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YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

THE EARL OF LEICESTER.

Frontispiece, Vol. IL

HISTORY

UNITED NETHEELANDS:

FROM THE DEATH OF WILLIAM THE SILENT TO THE
TWELVE TEARS' TRDCE-1609.

By JOHN LOTHROP MOTLEY, D.C.L.,
CORRESPONDING MEMBER OF THE INSTITUTE OF FRANCE ;
AUTHOR OF ' THE RISE OF THE DUTCH REPUBLIC.'

IN FOUR VOLUMES.— Vol. II.
1586-89.
WITH PORTRAITS.

NEW YORK:
HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS,
327 TO 335 PEARL STREET.
1874.

Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year one thousand eight hundred
and sixty, by
John Lothrop Motley,
in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts.

Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year one thousand eight hftndred
and sixty-seven, by
John Lothrop Motley,
in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts.
VALE

Bt£T .35

CONTENTS OF VOL. IL

CHAPTER IX.
PAoa
Military Plans in the Netherlands — The Elector and Electorate of Cologne^ —
Martin Schenk — His Career before serving the States — Franeker Univer
sity founded — Parma attempts Grave— Battle on the Meuse — Success and
Yainglory of Leicester — St. George's Day triumphantly kept at Utrecht —
Parma not so much appalled as it was thought — He besieges and reduces
Grave — And is Master of the Meuse — Leicester's Rage at the Surrender of
Grave — His Revenge — Parma on the Rhine — He besieges and assaults
Neusz — Horrible 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 — Ho reduces Doesburg — He lays siege to
Zutphen — Which Parma prepares to relieve — The English intercept
the Convoy — Battle of Wamsfeld — Sir Philip Sidney wounded — Results
of the Encounter — Death of Sidney at Arnheim — Gallantry of Edward
Stanley  1

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 Mercantile Classes — Paul
Buys and the Opposition — Keen Insight of Paul Buys — Truchsess becomes
a Spy upon him — Intrigues of Buys with Denmark — His Imprisonment—
The Earl's Unpopularity — His Quarrels with the States — And with the
Norrises — His Counsellors Wilkes and Clerk — Letter from the Queen to
Leicester — A Supper-Party at Hohenlo's — A drunken Quarrel — Hohenlo's
Assault upon Edward Norris — DI Effects of the Riot  61

CHAPTER XI.
Drake in the Netherlands — Good Results of his Visit — Tho Babington Con.
spiracy — Leicester decides to visit England— Exchange of parting Com
pliments  100

Jy CONTENTS OF VOL. H.
CHAPTER XII.
FAOB
Hl-timed Interregnum in the Provinces — Firmness of the English and Dutch
People — Factions during Leicester's Government — Democratic Theories of
the Leicestrians — Suspicions as to the Earl's Designs — Extreme Views of
the Calvinists — Political Ambition of the Church — Antagonism of the
Church and States — The States inclined to Tolerance — Desolation of the
Obedient Provinces — Pauperism and Famine — Prosperity of the Republic
— The Tear of Expectation  .-  Ill
CHAPTER XIII.
Barneveld's Influence in the Provinces — Unpopularity of Leicester — Intrigues
of his Servants — Gossip of his Secretary — Its mischievous Effects — The
Quarrel of Norris and Hollock — Tho Earl's Participation in the Affair —
His increased Animosity to Norris — Seizure of Deventer — Stanley appointed
its Governor — York and Stanley — Leicester's secret Instructions — Wilkes
remonstrates with Stanley — Stanley's Insolence and Equivocation — Painful
Rumours as to him and York — Duplicity of York — Stanley's Banquet at
Deventer — He surrenders the City to Tassis — Terms of the Bargain — Feeble
Defence of Stanley's Conduct — Subsequent Fate of Stanley and York —
Betrayal of Gelder to Parma — These Treasons cast Odium on the English
- — Miserable Plight of the English Troops — Honesty and Energy of Wilkes
— Indignant Discussion in the Assembly  '  136
CHAPTER XIV.
Leicester in England — Trial of the Queen of Scots — Fearful Perplexity at the
English Court — Infatuation and Obstinacy of the Queen^-Netherland En
voys in England — Queen's bitter Invective against them — Amazement
of tho Envoys — They consult with her chief Councillors — Remarks of
Burghley and Davison — Fourth of February Letter from the States — Its
severe Language towards Leicester — Painful position of the Envoys at
Court — Queen's Parsimony towards Leicester  189

CHAPTER XV.
Buckhurst sent to the Netherlands — Alarming state of Affairs on his Arrival
— His Efforts to conciliate — Democratic Theories of Wilkes — Sophistry of
the Argument — Dispute between Wilkes and Barneveld— Religious Toler
ance by the States — Their Constitutional Theory— Deventer's bad Counsels

CONTENTS OF VOL. IL y
FAGI
to Leicester — Their pernicious Effect — Real and supposed Plots against
Hohenlo — Mutual Suspicion and Distrust — Buckhurst seeks to restore good
Feoling — The Queen angry and vindictive — She censures Buckhurst's
Course — Leicester's Wrath at Hohenlo's Charges of a Plot by the Earl to
murder him — Buckhurst's Eloquent Appeals to the Queen — Her perplexing
and contradictory Orders — Despair of Wilkes — Leicester announces his
Return — His Instructions — Letter to Junius — Barneveld denounces him
in the States  215

CHAPTER XVI.
Situation of Sluys — Its Dutch and English Garrison — Williams writes from
Sluys to the Queen — Jealousy between the Earl and States — Schemes to
relieve Sluys — Which are feeble and unsuccessful — The Town Capitulate!
— Parma enters — Leicester enraged — The Queen angry with the Anti-
Leicestrians — Norris, Wilkes, and Buckhurst punished — Drake sails for
Spain — His Exploits at Cadiz and Lisbon — Ho is rebuked by EUzabeth. . . 260

CHAPTER XVII.
Secret " Treaty between Queen and Parma — Excitement and Alarm in the
States — Religious Persecution in England — Queen's Sincerity toward
Spain — Language and Letters of Parma— Negotiations of De Loo — En
glish Commissioners appointed — Parma's affectionate Letter to the Queen
— Pbilip at his Writing- Table — His Plots with Parma against England —
Parma's secret Letters to the King — Philip's Letters to Parma — Wonderful
Duplicity of Philip — His sanguine Views as to England — He is reluctant to
hear of the Obstacles — and imagines Parma in England — But Alexander's
Difficulties are great — Ho denounces Philip's wild Schemes — Walsingham
aware of the Spanish Plot — which tho States well understand — Leicester's
groat Unpopularity — The Queen warned against Treating — Leicester's
Schemes against Barneveld — Leicestrian Conspiracy at Leyden — The Plot
to seize the City discovered — Threo Ringleaders sentenced to Death — Civil
War in France— Victory 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 Year 1588 — Distracted Condition of the Dutch Republic
— Willoughby reluctantly takes Command— English Commissioners come
to Ostend — Secretary Garnier and Robert Cecil — Cecil accompanies Dale to

yj CONTENTS OF VOL H. PAOB
Ghent— And finds the Deaolation complete— Interview of Dale and Cecil
with Parma  His fervent Expressions in favor of Peace — Cecil makes a
Tour in Flanders — And sees much that is remarkable — Interviews of Dr.
Ro^-era with Parma — Wonderful Harangues of the Envoy — Extraordinary
Amenity of Alexander — With which Rogers is much touched — The Queen
not pleased with her Envoy — Credulity of the English Commissioners —
Ceremonious Meeting of all the Envoys — Consummate Art in wasting
Time— Long Disputes about Commissions— The Spanish , Commissions
meant to deceive — Disputes about Cessation of Arms — Spanish Duplicity
and Procrastination — Pedantry and Credulity of Dr. Dale — The Papal Bull
and Dr. Allen's Pamphlet — Dale sent to ask Explanations — Parma denies
all Knowledge of either — Croft believes to the last in Alexander —
Dangerous Discord in North Holland — Leicester's Resignation arrives —
Enmity of Willoughby and Maurice — Willougbby's dark Picture of Affairs
— Hatred between States and Leicestrians — Maurice's Answer to tho
Queen's Charges — End of Sonoy's Rebellion — Philip foments the Civil
War in France — League's Threats and Plots against Henry — Mucio arrives
in Paris — He is received with Enthusiasm — The King flies, and Spain
triumphs in Paris — States expostulate with the Queen — English Statesmen
still deceived — Deputies from Netherland Churches — hold Conference with
the Queen — and present long Memorials — More Conversations with the
Queen — National Spirit of England and Holland — Dissatisfaction with
Queen's Course — Bitter Complaints of Lord Howard — Want of Preparation
in Army and Navy — Sanguine Statements of Leicester — Activity of Parma
— The Painful Suspense continues  353

CHAPTER XIX.
Philip Second in his Cabinet — His System of Work and Deception — His vast
but vague Schemes of Conquest — The Armada sails — Description of the
Fleet — The Junction with Parma unprovided for — The Gale off Finisterre
— Exploits of David Gwynn — First 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 tho 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 tho Eng
lish — English insufficiently provided — aro obliged to reUnquish tho Chaso
— A great Storm disperses the Armada — Great Energy of Parma — made
fruitless by Philip's Dulness — England readier at Sea than on Shore — Tho
Lieutenant-General's Complaints — His Quarrels with Norris and Williams
— Harsh Statements as to the English Troops — Want of Organization in
England — Royal Parsimony and Delay — Quarrels of English Admirals —

CONTENTS OF VOL. II. vjj

TAGE

England's narrow Escape from great PerU — Various Rumours as to the
Armada's Fate — Philip for a long timo in Doubt — He believes himself
victorious — is tranquil wli3n undeceived  458

CHAPTER XX.
Alexander besieges Bergen-op-Zoom — Pallavicini's Attempt to seduce Parma
— Alexander's Fury — He is forced to raise the Siege of Bergen — Gertruy
denberg betrayed to Parma — Indignation of the States — Exploits of Schenk
— His Attack on Nymegen — He is defeated and drowned — EngUsh-Dutch
Expedition to Spain — Its meagre Results — Death of Guise and of the
Queen-Mother — Combinations after the Murder of Henry III. — Tandem fit
Surculus Arbor.  b'Sl

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

CHAPTER IX.
Military Plans in the Netherlands — The Elector and Electorate of Cologne
— Martin Sebenk — His Career before serving the States — Franeker Uni
versity founded — Parma attempts Grave — Battle on the Meuse — Suc
cess and Vainglory of Leicester — St. George's Day triumphantly kept
at Utrecht — Parma not so much appalled as it was thought — He besieges
and reduces Grave — And is Master of the Meuse — Leicester's Rago at the
Surrender of Grave — His Revenge — Parma on the Rhine — He besieges
and assaults Neusz — Horrible Fate of the Garrison and City — Whicli
Leicester was unable to relieve — Axel surprised by Maurice and Sidney
— The Zeeland Regiment given to Sidney — Condition of the Irish and
English Troops — Leicester takes the Field — He reduces Doesburg-*
He lays siege to Zutphen — Which Parma prepares to relieve — Tho
English . intercept tho Convoy — Battle, of Wamsfeld — Sir Philip Sidney
wounded — Results of the Encounter — Death of Sidney at Arnheim —
Gallantry of Edward Stanley.
Five great rivers hold the Netherland territory in their coils.
Three are but shghtly separated — the Yssel, Waal, and
ancient Rhine, while the Scheldt and Meuse are spread more
widely asunder. Along each of these streams were various
fortified cities, the possession of which, in those days, when
modern fortification was iu its infancy, implied the control
of the surrounding country. The lower part of all the
rivers, where they mingled with the sea and became wide
estuaries, belonged to the Republic, for the coasts and the
ocean were in the hands of the Hollanders and English.
Above, the various strong places were alternately in the hands
of the Spaniards and of the patriots.
Thus Antwerp, with the other Scheldt cities, had fallen into
Parma's power, but Flushing, which controlled them all, was
VOL. II. — B

2 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. IX.
held by Philip Sidney for the Queen and States. On the Meuse,
Maastricht and Roermond were Spanish, but Venloo, Grave,
Meghem, and other towns, held for the commonwealth. On the
Waal, the town of Nymegen 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. The
Rhine, strictly so called, from its entrance into Netherland,
belonged to the rebels. Upon its elder branch, the Yssel,
Zutphen was in Parma's hands, while, a little below,
Deventer had been recently and adroitly saved by Leicester
and Count Meurs from falling into the same dangerous
grasp. Thus the triple Rhine, after it had crossed the German
frontier, belonged mainly, although not exclusively, to tho
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 moro
desolate and forlorn, if, possible, than the land of the obedient
Provinces.1 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 — beggars,
outcasts, but high-born and learned churchmen both — who
disputed the electorate.
At the commencement of tho year a portion of tho 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
1 Meteren, xiii. 235™.

1586.

THE ELECTOR AND ELECTORATE OF COLOGNE.

wrest Grave from the Netherlands ; along the Waal, where,
on the other hand, the patriots wished to recover Nymegen ;
on the Yssel, where they desired to obtain the possession of
Zutphen ; and in the Cologne electorate, where the Spaniards
meant, if possible, to transfer Neusz and Rheinberg 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 Farnese.
Nothing could be more desolate than the condition of the
electorate. Ever since Gebhard 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," 1 and,
a little later, he was employed as a go-between, and almost
a spy, by the Earl, in his quarrels with the patrician party
rapidly forming against him in the States. ,
At Godesberg — the romantic ruins of which stronghold the
traveller still regards with interest, placed as it is in the
midst of that enchanting region where Drachenfels looks
down on the crumbling tower of Roland 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 unlucky and forlorn individual,2

2 'Leyc. Corresp.' 378.
* " When I spake of the Elector
here," said Leicester, "I assure you
he is a very wise gentlemau ; and if it
were possible to set him iu his place
ao-ain, these countries were soon at
quiet. .... He is exceeding poor, and
great pity. Believe me, my Lord, he
is worthy to be esteemed. He doth
greatly love and honour her Majesty,

I would to God your Lordship could
but procure her Majesty to bestow
500 or 600 pound on him for a token.
I have received 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
adversary doth all he can to put the
King of Spain into his territories, yea,

4

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. IK.

he was not, after all, in very much 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 Phihp, 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,1 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.2 He
encouraged him with hopes of assistance, he represented to
his sovereign the importance of preserving the Rhenish
territory to Bishop Ernest and to Catholicism, but hinted
that the declared intention of the Bavarian to resign the

even into Cologne itself. He is very
poor, and weary of his keeping that
place with such charge. His bishopric
of Liege is all spoiled 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 Germany, and more of
lata than ever he had." Leicester to
Burghley, 28 Feb. 1586. (S. P. Office
MS.) Lord North had also conceived a
favourable opinion of Truchsess, whom
ho spoke of as a "rare "gentleman,
notably furnished with excellent gifts,
religious, and worthy of all honour and
estimation." North to Burghley, 28
Feb. 1586. (S. P. Office MS.)

1 Parma to Philip II. 28 Feb. 1586.
(Arehivo de Simancas, MS.) Compare
Strada, II. 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 nobility, — "because
no mask can ever entirely disguise "a
prince, and because suns, even when
under » cloud, have more spectators
than ever."
"Nempe nulla larva totum princi-
pem tegit; immo soles, etiam isti quum
defieiunt, tunc maxime spectatores ha-
bent," and so on, IL 4.21.

1586. MARTIN SCHENK. g
dignity, was probably a trick, because the archi-episcopate
was no such very bad thing after all.1
The archi-episcopate might be no very bad thing, but it
was a most uncomfortable place of residence, at the moment,
for prince or peasant. Overrun by hordes of brigands, and
crushed almost out of existence by that 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 with 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. Born 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
1 " Porquo no le esta tan mal el electorado." MS. letter of Parma last
cited.

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. LIE.

Blyenbeek, belonging to his cousin, which he chose to consider
his rightful property, because he was of the same race, and
because it was a convenient, and productive estate and
residence. The courts had different views of public law, and
supported the ousted cousin. Martin shut himself up in the
castle, and having recently committed a rather discreditable
homicide, which still further increased his unpopularity with
the patriots, he made overtures to Parma.1 Alexander was
glad to enlist so bold a soldier on his side, and assisted
Schenk in his besieged stronghold. For years afterwards,
his services under the King's banner were most brilliant, and
he rose to the highest military command, while his coffers,
meantime, were rapidly filling with the results of his robberies
and ' brandschiitzungs.' "'Tis a most courageous fellow,"
said Parma, "but rather a desperate highwayman than a
valiant soldier."2 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 could
remain for days and nights without dismounting — eating,
drinking, and sleeping in the saddle ; so that to this terrible
centaur his horse seemed actually a part of himself. His
soldiers followed, him about like hounds, and were treated by
him like hounds. He . 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 church steeples3 at his command; yet the pack
were ever stanch to his orders, for they knew that he always

Meteren, xiii. 231, ' Levensbeschry-
ving NederL Mannen,' vol. ii. in voce.
Strada, II. 633, et aliunde.

2 Parma to Philip II., G June, 1585
(Arch, de Sim. MS.)
3 Archer, in Stowe, 730.

15S6. HIS CAREER BEFORE SERVING THE STATES. 7
led them where the game was plenty. While serving under
Parma he had twice most brilHantly defeated Hohenlo. At
the battle of Hardenberg Heath he had completely outgene-
ralled that distinguished chieftain, slaying fifteen hundred of
his soldiers at the expense of only fifty or sixty of his own.
By this triumph he had preserved the important city of
Groningen for Philip, during an additional quarter of a
century, and had been received in that city with rapture.
Several startling years of victory and rapine he had thus run
through as a royalist partisan. He became the terror and the
scourge of his native Gelderland, and he was covered with
wounds received in the King's service. Ho 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 he
had received small public reward for his services' and the
wealth which he earned on the high-road did. not suffice for
his ambition. He had been deeply disgusted, when, at the
death of Count Renneberg, Verdugo, a former stable-boy of
Mansfeld, a Spaniard who had risen from the humblest rank
to be a colonel and general, had been made governor of
Friesland. He had smothered his resentment for a time
however, but had sworn within himself to desert at the most
favourable opportunity. At last, after he had brilliantly
saved the city of Breda from falling into the hands of the
patriots, he was more enraged than he had ever been before,
when 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 republic. He made good terms. He was
to be lieutenant-governor of Gelderland, and he was to have
rank as marshal of the camp in the States' army, with a
salary of twelve hundred and fifty guilders a month. He
agreed to resign his famous castle of Blyenbeek, but was to

8 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. IX.
be reimbursed with estates in Holland and Zeeland, of the
annual value of four thousand florins.1
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."2 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, he 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 hfe, 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 estabhshed between the burghers
within and the banditti without the gates. Agreeable
relations were1 formed within the walls, and a party of
townsmen had agreed to cooperate with the followers of
Schenk. One morning a train of waggons laden with soldiers
neatly. covered with salt,. made their appearance at the gate.
At the same time a fire broke out most opportunely within
the town. The citizens busily employed themselves in
extinguishing the flames. The salted soldiers, after passing
through the 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 tho 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 Haultepenne
collected a force of nearly four thousand men, boors, citizens
and soldiers, and came to besiege Schenk in the town while
1 'Nederl. Mannen,' &e., ubi sup.
a Doyley to Burghley, Juno 24, 1586. (S. P. Office MS.)

1586.

FRANEKER 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.1 " 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." 2
And thus, at every point of the doomed territory of the
little commonwealth, the natural atmosphere in which the in
habitants existed was one of blood and rapine. Yet 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 college 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, Strada, Nederl. Mannen,
&c, ubi sup. Bor. II. 699, 700. Bruce's
' Leyc. Corresp.' 79, 139, 141, 167, 227,
265, 475. Lord North to Burghley,
Feb. 28, 1586. (S. P. Office MS.) Lei

cester to Burghley, same date. Ibid.
MS. Leicester to Burghley and Wal
singham, 15 March, 1586. Ibid. MS.
a Leicester to Burghley and Wal
singham. MS. ubi sup.

10

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. IX.

provided at an annual cost to the student of but fifty florins
(51.), 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.1 Early in tho spring, the war was seriously taken in hand
by Farnese. It has already been seen that the republic had
been almost entirely driven out of Flanders and Brabant.
The Estates, however, still held Grave, Megem, Batenburg,
and Venlo upon the Meuse. That river formed, as it were,
a perfect circle of protection for the whole Province of
Brabant, and Farnese determined to make himself master of
this great natural moat. Afterwards, he meant to possess
himself of the Rhine, flowing in a parallel course, about
twenty-five miles 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." 2
Baron Hemart, a young Gueldrian noble, of small experi
ence in military affairs, commanded in the city, his garrison
being eight hundred soldiers, and about one thousand burgher
guard.3 As early as January, Farnese had ordered Count
Mansfeld to lay siege to the place. Five forts had accord-

1 Bor, II. 672.
3 North to Burghley, 29 May, 1586.
S. P. Office MS. Leicester to Queen
Elizabeth, 16 June, 1586. S. P. Office
MS.

s Bor, II. 707, 708. Hoofd, Verv. 154,
165. Strada, II. 410. Wagenaar, viii.
126.

1586. PARMA ATTEMPTS GRAVE.

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 Schenk
and the Spaniards had taken place, but the city was already
hard pressed, and, by the series of forts which environed it,
was cut off from its supplies. It was highly important,
therefore, that Grave should be relieved, with the least
possible delay.
Early in Easter week, a force of three thousand men, under
Hohenlo and Sir John Norris, was accordingly despatched by
Leicester, with orders, at every hazard, to throw iprii _£
reinforcements and provisions into the place. They 1686!°
took possession, at once, of a stone sconce, called the. Mill-Fort,
which was guarded by fifty men, mostly boors of the country.1
These were nearly all hanged for "using malicious words,"
and for "'railing against Queen Elizabeth,"2 and — a sufficient
number of men being left to maintain the fort— the whole
relieving force marched with great difficulty — for the river
was rapidly rising, and flooding the country — along the right
bank of the Meuse, taking possession of Batenburg and
Ravenstein castles, as they went. A force of four or five
hundred Englishmen was then pushed forward to a point
almost exactly opposite Grave, and within an English mile of
the head of the 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.3
On the morning of Easter Wednesday, April 16, Mansfeld,
perceiving that the enemy had thus stolen a march upon him,

! Occurrences from Holland, April, I * Ibid. Compare 'Leycest. Corresp.'
U . -n„ ,n t, nm mo\ p. 218, April 5, 1586.
_, 1586. (S. P. Office MS.) | ' , 0^cu£enC(Ia from HdCnnd) MS.

12 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. IX
ordered one thousand picked troops, all Spaniards, under
April- Casco and other veterans, to assault this advanced
158g!° post.1 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 regiments as to the right of precedence
precipitated the attack, before the reserve, consisting of some
picked companies of Mondragon's veterans, had been able to
arrive. Coming in breathless and fatigued, the first assailants
were readily repulsed in their first onset. Aquila then 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 probable that the fugitives
would be overtaken and destroyed, when, at last, from behind
a line of mounds which stretched towards Batenburg and had
masked their approach, appeared Count Hohenlo and Sir
John Norris, at the head of twenty-five hundred Enghshmen
and Hollanders. This force advanced as rapidly as the
slippery ground and the fatigue of a two hours' march would
permit to the rescue of their friends, while the retreating
English rallied, turned upon their pursuers, and drove them
back over the path along which they had just been charging
in the full career of victory. The fortune of the day was
changed, and in a few minutes Hohenlo and Norris would
have crossed the river and entered Grave, when the Spanish
companies of Bobadil and other commanders were seen march
ing along the quaking bridge.

2 Strada, II. 413, seq. Hoofd, Vervolgh, 154, 155. Occurrences, &c. MS
Brace's ' Leycest. Corresp. 223, 226.

1586. SUCCESS OF LEICESTER. l 13
Three thousand men on each side now met at push of pike
on the bank of the Meuse.1 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, afforded 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 wounded in the mouth and breast,
the Count was seen to gallop past one thousand musketeers
and caliver-men of the enemy, and to escape unscathed. But
as the strength of the soldiers exhausted itself, the violence of
the tempest increased. The floods of rain and the blasts of
the hurricane at last terminated the affray. The Spaniards,
fairly conquered, were compelled to a retreat, lest the rapidly
rising river should sweep away the frail and trembling bridge,
over which they had passed to their unsuccessful assault.
The English and Netherlanders remained masters of the
field. The rising flood, too, which was fast converting the
meadows into a lake, was as useful to the conquerors as it
was damaging to the Spaniards.
In the -course of the few following days, a large number of
boats was despatched before the very eyes of Parma, from
April -, Batenburg into Grave ; Hohenlo, who had " most
1586.W 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,
1 Strada, II. 413, 414. Occurrences from Holland, MS.

14

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. IX.

apparently, secured to the repubhc. In this important action
about one hundred- and fifty Dutch and English were killed,
and probably four hundred Spaniards, including several dis
tinguished officers.1
The Earl of Leicester was incredibly elated so soon as
the success of this enterprise was known. " Oh that her
Majesty knew," he cried, " how easy a match now she hath
with the King of Spain, and what millions of afflicted people
she hath relieved in these countries. This summer, this
summer, I say, would make an end to her immortal glory."2
'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, he assured the Queen's government that the victory was
owing to the Count. "He is both a valiant man and a wise
man, and the painfullest that ever I knew," he said ; adding
— as a secret — that "five hundred Enghshmen 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 drink

ing

"3

1 Leicester to Burghley, April -,
1536. (S. P. Office MS.) R. Cavendish
to Burghley, April -, 1586. (S. P.
Office MS.) Lord Willoughby to
Burghley, - April, 1586. (S. P. Office
MS.) Occurrences from Holland, MS.
Brace's Leyc. Corresp.' 226, 244, 245,
252, 253. Parma to Philip II 2
April and 9 May, 1586. (Archivo da
Simancas, MS.) 2
Lord North to Burghley, — May,
1586. (S. P. Office MS.) " Count Hol-
lock performed this service with wis
dom and most valiantly in his own
person. I cannot give him too much
praise, because there is so much duo

to him."
Compare Strada, II. 413, 414. Me
teren, xiii. 234. Hoofd, 155, seq. et al.
It is of slight consequence, at the pre
sent day, to know the exact number of
the combatants who perished in this
hotly-contested, but now forgotten
field. As a specimen of conflicting
statistics, after a battle, it is worth
while to observe that, according to some
eye-witnesses, nine hundred Spaniards
were killed, and, according to others,
thirty, while, on the other hand, the
statement of the loss sustained by
their antagonists varied from fifty to
seven hundred.
2 Brace's ' Leyc. Corresp.' 264, May
-, 1586.
18' * Brace's ' Leyc. Corresp.' 245.

1586. ST. GEORGE'S-DAT KEPT AT UTRECHT. 15
As for the Prince of Parma, 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
frustrate all his undertakings. " If the Spaniard have such a
May as he has had an April," said Lord North, " it will put
water in his wine."1
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 the Israelites, smiting the Philistines
hip and thigh.2 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 Rhine, and every
barge and bridge were decorated with the flowers of spring.
Upon this spot, where, eight centuries before the Anglo-Saxon
Willebrod had first astonished tho wild Frisians with the
1 North to Burghley, - May, 1586. S. P. Office MS.
" ' Leyc. Corresp.' 476, seq.

jg THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. IX
pacific doctrines of Jesus, and had been stoned to death as his
reward, stood now a more arrogant 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 Rhodes— 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, barons, knights,
and great officers, in cloth of gold and silks of all colours ; the
young Earl of Essex, whose career was to be so romantic, and
whose fate so tragic ; those two ominous personages, the
deposed little archbishop-elector of Cologne, with his melan
choly face, and the unlucky Don Antonio, Pretender, of Poi>
tugal, for whom, dead or alive, thirty thousand crowns and a
dukedom 1 were perpetually 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.2
The ancient cathedral, built on the spot where Saint
Willebrod had once ministered, with its light, tapering, brick
tower, three hundred and sixty feet in height, its exquisitely
mulhoned windows, and its elegantly foliaged columns, soon
received the glittering throng. Hence, after due religious
cei-emonies, and an Enghsh sermon from Master Knewstubs,
Leicester's chaplain, was a solemn march back April
again to the palace, where a stupendous banquet was 158<5-
already laid in the great hall.3
On the dais at tho upper end of the table, blazing with
1 Declaration of Don Antonio, in Bor, II. 769.
» Holingshed, iv. 658, seq. Stowe, 717. Hoofd, Tervolgh, 145. 'Ibid.

1586. ST. GEORGE'S DAT KEPT AT UTRECHT. yj
plate and crystal, stood the royal chair, with the Queen's plate
and knife and fork before it, exactly as if she had been
present, while Leicester's trencher and stool were set 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 wounded, 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 knighthood1
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, — sonorous
metal blowing meanwhile the. most triumphant airs. After
the . banquet came dancing, vaulting, tumbling, together 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 supper following hard upon the gigantic dinner.
After this there was tilting at the barriers, the young Earl of
Essex and other knights bearing themselves more chivalrously
than would seem to comport with so much eating and drinking.
Then, horrible to relate, came another "most, sumptuous
banquet' of sugar-meates for the men-at-arms and the

1 Bor. II. 699, 700. Stowe, Holin-
shed, libi sup. 'Leyc. Corresp.' 252,
253, April -, 1586.
" Shenks is' a worthy fellow," said
Leicester, who never could get nearer
than this to the name of the terrible
partisan. He also mentioned that he
VOL. II. — C

had given the worthy fellow a chain,
as from 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. 'Leyc. Corresp.'
227, 228.

18

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. IX.

ladies," after which, it being now midnight, the Lord of
Leicester bade the whole company good rest, and the menTat-
arms and ladies took their leave.1
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."2
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."3 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 httle 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.5 He had
been compelled, by the movement before Grave, to withdraw
Haultepenne from 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." G
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

1 Stowe, Holinshed, Bor, Hoofd,
ubi supra.
' 'Leyc. Corresp.' 251, ?L^ 1586
'Ibid. 10May
4 "Cierran la bolsa." Parma to

Philip, 9 May, 1586. (Arch, do Si-
maneas, MS.)
6 Same to same, 27 April, 1586.
(Arch, de Simancas, MS.)
8 Letter of 9 May. MS.

1586.

PARMA LESS APPALLED THAN WAS THOUGHT.

19

nations.1 His veterans, though unpaid, ragged, and half-
starved, were in raptures to have their idolized , May 11,
commander among them again, and vowed that under 158e-
his guidance there was nothing which they could not accom
plish. The King'shonour, 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.2 The Earl had taken some forts in the Batavia —
Betuwe, or "good meadow," which he pronounced as fertile
and about as large as Herefordshire,3 — and was now threaten
ing Nymegen, a city which had been gained for Philip by the
last effort of Schenk, on the royalist side, He was now
observing Alexander's demonstrations against Grave, but,
after the recent success in victualling that place, he felt a just
confidence in its security.
On the 31st May the trenches were commenced, and on
the 5th June the batteries were opened. The work went
rapidly forward when Farnese was in the field. 31st May,
"The Prince-of Parma doth batter it like a Prince,"4 1586-
said Lord North, admiring the enemy with the enthusiasm of
an honest soldier. On the 6th of June, as Alexander rode
through the camp to reconnoitre, previous to an attack, a well-
directed cannon ball carried- away the. hinder half of his horse.5
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

1 Parma to Philip II. 27 May, 1586.
(Areh. de Sim. MS.)
*' Parma to Philip IT. 27 May, 11
June, 1586. (Ibid.)
3 Leicester to the Queen, 27 May,

1586. (S. P. Office MS.)-
. * North to Burghley, 29 May, 1586.
(S. P. Office MS.)
s Stowe, 718. Strada II. 416.

20

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

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."1 The tower was soon secured, but Solis, in
disobedience to his written instructions2 led his men against
the ravelin, which was still in a state of perfect defence. A
musket-ball soon stretched him dead beneath the wall, and his
followers, still attempting to enter the impracticable breach,
were repelled by a shower of stones and blazing pitch-hoops.
Hot sand,' too, poured from sieves and baskets, 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.3 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
phshed this feat, was quietly helped back again by his com
rades from above.4
To the surprise of the besiegers, however, on the very next
morning came a request from the governor of the city, Baron
Hemart, to negociate for a surrender. Alexander was, natu
rally, but too glad to grant easy terms, and upon the - 7th
of June the garrison left the town with colours displayed and
drums beating, and the Prince of Parma marched into it, at
the head of his troops. He found a year's provision there for
six 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.5

l Parma to Philip, 11 June, 15S6.
(Arch, de Simancas, MS.)
2 Parma to Philip II, MS. just cited.
3 Strada, II. 417. Bor, II. 707, 703.

4 Bruce's 'Leyc. Corresp.' 288.
5 Strada,- II. 418. Bor, II. 707, 708.
Parma to Philip II. 27 May, 11 June,
158G. (Arch, de Simancas, MS.) North

1586.

HE BESIEGES AND REDUCES GRAVE.

21

"There was no good reason even for women to have sur
rendered the place," exclaimed. Leicester, when he heard the
news.1 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 good
five months, or for an indefinite period, and until they should
be relieved. And indeed all the officers, with three exceptions,
had protested against the base surrender. But at the bottom
of the catastrophe — of the disastrous loss of the city and the
litter 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 mys
terious reasons, had persuaded him thus voluntarily 'to capi
tulate.3 Parma lost no time, however, in exulting over his success.
Upon the same day the towns of Megen and Batenburg sur
rendered to him, and immediately afterwards siege was laid
to Venlo, a town of importance, lying thirty miles farther up
the Meuse. The wife and family of Martin Schenk were in
the city, together with two hundred horses, and from forty to
one hundred thousand crowns in money, plate, and furniture
belonging to him.3
That bold partisan, accompanied by the mad Welshman,

to Burghley, 'U^L, insG. (3. P. Office
8 June 6
MS.) Leicester to tho Queen, — June,
1586. (Ibid.)
1 Brace's ' Leyc. Corresp.' 288.
* Meteren, xiii. 235. "Brace's ' Leyc.
Corresp.' 299-310. Strada, II. 418.
6
Leicester to the Queen, — June, 1586.
.16
(S. P. Office MS.) North to Burghley,
" June, 1586. (Ibid.)
"The governor, Hemart," said
North, " is a gentleman of Gelder, of
great kindred, living, and - acquaint
ance. There be many vehement pre
sumptions to argue a treacherous
practice with the enemy. The best
that can be made of it was most vile

cowardice, mixed with such negligence
as is unspeakable. , In the time of that
siege he spent his time in his " house,
followed with his' harlot, and when ho
came abroad he could not be gotten
by entreaty of captains, burghers, or
soldiers to do anything for the defence
of the town, but straightway entered
into a continence of the people, wish
ing rather to give up the town than
suffer the blood of so many innocents
to be spilt. Which purpose he did pro
secute with speed, and sent a drum, to
the enemy for parley. The town was
impossible to be assaulted," &c. &c.
' North to Burghley ?1^ 1586.
6 July
(S. P. Office MS.) T. Doyley to Burgh
ley, —-, 1586. (S. P. Office MS.)
4 July

22

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

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 reportedj and generally believed, that Farnese
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.1 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.2
Soon afterwards the place capitulated without waiting for a
battery, upon moderate terms. Schenk's wife was sent away
28 June, courteously with her family, "in a coach and four,
1586- and with as much "apparel" as might be carried
with her. His property was confiscated, for " no fair wars
could be made with him." 3
Thus, within a few weeks after taking tho 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,

1 North to Burghley, -4 Juno, 15S6.
(S. P. Office MS.)
» Ibid. Meteren, xiii. 235. Dovlev
. „ , , 21 June J" J
to Burghley, — — -, 1586. (S. P. Office
4 July x
MS.) 3 Doyley to Burghley, ubi sup. Lei

cester to tho Queen, ™°, 158G. fS. P.
6 July v
Office MS.) North to Burghley, same
date. (S. P. Office MS.)- Parma to
Philip II. 8 July, 1586. (Arch, de
Simancas, MS.) Compare Strada, IL
423. Meteren, xiii. 235.

1586. AND IS MASTER OP THE MEUSE. 23
throughout its whole course, in the power of the Spaniards.
The . Province of Brabant became thoroughly guarded again
by its foss, and the enemy's road was opened into the northern
Provinces. Leicester, meantime, had not distinguished himself. It
must be confessed that he had been sadly outgeneralled.
The man who had talked bf following the enemy inch by
inch, and who had pledged himself not only to protect Grave,
and any other place that might be attacked, but even to
recover Antwerp and Bruges within a few weeks, had wasted
the time in very desultory operations. After 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
Yssel, 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 Rhine into the Isle of Batavia, and
thence, after taking a few sconces of inferior importance —
while Schenk, meanwhile, was building on the Island of
Gravenweert, at the bifurcation of the Rhine and Waal, the
sconce so celebrated a century later as ' Schenk's Fort '
(Schenkenschans) — he was preparing to pass the Waal in
order to attack Farnese, when he heard, to his astonishment,
of the surrender of Grave." x
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
Hemart's faint-heartedness or treachery, and his wrath was
extravagant in proportion to the exultation with which his
previous success had inspired him. He breathed nothing but
revenge against the coward and tho traitor, who had delivered
up the town in " such lewd and beastly sort.2
" I will never depart hence," he said, " till by the goodness
l. Meteren, xiii. 235™.
Leicester to tho Queen, — June, 1586. (3. P. Office MS.)

24

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. IX.:

of God I, be satisfied someway, of this villain's treachery."1
There could be little doubt that Hemart deserved punishment.
There could be as little that Leicester would mete it out to
him in ample measure. "The lewd villain who gave up
Grave," said he, " and tho captains as deep in fault as himself,
shall all suffer together." 2
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.3
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- at Utrecht, consisting of .Hohenlo, Essex, and other
distinguished officers. They, found that the conduct of the
prisoner merited death, but left it to the Earl to decide
whether various extenuating circumstances did not justify a
pardon.4 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 to1 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.0 Tho 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

1 Brace's 'Leyc. Corresp.' 285.
* Ibid. 287.
s Leicester to tho Queen, MS. be
fore cited.
4 North to Lurghley, r Jcno, 15SG.

(S. P. Offico MS.) Hoofd, Tervolgh,
156. 6 Bruce's 'Leyc. Corresp.' 301, 310,
313. B Leicester to tho Queen, — June,
1CSG. (S. P. CSco MS.)

1586.

LEICESTER'S RAGE AT SURRENDER OP GRAVE.

25

cowardice. He begged hard for a pardon, not on aocount of
his life, but for the sake of his reputation. He earnestly
implored permission to serve under the Queen of England, as
a private soldier, without pay, on land or sea, for as many
years as she should specify, and to be selected for the most
dangerous employments, in order that, before he died, ho
might wipe out the disgrace, which, through Ihis fault, in an
hour of weakness, had come upon an ancient and honourable
house.1 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 he was
wont when excited — swore that there should be no pardon
for such a traitor.2 The States of Holland and Zeeland,
likewise, were decidedly in favour of a severe example.0
Hemart was accordingly led 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
1586. 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.4 Ho was beheaded, standing. The two
captains, Du Ban and Koeboekum, who had also been con
demned, suffered with him.5 A third captain, likewise con
victed, was, "for very just cause," pardoned by Leicester.0
The Earl persisted in believing that Hemart had surrendered
the city as part of a deliberate plan, and affirmed that in such
a time, when men had come to think no more of giving up a
town than of abandoning a house, it was 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

1 Hoofd, Vervolgh, 126. Meteren,
siii. 235™.
2 Hoofd, ubi supra.
' ''Resol. Holl,' 24 June, 1 July,
1586, bl. 220. Wagenaar, viii. 128.
* Hoofd, Meteren, Wagenaar, ubi

6 Ibid,
" Leicester to Burghley, ^
15SG. (S.P. Office MS.)

13

June,
Bruce, ' Leyc. Corresp.,' 309 seq.

26

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. IX

cut off as well, being as arrant knaves as Hemart ; " and so I
think they be," added Leicester.1
Parma having thus made himself master of the Meuse, lost
no time in making a demonstration upon the parallel course
of the Rhine, thirty miles farther east.2 Schenk, Kloet, and
other partisans, kept that portion of the archi-episcopate and
of Westphalia in a state of perpetual commotion.3 Early
in the preceding year, Count de Meurs had, by a fortunate
stratagem, captured the town of Neusz for the deposed elector,
and Herman Kloet, a young and most determined Geldrian
soldier, now commanded in the place.4
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 Rhine 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 this reasoning, and had early in the
year sent Haultepenne to invest the city. He had been
obliged to recal that commander during the siege of Grave.
The place being reduced, Alexander, before the grass could
grow beneath his feet advanced to the Rhine in person.
Early in July he appeared before the walls of Neusz with
eight thousand foot and two thousand horse. The garrison
under Kloet numbered scarcely more than sixteen hundred
effective soldiers, b 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.0 It had also resisted the strenuous efforts of Charles

1 Leicester to tho Queen, — June,
M
1586. Samo to Burghley,— Juno, 1586.
(S. P. Office MSS.)
2 Parma to Philip II. 8 July, 1580.

(Arch, do Simancas, MS.) .
3 Wagenaar, viii. 131. Hoofd. Ver-
volgh, 154.
* Strada, II. 425. Wagenaar, viii. 132.
5 Strada, &c, MS. just cited.
• Meteren, xiii. 235T0.

1586.

HIS REVENGE— PARMA ON THE. RHINE.

27

the Fifth,1 and was now stronger than it ever had been.
It was thoroughly well provisioned, so that it was safe enough
"if those within it," said Leicester, "be. men."2 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."3 The issue was to show whether the
sarcasm were just or not. Meantime the town was considered
by. the governor-general to be secure, "unless towns were
to be had for the asking."4
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.5 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 hfe he was ready to lay down.0 There
was, through some misapprehension,, a delay in reporting this
answer to Farnese. 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 " Holofernese " —

1 Meteren, xiii. 235™.
2 Brace's 'Leyc. Corresp.' 250. so
3 Leicester to Burghley, — July,
1586. (a P. Office MS.)

.* Same to tho Queen,— July. '(S. P.
Office MS.)
s Strada, II. 430.
• North to Burghley, 26 July, 1586
(S. P. Office MS.)

28

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. IX

as the Flemings and Germans were accustomed to nickname
Farnese — was dead.1 Strange to relate, he was quite un
harmed, and walked back to his tent with dignified slowness
and a very frowning face. It was said that this breach of
truce had been begun by the Spaniards, who had fired first,
and had been immediately answered by the town. This was
hotly denied, and Parma sent Colonel Tassis with a flag of
truce to the commander, to rebuke and to desire an explana
tion of this dishonourable conduct.2
The answer given, or imagined, was that Commander Kloet
had been sound asleep, but that he now much regretted this
untoward accident. The explanation was received with deri
sion, for it seemed hardly probable that so young and energetic
a soldier would take the opportunity to refresh himself with
slumber at a moment when a treaty for the capitulation of a
city under his charge was under discussion. This terminated
the negociation.3
A few days afterwards, the feast of St. James was celebrated
in the Spanish camp, with bonfires and other demonstrations
of hilarity. The townsmen are said to have desecrated the
same holiday by roasting alive in the market-place two 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.4 The detestable deed was to
be most horribly avenged.
A steady cannonade from forty-five great guns was kept up
from 2 a.m. of July 15 until the dawn of the following day;
16 July, the cannoneers being all provided with milk and
1586. vinegar to cool the pieces.5 At daybreak the assault
was ordered. Eight separate attacks were made with the
usual impetuosity of Spaniards, and were steadily repulsed.0

1 Hoofd, Vervolgh, 179.
5 Strada, II. 433. Hoofd, ubi sup.
3 Hoofd. Strada, ubi sup. Me
teren, xiii. 236 seq.
* Parma, to Philip II. 4 Aug. 1586.
(Arch, de Simancas, MS.) Comparo
Strada II. 434.

There is no authority but that of
Farnese for the statement of this
horrible crime, but I feel it my duty
to record it.
5 North to Burghley, 26 July, 1586.
(S. P. Office MS.)
0 Ibid.

1586. HE BESIEGES AND ASSAULTS NEUSZ. 29
At the ninth, the outer wall was carried, and the Spaniards
shouting " Santiago" poured over it, bearing back all resistance.
An Italian Knight of the Sepulchre, Cesar Guidiccioni by
name, and a Spanish ensign, one Alphonso de Mesa, with his
colours in one hand and a ladder in the other, each claimed
the honour of having first mounted the breach. Both being
deemed equally worthy of reward, Parma, after the city had
been won, took from his own cap a sprig of jewels and a
golden wheat-ear • ornamented with a gem, which he had
himself worn ' in place of a plume, and thus presented each
with a brilliant token of his regard.1 The wall was then
strengthened against tho inner line of fortification, and all
night long a desperate conflict was maintained in the dark
upon the narrow space between the two barriers. Before day
light Kloet, who then, as always, had led his men in the most
desperate adventures, was carried into the town, wounded in
five places, and with his leg almost severed at the thigh.2
" 'Tis the bravest man," said the enthusiastic Lord North,
"that was ever heard of in the world."3 "He is but a boy,"
said Alexander Farnese, " but a commander of extraordinary
capacity and valour." 4
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."5 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,"0 said Farnese,
and so compelling a reluctant consent on the part of tho
commander-in-chief to an assault, the Italian and Spanish

1 Strada. II. 433.
* Ibid. 436. North to Burghley, MS.
' - North to Burghley, MS.
* Parma to Philip, 4 Aug. 1583. MS.

B Strada, II. 437.
6 Parma to Philip, 4 Aug. 1586,
(Areh. de Simancas, MS.)

30

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. IX

legions poured into the town at two opposite gates, which
were no longer strong enough to withstand the enemy. The
two streams met in the heart of the place, and swept every
living thing in their path out of existence. The garrison was
butchered to a man, and subsequently many of the inhabitants
— men, women, and children — also, although the women, to
the honour of Alexander, had been at first secured from harm
in 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.1 As the churchman
was nominally sovereign of the city, although in reality a
beggarly dependant on Philip's alms, Farnese felt bound to
comply. The manner in which it was at first supposed that
the Bishop's Christian request had been complied with, sent
a shudder through every heart in the Netherlands. " They
took Kloet, wounded as he was," said Lord North, "and first
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."2
But this was an error. A Jesuit priest3 was sent to the

1 Tho Jesuit Strada, II. 438, is tho
authority for the statement, founded
upon Alexander's own letters; more
of which were before him than can
now be found in any single collection
of documents. I have noticed very
few of the Simaneas letters relating
to Farnese 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, ^^, 1586.
(S. P. Office MS.) Leicester's account
was still more horrible — "After Kloet
was brought to the market-place," ho

wroto to Walsingham, " being sore-
wounded before, they laid him upon a
table, and bound him, and anointed
him with tar all over his body, and
half-strangling him, burnt him cruelly."
Brace's 'Leyc. Corresp.' 369, "9 J"'y
1586. 8 A°g:'
Other English letters described the
fate of the commandant in a similar
manner, but tho crime, although
odious, was not quite so atrocious as
it was at first believed to be.
' "Ad quem lecto jaeentum misso
Societatis Jesu sacerdote, cujus opera
in eo saltern mortis artieulo a seeunda
se morte praeriperat," &e. Strada, IL
438.

1586.

HORRIBLE FATE OF THE GARRISON AND CITY.

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
found lying in bed. His wife, a woman of remarkable beauty,1
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
sympathy. 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 the 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 officers, and — said Parma —
"forty other rascals," were murdered in the same way at the
same time.2 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 Farnese more
maturely believed — by the special agency. of the Almighty,
offended with the burning of Saint Quirinus,3 now came to
complete the horror of the scene. Three-quarters of the town
were at once in a blaze. The churches, where the. affrighted
women had been cowering during the sack and slaughter,
were soon on fire, and now, amid the crash of falling houses
and the uproar of the drunken soldiery, those unhappy victims
were seen flitting along the flaming streets, seeking refuge
against the fury of the elements in the more horrible cruelty
of man. The fire lasted all day and night, and not one stone
would have been left upon another, had not the body of

1 Strada, H. MS. last cited.
2 " Se ahorcaron con el comandante,
el ministro, los consistoriantes, y qua-
ranta otros vellacos," &o. Parma to
Philip, 4 Aug. 1586. (Arch, do Siman

cas, MS.) Compare Strada, II. 438
Meteren, xiii. 236. Hoofd, Vervolgh,
179, 180. Bor, II. 738.
3 Strada, II. 441, 442.

32

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. IX

a second saint, saved on a former occasion from the heretics
by. the piety of a: citizen, been fortunately, deposited in his
house. At this point the conflagration was stayed— for the
flames refused to consume these holy relics '—but almost
the whole of the town was destroyed, while at least four thou
sand, people, citizens and soldiers, had perished by sword or
fire."2 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 Haultepehne
i586- attempted in vain to protect them against the fury
of the soldiers, and every man of them was instantly put to
death.3 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^4 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.0
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. 2 Ibid. 442.
3 Ibid. 439. " Ibid., 438.
6 Bor,- II. 738. Stowe, 734. Hoofd,
Vervolgh,- 179, 180. Meteren, xiii.
236, 'seq. ' Strada, II. 436-442. ' Parma
to Philip II. 4 Aug. 1586. (Arch, do
Simancas, MS.) ...
North to Burghley, '*™l, 15SG.
° * ' 5 Aug.
1-2
Samo to same, — Aug. 158G. Leicester
to Burghley, a^|- T. Cecil to samo,
- July.' B. Clerke to samo, '— ^
SI '3 Aug.
W. Kr.ollys to samo, }_ Aug. T. Doy-

ley to same, _ Aug. (3. P. Office
MSS.) 1!
6 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 government for that of Harlington
in Friesland, where Lord North was
then installed. ¦ But Cecil observed
that he was "resolved to keep the
Brill still, as one that would rather
keep a shrew he knoweth than a shrew
he knoweth not." He was much dis
gusted with tho perpetual discord
which had succeeded tho brief cnthu-

158G.

WHICH LEICESTER WAS UNABLE TO RELIEVE.

33

He had pawned his plate and other valuables,1 exhausted his
credit, and had nothing for it but to wait for the Queen's tardy
remittances, and to wrangle with the States ; for the leaders
of that body were unwilling to accord large supplies to a
man who had become personally suspected by them, and was
the representative of a deeply-suspected government. Mean
while, one-third at least of the money which really found its
way from time to time out of England, was filched from tho
" poor starved wretches," as Leicester called his soldiers, by
the dishonesty of Norris, uncle of Sir John and army-trea
surer. This man was growing so rich on his 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 be
less than that functionary's annual income.2 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 tho 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.3 In reality not more than five hundred
of Farnese's armv lost their lives,4 and although the town,

Eiasm upon Leicester's arrival. The
wrangling between Leicester and his
officers, and between them all and the
States, offended the young soldier so
much that ho was anxious to leave the
Netherlands. " Bravely was Nuys de
fended by Kloet, but evil relieved by
us," he wrote to his father. "Our
affairs here be such as that which wo
conclude overnight is broke in the
morning; we agree not one with an
other, but we are divided iu many fac
tions, so as if the enemy were as strong
as we are factious and irresolute, I
think wo should make shipwreck of
the cause this summer." . Sir T. Cecil
to Lord Burghley, - July, 1586. (S. P.
Office MS.)
VOL. II. — D

Leicester to Burghley,

Aug.

15S6. (S. P. Office MS.)
2 Brace's 'Leyc. Corresp.' 260, 264,
299, 303.
3 Brace's 'Leyc. Corresp.' 363. "He
has lost 3,000 of his soldiers and
as many hurt." (I). Leicester to
Walsingham, 27 July, 1586. " Of
the enemy not less than 3,000 slain,"
said North, 26 July, MS. ubi supra.
"The town is gone, clean burnt to
the ground," wrote Leicester to Burgh
ley, " and to the number of 4,000
dead in the ditches." Letter of
29 July
 . MS. ubi supra.
8 Aug. 12
4 North to Burghley, — Aug. MS.
22

34

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. IX.

excepting some churches, had certainly been destroyed ; yet
the Prince was now master of the Ehine 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 Eheinberg,
twenty-five miles farther down the river.1
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 he
had been desirous of making an attack upon Flanders by
capturing the town of Steenberg. The faithful Eoger Williams
had strongly seconded the proposal. " We wish to show your
Excellency," said he to Leicester, "that we are not sound
asleep."2 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 tho 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, Hoofd, Meteren, Strada, ubi
supra. ' Williams to Leicester, — Feb.
27

158G.
MS.)

(Brit Mus. Galba, C. ix. p. 85.

1586. AXEL SURPRISED BY MAURICE AND SIDNEY. 35
so much treachery in the world."i Sidney found no trea
chery in young Maurice, but only a noble and intelligent
love of adventure, and the two arranged their plans in har
mony. Leicester, then, in order to deceive the enemy, came to
Bergen-op-Zoom, with five hundred men, where he remained
two days, not sleeping a wink, as he averred, during ^ n jui7i
the wholo time. In the night of Tuesday, 16th of 1586-
July, the five hundred English soldiers were despatched by
water, under charge of Lord Willoughby, "who," said the
Earl, " would needs go with them." Young Hatton, too, son of
Sir Christopher, also volunteered on the service, " as his first
nursling."2 Sidney had five hundred of his own Zeeland
regiment in readiness, and the rendezvous was upon the broad
waters of the Scheldt, opposite Flushing.3 Tho plan was
neatly carried out, and the united flotilla, in a dark, calm,
midsummer's night, rowed across the smooth estuary and
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 the place proposed. Before two in the
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.4 The garrison,
between five and six hundred in number, though surprised,
resisted gallantly, and were all put to the sword. Of the
, T . 4, n 8 July, 1586. ' (S. P. Office MS.)
Leicester to the Queen, - July, £ioester, . however, says, "My ne-
1586. (S. P. Office MS.) phew. Sidney, with his band, would
a Brace's ' Leye. Corresp.' 338. needs have the first entry,' as the mes-
3 "Before Flushing, upon the water, senger told me" (Letter ' to the Queen,
that it might be less noted." Leicester ubi sup.) ; but the messenger seems to
to the Queen, MS. before cited. have been mistaken.
* Sir T. Cecil to Lord Burghley, —

36

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. IX

invaders, not a single man. 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 Grave and Venlo. " This victory
hath happened in good time/' wrote Thomas Cecil to his
father, "and hath made us somewhat to lift up our heads."1
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, corn, was
thus immediately destroyed3 in the territory of the obedient
Netherlands. After an unsuccessful attempt to surprise Gravelines,3 the
governor of .which place, .the 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 Arnheim.4
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 him. The cause of Leicester's ambi
tion had been frustrated by the policy of Barneveld and Buys,
in pursuance of which Count or Prince Maurice — as he was
now purposely designated, in order that his rank might sur
pass that of the EarF — had become stadholder and captain-

\ Cecil to Burghley, ubi supra.
i Leicester to Burghley, - — —
SAug.'
1.586.' (S. P. Office MS.) . -
"Your Lordship will not believo
how the town of Axel is like to annoy
these parts. There is already so much
corn, cattle, and grass destroyed, as is
worth two millions of florins."
3 Meteren, xiii. 236™.
4 Letters of Leicester and of Sir T.
Cecil above cited.. Compare Meteren,
xiii. 236. Brooke's Life of Sidney, II.
15. Hoofd, Vervolgh, 181, 182; Bor,

II. 738; Wagenaar, viii. 134. Brace's
'Leyc. Corresp.' 337, 338.
6 His elder brother, Philip William,
son of William the Silent, by his first
wife Anna de Buren, was Prince of
Orange, but was still detained captive
in Spain. The title of Prince was
given by courtesy to Maurice, on the
ground that in Germany all the sons
sueeeeded to the father's title. As
the principality of Orango was not in
Germany, and as the title of William
in that country was only that of
Count, it was difficult to see-any claim

1586. THE ZEELAND REGIMENT 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 there so many weary
years.1 At the same time the gentlemen who signed the
paper protested to Sir Philip, in another letter, " with all the
same hands," that they had no personal feeling towards him,
but, on the contrary, that they wished him all honour." 2
Young Maurice himself had always manifested the most
friendly feelings toward Sidney, although influenced in his
action by the statesmen who were already organizing a power
ful opposition to Leicester. " Count Maurice showed himself
constantly kind in the matter of the regiment," said Sir
Philip, " but Mr. Paul Buss has so many busses in his head,
such as you shall find he will be to God and man about one
pitch. Happy is the communication of them that join in the
fear of God."3 Hohenlo, too, or Hollock, as he was called
by the French and English, was much governed by Buys and
Olden-Barneveld. Eeckless and daring, but loose of life and
uncertain of purpose, he was most dangerous, unless under
safe guidance. Eoger 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. He and his Alemaynes are
of Maurice to be entitled Prince so (Brit. Mus. Galba C. ix. 75, MS.) Corn-
long as his brother was alive. Lei- pare letters of Hohenlo in Bor, III.
cester always considered his assump- 123 seq. Hoofd, Vervolgh, 156, 157,
tion of this superior rank as a per- Wagenaar, viii. 129. '
sonal affront to himself. ' Sidney to Davison, ubi svpra.
1 Sidney to Davison, 24 Feb. 15SG. ' Ibid.

3g. THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. IX.
farther born from Zeeland than Sir Phihp is. Either you must
make Hollock assured to you, or you must disgrace him. If
he will not be yours, I will show you means to disinherit him
of all his commands at small danger. What service doth he,
Count Solms, Count Overstein, with their Almaynes, but
spend treasure and consume great contributions ? " 1
It was very natural that the chivalrous Sidney, who had
come to the Netherlands to win glory in the field, should be
desirous of posts that would bring danger and distinction with
them. He was not there merely that he might govern 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
he was likely — so he wrote to her father, Walsingham — " to
run such a course as would not be fit for any of the feminine
gender."3 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 the
Netherlands — more 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 more ragged and wretched warriors been seen
than they, after a few months' campaigning.
The Irish Kernes — some fifteen hundred cf whom were
among the auxiliaries— were better off, for they habitually
dispensed with clothing ; an apron from waist to knee bein^-
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 the fens of Zeeland upon their long stilts, or leaped
across running rivers, scaling ramparts, robbing tho highways,
burning, butchering, and maltreating the villages and their
inhabitants, with as little regard for tho laws of- Christian
warfare as for those of civilized costume.3
1 R. Williams to Leicester, - Feb. 15S6. (Brit.' Mus. Galba, C. ix. S5. MS.)
" Letters in Gray's Life of Sydney, 291.
* Reyd, v. 101. noofd, Ycrvclgh, 2:0. Strada, II. 44G.

1586. CONDITION OF IRISH AND ENGLISH TROOPS. 39
Other soldiers, more sophisticated as to apparel, were less
at their ease. The generous Sidney spent all his means, and
loaded himself with debt, in order to relieve the necessities
of the poor soldiers. He protested that if the Queen would
not pay her troops, she would lose her troops, but that no
living man should say the fault was in him. " What relief I
can do them I will," he wrote to his father-in-law; "I will
spare no danger, if occasion serves. I am sure that no
creature shall lay injustice to my charge." 1
Very soon it was discovered that the starving troops had to
contend not only with the Queen's niggardliness but with the
dishonesty of her agents. Treasurer Norris .was constantly
accused by Leicester and Sidney of gross peculation. Five
per cent., according to Sir Philip, was lost to the Zeeland
soldiers in every 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 the
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." 2
This plain dealing, on the 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." 3 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,
' Letters, in Gray, 290. s Ibid. 214, 321.
3 Ibid. 290. Brace's ' Leyc. Corresp.' 345.

40

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. IX

to find fault with him." 1 It is probable that his complaints
against the army treasurer, and his manful defence of the
"miserable soldiers," more than counterbalanced, in the
Queen's estimation, his chivalry in the field.
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,2 but he gave out, very extensively, that
he had fourteen thousand under his command,3 and he was
moreover expecting a force of three thousand reiters, and as
many pikemen recently levied in Germany. Lord Essex was
general of the cavalry, Sir William Pelham 4 — a distinguished

* Letters, in Gray, Sec. , just cited.
" Leicester to the Queen, 11 Oct.
1586. (S. P. Office MS.) Huddlestou
to Burghley, 6 Sept. 158G. (S. P.
Office MS.)
3 Ibid. Comparo Strada, 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, II. 738. Wagenaar, viii. 135.
* Sir William Pelham had been out
of favour with the Queen for many
months. He had been held respon
sible for somo abuses in the ordnance
office, and a heavy claim made upon
hirn by tho crown had reduced him
to insolvency. The Queen was ex
cessively 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 large sums of money to extri
cate him from 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 insubordination of Sir
John Norris and his brothers. "I
begin to be prettily accompanied now
with mon," ho wrote to the Queen,
"only lacking governors and leaders,
especially a marshal. I must still say
to your Majesty it had been better to
have wanted the use of 20,000 than
the service of Sir 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

1586.

LEICESTER TAKES 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.
After the parade, two sermons were preached upon the hill
side to the soldiers, and then there was a council of war. It
was decided — notwithstanding the Earl's announcement of
his intentions to attack Parma in person — that the condition
of the army did not warrant such an enterprise. It was
thought better to lay siege to Zutphen. This 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 brave troop of able and
likely men"1 — five thousand of the infantry being English2
— 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, E0 A"g-
being rather slightly walled with brick, and with a 1586.
foss drawing not more than three feet of water.3 By the
30th August it had been completely invested.

spoken it some months past, that ho
was sure neither Pelham nor the Lord
Grey should come, nor that any more
mm by your license or muster should
pass, which faUs out somewhat to be
true, to our discomfort. But if either
Pelham or Lord Grey, or rather both
may come, I trust your Majesty shall
reap the greatest honour and good by
it; but first Sir William, for he is
readiest. For God's sake and your
honour's sake, let him come. We 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 believe me ' there is not
one, no, not one for it, whatsoever you
have heard or may hear, or of whom
soever, that J know to be employed at
this time here. J find it, 1 feel it, to
my great hindrance and no less danger
every day. I know here be worthy
and very valiant gentlemen, but for

so great a charge, believe me, there is
not one yet here for it. I am loath to
hinder any man. It hath not been
my custom to your Majesty. I be
seech you that all men may have their
deserts, and your poor army here com
forted. Let all tho haste possible be
used with Sir W. Pelham, on whose
coming with that worthy gentleman
Sir W. Stanley, I trust your Majesty
shall hear well of us," &o. &e. It was
natural that Sir John Norris should
be indignant at being supplanted by
Pelham, and their mutual rivalry did
infinite mischief Leicester to the
Queen, - June, 1586. (S. P. Office
MS.) Compare 'Leyc. Corresp.' 37, 45,
55, 125.
1 Huddleston to Burghley, MS. be
fore cited.
2 Ibid. ' Ibid.

42 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap IX
On the same night, at 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 effect 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 weight 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 caliyer." 2
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, he 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.3 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.
1 Brace's ' Leyc. Cerresp., 401, 407. 5 Ibid.
1 Huddleston to Burghley, - Sept. 1586. (S. P. Office MS.)

1586. HE REDUCES DOESBURG. 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.1
But Leicester, not willing to indulge so unreasonable a pro
posal, replied that he would reserve him for service of less
hazard and greater importance. Norris being, as usual,
" satis prodigus inagnae animas,' 2 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 while with jealous eyes ; fearing that
they might get the start of the English party, and be first to
enter the town.3 A party of noble volunteers clustered about
Sir John — Lord Burgh, Sir Thomas Cecil, Sir Phihp Sidney,
and his brother Eobert among the rest — most impatient for
the signal. The race was obviously to be a sharp one. The
governor-general forbade these violent demonstrations, but
Lord Burgh, "in a most vehement passion, waived the coun
termand,"4 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 igBpt.
could with difficulty restrain his soldiers till the 1583.
answer should be returned. To the 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.5 It was arranged that the
soldiers should retire without arms, with white wands in
their hands — the officers remaining prisoners — and that the
burghers, their lives, and property, should be at Leicester's
disposal.6 The Earl gave most peremptory orders that persons
and goods should be respected, but his commands were dis-

1 MS. last cited. ' Ibid.
3 Ibid. * Ibid.
1 "Lest the trumpet should offer
too largely, I stepped to the breach
myself and proposed the conditions,"
£e. Sir John Norris to Mr. Wilkes,

- Sept 1586. (S. P. Office MS.)
' Leicester to the Privy Council,
3
— Sept. 1586. Sir J. Norris to Wilkes,
ubi sup. (S. P. Office MS.)

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.2
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 the capital of the old Landgraves
of Zutphen. It is situate on the right bank of the Yssel, that
branch of the Ehine which flows between Gelderland and
Overyssel into the Zuyder-Zee.
The ancient river, broad, deep, and languid, glides through
a plain of almost boundless extent, till it loses itself in the
flat and misty horizon. On the other side of the stream, in
the district called the Veluwe,3 or bad meadow, were three
sconces, one of them of remarkable strength. An island
between the city and the shore was likewise well fortified.
On the landward side the town was protected by a wall and
moat sufficiently strong in those infant days of artillery.
Near the hospital-gate, on the east, was an external fortress
guarding the road to Warnsfeld. This was a small village,

1 Norris to Wilkes, MS.
3 Huddleston to Burghley, 3 Sept.
1586. (S. P. Office MS.) Leicester to
Privy Council, 6 Sept. 1586. (S. P.
Off. MS.) Sir John Norris to Wilkes,
6 Sept. 1586. (S. P. Office MS.) Com
pare Hoofd, Vervolgh, 184. Bor, II.
750. Stowe, 736. Brace's 'Leyc.
Corresp.' 406, 407.
The town was "rifled," but it was
" but poor, with nothing to answer the

need and greediness of tho soldiers,"
said Huddleston, adding that " divers
disorders were committed, as in such
cases it happeneth, though (God be
thanked) none specially notorious."
3 Veluwe, 'bad meadow,' in opposi
tion to Betuwe (Batavia), 'good
meadow.' Bet is the . positive, now
obsolete in German, Dutch, and Eng
lish, of the comparative, better.

1586. HE LAYS SIEGE TO ZUTPHEN. 45
with a solitary slender church-spire, shooting up above a
cluster of neat one-storied houses. It was about an English
mile from Zutphen, in the midst of a wide, low, somewhat
fenny plain, which, in winter, became so completely a
lake, that . peasants were not unfrequently drowned in 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 tho 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 Yssei ; driven, as they had
been, from the Meuse and Ehine.
Sir John Norris, by Leicester's direction, took possession of
a small rising-ground, called ' Gibbet Hill/ on the land-side,
where he estabhshed a fortified camp, and proceeded to invest
the city. With him were Count Lewis William of Nassau,
and Sir Philip Sidney, while the Earl himself/ crossing the
Yssel on a bridge of boats which he had constructed, reserved
for himself the reduction of the forts upon the Yeluwe side.
Farnese, 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 Eheinberg, and came to Wesel.1 At this place he built
a bridge over the Rhine, and fortified it with two block-houses.
These he placed under command of Claude Berlot, who was
ordered to watch strictly all communication- up the river with
1 Strada, II. 448.

4g THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. IX.
the city of Eheinberg, which he thus kept in a partially
beleaguered state. Alexander then advanced rapidly by way
of Groll and Burik, both which places he took possession of,
to the neighbourhood of Zutphen. He was 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 Yerdugo — 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.1
Tassis, lieutenant-governor of Gelderland, was ordered
into the city with two cornets of horse and six hundred foot.
As large a number had already been stationed there. Yer
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.2
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. 0f 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.3 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,"4 who had en
trenched himself very strongly, and was supposed to have
thirty-five hundred men under his command. His position
seemed quite impregnable. The rest of the English were on
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 Simarcas, MS.)
2 Ibid. Compare Strada, II. 448, 450.
s Letter to Phi'.ip, ubi sup. i Ibid.

1586.

WHICH PARMA PREPARES TO RELIEVE.

47

furiously,"1 and skirmishing parties were sent out of the
town to annoy them. In the darkness nothing of conse
quence was effected, but a Scotch officer was captured, who
informed the Spanish commander that the enemy was fifteen
thousand strong — a number which was nearly double that of
Leicester's actual force. In the morning Alexander returned
to his camp at Borkelo — leaving Tassis in command of the
Yeluwe Forts, and Yerdugo 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, 1 Oct., n.s.,
Bentivoglio, Sesa, and others, were accordingly de- 1586- -
tailed for this expedition.2 The Marquis del Yasto, 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 ho would reach a certain hillock not
far from Warnsfeld 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 Yerdugo, 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 Yega who contrived to
send intelligence of the fact. A trooper, whom Parma had
himself .sent to Yerdugo 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,

i Parma to Philip, "a furia." MS.
before cited. ' ¦ »
"These are Parma's own figures.
(Letter to Philip, as above.) ' Every
historian gives a different statement

one from another. Leicester declared
that . Crescia , told him, "upon his
honour, that there were fifteen cornets
of horse and 3,000 foot." Brace's
'Leyc. Corresp.' 417.

48 THE' UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. IX.
but he was not aware that the convoy would be accompanied
by so strong a force as had really been detailed. •
He had accordingly ordered Sir John Norris, who 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.s, Thursday morning, in the neighbourhood of Warns-
1586. fel(j 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, sound like the roll-call for some chivalrous
tournament. There were Essex and Audley, Stanley, Pel
ham, Eussell, both the Sidneys, all the Norrises, men whose
valour had been proved on many a hard-fought battle-field.
There, too, was the famous hero of British ballad whose name
was so often to ring on the plains of the Netherlands —
" The brave Lord Willoughby,
Of courage fierce and fell,
Who would not give one inch of way
For all the devils in hell."
Twenty such volunteers as these sat on horseback that 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
^ _, , " September 22
* Thursday  -. 1586.
October •£

15S6. THE ENGLISH INTERCEPT THE CONVOY. 49
to the insidious tongue of Eoland York — that bold, plausible,
unscrupulous partisan, already twice a renegade, of whom
more was ere long to be heard in the Netherlands and Eng
land. Of the man's courage there could be no doubt, and he
was about to fight that morning in the front rank at the head
of his company. But he had, for some mysterious reason,
been bent upon persuading the Earl that the Spaniards were
no match for Englishmen at a hand-to-hand contest. When
they could ride freely up and down, he said,, and use their
lances as they liked, they were formidable. But the English
were stronger men, better riders, better mounted, and better
armed. The Spaniards hated helmets and proof armour,
while the English trooper, in casque, cuirass, and greaves,
was a living fortress impregnable to Spanish or Italian light
horsemen. And Leicester seemed almost convinced by his
reasoning.1 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 1586-
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 cornet 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.

1 Reyd, v. 82, 83. Bor, H. 750, 751,
Compare Meteren, xiii. 237,- who says
that York was suspected ' of being
secretly in league with Earnese, to
contrive this ambuscade, and thus to
bring so many English nobles of dis
tinction to death or captivity. There
VOL. II. — E

is no doubt that when he 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.

50

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. IX.

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.1 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 Yasto rode
at the head of the force, surrounded by a band of mounted
arquebus men. The cavalry, under the famous Epirote chief
George Crescia, Hannibal Gonzaga, Bentivoglio, Sesa, Conti,
and other distinguished commanders, followed ; the columns
of pikemen and musketeers lined the hedge-rows on both
sides the causeway ; while between them ' the long train
of waggons came slowly along under their protection.2 The
whole force had got in motion after having sent notice of their
arrival to Yerdugo, 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 ! " 3
As he spoke he dashed, lance in rest, upon the enemy's
cavalry, overthrew the foremost man, horse and rider, shivered
his own spear to splinters, and then, swinging his curtel-axe,
rode merrily forward.4 His whole little troop, compact as an

1 Hoofd, Vervolgh, 186.
* Parma to Philip II. 30 Oct 1586.
(Arch, de Simancas, MS.) Compare

Strada, II. 450, 452. Bentivoglio,
P. II. L. iv. 311. Bor, H 750, 751.
' Archer, in Stowe, 736. * Ibid.

1586.

BATTLE OP WARNSFELD.

51

arrow-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
formed again to renew the attack. Sir Philip Sidney, on
coming to the field, having met Sir William Pelham, the
veteran lord marshal, lightly armed, had with chivalrous
extravagance thrown off his own cuishes, and now rode to the
battle with no armour but his cuirass.1 At the second charge
his horse was shot under him, but, mounting another, he was
seen everywhere in the thick of the fight, behaving himself
with a gallantry which extorted admiration even from the
enemy. For the battle was a series of personal encounters in which
high officers were doing the work of private soldiers. Lord
North, who had been lying "bed-rid" with a musket-shot in
the leg, had got himself put on horseback, and " with one
boot on and one boot off," bore himself " most lustily " -through
the whole affair.2 - "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." 3
Sir Wiuiam Eussell 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."4 Lord
Willoughby encountered George Crescia, general of the
famed Albanian cavalry, unhorsed him at the first shock,5
and rolled him into the ditch. " I yield me thy prisoner,"
called out the Epirote in French, "for thou art a preux
chevalier;" while Willoughby, trusting to his captive's word,

1 Brooke's Sidney II. 31, 32.
1 Archer, in Stowe, ubi sup. Bruee's
'Leyc. Corresp.' 417. 29 May
" North to Burghley, — — , 1586.
o Juno

(S. P. Office MS.) - .
4 Archer, in Stowe, 737.
5 Ibid. Leicester to Burghley, Sept
1586. (S. P. Office MS.)

52

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.'

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
Wilham Stanley's horse had seven bullets in him, but bore
his rider unhurt to the end of the battle. Leicester declared
Sir William and " old Eeade " to be " worth their weight in
pearl." 1
Hannibal Gonzaga, leader of the Spanish cavalry, fell
mortally wounded.2 The Marquis del Yasto, 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.3 The most obstinate
struggle took place 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.4
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 ,
charge,' rode quite through the enemy's ranks till he came
upon their entrenchments, when a musket-ball from the camp
struck him upon the thigh, three inches above the' knee.
Although desperately wounded in a part which should have
been protected by the cuishes which he had thrown aside, he
was not inclined to leave the field ; but his own horse had
been shot under him at the beginning of the action, and the one

1 "I will leave no labour 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." (North to Burghley, MS.
last cited.) This is the mettle the gal
lants of Elizabeth's court were made

of. Compare 'Leyc. Corresp.' 417.
" "The Count Hannibal
was killed, with three . others whose
names we know not, but they had cas
socks all embroidered and laced with
silver and. gold." ¦ Leicester to' Burgh
ley, Sept. 1586. (S. P. Office MS.) •
' Strada, II. 452. * Ibid

1586. SIR PHILIP SIDNEY WOUNDED. 53
upon which he was now mounted became too restive for him,
thus crippled, to control. He turned reluctantly away, and
rode a mile and a half back to the entrenchments, suffering
extreme pain, for his leg 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."1 He then pledged his
dying comrade in a draught,' and was soon afterwards met by
his uncle. "Oh, Philip," cried Leicester, in despair, "I am
truly grieved to see thee in this plight." But Sidney com
forted him with manful words, and assured him that death
was sweet in the cause of his Queen and country. Sir Wil
liam Eussell, too, all blood-stained from the fight, threw his
arms around his friend, wept like a child, and kissing his
hand, exclaimed, " Oh ! noble ' Sir Philip, never did man
attain hurt so honourably or serve so valiantly as you." 2 Sir
William Pelham declared . " that Sidney's noble courage in
the face of our enemies had won him a name of continuing
honour." 3
The wounded gentleman was borne back to the camp, and
thence in a barge to Arnheim. The fight was over. Sir John
Norris bade Lord Leicester " be merry, for," said he, " you havo
had the honourablest day. A handful of men has driven the
enemy three times to retreat."4 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

1 Brooke's Sidney, II. 32. It is to
be regretted that Lord Brooke does
not give the authority for this -beauti
ful and universally cherished anec
dote. I have searched in vain for its
confirmation through many contem
porary letters and chronicles. There
is no reason for rejecting its authen
ticity, but it would have been an ex
quisite plsasure to find it , recorded,
for instance, iu a letter from Pelham,

or North, or Norris, or Leicester — all
of whom speak of Sidney's gallantry
in the action, but not one of whom
was acquainted , with, or thought it
worth -, while to mention tho charac
teristic and touching trait.
* Stowe, 737. ge
* Pelham to Walsingham, -' °f'>,
1586. (S. P. Office MS.)
* Stowe, ubi sup.

54

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. IX.

the chief work had been done by the fifty or sixty volunteers
and their followers.1 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." 2 Two thousand men now sallied from the Loor-
Gate, under Yerdugo and Tassis,3 to join the force under
Yasto, and the English were forced to retreat. The whole
convoy was then carried into the city, and the Spaniards
remained masters of the field.4
Thirteen troopers and twenty-two foot soldiers, upon the
English side, were killed. The enemy lost perhaps two hun-
sept- m. dred men. They were thrice turned from their
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. Yery 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

1 Brace's 'Leyc. Corresp.' 417.
3 Reyd, v. 83. ¦
s Parma to Philip, 30 Oct. 1586.
MS. 4 .Ibid. Leicester observes in the
letter to Burghley (Sept. — , 1586, S. P.
Office' MS.) -that, "notwithstanding
all these troops, the Prince, did not
put "in" one waggon, save thirty which
got in in the night." Alexander,
however, states expressly the reverse,
and congratulates Philip on the entire
success of the undertaking : —
"Pero nos debemos cpntentar con
lo sucedido, pues allende de haber
quedado la campaua por nosotros, y
salido con nuestra pretension, y a la
barba . de tan buen numero con tanta
poca gente (!) haber metido y sacado
tanto carnage" &c. Letter to Philip,
30 Oct. 1586. MS.
There can be no doubt whatever
that the Prince was entirely correct in
his statement. The result 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
affair in which his own bad general

ship had been as signal as the heroism
which it had called . forth. Certainly
Zutphen, ou that and the succeeding
days, was thoroughly relieved. The
errors, wilful or otherwise, as to tho
numbers engaged and respectively
lost were greater on both sides than
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, II. 450, 452. Bor, II.
750, 751. Stowe, .737, 738. Hoofd,
Vervolgh, 186, 187. Reyd, v. 83, 84.
Meteren, xiii. 237. Bentivoglio, P. II.
L. IV. 311, el mult. al.
See also R. W. Tadama, Gesohiedeni3
der Stad Zutphen ('Arnhem en Zut
phen,' 1586), an interesting work, care
fully written, and of great research;
composed mainly from Original un
published documents. I desire to ex
press my thanks to tho learned author
for the kindness with which he guided
me over Zutphen and its neighbour
hood, pointing out everything con
nected with the battle and the siege..

1586.

RESULTS OP THE ENCOUNTER.

fighting, 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.1
" I think I may call it," said Leicester, " the most notable
encounter that hath been in our age, and it will remain to
our posterity famous." 2
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,

1 Strada, II. 451.
5 Brace's 'Leyc. Corresp.' 41G : —
" That Thursday may run amongst
any of our Thursdays," said the Earl,
('Leyc. Corresp.' 430), adding, with a
most ingenuous reference to himself,
"In my former letters I forgot one,
who not only on that day but at every
day's service hath been a principal
actor himself. A tall, wise, rare ser
vant he is, as any I know, and of mar
vellous 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.
There is hardly a battle on record
about which the accounts are so hope
lessly conflicting as are those which
relate to the battle of Zutphen. The
reason is obvious. The skirmish was
a comparatively unimportant one.
The fate of Sidney has invested it
with undying interest, 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
less would otherwise have done, to
Lord Burghley. Pelham, Norris, and
Leicester, are all meagre on this occa
sion in details. Archer, in Stowe, is
fuller, but Parma, in his letters to
Philip, though copious, is confused.

As a specimen of conflicting statistics
it may be observed that the number of
English actually engaged, according
to the statement of the commander-in-
chief to his government, was 550,
horse and foot together. The Span
ish, according to Pamese's letter to
Philip, was about 3,100 in all. Strada
gives the samo number, writing from
other letters of Parma, and puts the
English at 3000 foot and 400 horse,
exactly tho same number that is given
in the MS. letters of Simancas, and
about seven times as many as were
really in the field. Leicester puts the
Spaniards at 1,200 horse and 3,000
foqt-rabout 1,000 more than the actual
numbers. No doubt the numbers en
gaged on each side should be taken
as correctly stated by the respective
generals. There were therefore about
3,100 Spaniards to 550 English.
Leicester gives the number of killed
and wounded as 33 English and from
250 to 350 Spaniards.
Parma states tho number of Spaniards
killed as 9 (1), wounded 29, while he
reports 200 English killed.
It ' seems impossible , that .there
could have been less than 150 or 200
Spaniards killed, which is not 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 fruitless
. calculations.

56 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 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 they all so well escaped (save my dear
nephew), I would not for ten thousand pounds but they had
been there, since they have all won that honour they have.
Your Lordship never heard of such desperate charges as
they gave upon the enemies in the face of their muskets." 1
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
Arnheim, 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 Hohenlo 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.2 Notwithstanding his own
critical condition, however, Hohenlo sent his surgeon, Adrian
van den Spiegel, a man of great skill, to wait upon Sir
Philip,3 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 be
transported in a litter to Arnheim.4
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

1 Letter to Burghley, MS. before
cited. " Stowe, 738. Bor, II. 728.

* Letter of Hohenlo, in Bor, III.
123. 4 Letter of Hohenlo, in Bo-, III. 123.

1586. DEATH OF SIDNEY AT ARNHEIM 57
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
him, with the revelations of Scripture and with the dictates
of natural religion. He made his will with minute and ela
borate provisions, 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 Eobert,
" Love my memory. Cherish my friends. Above all,
govern your will and affections by the will and word of your
Creator ; in me beholding the end of this world with all her
vanities." 1
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."2 And well he might hold
this opinion, for, in the meagre state of both the Spanish and
the liberating armies, the addition of three thousand fresh
reiters and as many infantry would be enough to turn the
scale. The Duke of Parma — for, since the recent death of
his father, Farnese had succeeded to his title3 — determined in
person to seek the German troops, and to destroy them if
possible. But they never gave him the chance.4 Their
muster-place was Bremen, but when they heard that the
terrible c Holofernese' was in pursuit of them, and that the
commencement of their service would be a pitched battle with
his Spaniards and Italians, they broke up and scattered about

1 Brooke's Sidney, II. 32, 40. Sid
ney Papers, 104, seq.
1 Parma to Philip, 30 Oct. 1586.
Arch, de Simancas, MS.
3 Philip II. to Parma, 19 Oct. 1586.
(Archiv. de Simancas, MS.) • " Hence
forth," said the King, "I will be both
father and mother to you."

4 Bentivoglio is much mistaken (P.
II. L. iv. 311) in giving an account of
a pitched battle between Alexander
and these mercenaries, in which they
are represented as having been utterly
defeated. The victory was quite
bloodless, and it cost the victor ooly
a couple of gold chains.

58

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

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 heroes listened very favourably
to his proposals, although they had already received-— besides
the tricks and promises-r-at least one hundred thousand florins
out of the States' treasury.2
After proceeding thus far in the negotiation, however,
Parma concluded, as the season was so far advanced, that it
was sufficient to have dispersed them, and to have deprived
the English and, patriots of their 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." 3

1 Parma to Philip, 30 Oct. 1586. MS.
bst cited. a Meteren, xiii. 236.
3 Parma to Philip, MS. last cited.
According to Meteren (ubi sup.)
this mysterious dispersion of the Ger
man troops was owing to the intrigues
of Leicester's English advisers, who
were unwilling that 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 by its junction with his
own army the Earl was about to have
Parnese in his power. "Prom this
time forth,", says Meteren, "it was
obvious that Leicester was governed
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 officers were
punished with imprisonment, degrada

tion, and loss of nobility and armorial
bearings, and the money paid as their
"waart geld" was sent back to Hol
land. (Le Petit, ' Grand Chronique,'
II. 536.)
Reyd is still more severe. Ho
maintains that Leicester withheld tho
pay which the States had furnished
for 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 Lewis. Count Yssel-
stein, who had been sent by the Earl
to deal with these mercenaries and to
promise their money, was furious at
the treachery of which ho conceived
Leicester guilty, and did not scruplo
to say in large companies: "Leicester
has done . two great things in his life.
He has made my old page, Martin
Schenk a knight, and myself a liar."
(Reyd, 'NederL Gesch.' v. 85.)
The suspicion, as wo have seen, was
quite groundless, and Ysselstein and
the historian (who was private secre
tary to Count William Lewis) very
much mistaken.

1580. GALLANTRY OF EDWARD STANLEY. 59
During the period which intervened between the action at
Warnsfeld 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.1
The great fortress which commanded the Yeluwe, and which
was strong enough to have resisted Count Hohenlo on a
former occasion for nearly a whole year, was the sceue 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
1 Strada, II. 453, 454. Hoofd, Vervolgh, 188. Bor, II. 752. Wagenaar,
viii. 136.

60

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. IX.

marks sterling for life. " Since I was born, I did never see
any man behave himself as he did," said the Earl. " I shall
never forget it, if I live a thousand year, and he shall have
a part of my living for it as long as I live." 1
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 Eobert Yorke, with one thousand
more, in the great sconce before Zutphen ; took his departure
for the Hague.2 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 Ehine, while they had with diffi
culty maintained themselves on the Flemish coast and upon
the Yssel.
It is now necessary to glance at the internal politics of the
Eepublic during the period of Leicester's administration and
to explain the position in which he found himself at the close
of the year.

1 Brace's ' Leyc. Corresp.' 428.
Compare Strada, II. 455, 456. Hoofd,
Vervolgh, 188. Meteren, xiii. 237,

who says that Leicester presented
Stanley with a life-rent of six hundred
florins (£60). ' Bor, II. 753.

1586. SHOULD ELIZABETH ACCEPT THE SOVEREIGNTY ? 61

CHAPTER X.
Should Elizabeth accept the Sovereignty? — The Effects of her Anger —
Quarrels between the Earl and the States — The Earl's three Counsellors —
Leicester's Finance-Chamber — Discontent of the Mercantile Classes —
Paul Buys and the Opposition — Keen Insight of Paul Buys — Truchsess
becomes a Spy upon him — Intrigues of Buys with Denmark — His
Imprisonment — The Earl's Unpopularity — His Quarrels with the States
— And with the Norrises — His Counsellors Wilkes and Clerke — Letter
from the Queen to Leicester — A Supper Party at Hohenlo's — A drunken
Quarrel — Hohenlo's Assault upon Edward Norris — DI Effects of tka
Riot.
The brief period of sunshine had been swiftly followed by
storms. The Governor Absolute had, from the outset, been
placed in a false position. Before he came to the 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
been fully justified in extending her sceptre over a free people,
who, under no compulsion and without any diplomatic chicane,
had selected her for their hereditary chief. So far as regarded
England, the annexation to that country of a continental
cluster of states, inhabited by a race closely allied to it by
blood, religion, and the instinct for pohtical freedom, 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 wealth 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

62

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

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.1 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.2
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 countries
— although perhaps an objection in the eyes of Elizabeth
Tudor — should certainly have been a recommendation to her
liberty-loving subjects. The question of defence had been
satisfactorily answered. The Provinces, if an integral part of
the English empire, could protect themselves, and would
become an additional element of strength, not a troublesome
encumbrance. The difference of language was far less than that which
already existed between the English and their Irish fellow-
subjects, while it was counterbalanced by sympathy, instead

' Hoofd, xxiii. 1039, 1042. Wage
naar, viii. 102, 104; 141, 142.
J " Neither do I. easily see," wrote
Richard Cavendish, "how the cause
may be remedied, unless it may please
her most excellent Majesty to take
that upon her which the whole people
(and specially they of the wiser sort)
both crave and cry for, namely, the
sovereignty  There is no
doubt but the revenues will suffice to
the driving of the enemy out of these
countries for ever, and afterward in
clear profit unto her Majesty far sur
mount the receipts at home." Caven
dish to Burghley, 9 April, 1586. (S. P.
Office MS.)
"The people," said Leicester, "still
pray God that her Majesty will be
their sovereign. She would then sco

what a contribution they will all bring
forth." Leicester to Burghley,' 18
June, 1586. (S. P. Office MS.)
" I may safely say to your Majesty,"
said he at about the same period,
"that if your aid had been in such
apparent sort to the countries that
they might assure themselves of any
certain time of continuance of tho
same, and that you had taken their
cause indeed to heart, I am verily
persuaded that they would have given
very good testimonies by their very
largo 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. (S. P. Office MS.)

1586. SHOULD ELIZABETH ACCEPT THE SOVEREIGNTY ? 63
of being aggravated by mutual hostility in the matter of
religion. With regard 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 allegiance.
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 ambition was a noble one, if, by thus
consenting to the urgent solicitations of a free people, she
extended the region of civil and religious liberty, and raised
up a permanent bulwark against sacerdotal and royal 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 error. The negotiations of Parma and his sovereign
with the English court were a masterpiece of deceit on the
part of Spain. We have shown, by the secret correspondence,
and we shall in the sequel make it still clearer, that Philip
only intended to amuse his antagonists ; that he had already
prepared his plan for the conquest of England, down to the
minutest details ; that 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 ; while, in a rehgious, moral, pohtical, 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

64 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. X.
seemed likely to gain by the step, for the States did not
consider themselves strong enough to maintain the inde
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 delegated by the sovereign.
Elizabeth had refused the sovereignty : it then rested with
the States. They only, therefore, were competent to confer
the power which Elizabeth wished her favourite to exercise
simply as her lieutenant-general.
. Her wrathful 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 withwhich 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.1
1 " I find the most part of the bands I tember," said Quartermaster Digges,
that came over in August and Sep- | "more than half wasted, dead and

1586.

THE EFFECTS OF HER ANGER.

65

The States, in their turn, drew the purse-strings. Tho
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
stated, because of the discredit which had been thrown upon
him from home.1
The military operations were crippled for want of funds,
but 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 Farnese,2 and bragging that Parma and them
selves could have peace whenever they liked to make it, and
affirming 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 ostentatiously3 prepared in

gone, and many of tho remainder sick,
lame, and shrewdly enfeebled, fitter
to be relieved at home in hospitals
than to take her Majesty's pay here
for soldiers. ..... Our soldiers, not
withstanding great numbers of them be
paid with earth in their graves, yet the
rest are so ill contented of their duo
for the time past, that, if pay come
not speedily, before they be drawn to
deal with the enemy, I doubt some
worse adventure than I will divine be
forehand." ' Advertisement of the pre
sent state of these Low Countries, by
T. Digges,' - March, 1586. (S. P.
Office MS.)
1 Strangely enough, Elizabeth was
under the impression that the extra
grant of 400,000 florins (40,000Z.) for
four months was four hundred thou
sand pounds sterling!-  "The rest
that was granted by the- States, as ex
traordinary to levy an army, whicli
was 400, 000 florins, not pounds, as I
hear your Majesty taketh it. It is
forty thousand pounds, and to be paid
in March, April, May, and June last,"
&c Leicester to the Queen, 11 Oct.
1586. (S. P. Office MS.)
She had certainly formed already an
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 tho
States able, over and above ilieir regu
lar contributions, to furnish an extra
ordinary supply of ono hundred thou
sand pounds a month.
3 Leicester to the Queen, 6 June,
1586. (S. P. Office MS.)
3 "Amongst all the enemy's means
to persuade his discontented and ill-fed
companions," said Cavendish, " this
seemeth to bo his sheet-anchor, name
ly, that where tho only comfort of this
people dependeth wholly upon her
Maj.'s most gracious relief and sup
port, now is thcs disposition thereof in
her so 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 from her Maj., 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 front him in tho
field, so long will this people be with
out hope, and the enemy inflamed with
assured hope of victory." Cavendish
to Burghley, 15 June, 1586. (S. P.
Office MS.)

66

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. X.

Brussels by their direction for the reception of an English
ambassador, who was every moment expected to arrive.1
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 towards her representative was a necessary result, and
the demonstrations against the common enemy became still
more languid. But for these underhand dealings, Grave,
Yenlo, and Neusz, might have been saved,2 and the current
of the Meuse and Ehine have remained in the hands of the
patriots. The Earl was industrious, generous, and desirous of playing
well his part. His personal courage was undoubted, and, in
the opinion of his admirers — themselves, some of them, men
of large military experience — his ability as a commander was
of a high order.3 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.4 " Our old
ragged rogues here have so discouraged our new men," said
Leicester; "as I protest to you they look like dead men."3
Out of eleven hundred freshly-arrived Englishmen, five hun-

1 " It is certainly , known that the
enemy hath not a little prevailed with
that stratagem, causing to be pub
lished that there was a treaty of peace
between her Majesty and him, and
that the same Bhould be shortly con-
eluded; and to make this device 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 the peace, by which means
he hath contained divers towns in
terms of obedience that were ready to

revolt, in respect of their misery, po
verty, and famine." Wilkes to Burgh
ley, 7 Aug. 1586. (S. P. Office MS.)
3 Leicester to the Queen, 20 June,
1586. (S. P. Office MS.)
3 North to Burghley, 23 May, 1586.
Same to same, 29 May, 1586. Heneage
to Walsingham, 25 May, 1586. (S. P.
Office MS.)
4 Leicester to Burghley, 18 June,
1586. (S. P. Office MS.) Bruce'a
'Leyc. Corresp.' 338.
6 Brace's ' Leyc. Corresp.' 338.

1586. QUARRELS BETWEEN THE EARL AND- STATES.' 67
dred ran away in two days.1 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 charge without being
assured payment for his troops beforehand.2
The valour of Sidney and Essex, Willoughby and Pelham,
Eoger Williams and Martin Schenk, was set at nought by
such untoward circumstances. Had not Phihp also left his
army to starve and Alexander Farnese 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,3 The hatred between the
Leicester faction 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 Arrni-
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 Zeeland, and guided by Barneveld, Buys, and other
leading statesmen of these Provinces, was in an attitude pre-
1 Leicester to Burghley, MS. last j (S. P. Office MS.) Compare Wagenaar,
cited. Bruce, ubi sup. 2 Ibid. viii. 142, 143.
3 Doyley to Burghley, 8 Aug. 1586." |

68 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. X
cisely the reverse of the one which he was destined at a later
and equally memorable epoch to assume. The chiefs of the
faction which had now succeeded in gaining the confidence
of Leicester were Eeingault, Burgrave, and Deventer, all
refugees. The laws of Holland and of the other United States were
very strict on the subject of citizenship, and no one but a
native was competent to hold office in each Province. 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. Eeingault 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 Cardinal's government. The refusal
of this favour was one of the original causes of Egmont's
hostility to Granvelle. Eeingault subsequently entered the
service of the Cardinal, however, and rewarded the kindness
of his former benefactor 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 Eequesens ;
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 the States to France
and to England, and had now contrived to ingratiate him
self with the Earl of Leicester. He affected great zeal for .
the Calvinistic religion — en exhibition which, in the old
servant of Granvelle and 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.1 1 Hoofd, Vervolgh, 142, 143. Reydani, V. 89, 90.

1586.

THE EARL'S THREE COUNSELLORS.

69

Gerard Proninck, called Deventer, was a respectable inha
bitant of Bois-le-Duc, who had left that city after it had
again become subject to the authority of Spain. He was of
decent life and conversation, but a restless and ambitious
demagogue. As a Brabantine, he was unfit for office ; and
yet, through Leicester's influence and the intrigues of the
democratic party, he obtained the appointment of 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.1
Daniel de Burgrave was a Flemish mechanic, who, by the
exertion of much energy and talent, had risen to the post of
procureur-general of Flanders. After the conquest of the
principal portion of that Province by Parma, he had made
himself useful to the English governor-general in various
ways, and particularly as a linguist. .He spoke English-^a
tongue with which few Netherlanders of that day were fami
liar—and as the Earl knew no other, except (very imper
fectly) Italian, he found his services in speaking and writing
a variety of languages very convenient. , He was the governor's
private secretary, and, of course, had no entrance to the
council of state, but he was accused of frequently thrusting
himself into their hall of sessions, where, under, pretence
of arranging the Earl's table, or portfolio, or .papers, he was
much addicted to whispering into his master's ear, listening
to conversation, — to eaves-dropping, in short, and general
intrusiveness.2 -
"A most faithful, honest servant is Burgrave," said Lei
cester; "a substantial, wise man.3 '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." 4
These three personages were- the leaders of the Leicester

' Hoofd, Vervolgh, izc, just cited.
1 Hoofd, Reyd., ubi sup.
3 Bruoe's 'Leyc. Corresp.' 363, 422.

4 Leicester to Walsingham, 27 July,
-1586. (S. P. Office MS.) ¦ '

70

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

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 ; the
upper branch of the municipal government, consisting of
the clerical delegates of the colleges, was in an arbitrary
manner abolished; and finally, the absolute sovereignty of
the Province, without condition, was offered to the Queen of
England.1 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.2 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,3 and 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 Eeingault, who promised him
mountains of money, and who was to be chief treasurer.4 Paul

1 Bor, II. 722.
3 Hoofd, 1039, 1042. Wagenaar, viii.
142. .
- a Brace's ' Leyc. Corresp.' 1585 ;
"And," said he to the Lord Mayor and
Aldermen of London, "you may all
sleep, quietly in England, so long as
these countries may be held in their
earnest good-will."
4 Bor, II. 722.
Leicester to, Burghley, 28 Juno,
1586. Cavendish to same, 19 June, 1583.

Leicester to the Queen, 26 June, 1586.
Same to same, 27 June, 1586. Wilkes
to. Lords of Council, 20 Aug. 1586.
(S. P. Office MSS.)
"The Prince of Orange," said
Cavendish (MS. ubi sup.), "being not
ignorant of the frauds of the States,
often levelled at this matter (a finance-
council), but was never able to hit it,
because they knew he was poor, and
had no way else to live but upon their
alms-basket  Amongst other

1586.

LEICESTER'S PINANCE-CHAMBER.

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 Eeingault was not fit to be his clerk, and
that he was not likely himself, therefore, to accept a humble
post under the administration of such an individual. This
scornful refusal filled to the full the hatred of Leicester
against the ex- Advocate of Holland.1
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
vessels.2 It would certainly seem, at first sight, that such an

things, there is one impost granted by
favour to some parties for 1001. by tho
year, which is indeed worth 8,000Z.
With, these tricks havo 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 revenuo by a more
judicious farming. But ho 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 tho
Queen, ubi sup.), "estabhshed, against
the wills of somo here, a chamber of
finance, by which I shall be sure to
be privy to the levying and bestowing
of all their revenues — a matter your
Majesty hath often sought to 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 the 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 with them of late,
to bring the office of finance to pass.
I had a good will to havo dealt long
since roundly with them, I confess,
but my case was too well known to
them. But as soon as my heartening
camo from mmo old supporter, I was
found a more shrew than your Majesty
will believo; for mine old patience
hath been too much tried since I
came from my quiet homo to this
wayward generation."
"I find that until the tirno of ray
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 her Majesty tho whole state of
their strength. ' Bor, II. 722.
3 Bor, IL 703, seq. who is, however,

72

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

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. Leicester expected to derive a con
siderable revenue by granting passports and licenses to
such neutral traders, but the edict became so unpopular
that it was never thoroughly enforced, and was before long
rescinded.1 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.2
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 bo removed from Emden — the petty sovereign of
which place was the humble servant of Spain — to Amsterdam
or Delft. The desire was certainly natural, and the Dutch
merchants sent a committee to confer with Leicester. Ho
was much impressed with their views, and with the sagacity
of their chairman, one My 1 ward, " a wise fellow and well
languaged, an ancient man and very religious," as the Earl
pronounced him to be.3
Notwithstanding tho wisdom of this well-languaged fellow,
however, the Queen, for some strange reason, could not bo

mistaken in ascribing tho measure to
the inspiration of Leicester.
1 Bor, II., 703, seq. Wagenaar, viii.
147, seq. who is in this matter even
more unjust to tho Earl than con
temporary authorities.
3 Leicester to the Queen, 11 Oct.
1586. (S. P. Office MS.)
" I havo very good testimony of all
the council here," said tho Earl, "that
I only in council stood against the
placard, insomuch it lay a month by,
for indeed I thought it unreasonablo
and that it would givo all princes just
cause of offence toward this country,
and, by all duty to your Majesty, I /
did refuse io let it pass. At length,
loth States and council renewed the
matter again to mc, and Bhowed 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 till I had advertised your Ma
jesty thereof, which they all liked well.
4nd after it was agreed and published,
it was again by my means revoked and
qualified, as doth appear by record."
Compare Meteren, xiii. 234™. Wago-
naar, ubi sup. Bor, ubi sup. who
seems to be mistaken on this point
The real author, of the edict was
Reingault. (Meteren, ubi sup.)
3 Leicester to Burghley, 29 July.
1586. (S. P. Offico MS.)

1585

DISCONTENT OF THE MERCANTILE CLASSES.

73

induced to change the staple from Emden, although it was
shown that the public revenue of the Netherlands would
gain twenty thousand pounds a year by the measure. " All
Holland will cry out for it," said Leicester ; " but I had rather
they cried than that England should weep." 1
Thus the mercantile community, and especially the patri
cian families of Holland and Zeeland, all engaged in !trade,
became more and more hostile to the governor-general and
to his financial trio, who were soon almost as unpopular as
the famous Consulta of Cardinal Granvelle had been. It was
the custom of the States to consider the men who surrounded
the Earl as needy and unprincipled renegades and adventurers.
It was the policy of his advisers to represent the merchants
and the States — which mainly consisted of, or wero controlled
by merchants — as a body of corrupt, selfish, greedy money-
getters.3

1 Leicester to Burghley, 10 Aug.
1586. (S. P. Office MS.)
3 "The wonderful cunning dealing
of those fellows here called the States
concerning tho finances and the re
ceipt of revenue, whereupon tho people
rest greatly grieved, and themselves,
as is thought, no . less enriched."
Cavendish to Burghley, 9 April, 1586.
(S. P. Office MS.)
"The States bo sly persons," said
Lord North, " inconstant and treacher
ous, the most of them Papists (!), and
so rich as they will do any turn to
serve themselves. If they again find
that her Majesty likes not of my
Lord's authority, they will doubt of
their own safety, practiso their own
peace, and leavo my Lord and all his
to tho spirit cf tho enemy. North to
Burghley, 23 May, 1586. (S. P. Office
MS.) " These bo dainty and dangerous
people to deal withal" said Leicester,
" specially when they shall be des
perate of their hope, and disappointed
of their help. I must say truly to
your Majesty I do find some of the
best sort as honest and as thankful as
over I knew men, and some others as
perverse and as ingrato as might well
bo spared out of all good company.

There are 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, 158G.
(S. P. Office MS.)
"The whole people," 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 for her service
and their general good, and in respect
of whom they would willingly cashier
or rather hang all those called States.
Your Lordship may think I writo
vehemently, but I know I write truly."
Cavendish to Burghley, 19 June, 1586.
(S. P. Office MS.)
"It will bo a harder matter," said
Leicester again, " than you can ima
gine, to bring this State in that tune
it was three months past. It will
require a, whole and full countenance
from her Majesty and with all speed
possible; if you will have it kept from
the enemy. And beware these fellows
do not prevent her Majesty. If they
do, you can consider how harmful it
i3 like to prove, and though they be
counted dullards and drunkards, tlie-j

74

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. X

The calumnies put in circulation against the States by
Eeingault 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.1 Leicester, on the other hand, under the

have shrewd and subtle heads as ever I
found anywhere  The best man
in England were not too good, as mat
ters stand, to be employed hither, either
io encourage them thoroughly, or to
understand their estate more deeply."
Leicester to Burghley, 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 handling had in these causes.
There is no moro such people to deal
withal again. I mean these that bo
rich and politic fellows. They hunt
after their own 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 same, 29 July, 1586.
(S. P. Office MS.)
"They havo given to raj Lord of
Leicester," said Wilkes, " a govern
ment with the word absolute, but with
so many restrictions that his authority
13 limited almost to nothing, and he is
in truth for the politic 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 themselves
from rendering account of anything,
they do impugn his court of finances
now erected, alleging that he hath
not authority to erect any such court,
or to establish offices without their
license." Wilkes to Lords of Council,
20 Aug. 1586. (S. P. Office MS.)
" Tho exactions and excises aro in

credible that are laid on this people,"
said Digges, " and such as iu all pro
bability do amount to three times as
much (!) as the 200,000 florins monthly
which they allow his Excellency to
prosecute the war. The rest they
divide among themselves . . . giving
great stipends to Count Hollock,
Count Maurice, Count Meurs, Count
William, and many colonels. But, for
all this, the States offer that there
shall bo new impositions to levy
more." T. Digges's 'Advertisement of
present state of the Low Countries,'
- March,. 1586. (S. P. Office MS.)
1 "You have doubtless understood,"
said the States, " of the erection of
the finance-council for the better hus
banding of the money furnished by
these countries, of the which Jacques
Ringault is ordained treasurer. ....
Stephen Perret (a seditious person,
often imprisoned, and a fraudulent
bankrupt), being come out of Antwerp
after the yielding up of tho same,
hath kept correspondence with Rin
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 the country, and
propounded manifold novelties unto
his Excellency whereby to levy money,
and in the propounding thereof shame
fully slandered the Estates with inju
rious, seditious, and untrue reports and
drifts. After Ringault's arrival here,
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 themselves out of the calamity
and misery of these countries, have

1586.

PAUL BUYS AND THE OPPOSITION.

75

inspiration of his artful advisers, was vehement in his en
treaties that Ortell should be sent away from England.1
The ablest and busiest of the opposition-party, the " nimblest
head"2 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 ill 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 thick at a time" — and

made agreement between them in
April last that all that which they, by
means of any new invention by them
already propounded or yet to bo pro
pounded unto his Excellency, should
get or enjoy, that the some should be
divided between them. And after that
he sought of his Excellency the 20th
penny of all that which should
proceed of his pretended inventions.
To which end Ringault, with his own
hand, has drawn an octroi, or warrant,
and got his Excellency to sign the
same, 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 the common
means, which so laudably and with
such great travail His Excellency of
worthy ¦ memory (William of OraDge)
brought in train, and so to bring it
into collectation, thereby to intrudo
themselves and such other (having no
credit) to farm any of the said general
means in the collectation. The fore
said Perret and Ringault havo 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 his Excellency

to do all that which they imagined to
serve to their intent. To which end
they have used many unheard-of and
indecent proceedings without order of
law, and against the privileges and
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 friends (a company of
strangers) many offices and receipts,
thinking to deal with the same ac
cording to their own pleasure and
appetite. All which we have at largo
imparted to Mr. Wilkes, showed him
the original pieces, and given him good
instruction by writing thereof, 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 Ortell, 12
Sept. 1586. (S. P. Office MS.)
1 " You have there his (Paul Buys's)
agent Ortell. It were well he wero
thence. I did send twice for him,
but ho excuseth himself." . Leiceste?
to Burghley, 20 July, 1586. (S. P.
Office MS.) Compare 'Leyc. Corresp.'
311. 3 Bart. Clerk to Burghley, 24 July,
1586. (S. P. Offico MS.)

76

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. X

openly pronounced him to be "in ability above all men."1
" No man hath ever sought a man," he said, " as I have
sought P. B."2
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; dangerous man,
altogether hated of the people and the States;" "a lewd
sinner, nursled in revolutions ; " a most covetous, bribing
fellow, caring for nothing but to bear the sway and grow
rich ;" "a man who had played many parts, both lewd and
audacious ;" " a very knave, a traitor to his country ;" " the
most ungrateful wretch alive, a hater of the Queen and of all
the English ; a most unthankful man to her Majesty ; a prac-
tiser to make himself rich and great, and nobody else ;"
' " among all villains the greatest;" "a bolsterer of all papists and
ill men, a dissembler, a devil, an atheist," a "most naughty
man, and a most notorious drunkard in the worst degree."
Where the Earl hated, his hatred was apt to be deadly, and
he was determined, if possible, to have the life of the detested
Paul. " You shall see I will do well enough with him, and
that shortly," he said. " I will course him as he was not so
this twenty year. I will warrant him hanged and one or two
of his fellows, but you must not tell your shirt of this yet ;"
and when he was congratulating the government on his
having at length procured the execution of Captain Hemart,
the surrenderer of Grave, he added, pithily, "and you shall
hear that Mr. P. B. shall follow."3

1 Leicester to Burghlev, 10 Aug.
1586. (S. P. Office MS.)
3 Ibid.
3 Leicester to Burghley, 20 June,
1586. Samo to same, 10 Aug. 1586.
Samo to same, 20 July, 1586. B.
Clerk to same, 24 July. (S. P. Office
MSS.)

Brace's 'Leyc. Corresp.' 130, 291,
303, 310, 311, 312, 352. Cavendish
observed that " there were many false
brethren in the higher form among
the people, of whom he feared that
Paul Buys would not prove tho
puisne." Cavendish to Burghley, 15
June, 1586. (S. P. Office MS.)

1586.

KEEN INSIGHT OP PAUL BUYS.

77

Yet the Earl's real griefs against Buys may be easily
summed up. The lewd sinner, nursled in revolutions, had
detected the secret policy of the Queen's government, and
was therefore perpetually denouncing the intrigues going on
with Spain. He complained that her Majesty was tired of
having engaged in the Netherland enterprise ; he declared that
she would be glad to get fairly out of it ; that her reluctance
to spend a farthing more in the cause than she was obliged
to do was hourly increasing upon her ; that she was deceiving
and misleading the States-General; and that she was hank
ering after a peace. He . said that the Earl had a secret
intention to possess himself of certain towns in Holland, in
which case the whole question of peace and war would be in
the hands of the Queen, who would also have it thus in her
power to reimburse herself at once for all expenses that she
had incurred.1
It would be difficult to show that there was anything very
calumnious in these charges, which, no doubt, Paul was in
the habit of making. As to the ' economical tendencies of
her Majesty, sufficient evidence has been given already from
Leicester's private letters. " Eather than spend one hundred
pounds," said Walsingham, "she can be content to be de
ceived of five thousand."2 That she had been concealing
from the States, from Walsingham, from Leicester, during
the whole summer, her secret negotiations with Spain, has
also been made apparent. That she was disgusted with
the enterprise in which she had embarked, Walsingham,
Burghley, Hatton, and all the other statesmen of England,
most abundantly testified. 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 Buys — still giving out
slanderous speeches — for that 1 only
sought to ... get their towns ....
. that thereby, whensoever her Majesty
¦should think good to treat for peace,

.... I should hereby bo able to
compel them to what end she should
think good." Leicester to Walsing
ham, 20 July, 1586, in Bruce, 376.
3 Brace's 'Leyc. Corresp.' 273.

78

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. X

'¦' This I will do," he wrote to the Queen, " and I hope not
to fail of it, to get into my hands three or four most principal
places in North Holland, which will be such a strength and
assurance for your Majesty, as you shall see you shall both
ride these men and make war or peace as you list, always
provided — whatsoever you hear, or is — part not with the
Brill ; and having these places in your hands, whatsoever
should chance to these countries, your Majesty, I will warrant
sure enough to make what peace you will in an hour, and to
have your debts and charges readily answered." 1 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
he 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 property. But he had
been tampered with by the intriguing Paul Buys, and had
then wished to resign his office under Leicester. Being
pressed for reasons, he had " grown solemn," and withdrawn
himself almost entirely.
Maurice, with his " solemn sly wit," also gave the Earl
much trouble, saying little, but thinking much, and listening
to the insidious Paul. He " stood much on making or 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.2 The Earl thought that money might do much, and was

1 Leicester to the Queen, 27 Juno,
1586. (S. P. Office MS.)
3 "Tho Count Maurice hath not
been three months with his Lordship.
He is utterly discontented, and much
advised by Ste. Aldegonde, who is

assuredly the King of Spain's, and
praotiseth (as an instrument of sedi
tion) to animate the Count, by all
means possible, to thwart my Lord in
the course of her Majesty's service.
Tho Count, well advised by Ste. Aide-

1586.

TRUCHSESS BECOMES A SPY UPON HIM.

79

anxious 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
too late.1
Meantime he 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.2 " 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
he be lost, her Majesty had better lose a hundred thousand
pounds." 3
The melancholy Truchsess now became a spy and a go-
between. He insinuated himself into the confidence of Paul
Buys, wormed his secrets from him, and then communicated
them to Hohenlo and to Leicester ; " but he did it very
wisely," said the Earl, " so that he was not mistrusted." 4
The governor always affected, in order to screen the elector
from suspicion, 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." 5 As the
ex- Advocate of Holland was 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 "Villiers, repineth secretly
that her Majesty should have any
thing to do in the 'government of the
country. It is to be feared his hidden
malice will do much mischief, and
many ill offices in the common cause
now in hand." ' Matters to be related
to her Majesty by a special messenger
from the Earl of Leicester,' 20 June,
1586. (S. P. Office MS.)

Tho opinion here expressed in re
gard to Sainte Aldegonde was subse
quently and distinctly contradicted by
Wilkes. 1 Brace's 'Leyc. Corresp.' 374.
3 Ibid. 378.
3 Ibid.- 374.
4 Ibid. 377.
6 Ibid. 377.

80 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. X
eaves-droppers, that Leioester was in hopes of very soon
hanging Mr. Paul Buys, as we have already seen.
The burthen of the charges against the culprit was his
statement that the Provinces would be gone if her Majesty
did not declare herself, vigorously and generously, in then-
favour ; but, as this was the perpetual cry of Leicester him
self, there seemed hardly hanging matter in that. That
noble gentleman, the elector, however, had nearly saved
the hangman his trouble, having so dealt with Hohenlo as to
" bring him into as good a mind as ever he was ;" and the first
fruits of this good mind were, that the honest Count — a man
of prompt dealings — walked straight to Paul's house in order.
to kill him on the spot.1 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 father" than he had ever been before.2
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 quarrel between himself and Edward
Norris, to which allusion will soon be made, tended to
increase the dissatisfaction, although 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.3 The Earl was
obliged at last to confess that "he was a very dangerous man,
inconstant, envious, and hateful to all our nation, and a very
1 Brace's 'Leyc. Corresp.' 372,
' IM<J. 376. > ibid. 378.

1586.

INTRIGUES OP BUYS WITH DENMARK.

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." 1
Meantime that lewd sinner, the indefatigable Paul, was
plotting desperately — so Leicester said and believed — to
transfer the sovereignty of the Provinces to the King of Den
mark. Buys, who was privately of opinion that the States
required an absolute head, " though it were but an onion's
head,"2 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 daughter3-1— to the
same way of thinking. Young Count Eantzan, son of a dis
tinguished Danish statesman, made a visit to the Netherlands
in order to confer with Buys. Paul was also anxious to be
appointed envoy to Denmark, ostensibly to arrange for the
two 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 narrow
seas, and how formidable to England.4

1 Brace's ' Leyc. Corresp.' 446.
Wilkes had also formed an unfa
vourable opinion of the Count. "I do
not find that the States or people," he
said, "have any great affection for
him. The man is doubtless valiant,
but rash, bloody, unfortunate, and sub
ject to many imperfections. They
would willingly be rid of him, if they
might without danger." Wilkes to
the Lords of Council, -20 Aug. 1586.
.(S. P. Office MS.)
' Notes by Paul Buys, .1586. (S. P.
Office MS.) . •
3 Ibid.
1 ," Paul Buys . . perceiving of late,"
said Leicester, "that your Maj. mean-
eth not to proceed so far in these
countries as he looked for, or rather
not finding himself the absolute direc-
VOL II. — G

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
that ever he can, is the King of Den
mark — a matter not unlike to come to-
pass, if your Maj. shall not assure these
people of the continuance of your
favour, which, if they should be, all the
princes of the world cannot win them
from you; But this lewd sinner loseth
no time, where he can ; be heard, to
inform men how fickle adust there is
to be had of your Majesty's favour or
promise, Tepenting withal greatly that
he ever procured me over," being in
deed, as he says, since fallen out in no
better grace with you  If the
King should have these two provinces

82

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. X

In the midst of these plotting^, real or supposed, a party of
armed men, one fine summer's morning, suddenly entered
Paul's bedroom as he lay asleep at the house of the burgo
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 that "he would be found faulty
enough." Leicester maintained that there was stuff enough
discovered to cost Paul his head ; but he never lost his head,
nor was anything treasonable or criminal ever found against
him. The 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-

absolutely as king, you must assure
yourself he will be lord and commander
over the narrow seas, and all your
traffics, east and northward, wholly
under -his restraint, for he wiU be the
only mighty prince by sea. ... I refused
P. B. to go to the King as ambassador,
being marvellous earnest therein . . .
but I trust to come to further know:
ledge 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 Ma
jesty." Leicester to tho Queen, 20
June, 1586. (S. P. Office MS.)
"It is feared," said Cox, specially
deputed by Leicester to report this
matter to the Queen's government,
"that the King of Denmark is aliena
ted, and would be glad to have tho
sovereignty of these countries himself
Paul Buys hath not spared of late to
intend such a practice, and partici
pating the same with Count Maurice,
alleging plainly to his Lordship, that
it is commonly spoken and receivod as
current money, that her Majesty will
abandon that cause and people at
Michaelmas, and this being so, that it
were fit for them to think of some

other prince, who might protect and
defend them, before they should fall
into further misery. He was of opinion
that the King of Denmark would most
gladly entertain the action. He was
strong in shipping, and best able, in
that respect, to defend the best part
of their countries, which was Holland
and Zeeland. His speeches were often
intermingled with many coloured pro
testations, how much he desired that
her Maj. 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 greatly desired that he may
be the man to go into Denmark' to
solicit for the 2000 horses promised,
for the end he may better disguise his
purpose under this colour," &c. ' 'Mat
ters to be related to her Majesty,' 20
June, 1586. (S. P. Office MS.)
Robert Sidney was subsequently
sent to Denmark by Leicester to look
into this matter. Wilkes to Lords of
Council, 20 Aug. 1586. (S. P. Office
MS.)

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 English Queen.1
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 recover
the functions of which the Queen had deprived him. "The
government they had given from themselves to me stuck in
their stomachs always," he said. Thus on the one side, the
States were " growing more stately than ever," and were always
"jumbling underhand," while the aristocratic Earl, on his
part, was resolute not to be put down by " churls and tinkers."2
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 them," 3 said this high-born tribune
of the people. He was much disgusted with the many-headed
chimsera, the 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
leg foremost, to handle some of my masters somewhat plainly,
for they thought I would droop ; and whatsoever becomes of
me, you shall hear I will keep my reputation, or die for it." 4
But one great accusation made against the churls and
tinkers, and bakers and hired advocates, and Mr. Paul Buys
at their head, was that they were liberal towards tho Papists.
They were willing that Catholics should remain in the country
and exercise the rights of citizens, provided they conducted
themselves like good citizens. For this toleration — -a, lesson
which statesmen hke Buys and Barneveld had learned in the
school of William the Silent — the opposition-party were de-

' 'Bor. II. 725, 726, 889, 890.
Hoofd, Vervolgh, 165. Wagenaar,
viii. 161-163. Brace's 'Leyc. Corresp.'
352, 362-364, 386, 436.
Leycester to Burghley, 20 July,

1586. B. Clerk to same, 24
1586. (S. P. Office MSS.)
a Brace's 'Leyc. Corresp.' 312.
3 Ibid. 424.
i Ibid. 312.

July,

84

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. X

nounced as bolsterers of Papists, and Papists themselves at
heart, and " worshippers of idolatrous idols." 1
From words, too, the government of Leicester passed to
acts. Seventy papists were banished from the city of Utrecht
at the time of the arrest of Buys.2 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 the
welfare of their country as were the Protestants ;3 and he was
especially enjoined "not to meddle in matters of religion."
This wholesome advice it would have been quite impossible
for the Earl, under the guidance of Eeingault, 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 the
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 Anabaptists, Families of Love,
Georgians, and I know not what. The godly and good
ministers were molested by them in many places, and ready
to give over ; and even such diversities grew among magis
trates in towns, being caused by some sedition-sowers here." 4
It is however, satisfactory to reflect that the anabaptists and
families of love, although discouraged and frowned upon, were
not burned a,live, buried alive, drowned in dungeons, and
roasted at slow fires, as had been the case with them and with

.„ 3's • ' Advertisement of the
present. State,' &o. (S. P. Office MS.
before cited. "
a B. Clerk to Burghley, 24 July,

1586. (S. P. Office MS.)
3 Leicester to the Queen,1 26 June,
1586. (S. P. Office MS.)
4 Ibid.

1586. HIS QUARRELS WITH THE STATES. 85
every other species 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 acquired
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
before 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, he carried the mind and reputation of a religious
soldier."1 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.2 He com
plained, not unjustly, that from the first place in the army,
which he had occupied in the Netherlands, ho had been
reduced to the fifth.3 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
1 Brace's 'Leyc. Corresp.' 222.
' "He 6tomachs greatly the Marshal," said Leicester. Ibid. 379. s Ibid. 380.

86

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. X

of Sussex' son ; he will so dissemble and crouch, and so cun
ningly carry his doings, as no man living would imagine that
there were half the malice or vindictive mind that plainly his
words prove to be."1 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.2 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.3
The Norrises were on bad terms with many officers — -with
Sir William Pelham of course, with " old Eeade," Lord North,
Eoger Williams, Hohenlo, Essex, and other nobles — but with
Sir Philip Sidney, the gentle and chivalrous, they were
friends.4 Sir John had quarrelled in former times — according
to Leicester — with Hohenlo and even with the "good and
brave " La Noue, of the iron arm ; " for his pride," said the
Earl, " was the spirit of the devil." 5 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." 6

1 Brace's ' Leyc. Corresp.' 301.
3 ' Notes of Remembrances, by Mr.
Edward Norris,' Sept. 1586. (S. P.
Office MS.)
' " His Excellency did not only not
mislike withal that Lord North, Cap
tain William, and others, should rail
at him, but in his own presence did
suffer divers captains and noblemen to
brave him, and did liimself also grow
in great rages against him, disallowing
him openly for wise man, honest man,
or soldier; preferring many men's
wisdom and experience, saying his
patience and slyness should not save
him, not sparing openly to threaten
him to hang him; so that of every
honest man it is feared lest some mis
chief shall shortly be wrought him." Ibid.
4 Sir John Norris to Walsingham,
25 Oct. 1586. (S. P. Office MS.)

6 Leicester to Wilkes, 22 Aug. (S. P.
Office MS.) « Ibid.
Wilkes, on the contrary, had a very
favourable opinion of Norris, and
always secretly defended him to the
Queen's government against Leicester's
charges. " Besides the value, wisdom,
and many other good parts that are in
the man," he said, "I have noted a
wonderful patience and modesty in
bearing many apparent injuries done
unto him, whicli. I have known to bo
countenanced and nourished, contrary
to all reason, to disgrace him. What
soever may be reported maliciously to
his disadvantage, I dare avouch that
the Queen hath not a second subject of
his place and quality so able to serve
in these countries as he." Wilkes to
Burghley, 17 Nov. 1586. (S. P. Office
MS.)

AND WITH THE N0RRISE3.

87

He consorted chiefly with Sir Thomas Cecil,1 governor of
Brill, son of Lord Burghley, and therefore no friend to
Leicester ; but the Earl protested that " Master Thomas
should bear small rule," 2 so long as he was himself governor-
general. " Now I have Pelham and Stanley, we shall do well
enough," he said, " though my young master would counte
nance him. I will be master while I remain here, will they,
mil they."3
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 infamous 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." 4
Never was such " fleecing of poor soldiers," said Leicester.5
On the other hand, Sir John maintained that his uncle's
accounts were always ready for examination, and earnestly
begged the home-government not to condemn that functionary
without a hearing.6 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 Eoger 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.7

1 Letter to Wilkes, MS. last cited.
* Brace's 'Leyc. Corresp.' 380.
• Ibid.
4 Ibid. 299, 303.
* Leicester to tho Queen, 27 June,

1386. (S. P. Office MS.)
6 Sir J. Norris to Burghley, 25 May,
1586. (S. P. Office MS.)
7 'Notes of Remembrance,' by Ed.
Norris, MS. before cited. "His Ex-

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. X,

Thus with the tremendous opposition formed to his govern
ment in the States-General, the incessant bickerings with the
Norrises, the peculations of the treasurer, the secret negotiations
with Spain, and the impossibihty 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
done.1 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 give five thousand sixpences, and six thousand shillings
beside, to be rid of it ; " 2 but it was contrary to his dignity to
" stand hucking 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 ? " 3
The Earl and those around him perpetually and vehemently
urged upon the Queen to reconsider her decision, 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 Norris: "first,
an envy of some unworthy men about
him, who put into his Excellency's
head that as long as Norris were hero,
the honour of everything would bo
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." 1 Leicester to the Queen, 27 June,
1586. " I pray God I may live to see
you employ some of them that are
thus careless of me, to see whether

they will spend 20,0001 of their own
for you in seven months ; but all is
in mine own heart so little, though
the greatest portion of all my land
pay for it, so your Majesty do well
accept of it," &e.
The Earl expended — according to
his own report to the States — three
hundred thousand florins (30,000/.) in
the course of the year 1587. (Bor,
II. 783. Hoofd, Vervolgh, 206.) Of
course, he bad a claim for such dis
bursements on the Queen's exchequer,
and was like to enforce it at the proper
season. 3 'Leyc Corresp.' 378.
* Ibid. 323.

1586. HIS COUNSELLORS WILKES AND CLERE. 89
remedy for the distracted state of the country — no other
safeguard for England. The Netherland people anxiously,
eagerly desired it. Her Majesty was adored by all the 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 am," he said, " there is but one
way for our safety, and that is, that her Majesty may take
that upon her which I fear she will not." l Thomas Wilkes,
who now made his appearance on the scene, held the same
language. This distinguished civilian had been sent by the
Queen, early in August, to look into the state of Netherland
affairs. Leicester having expressly urged 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 2— had selected Wilkes. After fulfilling this
important special mission, he was immediately afterwards to
return to the Netherlands as English member of the state-
council, at forty shillings a-day, in the place of " little Hal
Killigrew," whom Leicester pronounced a " quicker and stouter
fellow" than he had at first taken him for, although he had
always thought well of him. The other Enghsh counsellor,
Dr. Bartholomew Clerk, was to remain, and the Earl declared
that he too, whom he had formerly undervalued, and thought
to have " little stuff in him," was now " increasing greatly in
understanding." 3 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 sedentariam, un-

1 Leicester to Burghley, 10 Aug. 1586. (S. P. Office MS.)
' Same to same, 20 July, 1586.
' 'Leyc. Corresp.' 375.

90

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. X

worthily in a place judicial, always in his long robe, and who,
twenty-four years since, was a public reader in the University
(and therefore cannot be young), to come now among guns
and drums, tumbling up and down, day and night, over waters
and banks, dykes and ditches, upon 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." 1 ¦
Wilkes was of sterner stuff. Always ready to follow the
camp and to face the 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
negotiations 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.2 The Queen- could not make up her mind — in the very midst
of the Greenwich secret conferences, already described— to
accept the Netherland sovereignty. " She gathereth from
your letter," wrote Walsingham, " that the only salve for this
sore is to make herself proprietary of the country, and to put
in such an army as may be able to make head to the enemy.
These two things being so contrary to her Majesty's disposi
tion—the one, for that it breedeth a doubt of a perpetual
war, the other, for that it requireth an increase of charges —
do marvellously 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

1 B. Clerk to Burghley, 11 Aug.
1586. (S. P. Office MS.)
2 Wilkes to the Queen, 7 Aug. 1586.
Leicester to the Queen, 27 June, 1586.

(S. P. Office MSS.)
" Brace's 'Leyc. Corresp.' 340, 9th
July, 1586.

1586. LETTER PROM THE QUEEN TO LEICESTER. 91
Earl's communications concerning Maurice and Hohenlo, Sir
John Norris and the treasurer, in characteristic but affectionate
language. And thus she wrote : —
"Bob, I am afraid you will suppose, by my wandering
writings, that a midsummer's moon hath taken large posses
sion of my brains this month ; but you must needs take things
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 short with these few notes.
First, that Count Maurice and Count Hollock (Hohenlo) 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 thatvoluntarily, without commandment, have
many years ventured their lives and toon 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, that 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 !
I pray you let this bearer know what may be learned herein,
and for the treasure I have joined Sir Thomas Shirley to see
all this money 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 ;

92

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

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. E.
" P. S. Let Wilkes see that he is acceptable to you. If any
thing there be that W. shall desire answer of be such as you
would have but me to know, write it to myself. You know I
can keep both others' counsel and mine own. Mistrust not
that anything you would have kept shall be disclosed by me,
for although this bearer ask many things, yet you may answer
him such as you shall think meet, and write to me the rest." 1
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, Hollock,
and other high officers in Leicester's army, had grown worse
than ever.
One August evening there was a supper-party at Count
Hollock's2 quarters in Gertruydenberg. A miUtary foray into
Aug. 6, Brabant had just taken place, under the lead of
1586. the Count, 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.3 Pelham and Hollock — who was "greatly in love
with Mr. Pelham"4 — had invited several other gentlemen
high in Leicester's confidence to accompany the expe
dition ; and, among the rest, Sir Philip Sidney, telling him

• l Queen to Leicester, 19 July, 1586.
(S. P. Office MS.)
3 It has been already stated that
Hohenlo was uniformly called Hollach
or Hollock by the English and French,
and very, often by the Netherlanders.
In our text, sometimes the one, some
times the other, appellation is used.
The reader will understand that there

was but one of the name in the Pro
vinces — Count Phihp William Hohenlo
or Hohenlohe, oftener called Hollock.
3 "Whereunto: the colonel-general
must not in anywise be made privy."
' Advertisement of a difference at Ger
truydenberg.' 8 Aug. 1586. (S. P.
--s.)
Brace's ' Leyc. Corresp.' 374.

1586. A SUPPER PARTY AT HOHENLO'S. 93
that he " should see some good service." Sidney came
accordingly, in great haste, from Flushing, bringing along
with him Edward Norris — that hot-headed young man, who,
according to Leicester, " greatly governed his elder brother "
— but they arrived at Gertruydenberg too late. The foray was
over, and the party — " having burned a village, and killed some
boors" — were on their return. Sidney, not perhaps much
regretting the loss of his share in this rather inglorious shoot
ing party, went down to the water-side, accompanied by Cap
tain Norris, to meet Hollock and the other commanders.
As the Count stepped on shore he scowled ominously, and
looked very much out of temper.
" What has come to Hollock ?" whispered Captain Patton,
a Scotchman, to Sidney. " Has he a quarrel with any of the
party ? Look at his face ! He means mischief to somebody."
But Sidney was equally amazed at the sudden change in
the German general's countenance, and as unable to ex
plain it.
Soon afterwards, the whole party, Hollock, Lewis William
of Nassau, Lord Carew, Lord • Essex, Lord Willoughby, both
the Sidneys, Eoger Williams, Pelham, Edward Norris, and
the rest, went to the Count's lodgings, where they supped,
and afterwards set themselves seriously to drinking.
Norris soon perceived that he was no welcome' guest ; for
he was not — like Sidney^a stranger to the deep animosity
wliich had long existed between . Sir John Norris and Sir
William Pelham and his friends. The carouse was a , tre
mendous one, as usually was the case where Hollock- was the
Amphitryon, and, as the potations grew deeper, ;an intention
became evident on the part of some of the company to behave
unhandsomely to Norris.
For a time the young Captain ostentatiously restrained
himself, 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 draining, a great cup, and exacting the same feat from

94 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 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 eight
days. If your Lordship desires the pleasure of seeing me
drunk, I am not of the same mind. I pray you at least to
take a smaller glass.
Sir William insisted on the pledge. Norris then, in no
very good humour, emptied his cup to the Earl of Essex.
Essex responded by draining a goblet to Count Hollock.
"A Norris's father," said the young Earl, as he pledged
the Count, who was already very drunk, and looking blacker
than ever.
" An 'orse's father — an 'orse's father ! " growled 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, father of
the Captain ; but the Count refused to understand, and held
fiercely, and with damnable iteration, to his jest.
The Earl repeated his explanation several times with no
better success. Norris meanwhile sat swelling with wrath,
but said nothing.
Again the Lord Marshal took the same great glass, and
emptied it to the young Captain.
Norris, not knowing exactly what course to take, placed
the glass at the side of his plate, and glared grimly at Sir
William. Pelham was furious. Beaching over the table, he shoved
the glass towards Norris with an angry gesture.
" Take your glass, Captain Norris," he cried ; " and if you
have a mind to jest, seek other companions. I am not to be
trifled with ; therefore, I say, pledge me at once."

1586. A DRUNKEN QUARREL. 95
" Your Lordship shall not force me to drink more wine
than I list," returned the other. " It is your pleasure to take
advantage of your military rank. Were we both at home, you
would be glad to be my companion."
Norris was hard beset, and although his language was
studiously moderate, it was not surprising that his maimer
should be somewhat insolent. The veteran Lord Marshal,
¦on the other hand, had distinguished himself on many
battle-fields, but his deportment at this banqueting-table
was 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
without more ado. Neither you nor your best friends shall
use me as you list. I am better born than you and your
brother, the colonel-general, and the whole of you."
"I warn you to say nothing disrespectful against my
brother," replied the Captain. " As for yourself, I know how
to respect your age and superior rank."
" Drink, drink, drink ! " roared the old Marshal. " I tell
you I am better born than the best of you. I have advanced
you all too, and you know it ; therefore drink to me."
Sir William was as logical as men in their cups are prone
to be.
" Indeed, you have behaved well to my brother Thomas,"
answered Norris, suddenly becoming very courteous, " and for
this I have ever loved your Lordship, and would do you any
service." " Well, then," said the Marshal, becoming tender in his
turn, " forget what hath past this night, and do as you would
have done before."
" Yery well said, indeed ! " cried Sir Philip Sidney, trying
to help the matter into the smoother channel towards which
it was tending.
Norris, seeing that the eyes of the whole company were
upon them, took the glass accordingly, and rose to his feet.

96

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. X.

" My Lord Marshal," he said, " you have done me more
wron°- 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 Hollock,. to
whom nothing had been said, and who had spoken no word
since his happy remark about the horse's father, suddenly
indulged in a more practical jest ; and seizing the heavy gilt
cover of a silver vase, hurled it at the head of Norris. It
struck him full on the forehead, cutting him to the bone.
The Captain, stunned for a moment, fell back in his chair,
with the blood running 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 Hollock, however, and, with the assistance of others in
the company, succeeded in dragging him from the room.
The affair was over in a few seconds.
Norris, coming back to consciousness, sat for a 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 ;
for as it was under the government of Hollock, and filled with
his soldiers, he was warned that his life would not be safe
there an hour. Accordingly he went to his boat, accompanied
only by his man and his page, and so departed with his broken
head, breathing vengeance against Hollock, Pelham, Leicester,
and the whole crew, by whom he had been thus abused.
The next evening there was another tremendous carouse at
the Count's, and, says the ; reporter of the preceding scene,
" they were all on such good terms, that not one of the com
pany had falling band or ruff left about his neck.. All were
clean torn away, and yet there was no blood drawn/' x

1 ' Advertisement of a Difference at
Gertruydenberg,' 8 August, 1586. T.
Doyley to Burghley, 8 Aug. . 1586.
B. Clerk to Eame, 11 Aug. 1686.

E. Norris to Leicester,' 2 1 Nov. 1586.
(S. P. Office MSS.) Compare Bor. II.
786-788. Brace's 'Leyc. Corresp.'
390-392.

1586.

HOHENLO'S ASSAULT UPON EDWARD NORRIS.

97

Edward Norris — so soon as might be afterwards — sent a
cartel to* the Count, demanding mortal combat with sword
and dagger.1 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 than 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 Hollock thought io have done a pleasure
to the company in killing him." 2
Nothing could be 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 affair. They were on the eve of active military.
operations, and it was most vexatious for the commander-in-
chief to see, as he said, " the quarrel with the enemy changed
to private revenge among 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 scone
thus minutely and in detail, because
its consequences upon the relations
between England and Holland, be
tween Leicester, the Queen, and tho
Norrises, Pelham, Hohenlo, and other?,
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 distinguished person
ages engaged in it, and the epoch
at which it occurred, the event fur
nishes us with a valuable interior pic-
VOL. II. — H

turo of English and Dutch military
life; and because, lastly, in the
MSS. which I have consulted, are
preserved the ipsissima verba of the
actors in the riot. It is superfluous to
repeat what has so often been stated,
that no historical personage is ever
made, in the text, to say or write any
thing, save what, on ample evidence,
he is known to have said or written.
1 Bor, ', ubi sup. Brace's ' Leyc.
Corresp.' 474.
3 ' Advertisement,' &c. MS. already
cited. - - - ¦

98

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. X ¦

was still pressed to afford the promised satisfaction, however,
and agreed to do so whenever he should rise from his bed.1
Strange to say, the Count considered Leicester, throughout
the whole business, to have taken part against him.2
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, Eoger Williams, old
Eeade, 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 here yet, declare the greatest fault
to be in Edward Norris, and that he did most arrogantly use
the Marshal."3
It is plain, however, thai 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.4
Hollock had conducted himself like a lunatic, but this he was
apt to do whether in his cups or not. He was always for
killing some one or another on the slightest provocation, and,

1 Bor, II. 786-7.88. Hoofd, Vervolgh,
209. 2 Letter of Hohenlo, in Bor, III.
123 seq.
' Brace's 'Leyc. Corresp.' 391.
"In all actions," wrote Sir J. Norris
to Burghley, " I am crossed, and sought
to be disgraced, and suffered to be
braved by, the worst and simplest in
the company, only to draw me into
quarrels. These things I am fain to
endure, lest the hindrance of the ser
vice should bo laid to my charge — a
thing greatly sought for. ..... Tho

dishonourable violence offered to my
brother in Count Holloek's house, is
so 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 tho company."
Sir J. Norris to Burghley, 16 Aug. 1586.
(S. P. Office MS.)
4 J. Norris to Walsingham, 25 Oct.
1586. (S. P. Office MS.) B. Clerk to
Burghley, 11 Aug. 1586. (S. P. Office
MS.)

1586.

ILL EFFECTS OF THE RIOT.

99

while the dog-star of 1586 was raging, it was not his fault if
he had not already despatched both Edward Norris and the
objectionable "Mr. P. B."
For these energetic demonstrations against Leicester's 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 daggers drawn. "Would God I were rid
of this place ! " he exclaimed. " What man living would go
to the field and have his officers divided almost into mortal
quarrel ? One blow but by any of their lackeys brings us
altogether by the ears." l
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 had left that
country.2 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.

2 Brace's 'Leyc. Corresp.' 392.
* "I had not much to do," wrote
Wilkes to Sir John, "to re-establish
in her Majesty and Mr. Secretary a
singular good opinion of you and your
actions. . . . Believe me, I do not find
any man on that side equal with you
in her Majesty's grace. She protests
to me she will not have your safety
hazarded for any treasure, and hath
resolved to revoke you. ... I do find
a disposition in her Majesty to return
you thither again, after his Excellency
shall be come home, which her Majesty
meaneth directly, although there is
much variety of opinion here, whether
it be fit to revoke him or not. Such

as desire the good of that Slate do hold
that question affirmatively, but such as
- do not love him (who are the greater
number) do maintain the. negative.
Her Majesty and her council do greatly
stagger at the excessive charge of those
wars under his Excellency'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, notwithstanding the necessity
of the defence of those countries is so
conjoined with her Majesty's own safety
as the same is not to be abandoned."
Wilkes to Sir J. Norris, 23 Sept. 1586.
(S. P. Office MS.)

100 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.' Chap XL

CHAPTER XI.
Drake in the Netherlands — Good Results' of his Visit — The Babington Con
spiracy ; — Leicester decides to visit England — Exchange of parting
Compliments. ,
Late in the autumn 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 that
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-
chested, with well-knit limbs. His hands, which were small
and nervous, were brown and callous with the marks of toil.
There was something in his brow and glance not to be mis
taken, and which men willingly call master ; yet he did not
seem to have sprung of the born magnates of the earth. He
wore a heavy gold chain about his neck, and it might be
observed that upon the light full sleeves of his slashed doublet
the image of a small ship on a terrestrial globe was curiously
and many times 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 boyhood from
his parental mansion— an old boat, turned bottom upwards on
a sandy down — he had naturally taken to the sea, and his
master, dying childless not long afterwards, bequeathed to
him the lugger. But in time his spirit, too much confined

1586. DRAKE IN THE NETHERLANDS. 101
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 crest whereof was a negro's head,
proper, chained — but the lad's first and last enterprise in this
field was unfortunate. Captured by Spaniards, and only
escaping with life, he determined to revenge himself on the
whole Spanish nation ; and this was considered a most legiti
mate proceeding according to the " sea 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 through
the world, and startled Philip in the depths of his Escorial.
The first Englishman, and the second of any nation, he
then ploughed his memorable " furrow . round the earth,"
carrying 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 fortunate one both for himself and for the
kingdom. The terrible Sea-King was one of the great types of the
sixteenth century. The self-helping private 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 favourite hero of romance and ballad ; ;for it
was not the ignoble pursuit of gold alone, through toil and
peril, which had endeared his name to the nation. The
popular instinct recognized that the true means had been
found at last for rescuing England and Protestantism from

1Q2 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XI
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.1 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.2 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.3 Nevertheless, the Queen and the Lord-
Treasurer — as we have shown by the secret conferences at
Greenwich— had, notwithstanding 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.4

' ' Leyc. Corresp.' 173. 1 » Ibid. 199.
Ibld- 341. | 4 For the life and adventures of

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 contrary, 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
who had already accomplished so much ?
And so Sir Francis, " a man true to his word, merciful to
those under him, and hating nothing so much as idleness," 1
had come to the Netherlands to talk over his project with the
States-General,, and with the Dutch merchants and sea-cap
tains.2 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.3
The martial spirit of volunteer sailors, and the keen in
stinct of mercantile speculation, were relied upon — exactly as

Drake, see Fuller, 'The Holy State and
the Profane State,' in voce. Stowe's
'Chronicle,' 805-812. Em. v. Meteren,
175, seq. "The World Encompassed,"
and particularly the ' Life, Voyages,
and Exploits of Admiral Sir Praneis
Drake.' By John Barrow. 1843.
1 Fuller.
' Wagenaar, viii. 233-234, who is,
however, mistaken in Saying that "thoy
had no ears for Drake in the Nether
lands." 3 " The voyage of Sir Francis Drake
into these countries," wrote Wilkes,
" is not likely to be unfruitful, although
at his arrival he found no disposition
in the States and people at all to assent
of his motions. They cannot yield to
assist his voyage with any general
contribution, but are contented to deal
with the inhabitants of the principal
maritime towns, to furnish in every
of them a ship or two, according to
the ability of the merchants there re
siding, from whom the States-General,
now assembled at the Hague, do ex

pect a speedy answer and resolution;
so as if her Majesty shall determine
that Sir F. Drake do venture again to
the Indies, it is not to be doubted that
he shaU have some good assistance from
hence. Of what necessity it is that the
Queen's principal enemy be attempted
that way, your honour can best per
ceive; but we find it more than pro
bable here, that if he may enjoy his
Indies quietly, he will make her Majesty
and these countries soon weary of their
defence. I have partly instructed Sir
P. Drake of tho state of these coun
tries. How and in what sort my Lord
of Leicester departeth hence, he hath
best discerned by his own experience,
which, because it is long to be written,
I am bold to refer your honour to his
declaration. I do find the state of
things here so disjointed and unsettled,
that I have just cause to fear some
dangerous alteration in the absence of
our governor. Therefore I beseech
you, as you tender the preservation of
her Majesty's estate, depending, as you

104

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XI.

in 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."1
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." 2
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 anxiety 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

know, upon the maintenance, of this, that
you will procure some speedy resolu
tion at home, and the return of some
governor of wisdom and value, to re
unite these distracted provinces, who,
for lack of a hqad, are apt enough to

be the workers of their own ruin.''
Wilkes to Walsingham, 17 Nov. 1586.
(S. P. Office MS.)
1 Brace's 'Leyc. Corresp.' 341.
" Ibid. 342.

1586.

THE BABINGTON CONSPIRACY.

105

from her," he said, "if that person live, or shall live any
time ? God forbid ! And be you 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
must be done, for justice doth crave it beside policy."1 His
own personal safety was deeply compromised. " Your Lord
ship and I," wrote Burghley, " were very great motes in the
traitors' 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,
they purposed her Majesty's death." 2
But on this great affair of state the Earl was not swayed
by such personal considerations. He honestly thought — as
did all the statesmen who governed England — that English
liberty, the very existence of the English commonwealth, was
impossible so long as Mary Stuart lived.3 Under these cir
cumstances he was not impatient, for a time at least, to leave
the Netherlands. His administration had not been very suc
cessful. He had been led away by his own vanity, and by
the flattery of artful demagogues, but the immense obstacles
with which he had to contend in the Queen's wavering policy,
and in the rivalry of both English and Dutch politicians,
have been amply exhibited. That he had been generous,
courageous, and zealous, could not be denied ; and, on the
whole, he had accomplished as much in the field as could
have been expected of him with such meagre forces, and so
barren an exchequer.4

1 Brace's ' Leye. Corresp.' 431. (10
Oct. 1586.) See also 447.
"That, the proceeding of justice
against the Queen . of Scots is deferred
until a parliament, whereat I do greatly
marvel if it should be trae, considering
how dangerous such delay might be,
for. the . mischief that might in the
meantime be practiced against her
Majesty's person. Though 'some small
branches of these conspiracies be taken
away, yet the greater boughs are not
unknown to remain. To whom it were
in my opinion, to give that

opportunity which might ba taken,
while a parliament may be called, and
suoh a cause debated and determined,"
&o. Leicester to Walsingham, 9 Sept.
1586. (S. P. Office MS.)
a Brace's 'Leyc. Corresp.' 412. (15
Sept. 1586.)
3 One of the Babington conspirators,
Ralph Salisbury, was a tenant of Lei
cester's, ' and had " a farm under tho
very castle-wall of Denbigh." Leicester
to Burghley, 29 Aug. 1586. (S. P.
Office MS.)
4 "Oh Lord! who would think it

106

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. Xi.

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.
Party-spirit was running high, and a political revolution was
much to be dreaded in so grave a position of affairs, both
in England and Holland. The arrangements— and particu
larly the secret arrangements which he made at his de
parture — were the most fatal measures of all ; but these 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
si Oct., cause of this sudden determination, that he , had
1586. 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 Excellency 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." 1
Some weeks later, however, upon the 21st November,
Leicester summoned Barneveld, and five other of the States-
21 Nov., General, to discuss the necessary measures for his
1586. 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 Eeingault, for his em
ployment of which individuals so much obloquy had been
heaped upon his head. Burgrave he pronounced, as usual, a

possible," he cried on one occasion,
"for any man sent as we are, and in
action for that realm (of England)
chiefly, and for aU Christendom also,
to be so carelessly and overwillingly
overthrown for ordinary wants 

To-morrow and to-morrow they shall
have. . . . What opportunities we havo
lately lost. We are ready to eat our
own flesh for anger, but that cannot
help." 'Leyc. Corresp.' 366.
1 Brace's 'Leyc. Corresp.' 443, note.

1586.

LEICESTER DECIDES TO VISIT ENGLAND.

107

substantial, wise, faithful, religious personage, entitled to
fullest confidence ; while Eeingault — who had been thrown
into prison by the States on charges of fraud, peculation, and
sedition — he declared to be a great financier, who had pro
mised, on penalty of his head, to bring great sums into the
treasury for carrying on the war, without any burthen to the
community." 1 Had he been able to do this, he had certainly
a claim to be considered the greatest of financiers ; but the
promised "mountains of gold" were never discovered, and
Eeingault was now awaiting his trial.2
The deputies replied that the concessions upon the Navi
gation Act had satisfied the country, but that Eeingault 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

1 Bor, II. 777-779. Hoofd, 207-209.
Wagenaar, viii. 183-187.
' "I must pray you and require you
to be careful in satisfying the States
touching Reingault," said Leicester:
" I did promise upon mine honour he
should be brought back again, and so
I have 'done, but I will be no butcher
to the greatest monarch in the world,
much less tho betrayer of a man's life,
whom I myself caused to be appre
hended to please them, and kept him
in safe guard. And now I have been
advertised of tho intent, in proceeding
with him, and with what violence, and
what some of themselves have sworn
and vowed touching his death, ¦ you
know, and I pray you declare, for as I
will keep promise with them for the
prison of the man, so do I look to have
mine own honour regarded at their
hands, seeing more malice than just.
desert against him. I take the man
to have faults enough, but not capital."
Leicester to Wilkes, 20 Nov. 1586.
(S. P. Office MS.)
Wilkes, findiDg that the States of

Holland were furious against , Rein
gault, and were demanding his execu
tion, had managed to place him under
the charge of the provost-marshal of
the English troops at Utreeht. When
he had thus saved the culprit's life, ho
informed Barneveld of what he had
done, and that statesman severely cen
sured the act, on tho ground that
grave consequences might follow this
interposition in behalf of so signal an
offender. Reingault's life was pre
served, however, and he subsequently
was permitted to retire to the Spanish
Netherlands, where the violent demo
crat and Calvinist ended his days an
obedient subject of Philip II., and an
exemplary papist. Wilkes to Leices
ter, 3 and 12 Dec. 1586. (S. P. Office
MS.) Reyd, V. 82.
Burgrave accompanied the Earl to
England, as his chief, secretary and
adviser in Netherland matters, while
Deventer remained in Utrecht, prin
cipal director of the Leicestrian party,
and centre of all its cabals against
the States.

108 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XI.
to bring the imprisonment of Paul Buys before her Majesty,
but for that transaction Leicester boldly disclaimed all re
sponsibility.1 It was agreed between the Earl and the deputies that,
during his absence, the whole government, civil and military,
should devolve upon the state-council, and that Sir John
Norris should remain in command of the English forces.2
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, summoned a committee of the
States-General, together with Barneveld, into the state-coun
cil. Counsellor Wilkes on his behalf tfhen made a speech, in
which he observed that more ample communications on the
part of the States were to be expected. They had in previous
colloquies touched upon comparatively unimportant matters,
but he now begged to be informed why these commissioners
were proceeding to England, and what was the nature of their
instructions. Why did not they formally offer the sovereignty
of the Provinces to the Queen without conditions ? That step
had already been taken by Utrecht.3
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 government overthrown, and its leading
citizens banished. The action of the Province under such
circumstances was not deserving of comment ; but should it
appear that her Majesty was desirous of assuming the sove
reignty of the Provinces upon reasonable conditions, the
States of Holland and of Zeeland would not be found back
ward in the business.4
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
1 Wilkes to Leicester, &c, MS. just cited. ' Wagenaar, viii. 187.
3 Bor. II. 780-783. 4 Ibid.

1586. EXCHANGE OF PARTING COMPLIMENTS. 109
however, vigorously and successfully opposed by Barneveld,
who urged that to leave the country without a head in such a
dangerous position of affairs, would be an act of madness.1
Leicester was much annoyed when informed of this decision.
He was suspected of a design, during his absence, of converting
Maurice 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
Spain. He observed peevishly that he knew how it had all
been brought about.2
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 country 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.3
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 be 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 the Queen would
increase her contingent to ten thousand foot, and two thousand
horse. He repudiated, in the name of the States-General and
his own, the possibility of peace-negotiations ; deprecated any
allusion to the subject as fatal to their religion, their liberty,
their very existence, and equally disastrous to England and
to Protestantism, and implored the Earl, therefore, to use all
1 Bor, ubi sup. Hoofd, Vervolgh, I * Bor, ubi sup.
206. Wagenaar, viii. 185. | ' Bor, II. 785. Hoofd, ubi sup.

110

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XI.

his influence in opposition to any pacific overtures to or from
Spain.1 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. Atye. It was responded to in complimentary fashion by
Advocate Barneveld, who again took occasion at this parting
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.2
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.3

1 Bor, Hoofd, Wagenaar, ubi sup.
Reyd, v. 108, 109.
3 Ibid. Meteren, xiii. 238.
8 Bor, II. 754. Reyd, Holl. 4 Oct.
9 Nov. 442, 493. Wagenaar, viii.
173. The vase or cup (kop) as it was
called, had cost 9000 florins. Tho

States pronounced it "as singular a
jewel as could be found in any of the
surrounding, kingdoms." It was said
that on account of its size, it could
only have been gilded at the peril of
the artisan's life. VanWyn opWagen,
viii. 62.

1586. ILL-TIMED INTERREGNUM IN THE PROVINCES. HI

CHAPTER XII.
Hl-timed Interregnum in the Provinces — Firmness of the English and Dutch
People — Factions during Leicester's Government — Democratic Theories
of the Leicestrians — Suspicions as to the Earl's Designs — Extreme Views
of the Calvinists — 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
RepubUc — The Tear of Expectation.
It was not unnatural that the Queen should desire the pre
sence of her favourite at that momentous epoch, when the
dread question, " aut fer aut feri," had at last demanded its
definite solution. It was inevitable, too, that Leicester should
feel great anxiety to be upon the spot where the great tragedy,
so full of fate to all 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 influential party, that the
Enghsh Queen would accept the proposed annexation. It
was yet doubtful, whether, during the period of abeyance, the
States-General or the States-Provincial, each within their
separate sphere, were entitled to supreme authority. Mean
time, as if here were not already sufficient elements of dis
sension and doubt, came a sudden and indefinite interregnum,
a provisional, an abnormal, and an impotent government.
To the state-council was deputed the executive authority.
But the state-council was a creature of the States-General,
acting in concert with the governor-general, and having no
actual life of its own. It was a board of consultation, not of

112 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XII.
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
delegate of one who had refused the sovereignty. They were
too adroit to neglect the opportunity, which her Majesty's
anger offered them, of repairing what they considered their
blunder. When at last the quarrel, which looked so much
like a lovers' quarrel, between' Elizabeth and ' Sweet Eobin,'
had been appeased to the satisfaction of Eobin, his royal
mistress became more angry with the 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 Barneveld.
Those two statesmen, for eloquence, learning, readiness,
administrative faculty, surpassed by few who have ever
wielded the destinies of free commonwealths, were fully equal
to the task thrown upon their hands by the progress of events.
That task was no slight one, for it was to the leading states--
men of Holland and England, sustained by. the indomitable
resistance to despotism almost universal in the English and
Dutch nations, that the liberty of Europe was entrusted at
that momentous epoch. Whether united under 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 fatal
south, blacker and more portentous than ever ; the artificial
equilibrium of forces, by which the fate of France was kept
in suspense, was obviously growing every day more Uncertain ;
but the prolonged and awful interval before the tempest
should burst over the lands of freedom and Protestantism,
gave at least time for the prudent to prepare. The Armada

1586. FIRMNESS OP THE ENGLISH AND DUTCH PEOPLE. H3
was growing every day in the ports of Spain and Portugal,
and Walsingham doubted, as little as did Buys or Barneveld,
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 thought probable
that the Bearnese and the Yalois had sufficiently exhausted
each other. Philip was to reign in Paris, Amsterdam,
London, and Edinburgh, without stirring from the Escorial.
An excellent programme, had there not been some English
gentlemen, some subtle secretaries of state, some Devonshire
skippers, some Dutch advocates and merchants, some Zeeland
fly-boatsmen, and six million men, women, and children, on
the two sides 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 unjust and ungracious to disparage
the heroism of the great Queen when the hour of danger
really came, nor would it be legitimate for us, who can scan
that momentous year of expectation, 1587, 'by the light of
subsequent events and of secret contemporaneous record, to
censure or even sharply to criticise the 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

114 THE UNITED 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 io bear, arms at will, was most formidable to
despotism. There was an advance on the olden time. A
Francis Drake, a John Hawkins, a Eoger Williams, might
have been sold, under the Plantagenets, like an ox or an ass.
A ' female villain ' iu 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 tho 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

1586. FACTIONS DURING LEICESTER'S GOVERNMENT. H5
few occasions by the combatants upon each other, make the
year 1587 a memorable one. The great questions of the
origin of government, the balance of dynastic forces, the
distribution of powers, were dealt with by the ablest heads,
both Dutch and English, that could be employed in the service
of the kingdom and republic. It was a war of protocols,
arguments, orations, rejoinders, apostflles, and pamphlets,
very wholesome for the cause of free institutions and the
intellectual progress of mankind. The reader may perhaps
be surprised to see with how much vigour and boldness the
grave questions which underlie all polity, were handled so
many years before the days of Eussell and Sidney, of Montes
quieu and Locke, Franklin, Jefferson, Eousseau, and Yoltaire ;
and he may be even more astonished to find exceedingly
democratic doctrines propounded, if not believed in, by trained
statesmen of the Ehzabethan school. He 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 Eoman Empire.
The great dividing-line between the two parties, that of
Leicester and that of Holland, which controlled the action of
the States-General, was the question of sovereignty. After
the declaration of independence and the repudiation of Philip,
to whom did the sovereignty belong ? To the people, said
the Leicestrians. To the States-General and the States-Pro
vincial, as legitimate representatives of the people, said the'
Holland party. Without looking for the moment more closely
into this question, which we shall soon find ably discussed by
the most acute reasoners of the time, it is only important at
present to make a preliminary reflection. The Earl of Lei
cester, of all men in the world, would seem to have been
precluded by his own action, and by the action of his Queen,
from taking ground against the States. It was the States
who, by solemn embassy, had offered the sovereignty to
Elizabeth. She had not accepted the offer, but she had

116

THE 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
and eagerly accepted. It was strange, then, that he should
deny the existence of the power whence his own authority
was derived. If the States were not sovereigns of the Nether
lands, he certainly was nothing. He was but general of a
few thousand 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 the executive authority of their chief, on the ground
that such was the popular will ; and they denounced with
great acrimony the insolence of the upstart members of the
States, half a dozen traders, hired advocates, churls, tinkers,
and the like — as Leicester was fond of designating the men
who opposed him — in assuming these airs of sovereignty.1
This might, perhaps, bo 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. faot
and of great political convenience, had, during fifteen years,
exercised the authority which had fallen from Philip's hands.
The people hitherto had acquiesced in their action, and cer-
but servants and deputies .... I
see no other remedy for this mischief,
but that the people be wary how they
give such power and authority, and
suffer it to continue so long iu tho
hands of men of mechanic and base
condition, who, grown proud with the
command, 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 the whole estate."
Raymond Stoekeler to a friend in
England, 15 Feb. 1587. (S. P. Office
MS.) The letter is printed in Grim-
stone's 'Netherlands,' pp. 949, seq.

1 "They which havo all authority
in this State," said an honest German
traveller, who happened to bo in Arn
heim that winter, "are for tho most
part merchants, orators of towns,
meohanie men, ignorant, loving gain
naturally, without respect of honour ;
.... born to obey rather than com
mand, who having once tasted tho
sweetness of authority, have by littlo
and little persuaded themselves that
thoy are sovereigns ; insulting over
the people, and controlling him to
whom they had by oath referred the
absolute and general government . . .
Seeing that the sovereignty really be
longs to tho people, to whom they are

1586. DEMOCRATIC THEORIES OF THE LEICESTRIANS. 117
tainly there had not yet been any call for a popular conven
tion, or any other device to ascertain the popular will. It
was also difficult to imagine what was the exact entity of this
abstraction called the " people " by men who expressed such
extreme contempt for "merchants, advocates, town-orators,
churls, tinkers, and base mechanic men, born not to command
but to obey." Who were the people when the educated
classes and the working classes were thus carefully eliminated ?
Hardly the simple peasantry — the boors-^who tilled the soil.
At that day the agricultural labourers less than all others
dreamed of popular sovereignty, and more than all others
submitted to the mild authority of the States. According to
the theory of the Netherland constitutions, they were sup
posed — and they had themselves not yet discovered the
fallacies to which such doctrines could lead — to be repre
sented by the nobles and country-squires who maintained in
the States of each Province the general farming interests of
the repubhc. Moreover, the number of agricultural peasants
was comparatively small. The lower classes were rather
accustomed to plough the sea than the land, and their
harvests were reaped from that element, which to Hol
landers and Zeelanders was less capricious than the solid
earth. Almost every inhabitant of those sea-born territories
was, in one sense or another, a mariner ; for every highway
was a canal ; the soil was percolated by rivers and estuaries,
pools and meres ; the fisheries were the nurseries in which
still more daring navigators rapidly learned their trade, and
every child took naturally to the ocean as to its legitimate
home. The " people," therefore, thus enthroned by the Leicestrians
over all the inhabitants of the country, appeared to many eyes
rather a misty abstraction, and its claim of absolute sove
reignty a doctrine almost as fantastic as that of the divine
right of kings. The Netherlanders were, on the whole, a law-
abiding people, preferring to conduct even a revolution
according to precedent, very much attached to ancient usages
and traditions, valuing the liberties, as they called them, which

118

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XII

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.1
Utrecht, the capital of the Leicestrians, had already been
deprived of its constitution. The magistracy was, according
to law, changed every year. A list of candidates was fur
nished by the retiring board, an equal number of names
was added by the governor of the Province, and from the
catalogue thus composed the governor with his council
selected the new magistrates for the year. But De Yilliers,
the governor of the Province, had been made a prisoner
by the enemy in the last campaign ; Count Moeurs had
been appointed provisional stadholder by the States ; and,
during his temporary absence on public affairs, the Lei
cestrians had seized upon the government, excluded all
the ancient magistrates, banished many leading citizens

1 Even Leicester himself was asto
nished at the subserviency of the de
mocratic party. "I remember," said
his confidential secretary, "that your
Excellency told me once a very wise
word — that those of Utrecht had
given you more authority than they
could well do."
"Your council," he said further,
" cannot allow of all the doings of M.
Deventer and of M. Modet. True
it is that they both and all thoso of
Utrecht do love you with all their
hearts, but they do many things very
rashly, and do disunite themselves
from tho generality of the United
Provinces. Insomuch 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 against an
other  I had written to you by

M. Modet and M. Rataller, but they
both stole away secretly from hence,
and surely this proceeding is not very
well liked here of the best sort, as
though he would have prevented the
other party, and make his own reasons
good first to your Excellency." Othe-
man to Leicester, 7 Jan. 1587. (Br.
Mus. Galba, O xi. p. 72, MS.)
"Cupimus ut sua Excellentia (Lei-
cestrius) absolute imperet, et pro sua
disoretione, salva religione et privi-
legiis suam Majestatem non offend-
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.

1586. SUSPICIONS AS TO THE EARL'S DESIGNS. 119
from the town, and installed an entirely new board, with
Gerard Proninck, called Deventer, for chief burgomaster,
who was a Brabantine refugee just arrived in the Province,
and not eligible to office until after ten years' residence.1
It was not unnatural that the Netherlanders, who remem
bered 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 suspicious of Leicester.
Anjou, too, had been called to the Provinces by the voluntary
action of the States. He too had been hailed as a Messiah
and a deliverer. In him too had unlimited confidence been
reposed, and he had repaid their affection and their gratitude
by 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
few years having elapsed since those tragical events — they
should be inclined to scan severely the actions of the man
who had already obtained by unconstitutional means the
mastery of a most important city, and was supposed to harbour
designs upon all the cities.
No doubt it was a most illiberal and unwise policy for the
inhabitants of the independent States to exclude from office
the wanderers, for conscience' sake, from the obedient Pro
vinces. They should have been welcomed heart "and hand
by those who were their brethren in religion and in the love
of freedom. Moreover, it was notorious that Hohenlo, lieu
tenant-general under Maurice of Nassau, was a German, and
that by the treaty with England, two foreigners sat in the
state council, while the army swarmed with English, Irish,
and German officers in high command. Nevertheless, violently
to subvert the constitution of a Province, and to place in
posts of high responsibihty men who were ineligible — some
whose characters were suspicious, and some who were known
1 Bor, II. xxi. 722, 735. Reyd, v. 85, 8G. Wagenaar, viii. 166, 168.

120

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XII.

to be dangerous, and to banish large numbers of respectable
burghers — was the act of a despot.1
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 the
vast debt which the republic owed to the Geneva Church.
The reformation had entered the Netherlands by the Walloon
gate. The earliest and most eloquent preachers, the most
impassioned converts, the sublimest martyrs, had lived,
preached, fought, 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 the hands of
Calvinists. Throughout the blood-stained soil of France, too, tho men who

' It was especially unfortunate that
Leicester should fall so completely
into the control of Deventer. That
subtle politician filled the governor's
mind full with spite against the States-
General, inspiring him perpetually
with jealousy of all bodies or indi
viduals that interfered with his hopes
of attaining arbitrary, perhaps sove
reign power. "The States-General,"
Deventer whispered in Leicester's
ear, "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 released
Paul Buys. We are all marvellously
scandalized, for truly these States
assume more jurisdiction than was
ever dono by the greatest tyrant that
ever usurped in this land. Tou shall
hear many particulars by an agent
which it is best not to write 
Let her Majesty reflect that Tier's will
be the shame, on her head descends the
scorn, and ruin to her realm will be the
result. Let her break up this con
spiracy by a sudden and heroic reso
lution, let her send your Excellency
hither, with plenty of money and sol
diers, and we 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 the 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 xi. 95, MS.) ,
Otheman, too, boldly assured tho
Quoen, in a letter addressed directly
to her Majesty, that the "root of tho
whole evil in the Netherlands was tho
ochlocracy and bad government of tho
State," and that the reformation could
only come fram her. He was also of
opinion that the country had been
badly handled for u, long time. "I
believe, madam," he 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
him ; and 'tis your Majesty alone who
can now administer the remedy."
Otheman to the Queen, 15 Feb. 1587.
(Br. Mus., Galba C. xi. p. 263, MS.)

1586. EXTREME VIEWS OF THE CALVINISTS. 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 iron 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 Bearnese. And it was on the Calvinist weavers and
clothiers of Eochelle that the great Prince relied in the hour
of danger as much as on his mountain chivalry. In England
too, the seeds of liberty, wrapped up in Calvinism and hoarded
through many trying years, were at last destined to float over
land and sea, 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
rehgion. There were many men in Holland who had already
imbibed 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
be 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
word 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 be
conceded of controlling the consciences of their fellow-
creatures. But it was progress for the sixteenth century that there
were individuals, and prominent individuals, who dared to
proclaim hberty of conscience for all. William of Orange
was 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

122

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XII.

it would have required great magnanimity upon his part to
assume a friendly 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 tho bodily
annihilation of all its adversaries. He 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.1 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.2 The distribution of the heavy war-taxes, more

1 " May it please your sacred Ma
jesty," wrote Wilkes, "there is come
into my hands the copy of a letter
written by the Prinoo of Parma to the
Bishop of Liege, dated 24th of
last month ; by the which, among
other things, doth appear, that there
is yet some bloody purpose in hand to
be executed upon your Majesty's
sacred person, as by the same here
inclosed doth appear  It is
signified by tho letter, that, although
the exterior of the treasons and prac
tices plotted and contrived 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 achieve iu
time their wicked and horriblo pur

poses against you." Wilke3 to the
Queen, 17 Deo. 15S6. (S. P. Office
MS.) It can hardly excite surprise that
the Queen, receiving almost every
week such intimations out of tho
Spanish Netherlands of attempts
against her life, should desire to deal
severely with seminary priests and
their associates coming from thoso
regions. 3 Tet, strange to say, it was Lord
Buckhurst's opinion that the oppo
nents of tho Catholic religion were
but a small minority of the Dutch
people. "For the commonwealth of
these Provinces," wrote that envoy,
"consisting of divers parts and pro
fessions, as, namely, Protestants, Puri-

1586.

POLITICAL AMBITION OP THE CHURCH.

123

than two-thirds of which were raised in Holland only, was
confided to foreigners, and regulated mainly at Utrecht, where
not one-tenth part of the same revenue was collected. This
naturally excited tho wrath of the merchants and manu
facturers 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 clergy, 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 affairs for Calvinistic deacons as for the college of
cardinals, and would as soon accept the infallibility of
Sixtus Y. 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 — ¦
who had demolished, and sold at public auction, for 12,300
florins,1 tho time-honoured cathedral where the earliest
Christians of the Netherlands had worshipped, and St.

tans, Anabaptists, and Spanish hearts,
which are no small number, it is most
certain, that, dividing this in fivo
parts, the Protestants and Puritans do
hardly contain even one part of five;
although, at this present, the Pro
testants 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, 1587. Printed in
' Cabala, or Mysteries of State,' p. 37.
And again, in a letter to Walsing
ham, the same diplomatist remarks
that the real object of the revolt of
the Netherlanders was not to defend
their religious but their civil freedom,
and that Catholics and Protestants
were all united to that end. "If her
Majesty," he said, "should not only
refuse the sovereignty, but not give
sufficient aid, it is in a manner certain
that the people, not being the fifth
man a Protestant, and not making

their war in truth for religion, but
for their country and liberty only, and
to resist the tyranny of the Spaniards,
whose hatred is ingraft in the hearts
of them all, when they shall see her
Majesty fail in their defence, will turn
and revolt to the enemy," &e. &o.
Ibid. p. 11, 13. 13 April, 1587.
These sweeping statements may not
be strictly accurate, but there is no
doubt that Buckhurst was struck by
the general and growing feeling of
mutual toleration among the adherents
to the various forms of religion in
Holland, and by the instinct which
prompted the whole commonwealth
to strike for civil and rehgious liberty
in one. Compare Kluit, 'Holl. Staats-
reg.' II. 360, who states expressly that
the majority of every town and village
in the Provinces were, in heart, faith
ful to the Roman Catholic religion.
1 Bor, IU. xxiii. 108.

124

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XII

Willibrod had ministered, were roundly rebuked, on more
than one occasion, by the blunt Hollanders for meddling with
matters beyond their sphere.1

1 Bor, III. xxiii. 108.
' " There is a controversy," wroto
Wilkes, " within the town and pro
vince of Utrecht (their estate being
compounded of the nobility, clergy,
and towns, containing three several
members) between the towns and tho
clergy, whom tha towns have inhibited
to appear any more in the public
assemblies, meaning to cass them
upon pretence that the clergy, their
third member, is a hindrance to their
good proceedings. Tho nobility taketh
part with the clergy, and do not think
it fit nor agreeable with order or
justice that one third member, inferior
to the other two, should take upon
him to depose the first member, being
the clergy, without the authority of
the sovereign governor or the general
assent of the Union. At tho begin
ning of the garboile, it was thought
fit by this council to depute the Count
Moeurs, Mons. de Meetkerk, and
Doctor Hottman, persons of judgment,
to hear the controversy.  and
as they were travailing to reduco them
to an accord, there came a letter to
the captains of the bourgeoisie of tho
town of Utrecht (being tho principal
movers of this dissension), 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
the large promises he maketh iu her
Majesty's name of her absolute pur
pose to embrace their cause, ' avec la
pleine main,' as he 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 mako to be a show and counte
nance of their dealings; but, as I am
informed, the most part of those that
are of this clergy, and do hold the
ecclesiastical livings, are married and
of the religion. And in truth, as far

a3 I can perceive, their quarrel is not
against the persons of the ecclesiastics,
because they are contented that the
persons shall continue iu their assem
blies, but agamst tho livings, which
they mean to convert to some other
uses. And although, for mine own
poor opinion, I think the church-
livings were most fitly to be converted
to the defence of the public cause,
yet the manner of the doing thereof
should be speedily prevented, for all
men of judgment here are of opinion
that if it be not stayed, it will hazard
the loss of the town, and consequently
of the whole Province. I am informed
that tho magistrates of Utrecht havo
despatched towards my lord-general
and her Majesty one Herman Modet,
their chief mmister, to acquaint them
with the matter, and to make good
their proceedings. The said Modet,
by the report of M. de Yilliers, tho
minister, and Saravia, a great learned
preacher of Leyden, is taken to be
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 the loss of
Ghent, upon tho like matter begun by
him within the town. Tho Prince of
Orange, in his timo, could never brook
the same Modet, and, as tho Count
Maurice telleth me, he did ahvays
oppose himself against the counsel
and designs of the Prince his father.
I thought it not unfit to give you this
taste of the condition of Modet, be
cause I know that my Lord North,
Mr. Killigrew, and Mr. Webbe havo
greatly supported him in his humours
at Utrecht, and it is not to be doubted
that they will do tho like at home."
Wilkes to Walsingham, Deo. 24, 1586.
(S. P. Office MS.)
Such letters, written on the spot,
by a man thoroughly acquainted with
Netherland polities, and the expe
rienced faithful representative of her
Majesty in the state-council, explain
the intrigues and tho instruments of
the Leicestrian party. It was by
honest and lucid expositions like
theso, that tho writer incurred tho

1586.

ANTAGONISM OP THE CHURCH AND STATES.

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 States-right party,
which claimed sovereignty for each Province, and by necessary
consequence the hegemony throughout tho confederacy, for
Holland. At present the doctrine maintained was that the
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 the hands of
half a dozen mechanics and men of low degree. The States
of each 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 Yan der Werff, the heroic burgo
master of Leyden during its famous siege, John Yan der
Does, statesman, orator, soldier, poet, Adolphus Meetkerke,
judge, financier, politician, Carl Eoorda, Noel de Caron,
diplomatist of most signal ability, Floris Thin, Paul Buys,
and Olden-Barneveld, 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 vroedschaps 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 the administration of public affairs, that these
individuals were perpetually exchanged for others, and that
those whose names became most prominent in the politics of
the day were remarkable for thorough education, high talents,
and eloquence with tongue and pen.1 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 life. (Compare
Bor and. Reyd, ubi sup., Lo Petit, II.

xiv. 533. Wagenaar, viii. 1G8.)
1 Kluit, 'Holl Staatsregering,' IL
203.

126 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XIX
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, born without any of the accidents of
fortune ; but the leaders had studied in the common schools,
and later in the noble universities of a land where to be
learned and eloquent was fast becoming almost as great an
honour as to be wealthy or high born.
The executive, the legislative, and tho judiciary depart
ments were more carefully and scientifically separated than
could perhaps havo 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 were constituted of similar materials
to those of which the States-Provincial were constructed, and
the same individuals were generally prominent in both.
They were deputies appointed by the Provincial Estates, were
in truth rather more like diplomatic envoys than senators,
were generaUy bound very strictly by instructions, and were
often obhged, 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

1586. THE STATES INCLINED TO TOLERANCE. 127
even men employed in public affairs who were suspected of
papistical tendencies, although their hostility to Spain and
their attachment to their native land could not fairly be
disputed. The leaders of the States-party had a rooted
aversion to any pohtical 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
such bold views in religious matters were bitterly assailed
by their rigid opponents. Barneveld, 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
masses, the toleration of all creeds, and a wide distribution of
political functions and rights, they looked for the salvation of
their nascent republic from destruction, and the maintenance
of the true interests of the people. They were still loyal to
Queen Elizabeth, and desirous that she should accept the
sovereignty of the Provinces. But they were 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 conditions, but they
were determined that neither Queen EUzabeth 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.

128 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XH;
The strength of the States-party lay in HoUand, 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 tho republic and of the Spanish Provinces
was, at that moment, most signally contrasted. If the effects
of despotism and of liberty could ever be 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 fall of Antwerp, tho desolation of Brabant,
Flanders, and of the WaUoon 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 the 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 once been counted, were empty, grass was
growing in its streets, its industrious' population had vanished,
and the Jesuits had returned in swarms. And the samo
spectacle was presented by Ghent, Bruges, Valenciennes,
Tournay, and those 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, were dying
lingering deaths. The thrifty farms, orchards, and gardens,

1586. > 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, whicli had been the work
shops of the world, was gone. Foraging bands of Spanish
and Italian mercenaries had succeeded to the famous tramp
of the artizans and mechanics, which had often been likened
to an army, but these new customers were less profitable to the
gardeners and farmers. The clothiers, the fullers, the tapestry-
workers, the weavers, the cutlers, had all wandered away, and
the cities of Holland, Friesland, and of England, were growing
skilful and rich by the 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 the place of
yellow harvest-fields. The fox, the wild boar, and the wolf,
1 infested the abandoned homes of the peasantry ; children
could not walk in safety in the neighbourhood even of the
larger cities ; wolves littered their young in the deserted
farm-houses ; two hundred persons, in the winter of 1586-7,
were devoured by wild beasts in the outsldrts of Ghent.1
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, burglary,
highway-robbery, and murder, had become the chief branches
of industry among the working classes. Nobles and wealthy
burghers had been changed to paupers and mendicants.
Many a famUy 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

1 Bor, II. xxii. 984, 985. Meteren,
xiv. .253. Hoofd, Vervolgh, 251.
Wagenaar, viii. 224, 225. Van Wyn
op Wagen, viii. 67.
VOL. ii. — K

"The bedsteads of the abandoned
cottages," says Meteren, "swarmed
with little wolves," ubi sup.
' Bor, Meteren, Hoofd, Wagenaar.

130

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XII.

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, beggars and workmen, were in danger of perishing
together. Where the want of employment had been so
great as to cause a rapid depopulation, where the demand
for labour had almost entirely ceased, it was a necessary
result, that during the process, prices should be low, even
in the presence of foreign soldiery, and despite the inflamed
profits, which such capitalists as remained- required, by way
not only of profit but insurance, in such troublous times.
Accordingly, for the last year or two, the price of rye at
Antwerp and Brussels had been one florin for the veertel
(three bushels) of one hundred and twenty pounds ; that of
wheat, about one-third of a florin more. Five pounds of rye,
therefore, were worth one penny sterling, reckoning, as was
then usual, two shilhngs to the florin. A pound weight of
wheat was worth about one farthing.1 Yet this was forty-one
years after the discovery of the mines of Potosi (a.d. 1545),
and full sixteen years after the epoch, from which is dated
that rapid fall in the value of silver, which in the course of
seventy years, caused the average price of corn 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,2 and in the markets of Holland, which in

1 A contemporary chronicler has
preserved a droll medley of prices in
the Netherlands in the year 1548, but
one which, if accurate, furnishes a
striking instance of the low money-
valuation of the various necessaries of
life, before the great revolution in the
value of silver had begun. For one
hundred and sixty florins (161) there
were bought a last (108 bushels, or 80
bushels English) of wheat, a last of
rye, a last of barley, a last of oats, a

quarter hundred-weight of butter, 300
pounds of lard, one hundred cheeses,
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 benignity can do for us."
Met. xiv. 253.
' Tables in McCulloch's edition of
Adam Smith, p. 117.

1586.

PAUPERISM AND FAMINE.

131

truth regulated all others, the same prices prevailed.1 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 their 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 most
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 subjugated and
almost deserted 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 demand
for labour had caused it, as it were, to disappear altogether.
All men had become beggars, 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

1 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 eleven
pence, or seven and fourpence for tho
quarter (eight bushels), about an eighth
or ninth of the price in England and
HoUand.

132

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XU

result. Prices then rose with most frightful rapidity. The
veeftel 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.1 Other articles were proportionaUy
increased in market-value ; but it is worthy of remark that
mutton was quoted in the midst of the famine at nine stuyvers
(a little more than ninepence sterling) the pound, and beef
at fivepence, while a single cod-fish sold for twenty-two
florins.2 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 proportion, and far below the market-prices in
Holland and England.
On the other hand, the prosperity of the republic was
rapidly increasing. Notwithstanding the war, which had
been raging for a terrible quarter of a century without any
interruption, population was increasing, property rapidly

1 Bor, Meteren, Hoofd, ubi sup. A
last of rye is quoted by Meteren (xiv.
253v0) at 800 florins. A last is equal
to 80 bushels, English measure. This
is just ten florins, or one pound sterling,

the bushel for rye, and one-third more,
or twenty-seven shillings — that is to
say, 101. 16s. the quarter — for wheat.
8 Bor, Hoofd, Meteren, ubi sup.
3 Ibid.

1586.

PROSPERITY OP THE REPUBLIC.

133

advancing in value, labour in active demand. Famine was
impossible to a state which commanded the ocean. No corn
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
frigates were constantly cruising along the coasts to protect
the fast-growing traffic, and an army of twenty thousand foot-
soldiers and two thousand cavalry were maintained on land.
There were more ships and sailors at that moment in Holland
and Zeeland than in the whole kingdom of England.1 •
While the sea-ports were thus rapidly increasing in
importance, the towns in the interior were advancing as
steadUy. The woollen manufacture, the tapestry, the em
broideries of Gelderland, and Friesland, and Overyssel, were
becoming as famous as had been those of Toumay, Ypres,
Brussels, and Yalenciennes. The emigration from the
obedient Provinces and from other countries was very great.
It was difficult to obtain lodgings in the principal oities ; 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 extraordmary grants for the

1 Six years later it was asserted by
the magistrates of Amsterdam, in a
communication made to the States-
General, " that no one could doubt
that in- regard to tho mercantile marine
and the amount of tonnage, the Pro
vinces were so far superior to England

that hardly any comparison could be
made on the subject, &o. Koop vaardy-
Schepen in Nederland a» 1593. . Brief
v. d. Burgemaasteren en Raden der
stad Amsterdam aan.de 'Staateu^
General." (Hague Archives, MS.)

134 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XIIL"
same purpose, yet the burthen imposed upon the vigorous
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." -1
Such 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, ardently 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 step.
Although the great tragedy which was swiftly approaching
its inevitable catastrophe, the execution of the Scottish Queen,
was to make peace 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 examination of the secret correspond
ence of the court. Her most sagacious statesmen disapproved
her. course, opposed it, and were often overruled, although
never convinced ; for her imperious will would have its way.
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 j with freedom of religion, constitutional liberty; and
self-government, for provincial subjection to the inquisition
and to despotism. To dream of any concession from Phihp
on the religious point was ridiculous. There was a mirror
ever held up before their eyes by the obedient Provinces, in
which they might see their own image, should they too re
turn to obedience. And there was never a pretence, on the
1 Meteren, xiv. 253™.

1586. THE TEAR OF EXPECTATION. 135
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 misguided and wretched Yalois lamenting over his
victories, and rejoicing over his defeats ; forced into hollow
aUiance with his deadly enemy ; arrayed iu arms against his
only protector and the true champion of tho 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 Bearnese, ever with lance in rest, victorious over the
wrong antagonist, foUed of the fruits of victory, proclaiming
himself the English Queen's devoted knight, but railing at her
p'arsimony ; 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 shaU have occasion to look over the King's
shoulder, as he sits at his study-table, in his most sacred re
tirement ; and we shall find his policy for . the year 1587
summed up in two words — invasion of England. Sincerely
and ardently as Elizabeth meant peace with Philip, just so
sincerely 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 the States-General
to fight out so thoroughly their party-contests.

136 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XHL

CHAPTER XIII.
Barneveld's Influence in the Provinces — Unpopularity of Leicester —
Intrigues of his Servants — Gossip of his Secretary— Its mischievous
Effects — The Quarrel of Norris and Hollock — The Earl's Participation
in the Affair — His increased Animosity to Norris — Seizure of Deventer
— Stanley appointed its Governor — York and Stanley — Leicester's secret
Instructions — Wilkes remonstrates with Stanley — Stanley's Insolence and
Equivocation — Painful Rumours as to him and York — ; Duplicity of York
— Stanley's Banquet at Deventer — He surrenders the City to Tassis —
Terms of the Bargain— Feeble Defence of Stanley's Conduct — Subsequent
Fate of Stanley and York — Betrayal of Gelder to Parma — These' Treasons
cast Odium on the English — Miserable Plight of the English Troops —
Honesty and Energy of Wilkes — Indignant Discussion in the Assembly.
The government had not been laid down by Leicester on his
departure. It had been provisionally delegated, as already
mentioned to the state-council. In this body — consisting of
eighteen persons — originaUy appointed by the Earl, on no
mination by the States, severaT -'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 iu their action by Buys
and Barneveld. Young Maurice of Nassau, nineteen years of
age, was stadholder of Holland and Zeeland. A florid com-
plexioned, fair-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.1 Ma
thematics, fortification, the science of war — these were hi|
daily pursuits. " The sapling was to become the tree," anil
meantime the youth was preparing for the great destiny
whicn he felt, lay before him. To ponder over thfif works and
the daring conceptions of Stevinus, to build up and to batter
the wooden blocks of mimic citadels ; to arrange in countless
1 Otheman to Leicester. (Brit. Mus. Galba, C. xi. 216, 1 Feb. 1587, MS.)

1587. BARNEVELD'S INFLUENCE IN THE PROVINCES. 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
the wars," said one who fancied himself an' acute observer at
exactly this epoch. "And whereas it might be supposed that
in respect to his birth and place, he would affect the chief
mUitary command in these countries, it is found by experience
had of his humour, that there is no chance of his entering into
competition with the others."1 A modest young man, who
could bide his time — but who, meanwhile, under the guidance
of his elders, was doing his best, both in field and cabinet, to
learn the great lessons of the age— he had already enjoyed
much solid practical instruction, under such a desperate
fighter as Hohenlo, and under so profound a statesman as
Barneveld. For at this epoch Olden-Barneveld 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 humour to
follow the wars. As to his prudent* and dignified deportment
there was httle doubt. " Count Maurice. behaveth 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
them, as they do every day among themselves."2
Certainly the most profitable intercourse that Maurice
could enjoy with Hohenlo . was upon the battle-field. In
winter-quarters, that hard-fighting, hard-drinking, and most
turbulent chieftain, was not the best Mentor for a youth
whose destiny pointed him out as the leader of a free com
monwealth. , After the campaigns were over — if they ever
1 Project for the Government of the I * Otheman to Leicester, 16 Jan.
Provinces. ('Cabala,' p. 23.) | 1587. (Brit. Mus. Galba, C. xi. 99, MS.)

138

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XHL

could be over — the Count and other nobles from the same
country were too apt to indulge in those mighty 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." x
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 Netherland
cause. Thirty thousand pounds sterling— according to his
own statement— he was already out of pocket, and, unless
the Queen would advance him the means to redeem his pro
perty, his broad lands were to be brought to the hammer.2
But it was the Queen, not tho States-General, who owed the
money ; for the Earl had advanced these sums as a portion
of the royal contingent. Five hundred and sixty thousand
pounds sterling had been the cost of one year's war during
the English governor's administration ; and of this sum one
hundred and forty thousand had been paid by England.3
There was a portion of the* sum, over and above their monthly
levies, for which the States had contracted a debt, and they
were extremely desirous to obtain, at that moment, an addi
tional loan of fifty thousand pounds from Ehzabeth ; a favour
which Elizabeth was very firmly determined not to grant. It
was this terror at the expense into which the Netherland war
was plunging her, which made the English sovereign so
desirous for peace, and filled the anxious mind of Walsingham
with the most painful forebodings.

1 Otheman to Leicester, 7 Jan. 1587.
(Ibid. p. 72, MS.)
' "List of the Earl of Leicester's
mortgages, to raise money spent in
doing her Majesty service in the Low
Countries." (3. P. Office,' 1587, MS.)
There were five different mortgages
of estates and manors in England,
amounting in all to 18,0002. " All the

mortgages above written are past re
demption, except on present payment
of the due debts. His Lordship doth
owe an infinite sum' besides for his ex
penses made in theso services, over
and besides these debts."
' Wilkes to Walsingham, 12 Jan.
1587. Same to Burghley, 12 Jan. 1587.
(S. P. Office MSS.)

1587.

UNPOPULARITY OF LEICESTER.

139

Leicester, in spite of his good qualities— such as they were
— had not that most necessary gift for a man in his position,
the art of making friends. No man made so many enemies.
He was an excellent hater, and few men have been more
cordially hated in return He was imperious, insolent, hot-
tempered. He could brook no equal. He had also the fatal
defect of enjoying the 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 Barneveld, while ho hated Sir John
Norris with a most passionate hatred. Wilkes, the English
representative, was already a special object of his aversion.
The unvarnished statements made by the stiff counsellor, of
the expense of the past year's administration, and the various
errors committed, had inspired Leicester with such ferocious
resentment, that the friends of Wilkes trembled for his life.1

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

ho said, " which I will avow with mino
oath upon the Holy Testament, that I
am. therein as falsely 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, uncivil, lewd, or undutiful
term of your Lordship. I trust in tho
observation you have made of my con
versation, serving her Majesty a dozen
years under your wing, did never see
that I was so indiscreet as .to speak
irreverently of men of your Lordship's
place, and I hope you havo not found
me so foolish as by such 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 speak it without
vaunt, that there was no man in court
of my sort that had more good-will of
high and low than myselfj before tho
acceptance of this cursed and unfor
tunate journey, which, as I declared
to your Lordship at the beginning,
will be, I fear, the cause of my ruin ;
and then it pleased you to give mo
this advice, that I should serve hor
Majesty truly, and refer the rest to
God. Your Lordship doth know tho

140

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XIII.

Cordiality between the governor-general and Count Maurice
had become impossible. As for Willoughby and Sir WUliam
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. Barneveld
is not your very great friend, whereof I can write no more at
this time."1
This certainly was a small proportion out of a council of
eighteen, when all the leading politicians of the country were
in avowed hostility to the governor. And thus the Earl was,
at this most important crisis, to depend upon tho subtle and
dangerous Deventer, and upon two inferior personages, the
"fellow Junius"2 and a non-descript, whom Hohenlo cha-

humours and disposition of my great
adversary better than I, and can
judge thereof accordingly, which, with
silence, I will leave to plead for me in
your grave conceipt, together with tho
unlikelihood that I, having no cause
of offense and finding 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.
. . . Your Lordship hath herein dealt
with me according to yourself, that
you have not directly condemned me
before you heard me  If my ad

versary were as mean in quality as
myself, I would not doubt but by God's
grace and help, to make mine inno-
cency appear upon him with my hand."
Wilkes to Burghley, 17 Feb. 1587. (S.
P. Office MS.)
Thus it appears that the Lord Trea
surer's conduct towards the Counsellor,
who had been taking his advice of
" serving her Majesty truly and refer
ring the rest to God," was as honour
able as that of Leicester was base.
1 Otheman to Leicester, 16 Jan. 1587.
(MS. already cited.)
2 Common expression of Hohenlo.
(Bor, III. xxiii. 28.)

1587.

INTRIGUES OF HIS SERVANTS.

141

racterized as a "long lean Englishman, with a little black
beard."1 This meagre individual however seems to have been
of somewhat doubtful nationality. He called himself Othe
man, claimed to be 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 Eobert Dale.2
It was not the best policy for the representative of the
English Queen to trust to such counsellors at a moment when
the elements of strife between Holland and England were
actively at work ; and when the safety, almost the existence,
of the two commonwealths depended upon their acting cor
diaUy in concert. " Overyssel, Utrecht, Friesland, and Gel
derland, have agreed to renew the offer 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."3 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 more proceed to England in
order to confer with Elizabeth ; but there was much delay in
regard to the step, and much indignation, in consequence, on
the part of the Earl. The opposition came, of course, from
the Barneveld party. " They are in no great haste to offer
the sovereignty," said Wilkes. " First some towns of Hol
land made bones thereat, and now they say that Zeeland is not
resolved." i
The nature and the causes of the opposition offered by

1 Bor, III., MS. last cited.
' Fowler to Burghley, 7 Oct. 1589,
in Murdin's State Papers, p. 639.
3 Speech of Leicester to the deputies
of States-General, just before his de
parture, Nov. 1586. (S. P. Office MS.)
"The town of Utrecht," said Wilkes
a few weeks later, " doth dissent from
the rest of the provinces in the manner
of their sovereignty, who seeming to
be best affected to 'her Majesty,. do
mean to yield her the same as Charles

V. did hold it, reserving only their
principal privileges and religion, which
the rest do not intend to do, as I can
learn, who do purpose to charge the
same with many strange conditions. I
would be glad to know your honour's
opinion of her Majesty's purpose there
in, whereby I may better direct, my
services here." Wilkes to ' Walsing
ham, 19 Jan. 1587. (S. P. Office MS.)
* Wilkes to Leicester, 24 Dec. 1586.
(S. P. Office MS.)

142 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XIII
Barneveld and the States of Holland have been sufficiently
explained. Buys, maddened by his long and unjustifiable 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 his cousin Count Lewis
William, was himself governed by Barneveld. 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 a legal jurisdiction over the whole
ancient episcopate. Under these 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 disasters,
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." x
" 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-
1 Otheman to Leicester, 29 Jan. 1587. (S. P. Office MS.)

1587.

GOSSIP OF HIS SECRETARY.

143

ings four or five hours, as though I had been the greatest
thief, murderer, and traitor in the land."
And why was the unfortunate Otheman thus hunted to his
lair ? Because he had chosen to indulge in scanddlum mag-
natum, and had thereby excited the frenzy of all the great
nobles whom it was, most important for the English party to
conciliate. There had been gossip about the Princess of Chimay and
one Calvaert, who hved 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." 1
So said Otheman, in order to comfort her : " Your Highness
is aware that such things are said of all. I am sure I hear
every day plenty of speeches about lords and ladies, queens
and princesses. You have little cause to trouble yourself
for such matters, being known to live honestly and like £
good Christian lady. Your Highness is not the only lady
spoken of."
The Princess listened with attention.
"Think of the stories about the Queen of England and my
Lord of Leicester ! " 2 said Otheman, with infinite tact. " No
person is exempted from the tongues of evil speakers ; but
virtuous and godly men do put all such foolish matter under
their, feet. Then there is the Countess of Moeurs, how much
evil talk does one hear about her ! "
The Princess seemed still more interested and even excited ;
and the adroit Otheman having thus, as he imagined, very
successfully smoothed away her anger, went off to have a
httle , more harmless gossip about the Princess and the
Countess, with Madame de Meetkerke, who had sent Leicester
the rose from her garden.
But, no sooner had he gone, than away went her Highness

1 Otheman to Leicester, last cited. .
" D)id — toiidem verbis^ It is some
what amusing to find, in a letter to

Leicester from his own secretary, these
allusions to the " scandal about Queen
Elizabeth."

144 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XHE
to Madame de Moeurs, " a marvellous wise and well-spoken
gentlewoman and a grave," 1 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."2 For her own part
the Princess avowed her determination to have him instantly
murdered.3 Count Moeurs was quite of the same mind, and
desired nothing better than to be 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 called upon to explain his innuendos,
he fell into much trepidation, and gave the names of several
English captains, whom he supposed to be at that time in
England. "For if I had denied the whole matter," said he,
" they would have given me the lie, and used me according
to their evil mind."4 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 whole
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."5
He was immediately examined before the council, and suc
ceeded in clearing and justifying himself to the satisfaction of

' Leicester to Walsingham, in Bruce, p. 217.
a Otheman to Leicester. MS. before cited. ' Ibid. * Ibid. • Ibid.

1597. ITS MISCHIEVOUS EFFECTS 145
his friends. His part was afterwards taken by the councillors,
by all the preachers and godly men, and by the university of
Leyden. But it was well understood that the blow and the
affront had been levelled at the English governor and the
English 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." x
Now the Princess Chimay, besides being of honourable
character, was a sincere and exemplary member of the
Calvinist church, and well inclined to the Leicestrians. She
was daughter of Count Meghem, one of the earliest victims of
Philip IL, 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. ;2 but thenceforward
he went off most abruptly from the party of England, became
hand and glove with Hohenlo, accepted the influence of
Barneveld, and did his best to wrest the city of U trecht from
English authority. Such was the effect of the secretary's
harmless gossip.
"I thought Count Moeurs and his wife better friends to
your Excellency than I do see them to be," said Otheman
afterwards. " But he doth now 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 Arnheim have an intent to sell and betray
the town to the enemy."3

1 Otheman to Leicester, 1 Feb. 1587.
(Brit. Mus. Galba, C. xi. 216. MS.)
a On the contrary, although Hohenlo
had been doing his best to gain him,
having been drunk with him most
conscientiously for a fortnight at a
time, his wife, who was his command
ing officer, had expressed aversion to
the German party, and great affection
for that of Leicester. "The Countess
told me but yesterday," Otheman had
VOL. II. — L

written only a few days before, " that
her husband was not so foolish as to
trust him, who had deceived him so
often, and that she will never permit
her husband to go from the party of
England." Otheman to Leicester, 16th
Jan. 1587. (Brit. Mus. Galba, C. xi.
p. 99. MS.)
3 Otheman to Leicester, 1 Feb. 1587.
(MS. before cited.)

146 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XLH.
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 Phihp 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 t& 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 young 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
advised 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 me
in the field."
" To whom did he make that promise ?" asked the Earl.
" To Sir Philip Sidney," answered the Captain.

1587.

THE QUARREL OF NORRIS AND 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 for me," said he ;
" considering the meanest captain in all the country hath as
good entertainment as I."
"I -can do but little for you before my departure," said
Leicester ; " but at my return I will advise to do more."
After this amicable conversation Norris thanked his Lord
ship, took his leave, and straightway wrote his letter to Count
Hollock.2 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
covered. Norris, in reply, acknowledged his courteous
promise, and hoped that he might be speedily restored to
health.3 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

1 Edward Norris to the Lords, 28
July, 1587. Sir John Norris to Wal
singham, same date. (S. P. Office MS.)
' Ibid.
3 Edward Norris to Leicester (the cor
respondence with Hohenlo enclosed),

Nov. 1586. (S. P. Office MS.) Com
pare Brace's 'Leyc. Corresp.,' Appen
dix, 474, 475. Remonstrance of Count
Hohenlo. to the States-General, 3 Dec.
1587; apud Bor, III. xxiii. 121-129
Reyd, V. 80, 81.

148

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XIII

furnished, together with a copy of the correspondence. The
Earl took the papers, and promised to allow most honourably
of it in the Council." 1
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 kingdoms and countries, for a simple captain to send
such a summons to a man of his station, without consent of
the supreme authority. It was plain," he added, " that the
English governor-general had connived at the affront, for
Norris had been living in his family and 'dining at his table.
Nay, more, Lord Leicester had made him a knight at
Flushing just before their voyage to England." 2
There seems no good reason to doubt the general veracity
of the brothers Norris, although, for the express purpose of
screening Leicester, Sir John represented at the time to
Hohenlo and others that the Earl had not been privy to the
transaction.3 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.

1 E. Norris to the Lords. J. Norris
to Leicester. (MSS.' before cited.) E.
Norris to Leicester, 21 Nov. 1586.
(S. P. Office MS.)
2 Remonstrance of Hohenlo, before
cited. Hoofd, Vervolgh, 209.
8 "For all this I will assure you
that I did always, both to the Council,
the States, and Count Hollock, ' con
fidently deny [i. e. maintain] that my

Lord knew not of it, because they
should not for this matter have any
advantage against his Lordship." Sir
John Norris to Sir F. Walsingham,
before cited.
The two negatives do not here make
an affirmative; but it is evident that
Leicester made great use of this
damaging denial on the part of Norris.

1587.

THE EARL'S PARTICIPATION IN THE AFFAIR.

149

The quarrel between Hohenlo and Norris was afterwards
amicably arranged by Lord Buckhurst, during his embassy to
the States, 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 whenever he spoke of the
transaction, and denounced Sir John Norris as " a fool, liar,
and coward" on all occasions, besides overwhelming his
brother, Buckhurst, Wilkes, and every other person who took
their part, with a torrent of abuse ; and it is well known that
the Earl was a master of Billingsgate.1
"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;

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

1 J. Norris to Walsingham, 14 March,
1587. Same to same, 3 June, 1587.
(S. P. Office MSS.)
" The best is, such tales • can no
more irritate my Lord's anger against
me," said Sir John; "for since he
affirmeth that I am a fool, a coward,

and a hinderer of all these services, I
know not what more he can be pro
voked to."
1 Leicester to Buckhurst, 30 April
1587. Same to Walsingham, 4 Aug.
1587. (S. P. Office MSS.)

150

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XIH.

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, Buckhurst,
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,1 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 possibihty 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 stUl 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
untruths, 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." 2
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-

1 E. g. " The lies which Lord Buck
hurst, Sir J. Norris, and Wilkes, did
with their malicious wits and slander
ous tongues devise and utter," wrote
Leicester, to the Privy .Council, "con
cern my honour and my life, I .demand
that I, being found clear, and they to
have slandered me, may have that
remedy against them which is in justice
due." Leicester to the Privy Council,
19 Aug. 1587. (S. P. Office MS.)

11 Leicester to Burghley, 11 Sept.
1587. (S. P. Office MS.) The meddling
Otheman seems to have made himself
privately very busy in this affair. He
sent Leicester copies of the letters
written by. the brothers Norris, and
declared that he was " enticed by
them, in the Earl's absence, to become
a forger and liar in this matter, but
utterly refused." MS. last cited.

1587.

HIS INCREASED ANIMOSITY TO NORRIS.

151

cepting Wilkes. To the Queen, to the Lords of the Privy
Council, to Walsingham, to Burghley, he poured forth endless
quantities of venom, enough to destroy the characters of a
hundred honest men.
" The declaration of the two Norrises for the cartel is most
false, 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 knew of the letter, nor
gave consent to it, nor heard of it till it was complained of
from Count Hollock. But, as they are false in this, so you
wUl 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
but an ass and a fool, who, if a lie would serve his turn, would
spare . it. I remember I have heard that the Earl of Sussex
would say so ; and indeed this gentleman doth imitate him in
divers things." x

1 Leicester to Walsingham, 12 Aug.
1587. (S. P. Office MS.) To the Lord
Treasurer the Earl took pains to nar
rate the whole story, with much em
phasis, and in minute detail ; and it is
important to lay it before the reader,
as an offset to the simple and appa
rently truthful narrative of Edward
Norris, because such intimate revela-,
tions indicate to us the really trifling
springs of numerous great events. As
before observed, the affair in itself is
one which history should justly dis
dain, but it swells into considerable
importance, both on account of its
extensive results, and from tho light
which it throws on the character of
Leicester, the most- important person
age, during his lifetime, iu the wholo
kingdom of England.
"Would God," said Leicester to
Burghley, "that it had pleased her
Majesty to have suffered my Lord
Buckhurst and Sir Jolra.Norris to have
gone on with their plot, for they" laid
a most malicious plot against mo. As

for tho answer that Sir John Norris
and his brother have made touching
their acquainting me with the cartel
to Count Hollock, thus made now to
your Lordship,, if ever I knew or
heard any : news of this cartel till
complaint came to me from the Count,.
I renounce my allegiance and fidelity
to my Sovereign Lad}-. Therefore-
mark the arrogant boldness of those-
young fellows that will face a lie oC
that sort. But I have here Sir
Wflliam Pelham and Sir William
Russel, 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. He then besought me to
hear his brother and to see the letters,,
assuring me thore was no such cartel.
as was reported.. I commanded him.
to give me the copy of his letters, and
bring it to me. Meanwhile, ,1 was-
gone to the council, and , whilst we
were at council, an hour or two after,
Edward Norris sent me his letters,

152

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XIII.

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, declaring
what the. gent. was. Yet did I then
daclare to them all what order I had
taken for Norris, that he 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 one 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 bo saved with tho
Count Hollock, touching tho disgraco
he was in, .with such like words. I
answered, - ' the Count Hollock is now
sick and sore, and it were no honesty
for Sir John's brother to offer him any
quarrel. Besides, I will not suffer
it, so long a3 I am here, and Edward
Norris is commanded to go into Eng
land. No doubt the Count will remem
ber his promise, which — as Sir : John
Norris had told me — was, that when
the camp was broken up, he will answer
his brother 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 speak with
mo at Deventer.
Besides, after I was gono, 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 ma know of the Count's having
received such letters and brags from
Norris, and that- now he began to
amend, Norris, as he heard, was gono
away ¦ with me into England. He
marvelled much he - would do so, and
sent his messenger to see if- it were so.
I answered him, it was so, for the
gentleman, Sir Edward Norris, lay
there asleep, and he was to go into

England by her Majesty's express
commandment. For toy part, I said,
I was willing also to carry him with
me, for that I would be loth to leave
any occasion behind me of trouble or
discord, knowing already some mislike
to be between his' brother John. and
the Count. This was my answer.
Now, judgo 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
with mo for taking- him away. If
ever there were other speeches, either
by tho one Norris or the other, or if
ever I knew of this cartel, directly or
indirectly, more than your Lordship
that was in England, till tho com
plaint camo to me of . it, I am tho
falsest wretch that lives. If I had
liked of their quarrels or cartels,
there was means enough for mo to
leave them to their own revenge. I
havo troubled your Lordship too long
with this trifle, but you should know
the shameless audacity of these young
fellows, whose cunning sly heads you
had need look into." Leicester to
Burghley, 12 Aug. 1587. (Br. Mus.
Galba, D. I. 240, MS.)
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 the whole strength
of his case. So soon as it appeared
that the state-council was angry, and
that the Count considered himself
outraged, the Earl seems to havo
takon advantago of a subterfuge, and
to have made up by violence what ho
lacked in argument.
It is difficult to imagine a more
paltry affair to occupy the attention
of grave statesmen and generals for ?
months, and to fill the archives of
kingdom and' commonwealth with
mountains of correspondence.

1587. SEIZURE OF DEVENTER.' 153
great pains were taken to secure the city of Deventer. This
was, after Amsterdam and Antwerp, the most important
mercantile place in all the Provinces. It was a large pros
perous 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 tho town, and tho 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
Marshal made short work of it. Taking Sir William Stanley
and the greater part of his regiment with him, he caused
them, day by day, to steal into the town, in small parties of
ten and fifteen. No objection was made to this proceeding
on the part of the city government. Then Stanley himself
arrived 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,
with grim courtesy, that tho 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
his disaster. His Excellency had therefore sent him to re
quire the town to receive an English garrison. " So make
up your minds, and delay not," said Pelham ; " for I have
many important affairs on my hands, and must send word to
his Excellency at once. To-morrow morning, at eight o'clock,
I shall expect your answer." l
Next day, the' magistrates were all assembled in the town-
house before six. Stanley had filled the great square with
his troops, but he found that the burghers — five thousand of
whom constituted the municipal militia — had chained the
streets and locked the gates. At seven o'clock Pelham pro
ceeded to the town-house, and, followed by his train, made
his appearance before the magisterial board. Then there was

1 Letter of Henry Archer, from
Utrecht, 23 Oct. 15S6, in the Appendix
to Mr. Brace's admirably edited

volume of 'Leyeester Correspondence,'
478-480.

154 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XIH.
a knocking at the door, and Sir William Stanley entered,
having left a strong guard of soldiers at the entrance to
the hall.
".I am come for an answer," said the Lord Marshal ; " tell
me straight." The magistrates hesitated, whispered, and
presently one of them slipped away.
" There's one of you gone," cried the Marshal. " Fetch him
straight back ; or, by the living God, before whom I stand,
there is not one of you shall leave this place with life."
So the burgomasters sent for the culprit, who returned.
" Now, teU me," said Pelham, " why you have, this night,
chained your streets and kept such strong watch while your
friends and defenders were, in the town ? Do you think we
came over here to spend our lives and our goods, and to leave
all we have, to be thus used and thus betrayed by you ?
Nay, you shall find us trusty to our friends, but as politic as
yourselves. 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 nominated,
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," said 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.1
There could be no doubt that a city so important and thus
fortunately secured was worthy to be weU guarded. There
could be no doubt either that it would be well to concfliate
the rich and influential Papists in the place, who, although
1 Letter of Henry Archer, &c, just cited.

[587. STANLEY APPOINTED ITS GOVERNOR. 155
attached to the ancient religion, were not necessarUy 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 be governor of the town,
and stationed in it a garrison of twelve hundred wild Irish
men.1 Sir William was a cadet of one of the 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.2 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 are 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 appaUing, 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 and a source of constant embarrassment to the more
orderly troops in- the service of the republic. " It seemed,"
said one who had seen them, " that they belonged not to
Christendom, but to BrazU." 3 Moreover, they were all
Papists, and, however much one might be disposed to censure
that great curse of the age, religious intolerance — which was
almost as flagrant iu the councils of Queen Elizabeth as in
those of Phihp — it was certainly a most fatal policy to place
such a garrison, at that critical juncture, in the newly-acquired
1 Reyd. v. 85. J. Norris to Burghley, 21 Jan. 1587. (S. P. Office MS.)
" Ibid. " " 3 Ibid.

156

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XHI.

city. Yet Leicester, who had banished Papists from Utrecht
without cause and without trial, now placed most notorious
Catholics in Deventer.1
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-eastern 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 Eoland 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 girdle2 — he 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 tho 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

1 Reyd. ubi sup. Le Petit, II. xiv.
341. Bor, II. xxii. 878-879. Wage
naar, viii. 196. Meteren, xiv. 250.

2 Camden, III.
' Chronicle,' 375.

397.

Baker's

1586.

YORK AND STANLEY.

157

volcano-ship at the siege of Antwerp. Subsequently returning
to England, he had, on Leicester's appointment, obtained the
command of a company in the English contingent, and had
been conspicuous on the field of Warnsveld ; 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 ?
Kemonstrances 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 charge of the whole
English army, during his absence in England.1 In answer
to a petition made by the States against the appointment of
York, " in respect to his perfidious dealings before," the Earl
replied that he wouM answer for his fidelity as for his own
brother ; adding peremptorily — " Do you trust me ? Then
trust York."3
But, besides his other qualifications for high command,
Stanley possessed an inestimable one in Leicester's eyes. He
was, 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 with 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.3
Now supreme executive authority had been delegated to
the state-council by the Governor-General during his
absence. Command in chief over all the English forces,

'Wilkes to Leicester, 24 Jan. 15S7.
(8. P. Office MS.)
2 Ibid. Sir John Conway to Wal

singham, 28 Jan. 1587. (S. P. Office MS.)
3 Meteren, xiii. 238. Bor, II. xxii.
786-787. Wagenaar, viii. 188-189.

158 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XHI.
whether in the Queen's pay or the State's pay, had been
conferred upon Norris, while command over the Dutch and
German 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 responsibihty 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 malice
borne me is not withered, but that I must look for like fruits
therefrom as before ; " l and he implored the Lord-Treasurer,
that when his honour and reputation should be called in
question, he might be 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 Roland 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 hathsbeen." 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." 2
Honest CouncUlor Wilkes, who did his best to conciliate aU
parties, and to do his duty to England and Holland, to
' J. Norris to Burghley, 17 Nov. 1586. (S. P. Office MS.) * Ibid.

1587.

LEICESTER'S SECRET INSTRUCTIONS.

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 dare avouch, of my own poor skill, that
her Majesty hath not a second subject of his place and quality
so able to serve in those countries as he  I doubt not
but God will move her Majesty, in despite of the devil, to
respect him as. he deserves." l
Sir John disclaimed any personal jealousy in regard to
Stanley's appointment, but, within a week or two of the
Earl's departure, he already felt strong anxiety as to its
probable results. " If it prove no hindrance to the service,"
he said, "it shall nothing trouble me. I desire that my
doings may show what I am ; neither will I seek, by indirect
means to calumniate him or any other, but will let them
show themselves."2
Early in December he informed the Lord-Treasurer that
Stanley's own men were boasting that their master acknow
ledged no superior authority to his own, and that he had said
as much himself to the magistracy of Deventer. The
burghers had already complained, through the constituted
guardians of their liberties, of his insolence and rapacity, and
of the turbulence of his troops, and had appealed to Sir
John ; but the colonel-general's remonstrances had been re
ceived by Sir William with contumely and abuse, and by
the vaunt that he had even a greater commission than any
he had yet shown.3
"Three sheep, an ox, and a whole hog," were required

1 Wilkes to Burghley, 17 Nov. 1586.
Samo to Walsingham, 17 May, 1S87.
(S. P. Office MSS.)
2 J- Norris to Walsingham, 9 Dec.

1586. (S. P. Office MS.)
3 Same to Burghley, 12 Dec. 1586.
(S. P. Office MS.)

160

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XIIL

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.1 The paymaster-general of the
Enghsh forces was daily appealed to by Stanley for funds —
an application which was certainly not unreasonable, 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-General
sent him a month's pay for himself and all his troops, although,
as he was in the Queen's service, no claim could justly be
made upon them.2
Wilkes, also, as English member of the state council,
faithfully conveyed to the governor-general in England the
complaints which came up to all the authorities of the repubhc,
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

1 Wilkes to Walsingham, 19 Jan.
1587. (S. P. Office MS.)
3 " He is not contented with tho
entertainment of 40Z. sterling a month
allowed him by the States as governor
of the place, but bath taken perforce
from the commissioners lately sent
thither to deliver a month's pay, an
allowance of 101 sterling a month
over and besides for every company of
his regiment, being, as he sayeth, ten
companies, amounting by the muster
to 1400 florins (140!.), 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 Count

Hohenlo, or to any earl that serveth
in these countries. He is charged
further to take within the country
hereabouts, from the poor villagers,
weekly, for the provisions of his table,
one whole ox, three sheep, and one
hog, or in lieu of the hog, twenty
shillings sterling; and if it be not
brought every week, they sent the
soldiers to take it perforce," &c. &c.
Wilkes to Walsingham, 19 Jan. 1587.
(S. P. Office MS.)
This certainly was stronger diet
than the " bare cheese " of which Sir
William complained. Compare Reyd,
vi. 96-97. Bor, II. xxii. 878-879.

1587. WILKES REMONSTRATES WITH STANLEY. 161
were an officer of the Duke of Parma. It might easily be
judged whether such conduct were likely to win the hearts
of Netherlanders to Leicester and to England.1
"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 negli
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."2 He added that he had already written
earnestly to Sir WiUiam, "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
sibihty, 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 WiUiam," 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 you have
seized one of their forts, that the Irish soldiers do commit
many extortions and exactions upon the inhabitants, that you
have imprisoned their burgesses, and do many things against
their laws and privileges, so that it is feared the best affected

1 Wilkes to Leicester, 9 Dec. 1586. (S. P. Office MS.) s Ibid.
OL. II.— M

162 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XHL
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 the 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 weU 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 privileges 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 own conceipt, confer some words to authorize you in
some larger sort, but, believe me, Sir, they will not warrant
you sufficiently to deal any further than I have said, for I
have perused a copy of your commission for that purpose. I
know the name itself of a governor of a town is odious to this
people, and hath been ever since the remembrance of the Spanish
government, and if we, by any lack of foresight, should give
the like occasion, we should make ourselves as odious as they
are, which God forbid.
" You are to consider that we are not come into these coun
tries for their defence 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. If 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."1 1 Wilkes to Stanley, 9 Dec. 1586. (S. P. Office MS.)

1587.

STANLEY'S INSOLENCE AND EQUIVOCATION.

163

Thus spake the stiff councillor, earnestly and well, in behalf
of England's honour and the good name of England's Queen.
But the 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 gone so far
as to scan the terms of my cpmmission, 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
with bread and bare cheese." 1
He acknowledged possessing himself of the keys of the
town, but defended it on the ground of necessity, and of the
character of the people, " who thrust out the Spaniards and
Almaynes, and afterwards never would obey the Prince and
States." " I would be," he said, " the sorriest man that lives, if
by my negligence the place should be lost. Therefore I
thought good to seize the great tower and ports. If I meant
evil, I needed no keys, for here is force enough." 2
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
unto the magistrates themselves. But I think they sent
some rhetoricians, who could allege of little grief, and speak
pitiful, and truly I find your ears have been as pitiful in so
timorously condemning me. I assure you that her Majesty
hath not a better servant than I nor a more faithful in these
parts. This I wiU prove with my flesh and blood. 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 3 and men of little. So, good

1 Stanley to Wilkes, 14 Dec. 1586.
(S. P. Office MS.) * Ibid.
3 " CaUaminaters," so Sir William

called the men who were speaking the
truth about him. (MS. ubi sup.) Ho
was more used to handle the sword

164 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XIII.
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 aUuded 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
clay. " This my wealth will not long hold out," he observed,
" but yet I wUl 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
Yorke, that fort -would have been in danger. But, according
to his desire and forethought, I furnished that place with
cavalry and iafantry ; for I know the troops there be mar
vellous weak." l
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-councU:
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.2
But, a day or two before thus addressing him, he had
already enclosed to Leicester very important letters addressed
by the council of Gelderland to Count Moeurs, stadholder of
the Province, and by him forwarded to the state-council. For

than the pen, yet the untaught vigour
of his stylo causes an additional re-
grot that a man so brave and so
capable should have thrown himself

away. 1 Stanley to Wilkes, ubi sup.
'J Wilkes to Stanley, 18 Dec. 158a
(S. P. Office MS.)

1587.

PAINFUL RUMOURS AS TO HIM 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.1 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.2
A very pleasant state of feeling, perhaps, to contemplate— as
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 siege.3
The state-council had written concerning these rumours to
Eoland York, but . the patient man had replied in a manner
which Wilkes characterized as " unfit to have been given to
such as were the executors of the Earl of Leicester's autho
rity." The councillor implored the governor-general accord
ingly to send some speedy direction in this matter, as well to
Eoland York as to Sir William Stanley ; for he explicitly

1 "Le Conseil de Gueldres au Comte
de Moeurs et Nieuwenaer, 14 Dec.
1586. Wilkes to Leicester, 16 Dec.
1586. (S. P. Office MSS.)
2 Hoofd, Vervolgh, 220. Reyd, vi. 95.

3 Wilkes to Stanley, 17 Dec. 1586,
MS. strongly remonstrating .against
the practice. Hoofd, Reyd, ubi sup,
Wagenaar, viii. 196.

166

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XIH.

and earnestly warned him, that those personages would pay
no heed to the remonstrances of the state-council.1
Thus again and again was Leicester — :on whose head rested,
by his own dehberate act, the whole responsibUity — 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
Eoland 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 secretly given him to understand that his
object 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."2 Thus the astute Sir Francis
had been outwitted by the adventurous Eoland, 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

1 Wilkes to Leicester, 16 Dec. 1586.
(S. P. Office MS.)
1 Parma to PhUip H. 12 Feb. 1587.

" Tan liviano y arriscado," &c. (Arch.
de Simancas, MS.)

1587.

DUPLICITY OF YORK.

167

political world as he could wish. He had found " many cross
and indirect proceedings," and so, according to Lord Leicester's
desire, he sent him a "discourse" on the subject, which he
begged Sir Francis to " peruse, add to, or take away from,"
and then to inclose to the Earl. He hoped he should be
forgiven if the style of the production was not quite satisfac
tory ; for, said he, "the place where I am doth too much
torment my memory, to call every point to my remembrance." 1
It must, in truth, have been somewhat a hard task upon his
memory, to keep freshly in mind every detail of the parallel
correspondence whicli he was carrying on with the Spanish
and with the Enghsh government. Even a cool head like
Eoland's might be forgiven for being occasionally puzzled.
"So if there be anything hard to be understood," he observed
to Walsingham, " advertise me, and I will make it plainer."
Nothing 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
Eoland 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 Eoland, " for true as I humbled my mind, to please
her Majesty, your honour, and the dead,2 now am I content
to humble myself lower to please myself, for now, since his

1 Rowland York to Walsingham,
7 Jan. 1587. (S. P. Office MS.)
* By the dead, he meant Sir Philip

Sidney, who had been deceived into a
friendly feeling for the adventurer.
Meteren, xiv. 250.

£68 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XIIL
Excellency's departure, there is no form of proceeding neither
honourably nor honestly.1
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 24th
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-Barne
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 extraordinarily qualified for
his post, but he ivas the governor-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 Overing, a
haberdasher from Ludgate Hill, was caught at Eotterdam,
on his way to Ireland, with a bundle of letters from Sir
WUUam Stanley, and was sent, as a suspicious character, to
1 York to Walsingham. (MS. last cited.)

1587. STANLEY'S BANQUET AT DEVENTER. 169
the state-council at the Hague.1 On the same day, another
Englishman, a small youth, " well-favoured," rejoicing in a
" very httle red beard, and in very ragged clothes," unknown
by name, but ascertained to be in the service of Eoland York
and to have been the bearer of letters to Brussels, also passed
through Eotterdam. By connivance . of the innkeeper, one
Joyce, also an Englishman, he succeeded in making his
escape.2 The information contained in the letters thus inter
cepted was important, but it came too late, even if then the
state-councU could have acted without giving mortal offence
to Elizabeth and to Leicester.
On the evening of.28th January (N. S.), Sir William Stanley
entertained the magistrates of Deventer at a splendid banquet.
There was free conversation at table concerning the idle sus
picions which had been rife in the Provinces as to his good
intentions and the censures which had been cast upon him for
the repressive measures which he 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
confidence 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.3 Yery 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 2i587.
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
1 Conway to Walsingham, 28 Jan. 1587. (S. P. Office MS )
'Ibid., ' 3 Reyd. vi. 96.

170 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XIIL
had felt much anxiety for some time past as to the disposition
of the burghers. His officers, honest Englishmen, suspecting
no evil and having confidence in their chief, saw nothmg
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 infantry 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 swiftly,
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.1
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
slumbers, 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 uninteUigible
jargon, stood gibbering at every corner, 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 unseasonable 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
1 Bor, II. xxii. 878-879. Reyd, vi. I volgh, 220-221. Le Petit, II. 341.
96-97. Strada, II. 467. Hoofd, Ver- | Wagenaar, viii. 196, seq.

1587.

HE SURRENDERS THE CITY TO TASSIS.

171

the mist — filled to overflowing with troops, whose uniforms
and banners resembled nothing that he remembered in Dutch
and English regiments. Fires were lighted at various corners,
kettles were boiling, and camp-followers and sutlers were
crouching over them, half perished with cold— for it had been
raining dismally all night1 — while burghers, with wives and
children, startled from their dreams by the sudden reveihe'e,
stood gaping about, with perplexed faces . and despairing
gestures. As he approached the town-house — one of those mag
nificent, many-towered, . highly-decorated, municipal palaces
of the Netherlands — he found troops all around it ; troops
guarding 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.2
" Colonel Tassis," said he, " I recommend 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 !
Then are we indeed most miserably betrayed."3
Even the Spanish colonel, who. was of Flemish origin, was
affected by the despair of the Netherlander.
" Let those look to the matter of treachery whom it con
cerns," said he ; "my business here is to serve the King, my
master." " Eender unto Ceesar the things which are Csesar's, and
unto God the things which are God's," said Stanley, with piety.4
The burgher-captain was then assured that no harm was
intended to the city, but that ' it now belonged to his most

1 " Ongeacht dat ze de gantsche
nacht ! gereyst hadden, in seer quaet
en kout weder, ends dat het den sel-

ven voormiddags oock reghendo," &c
Reyd, vi. 96.
2 Ibid. 3 Ibid. J Ibid.

172

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XIII

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, tho
tears running down their cheeks, crying indeed so piteously
that even Stanley began 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." x
Presently some of the ex-magistrates made their appear
ance, and a party of leading citizens went into a private house
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 ho
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

1 "Sir William Stanley did fetch
some of the commons and magistrates
to come and welcome Taxis. With
weeping tears and sad countenances
they gave him reverence, sorry to seo
themselves so betrayed.
" When Sir William Stanley did see
the pitiful state and sorrowful hearts
of the burghers, God mado him havo
some feeling of his sins. His own
conscience, it seemed, accused him,
and he wept with the burghers for com
pany, protesting with vehement words

and oaths that he had dqne it with no
covetous mind for profit, but only for
the discharge of his conscience. It
is now said he hath and shall havo
30,0001" Sir John Conway to Wal
singham, 28 Jan. 1587. (S. P. Office
MS.) Compare Reyd, ubi sup. Wilkes to
Leicester, MS. before cited. Norris
to Burghley, " Jan. 1587. (S. P. Office
MS.)

31

1587.

TERMS OF THE 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.1
The citizens were, as usual in such cases, offered the choice
between embracing the Catholic religion or going into exUe,
a certain interval being allowed them to wind up their affairs.
They were also required to furnish Stanley and his regiment
full pay for the whole period of their service since coming to
the Provinces, and to Tassis three months' wages for his
Spaniards in advance.2 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
wiUing to continue under their old chieftain, particularly as it
was intimated to them that there was an immediate prospect
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 country, 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
the 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

' Reyd, ubi sup.
* Wilkes to Leicester, 24 Jan. 1587.
(S. P. Office MS.)
"From the market-place Taxis and
Stanley went to the town-house,
whither the woeful magistrates were
called and made to welcome Taxis,
and were then required with all expe
dition to furnish and make ready so
much money 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 furnish and deliver as much
more money as might give three
months to the troops of the enemy
then newly entered."

174

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XIII.

a game in Ireland as the Queen has never seen the like aU
the days of her life." 1
Newton had already been solicited by Eoland York to take
service under Parma, and had indignantly declined. Sir
Edmund Carey and his men, four hundred in all, refused, to
a man, to take part in the monstrous treason, and were allowed
to leave the city.2 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 WiUiam Stanley is to be 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 beggar, 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 Sir William
for his most vile facts," as Henchman expressed it, that officer

1 "Que le Colonel Stanley lui a
profere, Je me comporterai tellement
que le pays jusqu'en Hollande et entre
Wezel et Embden, seront en tout
ruind, dedans six jours ; et causerai en
Irlande tel jeu de guerre que la Reine
n'a vu en sa vie." Examination of Capt.
Thomas Newton touching the loss of
Deventer, before the Council of State,
- Jan. 1587. (S. P. Office MS.)
31 " That ho (Lieutenant John Reenan,

in Stanley's service, an earnest man)
may deliver to Sir Francis Walsing
ham some circumstance of the sur
rendering of Deventer, and what
speeches passed from Sir William
Stanley touching Ireland, whither he
thinks to be sent to work her Majesty
some trouble and annoy, if he shall
be able." Sir John Norris to F. Wal
singham, 29 Jan. 1587. (S. P. Off. MS.)
' Wilkes to Leicester, 24 Jan. (MS-
before cited.)

1587.

FEEBLE DEFENCE OP STANLEY'S CONDUCT.

175

remained in poverty and captivity until such time as he could
be exchanged.1
Stanley subsequently attempted in various 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 allegiance to the States ; he was discharged from his
promise to the Earl ; he was his own master ; he wanted
neither 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.2
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,3 who was the chief organizer of the conspiracy, and the

1 Henry Henchman to Walsingham,
22 March, 1587. (S. P. office MS.)
Totidem verbis.
a Bor, Reyd, Strada, Hoofd, 'Ver-
volgh,' Le Petit, Wagenaar, ubi sup.
Bentivoglio, P. II. L v. 312. F.
Haraei Ann. III. 398. Camden, III.
397-398. 3 According to Camden, York had
persuaded Stanley that he had been
accused by the conspirators of being
engaged in the Babington plot, and
that he was "forthwith to be sent
into England, to be hanged." Haraeus

(ubi sup.) has a slight allusion to the
same effect, but I have found no other
intimation of this very improbable
suspicion with regard to Sir William.
The English historian also states that
after the treason Stanley 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 famous
book, and excited all others to go and
do likewise. Camden, B. III. 398.

176

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XHI.

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 ; 1 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." 2
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 ;3 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 Enghsh,
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 Viceroy
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.4

1 MS. Letters before cited. Doyley
to Walsingham, 25 March, 1587. (S. P.
Office MS.)
' " Que ha sido de nota," &c.
Parma to Philip, 12 Feb. 1587. (Arch.
de Simancas, MS.)
3 Ibid. Compare BentivogUo, P. II.
1. v. 312. " Era Cattolico lo Stanley,
e mostr6 di fario per zelo principal-
raente di Religione," says the Cardi
nal, "contuccio ne fu premiaio larga-
mente dal Re, e tanto piu, perche egli
tiro seco nel medesimo servitio tutti
gli Inglesi ch' eravano in Deventer,"
&e. This last statement wo have seen
to be entirely a mistake.

Compare Strada, II. 468, 469, who is
very emphatic with regard to the
purity of Stanley's motives: "Motum
se ad dedeudam urbem Stanlaeus ad-
junxit, non largitionibus, aut honorum
titulis, proditorum pretiis; quae quam-
vis oblata respuerit uti aliena a majo-
rum claritudine, vitaque sua," Ac.
The Jesuit adds, that the Duke warmly
adjured his sovereign not to allow such
disinterestedness to go unrewarded —
and it did not.
4 This is stated distinctly by Lei
cester in his letter to the States-Gene
ral, on first being informed of the
surrender of Deventer: "L'affection

1587.

SUBSEQUENT FATE OF STANLEY AND YORK.

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.1 He went to Spain, and afterwards returned to the
Provinces. He was even reported to have become, through
the judgment of God, a lunatic,2 although the tale wanted con
firmation ; and it is certain that at the close of the year he had
mustered his regiment under Farnese, prepared to join the
Duke in the great invasion of England.3
Eoland 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 his fort. Entering, he called his soldiers
together, bade them tear in pieces the colours of England, and
foUow him into the city of Zutphen.4 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 soing qu ay toujours eu a la con
servation de l'estat des provccs unies
m'augmentent tant plus de regret qu
ay eu d'entendre la trahison de la ville
do Deventer, qu elle a este forme par
la laschete' de celuy auquel S. M. eut
voulu confier royaumes eniiers et lequel
elle pensoit annoblir des plus grands
titres avecq recompenses condignes,

dignite de
Leicester
Feb. 1587.

pour le promouvoir
Vice Roy d'Irlande," &o. o
to the States-General, 12
(Hague Archives, MS.)
1 Bor, II. xxii. 882. Wagenaar, viii.
199. ' "By letters from Deventer, they
write that the traitor Stanley groweth
frantic — a just punishment of God —
and his men very poor and in misery.
The other traitor, York, has been
seen of late in Antwerp and Brussels,
little regarded, whose determination
is to go to Spain or Naples, there to
VOL. IT. — N

live on his stipend, out of the stir of
these wars, fearing that which I hope
to God he shall never - escape."
Captain Ed. Burnham to Walsingham,
7 March, 1587. " (S. 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.
(S. P. Office MS.)
311 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 of." John Giles
to Walsingham, 4 Dee. 1587. (S. P.
Office MS.)
4 Wilkes to Leicester, 24 Jan. 1587.
(S. P. Office MS.)

178

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XHL

expectations, when he made his original offer of service. 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.1
Parma was highly gratified, as may be imagined, at such
successful 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 Enghsh so much blood and money, and is the safety of
Groningen and of aU those Provinces— is now your Majesty's.
Moreover,, the effect of this treason must be to sow great
distrust between the Enghsh and the rebels, who will hence
forth never know in whom they can confide."3
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 Le Marchand, a Frenchman in the service of
the repubhc, was delivered by him to Parma for 16,000 florins.
" 'Tis a very important post," said the Duke, " and the money
was weU laid out." 3
The loss of the city of Gelder, capital of the Province of the
same name, took place in the summer. This town belonged
to the jurisdiction of Martin Schenk, and was his chief place
of deposit for the large and misceUaneous property acquired
by him during his desultory, but most profitable, freebooting
The famous partisan was then absent, engaged in a

career.

lucrative job in the way of his profession. He had made a

1 Bor, Reyd, Hoofd, Wagenaar,
Strada, Bentivoglio, Camden, Le Petit,
Haraeus, locis citatis. Baker's Chro
nicle, 3 85. Meteren, xiv. 245-250. MS.
Letters already cited.

3 Parma to Philip II. 12 Feb. 1587.
(Arch, de Simancas MS.)
* Ibid. Compare Bor, IL xxii. 878.
Strada, II. 466. Wagenaar, viii. 196.
Haraeus, in. 397 et mult. al.

1587.

BETRAYAL OF GELDER TO PARMA.

179

contract — in a very business-Hke way — with the States, to
defend the city of Eheinberg and aU 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 aU vessels going up and down the river before
Eheinberg ; an ad valorem duty, in short, upon all river-
merchandise, assessed and collected in summary fashion.1
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 enthusiasticaUy 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.2 Never
theless, it was a comfort to know that the work would not be
neglected. Schenk was accordingly absent, jobbing the ' Eheinberg
siege, and in his place one Aristotle Patton, a Scotch colonel
in the 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 be in great danger of losing his
place, for Leicester was no friend to him, and intended to
supersede him. Patton had also a decided grudge agamst
Martin Schenk, for that truculent personage had recently
administered to him a drubbing, which no doubt he had richly
deserved.3 Accordingly, when the Duke of Parma made a

1 Wilkes to Leicester, 3 Dec. 1586.
(S. P. Office MS.) 3 Ibid.
3 Strada, n. 500. Baudartii Polemo-

graphia, n. 90. Compare Wagenaar,
viii. 226, who is the authority for the
illustrious pagan name of the Scot.

180

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XIII

secret offer 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
offer top 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 fortune— and
accordingly the city, towards Midsummer, was surrendered to
the Seigneur d'Haultepenne.1 Moreover, the excellent Patton
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
nuptials on the appointed evening ; but, to the surprise of the
Provinces, she became not the haulte et puissante dame de
Champagny, but Mrs. Aristotle Patton.2
For this last treason neither Leicester nor the English were
responsible. Patton was not only a Scot, but a follower of
Hohenlo, as Leicester loudly protested.3 Le Marchant was a

1 Ibid. Leicester to Walsingham,
4 July, 4 Aug. 1587. Lloyd to Wal
singham, 3 July, 1587. (S. P. Office
MSS.) But Strada states that the
plate' and other property were reserved
to the Spanish government.

3 Baudart, ubi sup. Le Petit, II.
346-347. 3 " It is so that Gelders is lost, given
up by Paton, the Scotchman, arid com
manded thither by the Count Hollock,
and hath been wholly at his direction

1587.

THESE TREASONS CAST ODIUM ON THE ENGLISH. 181

Frenchman. But Deventer and Zutphen were places of vital
importance, 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 cornet in the service
of the Earl's nephew, Sir Eobert Sidney, had been seen at
Zutphen in conference with Tassis ; and the horrible suspicion
went abroad that even the illustrious name of Sidney was to
be polluted also.1 This fear was fortunately false, although tho
cornet was unquestionably a traitor, with whom the enemy had
been tampering ; but the mere thought that Sir Eobert 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
Netherlanders in the Enghshmen would how be gone, and
that the Provinces would begin to doubt their best friends.
No fresh treasons foUowed, but they were expected every day.
An organized plot to betray the country was believed in, and
a howl of execration swept through the land. The noble
deeds of Sidney and Willoughby, and Norris and Pelham, and
Eoger 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. Ee-
spectable English merchants went from hostelry to hostelry,
and from town to town, and were refused a lodging for love
or money. The nation was put under ban.2 A most melan
choly change fr6m 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.

and commandment. Yet for the good
nature of Norris and Wilkes, so soon
as they heard of this, reported to tho
States that this Patton was a colonel
of my preferment to make the people
to hate me, " &e. Leicester to Walsing
ham, 2 July, 1587. , (S. P. Office MS.)
It will be perceived that this occur
rence has been placed in juxtaposition
with similar occurrences in the narra

tive, although a few months removed
from them in chronological sequence.
1 Examination of Newton. MS.
before cited. Compare Meteren, xiv.
249-250. Reyd, vi. 97-98.
3 Wilkes to Hatton, 24 Jan. 1587.
Memorial given to Sir Roger Williams,
Feb. _ 1587. Wilke3 to the Queen,
16 Feb. 1587. (S. P. Office MSS.)

¦182

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XHL

At Hohenlo's table the opinion was loudly expressed, even
in the presence of Sir Eoger 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.1
Barneveld, in council of state, declared that Leicester, by
his restrictive letter of 24th November, had intended to carry
the authority over the repubhc into England, in order to
dispose of everything at his pleasure, in conjunction with the
Enghsh cabinet-council, 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.2
Councillor Carl Eoorda maintained at the table of Elector
Truchsess that the country had fallen detyrannide in tyrranni-
dem, and — if they had spurned the oppression of the Spaniards
and the French — that it was now time to rebel against the
English. Barneveld and Buys loudly declared that the Pro
vinces were able to protect themselves without foreign assist
ance, and that it was very injurious to impress a contrary
opinion upon the public mind.3
The whole college of the States-General came before the
state-council, and demanded the name of the man to whom
the Earl's restrictive 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 coUoquy 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.4
No language can exaggerate the consequences of this

1 Abuses offered to her Majesty and
his Excellency and the whole English
nation by the States and others. April,
1587. (S. P. Office MS.) Sir J. Norris
to Walsingham, 25 March, 1587. (S. P.
Office MS.) 3 Ibid.

3 Ibid. Compare Strada, II. 469
Bentivoglio, P. II. 1. iv. 312-313
Bor, II. xxii. 883 ; Wagenaar, viii. 199
el mult. al.
* Wilkes, to Leicester, 24 Jan. 1587.
(S. P. Office MS.)

1587.

MISERABLE PLIGHT OP THE ENGLISH TROOPS.

183

wretched treason. Unfortunately, too, the abject condition
to which 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 five
months not one penny had 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.1
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 forbidden to come through the towns, and
so wandered about, robbing hen-roosts and pillaging the
peasantry.2 Many deserted to the enemy. Many begged
their way to England, and even to the very gates of the
palace, and exhibited their wounds and their misery before
the eyes of that good Queen Bess who claimed to be the
mother of her subjects, — and begged for bread in vain.3
The Enghsh cavalry, dwindled 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.4
A most painful and humiliating condition for brave men who
had been fighting the battles cf their Queen and of the republic,
to behold themselves — through the parsimony of the one and

1 J. Norris to Walsingham, 25 March,
1587. . (S. P. Office MS.)
2 Wilkes to the Queen, 16 Feb. 1587.
Same to Walsingham, 19 Jan. 1587.
(S. P. Office MSS.)

3 Memorial (in Burghley's hand) of
things to be declared, Nov. 1587. (8.
P. Office MS.)
4 Wilkes to Leicester! 12 March
1587. (MS.)

184

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XIII.

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 which
rehef they became, for a time, contented and weU disposed.1

* Wilkes to Leicester, 12 March,
1587. (MS.) "So great is the lack of
discipline among the garrisons," wrote
Wilkes, " especially of our nation, that
I am ashamed to hear the continual
complaints which come to this council
against them. And , albeit Sir John
Norris and I have written often unto
the captains and governors to see re
formation had of tho insolences and
disorders of their soldiers within tho
towns, it is notwithstanding so slen
derly respected as thero followeth no
amendment at all ; so as wo begin to
grow as hateful to the people as tho
Spaniard . himself, who governeth his
towns of conquest with a milder hand
than we do our friends and allies. The
causes hereof we find to bo two. The
one is for lack of pay, without which
it is impossible to preserve discipline
among the soldiers, and most of the
troops in her Majesty's pay (excepting
the garrisons of Brill and Flushing)
have not been paid from the beginning
of September last, being now about
five months. Tho other is lack of
government in the' captains and officers,
who for the most part are either such
as never served- before, and have no
judgment — no not to rule themselves,
arid such as make their profit of tho
poor soldiers . so extremely as they are
hateful, to the companies, wherein if
there is no redress, it were better her
Majesty did revoke all ; for as the case
of the common soldier " now standeth
the States receive little or no service
of them but spoil and ruin of their
towns and countries." Wilkes to Wal
singham, 19 Jan. 1587. (MS.)
And again he writes to the Queen,
about " the weakness and confusion to
which her troops are reduced for want
of pay, having received nothing from
1 Sept. to that day " (16 Feb). " The

captains of tho 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 the late
treasons of Stanley and York, hath
drawn our nation into the hatred of
this people very deeply, so as they are
for the most part turned out of the
towns, and refused to be taken into
garrison. The horsemen, destitute of
money and food, are, without order,
entered now into Holland (an unfit
place for their abode), where the people
are risen against them, and they to
the number of 500 or 600, in. terms
either themselves to do mischief, or
themselves to be cut in pieces by tho
country — a case very lamentable to us
that feel the grief of so hard a choice,
and can find almost no way to prevent
the peril. I have urged the States by
earnest letters (myself being at this
present sick, by God's visitation, to
the danger of my life) to take some
order to relievo your people in this
distress, myself offering my carcase in
pa'wn, to answer as much as they shall
eat, after a certain rate. I find them
reasonably inclined, yet affected by
two impediments— a strange jealousy,
by them conceived of all our nation ;
the other their own want  The
confusions are wonderful that are
grown in this State in the absence of
my Lord of Leicester, which hath
opened many gaps to disorder," &e.
Wilkes to the Queen, 16 Feb. 1587.
(S. P. Office MS.)
And once more ho writes, " I saw
no remedy for them but to engage
myself for some means to feed them
until other order might be taken,
whereupon with the help of mine own

1587. HONESTY AND ENERGY OF WILKES. 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, wliich has hardly found a place in
other chronicles. The parsimony of the great Queen 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
shUlings, of which sum one hundred and forty-six thousand
three hundred and eighty-six pounds and eleven shillings had
been spent by her Majesty, and the balance had been paid,
or was partly owing by the States.1 These were not agreeable
figures, but the figures of honest accountants rarely flatter,
and WUkes 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 Enghsh 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 Eobin 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.
Yet 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 my own carcase,
to repay at the end of two months
800& which I divided among the com
panies distressed, being eight in num
ber, which extended to thirty shillings

a man," &c. Wilkes to Leicester,
12 March, 1587. (S. P. Office MS.)
1 Wilkes to Walsingham, 12 Jan.
1587. Same to Burghley, 12 Jan. 1587.
(S. P. Office MSS.)

186

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XIII.

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," l he did not faU to set before him the
disastrous effects of his sudden departure and of his protracted
absence ; he had painted in darkest colours the results of the
Deventer treason, 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 Queen —
but he had not given up his friendship with Sir John Norris,
because he said " the virtues of the man made him as worthy
of love as any one living, and because the more he knew
him, the more he had cause to affect and to admire him."2
This was the unpardonable offence, 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 effectually damaged the character of
the plain-spoken councillor with the Queen and many of

1 Wilkes to Walsingham, 17 Feb.
1587. (S. P. Office MS!)
' Ibid. Same to tho Queen, 16 Feb.

1587. Same to Walsingham, 17 May,
1587. (S. P. Office MSS.)

1587.

INDIGNANT DISCUSSION IN THE ASSEMBLY.

187

her advisers ; notwithstanding that he plaintively besought
her to "allow him to reiterate his sorry song, as doth the
cuckoo, that she would please not condemn her poor servant
unheard." x
Immediate action was taken on the Deventer treason, and
on the general relations between the States-General and the
English government. Barneveld immediately drew up a
severe letter to the Earl of Leicester. On the 2nd February
Wilkes came by chance into the assembly of the States-
General, with the rest of the councillors, and found Barneveld
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 Barneveld
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
pubhc 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.2 Meantime, a consultation of civilians and of the family
councU 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,3 in order that the actual head of
the Nassaus might be superior in rank to Leicester or to any

1 Wilkes to the Queen, 8 Feb. 1587.
(S. P. Office MS.)
3 Wilkes to Walsingham, 17 May,
1587. (S. P. Office MS.)
Compare Wagenaar, viii. 201, who
states that the famous 4th of February
letter was read and approved by

Wilkes. This is an error, as appears
in the narrative given in the text from
the MS. letter-book of Wilkes.
3 Memorial given by Wilkes to Sir
R. Williams, Feb. 1587. (S. P. Office
MS.) Compare Le Petit, II. xiv. 541,
Wagenaar, viii. 203-204.

188 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XHI;
man who could be sent from England. Maurice was also
appointed by the States, provisionally, governor-general,
with Hohenlo for his heutenant-general.1 That formidable
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 province of Utrecht
was to be annexed to Holland under the perpetual stad-
holderate of Prince Maurice.
1 Meteren, xiv. 250. Wagenaar, viii. 204. Reyd, vi. 100.

1587. LEICESTER IN ENGLAND. 189

CHAPTER XIV.
Leicester in England — Trial of the Queen of Scots — Fearful Perplexity at
the English Court — Infatuation and Obstinacy of tho Queen — Nether
land Envoys in England — Queen's bitter Invective agamst them —
Amazement of the Envoys — They consult with her chief Councillors —
Remarks of Burghley and Davison^ — Fourth of February Letter from the
States — Its severe Language towards Leicester — Painful Position of the
Envoys at Court— Queen's Parsimony towards Leicester.
The scene shifts, for a brief interval, to England. Leicester
had 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."1 Alas, there was not,
so 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
be neglected.
The "daughter of debate" had at last brought herself, it
was supposed, within the letter of the law, and now began
those odious scenes of hypocrisy on the part of Elizabeth,
that frightful comedy — more melancholy even than the
solemn tragedy which it preceded and followed — which must
ever remain the darkest passage in the history of the Queen.
It is unnecessary, in these pages, to make more than a
passing allusion to the condemnation and death of the Queen
of Scots. Who doubts her participation in the Babington
conspiracy? Who doubts that she was the centre of one endless
1 Leicester to Wilkes, 4 Dec. 1587. (S. P. Office MS.)

190 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS Chap. XIVi
conspiracy by Spain and Eome against the throne and life
of Elizabeth ? Who doubts that her long imprisonment in
England was a violation of aU law, all justice, all humanity ?
Who doubts that the fineing, whipping, torturing, hanging,
embowelling of men, women, and children, guilty of no other
crime than adhesion to the Catholic faith, had assisted the
Pope and Philip, and their band of English, Scotch, and Irish
conspirators, to shake Elizabeth's throne and endanger her life ?
Who doubts that, had the English sovereign been capable of
conceiving the 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
wiU, into traitors and conspirators ? Yet who doubts that it
would have required, at exactly that moment, and in the
midst of that crisis, more elevation of soul than could fairly
be predicated of any individual, for Elizabeth in 1587 to
pardon Mary, or to relax in the severity of her 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 bjow. 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."1
1 Leicester to Wilkes, 4 Dec. 1586. (S. P. Office MS.)

1587. TRIAL OF THE QUEEN OF SCOTS. 191
Walsingham, longing for retirement, not only on account of
"his infinite grief for the death of Sir Philip Sidney, which
hath been the cause," he said, " that I have ever since betaken
myself into solitariness, and withdrawn from public affairs,"
but also by reason of the perverseness and difficulty manifested
in the gravest affairs by the sovereign he so faithfully served,
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 be pleased to give order for the execution of the
Scottish Queen. He» Majesty made answer that she was
loath to proceed in so violent a course against the said Queen,
as the taking away of her life, and therefore prayed them to
think of some other way which might be 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 j 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 be thought of but to take
Mary's life/and when "no other way" of taking that life
could be "devised," at Elizabeth's suggestion, except by
public execution,: when none of the gentlemen " of the
association," nor Paulet, nor Drury — how skilfully soever
their "pulses had been felt"2 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 Walsingham to Wilkes, 3 Dec. 1586. (S. P., Office MSj
a Davison, in Camden, iii 393.

192

the United Netherlands.

CnAP. xiv.

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
neglected. It was not absolutely in abeyance, but the con
dition of the Queen's mind coloured every state-affair 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 disposition became 60 uncertain, her
temper so ungovernable, as to drive her counsellors to
their wit's ends. Burghley confessed himself " weary of his
miserable life,">nd protested " that the only desire he had in
the world was to be delivered from the ungrateful burthen of
service, whicli her Majesty laid upon him so very heavily." 1
Walsingham wished himself "well established in Basle."2
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 faking part against
him.3 -

1 Burghley to Leicester, 7 Feb. 1587.
(Brit. Mus. Galba, C. xi. 252. MS.)
* Walsingham to Wilkes, ; 2 May,
1587. ¦ (S. P. Office MS.)
3 Burghley to Leicester. (MS. before
cited.) "Your Lordship is greatly offended,"
said the Lord Treasurer, " for . my
speeches in her Majesty's presence.
What you conceive, my good Lord, is
best known to yourself; :what I meant
is best known to me ; . and I do avow
in the presence of God that I no more
meant rto offend you in any thing I
spoke, than I meant to offend the best
and dearest friend I can imagine in
England. And yet her Majesty many
times chargeth me that I conceit, I
flatter, I dare not speak anything that
you should mislike. I see my hard
fortune continueth to be subject to

your doubtful opinion, howsoever I do
behave . myself.  You believe mo
to have - moved her' Majesty to be
offended with you for lack of your
procuring a more ' certainty of the ex
penses and accounts' of the last year's
charges on the States behalf. , . ... .
But I never did say, nor mean to say,
that your Lordship ought to be blamed
for those accounts ; for I did say, and
do still say, that their accounts are
obscure, confused, 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
doings. 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 fully answer

1587. FEARFUL PERPLEXITY AT THE ENGLISH COURT.

193

The Lord-Treasurer, overcome with "grief which pierced
both his body and his heart," battled his way — as best he
could — through the throng of dangers which 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 will be pleased that
she shall at last receive the chastisement which she has these
many long years deserved, and which - has been reserved tUl
now, for her greater ruin and confusion."1 And with this,
the Duke proceeded to discuss the all important and rapidly-
preparing invasion of England. Farnese 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 speeches, and I also did affirm the
same by often repetition to her Majesty
that both in that as in many other
things, the States had grossly and most
rudely encountered your Lordship.
And although her Majesty was dis
posed to leave the cause unrelieved,
persisting on her misliking of tho ac
counts, and so to take occasion to deny
their requests, yet I trust that your
Lordship and the rest did see how
earnest I was to draw her Majesty from
these reckonings of expenses, and to
take regard to the cause which / said
and do say may not now be left at
VOL. II. — 0

random for respect to any charges. I
do persist in the opinion that her
Majesty may not abandon the cause
without manifest injury to her state,
as the case and time now forceth her.
.... Your Lordship hath seen and
heard her tax me very sharply, that in
not , applauding to her censures, I do
commonly flatter you and that I do
against my conscience hold opinions
to please you — a very hard case held
against me."
1 Parma to Philip n., 22 March.
1587. (Arch, de Simancas, MS.)

194

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XIV.

more than ever disposed to be friends with Spain and Eome,
now that war to the knife was made inevitable — was wistfully
regarding , that trap of negotiation, against which aU her best
friends were endeavouring to warn her. She was more ill-
natured than ever to the Provinces, she turned her back upon
the Bearnese, she affronted Henry III. by affecting to believe
in the fable of his envoy's comphcity in the Stafford con
spiracy against her hfe.1
" 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 regard 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." 2
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 Negotiations
with the French Ambassador, l'Aubes-
pine, at the Lord Treasurer's house,"
12 Jan. 1587, in Murdin, 579-583.
Compare Mignet, 'Hist, de Mario

Stuart,' 3rd edition, II. 344, seq-
' Walsingham to Leicester, 8 April,
1587. Same to Same, 10 April, 1587,
(Brit. Mus. Galba, C. xi. 319-321.
MSS.)

1587. INFATUATION AND OBSTINACY OF THE QUEEN. 195
classes, upon her prudent and far-seeing statesmen, npon
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
WUloughby, upon high-born magnates, plebeian captains,
London merchants, upon yeomen whose hmbg were made in
England, and upon Hollanders and Zeelanders whose fearless
mariners were to swarm to the protection of her coasts, quite
as much in that year of anxious expectation as upon the
great 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 scorneth at it. The hope of a peace with
Spain has put her into .a most dangerous security." l 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 regard 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 from herself, and
therefore you must not find it strange if we now be more
sparing than heretofore hath been accustomed." 2
Such being the portentous state of the political atmosphere,
and such the stormy condition of the royal mind, it „
J J 7 28 Jan. (0. S.)
may be supposed that the interviews of the Nether- 1 *¦*. <n. s.)
land envoys with her Majesty during this period
were not likely to be genial. Exactly at the most gloomy
1 Walsingham to Leicester, &c, MS. last cited.
1 Walsingham to Wilkes, 13 April, 1587. (S. P. Office MS.)

196 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XIY.
moment — thirteen days before the execution of Mary — they
came first into Ehzabeth's presence at Greenwich.1
The envoys were five in number, all of them experienced
and able statesmen — Zuylen van Nyvelt, Joos de Menyn,
Nicasius de Silla, Jacob Valck, and Vitus van Kamminga.2
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 beginning of the interview that the Queen
was iU-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.3 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, although with frequent indications of anger and im
patience. He commenced by observing that the 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 the cost of tho
war. " Besides our stipulated contributions," said the pen
sionary, "of 200,000 florins the month, we 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

1 Brief van de Gedeputeerden uit
g
England, — Feb. 1587. (Hague Arch.,
MS.) Compare Bor, II. xxii. 872, seq.
Wagenaar, viii. 214, seq.
¦' Menyn was pensionary of Dort;

Silla, pensionary of Amsterdam; Talck
member of the state-council. Wage
naar, viii. 192.
3 Letter of the Deputies last cited.
(Hague Archives, MS.)

1587. NETHERLAND ENVOYS IN ENGLAND. 197
that 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 60,000Z. sterling,
in order to assist us in maintaining for the coming season a
sufficient force in the field."1
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 passion2 — 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 au 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 ill treated by you. 'Tis very strange that you
should begin by sohciting still greater succour without render
ing me any satisfaction for your past actions, which have been
so 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 or
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
1 Disoours de Menin — Audience a 1 2 "Zeer gealtereert," MS. Letter,
Greenwich. (Hague Arch. MS.) | ubi sup.

198 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XIV.
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 from Nether
landers ? Truly, I tell you frankly that I will never endure
such indignities. Eather wiU 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.1 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 your own manner and
amongst yourselves. You have given him the title of governor,
in order, under this name, to cast all your evUs on his head.
That title he accepted against my wUl, 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 ?

i "Que je feroy bien un bon parti
sans vous y appeller, et meilleur que je
nay faict oncques avecq vous." ' Re-

ponse de Sa Majeste au Disoours da
Sr de Meniu.' (Hague Archives, MS.)

1587.

QUEEN'S. BITTER INYECTIYE 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 thus. If I
had accepted the title which you wished to give me, by the
hving God, I would not have suffered you so to treat me.
" But you are so badly advised that when there is a man
of worth 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,
that 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 the 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
faith.1 For they transact business in. a certain way, and with
a princely intelhgence, such as private persons cannot imitate.2
"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 wliich you have among yourselves, nor your
privileges, nor your statutes, to be infringed. Nor wUl I allow
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 weU, very
good. But permit princes likewise to do as they shall think

1 " Et encores que les princes oyent
aulciines fois l'ung et l'aultre,cela se
peult, faire sans  " There is a
broken sentence here in the original,
which seems to require a phrase simi
lar to the one which I have supplied.

1 Reponse,' &c, just cited.
1 "Car ils besoignent avecq une
maniere de faire et intelhgence des-
princes, ce que les particuliers ne
scauroient faire." (Ibid.)

200

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XIY.

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.1 " 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."2 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 been- 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 three — 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.3 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 pillagingj was, alas ! too
true ; but the envoys of the States hardly expected to be
censured by her Majesty, because she had neglected to pay

1 " Entre nou3 princes nous ne sca-
vons ainsi orer comme vous faictes,
mais vous devriez esfre contentz avecq
ce peu de parolles qiii'on vous diet, et
vous asseurer la dessus." 'Reponse,'
&c, just cited.

' Ibid. Compare Bor, II. xxii. 873,
874. Wagenaar, viii. 193-194.
3 Memorial given by Wilkes to Sir
R. Williams, Feb. 1587. (S. P. Offica
MS.)

1587.

AMAZEMENT OF THE ENVOYS.

201

her own troops. It was one of the points concerning which
they had been especially enjoined to complain, that the English
cavalry, converted into highwaymen by want of pay, had been
plundering the peasantry,1 and wo have seen that Thomas
Wilkes had " pawned his carcase " to provide for their tem
porary rehef.
With regard to the insinuation that prominent personages
in the country had been tampered with by the enemy, the
envoys were equally astonished by such an attack. The
great Deventer treason had not yet been heard of in England
— for it had occurred only a week before this first interview
— but something of the kind was already feared ; for the
slippery dealings of York and Stanley with Tassis and Parma
had long been causing painful anxiety, and had formed the
subject of repeated remonstrances on the part of the States
to Leicester and to the Queen. The deputies were hardly
prepared therefore to defend their own people against dealing
privately with the King of Spain. The only man suspected
of such practices was Leicester's own favourite and financier,
Jacques Eingault, 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 Barneveld, Eoorda, Meetkerk, or
any other leading statesman in the Netherlands, was contem
plating a private arrangement with Phihp 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

1 " Les compagnies Anglaises," wrote
the States-General to Leicester, " tant
de cheval que de pied a la charge de
S. Majeste, ayans delaisse les frontieres
i se sont jectez en Hollande, ou ils
foulent et rnangent le bon homme
soubs pretexte qu'ils disent n'avoir
recu aulcun payment en cincq mois,
ce que cause grande alteration . par
dessus l'amoindrissement des contri
butions du Plat Pays. Et comme ils

tiennent jqumellement plusieurs pro-
pos estranges contre la dite province
d'Hollande, et qu'ils y veuillent pour-
chasser leur payement, a este trouve
bon de les faire contenir ou ils sont,"
&c. States-General to Leicester,
1 March, 1587. (Hague Archives,
MS.) The statements of Wilkes to his
government, of like import, have been
given in tho notes on preceding pages.

202 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS- Chap. XIY.
saw the safety of the reformed rehgion, but the only means
of maintaining the commercial prosperity of the commonwealth.
The whole correspondence of the times shows that no politician
in the country dreamed of peace, either by pubhc or secret
negotiation. On the other hand — as wiU 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 Ehzabeth 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
pUes of papers — as we intend to do— ^-which lay upon that
library- table, far beyond the seas and mountains, she would
have • perceived some objections to the scheme of living at
peace with that dUigent letter-writer.
Perhaps, had she known how the subtle Farnese 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 master 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

1587. THEY CONSULT WITH HER CHIEF COUNCILLORS. 203
Lord-Treasurer proposed that the conversation should be in
Latin, that being the common language most familiar to them
all.1 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 aU 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 60,000Z. This is altogether monstrous and excessive.
Nobody will ever dare even to speak to her Majesty on the sub
ject. When you first came in 1585, you asked for 12,000
men, but you were fuUy 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 sovereignty, or at
least the perpetual protection of our country. Faihng 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 succour are insufficient. We have
therefore been sent to beg her Majesty to make up the con-
tingentto the amount originaUy requested."
"But we are obliged to increase the garrisons in^the
cautionary towns," said one ,of the English councillors, " as
800 men in a city hke 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 Nether
lands."

1 Rapport' de la Legation. Conference des Deputes avec les Commissaires
de S. M, - Feb. 1587. (Hague Archives, MS.) a Ibid.

204 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XIY.
" 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 agiiur, paries
cum proximus ardet, but, nevertheless, this war principally
concerns you. Therefore you are bound to do your utmost
to meet its expenses in your own country, quite as much as
a man who means to build a 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 be continued and doubled
and even tripled." 1
"And on 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 large 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 for defending and liberating her
own kingdoms against the King of Spain. That monarch is
makjng 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 kingdom, and
with Scotland, all which countries are understood to have
made a league together on account of the Queen of Scotland,
whom it will be absolutely necessary to put to death in order to
preserve the life of her Majesty, and are about to make war
1 MS. Report last cited.

1587. REMARKS OF BURGHLEY AND DAVISON. 205
upon England. This matter then wUl cost us, the current
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 best to keep her Majesty
well disposed to your cause, even as I have ever done, as you
well know." x
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 he foretold, but there is little doubt that in him the
Netherlands, and Leicester, and the Queen of England, were
to lose an honest, diligent, and faithful friend.
" Well, gentlemen," said the Lord-Treasurer, after a few
more questions concerning the financial abilities of the States
had been asked and answered, "it is getting late into the
evening, and time for you all to get back to London. Let
me request you, as soon as may be, to draw up some articles
in writing, to which we will respond immediately." 2
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-General. He then, notwithstanding
Burghley's previous hint as to the lateness of the hour, took
up the Queen's answer, point by point, contradicted all its
statements, appealing frequently to Lord Leicester for con
firmation of what he advanced, and concluded by begging the
councUlors 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.3
Thus the conference terminated, and the envoys returned
to London. They were fully convinced by the result of these
1 MS. Report last cited. a Ibid.
* Ibid. Compare Bor, II. xxii. 875-877, seq.

206 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XIV.
interviews, as they told their constituents, that her Majesty,
by false statements and reports of persons either grossly
io-norant or not having the good of the commonwealth 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.1
And thus statements and counter-statements, protocols
and apostUles, were glibly exchanged, the heap of diplomatic
rubbish was rising higher and higher, and the councUlors and
envoys, pleased with their work, were growing more and more
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 Barneveld,
speaking with the voice of the States-General, 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 us.
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 Excellency not satisfied with those limitations, we post
poned every objection, and conformed ourselves to your
pleasure. Yet, before coming to that decision, we had weU

MS. Report, — Feb. 1587, before cited.
13

1587. FOURTH OF FEBRUARY LETTER FROM THE STATES. 207
considered that by doing so we might be opening a door to
many ambitious, avaricious, and pernicious persons, both of
these countries and from other nations^ who might seize the
occasion to advance their own private profits, to the detriment
of the country 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
weU 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
Provincial."1 He proceeded to handle the subjects of the English rose-
noble, put in circulation by Leicester's finance or back-stairs
council at two florins above its value, to the manifest detriment
of the Provinces, to the detestable embargo which had 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 administration, 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 large
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
pubhc 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
1 Lettre des Etats a Leycestre, I Compare Bor, II. xxii. 944, seq. Wage-
4 Feb. 1587. (Hague Archives, MS.) | naar, viii. 202. Lo Petit, II. xiv. 541.

208 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 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, dis
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 with the most important matter of
all. "The principal cities and fortresses in the country have
been placed in hands of men suspected by the States on legiti-
tnate 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,1 it
was brought to pass, that — the council of state having been
invested by your Excellency with supreme 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 Eowland 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 viUainously 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 King 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 hke. And we are now in
daily fear lest the Enghsh commanders in Bergen-op-Zoom,
1 " Gibier." MS. last cited.

1587. ITS SEVERE LANGUAGE TOWARDS LEICESTER. 209
Ostend, and other cities, should commit the same crime.
And although we fully suspected the designs of Stanley and
York, yet your Excellency's secret document had deprived us
of the power to act.
" We doubt not that her Majesty and your Excellency wUl
think this strange language. But we can assure you, that we
too think it strange and grievous that those places should
have been confided to such men, against our repeated remon
strances, and that, moreover, this very Stanley should have
been recommended by your Excellency 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 existence of the state can no
longer be preserved without proper authority, and that the
whole community is full of emotion and distrust, on account
of these great treasons — we, the States-General, as well as
the States-Provincial, have felt constrained to establish such a
government as we deem meet for the emergency. And of
this we think proper to apprize your Excellency."
He then expressed the conviction that all these evil deeds
had been accomplished 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 speaking 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," when he heard it read in the assembly, and that
VOL. II. — P

210

THE.. UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XIV.

he should have done his best to prevent it from being 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 air. 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.1
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

1 " Car si la perte d'Anvers a este
tres grande pour toute le pays, ceste
cy tire avec soi plus grande conse
quence,- tout au regard de plusieurs
autres villes circumvoisines . de De
venter, lesquelles ne pourront etre
avictuaillees que par force, que aultre-
ment. Non pas que nous disons cesq
comme esblouys et par desespoir 

Car nous ne manquerons jamais en
nos premieres resolutions de nous vou
loir. maintenir contre le Roi d'Espaigne,
pour la conservation de la religion
Ohrestienne, nos privileges, franchises,
et libertes." States-General to tho
Queen, 6 Feb. 1587. (Hague Archives,
MS.)

1587.

PAINFUL POSITION OF THE ENVOYS AT COURT.

211

him to return, she added, but she was now resolved that Jie
should never set foot in the Provinces again." 1
Here the Earl, who was present, exclaimed— beating him
self on the breast — " a tali officio libera nos, Domine !"2
But the States, undaunted by these explosions of wrath,
replied that it had ever been their custom, when their laws
and liberties were invaded, to speak their mind boldly to
kings and governors, and to procure redress of their grievances,
as became free men.3
During that whole spring the Queen was at daggers drawn
with all her leading counseUors, 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-Treasurer 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 am nothing gracious ; and if
her Majesty could be otherwise served, I know I should not be
used  Her Majesty doth whoUy lend herself to devise
some further means to disgrace her poor council, in respect
whereof she neglecteth aU 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

1 Bor, II. xxii. 949.
2 Ibid.
3 " Nous sommes accoustumez,
comme aussi ont ete nos predeces-
seurs, de remonstrer a nos princes et
gouverneurs librement des desordres
et contraventions que nous trouvons

contre nos privileges et libertes, comme
avons fait a V. E. etant ici, — ce quo
nous avons toujours tenu etre de notre
devoir et vrai moyen pour parvenir au
redres des dites desordres," &.o. States-
General to Leicester, 1 March, 1587.
(Haguo Archiyes, MS.)

212

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

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  I would to God I
could find as good resolution in her Majesty to proceed in
a princely course in relieving the United Provinces, as I find
an honorable disposition in your Lordship to employ your
self in their service." J
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 disfavour. And if I
be suffered to be a stranger to her affairs, I shall have a
quieter life."2
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 the
governing powers — even than he felt for the people of Eng
land."3 " There is nothing sticks in my stomach," he said,
" but the good-will of that poor afflicted people, for whom, I
take God to record, I could be content to lose any limb I have
to do them good." i 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 Iiqw much it imported to
her own safety and service. But she was obdurate. " She
would 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 wish myself

1 Walsingham to Leicester, 3 April,
1587.- Same to same, 10 April, 1587.
(Brit. Mus. Galba, C. xi. 315-319.)
" Burghley to Leicester, 16 April,

1587. (Brit. Mus. Galba, C. xi. 333.)
s Bor, II. xxii. 950-952.
* Leicester' to Walsingham, 1G April,
1587. (S. P. Office MS.)

1587.

QUEEN'S PARSIMONY TOWARDS 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 wiU 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."2
Meantime it was agreed that Lord Buckhurst should by
sent forth on what Wilkes termed a mission of expostulation,

1 "For the 10,0002. for your parti
cular," said 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
forfeiture for lack 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 April, 1587.
(Brit. Mus. Galba, C. xi. 323. MS.)
And again, two days later — "lam
sorry that her Majesty 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 wants. But
I am most sorry to see so great an
advantage lost as her Majesty might
have had, in case she had been induced
to contribute towards the putting an
army into the field." Same, to same,
8 April, 1587. Ibid. p. 321-331. MS.
And once more, a week afterwards —
"She can be content to furnish you
with 10,0001, so as you would devise,
out of her entertainment and the States
to pay her in one year the said sum,
which she saith you promised unto
herself, and therefore willed me to
write to you to know whether you can
make repayment in such order as she
requireth." Same to same, 14 April,
1587. Ibid. 326.
There was not much sentiment be
tween the " throned vestal " and
"Sweet Robin" when pounds and

shillings were 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 whose " blessed beams " had
formerly been so " nutritious."
* "I perceive by your letters," said
Leicester, " that her Majesty would
now I should go over, and will lend
me 10,0002. 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., paid either
1,0002. at Michaelmas and tho 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 Majesty
shall receive after this sort till her
10,0002. be paid. And this is more, I
am now persuaded, than I shall bo able
to , do, and keep any countenance fit
for the place .... but seeing I find
her Majesty's hardness continue still
to me as it doth, I pray you let mo
your earnest and trae furtherance for
my abode at home and discharge . . .
for my heart is more than half-broken,
and I do think her Majesty had rather
far continue Sir J. Norris there, in
respect to the reconciliation between
him and Count Hollock. .... But I
will never serve with him again as long
as I live ; no, not for- to have lOOiOOOi.
given me  I know the man too
well to trust to his service. I 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 favour
with captains and soldiers. .... Ho

214

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

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 bo adopted — delay — which the Nether
land statesmen, as well as the Queen's wisest counsellors, most
deprecated, which Alexander and Philip most desired, 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 close,
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 Barneveld had for a long time felt
little doubt.
Meantime Lord Leicester went to Bath to drink the waters,
and after he had drunk the waters, the Queen, ever anxious
for his health, was resolved that he should not lose the benefit
of those salubrious draughts by travelling too soon, or by
plunging anew into the fountains of bitterness which flowed
perennially in the Netherlands.1

shall never bear sway under me; his
disdain and craft hath no moderation ;
and I- know, for all those speeches of
my going, his friends make full account
that he shall remain there as her Ma
jesty's general of the forces." Leicester
to Walsingham, 16 April, 1587. (S. P.
Office MS.)
1 "Finding your presence here ne
cessary,", wrote Walsingham, "for tho
expedition of the Low Country causes,

I moved her Majesty that I might
be authorised in her name to hasten
your repair hither, whereunto sho
would in no sort consent, pretend
ing that after the use of the Bath, it
would be dangerous for your Lord
ship to take any extraordinary travail.
There is some doubt that Ostend will
be presently besieged," &c. &c. Wal
singham to Leicester, 17 April, 1587.
(B. Mus. Galba, C. xi. 327, MS.)

1587. BUCKHURST SENT TO THE NETHERLANDS. 215

CHAPTER XY.
Buckhurst sent to the Netherlands — Alarming State of Affairs on his Arrival
— His Efforts to conciliate — Democratic Theories of Wilkes — Sophistry
of the Argument — Dispute between Wilkes and Barneveld — Religious
Tolerance by the States — Their Constitutional Theory — Deventer's bad
Counsels to Leicester — Their pernicious Effect — Real and supposed
Plots against Hohenlo — Mutual Suspicion and Distrust — Buckhurst seeks
to restore good Feeling — The Queen angry and vindictive — She cen
sures Buckhurst's Course — Leicester's Wrath at Hohenlo's Charges of a
Plot by the Earl to murder him — Buckhurst's eloquent Appeals to the
Queen — Her perplexing and contradictory Orders — Despair of Wilkes —
Leicester announces his Return — His Instructions — Letter to Junius —
Barneveld denounces him in the States.
We return to the Netherlands. If ever proof were afforded
of 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 fancied indignities, Walsingham eager
to expedite the enterprise, and the Queen remaining obdurate,
while month after month of precious time was melting away.
In the Netherlands, meantime, discord and confusion had
been increasing every day ; and the first great cause of such a
dangerous condition of affairs was the absence of the governor.
In this all parties agreed. The Leicestrians, the anti-Leices-
trians, the HoUand party, the Utrecht party, the English
counsellors,' the English generals, in private letter, in solemn
act, all . warned the Queen against the lamentable effects
resulting from Leicester's inopportune # departure and pro
longed absence.1
On the first outbreak of indignation after the Deventer
affair, Prince Maurice was placed . at the head of the general
government, with the violent Hohenlo as his lieutenant.2 The
1 Documents in Bor, III. xxiii. 76-80. ' * Wagenaar, viii. 204.*

216 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XV
greatest exertions were made by these two nobles and by
Barneveld, 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 wiUingly 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.1
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 denounced as Pa
pistical and Hispaniolized all who favoured the party of
Maurice and Barneveld.
By the end of March the envoys returned from London,
and in their company came Lord Buckhurst, as special am
bassador from the Queen.2
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 peerage ; endowed with
high character and strong intellect ; ready with tongue and
pen; handsome of person, and with a fascinating address, he
was as fit a person to send on a mission of expostulation as
any man to be found in England. But the author of the
'Induction to the Mirror for Magistrates' and of ' Gorboduc,'
had come to the Netherlands on a forlorn hope. To expos
tulate in favour of peace 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 were 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, viii. 176, 185, 209-211, 270-278- Bor, III. xxiii. 10, seq.
Reyd,, vi. 101. a Bor, xxii. 952. Wagenaar, 210.

1587. ALARMING STATE OF AFFAIRS AT HIS ARRIVAL. 217
persuade the Netherlanders 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 subsidy. They had asked for twelve thousand soldiers and
sixty thousand pounds, and had received a volley of abuse.
Over and over again, through many months, the Queen fell
into a paroxysm of rage when even an allusion was made to
the loan of fifty or sixty 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."1 Sir William Bussell, governor
of Flushing, informed him of the progress making by Prince
Maurice in virtue of his new authority. He told him that the
Zeeland regiment, vacant by Sidney's death, and which the
Queen wished bestowed upon Eussell himself, had been given
to Count S°lms j 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 he
shall not much deceive me. His opinion is that the Earl of
Leicester's absence hath chiefly caused . this change, and that
without his return it will hardly be restored again, but that
1 Buckhurst to Walsingham, 26th March, 1587. (3. P. Office MS.)

218 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. : Chap. XV
upon his arrival all these clouds will prove but a summer-
shower." 1
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." 2
Then the ambassador proceeded to the Hague, holding
interviews with influential personages in private, and with the
States-General 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 them all up, while there were so few left who knew
how to act," were already manifesting disappointment.3
In a solemn meeting of the States-General with the state-
councU, 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, and
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 for their nation's sake ; as if the whole
1 Buckhurst to Walsingham, MS. I 3 Bartholomew Clerk to Burghley,
last cited. - * Ibid. | 12 April, 1587. (S. P. Office MS.)

1587. • HIS EFFORTS TO CONCILIATE. 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 hot 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 it."1
After being addressed in this manner the council of state
made what Counsellor Clerk called a " very honest, modest,
and wise answer;" but the States-General, not being able
"so easily to discharge that which had so long boiled within
them," deferred their reply until the following day. They then
brought forward a deliberate - rejoinder, in which they ex
pressed themselves devoted to her Majesty, and, on the whole,
weU disposed to tho Earl. As to the 4th February letter, it
had been written " in amaritudine cordis," upon hearing tho
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 government
were certain "lewd persons who sought to seduce his Lord
ship, and to cause him to hate the States."
Buckhurst did not think it weU to reply, at that moment,
upon the ground that there had been already crimination and
recrimination more than enough, and that "a little bitterness
more had rather caused them to determine dangerously than
resolve for the best."2
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 pinchingly as possibly might
be." And the result was, that 20,000 foot and 2000 horse for
garrison work, and an army of 13,000 foot, 5000 horse, and
1000 pioneers, "for a campaign of five or six months, were pro
nounced indispensable. This would require all their 240,000?.
1 Bartholomew Clerk to Burghley, ubi sup. ' Ibid.

220 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XV.
sterling a-year, regular contribution, her Majesty's contingent
of 140,000?., and an extra sum of 150,000?. sterling. Of this
sum the States requested her Majesty should furnish two-
thirds, whUe they agreed to furnish the other third, which
would make in aU 240,000?. for the Queen, and 290,000?. 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 welfare with that of the Provinces was
considered.1 Thus it will be observed that Lord Buckhurst — while doing
his best to conciliate personal feuds and heartburnings — had
done fuU 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 xespect, "with solemn speeches"
from magistrates and burgher-captains, with military process
sions, and with great, banquets, which were, however, con
ducted with decorum, and at which even Count Moeurs excited
universal astonishment by his sobriety.2 It was difficult, how
ever, for matters to go very smoothly, except upon the surface.
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 organized
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
Ehzabeth, 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 s&cial
1 Bartholomew Clerk to Burghley, I * Gilpin to Wilkes, 25 April, 1587.
MS. last cited. | (S. P. Office MS.)

1587. DEMOCRATIC THEORIES OF 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 surrounded by limitations — which conditions are sa
widely different from 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 represent 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 statuitur, eodem jure tolli
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

222

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

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.1
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

1 Kluit. 'Holl. Staatsreg.' II. 281.
Compare Wagenaar, viii. 208.
It is very important to observe, that
Wilkes retracted these democratic
views before the end of the summer,
and- gradually adopted the .constitu
tional theory maintained by Holland.
He informed the Queen, on the 12th
July, 1587, that in case she refused
the sovereignty, it "should remain
with such as by the laws of the
country do retain it, which is not in the
common people, but in some fifty or
sixty persons in every city and town
called by the name of Vroedschap.
...:.. If the Earl of Leicester,"
said he, " should attempt to remove
any of these persons constituting this
Vroedschap, as it is rumoured he 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 iu the de
fence of the country. It is a mistake
to supposo that it will be a facilo
matter to carry the common people
into any such violence at any time -
against the States ; for tho magistrates
of every city and town, upon pre
monition already given, are holding a
vigilant eye and severe hand over any
that shall., stir within any of their
jurisdiction.". "The remedy," continued Wilkes,
" to prevent any mischief that might
ensuo of any popular commotion, would

be to leave that course, and to follow
the example of the late Prince of
Orange, who had quite as many diffi
culties to contend with as the Earl of
Leicester, and yet : foreboro 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; there being nothing 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 them, he first consulted 'with
these persons, and by them was made
acquainted whether the matter would
pass or be impugned, and acted
accordingly." "The Prince," said
Wilkes, " never attempted anything
of importance without consulting the
States. Tho people are the samo now
as they were then, and do not love to
be subject to any monarchical govern
ment." Wilkes to the Queen, 12 July,
1587. (S. P. Office MS.) : ,
It is obvious, from thk change of
opinion on the part of the counsellor,
that he would become liable to the
disapprobation of Leicester;, but it
seems hardly credible that he should
have thereby inspired the Earl with
such a hatred and longing for revengo
against him as he unquestionably did
oxcite.

1587. SOPHISTRY OF THE ARGUMENT. 223
had they made that loan ? Through the machinery of the
States-General. So long then as the Earl retained the absolute
sovereignty, the States were not even representatives of , the
sovereign people. The sovereign people was merged into one
English Earl. The English Earl had retired— indefinitely —
to England. Was the sovereign people to wait for months, or
years, before it regained its existence ? And if not, how was
it to reassert its vitality ? How but through the agency of
the States-General, who — according to Wilkes himself— had
been fully empowed by the Provinces and Cities to confer the
government on the Earl ? The people then, after all, were the
provinces and cities. And tho States-General were at that
moment as much qualified to represent those provinces and
cities as they ever had been, and they claimed no more.
Wilkes, nor any other of the Leicester party, ever hinted at
a general assembly of the people. Universal suffrage was not
dreamed of at that day. By the people, he meant, if he
meant anything, only that very small fraction of the in
habitants of a country, who, according to the English system,
in the reign of Elizabeth, constituted its Commons. He cho.se,
rather from -personal and political motives than philosophical
ones, to draw a distinction between the people and the
c States/ but it is quite obvious, from the tone of his private
communications, that by the ' States ' he meant the indi
viduals who happened, for the time-being, to be the deputies
of the States of each Province. But it was almost an affecta
tion to accuse those individuals of calling or considering them
selves : sovereigns ; ' for it was very well known that they
sat as envoys, rather than as members 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
Barneveld, and Koorda, and other leaders, exercised the in
fluence due to their talents, patriotism, and experience, to
stigmatise them as usurpers of sovereignty, and to hound
the 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-

224 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XV.
ditional authority over the people, in war, naval affairs,
justice, and policy, were placed in his hands. This was the
view sustained by the clergy of the Eeformed 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 HoUand— inspired as it were by the memory
of that great martyr to religious and political liberty, William
the SUent — maintained freedom of conscience.
The Leicester party advocated a different theory on the
rehgious 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 negligent, as well by solicitations to the
ministers, as by my letters to such as have continued constant
in affection to your Lordship, to have 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 deahngs 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." x
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 —
* Wilkes to Leicester, 12 March, 1587. (S. P. Office MS.)

1587. DISPUTE BETWEEN WILKES AND BARNEVELD. 225
so returned to their former devotion towards her Majesty,
your Lordship, and our 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 Barneveld
came down to the council to inquire what member of that
body it was who had acoused 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."1 And then he went into particulars, and discussed, more suo,
the constitutional question, in which various Leicestrian coun
seUors seconded him.
But Barneveld 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."2
In brief, the rugged Barneveld, 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 beat them from this
humour of their sovereignty, showing that upon that error they
had grounded the rest of their wilful absurdities."*
Next night, he drew up sixteen articles, showing the dis
orders of the States, their breach of oaths, and violations of
the Earl's authority ; and with that commenced a series of
1 Wilkes to Leicester. MS. last cited. Wagenaar, viii. 208.
1 Ibid. Compare Kluit, II. 281, 3 Wilkes to Leicester, MS. last
seq. Bor, H. xxii. 918, 921, seq. cited.
VOL. II.— Q

226

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XV.

papers interchanged by the two parties, in which the topics of
the origin of government and the principles of religious
freedom were handled with much 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 will. This
the late Prince of Orange and the States-General had always
thought detrimental both to religion and polity. They re
spected the difference in rehgious 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." x
Such words shine through the prevailing darkness of the
religious atmosphere at that epoch, like characters of light.

1 Meteren, xiv. 250-253.
The States of Holland,^ under the
guidance of Barneveld, took strong
ground, on several occasions this year,
against attempts made by the Reformed
Church to meddle with secular matters.
On the presentation of a petition rela
tive to politics, by a committee of four
preachers, representing the churches
of Holland, answer was made through
the mouth of Barneveld, 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 much
interested as the churches could be
in the welfare of the land, and that
they eould provide for it, without the
assistance of the preachers." The'
petitioners were accordingly advised
to go home, and leave the States to
manage the affairs of the country.

(Bor, III. xxiii. 76.)
A few days later, a resolution upon
the subject of the petition was passed
by the States, printed, and sent to all
the cities in the Province, with an
order to the magistrates to summon
the preachers before them, deliver
them a copy of the resolution, warn
them to keep their congregations in
tranquillity and harmony, and, for
their own part, to occupy themselves
with praying,, teaching, and preach
ing, and to allow the States and , tho
magistrates to administer the govern
ment. The resolution itself— which tho
preachers characterised as a rudo
answer to a courteous request — was
-conceived much in the spirit of
Barneveld's original verbal reply.
(See the documents in Bor, III. xxiii
76, 85 seq.)

1587. RELIGIOUS 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 "having 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." l
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 chartered 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."2
Now the first incorporated city of Holland and Zeeland that
ever existed was Middelburg, which received its charter from
Count William I. of HoUand and Countess Joan of Flanders,
in the year 1217. The first Count that had any legal or
1 Bor, III. xxiii. 76-84. Meteren, xiv. 250-253. Kluit, II. 286, seq.
2 Bor, Meteren, Kluit, ubi sup.

228 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XV.
recognized authority was Dirk the First to whom Charles the
Simple presented the territory of Holland, by letters-patent,
in 922. Yet the States-General, in a solemn and eloquent
document, gravely dated their own existence from the year
787, and claimed the regular possession and habitual delega
tion of sovereignty from that epoch 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 affect 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 counsel together over state matters, and then, appearing
at the assembly, deliberated with the deputies of the cities.
The cities had mainly one form of government — a college of
counsellors, or wise men, 40, 32, 28, or 24 in number, of the
most respectable out of the whole community. They were
chosen for life, and vacancies were supplied by the colleges
themselves out of the mass of citizens. These coUeges1 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 coUeges
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

1 "These colleges," says the docu
ment, " are as old as the cities ; or so
old at least, that there is no memory
left of their commencement."
Here, too, was a gross misstatement,
for the colleges of Vroedschappen
dated only from the time of Philip the
Good — not much more than a century
before the publication of this docu

ment; and the cities themselves, as
organized corporations, were but 350
years old, at most. It is difficult to
understand how -such inaccuracies
should find their way into so able a
state-paper. Compare Kluit, 'Holl. Staatsrege-
ring, II. 291.

1587. THEIR CONSTITUTIONAL THEORY. 229
purpose and decisive authority. To bring the colleges into
an assembly could only be done by means of deputies, These
deputies, chosen by their colleges, and properly instructed,
were sent to the place of 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 country," said the
States, " have an aversion to all ambition ; and in these dis
astrous times, wherein nothing but trouble and odium is to be
gathered by pubhc 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 business has been transacted with open doors ; and
because the very smallest towns are all represented, and vote
in the assembly." x
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
hberty and property of the individual, as well certainly as
did any pohty then existing in the world. It seemed more
hopeful to abide by it yet a little longer than to adopt tho
throat-cutting system by the people, recommended by WUkes
and Leicester as an improvement on the old constitution.
This was the view of Lord Buckhurst. He felt that threats
of throat-cutting were not the best means of smoothing and
conciliating, and he had come 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
1 Bor, Meteren, Kluit, ubi sup.

230 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XV.
and torn state, is not a good course for her Majesty's service." 1
Letters were continuaUy circulating from hand to hand among
the antagonists of the Holland party, written out of England
by Leicester, exciting the ill-will of the populace against the
organized government. " By such means to bring the States
into hatred," said Buckhurst, "and to stir up the people
against them, tends to great damage and miserable end. This
his Lordship doth full httle consider, being the very way to
dissolve all government, and so to bring all into confusion, and
open the door for the enemy. But oh, how lamentable a thing
it is, and how doth my Lord of Leicester abuse her Majesty,
making her 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 malice
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 foUowhis 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 ? " 2
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 Earl's 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 hot wonderful that the States were standing vigorously
on the defensive.
1 Buckhurst to Walsingham, 13th June, 1587. (Brit. Mus. Galba, D. I
p. 95, MS.) "Ibid.

1587. DEVENTER'S BAD COUNSELS TO LEICESTER. 231
The subtle Deventer, Leicester's evil genius, did not cease
to poison the mind of the governor, during his protracted
absence, against all persons who offered impediments to the
cherished schemes of his master and himself. " Your 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 affairs 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 States-General were
in when the news of your displeasure about the 4th February
letter became known." 1
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 Barneveld, Maurice, Hohenlo,
and similar cowards, would be thrown by his sudden return.
" If," said he, " the States' members and the counts, every
one of them, are so desperately afraid of the people, even
whUe your ExceUency 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
1 G. de Proninck (Deventer) au Comte de Leycestre, 22 May, 1587.
(Brit. Mus. Galba, D. I. p. 16, MS.)

232

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XV.

see the fury*bf the rebels change at once to cowardice. There
is more than one man here in the Netherlands that brags of
what he wiU do agamst the greatest and most highly endowed
prince in England, because he thinks he shall never see him
again, who, at the very first news of your return, my Lord,
would think only of packing his portmanteau, greasing his
boots, or, at the very least, of sneaking back into his hole." l
But the sturdy democrat was quite sure that his ExceUency,
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."2
He then implored the magnanimous prince to imitate the
example of Moses, Joshua, David, and that of all great em
perors and captains, Hebrew, Greek, and Boman, to come at
once to the scene of action, and to smite his enemies hip and
thigh. He also informed his Excellency, that if the delay
should last much longer, he would lose all chance c-f regaining
power, because the sovereign people had quite made up their
mind to return to the dominion of Spain within three months,
if they could not induce his Excellency to rule over them.
In that way at least, if in no other, they could circumvent
those filthy rascals whom they so much abhorred, and frustrate
the designs of Maurice, Hohenlo, and Sir John Norris, who
were represented as occupying the position of the triumvirs
after the death of Julius Ctesar.
To place its neck under the yoke of Philip II. and the In
quisition, after having so handsomely got rid of both, did not

1 " Tel bravera es Pays Bas contre le
plus grand et qualifie prince d'Angle-
terre, lequel il d'asseure ne revoir
jamais pardeca, qui aux dernieres nou-
velles de votre retour, Monseigneur,
ne pensoit qu'a. trousser bagage et
faire graisser ses bottes, ou du moins
se desrober en sa taniere," &c. (G. de
Proninck, MS. last cited.)
3 " Mais un prince si tres magna-
nime, ne fera jamais ce tort ny a soy

mesme, ni au bon peuple belgique.
Point a soy mesme, comme s'il avait
cede- a la bravade des pouceux, dont
toute sa posterite et histoires et mo-
moires du temps a venir portera l'igno-
minie. Point au peuple, lequel, comme
souverain, ne doit recevoir lo tort de
cette injure, puisque ne luy que'l'in-
formation de vostre mescontentement
pour se desfaire en uu coup de cesc
obstacle," &c. (Ibid.)

1587.

THEIR PERNICIOUS EFFECT.

233

seem a sublime manifestation of sovereignty on the part of the
people, and even Deventer had some misgivings as to the
propriety of such a result. " What then will become of our
beautiful churches ?" he cried, "What will princes say, what
will the world in general say, what will historians say, about
the honour of the Enghsh nation ?" x
As to the first question, it is probable that the prospect of
the reformed churches would not have been cheerful, had the
inquisition been re-established in Holland and Utrecht, three
months after that date. As to the second, the world and
history were likely to reply, that the honour of the English
nation was fortunately not entirely entrusted at that epoch to
tke " magnanimous prince " of Leicester, and his democratic
counseUor-in-chief, burgomaster Deventer.
These are but samples of the ravings which sounded inces
santly 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 aU restraint, and determined, on his return, to crush
the States into insignificance.
Thus, whUe 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

1 "H plaira a V. Exca de nous
veoir incontinent EspagnoL ou de nous
en conserver par l'empeschement de
ce desseing. . . Car il ne peut tomber
en aucune imagination raisonnable, en
cas que ce desseing ne se renverse
tout subit, quo faute d'autorite jointe,
un desespoir extreme ne nous rende
a l'Espagnol devant Tissue de trois
mois. Que sera ce alors de nos

pauvres delaissez? Que deviendront
ces belles eglises, que dira le monde,
que diront les princes, que diront les
historiens, de l'honneur de la nation
Anglaise ? Le desespoir enrage du
peuple choisira plutot quel parti que
ce soit avec l'Espagnol, que d'endurer
ceux qui leur auront renverse le retour
de Votre Excellence," &c. (G. de Pro-
ninck, MS. just cited.)

234

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XV.

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 the arrival of the Earl.1 "All things are
reduced to a quiet calm," said Buckhurst, " ready to receive
my Lord of Leicester and his authority, whenever he cometh."2
The quarrel of Hohenlo with Sir Edward Norris had been,
by the exertions of Buckhurst, amicably arranged :3 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 hke a
madman whenever his return was mentioned.5 "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 wiU never be commanded by
him. I mean to continue on my frontier, where all who love
me can come and find me."6
He declared to several persons that he had detected a plot
on the part of Leicester to have him assassinated ; and the
assertion seemed so important, that 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.

1 Wilkes to Walsingham, 8 April,
1587. Same to same, 13 and 19 April,
1587. Clerk to Burghley, 12 April,
1587. (S. P. Office MSS.)
2 Buckhurst to Burghley, 19 April,
1587. (S. P. Office MS.)
3 Wilkes to Walsingham, 8 April,
1587. (S. P. Office MS.)
* Memorandum of a speech between
the Lord Buckhurst and Count Ho
henlo, 17 April, 1587. (Br. Mus.
Galba, xi. 345, MS.)
' Otheman to Walsingham, 23rd

March, 1587. (S. P. Office MS.)
0 Wilkes to Walsingham, 29 April,
1587. (S. P. Office MS.)
"Hohenlo is their Hercules," said
Wilkes, " and a man fit for any des
perate attempt, altogether directed
by Barneveld and Paul Buys, who
seeks (viz. P. B.) by all manner of
devices to be revenged of Lord Lei
cester for his imprisonment." Wilkes
to the Queen, 12 July, 1587. (S. P.
Office MS.)

1587. REAL AND SUPPOSED PLOTS AGAINST HOHENLO.

235

It was best to keep it a secret, he said, at least till the matter
could be thoroughly investigated. Villiers was of the same
opinion, and accordingly the councillor, in the excess of his
caution, confided the secret only — to whom ? To Mr. Atye,
Leicester's private secretary. Atye, of course, instantly told
his master — his master, in a frenzy of rage, told the Queen,
and her Majesty, in a paroxysm of royal indignation at this
new insult to her favourite, sent furious letters to her envoys,
to the States-General, to everybody in the Netherlands — so
that the assertion of Hohenlo became the subject of endless
recrimination. Leicester became very violent, and denounced
the statement as an impudent falsehood, devised wilfuUy in
order to cast odium upon him and to prevent his return.1
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.
WhUe Buckhurst was at Utrecht, listening to the " solemn
speeches" of the mUitia-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 despatch was marked pressing and immediate, so he
got out of bed and made the journey to Utrecht. The letter,
on being deciphered, proved to be an order from the Queen
to decoy Hohenlo into some safe town, on pretence of con
sultation, and then to throw him into prison, on the ground
that he had been tampering with the enemy, and was about
to betray the republic to Philip.2

1 'Effect of what passed between
Dr. Villiers and me, Bartholomew
Clerk, touching the discontentment
of Count Hohenlo.' 22 May, 1587.
(S. P. Office MS.)
Wilkes to Lord Chancellor, 3 June,
1587. (S. P. Office MS.) Compare
letters of Leicester to Sonoy, and of
Buckhurst to Treslong, in Bor, II.
xxii. 992. Groen v. Prinst. Archives
I. 63, 68, 69.
* Queen to Buckhurst, 15 April,

1587. Wilkes to Walsingham, 29th
April, 1587. Buckhurst to same,
29 April, 1587. Same to same, 30th
A.pril, 1587. (S. P. Office MSS.)
The Queen's Letter Is as follows:
— "Finding by a later letter written
to our secretary by our ambassador
Wilkes, that he hath been given to
understand how Hollock should have
some secret intelligence with the
Prince of Parma, which being true,

236

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XV

The commotion which would have been excited by any
attempt to enforce this, order, could be easUy imagined by
those familiar with ; Hohenlo and with the powerful party in
the Netherlands of wliich 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.
WUkes had heard some rumours of intrigues between Parma's
agents at Deventer and Hohenlo, 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 both
Buckhurst and himself had begun to consider an idle one.
He protested, therefore, to Walsingham that to comply with
her Majesty's command would not only be nearly impossible,
but would, if successful, hazard the ruin of the repubhc.
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 Hohenlo, the counciUor felt that this
kind of revenge would have a double sweetness for him. The
Queen knows what I have been saying, thought Wilkes, and
therefore Leicester knows it ; and if Leicester knows it, he
will take care that Hohenlo shaU hear of it too, and-then wo
considering how the said Hollock is
possessed of divers principal towns, in
the which the captains and soldiers
are altogether at his devotion, it is
greatly to bo doubted that he may be
drawn by corruption to deliver up
into the Prince of Parma's hands the
said towns, whereby the enemy may
have the more easy entry into those
countries. 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 Hollock ; wherein, before the execu

tion thereof, -especial care would 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 some of
the towns which you shall understand
to be devoted to us, and not affected
to him; wherein 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 country as are held for
good patriots and have credit with the
people."

1587. MUTUAL SUSPICION AND DISTRUST. 237
be unto 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." l
Nothing came of it however, and the relations of Wilkes
and Buckhurst 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
Buckhurst, "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." 2
Here then were 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 ; CounciUor 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
from 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
milhon florins (100,000?.), 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 HoUand 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
States-General, contributed absolutely nothing. Since the
loss of Deventer, nothing could be raised in the Provinces of
1 Wilkes to Walsingham, 29 April I ' Buckhurst to Wilkes, 29 April,
1587. | MS. already cited.

238

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XV.

Utrecht, Gelderland, or Overyssel; the Spaniards levying
black mail upon the whole territory, and impoverishing the
inhabitants till they became almost a nullity.1 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
Barneveld, 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 50,000?., although Holland and
Zeeland had voted the 100,000?. "No reason that breedeth
charges," sighed Walsingham, "can in any sort be digested." 2
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 coffers," 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 hke hereafter." 3
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 50,000?.,
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." *

1 Wilkes to Walsingham, 15 May,
1587. (S. P. Office MS.)
* Walsingham to Wilkes, 2 May,

1587. (S. P. Office MS.)
8 Buckhurst to the Queen, 19 April,
1587. (S. P. Office MS.) «• Ibid.

1587. BUCKHURST SEEKS TO RESTORE GOOD PEELING. 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
them, and, lastly, the state of this shore, so near and opposite
unto the land and coast of England — lo, the sight of all this
daUy in mine eye, conjoined with the deep, enrooted malice
of that your so mighty enemy who seeketh to regain 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 speak, write, and weep
unto you, 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, wUl then be utterly lost, lo^
never, never more to be recovered again." x
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 fuU 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 had 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
1 Buckhurst to the Queen, MS. just cited.

240 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XV.
scorn by the Queen. She was stUl 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 short,
he should have been wiUing to concihate and forgive when he
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 the ser
vice, and therefore you did think it more fit to wash the
wounds rather with water than vinegar, wherein we would
rather have wished, on the other side, that you had better
considered that festering wounds had more need of corrosives
than lenitives. Your own judgment ought to have taught
that such a slight and mild kind of dealing with a people so
ingrate and void of consideration as- the said Estates have
showed themselves toward us, is the ready way to increase
their contempt." 1
The envoy might be forgiven for believing that at any rate
there would be no lack of corrosives or vinegar, so long as the
royal tongue or pen could do their office, 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.2 The Queen was especiaUy indig
nant that the Estates should defend the tone of their letters
to the Earl on the ground 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." 3
The States doubtless thought that the loss of Deventer
Queen to Buckhurst, 3 May, 1587. 3 Queen to Buckhurst. (MS. last

(Br. Mus. Galba, D. I. 4, MS.)
* Leicester to Walsingham.

cited.)

1587. THE QUEEN 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 tho 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 unworthy a crime. And therefore our pleasure is, even
as you tender the continuance of our favour towards you, that
you seek, by all the means you may, examining the Count
HoUock, or any other party in this matter, to discover and to
sift out how this mahcious 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 hi3 service in those countries." 1
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.2 But men were given to loose
talk in those countries. There was great freedom of tongue
1 Queen to Buckhurst, MS. just cited.
' Buckhurst to Walsingham, 13th June, 15S7. (Br. Mus. Galba. D. I. 96, MS.)
VOL. II.— K

242 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XV.
and pen ; and as the Earl, whether with justice or not, had
always been suspected of strong tendencies to assassination, it
was not very wonderful that so reckless an individual as
Hohenlo should promulgate opinions on such subjects, without
much reserve. " The number of crimes that have been im
puted to me," said Leicester, " would be incomplete, had this
calumny not been added to all preceding ones." x It is pos
sible that assassination, especially poisoning, may have been
a more common-place affair 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 Yerdugo, to murder Count Lewis, and that four other
persons had been entrusted with the same commission. The
Count wrote to Yerdugo, 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-charge against Leicester.
"His Excellency," said the sturdy httle 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
1 Groen v. Prinst. Archives, I. 63. Compare Bor, II. xxii. 992.

1587.

SHE CENSURES BUCKHURST'S COURSE.

243

make such a war upon you as becomes an upright Soldier and
a man of honour." x
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
severely for having tolerated an instant the States' pro
position to her for a loan of 50,000?. " The enemy," she
observed, "is quite unable to attempt the siege of any town."2
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 them then understand, " as of himself, that if they would
be satisfied with a loan of ten or fifteen thousand 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." 3
Truly Walsingham was right in saying that charges of any
kind were difficult 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 affairs — 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." i Leicester,
too, was very violent in his attacks upon Buckhurst. The
envoy had succeeded in reconcUing Hohenlo with the bro-

. J Letters of Verdugo and of Count
Lewis William, in Bor, III. xxiii.
p. 11.

' Queen to Buckhurst, 3 May (MS.
last cited.)
s Ibid. * Ibid.

244 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XV.
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 concUiate, the Earl found re
newed cause for violence. "I would have had more regard
of my 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 colonel
under me, and once my servant, and preferred by me to all
honourable place he had."1 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 be indulged. The contempt of
an insolent grandee 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 knowledge
of my mislike of him ; no, not to say this much, which I
think would well become his better, that he was sorry to hear
I had mishke 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 acknowledge
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
1 Leicester to Buckhurst, 30 April, 1587. (3. P. Office, MS.)

1537.

LEICESTER'S WRATH AT HOHENLO'S CHARGES.

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 resolutely set
down. . . . You were so determined before you went
hence, but must have become wonderfully enamoured of
those men's unknown virtues in a few days of acquaintance,
from the 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 should not serve with me, but either you thought me a
very inconstant man, or else a very simple soul, resolving
with you as I did, for you to take the course you have done." 1
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 aU 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 forget as ready
to revenge,"2 said poor WUkes, with neat alliteration. "My
very heavy and mighty adversary will disgrace and undo
me."3 "It sufficeth," continued Leicester, "that -her Majesty
doth find my deahngs 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
show me your disposition therein before, and I allowed of it,
and I had received letters both from. Count Maurice and
Hohenlo of their humility and kindness, but now in your last
letters you say they have uttered the cause of their mislike

1 Leicester to Buckhurst. The
letter is from Croydon, and patheti
cally signed, "Tour poor friend, R.
Leycester."

a Wilkes to Walsingham, 13 April,
1587. (S. P. Office, MS.)
3 Same to the Lord Chancellor,
3rd June, 1587. (S. P. Office, MS.)

246 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XV.
towards me, which you forbear to write of, lookmg so speedily
for my return," x
But the Earl knew weU 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 wUl not suffer it
to rest thus. Its authors shall be duly and severely punished.
And albeit. I see well enough the plot of this wicked device,
yet shall it not work the effect the devisers have done it for.
No, my Lord, he is a viUain and a false lying knave whosoever
he be, and of. what, nation soever that hath forged this device.
Count Hohenlo doth know I never gave him cause to fear me
so much. There were ways and means offered me to have
quitted him of the country if I had so liked. This new
monstrous vUlany 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 WUkes's good dealing with me, that hath heard of so
vUe and vUlainous 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." 2
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
councUs ? " 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 conning to have
cast off aU good respect towards us, and to have entered even
1 Leicester to Buckhurst, 30 April. (MS. already cited.) " Ibid.

1587.

OF A PLOT BT THE EARL TO MURDER HIM.

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 favour
for my good desert, wasting here my mind, body, my wits,
wealth, and all, with continual toils, cares, and troubles, more
than I am able to endure." 1
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 adversary any longer.2
Most reluctantly had Buckhurst fulfilled his sovereign's

1 Buckhurst to Burghley, 27 May,
1587. (S. P. Office, MS.)
2 " Whereas we have late used your
service in an intended treaty of peace
betwixt the King of Spain and us,
dealt in by the Duke of Parma ....
we send you copies of such letters as
have lately been written to ourself by
the Duke, and by Champagny to the
Controller. . . . We have taken order
that the Duke shall be put in mind
of the treaty of Ghent, anno '76, . . .
which being afterwards approved by
the King, was published in 1577, . . .
having just cause to hope that, if tho
King be willing to embrace peace,
and the Duke to further the same, as
he pretendeth, he may be induced to
assent to such a tolerance as in the
said pacification is contained. Now
it resteth that you should seek to
frame the minds of the people of
those countries 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 as you shall leara to be good

patriots, .... laying before them
how impossible it is for them by means
of their contributions, with the burden
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
bow 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 peace, 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 ebb both at,
home and in theso countries, for want
as well of victuals as of other neces
sary things to continue the wars. . . .
And if you shall find that the using
of these reasons and persuasions in
our name may further tho cause by
moving them rather to hearken unto
peace, we leave it to yourself to use,
in such case, your own discretion
therein," &c. Queen to Buckhurst,
May, 1587. (S. P. Office MS.)

248 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS* Chap. XV.
commands in this disastrous course. To talk to the Hollanders
of the Ghent pacification seemed puerile. That memorable
treaty, ten years before, had been one of the great landmarks
of progress, one of the great achievements of WUliam the
Silent. By its provisions, public exercise of the reformed
religion had been secured for the two Provinces of HoUand
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 IL, 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 should 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 your
Majesty, beholding the flames of your enemies on every side
kindling around, unlock all your coffers and convert your

1587. BUCKHURST'S ELOQUENT APPEALS TO THE QUEEN. 249
treasure for the advancing of worthy men, and for the arming of
ships and men-of-war that may defend you, since princes'
treasures serve only to that end, and, lie they never so fast or so
full in their chests, can no ways so defend them ?
" The eternal God, in whose hands the hearts of kings do
rest, dispose and guide your sacred Majesty to 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." 1
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 clangers that
you yourself saw in the propounding of the matter, ought to
have led you to delay till further command from us." 2

1 Buckhurst to the Queen, 30 April,
1587. (Br. Mus. Galba, C. xi. p. 438,
MS.)

a Queen to Buckhurst, 4 June,
1587. (S.P. Office MS.)

250 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XV.
Her Majesty, then instructed her envoy, in case he had not
yet " propounded the matter in the state-house to the general
assembly," to pause entirely until he heard her further
pleasure. She concluded, as usual, with a characteristic post-
cript in her own hand.
" Oh weigh deeplier this matter," she said, "than, with so
shaUow 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." 1
Certainly the sphinx could 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 wise counsellor for aid against the tormentor
who chose to be so stony-faced and enigmatical.
"Touching the matter of peace," 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 me, pray me, and persuade me to
further and hasten the same with all the speed possible that
might be, and how, on the.other side, I have continually been the
man and the mean that have most plainly dehorted her from
such post-haste, and that she should never make good peace
without a puissant army in the field, you would then say that
1 Queen to Buckhurst, MS. just cited,

1587. HER PERPLEXING AND CONTRADICTORY ORDERS. 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." x
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
Farnese, 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 Sluys. 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 besieged, for Prince Maurice to be appointed
captain-general, until such time as the Earl of Leicester or
some other should be sent by her Majesty. The second was
to confer upon the state-council the supreme government in
civU affairs, for the same period, and to repeal all limitations
and restrictions upon the powers of the council made secretly
by the EarL
ChanceUor Leoninus, "that grave, wise old man," moved
the propositions. The deputies of the States were requested
to withdraw. The vote of each counciUor 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
'Buckhurst to Walsingham, 13 June, 1587. (Br. Mus. Galba, D. I. 96. MS.)

252 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 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.1
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.2
The council adjourned till after dinner, and Buckhurst held
conference meantime with various counsellors and deputies.
On the reassembling of the board, it was urged by Barneveld,
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 nescimus."3
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 him
to death himself, or to throw him into the clutch of the
ferocious Hohenlo. "As for my own particular," said the
counsellor, " the word is go, whosoever cometh or cometh not," *
and he announced to Walsingham his intention of departing
1 Wilkes to Walsingham, 8 June, * Wilkes to Walsingham, 29 April,
1587. (S. P. Office, MS.) 1587. (S. P. Office, MS.)
2 Ibid 3 Ibid.

1587.

DESPAIR OP WILKES.

253

without permission, should he not immediately receive it from
England. " I shall stay to be dandled with no love-days nor
leave-takings," he observed.1

1 Wilkes to Walsingham, 8 June,
1587. (S. P. Office, MS.)
From the very moment of Leicester's
arrival in England, he seems to have
conceived a violent hatred to Coun
cillor Wilkes. Yet a careful inspec
tion of the correspondence shows that
never was hatred more unjust. Wilkes
bad told the truth concerning tho ex
penses incurred by England and tho
States during the Earl's first term of
administration. He could not have
done less' without dereliction of duty,
and he forwarded certified vouchers
for all his statements. He always
did his best to sustain tho governor's
character, and to carry out his legiti
mate views. As time wore on, he
was obliged to state the disadvantages
resulting from his protracted absence,
and he was forced, at last, to admit
the truth as to his great unpopularity.
He even admitted privately, on one
occasion,, that, in consequence of that
unpopularity, some other governor
might, be sent from England more
acceptable to the 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 th9 hostility of
the favourite, and for that there was
no redress. Even so early as January
he felt that he had lost Leicester's
favour, although he protested ho
" would repurchase it with the loss of
his two best fingers" (Wilkes to Lei
cester, 27 Jan. 1587. S. P. Office,
MS.) ; and he wrote at the same timo
to the Queen, complaining that he
was in danger of his life, as recom
pense for his faithful service — a life
which he hoped to venture in better
sort for her Majesty's service. He was
threatened at home, he said, and en
dangered abroad. Wilkes to the Queen,
30 Jan. 1587. (S. P. Office, MS.) A
few months later, matters had grown
much worse. Leicester was intending
to wreak his revenge upon him by
means of. third persons, who, by his
malignant insinuations, had . been
made hostile to tho councillor.

" Whereunto is now added the 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 groat 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 the 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 he
hath a gap opened unto, him by my
own letters written unto him from
hence, wherein I had touched some
persons of quality here for their in
direct proceeding agamst 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 Walsingham of
same date, he alluded to the " deadly
revenge threatened against him by
the Earl with very bitter words," and
indicates tho same scheme by which
third persons are to inflict it. "I
would be loth to commit myseif 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 then most urgently solicited per
mission to depart. This permission
the government were most reluctant
to grant, and Wilkes 'protested loudly
against 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," he said, " to be
left to the mercy of such as have will
and means by revenge to bereave her
Majesty of a true and obedient servant,
and me of my life, in an obscure sort,
to my perpetual infamy, to tho pleasing

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 so
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 Enghsh
government been warned as to the danger of delay. " Your
length in resolving," Wilkes had said, "whatsoever your
secret purposes may be — will put us to new plunges before
long."1 The mission of Buckhurst was believed to be. "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 mino enemies, and tho discomfort
ing of all honest men, by an example,
from serving of hor Majesty with sin
cerity," &c. W. to Walsing.. 29th
April, 1587. (S. P. Office MS.) And he
soon afterwards declared to Walsingham
(15 May, 1587. S. P. Office, MS.)
that, in case ho should be left there to
the mercy of his great enemy, if he re
turned, he would venture "to hazard
her Majesty's favour 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, 1587. S. P. Office,
MS.), "doth perpetually travail with
her Majesty to disgrace and undo me,
and I have cause to doubt that ho

doth or shall prevail against me, con
sidering the goodness of her Majesty's
nature to be induced to believe whom
sho favoureth, and his subtlety to per
suade. I have therefore no mean in
respect of the great inequality be
tween him and me, but either to bo
held up by my honourable friends,
assisted with tho wings of mine own
integrity, or to fall to the ground with
disgrace and infamy, to tho dis
couragement of all that shall serve
bor Majesty in like places."
Such passages paint the condition
of the civil service in England, during
the reign of Leicester and Elizabeth,
more vividly than could be done by a
long dissertation.
> Wilkes to Walsingham, 17 May,
1587. (S. P. Office MS.)

1587. LEICESTER ANNOUNCES HIS RETURN. 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 the sovereignty of the States-General.
It was resolved that he should be well bridled. The sensa
tions of Barneveld 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 tho
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 be intimated that the Queen was resolved
to treat for peace with the King of Spain, and wished to have
the opinion of the Netherlanders on that subject, he was to say
boldly that Lord Buckhurst never had any such charge, and
that her Majesty had not been treating at all. She had only
been attempting to sound the King's intentions towards the
Netherlands, in case of any accord. Having received no satis
factory assurance on the subject, her Majesty was determined
to proceed 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.1
" You are also," said the Earl, " to teU 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
wiU, 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
1 Leicester to Junius, Greenwich, 1 Comparo Meteren, xiv. 255. Hoofd,
15 June, 1587. (S. P. Office, MS.) | Vervolgb, 249, et mult. al.

256 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XV.
to have exercised under the governors of the Emperor arid
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 legiti
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."1
There were two very obvious comments to be made upon
this document. Firstly, the States — de jure, 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 flat 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
1 Leicester to Junius, ubi sup.

1587. HIS INSTRUCTIONS— LETTER TO JUNIUS. 257
they should use their influence with those common people in
favour of peace, bringing vividly before them the excessive
burthens of the war, their inability to cope with so potent a
prince as PhiUp, 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 Majesty had
quite made up her mind to accept the handsome offers of
peace held out by the King of Spain, and to leave them to
their fate.
It seemed scarcely possible that the letter to Junius and
the instructions for the Earl should have been dated the 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 to rest
satisfied withal."
With regard to the nature of his authority, he was in
structed to claim a kind of dictatorship in everything regard-
ins 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. ii. — S

258

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XV.

government now reigning among them could not but work
their ruin." 1
Both, these papers came into Barneveld's hands, through
the agency of Ortel, the States' envoy in England, before the
arrival of the Earl in the Netherlands.2
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 the 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 be a disastrous one. "The
States are resolved," said he, " since your Majesty doth refuse
the sovereignty, to lay it upon no creature else, as a thing
contrary to their oath and allegiance to their country." He
reminded her also that the States had been dissatisfied with
the Earl's former administration, believing that he had ex-

1 Instructions for the Earl of Lei
cester, 20 June, 1587. Corrected by
Lord Burghley and Secretary Wal
singham. (S. P. Office MS. Compare
Bor, II. xxi. 906, 907.)

' Bor, II. xxii. 906, 907. "By the
way," writes Leicester to Burghley,
" send away Ortel ; he is a bad fellow."
Leicester to Burghley, 17 Aug. 1587-
(S. P. Office MS.)

1587. BARNEVELD DENOUNCES HIM 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."1 Buck
hurst also informed her that he had despatched CouncUlor
WUkes to England, in order that he might give more ample
information on all these affairs by word of mouth than could
weU 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 had found
all this treason in . the secret instructions of the Earl.2 But
Barneveld had read the instructions, to which the attention of
the reader has just been called, and had strictly stated the truth,
wliich was damaging enough, without need of exaggeration.

1 Buckhurst to the Queen, 2 8 June,
1587. (Brit. Mus. Galba. C. xi. p. 61,
MS.) * Memorial in Burghley's hand,
Sept. 1587. Killigrew and Beale to
the, Lords, ,11 Sept. 1587. Leicester
to Burghley, 17 Aug. 1587. Same to
same, 11 Sept. 1587. (S. P. Office
MSS.) "These persuasions of this fellow
Barnevelt," says the Earl in the last-
cited letter, " wrought great impres
sions in many men that her Majesty
had a former resolution in herself to
make peaco without these countries,
and that my now sending was only to
get authority hero with the command
ment of places and people, that, if these
men would not agree to such peace as
her Majesty would appoint, they should
be compelled thereto by such forces
as I should have at my disposition;

alleging also that these few supplies
which I brought was to augment my
power the stronger for this only end.
These informations, assisted with the
report of the copy of my instructions
and letters, for the verifying of which
the party took new oath that they were
the true copies which he had,1 and
moved him to speak so plainly, which
matters were 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 ;
and I have not denied but such words
are in my instructions and such a letter
written, and yet we made all to agree
with an honourable and gracious in
tention in her Majesty towards them
all," Ac. (Compare Meteren, xiv. 255
seq. Bor, II. xxii. 906, 907. Hoofd,
Verv. 239. Wagenaar. viii. 223, 224.)

260

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XVI

CHAPTER XVI.
Situation of Sluys — Its Dutch and English Garrison — Williams writes from
Sluys to the Queen — Jealousy between the Earl and States — Schemes to
relieve Sluys — Which are feeble and unsuccessful — The Town Capitu
lates — Parma enters — Leicester enraged — The Queen angry with the
Anti-Leicestrians — Norris, Wilkes, and Buckhurst punished — Drake sails
for Spain — His Exploits at Cadiz and Lisbon — He is rebuked by
Elizabeth.
When Dante had passed through the third circle of the
Inferno — a 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 Yirgil out of
this burning wUderness along a narrow causeway. This path
was protected, he said, against the showers of flame, by the
lines of vapour which rose eternaUy 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.1
It was precisely among these slender dykes between Kad-
zand and Bruges that Alexander Farnese 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 himself.
Exactly opposite the city was the island of Kadzand,
once a fair and fertUe territory, with a city and many flou
rishing villages upon its surface, but at that epoch diminished

" Hora een porta 1' un do' durl margin!
E il fumo del ruscel1 di sopra aduggia
Si che dal fuoco salva 1' acqua e gr argini
Qual i Fiamminghl fra Ov&eante o Bruggta
Temendo il flotto che ver lor s1 avventa
Fannoli schermi nccioch&'l mar si faggio.''
Inferno, Canto xv.

Compare Guicciardini, ' Descript.
des Pays Bas,' ed. 1582, p. 379.
Strada, II. 487. Bentivoglio, P. H
L. V. 313.

1587. SITUATION OP SLUTS. 261
to a smaU 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 Sluys 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.1 While the eternal disputes between Leicester and the States
were going on both in HoUand and in England, while the
secret negotiations between Alexander Farnese and 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, had succeeded in bringing a little army of
five thousand foot, and something less than one thousand
1 Authorities last cited. Meteren, xiv. 254™ 255. Hoofd, Very. 254.

262

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XVI

horse, into the field.1 A portion of this force he placed under
the command of the veteran La Motte. That distinguished
campaigner had assured the commander-in-chief that the
reduction of the city would be an easy achievement.2 Alex
ander soon declared that the enterprise was the most difficult
one that he had ever undertaken.3 Yet, two years before, he
had carried to its triumphant conclusion the famous siege of
Antwerp. He stationed his own division upon the isle of
Kadzand, 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 sharp 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 which the sea-communica
tions with the former city for the relief of the beleaguered town
were interrupted.4
Parma'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-

1 Parma to Philip II., 6 Aug. 1587.
(Arch, de Simancas, MS.)
This force was subsequently very
much increased. It is impossible, how
ever, to arrive at the exact numbers.
They are not stated by Parnese in his
letters to the King, preserved in the
Archives of Simancas. Strada (II. 489)
gives the numbers as stated in the text.
Roger Williams, however, in a letter
to Queen Elizabeth, sent from Sluys
at an early period of the siege, says
that the Duke of Parma had como
before the town, a week before, in per
son, with four regiments of Walloons,
four of Germans, fifty-two companies
of Spaniards, twenty-four cornets of
horse, and forty-eight piecos of battery,

and that tho next day there arrived
one regiment of Italians and one of
Burgundians. This would give a total
of at least 17,600 meD, more than thrico
as many as the historiographer of the
Duke allows. R. Williams to the
9
Queen, — June, 1587. (Brit. Mus.
Galba, D. I. p. 40, MS.)
a Parma to Philip IL, 6 Aug. 1587.
(Arch, de Simancas, MS.)
s Ibid. " En mio poco ju:ck> la mas
difioultosa y laboriosa cosa quo ho
visto e acometido en Flandes."
4 Strada, II. 488. Meteren, ubi sup.
Bor, II. xxii. 984. Bentivoglio, Hoofd,
ubi sup.

1587.

ITS DUTCH AND ENGLISH GARRISON.

263

kerke and his younger brother, Captain Heraugiere, and other
well-known partisans.
On the threatening 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 were the famous Welshman Eoger
WUliams, 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.1
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.2 On the other hand, Farnese declared that he
had never in his life witnessed anything so unflinching as the
courage of his troops ; employed as 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-ground for their operations — as steadily and sedately
as if engaged in purely pacific employments.3 The besieged
were inspired by a courage equally remarkable. The regular
garrison was small enough, but the burghers were courageous,

i Strada, Meteren, Bor, Bentivoglio,
Hoofd, ubi sup. Roger Williams,
'Discourse of War,' apud Grimstone,
'Hist. Netherlands, L. xiii. 962.
' R. Williams, ubi sup.

' Parma to Philip II.

M July

1587.

6 Aug.'
(Arch, de Simancas, MS.) Strada, IL
491.

264 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVI
and even the women organized themselves into a band of
pioneers. This corps of Amazons, led by two female captains,
rejoicing in the names of 'May in the Heart' and 'Catherine
the Bose,' actually constructed an important redoubt between
the citadel and the rampart, which received, in compliment to
its builders, the appellation of ' Fort Venus.' 1
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.2 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
Eoger WiUiams 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 hves, besides our
own." 3
The Welshman was no braggart, and had proved often
enough that he was more given to performances than pro
mises. "We doubt not your Majesty wiU succour us," he
said, "for our honest mind and plain deahng 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 wUl not only undo your
friends abroad, but, in the end, your royal estate." *
Certainly if 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, III. xxiii. 6, seq. * Meteren, Bor, R. Williams, ubi sup.
il. (]
Ibid.

R. Williams to the Queen, -June, 1587. (Brit. Mus. Galba, D. I. p. 40, MS.)

1587. WILLIAMS WRITES PROM SLUTS TO THE QUEEN. 265
the place, which was to be the basis of his operations against
her realm. Her delay in sending forth Leicester, with at
least a moderate contingent, to the rescue, was most per
nicious. 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 Eoger Wilhams.1 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 feUows (the States) will make
Count Hollock their instrument," continued the Welshman,
"to cover and maintain their folly and lewd deahng, 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."2 Certainly the gaUant adventurer on whom devolved
at least half the wort of directing the defence of the city, had
a right to express his opinions. Had he known the whole
truth, however, those opinions would have been modified.
And he wrote amid the smoke and turmoil of daily and
nightly battle.
"Yesterday was the fifth sally we made," he observed.
"Since I followed the wars I never saw valianter captains,
i Williams to Walsingham, !iL£^, 1587. (Brit. Mus. Galba, C. xi. 102, MS.)
9 July ' Ibid.

266 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVI. -
nor willinger soldiers. At eleven o'clock the enemy entered
the ditch of our fort, with trenches upon wheels, artiUery-
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 untU
yesternight, and will recover it, with God's help, this night,
or else pay dearly for it  I care not what may become
of me in this world, so that her Majesty's honour, with the
rest of honourable good friends, will think me an honest
jnan."1 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
himself. 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 desperate 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, fought hand to hand, with pike, pistol,
and dagger, within the bowels of the earth.2
Meantime the operations of the States were not commend
able. The ineradicable jealousy between the Leicestrians and
the Barneveldians 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
1 Williams to Walsingham, last cited.
3 Strada, II. 486-512. Meteren, ubi sup. Bor, III. xxiii. 5*9, 14-21. Ha-
rceus, III. 402-404.

1587.

JEALOUSY BETWEEN THE EARL AND STATES.

267

it would be transferred 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 aU the expense of the
war, it was an imperative necessity that they should limit
their operations to the defence of their own soil. The sus
picions as to the 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 beginning to look upon as
an enemy.1
Maurice and Hohenlo made, however, a foray into Brabant,
by way of diversion t& the siege of Sluys, and thus com
pelled Farnese 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 Haultepenne, 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.2
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 " j°°°,
° 4 July
(N. S.), he had come on board the fleet two days 1587.
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 EUzabeth as an extra loan, in place of the
sixty thousand pounds which the States had requested. As
he saUed past Ostend and towards Flushing, the Earl was
witness to the constant cannonading between the besieged

1 A brief Report of the Proceedings
of his Excellency for the Relief of
Sluys, 26 July, 1587. (S. P. Office MS.)

' Bor, Meteren, Hoofd, Bentivoglio,
Strada, ubi sup.

268

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XVI. •

city and the camp of Farnese, 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.1
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 aU the Spanish
Netherlands, of Sluys, and with it the whole of Philip and
Parma's great project, were, in Farnese's own language, hang
ing by a thread.2
It would have been possible — had the transactions of the
past six months, so far as regarded Holland and England,
been the reverse of what they 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
prevaUed. 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 officers 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 whioh Leicester
had demanded from the States, should advance against the
Duke of Parma by land. It was, in truth, the . only way

1 Authorities last cited. Lloyd to
Walsingham, 25 June, 1587. (S. P. Of
fice MS.) Baudart, Polemog. II. 96,
"17,800 shots."

* Parma to Philip, II. 6 Aug. 1587.
(Arch, de Simancas MS.) "Colgados
da un hilo todos los estados y todo lo
dependiente," &e.

1587.

SCHEMES TO RELIEVE SLUTS.

269

to succour the place. The scheme was quite practicable.
Leicester recommended it, the Hollanders seemed to favour
it, Commandant Groenevelt and Eoger WUliams urged it.
"I do assure you," wrote the honest Welshman to Leicester
" if you 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 wiU come with our boats, and
fight with the greatest part, and show them there is no such
great danger. Were it not for my wounded arm, I would be
in your first boat to enter. Notwithstanding, I and other
Englishmen wUl approach their boats in such sort, that we
will force them to give their saker of artillery upon us. If
your Excellency wUl give ear unto those false lewd feUows
(the Captain meant the States-General), you. shall lose great
opportunity. Within ten or twelve days the enemy will make
his bridge from Kadzand unto St. Anne, and force you to
hazard battle before you succour this town. Let my Lord
WiUoughby and Sir WUUam Eussell land at Terhoven, right
against Kadzand, with 4000, and entrench hard 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. We must
fight this night within our rampart in the fort. You may
assure the world here are no Hamerts, but vahant captains
and vaUant soldiers, such as, with God's help, had rather be
buried in the place than be disgraced in any point that belongs
to such a number of men-of-war."1
But in vain did the governor of the place, stout Arnold
Groenevelt, assisted by the rough and direct eloquence of
Eoger WUliams, urge upon the Earl of Leicester and the
States-General the necessity and the practicabUity of the plan

1 Williams to Leicester,

29 Juno

1587.

9 July
(Brit. Mus. Galba, D. I. p. 152, MS.)
It will be remembered that Baron

Hemart was the unfortunate officer
who so disgracefully surrendered Grave
in the first year of Leicester's adminis
tration.

270

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XVI.

proposed. The fleet never entered the harbour. There. was
no William of Oi-ange 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 cordiaUy 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, bitterly,
" 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 three several
places, continuing in fight in mine and on rampart for tho
space of eight nights. The ninth he battered us furiously,
made a breach of five score paces saltable for horse and man.
That day he attempted us in all places with a general assault
for the space of almost five hours."1
The citadel was now lost. It had been gallantly defended,
and it was thenceforth necessary to hold the town itself, in
1 Ju] the very teeth of an overwhelming foree. " We
1586. were forced to quit the fort," said Sir Eoger, " leaving
nothing behind us but bare earth. But here we do remain
resolutely to be buried, rather than to be dishonoured in the
least point."2
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 that no wars may be made without danger.
What you mean to do, we beseech you to do with expedition,

1 Williams to Leicester, — July,
'19 J
1587. (Brit. Mus. Galba, D. I. 179, MS.)
Compare Bor, Meteren, Hoofd, Benti

voglio, Strada, Haraeus, ubi sup. et
mult. al.
3 Williams ta Leicester. (US. last
cited.)

1587.

WHICH ARE PEEBLE AND UNSUCCESSFUL.

271

and persuade yourself that we will die valiant, honest men.
Your Excellency wUl do well to thank the old President do
Meetkerk for the honesty and valour of his son." 1
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 wliich 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 Flushing, of their own accord,
declared that they would themselves equip and conduct a fleet
into the harbour of Sluys.2 But the Nassaus are said to have
expressed great disgust that low-born burghers should presume
to meddle with so important an enterprise, which of right
belonged to their famUy.3 Thus, in the midst of these alter
cations and contradictory schemes, the month of July wore
away, and the city was reduced to its last gasp.

1 R. Williams toWalsingham — July,
10
1587. (Brit. Mus. Galba, D. I. p. 179.
MS.) Compare ' Discourse of War ' apud
Grimstone, xiii. 963. " Truly all tho
Dutch and Walloons," says Sir Roger,
"showed themselves constant, resolute,
and valiant, especially those brave and
valiant captains Meetkerke and Herau
giere." He also especially commends
the valour of Huntley, Udall, Scott,
Ferdinando Gorges, St. Leger, and
Nicholas Baskerville.
* A brief Report of the Proceedings
of his Excellency for the relief of Sluys,
26 July, 1587. (S. P. Office MS.) Wil
loughby, Russell, Pelham and others,
to the Lords, 12 Aug. 1587. (S. P.
Office MS.)

* "Burghers of Flushing 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 best
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, et al. to the Lords.
(MS. last cited.)

272 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVI.
For the cannonading had thoroughly done its work.
Eighteen days long the burghers and what remained of the
garrison had hved upon the ramparts, never leaving their
posts, but eating, sleeping, and fighting day and night. Of
the sixteen hundred Dutch and Enghsh but seven hundred
remained. At last a swimming messenger was sent out by the
besieged with despatches for the States, to the purport that the
city could hold out no longer. A breach in the wall had been
effected wide enough to admit a hundred men abreast. Sluys
had, in truth, already fallen, and it, was hopeless any longer to
conceal the fact, ' If not relieved within a day or two, the
garrison would be obliged to surrender ; but they distinctly
stated, that they had all pledged themselves, soldiers and
burghers, men, women, and all, unless the most honourable
terms were granted, to set fire to the city in a hundred places,
and then sally, in mass, from the gates, determined to fight
their way through, or be slain in the attempt. The messenger
who carried these despatches was drowned, but the letters were
saved, and fell into Parma's hands.1
At the same moment, Leicester was making, at last, an
effort to raise the siege. He brought three or four thousand
men from Flushing, and landed them at Ostend ; thence he
marched to Blanckenburg. He 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 he
did not thoroughly carry out his own scheme. If the Earl
had established himself at Blanckenburg, it would have been
necessary for Parma — as he himself subsequently declared —
to raise the siege.2 Leicester carried the outposts of the
place successfully ; but, so soon as Farnese was aware of this
demonstration, he detached a few companies with orders to
1 Strada, Bor, Meteren, Hoofd, R. Williams, in Grimstone, ubi sup. eial.
3 Strada, II. 508, 509, seq.

1587. THE TOWN CAPITULATES. 273
skirmish with the enemy until the commander-in-chief, with as
large a force as he could spare, should come in person to his
support. To the unexpected gratification of Farnese, how
ever, 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-ombarked his troops with
the utmost celerity, and set sail for Ostend.1
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.2 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
land-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 fate 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, hghted
matches, bullet in mouth, and with bag and baggage. Such
of the burghers as chose to conform to the government of
' Strada, Bor, Meteren, Hoofd, Haraeus, Bentivoglio, ubi sup.
' Lloyd to Walsingham, ^-^, 1587. (S. P. Office MS.)
6 Aug.
VOL. II.— T

274

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XVL

Spain and the church of Eome, were permitted to remain.
Those who preferred to depart were allowed reasonable time
to make their necessary arrangements.1
" We have hurt and slain very near eight hundred," said
Sir Eoger 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. We were sold by their negligence who are
now angry with us." 2 •
On the 5th August Parma entered the city. Eoger Williams
— with his gilt morion rather battered, and his great plume
of feathers much bedraggled — was a witness to the victor's
entrance. Alexander saluted respectfully an officer so well
known to him by reputation, and with some complimentary
remarks urged him to enter the Spanish service, and to take
the field against the Turks.3
" 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." 4
Considering himself sufficiently answered, the Duke then
requested Sir Eoger 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

1 Brief Report, &c. MS. already
cited. Lloyd to Walsingham. MS.
already cited. Leicester to same,
12 Aug. 1587. Willoughby and others
to the Lords, 12 Aug; 1587. Leicester
to same, 12 Aug. 1587. Same to
Burghley, 27 July, 1587., Samo to
same, 13 July, 1587. Same to the
Lords, 27 July, 1587. Same to samo,
17 Aug. 1587. P. Needham to Wal
singham, 12 Aug. 1587. (S. P. Offico

MSS.) Compare Bor, Meteren, Hoofd,
Haraeus, Bentivoglio, Strada, R.
Williams, ubi sup. - Wagenaar, viii.
225^227. Baudart, Polemog., II. 96,
et mult. al.
s Williams to Leicester, 5 Aug. 1587.
(Brit. Mus.. Galba, D. I. p. 214, MS.)
s Needham to Walsingham, 12 Aug.
1587. (S. P. Office MS.)
* Ibid.

1587.

PARMA ENTERS— LEICESTER 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.1
The garrison then retired, Sluys became Spanish, and a
capacious harbour, just opposite the English coast, was in
Parma's hands. Sir Eoger Wilhams 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.2
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." 3

1 R. Williams, in Grimstone, lxiii. 962.
a " 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
singham, 12 Aug. 1587. (S. P. Office
MS.) Yet according to the report of
Captain Needham, even Williams had
at last become an object of the Earl's
jealousy and suspicion, on account of
the flattering offers made to him by
Farnese. "The Duke of Parma had
essayed," says Needham, "by all possi
ble means to gain Sir Roger Wilhams,
but could not prevail, although he
thought the hard usage he had re
ceived from the Earl of Leicester would
be an occasion to make him leave his
party. Themistocles (Leicester) had
hereupon conceived great jealousy,
and hath not spared to give warning
to Sir W. Russell to beware of Williams
as of one who would be his undoing,
and as it seems reported as much to
the Lord North and Sir W. Pelham. . . .
The gentleman (Williams) was won
derfully perplexed that for his faithful
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 hi3
credit," &c. The conversation of the
Duke with the Welshman has been re
ported in the text.
" The Earl of Essex promises me,"
wrote Williams subsequently, "that
her Majesty will do something for me.
For my part I do hardly believe it, for
I can get no countenance from her
Highness. I humbly desire your Ex
cellency to write this for me, either to
give me something or discharge mo
away with nothing. ... I fear things
will not fall out here as well as you
would wish. Were your Excellency
here, her Majesty would do more. The
more the merrier. Without your pre
sence your friends dare not speak what
they would, for the simplest that speaks
of the peace is better here than the
wisest that contraries it. I fear me it
is passed so far that the King of
Navarre is like to smart for it," &c.
R. Williams to Leicester, 1 Sept. 1587.
(Brit. Mus. Galba, D. II. p. 5, MS.)
3 Leicester to Walsingham, 12 Aug.
1587. (S. P. Office MS.)
" As for this matter of Sluys," said

276

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XVL

The loss of Sluys 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 WiUiam
Eussell, Lord WUloughby, 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 proofs 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,1 and Leicester was even ungrateful enough to
censure Eoger Williams, whose hfe had been passed, as it were,
at push of pike with the Spaniards, and who was one ©f 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
tribunal seat of God for any fault in
me. - The greatest is that I did trust
Count Maurice too much, but either I
must have trusted him or not have had
any means at all for shipping. . As it is
well known -beside, he offered his ser-1
vice most frankly and wiUingly, and
did take upon - him and his bastard
brother to attempt the bridge by suoh
men as they had chosen, to whom I
gave . 301. beforehand." ¦ And in the
same vein he says to Burleigh, " I am
grieved to think, much more to speak
of the loss of Sluys. God knoweth we
have done for our parts as much as if
a kingdom had stood, upon it. But
these men have strange designs in
their heads, which will in the end
breed their own ruin. . . . The dregs
of their dealing will, I fear, remain a
good while, for the practice and fashion
continue. ... I must beg you to bear
with me, for I scarce know what I
write, what with grief for the loss of
this town, and with anger for the vile
lewd dealing of theso men , that have
so naughtily carried themselves in this
matter for Sluys. First, by letting me
have no men of theirs, when I had but

a few men furnished ; then, their long
deferring our men to be furnished ;
after, their lack of provisions of all
sorts ; lastly, vessels and barks 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 siege 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 Burghley,
^* (S. P. Office MS.)
6 Aug. x
1 ." Tour honour may , see,"
Lloyd, "how. Count Hohenlo's
ceeaings, and States' practices,
this late action, do concur as matters
that have been hammered on one anvil
and issued from one forge." R.Lloyd
to Walsingham, ^^, 1587. (S.
6 Aug.
Office MS.)

said
pro- and

P.

1587. QUEEN ANGRY WITH THE ANTI-LEICESTRIANS. 277
even went so far as to express dissatisfaction with the great
Leicester himself.1 Meantime, Farnese was well satisfied with
his triumph, for he had been informed that "all. England was
about to charge upon him," in order to relieve the place.2
All England, however, had been but feebly represented by
thre.e thousand raw recruits with a paltry sum of 15,000Z. 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,3 for they had very good reason to believe that such
an opportunity . of personal vengeance would be turned to
account by the Earl. Wilkes had already avowed his inten
tion of making his escape without being dandled with leave-
takings, and no doubt he was right. The Earl" was indignant
when he found that they had given him the slip, and denounced
them with fresh acrimony to the Queen, imploring her to wreak
full measure of wrath upon their. heads ;4 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

31 July
1 Essex to Leicester,  ' 1587.
10 Aug,
(S. P. Office MS.) Walsingham to same,
2 Aug. 1587. - (Brit. Mus. Galba, D. I.
p. 234, MS.) " The ill success of Sluys
causeth her to pick some quarrel. to
wards your Lordship in that action, as
by her letters you may perceive."
* " Corria la voz quo cargava toda
Inglaterra." Parma to Philip, 6 Aug.
1587. (Arch, de Simancas, MS.)
3 Wilkes to the Lords, 20 July, 1587,
(S. P. Office MS.) explaining—what
had been sufficiently explained before

— why he left the Netherlands without
greeting Leicester, . " for that he was
too terrified to come into his presence,
knowing:his animosity." He expresses
the hope that " her Majesty, being the
image of God on earth, will be like to
Him in mercy, and not suffer more to
be laid upon him than flesh and blood
can bear." <
* Leicester to Walsingham, 4 July;
1587. Same to Queen, 7 July, 1587.
Same to Burghley, 13 July, 1587. (S
P. Office MSS.)

278 THE 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.1 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.2 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 har.
As for Wilkes, his only crime was a most conscientious
discharge of his duty, in the course of which he had found
cause to modify his abstract opinions in regard to the origin
of sovereignty, and had come 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
pubhc 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
1 Killigrew and Beale to Walsing
ham, 13 July, 1587. Buckhurst to
Burghley, 22 July, 1587. . A true de
claration of the proceedings of Lord
Buckhurst and Dr. Clerke, 24 July,
1587. (S. P. Office MSS.)

a Buckhurst to Walsingham, 24th
July, 1587. Same to Burghley, 24 July,
1587. Same to same, 28 July, 1587.
Walsingham to Leicester, 29 July,
1587. (S. P. Office MSS.)

1587.

NORRIS, WH-KES, AND BUCKHURST PUNISHED.

279

like, an upright, straight-forward Englishman, 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 devil, without faith or religion." 1
As for Buckhurst himself, it is unnecessary to say a word in

1 Leicester to Walsingham, 4 Aug.
1587. (S. P. Office MS.) Buckhurst
was of a different opinion.
"Mr. Wilkes, having had so long
experience 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 your Majesty most espe
cial and notable service, being also
otherwise so sufficiently practised in
the estate of other ' countries and so
well trained in your affairs at home,
with such excellent gifts of utterance,
memory, wit, courage, and knowledge,
and with so faithful and careful a heart
to serve your Majesey, as il were a
woeful case 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. Galba,
C. xi. p. 61, MS.)
Yet such a eulogy from so illustrious
a man, and fully borne out by the
deeds and words of Wilkes himself,
could not save the councillor from the
gaoL He had loved Sir John Norris,
which was enough to secure him the
hatred of Leicester, and consequently
the unmitigated wrath of the Queen.
But these pages have already illus
trated the copiousness of the great
Earl's vocabulary in vituperation. Mr.
P. B., Sir John Norris, Hollock, Wilkes,
Buckhurst himself, 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.- Ho was now very
angry with those who surrounded
young Maurice, especially with the
minister Villiers, whom he pronounced
to be "a condemned man, not only
among all honest and godly men, but
also with all the churches through' all
the Provinces." Sainte Aldegonde,
too, whom before and after this point
of time, he seemed to appreciate and

applaud, was now held up as an object
of suspicion. " I have found cause of
late," he 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 ho to
return again for two or three months,
being known to be greatly favoured on
the other side, and can enjoy no penny
but by that favour. I see he takes no
course to please the church. Tho
young Count is directed by both him
and Villiers, albeit the one, Sainte
Aldegonde, doth make less show than
the other. Oh, God, what a world it
is! Both these hot men heretofore
are become less than lukewarm now,
and wholly given to policy." Leicester
to Walsingham, MS above cited.
Yet before the end of the year Sainto
Aldegonde was violently abused by
others for opposite tendencies. "Tho-
Count of Hollock being drunk tho
other day," says Sir Robert Sidney,
" took a quarrel to Monsieur do Sainto
Aldegonde, saying, he was wont to be
a lover of the house of Nassau, but
now he was grown altogether a Leices-
trian, the which he repeated sundry
times upon him before the Count Mau
rice and many other gentlemen. In
truth, I think Sainte Aldegonde, very
well affected unto your Excellency.
Surely he mislikes the proceedings
here, and meddles nothing with them."
Sidney to Leicester, 31 Dec. 1587.
(Brit. Mus. Galba, D. H. p. 288.)
Nothing could be more unscrupulous
than the denunciations of Leicester
whenevor he was offended. They would'
seem almost risible, were it hot that
the capricious wrath of the all-powerful
favourite was often sufficient to blast
the character, the career, the hopes,
and even take away the lives, of honest
men.

28® THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVI
his defence. The story of his mission has been completely
detailed from, the most authentic and secret documents, and
there is not a single line written to the Queen, to her ministers
to the States, to any public body or to any private friend in
England or elsewhere, that does not reflect honour on his name.
With sagacity, without passion, with unaffected sincerity, he
had 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 her 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 secretly negotiating with the Spaniard,
when he knew those suspicions to be 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 Leicester.
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 had yet been confided to him.
It would be a thankless and superfluous task to give the
details of the renewed attempt, during a few months, made
by Leicester to govern the Provinces. His second 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

1587. DRAKE SAILS FOR SPAIN. 281
of his former rule. He rarely met the States in person,
and almost never resided at the Hague, holding his court at
Middleburg, Dort, or Utrecht, as his humour led him.
The one great feature of the autumn of 1587 was the
private negotiation between Elizabeth and the Duke of
Parma. Before taking a glance at the nature of those 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 been 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 — combining
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
one. 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 mercantUe
instinct of the nation was flattered with the prospect of gain,
the martial quahty of its patrician and of its plebeian blood
was eager to confront danger, the great Protestant mutiny
against a decrepid superstition in combination with an ag
gressive tyranny, all impelled the best energies of the EngUsh

282

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XVI.

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 Drake on the 2nd
April, 1587 ; " our ship is under sail. God grant that we may
so live in His fear, that the enemy may have cause to say that
God doth fight for her Majesty abroad as well as at home." x
But he felt that he was not without enqmies behind him,
for the strong influence brought to bear against the bold policy
which Walsingham favoured, was no secret to Drake. " If we
deserve ill," said he, " let us be punished. If we discharge
our duty, in doing our best, it is a hard measure to be reported
ill by those who will either keep their fingers out of the fire,
or who too well affect that alteration in our government
which I hope in God they shall never live to see." 2 In lati
tude 40° he spoke two Zeeland ships, homeward 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 hand3 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

1 Drake to Walsingham iu Bar
row's 'Lifo of Drake ' (Murray, 1843),
p. 223.
» Ibid.

' Walsingham to Leicester, 17 April,
1587. Same to same, 11 April, 1587.
(Brit. Mus. Galba, C. xi. p. 327-344.
MSS.)

1587. HIS EXPLOITS AT CADIZ AND LISBON. 283
gaUeys, 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 PhUip 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 of PhiUp'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
thoroughly 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.1 Such was the fortune of war in
the sixteenth century.
Having dealt these great blows, Drake set sail again from
Lisbon, and, twenty leagues from St. Michaels, fell in with
one of those famous Spanish East Indiamen, called carracks,
then the great wonder of the seas. This vessel, San Felipo
by name, with a cargo of extraordinary value, was easily cap-
1 Barrow, 232, 233.

284 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVI.
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 materiaUy 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 in
its measures of resistance. He had done something with his
little fleet, but he was no braggart, and had no disposition to
underrate the enemy's power. " God make us all thankful
again and again," he observed, " that we have, although it be
little, made a beginning upon the coast of Spain." l 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 be
doubted. " But," said Sir Francis, " I thank them much that
they have staid so long, and when they come they shall be but
the sons of mortal men." 2
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 the 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 was
¦ Barrow, 233. I Meteren, xiv. 253, 254. Bor, II. xxi
' Ibid. Compare Camden, III. 396. | 753-768, xxii. 981, xxiii. 77.

1587.

HE IS REBUKED BY ELIZABETH

285

now the dear, friend of Alexander Farnese, 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 Ehzabeth hastened to disavow her Plymouth
captain.1

1 " True it is, and I avow it on my
faith, her Majesty did send a ship ex
pressly before he went to Cadiz with
a message by letters charging Sir
Francis Drake not to show any act of
hostility, which messenger by contrary
winds could never eome to the place
where he was, but was constrained to
come home, and hearing of Sir F.
Drake's actions, her Majesty ¦ com
manded the party that returned to
have been punished, but that he ac
quitted himself by the oaths of himself
and all his company. And so unwitting
yea unwilling to her Majesty those ac
tions were committed by Sir P. Drake,
for the which her Majesty is as yet
greatly offended with him." Burghley
to Andreas de Loo, 18 July, 1587.
' Flanders Correspondence.' (S. P.
Office MS.)
"There are letters written to Sir
Francis Drake," said Walsingham,
"sent unto him by a pinnance sent
forth especially for that purpose, to
command him not to attempt anything
by land, nor to enter into the ports to
distress the ships. This resolution
proceedeth 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."
Walsingham to Leicester, 11 April,
1587. (Brit. Mus. Galba, C. xi. p. 344
MS.)

And again, a week later — " As for
Spain," says the Secretary, "they are
so far off from any intention to assail
England, as they stand now upon their
own guard for fear of Sir Francis Drake.
There are letters written from certain
of my lords, by her Majesty's effectual
commandment, to inhibit" him to at
tempt anything by land, or within the
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 the despatch of these
letters that there is order given for his
revocation." Samo to same, 17 April,
1587. (Brit. Mus. Galba, C. xi. p. 327.
MS.) It is somewhat amusing, on the other
hand, to find Leicester claiming credit
for her Majesty, 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
in her Majesty 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. (S. P.
Office MS.)

286 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. SVIL

CHAPTER XVII.
Secret Treaty between Queen and Parma — Excitement and Alarm in the
States — Religious Persecution in England — Queen's Sincerity toward
Spain — Language and Letters of Parma — Negotiations of De Loo —
English Commissioners appointed — Parma's affectionate Letter to tho
Queen— Philip at his Writing-Table — His Plots with Parma against
England — Parma's secret Letters to the King — Philip's Letters to Parma —
Wonderful Duplicity of Philip — His sanguine Views as to England —
He is reluctant to hear of the Obstacles — and imagines Parma in England
— But Alexander's Difficulties are great — He denounces Philip's wild
Schemes — Walsingham aware of the Spanish Plot — which the States well
understand — Leicester's great Unpopularity — The Queen warned against
Treating; — Leicester's Schemes against Barneveld — Leicestrian Con
spiracy at Leyden — The Plot to seize the City discovered — Three Ring
leaders sentenced to Death — Civil War in France — Victory gained by
Navarre, and one by Guise — Queen recalls Leicester — Who retires on
ill Terms with the States — Queen warned as to Spanish Designs —
Results 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 aware
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 the men who governed that
people as ungrateful wretches and impudent liar's.1
avons eu de l'innocence d'un si bon
peuple, et le desir qu'avons eu de leur
bien, jointe la prompte volunte de notre
cousin, ont eu plus de force a nous
retenir en notre premiere affection ....
et attendons que co qu'est passe sera
repare- & l'avenir . . . ." Queen to State-

1 E. g. " Nous avons renvoye" notre
cousin de Leycestre — nonobstant que
nous fussions a peu pres degoutes ....
vus les desordres et confusions depuis
son partement de la . . . les traverses
ingrates de quelques uns mal affectes
par de la, dont nous memes avons en ._, 
occasion de bien fort nous repentir. Council, 20 June, 1587. (S. P. Omce,
Toutefois la consideration que nous ' MS.) A letter to the States, of nearly

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
abiUties, 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 he did. His secretary, Junius, was thrown into
prison, and his master's letter taken from him, before there
had been any time to act upon its treacherous suggestions.1
When the Earl wrote letters with his own hand to his
sovereign, of so secret a nature that he did not even retain a

the same date, is likewise filled with
expressions of her disgust at the
" etrange et ingrate maniere de vos
deportements envers notre cousin,
votro ingratitude et traverses,'' and of
praise of the cousin, who, " nonobstant
toutes ces discourtesies et ingratitudes,
ne voudra espargner pour le bien de
vous tous do hasarder ni sa vie ni sa
fortune," &c. Queen to States, 22
June, 1587. (S. P. Office, MS.)
And three months later — " How tho
town of Sluys was lost, we will sparo
to write, that which thousands of your
native people did affirm, how traitor
ously this town was lost, or rather be
trayed, tho world knoweth, and we do
not think that yourselves can deny it,
from want of supply from you and
your chieftains, . . . and yet not with
out the honour and reputation of ours
that defended it. . . . Our lieutenant
(Leicester) could not have convenient
time to deal with you (about the peace),
for that he was so entangled with your
overthwart 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 Leicester
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 devilish minds,
abhorring, as it seemeth, all liking of
godly peace and quietness," &c. Queen
to the States, 20 Sept. 1587. (S. P.
Office MS.)
'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. (S. P.
Office MS.)

288

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XVII.

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.1 It
was therefore useless, almost puerile, to deny facts whicli
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,"2 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 Spanish
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 all, it was not un
natural that he should imagine a still wider and deeper
scheme than really existed, against the best interests of his
country. He may have expressed, in private conversation,
some suspicions of this nature, but there is direct evidence
that he never stated in public anything which was not 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

1 " I am credibly informed by au
honest man," says Leicester, "who
says he saw it, that the States have a
copy of my last instrument, as also of
tho letter of her Majesty written lately
privately to me, touching the dealing
in the peace. Yea, further, that they
are thoroughly and particularly mado
acquainted with a late letter of mino
to her Majesty, written with my own
hand, whereof 'I would have no copy
taken, because I would have no man
acquaint with it. In which letter 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 and suspicion of the
people, as though this dealing for
peace were procured for me. But for
this matter, I shall hope to- deal well
enough, for this treacherous usage of
her Majesty's secrets," &c. Leicester
to Walsingham, 28' Aug. 1587. (S. P.
Office MS.)
a Leicester to Burghley, 10-11 Sept.
1587. (S. P. Office MS.)

1587.

EXCITEMENT AND ALARM IN THE STATES.

289

as she had refused the sovereignty of the whole country when
offered to her, she was not likely to form surreptitious schemes
to make herself mistress of a portion of it. On the other hand,
it was very obvious, that to accept the sovereignty of Philip's
rebellious Provinces, was to declare war upon Philip; 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 faith were ex
aggerated. As 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
on her government, he had unequivocally declared to her his
intention of getting possession, if possible, of several cities,
and of the whole Island of Walcheren, which, together with
the cautionary towns already in his power, would enable the
Queen to make good terms for herself with Spain, " if the worst
came to the ivorst." 1 It will also soon be shown that he did
his best to carry these schemes into execution. There is no
, evidence, however, and no probability, that he had received
the royal commands to perpetrate such a crime. .
The States believed also, that in those secret negotiations
with Parma the Queen was disposed ; to sacrifice the religious

1 "I will go to Medenblik (the next
town to Enkhuyzen), which is at your
Majesty's devotion, as the governor
thereof (Sonoy) is, and will do my
best to recover Enkhuyzen ere I de
part thence. Then, iudeed, your Ma
jesty, having Flushing, , Brill, and
Utrecht, as you have, and these, ye
shall be able to bring the peace to
better conditions, and bridle these
States of Holland at your phasure.
.... They are full of shifts, and
yet such as for this matter may ask
toleration, for how hateful a mailer
peace hath been io the generality almost
of all these countries, is well known
to all persons, and how loatlisome a
thing it is to all but to such as for
love, and trust in your Majesty will
conform themselves, I can sufficiently
testify; and it is the only cause of the
VOL. IT. — U

world for them to be careful in their
dealing, for it doth confirm them -and
their posterity both in their lives and
liberties, and therefore to bo borne
withal, if they take deliberation."
Leicester to the Queen, 9 Oct. 1587.
(S. P. .Office MS.) .Yet the Earl, not
withstanding this admission, avows
his determination of bridling the
States by gaining possession of their
cities. And again, a, month later: "I will
not be idle to do all that in me shall
lie to make this island of Walcheren
assured, whatsoever shall fall out:
which, if it may be, your Majesty shall ,
the less fear to make a good bargain
for yourself, when the worst shall
como." Leicester to the Queen, 5th
Nov. 1587. (a P. Office, MS.)

290 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVH
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 Farnese,
she had abandoned that point altogether.1 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, the
position taken by her Majesty on the subject was as fair as
could be reasonably expected. Certainly she was no advocate
for rehgious liberty. She chose that her own subjects should
be Protestants, because she had chosen to be a Protestant
herself, and because it was an incident of her supremacy, to
dictate uniformity of creed to all beneath her sceptre. No
more than her father, who sent to the stake or gallows
heretics to transubstantiation as well as believers in the Pope,
had Elizabeth the faintest idea of religious freedom. Heretics
to the English Church were persecuted, fined, imprisoned,
mutilated, and murdered, by sword, rope, and fire. In some
respects, the practice towards those who dissented from
Elizabeth was more immoral and illogical, even if less cruel,
than that to which those were subjected who 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 Boman 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 amount of persecution, exercised respectively
by the Protestant and the Boman Church. It is probable that
not many more than two hundred Catholics2 were executed

1 " I have sent her Majesty another
letter from De Loo, whereby it seemeth
that now very lately her Majesty hath
given him to understand that she will
not insist upon the matter of religion
further than shall be with tho King's
hjnour and conscience. Whereupon

De Loo taketh no small hold, and if
she keep that course, all will go to
ruin, as I have written to her Majesty."
Buckhurst to Walsingham, 18 June,
1587. (S. P, Office MS.)
3 " Dod reckons them at 191 ; Mil-
ner has raised the list to 204. Fifteen

1587.

RELIGIOUS 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 counted by tens
or by hundreds of thousands, who perished by the edicts
of Charles V., in the Netherlands, or in the single Saint
Bartholomew Massacre in France ? Moreover, it should
never be forgotten — from undue anxiety for impartiality —
that most of the CathoUcs who were executed in England,
suffered as conspirators rather than as heretics. No foreign
potentate, claiming to be vicegerent of Christ, had denounced
PhUip 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 Borne, declared by Borne 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
organized 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, suffered
for denying the Queen's supremacy,
126 for exercising their ministry, and
the rest for being reconciled to the
Romish church. Many others died
of hardships in prison, and many were
deprived of their property. There
seems, nevertheless, to be good reason
for doubting whether any one who
was executed might not have saved
hi3 life by explicitly denying the
Pope's power to depose the Queen.
This certainly furnishes a distinction
between the persecution under Eliza
beth (which, unjust as it was in its

operation, yet, so far as it extended to
capital inflictions, had in view the
security of the government) and that
which the Protestants had sustained
in her sister's reign, springing from
mere bigotry and. vindictive rancour."
(Hallam's ' Constitutional History,'
fifth edition. Murray, 1846. I. 163.
Compare Lingard, viii. 356, 513,
Strype, iii. iv., and see in particular,
chapters iii. and iv. of Hallam, in
which the dealings of Elizabeth in
religious matters are profoundly in
vestigated.)

292 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVIL
policy, and a far more inteUigent one, to extend towards the
Catholics 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 father had ever been, would be capable
of embodying that great principle.
When, in the preliminaries to the negotiations of 1587,
therefore, it was urged on the part of Spain, that the Queen
was demanding a concession of religious Uberty from Philip
to the Netherlanders which she refused to English heretics,
and that he only claimed the same right of dictating a creed
to his subjects which she exercised in regard to her own, Lord
Burghley. replied that the statement was correct. The Queen
permitted — it was true — no man to profess any religion but
the one which she professed. At the same time it was 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 suddenly compelled, ivithout 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 and his Maker, with which any dictation on the
part of crown or state was an act of odious tyranny. There
was not even a suggestion that the Protestant doctrines were
true, and the. Catholic doctrines false. The matter was merely
taken up on the uti possidetis principle, that they who had
acquired the fact of Protestant worship had a right to retain
it, and could not justly be deprived of it, except by 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 comprehension, because, if men, women, and children,
were scourged with rods, imprisoned, and hanged,' if they
refused to conform publicly to a ceremony at which their
consciences revolted — unless they had money enough to pur-

1587.

QUEEN'S SINCERITY TOWARDS SPAIN.

293

chase non-conformity — it seemed to be the practice to inquire
very effectively into their consciences.1
But if there was a certain degree of disingenuousness on
the part of Elizabeth towards the States, her attitude towards
Parma 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 Farnese and his master, there was the most
unscrupulous mendacity, while the confiding simplicity and
truthfulness of the Queen in these negotiations was almost
pathetic. Especially she declared her trust in the loyal and
upright character of Parma, in whicli 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

1 -" And when De Loo reporteth
an objection made to him, that there
is no more reason for the King to yield
to any of his subjects liberty, of reli
gion contrary to the one he professeth
no more than her Majesty doth to any
of hers; indeed, at the first appear
ance, this objection seemeth of good
moment to be allowed, and, until it be
answered, ought to be taken by the
Duke of Parma ; but if the diversities
of the comparison shall, be marked,
the case also will therein bo changed.
The Queen's Majesty 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
established by public authority ; so
as none can challenge that they were
by any liberty suffered to use any
other, which is contrary to the Low
Countries, for the space of about six
years. But if her Majesty had so
permitted, surely reason would move
her not to constrain, otherwise than by
instruction, any that by reason of her
permission had governed their con
sciences to the contrary. And be
cause it may be also further objected,
as most falsely is divulged, to moro

offence against her Majesty from Ca
tholic places, that she doth so severely
punish them that are in conscience
contrarily affected, it is to be avowed
for a certain truth that her Majesty
never did allow that any person was
by inquisition urged to show his con
science in any matter of faith, nor
ever was punished for professing only
of his opinion in his conscience, but
what any have beside their profession
of their conscienco, 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. • In those cases, her Majesty
and all her ministers of justice had
cause to withstand such violent
courses under colours of religion; and
otherwise than to withstand theso
most dangerous attempts, her Majesty
did never allow any .should lose their
lives and shed their blood." (Rough
draft of Burghley, 9 March, 1587.
Br. Mus. Galba, C. ix. p. 122, MS.)

294

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chaf. XVII.

he justified the industry with which his master and himself
piled fiction upon fiction, by their utter disbelief in every
word which came to them from England.
The private negotiations had been commenced, or rather
had been renewed, very, early in February of this year.
During the whole critical 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 Farnese 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 ambiguous words of spinning out these tran
sactions, or of deceiving your Majesty, and what a hatred I
feel for steel, fire, and blood.1
Four or five months rolled on, during which Leicester had
been wasting time in England, Farnese 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 uracil pained," said Alexander, " with this procrastina
tion. I tm so 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

1 Parma to Queen Elizabeth, 18th
Feb. 1587. Same to same, 5 April,
1587. Queen to Parma, 13 April,
1587. (Arch, de Simancas, MSS.)
And even later still : —
" Such is the good opinion con
ceived of the Duke of Parma," wrote
Burghley, " for his own nature and
worthiness in all places, that he is a
prince of honour in keeping his 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 very many, in
that she esteemeth the Duke to. have,
great regard to his word and promise,
and also an opinion that she hath,
though he be a great man of war, that
ho is Christianly disposed, rather to
maintain peace than to raise war,
whereof her Majesty looketh to make
proof by this treaty," Ac. &c. Burgh
ley to Andr. de Loo,, 10 Oct. 1587.
(S. P. Office MS.)

2587. LANGUAGE AND LETTERS OF PARMA. 295
King will end by being exasperated, and I shall be touched in
my honour — so great is the hopes I have held out of being
able to secure a peace. I have ever been and 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, Germans, and Lorrainers, will give me an effective
total of 30,000 soldiers. Of this I give you my word as a
gentleman. Go, then, Andrew de Loo," continued the Duke,
" write to her sacred Majesty, that I desire to make peace,
and to serve her faithfully ; and that I shall not change my
mind, even in case of any great success, for I like to proceed
rather by the ways of love than of rigour and effusion of
blood."1 " I can assure you, oh, most serene Duke," replied Andrew,
" that the most serene Queen is in the very same dispositions
with yourself."
"ExceUent 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 the
peace-loving Andrew, that the hostile operations against Sluys
should be at once terminated. But this did not seem so
clear to the most serene Duke. He had gone to great expense
in that business ; and he had not built bridges, erected forts,
and dug mines, only to abandon them for a few fine words,
Fine words were plenty, but they raised no sieges. Mean
time these pacific and gentle murmurings from Farnese's camp
had luUed 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
1 Do Loo to Burghley, 11 July, 1587. (3. P. Office MS.)

296

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XVII

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 ? l
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 foul weeds, had produced no wholesome fruit, and the
26th Sept., excellent De Loo became very much depressed.
io87. ^ iag£ a ienev 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.2 He straightway went off to the Duke of Parma, with
the 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 Farnese 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." 3
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

1 Burghley to De Loo, 18 July,
1587. (S. P. Office MS.)
' " Da turbato e melancolico m' ha
del tutto quietato e fatto star allegro,"
&c. De Loo to Burghley, 26 Sept.
1587. (S. P. Office MS.)
" " Con dire amorevolmente lo che
sigue — non e (disse), causa alcuna di
dubitaro della mia sincera mente — si
come sullo fine della 1™ si fa menzione
ehe la serm» regina lo potrebbe fare —
perche se non avessi havuto boniss™0

disposizione e desiderio della pace
non sarei gia ito a fame la prima aper-
tura mi medesimo, e condescendere
alle cose che sapete (disse a me) se
non si fosse stata intenzione di volerne,
venir i una conclusione (agiongendo)
che cosa mi forzava di farlo? Anzi
piuttosto avrei occasione io di suspet-
tar loro con tante sorte di dilazioni e
haver mi fatto perdere la meglior parte
del1 estate," '&c. (Ibid.)

1587. NEGOTIATIONS OP 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 Burghley's letter to' any
one else ? " asked De Loo.
"Yes, yes, to the Seigneur de Champagny, and to my
secretary Cosimo," answered his Highness.
So the merchant negotiator proceeded at once to the
mansion of Champagny, in company with the secretary
Cosimo. There was a long conference, . in which De Loo
was informed of many things which he thoroughly believed,
and faithfully transmitted to the court of EUzabeth. Alexander
had done his best, they said, to delay the arrival of his fresh
troops. He had withdrawn from the field, on various pretexts,
hoping, day after day, that the English commissioners would
arrive, and that a firm and perpetual peace would succeed to
the miseries of war. But as time wore away, and there came
no commissioners, the Duke had come to the painful con
clusion that he had been trifled with.1 His forces would now
be sent into HoUand 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.2
He had been sacrificing himself for her sacred Majesty, 'and
to ' serve her best interests ; and now he found himself the
objectof her mirth.3 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
1 " Ma a 1' ultimo il Duca vedendo 1 s " Trovandosi vergogniato davere,
la continua dilazione, con giudicare I lasciato scorrere si bella stagione in
che si burlasse," &c. (De Lpo to ozio," Ac. (Ibid.)
Burghley, MS. last cited.) J 3 Ibid.

298 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVH.
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.1
AU this and more did the credulous Andrew greedily
devour, and he lost no time in communicating the important
intelhgence to her Majesty and the Lord- Treasurer. 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 aU his soul and aU his strength,2 to believe
in the truth of the matters thus confided to him. 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 Farnese was "the antidote to the
Duke of Alva," kindly sent by heaven, ut contraria contrariis
curenter, 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 tranquUlity and perpetual prosperity of the Nether
lands, it would be the fault of England, not of Spain.3
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 Burghley, to say nothing
of the comptroller, who, poor man, had great facility in
believing anything that came from the court of the most
Catholic King. Yet it is painful to reflect, that in all these
communications of Alexander and his agents, there was not
one single word of truth. It was all false from beginning to
end, as to the 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 aU the rest.
But this will be conclusively proved a little later.

1 De Loo to Burghley, MS. last cited.
2 "Flexis nudisque genibus humi
prostratus, dal piu profondo e vero

centro del mio cuore et ex corde et ex
tota anima," &c. (Ibid.)
3 Ibid.

5187.

ENGLISH COMMISSIONERS APPOINTED.

299

Meantime the conference had been most amicable and
satisfactory. And when business was over, Champagny — not
a whit the worse for the severe jilting, which 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 exceUent Andrew subsequently informed Lord
Burghley — his head ached most bravely next morning.1
And so, amid the din of hostile preparation not only in
Cadiz and Lisbon, but in Ghent and Sluys and Antwerp, the
import of which it seemed difficult to 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 Jamc3 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 Iris 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 PhUip in consequence would promise on the
honour of a prince, to make no hostile attempts against that
country.2

1 "Con sommo contentamento del
uno e 1' altro, a tal segno, che tenen-
doci il Sr de Champagny a cena, con
far li ragione di buon cuore d' un gran
brindisi che fece alia sanita di sua
sacra . Maesta, mi dolse (con licenza
per dirlo come va) la mattina seguente

bravamente la testa." A. de Loo to
Burghley, 26 Sept. 1587. (S. 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

300

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XVII,

There would really seem an almost Arcadian simplicity in
such demands, coming from so practised 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 Farnese,1
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 Eobert Sidney2 was persuaded that
the expedition was intended for Africa ; even the Pope was

not 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
vice to stay all hostile actions, or to
have the King's answer, hke a prince
of honour, whether he intendeth or no
to employ these forces against 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 Majesty yieldeth to
a cessation of arms, and to a treaty 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 preparations, and yet her
Majesty will stand to the Duke's answer,
if the army shall not be known to be
actually prepared agamst England —
which, if it shall be, no man will
think it meet that her commissioners

should como." Burghley to A. De
Loo, 10 Oct. 1587. (S. P. Office MS.)
1 As early as August, the Duke had
proposed a cessation of arms, to grant
which, as has been abundantly shown
by . his , private correspondence, was
never in his thoughts. " The Duke
of Parma, to the end the treaty may
proceed with better success, hath
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 15,000
footmen, at the least, shall be stayed."
Queen to Leicester, 9 Aug. 1587.
(Br. Mus. Galba, D. I. 293, MS.) :
3 "There came some out of Spain
very lately, that say the preparations
there are for a certain place in Africk,
which greatly imports the passage of
both the Indies. The admiral of the
Turks was to leave it last year with
sixty galleys." Sir R. Sidney to
Leicester, 31 Dec. 1587. (Br. Mus.
Galba, D. II. p. 288, MS.)

1587. PARMA'S AFFECTIONATE LETTER TO THE QUEEN. 301
completely mystified — to the intense delight of Philip— and
Burghley, enlightened by the sagacious De Loo, was con
vinced, 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 citadel against a tyrant and a conqueror was
distrust. Alexander, much grieved that doubts should still be felt as
to his sincerity, renewed the most exuberant expressions of
that sentiment, together with gentle complaints against the
dilatoriness which had proceeded from the doubt. Her Majesty
had long been aware, he said, of his anxiety to bring about a
perfect reconcUiation ; but he had waited, month after month,
for her commissioners, and had waited in vain. His hopes had
been dashed to the ground. The affair had been 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
bad done, and was still ready to do, all which became a
Christian and a man desirous of the pubhc welfare and tran
quillity.1

1 " E cosi da canto mio haveva pre-
parato gli affari di manera, e messo il
tutto in termine, che Vra Mato haveva
potato conoscere qual zelo ch' io ab-
braciara questa occasione, e quanto io
desiderava di- veder rivertire la buona
e mutua intelligenza fra il Re mio
signore et la Vra Mta. Ma vedendo
che non obstante le tante speranze che
m' eravano state date della venuta dei
commissarii di Vra Mta, la cosa si va
tuttavia tirando al lungo, io non posso
se non dubitaire ch' ella habbia mutato

d' opinione, e se ben io oro quasi reso-
luto di nou ci pensar piu, tuttavia
ritornandosene per di la . il detto
Andrea mi parse di scriver ancor
questi pochi versi, tanto per non perder
1' occasione di baciar humilte le mani
u Vra M"> quanto per assigurarla che
non restara per me, che la risoluzione
presa," non passi avanti, e che succe-
dendo altrimente ne saro seusafo inanzi
a Dio et al mondo, e havero almeno
satisfatto a . me medesimo, d' haver
fatto quello che 1' obligo Christiano,

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.1
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, that
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."2 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 Farnese and his master. We have
heard the exuberant professions of an honest intention to
bring about a firni and lasting peace, which fell from the lips
of Farnese and of his confidential agents. It is now necessary
to glide for a moment into the ¦ secret cabinet of PhUip,
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 Enghsh, 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 di persona desiderosa del bene o
riposo publico m' obligara." Parma
to Queen Elizabeth, — 3-, 1587. (S.P.
' Nov. i) v
Office MS.)
i The Lords to A. de Loo, 11 Nov.
3 587. (S. P. Office MS.)

And if blunt Sir* Roger 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 I" ,
"Ibid.

1537. PHILIP AT HIS "WRITING-TABLE. 303
And there sat the patient letter- writer in his cabinet, busy
with his schemes. His grey head was whitening fast. He
was sixty years of age. His frame was slight, his figure
stooping, his digestion very weak, his manner more glacial
and sepulchral than ever ; but if there were a hard-working
man in Europe, that man was Philip II. And there he sat at
his table, scrawling his apostilles. The fine innumerable
threads which stretched across the surface of Christendom,
and covered it as with a net, all converged in that silent
cheerless cell. France was kept in a state of perpetual civil
war ; the Netherlands had been converted into a shambles ;
Ireland was maintained in a state of chronic rebellion ;
Scotland was torn with internal feuds, regularly 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 de 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, rehgion, hberty, 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.1 Wilkes wrote to
Walsingham,2 denouncing that monarch and his ministers as
1 Bor, II. -nrii. 945-948. Meteren, I 2 "Wilkes to Walsingham, 3 Dec
xii. 247. | 1586. (S. P. Office MS.)

304

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XVII

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,1
that no good was to be derived from him, except by meeting
his fraudulent offers with an equaUy. fraudulent response.
There will be nothing lost, said Alexander, by affecting to
listen to his proposals, and meantime your Majesty must
proceed with the preparations against England.2 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 Elizabeth, breathing
nothing but peace, he was carefuUy conning Philip's directions
in regard 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 choosing the
season when the crops in England had just been got in, as
the harvest of so fertile a country would easily support an
invading force; but he advised nevertheless that the army
should be thoroughly victuaUed at starting.3 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 stiU 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 Scotch
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 Eome had anything been allowed to transpire.
Alexander was warned therefore to do his best to maintain

1 " Emperrado erege," Ac. Parma
to Philip, 10 Jan. 1587. (Arch, de
Simancas, MS.)

5 Ibid.
* Philip II. to Parma, 28 Feb. 1587.
(Arch, de Simancas, MS.)

1587. HIS PLOTS "WITH PARMA AGAINST ENGLAND. 305
the mystery, for the enemy was trying very hard to penetrate
their actions and their thoughts.1
And certainly Alexander did his best. He replied to his
master, by transmitting copies of the letters he had been
writing with his own hand to the Queen, and of the pacific
messages he had sent her through Champagny and De Loo.2
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 wjth the loss of
Deventer, and is quarreUing 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 negociation alive, while, if
she does not, 'twill be a proof that she has contracted leagues
with other parties. But, in any event, the Duke fervently
implored PhUip not to pause in his preparations for the great
enterprise which he had conceived^ in his royal breast.3 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 BelUevre's mission. Whether that
diplomatist had been sent to censure, or in reahty to approve,
in the name of his master, of the Scottish Queen's execution,
Alexander would leave to be discussed by Don Bernardino
de Mendoza, the Spanish ambassador in Paris ; but he
was of opinion that the anger of the Queen with France
was a fiction, and her supposed, league with France and
Germany against Spain a fact.4 Upon this point, as it appears
from Secretary Walsingham's lamentations, the astute Farnese
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 already seen, that Elizabeth was ready, on
the contrary, to quarrel with the States, with France, with aU
the world, if she could only secure the good- will of PhiUp.
1 PhUip to Parma, MS. last cited. I 1587. (Arch, do Simancas, MS.)
2 Parma to Philip II. 22 March, | » Ibid. « Ibid.
VOL. II. — X

306

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

•Chap. XVIL

The French matter, indissolubly 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.1 - 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 France, and I always assure him that your
Majesty will keep all promises." 2
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
tho 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 the Duke.3 Farnese kept his sovereign
minutely informed of the negociations carried on through
Champagny and 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 negotiations,
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 pure

1 " Con grandissima instancia y do
clarandomo lastimas y miserias." MS.
Letter of Parma to Philip, last cited.

5 Ibid.
a PhUip to Parma, 15 April 1587.
(Arch, de Simancas, MS.)

1587.

PARMA'S SECRET LETTERS TO THE KING.

307

necessity.1 The English, he said, were hated and abhorred
by the natives of Holland and Zeeland,2 and it behoved Philip
to seize so favourable an opportunity for urging on his great
plan with aU the, speed in the world. It might.be that the
Queen, seeing these mighty preparations, even although not
suspecting that she herself was to be invaded, would tremble
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.3 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 Enghsh 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,
and matters were looking very serious. The impending peace
in France would . never do, and Philip should prevent it in
time, by giving Mucio his money. Unless the French are
entangled and at war among themselves, it is quite clear, said
Alexander, that we can never think of carrying out our great
scheme of invading England.4 , .
The King thoroughly concurred in all that was said and
done by his faithful governor and general. He had no inten
tion of concluding a peace on any terms whatever, and there
fore could name no conditions ; but he quite approved of a

1 "No es aguardar de eUa ninguna
virtud, sino fuesse forzada de la pura
necesidad." Parma to PhUip, 12th
April, 1587. (Arch, de Simancas, -MS.)
2 "Odiados y aborrecidos de los
naturales de Olanda y Zelanda."
(Parma to Philip, MS. last cited.)

' "Se podria jactar de haber nos
burlado." (Ibid.)
* " Sin quedar embarazados los fran
ceses entre si es claro que no se podria
pensar a la efectuaoion del negocio."
Parma to PhUip," 12 "April 1587.
(Arch, de Simancas, MS.)

308

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XVII

continuance 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 Farnese was to go on steadily
with his preparations for the invasion.1
The secretary-of-state, Don Juan de Idiaquez, 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
alb-important business. If you wish to manifest towards him
the most flattering obedience on earth, and to oblige him as
much as you could wish, give him this great satisfaction this
year. Since you have money, prepare everything out there,
conquer aU difficulties, and do the deed so soon as the forces
of Spain and Italy arrive, according to the plan laid down by
your ExceUency last year. Make .use 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 wUl thereby gratify his Majesty, and to my
fear of his resentment towards you, in the contrary case."2
¦ And, on the same day, .in order that there might be no
doubt of the royal sentiments, Philip expressed himself at
length on the whole subject. The dealings, of Farnese with
the English, and his feeding them with hopes of peace, would
have given him more satisfaction, he observed, if it had caused
their' preparations to slacken ; but, on the contrary, their

1 Philip to Parma, 15 April, 1587.
(Arch, de Simancas, MS.)
-'¦"No se puede encarecer quan
puesto esta su Mag4 en el negocio
principal , (the invasion of England).
Si Vra Exca lo quiere hazer la mayor
lisonja de la tierra, y obligarla a quanto
quisiere,. de le este, oontentam'0 este.
affo, y pues, tiene dinero prepare todo
lo. do alii, y venca las diflcultades y
haga el cfeto que a tiempo Uegara lo

de, Espana y Italia, para el q Vra Exca
dezia el afto pasado, y sirva se de los
tratos de paz para este mismo fin, no
mas, y haga esto hecho tan de quien
es, y atribuya Vra Exca la libertad des-
to aviso a lo q deseo servirle mas que
nadie, y a lo que veo que obligara »
su Magd con ello, y lo que temo que
sentiria lo contrario." Don Juan de
Idiaquez to Parma, 13 May, 1587.
(Arch, de Simancas, MS.)

1587. PHILIP'S LETTERS TO PARMA. 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 Indies, they had dared 'to
invade the ports of Spain, as would appear in the narrative
transmitted to Farnese of the late events at ¦ Cadiz. And'
although that damage was small, said Phihp, mere resulted a
very great obligation to take them* seriously in hand.1 Ho
declined sending full powers for treating ; but in order to make
use of the same arts employed by the Enghsh, 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
commit such actions. Even their want of prudence in thus
provoking the King, when their strength was compared to his,
should be spoken of by Farnese 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
must give them to understand that I am quite as angry as
you. You must try to draw from them some offer of satisfac
tion—however false it wUl be in reality — such as a proposal to
recaU the fleet, or an assertion that the deeds of Drake in
Cadiz were without the knowledge and contrary to the will of
the Queen, and that she very much regrets them, or something
of that sort."2
It has already been shown that Farnese was very successful
in eliciting from the Queen, through the mouth of Lord
Burghley, as ample a disavowal and repudiation of Sir Francis
Drake as the King could possibly desire. Whether it would
have the desired effect of allaying the wrath of Philip, might
have been better foretold, could the letter, with which we are

1 "V aunque el dano fue poco es ya
mucha la obligacion de yr les muy de
veras a la mano." Philip to Parma,
13 May, 1587. (Arch, de Simancas,

MS.) 2 PhUip to Pai-ma, 13 May, 1587.
(MS. last cited.)

310

THE UNITED . NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XVII

now occupied, have been laid upon the Greenwich councU-
board. " When, you have got such a disavowal," continued his
Majesty, " you are to act as if entirely taken in and imposed
upon by. them, and, pretending to believe everything they teU
you, you must renew the negotiations, proceed to name com
missioners, and propose a meeting upon neutral territory.1 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.2 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 intention is that this shall never lead to
any result, whatever conditions may be 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.3
You are well aware that the reverse of all this is. the truth, and
that on our part there is to be no slackness, but the greatest
diligence in our efforts for the invasion of England, for which
we have already made the most abundant provision in men,
ships, and money, of which you are well aware." i
Is it strange that the Qiieen 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 tho
King — unveiling himself, with a solemn indecency, not agree-

1 "V entonces hazer vos del en-
gafiado y que creyendo lo que os diren
de nuevo volvays a la platica," Ac. MS.
last cited.
2 " Que es camino disimulado."
(Ibid.) s " Pero con vos solo mo aclaro que

mia intencion no es de que aquello
]legue" a effeto con ningunas condi-
ciones, sino que todo esto se tome por
medio, como lo hazen ellos, de entre-
tenerlos y enfriarlos," &a (Ibid.)
* Ibid.

1587.

WONDERFUL DUPLICITY OP PHILIP.

311

able to contemplate — "without any intention of concluding
them, you can always get out of them with great honour, by
taking umbrage about the point of religion and about some
other of the outrageous propositions which they are like to
propose, and of which there arc plenty in the letters of Andrew
de Loo.1 Your 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 wUl be
spent. Your own envoys are not to know the secret any more
than the English themselves. I tell it to you only. Thus
you will proceed with the negotiations, 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." 2
Certainly the most Catholic King seemed, in this remark
able letter to have outdone himself ; and Farnese — that sincere
Farnese, 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
fie was to adopt. To lie daily, through thick and thin, and
with every variety of circumstance and detaU 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 Pope was outwitted. His Holiness proposed
to PhiUp 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-

1 "Con mucha honra, desconcer-
tandovos sobre el punto de la religion
o otro de los desaforados, que ellos
han de proponer, que harto lo son los
del papel de Andrea de Loo." (MS.
last cited.)

2 " Podreys yr afloxando en unos
puntos, y afirmando en otros, todo en-
derezado al mismo fin por ganar tiem
po, preparando todo con dUigenza
segun la traza concebida," &c. (Ibid.)

312

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XVII

plished. The King took the Pope's million, but refused the
desired information. He answered evasively. He had a very
good will to invade the country, he said, but there were great
difficulties in the way.1 After a time, the Pope again tried
to pry into the matter,2 and again offered the million which
PhiUp 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
secret, which is the most important of all."3
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 PhUip 4 of his inadequate supplies both in men and
money. The project conceived in the royal breast was worth
spending milUons for, he said, and although by zeal and devo
tion he could accomplish something, yet after aU he was no
more than a man, and without the necessary means tha scheme
could not succeed.5 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.6 He
had two miUion ducats in reserve, besides the Pope's million,
the French were in a most excellent state of division, and the
invasion should be made this year without fail. The fleet
would arrive in the English channel by the end of the summer,
which would be exactly in conformity with Alexander's ideas.
The invasion was to be threefold : from Scotland, under the

'PhUip to Parma, 5 June, 1587.
(Arch, de Simancas, MS.)
2 "Se ha venido de rodear." (Ibid.)
8 " Por tenirlo prendado en la ayuda,
y de no prendarme yo en lo tiempo, y
mas por el secreto que es la cosa prin
cipal." (Ibid.)
4 Parma to Philip, 31 May, 1687.
(Arch, de Simancas, 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 which
were for Mucio, in case of rupture
with the Prench King. Otherwise,
not a penny was to be diverted from
the great cause. Philip to Farnesa
5 June, 1587. (Areh.de Simancas,
MS.)

1587. HIS SANGUINE VIEWS AS TO ENGLAND. 313
Scotch earls and their followers, with the money and troops
furnished 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 very
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.1 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
above the Pope's million, had been got together, and although
the season was somewhat advanced, it was certain that the
Duke would conquer all impediments, and be the instrument
by which his royal master might render to God that service
which he was so anxious to perform. Enthusiastic, though
gouty, Philip grasped the pen in order to scrawl a few words
with his own royal hand. " This business is of such 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.".2
Struggling thus against his own difficulties, and triumphantly
accomplishing' a whole paragraph with disabled hand, it was
natural that the King should 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 PhUip to Parma, 5 June, 1587. hiziera lo aun mas largamente si me
(Arch, de Simancas, MS.) diera lugar esta mano que he tenido
2 "Importa tanto esse negocio, y con la gota estos dias y los pies, y
que no se dilate, que no puedo dexar aunque esta ya sin dolor, esta impedida
de encargarosle todo quanto puedo y para esto." (Ibid.)

314

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XVII;

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 PhUip were inter
changing detailed information as to the progress of the inva
sion. The King calculated that by the middle of September
Alexander would have 30,000 men in the Netherlands ready
for embarcation. Marquis Santa Cruz was announced as
nearly ready to sail for the Enghsh channel. with 22,000 more,
among whom were to be 16,000 seasoned Spanish infantry.
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.1 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 thought of deferring the expedition to
another year. If delayed, the obstacles of the foUowing
summer— 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 Farnese,
and God's service, were all at stake.2 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 the
author of the whole scheme," said Phihp, " and if it is all to
vanish into space, what kind of a figure shall we cut the coming
year ? " 3 Again and again he referred to the immense sum
collected — such as never before had been seen since the world

1 " Aunque no dexa de ver lo quo
se aventura en navegar con gruessa
armada in invierno, y por esse canal,
sin tener puerto cierto ; y el tiempo
plazera a Dios cuya es la causa darle
bueno." PhUip to Parma, 4 Sept.
1587. (Arch, de Simancas, MS.)

2 Ibid.
s "De que vos solo seys autor.
Veed si hublesse de caer todo en vacio,
quel es que quedariamos el ano que
viene," &c. Philip to Parma, 14 Sept
1587. (Arch, de Simancas, MS.)

1587. HE IS RELUCTANT TO HEAR OP 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.1
But Alexander, whUe 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 could— 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.
Yet — -wonderful to relate — PhUip, in his impatience, abso
lutely suggested that the Duke might ' take possession of
England without waiting for Santa 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 tiU the winter.
"You are, doubtless, ready," he said to Farnese. "If you
think you can make the passage to England before the fleet
from Spain arrives, go at once. You may be sure that it will
come ere long to support you. But if you prefer to wait,
wait. The dangers . of winter to the fleet and to your own
person are to be regretted, but God, whose cause it is, will
protect you.".2
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 affairs 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 auxiharies of the Huguenots would be
1 PhUip to Parma, MS. last cited.
« PhUip to Parma, 4 Nov. 1587. (Arch, de Simancas, MS.)

316

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XVII

defeated, or they would be victorious, or both parties would
come to an agreement. In the first event, the Duke, after
sending a little assistance to Mucio, was to effect his passage
to England at once: In the second case, those troops, even
though successful, would doubtless be so much disorganized
that it might be stiU safe for Farnese to go on. In the third
contingency — that of an accord — it would be necessary for
him to wait tiU 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 Germans were dispersed, he
was to proceed to business without delay.1 The fleet would
be ready in Spain in all November, but as sea-affairs were so
doubtful, particularly in winter, and as the Armada could not
reach the channel tiU mid- winter, the Duke tpas not to wait
for its arrival. " Whenever you see a favourable 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."2
Farnese had also been strictly enjoined to deal gently with
the English, after the conquest, so that they would have cause
to love their new master. His troops were not to forget dis
cipline after victory. There was to be no pUlage 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 affeetion for them aU, as the source of so many
benefits.3 Again the Duke was warmly commended for tho
skUl with which he had handled the peace-negotiation. It
was quite right to appoint commissioners, but it was never for
an instant to be forgotten that the sole object of treating was
to take the English unawares. "And therefore do you guide

: Philip to Parma, 14 Nov. 1587.
(Arch, de Simancas, MS.)
* "Viendo buena ocasion procurays
de no perderia, aunque no aya Uegado
la armada, — siendo cierto que luego

llegara a hazer espaldas y ayudaros
sde una mano o otra." (Ibid.)
3 Philip to Parma, 25 Oct. 1587.
(Arch, de Simancas, MS.)

1587.

AND IMAGINES PARMA IN ENGLAND.

317

them to this end," said the 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."1
The King of France, too — that unfortunate Henry III.,
against whose throne and life PhUip 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." 2
But Philip, growing more and more sanguine, as those
visions of fresh crowns and conquered kingdoms rose before
him in his sohtary cell, had even persuaded himself that the
deed was already done. La 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 just
starting on a little pleasure-excursion. And this was precisely
the moment when Alexander had been writing those affec
tionate phrases to the Queen which had been considered by
the counsellors, at Greenwich so " princely and Christianly,"
and which Croft had pronounced such "very good words."
If there had been no hostUe fleet to prevent, it was to be
hoped, said Phihp, that, in the name of God, the passage
had been made. " Once landed there," continued the King,
" I am persuaded that you will give me a good account of
yourself,' and, with the help of our Lord, that you will do that
service which I desire to render to Him, and that He will
guide our cause; which is His own, and of such great import
ance to His Church."'4 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,

1 " Por tomarlos desapercibidos.
Assi lo guiad a esta fin que es el que
deve a Dios, por cuyo servicio hago lo
principal, y se lo ofresco." (PhUip to
Parma, last cited.)
2 Philip to Don Bernardino de
Mendoza, 4 Nov. 1587. (Arch. ' de
Simancas, MS.)
' PhUip to Parma, 11 Dec. 1587.

(Arch, de Simancas, MS.)
4 " Y aviendo pasado estoy muy per-
suadido de vos que con ayuda de Nro
Seiior me dareys la buena cuenta que
dezio que sareys cierto de hazerle el
servicio que yo en- esto pretendo — el
io guia como causa suya y tan impor-
tanto a su yglesia." (Ibid.)

318 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVH.
presupposing that they would find him estabhshed on the
enemy's territory.1
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 Farnese should have mis
understood that 14th November letter. ' PhiUp — 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 rebelhon. 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 Phihp's project, and misery for
Henry III. and his subjects for an indefinite period longer.
The King thought it improbable that Farnese could have
made any mistake.2 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. PhUip 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 aheady executed
the enterprise, and fulfilled my desire. I am confident that
1 Philip to Parma, MS. last cited.
2 Same to same, 24 Dec. 1587. (Arch, de Simancas, MS.) .

1587.

BUT ALEXANDER'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 funds. The five millions were not to be touched,
except for the expenses of the invasion. But as England
was 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.2 A good number of transports and
scows had been collected, but there had been a deficiency of
money for their proper equipment, as the five miUions 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 Farnese, 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

1 "T asi creo, que conociendo que
no es este el caso tercero, en que
aviades de parar, avreys executado la
empresa, y cumplido mio deseo ....

de que quedo aguardando el aviso de
ora en ora." (Ibid.)
* Parma to Philip, 18 Sept. 1587.
(Arch, de Simancas, MS.)

320

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XVII.

sums by anticipation, which I should have done had you not
forbidden."1 This was, through life, a striking characteristic of Philip.
Enormous schemes were laid out with utterly inadequate pro
vision for their accomphshment, 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 Farnese 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 — which was one of his principal depots — 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.2 At the same
time he had appointed his commissioners3 to treat with the
EngUsh envoys already named by, the Queen. There had
been much delay in the arrival of those deputies, on account
of the noise raised by Barneveld and his followers ; but
Burghley was now sanguine that the exposure of what he
caUed the Advocate's seditious, false, 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 PhUip fondly ima-

1 Parma to Philip, MS. last cited.
a Parma to Philip, 21 Dec. 1587.
(Arch, de Simancas, MS.) "Pues de
razon Olandeses y Zelandeses solos
estan siempre a la mira y asi como
tienen medio de estorbarnos la junta
y salida de nuestros baxeles lo ternan

cada dia mayor para hazer lo mismo
en el pasage."
8 Aremberg, Champagny, Richardot,
Maas, Garnier. Parma to Philip,
18 Sept. 1587. (Arch, de Simancas,
MS.)

1587. HE DENOUNCES PHILIP'S "WILD SCHEMES. 321
gined him established in Greenwich Palace. When made
aware of his master's preposterous expectations, Alexander
would have been perhaps amused, had he not been half beside
himself with indignation. Such folly seemed incredible.
There was not the slightest appearance of a possibility of
making a passage without the protection of the Spanish fleet,
he observed. His vessels were mere transport-boats, without
the least power of resisting an enemy. The HoUanders 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 Netherlands and in England "most furiously."1 The
delays had been so great, that their secret had been poorly
kept, and the enemy was on his guard. If Santa Cruz had
come, Alexander declared that he should have already been
in England. 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 he denounced the madness of
that proposition to his Majesty in vehement and unmeasured
terms.2 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 regular squadrons in
the Scheldt, in the very teeth of the forts at Lillo, Liefkens-
hoek, Saftmgen, and other points close to Antwerp. There
were so many of these, war-vessels, and all in such exceUent
order, that they were a most notable embarrassment to him,
he observed, and his own flotiUa 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-
1 Parma to PhUip, 21 Dec, 1587. (Arch; de Simancas, MS.) ' Ibid.
VOL. II. — Y

322

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XVH

lutely necessary that those who were in health should accom
pany him to England,1 since otherwise his Spanish force
would be altogether too. weak to do the service expected.
He had got together a good number of transports. Not
counting his Antwerp fleet — which could not stir from port, as
he bitterly complained, nor be of any use, on account of the
rebel blockade— he had between Dunkerk and Newport
seventy-four vessels, of various kinds fit for sea-service, one
hundred and fifty flat-bottoms (pleytas), and seventy river-
hoys, all which were to be assembled at Sluys, whence they
would — -so soon as Santa Cruz should make his appearance —
set forth for England.2 This force of transports he pro
nounced sufficient, when properly protected by the Spanish
Armada, to carry himself and his troops across the channel.
If, therefore, the matter did not become publicly known, and
if the weather proved favourable, it was probable that his
Majesty's desire would soon be fulfiUed according to the plan
proposed. The companies of light horse and of arquebus-
men, with which he meant to make his entrance into London,
had been clothed, armed, and mounted, he said, in a manner
delightful to contemplate, and those soldiers at least might
be. trusted — if they could only effect their passage — to do
good service^ and make matters quite: secure.3
But craftily as the King and Duke had been dealing, it
had been found impossible to keep such vast preparations
entirely secret. Walsingham was in full possession of their
plans down to the most minute details. The misfortune was
that he was unable to persuade his sovereign, Lord Burghley,
and others of the peace-party, as to the accuracy of his in
formation. Not only was he thoroughly instructed in regard
¦to the" number of men, vessels, horses, mules, saddles, spurs,
lances, barrels of beer and. tons of biscuit, and other par
ticulars, of the contemplated invasion, but he had even received

1 Parma to Philip, Deo. 21, 1587,
(Arch, de Simancas, MS.) '
2 Ibid. ;(MS. last cited.)
* " Se ban vestido,' armado, y enca-
balgado,- que es placer de verlas, y la

soldadesca de ellas es tal que, si pue
den p'asar, haran a V. M. buen servizio
y asegurararan mucho el servizio."
MS. Letter last cited.

1587.

"WALSINGHAM AWARE OP THE SPANISH PLOT.

323

curious intelligence as to the gorgeous equipment of those
very troops, with which the Duke was just secretly, an
nouncing to the King his intention of making his triumphal
entrance into the English capital. Sir Francis knew how
many thousand 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, Farnese
had been providing himself withal. He knew the tailors,
jewellers, silversmiths, and haberdashers, with whom the
great Alexander — -as he now began to be called — had been
dealing ; but when he spoke at the council-board, it was to

1 "There is provided for lights a
great number of torches, and so tem
pered that no water can put them out.
A great number of little mUls for
grinding ' corn, great store of biscuit
baked and oxen salted, great number
of saddles and boots, also there is made
500 pair of velvet shoes- — red, crimson
velvet, and in every cloister 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 John
Angel, pergaman, ten hundred-weight
of velvet, gold and sUver to embroider
his apparel withal. The covering to
his mules is most gorgeously embroi
dered with gold and . sUver, which
carry his baggage. There is also sold
to him by the Italian merchants at
least 670 pieces of velvet to apparel
him and hi3 train. Every captain has
received a gift from the Prince to
make himself brave, and for Captain
Corralini, an Italian, who hath ono
cornet of horse, I have seen with my
eye3 a saddle with the trappings of his
horse, his coat and rapier and dagger,
which cost 3,500 French crowns. (//)
All their lances are painted of divers
colours, blue and white, green and
White, and most part blood-red — So
there is as great preparation for a
triumph as for war. A great number
of English priests come to Antwerp
from all places. The commandment
is given to aU the churches to read
the Litany daily for the . prosperity of
the Prince in his enterprise." John

GUes to Walsingham, 4 Dec. 1587.
(S. P. Office MS.)
The same letter conveyed also very
detaUed information concerning the
naval preparations by the Duke, be
sides accurate intelligence in regard
to the progress of the armada in Cadiz
and Lisbon.
. . Sir WiUiam . Russel wrote also from
Flushing concerning these prepara
tions in much the same strain ; but it
is worthy of note that he considered
Farnese to be rather intending a move
ment against France.
"The Prince of Parma," he said,
" is making great preparations for war,
and with aU expedition means to march
a great army, and for a triumph, the
coats and costly , apparel for. his own
body doth exceed for embroidery, and
beset with jewels ; for all the embroi
derers and diamond-cutters work both
night and day, suoh haste is made.
Five hundred velvet coats of one sort
for lances, and a gTeat number of
brave new coats made for horsemen :
30,000 men are ready, and gather in
Brabant and Flanders. It is said that
there shall ba in. two days 10,000 to
do some great exploit in these parts,
arid 20,000 to march with the Prince' into
France, and for certain it is not known
what way or how ' they shall march;
but aU are ready at an hour's warning
— 1,000 saddles, 4,000 lanceSj 6,000
pairs of boots, 2,000 barrels of'beer;
biscuit sufficient for. a camp 'of 20,000
men, &c. The Prince hath received
a marvellous costly garland or crown
from the Pope, and is chosen chief of
the holy league,' and now puts in his

324

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XVII.

ears wilfully deaf. Nor was much concealed from the Argus-
eyed politicians in the repubUc. The States were more and
more intractable. They knew nearly all the truth with regard
to the intercourse between the , Queen's -government, and
Farnese, and they suspected more than the truth. The hst
of - English commissioners privately agreed upon between
Burghley and De Loo. was known to Barneveld, Maurice,
and Hohenlo, before it came to the ears of Leicester. In
Junej Buckhurst had been censured by EUzabeth for opening
the peace matter to members of the States, according to her
bidding,, and in July Leicester was rebuked, for exactly the
opposite dehnquency. 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 Itahan lips ; but Leicester,
less frank than Buckhurst, preferred to flatter his sovereign,
rather than to teU her unwelcome truths. More fortunate
than Buckhurst, he was rewarded for his flattery by boundless
affection, and promotion to the very highest post in England
when the hour of England's greatest peril had arrived, whUe
the truth-telling counseUor was consigned to imprisonment
and disgrace.' When the Queen complained sharply that the
States were mocking her, and that she was touched in honour
at the prospect of not keeping her plighted word to Farnese,
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,1 yet now, as coming from
her Majesty, they would accept it with thankful hearts.
arms two cross keys. The Bang of the movements of Farnese than was
France hath written for the Prince John Giles, and the mysterious precau-
with expedition,- and 'tis said he tions of the King and his general had
marches thither, ;and on the way will been far from fruitless.
besiege Cambray," &c. Occurrences, * Leicester to the Queen, 9 Oct
from the Governor of Flushing, Nov. 9, 1587. :¦ (S. P. Office MS.)
1587. -(S. P. Office MS.) 2 Same to same, 1 Oct. 1587. (S
Thus Sir WiUiam seems to havo P. Office MS.)
been less accurately acquainted with

1587.

WHICH THE STATES WELL UNDERSTAND.

325

The States, or the leading members of that assembly, factious
fellows, pestilent and seditious knaves,1 were doing their
utmost, and were singing sirens' songs2 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. He 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,3 he said, that the Queen's
secret practices with Farnese had thus been discovered.
Nothing could be more marked than the jollity with which
the ringleaders hailed these preparations for peace-making,4
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.5
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
acquiesce in her. Majesty's pohcy. The great majority, 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.6 This seemed a heroic resolution,
worthy the sympathy of a brave Enghshman, 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

1 Same to same, 5 Nov. 1587. (S.
P. Office MS.)
3 Same to Burghley, 30 Oct. 1587.
(Brit. Mus. Galba, D. II. p. 57. MS.)
a Leicester- to • Burghley, 17 Aug.
1587. (S. P. Office MS.)
« Same to same, 30 Oct. 1587. (Brit.

Mus. Galba, D. H. p. 57. MS.)
* Leicester to "Walsingham, 9 Oct
1587.. (S. P. Office MS.) ' ;
• Leicester to Burghley, 30 Oct.
1587. (Brit. Mus. Galba,' D. II. 57. MS.)
Same to the Queen, 11 Oct. 1587. (&
P. Office MS.)

326

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XVII.

loorld."1 He never scrupled^ on repeated occasions,, to in
sinuate that Barneveld, Hohenlo, Buys, Boorda, Sainte Al
degonde, and the Nassaus, had organized a plot to sell their
country to Spain.2 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,"3 — 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 could tell them no secret. The names of
the commissioners, and even the supposed articles of a treaty
already concluded, were flying from town to town, from mouth
to mouth, so that the Earl pronounced it impossible for one,
not on the spot, to imagine the excitement which existed.
He had sent a state-counsellor, one Bardesius, to the Hague,
to open the matter; but that personage had only ventured
to whisper a word to one or two members of the States, and
was assured that the proposition, if made, would raise such a
tumult of fury, that he might fear for his life. So poor Bar
desius came back to Leicester, fell on his knees, and implored
him, at least to pause in these fatal proceedings.4 After an
interval, he sent two eminent statesmen, Valk 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 Valk and Menin were too

' Leicester to tho Queen, 17 Nov.
1587. (S. P. Office MS.) , -
3 Leicester to the Queen, 5 Nov.
1587. (S. P. Office MS.) Same to
Burghley, 6 Nov. 1587. (Brit. Mus.
Galba, D. II. p. 176. MS.)

3 Same to same, 11 Oct. 1587. (S.
P. Office MS.) •
4 Leicester to Burghley, 30 Sept.
1587. (Brit. Mus. Galba, D. H. p. 34.
MS.)

1587.

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.1
Leicester at last could no longer doubt that he was uni
versally odious in the Provinces. Hohenlo, Barneveld, and
the rest, who had " championed the country against the
peace," were carrying all before them. They had persuaded
the people, that the ." Queen was but a tickle stay for them,"
and had inflated young Maurice with vast ideas of his im
portance, teUing 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."2
The country was bent on a popular government, and on
maintaining the war. There was no possibUity, he confessed,
that they would ever confer the authority on him which they
had formerly bestowed.3 The Queen had promised, when he
left England the second time, that his absence should be for
but three months,4 and he now most anxiously 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 made for . Queen Elizabeth, as well as for . King PhUip.
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

1 Bor, HI. xxui. 34. Hoofd, 'Ver-
volgh,'. 276. Wagenaar, viii. 236.
Meteren, xiv. 260. Compare Reyd, vi.
109, who says however that Valk and
Menin could produce no written in
structions from Leicester, but that the
characters of such wen-known states
men carried conviction of the truth of

their statements.
2 Leicester to the Lords, 21 Nov.
1587. (S. P. Office MS.)
3 Leicester to "Walsnigham, 13 Oct
1587. (S. P. Office MS.)
* Leicester to Burghley, 30 Sept
1587. (S. P. Office MS.)

328

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XVII

was drowned in England, but most useful in the Netherlands.
Without him I am naked."1
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, and spurs, enough for a choice band of
3000 men.2 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 jeweUed 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 wUl not be beaten,
I warrant you, if well led."3
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 feeUng — not only confessed
that Papists and Protestants, gentle and simple, the States
and the people, throughout the republic, were all opposed to
any negotiation with the enemy, but lifted up big own voice,
and in earnest language expressed his opinion of the Queen's
infatuation. " Oh, my Lord, what a treaty is this for peace," said he to
Burghley, "that we must treat, altogether disarmed and
weakened, and the King having made his forces stronger than
ever he had known in these parts, besides what is coming out
of Spain, and yet we will presume of good conditions. It
grieveth me to the heart. But I fear you will all smart for
it, and I pray God her Majesty feel it not, if it be His blessed
will. She meaneth well and sincerely to have peace, but God
knows that this is not the way. Well, God Almighty defend

,' Leicester to Walsingham, 4 Aug.
1587. Same to same, 16 Sept. 1587.
(S. P. Office MSS.)

' Leicester to Burghley, 5 Nov. 1581-
(S. P. Office MS.)
3 Ibid.

1587.

THE QUEEN "WARNED AGAINST TREATING.

329

us and the realm, and especiaUy her Majesty. But look for a
sharp war, or a miserable peace, to undo others and ourselves
after."1 Walsingham, too, was determined not to act as a com
missioner. If»his faUing 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 of. Burghley. Again and again he had detected
the intrigues of the Lord-Treasurer and Sir James Croft, and
ridiculed the " comptroller's peace." 2
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
neglect defending herself against Scotland ; 3 for he was as
well informed as was Farnese himself of PhUip'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

1 Leicester to Burghley, 7 Nov.
1587. (S. P. Office MS.)
And to "Walsingham he wrote most
earnestly in the same vein. "Our
enemies have dealt more like politic
men than we have," he said, "for it
was always agreed heretofore among
us that there was no way to make a
good peace but by a strong war. . . .
Now is the difference put in experience,
for we see the Prince of Parma did not
weaken himself to trust upon peace,
but 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 was told and fore
told, but yet no ear given ¦ nor care
taken, . . . Surely you shaU find the
Prince meaneth no peace. I see money
doth undo all — the care to keep it, and
not upon just cause to spend it. Her

Majesty doth still blame me for the
expense of her treasure here, which
doth make me weary of my life; but
her Majesty will rue the sparing counsel
at such times.
He then -sent information as to
Parma's intentions, derived from an
intercepted letter of a man in Sir WU
liam Stanley's regiment to a priest in
England, "bidding his friend be sure
they are shortly to be in England."
. . . "It were better to her Majesty,"
added Leicester, "than a million
pounds sterling, that she had done as
the Duke of Parma hath done." Lei
cester to Walsingham, 7 Nov. 1587.
(S. P. Office MS.)
5 Walsingham to Leicester, 21 Sept.
1587. (Brit. Mus. Galba, D. II. p. 78.
MS.) 3 Walsingham to Leicester, 12 Nov.
1587. (Brit. Mus. Galba, D. II. p. 17a
MS.)

330

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XVII.

respect of a little charges, the stopping of so dangerous a
gap  The manner of our cold and careless proceeding
here, in this time of peril, maketh me to take no comfort of
my recovery of health, for that I see, unless it shall please
God in mercy and miraculously to preserve us, we cannot long
stand." 1
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 facts are somewhat veiled in mystery ;
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 was foiled at any rate,1
before it could be carried into execution, there is 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.2
Nor was this the only daring stroke which the Earl had •
meditated. During the progress of the secret negotiations with
Parma, he had not neglected those still more secret schemes
to which he had occasionally made allusion. He had deter-

1 " A letter from the Duke of Parma,"
says the Secretary, "bred in her Ma
jesty such a dangerous security, as all
advertisements of danger are neglected,
and great expedition used in despatch
ing of the commissioners. . I was fully
resolved in no sort to have accepted
the charge, had not my sickness pre
vented, for that I would be loth to be

engaged iu a service that all men of
judgment may see cannot but work her
Majesty's ruin. I pray God I and
others of my opinion prove in this false
prophets." (Ibid.) '
* Bor, III. xxiii. 51. Hoofd, 'Ver-
volgh,'287. Wagenaar, viii. 240. Van
Wyn op Wagenaar, vin. 68, 69.

1587. LEICESTER'S SCHEMES AGAINST BARNEVELD. 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 fair means, for the great
authority once conferred upon him by the free will of the
States. It was his purpose, therefore, by force and stratagem
to recover his lost power. We have heard the violent terms
in which both the Queen and the Earl denounced the men
who accused:the English government of any such intention. It
had been formally denied by the States-General that Bar
neveld had ever used the language in that assembly with
which he had been charged. He had only revealed to them
the exact purport of the letter to Junius, and of the Queen's
secret , instructions : to Leicester.1 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 sell
the cities, thus to be acquired, to Spain, as the price of peace
for England. Certainly EUzabeth would have scorned such a
crime, and was justly indignant at rumours prevalent to that
effect ; but the wrath of the Queen and of her favourite were,
perhaps, somewhat . simulated, in order to cover their real
mortification at the 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 negotiations, which for several
months had been concealed and stubbornly denied, but the
stUl graver plots of the Earl to regain his much-coveted
authority had been, in a startling manner, revealed. The
leaders of the States-General had a right to suspect the
EngUsh 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-
" Resol. HoU. 15, 10, 18 Sept. 1887, bL 253, 254, 253, cited in Van Wyn,
tibi sup. ,

332

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XVIL

scribed. The most respectable and influential burghers of the
place had been imprisoned and banished, the municipal go
vernment 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 effort had
been made, in the name of democracy, to eradicate 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, before
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 thte hands of well-known Leicestrians. A
Ust of fourteen influential citizens, drawn up in the writing
of Burgrave, the Earl's confidential secretary, was found, aU
of whom, it was asserted, had been doomed to the scaffold.1
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.2 The important city
of Enkhuyzen, too, was very near being secured for the Earl,
but a still more significant movement was made at Leyden.
That heroic city, ever since the famous siege of 1574, in which
the Spaniard had been so signally foiled, had distinguished
itself by great liberahty of sentiment in religious matters.
The burghers were inspired by a love of country, and a hatred
of oppression, both civU and. ecclesiastical; and Papists and
Protestants, who had fought side by side against the common
foe, were not disposed to tear each other to pieces, now that
he had been excluded from their gates. Meanwhile, however,
refugee Flemings and Brabantines had sought an asylum in
the city, and being, as usual, of the strictest sect of the

1 Hoofd, xxvi. 1199, 1200. Wage
naar, viii. 243-246.
Among them was the name of bur
gomaster Hoofd, father of the Ulus
trious historian of the Netherlands.
Much caution should be observed,
however, in accepting, to their full
extent, charges made in times of such
violent party spirit Leicester would
have hardly ventured to hang fourteen

such men as Hoofd and his compeers,
although he would willingly have
brought Barneveld and Buys to the
gibbet. He would have imprisoned
and banished, no doubt, as many
Amsterdam burghers of the States-
party as he could lay hands on.
2 Bor, III. xxiii. 7, xxiv. 179-204,
208-233, 279-290. Reyd, vi. 101. Wage
naar, 209, 210, 270-278.

1687. LEICESTRIAN CONSPIRACY AT LEYDEN. 333
Calvinists were shocked at the latitudinarianism which pre
vaUed, 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.1 More than all this, there was
a school in the town kept by a Catholic, and Adrian van der
Werff himself — the renowned burgomaster, who had sustained
the city during the dreadful leaguer of 1574, and who had
told the famishing burghers that they might eat him if they
liked, but that they should never surrender to the Spaniards
while he remained alive — even Adrian van der Werff had sent
his son to this very school.2 To the clamour made by the
refugees against this spirit of toleration, one of the favourite
preachers 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 regard to the church of Geneva, more energetic
than decorous.3
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
and main. The Calvinistic party, waxing stronger in Leyden,
although still in a minority, at last resolved upon a strong
effort to place the city in the hands of that great represen
tative of Calvinism, the Earl of Leicester. Jacques Volmar,
a deacon of the church, Cosmo de Pescarengis, a Genoese
captain of much experience in the service of the republic,
Adolphus de Meetkerke, former president of Flanders, who
had been, by the States, deprived of the seat in the great
council to which the Earl had appointed him ; Doctor Saravia,
professor of theology in the university, with other deacons,
preachers, and captains, went at different times from Leyden
to Utrecht, and had secret interviews with Leicester.
A plan was at last agreed upon, according to which, about
the middle of October, a revolution should be effected in
' Bor, xxiii. 93-105. ' Ibid. : [ sitie dan do Geneefse. discipline, die
* Ibid. "Liever de Spaense Inqui- | pockige hoere," p. 98.

334 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVII.
Leyden. Captain Nicholas de Maulde, who had recently so
much distinguished himself in the defence of Sluys, was sta
tioned with two companies of States' troops in the city. He
had been much disgusted — not without reason— at the culp
able negligence through which the courageous efforts of the
Sluys garrison had been set at. nought, and the place sacri
ficed, when it might so easily have been relieved ; and he
ascribed the whole of the guilt. to Maurice, Hohenlo, and the
States, although it could hardly be denied that at least an
equal portion belonged to Leicester and his party. The young
captain listened, therefore, to a scheme .propounded to him by
Colonel Cosmo and Deacon Volmar, in the name of Leicester.
He agreed, on a certain day, to muster his company, to leave
the city by the Delft gate — as if by command of superior
authority — to effect a junction with Captain Heraugiere,
another of the distinguished malcontent defenders of Sluys, who
was stationed, with his command, at Delft, and then to re-enter
Leyden, take possession of the town-hall, arrest all the magis
trates, together with Adrian van der Werff, ex-burgomaster,
and proclaim Lord Leicester, in the name of Queen Elizabeth,
legitimate master of the city.1 . A hst of burghers, 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,2 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
i Bor, ubi sup. Reyd, vii. 133, 134. Meteren, xiv. 2G1.
' Bor, Reyd, Meteren, ubi sup.

1587.

THE PLOT TO SEIZE THE CITY DISCOVERED.

335

been accidentally arrested for debt.1 A subordinate accom
phce, taking alarm, had then gone before the magistrate and
revealed the plot. Volmar and de Maulde fled at once, but
were soon arrested in the neighbourhood. President de Meet
kerke, Professor Saravia, the preacher Van der Wouw, and
others most compromised, effected their escape.2 The matter
was instantly laid before the States of Holland by 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 aU the Netherlanders, which could not be
eradicated. The painful rumours concerning the secret ne
gotiations with Spain, and the design falsely attributed to the
EngUsh Queen, of seUing the chief cities of the republic to
Philip as the price of peace, and of reimbursement for ex
penses incurred by her, increased the general excitement to
fever. It was felt by the leaders of the States that as mortal
a combat lay before . them with the Earl of Leicester, as with
the King of Spain, and that it was necessary to strike a severe
blow, in order to vindicate their imperilled authority.
A commission was appointed by the high court of Holland,
acting in conjunction with the States of the Provinces, to try
the offenders. Among the commissioners were Adrian van der
Werff, John van der Does, who had been military commandant
of Leyden during the siege, Barneveld, and other distin
guished personages, over whom Count. Maurice presided.3 The
accused were subjected to an impartial trial. Without torture,
they confessed their^ guilt.4 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

1 Bor, Reyd, Meteren, ubi sup.
' Ibid. * Ibid.
4 So say Bor and Meteren; but

Reyd says that they were put to the
torture, . p. '' 163. "Nae pijnlijke
ondervraegmge."

336

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XVII,

a recompense for his services, if they proved successful. Lei
cester, said Cosmo, had also pledged himself, in case the men,
thus executing his plans, should be discovered and endangered,
to protect 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 that effect, Cosmo
repUed, no, nothing but his princely word which he had volun
tarily given.1
Volmar made a similar confession. He, too, declared that
he had acted throughout the affair 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
ExceUency will unquestionably deny your assertion," said the
judges. " Alas, then am I a dead man," repUed Volmar, 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 affair had been confided to him by Colonel
Cosmo, on the express authority of the Earl, and that he had
believed himself to be acting in obedience to his Excellency's
commands.2 On the 26th October, after a thorough investigation, fol
lowed by a full confession on the part of the culprits, the three
were sentenced to death.3 The decree was surely a most
severe 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 offence
punishable with death. But it was exactly because it was im
portant to make the crime high treason that ihe prisoners
were condemned. The offence was considered as a crime not
against Leyden, but as an attempt to levy war upon a city

1 Bor, Meteren, ubi sup. Reyd de
clares that Killigrew (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

Earl, who was then at Alkmar,
denied all complicity in the affair.
Cosmo, according to the same autho
rity, called out, when upon the rack,
"Oh, Excellence, a quoi employez
vous les gens I " P. 134.
2 Bor, Meteren, Reyd, ubi sup.
3 Ibid. The sentences are given in
full by Bor.

1587.: THREE RINGLEADERS 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 sovereignty. Moreover, the offence. had been
aggravated by the employment of United States' troops
against the commonwealth of the United States itself. To cut
off the. heads of these prisoners was a sharp practical answer
to the claims of sovereignty by Leicester, as representing
the people, and a terrible warning to all who might, in future,
be disposed to revive the theories of Deventer and Burgrave.
In the case of De Maulde the punishment seemed especially
severe. His fate excited, universal .sympathy, and great
efforts were made to obtain his pardon. He was a universal
favourite ; he was young ; he was very handsome ; his
manners were attractive ; he belonged to an ancient and
honourable race. His father, the Seigneur de Mansart, had
done great services in the war of independence, had been an
intimate friend of the great Prince of Orange, and had even
advanced large sums of money to assist his noble efforts
to liberate the country. Two brothers of the young captain
had fallen in the service of the republic. He, too, had dis
tinguished himself at Ostend, and his gaUantry 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 Eoger WilUams. 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 weU as by learned deacons and theologians, he had imagined
himself doing his duty, whUe obeying the Earl of Leicester. If
there were ever a time for mercy, this seemed one, and young
Maurice of Nassau might have remembered, that even in the
case of the assassins who had attempted the life of his father,
that great-hearted man had Ufted up his voice — which seemed
his dying one— in favour of those who had sought his Ufe.
But the authorities were inexorable. There was no hope of
a mitigation of punishment, but a last effort was made, under
favour of a singular ancient custom, to save the life of De
VOL. 11. — Z

338

THE -UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XVII,

Maulde. A young lady 'of noble family in Leyden — Uyten-
broek by name— claimed the right of- rescuing the condemned
malefactor from the axe, by appearing upon the scaffold-, and
offering to take him for her husband.1,
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
— he1 even expressed a preference for the scaffold, as the
milder fate of the two.2 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 from the
executioners, oh a demand in marriage .made even by women
of abandoned character.3 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.4
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 plot, and its proof rested therefore only on the asser
tion of the prisoners themselves, which, however, was circum
stantial, voluntary, and generally believed.5

' Bor, 97. Van Wyn op "Wagen,
viii. 72.
3 " Maer hy hoerende de selve noe-
men, en ,in haer geselschap wel ge-
weest zijnde, hadde weynig moeds dat
¦hy door verlost worden zoude, of ook
de selve ten huwelijke niet begeerende,
koude hem niet te vreden stehen," &c.

Bor, xxiii. (III.) 97.
3 Bor, ubi sup.
* Bor, Meteren, Reyd, ubi sup. Le
Petit, II. xiv. 551.
6 Ibid.
The only passage bearing on the
subject which I have found in Lei
cester's secret correspondence, is this

1587.

CIVIL WAR IN PRANCE.

339

France, 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 land
in blood. Foreign armies, caUed in by the various contending
factions, ravaged its fair territory, butchered its peasantry, and
changed its fertile plains to a wilderness. The unhappy
creature who. wore the crown of Charlemagne and of Hugh
Capet, was but the tool in the hands Of the most profligate
and designing of his own subjects, and of foreigners. Slowly
and surely the net, spread by the hands of his own mother, of
his own prime minister,1 qf the Duke of Guise, all obeying
the command and receiving the stipend Of PhUip, seemed
closing over him. He was without friends, without power to
know his friends, if he had them. In his hatred to the Ee
formation, he had aUowed himself to be made the enemy of
the only man who could be his friend, or the friend of France.
.AUied with his mortal foe, whose armies were strengthened

extract from a letter to tho Queen : —
" The States have used great cruelty
of late in Leyden, against three - per
sons that favoured your Majesty,
whom they put to death, and banished
twenty others, whereof their devoted
head was one, oid Count Meetkerke
another. This gentleman rcan inform
you of it, and I will send it, shortly,
at more length." ' Leicester to 'the
Queen, 27 Oct. 1587. (S. P. Office
MS.) This very meagre (illusion to so im
portant an event is almost- suspicious
in itself, when coupled with the fact
that the details were entrusted to a
special messenger to communicate by
word of mouth. The Earl knew very
well that his most secret despatches
were read by his antagonists, and he
might not be unwilling to deceive
them by the slighting tone of these
allusions in his private letters.
Of course, it is unfair to place im
plicit reliance on the confessions of
prisoners, anxious to save their lives
by implicating the powerful governor.
Yet it is difficult to know why they
should expect his intercession if they
knew themselves to be blasting his
character by an impudent falsehood.

Moreover, an elaborate 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, ni.
xxiii. 95, seq: gives the document.)
But .the pamphlet was denounced and
prohibited in Leyden, as an infamous
libel and a tissue of falsehoods, 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 order to bridle the States, and to
make a good bargain for the Queen,
should the worst come to the worst,
has been already shown from his
private letters.
1 In October of. this year, 1587,
Epernon called Villeroy, in the king's
presence, " un petit coquin," accused
him of being a stipendiary of Philip
II. and the League, and threatened to
spur him as he would an obstinate
horse. ('L'EstoUe, Registre Journal
de Henry III.' ed. 1587, p. 32.)

340 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVII.
by. contingents from Parma's forces, and paid for by 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 chivalry, by the only man who
could rescue France from ruin, and whom France could look
up to with respect.
For, on the 20th October, Henry of Navarre had at last
gained a victory.: After twenty-seven years of perpetual
defeat, during which they had been growing stronger and
stronger, the Protestants had met the picked troops of Henry
III., under the Due de Joyeuse, near the burgh of Coutras.
His cousins Conde and Soissons each commanded a wing in
the army of the Bearnese. " You are both of my family,"
said Henry,' before the engagement, "and the Lord so help
me, but I will show you that I am the eldest born." J And
during that bloody, day the white plume was ever tossing
where the battle was fiercest. "I choose to show myself.
They shall see the. Bearnese," was his reply to those who im
plored him to have a care for his personal safety. And at last,
when the day was done, the victory gained, and more French
nobles lay dead on the field, as Catharine de' Medici bitterly
declared, than had fallen in a battle for twenty years ; when
two thousand of the King's best troops had been slain, and
when the bodies of Joyeuse and his brother had been 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 Valois
been possessed of a spark of manhood, or of inteUigence — to
shield him and his kingdom from the common enemy.2
For it could hardly be doubtful, even to Henry III., at that
moment, that - PhUip 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 sonj" exclaimed Cardinal de
' Pe're'flxe, 73.
a Do Thou. X. L. lxsxvii. Perefixe, 75-78. ' L'EstoUe,' 232.

1587. VICTORY GAINED BY NAVARRE, AND ONE BY 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 brUliant , but fruitless victory of Coutras, might have
seemed desperate. Beggared and , outcast, with literally
scarce a shirt to his back, without money to pay a corporal's
guard, how was he to maintain an army ? r : ¦
But 'Mucio' was more successful than Joyeuse had been,
and the German and; Swiss" mercenaries who! had come across
the. border to assist, the Bearnese, were adroitly: handled" by
Philip's great stipendiary. Henry of Valois, - whose troops
had just been defeated at. 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
Balafrd opportunity for still farther successes.1
Then came the triumph in Paris — hosannahs in tho
churches, huzzas in the public places— not for1 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 excommunication from
Borne— not the toothless beldame of modern days, but the
avenging divinity .'of priest-rid monarchs. Such were the
results : of the , edicts of June. Spain and the Pope had
trampled upon France, and the populace in her capital
clapped their hands and jumped for joy. " Miserable country,
miserable King," sighed an illustrious patriot, " whom his own
' De Thou, ubi sup. 'L'Estoue,',232, 234.

342

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XVII.

countrymen wish rather to survive, than to die to defend
him! Let the name of Huguenot and of Papist be never
heard of more. Let us think only of the counter-league. Is
France to be , saved by opening all its gates to Spain ? Is
France to be turned out of France, to make a lodging for the
Lorrainer and the Spaniard ?" Pregnant questions, which
could not yet be answered, for the end was not yet. France
was to become still more and more a wilderness. And: well
did that same brave and thoughtful lover of his country
declare, that he who should suddenly awake from a sleep
of twenty-five - years, and revisit that once beautiful land,
would deem himself transplanted to a barbarous island of
cannibals.1 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
liimself 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.2 He was
anxious to be gone, the republic most desirous to be rid of
him, her Majesty impatient to have her favourite back again.
The indulgent Queen, seeing nothing to blame in his conduct,
while her indignation at the attitude maintained 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
heads.- ; ¦
She told them, that, notwithstanding her frequent messages
to them, signifying her evil contentment with their unthankful-
ness for her exceeding great benefits, and with their gross
violations of their contract with herself and with Leicester,
whom they had, of their own accord, made absolute governor

1 Duplessis Mornay,, 'Mem.' iv.
1-34. 2 '"Tis time for me now to look
after my own head— i-sta tempo ch' io

guardi la mia testa," he is said to
¦ have exclaimed when " the Leyden
plot was discovered. (Reyd, vii 134.)

1537. QUEEN RECALLS LEICESTER. 343
without her instigation ; she 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
barbarous interpretation 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
toiler 'for a treaty of peace for herself and for them with the
King of Spain. Yet although she had required their aUow-
ance; before she would give her assent, she had been grieved
that the world should see what impudent untruths had been
forged 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 intended 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 his native country, absented himself from
her, and lost his time, only for their seryice. It had been
falsely stated among them, she said, -that the Earl had come
over the last time, knowing that peace had been secretly
concluded. It was false' that he had intended to surprise
divers of their towns, and deliver them to the King of Spain.
All such untruths contained matter so improbable, that it was
most strange that any person, having any sense, could imagine
them correct. Having thus slightly animadverted upon their
wilfulness, unthankfulness, and bad government, and having,
in very plain English, given them the lie, eight distinct and
separate times upon a single page, she proceeded to inform
them that she had recalled' her Cousin "Leicester, having great

344 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVII
cause to use his services in England, and not seeing how, by
his tarrying there, he could either profit them or herself.
Nevertheless she protested herself not void of compassion for
their estate, and for the 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.1 .1 \ . ¦¦.-,.
Accordingly, the Earl, after - despatching an equally ill-
tempered letter to the States, in which. he alluded,. at un
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.2. After- remaining
there, in a very moody -frame of mind, for several . days, exf
pecting that the States would, at least, send, a committee to
wait upon him and receive his .'farewells, 'he. took"! leave of. them
by letter. "God send me shortly a .wind to blow me from
them all,"3 he exclaimed — a prayer which was. soon! gran ted—
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."1 . 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 sed ihgratos,"
and "invitus desero"— Expressed: his opinion of Dutch ingra-.
titude and his own fidelity. The Hollanders, on their part,
struck several medals to commemorate the same, event, some
of which were not destitute of invention. Upon one of them,

1 Queen to tho States, 8 Nov. 1587.
(S. P. Office MS.) 
2 Bor, III. xxiii. 141. Meteren,
xiv. 262.

8 Leicester to Atye, 4 Dec. 1587,
(S. P. Office MS.) , -
* Stowe', ''Chronicle,' 713.

1587. WHO RETIRES, ON ILL TERMS WITH THE STATES. 345
for instance, was represented an ape smothering her young
ones to death in her embrace, with the device, "Libertas ne
ita chara ut simiae catuli ;" while upon the reverse was a man
avoiding smoke and falling into the fire, with the inscription,
" Fugiens fumum, incidit in ignem." x ;
Leicester found the usual sunshine at Greenwich. All the
efforts of Norris, Wilkes, and Buckhurst, had been insufficient
to raise 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
. . . L ¦
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
coUeagues, replying haughtily to all murmurs by a reference
to her Majesty's secret instructions.2
The unhappy EngUsh soldiers, who had gone forth, under
his banner in midsummer, 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.3 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,4

1 Bor, III. xxiii. 153. Hoofd, 'Ver-
volgh,' 210. Meteren, xiii. 238.
2 Camden, 'ILL 400. Baker, 375.
3 Memorial, in Burghley's own
hand, Nov. 1587. (S. P. Office MS.)
* - " She would, by no means yield to
send over any greater sum than 2000Z.,
though the Lord Treasurer, Sir Thomas

Shirley, and myself, did let her under
stand that there was due unto the
soldiers - serving there the first of July
last 44,000/., and before it could arrive
there, at the least 64,000Z." »' Walsing
ham to Leicester, 14 Aug/ 1587. (Br."
Mus. Galba, D. I. p. 253, MS.)

346

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XVIX

and no language could exaggerate 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 unfortunate troops, upon the Earl's de
parture. The sovereighty 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.1
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 sufficiently described.
Meantime the negotiations for a treaty, no longer secret,
continued. The Queen, infatuated as ever, still believed in
the sincerity of Farnese, whUe that astute personage and his
master were steadily maturing their schemes. A matrimonial
alliance was secretly projected between the King of Scots and
Philip's daughter, the 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.2 Nothing could be simpler or more rational,
and accordingly these arrangements were the table- talk at
Borne, 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.3

1 Bor, III. xxiii. 143, seq. Meteren,
xiv. 262. , Reyd, vii.; 137,. 138.
2 Le Sieur . to Walsingham, 3 Dec.
1587. Maurice de :Nassau, to same,
9 Dec. 1587. . (S. P. Office; MSS.) „ .
3 " Je he vous escrirai rien sun les

propos d'Odo Colonna," wrote Mau
rice, " car vous les entendrez bien par
la lecture du sommaire que je vous
envoie, mais bien je vous assure qu'il
est un jeune homme d'esprit vif et
prompt, qui parle bien et a e"te" bien

1-587.

QUEEN WARNED AS" TO SPANISH DESIGNS.

347

His language was 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 -EUzabeth 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.1
The advice was not taken, and before the end of her reign
Elizabeth was destined -to see this indefensible city; — only fit,
in her judgment, .to be abandoned to the waves — become
memorable, throughout all time, for the longest, and, in many
respects, the most remarkable, siege which modern history has
recorded, the famous leaguer, in which the first European

nourri. , Toutefois monstrant par ses
propos qu'il ne scait gueres de choses
hors la cour de Rome, de la connois-
sance des bonnes maisons, et a paru a
aulcunsdes miens plus sages et experi
mented que moi, qu'il y avoit fondement
en ce qu'il disait, et que j'en devois
advertir Sa M tant pour la qualite de
son dire,, que pour faire connaitre a
Sa M. quand ' l'occasion se presentoit
que.je'lui suis tres affectionne servi-
teur, ce_ qu'il convient par ma qualite
et inaison de monstrer par.effet' et non
par parolles. Et en cette intention je
me suis trouve en ceste armee assem-
blee par ma diligence de tous les en-
droits de mes gouvernements, en in
tention, si Dieu m'en fait la grace, de
combattre la puissance des plus grands
ennemis de Sa Majeste, et de toute la
Chretiente, ce sont le Roi d'Espagne

et le Prince de Parme, lequel de tout
mon oceur, je d&ire trouver en personne
ou j'espere avec l'aide de Dieu- lui faire
connaitre qu'il n'est pas si bon soldat
ou il trouve resistance, que quand les
hommes mal conseilles lui mettent les
victoires en main de concevoir par leur
lachete de tant de prises de belles villes.
'Je vous supplie me tenir en la bonne
grace de Sa M., de me continuer l'ami-
tie que vous avez porte a monseigneur
mon pere, car j'espere que Dieu mo
fait grace de l'ensuivre promptement
en Constance et ferme resolution. Jus-
qu'a je prierai Dieu," &c. Maurice de
Nassau to Walsingham, 9 Dec. 1587.
(S. P. Office MS.)
- ' Queen to Leicester, 8 Nov. 1587,
in Burghley's hand. (S. P. Office
MS.)

348

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XVIL

captains of the coming age were to take their lessons, year
after year,. in the school of the great Dutch soldier, who was
now. but a "solemn, sly youth," just turned of ; twenty.
The only military achievement which ; characterized the
close of the year, to the great satisfaction of the Provinces
and the annoyance of Parma, was the surprise of the city of
Bonn. The indefatigable Martin Schenk — in fulfilment of
his great contract with the StatesTGeneral, by which the war
on the Ehine 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 under it at night, and occupied a neighbouring
pig-stye with a number of his men, who by chasing, maltreat
ing, and slaughtering the swine, had raised an unearthly din,
sufficient to drown the martial operations at. the gate. In
brief, the place was easily mastered, and taken possession of
by , Martin, in the name of the deposed elector, Gebhard
Truchsess-r-the first stroke of good fortune which had for a
long time befallen that melancholy prelate.1.
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 detaU, 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

1 Bor, III. xxii. 143. Meteren, xiv.
262. Wagenaar, viii. 266. Parma to
Philip II. 29 Dec. 1687. (Arch, de
Simancas, MS.) ,'
" According to this, Sehenck is not
dead yet, as reported," (segun esto

no es muerto como habian. dicho),
was Philip's judicious marginal obser;
vation on, the letter in which' Parma
communicated this clever exploit of
Martin.

1587. ' RESULTSIOF. LEICESTER'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 unfounded.
The result of !e very 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 . Uberally
laid before her by her confidential .agents,, she. never mani
fested, either in. public ork private, any intention of accepting
the sovereignty.' 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 grayer , mistake, on
the. part. of Elizabeth, to. give way. to such explosions of fury,
both against the governor and the , States, when informed of
the offer 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, Uke 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 recognized the great capacity which their statesmen
concealed under a plain and sometimes a plebeian exterior,
and the splendid grandee hated, where at. first he had only
despised. The Netherlanders, too, who had been used to look
up almost with worship to a plain man of kindly manners, in
felt ".hat and bargeman's woollen jacket, whom they called
"Father William," did not appreciate, as they ought, the mag
nificence of . the stranger who had been sent to govern them.
The Earl was handsome, quick-witted, brave; but he was

350 - THE UNITED NETHERLANDS; ' : Chap. XVII
neither wise in council : nor capable in the field. He was
intolerably arrogant, passionate, a-nd 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 he hoped snccess,he was loud in their praises. They were
all wise-, substantial, wejl-languaged,' big fellows, such ' as were
not to be found in England or anywhere else. When they
refused to be made his tools; they became tinkers, boors,
devils, and'atheists. He covered them with curses and devoted
them to the gibbet. He began by- warmly commending Buys
and 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 e Very 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, pubhc
and private, neither Wilkes nor Buckhurst 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, and Leicester
himself. To Sir John Norris, it must be allowed, that he 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 him, had

-1587. ' RESULTS. OP LEICESTER'S ADMINISTRATION. 35J
exposed his life for him, and was always , proud of being his
faithful, unquestioning, humble adherent. With perhaps this
single 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, the 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-Kfor. some: of which; he was responsible, while of
others he was; the victim— it mnst 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, his mistimed- return, the secret ! instructions for his
second administration, the obstinate parsimony and 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, Barneveld, Ortel,
Sainte Aldegonde ; nor the soldier to measure himself against
Alexander Farnese. His administration was a failure ;
and although he repeatedly hazarded his life, and poured
out his wealth in their behalf with an almost unequalled
liberality, he could never gain the hearts of the Nether
landers. English valour, EngUsh 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

3g2 THE - UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVII.
respect each other, while, they .'recognized that the fate of
their respective commonwealths .'was ihdissolubly united. But
it was to the efforts of .Walsingham, Drake, Ealeigh, Wilkes,
Buckhurst, Norris, WUloughby, WUliams, Vere, BusseU, and
the brave men who fought! under their banners or their coun
sels, on every battle-fieldj 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 spoUed
.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;

1588. PROPHECIES AS TO THE TEAR 1588. 353

CHAPTER XVIII.
Prophecies as to the Year 1588 — Distracted Condition of the Dutch RepubUc
— Willoughby reluctantly takes Command — English ' Commissioners come
to Ostend — Secretary Garnier and Robert Cecil — Cecil accompanies Dale
to Ghent — And finds' the Desolation complete — Interview of Dale and
Cecil with Parma — His fervent Expressions in favour of Peace — Cecil
makes a Tour in Planders — 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 — Credulity of
the English Commissioners — Ceremonious Meeting of all the Envoys —
Consummate Art in wasting Time — Long Disputes about Commissions
— Tho Spanish Commissions meant to deceive — Disputes about Cessa
tion of Arms — Spanish Duplicity and Procrastination — Pedantry and
Credulity of Dr. Dale — The Papal Bull and- Dr. Allen's Pamphlet— Dale
sent to ask Explanations — Parma denies all Knowledge of either — Croft
believes to the last in Alexander — Dangerous Discord in North HoUand
— Leicester's Resignation arrives — Enmity of WUloughby and Maurice —
WiUoughby's dark Picture of Affairs — Hatred between States and Lei-
ccstrians — Maurice's. Answer to the Queen's Charges — End of Sonoy's
RebeUion — PhUip foments the Civil War in Prance — League's Threats
and Plots against Henry — Mucio arrives in Paris — Ho is received with
Enthusiasm — The King flies, and Spain triumphs in Paris — States
expostulate with the Queen — English. Statesmen still deceived —
Deputies from Netherland Churches — hold Conference with the Queen
— And present loDg Memorials — More Conversations with the Queen —
National Spirit of England and Holland — Dissatisfaction with Queen's
Course — Bitter Complaints of Lord Howard — Want of Preparation in
Army and Navy — Sanguine Statements of Leicester — Activity of Parma
— The painful Suspense continues.
The year 1588 had at last arrived — that fatal year concern
ing which the German astrologers — more than a century
before had prognosticated such dire events.1 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
1 De Thou, x. 218. Camden, III. 402. Strada, II. ix 530. Pasquier, Oeuvres,
II. 331.
vol. 11. — 2 A

354 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVHL
the sun had appeared at mid-day holding a drawn sword in
his mouth — a warUke portent whose meaning could not be
mistaken.1 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 evUs, 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 two States so immediately threatened ; that the Queen
of England should be at variance with her wisest and most
faithful statesmen as to their course of action, and that deadly
quarrels should exist between the leading men of the Dutch
republic and the EngUsh 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 triumph — was the winter of
1587-8, when Leicester had terminated his career by his
abrupt departure for England, after his second brief attempt
at administration. For it was exactly at this moment of
anxious expectation, when dangers were rolling up from the
south till not a ray of light or hope could pierce the 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., ubi sup.

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 HoUand, young Maurice was solemnly
instaUed stadholder, and captain-general of the Provinces,
under the guidance of Hohenlo and Barneveld. But his
authority was openly defied in many important cities within
his jurisdiction by military chieftains who had taken the oaths
of aUegiance to Leicester as governor, and who refused to
renounce fidelity to the man who had deserted their country,
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 besiege 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 them —
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 beUever in his
capacity and character, he was, however, not a man of suffi-

356 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVIII.
cient experience vr subtlety to perform the various tasks
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 unsavoury
annoyances which were the daily, bread of a chief commander
in the . Netherlands. "I ambitiously affect 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." 1 He was not the politician
to be matched against the unscrupulous and all-accompUshed
Farnese; and indeed no man better . than Willoughby could
illustrate the enormous disadvantage under which English
men laboured at that epoch in their dealings with ItaUans
and Spaniards.- The profuse indulgence, in falsehood which
characterized southern statesmanship, was more than a match
for English love of truth. English soldiers and negotiators
went naked into a contest with enemies armed in a panoply
of lies.- It was an unequal match, as we have already seen,
and as we are soon more clearly to see. How was an Enghsh
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 skUl,"
— 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
1 WUloughby to Leiceister, Sept. 15S7. (Br. Mu3. Galba, D. II. p. 141, MS.)

1538, WILLOUGHBY RELUCTANTLY TAKES COMMAND. 357
the finest reynard loses his best coat as well as the poorest
sheep." 1 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 — Boger WUliams — 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 WUloughby, " and in truth a very old soldier ; but
we both have need of one that can both give and keepcoun-
sel better than ourselves. For action he is undoubtedly very
able, if there were no other means to conquer but only to
give blows." 2
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 ! What an honourable person do I
succeed ! What an encumbered popular state is left ! What
withered sinews, which it passes my cunning to restore ! What
an enemy in head greater than heretofore ! And wherewithal
should I sustain this burthen ? For the wars I am fitter to
obey than to command. For the state, I am a man prejudi-
cated in their opinion, and not the better liked of them that I
have earnestly followed the general, and, 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 left,
what good may be looked for ? " 3
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

1 Same to Burghley, 16 July, 1587.
(Br. Mus. Galba, D. I. p. 10, MS.)
2 WUloughby to Burghley, last cited,

' WiUoughby to Burghley, 18 Nov.
1587. (Br. Mus. Galba, D. II. 210, MS.)

358 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVIII.
commission to the state-council to act as an executive body
during his absence. But, although he nominally still retained
his office, in reaUty no man believed in his return ; and the
States-General were ill incUned 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 terminate, therefore, in favour of the
States-General.1 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 rebeUions 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 allegiance claimed by Maurice in the
name of the States-General. The mutiny of Gertruydenberg
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 wiUbe seen, against the threats and even
the armed demonstrations of Maurice and the States.
Meantime the English sovereign, persisting in her delusion,
and despite the solemn warnings of her own wisest coun
seUors, 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. Sogers, envoys on the part of the Queen, arrived in
1 Compare Van der Kemp, 'Maurits van Nassau,' I. 58, seq.
» Herrera, III. 11, 84. Cornero, ' Guerras de Plandes,' 224.

1588. ENGLISH COMMISSIONERS COME TO OSTEND. 359
the Netherlands in February.1 The commissioners appointed
on the part of Farnese were Count Aremberg, Champagny,
Bichardot, Jacob Maas, and Secretary Garnier.
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 Bobert 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
irregular 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 compared to the massive dissimulation with
which it was to be contrasted, and with what was, in after-
times, to constitute a portion of his own character, Cecil, young
as he was, could not be considered the least important of the
envoys. The Queen, who loved proper men, called him "her
pigmy ;" 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 mislike it, because she gives it." 2 The
strongest man among them was Valentine Dale, who had
> Camden, III. 407.
2 R. CecU to Burghley, - Peb. 1588. (S. P. Office MS.)

350 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVHI
much shrewdness, experience, and legal learning, but who
valued himself, above aU things, upon his Latinity. It was a
consolation to him, while his adversaries were breaking
Priscian's head as fast as the Duke, their master, was break
ing his oaths, that his own syntax was as clear as his con
science.1 The feeblest commissioner was James-a-Croft, who
had already exhibited himself with very anile characteristics,
and whose subsequent manifestations were to seem like dotage.
Doctor Eogers, learned in the law, as he unquestionably was,
had less skill in reading human character, or in deciphering
the physiognomy of a Farnese, while Lord Derby, every inch
a grandee, with Lord Cobham to assist him, was not the man
to cope with the astute Eichardot, 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 Garnier, 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 cloak
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 congratulations,
recommended great expedition in the "negotiations, and was
then invited by the Earl of Derby to dine with the commis
sioners.2 He was accompanied by a servant in plain livery,
who — so soon as his master had made his bow to the English
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 Ostend3 — that town
being a point much coveted, and liable to immediate attack
by the Spanish commander.
Meanwhile Secretary Garnier made himself very agreeable,
showing wit, experience, and good education ; and, after

' Valentine Dale to Walsingham," 14 March, 1588. (S. P. Office MS.)
• R. CecU to Burghley, - March, 1588. (S. P. Office MS.)
' Parma to Philip II., 20 March, 1588.' (Arch, de Simancas, MS.)

1538. SECRETARY GARNIER AND ROBERT CECIL. 361
dinner, was accompanied to his lodgings by Dr. Bogers and
other gentlemen, with whom — especially with Cecil — he held
much conversation.
Knowing that this young gentleman "wanted not an ho
nourable father," the Secretary was very desirous that he should
take this opportunity to make a tour thrOugh the Provinces,
examine the cities, and especially " note the miserable ruins
of the poor country and people." He would then feelingly
perceive how much they had to answer for, whose mad 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 suffering, and in
determination to compound their differences.1
On the following day there was some conversation with
Garnier, 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." 2 , .
It was hoped by the Enghshmen that the Secretary would
take his departure after dinner ; for the governor of Ostend,
Sir John Conway, had an uneasy sensation, during his visit,
1 CecU to Burghley, MS. last cited. » Ibid.

362 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVHI,
that the unsatisfactory condition of the defences would attract
his attention, and that a sudden attack by Farnese might be
the result. Sir John was not aware, however, of the minute
and scientific observations then making— at the very moment
when Mr. Garnier 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 affable
Secretary a dinner-invitation for the following day.1
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 to convey a formal greeting, and to take the names of
the EngUsh 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 Philipj
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 Garnier to have consumed
several days in doing nothing ; and to have obtained plans
and descriptions of Ostend into the bargain.
Garnier— when his departure could no longer, on any pre
text, be deferred — took his leave, once more warmly urging
Eobert 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 making a pre
liminary visit to the Duke of Parma at Ghent, it was deter
mined accordingly that he should be accompanied by Cecil.
' CecU to Burghley, MS. last cited.

1588. CECIL-ACCOMPANIES DALE TO GHENT. 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 Enghsh, it was
in the midst of the enemy's territory. Since the faU 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
ceUent 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 CecU, " 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
so nigh the town that the sentinels — three of whom watch
every night upon a sand-hill outside the gates — have had them
in a dark night upon them ere they were aware." 1
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." 2

1 And Doctor Rogers held very
simUar language : " The most dolorous
and heavy sights in this voyage to
Ghent, by me -weighed," he said;
"seeing the countries which, hereto
fore, by traffic of merchants, as much
as any other I have seen flourish, now
partly drowned, and, except certain
great cities, wholly burned, ruined,

and desolate, possessed, I say, with
wolves, wUd boars, and foxes — a great
testimony of the wrath of God," &c.
&c. Dr. Rogers to the Queen,— April,
1588. (S. P. Office MS.)
» Cecil to Burghley, - March, MS.
already cited.

364 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVIII
Three days after the departure of Garnier, Dr. Dale and
his attendants started upon their expedition from Ostend to
7 Ghent — an hour's journey or so in these modern
m are ' times. 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.1 At Oudenburg, a " small
and wretched hole," as Garnier had described it to be, there
was, however, a garrison of three thousand Spanish soldiers,
under the Marquis de Eenti. 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 him escorted
to their lodgings in the "EngUsh house," and afterwards
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 ;"2 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
Fridav was ^0iGn l°dge<l > f°r he found that Lord Burghley
March 8, bad scrawled his name in the chimney-corner— a
fact which was highly gratifying to the son.3
The next morning, at seven o'clock, the travellers set forth
for Ghent. The journey was a miserable one. It was as cold
and gloomy weather as even a Flemish month of March could
furnish. A drizzling rain was falling all day long, the lanes
were foul and miry, the frequent thickets which overhung

1 Cecil to Burghley, - March, 1588.
(S. P. Office MS.)

* Samo to same. (MS. last cited.)
3 Ibid.

1588. AND PLND3 THE DESOLATION COMPLETE. 365
their path were swarming with the freebooters of Zeeland, who
were" ever at hand," says Cecil, " to have picked our purses,
but that they descried our convoy, and so saved themselves in
the woods." Sitting on horseback ten hours without alighting,
under such circumstances as these, was not luxurious for a
fragUe 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.1 The envoy protested that when they could get a
couple of eggs a piece, while travelling in Flanders, " they
thought they fared like princes." 2
Nevertheless Cecil and himself fought it out manfully, and
when they reached Ghent, at five in the evening, they were
met by their acquaintance Garnier, and escorted to their
lodgings. Here they were waited upon by President Eichardot,
" 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
spoUed, . and grounds unlaboured, and also, even in these
great cities, where they are for the most part poor beggars
even in the fairest houses." 3
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 ?
1 Dale to Burghley, - March, 1588. (3. P. OffiC3 MS.) 2 Ibid. s Ibid.

366 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVIII.
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 PhiUp, 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 Ehzabeth's envoy, and to present him, according
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 " begun to be thought on." l
" 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.2 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, Eichardot and Garnier waited upon
the envoy to escort him to the presence of the Duke. CecU,
who accompanied him, was not much impressed with the
1 CecU to Burghley, — March. MS. already "cited. 2 Ibid.
29

1588. INTERVIEW OP DALE AND CECIL WITH PARMA. 367
grandeur of Alexander's lodgings, and made un- £ March,
favourable and rather unreasonable comparisons 19 1
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."1 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.2
In the bed-chamber, Farnese — 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 love 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 adorn, as that it exceedeth this as far as the sun surpasseth
in light the other stars of the firmament."3
Here was a comphment 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 furnituro
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-
1 CecU to Burghley, MS. last cited. ' Ibid. 3 Ibid.

368 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVIII.
tempted a reply in French, which was very imperfect, and,
apologizing, exchanged that tongue for Italian.1, He alluded
with great fervour to the " honourable opinion concerning his
sincerity and word," expressed to him by her Majesty, through
the mouth of her envoy. "And indeed," said 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 Majesty 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 fall
out, as that it might be my fortune to look upon her face
before my return to my own country. Yet I desire to behold
her, not as a 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 endure
all which God may send. But, in , truth, I am weary to
behold the miserable estate of this people, fallen upon them
through their own folly, and methinks that he who should do
the best offices of peace would perform a pium et sanctissimum
opus. Eight glad am I that the Queen is not behind me in
zeal for peace." He then; complimented Cecil in regard to
his father, whom he understood to be the principal mover in
these negotiations.2
The young man expressed his thanks, and especiaUy for the
1 Cecil to Burghley, MS. last cited.
2 Cecil to Burghley, — March. MS. already cited.

1588. HIS PERVENT EXPRESSIONS 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 begun, no man
could possibly doubt that her Majesty, like himself, was most
zealously affected to bring all things to a perfect peace.
The matters discussed in this first interview were only in
regard to the place to be appointed for the coming con
ferences, and the exchange of powers. The Queen's commis
sioners had expected to treat at Ostend. Alexander, on tho
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.1
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 be superseded by the invasion,
before the production of the powers should become indis
pensable. And when Farnese 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 perfections
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 attendants made the
best of their way back to Ostend, whUe young Cecil, n March
with a safe conduct from Champagny, set forth on a 1588-
Uttle tour in Flanders. 1 CecU to Burghley, MS. last cited.
vol. il— 2 B

370 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVHI.
The journey from Ghent to Antwerp was easy, and he was
agreeably surprised by trie 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.1
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." 2
His host was much interested in the peace-negotiations, and
indeed, through his relations with Champagny and Andreas
de Loo, bad 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 renegades, 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
1 Cecil to Burghley, - March, 1588. (S. P. Office MS.) a Ibid.

1588.

CECIL MAKES A TOUR IN FLANDERS.

371

protracted war. Eight hundred thousand dollars monthly,
so Lanfranchi informed CecU, 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,1 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 CecU. 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

1 "Relacion particular de lo quo
monta un mes de sueldo de toda la
gente de este excrcito asi infant™ como
caba y entretenidos de todos naciones,
artUl" armada, vituallas, y el numero
de la gente que hay conforme a la
ultima muestra de 29 Apr., 1588 : —
Infauteria. Hombres. Vanderas. Per Mes.
Espaiiola  8,718 89 $62,239
Itala  5,339 52 35,225
Borgog* )
Irlandesca J-.. 3,278 29 20,591
Escocesa )
Wallona  17,825 144' 79,341
Alema Alta.. 11,309 50 86,697
,, Baya 8,616 34 51,195
Caballeria Ugera.
3650 Alem" estandartes  38,631

Castillos.
Anversa . . 1 Per Mes.
Gande ..J. 1,180  6,508
Charlemont ) Entretenidos. 668  23,204
El Armada de Mar, gasto oral- ) ,,
nario per mes  j" b>4yo
ArtUleria  8,200
VituaUas, spedale, &c.  4,384
Sumario total.
59,915 hombres, per mes, escu-) „.. ,.„
aos  .....$ d80>42Y
Sua Alteza Alessandro Farnese, per
mes, 3000 escudos d' oro.
Maesse del campo gen1, per mes, 1000.
Monta el gasto ordina0 de cada mc-
hasta aqui $454,315 per mes = 370,000
escudos de oro." (Archivo de Siman
cas, MS.)

372

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XVIII

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.1
"And well worthy they are of it," said young Eobert,
" 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 Eeade, 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." 2 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." 3
He was also presented by Lord Willoughby to Maurice of
Nassau, and was perhaps not very benignantly 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

1 Cecil to Burghley, — March. MS.
2-1
already cited.

25 March
2 Cecil to Burghley, — —J 1588.

(S. P. Office MS.)

C April

Ibid.

1588. AND SEES MUCH THAT IS REMARKABLE. 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 that the handsome soldier should look askance at
the crooked little courtier, whom even the great Queen smiled
at whUe she petted him. Cecil was very angry with Maurice.
"In my life I never saw worse behaviour," he said, " except
it were in one lately come from school. There is neither
outward appearance in him of any noble mind nor inward
virtue." 1
Although Cecil had consumed 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 Farnese
and his agents, Champagny, Eichardot, Jacob Maas, and
Garnier. 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,2 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 wUl probably be at some point between that place
and Newport."3 -
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

13
1 CecU to Burghley, — March, 15S8.
(S. P. Office MS.)
' "Viejo y pesado.'' Parma to

PhUip IL, 20 March, 1588. (Arch, de
Simancas, MS.)
3 Ibid.

374 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVIIL
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 wiU be indispensable for me
to have them, in order to keep the negotiation alive. Of
course they will never broach the principal matters without
exhibition of powers. Eichardot is aware of the secret which
your Majesty confided to me, namely, that the negotiations
are only intended to deceive the Queen and to gain time for
the fleet ; but the powers must be sent in order that we may
be able to produce them, although your secret intentions will
be obeyed." 1
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
T shall have undertaken the passage to England." 2
After three weeks had thus adroitly been frittered away,
the English commissioners became somewhat impatient, and
despatched Doctor Eogers to the Duke at Ghent. This was
extremely obliging upon their part, for if Valentine Dale were
a " slow old gentleman," he was keen, caustic, and rapid, as
compared to John Eogers. A formalist and a pedant, a man
of red tape and routine, full of precedents and declamatory
1 Parma to PhUip II, 20 March, 1588. (Arch, do Simancas, MS.) * Ibid.

1588. INTERVIEWS OP DR. ROGERS 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 exceUent 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
better satisfied with himself than was John Eogers 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 smUed, or wept, or
fell into his arms, by turns. Alexander's military exploits
had rung through the world, his genius for diplomacy and
statesmanship had never been disputed ; but his talents as a
light comedian were, in these interviews, for the first time
fully revealed.
On the 26th March the learned Doctor made his first bow
and performed his first flourish of compliments at Ghent.
? March " I assure your Majesty," said he, " his Highness
isTs.' 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." x 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 desolarte, 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
1 Doctor Rogers to the Queen, - April, 1588. (S. P. Office MS.)

376 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVIII
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, yo
see the mothers left alive tendering their offspring in your
presence," "nam matribus 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 insane
soldiers," and so on, and so on.1
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 Eogerses 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 his feehngs. " I can assure
your Majesty," said Bogers, " 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." 2
Honest John even thought it necessary to mitigate the
effect of his rhetoric, and to assure his Highness that it
was, after all, only he, Doctor Bogers, 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,3 for that the same only proceeded from
1 Doctor Rogers to the Queen, MS. last cited. a Ibid. ' " Seoatentarsi," IbiX

1588. WONDERFUL HARANGUES OF THE ENVOY. 377
Doctor Bogers, 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."1
His Highness, at any rate, manifesting no wish to drink of
such sanguinary streams — even had the Doctor's body xcon-
tained them — Eogers 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
Farnese. 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 Duke took up his part in the
dialogue. " Signor Euggieri," said he, "you have propounded unto
me speeches of two sorts : tho 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 alleged, yet you havo
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."2
1 Rogers to the Queen, MS. before cited. " Ibid.

378

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XVHL

"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." 1
Thus spoke Alexander, like an honest Christian gentleman,
avowing the most equitable and pacific dispositions on the
part of his master and himself. Yet at that moment he knew
that the Armada was about to sail, that his own nights and
days were passed in active preparations for war, and' that no
earthly power could move Philip by one hair's-breadth from
his purpose to conquer England that summer.2
It would be superfluous to follow the Duke or the Doctor
through their long dialogue on the place of 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 Eogers.
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.3 But it was not probable that even the Doctor's learn
ing and logic would persuade Alexander to produce his

1 Rogers to the Queen, MS. last
cited. 2 We have sufficiently proved tho
good faith of the Queen on entering
upon these negotiations. Alexander
himself felt as sure of her sincerity
ftS he did of his master's duplicity.

" I beUeve that she dosires peaco
earnestly," said he to Philip, "on
account of her fear of expense."
Parma to PhUip II. 31 Jan. 1588.
(Arch, de Simancas, MS.)
s Rogers to the Queen, MS. already
cited.

1588, EXTRAORDINARY AMENITY OP 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 Bogers 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.1
The Doctor answered with great alacrity.
" Certain expressions have been reported to 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 solemnly, he added, "I declare really
and truly (which two words he said in Spanish), that /
J Rogers to tho Queen, MS. last cited. 2 I'o'.d.

380 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVIII.
know not of any intention of the King of Spain against her
Majesty or her realm." l
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." He 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 Draak"— he pronounced the "a" in Drake's name
very broadly, or Dorice — " who has committed so many out
rages ; but I repeat that I have never heard of any design
against her Majesty or against England."2
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 Eogers, " 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 Farnese, " in a manner so important to my honour.
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
1 " Realmente y verdadcramcnte." (Rogers to tho Queen, MS. last cited.)
2 Ibid.

1583. WITH WHICH ROGERS 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 governments 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 Farnese and of Alva. As for Eequesens, 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."1
Finding the Duke in so fervent and favourable a state of
mind, the envoy renewed his demand that at least the first
meeting of the commissioners might be held at Ostend.
" Her Majesty finds herself so touched in honour upon this
point, that if it be not conceded — as I doubt not it will be,
seeing the singular forwardness of your Highness" — said the
artful Doctor with a smile,2 " we are no less than commanded
to return to her Majesty's presence."
" I sent Eichardot to you yesterday," said Alexander ; " did
he not content you ?"
"Your Highness, no," replied Eogers. "Moreover her
Majesty sent me to your Alteza, and not to Eichardot. 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 — 3
1 Rogers to the Queen, MS. last cited. ' "I spake it souriant," &c. Ibid.
» Ibid.

382 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVIII.
"Be contented, be cheerful, my 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 fareweU."
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
23 Mar<:h, naval and military preparations, set forth on horse-
1588. back, accompanied by the Marquis del Vasto, and,
for part of the way, by Bogers.
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.
Eogers 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,"1 he exclaimed, "in the name of Almighty God! I
1 " Entrino, trattino, c'onchiudino." Rogers to the Queen, MS. last cited.

1588. THE QUEEN NOT PLEASED WITH HER ENVOY. 383 «
have always been well disposed to peace, and am now more
so than ever. I could even, with the loss of my life, 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.1
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 homUies — of the easy vic
tory which diplomatic or royal mendacity may always obtain
over innocence and credulity.
Certainly never was envoy more thoroughly beguiled 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 damped, 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 offspring^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.
Eogers in his address to the Duke at Ghent, finding it, in very
truth, quite fond and vain. I am commanded by a particular
letter to let him understand how much her Majesty is offended
with him." 2

1 Rogers to the Queen, MS. last cited.
= Lords of CouncU to Earl of Derby

and Lord Cobham, — April, 1588.

(S. P. Office MS.)

384

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XVIII

Alexander, on his part, informed his royal master of these
interviews, in which there had been so much effusion of senti
ment, in very brief fashion.
" Dr. Eogers, one of the Queen's commissioners, has been
here," he said, " urging me with all his might to let all your
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. Eogers expressed regret for all the
bloodshed and other consequences if the negotiations should
fall through for so trifling a cause ; the more so as in return
for this little compliment to the Queen she would not only
restore to your Majesty everything that she holds in the
Netherlands, but would assist you to recover the part which
remains obstinate.1 To quiet him and to consume time, I
have promised that President Eichardot shaU go and try to
satisfy them. Thus two or three weeks more will be 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." 2
Could the Queen have been informed of this voluntary
offer on the part of her envoy to give up the cautionary
towns, and to assist in reducing the rebeUion, she might have
used stronger language of rebuke. It is quite possible, how
ever, that Farnese— not so attentively foUowing the Doctor's
eloquence as he had appeared to do — had somewhat inaccu
rately reported the conversations, which, after all, he knew
to be of no consequence whatever, except as time-consumers.
For EUzabeth, desirous of peace as she was, and trusting to
Farnese's sincerity as she was disposed to do, was more sensi
tive than ever as to her dignity.

1 " Por esta poca honra que se hara
a la Reyna ella non solo restituyre a
V. Magd todo lo que tiene destos esta
dos mas ayudara a cobrar la parte que

quedara obstinada."
IL, 16 Apr., 1588.
mancas, MS.)
a Ibid.

Parma lo PhUip
(Archivo de Si-

1588. CREDULITY OP THE ENGLISH COMMISSIONERS. 385
" We charge you all," she wrote with her own hand to the
commissioners, " that no word be overslipt by them, that may
touch our honour and greatness, that be not answered with
good sharp words. I am a king that will be ever known not
to fear any but God." J
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 Eogers had quieted the envoys at Ostend for a time,
and they waited quietly for the visit of Eichardot 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 Eenty, or Aremberg, did not send Lord Derby, or
Cobham, or Eobert CecU, a hare, or a pheasant, or a cast of
hawks,2 and they in return sent barrel upon barrel of Ostend
oysters, five or six hundred at a time.3 The Englishmen, too,
had it in their power to gratify Alexander himself with
, English greyhounds, for which he had a special liking. " You
would wonder," wrote Cecil to his father, " how fond he is of
English dogs." 4 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."3 But all
this did not expedite the negotiations, nor did the Duke

1 Queen to the Commissioners, — April, 1588. (S. P. Office MS.)
5
* CecU to Burghley, - April, 1588. (S. P. Office MS.)
15 _., ,
> Ibid. * Ibid- « Ibid.
VOL. II. — 2 C

386

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XVIIL

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 courts — betook himself,
unauthorized and alone, to the Duke at Bruges. Here he had
an interview very similar in character to that in which John
Eogers had been indulged, declared to Farnese that the Queen
was most anxious for peace, and invited him to send a secret
envoy to England, who would instantly have ocular demon
stration of the fact. Croft returned as triumphantly as the
excellent Doctor had done ; averring that there was no doubt
as to the immediate conclusion : of a treaty. His grounds of
belief were veiy similar to those upon which Eogers had
founded his faith. " 'Tis a weak old man of seventy," said
Parma, " with very little sagacity. I ami inchned to think
that his colleagues are taking him in, that they may the better
deceive us.1 I will see that they do nothing of the kind."
But the movement was purely one of the comptroUer'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 caUed him a fool, and quite unfit for his post.2 And as
if this had not been mischief-making enough, in addition to
the absurd De Loo and Bodman negotiations of the previous
year, in which he had been the principal actor, he had
crowned his absurdities by this secret and officious visit to
Ghent. The Queen, naturally very indignant at this con
duct, reprehended him severely, and ordered him back to

1 "Como muestra poca sagaeidad
dexa de dar regelo de que le engaiian
a el para mas engafiar," &c. Parma
to Philip II., 13 May, 1588. (Arch.

de Simancas, MS.)
1 Queen to Derby and Cobham,
April, 1588. (S. P. Office MS.)

1588.

CEREMONIOUS MEETING OP ALL THE ENVOYS.

387

England.1 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." 2 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 Eichardot —
there was a preUminary 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 j in which no business was transacted. The commis
sioners of PhUip were attended by a body of one hundred and
fifty light horse, and by three hundred private gentlemen in
magnificent costume. La Motte also came from Newport with
one thousand WaUoon cavalry, whUe the EngUsh commissioners
on their part were escorted from Ostend by an imposing array of
English and Dutch troops.3 As the territory was Spanish, the
dignity of the King was supposed to be preserved, and Alexander,
who had promised Dr. Eogers 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 Enghsh com-

' Queen to the Commissioners for
the reprehension of Sir James Croft,
in Lord Burghley's handwriting, -
May, 1588. (S. P. Office MS.)

2 Croft to the Queen, 28 May,
1588. (3. P. Office MS.)
3 Parma to PhUip II. 13 May, 1588.
(Arch, de Simancas, MS.)

388

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XVIII.

missioners," said he, "begged with so much submission for
this concession, 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 Enghsh government, but unfurnished with
a commission from Philip, which had been pronounced indis
pensable.2 There was, therefore, much prancing of cavalry,
flourishing of trumpets, and eating of oysters, at the first con
ference, but not one stroke of business. As the English
envoys had now been three whole months in Ostend, and as
this was the first occasion on which they had been brought
face to face with the Spanish commissioners, it must be con
fessed that the tactics of Farnese had been masterly. Had
the haste in the dock-yards of Lisbon and Cadiz been at aU
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 Secretary
Garnier, on his first visit to the English commissioners at
Ostend, had now come thither again, accompanied by a
fellow-lackey. While the complimentary dinner, offered in
the name of the absent Farnese to the Queen's representa
tives, was going forward, the two menials strayed off together
to the downs, for the purpose of rabbit-shooting.3 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 Duke 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.4
As it was then one of Alexander's favourite objects to reduce

" Suphcado con grande submicion
que se diesse esta satisfacion a la
Reyna," &o. Parma to Philip II.
(MS. last cited.)

3 Ibid.
' Parma to PhiUp II. 13 May, 1588,
(Arch, de Simancas, MS.)
¦ 4 Ibid.

1588.

CONSUMMATE ART IN WASTING TIME.

389

the city of Ostend, at the earliest possible moment, it must
be allowed that this preliminary conference was not so barren
to himself as it was to the commissioners. Philip, when in
formed of this manoeuvre, was naturally gratified at such
masterly duplicity, while he gently rebuked his nephew for
exposing his valuable life ; and certainly it would have 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 Catholic religion
on the soil of England."1
The Queen was not in such high spirits. She was losing
her temper very fast, 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, Spain, and aU the Netherlands, was absolutely
refused.2 She desired her commissioners to inform the Duke
of Parma that it greatly touched his honour — as both before
their coming and afterwards, he had assured her that he had
comision bastantissima from his sovereign — to clear 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 frivolous and unkindly dealings, but
that we desire all the world to know our desire of a kingly
peace, and that we wUl endure no more the like, nor any, but
wUl return you from your charge."3
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

¦ PhUip H. to Parma, 21 June, 1588.
(Arch, de Simancas, MS.)
* Parma to Philip II. 13 May, 1588.
(Arch, de Sinfancas, MS.)

SO April
10 May

Queen to the Commissioners,
\ 1588. (S. P. Office MS.)

390 THE UNITED, NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVIII.
with the Duke. After thanking his Highness for the honour
able and stately, manner in which the conferences
- May, j^ kee]i 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 long.1
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 befpre the world; 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
rhetoric 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 Eichardot would
confer with him on the subject of the commission.2
"But," said the envoy, "'tis no matter of conference or
dispute. I, desire simply to see-the commission." ;
"Eichardot and Champagny shaU deal with you in the
afternoon," repeated Alexander ; and, with this reply, the
Doctor was fain to be contented.
Dale then alluded to the point of cessation of arms.
"Although," said he, "the Queen might justly require that
the cessation , should be general for all the King's dominion,
yet in order not to stand on precise points, she is content 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 the afternoon Dale had conference with Champagny and
Eichardot. As usual, Champagny was bound hand and foot
by the gout, but was as quick-witted and disputatious as ever.
Again Dale made an earnest harangue, proving satisfactorily
1 Dale to the Queen, - May, 1588. (S. P. Office MS.)
2 Dale to the Queen. (MS. last cited.) •

1588.

LONG DISPUTES ABOUT COMMISSIONS.

391

— as if any proof were necessary on such a point — .that a com
mission from PhiUp ought to be produced, and that a com
mission had been promised, over and over again.1
After a pause, both the representatives of Parma began to
wrangle with the envoy in very insolent fashion. " Eichardot
is always their mouth-piece ; " said Dale, " only Champagny
choppeth in at every word, and would do so likewise in ours if
we would suffer it." 3
" We shall never have done with these impertinent demands,"
said the President. "You ought to be satisfied with the
Duke's promise of ratification contained in his commission.
We confess what you 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 we shaU never have an end."
"The delays come from 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
aut potius 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."
Eichardot then began 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 begged him to show the com
mission without further argument.3
Upon this Eichardot pulled out the commission from under
bis gown, and placed it in Dr. Dale's hands ! i
It was dated 17th April, 1588, signed and sealed by the

1 Dale to the Queen, MS. last cited.
3 Commissioners to Privy CouncU,
T June, 1588. (S. P. Office MS.)

3 Dale to the Queen, — May, 1588.
(S. P. Office MS.)
* Ibid.

392

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XVIIL

King, and written in French, and was to the effect, that as
there had been differences between her Majesty and himself,
as her Majesty had sent ambassadors into the Netherlands, as
the Duke of Parma had entered into treaty with her Majesty,
therefore the King authorised the Duke to appoint commis
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 them
in the premises.1
Dr. Dale expressed his satisfaction with the tenor of this
document, and begged to be furnished with a copy of it, but
this was peremptorily refused.2 There was then a long con
versation — ending, as usual, in nothing — on the two other
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 negotia
tions. So I ordered Eichardot, who is quite aware of your
Majesty's secret intentions, from which we •shall not swerve
one jot, to show it privately to Croft, and afterwards to Dr.
Dale, but without allowing a copy of it to be taken." 3
"You have done very well," replied Philip, "but that com
mission is, on no account, to be used, except for show. You know
my mind thoroughly." 4

1 Dale to the Queen, MS. last cited.
2 Ibid.
s Parma to Philip II. 8 June, 1588.
(Arch, de Sim. MS.)
4 PhUip to Parma, 21 June, 1588.
(Arch, de Sim. MS.)
The King, when he at last sent the
power on the 13th May, 1588, had

observed to Farnese — "I don't think
that there wiU be any trouble on ac
count of your having no commission
from me. Nevertheless, in order to
dispel their doubts and to remove all
suspicion, I have ordered for the nonce
one to be sent in French. This, as I
have already stated, is not to be used

1588.

THE SPANISH COMMISSIONS MEANT TO DECEIVE.

393

Thus three months had been consumed, and at last one
indispensable preliminary to any negotiation had, in appear
ance, been performed. Full powers on both sides had been
exhibited. When the Queen 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 Bhe
had affixed her royal name and seal. She could not know
that the Spanish monarch was deliberately putting his name
to a lie, and chuckling in secret over the credulity of his
EngUsh sister, who was wilUng 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 he
deals with a prince who prizes her honour more than her life.
Make yourselves such as stand of your repntations." 1
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 Bourbourg,2 6 June,
that "miserable Uttle hole," on the coast between i588.

for the purpose of concluding or agree
ing to anything, 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 therefrom." "Para
sacarlos de duda, . y quitarlos toda
sospecha, ho mandado un poder por la
via en frances, del qual, como entrances,
os lo adverti y declare, no se ha de
usar para asentar ni concluyr por nin-
gun caso, cosa alguna, sino solo que
acude la platica para poder executar

mejor lo de las armas y empresa, y asi
os lo torno a encargar con nueva pro-
hibicion de lo contrario, remitiendome
a, la carta que en esta materia se os
escribio por esta via a lo. 24 April, que
es la orden que aveys de cumplir
puntualmente sin apartaros della," &c.
Philip H. to Parma, 13 May, 1588.
(Archivo de Simancas, MS.)
' Queen's Minute to the Commis
sioners, - May, 1588. (S. P. Office
MS.) 2 Parma to PhUip, 8 June, 1588.
(Arch, de Simancas, MS.) Dale to
29 May
Walsingham,  -' 1588. (S. P. Office
MS.) Commissioners to the Queen.
(Ibid.)

394 THE UNITED, NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVIII.
Ostend and Newport, against which Garnier had warned them.
And now there was ample opportunity to wrangle at fuU
length on the next preUminary, the cessation of arms. It
would be superfluous to follow the altercations step by step —
for negotiations there were none — and it is only for the sake
of exhibiting at fuU length the infamy 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 Northern Ocean, where, before long, the most
terrible battles, both by land and sea, which the age had yet
witnessed, were to occur, are quite as full of instruction and
moral as the most sanguinary combats ever waged.
At last the commissioners exchanged copies of , their re
spective powers. After four months of waiting and wrangling,
27 May so much had been achieved — a show of commissions
s Juno and a selection of the place for conference. And
158S now began the long debate about the cessation of
arms. The English claimed an armistice for the whole
dominion of Philip and EUzabeth respectively, during the
term of negotiation, and for twenty days after. The Spanish
would 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 tho
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.1 The King's
commissioners, however, while halting in their syntax, had
kept steadily to their point.
' Dale to Walsingham, 21 June, 1588. (S. P. Office MS.)

1588. DISPUTES ABOUT CESSATION OP 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." x
" 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." 2
While they were thus disputing, Secretary Garnier 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 Gravehnes, 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
EngUsh 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, begging
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.3
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
3
1 Commissioners to Privy CouncU, — June, 1588. (S. P. Offico MS.)
* Ibid. » Ibid.

396 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVHL
convince them, in the opinion of the English envoys, that the
Queen had no cause to be afraid of any enemies afloat or
ashore.1 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" ih worse Latin than ever, presented to Dr. Dale
and his colleagues by Eichardot 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 coUoquy on the quintuplication, and everything
that had been charged, 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 negotiators 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.2 Then
the English answered with equal impatience, and reproached
the King's representatives with duplicity and want of faith,
and censured them for their unseemly language, and begged
to inform Champagny and Eichardot 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 all this diplomatic and rhetorical splutter, the
high commissioners recovered their temper and grew more
polite, and the King's " envoys excused themselves in a mild,
7
1 Commissioners to Privy Council, — June, 1588. (S. P. Office MS.)
' Ibid. (MS. last cited.)

1588.

SPANISH DUPLICITY AND PROCRASTINATION.

397

merry manner," for the rudeness of their speeches, and the
Queen's envoys accepted their apologies with majestic urbanity,
and so they separated for the day in a more friendly manner
than they had done the day before.1
"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
Eichardot no farther than I can see them." 2
And so the whole month of June passed by ; the English
commissioners " leaving no stone unturned to get a quiet ces
sation of arms in general terms," 3 and being constantly foiled ;
yet perpetually kept in hope 4 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 spake in matters of wars, it were very requisite
that my Lord Harry should be always on this coast, for they
wUl 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." 5
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 mUitary preparations were slowly
bringing forth a great event — -which was soon to strike them
with as much amazement as if the moon had fallen out. of
heaven — was one of the most decisive triumphs ever achieved

1 Commissioners to Privy CouncU,

— June, 1588.
31 '
2 Dale to

(S. P. Office MS.) 4
Walsingham, — June,

1588. (S. P. Office MS.)
" And if her Majesty list to break,
she may now do it upon their present
denial of the cessation of arms, which
Richardot did in open councU promise

to Norris and Andrea de Loo should
be accorded at the coming of her Ma
jesty's commissioners, and which i3
now denied as ever spoken, or to be
performed, if promised." (Ibid.)
3 Dale to Burghley, m June* 1588.

(S. P. Office MS.)
4 Ibid.

27

s Ibid.

398 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVIII
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, "let us hear some arguments
from my 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 bo
sea-sick at first." *
But the envoys were completely puzzled. Even at the
beginning of July, Sir James Croft was quite convinced of the
innocence of the King and the Duke ; 2 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 dant sese, ita magni aut humiles sumus. When
the King's commissioners hear of the King's navy from 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 world, must be with
her Majesty, and that her commissioners are neither of such
imperfection in their reasons or so barbarous in language, as

1 Dale to Burghley, MS. last cited.
2 " I may be esteemed more credulous
than cause requireth, yet I assure your
Lordship I never embraced any opinion
thereof other than such as by some
conjectural argument was made very
probable unto me, like as I thought
good at this time to inform your Lord
ship, that yesterday by chance I had
conference with one of the commis
sioners on the other side, and was by
him in sort assured that the matter
of this treaty will faU out — so far as
in that side lieth — to as good purpose

as her Majesty wUl require it ; he not
doubting that the two years for tho
toleration of religion, and the point of
her Majesty's security, and all other
things necessary in this treaty, wUl be
easily assented unto, to wliich purpose
he wished me to deal with Dr. Dale to
be willing to urge that .which he un
derhand would advise us unto, requiring
for their better justification to be pressed
to that which themselves much de
sire" (//) &c Croft to Burghley,
2-^, 1588. (S. P. Office MS.)
2 July' v '

1588. PEDANTRY AND CREDULITY OP DR. DALE. 399
they who fail not, almost in every line, of some barbarism not
to be borne in a grammar-school, although in subtleness and
impudent affirming of untruths and denying of truths, her
commissioners are not in any respect to match with Cham
pagny and Eichardot, who are doctors in that faculty."1
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 diplomaey
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 be 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 the famous bull of Sixtus V. 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 faith, to have and to
hold as tributary and feudatory of Eome. The so-caUed
Queen had usurped the crown contrary to the ancient treaties
between the apostolic stool and the kingdom of England.
which country, on its reconciliation with the head of the church
after the death of St. Thomas of Canterbury, had recognised
the necessity of the Pope's consent in the succession to its
throne ; she had deserved chastisement for the terrible tortures
inflicted by her upon EngUsh Catholics and God's own saints ;
1 Dale to Burghley, - June, 1588. (S. P. Office MS.)

400 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVHL
and it was declared an act of virtue, to be repaid with plenary
indulgence and forgiveness of all sins, to lay violent hands on
the usurper, and deliver her into the hands of the- Catholic
party. And of the holy league against the usurper, PhUip
was appointed the head, and Alexander of Parma chief com
mander. This document was published in large numbers in
Antwerp in the English tongue.1
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.2 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.3
So soon as the intelligence of these publications reached
England, the Queen ordered her commissioners at Bourbourg
to take instant cognizance of them, and to obtain a categorical
explanation on the subject from Alexander himself : as if an
explanation were possible, as if the designs of Sixtus, Philip,
and Alexander, could any longer be doubted, and as if the Duke
were more likely now than before to make a succinct state
ment of them for the benefit of her Majesty.
"Having discovered," wrote Ehzabeth 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 ready to be
published a vile, slanderous, and blasphemous book, containing
as many lies as lines, entitled, cAn Admonition,' &c, and
contrived by a lewd born-subject of ours, now become an
arrant traitor, named Dr. AUen, lately made a cardinal at
Eome ; as also a bull of the Pope, whereof we send you a
1 Meteren, xv. 2'70, seq. 1 (Arch, de Sim. MS.)
3 Parma to PhUip II. 21 Juno, 1588. | » Lingard, viii. 442, seq.

1588. THE PAPAL BULL AND DR. ALLAN'S PAMPHLET. 401
copy, both very 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." 1
Accordingly the Queen commanded Dr. Dale, as one of the
commissioners, to proceed forthwith to the. Duke, in order to
obtain explanations as to his 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 understand what she might
think thereof." The envoy was to assure him that the. Queen
would trust implicitly to his statement, to adjure him to' declare
the truth, and, in case he avowed the publications and the
belligerent intentions suspected, to demand instant safe-cOnduct
to England for her commissioners, 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.2
Dr. Dale, although suffering from cholicj 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 ;" 3
found all along the road signs of an approaching enterprise,
difficult to be mistaken ; reported 10,000 veteran Spaniards,

' Queen to Commissioners, 1 — — i . i. > >. ~ i -. .
1583. (S. P. Office MS. 'Ibid.)9 ^
vol. ii. — 2 D

3 Dale to Burghley, ._ July, 158a
22
(S. P. Office MS.)

402

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

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 much
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." l 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 Farnese to the Queen upon the mo
mentous questions entrusted to him, he, at least, thought of a
choice passage in ' The JEneid/ 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. God 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 Turnus to war; and note, I pray you, one word,
' nee te ullius violentia frangat! 2 What a lecture could I make
with Mr. Cecil upon that passage in Virgil !"3
The most important point for the reader to remark is the
date of this letter. It was received in the very last days of

1 Dale to Walsingham, date last
cited. (S. P. Office MS.)
2 The reader who wiU take the
trouble to refer to the ^Eneid, lib. xi.
may amuse himself by observing that
the aptness of the analogy was by no

means so wonderful as it seemed to
Dr. Dale, "nee te ullius violentia vin-
cat (fkangat), &c, 354.
3 Dale to Burghley, " July, 1588.
(S. P. Office MS.)

1588. DALE SENT TO ASK EXPLANATIONS. 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 Turnus. 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 seem'ed 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 PhUip 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 &°- He went to Bruges so mysteriously, that no
15 1588. living man, that side the sea, save Lord Derby and
Lord Cobham, knew the cause of his journey.1 Poor puzzling
James Croft, in particular, was moved almost to. tears, by being
kept out of the secret.2 On the — July Dale had audience of
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 by a fugitive from England, who calleth himself a cardinal."3
Upon this the Duke began diligently to Usten.
" 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 CathoUc hath entrusted to your Highness as
J Dale to Burghley, MS. last cited. * Ibid. 3 Ibid.

404 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVIII
chief of the enterprise. There is alsO a bull of the Pope
declaring my sovereign mistress . Ulegitimate 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 aU 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, and 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." 1
"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 be
that her Majesty, whom it concerneth, should take notice of
it ; but, for my part, I have nought to do with it, nor can I
prevent men '. from writing or printing at their pleasure. I
am at the commandment of my master only."2
As Alexander made no reference to the Pope's buU, Dr.
Dale observed, that if a war had been, of purpose, undertaken
at the instance of the Pope, all this negotiation 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
' Dale to Burghley, MS. last cited. 5 Ibid. (MS. last cited.)

1588. PARMA DENIES ALL KNOWLEDGE -OP 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." x
" By God's sufferance," rejoined the Doctor, " her Majesty
is not without means to defend her crown, that hath descended
to her from so long a succession of ancestors. Moreover your
Highness knows very well that one battle cannot conquer a
kingdom in another country.','
" Well," said the Duke, " that is in God's hand."
" So it is," said the Doctor.
" But make an end of it," continued Alexander quietly,
" and if you have anything to put into writing, you will do me
a pleasure by sending it to me." 2
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
already been published to the world in EngUsh, French, and
ItaUan, in the hope that yOu may also satisfy the Queen upon
this other point. I am but one of her commissioners, and
could not deal without my colleagues. I crave leave to
depart to-morrow morning, and with safe-convoy, as I had in
coming." After the envoy had taken leave, the Duke summoned
Andrea de Loo, and related to him the conversation which had
1 Dalo to Burghley. (MS. last cited.) 3 Ibid.

406

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XVIII

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 the book — the 'Admo
nition ' by Cardinal Allen — and that he knew nothing of any
bull, and had no regard to it.1
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 ; 2 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 and 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 coining 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." 3
It has been already seen that the Duke had declared, on
his word of honour, that he had never heard of the famous
pamphlet. Yet at that very moment letters were lying in his
cabinet, received more than a fortnight before from Philip, in
which that monarch thanked Alexander for having had the
Cardinal's book translated at Antwerp ! " 4 Certainly few
English diplomatists could be a match for a Highness so
liberal of his word of honour.
But even Dr. Dale had at last convinced himself — even
although the Duke knew nothing of bull or pamphlet— that
mischief was brewing against England. The sagacious man,

i Dale to Burghley. MS. last
cited. 2 Ibid.
3 Parma to PhUip, 21 July, 1588.

(Arch, de Sim. MS.)
1 PhUip II. to Parma, 21 June, 15«a
(Arch, de Sim. MS.)

1588.

CROFT BELIEVES TO THE LAST IN ALEXANDER.

407

having seen large bodies of Spaniards and WaUoons making
such demonstrations of eagerness to be led against his country,
and " professing it as openly as if they were going to a fair or
market," while even Alexander himself could "no more hide
it than did Henry VIII. when he went to Boulogne," 1 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 be 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." 2
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 weU for England in that supreme
hour 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 bungUng 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 at the
internal poUtics of the States most involved in Philip's meshes.

1 Dale to Burghley, — July, 1588.
(S. P. Office MS.)

» Croft to Burghlev, — — , 1588.
2 Aug.'
(S. P. Office MS.)

408 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS Chap. XYHL
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 Eng
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 common 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 privUege
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 Barneveld,
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 paralyze
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

1588. DANGEROUS DISCORD IN NORTH HOLLAND. 409
most in need of — time. Meanwhile the Hollanders and Eng
lish could quarrel - comfortably among themselves, and the
little republic, for want of a legal head, could come as near as
possible to its dissolution.
Young Maurice — deep thinker for his years and peremptory
in action — was not the man to see his great father's life-work
annihilated before his eyes, so long as he had an arm and
brain of his own. He accepted his position at the head of the
government of Holland and Zeeland, and as chief of the war-
party. 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 Barneveld. Tho
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 EUzabeth 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
Mornay observe, that the commonwealth had been rather
strangled than embraced by the English Queen. Sonoy, in
the name of Leicester, took arms against Maurice and the
States ; Maurice marched against him ; and Lord Willoughby,
commander-in-chief of the English forces, was anxious to
march against Maurice. It was a spectacle to make angels
weep, that of Englishmen and Hollanders preparing to cut
each other's throats, at the moment when PhUip and Parma
were bending all their energies to crush England and Holland
at once.
Indeed, the interregnum between the departure of Leicester
and his abdication was diligently employed by his more reck
less partizans to defeat and destroy the authority of the States.
By prolonging the interval, it was hoped that no government
would be possible except the arbitrary rule of the Earl,' or of
a successor with similar views : for a republic — a free com
monwealth — was thought an absurdity. To entrust supreme

410

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XVIII

power to advocates, merchants, and mechanics, seemed as
hopeless as it was vulgar. Willoughby, much devoted to
Leicester and much detesting Barneveld, had small scruple in
fanning the flames of discord.
There was open mutiny against the States by the garrison
of Gertruydenberg, and WiUoughby's brother-in-law, Captain
Wingfield, commanded in Gertruydenberg. There were re
beUious 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 found that Paul Buys had been setting the
people against Queen Elizabeth, Leicester, and the whole
English nation, making them all odious. Colonel Dorp said
openly that it was a shame for the country to refuse their own
natural-born Count for strangers. He swore that he would
sing his song whose bread he had eaten.1 A "fat mUitia
captain" of the place, one Soyssons, on the other hand,
privately informed WUloughby that Maurice and Barneveld
were treating underhand with Spain. Willoughby was inclined
to believe the calumny, but feared that his corpulent friend
would lose his head for reporting it. Meantime the English
commander did his best to strengthen the English party in
their rebellion against the States.
" But how if they make war upon us ?" asked the Leices-
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 Barneveld or Buys ?" 2

WUloughby to

• Peb. 158

(S. P. Office MS.)
2 Ibid. " It was likewise said openly
to Count Maurice- at his table, ' Sir,
if the Prince your father had been
offered the third part by the enemy
which you have been, he would have
accepted it ; and it is not a good occa
sion that you may article what you

wiU, and have whatever you may
demand. Soyssons, a fat captain of
Naarden, fed for their tooth, confessed
to me that they had practised with
the enemy. Thus you may see their
dispositions; much ado had I to per
suade the burgomasters of the honour
able course her Majesty would hold,
and no less to assure the unfortunate
captain, whose head I fear wUl pay

1588.

LEICESTER'S RESIGNATION ARRIVES.

411

When at last the resignation of Leicester— presented to the
States by Killegrew on the 31st March1— 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 Champernoun ; "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 see1 — inconsequence of the troubles, discontent, mutiny
of garrisons, and the Uke, that it was most necessary for the
good success of their affairs that the power of the States
should be abohshed, and the whole government of his Excel
lency erected. As these matters were busily icorking. into the
likelihood of some good effect, came 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
take, 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 mihtia-
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 unto the States,
that if they do not procure them some English governor, they
wUl compound with the enemy, whereon the States shall be

for all Purther, I said it was sure
that the States-General, the council
of state, which I was somewhat ac
quainted with, nor the two counts
who had feasted us and drunk the
health of his ExceUency, meant but
all weU to us.' 'WeU,' said tho old

burgomaster, 'but that I hear you say
so, I would scarcely believe it, for
mine ears have often borne witness to
the contrary.'" &c. WUloughby to
20 Feb. • ° J
 , -— — , 1588. (S. P. Office MS.)
2 Mar. '
1 Bor, III. 224 "Wagenaar, viii. 265.

412

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XVIII.

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 toill contrive to
get into Naarden with then" companies, with the States' con
sent, who, once entered, will keep the place for their satis
faction, pay their soldiers out of the contributions of the
country, and yet secretly hold the place at her Majesty's
command." -1
This is not an agreeable picture ; yet it is but one out of
many examples of the intrigues by which Leicester and his
party were doing their best to destroy the commonwealth of
the Netherlands at a moment when its existence was most
important to that of England.
To foment mutiny in order to subvert the authority of
Maurice, was not a friendly or honourable course of action
either towards Holland or England ; and it was to play into
the hands of Philip as adroitly as his own stipendiaries could
have done.2
With mischief-makers like Champernoun in every city,
and with such diplomatists at Ostend as Croft and Bogers
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 countries ?
Lord WiUoughby, too, was extremely dissatisfied with his
own position. He received no commission from the Queen
for several months. When it at last reached him, it seemed
inadequate, and he became more sullen than ever. He de
clared that he would rather serye the Queen as a private
soldier, at his own expense — " lean as his purse was " — than
accept. the Umited authority conferred on him. He preferred
to show his devotion " in a beggarly state, than in a formal
show." He considered it beneath her Majesty's dignity that

1 Arthur Champernoun to Walsing
ham, - April, 1588. . (S. P. Office
MS.) He commanded an English
company in Utrecht. '
3 "I congratulate you," wroto Philip

to Farnese, "upon the disputes be
tween the rebels and the EngHsh, and
among themselves. I trust you will
get good fruit from their quarrels."
PhUip to Parma, 13 May, 1588. (Arch.
de Sim. MS.)

Z588.

ENMITY OP WILLOUGHBY 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 be 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." 1
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 affairs
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 dehght at the
Hague, in the intervals of military occupations. He rarely
made his "appearance in the state-council during the winter,
and referred public matters to the States-General, to the
States of Holland, to Barneveld, Buys, and Hohenlo.2 Super
ficial observers like George Gilpin regarded him as a cipher ;
others, like Eobert 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

1 WUloughby to Burghley,
1588. (S. P. Office MS.)

2 GUpin to Walsingham, — Feb.
1588. (S. P. Office MS.)

414 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVIII.
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." x
But there was nothing farther from the thoughts of the
turbulent fellows than any negotiations with Spain. Maurice
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." 2
Maurice was hardly the fish for a miU-pond even at that
epoch, and it might one day be seen whether or not he could
float in the great ocean of events. MeanwhUe, 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 in pejus," 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 are
not forgotten. The Counts are in Holland, especially Hol
lock,' for the other is but the cipher. And yet I can assure
you Maurice hath wit and spirit too much for his time.''3
1 Willoughby to Burghley, - Jan. s Same to same, - Jan. 1588. (S.
22 26
1588. (S. P. Office MS.) a Ibid. P. Office MS.)

1588. WILLOUGHBY'S DARK PICTURE OP AFFAIRS. 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
be 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." 1
Willoughby'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
monture 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 aU these mischiefs, and,
for want of better angels, spared not to let fly our golden-
19 Feb.
1 WUloughby to Walsingham, —-^ 1588. S. P. Offico MS.

416 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVIII;
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 made, so they, finding no head, but those scattered arms
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." x
Out of all this hubbub of stage-actors, skittish horses, rash
wilded chariots, bogs, Beelzebubs, and golden-winged angels,
one truth was distinctly audible ; that Beelzebub, in the shape
of Barneveld, 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 themselves to Philip. The Earl, at his
departure, had given them privately 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 " dechning and desperate cause." ¦ : , ¦ ,
" Well nigh xa month longer," said that general, " I nou
rished them with compliments, and " assured them that my
Lord of Leicester would take care of them."2 The diet was
not fattening. So they began to grumble more loudly than
ever, and complained with great bitterness of the miserable
condition in which they had been left by the. Earl, and 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."
1 WUloughby to Walsingham, MS. last cited. ' Ibid.

1588. HATRED BETWEEN STATES AND LEIOESTRIANS. 417
It would have seemed that real patriots, under such circum
stances, would hardly hesitate 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 Friesland — patriots as they were — hated Holland worse
than they hated the Inquisition. WUloughby encouraged
them 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 the
weather, as a reason why — near four months long — they had
not received the comfort out of England which they had a
right to expect. He assured them that neither the Queen
nor Leicester would conclude this honourable action, wherein
much had been hazarded, " so rawly and tragically " as they
seemed to fear, and warned them, that "if they did join with
HoUand, 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 make their
own peace with the enemy." 1
It seemed somewhat unfair — whUe the Queen's government
was straining every nerve to obtain a peace from Philip, and
while the HoUanders were obstinately deaf to any propositions
for treating — that WUloughby 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 winter
and spring of 1588.
Young Maurice was placed in a very painful position. He
liked not to be " strangled in the great Queen's embrace ; "
but he felt most keenly the necessity of her friendship, and
the importance to both countries of a close aUiance. It was
impossible for him, however, to tolerate the rebellion of
Sonoy, although Sonoy was encouraged by EUzabeth, or to
fly in the face of Barneveld, although Barneveld was devested
by Leicester. So with much firmness and courtesy, notwith
standing the extravagant pictures painted by WUloughby,
1 Willoughby to Walsingham, MS. last cited.
vol. ii.— 2 E

418

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XVIH,

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." l
But Maurice maintained a dignified attitude, worthy of his
great father's name. He was not the man to crouch Uke
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 Elizabeth.2 He avowed his displeasure, that,
within his own jurisdiction, Sonoy should give a special oath
of obedience to Leicester ; a thing never done before in the
country, and entirely iUegal. It would not even be tolerated
in England, he said, if a private gentleman should receive a
military appointment in Warwickshire or Norfolk without the
knowledge of . the lord-lieutenant of the shire. He had treated
the contumacious Sonoy with mildness during a long period,
but without effect. He had abstained from violence towards
him, out of reverence to the Queen, under whose sacred, name
he 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-maU
upon its whole property, if he were not paid one hundred
thousand crowns. He had declared that he would crush Hol-

1 Queen to Maurice of Nassau,
'¦ Feb. 1588. (S. P. Office MS.)

2 Maurice of Nassau to Privy Coun
cil, - March, 1588. (S. P. Office MS.)

1588. MAURICE'S ANSWER TO THE QUEEN'S CHARGES. 419
land like a glass beneath his feet. Having nothing but reli
gion in his mouth, and protecting himself with the Queen's
name, he had been exciting aU the cities of North Holland to
rebellion, and bringing the poor people to destruction. He
had been offered money enough to satisfy the most avaricious
soldier in the world, but he stood out for six years' full pay
for his soldiers, a demand with which it was 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 sustain against me
a man who was under such vast obligations to my late father,
and who requites his debt by daring to speak of myself as a
rascal ; or that you will countenance his rebellion against a
country to which he brought only his cloak and sword, and
whence he has filched one hundred thousand crowns. You
wiU 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, born of iUustrious and noble race, or
who by their great virtue have been elevated to the honours
of the kingdom — to them I will render an account of my
actions. And it shall appear that I have more ability and
more desire to do my duty to her Majesty than those who .
render her lip-service only, and only make use of her sacred
name to fill their purses, while I and mine have been ever
ready to employ our lives, and what remains of our fortunes,
in the cause of God, her Majesty, and our country." 1
Certainly ho 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 their
country. But Elizabeth continued to threaten the States-
General, through the mouth of Willoughby, with the loss of
' Maurice of Nassau to Privy CouncU, MS. last cited.

420

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XVIIL

her protection, if they should continue thus to requite her
favours with ingratitude and insubordination : x and Maurice
once more respectfully but firmly repUed that Sonoy's re
belhon could not and would not be tolerated ; appeaUng
boldly to her sense of justice, which was the noblest attribute
of kings.2
At last the Queen informed WiUoughby, 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
KUUgrew 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 docUity.3
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
crisis was protracted nearly five months long — certainly without
necessity or excuse — and whether through design, malice, wan
tonness, or incomprehensible earelessness, it is difficult to say.*
So soon as the news reached Sonoy, 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

1 Queen to WUloughby, — March,
1588. (S. P. Office MS.)
' Maurice of Nassau to Queen Eliza
beth, 15 March, 1588. (S. P. Office
MS.) * Queen to WiUoughby, — March,
1588. Queen to Sonoy, — April, 1588,
IS. P. Office MSS.)
1 Bor, HI. xxiv. 119, seq. 233, seq.

Van der Kemp, L 62.- Wagenaar, viii.
270. Resol. Holl 1 April, 1588.
This business of Col. Diedrich
Sonoy occupies an enormous space in
the archives and chronicles of the
day. It has been here reduced to the
smaUest compass consistent with a
purpose of presenting an inteUigible
account of the politics of Leicester's
administration and its consequences.

1588. END OF SONOY'S REBELLION. 421
Maurice now saw himself undisputed governor. Sonoy was in
the course of the summer deprived of all office, and betook
himself to England. Here he was kindly received by the
Queen, who 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 ho 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 wanjs under
stood, the dyking operations made but little progress. So the
unlucky colonel soon abandoned his swamp, and retired to East
Friesland, where he hved a morose and melancholy life on a
pension of one thousand florins, granted him by the States of
HoUand, until the year 1597, when he lost his mind, fell into
the fire, and thus perished.1
And thus, in the Netherlands, through, hollow negotiations
between enemies and ill-timed bickerings among friends, the
path of PhiUp and Parma had been made comparatively, smooth
during the spring and early summer of 1588. What was the
aspect of affairs in Germany and France ?
The adroit capture of. Bonn by Martin Schenk had given
much trouble. Parma was obliged to detach a strong force,
under Prince Chimay,2 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. Farnese 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. PhiUp, 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
1 Bor, III. 290.
2 Parma to PhUip II. 31 Jan. 1588. (Arch de Sim. MS.)

422 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVHI.
in Germany to interfere with the great design upon England.1
The King gave warning that he would suffer no disturbance
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 the trade in their
subjects' lives was ever a prolific source of revenue to the
petty sovereigns — numerous as the days of the year — who
owned Germany and the Germans.
The mercenaries who had so recently been making their
inglorious campaign in 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
Borne, 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 Valois, in all the churches of that monarch's capital. The
Spanish ducats were flying about, more profusely than ever,
among the butchers and porters, and fishwomen, of the
great city ; and Madam League paraded herself in the day
light with stUl increasing 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 Eome, 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.2 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
1 PhUip IL to Parma, 24 April, 1588. (Arch, de Sim. MS )
21 L'EstoUe,' 236.

1588.

PHILIP FOMENTS THE CIVIL WAR IN PRANCE.

423

resolved to require of the Valois 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,
whUe doing his Spanish master's bidding, the great Lieutenant
of the league might, if he was adroit enough to outwit Philip,
ultimately carve out a throne for himself.
Yet Philip felt occasional pangs of uneasiness lest there
should, after all, be peace in France, and lest his schemes
against Holland and England might be interfered with from
that quarter. Even Farnese, 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 phed more vigour-
ously than ever by the Duke with advice and encou
ragement, and assisted with such Walloon carabineers as
could be spared,1 while large subsidies and larger promises
came from Phihp,2 whose prudent policy was never to pay
excessive sums, until, the work contracted for was done.
" Mucio must do the job long since agreed upon," said Philip
to Farnese, " and you and Mendoza must see that he prevents
the King of France from troubling me in my enterprize
against England." 3 If tho unlucky Henry III. had retained
one spark of intelligence, he would have seen that his only

1 Herrera III. UL 12. 2,000 infantry
and 1,000 horse.
3 PhUip to Parma, 2T Nov. 1581.
Same to same, 29 Jan. 1588. (Arch.
de Sim. MSS.)
» PhUip to Parma," 24 April, 1588.
(Arch.- de Sim. MS.) PhUip II. to
Mendoza, 16 Feb. 1588. (Arch, de
Sim. [Paris.] MS.)
" A Mucio animad y aconsejad como
soleys, lo que se cumple . . . . y lo
procurad hazer tiro." Philip II. to
Mendoza, 2 June, 1588. (Arch, de
Simancas [Paris.] MS.)
" The King was, however, perpetually
warning Guise not to allow himself or
his confederates "to brag openly of
the assistance which they were re
ceiving from Spain, lest the ministers
of Henry 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," &c. PhUip II. to
Mendoza, 16 July, 1588. (Arch, de
Sim. [Paris.] MS.)
"The pubUc 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 Guise
that he wiU assist him, and Guise
ought to be grateful. At the samo
time Longlee has been teUing me that
his King desired to join me against
England. All this was to deceive,
and I have answered all with equal
deception," &c. PhUip II. to Mendoza.
6 July, 1587, MS.

424

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XVIH

chance of rescue lay in the arm Of the Bearnese, and in an
honest aUiance with England. Yet so strong was his love for
the monks, who were daily raving against him, that he. was
wUUng to commit any baseness, in order to win back their
affection. He was ready to exterminate heresy and to esta-
bUsh the inquisition, but he was incapable of taking energetic
measures of any kind, even when throne and Ufe were in
imminent peril. Moreover, he clung to Epernon and the
' politiques,' in whose swords he alone found protection, and
he knew that Epernon and the politiques were the objects
of. horror to Paris and to the League. At the same time he
looked imploringly towards England and towards the great
Huguenot chieftain, Ehzabeth's knight-errant. He had a
secret interview with Sir Edward Stafford, in the garden of
the Bernardine convent, and importuned that envoy to im
plore the Queen to break off her negotiations with PhiUp,
and even dared to offer the English ambassador a large
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
Cathohcism, and thus destroy the League.
On the other hand, the magnUoquent Mendoza, who was
fond of describing himself as " so violent and terrible to the
French that they wished to be rid of him,"1 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 Don Bernardino, " thought that he could
impose upon me and silence me, by talking loud, but as I
didn't talk softly to him, he has undeceived himself. ....
I have had another interview with him, and found him softer
than silk, and he made me many caresses, and after I went
out, he said that I was a very skilful minister." 2

1 "El serlo yo tan terible, violente,
y sedicjioso, que impido no se estreche
este rey muy de veras con V, Majd
lo qual se heria si faltasse yo deste
puesto." Mendoza to PhUip II. 3Q Jan.
1588. (Arch, do Sim, [Paris.] MS.)

' " Este rey creyo que me espantara
hiziera callar con hallar me alto, y con
el no respondalle yo baxo, se ha
desengaflado. Ha tenido despues au
diencia, .' y halle lo mas blando que
una seda, y mo hizo muchas caricias

1588. LEAGUE'S THREATS AND PLOTS AGAINST HENRY. 425

It was the purpose of the League to obtain possession of the
King's person, and, if necessary, to dispose of the politiques
by a general massacre, such as sixteen years before had been
so successful in the case of CoUgny and the Huguenots. So
the populace — more rabid than ever — were impatient that
their adored Balafre should come to Paris and begin the holy
work. He came as far as Gonesse to do the job he had promised
to 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 Balafre' 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 girdle1 — insisted that
her brother had as good a right as any man to come to the
city. Meantime the great chief of the politiques, the hated and
insolent Epernon, had been appomted governor of Normandy,
and Henry had accompanied his beloved minion a part of the
way towards Bouen. 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 the politiques, 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.2
For the whole city was now thoroughly organized. The

que yo le reconoci con las palabras
devidas, y despues del salir de hablalle,
entiendo que dixo que yo era un
ministro bien avise," &o. Don B. de
Mendoza to Don Juan de Idiaquez,
5 April, 1588. (Arch, de Sim. [Paris.]
MS.)

1 'L'Etoile,' 244.
* De Thou, x. L. 89, p. 251, seq.
Herrera III. 118, seq. 'Proces verbal'
de Nicolas Poulain, &e. 320-332. Apud
'L'EtoUe, Registre Journal de Henry
III.'

426 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVHL
number of its districts had been reduced from sixteen to five,
the better to bring it under the control of the League ; and,
whUe it could not be denied that Mucio had been doing his
master's work very thoroughly, yet it was still in the power
of the King — through the treachery of Poulain — to strike a
blow for life and freedom, before he was quite taken in the
trap. But he stood helpless, paralyzed, gazing in dreamy
stupor— Jike 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
10th May, through the streets of Paris. He was wrapped in a
1588. large cloak, which he held carefully over his face.
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 the
handsome,' swarthy features, marked with a deep scar, and
the dark, dangerous eyes which were then revealed, the prac
tical jester at once recognized in the simple traveller the
terrible Balafre, 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.1 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 Euggieri, 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 pohticians
and the League. But, in spite of these various sources of in-
1 'L'Etoile,' 250. De Thou, ubi sup. 'Recit du Bourgeois de Paris.' MS.
Dupuys, cited by Capofigue, 'Hist, de la Refbrme,' &c. IV. 378.

1588. MUCIO ARRIVES IN PARIS. 427
struction, Catharine was somewhat perplexed, now that deci
sive action seemed necessary — a dethronement and a new
massacre impending, and judicious compromise difficult. So
after a hurried conversation with Mucio, who insisted on an
interview with the King, she ' set forth for the Louvre, the
Duke lounging calmly by the side of her sedan chair, on
foot, receiving the homage of the populace, as men, women,
and children together, they swarmed around him as he walked,
kissing his garments, and rending the air with their shouts.1
For {hat 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 docUe and fawning to the
great Balafre. It grovelled before him, it hung upon his look,
it Ucked his hand, and, at the lifting of his finger, or the
glance of his eye, would have sprung at the throat of King
or Queen-Mother, minister, or minion, and devoured them all
before his eyes. It was longing for the sign, for much as Paris
adored and was besotted with Guise and the League, even
more, if possible, did it hate those godless politicians, who had
grown fat on extortions from the poor, and who had converted
their Substance into the daily bread of luxury.
Nevertheless the city was full of armed men, Swiss and
German mercenaries, and burgher guards, sworn to fidehty 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 dehvered Guise into Henry's hands.
"Oh, the madman !" cried Sixtus V., when he heard that the
puke had gone to Paris, " thus to put himself into the clutches
of the King whom he had so deeply offended !" And, ." Oh,
the wretched coward, the imbecile !" he added, when he heard
how the King had dealt with his great enemy.2
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.
1 De Thouy ' L'Etoile,' ubi sup. 2 De Thou, x. 266.

428 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVIH.
" 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." J
And he would have done it.. Even at the side of, Catharine's
sedan chair, and in the very teeth of the worshipping mob,
the Corsican would have had the Balafre's life, even though
he laid down his own.
But Henry — irresolute and fascinated — said it was not yet
time for such a blow.2
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. AU the guards were
doubled around the palace and through the streets. The
Hotel de VUle . and the Place de la Greve were made secure,
and the whole city was fined with troops. But the Place
Maubert was left unguarded, and a rabble rout — all night
long — was collecting in that distant spot. Four companies
nth May, of burgher-guards went over to the League at three
1588. 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 Hotel de Ville,
but they stood motionless as statues, until the populace began
taunting them with cowardice, and then laughing them to
scorn. . For their sovereign lord and master still sat paralyzed
in his palace. ' ' L'EtoUe,' 248. " Ibid.

1588. HE IS RECEIVED WITH ENTHUSIASM. 429
The mob had been surging through all the streets and
lanes, until, as by a single impulse, chains were stretched
across the streets, and barricades 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
and admirers, three or four ranks thick. He was dressed in
a white slashed doublet and hose, and wore a very large hat.1
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 !' " 2
There was no response, as might be expected, and the
people shouted more hoarsely than ever for Madam League
and the Balafre. The Duke's face was fuU 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 his Germans from impending doom, when
Guise, thoroughly triumphant, vouchsafed them their fives.
" You must give me these soldiers as a present, my friends,"
said he to the populace.
And so the armed Swiss, French, and German troopers and
infantry, submitted to be led out of Paris, following with
docUity 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'EtoUe,' 250. ' Ibid.

430

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XVIII.

of their beloved chieftain, quite forego their expected banquet.
But this was aU the blood shed on the memorable day of
Barricades, when another Bartholomew massacre had been
expected.1 Meantime, whUe 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 corner.
" 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." 2
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." 3
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.4 Thenceforth, for a long interval, there
was no king in that country. Mucio had done his work, and

' ' L'EstoUe.' Do Thou, 257-261.
Herrera, ubi sup.
* " La Reyna Madre dizo al Rey
quan mal avisa'do havia sido que-
xandosele de la poea confianca que
tenia de ella, y que nunca" la haria
descubierto sus secretos, ni procurado
su daflo para executar semejante resolu-
cion sin su parescer y esto con palabras
de tanto sentimiento que el Rey se
enternecio llorando, y ella le dizo ser
lagrimas perdidas aqueUas, por no ser

tiempo de Uorar ; que si bien las
mugeres lo hazian tan facilmente, que
ella tenia tan zerrado el pecho que no
podria Uorar, y que si la viniessen a
los ojos lagrimas, serian de- sangre."
Relacion de lo subcedido a Paris desde
los 9 hasta 13 de Mayo, 1588. (Arch.
de Sim. [Paris.] MS.)
8 'L'EstoUe,' 252.
' L'EstoUe, De Thou, Herrera, ubi
sup. Pasquier, vol. ii., lettre iv., 331-
334 (ed. 1723).

1588. THE KING PLIES, AND SPAIN TRIUMPHS IN PARIS. 431
earned his wages, and PhiUp 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 1588>
and stringent provisions that the most bitter Eomanist could
imagine,1 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.2
The Duke of Guise was named Generalissimo of the King
dom (26th August, 1588). Henry gave in his submission to
the CouncU of Trent, the edicts, the Inquisition, and the rest of
the League's infernal machinery, and was formally reconciled
to Guise, with how much sincerity time was soon to show.3
Meantime Philip, for whom and at whose expense all this
work had been done by the hands of the faithful Mucio, was
constantly assuring his royal brother of France, through
envoy Longlee, at Madrid, of his most affectionate friendship,
and utterly repudiating all , knowledge of these troublesome
and dangerous plots. Yet they had been especiaUy organized
— as we have seen — by himself and the Balafr6, 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 Balafre, 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
finement of malice the League stipu
lated that aU officers appointed in
Paris by the Duke of Guise on the day
after the barricades should resign
their powers, and be immediately re
appointed by the King himself. De
Thou, x. 1. 86,' pp. 324-325.
' Duplessis Mornay, iv. 246.
'L'Estoile,' 258.
3 De Thou, ubi sup.

1 The King bound himself by oath
to extirpate heresy, to remove all per
sons suspected of that crime from
office, and never to lay down arms so
long as a single heretic remained. By
secret articles, -two armies . against the
Huguenots were agreed upon, one under
the Duke of Mayenne, the other under
some general to be appointed by the
King. The Council of Trent was forth
with to be proclaimed, and by a re-

432

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XVIII.

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 foUow 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 Elizabeth, but gave private orders that the ambas
sador should not be molested.1
Such were the consequences of the day of the barricades —
and thus the path of Philip was cleared of aU obstructions on
the part of France. His Mucio was now generahssimo.
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 Bearnese ! "3
And it might be long before the League would catch the
Bearnese ; but, meantime, he could render shght assistance
to Queen EUzabeth.
In England there had been much fruitless negotiation be
tween the government of that country and the commissioners
from the States-General. There was perpetual altercation on
the subject of "Utrecht, Leyden, Sonoy, and the other causes of
contention ; the Queen — as usual — being imperious and cho
leric, and the envoys, in her opinion, very insolent. But the

1 De Thou, x. 264-266.
* " Etant couch§ sur son lit vert U
se leva, et tout gaiment dit ces mots:

' Ils ne tienment encore lo Be'arnoin.' "
' L'EstoUe ' 252.

158a STATES EXPOSTULATE "WITH THE QUEEN. 433
principal topic of discussion was the peace-negotiations, which
the States-General, both at home and through their delegation
in England, had been doing their best to prevent ; steadily re
fusing her Majesty'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
regard paid to the interests of HoUand as to those of England,
in case of a pacification, and that she would never forget her
duty to them, to herself, and to the world, as the protectress
of the reformed rehgion. 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 was hopeless to
attempt the concession of any freedom of conscience from
Philip II. ; and that any stipulations which might be made
upon that, or any other subject, by the Spanish 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.1
And not only were the envoys, regularly appointed by the
States-General, most active in England, in their attempts to
' Bor, III. xxiy. 223.
vol. ii. — 2 F

434

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XVIH

prevent the negotiations, but delegates 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 beginning
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 beUeved in the pos
sibility of averting the danger by negotiation.
So late as the beginning of May, even the far-seeing and
anxious Walsingham could say, that in England " they were
doing nothing but honouring St. George, of whom the Spanish
Armada seemed to be afraid. We hear," he added, "that
they will not be ready to set forward before the midst of May,
but I trust that it will be 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 be to settle his
own kingdoms in his own hands." x
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
ham believed, just ten days before the famous fleet was to
appear off Plymouth, that it had dispersed and returned to

1 Walsingham to Sir Ed. Norris,
22 April
— — , 1588. (S. P. Office MS.)
2 May v J
"By the middle of July." says

Stowe, "it was said by some of honour
able rank and great judgment, that
the whole fleet of the invasion was a
Popish brag and a Prench tale." 75ft

1588.

ENGLISH STATESMEN STILL DECEIVED.

435

Spain, never to re-appear.1 As to Parma's intentions, they
were thought to he rather in the direction of Ostend than of
England ; and EUzabeth, 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." 2
All through the spring and early summer, Stafford, in
Paris, was kept in a state of much perplexity as to the
designs of Spain — so contradictory were the stories circulated,
and so bewUdering the actions of men known to be hostile to
England. In the last days of AprU he intimated it as a com
mon opinion in Paris, that these naval preparations of PhiUp
were an elaborate farce ; " that the great elephant would bring
forth but a mouse ; that the great processions, prayers, and
pardons, at Eoine, 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."3 ¦
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 still 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. Norris,

July,

1588. (S. P. Office MS.)
" And for the navy of Spain, wo have
lately received advertisements that by
reason of their great wants, as weU of
mariners, as of necessary . provisions,
but especially . through the infection
faUen among their men, they are forced

to return, and have dispersed them
selves." (I I)
2 Leicester to E. Norris. MS. by
Queen Elizabeth (?) ~ July, 1588.
(S. P. Office MS.) '
".Sir E- Stafford to Walsingham.
- April, 1588. (S. P. Office MS.)

436

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XVIII.

were told to get themselves in readiness, and to go down — as
well appointed as might be — to the Duke of Parma ; that they
had been " sending 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 playing them a Scottish trick." J
Stafford was plunged still more inextricably into doubt by
the accounts from Longles in Madrid.2 The diplomatist,
who had been completely convinced by PhiUp 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
ready by the 15th May, Longlee 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." 3
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 Longlee and Stafford were both
very doubtful whether it were worth the Queen's while to
exhaust her finances in order to protect herself against an
imaginary invasion. Even so late as the middle of July, six to
one was offered on the Paris exchange that the Spanish fleet
would never be seen in the English seas, and those that

1 Stafford to "Walsingham, " A"'"'
° 4 May
1588. (S. P. Office MS.).
* Depfich.es de Longlee envoys' do
Henri III. en Espague, Mars, Avril,

Mai, 1588. Ponds St. Germain. (Bib.
Imp. de France, MS.)
s Stafford to Walsingham,
1588. (S. P. Offico MS.)

24 April
I May'

1588. DEPUTIES PROM NETHERLAND CHURCHES, 437
offered the bets were known to be well-wishers to the Spanish
party.1 Thus sharp diplomatists and statesmen like Longlee, Staf
ford, and Walsingham, were beginning to lose their fear of
the great bugbear by which England had so long been haunted.
It was therefore no deep stain on the Queen's sagacity that
that she, too, was wilUng to place credence in the plighted
honour of Alexander Farnese, the great prince who prided
himself on his sincerity, and who, next to the King his
master, adored the virgin Queen of England.
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 shepherd to his
flock— 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
modern 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
Uberty 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 circumstances
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 threatening 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-
3
1 Stafford to "Walsingham, — July, 1588. (S. P. Offico MS.)

438 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVIII.
land churches acknowledged themselves the foster-children
of England, and begged that in pohtical matters also the
inhabitants of the Provinces might be accepted as the subjects
of her Majesty. They also implored the Queen to break off
these accursed negotiations with Spain, and to provide that
henceforth in the Netherlands the reformed religion might be
freely exercised, to the exclusion of any other." 1
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,' Barneveld, had different notions from theirs as to the
possibUity 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
1088. Hebrews, Assyrians, and other distinguished nations
of antiquity. : They brought it to Walsingham on the 12th July,
1588, and the much-enduring man heard it read from beginning
to end. He expressed his approbation of its sentiments, but
said it was too long. It must be put on one sheet of paper,
he said, if her Majesty was expected to read it.
" Moreover,". said the Secretary of State,' "although your
arguments are full of piety, and your examples from Holy
Writ very apt, I must tell you the plain truth. Great princes
are not always so' zealous in rehgious matters as they 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." 2
1 Instructions from the Churches of the Netherlands for the Deputies to
the Queen of England, apud Bor, III. 255-259.
2 ' Report cf the Deputies,' in Bor, III. -259.

1588. HOLD CONFERENCE "WITH THE QUEEN, 439
" But," asked a deputy, " if the Spanish fleet does not
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
astounded should you read them. Arguments drawn from
honour are more valid with princes than any other."
He alluded to the point in their memorial touching the free
exercise of the reformed rehgion in the Provinces.
" '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 wUl not press for the free
exercise of the religion so very much ; not more than for two
or three years. By that time— should our negotiations suc
ceed — the foreign troops will have evacuated the' Netherlands
on condition that the States-General shall settle the religious
question." x
" But," said Daniel de Dieu, one of the deputies, " the
majority of the States is Popish."
" Be it so," replied Sir Francis ; " nevertheless they- will
sooner permit the exercise of the reformed religion than take
up arms and begin the war anew."
He then aUuded 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 regards my
own feelings, if we were now in the beginning . of the reforma
tion, and the papacy were stiU entire, I should wUlingly 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 perr
mitted, the Prince of Orange was of the affirmative opinion ;
1 'Report of the Deputies,' in Bor, last cited.

440 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVIH
but I, who was then at Antwerp, entertained the contrary
conviction." "But," said one of the deputies — pleased to find that Wal
singham was more of their way of thinking on religious tolera
tion than the great Prince of Orange had been, or than
Maurice and Barneveld then were — "but her Majesty will,
we hope, follow the advice of her good and faithful coun
seUors." "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." x
He then advised the deputies to hand in the memorial to
her Majesty, without any long speeches, for which there was
then no time or opportunity ; and it was subsequently
arranged that they should be presented to the Queen as she
would be mounting her horse at St. James's to ride to Eich-
mond. Accordingly on the 15th July, as her Majesty came forth
at the gate, with a throng of nobles and ladies — ^some about
15 July, to accompany her and some bidding her adieu — the
158a- deputies fell on their knees before her. Notwith
standing the advice of Walsingham, Daniel de Dieu was bent
upon an oration.
" Oh illustrious Queen !" he began, " the churches 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 document,
' ' Report of the Deputies.' Bor, ubi sup.

Z588.

AND PRESENT LONG MEMORIALS.

441

which her Majesty graciously received, and then, getting on
horseback, rode off to Eichmond.1
The memorial was in the nature of an exhortation to sustain
the religion, and to keep clear of all negotiations with idolaters
and unbehevers ; 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, Uke 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.2
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 affairs of
Ahab and Jehosophat, as for those melting speeches of Dio-
mede and of Turnus, 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, ju]y 20,
and that they must come into his quarter of the lo88-
palace and await her arrival.
Between six and seven in the evening she came into the
throne-room, and the deputies again feU on their knees before
her.3 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 negotiations to provide for their
religious freedom. It seemed that she must have received a
hint from Walsingham on the subject.

1 'Report of the Deputies,' 259,
260-262. 2 ' Memorial from the United

Churches,' Ac, apud Bor, III. 260-
262, seq.
3 Bor, III. 262, 263.

442 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVUI.
" 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 Dieu. — " But he did not keep his agreement. Don
John had concluded with the States, but said he was not held
to his promise, in case he should repent ; and the King wrote
afterwards to our States, 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 — leaving it afterwards to the
decision of the States."
De Dieu.—" But the majority of the States is Popish."
The Queen. — " I mean the States-General, not the States of
any particular Province."
De Dieu. — " The greater part of the States-General is
Popish." The Queen. — "I mean the three estates — the clergy, the
nobles, and the cities." The Queen— as the deputies observed
— here fell into an error. She thought that prelates of the
reformed Church, as in England, had seats in the States-
General. Daniel de Dieu explained that they had no such
position. The 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 ?"

1588. MORE CONVERSATIONS WITH THE QUEEN. 443
De Dieu.—" We came with their knowledge."
The Queen.—" Are you sent only from Holland and Zee-
land ? Is 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 Uttle 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.-r-" We are far from thinking otherwise. We
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 far : he does nothing
but make a noise on all sides. Item, I don't think he has
much confidence in himself."
De Dieu.—" Your Majesty has many enemies. The Lord
hath hitherto supported you, and we pray that he may continue
to uphold your Majesty."
The Queen. — -" I have indeed many enemies ; but I make
no great account of them. Is there anything else you seek ? "
De Dieu. — " There is a special point : it concerns our, or

444 THB UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVIII.
rather your Majesty's, city of Flushing. We hope that Eus-
selius — (so he caUed Sir WilUam Eussell) — may be continued
in its government, although he. wishes his discharge."
" Aha !" 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 BusseU'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 hear this good opinion of Sir
WiUiam, and this request that he might continue to be governor
of Flushing, because he had uniformly supported the Leicester
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.1
Three days afterwards, 23rd July, Walsingham gave them
a written answer to their memorial — conceived in the same
23 July, sense as had been the expressions of her Majesty
1588- and her counsellors. Support to the Netherlands
and stipulations for the free exercise of their religion were
promised ; but it was impossible for these deputies of the
churches to obtain a guarantee from England that the Popish
rehgion should be excluded from the Provinces, in case of a
successful issue to the Queen's negotiation with Spain.2
And thus during all those eventful days — the last weeks 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
1 'Report of the Deputies of the Netherland Churches,' in Bor, III. 262, seq.
' ' Report,' Ac. ubi sup.

1588. NATIONAL SPIRIT OP ENGLAND AND HOLLAND. 445
other work than protocolling. One throb of patriotism moved
the breast of both nations. 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.1 Armed vessels of every
size, from the gun-boat to the galleon of 1200 tons— then
the most imposing ship in those 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 HoUand 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 Eammekens. 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 pleasure — 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,2
1 Bor, HI. 318, 319. I by which so much mischief had been
s So soon as tho Sonoy difficulty | created should be terminated, Maurico

446

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XVHE.

The States-General, a month before, had sent twenty-five
<or thirty good ships, under Admiral Eosendael, to join Lord
Henry Seymour, then cruising between Dover and Calais.
A tempest drove them back, and their absence from Lord
Henry's fleet being misinterpreted by the English, the States
were censured for ingratitude and want of good faith. But
the injustice of the 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 faced Alva and Valdez in their day, now kept close
watch over Farnese, determined that he should never thrust
his face out of any haven or nook on the coast so long as they
should be in existence to prevent him.1
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 great Queen, arousing
herself from the delusion in which the falsehoods of Farnese
and of Philip had lulled her, should once more represents— as
no man or woman better than Elizabeth 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 l'ennemi par mer et
par terre, pour l'empecher qu' il ne
pronne terre." "Je suppUe V. _M.,"
he continued, "de commander a M.
l'admiral Howard de tenir corre-
spondance avec moi, comme aussi je
ferai avec Sa Seign1"." Maurice de
Nassau to the Queen, ~ April, 1588.
(S. P: Office MS.)
" Ne pouvant, pour mon devoir

vous celer qu'un des plus
empechements que je trouve ¦ en nos
affaires de pardeca est cette negotiation
de paix qui engendre de teUes con
fusions que les forces ne peuvent 6tre
employees par mer et par .terre si' tot
et si bien que je desirerai. Je ferai
toute fois toute diligence d'etre prest
assez a temps pour rompre les des-
seins du Due de Parma," &c. Same to
same, same date.
1 Bor, III. jcriii. 319-321.

1588. DISSATISFACTION "WITH QUEEN'S COURSE. 447
country as the great danger, so long deferred, was felt at last
to be closely approaching. The little nation of four miUions,
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 tho months of suspense, tho soldiers and
sailors, and many statesmen of England, had deprecated,
even 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 period 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 Uttle 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 Farnese, 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 mUitary 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 smaU 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 reheved every four months, he estimated at

448

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XVIII.

twO thousand seven hundred pounds sterling the month, or a
shilUng 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." x
And it was open war with the Jesuits for which those stout
hearted sailors longed. All were afraid of secret mischief.
The diplomatists — who wore known to be flitting about
France, Flanders, Scotland, and England — were birds of iU
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.2 Nothing of good was hoped for from
France. " For my part," said Lord Admiral Howard, " I
have made of the French King, the Scottish King, and the
King of Spain, a trinity that I mean never to trust to be
saved by, and I would that others were of my opinion." 3
The noble sailor, on whom so much responsibility rested,
yet who was so trammelled and thwarted by the timid and
parsimonious policy of Elizabeth and of Burghley, chafed and
shook his chains liko 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 •

1 Hawkins to Walsingham,

Peb.

1588. (S. P. Office MS.)
a En hora buena ayen Uegado el
Conde de Morton y Coronel Semple,"
says PhUip, speaking of one of tho
hundred attempts of the Scotch Ca
tholics employed by him to bring
about u, co-operation on the part of
James with the Spanish designs upon
England, "aunque segun los avisos
que embiastes de Inglatierra menos

frutos haran quo se prometian, pues
tienen hereses al Rey tan de su
mano. Pero bien es quo hagaos las
dUigencias que se pueden, tentando
si la sangre de su madre le estimola
a la venganga," &c. PhUip II. to
Mendoza, 21. June, 1588. (Arch, do
Simanca3 [in the Arch, do 1'Empiro,
at Paris], MS.)
a Howard to Walsingnam, 
° ' 6 Feb.
1538. (S. P. Office 113.)

1588. BITTER COMPLAINTS OP LORD HOWARD. 449
we do not curse for this a long grey beard with a white head
witless, that wiU make all the world think us heartless. You
know whom I mean." x And it certainly was not difficult to
understand the allusion to the pondering Lord- Treasurer. —
" Opus est aliquo Dozdalo, to direet us out of the maze,"2 said
that much puzzled statesman ; but he hardly seemed to be
making himself wings with which to lift England and himself
out of the labyrinth. . The ships were good shipl, 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 Uke gallants here," said Winter ; " it
would do a man's heart good to behold them. Would to God
the Prince of Parma were on the seas with all his forces, and
we in sight of them. You should hear that we would make
his enterprise very unpleasant to him." 3
And Howard, too, was delighted not only with his own Uttle
flag-ship the Ark-Royal — " the odd ship of the world for all
conditions," — but with aU of his fleet that could be mustered.
Although wonders were reported, by every arrival from the
south, of the coming Armada, the Lord- Admiral was not ap-
paUed. He was perhaps rather imprudent in the defiance he
flung to the enemy. " Let me have the four great ships and
twenty hoys, with but twenty men a-piece, and each with but
two iron pieces, and her Majesty shall have a good account
of the Spanish forces ; and I will make' the King wish his
gaUeys home again. Few as we are, if his forces be not hun
dreds, we wUl make good sport with them." *
But those four great ships of her Majesty, so much longed
'for by Howard, were not forthcoming. He complained, that
the Queen was "keeping them to protect Chatham Church
withal, when they should be serving their turn abroad."5
The Spanish fleet was already reported as numbering from
210 sail, with 36,000 men,6 to 400 or 500 ships, and 80,000

> Howard to Walsingham, MS. last
cited.
a Burghley to WUloughby, — Peb.
1588. (S. P. Office MS.)
3 Sir Will. Winter to Hawkins,
SI^l, 1588. (S. P. Office MS.)
9 Mar. ' v
vol. ii.— 2 G

29 Pet).
4 Howard to Burghley.  , 1588.
10 Mar.
(S. P. Office MS.)
5 Howard to Walsingham, — March,
1588. (S. P. Office MS.)
« Ibid.

450

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XVIH

soldiers and mariners ;x and yet Drake was not ready with
his squadron. "The fault is not in him," said Howard, " but
I pray God her Majesty do not repent her. slack dealing. We
must all lie together, for we shall be stirred very shortly with
heave ho ! I fear ere long her Majesty wiU be sorry she hath
believed some so much as she hath done." 2
Howard had got to sea, and was cruising all the stormy
month of March in the Channel with his little unprepared
squadron, expecting at any moment — such was the profound
darkness which enveloped the world at that day — that the
sails of the Armada might appear in the offing. He made a
visit to the Dutch coast, and was defighted. with the enthu
siasm with which he was received. Five thousand people a
day came on board his ships, full of congratulation and
deUght ; and he informed the Queen that she was not more
assured of the Isle of Sheppey than of Walcheren.3
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 ! when should she serve," said the Admiral, "if
not at such a time as this ? Either she is fit now to serve, or
fit for the fire. I hope never in my time to see so great a
cause for her to be used. I dare say her Majesty wiU look
that men should fight for her, and I know they will at this
time. The King of Spain doth not keep any ship at home,
either of his own or any other, that he can get for money.
Well, well, I must pray heartily for peace," said Howard with
increasing spleen, "for I see the support of an honourable
war will never appear. Sparing and war have no affinity
together." *

1 Drake to the Queen, —^-, 1588.
' . 8 May '
(S. P. Office MS.)
2 Howard to Walsingham, — March,
1588, MS.

.".Howard to Walsingham, — March,
1588. (S. P. Office MS.) 7
Same to same, ' — April, 1588.

S. P. Office (MS.)

17

1588. WANT OP PREPARATION IN ARMY AND NAVY. .451
In truth Elizabeth's most faithful subjects were appaUed at
the ruin which she seemed by her mistaken policy to be ren
dering inevitable. "I am sorry," said the Admiral, "that
her Majesty is so careless of this most dangerous time. I
fear me much, and with grief I think it, that she reUeth on a
hope that will deceive her, and greatly endanger her,, and
then it will not be her money nor her jewels that will help ; •
for as they wUl 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 metropoUs. 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.2 Leicester was to be commander-in-chief; but
we have already seen that nobleman measuring himself, not
much to his advantage, with Alexander Farnese, in the Isle
of Bommel, on the sands of Blankenburg, and. at the gates
of Sluys. His army was to consist of 27,000 infantry, 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
perpetuaUy 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 Walsingham, MS. last cited.
' MurdeD, 608-613. ' Hardwicke Papers,' L 5*6. Lingard, viii. 273. Camden,
Ui. 405. Stowe, 150.

452

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XVIII

nobleman did as Lord Dacres, than to take away from the
principal service such as are set down to serve." l
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 found
than Sir Edward Stanley — the man whom we have seen in
his yellow jerkin, 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 he had been sent to inspect. "I find them
not," he said, " according to your expectation, nor mine own
liking. They were appointed two years past to have been
trained six days by the year or more, at the discretion of the
muster-master, but, as' yet, they have not been trained one day,
so 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." 2
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 been
mustering the train-bands of Lancashire. There was a
general indisposition in the rural districts to expend money
and time in military business, until the necessity should
become imperative. r Professional soldiers complained bitterly
of the canker of a long peace. "For our long quietness,
which it hath pleased God to send us," said Stanley, " they
think their money very Ul 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." 3

1 Leicester to Walsingham,
1588. (S. P. Office MS.)
2 Edward Stanley to tho
., 28 Feb.
Council,  , 1588. (S. P.
9 March v
MS.) 3 Ibid.
AU the spring,

21 July
3 Aug.'
PrivyOffice

Sir John Norris

was doing what ho could to exercise
the soldiers iu London. The cap
tains of the Artillery-Garden had
been tolerably well drUled for several
years, but the rank and file were
ignorant enough of the art of war.
" There has been a general muster of
men fit to bear arms here," said a
resident of London in April, "and

1588.

SANGUINE STATEMENTS OP LEICESTER.

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 true that
6 Leicester, who was apt to be sanguine— particularly
is uy' in matters under bis immediate control — spoke of
1588 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 a3 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 shaU be overshined with the beams
of so gracious and princely a party, for what your royal
Majesty shall do to these will be accepted as done to all.
Good sweet Queen, alter not your purpose, if God give you
health. It will be your pain for the time, but your pleasure
to behold such people. And surely the place must content
you, being as fair a soil and as goodly a prospect as may be
seen or found, as this extreme weather hath made trial, which

there have not been found ten thou
sand sufficient men. This wUl, seem
strange to you, but it is as true as the
Gospel of St. John. There is a great
want of powder, and no hope of sup
ply, except that which can be manu
factured in England." Avis de Lon-
dres, AvrU, 1588. (Arch, de Simancas,
MS.) The encouragement given to the
peace-party in the metropolis by 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 aU throw down their
arms." Much encouragement, too,
was given to Philip by the aUeged
disloyalty of many inhabitants of
London. "There is an infinity of
fellows here," said the writer, "who
desire the sacking of London not less
than the Spaniards themselves do,
and are doing all they can to advance
the Catholic cause." Avisos de Lon-
dres, 21-25-28 Mayo, 1588. (Arch, de
Simancas. [Paria] MS.)

454 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XVHL
doth us little annoyance, it is so firm and dry a ground.
Your usher also liketh your lodging — a proper, secret, cleanly
house. Your camp is a little mile off, and your person wiU
be as sure as at St. James's, for my life." '
But notwithstanding this cheerful view of the position
expressed by the commander-in-chief, the month of July had
passed, and the 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 never
exceeded sixteen or seventeen thousand men.2
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 tonnage
was 11,820 ; 3 not half so much as at the present moment — in
the case of one marvellous merchant-steamer— floats 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 then
gave 30 ships and 10,000 men 4 of which number 2710 were
seamen. Other cities, particularly Plymouth, came forward
with proportionate liberality, and private individuals, nobles,
merchants, 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 aggregate of 29,744 tons, and 15,785 seamen. Of
this fleet a very large number were mere coasters of less than
100 tons each ; scarcely ten ships were above 500, and but
one above 1000 tons — the Triumph, Captain Frobisher, of
1100 tons, 42 guns, and 500 sailors.5
Lord Howard of Effingham, Lord High- Admiral of Eng-

Leicester to the Queen, — Julv,
15

1588. (S. P. Office MS.)
2 Stowe, 150.

3 Barrow, 266, 267.
4 Stowe, 143. Compare estimates
in Barrow, 268.
' Ibid.

1588. ACTIVITY OP PARMA. 455
land, distinguished 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 ".little odd
ship for all conditions," the Ark-Boydl, 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 Bainbow, of precisely the same size and strength,
commanded the inner squadron, which cruised in the neigh
bourhood of the French 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
shaUows 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, buUt to
confront every danger, and to deal with any adversary.
Farnese, 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.1 Shipbunders, pUots, . 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 numbers, . and
Alexander dug canals and widened natural streams to facilitate
his operations.2 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-
1 Strada, II. ix. 542. I 21 Dec. 1587. (Arch, de Simancas,
2 Strada, ubi sup. Parma te PhUip, ] MS.) Meteren, xv. 270.

456

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS

Chap. XVIII

haustion, to furnish the machinery for destroying their own
countrymen, and for hurling to perdition their most healthful
neighbour. And this approaching destruction of England — now gene
rally beUeved in — was Uke the sound of a trumpet throughout
Catholic Europe. Scions of royal houses, grandees of azure
blood, the bastard of PhiUp IL, the bastard of Savoy, the
bastard of Medici, the Margrave of Burghaut, the Archduke
Charles, nephew of the Emperor, the Princes of AscoU and of
Melfi, the Prince of Morocco, and others of Ulustrious name,
with many a noble EngUsh traitor, Uke Paget, and Westmore
land, and Stanley, aU hurried to the camp of Farnese, as to
some famous tournament, in which it was a disgrace to
chivalry if their names were not enroUed. The roads were
trampled with levies of fresh troops from Spain, Naples,
Corsica, the States of the Church, the MUanese, Germany,
Burgundy. Bias Capizucca was sent in person to conduct reinforce
ments from the north of Italy. The famous Terzio of Naples,
under Carlos Pinelo, arrived 3500 strong — the most splendid
regiment ever known in the history of war. Every man had
an engraved corslet and musket-barrel, and there were many
who wore gilded armour, whUe their waving plumes and
festive caparisons made them look like hohday-makers, rather
than real campaigners, in the eyes of the inhabitants of
the various cities through which their road led them to
Flanders.1 By the end of AprU the Duke of Parma saw
himself at the head of 60,000 men, at a monthly expense
of 454,315 crowns or doUars.2 Yet so rapid was the pro
gress of disease — incident to northern chmates — among those
southern soldiers, that we shall find the number wofully
diminished before they were likely to set foot upon the
English shore.
Thus great preparations, simultaneously with pompous

* Carnero, 'Guerras de Plandes'
(1625), p. 222.
2 'Relacion Particular,' &c. 29th

April, 1588. (Arch, de Simancas,
MS.) Compare Strada, H. ix. 540.

1588. THE PAINFUL SUSPENSE CONTINUES. 457
negotiations, had been going forward month after month, in
England, HoUand, Flanders. Nevertheless, winter, spring,
two-thirds of summer, had passed away, and on the 29th
July, 1588, there remained the same sickening uncertainty,
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." l 23 June
1 Howard to Walsingham, 3 Jol > 1588, in Barrow, 284

4*0 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XIX.

CHAPTER XIX.
Philip Second in his Cabinet — His System of "Work and Deception — His vast
but vague Schemes of Conquest — The Armada sails — Description of the
Fleet  The Junction with Parma unprovided for — The Gale off Finisterre
— Exploits of David Gwynn — First Engagements in the English Channel
— Considerable Losses of the Spaniards — General Engagement near Port-.
land — Superior • Seamanship of the English — Both Fleets off Calais —
A Night of Anxiety — Project of Howard and "Winter — Impatience of tho
Spaniards — Fire-Ships sent against the Armada — A great Galeasse dis
abled—Attacked and captured by English Boats — General Engagement of
both Fleets — Loss of several Spanish Ships — Armada flies, foUowed by tho
English — English insufficiently provided — Are obliged to relinquish the
Chase — A great Storm disperses the Armada — Great Energy of Parma —
Made fruitless by PhUip's Dulness — England readier at Sea than on Shore
— The Lieutenant-General's Complaints — His Quarrels with Norris and
WiUiams — Harsh Statements as to the English Troops — Want of Organi-.
zation in England — Royal Parsimony and Delay — Quarrels of English
Admirals — England's narrow Escape from great Peril — Various Rumours
as to the Armada's Pate — PhUip for a long Time in Doubt — Ho beUeves
himself victorious — Is tranquil when undeceived.
It is now time to look in upon the 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
PhiUp had been withdrawing more and more into seclusion
and mystery as the webwork of his schemes multipUed 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 Granvelle. So were
Erasso and Delgado. His midnight councU— -junta de noche
— for thus, from its original hour of assembling, and the air
of secrecy in which it was enwrapped, it was habitually caUed
— 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 affairs, and for the
kingdom of Aragon ; Don Cristoval de Moura, the monarch's
chief favourite, was at the head of the finance department,
and administered the affairs of Portugal and Castile.1
1 Herrera, III. ii. 43-45, and 138.

1588. PHILIP THE SECOND IN HIS CABINET. 459
The president of the council of Italy, after GranveUe's
death, was Quiroga, cardinal of Toledo, and inquisitor-general.1
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 Mucio, in which all the strata
gems for the subjugation of Protestant Europe were slowly and
artistically contrived. Of the great conspiracy against human
liberty, of which the Pope and Philip were the double head,
this midnight triumvirate was the chief executive committee.
These innumerable despatches, signed by PhUip, 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 modern 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.2
Thus a most important despatch — in which the King, with
his own hand, was supposed to be conveying secret inteUigence
to Mendoza concerning the Armada, together with minute
directions for the regulation of Guise's conduct at the me-
1 Ibid.
"No man who has had personal
experience in the Archives of Siman
cas, or who has studied with his own
eyes the great coUection of documents
originally belonging to that deposi
tory, and now preserved in the
Archives of the Empire at Paris,

wUl assert that the description in the
text is . exaggerated. The paragraphs
written in the King's own hand are
almost Ulegible, and evidently written
with great difficulty. When deci
phered, they are found to be always
awkward, generaUy ungrammaticaL
and very often puerile.

460

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XIX.

morable epoch of the barricades — contained but a single com
ment from the monarch's own pen. "The Armada has
been in Lisbon about a month — quassi un mes " — wrote the
secretary. " There is but one s in quasi," said PhUip.1
Again, a despatch of Mendoza to the King contained the
inteUigence that Queen EUzabeth was, at the date of the
letter, residing at St. James's. PhiUp, who had no objection
to display his knowledge of EngUsh affairs — as became the
man who had already been almost sovereign of England, and
meant to be entirely so — supphed a piece of information in
an apostiUe 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 Huytal, I am sure I don't know." 2 His
researches in the Enghsh language had not enabled him
to recognize the adjective and substantive out of which the
abstruse compound White-HaU (Huyt-aT), was formed.
On another occasion, a letter from England 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 coUected, with
other details of Uke 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 quantity 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 only on this last-mentioned
clause of the letter ; and he did it cautiously too, as a King
surnamed the Prudent should : —

' Philip II. to Mendoza, 2 June,
1588. A 56. W2. (Arcn. de Simancas.
[Paris.] MS.) " Ha un S in quasi"
2 " La reyna se avia retirado a San
Gemes, que es a las espaldas de Huy
tal, la cassa de Londres, y para guarda
de su persona decian haver sefialada
4 mil hombres, y mil cavaUeros que
estuviessen siempre con ella, y a causa
da estar tan medrosos los de Lon
dres, Uevaron a Don Pedro de Valdez

y a todos los de mas que se tomaron
en carros a Londres para que viesse el
pueblo que avian tornado presos espa
noles con vos de ser deshecha toda
la armada de V. Md," Ac.
Note in PhUip's hand: "Casa de
plazer que rue monasterio — es un
parque entre eUa y el palacio que se
llama Huytal y no se" porque yo."
Mendoza to PhUip IL 20 Aug. 1588.
(Arch, de Simancas. [Paris.] MS.)

1588. HIS SYSTEM OP "WORK AND DECEPTION. 461
" But perhaps they were fleas," wrote Philip.1
Such examples — and many more might be given — suffi
ciently indicate the nature of the man on whom such enormous
responsibilities rested, and who had been, by the adulation of
hia feUow-creatures, elevated into a god. And we may cast
a glance upon him as he sits in his cabinet — buried among
those pUes of despatches — and receiving methodically, at
stated hours, Idiaquez, or Moura, or Chincon, to settle the
affairs of so many miUions 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 whUe pledg
ing himself to assistance, had been systematically deceived.
He had supposed the whole scheme rendered futUe 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 ; " 2 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
— -as if the persuasions of the wretched Yalois were likely to
be effective with Elizabeth Tudor — and Burghley had, by
means of spies in Borne, who pretended to be Catholics, given

1 "En les fenetres de la chambre
de presence en la cour de la Reyne
on a trouve fort grand nombre de
poulx qui se sont coules ensemble."
There is a Spanish translation ap
pended to this document, and on the
margin, in PhUip's hand, is written:
"Gran numero de piojos o quiza
pulgos." Avisos de Londres, 1 April,
1586. (Arch, de Simancas [Paris],
MS.), 2 Un Vandini, gran vanquero de
Roma, que tiene correspondencia con
este Rey Xmo y inteUigencia con

muchos Cateos le ha escrito haver dicho
el Papa quando supo.lo que Draques
avia hecho en Cales, que Su Magd
(PhUip II.) era persona de poco, quo
nunca se acaveva de resolver, y quando
lo hiziesse no seria en tiempo — han
aqui no solo solemnizado pero publi-
cado anadiendo que valia mas la
rueca de la Reyna de Inglaterra que
la espada del Rey de Espana," &e.
&c. Mendoza to Idiaquez,, 16 July,
158T. (Arch, de Simancas [Paris],
MS.)

462

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XIX

out intimations that the Queen was seriously contemplating
such a step.1 Thu3 the Pope, notwithstanding Cardinal
Allan, the famous miUion, and the bull, was thought by
Mendoza to be growing lukewarm in the Spanish cause, and
to be urging upon the " Englishwoman" the propriety of con
verting herself, even at the late hour of May, 1588.2
But Philip, for years, had been maturing his scheme, whUe
reposing entire confidence — beyond his own cabinet doors—
upon none but Alexander Farnese ; and the Duke — alone of
aU men — was perfectly certain that the invasion 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.3 He had however shown no desire to risk
one, when Drake had offered him the memorable chaUenge 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 Farnese, and was
much disgusted when informed of the share allotted to the
Duke in the great undertaking.4 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 to
turn a deaf ear to all his remonstrances, to deal with him

1 " Me he visto con el nuncio, y me
ha dicho que Su Santr1, avia meses,
que pidio » este Rey embiasse a
la de Inglaterra lo bien que le estaria
hazerse Catolica, y esto por tener Su
Sd avisos poder venir en ello con
semejantes persuasiones que este Rey
escrivio a, su embax™ que tiene en
Inglaterra le avisasse si estava en esta
disposicion la Reyna, el qual respondio
ol Tesorero CecU por medio ne espidnes
que tenia en Roma fingiendo ser
Catolicos avia hecho llegar esta voz
a Su Sa para ganar tiempo y entibiar

le . en persuadir la empresa a V.
Magd. y que agora de nuevo Su S*
avia significado al Card1 de Joyosa
que seria muy bien que este Rey em
biasse un embax10 extra40 para hazer
este officio con la Ynglesa," &c. &c
Mendoza to PhUip H. 8 May, 1588.
(Arch, de Simancas [Paris], MS.)
2 Ibid.
' Herrera, III. ui. 10.
'Las Advertencias de Su Magd
para el Marques de Santa Cruz, 1588.
(Arch, de Simancas, MS.)

1588. HIS VAST BUT VAGUE SCHEMES OP 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
cline it without conditions, in which latter contingency he was
to be informed that his successor was already decided upon.1
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 saU to the . Flemish
coast.2 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 believed, and as confidently informed the Duke of
Parma, that he might be expecting the Armada at any time
after the end of January.3
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 PhUip for carrying out his
purpose. It was probable that some resistance would be
offered, at least by the navy of England, to the subjugation
of that country, and the King had enjoyed an oppor
tunity, the preceding summer, of seeing the way in which
English sailors did their work. He had also appeared to
understand the necessity of covering the passage of Farnese
from the Flemish ports into the Thames, by means of the
great Spanish fleet from Lisbon. Nevertheless he never
seemed to be aware that Farnese could not invade England
quite by himself, and was perpetuaUy expecting to hear that
he had done so.
" Holland and Zeeland," wrote Alexander to Philip, " have
, ¦ .- - 'MS. last cited.
2 Orden de Su Mag4 que se embio al Sor Card1 Archiduque. Enero,
1588. (Arch, do Simancas, MS.) ' Herrera, III. iii. 90, 91.

464

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XIX

been arming with their accustomed promptness ; England has
made great preparations. I have done my best to make the
impossible possible ; but your letter told me to wait for Santa
Cruz, and to expect him very shortly. If, on the contrary,
you had told, me to make the passage without him, I would
have made the attempt, although we had every one of us
perished. Four ships of war could sink every one of my boats.
Nevertheless I beg 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 PhUip, Santa Cruz
was dead.2 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 3 had succeeded ; but
the duke of gold did not find it easier to accomphsh 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 Farnese the
intimation that perhaps, after all, he might find an opportunity
of crossing to England, without waiting for its arrival.4 And
Alexander, with the same regularity, had been informing his
master that the troops in the Netherlands had been daUy
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.5 The 6000 Spaniards,
whom he was to receive from the fleet of Medina Sidonia,
would therefore be the very mainspring of his army.6 After

1 "Aunque huviesse de passar solo
en una zabra." Parma to Philip, '21st
Dec. 1587. (Arch, de Simancas,
MS.) 2 Strada, II. ix. 549. PhUip to
Parma, 18 Feb. 1588. (Arch, de
Simancas, MS.)

3 Strada, ubi sup.
' Philip to. Parma, 6 March, 1588.
(Arch, de Simancas, MS.)
6 Parma to Philip, 20 March, 1588.
(Arch, de Simancas, MS.)
a "El niervo principal." (Ibid.).

1588. THE ARMADA SAILS. 465
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 alert and ready for us, and that it is certain we must fight
by sea and by land, 50,000 would be few." J 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 efficient blind was the peace-nego
tiation ; for many believed, as the English deputies were now
treating at Ostend, that peace would foUow.2
At last, on the 28th, 29th, and 30th May, 1588, the fleet,
which had been waiting at Lisbon more than a month for
favourable weather, set sail from that port, after having been
duly blessed by the Cardinal Archduke Albert, viceroy of
Portugal.3 .
There were rather more than one hundred and thirty ships
in aU, divided into ten squadrons.4 There was the squadron
of Portugal, consisting of ten gaUeons, and commanded by
the captain-general, Medina Sidonia. In the squadron of
Castile were fourteen ships of various sizes, under General
Diego Flores de Yaldez. This officer was one of the most
experienced naval officers in the Spanish service, and was
subsequently ordered, in consequence; to sail with the general
issimo in his flag-ship.5 In the squadron of Andalusia were
ten galleons and other vessels, under General Pedro de Valdez.
In the squadron of Biscay were ten galleons and lesser ships,
under General Juan Martinez de Becalde, upper admiral of

1 Parma > to PhUip, 31 Jan. 1588,
(Arch, de Simancas, MS.)
'' Same to same, 20 March, 1588.
(Arch, de Simancas, MS.)
3 PhUip II. to Mendoza, 24 April,
1588, and 2 June, 1588. (Arch, de
Simancas [Paris], MSS.) Bor, III.
321, 322.
vol. ii. — 2 H

* Herrera, ni. Ui. 93, seq. Philip
II. to Parma, 13 May, 1588, says 150,
but there were many smaU vessels
and transports equipped, which never
left Spain. The number of effective
ships of all kinds was probably less
than 140..
6 Herrera, ubi sup.

466

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XIX

the fleet. In the squadron of Guipuzcoa 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 store-ships, were twenty-three sail, under
General Juan Gomez 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. Tbo
squadron of four galeras, or galleys, was in charge of Captain
Diego, de Medrado.
Next in command to Medina Sidonia was Don Alonzo de
Leyva, captain-general of the Ught horse Of Milan. Don
Francisco de Bobadilla was marshal-general of the camp.
Don Diego de Pimentel was marshal of the camp to the
famous Terzio or legion of Sicily.1
The total tonnage of the fleet was 59,120 : the number of
guns was 3165. Of Spanish troops there were 19,295 on
board : there were 8252 sailors and 2088 gaUey-slaves. Be
sides these, there was a force of noble volunteers, ' belonging
tO the most Ulustrious houses of Spain, with their attendants,.
amounting to nearly 2000 in all. There was also Don Marth
Alaccon, administrator and vicar-general of the Holy Inqui
sition, at the head of some 290 monks of the mendicant orders.
priests and famihars.2 The grand total of those embarked
was about 30,000. The daily expense of. the fleet was esti
mated by Don DiegO de Pimentel at 12,000 ducats a-day, and
the.daily cost of the combined naval and mUitary force under
Farnese and Medina Sidonia was stated at 30,000 ducats.3
The size of the ships ranged from 1200 tons to 300. The
gaUeons, of which there were about sixty, were huge round-
stemmed clumsy vessels, with bulwarks three or four, feet thick,
and built up at stem and stern, like castles. The galeasses —
of which there were four — were a third larger than the ordinary

1 Herrera, ubi sup. Compare Strada,
II. ix 546, seq. Bor, IIL xxv. 317, seq.
Meteren, xv. 270. Camden, HI. 410,
seq. Carnero, 22G. Coloma, f. 5, seq.
Barrow, 266-270.

2 Meteren, ubi sup.
2 Examination of Don Diego de
Pimentel before the councU of Hol
land; apud Bor. III. 325, seq.

1588. DESCRIPTION OP THE FLEET. 467
galley, and were rowed each by three hundred galley-slaves.
They consisted of an enormous towering fortress at the stern,
a castellated structure almost equally massive in front, with
seats for the rowers amidships. At stem and stern 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, gilded saints, and bands of music.1 To take
part in an ostentatious pageant, nothing could be' better
devised. To fulfil the great objects of a war-vessel — to sail
and to fight — they were the worst machines ever launched
upon the ocean. The four galleys were similar to the ga
leasses in every respect except that of size, in which they were
by one-third inferior.
AU the ships of the fleet — galeasses, galleys, gaUeons, and
hulks — were 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 Ught and favour
able winds. In violent tempests, therefore, they seemed likely
to suffer. To the eyes of the . 16th century these vessels
seemed enormous. A ship of .1300 tons was then a monster
rarely seen, and a fleet, numbering from 130 to 150 sail, with
an aggregate 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 galley-
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 wait for
the Duke of Parma, who was to come forth from Newport,
1 Strada, IL ix. 546. Meteren, xv. 270.

468 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XIX.
Sluys, and Dunkerk, bringing with him his 17,000 veterans;
and to assume the chief 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 inter
ference from the Dutch and English fleets, and — so soon as
the conquest of England had been effected— he was to proceed
to Ireland.1 It had been the wish of Sir WiUiam Stanley that
Ireland should be subjugated first, as a basis of operations
against England ; but this had been overruled. The intrigues
of Mendoza and Farnese, too, with the CathoUc nobles of
Scotland, had proved, after all, unsuccessful. King 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.2 ¦
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
responsibUity. Not a gun was to be fired— if it could be
avoided — untU he had come forth with -his veterans to make
his junction with the Invincible Armada off Calais. Yet there
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
Dunkerk, Newport, and Flushing, although he had certainly
received information enough of this formidable obstacle to
his plan.
" Most joyful I shall be," said Farnese — writing on one of
the days when he had seemed most convinced by Valentine
Dale's arguments, and driven to despair by his postulates —
" to see myself with these soldiers on English ground, where,
1 Letters of PhUip and of Parma I ' Parma to PhUip II. 8 June, 1588.
already cited. (Arch, de Sim. MS.) | (Arch, de Sim. MS.)

1588. THE JUNCTION "WITH PARMA UNPROVIDED POR. 469
with God's help, I hope to accomphsh your Majesty's de
mands."1 He was much troubled however to find doubts
entertained at the last moment as to his 6000 Spaniards ; and
certainly it hardly needed an argument to prove that the
invasion of England with but 17,000 soldiers was a somewhat
hazardous scheme. Yet the pilot Moresini had brought him
letters from Medina Sidonia, in which the Duke expressed
hesitation about parting with these 6000 veterans, unless the
English fleet should have been previously destroyed, and had
also again expressed his hope that Parma would be punctual
to the rendezvous.2 Alexander immediately combated these
views in letters to Medina and to the King. He avowed that
he would not depart one tittle from the plan originally laid
down. The 6000 men, and more if possible, were to be fur
nished him, and the Spanish Armada was to protect his own
flotilla, and to keep the channel clear of enemies. No other
scheme was possible, he said, for it was clear that his coUection
of smaU flat-bottomed river-boats and hoys could not even
make the passage, except in smooth weather. They could
not contend with a storm, much less with the enemy's . ships,
which would destroy them utterly in case of a meeting, without
his being able to avail himself of his soldiers — who would be
so closely packed as to be hardly moveable— or of any human
help. The preposterous notion that he should come out with
his flotilla to make a junction with Medina x)ff 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.3
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 PhUip 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
> Parma to PhUip, 22 June, 1588. (Arch, de Sim. MS.)
2 Ibid. 3 Ibid.

470

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XIX.

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 vessels of so
close and friendly an. ally were entitled.1
Thus there was bread, beef, and powder enough— there were
monks and priests enough — standards, galley-slaves," 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 Farnese, nor could Farnese 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
Farnese, 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
bourhood of Cape Finis terre. Here they were overtaken by
a tempest, and were scattered hither and thither, almost at
the mercy of the winds and waves ; 2 for those unwieldy hulks

1 "Hableys antes al Rey de mi
parte, y conviniendo hablarle, le direys
que el atrevimiento de los corsarios
ingleses me ha obligado a dessear
limpiar dellos la mar, este ¦ verano, y
que 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 sus buenos
subditos que toparen, de que le hs
querido dar . parte y pedir le como
tambien lo'hareys en mi. nombre, y si
algunos baxeles de mi armada aportaran
con temporal a sus puertos, ordeno que
sean tratados conforme a la buena paz
y hermandad que entre nosotros hay,
quitandole por aqui la sospecha destas
fuerzas, y grangeandole para lo que se

pretende, y.este oficio bastara por agora,
sin Uegar a mas particularidades," &c
PhUip II. to Mendoza, 24 April, 1588.
(Arch, de Sim. [Paris.] A. 56, 148,
MS.) This letter reached Mendoza in
Paris just before that envoy, accord
ing to his master's instructions, was
assisting Guise to make his memorable
stroke of the ' barricades.'
- There is another letter of the same
purport nearly three t months later.
PhiUp II. to Mendoza, .18 July, 1588.
(Arch, de Sim. [Paris.] A. 56, 159,
MS.) 2 Herrera, Strada, Bor, Meteren,
Camden. Camera, Coloma, Barrow,
ubi sup.

1588. THE GALE OFF FINISTERRE. 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 galley-slave — as prisoner of war—
for more than eleven years, hoping, year after year, for a
chance of escape from bondage.1 He sat now among the
rowers of the great galley, the Vasana, one of the humblest
instruments by which the subjugation of his native land to
Spain and Eome 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 stern, and their low and open waists. The chapels,
pulpits, and gilded Madonnas proved of little avail in a hur
ricane. The Diana, largest of the four, went down with all
hands ; the Princess was labouring severely in the trough of
the sea, and the Vasana was likewise in imminent danger.
So the master of this gaUey asked the Welsh slave, who had
far 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 captain 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, Ui. 322, seq.

472 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XIX.
sale out of broken sword-blades and other refuse bits of steel.
There was not a man among them who had not thus provided
himself with a secret. stiletto.1
At first Gwynn occupied himself with arrangements for
weathering the gale. So soon however as the 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 kiUed
the soldier nearest him ; then, rushing below, they surprised
and overpowered the rest of the troops, and put them aU to
death.2 Coming again upon deck, David Gwynn descried the fourth
gaUey of the squadron, called the Boyal, 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."3 As he spoke there came a broadside from the galley Boyal
which killed nine of his crew. David, nothing daunted, laid
his ship close alongside of the Boyal, with such a shock that
the timbers quivered again. Then at the head of his hbe
rated slaves, now thoroughly armed, he dashed on board the
gaUey, and, after a furious conflict, in which he was assisted
by the slaves of the Boyal, 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 gale had meantime abated, and the
two galleys, weU conducted by the experienced and intrepid
Welshman, made their way to the coast of France, and landed
at Bayonne on the 31st, dividing among them the property
found on board the two gaUeys. Thence, by land, the fugi
tives, four hundred and sixty-six in number — Frenchmen,
1 Bor, UL 322, seq. - Ibid. 3 Ibid.

1588.

EXPLOITS OP DAVID GWYNN.

473

Spaniards, Enghshmen, Turks, and Moors, made their way to
BocheUe. Gwynn had an interview with Henry of Navarre,
and received from that chivalrous king a handsome present.
Afterwards he found his way to England, and was well com
mended by the Queen. The rest, of the liberated slaves
dispersed in various directions." x
This was the first adventure of the invincible Armada. Of
the squadron of gaUeys, 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, and joined the
rest of the fleet, which ultimately re-assembled at Coruna ;
the ships having, in distress, put in at first at Vivera, Bibadeo,
Gijon, and other northern ports of Spain.2 At the Groyne— as
the English of that day were accustomed to caU Coruna —
they remained a month, repairing damages and recruiting ;
and on the 22nd of July3 (NS.) 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,4 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
Englishman that the enemy was at last upon them. Almost
at that very instant intelligence had been brought from the
court to the Lord-Admiral at Plymouth, that the Armada,
dispersed and shattered by the gales of June, was not hkely
to make its appearance that year ; and orders had conse
quently been given to disarm the four largest ships, and send

1 Bor, Meteren, xv. 272. Compare
Camden, iv. 410, who had heard, how
ever, nothing but the name of Gwyrin,
and who speaks of the " treachery of
the Turkish rowers." (I)
" Herrera, III. iii. 94.
* Medina Sidonia from his gaUeon
San Martin to Parma, 25 July, 1588.
(Arch, do Sim. MS.)

The dates in the narrative- wUl be
always given according to the New
Style, then already adopted by Spain,
HoUand, and France, although not by
England. The dates thus given are,
of course, ten days later than . they
appear in contemporary English re
cords. * Herrera, ubi sup.

474

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XIX

them into dock.1 Even Walsingham, as already stated, had
participated in this strange delusion.2
Before Howard had time to act upon this ill-timed sug
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.3
On Saturday, 30 th July, the wind was very light at south
west, with a mist and drizzling rain,4 but by three in the
afternoon the two fleets could descry and count each other
through the haze.5
By nine o'clock, 31st July, about two miles from Looe,s
on the Cornish coast, the fleets had their first meeting. There
were 136 saU of the Spaniards, of which ninety were large
ships, and sixty-seven of the English.7 It was a solemn mo
ment. The long-expected Armada presented a pompous,
almost a theatrical appearance. The ships seemed arranged
for a pageant, in honour of a victory already won. Disposed
in form of a crescent, the horns of which were seven
miles asunder, those gilded, towered, floating castles, with
their gaudy standards and their martial music, moved
slowly along the channel, with an air of indolent pomp.
Their captain-general, the golden Duke, stood in his pri
vate shot-proof fortress,8 on the deck of his great galleon
the Saint Martin, surrounded by generals of infantry, and
colonels of cavalry, who knew as little as he did himself
of naval matters. The English vessels, on the other

1 Meteren, xv. 272. Camden, HI.
410. Murdin, 615-621. The ships
were the 'Triumph,' 'White Bear,'
'Elizabeth Jonas,' and 'Victory.' Lin-
gard, viii. 280.
2 Walsingham to Sir Ed. Norris,
- July, 1588. (S. P. Office MS.) See
page 42, note 4.
' Herrera, ubi sup. Howard to

a
Walsingham, — July, 1588, in Barrow,
288. dl
4 Herrera, 101.
6 Ibid. Howard to Walsingham,
ubi sup.
6 R. Tomson to  ,  , 1588.

(S. P. Office MS.)
7 Ibid.
8 Meteren, xv. 274.

9 Aug.'

1588.

PIRST. ENGAGEMENTS IN ENGLISH CHANNEL.

475

hand — with a few exceptions, Ught, swift, and easily handled
— could sail round and round those unwieldy galleons,
hulks, and galleys rowed by fettered slave-gangs. The
superior seamanship of free Englishmen, commanded by such
experienced captains as Drake, Frobisher, and Hawkins —
from infancy at home on blue water — was manifest in the
very first encounter. They obtained the weather-gage at
once, and cannonaded the enemy at intervals with consider
able effect, easily escaping at will out of range of the sluggish
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.1
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 EngUsh, foUowing at
the heels of the enemy, refused all such invitations, and
attacked only the rear-guard of the Armada, where Becalde
commanded. That admiral, steadily maintaining his post,
faced his nimble antagonists, who continued to teaze, to mal
treat, and to elude him, whUe 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.2 Two decks blew up. The

1 Hawkins to Walsingham,
1588. (S. P. Office MS.)

31 July
9 Aug.'

11 Report of certain Mariners,
1588. (S. P. Office MS.)

476

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XIX.

great castle at the stern rose into the clouds, carrying with it
the paymaster-general of the fleet, a large portion of treasure,
and nearly two hundred men.1 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 Oquendo, who had already been fastened upon by
his English pursuers. But the Spaniards, not being so. light
in hand as their enemies, involved themselves in much em
barrassment by this manoeuvre ; and there was much falhng
foul of each other, entanglement of rigging, and carrying
away of yards. Oquendo's men, however, were ultimately
saved, and taken to otiier ships.2
Meantime Don Pedro de Valdez, commander of the Anda-
lusian squadron, having got his galleon into collision with two
of three Spanish ships successively, had at last carried away
his fore-mast close to the deck, and the wreck had fallen
against his main-mast. He lay crippled and helpless, the
Armada was slowly deserting him, night was coming on, the
sea was running high, and the English, ever hovering near,
were ready to grapple with him. In vain did Don Pedro fire
signals of distress. The captain-general, even as though the
unlucky galleon had not been connected with the CathoUc
fleet — calmly fired a gun to coUect his scattered ships, and
abandoned Valdez 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." 3
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 Victory, of 800, cannonaded
him at a distance, but, night coming on, he was able to
resist ; and it was not tiU the following morning that he sur
rendered to the Bevenge*

1 Herrera, III. Ui. 100-102. Cam
den, III. 412. Bor, III. 323.
¦' Ibid.
* Valdez to Philip (" Englished"),
31 Aug. 1588. (S. P. Office MS.)

Compare Herrera, Bor, Camden, ubi
sup. * MS. letter of Valdez before cited.
Bor, Camden, ubi sup. Meteren, xv.
272. Herrera, IH. Ui. 100-102, who

1588.

CONSIDERABLE LOSSES OP THE SPANIARDS.

477

Drake then received the gallant prisoner on board his flag-
ship-r-much to the disgust and indignation of Frobisher and
Hawkins, thus disappointed of their prize- and ransom-
money a — treated him with much courtesy, and gave his word
of honour that he and his 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.
Valdez responded to Drake's politeness by kissing his hand,
embracing him, and overpowering him with magnificent com
pliments.2 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 Bevenge, where, as the guest of Drake, he
was a witness to all subsequent events up to the 10th of
August, on which day he was sent to London with some other
officers,3 Sir Francis claiming his ransom as his lawful due.4
Here certainly was no very triumphant beginning for
the Invincible Armada. On the very first day of their being
in presence .of the English fleet — then but sixty-seven in
number, and vastly their inferior: in size and weight of
metal — they had lost 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-saUed, 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 from the journal . of a
Spanish officer in the Armada, and who
calls the two famous English naval com
manders, Frobesquerio and Avesnisio.
Many English names look almost as
strangely in their Spanish dress as
these two famUiar ones of Frobisher
and Hawkins. Thus Dr. Bartholomew
Clerk is caUed, for some mysterious
reason, Dr. Quiberich; Col. Patton

becomes Col. Reyton ; while , Lord
High Admiral Howard, of Effingham,
figures in the chronicles as Carlos
Haurat, Count of Contuberland. Her
rera, III. p. 49.
1 See page 525, note *.
" Meteren, Bor, ubi sup
s Drake to Walsingham,  ,
10 Aug.'
15S8, in Barrow, p. 303. > Ibid.

478

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XIX

On Monday, 1st of August, Medina Sidonia placed the
rear-guard — consisting of the galeasses, the galleons . St.
Matthew, St. Luke, St. James, and the Florence and other
ships, forty-three in all — under command of Don Antonio de
Leyva. 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 grapphng ; 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 rear 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.1 Juan Gil was at the same
time sent off in a sloop to the Duke of Parma, to carry the
news of the movements of the 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 where to shelter such large ships as

ours.

Disposed in this manner, the Spaniards sailed leisurely
along the English coast with light westerly breezes, watched
closely by the Queen's fleet, which hovered at a moderate

' Herrera, IH. iii. 105. "Sin replica
ni consulta," &c.
2 " Con el menor temporal del mundo
non se sabo donde se pueden abrigar

naos tan grandes.'' Medina Sidonia
to Parma, 2 Aug. 1588. (Arch, de
Sim. MS.)

1588. GENERAL ENGAGEMENT NEAR PORTLAND. 479
distance to windward, without offering, that day, any obstruc
tion to their course.
By five o'clock on Tuesday morning, 2nd of August, the
Armada lay between Portland Bill and St. Albans' Head,
when the wind shifted to the north-east, and gave TUes., 2 Aug.
the Spaniards the weather-gage.1 The English did 1588-
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 Uttle Ark-
Boyal — " the odd ship of the world for all conditions " — was
eneaeed at different times with Bertendona, of the Italian
squadron, with Alonzo de Leyva in the Bdtta, and with other
large vessels. He was hard pressed for a time, but was gal
lantly supported by the Nonpareil, Captain Tannery and after
a long and confused combat, in which the St. Mark, the St.
Luke, the St. Matthew, the St. Philip, the St. John, the St. '
James, the St. John Baptist, the St. Martin, and many other
great galleons, with saintly and apostolic names, fought pell-
mell with the Lion, the Bear, the Bull, the Tiger, 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 close with, and to
board, their ever-attacking, ever-flying adversaries. The can
nonading was incessant. " We had a sharp and a long fight,"
said Hawkins.2 Boat-loads of men and munitions were per
petually arriving to the English, and many high-born volun
teers—like Cumberland, Oxford, Northumberland, Baleigh,
Brooke, Dudley, WUloughby, Noel, William Hatton, Thomas
Cecil, and others — could ho 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,

> Declaration of the Proceedings of
the two Fleets, July 19-31 (0. S), 1588.
(S. P. Office MS.) Herrera, IIL in. 106.
31 July
2 Hawkins to WalsiDgham, -  1

1588. (S. P. Office MS.) Herrera,
III. Hi. 106-108. Bor, III. 323.
Meteren, xv. 273. Camden, III. 412.
413.

480

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XIX.

Howard, and Frobisher, or came in small vessels which they
had chartered for themselves, in order to have their share in
the dehghts of the long-expected struggle.1
The action, irregular, desultory, but lively, continued nearly
all day, and until the English had fired away most of their
powder and shot.2 The Spaniards, too, notwithstanding their
years of preparation, were already short of light metal, and
Medina Sidonia had been daily sending to Parma for a supply
of four, six, and ten pound balls.3 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 artil
leryman, " it would have been the woefullest time ever 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 fight, and in comparison so little harm done. It were
greatly to be wished that her Majesty were no longer deceived
in this way." 4
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 grapple
with their light-winged foes, who pelted them, braved them,
damaged their sails and gearing, and then danced Ughtly off
into the distance ; until at last, as night fell, the wind came
out from the west again, and the English regained and kept
the weather-gage.
The Queen's fleet, now divided into four squadrons, under

1 Herrera, Bor, Meteren, Camden,
ubi sup.
2 MS. Letter of Hawkins last cited.
3 Medina Sidonia to Parma, 2 Aug.
1588. (Arch, de Sim. MS.) Herrera,
IH. Hi. 108.
* William Thomas, master gunner
of Flushing (who much complained

that the loss of. its charter by the
worshipful corporation of gunners,
founded by Henry VIIL, had caused
its decay, and much mischief in' con
sequence), to Burghley,  -' 1588.
(S. P. Office MS.)

1588. SUPERIOR SEAMANSHIP OF THE ENGLISH. 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 aU
this number were ships of war however, and the merchant
vessels, although zealous and active enough, were not thought
very effective. " 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." J
All night the Spaniards, holding their course towards
Calais, 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.',' Thurs.
cannonading, with but slender results ; and on 1588"
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 damaged the previous day, were
lagging behind the rest of the Armada, and were vigorously
attacked by the Triumph and a few other vessels. Don
Antonio de Leyva, 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.2
Seeing his danger, the Lord Admiral in the Ark-Boyal,
accompanied by the Golden Lion, the White. Bear, the Eliza
beth, 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 St. Martin,
while his comrades were at equally close quarters with Vice-
Admiral Becalde and the galleons of Oquendo, Mexia, and
Almanza. It was the. hottest conflict which had yet taken
place.3 Here at last was thorough English work. The two
great fleets, which were there to subjugate and to defend the
realm of Elizabeth, were nearly yard-arm and yard-arm

1 Sir W. Winter to Walsingham,
- Aug. 1588. (S. P. Office MS.)
s Declaration of the
VOL. IT. — 2 I

&o. MS. before cited. Bor, Herrera,
Meteren, Camden, ubi sup.
3 Ibid.

482 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XIX
together — all England on the lee. Broadside after broadside
of great guns, volley after voUey 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 Enghsh who were
mad enough to wish to board.
But so soon as Frobisher, who was the hero of the day, had
extricated himself from his difficulty, the Lord-Admiral —
having no intention of risking the existence of his fleet, and
with it perhaps of the English crown, upon the hazard of a
single battle, and having been himself somewhat damaged in
the fight — gave the signal for retreat, and caused the Ark-Boyal
to be towed out of action. Thus the Spaniards were frustrated
of their hopes, and the EngUsh, having inflicted much punish
ment at comparatively smaU loss to themselves, again stood
off to windward, and the Armada continued its indolent course
along the cliffs of Freshwater and Blackgang.1
On Friday, 5th August, the EngUsh, having received men
and munitions from shore, pursued their antagonists at a
Frid., 5 Aug. moderate distance; and the Lord- Admiral, profiting
1588 -fay -the pause — for it was almost a flat calm — sent
for Martin Frobisher, John Hawkins, Eoger 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 gaUantry in the action
of the previous day.2 Medina Sidonia, on his part, was again
despatching messenger after messenger to the Duke of Parma,
asking for small shot, pilots, and forty fly-boats, with which
to pursue the teasing English dippers.3 The Catholic Ar
mada, he said, being so large and heavy, was quite in the
1 Declaration^ &c, MS. before cited.
" Camden, III. 414. Bor, III. 323, 324.
• Medina Sidonia to Parma, 4 Aug. 1588. (Arch, de Sim. MS.)

1588. BOTH FLEETS OFF CALAIS. 483
power of its adversaries, who could assault, retreat, fight, or
leave off fighting, while he had nothing for it but to proceed,
as expeditiously as might be, to his rendezvous in Calais
roads. And in Calais roads the great fleet — sailing slowly aU
next day in company with the English, without a Sat., 6 Aug.
shot being fired on either side — at last dropped 1588-
anchor on Saturday afternoon, August 6th.
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 Seymour and his
squadron of sixteen lay between Dungeness and Folkestone,
waiting the approach of the two fleets. He spoke several
coasting-vessels coming from the west ; but they could
give him no information — strange to say — either of the
Spaniards or of his own countrymen.1 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 longer
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.2 The EngUsh, under Howard, Drake,
Frobisher, and Hawkins, were slowly foUowing, and — so soon
as Lord Henry, arriving from the opposite shore, had made
' Sir. W. Winter to "Walsingham, - Aug., 1588. (S. P. Office MS.)
'Ibid.

484 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XIX.
his junction with them — the whole combined fleet dropped
anchor likewise very near Calais, 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 brilUant general in Christendom
on his triumphal march into the capital of England. The
long- threatened invasion was no longer an idle figment of
politicians, mahciously 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 clown, and the mild accents of -Philip's diplomatists
and their EngUsh 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 Queen Elizabeth.
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 face, 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 world.
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

1588. A NIGHT OP ANXIETY. 485
bruising-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 Bosendael, 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,1 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 seas. 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 fiUing the air with strains
of insolent music, would they not, by daybreak, be moving
straight to then 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 the 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 HoUanders 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 Vanguard, with a message to Winter to come on
1 Bor, IH. 321, seq. Meteren, xv* 272, 273-

486

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XIX

board the flag-ship.1 When Sir WiUiam 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 EngUsh 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 untU after his junction
with Parma. So the English had played a comparatively 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 face to face, and the fate 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 deck of the little Ark-Royal, gazed for the first time on
those enormous gaUeons and gaUeys with which his companion
was already sufficiently familiar.
" Considering their hugeness," said he, " 'twill not be pos
sible to remove them but by a device." 2
Then remembering, in a lucky moment, something that he
had heard four 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 3 to assist the EngUsh against his old
enemy Farnese — Winter suggested that some stratagem of
the same kind should be attempted against the Invincible
Armada.4 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 amono-
the fleet. Some damage would doubtless be thus inflicted by
the fire, and perhaps a panic, suggested by the memories of Antr
werp and by the knowledge that the famous Mantuan wizard

1 Winter to
already cited.
"Ibid. ' Meteren, xv. 272.

MS.

4 Thus distinctly stated by Sir Wm.
Winter, in his admirable letter ol
- Aug. (MS. already cited.)

i588.

PROJECT OF HOWARD 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 morning, a council of war for arranging the details of its
execution.1 While the two sat in the cabin, conversing thus earnestly,
there had well nigh been a serious misfortune. The ship,
White Bear, of 1000 tons burthen, and three others of the
EngUsh fleet, aU tangled together, came drifting with the
tide against the Ark. There were many yards carried away,
much tackle spoUed, 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.2
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 idly sUn., 7 Aug.
as if some vast summer regatta were the only pur- 1588-
pose of that great assemblage of shipping. Nothing as yet
was heard of Farnese. Thus far, at least, the Hollanders had
held him at bay, and there was stUl 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 lus
cabin.3

1 Winter's Letter, MS.
It has been stated by many writers
— Camden, III. 415, Meteren, xv. 273,
and others—that this project of the
fire-ships was directly commanded by
the Queen. Others attribute the de
vice to the Lord Admiral (Bor, III.
324), or to Drake (Strada, ix. 559),
while Coloma (I. 7) prefers to regard
the whole matter as quite a trifling

accident, "harto pequefio accidente;"
but there is no doubt that the merit
of the original suggestion belongs ex
clusively to Winter. To give the
glory of the achievement to her Ma
jesty, who knew nothing of it what
ever, was a most gratuitous exhibition
of loyalty.
2 Winter's Letter, MS.
8 Ibid.

488 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XIX.
It was decided that Winter's suggestion should be acted
upon, and Sir Henry Palmer was immediately despatched in
a pinnace to Dover, to bring off a number of old vessels fit
to be fired, together with a supply of light wood, tar, rosin,
sulphur, and other combustibles, most adapted to the purpose.1
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.2 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 hour.
The governor of Calais, M. de Gourdon, had sent his nephew
on board the flag-ship of Medina Sidonia, with courteous
salutations, professions of friendship, and bountiful refresh
ments. There was no fear — now that Mucio was for the time
in the ascendency — that the schemes of Philip would be inter
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. Calais 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.3 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 EngUsh 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, begging for assistance
' Winter's Letter, MS. a Tbid. ! Herrera, IH. UL 108.

1588. IMPATIENCE OP THE SPANIARD& 489
of various kinds, but, above all, imploring his instant presence
on the field of action.1 It was the time and place for Alexander
to assume the chief command. The Armada was ready to
make front against the EngUsh fleet on the left, while on the
right, 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,
richer and more accessible than those' mines beyond the
Atlantic which had so often rewarded Spanish chivalry with
fabulous wealth. And there were men in those galleons who
remembered the sack of Antwerp, eleven years before — men
who could tell, from personal experience, how helpless was a
great 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 accumulations 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 plunder
from palaces and warehouses was counted by millions, before
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 stUl 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 fatigued and discouraged,2 and even more
easily to be plundered and butchered than were the excellent
burghers of Antwerp.

1 Medina Sidonia to Parma, 2 Aug.
1588, 4 Aug. 1588, 5 Aug. 1588.
Parma to Philip II., 7 Aug. 1588,
£ Aug. 1588. (Arch, de Simancas,

MSS.) 3 Examination of Don Diego de
PimenteL in Bor, III. 325, 326.

490 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XIX.
And so these southern conquerors looked down from their
great galleons and galeasses upon the EngUsh vessels. More
than three quarters of them were merchantmen. There
was no comparison whatever between the relative strength
of the fleets. In number they were about equal — being
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 nearly three times the
number of men.
Where was Farnese ? Most impatiently the Golden Duke
paced the deck of the Saint Martin. Most eagerly were
thousands of eyes strained towards the eastern horizon to
catch the first glimpse of Parma's flotilla. But the day wore
on to its close, and still the same inexplicable and mysterious
silence prevailed. There was utter solitude on the waters in
the direction of Gravelines and Dunkerk — not a saU 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.1
And now to impatience succeeded suspicion and indigna
tion ; and there were curses upon sluggishness and upon
treachery. For in the horrible atmosphere of dupUcity, in
which aU Spaniards and Italians of that epoch lived, every
man suspected his brother, and already Medina Sidonia sus
pected Farnese of playing him false. There were whispers
of collusion between the Duke and the English commissioners
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 EUzabeth, to desert his great
trust, and to effect, if possible, the destruction of his master's
Armada, and the downfall 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 Farnese into bondage, so soon as he
1 Examination, &c, last cited.

1588.

FIRE-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.1
, Thus, in the absence of Alexander, all was suspense and
suspicion. It seemed possible that disaster instead of triumph
was in stOre 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-masses spread over the heavens, the sea grew
black, distant thunder rolled, and the sob of an approaching
tempest became distinctly audible.2 Such indications of a
westerly gale were not encouraging to those cumbrous vessels,
with the treacherous quicksands of Flanders 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.3
There were men in the Armada who had been at the siege
of Antwerp only three years before. They remembered with
horror the devU-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 Farnese,
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

1 Strada, II. x. 567, 568.
' Strada, II. x. 560.
' Winter's Letter, MS. already
cited. Compare Herrera, III. Hi. 108.

Meteren, xv. 273. Bor, III. 324, seq.
Strada, H. x. 560, 561. Camden,
III. 415.

4.92

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XIX

fleet — " the fire-ships of Antwerp, the fire-ships of Antwerp !"
and in an instant every cable was cut, and frantic attempts
were made by each galleon and galeasse to escape what
seemed imminent destruction. The confusion was beyond
description. Four or five of the largest ships became en
tangled with each other. Two others1 were set on fire by
the flaming vessels, and were consumed. Medina Sidonia,
who had been warned, even before his departure from Spain,2
that some such artifice would probably be attempted, and who
had even, early that morning, sent out a party of sailors in a
pinnace3 to search for indications of the scheme, was not sur
prised or dismayed. He gave orders — as woll as might be —
that every ship, after the danger should be passed, was to
return to its post, and await his further orders.4 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 PhiUp'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
M , of the 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

1 This fact, mentioned by no his
torian, distinctly appears from Winter's
Letter, so often cited. "We per
ceived that there were two great fires
more than ours (previously stated by
him as six in number), and far greater
and huger than any our fired vessels

could make."
2 " Advertido va el duque del in-
tento de Drake quanto al quemar los
navios." PhUip II. to. Mendoza, 21st
June, 1588. (Archives de Simancas
[Paris], MS.)-
s Herrera, III. Ui. 108. « Ibid,

1588.

A GREAT 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 damaged
by collision with the St. John of Sicily and other ships, during
the night's panic, and had her rudder quite torn away.1 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 ;" 2 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
foUow 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 " 3— -as a partaker in the
adventure declared. The Margaret and Joan of London, also
foUowing in pursuit, ran herself a-ground, but the master
despatched his pinnace with a body of musketeers, to aid in
the capture of the galeasse.4
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, as the two boats — rowing
steadily toward a galeasse, which carried forty brass pieces
of artUlery, and was manned with three hundred soldiers and
four hundred and fifty slaves — seemed rushing upon their
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

1 'Declaration of the Proceedings
of the two Fleets,' MS. already cited.

2 R. Tomspn to
(S. P. Office MS.)

20 July
— ,  1588.
9 Aug.
1 Ibid. * Ibid.

494

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XIX

smile of derision from the haughty Spaniard, as he looked
down upon them from what seemed an inaccessible height.
Then one Wilton, coxswain of the Delight, of Winter's
squadron, clambered up to the enemy's deck and fell dead
the same instant.1 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, " whUe we in our open pinnaces, and far under them,
had nothing to shroud and cover us." Moreover the numbers
were seven hundred and fifty to one hundred. But the
Spaniards, still quite disconcerted by the events of the pre
ceding night, seemed under a spell. Otherwise it would have
been an easy matter for the great galeasse to annihilate such
puny antagonists in a very short space of time.2
The English pelted the Spaniards quite cheerfully, how
ever, with arquebus-shot, whenever they showed themselves
above the bulwarks, picked off a considerable number, and
sustained a rather severe loss themselves, Lieutenant Preston,
of the Ark-Boyal, 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 them forward in person, feU back on his
deck with a bullet through both eyes.3 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 all4 — hoisted
two handkerchiefs upon two rapiers as a signal of truce.5
The English, accepting it as a signal of defeat, scrambled

1 Winter to Walsingham, MS. be
fore cited.
' Tomson's Letter, MS. Compare
Herrera, III. iii. 108. Bor, HI. 324,
325. Meteren, xv. 273. Camden,

III. 415. Strada, II. ix. 561. Coloma,
I. 7, 8. » Ibid.
4 Coloma, ubi sup.
* Tomson's Letter, MS. before
cited.

1588. ATTACKED AND CAPTURED BT ENGLISH BOATS. 495
with great difficulty up the lofty sides of the Capitana, and,
for an hour and a half, occupied themselves most agreeably
in plundering the ship and in liberating the slaves.1
It was their intention, with the flood-tide, to get the vessel
off, as she was but shghtly 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 another French captain, and hailed the galeasse. There
was nobody on board who could speak French but Eichard
Tomson. So Bichard returned the hail, and asked their
business.2 They said they came from the governor.
" And what is the governor's pleasure ?" asked Tomson,
when they had come up the side.
"The governor has stood and beheld your fight, and re
joiced in your victory," was the reply ; " and he says that for
your prowess and manhood you weU deserve the pillage of
the galeasse. He requires and commands you, however, not
to attempt carrying off either the ship or its ordnance ; for
she Ues 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
pUlage to mariners and soldiers who had fought for it, and
we acknowledge that without his good-wiU we cannot carry
away anything we have got, for the ship lies on ground
directly under his batteries and bulwarks. Concerning the
ship and ordnance, we pray that he would send a pinnace to
my Lord Admiral Howard, who is here in person hard by,
from whom he will have an honourable and friendly answer,
which we shaU all obey."
With this the French officers, being apparently con
tent, were about to depart ; and it is not impossible that
1 Bor, HL 325. * Tomson's Letter, MS. before cited.

496

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XIX.

the soft answer might have obtained the galeasse and the
ordnance, notwithstanding the arrangement which Philip II.
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. de Gourdon.1
This adventure being terminated, and the pinnaces having
returned to the fleet, the Lord-Admiral, who had been lying
off and on,2 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 saUing 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.3
Seeing the enemy approaching, Medina Sidonia ordered
his whole fleet to luff to the wind, and prepare for action.4
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 then-
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 Bevenge, 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 Bainbow, Sir Henry Palmer in the
Antelope, and others, engaged with three of the largest

1 Tomson's Letter, MS. before cited.
Compare Herrera, Bor, Meteren, Cam
den, Strada, Coloma, ubi sup.

2 Winter's Letter, MS. before cited.
' Ibid.
4 Herrera, III. Ui. 110.

1588. GENERAL ENGAGEMENT OF BOTH FLEETS. 497
galleons of the Armada, while Sir WilUam Winter in the
Vanguard, supported by most of his squadron, charged the
starboard wing.1
The portion of the fleet thus assaulted fell back into the
main body. Four of the ships ran foul of each other,2 and
Winter, drivmg into their centre, found himself within
musket-shot of many of their most formidable ships.
" I teU 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." 3
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 the 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 their ene
mies. Throughout the action, not an English ship was
destroyed, and not a hundred men were killed.4 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 HoUand, they
laboured heavily in a chopping sea, firing wUdly, and re
ceiving tremendous punishment at the hands of Howard,

1 Herrera, last cited. Winter's
Letter, MS. Lord H. Seymour to the
Queen, in Barrow, 305.
VOL. II. — 2 K

2 Winter's Letter, MS.
¦ Ibid;
4 Herrera, III. UL 110.

498

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XIX.

Drake, Seymour, Winter, and their foUowers. Not even
master-gunner Thomas could complain that day of "blind
exercise" on the part of the English, with " little harm done"
to the enemy. There was scarcely a ship in the Armada that
did not suffer severely j1 for nearly all were engaged in that
memorable action off the sands of Gravelines. The Captain-
General himself, Admiral Becalde, Alonzo de Leyva, Oquendo,
Diego Flores de Valdez, Bertendona, Don Francisco de
Toledo, Don Diego de Pimentel, Telles Enriquez, Alonzo
de Luzon, Garibay, with most of the great galleons and
galeasses, were in the thickest of the fight, and one after
the other each of those huge ships was disabled. Three sank
before the fight was over, many others were soon drifting
helpless wrecks towards a hostile shore, and, before five
o'clock in the afternoon, at least sixteen of their best ships
had been sacrificed, and from four to five thousand soldiers
killed.2 Nearly all the largest vessels of the Armada, therefore,
having been disabled or damaged— according to a Spanish
eye-witness — and all their smaU shot exhausted, Medina
Sidonia reluctantly gave orders to retreat. The Captain-
General was a bad sailor, but he was a chivalrous Spaniard of
ancient Gothic blood, and he felt deep mortification at the
plight of his invincible fleet, together with undisguised resent
ment against Alexander Farnese, through whose treachery
and incapacity he considered the great Catholic cause to
have been so foully, sacrificed. Crippled, maltreated, . and
diminished in number, as were his ships, he would 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

1 "God hath mightily preserved
her Majesty's forces with the least
losses that ever hath ; been heard of,
being within the compass of so great
volleys of shot, both smaU and great.
I verily believe there is not three
score men lost . of her Majesty's
forces." Captain J. Penner to Wal-

Bingham, 77 Aug. 1588. (S. P. Office
MS.) 5 Bor, III. 327. Herrera, ubi sup.
'Declaration of the Proceedings,' MS.
7
Howard to Walsingham, — Aug. 1588.
Drake to the Queen, — Aug. 1588 1
in Barrow, 306-310.

1588.

LOSS OF SEVERAL SPANISH SHIPS.

499

that it would be inevitable destruction to remain. After a
slight and very ineffectual attempt to rescue Don Diego de Pi
mentel in the St. Matthew — who refused to leave his disabled
ship — and Don Francisco de Toledo, whose great galleon,' the
St. Philip, was fast driving, a helpless wreck, towards Zee-
land, the Armada bore away n.n.e. into the open sea, leaving
those, who could not follow, to their fate.1
The St. Mattheio, in a sinking condition, hailed a Dutch
fisherman, who was offered a gold chain to pilot her into
Newport. But the fisherman, being a patriot, steered her
close to the Holland fleet, where she was immediately assaulted
by Admiral Van der Does, to whom, after a two hours' bloody
fight, she struck her flag.2 Don Diego, marshal of the camp
to the famous legion of Sicily, brother of the Marquis of
Tavera, nephew of the Viceroy of Sicily, uncle to the Viceroy
of Naples, and numbering as many titles, dignities, and high
affinities as could be expected of a grandee of the first class,
was taken, with his officers, to the Hague.3 " I was the
means," said Captain Borlase, " that the best sort were saved,
and the rest were cast overboard and slain at our entry. He
fought with us two hours, and hurt divers of our men, but at
last yielded." 4
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 ; 5 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

i Herrera, III. iii. 109. Meteren,
xv. 273, 274. Bor, III. 325. Oamden,
III. 415, 415.
» Bor, ubi sup. s Ibid.

4 Borlase to Walsingham, — Aug
, . 13
1588. (S. P. Office MS.)
s Bor, Meteren, ubi sup.

gOO THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XIX
active, seized the unfortunate galleon, and carried her into
Flushing. The captors found forty-eight brass cannon and
other things of value on board, but there were some casks of
Eibadavia wine which was more fatal to her enemies than
those pieces of artiUery had proved. For while the rebels
were refreshing themselves, after the fatigues of the capture,
with large draughts of that famous vintage, the St. Philip,
which, had been bored through and through with English shot,
and had been rapidly filling with water, gave a sudden lurch,
and went down in a moment, carrying with her to the bottom
three hundred of those convivial Hollanders.1
A large Biscay gaUeon, too, of Eecalde's squadron, much
disabled in action, and now, like many others, unable to
follow the Armada, was summoned by Captain Cross, of the
Hope, 48 guns, to surrender. Although foundering, she re
sisted, and refused to strike her flag. One of her officers
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.2
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,3 and who declared that famous encounter to have
been far surpassed in severity and spirit by this fight off
Gravehnes. " Surely every man in our fleet did well," said
Winter, "and the slaughter the enemy received was great."1

1 Coloma, I. 8TO. Compare Me
teren, Bor, ubi sup. el al.
2 Meteren, xv. 273'°,' who relates
the anecdote on the authority of some
sailors who made their escape by
jumping overboard, and who were
picked up just before she sank. ' De
claration of tho Proceedings,' &c. MS.
3 Howard to Walsingham, -Aug.
1588. (S. P. Office MS.) "Some
make little account," says the Lord
Admiral, "of the Spanish forces by
sea, but, I do warrant you, all the
world never saw such a force as
their's was. And some Spanish th?re

we have taken that were in the fight
of Lepanto, do say, that the worst of
our four fights that we have had with
them did exceed far the fight they
had there ; and they say that at some
of our fights we had twenty times as
much great shot there played than
they had there."
"It was a most ."cruel battle" (cru-
delissima bataUa) says Herrera, from
the journal of a Spaniard present, III.
108. " Winter's Letter, - Aug. 1588,
' n °
MS. before cited.

1588. ARMADA PLIES FOLLOWED BT THE ENGLISH. 501
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, even
in this supreme moment. They never ceased cannonading
the discomfited enemy until the ammunition was exhausted.
" When the cartridges were all spent," said Winter, " and the
munitions in some vessels gone altogether, we ceased fighting,
but followed the enemy, who still kept away."1 And the
enemy — although still numerous, and seeming strong enough,
if properly handled, to destroy the whole EngUsh 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 we pluck
their feathers by little and little." 2
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." 3 And the
brag countenance was suocessful, for that "one day's ser
vice had much appalled the enemy," 4 as Drake observed ;
and stUl the Spaniards fled with a freshening gale all
through the Monday night. " A thing greatly to 8 Aug.,
be regarded," said Fenner, of the Nonpariel, "is 1588-
that the Almighty had stricken them with a wonderful fear.

1 Winter's Letter, MS. last cited. 29 July
2 Howard to Walsingham,  -,
8 Aug.
1588. (S. P. Office MS.)

7
5 Same to same, — Aug. 1588, in
' 17 '
Barrow, 306, 307.
* Drake to Walsingham, in Barrow,
301.

502

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XIX

I have hardly seen any of their companies succoured of the
extremities which befell them after their fights, but they
have been left at utter ruin, while they bear as much sail as
ever they possibly can." !
On Tuesday morning, 9th August, the English ships were
off the Isle of Walcheren, at a safe distance from . the shore.
Tues., Aug. 9, " The wind is hanging westerly," said Eichard Tom-
1588- son, of the Margaret and Joan, " and we drive our
enemies apace, much marvelUng 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." 2
" In my conscience," said Sir WilUam Winter, " I think
the Duke would give his dukedom to be in Spain again." 3
The English ships, one hundred and four in number,4 being
that morning half-a-league to windward, the Duke gave orders
for the whole Armada to lay to and await their approach.
But the English had no disposition to engage, for at that
moment the instantaneous destruction of their enemies seemed
inevitable: Ill-managed, panic-struck, . staggering before
their foes, the Spanish fleet was now close upon the fatal
sands of Zeeland. Already there were but six and a-half
fathoms of water, rapidly shoaling under their keels, and 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 the
change. Just as the foremost ships were about to ground on
the Ooster Zand, the wind suddenly veered to the south-west,
and the Spanish ships quickly squaring their sails to the new
impulse, stood out once more into the open sea.5

i Fenner to Walsingham, - Aug.
1588. (S. P. Office MS.)
3 Tomson's Letters, MS. before cited.

3 Winter's Letter, MS. before cited
4 Herrera, 110.
6 Ibid. Camden, III. 416.

1588. ENGLISH INSUFFICIENTLY PROVIDED. 503
All 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
been wounded in action, but Seymour and Drake, Hawkins,
Frobisher, and the rest were present, and it was. decided that
Lord Henry should return,- accompanied by Winter and the
rest of the inner squadron, to guard the Thames mouth
against any attempt of the Duke of Parma, while the Lord-
Admiral and the rest of the navy should continue the pursuit
of the Armada.1
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 Bainbow 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."2
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.3 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. I A 1588 (g p Qffi Mg)
' Lord H. Seymour to Walsingham, s v '
' Winter's Letter, MS.

504

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap, xtx,

lockers, and Seymour and his squadron had not food for one
day. Accordingly, when Seymour and Winter took their
departure, " they had much ado," so Winter said, " with the
staying of many ships that would have returned with them,
besides their own company."1 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 ? 2
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 ecclesias
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 countryj and who
persuaded him that it would be a sin and a disgrace to sur
render before they had been once more attacked.3
On the other hand, the Devonshire skipper, Vice-Admiral
Drake, now thoroughly in his element, could not restrain his
hilarity, as he saw the Invincible Armada of the man whose
beard he had so often singed, rolling through the German

1 Winter's Letter, MS.
* " Had the English been well fur
nished with victuals and munition,"
Bays 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
continued fight, they must have driven

the English to retreat, for want of
shot and powder, leaving the Spaniards
masters of the field," 719.
* Meteren, xv. 274, on the autho
rity of certain Dutch fishermen, who
had been impressed on board the
San Martin. Reyd, viii. 147.

1588. ARE OBLIGED TO RELINQUISH THE CHASE. 505
Ocean, in full flight from the country which was to have
been made, that week, a Spanish province. Unprovided as
were his ships, he was for risking another battle, and it is
quite possible that the brag countenance might have proved .
even more successful than Howard thought.
"We have the army of Spain before us," wrote Drake,
from the Bevenge, "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 God, if we live, I doubt
not so to handle the matter with the Duke of Sidonia as
he shall wish himself at St. Mary's Port among his orange
trees." J
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,12 .Au**
councU. It was then decided, in order to save Eng- 1588.°
lish lives and ships, to put into the Frith of Forth for water
and provisions, leaving two "pinnaces to dog the fleet until it
should be past the Isles of Scotland."3 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.4 Up to this period, the 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.5 " 'Twas a more violent storm,"

SI July
> Drake to Walsingham, — — ,
10 Aug.
1588, in Barrow, 304.
» Bor, III. 326. 4
* Penner to "Walsingham, — Aug.

1588. (S. P. Office MS.) Howard to
7
Walsingham, — Aug. 1588, in Barrow,
306. 4 Penner'a Letter, MS. last cited.
• Ibid.

506

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XIX

said Howard, " than was ever seen before at this time of the
year."1 The retreating English fleet was scattered, many
ships were in peril, " among the iU-favoured sands off Nor
folk," but within four or five days all arrived safely in Mar
gate roads.2
Far different was the fate of the Spaniards. Over 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 cliffs. 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 legions 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 Batta
and the Balauzara, 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.3 A few ships were driven
on the English coast ; others went ashore near Eochelle.
Of the four galeasses and four galleys, one of each returned

1 Howard to Walsingham,
1586. (S. P. Office MS.)
' Ibid.

Aug.

* Drake, in Stowe, 750, seq. Bar^
row, 319. Meteren, xv. 274. Bor, HI
326, 327.

1588.

A GREAT STORM DISPERSES THE ARMADA.

507

to Spain. Of the ninety-one great galleons and hulks, fifty-
eight were lost and thirty-three returned.1 Of the tenders and
zabras, seventeen were lost and eighteen returned. Of one
hundred and thirty-four vessels, which sailed from Coruna
in July, but fifty- three,2 great and small, made their escape to
Spain, and these were so damaged as to be utterly worthless.
The invincible Armada had not only been vanquished but
annihilated. Of the 30,000 men who saUed 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.3 Becalde,
Diego Flores de Valdez, Oquendo, Maldonado, BobadUla,
Manriquez, cither 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
distinguished family in Spain not placed in mourning, so that, to
relieve the universal gloom, an edict was published, forbidding
the wearing of mourning at all. On the other hand, a 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.4 ,
This was the result of the invasion, so many years pre
paring, and at an expense almost incalculable. In the year
1588 alone, the cost of Philip's armaments for the subjugation
of England could not have been less than six miUions of ducats,

1 Meteren and Bor, ubi sup.
2 Ibid. Compare Strada, II. ix.
563, who sets before his readers the
" absurd discrepancy " between the
English-Dutch and the Spanish ac
counts of these losses. According to
the Spaniards,1 thirty-three vessels
were lost or captured, and 10,000 men

were missing. According, to their
enemies, only 10,000 men and about
sixty ships escaped. Meteren's ac
count, xv. 274, is minute, and seems
truthful, and is followed in the text.
2 Philip II. to Parma, 10 Oct. 1588.
(Arch, de Simancas, MS.)
4 Reyd, viii. 148.

508

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XIX

and there was at least as large a sum on board the Armada
itself, although the Pope refused to pay his promised million.1
And with all this outlay, and with the sacrifice of so many
thousand lives, nothing had been accompUshed, and Spain, in
a moment, instead of seeming terrible to aU the world, had
become ridiculous.2
" 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 aU its great and terrible
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." 3
Meanwhile Farnese sat chafing under the unjust reproaches
heaped upon him, as if he, and not his master, had been respon
sible for the gigantic blunders of the invasion.4
" As for the Prince of Parma," said Drake, " I take him to
be as a bear robbed of her whelps."6 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 warhke 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-

1 Philip to Parma, 10 Oct. 1588.
(Arch, de Simancas, MS.)
2 The wits of Rome were very
severe upon PhUip. " S'il y a aucun,"
said a PasquU stuck up in that city,
"qui sache des nouveUes de l'armee
d'Espagne, perdue en mer depuis
trois semaines ou environ, et qui
puisso apprendre ce qu' elle est de-
venue, qu' il en vienne a revelation, et
s' addres3e au palais St. Pierre ou lo
St. Pere lui fera donner son vin."
'L'Etoile,' 263.
¦ Drake, in Stowe, before cited.

4 " It seems the : Duke of Parma is
in a great chafe," said Seymour, "to
see his ships in durance at Dunkirk,
also to find such discomfiture of the
Spanish fleet hard by his nose. I can
say no more, but God doth show his
mighty hand for protecting this little
island." Seymour to Walsingham,
Aug. -, 1588. (S. P. Office MS.)

17'

10

B Drake to Walsingham, —
1588, in Barrow, 310.

Aug.

1588.

GREAT ENERGY OF PARMA.

509

ruled ; and he had at least reckoned upon the Invincible
Armada to clear the way for him, before he should be expected
to take the sea.1
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 aU 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 assaUants, 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 HoUanders, and every man of the thousand was
slain.2 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." 3 So soon as he
had received information of the arrival of the fleet before
Calais — which was on the 8th August — he had proceeded the

1 Parma's Letters to PhUip, before
cited passim. (Arch, de Simancas,
MS.) 2 Bor, III. 323, 324. Strada, II. ix.
562. Reyd, vUi. 147.
3 " Porque los baxeles son tan

pequenos que no hay plaza para re-
volverse. La gente se enfermeria,
pudriera, y perderia." Parma to
PhUip, 8 Aug. 1588. (Arch, de Si
mancas, MS.)

510

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XIX.

same night to Newport and embarked 16,000 men, and before
dawn he was at Dunkerk, where the troops stationed in that
port were as rapidly placed on board the transports.1 Sir
William Stanley, with his 700 Irish kernes, were among the
first shipped for the enterprise.2 Two days long these regi
ments lay heaped together, like sacks of corn, in the boats —
as one of their officers described it 3 — and they lay cheerfully,
hoping that the Dutch fleet would be swept out of the sea by
the Invincible Armada, and patiently expecting the signal for
setting sail to England. Then came the Prince of AscoU,
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.4
" 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."5
Evidently the Lord did not think the proper time yet arrived
for fulfilling his Majesiy'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 Farnese 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

1 Parma to PhUip, 10 Aug. 1588.
(Arch, de Sim. MS.)
2 Meteren, xv. 273, 274.

s Strada, II. x. 559, 562.
. 4 Parma to Philip, 10 Aug.
last cited. ' Ibid.

MS.

1588. MADE FRUITLESS BT PHILIP'S DULNESS. 5H
faithful to his master, more treacherous to all the world beside.
Energetic, inventive, patient, courageous, and stupendously
false, he had covered Flanders with canals and bridges,
had constructed flotillas, and equipped a splendid army, as
thoroughly as he had puzzled Comptroller Croft. And not
only had that diplomatist and his wiser colleagues been hood
winked, but Elizabeth and Burghley, and, for a moment, even
Walsingham, were in the dark, while Henry III. had been his
passive victim, and the magnificent Balafre' a blind instrument
in his hands. Nothing could equal Alexander's fidelity but
his perfidy. Nothing could surpass his ability to command
but Iris obedience. And it is very possible 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 Farnese
had in vain warned his master, was the stolid ignorance
in which the King and all his counsellors chose to remain
of the Holland and Zeeland fleet. For them Warmond and
Nassau, and Van der Does and Joost de Moor, did not exist,
and it was precisely these gallant sailors, with their intrepid
crews, who held the key to the whole situation.
To the Queen's glorious naval commanders, to the dauntless
mariners of England, with their well-handled vessels, their
admirable seamanship, their tact and their courage, belonged
the joys of the contest, the triumph, and the glorious pursuit ;
but to the patient Hollanders and Zeelanders, who, with their
hundred vessels, held Farnese, the chief of the great 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 tho 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

512

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XIX.

rendezvous, and tremendous were the cheers when the brave
Queen rode on horseback along the lines of Tilbury. Glowing
pictures are revealed to us of merry Uttle England, arising in
its strength, and dancing forth to encounter the Spaniards, as
if to a great holiday. " It was a pleasant sight," says that
enthusiastic merchant-tailor John Stowe, "to behold the
cheerful countenances, courageous words, and gestures, of the
soldiers, as they marched to TUbury, dancing, leaping wherever
they came, as joyful at the news of the foe's approach as if
lusty giants were to run a race. And Bellona-like did the
Queen infuse a second spirit of loyalty, love, and resolution,
into every soldier -of her army, who, ravished with their sove
reign's sight, prayed heartUy that the Spaniards might land
quickly, and when they heard they were fled, began to
lament." a
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 aUke on the great subject. Philip did not flatter
liimself 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 the population of England, although
malcontent, were not rebellious ; and notwithstanding the
precautionary measures taken by government against them,
Elizabeth proudly acknowledged their loyalty.2

1 Stowe, 749.
2 "Said it was their intention to
occupy the whole kingdom of Eng
land — to keep the English Queen 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 much
account of them, knowing that the
Queen had taken care that they
should not give any assistance, and

believing that most of them would
have fought for their native . land,"
&c, &c. Answers of Don Diego de
Pimentel to Interrogations before
Adrian van der Myle, John van
Olden-Barneveld, Admiral Villers, and
Pamars, in Bor, IIL xxiii. 325, 326.
"This invasion, tending to the re
ducing of this realm to the subjection
of a stranger — a matter so greatly
misliked generally by the subjects of
this realm of all sorts and of all rcli-

1588. ENGLAND READIER AT SEA THAN ON SHORE. 513
But loyalty, courage, and enthusiasm, might not have suf
ficed 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.1
But it would have been very difficult, in the moment of
danger, to bring anything like these numbers into the field.
A drilled and disciplined army — whether of regulars or of
militia-men — had no existence whatever. If the merchant-
vessels, which had been joined to the royal fleet, were thought
by old naval commanders to be only good to make a show,
the volunteers on land were likely to be even less effective
than the marine mihtia, 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 he may
see your Highness enjoy your blessed estate, maugre the
beards of all confederated leaguers." 2
The Earl of Shrewsbury, too, was ready to serve at tho
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." 3
But there was perhaps too much of this feudal spirit. The

gions, yea, by no small number of them
that are known to be addicted to the
Romish religion — who are resolutely
bent to withstand the same with the
employment of their goods and hazard
of their lives," &c. Queen to the
Commissioners at Bourbourg (signed,
but staid by her Majesty's order),
vol. 11. — 2 L

July -, 1588. (S. P. Office MS.)
1 Camden, III. 405.
„ , , , 23 July
2 Pembroke to the Queen, 
' 7 Aug.'
1588. (S. P. Office MS.) 9
* Shrewsbury to the Queen, — Aug
1588. (S. P. Office MS.) u

514 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XIX
Ueutenant-general complained bitterly that there was a most
mischievous tendency among all the militia-men to escape
from the Queen's colours, in order to enrol themselves as re
tainers to the great lords.1 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
Farnese, but even Leicester's most determined flatterers hardly
ventured to compare him in military ability with that first
general of his age. The best soldier in England was un
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. Eoger 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 quarrels
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 the 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
¦ 14 July
1 Leicester to Walsingham,  , 1588. (a P. Office MS.)

Z588.

THE LIEUTENANT-GENERAL'S COMPLAINTS.

515

Farnese 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 commencing his camp
at Tilbury.1 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,
9
August — f not till the great Armada, shattered and tempest-
tossed, had been, a week long, dashing itself against the
cliffs of Norway and the Faroes, on its forlorn retreat to
Spain. Leicester, courageous, self-confident, and sanguine as ever,
could not restrain his indignation at the parsimony with which
his own impatient spirit had to contend. " Be you assured,"
said he, on the 3rd August j when the Armada was off the Isle
of Wight, "if the Spanish fleet arrive safely in the narrow seas,
the Duke of Parma will join presently with all his forces,
and lose no time in invading this realm. Therefore I beseech
you, my good Lords, let no man, by hope or other abuse,
prevent your speedy providing defence against this mighty
enemy now knocking at our gate." 3
For even at this supreme moment doubts were entertained
at court as to the intentions of the Spaniards.
Next day he informed Walsingham that his four thousand
men had arrived. " They be as forward men and wUling to meet
the enemy as I ever saw," said he.4 He could not say 4 Aug.
as much in praise of the commissariat. " Some want 1588-
the captains showed," he observed, "for these men arrived with
out one meal of victuals, so that, on their arrival, they had not

1 " I have a most apt place to begin
our camp in, not far from the fort, at
a place caUed. West Tilbury." Lei-
24 July
cester to Privy CouncU, > 1588.
(S. P. Office MS.) .
"I did peruse and make choice of
the ground for the encamping of the
soldiers. Yesterday went to Chelms
ford to order aU tho soldiers hither

Same to Walsingham,
(S. P. Office MS.) 2* July

this day."
25 July
 -, 1588.
i Aug. ' Lingard, viii. 285.
3 Leicester to Privy CouncU,
1588.

(S. P. Office MS.)
me to Walsingham,
158& f§. P. Office MS.) 4

3 Aug.
25 July

Aug.

516 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XIX.
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
miles off."1
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
time, upon any supposed hope, to assemble a convenient force of
horse and foot about 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 prefer her
life and safety, and the defence of the realm, before all sparing
of charges in the present danger."2
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
26 July
i Leicester to Walsingham, aAn ¦ 1588. (S. P. Office MS.) * Ibid. .

1588. HIS QUARRELS WITH NORRIS AND WILLIAMS. 517
Tilbury. On the 6th August the Armada was in Calais
roads, expecting Alexander Farnese to lead his troops upon
London !
Norris and Williams, on the news of Medina Sidonia's
approach, had rushed to Dover, much to the indignation of
Leicester, just as the Earl was beginning his entrenchments
at Tilbury. " I assure you I am angry with Sir John Norris
and Sir Eoger Williams," he said. "I am here cook,
caterer, and huntsman. I am left with no one to supply Sir
John's place as marshal, but, for a day or two, am wiUing to
work the harder myself. I ordered them both to return this
day early, which they faithfully promised. Yet, on arriving
this morning, I hear nothing of either, and have nobody to
marshal the camp either for horse or foot. This manner of
dealing doth much misUke me in them both. I am iU-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." x
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 Eoger 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 isss.
25 July
1 Leicester to Walsingham, Au ¦ MS. already cited.

518 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XIX.
the narrow seas the Prince of Parma will play another part
than is looked for." J
As the Armada approached Calais, Leicester was informed
that the soldiers at Dover began to leave the coast. It seemed
that they were dissatisfied with the penuriousness of the
government. " Our soldiers do break away at Dover, or are
not pleased. I assure you, without wages, the people will not
tarry, and contributions go hard with them. Surely I find
that her Majesty must needs deal liberally, and be at charges
to entertain her subjects that have chargeably and liberally
used themselves to serve her."2 The lieutenant-general even
thought it might be necessary for him to proceed to. Do ver in
person, in order to remonstrate with these discontented troops ;
for it was possible that those ill-paid, undisciplined, and
very meagre forces, would find much difficulty in opposing
Alexander's march to London, if he should once succeed in
landing. Leicester had a very indifferent opinion too of the
train-bands of the metropolis. " For your Londoners," he said,
" I see their service will be little, except they have their own
captains, and having them, I look: for none at all by them,
when we shall meet the enemy."3 This was not compli
mentary, certainly, to the training of the famous Artillery
Garden, and furnished a still stronger motive for defending
the road over which the capital was to be approached. But
there was much jealousy, both among citizens and nobles, of
any authority entrusted to professional soldiers. "I know
what burghers be, well enough," said the Earl, " as brave and
well-entertained as ever the Londoners were. If they should
go forth from the city they should have good leaders. You
know the imperfections of the time, how few leaders you have,
and the gentlemen of the counties are very loth to have any
captains placed with them. So that the beating out of our
best captains is like to be cause of great danger." *
Sir John Smith, a soldier of experience, employed . to drill
and organize some of. the levies, expressed, still more.dis-
T . .26 July 28 July
Leicester to Walsingham, — - — > » Same to same,  n 1588. (S.
MS. already cited. • *» p. offlee m) /$£ « ^

1588. HARSH STATEMENTS AS TO THE ENGLISH TROOPS. 519
paraging opinions than those of Leicester concerning the
probable efficiency in the field of these EngUsh armies.1 The
Earl was very angry with the knight, however, and con
sidered him imcompetent, insolent, and ridiculous. Sir John
seemed, indeed, more disposed to keep himself out of harm's
way, than to render service to the Queen by leading awkward
recruits against Alexander Farnese. 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 I had provided a good place for
him. Next day he came again, saying little to my offer then,
and seemed desirous, for his health, to be gone. I told him
what place I did appoint, which was a regiment of a great
part of his countrymen. He said his health was dear to him,
and he desired to take leave of me, which I yielded 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." 2
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 men, and
for the fight with the weapon, as made me think he was not
well. God forbid he should have charge of men that knoweth
so little, as I dare pronounce that he doth."3

1 Hardwicke Papers, I. 575. Strype,
iv. 47. Lingard, viii. 273.

* Leicester to Walsingham,
1588, MS. already cited. '

IS July
7 AuS.'
Ibid.

520 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XIX
Yet the critical knight was a professional campaigner,
whose opinions were entitled to respect ; and the more so, it
would seem, because they did not materially vary from those
which Leicester himself was in the habit of 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 cliffs, 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 that the Lord Chamberlain
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 hkely to fall
out, if you allow two absolute commanders." x
Looking at these pictures of commander-in-chief, officers,
and rank and file — as painted by themselves — we feel an
inexpressible satisfaction that in this great crisis of England's
destiny, there were such men as Howard, Drake, Frobisher,
Hawkins, Seymour, Winter, Fenner, and their gallant
brethren, cruising that week in the Channel, and that Nassau
and Warmond, De Moor and Van der Does, were blockading
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
very moderate abilities, and eternally quarrelling with officers
more competent than himself ; and all the arrangements were
1 Leicester to Walsingham, MS. already cited.

1588. WANT OP ORGANIZATION IN ENGLAND. 521
so hopelessly behind-hand, that although great disasters might
have been avenged, they could scarcely have been avoided.
Eemembering that the Invincible Armada was lying in
Calais roads on the 6th of August, hoping to cross to Dover
the next morning, let us ponder tho 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 faithfully do put their chief trust in His goodness. He
hath, to comfort you withal, given you great and mighty
means to defend yourself, which means I doubt not but your
Majesty will timely and princely use them, and your good
God that ruleth all wUl assist you and bless you with vic
tory."1 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 you," 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 passf by your fleet, you are
sure they will attempt their purpose of landing with aU 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
» Leicester to the Queen, — — , 1588. (S. P. Office MS.)
6 Aug. v '

522 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XIX
greatly augmented, but his power to land shall the easier take
effect whensoever he shaU attempt it. Therefore it is most
requisite that your Majesty at aU 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, though you will not use them when you should."1
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
Ufe of the great Queen, which would hot have seemed prema
ture had they been made six months before, but which, when
offered in August, excite unbounded 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 be of the same mind. And your Majesty should
forthwith give the charge thereof to some special nobleman about
you, and Ukewise place all your chief officers that every man
may know what he shall do, and gather as many good horse
above all things as you can, and the oldest, best, and assuredest
captains to lead ; for therein will consist the greatest hope of
good success under God. And so soon as your army is assem
bled, let them by and by be exercised, every man to knoio 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."2
Certainly, with Alexander of Parma on his way to London,
1 Leicester to the Queen, MS. last cited. ' a Ibid.

1588.

ROYAL PARSIMONY AND DELAY.

523

at the head of his Italian pikemen, his Spanish musketeers,
his famous veteran legion — " that nursing mother of gteat
soldiers"1 — 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 his 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 his 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 Jaj her procrastination. But Leicester could not
approve of this hazardous though heroic resolution.2
The danger passed away. The Invincible Armada was

1 " Aquel tereio viejo, padre de' todos
los, demas, y seminario. de los mayores
solados que ha . visto en nuestro
tiempo Europa." Coloma, U. 26™.
" Leicester to the. Queen, MS. before
cited. "Now for your person," he said,
" being the most dainty and sacred
thing we - have in this world to care
for,, a man must- tremble when he
thinks of it, especially, finding your
Majesty to have that princely courage
to transport yourself to the uttermost
confines of your realm to meet your
enemies and defend your subjects,
I cannot, most dear Queen, consent to
that; for upon your well-doing con
sists aU and some for your whole king
dom, ' and therefore preserve it above
all ! Yet wiU 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, you 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 be
alway not only a . defence but a ready
supply to those counties of Essex
and Kent, if need be, and in the mean
time 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 from Havering, and a very con
venient place for your Majesty to lie
in by the way. . To rest you at tho
camp, I trust you wUl be pleased, with
your poor lieutenant's cabin," and
within a mUe there is a gentleman's
house where you may also lie. Thus
you may comfort not only theso thou
sands, but many more that shall hear
of it, and thus far, but no farther, can
I consent to adventure your person."

524 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XIX.'
driven out of the Channel by the courage, the splendid sea
manship, and the enthusiasm of English sailors and volun
teers. The Duke of Parma was kept a close prisoner by 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 defended 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 ships,
or died in the streets of the naval ports, because there were
no hospitals to receive them.1
" '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 barns and such outhouses, and
the relief is small that I can provide for them here. It would
grieve any man's heart to see men that have served so valiantly
die so miserably." 2
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 marveUous altera
tion among them." 3 •
But more dangerous tnan the pestilence or the discontent

1 Lord Howard to the Queen ; Same
to Walsingham ; Same to Privy Coun
cil, ^J^L (g, P. Offioe MSS_)
^ 1 Sept. v '

* Howard to Burghley, - Aug.
(S. P. Office MS.)
1 Howard to Privy Council,  —
1 Sept.
15S8. (S. P. Office MS.)

1588.

QUARRELS OP ENGLISH ADMIRALS.

525

was the misunderstanding 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, caUing him, in
language better fitted for the forecastle than the quarter
deck, a thief and a coward, for appropriating the ransom of
Don Pedro Valdez, in which both Frobisher and Hawkins
claimed at least an equal share with himself.1

1 " The -th day of August, 1588,
20 ' ° '
I arrived at Harwick," says Matthew
Starke, mariner on board the 'Re
venge,' flag ship of Sir Francis Drake,
"and delivered letters sent by the
Lord-Admiral to the Lord Sheffield.
.... I found with him Sir John Haw
kins, Sir Martin Frobisher, with divers
others. . . . Then Sir Martin Fro
bisher began some speeches concern
ing the service done in this action, and
said: — Sir Francis Drake reporteth
that no man hath done any good ser
vice but he, but he shall weU under
stand that others have done as good
service as he, and better too. He
came bragging up at the first indeed,
and gave them his prow and his broad
side, and then kept his luff, and was
glad that he was gone again, like a
cowardly knave or traitor — I rest
doubtful which, but the one I will
swear. " ' Further, said he, he hath done
good service indeed, for he took Don
Pedro; for after he had seen her in
the evening that she had spent her
masts, then, like a coward, he kept by
her aU night, because he would have
the spoiL He thinketh to cozen us
of our shares of 15,000 ducats, but we
will have our shares, or I will make
him spend the best blood in his beUy,
for he hath done enough of those
cozening cheats already.
" ' He hath used certain speeches of
me (continued Sir Martin) which I
wUl make him eat again, or I wUl
make him spend the best blood in his
belly. Furthermore, he reporteth that
no man hath done so good service
as he, but ho lieth in his teeth, for!

there are others that have done as
good, and better too.
" ' Then he demanded of me if we (in
the ' Revenge ') did not see Don Pedro
overnight or no. Unto which I an
swered No. Then ho told me that
I lied, for she was seen to aU the fleet.
Unto which I answered I would lay
my head that not any one man in the
fleet did see her until it was morning,
that we were within two or three
cables' lengths of her. Whereunto he
answered, Aye, marry, you were with
in two or three cables' lengths, for
you were no farther off all night, but
lay a-huU by her. Whereunto I an
swered No, for we bear a good saU aU
night, off and on.
" ' Then he asked me 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 they were.
Then said he, Sir Francis was ap
pointed to bear a light all that night,
which light we looked for, but there
was none to be seen ; and in the morn
ing, when we should have dealt with
them, there was not about five or six
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 action
with Sir Francis in the 'Revenge'
this seven or eight months. Then he
demanded of me, what art thou — a
soldier? And I answered I am a
mariner, Uke your Honour. Then said
he, I have no more to say unto you.
You may depart.'
"All this I do confess to be true, as

526

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XIX.

And anxious enough was the Lord- Admiral, with his sailors
perishing by pestilence, with many of his ships so weakly
manned that — as Lord Henry Seymour declared — there were
not mariners enough to weigh the anchors,1 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
Armada, and of new demonstrations on the part of Farnese.
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." 2
Nothing could be more replete with sound common 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
Vaughan ; Mr. Grange, master of the
Arke ; John Graye, master of the
Revenge ; 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. By me, Matthew
Starke, Aug. 12, 1588." (S. P. Office
20
MS.) 23 Aug.
2 Sept.

Seymour to Walsingham,

1588. (S. P. Office MS.) g
2 Howard to Walsingham, — Aug.
1588. (S. P. Office MS.)
" Some haply may say that winter
cometh on apace." said Drake, "but
my poor opinion is that I dare not ad
vise her Majesty to hazard a kingdom
with the saving of a little charge.
The Duke of Parma is nigh, and wul
not let to send daily to the Duke of
Sidonia, if ho may find him." Drake
to Walsingham, — Aug. 1588. (S. P.
Office MS.)

1588. ENGLAND'S NARROW ESCAPE PROM 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
certainty thereof and of means how to support them, is lack
of wisdom ;" x 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 Farnese' s movements. It might have then seemed a most
plentiful lack of wisdom to aUow 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.2 Miracles alone, in the

1 Memorial in Burgbley's hand,
- Aug. 1588. (S. P. Office MS.)
2 An exception is always to bo made
in favour of the Secretary of State.
Although stunned for a, moment by
the superhuman perfidy of PhUip and
Farnese, and deceived by false intel
ligence as to the conditions of the
Armada after the gale near Coruna,
WalsiDgham had been ever watchful,
and constantly uttering words of solemn
waruing. " Plain dealing is best among
friends," said Seymour. "I wiU not
flatter you, but you have fought more
with your pen than many here in our

English navy with their enemies. But
that your place and most necessary
attendance about her Majesty cannot
be spared, your value and deserts
opposite the enemy had showed itself."
" Por myself," added the bold sailor,
who was much dissatisfied at the pro
spect of ''being penned and moored in
roads," 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, for when
God shaU return me, I will be kin to
the bear. I will hold to the stake
before I come abroad again." Lord

528

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XIX.

opinion of Eoger Williams, had saved England on this occa
sion from perdition.1
Towards the end of August, Admiral de Nassau paid a visit
to Dover with forty ships, "well appointed and furnished."2
He dined and conferred with. Seymour, Palmer, and other
officers— Winter being still laid up with his wound — and
expressed the opinion that Medina Sidonia would hardly
return to the Channel, after the banquet he had received from
her Majesty's navy 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." 3
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 — before 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 Farnese to issue from Sluys and Dunkerk, and

H. Seymour to Walsingham, from the
Rainbow, -Aug. 1588. (S. P. Office

MS.)

23 Aug-. ,,_
Same to same, — — - MS.

2 Sept.
a R. WUliams to Walsingham, July,
1588. (S. P. Office MS.)
2 Seymour to Walsingham, — Aug.
1588. (S. P. Office MS.)
3 Seymour to Walsingham, — Aug.

1588. (S. P. Office MS.)
* "Cependant je ne fauldrai de me
retourner contre la prochaine lune
devant Dunquerque pour empecher la
sprtie a ceux dedans, ou de me meler
avec eux s'ils se • deliberent se mettre
en mer." Just, de Nassau to Wal
singham, — Aug. 1588. (S. P. Office
MS.)

1588. VARIOUS RUMOURS AS TO THE ARMADA'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 stUl
more remarkable elsewhere. There was a systematic decep
tion practised not only upon other governments, but upon the
King of Spain as well. PhiUp, as he sat at his writing-desk,
was regarding himself as the monarch of England, long after
his Armada had been hopelessly dispersed.1
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 Borne 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 with a loud
voice, "Victory, victory!"2 and on the. 10th of August
ordered bonfires to be made before his house ; but afterwards
thought better of that scheme.3 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 unwiUing 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.4
Hereupon, on the night of August 10th, the envoy — " like
a wise man," as Stafford observed 5— sent off four couriers, one
after another, with the great news to Spain, that his master's
heart might be rejoiced, and caused a pamphlet on the subject
to be printed and distributed over Paris.6 " I wUl 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

1 PhUip II. to Parma, 18 Aug. 1588.
(Arch, de Sim. MS.)
2 Stowe, 144-150.
3 Sir E. Stafford to Walsingham,
- Aug. 1688. (S. P. Offico MS.)
vol. ii.— 2 M

* Reyd, vUi. 148.
s Stafford to Walsingham, MS. last
cited. ' 6 Ibid. Reyd, ubi sup.

530

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XIX

praised for all, who gives us small chastisements to make us
better, and then, like a merciful Father, sends' us infinite
rewards." 1 And in the same strain he wrote, day after day,
to Moura and Idiaquez, and to PhiUp himself.
Stafford, - on his side, was anxious to be informed by his
government of the exact truth, whatever it were, in order that
these figments of Mendoza might be contradicted. "That
which cometh from me," he said, "will be believed, for I
have not been used to tell lies, and in very truth I have not
the face to do it. ' 2
And the news of the Calais squibs, of the fight off Grave-
Unes, and the retreat of the Armada towards the north, could
not be very long concealed. So soon, therefore, as authentic
intelhgence 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 ambassador
was unwilUng 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, stUl smarting
under the insults of Mendoza and ' Mucio,' was delighted with
this blow to Philip's presumption, was loud in his praises of
Queen Elizabeth's valour, prudence, and marvellous fortune,
and declared that what she had just done could be compared
to the greatest exploits of the most Ulustrious men in history.4

1 " No quiero ocupar V. M. con larga
carta el Regozijo que tendra con las
buenas nuevas con que queria de-
spachar. Dios sea alavado por todo,
qui nos muestra chicos castigos por
enmendarnos, y da como padre de
misericordia infinitos mercedes y
beneficios." Mendoza to Idiaquez,
13 Aug. 1588. (Arch, de Sim. [Paris.]
MS.) Same to PhUip II. same date.
The envoy thought that the " Al
mighty Father of mercy had conferred
as infinite rewards and benefits," upon

His Spanish chUdren, the sacking of
London, and the butchering of the
EngUsh nation — rewards and benefits
similar to those which they had for
merly enjoyed in the Netherlands.
2 Stafford to Walsingham, — Aug.
MS. before cited. g
a Same to same, — Aug. 1588. (S.
19 v
P. Office MS.)
* " Este Rey ha loado, hablandose
con algunos de sus favoridos grande-

1588.

PHILIP POR A LONG TIME IN DOUBT.

531

"So soon as ever he saw the pamphlet," said Stafford, "he
offered to lay a wager it was my doing, and laughed at it
heartily." ' And there were malicious pages about the French
court, who also found much amusement in writing to the
ambassador, begging his interest with the Duke of Parma that
they might obtain from that conqueror some odd refuse town.
or so in England, such as York, Canterbury, London, or the
Uke — till the luckless Don Bernardino was ashamed to show
his face.2
A letter from Farnese, 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 my
Armada, I have learned the retreat from before Calais, to
which it was compelled by the weather /[!] and I have received
a very great shock, which keeps me in anxiety not to be
exaggerated. Nevertheless I hope in our Lord that he will
have 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
soUcitude, to hear what has happened, and please God it may
be that which is so suitable for his service." 3

mente del valor, animo, y prudencia
de la Reyna de Inglaterra, tavorecida
de una maravUlosa fortuna, diziendo
que lo que eUa avia hecho ultimamente
se podia comparar con las mayores
hazafias de los hombres mas ilustres
del tiempo passado, pues avia osado
con solas sus fuerzas aguardar las que
eran tan pujantes como las de Espana
y combatir las, cerrando juntamente el
paso a la armada del duca de Parma,
que era no menos poderosa, y aver
tardado quatro afibs V. Magd. con
juntar semejantes armadas, poniendo
al mundo en admiracion de ser las de
las quales se podia dezir aver trionfado
la Reyna de Inglaterra." Mendoza to
PhUip, 13 Oct. 1588. (Arch, de Sim.
[Paris.] MS.)
Of course all the exploits of the

English and Dutoh admirals and their
crews were, in the opinion of Henry
III., 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.
1 Stafford to Walsingham, MS. before
cited. » Stowe, 144-150.
3 "Al tiempo • que se aguardavan
nuevas del effeto que de las fuerzas
dessa armada se esperaba, se ha enten-
dido la derrota que desde sobre Cales
la forjo a tomar el temporal, y recibido
muy gran sobresalto que me tiene con
mas cuydado que se puede ' encarecer,
aunque espero en nuestro Sefior que
avra proveydo de remedio, y que os fue
posible rebolver sobre cl enemigo y

532

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XIX.

And in the same strain, melancholy yet 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 exaggerate, although
— the cause being such as it is — there is no ground for distrust.
Perhaps the Armada, keeping together, has returned upon the
enemy, and given a good account of itself, with the help of
the Lord. So I still promise myself that you will have per
formed your part in the enterprise in such wise as that the
service I 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 revived 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

acudir al puesto seiialado, y atender
cl effecto principal lo pariades como
pedia el easo, y assi aguardo con desseo
aviso de lo sucedido, que plega a Dios
sea lo que tanto convieneasu servicio."
Philip II. to Medina Sidonia, 31 Aug.
.1588. (Arch, de Sim. MS.)
1 "Prometo me de.vos que avreys
executado lo que os toca de manera
que se consiga al servicio que se ha
pretendido , hazer a Dios, y el repairo
de la reputacion de todos que esta tan
empeiiada." The underlined words

were stricken out by Philip, from the
draft of the letter— prepared as usual
by the secretary — with the note in the
King's hand: "See if it be well to omit
the. passage erased, because in that
which God does, or by which He is
served, there is no gaining or losing
of reputation, and it is better not to
speak of it at aU." (" Pues en lo que
Dios haze, y es servido, no ay que per-
der ni ganar reputacion, y es major no
hablar en ello.") PhiUp II. to Parma,
31 Aug. 1588. (Arch, de Sim. MS.)

1588. HE BELIEVES HIMSELF VICTORIOUS. 533;
flag-ship 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." l
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 easUy under
stood that Medina Sidonia, while flying round the Orkneys
had not much opportunity for despatching couriers to Spain,
and as Farnese had not written since the 10th August, Philip
was quite at a loss whether to consider himself triumphant or
defeated. From the reports by way of Calais," Dunkerk, and
Eouen, he supposed that the Armada had inflicted much
damage on the enemy. He suggested accordingly, on the
3rd September, to the Duke of Parma, that he might now
make the passage to England, while the English fleet, if 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 affairs, 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." 3
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
1 Avisos de Dunquerque, 30 Aug. I (Arch, de Sim. [Paris.] MSS.)
1588. Carta de Roan de Juan de | • PhUip II. to Parma, 3 Sept. I58a
Gamarra, 31 Aug. 1588. "A sido (Arch, de Sim. MS.)
buena nueva, y esto es certissimo." | * Ibid.

534 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XIX.
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
Sidonia, at the very moment when that tempest-tossed grandee
was painfully creeping back towards the Bay of Biscay, with
what remained of his invincible fleet.
Sanguine and pertinacious, the King refused to believe in
the downfall of his long-cherished scheme ; and even when
the light was at last dawning upon him, he was like a child
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 repair
ing. "In case the Armada is too much shattered to come
out," said Philip, "and winter compels it to stay in that
port, you must cause another Armada to be constructed at
Emden and the adjacent towns, at my expense, and, with
the two together, you will certainly be able to conquer
England.'-' 2
And he wrote to Medina . Sidonia in simUar terms. That
naval commander was instructed to 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 Farnese
would build a new fleet at Emden, and in the spring the two
dukes would proceed to accomplish the great purpose.3
But at last the arrival of Medina Sidonia at Santander*
dispelled these visions, and now the King appeared in another
attitude. A messenger, coming post-haste from the captain-
general, arrived in the early days of October .at the Escorial.
Entering the palace he found Idiaquez. and Moura pacing np
and down the corridor, before the door of PhUip's cabinet,"
• Phihp II. to Parma, 15 Sept. 1588. I 15 Sept. 1588. (Arch, de Sim. MS.)
(Arch, de Sim. MS.) ' PhUip II. to Parma, 10 Oct. 1588.
" Ibid. (Arch, de Sim. MS.)
8 Philip II. to Medina Sidonia, j

1588. IS TRANQUIL WHEN UNDECEIVED. 535
and was immediately interrogated by those counsellors, most
anxious, of course, to receive authentic intelligence at last as
to the fate of the Armada.1 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 Ustened to the tale,
and very desirous was each of the two secretaries that the
other should discharge the unwelcome duty of communicating
the fatal intelligence to the King.2
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.3 Being informed of the arrival of a
messenger from the north, he laid down his pen, and inquired
the news. The secretary replied that the accounts concerning
the Armada were 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.4 Christopher Moura stared with unaffected 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,

1 Strada, II. ix. 564.
' Ibid.
* "Regem literas scribentem
perit." (Ibid.)

* Ibid. " His dictis calamum re-
sumit, et eadem qua ceperat tranquU-
litate vultus ad scribendum redit.

536 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XIX.
"nor do I, consequently, make more of this great calamity
than does his Majesty."1
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 wretched victims of his
ambition. Soon afterwards, when the particulars' of the
great disaster were thoroughly known, Philip ordered a letter
to be addressed in his name to all the bishops of Spain, 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.2
And thus, with the sound of mourning throughout Spain —
for there was scarce a household of which some beloved
member had not perished in the great catastrophe — and with
the peals of merry bells over all England and HoUand, and
with a solemn 'Te Deum' resounding in every church, the
curtain fell upon the great tragedy of the Armada.

1 "Rex, inquit, totum hoc infortu
nium nihUi facit^ hec ego pluris quam
ipse." (Ibid.)

2 Strada, II. ix. 565. Herrera, IH.
iii. 113.

1588. ALEXANDER BESIEGES BERGEN-OP-ZOOM. 537

CHAPTER XX.
Alexander besieges Bergen-op-Zoom — PaUavicini's Attempt to seduce Parma
— Alexander's Fury — He is forced to raise the Siege of Bergen — Gertruy
denberg betrayed to Parma — Indignation of the States — Exploits of
Schenk— His Attack on Nymegen — He is defeated and drowned — Eng
lish-Dutch Expedition to Spain — Its meagre Results — Death of Guise
and of the Queen-Mother — Combinations after the Murder of Henry III.
— Tandem fit Surculus Arbor.
The fever of the past two years was foUowed 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 remainder
of the year 1588, with those of 1589 — although important in
themselves — were the immediate results of that history which
has been so mihutelv detailed in these volumes, and can be
indicated in a very few pages.
The Duke of Parma, melancholy, disappointed, angry-
stung to the soul by calumnies as stupid as they were
venomous, and already afflicted with a painful and lingering
disease, which his friends attributed to poison administered
by command of the master whom he had so faithfully
served — determined, if possible, to afford the 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 from, 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 from 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-

538 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XX,;
forced. The Vosmeer, a branch of the Scheldt, separated the
island from the main, and there was a path along the bed of
that estuary, which, at dead low-water, was 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 simUar 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 Solms and a garrison of fierce amphibious
Zeelanders— of those determined bands which had just been
holding Farnese and his fleet in prison, and daring him to the
issue — and the invading party, after fortunately accomplishing
their night-journey along the bottom of the 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, succeeded 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.1
The Duke continued the siege, but the place was well
defended by an English and Dutch garrison, to the number
of five thousand, and commanded by Colonel Morgan, that
bold and much experienced Welshman, so well known in the
Netherland wars. Willoughby and Maurice of Nassau, and
Olden-Barneveld were, at different times, within the walls ; for
the Duke had been unable to invest the place so closely as to
prevent all communications from without ; and, while Maurice
was present, there were almost daily sorties from the town,
with many a spirited skirmish, to give pleasure to the martial
* Bor. III. xxv. 338-341. Parma to PhUip IL, 1 Oct. 1588. (Arch, de Sim.
MS.) Herrera, III. ii. 114, seq.

1588.

PALLAVICINI'S ATTEMPT TO SEDUCE PARMA.

539

young Prince.1 The English officers, Vere and Baskerville,
and two Netherland colonels, the brothers Bax, 10 Oct.
most distinguished themselves on these occasions. 1588-
The siege was not going on with the good fortune which had
usually 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
Pallavicini, a Genoese gentleman long established in London,
and known to be on confidential terms with the English
government. 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." 2
The unlucky despatch-bearer protested his innocence of aU

1 Bor, ubi sup.
2 " T como fue viendo la desver-
guenza y vellaqueria me altero de

manera que mo levante de donde
estaba con resolution de darle esto-
cadas, y Dios me alumbro con ponerme

540

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XX

comphcity with Pallavicini, and his ignorance of the tenor of
the communication by which the Duke's wrath had been so
much excited. He was then searched and cross-examined
most carefully by Eichardot and other counsellors, and —
his innocence being made apparent — he was ultimately dis
charged. The letter of Pallavicini was simply an attempt to sound
Farnese 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.1 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 trans
mitted to the King a minute narrative of the affair, together
with indignant protestations of the fidelity which all the
world seemed determined to dispute, received most affectionate
replies from that monarch, breathing nothing but unbounded
confidence in his nephew's innocence and devotion.2

delante que convenia que este hombre
se guardase » buen recado, porque
V. M. pueda entender del lo que para
este neg° reporte me; y le dije' que si
yo tuviesso al Palavicino se la daria
cual el merece, y a vos si supieso quo
sabeis este neg°, os mandaria luego
colgar. Acabe" de leer la carta, y cuanto
mas la vi y corisidere- la halle mas
vellaca y enconsonada." Parma to
Philip II. 29 Sept. 1588. (Arch, de

Sim. MS.) Compare Strada, II. 1. iii.
673, seq.
1 Parma to Philip, MS. last cited.
Orazio Pallavicini to Giacomo Morone,
31 Aug. 1588. (Arch, de Sim. MSS.)
Strada, ubi sup.
2 Parma to Idiaquez, 1 Oct. 1588.
Philip to Parma, 17 Oct. 1588. Idia
quez to Parma, 11 Oct. 1588. (Arch.
de Sim. MSS.)

1588. ALEXANDER'S FURY. 541
¦ Such assurances from any other man in the world 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 slander — to regain tranquillity as to his own position.
The King was desirous that Pallavicini should be invited
over to Flanders, in order that Alexander, under pretence of
listening to his propositions, might draw from the Genoese
all the particulars of his scheme, and then, at leisure, inflict
the punishment which he had deserved.1 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 object of his inter
view, with the Duke was not political, but had a direct refer
ence to the siege of Bergen. He was accompanied by a
countryman of his own, Bedhead by name, a camp-suttler by
profession. The two represented themselves as deserters from
the . besieged city, and offered, for a handsome reward, to
conduct a force of Spaniards, by a secret path, into one of the
gates. The Duke questioned them 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 Eenti — 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
1 Idiaquez to Parma, MS. last cited.

542 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XX.
storm of wind and rain. The waters were out — for the dykes
had been cut in all directions by the defenders of the city—
and, with exception of some elevated points occupied by
Parma's forces, the whole country 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 Grimstone
and Bedhead preserved a cheerful countenance, and inspired
a strong confidence in their honest intention to betray their
countrymen. And thus the band of bold adventurers plunged
at once into the darkness, and soon found themselves con
tending with the tempest, and wading breast high in the
black waters of the Scheldt.
After a long and perilous struggle, they at length reached
the appointed gate. The external portculhs was raised^ and
the fifteen foremost of the band rushed into the town. At
the next moment, Lord Willoughby, who had been privy to
the whole scheme, cut with his own hand the cords which held
the portcullis, and entrapped the leaders of the expedition,
who were all at once put to the sword, while their followers
were thundering at the gate. The lieutenant and suttler,
who had thus overreached that great master of dissimulation,
Alexander Farnese, were at the same time unbound by their
comrades, and rescued from the fate intended for them.
Notwithstanding the probability — when the portcullis fell —
that the whole party had been deceived by an artifice of war,
the adventurers, who had come so far, refused to abandon the
enterprise, and continued an impatient battery upon the gate.
At last it was swung wide open, and a furious onslaught was
made by the garrison upon the Spaniards. There was a
fierce, brief struggle, and then the assailants were utterly
routed. Some were killed under the waUs, while the rest
were hunted into the waves. Nearly every one of the expe
dition (a thousand in number) perished.1
1 Parma to Philip II. 30 Oct. 1588. I 215™. Bor, III. xxv. 340. Herrera,
(Arch.de Sim. MS.) Meteren, xv. | III. il 118, seq. Strada, IL x. 582, 585.

1588. HE IS FORCED TO RAISE THE SIEGE OF BERGEN.

543

It had now become obvious to the Duke that his siege must
be raised. The "days were gone when the walls of Dutch
towns seemed to melt before the first scornful glance of the
Spanish invader, and when a summons meant a surrender,
and a surrender a massacre. Now, strong in the feeling of
independence, and supported by the courage and endurance
of their English allies, the Hollanders had learned to humble
the pride of Spain as it had never been humbled before.
The hero of a hundred battle-fields, the inventive and bril
Uant conqueror of Antwerp, seemed in the deplorable issue
of the EngUsh invasion to have lost all his genius, all his
fortune. A cloud had fallen upon his fame, and he now saw
himself, at the head Of the best army in Europe, compelled
to retire, defeated and humiliated, from the walls of Bergen.
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 before his army should
be drowned.
On the night of 12-13 November he set fire to his camp,
and took his departure. By daybreak he was descried in full
retreat, and was hotly pursued by the English and Dutch from
the city, who drove the great Alexander and his legions before
them in ignominious flight. Lord Willoughby, in full view
of the retiring, enemy, indulged the allied forces with a chi
valrous spectacle. Calling a halt, after it had become obvi-
• ously useless, with their small force of cavalry, to follow any

Camero, Guerras de Flandes (Bruseles,
1625), p. 231, 232. Coloma, Guerras
de los Estados Baxos, I. 10, 11. Sir
20
"W. Drury to Burghley, — Oct. 1588.
(S. P. Office MS.)
"Seemeth to my simple opinion a
great commendation unto the gentle
man that could so sweetly charm so
wise and learned a master in his own
art as the Duke of Parma is," &c.
The Jesuit Strada, however — who
narrates all the trickeries of PhUip and
of Farnese with so much applause— is
shocked at the duplicity of Lieutenant
Grimstone; and Coloma is ' ineffably

disgusted at such sharp practice.
It has been stated by Meteren (xv.
275™) and others, that Sir WiUiam
Stanley was in this expedition, and
that he very narrowly escaped being
taken with the first fifteen. This
would have been probable enough,
had he been there, for his valour was
equal to his treachery. But Parma
does not mention his name in the letters
describing 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 adhibito."

544

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XX

longer, through a flooded country, an enemy who had aban
doned his design, he solemnly conferred the honour of knight
hood, in the name of Queen Elizabeth, on the officers who
had most distinguished themselves during the siege, Francis
Vere, Baskerville, Powell, Parker, Knowles, and on the two
Netherland brothers, Paul and Marcellus Bax.1
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 offer her congra
tulations and earnest thanks to the States for their valuable
assistance in preserving her throne, and to solicit their
cooperation in some new designs against the common foe.2
Unfortunately, however, the epoch of good feeling was but
of brief duration. Bitterness and dissension seemed the ine
vitable conditions of the English-Dutch alhance. It will be
remembered, that, on the departure of Leicester, several cities
had refused to acknowledge the authority of Count Maurice
and the States ; and that civil war in the scarcely-born 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 Gertruydenberg had remained in a chronic state of
mutiny. This rebellion had been partiaUy appeased during the
year 1588 by the efforts of WiUoughby, who had strengthened
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 burghers, and demanded immediate pay
ment of the , heavy arrearages still due to the troops. Wil-

1 Bor, ubt sup. Meteren. Compare
Coloma, I. II, 12. Herrera, ubi .sup.
Strada, x. 588.
3 Propositions of Sir John Norris to

Council of State. Bor, III. xxv. 361,
362. Sir Ed. Norris to  , — — >
8 Nov.
1588. (S. P. Office MS.)

Z589. GERTRUYDENBERG 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 negotiations with Alexander Farnese, 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 year1 — 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 he
spoke of the rebelhous commandant and his garrison as self-
seeking foreigners and mercenaries, were taken in very Ul
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, from Flushing, when about to
embark, disapproving of his conduct and of his language ;
and to Maurice, deprecating hostile measures against a city
under the protection of Queen EUzabeth. At any rate, he
claimed that Sir John Wingfield and his wife, the Countess
' of Kent, with their newly-born chUd, 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 into
the town, was obhged to retire at the approach of Count Mansfeld
with a much superior forced Gertruydenberg was 10 April
now surrendered to the Spaniards (10 April, 1589) 1589-
in accordance with a secret negociation which had been
proceeding all the spring, and had been brought to a conclu-
i Ortell to WoUey, 9 April, 1589. (S. P. Office MS.)
vol. ii. — 2N

546

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

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 Eome on the
terms which had been usual during the government of Far
nese.1 The loss of this city was most severe to the repubUc, 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 treason of York
and Stanley, and which had been successfully extinguished,
now flamed forth afresh. The States published a placard
denouncing the men who had thus betrayed the cause of
freedom, and surrendered the city of Gertruydenberg to the
Spaniards, as perjured traitors whom it was made lawful to
hang, whenever or wherever caught, without trial or sentence,
and offering fifty florins a-head for every private soldier and
one hundred florins for any officer 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.2
Thus the consequences of the fatal event were even moro
deplorable than the loss of the city itself. The fury of Olden-
Barneveld at the treason was excessive, and the great Advo
cate governed the policy of the republic, at this period, almost
like a dictator.3 The States, easily acknowledging the sway

1 Bor, III. xxvi. 403-419. Strada,
II. x. 600-609. Coloma, I. 20-23.
2 Bor, ubi sup. Bodley to Burghley,
- April, 1589. (B. Mus. Galba, D. iv.
144, MS.)
8 " For all here is directed by
Holland, and Holland is carried away
by Barneveld, whose resolutions are
so full of self-will, and so opposite to
her Majesty's proceedings, as there
are of the wisest among themselves
that fear by his dealing some great

alteration. Por the hindrance of
which, I cannot propose any better
means than if that course which is
held between him and OrteU might
be stopped in England. For matters
here are so handled at this present,
as in whatsoever cause the States-
General, or they of Holland and Zee-
land, have to deal with her Majesty,
they neither propose it before to the
council of state, nor impart it with
her Majesty's heutenant or counsel
lors; but, by Barneveld's direction.

1589.

INDIGNATION OF THE STATES.

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 friend 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 honourable
fashion from the list of traitors, by authority of the States.
His position — so far as he was personaUy concerned — seemed
defensible, and the Queen was thoroughly convinced of his
innocence. Willoughby complained that the republic was
utterly in the hands of Barneveld, that no man ventured to
lift his voice or his eyes in presence of the 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 Gertruydenberg garrison
were within sound of his voice) had been the chief cause of
the rebellion.1 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
unto him, and her Majesty's lieutenant
and ministers are little regarded."

Z) Feb.

Bodley to Burghley,
(Br. Mus. Galba, D. iv. 55, MS.)
1 Bor, ubi sup.

1589.

548

THE UNITED 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 commonwealth could hardly
have escaped still more severe disasters than those already
experienced in this unfortunate condition of its affairs, and
this almost hopeless misunderstanding with its most important
and vigorous friend.1
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 haye
been, by the States, to whom he had been ever faithful since
he forsook the banner of Spain for their own ; and he had

1 Bor, ubi sup. and 448-45'7.
WiUoughby published a very bitter
pamphlet in reply to the severe at
tacks of Olden-Barneveld and his parti
sans. "The child of Milord Wil
loughby is born at last," said Joachim
OrteU ; " the book is printed, and is
as fuU of lies as an egg is of meat "
(so vol leugens als een ey vol suyvels).
Walsingham — as might be supposed
— much regretted these misunder
standings, although he was inclined
to censure the States. "I like very
well," he said, "that the placcard
should rather be answered by Lord
Willoughby than by her Majesty.
But to have it not answered at all
were the best  Their ingrati
tude is great, yet seeing we cannot

sever ourselves from them without in
finite danger, their errors are to be
winked at for a time. It may be that
the disgrace inflicted on them through
the loss of Gertruydenberg wUl some
what humble them ; for seeing Barne-
velt, the principal ringleader amongst
them, begins to stick saU, I think the
rest will stoop. But when I look into
their strango course in pubhshing
their placcard, after the loss of the
town to hazard the loss of her Ma
jesty's favour, I must conclude that
with the loss of the town they have
lost their wits." Walsingham to
Burghley, E-^ffli, i589. (Br. Mus.
9 May
Galba, D. iv. 1T1, MS.)

1589.

EXPLOITS OP SCHENK.

549

even gone to England and complained to the Queen 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, but 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
Ehine and Meuse, had fallen into Mansfeld's hands.2 Ehein
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 Eheinberg, and to fill his own coffers at the
expense of the whole country side.
He had buUt a fort, which then and long afterwards bore
his name — Schenken Schans, or Schenk's Sconce — at that
important point where the Ehine, 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, WestphaUa, and the electorate, the industrious
Martin devoted himself with advantage to his favourite
pursuits. On the 7th of August, on the heath of Lippe, he had
attacked a body of Spanish musketeers, more than a thousand

' Strada, X. 584-595. Coloma, I.
12-14. Bor, III. xxv. 328.
2 Strada, X. 599, who states that
bomb-shells — which he elaborately de
scribes,, were first used at this siege
of "Wachtendonk. They had been in
vented, he says, a few days before its

commencement, by an artizan of Venlo,
for bis own misfortune and that of his
city ; for he set the town of Venlo on
fire, and burned down two^ thirds of
it, by a premature explosion of hia
new projectiles.

550

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XX

strong, who were protecting a convoy of provisions, treasure,
7 Aug. and furniture, sent by Farnese to Verdugo, royal go-
1589. yernor of Friesland. Schenk, without the loss of a
single man, had put the greater part of these Spaniards and
WaUoons to the sword, and routed the rest. The leader of
the expedition, Colonel Aristotle Patton, who had once played
him so foul a trick in the surrender of Gelder, 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,1 and sent the captured
Spanish colours to her Majesty of England as a token.2
A few miles below his fortress was Nymegen, 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
PhiUp, 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.3
On the evening of the 10th of August, 1589, there was a
wedding-feast in one of the splendid mansions of the stately
city. The festivities were prolonged until deep in the mid
summer'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

1 Strada, X. 630, 631. Coloma, II.
26-27. Bor, III. xxvi. 459. Bodley
to Walsingham, — Aug. 1589. (Br.
Mus. Galba, D. v. p. 60. MS.)

2 Bodley to Burghley, — Aug. 1589.
(Br. Mus. Galba, D. iv. p; 55, MS.)
3 Guicciardini, in voce.

1589. HIS ATTACK ON NYMEGEN. 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 affrighted revellers fluttered
away before them.
Taking advantage of a dark night, he had just dropped
down the river from his castle, with five-and-twenty barges,
had landed with his most trusted soldiers in the foremost
vessels, had battered down the gate of St. Anthony, and
surprised and slain the guard. Without waiting for the rest
of his boats, he had then stolen with his comrades through
the silent streets, and torn away the lattice-work, and other
sUght 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 Schenk hastily fortified his position, and took posses
sion of the. square. But the burghers and garrison were
soon on foot, and he was driven back into the house. Three
times he recovered the square by main strength of his own
arm, seconded by the handful of men whom he had brought
with him, and three times he was beaten back by 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 barges.
The truth — 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 straggling

552

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XX

against wind and tide to force their way back to the necessary
point. Meantime Schenk and his followers fought desperately
in the marketplace, and desperately in the house which he
had seized. But a whole garrison, and a town full of citizens
in arms proved too much for him, and he was now hotly
besieged in the mansion, and at last driven forth into the
streets. .
By this time day was dawning, the whole population,
soldiers and burghers, men, women, and children, were
thronging about the little band of marauders, and assailing
them with every weapon and every missile to bo 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 he struck more than one of his
soldiers dead.1 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 rapid Waal.
Schenk, desperately wounded, was left almost alone upon the
wharf, for his routed followers had plunged helter skelter into
the boats, several of which, overladen in the panic, sank at
once, leaving the soldiers to drown or struggle with the waves.
The game was lost. Nothing was left the freebooter but
retreat. Beluctantly turning his back on his enemies, now
in full cry close behind him, 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.2
Some of the fugitives succeeded in swimming down the

1 Schencius ira furens et frendens
 suorum nonnulhs sua manu
interemptis," &c. Strada, X. 632.
2 Bor, III. xxvi. 459-460.
naar, viii. 307, 308. Strada, X. 631-

633. Coloma, II. 27. Bodley to Wal-
3
singham, - Aug. 1589. (S. P. Office
MS.) Bentivoglio, II. v. 336. Haraei
Turn. Belg. HI. 425.

1589.

HE IS DEFEATED 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 famous
partisan. He was easily recognized by his armour, and by
his truculent face, still wearing the scowl with which he had
last rebuked his followers. His head was taken off at once,
and placed on one of the turrets of the town, and his body,
divided in four, was made to adorn other portions of the
battlements ; so that the burghers were enabled to feast their
eyes on the remnants of the man at whose name the whole
country had so often trembled.
This was the end of Sir Martin Schenk of Niddegem,
knight, colonel, and brigand ; save that ultimately his dis
severed Umbs were packed in a chest, and kept in a church-
tower, untU 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.1
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 fireworks, was suddenly killed by their acci
dental ignition and explosion.2 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-Barneveld, Aerssens, and Buys, refusing to see
that they had done wrong in denouncing the Dutch and
English traitors who had sold Gertruydenberg to the enemy,
and the Queen and her counsellors persisting in their anger

1 Bor, Wagenaar, Strada, ubi sup.
"The townsmen since have fished
for Schenk, and found him in his
armour, and since have cut him in
quarters and set him on their gates;
which extraordinary inhumanity doth
so exasperate the States as they wiU

publish an edict upon it, that no
quarter shall be kept with Nymegen."
9
Bodley to Walsingham, — Aug. 1589,
(S. P. Office MS.)
•' Bor, HI. xxvi. 480.

554 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XX
at so insolent a proceeding, it may easily be supposed that
there was no great heartiness in the joint expedition against
Spain, which had been projected in the autumn of 1588, and
was accomplished 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 magic 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 Drake. They
were accompanied, too, by Sir Edward Norris, and another of
those ' chickens of Mars,' Henry Norris ; by the indomitable
and ubiquitous Welshman, Eoger 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." l
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
1 Essex to the Vice-Chamberlain, March, 1589, in Barrow's 'Life of
Drake,-' 377.

(589. ENGLISH-DUTCH EXPEDITION TO SPAIN. 555
Nicolas van Meetkerke and Van Laen, the adven- is April,
turers set sail from Plymouth on the 18th of April, 1589-
1589. .
They landed at Coruna — at which place they certainly
could not expect to create a Portuguese revolution, which was
the first object of the expedition — destroyed some shipping
in the harbour, captured and sacked the 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 kUled 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 saU 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 fleet, were hardly to be dispensed
with on such an occasion. Nevertheless it would perhaps

556 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XX.
have proved an easier task than it appeared — for so great was
the panic within the place that a large number of the in
habitants had fled, the Cardinal Viceroy Archduke . Albert
had but a 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 afterwards hanged or garotted
for their hostile sentiments to the Spanish government.1
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 proclaiming by
sound of trumpet that the English had been signally defeated
before Lisbon, and that they were in full retreat.
Fired at this bravado, Norris sent a trumpet to Fuentes
and Guzman, with a letter signed and sealed, giving them the
lie in plainest terms, appointing the next day for a meeting of
the two forces, and assuring them that when the next 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 returned 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 viUages, frightened the pea
santry, set fire to some shipping, destroyed wine, oil, and other
1 Bor, III. xxvi. 439.

1589.

ITS MEAGRE RESULTS.

557

merchandize, and had divided among the survivors of the ex
pedition, after landing in England, five shillings a head prize-
money ; but they had not effected a revolution in Portugal.
Don Antonio had been offered nothing by his faithful 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 be thought successful ; although it was a splendid
triumph compared with the result of the long and loudly
heralded Invincible Armada.1
In France, great events during the remainder of 1588 and
the foUowing year, and which are well known even to the
most superficial student of history, had much changed the
aspect of European affairs. It was fortunate for the two com-

1 For particulars of this expedition,
see Camden, IV. 429-433. Stowe,
751-756. Barrow's 'Life of Drake,'
with the. letters of Drake, Norris, and
others, 335 379. Bor, III. xxvL 430-
443. Herrera, III. v. 170, seq.
Sir Roger WUliams to tho Lord
ChanceUor, Lord Treasurer, and Secre
tary Walsingham, July, 1589: (S. P.
Office MS.)—
"Had we gone to Lisbon," says the
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, we had
carried 'it away without blows ....
We have 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. Ingoing into the
Groyne, we lost a number of brave
men in dislodging. At the least 2000
took their course — some for England,
some for France. . There we took our
sickness, partly by the hot winds, but
chiefly by the old clothes ¦ and bag
gage of those which returned with

the Duke of Medina out of England.
There we lost many a day, in the
which time the enemy arrived, and
placed his forces where he thought
most necessariest, chiefly- in Lisbon.
Notwithstanding, when we arrived,
we gave the law in the field, that
none durst fight with us, in twelve
days, with 5000 footmen, and, God
knows, poor people, save 2000, and
thqse all volunteers. All the horse
men we had amounted not to 45 ; we
had not any Portuguese to speak of,
and such as we had did us more hurt
than good  Some wUl say, How
could you have kept Lisbon ? BeUeve
it not. With six thousand we would
have kept it against all Spain and
PortugaL  Our journey was
most honourable and profitable unto
our sovereign and estate. First,- and
principally, the world wUl speak how
5000 Englishmen dared the Spaniards
to battle at the gates of Lisbon— not
stealing, but after giving leave to arm
two months; for the world must think
they knew where we meant to direct
our course, when Don Antonio dis
lodged from his house at London,"
&c. &c.

558 THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. Chap. XX
monwealths of Holland and England, engaged in the great
struggle for civil and religious liberty, and national inde
pendence, that the attention of Philip became more and
more absorbed — as time wore on — with the affairs 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 recovery of the Netherlands.
For France had been brought more nearly to anarchy and
utter decomposition than ever. Henry III., after his fatal
forgiveness of the deadly offence of Guise, felt day by day
more keenly that he had transferred his sceptre — such as it
•was — to that dangerous intriguer. Bitterly did the King
regret having refused the prompt offer of Alphonse 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 Epernon,
the monarch of France could pass his life playing at cup and
ball, or snipping images out of pasteboard, or teaching his
parrots to talk, or his lap-dogs to dance. His royal occupa
tions were gone, and murder now became a necessary pre
liminary to any future tranquiUity 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 to 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 father,
become the young Duke of Guise — all these events are too
familiar in the realms of history, song, romance, and painting,
to require more than this slight allusion here.

1589. DEATH OP GUISE AND OP THE QUEEN-MOTHER.

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, and her own influence dissolved in air, felt
that there was nothing left for her but to die. In a week she
was dead, and men spoke no more of 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."1
Paris howled with rage when it learned the murders of Blois,
and the sixteen quarters became more furious than ever
against the Valois. Some wUd 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 progress, and the epoch of the
last Valois seemed more dark and barbarous than the times
of the degenerate Carlovingians had been. The letter-writer
of the Escorial, who had earnestly warned his faithful Mucio,2
week after week, that dangers were impending over him,
and that "some trick would be played upon him," should he
venture into the royal presence, now acquiesced in his 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 Bearnese — the man
who could and would have protected him long before, had the
King been capable of understanding their relative positions

1 'L'Etoile.'
3 A. 56. "8. Arch, de Simancas,
[at Paris,] MS. passim.
E. g., " Con Mucio a quien siempre
aconsejad que mire por si y no se

dexe engaSar y hazer
pues anda a tanto peUgro." And, in
the King's own hand, "Y se acuerde
de su padre." PhUip to Mendoza
3 Sept. 1588, MS.

5C0

THE 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 Bear
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
1589. jacgnes Clement put an end for ever to the line of
Valois.1 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 waite'd, from the iron grasp of the Bearnese; PhUip
had a more difficult game than ever to play in France.
It would be, hard for him to make valid the, claims of the
Infanta and any husband he might select for her to the crown
of her grandfather Henry II. It seemed simple enough for
him, while waiting the course of events, to set up a royal
effigy before the world in the shape of an 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
himself Henry IV.
It was easy enough for Paris, and Madam League, and Philip
the Prudent, to cry wo upon the heretic ; but the cheerful

1 The spelling of the sixteenth cen
tury, in all European languages, was
capricious and unsettled; yet the
little note in which the Duchess Mary
of Luxemburg announced the death
of Henry III. is a curiosity, even for
that age ; —
" Qui la ette tue — sa ette par un
Jacobin qui luy a donne dun cou de
pissetoUe dan la tayte. Ill i a dotre
nouvelle beaucoup avantajeuse' pour
les bon Catolique. jay donne charge
a se deporteur de les vous dire."
Duchess Maria de Luxembourg au
Commandeur Moreo, 9 Aug. 1589.

(Archivo de Simancas, MS.)
PhUip's wonderful comment on the
words "pissetoUe" and "tayte" in
this communication, has been already
published, but wiU 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,
wliich is not 'tayte,' but 'tete' or
'teyte,' as you know."
" Quiza es alguna manera de cuchillo,
y la tayte no se si podria ser otra
coza que cabeza, qui no es tayte, sino
tete, o teyte, como sabreys."

1589. COMBINATIONS AFTER MURDER OF HENRY IIL 561
leader of the Huguenots was a phUosopher, who in the days of
St. Bartholomew had become orthodox to save his life, arid 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 Eome — 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 Be'arnese.
But time would necessarily bo 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 rehgion was not
to be changed Uke a shirt." So while the fresh garment was
airing for him at Borne, and while he was leisurely stripping
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. n. — 2 0

562

THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.

Chap. XX.

them against the persecutions of the Eomanism to which he
meant to give his adhesion. While accepting the title of
renegade, together with an undisputed crown, he was not the
man to rekindle those fires of religious bigotry which it was
his task to quench, now that they had lighted his way to the
throne. The demands of his Catholic supporters for the
exclusion from the kingdom of all religions but their own,
were steadily refused.1
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. Already Elizabeth
had furnished the new King with 22,000?. in gold — a larger
sum, as he observed, than he had ever seen before in his life,2
and the States of the Netherlands had provided him with as
much more.3 Willoughby too, and tough Eoger Williams,
and Baskerville, and Umpton, and Vere, with 4000 English
pikemen at their back, had already made a brief but spirited
campaign in France; ' and the Duke of Parma, after recruiting
his health, so far as it was possible, at Spa, was preparing
himself to measure swords 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 be 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
Bearnese 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 Eobin,' had sold
his goods at auction to defray his debts to herself ; and Moeurs,

1 De Thou, X. 1. 89, pp. 270, 680.
Perefixe, 80, 96. ' L'EtoUe,' 258, 291.
a Camden, IV. 436.
8 Bodley to Eurghley, 20 Aug.

1589. (Br. Mus. Galba, D. iv. p. 55,
MS.) * Camden, ubi sup.

1590.

TANDEM FIT SURCULUS ARBOR

563

and Martin Schenk, and ' Mucio,' and Henry III., and Catha
rine de' Medici, were all dead. But Philip the Prudent re
mained, and Elizabeth of England, and Henry of France and
Navarre, and John of Olden-Barneveld ; and there was still
another personage, a very young man still, but a deep-thinking,
hard-working student, fagging steadily at mathematics and
deep in the works of Stevinus, who, before long, might play a
conspicuous part in the world's great drama. But, previously
to 1590, Maurice of Nassau seemed comparatively insignificant,
and he could be spoken of by courtiers as a cipher, and as an
unmannerly boy just let loose from school.

YAU

END OP VOL. II.

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