  practices,  cheerfully 
consummated  his  crime  on  the  same  day  that  witnessed  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  h£  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  overpowered  by  the  English  and  Irish, 
assisted  by  a  force  of  Spaniards,  who,  by  a  concerted  move- 
ment, made  their  appearance  from  the  town.  He  received  a 
handsome  reward,  having  far  surpassed  the  Duke  of  Parma's 


et  soiDg  qu  ay  toigours  ea  a  la  con- 
eenration  de  Testat  des  prov««*  nnies 
m'aagmentent  tant  plus  de  regret  qu 
aj  ea  d^entendre  la  trahison  de  la  ville 
^  Deventer,  qu  elle  a  este  forme  par 
la  laschet^  de  celuy  auquel  S.  U.  eui 
votiiu  confier  royaumes  etUiers  et  lequel 
^  penaolt  annoblir  des  plus  grands 
titres  avecq  recompenses  condknes, 
pour  le  promouToir  a  la  dignite  de 
Tice  Roy  d'lrlande,"    Ac      Leicester 

to  the    States-Genera],  ~  Feb.  I58t. 

(Hague  Arcbiyes,  MS.) 

»  Bor,  n.  xxii.  882.  Wagonaar,  vuL 
199. 

•  *^By  letters  from  Deventer,  they 
write  that  the  traitor  Stanley  groweth 
frantic— a  just  punishment  of  God — 
and  his  men  yenr  poor  and  in  misery. 
The  other  traitor,  York,  has  been 
Keen  of  late  in  Antwerp  and  Brussels, 
little  regarded,  whose  determination 
is  to  go  to  Spain  or  Naples,  there  to 

VOL.  n.— N 


1170  on  his  stipend,  out  of  the  stir  of 
these  wars,  fearing  that  which  I  hope 
to  God  he  shall  never  escape.'* 
Captain  Ed.  Bumham  to  Walsingfaam, 
7  March,  1587.    (3.  P.  Office  MS.) 

"It  is  bruited  that  Stanley  was  now 
lately  become  a  lunatic,  void  of  go- 
vernment and  discretion.  «...  If  this 
be  true,  as  he  was  known  for  a 
traitor,  so  he  may  be  noted  for  a  fool." 
Lloyd  to  Walsingham,  15  Oct  1587. 
(a  P.  Office  MS.) 

•  "Among  them.  Sir  William  Stan- 
ley was  the  leader  of  his  companies, 
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  oC"  John  Giles 
to  Walsingham,  4  Dec.  1587.  <S.  P. 
Office  M&) 

*  Wilkes  to  Leicester,  24  Jan.  158T. 
(a  R  Office  Ma) 


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178 


THE  UNITED  ITBTHEULANDS. 


Chap.  XUL 


oxpectations^  when  he  made  his  original  o£fer  of  serviee.  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  was  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  con- 
temptible malice  hanged  upon  a  gibbet.  This  was  the  end  of 
Eoland  York.* 

Parma  was  highly  gratified,  as  may  be  imagined,  at  such 
Buccessful  results.  "  Thus  Fort  Zutphen,"  said  he,  "  about 
which  there  have  been  so  many  fisticuffs,  and  Deventer* — ^which 
was  the  real  object  of  the  last  campaign,  and  which  has  cost 
the  English  so  much  blood  and  money,  and  is  the  s^ety  of 
Groningen  and  of  all  those  Provinces — ^is  now  your  Majesty's. 
Moreovo:,  the  effect  of  this  treason  must  be  to  sow  great 
distrust  between  the  English  and  the  rebels,  who  will  hence- 
forth never  know  in  whom  they  can  confide."^  .  . 

Parma  was  very  right  in  this  conjuncture.  Moreover,  there 
was  just  then  a  fearful  run  against  the  States.  The  castle  of 
Wauw,  within  a  league  of  Bergen-op-Zoom,  which  had  been 
entrusted  to  one  Lo  Marchand,  a  Frenchman  in  the  service  of 
the  republic,  was  delivered  by  him  to  Parma  for  1,6,000  florins. 
"  'Tis  a  very  important  post,"  said  the  Duke,  "  arid  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.  Thi/  town  belonged 
to  the  jurisdiction  of  Martin  Schenk,  and  was  his  chief  place 
of  deposit  for  the  large  and  miscellaneous  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 


*  Bor,  Reyd,  Hoofd,  Wagenaar, 
StradH)  Bentivoglio,  Camden,  Le  Petit, 
Haraeus,  locis  ciiatia.  Baker's  Chro- 
nicle, 3  85.  Meteren,  ziv.  245-230.  MS. 
Letters  already  cited. 


•  Parma  to  PhiUp  H.  12  Feb.  1587. 
(Arch,  de  Simancas  MS.) 

*  Ibid.  Compare  Bor,  XL  xxii.  87a 
Strada»  XL  466.  Wagenaar,  viiL  196. 
Haraeua,  IIL  397  et  mviL  al 


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1587. 


BETRAYAL  OP  GELDEB  TO  PAEMA. 


179 


contract — ^in  a  very  business-like  way — ^with  the  States,  to 
defend  the  city  of  Bheinberg  and  all  the  country  round 
against  the  Duke  of  Parma,  pledging  himself  to  keep  on  foot 
for  that  purpose  an  army  of  3300  foot  and  700  horse.  For 
this  extensive  and  important  operation  he  was  to  receive 
20,000  florins  a  month  from  the  general  exchequer,  and  in 
addition  he  was  to  be  allowed  the  brandschatz — the  black- 
mail, that  is  to  say — of  the  whole  country-side,  and  the 
taxation  upon  all  vessels  going  up  and  down  the  river  before 
Bheinbeig ;  an  ad  valorem  duty,  in.  short,  upon  all  river- 
merchandise,  assessed  and  collected  in  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 
penny-worth"  by  the  job,  it  was  no  easy  thing  to  get  the 
better,  in  a  bargain,  of  the  vigilant  Martin,  who  was  as  thrifty 
a  speculator  as  he  was  a  desperate  fighter.  A  more  accom- 
plished highwayman,  artistically  and  enthusiastically  devoted 
to  his  pursuit,  never  lived.  Nobody  did  his  work  more 
thoroughly — ^nobody  got  himself  better  paid  for  his.  work — 
and  Thomas  Wilkes,  that  excellent  man  of  business,  thought 
the  States  not  likely  to  make  much  by  their  contract.^  Never- 
theless, it  was  a  comfort  to  know  that  the  work  would  not  bo 
neglected. 

Schenk  was  accordingly  absent,  jobbing  the  Bheinbeig 
siege,  and  in  his  place  one  Aristotle  Fatten,  a  Scotch  colonel 
in  tho  States'  service,  was  commandant  of  Gelders.  Now  the 
thrifty  Scot  had  an  eye  to  business,  too,  and  was  no  more 
troubled  with  qualms  of  conscience  than  Eowland  York  himself. 
Moreover,  he  knew  himself  to  bo  in  great  danger  of  losing  his 
place,  for  Leicester  was  no  friend  to  him,  and  intended  to 
supersede  him.  Fatten  had  also  a  decided  grudge  agcdnst 
Martin  Schenk,  for  that  truculent  personage  had  recently 
administered  to  him  a  drubbing,  which  no  doubt  ho  had  richly 
deserved.'    Accordingly,  when  tho  Duke  of  Parma  made  a 


^  WHkes  to  Leicester,  3  Dea  1686. 
(S.  P.  OflBce  MS.)  •  Ibid. 

*  Strada^  IL  500.    Baudartii  Polemo- 


grephia,  IL  90.  Ck)inpare  Wagenaar, 
yiii  226,  who  is  the  aathoritf  for  the 
illustrious  pagan  name  of  the  Scot 


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180 


TH£  X7NITED  NETHERLANDa 


Chap.  Xm. 


secret  o£fer  to  him  of  36^000  florins  if  he  would  quietly  sur- 
render the  city  entrusted  to  him,  the  colonel  jumped  at  so 
excellent  an  opportunity  of  circumventing  Leicester,  feeding 
his  grudge  against  Martin,  and  making  a  handsome  fortune  for 
himself.    He  knew  his  trade  too  well,  however,  to  accept  the 
o£fer  too  eagerly,  and  bargained  awhile  for  better  terms,  and 
to  such  good  purpose,  that  it  was  agreed  he  should  have  not 
only  the  36,000  florins,  but  all  the  horses,  arms,  plate,  furni- 
ture^ and  other  moveables  in  the  city  belonging  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  fortrme — and 
accordingly  the  city,  towards  Midsummer,  was  surrendered  to 
the  Seigneur  d^Haultepenne.^    Moreover,  the  excellent  Fatten 
had  another  and  a  loftier  motive.    He  was  in  love.    He  had 
also  a  rival.    The  lady  of  his  thoughts  was  the  widow  of 
Pontus  de  Noyelle,  Seigneur  de  Bours,  who  had  once  saved 
the  citadel  of  Antwerp,  and  afterwards  sold  that  city  and 
himself.    His  rival  was  no  other  than  the  great  Seigneur  de 
Champagny,  brother  of  Cardinal  Granvelle,  eminent  as  soldier, 
diplomatist,  and  financier,  but  now  growing  old,  not  in  affluent 
circumstances,  and  much  troubled  with  the  gout.    Madame 
de  Bours  had,  however,  accepted  his  hand,  and  had  fixed  the 
day  for  the  wedding,  when  the  Scotchman,  thus  suddenly 
enriched,  renewed  a  previously  unsuccessful  suit.    The  widow 
then,  partially  keeping  her  promise,  actually  celebrated  her 
nuptids  on  the  appointed  evening ;  but,  to  the  surprise  of  the 
Provinces,  she  became  not  the  hattUe  et  puiaaante  dame  de 
Champagny^  but  Mrs.  Aristotle  Patton.* 

For  this  last  treason  neither  Leicester  nor  the  English  were 
responsible.  Fatten  was  not  only  a  Scot,  but  a  follower  of 
Hohenlo,  as  Leicester  loudly  protested.^    Le  Marchant  was  a 


*  IbicL  Loioeeter  to  WalsiDgham, 
4  Julj,  4  Aug.  1587.  Lloyd  to  Wal- 
Bingham,  3  July,  1587.  (S.  P.  Office 
MSS.)  But  Strada  states  that  the 
plate  and  other  property  were  rcsenred 
t6  the  Spanish  government 


*  Baudart,  tiM  aq).  Le  Petit^  IL 
346-347. 

*  *"  It  is  so  that  Gelders  is  lost,  given 
np  by  Paton,  the  Sootohman,  and  com- 
manded thither  by  the  Coant  HoUod^ 
and  hath  been  whoUy  at  his  direction 


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1587.         THESE  TREASONS  OAST  ODIUM  ON  THE  ENGLISH.        181 

FrenchmaiL  But  Deventer  and  Zutphen  were  places  of  vital 
importaDce^  and  Stanley  an  Englishman  of  highest  considera- 
tion^  one  who  had  been  deemed  worthy  of  the  command  in 
chief  in  Leicester's  absence.  Moreover,  a  comet  in  the  service 
of  the  Earl's  nephew,  Sir  Bobert  Sidney,  had  been  seen  at 
Zntphen  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  fortunately  false,  although  the 
comet  was  unquestionably  a  traitor,  with  whom  the  enemy  had 
been  tampering ;  but  the  mere  thought  that  Sir  Bobert  Sidney 
could  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 
Neiherlanders  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  throng  the  land.  The  noble 
deeds  of  Sidney  and  Willoughby,  and  Norris  and  Pelham,  and 
B(^er  Williams,  the  honest  and  valuable  services  of  Wilkes, 
the  generosity  and  courage  of  Leicester,  were  for  a  season 
forgotten.  The  English  were  denounced  in  every  city  and 
village  of  the  Netherlands  as  traitors  and  miscreants.  Be- 
spectable  English  merchants  went  from  hostelry  to  hostelry, 
and  fix)m  town  to  town,  and  were  refused  a  lodging  for  love 
or  money.  The  nation  was  put  under  ban.'  A  most  melan- 
dioly  change  from  the  beginning  of  the  year,  when  the  very 
men  who  were  now  loudest  in  denunciation  and  fiercest  in  hate, 
had  been  the  warmest  friends  of  Elizabeth,  of  England,  and  of 
Leicester. 


ai^  commandment  Yet  for  the  good 
nature  of  Norris  and  WUkes,  so  soon 
as  thej  heard  of  thiSi  reported  to  the 
States  that  this  Fatten  was  s  colonel 
of  mj  preferment  to  make  the  people 
to  hate  me,"  &o.  Leioester  to  Walsing- 
bam,  2  July,  1587.  (a  P.  OflQoe  MS.) 
It  wDl  be  peroeived  that  this  oocnr- 
renoe  has  been  placed  in  Jazti^>osition 
with  similar  occurrences  in  the  nxura- 


tivo,  althoc^h  a  few  months  removed 
fjTom  them  in  chronological  sequence. 

*  Examination  of  Newton.  MS. 
before  cited.  Compare  Meteren,  xir. 
249-260.    Eeyd,  vi  9T-98. 

'  Wilkes  to  Hatton,  24  Jan.  1687. 
Memorial  given  to  Sir  Roger  Williams, 
Feb.  1687.  Wilkes  to  the  Queen, 
16  Feb.  1587.    (a  P.  Office  MSS.) 


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182 


THE  UNITED  KETHEBLANDS. 


Chap.  ZUL 


At  Hohenlo's  table  the  opinion  was  loudly  expressed,  even 
in  the  presence  of  Sir  Roger  Williams,  that  it  was  highly 
improbable,  if  a  man  like  Stanley,  of  such  high  rank  in  the 
kingdom  of  England,  of  such  great  connections  and  large 
means,  could  commit  such  a  treason,  that  he  could  do  so 
without  the  knowledge  and  consent  of  her  Majesty.* 

Bameveld,  in  cotmcil  of  state,  declared  that  Leicester,  by 
his  restrictive  letter  of  24th  November,  had  intended  to  carry 
the  authority  over  the  republic  into  England,  in  order  to 
dispose  of  everything  at  his  pleasure,  in  conjunction  with  the 
English  cabinet-cotmcil,  and  that  the  country  had  never  been 
so  cheated  by  the  French  as  it  had  now  been  by  the  English, 
and  that  their  government  had  become  insupportable.' 

Councillor  Carl  Boorda  maintained  at  the  table  of  Elector 
Truchsess  that  the  country  had  fallen  de  tyrannide  in  tyrranni' 
dem,  and — ^if  they  had  spumed  the  oppression  of  the  Spaniards 
and  the  French — that  it  was  now  time  to  rebel  against  the 
English.  Bameveld  and  Buys  loudly  declared  that  the  Pro- 
vinces were  able  to  protect  themselves  witiiout  foreign  assist- 
ance, and  that  it  was  very  injurious  to  impress  a  contrary 
opinion  upon  the  public  mind.^ 

The  whole  coU^  of  the  States-Greneral  came  before  the 
state-council,  and  demanded  the  name  of  the  man  to  whom 
the  Earl's  restrictive  letter  had  been  delivered — that  docu- 
ment, by  which  the  governor  had  dared  surreptitiously  to 
annul  the  authority  which  publicly  he  had  delegated  to  that 
body,  and  thus  to  deprive  it  of  the  power  of  preventing  an- 
ticipated crimes.  After  much  colloquy  the  name  of  Brackel 
was  given,  and,  had  not  the  culprit  fortunately  been  absent, 
his  life  might  have  been  in  danger,  for  rarely  had  grave 
statesmen  been  so  thoroughly  infuriated.^ 

Ko  language   can    exaggerate    the    consequences    of  this 


*  Abuses  offered  to  her  Kajestj  and 
his  ExceUenoy  and  the  whole  English 
nation  by  the  States  and  others.  AprO, 
1687.  ra  p.  Office  MS.)  Sir  J.  Norris 
to  Walsingham,  25  March,  1687.  (&  P. 
Office  MS.)  "Ibid. 


*Ibid.  Compare  Strada,  H.  469 
Bentivofi^  P.  H.  L  iv.  81S.313 
Bor,  XL  xxil  883;  Wagenaar,  viiL  199; 
cl  muU,  tU, 

« Wilkes  to  Leicester,  24  Jan.  1687. 
(S.  P.  Office  Ma) 


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1587. 


lOSERABLB  PLIGHT  OF  THE  ENGLISH  TEOOPS. 


183 


wretcUed  treason.  Unfortunately^  too,  the  abject  condition 
to  vhich.  the  English  troops  had  been  reduced  by  the  nig- 
gardliness of  their  sovereign  was  an  additional  cause  of 
danger.  Leicester  was  gone,  and  since  her  favourite  was  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  ptrmy  iad  been  sent  to  her  troops.  While  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  English  soldiers,  who  had  fought  so  well  in  every  Flemish 
battle-field  of  freedom,  had  become — such  as  were  left  of 
them — mere  famishing  half  naked  vagabonds  and  marauders. 
Brave  soldiers  had  been  changed  by  their  sovereign  into 
brigands,  and  now  the  universal  odium  which  suddenly 
attached  itself  to  the  English  name  converted  them  into 
outcasts.  Forlorn  and  crippled  creatures  swarmed  about  the 
Provinces,  but  were  fi^rbidden  to  come  through  the  towns,  and 
so  wandered  about,  robbing  hen-roosts  and  pillaging  the 
peasantry.'  Many  deserted  to  the  enemy.  Many  b^ged 
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  vain.' 

The  English  cavalry,  dwindhed  now  to  a  body  of  five 
hundred,  starving  and  mutinous,  made  a  foray  into  Holland, 
rather  as  highwaymen  than  soldiers.^  Count  Maurice  com- 
manded their  instant  departure,  and  Hohenlo  swore  that  if 
the  order  were  not  instantly  obeyed,  he  would  put  himself  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 


'  J.  Korris  to  Walsmgham,  25  March, 
1581    (a  P.  Office  M8.) 

*  wakes  to  the  Queen,  16  Feb.  1687. 
Same  to  WalshigfaaxD,  19  Jan.  1C87. 
(aP.OfficoMSS.) 


•  Memorial  (fai  Bai^hle}r'8  hand)  of 
tfakgfl  to  be  declared,  Not.  1587.  (S. 
P.  Office  MS.) 

•  «WiIkee    to    Loioeater,    12    March 
1687.    (MS.) 


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184 


TEE  UNITED  NETHERLANDS. 


Chap,  tcttt. 


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  Wilkes,  ever  watchful  of  his  duty,  succeeded 
in  borrowing  eight  hundred  pounds  sterling  for  two  months, 
by  ^^  pawning  his  own  carcase  "  as  he  expressed  himself.  This 
gave  the  troopers  about  thirty  shillings  a  man,  with  whidi 
relief  they  became,  for  a  time,  contented  and  well  disposed.^ 


"Wilkes  to  Leicester,  12  March, 
1587.  (MS.)  *'So  great  is  the  lack  of 
discipline  among  the  garrisons,"  wrote 
Wilkes^  "especially  of  oar  nation,  that 
I  am  ashamed  to  hear  the  continual 
complaints  which  come  to  this  council 
against  them.  And  albeit  8ir  John 
Norris  and  I  have  written  often  unto 
the  captains  and  governors  to  soo  re- 
formation had  of  the  insolences  and 
disorders  of  their  soldiers  within  the 
towns,  it  is  notwithstanding  so  slen- 
derly respected  as  there  foUoweth  no 
amendment  at  all;  so  as  wo  begin  to 
grow  as  hateftil  to  the  people  as  the 
Spaniard  hirMelff  who  govemeih  his 
towns  of  conquest  with  a  milder  hand 
(han  we  do  ow  friends  oftd  allies.  The 
causes  hereof  we  find  to  be  two.  The 
one  is  for  lack  of  pay,  without  which 
it  is  hnposaible  to  preserve  discipline 
among  the  soldiers,  and  most  of  the 
troops  in  her  Majesty's  pay  (ezoepting 
the  garrisons  of  Brill  and  Flushing) 
have  not  been  paid  fit>m  the  beginning 
of  September  last,  being  now  about 
five  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  nile  themselves, 
and  such  as  make  their  profit  of  the 
poor  soldiers  so  extremely  as  they  are 
hateM  to  the  companies^  wherein  if 
there  is  no  redress,  it  were  better  her 
Miijesty  did  revoke  all ;  for  as  the  ca8& 
of  the  comoKMi  soldier  now  standeth 
the  States  receive  little  or  no  service 
of  them  but  spoil  and  ruin  of  their 
towns  and  countries."  Wilkes  to  Wal- 
ahigham,  19  Jan.  1587.     (Ma) 

And  again  he  writes  to  the  Queen, 
about  "  the  weakness,  and  oonfbaion  to 
which  her  troops  are  reduoed  for  want 
of  pay,  having  received  nothing  iVom 
1  Sept  to  that  day"  (16 Feb).    "The 


captains  of  the  horsemen,"  he  says, 
"  are  all  in  England,  and  thereby  the 
most  of  the  companies  evil  led  and 
governed,  committing  daily  upon  tho 
villages  and  people  extreme  spoils,  in- 
solences, and  mischiefs,  which,  toge- 
ther with  the  example  of  tho  late 
treasons  of  Stanley  and  Torir,  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  rerhaed  to  be  taken  into 
garrison.  The  horsemen,  destitute  of 
money  and  food,  are,  without  order, 
entered  now  into  Holland  (an  unfit 
place  for  their  abodel  where  the  people 
are  risen  against  them,  and  they  to 
the  number  of  600  or  600,  in  teims 
either  themselves  to  do  mischief  or 
themselves  to  be  cut  in  pieces  by  the 
country — a  case  very  lamentable  to  us 
that  foel  the  grief  of  so  hard  a  chdoev 
and  can  find  almost  no  way  to  prevent 
tho  peril.  I  have  uiged  the  States  by 
earnest  letters  (mysdf  being  at  thui 
present  sk^,  by  Qod's  visitatkm,  to 
the  danger  of  my  life)  to  take  some 
order  to  relieve  your  people  in  this 
distress,  myself  oiTering  my  carcase  in 
pawn,  to  answer  as  much  as  thev  shall 
eat|  ai^  a  certain  rata  I  find  them 
reasonably  inclined,  yet  afiected  by 
two  impediments— a  strange  jealousy, 
by  them  oonoeived  of  all  our  nation ; 
the  other  their  own  want  ....  The 
ooD^Qskma  are  woodeiflil  that  an 
grown  in  this  State  in  the  absence  of 
my  Lord  of  Leicester,  which  bath 
opened  many  gaps  to  disorder,"  fte. 
Wilkes  to  tho  Queen,  10  Feb.  1687. 
(a  P.  Office  MS.) 

And  once  more  he  writes,  ^  I  saw 
no  remedy  for  them  but  to  engage 
myself  for  some  means  to  feed  than. 
until  other  order  might  be  taken, 
whereupon  with  the  help  of  mine  own 


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1587. 


HONBSTY  JlSD  SNEBGT  OF  "WILKSa 


185 


Is  this  picture  exaggerated  ?  Is  it  drawn  by  pencils  hostile 
to  the  English  nation  or  the  English  Queen  ?  It  is  her  own 
generals  and  confidential  counsellors  who  have  told  a  story 
in  all  its  painful  details^  which  has  hardly  found  a  place  in 
other  chronicles.  The  parsimony  of  the  great  Qu^n  must 
ever  remain  a  blemish  on  her  character^  and  it  was  never 
more  painfully  exhibited  than  towards  her  brave  soldiers  in 
Flanders  in  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  hundred  and  seventy* 
nine  thousand  three  hundred  and  sixty  pounds  and  nineteen 
shillings,  of  which  sum  one  htmdred  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 
figures,  but  the  figures  of  honest  accountants  rarely  flatter, 
and  Wilkes  was  not  one  of  those  financiers  who  have  the  wish 
or  the  gift  to  make  things  pleasant.  He  had  transmitted  the 
accounts  just  as  they  had  been  delivered,  certified  by  the 
treasurers  of  the  States  and  by  the  English  paymasters,  and 
the  Queen  was  appalled  at  the  sum-totals.  She  could  never 
proceed  with  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  Bobin  a 
penny  to  pay  off  the  mortgages  upon  two-thirds  of  his  estates, 
on  which  the  equity  of  redemption  was  fast  expiring,  or  to 
give  him  the  slightest  help  in  furnishing  him  forth  anew  for 
the  wars. 

Tet  not  one  of  her  statesmen  doubted  that  these  Netherland 
battles  were  English  battles,  almost  as  much  as  if  the  fighting- 
ground  had  been  the  Isle  of  Wight  or  the  coast  of  Kent,  the 


credit,  and  pawn  of  n^j  own  carcase, 
to  repay  at  the  end  of  two  months 
8002.  which  I  divided  amimg  the  com- 
panieB  diatroasod,  being  eight  in  num- 
ber, whidi  extended  to  thirty  shilUngs 


a   man,"    Ac.     Wilkes   to    Leicester, 
12  March,  1587.    (S.  P.  Office  M&) 

1  Wilkes  to  Walaingham,  12  Jan. 
1687.  Same  to  Bm^ghlej,  12  Jan.  15SI 
(S.  P.  Office  MSS.) 


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186 


THB  UNITED  NETHBELANDa 


Chap.  Xm. 


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  short-comings,  lauding  his 
courage  and  generosity,  and  advocating  his  beloved  theory  of 
popular  sovereignty  with  much  ingenuity  and  eloquence,  had 
told  him  the  truth  to  his  face.  Although  assuring  him  that 
if  he  came  back  soon,  he  might  rule  the  States  ^^  as  a  school- 
master doth  his  boys,"^  he  did  not  fail  to  s^t  before  him  the 
disastrous  e£fects  of  hi^  sudden  departure  and  of  his  protracted 
absence  ;  he. had  painted  in  darkest  colours  the  results  of  the 
Deventer  treason,  he  had  unveiled  the  cabals  against  his 
authority,  he  had  repeatedly  and  vehemently  implored  his 
return ;  he  had  informed  the  Queen,  that  notwithstanding 
some  errors  of  administration,  he  was  much; the  fittest  man 
to  represent  her  in  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  Netherlands,  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  Queenr— 
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  afiect  and  to  adpaire  him."^ 

This  was  the  unpardonable  ofience,  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  life.  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  eflfectually  damaged  the  character  of 
the  plain-spoken  councillor  with  the  Queen  and  many  of 


*  WHkes  to  TValsingham,   17    Feb. 
1687.    (S.  P.  Office  Ma) 
'  Ibid.    Same  to  tbe  Queen,  16  Feb. 


1587.    Same  to  Walsingham,  17  Mar, 
1587.    (aP.  OfflcoMSS.) 


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1587. 


INDIGNAIJT  DISCUSSION  IN  THB  ASSEMBLY. 


187 


ker  advisers ;  notwithstanding  that  he  plaintively  besought 
her  to  '^  allow  him  to  reiterate  his  sorry  song,  as  doth  the 
cuckoo^  that  she  would  please  not  con4emn  her  poor  servant 
unheard,"^ 

Immediate  action  was  taken  on  the  Deventer  treason,  and 
oa  the  general  relations  between  the  ^tates-Gteneral  and  the 
V.Tigliah  government.  Bameveld  immediately  drew  up  a 
severe  letter  to  the  Earl  of  Leicester.  On  the  2nd  February 
Wilkes  came  by  chance  into  the  assembly  of  the  States- 
G-eneral,  with  the  rest  of  the  councillors,  and  found  Bameveld 
just  demanding  the  public  reading  of  that  document.  The 
letter  was  read.    Wilkes  then  rose  and  made  a  few  remarks. 

"  The  letter  seems  rather  sharp  upon  his  Excellency/'  he 
observed.  "  There  is  not  a  word  in  it/'  answered  Bameveld 
curtly,  "that is  not  perfectly  true  /'  and  with  this  he  cut  the 
matter  short,  and  made  a  long  speech  upon  other  matters 
which  were  then  before  the  assembly. 

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

Meantime,  a  consultation  of  civilians  and  of  the  family 
council  of  Count  Maurice  was  held,  and  it  was  determined  that 
the  Count  should  assume  the  title  of  Prince  more  formally 
than  he  had  hitherto  done,'  in  order  that  the  actual  head  of 
the  Nassaus  might  be  superior  in  rank  to  Leicester  or  to  any 

*  Wnkes  to  iho  Qneen,  8  Feb.  15S7.  Wnkes.  This  is  an  error,  as  appears 
(S.  P.  Ottk»  MS.)  ia  the  narratiTe  given  in  the  text  from 

*  Wilkes  to  Walsin^liam,  17   May,      the  Ma  letter-book  of  Wilkes. 

1687.    (a  P.  Office  Ma)  *  Memorial  given  hj  Wilkes  to  Sir 

Compare  Wasenaar,  viil  201,  who  R.  Williams,  Feb.  1587.    (S.  P.  Office 

states  that  the  mmous  4th  of  February  Ma)    Compare  Le  Petit,  IL  xiv.  641. 

letter  was    read    and  approved    by  Wagenaar,  viil  203-204. 


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188  THE  UNITBD  NETHERLANDS.  Chap.  Xm. 

man  who  could  be  sent  from  England.  Maurice  was  also 
appointed  by  the  States,  provisionally,  governor-general, 
with  Hoheido  for  his .  lieutenant-general.^  That  formidal)le 
personage,  now  fully  restored  to  health,  made  himself  very 
busy  in  securing  towns  and  garrisons  for  the  party  of  Holland, 
and  in  cashiering  all  functionaries  suspected  of  English 
tendencies.  Especially  he  became  most  intimate  with  Count 
Moeurs,  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  grown  more  intense  than  ever, — ^^banquetting  and 
feasting'^  with  him  all  day  long,  and  concocting  a  scheme, 
by  which,  for  certain  considerations,  the  jH-ovince  of  Utrecht 
was  to  be  annexed  to  Holland  under  the  perpetual  stad- 
holderate  of  Prince  Maurice. 

*  Meteren,  sir.  260.    Wagenaar,  viiL  204.    EeTd,  rl  100, 


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W1.  LEIO£STEB  m  BNGLAVD.  189 


I 


CHAPTER     XIV. 

Leicester  ia  England — ^Trial  of  thb  Qaeen  of  Scots — Fearfhl  Perplexitj  at 
the  English  Court— In&taalion  and  Obstinacj  of  the  Qnoen — Nether- 
land  Envoys  in  Engla^id — Queen's  bitter  InvectiTe  against  them-*- 
Amazement  of  the  Envojrs — ^They  consult  with  her  chief  Councillors — 
Remarks  of  Burghley  and  Davison — Fourth  of  February  Letter  from  the 
BtatM — ^Its  seywe  Language  towards  Leicester— PainM  Posltioa  of  th€ 
Envoys  at  Court — Qneen^s  Parsimony  towards  Leicester. 

The  scene  shifts,  for  a  brief  interval,  to  England.    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  full 

radiance  upon  him.     "  Never  since  I  was  born,"  said  he,  "  did 

I  receive  a  more  gracious  welcome."^    Alas,  there  was  not 

80  much  benignity  for  the  starving    English  soldiers,   nor 

for  the  Provinces,  which  were  fast  growing  desperate ;  but 

although  their  cause  was  so  intimately  connected  with  the 

"  great  cause,"  which  then  occupied  Elizabeth,  almost  to  the 

exclusion  of  other  matter,  it  was,  perhaps,  not  wonderful, 

although  unfortunate,  that  for  a  time  the  Netherlands  should 

^  neglected. 

The  "daughter  of  debate"  had  at  last  brought  herself,  it 

^^  supposed,  within  the  letter  of  the  law,  and  now  began 

those  odious  scenes  of  hypocrisy  on  the  part  of  Elizabeth, 

Mat   frightful    comedy — more    melancholy    even    than    the 

^lemn  tragedy  which  it  preceded  and  followed — which  must 

erer  remain  the  darkest  passage  in  the  history  of  the  Queen. 

•'*   is   unnecessary,  in  these  pages,   to  make   more  than  a 

f^^xig  allusion  to  the  condemnation  and  death  of  the  Queen 

^^   Scots.    Who  doubts  her  participation  in  the  Babington 

couspira^jyp   Who  doubts  that  she  was  the  centre  of  one  endless 

'  Leicester  to  Wilkes,  4  Dea  1687.    (S.  P.  Office  US.) 


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190  '^^^  UNITED  NBTHEBLAND&  Chap.  XIV. 

conspiracy  by  Spain  and  Borne  against  the  throne  and  life 
of  Elizabeth  ?    Who  doubts  that  her  long  imprisonment  in 
England  was  a  violation  of  all  law^  all  justice^  all  humanity  ? 
Who  doubts  that  the  fineing,  whipping,  torturing,  hanging, 
embo welling  of  men,  women,  and  children,  guilty  of  no  other 
crime  than  adhesion  to  the  Catholic  fEtith,  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  great  thought  of  religious  toleration,  her  reign 
would  have  been  more  glorious  than  it  was,  the  cause  of  Pro- 
testantism  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  Kave  required,  at  exactly  that  moment,  and  in  the 
midst  of  that  crisis,  more  elevation  of  soul  than  could  fairly 
bo  predicated  of  any  individual,  for  Elizabeth  in  1587  to 
pardon  Mary,  or  to  relax  in  the  severity  of  her  legislation 
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,  straightforward  blow.  It  was 
obvious,  however,  that  it  would  be  difficult,  in  the  midst  of 
the  tragedy  and  the  comedy,  for  the  Nethetland  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,"* 

>  Leicester  to  WOkea^  4  Dea  1686.    (S.  P.  Office  MS.) 


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1587.  TRIAL  OP  THE  QUKBN  OP  SCOTS.  191 

Walsingham,  longing  for  retirement,  not  only  on  account  of 
*'  his  infinite  grief  for  tho  death  of  Sir  Philip  Sidney,  which 
hath  been  the  cause/'  ho  said,  ^  that  I  have  ever  since  betaken 
myself  into  solitariness,  and  withdrawn  from  public  afiairs,^' 
but  also  by  reason  of  tho  perverseness  and  difficulty  manifested 
in  the  gravest  affiiirs  by  the  sovereign  he  so  faithfully  served, 
sent  information,  that,  notwithstanding  the  arrival  of  some 
of  the  States'  deputies,  Leicester  was  persuading  her  Majesty 
to  proceed  first  in  the  great  cause.  ^^  Certain  principal 
persons,  chosen  as  committees,"  he  said,  '^  of  both  Houses  are 
sent  as  humble  suitors  to  her  Majesty  to  .desire  that  she 
would  bo  pleased  to  give  order  for  the  execution  of  the 
Scottish  Queen.  Her  Majesty  made  answer  that  she  was 
loath  to  proceed  in  so  violent  a  course  against  the  said  Queen, 
as  tho  tiddng  away  of  her  life,  and  therefore  prayed  them  to 
think  of  some  other  way  which  might  be  for  her  own  and 
their  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  proclamation  be 
published,  and  so  also  it  is  hoped  that  she  will  be  moved  by 
this  their  earnest  instance  to  proceed  to  the  thorough  ending 
of  the  cause."  ^ 

And  so  the  cause  went  slowly  on  to  its  thorough  ending. 
And  when  "no  other  way"  could  bo  thought  of  but  to  take 
Mary's  life,  and  when  "no  other  way"  of  taking  that  life 
could  be  "devised,"  at  Elizabeth's  su^estion,  except  by 
public  execution,  when  none  of  the  gentlemen  "  of  the 
association,"  nor  Paulet,  nor  Drury — ^how  skilfully  soever 
their  "pulses  had  been  felt"^  by.  Elizabeth's  command — 
would  commit  assassination  to  serve  a  Queen  who  was  capable 
of  punishing  them  afterwards  for  the  murder,  the  great 
cause  came  to  its  inevitable  conclusion,  and  Mary  Stuart 
was  executed  by  command  of  Elizabeth  Tudor.  The  world 
may  continue  to  differ  as  to  the  necessity  of  the  execution, 
but  it  has  long  since  pronounced  a  unanimous  verdict  as  to 

1  Walsingbam  to  Wilkes,  3  Deo.  1586.    (S.  P.  Office  MSJ 
*  DavisoDy  in  Camden,  ill  393. 


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192 


THE  UNITED  NETHERLANDS. 


Chap.  XTV". 


the  respective  display  of  royal  dignity  by  the  two  Queens 
upon  that  great  occasion. 

During  this  interval  the  Netherland  matter,  almost  as  vital 
to  England  as  the  execution  of  Mary,  was  comparatively 
n^lected.  It  was  not  absolutely  in  abeyance,  but  the  con- 
dition of  the  Queen's  mind  coloured  every  8tate-a£G%ir  with  its 
tragic  hues.  Elizabeth,  harassed,  anxious,  dreaming  dreams, 
and  enacting  a  horrible  masquerade,  was  in  the  worst  possible 
temper  to  be  approached  by  the  envoys.  She  was  furious 
with  the  Netherlanders  for  having  maltreated  her  favourite. 
She  was  still  more  furious  because  their  war  was  costing  so 
much  money.  Her  dis{>osition  became  so  uncertain,  her 
temper  so  ungovernable,  as  to  drive  her  counsellors  to 
their  wit's  ends.  Burghley  confessed  himself  "  weary  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  Majesty  laid  upon  him  so  veiy  heavily/'  ^ 
Walsingham  wished  himself  "well  established  in  Basle."* 
The  Queen  set  them  all  together  by  the  ears.  She  wrangled 
spitefully  over  the  sum-totals  from  the  Netherlands;  she 
worried  Leicester,  she  scolded  Burghley  for  defending  Lei- 
cester, and  Leicester  abused  Burghley  for  taking  part  against 
him.^ 


^  Burghley  to  Leioester,  1  Feb.  1587. 
(Brit  Hub.  Galba»  0.  xl  262.    MS.) 

*  Walsingham  to  Wilkes,  2  May, 
1587.  .  (a  P.  Office  M&) 

*  fiuighlej  to  Leicester.  (MS.  before 
dted.) 

"Your  Lordship  is  greatly  oflfendod," 
said  the  Lord  Treasurer,  '*  for  mj 
speeches  in  her  Mijestj^s  presenoa 
What  jou  conceive,  my  good  Lord,  is 
best  known  to  jrourself ; .  what  I  meant 
18  best  known  to  me;  and  I  do  avow 
In  the  presenoe  of  Ood  that  I  no  more 
meant  to  offend  you  in  any  thing  I 
spoke,  than  I  meant  to  offend  the  best 
and  dearest  friend  I  can  imagine  in 
England.  And  3ret  her  Mi^'esty  many 
times  chargeth  me  that  I  conoeit,  I 
flatter,  I  doro  not  speak  an3rthing  that 
you  should  mislike.  I  see  my  hard 
fortune  oootinueth  to  be  sulject   to 


TOUT  doubtful  opinion,  howsoerer  I  do 
behaye  myselC  ....  You  believe  me 
to  have  moved  Ucr  Majesty  to  be 
offended  with  you  for  lack  of  your 
procuring  a  more  certainty  of  the  ex- 
penses and  acoounta  of  the  last  year's 
chai^ges  on  the  States  behal£  .... 
But  I  never  did  say,  nor  mean  to  say, 
that  your  Lordship  ought  to  bo  blamed 
for  those  accounts;  for  I  did  say,  and 
do  still  say,  that  their  accounts  are 
obscure^  confosed,  and  without  credit 
....  I  say  that  they  ought  to  have 
been  commanded  by  your  authority  to 
have  reformed  the  same,  and  made 
your  Lordship  more  privy  to  their 
doinga  For  not  doing  so  I  condemned 
them,  and  not  your  Lordship,  who  had 
so  often  complained  that  you  were  not 
better  obeyed  by  them  in  those  points. 
And  so  your  Lordship  did  folly  answer 


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1587.         FEARFUL  PERPLEXITY  AT  THE  BITaLISH  COURT. 


193 


The  Lord-Treasurer,  overcome  with  "grief  which  pierced 
both  his  body  and  his  heart,"  battled  his  way — as  best  he 
could — throxigh  the  throng  of  dangers  which  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  Parma  to  Philip,  "  of  the 
disastrous,  lamentable,  and  pitiful  end  of  the  poor  Queen  of 
Scots.  Although  for  her  it  will  be  immortal  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  concluding  crime  of  the  many  which  that  English- 
woman has  committed,  and  that  our  Lord  ^ill  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.  Famese  was  not  the  man  to 
be  deceived  by  the  affected  reluctance  of  Elizabeth  before 
Mary's  scaffold,  although  he  was  soon  to  show  that  he  was 
himself  a  master  in  the  science  of  grimace.    For  Elizabeth — 


my  epeocheOf  and  I  also  did  afflrm  the 
same  by  often  repetition  to  her  Miyestj 
that  both  in  that  as  in  many  other 
tilings,  the  States  had  gro^y  and  most 
rudely  enooontered  your  Lordship. 
And  although  her  licgesty  was  dis- 
posed to  leave  the  cause  unrelieved, 
perasting  on  her  mmliking  of  the  ao- 
oounts^  and  so  to  take  occasion  to  deny 
their  requests,  yet  I  trust  that  your 
Ixndahip  and  the  rest  did  see  how 
earnest  I  was  to  draw  her  Mijesty  from 
these  reckonings  of  expenses,  and  to 
take  regard  to  the  cause  which  I  said 
and  do  say  may  not  now  he  left  ai 
VOL.  n.— 0 


random  far  reaped  to  any  charges.  I 
do  persist  in  the  opinion  that  her 
Miyesty  may  not  abandon  the  cause 
without  manifest  injury  to  her  state, 
as  the  case  and  time  now  foroeth  her. 
....  Your  Lordship  hath  seen  and 
heard  her  tax  me  very  sharply,  that  in 
not  applauding  to  her  censures,  I  do 
conmionly  flatter  you  and  that  I  do 
against  my  conscience  hold  opinions 
to  please  you— o  very  hard  case  held 
against  me." 

>  Parma  to   Philip  n.,  22  March. 
1587.    ^Arch.  de  Simancas,  MS.) 


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194 


THE  UNITED  NETHERLANDS. 


Chap.  XIV. 


more  than  ever  disposed  to  be  friends  with  Spain  and  Borne, 
now  that  war  to  the  knife  was  made  inevitable — was  wistfully 
r^;arding  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  Bernese,  she  affronted  Henry  III.  by  affecting  to  believe 
in  the  fable  of  his  envoy's  complicity  in  the  Stafford  con- 
spiracy against  her  life.^ 

"I  pray  God  to  open  her  eyes,"  said  Walsingham,  "to  see 
the  evident  peril  of  the  course  she  now  holdeth.  ...  If  it  had 
pleased  her  to  have  followed  the  advice  given  her  touching 
the  French  ambassador,  our  ships  had  been  released  ....  but 
she  has  taken  a  very  strange  course  by  writing  a  very  sharp 
letter  unto  the  French  King,  which  I  fear  will  cause  him  to 
give  ear  to  those  of  the  League,  and  make  himself  a  party  with 
them,  seeing  so  little  r^ard  had  to  him  here.  Your  Lordship 
may  see  that  our  courage  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  toward  this  realm 
than  at  this  present.  And  to  be  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  doubts  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 


1  **  Declaration  of  the  Negotiatkms 
with  the  French  Ambaseador,  TAubes- 
pine,  at  the  Lord  Treasurer^  hoose," 
12  Jan.  1587,  in  Mnrdin,  679-583. 
Compare    Mignet,     'Hist    do    Marie 


Stuart,'  3rd  edition,  IL  344^  aeq- 

*  Walsingham  to  Leicester,  8  April, 
1587.  Same  to  Same,  10  April,  1587, 
(Brit  1£U8.  Galba,  C.  xl  319-32L 
MSa) 


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15ST.  DTPATUATION  AND  OBSTINACY  OF  THE  QUEEN.  I95 

dasses,  upon  her  pmdent  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,  Norris  and 
WHlougfaby,  upon  high-born  magnates,  plebeian  captains, 
London  merchants,  upon  yeomen  whose  limbs  were  made  in 
England,  and  upon  Hollanders  and  Zeelanders  whose  fearless 
mariners  were  to  swann  to  the  protection  of  her  coasts,  quite 
as  much  in  that  year  of  anxious  expectation  as  upon  the 
great  Queen  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  boldly 
in  their  defence.  "When  I  lay  before  her  the  peril,"  said 
Walsingham,  "  she  scometh  at  it.  The  hope  of  a  peace  with 
Spain  has  put  her  into  a  most  dangerous  security."^  Nor 
would  any  man  now  assume  responsibility.  The  fate  of 
Davison— of  the  man  who  had  already  in  so  detestable  a 
manner  been  made  the  scape-goat  for  Leicester's  sins  in  the 
Netherlands,  and  who  had  now  been  so  barbarously  sacrificed 
by  the  Queen  for  faithfully  obeying  her  orders  in  r^iEwd  to 
the  death-warrant,  had  sickened  all  courtiers  and. counsellors 
for  the  time.  "  The  late  severe  dealing  used  by  her  Highness 
towards  Mr.  Secretary  Davison,"  said  Walsingham  to  Wilkes, 
"maketh  us  very  circumspect  and  careful  not  to  proceed  in 
anything  but  wherein  we  receive  direction  fix)m  herself,  and 
therefore  you  must  not  find  it  strange  if  we  now  be  more 
sparing  than  heretofore  hath  been  accustomed."* 

Such  being  the  portentous  state  of  the  political  atmosphere, 
and  such  the  stormy  condition  of  the  royal  mind,  it    ^j^  ^^  ^ 
may  be  supposed  that  the  interviews  of  the  Nether-     v  ^^-<^'  »•> 
land  envoys  with  her  Majesty  during  this  period 
were  not  likely  to  be  genial.    Exactly  at  the  most  gloomy 

'  Walaingbam  to  Leicester,  kCj  MS.  last  cited. 
'  Walsingham  to  Wilkes,  13  April,  1587.    (a  P.  Office  MS.) 


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19p  THE  TJNITBD  NETHBELANDa  Chap.  XIT. 

moment — thirteen  days  before  the  execution  of  Mary — ^they 
came  first  into  Elizabeth's  presence  at  Greenwich.^ 

The  envoys  were  five  in  number,  all  of  them  experienced 
and  £^16  statesmen — ^Zuylen  van  Nyvelt^  Joos  de  Menyn, 
Nicasius  de  Silla,  Jacob  Valck,  and  Vitus  van  Kamminga.' 
The  Queen  was  in  the  privy  council-chamber,  attended  by 
the  admiral  of  England,  Lord  Thomas  Howard,  Lord  Hunsdon, 
great-chamberlain,  Sir  Christopher  Hatton,  vice-chamberlain, 
Secretary  Davison,  and  many  other  persons  of  distinction. 

The  letters  of  credence  were  duly  presented,  but  it  was 
obvious  from  the  banning  of  the  interview  that  the  Queen 
was  ill-disposed  toward  the  deputies,  and  had  not  only  been 
misinformed  as  to  matters  of  fact,  but  as  to  the  state  of  feeling 
of  the  Netherlanders  and  of  the  States-General  towards  her- 
self.^ 

Menyn,  however,  who  was  an  orator  by  profession — being 
pensionary  of  Dort — made,  in  the  name  of  his  colleagues,  a 
brief  but  pregnant  speech,  to  which  the  Queen  listened  atten- 
tively, althougL  with  frequent  indications  of  anger  and  im- 
patience. He  commenced  by  observing  that  tho  United 
Provinces  still  entertained  the  hope  that  her  Majesty  would 
conclude,  upon  further  thoughts,  to  accept  the  sovereignty 
over  them,  with  reasonable  conditions;  but  the  most  important 
passages  of  his  address  were  those  relating  to  tho  cost  of  tho 
war.  "Besides  our  stipulated  contributions,'^  said  the  pen- 
sionary, "of  200,000  florins  the  month,  wo  have  furnished 
500,000  as  an  extraordinary  grant;  making  for  the  year 
2,900,000  florins,  and  this  over  and  above  the  particular  and 
special  expenditures  of  the  Provinces,  and  other  sums  for 
military  purposes.  We  confess.  Madam,  that  the  succour  of 
your  Majesty  is  a  truly  royal  one,  and  that  there  have  been 
few  princes  in  history  who  have  given  such  assistance  to  their 
neighbours  unjustly  oppressed.    It  is  certain  that  by  means  of 


'  Brief  van  de    Oedeputeerden   ult 

9 

England,  —  Feb.  158T.    (Hague  Arcli., 

MS.)    Compare  Bor,  II.  xxiL  872,  scq, 
Wagenaar,  yiii.  214,  9eq. 
»  Menjn  was  pensionary  of  Dort; 


Silla,  pensionary  of  Amsterdam;  Yalck 
member  of  tbo  state-counciL  Wag&- 
naar,  viil  192. 

*  Letter  of  tho  Deputies  last  cited. 
(Hague  Archiyes,  MS.) 


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1587.  NBTHKRLANI)  ENVOYS  IN  ENGLAND.  I97 

tiiat  help,  joined  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. 
Nevertheless,  it  appears,  Madam,  that  these  forces  have  not 
been  sufficient  to  drive  the  enemy  out  of  the  country.  We  are 
obliged,  for  regular  garrison  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  wo 
are  now  commissioned,  Madam,  humbly  to  request  an  increase 
of  your  regular  succour  during  the  war  to  10,000  foot  and 
2000  horse.  We  also  implore  the  loan  of  6O,00W.  sterling, 
in  order  to  assist  us  in  maintaining  for  the  coming  season  a 
sufficient  force  in  the  field.'' ^ 

Such,  in  brief,  was  the  oration  of  pensionary  Menyn,  de- 
livered in  the  French  language.  He  had  scarcely  concluded, 
when  the  Queen — evidently  in  a  great  ptwsion* — ^rose  to  her 
feet,  and  without  any  hesitation,  replied  in  a  strain  of  vehe- 
ment eloquence  in  the  same  tongue. 

"  Now  I  am  not  deceived,  gentlemen,"  she  said,  "  and  that 
which  I  have  been  fearing  has  occurred.  Our  common 
adage,  which  we  have  in  England,  is  a  very  good  one.  When 
one  fears  that  an  evil  is  coming,  the  sooner  it  arrives  the 
better.  Here  is  a  quarter  of  a  year  that  I  have  been  expect- 
ing you,  and  certainly  for  the  great  benefit  I  have  conferred 
on  you,  you  have  exhibited  a  great  ingratitude,  and  I  consider 
myself  very  iU  treated  by  you.  'Tis  very  strange  that  you 
should  begin  by  soliciting  still  greater  succour  without  tender- 
ing me  any  satisfaction  for  your  past  actions,  which  have  been 
80  extraordinary,  that  I  swear  by  the  living  God  I  think  it 
impossible  to  find  peoples  or  states  more  ungrateful  or  ill- 
advised  than  yourselves. 

I  have  sent  you  this  year  fifteen,  sixteen,  aye  seventeen  cr 
eighteen  thousand  men.  You  have  left  them  without  pay- 
ment, you  have  let  some  of  them  die  of  hunger,  driven 
others  to  such  desperation  that  they  have  deserted  to  the 

>  BiacGUTa  de  Menio^Aodionco  a  I  ^  "Zocr  gealteroert,"  Mb.  Letter, 
Greenwich.    (Ha^e  Arch.  MS.)  |  ttbi  sup. 


I 


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198  THE  UNITED -NETHERLANDa  Chap.  XTV. 

enemy.  Is  it  not  mortifying  for  the  English  nation  and  a 
great  shame  for  you  that  Englishmen  should  say  that  they 
have  found  more  courtesy  from  Spaniards  than  fit)m  Nether- 
landers  ?  Truly,  I  tell  you  fiunkly  that  I  wiU  never  endure 
such  indignities.  Bather  will  I  act  according  to  my  will,  and 
you  may  do  exactly  as  you  think  best. 

"  If  I  chose,  I  could  do  something  very  good  without  you, 
although  some  persons  are  so  fond  of  saying  that  it  was  quite 
necessary  for  the  Queen  Of  England  to  do  what  she  does  for. 
her  own  protection.  No,  no !  Disabuse  yourselves  of  that 
impression.  These  are  but  false  persuasions.  Believe  boldly 
that  I  can  play  an  excellent  game  without  your  assistance, 
and  a  better  one  than  I  ever  did  with  it.*  Nevertheless,  I 
do  not  choose  to  do  that,  nor  do  I  wish  you  so  much  harm. 
But  likewise  do  I  not  choose  that  you  should  hold  such 
language  to  me.  It  is  true  that  I  should  not  wish  the 
Spaniard  so  near  me  if  he  should  be  my  enemy.  But  why  should 
I  not  live  in  peace,  if  we  were  to  be  friends  to  each  other  ? 
At  the  commencement  of  my  reign  we  lived  honourably 
together,  the  King  of  Spain  and  I,  and  he  even  asked  me  to 
marry,  him,  and,  after  that,  we  lived  a  long  time  very  peace- 
fully, without  any  attempt  having  been  made  against  my  life. 
If  we  both  choose,  we  can  continue  so  to  do. 

"  On  the  other  hand,  I  sent  you  the  Earl  of  Leicester,  as 
lieutenant  of  my  forces,  and  my  intention  was  that  he  should 
have  exact  knowledge  of  your  finances  and  contributions. 
But,  on  the  contrary,  he  has  never  known  anything  about 
them,  and  you  have  handled  them  in  yotir  own  manner  and 
amongst  yourselves.  You  have  given  him  the  title  of  governor, 
in  order,  under  this  name,  to  cast  all  your  evils  on  his  head. 
That  title  ho  accepted  against  my  will,  by  doing  which  he 
ran  the  risk  of  losing  his  life,  and  his  estates,  and  the  grace 
and  favour  of  his  Princess,  which  was  more  important  to  him 
than  all.  But  he  did  it  in  order  to  maintain  your  tottering 
state.    And  what  authority,  I  pray  you,  have  you  given  him  ? 


»  "Quo  je  feroj  bien  un  bon  parti 
Bans  voua  7  appeller,  et  meiUeur  quo  je 
naj  faict  oncquea  avocq  vous."     *Be- 


ponse  do  Sa  M^jest^  aa  Disoours  do 
S'  de  Menin.*    (GDagoe  Archiyea^  MS.) 


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1587. 


QUEEN'S  BITTBE  INTECnYB  AGAINST  THEM. 


199 


A  shadowy  authority^  a  purely  imaginary  one.  This  is  but 
mockery.  He  is,  at  any.  rate,  a  gentleman,  a  man  of  honour 
and  of  counsel.  You  had  no  right  to  treat  him  thtis.  If  I 
had  accepted  the  title  which  you  wished  to  give  me,  by  the 
living  GK)d,  I  would  not  have  suffered  you  so  to  treat  me. 

^^  But  you  are  so  badly  advised  that  when  there  is  a  man 
of  worth  who  discovers  your  tricks  you  wish  him  ill,  and  make 
an  outcry  against  him ;  and  yet  some  of  you,  in  order  to  save 
your  money,  and  others  in  the  hope  of  bribes,  have  been 
favouring  the  Spaniard,  and  doing  very  wicked  work.  No, 
believe  me  that  God  will  punish  those  who  for  so  great  a 
benefit  wish  to  return  me  so  much  evil.  Believe,  boldly  too, 
ihat  the  King  of  Spain  will  never  trust  men  who  have  aban- 
doned the  party  to  which  they  belonged,  and  from  which  they 
have  received  so  many  benefits,  and  will  never  believe  a  word 
of  what  they  promise  him.  Yet,  in  order  to  cover  up  their 
filth,  they  spread  tho  story  that  the  Queen  of  England  is 
thinking  of  treating  for  peace  without  their  knowledge.  No, 
I  would  rather  be  dead  than  that  any  one  should  have  occasion 
to  say  that  I  had  not  kept  my  promise.  But  princes  must 
listen  to  both  sides,  and  that  can  be  done  without  breach  of 
fiuth.^  For  they  transact  business  in  a  certain  way,  and  with 
a  princely  intelligence,  such  as  private  persons  cannot  imitate.' 

"You  are  States,  to  be  sure,. but  private  individuals  in 
regard'  to  princes.  Certainly,  I  would  never  choose  to  do 
anything  without  your  knowledge,  and  I  would  never  allow 
the  authority  whi^h  you  have  among  yourselves,  nor  your 
privileges,  nor  your  statutes,  to  be  infringed.  Nor  will  I  iallow 
you  to  be  perturbed  in  your  consciences.  What  then  would 
you  more  of  me  ?  You  have  issued  a  proclamation  in  your 
country  that  no  one  is  to  talk  of  peace.  Very  well,  very 
pjood.     But  permit  princes  likewise  to  do  as  they  shall  think. 


^  "  £t  encores  qae  les  princes  oyent 
ankmies  fois  I'uDg  et  Taultre,  cela  so 

peoH  &ire  sans "    There  is  a 

broken  sentence  here  in  the  origmal, 
which  seems  to  reqoire  a  phrase  simi- 
lar to  the  one  which  I  have  supplied. 


*  Reponse,'  Ac.,  just  cited. 

s  '*Car  lis  besoignent  aveoq  une 
maniere  de  iaire  et  intelligenoe  des- 
princes,  oe  que  les  partiouliers  ne 
scauroient  fiuro."    (Ibid.) 


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200 


THE  UNITED  NETHERLANDS. 


Chap.  XTT. 


best  for  the  security  of  their  state,  provided  it  does  you  no 
injury.  Among  us  princes  we  are  not  wont  to  make  such 
long  orations  as  you  do,  but  you  ought  to  be  content  with  the 
few  words  that  we  bestow  upon  you,  and  make  yourself  quiet 
thereby.^ 

"  If  I  ever  do  anything  for  you  again,  I  choose  to  be  treated 
more  honourably.  I  shall  therefore  appoint  some  personages 
of  my  council  to  communicate  with  you.  And  in  the  first 
place  I  choose  to  hear  and  see  for  myself  what  has  taken 
place  already,  and  have  satisfaction  about  that,  before  I  make 
any  reply  to  what  you  have  said  to  me  as  to  greater  assist- 
ance. And  so  I  will  leave  you  to-day,  without  troubling  you 
further.''^ 

With  this  her  Majesty  swept  from  the  apartment,  leaving 
the  deputies  somewhat  astounded  at  the  fierce  but  adroit 
manner  in  which  the  tables  had  for  a  moment  be^i  turned 
upon  them. 

It  was  certainly  a  most  unexpected  blow,  this  charge  of 
the  States  having  left  the  English  soldiers — ^whose  numbers 
the  Queen  had  so  suddenly  multiplied  by  throe— unpaid  and 
unfed.  Those  Englishmen  who,  as  individuals,  had  entered 
the  States'  service,  had  been — ^like  all  the  other  troops — • 
regularly  paid.  This  distinctly  appeared  from  the  statements 
of  her  own  counsellors  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  sol- 
diers were  starving^  deserting,  and  pillaging,  was,  alas  I  too 
true;  but  the  envoys  pf  tiie  States  hardly  expected  to  be 
censured  by  her  Majesty,  because  she  had  n^lected  to  pay 


>  "Entre  nona  princes  nous  nesca- 
Tons  Idnsi  orer  comme  vous  ^ictes, 
mais  vous  devriez  eetre  oontentz  avecq 
oe  pen  de  paroUes  qui'on  yons  diet,  et 
Tons  asseurer  la  dessus."  'Reponse/ 
Ac.,  Jast  cited. 


*  Ibid.  Compare  Bor,  IT.  xxiL  873, 
8t4.    Wagenaar,  viil  193-194 

5  Memorial  given  by  Wilkes  to  Sir 
K  Williams,  Feb.  1687.  (a  P.  Offlct 
MS.) 


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i&dT. 


JLICAZEMENT  OF  THS  ENVOYS. 


201 


her  own  troops.  It  was  one  of  the  points  concerning  which 
they  had  been  especially  enjoined  to  complain^  that  the  English 
cavalrj^  converted  into  highwaymen  by  want  of  pay,  had  been 
plundering  the  peasantry,^  and  we  have  seen  that  Thomas 
Wilkes  had  "  pawned  his  carcase  "  to  provide  for  their  tem- 
porary relie£ 

With  regard  to  the  insinuation  that  prominent  personages 
in  the  country  bad  been  tampered  with  by  the  enemy,  the 
tovoys  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 
bad  long  been  causing  painful  anxiety,  and  had  formed  the 
subject  of  repeated  remonstrances  on  the  part  of  the  States 
to  Leicester  and  to  the  Queen.  The  deputies  were  hardly 
prepared  therefore  to  defend  their  own  people  against  dealing 
privately  with  the  King  of  Spain.  Tho  only  man  suspected 
of  such  practices  was  Leicester's  own  favourite  and  financier, 
Jacques  Ringault,  whom  the  Earl  had  persisted  in  employing 
against  the  angry  remonstrances  of  the  States,  who  believed 
him  to  be  a  Spanish  spy ;  and  the  man  was  now  in  prison,  and 
threatened  with  capital  punishment 

To  suppose  that  Buys  or  Bameveld,  Boorda,  Meetkerk,  or 
any  other  leading  statesman  in  the  Netherlands,  was  contem- 
plating a  private  arrangement  with  Philip  II.,  was  as  ludicrous 
a  conception  as  to  imagine  Walsingham  a  pensioner  of  the 
Pope,  or  Cecil  in  league  with  the  Duke  of  Guise.  The  end 
and  aim  of  the  States'  party  was  war.    In  war  they  not  only 


>  "Les  compagDies  Anglalses,**  wrote 
the  State&-Qeneral  to  Leicester,  "tant 
de  cbeval  que  de  pied  &  la  charge  de 
8.  Majesty  ayans  delaiss^  les  fiontidres 
8e  sont  jectez  en  Hollande,  oa  ils 
fixilent  et  mangent  lo  bon  bomme 
floobs  pretexte  qu'ils  disent  n'avoir 
le^  atilcun  payment  en  dncq  mois, 
oe  que  cause  grande  alteratfon  par- 
dessns  Tamouidriasement  des  contri- 
bnUoDS  du  Plat  Pa3rs.    £t  comme  ila 


tiennent  jonmeUement  plusieurs  pro- 
pos  estranges  contre  la  dite  province 
d'HoUande,  et  qu'ila  j  yeoillent  pour« 
chasBer  leor  payement,  a  cste  trouw^ 
bon  de  les  fiuro  contenir  ou  ils  sont," 
Ac.  States-General  to  Leicester, 
1  March,  1687.  (Hague  Archives, 
M&) 

The  statements  of  Wilkes  to  his 
government,  of  like  import,  have  been 
given  in  the  notes  on  preceding  pages. 


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202  THE  UNITED  NETHERLANDS.  Chap.  XIV. ' 

saw  the  safety  of  the  reformed  religion,  but  the  onlj.meatiB 
of  maintaiDing  the  commercial  prosperity  of  the  commonwealtb. 
The  whole  correspondence  of  the  times  shows  that  no  politician 
in  the  country  dreamed  of  peace,  either  by  public  or  secret 
n^otiation.  On  the  other  hand — as  will  be  made  still  clearer 
than  ever — the  Queen  was  longing  for  peace,  and  was  treating 
for  peace  at  that  moment  through  private .  agents,  quite 
without  the  knowledge  of  the  States,  and  in  spite  of  her 
indignant  disavowals  in  her  speech  to  the  envoys.  * 

Yet  if  Elizabeth  could  have  had  the  privilege  of  entering — 
as  we  are  about  to  do — ^into  the  private  cabinet  of  that  excellent 
King  of  Spain,  with  whom  she  had  once  been  such  good 
friends,  who  had  even  sought  her  hand  in  marriage,  and  with 
whom  she  saw  no  reason  whatever  why  she  should  not  live 
at  peace,  she  might  have  modified  her  expressions  on  this 
subject.  Certainly,  if  she  could  have  looked  through  the 
piles  of  papers — as  we  intend  to  do — which  lay  upon  that 
librpy-table,  far  beyond  the  seas  and  mountains,  she  would 
have  perceived  some  objections  to  the  scheme  of  living  at 
peace  with  that  diligent  letter- writer. 

Perhaps,  had  she  known  how  the  subtle  Famese  was  about 
to  express  himself  concerning  the  fast-approaching  execution 
of  Mary,  and  the  as  inevitably  impending  destruction  of  ^^  that 
Englishwoman''  through  the  schemes  of  his  masfcer  and  him- 
self, she  would  have  paid  less  heed  to  the  sentiments  couched 
in  most  exquisite  Italian  which  Alexander  was  at  the  same 
time  whispering  in  her  ear,  and  would  have  taken  less  offence 
at  the  blunt,  language  of  the  States-General 

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

Two  days  afterwards,  the  five  envoys  had  an  interview  with 
several  members  of  her  Majesty's  council,  in  the  private  apart- 
ment of  the  Lord-Treasurer  in  Greenwich  Palace.  Burghley, 
being  indisposed,  was  lying  upon  his  bed.  Leicester,  Admiral 
Lord  Howard,  Lord  Hunsden,  Sir  Christopher  Hatton,  Lord 
Buckhurst,  and  Secretary  Davison,   were  present,  and  the 


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1587.         THEY  CONSULT  WITH  HBB  CHIEF  COUNCILLOBS.  203 

Lord-Treasurer  proposed  that  the  conversation  should  be  in 
Latin^  that  being  the  common  language  most  familiar  to  them 
alL^  Then,  turning  over  the  leaves  of  the  report,  a  copy  of 
which  lay  on  his  bed,  he  asked  the  envoys,  whether,  in  case 
her  Majesty  had  not  sent  over  the  assistance  which  she  had 
done  under  the  Earl  of  Leicester,  their  country  would  not  have 
been  utterly  ruined. 

"  To  all  appearance,  yes,"  replied  Menyn. 

"  But,"  continued  Burghley,  still  running  through  the  pages 
of  the  document,  and  here  and  there  demanding  an  explana- 
tion of  an  obscure  passage  or  two,  "  you  are  now  proposing 
to  her  Majesty  to  send  10,000  foot  and  2000  horse,  and  to 
lend  6O,00W.  This  is  altogether  monstrous  and  excessive. 
Nobody  ioiU  ever  dare  even  to  speak  to  her  Mcyesty  on  the  sub- 
ject. When  you  first  came  in  1585,  you  asked  for  12,000 
men,  but  you  were  fully  authorized  to  accept  6000.  No  doubt 
that  is  the  case  now."  * 

"  On  that  occasion,"  answered  Menyn,  "  our  main  purpose 
was  to  induce  her  Majesty  to  accept  the  sovereigntyi  or  at 
least  the  perpetual  protection  of  our  country.  Failing  in  that 
we  broached  the  third  point,  and  not  being  able  to  get  12,000 
soldiers  we  compounded  for  5000,  the  agreement  being  subject 
to  ratification  by  our  principals.  We  gave  ample  security  in 
shape  of  the  mortgaged  cities.  But  experience  has  shown  us 
that  these  forces  and  this  succom:  are  insufficient.  We  have 
therefore  been  sent  to  b^  her  Majesty  to  make  up  the  con- 
tingent to  the  amount  originally  request^." 

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

"  Pardon  me,"  replied  Valck,  "  the  burghers  are  not  enemies 
but  friends  to  her  Majesty  and  to  the  English  nation.  They 
are  her  dutiful  subjects  like  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  Kether- 
lands." 


'  Bapport  de  la  Legation.    Con&rence  des  Deputes  aveo  les  Commiasaires 
de  a  IL,  1  Feb.  1587.    (Hagae  Aichiyee,  Ha)  «  Ibid. 


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204  THE  UNITED  NETHERLANDS.  Chap.  XTV. 

"  It  is  quite  true/'  said  Burghley,  after  having  made  some 
critical  remarks  upon  the  military  system  of  the  Provinces, 
"  and  a  very  common  adage,  quod  tunc  tua  res  agitur,  paries 
cum  proximus  ardetj  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  house  is  expected  to  provide  the 
stone  and  timber  himself.  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  garrisons  in 
all  the  fortresses  and  cities,  and  for  the  field  ?  " 

"  But,"  interposed  Lord  Hunsden,  "  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  he  continued  and  doubled 
and  even  tripled,"  ^ 

"  And  oh  the  whole,"  observed  the  Lord  Admiral,* "  don't 
you  think  that  the  putting  an  army  in  the  field  might  be  dis- 
pensed with  for  this  year?  Her  Majesty  at  present  must 
get  together  and  equip  a  fleet  of  war  vessels  against  the  King 
of  Spain,  which  will  be  an  excessively  largo  pennyworth, 
besides  the  assistance  which  she  gives  her  neighbours." 

"  Yes,  indeed,"  said*  Secretary  Davison,  "  it  would  be  diffi- 
cult to  exaggerate  the  enormous  expense  which  her  Majesty 
must  encounter  this  year  f oil  defending  an  I  liberating  her 
own  kingdoms  against  the  King  of  Spain.  That  monarch  is 
making  great  naval  preparations,  and  is  treating  all  English- 
men in  the  most  hostile  manner.  We  are  on  the  brink  of 
declared  war  with  Spain,  with  the  French  King,  who  is  arrest- 
ing all  English  persons  and  property  within  his  kii^om,  and 
with  Scotland,  all  which  countries  are  understood  to  have 
made  a  league  together  on  a^ccouni  of  the  Queen  of  Scotland^ 
whom  it  tviU  be  absolutely  necessary  to  put  to  death  in  order  to 
preserve  the  life  of  her  Majesty,  and  are  about  to  make  war 

'  M&  Report  laftdtecL 


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1687.  EBMABKS  OF  BTJBOHLET  AND  DAVISON.  205 

upon  England.  This  matter  then  will  cost  us^  the  carrent 
year,  at  least  eight  hundred  thousand  pounds  sterling.  Never- 
theless her  Majesty  is  sure  to  assist  you  so  far  as  her  means 
allow ;  and  I,  for  my  part,  will  do  my  hest  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  in- 
fluencing 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  ex- 
actly as  ho  foretold,  but  there  is  little  doubt  that  in  him  the 
Netherlands,  and  Leicester,  and  the  Queen  of  England,  were 
to  lose  an  honest,  diligent,  and  faithful  friend. 

''Well,  gentlemen,'*  said  the  Lord-Treasurer,  after  a  few 
more  questions  concerning  the  financial  abilities  of  the  States 
had  been  askad  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."* 
.  Menyn  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  perceived,  by  her  Majesty's 
answer  two  days  before,  that  she  was  so  highly  offended  with 
them  and  with  the  States-G^neraL  He  then,  notwithstanding 
Buighley'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  con- 
firmation 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  returned 
to  London.    They  were  fully  convinced  by  the  result  of  these 

>  MS.  Report  last  citecL  '  Ibid. 

•Ibid.    Compere  Bor,  IL  xxil  816-817,  wg. 


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206  T^™  UNITED  NETHBRLANDa  Chap.  XIV. 

interviews^  as  they  told  their  constitaeats^  that  her  Majesty^ 
by  false  statements  and  reports  of  persons  either  grossly 
ignorant  or  not  having  the  good  of  the  commonw^th  before 
their  eyes,  had  been  very  incorrectly  informed  as  to  the  con- 
dition of  the  Provinces,  and  of  the  great  efforts  made  by  the 
States-General  to  defend  their  country  against  the  enemy. 
It  was  obvious,  they  said,  that  their  measures  had  been  ex- 
aggerated in  order  to  deceive  the  Queen  and  her  council.^ 

And  thus  statements  and  counter-statements,  protocols 
and  apostilles,  were  glibly  exchanged,  the  heap  of  diplomatic 
rubbish  was  rising  higher  and  higher,  and  the  councillors  and 
envoys,  pleased  with  their  work,  were  growing  more  and  inore 
amicable,  when  the  court  was  suddenly  startled  by  the  news 
of  the  Deventer  and  Zutphen  treason.  The  intelligence  was 
accompanied  by  the  famous  4th  of  February  letter,  which 
descended,  like  a  bombshell,  in  the  midst  of  the  decorous 
council-chamber.  Such  language  had  rarely  been  addressed 
to  the  Earl  of  Leicester,  and,  through  him,  to  the  imperious 
sovereign  herself,  as  the  homely  truths  with  which  Bameveld, 
speaking  with  the  voice  of  the  States-Ghneral,  now  smote  the 
delinquent  governor. 

"  My  Lord,"  said  he,  "  it  is  notorious,  and  needs  no  illustra- 
tion whatever,  with  what  true  confidence  and  unfeigned  affec- 
tion we  received  your  Excellency  in  our  land ;  the  States- 
General,  the  States-Provincial,  the  magistrates,  and  the  com- 
munities of  the  chief  cities  in  the  United  Provinces,  all  uniting 
to  do  honour  to  her  serene  Majesty  of  England  and  to  your- 
self, and  to  confer  upon  you  the  government-general  over  tis. 
And  although  we  should  willingly  have  placed  some  limitations 
upon  the  authority  thus  bestowed  on  you,  in  order  that  by 
such  a  course  your  own  honour  and  the  good  and  constitutional 
condition  of  the  country  might  be  alike  preserved,  yet  finding 
your  Excdlency  not  satisfied  with  those  limitations,  we  post- 
poned every  objection,  and  conformed  ourselves  to  your 
pleasure.    Yet,  before  coming  to  that  decision,  we  had  well 

Ma  Heport,  ^  Feb.  1587,  before  cited. 


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1587.      FOUBTH  OF  FKBBUABT  LETTEB  FROM  THE  STATEa       207 

considered  that  by  doing  so  we  might  be  opening  a  door  to 
many  ambitious,  avaricioos,  and  pernicious  persons,  both  of 
these  cotmtries  and  from  other  nations,  who  might  seize  the 
occasion  to  advance  their  own  private  profits,  to  the  detriment 
of  the  coimtry  and  the  dishonour  of  your  Excellency. 

^^  And,  in  truth,  such  persons  have  done  their  work  so  effi- 
ciently 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  precisely  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  se- 
ditious practices,  notwithstanding  the  good  advice  and  remon- 
strances of  the  council  of  state,  and  the  States  General  and 
Pro.vinciaU'* 

He  proceeded  to  handle  the  subjects  of  the  English  rose- 
noble,  put  in  circulation  by  Leicester's  finance  or  back-staus 
council  at  two  florins  above  its  value,  to  the  manifest  detriment 
of  the  Provinces,  to  the  detestable  embargo  which  had  pre- 
vented 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  adminbtration,  to  the  starving 
condition  of  the  soldiers,  maltreated  by  government,  and  thus 
compelled  to  prey  upon  the  inhabitants— so  that  troops  in 
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  away  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 

»  Lettre  des  Etats  4  Leycestre.  I  Compare  Bor,  II.  xxii.  944,  seq,  Wage- 
4  Feb.  1587.    (Hague  ArdiiYea,  Ma)  |  naar,  yiiL  202.    Le  Pctil^  II.  xiv.  641. 


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208  ^^^  UNITED  NETHSBLANDa  Chap.  XIV. 

of  time-honoured  laws  and  privileges^  to  the  shameful  attempts 
to  repudiate  the  ancient  authority  of  the  States^  and  to  usurp 
a  control  over  the  communities  and  nobles  by  them  repre* 
sented^  and  to  the  perpetual  efforts  to  foster  dissension^  di^ 
union^  and  rebellion  among  the  inhabitants.  Having  thus 
drawn  up  a  heavy  bill  of  indictment^  nominally  against  the 
Earl's  illegal  counsellors,  but  in  reality  against  the  Earl  him- 
self, he  proceeded  to  deal  vdth  the  most*  important  matter  of 
all. 

"The  principal  cities  and  fortresses  in  the  country  havo 
been  placed  in  hands  of  men  suspected  by  the  States  on  l^ti* 
knate  grounds,  men  who  had  been  convicted  of  treason  against 
these  Provinces,  and  who  continued  to  be  suspected,  notwith- 
standing that  your  Excellency  had  pledged  your  own  honour 
for  their  fidelity.  Finally,  by  means  of  these  scoundrels,^  it 
was  brought  to  pass,  that — ^the  council  of  state  having  been 
invested  by  your  Excellency  with  supremo  authority  during 
your  absence — a  secret  document  was  brought  to  light  after 
your  departure,  by  which  the  most  substantial  matters,  and 
those  most  vital  to  the  defence  of  the  country,  were  withdrawn 
from  the  disposition  of  that  council.  And  now,  alas,  we  see 
the  effects  of  these  practices  ! 

"  Sir  William  Stanley,  by  you  appointed  governor  of  Deven- 
ter,  and  Bowland  York,  governor  of  Fort  Zutphen,  have  re- 
fused, by  virtue  of  that  secret  document,  to  acknowledge  any 
authority  in  this  country.  And  notwithstanding  that  since 
your  departure  they  and  their  soldiers  have  been  supported  at 
our  expense,  and  had  just  received  a  full  month's  pay  from 
the  States,  they  have  traitorously  and  villainously  delivered 
the  city  and  the  fortress  to  the  enemy,  with  a  declaration 
made  by  Stanley  that  he  did  the  deed  to  ease  his  conscience^ 
and  to  render  to  the  Eling  of  Spain  the  city  which  of  right 
was  belonging  to  him.  And  this  is  a  crime  so  dishonourable, 
scandalous,  ruinous,  and  treasonable,  as  that,  during  this 
whole  war,  we  have  never  seen  the  like.  And  we  are  now  in 
daily  fear  lest  the  English  commanders  in  Bergen-op-Zoom^ 

*  "Gibier."    Haiastdted. 


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1587.  ITS  SEYEBB  LAKaTTAGE  TOWARDS  LEIOESTEB.  209 

Ostend,  and  other  cities,  should  commit'  the  same  crime. 
And  although  we  fully  suspected  the  designs  of  Stanley  and 
York,  yet  your  ExoeDency's  secret  document  had  deprived  us 
of  the  power  to  act. 

"  We  doubt  not  that  her  Majesty  and  your  Excellency  will 
think  this  strange  language.  But  we  can  assure  you,  that  we 
too  think  it  strange  and  grievous  that  those  places  Bho«ld 
have  heen  confided  to  such  men,  against  our  repeated  remon- 
strances, and  that,  moreover,  this  very  Stanley  should  have 
been  recommended  by  your  ExceUency  for  general  of  all  the 
forces.  And  although  we  had  many  just  and  grave  reasons 
for  opposing  your  administration — even  as  our  ancestors,  were 
often  wont  to  rise  against  the  sovereigns  of  the  country— -we 
have,  nevertheless,  patiently  suffered  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  commonwealth,  and 
awake  to  the  artifices  of  your  advisers.  ' 

^^  But  at  last — ^feeling  that  the  exbtence  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  Staties-Provincial,  have  felt  constrained  to  establish  such  a 
government  as  we  deem  meet  for  the  emergency.  And  of 
this  we  think  proper  to  apprize  your  Excellency." 

He  then  expressed  the  conviction  that  all  these  evil  deeds 
had  been  a^ccomplished  against  the  intentions  of  the  Earl  and 
the  English  government,  and  requested  his  Excellency  so  to 
deal  with  her  Majesty  that  the  contingent  of  horse  and  foot 
hitherto  accorded  by  her  ^^  might  be  maintained  in  good 
order,  and  in  better  pay." 

Here,  then,  was  substantial  choleric  phraseology,  as  good 
plain  si>eaking  as  her  Majesty  had  just  been  employing,  and 
with  quite  as  sufficient  cause.  Here  was  no  pleasant  diplo- 
matic fencing,  but  straightforward  vigorous  thrusts.  It  was 
no  wonder  that  poor  Wilkes  should  have  thought  the  letter 
"  too  sharp,"  wh^n  he  heard  it  read  in  the  assembly,  and  that 

VOL,  n.— .P 


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210 


THE  UNITBD  NETHBKLAND& 


Chap.  XIV. 


he  should  have  done  his  best  to  prevent  it  from  bemg  de- 
spatched. 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  States  seem  to  vanish  into  au*.  Who  had  been  tampering 
with  the  Spaniards  now  ?  Had  that  ^^  shadowy  and  imaginary 
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  in  his  pocket — ^that  was  respon- 
sible for  the  ruin  effected  by  Englishmen  who  had  scorned  all 
"  authority"  but  his  own  ? 

The  States,  in  another  blunt  letter  to  the  Queen  herself, 
declared  the  loss  of  Deventer  to  be  more  disastrous  to  them 
than  even  the  fall  of  Antwerp  had  been ;  for  the  republic  had 
now  been  split  asunder,  and  its  most  ancient  and  vital  por- 
tions almost  cut  away.  Nevertheless  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  true  to  her  engagements  with  them.^ 

The  interviews  which  followed  were  more  tempestuous  than 
ever.  "I  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 


'  "Car  81  la  perte  d*Anyers  a  est^ 
tree  grande  poar  toute  le  pajSi  oeete 
C7  tire  aveo  soi  plus  grande  conse- 
quence, tout  au  regard  de  plusieurs 
autres  villes  oucumvoisinee  d^  De- 
venter,  lesquelles  ne  pourront  etre 
aviotuaillees  que  par  force,  que  aultre- 
ment.  Non  pas  que  nous  disons  cesq 
comme  esblouys  et  par  desespoir.  .... 


Car  nous  ne  manquerons  jamais  en 
noe  premieres  rescdutions  de  nous  you- 
loir  maintenir  contre  le  Roi  d'Espaigne^ 
pour  la  conservation  de  I^  reUgioa 
Chrestienne,  nos  privileges,  fianchisos, 
et  libertes."  States-General  to  the 
Queen,  6  Feb.  1587.  (Hague  AichivesL 
MS.) 


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16^. 


PAINFUL  POSmOK  OF  THE  BNVOTS  AT  COURT. 


211 


him  to  return^  she  added,  bat  she  was  now  resolved  that  he 
should  nerer  set  foot  iii  the  Provinces  again/' ^ 

Hare  the  Earl,  who  was  present,  exclaimed — beating  him- 
self 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 
kinjgs  and  governors,  and  to  procure  redress  of  their  grievances,  > 
as  beoame  free  men.' 

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.  Walsingham — 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  discomfort  her  poor 
servants  that  attend  her.  The  Lord-Treasiirer  remaineth  still 
in  disgrace,  and,  behind  my  back,  her  Majesty  giveth  out 
very  hard  speeches  of  myself,  which  I  the  rather  credit,  for 
that  I  find,  in  dealing  with  her,  I  aih  nothing  gracious^;  and  if 
her  Majesty  could  be  otherwise  served,  I  know  I  should  not  be 
used.  .  .  ,  .  Her  Majesty  doth  wholly  lend  herself  to  devise 
some  further  means  to  disgrace  her  poor  council,  in  respeot 

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 


»  Bor,  n.  xxiL  949. 

»  Ibid- 

3    "  Kous     Bommea  accoustumez, 

cx>mme    aoasi  ont  ete  nos  predeces- 

seoiS)  de  remonstrer  a  nos  princes  et 

gouterneoTB   librement  des  desordres 

et  contrayentioDS   que  nous  trouvons 


contre  nos  privileges  et  libertes,  commo 
avons  fiut  a  Y.  E.  etant  ioi, — ce  que 
nous  avons  tor^ours  tenu  etre  de  notre 
devoir  et  vrai  moyen  poor  parvenir  au 
redres  des  dites  desordres,"  &c.  States- 
General  to  Leicester,  1  March,  1587. 
(Haguo  Archives,  MS.) 


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212  THE  UNITBD  NETHERLANDa  •  Chap.  XIV. 

with  her,  which  hath  been  accepted  in  so  evil  part  as  he  is 
resolved  to  retire  for  a  time.     I  assure  you  I  find  every 

man  weary,  of  attendance  here .1  would  to  God  I 

could  find  as  good  resolution  in  her  Majesty  to  proceed  in 
a  princely  course  in  relieving  the  United  Provinces,  as  I  find 
an  honorable  disposition  in  your  Lordship  to  employ  your- 
self in  their  service."^ 

The  Lord-Treasurer  was  much  puzzled,  very  wretched,  but 
philosophically  resigned.  "  Why  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  con- 
tentment. I  shall  dispose  myself  to  enjoy  God's  favour, 
and  shall  do  nothing  to  deserve  her  disfiivour.  And  if  I 
be  suffered  to  bo  a  stranger  to  her  affairs,  I  shall  have  a 
quieter  life.''^ 

Leicester,  after  the  first  burst  of  his  anger  was  over,  was 
willing  to  return  to  the  Provinces.  He  protested  that  he  had 
a  greater  affection  for  the  Netherland  people— not  for  tiie 
governing  powers— even  than  he  felt  for  the  people  of  Eng- 
land."* "  There  is  nothing  sticks  in  my  stomach,"  he  said, 
"but  the  good-will  of  that  poor  aMcted  people,  for  whom,  I 
take  God  to  record,  I  could  be  content  to  lose  any  limb  I  have 
to  do  them  good."*  But  he  was  crippled  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  in  both  countries,  and  how  much  it  imported  to 
her  own  safety  and  service.  But  she  was  obdurate.  "She 
woidd  rather,"  he  said  bitterly  to  Leicester,  "  hazard  the  in- 
crease 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  widi  myself 


^  Walsingfaam  to  Leicester,  3  April, 
1587.  Same  to  same,  10  April,  1587. 
(Brit  Mus.  Galba,  0.  xi  316-319.) 

■  Burghley  to  Leicester,    16  April, 


1687.    (Brit  Mus.  Galba,  a  xi.  333.) 
»  Bor,  XL  xxiL  960-952. 
*  Leicester  to  Walsingbam,  IG  ApriL 

1587.  (ap.  oflaceMa) 


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1587. 


QUEBITS  PABSIMONT  TOWABDS  LEICESTER. 


213 


from  the  helm."  At  last  she  agreed  to  advance  him  ten 
thousand  pounds,  but  on  so  severe  conditions/that  the  Earl 
declared  himself  heart-broken  again,  and  protested  that  he 
would  neither  accept  the  money,  nor  ever  set  foot  in  the 
Netherlands.  "  Let  Norris  stay  there,"  he  said  in  a  fury  ; 
"he  will  do  admirably,  no  doubt.  Only  let  it  not  be  sup- 
posed that  I  can  be  there  also.  Not  for  one  hundred  thousand 
pounds  would  I  be  in  that  country  with  him."* 

Meantime  it  was  agreed  that  Lord  Buckhurst   should   bo 
sent  forth  on  what  Wilkes  termed  a  mission  of  expostulation, 


"  "For  tho  10,0001  for  your  parti- 
cular," Baid  Walsingham,  "  I  have  dealt 
very  earnestly,  but  cannot  prevail  to 
win  her  Majesty  to  assent  thereunto. 
I  caused  Mr.  Barker  to  set  down  a  note 
of  your  mortgages  that  stand  upon 
ibrfeiture  tx  lade  of  this  promised 
support  of  the  10,0002,  wherewith  she 
has  been  made  acquainted,  but  not 
moved  thereby  to  relieve  you."  "Wal- 
singham  to  Leicester,  6  Apiil,  1587. 
(Brit  Mus.  Galba^  a  xl  323.    MS.) 

And  again,  two  days  later — "  I  am 
cony  that  her  M^esty  sticketh  with 
you  for  the  loan,  for  I  see,  without  your 
return,  both  the  cause  and  many  an 
honest  man  that  have  showed  them 
most  constantly  affected  to  you,  will 
go  to  ruin.  I  wish  you  had  it,  though 
it  were  for  but  two  months.  The 
enemy  is  not  like  to  attempt  any  great 
matter  in  respect  of  his  wanta  But 
I  am  most  sorry  to  see  so  great  an 
advantage  lost  as  her  M^jes^  might 
have  had,  in  case  she  had  been  induced 
to  contribute  towards  tlie  putting  an 
anny  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  furnish  you 
vriQx  10,00021,  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 
heraelC  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.    IbkL326. 

There  was  not  much  sentiment  be- 
tween the  "throned  vestal"  and 
"Sweet    Bobin"  when    pounds    and 


shilUngs  were  discussed;  and  it  will 
be  seen  that  the  Earl  was  rendered 
quite  frantic  by  the  screwing  process 
to  which  he  found  himself  subjected 
by  her  whoso  "blessed  beams"  had 
formerly  been  so  "  nutritfous." 

•  "I  perceive  by.  your  letters,"  said 
Leicester,  "that  her  Mi^esty  would 
now  I  should  go  over,  and  will  lend 
me  10,00021  so  she  may  be  sure  to  re- 
ceive it  back  within  a  year.  I  did 
offer  to  her  Majesty  heretofore  that 
she  should  have  all  I  receive  of  her 
entertainment,  and  as  much  besides  as 
shall  yield  her  2,0002.,  piud  either 
1,0002.  at  Michaelmas  and  the  other  at 
our  Lady-day,  or  else  both  at  our  Lady, 
which  is  less  than  a  year ;  and  so  long 
as  I  shall  receive,  then  her  Miyesty 
shall  receive  after  this  sort  till  her 
10,0001  be  paid.  And  this  is  more,  I 
am  now  persuaded,  than  I  shall  be  able 
to  do,  and  keep  any  countenance  fit 
for  the  place  ....  but  seeing  I  find 
her  M^'esty's  hardness  continue  still 
to  me  as  it  doth,  I  pray  you  let  mo 
your  earnest  and  true  fUrtiierance  for 
my  abode  at  home  and  dischai^  .  .  . 
for  my  heart  is  more  than  half-broken, 
and  I  do  think  her  Mi^esty  had  rather 
far  continue  Sir  J.  Norria  there,  in 
respect  to  the  reconciliation  between 
him  and  Ck>unt  Hollock.  ....  But  I 
will  nev^r  serve  with  him  again  as  long 
as  I  live;  no,  not  for  to  have  100,OQ02. 

^ven  me I  know  the  man  too 

well  to  trust  to  his  service.  1  shall 
have  no  good  thereby — not  if  I  were 
an  angel,  for  he  cannot  obey  nor  almost 
like  of  an  equal  ....  and  already  ho 
hath  taken  advantage  to  curry  &vour 
with  captains  and  soldiers  •  ...  Ho 


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214 


THE  UNITED  NETHBBLANDa 


Chap.  XV. 


and  a  very  ill-timed  one.  This  new  envoy  was  to  inquire  into 
the  causes  of  the  discontent,  and  to  do  his  best  to  remove 
them  :  as  if  any  man  in  England  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  could  be  adopted— delay — ^which  the  Nether- 
land  statesmen,  as  well  as  the  Queen's  wisest  counsellors,  most 
deprecated,  which  Alexander  and  Philip  most  d^ired,  and  by 
indulging  in  which  her  Majesty  was  most  directly  playing  into 
her  adversary's  hand.  Elizabeth  was  preparing  to  put  cards 
upon  the  table  against  an  antagonist  whose  game  was  dose, 
whose  honesty  was  always  to  be  suspected,  and  who  was  a 
consummate  master  in  what  was  then  considered  diplomatic 
sleight  of  hand.  So  Lord  Buckhurst  was  to  go  forth  to  ex- 
postulate 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  concerning 
which  Walsingham  and  Bameveld  had  for  a  long  time  felt 
little  doubt. 

Meantime  Lord  Leicester  went  to  Bath  to  drink  tho  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.*   ' 


shall  never  bear  sway  under  me;  his 
disdain  and  craft  bath  no  moderation ; 
and  I  know,  for  all  those  speeobes  of 
my  going,  bis  friends  make  tail  account 
that  he  shall  remain  there  as  her  Ma- 
jesty's general  of  the  forces."  Leioester 
to  Walsingham,  16  April,  1687.  (a  P. 
OffloeMa) 

*  "  Finding  your  presence  here  ne- 
cessary," wrote  Waldngbam,  "  for  the 
expedition  of  the  Low  Country  causes^ 


I  moved  her  Majesty  that  I  might 
be  authorised  in  her  name  to  hasten 
your  repair  hither,  whereonto  aho 
would  in  no  sort  consent,  pr^end- 
ing  that  after  the  use  of  the  Bath,  it 
would  be  dangeixMis  for  your  Lonl- 
ship  to  take  any  extraordinary  travail 
There  is  some  doubt  that  O^end  wi0 
be  presently  besieged,"  fta  ^  Wal- 
singham to  Leicester,  17  April,  1587. 
(B.  Mus.  OaUMs  a  xi.  327,  MS.) 


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158T.  BUCKUUBSI  SBNT  TO  TBS  NBTUERLANDS.  215 


CHAPTER    XV. 

Bockbont  sent  to  the  Netherianda — Alarming  State  of  Affairs  on  his  Arrival 
— His  Efforts  to  oondliate — Democratio  Theories  of  Wilkes  •**  Sophistry 
of  the  Argument — Dispute  betweea  Wilkes  and  Bameveld  —  Religious 
Tolerance  \>j  the  States  —  Their  Constitutional  Theory — Deventer's  bad 
Ooonaela  to  Leicester  —  Their  pernicious  EfiBsct — Real  and  supposed 
Plots  against  Hohenlo  —  Mutual  Suspicion  and  Distrust  —  Buckhurst  seeks 
to  restore  good  Feeling  —  The  Queen  angry  and  vindictive  —  She  cen- 
vnres  Buckhurst^s  CJourse — Leicester's  Wrath  at  Hohenlo*s  Charges  of  a 
Plot  by  the  Earl  to  murder  hhn — 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  States. 

We  return  to  the  Netherlands.  If  ever  proof  wero  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  ad- 
visers anxious  to  arouse  her  from  her  fatal  credulity^  from  her 
almost  as  fatal  parsimony.  We  have  seen  Leicester  anxious 
to  return^  despite  all  fEtncied  indignities^  Walsingham  eager 
to  expedite  the  enterprise,  and  the  Queen  remaining  obdur^kte, 
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  Leicestrians,  the  anti-Leices- 
trians,  the  Holland  party,  the  Utrecht  party,  the  English 
counsellors,  the.  Eij^lish  generals,  in  private  letter,  in  solemn 
act,  all  warned  the  Queen  against  the  lamentable  effects 
resulting  from  Leicester's  inopportune  departure  and  pro- 
longed absence.^ 

On  the  first  outbreak  of  indignation  after  the  Deventer 
affidr.  Prince  Maurice  was  placed  at  the  head  of  the  general 
government,  with  the  violent  Hohenlo  as  his  lieutenant.^    The 

*  Documents  in  Bor,  HI.  xxiil  IG-SO.  •  Wagenaar,  viU.  204. 


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216  THB  UNITED  NETHERLANDS.  Chap.  XV. 

greatest  exertions  were  made  by  these  two  nobles  and  by 
Bameveld,  who  guided  the  whole  policy  of  the  party,  to 
secure  as  many  cities  as  possible  to  their  cause.  Magistrates 
and  commandants  of  garrisons  in  many  towns  willingly  gave 
in  their  adhesion  to  the  new  government ;  others  refused ; 
especially  Diedrich  Sonoy,  an  officer  of  distinction,  who  was 
governor  of  Enkhuyzen,  and  influential  throughout  North 
Holland,  and  who  remained  a  stanch  partisan  of  Leicester.^ 
Utrecht,  the  stronghold  of  the  Leicestrians,  was  wavering  and 
much  torn  by  faction  ;  Hohenlo  and  Moeurs  had  '^banquetted 
and  feasted ''  to  such  good  purpose  that  they  had  gained  over 
half  the  captains  of  the  burgher-guard,  and,  aided  by  the 
branch  of  nobles,  were  making  a  good  fight  against  the 
Leicester  magistracy  and  the  clerical  force,  enriched  by  the 
plunder  of.  the"  old  Catholic  livings,  who  deno.unced  as  Pa- 
pistical and  Hispaniolized  all  who  favoured  the  jwurty  of 
Maurice  and  Bameveld. 

By  the  end  of  March  the  envoys  returned  from  London, 
and  in  their  company  came  Lord  Buckhurst,  as  special  am- 
bassador from  the  Queen.^ 

Thomas  SackviUe,  Lord  Buckhurst — afterwards  Earl  of 
Dorset  and  lord-treasurer— was  then  fifty-one  years  of  age. 
A  man  of  large  culture — poet,  dramatist,  diplomatist — ^bred 
to  the  bar  ;  afterwards  elevated  to  the  jpeerage  ;  endowed  with 
high  character  and  strong  intellect ;  ready  with  tongue  and 
pen  ;  handsome  of  person,  and  with  a  iSEtscinating  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  tho 
^  Induction  to  the  Mirror  for  Magistrates '  and  of  *  Gorboduc,' 
had  come  to  the  Netherlands  on  a  forlorn  hope.  To  expos- 
tulate in  favour  of  peiEice  with  a  people  who  knew  that  their 
existence  depended  on  war,  to  reconcile  those  to  delay  who 
felt  that  delay  was  death,  and  to  heal  animosities  between 
men  who  we*^  enemies  from  their  cradles  to  their  graves,  was 
a  difficult  mission.  .  But  the  chief  ostensible  object  of  Buck- 
hurst was  to  smooth  the  way  for  Leicester,  and,  if  possible,  to 

'Wagenaar,    viiL    176,    186,    209-211,    270-278.    Bor,   TIL    xxUl    10,    aeq. 
neydj  vL  101.  •  Bor,  xxU.  952.    Wagenaar,  21C  ; 


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1587.        ALABMINa  STATE  OF  AlPAIES  AT  HIS  ARRIVAL.         217 

persuade  the  Neiherlanders  as  to  the  good  inclinations  of  the 
English  government.  This  was  no  easy  task,  for  they  knew 
that  their  envoys  had  been  dismissed,  without  even  a  promise 
of  Bubsidy.  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  thousand  pounds  ;  and  even  had  she 
promised  the  money,  it  would  have  given  but  little  satisfac- 
tion. As  Count  Moeurs  observed,  he  would  rather  see  one 
English  rose-noble  than  a  hundred  royal  promises.  So  the 
Hollanders  and  Zeelanders — ^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  Buckhurst 
landed  at  Flushing — ^four  months  after  the  departure  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  drowning/'^  Sir  William  Eussell,  governor 
of  Flushing,  informed  him  of  the  progress  making  by  Prince 
Maurice  in  virtue  of  his  new  authority.  He  told  him  that  the 
Zeeland  raiment,  vacant  by  Sidney's  death,  and  which  the 
Queen  wished  bestowed  upon  Eussell  himself,  had  been  given 
to  Count  Solms  ;  a  circumstance  which  was  very  sure  to  ex- 
cite 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  Aldegonde  visited  him 
at  Middelburgh,  and  in  a  "  long  discourse "  expressed  the 
most  friendly  sentiments  towards  England,  with  free  offers  of 
personal  service.  "  Nevertheless,"  said  Buckhurst,  cautiously, 
"I  mean  to  trust  the  effect,  not  his  words,  and  so  I  hope  ho 
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 

'  BuckhuTBt  to  Walsingham,  26th  Maxxjh,  1587.     {\  V.  Office  Ma) 


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218  THE  UNITBD  NETHEELANDSw  Chap.  XV 

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  most  lamentable 
thing,"  said  he,  "to  hear  the  complaints  of  soldiers  and 
captains  for  want  of  pay."  ....  Whole  companies  made  their 
way  into  his  presence,  literally  crying  aloud  for  bread.  "  For 
Jesus'  sake,"  wrote  Buckhurst,  "  hasten  to  send  relief  with  all 
speed,  and  let  such  victuallers  be  appointed  as  have  a  con- 
science not  to  make  themselves  rich  with  the  famine  of  poor 
soldiers.  If  her  Majesty  send  not  money,  and  that  with  speed, 
for  their  payment,  I  am  afraid  to  think  what  mischief  and 
miseries  are  like  to  follow."^ 

Then  the  ambassador  proceeded  to  the  Hague,  holding 
interviews  with  influential  i)er8onages  in  private,  and  with  the 
States-Gkneral  in  public.  Such  was  the  charm  of  his  manner, 
and  so  firm  the  conviction  of  sincerity  and  good- will  which 
he  inspired,  that  in  the  course  of  a  fortnight  there  was  already 
a  sensible  change  in  the  aspect  of  affairs.  The  enemy,  who, 
at  the  time  of  their  arrival,  had  been  making  bonfires  and 
holding  triumphal  processions  for  joy  of  the  great  breach 
between  Holland  and  England,  and  had  been  "hoping  to 
swallow  thein  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  Upon  the  general 
subject  of  her  Majesty's  goodness  to  the  Netherlands.  He 
spoke  of  the  gracious  assistance  rendered  by  her,  notwith- 
standing her  many  special  charges  for  the  common  cause,  cuid 
of  the  mighty  enmities  which  she  had  incurred  for  their  sake. 
He  sharply  censured  the  Hollanders  for  their  cruelty  to 
men  who  had  shed  their  blood  in  their  cause,  but  who  were 
now  driven  forth  from  their  towns,  and  left  to  starve  on  the 
highways,  and  hated  fi^r  their  nation's  sake  ;  as  if  the  whole 

'  Buckhttrst  to  Walsiogham,  MS.  I  *  Bartholomew  Gerk  to  Boigliloj, 
last  cited.  «  Ibid.  |   12  April,  1587.    (S.  P.  Office  MS.) 


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1587.  HIS  EEFOBTS  TO  OONCILIAXS.  219 

English  name  deserved  to  be  soiled  "  for  the  treachery  of  two 
miscreants/'  He  spoke  strongly  of  their  demeanour  towards 
the  Earl  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  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  if  ^ 

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  dischaige  that  which  had  so  long  boiled  within 
them,"  deferred  their  reply  until  the  following  day.  They  then 
brought  forward  a  deliberate  rejoinder,  in  which  they  ex- 
pressed themselves  devoted  to  her  Majesty,  and,  on  the  whole, 
well  disposed  to  the  Earl.  As  to  the  4\h  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  for  all  the  sins  of  his  Excellency's  goverlmient 
were  certain  "lewd  persons  who  sought  to  seduce  his  Lord- 
ship, and  to  cause  him  to  hate  the  States." 

Buckhurst  did  not  think  it  well  to  reply,  at  that  moment, 
upon  the  groimd  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  council  together — the  envoys  and  the 
States-General,  as  to  the  amount  of  troops  absolutely  neces- 
sary— casting  up  the  matter  "  as  pinohingly  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  pro- 
nounced indispensable.     This  would  require  all  their  240,000?. 

'  Bartholomow  Clerk  to  Burghley,  vibi  et^,  *  Ibid. 


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220  THE  UNITED  NETHERLANDa  Chap.  XV. 

sterling  a-year,  regular  contribution,  her  Majesty's  contingent 
of  140,000^.,  and  an  extra  sum  of  150,0007.  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  240,0007.  for  the  Queen,  and  290,00W.  for 
the  States.  As  it  was  understood  that  the  English  subsidies 
were  only  a  loan,  secured  by  mortgage  of  the  cautionary  towns, 
this  did  not  seem  very  unreasonable,  when  the  intimate  blend- 
ing of  England's  welfero  with  that  of  the  Provinces  was 
considered.^ 

Thus  it  will  be  observed  that  Lord  Buckhurst — while  doing 
his  best  to  conciliate  personal  feuds  and  heartburnings — ^had 
done  full  justice  to  the  merits  of  Leicester,  and  had  placed 
in  strongest  light  the  favours  conferred  by  her  Majesty. 

He  then  proceeded  to  Utrecht,  where  he  was  received  with 
many  demonstrations  of  respect,  "with  solemn  speeches" 
from  magistrates  and  burgher-captains,  with  military  proces- 
sions, and  with  great  banquets,  which  were,  however,  con- 
ducted with  decorum,  and  at  which  even  Count  Moeurs  excited 
imiversal  astonishment  by  his  sobriety.^  It  was  difficult,  how- 
ever, for  matters  to  go  very  smoothly,  except  upon  the  surfiice. 
What  could  be  more  disastrous  than  for  a  little  common- 
wealth—a mere  handful  of  people,  like  these  Netherlanders, 
engaged  in  mortal  combat  with  the  most  powerful,  monarch 
in  the  world,  and  with  the  first  general  of  the  age,  within  a 
league  of  their  borders — thus  to  be  deprived  of  all  oiganized 
government  at  a  most  critical  moment,  and  to  be  left  to 
wrangle  with  their  allies  and  among  themselves,  as  to  the 
form  of  polity  to  be  adopted,  while  waiting  the  pleasure  of  a 
capricious  and  despotic  woman  ? 

And  the  very  foundation  of  the  authority  by  which  the 
Spanish  yoke  had  been  abjured,  the  sovereignty  offered  to 
Elizabeth,  and  the  government-general  conferred  on  Leicester, 
was  fiercely  assailed  by  the  confidential  agents  of  Elizabeth 
herself.     The  dispute  went  into  the  very  depths  of  the  social 

*  Bartholomew  Gerk  to  Burghley,  I  «  Gflpin  to  Wilkes,  25  April,  1587. 
l£a  last  cited.     •  1  (S.  P.  Offloo  Ma) 


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1587.  DEMOCRATIC  THEORIES  OP  WILKES.  221 

contract.  Already  Wilkes,  standing  up  stoutly  for  the  demo- 
cratic views  of  the  governor,  who  was  so  foully  to  requite  him, 
had  assured  the  English  government  that  the  '^  people  were 
ready  to  cut  the  throats"  of  the  States-General  at  any  con- 
venient moment.  The  sovereign  people,  not  the  deputies, 
were  alone  to  be  heeded,  he  said,  and  although  he  never 
informed  the  world  by  what  process  he  had  learned  the 
deliberate  opinion  of  that  sovereign,  as  there  had  been  no 
assembly  excepting  those  of  the  States-General  and  States- 
Provincial — ^he  was  none  the  less  fully  satisfied  that  the  people 
were  all  with  Leicester,  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  servants,  ministers, 
and  deputies  of  the  people.  You  have  your  commissions  or  in- 
structions sTurrounded  by  limitations — ^which  conditions  are  sg 
widely  different  firom  the  power  of  sovereignty,  as  the  might 
of  the  subject  is  in  regard  to  his  prince,  or  of  a  servant  in 
respect  to  his  master.  For  sovereignty  is  not  limited  either 
as  to  power  or  as  to  time.  Still  less  do  you  represeTtt  the 
sovereignty  ;  for  the  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  sove- 
reignty. Of  these  a  governor-general  is  however  only  the 
depositary  or  guardian,  until  such  time  as  it  may  please  the 
prince  or  people  to  revoke  the  trust;  there  being  no  other 
in  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  statuituvy  eodem  jure  tolU 
debet.  You  having  been  fully  empowered  by  the  provinces 
and  cities,  or,  to  speak  more  correctly,  by  your  masters  and 
superiors,  to  confer  the  government  on  his  Excellency,  it  fol- 
lows that  you  require  a  like  power  in  order  to  take  it  away 
either  in  whole  or  in  part.    If  then  you  had  no  commission 


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222 


THE  UNITED  NETHEBLANDa 


Chap.  XV. 


to  curtail  his  authority,  or  even  that  of  the  state-council,  and 
thus  to  tread  upon  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  con- 
sider how  far  that  power  reached,  or— much  more  probably — 
you  have  fallen  into  the  sin  of  disobedience,  considering  how 
solemnly  you  swore  allegiance  to  him.^ 

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  dereliction,  to  take  the 
government  into  their  own  hands. 

For,  after  all,  the  whole  argument, of  the  English  counsellor 
rested  upon  a  quibble.  The  people  were  absolutely  sovereign, 
he  said,  and  had  lent  that  sovereignty  to  Leicester.    How 


"  Kluit.  »HolL  Staatsreg.'  II.  281. 
Compare  Wagenaar,  viil  208. 

It  is  very  important  to  obseire,  that 
Wilkes  retracted  these  democratic 
views  before  the  end  of  the  sammer, 
and  gradually  adopted  the  constitu- 
tional theory  maintained  by  Holland. 
He  inlbrmed  the  Queen,  on  the  12th 
July,  1687,  that  in  case  she  refused 
tiie  sovereignty,  it  ''should  remain 
with  such  as  by  the  laws  of  iha 
country  do  retain  t^  which  is  not  in  the 
common  people,  but  in  some  fifty  or 
sixty  persons  in  every  dty  and  town 
called   by  the  name  of  Yroedschap. 

If  the  Earl  of  Leicester," 

said  he,  "should  attempt  to  remove 
any  of  these  persons  constituting  this 
Yroedschap,  as  it  is  rumoured  ho  in- 
tends doing,  it  will  hazard  the  ruin  of 
the  whole  country,  endanger  the  Earl 
greatly,  and  prove  the  loss  of  all  her 
Majesty^s  charge  employed  in  the  de- 
fence of  the  country.  It  is  a  mistake 
to  suppose  that  It  will  be  a  (adle 
matter  to  carry  the  common  people 
into  any  such  violence  at  any  time 
against  the  States;  for  the  magistrates 
of  every  city  and  town,  upon  pre- 
monition ahready  given,  are  holding  a 
vig^ilaut  eye  and  severe  haxid  over  any 
that  shall  stir  within  any  of  then: 
jurisdiction." 

"The  remedy,"  continued  WUkes, 
"  to  prevent  any  mischief  that  might 
ensue  of  any  popular  commotion,  would 


be  to  leave  that  course,  and  to  follow 
the  examine  of  the  late  Prmoe  of 
Orange,  who  had  quite  as  many  diffi- 
culties to  contend  with  as  the  Earl  of 
Leicester,  and  yet  forebore  to  discredit 
the  States  with  the  people— -gaining 
five  or  six  of  the  States'  members  that 
had  the  most  •  credit  with  the  assem- 
blies, and  through  them  working  upon 
all  the  rest;  ti^ere  being  nothmg  de- 
termined or  to  be  handled  in  their 
assemblies  but  he  knew  of  it  always 
beforehand;  and  whensoever  he.  had 
anything  to  propound  or  bring  to  pass 
among  l^em,  he  first  consulted  with 
these  persons^  and  by  them  was  mado 
aoquamted  whether  the  matter  would 
pass '  or  be  impugned,  and  acted 
aocprdingly."  "The  Prince,"  said 
Wilkes,  "  never  attempted  anything 
of  importance  without  consulting  the 
States.  The  people  are  the  same  now 
as  they  were  then,  and  do  not  lore  to 
be  subject  to  any  monardiioal  gorem- 
mont."  Wilkes  to  the  Queen,  12  July, 
1687.    (a  P.  Office  MS.) 

It  is  obvious,  fSrom  this  chango  of 
opmion  on  the  part  of  the  councilor, 
that  he  would  become  liable  to  the 
disapprobation  of  Leicester;  but  it 
seems  hardly  credible  that  he  should 
have  thereby  inspired  the  Eail  with 
such  a  hatred  and  longing  for  revenge 
against  him  as  he  unqueBtionabl7  did 
excite. 


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1587.  SOPmSTBT  OF  THB  ARGUMENT.  223 

had  they  made  that  lom  ?  Through  the  machinery  of  the 
States-G^eneral.  So  long  then  as  the  Earl  retained  the  absolute 
soveceignty^  the  States  were  not  even  representatives  of  the 
sovereign  people.  The  sovereign  people  was  merged  into  one' 
En^h  Earl.  The  English  Earl  had  retired— indefinitely— 
to  England.  Waa  the  sovereign  people  to  wait  for  months,  or 
ye^rs,  before  it  r^ained  its  existence  ?  And  if  not,  how  was 
it  to  reassert  its  vitality  ?  How  but  through  the  agency  of 
the  States-(Jeneral,  who — according  to  Wilkes  himself— Aod 
been  fuUy  empowed  by  the  Provinces  and  Cities  to  confer  the 
govemmmt  on  the  Earl  /  The  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  ever  had  been,  and  they  claimed  no  morq. 
Wilkes,  nor  any  other  of  the  Leicester  party,  ever  hinted  at 
a  general  assembly  of  the  people.  Universal  suffirage  was  not 
dreamed  of  at  that  day.  By  the  people,  he  meant,  if  he 
meant  anything,  only  that  very  small  fraction  of  the  in- 
habitants of  a  country,  who,  according  to  the  English  system, 
in  the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  constituted  its  Commona  He  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  indi- 
viduals who  happeiied,  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  them- 
selves 'sovereigns;'  for  it  was  very  well  known  that  they 
sat  as  envoySy  rather  than  as  Tneinbers  of  a  congress,  and  were 
perpetually  obliged  to  recur  to  their  constituents,  the  States  of 
each  Province,  for  instructions.  It  was  idle,  because  Buys  and 
Bameveld,  and  Roorda,  and  other  leaders,  exercised' the  in- 
fluence due  to  their  talents,  patriotism,  and  experience,  to 
stigmatise  them  as  usurpers  of  sovereignty,  and  to  hound 
tiie  rabble  upon  them  as  tyrants  and  mischief-makers.  Yet 
to  take  this  course  pleased  the  Earl  of  Leicester,  who  saw  no 
hope  for  the  liberty  of  the  people,  unless  absolute  and  uncon- 


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224.  THE  UNITED  NETHBRLANDa  '  Chap.  XV: 

ditional  authority  over  the  people,  in  war,  nayal  aflWrSy 
justice,  and  policy,  were  placed  in  his  hands.  Tliis  was  the 
view  sustained  by  the  clergy  of  the  Reformed  Church,  because 
they  found  it  convenient,  through  such  a  theory,  and  by  Lei- 
cester's power,  to  banish  Papists,  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  liberal  ideas 
of  the  Barneveld  party. 

The  States  of  Holland — ^inspired  as  it  were  by  the. memory 
of  that  great  martyr  to  religious  and  political  liberty,  William 
the  Silent — maintained  freedom  of  conscience. 

The  Leicester  party  advocated  a  different  theory  on  the 
i;pligious  question.  They  were  also  determined  to  omit  no 
effort  to  make  the  States  odious. 

.  "Seeing  their  violent  courses,"  said  Wilkes  to  Leicester^ 
"  I  have  not  been  n^ligent,  as  well  by  solicitations  to  the 
ministers^  as  by  my  letters  to  such  as  have  continued  constant 
in  affection  to  your  Lordship,  to  Jiave  the  people  informed  of 
the  ungrateful  and  dangerous  proceedings  of  the  States.  They 
have  therein  travailed  with  so  good  effect,  as  the  people  are 
now  wonderfully  well  disposed,  and  have  delivered  every- 
where in  speeches,  that  if,  by  the  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 
discouraged  to  return,  they  will  cut  their  throats"  ^   - 

Who  the  ^^ people"  exactly  were,  that  had  been  so  wonder- 
fully well  disposed  to  throat-cutting  by  the  ministers  of  the 
Gospel,  did  not  distinctly  appear.  It  was  certain,  however, 
that  they  were  the  special  friends  of  Leicester,  great  orators, 
very  pious,  and  the  sovereigns  of  the  country.  So  much  could 
not  be  gainsaid. 

"  Your  Lordship  would  wonder,"  continued  the  councillor, 
"  to  see  the  people — who  so  lately,  by  the  practice  of  the  said 
States  and  the  accident  of  Deventer,  were  notably  alienated—* 

'  Wilkea  to  Leicester,  12  March,  1587.    (S.  P.  Office  Ma) 


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15S7.  DISPUTE  BETWEEN  WILKES  AND  BAENETELD.  225 

80  retnmed  to  their  former  devotion  towards  her  Majesty, 
your  Lordship,  and  onr  nation." 

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

And  then  he  went  into  particulars,  and  discussed,  more  sua, 
the  constitutional  question,  in  which  various  Leicestrian  coun- 
sellors seconded  him. 

But  Bameveld  grimly  maintained  that  the  States  were  the 
sovereigns,  and  that  it  was  therefore  unfit  that  the  governor, 
who  drew  his  authority  from  them^  should  call  them  to  account 
for  their  doings.  "  It  was  as  if  the  governors  in  the  time  of 
Charles  V.,"  said  the  Advocate,  "should  have  taxed  that 
Emperor  for  any  action  of  his  done  in  the  government."^ 

In  brief,  the  ru^ed  Bameveld,  with  threatening  voice, 
and  lion  port,  seemed  to  impersonate  the  States,  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  them  from  this 
humour  of  their  sovereignty,  showing  that  upon  that  error  they 
had  grounded  the  rest  of  their  wilfvl  absurdities"^ 

Next  night,  he  drew  up  sixteen  articles,  showing  the  dis- 
orders of  the  States,  their  breach  of  oaths,  and  violations  of 
the  Eari's  authority ;  and  with  that  commenced  a  series  of 


'  Wflkee  to  Leicester,  MS.  lagt  dted. 
*  Ibid.      Oompare    Kloit)    IT.    281, 
•07.      Bor,    n.    xxli.    918,    821,   m^. 
VOL.IL — Q 


Wagenaar,  viii.  208. 

*  Wilkes    to    Leicester,    Ma    last 
cited. 


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226 


THE  UNITED  NBTHEBLANDS. 


CHi.p.  XV. 


papers  interchanged  by  the  two  parties^  in  which  the  topics  of 
the  origin  of  government  and*  the  principles  of  religions 
freedom  were  handled  with  mnch  ability  on  both  sides^  but 
at  unmerciful  length. 

On  the  religious  question^  the  States-General,  led  by  Bar- 
neveld  and  by  Francis  Franck,  expressed  themselves  man- 
fully, on  various  occasions,  during  the  mission  of  Buckhurst. 

^^  The  nobles  and  cities  constituting  the  States/'  they  said, 
^^have  been  denounced  to  Lord  Leicester  as  enemies  of 
religion,  by  the  self-seeking  mischief-makers  who  surround 
him.  Why  ?  Because  they  had  refused  the  demand  of 
certain  preachers  to  call  a  general  synod,  in  defiance  of  the 
States-General,  and  to  introduce  a  set  of  ordinances,  with  a 
system  of  discipline,  according  to  their  arbitrary  wiU.  Tius 
the  late  Prince  of  Orange  and  the  States-General  had  always 
thought  detrimental  both  to  religion  and  polity.  They  re- 
spected the  difference  in  religious  opinions,  and  leaving  all 
churches  in  their  freedom,  they  chose  to  compel  no  man's  con- 
science— a  course  which  all  statesmen,  knowing  the  diversity 
of  human  opinions,  had  considered  necessary  in  order  to 
maintain  fraternal  harmony.''  ^ 

Such  words  shine  through  the  prevailing  darkness  of  the 
religious  atmosphere  at  that  epoch,  like  characters  of  light 


'  Meteren,  ziv.  250-253. 

The  States  of  Holland,  under  the 
guidance  of  Bameveld,  took  strong 
ground,  on  several  oooasioos  this  year, 
against  attempts  made  bj  the  Reformed 
Church  to  meddle  with  secular  matters. 
On  the  presentation  of  a  petition  rela- 
tive to  pohtics,  by  a  committee  of  four 
preachers,  representing  the  churdies 
of  Holland,  answer  was  made  through 
the  mouth  of  Bameveld,  that  "the 
States  were  very  well  acquainted  with 
the  matters  mentioned  in  the  petition, 
and  with  many  other  things  besides; 
that  the  States  were  quite  as  mudi 
interested  as  the  churches  could  be 
in  the  wel&re  of  the  land,  and  that 
they  could  provide  for  it,  without  the 
assistance  of  the  preachers."  The 
petilioners  were  ao(x>rdingly  advised 
to  go  home,  and  leave  the  States  to 
manage   the   af&ira   of  the   country. 


(Bor,  in.  xxiil  76.) 

A  few  days  later,  a  resolution  upon 
the  subject  of  the  petition  was  parsed 
by  the  States^  printed,  and  sent  to  tdl 
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  congregations  in 
tranquillity  and  harmony,  and,  for 
their  own  part,  to  occupy  themselves 
with  praying,  teadiing,  and  preadi- 
ing,  and  to  allow  the  States  and  the 
magistrates  to  administer  the  govern* 
ment 

The  resolution  itself— which  tho 
preachers  diaracterised  as  a  mdo 
answer  to  a  courteous  request— was 
conceived  much  in  the  spirit  of 
Bameveld's  original  v^bal  replj. 
(See  the  documents  in  Bor,  KL  xxik 
76,  65  8eq.) 


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1587.  BBLIGIOUS  TOLERANCE  BY  THE  STATES.  227 

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..  Indi- 
viduals walking  in  advance  of  their  age  had  enunciated  such 
truths,  and  their  voices  had  seemed  to  die  away ,  but,  at  last, 
a  little,  struggling,  half-developed  commonwealth  had  pro- 
claimed the  rights  of  conscience  for  all  mankind — ^for  Papists 
and  Calvinists,  Jews  and  Anabaptists — ^because  "iaving  a 
respect  for  differences  in  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  lawful  constitution  of  the 
Provinces ;  a  matter  which  has  not  been  disputed  for  eight 
hundred  years/' ^ 

This  was  indeed  to  claim  a  respectable  age  for  their 
republic.  Eight  hundred  years  took  them  back  to  the  days 
of  Charlemagne,  in  whose  time  it  would  have  been  somewhat 
difficult  to  detect  a  germ  of  their  States-General  and  States- 
Provincial.  That  the  constitutional  government— consisting 
of  nobles  and  of  the  vroedschaps  of  diartered  cities — should 
have  been  in  existence  four  hundred  and  seventeen  years 
before  the  first  charter  had  ever  been  granted  to  a  city,  was  a 
very  loose  style  of  argument.  Thomas  Wilkes,  in  reply, 
might  as  well  have  traced  the  English  parliament  to  Hengist 
and  Horsa.  "  For  eight  hundred  years,"  they  said,  "  Holland 
had  been  governed  by  Counts  and  Countesses,  on  whom  the 
nobles  and  cities,  as  representing  the  States,  had  legally  con- 
ferred sovereignty."^ 

Now  the  first  incorporated  city  of  Holland  and  Zeeland  that 
ever  existed  was  Middelburg,  which  received  its  charter  from 
Count  William  I.  of  Holland  and  Countess  Joan  of  Flanders, 
in  the  year  1217.     The  first  Count  that  had  any  legal  or 

'  Bor,  ni  xxiii.  76-84.    Meteren,  xiv.  250-253.    Kluit»  IL  286,  aeq. 
'  Bor,  Meteren,  Kloit,  \ibi  sup. 


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228  THE  UNITED  NETHEELANDa  Chap.  XT. 

recognized  authority  was  Dirk  the  First  to  whom  Charles  the 
Simple  presented  the  territory  of  Holland,  hy  letters-patent, 
in  922.  Yet  the  States-General,  in  a  solemn  and  eloquent 
document,  gravely  dated  their  own  existence  from  the  year 
787,  and  claimed  the  r^ular  possession  and  habitual  delega- 
tion of  sovereignty  from  that  ei)och  down  ! 

After  this  fabulous  preamble,  they  proceeded  to  handle  the 
matter  of  fact  with  logical  precision.  It  was  absurd,  they 
said,  that  Mr.  Wilkes  and  Lord  Leicester  should  aflfect  to  con- 
found the  persons  who  appeared  in  the  assembly  with  the 
States  themselves ;  as  if  those  individuals  claimed  or  exer- 
cised sovereignty.  Any  man  who  had  observed  what  had 
been  passing  during  the  last  fifteen  years,  knew  very  well 
that  the  supreme  authority  did  not  belong  to  the  thirty  or 

forty  individuals  who  came  to  the  meetings The  nobles, 

by  reason  of  their  ancient  dignity  and  splendid  possessions, 
took  coimsel  together  over  state  matters,  and  then,  appeieuring 
at  the  assembly,  deliberated  with  the  deputies  of  the  cities. 
The  cities  had  mainly  one  form  of  government — ^a  coU^  of 
counsellors,  or  wise  men,  40,  32,  28,  or  24  in  number,  of  the 
most  respectable  out  of  the  whole  community.  They  were 
chosen  for  life,  and  vacancies  were  supplied  by  the  coll^;es 
themselves  out  of  the  mass  of  citizens.  These  colleges^  alone 
governed  the  city,  and  that  which  had  been  ordained  by  them 
was  to  be  obeyed  by  all  the  inhabitants — a  system  against 
which  there  had  never  been  any  rebellion.  The  collies 
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  unity  of 


'  **  These  coneges,"  sajrs  the  docu- 
ment, "are  aa  old  as  the  cities;  or  so 
old  at  leeat,  that  th^e  is  no  memory 
loft  of  their  commencement" 

Here,  too,  was  a  gross  misstatement, 
for  the  colleges  of  Yroedschappen 
dated  only  firom  the  time  of  Philip  the 
Good — not  much  more  than  a  oentury 
before  the  publication  of  this   docu- 


ment; and  the  cities  themselves,  as 
oi^ganized  corporations,  were  but  350 
years  old,  at  most  It  is  difficult  to 
understand  how  such  inaccuracies 
should  find  tiielr  way  into  so  able  a 
state-paper. 

Ck>mpare   Kluit,    'IIoU.  Stoatsrege- 
ring,  II.  291. 


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1587.  THEIR  CONSTITUTIQNAL  THEORY.  229 

purpose  and  decisive  authority.  To  bring  tlie  colleges  into 
an  assembly  could  only  be  done  by  means  of  deputies.  These 
deputies,  chosen  by  their  colics,  and  properly  instructed, 
were  sent  to  the  place  of  meeting.  During  the  war  they  had 
always  been  commissioned  to  resolve  in  common  on  matters 
regarding  the  liberty  of  the  land.  These  deputies,  thus  assem- 
bled, represented^  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  coufttry,"  said  tho 
States,  "  have  an  aversion  to  all  ambition  ;  and  in  these  dis- 
astrous times,  wherein  nothing  but  trouble  and  odium  is  to  be 
gathered  by  public  employment,  these  commissions  are  ac- 
counted munera  necessaria,  ....  This  form  of  government 
has,  by  God's  favour,  protected  Holland  and  Zeeland,  during 
this  war,  against  a  powerful  foe,  without  loss  of  territory, 
without  any  popular  outbreak,  without  military  mutiny,  be- 
cause all  huamess  Juzs  been  transacted  with  open  doors  ;  and 
because  the  very  smallest  towns  are  all  represented,  and  vote 
in  the  assembly."  ^ 

In  brief,  the  constitution  of  the  United  Provinces  was  a 
matter  of  fact.  It  was  there  in  good  working  order,  and  had, 
for  a  generation  of  mankind,  and  throughout  a  tremendous 
war,  done  good  service.  Judged  by  the  principles  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  in  the  world.  It  seemed  more 
hopeful  to  abide  by  it  yet  a  little  longer  than  to  adopt  the 
throat-cutting  system  by  the  people,  recommended  by  Wilkes 
and  Leicester  as  an  improvement  on  the  old  constitution. 
This  was  the  view  of  Lord  Buckhurst.  He  felt  that  threats 
of  ihroat-cutting  were  not  the  best  means,  of  smoothing  and 
conciliating,  and  he  had  come  over  to  smooth  and  conciliate; 
"  To  spend  the  time,"  said  he,  "  in  private  brabbles  and  piques 
between  the  States  and  Lord  Leicester,  when  we  ought  to 
prepare  an  army  against  the  enemy,  and  to  repair  the  shaken 

■  Bor,  Metercn,  Kluit,  vbi  sup,  * 


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230  THE  UKlTJfiD  NBTHERLAKDa  Chap.  XV. 

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  En^and 
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  gov^timient,  arid  so  to  bring  all  into  confrision,  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  intolerable 
errors^  I  thank  God  that  neither  his  might  nor  his  nialice 
shall  deter  me  from  laying  open  all  those  things  which  my 
conscience  knoweth,  and  which  appertaineth  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  intentions  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  EarVs  agents  were 
revealed  to  him,  he  felt  more  and  more  convinced  that  there 
was  a  deep  laid  scheme  to  destroy  the  government,  and  to 
constitute  a  virtual  and  absolute  sovereignty  for  Leicester. 
It  was  not  wonderful  that  the  States  were  standing  vigorously 
on  the  defensive. 

'  Backborst  to  Walsingham,  13th  Jane^  1587.  (Brit.  Mtis.  Gfilba,  D.  L 
p.  95,M&)  'Ibid. 


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158T.  DBVENTBE'S  BAD  COUNSBLS  TO  LBIOBSTEB.  231 

The  subtle  Deventer^  Leicester's  evil  genius,  did  not  cea6e 
to  poison  the  mind  of  the  goyemor,  during  his  protracted 
absence,  against  all  persons  who  offered  impediments  to  the 
cherished  schemes  of  his  master  and  himsel£  ^^Tour  Ex- 
cellency knows  very  well/'  he  said,  "  that  the  state  of  this 
country  is  democratic,  since,  by  failure  of  a  prince,  the 
sovereign  disposition  of  affurs  has  returned  to  the  people. 
That  same  people  is  everywhere  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  remember  the  fine  fear  the  Stat^-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  in  lively  colours  the 
abject  condition  into  which  Bameveld,  Maurice,  Hohenlo, 
and  similar  cowards,  would  be  thrown  by  his  sudden  return. 

"  If,"  said  he,  "  the  States'  members  and  the  counts,  every 
one  of  them,  are  so  desperately  afiraid  of  the  people,  even 
while  your  Excellency  is  afar  off,  in  what  trepidation  will 
they  be  when  you  are  here  !  God,  reason,  the  affection  of  the 
sovereign  people,  are  on  your  side.  There  needs,  in  a  little 
commonwealth  like  ours,  but  a  wink  of  the  eye,  the  slightest 
indication  of  dissatisfaction  on  your  part,  to  take  away  all  their 
valour  from  men  who  are  only  brave  where  swords  are  too 
short  A  magnanimous  prince  like  yourself  should  seek  at 
once  the  place  where  such  plots  are  hatching,  and  you  would 

^G.  de  Proninck  (Deventer)  an  Comte  de  Levoestre^  22  Mat,  1581 
(Brit  Mus.  Galba,  D.  L  p.  16,  MS.)     . 


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232 


THE  UNITED  NETHEBLANDa 


Chap.  XV. 


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  o£  your  return,  my  Lord, 
would  think  only  of  packing  his  portmanteau,  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  ^n- 
perors  and  captains,  Hebrew,  Greek,  and  Bom^i,  to  come  at 
once  to  the  scene  of  action,  and  to  smite  his  enemies  hip  imd 
thigh.  He  also  informed  hi^  Excellency,  that  if  the  dfelay 
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  throe  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  CsBsar. 

To  place  its  neck  under  the  yoke  of  Philip  II.  and  the  In- 
quisition, after  having  so  handsomely  got  rid  of  both,  did  not 


'  "  Tel  bravera  es  Pays  Bas  oontre  le 
plus  grand  et  qnalifi^  prince  d'Angle- 
terrei  lequel  if  d'asseure  ne  revoir 
jamais  parde^a^  qui  anx  dernieres  nou- 
velles  de  votre  retour,  Monseigneur, 
ne  penaoit  qa'i  tronsser  bagage  et 
fitire  graisser  sea  bottea,  ou  du  moins 
se  desrober  en  sa  taniere,"  fto.  {Qt,  de 
Proninck,  MS.  last  cited.) 

*  "  Mais  nn  prince  si  ires  magna- 
nime,  ne  fera  jamais  oe  tort  ny  a  soy 


meeme,  ni  au  bon  peuple  belgiquBL 
Pomt  a  soy  mesme,  comme  B*il  ayait 
ced^  a  la  bravade  des  pouceux,  dont 
toate  sa  posterity  et  histoireset  mo- 
moires  du  temps  a  venir  portera  Tigno- 
minie.  Point  au  peuple^  lequel,  oomme 
souverain,  ne  doit  recevoir  le  tort  de 
cette  injure,  puisque  ne  luy  que  Pin- 
formation  de  vostre  mescontentement 
pour  se  des&ire  en  un  coup  de  cest 
obstacle^"  Ac.    (Ibid.) 


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1587. 


IHEIB  FBBNIGIOUS  EFFECT, 


233 


seem  a  suUime  manifestation  of  soyereignty  on  the  part  of  the 
people,  and  even  Deventer  had  some  misgivings  as  to  the 
propriety  of  such  a  result.  "  What  then  -vnll  become  of  our 
heautifid  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  fortunatdy  not  entirely  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  inces- 
santfy  in  the  ears  of  the  governor-general  Was  it  strange 
that  a  man,  so  thirsty  for  power,  so  gluttonous  of  flattery, 
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  im- 
patient of  all  restraint,  and  determined,  on  his  return,  to  crush 
the  States  into  insignificance. 

Thus,  while  Buckhurst  had  been  doing  his  best  as  a  me- 
diator to  prepare  the  path  for  his  return,  Leicester  himself 
and  his  partisans  had  been  secretly  exerting  themselves  to 
make  his  arrival  the  signal  for  discord,  perhaps  of  civil  war. 
The  calm,  then,  immediately  succeeding  the  mission  of  Buck- 
hurst, was  a  deceitful  one ;  but  it  seemed  very  promising. 
The  best  feelings  were  avowed  and  perhaps  entertained.     The 


*  "H  plaira  a  V.  Exc*  de  nous 
vecHT  incontinent  Espagnol,  on  de  nous 
en  oonserver  par  rempeschement  de 
oe  desseing.  .  .  .  Car  il  ne  pent  tomber 
en  ancune  imagination  raisonnable,  en 
cas  que  ce  desseing  ne  se  renverse 
toot  Bubit,  que  iaute  d'autorit^  jointe, 
un  desespoir  extreme  ne  nous  rende 
ik  TEspagnol  devant  Tissue  de  trois 
Que    sera    oe   alors    de   nos 


pauvres  delaisaez?  Que  deviendront 
ces  belles  eglises,  que  dira  le  monde, 
que  diront  les  prinoes,  que  diront  les 
historiens,  de  Thonneur  de  la  nation 
Anglfuse?  Le  desespoir  enrag^  du 
peufde  choisira  plutot  quel  paHl  que 
ce  soit  avec  I'E^Mignol,  qud  d'endurer 
ceux  qui  leur  auront  renvers^  le  retour 
de  Votre  Excellence,"  Ac.  (G.  de  Plo- 
nindc,  MS.  just  cited.) 


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234 


THB  UKITED  KETHERLANDa 


Chap.  XT. 


States  professed  great  devotion  to  her  Majesty  and  friendly 
regard  for  the  governor.  They  distinctly  declared  that  the 
arrangements  by  which  Maurice  and  Hohenlo  had  been  placed 
in  their  new  positions  were  purely  provisional  ones,  subject  to 
modifications  on  tho  arrival  of  the  EarL^  ^^All  things  are 
reduced  to  a  quiet  calm/'  said  Quckhurst,  "  ready  to  receive 
my  Lord  of  Leicester  and  his  authority,  whenever  he  cometh."^ 

Tho  quarrel  of  Hohenlo  with  Sir  Edward  Norris  had  been, 
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  action,  I  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  tho 
assertion  seemed  so  important,  that  Yilliers  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  abhorred,  was  appalled  by  such  a  charge. 


*  Wilkes  to  Walaingham,  8  April, 
1687.  Same  to  same,  13  and  19  April, 
1587.  Clerk  to  Buighley,  12  April, 
1587.    ^  P.  Office  MS&) 

'  Boddiorst  to  Borgfaley,  19  April, 
1687.    (a  P.  Office  Mah 

*  Wilkes  to  Walsingfaam,  8  April, 
1687.    (a  P.  Office  MS.) 

4  Memorandnm  of  a  speech  between 
the  Lord  Backhoist  and  Gount  Ho- 
henlo, 17  April,  1687.  (Br.  Mus. 
Galba»  xL  345,  Ha) 

*  Otheman    to   Walaingham,    23rd 


March,  1587.    ^P.  Office  Ma) 

*  Wilkes  to  Walaingham,  29  April, 
1587.    (a  P.  Office  Ma) 

**HobenIo  is  their  Hercoles,'*  said 
Wilkes,  "and  a  man  fit  for  any  des- 
perate attempt)  altogether  directed 
bj  Bameveld  and  Paul  Buys,  who 
seeks  (tiz.  P.  B.)  by  all  manner  of 
devices  to  be  revenged  of  Lord  Lei- 
cester ibr  his  imprisonment"  Wilkes 
to  the  Queen,  12  July,  1687.  (a  P. 
Office  Ma) 


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1687.         BEAL  AND  SUPPOSBD  PLOTS  AGAINST  HOHENLO. 


235 


It  was  best  to  keep  it  a  secret^  he  said,  at  least  till  the  matter 
could  be  thoroughly  investigated.  .  Yilliers  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  paroxjrsm  of  royal  indignation  at  this 
new  insult  to  her  fevourite,  sent  furious  letters  to  her  envoys, 
to  the  States-Gteneral,  to  everybody  in  the  Netherland&--so 
that  the  assertion  of  Hohenlo  became  the  subject  of  endless 
recrimination.  Leicester  became  very  viol^it,  and  denounced 
the  statement  as  an  impudent  falsehood,  devised  wilfully  in 
order  to  cast  odium  upon  him  and  to  prevent  his  return.^ 
Unquestionably  there  was  nothing  in  the  story  but  table-talk ; 
but  the  Count  would  have  been  still  more  ferocious  towards 
Leicester  than  he  was,  had  he  known  what  was  actually  hap- 
pening  at  that  very  moment. 

While  Buckhurst  was  at  Utrecht,  listening  to  the  "  solemn 
speeches"  of  the  militia-captains  and  exchanging  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  despateh  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  soipe  safe  town,  on  pretence  of  con- 
sultation, and  then  to  throw  him  into  jnison,  on  the  ground 
that  he  had  been  tampering  with  the  enemy,  and  was  about 
to  betray  the  republic  to  Philip.^ 

1587.  Wnkes  to  Walsingham,  29th 
April,  1687.  Buckhurst  to  same, 
29  April,  1587.  Same  to  same,  30th 
April,  1587.    (&  P.  Office  MSa} 

The  Queen's  Letter  is  as  follows: 
— "Kndhig  by  a  later  letter  written 
to  our  secretary  by  our  ambassador 
Wilkes,  that  he  hath  been  given  to 
understand  how  HoUock  shodd  have 
some  secret  intelligenoe  with  the 
Prince  of  Parma^  which  being  true, 


^  *  Effect  of  what  passed  between 
Dr.  Yllliere  and  me,  Bartholomew 
Qerk,  touching  the  discontentment 
of  Cknmt  Hohenlo.'  22  May,  1687. 
(a  p.  Office  Ma) 

Wilkes  to  Lord  Ohancellor,  3  June, 
1587.  (a  P. .  Office  Ma)  Ck>mpere 
letters  of  Leksester  to  Sonoy,  and  of 
Buddiurst  to  Treslong,  in  Bor,  II. 
xzH.  992.  Groen  t.  Prinst.  Archiyes 
L  63,  68,  69. 

to   Buckhurst,    15    AprQ, 


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236 


THE  UNITED  NETHBBLAKDS. 


Chap.  XT; 


The  commotion  which  would  have  been  excited  by  any 
attempt  to  enforce  this  order,  could  be  easily  imagined  by 
those  familiar  wiUi  Hohenio  and  with  the  powerful  party  in 
the  Netherlands  of  which  he  was  one  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  foresaw  the  consequences  of  the  proposed  step. 
Wilkes  had  heard  some  rumours  of  intrigues  between  Parma's 
agents  at  Deventer  and  Hohenio,  and  had  confided  them  to 
Walsingham,  hoping  that  the  Secretary  would  keep  the  matter 
in  his  own  breast,  at  least  till  further  advice.  He  was  appalled 
at  the  sudden  action  proposed  on  a  mere  rumour,  which  bolii 
Buckhurst  and  himself  liad  begun  to  consider  an  idle  one. 
He  protested,  therefore,  to  Walsingham  that  to  co;nply  with 
her  Majesty's  command  would  not  only  be  nearly  impossible^ 
but  would,  if  successful,  hazard  the  ruin  of  the  republic. 
Wilkes  was  also  very  anxious  lest  the  Earl  of  Leicester  should 
hear  of  the  matter.  He  was  already  the  object  of  hatred  to 
that  powerful  personage,  and  thought  him  capable  of  accom- 
plishing his  destruction  in  any  mode.  But  if  Leicester  could 
wreak  his  vengeance  upon  his  enemy  Wilkes  by  the  hand  of 
his  other  deadly  enemy  Hohenio,  the  councillor  felt  that  this 
kind  of  revenge  would  have  a  double  sweetness  for  him,  Tho 
Queen  knows  what  I  have  been  saying,  thought  Wilkes,  and 
therefore  Leicester  knows  it ;  and  if  Leicester  knows  it,  he 
will  take  care  that  Hohenio  shall  hear  of  it  too,  and  then  wo 


oonsidermg  how  the  said.Hollock  is 
possessed  of  divers  principal  towns,  in 
the  which  the  captains '  and  soldiers 
are  altogether  at  his  devotion,  it  is 
greaUj  to  be  doubted  that  he  may  be 
drawn  by  oormption^  to  deliver  Mp 
into  the  Prince  of  Parma*s  hdnds  the 
said  towns,  whereby  the  enemy  may 
have  the  more  easy  entiy  into  those 
ooontries.  We  have  therefore  thought 
good,  for  prevention  thereof  that  you 
should  confer  with  our  servants  Co- 
lonel Norris  and  Wilkes  what  course 
were  meet  to  be  taken  therein, 
which,  as  we  perceive,  may  be  best 
performed  by  staying  of  the  person 
of  HoUock ;  wherein,  befisre  the  execu- 


tion thereof  Especial  care  woidd  be 
had  that  he  might  be  drawn,  under 
colour  of  conference  with  you  about 
matters  of  great  importance  contained 
in  certain  letters  sent  from  us  unto 
you  in  great  diligence,  into  BotOb  of 
the  towns  which  you  shall  understand 
to  be  devoted  to  us,  and  not  affected 
to  him^  .idierein  you  may  take  order 
for  his  restraint,  being  first  well  fur- 
nished with  sufficient  matter  to  charge 
him  withal,  which  we  wish  to  be  done 
in  the  presence  of  such  principal  per- 
sons of  the  countiy  as  are  held  for 
good  patriots  and  have  credit  with  tbo 
'  peo0e." 


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1587,  MUTUAL  SUSPICION   AKD  DISTRUST.  237 

be  Tinto  me.  "  Your  honour  knoweth/'  he  said  to  Walsing- 
ham,  ^*  that  her  Majesty  can  hold  no  secrets,  and  if  she  do 
impart  it  to  Leicester,  then  am  I  sped.*'  ^ 

Nothing  came  of  it  however,  and  the  relations  of  Wilkes 
and  Bnckhnrst  with  Hohenlo  continued  to  be  friendly.  It 
was  a  lesson  to  Wilkes  to  be  more  cautious  even  with  the 
cautious  Walsingham.  ^^  We  had  but  bare  suspicions/'  said 
Bm^UTst,  "nothing  fit,  God  knoweth,  to  come  to  such  a 
reckoning.  Wilkes  saith  he  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 
presumptions."  ^ 

Here  then  wei^  Deventer  and  Leicester  plotting  to  overthrow 
the  government  of  the  States  ;  the  States  and  Hohenlo  arm- 
ing against  Leicester  ;  the  extreme  democratic  party  threaten- 
ing 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  ;  Councillor  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  Majesty  in  vain  to 
send  over  money  to  help  on  the  war,  and  to  save  her  soldiers 
firom  starving. 

For  the  Queen  continued  to  refuse  the  loan  of  fifty  thou- 
sand pounds  which  the  provinces  solicited,  and  in  hope  of 
which  the  States  had  just  agreed  to  an  extra  contribution  of  a 
mOlion  florins  (100,0002.),  a  larger  sum  than  had  been  levied 
by  a  single  vote  since  the  commencement  of  the  war.  It 
must  be  remembered,  too,  that  the  whole  expense  of  the  war 
fell  upon  Holland  and  Zeeland.  The  Province  of  Utrecht, 
where  there  was  so  strong  a  disposition  to  confer  absolute 
authority  upon  Leicester,  and  to  destroy  the  power  of  the 
StatechGkneral,  contributed  absolutely  nothing.  Since  the 
loss  of  Deventer,  nothing  could  be  raised  in  the  Provinces  of 

^  Wilkes  to  Walsingham,  29  April,  I  *  Bnckhnrst  to  Wilkes,  29  April, 
1587.  I  lia  already  cited. 


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238 


THE  UNITED  NETHERLANDS. 


Chap.  XV. 


Utrecht,  Grelderland,  or  Overyssel;  the  Spaniards  levying 
black  mail  upon  the  whole  territory,  and  impoverishing  the 
inhabitants  till  they  became  almost  a  nullity.^  Was  it  strange 
then  that  the  States  of  Holland  and  Zeeland,  thus  bearing 
nearly  the  whole  burden  of  the  war,  should  be  dissatisfied 
with  the  hatred  felt  toward  them  by  their  sister  Provinces 
so  generously  protected  by  them?  Was  it  unnatural  that 
Bameveld,  and  Maurice,  and  Hohenlo,  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  50,000Z.,  although  Holland  and 
Zeeland  had  voted  the  100,000^.  "No  reason  that  breedeth 
charges,"  sighed  Walsingham,  "can  in  any  sdrt  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  coflFers,"  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  your  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  States  for  the  loan  of  the  50,00(X., 
and  that  speedily,  for  the  dangerous  terms  of  the  State  here 
and  the  mighty  and  forward  preparation  of  the  enemy  admit 
no  minute  of  delay,  so  that  even  to  grant  it  slowly  is  to  deny 
it  utterly."  * 


>  Wnkes  to  Walsingham,  15   May, 
1687.    (S.  P.  Office  Ma) 
'  WalsiDgbam   to  Wnkes^   2    Maj, 


1687.    (B.  P.  Office  Ma) 

*  Bacuchurst  to  the  QneeD,  19  April, 
1687.    (a  P.  Office  Ma)  «  Ibi<L 


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1587.         BUCKHUBST  SEEKS  TO  RESTORE  GOOD  FEELING.  239 

He  then  drew  a  vivid  picture  of  the  capacity  of  the  Nether- 
lands to  assist  the  endangered  realm  of  England,  if  delay  were 
not  suffered  to  destroy  both  commonwealths,  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 
ihem,  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  with  the  deep,  enrooted  malice 
of  that  your  so  mighty  enemy  who  seeketh  to  r^ain  them ; 
these  things  entering  continually  into  the  meditations  of  my 
heart — so  much  do  they  import  the  safety  of  yourself  and 
your  estate— do  enforce  me,  in  the  abundance  of  my  love  and 
duty  to  your  Majesty,  most  earnestly  to  speaky  writeyand  weep 
unto  yoUy  lest  when  the  occasion  yet  offered  shall  be  gone  by, 
this  blessed  means  of  your  defence,  by  God's  provident  good- 
ness thus  put  into  your  hand,  will  then  be  utterly  lost,  lo, 
never,  never  more  to  be  recovered  again/'  ^ 

It  was  a  noble,  wise,  and  eloquent  appeal,  but  it  was 
uttered  in  vain.  Was  not  Leicester — ^his  soul  filled  with 
petty  schemes  for  reigning  in  Utrecht,  and  destroying  the 
constitutional  government  of  the  Provinces — ^in  full  posses- 
sion of  the  royal  ear  ?  And  was  not  the  same  ear  lent,  at 
that  most  critical  moment,  to  the  insidious  Alexander  Far- 
nese,  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 
Netherlands  ;  six  months  long,  the  Provinces,  left  in  a  condi- 
tion which  might  have  become  anarchy,  had  been  saved  by 
the  wise  government  of  the  States-General ;  six  months  long 
the  English  soldiers  bad  remained  unpaid  by  their  sovereign ; 
and  now  for  six  weeks  the  honest,  eloquent,  intrepid,  but 
gentle  Buckhurst  had  done  his  best  to  conciliate  all  parties, 
and  to  mould  the  Netherlanders  into  an  impregnable  bulwark 
for  the  realm  of  England.    But  his  efforts  were  treated  with 

^  Buckhurst  to  the  Queen,  MS.  just  cited. 


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24S}  THE  UNITED  NETHEBLANDS.  Chap.  XT. 

scorn  by  the  Queen.  She  was  still  maddened  by  a  sense  of 
the  injuries  done  by  the  States  to  Leicester.  She  was  indig- 
nant that  her  envoy  should  have  accepted  such  lame  apolo- 
gies for  the  4th  of  February  letter ;  that  he  should  have 
received  no  better  atonement  for  their  insolent  infringements 
of  the  Earl's  orders  during  his  absence  ;  that  he  should  have 
excused  their  contemptuous  proceedings  and  that^  in  shorty 
he  should  have  been  willing  to  conciliate  and  foi^give  when  ho 
should  have  stormed  and  railed.  "  You  conceived,  it  seemeth," 
said  her  Majesty,  "  that  a  more  sharper  manner  of  proceeding 
would  have  exasperated  matters  to  the  prejudice  of  tiie  ser- 
vice, and  therefore  you  did  think  it  more  fit  to  wash  the 
wounds  rather  with  water  than  vin^ar,  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  witih  a  people  so 
ingrate  aud  void  of  consideration  as  the  said  Estates  have 
showed  themselves  toward  us,  is  the  ready  way  to  increase 
their  contempt.''  ^ 

The  envoy  might  bo  forgiven  for  believing  that  at  any  rate 
there  wotdd  be  no  lack  of  corrosives  or  vinegar,  so  long  as  the 
royal  tongue  or  pen  could  do  their  office,  as  the  unfortunate 
deputies  had  found  to  their  cost  in  their  late  interviews  at 
Greenwich,  and  as  her  own  envoys  in  the  Netherlands  were 
perpetually  finding  now.*  The  Queen  was  especially  indig- 
nant tiiat  the  Estates  should  defend  the  tone  of  their  letters 
to  the  Earl  on  the  groxmd  that  he  had  written  a  piquant 
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  or  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 

>  Queen  to  Bookharst,  ^  Ubj,  1587.  I  *  Qaeen  to  Bucklraist  (MS.  last 
(Br.  Mua.  Galba»  D.  L  4,  MS.)  dted.) 

*  Leicester  to  Wateiogham.  | 


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1587.  THE  QUBBN  ANGRY  AND  VINDICTIVE.  241 

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. 

She  expressed  unbounded  indignation  with  Hohenlo,  who, 
as  she  was  well  aware,  continued  to  cherish  a  deadly  hatred 
for  Leicester.  Especially  she  was  exasperated,  and  with  rea- 
son, by  the  assertion  the  Count  had  made  concerning  the 
governor's  murderous  designs  upon  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  own 
honour,  to  have  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 
subjects,  and  used  his  service  in  those  countries  in  a  place  of 
that  reputation  he  held  there,  stand  charged  with  so  horrible 
and  xm worthy  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 
HoUock,  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  discourage  him 
from  the  continuance  of  his  service  in  those  countries."  ^ 

And  there  the  Queen  was  undoubtedly  in  the  right.  Ho- 
henlo was  resolved,  if  possible,  to  make  the  Earl's  govern- 
ment of  the  Netherlands  impossible.  There  was  nothing  in 
the  story  however ;  and  all  that  by  the  most  diligent  "  sifting" 
could  ever  be  discovered,  and  all  that  the  Count  could  be 
prevailed  upon  to  confess,  was  an  opinion  expressed  by  him 
that  if  he  had  gone  with  Leicester  to  England,  it  might  per- 
haps have  fared  ill  with  him.'  But  men  were  given  to  loose 
talk  in  those  countries.    There  was  great  freedom  of  tongue 

^  Queen  to  Buckhurst,  MS.  just  cited. 
*  BuckhuiBt  to  Walsiogbam,  I3th  June,  1537.    (Br.  Mus.  Galba.  D.  I.  96,  MS.) 

VOL.  n.— R 


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242  THE  UNITED  NBTHBRLANDS.  Chap.  XT. 

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  nmnber  of  crimes  that  have  been  im- 
puted to  me,"  said  Leicester,  "  would  be  incomplete,  had  this 
calumny  not  been  added  to  all  preceding  ones."  ^  It  is  pos- 
sible that  assassination,  especially  poisoning,  may  have  been 
a  more  conunon-place  affiiir  in  those  days  than  our  own.  At 
any  rate,  it  is  certain  that  accusations  of  such  crimes  were  of 
ordinary  occurrence.  Men  were  apt  to  die  suddenly  if  they 
had  mortal  enemies,  and  people  would  gossip.  At  the  very 
same  moment,  Leicester  was  deliberately  accused  not  only  of 
murderous  intentions  towards  Hohenlo,  but  towards  Thomas 
Wilkes  and  Count  Lewis  William  of  Nassau  likewise.  A 
trumpeter,  arrested  in  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  of  such  a  project,"  said 
the  Spaniard,  "I  would,  on  the  contrary,  have  given  you 
warning.  And  I  give  you  one  now."  He  then  stated,  as  a 
fact  known  to  him  on  unquestionable  authority,  that  the  Earl 
of  Leicester  had  assassins  at  that  moment  in  his  employ  to 
take  the  life  of  Count  Lewis,  adding  that  as  for  the  trum- 
peter, 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-chaige  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 
in  the  manner  stated,  much  less  his  friends.  As  for  yourself, 
may  God  give  me  grace,  in  requital  of  your  knavish  trick,  to 

'  Groen  y.  Prinst  Archives,  I.  63.    Compare  Bor,  n.  Txii.  992. 


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im.  SHE  CBlSrSUBKS  BUOKHUESrS  COURSE.  243 

make  such  a  war  upon  you  as  becomes  an  upright  soldier  and 
a  man  of  honour/'^ 

Thus  there  was  at  least  one  man — ^and  a  most  important 
one — in  the  opposition-party  who  thoroughly  believed  in  the 
honour  of  the  governor-general. 

The  Queen  then  proceeded  to  lecture  Lord  Buckhurst  very 
sevCTcly  for  having  tolerated  an  instant  the  States'  pro- 
position to  her  for  a  loan  of  50,000?.  "The  enemy/'  she 
observed,  "is  quite  unaUe  to  attempt  the  si^  of  any  town."^ 

Buckhurst  was,  however,  instructed,  in  case  the  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  Ihfim  then  understand,  "as  of  himself,  that  if  they  would 
be  satisfied  with  a  loan  of  ten  or  fifteen  ihousand  pounds^  he 
would  do  his  best  endeavour  to  draw  her  Majesty  to  yield 
unto  the  furnishing  of  such  a  sum,  with  assured  hope  to  ob- 
tain  the  same  at  her  hands."  ^ 

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

Thus,  having  expressed  an  affection  for  Leicester  which  no 
one  doubted,  having  once  more  thoroughly  brow-beaten  the 
States,  and  having  soundly  lectured  Buckhurst — ^as  a  requital 
for  his  successful  efforts  to  bring  about  a  more  wholesome 
condition  of  aflfeirs — she  gave  the  envoy  a  parting  stab,  with 
this  postscript ; — "  There  is  small  disproportion,"  she  said 
"betwixt  a  fool  who  useth  not  wit  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.  The 
envoy  had  succeeded  in  reconciling  Hohenlo  with  the  bro- 


'  Letters  of  Yerdogo  and  of  Count  t  *  Queen 
I^wis  William,  in  Bor,  III.  xxiiu  I  last  cited.) 
p.  IL  I       •  Ibid, 


'  Letters  of  Yerdugo  and  of  Count  t       *  Queen  to  Buckhurst,  3  Uaj  (MS. 

*Ibid. 


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244  THE  ITNITED  NETHERLANDa  Chap.  XT. 

thers  NorriS;  and  had  persuaded  Sir  John  to  offer  the  hand 
of  friendship  to  Leicester,  provided  it  were  sure  of  being 
accepted.  Yet  in  this  desire  to  conciliate,  the  Earl  found  re- 
newed cause  for  violence.  "I  would  have  had  more  r^ard 
of  mjr  Lord  of  Buckhurst/'  he  said,  '^  if  the  case  had  been 
between  him  and  Norris,  but  I  must  regard  my  own  reputa- 
tion the  more  that  I  see  others  would  impair  it.  You  have 
deserved  little  thanks  of  me,  if  I  must  .deal  plainly,  who  do 
equal  me  after  this  sort  with  him,  whose  best  place  is  oolonel 
under  me,  and  once  my  servant,  and  preferred  by  me  to  all 
honourable  place  he  had."^  And  thus  were  enterprises  of 
great  moment,  intimately  affecting  the  safety  of  Holland,  of 
England,  of  all  Protestantism,  to  be  suspended  between  tri- 
umph and  ruin,  in  order  that  the  spleen  of  one  individual — 
one  Queen's  favourite — ^might  bo  indulged.  The  contempt  of. 
an  insolent  grandeo  for  a  distinguished  commander — ^himself 
the  son  of  a  Baron,  with  a  mother  the  dear  friend  of  her 
sovereign — ^was  to  endanger  the  existence  of  great  common- 
wealths. Can  the  influence  of  the  individual,  for  good  or 
bad,  upon  the  destinies  of  the  race  be  doubted,  when  the  cha- 
racters 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,"  continued 
Leicester,  "be  made  a  counsellor  with  this  companion,  who 
never  yet  to  this  day  hath  done  so  much  as  take  knowledgp 
of  my  ndslike  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  he  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  admowledge 
his  fault,  and  make  me  any  honest  satisfaction.  This  manner 
of  dealing  would  have  been  no  disparagement  to  his  better. 
And  even  so  I  must  think  that  your  Lordship  doth  me  wrong, 
knowing  what  you  do,  to  make  so  little  difference  between 
John  Norris,  my  man  not  long  since,  and  now  but  my  colonel 

»  Leicester  to  Luckburst,  30  April,  1587.     (3.  P.  Offlc?,  MS.) 


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LEICESTBB»S  WRATH  AT  HOHBNLO'S  CHARGEa 


245 


under  me,  as  though  we  were  equals.  And  I  cannot  but 
more  than  marvel  at  this  your  proceeding,  when  I  remember 
your  promises  of  friendship,  and  your  opinions  reisolutely  set 
down.  .  .  .  You  were  so  determined  before  you  went 
hence,  but  must  have  become  wondeifully  enamoured  of 
those  men's  unknown  virtues  in  a  few  days  of  acquaintance, 
firom  the  alteration  that  is  grown  by  their  own  commenda- 
tions of  themselves.  .You  know  very  well  that  all  the  world 
should  not  make  me  serve  with  John  Norris.  Your  sudden 
change  from  mislike  to  liking  has,  by  consequence,  presently 
cast  disgrace  upon  me.  But  all  is  not  gold  that  glitters,  nor 
every  shadow  a  perfect  representation.  .  .  .  You  knew 
he  shotdd  not  serve  with  me,  but  either  you  thought  me  a 
very  inconstant  man,  or  else  a  very  simple  soul,  riesolving 
with  you  as  I  did,  for  you  to  take  the  course  you  have  done."^ 
He  felt,  however,  quite  strong  in  her  Majesty's  favour.  He 
knew  himself  her  favourite,  beyond  all  chance  or  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  the  wrath  to  come!  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  fprgetas  ready 
to  revenge,"*  said  poor  Wilkes,  with  neat  alliteration.  "My 
very  heavy  and  mighty  adversary  will  disgrace  and  undo 
me."* 

"It  sufficeth,"  continued  Leicester,  "that  her  Majesty 
doth  find  my  dealings  well  enough,  and  so,  I  trust  will  gra- 
ciously use  me.  As  for  the  reconciliations  and  love-days  you 
have  made  there,  truly  I  have  liked  well  of  it ;  for  you  did 
8h6\^  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 


*  Leicester  to  Buckhurst  The 
letter  is  from  Croydon,  and*  pathe^ 
cafly  signed,  "Your  poor  friend,  R. 
Leyoester." 


»  Wilkes  to  Walsingbam,  13  April, 
1587.    (S.  P.  Office,  MS,)  , 

9  Same '  to  the  XiOrd  Chanoelloi^ 
3rd  June^  1687.    (S.  P.  Office,  MS:) 


I 


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246  "^^^^  UNITBD  NETHRRTiANDa  Chap.  XV. 

towards  me,  which  you  forbear  to  write  of,  looking  so  speedily 
for  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  pretense 
that  I  should  kill  Hohenlo,"  cried  Leicester,  "is  a  matter 
properly  foisted  in  to  bring  me  to  choler.  I  will  not  sufier  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  devioe. 
Count  Hohenlo  doth  know  I  never  gave  him  cause  to  fear  mo 
so  much.  There  w^ro  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  for  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  of  so 
vile  and  villainous  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  disheartened, .  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 

«  Leioester  to  Buckhurst,  30  April    (MS.  already  cited.)  •  Ibid. 


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1687. 


OF  A  PLOT  BY  THB  BABL  TO  KUBDSB  HDL 


247 


into  some  desperate  cause.  In  the  meantime  I  am  hardly 
thought  of  by  her  Majesty^  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  &vour 
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  requited  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,  persuading  them  that  they  ought  to  be  satisfied 
with  the  principles  of  the  pacification  of  Ghent,  and  that  it 
was  hopeless  for  the  Provinces  to  continue  the  war  with  their 
mighty  advCTsary  any  longer." 

Most  reluctantly  had  Buckhurst  fulfilled  his  sovereign's 

»  Bockhtirst  to  Boighley,  27  May, 
1587.    (a  P.  Officje,  Ma) 

*  "  Whereas  we  have  late  used  your 
service  ia  aa  intended  treaty  of  peace 
betwixt  the  Sling  of  Spain  and  us, 
dealt  in  by  the  Duke  of  Parma  .... 
we  send  you  copies  of  such  letters  as 
have  lately  been  written  to  ouiaelf  by 
the  Duke,  and  by  Champagny  to  the 
Contrc^er.  .  .  .  We  have  taken  order 
that  the  Duke  shall  be  put  in  mind 
of  the  treaty  of  Ghent,  anno  '76,  .  .  . 
whk^  being  afterwards  approved  by 
the  King,  was  published  in  1577,  .  .  . 
baring  just  cause  to  hope  that,  if  the 
King  be  willing  to  embrace  peace, 
and  the  Duke  to  fhrther  the  same,  as 
he  pretendeth,  he  may  be  induced  to 
assent  to  such  a  tolerance  as  in  the 
Bs^  padficatioQ  is  contained.  Now 
it  resteth  that  you  should  seek  to 
frame  the  minds  of  the  people  of 
those  coontries  to  such  good  means  as 
by  you  shall  be  thought  expedient  to 
content  themselves  with  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  aa  you  shall  loam  to  be  good 


patriots,  ....  laying  before  them 
how  impossible  it  is  fbr  them  by  means 
of  their  contributions,  with  the  bmrden 
whereof  the  people  do  already  find 
themselves  so  much  grieved  to  con- 
tinue 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  sup- 
ply them  still  with  such  relief,  as  the 
necessity  of  their  state  shall  require. 
....  You  may  advise  them  to  dis- 
pose both  their  own  minds  and  those 
of  the  people  to  a  sound  peac6^  which, 
in  your  opinion,  they  cannot  at  any 
time  treat  of  with  greater  advantage 
than  at  this  present,  the  King  of 
Spain  being  at  so  low  an  M  both  at 
home  and  in  these  countries,  for  want 
aa  well  of  victuals  as  of  other  neces- 
sary things  to  continue  the  war&  .  .  . 
And  if  you  shall  find  that  the  using 
of  these  reasons  and  persuasions  in 
our  name  may  fhrther  the  cause  by 
moving  them  rather  to  hearicen  unto 
peace^  we  leave  it  to  yourself  to  use, 
in  such  case,  your  own  discretion 
therein,'*  &a  Queen  to  Buckhurst, 
May,  1587.    (a  P.  Office  Ma) 


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248  '^^^^  UNITED  NETHERLANDS.  Chap.  XT. 

commands  in  this  disastrous  course.  To  talk  to  thcs  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  great  achievements  of  William  the 
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  Provinces, — the  whole  republic  shotQd  return  to  the 
Spanish  dominion,  and  to  such  toleration  as  might  be  sanc- 
tioned by  an  assembly  professing  loyalty  to  the  most  Catholic 
King? 

Buckhurst  had  repeatedly  warned  the  Queen,  in  fervid  and 
eloquent  language,  as  to  the  intentions  of  Spain.  ^^  There 
was  never  peace  well  made,"  he  observed,  "without  a  mighty 
war  preceding,  and  always,  the  sword  in  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  certainly  to  believe 
it.  The  Pope  doth  daily  plot  nothing  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 
pretended  cause  I  think  little  will  ensue,  yet  he  is  blind  that 
seeth  not  the  mortal  dislike  that  boileth  deep  in  his  heart  for 
other  respects  against  you.  The  Scottish  King,  not  only  in 
regard  of  his  future  hope,  but  also  by  reason  of  some  over 
conceit  in  his  heart,  may  be  thought  a  dangerous  neighbour  to 
you.  The  King  of  Spain  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  I  marvellously  fear ;  why  will  not  yom* 
Majesty,  beholding  the  flames  of  your  enemies  on  every  side 
kindling  around,  unlock  all  your  coffers  and  convert  your 


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1587.      BUCKHUBSrS  ELOQUEKT  APPEALS  TO  THE  QUEEN.       249 

trecaurefoT  the  advancing  of  worthy  meriy  and  for  the  arming  of 
ships  and  men'of'tvar  that  may  de/erui  you^  since  princes* 
treasures  serve  only  to  that  end,  and,  lie  they  never  so  fast  or  so 
full  in  their  chests y  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  do  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  realm  of  England,  whose  desola- 
tion is  thus  sought  and  compassed/'^ 

Was  this  the  language  of  a  mischievous  intriguer,  who  was 
sacrificing  the  true  interest  of  his  country,  and  whose  pro- 
ceedings 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,  who  had  looked  through  the  atmosphere  of 
falsehood  in  which  he  was  doing  his  work,  and  who  had  de- 
tected, with  rare  sagacity,  the  secret  purposes  of  those  who 
were  then  misruling  the  world  ? 

Buckhurst  had  no  choice,  however,  but  to  obey.  His 
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. 

But  Elizabeth,  seeing  that  her  counsel  had  been  unwise 
and  her  action  premature,  turned  upon  her  envoy,  as  she  was 
apt  to  do,  and  rebuked  him  for  his  obedience,  so  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  the  matter 

of  peace we  find  it  strange  that  you  should  proceed 

further.  And  although  we  had  given  you  full  and  ample 
direction  to  proceed  to  a  public  dealing  in  that  cause,  yet 
your  own  discretion,  seeing  the  difficulties  and  dangers  that 
you  yourself  saw  in  the  propounding  of  the  matter,  ought  to 
have  led  you  to  delay  till  further  command  from  us." '' 

'  Bodchont  to  the  Queen,  30  April, 
1587.  (Br.  Mu8.  Gall^  C.  xi.  p.  438, 
MS.) 


'2 


*  Qaeen   to    Buckborst^    4     Jone^ 
1687.    (aP.  Office  MS.) 


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250  THE  UNITED  NETHBRLANDa  Chap.  XV. 

Her  Majesty  then  instructed  her  envoy,  in  case  he  bad  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  post- 
cript  in  her  own  hand. 

"Oh  weigh  deepUer  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  cotdd  have  propounded  no  more 
puzzling  riddles  than  those  which  Elizabeth  thus  suggested  to 
Buckhurst.  To  make  war  without  an  army,  to  support  an 
army  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  "  cor- 
rosives," to  do  all  this  and  more  seemed  difficult.  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  lost. 

But  the  ambassador  was  no  (Edipus — although  a  man  of 
delicate  perceptions  and  brilliant  intellect — and  he  turned 
imploringly  to  a  wiso  counsellor  for  aid  against  the  tormentor 
who  chose  to  be  so  stony-faced  and  enigmatical. 

"  Touching  the  matter  of  p^ace,"  said  he  to  Walsingham, 
"  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  m^y  pray  mCy  and  persuade  me  to 
further  and  hasten  the  same  with  all  the  speed  possible  thai 
might  6e,  and  hoWy  on  the  other  sidcy  I  have  continually  been  the 
man  and  the  mean  that  have  most  plainly  dehorted  her  from 
such  post-haMCy  and  that  she  should  never  make  good  peace 
without  a  puissant  army  in  the  field,  you  would  then  say  that 

'  Queen  to  Buckhurst,  MS.  just  cited. 


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158Y.        HER  PERPLKXINO  AND  CONTBADIOTORY  ORDERa         251 

I  had  now  cause  to  fear  her  displeasure  for  being  too  slow,  and 
not  too  forward.  And  as  for  all  the  reasons  which  in  my  last 
letters  are  set  down,  her  Majesty  hath  debated  them  with  me 
many  times/'  \ 

And  thus  midsummer  was  fast  approaching,  the  common- 
wealth was  without  a  regular  government,  Leicester  remained 
in  England  nursing  his  wrath  and  preparing  his  schemes,  the 
Queen  was  at  Greenwich,  corresponding  with  Alexander 
Famese,  and  sending  riddles  to  Buckhurst,  when  the  enemy 
— ^who,  according  to  her  Majesty,  was  "  quite  unable  to  attempt 
the  siege  of  any  town" — suddenly  appeared  in  force  in 
Flanders,  and  invested  Bluys.  This  most  important  seaport, 
both  for  the  destiny  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  besi^ed,  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  supremo  government  in 
civil  afiairs,  for  the  same  period,  and  to  repeal  all  limitations 
and  restrictions  upon  the  powers  of  the  council  made  secretly 
by  the  EarL 

Chancellor  Leoninus,  "  that  grave,  wise  old  man,"  moved 
the  propo^itions.  The  deputies  of  the  States  were  requested 
to  withdraw.  The  vote  of  each  councillor  was  demanded. 
Buckhurst,  who,  as  the  Queen's  representative — together 
with  Wilkes  and  John  Norris — ^had  a  seat  in  the  council, 
refused  to  vote.  "  It  was  a  matter,"  he  discreetly  observed, 
"  with  which  he  had  not  been  instructed  by  her  Majesty  to 

>Backhurst  to  WalsiDgham,  13  June,  1687.    (Br.  Mua.  Galbo,  D.  I.  96.    MS.) 


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252  THE  UNITED  NETHERLANDa  Chap.  XV. 

intermeddle/'  Norris  and  Wilkes  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 
then  carried.^ 

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

The  council  adjourned  till  after  dinner,  and  Buckhiust  held 
conference  meantime  with  various  counsellors  and  deputies. 
On  the  reassembling  of  the  board,  it  was  urged  by  Bameveld, 
in  the  name  of  the  States,  that  the  election  of  Prince  Maurice 
should  still  hold  good.  "  Although  by  these  letters,"  said  he, 
"  it  would  seem  that  her  Majesty  had  resolved  upon  the  speedy 
return  of  his  Excellency,  yet,  inasmuch  as  the  counsels  and 
resolutions  of  princes  are  often  subject  to  change  upon  new 
occasion,  it  does  not  seem  fit  that  our  late  purpose  concerning 
Prince  Maurice  should  receive  any  interruption." 

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

"  So  now,"  said  Wilkes,  "  Maurice  is  general  of  all  the 
forces,  et  quid  sequetur  nescimua"^ 

But  whatever  else  was  to  follow,  it  was  very  certain  that 
Wilkes  would  not  stay.  His  great  enemy  had  sworn  his  de- 
struction, and  would  now  take  his  choice,  whether  to  do  hirp 
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 

'  Wilkes  to  Walaingham,  8  Jane,  I  <  Wilkes  to  Walsinghain,  23  April, 
1687.     (a  P.  Office,  MS.)  1587.    (&  P.  Office,  M&) 

«Ibid,  'Ibid. 


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i 


1587. 


BESPAIE  OP  WILKES. 


253 


without  permission,  should  he  not  immediately  receive  it  from 
England.  ^^  I  shall  stay  to  he  dandled  with  no  love-days  nor 
leave-takings/'  he  observed.^ 


*  WHkes  to  Walsingham,  8  Jane, 
1587.    (a  P.  Office,  MS.) 

From  the  very  moment  of  Leicester'a 
arriyal  in  England,  be  seems  to  ha^e 
conceived  a  violent  hatred  to  Goun- 
dlkx'  Wilkes.  Yet  a  careful  inspec- 
tion of  the  correspondence  shows  that 
never  was  hatred  more  unjust  Wilkes 
bad  told  the  truth  concerning  the  ex- 
penses incurred  by  England  and  the 
States  daring  the  Earl's  first  term  of 
administration.  Ho  could  not  have 
done  less  without  dereliction  of  duty, 
and  he  forwarded  certified  vonchera 
for  all  his  statements.  Ho  alwajrs 
did  his  best  to  sustain  tho  governor's 
character,  and  to  carry  out  his  legiti- 
mate view&  As  time  wore  on,  ho 
was  obL'ged  to  state  the  disadvantages 
resnlting  from  hia  protracted  absence, 
and  he  was  forced,  at  last,  to  admit 
the  tmth  as  to  lils  great  impopularity. 
H&  oven  admittod  privately,  on  one 
occasion,  that^  in  consequence  of  that 
unpopularity,  somo  other  governor 
might  be  sent  from  England  ^  more 
acceptable  to  tho  Provinces.  This 
was  the  sum  of  his  offences  in  regard 
to  Leicester.  Towards  tho  Queen  he 
manifested  himself  an  intelligent, 
honest,  and  most  assiduous  servant, 
but  he  had  incurred  tho  hostility  of 
the  favourite,  and  for  that  there  was 
no  redress.  Even  so  early  as  January 
he  felt  that  he  had  lost  Leicester's 
fsvoar,  although  he  protested  ho 
"would  repurchase  it  with  the  loss  of 
his  two  best  fingers"  (Wilkes  to  Lei- 
cester, 27  Jan.  1687.  S.  P.  Office, 
MS.);  and  ho  wrote  at  the  same  time 
to  the  Queen,  complaining  that  he 
was  in  danger  of  his  life,  as  recom- 
pense for  his  faithfiil  service—- a  life 
whidi  he  hoped  to  venture  in  better 
sort  for  her  Majesty's  service.  Ho  was 
threatened  at  home,  he  said,  and  en- 
dangered abroad.  Wilkes  to  the  Queen, 
30  Jan.  1687.  (S.  P.  Office,  Ma)  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 
niade     hostile     to     tho     councillor. 


"  TVhcreunto  is  now  added  tho  danger 
of  my  poor  life,"  he  says,  "and  for- 
tune, for  that  I  am  secretly  given  to 
understand,  by  a  dear  friend  of  mine, 
and  inward  with  my  great  and  heavy 
enemy,  that  he  hath  sworn  and  pro- 
tested, 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  tho  mind  of  my 
enemy,  that  he  will  not  bo  satisfied 
with  any  mere  offence  to  be  done 
unto  mo,  which  I  suppose  he  will 
never  do  of  himself  nor  by  any  of  his 
own,  but  a  third  means,  whereunto  ho 
hath  a  gap  opened  unto  him  by  my 
own  letters  written  unto  him  fh>m 
hence,  wherein  I  had  touched  some 
persons  of  quality  here  for  their  in- 
direct proceeding  against  her  Majesty 
and  our  nation  ....  Therefore,  I 
humbly  beseech  you  to  move  her  Ma- 
jesty for  my  speedy  return."  W.  to 
Hatton,  19  April,  1587.  (S,  P.  Office, 
MS.)  In  a  letter  to  Waiangham  of 
same  date  ho  alluded  to  tho  "  deadly 
revenge  threatened  against  him  by 
the  Earl  with  very  bitter  words,"  and 
indicates  tho  samo  schemo  by  which 
third  persons  aro  to  inflict  it.  "I 
would  be  loth  to  commit  m)r8oif  to 
his  mercy,"  ho  says;    "your  honour 

knoweth  him  better  than  I  do 

God  is  my  witness  I  have,  since  his 
departure  from  these  countries,  de- 
served as  well  of  him  as  ever  did  any. 
....  I  will  stand  to  my  justification, 
and  prove  that  I  havo  done  him  with 
her  Majesty  as  many  good  offices  as 
any  man  that  came  from  hence,"  and 
he  iheu.  most  urgently  solicited  pier- 
mission  to  depart.  This  permission 
the  government  were  most  reluctant 
to  grant,  and  Wilkes  protested  loudly 
agcdnst  his  continuance  -  in  office  at 
such  "hazard  to  his  poor  life,  without 
means  of  defence,  in  the  quality  of  his 
ruin  or  death."  "'Tis  a  hard  reward 
for  my  faithful  services,"  ho  said,  "  to  bo 
lef^  to  tho  mercy  of  such  as  have  will 
and  means  by  revenge  to  bereave  her 
M^'esty  of  a  truo  and  obedient  servant, 
and  me  of  my  life,  in  an  obscure  sort, 
to  my  perpetual  inlamy,  to  tho  pleasing 


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254 


THE  UNITED  NETHERLANDS. 


Chap.  XV. 


But  Leicester  had  delayed  his  coming  too  long.  The 
country  felt  that  it  had  been  trifled  with  by  his  absence — at  bo 
critical  a  period— of  seven  months.  It  was  known  too  that  the 
Queen  was  secretly  treating  with  the  enemy,  and  that  Buck- 
hurst  had  been  privately  sounding  leading  personages  upon 
that  subject,  by  her  orders.  This  had  caused  a  deep,  sup- 
pressed indignation.  Over  and  over  again  had  the  English 
government  been  warned  as  to  the  danger  of  delay.  "  Tour 
length  in  resolving,"  Wilkes  liad  said,  "whatsoever  your 
secret  purposes  may  be — will  put  us  to  new  plunges  before 
long."^  The  mission  of  Buckhurst  was  believed  to  bo  "but  a 
stale,  having  some  other  intent  than  was  expressed."  And 
at  last,  the  new  plunge  had  been  fairly  taken.  It  seemed  now 
impossible  for  Leicester  to  regain  the  absolute  authority, 
which  he  coveted,  and  which  he  had  for  a  brief  season  possessed. 
The  States-General,  under  able  leaders,  had  become  used  to 
a  government  which  had  been  forced  upon  them,  and  which 
they  had  wielded  with  success.  Holland  and  Zeeland,  paying 
the  whole  expense  of  the  war,  were  not  likely  to  endure  again 
the  absolute  sovereignty  of  a  foreigner,  guided  by  a  back- 
stairs council  of  reckless  politicians — ^most  of  whom  were  un- 
principled, and  some  of  whom  had  been  proved  to  be  felons — 
and  established  at  Utrecht,  which  contributed  nothing  to  the 


of  mine  cnemieai,  and  the  discomfort- 
ing of  all  honest  men,  by  an  example, 
iVom  serying  of  her  Majesty  with  sin- 
cerity," &C.  W.  to  Walsing.  29th 
AprU,  1687.  (S.  P.  Office  MS.)  And  he 
soon  afterwards  declared  to  Walsingham 
(15  May,  1687.  S.  P.  Office,  MS.) 
that,  in  case  he  should  bo  left  there  to 
the  mercy  of  his  great  enemy,  if  he  re- 
turned, ho  would  venture  *'to  hazard 
her  Majesty's  &vour  in  returning  home 
without  license."  His  alarm  was  no 
greater  for  his  life  than  for  his  repu- 
tation, both-  which,  Leicester,  in  his 
belief;  was  sworn  to  destroy.  "I  do 
find  that  my  very  heavy  and  mighty 
adversary,"  he  writes  to  the  Lord 
Chancellor  (3  June,  1687.  S.  P.  Office, 
MS.),  "doth  perpetually  travail  with 
her  Majesty  to  disgrace  and  undo  me, 
and  I  have  cause  to  doubt  that  he 


doth  or  shall  prevail  against  me,  con- 
sidering the  goodness  of  her  Miyesty 's 
nature  to  be  induced  to  believe  whom 
she  favoureth,  and  his  subtlety  to  peiw 
suada  I  have  therefore  no  mean  in 
respect  of  the  great  inequality  be- 
tween him  and  me,  but  either  to  be 
held  up  by  my  honourable  ftiends, 
assisted  with  the  wings  of  mine  own 
integrity,  or  to  fall  to  3ie  ground  -wiih 
disgrace  and  in&my,  to  tho  dis- 
couragement of  all  that  shall  servo 
her  Majesty  in  like  places." 

Such  passages  paint  the  condition 
of  tho  civil  scrrice  in  England,  daring 
the  reign  of  Leicester  and  Elizabeth, 
more  vividly  than  oould  be  done  by  a 
long  dissertation. 

>  WOkee  to  Walsingham,  17  May, 
1687.    (S.  P.  Office  Ma) 


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1587.  LEICBSTBE  ANNOUNOBS  HIS  RBTUBN.  255 

general  purse.  If  Leicester  were  really  coming,  it  seemed 
certain  that  he  would  be  held  to  acknowledge  the  ancient  con- 
stitution, and  to  respect  tho  sovereignty  of  the  States-Q-eneral. 
It  was  resolved  that  ho  should  be  well  bridled.  The  sensa- 
tions of  Bameveld  and  his.  party  may  therefore  be  imagined, 
when  a  private  letter  of  Leicester  to  his  secretary — "  the 
fellow  named  Junius,"  as  Hohenlo  called  him — having  been 
intercepted  at  this  moment,  gave  them  an  opportunity  of 
studying  the  Earl's  secret  thoughts. 

The  Earl  informed  his  correspondent  that  he  was  on  the 
point  of  starting  for  the  Netherlands.  He  ordered  him 
therefore  to  proceed  at  once  to  reassure  those  whom  he  knew 
well  disposed  as  to  the  good  intentions  of  her  Majesty  and  of 
the  governor-general.  And  if,  on  the  part  of  Lord  Buckhurst 
or  others,  it  should  bo  intimated  that  the  Queen  was  resolved 
to  treat  for  i)eace  with  the  King  of  Spain,  and  wished  to  havo 
the  opinion  of  the  Netherlanders  on  that  subject,  he  was  to  say 
boldly  tItcU  Lord  Buckhurst  never  had  any  such  charge,  and 
that  her  Majesty  had  not  been  treating  at  all.  She  had  only 
been  attempting  to  Bound  the  King's  intentions  towards  the 
Netherlands,  in  case  of  any  accord.  Having  received  no  satis- 
factory assurance  on  the  subject,  her  Majesty  was  determined 
to  poceed  with  the  defence  of  these  countries.  This  appeared 
by  the  expedition  of  Drake  against  Spain,  and  by  the  return 
of  the  Earl,  with  a  good  number  of  soldiers  paid  by  her 
Majesty,  over  and  above  her  ordinary  subsidy.* 

"  You  are  also,"  said  the  Earl,  "  to  tell  those  who  have  the 
care  of  the  people"  (the  ministers  of  the  reformed  church 
and  others),  *^  that  I  am  returning,  in  the  confidence  that  they 
will,  in  future,  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  counter- 
minings  of  the  States,  as  in  times  past.  The  States  must 
content  themselves  with  retaining  the  power  which  they  claim 

^  I«eice8ter    to  Junius,   Qreenwicli,   I  Comparo  Keteren,  xiv.   255.     Hoofd, 
15  June,   1687.      (3.   P.   OflQoe,  MS.)  |  Yervolgb,  249,  ei  muU.  oL 


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256  THE  UNITED  NETHERLANDS.  Chap.  XT. 

to  have  exercised  under  the  governors  of  the  Emperor  and 
the  King — ^without  attempting  anything  farther  during  my 
government — ^since  I  desire  to  do  nothing  of  importance  with- 
out the  advice  of  the  council,  which  will  be  composed  Inti- 
mately of  persons  of  the  country.  You  will  also  tell  them 
that  her  Majesty  commands  me  to  return  unless  I  can  obtain 
from  the  States  the  authority  which  is  necessary,  in  order  not 
to  be  governor  in  appearance  only  and  on  paper.  And  I 
wish  that  those  who  are  good  may  be  apprized  of  all  this,  in 
order  that  nothing  may  happen  to  their  prejudice  and  ruin, 
and  contrary  to  their  wishes."  ^ 

There  were  two  very  obvious  comments  to  be  made  upon 
this  document.  Firstly,  the  States — de  Jurcy  as  they  claimed, 
and  de  facto  most  unquestionably — were  in  the  position  of 
the  Emperor  and  King.  They  were  .the  sovereigns.  The 
Earl  wished  them  to  content  themselves  with  the  power  which 
they  exercised  under  the  Emperor's  governors.  This  was  like 
requesting  the  Emperor,  when  in  the  Netherlands,  to  consider 
himself  subject  to  his  own  governor.  The  second  obvious 
reflection  was  that  the  Earl,  in  limiting  his  authority  by  a 
state-council,  expected,  no  doubt,  to  appoint  that  body  him- 
self—as he  had  done  before — and  to  allow  the  members  only 
the  right  of  talking,  and  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  fiat  contradiction  given  to  Buckhurst's  proceed- 
ings in  the  matter  of  peace,  that  statement  could  scarcely 
deceive  any  one  who  had  seen  her  Majesty's  letters  and  in- 
structions to  her  envoy. 

It  was  also  a  singularly  deceitful  course  to  be  adopted  by 
Leicester  towards  Buckhurst  and  towards  the  Netherlands, 
because  his  own  private  instructions,  drawn  up  at  the  same 
moment,  expressly  enjoined  him  to  do  exactly  what  Buck- 
hurst had  been  doing.  He  was  most  strictly  and  earnestly 
commanded  to  deal  privately  with  all  such  persons  as  had 
influence  with  the  "common  sort  of  people,"  in  order  that 
>  Leioester  to  Jonicia,  ubi  svp. 


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IWT.  HIS  INSTEUCTIONS— LETTEE  TO  JUNIUS.  2CT 

they  should  use  their  influence  with  those  common  people  in 
fayour  of  peace,  bringing  vividly  before  them  the  excessive 
burthens  of  the  war,  tiieir  inability  to  cope  with  so  potent  a 
prince  as  Philip,  and  the  necessity  the  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  Maj^ty  had 
quite  made  up  her  mind  to  accept  the  handsome  ofiTers  of 
peace  held  cut  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  beien- dated  the  same 
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  opposition  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  16  rest 
satisfied  withaV 

With  regard  to  the  nature  of  his  authority,  he  was  in- 
structed to  claim  a  kind  of  dictatorship  in  everything  regard- 
ing the  command  of  the  forces,  and  the  distribution  of  the 
public  treasure.  All  offices  were  to  be  at  his  disposal.  Every 
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  Pro- 
vince, 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  that  the  continuance  of  the  confused 

VOL.  n.— S 


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258 


THE  UNITBD  NETTTKRLANDa 


Chap.  IV. 


government  now  reigning  among  them  could  not  bat  work 
their  ruin,"  * 

Both  these  papers  came  into  Bameveld's  hands,  through 
the  agency  of  Ortel,  the  States'  envoy  ih  England,  before  the 
arrival  of  the  Earl  in  the  Netherlands.' 

Of  course  they  soon  became  the  topics  of  excited  conversa- 
tion and  of  alarm  in  every  part  of  the  country.  Buckhurst^ 
touched  to  the  quick  by  the  reflection  upon  those  pro- 
ceedings of  his  which  had  been  so  explicitly  enjoined  upon 
him,  and  so  reluctantly  undertaken — appealed  earnestly  to 
her  Majesty.  He  reminded  her,  as  delicately  as  possible,  that 
her  honour,  as  well  as  his  own,  was  at  stake  by  Leicester's 
insolent  disavowals  of  her  authorized  ambassador.  He  be- 
sought her  to  remember  '^  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  adjured 
her  with  much  eloquence  to  think  upon  the  consequences  of 
stirring  up  tiie  common  and  unstable  multitude  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  in  every  town,  by  the  means  of  whom  it  seems 
that  his  Lordship  tendeth  his  whole  purpose  to  attain  to  his 
desire  of  the  administration  of  the  sovereignty."  He  assured 
the  Queen  that  this  scheme  of  Leicester  to  seize  virtually 
upon  that  sovereignty,  would  bo  a  disastrous  one*  "The 
States  are  resolved,"  said  he,  "since  your  Majesty  doth  rofose 
the  sovereignty,  to  lay  it  upon  no  creature  else,  as  a  thing 
contrary  to  their  oath  and  all^iance  to  their  country."  He 
reminded  her  also  that  the  States  had  been  dissatisfied  with 
the  Earl's  former  administration,  believing  that  he  had  ex- 


'  Instructions  for  the  Earl  of  Lei- 
cester, 20  June,  1687.  Corrected  by 
Lord  Buigbley  and  Secretary-  Wal- 
singfaam.  (3.  P.  Office  MS.  Compare 
Bor,  IL  xxi  906,  907.) 


•  Bor,  ir.  xxil  906,  907.  "By-  the 
way,"  writes  Leicester  to  Boigliley; 
"  send  away  Ortel ;  he  is  a  bad  fSow." 
Leicester  to  Burghley,  17  Aug.  158T 
(S.  P.  Office  US.) 


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i 


168T.  BABNBVELD  DENOUNCES  HDC  IN  THE  STATES.  259 

ceeded  his  commission,  and  that  they  were  determined  there- 
fore to  limit  his  authority  at  his  return,  "Your  sacred 
Majesty  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  of  such 
a  sovereignty  as  he  requireth,  their  ruin  may  ensue."*  Buck- 
hurst  also  informed  her  that  he  had  despatched  Councillor 
WilkeB  to  England,  in  order  that  he  might  give  more  ample 
bformation  on  all  these  afiairs  by  word  of  mouth  than  could 
well  be  written. 

It  need  hardly  be  stated  that  Barneveld  came  down  to  the 
states'-house  with  these  papers  in  his  hand,  and  thundered 
against  the  delinquent  and  intriguing  governor  till  the  general 
indignation  rose  to  an  alarming  height.  False  statements  of 
course  were  made  to  Leicester  as  to  the  substance  of  the  Advo- 
cate's discourse.  He  was  said  to  have  charged  upon  the  English 
government  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  ha4  found 
all  this  treason  in  the  secret  instructions  of  the  Earl.'  But 
Barneveld  had  read  the  instructions,  to  which  the  attention  of 
the  reader  has  just  been  called,  and  had  strictly  stated  the  truth, 
which  was  damaging  enough,  without  need  of  exaggeration. 


'  BackhuTBt  to  the  Qaeen,  28  June, 
1587.  (Brit  Mas.  Oalba.  0.  xl  p.  61, 
MS.) 

*  Memorial  in  Bai^ghley'B  hand, 
Sept  1587.  EOligrew  and  Beale  to 
the  Locds,  11  Sept.  1587.  Leiceeter 
to  Bm^g;fale7,  17  Aug. .  1587.  Same  to 
same,  11  Sept  1587.  {S,  P.  Office 
MSS.) 

**The9e  petsoaaons  pf.  this,  fellow 
BarneTelt,"  says  the.Eaii.in'  the  lasi- 
dted  letter,  "wrought  great  imprcs- 
tioDS  in  many  men  that  her  Majesty 
had  a  former  resolation  in  herself  to 
make  peace  without  these  oountries, 
SDd  that  my  now  sending  was  only  to 
get  authority  here  with  the  command- 
ment of  places  and  people,  that,  if  these 
men  would  not  Bfcree  to  such  peace  as 
her  Ktgesty  would  appoint,  they  should 
be  compelled  thereto  by  sudi  forces 
08  I  sboQld  have  at  my  disposition; 


alleging  also  that  these  few  supplies 
which  I  brought  was  to  augment  my 
power  the  stronger  ibr  this  only  end. 
These  informations^  assisted  with  the 
report  of  the  copy  of  my  instructk>ns 
and  letters,  for  the  verifying  of  which 
the  party  took  new  oath  that  they  were 
the  true  copies  which-  be  had,  and  . 
moved  him  to  speak  so  plainly,  which 
matters  wei^  very  probable  and  greatly 
persuadable  to  the  common  sort;  yet 
is  the  matter  so  used  as  notwithstand- 
ing all  his  allegations  both  of  instruc* 
tions  and  letters,  all  men  are  satisfied ; 
fuid  I  have  not  denied  but  such  words 
are  in  my  instructions  and  such  a  letter 
written,  and  yet  we  made  all  to  agree 
witi^  an  honourable  and  gracious  in- 
tention in  her  Majesty  towards  them 
dl,"  &Q.  (Compare  Meteren,  ziv.  255 
8eq,  Bor,  II.  xziL  906,  907.  Hoofd, 
Verv.  239.    Wagenaan  viil  223,  224.) 


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260 


THE  CNITBD  NETHERLANOa 


Cup.  SVL 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

Sitoation  of  SIujs — Its  Batch  and  English  Garrison  —  "Williams  writes  finom 
Sluys  to  tho  Queen  ^Jealousy  between  the  Eail  and  States  ^  Schemes  to 
relieve  Slays — Which  are  feeble  and  nnsooeessfUl  —  The  Town  Gapito- 
hites  —  Parma  enters  —  Leicester  enraged  —  The  Queen  angiy  with  the 
Anti-Leicestrians  —  Norris,  Wilkes,  and  Buckhurst  punished  —  Brake  sails 
for  Spain  — His  Exploits  at  Cadiz  and  Lisbon  — He  is  rebuked  by 
Elizabeth. 

When  Dante  had  passed  through  the  thu-d  circle  of  the 
Inferno — a  desert  of  red-hot  sand,  in  which  lay  a  multitude  of 
victims  of  divine  wrath,  additionally  tortured  by  an  ever- 
descending  storm  of  fiery  flakes — ^he  was  led  by  Virgil  out  of 
this  burning  wilderness  along  a  narrow  causeway.  This  path 
was  protected,  he  said,  against  the  showers  of  flame,  by  the 
lines  of  vapour  which  rose  eternally  from  a  boiling  brook. 
Even  by  such  shadowy  bulwarks,  added  the  poet,  do  the 
Flemings  between  Cadzand  and  Bruges  protect  their  land 
against  the  ever-threatening  sea.^ 

It  was  precisely  among  these  slender  dykes  between  Kad- 
zand  and  Bruges  that  Alexander  Famese  had  now  planted  all 
the  troops  that  he  could  muster  in  the  field.  It  was  his  deter- 
mination to  conquer  the  city  of  Sluys ;  for  the  possession  of 
that  important  sea-port  was  necessary  for  him  as  a  basis  for 
.  the  invasion  of  England,  which  now  occupied  all  the  thoughts 
of  his  sovereign  and  himselfl 

Exactly  opposite  the  city  was  the  island  of  Kadzand, 
once  a  fair  and  fertile  territory,  with  a  city  and  many  flou- 
rishing villages  upon  its  surface,  but  at  that  epoch  diminished 


^  Hon  een  porta  1*  an  de*  dnri  marglnl 
K  11  ftuno  del  mtcer  di  sopro  aduraia 
81  oho  dal  Aioco  salva  Y  acqua  e  gr  arglnl 

?aal  1  FlaramiDghl  tn  OvmafUe  o  Bruggia 
emendo  il  Aotto  che  ver  lor  a'  aTventa 
Fanno  11  seherm^  acoioohtS  U  mar  at  fbggia."* 
Jnftmo^  Canto  st. 


Compare  Gdcdardini,  'Bescript 
des  Pays  Bas,'  ed.  1582,  p.  37d. 
Strada,  IL  487.  BentivogUo,  P.  IL 
L.  V.  313. 


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1587.  SITUAHON  OP  SLUTa  261 

to  a  small  dreary  sand-bank  by  the  encroachments  of  the 
ocean. 

A  stream  of  inland  water,  rising  a  few  leagues  to  the  south 
of  Sluys,  divided  itself  into  many  branches  just  before  reach- 
ing 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  ex- 
cellent 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  81uys  as  to  conquer  it.  It  afforded  safe  har- 
bour for  five  hundred  large  vessels  ;  and  its  possession,  there- 
fore, was  extremely  important  for  Parma.  Besides  these 
natural  defences,  the  place  was  also  protected  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 
hoUowed  into  a  vast  system  of  subterranean  magazines,  not 
for  warlike  purposes,  but  for  cellars,  as  Sluys  had  been  from 
a  remote  period  the  great  entrepot  of  foreign  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  between  Alexander  Famese  ancl  Queen 
Elizabeth  were  slowly  proceeding  at  Brussels  and  Green- 
wich, the  Duke,  notwithstanding  the  destitute  condition  of  his 
troops,  and  the  famine  which  prevailed  throughout  the  obe- 
dient Provinces,  liad  succeeded  in  bringing  a  little  army  of 
five  thousand  foot,  and  something  less  than  one  thousand 

>  Anthorities  last  cited,    lieteren,  xiv.  25ivo  255.    Hoofd,  Ycir.  254. 


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262 


THB  UNITED  KETHEBLANDSw 


Chap.  XVX 


horse,  into  the  field.^  A  portion  of  this  force  he  placed  under 
the  command  of  the  veteran  La  Motte.  That  distingaifihed 
campaigner  had  assm^  the  commander-in-chief  that  the 
redaction  of  the  city  woidd  be  an  easy  achievement.'  Alex- 
ander soon  declared  that  the  enterprise  was  the  most  difficult 
one  that  he  had  ever  undertak^.^  Yet^  two  years  before^  he 
had  carried  to  its  triumphant  conclusion  the  famous  si^e  of 
Antwerp.  He  stationed  his  own  division  upon  the  isle  of 
Eadzand,  and  strengthened  his  camp  by  additionally  fortifying 
those  shadowy  bulwarks,  by  which  the  island,  since  the  age  of 
Dante,  had  entrenched  itself  against  the  assaults  of  ocean. 

On  the  other  hand,  La  Motte,  by  the  orders  of  his  chief, 
had  succeeded,  after  a  fiharp  struggle,  in  carrying  the  fort  of 
St  Anne.  A  still  more  important  step  was  the  surprising  of 
Blankenburg,  a  small  fortified  place  on  the  coast,  about  mid- 
way between  Ostend  and  Sluys,  by  whidi  the  sea-communica- 
tions with  the  former  city  for  the  relief  of  the  beleaguered  town 
were  interrupted.* 

Farma's  demonstrations  against  Sluys  had  commenced  in 
the  early  days  of  June.  The  commandant  of  the  place  was 
Arnold  de  Groenevelt,  a  Dutch  noble  of  ancient  lineage  and 
approved  valour.  His  force,  was,  however,  very  meagre, 
hardly  numbering  more  than  eight  hundred,  all  Nether- 
landers,  but  counting  among  its  officers  several  most  distin- 
guished personages — ^Nicholas  de  Maulde,  Adolphus  de  Meet- 


*  Parma  to  Philip  11^  6  Aug.  1587. 
(Arch,  de  Simancas,  MS.) 

This  force  was  subsequentlj  very 
mach  increased.  It  is  impossible,  how- 
ever, to  anive  at  the  exact  numbers. 
Thej  are  not  stated  by  Famese  in  his 
letters  to  the  King,  preserved  in  the 
Arohiros  of  Simancas.  Strads  (IX  489) 
gives  the  numbers  as  stated  in  the  text. 
Roger  Williamsy  however,  in  a  letter 
to  Queen  Elizabeth,  sent  from  Slujs 
at  an  early  period  of  the  siege,  says 
that  the  I)uko  of  Paima  bad  oome 
before  the  town,  a  week  before,  in  per- 
son, with  four  regiments  of  Walloons, 
four  of  Oermans,  fifty-two  companien 
of  Spaniards,  twenty-four  comets  of 
horsey  and  forty-eight  pieces  of  battery, 


and  that  the  next  day  there  arrived 
one  regiment  of  Italics  and  one  of 
Burgundian&  This  would  give  a  total 
of  at  least  17,600  men,  more  than  thrice 
as  many  as  the  historiographer  of  the 
Duke   allows.      E.   Williams  to  the 

9 

Queen,  --  June,   1587.      (Brit.   Mua 

Galba»  D.  I.  p.  40,  Ma) 

•  Parma  to  Philip  it,  G  Aug.  1587. 
(Arc^.  de  Simancas,  MS.) 

'  Ibid.  *^  £n  mio  poco  juicio  la  mas 
difioultosa  y  laboriosa  cosa  que  ho 
visto  e  acometido  en  Flandee." 

«  Strada,  II.  488.  Meteren,  iibi  9tqx 
Bor,  IL  xxii.  984.  Bentivogiio^  Hoofd 
ubi  sup. 


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1587. 


ITS  DUTCH  AND  ENGLISH  GABBISON. 


263 


kerke  and  his  younger  brother,  Captain  Heraugierc,  and  other 
well-known  partisans. 

On  the  tbieatening  of  danger  the  commandant  had  made 
application  to  Sir  William  Bussell,  the  worthy  successor  of 
Sir  Philip  Sidney  in  the  government  of  Flushing.  He  had 
received  from  him,  in  consequence,  a  reinforcement  of  eight 
hundred  English  soldiers,  under  several  eminent  chieftains, 
foremost  among  whom  yreace  the  famous  Welshman  Boger 
Williams,  Captain  Huntley,  Baskerville,  Sir  Francis  Yere, 
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,  be- 
sides 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— conspicuous  in  the  throng,  in 
his  red  mantilla,  and  supported  only  by  one  hundred  English- 
men and  Dutchmen,  under  Captain  Baskerville — 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  entrenching 
themselves.^  On  the  other  hand,  F^nese  declared  that  he 
bad  never  in  his  life  witnessed  anything  so  unflinching  as  the 
courage  of  his  troops;  employed  aa  they  were  in  digging 
trenches  where  the  soil  was  neither  land  nor  water,  exposed 
to  inundation  by  the  suddenly-opened  sluices,  to  a  plunging 
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  obtaining  a 
standing-groimd  for  their  operations — as  steadily  and  sedately 
as  if  engaged  in  purely  pacific  employments.^  The  besieged 
were  inspired  by  a  courage  equally  remarkable.  The  regular 
garrison  was  small  enough,  but  the  buighers  were  courageous. 


t  Stiada,  Meteren,  Bor,  Bendyoglio, 
Hoofd,  vbi  wp.  Boger  WiUiiuma, 
'Diaooorae  of  War/  i^ud  Grimstone, 
'Hist  Ketherlands,  L.  xiil  962. 

'  B.  Williama,  vbi  ettp. 


20  J«l7 

»  Parma  to  PhiUp  II.  -,  1687. 

6  Aug. 

(Arch,  de  Simanoaa,  Ma)    Strada»  XL 
491. 


I 


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264  THE  UNITED  NETHBRLAUDa  Chap.XVX 

and  even  the  women  organized  themselves  into  a  band  of 
pioneers.  This  corps  of  Amazons^  led  by  two  female  captains, 
rejoicitig  in  the  names  of  ^  May  in  the  Heart'  and  ^  Catherine 
the  Eose,'  actually  constructed  an  important  redoubt  between 
the  citadel  and  the  rampart,  which  received,  in  compliment  to 
its  builders,  the  appellation  of  *  Fort  Venus/  ^ 

The  demands  of  the  beleaguered  garrison,  however,  upon 
the  States  and  upon  Leicester  were  most  pressing.  Captain 
Hart  swam  thrice  out  of  the  city  with  letters  to  the  States, 
to  the  governor-general,  and  to  Queen  Elizabeth;  and  the 
same  perilous  feat  was  performed  several  times  by  a  Nether- 
land  officer.^  The  besieged  meant  to  sell  their  lives  dearly, 
but  it  was  obviously  impossible  for  them,  with  so  slender  a 
force,  to  resist  a  very  long  time. 

"Our  ground  is  great  and  our  men  not  so  many,"  wrote 
Roger  Williams  to  his  sovereign,  "but  we  trust  in  God  and 

our  valour  to    defend  it We  mean,  with  God's 

help,  to  make  their  downs  red  and  black,  and  to  let  out  every 
acre  of  our  ground  for  a  thousand  of  their  lives,  besides  our 
own."* 

The  Welshman  was  no  braggart,  and  had  proved  often 
enough  that  he  was  more  given  to  performances  than  pro- 
mises. "  Wo  doubt  not  your  Majesty  will  succour  us,"  he 
said,  "for  our  honest  mind  and  plain  dealing  toward  your 
royal  person  and  dear  country;"  adding,  as  a  bit  of  timely 
advice,  "Eoyal  Majesty,  believe  not  over  much  your  peace- 
makers. Had  they  their  mind,  they  jnll  not  only  undo  your 
friends  abroad,  but,  in  the  end,  your  royal  estate."  * 

Certainly  it  was  from  no  want  of  wholesome  warning  from 
wise  statesmen  and  blunt  soldiers  that  the  Queen  was  ven- 
turing into  that  labyrinth  of  negotiation  which  might  prove  so 
treacherous.  Never  had  been  so  inopportune  a  moment  for 
that  princess  to  listen  to  the  voice  of  him  who  was  charming 
her  so  wisely,  while  he  was  at  the  same  moment  battering 

1  Bor,  m  xxiil  6,  seq,  *  Keteren,  Bor,  It.  Williams,  tdd  sup. 

*  B.  WOliama  to  the  Queen,  -Juno,  1587.    (Brit.  Mua.  Oalba,  D.  L  p.  40,  M&) 

*Ibid. 


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1587.         WILLIAMS  WRITES  FROM  SLUTS  TO  THE  QUEEN.         265 

the  place,  whiclx  was  to  be  the  basis  of  his  operations  against 
her  reahn.  Her  delay  in  sending  forth  Leicester,  with  at 
least  a  moderate  contingent,  to  the  rescue,  was  most  per- 
nicioua  The  States — ignorant  of  the  Queen's  exact  relations 
with  Spain,  and  exaggerating  her  disingenuousness  into  abso- 
lute perfidy — ^became  on  their  own  part  exceedingly  to  blame. 
There  is  no  doubt  whatever  that  both  Hollanders  and  English- 
men were  playing  into  the  hands  of  Parma  as  adroitly  as  if  he 
had  actually  directed  their  movements.  Deep  were  the 
denunciations  of  Leicester  and  his  partisans  by  the  States' 
party,  and  incessant  the  complaints  of  the  English  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 
(Justinus  de  Nassau),  be  too  young  to  govern,  must  Holland 
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  sus- 
picion 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  ?  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  serv- 
ing my  sovereign  and  country,  I  trust  her  Majesty  will  pardon 
me."*  Certainly  the  gallant  adventurer  on  whom  devolved 
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 
niglitly  battle. 

"Yesterday  was  the  fifth  sally  we  made,"  he  observed. 
"Since  I  followed  the  wars  I  never  saw  valianter  captains, 

>  Williams  to  Walsingham,  **J^,  1587.     (Brit  Mas.  Galba,  C.  xL  102,  M&) 
•Ibid. 


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266  '^^^  UKITED  KETHERLANBa  Chap.  XTL 

nor  wiUinger  soldiers.  At  eleven  o'clock  the  enemy  entered 
the  ditch  of  onr  fort,  with  trenches  upon  wheels,  artillery- 
proof.  We  sallied  out,  recovered  their  trenches,  slew  the 
governor  of  Dam,  two  Spanish  captains,  with  a  number  of 
others,  repulsed  them  into  their  artillery,  kept  the  ditch  until 
yesternight,  and  will  recover  it,  with  God's  help,  this  ni^t, 

or  else  pay  dearly  for  it I  care  not  what  may  become 

of  me  in  this  world,  so  tiiat  her  Majesty's  hoinmr,  with  the 
rest  of  honourable  good  friends,  toill  ihink  me  an  honest 
man"^ 

No  one  ever  doubted  the  simple-hearted  Welshman's  ho- 
nesty, any  more  than  his  valour;  but  he  confided  in  the 
candour  of  others  who  were  somewhat  more  sophisticated  than 
hin^elf  When  he  warned  her  royal  Majesty  against  the 
peace-makers,  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  know  that  the 
great  peace-maker  was  Elizabeth  herself. 

After  the  expiration  of  a  month  the  work  had  become  most 
fatiguing.  The  enemy's  trenches  had  been  advanced  close  to 
the  ramparts,  and  desp^ate  conflicts  were  of  daily  occurrence. 
The  Spanish  mines,  too,  had  been  pushed  forward  towards 
the  extensive  wine-caverns  below  the  city,  and  the  danger  of 
a  vast  explosion  or  of  a  general  assault  from  beneath  their 
very  feet,  seemed  to  the  inhabitants  imminent.  Eight  days 
long,  with  scarcely  an  intermission,  amid  those  sepulchral 
vaults,  dimly-lighted  with  torches,  Dutchmen,  Englishmen, 
Spaniards,  Italians,  fou^i  hand  to  hand,  with  pike,  pistol, 
and  dagger,  within  the  bowels  of  the  earth.' 

Meantime  the  operations  of  the  States  were  not  commend- 
able. The  ineradicable  jealousy  between  the  Leicestrians  and 
the  Bameveldians  had  done  its  work.  There  was  no  hearty 
effort  for  the  relief  of  Sluys.  There  were  suspicions  that,  if 
saved,  the  town  would  only  be  taken  possession  of  by  the  Earl 
of  Leicester,  as  an  additional  vantage-point  for  coercing  the 
country  into  subjection  to  his  arbitrary  authority.    Perhaps 

*  Williams  to  Walsingbam,  last  dted. 

*  Strada,  IL  486-512.  Moteron,  tibi  8iq>.  Bor,  UL  xdil  5-9,  li-21.  Ha- 
neos,  III.  402-404. 


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158Y. 


JEALOUSY  BETWEEN  THE  EiJtL  AND  STATED 


267 


it  would  be  tFansfemed  to  Philip  by  Elizabeth  as  part  of  the 
price  for  peace.  There  was  a  growing  feeling  in  Holland  and 
Zeeland;  that^  as  those  Provinces  bore  all  the  expense  of  the 
war^  it  was  an  imperatiye  necessity  that  they  should  limit 
theur  operations  to  the  defence  of  their  own  soil  The  sos- 
^cions  as  to  ike  policy  of  the  English  government  were 
sapping  the  very  foundations  of  the  alliance,  and  there  was 
small  disposition  on  the  part  of  the  Hollanders,  therefore,  to 
protect  what  remained  of  Flanders^  and  thus  to  strengthen 
the  hands  of  her  whom  they  were  banning  to  look  upon  as 
an  enemy.* 

Maurice  and  Hohenlo  madey  however,  a  foray  into  Brabant, 
by  way  of  diversion  to  the  siege  of  Sluys,  and  thus  com- 
pelled Famese  to  detach  a  considerable  force  under  Haulte- 
penne  into  that  country,  and  thereby  to  weaken  himself.  The 
expedition  of  Maurice  was  not  unsuccessfuL  There  was  some 
sharp  skirmishing  between  Hohenlo  and  Haulfepenne,  in 
which  the  latter,  one  of  the  most  valuable  and  distinguished 
generals  on  the  royal  side,  was  defeated  and  slain  ;  the  fort  of 
Engel,  near  Bois-le-Duc,  was  taken,  and  that  important  city 
itself  endangered  ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  the  contingent  on 
which  Leicester  relied  from  the  States  to  assist  in  relieving 
Sluys  was  not  forthcoming.' 

For,  meantime,  the  governor-general  had  at  last  been  sent 
back  by  his  sovereign  to  the  post  which  he  had  so  long  aban- 
doned. Leaving  Leicester  House  on  the  4th  July  >ii!^, 
(N.S.),  he  had  come  on  board  the  fleet  two  days  1687. 
afterwards  at  Margate.  He  was  bringing  with  him  to  the 
Netherlands  three  thousand  fresh  infantry,  and  thirty  thou- 
sand 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 
be  sailed  past  Ostend  and  towards  Flushing,  the  Earl  was 
witness  to  the  constant  cannonading  between  the  besieged 


'  A  brief  Report  of  the  Prooeedings 
of  hia  ExoeUency  for  the  Relief  of 
SltqrB,  26  Jolj,  1587.    (3.  P.  Office  MS.) 


*  Bor,  Meteren,  Iloofd,  BentiTOglio^ 
Strada^  nbi  sup. 


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268 


THE  UNITED  NETHERLANDa 


Chap.  XVL 


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  experience.* 

Arriving  at  Flushing,  the  governor-general  was  well  re- 
ceived by  the  inhabitants  ;  but  the  mischief,  which  had  been 
set  a-foot  six  months  before,  had  done  its  work.  The  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  understood 
without  explanation.  The  governor-general  came  to  Flush- 
ing at  a  most  critical  moment.  The  fate,  of  all  the  Spanish 
Netherlands,  of  Sluys,  and  with  it  the  whole  of  Philip  and 
Parma's  great  project,  were,  in  Fameso's  own  language,  hang- 
ing by  a  thread.' 

It  would  have  been  possible — ^had  the  transactions  of  the 
past  six  months,  so  far  as  r^arded  Holland  and  England, 
been  the  reverse  of  what  they  had  been — to  save  the  city, 
and,  by  a  cordial  and  united  effort,  for  the  two  countries  to 
deal  the  Spanish  power  such  a  blow,  that  summer,  as  would 
have  paralyzed  it  for  a  long  time  to  come,  and  have  placed 
both  commonwealths  in  comparative  security. 

Instead  of  all  this,  general  distrust  and  mutual  jealousy 
prevailed.  Leicester  had,  previously  to  his  departure  from 
England,  summoned  the  States  to  meet  him  at  Dort  upon  his 
arrival.  Not  a  soul  appeared.  Such  of  the  state-councillors 
as  were  his  creatures  came  to  him,  and  Count  Maurice  made 
a  visit  of  ceremony.  Discussions  about  a  plan  for  relieving 
the  siege  became  mere  scenes  of  bickering  and  confusion. 
The  oflScers  within  Sluys  were  desirous  that  a  fleet  should 
force  its  way  into  the  harbour,  while,  at  the  same  time,  the 
English  army,  strengthened  by  the  contingent  which  Leicester 
had  demanded  from  the  States,  should  advance  against  the 
Duke  of  Parma  by  land.    It  was,  in  truth,  the  only  way 


'  Authorities  last  cited.  Llojcl  to 
WalsiDghom,  26  June,  1687.  (S.  P.  Of- 
fice MS.)  Baudart;  Polemog.  11.  96, 
"  17,800  ahota." 


•  Parma  to  Philip,  II.  6  Ai^.  1587. 
(Arch,  de  Simancas  MS.)  "^^Igados 
oa  un  hilo  todoa  los  estados  y  todo  lo 
dependiente,"  Ac 


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1687. 


SCHEMES  TO  BEUEYE  SLXTTS. 


269 


to  succour  the  place.  The  sdieme  was  quite  practicable. 
Leio^ter  recommended  it,  the  Hollanders  seemed  to  favour 
it,  Commandant  Groenevelt  and  Bpger  WiUiams  urged  it. 

^^I  do  assure  you/'  wrote  the  honest  Welshman  to' Leicester 
"  if  70U  will  come  afore  this  town,  with  as  many  galliots  and 
as  many  flat-bottomed  boats  as  can  cause  two  men-of-war  to 
enter,  they  cannot  stop  their  passage,  if  your  mariners  will  do 
a  quarter  of  their  duty,  as  I  saw  them  do  divers  times.  Before 
they  make  their  entrance,  we  will  come  with  our  boats,  and 
%ht  with  the  greatest  part,  and  show  them  there  is  no  such 
great  danger.  .  Were  it  not  for  my  wounded  arm,  I  would  bo 
in  your  first  boat  to  enter.  Notwithstanding,  I  and  other 
Englishmen  will  approach  their  boats  in  such  sort,  that  we 
will  force  them  to  give  their  saker  of  artillery  upon  us.  If 
your  Excellency  will  give  ear  unto  those  false  lewd  fellows 
(the  Captain  meant  the  States-Genen^),  you  shall  lose  great 
opportunity.  Within  ten  or  twelve  days  the  enemy  will  make 
his  bridge  from  Eadzand  unto.  St.  Anne,  and  force  you  to 
hazard  battle  before  you  succour  this  town.  Let  my  Lord 
Willoughby  and  Sir  William  Russell  land  at  Terhoven,  right 
against  Eadzand,  with  4000,  and  entrench  bard  by  the  water- 
side, where  their  boats  can  carry  them  victual  and  munition. 
They  may  approach  by  trenches  without  engaging  any  danger- 
ous fight.  ....  We  dare  not  show  the  estate  of  this 
town  more  than  we  have  done  by  Captain  Herte.  Wo  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  bo 
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  tho  place,  stout  ^mold 
Groenevelt,  assisted  by  the  rough  and  direct  eloquence  of 
Boger  Williams,  urge  upon  the  Earl  of  Leicester  and  tho 
States-General  the  necessity  and  the  practicability  of  the  plan 


>  Wmiams  to  Leicester,  -■  -"■*,  1587. 

(Brit  UxxB,  Galbcs  D.  I.  p.  162,  MS.) 
It  will  be  remembered  that  Baron 


Hemart  was  the  mifortmiato  officer 
who  so  diflgraceftilhr  sitrrendered  Grave 
in  the  first  year  of  Leicester's  adminis- 
tration. 


L 


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270 


THE  UNITBD  KETSERLAKDSw 


Chap.  XVL 


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  ramparts  and 
within  the  mines  continued,  the  plans  conveyed  by  the  bold 
swimmer.  Captain  Hart,  for  saving  the  place  were  still  un- 
attempted,  and  the  city  was  tottering  to  its  fall.  "Had 
Captain  Hart's  words  taken  place,''  wrote  Williams,  bittarly, 
"  we  had  been  succoured,  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  threo  several 
places,  continuing  in  flght  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  h6rse  and  man« 
That  day  he  attempted  us  in  all  places  with  a  general  assault 
for  the  space  of  almost  five  hours."  ^ 

The  citadel  was  now  lost.     It  had  been  gallantly  defended, 

and  it  was  thenceforth  necessary  to  hold  the  town  itself,  in 

-  July,    ^^^  ^^^  teeth  of   an   overwhelming  force.     "  Wo 

1586.  were  forced  to  quit  the  fort,"  said  Sir  Koger,  "  leaving 
nothing  behind  us  but  bare  earth.  But  ha:^  we  do  remain 
resolutely  to  be  buried,  rather  than  to  be  dishonoured  in  the 
least  point."* 

It  was  still  possible  for  the  fleet  to  succour  the  city.  "  I  do 
assure  you,"  said  Williams,  "  that  your  captains  and  mariners 
do  not  their  duty  unless  they  enter  with  no  great  loss ;  but 
you  must  consider  thjlt  no  wars  may  be  made  without  danger. 
What  you  mean  to  do,  wo  beseech  you  to  do  with  expedition. 


I  Williams 


to    Leicester.    —    July, 


1587.  (Brit  Mua.  Galba,  D.  I.  179,  Ma) 
Compare  Bor,  Meteren,   Hoofd,  Bcnti- 


TOgUo,    Strada,    Haraous,  ybi  stqx  ei 
muU.  al 

•Williama  to  Leicester.    QiS,  last 
cited.) 


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WHICH  ABB  FBBBLS  AND  UKSUOCESSFUL. 


271 


and  peHBuade  yourself  that  we  will  die  valianty  honest  men. 
Tour  Excellency  will  do  well  to  thank  the  old  President  do 
Meetkerk  for  the  honosty  and  valour  of  his  son."  ^ 

Count  Maurice  and  his  natural  brother,  the  Admiral,  now 
undertook  the  succour  by  sea ;  but,  according  to  the  Leices- 
trians,  they  continued  dilatory  and  incompetent.  At  any  rate, 
it  is  certain  that  they  did  nothing.  At  last,  Parma  had  com- 
pleted the  bridge,  whose  construction  was  so  much  dreaded. 
The  haven  was  now  enclosed  by  a  strong  wooden  structure, 
resting  on  boats,  on  a  plan  similar  to  that  of  the  famous  bridge 
with  which  he  had  two  years  before  bridled  the  Scheldt,  and 
Sluys  was  thus  completely  shut  in  from  the  sea.  Fire-ships  were 
now  constructed,  by  order  of  Leicester — ^feeble  imitations  of 
the  floating  volcanoes  of  Gianibelli — and  it  was  agreed  that 
they  should  be  sent  against  the  bridge  with  the  first  flood-tide. 
The  propitious  moment  never  seemed  to  arrive,  however,  and, 
meantime,  the  citizens  of  Fluslfing,  of  their  own  accord, 
declared  that  they  would  themselves  equip  and  conduct  a  fleet 
into  the  harbour  of  Sluys.'  But  the  Nassaus  are  said  to  have 
expressed  great  dii^ust  that  low-bom  burghers  should  presumo 
to  meddle  with  so  important  an  enterprise,  which  of  right 
belonged  to  their  family.^  Thus,  in  the  midst  of  these  alter- 
cations and  contradictory  schemes,  the  month  of  July  wore 
away,  and  thp  city  was  reduced  to  its  last  gasp. 


*It.WiBiam8toWakinghain-    July, 

158T.  (Brit  Mu8.  Galba,  D.  L  p.  I'TO. 
MS.) 

Compare  'Discouree  of  War'  apud 
Grimstone,  ziiL  963,  *' Truly  all  the 
BQtdi  and  Walloona,"  sajrs  Sir  Boger, 
**  showed  themselTes  constant,  resolute, 
and  yaliant^  especially  those  brnye  and 
valiant  captains  Heetkerke  and  Herau- 
giere."  He  also  especially  commends 
the  valour  of  Huntley,  XJdall,  Scott, 
Ferdmando  Gorges,  St  Leger,  and 
Nicholas  Baskerville. 

'  A  brief  Report  of  the  Proceedings 
of  his  Excellency  for  the  relief  of  Sluya, 
26  July,  1687.  (S.  P.  Office  MS.)  Wil- 
^OQghby,  Russell,  Pelham  and  others, 
to  the  Lords,  12  Aug.  1687.  (S.  P. 
OmoeMS.) 


*  "Burghers  of  Flushiog  proffered 
their  services^  which  were  accepted 
with  thanks;  but  that  upon  Count 
Maurice  and  Admiral  Nassau  being 
applied  to  for  necessaries,  they  seemed 
to  be  touched  very  much  in  reputation 
that  a  piece  of  service  so  respectable 
should  have  been  left  to  persons  of 
base  quality  instead  of  to  themselves, 
who  readily  would  adventure  their  bcfct 
means.     His    Excellency,  fearing    to 

offend  them,  gave  his  consent 

Maurice  declared  the  enterprise  to  bo 
impossible  without  better  means,  from 
which  it  appeared  plainly  that  all  had 
been  devised  on  purpose  of  delay,  until 
it  should  be  too  late  to  help  the  town." 
Willoughby,  Russell,  e^  a2.  to  the  Lords. 
(Ma  last  cited.) 


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272  THE  UNITED  NETHERLANDS.  Chap.  XVL 

For  the  cannonading  bad  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  %hting  dayand  night.  Of 
the  sixteen  hundred  Dutch  and  English  but  seven  hundred 
remained.  At  last  a  swimming  messenger  was  sent  out  by  the 
besi^ed  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  honourablo 
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  slahi  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  ho 
marched  to  Blanckenburg.  He  supposed  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. 
Meantime,  an  opportunity  would  be  afforded  for  Maurice  and 
Hohenlo  to  force  an  entrance  into  the  harbour  of  Sluys.  In 
this  conjecture  he  was  quite  correct ;  but  unfortunately  ho 
did  not  thoroughly  carry  out  his  own  scheme.  If  the  Eail 
had  established  himself  at  Blanckenburg,  it  would  have  been 
necessary  for  Parma — as  he  himself  subsequently  declared — 
to  raise  the  si^.*  Leicester  carried  the  outposts  of  the 
place  successfully  ;  but,  so  soon  as  Farnese  was  aware  of  this 
demonstration,  ho  detached  a  few  companies  with  orders  to 

'  Strada,  Bor,  Meteren,  Hoofd,  B.  Wmiams,  in  Grimstono,  vbisup,  ct  aL 
*  Strada,  11.  508,  609,  seq. 


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158T.  THE  TOWN  CAPlTULATEa  273 

skirmish  with  the  enemy  until  the  commanders-in-chief,  with  as 
large  a  force  as  he  could  spare,  should  come  in  person  to  his 
support.  To  the  unexpected  gratification  of  Famese,  how- 
erer,  no  sooner  did  the  advancing  Spaniards  come  in  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  for  Ostend.^ 

The  next  night  had  been  fixed  for  sending  forth  the  fire- 
ships  against  the  bridge,  and  for  the  entrance  of  the  fleet  into 
the  harbour.  One  fire-ship  floated  a  little  way  towards  the 
bridge  and  exploded  ingloriously.  Leicester  rowed  in  his 
barge  about  the  fleet,  superintending  the  soundings  and 
markings  of  the  channel,  and  hastening  the  preparations  ;  but, 
as  the  decisive  moment  approached,  the  pilots  who  had  pro- 
mised 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  world.  He 
stormed  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. 
But  the  invasion  by  the  fleet  alone,  unsupported  by  a  successful 
•  laiid-operation,  was  pronounced  impracticable,  and  very  soon 
the  relieving  fleet  was  seen  by  the  distressed  garrison  sailing 
away  from  the  neighbourhood,  and  it  soon  disappeared  beneath 
the  horizon.  Their  fiite  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 
conditions  were  offered,  granted  those  conditions.  The  gar- 
rison 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 

*  Strada,  Bor,  If eteren,  Hoofa,  HaiaeuSy  Bentivoglio,  ubi  svp, 

*  Llojd  to  Walsin^ham,  ^-^  1587.    (S.  P.  Offioe  HS.) 

VOL.  II.— T 


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274 


THE  UNITED  NETHERLANDS. 


CiiAP.  XVL 


Spain  and  the  church  of  Rome,  were  permitted  to  remain. 
Those  who  preferred  to  depart  were  allowed  reasonable  time 
to  make  their  necessary  arrangements.^ 

"  We  have  hurt  and  slain  very  near  eight  hundred/'  said 
Sir  Roger  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,  saltable  for  horse  and  men.  We 
had  lain  continually  eighteen  nights  all  on  the  breaches.  -  He 
gave  us  honourable  composition.  Had  the  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.  Wo  were  sold  by  their  negligence  who  are 
now  angry  with  us."  * 

On  the  5th  August  Parma  entered  the  city.  Roger  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  oflScer  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,  "belongs  to 
her  royal  Majesty,  Queen  Elizabeth,  above  and  before  all  the 
world.  When  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  Roger  to  point  out  Captain  Baskerville — ^very* 
conspicuous  by  a  greater  plume  of  feathers  than  even  that  of 
the  Welshman  himself— and  embraced  that  officer,  when  pre- 
sented to  him,  before  all  his  staff.     "  There  serves  no  prince 


>  Brief  Report,  to,  US.  already 
cited  Lloyd  to  Walaingham.  MS. 
already  cited.'  Leicester  to  same, 
12  Aug.  1687.  Willoughby  and  others 
to  the  Lords,  12  Aug.  1687.  Leicester 
to  same,  12  Aug.  1687.  Same  to 
Burghley,  27  July,  1687.  Same  to 
same,  13  July,  1587.  *  Same  to  the 
Lords,  27  July,  1687.  Same  to  same, 
17  Aug.  1687.  P.  Needham  to  Wal- 
aingham, 12  Aug.  1587.    (S.  P.  Offloo 


MSS)  Compare  Bor,  Meteren,  Hoofd, 
Haraeus,  Bentiyoglio^  Strada,  R. 
Williams,  vbi  sup.  Wag^naar,  viiL 
225-227.  Baudart,  Polediog.,  XL  96, 
d  muU.  al 

*  Williams  to  Leicester,  5  Aug.  1587. 
(Brit  Mus.  Gkdba,  D.  L  p.  214^  MS.) 

*  Needham  to  Walsingham,  12  Aug. 
1687.  (a  P.  Office  Ma) 

*  Ibid. 


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1587. 


PARMA  ENTERS-LEIOESTEB  ENRAGED. 


275 


in  Europe  a  braver  man  than  this  Englishman/'  cried  Alex- 
ander^ who  well  knew  how  to  appreciate  high  military  qualities, 
whether  in  his  own  army  or  in  that  of  his  foes.^ 

The  garrison  then  retired,  Sluys  became  Spanish,  and  a 
capacious  harbour,  just  opposite  the  English  coast,  was  in 
Parma's  hands.  Sir  Roger  Williams  was  despatched  by 
Leicester  to  bear  the  melancholy  tidings  to  his  government, 
and  the  Queen  was  requested  to  cherish  the  honest  Welshman, 
and  at  least  to  set  him  on  horseback,  for  he  was  of  himself  not 
rich  enough  to  buy  even  a  saddle.  It  is  painful  to  say  that 
the  captain  did  not  succeed  in  getting  the  horse.* 

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


'  R.  Williams,  in  Grimstono,  Ixiii.  962. 

'  "  I  pray  you  be  good  to  this  bearer, 
Sir  Roger  Williams,  for  he  is  to  be 
cherished.  Her  Majesty  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."  Leicester  to  Wal- 
Bingham,  13  Aug.  1587.  (a  P.  Office 
MS.)  Yet  according  to  the  report  of 
Captain  Ncedliam,  even  Williams  had 
at  last  become  an  object  of  the  EarPs 
jealousy  and  suspicioo,  on  accouat  of 
the  flattering  offers  made  to  him  by 
Pamese.  "The  Duke  of  Parma  had 
essayed,"  says  Needham,  "  by  all  possi* 
bio  means  to  gain  Sir  Koger  Williams, 
but  could  not  prevail,  although  he 
thought  the  hard  usage  he  had  re- 
ceive from  the  Earl  of  Leicester  would 
be  an  occasion  to  make  him  leave  his 

Earty.  Themistocles  (Leicester)  had 
ereupon  conceived  great  jealousy, 
and  hath  not  spared  to  give  warning 
to  Sir  W.  Ruaseli  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  won- 
derfully perplexed  that  for  his  &ithful 
service  he  should  reap  his  utter  un- 
doing, 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  overthrow  his 
credit,"  Ac.  The  conversation  of  the 
Duke  with  the  Welshman  has  been  re- 
ported in  the  text 

'*The  Earl  of  Essex  promises  me," 
wrote  Williams  subsequentiy,  ''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.  I  humbly  desire  your  Ex- 
cellency to  write  this  for  me,  either  to 
give  me  something  or  dischaige  me 
away  with  nothing.  ...  I  fear  things 
will  not  fall  out  here  as  well  as  you 
would  wish.  Were  your  Excellency 
here,  her  M^esty  would  do. more.  The 
more  the  merrier.  Without  your  pre- 
sence your  friends  dare  not  ^>eak  what 
they  would,  for  the  simplest  that  speaks 
of  the  peace  is  better  here  than  tlie 
wisest  that  contraries  it .  I  iear  me  it 
id  passed  so  &r  that  the  King  of 
Navarre  is  like  to  smart  for  it,"  &c. 
R  Williams  to  Leicester,  1  Sept  1587. 
(Brit  Mus.  Galba^  D.  IL  p.  5,  Ma) 

*  Leicester  to  Walsingham,  12  Aug. 
1687.    (aP.  OflaoeMa) 

"  As  for  this  matter  of  Sluys,"  said 


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276 


THB  UNITED  NETHERLANDS, 


Chap.  XVX 


The  loss  of  Slays  was  the  beginning  and  foreshadowed  the 
inevitable  end  of  Leicester's  second  administration.  The  in- 
action of  the  States  was  one  of  the  causes  of  its  loss.  Distrust 
of  Leicester  was  the  cause  of  the  inaction.  Sir  William 
Bussell,  Lord  Willoughby,  Sir  William  Pelham^  and  other 
English  officers,  united  in  statements  exonerating  the  Earl 
from  all  blame  for  the  great  failure  to  relieve  the  place.  At 
the  same  time,  it  could  hardly  be  maintained  that  his  expe- 
dition to  Blanckenburg  and  his  precipitate  retreat  on  the  first 
appearance  of  the  enemy  were  proo&  of  consummate  general- 
ship. He  took  no  blame  to  himself  for  the  disaster ;  but  he 
and  his  partisans  were  very  liberal  in  their  denunciations  of 
the  Hollanders/  and  Leicester  was  even  ungrateful  enough  to 
censure  Boger  Williams,  whose  life  had  been  passed,  as  it  were, 
at  push  of  pike  with  the  Spaniards,  and  who  was  one  of  his 
own  most  devoted  adherents. 

The  Queen  was  much  exasperated  when  informed  of  the  fall 
of  the  city.    She  severely  denounced  the  Netherlanders,  and 


the  Earl,  "I  may  stand  before  the 
tribonal  seat  of  God  fi>r  any  fiatnlt  in 
me.  The  greatest  is  that  I  did  trust 
Coant  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  beside^  he  oflfered  his  ser- 
vice most  frankly, and  willingly,  and 
did  take  upon  him  and  his  bastard 
brother  to  attempt  the  bridge  by  such 
men  as  they  had  chosen,  to  whom  I 
gave  302.  beforehand."  And  in  the 
same  vdn  he  says  to  Burieigh,  *'I  am 
grieved  to  think,  much  more  to  speak 
of  the  loss  of  Sluya  God  knoweth  we 
have  done  for  our  parts  as  much  as  if 
A  kingdom  bad  stood  upon  it.  But 
these  men  have  strange  designs  in 
their  heads,  which  will  in  the  end 
t>reed  their  own  ruin.  .  .  .  The  dr^ 
of  their  dealing  will,  I  fear;  remain  a 
good  while,  for  the  practice  and  fiishion 
continue.  ...  I  must  beg  you  to  bear 
with  me,  for  I  scarce  know  what  I 
write,  yAkBX  with  grief  for  the  loss  of 
this  town,  and  with  anger  for  the  vile 
lewd  dealing  of  these  men  that  have 
BO  naughtily  carried  themsdves  in  this 
matter  for  Slnys.  First,  by  letting  me 
have  no  mon  of  theirs^  when  I  had  but 


a  few  men  fhmished ;  then,  their  long 
deforring  our  men  to  be  furnished; 
after,  their  lack  of  provisions  of  all 
sorts ;  lastly,  vessels  and  barics  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-hearted 
Welshman,  who  had  been  fighting 
night  and  day,  from  the  beginning  of 
the  sieg^  to  the  end.  "  And  yet  I  can- 
not, for  many  respects^  how  well  soever 
I  think  of  Sir  William  Rogers'  valour 
and  the  other  captains,  give  them 
countenance  or  access  to  me,  before 
they  do  givo  some  good  reason  for  the 
delivery  of  the  town  without  sending 
to  me  first"     Leicester  to  Buighley, 

'^^'^^    (S.  P.  Office  MS.) 

honour  may  see,"  said 
Lloyd,  '^how  Count  Hohenlo's  pro- 
ceedings, and  States'  practices,  and 
this  late  actiont  do  concur  as  matters 
that  have  been  hammered  on  one  anvil 
and  issued  from  one  forge."    B.  Lbyd 

to   Walslngham,  ?^,  1687.    (3.  P. 

Office  MS.) 


"  '^Tour 


•  aV 


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1587. 


QUEEN  ANGRY  WITH  THE  ANTI-LEICBSTBIANS. 


277 


even  went  bo  far  as  to  express  dissatisfaction  with  the  great 
Leicester  himself.^  Meantime,  Famese  was  well  satisfied  with 
his  triumph,  for  he  had  been  informed  that  ^^  all  England  was 
about  to  charge  npon  him/'  in  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  imme- 
diately after  the  return  of  Leicester.  They  did  not  think 
it  expedient  to  wait  upon  the  governor  before  leaving  the 
country,*  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  inten- 
tion of  making  his  escape  without  being  dandled  with  leave- 
takings,  and  no  doubt  ho  was  right  The  Earl  was  indignant 
when  he  found  that  they  had  given  him  the  slip,  and  denounced 
them  with  fresh  acrimony  to  the  Queen,  imploring  her  to  wreak 
full  measure  of  wrath  upon  their  heads  ;  *  and  he  well  knew 
that  his  entreaties  would  meet  with  the  royal  attention. 

Buckhurst  had  a  parting  interview  with  the  governor- 
general,  at  which  Killigrew  and  Beale,  the  new  English  coun- 
sellors who  had  replaced  Wilkes  and  Clerk,  were  present. 
The  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  full  statement 
of  the  grievances  between  the  States-General  and  the  governor, 
on  the  ground  that  Leicester  had  no  right  to  be  judge  in  his 


81  July 

*  Eaaox  to  Leicester,  ,•- — '    1587. 

10  Aug. 

(8.  P.  Office  MS.)  Walsingham  to  same, 
2  Aug.  1687.  (Brit  Mas.  Galba»  D.  I. 
p.  234,  M&)  "  The  iU  gaocen  of  Slujs 
canaeth  her  to  pick  8ome  quarrel  to- 
wards your  Lordahip  ia  that  action,  as 
by  her  letters  you  may  peroelva" 

*  "CoiTia  la  yob  que  cargava  toda 
lofi^aterra."  Parma  to  Philip,  6  Aug. 
15S7.    (Arch,  de  Simattoas.  M&)  . 

»  Wilkes  to  the  Lords,  20  July,  1687, 
(S.  P.  Offloe  Ma)  explahiiDg— what 
had  been  suffidenUy  explained  before 


— why  he  left  the  Netherlands  without 
greeting  Leicester,  '^for  that  he  was 
too  terrified  to  come  into  his  prosenco, 
knowing  his  animosity."  He  expresses 
the  hope  that  "her  Majesty,  bemg  the 
image  of  Qod  on  earth,  will  be  like  to 
Him  in  mercy,  and  not  suffer  more  to 
be  laid  upon  him  than  flesh  and  blood 
can  bear." 

*  Leksester  to  Walsingham,  4  Juh; 
1687.  Same  to  Queen,  7  July,  1587. 
Same  to  BuiKhl^,  13  July,  1587.  (S 
P.  Office  MSS.) 


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278  THB  UNITED  NETHERLANDS.  Chap.  XVI 

own  cause.  The  matter,  he  said,  should  be  laid  before  the 
Queen  in  council,  and  by  her  august  decision  he  was  willing 
to  abide.  On  every  other  subject  he  was  ready  to  give  any 
information  in  his  power.  The  interview  lasted  a  whole  fore- 
noon and  afternoon.  Buckhurst,  according  to  his  own  state- 
ment, answered  freely  all  questions  put  to  him  by  Leicester 
and  his  counsellors  ;  while,  if  the  report  of  those  personages  is 
to  be  trusted,  he  passionately  refused  to  make  any  satisfactory 
communication.  Under  the  circumstances,  however,  it  may 
well  be  believed  that  no  satisfactory  communication  was 
possible.^ 

On  arriving  in  England,  Sir  John  Norris  was  forbidden  to 
come  into  her  Majesty's  presence,  Wilkes  was  thrown  into  the 
Fleet  Prison,  and  Buckhurst  was  confined  in  his  own  country 
house.^ 

Norris  had  done  absolutely  nothing,  which,  even  by  impli- 
cation, could  be  construed  into  a  dereliction  of  duty ;  but  it 
was  sufficient  that  he  was  hated  by  Leicester,  who  had  not 
scrupled,  over  and  over  again,  to  denounce  this  first  general  of 
England  as  a  fool,  a  coward,  a  knave,  and  a;  Uar. 

As  for  Wilkes,  his  only  crime  was  a  most  conscientious 
discharge  of  his  duty,  in  the  course  of  which  he  had  foimd 
cause  to  modify  his  abstract  opinions  in  regard  to  the  origin 
of  sovereignty,  and  had  come  reluctantly  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  eloquence  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  fatigue,  and  who  had  done  his  duty 


*  Kinigrew  and  Beale  to  Walsing^ 
ham,  13  Jaly,  ISSt.  BnckhaiBt  to 
Buighley,  22  July,  1687.  A  true  de- 
claration of  the  proceedings  of  Lord 
Buckhurst  and  Dr.  Gierke,  24  July. 
1587.    (a  P.  0£Eioe  MSa) 


*  Buckhurst  to  WaUngfaam,  24th 
July,  1587.  Same  to  Burghley,  24  July, 
1587.  Same  to  same,  28  July,  1587. 
Walaingham  to  Leicester,  29  July, 
1587.    (a  P.  Office  MS8.) 


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1687. 


NORRISi  WILKES,  AND  BUCKHURST  PUNISHED. 


27D 


(ike  an  upright,  straight-forward  Eaglishman^  sacrificed  to  the 
wrath  of  a  favourite,     "  Surely,  Mr.  Secretary,"  said  the  Earl, 
"there  was  never  a  falser  creature,  a  more  seditious  wretch,  than 
Wilkes.    He  is  a  villain,  a  4evil,  without  faith  or  religion."  ^ 
As  for  Buckhurst  himself,  it  is  unnecessary  to  say  a  word  in 


>  Leicester  to  "Walsingfaam,  4  Aug. 
1587.  (S.  P.  Office  MS.)  Buckharst 
was  of  a  different  opinion. 

"Mr.  Wilkes,  having  had  bo  long 
oxperienoe  in  these  parts,"  he  wrote, 
"and  being  so  careful  and  diligent  for 
the  good  preservation  and  furtherance 
of  the  cause,  whereof  in  the  late  dan- 
gerous times  and  troubles  here  ho 
made  right  good  testimony,  is  able 
therein  to  do  jour  Majesty  most  espe- 
cial and  notable  service,  being  also 
otherwise  so  suffioientlj  practised  in 
the  estate  of  other  countries  and  so 
well  trained  in  jour  affairs  at  home, 
with  such  excellent  gifts  of  uUerance^ 
memoryj  loit^  courage,  and  knowledge^ 
and  with  so  faithful  and  careful  aJieart 
to  serve  your  Majesey,  as  it  were  a 
woefid  ease  if  such  a  worthy  servant 
should  for  any  respect  be  discomforted 
and  disgraced  by  your  Majesty's  dis- 
pleasure." Buckhurst  to  the  Queen, 
28  June,  1587.  (Brit  Mus.  Gklba, 
C.  xi.  p.  Gl,  MS.) 

Yet  such  a  eulogy  fh>m  so  illustrious 
a  man,  and  fully  borne  out  by  the 
deeds  and  words  of  Wilkes  himself) 
could  not  save  the  councilbr  fix>m  the 
gaol  He  had  loved  Sir  John  Norris, 
which  was  enough  to  secure  him  the 
hatred  of  Leicester,  and  consequently 
the  unmitigated  wrath  of  the  Queon. 

But  the^  pages  have  already  illus- 
trated the  copiousness  of  the  great 
EuVb  vocabulary  in  vituperation.  Mr. 
P.  B.,  Sir  John  Norris,  Hollock,  Wilkes, 
Buckhurst  hlmseli^  the  States-General, 
the  States-Provincial,  and,  in  brief, 
any  one  who  crossed  his  schemes, 
were  sure  to  draw  down  the  full 
tempest  of  wrath.  He  was  now  very 
angry  with  those  who  surrounded 
young  Maurice,  especially  with  the 
minister  Yilliers,  whom  he  pronounced 
to  be  /'a  condemned  man,  not  only 
among  all  honest  and  godly  men,  but 
also  with  aU  the  churches  through  all 
the  Provinces."  Sainte  Aldegonde, 
too^  whom  before  and  after  this  point 
of  thne^  he  seemed  to  appreciate  and 


applaud,  was  now  bold  up  as  an  object 
of  suspicion.  "  I  have  found  cause  of 
late,"  ha  says,  "to  fear  Sainte  Alde- 
gonde to  be  an  unsound  and  hollow 
man.  There  are  great  presumptions 
that  he  is  dealing  in  secret  with  Parma. 
He  is  lately  married.  All  men  con- 
demn him  for  it,  and  his  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, 
baing  known  to  ba  greatly  favoured  on 
the  other  side,  and  can  enjoy  no  penny 
but  by  that  favour.  I  seo  he  takes  no 
course  to  please  the  church.  The 
young  Count  is  directed  by  both  him 
and  Villiera,  albeit  the  one,  Sainte 
Aldegonde,  doth  make  less  show  than 
the  other.  Oh,  God,  wliat  a  world  it 
is  I  Both  these  hot  men  heretofore 
are  become  less  than  lukewarm  now, 
and  wholly  given  to  policy."  Leicester 
to  Walsingham,  MS  above  cited. 

Yet  before  the  end^of  the  year  Sainte 
Aldegonde  was  violently  abused  by 
others  for  opposite  tendencies.  *'Tho 
Count  of  Hollock  being  drunk  the 
other  day,"  says  Sir  Robert  Sidney, 
"  took  a  quarrel  to  Monsieur  do  Sainto 
Aldegonde,  saying  he  was  wont  to  bo 
,a  lover  of  the  house  of  Nassau,  but 
now  he  was  grown  altogether  a  Leices- 
trian,  the  whu:h  he  repeated  sundry 
times  upon  him  before  the  Count  Mau- 
rice and  many  other  gentlemen.  In 
truth,  I  think  Sainte  Aldegonde  very 
well  aSlKJted  unto  your  Excellency. 
Surely  he  mislikes  the  proceedings 
here,  and  meddles  nothing  with  tiiem." 
Sidney  to  Leicester,  31  Dec.  1587. 
(Brit  Mus.  Galba,  D.  H.  p.  288.) 

Nothing  could  be  more  unscrupulous 
than  the  denunciations  of  Leicester 
whenever  he  was  offbnded.  They  would 
seem  almost  risible,  were  it  not  that 
the  capricious  wrath  of  the  all-powerfbl 
favourite  was  often  sufficient  to  bliet 
the  character,  the  career,  the  hopes^ 
and  even  take  away  the  lives,  of  honest 
men. 


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280  THB  UNITED  NBTHEBLANDa  Chap.  XVL 

his  defence.  The  story  of  his  mission  has  been  completdj 
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,  ho 
had  unravelled  the  complicated  web  of  Netherland  politics, 
and,  with  clear  vision,  had  penetrated  the  designs  of  the 
mighty  enemy  whom  England  and  Holland  had  to  encounter 
in  mortal  combat.  He  had  pointed  out  the  errors  of  the  Earl's 
administration — ^he  had  fearlessly,  earnestly,  but  respectfully 
deplored '  the  misplaced  parsimony  of  the  Queen — he  had 
warned  her  against  the  delusions  which  had  taken  possession 
of  hor  keen  intellect — ^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  S3cretly  negotiating  with  the  Spaniard, 
when  he  knew  those  suspicions  to  ba  just. 

For  deeds,  such  as  these,  the  able  and  high-minded  am- 
bassador, the  accomplished  statesman  and  poet,  was  forbidden 
to  approach  his  sovereign's  presence,  and  was  ignominiously 
imprisoned  in  his  own  house  until  the  death  of  Leioester. 
After  that  event,  Buckhurst  emerged  from  confinement,  re- 
ceived the  order  of  the  garter  and  the  Earldom  of  Dorset, 
and  on  the  death  of  Burghley  succeeded  that  statesman  in 
the  office  of  Lord-Treasurer.  Such  was  the  substantial 
recognition  of  the  merits  of  a  man  who  was  now  disgraced  for 
the  conscientious  discharge  of  the  most  important  functions 
that  bad  yet  been  confided  to  him. 

It  would  be  a  thankless  and  superfluous  task  to  give  the 
deit«ils  of  the  renewed  attempt,  during  a  few  months,  made 
by  Leicester  to  govern  the  Provinces.  His  second  adminis- 
tration consisted  mainly  of  the  same  altercations  with  the 
States,  on  the  subject  of  sovereignty,  the  same  mutual  re 
criminations  and  wranglings,  that  had  characterized  the  period 


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158T.  DRAKE  SAILS  FOR  SPAIN:  281 

of  his  former  nde.  He  rarely  met  the  States  in  perpon, 
and  ahnost  never  resided  at  the  Hague,  holding  his  court  at 
Middlehurg,  Dort,  or  Utrecht,  as  his  humour  led  him. 

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

Before  taking  a  glance  at  the  nature  of  thode  secrets,  how- 
ever, it  is  necessary  to  make  a  passing  allusion  to  an  event 
which  might  have  seemed  likely  to  render  all  pacific  com- 
munications with  Spain,  whether  secret  or  open,  superfluous. 

For  while  so  much  time  had  been  lost  in  England  and 
Holland,  by  misunderstandings  and  jealousies,  there  was  one 
Englishman  who  had  not  b^n  losing  time.  In  the  winter 
and  early  spring  of  1587,  the  Devonshire  skipper  had  organized 
that  expedition  which  he  had  come  to  the  Netherlands,  the 
preceding  autumn,  to  discuss.  He  meant  to  aim  a  blow  at 
the  very  heart  of  that  project  which  Philip  was  shrouding 
with  so  much  mystery,  and  which  Elizabeth  was  attempting 
to  counteract  by  so  much  diplomacy. 

On  the  2nd  April,  Francis  Drake  sailed  from  Plymouth 
with  four  ships  belonging  to  the  Queen,  and  with  twenty-four 
furnished  by  the  merchants  of  London,  and  other  private  in- 
dividuals. It  was  a  bold  buccaneering  expedition-rcombining  i 
chivalrous  enterprise  with  the  chance  of  enormous  profit — 
which  was  most  suited  to  the  character  of  English  adventurers 
at  that  expanding  epoch.  For  it  was  by  England,  not  by 
Elizabeth,  that  the  quarrel  with  Spain  was  felt  to  be  a  mortal 
ona  It  was  England,  not  its  sovereign,  that  was  instinc- 
tively arming,  at  all  points,  to  grapple  with  the  great  enemy 
of  European  liberty.  It  was  the  spirit  of  self-help,  of  self-re- 
liance, which  was  prompting  the  English  nation  to  take  the 
great  work  of  the  age  into  its  own  hands.  The  mercantile 
instinct  of  the  nation  was  flattered  with  the  prospect  of  gain, 
the  martial  quality  of  its  patrician  and  of  its  plebeian  blood 
was  eager  to  confix)nt  danger,  the  great  Protestant  mutiny 
against  a  decrepid  superstition  in  combination  with  an  ag- 
gressive tyranny,  all  impelled  the  best  energies  of  the  English 


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282 


THE  UNITED  NETHERLAIfDS. 


Chap.  XVL 


people  against  Spain,  as  the  embodiment  of  all  which  was 
odious  and  menacing  to  them,  and  with  which  they  felt  that 
the  life  and  death  struggle  could  not  long  be  deferred. 

And  of  these  various  tendencies,  there  were  no  more  fitting 
representatives  than  Drake  and  Frobisher,  Hawkins  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  centuries  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. 

"The  wind  commands  me  away,"  said  Drakoon  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."  * 

But  he  felt  that  he  was  not  without  enemies  behind  him, 
for  the  strong  influence  brought  to  bear  against  the  bold  poUcy 
which  Walsingham  favoured,  was  no  secret  to  Drake.  "  If  we 
deserve  ill,"  said  he,  "  let  us  be  punished.  If  we  discharge 
our  duty,  in  doipg  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,  horneward  bound,  and 
obtained  information  of  great  warlike  stores  accumulating  in 
Cadiz  and  Lisbon.  His  mind  was  instantly  made  up.  For- 
tunately, the  pinnace  which  the  Queen  despatched  with  orders 
to  stay  his  hand'  in  the  very  act  of  smiting  her  great  adver- 
sary, did  not  sail  fast  enough  to  overtake  the  swift  corsair  and 
his  fleet.  Sir  Francis  had  too  promptly  obeyed  the  wind, 
when  it  "  commanded  him  away,"  to  receive  the  royal 
countermand.  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 


>  Drake  to  Walsiogham  in  Bar- 
row's 'Lifo  of  Drake'  (Murray,  1843), 
p.  223. 

«  Ibid. 


*  Walsingham  to  Leicester,  17  April, 
1687,  Same  to  same^  11  April,  1587. 
mrit  Mas.  Qalba,  G.  xi.  p.  327-344. 


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I58r.  HIS  EXPLOITS  AT  CADIZ  AND  LISBON.  283 

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;  un- 
loading, rifling,  scuttling,  sinking,  and  burning  those  transport- 
ships  which  contained  a  portion  of  the  preparations  painfully 
made  by  Philip  for  his  great  enterprise.  Pipe-staves  and 
spikes,  horse-shoes  and  saddles,  timber  and  cutlasses,  wine,  oil, 
figs,  raisins,  biscuits,  and  flour,  a  miscellaneous  mass  of  ingre- 
dients long  brewing  for  the  trouble  of  England,  were  emptied 
into  the  harbour,  and  before  the  second  night,  the  blaze  of  a 
hundred  and  fifty  burning  vessels  played  merrily  upon  the 
grim  walls  <rf  Philip's  fortresses.  Some  of  these  ships  were  of 
the  largest  size  then  known.  There  was  one  belonging  to 
Marquis  Santa  Cruz  of  1500  tons,  there  was  a  Biscayan  of 
1200,  there  were  several  others  of  1000,  800,  and  of  nearly 
equal  dimensions. 

Thence  sailing  for  Lisbon,  Sir  Francis  captured  and  des- 
troyed a  hundred  vessels  more,  appropriating  what  was  port- 
able of  the  cargoes,  and  annihilating  the  rest.  At  Lisbon, 
Marquis  Santa  Cruz,  lord  high  admiral  of  Spain  and  general- 
issimo of  the  invasion,  looked  on,  mortified  and  amazed,  but 
offering  no  combat,  while  the  Plymouth  privateersman  swept 
the  harbour  of  the  great  monarch  of  the  world.  After 
thoroi^hly  accomplishing  his  work,  Drake  sent  a  message  to 
Santa  Cruz,  proposing  to  exchange  his  prisoners  for  such 
Englishmen  as  might  then  be  confined  in  Spain.  But  the 
Marquis  denied  all  prisoners.  Thereupon  Sir  Francis  decided 
to  sell  his  captives  to  the  Moors,  and  to  appropriate  the 
proceeds  of  the  sale  towards  the  purchase  of  English  slaves 
out  of  the  same  bondage.^  Such  was  the  fortune  of  war  in 
the  sixteenth  century. 

Having  dealt  these  great  blows,  Drake  set  sail  again  from 

liisbon,  and,  twenty  leagues  from  St.  Michaels,  fell  in  with 

one  of  those  famous  Spanish  East  Indiamen,  called  carracks, 

then  the  great  wonder  of  the  seas.    This  vessel,  San  Felipe 

by  name,  with  a  cargo  of  extraordinary  value,  was  easily  cap- 

*  Barrow,  232,  233. 


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284  "^^^  UNITBD  NETHERTiANDa  Chap.  XYL 

tured,  and  Sir  Francis  now  determined  to  return.  He  had 
done  a  good  piece  of  work  in  a  few  weeks,  but  he  was  by  no 
means  of  opinion  that  he  had  materially  crippled  the  enemy. 
On  the  contrary,  he  gave  the  government  warning  as  to  the 
enormous  power  and  vast  preparations  of  Spain.  "  There  would 
be  forty  thousand  men  under  way  ere  long,"  he  said,  "  well 
equipped  and  provisioned ; "  and  he  stated,  as  the  result  of  per- 
sonal observation,  that  England  could  not  be  too  energetic  iu 
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 
again  and  again,"  he  observed,  "  that  we  have,  aUh<yugh  U  he 
little,  made  a  beginning  upon  the  coast  of  Spain  "^  And 
modestly  as  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  bo 
doubted.  "  But,"  said  Sir  Francis,  "  I  thank  them  much  that 
they  have  staid  so  long,  and  when  they  come  they  shatt  be  hut 
the  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  might  soon  stand  them  in 
stead.  The  little  war-vessels  which  had  come  from  Plymouth, 
had  sailed  round  and  round  these  vast  unwieldy  hulks,  and 
had  fairly  driven  them  off  tho  field,  with  very  slight  damage 
to  themselves.  Sir  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  foray,  he 
received  no  laurels.  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  Wag 

1  Barrow,  233.  |   Meteren,  xiv.  263,  254.    Bor.  II.  xaJ. 

•  Ibid.    Comparo  Camden,  III.  39G.    |   763-768,  xxii.  981,  xxiii.  '77. 


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[ 


1687. 


HE  IS  BEBUEED  BY  ELIZABETH. 


285 


now  the  dear  friend  of  Alexander  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  pacifi- 
cation, and  so  Elizabeth  hastened  to  disavow  her  Plymouth 
captain.* 


'  "  True  it  is,  and  I  avow  it  on  my 
(aiti),  her  Majesty  did  send  a  ship  ex- 
pressly belbre  be  went  to  Cadiz  with 
a  message  by  letters  charging  Sir 
Francis  Drake  nol  io  show  cmy  act  of 
hoatUiiy,  which  messenger  by  contrary 
winds  coold  never  come  to  the  place 
where  be  was,  but  was  constrained  to 
come  home,  and  hearing  of  Sir  F. 
Drake?s  acUons,  her  Miyesty  com- 
manded tho  party  that  returned  to 
have  been  punished,  but  that  he  ac- 
quitted himself  by  the  oaths  of  himself 
and  all  liis  company.  And  so  unwiiUng 
yea  wtwiUing  to  her  Majesty  those  ac- 
tions were  committed  by  Sir  F.  Drake, 
for  the  which  her  M^'esty  is  as  yet 
greaUy  offended  with  ^m.'*  Burghley 
to  Andreas  de  Loo,  18  July,  1587. 
'Flanders  Correspondonco.'  (S.  P. 
Office  Ma) 

"There  are  letters  written  to  Sir 
Francis  Drake,"  said  Walsingham, 
"sent  unto  him  by  a  pinnance  soot 
forth  especially  for  that  purpose,  to 
command  him  not  to  attempt  anjrthing 
by  land,  nor  to  enter  into  the  ports  to 
distress  the  ships.  This  resolution 
proceedeth  altogether  upon  a  hope  of 
peace  which  I  fear  will  draw  a  dan- 
gerous war  upon  her  Majesty,  by  the 
alienation  of  the  hearts  of  the  well- 
affected  people  in  the  Low  Countries." 
Wakangham  to  Leicester,  II  Aprfl, 
1687.  ^rit  Mua  Galba,  a  xl  p.  344 
MS.) 


And  again,  a  week  later — "  As  fjr 
Spain,"  says  the  Secretary,  "they  are 
so  fiir  off  from  any  intention  to  assail 
England,  as  they  stand  now  upon  their 
own  guard  for  fear  of  Sir  French  Drake. 
There  are  letters  written  from  certaui 
of  my  lords,  by  her  Majesty^s  effectual 
commandment,  to  inhibit  him  to  at- 
tempt anything  by  land,  or  within  tho 
ports  of  the  kingdom  of  Spain.  He  is 
at  liberty  to  take  any  of  the  King's 
fleets,  either  going  out  of  Spain  or 
returning  into  Spain.  There  is  a  bruit 
given  out  upon  tho  despatch  of  these 
letters  that  there  is  order  given-for  his 
revocation."  Samo  to  same,  17  April, 
1587.  (Brit  Mus.  Galba,  C.  zl  p.  327. 
MS.) 

It  is  somewhat  amtising,  on  the  other 
hand,  to  find  Leicester  claiming  credit 
for  her  Majerty,  for  this  demonstration 
against  Spain,  and  using  it  in  his  com- 
munications with  the  States  as  a  proof 
of  her  hostile  intentions  towards  that 
power.  "There  is  no  such  meaning 
hi  her  Migesty  to  abuse  you,"  he  ob- 
served, "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  States,  6  Sept.  1587.  (&  P. 
Ofiioe  MS) 


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286 


THE  UNITED  NETHEELAITOS. 


Chap.  XVTL 


CHAPTER    XVII. 


Secret  Treaty  between  Queen  and  Tarma — Excitement  and  Alarm  in  tlio 
States — Religious  Persecution  in  England  —  Queen's  Sincerity  to\rard 
Spain — Language  and  Letters  of  Parma  —  Negotiations  of  De  Loo  — 
English  Commissioners  appointed  —  Parma's  affectionate  Letter  to  tbo 
Queen — Pliilip  at  bis  Writing-Table  —  His  Plots  with  Parma  against 
England — Parma^s  secret  Letters  to  the  King — Philip's  Letters  to.  Parma  — 
"Wonderflil  Duplicity  of  Philip  —  His  sanguine  Views  us  to  England  — 
He  is  reluctant  to  hear  of  the  Obstacles — and  imagines  Parma  in  England 
— ^But  Alexander's  Difficulties  are  great  —  He  denounces  Philip's  wild 
Schemes — Walsingham  aware  of  the  Spanish  Plot — which  the  States  well 
understand  —  Leicester's  great  Unpopularity — The  Queen  warned  against 
Treating — Leicester's  Schemes  against  Bameveld — Leicestrian  Ck>n- 
spiracy  at  Leyden — ^The  Plot  to  seize  the  City  discovered — ^Threo  Hlng- 
leaders  sentenced  to  Death — CivU  War  in  Franco— Victoiy  gained  by 
Kavarre,  and  one  by  Quise  —  Queen  recalls  Leicester — Who  retires  on 
ill  Terms  with  the  States  —  Queen  warned  as  to  Spanish  Designs  — 
Eesults  of  Leicester's  Administration. 


The  course  of  Elizabeth  towards  the  Provinces,  in  the  matter 
of  the  peace,  was  certainly  not  ingenuous,  but  it  was  not 
absolutely  deceitful.  She  concealed  and  denied  the  nego- 
tiations, when  the  Netherland  statesmen  were  perfectly  a^warc 
of  their  existence,  if  not  of  their  tenour ;  but  she  was  not  pre- 
pared, 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,  over-bearing, 
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  tho  men  who  governed  that 
people  as  ungrateful  wretches  and  impudent  liars.* 


'  E.  g,  "Nous  avons  renvoy^  notro 
cousin  de  Leycestre — nonobstant  que 
nous  fhssions  a  peu  pres  degout^  .... 
Yus  les  desordres  et  confusions  depuis 
son  partement  de  U  . . .  les  traverses 
ingrates  de  quelques  uns  mal  affect^ 
par  de  14,  dont  nous  memes  avons  en 
occasion  de  bien  fort  nous  repentu*. 
Toutefoia   la  consideration   quo   nous 


avons  cu  do  Tinnocence  d'un  ^  bon 
peuple,  et  lo  desir  qu'avons  eu  de  lear 
bien,  jointe  la  prompte  volunt^  de  notro 
cousin,  ont  eu  plus  do  force  a  xkhis 
retenir  en  notre  premiere  affectioQ  .... 
et  attendons  que  ce  qu*est  poss^  sera 
repar^  i  Tavenir  . . . ."  Queen  to  State- 
Council,  20  June,  1687.  (a  P.  Office, 
MS.)    A  letter  to  the  States,  of  nearly- 


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1587.        SECRET  TREATING  BETWEEN  QUEEN  AND  PARMA.       287 

These  were  the  corrosives  and  vinegar  which  she  thought 
suitable  for  the  case  ;  and  the  Earl  was  never  weary  in 
depicting  the  same  statesmen  as  seditious^  pestilent,  self- 
seeking,  mischief-making  traitors.  These  secret,  informal 
negotiations,  had  been  carried  on  during  most  of  the  year 
1587.  It  was  the  "  comptroller's  peace,"  as  Walsingham  con- 
temptuously designated  the  attempted  treaty ;  for  it  will  be 
recollected  that  Sir  James  Croft,  a  personage  of  very  mediocre 
abilities,  had  always  been  more  busy  than  any  other  English 
politician  in  these  transactions.  He  acted,  however,  on  the 
inspiration  of  Burghley,  who  drew  his  own  from  the  fountain- 
head. 

But  it  was  in  vain  for  the  Queen  to  affect  concealment. 
The  States  knew  everything  which  was  passing,  before  Lei- 
cester knew.  His  own  secret  instructions  reached  the  Nether- 
lands before  ho  did.  His  secretary,  Junius,  was  thrown  into 
prison,  and  his  master's  letter  taken  from  him,  before  ^ere 
had  been  any  time  to  act  upon  its  treacherous  suggestions.^ 
When  the  Earl  wrote  letters  with  his  own  hand  to  his 
sovereign,  of  so  secret  a  nature  that  ho  did  not  even  retain  a 


tha  samo  date,  is  Hkewiflo  filled  wich 

ojmressiona    of    her    disgust    at    tho 

"etnuige  et  ingrate   mantere  de  yos 

<^portement3    envora      notre    oousin, 

▼otre  ingratitude  et  traverses,"  and  of 

Pfwae  of  the  cousin,  who,  '*  nonobstant 

ioutea  oes  discourtesies  et  ingratitudes, 

^©voudra  espargner  pour  le  biea  do 

^008  to^  do  hasarder  ni  sa  vie  ni  sa 

>&rtune,"  Ac.      Queen   to    States,    22 

•^«oe^  1587.     (S.  P.  Office,  MS.) 

-Anti  three  months  later — "  How  tho 

^w^^    of  Sluya  was  lost,  we  will  sparo 

^  I^'^te,  that  which  thousands  of  your 

tiv^     people  did  affirm,  how  traitor- 

^?**-5^  *tiis  town  was  lost,  or  rather  be- 

^£^^J^  the  world  knoweth,  and  we  do 

/j^^^^**i«k  that  jouraelves  can  deny  it, 

yo^^       "Vrant  of   supply  flx)m  you   and 

OQt   ^^^l^iieftains,  .  .  .  and  yet  not  with* 


{I^i_J^efended 


Hi^^^"^^^  honour  and  roputotion  of  ours 


it  .  .  .  Our  lieutenant 
^ter)  could  not  have  conyenient 


for   ^v?^^^  ^^  with  you  (about  the  peace), 

ov^^^.^^t  he  was  so  entangled  with  your 

^^■^•^wart  dealing  against  him,  with 


sundry  false  reports  of  us  aud  himself 
that  we  had  agreed  to  a  peace  with 
the  King  of  Spain,  without  regard  to 
you.  .  .  .  That  the  Earl  of  ^^icestcr 
was  by  us  directed  to  surprise  divers 
towns,  to  yield  to  the  King,  if  you 
would  not  assent  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  tho 
word  of  a  prince,  most  false  and  mali- 
ciously devised  with  devilisli  minds, 
abhorring,  as  it  seemetli,  all  liking  of 
godly  peace  and  quietness,"  Ac.  Queen 
to  the  States,  20  Sept  1587.  (a  P. 
Office  MSw) 

'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  bo 
attempted  before,  and  puts  me  past 
my  patience,  I  assure  you."  Leicester 
to  Walsingham,  4  July,  1587.  (3.  P. 
Office  MS5 


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288 


THE  UNITED  NETHERLANDa 


Chap.  XVIL 


single  copy  for  himself,  for  fear  of  discovery,  he  found,  to  his 
infinite  disgust,  that  the  States  were  at  once  provided  with  an 
authentic  transcript  of  every  line  that  he  had  written.^  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  Barneveld,"  *  as  Leicester  was 
in  the  habit  of  designating  one  of  the  first  statesmen  in 
Europe,  was  perhaps  justified,  knowing  what  he  did,  in  sus- 
pecting more.  Being  furnished  with  a  list  of  commissioners, 
already  secretly  agreed  upon  between  the  English  and  Spimish 
governments,  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  Parma  at  aU,  it  was  not  un- 
natural that  ho  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 
thalt  he  never  stated  in  public  anything  which  was  not  after- 
wards proved  to  be  matter  of  fact,  or  of  legitimate  inference 
from  the  secret  document  which  had  come  into  his  hands. 
The  Queen  exhausted  herself  in  opprobious  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  Provinces  into 
obedience  to  her  policy.     She  urged,  with  much  logic,  that 


"  •*  I  am  credibly  infonned  by  an 
hooeat  man,"  says  Leicester,  '^wbo 
says  he  saw  it,  that  the  States  have  a 
copy  of  my  last  instrument,  as  also  of 
the  letter  of  her  Miyesty  written  lately 
privately  to  me,  touching  the  dealing 
in  the  peace.  Yea,  forther,  that  they 
are  thoroughly  and  particularly  mode 
acquainted  with  a  late  letter  of  mine 
to  her  Mig'es^,  written  with  my  own 
hand,  whereof  I  would  have  no  copy 
taken,  because  I  would  have  no  man 
acquaint  with  it  In  which  letter  I 
informed  her  Majesty  at  length  of  all 
things  here,   and   gave  her   also^    in 


some  sort,  my  private  advice.  They 
have,  by  some  means,  got  knowledge 
of  the  contents  thereof)  and  have 
intimated  the  same  secretly  to  the 
Provinces,  intending  thereby  to  draw 
me  into  hatred  wad  suspicion  of  the 
people^  as  though  tliis  dealing  fi^ 
p^ce  were  procured .  for  me.  But  ibr 
this  matter,  I  shaU  hope  to  deal  wc^ 
enough,  for  this  treacherous  usage  of 
her  Majesty's  secrets,*'  &o,  Leicester 
to  Walsingham,  28  Aug.  1587.  (a  P. 
Office  M&) 

'  Leicester  to  Burghley,  10-11  Sept 
1687.    (S.  P.  Office  Ma) 


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1587. 


EXCITEMENT  AND  ALABH  IN  THE  STATEa 


289 


as  she  had  refused  the  sovereignty  of  the  i^hole  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  waa  very  obvious,  that  to  accept  the  sovereignty  of  Philip's 
rebellious  Provinces,  was  to  declare  war  upon  Philip;  whereas, 
had  she  been  pacifically  inclined  towards  that  sovereign,  and 
treacherously  disposed  towards  the  Netherlands,  it  would  be  a 
decided  advantage  to  her  to  have  those  strong  places  in  her 
power.  But  the  suspicions  as  to  her  good  fedth  were  ex- 
aggmtted.  Ab  to  the  intentions  of  Leicester,  the  States  were 
justified  in  their  almost  unlimited  distrust.  It  is  very  certain 
that  both  in  1586,  and  again,  at  this  very  moment,  when 
Elizabeth  was  most  vehement  in  denouncing  such  aspersions 
ou  h,er  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  to^vns  already  in  his  power,  would  enable  the 
Queen  to  make  good  terms  for  herself  with  Spain,  ^^  if  the  worst 
came  to  the  worst.*' ^  It  will  also  soon  be  sho?m  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  n^tiations 
with  Parma  the  Queen  was  disposed  to  sacrifice  the  religious 

'  "I  wffl  go  to  Modenblik  (the  next 
town  to  £n]£nyzen),  which  is  at  your 


Mijestj's  devotion,  as  the  goyemor 
tboreof  (Sonoj)  is»  and  will  do  my 
best  to  recover  Enkhuyzen  ere  I  de- 
part thence.  Then,  ibdeed,  yoor  Ma- 
jesty, Jwmng  Fliuhmg^  Brill,  and 
Uhreeht,  as  yon  have,  and  tliese,  ye 
shall  be  able  to  bring  the  peace  to 
better  conditions,  and  bridle  (hese 
StaUt  of  EbUand  at  your  pleasure, 
....  They  are  full  of  shifts,  and 
yet  such  as  for  this  matter  may  ask 
tderation,  fbr  how  fuUefid  a  maUer 
peace  haOi  been  to  the  generality  almost 
of  all  these  countries,  Is  well  known 
to  all  persons,  and  how  loathsome  a 
thing  it  is  to  all  hxA  to  such  as  fbr 
love,  and  trost  in  your  Usjesty  will 
confbrm  themselves,  I  can  suCQoiently 
testify;  and  it  is  the  only  canse  of  the 
VOL.  IT. — ^U 


world  for  them  to  be  careftd  in  their 
dealmg,  for  it  doth  confirm  them  and 
their  posterity  both  hi  their  lives  and 
liberties,  and  therefore  to  be  borne 
withal,  if  they  take  deliberation.** 
Leicester  to  the  Queen,  9  Oct  1587. 
(a  P.  Office  Ma)  Yet  the  Earl,  not- 
withstanding this  admission,  avows 
his  determination  of  bridling  the 
States  by  gaining  possession  of  their 
cities. 

And  agafai,  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  &11  out: 
which,  if  it  may  be,  your  Majesty  shaiU 
Ihe  less  feair  io  make  a  good  bargain 
for  yourself,  when  the  worst  shall 
come."*  Leicester  to  the  Queen,  5tb 
Nov.  1587.    (a  P.  Office,  MS.) 


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290  THE  UNITED  NETHERLANDS.  Chap.  XVIL 

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,  in  her  overtures  to  Famese, 
she  had  abandoned  tiiat  point  altogether.^  If  this  had  been 
so,  it  would  have  simply  been  a  consent  on  the  part  of 
Elizabeth,  that  the  Catholic  religion  and  the  Inquisition 
should  be  re-established  in  the  Provinces,  to  the  exclusion  of 
every  other  form  of  worship  or  polity.  In  truth,  however,  tiie 
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  cmel, 
than  that  to  which  those  were  subjected  who  rebelled  against 
Sixtus.  The  Act  of  Uniformity  required  Papists  to  assist  at 
the  Protestant  worship,  but  wealthy  Papists  could  obtain  im- 
munity by  an  enormous  fine.  The  Roman  excuse  to  destroy 
bodies  in  order  to  save  souls,  could  scarcely  be  alledged  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  amouiffc  of  persecution,  exercised  respectively 
by  the  Protestant  and  the  Roman  Church.  It  is  probable  that 
not  many  more  than  two  hundred  Catholics*  were  executed 

De  Loo  taketh  no  small  hold,  and  if 
she  keep  that  coarse,  all  will  go  to 
rain,  as  I  have  written  to  her  Miyesty.*' 
Buckhurst  to  Walsingfaam,  18  Jaoei 
1687.    (&P.  OffloeMa) 

•  **  Dod  reckons  Ihem  at  191 ;  ACl- 
ner  has  raised  the  list  to  204.    fifteeii 


'  "I  have  sent  her  Majesty  another 
letter  ftom  De  Loo,  whereby  it  seemeth 
that  now  very  lately  her  Majesty  hath 
given  him  to  understand  that«flhe  will 
not  insist  npon  the  matter  of  religion 
fbrther  than  shall  be  with  the  King's 
honour  and    conscience.     Whereupon 


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EELIGIOUS  PERSECUTION  IN  ENGLAND. 


291 


as  such,  in  Elizabeth's  reign,  and  this  was  ten  score  too 
many.  But  what  was  this  against  eight  hundred  heretics 
burned,  hanged,  and  drowned,  in  one  Easter  week  by  Alva, 
against  the  eighteen  thousand  two  hundred  sent  to  stake  and 
scaffold,  as  he  boasted  during  his  administration,  against  the 
vast  numbers  of  Protestants,  whether  they  be  count^  by  tens 
or  by  hundreds  of  thousands,  who  perished  by  the  edicts 
of  Charles  Y.,  in  the  Netherlands,  pr  in  the  single  Saint 
Bartholomew  Massacre  in .  France  ?  Moreover,  it  should 
never  be  forgotten— from  undue  anxiety  for  impartiality — 
that  most  of  the  Catholics  who  were  executed  in  England, 
suffered  as  conspirators  rather  than  as  heretics.  No  foreign 
potentate,  claiming  to  be  vicegerent  of  Christ,  had  denounced 
Philip  as  a  bastard  and  usurper,  or  had,  by  means  of  a 
blasphemous  fiction,  which  then  was  a  terrible  reality,  severed 
the  bonds  of  allegiance  by  which  his  subjects  were  held,  cut 
him  off  from  all  communion  with  his.  fellow-creatures,  and 
promised  temporal  rewards  and  a  crown  of  glory  in  heaven 
to  those  who  should  succeed  in  depriving  him  of  throne  and 
life.  Yet  this  was  the  position  of  Elizabeth.  It  was  war  to 
the  knife  between  her  and  Rome,  declared  by  Eome  itself; 
nor  was  there  any  doubt  whatever  that  the  Seminary  Priests — 
seedlings  transplanted  from  foreign  nurseries,  which  were  as 
watered  gardens  for  the  growth  of  treason — were  a  perpetually 
oiganized  band  of  conspirators  and  assassins,  with  whom  it 
was  hardly  an  act  of  excessive  barbarity  to  deal  in  somewhat 
summary  fashion.    Doubtless  it  would  have  been  a  more  lofty 


of  these,  according  to  him,  saffered 
lor  deoying  the  Queen's  snpremacy, 
126  for  exercising  their  ministry,  and 
the  rest  for  being  reconciled  to  the 
Bomish  diorch.  .  Many  others  died 
of  hardships  in  prison,  and  many  were 
deprived  of  their  property.  There 
seems,  nevertheless,  to  be  good  reason 
lor  doubting  whether  any  one  who 
was  executed  might  not  have  saved 
Ilia  life  by  ezp^tly,  denying  the 
P<^'s  power  to  depose  the  Queen. 
This  certainly  furnishes  a  distinction 
between  tlie  persecution  under  Eliza- 
beth (which,  unjust  as  it  was  in  its 


operation,  yet,  so  fitr  as  it  extended  to 
capital  inflictions,  had  in  view  the 
security  of  the  government)  and  that 
which  the  Protestants  had  sustained 
in  h^r  sister's  reign,  springing  from 
mere  bigotry  and  vindictive  rancour." 
(Hallam's  <  Ck>n8titutional  History,' 
kih  edition.  Hurray,  1846.  L  163. 
Compare  Lingard,  viii.  356,  613, 
Strype,  iii.  iv.,  and  see  in  particular, 
chapters  ill  and  iv.  of  Hallam,  in 
which  the  dealings  of  Elizabeth  in 
religious  matters  are  prolbandly  In- 
vestigated.) 


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292  ^J^HB  UNITED  NBTHERLANDa  Chap.  XVTL 

policy,  and  a  far  more  intelligent  one,  to  extend  towards  the 
Oatholica  of  England,  who  as  a  body  were  loyal  to  their 
country,  an  ample  toleration.  But  it  could  scarcely  be  ex- 
pected that  Elizabeth  Tudor,  as  imperious  and  absolute  by 
temperament  as  her  fatha:  had  ever  been,  would  be  capable 
of  embodying  that  great  principle. 

When,  in  the  prelinnnaries  to  the  negotiations  of  1587, 
therefore,  it  wad  ui^ed  on  the  part  of  Bpaih,  that  the  Queen 
was  demanding  a  concession  of  religious  liberty  firom  Philip 
to  the  Netherlanders  which  she  refused  to  English  heretics, 
and  that  he  only  claimed  the  same  right  of  dictating  a  creed 
to  his  sulgects  which  she  exercised  in  regard  to  her  own.  Lord 
Burghley  replied  that  the  statement  was  correct.    The  Queen 
permitted'-^it  was  iane-^no  man  to  profess  any  rel^on  but 
the  one  which  she  professed.    At  the  same  time  it  was  de- 
clared to  be  unjust,  that  those  persons  in  the  Netherlands  who 
had  been  for  years  in  the  habit  of  practising  Protestant  rites, 
should  be  suddeTdy  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  uttermost    There  was  no  hint  of  the  propriety — on  any 
logical  basis — of  leaving  the  question  of  creed  as  a  matter 
between  man^nd  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  Vere 
true,  and  the  Catholic  doctrmes  false.    The  matter  was  merely 
taken  up  on  the  uti  posaidetia  principle,  that  they  who  had 
acquired  the  fact  of  Protestant  worship  had  a  right  to  retain 
it,  and  could  not  justly  bo  deprived  of  it,  except  by  instruc- 
tion 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  comprehen3ion,  because,  if  men,  women,  and  children, 
were  scourged  with  rods,  imprisoned,  and  hanged,  if  they 
refused  tp  conform  publicly  to  a  ceremony  at  which  their 
consciences  revolted — unless  they  had  money  enough  to  pur- 


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QUEEN'S  SINCBEITY  TOWARDS  SPAIN. 


293 


chase  non-conformity — ^it  seemed  to  be  the  practice  to  inquire 
very  effectively  into  their  consciences.^ 

But  if  there  was  a  certain  d^ree  of  disingenuousness  on 
the  part  of  Elizabeth  towards  the  States,  her  {ittitude  towards 
Panna  was  one  of  perfect  sincerity.  A  perusal  of  the  secret 
correspondence  leaves  no  doubt  whatever  on  that  point.  She 
was  seriously  and  fervently  desirous  of  peace  with  Spain. 
On  the  part  of  Famese  and  his  master,  there  was  the  most 
unscrupulous  mendacity,  while  the  confiding  simplicity  and 
truthfulness  of  the  Queen  in  these  negotiations  was  ahnost 
pathetic.  Especially  she,  declared  her  trust  in  the  loyal  and 
upright  character  of  Parma,  in  which  she  was  sure  of  never 
being  disappointed*  It  is  only  doing  justice  to  Alexander  to 
say  that  he  was  as  much  deceived  by  her  frankness  as  she 
by  his  falsehood.  It  never  entered  his  head  that  a  royal  per- 
sonage and  the  trusted  counsellors  of  a  great  kingdom  could 
be  telling  the  truth  in  a  secret  international  transaction,  and 


*  "And  when  Do  Loo  reporteth 
an  objection  made  to  him,  that  there 
ia  no  more  reason  for  the  Kxag  to  jield 
to  any  of  his  subjects  liberty  of  reli- 
gion contrary  to  the  one  he  professeth 
no  more  than  her  ^^esty  doth  to  any 
of  hers;  indeed,  at  iho  first  appear- 
anoe,  this  objection,  seemeth  of  good 
moment  to  be  allowed,  and,  nntil  it  be 
answered,  ought  to  be  taken  by  the 
Duke  of  Parma;  but  if  the  diversitieB 
of  the  comparison  shall  be  marked, 
the  case  also  will  therein  be  dianged. 
The  Queen's  Miges^  indeed  never  did 
permit^  either  publicly  or  privately, 
that  any  persons  for  these  seven  years 
should  use  any  exercise  of  religion 
contrary  to  that  form  received  and 
wrtahlighed  by  puUic  authority;  so 
as  none  can  challenge  that  they  were 
by  any  liberty  suffered  to  use  any 
other,  which  is  contraiy  to  tiie  Low 
Goontriea,  for  tiie  space  of  about  six 
years.  But  if  her  Majesty  had  so 
permitted,  surely  reason  would  move 
her  sot  to  constrain,  otherwise  than  by 
instruction,  any  that  by  reason  of  her 
permiasbn  had  governed  their  con- 
sciences  to  the  contrary.  And  be- 
cause it  may  be  also  further  objected, 
as  most  ihlsely  is  divulged,  to  more 


offence  against  her  Majesty  fix>m  Ca- 
tholic places,  that  she  doth  so  severely 
punish  them  that  are  in  consciences 
contrarOy  affected,  it  is  to  be  avowed 
for  a  certain  truth  that  her  Majesty 
never  did  allow  that  any  person  was 
by  inqmsition  uiged  to  show  his  con- 
science in  any  matter,  of  fSsuth,  nor 
ever  was  puni^ed  for  professing  onlv 
of  his  opinion  in  his  conscience,  bat 
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  reli- 
gion, persuaded  them  also  to  alter 
their  obedience  in  all  wordly  duties, 
to  practise  rebellion  in  the  realm,,  to 
solicit  invasions,  and  flatly  to  deny 
the  Queen's  Majesty  to  be  their  lawful 
Queen.  Li  those  cases,  her  Majesty 
and  all  her  nunisters  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  8lx>uld  lose  their 
lives  and  shed  their  bkMxL**  (Boogie 
drafl  of  Burghley,  9  March,  16S7* 
Br.  Mus.  Galba,  C.  ix.  pi  122,  Ma) 


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294 


THE  UNITED  NETHERLANDS. 


Chap.  XVH. 


he  justified  the  industry  with  which  his  master  and  himself 
piled  fiction  upon  fiction,  by  their  utter  disbelief  in  every 
word  whieh  came  to  them  from  tlngland. 

The  private  negotiations  had  been  commenced,  or  rather 
had  been  renewed,  very  early  in  February  of  this  year. 
During  the  whole  critical  period  which  preceded  and  followed 
the  execution  of  Mary,  in  the  course  of  which  the  language  of 
Elizabeth  towards  the  States  had  been  so  shrewish,  there  had 
been  the  gentlest  diplomatic  cooing  between  Famese  and  her- 
self. It  was — Dear  Cousin,  you  know  how  truly  I  confide  in 
your  sincerity,  how  anxious  I  am  that  this  most  desirable 
peace  should  be  arranged  ;  and  it  was — Sacred  Majesty,  you 
know  how  much  joy  I  feel  in  your  desire  for  the  repose  of 
the  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  ambiguovs  words  of  ginning  out  these  tran- 
sactions, 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  ^uch  pained,"  said  Alexander,  "  with  this  procrastina- 
tion. I  Hm  80  full  of  sincerity  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 


>  Parma  to  Qoeeii  Elizabeth,  18th 
Feb.  1587.  Same  to  same^  6  April, 
1687.  Queen  to  Parma,  13  Apri], 
1587.  (Arch,  de  Simauoaa^  MSS.) 
And  eren  later  still  :— 

**  Such  is  the  good  opfaiion  con- 
ceiyed  of  the  Duke  of  Parma,"  wrote 
Burgfaley,  "for  his  own  nature  and 
wor&iinees  in  all  places,  that  he  is  a 
prince  of  honour  hi  keeping  bis  pro- 
mise, without  respect  of  any  gain  or 
benefit  And,  to  tell  you  true,  it  is 
the  only  foundation  which  her  Majesty 


maketh  to  proceed  in  this  treaty, 
against  the  opinion  of  veiy  many,  in 
that  she  esteemeth  the  Duke  to  hare 
great  regard  to  his  word  and  promise^ 
and  also  on  opinion  that  she  hath, 
though  he  be  a  great  man  of  war,  that 
he  is  Christianly  disposed  rather  to 
maintain  peaoe  than  to  raise  war, 
whereof  her  Mijes^  looketh  to  make 
proof  by  this  trea^,"  Ac  Ac.  BuiKh- 
ley  to  Andr.  de  Loo^  10  Oct  1681 
(S.  P.  Office  MS.) 


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^687.  LANGUAGE  AlH)  LETTBES  OF  PAEMA.  295 

King  will  end  by  being  exasperated,  and  I  shall  be  touched,  in 
mj  honour — so  great  is  the  hopes  I  have  held  out  of  being 
able  to  secure  a  peace.  I  have  ever  been  and  I  still  am 
most  anxious  for  concord,  from  the  affection  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  nego- 
tiations might  terminate  before  the  arrival  of  my  fresh  troops, 
namely^  9000  Spaniards  and  9000  Italians,  which,  with 
Walloons,  Grermans,  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  do  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."^ 

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

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

A  feeble  proposition  was  then  made,  on  the  part  of  tho 
peace-loving  Andrew,  that  the  hostile  operations  against  Sluys 
should  be.  at  once  terminatied.  But  this  did  not  seem  so 
clear  to  the  most  serene  Duke.  He  had  gone  to  great  expense 
m  that  business  ;  and  he  had  not  built  bridges,  erected  forts, 
and  dug  mines,  only  to  abandon  them  for  a  few  fine  words, 
Fine  words  were  plenty,  but  they  raised  no  sieges.  Mean- 
time these  pacific  and  gentle  murmurings  from  Famese's  canip 
had  lulled  the  Queen  into  forgetfulness  of  Eoger  Williams  and 
Arnold  Groenevelt  and  their  men,  fighting  day  and  night  in 
trench  and  mine  during  that  critical  midsummer.  The  wily 
tongue  of  the  Duke  had  been  more  effective  than  his  bat- 
teries in  obtaining  the  much-coveted  city. '  The  Queen  ob- 
stinately held  back  her  men  and  money,  confident  of  effecting 

»  Do  Loo  to  Burghlej,  11  July,  1687.    (3.  P.  Office  M&) 


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296 


THE  UNITED  NETHERLAlilDS. 


Chap.  XVn, 


a  treaty,  whether  Sluys  fell  or  not.  Was  it  strange  that  the 
States  should  be  distrustful  of  her  intentions,  and,  in  their 
turn,  become  neglectful  of  their  duty  ?  ^ 

And  thus  summer  wore  into  autumn,  Sluys  fell,  the  States 
and  their  governor-general  were  at  daggers-drawn,  the  Nether- 
landers  were  full  of  distrust  with  regard  to  England,  Alexander 
hinted  doubts  as  to  the  Queen's  sincerity ;  the  secret  nego- 
tiations, though  fertile  in  suspicions,  jealousies,  delays,  and 
such  £du1  weeds,  had  produced  no  wholesome  fruit,  and  the 
26th  Sept,  excellent    De  Loo  became   very  much  depressed, 

^^®''*  At  last  a  letter  from  Burghley  relieved  his  droop- 
ing spirits.  From  the  most  disturbed  and  melancholy  man 
in  the  world,  he  protested,  he  had  now  become  merry  and 
quiet.^  He  straightway  went  off  to  the  Duke  of  Parma,  with 
tiie  letter  in  his  pocket,  and  translated  it  to  him  by  candle- 
light, as  he  was  careful  to  state,  as  an  important  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  disposed  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  I  did  not 
wish  a  pacific  solution,  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  re- 
solutions ;  observed  that  he  was  thoroughly  advised  of  the 


*  Burghley  to  De  loo,  18  July, 
168Y.    (a  P.  Office  Ma) 

'  *'  Da  turbato  e  melancollco  m*  ha 
del  tutto  quletato  e  &tto  star  allegro," 
kc  De  Loo  to  Burghley,  26  iSept. 
158t.    (a  P.  Office  Ma) 

*  "  Con  dire  amorevdmente  lo  obe 
Bigue — non  e  (diaseX  causa  alcuna  di 
dubitare  della  mia  sinoera  mente — si 
oome  sullo  fine  della  l**  si  la  menzione 
che  la  8er*°*  regina  lo  potrebbe  &xe — 
perohe  se  non  avessi  hayuto  bonissF^* 


disposizione  e  desiderio  della  pace 
non  sard  gia  ito  a  &me  }a  prima  aper- 
tura  mi  medesimo,  e  condescendere 
alle  cose  die  sapete  (disae  a  me)  so 
non  si  fosse  stata  intenzione  di  Tolerne 
yenir  a  una  oondusione  (agiongondo) 
che  oosa  mi  forzava  di  &rlo?.  Ann 
piuttosto  ayrei  oocasione  io  di  suq>et- 
tar  loro  con  tante  sorte  di  dilaidoni  e 
faayer  n^  fetto  perdere  la  me^r  parte 
de  r  estate,"  &c    (Ibid.) 


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1587. 


NEGOTIATIONS  OF  DE  LOO. 


297 


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  Burghle/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  n^otiator  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  believed, 
and  faithfully  transmitted  to  the  court  of  Elizabeth.  Alexander 
had  done  his  best,  they  said,  to  delay  the  arrival  of  his  fresh 
troopa  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 
DO  commissioners,  the  Duke  had  come  to  the.  painful  con- 
clusion that  he  had  been  trifled  with.^  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  foimd  himself  the 
object  of  her  mirth.'  Those  who  ought  to  be  well  informed 
had  assured  him  that  the  Queen  was  only  waiting  to  see  how 
the  King  of  Navarre  was  getting  on  with  the  auxiliary  force 
just  going  to  him  from  Germany,  that  she  had  no  intention 


^  "  Ma  a  V  ultimo  il  Duca  Tedendo 
la  oontimia  dflazioDe,  oon  giudicare 
die  si  burlasBe,'*  kc  (De  Loo  to 
Burghley,  Ma  last  cited.) 


*  "Trovandosi  Yergogniato  davere, 
lasciato  scorrere  si  bdkk  stagione  io 
odo,"Aa    (Ibid.) 

»  Had. 


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298  THE  UNITED  NBTHBBLANDa  Chap.  XVIL 

whatever  to  make  peace^  and  that^  before  long,  he  might 
expect  all  these  German  mercenaries  upon  his  shoulders  in 
the  Netherlands.  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  important 
intelligence  to  her  Majesty  and  the  Lord-Ti^easurer.  He 
implored  her,  he  said,  upon  his  bare  knees,  prostrate  on  the 
ground,  and  from  the  most  profound  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  hiuL  He  would 
pledge  his  immortal  soul,  which  was  of  more  value  to  him — 
as  he  correctly  observed — ^than  even  the  crown  of  Spain,  that 
the  King,  the  Duke,  and  his  counsellors,  were  most  sincerely 
desirous  of  peace,  and  actuated  by  the  most  loving  and  benevo- 
lent motives.  Alexander  Famese  was  '^the  antidote  to  the 
Duke  of  Alva,"  kindly  iaent  by  heaven,  ut  contraria  contrariis 
curenteTy  and  if  the  entire  security  of  the  sacred  Queen  were 
not  now  obtained,  together  with  a  perfect  re-integration  of  love 
between  her  Majesty  and  the  King  of  Spain,  and  with  the 
assured  tranquillity  and  perpetual  prosperity  of  the  Nether- 
lands, 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  his  own  con- 
victions upon  her  Majesty  and  Lord  Bui^Uey,  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 
commimications  of  Alexander  and  his  agents,  there  was  not 
one  single  word  of  truth.  It  was  all  false  from  beginning  to 
end,  as  to  the  countermanding  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. 

'  De  Loo  to  Bnrghley,  MS.  last  cited.  I  centro  del  mio  cuore  et  ez  corde  ot  ex 
*  **  Flexifl   niidisqne    genibus   hmni      tota  anima,"  Ac.    (Ibid.) 
proBtratus,  dal   piu   profondo  o  vero  |       *  n)id. 


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5187. 


ENGLISH  COMMISSIONERS  APPOINTED. 


299 


Meantime  the  conference  bad  been  most  amicable  and 
satisfactory.  And  when  business  was  ovct,  Champagny — ^not 
a  whit  the  worse  for  the  severe  jilting  which  he  had  so  re- 
cently sustained  from  the  widow  De  Bours,  now  Mrs.  Aristotle 
Patton — invited  De  Loo  and  Secretary  Cosimo  to  supper. 
And  the  three  made  a  night  of  it^  sitting  up  late^  and  draining 
such  huge  bumpers  to  the  health  of  the  Queen  of  England/ 
that — ^as  the  excellent  Andrew  subsequently  informed  Lord 
Buighley — ^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  81uys  and  Antwerp,  the 
import  of  which  it  seemed  difficult  to  mistake,  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,  shaking  his  head, 
and  waving  his  wand  across  the  water,  as  if,  by  such  expedients, 
the  storm  about  to  burst  over  England  could  be  dispersed. 

The  commissioners  should  come,  if  only  the  Duke  of 
Parma  would  declare  on  his  word  of  honour,  that  these  hostile 
preparations  with  which  all  Christendom  was  ringing,  were 
not  intended  against  England ;  or — ^if  that  really  were  the 
case— if  he  would  request  his  master  to  abandon  all  such 
schemes,  and  if  Philip  in  consequence  would  promise  on  the 
honour  of  a  prince,  to  make  no  hostile  attempts  against  that 
country.* 


'  ''Con  sommo  contentamento  del 
tmo  e  V  altrOf  a  tal  eegno,  che  tenen- 
clod  il  Sr  de  CbampagDjr  a  cena,  ooq 
fiff  U  ragione  di  baon  cuore  d*  un  gran 
brindisi  che  fiaoe  alia  amitk  di  sua 
sacra  Maesta,  mi  dolse  (con  Uoenza 
per  dirlo  come  va)  la  mattina  seguente 


bravamente  la  teeta."  A.  de  Loo  to 
Burghley,  26  Sept  1587.  (3.  P.  Office, 
MS.) 

•  "  If  you  can  possibly,  I  require  you 
to  obtain  of  the  Duke,  in  writing  under 
his  hand,  an  assurance  either  of  his 
knowledge  that  these  preparations  are 


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300 


THE  UNITED  NETHERLANDS. 


Chap.  XVIL 


There  would  really  seem  an  almost  Arcadian  eimplicity  in 
such  demands,  coming  from  so  pra^^tised  a  statesman  as  the 
Lord-Treasurer,  and  from  a  woman  of  such  brilliant  intellect 
as  Elizabeth  unquestionably  possessed.  But  we  read  the 
history  of  1587,  not  only  by  the  light  of  subsequent  events, 
but  by  the  almost  microscopic  revelations  of  sentiments  and 
motives,  which  a  full  perusal  of  the  secret  documents  in  those 
ancient  cabinets,  afford.  At  that  moment  it  was  not  igno- 
rance 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  Famese,^ 
of  a  most  religious  and  anointed  monarch  like  Philip  II. 
English  frankness,  playing  cards  upon  the  table,  was  no 
match  for  Italian  and  Spanish  legerdemain, — a  system  accord- 
ing 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  Robert  Sidney*  was  persuaded  that 
the  expedition  was  intended  for  Africa ;  even  the  Pope  was 


BOt  nor  shall  be  meant  against  any  of 
her  Majesty's  dominions;  or  other- 
wise, if  he  be  not  able  to  assure  the 
same,  then,  at  the  least,  that  he  will, 
by  his  writing,  assure  her  Majesty 
that  he  will,  upon  his  honour,  with  all 
expedition,  send  to  the  King  his  ad- 
vioe  to  stay  all  hostile  actions,  or  to 
have  the  King's  answer,  like  a  prince 
of  honour,  whether  he  intendeth  or  no 
to  employ  thesd  forces  agahist  her 
Majesty,  which,  though  in  some  con- 
struction may  seem  hard  to  require  of 
a  king  intending  hostility,  yet,  as  the 
case  is,  when  her  Majes^  yieldeth  to 
a  oessatton  of  arms,  iod  to  a  trea^  of 
peace  with  the  king,  is  a  request 
most  reasonable  to  make,  and  honour- 
able for  the  king  to  grant  .  .  .  Such 
are  the  frequent  reports  out  of  Spain 
of  these  preparationa,  and  yet  her 
iiajesty  wtU  stand  to  the  Duke's  ansufeTf 
if  the  army  shall  not  be  known  to  be 
actually  prepared  against  England-^ 
-vdiich,  if  it  shall  be,  no  man  will 
think  it  meet  that  her  commissioners 


should  come.**  Burgbley  to  A.  De 
Loo^  10  Oct  1587.    (S.  P.  Office  Ma) 

'  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  tboughta  "The  Duke 
of  Parma,  to  the  end  the  treaty  may 
proceed  with  better  sucoesa^  bath 
made  offer  unto  us  to  yield  to  a  cessa- 
tion of  arms,  having  put  us  also  in 
hope  that  such  forces  as  are  now  pre- 
paring in  Italy,  amounting  to  16,00(1 
footmen,  at  the  leasl^  shall  be  stayed." 
Queen  to  Leicester,  9  Aug;  1567. 
(Br.  Mus.  Galba,  D.  I.  293,  M&) 

'  "There  came  some  out  of  Spain 
very  lately,  that  say  the  preparataona 
there  are  for  a  certain  place  in  Africk, 
whidi  greatly  imports  the^  passage  of 
both  the  Indies.  The  adnural  of  the 
Turks  was  to  leave  it  last  year  with 
sixty  galleys."  Sir  R.  Sidney  to 
Leicester,  31  Dec.  1587.  (Br.  Moa. 
Galba,  D.  H.  p.  288,  M&) 


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iSSt.        PARVA^S  AiTECrriOlirATE  LBTTEB  TO  THB  QUEEN.         301 

completely  mystified — to  the  intense  delight  of  Philip — and 
Burghley,  enlightened  by  the  sagacious  De  Loo,  was  con- 
yinced,  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  Demosthenes  a  lesson  with  which  William 
the  Silent,  in  his  famous  Apology,  had  made  the  world  familiar, 
that  the  only  cUadel  against  a  tyrani  and  a  conqueror  was 
distrust. 

Alexander,  much  grieved  tiiat  doubts  should  still  be  felt  as 
to  his  sincerity,  renewed  the  most  exuberant  expressions  of 
that  sentiment,  together  with  gentle  complaints  against  the 
dilatorin^BS  which  had  proceeded  from  the  doubt  Her  Majesty 
had  long  been  aware,  he  said,  of  his  anxiety  to  bring  about  a 
perfect  reconciliation ;  but  he  had  waited,  month  after  month, 
for  her  commissioners,  and  had  waited  in  vain.  His  hopes  had 
been  dashed  to  the  ground.  The  affi^ir  had  been  indefinitely 
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  tran- 
quillity.^ 


'  "  E  coBi  da  canto  quo  hayeya  pre- 
parato  gli  affari  di  manera,  e  messo  il 
-  tatto  in  termine,  che  Y'*  Ma^  baveva 
pototo  coDoecere  qnal  zelo  cb'  io  ab- 
braoiara  questa  occaaione,  e  quanto  ia 
desiderava  di  veder  rivertire  la  bisona 
e  motua  intelligenza  fra  11  Be  mio 
Bignore  et  la  y»  M^.  Ma  vedendo 
she  non  obstante  le  tante  speranze  che 
m'  erarano  state  date  deUa  vennta  dei 
commiasarU  di  Y^  M^,  la  cosa  si  va 
taitaviatirando  al  lungo,  io  non  posso 
le  non  dabitiure  cb*  ella  babbia  mutato 


d*  opinione,  e  se  ben  io  ero  qnasi  rcso- 
loto  di  non  d  pensar  piu,  tuttavia 
ritomandosene  per  di  la  11  detto 
Andrea  mi  ptu^  di  scriv^  ancor 
auesti  pochi  yersi,  tanto  per  non  perder 
r  occasione  di  baciar  bmnil<«  le  mani 
a  Y^  Mt»  quanto  per  assigurarla  oho 
non  restara  per  me,  cbe  la  risoluzione 
presa,  non  pass!  aranti,  e  cbe  snoce- 
dendo  altrimente  ne  saro  scusato  inansi 
a  Dio  et  al  mondo^  e  havero  almeno 
satisfiitto  a  me  miedosimo,  d'  haver 
&tto  quelle  cbe  1'  oblige  Cbristiano^ 


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302 


THE  UNITED  NETHERLANDS. 


Chap.  XVII. 


When  Burghley  read  these  fine  phrases,  he  was  much  im- 
pressed ;  and  they  were  pronounced  at  the  English  court  to 
be  "very  princely  and  Christianly/'  An  elaborate  comment 
too  was  drawn  up  by  the  comptroller  on  every,  line  of  the 
letter.     "  These  be  very  good  words/'  said  the  comptroller.^ 

But  the  Queen  was  even  more  pleased  with  the  last  proof 
of  the  Duke's  sincerity,  than  even  Burghley  and  Croft  had 
been.  Disregarding  all  the  warnings  of  Walsingham,  she 
renewed  her  expressions  of  boundless  confidence  in  the  wily 
Italian.  "  We  do  assure  you/'  wrote  the  Lords,  "  and  so  you 
shall  do  well  to  avow  it  to  the  Duke  upon  our  honours,  tiiat 
her  Majesty  saith  she  thinketh  both  their  minds  to  accord 
upon  one  good  and  Christian  meaning,  though  their  ministers 
may  perchance  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  preparations. 

We  have  now  seen  the  good  faith  of  the  English  Queen 
towards  the  Spanish  government.  We  have  seen  her  boundless 
trust  in  the  sincerity  of  Famese  and  his  master.  We  have 
heard  the  exuberant  professions  of  an  honest  intention  to 
bring  about  a  firm  and  lasting  peace,  which  fell  from  the  lips 
of  Famese  and  of  his  confidential  agents.  It  is  now  necessary 
to  glide  for  a  moment  into  the  secret  cabinet  of.  Philip, 
in  order  to  satisfy  ourselves  as  to  the  value  of  all  those  pro- 
fessions. The  attention  of  the  reader  is  solicited  to  these 
investigations,  because  the  year  1587  was  a  most  critical 
period  in  the  history  of  English,  Dutch,  and  European  liberty. 
The  coming  year  1588  had  been  long  spoken  of  in  prophecy, 
as  the  year  of  doom,  perhaps  of  the  destruction  of  the  world, 
but  it  was  in  1587,  the  year  of  expectation  and  preparation, 
that  the  materials  were  slowly  combining  out  of  which  that 
year's  history  was  to  be  formed. 


et  dl  persona  desideroea  del  bene  o 
ripofio  publico  m*  obligara."     Parma 

to  Queen  Elizabeth,   2!!li^  1587.  (S.P. 

*    Not.  ?  ^ 

OffioeMS.) 

>  The  Lords  to  A.  de  Loo^  11  Nov. 
1587.     (a  P.  Office  Ma) 


And  if  blunt  Sir  Boger  Williams 
had  been  standing  by  when  the  re- 
mark was  made,  he  might  have  ex- 
claimed with  his  countryman,  honest 
Hugh  Evans,  "Good  worts,  good 
worts — good  cabbage !" 

•Ibid. 


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158T.  PHILIP  AT  HIS  WRTrXNG-TABLE.  303 

And  there  Bat  the  patient  letter-writer  in  his  cabinet,  busy 
with  his  schemes.  His  grey  head  was  whitening  fiust.  He 
was  sixty  years  of  age.  His  frame  was  slight,  hb  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  coYcred  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  organized  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  grey-haired 
letter-writer  at  his  peaceful  library-table. 

At  the  very  beginning  of  the  year  the  King  of  Denmark 
had  made  an  offer  to  Philip  of  mediation.  The  letter,  entrusted 
to  a  young  Count  do  Bantzan,  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  imme- 
diately 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  King.^  Wilkes  wrote  to 
Walsingham,'  denouncing  that  monarch  and  his  ministers  as 

'  Bor,  n.  XTii.  045-948.  Meteren,  I  *  WUkes  to  Walsingfaom,  3  Bea 
XI1247.  I  1686.    (aP.  OffiooMa) 


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304  THE  UNITED  liTBTHEELANDa  Chap.  XVIL 

stipendiaries  of  Spain^  while^  on  the  other  hand^  the  Duke  of 
Parma,  after  courteously  thanking  the  King  for  his  offer  of 
mediation,  described  him  to  Philip  as  such  a  dogged  heretic/ 
that  no  good  was  to  be  derived  &om  him,  except  by  meeting. 
his  fraudulent  offers  with  an  equally  fraudulent  responsa 
There  will  be  nothing  lost,  said  Alexander,  by  affecting  to 
list^i  to  his  proposals,  and  meantime  your  Majesty  must 
proceed  with  the  preparations  against  England.^  This  was  in 
the  first  week  of  the  year  1587. 

In  February,  and  almost  on  the  very  day  when  Parma  was 
writing   those    affectionate   letters  to    EUzabeth,  breathing 
nothing  but  peace,  he  was  carefully  conning  Philip's  directions 
in  r^ard  to  the  all-important  business  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  infantry,  including  3000  of  the  old  legion,  and  that 
there  were  volunteers  more  than  enough.     Philip  had  also 
taken  note,  he  said,  of  Alexander's  advice  as  to  dioosing  the 
season  when  the  crops  in  England  had  just  been  got  in,  as 
the  harvest  of  ^o  fertile  a  country  would  easily  support  an 
invading  force ;  but  he  advised  nevertheless  that  the  army 
should  be  thoroughly  victualled  at  starting.'    Finding  that 
Alexander  did  not  quite  approve  of  the  Irish  part  of  the  plan, 
he  would  reconsider  the  point,  and  think  more  of  the  Isle  of 
Wight ;  but  perhaps  still  some  other  place  might  be  discovered, 
a  descent  upon  which  might  inspire  that  enemy  with  still 
greater  terror  and  confusion.    It  would  be  difficult  for  him, 
he  said,  to  grant  the  6000  men  asked  for  by  the  Scotdi 
malcontents,  without  seriously  weakening  his  armada ;  but 
there  must  be  no  positive  refusal,  for  a  concerted  action  with 
the  Scotch  lords  and  their  adherents  was  indispensable.     The 
secret,  said  the  King,  had  been  profoundly  kept,  and  neither 
in  Spain  nor  in  Bome  had  anything  been  flowed  to  transpire. 
Aksander  was  warned  therefore  to  do  his  best  to  maintain 


'  "Empenudo  crege,"  Ac.  Parma 
to  '  Philip,  10  Jan.  1687.  (Arch,  dd 
Simancaa^  Ma) 


»  Ibid. 

'  Pbilip  n.  to  Pariua,  28  Feb.  168T. 
(Arch,  de  Simancosy  MS.) 


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158T.  HIS  PLOTS  WITH  PABMA  AGAINST  ENGLAND.  305 

the  myefcery,  for  the  enemy  was  trying  very  hard  to  penetrate 
their  actions  and  their  thoughts.^ 

And  certainly  Alexander  did- his  best.  He  replied  to  his 
master^  by  transnutting  copies  of  the  letters  he  had  been 
writing  with  his  own  hand  to  the  Queen,  and  of  the  pacific 
messages  he  had  sent  her  tiirough  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 
negociation.  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  oppor- 
tunity is  a  good  one,  and  if  she  writes  an  answer  to  my  letter, 
said  Alexander,  we  can  keep  the  n^ociation  alive,  while,  if 
she  does  not,  Hwill  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  bo  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  mistaken.  In  truth  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  ahready  seen,  that  Elizabeth  was  ready,  on 
the  contrary,  to  quarrel  with  the  States,  with  France,  with  all 
the  world,  if  she  could  only  secure  the  good- will  of  Philip. 

>  Philip  to  Parma,  Ma  last  cited.         I  1587.    (Aroh.  do  Simaocaa^  Ma) 
'  Parma  to  Fhflip  H    22    March,  |      *  Ibid.  « Ibid. 

VOL.  IL— X 


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306 


THE  UNITED  NETHBRLANDa 


Chap.  XVIL 


The  French  matter,  iadissolubly  connected  in  that  monarch's 
schemes,  with  his  designs  upon  England  and  Holland,  was 
causing  Alexander  much  anxiety.  He  foresaw  great  difficulty 
in  maintaining  that  indispensable  civil  war  in  France^  and 
thought  that  a  peace  might,  some  fine  day,  be  declared 
between  Henry  III.  and  the  Huguenots,  when  least  expected. 
In  consequence,  the  Duke  of  Guise  was  becoming  very  im- 
portunate for  Philip's  subsidies.  "Mucio  comes  begging  to 
me,"  said  Parma,  "with  the  very  greatest  earnestness,  and 
utters  nothing  but  lamentations  and  cries  of  misery.*  He 
asked  for  25,000  of  the  150,000  ducats  promised  him.  I  gave 
them.  Soon  afterwards  he  writes,  with  just  as  much  anxiety, 
for  25,000  more.  These  I  did  not  give  ;  firstly,  because  I  had 
them  not^"  (which  would  seem  a  sufficient  reason)  "and 
secondly,  because  I  wished  to  protract  matters  as  much  as 
possible.  He  is  constantly  reminding  me  of  your  Majesty's 
promise  of  300,000  ducats,  in  case  he  comes  to  a  rupture  with 
the  King  of  Franc3,  and  I  always  assure  him  that  your 
Majesty  will  keep  all  promises."  ^ 

Philip,  on  his  part,  through  the  months  of  spring,  continued 
to  assure  his  generalissimo  of  his  steady  preparations  by  sea 
and  land.  He  had  ordered  Mendoza  to  pay  the  Scotch  lords 
the  sum  demanded  by  them,  but  not  till  after  they  had  done 
the  deed  agreed  upon  ;  and  as  to  the  6000  men,  he  felt  obliged, 
he  said,  to  defer  that  matter  for  the  moment,  and  to  leave  the 
decision  upon  it  to  tho  Duke.'  Farnese  kept  his  sovereign 
minutely  informed  of  the  negociations  carried  on  throngh 
Champagny  ^md  De  Loo,  and  expressed  his  constant  opinion 
that  the  Queen  was  influenced  by  motives  as  hypocritical  as 
his  own.  She  was  only  seeking,  he  said,  to  deceive,  to 
defraud,  to  put  him  to  sleep,  by  those  feigned  n^tiations, 
while  she  was  making  her  ^  combinations  with  France  and 
Germany,  for  the  ruin  of  Spain.  There  was  no  virtue  to  be 
expected  from  her,  except  she  was  compelled  thereto  by  pnro 


'  "Con  graDdissima  instanoia  y  do 
darandome  lastimaa  y  miserias."  MS. 
Letter  of  Parma  to  Philip^  last  cited. 


•Ibid. 

9  Philip  to  Parma,  15  April 
(Arch,  de  SimancaS)  IfS.) 


15St 


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1537. 


PARMA'S  SBCRBT  LETTERS  TO  THE  KING. 


307 


necessity.^    The  English,  he  said,  were  hated  and  abhorred 
by  the  natives  of  Holland  and  Zeeland,*  and  it  behoved  Philip 
to. seize  so  fevourable  an  opportunity  for  ui^ging  on  his  great 
plan  with  all  the  speed  in  the  world.    It  might  be  that  the 
Qaeen,  seeing  these  mighty  preparations,  even  although  not 
suspecting  that  she  herself  was  to  be  invaded,  would  tremble 
for  her  safety,  if  the  Netherlands  should  be  crushed.    But  if 
she  succeeded  in  deceiving  Spain,  and  putting  Philip  and 
Parma  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  informed  whether  any  terms  could  be 
laid  down,  upon  which  the  King  really  would  conclude  peace, 
in  order  that  he  might  make  no  mistake  for  want  of  instruc- 
tions or  requisite  powers.     The  condition  of  France  was 
becoming  more  alarming  every  day,  he  said.     In  other  words, 
there  was  an  ever-growing  chance  of  peace  for  that  distracted 
country.     The  Queen  of  England  was  cementing  a  strong 
league  between  herself,  the  French  King,  and  the  Huguenots, 
ttnd  matters  were  looking  very  serious.     The  impending  peace 
"1  France  would  never  do,  and  Philip  should  prevent  it  in 
^^}  hy  giving  Mucio  his  money.     Unless  the  French  are 
entongled  and  at  war  among  themselves,  it  is  quite  clear,  said 
-^^exander,  that  we  can  never  think  of  carrying  out  our  great 
schenxiQ  of  invading  England.* 

-'^^o  King  thoroughly  concurred  in  all  that  was  said  and 
c/ono  \yj  hig  faithful  governor  and  general.    He  had  no  inten- 
loxx   of  concluding  a  peace  on  any  terms  whatever,  and  there- 
^^ould  name  no  conditions  ;  but  he  quite  approved  of  a 


-foro 


'yfrfj^^^-^^o  es  aguardar  do  ella  ninguna 
neoaZ^?^  fliDO  fbesse  fiurzada  de  la  para 
ipj^T^^^^id."  Parma  to  PhUip,  12tli 
»  ^??  .^3^587.    (Arch,  de  Simancas,  Ma) 


to    PhUip, 

,ATeh.deS' 

..^^^iiadofl 
de 
I  PhUip,  Ma  last  cited.) 


y    aborrecidos   de   los 

(Pao:^^^    de    Olaoda     y     Zelanda." 


'  "Se  podria  Jactar  de  habor  nos 
buriada"    (Ibid.) 

4  "  Sin  quedar  embarazados  los  fran- 
ceses  entre  si  es  claro  qae  no  se  podria 
pensar  a  la  efectoadon  del  negocio." 
Parma  to  Philip^  12  April,  1587. 
(Arch,  de  Simancaw,  MS.) 


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SOS 


THE  UNITED  KBTHEBLANDa 


Chap.  XYIl 


continuancje  of  the  negotiations.  The  English,  he  was  con- 
vinced, 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  300,000  ducats.  Meantime  Famese  was  to  go  on  steadily 
with  his  preparations  for  the  invasion.^ 

The  secretary-of-state,  Don  Juan  de  Idlaquez,  also  wrote 
most  earnestly  on  the  great  subject  to  the  Duke.  "It  is  not 
to  be  exaggerated,"  he  said,  "  how  set  his  Majesty  is  in  the 
all-important  business.  If  you  wish  to  manifest  towards  him 
the  most  flattering  obedience  on  earth,  and  io  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  difficulties,  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.  Mdke  iuse  of  the  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  contrary  case."' 

And,  on  the  same  day,  in  order  that  there  m^t  be  no 
doubt  of  the  royal  sentiments,  Philip  expressed  himself  at 
length  on  the  whole  subject.  The  dealings  of  Famese  with 
the  English,  and  his  feeding  them  with  hopes  of  peace,  would 
have  given  him  more  satisfaction,  he  observed,  if  it  had  caused 
their  preparations  to  slacken;   but,  on  the  contrary,  their 


-    *  Phflip  to  Pannft,  15  April,  1587. 
(Arch,  de  Simanoas,  MS.) 

•  *'No  80  puede  OQcarecer  qoan 
pnesto  esti  bu  Mag<i  en  el  negodo 
principal  (the  inyasion  of-  England). 
SiV«  Ex«»  le  quiere  hazer  la  mayor 
liaonja  de  la  tierra,  j  obligarla  a  quanto 
qoiaiere,  A6  le  este  oontentam^^  este 
afio,  y  puea  tiene  dineio  prepare  todo 
lo  de  iSlL  j  venca  las .  difieoltades  j 
baga  cl  cfcto  que  a  tiempo  Uegard  lo 


de  EspaSa  j  Italia,  para  ^  q  V»  Ex^ 
dezia  el  afto  pasado^  j  sirya  se  do  loa 
tratos  de  paz  para  este  miamo  fin,  no 
mas,  y  haga  eeto  hecho  tan  de  quien 
es,  y  atribuya  V«  Ex«»  la  libertad  des- 
to  aviso  a  lo  q  deseo  sOTvirle  mas  que 
nadie,  y  a  lo  qne  yeo  que  obligara  a 
su  Mag<i  con  eUo^  y  lo  que  temo  que 
sentiria  lo  oontrario."  Bon  Juan  de 
Idiaquez  to  Parma,  13  Kay,  1687 
(Arch,  do  Simancas,  MS.) 


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*  1587. 


PHILIP'S  USTXEBS  TO  PABICA. 


309 


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  lAdies,  they  had  dared  to 
invade  the  ports  of  Spain,  as  would  appear  in  the  narrative 
transmitted  to  Famese  of  the  late  events  at  Cadiz.    And 
izUhough  ihat  damage  was  smaU^  said  Philip,  there  resulted  a 
very  great  obligation  to  take  them  seriously  in  hand.^    Ho 
declined  sending  full  powers  for  treating ;  but  in  order  to  make 
use  of  the  same  arts  employed  by  the  Englidi,  he  preferred 
that  Alexander  should  not  undeceive  them,  but  desired  him  to 
express,  as  out  of  his  own  head,  to  the  negotiators,  his  astonish- 
ment that  while  they  were  holding  such  language  they  should 
conmiit  such  actions.    Even  their  want  of  prudence  in  thus 
provoking  the  King,  when  their  strength  was  compared  to  his, 
should  be  spoken  of  by  Famese  as  wonderful,  and  he  was  to 
express  the  opinion  that  his  Majesty  would  think  him  much 
wanting  in  circumspection,  should  he  go  on  negotiating  while 
they  were  playing  such  tricks.     "You  must  show  yourself 
very  sensitive  about  this  event,''  continued  Philip,  "and  you 
iiiUBt  give  them  to  understand  that  I  am  quite  as  angry  as 
you.    You  must  try  to  draw  from  them  some  offer  of  satisfac- 
^n— however  false  it  will  be  in  reality — ^such  as  a  proposal  to 
^^^call  the  fleet,  or  an  assertion  that  the  deeds  of  Drake  in 
Cadiz  were  without  the  knowledge  and  contrary  to  the  will  of 
^^^  Queen,  and  that  she  very  much  regrets  them,  or  something 
^^  th^t  sort.''* 

It  Ixas  already  been  shown  that  Famese  was  very  successful 

^    eliciting  from  the  Queen,   through  the  mouth  of  Lord 

ttx^j^^y^  as  ample  a  disavowal  and  repudiation  of  Sir  Francis 

,  ^^^^^  as  the  King  could  possibly  desire.    Whether  it  would 

,  ^^    *he  desired  effect  of  allaying  the  wrath  of  Philip,  might 

*^^    \3een  better  foretold,  could  the  letter,  with  which  we  are 


13 


^  aunqae  el  dafio  tae  poco  ea  ya 

la  obUgacioD  do  yr  lea  muy  do 

^  la  mano."    Philip  to  Parma^ 

^7,  1587.     (Arch,  de  ^mancasi 


MS.) 

»  PhUip  to  Pama,  13  May,   168t 
(MS.  last  citod.) 


L 


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310 


THE  UNITED  NBTHERLAXDS. 


Chap.  XTIl 


now  occupied,  have  been  laid  upon  the  Greenwich  council^ 
board. 

"When  yon  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  negotiations,  proceed  to  name  com- 
missioners, and  propose  a  meeting  upon  neutral  territory.*  As 
for  powers,  say  that  you,  as  my  governor-general,  will  entrust 
them  to  your  deputies,  in  regard  to  the  Netherlands.  For 
all  other  matters,  say  that  you  have  had  full  powers  for  many 
months,  but  that  you  cannot  exhibit  them  until  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-commissioners  may  meet.  But  to  you  only 
do  I  declare  that  my  iivtention  is  that  this  shall  never  lead  to 
any  result,  whcttever  conditions  may  he  offered  by  them.  On  the 
contrary,  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  unnecessary.* 
Tou  are  well  aware  that  the  reverse  of  aU  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  aro  well  aware."* 

Is  it  strange  that  the  Queen  of  England  was  deceived  ?  Is 
it  matter  of  surprise,  censure,  or  shame,  that  no  English  states- 
man 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,"  continued  the 
Eling — unveiling  himself,  with  a  solemn  indecency,  not  agree- 


»  "T  cntonces  hazer  vo8  del  on- 
gafiado  7  que  creyendo  lo  que  06  diren 
de  nuevo  VQlvays  a  la  platioa,"  Ac.  MS. 
last  died. 

*  "  Quo  es  oamlno  disimulado." 
(Ibid.) 

'  *'  Pero  OOQ  TOB  solo  mo  adoro  que 


mia  intoncion  no  es  de  que  aqueUo 
Uegu^  a  effeto  ooa  ningunas  oondi- 
donea,  aioo  que  todo  esto  se  tome  per 
medio^  oomo  lo  hazen  ellos,  de  entre- 
teneiioB  r  enfiriaiios,"  Jta  (Ibid.) 
*Ibid. 


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i587. 


WONDERFUL  DUPLICITY  OF  PHILIP. 


311 


able  to  contemplate—"  without  any  intention  of  concluding 
ihem^  you  can  always  get  out  of  them  with  great  honour,  by 
taking  imibrage  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.^  Tour  commissioners  must  be  instructed  to  refer  all 
important  matters  to  your  personal  decision.  The  English 
will  be  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.  Tour  own  envoys  are  not  to  know  the  secret  any  more 
than  the  English  themselves.  I  tell  it  to  you  only.  Thus 
you  will  proceed  with  the  n^otiations,  now  yielding  on  one 
point,  and  now  insisting  on  another,  but  directing  all  to  the 
same  object — to  gain  time  while  proceeding  with  the  prepara- 
tion for  the  invasion,  according  to  the  plan  already  agreed 
upon."  ^  . 

Certainly  the  most  Catholic  King  seemed,  in  this  remark- 
able letter  to  have  outdone  himself ;  and  Pamese — that  sincere 
Famese,  in  whose  loyal,  truth-telling,  chivalrous  character, 
the  Queen  and  her  counsellors  placed  such  implicit  reliance — 
could  thenceforward  no  longer  be  embarrassed  as  to  the  course 
he  was  to  adopt.  To  lie  daily,  through  thick  and  thin,  and 
with  every  variety  of  circumstance  and  detail  which  a  genius 
fertile  in  fiction  could  suggest,  such  was  the  simple  rule  pre- 
scribed 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  t'ope  was  outwitted,  flis  Holiness  proposed 
to  Philip  the  invasion  of  England,  and  offered  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  accom- 


*  "Con  mucha  honra»  desooncer- 
CandoTos  sobre  el  punto  de  la  religion 
o  otro  de  loa  desaforados,  qae  elloa 
ban  de  proponer,  qae  harto  lo  son  Iob 
del  papel  de  Andrea  de  Loo."  (M& 
last  cited.) 


'"Podreys  yr  afloxando  en  nnos 
pnntos,  7  afirmando  en  otros,  todo  en- 
derezado  al  mismo  fin  por  ganar  tiem- 
po^  preparando  todo  con  diligenza 
Began  la  traza  concebida^"  &c.    (Ibid.) 


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312 


THE  UNITED  NETHERLANDS. 


Chap,  j^yjll 


plished.  The  King  took  the  Pope's  million,  but  refused  the 
desired  information.  He  anawered  evasively.  He  had  a  very 
good  will  to  invade  the  country^  he  said,  but  there  were  great 
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 
necessary  at  that  time,  because  there  were  then  great  impedi- 
ments. '^  Thus  he  is  pledged  to  give  me  the  subsidy,  and  I 
am  not  pledged  for  the  time,"  said  Philip,  "  and  I  keep  my 
searet,  which  is  the  most  important  of  alL"' 

Yet  after  all,  Farnese  did  not  see  his  way  clear  towards  the 
consummation  of  the  plan.  His  army  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 — a  most  arduous  enterprise.  He  com- 
plained 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  devo- 
tion 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  tho 
invasion  should  be  made  this  year  without  fail  The  fleet 
would  arrive  in  the  Engli^  channel  by  the  end  of  the  summer, 
which  would  be  exactly  in  conformity  with  Alexander's  ideas. 
The  invasion  was  to  be  threefold :  from  Scotland,  under  the 


*  Philip  to    Parma,  5  June,   1587. 
(Arch,  de  Simanoas,  MS.) 

•  "  Se  ha  venido  de  rodear."    (Ibid.) 
'  "  Por  tenirlo  prendado  en  la  ajnda, 

7  d9  no  prendarme  yo  en  lo  tiempo,  jr 
mas  por  d  secrdo  que  es  la  cosa  prin- 
cipal"   (Ibid.) 

♦  Parma  to  Philip,   31  May,  1587. 
(Arch,  de  Simancaa  MS.) 

•Ibid. 


*  He  had  sent,  he  said,  besides  the 
regular  remittances,  700,000  ducats, 
and  there  were  then  coming  2,300,000 
ducats  additional— 300,000  of  wbk^ 
were  for  Mudo,  in  case  of  raptun^ 
Yith  the  French  King.  Otberwiso^ 
not  a  pennj  was  to  be  dir^rted  fixxn 
the  great  cause.  Philip  to  Fameeei 
5  Jnne^  1587.  (Aich.  de  RimAT^^^g^ 
MS.} 


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1087.  HIS  SAKGUmE  VIKWB  AS  TO  ENGLAND.  313 

Scotch  earls  and  their  followers,  with  the  money  and  troops 
famished  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  he  was  acting,  and  then  do  his  duty,  which  lay  yery 
plain  before  him.  If  he  ever  wished  to  give  his  sovereign 
satisfaction  in  his  life,  he  was  to  do  the  deed  that  year,  what- 
ever might  betide.^  Never  could  there  be  so  fortunate  a 
conjunction  of  circumstances  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 
^bove  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  import- 
ance,'' he  said,  ^^  and  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  with  disabled  hand,  it  was 
natural  that  the  King  shoidd  expect  Alexander,  then  deep  in 
the  siege  of  Sluys,  to  vanquish  all  his  obstacles  as  successfully^ 
and  to  effect  the  conquest  of  England  so  soon  as  the  harvests 
of  that  kingdom  should  be  garnered. 

Sluys  was  surrendered  at  last,  and  the  great  enterprise  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 


1  Philip  to  Parma^  6  Judo,  1687. 
(Arch,  do  Simancaa^  MS.) 

' ''  Importa  tanto  esse  negodo,  y 
que  no  se  dilate,  que  no  pnedo  dexar 
de  encargarosle  todo  qaonto  paedo  j 


hiziera  lo  ann  mas  largamente  il  mo 
diera  lugar  esta  mano  que  he  tenido 
con  la  gota  estos  dias  j  los  pies,  y 
aunqae  estaya  sin  dolor,  esta  impeSda 
para  esta'*    (Ibid.) 


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314 


THE  UNITED  NETHERLAKBa 


Chap.  XVIL 


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  inter- 
changing detailed  information  as  to  the  progress  of  the  inva- 
sion. The  Bang  calculated  that  by  the  middle  of  September 
Alexander  would  have  30^000  men  in  the  Netherlands  ready 
for  embarcation.  Marquis  Santa  Oruz  was  announced  as 
nearly  ready  to  sail  for  the  English  channel  with  22,000  more, 
among  whom  were  to  be  16,000  seasoned  Spanish  in&ntry. 
The  Marquis  was  then  to  extend  the  hand  to  Parma,  and 
protect  that  passage  to  England  which  the  Duke  was  at  once 
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  secrecy,  information  which  the  Marquis  would 
expect  off  Ushant,  and  be  quite  ready  to  act  so  soon  as  Santa 
Cruz  should  arrive.  Most  earnestly  and  anxiously  did  the 
King  deprecate  any  thoi^ht  of  deferring  the  expedition  to 
another  year.  If  delayed,  the  obstacles  of  the  following 
smnmer — ^a  peace  in  France,  a  peace  between  the  Turk  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  difficulties  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  followed.  ^^  You  are  tiic 
author  of  the  whole  scheme,''  said  Philip,  ^^  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  inunense  sum 
collected — such  as  never  before  had  been  seen  since  the  world 


* "  Aunquo  no  dexa  de  yer  lo  quo 
Be  aventura  en  savegar  con  gruessa 
annada  in  invierno,  j  por  esse  canal, 
sin  tener  puerto  cierto;  jcl  tiempo 
plazera  a  Dies  cuva  es  la  causa  dorle 
bueno."  Philip  'to  Parma,  4  Sept 
1587.    (Arcb.  do  Simancas,  MS.) 


•n)id. 

*  "  Do  quo  T03  Eolo  sejs  autor. 
Yeed  si  hubiesse  de  caer  todo  en  vacio^ 
quel  es  que  quedariaoKM  d  afio  que 
viene,"  Ac.  Philip  to  Parma,  14  SepL 
1587.    (Ardi.  de  Simancas^  MS.) 


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1687.         HB  IS  RELUCTANT  TO  TTTCAP.  QP  THE  OBSTACLES.         315 

was  made— 4,800,000  ducats  with  2,000,000  *in  reserve,  of 
which  he  was  authorized  to  draw  for  500,000  in  advance,  to 
say  nothing  of  the  Pope's  million.^ 

But  Alexander,  while  straining  every  nerve  to  obey  his 
master's  wishes  about  the  invasion,  and  to  blind  the  English 
by  the  fictitious  negotiations,  was  not  so  sanguine  as  his  sove- 
reign. In  truth,  there  was  something  puerile  in  the  eagerness 
which  Philip  manifested.  He  had  made  up  his  mind  that 
England  was  to  be  conquered  that  autumn,  and  had  en- 
deavoured— as  well  as  he  cbuld-^to  comprehend  the  plans 
which  his  illustrious  general  had  laid  down  for  accomplishing 
that  purpose.  Of  course,  to  any  man  of  average  intellect,  or, 
in  truth,  to  any  man  outside  a  madhouse,  it  would  seem  an 
essential  part  of  the  conquest  that  the  Armada  should  arrive. 
Tet — ^wonderful  to  relate — ^Philip,  in  his  impatience,  abso- 
lutely suggested  that  the  Duke  might  take  possession  of 
England  taithcyut  waiting  for  Scmta  Cruz  and  his  Armada,  As 
the  autumn  had  been  wearing  away,  and  there  had  been  un- 
avoidable delays  about  the  shipping  in  Spanish  ports,  the 
King  thought  it  best  not  to  defer  matters  till  the  winter. 
"  You  are,  doubtless,  ready,"  he  said  to  Famese.  "  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  maritime  and  martial 
kingdom  by  a  few  flat  bottoms.  Philip  had  little  difficulty 
on  that  score,  but  the  a£birs  of  France  were  not  quite  to  his 
mind.  The  battle  of  Coutras,  and  the  entrance  of  the  German 
and  Swiss  mercenaries  into  that  country,  were  somewhat  per- 
plexing.   Either  those  auxiliaries  of  the  Huguenots  would  be 

*  PhiliD  to  Parma,  MS.  last  cited. 
•  PhUip  to  Parmay  4  No?.  1587.    (Arch,  do  Simancas.  MS.) 


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THB  UNITED  NETHEBLANDa 


Chap.  XVH 


defeated,  or  they  would  be  victorious,  or  both  parties  would 
come  to  au  agreement  In  the  first  event,  the  Duke,  after 
sending  a  little  assistance  to  Mucio,  was  to  effect  his  passage 
to  England  est  once.  In  the  second  case,  those  troops^  even 
though  successful,  would  doubtless  be  so  much  disoi^nized 
that  it  might  be  still  safe  for  Famese  to  go  on.  In  the  thiid 
contingency — that  of  an  accord — ^it  would  be  necessary  for 
him  to  wait  till  the  foreign  troops  had  disbanded  and  left 
France.  He  was  to  maintain  all  his  forces  in  perfect  readi- 
ness, on  pretext  of  the  threatening  aspect  of  French  matters, 
and,  so  soon  as  the  Swiss  and  Grermans  were  dispersed,  he 
was  to  proceed  to  business  without  delay.^  The  fleet  would 
be  ready  in  Spain  in  all  November,  but  as  sea-^afiGurs  were  so 
doubtful,  particularly  in  winter,  and  as  the  Armada  could  not 
reach  the  channel  till  mid-winter,  the  Duke  toas  not  to  wait 
for  it8  arrived.  "  Whenever  you  see  a  favouraUo  oppor- 
tunity," said  Philip,  "  you  must  take  care  not  to  lose  it,  even 
if  the  fleet  has  not  made  its  appearance.  For  you  may  be 
sure  that  it  will  soon  come  to  give  you  assistance,  in  one  way 
or  another."" 

Famese  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  dis- 
cipline 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  abhorring  Parma  and  his  soldiers,  they  would  con- 
ceive a  strong  affection  for  them  all,  as  the  source  of  so  many 
benefits.'  Again  the  Duke  was  warmly  commended  for  the 
skill  with  which  he  had  handled  the  peace-n^tiatioti.  It 
was  quite  right  to  appoint  commissioners^  but  it  wais  never  for 
an  instant  to  be  forgotten  that  the  sole  object  of  treating  was 
to  take  the  English  unawares.    ^^  And  therefore  do  you  guide 

•  Phflip  to  Panna,  14  Nov.  1587. 
(Arch,  de  Simanoas,  MS.) 

>  "Viendo  baena  ocasion  procurays 
de  no  perderia,  aonque  no  aya  llegado 
la  armada— siendo   derto   quo   luego 


a  hazor  espaldas  y  ayudaros 
de  una  mano  o  otra.**    (Ibid.) 

•  Philip  to  Parma,   25   Oct   1581 
(Arch,  de  Simancaa,  MS.) 


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mi. 


AND  IMAGINES  PAEKA  IN  ENGLAND. 


317 


them  to  this  end/'  said  tke  King  with  pious  unction,  ^^  which 
is  what  you  owe  to  God,  in  whose  service  I  have  engaged  in 
this  enterprise,  and  to  whom  I  have  dedicated  the  whole/' ^ 
The  King  of  France,  too — that  unfortunate  Henry  III., 
against  whose  throne  and  life  Philip  maintained  in  constant 
pay  an  organized  band  of  conspirators — ^was  affectionately 
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  crovnis  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  probably  in  England} 
One  would  have  thought  the  King  addressing  a  tourist  jusi 
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  Christianly," 
and  which  Crcfft  had  pronounced  such  "  very  good  words/' 

K  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  accouixt  of 
yourself,  and,  with  the  help  of  our  Lord,  that  you  will  do  that 
service  which  I  desire  to  render  to  Him,  and  that  He  will 
guide  our  cause,  which  is  His  ovni,  and  of  such  great  import- 
ance to  His  Church."*  A  part  of  the  fleet  would  soon  after 
arrive  and  bring  six  thousand  Spaniards,  the  Pope's  million, 
and  other  good  things,  which  might  prove  useful  to  Parma, 


*  "  Pot  tomarlos  desaperdbidoa. 
Absi  lo  goiad  a  esta  fin  que  es  el  que 
deve  a  Bios,  por  cuyo  servicio  hago  lo 
principal,  y  se  lo  ofreflco."  (Philip  to 
Panoa,  last  cited.) 

■  Philip  to  Don  Bernardino  de 
Kendoza^  4  Nov.  1587.  (Arch,  de 
Simancas,  Ma) 

•  Phflip  to  Parma,   11  Dca  1687. 


(Arch,  do  Simancas,  MS.) 

*  "  T  aviendo  pasado  estoy  muy  per- 
snadido  de  vos  que  con  ayuda  de  N"> 
Sefior  me  dareys  la  buena  cuenta  quo 
dezio  que  sareys  cierto  de  hazerle  el 
servicio  que  yo  en  esto  pretendo— el 
io  guia  como  causa  suya  y  tan  impor- 
tante  a  ra  yglesia."    (Ibid.) 


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318  THE  UNITBD  NETHERLANDa  Chap.  XVIL 

presupposing  that  they  would  find  him  established  on  the 
enemy's  territory.^ 

This  conviction  that  the  enterprise  had  been  already  accom- 
plished grew  stronger  in  the  King's  breast  every  day.  He 
was  only  a  little  disturbed  lest  Famese  should  have  mis- 
understood 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  composition 
between  the  foreign  mercenaries  and  the  French  King. 
Nevertheless  they  had  also  been  once  or  twice  defeated,  and 
this  was  contingency  number  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  dis- 
cord 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  personage 
would  ensure  tranquillity  for  Philip's  project,  and  misery  for 
Henry  III.  and  his  subjects  for  an  indefinite  period  longer. 
The  King  thought  it  improbable  that  Famese  could  have 
made  any  mistake,^  He  expressed  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  recommended  delay  in  event  of  a  general  peace  in 
France — Huguenots,  Boyalists,  Leaguers,  and  all.  This  had 
not  happened.  "Therefore,  I  trust,"  said  the  King,  "that 
you — ^perceiving  that  this  is  not  contingency  number  three 
which  was  to  justify  a  pause — ^will  have  already  executed 
the  enterprise,  and  fulfilled  my  desire.    I  am  confident  that 

'  Philip  to  Panna^  MS.  last  cited. 
*  Samo  to  same,  24  Dea  1587.    (Arch,  de  ^maocas,  MS.) 


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1587. 


BUT  ALEXANDBE'S  DIFFICULTIES  ARE  GREAT. 


319 


the  deed  is  done^  and  that  God  has  blessed  it^  and  I  am  now 
expecting  the  news  from  hour  to  hour/'  ^ 

But  Alexander  had  not  yet  arrived  in  England.  The  pre- 
liminaries for  the  conquest  caused  him  more  perplexity  than 
the  whole  enterprise  occasioned  to  Philip.  He  was  very 
short  of  fimds.  The  five  millions  were  not  to  be  touched, 
except  for  the  expenses  of  the  invasion.  But  as  England 
wai9  to  be  subjugated,  in  order  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  independence  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.  Parma  had  leave  to 
draw  for  six  hundred  thousand  ducats,  and  he  was  able  to  get 
that  draft  discounted  on  the  Antwerp  Exchange  by  consent- 
ing to  receive  five  hundred  thousand,  or  sacrificing  sixteen 
per  cent,  of  the  sum.*  A  good  number  of  transports  and 
scows  bad  been  collected,  but  there  had  been  a  deficiency  of 
money  for  their  proper  equipment,  as  the  five  millions  had 
been  very  slow  in  coming,  and  were  still  upon  the  road.  The 
whole  enterprise  was  on  the  point  of  being  sacrificed,  accord- 
ing to  Famese,  for  want  of  funds.  The  time  for  doing  the 
deed  had '  arrived,  and  he  declared  himself  incapacitated  by 
poverty.  He  expressed  his  disgust  and  resentment  in  lan- 
guage 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  in 
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  certain 


DO 


*  "T  asi  creo,  qne  oonodendo  qne 
€8  estO'  el  caso   teroero,  en  quo 


Aviades  do  parar,  avreTS  exeoutado  la 
empresAy  j  complido  mio  deseo  .... 


de  qae  qnedo  aguardando  d  aviso  de 
ore  en  ora."    (Ibid.) 

"  Parma  to  Philip,  18  Sept.   1587. 
(Arch,  de  Simancas,  MS.) 


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320 


XHB  UNITBD  NETHERLANDS. 


Chap.  XVIX. 


sums  by  anticipation^  which  I  should  have  done  had  you  not 
forbidden."^ 

This  was^  through  life^  a  striking  characteristic  of  Philip. 
Enormous  schemes  were  laid  put  with  utterly  inadequate  pro- 
vision 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  per- 
sonal exertion  on  his  part,  and  with  a  very  trifling  outlay  of 
ready  money. 

Meantime  the  faithful  Famese  did  his  best.  He  was  inde- 
fatigable night  and  day  in  getting  his  boats  together  and  pro- 
viding his  .munitions  of  war.  He  dug  a  canal  from  Sas  de 
Gand — ^whi.ch  was  one  of  his  principal  depSts — all  the  way  to 
Sluys,  because  the  water-communication  between  those  two 
points  was  entirely  in  the  hands  of  the  Hollanders  and  Zee- 
landers.  The  rebel  cruisers  swarmed  in  the  Scheldt,  from 
Flushing  almost  to  Antwerp,  so  that  it  was  quite  impossible 
for  Parma's  forces  to  venture  forth  at  all ;  and  it  also  seemed 
hopeless  to  hazard  putting  to  sea  from  Sluys.^  At  the  same 
time  he  had  appointed  his  commissioners'  to  treat  with  the 
English  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,  feilse,  and  perverse  proceed- 
ings, would  enable  Leicester  to  procure  the  consent  of  the 
States  to  a  universal  peace. 

And  thus,  with  these  parallel  schemes  of  invasion  and 
negotiation,  spring,  summer,  and  autumn,  had  worn  away. 
Santa  Cruz  was  still  with  his  fleet  in  Lisbon,  Cadiz,  and  the 
Azores ;  and  Parma  was  in  Brussels,  when  Philip  fondly  ima- 


*  Parma  to  Philip^  MS.  last  cfted. 

>  Panna  to  Philip^  21  Dec.  16S7. 
(Arch,  de  Rimancan,  MS.)  "Pues  de 
razoQ  OlindoBoo  y  Zelandeees  sdos 
estan  aiempre  a  la  mira  y  aai  oomo 
tieDen  medio  de  estorbaroos  la  junta 
y  salida  de  nuestroa  baxeles  lo  ternan 


cada  dla  major  para  hazer  lo  mismo 
en  el  pasage." 

*  Aremberg,  Champagny,  Hidiardo^ 
Maaa,  Gamier.  Parma  to  Phil^ 
18  Sept  1687.  (Arcb.  de  Shnawws 
MS.) 


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mi.  HB  DEKOUKCES  PHILIP'S  WILD  SCHEMES.  321 

gined  him  established  in  Ghreenwich  Palace.  "When  made 
aware  of  his  master's  preposterous  expectations^  Alexander 
would  hare  been  perhaps  amused,  had  he  not  been  half  beside 
himself  with  indignation.  Such  foUy  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  cruisers,  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  Netheflands.and  in  England  "most  furiously."^  The 
delays  had  been- so  great,  that  their  secret  had  been  poorly 
kept,  and  the  enemy  was  on  his  guard.  If  Santa  Cruz  had 
cotne,  Alexander  declared  that  he  should  have  already  been 
in  England.  When  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  ho  denounced  the  madness  of 
that  proposition  to  his  Majesty  in  vehement  and  unmeasured 
terms.*  His  army,  by  sickness  and  other  causes,  had  been 
reduced  to  one;-half  the  number  considered  necessary  for  the 
invasion,  and  the  rebels  had  established  r^ular  squadrons  in 
the  Scheldt,  in  the  very  teeth  of  the  forts  at  LiUo,  Liefkens- 
hoek,  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  embarrassment  to  him, 
he  observed,  and  his  own  flotilla  would  run  great  risk  of  being 
utterly  destroyed.  Alexander  had  been  personally  superin- 
tending matters  at  Sluys,  Ghent,  and  Antwerp,  and  had 
strengthened  with  artillery  the  canal  which  he  had  con* 
structed  between  Sas  and  Sluys.  Meantime  his  fresh  troops 
had  been  slowly  arriving,  but  much  sickness  prevailed  among 
them.  The  Italians  were  dying  fast,  almost  all  the  Spaniards 
were  in  hospital,  and  the  others  were  so  crippled  and  worn 
out  that  it  was  most  pitiable  to  behold  them ;  yet  it  was  abso- 

*  Parma  to  Philip^  21  Dec,  1587.    (Arch,  de  Simancaa,  MS.)  '  Ibid 

VOL.  II. — ^Y 


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322 


THE  UNITED  NETHERLANDS. 


Chap.  XVn. 


lutely  necessary  that  those  who  were  in  health  should  accom- 
pany hitn  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  tninsports.  Not 
counting  his  Antwerp  fleet — ^which  could  not  stir  from  port,  as 
he  bitterly  complained,  nor  be  of  any  use,  on  account  of  die 
rebel  blockade — ^he  had  between  Dunkerk  and  Newport 
seventy-four  vessels  of  various  kinds  fit  for  sea^servioe,  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- 
noimced  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  fulfllled  according  to  the  plan 
proposed.  The  companies  of  light  horse  and  of  arquebus- 
men,  with  which  he  meant  to  miake  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  yast  preparations 
entirely  secret  Walsingham  was  in  full  possession  of  their 
plaiis  down  to  the  most  minute  details.  The  misfortune  was 
that  he  was  unable  to  persuade  his  sovereign.  Lord  Burgfaley, 
and  others  of  the  peace-party,  as  to  the  accuracy  of  his  in- 
formation. Not  only  was  he  thoroughly  instructed  in  r^ard 
to  the  number  of  men,  vessels,  horses,  mules,  saddles,  spurs, 
lances,  barrels  of  beer  and  tons  of  biscuit,  and  other  par- 
ticulars of  the  contemplated  invasion,  but  he  had  even  received 


>  Panna  to  PhUip,  Dec.  21,  1587, 
(Ajcb.  de  Simancas,  MS.) 

•  Ibid.    (M&  last  otted.) 

*  « Se  ban  vestido,  armado,  j  enoa- 
bolgado,  qae  es  plaoer  dA  yeriaSi  j  la 


soldadesca  de  ellas  es  tal  qoe,  A  pnae- 
den  pasar,  hanm  a  Y.  K.  bnen  sonrizio 
J  asegunuraran  mucho  el  senizio." 
Ma  Letter  last  cited. 


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1587. 


WALSINOHAIC  AWARE  OF  THE  SPANISH  PLOT. 


323 


curious  intelligence  as  to  the  gorgeous  equipment  of  those 
very  troops,  with  which  the  Doke  was  just  secre'tlj  an* 
nonndng  to  the  King  his  intention  of  making  his  triumphal 
entrance  into  the  English  capital  Sir  Francis  knew  iiow 
many  Ihousand  yards  of  cramoisy  velvet,  how  many  hundred- 
weight of  gold  and  silver  embroidery,  how  much  satin  and 
feathers,  and  what  quantity  of  pearls  and  diamonds,  Famese 
had  been  providing  himself  withal.  He  knew  the  tailors, 
jewellers,  silversmiths,  and  haberdashers,  with  whom  the 
great  Alexander — as  he  now  b^an  to  be  called — ^had  been 
dealing ;    but  when  he  spc^e  at  th^  council-board,  it  was  to 


*  "There  is  provided  for  lights  a 
great  number  of  tordies,  and  so  tem- 
pered that  no  water  can  put  them  out 
A  great  nunU>er  of  little  milU  for 
grinding  com,  great  store  of  biscuit 
bakod  and  oxen  salted,  great  number 
of  saddles  and  boots,  also  there  is  made 
500  pair  of  velvet  shoes— red,  crimson 
velvety  and  in  every  cloister  through- 
out the  country  great  quantity  of  roses 
made  of  silk,  white  and  red,  which  are 
to  be  badges  for  divers  of  his  gentle- 
men. By  reason  of  these  roses  it  is 
expected  he  is  going  for  England 
There  is  sold  to  the  Prince  by  Jolm 
Angd,  pergamao,  ten  hundred- weight 
of  velvet,  gold  and  silver  to  embroider 
his  apparel  withaL  The  covering  to 
his  mmes  is  most  gorgeously  embroi-^ 
dered  with  gold  and  silver,  which 
carry  his  baggage.  There  is  also  sold 
to  bim  by  the  Italian  merchants  at 
least  670  pieces  of  velvet  to  apparel 
him  and  his  train.  Every  captain  has 
received  a  gift  from  tiie  Prince  to 
make  himself  brave,  and  for  Oaptain 
Corralini,  an  Italian,  who  hath  one 
comet  of  horse,  I  have  seen  with  my 
ejes  m  saddle  with  the  trappings  of  his 
hoT30^  his  coat  and  rapier  and  dagger^ 
uihich  cost  3,500  French  crowns.  (II) 
All  their  lances  are  painted  of  divers 
colours,  blue  and  white,  green  and 
Whiter  and  most  part  blood-red— so 
there  is  as  great  preparation  for  a 
triumph  as.  for  war.  A  great  number 
of  Bnglish  priests  oome  to  Antwerp 
from  all  places.  The  commandment 
is  given  to  all  the  churches  to  read 
the  Litany  daily  for  the  prosperity  of 
the   Prince  in  his  enterprise.'*    John 


Giles  to  Walsingbam,  4  Dec.  1587. 
(S.  P.  Office  MS.) 

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

Sir  William  Russel  wrote  also  from 
Flushing  oonoerning  these  prepara- 
tions in  much  the  same  strain ;  but  it 
is  worthy  of  note  that  he  considered 
I^amese  to  be  rather  intending  a  move- 
ment against  France. 

"The  Prince  of  Parma,"  he  said, 
"  is  making  great  preparations  for  war, 
and  with  cUl  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 
beisetwith  jewels;  for  all  the  embrov- 
derers  and  diamond-cuUers  work  hoik 
^ht  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  Flandera  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  (he  Prince  Mo 
Frcmce^  and  for  certain  it  is  not  known 
what  way  or  how  they  shall  mardi, 
but  all  ore  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,  fta  The  Prince  hath  received 
a  marvellous  costly  garland  or  crown 
from  the  Pope,  and  is  chosen  diief  of 
the  holy  league^  and  now  puts  in  his 


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324 


THE  UNITED  NBTHEELANDS. 


Chap.  XVTL 


ears  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  snspected  more  than  the  truth.  The  list 
of  English  commissioners  privately  agreed  upon  between 
Buighley  and  De  Loo  was  known  to  Barneveld,  Maurice^ 
and  Hohenlo,  before  it  came  to  the  ears  of  Leicester.  Li 
June,  Biickhurst  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  trans- 
parent as  to  make  concealment  hopeless.  Leicester,  as  well 
as  Buckhurst,  knew  that  it  was  idle  to  talk  to  the  Nether- 
landers  of  peace,  because  of  their  profound  distrust  in  every 
word  that  came  from  Spanish  or  Italian  lips  ;  but  Leicester, 
less  frank  than  Buckhurst,  preferred  to  flatter  his  sovereign, 
rather  than  to  tell  her  unwelcome  truths.  More  fortunate 
than  Buckhurst,  he  was  rewarded  for  his  flattery  by  boundless 
affection,  and  promotion  to  the  very  highest  post  in  Eugland 
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  th^t  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. 


anns  two  cross  keys.  The  King  of 
France  hath  written  for  the  Prince 
with  expedition,  and  'tis  gaid  he 
marches  IhUher^  and  on  the  waj  will 
besiege .  Gambraj,"  Ac.  Occurrenoes, 
from  the  €k)yemor  of  Flushing,  Nov.  9, 
1587.    (8.  P.  Office  Ma) 

Thus  Sir  William  seems    to   have 
been   less  aocnrately  acquainted  with 


the  movements  of  Famese  than  was 
John  Giles,  and  the  mysterious  precau- 
tions of  the  King  and  his  gonend  had 
been  fisur  from  fruitlesa 

^  Leicester  to  the  Queen,  9  Oct 
1687.    (a  P.  Office  ACS.) 

'  Same  to  same^  1  Oct  1687.  (S 
P.  Office  Ma) 


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1687. 


WHICH  THE  STATES  WELL  UNDERSTAND. 


325 


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  conform  to  her  Majesty's 
pleasure.  Ho  expatiated,  however,  upon  the  difficulties  in  his 
path.  The  knowledge  possessed  by  the  pestilent  fellows  as  to 
the  actual  position  of  affairs,  was  very  mischievous.  It  was 
honey  to  Maurice  and  Hohenlo,'  he  said,  that  the  Queen's 
secret  practices  with  Famese  had  thus  been  discovered. 
Nothing  could  be  more  marked  than  the  jollity  with  which 
the  ringleaders  hailed  these  preparations  for  peace-rnaking,* 
for  they  now  felt  certain  that  the  government  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  possibility  at  least  of  honesty 
on  the  part  of  men  who  were  so  ready  to  offer  up  their  lives 
for  their  country.  For  in  a  very  few  weeks  he  was  obliged 
to  confess  that  the  people  were  no  longer  so  well  disposed  to 
acqxiiesce  in  her  Majesty's  policy.  The  great  miajority,  both 
of  the  States  and  the  people,  were  in  favour,  he  agreed,  of 
continuing  the  war.  The  inhabitants  of  the  little  Province  of 
Holland  alone,  he  said,  had  avowed  their  determination  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 


*  Seme  to  eame,  5  Nov.  1587.    (S. 
P.  Office  MS.) 

•  Bame  to  Burghlej,  30  Oct  1587. 
(Brit  Hub.  Galba^  D.  H.  p.  67.  MS.) 

s  Leicester   to    Burfirhley,  17   Aug. 
1587.    (&  P.  Office  MS.) 
«  Same  to  same,  30  Oct  1587.   (Brit 


Mu3.  Galba,  D.  H.  p.  67.    MS.) 

•  Leicester  to  Walsingham,  9  Oct 
1587.    (S.  P.  Office  MS.) 

•  Leicester  to  Bmghley,  30  Oct 
1587.  (Brit  Mua.  Galba>  D.  IL  67.  MS ) 
Same  to  the  Queen,  11  Oct.  1587.  (S. 
P.  Office  MS.) 


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326 


THE  UNITED  NETHEELANDS. 


CiiP.  XVII 


world*' ^  He  never  scropled,  on  repeated  occasions,  to  in- 
simiate  that  Barneveld,  Hohenlo,  Buys,  Roorda,  Sainte  Al- 
degonde,  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  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  inconsistent  with  the  plot  for  selling  their  country 
to  Spain,  which  he  charged  in  the  same  breath  on  the  same 
persons. 

Early  in  August,  by  the  Queen's  command,  he  had  sent  a 
formal  communication  respecting  the  private  negotiations  to 
the  States,  but  he  conld  tell  them  no  secret.  The  names  of 
the  cotnmissioners,  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  statcM^ounsellor,  one  Bardesiifs,  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  Bar- 
desius  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  eminent  statesmen,  Yalk  and  Menin,  to 
lay  the  subject  before  the  assembly.  They  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  Yalk  and  Menin  were  too 


*  Leicester  to  the  Queen,  17  Nov. 
1687.    (a  P.  Office  Msy 

'  Leicester  to  the  Queen,  6  Kor. 
1587.  (S.  P.  Office  MS.)  Same  to 
Burgfalej,  6  Nov.  1687.  (Brit  Mus. 
Galba^  D.  XL  p.  176.    MS.) 


'  Same  to  same,  11  Oct  1587.  (Sw 
P.  Office  MS.) 

*  Leicester  to  Buighlej,  30  Sept 
1587.    (Brit  Mufl.  GallMS  D.  IL  p.  34. 

Ma) 


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158T. 


LEICESTER'S  GREAT  UNPOPULARITY. 


327 


old  politicians  to  be  caught  in  such  a  trap,  and  they  produced 
a  brief^  drawn  up  in  Italian — the  foreign. language  best  un- 
derstood by  the  Earl — with  his  own  corrections  and  inter- 
lineations, so  that  he  was  forced  to  admit  that  there  had  been 
no  misconception.^ 

Leicester  at  last  could  no  longer  doubt  that  he  was  uni- 
versally odious  in  the  Provinces.  Hohenlo,  Bameveld,  and 
the  rest,  who  had  ^^  championed  the  country  against  the 
peace/' were  carrying. aU  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  im- 
portance, 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  anxiotisly  claimed  per- 
mission 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  statesmen  at  home  to  be  wary  in  selecting  the  wisest 
persons  for  that  arduous  duty,  in  order  that  the  peace  might 
be  miade  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 


"  Bor,  ITL  xxiil  34.  Hoofd,  *Ver- 
vdgb,*.  276.  Wagenaar,  viiL  236. 
Meteren,  xi?.  260.  Compare  Reyd,  vl 
109,  who  says  however  that  YaUc  and 
Meoin  ooold  produce  no  written  in- 
Btnictions  from  Leicester,  but  tiiat  the 
characters  of  such  well-known  states- 
men carried  conyictioa  of  the  tni^  of 


their  statements. 

'  Leicester  to  the  Lords,   21   Nov. 
1587.    (S.  P.  Office  MS.) 

*  Leicester  to  Walsuigham,  13  Oct 
1687.    (a  P.  Office  MS.) 

*  Leicester   to   Bmvhlej,   30   Sept 
1587.    (a  P.  Office  Ma) 


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328  THE  UNITED  NETHERLAND&  Chap.  XVU 

was  drovmed  in  England^  but  most  useful  in  the  Netherlands. 
Without  him  I  am  naked/'  ^ 

And  at  last  the  governor  told  the  Queen  what  Buckhurst 
and  Walsingham  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  six 
thousand  shirts  for  camisados,  7000  pairs  of  wading  boots, 
and  saddles^  stirrups,  ftnd  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  was  intending  to  astonish  London. 
"  Get  horses  enough,  and  muskets  enough  in  England,"  ex- 
claimed 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  simpK  the  States 
and  the  people,  throughout  the  republic,  were  all  opposed  to 
any  negotiation  with  the  enemy,  but  lifted  up  hi^  own  voice, 
and  in  earnest  language  expressed  his  opinioii  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,  beside  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 

>  Leicester  to  Walsinghaiii,  4  Aug.  I      *  Leicester  to  Barghlej,  5  Nor.  158X 
1587.    Same  to  aama  16  Sept  1687.      (3.  P.  Office  MS.) 
(aP.  OfficeMSa)  I      a  Ibid. 


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1687. 


THE  QUEEN  WABNED  AGAINST  TBEATINa. 


329 


us  and  the  realm,  and  especially  her  Majesty.  But  look  for  a 
sharp  war,  or  a  miserable  peace,  to  undo  others  and  ourselves 
after/'' 

Walsingham,  too,  was  determined  not  to  act  as  a  com- 
missioner. If  his  failing  health  did  not  serve  as  an  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  o^  Buighley.  Again  and  again  he  had  detected 
the  intrigues  of  the  Lord-Treasurer  and  Sir  James  Croft,  and 
ridiculed  the  " comiptroUer's  peace."* 

And  especially  did  Walsingham  bewail  the  implicit  con- 
fidence which  the  Queen  placed  in  the  sugary  words  of 
Alexander,  and  the  fatal  parsimony  which  caused  her  to 
n^lect  defending  herself  against  Scotland;'  for  he  was  as 
well  informed  as  was  Farriese  himself  of  Philip's  arrangements 
with  the  Scotch  lords,  and  of  the  subsidies  in  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 


*  Xeiceater  to  Burghley,  *l  Nov. 
1587.    (S.  P.  Office  MS.) 

And  to  Walsmgham  he  wrote  most 
earnest!/  in  the  same  vein.  *'Our 
enemies  have  dealt  more  like  politic 
men  than  we  have^"  he  said,  "for  it 
was  always  agreed  heretofore  among 
•03  that  there  was  no  way  to  make  a 
good  peace  but  by  a  strong  war.  .  .  . 
Now  &  the  difference  put  in  experience, 
for  we  see  the  Prince  of  Parma  did  not 
weaken  himself  to  trust  upon  peace, 
bat  hath  increased  his  forces  in  the 
highest  degree,  whilst  we  talked  of 
peace;  that  if  we  break  off,  he  might 
either  compel  us  to  his  peace  or  be 
beforehand  with  us  by  the  readiness 
of  his  forces.  This  vfos  told  and  fore- 
told, but  yet  no  ear  given  nor  care 
taken.  .  .  .  Surely  you  shall  find  the 
Prinee  meaneth  no  peace,  I  see  money 
doih  undo  aU — the  care  to  keep  it^  and 
not  upon  just  cause  to  spend  it    Her 


Majesty  doth  still  blame  mo  for  the 
expense  of  her  treasure  here,  which 
doth  make  me  weary  of  my  life;  but 
her  Majesty  wHl  rue  the  sparing  counsel 
at  such  times. 

He  then  sent  information  as  to 
Parma's  intentions,  derived  from  on 
intercepted  letter  of  a  man  in  Sir  Wil- 
liam Stanley's  regiment  to  a  priest  in 
England,  *' bidding  his  fHend  be  sure 
they  are  shortly  to  be  in  England." 
..."  It  were  better  to  her  Mijesty," 
added  Leicester,  "than  a  mDlion 
pounds  sterling,  that  she  had  done  as 
the  Duke  of  Parma  hath  done."  Lei- 
cester to  Walsingham,  1  Nov.  1587. 
(S.  P.  Office  MS.) 

*  Walsingham  to  Leicester,  21  Sept 
1587.  (Brit  Mus.  Galba^  D.  U.  p.  78. 
Ma) 

*  Walsingham  to  Leicester,  12  Nov. 
1587.  (Brit  Mua  Galba^  D.  IL  p.  17a 
MS.) 


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330 


THE  I7KITED  NETHEBLANDS. 


Chap.  XVn. 


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  U3,  we  cannot  long 
stand:*  ^ 

Leicester,  finding  himself  unable  to  counteract  the  policy 
of  Barneveld  and  his  party,  by  expostulation  or  argument, 
conceived  a  very  dangerous  and  criminal  project  before  he 
left  the  country.  The  fiicts  are  somewhat  veiled  in  mystoy ; 
but  he  was  suspected,  on  weighty  evidence,  of  a  design  to 
kidnap  both  Maurice  and  Barneveld,  and  carry  them  off  to 
England.  Of  this  intention,  which  wais  foiled  at  any  rate, 
before  it  could  be  carried  into  execution,  there  \s  perhaps 
not  conclusive  proof,  but  it  has  already  been  shown,  from  a 
deciphered  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  certain  that  late  in  the 
autumn,  some  friends  of  Barneveld  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  Lei- 
cester, 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  n^otiations  with 
Parma,  he  had  not  n^lected  those  still  more  secret  schemes 
to  which  he  had  occasionally  made  allusion.    He  had  deter- 


*  "  A  letter  from  the  Duke  of  Panna," 
Bays  the  Secretary,  "bred  in  her  Ka- 
jee^  such  a  daDgeroas  secoritj,  as  all 
advertisemeDts  of  danger  are  neglected, 
and  great  expedition  used  in  despatch- 
ing ^  the  oommissionerB.  I  was  tdSij 
resolved  in  no  sort  to  have  accepted 
the  diarge^  had  not  my  sickness  pre- 
vented, for  that  I  woold  be  loth  tu  be 


engaged  in  a  service  that  all  men  of 
Judgment  may  see  cannot  but  work  her 
Majesty's  rum.  I  pray  God  I  and 
others  of  my  opinion  prove  in  this  fidae 
propheta"    (Ibid.) 

•  Bor,  HX  xxiil  61.  Hoofd,  «Terb 
volgh,'  28t.  Wagenaar,  viiL  240.  Van 
Wyn  op  Wagenaar,  viil  68,  69. 


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1687.  LBICESTE;B*S  schemes  against  BAENBVELD.  331 

mined^  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  £Air  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 
io  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  Bar- 
neveld  had  ever  used  the  language  in  that  assembly  with 
which  he  had  been  chaiged.  He  had  only  revealed  to  them 
the  exact  purport  of  the  letter  to  Junius,  and  of  the  Queen's 
secret  instructions  to  Leicester.*  Whatever  he  may  have 
said  in  private  conversation,  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  seU 
the  cities,  thus  to  be  acquired,  to  Spain,  as  the  price  of  peace 
for  England.  Certainly  Elizabeth  would  have  scorned  such  a 
crime,  and  was  justly  indignant  at  rumours  prevalent  to  that 
e£kct ;  but  the  wrath  of  the  Queen  and  of  her  favourite  were, 
perhaps,  somewhat  simulated,  in  order  to  cover  their  real 
mortification  at  the  discovery  of  designs  on  the  part  of  the 
Earl  which  could  not  be  denied.  Not  only  had  they  been  at 
last  compelled  to  confess  these  n^otiations,  which  for  several 
months  had  been  concealed  and  stubbornly  denied,  but  the 
still  graver  plots  of  the  Earl  to  r^ain  his  much-coveted 
authority  had  been,  in  a  startling  manner,  revealed.  The 
leaders  of  the  States^Gkneral  had  a  right  to  suspect  the 
English  Earl  of  a  design  to  reenact  the  part  of  the  Duke  of 
Anjou,  and  were  justified  in  taking  stringent  measures  to 
prevent  a  calamity,  which,  as  they  believed,  was  impending 
over  their  little  commonwealth.  The  high-handed  dealings 
of  Leicester  in  the  city  of  Utrecht  have  been  already  de- 

«  EeeoL  HolL  15,  XG,  18  Sept  1587,  bL  253,  264,  263,  cited  in  Van  Wjn, 


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332 


THB  UNITED  KETHERLAKDS. 


Chap.  XVIL 


scribed.  The  most  respectable  and  influential  burghers  of  the 
place  had. been. imprisoned  and  banished/  the  municipal  go* 
vemment  wrested  from  the  hands  to  /which  it  legitimately 
belonged^  and  confided  to  adventurers,  who  wore  the  cloak  of 
Calvinism  to  conceal  their  designs,  and  a  successful  eff<^  had 
been  made,  in  the  name  of  democracy,  to  ^radicate  from  one 
ancient  province  the  liberty  on  which  it  prided  itself. 

In  the  course  of  the  autumn,  an  attempt  was  made  to  play 
the  same  game  at  Amsterdam.  A  plot  was  discovered,  heEore 
it  was  fairly  matured,  to  seize  the  magistrates  of  that  im- 
portant city,  to  gain  possession  of  the  arsenals,  and  to  place 
the  government  in  the  hands  of  well-known  Leioestrians.  A 
list  of  fourteen  influential  citizens,  drawn  up  in  the  writing 
of  Burgrave,  the  EarFs  confidential  secretary,  was  found,  all 
of  whom,  it  was  asserted,  had  been  doomed  to  the  scaffold.^ 

The  plot  to  secure  Amsterdam  had  failed^  but,  in  North 
Holland,  Medenblik  was  held  firmly  for  Leicester,  by  Diedrich 
Sonoy,  in  the  very  teeth  of  the  States.*  The  important. city 
of  Enkhuyzen,  too,  was  very  near  being  secured  for  the  Earl, 
but  a  still  more  si^iificant  movement  was  made  at  Leyden. 
That  heroic  city,  ever  since  the  famous  si^  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  seict  of  the 


'  Hoofd,  xxvi  1199,  1200.  .Wage- 
naar,  viiL  243-246. 

Among  them  was  the  name  of  bur- 
gomaster Hoofd,  father  of  the  illua- 
tiious  historian  of  the  Netheriands. 
Much  caution  should  be  observed, 
however,  in  accepting;  to  their  full 
extent,  charges  made  in  times  of  such 
violent  partj  q}irit  Leicester  would 
have  hardlj  ventured  to  hang  fourteen 


such  men  as  Hoofcl  and  his  compeers, 
although  he  would  willingly  hare 
brought  Bameveld  and  Buys  to  the 
gibbet  He  would  have  imprisoned 
and  banished,  no  doub^  as  many 
Amsterdam  burghers  of  the  States- 
party  as  he  could  lay  hands  on. 

•  Bor,  m.  xxiii.  t,  xxiv.  lt9-204, 
208-283,  279-290.  Beyd,  vi  101.  Wage- 
naar,  209,  210,  270-278. 


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;587.  LEICESTRIAN  CONSnBACT  AT  LETDEN.  333 

CalvmiBtswere  shocked  at  the  latitudinarianism  which  pre- 
Tailed*  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  buigomaster,  who  had  sustained 
the  city  -during  the  dreadful  leaguer  of  1574,  and  who  had 
told  the  famishing  bm^hers  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  Werflf  had  sent 
his.  son  to  this  very  school.^  To  the  clamour  made  by  the 
refugees  against  this  spirit  of  toleration,  one  of  the  favourite 
pre€U)hers  in  the  town,  of  Arminian  tendencies,  had  declared 
in  the  pulpit,  that  he  would  as  lieve  see  the  Spanish  as  the 
Calvinistic  inquisition  established  over  his  country  ;  using  an 
expression,  in  r^ard  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  sub- 
jecting the  new  commonwealth  to  a  masked  theocracy ;  a 
scheme  which  the  States  of  Holland  had  resisted  with  might 
tod  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  the  hands  of  that  great  represen- 
tative of  Calvinism,  the  Earl  of  Leicester.  Jacques  Volmar, 
a  deacon  of  the  church,  Cosmo  do  Pescarengis,  a  Genoese 
captein  of  much  experiionco  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  great 
council  to  which  the  Earl  had  appointed  him ;  Doctor  Saravia, 
professor  of  theology  in  the  university,  with  other  deacons, 
prd^hers,  and  captains,  went  at  different  times  from  Leyden 
to  Utrecht,  and  had  secret  interviews  with  Leicester 
'  A  plan  was  at  last  agreed  upon,  according  to  which,  about 
the  middle  of  October,  a  revolution  should  bo  effected  in 

'  Bor,  xxiiL  93-106.  *  Ibid.   I  sitio  dan  de  Genee&e  disdpline,  die 

•  Ibid.     "  Llever  do  Spacnso  Isqai-  |  poddge  hoere,"  p.  98, 


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334  THE  UNITED  NBTHERLANDa  Chip.  XVtL 

Leyden.  Captain  Nicholas  de  Maulde,  who  had  recently  bo 
much  difltingoished  himself  in  the  defence  of  Slays,  was  sta- 
tioned with  two  companies  of  States'  troops  in  the  city.  He 
had  been  much  disgusted — ^not  without  reason-Hut  the  culp- 
able n^ligehce  through  whidi  the  courageous  efforts  of  the 
Sluys  garrison  had  been  set  at  nought,  and  the  place  sacri- 
ficed, when  it  might  so  easily  have  been  rejieyed ;  and  he 
ascribed  the  whole  of  the  guilt  to  Maurice,  Hobenlo,  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  Yolmar,  in  the  natne  of  Leicester 
He  agreed,  on  a  certain  day,  to  muster  his  iDompany,  to  leave 
the  city  by  the  Delft  gate — as  if  by  comxnand  of  superior 
authority — to  effect  a  junction  with  Captain  Heraugiere, 
another  of  the  distinguished  malcontent  defendeis  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  magis- 
trates, together  with  Adrian  van  der  Wer£^  ex-burgomaster, 
and  proclaim  Lord  Leicester,  in  the  name  of  Queen  Elizaheth, 
Intimate  master  of  the  city.^  A  list  of  burghars,  who  were 
to  be  executed,  was  likewise  agreed  upon,  at  a  final  meeting 
of  the  conspirators  in  a  hostelry,  which  bore  the  ominous 
name  of  ^  The  Thunderbolt.'  A  desire  had  been  signified  by 
Leicester,  in  the  preliminary  interviews  at  Utrecht,  that  all 
bloodshed,  if  possible,  should  be  spared,^  but  it  was  certainly 
an  extravagant  expectation,  considering  the  temper,  the  poli- 
tical ^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 

'  Bor,  ubi  sup,    Rejrd,  vii  133,  134.    Meteren,  xiv.  261. 
*  Bor,  Reydy  Meteren,  iibi  wp. 


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1587.  THE  PLOT  TO  SEIZE  THE  OTTT  DISCOTEEED.  335 

been  accidentally  arrested  for  debt.^  A  subordinate  accom- 
plice, taking  alarm,  had  then  gone  before  the  magistrate  and 
revealed  the  plot.  Yolmar  and  de  Maulde  fled  at  once,  bat 
were  soon  arrested  in  the  neighbonrhood.  President  de  Meet- 
keike,  Professor  Sarsvia,  the  preacher  Van  der  Wouw,  and 
others  most  compromised,  effected  their  escape.^  The  matter 
was  instantly  laid  before  the.  States  of  Hblland  \j  the  ma- 
gistracy of  Leyden,  and  seemed  of  the  gravest  moment.  In 
the  beginning  of  the  year,  the  fatal  treason  of  York  and 
Stanley  had  implanted  a  deep  suspicion  of  Leicester  in  the 
hearts  of  almost  all  the  Netherlanders,  which  could  not  be 
eradicated.  The  painful  rumours  concerning  the  secret  ne^ 
gotiations  with  Spain,  and  the  design  fiEdsely  attributed  to  the 
Englsh  Queen,  of  selling  the  chief  cities  of  the  republic  to 
Philip  as  the  price  of  peace,  and  of  reimbursement  for  ex- 
penses incurred  by  her,  increased  the  ^neral  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  commissioners  were  Adrian  van  der 
Werff,  John  van  der  Does,  who  had  been  military  commandant 
of  Leyden  during  the  siege,  Bameveld,  and  other  distin- 
guished personages,  over  whom  Count  Maurice  presided.'  The 
accused  were  subjected  to  an  impartial  trial  Without  torture, 
they  confessed  t^ir  guilt.^  It  is  true,  however,  that  Cosmo 
was  placed  within  sight  of  the  rack.  He  avowed  that  his 
object  had  been  to  place  the  city  under  the  authority  of  Lei- 
cester, and  to  effect  this  purpose,  if  possible,  without  blood- 
shed. He  declared  that  the  attempt  was  to  be  made  with  the 
full  knowledge  and  approbation  of  the  Earl,  who  had  pro- 
mised him  the  command  of  a  regiment  of  twelve  companies,  as 

'  Bor,  Rejd,  Meterexi,  vbi  sup.  I   Reyd  says  that  they  were  put  to  the 

'Ibid.  'Ibid.      torture,      p.      163.      "Nae    pljulyke 

*  8o  Bay  Bor    and    ICeteren ;    but  |  ondervraegingc." 


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336 


THB  UNITED  NETHBttliANDS. 


Chap.  XVUt. 


a  lecompense  for  his  services/ if  thej  proved  saocessfoL  Lei- 
cester, said  Cosmo,  had  also  pledged  himself,  in  case  the  men, 
thus  executing  his  plans,  should  be  discovered  and  endangered, 
to  protcict  and  rescue  them,  even  at  the  sacrifice  of  all  his 
fortune,  and  of  the  office  he  held.  When  asked  if  he  had  any 
written  statement  from  his  Excellency  to  ihatefiPect,  Cosmo 
replied,  no,  nothing  but  his  princely  word  which  he  had  volun- 
tarily given.^.  . 

Yolmar  made  a  similar  confession.  He,  too,  declared  that 
bo  had  acted  throughout  the  affiur  by  express  command  of  the 
Earl  of  Leicester.  Being  asked  if  he  had  any  written  evidence 
of  the  fact,  he,  likewise,  replied  in  the  negative.  "  Then  his 
Excellency  will  unquestionably  deny  your  assertion,"  said  the 
judges.  ^^.  Alas,  then  am  I  a  dead  man,"  replied  Yolmar,  and 
the  unfortunate  deacon  never  spoke  truer  words.  Captain  de 
Maulde  also  confessed  his  crime.  He  did  not  pretend,  how- 
ever, to  have  had  any  personal  communication  with  Leicester, 
but  said  that  the  afibir  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  obedience  to  his  Excellency's 
commands.* 

On  the  26ih  October,  after  a  thorough  investigation,  fol- 
lowed by  a  full  confession  on  the  part  of  the  culprits,  the  three 
were  sentenced  to  death.*  The  decree  was  surely  a  most 
flevero  one.  They  had  been  guilty  of  no  actual  crime,  and 
only  in  case  of  high  treason  could  an  intention  to  commit  a 
crime  be  considered,  by  the  laws  of  the  state,  an  oflbnce 
*  punishable  with  death.  But  it  was  exactly  because  it  was  im- 
portant to  make  the  cnine  high  treason  that  the  prisoners 
were  condemned.  The  offence  was  considered  as  a  crime  not 
against  Leyden,  but  as  an  attempt  to  levy  war  upon  a  city 


'  Bor,  MeteroD,  vhi  sup,  H^d  de- 
clares that  KUligrew  (who  with 
Beale,  was  member  of  the  state- 
council  as  representative  of  the 
Queen)  notified  the  commissioners 
that  the  attempt  had  been  made  with 
the  knowledge  and  consent  of  Lei- 
cester, and  warned  them  not  to  be 
precipitate  in  the  trial :  but  that  the 


Ear],  who  was  then  at  Alkmar, 
denied  all  complicity  in  the  aflbir. 
Cosmo,  according  to  the  same  autho- 
rity, called  out,  when  upon  the  rack, 
*'0h,  Excellence,  a  quoi  emptojes 
vous  lessens  I"  P.  134 
•  Bor,  Metercn,  Rejd,  vbi  sup, 
*Ibid.  The  sentences  are  given  in 
Aill  by  Bor. 


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1587.  THREE  BINaUSADEBS  SENTENCED  TO  DEATH.  337 

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  soviereignty.  Moreover^  the  offence  had  been 
aggravated  by  the  employment  of  United  States'  troops 
against  the  commonwealth  of  the  United  States  itsel£  To  cut 
off  the  heads  of  these  prisoners  was  a  sharp  practical  answer 
to  the  claims  of  sovereignty  by  Leicester^  as  representing 
the  people,  and  a  terrible  warning  to  all  who  might,  in  future, 
be  disposed  to  revive  the  theories  of  Deveaiter  and  Burgrave. 

In  the  case  of  De  Maulde  the  punishment  seemed  especially 
severe..  His  fate  exdited  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  services  in  the  war  of  independence,  had  been  an 
iistimate  friend  of  the  great  Prince  of  Orange,  and  had  even 
advanced  large  sums  of  mojiey  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  dis- 
tinguished .  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  soldiership 
as  the  veteran  Boger  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  L'fe  of  his  father, 
that  great-hearted  man  had  lifted  up  his  voice — ^which  seemed 
his  dying  one— in  favour  of  those  who  had  sought  his  life. 

But  lie  authorities  were  inexorable.  There  was  no  hope  of 
a  mitigation  of  punishment,  but  a  last  effort  was  made,  under 
fitvour  of  a  singular  ancient  custom,  to  save  the  life  of  Do 

VOL,  II. — Z 


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338 


THE  UNITED  NETHEELAin)6, 


Chap.  xrn. 


Maulde.  A  young  lady  of  noble  family  in  Leyden — ^Uyten- 
broek  by  name— claimed  the  right  of  rescuing  the  condemned 
male&ctor  from  the  axe^  by  appearing  upon  the  scaffold^  and 
offering  to  take  him  for  her  husband.^ 

Intelligence  was  brought  to  the  prisoner  in  his  dungeon, 
that  the  young  lady  had  made  the  proposition,  and  he  was 
told  to  be  of  good  cheer.  But  he  refused  to  be  comforted. 
He  was  slightly  acquainted  with  the  gentlewoman,  he  ob- 
served, and  doubted  much  whether  her  request  would  be 
granted.  Moreover — ^if  contemporary  chronicle  can  be  trusted 
— ^he  even  expressed  a  preference  for  the  scaffold,  as  tiie 
milder  fate  of  the  two.*  The  lady,  however,  not  being  aware 
of  those  uncomplimentary  sentiments,  made  her  proposal  to 
the  magistrates,  but  was  dismissed  with  harsh  rebukes.  She 
had  need  be  ashamed,  they  said,  of  her  willingness  to  take  a 
condemned  traitor  for  her  husband.  It  was  urged,  in  her  be- 
half, that  even  in  the  cruel  Alva's  time,  the  ancient  custom 
had  been  respected,  and  that  victims  had  been  saved  frt)m  the 
executioners,  on  a  demand  in  marriage  made  even  by  women 
of  abandoned  character.'    But  all  was  of  no  avail.     The  pri- 

Oct  26,  soners  were  executed  on  the  26th  October,  the  same 

1587.  day  on  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.* 

The  Earl  was  indignant  when  he  heard  of  the  event.  As 
there  had  been  no  written  proof  of  his  complicity  in  the  con- 
spiracy, the  judges  had  thought  it  improper  to  mention  his 
name  in  the  sentences.  He,  of  course,  denied  any  knowledge 
of  the  jplot^  and  its  proof  rested  therefore  only  on  the  asser- 
tion of  iiie  prisoners  themselves,  which^  however,  was  circum- 
stantial, voluntary,  and  generally  believed.* 


\  Bor,  97.  Yan  "Wyn  cp  Wagcn, 
viiu  72. 

■  **'Ma€r  by  hoerende  do  sdve  noe- 
men,  en  in  baer  geselachap  wel  ge- 
Voest  zijnde,  hadde  weynig  moeds  dat 
hj  door  verlost  worden  zonde,  of  dok 
de  sdve  ten  huwdiflce  nUi  hegeerendey 
iLOUde  hem  niet  to  rreden  steUen,"  &c. 


Bor,  xxiiL  (III.)  97. 

•  Bor,  uhi  aup.  . 

*  Bor,  Meteren,  Reyd,  vbi  sup.  La 
Petit,  IL  xiv.  661. 

•Ibid. 

The  on]y-  passage  bearing  on  the 
subject  which  I  have  found  in  Ld- 
cester's  secret  correspondence,  is  tbii 


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\m. 


Civil  war  in  pranoe. 


339 


Franc5e,  during  the  whole  of  this  year  of  expectation,  was 
ploughed  throughout  its  whole  surface  by  perpetual  civil  war. 
The  fatal  edict  of  June,  1585,  had  droWned  the  unhappy  kmd 
in  blood.  Foreign  armies,  called  in  by  the  various  contending 
factions,  ravaged  its  fair  territory,  butchered  its  peasantry,  aiid 
changed  its  fertile  plains  to  a  wilderness.  The  tmhappy 
creature  who  wore  the  crown  of  Charlemagne  and  of  Hugh 
Capet,  was  but  the  tool  in  the  hands  of  the  most  profligate 
and  desigiiing  of  his  own  sulgects,  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,  seamed 
closing  over  him.  Hd  was  without  friends,  without  power  to 
know  his  friends,  if  he  had  them.  In  his*  hatred  to  the  Be- 
formation,  he  had  allowed  himself  to  be  made  the  enemy  of 
the  only  mail  who  Could  be  his  friend,  or  the  friend  of  France. 
Allied  with  his  mortal  foe,  whose  armies  were  strengthened 


extract  from  a  letter  to  the  Queen : — 
"  The  States  have  used  great  craelty 
of  late  in  L^den,  against  three  per- 
sons that  mvoured  your  M^jes1y, 
tdiom  they  put  to  death,  and  banished 
ty^enfy  others^  whereof  their  devoted 
head  was  one,  old  Count  Meetkerke 
another.  This  gentleman  can  inform 
you  of  it,  and  I  will  send  it»  st^ort^y, ; 
at  more  length."  Leicester  to  the* 
Ctaeen,  2*1  Oct  1587.  (S.  P.  Oflkfe ' 
MS.) 

This  very  meagre  rillusion  to  so  im- 
portant an  event  is  almost  suspicious 
m  itself  when  coupled  with  the  &ct 
that  the  details  were  entrtisted  to  a 
special  messenger  to  commumcate  by 
word  of  mouth.  The  Earl  knew  very 
well  that  his  most  secret  de^atdies 
were  read  by  his  antagonists,  and- he 
might  not  be  unwilling  to  deceive 
them  by  the  slighting  tone  of  tiiese 
allusions  in  his  pnvate  letters. 

Of  coarse,  it  is  un&ir  to  plaoe  hn- 
plicit  relianoe  on  the  confessions  of 
prisoners,  anxious  to  save  their  lives 
by  implicating  the  powerM  governor. 
Yet  it  is  dilSsull  to  know  why  they 
should  expect  his  intercession  if  they 
knew  themselves  to  be  blastmg  his 
character  by  an  impudent  falsehood. 


Moreover,  an  elaborate  pamphlet, 
published  in  defence  of  those  persons 
who  had  effected  their  escape,  was 
dedicated  to  the  Earl  himself  and 
contained  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  character.  (Bor,  IIL 
xxiii.  95,  seq^  gives  the  aocument) 
'But  the  pamphlet  was  dexibu^oed  and 
prohibited  in  Leyden,,as  an  in&mous 
libel  aiid  a  tissue  of  fidsehoods,  and  It 
is  hardly  just,  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  <»tler  to  bridle  the  States,  and  to 
make  a  good  bargain  for  the  Queen, 
should  the  worst  *-octtrie  to  the  worsts 
has  been  aloeadj  -shown  from  his 
private  letters. 

>  In  Octobe?  of  this  year,  1587, 
Epemon  called  Yilleroy,  in  the  king's 
presence,  "un  petit  coquin,"  accused^ 
him.  of  being  a  stipendiary  of  Phih'p 
n.  and  the  League,  and  threatened  to 
spur  hun  as  he  would  an  obstinate 
horse.  (*L'Estoile,  Begistre  Journal 
de  Henry  IIL'  ed.  1587,  p.  32.) 


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340  THE  TJNITBD  NBTHERLANDa  Ceap.  XVIL 

by  contingents  from  Parma's  forces,  and  paid  for  hj  Spanish 
gold,  he  was  forced  to  a  mock  triumph  over  the  foreign  mer- 
cenaries who  came  to  save  his  crown,  and  to  submit  to  the 
defeat  of  the  flower  of  his  chivahy,  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  Duo  de  Joyeuse,  near  the  buijgh  of  Coutras. 
His  cousins  Cond^  and  Soissons  each  commanded  a  wing  in 
the  army  of  the  B6amese.  "You  are  both  of  my  fSamily,'* 
said  Henry,  before. the  engagement,  "and  the  Lord  so  help 
me,  but  I  will  show  you  that  I  am  the  eldest  bom."  *  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  B^amese,"  was  his  reply  to  those  who  im- 
plored him  to  have  a  care  for  his  personal  safety.  And  at  last, 
when  the  day  was  done,  the  victory  gained,  and  more  Frendi 
nobles  lay  dead  on  the  field,  as  Catharine  de'  Medici  bitterly 
declared,  than  had  fSsillen  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  laid  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  Yalois 
been  possessed  of  a  spark  of  manhood,  or  of  intelligence — ^to 
shield  him  and  his  kingdom  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 

•  Do  Thou.  X.  L.  Ixxxvil    P^r^Oxe,  76-78.    *  TEatoUe,*  232. 


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1587.      VICTORY  GAINED  BT  NAVARRE,  AND  ONE  BT  GUISE.      341 

Bourbon,  weeping  and  wailing,  "  how  much  better  it  would 
have  been.''  It  was  not  easy  to  slay  the  champion  of  French 
Protestantism  ;  yet,  to  one  less  buoyant,  the  game,  even  after 
the  brilliant  but  fi-uitless  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  B^arnese,  were  adroitly  handled  by 
Philip's  great  stipendiary.  Henry  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 
Balafir6  opportunity  for  still  farther  successes.^ 

Then  came  the  triumph  in  Paris— hosannahs  in  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.  For  him  paeans  as 
to  a  deliverer.  Without  him  the  ark  would  have  fallen  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  exconmiunication  from 
Rome— not  the  toothless  beldame  of  modem  days,  but  tjie 
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  capitaV 
clapped  their  hands  and  jumped  for  joy.  "  Miserable  country, 
miserable  King,"  sighed  an  illustrious  patriot,  ^^  whom  his  own 

>  Pe  Thou,  tibi  sup.    '  L'Estofle,*  232,  23i. 


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342 


THE  UNITED  NETHERLiJ!n)a 


Chap.  XVIL 


countrymen  wish  rather  to  survive,  than  to  die  to  defend 
him !  Let  the  name  of  Huguenot  and  of  Papi^  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  to, be  turned  out  of  France,  to  make  a  lodging  for  the 
liorrainer  and  the  Spaniard  ?"  Pregnant  questions,  which 
could  not  yet  be  answered,  for  the  end  was  not  yet.  France 
was  to  become  still  morq  and  more  a  wilderness.  And  well 
did  tjiat  same  brave  and  thoughtful  lover  of  his  country 
declare,  that  he  who  should  suddenly  awake  from  a  sleep 
of  twenty-fiye  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  ex- 
hibited— 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  desiirous  to  bo  rid  of 
him,  her  Majepty  impatient  to  have  her  favourite  back  again. 
The  indulgent  Queen,  seeing  nothing  to  blame  in  his  conduct, 
while  her  indignation  at  the  attitude  n:iaintained  by  the  Pro- 
vinces 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 
heiads. 

She  told  ihem,  that,  notwithstanding  her  frequent  messages 
to  them,  signifying  h^  evil  contentment  "with  their  unthankful- 
ness  for  her  exceeding  great  benefits,  and  with  their  gross 
violations  of  their  contract  vidth  her&elf  and  with  Leicester, 
whom  they  had,  of  their  own  accord,  made  absolute  governor 


»  Duplessis  Momay,  *Mem.*  iv. 
Ir34. 

*  "Tie  time  for  me  now  to  look 
after  my  own  bead-rsta  tempo  ch'  io 


gn^rdi  h  mia.  testa,"  he  is  said  to 
have  ezdahned  ^en  the  Lojdea 
plot  was  discovered.    (Reyd,  tiL  134.) 


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1587.  QUEEN  RECALLS  LEICBSTEB.  343 

without  her  instigation;  ehe  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  con- 
trary, she  complained  that  they  daily  increased  their  offences, 
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  worth  while  to  allude  to  some  of  their 
transgressions.     She  declared   that  their   sinister  or  rather 
barb^X)us  iaterpretation  of  her  conduct  had  been  notorious  in 
perverting  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  herself  and  for  them  with  the 
King  of  Spain.    Yet  although  she  had  required  their  allow- 
ance, before  she  would  give  her  assent,  she  had  been  grieved 
that  the  world  should  see  what  impudent  untruths  had  been 
ibi^ged  upon  her,  not  only  by  their  sufferance,  but  by  their 
special  permission  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  intwided  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  substance,  left  Ids  native  country,  absented  himself  from 
her,  and  lost  his  time,  only  for  their  service.    It  had  been 
fidsely  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  contained  matter  so  improbable,  that  it  was 
most  strange  that  any  person,  having  any  sense,  could  imagine 
them  correct.    Having  thus  slightly  anunadverted  upon  their 
wilfulness,  unthankfulness,  and  bad  government,  and  having, 
in  very  plain  English,  given  them  the  lie,  eight  distinct  and 
separate  times  upon  a  single  page,  she  proceeded  to  inform 
them  that  she  had  recalled  her  cousin  Leicester,  having  great 


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344  THE  UNITED  NBTZIEELANDa  Chip.  IVIL 

cause  to  use  his  services  in  England,  and  not  seeing  how,  by 
his  tarrying  there,  he  could  either  profit  them  or  hersdC 
Nevertheless  she  protested  herself  not  void  of  compassion  for 
their  estate,  and  for  the  pitiful  condition  of  the  great  multi- 
tude 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  de- 
termined, for  the  time,  to  continue  her  subsidies,  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,  afto:  despatching  An  equally  ill- 
tempered  letter  to  the  States,  in  which  he  alluded,  at  xm- 
merciful  length,  to  all  the  old  grievances,  blamed  them  for  the 
loss'of  Sluys,  for  which  place  he  protested  that  they  had  mani- 
fested no  more  interest  than  if  it  had  been  San  Domingo  in 
Hispaniola,  took  his  departure  for  Flushing.'  After  remaining 
there,  in  a  very  moody  frame  of  mind,  for  several  days,  ex-  - 
pecting  that  the  States  would,  at  least,  send  a  committee  to 
wait  upon  him  and  receive  his  farewells,  he  took  leave  of  th^n 
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  Eng- 
land. ^^  These  legs  of  mine,''  said  he,  clapping  his  hands  upon 
them  as  he  sat  in  his  chamber  at  Margate,  ^^  shall  never  go 
again  into  Holland.  Let  the  States  get  others  to  serve  their 
mercenary  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  mastiff.  Two  mottoes — ^^non  gregem  sedingratos," 
and  ^^invitus  desero"— expressed  his  opinion  of  Dutch  ingra- 
titude and  his  own  fidelity.  The  Hollanders,  on  their  part, 
struck  several  medals  to  conmiemorate  the  same  event,  some 
of  which  were  not  destitute  of  invention.    Upon  one  of  them, 


'  Queen  to  the  States,  8  Nov.  1587. 
(&  P.  Office  MS.) 

*  Bor,  m.  xxiii.  141.  Heteren, 
ziy.  262. 


*  Leioeeter  to  Atje,  4  Dec.  1581 
3.  P.  Office  M&) 

*  Slowe,  'Chronicle,*  T 13. 


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1687.         WHO  RETIRES,  ON  ILL  TERMS  WITH  TflE  STATED         345 

for  instance^  was  represeiited  an  ape  smothering  her  young 
ones  to  death  in  her  embrace,  with  the  device,  ^^  Libertas  ne 
ita  chara  at  simiae  catuli  f  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.  All  the 
efforts  of  Norris,  Wilkes,  and  Buckhurst,  had  been  insufficient 
to  rmse  even  a  doubt  in  Elizabeth's  mind  as  to  the  wisdom 
and  integrity  by  which  his  administration  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  for  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  imhappy  English  soldiers,  who  had  gone  forth  under 
his  banner  in  midsimimer,  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  own  generous 
hand  in  the  Netherlands,  week  after  week,  when  no  money 
for  their  necessities  could  be  obtained  from  the  paymasters. 
Two  thousand  pounds  had  been  sent  by  Elizabeth  to  her 
soldiers  when  sixty-four  thousand  pounds  arrearage  were  due,* 


*  Bor,  in.  xxfiL  163.  Hoofa,  *  Ver- 
volgh/  210.     Meteren,  xiiL  238. 

>    Camden,  lU.  400.    Baker,  375. 

*  Memorial,  in  Bnrghley's  own 
hand,  Nor.  1687.    (a  P.  Office  Ma) 

*  "She  would  by  no  means  yield  to 
annd  over  any  greater  sam  than  20001, 
Chough  the  Lord  Treasorer,  Sir  Thomas 


Shirley,  and  myself  did  let  her  under- 
stand that  there  was  due  unto  the 
soldiers  serving  there  the  first  of  July 
last  44,0002.,  and  before  it  oould  airive 
there,  at  the  least  64,0001"  Walsing* 
ham  to  Leicester,  14  Aug.  1587.  (Br. 
Mus.  Galba^  D.  I.  p.  253,  Ma) 


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THB  UNITBO  NETHBBIiAND3. 


OilAP.  XVIL 


and  no  language  could  ezagg^ate  the  misery  to  which  these 
outcasts,  according  to  eye-witnesses  of  their  own  nation,  were 
reduced. 

Lord  Willoughby  was  appointed  to  the  command  of  what 
remained  of  these  imfortunate  troops,  upon  the  Earl's  de- 
parture. The  soverei^ty  of  the  Netherlands  remained  undis- 
puted with  the  States.  Leicester  resigned  his  commission  by 
an  instrument   dated  -  December,   which,   however,  never 

reached  the  Netherlands  till  April  of  the  following  year.* 
From  that  time  forth  the  government  of  the  republic  main- 
tained the  same  forms  which  the  assembly  had  claimed  for  it 
in  the  long  controversy  with  the  governor-general,  and  which 
have  been  suflftciently  described. 

Meantime  the  negotiations  for  a  treaty,  no  longer  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  fiiphemes.  A  matrimonial 
alliance  was  secretly  projected  between  the  King  of  Scots  and 
Philip's  daughter,  the  Infanta  Isabella,  with  the  consent  of 
the  Pope  and  the  whole  college  of  cardinals ;  and  James,  by 
the  whole  force  of  the  Holy  League,  was  to  be  placed  upon  the 
throne  of  Elizabeth.  In  the  case  of  his  death,  without  issue, 
Philip  was  to  succeed  quietly  to  the  crowns  of  England,  Scot- 
land, and  Ireland.^  Nothing  could  be  simpler  or  more  rational, 
and  accordingly  these  arrangements  were  the  table-talk  at 
Rome,  and  met  with  general  approbation. 

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


^  Bor,  in  zzul  143,  seq,  Meters 
ady.  262.    Royd,  viL  137, 138. 

*  Le  Sienr  to  Walsingham,  3  Dec. 
158*7.  Kanrice  do  Naasftu,  to  same, 
9  Dec.  1687.    (S.  P.  Office,  MSa) 

3  •<  Je  no  Youa  oecrirai  rien  sur  les 


propQS  d'Odo  Colonna^*'  wrote  Mao- 
riocL  **  oar  tous  los  enteodres  bien  par 
la  ieotore  da  Bommaire  qno  je  Toni 
envoLo,  mais  bien  jo  voos  aasore  qQ*0 
est  un  jeono  homme  d'esprit  yif  e4 
prompti  qui  parle  bien  et  a  ^  biea 


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1687. 


QUBEN  WAENED  AS  TO  SPANISH  DESIGNS. 


347 


His  language  wfis  not  that  of  a  youth^  who^  according  to 
Leicester's  repeated  insinuations^  was  leagued  with  the  most 
distinguished  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  Alexander  such  a  point 
of  vantage,  and  there  was  moreover  a  fear  that  he  might  take 
possession  of  Ostend.  She  had,  therefore,  already  recom- 
mended 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  forever — ^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 
niemorable,  throughout  all  time,  for  the  longest,  and,  in  many 
respects,  the  most  remarkable  si^  which  modem  history  has 
recorded,  the  famous  leaguer,  in  which  the  first  European 


nooni  TootefiMs  monstrant  par  sea 
propos  qa'il  ne  SQait  gaeres  de  cboses 
Lots  la  ooor  de  Rome,  de  la  connois- 
Banoe  des  bonnes  maisons,  et  a  paru  a 
anloans  des  miens  plos  sages  et  experi- 
ment^ qne  moV  qn'il  y  avoit  fondement 
en  ce  qn*il  disait,  et  que  j'en  devois 
adrertir  S»  M.  tant  poor  la  quality  de 
son  dire,  que  pour  &ire  connaitre  a 
6a  IC.  quand  I'oceaaion  se  presentoit 
que  je  M  sois  tree  a£fectionn^  senri- 
tear,  ce  qu'Q  oonvient  par  ma  quality 
et  maison  de  monstrer  par  effet  et  non 
par  parolles.  Et  en  cette  intention  je 
me  Buis  tFoay6  en  ceste  arm^  assem- 
ble par  ma  diligence  de  tons  les  en- 
droits  de  mes  gonyemements,  en  in- 
tention, si  Dien  m'en  lait  la  grace,  de 
oombattare  la  puissance  des  phu  grands 
eimemis  de  Siei  Majesty  et  de  toote  la 
Chretient^  ce  sont  le  Roi  d'Espagne 


et  le  Prince  de  Panne,  leqael  de  toot 
mon  ooeur,  je  desire  trouyer  en  personne 
oil  j'esp^re  ayec  Taide  de  IMeu  lui  fidre 
connaitre  qu^il  n'est  pas  si  bon  soldat 
ou  11  tronye  resistance,  que  qoand  les 
hommes  mal  conseill^  lui  mettent  les 
yictoires  en  main  de  concey(»r  par  lenr 
lachet^  de  tant  de  prises  de  belles  yilles. 
Je  youa  snpplie  me  tenir  en  la  bonne 
grace  de  Sa  M.,  de  me  continuer  Fami- 
tie  qoe  yens  avez  port^  &  monseigneur 
mon  pdre,  oar  j*e^re  que  Dieu  me 
fittt  grace  de  rensuiyre  promptement 
en  Constance  et  ferme  resolution.  Jus- 
qu'4  je  prierai  Dieu,**  fta  Maurice  de 
Nassau  to  Walsin^iam,  9  Dea  1587. 
(a  P.  Office  MS.) 

'  Queen  to  Leicester,  8  Noy.  158Y, 
in  Burghley's  hand.  (S.  P.  Office 
Ma) 


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348 


THE  UNITED  NETHERLANDS. 


Chap.  iLVU. 


captains  of  the  coming  age  were  to  take  their  lessons,  year 
after  year,  in  the  school  of  the  great  Dutch  soldier,  who  was 
now  hut  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  surprise  of  the  city  oT 
Bonn.  The  indefatigable  Martin  Schenk— in  fulfilment  of 
his  great  contract  with  the  States-General,  by  which  the  war 
on  the  Bhine  had  been  farmed  out  to  him  on  such  profitable 
terms— had  led  his  mercenaries  against  this  important  town. 
He  had  found  one  of  its  gates  somewhat  insecurely  guarded, 
placed  a  mortar  xmder  it  at  night,  and  occupied  a  neighbouring 
pig-stye  with  a  number  of  his  men,  who  by  chasing,  maltreat- 
ing, and  slaught^ng  the  swine,  had  raised  an  unearthly  din, 
sufficient  to  drown  the  martial  operations  at  the  gate.  In 
brief,  the  place  was  easily  mastered,  and  taken  possession  of 
by  Martin,  in  the  name  of  the  deposed  elector,  Qebhard 
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  pic- 
tured, that  it  would  be  superfluous  to  indulge  in  many  con- 
cluding 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,  during 
those  years,  acquired  consistency  and  permanent  form.  It 
seemed  possible,  on  the  Earl's  first  advent,  that  the  Provinces 
might  become  part  and  parcel  of  the  English  realm.  Whether 
such  a  consummation  would  have  been  desirable  or  not,  is  a 
fruitless  enquiry.  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 


*  Bor,  in.  xxil  143.  Meteren,  xir. 
262.  Wagenaar,  viil  266.  Parma  to 
Philip  IL  29  Dea  1687.  (Arch,  ^e 
Simancaa,  M&)     .       . 

"  ^ocording  to  this,  Schenok  is  not 
dead   jei,   as  reported,"  (segan  esto 


no  es  mnerto  como  habian  dioho), 
was  Philip's  judicious  mai^ginal  obser- 
yation  on  the  letter  in  which  Panna 
communioated  this  derer  erpkit  of 
Martin. 


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168Y.  RESULTS  OF  LBICBSTBR^S  ADMINISTRATION.  349 

was  supposed  by  the  Netherlands  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   imfounded. 
The  result  of  every  investigation  showed  the  country  so  full 
of  resources,  of  wealth,  and  of  military  and  naval  capabilities, 
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  neyer  mani- 
fested, either  in  public  or  private,  any  intention  of  accepting 
the  soverdgnty.     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  confer 
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  agSrinst  the  governor  and  the  States,  when  informed  of 
the  o£fer  and  acceptance  of  that  authority.  .  The  Earl,  elevated 
by  the  adulation  of  others,  and  by  his  own  vanity,  into  an 
almost  sovereign  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  some- 
thing of  a  lovers'  quarrel,  and  he  soon  found  balsam  in  the 
hand  that  smote  him.    But  though  reinstated  in  authority, 
he  was  never  again  the  object  of  reverence  in  the  land  he  was 
attempting  to  rule.    As  he  came  to  know  the  Netherlanders 
better,  he  reco^iized  the  great  capacity  which  their  statesmen 
concealed  imder  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  mag- 
nificence.  of  the  stranger  who  had  been  sent  to  govern  them. 
The  Earl  was  handsome,  quick-witted,  brave ;  but  he  was 


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350  THE  UNITED  NETHBRLAITOa  Chap.  XVIt 

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  flattered  him. 
With  much  perception  of  character,  sense  of  humour,  and 
appreciation  of  intellect,  he  recognized  the  power  of  the 
leading  men  in  the  nation,  and  sought  to  gain  them.  So  long 
as  ho  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,  dnd  atheists.  He  covered  them  with  curses  and  devoted 
them  to  the  gibbet.  He  began  by  warmly  commending  Buys 
and  Barneveld,  Hohenlo  and  Maurice,  and  endowing  them 
with  every  virtue.  Before  he  left  the  country  he  had  accused 
them  of  every  crime,  and  would  cheerfully,  if  he  could,  have 
taken  the  life  of  every  one  of  them.  And  it  was  quite  the 
same,  with  nearly  iBvery  Englishman  who  served  with  or 
under  him.  Wilkes  and  Buckhurst,  however  much  the  objects 
of  his  previous  esteem,  so  soon  as  they  ventured  to  censure  or 
even  to  criticise  his  proceedings,  were  at  once  devoted  to  per- 
dition. Yet,  after  minute  examination  of  the  record,  public 
and  private,  neither  Wilkes  nor  Bucihurst  can  be  found 
guilty  of  treachery  or  animosity  towards  him,  but  are  proved 
to  have  been  governed,  in  all  their  conduct,  by  a  strong  sense 
of  duty  to  their  sovereign,  the  Netherlands,  tod  Leicester 
himsel£ 

To  Sir  John  Norris,  it  must  be  allowed,  tiiat  ho  was  never 
fickle,  for  he  had  always  entertained  for  that  distinguished 
general  an  honest,  unswerving,  and  infinite  hatred,  which  was 
not  susceptible  of  increase  or  diminution  by  any  act  or  word. 
Pelham,  too,  whose  days  were  numbered,  and  who  was  dying 
bankrupt  and  broken-hearted,  at  the  close  of  the  Earl's  ad- 
ministration, had  always  been  regarded  by  him  with  tender- 
ness and  affection.     But  Pelham  had  never  thwarted  hun,  had 


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1637.  RESULTS  OF  LEICBSTEK'S  ADMINISTRATION.  35I 

exposed  his  life  for  him,  and  was  alwajrs  proud  of  being  his 
fiuthful,  tiDquefltioning,  humble  adherent.  With  perhaps  this 
dngle  exception,  Leicester  found  himself,  at  the  end  of  his 
second  term  in  the  Provinces,  without  a  single  friend  and  with 
few  respectable  partisans.  Subordinate  mischievous  intriguers 
like  Deventer,  Junius,  and  Otheman,  were  his  chief  advisers 
and  ihe  instruments  of  his  schemes. 

With  such  qualifications  it  was  hardly  possible — even  if 
the  current  of  affairs  had  been  flowing  smoothly — that  he 
should  prove  a  successful  governor  of  the  new  republic.  But 
when  the  numerous  errors  and  adventitious  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  degradation,  his  controversy  in  regard  to  the 
sovereignty,  his  abrupt  departure  for  England,  his  protracted 
absence,  hU  mistimed  return^  the  secret  instructions  for  his 
second  administration,  the  obstinate  parsimony  ai^d  per- 
sistent ill-temper  of  the  Queen — ^who,  from  the  beginning  to 
the  end  of  the  Earl's  government,  never  addressed  a  kindly 
word  to  the  Netherlanders,  but  was  ever  censuring  and  brow- 
beating them  in  public  state-papers  and  private  epistles — ^the 
treason  of  York  and  Stanley,  above  all,  the  disastrous  and 
concealed  negotiations  with  Parma,  and  the  desperate  attempts 
upon  Amsterdam  and  Leyden — all  placed  him  in  a  most  un- 
fortunate position  from  first  to  last.  But  he  was  not  compe- 
tent for  his  post  under  any  circumstances.  He  was  not  the 
statesman  to  deal  in  policy  with  Buys,  Bameveld,  Ortel, 
Sainte  Ald^onde ;  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 
Uberality,  he  could  never  gain  the  hearts  of  the  Nether- 
landers. English  valour,  English  intelligence,  English  truth- 
fulness, English  generosity,  were  endearing  England  more^ 
and  more  to  Holland.  The  statesmen  of  both  countries  were 
brought  into  closest  union,  and  learned  to  appreciate  and  to 


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352  THE  UNITED  NETHERLANDS.  Chap.  XTIL 

respect  each  other,  while  they  recognized  that  the  fate  of 
their  respective  commonwealths  was  indissolubly  united.  •  Bat 
it  was  to  the  efforts  of  Walsingham,  Drake,  Raleigh,  Wilkes, 
Buckhurst,  Norris,  Willoughby,  Williams,  Vere,  Russell,  and 
the  brave  men  who  fou^t  under  their  banners  or  their  coun- 
sels, 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  Eliza- 
beth herself. 

In  brief,  the  proper  sphere  of  this  remarkable  personage, 
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  advantage  or  not  of 'his  country  and 
the  true  interests  of  his  sovereign,  there  can  hardly  be  at  this 
day  any  difference  of  opinion. 


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taei  PBOPHECIBS  AS  TO  THB  TEAS  1588.  353 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 

Ptopheeles  as  to  the  Year  1588 — Distracted  Condition  of  the  Datoh  Bepublic 

—  WHloGghby  reluctantljr  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 
Oedl  with  Panna  —  His  fervent  Expressions  in  &yoar  of  Peace — Cecil 
makes  a  Tour  in  Flanders  —  And  sees  much  that  is  remarkable  — 
Interviews  of  Dr.  Rogers  with  Parma — Wonderful  Harangues  of  tho 
Envoy — Extraordinary  Amenity  of  Alexander — With  which  Rogers  is 
much  touched — The  Queen  not  pleased  with  her  Envoy — Credi]iity  of 
the  English  Commissioners — Ceremonious  Meeting  of  all  the  Envoys — 
Consummate  Art  in  wasting  Timo — Long  Disputes  about  Commissions 
— The  Spanish  Commissions  meant  to  deceive — Disputes  about  Cessa- 
tion   of  Arms — Spanish   Duplicity   and   Procrastination — Pedantry   and 

-  Ciedulity  of  Dr.  Dale — The  Papal  Bull  and  Dr.  Allen's  Pamphlet— Dale 
sent  to  a^  Explanations — Parma  denies  all  Knowledge  of  either — Croft 
believes  to  the  last  in  Alexander — Dangerous  Discord  in  North  Holland 

—  Leksester's  Resignation  arrives — Enmity  <^  WHloughby  and  Maurice  — 
Willoughby's  dark  Picture  of  AfTairs — Hatred  between  States  and  Lei- 
cestrians  —  Maurice's  Answer  to  the  Queen's  Chai^ges — End  of  Sonpy's 
Rebellion  —  Philip  foments  the  Civil  War  in  France  —  League's  Threats 
and  Plots  against  Henry  —  Mudo  arrives  in  Paris  —  He  is  received  with 
Enthusiasm  —  The  King  flies,  and  Spain  triumphs  in  Paris  —  States 
expostulate  with  the  Queen  —  English  Statesmen  still  deceived  — 
Deputies  ttom  Netherland  Churches — hold  Conference  with  the  Queen 
—And  present  long  Memorials — More  Conversations  with  the  Queen  — 
Katbnal  Spirit  of  England  and  Holland — Dissatisfection  with  Queen's 
Course  —  Bitter  Complaints  of  Lord  Howard — Want  of  Preparation  in 
Army  and  Navy  —  Sanguine  Statements  of  Leicester — Activity  of  Parma 

—  The  painHiI  Suspense  continuo& 

The  year  1588  had  at  last  arrived — ^that  fatal  year  concern- 
ing which  the  Gennan  astrologers — ^more  than  a  century 
before  liad  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  increase  the  prevailing  panic.  It  rained 
blood  in  Sweden^  monstrous  births  occurred  in  France^  and  at 
Weimar  it  was  gravely  reported  by  eminent  chroniclers  that 

'  De  Thou,  z.  218.    Camden,  IIL  402.    Strada,  IL  ix.  630.   Pasquier,  OeavTC% 
IL33L 

VOL.  11. — 2  A 


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354  THE  UNITED  NBTHEBLAKDa  Chap.  XVm: 

the  sun  had  appeared  at  mid-day  holding  a  drawn  sword  in 
his  mouth — a  warlike  portent  whose  meaning  could  not  be 
mistaken.* 

But,  in  truth,  it  needed  no  miracles  nor  prophecies  to  en- 
force 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  com- 
manding 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  Nether- 
lands— ^it  would  have  been  strange  indeed  if  the  dullest  in- 
tellect had  not  dreamed  of  tragical  events.  It  was  not 
encouraging  that  there  should  be  distraction  in  the  counsels 
of  the  t\^o  States  so  immediately  threatened ;  that  the  Queen 
of  England  should  be  at  vaiiance  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  re- 
sponsibility of  directing  its  energies  against  the  common  enemy. 

The  blackest  night  that  ever  descended  upon  the  Nether- 
lands—more disappointing  because  succeeding  a  period  of 
comparative  prosperity  and  triiunph — was  the  winter  of 
1587-8,  when  Leicester  had  terminated  his  career  by  his 
abrupt  departure  for  England,  after  his  second  brief  attempt 
at  administra,tion.  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  uni- 
versal 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. 

1  Ibid.,  tibi  sup. 


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1588.  DISTRACTED  CONDITION  OF  DUTCH  REPUBLIC.  355 

The  consequences  were  immediate  and  disastrous.  All  the 
Leicestrians  refused  to  obey  the  States-General.  Utrecht, 
the  stronghold  of  that  party,  announced  its  unequivocal  inten- 
tion to  annex  itself,  without  any  conditions  whatever,  to  the 
English  crown,  while,  in  Holland,  young  Maurice  was  solemnly 
installed  stadholder,  and  captain-general  of  the  Provinces, 
under  the  guidance  of  Hohenlo  and  Bameveld.  But  his 
authority  was  openly  defied  in  many  important  cities  within 
his  jurisdiction  by  military  chieftains  who  had  taken  the  oaths 
of  all^iance  to  Leicester  as  governor,  and  who  refused  to 
renounce  fidelity  to  the  man  who  had  deserted  their  coimtry, 
but'who  had  not  resigned  his  authority.  Of  these  mutineers 
the  most  eminent  was  Diedrich  Sonoy,  governor  of  North 
Holland,  a  soldier  of  much  experience,  sagacity,  and  courage, 
who  had  rendered  great  services  to  the  cause  of  liberty  and 
Protestantism,  and  had  defaced  it  by  acts  of  barbarity  which 
had  made  his  name  infamous.  Against  this  refractory  chief- 
tain it  was  necessary  for  Hohenlo  and  Maurice  to  lead  an 
armed  force,  and  to  beside  him  in  his  stronghold — the  im- 
portant city  of  Medenblik— which  he  resolutely  held  for 
Leicester,  although  Leicester  had  definitely  departed,  and 
which  he  closed  against  Maurice,  although  Maurice  was  the 
only  representative  of  order  and  authority  within  the  dis- 
tracted commonwealth.  And  thus  civil  war  had  broken  out 
in  the  little  scarcely-organized  republic,  as  if  there  were  not 
dangers  and  bloodshed  enough  impending  over  it  from  abroad. 
And  the  civil  war  was  the  necessary  consequence  of  the  Earl's 
departure. 

The  English  forces — ^reduced  as  they  were  .  by  sickness, 
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. 

The  general  who  now  assumed  chief  command  over  themi — 
by  direction  of  Leicester,  subsequently  confirmed  by  the 
Queen — was  Lord  Willoughby.  A  daring,  splendid  dragoon, 
an  honest,  chivalrous,  and  devoted  servant  of  his  Queen,  a 
conscientious  adherent  of  Leicester,  and  a  firm  believer  in  his 
capacity  and  character,  he  was,  however,  not  a  man  of  suffi- 


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356  ^raB  UNITED  NETHERLANDa  Chap.  XVHX 

cient  experieuco  or  subtletj  to  perform  the  various  taska 
imposed  upon  him  by  the  necessities  of  such  a  situation. 
Quick-witted,  even  brilliant  in  intellect,  and  the  bravest  of 
the  brave  on  the  battle-field,  he  was  neither  a  sagacious 
administrator  nor  a  successful  commander.  And  he  honestly 
confessed. his  deficiencies,  and  disliked  the  post  to  which  he 
had  been  elevated.  He  scorned  baseness,  intrigue,  and  petty 
quarrels,  and  he  was  impatient  of  control  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  wholesome  appetite  upon  the  unsavomy 
annoyances  which  w^re  the  daily  bread  of  a  chief  coromander 
in  the  Netherlands.  ^^  I  ambitiously  afiect  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  aU-accompUshed 
Famese ;  and  indeed  no  man  better  than  Willoughby  could 
illustrate  the  enormous  disadvantage  under  which  English- 
men 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  Ei^lish  love  of  truth.  English  soldiers  and  n^tiators 
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 
the  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  I  honour.    I  see 

» Waioughbj  to  L^ceister,  Sept  1587.    (Bft  Mus.  Galba,  D.  11.  p.  141,  Ma) 


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1588. 


WnXOUGHBT  RELUCTAlffTLT  TAKES  COMMAND. 


357 


the  finest  rejmard  loses  his  best  coat  as  well  as  the  poorest 
sheep/'  ^  He  was  also  a  strong  Leicestrian,  and  had  imbibed 
much  of  the  Earl's  resentment  against  the  leading  politicians 
of  the  States.  Willoughby  was  sorely  in  need  of  council. 
That  shrewd  and  honest  Welshman — Roger  Williams — ^was, 
for  the  moment,  absent.  Another  of  the  same  race  and  cha- 
racter 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  gentle- 
man/' said  Willoughby,  ^'  and  in  truth  a  very  old  soldier  ;  but 
we  both  have  need  of  one  that  can  both  give  and  keep  coun- 
sel better  than  ourselves.  For  action  he  is  undoubtedly  vety 
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 
Netherlands  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  in- 
competent 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  I  What  an  honourable  person  do  I 
succeed !  What  an  encumbered  popular  state  is  left  I  What 
withered  sinews,  which  it  passes  my  cunning  to  restore  !  What 
an  enemy  in  head  greater  than  heretofore  I  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,  being  one  that 
wants  both  opinion  and  experience  with  them  I  have  to  deal, 
and  means  to  win  more  or  to  maintain  that  which  is  lefb, 
what  good  may  be  looked  for  ?  "  * 

The  supreme  authority — ^by  the  retirement  of  Leicester — 
was  once  more  the  subject  of  dispute.  As  on  his  first  de- 
parture, so  also  on  this  his  second  and  final  one,  he  had  left  a 


^  Same  to  Burgbley,  16  Julj,  1587. 
(Br.  Mua.  Galba,  P.  I.  p.  10,  MS.) 
•  Wniooghby  to  Burghlej',  last  cited. 


*  WiUoqghbj  to  Burghley,  18  Nov. 
1587.  (Br.  Mua.  Galba,  D.  IL  210,  M&) 


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358  THE  UNITED  NBTHEBLANDS.  Chap.  XTIIL 

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  believed  in  his  return  ;  and  the 
States-Greneral  were  ill  inclined  to  brook  a  species  of  guardian- 
ship over  them,  with  which  they  believed .  themselves  mature 
enough  to  dispense.  Moreover  the  state-council,  composed 
mainly  of  Leicestrians,  would  expire,  by  limitation  of  its  com- 
mission, early  in  February  of  that  year.  The  dispute  for 
power  would  necessarily  t^minate,  therefore,  in  favour  of  the 
States-GeneraL^  :  ■ 

Meantime — while  this  internal  revolution  was  taking  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  cha- 
racter, as  those  extensive  military  rebellions  which  often  ren- 
dered the  Spanish  troops  powerless  at  the  most  critical  epochs. 
The  cause  of  these  mutinies  was  uniformly,  want  of  pay,  the 
pretext,  the  oath  to  the  Earl  of  Leicester,  which  was  declared 
incompatible  with  the  alliance  claimed  by  Maurice  in  the 
name  of  the  States-General.  The  mutiny  of  Gei'truydenberg 
was  destined  to  be  protracted ;  that  of  Medenblik,  dividing, 
as  it  did,  the  little  territory  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  contem- 
poraries uniformly  believed  him  to  be  an  Englishman  ^ — ^held 
out  for  a  long  time,  as  will  be  seen,  againist  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  coun- 
sellors, 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,  Valen- 
tine Dale,  doctor  of  laws,  and  former  ambassador  at  Vienna, 
and  Dr.  Rogers,  envoys  on  the  part  of  the  Queen,  arrived  in 

*  Comparo  Van  der  Kemp,  *  Haunts  van  Nassau,*  I.  68,  seq, 
«  Herrerak  III.  11,  84.    Coroero,  *  Gaenras  de  Flandes/  224. 


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1688.  ENGLISH  COMMISSIONERS  COMB  TO  OSTEND.  359 

the  Netherlands  in  February.*  The  commissioners  appointed 
on  the  part  of  Farnese  were  Count  Aremberg,  Champagny, 
Bichardot^  Jacob  Maas,  and  Secretary  Gamier. 

If  history  has  ever  furnished  a  lesson,  how  an  unscrupulous 
tyrant,  who  has  determined  upon  enlarging  his  own  territories 
at  the  expense  of  his  neighbours,  upon  oppressing  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  in- 
credible designs,  by  means  of  perpetual  and  colossal  false- 
hoods ;  and  if  such  lessons  deserve  to  be  pondered,  as  a  source 
of  instruction  and  guidance  for  every  age,  then  certainly  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  them 
came  Robert  Cecil,  youngest  son  of  Lord-Treasurer  Burghley, 
then  twenty-five  years  of  age.  He  had  no  official  capacity, 
but .  was  sent  by  his  father,  that  he  might  improve  his  diplo- 
matic talents,  and  obtain  some  information  as  to  the  condi- 
tion of  the  Netherlands.  A  slight,  crooked,  hump-backed 
young  gentleman,  dwarfish  in  stature,  but  with  a  face  not 
irr^ular  in  feature,  and  thoughtful  and  subtle  in  expression, 
with' reddish  hair,  a  thin  tawny  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  compare^  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,  young 
as  he  was,  could  not  be  considered  the  least  important  of  the 
envoys.  The  Queen,  who  loved  proper  men,  called  him  "  her 
piginy ;''  and  "although,"  he  observed  with  whimsical  courtli- 
ness, "  I  may  not  find  fault  with  the  sporting  name  she  gives 
me,  yet  seem  I  only  not  to  mislihe  it,  hecause  she  gives  it"  ^  The 
strongest  man  among  them  was  Valentine  Dale,  who  had 

»  Camden,  IIL  407. 
«  B.  CecU  to  Buighley,  -  Feb.  1588.    (S.  P.  Office  MS.) 


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3g0  THE  UNITED  NETHERLANDS.  Chap.  XVIEL 

much  Bhrewdness,  experience,  and  l^al  learning,  but  'who 
valued  himself,  above  all  things,  upon  his  Latinity.  It  was  a 
consolation  to  him,  while  his  adversaries  were  breaking 
Priscian's  head  as  fSast  as  the  Duke,  their  master,  was  break- 
ing his  oaths^  that  his  own  syntax  was  as  clear  as  his  con- 
science.^ The  feeblest  commissioner  was  James-a-Crofb,  who 
had  already  exhibited  himself  with  verj^  anile  charactoristics, 
and  whose  subsequent  manifestations  were  to  seem  like  dotage. 
Doctor  Eogers,  learned  in  the  law,  as  he  imquestionably  was, 
had  less  skill  in  reading  human  character,  or  in  deciphering 
the  physiognomy  of  a  Famese,  while  Lord  Derby,  every  indi 
a  grandee,  with  Lord  Cobham  to  assist  him,  was  not  the  man 
to  cope  with  the  astute  Richardot,  the  profound  and  ex- 
perienced Champagny,  or  that  most  voluble  and  most  rhe- 
torical 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  greet 
them.  An  adroit,  pleasing,  courteous  gentleman,  thirty-six 
years  of  age,  small,  handsome,  and  attired  not  quite  as  a 
soldier,  nor  exactly  as  one  of  the  long  robe,  wearing  a  doak 
furred  to  the  knee,  a  cassock  of  black  velvet,  with  plain  gold 
buttons,  and  a  gold  chain  about  his  neck,  the  secretary  de- 
livered handsomely  the  Duke  of  Parma^s  congratailations, 
recommended  great  expedition  in  the  negotiations,  and  was 
then  invited  by  the  Earl  of  Derby  to  dine  with  the  commis- 
sioners.* Ho  was  accompanied  by  a  servant  in  plain  livary, 
who — ^so  soon  as  his  master  had  mad^  his  bow  to  the  Englirii 
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  attadc 
by  the  Spanish  commander. 

Meanwhile  Secretary  Gamier  made  himself  very  agreeable, 
showing  wit,  experience,  and   good  education;    and,  after 


>  Yalentlne  Dale  to  Walsinghabi,  14  Mait^  1588.    (S.  P.  Offioo  KS.) 
•  R.  Ceca  to  Borgbley,  -^  March,  1588.    (S.  P.  Office  Ma> 

>  Parma  to  Philip  II.,  20  March,  1588.    (Arch,  do  Simancas,  MS.) 


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1538.  SECBETABT  GABNIEB  AND  BOBSBT  CECIL.  361 

dinner^  was  accompanied  to  his  lodgings  by  Dr.  Sogers  and 
other  gentlemen,  Tfith  whom — especially  with  Cecil — ^he  held 
much  conversation. 

Knowing  that  this  young  gentleman  '^wanted  not  an  ho- 
noTuuble  father/'  the  Secretary  was  very  desirous  that  he  should 
take  this  opportunity  to  make  a  tour  thrbugh  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  rebel- 
lion 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  sovereign 
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,  might  almost  be  justified 
in  treating  human  beings  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,  as  it  might  be  matter  of  dispute, 
"from  what  head  this  fountain  of  calamity  was  both  fed  and 
derived,  he  would  not  enter  further  therein,  it  being  a  matter 
much  too  high  for  his  capacity.^'  He  expressed  also  the  hope 
that  the  King's  heart  might  sympathize  with  that  of  her 
Majesty,  in  earnest  compassion  for  all  this  suifering,  and  in 
determination  to  compound  their  differences.^ 

On  the  following  day  there  was  some  conversation  with 
Gumier,  on  preliminary  and  formal  matters,  followed  in  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  variety."  ^ 

It  was  hoped  1^  the  Ei^Hshmen  that  the  Secretary  would 
take  his  departure  after  dinner ;  for  the  governor  of  Ostend, 
Sir  John  Conway,  had  an  uneasy  sensation,  during  his  visit, 

'  Coca  to  Burgblcy,  Ma  last  cited.  •  Ibid. 


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362  THE  UNITED  NETHERLANDa  Chap.  XVHI. 

that  the  unsatisfactory  condition  of  the  defences  would  attract 
his  attention,  and  that  a  sudden  attack  by  Famese  might  be 
the  result.  Sir  John  was  not  aware,  however,  of  the  minute 
and  scientific  observations  then  making— at  the  very  moment 
when  Mr.  G-amier  was  entertaining  the  commissioners  with 
his  witty  and  instructive  conversation — ^by  the  unobtrusive 
menial  who  had  accompanied  the  Secretary  to  Ostend.  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  that — on  account  of  the  unfavourable 
state. of  the  tide — ^he  had  resolved  to  pass  another  night  at 
Ostend.  "We  could  have  spared  his  company,"  said  Cecil, 
"but  their  Lordships  considered  it  convenient  that  he  should 
be  used  well."  So  Mr.  Comptroller  Croft  gave  the  affiible 
Secretary  a  dinner-invitation  for  the  following  day.^ 

Here  certainly  was  a  masterly  commencement  on  the  part 
of  the  Spanish  diplomatists.  There  was  not  one  stroke  of 
business  during  the  visit  of  the  Secretary.  He  had  been  sent 
simply  te  convey  a  formal  greeting,  and  to  take  the  names  of 
the  English  commissioners — a  matter  which  could  have  been 
done  in  an  hour  as  well  as  in  a  week.  But  it  must  be  remem- 
bered, that,  at  that  very  moment,  the  Duke  was  daily  expect- 
ing 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,^  therefore — 
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  baigain. 

Gamier — ^when  his  departure  could  no  longer,  on  any  pre- 
text, be  deferred — ^took  his  leave,  once  more  warmly  luging 
Bobert  Cecil  to  make  a  little  tour  in  the  obedient  Nether- 
lands, and  to  satisfy  himself,  by  personal  observation,  of  their 
miserable  condition.  As  Dr.  Dale  purposed  mftlnng  a  pre- 
liminary visit  to  the  Duke  of  Parma  at  Ghent,  it  was  deter- 
mined accordingly  that  he  should  be  accompanied  by  Cecil. 

>  Cedl  to  Burghlej,  MS.  last  cited. 


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1588.  CECIL  ACCOMPANIES  DALE  TO  a'HEKT.  363 

That  young  gentleman  had  already  been  much  impressed 
by  the  forlorn  aspect  of  the  country  about  Ostend — ^for,  al- 
though the  town  was  itself  in  possession  of  the  English,  it  was 
in  the  midst  of  the  enemy's  territory.  Since  the  fall  of  Sluys 
the  Spaniards  were  masters  of  all  Flanders^  save  this  one 
much-coveted  point.  And  although  the  Queen  had  been  dis- 
posed to  abandon  that  city,  and  to  suffer,  the  ocean  to  over- 
whelm 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 — according  to 
the  predatory  system  of  warfare  of  the  day — ^it  was  an  ex- 
cellent 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 
is  now  fuller  of  wild  boars  and  wolves  ;  whereof  many  come 
80  nigh  the  town  that  the  sentinels — three  of  whom  watch 
every  night  upon  a  sand-hill  outside  the  gates — ^havo  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  in  from  a  distance  of  sixty  miles  ;  and  there  was 
one  old  gentlemen,  "  well-languaged,"  who  "  confessed  merrily 
to  Cecil,  that  when  the  soldiers  fetched  him  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"  ^ 


*  And  Doctor  Bogers  held  very 
dmilar  language :  *'  The  most  dolorous 
and  heayy  sights  hi  this  TOjage  to 
Ghent^  hj  me  weighed,"  he  said; 
•'seeing  the  countries  which,  hereto- 
lore,  by  traffic  of  merchants,  as  much 
as  any  other  I  have  seen  flourish,  now 
partly  drowned,  and,  except  certam 
great    cities,  wholly  burned,    rumed, 


and  desolate,  possessed,  I  say,  with 
wolves,  wild  boars,  and  foxes — a  great 
testimony  of  the  wrath  of  God,"  &c 

Ac.    Dr.  Bogers  to  the  Queen,—  April, 

1688.    (a  P.  Office  MS.) 

«  Cecil  to  Burghley,  -  March,   Ma 

already  cited. 


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364  ^^^B  UNITED  NETHEBLANDa  Chap.  XVHX 

Three  days  after  the  departure  of  Gkimier,  Dr.  Dale  and 
his  attendants  started  upon  their  expedition  from  Ostend  to 
7  Ghent — an  hour's  journey  or  so  in  these  modem 

-March,  ^^^  The  English  envoys,  in  the  sixteenth  Century, 
found  it  a  more  formidable  undertaking.  They  were 
many  hours  traversing  the  four  miles  to  Oudenburg,  their  first 
halting-place ;  for  the  waters  were  out,  there  having  been  a 
great  breach  of  the  sea-dyke  of  Ostend,  a  disaster  threatening 
destruction  to  town  and  country.^  At  Oudenburg,  a  ^^  small 
and  wretched  hole/'  as  Gamier  had  described  it  to  be,  there 
was,  however,  a  garrison  of  three  thousand  Spanish  soldiers, 
under  the  Marquis  de  Renti.  From  these  a  convoy  of  fifty 
troopers  was  appointed  to  protect  the  English  travellers  to 
Bruges.  Here  they  arrived  at  three  o'clock,  were  met  outside 
the  gates  by  the  famous  General  La  Motte,  and  by  hint  escorted 
to  their  lodgings  in  the  "English  house,"  and  aflerwarda 
handsomely  entertained  at  supper  in  his  own  quarters. 

The  General's  wife,  Madame  de  la  Motte,  was,  according  to 
Cecil,  "  a  fair  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  formerly 
occupied  the  same  bedroom  of  the  English  hotel  in  which  he 

Pridftv     ^^  ^^^^  lodged ;  for  he  found  that  Lord  Burgbley 
March  8,   had  scrawled  his  name  in  the   chinmey-comer — a 
fact  which  was  highly  gratifying  to  the  son.* 

The  next  morning,  at  seven  o'clock,  the  travellers  set  forth 
for  Ghent  The  joumey  was  a  miserable  one.  It  was  as  cold 
and  gloomy  weather  as  even  a  Flemish  month  of  March  could 
fumish.  A  drizzling  rain  was  falling  all  day  long,  the  lanes 
were  foul  and  miry,  the  frequent  thickets  which  overhung 

'CecUtoBurghle3r,jMarch,1588.  I       J^^f*^"^^     (Ma  last  cited.) 
(S.ROfflcoMS.)  *  I 


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i588.  AND  FINDS  THE  DESOLATION  COMPLETE.  365 

their  path  were  swarming  with  the  freebooters  of  Zeeland,  who 
wore  "  qver  at  hand,"  says  Cecil,  "  to  have  picked  our  purses, 
but  that  they  descried  our  convoy,  and  so  saved  themselves  in 
the  woods."  Sitting  on  horseback  ten  hours  without  alighting, 
under  sucb  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  herring 
between  them  for  luncheon,  and  supped  afterwards  upon  an 
orange.*  The  envoy  protested  that  when  they  could  get  a 
couple  of  ^gs  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  Richardot, 
"  a  tall  gentleman,"  on  behalf  of  the  Duke  of  Parma,  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,  "  is  incredible, 
both  without  the  town,  where  all  things  are  wasted,  houses 
spoiled,  and  grounds  unlaboured,  and  also,  even  in  these 
great  cities,  where  they  are  for  the  most  part  poor  be^ars 
even  in  the  fairest  houses," ' 

And  all  this  human  wretchedness  was  the  elaborate 
work  of  one  man— one  dull,  heartless  bigot,  living,  far 
away,  a  life  of  laborious  ease  and  solemn  sensuality;  and, 
in  reality,  almost  as  much  removed  from  these  fellow- 
creatures  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 
government — against  the  folly  of  mankind  in  ever  tolerating 
the  rule  of  a  single  irresponsible  individual,  than  the  lesson 
furnished  by  the  life-work  of  that  crowned  criminal,  Philip 
the  Second  ? 

«  Dale  to  Burghlej,  jj  March,  1688.    (1  P.  Office  MS.)       •  Ibid.         t  ibid. 


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366  THE  UNITED  NETHERLANDS.  Chap.  XVIIL 

The  longing  for  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- wishers,  had  they  stood  side 
by  side  with  their  brethren,  the  noble  Hollanders  and  Zee- 
landers,  when  they  had  been  wresting,  if  not  peace,  yet  inde- 
pendence and  liberty,  from  Philip,  with  their  own  right  hands. 
Now  the  obedient  Flemings  were  but  fuel  for  the  vast  flame 
which  the  monarch  was  kindling  for  the  destruction  of  Chris- 
tendom— ^if  all  Christendom  were  not  willing  to  accept  his 
absolute  dominion. 

The  burgomasters  of  Ghent — of  Ghent,  once  the  powerful, 
the  industrious,  the  opulent,  the  free,  of  all  cities  in  the  world 
now  the  most  abject  and  forlorn^ — came  in  the  morning  to 
wait  upon  Elizabeth's  envoy,  and  to  present  him,  £^ccording 
to  ancient  custom,  with  some  flasks  of  wine.  They  came  with 
tears  streaming  down  their  cheeks,  earnestly  expressing  the 
desire  of  their  hearts  for  peace,  and  their  joy  that  at  least 
it  had  now  '/  b^un  to  be  thought  on."  ^ 

"  It  is  quite  true,"  replied  Dr.  Dale,  "  that  her  excellent 
Majesty  the  Queen — ^filled  with  compassion  for  your  condition, 
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  certainly,  Elizabeth  was  sincerely  desirous  of  peace, 
even  at  greater  sacrifices  than  the  Duke  could  well  have 
imagined ;  but  there  was  something  almost  diabolic  in  the 
cold  dissimulation  by  which  her  honest  compassion  was  mocked, 
and  the  tears  of  a  whole  people  in  its  agony  made  the  laughing- 
stock of  a  despot  and  his  tools. 

On  Saturday  morning,  Kichardot  and  Gamier  waited  upon 
the  envoy  to  escort  him  to  the  presence  of  the  Duke.  Cecil, 
who  accompanied  him,  was  not  much  impressed  with,  the 

'  Cedl  to  Burghlej,  -  March.    MS.  already^ted.  t  ibid. 


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1688.  INTERVIEW  OP  DALE  AND  CECIL  WITH  PAR3CA.  367 

grandeur  of  Alexander's  lodgings,  and  made  un-  9  March, 
fayourable  and  rather  unreasonable  comparisons  ^^  ^^®^* 
between  them  and  the  splendour,  of  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 
the  ante-chamber  stood  Sir  William  Stanley,  the  Deventer 
traitor,  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  abruptly  turned  from  him, 
and  pulled  his  hat  over  his  eyes.  "  'Twas  well  he  did  so," 
said  that  young  gentleman,  "  for  his  taking  it  off  would  hardly 
have  cost  me  mine."^  Cecil  was  informed  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 
disorderly  Irish  regiment.* 

In  the  bed-chamber,  Famese — accompanied  by  the  Marquis 
del  Guasto,  the  Marquis  of  Eenty,  the  Prince  of  Aremberg, 
President  Eichardot,  and  Secretary  Cosimo — ^received  the 
envoy  and  his  companion.  "  Small  and  mean  was  the  furni- 
ture of  the  chamber,"  said  Cecil ;  "  and  although  they  attribute 
this  to  his  lov(B  of  privacy,  yet  it  is  a  sign  that  peace  is  the 
mother  of  all  honour  and  state,  as  may  best  be  perceived  by 
the  court  of  England,  which  her  Majesty's  royal  presence  doth 
so  €ulom,  as  that  it  exceedeth  this  as  far  as  the  sun  surpasseth 
in  light  the  other  stars  of  the  firmament."^ 

Here  was  a  compliment  to  the  Queen  and  her  upholsterers 
drawn  in  by  the  ears.  Certainly,  if  the  first  and  best  fruit  of 
the  much-longed-for  peace  were  only  to  improve  the  furniture 
of  royal  and  ducal  apartments,  it  might  be  as  well  perhaps  for 
the  war  to  go  on,  while  the  Queen  continued  to  outshine  all 
the  stars  in  the  firmament.  But  the  budding  courtier  and 
statesman  knew  that  a  personal  compliment  to  Elizabeth 
could  never  be  amiss  or  ill-timed. 

The  envoy  delivered  the  greetings  of  her  Majesty  to  the 
Duke,  and  was  heard  with  great  attention.    Alexander  at- 

»  Ccca  to  Buighley,  MS.  last  cited.  •  Ibid.  »  Ibid. 


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368  ^^^  UNITED  NBTHEELANDS.  Chap.  XVIIL 

tempted  a  reply  in  French,  which  was  very  imperfect,  and, 
apologizing,  exchanged  that  tongue  for  Italian.^  He  alluded 
with  great  fervour  to  the  "  hpnourable  opinion  conoeming  his 
sincerity  and  word,"  expressed  to  him  by  her  Majesty,  throngli 
the  mouth  of  her  envoy.  "And  indeed,''  scud  he,  "I  have 
always  had  especial  care  of  keeping  my  word.  My  body  and 
service  are  at  the  commandment  of  the  King,  my  lord  and 
master,  but  my  honour  is  my  own,  and  her  Miyesty  may  be 
assured  that  I  shall  always  have  especial  regard  of  my  word 
to  so  great  and  famous  a  Queen  as  her  Majesty." 

The  visit  was  one  of  preliminaries  and  of  ceremony.  Never- 
theless Farnese  found  opportunity  to  impress  the  envoy  and 
his  companions  with  his  sincerity  of  heart.  He  conversed 
much  with  Cecil,  making  particular  and  personal  inquiries, 
and  with  appearance  of  deep  interest,  in  regard  to  Queen 
Elizabeth. 

"  There  is  not  a  prince  in  the  world — "  he  said,  "  reserving 
all  question  between  her  Majesty  and  my  royal  master — ^to 
whom  I  desire  more  to  do  service.  So  much  have  I  heard  of 
her  perfections,  that  I  wish  earnestly. that  things  might  so  fiJl 
out,  as  that  it  might  be  my  fortime  to  look  upon  her  &ce 
before  my  return  tp  my  own  country.  Yet  I  desire  to  behold 
her,  not  as  a  servant  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  endare 
all  which  God  may  send.  But,  in  truth,  I  am  weaiy  to 
behold  the  miserable  estate  of  this  people,  fallen  upon  them 
through  their  own  folly,  and  methinks  th^t  he  who  should  do 
the  best  offices  of  peace  would  perform  a  pium  et  sanctissimnm 
opus.  Bight  glad  am  I  that  the  Queen  is  not  behind  me  in 
zeal  for  peace."  He  then  comiJimented  Cecil  in  regard  to 
his  father,  whom  he  understood  to  be  the  principal  mover  in 
these  n^tiations.' 

The  young  man  expressed  his  thanks,  and  especially  fear  tha 

>  Cecil  to  Burghley,  MS.  last  cited. 
'  C«dl  to  Bui^hlej,  ~  March.    MS.  already  dtad. 


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1588.      UT3  PERVENT  BXPEBSSIONS  IN  FAVOUR  OP  PEACE.        369 

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  b^un,  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  firet  interview  were  only  in 
regard  to  the  place  to  bo  appointed  for  the  coming  con- 
ferences, and  the  exchange  of  powers.  The  Queen's  commis- 
sioners 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.  The  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,  and  that  he  fully 
expected  the  negotiation  to  ba  superseded  by  the  invasion, 
before  the  production  of  the  powers  should  become  indis- 
pensable. 

And  when  Famese  was  speaking  thus  fervently  in  favour 
of  peace,  and  parading  his  word  and  his  honour,  the  letters 
lay  in  his  cabinet  in  that  very  room,  in  which  Philip  expressed 
his  conviction  that  his  general  was  already  in  London,  that 
the  whole  realm  of  England  was  already  at  the  mercy  of 
a  Spanish  soldiery,  and  that  the  Queen,  upon  whose  perfectioni 
Alexander  had  so  long  yearned  to  gaze,  was  a  discrowned 
captive,  entirely  in  her  great  enemy's  power. 

Thus  ended  the  preliminary  interview.    On  the  following 
Monday,  11th  March,  Dr.  Dale  and  his  tittendants  made  the 
best  of  their  way  back  to  Ostend,  while  young  Cecil,  n  Moidi, 
with  a  safe  conduct  from  Champagny,  set  forth  on  a     ^^®^- 
little  tour  in  Flanders. 

'  Cecil  to  Buiighlej,  MS.  lost  cited. 

VOL,  II.— 2  B    . 


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370  THE  UIHTBD  NETHKRLANPa  Chap.  XVm. 

The  journey  from  Ghent  to  Antwerp  was  easy,  and  he  was 
agreeably  surprised  by  the  apparent  prosperity  of  the  country. 
At  intervals  of  every  few  miles,  he  was  refreshed  with  the 
spectacle  of  a  gibbet  well  garnished  with  dangling  freebooters, 
and  rejoiced,  therefore,  in  comparative  security.  For  it  seemed 
that  the  energetic  bailiff  of  Waasland  had  levied  a  contribu- 
tion upon  the  proprietors  of  the  country,  to  be  expended 
mainly  in  hanging  brigands  ;  and  so  well  had  the  funds  been 
applied,  that  no  predatory  bands  could  make  their  appear- 
ance but  they  were  instantly  pursued  by  soldiers,  and  hanged 
forthwith,  without  judge  or  trial.  Cecil  counted  twelve  such 
places  of  execution  on  his  road  between  Ghent  and  Antwerp.* 

On  his  journey  he  fell  in  with  an  Italian  merchant,  Lan- 
franchi  by  name,  of  a  great  commercial  house  in  Antwerp,  in 
the  days  when  Antwerp  had  commerce,  and  by  him,  on  his 
arrival  the  same  evening  in  that  town,  he  was  made  an 
honoured  guest,  both  for  his  father's  sake  and  his  Queen's. 
"  'Tis  the  pleasantest  city  that  ever  I  saw,"  said  Cecil,  "  for 
situation  and  building,  but  utterly  left  and  abandoned  now  by 
those  rich  merchants  that  were  wont  to  frequent  the  place." - 

His  host  was  much  interested  in  the  peace-negotiations,  and 
indeed,  through  his  relations  with  Champagny  and  Andreas 
de  Loo,  had  been  one  of  the  instruments  by  which  it  had  been 
commenced.  He  inveighed  bitterly  against  the  Spanish  cap- 
tains 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  ren^ades,  who  were 
thought  fiercer  haters  of  England  than  were  the  Spaniards 
themselves.  Even  in  the  desolate  and  abject  condition  of 
Antwerp  and  its  neighbourhood,  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  Netherlands  might  live  there 
in  more  magnificence  than  the  King  of  Spain  himself,  ex- 
hausted as  were  his  revenues  by  the  enormous  expense  of  this 

» -Ceca  to  BuigUey,  -  March,  1688.    (S.  P.  Offlco  MS.)  •  Ibid. 


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1588. 


CECIL  BCAEES  A  TOUB  IN  FLANDEBS. 


871 


protracted  war.  Eight  hundred  thousand  dollars  monthly, 
so  Lanfianchi  informed  Cecily  were  the  costs  of  the  forces  on 
the  footing  then  established.  This,  however,  was  probably  an 
exaggeration,  for  the  royal  account-books  showed  a  less  for- 
midable 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  impoverishment  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  witness 
to  another  characteristic  of  the  times,  and  one  which  afforded 
proof  of  even  more  formidable  freebooters  abroad  than  those 
for  whom  the  bailiff  of  Waasland  had  erected  his  gibbets. 
A  canal-boat  had  left  Antwerp  for  Brussels  that  morning,  and 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  latter  city  had  been  set  upon  by  a 
detachment  from  the  English  garrison  of  Bergen-op-Zoom, 
and  captured,  with  twelve  prisoners  and  a  freight  of  60,000 
florins  in  money.  "  This  struck  the  company  at  the  dinner- 
table  all  in  a  dump,"  said  Cecil  And  well  it  might ;  for  the 
property  mainly  belonged  to  themselves,  and  they  forthwith 
did  their  best  to  have  the  marauders  waylaid  on  their  return. 
But  Cecil,  notwithstanding  his  gratitude  for  the  hospitality  of 
Lanfranchi,  sent  word  next  day  to  the  garrison  of  Bergen  of 


'  *'BeIaoioa  partioolar  de  lo  quo 
monta  on  mes  de  sueldo  de  toda  la 
gente  de  este  excrcito  asi  iniantrft  como 
cab*  7  entretenidos  de  todos  naciones, 
artill*  annada,  yitoallas,  7  el  numero 
de  la  gente  que  ha7  oonforme  a  la 
ultima  maestro  de  29  Apr.,  1588 : — 

InfimterU.      Hombres.  Vanderas,  For  Mes. 
$62,239 
35,225 


89 
52 


Espafiola 8,718 

Ital*      5,339 

Borgog*      ) 

Iriandeeca  V . .  3,278        29        20,591 

Efloooesa    ) 

WaUona 17,825      144 

Alem*  Alta..  11,809        50 
M       Ba7a     8,616        34 

Gaballeria  ligero. 
3650  Alem*  eetandartes 38,631 


79,341 
86,697 
51,195 


Gastaios. 
Anverea  . .  )  Per  Mes. 

Gande     ..  Vl,180 6,508 

Charlemont ) 

Entretenidos. 

668 23,204 

Bl  Armada  de  Mar,  gasto  ordi-  >  ^a  400 

nario  per  mes J      * 

Artilleria 8,200 

Yitoallafl^  spedale^  Ac. 4,384 

Smnario  total 
59,915  hombres^  per  mes,  escu- )  son  ^  ot 

doa ^^80,427 

Sua  Alteza  Alessandro  Famese,  per 

mes,  3000  escudos  d*  oro. 
Maesse  del  campo  gon\  per  mes,  1000. 
Monta  el  gasto  ordina**  de  cada  me- 
hasta  aqui  $454,315  per  mes  —  370,000 
escndos  de  era"  (Archivo  de  8iman- 
ca8,Ma) 


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372 


THE  UNITED  NETHERLANDS. 


Chap.  XYllL 


the  designs  against  them^  and  on  his  arrival  at  the  place  had 
the  satisfaction  of  being  informed  by  Lord  Willoughby  that 
the  party  had  got  safe  home  with  their  plunder.^ 

"And  well  worthy  they  are  of  it/'  said  young  Robert, 
"  considering  how  far  they  go  for  it." 

The  traveller,  on .  leaving  Antwerp,  proceeded  down  the 
river  to  Bergen-op-Zoom,  where  he  was  hospitably  entertained 
by  that  doughty  old  soldier  Sir  William  Reade,  and  met  Lord 
Willoughby,  whom  he  accompanied  to  Brielle  on  a  visit  to  the 
deposed  elector  Truchsess,  then  living  in  that  neighbourhood. 
Cecil — ^who  was  not  passion's  slave— had  small  sympathy  with 
the  man  who  could  lose  a  sovereignty  for  the  sake  of  Agnes 
Mansfeld.  "'Tis  a  very  goodly  gentleman,"  said  he,  "well 
fashioned,  and  of  good  speech,  for  which  I  must  rather  praise 
him  than  for  loving  a  wife  better  than  so  great  a  fortune  as  ho 
lost  by  her  occasion."'.  At  Brielle  he  was  handsomely  enter- 
tained by  the  magistrates,  who  had  agreeable  recollections  of 
his  brother  Thomas,  late  governor  of  that  city.  Thence  he 
proceeded  by  way  of  Delft — which,  like  all  English  travellers, 
he  described  as  "the  finest  built  town  that  ever  he  saw" — to 
the  Hague,  and  thence  to  Fushing,  and  so  back  by  sea  to 
Ostend.  He  had  made  the  most  of  his  three  weeks'  tour,  had 
seen  many  important  towns  both  in  the  republic  and  in  the 
obedient  Netherlands,  and  had  conversed  with  many  "tall 
gentlemen,"  as  he  expressed  himself,  among  the  English 
commanders,  having  been  especially  impressed  by  the  heroes 
of  Sluys,  Baskerville  and  that  "proper  gentleman  Francis 
Vere."» 

He  was  also  presented  by  Lord  Willoughby  to  Maurice  pf 
Nassau,  and  was  perhaps  not  very  benignautly  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  allegiance  to  the  late  governor- 
general,  the  perverse  determination  of  the  Queen  to  treat  for 


'  Ceca  to  Brai^hloy,  jj  Marclt    US. 


alread/ cited. 


SSBfsrcli 

■  Cecil  to    Buighley,  *  1583. 

(3.  P.  Offloo  Ma)  *  ^"^IWd. 


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1588. 


AND  SEES  MUCH  THAT  IS  BEBiARKABLE. 


373 


peace  against  the  advice  of  all  the  leading  statesmen  of  the 
Netherlands,  and  the  sharp  rebukes  perpetually  administered 
by  her,  in  consequence,  to  the  young  stadholder  and  all  his 
supporters,  had  not  tended  to  produce  the  most  tender  feelings 
upon  their  part  towards  the  English  government,  it  was  not 
surprising  tl&t  the  handsome  soldier  should  look  askance  at 
the  crooked  little  courtier,  whom  even  the  great  Queen  smiled 
at  while  she  petted  him.    Cecil  was  very  angry  with  Maurice. 

"  In  my  life  I  never  saw  worse  bshaviour,''  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  constimed  nearly  the  whole  month  of 
March  in  his  tour,  he  had  been  more  profitably  employed  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  Farneso 
and  his  agents,  Champagny,  Bichardot,  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 
my  mother,  and  has  also  been  ambassador  at  Vienna.  I  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.''^ 

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  expecting  the  arrival  of  the 
invading  fleets  and  armies  of  Spain,  and  was  holding  himself 


»  CecatoBurgblejr,  -  Mareh,  16S8. 

(S.  P.  Office  MS.) 
»  "Vlejo    7    posado."     Parma    to 


Phnip  n.,  20  March,  1688. 
SimaDoaa,  MS.) 
»  Ibid 


(Arch,  de 


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374  THE  UNITED  NETHERLANDS.  Chap.  XVIII 

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  Walsingham  began  to  distrust  his  own  senses. 
So  much  strength  does  a  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  Ghent,  "  for — 
unless  the  Armada  arrive  soon — it  will  be  indispensable  for  me 
to  have  them,  in  order  to  keep  the  n^otiation  alive.  Of 
course  they  will  never  broach  the  principal  matters  without 
exhibition  of  powers.  Richardot  is  aware  of  the  secret  which 
your  Majesty  confided  to  me,  namely,  that  the  n^tiations 
are  only  intended  to  deceive  the  Queen  and  to  gain  time  for 
the  fleet ;  but  the  powers  must  be  sent  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.  "  The  con- 
quest of  England  would  have  been  difficult,"  he  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  arrives  to  this  letter^  the  fleet  will  have  arrived,  and 
/  shaU  have  undertaken  the  passage  to  England."  * 

After  three  weeks  had  thus  adroitly  been  frittered  away, 
the  English  commissioners  became  somewhat  impatient,  and 
despatched  Doctor  Sogers  to  the  Duke  at  Ghent.  This  was 
extremely  obliging  upon  their  part,  for  if  Yal^tine  Dale  were 
a  ^^  slow  old  gentleman,"  he  was  keen,  caustic,  and  rapid,  as 
compared  to  John  Sogers.  A  formalist  and  a  pedant,  a  man 
of  red  tape  and  routine,  full  of  precedents  and  declamatory 

'  Panna  to  Philip  n,  20  March,  1588.    (Arch,  do  Simaocas,  MS.)         *  IbkL 


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158S.  IXTEBTIBWS  OP  DR.  EOGBRS  WITH  PARMA.  375 

commonplaces  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  pro- 
found attention  to  the  wise  saws  in  which  the  excellent  diplo- 
matist 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  commissioner 
hetter  satisfied  with  himself  than  was  John  Rogers  upon 
those  occasions.  He  carried  every  point ;  he  convinced,  he 
softened,  he  captivated  the  great  Duke  ;  he  turned  the  great 
Duke  round  his  finger.  The  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  firpt  time 
fully  revealed. 

On  the  26th  March  the  learned  Doctor  made  his  first  bow 
and  performed  his  first  flourish  of  compliments  at  Ghent. 

^i^ffL   "  I  assure  your  Majesty,"  said  he,  "  his  Highness 

*1588.'  followed  my  compliments  of  entertainment  with  so 
much  honour,  as  that— his  Highness  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  Parma  : — 

"  Almighty  God,  the  light  of  lights,  be  pleased  to  enlighten 
the  understanding  of  your  Alteza,  and  to  direct  the  same  to 
his  glory,  to  the  uniting  of  both  their  Majesties  and  the 
finishing  of  these  most  bloody  wars,  whereby  these  countries, 
being  in  the  highest  degree  of  misery  desolate,  lie  as  it  were 
prostrate  before  the  wrathful  presence  of  the  most  mighty 
God,  most  lamentably  beseeching  his  Divine  Majesty  to  with- 
draw his  scourge  of  war  from  them,  and  to  move  the  hearts  of 
princes  to  restore  them  unto  peace,  whereby  they  might  attain 

>  Doctor  Bogefs  to  the  Queen,-- April,  1688.    (S.  P.  OfBoe  HS.) 


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376  THE  UNITED  NETHERLANDS.  Chap.  XVIIL 

unto  their  ancient  flower  and  dignity.  Into  the  hands  of 
your  Alteza  are  now  the  lives  of  many  thousands,  the  destruc- 
tion of  cities,  towns,  and  countries,  which  to  put  to  the  fortune 
of  war  how  perilous  it  were,  I  pray  consider.  Think  ye,  ye 
see  the  mothers  l^  alive  tendering  their  offspring  in  your 
presence,"  "warn  matribua  detestata  bella"  continued  the 
orator.  "  Think  also  of  others  of  all  sexes,  ages,  and  con- 
ditions, on  their  knees  before  your  Alteza,  most  humbly 
praying  and  crying  most  dolorously  to  spare  their  lives,  and 
save  their  property  from  the  ensanguined  scourge  of  the  insime 
soldiers,"  and  so  on,  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  King  might  have 
found  time  to  marshal  his  ideas  and  his  squadrons,  and  the 
Armada  had  leisure  to  circumnavigate  the  globe  and  invade 
England  afterwards,  if  a  succession  of  John  Kogerses  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  difficult  to  suppress  liis  feelings.  "  I  can  assure 
your  Majesty,"  said  Kogers,  "  that  his  eyes — ^he  has  a  very 
large  eye — were  moistened.  Sometimes  they  were  thrown 
upward  to  heaven,  sometimes  they  were  fixed  full  upon  me, 
sometimes  they  were  cast  downward,  well  declaring  how  his 
heart  was  affected."  ^ 

Honest  John  ev^  thought  it  necessary  to  mitigate  the 
effect  of  his  rhetoric,  and  to  assure  his  Highness  that  it 
was,  after  all,  only  he.  Doctor  Rogers,  and  not  the  minister 
plenipotentiary  of  the  Queen's  most  serene  Majesty,  who  was 
exciting  all  this  emotion. 

"  At  this  part  of  my  speech,"  said  he,  "  I  prayed  his  High- 
ness not  to  be  troubled,*  for  that  the  same  only  proceeded  from 

»  Doctor  Rogers  to  tho  Queen,  MS.  last  cited.    •  Ibii    »  "  Scontoatacsi,"  IbiO. 


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158S.  WONDERFUL  HARANGUES  OP  THE  ENVOY.  377 

Doctor  Rogers y  who,  it  might  please  him  to  know,  was  so  much 
moved  with  the  pitiful  case  of  these  countries,  as  also  that 
which  of  war  was  sure  to  ensue,  that  I  wished,  if  my  body 
were  full  of  rivers  of  blood,  the  same  to  be  poured  forth  to 
satisfy  any  that  were  blood-thirsty,  so  there  might  an  assured 
peace  follow/'* 

His  Highness,  at  any  rate,  manifesting  no  wish  to  drink  of 
such  sanguinary  streams — even  had  the  Doctor's  body  con- 
tained them — Sogers  became  calmer.  He  then  descended 
from  rhetoric  to  jurisprudence  and  casuistry,  and  argued  at 
intolerable  length  the  propriety  of  commencing  the  con- 
ferences at  Ostend,  and  of  exhibiting  mutually  the  commissions. 

It  is  quite  unnecessary  to  follow  him  as  closely  as  did 
Famese.  When  he  had  finished  the  first  part  of  his  oration, 
however,  and  was  "  addressing  himself  to  the  second  point," 
Alexander  at  last  interrupted  the  torrent  of  his  eloquence. 

"  He  said  that  my  divisions  and  subdivisions,"  wrote  the 
Doctor,  "  were  perfectly  in  his  remembrance,  and  that  he  would 
first  answer  the  first  point,  and  afterwards  give  audience  to 
the  second,  and  answer  the  same  accordingly." 

Accordingly  Alexander  put  on  his  hat,  and  begged  the 
envoy  also  to  be  covered.  Then,  "  with  great  gravity,  as  one 
inwardly  much  moved,"  the  Duko  took  up  his  part  in  the 
dialogue. 

"  Signer  Ruggieri,"  said  he,  ^'you  have  propounded  unto 
me  speeches  of  two  sorts :  the  one  proceeds  from  Doctor 
Euggieri,  the  other  from  the  lord  ambassador  of  the  most 
serene  Queen  of  England.  Touching  the  first,  I  do  give  you 
my  hearty  thanks  for  your  godly  speeches,  assuring  you  that 
though,  by  reason  I  have  always  followed  the  wars,  I  cannot 
be  Ignorant  of  the  calamities  by  you  aUeged,  yet  you  have 
so  truly  represented  the  same  before  mine  eyes  as  to  effectuate 
in  me  at  this  instant,  not  only  the  confirmation  of  mine  own 
disposition  to  have  peace,  but  also  an  assurance  that  this  treaty 
shall  take  good  and  speedy  end,  seeing  that  it  hath  pleased 
God  to  raise  up  such  a  good  instrument  as  you  are."^ 

'  Rogers  to  tbo  Qaeco.  MS.  before  dted.  •  Ibid. 


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378 


THE  UNITED  NETHEBIiAl!n)3. 


Chap.  XVllL 


"  Many  are  the  causes/'  continued  the  Duke,  "  which,  be- 
sides 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.  The  King,  my  master,  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.  The  glory  of  God,  the  honor  of  both  their 
Majesties,  and  the  good  of  these  countries,  with  the  stay  of 
the  effusion  of  Christian  blood,  and  divers  other  like  reasons, 
force  him  to  peace!' ^ 

Thus  spoke  Alexander,  like  an  honest  Christian  gentleman, 
avowing  the  most  equitable  end  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  <rf  conference,  and 
the  commissions.  Alexander  considered  it  ^^  infamy "  on  his 
name  if  he  should  send  envoys  to  a  place  of  his  master's  held 
by  the  enemy.  He  was  also  of  opinion  that  it  was  unheard 
of  to  exhibit  commissions  previous  to  a  preliminary  colloquy. 

Both, propositions  were  strenuously  contested  by  Rogers. 
In  regard  to  the  second  point  in  particular,  he  showed  tri- 
umphantly, by  citations  from  the  "  Polonians,  Prussians,  and 
Lithuanians,"  that  commissions  ought  to  be  previously  exhi- 
bited.' But  it  was  not  probable  that  even  the  Doctor's  learn- 
ing and  logic  would    persuade  Alexander    to    produce  his 


1  Bogers  to  the  Qnecn,  MS.  last 
dtecL 

'  We  have  sufficiently  proved  the 
good  faith  of  the  Qaeen  on  entering 
upon  these  negotiations.  Alexander 
himself  felt  as  sure  of  her  sincerity 
M  he  did  of  his    master's  duplicity. 


"I  believe  that  she  desires  peaco 
earnestly,"  said  he  to  Philip,  '*on 
acooont  of  her  fear  of  expense." 
Parma  to  Philip  II.  31  Jan.  1588. 
(Ardi.  de  Simancas,  MS.) 

'  Rogers  to  the  Queen,  MS.  ohxmdy 
dted. 


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1588.  EXTRAORDINABT  AMENITT  OF  ALEXANDER.  379 

commission^  because^  unfortunately,  he  had  no  commission  to 
produce.  A  comfortable  argument  on  the  subject,  however, 
would,  none  the  less,  consume  time. 

Three  hours  of  this  work  brought  them,  exhausted  and 
hungry,  to  the  hour  of  noon  and  of  dinner.  Alexander,  with 
profuse  and  smiling  thanks  for  the  envoy's  plain  dealing  and 
eloquence,  assured  him  that  there  would  have  been  peace  long 
ago  "  had  Doctor  Eogers  always  been  the  instrument,*'  and  re- 
gretted that  he  was  himself  not  learned  enough  to  deal  credit- 
ably with  him.  He  would,  however,  send  Eichardot  to  bear 
him  company  at  table,  and  chop  logic  with  him  afterwards. 

Next  day,  at  the  same  hour,  the  Duke  and  Doctor  had 
another  encounter.  So  soon  as  the  envoy  made  his  appear- 
ance, he  found  himself  "embraced  most  cheerfully  and 
familiarly  by  his  Alteza,''  who,  then  entering  at  once  into 
business,  asked  as  to  the  Doctor's  second  point.* 

The  Doctor  answered  with  great  alacrity. 

"  Certain  expressions  have  been  reported  ta  her  Majesty," 
said  he,  "as  coming  both  from  your  Highness  and  from 
Eichardot,  hinting  at  a  possible  attempt  by  the  King  of 
Spain's  forces  against  the  Queen.  Her  Majesty,  gathering 
that  you  are  going  about  belike  to  terrify  her,  commands  me 
to  inform  you  very  clearly  and  very  expressly  that  she  does  not 
deal  so  weakly  in  her  government,  nor  so  improvidently,  but 
that  she  is  provided  for  anything  that  might  be  attempted 
against  her  by  the  King,  and  as  able  to  offend  him  as  he  her 
Majesty."  2 

Alexander — with  a  sad  countenance,  as  much  offended,  his 
eyes  declaring  miscontentment — asked  who  had  made  such  a 
report. 

"  Upon  the  honour  of  a  gentleman,"  said  he,  "  whoever  has 
said  this  has  much  abused  me,  and  evil  acquitted  himself. 
They  who  know  me  best  are  aware  that  it  is  not  my  manner 
to  let  any  word  pass  my  lips  that  might  offend  any  prince." 
Then,  speaking  most  solenmly,  he  added,  "I  declare  really 
and  truly  (which  two  words  he    said  in  Spanish),  that  / 

^  Rogers  to  Iho  Qaoen,  MS.  last  dtod.  «  Ibid. 


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380  THE  UNITED  NETHERLANDS.  Chap.  XVilL 

know  not  of  any  intention  of  the  King  of  ,S]>ain  against  her 
Mcyesty  or  her  realm."  ^ 

At  that  moment  the  earth  did  not  open — ^year  of  portents 
though  it  was— and  the  Doctor,  "singularly  rejoicing"  at  this 
authentic  information  from  the  highest  source,  proceeded 
cheerfully  with  the  conversation. 

"I  hold  myself,"  he  exclaimed,  "the  man  most  satisfied 
in  the  world,  because  I  may  now  write  to  her  Majesty  that  I 
have  heard  your  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,  after  the  King, 
my  master,  I  would  honour  and  serve  her  before  any  prince 
in  Christendom."  Ho  added  many  earnest  asseverations  of 
similar  import. 

"I  do  not  deny,  however,"  continued  Alexander,  "that  I 
have  heard  of  certain  ships  having  been  armed  by  the  King 
against  that  Droak" — ^he  pronounced  the  "  a"  in  Drake's  name 
very  broadly,  or  Dorici — "  who  has  committed  so  many  out- 
rages ;  but  I  repeat  that  I  have  never  heard  of  any  design 
against  her  Majesty  or  against  England."^ 

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  unfor- 
tunately 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  honoiu*. 
Nevertheless,  knowing  the  virtues  with  which  her  Majesty  is 
endued,  I  assure  myself  that  the  protestations  I  am  now 
making  will  entirely  satisfy  her." 

He  then  expressed  the  fervent  hope  that  the  holy  work  of 

'  "  Bealmento  y  venladcramcnte."    (Rogers  to  tbo  Queen,  MS.  last  cited.) 
•  Ibid. 


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1588.  WITH  WHICH  EOaBBS  IS  MUCH  TOUCHED.  381 

negotiation  now  commencing  would  result  in  a  renewal  of 
the  ancient  friendship  between  the  Houses  of  Burgundy  and 
of  England^  asserting  that  ^'  there  had  never  been  so  favour- 
able a  time  as  the  present.'" 

Under  former  jgovemments  of  the  Netherlands  there  had 
been  many  mistakes  and  misunderstandings. 

"  The  Duke  of  Alva,"  said  he,  "  has  learned  by  this  time, 
before  the  judgment-seat  of  God,  how  he  discharged  his  func- 
tions, 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  Bequesens,  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  ji/rsk 
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  I  doubt  not  it  will  be, 
seeing  the  singular  forwardness  of  your  Highness'' — said  the 
artful  Doctor  with  a  smile,'  "  we  are  no  less  than  commanded 
to  return  to  her  Majesty's  presence." 

"I  sent  Bichardot  to  you  yesterday,"  said  Alexander  ;  " did 
he  not  content  you  ?" 

"  Your  Highness,  no,"  replied  Bogers.  "  Moreover  her 
Majesty  sent  me  to  your  Alteza,  and  not  to  Bichardot.  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 — ' 

*  lUigera  to  the  Queen,  MS.  last  cited.         *  "I  spako  it  souriant,"  &c.    B^idL 
.  •Ibid. 


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382  THE  ITNITBD  NETHERLANDS.  •  Chap.  XVHL 

"Be  contented,  be  cheerful,  mj  lord  ambassador.  You 
shall  be  satisfied  upon  this  point  also.'' 

"And  never  did  envoy  depart,"  cried  the  lord  ambassador, 
when  he  could  get  his  breath,  "  more  bound  to  you,  and  more 
resolute  to  speak  honour  of  your  Highness  than  I  do." 

"To-morrow  we  will  ride  together  towards  Bruges,"  said 
the  Duke,  in  conclusion.     "  Till  then  farewell." 

Upon  this  he  again  heartily  embraced  the  envoy,  and  the 
friends  parted  for  the  day. 

Next  morning,  28th  March,  the  Duke,  who  was  on  his  way 
to  Bruges  and  Sluys  to  look  after  his  gun-boats,  and  other 

2i?!I!l!,   naval  and  military  preparations,  set  forth  on  horse- 

^sss!  back,  accompanied  by  the  Marquis  del  Vasto,  and, 
for  part  of  the  way,  by  Eogers. 

They  conversed  on  the  general  topics  of  the  approaching 
negotiations  ;  the  Duke  expressing  the  opinion  that  the  treaty 
of  peace  would  bo  made  short  work  with,  for  it  only  needed 
to  renew  the  old  ones  between  the  Houses  of  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  appro- 
priating them  to  herself,  and  would  willingly  surrender  them 
to  the  King. 

Rogers  thought  it  a  good  opportunity  to  put  in  a  word  for 
the  Dutchmen,  who  certainly  would  not  have  thanked  him 
for  his  assistance  at  that  moment. 

"Not  to  give  offence  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. 

"Let  them  come  into  it,  let  them  treat,  let  them  con- 
clude,"^ he  exclaimed,  "in  the  name  of  Almighty  Grod!     I 

'  "  Eotrmo^  trattino,  conchiudino."   Rogers  to  the  QueeD,  MS.  last  dted. 


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1588.  THE  QUEEN  NOT  PLEASED  WITH  HEjR  ENVOY.  383 

have  always  been  well  disposed  to  peace,  and  am  now  more 
so  than  ever.  I  could  even,  with  the  loss  of  my  Jife,  be  con- 
tent 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  vic- 
tory which  diplomatic  or  royal  mendacity  may  always  obtain 
over  innocence  and  credulity. 

Certainly  never  was  envoy  more  thoroughly  b^uiled  than 
the  excellent  John  upon  this  occasion.  Wiser  than  a  ser- 
pent, as  he  imagined  himself  to  be,  more  harmless  than  a 
dove,  as  Alexander  found  him,  he  could  not  sufficiently  con- 
gratulate 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  dami)ed,  however,  at  receiving  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  oflfepring — the  passage  which  had  brought  the 
tears  into  the  large  eyes  of  Alexander — ^was  coldly  and  cruelly 
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  her- 
self;  and  she  doth  greatly  mislike  the  preamble  of  Dr. 
Bogers  in  his  address  to  the  Duke  at  Ghenty  finding  it,  in  very 
truthy  quite  fond  and  vain,  I  am  commanded  by  a  particular 
letter  to  let  him  understand  how  much  her  Majesty  is  offended 
with  him.''* 

I  (S.  p.  Office  M&) 


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384 


THE  UNITBD  NBTHBBLANDa 


Chap.  XVIII 


Alexander^  on  bis  part,  informed  his  rojal  master  of  these 
interviews,  in  which  there  had  been  so  much  effusion  of  senti- 
ment, in  very  brief  fashion. 

"Dr.  Kogers,  one  of  the  Queen's  commissioners,  has  been 
here,"  he  said,  "  urging  me  with  all  his  might  to'  let  all  your 
Majesty's  deputies  go,  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,  Rogers  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 
restore  to  your  Majesty  everything  that  she  .holds  in  the 
Netherlands,  but  would  assist  you  to  recover  the  part  which 
remains  obstinate.^  To  quiet  him  and  to  consume  time,  I 
have  promised  that  President  Bichardot  shall  go  and  try  to 
satisfy  them.  Thus  two  or  three  weeks  more  wiU  he  wasted. 
But  at  last  the  time  will  come  for  exhibiting  the  powers. 
They  are  very  anxious  to  see  mine  ;  and  when  at  last  'they 
find  I  have  none,  I  fear  that  they  will  break  off  the  nego- 
tiations." ^ 

Could  the  Queen  have  been  informed  of  this  voluntary 
offer  on  the  part  of  her  envoy  to  give  up  Ihe  cautionary 
towns,  and  to  assist  in  reducing  the  rebellion,  she  might  have 
used  stronger  language  of  rebuke.  It  is  quite  possible,  how- 
ever, that  Famese— not  so  attentively  following  the  Doctor's 
eloquence  as  he  had  appeared  to  do— had  somewhat  inaccu- 
rately reported  the  conversations,  which,  after  sJJ,  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  she  was  disposed  to  do,  was  more  sensi- 
tive than  ever  as  to  her  dignity. 


>  *'  For  esta  poca  honra  que  se  bara 
a  la  Bevna  ella  non  solo  lestitujre  a 
y.  Mag<>  todo  lo  que  tiene  destOB  esta- 
do6  mas  ayudara  a  cobrar  la  parte  quo 


quedara  obstinada.^ 
II.,   16  ApR,    1588. 
maucaa,  MS.) 
•  Ibid. 


Parma  to  Philip 
(Archivo  de    Si- 


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158&  CBEDULITT  OF  THE  ENGLISH  COMMISSIONEBa  386 

"  We  charge  you  all,"  site  wrote  with  her  own  hand  to  the 
oommissioners,  "  that  no  word  he  overslipt  hy  them,  that  may 
touch  our  honour  and  greatness,  that  be  not  answered  with 
good  sharp  words.  I  am  a  king  that  will  be  over  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  England  and  herself  from 
impending  doom.  For  there  was  something  almost  gigantic 
in  the  frivolities  with  which  weeks  and  months  of  such  pre- 
cious time  were  now  squandered.  Plenary  powers — *'com- 
mision  bastantissima"  —  from  his  sovereign  had  been  an- 
nounced by  Alexander  as  in  his  possession ;  although  the 
reader  has  seen  that  he  had  no  such  powers  at  all.  The  mis- 
sion of  Rogers  had  quieted  the  envoys  at  Ostend  for  a  time, 
and  they  waited  quietly  for  the  visit  of  Bichardot  to  Ostend, 
into  which  the  promised  meeting  of  all  the  Spanish  commis- 
sioners in  that  city  had  dwindled.  Meantime  there  was  an 
exchange  of  the  most  friendly  amenities  between  the  English 
and  their  mortal  enemies.  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.*  The  Englishmen,  too, 
had  it  in  their  power  to  gratify  Alexander  himself  with 
English  greyhound8,*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  occupations,  at  Ostend.  "My  Lord  of  Derby's  two 
chaplains,"  said  Cecil,  "have  seasoned  this  town  better  with 
sermons  than  it  had  been  before  for  a  year's  space."^  But  all 
this  did  not  expedite  the  negotiations,  nor  did  the  Duke 

>  Queen  to  the  Commiasionera,  -  April,  1688.    (3.  P.  Ofllco  MS.) 

5 

•  Coca  to  Burghlejr,  —  April,  1688.    (S.  P.  Office  MS.) 

>  Ibid.  *  Ibid.  «  Ibid 

VOL.  II.— 2  C 


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386 


THE  UNITED  NETHERLANDS. 


Chap.  XVTIL 


manifest  so  much  anxiety  for  colloquies  as  for  greyhounds. 
So,  in  an  unlucky  hour  for  himself,  another  "  fond  and  vain" 
old  gentleman — James  Croft,  the  comptroller,  who  had  already 
figured,  not  much  to  his  credit,  in  the  secret  negotiations 
between  the  Brussels  and  English  cotu*ts — ^betook  himself, 
unauthorized  and  alone,  to  the  Duke  at  Bruges.  Here  he  had 
an  interview  very  similar  in  character  to  that  in  which  John 
Sogers  had  been  indulged,  declared  to  Famese  that  the  Queen 
was  most  anxious  for  peace,  and  invited  him  to  send  a  secret 
envoy  to  England,  who  would  instantly  have  ocular  demon- 
stration of  the  fact.  Crofb  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  wore  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  ma}  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  singular  facility  for  getting 
himself  into  trouble,  and  for  making  confusion.  Already, 
when  he  had  been  scarcely  a  day  in  Ostend,  he  had  insulted 
the  governor  of  the  place,  Sir  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  the  Queen 
had  called  him  a  fool,  and  quite  unfit  for  his  post.'  And  as 
if  this  had  not  been  mischief-making  enough,  in  addition  to 
the  absurd  De  Loo  and  Bodman  n^;otiations  of  the  previous 
year,  in  whidi  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  con- 
duct^ reprehended  him  severely,  and  ordered  him  back   to 


>  '*Como  muestra  poca  eagaoidad 
dexa  de  dar  re^elo  de  que  le  engafian 
a  el  para  mas  engafiar,"  Ac.  Panna 
to  PhUip  II.,  13  May,  1688.      (Arch. 


de  ^mancaa  MS.) 

*  Queen  to  Derbj  and  Cobham,  -~ 
April,  1588.    (a  P.  Office  MS.) 


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1588. 


CERBMOliTIOITS  MBBTINa  OP  AIIi  THE  ENVOYS. 


387 


England.^  The  comptroller  was  wretched.  Ho  expressed 
his  readiness  to  obey  her  commands,  but  nevertheless  im- 
plored his  dread  sovereign  to  ;take  merciful  consideration  of 
the  manifold  misfortunes,  ruin,  and  utter  undoing,  which, 
thereby  should  fall  upon  him  and  his  unfortunate  family.  All 
this  he  protested  he  would  nothing  esteem  if  it  tended  to  her 
Majesty's  pleasure  or  service,  "but  seeing  it  should  effectuate 
nothing  but  to  bring  the  aged  carcase  of  her  poor  vassal  to 
present  decay,  he  implored  compassion  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  sufficient  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  in  May — ^instead  of  the  visit  of  Richardot — 
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.  The  commis- 
sioners of  Philip  were  attended  by  a  body  of  one  hundred  and 
fifty  light  horse,  and  by  three  hundred  private  gentlemen  in 
magnificent  costume.  La  Mott«  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.     "  The  English  com- 


'  Queen  to  the  Commissioners  fbr 
the  reprehension  of  Sir  James  Croft- 

in    Lord    Burghley*s    handwriting,    — 

May,  1688.     (a  P.  Office  MS.) 


*  Croft    to    the    Qoeen,    28    May, 
1588.    (&P.  OffloeMS.) 

*  Parma  to  Philip  II.  13  Ma^r,  158a 
(Arch,  de  Simancas,  MS.) 


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388 


THB  UNITED  NBTHEKL/LNDSL 


Chap.  XVIIL 


missioners/'  said  he^  ^^  begged  with  so  much  submission  for 
this  concessioD,  that  I  thought  it  as  well  to  grant  it/'  ^ 

The  Spanish  envoys  were  despatched  by  the  Duke  of 
Parma,  well  provided  with  full  powers  for  himself,  which  were 
not  desired  by  the  English  government,  but  unfurnished  with 
a  commission  from  Philip,  which  had  been  pronounced  indis- 
pensable.* There  was,  therefore,  much  prancing  of  cavaliy, 
flourishing  of  trumpets,  and  eating  of  oysters,  at  theflrst  con- 
ference, but  not  one  stroke  of  business.  As  the  English 
envoys  had  now  been  three  whole  months  in  Ostehd,  and  as 
this  was  the  first  occasion  on  which  they  had  been  brought 
face  to  face  with-  the  Spanish  commissioners,  it  must  be  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  council-cham- 
bers of  Bruges  and  Ghent,  Medina  Sidonia  might  already  have 
been  in  the  Thames. 

But  although  little  ostensible  business  was  performed,  there 
was  one  man  who  had  always  an  eye  to  his  work.  The  same 
servant  in  plain  livery,  who  had  accompanied  Secretaiy 
Gamier,  on  his  first  visit  to  the  English  commissioners  at 
Osteud,  had  now  come  thither  again,  accompanied  by  a 
fellow-lackey.  While  the  complimentary  dinner,  offered  in 
the  name  of  the  absent  Famese  to  the  Queen's  l^resenta- 
tives,  was  going  forward,  tho  two  menials  strayed  off  together 
to  the  downs,  for  the  purpose  of  rabbit-shooting.*  The  one  of 
them  was  the  same  engineer  who  had  already,  on  the  former 
occasion,  taken  a  complete  survey  of  the  fortifications  of 
Ostend  ;  the  other  was  no  less  a  personage  than  the  Dake  of 
Parma  himself.  The  pair  now  made  a  thorough  examination 
of  the  town  and  its  neighbourhood,  and,  having  finished  their 
reconnoitring,  made  the  best  of  their  way  back  to  Bruges.' 
As  it  was  then  one  of  Alexander's  favourite  objects  to  reduce 


'  '^Soplicado  con  grande  submicion 
que  se  dieiBe  esta  satifl&oioa  a  la 
Reyius"  Ac.  Panna  to  Philip  II. 
IMS.  last  cited) 


•  Ibid. 

»  Parma  to  Philip  XL  13  Ifaj,  168a 
(A.roh.  do  SimaDcas,  MS.) 

*  Ibid. 


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U88. 


GONSUICMATK  ABT  IN  WASTINa  TIKE. 


389 


the  city  of  Ostend,  at  the  earliest  possible  moment^  it  must 
be  allowed  that  this  preliminary  conferenoe  was  not  so  barren 
to  himself  as  it  was  to  the  commissioners.  Philip,  when  in- 
formed of  this  manoeavre,  was  naturally  gratified  at  such 
masterly  duplicity,  while  he  gently  rebuked  his  nephew  for 
exposing  his  valuable  life ;  and  certainly  it  would  hare  been 
an  inglorious  termination  to  the  Duke's  splendid  career,  had 
he  been  hanged  as  a  spy  within  the  trenches  of  Ostend.  With 
the  other  details  of  this  first  diplomatic  colloquy  Philip  was 
delighted.  "I  see  you  understand  me  thoroughly,"  he  said. 
'^  Keep  the  negotiation  alive  till  my  Armada  appears,  and  then 
carry  out  my  determination,  and  replant  the  Oatholio  religion 
on  the  soil  of  England/'^ 

The  Queen  was  not  in  such  high  spirits.  She  was  losing 
her  temper  very  &st,  as  she  became  more  and  more  con- 
vinced that  she  had  been  trifled  with.  No  powers  had  been 
yet  exhibited,  no  permanent  place  of  conference  fixed  upon, 
and  the  cessation  of  arms  demanded  by  her  commissioners  for 
England,  Spiain,  and  all  the  Netherlands,  was  absolutely 
refused.?  She  desired  her  commissioners  to  inform  the  Duke 
of  Parma  that  it  greatly  touched  his  honour — as  both  before 
their  coming  and  afterwards,  ho  had  assured  her  that  he  had 
comiaion  bcutcmtissima  from  his  sovereign — ^to  dear  himself  at 
once  from  the  imputation  of  insincerity.  ^^  Let  not  the  Duke 
think,"  she  wrote  with  her  own  hand,  "  that  we  would  so  long 
time  endure  these  many  fiivolous  and  imkindly  dealings,  but 
that  we  desire  all  the  world  to  know  our  desire  of  a  kingly 
peace,  and  that  we  will  endure  no  more  the  like,  nor  any,  but 
will  return  you  firom  your  charge."* 

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  interview 


^  Phflip  n.  to  Parma,  21  June,  1588. 
(Arch,  de  SimaDcas,  MS.) 

•  Parma  to  Philip  H.  13  May,  1688. 
(Arch,  do  Simanca?,  ISS.) 


*    Queen     to    the    Conmiiasioner^ 
ri^  1688.    (&  P.  Office  Ma) 

10  May  '  ^ 


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390  ^^B  UNITED  KETHEBLANDS.  Chap.  XYIH 

with  the  Duke.    After  thanking  his  Highness  for  the  honour- 

^  able  and  stately  manner  in  which  the  conferences 

7^^'  had  been  inaugurated  near  Ostend,  Dale  laid  very 
plainly  before  him  her  Majesty's  complaints  of 
the  tergiversations  and  equivocations  concerning  the  com- 
mission, which  had  now  lasted  three  months  loi^.^ 

In  answer,  Alexander  made  a  complimentary  harangue, 
confining  himself  entirely  to  the  first  part  of  the  envoy's 
address,  and  assuring  him  in  redundant  phraseology,  that  he 
should  hold  himself  very  guilty  before  the  wodd,  if  he  had  not 
surrounded  the  first  colloquy  between  the  plenipotentiaries  of 
two  such  mighty  princes,  with  as  much,  pomp  as  the  circum- 
stances of  time  and  place  would  allow.  After  this  superfluous 
xhetonc  had  been  poured  forth,  he  calmly  dismissed  the 
topic  which  Dr.  Dale  had  come  all  the  way  from  Ostend  to 
discuss,  by  carelessly  observing  that  President  Bichardot  would 
confer  with  him  on  the  subject  of  the  commission.^ 

^^  But,"  said  the  envoy,  "  'tis  no  matter  of  conference  or 
diq>ute.    I  desire  simply  to  see  the  commission." 

^^  Bichardot  and  Ohampagny  shall  deal  with  you  in  the 
afternoon,"  repeated  Alexander;  and,  with  this  reply,  the 
Doctor  was  fain  to  be  contented. 

Dale  then  alluded  to  the  pcnnt  of  cessation  of  arms. 

"  Although,"  said  he,  ^^  the  Queen  might  justly  require  that 
the  cessation  should  be  gmer^d  for  all  the  King's  dominion, 
jei  in  order  not  to  stand  on  precise  points,  she  is  eontont  that 
it  should  extend  no  further  than  to  the  towns  of  Flushing, 
Briel,  Ostend,  and  Bergen-op-Zoom." 

"To  this  he  said  nothing,"  wrote  the  envoy,  "and  so  I 
went  no  further." 

In  th^  afternoon  Dale  had  conference  with  Ohampagny  and 
Siohardoi  As  usual,  Ohampagny  was  boimd  hand  and  foot 
by  the  gout,  but  was  as  quick-witted  and  disputatious  as  ever. 
Again  Dale  made  an  earnest  harangue,  proving  satisfiu^torily 

>  Dftle  to  the  Queen,  ~  Umj,  1588.    (S.  P.  Office  IIS.) 
s  Dale  to  the  Qaeen.    (MS.  last  cited.) 


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1588. 


LONa  DISPUTES  ABOUT  OOMICISSIONa 


891 


\  if  any  proof  weit  necessary  on  sacli  a  point — that  a  com- 
niission  from  Philip  ought  to  be  produced,  and  that  a  com- 
mission  had  been  promised,  over  and  over  again.^ 

After  a  pause,  both  the  representatives  of  Parma  b^an  to 
wrangle  with  the  earoy  in  very  insolont  fashion.  *^  Bichardot 
is  always  their  mouth-piece ; ''  said  lUIe,  "  only  Champagny 
choppeth  in  at  every  word,  and  would  do  so  likewise  in  ours  if 
we  would  sufiBsr  it/'  * 

"  We  shall  never  have  done  with  these  impertinent  demands," 
^aid  the  Prudent.  "You  ought  to  be  satisfied'  with  the 
Duke's  promise  of  ratification  contained  in  his  commission. 
We  confess  what  yon  say  concerning  the  former  requisitions 
and  promises  to  be  true,  but  when  will  you  have  done  ?  Have 
we  not  showed  it  to  Mr,  Croft,  one  of  your  own  colleagues  ? 
And  if  we  show  it  you  now,  another  may  come  to-morrow, 
and  so  m^  shall  never  have  an  end." 

"The  delays, com3  fronx  yourselves,'  roundly,  replied  the 
Englishman,  "for  you  refuse  to  do  what  in  reason  and  law 
you  are  bound  to  do.  And  the  more  demands  the  more  mora 
autpotius  culpa  in  you.  You,  of  all  men,  have  least  cause  to 
hold  such  language,  who  so  confidently  and  even  disdainfully 
answered  our  demand  for  the  commission,  in  Mr.  Cecil's  pre- 
sence, and  promised  to  show  a  perfect  one  at  the  very  first 
meeting.  As  for  Mr.  Comptroller  Croft,  he  came  hither 
without  the  command  of  her  Majesty  and  without  the  know- 
ledge of  his  colleagues." 

Bichardot  then  b^n  to  insinuate  that,  as  Croft  had  come 
without  authority,  so — ^for  aught  they  could  tell — might  Dale 
also.  But  Champagny  here  interruped,  protested  that  the 
president  was  going  too  far,  and  b^ged  him  to  show  the  com- 
mission without  further  argument.* 

Upon  this  Bichardot  pulled  out  the  commission  from  under 
his  gown,  and  placed  it  in  Dr.  l)ale's  hands  1  * 

It  was  dated  17th  .April,  1588,  signed  and  sealed  by  the 


'  Pale  to  the  Queen,  Ma  last  dtecL 
■  Commiflsionere  to   Privy  Council, 
7  June,  1588.    (a  P.  OfBce  MS.) 


*  Dale  to  the  Queen,  -  Maj,  1688. 

(aP.OffloeMa)      . 

*  Ibid. 


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392 


THB  UNITED  NBTHBRLANDa 


Ohap.  xvin 


Eing^  and  written  in  French,  and  was  to  the  e£^t,  that  as 
there  had  been  differences  between  her  Majesty  and  himself^ 
as  her  Majesty  had  sent  ambassadors  into  the  NetherlandSy  as 
the  Duke  of  Parma  had  entered  into  treaty  with  her  Majesty, 
therefore  the  King  authorised  the  Duke  to  appoint  oommis- 
sioners  to  treat,  conclude,  and  determine  all  controversies  and 
misunderstandings,  confirmed  any  such,  appointments  already 
made,  and  promised  to  ratify  all  that  might  be  done  by  '&em 
in  the  premises.* 

Dr.  Dale  expressed  his  satisfaction  with  the  tenor  of  this 
docimient,  and  b^ged  to  be  furnished  with  a  copy  of  it,  but 
thiri  was  peremptorily  refused.*  There  was  then  a  long  con- 
versation— ending,  as  usual,  in  nothing — on  the  two  odier 
points,  the  place  for  the  conferences,  namely,  and  the  cessation 
of  arms. 

Next  morning  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  arrived  just  in  time.  ^^  Had 
I  not  received  it  soon  enough  to  produce  it  then,''  said 
Alexander,  "  the  Queen  would  have  broken  off  the  n^otia- 
tions.  Bo  I  ordered  Bichardot,  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."* 

" Tou  have  done  very  well,"  replied  Philip,  "but  that  com- 
mission is,  on  no  account^  to  be  uaed^  except  for  show,  Tou  know 
my  mind  thoroughly."  * 


>  Dale  to  tbo  Queen,  Ma  last  cited. 

•  Ibid. 

'  Parma  to  Philip  XL  8  Juna  1588. 
(Arcb.  de  Sim.  MS.) 

♦  Philip  to  Parma,  21  June,   1688. 
(Arch,  de  Sim.  Ma) 

The  King,  when  he  sX  last  sent  the 
power  on  the  13th  May,  1688,  had 


observed  to  Famese^"!  don*t  think 
that  there  will  be  any  trouble  on  ac- 
count of  your  haying  no  commission 
from  me.  Nevertheless  in  order  to 
dispel  their  doubts  and  to  remove  all 
suspidon,  I  have  ordered  fix*  the  nonce 
one  to  be  sent  in  French.  This,  as  I 
have  already  stated,  is  not  to  bo  used 


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1588. 


THE  SPANISH  COMMISSIONS  MEANT  TO  DECEIVE. 


393 


Thus  three  months  had  been  conBumed^  and  at  last  one 
indispensable  preliminary  to  any  n^^tiation  had,  in  appiear- 
ance,  been  performed.  FnH  powers  on  both  sides  had  been 
exhibited  When  the  Quoen  of  England  gave  the  Earl  of 
Derby  and  his  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  royal  name  and  seal.  She  could  not  know 
that  the  Spanish  monarch  was  deliberately  putting  his  namo 
to  a  lie,  and  chuckling  in  secret  over  the  credulity  of  his 
English  sister,  who  was  willing  to  take  his  word  and  his  bond. 
Of  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  of  con- 
ferences, 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  him  know  ho 
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  further 
delay  of  a  month  ;  for  it  was  not  till  the  6th  June  that  the 
commissioners  at  last  came  together  at  Bourboui^,^  6  Jane, 
that  '^miserable  little  hole,"  on  the  coast  between    isss. 


for  the  porpoee  of  concluding  or  agroo- 
ing  to  anytbii^,  in  any  case  what- 
ever, but  only  for  the  sake  of  keeping 
the  negotiation  alive,  in  order  to  enable 
us  the  better  to  execute  our  armed 
enterprise;  and  so  I  again  charge  it 
upon  you,  with  a  renewed  prohibition 
of  any  thing  in  a  contrary  sense,  refer- 
ring you  always  to  my  letter  of  24th 
April,  and  to  my  orders  so  often  given, 
which  you  are  to  fulfil  exactly  without 
departing  one  jot  therefirom."  "Para 
sacarlos  de  duda,  y  quitarlos  toda 
sospecha,  ho  mandado  un  poder  por  la 
via  en  frances,  del  qua],  como  entonoes, 
OS  lo  adverti  y  declare,  no  se  ha  de 
usar  para  asentar  ni  concluyr  por  nin- 
gun  case,  cosa  alguna^  sine  sob  que 
acade  la  platica,para  poder  executar 


mojor  lo  do  las  armas  y  empresa,  y  asi 
OS  lo  tomo  a  encaigar  con  nueva  pro- 
hibicion  de  lo  oontrario^  remitiendome 
a  la  carta  que  en  esta  materia  se  os 
escribio  por  esta  via  a  lo  24  April,  que 
es  la  orden  que  aveys  do  cumplir 
puntualmente  sin  n^Mirtaros  della^"  &c. 
Philip  IL  to  Parma,  13  May,  1588. 
(Archive  de  Simancas,  MS.) 
*  Queen's    Minute  to  the    Commis- 

Bioneis,  -  May,    1588.     (S.  P.  Office 

MS.) 

s  Parma  to  Philip^   8  Juno,   1588. 
(Arch,  de  Simancas,    MS.)     Bale  to 

Walsingham,  ^-—i^  1688.   (a  P.  Office 

8  Jnso 

MS.)    Commissioners  to    the    Queea 
(Ibid.) 


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394  7HB  UNITED  HBTHBRLAKD&  Chap.  XVIH 

Osiend  and  Newport,  against  which  Gamier  had  warned  them. 
And  now  there  was  ample  opportimitj  to  wrangle  at  fall 
length  on  the  next  preliminary,  the  cessation  of  arms.  It 
would  be  superfluous  to  foUow  the  altercatioos  step  by  step-* 
for  negotiations  there  were  none — and  it  is  only  for  the  sake 
of  exhibiting  at  full  length  the  in£uny  of  diplomacy,  when 
diplomacy  is  unaccompanied  by  honesty,  that  we  are  hanging 
up  this  series  of  pictures  at  alL  Those  bloodless  encounters 
between  credulity  and  vanity  upon  one  side,  and  gigantic 
fraud  on  the  other,  near  those  very  sands  of  Newport,  and  in 
sight  of  the  Northan  Ocean,  where,  before  long,  the  most 
terrible  battles,  both  by  land  and  sea,  which  the  age  had  yet 
witnessed,  were  to  occur,  are  quite  as  full  of  instruction  and 
moral  as  the  most  sanguinary  combats  eva:  waged. 

At  last  the  commissioners  exchanged  copies  of  their  re* 
spective  powers.  After  four  months  of  waiting  and  wrangling, 
ff  ]f^  so  much  had  been  achieved — a  show  of  commissions 
9imi  and  a  selection^  of  the  place  for  conference.  And 
now  began  the  long  debate  about  the  cessation  of 
arms.  The  English  claimed  an  armistice  for  the  whole 
dominion  of  Philip  and  Elizabeth  respectively,  daring  the 
term  of  negotiation,  and  for  twenty  days  after.  The  Spanish 
wouU  grant  only  a  temporary  truce,  terminable  at  six  days' 
notice,  and  that  only  for  the  four  cautionary  towns  of  HoUand 
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  terms  to  writing;  and 
when  the  Duke's  propositions  were  at  last  produced  in  the 
French  tongue,  they  were  refused  by  the  Queen's  commis- 
sioners, who  required  that  the  documents  should  be  in  Latin. 
Great  was  the  triumph  of  Dr.  Dale,  when,  after  another 
interval,  he  found  their  Latin  full  of  barbarisms  and  blunders, 
at  which  a  school-boy  would  have  blushed.^  The  Song's 
conmiissioners,  however,  while  halting  in  their  syntax,  had 
kept  steadily  to  their  point. 

>  Dale  to  Walainghiun,  21  Jane,  1688.    (S.  P.  Offioo  MS.) 


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158a  DISPUTES  ABOUT  CESSATION  OF  ARMS.  395 

"  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  come  of  you  and  not  of 
us,  and  that  ye  are  not  so  desirous  of  peace  as  ye  pretend."  * 

"  But  as  for  your  invasion  of  England,"  stoutly  observed  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  touching  all  the  Low  Countries,  and  yet  leave  your- 
selves at  liberty  to  invade  England."  * 

While  they  were  thus  disputing,  Secretary  Gkimier  rushed 
into  the  room,  looking  very  much  frightened,  and  announced 
that  Lord  Henry  Seymour's  fleet  of  thirty-two  ships  of  war 
was  riding  off  Gravelines,  and  that  he  had  sent  two  men  on 
shore  who  were  now  waiting  in  the  ante-chamber. 

The  men  being  accordingly  admitted^  handed  letters  to  the 
English  commissioners  from  Lord  Henry,  in  which  be  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  engaged.  The  envoys  found  his  presence 
very  "  comfortable,"  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,  b^ging 
him  to  cruise  for  a  time  off  Dunkirk  and  its  neighbourhood, 
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  unexpected 
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  received  with  such  a 
thundering  cannonade  an  hour  long,  by  way  of  salute,  as  to 

*  Ck>mini88ioner8  to  Privy  Councul,  —  Juno,  1688.    (S.  P.  Office  MS.) 
•  Ibid.  »  Ibid. 


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396  THE  UNITED  NETHERLANDS.  Chap.  XVIH 

convince  them,  in  the  opinion  of  the  Ei^Ufih  envoys,  that  tiie 
Qaeen  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  gone  by  for  blank 
cartridges  and  empty  protocols.  Nevertheless  Lord  Henry's 
harmless  thunder  was  answered,  the  next  day,  by  a  "  Quintu- 
plication''  in  worse  Latin  than  ever,  presented  to  Dr.  Dale 
and  his  colleagues  by  Bichardot  and  Champagny,  on  the 
subject  of  the  armistice.  And  then  there  was  a  return  quin- 
tuplication,  in  choice  Latin,  by  the  classic  Dale,  and  then 
there  was  a  colloquy  on  the  quintuplication,  and  everything 
that  had  been  chaiged,  and  truly  charged,  by  the  English, 
was  now  denied  by  the  King's  commissioners ;  and  Cham- 
pagny— more  gouty  and  more  irascible  than  ever — "  chopped 
in "  at  every  word  spoken  by  King's  envoys  or  Queen's,  con- 
tradicted everybody,  repudiated  everything  said  or  done  by 
Andrew  de  Loo,  or  any  of  the  other  secret  n^otiators  during 
the  past  year,  declared  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  reproached 
the  King's  representatives  with  duplicity  and  w£;nt  of  faith, 
and  censured  them  for  their  imseemly  langua^,  and  b^ged 
to  inform  Champagny  and  Bichardot  that  they  had  not  then 
to  deal  with  such  persons  as  they  might  formerly  have  been  in 
the  habit  of  treating  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  documents 
and  former  statements  from  those  very  opponents'  lips.  And 
then,  after  a}l  this  diplomatic  and  rhet(»ical  splutter,  the 
high  commissioners  recovered  their  temper  and  grew  more 
polite,  and  the  King's  "  envoys  excused  themselves  in  a  mild, 

*  Commiflsioncre  to  Privy  Ck>ancil,  —  Jane,  1588.    (B.  P.  Offioe  MS.) 
*  Ibid    (Ma  last  cited.) 


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1588. 


SPANISH  DUPUCITT  AND  PROCBASTINATION. 


397 


m&rrj  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  we  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  can  trust  Champagny  and 
Bichardot  no  farther  than  I  can  see  them."  * 

And  so  the  whole  month  of  June  passed  by ;  the  English 
commissioners  ^^eaviug  no  stone  unturned  to  get  a  quiet  ces- 
sation of  arms  in  general  terms,"  '  and  being  constantly  foiled ; 
yet  perpetually  kept  in  hope  *  that  the  point  would  soon  bo 
carried.  At  the  same  time  the  signs  of  the  approaching 
invasion  seemed  to  thicken.  '^In  my  opinion,"  said  Dale, 
"  as  Phormio  spako  in  matters  of  wars,  it  were  very  requisite 
that  my  Lord  Harry  should  be  always  on  this  coast,  for  they 
will  steal  out  from  hence  as  closely  as  they  can,  either  to  join 
with  the  Spanish  navy  or  to  land,  and  they  may  be  very  easily 
scattered,  by  God's  grace."  And,  with  the  honest  pride  of  a 
protocol-maker,  he  added,  ^^our  postulates  do  trouble  the 
King's  commissioners  very  much,  and  do  bring  them  to 
despair."* 

The  excellent  Doctor  had  not  even  yet  discovered  that  the 
King's  commissioners  were  delighted  with  his  postulates  ;  and 
that  to  have  kept  them  postulating  thus  five  months  in  suc- 
cession, while  naval  and  military  preparations  were  slowly 
bringing  forth  a  great  event — ^which  was  soon  to  stril^e  them 
with  as  much  amazement  as  if  the  moon  had  fallen  out  of 
heaven — was  one  of  the  most  decisive  triumphs  ever  achieved 


1  OommiflBionerB  to  Priyj  Coimcfl, 
-  Juno,  1688.    (S.  P.  Office  MS.) 

•  Dale    to    Walsingbam,    —  June, 

1588.    (a  P.  Office  Ma) 

**And  if  her  Majesty  list  to  break, 
she  may  now  do  it  upon  their  present 
denial  of  the  cessation  of  arms,  which 
Bichardot  did  in  open  council  promise 


to  Norris  and  Andrea  de  Loo  should 
be  accorded  at  the  coming  of  her  Ma- 
jesty's oommissioners,  and  which  is 
now  denied  as  ever  spoken,  or  to  be 
performed,  if  promised."    (Ibid.) 

*  Dale  to  Burghley,  "  June^   1588 

(a  p.  Offloe  Ma) 

*  Ibid.  •  Ibid. 


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398  5'HB  UNITED  NETHERI.ANDS.  Chap.  XVia 

by  Spanish  diplomacy.  But  the  Doctor  thought  that  his 
logic  had  driven  the  King  of  Spain  to  despair. 

At  the  same  time  he  was  not  insensible  to  the  merits  of 
another  and  more  peremptory  style  of  rhetoric.  "I  pray 
you/'  said  he  to  Walsingham^  '^et  us  hear  some  arguments 
from  toy  Lord  Harry  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  is 
no  possibility  for  them  to  make  any  resistance,  having  so  few 
men  that  can  abide  the  sea ;  for  the  rest^  as  you  know,  must  be 
sea-sick  at  first."  ^ 

But  the  envoys  were  completely  puzzled.  Even  at  the 
b^inning  of  July,  Sir  James  Croft  was  quite  convinced  of  the 
innocence  of  the  King  and  the  Duke  ;  ^  but  Croft  was  in  his 
dotage.  As  for  Dale,  he  occasionally  opened  his  eyes  and  his 
ears,  but  more  commonly  kept  them  well  closed  to  the  signi- 
ficance of  passing  events,  and  consoled  himself  with  his  pro- 
.  tocols  and  his  classics,  and  the  purity  of  his  own  Latin. 

"'Tis  a  very  wise  saying  of  Terence,"  said  he,  '^omnibus 
nobis  ut  res  dartt  sesCy  ita  magni  aut  humtlea  sumus.  When 
the  King's  commissioners  hear  of  the  King's  navy  fix)m  Spain, 

they  are  in  such  jollity  that  they  talk  loud In 

the  mean  time — as  the  wife  of  Bath  saith  in  Chaucer  by  her 
husband,  we  owe  them  not  a  word.  If  we  should  die  to- 
morrow, I  hope  her  Majesty  will  find  by  our  writings  that  the 
honour  of  the  cause,  in  the  opinion  of  the  worfd,  must  be  with 
her  Majesty,  and  that  her  commissioners  are  neither  of  such 
imperfection  in  their  reasons  or  so  barbarous  in  language,  as 


*  Dale  to  Barghlejr,  Ma  last  cited. 

*  "I  may  be  esteemed  more  creduloua 
than  cause  requireth,  yet  I  assore  jour 
Lordship  I  never  embraced  anj  opinion 
thereof  other  than  such  as  hj  some 
conjectural  aiigument  was  made  yerj 
probable  unto  me,  like  as  I' thought 
good  at  this  time  to  inform  jour  Lord- 
ship^ that  jesterdaj  b j  chance  I  had 
conference  with  one  of  the  coomiis- 
sioners  on  the  other  side,  and  was  bj 
him  in  sort  assured  that  the  matter 
of  this  treatj  will  fall  out— so  far  as 
in  that  side  lieth — ^to  as  good  purpose 


as  her  Mi^festj  will  require  it;  he  not 
doubting  that  the  two  jears  for  the 
toleration  of  religion,  and  the  point  of 
her  Majesty's  security,  and  all  other 
things  necenary  in  this  treaty,  will  be 
easily  assented  unto^  to  which  poipose 
he  wished  me  to  deal  with  Dr.  Dale  to 
be  willing  to  ui^ge  that  which  be  im- 
derhand  would  advise  us  unto^  rejtdrmg 
for  iheir  better  JUstiflaOion  to  be  prened 
4o  thai  wkkh  ihenwebfee  much  d&' 
eire''  {t!)  Aa     Croft    to    Bmghley, 

?|^1688.    (S.  P.  Office  Ma) 


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1588.  PEDANTBY  AND  CBEDUUTY  OF  DB.  DALK  899 

they  who  fail  not,  almost  in  every  line^  of  some  barbarism  not 
to  be  borne  in  a  grammar-school,  although  in  dubtleness  and 
impadent  a£Ebrming  of  untruths  and  denying  of  truths,  her 
commissioners  are  not  in  any  respect  to  match  with  Cham- 
pagnj  and  Bichardot,  who  are  doctors  in  that  faculty/'^ 

It  might  perhaps  prove  a  matter  of  indifference  to  Elizabeth 
and  to  England,  when  the  Queen  should  be  a  state-prisoner 
in  Spain  and  the  Inquisition  quietly  established  in  her  king- 
dom, whether  the  world  should  admit  or  not,  in  case  of  his 
decease,  the  superiority  of  Dr.  Dale's  logic  and  Latin  to  those 
of  his  antagonists.  And  even  if  mankind  conceded  the  best 
of  the  argument  to  the  English  diplomatists,  that  diplomacy 
might  seem  worthless  which  could  be  blind  to  the  colossal 
falsehoods  growing  daily  before  its  eyes.  Had  the  commis- 
sioners 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 
February,  to  he  made  fools  of  until  July,  but  would,  on  their  , 
knees,  have  implored  their  royal  mistress  to  awake  from  her 
fatal  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 
surrounded  them,  and  to  obtain  one  clear  glimpse  of  the 
destruction  so  steadily  advancing  upon  England. 

For  ike  famous  bi^  of  Sixtus  Y .  had  now  been  fulminated. 
Elizabeth  had  been  again  denounced  as  a  bastard  and  usurper, 
and  her  kingdom  had  been  solemnly  conferred  upon  Philip, 
with  title  of  defender  of  the  Christian  &ith,  to  have  and  to 
hold  as  tributary  and  feudatory  of  Bome.  The  so-called 
Queen  had  usurped  the  crown  contrary  to  the  ancient  treaties 
between  the  apostolic  stool  aiKl  the  kingdom  of  England, 
which  country,  on  its  reconciliation  with  the  head  of  the  church 
aflar  the  death  of  St.  Thomas  of  Canterbury,  had  recognised 
the  necessity  of  the  Pope's  consent  in  the  succession  to  its 
throne  ;  she  had  deserved  chastisement  for  the  terrible  tortures 
inflicted  by  her  upon  English  Catholics  and  God's  own  saints ; 

>  Dale  to  Burgbley,!!  Jane,  1688.    (a  P.  OfSce  Ma) 


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400  ^*HS  UNITED  NBTHEBLANDS.  •  Chap.  XVllI 

and  it  was  declared  an  act  of  virtuei  to  be  repaid  with  plenary- 
indulgence  and  forgiveness  of  all  sins,  to  lay  violent  bands  on 
the  usurper,  and  deliver  her  into  the  hands  of  the  Catholic 
party.  And  of  the  holy  league  against  the  usurper,  Philip 
was  appointed  the  head,  and  Alexander  of  Parma  chief  com- 
mander. This  document  was  published  in  large  numbers  in 
Antwerp  in  the  English  tongue.^ 

The  pamphlet  of  Dr.  Allen,  just  named  Cardinal,  was  also 
translated  in  the  same  city,  under  the  direction  of  the  Duke 
of  Parma,  in  order  to  be  distributed  throughout  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  every  crime  and  vice 
which  can  pollute  humanity,  and  was  filled  with  foul  details 
unfit  for  the  public  eye  in  these  more  decent  days.^ 

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  cat^orical 
explanation  on  the  subject  from  Alexander  himself :  as  if  an 
explanation  were  possible,  as  if  the  designs  of  Bixtus,  Philip, 
and  Alexander,  could  any  longer  be  doubted,  and  as  if  the  Duke 
were  more  likely  now  than  before  to  make  a  succinct  state- 
ment 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  understand  that  the  prepa- 
rations which  have  so  long  been  making,  and  which  now  are 
consummated,  both  in .  Spain  and  the  Low  Countries,  are  pur- 
posely to  be  employed  against  us  and  our  country ;  finding 
that,  for  the  furtherance  of  these  exploits,  there  is  leady  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  cardinal  at 
Borne ;  as  also  a  bull  of  the  Pope,  whereof  we  send  you  a 

*  Meteren,  xv.  270,  Mq,  I  (Arch,  de  Sim.  MS.) 

•  Parma  to  Philip  II.  21  Jane.  1688.  |       *  Lingard,  viiL  442,  Mf. 


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158B.  THE  PAPAL  BULL  AND  DB.  ALLAITS  PAHPHLET.  401 

copy,  both  verjr  lately  brought  into  those  Low  Countries,  the 
one  whereof  is  already  printed  at  Antwerp,  in  a  great  multitude, 
in  the  English  tongue,  and  the  other  ordered  to  be  printed, 
only  to  stir  up  our  subjects,  contrary  to  the  laws  of  God  and 
their  allegiance,  to  join  with  such  foreign  purposes  as  are  pre- 
pared 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  peace  with  them  that, 
under  colour  of  treaty,  arm  themselves  with  all  the  power  they 
can  to  a  bloody  war/'  ^ 

Accordingly  the  Queen  commanded  Dr.  Dale,  as  one  of  the 
commissioners,  to  proceed  forthwith  to  the  Duke,  in  order  to 
obtain  explanations  as  to  hi^  contemplated  conquest  of  her 
realm,  and  as  to  his  share  in  the  publication  of  the  bull  and 
pamphlet,  and  to  ^^  require  him,  as  he  would  be  accounted  a 
prince  of  honour,  to  let  her  plainly  tmderstand  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,  in  case  he  avowed  the  publications  and  the 
belligerent  intentions  suspected,  to  demand  instant  safe-conduct 
to  England  for  her  commisisioners,  who  would,  of  course,  in- 
stantly 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  bootless  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, 
difficult  to  be  mistaken ;  reported  10,000  veteran  Spaniards, 


1  Qoeen  to  CommisiionerSi  1!^ 

1588.    (S.  P.  Office  M3.    •  Ibid.)*  '"*^ 

VOL.  n. — 2  D 


u 


>  Dale  to  Borghle^,  .  Jolj,  1588i 
(a  P.  Offioo  Ma)  " 


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402 


THE  UNITED  NBTHBELANDS. 


Chap.  XVIIL 


to  which  force  Stanley's  regiment  was  united  ;  6000  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  he  mnct 
impressed  with  what  he  heard  as  to  the  magnitude  of  the 
naval  preparations  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  soldier's  expectation  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  mo- 
mentous questions  entrusted  to  him,  he,  at  least,  thought  of  a 
choice  passage  in  ^  The  Mneid/  so  very  apt  to  the  circumstances, 
as  almost  to  console  him  for  the  ^^  pangs  of  his  cholic''  and 
the  terrors  of  the  approaching  invasion. 

"I  have  written  two  or  three  verses  out  of  Virgil  for  the 
Queen  to  read,"  said  he,  "which  I  pray  your  Lordship  to 
present  unto  her.  Ood  grant  her  to  weigh  them.  If  your 
Lordship  do  read  the  whole  discourse  of  Virgil  in  that  place, 
it  will  make  your  heart  melt.  Observe  the  report  of  the  am- 
bassadors 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  miseries  of  the  country,  the  reasons  of  Drances 
that  spake  against  them  which  would  have  war,  the  violent 
persuasions  of  Tiimus  to  war;  and  note,  I  pray  you,  one  word, 
'  nee  te  ulliua  violerdiafrahgai*  ^  What  a  lecture  could  I  make 
with  Mr.  Cecil  upon  that  passage  in  Virgil  I"* 

The  most  important  point  for  the  reader  to  remark  is  the 
date  of  this  letter.    It  was  received  in  the  very  last  days  of 


^  Dale  to  WalslDgfaam,  dato  last 
dted.    (S.  P.  Office  Ma) 

*  The  reader  who  will  take  the 
trouble  to  refer  to  the  .£neid,  lib.  xi. 
may  amuse  himself  bj  obeerviog  that 
the  aptoess  of  the  aualogy  was  hj  no 


means  so  wonderful  as  it  seemed  to 
Dr.  Dale,  "««;  U  uOmu  viokntia  vnr- 

CAT  (FRANGAtX  Ac.y  364. 

»  Dale  to  Buiighlej,  -  July,  1588. 
(S.  P.  Office  MS.) 


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1588.  DALE  SENT  TO  ASK  EXPLANATIONa  403 

the  month  of  July.  Let  him  observe— as.  he  will  soon  have 
occasion  to  do— the  events  which  were  occurring  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  Bicalde,  would  be  pressing  as 
much  on  their  attention  as  the  eloquence  of  Diomede  or  the 
wrath  of  Tumus.  Yet  it  may  be  doubted  whether  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  whose  hands  grave 
matters  of  peace  and  war  were  entrusted  in  what  seemed  the 
day  of  England's  doom. 

*^  What  a  lecture  I  could  make  with  Mr.  Cecil  on  tho 
subject ! "  An  English  ambassador,  at  the  court  of  Philip  II/s 
viceroy,  could  indulge  himself  in  imaginary  prelections  on  the 
iEneid,  in  the  last  days  of  July,  of  the  year  of  our  Lord  1588  ! 

The  Doctor,  however — to  do  him  justice — ^had  put  the  ques- 
tions categorically  to  his  Highness  as  he  had  been  instructed 
-  July,      to  do.     Ho  went  to  Bruges  so  mysteriously,  that  no 

1588.  living  man,  that  side  the  sea,  save  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 

lo 

the  Duke  at  Bruges.  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 
forth  byafugitivefromEngland,  who  calleth  himself  acardinaV^ 

Upon  this  the  Duke  began  diligently  to  listen. 

"This  book,''  resumed  Dale,  "is  an  admonition  to  the 
nobility  and  people  of  England  and  Ireland  touching  the 
execution  of  the  sentence  of  the  Pope  against  the  Queen, 
which  the  King  Catholic  hath  entrusted  to  your  Highness  as 


1  Dale  to  Btuighlej,  ICS.  last  cited.  *  Ibid.  *  Ibid. 


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404  "^^^  UIHTED  NETHEBLAKDa  Chap.  XVIU. 

chief  of  the  enterprise.  There  is  also  a  bull  of  the  Pope 
declaring  my  sovereign  mistress  ill^timate  and  an  usurper^ 
with  other  matters  too  odious  for  any  prince  or  gentleman  to 
name  or  hear.  In  this  bull  the  Pope  saith  that  he  hath  dealt 
with  the  most  Catholic  King  to  employ  all  the  means  in  his 
power  to  the  deprivation  and  deposition  of  my  sovereign,  and 
doth  charge  her  subjects  to  assist  the  army  appointed  by  the 
King  Catholic  for  that  purpose,  under  the  conduct  of  your 
Highness.  Therefore  her  Majesty  would  be  satisfied  from  your 
Highness  in  that  point,  ^id  will  take  satisfaction  of  none  other ; 
not  doubting  but  that  as  you  are  a  prince  of  word  and  credit, 
you  will  deal  plainly  with  her  Majesty.  Whatsoever  it  may 
be,  her  Majesty  will  not  take  it  amiss  against  your  Highness, 
so  she  may  only  be  informed  by  you  of  the  truth.  Wherefore 
I  do  require  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  opinion  her 
Majesty  hath  of  my  sincerity,  which  I  should  be  glad  always 
to  maintain.  As  to  the  book  to  which  you  refer,  I  have  never 
read  it,  nor  seen  it,  nor  do  I  take  heed  of  it.  It  may  well  bo 
that  her  Majesty,  whom  it  concemeth,  should  take  notice  of 
it ;  but,  for  my  part,  I  have  nought  to  do  with  it,  nor  can  I 
prevent  men  from  writing  or  printing  at  their  pleasure.  I 
am  at  the  commandment  of  my  master  only." ' 

As  Alexander  made  no  ref^nce  to  the  Pope's  bull.  Dr. 
Dale  observed,  that  if  a  war  had  been,  of  piupose,  undertaken 
at  the  instance  of  the  Pope,  all  this  n^tiation  had  been  in 
vain,  and  her  Majesty  would  be  obliged  to  withdraw  her  com- 
missioners, not  doubting  that  they  would  receive  safe-conduct 
as  occasion  should  require. 

"Yea,  God  forbid  else,"  replied  Alexander  ;  *^and  further, 
I  know  nothing  of  any  bull  of  the  Pope,  nor  do  I  care  for  any, 
nor  do  I  undertake  anything  for  him.  But  as  for  any  mis- 
understanding (mal  entendu)  between  my  master  and  her 
Majesty,   I  must,  as  a  soldier,  act  at  the  command  of  my 

I  ]>ale  to  Bnrghle^,  Ha  last  cited.  *  Ibid.    (Ma  lastdted.) 


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1688.  PARMA  DENIES  ALL  KNOWLEDGE  OF  EITHER.  405 

sovereign.  For  my  part,  I  have  always  had  such  respect  for 
her  Majesty,  being  so  noble  a  Queen,  as  that  I  would  never 
hearken  to  anything  that  might  be  reproachful  to  her.  After 
my  master,  I  would  do  most  to  serve  your  Queen,  and  I  hope 
she  will  take  my  word  for  her  satisfaction  on  that  point.  And 
for  avoiding  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  Duke,  "  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  harm  to  himself,  being  far  enough  off  in 
Spain,  while,  if  the  battle  be  lost  on  your  side,  you  may  lose 
kingdom  and  all."  ^ 

"By  God's  sufferance,"  rejoined  the  Doctor,  "her  Majesty 
is  not  without  means  to  defend  her  crown,  that  haih  descended 
to  her  from  so  long  a  succession  of  ancestors.  Moreover  your 
Highness  knows  very  well  tiiat  one  battle  cannot  conquer  a 
kingdom  in  another  country." 

"  WeU,"  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  mo 
a  pleasure  by  sending  it  to  me."^ 

Dr.  Valentine  Dale  was  not  the  man  to  resist  the  tempta- 
tion to  make  a  protocol,  and  promised  one  for  the  next  day. 

"I  am  charged  only  to  give  your  Highness  satisfaction," 
he  said,  "as  to  her  Majesty's  sincere  intentions,  which  have 
abready  been  published  to  the  world  in  English,  French,  and 
Italian,  in  the  hope  that  you  may  also  satisfy  ihe  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-morrow  morning,  and  with  safe-convoy,  as  I  had  in 
coining." 

After  the  envoy  had  taken  leave,  the  Duke  summoned 
Andrea  de  Loo,  and  related  to  him  the  conversation  which  had 

»  Bale  to  Burghley.    (MS.  last  cited.)  •  n»id. 


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406 


THE  UNITED  NETHERLANDa 


Chap.  XVUL 


taken  place.  He  then,  in  the  presence  of  that  personage^ 
again  declared  upon  his  honour  and  with  very  constant  affirma- 
tions, that  he  had  never  seen  nor  heard  of  (he  hook — the  ^Adino- 
nition'  by  Cardinal  Allen — and  that  he  knew  nothing  of  any 
bull,  and  had  no  r^rd  to  it.^ 

The  plausible  Andrew  accompanied  the  Doctor  to  his  lodg- 
ings, 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  agreement,  brought  a 
most  able  protocol  of  demands  in  the  name  of  all  the  commis- 
sioners of  her  Majesty ;  *  which  able  protocol  the  Duke  did , 
not  at  that  moment  read,  which  he  assuredly  never  read  sub- 
sequently, and  which  no  human  soul  ever  read  afterwards. 
Let  the  dust  lie  upon  it,  and  upon  all  the  vast  heaps  of  protocols 
raised  mountains  high  during  the  spring  wid  summer  of  1588. 

"Dr.  Dale  has  been  with  me  two  or  three  times,"  said 
Parma,  in  giving  his  account  of  these  interviews  to  Philip. 
"  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  Allen's  book,  and  I  told  him  that  I 
didn't  understand  a  word  of  English,  and  knew  nothing  what- 
ever of  the  matter."  * 

It  has  been  already  seen  that  the  Duke  had  declared^  ou 
his  word  of  honour,  that  he  had  never  heard  of  the  £unous 
pamphlet.  Yet  at  that  very  moment  letters  were  lying  in.  his 
cabinet,  received  more  than  a  fortnight  before  from  Philip,  in 
which  that  monarch  thanJced  Alexander  for  having  had  the 
Cardinal 8  hook  trandated  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  pampUet — that 
mischief  was  brewing  against  England.     The  sagacious  ihan^ 


1  Dale    to     Boi'gfaley.      MS.     last 
cited.  "  Ibid- 

» Farma   to  Pbilip,  21    July,  1588. 


(Areh.  de  Sim.  MS.) 

^  Philip  II.  to  Panna,  21  June^  If^a 
(Arch,  de  Sim.  Ma) 


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1588.  CROFT  BELIEVES  TO  THE  LAST  IN  ALEXANDER.  407 

having  seen  largo  bodies  of  Spaniards  and  Walloons  making 
such  demonstrations  of  eagerness  to  be  led  against  his  countrj'^ 
and  '^  professing  it  as  openly  as  if  they  were  going  to  a  fair  or 
market/'  while  even  Alexander  himself  conld  - "  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  judi- 
cious, for  he  valued  himself  on  taking  a  sound,  temperate,  and 
conciliatory  view  of  affairs.  He  was  not  the  man.  to  offend  a 
magnanimous  neighbour — ^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  mark  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  princes'  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  themselves  at  home,  than  with  danger  to  invade 
their  neighbours."  * 

Perhaps  the  mariners  of  England — at  that  very  instant 
exchanging  broadsides  off  the  coast  of  Devon  and  Dorset  with 
the  Spanish  Armada,  and  doing  their  best  to  protect  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  England  in  that  supreme 
hoar  that  there  were  such  men  as  Howard  and  Drake,  and 
Winter  and  Frobisher,  and  a  whole  people  with  hearts  of  oak 
to  defend  her,  while  bungling  diplomatists  and  credulous 
dotards  were  doing  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  cause  from 
which  such  great  events  were  springing — to  cast  a  glance  ^t  the 
internal  politics  of  the  States  most  involved  in  Philip's  meshes. 

IS  I  SSJnly 

>  Dale  to  Bnrgbley,  -  July,    1688.  j      «  Croft   to  Burgliler, ,  1688. 

(S.  P.  Office  MS.)  I  (a  P.  Office  MS.)  ^"** 


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THE  UNITED  NETHERLANPa  Chap.  XVIIL 

Certainly,  if  there  had  ever  been  a  time  when  the  new  com- 
monwealth of  the  Netherlands  should  be  both  united  in  itself 
and  on  thoroughly  friendly  terms  with  England,  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  against  Holland  revengeful.  It  was  at  least 
possible  that  Philip  meant  to  undertake  the  conquest  of  Ei^- 
land,  and  to  undertake  it  as  a  stepping-stone  to  the  conquest 
of  Holland.  Both  the  kingdom  and  the  republic  should  have 
been  alert,  armed,  full  of  suspicion  towards  the  conmion  foe, 
full  of  confidence  in  each  other.  What  decisive  blows  might 
have  been  struck  against  Parma  in  the  Netherlands,  when  his 
troops  were  starving,  sickly,  and  mutinous,  if  the  Hollanders 
and  Englishmen  had  been  united  under  one  chieftain,  and 
thoroughly  convinced  of  the  impossibility  of  peace  !  Could 
the  English  and  Dutch  statesmen  of  that  day  have  read  all 
the  secrets  of  their  great  enemy's  heart,  as  it  is  our  privil^e 
at  this  hour  to  do,  they  would  have  known  that  in  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  Walsingham,  as  well  as  to  Paul  Buys  and  Bameveld, 
peace  with  Spain  seemed  an  idle  vision.  It  was  unfortunate 
that  they  were  overruled  by  Queen  Elizabeth  and  Burghley, 
who  still  clung  to  that  delusion ;  it  was  still  more  disastrous 
that  the  intrigues  of  Leicester  had  done  so  much  to  paralyse 
the  republic ;  it  was  almost  fatal  that  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  arma- 
ments from  Spain,  it  would  have  been  possible  by  a  combined 
movement  to  destroy  his  whole  plan,  to  liberate  all  the  Nether- 
lands, 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 
armistices,  to  give  profusely  to  the  enemy  that  which  he  was 


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1588.  DANGEROUS  DISCOBD  IN  NORTH  HOLLAND.  409 

most  in  need  of — time.  Meanwhile  the  Hollanders  and  Eng- 
lish conld  qnarrel  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.  The  council  of  state,  mainly  composed  of  Leicester's 
creatures,  whose  commissions  would  soon  expire  by  their  own 
limitation,  could  offer  but  a  feeble  resistance  to  such  deter- 
mined individuals  as  Maurice,  Buys,  and  Bameveld.  The 
party  made  rapid  progress.  On  the  other  hand,  the  English 
Leicestrians  did  their  best  to  foment  discord  in  the^  Provinces. 
Sonoy  was  sustained  in  his  rebellion  in  North  Holland,  not 
only  by  the  Earl's  partizans,  but  by  Elizabeth  herself.  Her 
rebukes  to  Maurice,  when  Maurice  was  pursuing  the  only 
course  which  seemed  to  him  consistent  with  honour  and  sound 
policy,  were  sharper  than  a  sword.  Well  might  Duplessis 
Momay  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  Willoughby, 
conimander-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  moment  when  Philip  and  Parma 
were  bending  all  their  energies  to  crush  England  and  Holland 
at  once. 

Indeed,  the  interr^num  between  the  departure  of  Leicester 
and  his  abdication  was  diligently  employed  by  his  more  reck- 
less partizans  to  defeat  and  destroy  the  authority  of  the  States. 
By  prolonging  the  interval,  it  was  hoped  that  no  government 
woidd  be  possible  except  the  arbitrary  rule  of  the  Earl,  or  of 
a  successor  with  similar  views :  for  a  republic — a  free  com- 
monwealth— ^was  thought  an  absurdity.    To  entrust  supreme 


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410 


THE  UNITED  KETHEBLANDa 


Chap.  XVUX 


power  to  advocates^  merchants^  and  mechanics,  seemed  as 
hopeless  as  it  was  vulgar.  Willoughby,  much  devoted  to 
Leicester  and  much  detesting  Bameveld,  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,  Capt£un 
Wingfield,  commanded  in  Q^rtruydenberg.  There  were  re- 
bellious demonstrations  in  Naarden,  and  Willoughby  went  to 
Naarden.  The  garrison  was  troublesome,  but  most  of  the 
magistrates  were  firm.  So  Willoughby  supped  with  the  burgo- 
masters, and  foimd  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  5^  fat  militia 
captain''  of  the  place,  one  Soyssons,  on  the  other  hand, 
privately  informed  Willoughby  that  Maurice  and  Bamevdd 
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 
conmiander  did  his  best  to  strengthen  the  English  party  in 
their  rebellion  against  the  States. 

"  But  how  if  they  make  war  upon  us  ?"  asked  the  Leioes- 
trians. 

"  It  is  very  likely,"  replied  Willoughby,  "  that  if  they  use 
violence  you  will  have  her  Majesty's  assistance,  and  then  you 
who  continue  constant  to  the  end  will  be  rewarded  accord- 
ingly. Moreover,  who  would  not  rather  be  a  horse-keeper  to 
her  Majesty,  than  a  captain  to  Bameveld  or  Buys  ?"  * 


18     , 

I  Willoughby  to ,  —  Fob.  1588. 

(S.  P.  Oflace  MS.) 

>  Ibid.  "  It  was  likewise  said  openlj 
to  Count  Maurice  at  bis  table,  *Sir, 
if  the  Prinoe  yoor  &ther  had  been 
offered  the  third  part  by  the  enemy 
which  yon  haye  been,  he  would  have 
accepted  it ;  and  it  is  not  a  good  occa- 
sion tbat  you  may  article  what  you 


will,  and  bare  whatever  you  may 
demand.  Soyssons,  a  &t  captain  of 
Naarden,  fed  for*tl]^ir  tooth,  confessed 
to  me  Ihat  .they  had .  practised  with 
the  enemy.  Thus  you  may  see  their 
dispoeitionB ;  much  ado  had  I  to  peat* 
Boade  the  burgomasters  of  the  honour- 
able course  her  Migestj  would  hold, 
and  no  less  to  assure  the  unfortunate 
caption,  whose  head  I  fear  will  pay 


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1688.  L^CESTBR'S  RESIGNATION  ARRIVES.  411 

When  at  last  the  resignation  of  Leicester — presented  to  the 
States  by  Kill^rew  on  the  31st  March  ^ — seemed  to  promise 
comparative  repose  to  the  republic,  the  vexation  of  the  Lei- 
cestrians  was  intense.  Their  efforts  to  effect  a  dissolution  of 
the  government  had  been  rendered  unsuccessful,  when  success 
seemed  within  their  grasp.  ^^  Albeit  what  is  once  executed 
cannot  be  prevented/' said  Captain  Champemoun;  ^^  yet 'tis 
thought  certain  that  if  the  resignation  of  Lord  Leicester's 
commission  had  been  deferred  yet  some  little  time,  the  whole 
country  and  towns  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,  discontent,  mutiny 
of  garrisons,  and  the  like,  that  it  was  most  necessary  for  the 
good  success  of  their  afiGurs  that  the  power  of  the  States 
should  be  abolished,  and  the  whole  government  of  his  Excel- 
lency erected.  As  these  matters  were  busily  working  into  the 
likelihood  of  some  good  effect,  carne  the  resignation  of  his  Excel- 
lency's commission  and  authority,  which  so  dashed  the  pro- 
ceedings 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  their  adherents,  before  they  had 
my  Lord's  resignation,  were  much  perplexed  what  course  to 
tdce,  but  now  begin  to  hoist  their  heads."  The  excellent 
Leicestrian  entertained  hopes,  however,  that  mutiny  and  in- 
trigue might  still  carry  the  day.  He  had  seen  the  fat  militia- 
man of  Naarden  and  other  captains,  and  hoped  much  mischief 
from  their  schemes.  "The  chief  mutineers  of  Gertruyden- 
berg,"  he  said,  "maybe  wrought  to  send  tmto  the  States, 
that  if  they  do  not  procure  them  some  English  governor,  they 
will  compound  with  the  enemy,  whereon  the  States  shall  he 


for  all  Pnrther,  I  said  it  was  euro 
that  the  Statea-Qeoeral,  the  oonncil 
of  state,  vrhidi  1  was  somewhat  ao- 
qoainted  .with,  nor  the  two  oounts 
who  had  feasted  us  and  drank  the 
health  of  his  Ezcellencj,  meant  bat 
all  well  to  us.'    'Well,'  said  the  old 


bm^gomaster,  'but  that  I  hear  jovl  say 
so,  I  would  scaroelj  belieye  it,  for 
mine  ears  have  often  borne  witness  to 
the  contrary.' "    4c.  '   Willoughby    to 

'  7^  ^^^^'    (^'  ^'  ^®^  ^^^ 

'  Bor,  IIL  224.    "Wagenaar,  viiL  265. 


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412 


THE  UinTED  NETHERLANDS. 


Chap.  XVUL 


driven  to  request  her  Majesty  to  accept  the  place^  themselves 
entertaining  the  garrison.  I  know  certain  captains  discon- 
tented with  the  States  for  arrears  of  pay^  who  will  contrive  to 
get  into  Naarden  with  their  companies^  with  the  States'  con- 
sent, who,  once  entered,  will  keep  the  place  for  their  satis- 
faction, pay  theii"  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  intri^es  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  subvert  the  authority  of 
Mamice,  was  not  a  friendly  or  honourable  course  of  action 
cither  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  Champemoun  in  every  dty, 
and  with  such  diplomatists  at  Ostend  as  Croft  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  coimtries  ? 

Lord  Willoughby,  too,  was  extremely  dissatisfied  with  his 
own  position.  Ho  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  de- 
clared 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  conferred  on  him.  He  preferred 
to  show  his  devotion  "in  a  b^garly  state,  than  in  a  formal 
show."    Ho  considered  it  beneath  her  Majesty's  dignity  that 


^  Arthur  Champemoun  to  Walsing« 

ham,  —  April,   1588.  .  (S.    P.   Office 

MS.)     He    commanded    an    English 
company  in  Utrecht 
'  "I  congratulate  you,"  wrote  Philip 


to  Famese^  "upon  the  disputes  be* 
tween  the  rebels  and  the  English,  and 
among  themselTes.  I  trust  yon  will 
get  good  fruit  from  their  quanrek" 
PhiUp  to  Panna,  13  May,  1588.  (Aich. 
de  Sim.  MS.) 


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i588.  ENMITY  OF  WILLOUGHBT  AND  MAURICE.  413 

he  should  act  in  the  field  under  the  States,  but  his  instruc- 
tions forbade  his  acceptance  of  any  office  from  that  body  but 
that  of  general  in  their  service.  He  was  very  discontented, 
and  more  anxious  than  ever  to  bo  rid  of  his  functions.  With- 
out 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  sub- 
ject 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  Mau- 
rice. That  young  Prince,  bold,  enterprising,  and  determined, 
as  he  was,  did  not  ostensibly  meddle  with  political  affitirs 
more  than  became  his  years  ;  but  he  accepted  the  counsels  of 
the  able  statesmen  in  whom  his  father  had  trusted.  Biding, 
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  Bameveld,  Buys,  and  Hohenlo.*  Super- 
ficial observers  like  George  Gilpin  r^arded  him  as  a  cipher ; 
others,  like  Bobert  Cecil,  thought  him  an  unmannerly  school- 
boy ;  but  Willoughby,  although  considering  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  repre- 
sented war.  They  accused  of  deep  designs  against  the  liber- 
ties 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 

*  Waicmghby  to   Burghlej,  ^^  |       •  GUpin   to   WaWngham,    -   Teh 


1588.    (a  P.  Office  Ma)  |  1588.    (a  P.  Offlc?  Ma) 


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414  THE  UNITED  NETHERLANDS.  'Chap.  XVIIL 

for  a  long  time  at  the  Hague.  He  complained  that  Count 
Maurice,  green  of  years,  and  seconded  by  greener  counsellors, 
was  meditating  the  dissolution  of  the  state-council,  the  appoint- 
ment 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  turbu- 
lent 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.  Maurico 
was  ambitious  enough,  perhaps,  but  his  ambition  ran  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."^ 

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. 

The  commander  of  her  Majesty's  forces  was  not  satisfied 
with  the  States,  nor  their  generals,  nor  their  politicians. 
"  Affairs  are  going  a  malo  inpejus^"  he  said.  "  They  embrace 
their  liberty  as  apes  their  young.  To  this  end  are  Counts 
HoUock  and  Maurice  set  upon  the  stage  to  entertain  the 
popular  sort.  Her  Majesty  and  my  Lord  of  Leicester  aro 
not  forgotten.  The  Counts  are  in  Holland,  especially  Hol- 
lock,  for  the  other  is  but  the  cipher.  And  yet  I  can  assure 
you  Maurice  hcUh  wit  and  spirit  too  muck  for  his  time''^ 


'  Willoughby  to  Biui^ej,  —  Jan. 
1588.    (S.  P.  Office  MS.)  "ibid. 


>  Same  to  same,  -  Jan.  1588.    CSb 
P.  Office  MS.) 


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1588.  WILLOTTGHBY'S  DARK  PICTURE  OP  AFFAIRa  415 

As  the  troubles  of  the  interregnum  increased  Willoughby 
was  more  dissatisfied  than  ever  with  the  miserable  condition 
of  the  Provinces,  but  chose  to  ascribe  it  to  the  machinations 
of  the  States'  party,  rather  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 
bo  said,  from  our  slackness  and  coldness  to  entertain  our 
friends.  The  provident  and  wiser  sort — weighing  what  a 
slender  ground  the  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  departure,  gave  him 
far  looking  on,  to  see  him  play  his  part  on  the  stage."  ^ 

WiUoughby's  spleen  caused  him  to  mix  his  metaphors 
more  recklessly  than  strict  taste  would  warrant,  but  his  vio- 
lent expressions  painted  the  relative  situation  of  parties  more 
vividly  than  could  be  done  by  a  calm  disquisition.  Maurice 
thus  playing  his  part  upon  the  stage — as  the  general  pro- 
ceeded 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  great  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  fashion  is,  never  started  after.  The  variable 
democracy,  embracing  novelty,  began  to  applaud  their  pros- 
perity ;  the  base  and  lewdest  sorts  of  men,  to  whom  there 
is  nothing  more  agreeable  than  change  of  estates,  is  a  better 
monturo  to  degrees  than  their  merit,  took  present  hold 
thereof.  Hereby  Paul  Buys,  Barneveld,  and  divers  others, 
who  were  before  mantled  with  a  tolerable  affection,  though 
seasoned  with  a  poisoned  intention,  caught  the  occasion,  and 
made  themselves  the  Beelzebubs  of  all  these  mischiefs,  and, 
for  want  of  better  angels,  spared  not  to  let  fly  our  golden- 

*  Waiaughby  to  Walaingham,  -—^  1588.    S,  P.  Office  M& 


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416  THB  UNITBD  NETHBRLANDa  Chap.  XVIU. 

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  serve  their 
purpose.  As  the  breach  is  safely  saltable  where  no  defence 
is  inade,  so  they,  finding  no  head,  but  those  scattered  amas 
that  were  disavowed,  drew  the  sword  with  Peter,  and  gave 
pardon  with  the  Pope,  as  you  shall  plainly  perceive  by  the 
proceedings  at  Horn.  Thus  their  force,  fair  words,  or  cor- 
ruption, prevailing  everywhere,  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  boxses,  rash 
wilded  chariots,  bogs,  Beelzebubs,  and  golden- winged  angels^ 
one  truth  was  distinctly  audible  ;  that  Beelzebub,  in  the  shape 
of  Bameveld,  had  been  getting  the  upper  hand  in  the  Nether- 
lands, and  that  the  Lecestrians  were  at  a  disadvantage.  In 
truth  those  partisans  were  becoming  extremely  impatient. 
Finding  themselves  deserted  by  their  great  protector,  they 
naturally  turned  their  eyes  towards  Spain,  and  were  now 
threatening  to  sell  tbemselves  to  Philip.  The  Earl,  at  his 
departure,  had  given  them  piivately  much  encouragement. 
But  month  after  month  had  passed  by  while  they  were  wait- 
ing in  vain  for  comfort.  At  last  the  "best" — ^that  is  to  say, 
the  unhappy  Leicestrians— came  to  Willoughby,  asking  his 
advice  in  their  "  declining  and  desperate  cause." 

"  Well  nigh  a  month  longer,"  said  that  general,  "  I  nou- 
rished them  with  compliments,  and  assured  them  that  my 
Lord  of  Leicester  would  take  care  of  them."^  The  diet  was 
not  fattening.  So  they  began  to  grumble  more  loudly  than 
ever,  and  complained  with  great  bitterness  of  the  misCTable 
condition  in  which  they  had  been  left  by  the  Earl,  and  ex- 
pressed their  fears  lest  the  Queen  likewise  meant  to  abandon 
them.  They  protested  that  their  poverty,  their  powerful  foes, 
and  their  slow  friends,  would  compel  them  either  to  make  their 
peace  with  the  States'  party,  or  "  compound  with  the  enemy." 

*  Willoughby  to  Walsinghlttn,  Ma  last  cited.  ■  Ibid. 


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1588.  HATRED  BETWEEN  STATES  AND  LEICESTBIANa  417 

It  would  have  seemed  that  real  patriots,  tinder  such  circum- 
stanoes,  would  hardly  ^esitate  in  their  choice,  and  would 
sooner  accept  the  dominion  of  "Beelzebub/*  or  even  Paul 
Buys,  than  that  of  Philip  II.  But  the  Leicestrians  of  Utrecht 
and  Ffiesland — ^patriots  as  they  were— hated  Holland  worse 
than  they  hated  the  Inquisition.  Willoughby  encouraged 
ihem  in  that  hatred.  He  assured  him  of  her  Majesty's 
affection  for  them,  complained  of  the  factious  proceedings  of 
the  States,  and  alluded  to  the  unfavourable:  state  of  th^ 
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 
seOTied  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  dishonourable  loss  of  their  liberties ;  and  that, 
after  having  wound  them  in,  the  Hollanders  would  raake  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  pre- 
sented by  the  politics  of  Holland  and  England  in  the  vdnter 
and  spring  of  1588. 

Young  Maurice  was  placed  in  a  very  painful  position.  He 
liked  not  to  be  "  strangled  in  the  great  Queen's  embrace ; " 
but  he  felt  most  keenly  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,  although  Sonoy  was  encouraged  by  Elizabeth,  or  to 
fly  in  the  face  of  Bameveld,  although  Bameveld  was  detested 
by  licicester.  So  with  much  firmness  and  courtesy,  notwith- 
standing the  extravagant  pictures  painted  by  Willoughby, 

*  Willoughbj  to  Walflingham,  MS.  last  cited 
VOL.  IL— 2  E 


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418 


THB  UNITED  NETHERLANDS. 


Chap.  XVIII 


he  suppressed  mutiny  in  Holland,  while  avowing  the  most 
chivalrous  attachment  to  the  sovereign  of  England. 

Her  Majesty  expressed  her  surprise  and  her  discontent,  that, 
notwithstanding  his  expressions  of  devotion  to  herself,  he 
should  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  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  de- 
fended himself  in  a  manly  letter  to  the  privy  council  against 
the  censures  of  EUzabeth.^  He  avowed  his  displeasure,  that, 
within  his  own  jurisdiction,  Sonoy  should  give  a  special  oath 
of  obedience  to  Leicester ;  a  tSiing  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  jGrom  violence  towards 
him,  out  of  reverence  to  the  Queen,  under  whose  sacred  name 
he  sheltered  himself.  Sonoy  had  not  desisted,  but  had  esta- 
blished 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  himdred 
thousand  crowns.    Ho  had  declared  that  he  would  crush  Hol- 


'  Qaeen    to    Maorico    of    Nassau, 
-  Feb.  1688.    {Q,  P.  OflElce  MS.) 


*  Maurice  of  Nassau  to  Privy  Coun- 
cil, -  March,  1588.    (S,  P.  Office  M&) 


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1588.  MAURICE'S  ANSWER  TO  THE  QUEEN'S  CHARGES.        419 

land  like  a  glass  beneatli  his  feet.  Having  nothing  but  reli- 
gion in  his  mouthy  and  protecting  himself  with  the  Queen's 
name,  he  had  been  exciting  all  the  cities  of  North  Holland  to 
rebellion,  and  bringing  the  poor  people  to  destructiop.  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  impossible  to 
comply.  It  was  necessary  to  prevent  him  from  inundating 
the  land  and  destroying  the  estates  of  the  country  gentlemen 
and  the  peasants.  "This,  gentlemen,"  said  Maurice,  "is  the 
plain  truth ;  nor  do  I  believe  that  you  will  sustaiA  against  me 
a  man  who  was  under  such  vast  obligations  to  my  lat^  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 
win  not,  I  am  sure,  permit  a  simple  captain^  by  his  insubor- 
dination, to  cause  such  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  ot  illustrious  and  noble  race,  or 
who  by  their  great  virtue  have  been  elef  ated  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  Mjyesty,  and  our  country."  ^ 

Certainly  no  man  had  a  better  right  to  speak  with  con- 
sciousness 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  Iheir 
country.  But  Elizabeth  continued  to  threaten  the  States^ 
General,  through  the  mouth  of  Willoughby,  with  the  losa  of 

1  Maurice  of  Kassau  to  Privy  Councfl,  MS.  last  cited. 


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420 


THE  UNITED  NETHKRLANDa 


Chap.  XVHL 


her  protection,  if  they  should  continue  thus  to  requite  her 
favours  with  ingratitude  and  insubordination :  ^  and  Maurice 
once  more  respectfully  but  firmly  replied  that  Sonoy's  re- 
bellion 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  re- 
ceived in  the  Netherlands— she  had  now  ordered  Councillor 
KiUigrew  to  communicate  the  fact  of  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  surrender  Medenblik,  and  to  fulfil  all  their 
orders  with  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  postpone  his  Journey.  It  never  officially  reached  the  States- 
General  until  the  31st  of  March,  so  that  this  most  dangerous 
crbis  was  protracted  nearly  five  months  long— certainly  without 
necessity  or  excuse-^-and  whether  through  design,  malice,  wan- 
tonness, or  incomprehensible  carelessness,  it  is  difficult  to  say.* 

So  soon  as  the  news  reached  Soiioy,  that  contumacious 
chieftain  found  his  position  untenable,  and  he  allowed  the 
States'  troops  to  take  possession  of  Medenblik,  and  with  it 
the  important  territory  of  North  Holland,  of  which  province 


*  Queen   to  Willoughby,  -  March, 

1588.    (S.  P.  Office  MS.) 

'  Maurice  of  Nassau  to  Queen  Eliza-' 
beth,  15  March,  1588.  (a  P.  Office 
MS.)  . 

*  Queen    to    Willoughby,  —  March, 

1588.    Queen  to  Sonoy,  -  April,  1588, 

(a  P.  Office  MSa) 

*  Bor,  m.  xxIy.  179,  ieq.  233,  deq. 


Yan  der  Kemp,  L  62.  Wagenaar,  Tiii 
270.  Besol.  HoU.  1  April,  1588. 
'  This  busii^ess  of  CoL  Diedrich 
Sonoy  occupies  an  enormous  space  in 
the  ardiives  and  chronicles  of  the 
day.  It  has  been  here  reduced  to  the 
smallest  compass  consistent  with  a 
purpose  of  presenting  an  intelligiUe 
account  of  the  politics  of  Leicestef^a 
administration  and  its  oonseqoenoea. 


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1588.  END  OF  SONOTS  BEBELLION.  421 

Maurice  now  saw  himself  undisputed  governor.  Sonoy  was,  in 
the  course  of  the  summer  deprived  of  all  oflSce,  and  betook 
himself  to  England.  Here  he  was  kindly  received  by  the 
Queen,  who  bestowed  upon  him  a  ruined  tower,  and  a  swamp 
among  the  fens  of  Lincolnshire.  He  brought  over  some  of 
his  countrymen,  well-skilled  in  such  operations,  set  himself 
to  draining  and  dyking,  and  hoped  to  find  himself  at  home 
and  comfortable  in  his  ruined  tower.  But  unfortunately,  as 
neither  he  nor  his  wife,  notwithstanding  their  English  pro- 
clivities, could  speak  a  word  of  the  language,  they  found  then* 
social  enjoyments  very  limited.  Moreover,  as  his  work-people 
were  equally  without  the  power  of  making  their  wants  under- 
stood, the  dyking  operations  made  but  little  progress.  So  the 
unlucky  colonel  soon  abandoned  his  swamp,  and  retired  to  East 
Friesland,  where  he  lived  a  morose  and  melancholy  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  intt) 
the  fire,  and  thus  perished.^ 

And  thus,  in  the  Netherlands,  through  hollow  n^otiations 
between  enemies  and  ill-timed  bickerings  among  friends,  the 
path  of  Philip  and  Parma  had  been  made  comparatively  smooth 
during  the  spring  and  early  summer  of  1588.  What  was  the 
aspect  of  affairs  in  Germany  and  Franco  ? 

The  adroit  capture  of  Bonn  by  Martin  Schenk  had  given 
much  trouble.  Parma  was  obliged  to  detach  a  strong  force, 
imder  Prince  Chimay,^  to  attempt  the  recovery  of  that  im- 
portant 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.  Famese"  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  Eudolph  to  have  a  care  that  nothing  was  done 

>  Bor,  HL  290. 
»  Panna  to  rhOip  II.  8 1  Jan.  1688.    (Arch  do  Sim.  MS.) 


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^^  TH8  UNITBD  NETHEBLAKDS.  Chap.  XYIIL 

in  Grennany  to  interfere  with  the  great  design  upon  England.^ 
The  King  gave  warning  that  he  would  suffer  no  disturbauco 
from  that  quarter,  but  certainly  the  lethargic  condition  of 
Germany  rendered  such  threats  superfluous.  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  thq  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  France  had  been  excluded  from  that 
country  at  the  close  of  1587,  and  furious  were  the  denuncia- 
tions of  the  pulpits  and  the  populace  of  Paris  that  the  foreign 
brigands  who  had  been  devastating  the  soil  of  France,  and 
attempting  to  oppose  the  decrees  of  the  Holy  Father  of 
Bome,  should  have  made  their  escape  so  easily.  Babid 
Lincestre  and  other  priests  and  monks  foamed  with  rage,  as 
they  execrated  and  anathematized  the  devil- worshipper  Henry 
of  Yalois,  in  all  the  churches  of  that  niotiarch'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  in  the  day- 
light with  still  incretudng  insolence.  There  was  scarcely  a 
pretence  at  recognition  of  any  authority,  save  that  of  Philip 
and  Sixtus.  France  had  become  a  wilderness — an  uncul- 
tivated, barbarous  province  of  Spain.  Mucio-Guise  had  been 
secretly  to  Bome,  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  territory,  and  it  was 

*  PhiUp  n.  to  Parma,  24  April,  1688.    (Arch,  de  Sim.  MS.) 
«'L'EstoUe,'23G. 


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1588. 


PHILIP  POiCENTS  THE  CIVIL  WAR  IN  PRANCB. 


423 


resolyed  to  require  of  the  Yalois  an  immediate  extermination 
of  heresy  and  heretics  throughout  the  kingdom,  the  publica- 
tion of  the  Council  of  Trent,  and  the  formal  establishment  of 
the  Holy  Inquisition  in  every  province  of  France,  Thus, 
while  doing  his  Spanish  master's  bidding,  the  great  Lieutenant 
of  the  league  might,  if  he  wad  adroit  enough  to  outwit  Philip, 
ultim^ly  carve  out  a  throne  for  himself. 

Yet  Philip  felt  occasional  pangs  of  uneasiness  lest  there 
should,  after  all,  be  peaqe  in  France,  and  lest  his  schemes 
against  Holland  and  England  might  be  interfered  with  from 
that  quarter.  Even  Famese,  nearer  the  scene,  could  not  feel 
completely  secure  that  a,  sudden' reconciliation  among  con- 
tending factions  might  not  give  rise  to  a  dangerous  inroad 
across  the  Flemish  border.  So  Guise  was  plied  more  vigour- 
ously  than  ever  by  the  Duke  with  advice  and  encou- 
ragement, and  assisted  with  such  Walloon  carabineers  as 
could  be  spared,^  while  large  subsidies  and  lai^r  promises 
came  from  Philip,^  whose  prudent  policy  was  never  to  pay 
excessive  sums,  until  the  work  contracted  for  was  done. 
"Mudo  must  do  the  job  long  since  agreed  upon,"  said  Philip 
to  Famese,  "  and  you  and  Mendoza  must  see  that  he  prevents 
the  King  of  France  from  troubling  me  in  my  enterprizo 
against  England."'  If  the  unlucky  Henry  III.  had  retained 
one  spark  of  intelligence,  he  would  have  seen  that  his  only 


'  Herrera  IIL  iiL  12.  2,000  infantry 
and  1,000  horse. 

«  Philip  to  Parma,  27  Nov.  1587. 
Same  to  same,  29  Jan.  1588.  (Arch. 
deSim.  MSS.) 

"  Philip  to  Parma,  24  April,  1588. 
(Arch,  de  Shn.  Ma)  Philip  II.  to 
Mendoza,  16  Feb.  15A8.  (Arch,  do 
Sim.  [Paris.]  MS.) 

"  A  Mado  animad  j  aconsejad  oomo 
soleys,  lo  que  se  cumple  .  .  •  .  y  lo 
proOTrad  hazer  tiro."  Philip  II.  to 
Mendoza,  2  June,  1688.  (Arch,  de 
Simanfiaa  [Paris.]  Ma) 

"The  Kmg  was,  however,  perpetually 
warning  Guise  not  to  allow  himself  or 
his  confederates  '*to  brag  openly  of 
the  assistance  whidi  they  were  re- 
ceiving fh>m  Spain,  lest  the  ministers 
of  Heniy  should  think  Philip  partial; 


but  in  reality  not  to  waver  a  hair's 
breadth  in  his  determination,  relying 
upon  the  Spanish  King  and  on  the 
Duke  of  Parma,"  ko,  Philip  II.  to 
Mendoza,  16  July,  1588.  (Arch,  de 
Sim.  fParia]  Ma) 

'^The  public  report  that  we  are 
assisting  Guise,"  said  the  king  a  year 
before,  "  is  very  inconvenient,  and 
must  be  suppressed.  ...  My  nephew, 
the  Duke  of  Parma,  has  assured  Guiso 
that  he  will  assist  hun,  and  Guise 
ought  to  be  grateful  At  the  same 
time  Longl^  has  been  tolling  me  that 
his  King  desired  to  join  me  against 
England.  All  this  was  to  deceive, 
and  I  have  answered  all  with  equal 
deception,"  &c.  Philip  XL  to  Mendoza^ 
6  July,  1587,  Ma 


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424 


THE  UNITED  NETRKRT1AND& 


Chap.  XVm 


chance  of  rescue  lay  in  the  arm  of  the  B^amese,  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  esta- 
blish the  inquisition,  but  he  was  incapable  of  taking  enei^getic 
measures  of  any  kind,  even  when  throne  and  life  were  in 
imminent  peril.  Moreover,  ho  clung  to  Epernoa  and  the 
'  polifiqites/  in  whose  swords  he  alone  found  protection,  and 
he  knew  that  Epemon  and  the  politiquea  were  the  objects 
of  hbrror  to  Paris  and  to  the  League.  At  the  same  time  be 
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  Bernardino  convent,  and  importuned  that  envoy  to  im- 
plore the  Queen  to  break  off  her  negotiations  with  Philip, 
and  even  dared  to  offer  the  English  ambassador  a  laige 
reward,  if  such  a  result  could  be  obtained.  Stafford  was 
also  earnestly  requested  to  beseech  the  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  blusterings  of  the  ambassador. 
"  This  King/'  said  Dori  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."  * 


>  "El  serlo  yo  tan  teriblo,  violente, 
J  8edi9io6o,  que  impido  no  se  estreche 
este  rey  raxxj  de  veras  con  V.  M^j* 
lo  qual  80  heria  si  faltasse  yo  deste 
pnesto."  Mendoza  to  PbUip  II.  30  Jan. 
1588.    (A.rch.  da  Sim,  [Paris.]  MS.) 


•  "  Eato  rey  creyo  que  me  espantara 
hiziera  caUar  con  hallar  me  aho^  y  con 
el  no  respondalle  yo  baxo,  so  ba 
desengafiada  Ha  tenido  de^xQ^  *^* 
dienda,  y  halle  lo  mas  Uiusdo  <^ 
una  aeda^  y  mo  hizo  mucbas    caridas 


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1588.         LEAGUE'S  THREATS  AND  PLOTS  AGAINST  HENRY.        ^fi 


It  was  the  purpose  of  the  League  to  obtam  possession  of  the 
King's  person^  and^  if  necessary^  to  dispose  of  the  politiquea 
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  Balafr6  should  come  to  Paris  and  begin  the  holy 
work. 

He  came  as  &r  as  Gonesse  to  do  the  job  he  had  promised 
to  Philip,  but  having  heard  that  Henry  had  reinforced  him- 
self with  four  thousand  Swiss  from  the  garrison  of  Lagny,  he 
fell  back  to  Soissons.  The  King  sent  him  a  most  abject  mes- 
sage, imploring  him  not  to  expose  his  sovereign  to  so  much 
danger,  by  setting  his  foot  at  that  moment  in  the  capital 
The  Balafi^  hesitated,  but  the  populace  raved  and  roared  for 
its  darling.  The  Queen-Mother  urged  her  unhappy  son  to 
yield  his  consent,  and  the  Montpensier — ^fatal  sister  of  Guise, 
with  the  famous  scissors  ever  at  her  girdle^ — ^insisted  that 
her  brother  had  as  good  a  right  as  any  man  to  come  to  the 
city.  Meantime  the  great  chief  of  the  poUtiqueSy  the  hated  and 
insolent  Epemon,  had  been  appointed  governor  of  Normandy, 
and  Henry  had  accompanied  his  beloved  minion  a  part  of  the 
way  towards  Rouen.  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  Poulain,  bought  for  twenty  thousand  crowns 
by  ihe  politiqueSy  gave  the  King  and  his  advisers  full  informa- 
tion of  all  these  intrigues,  and,  standing  in  Henry's  cabinet, 
offered,  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 


que  70  le  reoonoci  con  las  palabras 
devidaSy  7  despues  del  salir  de  nablalle, 
entiendo  <jue  dizo  que  70  era  un 
ministro  biea  avis^,"  Ac.  Don  B.  de 
Mendoza  to  Don  Juan  de  Idiaquez. 
6  April,  1588.  (Arch,  de  Sim.  [Pari&J 
Ma) 


>  *L'Etoae,»244. 

■  De  Thou,  X.  L.  89,  p.  261,  seq, 
Herrera  III.  118,  Mg.  *Proc^  verbal  * 
de  Nicolas  Poulain,  ko.  320-332.  Apud 
*L*£toaeL  Begistre  Journal  de  Heniy 

nv 


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426  THE  UNITED  NETHERLAND3.  Chap.  XVIIL 

number  of  its  districts  had  been  reduced  from  sixteen  to  five, 
the  better  to  bring  it  imder  the  control  of  the  League  ;  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  Eling — ^through  the  treachery  of  Poulain — to  strike  a 
blow  for  life  and  freedom,  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  Martin,  and  proceeded  on  foot 

loth  May,  through  the  streets  of  Paris.     He  was  wrapped  in  a 

1688.  large  cloak,  which  he  held  carefully  over  his  fece. 
When  he  had  got  as  far  as  the  street  of  Saint  Denis,  a  young 
gentleman  among  the  passers  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  tho 
handsome,  swarthy  features,  marked  with  a  deep  scar,  and 
the  dark,  dangerous  eyes  which  woto  then  revealed,  the  prac- 
tical jester  at  once  recognized  in  the  simple  traveller  tho 
terrible  Balafrd,  and  kissed  the  hem  of  his  garments  with  sub- 
missive rapture.  Shouts  of  "  Vive  Guise  "  rent  the  air  from  all 
the  bystanders,  as  the  Duke,  no  longer  affecting  conceal- 
ment, proceeded  with  a  slow  and  stately  step  toward  the  resi- 
dence 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  Buggieri,  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  between  her  son  and  Philip,  and  between  the  politicians 
and  the  League.    But,  in  spite  of  these  various  sources  of  in- 

'  *L'Etoae/  250.    De  Thou,  vbi  sup,    *Reclt  du  Boorgeoia  do  Paria.*  MS. 
DvLpajBf  cited  by  Capcflgue,  *Hist  de  la  R^orme,*  &c  IV.  37a 


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1588.  mJCIO  ABRIYE3  IN  PARXa  427 

struction^  Catharine  was  somewliat  perplexed,  nbwithat  deci- 
sive action  seemed  necessary — a  dethronement  and  a  new 
massacre  impending,  and  judicions  compromise  difficult.  So 
after  a  hurried  conversation  with  Mucio,  who  insisted  on  an 
interview  with  the  King,  she  set  forth  for  the  Louvre,  the 
Puke  lounging  calmly  by  the  side  of  her  sedan  chair,  on 
foot,  receiving  the  homage  of  the  populace,  as  men,  women, 
and  children  together,  they  swarmed  around  him,  as  he  walked, 
kissing  his  garments,  and  rending  the  air  with  their  shouts.^ 
For  that  wolfish  mob  of  Paris,  which  had  once  lapped  the 
blood  of  ten  thousand  Huguenots  in  a  single  night,  and  was 
again  rabid  with  thirst,  was  most  docile  and  fawning  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  Bang 
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  possibb,  did  it. hate  those  godless  politicians,  who  had 
grown  fat  on  extortions  firom  the  poor,  and  who  had  converted 
their  substance  into  the  daily  bread  of  luxury. 

Nevertheless  the  city  was  full  of  armed  men,  Swiss  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  1"  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  1"  And,  "  Oh, 
the  wretched  coward,  the  imbecile  1"  he  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. 

«  Do  Thou,  '  L'EtoUo,*  ubiwp.  «  De  Thou,  x.  2G6. 


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428  THE  UNITED  NETHERLANDS.  Chap.  XVIIL 

"  Sire,  is  the  Duke  of  Guise  your  friend  or  enemy  ?"  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  Cordcan  would  have  had  the  Balafr^'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  afterward,  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  part  of  Mucio,  anxious  and  embarrassed  on 
that  of  the  King.  When  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  ViUe  and  the  Place  de  la  GrSve  were  made  secure, 
and  the  whole  city  was  filled  with  troops.  But  the  Place 
Maubert  was  left  unguarded,  and  a  rabble  rout — all  ni^t 
long — ^was  collecting  in  that  distant  spot  Four  companies 
11th  May,  of  burgher-guards  went  over  to  the  League  at  three 

1688.  o'clock  in  the  morning.  The  rest  stood  firm  in  the 
cemetery  of  the  Innocents,  awaiting  the  orders  of  the  King. 
At  day-break  on  the  11th  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  Hdtd  de  Ville, 
but  they  stood  motionless  as  statues,  until  the  populace  b^ah 
taunting  them  with  cowardice,  and  then  laughing  them  to 
scorn.  For  their  sovereign  lord  and  master  still  sat  paralyzed 
in  his  palace. 

>*L»Etoae,»24a  •Ibid. 


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1588.  HE  IS  BECEIVED  WITH  ENTHUSIASM.  429 

The  mob  had  been  surging  through  all  the  streets  and 
knes^  until,  as  by  a  single  impulse,  chains  were  stretched 
across  the  streets,  and  barricades  thrown  up  in  all  the  prin* 
cipal  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  Montmorency, 
and  walked  calmly  up  and  down,  arm-in-arm  with  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Lyons,  between  a  double  hedge-row  of  spectators 
end  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  was  laughing  in  it," 
observed  one  who  was  looking  on  that  day) — "  Enough  of 
'  Long  live  Guise  !'     Cry  ^  Long  live  the  King  1' "  ^ 

There  was  no  response,  as  might  be  iexpected,  and  the 
people  shouted  more  hoarsely  than  ever  for  Madam  League 
and  the  Balafr^.  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,  barri- 
caded, 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  hia  Germans  from  impending  doom,  when 
Guise,  thoroughly  triumphant,  vouchsafed  them  their  lives. 

"  You  must  give  me  these  soldiers  as  a  present,  my  friends," 
said  ho  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 

I  *  L*Etoa?/  250.  •  Ibid. 


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430 


THE  UNITED  NBTHERLANDa 


Chap.  XVHL 


of  their  beloved  chieftam,  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  irresolution  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  crying.  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,  without 
boots  or  cloaks,  and  mounted  on  sorry  hacks — ^the  King  of 
France  rode  forth  from  his  capital  post-haste,  and,  turning 
as  he  left  the  gates,  hurled  back  impotent  imprecations  upon 
Paris  and  its  mob.^  Thenceforth,  for  a  long  interval,  there 
was  no  king  in  that  country.     Mucio  had  done  his  work,  and 


'  *  L'Estoae.*  Do  Thoo,  257.261. 
Herrero^  tibi  sup, 

*  "  La  Bejna  Madre  dizo  al  Bey 
qaan  mal  avisado  havia  sido  quo- 
xandoeele  do  la  poca  oonflaoQa  que 
tenia  do  ella,  j  que  nunca  la  hada 
descubierto  sus  seoretos,  ni  prooarado 
Bu  dafio  para  ezecutar  semejante  resolu- 
cion  sin  sa  paresoer  7  esto  con  palabras 
de  tanto  Bontimiento  que  el  R07  so 
enteroedo  Itorando^  7  ella  le  dizo  ser 
lagrimas  peididas  aquellaa,  por  no  ser 


tiempo  do  Uorar;  quo  si  bien  las 
mugeres  lo  basian  tan  iacibnente,  quo 
ella  tenia  tan  zorrado  el  pecbo  que  no 
podria  Uorar,  7  que  si  la  viniessen  a 
los  ojos  lagprimas,  serian  do  sangre." 
Reladon  do  lo  subcedido  4  Paris  desde 
los  9  hasta  13  de  Ma70^  1688.  (Ardi. 
de  Sim.  [Paris.]  MS.) 

»*L»E8toao,*^252. 

^UEstoilo,  Be  Thou,  Henera^  ubi 
sup.  Pasquier,  vol.  il,  lettre  iv.,  331- 
334  (ed.  1723). 


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1688.        THE  KING  FIIBS,  AND  SPAIN  TRIUMPHS  IN  PARIS.       431 


earned  his  wages,  and  Philip  II.  reigned  in  Paris.  The  com- 
mands of  the  League  were  now  complied  with.  Heretics 
were  doomed  to  extermination.  The  edict  of  19th  19th  July 
July,  1588,  was  published  with  the  most  exclusive  ^^^^ 
and  stringent  provisions  that  the  most  bitter  Bomanist  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  King- 
dom (26th  August,  1588).  Henry  gave  in  his  submission  to 
the  Council  of  Trent,  the  edicts,  the  Inquisition;  and  the  riest  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  Longl^e,  at  Madrid,  of  his  most  affectionate  friendship, 
and  utterly  repudiating  all  knowledge  of  these  troublesome 
and  dangerous  plots.  Yet  they  had  been  especially  organized 
— as  we  have  seen — ^by  himself  and  the  Balafi^,  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  im- 
portant agents  in  all  these  proceedings,  with  the  Duke  of 
Guise,  was  strenuously  and  circumstantially  denied;  and 
the  Balafr^,  on  the  day  of  the  barricades,  sent  Brissac  to 
Elizabeth's  envoy,  Sir  Edward  Stafford,  to  assure  him  as  to 
his  personal  safety,  and  as  to  the  deep  affection  with  which 
England  and  its  Queen  were  regarded  by  himself  and  all  his 


*  Tho  King  bound  himself  by  oath 
to  extirpate  heresy,  to  remove  all  per- 
sons suspected  of  that  crime  from 
ofOoe^  and  never  to  lay  down  arms  so 
long  as  a  single  heretio  remained.  By 
secret  articles,  two  arinlea  against  the 
Huguenots  were  agreed  upon,  one  under 
the  Duke  of  Mayenne,  the  other  under 
some  general  to  be  appointed  by  the 
King.  The  CJouncQ  of  Trent  was  forth- 
with to  be  proclaimed,  and  by  a  re- 


finement of  malice  the  League  stipu- 
lated that  all  officers  appointed  in 
Paris  by  the  Duke  of  Guise  on  tiie  day 
after  the  barricades  should  resign 
their  powers^  and  be  immediately  re- 
appointed by  the  King  himselC  De 
Thou,  X.  1.  86,  pp.  824-326. 

*  Duplessis      Momay.      iy.      246. 
*L»E8toile,'  268. 

•  Dc  Thou,  ttW  sup. 


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432 


THE  UNTTBD  NETHERLANDS. 


Chap.  XVnL 


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  I  am  attacked,  I  am  determined  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." 

Brissac  returned  with  this  answer  to  Guise,  who  saw  that  it 
was  hopeless  to  attempt  making  a  display  in  the  eyes  of 
Queen  EHzabeth,  but  gave  private  orders  that  the  ambas- 
sador should  not  be  molested,^ 

Such  were  the  consequences  of  the  day  of  the  barricades — 
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  become.  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  Bernese  ! "  * 

And  it  might  be  long  before  the  League  would  catch  the 
B^amese ;  but,  meantime,  he  could  render  slight  assistance 
to  Queen  Elizabeth.   . 

In  England  there  had  been  much  fruitless  negotiation  be- 
tween the  government  of  that  country  and  the  coromissioners 
from  the  States-GleneraL  There  was  perpetual  altercation  on 
the  subject  of  Utrecht,  Leyden,  Sonoy,  and  the  other  causes  of 
contention ;  the  Queen — as  usual — ^being  imperious  and  cho- 
leric, and  the  envoys,  in  her  opinion,  very  insolent.     But  the 


*  Do  Thou,  X.  2C4-266. 

'  "Etant  couch^  sur  son  lit  vert  il 

I  leva,  ct  tout  gaiment  dit  cc8  mots: 


*Ils  ne  tienment  cnooro  lo  Bdarnolai' " 
*L'Bstone,»  252. 


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X58&  STATES  EXPOSTULATB  WITH  XHB  QUBKN.  433 

principal  topic  of  discussion  was  the  peace-negotiatioDs,  which 
the  States-General^  both  at  home  and  throogh  their  del^ation 
in  England,  had  been  doing  their  best  to  prerent ;  steadily  re- 
fiising  her  Majest/s  demand  that  commissioners,  on  their 
part,  should  be  appointed  to  participate  in  the  conferences  at 
Ostend.  Elizabeth  promised  that  there  should  be  as  strict 
n^ard  paid  to  the  interests  of  Holland  as  to  those  of  England, 
in  case  of  a  pacification,  and  that  she  would  nerer  forget  her 
duty  to  them,  to  herself,  and  to  the  world,  as  the  protectress 
of  the  reformed  religion.  The  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  pre- 
paring her  destruction  and  theirs ;  that  it  waa  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  commis- 
sioners, 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  had  kept  her  waiting  seven 
months  long  for  an  answer  to  her  summons  to  participate  in 
the  negotiations,  they  replied,  that  up  to  the  15th  October  of 
the  previous  year,  although  there  had  been  flying  rumours  of 
an  intention  on  the  part  of  her  Majesty's  government  to 
open  those  communications  with  the  enemy,  it  had,  ^^  never- 
theless been  earnestly  and  expressly,  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  not  to  give 
car  to  any  propositions  whatever.^ 

And  Aot  only  were  the  envoys,  r^ularly  appointed  by  the 
States-General,  most  active  in  England,  in  their  attempts  to 

>  Bor,  III.  xxir.  22a. 

VOL.  II.— 2  F 


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434 


THE  UNTTBD  NETHBRLANDa 


Chap.  XTm. 


prevent  the  negotiations,  but  del^ates  from  the  Nether- 
land  churches  were  also  sent  to  the  Queen,  to  reason  with  her 
on  the  subject,  and  to  utter  solemn  warnings  that  the  cause 
of  the  reformed  religion  would  be  lost  for  ever,  in  case  of 
a  treaty  on  her'  part  with  Spain.  When  these  clerical 
envoys  reached  England  the  Queen  was  already  b^inning 
to  wake  from  her  delusion  ;  although  her  commissioners  were 
still— as  we  have  seen — ^hard  at  work,  pouring  sand  through 
their  sieves  at  Ostend,  and  although  the  steady  protesta- 
tions of  the  Duke  of  Parma,  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  pos- 
sibility of  averting  the  danger  by  negotiation. 

So  late  as  the  beginning  of  May,  even  the  far-seeing  and 
anxious  WaLsdngh^m  could  say,  that  in  England  "  they  were 
doing  nothiijg  but  honouring  St.  George,  of  whoi^i  the  Spanish 
Armada  seemed  to  be  afraid.  We  hear,"  he  added,  "that 
they  will  not  be  ready  to  set  forward  before  the  midst  of  May, 
but  I  trust  thcU  it  will  he  May  come  twelvemonths.  The  King 
of  Spain  is  too.  old  and  too  sickly  to  fall  to  conquer  kingdoms. 
If  he  be  well  counselled,  his  best  course  will  bo  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  cer- 
tainty as  to  the  movements  of  the  Armada ;  and  Walsing- 
hapi  believed,  just  ten  days  before  the. famous  fleet  was  to 
appear  off  Plymouth,  that  it  had  dispersed  and  returned  to 


'  WalaiDgham   to    Sir    Ed.    Noma, 
-^^,  1588.    (S.  P.  Office  MS.) 
"By   the    middle   of   July."    says 


Stowe,  "  it  was  said  by  some  of  honour- 
able rank  and  great  jadgment»  that 
the  whole  fleet  of  the  invasion  was  a 
Popish  brag  and  a  French  tale."    tsa 


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1588. 


ENGLISH  STATESMEN  STILL  DECEIVED. 


435 


Spain,  never  to  re-appear.*  As  to  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  own  kingdom^  "  Mr.  Ned,  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 
your  works."*  .   i 

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  contoidictoiy  were  the  stories  circulated, 
and  so  bewildering  the  actions  of  men  known  to  be  hostile  to 
England.  In  the  last  days  of  April  he  intimated  it  as  a  com- 
mon opinion  in  Paris,  that  these  naval  preparations  of  Philip 
were  an  elaborate  farce  ;  "that  the  great  elephant  would  bring 
forth  but  a  mouse ;  that  the  great  processions,  prayers,  and 
pardons,  at  Borne,  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  was  a 
thing  the  King  never  durst  think  of  in  deed,  but  only  in  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  ambas- 
sador in  Paris  himself,  the  English  envoy  was  Btill  inclined  to 
believe  that  these  statements  were  a  figment,  expressly  in- 
tended to  deceive.  Yet  he  was  aware  that  Lord  Westmore- 
land, Lord  Paget,  Sir  Charles  Paget,  Morgan,  and  other  English 
refugees,  were  constantly  meeting  with   Mendoza,  that  they 


»  Walsingham  to  E.  Nonis,    -  July, 

1588.     (S.  P.  Offioe  MS.) 

"  And  for  the  nayy  of  Spain,  we  have 
lately  received  advertisements  that  by 
reason  of  their  great  wants,  as  well  of 
raarineni,  as  of  necessary  provisions, 
but  especially  through  the  infection 
fallen  among  their  men,  they  are  forced 


toreton,   and   have   dispersed    them- 
selves." pi) 
«  Leicester  to  E.  Norris.     MSw  by 

Qneen    Elizabeth  (?)  —    July,    1588. 

(S.  P.  Office  MS.) 
VSir  £.    Stafford    to  Walsingham. 

-April,  1588.    (S.  P.  Office  MS.) 

23 


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436 


THE  UNITED  lilETHERLJlNDS. 


Chip.  XynL 


were  told  to  get  themselvea  in  readiuess^  and  to  go  down- — as 
well  appointed  as  might  be — to  the  Duke  of  Parma ;  that  they 
hod  been  ^^sendii^  for  their  tailor  to  make  them  apparel,  and 
to  put  themselves  in  equipage  ;*'  that,  in  particular,  West- 
moreland had  been  assured  of  being  restored  by  Philip  to  his 
native  country  in  better  condition  than  before.  The  Catholic 
and .  Spanish  party  in  Paris,  were  however  much  dissatisfied 
with  the  news  from  Scotland,  and  were  getting  more  and 
more  afraid  that  King  James  would  object  to  the  Spaniards 
getting  a  foot-hold  in  his  country,  and  that  '^  the  Scots  would 
soon  be  plajring  them  a  Scottish  trick."  ^ 

Stafford  \raa  plunged  still  more  inextricably  into  doubt  by 
the  accounts  from  Longl^o  in  Madrid.^  The  diplomatist, 
who  had  been  completely  convinced  by  Philip  as  to  his  inno- 
cence of  any  participation  in  the  criminal  enterprise  of  Guise 
against  Henry  III.,  was  now  almost  staggered  by  the  unscru- 
pulous mendacity  of  that  monarch  with  regard  to  any  supposed 
designs  against  England.  .Although  the  Armada  was  to  be 
jeady  by  the  15th  May,  Longl6e  was  of  opinion — notwith- 
standing many  bold  announcements  of  an  attack  upon  Eliza- 
beth— 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  any  yet  found,  but 
so  full  of  stout  people  that  they  could  not  master  them.'' ' 
To  reduce  these  stout  people  beyond  the  Atlantic,  therefore, 
and  to  get  possession  of  new  gold  mines,  was  the  real  object  at 
which  Philip  was  driving,  and  Longleo  and  Stafford  were  both 
very  doubtful  whether  it  were  worth  the  Quiden's  Irhile  to 
exhaust  her  finances  in  order  to  protect  herself  against  an 
imaginary  invasion.  Even  so  late  (zs  the  middle  of  July y  six  to 
erne  was  offered  on  the  ^aris  exchange  that  the  Spanish  fleet 
would  never  be  seen  in  the  English  seas,  and  thoso  that 


■  StafiEbrd   to    Walaingham, 
1588.    (a  P.  Offioe  MS. 


t4April^ 

ThUj 


Depdohes  de  Longl^  envoj^   do 
Henri  III.  en  EspAgne,  Mara,  AttU, 


Mai,  1588.    Fonds  St  Oerraain. 
Imp.  do  Franco,  MS.) 

*  Staflbrd 


1588. 


to   WalsingbaiD, 
(aP.OfflooMa) 


(Bih. 

S4  April 
4  Mm' 


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1588.  DEPUTIES  FEOM  NETHEBLAND  GHUBCHES,  43'/ 

offered  tho  bets  were  known  to  be  well-wishers  to  the  Spanish 
party.^ 

Thus  sharp  diplomatists  and  statesmen  like  Longl6e;  Staf- 
ford, and  Walsingham,  were  beginning  to  Jose  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 
that  she,  too,  was  willing  to  place  credence  in  the  plighted 
honour  of  Alexander  Famese,  the  great  prince  who  prided 
himself  on  his  sincerity,  and  who,  next  to  tiio  King  his 
master,  adored  the  yii^in  Queen  of  England. 

The  deputies  of  the  Netherland  churches  had  come,  with 
the  permission  of  Count  Maurice  and  of  the  States  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  sove- 
reignty of  their  country  ;  to  assure  her  that  the  restoration  of 
Philip— who  had  been  a  wolf  instead  of  a  ^pherd  to  his 
flock— i-was  an  impossibility,  that  he  had  been  solemnly  and 
for  ever  deposed,  that  under  her  sceptre  only  could  the  Pro- 
vinces 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  course  through  sedition,  bloodshed,  and  anarchy,  until 
liberty  was  at  last  crushed  by  an  absolute  despotism ;  that 
equality  of  condition,  the  basis  of  democratic  institutions,  could 
never  be  made  firm  ;  and  that  a  fortunate  exception,  like  that 
of  Switzerland,  whose  historical  and  political  circmnstances 
were  peculiar,  could  never  serve  as  a  model  to  the  Nether- 
lands, 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  produced  discord,  and  was  threateiung  destruction 
to  the  whole  country.  To  avert  such  dangers  the  splen- 
dour of  royal  authority  was  necessary,  according  to  the 
venerable  commands  of  Holy  Writ ;  and  therefore  the  Nether- 

>  StaflBard  to  WolriDgham,  ^  Julj,  1588.    (S.  P.  Offloe  MS.) 


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438  ^*^S2  UNITED  NETHERLANDS.  Chap.  XYIII. 

land  churches  acknowledged  themselves  the  foster-children 
of  England,  and  be^ed  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  oS 
these  accursed  negotiations  with  Spain,  and  to  provide  that 
henceforth  in  the  Netherlands  the  rdformed  religion  might  be 
freely  exercised,  to  the  exclusion  of  any  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.  For  that '  Beel- 
zebub,' Bameveld,  had  different  notions  from  theirs  as  to  the 
possibility  of  a  republic,  and  as  to  the  propriety  of  tolerating 
other  forms  of  worship  than  his  own.  But  it  was  for  such 
pernicious  doctrines,  on  religious  matters  in  particular,  that  he 
was  called  Beelzebub,  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  of  the 

1588.  Hebrfews,  Assyrians,  and  other  distinguished  nations 
of  antiquity.  They  brought  it  to  Walsinghain  on  the  12th  July, 
1588,  and  the  much-enduring  man  heard  it  read  from  b^imm^ 
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,  I  must  tell  you  the  plain  truth.  Great  princes 
are  not  always  so  zealous  in  religious  matters  as  th^  might 
be.  Political  transactions  move  them  more  deeply,  and  they 
depend  too  much  on  worldly  things.  However  there  is  no 
longer  much  danger,  for  our  envoys  will  return  from  Flanders 
in  a  few  days."* 

>  Instrootiona  from  the  Churches  of  the  Netherlands  for  the  Deputies  to 
the  Queen  of  Eugland,  apud  Bor,  III.  256-259. 
■  *  Beport  of  the  Deputies,'  in  Bor,  HI.  259. 


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IM8.  HOLD  OONFEEENCB  WITH  THE  QUEEN,  439 

^^But/'  asked  a  deputy^  ^^if  the  Spaniflh  fleet  does  Hot 
succeed  in  its  enterprise,  will  the  peace-negotiations  be 
renewed?" 

"  By  no  means/'  said  Walsingham ;  "  the  Queen  can  never 
do  that,  consistently  with  her  honour.  They  have  scattered 
infamous  libels  against  her — so  scandalous,  that  you  would  be 
astoimded  should  you  read  them.  Arguments  drawn  from 
honour  are  more  vfdid  with  princes  than  any  other." 

He  alluded  to  the  point  in  their  memorial  touching  the  free 
exercise  of  the  reformed  religion  in  the  Pr<)vinces. 

"  'Tis  well  and  piously  said,"  he  observed ;  "  but  princes  and 
great  lords  are  not  always  very  earnest  in  such  matters.  .  I 
think  that  her  Majesty'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  n^tiations  suc- 
ceed— ^the  foreign  troops  will  have  evacuated  the  Netherlands 
on  condition  that  the  States-General  shall  settle  the  religious 
question."^ 

"But,"  said  Daniel  de  Dieu,  one  of  the  deputies,  ^Uhe 
mqfority  of  the  States  is  Popish." 

"  Bo  it  so,"  replied  Sir  Francis ;  "  nevertheless  they  will 
sooner  permit  the  exercise  of  the  reformed  religion  than  take 
yip  arms  and  b^in  the  war  anew." 

He  then  alluded  to  the  proposition  of  the  deputies  to  exclude 
all  religious  worship  but  that  of  the  reformed  church — all 
false  religion — as  they  expressed  themselves. 

^^  Her  Majesty,"  said  he,  "  is  well  disposed  to  permit  some 
exercise  of  their  religion  to  the  Papists.  So  far  as  r^ards  my 
own  feelings,  if  we  were  now  in  the  b^inning.of  the  reforma- 
tion, and  the  papacy  were  still  entire,  I  should  willingly  con- 
cede such  exercise ;  but  now  that  the  Papacy  has  been  over- 
thrown, I  think  it  would  not  be  safe  to  give  such  permission. 
When  we  were  disputing,  at  the  time  of  the :  pacification  of 
Ghent,  whether  the  Popish  religion  should.be  partially  per- 
mitted^ the  Prince  of  Orange  was  of  the  qffirmative  opinion ; 

'  'Beport  of  the  DeputieB,'  in  Bor,  last  cited. 


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440  THE  UNITED  NETHEBLAKD&  Chap.  XVHH 

but  I^  who  was  then  at  Antwerp,  entertained  the  contrar7 
conviction/' 

"  But/'  said  one  of  the  deputies — ^pleased  to  find  that  Wal- 
singfaam  was  more  of  their  way  of  thinking  on  rdigious  tolera- 
tion than  the  great  Prince  of  Orange  had  been,  or  than 
Maurice  and  Bameveld  then  were — ^^but  her  Majesty  will, 
we  hope,  follow  the  advice  of  her  good  and  faithful  coun- 
sellors." 

"To  tell  you  the  truth,"  answered  Sir  Francis,  "great 
princes  are  not  always  inspired  with  a  sincere  and  upright 
zeal ;" — ^it  was  the  third  time  he  had  made  this  observation — 
"  although,  so  far  as  regards  the  maintenance  of  the  religion 
in  the  Netherlands,  that  is  a  matter  of  necessity.  Of  that 
there  is  no  fear,  since  otherwise  all  the  pious  would  depart, 
and  none  would  remain  but  Papists,  and,  what  is  more, 
enemies  of  England.  Therefore  the  Queen  is  aware  that  the 
religion  must  be  maintained."^ 

He  then  advised  the  deputies  to  hand  in  the  memorial  to 
her  Majesty,  without  any  loi^  speeches,  for  which  there  was 
then  no  time  or  opportunity ;  and  it  was  subsequently 
arranged  that  tliey  should  be  presented  to  the  Queen  as  she 
would  be  mounting  her  horse  at  St  James's  to  ride  to  Rich- 
mond. 

Accordingly  on  the  15th  July,  as  her  Majesty  came  forth 
at  the  gate,  with  a  throng  of  nobles  and  ladies — some  about 

15  juij,   to  i^ompany  her  and  some  bidding  her  adieu — ^the 

1588.  deputies  fell  on  their  knees  before  her.  Notwith- 
standing the  advice  of  ■  Walsingham,  Daniel  de  Dieu  was  bent 
upon  an  oration. 

"  Oh  illustrious  Queen !"  ho  began,  "  the  chiurches  of  the 
United  Netherlands " 

He  had  got  no  further,  when  the  Queen,  interrupting,  ex- 
claimed, "  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  documait^ 

^ 'Report  of  the  Dcimtiea.'    BcTtUHmip, 


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1688. 


AND  PBBSBNT  LONG  MEMOBIAL& 


441 


which  her  Majesty  graciously  received,  and  then,  getting  on 
horseback,  rode  off  to  Richmond.* 

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  Deuteronomy,  Proverbs,  Isaiah, 
Timothy,  and  Psalms,  relying  mainly  on  the  case  of  Jehosa- 
phat,  who  came  to  disgrace  and  disaster  through  his  treaty 
with  the  idolatrous  King  Ahab.  With  regard  to  any  compo- 
sition with  Spain,  they  observed,  in  homely  language,  that  a 
burnt  cat  fears  the  fire ;  and  they  assured  the  Queen  that,  by 
following  their  advice,  she  would  gain  a  glorious  and  immortal 
name,  like  those  of  David,  Ezekiel,  Josiah,  and  others,  whose 
fragrant  memory,  even  as  precious  incense  from  the  apothe- 
cary's, endureth  to  the  end  of  the  world.* 

It  was  not  surprising  that  Elizabeth,  getting  on  horseback 
on  the  15th  July,  1588,  with  her  head  full  of  Tilbury  Fort  and 
Medina  Sidonia,  should  have  as  little  relish  for  the  affetirs  of 
Ahab  and  Jehosophat,  as  for  those  melting  speeches  of  Dio- 
mede  and  of  Tumus,  to  which  Dr.  Valentine  Dale  on  his  part 
was  at  that  moment  invoking  her  attention. 

On  the  20th  July,  the  deputies  were  informed  by  Leicester 
"  that  her  Majesty  would  grant  them  an  interview,  juiy  20, 
and  that  they  must  come  into  his  quarter  of  the     ^^®®- 
palace  and  await  her  arrival. 

Between  six  and  seven  in  the  evening  she  came  into  the 
throne-room,  and  the  deputies  again  fell  on  their  knees  before 
her.» 

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  remarks  touching  her 
earnestness  in  the  pending  n^tiations  to  provide  for  their 
religious  freedom.  It  seemed  that  she  must  have  received  a 
hint  from  Walsingham  on  the  subject. 


*   'Roport   of  the   Deputies,'    259, 
260-262. 
'    'Memorial     from     the     United 


Churches,'   Aa,   apud  Bor,  IH   260* 
262,  teq, 
»  Bor,  m.  262,  263. 


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442  THE  UNITED  NETHERLANDS*  Chap.  XVML 

"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.  He  has 
never  done  so." 

The  Queen. — "  He  conceded  it  in  the  pacification  of  Ghent." 

De  DieiL — "  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,  and  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.  If 
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  England  has  brought  this  poor 
people.  As  to  the  freedom  of  worship,  I  should  have  proposed 
three  or  four  years'  interval — Cleaving  it  afterwards  to  the 
decision  of  the  States." 

De  Dieu. — "  Biit  the  majority  of  the  States  is  Popish." 

The  Queen. — "  I  mean  the  States-Greneral,  not  the  States  of 
any  particular  Province." 

De  Dieu. — "The  greater  part  of  the  States-Greneral  is 
Popish." 

The  Queen. — "  I  mean  the  three  estates — the  cleigy,  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  Queen. — "  Then  how  were  you  sent  hither  ?" 

De  Dieu. — "  We  came  with  the  consent  of  Count  Maurice 
of  Nassau." 

The  Queen.—"  And  of  the  States  ?" 


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1588.  MORE  CONVERSATIONS  WITH  THE  QUEEN.  443 

De  Dieu. — "  We  came  with  their  khowledge/* 

The  Queen. — "  Are  you  sent  only  from  Holland  and  Zee- 
land  ?  Ib  there  no  envoy  from  Utrecht  and  the  other  Pro- 
vinces ?  " 

Helmichius. — "We  two/'  pointing  to  his  colleague  Sos- 
singius,  "  are  from  Utrecht.*' 

The  Queen.—"  What  ?  Is  this  young  man  also  a  minister  ?  " 
She  meant  Helmichius^  who  had  a  very  little  beard,  and  looked 
young. 

Sossingius. — "  He  is  not  so  young  as  he  looks." 

The  Queen. — "  Youths  are  sometimes  as  able  as  old  men." 

De  Dieu. — "  I  have  heard  our  brother  preach  in  France 
more  than  fourteen  years  ago." 

The  Queen. — "  He  must  have  begun  young.  How  old  were 
you  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  '  Scan^ 
dale  de  I'Angleterre,'  saying  that  we  had  none  but  school-boys 
for  ministers.  I  understand  that  you  pray  for  me  as  warmly 
as  if  I  were  your  sovereign  princess.  I  think  I  have  done  as 
much  for  the  religion  as  if  I  were  your  Queen." 

Helmichius. — "  We  are  fax  from  thinking  otherwise.  Wo 
acknowledge  willingly  your  Majesty's  benefits  to  our  churches." 

The  Queen. — "  It  would  else  be  ingratitude  on  your  part." 

Helmichius. — "  But  the  King  of  Spain  will  never  keep  any 
promise  about  the  religion." 

The  Queen. — "  He  will  never  come  so  for :  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 


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444  THB  UNITED  NETHBRLi.in>S.  Chap.  XVm. 

rather  your  Majesty's,  city  of  Flushing.  We  hope  that  Rus- 
selius — (so  he  called  Sir  William  Russell) — ^may  be  continued 
in  its  government,  although  he  wishes  his  discharge/' 

^^  Aha  V  said  the  Queen,  laughing  and  rising  from  her  seat, 
^^  I  shall  not  answer  you  ;  I  shall  call  some  one  else  to  answer 
you." 

She  then  summoned  RusseU's  sister.  Lady  Warwick. 

"  If  you  could  speak  French,"  said  the  Queen  to  that  gentle- 
woman, "  I  should  bid  you  reply  to  these  gentlemen,  who  beg 
that  your  brother  may  remain  in  Flushing,  so  very  agree- 
able has  he  made  himself  to  them." 

The  Queen  was  pleased  to  heiar  this  good  opinion  of  Sir 
William,  and  this  request  that  he  might  continue  to  be  governor 
of  Flushing,  because  he  had  uniformly  supported  the  Ldceater 
party,  and  was  at  that  moment  in  high  quarrel  with  Count 
Maurice  and  the  leading  members  of  the  States. 

As  the  deputies  took  their  leave,  they  requested  an  answer 
to  their  memorial,  which  was  graciously  promised.^ 

Three  days  afterwards,  23rd  July,  Walsingham  gave  them 
a  written  answer  to  their  memorial— conceived  in  the  same 

23  Juij,  sense  as  had  been  the  expressions  of  her  Majesty 

^^®®'  and  her  counsellors.  Support  to  the  Netherlands 
and  stipulations  for  the  free  exercise  of  their  religioa  were 
promised ;  but  it  was  impossible  for  these  deputies  of  the 
churches  to  obtain  a  guarantee  from  England  that  the  Popish 
religion  should  be  excluded  from  the  Provinces,  in  case  of  a 
successful  issue  to  the  Queen's  n^otiation  with  Spain.^ 

And  thus  during  all  those  eventful  days — tJie  last  toeeka  of 
July  and  the  first  weeks  of  August — the  clerical  deputation 
remained  in  England,  indulging  in  voluminous  protocols  and 
lengthened  conversations  with  the  Queen  and  the  principal 
members  of  her  government.  It  is  astonishing,  in  that 
breathless  interval  of  history,  that  so  much  time  could  be 
found  for  quill-driving  and  oratory. 

Nevertheless,  both  in  Holland  and  England,  there  had  been 

*  *  Report  of  the  Depudea  of  the  Netheriand  Churches,*  in  Bor,  IIL  262,  9eq, 
*  *  Reportj'  &a  vbi  wp. 


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1538.  NATIONAL  SPIBIT  OF  ENGLAND  AND  HOLLAND.  445 

other  work  than  protocolling.  One  throb  of  patriotism  moved 
the  breast  of  both  natiozus.  A  longing  to  grapple^  once  for 
all,  with  the  great  enemy  of  civil  and  religious  liberty  in- 
spired both.  In  Holland,  the  States-General  and  all  the  men 
to  whom  the  people  looked  for  guidance,  had  been  long 
deprecating  the  peace-negotiations.  Extraordinary  supplies — 
more  than  had  ever  been  granted  before — were  voted  for  the 
expenses  of  the  campaign ;  and  Maurice  of  Nassau,  fitly  em- 
bodying the  warlike  tendencies  of  his  country  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  gun-boat  to  the  galleon  of  1200  tons — then 
the  most  imposing  ship  in  thoso  waters — swarmed  in  all  the 
estuaries  and  rivers,  and  along  the  Dutch  and  Flemish  coast, 
bidding  defiance  to  Parma  and  his  armaments;  and  offers 
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,  pre- 
sided 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  Bammekens.  All  tho  war-vessels  of  the 
little  republic  were  thus  fully  employed.  But,  besides  this 
arrangement,  Maurice  was  empowered  to  lay  an  embargo- 
under  what  penalty  he  chose  and  during  his  pleaaure — on  all 
square-rigged  vessels  over  300  tons,  in  order  that  there  might 
be  an  additional  supply  in  case  of  need.  Ninety  ships  of  war 
under  Warmond,  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,  composed  a  formidable  fleet,* 

»  Bor,  in.  318,  310.  I  by  which  so  mudi  mischief  bad  becD 

'  So  soon  as  tho   Soaoj  diffloultj  |  created  should  bo  terminated,  Maoiios 


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446 


THE  XJNITBD  NBTHERLANDS. 


Chap.  XVnL 


The  States-Gteneral,  a  month  before,  had  sent  twenty-five 
or  thirty  good  ships,  under  Admiral  Rosendael,  to  join  Lord 
Henry  Seymour,  then  cruising  between  Dover  and  Calais. 
A  tempest  drove  them  back,  and  tbeir  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  accusation  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  addition  to  their  regular  equipment,  a  picked  force 
of  twelve  hundred  musketeers,  long  accustomed  to  this  pecu- 
liar kind  of  naval  warfare,  with  crews  of  grim  Zeelanders, 
who  had  fstced  Alva  and  Valdez  in  their  day,  now  kept  dose 
watch  over  Famese,  determined  that  he  should  never  thrust 
his  face  out  of  any  haven  or  nook  on  the  coast  so  long  as  ihey 
should  be  in  existence  to  prevent  him.^ 

And  in  England  the  protracted  diplomacy  at  Ostend,  ill- 
timed  though  it  was,  had  not  paralyzed  the  arm  or  chilled 
the  heart  of  the  nation.  When  the  groat  Queen,  arousing 
herself  from  the  delusion  in  which  the  falsehoods  of  Fameso 
and  of  Philip  had  lulled  her,  should  once  more  represent— as 
no  man  or  woman  better  than  Eliziabeth  Tudor  could  repre- 
sent— the  defiance  of  England  to  foreign  insolence ;  the  resolve 
of  a  whole  people  to  die  rather  than  yield  ;  there  was  a  thriU 
of  joy  through  the  national  heart.  When  the  enforced 
restraint  was  at  last  taken  off*,  there  was  one  bound  towards 
the  enemy.  Few  more  magnificent  spectacles  have  been 
seen  in  history  than  the   enthusiasm   which   pervaded   the 


announced  his  intention  to  the  Queen, 
**a  combattre  rennemi  par  mer  et 
par  terre,  pour  Tempecher  qu'  il  ne 
prenne  terre."  **Je  supplie  V.  M.," 
he  continuedi  '*de  commander  i  M. 
Tadmiral  Howard  do  tenir  corre- 
spondanco  avec  rooi,  comma  auasi  jo 
feral  aveo   Sa  Seign^*."     Maurice    de 

ro 
Nassau  to  tho  Queen,  7-  April,  1588. 

(S.  P.  Office  MS.) 

"Ne    pouvant,    pour    mon    devoir 


T0U3  celer  qu'un  des  plus  grands 
empechemmta  que  je  trouoe  en  nos 
affaires  de  pardefa  est  cette  negotiation 
de  paix  qui  engendre  de  telles  oon- 
fusions  que  les  forces  ne  peayent  ^tro 
employ^  par  mer  et  par  terre  si  t6t 
et  si  bien  que  je  desireral  Je  ferai 
toute  fois  toute  diligence  d*dire  prest 
assez  &  temps  pour  rompre  les  dee* 
seins  du  Due  de  Parma/'  £c.  Same  to 
same,  same  date. 

>  Bor,  m.  xxiii.  319-321. 


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1588.  DISSATISFACTION  WITH  QUEEN'S  COURSR  447 

country  as  the  great  danger,  80  long  defeired,  was  felt  at  last 
to  be  closely  approaching.  The  little  nation  of  four  millions, 
the  merry  England  of  the  sixteenth  century,  went  forward  to 
the  death-grapple  with  its  gigantic  antagonist  as  cheerfully  as 
to  a  long-expected  holiday.  Spain  was  a  vast  empire,  over- 
shadowing the  world;  England,  in  comparison,  but  a  pro- 
vince ;  yet  nothing  could  surpass  the  steadiness  with  which 
the  conflict  was  awaited. 

For,  during  all  the  months  of  suspense,  the  soldiers  and 
sailors,  and  many  statesmen  of  England,  had  deprecated, 
oven  as  the  Hollanders  had  been  doing,  the  dangerous  delays 
of  Ostend.  Elizabeth  was  not  embodying  the  national  in- 
stinct, when  she  talked  of  peace,  and  shrank  penuriously  from 
the  expenses  of  war.  There  was  much  disappointment,  even 
indignation,  at  the'  slothfulness  with  which  the  preparations 
for  defence  went  on,  during  the  i)eriod  when  there  was  yet 
time  to  make  them.  It  was  feared  with  justice  that  Eng- 
land, utterly  unfortified  as  were  its  cities,  and  defended  only 
by  its  little  navy  without,  and  by  untaught  enthusiasm 
within,  might,  after  all,  prove  an  easier  conquest  than  Hol- 
land and  Zeeland,  every  town  in  whose  territory  bristled  with 
fortifications.  If  the  English  ships — well-trained  and  swift 
sailors  as  they  were — ^were  unprovided  with  spars  and  cord- 
age, 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  hundred  battle-fields, 
and  equipped  as  for  a  tournament  ?  There  was  generous  con- 
fidence and  chivalrous  loyalty  on  the  part  of  Elizabeth's 
naval  and  military  commanders  ;  but  there  had  been  deep 
regret  and  disappointment  at  her  course. 

Hawkins  was  anxious,  all  through  the  winter  and  spring,  to 
cruise  with  a  small  squadron  off  the  coast  of  Spain.  With  a 
dozen  vessels  he  undertook  to  "  distress  anything  that  went 
through  the  seas.'*  The  cost  of  such  a  squadron,  with  eighteen 
hundred  men,  to  be  relieved  every  four  months,  he  estimated  at 


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448 


THB  UNITED  NETHERLANDS. 


Chap.  XVm. 


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 
times  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  open  war  with  the  Jesuits  for  which  those  stout- 
hearted sailors  longed,  AH  were  afraid  of  secret  mischief. 
The  diplomatists  —  who  wcro  known  to  be  flitting  about 
France,  Flanders,  Scotland,  and  England — ^were  birds  of  ill 
omen.  King  James  was  beset  by  a  thousand  bribes  and  ex- 
postulations to  avenge  his  mother's  death ;  and  although  that 
mother  had  murdered  his  father,  and  done  her  best  to  dis- 
inherit 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  bo 
saved  by,  and  I  would  that  others  were  of  my  opinion."  ^ 

Tho  noble  sailor,  on  whom  so  much  responsibility  rested, 
yet  who  was  so  trammelled  and  thwarted  by  the  ,^mid  and 
parsimonious  policy  of  Elizabeth  and  of  Buighley,  chafed  and 
shook  his  chains  like  a  captive.  "  Since  England  was  Eng- 
land," he  exclaimed,  "  there  was  never  such  a  stratagem  and 
mask  to  deceive  her  as  this  treaty  of  peace.     I  pray  God  that 


>  Hawkins  to  "Walsmgham,  —  Feb. 

1588.    (a  P.  Office  MS.) 

>  En  bora  buena  ajen  Uegado  cl 
Conde  de  Morton  y  Coronel  Semple," 
sajfl  Philip,  speaking  of  one  of  the 
hundred  attempts  of  the  Scotch  Ca- 
tholics employed  by  him  to  bring 
about  a  co-operation  on  the  part  of 
James  with  the  Spanish  design  upon 
England,  "atmqne  sog^n  los  avisos 
quo  embiastes  do    Inglatierra   menos 


fnitos  haran  quo  so  promotian,  pocs 
tionen  hereses  al  Rey  tan  do  su 
mana  Poro  bien  cs  que  hagaos  las 
dlligencias  que  so  pueden,  tentando 
si  la  sangre  do  su  madre  le  cstimola 
a  la  yengan^a,'*  ftc.  Philip  IL  to 
Mendoza,  2I.JuBe,  1588.  (Arch,  do 
Simancas  pn  tho  Arch,  do  FEmpiro^ 
at  Paris],  Ma) ' 

»  Howard    to    Walsingnam,    — — 

1588.    (a  P.  Offico  iI3.) 


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15d8.  BITTEB  COMPLAINTS  OF  LORD  HOWARD.  449 

we  do  not  curse  for  this  a  long  grey  beard  with  a  white  head 
witless,  that  will  make  all  the  world  think  us  heartless.  You 
know  whom  I  mean."  *  And  it  certainly  was  not  difficult  to 
understand  the  allusion  to  the  pondering  Lord-Treaisurer. — 
"  Opus  est  aliquo  DcedalOy  to  direct  us  out  of  the  nuize/'^  said 
that  much  puzzled  statesman ;  but  he  hardly  seemed  to  be 
making  himself  wings  with  which  to  lift  England  and  himself 
oat  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  h«irt  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.  You  should  hear  that  we  would  make 
his  enterprise  very  unpleasant  to  him."  * 

And  Howard,  too,  was  delighted  not  only  with  his  own  little 
flagHship  the  Arh-Royal — "  the  odd  ship  of  the  world  for  all 
conditions," — but  with  all  of  his  fleet  that  could  be  mustered. 
Although  wonders  were  reported,  by  every  arrival  frota  the 
south,  of  the  coming  Armada,  the  Lord- Admiral  was  not  ap- 
palled. 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  Maj^ty  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  hun- 
dreds, w©  will  make  good  sport  with  them."  * 

But  those  foui^  great  ships  of  her  Majesty,  so  much  longed 
for  by  Howard,  were  not  forthcoming.  He  complained  that 
the  Queen  was  "keeping  them  to  protect  Chatham  Ohmrch 
withal,  when  they  fiould  be  serving  their  turn  abroiad."'* 
The  Spanish  fleet  was  already  reported  as  numbering  from 
210  sail,  with  36,000  men,*  to  400  or  500  ships,  and  80,000 


1  Howard  to  Walsingham,  MS.  last 
cited. 

«  Burgbley  to  Willooghby,  -  Feb. 

1588.    (a  P.  Office  MS.) 
•Sir    WiU.    Winter    to    Hawkins, 

28F«1)w 

~— >  1688.    (a  P.  Office  M&) 

9  Mar.                    ^ 
VOT..  TI. 2  G 


29  Feb. 

♦  Howard  to  Burghlov,  ,  1688. 

(&  P.  Office  MS.) 

11 
^  Howard  to  Walmnghami  --  March, 

1588.    (S.  P.  Office  MS.) 
•Ibid. 


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450  ^^^^  UNITED  NBTHEBLANDSb  Chap.  XYIH 

soldiers  and  mariners  ;^  and  yet  Drake  was  not  ready  with 
his  sqqadron.  ^^  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  ui^repared 
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  enthu- 
siasm with  which  he  was  received.  Five  thousand  people  a 
day  came  on  board  his  ships,  full  of  congratulation  and 
delight ;  and  he  informed  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  Church,  was  importunately  demanded ;  but  it  was 
already  Easter-Day  (17th  April),  and  she  was  demanded  in 
vain.  "  Lord  1  when  should  she  serve,"  said  the  Admiral,  "if 
not  at  such  a  time  as  this  ?  Either  she  is  fit  now  to  serve,  ox 
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  fi^t  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  see  the  support  of  an  honourable 
war  will  never  appear.  Sparing  and  war  have  no  affinity 
together."* 

*  Howard  to  WalsiDgbaiii,  —  Marcb, 
1588.    (&  P.  Office  MSO 

«  Same  to  same,  -  April,  I58a 
aP.  Offioo(Ma) 


»  Drake  to  the  Queen,  ^^  .  1588. 
(a  p.  Office  Ma) 

s  Howard  to  Walaingham,  —  March, 
1588,  Ma 


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1688.  WANT  OP  PRBPAEATION  IS  ARMY  AND  NAVY.  45I 

In  truth  Elizabeth's  most  faithful. subjects  were  appalled  at 
the  ruin  which  she  seemed  by  her  mistaken  policy  to  be  ren- 
dering inevitable.  "I  am  sorry,"  said  the  Admiral,  *Uhat 
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  endai^r  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 
those  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  86,016  foot,  and  13,831  cavalry  ;  but  it 
was  an  army  on  paper  merely.  Even  of  the  86,000,  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  Famese,  in  the  Isle 
of  Bommel,  on  the  sands  of  Blatikenburg,  and.  at  the  gates 
of  Sluys.  His  army  was  to  consist  of  27,000  infanky,  and 
2000  horse ;  yet  at  midsummer  it  had  not  reached  half  that 
number.  Lord  Chamberlain  Hunsdon  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  noblemen,  and  be  kept 
at  their  expense.  "  You  shall  hardly  believe,"  said  Leicester, 
"how  many  new  liveries  be  gotten  within  these  six  weeks, 
and  no  man  fears  the  penalty.    It  would  be  better  that  every 

Howard  to  Walslngham,  MS.  last  cited. 
*  Murden,  608-613.    *  Hardwicke  Papers,'  L  5 1 6.    Lingard,  viil  273.    Camden, 
ilL  406.    Stowe^  750. 


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452 


THE  UNITED  NETHEBLAND& 


Chap.  XVHL 


nobleman  did  as  Lord  Dacres^  than  to  take  away  from  the 
principal  flcrvice  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  defi- 
ciency. No  braver  or  more  competent  soldier  could  be  foimd 
than  Sir  Edward  Stanley — the  man  whom  we  have  seen  in 
his  yellow  jerkm,  helping  himself  into  Fort  Zutphen  with  the 
Spanish  soldier's  pike — and  yet  Sir  Edward  Stanley  gave  but 
a  sorry  account  of  the  choicest  soldiers  of  Chester  and  Lan- 
cashire, whom  ho  had  been  sent  to  inspect.  ^^  I  find  ^em 
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  discretion  of  the 
muster-master,  but,  as  yet,  they  have  not  been  trained  one  day^ 
80  that  they  have  benefited  nothing,  nor  yet  know  their 
leaders.  There  is  now  promise  of  amendment,  which,  I  doubt, 
will  be  very  slow,  in  respect  to  my  Lord  Derby's  absence."  * 

My  Lord  Derby  was  at  that  moment,  and  for  many  months 
afterwards,  assisting  Valentine  Dale  in  his  classical  prolu- 
sions on  the  sands  of  Bourbourg.  He  had  better  have  be^i 
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.  Professional  soldiers  complaioed  bitterly 
of  the  canker  of  a  long  peace.  "For  our  long  quietness, 
which  it  h^th  pleased  God  to  send  us,"  said  Stanley,  "  they 
think  their  moliey  very  ill  bestowed  which  they  expend  on 
armour  or  weapon,  for  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  greatly  powder,  for  there  is  little  or 
none  at  all."' 

24  July 

'  Leicester   to   Walsioffhom,    , 

8  Aug. 

1588.    (a  P.  Office  MS.) 
•Edward    Stanley^  to    tho    Privy 

28  Ftb. 


9  March 
MS.) 

•Ibid. 

All  the  spring, 


Sir    John    Korria 


was  doing  what  ho  conld  to 
the  soldiers  In  London.  The  ca^ 
tains  of  the  ArtiUery-Garden  luul 
been  tolerably  well  drilled  f(x  soToral 
years,  bat  the  rank  and  file  weto 
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,    **aiid 


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1588. 


SANGUINE  STATEMENTS  OP  LEICBSTEB. 


453 


The  day  was  fast  approaching  when  all  the  power  in  Eng- 
land would  be  too  little  for  the  demand.  But  matters  had 
not  very  much  mended  even  at  midsummer.    It  is  tme  that 

6  Leicester,  who  was  apt  to  be  sanguine — ^particularly 

is  ^'  in  niatters  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  de- 
termined to  visit  him,  and  encourage  his  soldiers. 

"I  have  received  in  secret,"  he  said,  "those  news  that 
please  me,  that  your  Majesty  doth  intend  to  behold  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  receive  who  shall  be  the  happiest  to  behold  your- 
self 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. 
Gbod  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  bo 
seen  or  found,  as  this  extreme  weather  hath  made  trial,  which 


there  have  not  been  found  ten  tbon- 
Band  sofficient  men.  This  will  seem 
strange  to  you,  bat  it  is  as  true  as  the 
Gospel  of  Si  John.  There  is  a  great 
want  of  powder,  and  no  hope  of  sup- 
plj,  except  that  which  can  be  manu- 
Qictored  in  England."  Avis  de  Lon* 
dres,  Ayril,  1688.    (Arch,  de  Simanoas, 

Ma) 

The  encouragement  given  to  the 
peaoe-party  in  the  metropolis  bj  the 
Ostend  negotiations  was  acting  like  a 
poison.  "The  people  here  are 
anxious  for  peace,  **  wrote  a  secret 
correspondent  of  the  Spanish  govern- 


ment; "and  if  the  Duke  of  Parma 
gives  the  least  hope  in  the  world  of 
it,  they  will  all  throw  down  their 
arms."  Much  encouragement,  too, 
was  given  to  Philip  by  the  alleged 
disloyalty  of  many  inhabitants  of 
London.  "There  is  an  infinity  of 
feUows  here,"  said  the  writer,  "  who 
desire  the  sacking  of  London  not  less 
than  the  Spaniards  themselves  do, 
and  are  doing  all  they  can  to  advance 
the  Catholic  cause."  Avisos  de  Lon- 
dres,  21-25-28  Mayo,  158&  (Arch,  de 
Simancaa  [Paris.]  MS.) 


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454  ^I^HB  UNITED  NETHEBLAND&  Chap.  XYUL 

doth  US  little  annojance,  it  is  so  firm  and  diy  a  ground. 
your  usher  also  liketh  your  lodging— a  proper,  secret,  cleanly 
house.  Your  camp  is  a  little  mile  off,  -and  your  person  will 
be  as  sure  as  at  St.  James's,  for  my  life."V 

But  notwithstanding  this  cheerful  view  of  the  position 
expressed  by  the  commander-in-chief,'  the  month  of  July  had 
passed,  and  the  early  days  of  August  had  already  arrived;  and 
yet  the  camp  was  not  formed,  nor  anything  more  than  that 
mere  handful  of  troops  mustered  about  Tilbury,  to  defend  the 
road  from  Dover  to  London.  The  army  at  Tilbury  nevei 
exceeded  sixteen  or  seventeen  thousand  men.* 

The  whole  royal  navy — ^numbering  about  thirty-four  vessels 
in  all — of  different  sizes,  ranging  from  1100  and  1000  tons  to 
30,  had  at  last  been  got  ready  for  sea.  Its  aggregate  tonnago 
was  11,820 ;  ^  not  half  so  much  as  at  the  present  moment — ^in 
-the  case  of  one  marvellous  merchant-steamer— ^/toafe  upon  a 
single  keel. 

These  vessels  carried  837  guns  and  6279  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  ih^ 
gave  30  ships  and  10,000  men  *  of  which  number  2710  were 
seamen.  Other  cities,  particularly  Plymouth,  came  forward 
with  proportionate  liberality,  and  plrivate  individuals,  nobles, 
merchaiits,  and  men  of  humblest  rank,  were  enthusiastic  in 
volunteering  into  the  naval  service,  to  risk  property  and  life 
in  defence  of  the  country.  By  midsummer  there  had  been  a 
total  force  of  197  vessels  manned,  and  partially  equipped, 
with  an  aggr^te  of  29,744  tons,  and  15,785  seamen.  Of 
this  fleet  a  very  laige  number  were  mere  coasters  of  less  than 
100  tons  each  ;  scarcely  ten  ships  were  above  500,  and  but 
one  above  1000  tons — the  Triumph,  Captain  Frobisher,  of 
1100  tons,  42  guns,  and  500  sailors.* 

Lord  Howard  of  Effingham,  Lord  High- Admiral  of  Eng- 


Leicester  to  the  Queen,  —    Julr, 


1588.    (a  P.  Office  MS.) 
■  Stowe,  750. 


»  Barrow,  266,  267. 

*  Stowe,   743.     Compare  ertimatea 
in  Barrow,  268. 

•  Ibid. 


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1688.  ACTIVITY  OP  PAEMA.  455 

land,  distingaished  for  his  martial  character,  public  spirit/ 
and  admirable  temper,  rather  than  for  experience  or  skill  as 
a  seaman,  took  command  of  the  whole  fleet,  in  his  'Mittle  odd 
ship  for  all  conditions,"  the  Ark^Moyal,  of  800  tons,  425  sailors, 
and  55  guns. 

Next  in  rank  was  Vice- Admiral  Drake,  in  the  Bevenge,  of 
500  tons,  250  men  and  40  guns.  Lord  Henry  Seymour, 
in  the  RaivboWy  of  precisely  the  same  size  and  strength, 
commanded  the  inner  squadron,  which  cruised  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  the  Erench  and  Flemish  coast. 

The  Hollanders  and  Zeelanders  had  undertaken  to  blockade 
the  Duke  of  Parma  still  more  closely,  and  pledged  themselves 
that  he  should  never  venture  to  show  himself  upon  the  open 
sea  at  all.  The  mouth  of  the  Scheldt,  and  the  dangerous 
shallows  off  the  coast  of  Newport  and  Dunkirk,  swarmed  with 
their  determined  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  adversary. 

Famese,  on  his  part,  within  that  well-guarded  territory, 
had,  for  months  long,  scarcely  slackened  in  his  preparations, 
day  or  night.  Whole  forests  had  been  felled  in  the  land  of  Waas 
to  furnish  him  with  transports  and  gun-boats,  and  with  such 
rapidity,  that-^-according  to  his  enthusiastic  historiographer — 
each  tree  seemed  by  magic  to  metamorphose  itself  into  a 
vessel  at  the  word  of  command.^  Shipbuilders,  pilots,  and 
seamen,  were  brought  from  the  Baltic,  from  Hamburgh,  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.  Portable  bridges 
for  fording  the  rivers  of  England,  stockades  for  entrench- 
ments, rafts  and  oars,  were  provided  in  vast  niunbers,  and 
Alexander  dug  canals  and  widened  natural  streams  to  facilitate 
his  operations.*  These  wretched  Provinces,  crippled,  im- 
poverished, languishing  for  peace,  were  forced  to  contribute 
out  of  their  poverty,  and  to  find  strength  even  in  their  ex- 

>  Strada,  II.  ix.  642.  I  21   Dec.   1587.     (Arch,  do  Simancai^ 

*  Stnda,  vbi  sup,    Fanna  to  Philip,  |  MS.)    Meteren,  xt.  270. 


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456  "^^^  UNITED  K£THEBIiANDa  Chap.  XVUL 

haustion^  to  furnish  the  machinery  for  destsroying  their  own 
countrymen^  and  for  hurling  to  perdition  their  most  healthful 
neighbour. 

And  this  approaching  destruction  of  England — ^now  gene- 
rally believed  in — ^was  like  the  sound  of  a  trumpet  throu^ont 
Catiiiolic  Europe.  Scions  of  royal  houses^  grandees  of  azure 
bloody  the  bastard  of  Philip  11.^  the  bastard  of  Savoy,  the 
bastard  of  Medici,  the  Margrave  of  Buighaut,  the  Ardidake 
Charles,  nephew  of  the  Emperor,  the  Princes  of  Ascoli  and  of 
Melfi,  the  Prince  of  Morocco,  and  others  oL  illustrious  name, 
with  many  a  noble  English  traitor,  like  Paget,  and  Westmore- 
land, and  Stanley,  all  hurried  to  the  camp  of  Famese,  as  to 
some  famous  tournament,  in  which  it  was  a  disgrace  to 
chivalry  if  their  names  were  not  enrolled.  The  roads  were 
trampled  with  levies  of  fresh  troops  from  Spain,  Naples, 
Corsica,  the  States  of  the  Church,  the  Milanese,  G^ermany, 
Burgundy. 

Bias  Capizucca  was  sent  in  person  to  conduct  reinforce- 
ments from  the  north  of  Italy,  The  famous.  Tersdo  of  Naples, 
under  Carlos  Pinelo,  arrived  3500  strong — ^the  most  splendid 
n^ment  ever  kno¥m  in  the  history  of  war.  Every  man  had 
an  engraved  corslet  and  musket-barrel,  and  there  were  many 
who  wore  gilded  armour,  while  their  waving  plumes  and 
festive  caparisons  made  them  look  like  holiday-midcers,  rather 
than  real  campaigners,  in  the  eyes  of  the  inhabitants  of 
the  various  cities  through  which  their  road  led  them  to 
Flanders.^  By  the  end  of  April  the  Duke  of  Parma  saw 
himself  at  the  head  of  60,000  men,  at  a  monthly  espense 
of  454,315  crowns  or  dollars.'  Yet  so  rapid  was  the  pro- 
gress of  disease — ^incident  to  northern  climates— among  those 
southern  soldiers,  that  we  shall  find  the  number  wofnlly 
diminished  before  they  were  likely  to  set  foot  upon  the 
English  shore. 

Thus   great   preparations,  simultaneously  with    pompons 

*  Carnero,    'Gueiras    de    Flandes*  I  April,    1588.      (Aich.    de    fiimiiniffM^ 
(1625),  p.  222.  MS.)    Compare  Stnida»  IL  ix.  540. 

s   ^Reladon    PartUmlar,'   kc    29th 


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1588.  THE  PAINFUL  SUSPENSE  OQNTINUEa  457 

negotiations^  had  been  going  forward  month  after  month,  in 
England,  Holland,  Flanders.  Nevertheless,  winter,  spring, 
two-thirds  of  summer,  had  passed  awaj,  and  on  the  29tt) 
July,  1588,  there  remained  the  same  sickening  micertaintj, 
which  was  the  atmosphere  in  which  the  nations  had  existed 
for  a  twelvemonth. 

Howard  had  cruised  for  a  few  weeks  between  England  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  sword,  not  her  enemy's 
word."* 

2S  Jane 

*  Howard  to  "Walangham,  Yjip  ^^®^  '^  Banow,  284 


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v 


453  th:b  united  nethebland&  ghap.zix 


CHAPTER    XIX. 

Plis^ip  Beoond  in  hU  Cabinet— His  System  of  Woik  and  Deception — His  Tast 
but  yague  Schemes  of  Conquest  —  The  Armada  sails  —  Description  of  the 
Fleet The  Junction  with  Parma  unprovided  for  —  The  Gale  off  Finisterre 

—  Exploits  of  David  Gwynn  —  Rrst  Engagements  in  the  English  Channel 

—  Considerable  Losses  of  the  Spaniards  —  General  Engagement  near  Port- 
land—  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  Armada  —  A  great  Gkdeasso  dis- 
abled —  Attacked  and  c^>tured  by  English  Boots — Genial  Engagement  of 
both  Fleets  —  Loss  of  several  Spanish  Ships  —  Armada  flies,  fdlowed  by  tho 
English — En^h  insufficientiy  provided  —  Are  obliged  to  relinquish  tho 
Chase  —  A  great  Storm  disperses  the  Armada  —  Great  Energy  of  Parma — 
Made  fruiUess  by  Philip^s  Dulness  —  England  readier  at  Sea  than  on  Shore 
— The  Lieutenant-General's  Complaints — His  Quarrels  with  Norria  and 
Williams — Harsh  Statements  as  to  the  English  Troops  —  Want  of  Oigani- 
zation  in  England — Royal  Parsimony  and  Delay — Quarrels  of  Enc^ish 
Admirals  —  Eo^and's  narrow  Escape  from  great  Peril— Yarioos  Rnmouis 
as  to  the  Armada's  Fate — Philip  for  a  long  Hme  in  Doubt — Ho  believes 
himself  victorious  —  Is  tranquil  when  undeceived. 

It  is  now  time  to  look  in  upon  tho  elderly  letter-writer  in  tho 
Escorial,  and  see  how  he  was  playing  his  part  in  the  drama. 

His  counsellors  were  very  few.  His  chief  advisers  were 
rather  like  private  secretaries  than  cabinet  ministers;  for 
Philip  had  been  withdrawing  more  and  more  into  seclusion 
and  mystery  as  the  webwork  of  his  schemes  multiplied  and 
widened.  He  liked  to  do  his  work,  assisted  by  a  very  few 
confidential  servants.  The  Prince  of  Eboli,  the  famous  Buy 
Gomez,  was  dead.  So  was  Cardinal  Qranvelle.  So  were 
Erasso  and  Delgado.  His  midnight  council— ^V<n^a  de  nocht 
— for  thus,  from  its  original  hour  of  assembling,  and  tho  aii 
of  secrecy  in  which  it  was  enwrapped,  it  was  habitually  called 
— ^was  a  triumvirate.  Don  Juan  de  Idiaquez  was  chief 
secretary  of  state  and  of  war ;  the  Count  de  Chinchon  was 
minister  for  the  household,  for  Italian  affiiirs,  and  for  the 
kingdom  of  Aragon  ;  Don  Cristoval  de  Moura,  the  monarch's 
chief  fiftvourite,  was  at  the  head  of  the  finance  department^ 
and  administered  the  affairs  of  Portugal  and  Castile.^ 

*  Herrews  HI.  iL  43^5,  and  138. 


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1588.  PTTTTiTP  THE  SECOND  IN  HIS  CABINET.  459 

The  president  of  the  council  of  Italy,  after  Granvelle's 
death,  "was  Quiroga,  cardinal  of  Toledo,  and  inquisitor-generaL* 
Enormously  long  letters,  in  the  King's  name,  were  prepared 
chiefly  by  the  two  secretaries,  Idiaquez  and  Moura.  In  their 
hands  was  the  vast  correspondence  with  Mendoza  and  Parma, 
and  Olivarez  at  Eome,  and  with  Mncio,  in  which  all  the  strata* 
gems  for  the  subjugation  of  Protestant  Europe  were  slowly  ahd 
artistically  contrived.  Of  the  great  conspiracy  against  human 
liberty,  of  which  the  Pope  and  Philip  were  the  double  head, 
this  midnight  triumyirate  was  the  chief  executive  committee. 

These  innumerable  despatches,  signed  by  Philip,  were  not 
the  emanations  of  his  own  mind.  The  King  had  a  fixed  pur- 
pose to  subdue  Protestantism  and  to  conquer  the  world  ;  but 
the  plans  for  carrying  the  purpose  into  effect  were  developed 
by  subtler  and  more  comprehensive  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  appear- 
ance of  supervising  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  antiquated  nor  ungrace- 
ful. 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  signature  by  Idiaquez  or  Moura,  would  be 
sometimes  covered  with  a  few  awkward  sentences,  which  it 
was  almost  impossible  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  Mendoza  concerning  the  Armada,  together  with  minute 
directions  for  the  regulation  of  Guise's  conduct  at  the  me- 


»  Ibid. 

'No  man  who  has  had  personal 
experience  in  the  Ardiives  of  Sman- 
cas,  or  who  has  studied  with  his  own 
ejes  the  great  collection  of  documents 
originally  belonging  to  that  deposi- 
tory, and  now  preserved  in  the 
Archives    of  the    Empire   at    Paris, 


win  assert  that  the  description  in  the 
text  is  exaggerated.  The  paragn^hs 
written  in  the  King's  own  hand  are 
almost  lUegible,  and  evidently  written 
with  great  difficulty.  When  deci- 
phered, they  are  found  to  be  always 
awkward,  generally  ungrammatiral, 
and  very  often  puerile. 


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460 


THE  UNITED  NETHBBLANDS. 


Chap.  XIX. 


morable  epoch  of  the  barricades — contained  bat  a  sii^e  com- 
ment from  the  monarch's  own  pen.  ^'The  Armada  has 
been  in  Lisbon  about  a  month — qtiasai  un  mea " — ^wrote  the 
secretary.     *^  There  is  but  one  8  in  qwm^"  said  Philip.^ 

Again,  a  despatch  of  Mendoza  to  the  King  contained  tiie 
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  affairs — as  became  the 
man  who  had  already  been  almost  sovereign  of  England,  and 
meant  to  be  entirely  so-H5upplied  a  piece  of  information  in 
an  apostille  to  this  despatch.  ^^St.  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  why  it  is  called  Huytaly  I  am  sure  I  don't  know."*  His 
researches  in  the  English  language  had  not  enabled  him 
to  recognize  the  adjective  and  substantive  out  of  which  the 
abstruse  compound  White-Hall  {Huyt-aJ),  was  formed. 

On  another  occasion,  a  letter  from  flngland  containing  im- 
portant intelligence  concerning  the  number  of  soldiers  en- 
rolled in  that  country  to  resist  the  Spanish  invasion,  the 
quantity  of  gunpowder  and  various  munitions  collected,  with 
other  details  of  like  nature,  furnished  besides  a  bit. of  infor- 
mation of  less  vital  interest.  '^  In  the  windows  of  the  Queen's 
presence-chamber  they  have  discovered  a  great  quanUty  of 
lice,  all  clustered  together,"  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  ofdy  on  this  last-mentioned 
clause  of  the  letter ;  and  he  did  it  cautiously  too,  as  a  King 
sumamed  the  Prudent  should : — 


>  Philip  IL  to  Mendoza,  2  June, 
1588.  A  66. 1^.  (Areb.  de  Simancaa. 
[Parii]Ma)     "  Ha  un  S  in  quasL" 

*  "  La  reyna  se  avia  retirado  a  San 
Gemee,  que  es  a  las  espaldas  de  Huy- 
tal, la  caasa  de  Londres,  y  para  guarda 
de  6u  persona  dedan  haver  sefialada 
4  mil  hombres,  y  mil  cavalleros  que 
estnyiessen  siempre  oon  ella^  y  a  causa 
da  estar  tan  medrosoa  los  de  Lon* 
drea^  lleyaron  a  Don  Pedro  de  Yaldez 


y  a  todos  los  de  mas  que  se  tomaron 
en  carros  a  Londres  para  que  vieese  el 
pueblo  que  ayian  tornado  preaos  espa- 
fioles  con  yoe  de  ser  deshedui  ioda 
la  armada  de  V.  M^,"  Ac; 

Note  fai  Philip's  hand:    "Casa    de 
plazer    que    fiie    monasterio-^-es    im 

Cue  entre  ella  y  el  palado  que  so 
a  Huytal,  y  no  s^  porque  .ya** 
Mendoza  to  Philip  XL  20  Aug.  158a 
(Arch,  de  Simancaa.  [Pari&]  MS.) 


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1588. 


HIS  SrrSTBM  OF  WOBK  AND  BECSPTION. 


m 


"  But  perhaps  they  were  fleas/'  wrote  Philip.* 
Such  examples — and  many  more  might  be  given — suffi- 
ciently indicate  the  nature  of  the  num  on  whom  such  enormous 
responsibilities  rested^  and  who  had  been,  by  the  adulation  of 
his  fellow-creatures,  elevated  into  a  god.  And  we  may  cast 
a  glance  upon  him  as  he  sits  in  his  cabinet — buried  among 
those  piles  of  despatches — and  receiving  methodically,  at 
stated  hours,  Idiaquez,  or  Moura,  or  Chincon,  to  settle  the 
afiairs  of  so  many  millions  of  the  human  race  ;  and  we  may 
watch  exactly  the  progress  of  that  scheme,  concerning  which 
so  many  contradictory  rumours  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  pledg- 
ing himself  to  assistance,  had  been  systematically  deceived. 
He  had  supposed  the  whole  scheme. rendered  futile  by  the 
exploit  of  Drake  at  Cadiz,  and  had  declared  that  ^^  the  Queen 
of  England's  distaff  was  worth  more  than  Philip'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.  Henry  III.  had  even  been  urged  by 
the  Pope  to  send  a  special  ambassador  to  her  for  this  purpose 
— OS  if  the  persuasions  of  the  wretched  Valois  were  likely  to 
be  effective  with  Elizabeth  Tudor — and  Burghley  had,  by 
means  of  spies  in  Bome,  who  pretended  to  be  Catholics,  given 


^  "  En  les  fenetres  de  la  chambre 
de  presence  en  la  ooor  do  la  Beyne 
on  a  trony^  fort  grand  nombre  de 
ponlx  qui  se  sont  coul^  ensemble." 
There  is  a  Spanish  translation  ap- 
pended to  this  document,  and  on  the 
margin,  in  Philip's  hand,  is  written: 
"Gran  numero  de  piqjos  o  quiza 
pu)go&''  Avisos  de  Londrcs,  1  April, 
1586.  (Arch,  do  Simancas  [Parisl 
Ma) 

•  Un  Vandini,  gran  vanquero  do 
Boma,  que  tieno  correspondenda  con 
cste    Bey    X™^   j   intelligencia    con 


muchos  Cat^o*  lo  ha  escrito  haver  dicho 
ol  Papa  quando  supo  lo  que  Draqneg 
avia  hecho  en  Gales,  que  Sa  Magd 
(Philip  II.)  era  persona  de  pooo,  quo 
nunca  se  acaveva  de  reeolver,  j  quando 
lo  hiziesse  no  seria  en  tiempo— han 
aqui  no  solo  solenmizado  pero  publi- 
cado  afiadiendo  quo  vaha  mas  la 
rueca  de  ]a  Beynade  Inglaterra  quo 
la  espada  del  Bey  de  Espafia,"  &c. 
&Q.  Mendoza  to  Idiaquez,  16  July, 
1687.  (Arch,  do  SimaDcas  [Parisl 
MS.) 


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THE  UNITED  KBTHEBLAND& 


Chap,  ^nr. 


out  intimations  that  the  Queen  was  seriously  contemplating 
such  a  step.^  Thus  the  Pope^  notwithstanding  Cardinal 
Allan,  the  famous  million,  and  the  bull,  was  thought  by 
Mendoza  to  be  growing  lukewann  in  the  Spanish  cause,  and 
to  be  urging  upon  the  "  Englishwoman"  the  propriety  of  con- 
verting herself,  even  at  the  late  hour  of  May,  1588.' 

But  Philip,  for  years,  had  been  maturing  his  scheme,  while 
reposing  entire  confidence — ^beyond  his  own  cabinet  doors — 
upon  none  but  Alexander  Famese  ;  and  the  Duke— alone  of 
all  men — was  perfectly  certain  that  the  inva^on  would,  this 
year,  be  attempted. 

The  captain-general  of  the  expedition  was  the  Marquis  of 
Santa  Cruz,  a  man  of  considerable  naval  experience,  and  of 
constant  good  fortune,  who,  in  thirty  years,  had  never  sus- 
tained a  defeat'  He  had  however  shown  no  desire  to  risk 
one,  when  Drake  had  offered  him  the  memorable  challenge  in 
the  year  1587,  and  perhaps  his  reputation  of  the  invincible 
captain  had  been  obtained  by  the  same  adroitness  on  previous 
occasions.  He  was  no  friend  to  Alexander  Famese,  and  was 
much  disgusted  when  informed  of  the  share  allotted  to  the 
Duke  in  the  great  undertaking.^  A  course  of  reproach  and 
perpetual  reprimand  was  the  treatment  to  which  he  was,  in 
consequence,  subjected,  which  was  not  more  conducive  to  the 
advancement  of  the  expedition  than  it  was  to  the  health  of 
the  captain-generaL  Early  in  January  the  Cardinal  Arch- 
duke was  sent  to  Lisbon  to  lecture  him,  with  instructions  te 
turn  a  deaf  ear  to  all  his  remonstrances,  to  deal  with  him 


^  **  He  he  Tisto  con  cl  nuncio,  j  me 
ha  dicho  qae  Sn  Santi^i,  avia  meses, 
que  pidio  a  eete  Rey  embiasse  a 
la  de  £iglaterra  lo  bien  que  le  estaria 
hazerse  Catolioa,  y  esto  por  tener  Su 
&^  avisos  poder  venir  en  ello  con 
semejantes  porsuasiones  que  este  Rej 
esorivio  a  su  embax'*  que  tiene  en 
Inglaterra  )e  avisasse  si  estava  en  esta 
diroosicion  la  -Beyna,  el  qual  respondio 
el  Teeorero  Oedl  por  medio  ne  espidnes 
que  tenia  en  Roma  fingiendo  ser 
Gatoliooe  avia  hecbo  Uegar  esta  toz 
a  Su  S<i  para  ganar  tiempo  7  entibiar 


le  en  persuadir  la  emprasa  a  Y. 
Mag<>.  y  que  agora  de  nuevo  Su  S* 
avia  siguificado  al  Card'  de  Joyosa 
que  seria  muy  bien  que  este  Bey  em- 
biasse xm  embax^  extra<^  para  baser 
eete  officio  con  la  Ynglesa,"  Ac  ^ 
Mendoza  to  Philip  JL  8  May,  158a 
(Arch,  de  Simancas  [Paris],  MSu) 

«Ibid. 

•  Herrera,  m.  iiL  70. 

^Las  Adyertendas  de  Sn  Mag^ 
para  el  Marques  de  Santa  Cruz,  1588. 
(Arch,  de  Simanoas^  M&) 


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IM8.         HIS  VAST  BUT  VAGUE  SOHJBMBS  OF  CONQUEST.         463 

peremptorily^  to  forbid  his  writing  letters  on  the  subject  to 
his  Majesty^  and  to  order  him  to  accept  his  post  or  to  de- 
dine  it  without  conditions,  in  which  latter  contingency  he  was 
to  be  informed  that  his  successor  was  already  decided  upon.' 

This  was  not  the  most  eligible  way  perhaps  for  bringing 
the  captain-general  into  a  cheerful  mood  ;  particularly  as  he 
was  expected  to  be  ready  in  January  to  sail  to  the  Flemish 
coast.'  Nevertheless  the  Marquis  expressed  a  hope  to  ac- 
complish his  sovereign's  wishes  ;  and  great  had  been  the 
bustle  in  all  the  dockyards  of  Naples,  Sicily^  and  Spain  ;  par- 
ticularly in  the  provinces  of  Guipuzcoa,  Biscay,  and  Anda- 
lusia, 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  con- 
fidently bdieved,  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  history  of  mankind  there  has  never  been  a 
vast  project  of  conquest  conceived  and  matured  in  so  pro- 
tracted and  yet  so  desultory  a  manner,  as  was  this  famous 
Spanish  invasion.  There  was  something  almost  puerile  in 
the  whims  rather  than  schemes  of  Philip  for  carrying  out  his 
purpose.  It  was  probable  that  some  resistance  would  bo 
offered,  at  least  by  the  navy  of  England,  to  the  subjugation 
of  that  country,  and  the  King  had  enjoyed  an  oppor- 
tunity, the  preceding  smnmer,  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  Famese  could  not  invade  England 
quite  by  himself,  and  was  perpetually  expecting  to  hear  that 
he  had  done  so. 

"  Holland  and  Zeeland,"  wrote  Alexander  to  Philip,  "  have 

>  MS.  last  dted. 
*  Orden    do   Su    Uaffi  que    se    embio   al   &*  Cardi  Archiduque.      Enero^ 
1688.    (Arch,  de  Simancas,  US.)  *  Herrera*  HI.  ill  90,  91. 


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THE  UNITED  NETHEBLANDa 


Chap,  yrx, 


been  arming  with  their  dccustomed  promptness ;  England  has 
made  great  preparations.  I  have  done  my  best  to  make  ihe 
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  every  one  of  us 
perished.  Four  ships  of  war  could  sink  every  one  of  my  boats. 
Nevertheless  I  b^  to  be  informed  of  your  Majesty's  final 
order.  If  I  am  seriously  expected  to  make  the  passage  without 
Santa  Cruz,  I  am  ready  to  do  it,  although  I  should  go  all 
alone  in  a  cock-boat."  * 

But  Santa  Cruz  at  least  was  not  destined  to  assist  in  the 
conquest  of  England ;  for,  worn  out  with  fatigue  and  vexation, 
goaded  by  the  reproaches  and  insults  of  Philip,  Santa  Cruz 
was  dead.'  He  was  replaced  in  the  chief  command  of  the 
fleet  by  the  Duke  of  Medina  Sidonia,  a  grandee  of  vast  wealth, 
but  with  little  capacity  and  less  experience.  To  the  iron 
marquis  it  was  said  that  a  golden  duke'  had  succeeded ;  but 
the  duke  of  gold  did  not  find  it  easier  to  accomplish  impossi- 
bilities 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  sailing,  and  as 
frequently  he  had  been  renewing  to  Alexander  Famese  tiie 
intimation  that  perhaps^  after  all,  he  might  find  an  opportunity 
of  crossing  to  Engird,  without  waiting  for  its  arrival.^  And 
Alexander,  with  the  same  regularity,  had  be^i  informing  his 
master  that  the  troops  in  the  Netherlands  had  been  daily 
dwindling  from  sickness  and  other  causes,  till  at  last,  instead 
of  the  30,000  effective  infantry,  with  which  it  had  been 
originally  intended  to  make  the  enterprise,  he  had  not  more 
than  17,000  in  the  month  of  April.*  The  6000  Spaniards, 
whom  he  was  to  receive  from  the  fleet  of  Medina  Sidonia, 
would  therefore  be  the  very  mainspring  of  his  army.®    After 


^  "Atmqne  haviecBe  de  passar  eolo 
en  una  zabra."  Parma  to  Philip,  2l8t 
Dec.  1587.  (Arch,  de  Simancafl, 
MS.) 

»  Strada,  n.  ix.  549.  Philip  to 
Parma,  18  Feb.  1588.  (Arch,  de 
6imancas,  MS.) 


'  Strada,  ubi  sup, 

*  Philip  to  Parma»  6  March,  1588. 
(Arch,  de  Simancaa,  MS.) 

»  Parma  to  PhiUp,  20  March,  1688. 
(Aidi.  de  Simancaa^  MS.) 

•  "El  nienro  principal"    (Ibid.) 


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1588.  THB  ABHADA  SAILS.  4g5 

leaving  no  more  soldiers  in  the  Netherlands  than  were  abso- 
lutely necessary  for  the  defence  of  the  obedient  Provinces 
against  the  rebels^  he  could  only  take  with  him  to  England 
23,000  men,  even  after  the  reinforcements  from  Medina. 
"  When  we  talked  of  taking  England  by  surprise/'  said  Alex- 
ander, "  we  never  thought  of  less  than  30,000.  Now  that  she 
is  al^t  and  ready  for  ug,  and  that  it  is  certain  we  must  fight 
by  sea  and  by  land,  50,000  would  be  few."  *  He  almost  ridi- 
culed the  King's  suggestion  that  a  feint  might  be  made  by 
way  of  besieging  some  few  places  in  HoUand'or  Zeeland.  The 
whole  matter  in  hand,  he  said,  had  become  as  public  as 
possible,  and  the  only  effieiesit  blind  was  the  peace-n^o- 
tiation  ;  for  many  .believed,  as  the  English  deputies  were  now 
treating  at  O^tend,  that  peace  would  follow.* 

At  last,  on  the  28ih,  29th,  and  30l;h  May,  1588,  the  fleet, 
which  had  been  waiting  at  Lisbon  more  tiiah  a  month  for 
fdvourable  weather,  set  sail  from  that  port,  after  having  been 
duly  blessed  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  wds  the  squadron 
of  Portugal,  consisting  of  ten  galleons,  and  commanded  by 
Hie  captain-general,  Medina  Sidonia.  In  the  squadron  of 
Castile  were  fourteen  ships  of  various  sizes,  under '  General 
Di^  Flores  de  Valdez.  This  officer  was  one  of  the  most 
ezperienoed  naval  officers  in  the  Spanish  service,  and  was 
subsequently  order^,  in  consequence,  to  sail  with  the. general- 
issimo in  his  flag-ship.'  In  the  squadron  of  Andalusia  were 
ten  galleons  and  otiier  vessels,  under  General  Pedro  de  Yaldez. 
In  the  squadron  of  Biscay  were  ten  galleons  and  lesser  ships, 
under  General  Juan  Martinez  de  Btodde,  upper  admiral  of 


^  Parma  to  Philip^  81  Jan.  1583. 
(Arch,  de  Simancas,  MS.) 

*  Same  to  same,  20  MarcB,  1588. 
(Aich.  de  Simancaa,  MS.) 

*  Philip  IL  to  Mendoza,  24  April, 
1688,  «nd  2  June,  1588.  (Arch,  de 
Bimancas  [Paris],  MSS.)  Bor,  III. 
321,  322. 

VOL.  n.— 2  H 


*  Herrens  lU.  iil  93,  Mg.  Philip 
IL  to  Parma,  13  May,  1588,  sajs  150, 
but  there  were  manj  email  Teaeels 
and  transports  equipped,^  which  nerer 
left  Spam.  The  number  of  effoctiye 
ships  of  an  kinds  was  probably  leas 
than  140. 

*  Hexien^  vibt  aup^ 


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THE  UNITED  NBTHEBLANDS. 


Chip.  ZDL 


the  fleet.  In  the  squAdron  of  Guipnzcoa  were  ten  gaUeons, 
under  General  Miguel  de  Oquendo.  In  the  squadron  of  Italy 
were  ten  ships,  under  General  Martin  de  Bertendona.  In  the 
squadron  of  Ureas,  or  storerships,  were  twenty-three  sail,  under 
General  Juan  GK)mez  de  Medina.  The  squadron  of  tenders, 
caravels,  and  other  vessels,  numbered  twenty-two  sail,  under 
(General  Antonio  Hurtado  de  Mendoza.  The  squadron  of  four 
galeasses  was  commanded  by  Don  Hugo  de.Moncada.  Tbe 
squadron  of  four  galeras,  or  galleys,  was  in  chai^  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 
fEtmous  Terzio  or  legion  of  Sicily.^ 

The  total  tonnage  of  the  fleet  Tvas  59,120 :  the  number  of 
guns  was  3165.  Of  Spanish  troops  there  were  19,295  on 
board :  there  were  8252  sailors  and  2088  galley-slaves.  *  Be- 
sides 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  Martii 
Alaccon,  administrator  and  vicar-general  of  the  Holy  Inqui 
sition,  at  the  head  of  some  290  monks  of  the  mendicant  ord^ 
priests  and  familiars.^  The  grand  total  of  those  embarked 
was.  about  30,000.  The  daily  expense  of  the  fleet  was  esti- 
mated by  Don  Di^  de  Pimaitel  at  12,000  ducats  o-day,  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  shipsranged  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  thi<^ 
and  built  up  at  st^oi  and  stem,  like  castles.  The  galeasses— 
of  which  there  were  four — were  a  third  larger  than  the  ordinary 


^  Heirera,  vbi  sup.  Compare  Strada^ 
n.  iz.  646,  seq.  Bor,  IIL  zxy.  317, 9eq, 
Het^D,  xy.  2*70.  Oamden,  III.  410, 
Mg.  Camero,  226.  Colomaj  t  6,  seq, 
Banow,  266-270. 


*  MetereD,  ubi  sup. 
'  '  Ezamioatbn   of    Don   Diego   de 
Pimentel  before  the  ooancil  of  Hoi* 
land;  apud  Bor.  III.  325,  seq. 


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1588.  DBSCBIPnON  01*  THE  PLEST.  4g7 

galley,  and  were  rowed  each  by  three  hundred  gi^Uey-slaves. 
They  consisted  of  an  enormous  towering  fortress  at  the  stem, 
a  castellated  structure  almost  equally  massive  in  front,  with 
seats  for  the  rowers  amidships.  At  stem  and  stem  and 
between  each  of  the  slaves'  benches  were  heavy  cannon. 
These  galeasses  were  floating  edifices,  very  wonderful  to  con- 
template. They  were  gorgeously  decorated.  There  were 
splendid  state-apartments,  cabins,  chapels,  and  pulpits  in  each, 
and  they  were  amply  provided  with  awnings,  cushions,  stream- 
ers, standards,  gUded  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  galfeys  were  similar  to  the  ga- 
leasses 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 — ^wOTe  so  encumbered  with  top-hamper,  so  overweighted 
in  proportion  to  their  draught  of  water,  that  they  could  bear 
but  little  canvas,  even  with  smooth  seas  and  light  and  favour- 
able winds.  In  violent,  tempests,  ther^ore,  they. seemed  likely 
to  suffer.  To  the  eyes  of  the  16th  century  these  vessek 
seemed  enormous.  A  ship  of  1300  tons  was  then  a  monster 
rarely  seen,  and  a  fleet,  numbering  from  130  to  150  sail,  with 
an  aggr^;ate  tonnage  of  60,000,  seemed  sufficient  to  conquer 
the  world,  and  to  justify  the  arrogant  title;  by  which  it  had 
baptized  itself,  of  the  Invincible. 

Such  was  the  machinery  which  Philip  had  at  last  set  afloat, 
for  the  purpose  of  dethroning  Elizabeth  and  establishing  the 
inquisition  in  England.  One  hundred  and  forty  ships,  eleven 
thousand  Spanish  veterans,  as  many  more  recruits,  partly 
Spanish,  partly  Portuguese,  2000  grandees,  as  many  gaUey- 
slaves,  and  three  hundred  barefooted  friars  and  inquisitors. 

The  plan  was  simple.  Medina  Sidonia  was  to  proceed 
straight  from  Lisbon  to  Calais  roads :  there  he  was  to  virdit  for 
the  Duke  of  Parma,  who  was  to  come  forth  from  Newport, 
'  Strada,  U.  ix.  546.    Meteren,  xv.  270. 


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468  THS  XTNTTED  NSTHEBLAKDS.  Chap.  XIX. 

Sluys^  and  Donkerk,  bringing  with  him  his  17^000  veterans, 
and  to  assume  the  diief  command  of  the  whole  expedition. 
They  were  then  to  cross  the  channel  to  Dover,  land  the  army 
of  Parma,  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  iater- 
ferenoe  from  the  Dutch  and  English  fleets,  and — so  soon  as 
the  conquest  of  England  had  been  effected, — ^he  was  to  proceed 
to  Ireland.^  It  had  been  the  wish  of  Sir  William  Stanley  that 
Ireland  should  be  subjugated  flrst,  ^as  a  basis  of  operations 
against  England ;  but  this  had  been  overruled.  The  intrigues 
of  Mendoza  and  !Famese,  too,  with  the  Catholic  nobles  of 
Scotland,  had  proved,  after  all,  unsuccessful.  £ing  James  had 
yielded  to  superior  offers  of  money  and  .advancement  held  out 
to  him  by  Elizabeth,  and  was  now,  in  Alexander's  words,  a 
confirmed  heretic!' 

There  was  no  Course  left,  therefore,  but  to  conquer  England 
at  once.  '  A  strange  .omission'  had  however  been  made  in  the 
plan  from  first  to  last.  The  commander  of  the  whole  expedi- 
tion was  the  Duke  of  Parma :  on  his  head  was  the  whole 
respoti^bility.  Not  a  gun  was  to  be  fired— ^if  it. could  be 
avoided-^tintil  be  had  come  forth  with  his  veterans  to  mate 
his  junction  with  the  Invincible  Armada  off  Calais.  Tet  theaco 
was  no  arrangement  whatever  to  enable  him.  to  come  forth 
— not  the  (slightest  provision  to  effect  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 
l!)unkerk,  Newport,  and  Flushing,  although  he  had  certainly 
received  infoniiation  enough  of  this. formidable  obstacle  to 
his  plan, 

"  Most  joyful  I  shall  be,"  said  Famese — ^writing  on  one  of 
the  days  when  he  had  seemed  most  convinced  by  Yakntine 
Dale's  arguments,  and  driven  to  dei^pair  by  his  postulates — 
^^  to  see  myself  with  these  soldiera  on  English  groidid,  where, 

'  Letters  of  Philip  and  of  Panna  I  *  Parma  to  Philip  IL  8  June^  158a 
already  dted.    (AidL  de  Sim.  M&)        |  (Arch,  do  ^im.  MS.) 


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1588.         THE  JUNCTION  WITH  PAEMA  UNPROVIDBD  FOB.  469 

Trith  Gk)d's  help^  I  hope  to  accompliBh  your  Majesty's  de- 
mands."^ He  was  much  troubled  however  to  find  doubts 
entertained  at  Ihe  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  Moresiui  had  brou^t  him 
letters  from  Medina  Sidonia,  in  which  the  Duke  expressed 
hesitation  about  parting  with  these  6000  yeterans,  unless  the 
Englidi  fleet  should  have  been  previously  destroyed,  and  had 
also  again  expressed  his  hope  that  Parma  would  be  punctual 
to  the  rendezvous^'  Alexander  immediately  combated  these 
views  ia  letters  to  Medina  and  to  the  King.  He  avowed  that 
he  would  not  depart  one  tittle  from  the  plan  origihally  laid 
down.  The  6000  men,  and  more  if  possible,  wisre  to  be  fur- 
nished him,  and  the  Sjxinish  Armada  was  to  protect  his  own 
flotilla,  and  to  keep  the  channel  clear  of  enemies.  No  ather 
scheme  was  possible,  he  said,  for  it  vtas  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  vdth  the  enemy's  ships, 
which  would  destroy  them  utterly  in  case  of  a  meeting,  without 
his  being  able  to  avail  himself  of  his  soldiers — ^who  would  bo 
so  cbsely  packed  as  to  be  hardly  moveable — or  of  Any  human 
help.  The  preposterous  noticm  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  destroying  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 

1  Panna  to  Philip,  22  Jane,  1588.    (Arob.  de  Sim.  MS.) 
« Ibid.  •Ibid. 


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470 


THE  UNITSD  KBTHEBLANDS. 


Chap.  XDL 


enterprise  against  France  or  England,  but  only  a  determined 
attempt  to  clear  the  sea,  once  for  all,  of  these  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  ports,  to  afford 
them  that  comfort  and  protection  to  which  the  yessels  of  so 
close  and  friendly  an  ally  were  entitled.* 

Thus  there  was  bread,  beef,  and  powdar  enougl^— there  were 
monks  and  priests  enough — standards,  galley-slayes,  and  in- 
quisitors 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  likely  to  be  difficult,  and  yet  it  had  never 
once  entered  the  heads  of  Philip  or  his  counsellors  to  provide 
for  that  difficulty.  The  King  never  seemed  to  imagine  that 
Famese,  with  40,000  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  expected 
from  their  clumsy,  architecture,  the.  ships  of  the  Armada  con- 
sumed nearly  three  weeks  in  sailing  from  Lisbon  to  the  neigh- 
bourhoiDd  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 


'  ''Hableja  antes  al  Bey  de  mi 
parte,  J  conviniendo  hablarle,  le  dlreys 
que  el  atreyimiento  de  los  coraarios 
ingleses  me  ha  obligado  a  dessear 
limpiar  d^os  la  mar,  eete  rerano,  y 
qoe  assi  he  mandado  hazer  una  armada 
para  este  effecto,  en  la  qual  avra 
cuydado  de.  hazer  todo  el  buen  trata- 
miento  que  es  razon  a  bus  buenos 
subditbs  que  toparen,  de  que  le  he 
querido  dar  parte  y  pedir  le  como 
tambien  lo  h'areys  en  mi.nombre,  y  si 
algunos  baxelea  do  mi  armada  aportaran 
con  temporal  a  bus  puertos.  ordene  que 
sean' tratados  confmme  alabuenapaz 
y  hermaodad  que  entre  nosotros  hieiy, 
quitandole  por  aqui  la  soepecha  destas 
merzaa,  y  grangeandoU  pora  lo  que  se 


pretende^  y  este  oflck>  bastara  por  agora, 
sin  llegar  a  mas  particularidades," '  fta 
PhiUp  n.  to  Mendoza,  24  April,  15S8. 
(Arch,  de  Sim.  [Paris.]  A.  66,  148, 
MS.) 

This  letter  reached  Uendoza  in 
Paris  just  before  that  envoy,  accord- 
ing to  his  master's  iDStmctions,  was 
assisUng  Guise  to  make  his  memorable 
stroke  cf  the  *  barricades.' 

There  is  another  letter  of  the  same 
purport  neariy  three  months  later. 
Philip  IL  to  Mendoza,  18  July,  158a 
(Arch,  de  Sim.  [Paris.]  Au  56,  159, 
MS.) 

'  Herrera  Strada,  Bor,  Meteren, 
Camden.  Carnero^  Colomai  BarroW| 
tibiwp. 


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1588.  THB  GALE  OFF  FINISTEBEB.  471 

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  gaUey-slaye— as  prisoner  of  war — 
for  more  than  eleven  years,  hoping,  year  ^fler  year,  for  a 
chance  of  escape  from  bondage.^  He  sat  now  among  the 
rowers  of  the  great  galley,  the  Vasanay  one  of  the  humblest 
instruments  by  which  the  subjugation  of  his  native  land  to 
Spain  and  Bome  was  to  be  effected. 

Very  naturally,  among  the  ships  which  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  stem,  and  their  low  and  open  waists.  The  chapels, 
pulpits,  and  gilded  Madonnas  proved  of  little  avail  in  a  hur« 
ricane.  The  Dianaj  largest  of  the  four,  went  down  with  all 
hands  ;  the  Princess  was  labouring  severely  in  the  trough  of 
the  sea,  and  the  VasaTia  was  likewise  in  imminent  danger. 
So  the  master  of  this  galley  asked  the  Welsh  slave,  who  had 
fiur  more  experience  and  seamanship  than  he  possessed  himself, 
if  it  were, possible  to  save  the  vessel  Gwynn  saw  an  oppor- 
tunity for  which  he  had  been  waiting  eleven  years.  He  was 
ready  to  improve  it.  He  pointed  out  to  the  captcun  the  hope- 
lessness 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  them- 
selves to  the  utmost,  it  was  necessary  that  the  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,  consented.  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  they  wholly  without  weapons.  They  had  been 
accustomed  to  make  toothpicks  and  other  trifling  articles  for 

1  Bor,  iu.  322,  seq. 


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472  THB  UNITBD  NBIHSIUiAHD&  Chap.  XIX. 

sale  out  of  broken  sword-blades  and  otber  refuse  bits  of  sieeL 
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  tiie  ship  had  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,  rushing  below,  tiiey  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,  commanded  by  Com- 
modore 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  liberty,  and 
by  our  courage  we  must  prove  ourselves  worthy  of  the 
boon."* 

As  he  spoke  there  came  a  broadside  from  the  galley  Bt^yal 
which  killed  nine  of  his  crew.  David,  nothing  daunted,  laid 
his  ship  close  alongside  of  the  Boyaiy  with  such  a  shock  that 
the  tin^bers  quivered  again.  Then  at  the  head  of  his  libe- 
rated slaves,  now  thoi^ughly  armed,  ho  dashed  on  boaid  the 
galley,  and,  after  a  furious  conflict,  in  which  he  was  assisted 
by  the  slaves  of  the  Boycd,  succeeded  in  mastering  the  vessel, 
and  putting  all  the  Spanish  soldiers  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  ga-le  had  meantime  abated,  and  the 
two  galleys,  well  conducted  by  the  experienced  and  intrepid 
Welshman,  made  their  way  to  the  coast  of  France,  and  landed 
at  Bayonne  on  the  3Ist,  dividing  among  them  the  property 
found  on  board  the  two  galleys.  Thence,  by  land,  the  fugi- 
tives, four  hundred  and  sixty-six  in  number-r-Frenchmen, 

*  Bor,  iiL  322,  aeq.  -  louL  »  tbid. 


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1588. 


EXHiOITS  OP  DAVID  GWTNH. 


473 


Spaniards,  Englishing,  Turks,  and  Moors,  made  their  way  to 
Bochelle.  Gwynn  had  an  interview  with  Henrjr  of  Navarre, 
and  received  fronl  that  chivahons  king  a  handsome  preset. 
Afterwards  he  found  his  way  to  Enj^nd,  and  was  well  com- 
mended by  the  Queen.  The  rest  of  the  liberated  slaves 
dispersed  in  various  directions/'  ^ 

This  was  the  first  adventure  of  the  invincible  Armada.  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,  tuid  joined  the 
rest  of  the  fleet,  which  ultimately  re-assembled  at  Corufla ; 
the  ships  having,  in  distress,  put  in  at  first  at  Yivera,  Bibadeo, 
Gijon,  and  other  noJthem  ports  of  Spain.*  At  the  Groyne — as 
the  English  of  that  day  were  accustomed  to  call  Corufia — 
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  Scilly  Islands,  and  on  Friday,  the  29th  of  July,  off  the 
Lizard,^  they  had  the  first  glimpse  of  the  land  of  promise 
presented  them  by  Sixtus  V.,  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  Margate,  and 
from  the  Isle  of  Wight  to  Cumberland,  gave  warning  to  every 
Englidunan  that  the  enemy  was  at  last  upon  them.  Almost 
at  that  very  instant  intelligence  had  been  brought  fi-om  the 
coqrt  to  the  Lord-Admiral  at  Plymouth,  that  the  Armada, 
dispersed  and  shatter^  by  the  gales  of  June,  was  not  likely 
to  make  its  appearance  that  year ;  and  orders  had  conse- 
quently been  given  to  disarm  the  four  largest  ships,  and  send 


*  Bor,  Heteren,  zr.  272.  Compare 
Camden,  iy.  410,  who  had  heard,  how- 
ever, nothing  but  the  name  of  Gwynn, 
and  who  speaks  of  the  "  irtachery  of 
the  TurkiaJi  rowera."  (I) 

*  Herrera,  IIL  til  94. 

*  Medina  Sidonia  from  his  galleon 
San  Martin  to  Parma,  25  July,  1588. 
(Arch,  de  Sha  Ma) 


The  dates  in  the  narrative  will  be 
always  i^ven  according  to  the  New 
Style,  then  already  adopted  by  Spain, 
Holland,  and  France,  ^though  not  by 
England.  The  dates  thus  given  are, 
of  course,  ten  days  later  than  they 
appear  in  contemporary  English  re- 
cords. 

*  Herrera,  ubi  aq>. 


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474 


THE  UNITBD  NBTHERLANDa 


Chap.XIZ. 


them  into  4ock/  Even  Wakingham,  as  already  stated^  had 
participated  in  this  strange  delnsion.' 

Before  Howard  had  time  to  act  upon  this  ill-timed  sag- 
gestion— 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  Ply- 
mouth 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,  31st  July,  about  two  miles  from  Looe,* 
on  the  Cornish  coast,  the  fleets  had  their  first  meeting.  There 
were  136  sail  of  the  Spaniards,  of  which  ninety  were  lai^ 
ships,  and  sixty-seven  of  the  English.^  It  was  a  solenm  mo- 
ment. The  long^xpected  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  pri- 
vate shot-proof  fortress,^  on  the  deck  of  his  great  galkon 
the  Saint  Martin^  surrounded  by  generals  of  in&ntry,  and 
colonels  of  cavalry,  who  knew  as  little  as  he  did  himsdf 
of    naval    matters.      The    English   vessels,    on   the    other 


^  Meteren,  zt.  2*72.  CamdeD,  HL 
410.  MordiQ,  616-62L  The  ships 
were  the  *  Triumph,'  *  White  Bear/ 
*  Blisabeth  Jonas,'  and  *  Victory.'  Lia- 
gard,  YiiL  280. 

*  Walwnsham    to   Sir  Ed.  N(Hrris» 

^^  July,  1688.    (S.  P.  Office  MS.)    See 


pase  42,  note  4. 
'  Herrens    vbi    sup. 


Howard    to 


Walsbgham,  r:  July,  1588,  in  Banow, 
288. 

*  Herrera,  101. 

*  Ibid.      Howard   to   Valainghain, 
ubi  sufK 

*  R.  Tomson  to w  -— H  168a. 


(S.  P.  Office  M&) 
'  Ibid. 
*  Meteren,  xv.  274. 


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1588. 


FIRST  ENGAGEMENTS  IN  ENGLISH  CHANNEL. 


475 


iiand — ^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  seunansbip  of  free  Englishmen,  commanded  by  such 
expaienced  captains  as  Drake,  Frobisher,  and  Hawkins — 
from  infSEmcy  at  home  on  blue  water-— was  manifest  in  the 
very  first  encounter.  They  obtained  tiie  weather-gage  at 
onoe,  and  cannonaded  the  enemy  at  intervak  with  consider- 
able effect,  easily  escaping  at  will  out  of  range  of  the  slug^h 
Armada,  which  was  incapable  of  bearing  sail  in  pursuit, 
although  provided  with  an  armament  which  could  sink  all  its 
enemies  at  close  quarters.  ^^  We  had  some  small  fight  with 
them  that  Sunday  afternoon,''  said  Hawkins.^ 

Medina  Sidonia  hoisted  the  royal  standard  at  the  fore,  and 
the  whole  fleet  did  its  utmost,  which  was  little,  to  offer 
general  battle.  It  was  in  vain.  The  English,  following  at 
the  heels  of  the  enemy,  refused  all  such  invitations,  and 
attacked  only  the  rear-guard  of  the  Armada,  where  Becalde 
comm^kuded.  That  admiral,  steadily  maintaining  his  post, 
faced  his  nimble  antagonists,  who  coiitinued  to  teaze,  to  mal- 
treat, and  to  elude  him,  while  the  rest  of  the  fleet  proceeded 
slowly  up  the  Channel  closely  followed  by  the  enemy.  And 
thus  the  running  fight  continued  along  the  coast,  in  full  view 
of  Plymouth,  whence  boats  with  reinforcements  and  volun- 
teers were  perpetually  arriving  to  the  English  ships,  until  the 
battle  had  drifted  quite  out  of  reach  of  the  town. 

Already  in  this  first  ^^ small  fight''  the  Spaniards  had 
learned  a  lesson,  and  might  even  entertain  a  doubt  of  their 
invincibility.  But  before  the  sun  set  there  were  more  serious 
disasters.  Much  powder  and  shot  had  been  expended  by  the 
Spaniards  to  very  little  purpose,  and  so  a  master-gunner,  on 
board  Admiral  Oquendo's  flag-ship  was  reprimanded  for  care- 
less ball-practice.  The  gunner,  who  was  a  Fleming,  enraged 
with  his  captain,  laid  a  train  to  the  powder-magazine,  fired  it^ 
and  threw  himself  into  the  sea.'    Two  decks  blew  up.    The 


*  Hawkins  to  WalaiDgham, 
1588.    (&  P.  Office  MS.) 


*  Report  of  certain  MarinorsL  Axig, 
1588.    (S.  P.  Office  MS.) 


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476 


THE  UNITED  NETHERLANDS. 


Chap.  XII< 


great  castle  at  the  stem  rose  into  the  douds,  carrying  with  it 
the  paymaster-general  of  the  fleet,  a  laige  portion  of  trei^rai^ 
and  nearly  two  hundred  men.^  The  ship  was  a  wreck,  but  it 
was  possible  to  save  the  rest  of  the  crew.  So  Medina  Sidonia 
sent  light  vessels  to  remove  them,  and  wore  with  his  flag-ship, 
to  defend  Oqnendo,  who  had  already  been  fastened  upon  bj 
his  Englidi  pursuers.  But  the  Spaniards,  not  being  so  lij^t 
in  hand  as  their  enemies,  involved  themselves  in  moich.  em- 
barrassment by  this  manceuvre ;  and  there  was  much  fedlii^ 
foul  of  each  other,  entanglement  of  rigging,  and  carrying 
away  of  yards.  Oquendo's  men,  however,  were  ultimately 
saved,  and  taken  to  other  ships.' 

Meantime  Don  Pedro  de  Yaldez,  commander  of  the  Anda- 
lusian  squadron,  having  got  his  galleon  into  collision  with  two 
or  three  Spanish  ships  successively,  had  at  last  carried  away 
his  fore-mast  close  to  the  deck,  and  the  wreck  had  &Uen 
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  fira 
signals  of  distress.  The  captain-general,  even  as  though  the 
unlucky  galleon  had  hoi  been  connected  with  the  Catholic 
fleet — calmly  fired  a  gun  to  collect  his  scattered  iships,  and 
abandoned  Yaldez  to  his  fate.  ^^  He  left  me  comfortless  in 
sight  of  the  whole  fleet,"  said  poor  Pedro,  "  and  greater  in- 
humanity and  unthankfulness  I  think  was  never  heard  of 
among  men/'  * 

Yet  the  Spaniard  comported  himself  most  gallantly.  Fro- 
bisher,  in  the  largest  ship  of  the  English  fleet,  the  Triumph^ 
of  1100  tons,  and  Hawkins  in  the  Vtctoi^y  of  800,  cannonaded 
him  at  a  distance,  but,  night  coming  on,  he  was  able  to 
resist ;  and  it  was  not  till  the  following  morning  that  he  sur- 
rendered to  the  Refoenge} 


>  Herrera,  ni.  iil  100-102.  Cam- 
den, in.  412.     Bor,  IIL  323. 

»  Ibid 

»  Valdez  to  PhUip  ("  Engliahed"), 
31   Aug.    1688.      (S.    P.    Offloo    MS.) 


Compare  Herrera)    Bor,    Camden,  M 

«. MS.  letter  of  Yaldez  befiire  cited. 
Bor,  Camden,  vbi  sup.  Meteren,  xv. 
272.    Herrera,  IH  iiL  100-102,  who 


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1588. 


CONSIDEliUBLB  liOSSES  07  i!HB  SPANIABBa 


47* 


Drake  tlien  received  the  gallant  prisoner  on  board  his  flag- 
shipr-mach  to  the  disgust  and  indignation  of  Frobisher  and 
Hawkins^  thus  disappointed  ojf  their  prize-  and  ransom- 
money  ^ — treated  him  with  much  courtesj,  and  gave  his  word 
x)f  honour  that  he  and  hia  men  should  be  treated  fairly  like 
good  prisoners  of  war.  This  pledge  was  redeemed,  for  it  was 
not  the  English,  as  it  was  the  Spanish  custom,  to  convert 
captives  into  slaves,  but.  only  to  hold  them  for  ransom. 
Yaldez  responded  to  Drake's  politeness  by  kissing  his  hand, 
embracing  him,  and  overpowering  him  with  magnificent  com- 
pliments.^ 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  Pedro  then 
returned  to  the  BevengCj  where,  as  the  guest  of:  Diake,  he 
was  a  witness  to  all  subsequent  events  up  to  the  lOtb  of 
August,  on  which  day  he  was  sent  to  London  with  some  other 
officers,'  Sir  Francis  claiming  his  ransom  as  his  lawful  due.^ 

Here  certainly  was  no  very '  triumphant  b^inning  for 
the  Invincible  Armada.  On  the  very  first  day  of  their  being 
in  presence*  of  tihie  English  fleet— ^then  but  sixty-seven  in 
number,  and  -vastly  their  inferior  in  size  and  weight  of 
metal — they  had  lost  the  flag-ships  of  the  Guipuzcoan  and 
of  the  Andalusian  squadrons,  with  a  general-admiral,  450 
officers  and  men,  and  some  100,000  ducats  of  treasure. 
They  had  been  out-manoeuvred,  out-sailed,  and  thoroughly 
maltreated  by  their  antagonists,  and  they  had  been  unable 
to  inflict'  a  single  blow  in  return.  Thus  the  ^^  small  fight''  had 
been  a  cheerful  one  for  the  opponents  of  the  Inquisition, 
and  the  English  were  proportionably  encouraged.^ 


draws  entirely  fiom  the  journal  of  a 
Spanish  officer  in  the  Armada,  and  who 
calls  the  two  iamoas  English  naval  com- 
manders, Frobesquerio  and  Avesnisio. 

Many  Eogli^  names  look  almost  as 
strangely  in  their  Spanish  dress  as 
these  two  fiumliar  ones  of  Frobisher 
and  .Hawkins.  Thus  Dr.  Bartholomew 
Clerk  is  called,  for  some  mysterious 
reason,    Dr.  Quiberich;    Col   Fatten 


becomes  CoL  Reyton;  while  Lord 
High  Admiral  Howard,  of  Effingham, 
^gures  in  the  chronicles  as  Carlos 
Haurat,  Count  of  Contuberland.  Her- 
rera,  HI.  p.  49. 

^  See  page  525,  note  \ 

s  Meteren,  Bor,  vbi  mp, 

SI  Joly 

s  Drake    to    Walsingham, 

1588,  in  Barrow,  p.  308. 


10  Atg/ 

<  Ibid. 


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478  ^HE  UNITED  NETHBBLAND&  Chap.  XIX. 

On  Monday^  1st  of  Augost^  Medina  Sidonia  placed  the 
rear-guard — consisting  of  the  galeasses^  the  galleons  .  Si. 
MaUheWy  St  Lukcy  St.  James ,  and  the  Florence  and  other 
ships^  forty-three  in  all-^nnder  command  of  Don  Antonio  de 
Leyya.  He  was  instructed  to  entertain  the  enemy — so  con- 
stantly hanging  on  the  rear — to  accept  every  chance  of  battle, 
and  to  come  to  close  quarters  whenever  it  should  be  possible. 
The  Spaniards  felt  confident  of  sinking  every  ship  in  the 
English  navy,  if  they  could  but  once  come  to  grappling ;  but 
it  was  growing  more  obvious  every  hour  that  the  giving  or 
withholding  battle  was  entirely  in  the  hands  of  their  foes. 
Meantime — ^while  the  roar  was  thus  protected  by  Leyva's 
division — ^the  vanguard  and  main  body  of  the  Armada,  led 
by  the  captain-general,  would  steadily  pursue  its  way,  accord- 
ing to  the  royal  instructions,  until  it  arrived  at  its  appointed 
meeting-place  with  the  Duke  of  Parma.  .  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  written  sailing  direc- 
tions, on  board  each  ship  in  the  Armada,  with  express  orders 
to  hang  every  captain,  without  appeal  or  consultation,  who 
should  leave  the  position  assigned  him;  and  the  hangmen 
were  sent  with  the  sergeant-majors  to  ensure  immediate 
attention  to  these  arrangements.'  Juan  Gil  was  at  the  same 
time  sent  off  in  a  sloop  to  the  Duke  of  Parma,  to  cany  the 
news  of  the  movements  of  the  Armada,  -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  whore  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 

^  Herrera,  m.  ill  106.  "Sin replica  naoe  tan  grandes."  Medina  Sidonia 
ni  oonsulta,"  Ac.  to  Parma,   2  Aug.  1588.    (Arch,   do 


•    Ui 


''  Oon  el  menor  temporal  del  mimdo 
non  80  sabo  donde  se  pueden  abrigar 


Sim.  Ma) 


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1638. 


GENERAL  ENGAGEICENT  NBAB  PORTLAND. 


479 


distance  to  windward^  without  offering,  that  day,  any  obstruc- 
tion to  their  course. 

By  five  o'clock  on  Tuesday  monung,  2nd  of  August,  the 
Annada  lay  between  Portland  Bill  and  St.  Albans'  Head, 
when.the  wind  shifted  to  the  north-east,  and  gave  xuea,  2  Aug. 
the  Spaniards  the  weather-gage.^  The  English  did  ^^^®- 
their  best  to  get  to  windward,  but  the  Duke,  standing  close 
into  the  land  with  the  whole  Armada,  maintained  his  ad- 
vantage The  English  then  went  about,  making  a  tack  sea- 
ward, and  were  soon  afterwards  assaulted  by  the  Spaniards. 
A  long  and  spirited  action  ensued.  Howard  in  his  little  Ark- 
Boyal — "the  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  JBcUta,  and  with  otiier 
large  vessels.  He  was  hard  pressed  for  a  time,  but  was  gal- 
lantly supported  by  the  Nonpareilj  Captain  Tanner ;  and  after 
a  long  and  confused  combat,  in  which  the  8t  Marhj  the  St 
L^kcy  thQ  St.  Matthewy  ^e  St.  Philip  j  the  St  John,  tiie  St 
James,  the  St  John  Baptik,  the  St  Martin,  and  many  otiier 
great  gallons,  with  saintly  and  apostolic  names,  fou^t  pell- 
mell  with  the  Lion,  the  Bear,  the  BvU,  the  Ttycr,  the  Dread-- 
nought,  the  Bevenge,  the  Victory,  the  Triumph,  and  other 
of  the  more  profanely-baptized  English  ships,  the  Spaniards 
were  again  baffled  in  all  their  attempts  to  dose  with,  and  to 
board,  their,  ever-attacking,  ever-flying  adversaries.  The  can- 
nonading was  incessant.  "  We  had  a  sharp  and  a  long  %ht/' 
said  Ekiwkios.'  Boat-loads  of  men  and  munitions  were  per- 
petually arriving  to  the  English,  and  many  high-bom  volun- 
teeri3-^like  Cumberland,  Oxford,  Northumberland,  Baleigh, 
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, 


t  Declaration  of  the  Proceedings  of 
the  two  FleetB,"July  19-31  (6.  SX  168a 
(a  P.  Office  Ma)   Henera,  m.  iii.  106. 

t  Hawkins  to   WalsixiRfaaiD, ^ 

"  10  Aug 


1588.  (a  P.  Office  Ma)  HOTera, 
HL  iii.  106-108.  Bor,  Hf.  323. 
Meteren,  zr.  273.  Camden,  HL  411 
.413. 


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480 


THB  UiniBD  NBTHEBLA2n)S. 


Chap.  XTX. 


Howard^  and  Frobisher^  or  came  in  small  vessds  which  they 
had  chartered  for  themselves,  in  order  to  iiave  their  share  in 
the  delights  of  the  long-expected  struggle.^ 

The  action,  irregular,  desultory,  but  lively,  continued  neady 
all  day,  and  until  the  English  had  fired  away  most  of  tiieir 
powder  and  shot.^  The  Spaniards,  too,  notwithstanding  tiieir 
years  of  preparation,  were  already  short  of  light  metal^  and 
Medma  Sidonia  had  been  daily  sending  to  Parma  for  a  supply 
of  four,  six,  and  ten  pound  balls.'  So  much  lead  and  gun- 
powder had  never  before  been  wasted  in  a  single  day ;  for 
there  was  no  great  damage  inflicted  on  either  side.  The 
artillery-practice  was  certainly  not  much  to  the  credit  of 
either  nation. 

^^  If  her  Majesty's  ships  had  been  manned  with  a  full  supply 
of  good  gunners,""  said  honest  William  Thomas,  an  old  aortit- 
leryman,  ^'  it  would  have  been  the  woefullest  time  ev^r  the 
Spaniard  took  in  hand,  and  the  most  noble  victory  ever  heard 
of  would  have  been  her  Majesty's.  But  our  sins  were  the 
cause  that  so  much  powder  and  shot  were  spent,  so  long  time 
in  fi^t,  and  in  comparison  so  little  harm  done.  It  were 
greatly  to  be  wished  that  her  Majesty  were  no  longer  deceived 
in  this  way."  ^ 

Yet  the  English,  at  any  rate,  had  succeeded  in  displaying 
their  seamanship,  if  not  their  gunnery,  to  advantage.  In  vain 
the  unwieldly  hulks  and  galleons  had  attempted  to  gr^ple 
with  their  light-winged  foes,  who  pelted  th^n,  braved  them, 
damaged  their  sails  and  gearing,  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  r^ained  and  kept 
the  weather-gage. 

Tha  Queen's  fleet,  now  divided  into  four  squadrons,  under 


*  Herrera^  Bor,    Moteren,    Camden, 

'  Ma  Letter  of  Hawkins  last  cited. 

^  Medina  ^donia  to  Parma,  2  Aug. 
1688.  (Arch,  de  Sim.  M&)  Herrera, 
in.  iiL  108. 

*  William  Thomas,  master  gatmer 
of  Flushing   (who   much  complained 


that  Uio  loss  of  its  charter  by  tho 
worshipftil  corporation  of  "gunnere, 
founded  Xxj  H^uy  Yin.«  had  ctiOfed 
its  decay,  and  much  miadiief  in  coa- 

secpMooaX  ^  Buxghky,  'i(>8ai 

10  OcC 

(S.  P.  Office  Ma) 


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1588.  SUPERIOR  SBAMAKSHIP  OF  THE  BNaLISH.  481 

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  ziealous  and  active  enough,  were  not  thought 
very  elective.  "  If  you  had  seen  the  simple  service  done  by 
the  merchants  and  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 
CaliEus,  after  the  long  but  indecisive  conflict  had  terminated, 
were  closely  pursued  by  their  wary  antagonists.  On 
Wednesday,  3rd  of  August,  there  was  some  slight  4  Aug.,*ThTire. 
cannonading,  with  but  slender  results ;  and  on  ^^?^' 
Thursday,  the  4th,  both  fleets  were  off  Dunnose,  on  the  Isle 
of  Wight. .  The  great  hulk  Santana  and  a  galleon  of  Por- 
tugal having  been  somewhat  damt^ed  the  previous  day,  were 
lagging  behind  the  rest  of  the  Armada,  and  were  vigorously 
attacked  by  the  Triumph  and  a  few  odier  vessels.  Don 
Antonio  de  Ley  va,  with  some  of  the  galeasses  and  large  gal- 
leons, 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-Boyal, 
accompanied  by  the  Oolden  Lion,  the  White  Bear,  the  Eliza-- 
hethj  the  Victory,  and  the  Leicester,  bore  boldly  down  into  the 
very  midst  of  the  Spanish  fleet,  and  laid  himself  within  three 
or  four  hundred  yards  of  Medina's  flag-ship,  the  8t.  Martin, 
while  his  coiorades  were  at  equally  close  quarters  ^dth  Vice- 
Admiral  Bedalde  and  th^  galleons  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  subjugatx)  and  to  defend  the 
realm   of  Elizabeth,   were   nearly  yard-arm  and    yard-arm- 


*  Sir   W.  Winter    to  Walsingham, 
i  Aug.  1688.     (a  P.  Office  M&) 
'  Declaration    of  tho    Proceedings, 
VOL.  TI. — 2  I 


&C.    MS.  before  dted.    Bor,  Herrens 
Meteren,  Camden,  vbi  nm. 
•Ibid. 


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482  ^HB  UKITBD  NBTHESLA2ID&  Ohap.  XIX 

together — all  England  on  the  lee.  Broadside  after  broadnde 
of  great  guns,  volley  after  volley  of  arquebusry  from  maintop 
and  rigging,  were  warmly  exchanged,  and  much  damage  was 
inflicted  on  the  Spaniards,  whose  gigantic  ships  were  so  easy 
a  mark  to  aim  at,  while  from  their  turreted  heights  they  them- 
selves fired  for  the  most  part  harmlessly  over  the  heads  of 
their  adversaries.  The  leaders  of  the  Armada,  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  Frobish^,  who  was  the  hero  of  the  day,  had 
extricated  himself  from  his  difficulty,  the  Lord- Admiral — 
having  no  intention  of  risking  th^  existence  of  his  fleet,  and 
with  it  perhaps  of  the  English  crown,  upon  ihe  hazard  of  a 
single  battle,  and  having  been  himself  somewhat  damaged  in 
the  fight — gave  the  dgnal  for  retreat,  and  caused  the  Ark-Boyal 
to  be  towed  out  of  action.  Thus  the  Spaniards  were  frustrated 
of  their  hopes,  and  the  English,  having  inflicted  much  punish- 
ment at  comparatively  small  loss  to  themselves,  again  stood 
off  to  windward,  and  the  Armada  continued  its  indolent  course 
along  the  cliffs  of  Freshwater  and  Blackgang.^ 

On  Friday,  5th  August,  the  English,  having  received  men 
and  munitions  from  shore,  pursued  their  antagonists  at  a 
Frid.,  6  Ang.   moderate  distance;  and  the  Lord- Admiral,  profiting 

1688  by  ihe  pause — ^for  it  waA  almost  a  flat  calm— «^t 
for  Martin  Frobisher,  John  Hawkins,  Boger  Townsend,  Lord 
Thomas  Howard,  son  of  the  Duke  of  Norfolk,  and  Lord  Ed- 
mund Sheffield,  and  on  the  deck  of  the  Boyal  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 
despatching  messenger  after  messenger  to  the  Duke  of  Parma, 
asking  for  small  shot,  pilots,  and  forty  fly-bo&ts,  with  whi(^ 
to  pursue  the  teasing  English  clippers.'  The  Catholic  Ar- 
mada, he  said,  being  so  large  and  heavy,  was  quite  in  the. 

'  Dedaration,  fta,  MS.  before  cited. 
'  Camden,  nL  4U.    Bor,  m.  323,  324. 
*  Medina  Sidonia  to  Parma,  4  Aug.  1688.    (Arch,  da  Sim.  MS.) 


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1688.  BOTH  FLEETS  OFF  GALAI&  483 

power  of  its  adyersaries,  who  could  assault^retreat^  fight^  or 
leave  off  fitting,  while  he  had  nothing  for  it  bat  to  proceed, 
as  expeditiouslj  as  might  be,  to  his  rendezvous  in  Calais 
roads. 

And  in  Calais  roads   the  great  f[eei>-r-sailing  slowly  all 
next  day  in  company  with  the  English,  without  a  Sat,  6  Aug. 
shot  being  fired   on   either  side — at  last  dropped      ^^^s. 
anchor  on  Saturday  fiftemoon,  August  6Ch. 

Here  then  the  Invincible  Armada  had  arrived  at  its  ap- 
pointed resting-place.  Here  the  great  junction  of  Medina 
Sidonia  with  the  Duke  of  Parma  was  to  be  effected,  and  now 
at  last  the  curtain  was  to  rise  upon  the  last  act  of  the  great 
drama  so  slowly  and  elaborately  prepared. 

That  Saturday  afternoon,  Lord  Henry  Sejrmour  and  his 
squadron  of  sixte^i  lay  between  Dungeness  and  Folkestone, 
waiting  the  approach  of  the  two  fleets.  He  spok^  several 
coasting-vessels  coming  from  tiie  west ;  but  they  could 
give  him  no  information — strange  to  say — either  of  the 
Spaniaxds  or  of  his  own  countrymen.^  Seymour,  having 
hardly  three  days'  provision  in  his  fleet,  thought  that  there 
might  be  time  to  take  in  supplies,  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  to  hold  itself  in  readiness.  There  was  no  logger 
time  for  victualling,  and  very  soon  afterwards  the  order  was 
given  to  make  sail  and  bear  for  the  French  coast.  The  wind 
was  however  so  light,  that  the  whole  day  was  spent  before 
Seymour  with  his  ships  could  cross  the  channeL  At  last, 
towards  seven  in  the  evening,  he  saw  the  great  Spanish  Ar- 
mada drawn  up  in  a  half-moon,  and  riding  at  anchor — the 
ships  very  near  each  other-^-a  little  to  the  eastward  of  Calais, 
and  very  near  the  shore.*  The  English,  under  Howard,  Drake, 
Frobisher,  and  Hawkins,  were  slowly  following,  and-r-so  soon 
as  Lord  Henry,  arriving  from  the  opposite  shore,  had  made 

'  Sir.  W.  Winter  to  "Walsingham,  -  Aug.,  1588.    (S.  P.  Office  MS.) 
•Ibid. 


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484  ^^^  UNITED  NETHBBLANDS.  Chap.  XIX. 

his  junction  with  them — the  whole  combined  fleet  dropped 
anchor  likewise  very  near  Cakds,  and  within  one  mile  and  a 
half  of  the  Spaniards.  That  invincible  force  had  at  last  almost 
reached  its  destination.  It  was  now  to  receive  the  cooperation 
of  the  great  Farnese^  at  the  head  of  an  army  of  veterans, 
disciplined  on  a  hundred  battle-fields,  confident  from  countless 
victories,  and  arrayed,  as  they  had  been  with  ostentatious 
splendour,  to  follow  the  most  brilliant  general  in  Christendom 
on  his  triumphal  march  into  the  capital  of  England.  The 
long-threatened  invaision  was  no  longer  an  idle  figment  of 
politicians,  maliciously  spread  abroad  to  poison  men's  minds 
as  to  the  intentions  of  a  long-enduring  but  magnanimous,  and 
on  the  whole  friendly  sovereign. '  The  mask  had  been  at  last 
thrown  down,  and  the  mild  accents  of  Philip's  diplomatiBts 
and  their  English  dupes,  interchanging  protocols  so  decorously 
month  after  month  on  the  sands  of  Bourbourg,  had  been 
drowned  by  the  peremptory  voice  of  English  and  Spanish 
artillery,  suddenly  breaking  in  upon  their  placid  conferences. 
It  had  now  become  supererogatory  to  ask  for  Alexander's 
word  of  honour  whether  he  had  ever  heard  of  Cardinal  Allan's 
pamphlet,  or  whether  his  master  contemplated  hostilities 
against  Quedn  Mizabeth. 

Never,  since  England  was  England,  had  such  a  sight  been 
seen  as  now  revealed  itself  in  those  narrow  straits  between 
Dover  and  Calais.  Along  that  long,  low,  sandy  shore,  and  quite 
within  the  range  of  the  Calais  fortifications,  one  hundred  and 
thirty  Spanish  ships — the  greater  number  of  them  the  largest 
and  most  heavily  armed  in  the  world — ^lay  face  to  fiwe,  and 
scarcely  out  of  cannon-shot,  with  one  hundred  and  fifty  English 
sloops  and  frigates,  the  strongest  and  swiftest  that  the  island 
could  furnish,  and  commanded  by  men  whose  exploits  had 
rung  through  the  wolrld. 

Farther  along  the  coast,  invisible,  but  known  to  be  per- 
forming a  .most  perilous  and  vital  service,  was  a  squadron  of 
Dutch  vessels  of  all  sizes,  lining  both  the  inner  and  outer 
edges  of  the  sandbanks  off  the  Flemish  coasts,  and  swarming 
in  all  the  estuaries  and  inlets  of  that  intricate  and  dangerous 


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1588.  A  NIGHT  OP  ANXIETY.  485 

cmising-ground  between  Dunkerk  and  Walcheren.  Those 
fleets  of  Holland  and  Zeeland,  numbering  some  one  hundred 
and  fifty  galleons,  sloops,  and  fly-boats,  under  Warmond, 
Nassau,  Van  der  Does,  de  Moor,  and  Rpsendael,  lay  patiently 
blockading  every  possible  egress  from  Newport,  or  Gravelines, 
or  Sluys,  or  Flushing,  or  Dunkerk,  and  longing  to  grapple 
with  the  Duke  of  Parma,^  so  soon  as  his  fleet  of  gunboats  and 
hoys,  packed  with  his  Spanish  and  Italian  veterans,  should 
venture  to  set  forth  upon  the  sea  for  their  long-prepared 
exploit. 

It  was  a  pompous  spectacle,  that  midsummer  night,  upon 
those  narrow  seaa  The  moon,  which  was  at  the  full,  was 
rising  calmly  upon  a  scene  of  anxious  expectation.  Would 
she  not  be  looking,  by  the  morrow's  night,  upon  a  subjugated 
England,  a  re-enslaved  Holland — upon  the  downfall  of  civil 
and  religious  liberty  ?  Those  ships  of  Spain,  which  lay  there 
with  their  banners  waving  in  the  moonlight,  discharging 
salvoes  of  anticipated  triumph  and  filling  the  air  with  strains 
of  insolent  music,  would  they  not,  by  daybreak,  be  moving 
straight  to  their  purpose,  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,  lightly- 
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  tiie  moment  had  arrived  for 
the  death  grapple  ?  Would  not  Howard,  Drake,  Frobisher, 
Seymour,  Winter,  and  Hawkins,  be  swept  out  of  the  straits  at 
last,  yielding  an  open  passage  to  Medina,  Oquendo,  Becalde, 
and  Farnese?  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  pin- 
nace to  the  Vanguardy  with  a  message  to  Winter  to  come  on 

>  Bor,  in.  321,  seq.    Metercn,  xr.  272,  273. 


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486 


THE  UNITED  NETHERLANDS 


Ohap.XDu 


board  the  flag-ship.^  When  Sir  William  reached  the  Ark,  it 
was  already  nine  in  the  evening.  He  was  anxiously  consulted 
by  the  Lord- Admiral  as  to  the  course  now  to  be  taken. 
Hitherto  the  English  had  been  teasing  and  perplexing  an 
enemy^  on  the  retreat^  as  it  were^  by  the  nature  of  his  instruc- 
tions. Although  anxious  to  give  battle,  the  Spaniard  was 
forbidden  to  descend  upon  the  coast  until  after  his  junction 
with  Parma.  So  the  Englidi  had  played  acomparatiyely  easy 
game,  hanging  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  faoe  to  fiEice,  and  the  &te  of  the  two  free  com- 
monwealths 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  d^k  of  the  little  Arh-Hoyal,  gazed  for  the  first  time  on 
those  enormous  galleond  and  galleys  vrith  which  his  companion 
was  already  sufficiently  familiar. 

"  ConsideriDg  their  hugeness,"  said  he,  "  'twill  not  be  pos- 
sible to  remove  them  but  by  a  device."* 

Then  remembering,  in  a  lucky  moment,  something  that  he 
had  heard  foiir  years  before  of  the  fire  ships  sent  by  the  Ant- 
werpers  against  Parma's  bridge— the  inventor  of  which,  the 
Italian  Gianibelli,  was  at  that  very  moment  constructing  forti- 
fications on  the  Thames  ^  to  assist  the  English  against  his  old 
enemy  Farnese — ^Winter  suggested  that  some  stratagem  of 
the  same  kind  should  be  attempted  agwist  the  Invincible 
Armada.*  There  was  no  time  nor  opportunity  to  prepare  such 
submarine  volcanoes  as  had  been  employed  on  that  memorable 
occasion ;  but  burning  ships  at  least  might  be  sent  among 
the  fleet.  Some  damage  would  doubtless  be  thus  inflicted  by 
the  fire,  and  perhaps  a  panic,  suggested  by  the  memories  of  Ant- 
werp and  by  the  knowledge  that  the  famous  Mantuan  wizard 


'Winter     to     Walsingham,      Ma 
already  dted. 
•Ibid. 
•  Meteren,  xr.  272. 


4  Thus  distinctly  stated  by  Sir  Wm. 
Winter,  in    his    admirable   letter    of 

-Aug.  (Ma  already  cited.) 


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i^Sd. 


PROJBOT  OP  HOWABD  AND  WINTER. 


487 


was  then  a  resident  of  England,  would  be  still  more  effective. 
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  momiug,  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  othais  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  for  a  time  there  was  great  danger, 
in  the  opinion  of  Winter,  that  some  of  the  very  best  ships  in 
the  fleet  would  be  crippled  and  quite  destroyed  on  the  eve 
of  a  general  engagement.  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  gazing  at  each 
other,  and  rising  and  falling  at  their  anchors  as  idlysmi.,7  Aug. 
as  if  some  vast  summer  regatta  were  the  only  pur-  ^^®^- 
pose  of  that  great  assemblage  of  shipping.  Nothing  as  yet 
was  heard  of  FAmese.  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, 
Seymour,  Winter,  and  the  rest,  were  gravely  consulting  in  his 
cabin.* 


»  Winter's  Letter,  MS,* 

It  has  been  stated  bj  many  writers 
—Camden,  UL  416,  Meteren,  xt.  273, 
and  others— that  this  prcgect  of  the 
fire-ships  was  directly  comnianded  by 
the  Qoeen.  Others  attribute  the  de- 
Tioe  to  the  Lord  Admiral  (Bor,  HI. 
324),  or  to  Drake  (Strada^  ix.  669). 
while  Goloma  (I.  7)  prefers  to  regard 
the  whole  matter  as  quite  a  trifling 


accident^  "harto  pequeiio  aoddente;" 
but  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  merit 
of  the  original  suggestion  belongs  ex- 
dusirely  to  Winter.  To  give  the 
gloiy  of  the  achievement  to  her  Ma* 
jesty,  who  knew  nothing  of  it  what* 
ever,  was  a  most  gratuitous  exhibition 
of  loyalty. 

•  Winter's  Letter,  MS. 

•ibid. 


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488  '^^^  UKITED  NETHERLANDa  Chap.  XIX. 

It  was  decided  that  Winter's  suggestion  should  be  acted 
upon,  and  Sir  Henry  Palmer  was  immediately  despatdied  in 
a  pinnace  to  Dover,  to  bring  off  a  number  of  old  vessds  fit 
to  be  fired,  together  with  a  supply  of  light  wood,  tar,  rosin, 
sulphur,  and  other  combustibles,  most  adapted  to  the  purpoea* 
But  as  time  wore  away,  it  became  obviously  impossible, for 
Palmer  to  return  that  night,  and  it  was  determined  to  make 
the  most  of  what  could  be  collected  in  the  fleet  itself^  Other- 
wise it  was  to  be  feared  that  the  opportunity  might  be  for 
ever  lost.  Parma,  crushing  all  opposition,  might  suddenly 
appear  at  any  moment  upon  the  channel;  and  the  whole 
Spanish  Armada,  placing  itself  between  him  and  his  enemies, 
would  engage  the  English  and  Dutch  fleets,  and  cover  his 
passage  to  Dover.  It  would  then  be  too  late  to  think  of  the 
burning  ships. 

On  the  other  hand,  upon  the  decks  of  the  Armada,  there 
was  an  impatience  that  night  which  increased  every  houn 
The  governor  of  Calais,  M.  de  Gourdon,  had  sent  his  nephew 
on  board  the  fliag-ship  of  Medina  Sidonia,  with  courteous 
salutations,  professions  of  friendship,  and  bountiiul  refresh- 
ments. There  was  no  fear — now  that  Mucio  was  for  the  time 
in  the  ascendency — that  the  schemes  of  Philip  woxQd  be  int^- 
fered  with  by  France.  The  governor,  had,  however,  sent 
serious  warning  of  the  dangerous  position  in  which  the 
Armada  had  placed  itself.  He  was  quite  right.  Calius  roads 
were  no  safe  anchorage  for  huge  vessels  like  those  of  Spain  and 
Portugal ;  for  the  tides  and  cross-currents  to  which  they  were 
exposed  were  most  treacherous.^  It  was  calm  enough  at  the 
moment,  but  a  westerly  gale  might,  in  a  few  hours,  drive  the 
whole  fleet  hopelessly  among  the  sand-banks  of  the  dangerous 
Flemish  coast.  Moreover,  the  Duke,  although  tolerably  well 
furnished  with  charts  and  pilots  for  the  tlnglish  coast,  was 
comparatively  unprovided  against  the  dangers  which  might 
beset  him  off  Dunkerk,  Newport,  and  Flushing.  He  had  sent 
messengers,  day  after  day,  to  Farnese,  b^ging  for  assistance 

*  Winter's  Letter,  US.  •  »  Ibid,  '  Herrera,  HI.  iiL  108. 


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1588.  DIPATIENOB  OF  THB  SPANIABDa  489 

of  rarious  kinds^  but,  abpve  all,  imploriDg  his  instant  presence 
on  the  field  of  action.^  It  was  the  time  and  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 
ri^t,  the  Duke,  thus  protected,  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, 
richa:  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  commercial  city,  when  once  in  the  clutch  of  disciplined 
brigands — men  who,  in  that  dread  ^fury  of  Antwerp,'  had 
enriched  themselves  in  an  hour  with  the  accumxQations  of  a 
merchant's  life-time,  and  who  had  slain  fathers  and  mothers, 
sons  and  daughters,  brides  and  bridegrooms,  before  each 
others'  eyes,  until  the  number  of  inhabitants  butchered  in 
the  blazing  streets  rose  to  many  thousands ;  and  the  plimder 
from  palaces  and  warehouses  was  counted  by  millions,  befoi^ 
the  sun  had  set  on  the  ^  great  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  metro- 
polis of  the  Netherlands  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  professional  soldiers  had 
been  taught  to  consider  the  English  as  a  pacific,  delicate, 
effeminate  race,  dependent  on  good  living,  without  experience 
of  war,  quickly  fSsttigued  and  discouraged,'  and  even  more 
easily  to  be  plundered  and  butchered  than  were  the  excellent 
burghers  of  Antwerp. 


'  Medina  Sidonia  to  Paitna^  2  Aug. 
1588,  4,  jLUg.  1588,  5  Aog.  1588. 
Panna  to  Philip  IL,  7  Auff.  1688, 
C  Aug.   1588.     (Arch,  de  Simancas^ 


l£SS.) 

*  Examination   of   Don    Diego   dt 
Pimentel,  hi  Bor,  III.  325,  326. 


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490  ^I^HE  UNITED  NETHERLANDS.  Chap.  XEC 

And  60  these  southem  conqaerors  looked  down  from  their 
great  galle<ms  and  galeasses  upon  the  English  vessels.  More 
than  three  quarters  of  them  were  merchantmen.  There 
was  no  comparison  whatever  betwe^i  the  relative  strength 
of  the  fleets.  In  nnmber  they  were  about  equal — bang 
each  from  one  hundred  and  thirty  to  one  hundred  and 
fifty  strong — ^but  the  Spaniards  had  twice  the  tonnage  of  the 
English,  four  times  the  artillery,  and  neaiiy  three  times  the 
number  of  men. 

Where  was  Famese  ?  Most  impatiently  the  Golden  Doke 
paced  the  deck  of  the  8a/in;t  Martin.  Most  eagerly  were 
thousands  of  eyes  strained  towards  the  eastern  horieon  to 
catch  the  first  glimpse  of  Parma's  flotilla.  But  the  day  wore 
on  to  its  close,  and  still  the  same  inesplicable  and  mysterious 
silence  prevailed.  'There  was  utter  solitude  on  the  waters  in 
the  direction  of  Gravelines  and  Dunkerk — not  a  sail  upon 
the  sea  in  the  quarter  where  bustle  and  activity  had  been 
most  expected.  The  mystery  was  profound,  for  it  had  never 
entered  the  head  of  any  man  in  the  Armada  that  Alexander 
could  not  come  out  when  he  chose.' 

And  now  to  impatience  succeeded  susj^cion  and  indigna- 
tion; and  there  were  curses  upon  sluggishness  and  upon 
treachery.  For  in  the  horrible  atmosphere  of  duplicity,  in 
which  all  Spaniards  and  Italians  of  that  epoch  lived,  every 
man  suspected  his  brother,  and  already  Medina  Sidonia  sus- 
pected Famese  of  playing  him  false.  There  were  whispers 
of  collusion  between  the  Duke  and  the  English  conmussioners 
at  Bourbourg.  There  were  hints  that  Alexander  was  playing 
his  own  game,  that  he  meant  to  divide  the  sovereignty  of  the 
Netherlands  with  the  heretic  Elizabeth,  to  desert  his  great 
trust,  and  to  effect,  if  possible,  the  destruction  of  his  master's 
Aimada,  and  the  dovm&U  of  his  master's  sovereignty  in  the 
north.  Men  told  each  other,  too,  of  a  vague  rumour,  concern- 
ing which  Alexander  might  have  received  information,  and  in 
which  many  believed,  that  Medina  Sidonia  was  the  bearer  of 
secret  orders  to  throw  Famese  into  bondage,  so  soon  as  ^e 

'  ExaminatioDf  Ao,  last  otted. 


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1688.  FntE-SHIPS  SENT  AGAINST  THE  ARMADA.  491 

should  appear^  to  send  him  a  disgraced  captive  back  to  Spain 
for  punishment^  and  to  place  the  baton  of  command  in  the 
hand  of  the  Duke  of  Pastrana^  Philip's  bastard  by  the  Eboli* 
ThuS;  in  the  absence  of  Alexander,  all  was  suspense  and 
suspicion.  It  seemed  possible  that  disaster  instead  of  triumph 
was  in  stOTO  for  them  through  the  treachery  of  the  commander- 
in-chief.  Four  and  twenty  hours  and  more,  they  had  been 
lying  in  that  dangerous  roadstead,  and  although  the  weather 
had  been  calm  and  the  sea  tranquil,  there  seemed  something 
brooding  in  the  atmosphere. 

As  the  twilight  deepened,  the  moon  became  totally  obscured, 
dark  cloud-mttsses  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  quicksands  of  Fland^B  under  their  lee. 

At  an  hour  past  midnight,  it  was  so  dark  that  it  was  difficult 
for  the  most  practiced  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  si^ 
of  Antwerp  only  three  years  before.  They  remembered  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  horrible  panics,  which  spread 
with  such  contagious  rapidity  among  large  bodies  of  men, 
seized  upon  the  Spaniards.    There  was  a  yell  throughout  the 


»  Strada,  H.  x.  667,  668. 
*  Strada,  XL  x.  660. 
'  Winter's     Letter,     MS.     alreadj 
cited.    Compare  Herrera^  III.  liL  108. 


Meteren,  xr.  2*73.  Bor,  IH  324,  »eq, 
Strada,  IL  z.  660,  661.  Camden, 
in.  416. 


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492 


THB  UNITED  NETHERLANDS. 


Chap.  Yry. 


fleet — ^"  the  fire-ships  of  Antwerp,  the  fire-ships  of  Antwerp  1" 
and  in  an  instant  every  cable  was  cut,  and  frantic  attempts 
were  made  by  each  galleon  and  galeasse  to  escape  what 
seemed  imminent  destruction.  The  confusion  was  beyond 
description.  Four  or  five  of  the  largest  ships  became  en- 
tangled with  each  other.  Two  others^  were  set  on  fire  by 
the  flaming  vessels,  and  were  consumed.  Medina  Sidonia, 
who  had  been  warned,  even  before  his  departure  from  Spain,' 
that  some  such  artifice  woxQd  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  sur- 
prised or  dismayed.  He  gave  orders — as  well  as  might  be — 
that  every  ship,  after  the  danger  sTiould  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  com- 
mands. 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  enter- 
prise 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 

Monday    ^^  *^®  Spanish  vessels  lay  disabled,  while  the  rest  of 

Aug.  8.'    the  fleet  was  seen  at  a  distance  of  two  leagues  from 

Calais,  driving  towards  the  Flemish  coast.     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  were  all  astir,  and  ready 

to  pursue  the  Spaniards,  now  rapidly  drifting  into  the  North 


>  This  &ct,  mentioned  hy.  no  his- 
torian, distinctlj  appears  from  Winter's 
Letter,  so  often  cited.  "We  per- 
ceived that  there  were  Uto  great  fires 
more  than  oors  (preyiously  stated  by 
him  as  six  in  number),  and  &t  greater 
and  huger  than  any  onr'  fired  vessels 


could  make.** 

*  "Advertido  va  el  duque  dd  in- 
tento  de  Drake  quanto  al  quemar  loa 
navios."  Philip  ll.  to  Mendoza^  2l8t 
June^  1588.  (Archives  de  Smancaa 
[Paris],  Ma) 

'  UerrenL,  m.  iil  108.  «  Ibid. 


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1588.  A  GBEAT  GALEASSE  DISABLED.  493 

Sea.  In  the  immediate  neighbourhood  of  Calais^  the  flag- 
ship  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  danlaged 
by  collision  with  the  St.  John  of  Sicily  and  other  ships^  during 
the  night's  panic^  and  had  her  rudder  quite  torn  awaj.^  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  f^  and  during  the  previous  two  days  she  had 
been  visited  and  admired  by  great  numbers  of  Frenchmen 
from  the  shore. 

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-groimd,  but  the  master 
despatched  his  pinnace  with  a  body  of  musketeers,  to  aid  in 
the  capture  of  the  galeasse.^ 

That  huge  vessel  failed  to  enter  the  harbour,  and  stuck 
fast  upon  the  bar.  There  was  much  dismay  on  board,  but 
Don  Hugo  prepared  resolutely  to  defend  himself.  The  quays 
of  Calais  and  the  line  of  the  French  shore  were  lined  with 
thousands  of  eager  spectators,  aff  the  two  boats — ^rowing 
steadily  toward  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  thek 
own  destruction.  Of  these  daring  Englishmen,  patricians 
and  plebeians  together,  in  two  open  pinnaces,  there  were  not 
more  than  one  hundred  in  number,  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 

>  'Declaration    of  the  Proceedings  I       ,  j,   Tomaon  to ^^"^^   iKRft 

of  the  two  Fleets,'  Ma  ahreadj  cited.  ^  ^^""^  ^         ^  ri^  ^^®^- 

I  (a  P.  Office  MS.)        'Ibid.        *  Ibid. 


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494 


THE  UlirrED  NETHBRLA£n)a 


Chap.  Yty, 


smile  of  derision  from  the  haughty  Spaniard,  aa  he  looked 
down  upon  them  from  what  seemed  an  inaccessible  hei^t 
Then  one  Wilton,  coxswain  of  the  Ddight^  of  Winter's 
squadron,  clambered  up  to  the  enemy's  deck  and  fell  dead 
the  same  instant.^  Then  the  English  volunteers  opened  a 
volley  upon  the  Spaniards.  "  They  seemed  safely  ensconced 
in  their  ships,''  said  bold  Dick  Tomson,  of  the  Margaret  and 
Joan,  ^^  while  we  in  our  open  pinnaces,  and  far  under  them, 
had  nothing  ta  shroud  and  cover  us."  Moreover  the  numbers 
were  seven  hundred  and  fifty  to  one  hundred.  But  the 
Spaniards,  still  quite  disconcerted  by  the  events  of  the  pre- 
ceding night,  seemed  under  a  spell.  Otherwise  it  would  have 
been  ^n  easy  matter  for  the  great  galeasse  to  annihilate  sudi 
puny  antagonists  in  a  very  short  space  of  time.' 

The  English  pelted  the  Spaniards  quite  cheerfully,  liow- 
ever,  with  arquebus-shot,  whenever  they  showed  th^nselves 
above  the  bulwarks,  picked  off  a  considerable  number,  and 
sustained  a  rather  severe  loss  themselves.  Lieutenant  Freston, 
of  the  Ark-Royaly  among  others,^  being  dangerously  wounded. 
^^  We  had  a  pretty  skirmish  for  half-an-hour,"  said  Tomson. 
At  last  Don  Hugo  de  Moncada,  furious  at  the  inefficiency  of 
his  men,  and  leading  th^m  forward  in  person,  fell  back;  on  his 
deck  with  a  bullet  through  both  eyes.*  The  panic  was  in- 
stantaneous, for,  meantime,  several  other  English  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  all^ — ^hoisted 
two  handkerchiefs  upon  two  rapiers  as  a  sign^  of  truce.' 
The  English,  accepting  it  as^a  signal  of  defeat,  scrambled 


*  Winter  to  Walaingham,  MS.  be- 
foiredted. 

*  Tomflon's  Letter,  MS.  Ooippare 
Herrera^  m.  iii  108.  Bor,  III.  324, 
325.     Meteren,    Z7.    273.     Camdeo, 


IIL  415.    Strada,  H.  ix.  661.    Cdbnu^ 
I.  7,  8.  »  Ibid. 

*  Coloma,  uln  eup, 

*  Toidsod's     Letter,     l£a     before 
dted. 


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1688.         ATTACKED  AND  CAPTUBED  BY  BNaii£3H  BOATS.         495 

with  great  difficulty  up  the  lofty  sides  of  the  Capitafia,  and, 
for  an  hour  and  a  half,  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  pre- 
sently a  boat  came  along-side,  with  young  M.  de  Gourdon 
and  anothei:  French  captain,  and  hailed  the  galeasse.  There 
was  nobody  on  board  who  could  speak  French  but  Bichard 
Tomson.  So  Bichard  returned  the  hail,  and  asked  then: 
business.'    They  said  they  came  from  the  governor. 

"  And  what  is  the  governor's  pleasure  ?*'  a^ed  Tomson, 
when  they  had  come  up  ihe  side. 

"The  governor  had  stood  and  beheld  your  fight,  and  re- 
joiced in  your  victory,"  was  the  reply  ;  "  and  he  says  that  for 
your  prowess  and  manhood  you  well  deserve  the  pillage  of 
the  gcdeasse.  He  requires  and  commands  you,  howev^,  not 
to  attempt  carrying  off  either  the  ship  or  its  ordnance ;  for 
she  lies  a-ground  under  the  battery  of  his  castle,  and  within 
his  jurisdiction,  and  does  of  right  appertain  to  him.'' 

This  seemed  hard  upon  the  hundred  volunteers,  who,  in 
their  two  open  boats,  had  so  manfully  carried  a  ship  of  1200 
tons,  40  guns,  and  750  men ;  but  Bichard  answered  diplo- 
matically^ 

"  We  thank  M.  de  Gourdon,"  said  he,  "  for  granting  the 
pillage  to  mariners  and  soldiers  who  had  fought  for  it,  and 
we  acknowledge  that  without  his  good-will  we  cannot  carry 
away  anythii^  we  have  got,  for  the  ship  lies  on  ground 
directly  under  his  batteries  and  bulwarks.  Concerning  the 
ship  and  ordi^nce,  we  pray  that  he  would  send  a  pinnace  to 
my  Lotd  Admind  Howard,  who  is  here  in  person  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 

'  Bor,  m.  325.  >  Tomaon's  Letter,  Ma  before  cited. 


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496  ^I^HE  UIHTED  KETHERLAKBS.  Chap.  XIX. 

the  Boft  answe^r  might  have  obtained  the  galeasse  and  the 
ordnance;  notwithstanding  the  arrangement  which  Philip  U. 
had  made  with  his  excellent  friend  Henry  III.  for  aid  and 
comfort  to  Spanish  vessels  in  French  ports.  Unluckily,  how- 
ever, the  inclination  for  plunder  being  rife  that  morning, 
some  of  the  Englishmen  hustled  their  French  visitors,  plun- 
dered 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  been  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  before  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.N.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  Bevengey  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 j  Sir  Henry  Palmer  in  the 
Antelope  J  and    others,   engaged   with  three  of   the  largest 

>  Tomson'a  Letter,  MS.  before  cited.  I      *  Winter's  Letter,  Ma  before  dted. 
Compare  Herrera,  Bor,  Meteren,  Cam-  I       ■  Ibid. 
deD,  Strada,  Coloma,  M  svp.  ]      *  Herrera,  IH  iH  110. 


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1588.  GENERAL  BNGAGEMENT  OF  BOTH  FLEETS.  497 

galleons  of  the  Armada,  whUe  Sir  William  Winter  in  the 
Fangtiard,  supported  by  most  of  his  squadron,  chained  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  himself  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  part  of  the  Spaniards, 
but,  on  the  contrary,  it  was  tiie  intention  of  the  Captain- 
General  to  return  to  his  station  off  Calais,  if  it  were  within 
his  power..  Nevertheless  the  English  still  partially  main- 
tained the  tactics  which  had  proved  so  successful,  and  reso- 
lutely refused  the  fierce  attempts  of  the  Spaniards  to  lay 
themselves  along-side.  Keeping  within  musket-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  impossible,  while  wasting  incredible  quantities  of 
powder  and  shot,  to  inflict  any  severe  damage  on  tiieir  ene- 
mies. Throughout  the  action,  not  an  English  ship  was 
destroyed,  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  them  towards  the  fatal  sand-banks  of  Holland,  they 
laboured  heavily  in  a  chopping  sea,  firing  wildly,  and  re- 
ceiving tremendous  punishment  at  the  hands  of  Howard, 

*  Herrera,     last      dted.     Winter'a  I      *  Wlnter'a  Letter,  MS. 
Letter,  Ma    Lord  H.  SeTmcmr  to  the         *  Ibid. 
Queen,  in  Barrow,  305.  |      *  Herrcra,  IIL  ill  110. 

VOL.  n. — 2  K 


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498 


THE  UN}TBB  NBTHEBLANDS. 


Chap.  2IX. 


Drake,  Seymour,  Winter,  and  their  followers.  Not  eiren 
master-gunner  Thomas  could  complain  that  day  of  ^^  blind 
exercise"  on  the  part  of  the  English,  with  "  little  harm  done'' 
to  the  etemy.  There  was  scarcely  a  ship  in  the  Annada  that 
did  not  suffer  severely  ;^  for  nearly  all  were  engaged  in  that 
memorable  action  off  the  sands  of  Gravelines.  The  Captain- 
General  himself,  Admiral  Becalde,  Alonzo  de  Leyra,  Oquendo, 
Diego  Flores  de  Yaldez,  Bertendona,  Don  Frandsco  de 
Toledo,  Don  Diego  de  Pimentel,  Telles  Enriquez,  Alonzo 
de  Luzon,  Gkiribay,  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 
kiUed.a 

Nearly  all  the  largest  vessels  of  the  Armada^  therefore, 
having  been  disabled  or  damaged — according  to  a  Spanish 
eye-witness-r^nd  all  their  small  shot  exhausted,  Medina 
Sidonia  reluctantly  gave  orders  to  retreat.  The  Captain- 
Gkneral  was  a  bad  sailor,  but  he  was  a  chivalrous  Spaniard  of 
andei^t  Gothic  blood,  and  he  felt  deep  mortification  at  the 
plight  of  his  invincible  fleet,  together  with  undisguised  resent- 
ment against  Alexander  Farnese,  through  whose  treacfaeiy 
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 


■  ^  "God  hatii  m^tily  preaenred 
her  MJEJesty's  forces  wiUi  the  least 
losses  that  eyer  hath  been  heard  o^ 
being  within  the  oompass  of  so  great 
Tolleys  of  shot,  both  small  and  great 
I  yerilj  believe  there  is  not  three- 
score men  lost  of  her  IC^es^s 
Ibices."    Captain  J.  Fenner  to  Wal- 


singham,  ~  Aug.  1588.    (S^  P.  OiBce 
MS.) 

*  Bor,  III.  327.    Henera,  vbi  mp. 
'Declaration  of  the  Prooeeduiga^'  MS. 

Howard  to  Walsingham,  --  Aug.  1588. 

Brake  to  the  Queen,  ^^  Aug.  158ft* 
in  Barrow,  306-310. 


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1588. 


LOSS  OF  J8EVXRAL  SPAIOSH  SHIPa 


499 


that  it  would  be  inevitable  destruction  to  letnain.  After  a 
slight  and  very  ineffectual  attempt  to  rescue  Don  Di^  de  Pi- 
mentel  in  the  Bt  Matthew — who  refused  to  leave  his  disabled 
ship — and  Don  Francisco  de  Toledo,  whose  great  galleon,  the 
St  Philip  J  was  fast  driving,  a  helpless  wredc,  towards  Zee- 
land,  the  Armada  bore  away  k.n.e.  into  the  open  sea,  leaving 
those,  who  could  not  follow,  to  their  fete.^ 

The  8t  MatthetVy  in  a  sinking  conditicMi,  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  Yan  der  Does,  to  whoin,  after  a  two  hours'  bloody 
fi^t,  she  struck  her  flag.'  Don  Diego,  marshal  of  the  camp 
to  the  fiEtmous  legion  of  Sicily,  brother  of  the  Marquis  of 
Tavera,  nephew  of  the  Viceroy  of  Sicily,  undo  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  beet  sort  were  saved, 
and  tiie  rest  were  cast  overboard  and  sl^  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  Saint  Matthew  to  the  great  church  of  Leyden,  where — 
such  was  its  prodigious  length — ^it  hung  from  floor  to  ceiling 
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  Valdez  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  Motte  made  a  feeble  attempt  at  rescue, 
but  some  vessels  from  the  Holland  fleet,  being  much  more 


>  Heirera,    IIL    iiL  109.  Meteren, 

zv.  273,  274.  Bor,  IIL  82S.  Camden, 
m.  415,  416. 

•  Bor,  vbi  sujp.  *  Ibid. 


*  Borlase  to  Walringham,    -  Ao^ 

1588.    (S.  P.  Office  Ma) 
«  Bor,  Ueteren,  vbi  8up, 


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THE  UNITKD  NETHERLANDS. 


CSAP.  TTT 


active,  seized  the  unfortunate  galleon,  and  carried  her  into 
Flushing.  The  captors  found  forty-dght  brass  cannon  and 
other  things  of  value  on  board,  but  there  were  some  casks  of 
Bibadavia  wine  which  was  more  fatal  to  her  enemies  than 
those  pieces  of  artillery  had  proved.  F.or  while  the  rebels 
were  refreshing  themselves,  after  the  fetigues  of  the  capture, 
with  large  draughts  of  that  fomous  vintage,  the  St  Philip, 
which  had  been  bored  through  and  through  with  English  shot, 
and  had  been  rapidly  filling  with  water,  gave  a  sudden  lurch, 
and  went  down  in  a  moment,  carrying  with  her  to  the  bottom 
three  hundred  of  those  convivial  Hollanders.^ 

A  large  Biscay  galleon,  too,  of  Becalde's  squadron,  much 
disabled  in  action,  and  now,  like  many  others,  unable  to 
follow  the  Armada,  was  summoned  by  Captain  Cross,  of  the 
JSTope,  48  guns,  to  surrender.  Although  foundering,  she  re- 
sisted, and  refused  to  strike  her  flag!  One  of  her  o£ScerB 
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  went  down  with  all  her  crew.^ 

Six  hours  and  more,  from  ten  till  nearly  five,  the  fight  had 
lasted — a  most  cruel  battle,  as  the  Spaniard  declared.  Thera 
were  men  in  the  Armada  who  had  served  in  the  action  of 
Lepanto^^  and  who  declared  that  famous  encounter  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."* 


»  Ck)loma^  T.  8^o.  Compare  Me- 
teren,  Bor,  tibi  sup.  ei  al 

•  Meteren,  xv.  273^o  who  relates 
the  aoebdote  on  Die  aatboritj  of  some 
sailors  who  made  their  escape  by 
jumping  OTerboard,  and  who  were 
picked  up  just  before  she  sank.  'De- 
claration of  the  Proceedings/  &c,  MS. 

•  Howard    to    Walsingham,  -Aug. 

1688.  (S.  P.  Office  MS.)  "Some 
make  litUe  accoimt,"  says  the  Lord 
Admiral,  "  of  the  Spanish  forces  by 
sea,  but,  I  do  warrant  jou,  all  the 
world  nerer  saw  such  a  force  as 
tlieir*s  was.    Ani  nomo  Spanish  th.To 


we  have  taken  that  were  in  the  figfat 
of  Lepanto,  do  say,  that  the  worst  of 
our  four  fights  that  we  have  had  with 
them  did  exceed  lar  the  fight. they 
had  there ;  and  they  say  that  at  some 
of  our  fights  we  had  twenty  times  as 
much  great  shot  there  played  thtax. 
they  had  there." 

**  It  was  a  most  cruel  battle"  Oanx" 
delisslma  batalla)  says  Herrera,  n*om 
the  journal  of  a  Spaniard  present,  III. 
108. 

*  Winter's   Letter,    -     Aug.  15SS. 

Ma  before  cited. 


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1588.  ARMADA  FLIES  FOLLOWED  5Y  THE  ENGLISH.  gQl 

Nor  would  the  Spaniards  have  escaped  even  worse  punishment, 
had  not,  most  unfortunately,  the  penurious  policy  of  the 
Queen's  government  rendered  her  ships  useless  at  last,  eve^p 
in  this  Buprrane  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  remained  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  wo  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  disorganized  his  followers.  Crippled,  riddled,  shorn, 
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."  *  And  the 
brag  countenance  was  successful,  for  that  "one  day's  ser- 
vice had  much  appalled  the  enemy,"  *  as  Drake  observed  ; 
and  still  the  Spaniards  fled  with  a  freshening  gale  all 
through  the  Monday  night.  "  A  thing  greatly  to  g  Aug., 
be  regarded,"  said  Fenner,  of  the  Nonpariel^  "is  ^^®®' 
that  the  Almighty  had  stricken  them  with  a  wonderful  fear. 


»  Winter's  Letter,  MS.  last  cited 

89J11I7 
^  Howard    to    Walsingham,    1 

1588.    (a  P.  Office  Ma) 


»  Same  to  same,    —  Aug.  1588,  in 

Barrow,  306,  307. 

« Drake  to  Walsingh.'im,  in  Barrow, 
301. 


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502 


THE  UNITED  NETHEBLAKIKL 


Chap,  inx 


I  have  hardly  seen  any  of  their  companies  succoured  of  the 
extremities  which  befell  them  after  their  fights,  but  they 
^ave  been  left  at  utter  ruin,  while  they  bear  as  much  sail  as 
ever  they  possibly  can."  ^ 

On  Tuesday  morning,  9th  August,  the  English  ships  were 
off  the  Isle  o£  Walcheren,  at  a  safe  distance  from  the  shore. 
Tues.,  Aug.  9,  "  Th©  ^^^  18  hanging  westerly,"  said  Richard  Tom- 
15?®-  son,  of  the  Margaret  and  Joan^  "  and  we  drive  our 
enemies  apace,  much  marvelling  in  what  port  they  will  direct 
themselves.  Those  that  are  left  alive^are  so  weak  and  heart- 
less 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  think 
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  approacL 
But  the  English  had  no  disposition  to  engage,  for  at  that 
moment  the  instantaneous  destruction  of  their  enemies  seemed 
inevitable.  Ill-managed,  panic-struck,  staj^ring  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  the 
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 
accomplished  before  their  eyes.  Nothing  but  a  change  of 
wind  at  the  instant  could  save  them  from  perdition.  There 
was  a  breathless  shudder  of  suspense,  and  then  there  came  4he 
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.* 


>  Fenner  to  Walsingham,  -   Aug. 

1588.    (S.  P.  Office  Ma) 
3  Tomson's  Letters,  MS.  before  cited. 


»  Winter's  Letter.  MS.  befiMre  cited 

*  Herrera»  110. 

*  Ibid.  Camden,  IIL  416. 


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1588.  ENGLISH  IKSUFFIOIEHTLT  PSOYIDBD.  503 

AH  that  day  the  galleons  and  galeasses,  under  all  the  can- 
vas which  they  dared  to  spread^  continued  their  flight  before 
the  south-westerly  breeze,  and  still  the  Lord- Admiral,  main-^ 
taining  the  brag  countenance,  followed,  at  an  easy  distance, 
the  retreating  foe.  At  4  p.  m.,  Howard  fired  a  signal  gun,  and 
ran  up  a  flag  of  council  Winter  could  not  go,  for  he  had 
heeia  wounded  in  action,  but  Seymour  and  Diake,  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  utmost  of  my  good-will  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  RatTihow  and  her  com- 
panions, 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  Seymour's 
squadron,  at  twilight  of  Tuesday  evening,  August  9th — ^ac- 
cording to  orders,  so  that  the  enemy  might  not  see  their 
departure — ^bore  away  for  Margate.*  But  although  Winter 
and  Seymour  were  much  disappointed  at  their .  enforced  re- 
turn, there  was  less  enthusiasm  among  the  sailors  of  the  fleet. 
Pursuing  the  Spaniards  without  powder  or  fire,  and  without 
beef  and  bread  to  eat,  was  not  thought  amusing  by  the  Eng- 
lish crews.    Howard  had  not  three  days'  supply  of  food  in  his 

•  Winter's  Letter,  MS. 


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THB  XJNITJU)  N£THEBLANDa 


Chap.  SIX. 


lockers^  and  Seymour  and  liis  squadron  had  not  food  for  one 
day.  Accordingly,  when  Seymour  and  Winter  took  their 
departure,. "they  had  much  ado,"  so  WintOT  said,  "with  the 
staying  of  many  ships  that  would  have  returned  with  them, 
besides  their  own  company."^  Had  the  Spaniards,  instead 
of  being  panic-struck,  but  turned  on  their  pursuers,  what 
might  have  been  the  result  of  a  conflict  with  starving  and 
unarmed  men  ?  ^ 

Howard,  Drake,  and  Frobisher,  with  the  rest  of  the  fleet,  fol- 
lowed 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  aban- 
doned his  intention  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  overtaken 
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  ecdesias- 
tics  on  board  the  Saint  Martin^  who  thought,  no  doubt,  that 
they  had  more  to  fear  from  England  than  from  the  sea, 
should  they  be  carried  captive  to  that  country,  and  who 
persuaded  him  that  it  would  bo  a  sin  and  a  disgrace  to  sur- 
render before  they  had  been  once  more  attacked.* 

On  the  other  hand,  the  Devonshire  skipper.  Vice- Admiral 
Drake,  now  thoroughly  in  his  element,  couljl  not  restrain  his 
hilarity,  as  he  saw  the  Invincible  Armada  of  the  man  whose 
beard  he  had  so  often  singed,  rolling  through  the  German 


"  Winter's  Letter,  MS. 

*  *'  Had  the  English  been  well  fhr- 
nished  with  victuals  and  munition," 
Bajs  Stowe,  "they  would  in  the  pur- 
suit have  brought  the  Spaniards  to 
their  mercy.  On  the  other  hand,  had 
the  Spaniards  but  two  days  longer 
oonthiucd  fight,  they  must  have  driven 


the  English  to  retreat,  for  want  of 
shot  and  powder,  leaving  the  Spaniards 
masters  of  the  field,"  719. 

*  l£eteren,  xv.  274^  on  the  autho- 
rity of  certain  Dutch  fishermen,  who 
had  been  impressed  on  board  the 
San  Martin,    Beyd,  viiL  147. 


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2688. 


ARE  OBLIGED  TO  BSUNQXTISH  THE  CHASE. 


605 


Ocean,  in  full  flight  from  the  country  which  was  to  have 
been  made,  that  week,  a  Spanish  province.  Unprovided  as 
w^^  his  ships,  he  was  for  risking  another  battle,  and  it  is 
quite  possible  that  the  brag  countenance  might  have  proved 
even  more  successful  than  Howard  thought. 

"We  have  the  army  of  Spain  before  us,"  wrote  Drake, 
from  the  BevengCy  "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  flying  with  a  southerly  wind 
to  the  northward.  God  grant  you  have  a  good  eye  to  the 
Duke  of  Parma,  for  with  the  grace  of  Gtod,  if  wo  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  Friday, 
council.  It  was  then  decided,  in  order  to  save  Eng-  isss. 
lish  lives  and  ships,  to  put  into  the  Frith  of  Forth  for  water 
and  provisions,  leaving  two  "pinnaces  to  dog  the  fleet  until  ifc 
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,  tho  weather,  though  occasionally  threat- 
ening, had  been  moderate.  During  the  week  which  succeeded 
the  eventful  night  off  Calais,  neither  the  Armada  nor  the 
English  ships  had  been  much  impeded  in  their  manoeuvres  by 
storms  of  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  Mon- 
day, blew  a  tremendous  gale.*    "  'Twas  a  more  violent  storm," 


>  Drake    to    Walsingham, 

1588,  ia  Barrow,  S04. 
•  Bor,  IIL  326. 


SI  U\y 
lOAoff! 


'  Fenner  to  Walsingham,  —    Aug. 


1588.    (S.  P.  Office  M&)    Howard  to 

Walsingfaam,  —  Aug.  1588,  in  Barron 

306. 
4  Fenxier*fl  Letter,  MS.  last  cited. 
*Ibid. 


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Chap,  aix; 


said  Howard^  ^'  than  was  ever  seen  before  at  this  time  of  the 
year/'^  The  retreating  English  fleet  was  scattered,  many 
ships  were  in  peril,  ^^  among  the  ill-£Ekvoured  sands  off  Nor^ 
folk/'  but  within  four  or  five  days  all  arrived  safely  in  Mar- 
gate roads.^ 

Far  different  was  the  fate  of  the  Spaniards.  Ovct  their 
Invincible  Armada,  last  seen  by  the  departing  English  mid- 
way between  the  coasts  of  Scotland  and  Denmark,  the  black- 
ness of  night  seemed  suddenly  to  descend.  A  mystery  hung 
for  a  long  time  over  their  fate.  Damaged,  leaking,  without 
pilots,  without  a  competent  commander,  the  great  fleet  en- 
tered 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.  Dis- 
aster after  disaster  marked  their  perilous  track ;  gale  after 
gale  swept  them  hither  and  thither,  tossing  them  on  sand- 
banks or  shattering  them  against  granite  cli£b.  The  coasts 
of  Norway,  Scotland,  Ireland,  were  strewn  with  the  wrecks  of 
that  pompous  fleet,  which  claimed  the  dominion  of  the  seas  ; 
with  the  bones  of  those  invincible  l^ons  which  were  to  have 
sacked  London  and  made  England  a  Spanish  vice-royalty. 

Through  the  remainder  of  the  month  of  August  there  was 
a  succession  of  storms.  On  the  2nd  September  a  fierce  south- 
wester  drove  Admiral  Oquendo  in  his  galleon,  together  with 
one  of  the  great  galeasses,  two  large  Venetian  ships,  the  Baita 
and  the  Bcdavzaray  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  Rochelle. 

Of  the  four  galeasses  and  four  galleys,  one  of  each  returned 


1  Howard  to  WalsiDgbam,  —  Aog. 

1686.    (S.P.OffloeUa) 
•  Ibid. 


*  Drake,  in  Stowo^  760,  mq.  Bar* 
row,  81 9.  Met^en,  zy.  274.  Bor,  III 
826,  327. 


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XS8d. 


A  GREAT  STOBM  DISPEBSBS  THB  ABMADA. 


507 


to  Spain.  Of  the  ninety-oiie  great  galleons  and  halks^  fifty- 
eight  were  lost  and  thirty-three  returned.^  Of  the  tenders  and 
zahras,  sev^iteen  were  lost  and  eighteen  returned.  Of  one 
hundred  and  thirty-four  veBsels^  which  sailed  from  Corufia 
in  July^  hut  fifty-three,'  great  and  small,  made  their  escape  to 
Spain,  and  Ihese  were  so  damaged  as  to  be  utterly  worthless. 
The  invincible  Armada  had  not  only  been  vanquished  but 
annihilated. 

Of  the  30,000  men  who  sailed  in  the  fleet,  it  is  probable 
that  not  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  October,  and,  as  Philip  for  a 
moment  believed,  "with  the  greater  part  of  the  Armada," 
although  the  King  soon  discovered  his  mistake.^  Becalde, 
Diego  Flores  de  Yaldez,  Oquendo,  Maldonado,  Bobadilla, 
Manriquez,  either  perished  at  sea,  or  died  of  exhaustion  imme- 
diately after  their  return.  Pedro  de  Valdez,  Vasco  de  Silva, 
Alonzo  de  Sayas,  Piemontel,  Toledo,  with  many  other  nobles, 
were  prisoners  in  England  and  Holland.  There  was  hardly  a 
distii^ished  family  in  Spain  not  placed  in  mourning,  so  that,  to 
relieve  die  universal  gloom,  an  edict  was  published,  forbidding 
the  wearing  of  mourning  at  alL  On  the  other  hand,  a  mer- 
chant 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  pre- 
paring, and  at  an  expense  almost  incalculable.  In  the  year 
1568  alone,  the  cost  of  Philip's  armaments  for  the  subjugation 
of  England  could  not  have  been  less  than  six  millions  of  ducats. 


*  Meteren  and  Bor,  ubi  ntp. 

'  Ibid.  Compare  Strada^  II.  iz. 
563,  who  sets  before  his  readers  the 
**  absurd  discrepaDcy^  between  the 
Bnglish-Datch  and  the  Spanidi  ac- 
ooonte  of  these  lotses.  Accordbg  to 
the  Spaniards,  thirty-three  Tessels 
were  lost  or  captured,  and  10,000  men 


were  missing.  According  to  their 
enemies,  only  10,000  men  and  aboat 
sixty  ships  escaped.  Meteren's  ao- 
coont,  ZY.  274,  is  minute,  and  seems 
trathftd,  and  is  followed  ia  the  text 

*  Phflip  n.  to  Parma,  10  Oct  15Sa 
(Arch,  de  Simancas,  ICS.) 

*  Reyd,  yiil  148. 


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Chjlp.  ttt. 


and  there  was  at  least  as  large  a  sum  on  board  the  Armada 
itself,  although  the  Pope  refused  to  pay  his  promised  million.^ 
And  with  all  this  outlay,  and  with  the  sacrifice  of  so  many 
thousand  lives,  nothing  had  been  accomplished,  imd  Spain,  in 
a  moment,  instead  of  seeming  terrible  to  all  the  world,  had 
become  ridiculous.^ 

^^  Beaten  and  shuffled  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  ta-riUe 
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  burn  so  much  as  one  sheep-cote  on  this  land."* 

Meanwhile  Farnese  sat  chafing  imder  the  unjust  reproaches 
heaped  upon  him,  as  if  he,  and  not  his  master,  had  been  respon- 
sible 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  Admiral  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  transports  could  scarcely  live  in  any  but 
the  smoothest  sea,  while  the  supposition  that  they  could  serve 
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  over- 


iPhilip  to  Parma,  10  Oct  1688. 
(Arch,  do  Simancaa,  MS.) 

•  The  wlta  of  Borne  were  very 
severe  upon  Philip.  "  S'il  y  a  aucun," 
said  a  Pasquil  stuck  up  in  that  city, 
"qui  sache  des  noayelles  de  Tann^ 
d'Espague,  perdue  en  mer  depuis 
trois  semainea  ou  environ,  et  qui 
puisso  apprendre  ce  qu'  elle  est  de- 
venue,  qu'  il  en  vienne  a  revelation,  et 
8*  addresae  au  palais  St  Pierre  oa  le 
8t  P^  lui  fera  donner  son  via." 
TEtoile,'  263. 

*  Drake,  in  Stowe,  before  cited. 


«  "It  seems  tlie  Duke  of  Panna  is 
in  a  great  chafo,"  said  Seymour,  "to 
see  his  ships  in  durance  at  Dunkirk, 
also  to  find  such  discomfiture  of  the 
Spanish  fleet  hard  by  his  noseu  I  can 
say  no  more,  but  Gfod  doth  sbow  his 
mighty  Iiand  for  protecting  this  little 
island.''     Seymour    to    Walsingham, 

Aug.  4  1^88.  (S.  P.  Office  Ua,) 

10 

^  Drake  to  Walsingham,  --  Aug. 
1588,  in  Barrow,  310. 


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1588. 


GBEA.T  BNEBGY  OF  PABMA. 


509 


ruled  ;  and  ho  had  at  least  reckoned  upon  the  Invincible 
Armada  to  clear  the  way  for  him,  before  he  should  be  expected 
to  take  the  sea.^ 

With  prodigious  energy  and  at  great  expense  he  had  con- 
structed or  improved  internal  water-communications  from 
Ghent  to  Sluys,  Newport,  and  Dunkerk.  He  had  thus  trans- 
ported 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 
Hollanders  and  Zeelanders,  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  Walloons  and  Spaniards 
shrank  before  such  amphibious  assailants,  to  whom  a  combat 
on  the  water  was  as  natural  as  upon  dry  land.  Alexander, 
upon  one  occasion,  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  men ;  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  sicken,  would  rot,  would  die."  *  So  soon  as  ho 
had  received  information  of  the  arrival  of  the  fleet  before 
Calais — ^which  was  on  the  8th  August — ^he  had  proceeded  the 


*  Panna^a  Letters  to  Philip,  belbro 
cited  pa89im,  (Arch,  do  Simancas, 
M&) 

•  Bor,  ni.  323,  324.  Strada,  H.  ix. 
662.     Bejd,  yiii.  147. 

»  "  Porquo    lo3    baxeles    sou    Ian 


pequefios  que  no  hay  plaza  para  rc- 
volveree.  La  gente  bo  en&nneriu, 
pndriera,  y  perderia."  Parma  to 
Philip,  S  Ang.  1588.  (Arch,  de  Si- 
moncasy  MS.) 


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THB  UIOTED  NBTHEBLANDS. 


OoiP.  XDC 


same  night  to  Newport  and  embariced  16,000  men,  and  befcure 
dawn  he  was  at  Dunkerk,  where  the  troops  stationed  in  that 
port  were  as  rapidly  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  xegi- 
ments  lay  heaped  together,  like  sacks  of  corn,  in  the  boats — 
as  one  of  their  officers  described  it* — and  they  lay  cheerfully, 
hoping  that  the  Datch  fleet  wonld  be  swept  out  of  the  sea  by 
the  Invincible  Armada,  and  patiently  expecting  the  signal  for 
setting  sail  to  Ei^land.  Then  came  the  Prince  of  Ascoli, 
who  had  gone  ashore  from  the  Spanish  fleet  at  Calais,  accom- 
panied by  serjeant-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  congratulations  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  Him  be 
praised  for  all,  and  let  your  Majesty  take  great  care  of  your 
health,  which  is  the  most  important  thing  of  all."' 

Evidently  the  Lord  did  not  think  the  proper  time  yet  arrived 
for  fulfilling  his  Majesty's  desires  for  the  subjugation  of  Eng- 
land, 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  concerned, 
Alexander  Famese  was  the  least  reprehensible  for  the  over- 
throw of  Philip's  hopes.  No  man  could  have  been  more 
judicious — as  it  has  been  sufficiently  made  evident  in  the 
course  of  this  narrative — ^in  arranging  all  the  details  of  the 
great  enterprise,  in  pointing  out  all  the  obstacles,  in  providing 
for  all  emergencies.    No  man  could  have  been  more  minutely 


'  P&rma    to    Philip,  10  Aug.  158a 
(Arch,  de  Sim.  Ma) 
•  Meteren,  xv.  273,  274. 


*  Strada,  IL  z.  559,  562. 
« Parma  to  PhiHp,   10    Aug.    KS. 
last  cited.  *  lUd. 


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1588.  KADB  FRUITLESS  BY  PHILIP^S  DDLNESa  511 

fiuthful  to  his  mastery  more  treacherous  to  all  the  world  beside. 
Energetic^  inventive,  patient,  courageous,  and  stupendously 
&lse,  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  hood- 
winked, but  Elizabeth  and  Burghley,  and,  for  a  moment,  even 
Walsin^iam,  were  in  the  dark,  while  Henry  III.  had  been  his 
passive  victim,  and  the  magnificent  Balafird  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  very  possiUe  that  had  Philip 
followed  his  nephew's  large  designs,  instead  of  imposing  upon 
him  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  Famese 
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  Famese,  the  chief  of  the  great  enter- 
prise, 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  commonwealths  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 


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Chap.  XIX. 


rendezvous^  and  tremendous  were  the  cheers  when  the  hrave 
Queen  rode  on  horseback  along  the  lines  of  Tilbury.  Glowing 
pictures  are  revved  to  us  of  merry  little  England,  arising  in 
its  strength,  and  dancing  forth  to  encounter  the  Spaniards,  as 
if  to  a  great  holiday.  ^^  It  was  a  pleasiEint  sight,''  says  that 
enthusiastic  merchant-tailor  John  Stowe,  "to  behold  the 
cheerful  countenances,  courageous  words,  and  gestures,  of  the 
soldiers,  as  they  marched  to  Tilbury,  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  tho 
Queen  infuse  a  second  spirit  of  loyalty,  love,  and  resolution, 
into  every  soldier  of  her  army,  who,  ravished  with  their  sove- 
reign's sight,  prayed  heartily  that  the  Spaniards  might  land 
quickly,  and  when  they  heard  they  were  fled,  began  to 
lament."  * 

But  if  the  Spaniards  had  not  fled,  if  there  had  been  no 
English  navy  in  the  Channel,  no  squibs  at  Calais,  no  Dutch- 
men off  Dunkerk,  there  might  have  been  a  different  picture 
to  paint.  No  man  who  has  studied  the  history  of  those  times, 
can  doubt  the  universal  and  enthusiastic  determination  of  the 
English  nation  to  repel  the  invaders.  Catholics  and  Pro- 
testants felt  alike  on  the  great  subject.  Philip  did  not  flatter 
Iiimself  with  assistance  from  any  English  Papists,  save  exiles 
and  renegades  like  Westmoreland,  Paget,  Throgmorton,  Mor- 
gan, Stanley,  and  the  rest.  The  bulk  of  the  Catholics,  who 
may  have  constituted  half  tho  population  of  England,  although 
malcontent,  were  not  rebellious  ;  and  notwithstanding  the 
precautionary  measures  taken  by  government  against  them, 
Elizabeth  proudly  acknowledged  their  loyalty.* 


»  Stowe,  749. 

'  "Said  it  was  tlieir  intention  to 
oocup7  the  whole  kingdom  of  Eng- 
land— ^to  keep  the  English  Qaeen  a 
prisoner,  but  to  treat  her  as  a  Queen, 
until  the  King  should  otherwise  or- 
dain. Said  that  they  had  understood 
that  there  were  many  Catholics  in  Eng- 
land, but  that  they  made  not  rnucn 
account  of  them,  knowing  that  the 
Queen  had  taken  care  that  they 
should  not  giro  any  assistance,  and 


belioying  that  most  of  them  would 
have  fought  Ibr  their  native  land," 
fta,  &c  Answers  of  Don  Di^^  de 
Pimentel  to  Interrogations  before 
Adrian  Tan  der  Myle,  John  van 
Olden-Bameveld,  Admiral  Tillers,  and 
Famars,  in  Bor,  IIL  xxiiL  325,  326. 

"This  invaaon,  tending  to  the  re- 
ducing of  this  realm  to  the  subjection 
of  a  stranger — a  matter  so  greatly 
misliked  generally  by  tho  subjects  of 
this  realm  of  all  sorts  and  of  nil  !vli- 


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1688.  ENGLAND  BBADIBB  AT  SEA  THAN  ON  SHORE.  ^13 

But  loyaUy,  courage;  and  enthusiasm,  might  not  have  suf* 
fioed  to  supply  the  want  of  numbers  and  discipline.  According 
to  the  generally  accepted  statement  of  contemporary  chroni- 
clers, there  were  some  75,000  men  under  arms  :  20,000  along 
the  southern  coast,  23,000  under  Leicester,  and  33,000  under 
Lord  Chamberlain  Hunsdon,  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  Held. 
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  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  Pem- 
broke offered  to  serve  at  the  head  of  three  hundred  horse  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  ho  may 
see  your  Highness  enjoy  your  blessed  estate,  maugre  the 
beards  of  all  confederated  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 


gionsy  yea,  by  no  small  number  of  them 
that  are  known  to  be  addicted  to  the 
Bomish  relig^n — ^who  are  resolutely 
bent  to  withstand  the  same  with  the 
employment  of  their  goods  and  hazard 
of  their  liyes,"  &c  Queen  to  the 
Commissioners  at  Bourbouiv  (signed, 
but  staid   by   her   Majesty's   ordorX 

VOL.  II. — 2  L 


July  "  1688.    (3.  P.  Office  MS.) 
>  Camden,  III.  405. 

^      .      ,  ,       rv  28  July 

■  Pembroke   to   tuo  Queen,  . 

3688.    (S.  P.  Office  MS.) 

•  Sbrewsbuiy  to  the  Queen,  —  Aug 
1588.    (3.  P.  Office  MS.)  ^ 


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514  THE  UNITED  NBTHBBLANDa  Chap.  XEL 

lieutenant-general  complained  bitterly  that  there  was  a  most 
mischievous  tendency  among  all  the  militia-mai  to  escape 
from  the  Queen's  colours,  in  order  to  enrol  themselves  as  re- 
tainers to  the  great  lords.^  This  spirit  was  not  favourable  to 
efficient  organization  of  a  national  army.  Even  had  the  com- 
mander-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 
Famese,  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  im^ 
questionably  Sir  John  Norris,  and  Sir  John  was  now  marshal 
of  the  camp  to  Leicester.  The  ancient  quarrel  between  the 
two  had  been  smoothed  over,  and — as  might  be  expected — 
the  Earl  hated  Norris  more  bitterly  than  before,  and  was 
perpetually  vituperating  him,  as  he  had  often  done  in  the 
Netherlands.  Roger  Williams,  too,  was  entrusted  with  the 
important  duties  of  master. of  the  horse,  under  the  lieutenant- 
general,  and  Leicester  continued  to  bear  the  grudge  towards 
that  honest  Welshman,  which  had  begun  in  Holland.  These 
were  not  promising  conditions  in  a  camp,  when  an  invading 
army  was  every  day  expected ;  nor  was  the  completeness  or 
readiness  of  the  forces  sufficient  to  render  harmless  the  quarreb 
of  the  commanders. 

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  Eng- 
land at  all,  that  event  would  have  occurred  on  the  7th  August. 
The  weather  was  not  unfavourable,  the  sea  was  smooth,  and  the 
circumstances  under  which  tho  catastrophe  of  the  great  drama 
was  that  night  accomplished,  were  a  profound  mystery 
to  every  soul  in  England.  For  aught  that  Leicester,  or 
Burghley,  or  Queen  Elizabeth,  knew  at  the  time,  the  army  of 

24  July 

»  Loioegter  to  Walsingham,  — — ,  1588.    (S.  P.  Office  MS.) 


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/588. 


THE  UEUTBNANT-GENEBAL'S  COMPLAINTS. 


S15 


Fameso  might,  on  Monday,  have  been  marching  upon  London. 
Now,  on  that  Monday  morning,  the  army  of  Lord  Hunsdon 
was  not  assembled  at  all,  and  Leicester,  with  but  four  thou- 
sand men  under  his  command,  was  just  concunencing  his  camp 
at  Tilbury.^  The  "Bellona-like"  appearance  of  the  Queen 
on  her  white  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  afterwards, 

Q 

August  —  f  not  till  the  great  Armada,  shattered  and  tempest- 

19 

tossed,  had  been,  a  week  long,  dashing  itself  against  the 
cliflfe  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  parsimony  with  which 
his  own  impatient  spirit  had  to  contend.  "  Be  you  assured," 
said  he,  o»  the  3rd  August^  when  the  Armada  was  off  the  Isle 
of  Wight y  "if  the  Spanish  fieet  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  oiu:  gate."  * 

For  even  at  this  supreme  moment  doubts  were  entertained 
at  court  as  to  the  intentions  of  the  Spaniards. 

Next  day  ho  informed  Walsingham  that  his  four  thousand 
men  had  arrived.   "  They  be  as  forward  men  and  willing  to  meet 
the  enemy  as  I  ever  saw,"  said  he.*    Ho  could  not  say    4  Aug. 
as  much  in  praise  of  the  commissariat.    "  Some  want     i^^^- 
the  captains  showed,"  he  observed,  "for  these  men  arrived  with- 
out one  meal  of  victuals,  so  that,  on  their  arrival,  they  had  not 


'  "  I  havo  a  moet  apt  plaoo  to  begin 
our  camp  in,  not  far  from  the  fort,  at 
a  place  called  West  TilbuiT.*'     Lei- 

24  JdIj 

oester  to  Privy  Conncil,  t— : — »  1588. 
(a  P.  Office  MS.)  ^  ^"^ 

"I  did  peruse  and  make  choice  of 
the  ground  for  the  encamping  of  the 
soldiers.  Yesterday  went  to  Ohelms- 
ibrd  to  order  all  the  soldierB   hither 


this    day." 

SBJaly 


Same    to    Walsingham, 
,  1688.    (S.  P.  Offloo  Ma) 

4  Ang.'  ^ 

•  lingard,  viiL  286.  24  July 

•  Leicester  to  Privy  Council, » 

1688.    (S  P.  Office  Ma)  ^  j„, 

•  Same     to     Walsingham,    » 

158a.   (S.  P.  Office  Ma)  *  ^"«- 


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516  THE  UNITED  NETTTERLANDa  Chap.  XDL 

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 
hurleys.  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 
nulesoff:"^ 

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  provisions,  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  not  defer  the 
timey  upon  any  supposed  hope,  to  assemble  a  convenient/orce  of 
horse  and  foot  abottt  her.  Her  Majesty  cannot  be  strong  enough 
too  soon,  and  if  her  navy  had  not  been  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  army  presently  dressed  to  withstand  the 
aaighty  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  coffers  fuller  than  ever  they  were ;  but  I  will  prrfer  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  assembled — 
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 

»Joly  .  «  ^ 

>  Leicester  to  Walsingham,  -j-j^  1588.    (S.  P.  Office  MS.)  ■  Ibid. 


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1588.  HIS  QUARRELS  WITH  NORRIS  AND  WILLIAMS.  517 

Tilbury.  On  the  6th  August  the  Armada  was  in  Calais 
roads,  expecting  Alexander  Famese  to  lead  his  troops  upon 
London  I 

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  entrenchments 
at  Tilbury.  "  I  assure  you  I  am  angry  with  Sir  John  Norris 
and  Sir  Boger  Williams,"  he  saii  "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  fisdthfully  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  lieutenant-general,  I  look  that  respect 
be  used  towards  me,  such  as  is  due  to  my  place."  ^ 

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  arrived,  and  Sir  John  promised  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  pass,  that  both  he  and  my  Lord- Admiral  are 
BO  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  5  Aug. 
and  footmen If  the  Spanish  fleet  come  to     1588. 

S5  Jul7 

*  Leicester  to  Waldngham,  "^"^  M&  already  cited. 


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518 


THE  UNITED  KBTTTBRLANDS. 


Chap.  XIX 


the  narrow  seas  the  Prince  of  Parma  will  play  another  part 
than  is  looked  for/'  ^ 

As  the  Armada  approached  Calais,  Leicester  was  informed 
that  the  soldiers  at  Dover  b^an  to  leave  the  coast.  It  seemed 
that  they  were  dissatisfied  with  the  penmiousness  of  the 
government.  "  Our  soldiers  do  break  away  at  Dover,  or  are 
not  pleased.  I  assm^  you,  without  wages,  the  people  willnot 
tarry,  and  contributions  go  hard  with  them.  Surely  I  find 
that  her  Majesty  must  needs  deal  liberally,  and  bo  at  chai^ges 
to  entertain  her  subjects  that  have  ohaigeably  and  liberaUy 
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  indifi^ent  opinion  too  of  the 
train-bands  of  the  metropolis.  "  For  your  Londoners,"  ho  said, 
"I  see  their  service  taill  be  little,  except  they  have  their  own 
captains,  and  having  them,  /  look  for  none  cU  aU  hy  them, 
when  wo  shall  meet  the  enemy/' ^  This  was  not  compli- 
mentary, certainly,  to  the  training  of  the  famous  Artillery 
Garden,  and  furnished  a  stUl  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  professional  soldiers.  "I  know 
what  burghers  be,  well  enough,"  said  the  Earl,  ^^ai^  Ihuvo  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  vdth  them.  €o  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  dis- 


*  Leioester  to  Walsiogham, 
MS.  already  cited. 


at  July 
9  Auff. 


'  Same  to  same, 
P.  Office  MS.) 


88  Joly 
7  Aug. 

•Ibid. 


1588. 


(3. 
Ibid. 


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IMS.       HAESH  STAJKtfKNTS  AS  TO  THE  ENGLISH  TBOOPa       519 

paraging  opinions  than  those  of  Leicester  concerning  the 
probable  efficiency  in  the  field  of  these  English  armies.^  The 
Earl  was  very  angry  with  the  knight,  however,  and  con- 
sidered him  imoompetent,  insolent,  and  ridiculous.  Sir  John 
seemed,  indeed,  more  disposed  to  k«ep  himself  out  of  harm's 
way,  than  to  render  service  to  the  Queen  by  leading  awkward 
recruits  against  Alexander  Famese.  Ho  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  countrymen,  and  that  Z  had  provided  a  good  place  for 
him.  Next  day  he  came  again,  saying  little  to  my  offer  then, 
and  seemed  d^rous,  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  unto. 
Yesterday,  being  our  muster-day,  he  came  again  to  me  to 
dinner  ;  but  such  foolish  and  vain-glorious  paradoxes  he  burst 
withal,  without  any  cause  offered,  as  made  all  that  knew  any- 
thing 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  than  he  had 
been  with  that  of  his  own  regiment.  He  became  very  cen- 
sorious. 

"After  the  muster,"  said  the  lieutenant-general,  "he 
entered  again  into  such  strange  cries  for  ordering  of  inen,.  and 
for  the  fight  with  the  weapon,  as  inade  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."' 


*  Hardwidke  Papers,  L  6*75. 
ir.  47.    Lingard,  yiil  273. 


Strype, 


Leicester  to  WolsiDgham,  — • — * 
«  Ibil"** 


1588,  Ma  alroadj  dted. 


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520  THE  UNITBD  KBTHEBLAKI)&  Chap.  HX. 

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  yary  from  those 
which  Leicester  himself  was  in  the  habit  of  expressing.  And 
these  interior  scenes  of  discord,  tumult,  parsimony,  want  of 
organization,  and  unsatisfactory  mustering  of  troops,  were 
occurring  on  the  very  Saturday  and  Sunday  when  the  Armada 
lay  in  sight  of  Dover  cli£&,  and  when  the  approach  -of  the 
Spaniards  on  the  Dover  road  might  at  any  moment  be  ex- 
pected. 

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  au- 
thority entrusted  to  Lord  Hunsdon,  disposed  to  think  his  own 
rights  invaded,  and  desirous  tiiat  the  Lord  Ohambeiiain 
should  accept  office  under  himself.  He  wished  saving  clauses 
as  to  his  own  authority  inserted  in  Hunsdon's  patent  ^'  Either 
it  must  be  so,  or  I  shall  have  wrong,'"  said  he,  '^if  he  abso- 
lutely 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  fed  an 
inexpressible  satisfaction  that  in  this  great  crisis  of  England's 
destiny,  there  were  such  men  as  Howard,  Drake,  Frobisber, 
Hawkins,  Seymour,  Winter,  Fenner,  and  their  gallant 
brethren,  cruising  tha^  week  in  the  Channel,  and  that  Nassau 
and  Warmond,  De  Moor  and  Van  der  Does,  were  Uockading 
the  Flemish  coast. 

There  was  but  little  preparation  to  resist  the  enemy  once 
landed.  There  were  no  fortresses,  no  regular  army,  no  popu- 
lation trained  to  any  weapon.  There  were  patriotism,  loyalty, 
courage,  -and  enthusiasm,  in  abundance  ;  but  the  commander- 
in-chief  was  a  queen's  favourite,  odious  to  the  people,  with 
vay  moderate  abilities,  and  eternally  quarrelling  with  officers 
more  competent  than  himself;  and  all  the  arrangements  were 

'  Leieester  to  Wakuigham,  MS.  alread/  cited. 


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IMS.  WANT  OF  ORGANIZATION  IN  ENGLAND.  521 

80  hopeleedy  behind-Uand,  that  although  great  disasters  might 
have  been  aveDged,  they  could  scarcely  have  been  avoided. 

Bemembering  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  addressed  on  that 
very  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  £uthfully  do  put  their  chi^  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  vic- 
tory."^ 

He  then  proceeded  to  give  his  opinion  on  two  points  con- 
cerning which  the  Queen  had  just  consulted  him — the  pro- 
priety 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  super- 
fluous on  the  6th  of  August.  "  For  your  army,  it  is  more 
than  time  it  were  gathered  and  about  yow,"  said  Leicester, 
"  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  suffers  them  to  pass  by  your  fleet,  you  arc 
sure  they  will  attempt  their  purpose  of  landing  with  all  expe- 
dition. 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  beyond  yours.  No  doubt  if  the  Prince 
of  Parma  come  forth,  their  forces  by  sea  shall  not  only  be 

27  Jolr 

>  Leicester  to  tho  Qaeen, -,  168a    (S.  P.  Office  MS.) 

6AII8. 


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522  "PTTTg  UNITED  NBTHKBTiANPa  Chap.  XIX 

greatly  augmented,  but  his  power  to  land  shall  the  easier  take 
effect  whensoever  he  shall  attempt  it.  Therefore  it  is  most 
requisite  that  your  M^esty  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  otherwise 
hazard  your  own  honour,  besides  your  person  and  country, 
and  must  offend  your  gracious  God  that  gave  you  these  forces 
and  power,  thottgh  you  will  not  use  them  when  you  should**^ 

It  seems  strange  enough  that  such  phrases  should  be  neces- 
sary 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  Que^,  which  would  not  have  seemed  prema- 
ture had  they  been  made  six  months  before,  but  which,  when 
offered  in  August,  excite  imbounded  amazement.  Alexander 
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  effect. 

"Now  for  the  placing  of  your  army,"  says  the  lieutenant- 
general  on  the  memorable  Saturday,  6th  of  August,  "no  doubt 
but  I  think  about  London  the  meetest,  and  I  suppose  that 
others  will  bo  of  the  same  mind.  And  your  Majesty  should 
forthwith  give  the  charge  thereof  to  some  specicU  nobleman  about 
you,  and  likewise  place  all  your  chief  officers  that  ev^y  man 
may  know  what  he  shall  dOy  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  great^t  hope  of 
good  success  under  God.  And  so  soon  as  your  army  is  assem- 
bled, let  them  by  and  by  be  exercised^  every  man  to  know  his 
weapon^  and  that  there  be  all  other  things  prepared  in  readi- 
ness 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, 

»  Leicester  to  the  Queen,  MS.  last  cited.  •  n)id. 


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1588. 


BOTAL  PABSIMONY  AND  DELAY. 


523 


at  the  head  of  his  Italian  pikemen,  his  Spanish  musketeers, 
his  fi^moua  veteran  l^on — ^^that  nursing  mother  of  great 
soldiers ''' — ^it  was  indeed  more  than  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  ordinance,  was  to  be  exercised— 
"  every  man  to  know  bis  weapon," 

English  courage  might  ultimately  triumph  over  the  mis- 
takes of  those  who  governed  the  country,  and  over  those 
disciplined  brigands  by  whom  it  was  to  be  invaded.  But 
meantime  every  man  of  those  invaders  had  already  learned 
on  a  hundred  battle-fields  to  know  hia  weapon. 

It  was  a  magnificent  determination  on  the  part  of  Elizabeth 
to  place  herself  at  the  head  of  her  troops  ;  And  the  enthu- 
siasm which  her  attitude  inspired,  when  she  had  at  last 
emancipated  herself  from  the  delusions  of  diplomacy  and  the 
seductions  of  thrift,  was  some  recompense  at  least  for  the 
perils  caused  by  het  procrastination.  But  Leicester  could  not 
approve  of  this  hazardous  though  heroic  resolution.^ 

The  danger  passed  away.      The   Invincible  Armada  was 


*  "  Aquel  tercio  ylejo,  padre  do  todos 
loe  demas,  7  semioario  de  los  majrores 
Bolados  que  ha  yisto  en  nuestro 
tiempo  Europa.''    Ooloma,  ii  26^. 

*  Leicester  to  the  Queezi,  MS.  before 
cited. 

"Now  for  your  person,"  he  said, 
«bemg  the  most  daintj  and  sacred 
thing  we  have  in  this  world  to  care 
for,  a  man  must  tremble  when  he 
thinks  of  it,  especiallj  finding  jour 
Hiyesty  to  Jjave  that  princelj  courage 
to  transport  yourself  to  the  uttermost 
confines  of  your  realm  to  meet  your 
enemies  and  defend  your  sutjects, 
I  cannot,  most  dear  Queen,  consent  to 
that ;  for  upon  your  well-doing  con- 
sists all  and  some  for  your  whole  king- 
dom, and  therefore  preserve  it  above 
all !  Tet  will  I  not  that,  in  some  sort, 
so  princely  and  so  rare  a  magnanimity 
should  not  appear  to  your  people  and 
the  world  as  it  is,  and  thus  far,  if  it 


please  you,  jrou  may  do  it  to  draw 
yourself  to  your  house  at  Havering; 
and  your  army,  being  about  London, 
as  at  Stratford,  Eastham,  Hackney, 
and  the  villages  there  about,  shall  bo 
alway  not  only  a  defence  but  a  ready 
supply  to  those  counties  of  Essex 
and  Kent,  if  need  be,  and  in  the  mean- 
tune  your  Majesty  may  comfort  this 
army  and  the  people  of  both  those 
counties,  and  may  see  both  the  camp 
and  the  forts.  It  is  not  above  fourteen 
miles  fh)m  Havering,  and  a  very  con- 
venient place  for  your  Migesty  to  lie 
in  by  the  way.  To  rest  you  at  the 
camp,  I  trust  you  will  be  pleased  with 
your  poor  lieutenant's  cabin,  and 
within  a  mile  there  is  a  gentleman's 
house  where  you  may  also  lie.  Thus 
you  may  comfort  not  only  these  thou- 
sands, but  many  more  that  shall  bear 
of  it,  and  thus  far,  but  no  farther,  can 
I  consent  to  adventure  your  peraon." 


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S24  THB  XTNITSD  NBTHBELANDa  Chap.  XIZ. 


driven  out  of  the  Channel  by  the  courage,  the  splendid 
manship^  and  the  enthusiasm  of  English  sailors  and  volun- 
teers. The  Duke  of  Parma  was  kept  a  close  prisoner  hj  the 
fleets  of  Holland  and  Zeeland ;  and  the  great  storm  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  back,  for  the  disasters  which  had  befallen  them  in  the 
north  were  but  tardily  known  in  England.  The  sailors,  by 
whom  England  had  been  thus  defaided  in  her  utmost  need, 
were  dying  by  hundreds,  and  even  thousands,,  of  ship-fever,  in 
the  latter  days  of  August.  Men  sickened  one  day,  and  died 
the  next,  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  diips, 
or  died  in  the  streets  of  the  naval  ports,  because  there  were 
no  hospitals  to  receive  them.^ 

'^  'Tis  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.  I  am  driven  of  force 
myself  to  come  on  land  to  see  them  bestowed  in  some  lodg- 
ings ;  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  thai  have  served  so  vcUianUy 
die  so  miserably." ' 

The  survivors,  too,  were  greatly  discontented ;  for,  after 
having  been  eight  months  at  sea,  and  enduring  great  priva- 
tions, they  could  not  get  their  wages.  "  Finding  it  to  come 
thus  scantily,"  said  Howard,  "it  breeds  a  marvellous  altera- 
tion among  them."* 

But  more  dangerous  tnan  the  pestilence  or  the  discontent 


^  Lord  Howard  to  the  Queen ;  Same 
to  Walsingham ;  Same  to  Priry  Coun- 
cil, 2-^     (S.  P.  Offlco  M8&) 


'  Howard  to  Bmghley,  -  Aug. 
(S.  P.  Office  MS.) 

•  Howard  to  Privy  Council,  ^i^ 
1588.    (S.  r.  OfflcD  MS.)  ^^*^ 


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1538. 


QUABBELS  OF  ENGLISH  ADMIRALS. 


525 


vras  the  nusunderstanding  which  existed  at  the  moment 
between  the  leading  admirals* of  the  English  fleet.  Not  only 
was  Seymour  angry  with  Howard,  but  Hawkins  and  Frobisher 
were  at  daggers  drawn  with  Drake ;  and  Sir  Martin — ^if  con- 
temporary affidavits  can  be  trusted — did  not  scruple  to  heap 
the  most  virulent  abuse  upon  Sir  Francis,  calling  him,  in 
language  better  fitted  for  tho  forecastle  than  the  quarter- 
deck; a  thief  and  a  coward,  for  appropriating  the  ransom«of 
Don  Pedro  Yaldez,  in  which  both  Frobisher  and  Hawkins 
claimed  at  least  an  equal  share  with  himself.^ 


>  "  Tbo   -th  day  of  August,  1588, 

I  arriyed  at  Harwick,"  saja  Matthew 
Starke,  mariner  on  board  the  'Be- 
yenge,'  flag  ship  of  Sir  Francis  Drake, 
"and  deliyered  letters  sent  bj  the 
Lord-Admiral  to  the  Lord  Sheffield. 
....  I  found  with  him  Sir  John  Haw- 
kins, Sir  Martin  Frobisher,  with  diyers 
others.  .  .  .  Then  Sir  Martin  Fro- 
bisher began  some  speeches  concern- 
ing the  service  done  in  this  notbn,  and 
said:— Sir  Francis  Drake  reporteth 
that  no  man  hath  done  anj  good  ser- 
yice  but  he,  but  he  shall  wefi  under- 
stand that  others  have  done  as  good 
seryice  as  he,  and  better  toa  He 
came  bragging  up  at  the  first  indeed, 
and  gaye  them  his  prow  and  his  broad- 
side, and  then  kept  his  lufiE;  and  was 
glad  that  he  was  gone  again,  like  a 
cowardly  knaye  or  traitor — I  rest 
doubtM  which,  but  tho  one  I  will 
swear. 

"'Further,  said  he,  he  hath  done 
good  seryice  indeed,  for  he  took  Don 
Pedro ;  for  after  he  had  seen  her  in 
the  eyening  that  she  hxul  spent  her 
masts,  then,  like  a  ooward,  he  kept  bj 
her  all  night,  because  he  would  haye 
the  spoil.  He  thinketh  to  cozen  us 
of  our  shares  of  15,000  ducats,  but  we 
will  haye  our  shares,  or  I  wiU  make 
him  spend  the  best  blood  in  hia  hdly^ 
for  he  hath  done  enough  of  those 
cozening  cheats  alreadj. 

"  *  He  hath  used  certahi  speeches-  of 
roe  (continued  Sir  Martin)  whidi  I 
will  make  him  eat  again,  or  I  will 
make  him  q[>end  tho  best  blood  in  his 
belly.  Furthermore^  he  reporteth  that 
no  man  hath  done  so  good  seryice 
as  he,  but  he  lieth  in  his  teeth,  for 


there  are  others  that  haye  done  as 
good,  and  better  toa 

'*  *  Then  he  demanded  of  me  if  we  (in 
the  '  Reyenge  *)  did  not  see  Don  Pedro 
oyemight  or  no.  Unto  whidi  I  an- 
swered No.  Then  ho  told  me  that 
I  lied,  for  she  was  seen  to  all  the  fleet. 
Uyto  which  I  answered  I  would  laj 
my  head  that  not  any  one  man  in  the 
fleet  did  see  her  until  it  was  morning, 
that  we  were  within  two  or  threo 
cables'  lengths  of  her.  Whereunto  he 
answered,  Aye^  marry,  you  were  with- 
in two  or  three  cables'  lengths,  for 
you  were  no  &rther  off  all  n^^  but 
lay  a-hull  by  her.  Whereunto  I  an- 
swered No,  for  we  bear  a  good  sail  all 
night,  off  and  on. 

'"Then  he  asked  mo  to  what  end 
we  stood  off  from  the  fleet  all  night 
I  answered  that  we  had  descried  three 
or  four  hulks,  and  to  that  end  we 
wrought,  not  knowing  what  tiiey  were. 
Then  said  he,  Sur  Frauds  was  ap- 
pointed to  bear  a  light  all  that  night, 
which  light  we  loo^^ed  for,  but  there 
was  none  to  be  seen ;  and  in  the  morn- 
ing, when  we  should  haye  dealt  with 
them,  there  was  not  about  fiye  or  sis 
near  to  the  admiral,  by  reason  we  saw 
not  his  light  After  this,  and  many 
more  speeches  which  I  am  not  able  to 
remember,  the  Lord  Sheffield  de- 
manded of  me  what  I  was.  Unto  which 
I  answered  I  had  been  in  the  acUon 
with  Sir  Francis  in  tho  'Beyenge* 
this  seyen  or  eight  months.  Then  ho 
demanded  of  me,  what  art  thou — a 
soldier?  And  I  answered  I  am  a 
mariner,  like  your  Honour.  Then  said 
he,  I  haye  no  more  to  say  unto  you. 
Ton  may  depart' 

"All  this  I  do  confoflB  to  be  true,  as 


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526 


THB  UNITED  NETHERLANDS. 


Chap.  XIX. 


And  anxious  enough  was  the  Lord- Admiral,  with  his  sailors 
perishing  by  pestilence,  with  ifiany  of  his  ships  so  weakly 
manned  that — as  Lord  Henry  Seymour  declared — th^e  were 
not  mariners  enough  to  weigh  the  anchors,^  and  with  the  great 
naval  heroes,  on  whose  efforts  the  safety  of  the  realm  depended, 
wrangling  like  fisherwomen  among  themselves,  when  rumours 
came,  as  they  did  almost  daily,  of  the  return  of  the  Spanish 
Aijpada,  and  of  new  demonstrations  on  the  part  of  Famese. 
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  refreshing  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  friend,  we  should  have  found  it  so."  - 

Nothing  could  be  more  replete  with  sound  oonunon  sense 
than  this  simple  advice,  given  as  it  was  in  utter  ignorance  of 
the  fate  of  the  Armada,  after  it  had  been  lost  sight  of  by  the 
English  vessels  off  the  Frith  of  Forth,  and  of  the  cold  refresh- 


it  was  spoken  by  Sir  Martin  Frobisher, 
and  do  acknowledge  it  in  the  presence 
of  these  parties  whose  names  are  here- 
under written.  Captain  Piatt :  Captain 
Yaughan ;  Mr.  Grange,  master  of  the 
Arke;  John  Graje,  master  of  the 
Beyenge ;   Captain  Spendeloe. 

"  Moreover,  he  said  that  Sir  Francis 
was  the  cause  of  all  these  troubles, 
and  in  this  action  he  showed  himself 
the   most    coward.    Bj  me,  Matthew 

StarkOi   Aug.    1^  1688."    (S.  P.  Office 

JO 

Ma) 
>  Seymour  to  Walsiogham,    —^ 


1688.    (S.  P.  Office  MS.) 

>  Howard  to  Walsmgham,  —  Aug: 

1588.    (a  P.  Office  Ma) 

"Some  haply  may  say  that  winter 
Cometh  on  apace,"  said  Drake^  ^but 
my  poor  opinion  is  that  I  dare  not  ad- 
vise her  Majesty  to  hazard  a  kingdom 
with  the  saying  of  a  little  <^tfge. 
The  Duke  of  Parma  is  nigh,  and  win 
not  let  to  send  daUy  to  the  Duke  of 
Sid(mi%  if  he  may  find  him."    Drake 


to  Walsingham,  —  Aug.  1688. 
Office  Ma) 


(a  P. 


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1588.        ENGLAND'S  NABEOW  BSCAPB  FBOM  GREAT  PERIL.       527 

ment  which  it  had  found  in  Norway  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  knowledge  of  the 
caittinty  thereof  and  of  means  how  to  support  them,  is  lack 
of  wisdom ;"  ^  and  so  on. 

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  Famefife'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  mu- 
tinous for  default  of  pay.  To  have  saved  under  such  circum- 
stances would  perhaps  have  brought  repentance. 

The  invasion  of  England  by  Spain  had  been  most  por- 
tentous. That  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  Armada  at  last ;  but  very  little  credit  can 
be  conscientiously  awarded  to  the  diplomatic  or  the  military 
efforts  of  the  Queen's  government.'     Miracles  alone,  in  the 


.  '    Hemorial    in    Bnrghley's    band, 

-Aug.  1588.    (S.  P.  Office  MS.) 

*  An  exception  is  always  to  bo  made 
in  favour  of  the  Secretary  of  State. 
Although  stunned  for  a  moment  bj 
the  superhuman  perfldj  of  Philip  and 
Famese,  and  deceived  by  fiilse  intel- 
ligence as  to  the  conditions  of  the 
Armada  after  the  gale  near  Corufio, 
Walsingham  had  been  ever  watchful, 
and  constantly  uttering  words  of  solemn 
waminfl:.  *'  Plain  dealing  is  best  among 
friends,"  said  Seymour.  "I  will  not 
flatter  you,  but  you  have  fought  more 
with  your  pen  than  many  here  in  our 


English  navy  with  their  enemica  Bui 
that  your  place  and  most  necessary 
attendance  about  her  Majesty  cannot 
be  spared,  your  value  and  deserts 
opposite  the  enemy  had  showed  itself." 
"  For  myself"  added  tiie  bold  sailor, 
who  was  much  dissatisfied  at  the  pro- 
spect of  *'  being  penned  and  moored  in 
roadSf"  instead  of  cruizing  after  the 
Spaniards,  "I  have  not  spared  my 
body,  which,  I  thank  God,  is  able  to 
go  through  thick  and  thin.  .  .  .  Spare 
me  not  while  I  am  abroad,  fi>r  when 
God  shall  return  me,  I  will  be  kin  to 
the  bear.  I  will  hold  to  the  stake 
before  I   come  abroad  again."    Lord 


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THE  UNITED  KETHERULNDS. 


Chap.  XIX. 


opiniou  of  Boger  WiUiams,  had  sayed  England  on  this  occa- 
sion from  perdition.* 

Towards  the  end  of  Augost,  Admiral  de  Nassau  paid  a  visit 
to  Dover  "with  forty  ships,  "  well  appointed  and  furnished."  * 
He  dined  and  conferred  with  Seymour,  Palmer,  and  other 
officers — ^Winter  heing  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  fix)m 
her  Majesty's  navy  between  Calais  and  Gravelines.  He  also 
gave  the  information  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  dis- 
couraged, as  having  already  disembarked  his  troops,  and  as 
very  little  disposed  to  hazard  any  further  enterprise  against 
England.  "I  have  left  twenty-five  Kromstevens,"  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  Dunkerk,  and  I  shall  not  fail — ^befbre  the 
next  full  moon — ^to  place  myself  before  that  place,  to  prevent 
their  coming  out,  or  to  have  a  brush  with  them  if  they  venture 
to  put  to  sea."  * 

But  after  the  scenes  on  which  the  last  full  moon  had  looked 
down  in  those  waters,  there  could  be  no  further  pretence  on 
the  part  of  Famese  to  issue  from  Sluys  and  Dunkerk,  and 


H.  SeTmour  to  WalaiDgham,  from  the 
Bainbow,  irAag.  1588.    (S.  P.  Offioe 

MS.)     Same  to  flame,  — ^  MS. 

»  R.  Williams  to  Walslngham,  July, 
1588.    (a  P.  Office  Ma) 

17 
«  Seymour  to  Walsingham,  —  Aug. 

1588.    (a  P.  Office  Ma) 

II 
*  Seymour  to  Walsingfaam,  ~  Aug. 


1588.    (a  P.  Offioe  Ma) 

«  "Gepeudant  je  ne  fiiuldroi  de  me 
retoumer  contre  la  procbaine  Inne 
deyant  Dunquerque  pour  empecfaer  la 
sortie  a  ceuz  dedans,  ou  de  me  m€kr 
ayec  eux  s'ils  se  delibereut  so  mettre 
en  mer."    Just   de  Nassau  to  Wal- 


singbam,  ^  Aug.  1588.    (S.  P. 
Ma) 


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1588.         TABIOUS  BUMOUBS  AS  TO  THE  ABMAPA'S  FATE.         529 

England  and  Holland  were  thenceforth  saved  from  all  naval 
enterprises  on  the  part  of  Spain. 

Meantime,  the  same  uncertainty  which  prevailed  in  England 
as  to  the  condition  and  the  intentions  of  the  Armada  was  still 
more  remarkable  elsewhere.  There  was  a  systematic  decep- 
tion practised  not  only  upon  other  governments,  but  upon  the 
Eing  of  Spain  as  well.  Philip,  as  he  sat  at  his  writing-desk, 
was  r^arding  himself  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  Bome  as  a  prisoner,  where  she  was 
to  make  expiation,  barefoot,  before  his  Holiness.  Mendoza — 
now  more  magnificent  than  ever — stalked  into  Notre  Dame 
with  his  drawn  sword  in  his  hand,  crying  out  ii^ith  a  loud 
voice,  "  Victory,  victory  1"  *  and  on  the  10th  of  August 
ordered  bonfires  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  believe  his  fables.  He  even  confirmed 
them  by  intelligence,  which  he  pretended  to  have  himself 
received  from  other  sources,  of  the  landing  of  the  Spaniards 
in  England  without  opposition,  and  of  the  entire  subjugation 
of  that  country  without  the  striking  of  a  blow.* 

Hereupon,  on  the  night  of  August  10th,  the  envoy — "  like 
a  wise  man,''  as  Stafford  observed  *-H3ent  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  distributed  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 

»  Philip  n.  to  Paima,  18  Aug.  1688.  *  Reyd,  yiil  148. 

(Aroh.  de  Sim.  MS.)  *  Stafford  to  Walsingham,  Ma  last 

•  Stowe,  lU-lbO.  cited. 
3  ^   £.    Stafford    to  Walsingham,         *  Ibid.    Beyd,  Mwp. 

i  Aug.  1688.    (a  P.  Office  MS.) 

VOL.  n.— 2M 


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THB  UNITED  NETHEBLANDS. 


Chap.  XEC 


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. 

Stafford,  on  his  side,  was  anxious  to  be  informed  by  hii 
govaimient  of  the  exact  truth,  whatever  it  were,  in  order  that 
these  figments  of  Mendoza  might  be  contradicted.  ''That 
which  Cometh  firom  me,"  he  said,  "will  be  believed,  for  I 
have  not  been  used  to  tell  lies,  and  in  very  tiiith  I  have  not 
the  face  to  do  if 

And  the  news  of  the  Calais  squibs,  of  the  %ht  off  Grave- 
lines,  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  nearly  ten  days  after  their  occur- 
rence*— 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  amba^ssador 
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  tp  Philip's  presumption,  was  laud  in  his  praises  of 
Queen  Elizabeth's  valour,  prudence,  and  marvellous  fortune, 
and  declared  that  what  she  had  just  done  could  be  compared 
to  the  greatest  exploits  of  the  most  illustrious  men  in  history.^ 


*  "  No  quiero  ocapar  Y .  M.  con  larga 
carta  el  Begozijo  que  tendra  con  ks 
boenoB  nneyas  con  que  qneria  de- 
spaohar.  Dios  sea  alavado  por  todo^ 
qui  noe  maestra  chloos  caatigoa  por 
enmendamofl,  y  da  como  padre  de 
miaerioordia  inflnitoa  mercedes  y 
beneflcios."  Mendoza  to  Idiaquez. 
13  Aug.  1588.  (Arcb.  de  Sim.  [Paria.] 
M&)    Same  to  Philip  IL  same  date. 

The  enroy  thought  that  the  "Al- 
mighty Father  of  mercy  had  conferred 
as  infinite  rewards  and  benefits,"  upon 


His  Spanish  children,  the  sackmg  of 
London,  and  the  butchering  of  the 
English  nation — ^rewards  and  benefits 
similar  to  those  which  they  had  fi>r- 
merly  enjoyed  in  the  Netherlands. 

s  Staffbrd  to  Walsingham,   i-  Aug. 

Ka  before  dted. 

9 

*  Same  to  same^  —  Aug.  1588.     ^ 

P.  Oifioe  MS.) 

4  *"  Este  Rey  ha  loado,  hablandoee 
con  algunos  de  sua  iayoridos  grande- 


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PHILIP  FOR  A  LONG  TIMB  IN  DOUBT. 


631 


"So  soon  as  ever  he  saw  the  pamphlet,"  eaii  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  writipg  to  ^the 
ambassador,  begging  his  interest  with  the  Duke  of  Parma  that 
they  might  obtain  from  that  conqueror  some  odd  refuse  towa 
or  so  in  England,  such  as  York,  Canterbury,  London,  or  the 
like — till  the  luckless  Don  Bernardino  was  ashamed  to  show 
bis  face.' 

A  letter  from  Famese,  however,  of  10th  August,  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  njy 
Armada,  I  have  learned  the  retreat  from  before  Calais,  to 
which  it  was  compelled  hy  the  weaiher;[\'\  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  provided  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."  ^ 


mente  del  valor,  aDimo,  j  pradencia 
de  la  Rqrna  do  Iiiglatorr%  tavoredda 
de  una  maravilloea  fortana,  diziendo 
que  lo  qae  ella  avia  hedio  oltimamente 
ae  podia  comparer  con  las  mayores 
hazaiias  de  los  bombres  mas  Uustres 
del  tiempo  passado,  pues  a^  osado 
con  solas  sos  Aierzas  aguardar  las  qoe 
eran  tan  pi^'antes  como  las  de  Eapafia 
y  combatir  ]as»  oerrando  juntamente  el 
paso  a  la  armada  del  duoa  de  Parma^ 
que  era  no  menos  poderoea^  j  aver 
tardado  quatro  alios  Y.  Mag^.  con 
jontar  semejaotes  armadas,  poniendo 
al  mnndo  en  admiracion  de  ser  las  de 
las  qnales  se  podia  dezir  aver  trion&do 
la  Beyna  de  Inglaterra."  Mendoza  to 
Philip^  13  Oct.  1588.  (Arch,  de  Sim. 
[Paris.]  Ma) 
Of  ooarse  all  the  exploits  of  the 


Englisli  and  Butch  admirals  and  their 
crews  were,  in  the  opinion  of  Henry 
IIL,  the  work  of  Queen  Elizabeth.  It 
was  the  royal  prudence,  valor,  and 
good  fortune,  which  saved  England, 
not  the  merits  of  Drake  and  Howard, 
Nassau  and  De  Moor. 

>  Stafford  to  Walsingham,  MS.  before 
cited. 

*  Stowe,  *l4AAh(i. 

3  <«A1  tiempo  que  se  aguardavaa 
nuevas  del  effeto  que  de  las  fiierzas 
dessa  armada  se  eq>eraba,  se  ha  enten* 
dido  la  derrota  que  deede  sobre  Cales 
la  Ibr90  a  tomar  el  temporal,  y  redbido 
muy  gran  sobresalto  que  me  tiene  con 
mas  cuydado  que  se  puede  encarecer, 
aunque  espero  en  nueetro  Sefior  q^ 
avra  proveydo  de  remedio,  y  que  os  me 
posible  rebolver   eobro  ol  enemigo  y 


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THB  UNITED  KETHSBLANDa 


Chap.  XIX. 


And  in  the  same  strain,  melancholy  jet  hopeful,  were  other 
letters  despatched  on  that  day  to  the  Duke  of  Parma.  "  The 
satisfaction  caused  by  your  advices  on  the  8th  August  of  the 
arrival  of  the  Armada  near  Calais,  and  of  your  preparations 
to  embark  your  troops,  was  changed  into  a  sentiment  which 
you  can  imagine,  by  your  letter  of  the  10th.  The  anxiety 
thus  occasioned  it  would  be  impossible  to  exa^erate,  alihou^ 
— the  cause  being  such  as  it  is — there  is  no  ground  for  distrust 
Perhaps  the  Armada,  keepmg  together,  has  returned  upon  the 
enemy,  and  given  a  good  iiOGOunt  of  itself,  with  the  help  of 
the  Lord.  So  I  still  proniiae  myself  that  you  will  have  per- 
formed 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/'  * 

And  the  King's  drooping  spirits  were  rerived  by  fresh 
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  ships,  and  to  capture  twenty-six  others,  good  and 
sound;  that  the  others,  to  escape  perdition,  had  fled,  after 
suffering  great  damage,  and  had  then  gone  to  pieces,  all 
hands  perishing  ;  that  the  Armada  had  taken  a  port  in  Scot- 
land, where  it  was  very  comfortably  established ;   that  the 


acadir  al  pnesto  sefialAdo,  j  atender 
ol  offecto  priDcipal  lo  pariades  oomo 
pedia  el  caso,  y  assi  aguardo  con  deeseo 
aviso  de  lo  sucedido,  <|ue  plega  a  Bios 
sea  k>  que  tanto  oonviene  a  sa  servicia" 
PbOip  II.  to  Medina  Sidonia^  31  Aug. 
1588.    (Aroh.  de  Sim.  Ma) 

*  *'Prometo  mo  de  tos  quo  ayreTS 
executado  lo  que  ob  toca  de  manera 
que  se  cousiga  al  servioio  que  se  ha 
pretendido  hazer  a  Dios,  y  d  teparo 
de  la  rmnUacion  de  iodoe  que  eeia  tan 
eTftpenadoL^     The    underlined    words 


were  stricken  out  by  PhUip,  from  the 
draft  of  the  letter— prepared  aa  usual 
hy  the  secretary — ^with  the  note  in  the 
King's  hand:  "See  if  it  be  well  to  omit 
the  passage  erased,  because  in  that 
vrhi(Si  God  does,  or  by  which  He  is 
served,  there  is  no  gaining  or  losing 
of  reputation,  and  it  is  better  not  to 
apeak  of  it  at  all"  ("  Pues  en  lo  quo 
Dies  base,  y  es  servido,  no  ay  que  per- 
der  ni  ganar  reputaobn,  y  es  mi^  no 
bablar  en  eUa*")  Philip  IL  to  Parma^ 
31  Aug.  1688.    (AidL  de  Sim.  Ma) 


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HE  BELIEVES  HII£SELF  VICTORIOUS. 


533 


flag-sliip  of  Lord-admiral  Howard,  of  Drake,  and  of  that  "  dis- 
tinguished mariner  Hawkins/'  had  all  been  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  under- 
stood that  Medina  Sidonia,  while  fljring  round  the  Orkneys 
had  not  much  opportunity  for  despatching  couriers  to  Spain, 
and  as  Famese  had  not  written  since  the  10th  August,  Philip 
was  quite  at  a  loss  whether  to  consider  himse^lf  triumphant  or 
defeated.  From  the  reports  by  way  of  Calais,  Dunkerk,  and 
Bouen,  ho  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  any- 
thing was  left  of  it,  was  repairing  its  damages.  ^^  'Twill  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."  * 

Nothing  could  be  simpler.  Nevertheless  the  King  felt  a 
pang  of  doubt  lest  affi^irs,  after  all,  might  not  be  going  on  so 
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  15th  September  he  was  still  no  wiser.  "  This 
business  of  the  Armada  leaves  me  no  repose,"  he  said ;  "  I  can 
think  of  nothing  else.  I  don't  content  myself  with  what  I 
have  written,  but  write  again  and  again,  although  in  great 
want  of  light.  I  hear  that  the  Armada  has  sunk  and  captured 
many  English  ships,  and  is  refitting  in  a  Scotch  port.    If  this 


>  Ayisofl  de  Danqaerqoe,  30  Aug. 
158S.  .  Carta  de  Roan  de.Juan  de 
Gamarra,  31  Aug.  1688.  "A  lido 
baesa   nueva^  j  esto  es  certisamo." 


(Ard).  de  Sim.  [Paris.]  MSa) 
*  Philip  II.  to  Panaa,  3  Sept.  158a 

(ArdudeSim.  MS.) 
•Ibid. 


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THE  UNITED  NBTHERLANDS. 


Chap.  ttY, 


is  in  the  territory  of  Lord  Huntley,  I  hope  he  will  stir  up  the 
Catholics  of  that  country."  * 

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 
Bidonia,  at  the  very  moment  when  that  tempest-tossed  grandee 
was  painfully  creepii^  back  towards  the  Bay  of  Biscay,  with 
what  remained  of  his  invincible  fleet. 

Sanguine  and  pertinacious,  the  Eii^  refbsed  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 
crying  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  repcdr- 
ing.  "In  case  the  Armada  is  too  much  shattered  to  come 
out,"  said  Philip,  "and  wintier  compels  it  to  stay  in  that 
port,  you  must  cause  another  Armada  to  he  constructed  a# 
Emden  and  the  adjacent  towns,  at  my  expense,  and,  with 
the  two  together,  you  will  certainly  be  able  to  conquer 
England."* 

And  he  wrote  to  Medina  Bidonia  in  similar  terms.  That 
naval  commander  was  instructed  ib  enter  the  Thames  at  once, 
if  strong  enough.  If  not,  he  was  to  winter  in  the  Scotch  port 
which  he  was  supposed  to  have  captured.  Meantime  Famese 
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  Bidonia  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. 


>  Philip  XT.  to  Parma,  15  Sept  1688. 
(Axoh.  do  Sim.  MS.) 

«  Ibid 

>  Philip    XL    to    Medina    Sidonia, 


16  Sept  1688.    (Arch,  de  Shn.  MS.) 

*  PhiUp  XL  to  PaniUH  10  Oct  158& 
(Arch,  de  Sim.  M&) 


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1688w  IS  TRANQUIL  WHBN  UNDECEIVED.  335 

and  was  immediately  interrogated  hj  those  oonnsellors^  most 
anxious^  of  course^  to  receive  authentic  intelligence  at  last  as 
to  the  fate  of  the  Armada.*  The  entire  overthrow  of  the 
great  project  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  air. 
Broken,  ruined,  forlorn,  the  invincible  Armada — so  far  as  it 
still  existed — ^had  reached  a  Spanish  port.  Great  was  the  con- 
sternation of  Idiaquez  and  Moura,  as  they  listened  to  the  tale, 
and  very  desiifbus  was  each  of  the  two  secretaries  that  the 
other  should  discharge  the  imwelcome  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  Armad&  were  by  no  means  so  favourable  as  could  be  wished. 
The  courier  was  then  introduced,  and  made  his  dismal  report. 
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 
great  importance  that  a  running  stream  should  be  sometimes 
intercepted,  so  long  as  the  fountain  from  which  it  flows  re- 
mains inexhaustible." 

So  saying  he  resumed  his  pen,  and  serenely  proceeded  with 
his  letters.^  Christopher  Moura  stared  with  imafiected  amaze- 
ment at  his  sovereign,  thus  tranquil  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, 


>  Strada^  U.  ix.  664. 
•Ibid. 

'  "Begem    literas    ecribentem 
perit"    (Ibid.) 


*  Ibid.  "His  diotifl  calftmnm  re- 
8iimit»  et  eadem  qua  oeperat  tranquil- 
lltate  TxUtus  ad  scnbeDdam  redit 


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536  ^^HB  UNITED  NBTHBBLANDfi.  Chap.  SX. 

"nor  do  I,  consequently,  make  more  of  this  great  calamity 
than  does  his  Majesty/'  ^ 

So  the  King — as  fortune  flew  away  from  him,  wrapped 
himself  in  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  beating  figuratively  on  their  heads, 
while  it  had  been  dashing  the  King's  mighty  galleons  on  the 
rocks,  and  drowning  by  thousands  the  wretch^  .victims  of  his 
ambition..  Soon  afterwards, '  when  the  partrcmliirs  of  the 
great  disaster  were  thoroughly  known,  Philip  ordered  a  letter 
to  be  addressed  in  his  name  to  all  the  bishops  of  Spain,  order- 
ing 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  whidi  some  beloved 
member  had  not  perished  in  the  great  catastroph€^^-«nd  with 
the  peals  of  merry  bells ;  over  all  England  and  Holland,  and 
with  a  solemn  ^Te  Deum'  resounding  in  every  church,  the 
curtain  fell  upon  the  great  tragedy  of  the  Armada. 

>  "Rex,  inqnit,  totnm  hoc  infbrta-  I       •  Strada,  II.  ix.  666w    Henexs,  m. 
nitun  nihili  &cSt|  iieo  ego  pluris  quam  I  iu.  113. 
ipee.**    (Ibid.)  ' 


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1588.  ALEXAMDEB  BBSIBGBS  BBBaBN-OP-ZOOlL  537 


CHAPTER   XX. 

Alexander  besiegee  Bei^g«n-op-Zoom — ^PallaTidnrs  Attempt  to  flednoe  Panna 
— ^Alexander's  Fuiy — ^He  ia  forced  to  raise  the  Siege  of  Beigen — Qertmy- 
denberg  betrayed'  to  Parma — ^Indigoatioii  of  the  States — Exploits  of 
Schenk — His  Attadc  on  Nymegen — ^He  is  defeated  and  drowned— Eng- 
lish-Dutoh  Expedition  to  Spain— Its  meagre  Besolts— Death  of  Guise 
and  of  the  Queen-Mother — Combinations  after  the  Murder  of  Homy  III. 
— ^Tandem  fit  Surciilus  Arbor. 

The  fever  of  the  past  two  years  was  followed  by  comparative 
languor.  The  deadly  crisis  was  past,  the  freedom  of  Europe 
was  saved^  Holland  and  England  breathed  again  ;  but  tension 
now  gave  place  to  exhaustion*  The  events  in  the  remioinder 
of  the  year  1588,  with  those  of  1589 — although  important  in 
themselves— were  the  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  fiiends  attributed  to  poison  administered 
by  command  of  the  master  whom  he  had  so  faithfully 
served — determined,  if  possible,  to  afford  the  consola- 
tion which  that  master  was  so  plaintively  demanding  at  his 
hands. 

So  Alexander  led  the  splendid  army  which  had  been  packed 
in,  and  unpacked  fix)m,  the  flat  boats  of  Newport  and  Dunkerk, 
against  Bergen-op-Zoom,  and  besieged  that  city  in  form.  Once 
of  great  commercial  importance,  although  somewhat  fallen 
away  fix)m  its  original  prosperity,  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  -Willem- 
stad,  still  remaining  to  the  States.  Opposite  lay  the  Isle  of 
Tholen  from  which  it  was  easily  to  be  supplied  and  rein- 


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538  '^  UNITBD  'KETHBELAND&  Chap.  XX. 

forced.  The  Vosmeer,  a  branch  of  the  Scheldt,  separated  the 
islaud  from  the  main,  and  there  was  a  path  along  the  bed  of 
that  estuary,  which,  at  dead  low-water,  was  practicable  for 
wading.  Alexander,  accordingly,  sent  a  party  of  eight  hundred 
pikemen,  under  Montigny,  Marquis  of  Benty,  and  Ottavio 
Mansfeld,  supported  on  the  dyke  by  three  thousand  mus- 
keteers, 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  Mondragon,  had  been  on  two  occasions  so 
brilliantly  successful.  But  the  Isle  of  Tholen  was  now  de- 
fended by  Count  Bolms  and  a  garrison  of  fierce  amphibious 
Zeelanders— of  those  determined  bands  which  had  just  been 
holding  Famese  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  Yosmeer,  were 
unable  to  effect  a  landing,  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  Yosmeer  soon  swallowed  four  hundred  of  the  Spaniards. 
The  rest,  half-drowned  or  smothered,  suoceeded  in  reaching 
the  shore — ^the  chiefs  of  the  expedition,  Benty  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  Moigan,  that 
bold  and  nmch  experienced  Welshman,  so  well  known  in  the 
Netherland  wars.  Willoughby  and  Maurice  of  Nassau,  and 
Olden-Bameveld  were,  at  different  times,  within  the  walk ;  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 

>  Bor.  in.  xrr.  338-341.  Parma  to  Philip  IL,  1  Oct  1588.  (Arch,  do  Smk 
Ua)    Herrer^  IIL  ii  114^  seq. 


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1588. 


PALLAVIOmrS  ATTEMPT  TO  SEDUOB  PABMA. 


539 


young  Prince.*  The  English  officers,  Vere  end  Baskerville, 
and  two  Netherland  colonels,  the  brothers  Bax,  lo  Oct 
most  distinguished  themselves  on  these  occasions,  ^^s* 
The  siege  was  not  going  on  with  the  good  fortune  which  had 
usuallj  attended  the  Spanish  leaguer  of  Dutch  cities,  while, 
on  the  29th  September,  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 
Morone,  and  he  was  the  bearer  of  a  letter  from  Sir  Horace 
Pallayicini,  a  Genoese  gentleman  long  established  in  I^ondon, 
and  known  to  be  on  confidential  terms  with  the  English 
goyemment.  Alexander  took  the  letter,  and  glancing  at  the 
bottom  of  the  last  page,  saw  that  it  was  not  signed. 

"  How  dare  you  bring  me  a  dispatch  without  a  signature  ?" 
he  exclaimed.  The  messenger,  who  was  himself  a  Genoese, 
assured  the  Duke  that  the  letter  was  most  certainly  written 
by  Pallavicini — ^who  had  himself  placed  it,  sealed,  in  his 
hands-^and  that  he  had  supposed  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  hanged/'  ^ 

The  tmlucky  despatch-bearer  protested  his  innocence  of  all 


■  "  Y  oomo  fti^  viendo 


gruenza  j  vellaqaeria 


la    desrer- 
me    altero  do 


manera  que  me  lerante  de  donde 
estaba  con  resoladon  de  darle  eeto* 
cadas,  j  Pios  me  alambr6  con  ponerme 


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540 


THE  Ul^rrED  NBTHBBLAND& 


Qbip.  XX. 


complicity  with  PaUavicini,  and  his  igDoranoe  of  the  tenor  of 
the  communication  by  which  the  Duke's  wrath  had  been  bo 
much  excited.  He  was  then  searched  and  cross-examined 
most  carefully  by  Bichardot  and  other  counsellors^  and — 
his  innocence  being  made  apparent — he  was  ultimatdy  dis- 
charged. 

The  letter  of  PaHavicini  was  simply  an  attempt  to  sound 
Famese  as  to  his  sentiments  in  regard  to  a  secret  scheme^ 
which  could  afterwards  be  arranged  in  form,  and  according  to 
which  he  was  to  assume  the  sovereignty  of  the  Netherlands 
himself,  to  the  exclusion  of  his  King,  to  guarantee  to  England 
the  possession  of  the  cautionary  towns,  until  her  advances  to 
the  States  should  be  refunded,  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,  of  the 
universal  belief  in  his  disloyalty  ;  and  Alexander,  faithful,  if 
man  ever  were  to  his  master — was  cut  to  the  heart,  and 
irritated  almost  to  madness,  by  such  insolent  propositions. 
There  is  neither  proof  nor  probability  that  the  Queen's  govern- 
ment was  implicated  in  this  intrigue  of  Pallavicini,  who  ap- 
pears to  have  been  inspired  by  the  ambition  of  achieving 
a  bit  of  Machiavellian  policy  quite  on  his  own  account. 
Nothing  came  of  the  proposition,  and  the  Duke,  having  tnms- 
mitted  to  the  King  a  minute  narrative  of  the  affiur,  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  innocenoe  and  devotion.' 


delante  que  coDTenia  que  este  bombre 
86  ffuaixUse  a  buen  recado,  porque 
y.  M.  pueda  entender  del  lo  oue  para 
este  nego  reporte  me;  7  le  dije  que  si 
yo  tuv&80  al  Palavicino  se  ladaria 
oual  el  merece^  7  a  voa  si  supieae  que 
sabeis  este  neg«,  ob  mandaria  luego 
oolgar.  Acab^  de  leer  la  carta,  7  cuanto 
maa  la  t!  7  oonaider^  la  hall4  mas 
vellaca  7  epoonaonada."  Parma  to 
PbOip  IL  29  Sept  1588.      (Arch,  de 


Sim.  MS.)  Compare  Strada^  II.  L  ill 
673,  seq. 

1  Parma  to  Philip,  US.  last  cited. 
Orazio  Pallavicini  to  Giaoomo  Morone, 
31  Aug.  1688.  (Ardi.  de  Sim.  1IS&) 
Strada,  i«6t  «I9>. 

*  Parma  to  Idiaques,  1  Oct  1688. 
PhHip  to  PaniMS  17  Oct  1588.  Idla- 
quez  to  Parma,  17  Oct  1688.  (ArdL 
deSim.MSS.) 


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1588.  ALEXA.NDXR'S  FUBY.  541 

Such  aBSuranoes  from  any  other  man  in  the  Trorld  might 
have  disarmed  suspicion^  but  Alexander  knew  his  master  too 
well  to  repose  upon  his  word^  and  remembered  too  bitterly 
the  last  hours  of  Don  John  of  Austria — ^whose  dying  pillow 
he  had  soothed,  and  whose  death  had  been  hastened,  as  he 
knew,  either  by  actual  poison  or  by  the  hardly  less  fatal  venom 
of  sl^ider — to  regain  tranquillity  as  to  his  own  position. 

The  King  was  desirous  that  Pallayicini  should  be  invited 
over  to  Flanders,  in  order  that  Alexander,  under  pretence  of 
listffliing  to  his  propositions,  might  draw  from  the  (Genoese 
all  the  particulars  of  his  scheme,  and  then,  at  leisure,  inflict 
the  punishment  whidi  he  had  deserved.^  But  insuperable 
obstacles  presented  themselves,  nor  was  Alexander  desirous 
of  affording  still  further  pretexts  for  his  slanderers. 

Very  soon  after  this  incident — most  important  as  showing 
the  real  situation  of  various  parties,  although  without  any 
immediate  result — ^Alexander  received  a  visit  in  his .  tent 
from  another  stranger.  This  time  the  visitor  was  an  English- 
man, one  Lieutenant  Grimstone,  and  the  olgect  of  his  inter- 
view with  the  Duke  was  not  political,  but  had  a  direct  refer- 
ence to  the  si^  of  Bergen.  He  was  accompanied  by  a 
countryman  of  his  own.  Bedhead  by  name,  a  camp-suttler.  by 
profession.  The  two  represented  themsdves  as  deserters  from 
the  b^i^ed  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  narrowly,  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  band  of  one  hundred  mus- 
keteers, partly  Spaniards,  partly  Walloons — to  be  followed  at 

20  Oct.   a  distance    by  a    much    more    considerable  force, 

1588.  two  thousand  in  number,  under  Sancho  de  Leyva 
and  the  Marquis  of  Benti — ^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 

'  Idiaqncz  to  Panna,  MS.  last  cited. 


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5^  THB  UKITED  MCl'HKKLA.ND&  Chap.  XX. 

Btorm  of  wind  and  rain.  The  waters  were  out — ^for  the  dykes 
had  been  cut  in  all  directiong  by  the  defenders  of  the  city — 
and,  with  exception  of  some  elevated  points  occupied  by 
Parma's  forces,  the  whole  country  was  overflowed.  Before 
the  party  set  forth  on  their  daring  expedition,  the  two  Eng- 
lishmen were  tightly  bound  with  cords,  and  led,  each,  by  two 
soldiers  instructed  to  put  them  to  instant  death  if  their  con- 
duct should  give  cause  for  suspicion.  But  both  Grrimstone 
and  Bedhead  preserved  a  cheerful  countenance,  and  inspired 
a  strong  confidence  in  their  honest  intention  to  betoty  tiiidr 
countrymen.  And  thus  the  band  of  bold  adventurers  plunged 
at  once  into  the  darkness,  and  soon  found  themselves  con- 
tending with  the  tempest,  and  wading  breast  h%h  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  for^host.  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  lientenajut  and  suttler, 
who  had  thus  ovaireached  that  great  master  of  diwimnlatioii, 
Alexander  Famese,  were  at  the  same  time  unbound  by  th^ 
comrades,  and  rescued  from  the  fate  intended  for  them. 

Notwithstanding  the  probability — ^when  the  portcullis  fill — 
that  the  whole  party  had  been  deceived  by  an  artifice  of  war, 
the  adventurers,  who  had  come  so  far,  refi:»ed  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  iato  the  waves.  Nearly  every  one  of  the  expe- 
dition (a  thousand  in  number)  perished.* 

'  Panna  to  Philip  IL  30  Oct  1588.  I  2'?5'o.  Bor,  III.  xxv.  340.  Herrera, 
(Arcb.de  Sim.  Ua)      Meteren,    xv.  \  IIL  il  118,  ^e^.   Strada,  IL  z.  582, 585. 


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1588. 


HE  IS  FOECBD  TO  RAISB  THS  SISaB  OF  BEBaEN. 


543 


It  had  now  become  obvious  to  the  Duke  that  his  si^  must 
be  raised.  The  days  were  gone  when  the  walls  of  Dutch 
towns  seemed  to  melt  before  the  first  scornful  glance  of  the 
Spanish  invade,  and  when  a  summons  meant  a  surrender, 
and  a  surrender  a  massacre.  Now,  strong  in  the  feeling  of 
independence,  and  supported  by  the  oourage  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  invasi(m  to  have  lost  all  his  genius,  all  his 
fortune.  A  doud  had.  fallen  upon  bis  fame,  and  he  now  saw 
himself,  at  the  head  of  the  best  army  in  Europe,  compelled 
to  retire,  defeated  and  humiliated,  from  the /walls  of  fieigen. 
Winter  was  coming  on  apace ;  the  country  was  flooded  ;  the 
storms  in  that  bleak  region  and  inclement  season  were  inces- 
sant ;  and  he  was  obliged  to  retreat  befi»re  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  l^ons  before 
them  in  ignominious  flight.  Lord  Willoughby,  in  full  view 
of  the  retiring  enemy,  indulged  the  allied  forces  with  a  chi- 
valrous speetacla  Galling  a  halt,  after  it  had  become  obvi- 
ously useless,  with  their  small  force  of  cavalry,  to  follow  any 


Oameit),  Gofirras  de  Flandes  (Bruseles, 
1625),  p.  231,  232.  Coloma,  Guerras 
de  loa  Estados  Baxos,  I.  10,  11.    Sir 

20 

W.  Draiy  to  Burghlej,  -  Oct  1688. 

(a  p.  Office  ICS.) 

'^Seemeth  to  my  simple  opinion  a 
great  commendation  tmto  the  gentle- 
man that  could  so  sweetly  charm  so 
wise  and  learned  a  master  in  his  own 
art  as  the  Doke  of  Parma  Is,"  Ac 

The  Jesuit  Strada,  however — ^who 
narrates  all  the  trickeries  of  Philip  and 
of  Famese  with  so  much  applause — is 
shocked  at  the  duplicity  of  Lieutenant 
Grimstone;    and  Coloma  is    " 


diagusted  at  auoh  sharp  prectioo. 

It  has  been  stated  by  Meteren  (xr. 
275*«)  and  others,  that  Sir  WilBam 
Stanley  was  in  this  expedition,  and 
thaX  ho  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  his  name  in  the  letters 
desorlbhig  the  adventure,  and  it  is 
therefore  unlikely  that  he  was  present 
At  any  rate  he  escaped  capture,  and, 
with  it,  a  traitor's  death.  Strada  says 
expressly,  "Stanlaeo  ad  id  operis 
nequaquam  adhibiUx" 


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544 


THB  UNITED  NETHBRLAIOXS. 


Chap.  XX 


longer^  through  a  flooded  <x>anti7,  an  enemj  who  had  aban- 
doned his  design^  he  solemnly  conferred  the  honour  of  knight- 
hood, in  the  name  of  Queen  Eliziaibeih,  on  the  officers  who 
had  most  distinguished  themselves  during  the  siege,  Francis 
Yere,  Baskerville,  Powell,  Parker,  Knowles,  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  Province  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  to  o£kr  her  congra- 
tulations and  earnest  thanks  to  the  States  for  their  valuable 
assistance  in  preserving  her  throne,  and  to  solicit  thdr 
cooperation  in  some  new  designs  against  the  common  foe.' 
Unfortunately,  however,  the  epoch  of  good  feeling  was  but 
of  brief  duration.  Bitterness  and  dissension  seemed  the  ine- 
vitable conditions  of  the  English-Dutch  alliance.  It  will  be 
remembered,  that,  on  the  departure  of  Leicester,  several  dties 
had  refused  to  acknowledge  the  authority  of  Count  Maurice 
and  the  States ;  and  that  civil  war  in  the  scarcely-born  com- 
monwealth had  been  the  result.  Medenblik,  Naarden,  and  the 
other  contumacious  cities,  had  however  been  reduced  to  obedi- 
ence after  the  reception  of  the  Earl's  resignation,  but  the  impor- 
tant city  of  G-ertruydenberg  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  strengdiened 
the  garrison  by  reinforcements  of  English  troops  under  command 
of  his  brother-in-law.  Sir  John  Wingfield.  Early  in  1589 
however,  the  whole  garrison  became  rebellious,  disarmed 
and  maltreated  the  })urghers,  and  demanded  immediate  pay- 
ment of  the  heavy  arrearages  still  due  to  the  troops.    Wil- 


1589. 


»  Bor,  ttW  8ttp, 
Oobma,  L  11,  12 
Strada,  z.  688. 

s  Propositions  of  Sir  John  Norris  to 


lieteren.    Compare 
Herrera,  uM  sup. 


Council  of  State.    Bor,  IIL  xrr.  361, 
362.    Sir  Ed.  Norris  to y  ?^ 

8  Not. 

158a    (8.  p.  Office  Ma) 


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/589.  GERTRUYDENBBRG  BETRAYED  TO  PARMA.  545 

loughby,  who — ^much  disgusted  with  his  career  in  the  Nether- 
lands— was  about  leaving  for  England^  complaining  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  n^otiations  with  Alexander  Famese,  and  accord- 
ingly 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  sum- 
moning the  garrison,  in  his  own  name  and  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.  His  letters  of  summons,  in  which  ho 
spoke  of  the  rebellious  commandant  and  his  garrison  as  self- 
seeking  foreigners  and  mercenaries,  wero  taken  in  veiy  ill 
part.  Wingfield  resented  the  statement  in  very  insolent 
language,  and  offered  to  prove  its  falsehood  with  his  sword 
against  any  man  and  in  any  place  whatever.  Willoughby 
wrote  to  his  brother-in-law,  frotn  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  Wingfield  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  presump- 
tion of  Maurice  and  the  States.  The  young  Prince  accordingly 
opened  his  batteries,  but  before  an  entrance  could  be  effected  int^ 
the  town,  was  obliged  to  retireat  theapproach  of  Count  Mansfeld 
with  a  much  superior  force.  Gertruydenberg  was  lo  April, 
now  surrendered  to  the  Spaniards  (10  April,  1589)  ^^®^- 
in  accordance  with  a  secret  negociation  which  had  been 
proceeding  all  the  spring,  and  had  been  brought  to  a  conclu- 

s  Ortell  to  WoUer,  9  April,  1589.    (a  P.  Offloo  Ma) 

VOL.  u.— 2N 


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546 


THB  UNITED  NBTHBRLANDS. 


Chap.  XX. 


sion  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  Borne  on  the' 
terms  which  had  been  usual  during  the  government  of  Far- 
nese.^ 

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  Alex- 
ander 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  ia-eason  of  York 
and  Stanley,  and  which  had  been  successfully  extinguidied, 
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  Gtertruydenberg  to  the 
Spaniards,  as  perjured  traitors  whom  it  was  made  lawful  to 
hang,  whenever  or  wherever  caught,  without  trial  or  sentence, 
and  offering  fifty  florins  a-head  for  every  private  soldier  and 
one  hjindred  florins  for  any  officer  of  the  garrison.  A  list  of 
these  Englishmen  and  Netherlanders,  so  far  as  known,  was 
appended  to  the  placard,  and  the  catalogue  was  headed  by 
the  name  of  Sir  John  Wingfield.* 

Thus  the  consequences  of  the  fatal  event  were  even  moro 
deplorable  than  the  loss  of  the  city  itsel£  The  fury  of  Olden- 
Bameveld  at  the  treason  was  excessive,  and  the  great  Advo- 
cate governed  the  policy  of  the  republic,  at  this  period,  almost 
like  a  dictator.'    The  States,  easily  acknowledging  the  sway 


'  Bor,  in.  xxvL  403-419.    Strada^ 
IT.  X.  600-609.     Coloma,  I.  20-23. 
'  Bor,  vbi  sup.    BckUej  to  Buighley, 

^  April,  1589.    (B.  Mofl.  OoUms  D.  iv. 

144,  MS.) 

•  "For  all  here  is  directed  bj 
Holland,  and  Holland  is  carried  away 
by  Bameveld,  whose  resolatbns  are 
so  M  of  self-will,  and  so  opposite  to 
ber  Migesfy's  proceedings,  as  there 
are  of  the  wisest  among  themselves 
that  fear  by  bis   dealing  some  great 


alteration.  For  the  hindrance  of 
which,  I  cannot  propose  any  better 
means  than  if  that  coarse  which  is 
held  between  him  and  OrteQ  might 
be  stopped  in  England.  For  matt«B 
here  are  so  handled  at  this  present^ 
as  in  whatsoever  cause  the  States- 
General,  or  they  of  Holland  and  Zee- 
land,  have  to  deal  with  bw  Mijesty, 
they  neither  propose  it  before  to  the 
council  of  state,  nor  impart  it  with 
her  Majesty's  lieutenant  or  oonns^- 
lors;    \>u%   by  Bameveld*s    directioik 


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Un)IGNATION  OP  THE  STATBS. 


547 


of  the  imperious  orator,  became  bitter  and  wrathful  with  the 
English,  side  by  side  with  whom  they  had  lately  been  so 
cordially  standing. 

Willoughby,  on  his  part,  now  at  the  English  court,  was 
furious  with  the  States,  and  persuaded  the  leading  counsellors 
of  the  Queen  as  well  as  her  Majesty  herself,  to  adopt  his  view 
of  the  transaction.  Wingfield,  it  was  asserted,  was  quite 
innocent  in  the  matter ;  he  was  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  fnend  to  Spain  ;  for  he 
had  stipulated  for  himself  the  right  to  return  to  England,  and 
had  neither  received  nor  desired  any  reward.  He  hated  Mau- 
rice 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  loss  of  the  city  than 
Sir  Francis  Vere  had  been,  who  had  also  been  present,  and 
whose  name  had  been  subsequently  withdrawn,  in  honq^rable 
fashion  from  the  list  of  traitors,  by  authority  of  the  States. 
His  position — so  far  as  he  was  personally  concerned — seemed 
defensible,  and  the  Queen  was  thoroughly  convinced  of  his 
innocence.  Willoughby  complained  that  the  republic  was 
utterly  in  the  hands  of  Bameveld,  that  no  man  ventured  to 
lift  his  voice  or  his  eyes  in  presence  of  the  terrible  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  Gertruydenbeig  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 


solicit  all  by  Ortell,  and  so  receive 
their  despatch.  Whereunto  the  repu- 
tation of  every  action  doth  redound 
nnto  hhn,  and  her  Majesty's  lieutenant 
and    ministers   are    little    regarded.^ 


IOTA. 


Bodley    to    Bm^hley, 

(Br.  Hus.  Galb%  D.  iv.  55,  Ma) 
'  Bor,  vhiiup. 


158a 


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548 


THB  XmiTKD  NETHERLANDS. 


Chap.  XX 


Netherlands.  The  criminations  and  recriminations  seemed 
endless^  and  it  was  most  fortunate  that  Spain  had  been  weak- 
ened^ 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  conmionwealth  could  hardly 
have  escaped  still  more  severe  disasters  than  those  already 
experienced  in  this  unfortunate  condition  of  its  affitirs,  and 
this  almost  hopeless  misunderstanding  with  its  most  important 
and  vigorous  friend.' 

While  these  events  had  been  occurring  in  the  heart  of  the 
republic,  Martin  Schenk,  that  restless  freebooter,  had  been 
pursuing  a  bustling  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  throughout  the  electorate  and  the  land  of 
Berg,  Cleves,  and  Juliers,  paid  their  black -mail,  as  if  it  were 
a  constitutional  impost,  to  escape  the  levying  process  of  the 
redoubtable  partisAn.  ' 

But  Martin  was  no  longer  seconded,  as  he  should  have 
been,  by  the  States,  to  whom  he  had  been  ever  faithful  since 
he  forsook  the  banner  of  Spain  for  their  own ;   and  he  had 


'  Bor,  ubi  sup,  imd  448-45*7. 

WiUonghby  published  a  very  bitter 
pamphlet  in  replj  to  the  severe  at- 
tadcs  of  Olden-BanieTeld  and  his  parti- 
sans. **The  cbUd  of  MUoid  Wil- 
loughby  is  bom  at  last,"  said  Joachim 
Ortell;  '*the  book  is  printed,  and  is 
as  fiill  of  lies  as  an  egg  is  or  meat " 
(so  vol  lengens  als  een  ey  vol  sujvels). 

Walsingfaam — as  might  be  supposed 
•^much  regretted  these  misunder- 
fftandingfl^  t3though  he  was  inclined 
to  censure  the  States.  "I  like  very 
well,"  he  said,  "that  the  plaooard 
should  father  be  answered  by  Lord 
Willougfaby  than  l^  her  Majesty. 
But  to  have  it  not  answered  at  idl 
were  the  best Their  ingrati- 
tude is  great,  yet  seeing  we  cannot 


sever  ourselves  from  them  without  in- 
finite danger,  their  errors  are  to  be 
winked  at  for  a  time.  It  may  be  disk 
the  disgrace  inflicted  on  them  through 
the  loss  of  Gertruydenberg  will  some- 
what humble  them ;  for  seeing  Bame- 
velt,  the  principal  ringleader  amongst 
them,  begins  to  stick  nil,  I  think  the 
rest  will  stoop.  But  when  I  VxSl  into 
their  strange  course  in  publishing 
their  placcud,  after  the  loss  of  the 
town  to  hazard  the  loss  of  her  Ma- 
jesty's fiivour,  I  roust  conclude  that 
with  the  loss  of  the  town  they  have 
lost     th«r    wits."     Wabingham     to 


Burghley, 


27Apdl 


Galba»  P.  iv.'ltl^  MS.) 


1589.     (Br.   MosL 


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1689. 


EXPLOITS  OF  SCH8NE. 


549 


even  gone  to  England  and  complained  to  the  ijueen  of  the 
short-comings  of  those  who  owed  him  so  much.  His  in- 
genious and  daring  exploit — the  capture  of  Bonn — has  already 
been  narrated,  hut  the  States  had  neglected  the  proper  pre- 
cautions to  secure  that  important  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 
Bhine  and  Meuse,  had  fallen  into  Mansfeld's  hands.'  ;  Bhein- 
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  Bheinberg,  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  Scbiice — at  that 
important  point  where  the  Bhine,  opening  its  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,  vhe .  had 
attacked  a  body  of  Spanish  musketeers,  more  than  a  thousand 


1  Stradfli,  X.  C 84-595.  Coloma^  L 
12-14.    Bor,  m.  XXV.  328. 

*  Strada,  X  599,  who  states  that 
bomb-8hell»— which  he  elaborately  de- 
scribes, were  first  used  at  this  siege 
of  Wachtendonk.  They  had  been  in- 
vented, he  says,  a  few  days  befi>ro  its 


commencement,  by  an  artizan  of  Yenlo, 
for  bis  own  misfbrtone  and  that  of  his 
city ;  for  he  set  the  town  of  Yenlo  on 
fire,  and  burned  down  two-thirds  of 
it^  by  a  prematnre  explosion  of  his 
new  prcgectikt. 


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THB  UNITHD  KETHEBIiA2n)3. 


Ghjip.  ZX. 


strong,  who  were  protecting  a  convoy  of  provisions,  treasure, 
1  Aug.  and  furniture,  sent  by  Farnese  to  Verdugo,  royal  go* 
1589.  yemor  of  FrieslaniL  Schenk,  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  dixpedition,  Colonel  Aristotle  Patton,  who  had  once  played 
him  so  foul  a  trick  in  the  surrender  of  Q^lder,  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  pro* 
bable  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  adventure,  and  Schenk  returned  with  his  followers, 
highly  delighted,  to  Schenkenschans,^  and  sent  the  captured 
Spanish  colours  to  her  Majesiy  of  England  as  a  token.' 

A  few  miles  below  his  fortress  was  Nym^n,  and  towards 
that  ancient  and  wealthy  city  Schenk  had  often  cast  longing 
eyes.  It  still  held  for  the  King,  although  on  the  very  con- 
fines of  Batavia ;  but  while  acknowledging  the  supremacy  of 
Philip,  it  claimed  the  privileges  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 
Charlemagne,  and  still  paid  the  annual*  tribute  of  a  glove  full 
of  pepper  to  the  German  empire.* 

On  the  evening  of  the  10th  of  August^  1589,  there  was  a 
weddii^-feast  in  one  of  the  splendid  mansions  of  the  statdy 
city.  The  festivities  were  prolonged  until  deep  in  the  mid- 
sunmier's  night,  and  harp  and  viol  were  still  inspiring  the  feet 
of  the  dancers,  when  on  a  sudden,  in  the  midst  of  the  holiday- 
groups,  appeared  the  grim  visage  of  Martin  Schenk,  the  man 


^  Strada^  X.  630,  631.    Coloma,  11. 
26-27.     Bor,   IIL  xxvl  469.    Bodley 

to  "Walabgham,  —  Aug.   1589.     (Br. 

lias.  Galba,  D.  v.  p.  60.  Ma) 


'  Bodley  to  Bui^bley,  -  Aug.  1589. 

(Br.  Mas.  Galba^  B.  ir.  p.  55,  MS.) 
'  0aiociardmi,  in  voce. 


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1^89.  HIS  ATTAOH  ON  NYMBOiair.  551 

who  never  smiled.  Clad  in  no  wedding-garment,  but  in 
armour  of  proof,  with  morion  on  head,  and  sword  in  hand,  the 
great  freebooter  strode  heavily  through  the  ball-room,  fol- 
lowed by  a  party  of  those  terrible  musketeers  who  never  gave 
or  asked  for  quarter,  while  the  affirighted  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  battled  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  comntdes  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  them- 
selves 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  dis- 
concerted 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  Sohenk  hastily  fortified  his  position,  and  took  posses- 
sion of  the  square.  But  the  burghers  and  garrison  were 
soon  on  foot,  and  ho  was  driven  back  into  the  house.  Three 
times  he  recovered  the  square  by  main  strength  of  his  own 
arm,  seconded  by  the  handful  of  m3n  whom  ha  had  brought 
with  him,  and  three  times  he  was  beaten  back  by  overwhelm- 
ing numbers  into  the  wedding  mansion.  The  arrival  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  baiges. 

The  tnith— of  which  he  was  ignorant — was,  that  the  re- 
mainder 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 


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552 


THB  UNITED  KETHBRLANDS. 


Chap.  XX, 


against  wind  and  tide  to  force  their  way  back  to  the  neoessary 
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 
besi^ed  in  the  mansion,  and  at  last  driven  forth  into  the 
streets. 

By  this  time  day  was  dawning,  the  whole  population, 
soldiers  and  burghers,  men,  women,  and  children,  were 
thronging  about  the  little  band  of  marauders,  and  assailing 
them  with  every  weapon  iand  every  missile  to  ba  found. 
Schenk  fought  with  his  usual  ferocity,  but  at  last  the  mus- 
keteers, 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  ha  strusk  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 
enterprise  had  failed.  The  few  empty  barges  of  his  own  party 
were  moored  at  the  steps ;  the  rest  were  half  a  mile  off,  con- 
tending hopelessly  against  the  swollen  and  rajnd  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  the  panic,  sank  at 
once,  leaving  the  soldiers  to  drown  or  stru^le  with  the  waves. 
The  game  was  lost.  Nothing  was  left  the  freebooter  but 
retreat.  Behictantly  turning  his  back  on  his  enemies,  now 
in  full  cry  close  behind  liim,  Schenk  sprang  into  the  last  re- 
maining boat  just  pushing  from  the  quay.  Already  over* 
laden,  it  foundered  with  his  additional  weight,  and  Martin 
Schenk,  encumbered  with  his  heavy  armour,  sank  at  once  to 
the  bottom  of  the  WaaL* 

Some  of  the  fugitives  succeeded  in  swimming  down  the 


'  Schencius    ird  furens  et  ^ndens 

Buorum    nonuullis  sua'  inana 

interemptis,"  fta    Strada,  X  632. 

»  Bor,  III.  xxvi.  469-460.  Wage- 
iiaar,  tuI  307,  308.    Strada,  X.  631- 


633.    Coloma^  IL  27.    Bodley  to  Wal- 

siogfaam,  -  Aug.  1589.    (3.  P.  OiBoe 

MR)    Bentivoglio,  H.  t.  336.    HanMl 
Turn.  Belg.  III.  42S. 


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1(89. 


HE  IS  DEFBATED  AND  DROWNED 


553 


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  femons 
partisan.  He  was  easily  recognized  by  his  armour,  and  by 
his  Ixuculent  fSsuse,  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  renmants  of  the  man  at  whose  name  the  whole 
country  had  so  often  trembled. 

This  was  the  end  of  Sir  Martin  Schenk  of  Nidd^m, 
knight,  colonel,  and  brigand ;  save  that  ultimately  his  dis- 
severed 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  valiant  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,  stadholder  of 
Utrecht,  Gelderland,  and  Overyssel,  while  inspecting  some 
newly-invented  firewoiis,  was  suddenly  killed  by  their  acci- 
dental 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  con- 
tinuing, Olden-Bameveld,  Aerssens,  and  Buys,  refusing  to  see 
that  they  had  done  wrong  in  denouncing  the  Dutch  and 
English  traitoiB  who  had  sold  Gertruydenberg  to  the  enemy, 
and  the  Queen  and  her  counsellors  persisting  in  their  anger 


>  Bor,  Wagenaar,  Strada,  ubi  sup. 

*'The  towDsmen  since  have  fished 
for  SoheQk,  and  fband  him  ia  hla 
annoar,  and  since  have  cut  him  in 
quarters  and  set  him  on  their  gates; 
which  extraordinary  inhumanity  doth 
so  exasperate  the  States  as  they  will 


publish   an    edict   upon   it,    that    no 
quarter  shall  be  kept  with  Nymegen." 

Bodley  to  Walsingham,  --  Aug.  1589. 

(S.  P.  OfBoe  Ma) 
*  Bor,  m.  xxfL  480. 


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554  ^HB  UNITED  KBIHEBLANDSL  Chap.  ZH 

at  80  insolent  a  proceeding,  it  may  easily  be  supposed  that 
there  ^as  no  great  heartiness  in  the  joint  expedition  against 
Spaip,  i^hich  had  been  projected  in  the  autumn  of  1588,  and 
was  accomplbhed  in  the  spring  and  summer  of  1589. 

Nor  was  this  well-known  enterprise  fruitful  of  any  remark- 
able 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  ma^c  of  his  presence,  and  cause  Philip's  throne  to  tremble, 
in  return  for  the  audacious  enterprise  of  that  monarch  against 
England. 

If  a  foray  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  Diake.  They 
were  accompanied,  too,  by  Sir  Edward  Korris,  and  another  of 
those  'chickens  of  Mars,'  Henry  Norris ;  by  the  indomitable 
and  ubiquitous  Welshman,  "RogBr  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  expedition,  concealed  himself  from  her  Majesty's  pur- 
suit, 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  Bevenge  and  the  Dreadnought^  and 
the  rest  armed  merchantmen,  English,  and  forty  Hollanders — 
and  with  a  contingent  of  fifteen  hundred  Dutchmen  under 

'  Essex  to  the  Yioe-Cbamberlain,  March,  1689,  ia  Bairow^g  'life  of 
Drake^'  877. 


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C689.  ENaUSH-DUTGH  EXPEDITION  TO  SPAIN.  555 

Nicolas  van  Meetkerke  and  Van  Laen,  the  adven-  ig  AprO, 
toren  set  sail  from  Plymouth  on  the  18th  of  April,     ^^^ 
1589. 

They  landed  at  Corofla — at  which  place  they  certainly 
conld  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  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  authority  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. 

Nothing  like  a  revolution  had  been  effected  in  Portugal. 
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  bare-footed  peasants,  who,  once  upon 
the  road,  shouted  "  Viva  Don  Antonio,''  and  one  old  gentle- 
man by  the  way  side,  who  brought  him  a  plate  of  plums.  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  field- 
piece  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  fieet,  were  hardly  to  be  dispensed 
with  on  such  an  occasion.     Nevertheless  it  would  perhaps 


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556  ^^^^  mnxED  kbthbblakd&  chap.xx. 

have  proved  an  easier  task  than  it  appeared — for  so  great  was 
the  panic  within  the  place  that  a  large  nnmber  of  the  in- 
habitants had  fled,  the  Cardinal  Viceroy  Archduke  Albert 
had  but  a  very  insufficient  guard,  and  there  were  many  gentle- 
men of  high  station  who  were  anxious  to  further  the  entrance 
of  the  English,  and  who  were  afterwaids  hanged  or  garotted 
for  their  hostile  sentiments  to  the  Spanish  government.^ 

While  the  leaders  were  deliberating  what  course  to  take, 
they  were  informed  that  Count  Fuentes  and  Henriquez  de 
Guzman,  with  six  thousand  men,  lay  at  a  distance  of  two 
miles  from  Lisbon,  and  that  they  had  been  proclaimii^  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  en- 
counter should  take  place,  it  should  be  seen  whether  a 
Spaniard  or  an  Englishman  would  be  first  to  fly ;  while  Essex, 
on  his  part,  sent  a  note,  defying  either  or  both  those  boastful 
generals  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  rptumed  to 
Plymouth  about  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  pea- 
santry, set  fire  to  seme  shipping,  destroyed  wine,  oil,  and  other 

»  Bor,  IIL  xxvl  430. 


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1689. 


ITS  MBAGBE   BESULTS. 


5OT 


merchandize,  and  had  divided  among  the  survivors  of  the  ex- 
pedition, after  landing  in  England,  five  shillings  a  head  prize- 
money  ;  but  thej  had  not  effected  a  revolution  in  Portugal. 
Don  Antonio  had  been  offered  nothing  by  his  faithful  sub- 
jects but  a  dish  of  plums — so  that  he  retired  into  obscurity 
from  that  time  forward— -and  all  this  was  scarcely  a  magni- 
ficent 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  could 
hardly,  bo  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  affitirs.     It  wasfortimate  for  the  two  com- 


'  For  particulars  of  this  ozpedition, 
see  Camden,  IV.  429-433.  Stowe, 
IdMSe.  Bam>Vs  *Life  of  Drake,' 
with  the  letters  of  Drake,  Norris,  and 
others,  335-379.  Bor,  III.  xxvi  430- 
443.    Herrera,  IIL  v.  170,  seq. 

Sir  Boger  Williams  to  the  Lord 
ChanceUor,  Lord  Treasurer,  and  Secro- 
tary  Walsingham,  July,  1689:  (&  P. 
Office  MS.)— 

'VHad  we  gone  to  lisbon,"  sajs  tho 
Welsh  knight,  "and  not  touched  at 
the  Groyne,  we  had  found  the  town 
unprovided  with  men  of  war;  in  such 
sort,  with  the  favour  of  God,  wo  had 
carried  it  away  without  blows  .... 
We  liavo  returned  the  most  of  our 
ships  into  England  that  should  have 
been  laden  with  rich  merchandise  and 
great  treasure.  With  that  lading,  our 
sovereign  and  your  honours  might 
have  returned  our  shipping  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  dothes  and  bag- 
gage of  thcEe   which    returned  with 


the  Duke  of  Medma  out  of  England. 
There  we  lost  many  a  day,  in  tiie 
which  time  the  enemy  arrived,  and 
placed  his  forces  where  he  thought 
roost  necessariest^  chiefly  in  Listen. 
Notwithstanding,  when  we  arrived, 
we  gave  the  law  in  the  field,  that 
none  durst  fight  with  us,  In  twelve 
days,  with  6000  footmen,  and,  God 
knows,  poor  people,  save  2000,  and 
those  all  volunteers.  All  the  horse- 
men we  had  amounted  not  to  46 ;  wo 
had  not  any  Portuguese  to  speak  oij 
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  thousand  we  would 
have  kept  it  against    ail    Spain  and 

Portugal. Our  journey  was 

most  honourable  and  profitable  unto 
our  sovereign  and  estate.  Firsts  and 
prind^dly,  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;  f<^  the  woiid  must  think 
they  knew  where  we  meant  to  direct 
our  course,  when  Don  Antonio  dis- 
lodged flrom  his  house  at  London,** 
&c.&a 


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558  THE  UNITED  NETHEBLANDa  Chap.  XX. 

monwealths  of  Holland  and  England,  engaged  in  the  great 
stm^le  for  civil  and  religions  liberty,  and  national  inde- 
pendence, that  the  attention  of  Philip  became  more  and 
more  absorbed — as  time  wore  on — ^with  the  affidrs  of  France. 
It  seemed  necessary  for  him  firmly  to  establish  his  do- 
minion in  that  country  before  attempting  once  more  the 
conquest  of  England,  or  the  recorery  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  Alj^onse  Corse  on 
the  day  of  the  barricades  ;  for  now,  so  long  as  the  new 
generalissimo  should  live,  the  luckless  Henry  felt  himself  a 
superfluity  in  his  own  realm.  The  halcyon  days  were  for  ever 
past,  when,  protected  by  the  swords  of  Joyeuse  and  of  Epemon, 
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  lap-dogs  to  dance.  His  loyal  occupar- 
tions  were  gone,  and  murder  now  became  a  necessary  pre- 
liminary 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  assassina- 
tion of  the  Duke  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  suspected  the  Valois  ta  be  capable,  and  which  Philip 
himself  might  have  envied. 

The  story  of  the  murders  of  Blois — the  destruction  of  Guise 
and  his  brother  the  Cardinal,  and  the  subsequent  imprison- 
ment of  the  Archbishop  of  Lyons,  the  Cardinal  Bourbon,  and 
the  Prince  de  Joinville,  now,  through  the  death  of  his  fitther^ 
become  the  young  Duke  of  Guis^— all  these  events  are  too 
familiar  in  the  realms  of  history,  song,  romance,  and  painting; 
to  require  more  than  this  slight  allusion  here. 


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1589. 


DEATH  OF  GUISB  AND  OF  THE  QUBBN-MOTHEB. 


559 


Never  had  an  assassination  been  more  technically  success- 
ful ;  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  Queeu,  seeing  that  her  game  was 
played  out — that  the  cards  had  all  gone  against  her — ^that  her 
son  was  doomed,  Bfid  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  Catharine  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  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  appropriate  it  for  himself  and  his  heirs.  Dis- 
integration was  making  rapid  pn^ress,  and  the  epoch  of  the 
IsL&t  Yalois  seemed  more  dark  and  barbarous  than  the  times 
of  the  d^nerate  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  tiie  royal  presence,  now  acquiesced  in  his  assassi- 
nation, and  placidly  busied  himself  with  fresh  combinations 
and  newer  tools. 

Baffled,  hunted,  scorned  by  all  beside,  the  luckless  Henry 
now  threw  himself  into  the  arms  of  the  B^amese — the  man 
who  could  and  would  have  protected  him  long  before,  had  the 
King  been  capable  of  understanding  their  relative  positions 


»  •L'Etoile.' 
«  A.   66.   i«      Arch, 
[at  Paris,]  M&  passim. 


de  Simancas, 


K  ^.,  *^Coii  Mocio  a  quien  siempre 
acoDseJad  que   mire  por  si  y  no  ee 


dexe  engafiar  j  hager  dtguna  burlap 
poes  anda  a  tanto  peligra"  And,  in 
the  King's  own  hand,  ''Y  se  acnerde 
de  su  padre."  Philip  to  Mendoct^ 
3  Sept  1588,  M& 


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560 


THB  UNITED  NETHERLANDS. 


Chap.  XX 


and  his  own  true  interests.  Could  the  Valois  have  conceived 
the  thought  of  religious  toleration,  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  destruction.  At  last,  at  Plessis  les  Tours,  the  Ber- 
nese, in  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,  proceeded 
2  Aug.,  to  besiege  Paris.  A  few  weeks  later,  the  dagger  of 
1689.  Jacques  Cl6ment  put  an  end  for  ever  to  the  line  of 
Valois.^  Luckless  Henry  III.  slept  with  his  forefathers,  and 
Henry  of  Bourbon  and  Navarre  proclaimed  himself  King  of 
France.  Catharine  and  her  four  sons  had  all  past  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^amese.  Philip 
nad  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  hiisband  he  might  select  for  her  to  the  crown 
of  her  grandfather  Henry  II.  It  seemed  simple  enough  for 
him,  while  waiting  the  course  of  events,  to  set  up  a  royal 
effigy  before  tiie  world  in  the  shape  of  an  effete  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 
hinaself  Henry  IV. 

•  It  was  easy  enough  for  Paris,  and  Madam  League,  and  Philip 
the  Prudent,  to  cry  wo  upon  the  heretic ;  but  the  cheerful 


'  The  spelling  of  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury, in  all  European  languages,  was 
capricious  and  unsettled;  yet  the 
fittle  note  in  which  the  Duchess  Maiy 
of  Luxemburg  announced  the  deatibi 
of  Heniy  IIL  is  a  curiosity,  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 
Douvelle  beaucoup  avantf^'euse  pour 
les  bon  Cat<^n&  jay  donne  chiaige 
a  se  deporteur  de  les  tous  dire.** 
Dudiess  Maria  de  Luxembouig  an 
Commandeur    Moreo,    9    Aug.    1589. 


(Archiyo  de  Simancas,  MS.) 

Philip*s  wonderful  comment  on  ^e 
words  "pissetolle*'  and  ,"ti^"  in 
this  communication,  has  been  already 
published,  but  will  bear  repetition : — 

"Perhaps,"  he  wrote  with  his  own 
hand,  "'pissetoUe*  is  some  kind  of 
knife,  and  'tayte,'  I  don't  know  if 
it  can  be  anything  else  than  head, 
which  is  not  *tayte,*  but  *tete'  or 
*  teyte,'  as  you  know." 

"  Quiz&  es  alguna  maneni  de  cuchillo^ 
y  la  tayte  no  86  si  podria  ser  otra 
coca  que  cabeza,  qui  no  es  tayte,  sino 
tete,  0  teyte,  como  sabreys." 


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1589.  COilBINATIONS  AFTER  MURDKB  OP  HENRY  Itt  561 

leader  of  the  Huguenots  was  a  philosopher^  who  in  the  days  of 
St.  Bartholomew  had  become  orthodox  to  save  his  life^  and  who 
was  already  "  instructing  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  free-thinker, 
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  meaning  of 
^•'  instruction,"  and  they  were  thoroughly  persuaded  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  secretaries  in  ortho^ 
graphy,  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  tho 
League  in  France,  until  Philip  should  determine  within  him- 
self in  what  form  to  assume  the  sovereignty  of  that  kingdom. 
It  might  be  questionable  however  whether  that  corpulent 
Duke,  who  spent  more  time  in  eating  than  Henry  IV.  did  in 
sleeping,  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  Bernese. 
But  time  would  necessarily  be  consumed  before  the  end  was 
reached,  and  time  and  Philip  were  two.  Henry  of  Navarre 
and  France  was  ready  to  open  his  ears  to  instruction ;  but  even 
he  had  declared,  several  years  before,  that  "  a  religion  was  not 
to  be  changed  like  a  shirt."  So  while  the  fresh  garment  was 
airing  for  him  at  Bome,  and  while  he  was  leisurely  stnpping 
off  the  old,  he  might  perhaps  be  taken  at  a  disadvantage. 
Fanaticism  on  both  sides,  during  this  process  of  instruction, 
might  be  roused.  The  Huguenots  on  their  part  might  de- 
nounce the  treason  of  their  great  chief,  and  the  Papists,  on 
theirs,  howl  at  the  hypocrisy  of  the  pretended  conversion. 
But  Henry  IV.  had  philosophically  prepared  himself  for  the 
denunciations  of  the  Protestants,  while  determined  to  protect 

VOL.  TT. — 2  0 


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562 


THE  UNITED  NETHEBLANDS. 


Chap.  XX. 


them  against  the  persecutions  of  the  Bomanism  to  which  he 
meant  to  give  his  adhesion.  While  accepting  the  title  of 
ren^ade,  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  hut  their  own, 
were  steadily  refused.* 

And  thus  the  events  of  1588  and  1589  indicated  that  the 
great  game  of  despotism  against  freedom  would  be  played,  in 
the  coming  years,  upon  the  soil  of  France.  Abeady  Elizabeth 
had  furnished  the  new  King  with  22,000?.  in  g6ld — 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.^  Willoughby  too,  and  tough  Roger  Williams, 
and  Baskerville,  and  Utnpton,  and  Vere,  with  4000  English 
pikemen  at  their  back,  had  already  made  a  brief  but  spirited 
campaign  in  France  ;^  and  the  Duke  of  Farma,  after  recruiting 
his  health,  so  &r  as  it  was  possible,  at  Spa,  was  preparin^i: 
himself  to  measure  gwords  with  that  great  captain  of  Hugue- 
nots, who  now  assumed  the  crown  of  his  ancestors,  upon  the 
same  ground.  It  seemed  probable  that  for  the  coming  years 
England  would  bo  safe  from  Spanish  invasion,  and  that  Hol- 
land would  have  a  better  opportunity  than  it  had  ever  enjoyed 
before  of  securing  its  liberty  and  perfecting  its  political  organi- 
zation. While  Parma,  Philip,  and  Mayenne  were  fighting  the 
B6amese  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  Bobin,'  had  sold 
his  goods  at  auction  to  defray  his  debts  to  herself;  and  Moeurs, 


*  Do  Thoix,  X  I  S9,  pp.  270,  680. 
P^r^flxe,  80,  96.     »L'Etoiie,»  268,  291. 

»  Camden,  IV.  436. 

•  Bodley    to    Burghley,    20    Aug. 


1589.    (Br.  Una,  Oalba»  D.  ir.  p.  56l 

MS.) 
*  Camden,  Msup. 


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1690.  TANDEM  FIT  SURCULUS  AKBOa  5(53 

and  Martin  Schenk,  and  '  Mucio/  and  Henry  III.,  and  Catha- 
rine de'  Medici,  were  all  dead.  But  Philip  the  Pnident  re- 
mained, and  Elizabeth  of  England,  and  Henry  of  France  and 
Navarre,  and  John  of  Olden-Bameveld ;  and  there  was  still 
another  personage,  a  very  young  man  still,  but  a  deep-thinking, 
hard-working  student,  fa^ng  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  OP  VOL.  n. 


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