DANIEL G. EATON, This book was digitized by Microsoft Corporation in cooperation with Yale University Library, 2008. You may not reproduce this digitized copy of the book for any purpose other than for scholarship, research, educational, or, in limited quantity, personal use. You may not distribute or provide access to this digitized copy (or modified or partial versions of it) for commercial purposes. THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND TEOM (El)e fmmstcm of Julius Ccesctr TO THE ABDICATION OF JAMES THE SECOND, 1688. BY DAVID HUME, ESQ. A NEW EDITION, WITH THE AUTHOR'S LAST CORRECTIONS AND IMPROVEMENTS. TO WHICH IS PREFIXED a short Account of his life, WRITTEN BY HIMSELF. VOL. IV. BOSTON: PHILLIPS, SAMPSON, AND COMPANY. 1850, 3y7 4 -34 e£ STEREOTYPED AT THE BOSTON TYPE AND STEREOTYPE FOUNDRY. CONTENTS OF THE FOURTH VOLUME. CHAPTER XXXVIII. ELIZABETH. 1. D. PAGE. 1558. Tlie Queen's Popularity, 1 Philip of Spain makes Proposals of Marriage to her, 3 Refistablishment of the Protestant Religion, i Joy of the. Public at the Coronation, 6 A Parliament ; unanimous Recognition of the Queen's Title, 7 The Queen's Supremacy established, 8 The Laws of King Edward in regard to Religion confirmed, 9 1559. The Liturgy in the vulgar Tongue again introduced, 10 The Commons address the Queen to fix her Choice of a Husband, 10 Peace with France 12 Disgust between the Queen and Mary Queen of Scots, 14 Affairs of Scotland 15 Prudent Government of the Queen Regent, 15 Reformation in Scotland, 16 The Congregation of the Lord, 17 Walter Mill burned at St. Andrew's, 18 Outrages of the Reformers, 19 John Knox returns from Geneva, 20 Civil Wars in Scotland, . .* 20 High Pretensions of the Congregation, 21 The Queen Regent forms an Accommodation with them, . . 22 Animosities again break out between them, 23 a # Vi CONTENTS. A.. O. FAGE Interposition of Elizabeth in Scotch Affairs, 25 She supports the Cause of the Reformers 27 1560. Settlement of Scotland by the Treaty of Edinburgh, 28 The Genius and Capacity of Elizabeth in this Transaction, 28 Rigorous Measures of the Scotch Reformers, 29 French Affairs ; Prevalence of the Reformed Doctrines, . . 30 The Guise Faction support the ancient Religion, 31 Death of the French King 32 1561. Elizabeth refuses Mary a Safe-eonduot through. England, . . 33 Arrival of Mary in Scotland 34 She is received with great Joy 35 Bigotry of the Scotch Reformers, 36 Mary is insulted on account of her Religion, 36 Contumelious Behavior of John Knox to the Queen, 38 Her unhappy Situation, 38 Poverty and morose Zeal of the Scotch Preachers, 41 Mary sends an Ambassador to Elizabeth 42 Wise Government of Elizabeth, 45 She receives various Proposals of Marriage 45 Her rigorous Treatment of Catharine Gray and Lord Hert ford, 47 CHAPTER XXXIX. 1562. State of Europe, , 49 Bigotry and Ambition of Philip, 49 Civil Wars of France 62 Havre de Grace put in Possession of the English, 53 Elizabeth assists the French Hugonots, 54 1563. A Parliament ; Address to the Queen to choose a Husband, or appoint her Successor, 5n She returns an evasive Answer, 57 The French Hugonots make a separate Peace, 59 The Siege and Loss of Havre, gl 1564. Peace with France gl Scotch Affairs gj Apparent Friendship between Elizabeth aud Mary, 62 Various Proposals of Marriage to Mary 62 Artful Schemes of Elizabeth to elude them, 63 Conference between Elizabeth and Melvil, Mary's Ambas sador 64 contents. vii Lord Darnley proposed as Husband to Mary 65 The Duplicity and Artifice of Elizabeth 66 1565. The Queen of Scots marries Lord Darnley 68 Factious Discontents of the Nobility and Reformers 68 The Lisurgents are supported by Elizabeth, 69 They are dispersed, and compelled to take Shelter in Eng land, , 70 Elizabeth's Dissimulation, and harsh Treatment of them, 70 Confederacy formed at Bayonne against the Protestants, . 71 1566. Dissensions between Mary and Darnley 72 Murder of Rizzio 72 Mary's implacable Resentment against her Husband, 76 Birth of James I., 76 A Parliament ; they urge a Settlement of the Succession, 77 Elizabeth's evasive Conduct, 78 1567. Mary's Friends increase in England, 79 Murder of Darnley 80 Bothwell and others accused of it, 82 Mock Trial and Acquittal of Bothwell, 83 Mary carried off by Bothwell, 85 She marries him, 88 Surmises of Mary's having concurred in the Murder of Darnley 88 Insurrections in Scotland, 91 Imprisonment of Mary, 92 Elizabeth sends an Ambassador to Scotland • 92 •Mary compelled to resign her Crown 95 Earl of Murray assumes the Regency 95 568. Mary effects her Escape, 97 Her Followers are defeated by Murray, and she flies into England, .'. 98 Elizabeth's cautious Behavior towards her, 100 Conferences at York and Hampton Court, 103 Murray accuses Mary of being accessary to the Assassina tion, of her Husband .- 107 Mary's Commissioners refuse to answer, 107 Evidences of Mary's Guilt, 108 Elizabeth determines to keep her in Captivity, 112 CONTENTS. CHAPTER XL. 1568. Character of the Puritans, 115 Their Objections to Ceremonies and sacerdotal Vestments, 115 1569. Duke of Norfolk's Conspiracy 119 A Marriage between him and Mary projected, 120 He gains lix Consent of several of the English Nobility, 121 The Scheme 13 discovered by Elizabeth, 123 The Duke is committed to the Tower, 124 Insurrections in the North 125 Politic Conduct of Elizabeth and Mary 127 1570. Assassination of the Earl of Murray, • 128 Scotland relapses into Anarchy, .- • • ¦ 129 The Title of Regent given to Lenox, 130 Elizabeth sends Proposals to Mary, which are accepted by her, 130 1571. A Negotiation between Elizabeth and Scotch Commis sioners '. 131 The Insincerity of Elizabeth apparent, 132 A new Parliament ; forbidden to meddle with Matters of State, 133 The Queen's Jealousy as to Innovations in Religion, 134 She infringes the Privileges of the Members 155 She makes a prudent Concession 136 Her high Claims of Prerogative overawe the Parliament, 138 The Spark of Liberty kindled and preserved by the Pifi-i- tans, 141 Civil Wars of France, 142 Battle of Jarnac ; Prince of Conde killed, 143 Perfidious Peace with the Hugonots, 145 Affairs of the Low Countries, 146 Philip's arbitrary Government, 147 He appoints the Duke of Alva Governor 148 New Conspiracy of the Duke of Norfolk, 151 1572. His Trial and Execution -. 153 The Commons petition for the Trial of Mary 154 Scotch Affairs ; the Kingdom in a State of Confusion 155 French Affairs ; Dissimulation of Charles, 156 Massacre of Paris, 157 Charles attempts to palliate his Guilt, 158 CONTENTS. IX A- D' PAGE. Elizabeth's prudent Conduct 160 1573. The Hugonots again fly to Arms 161 157i. Death of the King of France, 161 1676. The Duke of Guise lays the Foundation of the League,. 163 1579. Elizabeth takes part with the Hugonots, 164 Civil Wars of the Low Countries, 164 William, Prince of Orange, is declared a Rebel, 166 He lays the Foundation of the Dutch Commonwealth, . . . 166 The Hollanders offer the Sovereignty of their Provinces to Elizabeth 167 She concludes a Treaty with them, 169 England enjoys profound Tranquillity, 170 A Parliament ; Claim of Liberty of Speech, 172 Submissive Behavior of the two Houses 175 CHAPTER XLI. 1580. Affairs of Scotland ; Morton resigns the Regency, 177 He is condemned and executed as an Accomplice in the Murder of Darnley 179 Sir Francis Drake attacks the Spaniards in South America, 180 He circumnavigates the Globe 180 1581. AParliament; severe Laws .against the Catholics, 181 Dangerous Principles and Practices of the Jesuits, 183 Negotiations of Marriage with the Duke of Anjou, 184 His favorable Reception 185 The Queen hesitates ; Sir Philip Sidney's Letter, 188 1582. The Duke of Anjou is dismissed 189 Affairs of Scotland; the King's Person seized by Gowry and others 190 1683. Letter of Mary to Elizabeth 192 James makes his Escape, and assumes the Government, . . 195 1584. He summons a Parliament ; Tranquillity is restored 196 Conspiracies in England, 197 Vigilance of the Queen's Ministers, 197 Mary more rigorously confined, 198, A new Parliament, 199 Rigorous Law against Jesuits and Popish Priests 199 The Ecclesiastical Court 201 Parry's Conspiracy, 203 X CONTENTS. PACE- The Prince of Orange assassinated, 205 1585. The States again offer the Sovereignty to Elizabeth, 206 Reasons for and against her accepting it, 207 She forms a League with the States 208 The Earl of Leicester sent over to Holland 209 Hostilities with Spain, 21° 1586. Drake's Enterprises in the West Indies 210 111 Success of the Earl of Leicester 211 Death of Sir Philip Sidney, 212 Elizabeth's artful Intrigues in Scotland, 212 She forms a League with James, 214 CHAPTER XLII. 1586. Zeal of the Catholics, 216 They intend the Assassination of the Queen, 217 Sabington's Conspiracy to murder Elizabeth., and liberate the Queen of Scots, 217 Discovered by the Council, • • 219 Assented to by Mary, 220 The Conspirators seized and executed, 221 Mary's Secretaries arrested, and her Papers seized, 222 Resolution to bring her to Trial, 223 The Commissioners prevail on her to submit to the Trial, 224 The Trial; she protests against the Authority of her Judges 225 The Evidences of her Concurrence in the Design of assas sinating Elizabeth, 226 Sentence of Death pronounced against her, 229 Elizabeth's affected Reluctance to have it executed, 229 A new Parliament ; which petitions the Queen to execute the Sentence 229 Mary's last Letter to Elizabeth, 231 Interposition of King James, 233 Reasons for the Execution of Mary 235 Elizabeth's Duplicity and artful Conduct, 236 1587. The Execution of Mary ; her dignified Behavior, 238 Her Character, 244 Elizabeth's affected Sorrow, 245 She writes an Apology to James, 245 CONTENTS. XI A. D. PAGE. The Resentment of James, 247 Arguments to pacify him, 248 Drake destroys the Spanish Fleet at Cadiz, 250 HI Success in Holland, and Recall of Leicester 251 1588. Philip projects the Invasion of England, 253 The Invincible Armada, 254 Preparations in England 255 The English naval and military Force, 255 The Vigor and Prudence of the Queen's Conduct, 257 She rouses the Zeal of the Protestants, and treats the Catholics with Moderation, 257 The Queen appears in the Camp at Tilbury 259 Misfortunes of the Spanish Armada 259 It arrives in the Channel, 261 Skirmishes with the English Fleet, 262 It is harassed and dispersed, 262 1589. A Parliament : the Queen's predominating Influence, .... 264 Unfortunate Expedition against Portugal, 266 Elizabeth's Jealousy of James, 269 She endeavors without Success to prevent his Marriage, . . 269 CHAPTER XLIII. 1590. The Queen's secure Situation, 271 French Affairs ; Elizabeth assists the Hugonots, 271 Murder of the Duke of Guise, 272 Murder of Henry IH 273 Difficulties and Progress of Henry IV., 274 Elizabeth concludes a Treaty with him 274 1591. Naval Enterprises against Spain, 276 1593. A Parliament ; the Queen's haughty Speech, 277 Some of the Members committed to Prison, 278 Rigorous Law against Recusants, 280 Henry IV. embraces the Catholic Religion, 283 Intrigues of Philip and Elizabeth in Scotland, 284 1595. The French King declares War against Philip 286 A new Treaty with the States 287 1597. Naval Enterprises under Hawkins and Raleigh 288 111 Success and Death of Drake, 289 XU CONTENTS. » PA. i • ELIZABETH. 29 possessed an influence over them beyond what remained even with their native sovereign. The regard which she acquired by this dexterous and spirited conduct, gave her every where, abroad as well as at home, more authority than had attended her sister, though supported by all the power of the Spanish monarchy.* The subsequent measures of the Scottish reformers tended still more to cement their union with England. Being now entirely masters of the kingdom, they made no further cere mony or scruple in fully effecting their purpose. In the treaty of Edinburgh, it had been agreed, that a parliament or con vention should soon be assembled ; and the leaders of the congregation, not waiting till the queen of Scots should ratify that treaty, thought themselves fully entitled, without the sov ereign's authority, immediately to summon a parliament. The reformers presented a petition to this assembly, in which they were not contented with desiring the establishment of their doctrine ; they also applied for the punishment of the Catholics, whom they called vassals to the Roman harlot ; and they asserted, that among all the rabble of the clergy — such is their expression — there was not one lawful minister; but that they were all of them thieves and murderers ; yea, rebels and traitors to civil authority, and therefore unworthy to be suffered in any reformed commonwealth.t The parliament seem to have been actuated by the same spirit of rage and persecution. After ratifying a confession of faith agreeable to the new doc trines, they passed a statute against the mass, and not only abolished it in all the churches, but enacted, that whoever any where either officiated in it, or was present at it, should be chastised, for the first offence, with confiscation of goods and corporal punishment, at the discretion of the magistrate ; for the second, with banishment ; and for the third, with loss of life.i A law was also voted for abolishing the papal jurisdic tion ' in Scotland : the Presbyterian form of discipline was settled, leaving only at first some shadow of authority to cer tain ecclesiastics, whom they called superintendents. The prelates of the ancient faith appeared, in order to complain of Knox, p. 294 40 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. some other young courtiers, had been engaged, after a debauch, to pay a visit to a woman called Alison Craig, who was known to be liberal of her favors ; and because they were denied admittance, they broke the windows, thrust open the door, and committed some disorders in searching for the danTsel. It happened that the assembly of the church was sitting at that time, and they immediately took the matter under their cognizance. In conjunction with several of the nobility, they presented an address to the queen, which was introduced with this awful prelude : " To the queen's majesty, and to her secret and great council, her grace's faithful and obedient subjects, the professors of Christ Jesus's holy evangil, wish the spirit of righteous judgment." The tenor of the petition was that the fear of God, the duty which they owed her grace, and the terrible threatenings denounced by God against every city or country where horrible crimes were openly committed, compelled them to demand the severe punishment of such as had done what in them lay to kindle the wrath of God against the whole realm ; that the iniquity of which they complained was so heinous and so horrible, that they should esteem themselves accomplices in it, if they had been engaged by worldly fear, or servile complaisance, to pass it over in silence, or bury it in oblivion : that as they owed her grace obedience, in the administration of justice, so were they entitled to require of her, in return, the sharp and condign punishment of this enormity, which, they repeated it, might draw down the vengeance of God on the whole kingdom : and that- they maintained it to be her duty to lay aside all private affections towards the actors in so heinous a crime, and so enormous a villany, and without delay bring them to a trial, and inflict the severest penalties upon them. The queen gave a gracious reception to this peremptory address; but because she probably thought that breaking the windows of a brothel merited not such severe reprehension, she only replied, that her uncle was a stranger, and that he was attended by a young com pany : but she would put such order to him and to all others, that her subjects should henceforth have no reason to complain. Her passing over this incident so slightly was the source of great discontent, and was regarded as a proof of the most profligate manners* It is not to be omitted, that Alison Craig, the cause of all the uproar, was known to entertain a com- * Knox, p. 302, 303, 304. Keith, p. 509. ELIZABETH. 41 merce with the earl of Arran, who, on account of his great zeal for the reformation, was, without scruple, indulged in that enormity.* Some of the populace of Edinburgh broke into the queen's chapel during her absence, and committed outrages ; for which two of them were indicted, and it was intended to bring them to a trial. Knox wrote circular letters to the most con siderable zealots of the party, and charged them to appear in town and protect their brethren. The holy sacraments, he there said, are abused by profane Papists ; the mass has been said ; and in worshipping that idol, the priests have omitted no ceremony, not even the conjuring of their accursed water, that had ever been practised in the time of the greatest blind ness. These violent measures for opposing justice were little short of rebellion ; and Knox was summoned before the council to answer for his offence. The courage of the man wa» equal to his insolence. He scrupled not to tell the queen that the pestilent Papists who had inflamed her against these holy men, were the sons of the devil ; and must therefore obey the direc tions of their father, who had been a liar and a manslayer from the beginning. The matter ended with the full acquittal of Knox.t Randolph, the English ambassador in Scotland, had reason to write to Cecil, speaking of the Scottish nation, " I think marvellously of the wisdom of God, that gave this unruly, inconstant, and cumbersome people no more power nor substance ; for they would otherwise run wild." \ We have related these incidents at greater length than the necessity of our subject may seem to require ; but even trivial circumstances, which show the manners of the age, are often more instructive, as well as entertaining, than the great trans actions of wars and negotiations, which are nearly similar in all periods and in all countries ofthe world. The reformed clergy in Scotland had at that time a very natural reason for their ill humor ; namely, the poverty, or rather beggary, to which they were reduced. The nobility and gentry had at first laid their hands on all the property of the regular clergy, without making any provision for the friars and nuns, whom they turned out of their possessions. The secular clergy of the Catholic communion, though they lost all ecclesiastical jurisdiction, still held some of the temporali ties of their benefices ; and either became laymen themselves, * Knox. t Knox, p. 336, 342. X Keith, p. 202. 4* 42 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. and converted them into private property, or made convey ance of them at low prices to the nobility, who thus enriched themselves by the plunder of the church. The new teachers had hitherto subsisted chiefly by the voluntary oblations of the faithful; and in a poor country, divided in religious senti ments, this' establishment was regarded as very scanty and very precarious. Repeated applications were made for a legal settlement to the preachers ; and though almost every thing in the kingdom was governed by their zeal and caprice, it was with difficulty that their request was at last complied with. The fanatical spirit which they indulged, and their industry in decrying the principles and practices of the Ro mish communion, which placed such merit in enriching the clergy, proved now a very sensible obstacle to their acquisi tions. The convention, however, passed a vote,* by which they divided all the ecclesiastical benefices into twenty-one shares : they assigned fourteen to the ancient possessors : of the remaining seven they granted three to the crown ; and if that were found to answer the public expenses, they bestowed the overplus on the reformed ministers. The queen was empowered to levy all the seven ; and it was ordained that she should afterwards pay to the clergy what should be judged to suffice for their maintenance. The necessities of the crown, the rapacity of the courtiers, and the small affection which Mary bore to the Protestant ecclesiastics, rendered their reve nues contemptible as well as uncertain ; and the preachers, finding that they could not rival the gentry, or even the mid dling rank of men, in opulence and plenty, were necessitated to betake themselves to other expedients for supporting their authority. They affected a furious zeal for religion, morose manners, a vulgar and familiar, yet mysterious cant ; and though the liberality of subsequent princes put them afterwards on a better footing with regard to revenue, and thereby cor rected in some degree those bad habits, it must be confessed that, while many other advantages attend Presbyterian gov ernment, these inconveniences are not easily separated from the genius of that ecclesiastical polity. The queen of Scots, destitute of all force, possessing a narrow revenue, surrounded with a factious, turbulent nobility, a bigoted people, and insolent ecclesiastics, soon found that her only expedient for maintaining tranquillity was to preserve * Knox, p. 296. Keith, p. 210. ELIZABETH. 43 a good correspondence with Elizabeth,* who, by former con nections and services, had acquired such authority over all these ranks of men. Soon after her arrival in Scotland, Secretary Lidington was sent to London, in order to pay her compliments to the queen, and express her desire of friend ship and a good correspondence ; and he received a commis sion from her, as well as from the nobility of Scotland, to demand, as a means of cementing this friendship, that Mary should, by act of parliament or by proclamation, (for the difference between these securities was not then deemed very considerable,) be declared successor to the crown. No request could be more unreasonable, or made at a more improper juncture. The queen replied, that Mary had once discovered her intention not to wait for the succession, but had openly, without ceremony or reserve, assumed the title of Queen of England, and had pretended a superior right to her throne and kingdom : that though her ambassadors and those of her husband, the French king, had signed a treaty, in which they renounced that claim, and promised satisfaction for so great an indignity, she was so intoxicated with this imaginary right, that she had rejected the most earnest solicitations, and even, as some endeavored to persuade her, had incurred some danger in crossing the seas, rather than ratify that equitable treaty : that her partisans every where had still the assurance to insist on her title, and had presumed to talk of her own birth as illegitimate : that while affairs were on this footing ; while a claim thus openly made, so far from being openly renounced, was only suspended till a more favorable oppor tunity ; it would in her be the most egregious imprudence to fortify the hands of a pretender to her crown by declaring her the successor : that no expedient could be worse imagined for cementing friendship than such a declaration ; and kings were often found to bear no good will to their successors, even though their own children ; much more when the connection was less intimate, and when such cause of disgust and jealousy had already been given, and indeed was still continued, on the part of Mary : that though she was willing, from the amity which she bore her kinswoman, to ascribe her former preten sions to the advice of others, by whose direction she was then governed, her present refusal to relinquish them could proceed only from her own prepossessions, and was a proof that she »' Jebb, vol. ii. p. 456. 44 HISTOR* OF ENGLAND. still harbored some dangerous designs against her : that it was the nature of all men to be disgusted with the present, to entertain flattering views of futurity, to think their services ill rewarded, to expect a better recompense from the successor ; and she should esteem herself scarcely half a sovereign over the English, if they saw her declare her heir, and arm her rival with authority against her own repose and safety : that , she knew the inconstant nature of the people ; she was ac quainted with the present divisions in religion ; she was not ignorant that the same party, which expected greater favor during the reign of Mary, did also imagine that the title of that princess was superior to her own : that for her part, what ever claims were advanced, she was determined to live and die queen of England ; and after her death it was the busi ness of others to examine who had the best pretensions, either by the laws or by right of blood, to the succession: that she hoped the claim of the queen of Scots would then be found solid; and, considering the injury which she herself had received, it was sufficient indulgence if she promised, in the mean time, to do nothing which might in any respect weaken or invalidate it : and that Mary, if her title were really prefer able — a point which, for her own part, she had never inquired into — possessed all advantages above her rivals ; who, destitute both of present power and of all support by friends, would only expose themselves to inevitable ruin, by advancing any weak, or even doubtful pretensions.* These views of the queen were so prudent and judicious, that there was no likelihood of her ever departing from them : but that she might put the matter to a fuller proof, she offered to explain the words of the treaty of Edinburgh, so as to leave no suspicion of their excluding Mary's right of succession ; t and in this form she again required her to ratify that treaty. Matters at last came to this issue, that Mary agreed to the proposal, and offered to renounce all present pretensions to the crown of England, provided Elizabeth would agree to declare her the successor, j But such was the jealous charac ter of this latter princess, that she never would consent to strengthen the interest and authority of any claimant by fixing the succession ; much less would she make this concession in * Buchanan, lib. xvii. c. 14 — 17. Camden, p. 385. Spotswood, p. 180, 181. T Spotswood, p. 181. + Haynes, vol. i. p. 377. ELIZABETH. 45 favor of a rival queen, who possessed such plausible preten sions for the present, and who, though she might verbally renounce them, could easily resume her claim on the first opportunity. Mary's proposal, however, bore so specious an appearance of equity and justice, that Elizabeth, sensible that reason would, by superficial thinkers, be deemed to lie entirely on that side, made no more mention of the matter ; and though further concessions ^ere never made by either princess, they put on all the appearances of a cordial reconciliation and friendship with each other. The queen observed that, even without her interposition, Mary was sufficiently depressed by the mutinous spirit of her own subjects ; and instead of giving Scotland for the present any inquietude or disturbance, she employed herself, more usefully and laudably, in regulating the affairs of her own kingdom, and promoting the happiness of her people. She made some progress in paying those great debts which lay upon the crown ; she regulated the coin, which had been much debased by her predecessors; she furnished her arsenals with great quantities of arms from Germany and other places ; engaged her nobility and gentiy to imitate her example in this particular; introduced into the kingdom the art of making gunpowder and brass cannon ; fortified her frontiers on the side of Scotland ; made frequent reviews of the militia ; encouraged agriculture, by allowing a free exportation of corn ; promoted trade and navigation ; and so much increased the shipping of her kingdom, both by building vessels of force herself, and suggesting like undertakings to the merchants, that she was justly styled the restorer of naval glory, and the queen of the northern seas.* The natural frugality of her temper, so far from incapacitating her for these great enterprises, only enabled her to execute them with greater certainty and suc cess ; and all the world saw in her conduct the happy effects of a vigorous perseverance in judicious and well-concerted projects. It is easy to imagine that so great a princess, who enjoyed such singular felicity and renown, would receive proposals of marriage from every one that had any likelihood of succeed ing ; and though she had made some public declarations in favor of a single life, few believed that she would persevere forever in that resolution. The archduke Charles, second son * Camden, p. 388. Strype, vol. i. p. 230, 336, 337. 46 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. of the emperor,* as well as Casimir, son of the elector pala tine, made applications to her ; and as this latter prince professed the reformed religion, he thought himself, on that account, better entitled to succeed in his addresses. Eric, king of Sweden, and Adolph, duke of Holstein, were en couraged by the same views to become suitors : and the earl of Arran, heir to the crown of Scotland, was, by the states of that kingdom, recommended to her as a suitable mawiage. Even some of her own subjects, though they did not openly declare their pretensions, entertained hopes of success. The earl of Arundel, a person declining in years, but descended from an ancient and noble family, as well as possessed of great riches, flattered himself with this prospect ; as did also Sir William Pickering, a man much esteemed for his personal merit.- But the person most likely to succeed, was a younger son of the late duke of Northumberland, Lord Robert Dudley, who, by means of his exterior qualities, joined to address and flattery, had become in a manner her declared favorite, and had great influence in all her counsels. The less worthy he appeared of this distinction, the more was his great favor ascribed to some violent affection, which could thus seduce the judgment of this penetrating princess ; and men long expected that he would obtain the preference above so many princes and monarchs. But the queen gave all these suitors a gentle refusal, which still encouraged their pursuit ; and thought that she should the better attach them to her interest, if they were still allowed to entertain hopes of succeeding in their preten sions. It is also probable that this policy was not entirely free from a mixture of female coquetry ; and that, though she was determined in her own mind never to share her power with any man, she was not displeased with the courtship, solicita tion, and professions of love, which the desire of acquiring so valuable a prize procured her from all quarters. What is most singular in the conduct and character of Eliz abeth is, that though she determined never to have any heir of her own body, she was not only very averse to fix any succes sor to the crown, but seems, also, to have resolved, as far as it lay in her power, that no one who had pretensions to the suc cession should ever have any heirs or successors. If the exclusion given by the will of Henry VIII. to the posterity of Margaret, queen of Scotland, was allowed to be valid, the * Haynes, vol. i. p. 238. ELIZABETH. 47 right to the crown devolved on the house of Suffolk ; and the lady Catharine Gray, younger sister to the lady Jane, was now the heir of that family. This -lady had been married to Lord Herbert, son of the earl of Pembroke ; but having been divorced from that nobleman, she had made a private mar riage with the earl of Hertford, son of the protector ; and her husband, soon after consummation, travelled into France. In a little time she appeared to be pregnant, which so enraged Elizabeth, that she threw her into the Tower, and summoned Hertford to appear, in order to answer for his misdemeanor. He made no scruple of acknowledging the marriage, which, though concluded without the queen's consent, was entirely suitable to both parties ; and for this offence he was also com mitted to the Tower. Elizabeth's severity stopped not here : she issued a commission to inquire into the matter ; and as Hertford could not, within the time limited, prove the nuptials by witnesses, the commerce between him and his consort was declared unlawful, and their posterity illegitimate. They were still detained in custody, but by bribing their keepers, they found means to have ' further intercourse ; and another child appeared to be the fruit of their commerce. This was a fresh source of vexation to the queen ; who made a fine of fifteen thousand pounds be set on Hertford by the star chamber, and ordered his confinement to be thenceforth more rigid and severe. He lay in this condition for nine years, till the death of his wife, by freeing Elizabeth from all fears, procured him his liberty.* This extreme severity must be accounted for, either by the unrelenting jealousy of the queen, who was afraid lest a pretender to the succession should acquire credit by having issue ; or by her malignity, which, with all her great qualities, made one ingredient in her character, and which led her to envy in others those natural pleasures of love and pos terity, of which her own ambition and desire of dominion made her renounce all prospect for herself. There happened, about this time, some other events in the royal family where the queen's conduct was more laudable. Arthur Pole and his brother, nephews to the late cardinal, and descended from the duke of Clarence, together with Anthony Fortescue, who had married a sister of these gentlemen, and some other persons, were brought to their trial for intending to withdraw into France, with a view of soliciting succors from the * Haynes, vol, i. p. 369, 378, 396. Camden, p. 389. Heylin, p. 154, 48 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. duke of Guise, of returning thence into Wales, and of pro claiming Mary queen of England, and Arthur Pole duke of Clarence. They confessed the indictment, but asserted that they never meant to execute these projects during the queen's lifetime : they had only deemed such precautions requisite in case of her demise, which some pretenders to judicial astrol ogy had assured them they might with certainty look for before the year expired. They were condemned by the jury ; but received a pardon from the queen's clemency.* * Strype, vol. i. p. 333. Heylin, p. 154. ELIZABETH. 49 CHAPTER XXXIX. ELIZABETH. [1562.] After the commencement of the religious wars in France, which rendered that flourishing kingdom, during the course of near forty years, a scene of horror and devasta tion, the great rival powers in Europe were Spain and Eng land ; and it was not long before an animosity, first political, then personal, broke out between the sovereigns of these countries. Philip II. of Spain, though he reached not any enlarged views of policy, was endowed with great industry and sagacity, a remarkable 'caution in his enterprises, an unusual foresight in all his measures ; and as he was ever cool, and seem ingly unmoved by passion, and possessed neither talents nor inclination for war, both his subjects and his neighbors had reason to expect justice, happiness, and tranquillity from his administration. But prejudices had on him as pernicious effects as ever passion had on any other monarch ; and the spirit of bigotry and tyranny by which he was actuated, with the fraudulent maxims which governed his counsels, excited the most violent agitation among his own people, engaged him in acts of the most enormous cruelty, and threw all Europe into combustion. After Philip had concluded peace at Chateau-Cambresis, and had remained some time in the Netherlands, in order to settle the affairs of that country, he embarked for Spain ; and as the gravity of that nation, with their respectful obedience to their prince, had appeared more agreeable to his humor than the homely, familiar manners and the perti- nacious liberty of the Flemings, it was expected that he would for the future reside altogether at Madrid, and would govern all his extensive dominions by Spanish ministers and Spanish counsels. Having met with a violent tempest on his voyage, he no sooner arrived in harbor than he fell on his knees ; and after giving thanks for his deliverance, he vowed that his life, whinh was thus providentially saved, should thenceforth bs vol, iv. 5 H {JO HISTORY OF ENGLAND. entirely devoted to the extirpation of heresy.* His subse- quent conduct corresponded to these professions Finding that the new doctrines had penetrated into Spain, he et loose the race of persecution against all who professed them, or were suspected cf adhering to them; and by his violence he gave new edge even to .the usual cruelty of priests and inquisitors. He threw into prison Constantine Ponce, who had been confessor to his father, the emperor Charles ; who had attended him during his retreat ; and in whose arms that great monarch had terminated his life : and after this eccle siastic died in confinement, he still ordered him to be tried and condemned for heresy, and his statue to be committed to the flames. He even deliberated whether he should not ex ercise like seventy against the memory of his father, who was suspected, during his later years, to have indulged a propen sity towards the Lutheran principles : in his unrelenting zeal for orthodoxy, he spared neither age, sex, nor condition: he- was present, with an inflexible countenance, at the most bar barous executions : he issued rigorous orders for the prose cution of heretics in Spain, Italy, the Indies, and the Low Countries : and having founded his determined tyranny on maxims of civil policy, as well as on principles of religion, he made it apparent to all his subjects, that there was no method, except the most entire compliance or most obstinate resistance, to escape or elude the severity of his vengeance. During that extreme animosity which prevailed between the adherents of the opposite religions, the civil magistrate, who found it difficult, if not impossible, for the same laws to govern such enraged adversaries, was naturally led, by specious rules of prudence, in embracing one party, to de clare war against the other, and to exterminate by fire and sword those bigots who, from abhorrence of his religion, had proceedecLto an opposition of his power and to a hatred of his person. If any prince possessed such enlarged views as to foresee, that a mutual toleration would in time abate the fury of religious prejudices, he yet met with difficulties in reducing this principle to practice ; and might deem the malady too violent to await a remedy, which, though certain, must necessarily be slow in its operation. But Philip, though a profound hypocrite, and extremely governed by self-interest, seems also to have been himself actuated by an imperious * Thuanus, lib. xxiii. cap, 14, ELIZABETH. 51 bigotry ; and as he employed great reflection in all his con duct, he could easily palliate the gratification of his natural temper under the color of wisdom, and find in this system no less advantage to his foreign than his domestic politics. By placing himself at the head of the Catholic party, he con verted the zealots of the ancient faith into partisans of Spanish greatness ; and by employing the powerful allurement of religion, he seduced every where the subjects from that alle giance which they owed to their native sovereign. The course of events, guiding and concurring with choice, had placed Elizabeth in a situation diametrically opposite ; and had raised her to be the glory, the bulwark, and the support of the numerous, though still persecuted Protestants, throughout Europe. More moderate in her temper than Philip, she found, with pleasure, that the principles of her sect required not such extreme severity in her domestic gov ernment as was exercised by that monarch ; and having no object but self-preservation, she united her interests in all foreign negotiations with those who were every where strug gling under oppression, and guarding themselves against ruin and extermination. The more virtuous sovereign was thus happily thrown into the more favorable cause ; and fortune, in this instance, concurred with policy and nature. During the lifetime of Henry II. of France, and of his suc cessor,, the force of these principles was somewhat restrained, though not altogether overcome, by motives of a superior interest ; and the dread of uniting England with the French monarchy engaged Philip to maintain a good correspondence with Elizabeth. Yet even during this period he rejected the garter which she sent him ; he refused to ratify the ancient league between the house of Burgundy and England ; * he furnished ships to transport French forces into Scotland ; he endeavored to intercept the earl of Arran, who was hastening to join the malecontents in that country ; and the queen's wisest ministers still regarded his friendship as hollow and precarious.t But no sooner did the death of Francis II. put an end to Philip's apprehensions with regard to Mary's suc cession, than his animosity against Elizabeth began more openly to appear ; and the interests of Spain and those of » Digges's Complete Ambassador, p. 369. Haynes, p. 585. Strype, vol. iv. No. 246. t Haynea, vol', i. p. 280, 281, 283, 284. 52 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. England were found opposite in every negotiation and trans action. The two great monarchies of the continent, France and Spain, being possessed of nearly equal force, were naturally antagonists ; and England, from its power and situation, was entitled to support its own dignity, as well as tranquillity, by holding the balance between them. Whatever incident, there fore, tended too much to depress one of these rival powers, as it left the other without control, might be deemed contrary to the interests of England ; yet so much were these great maxims of policy overruled, during that age, by the disputes of theology, that Philip found an advantage in supporting the established government and religion of France, and Elizabeth in protecting faction and innovation. The queen regent of France, when reinstated in authority by the death of her son Francis, had formed a plan of ad ministration more subtle than judicious ; and balancing the Catholics with the Hugonots, the duke of Guise with the prince of Conde, she endeavored to render herself necessary to both, and to establish her own dominion on their constrained obedience.* But the equal counterpoise of power, which, among foreign nations, is the source of tranquillity, proves always the ground of quarrel between domestic factions ; and if the animosity of religion concur with the frequent occasions which present themselves of mutual injury, it is impossible, during any time, to preserve a firm concord in so delicate a situation. The constable Montmorency, moved by zeal for the- ancient faith, joined himself to the duke of Guise : the king of Navarre, from his inconstant temper, and his jealousy of the superior genius of his brother, embraced the same party : and Catharine, finding herself depressed by this com bination, had recourse to Conde and the Hugonots, who gladly embraced the opportunity of fortifying themselves by her countenance and protection.t An edict had been published, granting a toleration to the Protestants; but the interested violence of the duke of Guise, covered with the pretence of religious zeal, broke through this agreement ; and the two parties, after the fallacious tranquillity of a moment, renewed their mutual insults and injuries. Conde, Coligny, Andelot, assembled their friends and flew to arms : Guise and Mont morency got possession of the king's person, and constrained * Davila, lib. ii. t Davila, lib. iii. ELIZABETH. 58 the queen regent to embrace their party : fourteen armies were levied and put in motion in different parts of France ; * each province, each city, each family, was agitated with intestine rage and animosity. The father was divided against the son ; brother against brother ; and women themselves, sacrificing their humanity as well as their timidity to the religious fury, distinguished themselves by acts of ferocity and valor.t Wherever the Hugonots prevailed, the images were broken, the altars pillaged, the churches demolished, the monasteries consumed with fire : where success attended the Catholics, they burned the Bibles, rebaptized the infants, con strained married persons to pass anew through the nuptial ceremony : and plunder, desolation, and bloodshed attended equally the triumph of both parties. The parliament of Paris itself, the seat of law and justice, instead of employing its authority to compose these fatal quarrels, published an edict, by which it put the sword into the hands of the enraged mul titude, and empowered the Catholics every where to massacre the Hugonots : | and it was during this period, when men began to be somewhat enlightened, and in this nation, re nowned for polished manners, that the theological rage, which had long been boiling in men's veins, seems to have attained its last stage of virulence and ferocity. Philip, jealous of the progress which the Hugonots made in France, and dreading that the contagion would spread into the Low Country provinces, had formed a secret alliance with the princes of Guise, and had entered into a mutual concert for the protection of the ancient faith and the suppression of heresy. He now sent six thousand men, with some supply of money, to reenforce the Catholic party ; and the prince of Conde, finding himself unequal to so great a combination, countenanced by the royal authority, was obliged to despatch the Vidame of Chartres and Briguemaut to London, in order to crave the assistance and protection of Elizabeth. Most of the province of Normandy was possessed by the Hugonots : and Conde offered to put Havre de Grace into the hands of the English ; . on condition that, together with three thousand men for the garrison of that place, the queen should likewise send over three thousand to defend Dieppe and Rouen, and * Father Paul, lib. vii. t Father Paul, lib. vii. t Father Paul, lib. vii. Haynes, p. 391. 5* S4 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. should furnish the prince with a supply of a hundred thou sand crowns.* Elizabeth, besides the general and essential interest of sup porting the Protestants, and opposing the rapid progress of her enemy the duke of Guise, had other motives which engaged her to accept of this proposal. When she concluded the peace at Chateau-Cambresis, she had good reason to foresee that France never would voluntarily fulfil the article which regarded the restitution of Calais ; and many subsequent incidents had tended to confirm this suspicion. Considerable sums of money had been expended on the fortifications ; long leases had been granted of the lands; and many inhabitants had been en couraged to build and settle there, by assurances that Calais should never be restored to the English.t The queen there fore wisely concluded, that, could she get possession of Havre, a place which commanded the mouth of the Seine, and was of greater importance than Calais, she should easily constrain the French to execute the treaty, and should have tbe glory of restoring to the crown that ancient possession, so much the favorite of the nation. No measure could be more generally odious in France than the conclusion of this treaty with Elizabeth. Men were nat urally led to compare the conduct of Guise, who had finally expelled the English, and had debarred these dangerous and destructive enemies from all access into France, with the treasonable politics of Conde, who had again granted them an entrance into the heart of the kingdom. The prince had the more reason to repent of this measure, as he reaped not from it all the advantage which he expected. Three thousand Eng lish immediately took possession-of Havre and Dieppe, under the command of Sir Edward Poinings ; but the latter place was found so little capable of defence, that it was immediately abandoned-! The siege of Rouen was already formed by the Catholics, under the command of the king of Navarre and Montmorency ; and it was with difficulty that Poinings could throw a small reenforcement into the place. Though these English troops behaved with gallantry ,§ and though the king of Navarre was mortally wounded during the siege, the Cath olics still continued the attack of the place, and carrying it at last by assault, put the whole garrison to the sword. The earl * Forbes, vol. ii. p. 48. t Forbes, vol. ii. p. 64, 257. X Forbes, vol. ii. p. 199. j Forbes, vol. ii. p. 161. ELIZABETH. 55 of Warwick, eldest son of the late duke of Northumberland, arrived soon after at Havre with another body of three thousand English, and took on him the command of the place. It was expected that the French Catholics, flushed with their success at Rouen, would immediately have formed the siege of Havre, which was not as yet in any condition of defence ; but the intestine disorders of the kingdom soon diverted their atten tion to another enterprise. Andelot, seconded by the nego tiations of Elizabeth, had levied a considerable body of Prot estants in Germany ; and having arrived at Orleans, the seat of the Hugonots' power, he enabled the prince of Conde and the admiral to take the field, and oppose the progress of their enemies. After threatening Paris during some time, they took their march towards Normandy, with a view of engaging the English to act in conjunction with them, and of fortifying themselves by the further assistance which they expected from me zeal and vigor of Elizabeth.* The Catholics, commanded by the oonstable, and under him by the duke of Guise, followed en their rear ; and, overtaking them at Dreux, obliged them to /jive battle. The field was fought with great obstinacy on both •ides ; and the action was distinguished by this singular event, that Coi.de and Montmorencjr, the commanders of the opposite armies, fell both of them prisoners into the hands of their jnen:ii_s. The appearances of victory remained with Guise; l»ut the admi.'al, whose fate it ever was to be defeated, and still to rise moie terrible after his misfortunes, collected the remains of the army ; and inspiring his own unconquerable courage and constancy into every breast, kept them in a body, tnd subdued somu considerable places in Normandy. Eliza beth, the better to .support his cause, sent him a new supply of a hundred thousuud crowns ; and offered, if he could find merchants to lend him the money, to give her bond for another sum of equal amouut.t [1563.] The expenses incurred by assisting the French Hugonots had emptied the queen's exchequer ; and in order to obtain supply, she found herself under a necessity of summoning a parliament : an expedient to which she never willingly had recourse. A little before the meeting of this assembly, she had fallen into a dangerous illness, the small pox ; and as her life, during some time, was despaired of, the * Forbes, ^ jl. ii. p. 320. Davila, lib. iii. t Forbes, vol. ii. p. 322, 347. 56 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. people became the more sensible of their perilous situation, derived from the uncertainty, which, in case of her demise, attended the succession of the crown. The partisans of the queen of Scots, and those of the house of Suffolk, already divided the nation into factions ; and every one foresaw, that, though it might be possible at present to determine the con troversy by law, yet, if the throne were vacant, nothing but the sword would be able to fix a successor. The commons, therefore, on the opening of the session, voted an address to the queen ; ih which, after enumerating the dangers attending a broken and doubtful succession, and mentioning the evils which their fathers had experienced from the contending titles of York and Lancaster, they entreated the queen to put an end to their apprehensions, by choosing some husband, whom they promised, whoever he were, gratefully to receive, and faithfully to serve, honor, and obey : or if she had enter tained any reluctance to the married state, they desired that the lawful successor might be named, at least appointed by act of parliament. They remarked, that, during all the reigns which had passed since the conquest, the nation had never before been so unhappy as not to know the person who, in case of the sovereign's death, was legally entitled to fill the vacant throne. And they observed, that the fixed order which took place in inheriting the French monarchy, was one chief source of the usual tranquillity, as well as of the happiness, of that kingdom.* This subject, though extremely interesting to the nation, wai very little agreeable to the queen ; and she was sensible that great difficulties would attend every decision. A declaration in favor of the queen of Scots would form a settlement per fectly legal ; because that princess was commonly allowed to possess the right of blood ; and the exclusion given by Henry's will, deriving its weight chiefly from an act of parliament, would lose all authority whenever the queen and parliament had made a new settlement, and restored the Scottish line to its place in the succession. But she dreaded giving encourage ment to the Catholics, her secret enemies, by this declaration. She was sensible that every heir was, in some degree, a rival ; much more one who enjoyed a claim for the present posses sion of the crown, and who had already advanced, in a very open manner, these dangerous pretensions. The great power * Sir Simon d'Ewes's Journ. p. 81. ELIZABETH. 57 of Mary, both from the favor of the Catholic princes, and her connections with the house of Guise, not to mention the force and situation of Scotland, was well known to her ; and she saw no security, that this princess, if fortified bv a sure pros pect of succession, would not revive claims which she could never yet be prevailed on formally to relinquish. On the other hand, the title of the house of Suffolk was supported by the more zealous Protestants only ; and it was very doubtful whether even a parliamentary declaration in its favor would bestow on it such validity as to give satisfaction to the people. The republican part of the constitution had not yet acquired such an ascendant as to control, in any degree, the ideas of hereditary right, and as the legality of Henry's will was still disputed, though founded on the utmost authority which a par liament could confer, who could be assured that a more recent act would be acknowledged to have greater validity ? In the frequent revolutions which had of late taken place, the right of blood had still prevailed over religious prejudices; and the nation had ever shown itself disposed rather to change its faith than the order of succession. Even many Protestants declared themselves in favor of Mary's claim of inheritance ;* and nothing would occasion more general disgust, than to see the queen, openly and without reserve, take part against it. The Scottish princess also, finding herself injured in so sensible a point, would thenceforth act as a declared enemy ; and uniting together her foreign and domestic friends, the partisans of her present title and of her eventual suc cession, would soon bring matters to extremities against the present establishment. The queen, weighing all these incon veniences, which were great and urgent, was determined to keep both parties in awe, by maintaining still an ambiguous conduct; and she rather chose that the people should run the hazard of contingent events, than that she herself should visi bly endanger her throne, by employing expedients, which, at best, would not bestow entire security on the nation. She gave, therefore, an evasive answer to the applications of the commons ; and when the house, at the end of the session, desired, by the mouth of their speaker, further satisfaction ori that head, she could not be prevailed on to make her reply more explicit. She only told them, contrary to her declarations in the beginning of her reign, that she had fixed no absolute * Keith, p. 322. 58 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. resolution against marriage ; and she added, that the difficul ties attending the question of the succession were so great that she would be contented, for the sake of her people, to remain some time longer in this vale of misery; and never should depart life with satisfaction, till she had laid some solid foundation for their future security.* The most remarkable law passed this session, was that which bore the title of " Assurance of the queen's royal power over all states and subjects within her dominions."t By this act, the asserting twice, by writing, word, or deed, the pope's authority, was subjected to tbe penalties of treason. All persons in holy orders were bound to take the oath of suprem acy ; as also all who were advanced to any degree, either in the universities or in common law ; all schoolmasters, officers in court, or members of parliament : and the penalty of their second refusal was treason. The first offence, in both cases, was punished by banishment and forfeiture. This rigorous statute was not extended to any of the degree of a baron ; because it was not supposed that the queen could entertain any doubt with regard to the fidelity of persons possessed of such high dignity. Lord Montacute made opposition to the bill ; and asserted, in favor of the Catholics, that they disputed not, they preached not, they disobeyed not the queen, they caused no trouble, no tumults among the people.t It is, how ever, probable, that some suspicions of their secret conspira cies had made the queen and parliament increase their rigor against them ; though it is also more than probable, that they were mistaken in the remedy. There was likewise another point, in which the parliament, this session, showed more the goodness of their intention than the soundness of their judgment. They passed a law against fond and fantastical prophecies, which had been observed to seduce the people into rebellion and disorder : § but at the same time they enacted a statute, which was most likely to increase these and such like superstitions: it was levelled against conjurations, enchantments, and witchcraft. || Witch craft and heresy are two crimes which commonly increase by punishment, and never are so effectually suppressed as by being totally neglected. After the parliament had granted the queen a supply of one subsidy and two fifteenths, the session was finished by a prorogation. The convocation like- * Sir Simon D'Ewes's Journal, p. 75. t 5 Eliz. c. 1 ,. Strype, vol. i. p. 260. f 5 Eliz. c. 1 |] 5 Eliz. c. 16. ELIZABETH. 59 wise voted the q -sna subsidy of six shillings in the pound, payable in time years. While the English parties exerted these calm efforts against each other in parliamentary votes and debates, the French fictions, influmed to the highest degree of animosity, con tinued that cruel war which their intemperate zeal, actuated by the ambition of their leaders, had kindled in the kingdom. The admiral wus successful in reducing the towns of Nor mandy which held for the king ; but he frequently complained that the numerous garrison of Havre remained totally inactive, and was not employed in any military operation against the common enemy. The queen, in taking possession of that place, had published a manifesto,* in which she pretended that her concern for thc interests of the French king had engaged her in that measure, and that her sole intention was to oppose her enemies of the house of Guise, who held their prince in captivity, and employed his power to the destruction of his best and most faithful subjects. It was chiefly her desire to preserve appearances, joined to the great frugality of her temper, which made her at this critical juncture keep her soldiers in garrison, and restrain them from committing further hostilities upon tho enerriy.t The duke of Guise, meanwhile, was aiming a mortal blow at the power of the Hugonots ; and had commenced the siege of Orleans, of which Aiulelot wus governor, and where the constable was detained prisoner. lie had the prospect of speedy success in this undertaking ; when he was assassinated hy Poltrot, a young gentleman whose zeal, instigated (as is pretended, though without any certain foundation) by tho admiral, and Beza, a famous preacher, led him to attempt that criminal enterprise. The death of this gallant prince was a sensible loss to the Catholic parly ; and though the cardinal of Lorraine, his brother, still supported the interests of the family, the danger of their progress appeared not so imminent either to Elizabeth or to the French Protestants. The union, therefore, between these allies, which had been cemented by their common fears, began thenceforth to be less intimate ; and the leaders of the Hun-onots were persuaded to hearken to terms of a- separate accommodation. Conde and Montmorency held conferences for settlin" the peace ; and as they were both of them impatient * Forbos, vol. ii. t Forbes, vol. ii. p. 276, 277. 60 HISTORY OT ENGLAND. to relieve themselves from captivity, they soon came to an agreement with regard to the conditions. The character of the queen regent, whose ends were always violent, but who endeavored by subtlety and policy, rather than force, to attain them, led her to embrace any plausible terms ; and in spite of the protestations of the admiral, whose sagacity could easily discover the treachery of the court, the articles of agree ment were finally settled between the parties. A toleration under some restrictions was anew granted to the Protestants ; a general amnesty was published ; Conde was reinstated in his offices and governments ; and after money was advanced for the payment of arrears due to the German troops, they were dismissed the kingdom. By the agreement between Elizabeth and the prince of Conde, it had been stipulated,* that neither party should con clude peace without the consent of the other ; but this article was at present but little regarded by the leaders of the French Protestants. They only comprehended her so far in the treaty, as to obtain a promise that, on her relinquishing Havre, her eharges, and the money which she had advanced them, should be repaid her by the Sing of France, and that Calais, on the expiration of the term, should be restored to her. But she disdained to accept of these conditions ; and thinking the possession of Havre a much better pledge for effecting her purpose, she sent Warwick orders to prepare himself against an attack from the now united power of the French monarchy. The earl of Warwick, who commanded a garrison of six ftousand men, besides seven hundred pioneers, had no sooner got possession of Havre, than he employed every means for putting it in a posture of defence ; t and after expelling the French from the town, he encouraged his soldiers to make the most desperate defence against the enemy. The constable commanded the French army ; the queen regent herself and the king were present in the camp ; even the prince of Conde joined the king's forces, and gave countenance to this enter prise ;"the admiral and Andelot alone, anxious still to pre serve the friendship of Elizabeth, kept at a distance, and prudently refused to join their ancient enemies in an attack upon their allies. • Forbes, voL ii. p. 79. f Forbes, vol. ii. p. 158. ELIZABETH. 61 From the force, and dispositions, and situation of both sides, it was expected that tbe siege would bo attended with some memorable event; yet did France make a much easier acqui sition of this important place than was at first apprehended. Thi! plague crept in among thc English soldiers ; and being increased by their fatigue and bad diet, (for they were but ill supplied with provisions,*) it made such ravages, that sometimes a hundred men a day died of it ; and there re mained not, at last, fifteen hundred in a condition to do duty.t The French, meeting with such l'eeblo resistance, carried on their attacks successfully; and having made two breaches, each of them sixty foet wide, they prepared for a general assault, which must have terminated in thc slaughter of the whole gnrrison.J Warwick, who hud frequently warned the English council of the danger, and who had loudly demanded a supply of men and provisions, found himself obliged to capitulate, and to content himself with the liberty of with drawing his garrison. The articles were no sooner signed, than Lord Clinton, tlie admiral, who had been detained by contrury winds, appeared off the harbor with a reenforcement of three thousand men ; and found the place surrendered to the enemy. To increase the misfortune, the infected army brought the plague with them into England, whore it swept off great multitudes, particularly in the city of London. Above twenty thousand persons there died of it in one year.§ Elizabeth, whose usual vigor and foresight had not appeared in this transaction, was now glad to compound matters; and as thc qucon regent desired to obtain leisure, in order to pre pare measures for the extermination of the Hugonots, she readily hearkened to any reasonable terms of accommodation with England. || [1561.] It was agreed, that the hostages wliich tho French had given for the restitution of Calais, should be restored for two hundred and twenty thousand crowns ; and that both sides should retain all their claims and pretensions. Tho peace still continued with Scotland ; and even a cordial •'• Forbes, vol. ii. p. 377, 498. f Forbes, vol. ii. p. 150, 458. t Forbe«, vol. ii. p. 198. § Sec note V, at tlio end of tho volume. II lluvila, lib. iii. VOL. IV. d H 62 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. friendship seemed to have been cemented between Elizabeth and Mary. These princesses made profession of the most entire affection ; wrote amicable letters every week to each other ; and had adopted, in all appearance, the sentiments as well as style of sisters. Elizabeth punished one Hales, who had published a book against Mary's title ; * and as the lord keeper Bacon was thought to have encouraged Hales in this undertaking, he fell under her displeasure, and it was with some difficulty he was able to give her satisfaction, and recover her favor.t The two queens had agreed in the foregoing summer to an interview at York, % in order to remove all difficulties with regard to Mary's ratification of the treaty of Edinburgh, and to consider of the proper method for settling the succession of England ; but as Elizabeth carefully avoided touching on this delicate subject, she employed a pretence of the wars in France, which, she said, would detain her in Lon don ; and she delayed till next year the intended interview. It is also probable, that being well acquainted with the beauty, and address, and accomplishments of Mary, she did not choose to stand the comparison with regard to those exterior qualities, in which she was eclipsed by her rival ; and was unwilling that a princess, who had already made great progress in the esteem and affections of the English, should have a further opportunity of increasing the number of her partisans. Mary's close connections with the house of Guise, and her devoted attachment to her uncles, by whom she had been early educated and constantly protected, was the ground of just and insurmountable jealousy to Elizabeth, who regarded them as her mortal and declared enemies, and was well acquainted with their dangerous character and ambitious projects. They had made offer of their niece to Don Carlos, Philip's son ; to the king of Sweden, the king of Navarre, the archduke Charles, the duke of Ferrara, the cardinal of Bour bon, who had only taken deacon's orders, from which he might easily be freed by a dispensation ; and they were ready to marry her to any one who could strengthen their interests, or give inquietude and disturbance to Elizabeth.^ Elizabeth, on her part, was equally vigilant to prevent the execution of their schemes, and was particularly anxious lest * Keith, p. 252. t Keith, p. 253. X Haynes, p. 388. \ Forbes, vol. ii. p. 287. Strype, vol. i. p. 400. ELIZABETH. Mary should form any powerful foreign alliance, which might tempt her to revive her pretensions to the crown, and to invade the kingdom on the side where it was weakest and lay most exposed.* As she believed that the marriage with the archduke Charles was the one most likely to have place, she used every expedient to prevent it; and besides remonstrating against it to Mary herself, she endeavored to draw off the archduke from that pursuit, by giving him some hopes of success in his pretensions to herself, and by inviting him to a renewal of the former treaty of marriage. t She always told the queen of Soots, that nothing would satisfy her but her espousing some English nobleman, who would remove all grounds of jealousy, and cement the union between the king doms ; and she offered on this condition to have her title examined, and to declare her successor to the crown.f After keeping the matter in these general terms during a twelve month, she at last named Lord Robert Dudley, now created earl of Leicester, as the person <*n whom she desired that Mary's choice should fall. The earl of Leicester, the great and powerful favorite of Elizabeth, possessed all those exterior qualities which are naturally alluring to the fair sex ; a handsome person, a polite address, an insinuating behavior ; and by means of these accomplishments he had been able to blind even the penetra tion of Elizabeth, and conceal from ber the great defects, or rather odious vices, whieh attended his character. He was proud, insolent, interested, ambitious ; without honor, without generosity, without humanity ; and atoned not for these bad qualities by such abilities or courage as could fit him for that high trust and confidence with whieh she always honored him. Her constant and declared attachment to him had naturally emboldened him to aspire to her bed ; and in order to make way for these nuptials, he was universally believed to have murdered, in a barbarous manner, his wife, the heiress of one Robesart. The proposal of espousing Mary was by no means agreeable to him ; and he always ascribed it to the contrivance of Cecil, his enemy ; who, he thought, intended by that artifice to make him lose the friendship of Mary from the temerity of his pretensions, and that of Elizabeth from jealousy of Ins attachments to another woman.§ The queen • Keith, p. 217, 284. t Melvil, p. 41. X Keith, p. 243, 249, 269, 265. § Camden, p. 396. / 64 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. herself had not any serious intention of effecting this mar riage ; but as she was desirous that the queen of Scots should never have any husband, she named a man who, she believed, was not likely to be accepted of; and she hoped by that means to gain time, and elude the project of any other alliance. The earl of Leicester was too great a favorite to be parted with ; and when Mary, allured by the prospect of being declared successor to the crown, seemed at last to hearken to Elizabeth's proposal, this princess receded from her offers, and withdrew the bait which she had thrown out to her rival.* This duplicity of conduct, joined to some ap pearance of an imperious superiority assumed by her, had drawn a peevish letter from Mary ; and the seemingly amica ble correspondence between the two queens was, during some time, interrupted. In order to make up the breach, the queen of Scots despatched Sir James Melvil to London ; who has given us in his memoirs a particular account of his negotia tion. Melvil was an agreeable courtier, a man of address and conversation ; and it was recommended to him by his mistress, that, besides grave reasonings concerning politics and state affairs, he should introduce more entertaining topics of con versation, suitable to the sprightly character of Elizabeth ; and should endeavor by that means to insinuate himself into her confidence. He succeeded so well, that he threw that artful princess entirely ofl* her guard,t and made her discover the bottom of her heart, full of all those levities, and follies, and ideas of rivalship which possess the youngest and most frivolous of her sex. He talked to her of his travels, and forgot not to mention the different dresses of the ladies in different countries, and the particular advantages of each in setting off the beauties of the shape and person. The queen said, that she had dresses of all countries; and she took care thenceforth to meet the ambassador every day apparelled in a different habit : sometimes she was dressed in the English garb, sometimes in the French, sometimes in the Italian ; and she asked him which of them became her most. He answered, the Italian ; a reply that he knew would be agreeable to her, because that mode showed to advantage her flowing locks, which, he remarked, though they were more red than yellow, * Keith, p. 269, 270. Appendix, p. 158. Strype, vol. i. p. 414. t Haynes, p. 447. ELIZABETH. 65 she fancied to be the finest in the world. She desired to know of him what was reputed the best color of hair : she asked whether his queen or she had the finest hair : she even inquired which of them he esteemed tlie fairest person ; a very delicate question, and which he prudently eluded, by saying that her majesty was the fairest person in England, and his mistress in Scotland. She next demanded which of them was tallest : he replied, his queen. " Then is she too tall," said Elizabeth ; " for I myself am of a just stature." Having learned from him that his mistress sometimes recreated her self by playing on the harpsichord, an instrument on which she herself excelled, she gave orders to Lord Hunsdon, that he should lead the ambassador, as it were casually, into an apartment where he might hear her perform ; and when Melvil, as if ravished with the harmony, broke into the queen's apartment, she pretended to be displeased with his intrusion ; but still took care to ask him whether he thought Mary or her the best performer on that instrument.* From the whole of her behavior, Melvil thought he might, on his return, assure his mistress, that she had no reason ever to expect any cordial friendship from Elizabeth, and that all her professions of amity were full of falsehood and dissimulation. After two years had been spent in evasions and artifices,t Mary's subjects and counsellors, and probably herself, began to think it full time that some marriage were concluded ; and Lord Darnley, son of the earl of Lenox, was the person in whom most men's opinions and wishes centred. He was Marv's cousin-german, by the lady Margaret Douglas, niece to Henry VIIL, and daughter of the earl of Angus, by Mar garet, queen of Scotland. He had been born and educated in England, where the earl of Lenox had constantly resided, since he had been banished by the prevailing power of the house of Hamilton ; and as Darnley was now in his twentieth year, and was a very comely person, tall and delicately shaped, it was hoped that he might soon render himself agreeable to the queen of Scots. He was also by his father a branch of the same family with herself; and would, in espousing her, preserve the royal dignity in the house of Stuart : he was, after her, next heir to the crown of England ; and those who pretended to exclude her on account of her being a foreigner, had endeavored to recommend his title, and give it the prefer- * Melvil, p. 49, 50. t Keith, p. 264. 66 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. ence. It seemed no inconsiderable advantage, that she could, by marrying him, unite both their claims ; and as he was by birth an Englishman, and could not by his power or alliances give any ground of suspicion to Elizabeth, it was hoped that the proposal of this marriage would not be unacceptable to that jealous princess. Elizabeth was well informed of these intentions ; * and was secretly not displeased with the projected marriage between Darnley and the queen of Scots. t She would rather have wished that Mary had continued fprever in a single life ; but finding little probability of rendering this scheme effectual, she was satisfied with a choice which freed her at once from the dread of a foreign alliance, and from the necessity of parting with Leicester, her favorite. In order to pave the way to Darnley's marriage, she secretly desired Mary to invite Lenox into Scotland, to reverse his attainder, and to restore him to his honors and fortune.^: And when her request was complied with, she took care, in order to preserve the friend ship of the Hamiltons and her other partisans in Scotland, to blame openly this conduct of Mary.§ [1565.] Hearing that the negotiation for Darnley's marriage advanced apace, she gave that nobleman permission, on his first application, to fol low his father into Scotland : but no sooner did she learn that the queen of Scots was taken with his figure and person, and that all measures were fixed for espousing him, than she exclaimed against the marriage ; sent Throgmorton to order Darnley immediately, upon his allegiance, to,return to Eng land ; threw the countess of Lenox and her second son into the Tower, where they suffered a rigorous confinement ; seized all Lenox's English estate ; and, though it was impossible for her to assign one single reason for her displeasure,|| she men aced, and' protested, and complained, as if she had suffered the most grievous injury in the world. The politics of Elizabeth, though judicious, were usually full of duplicity and artifice ; but never more so than in her transactions with the queen of Scots, where there entered so many little passions and narrow jealousies, that she durst not avow to the world the reasons of her conduct, scarcely to her ministers, and scarcely even to herself. But besides a woman- * Keith, p. 261. t Keith, p. 280, 282! Jebb, voL ii. p. 46. X Keith, p.- 255, 259, 272. « Melvil, p. 42. || Keith, p. 274, 275. ELIZABETH. 67 ish rivalship and envy against the marriage of this princess, she had some motives of interest for feigning a displeasure on the present occasion. It served her as a pretence for refusing to acknowledge Mary's title to the succession of England ; a point to which, for good reasons, she was determined never to consent. And it was useful to her for a purpose still more unfriendly and dangerous, for encouraging the discontents and rebellion of the Scottish nobility and ecclesiastics.* Nothing can be more unhappy for a people than to be gov erned by a sovereign attached to a religion different from the established ; and it is scarcely possible that mutual con fidence can ever, in such a situation, have place between tho prince and his subjects. Mary's conduct had been hitherto in every respect unexceptionable, and even laudable ; yet had she not made such progress in acquiring popularity, as might have been expected from her gracious deportment and agree able accomplishments. Suspicions every moment prevailed on account of her attachment to the Catholic faith, and espe cially to her uncles, the open and avowed promoters of the scheme for exterminating the professors of the reformed religion throughout all Europe. She still refused to ratify the acts of parliament which had established the reformation ; she made attempts for restoring to the Catholic bishops some part of their civil jurisdiction ; t and she wrote a letter to the council of Trent, in which, besides professing her attachment to the Catholic faith, she took notice of her title to succeed to the crown of England, and expressed her hopes of being able, in some period, to bring back all her dominions to the bosom of the church. J The zealots among the Protestants were not wanting, in their turn, to exercise their insolence against her, which tended still more to alienate her from their faith. A law was enacted, making it capital, on the very first offence, to say mass any where, except in the queen's chapel ;§ and it was with difficulty that even this small indulgence was granted her : the general assembly importuned her anew to change her religion ; to renounce the blasphemous idolatry of the mass, with the tyranny of the Roman Antichrist ; and to embrace the true religion of Christ Jesus.|| As she answered with temper, that she was not yet convinced of the falsity of * Keith, p. 290. t Spotswood, p. 198. X Father Paul, lib. vii. § Keith, p. 268. || Keith, p. 545. Knox, p. 374. 68 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. her religion or the impiety of the mass, and that her apostasy would lose her the friendship of her allies on the continent, they replied by assuring her, that their religion was undoubtedly the same which had been revealed by Jesus Christ, which had been preached by the apostles, and which had been embraced by the faithful in the primitive ages ; that neither the religion of Turks, Jews, nor Papists was built on so solid a foundation as theirs ; that they alone, of all the various species of reli gionists spread over the face of the earth, were so happy as to be possessed of the truth ; that those who hear, or rather who gaze on the mass, allow sacrilege, pronounce blasphemy, and commit most abominable idolatry ; and that the friendship of the King of kings was preferable to all the alliances in the world.* The marriage of the queen of Scots had kindled afresh the zeal of the reformers, because the family of Lenox was believed to adhere to the Catholic faith ; and though Darnley, who now bore the name of King Henry, went often to the established church, he could not, by this exterior compliance, gain the confidence and regard of the ecclesiastics. They rather laid hold of the opportunity to insult him to his face ; and Knox scrupled not to tell him from the pulpit, that God, for punishment x>f the offences and ingratitude of the people, was wont to commit the rule over them to boys and women.t The populace of Edinburgh, instigated by such doctrines, began to meet and to associate themselves against the govern ment.! But what threatened more immediate danger to Mary's authority, were the discontents which prevailed among some of the principal nobility. The duke of Chatelrault was displeased with the restoration, and still more with the aggrandizement of the family of Lenox, his hereditary enemies ; and entertained fears lest his own eventual succession to the crown of Scotland should be ex cluded by his rival, who had formerly advanced some preten sions to it. The earl of Murray found his credit at court much diminished by the interest of Lenox and his son ; and began to apprehend the revocation of some considerable grants which he had obtained from Mary's bounty. The earls of Argyle, Rothes, and Glencairne, the lords Boyde and Ochilt.ry, Kirkaldy of Grange, Pittarow, were instigated by like motives ; * Keith, p. 650, 551. f Keith, p. 546. Knox, p. 381. X Knox, p. 377. ELIZABETH. 69 and as these were the persons who had most zealously pro moted the reformation, they were disgusted to find that the queen's favor was entirely engrossed by a new cabal, the earls of Bothwell, Athole, Sutherland, and Huntley ; men who were esteemed either lukewarm in religious controversy, or inclined to the Catholic party. The same ground of discon tent which in other courts is the source of intrigue, faction, and opposition, commonly produced in Scotland either projects of assassination or of rebellion ; and besides mutual accusations of the former kind, which it is difficult to clear up,* the male- content lords, as soon as they saw the queen's marriage entirely resolved on, entered into a confederacy for taking arms against their sovereign. They met at Stirling ; pre tended an anxious concern for the security of religion ; framed 3ngagements for mutual defence ; and made applications to Elizabeth for assistance and protection. t That princess, after oublishing the expressions of her displeasure against the mar- ,'iage, had secretly ordered her ambassadors, Kandolf and Throgmorton, to give in her name some promises of support o the malecontents ; and had even sent them a supply of ten thousand pounds, to enable them to begin an insurrection.^ Mary was no sooner informed of the meeting at Stirling, and the movements of the lords, than she summoned them to appear at court, in order to answer for their conduct; and having levied some forces to execute the laws, she obliged the rebels to leave the low countries, and take shelter in Argyle shire. That she might more effectually cut off their resources, she proceeded with the king to Glasgow, and forced them from their retreat. They appeared at Paisley, in the neigh borhood, with about a thousand horse, and passing the queen's army, proceeded to Hamilton, thence to Edinburgh, which they entered without resistance. They expected great rein forcements in this place, from the efforts of Knox and the seditious preachers ; and they beat their drums, desiring all men to enlist, and receive wages for the defence of God's glory.§ But the nation was in no disposition for rebellion : Mary was esteemed and beloved : her marriage was not gen erally disagreeable to the people : and the interested views of the malecontent lords were so well known, that their pre- * See note G, at the end of the volume. t Keith, p. 293, 294, 300, 301. X Knox, p. 380. Keith, Append, p. 164. Anderson, vol. iii. p. 194. $ Knox, p. 881. 70 HISTORY OF ENGLAND tence of zeal for religion had little influence even on the igno rant populace.* The king and queen advanced to Edinburgh at the head of their army : the rebels were obliged to retire into the south; and being pursued by a force which now amounted to eighteen thousand men,t they found themselves under a necessity of abandoning their country, and of taking shelter in England. Elizabeth, when she found the event so much to disappoint her expectations, thought proper to disavow all connections with the Scottish malecontents, and to declare every where, that she had never given them any encouragement, nor any promise of countenance or assistance. She even carried fur ther her dissimulation and hypocrisy. Murray had come to London, with the abbot of Kilwinning, agent for Chatelrault ; and she seduced them, by secret assurances of protection, to declare before the ambassadors of France and Spain that she had nowise contributed to their insurrection. No sooner had she extorted this confession from them, than she chased them from her presence, called them unworthy traitors, declared that their detestable rebellion was of bad example to all princes ; and assured them, that as she had hitherto given them no encouragement, so should they never thenceforth receive from her any assistance or protection. t Throgmorton alone, whose honor was equal to his abilities, could not be prevailed on to conceal the part which he had acted in the enterprise of th"e Scottish rebels ; and being well apprised of the usual character and conduct of Elizabeth, he had had the precaution to obtain an order of council to authorize the engagements which he had been obliged to make with them.§ The banished lords, finding themselves so harshly treated by Elizabeth, had recourse to the clemency of their own sovereign ; and after some solicitation and some professions of sincere repentance, the duke of Chatelrault obtained his pardon, on condition that he should retire into France. Mary was more implacable against the ungrateful earl of Murray and the other confederates, on whom she threw the chief blame of the enterprise ; but as she was continually plied with applications from their friends, and as some of her most judi> * Knox, p. 380, 385. t Knox, p. 388. X Melvil, p. 57. Knox, p. 388. Keith, p. 319. Crawford, p. 6t, 63. { Melvil, p. 60. ELIZABETH. 7 1 cious partisans in England thought, tha* nothing would more promote her interests in that kingdom, than the gentle treat ment of men so celebrated for their zeal against the Catholic religion, she agreed to give way to her natural temper, which inclined not to severity, and she seemed determined to restore them to favor.* In this interval, Rambiuillet arrived as ambas sador from France, and brought her adrice from her uncle, the cardinal of Lorraine, to whose opinion she always paid an extreme deference, by no means to pardon these Protestant leaders, who had been engaged in a rebellion against her.t The two religions, in France, as well as in other parts of Europe, were rather irritated than tired with their acts of mutual violence ; and thc peace granted to the Hugonots, as had been foreseen by Coligny, was intended only to lull them asleep and prepare the way for their final and absolute de struction. The queen regent made a pretence of travelling through the kingdom, in order to visit thc provinces, and cor rect all the abuses arising from the lite civil war ; and after having held some conferences on the frontiers with the duke of Lorraine and the duke of Savoy, she came to Bayonne, where she was met by her daughter, the queen of Spain, and the duke of Alva. Nothing appeared in the congress of these two splendid courts, but gayety, festivity, love', and joy ; but amidst these smiling appearances were secretly fabricated schemes tbe most bloody, and the most destructive to the repose of mankind, that had ever been thought of in any age or nation. No less than a total and universal extermination ofthe Protestants by fire and sword was concerted by Philip and Catharine of Medicis ; and Alva, agreeably to his fierce and sanguinary disposition, advised the queen regent to com mence the execution of this project, by the immediate massa cre of all the leaders of thc Hugonots. J But that princess, though equally hardened against every humane sentiment, would not forego this opportunity of displaying her wit and refined politics ; and she purposed rather by treachery and dissimulation, which she called address, to lead the Protestints into the snare, and never to draw the sword till they were totally disabled from resistance. The card'nal of Lorraine, whose character bore a greater affinity to that of Alva, was o chief author of this barbarous association against the reformers ; » Melvil, p. 59, 60, 61, 62, 63. Keith, p. 322. f Koith, p. 325. Melvil, p. 63. J !>»?.&, Ub. iii. 72 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. and having connected his hopes of success with the aggran- dizement of his niece, the queen of Scots, he took care that her measures should correspond to those violent counsels which were embraced by the other Catholic princes. In con sequence of this scheme, he turned her from the road of clemency, which she intended to have followed, and made her resolve on the total ruin of the banished lords.* A par liament was summoned at Edinburgh for attainting them ; [1565.] and as their guilt was palpable and avowed, no doubt was entertained but sentence would be pronounced against them. It was by a sudden and violent incident, which, in the issue, brought on the ruin of Mary herself, that they were saved from the rigor of the law. The marriage of the queen of Scots with Lord Darnley was so natural, and so inviting in all its circumstances, that it had been precipitately agreed to by that princess and her council ; and while she was allured by his youth, and beauty, and exterior accomplishments, she had at first overlooked the qualities of his mind, which nowise corresponded to the excellence of his outward figure. Violent, yet variable in his resolutions ; insolent, yet credulous and easily governed by flatterers ; he was destitute of all gratitude, because he thought no favors equal to his merit ; and being addicted to low pleas ures, he was equally incapable of all true "sentiments of love and tenderness.t The queen of Scots, in the first .effusions of her fondness, had taken a pleasure in exalting him beyond measure : she had granted him the title of king; she had joined his name with her own in all public acts ; she intended to have procured him from the parliament a matrimonial crown ; but having leisure afterwards to remark his weakness and vices, she began to see the danger of her profuse liberality, and was resolved thenceforth to proceed with more reserve in the trust which she should confer upon him. His resentment against this prudent conduct served but the more to increase her disgust : and the young prince, enraged at her imagined neglects, pointed his vengeance against every one whom he deemed the cause of this change in her measures and be havior. There was in the court one David Rizzio, who had of late obtained a very extraordinary degree of confidence and favor * Melvil, p. 63. Keith's Append, p. 176. t Keith, p. 287, 329. Append, p. 163. ELIZABETH. 73 with the queen of Scots. He was a Piedmontese, of mean birth, son of a teacher of music, himself a musician ; and find ing it difficult to subsist by his art in his own country, he had followed into Scotland an ambassador, whom the duke of Savoy sent thither to pay his compliments to Mary, some time after her first arrival. He possessed a good ear, and a tolerable voice ; and as that princess found him useful to complete her band of music, she retained him in her service after the de parture of his master. Her secretary for French despatches having some time after incurred her displeasure, she promoted Rizzio to that office, which gave him frequent opportunities of approaching her person, and insinuating himself into her favor. He was shrewd and sensible, as well as aspiring, much beyond his rank and education ; and he made so good use of the access which fortune had procured him, that he was soon re garded as the chief confidant, and even minister of the queen. He was consulted on all occasions ; no favors could be obtained but by his intercession ; all suitors were obliged to gain him by presents and flattery ; and the man, insolent from his new exaltation, as well as rapacious in his acquisitions, soon drew on himself the hatred of the nobility and of the whole king* dom.* He had at first employed his credit to promote Darn ley's marriage ; and a firm friendship seemed to be established between them : but on the subsequent change of the queen's sentiments, it was easy for Henry's friends to persuade him that Rizzio was the real author of her indifference, and even to rouse in his mind jealousies of a more dangerous nature. The favorite was of a disagreeable figure, but was not past his youth ; t and though the opinion of his criminal correspond ence with Mary might seem of itself unreasonable, if not absurd, a suspicious husband could find no other means of accounting for that lavish and imprudent kindness with which she honored him. The rigid austerity of the ecclesiastics, who could admit of no freedoms, contributed to spread this opinion among the people ; and asJRizzio^was universally believed to be a pensionary of the pope's, and to he deeply engaged in all schemes against the Protestants, any story to his and Mary's disadvantage received an easy credit among the zealots of that communion. * Keith, p. 282, 302. Crawford's Memoirs, p, 5, Spotswpocl, p. 193. t See note H, at the end of the volume, yoL. iv. 7 H 74 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. ' Rizzio, who had connected his interests with the Roman Catholics, was the declared enemy of the banished lords ; and by promoting the violent prosecutions against them, he had exposed himself to the animosity of their numerous friends and retainers. A scheme was also thought to be formed for revok ing some exorbitant grants made during the queen's minority ; and even the nobility, who had seized the ecclesiastical bene fices, began to think themselves less secure in the possession of them* The earl of Morton, chancellor, was affected by all these considerations, and still more by a rumor spread abroad, that Mary intended to appoint Rizzio chancellor in his place, and to bestow that dignity on a mean and upstart foreigner ignorant of the laws and language of the country.t So indis» creet had this princess been in her kindness to Rizzio, that even that strange report met with credit, and proved a great means of accelerating the ruin of the favorite. Morton, in sinuating himself into Henry's confidence, employed all his art to inflame the discontent and jealousy of that prince ; and he persuaded him, that the only means of freeing himself from the indignities under which he labored, was to bring the base stranger to the fate which he had so well merited, and which was so passionately desired by the whole nation. George Douglas, natural brother to the countess of Lenox, concurred in the same advice ; and the Lords Ruthven and Lindesey, being consulted, offered their assistance in the enterprise ; nor was even the earl of Lenox, the king's father, averse to the design, f But as these conspirators were well acquainted with Henry's levity, they engaged him to sign a paper, in which he avowed the undertaking, as tending to the glory of God and advancement of religion, and promised to protect them against every consequence which might ensue upon the assassination of Rizzio.§ All these measures being concerted, a messen ger was despatched to the banished lords, who were hovering near the borders ; and they were invited by the king to return to their native country. This design, so atrocious in itself, was rendered still more so by the circumstances which attended its execution. Mary, who was in the sixth month of her pregnancy, was supping in * Keith, p. 326. Melvil, p. 64. t Buchanan, lib. xvii. c. 60. Crawford, p. 6. Spotswood, p. 194. Knox, p. 393. Jebb, vol. i. p. 456. X Crawford, p. 7. j Goodall, vol. i. p. 266. Crawford, p. 7. ELIZABETH. 75 private, and had at table the countess of Argyle, her natural sister, with Rizzio, and others of her servants. The king entered the room by a private passage, and stood at the back of Mary's chair : Lord Ruthven, George Douglas, and other conspirators, being all armed, rushed in after him ; and the queen of Scots, terrified with the appearance, demanded of them the reason of this rude intrusion. They told her, that they intended no violence against her person ; but meant only to bring that villain, pointing to Rizzio, to his deserved punish ment. Rizzio, aware of the danger, ran behind his mistress, and seizing her by the waist, called aloud to her for protec tion ; while she interposed in his behalf, with cries, and men aces, and entreaties. The impatient assassins, regardless of her efforts, rushed upon their prey, and by overturning every thing which stood in their way, increased the horror and con fusion of the scene. Douglas, seizing Henry's dagger, stuck it in the body of Rizzio, who, screaming with fear and agony, was torn from Mary by the other conspirators, and pushed into the ante-chamber, where he was despatched with fifty-six wounds.* The unhappy princess, informed of his fate, imme diately dried her tears, and said, she would weep no more ; she would now think of revenge. The insult, indeed, upon her person ; the stain attempted to be fixed on her honor ; the danger to which her life was exposed, on account of her preg nancy ; were injuries so atrocious and so complicated, that they scarcely left room for pardon, even from the greatest lenity and mercy. The assassins, apprehensive of Mary's resentment, de tained her prisoner in the palace ; and the king dismissed all who seemed willing to attempt her rescue, by telling them, that nothing was done without his orders, and that he would be careful of the queen's safety. Murray and the banished lords appeared two days after ; and Mary, whose anger was now engrossed by injuries more recent and violent, was wil lingly reconciled to them ; and she even received her brother with tenderness and affection. They obtained an acquittal from parliament, and were reinstated in their honors and for tunes. The accomplices also in Rizzio's murder applied to her for a pardon ; but she artfully delayed compliance, and persuaded them, that so long as she was detained in custody, and was surrounded by guards, any deed which she should « Melvil, p. 64. Keith, p. 330, 331. Crawford, p. 9. 76 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. sign would have no validity. Meanwhile she had gained the confidence of her husband by her persuasion and caresses ; and no sooner were the guards withdrawn, than she engaged him to escape with her in the night-time, and take shelter in Dunbar. Many of her subjects here offered her their services ; and Mary, having collected an army, which the conspirators had no power to resist, advanced to Edinburgh, and obliged them to fly into England, where they lived in great poverty and distress. They made applications, however, to the earl of Bothwell, a new favorite of Mary's ; and that nobleman, desirous of strengthening his party by the accession of their interest, was able to pacify her resentment ; and he soon after procured them liberty to return into their own country.* The vengeance of the queen of Scots was implacable against her husband alone, whose person was before disagree able to her, and who, by his violation of every tie of gratitude and duty, had now drawn on him her highest resentment. She engaged him to disown all connections with the assassins, to deny any concurrence in their crime, even to publish a proclamation containing a falsehood so notorious to the whole world ; t and having thus made him expose himself to univer sal contempt, and rendered it impracticable for him ever to acquire the confidence of any party, she threw him off with disdain and indignation. % As if she had been making an escape from him, she suddenly withdrew to Alloa, a seat of the earl of Marre's ; and when Henry followed her thither, she suddenly returned to Edinburgh, and gave him every where the strongest proofs of displeasure, and even of antipa thy. She encouraged her courtiers in their neglect of him ; and she was pleased that his mean equipage and small train of attendants should draw on him the contempt of the very populace. He was permitted, however, to have apartments in the Castle of Edinburgh, which Mary had chosen for the place of her delivery. She there brought forth a son ; and as this was very important news to England, as well as to Scotland, she immediately despatched Sir James Melvil to carry intelligence of the happy event to Elizabeth. Melvil tells us, that this princess, the evening of his arrival in London, had given a ball to her court at Greenwich, and was display- * Melvil, p. 75, 76. Keith, p. 334. Knox, p. 398. t Goodall, vol. i. p. 280. Keith, Appond. p. 167. X Melvil, p. 66, 87. ELIZABETH. 77 ing all that spirit and alacrity which usually attended her on these occasions : but when news arrived of the prince of Scotland's birth, all her joy was damped : she sunk into melancholy ; she reclined her head upon her arm ; and com plained to some of her attendants, that the queen of Scots was mother of a fair son, while she herself was but a barren stock. Next day, however, at the reception of the ambassa dor, she resumed her former dissimulation, put on a joyful countenance, gave Melvil thanks for the haste he had made in conveying to her the agreeable intelligence, and expressed the utmost cordiality and friendship to her sister.* Some time after, she despatched the earl of Bedford, with her kinsman George Cary, son of Lord Hunsdon, in order to officiate at the baptism of the young prince; and she sent by them some magnificent presents to the queen of Scots. The birth of a son gave additional zeal to Mary's partisans in England ; t and even men of the most opposite parties began to cry aloud for some settlement of, the succession. These humors broke out with great vehemence in a new session of parliament, held after six prorogations. The house of peers, which had hitherto forborne to touch on this delicate point, here took the lead ; and the house of commons soon after imitated the zeal of the lords. Molineux opened the matter in the lower house, and proposed, that the question of the suc cession and that of supply should go hand in hand ; as if it were intended to constrain the queen to a compliance with the request of her parliament.:): The courtiers endeavored to elude the debate : Sir Ralph Sadler told the house, that he had heard the queen positively affirm, that for the good of her people she was determined to marry. Secretary Cecil and Sir Francis Knollys gave their testimony to the same purpose ; as did also Sir Ambrose Cave, chancellor of the duchy, and Sir Edward Rogers, comptroller of the household.^ Eliza beth's ambitious and masculine character was so well known, that few members gave any credit to this intelligence ; and it was considered merely as an artifice, by which she endeavored to retract that positive declaration which she had made in the beginning of her reign, that she meant to live and die a virgin. The ministers, therefore, gained nothing further by this piece of policy, than only to engage the house, for the sake of * Melvil, p. 69, 70. t Camden, p. 397. 1 D'Ewes, p. 129. § D'Ewes, p. 124. 7# 78 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. decency, to join the question of the queen's marriage with that of a settlement of the crown ; and the commons were proceeding with great earnestness in the debate, and had even appointed a committee to confer with the lords, when express orders were brought them from Elizabeth not to proceed further in the matter. Cecil told them, that she pledged to the house the word of a queen for her sincerity in her inten tions to marry ; that the appointment of a successor would be attended with great danger to her person ; that she herself had had experience, during the reign of her sister, how much court was usually paid to the next heir, and what dangerous sacrifices men were commonly disposed to make of their pres ent duty to their future prospects ; and that she was therefore determined to delay, till a more proper opportunity, the decis ion of that important question.* The house was not satisfied with these reasons, and still less with the command prohibiting them all debate on the subject. Paul Wentworth, a spirited member, went so far as to question whether such a prohibition were not an infringement of the liberties and privileges of the house.t Some even ventured to violate that profound respect which had hitherto been preserved to the queen ; and they affirmed, that she was bound in duty, not only to provide for the happiness of her subjects during her own life, but also to pay regard to their future security, by fixing a successor ; that by an opposite conduct she showed herself the step-mother, not the natural parent of her people, and would seem desirous that England should no longer subsist than she should enjoy the glory and satisfaction of governing it ; that none but timo rous princes, or tyrants, or faint-hearted women, ever stood in fear of their successors ; and that the affections of the people were a firm and impregnable rampart to every sovereign, who, laying aside all artifice or by-ends, had courage and magna nimity to put his sole trust in that honorable and sure defence. f The queen, hearing of these debates, sent for the speaker ; and after reiterating her former prohibition, she bade him inform the house, that if any member remained still unsatisfied, he might appear before the privy council, and there give his reasons.^ As the members showed a disposition, notwith standing these peremptory orders, still to proceed upon the question, Elizabeth thought proper, by a message, to revoke * D'Ewes, p. 127, 128. f D'Ewes, p. 128. X Camden, p. 400. § D'Ewes, p. 128. ELIZABETH. 79 them, and to allow the house liberty of debate.* They were so mollified by this gracious condescension, that they thence forth conducted the matter with more calmness and temper ; and they even voted her a supply, to be levied at three pay ments, of a subsidy and a fifteenth, without annexing any condition to it. [1567.] The queen soon after dissolved the parliament, and told them, with some sharpness in the con clusion, that their proceedings had contained much dissimu lation and artifice ; that, under the plausible pretences of marriage and succession, many of them covered very malevo lent intentions towards her ; but that, however, she reaped this advantage from the attempts of these men, that she could now distinguish her friends from her enemies. " But do you think," added she, " that I am unmindful of your future security, or will be negligent in settling the succession ? That is the chief object of my concern ; as I know myself to be liable ( to mortality. Or do you apprehend that I meant to encroach on your liberties ? No : it was never my meaning ; I only intended to stop you before you approached the precipice. All things have their time ; and though you may be blessed with a sovereign more wise or more learned than I, yet I assure you that no one will ever rule over you who shall be more careful of your safety. And therefore, henceforward, whether I live to see the like assembly or no, or whoever holds the reins of government, let me warn you to beware of provoking your sovereign's patience, so far as you have done mine. But I shall now conclude, that, notwithstand ing the disgusts I have received, (for I mean not to part with you in anger,) the greater part of you may assure themselves that they go home in their prince's good graces."t Elizabeth carried further her dignity on this occasion. She had received the subsidy without any condition ; but as it was believed that the commons had given her that gratuity with a view of engaging her to yield to their requests, she - thought proper, on her refusal, voluntarily to remit the third payment ; and she said, that money in her subjects' purses was as good to her as in her own exchequer.^ But though the queen was able to elude, for the present, the applications of parliament, the friends of the queen of Scots multiplied every day in England; and besides the * D'Ewes, p. 130. t D'Ewes, p. 116, 117. X Camden, p. 400. 80 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. ^Qatholics, many of whom kept a treasonable correspondence with her, and were ready to rise at her command,* the court itself of Elizabeth was full of her avowed partisans. The duke of Norfolk, the earls of Leicester, Pembroke, Bedford, Northumberland, Sir Nicholas Throgmorton, and most of the considerable men in England, except Cecil, seemed convinced of the necessity of declaring her the successor. Noce but the more zealous Protestants adhered either to the countess of Hertford, or to her aunt, Eleanor, countess of Cumberland ; and as the marriage of the former seemed liable to some objections, and had been declared invalid, men were alarmed, even on that side, with the prospect of new disputes con cerning the succession. Mary's behavior, also, so moderate towards the Protestants, and so gracious towards all men, had procured her universal respect ; t and the public was willing to ascribe any imprudences into which she had fallen to her youth and inexperience. But all these flattering pros pects were blasted by the subsequent incidents ; where her egregious indiscretions, shall I say, or atrocious crimes, threw her from the height of her prosperity and involved her in infamy and in ruin. The earl of Bothwell was of a considerable family and power in Scotland ; and though not distinguished by any talents either of a civil or military nature, he had made a figure in that party which opposed the greatness of the earl of Murray and the more rigid reformers. He was a man of profligate manners ; had involved his opulent fortune in great debts, and even reduced himself to beggary by his profuse expenses : t and seemed to have no resource but in desperate counsels and enterprises. He had been accused more than once of an attempt to assassinate Murray; and uiough the frequency of these accusations on all sides diminish some what the credit due to any particular imputation, they prove sufficiently the prevalence of that detestable practice in Scot land, and may in that view serve to render such rumors the more credible. This man had of late acquired the favor and entire confidence of Mary ; and all her measures were di rected by his advice and authority. Reports were spread of more particular intimacies between them ; and these reports gained ground from the continuance, or ratiier increase, of her * Haynes, p. 446, 443. t Melvil, p. 53, 61, 74. X Keith, p. 240. ELIZABETH. 81 hatred towards her husband.* That young prince was reduced to such a state of desperation by tho neglects which he un derwent from his. queen and thc courtiers, that he had once resolved to fly secretly into I'' ranee or Spain, and had even provided a vessel for that purpose.! Some of the most con siderable nobility, on thc other hand, observing her rooted aversion to him, had proposed sume expedients for a divorce; und though Mary is said to havo spoken honorably on the occasion, and to have embraced the proposal no further than il should be found consistent with her own honor and her son's legitimacy, $ men were inclined to believe, that the difficulty of finding proper means for effecting that purpose, was the real cause of laying aside all further thoughts of it. So far were the suspicions against her carried, that when Henry, dis couraged with the continual proofs of hor hatred, left the court and retired to Glasgow, an illness of an extraordinary nature, with which he was seized immediately on his arrival in that place, was universally ascribed by ber enemies to a (lost; of poison, which, it was pretended, she had administered to him. While affairs were in this situation, all those who wished well to her character, or to public tranquillity, were extremely pleased, and somewhat surprised, to hear that a friendship was again conciliated between them, that she had taken a journey to Glasgow on purpose to visit him during his sickness, that she behaved towards him with great tenderness, that she had brought him along with her, and that she appeared thenceforth determined to live with him on a footing more suitable to the connections between Ilium. Henry, naturally uxorious, and not distrusting this sudden reconciliation, put himself implicitly into her hands, and attended her to Edin burgh. She lived in the palace of Holyrood flouse; but as the situation of the palace was low, and the concourse of people about the court was necessarily attended with noise, which might disturb him in his present infirm stale of health, these reasons wore assigned for filling up an apartment for him in a solitary house al, some distance, called the Kirk of Field. Mary here gave him marks of kindness and attach- menl ; she conversed cordially with him ; and she lay somo ni 136' Camden, 5 Camden, p. 427. ELIZABETH. 133 was at that time in agitation.* John Felton affixed this bull to the gates of the bishop of London's palace ; and scorning either to fly or to deny the fact, he was seized and condemned, and received the crown of martyrdom, for which he seems to have entertained so violent an ambition.t A new parliament, after five years' interval, was assembled at Westminster ; and as the queen, by the rage of the pope against her, was become still more the head of the ruling party, it might be expected, both from this incident and from her own prudent and vigorous conduct, that her authority over the two houses would be absolutely uncontrollable. It was so in fact ; yet is it remarkable, that it prevailed not without some small opposition ; and that too arising chiefly from the height of zeal for Protestantism ; a disposition of the English which, in general, contributed extremely to increase the queen's popu larity. We shall be somewhat particular in relating the trans actions of this session, because they show, as well the extent ofthe royal power during that age, as the character of Eliza beth, and the genius of her government. It will be curious also to observe the faint dawn of the spirit of liberty among the English, the jealousy with which that spirit was repressed by the sovereign, the imperious conduct which was maintained in opposition to it, and the ease with which it was subdued by this arbitrary princess. The lord keeper Bacon, after the speaker of the commons was elected, told the parliament, in the queen's name, that she enjoined them not to meddle with any matters of state : % such was his expression ; by which he probably meant, the questions ofthe queen's marriage, and the succession, about which they had before given her some uneasiness ; for as to the other great points of government, alliances, peace and war, or foreign negotiations, no parliament in that age ever presumed to take them under consideration, or question, in these particulars, the conduct of their sovereign, or of his ministers. In the former parliament, the Puritans had introduced seven bills for a further reformation in religion ; but they had not been able to prevail in any one of them.§ This house of commons had sitten a very few days, when Stricland, a mem ber, revived one of the bills — that for the amendment of the liturgy. 1 1 The chief objection which he mentioned, was the * Camden, p. 441, from Cajetaivus's Life of Pius V. t Camden, p. 428. X D'Ewes, p. 141. § D'Ewes, p. 185. || D'Ewes, p. 166, 157. vol. iv. 12 H 134 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. sign of the cross in baptism. Another member added the kneeling at the sacrament ; and remarked, that if a posture of humiliation were requisite in that act of devotion, it were bet ter that the communicants should throw themselves prostrate on the ground, in order to keep at the widest distance from former superstition.* Religion was a point of which Elizabeth was, if possible, still more jealous than of matters of state. She pretended, that in quality of supreme head or governor of the church, she was fully empowered, by her prerogative alone, to decide all questions which might arise with regard to doctrine, discipline, or worship ; and she never would allow her parliaments so much as to take these points into consideration.t The cour tiers did not forget to insist on this topic : the treasurer of the household, though he allowed that any heresy might be re pressed by parliament, (a concession which seems to have been rash and unguarded, since the act investing the crown with the supremacy, or rather recognizing that prerogative, gave the sovereign full power to reform all heresies,) yet he affirmed, that it belonged to the queen alone, as head of the church, to regulate every question of ceremony in worship.! The comp troller seconded this argument ; insisted on the extent of the queen's prerogative ; and said that the house might, from for mer examples, have taken warning not to meddle with such matters. One Pistor opposed these remonstrances of the courtiers. He was scandalized, he said, that affairs of such infinite consequence (namely, kneeling, and making the sign of the cross) should be passed over so lightly. These questions, he added, concern the salvation of souls, and interest every one more deeply than the monarchy of the whole world. This cause he showed to be the cause of God ; the rest were all but terrene, yea, trifles in comparison, call them ever so great : subsidies, crowns, kingdoms, he knew not what weight they had, when laid in the balance with subjects of such unspeak able importance.^ Though the .zeal of this member seems to have been approved of, the house, overawed by the preroga tive, voted upon the question, that a petition should be presented to her majesty for her license to proceed further in this bill ; and in the mean time that they should stop all debate or reasoning concerning it.|| * D'Ewes, p. 167. t D'Ewes, p. 158. v X D'Ewes, p. 166. § D'Ewes, p. 166. || D'Ewes, p. 167. ELIZABETH. 135 Matters would probably have reve) here, had not the queen been so highly offended with Striclaod's presumption in mov ing the bill for reformation of the liturgy, that she summoned hirn before the council, and prohibited hirn thenceforth from appearing in the house of commons.* This act of power was too violent even for the submissive parliament to endure. Carleton took notice of the matter; complained, that the liber ties of the house were invaded ; observed that Stricland was not a private man, but represented a multitude : and moved that be might be sent for, and if be were guilty of any offence, might answer for it at the bar of the bouse, which he insinu ated to be the only competent tribunal/! V^lvcrton enforced tbe principles of liberty with still greater boldness. He said, that the precedent was dangerous ; and though, in this happy time of lenity, among so many good and honorable personages as were at present, invested with authority, nothing of extremity or injury was to be apprehended, yet the times might alter; what now is permitted, might hereafter be construed us duty, and might be enforced even on the ground ofthe present per mission. He added, that all matters not treasonable, or which implied not "too rnucb " derogation ofthe imperial crown, might, without offence, be introduced into parliament; where every question that concerned the community must be con sidered, and where even the right of the crown itself must finally be determined. He remarked, that men sat not in that house in their private capacities, but as elected by their coun try ; and though it was proper that the prince should retain his prerogative, yet was that prerogative limited by law: eis the sovereign could not of himself make laws, neither could he break them merely from his own authority.! These principles were popular, and noble, and generous; but the open assertion of them was, at this time, somewhat new in England ; and the courtiers were more warranted by present practice, when they advanced a contrary doctrine. The treasurer warned the bouse to be cautious in tbeir pro ceedings ; neither to venture further than their assured warrant might extend, nor hazard their good opinion with her majesty in any doubtful cause. The member, he said, whoso attend ance they required, was not restrained on account of any liberty of speech, but for his exhibiting a bill in the house • D'Ewes, p. 175. t D'Ewes, p. 175. J D'Ewes, p. 176, 176. 136 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. against the prerogative of the queen ; a temerity which was not to be tolerated. And he concluded with observing, that even speeches made in that house had been questioned and examined by the sovereign.* Cleere, another member, re marked, that the sovereign's prerogative is not so much as disputable, and that the safety of the queen is the safety of the subject. He added, that in questions of divinity, every man was for his instruction to repair to his ordinary ; and he seems to insinuate, that the bishops themselves, for their instruction, must repair to the queen. t Fleetwood observed, that in his memory, he knew a man who, in the fifth of the present queen, had been called to account for a speech in the house. But lest this example should be deemed too recent, he would inform them, from the parliament rolls, that, in the reign of Henry V., a bishop was committed to prison by the king's command, on account of his freedom of speech ; and the parliament presumed not to go further than to be humble suitors for him : in the subsequent reign, the speaker himself was committed, with another member ; and the house found no other remedy than a like submissive application. He advised the house to have recourse to the same expedient, and not to presume either to send for their member, or demand him as of right-! During this speech, those members of the privy council who sat in the house whispered together ; upon which the speaker moved that the house should make' stay of all further proceedings : a motion which was immediately complied with. The queen, finding that the experiment which she had made was likely to excite a great ferment, saved her honor by this silence of the house ; and lest the question might be resumed, she sent next day to Stricland her permis sion to give his attendance in parliament.^ Notwithstanding this rebuke from the throne, the zeal of the commons still engaged them to continue the discussion of those other bills which regarded religion; but they were interrupted by a still more arbitrary proceeding of the queen, in which the lords condescended to be her instruments. This house sent a message to the commons, desiring that a. com mittee might attend them. Some members were appointed for that purpose ; and the upper house informed them, that the queen's majesty, being informed of the articles of reforma- * D'Ewes, p. 175. f D'Ewes, p. 175. + D'Ewes, p. 176. § D'Ewes, p. 176. ELIZABETH. 137 tion which they had canvassed, approved of them, intended to publish them, and to make the bishops execute them by virtue of her royal authority, as supreme head of the church of England ; but that she would not permit them to be treated of in parliament.* The house, though they did not entirely stop proceedings on account of this injunction, seem to have been nowise offended at such haughty treatment; and in the issue, all the bills came to nothing. A motion made by Robert Bell, a Puritan, against an ex clusive patent granted to a company of merchants in Bristol,t gave also occasion to several remarkable incidents. The queen, some days after the motion was made, sent orders, by the mouth of the speaker, commanding the house to spend little time in motions, and to avoid long speeches. All the members understood that she had been offended, because a matter had been moved which seemed to touch her preroga tive.! Fleetwood accordingly spoke of this delicate subject. He observed, that the queen had a prerogative of granting patents ; that to question the validity of any patent was to invade the royal prerogative ; that all foreign trade was entirely subjected to the pleasure of the sovereign ; that even the statute which gave liberty of commerce, admitted of all prohibitions from the crown ; and that the prince, when he granted an exclusive patent, only employed the power vested in him, and prohibited all others from dealing in any particu lar branch of commerce. He quoted the clerk of the parlia ment's book to prove, that no man might speak in parliament of the statute of wills, unless the king first gave license ; because the royal prerogative in the wards was thereby touched. He showed, likewise, the statutes of Edward I., Edward LII., and Henry IV., with a saving of the prerogative. And in Edward VL's time, the protector was applied to for his allowance to mention matters of prerogative.^ Sir Humphrey Gilbert, the gallant and renowned sea ad venturer, carried these topics still further. He endeavored to prove the motion made by Bell to be a vain device, and perilous to be treated of; since it tended to the derogation of the prerogative imperial, which whoever should attempt so much as in fancy, could not, he said, be otherwise accounted than an open enemy. For what difference is there between * D'Ewes, p. 180, 185. t D'Ewes, p. 185. 1 D'Ewes, p. 159. { D'Ewes, p. 160. 12* Id8 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. saying, that the queen is not to use the privilege of the crown, and saying, that she is not queen ? And though experience has shown so much clemency in her majesty, as might, per haps, make subjects forget their duty, it is not good to sport or venture too much with princes. He reminded them of the fable of the hare, who, upon the proclamation that all horned beasts should depart the court, immediately fled, lest his ears should be construed to be horns ; and by this apologue he seems to insinuate, that even those who heard or permitted such dangerous speeches, would not themselves be entirely free from danger. He desired them to beware, lest if they meddled further with these matters, the queen might look to her own power; and finding herself able to suppress their challenged liberty, and to exert an arbitrary authority, might imitate the example of Lewis XI. of France, who, as he termed it, delivered the crown from wardship.* Though this speech gave some disgust, nobody, at the time, replied any thing, but that Sir Humphrey mistook the mean ing of the house, and of thc member who made the motion : they never had any other purpose, than to represent their grievances, in due and seemly form, unto her majesty. But in a subsequent debate, Peter Wentworth, a man of a superior free spirit, called that speech an insult on . the house ; noted Sir Humphrey's disposition to flatter and fawn on the prince ; compared him to the chameleon, which can change itself into all colors, except white; and recommended to the house a due care of liberty of speech, and of the privileges of parlia- ment.t It appears, on the whole, that the motion against the exclusive patent had no effect. Bell, thc member who first introduced it, was sent for by the council, and was severely reprimanded for his temerity. He returned to the house with such an amazed countenance, that all the members, well informed of the reason, were struck with terror ; and during some time no one durst rise to speak of any matter of impor tance, for fear of giving offence to the queen and council. Even after the fears of the commons were somewhat abated, the members spoke with extreme precaution ; and by employ ing most of their discourse in preambles and apologies, they showed their conscious terror of the rod which hung over them. Wherever any delicate point was touched, though ever so gently ; nay, seemed to be approached, though at ever * D'Ewes, p. 168. t D'Ewes, p. 175. nu/.AUKTii. 13J) so great a distance ; tho whisper ran about the house, " The queen will he offended; the council will ho extremely dis pleased;" and by these surmises men were warned of tho danger lo whieh they exposed themselves, ll is remarkable, thai Ihe patenl, w bich tho queen defended wilh such imperious violence, uns contrived for Ihe profit of four courtiers, and was attended wilh the tiller ruin of seven or eight, thousand of her industrious subjects. * Thus every thing which passed the two houses was ex tremely respectful anil .submissive; vel did the queen think it ineiinibenl on her, al Ilio conclusion of the session, lo check, and Ibat wilh great severity, those feeble ellbrls of liberty which had appeared in ihe motions and speeches of some members. The lord keeper told the commons, in her majesty's name, Ibat though Ihe majority of Ihe lower house had shown themselves hi I heir proceedings discreet and dutiful, yel m few of ihem had discovered a contrary character, mul had justly merited ihe reproach of audacious, arrogant, and presumptuous : contrary to their duly, both as subjects and parliament men; nav, contrary to the express injunctions given them from tho throne at the beginning of Ihe session; injunctions which it mighl well become Ihem lo have bettor attended lo ; they had presumed to call ill question her majesty's grants nnd prerogatives. Hut her majesty warns them, ibat since they thus wilfully forget themselves, they are otherwise to ho admonished : some other species of correction must be found for Ihem ; since neither the commands of hor majesty, nor the example of their wiser brethren, can reclaim their audacious, arrogant, anil presumptuous folly, by which thev are thus led to meddle with what nowise belongs to them, nn<[ what lies beyond the compass of their under standing. T In nil these transactions appears clearly the opinion which Kli/.abclh had cnterlained of tiie duly i\.m\ authority of parlia ments. They were not to canvass any maltcrs of state ; still less were they to meddle wilh the church. Questions of either kind were far above their reach, and were impropriated to tho prince alone, or to those councils and ministers with whom ho was pleased to iutrtisl thom. What then was the office of parliaments? The\ might give directions for the duo tanning of leather, or milling of cloth ; for tho preservation of pheas- * l>'Kwi>s, p. Jt'.'. t D'Ewes, p. 151. 140 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. ants and partridges ; for the reparation of bridges and high ways ; for the punishment 6f vagabonds or common beggars. Regulations concerning the police of the country came prop erly under their inspection ; and the laws of this kind which .they prescribed, had, if not a greater, yet a more durable authority, than those which were derived solely from the proc lamations of the sovereign. Precedents or reports could fix a rule for decisions in private property, or the punishment of crimes; but no alteration or innovation in the municipal law could proceed from any other source than the parliament , nor would the courts of justice be induced to change theii established practice by an order of council. But the most acceptable part of parliamentary proceedings was the granting of subsidies ; the attainting and punishing of the obnoxious nobility, or any minister of state after his fall ; the counte nancing of such great efforts of power, as might be deemed somewhat exceptionable, when they proceeded entirely from the sovereign. The redress of grievances were sometimes promised to the people ; but seldom could have place, while it was an established rule, that the prerogatives of the crown must not be abridged, or so much as questioned and examined in parliament. Even though monopolies and exclusive com panies had already reached an enormous height, and were every day increasing to the destruction of all liberty, and extinction of all industry, it was criminal in a member to propose, in the most dutiful and regular manner, a parlia mentary application against any of them. These maxims of government were not kept secret by Eliz abeth, nor smoothed over by any fair appearances or plausible pretences. They were openly avowed in her speeches and messages to parliament ; and were accompanied with all the haughtiness, nay, sometimes bitterness of expression, which the meanest servant could look for from his offended master. Yet, notwithstanding this conduct, Elizabeth continued to be the most popular sovereign that ever swayed the sceptre of England ; because the maxims of her reign were conforma ble to the principles of the times, and to the opinion generally entertained with regard to the constitution. The continued encroachments of popular assemblies on Elizabeth's succes sors have so changed our ideas in these matters, that the pas sages above mentioned appear to us extremely curious, and even, at. first, surprising ; but they were so little remarked, during the time, that neither Camden, though a contemporary ELIZABETH. J4J writer, nor any other historian, has taken any notice of them. So absolute, indeed, was the authority of the crown, that the precious spark of liberty had been kindled, and was preserved, by the Puritans alone ; and it was to this sect, whose princi ples appear so frivolous, and habits so ridiculous, that the English owe the whole freedom of their constitution. Actu ated by that zeal which belongs to innovators, and by the courage which enthusiasm inspires, they hazarded the utmost indignation of their sovereign, and employing all their industry to be elected into parliament, — a matter not difficult while a seat was rather regarded as a burden than an advantage * — they first acquired a majority in that assembly, and then oBtained an ascendent over the church and monarchy. The following were the principal laws enacted this session. It was declared treason, during the lifetime of the queen, to affirm that she was not the lawful sovereign, or that any other possessed a preferable title, or that she was a heretic, schis matic, or infidel, or that the laws and statutes cannot limit and determine the right of the crown and the successor thereof : to maintain, in writing or printing, that any person, except the " natural issue " of her body, is, or ought to be, the queen's heir or successor, subjected the person and all his abettors, for the first offence, to imprisonment during a year, and to the forfeiture of half their goods : the second offence subjected them to the penalty of a praemunire.t This law, was plainly levelled against the queen of Scots and her partisans ; and implied an avowal, that Elizabeth never intended to declare her successor. It may be noted, that the usual phrase of " lawful issue," which the parliament thought indecent towards the queen, as if she could be supposed to have any other, was changed into that of " natural issue." But this alteration was the source of pleasantry during the time ; and some suspected a deeper design, as if Leicester intended, in case of the queen's demise, to produce some bastard of his own, and affirm that # he was her offspring-! It was also enacted, that whosoever by bulls should publish absolutions or other rescripts ofthe pope, or should, by means of them, reconcile any man to the church of Rome, such * It appeared this session, that a bribe of four pounds had been given to a mayor for a seat in parliament. D'Ewes, p. 181. It is probable that the member had no other view than the privilege of being tree from arrests. + 18 Eliz. c. 1. X Canlden, p. 486. 142 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. offenders, as well as those who were so reconciled, should be guilty of treason. The penalty of a praemunire was imposed on every one who imported any Agnus Dei, crucifix, or such other implement of superstition, consecrated by the pope.* The former laws against usury were enforced by a new stat- ute.t A supply of one subsidy and two fifteenths was granted by parliament. The queen, as she was determined to yield to them none of her power, was very cautious in asking them for any supply. She endeavored, either by a rigid frugality to make her ordinary revenues suffice for the necessities of the crown, or she employed her prerogative, and procured money by the granting of patents, monopolies, or by some such ruinous expedient. Though Elizabeth possessed such uncontrolled authority over her parliaments, and such extensive influence over her people ; though, during a course of thirteen years, she had maintained the public tranquillity, which was only interrupted by the hasty and ill-concerted insurrection in the north ; she was still kept in great anxiety, and felt her throne perpetually totter under her. The violent commotions excited in France and the Low Countries, as well as in Scotland, seemed in one view to secure her against any disturbance ; but they served, on more reflection, to instruct her in the danger of her situa tion, when she remarked that England, no less than these neighboring countries, contained the seeds of intestine discord ; the differences of religious opinion, and the furious intolerance and animosity of the opposite sectaries. The league, formed at Bayonne in 1566, for tlie extermina tion of the Protestants, had not been concluded so secretly but intelligence of it had reached Conde, Coligny, and the other leaders of the Hugonots ; and finding that the measures of the court agreed with their suspicions, they determined to pre vent the cruel perfidy of their enemies, and to strike a blow before the Catholics were aware of the danger. The Hugo nots, though dispersed over" the whole kingdom, formed a kind of separate empire ; and being closely united, as well by their religious zeal as by the dangers to which they were perpetu ally exposed, they obeyed with entire submission the orders of their leaders, and were ready on every signal to fly to arms. The king and queen mother were living in great security at Monceaux, in Brie, when they found themselves • 13 Eliz. c. 2. t 18 Eliz. <.-. 8. ELIZABETH. 143 surrounded by Protestant troops, which had secretly marched thither from all quarters ; and had not a body of Swiss come speedily to their relief, and conducted them with great intre pidity to Paris, they must have fallen, without resistance, into the hands of the malecontents. A battle was afterwards fought in the plains of St. Denis ; where, though the old con stable, Montmorency, the general of the Catholics, was killed combating bravely at the head of his troops, the Hugonots were finally defeated. Conde, collecting his broken forces, and receiving a strong reenforcemeht from the German Prot estants, appeared again in the field ; and laying siege to Char tres, a place of great importance, obliged the court to agree to a new accommodation. So great was the mutual animosity of those religionists, that even had the leaders on both sides been ever so sincere in their intentions for peace, and reposed ever so much confi dence in each other, it would have been difficult to retain the people in tranquillity ; much more where such extreme jealousy prevailed, and where the court employed every paci fication as a snare for their enemies. A plan was laid for seizing the person of the prince and admiral ; who narrowly escaped to Rochelle, and summoned their partisans to their assistance.* The civil wars were renewed with greater fury than ever, and the parties became still more exasperated against each other. The young duke of Anjou, brother ta the king, commanded the forces of the Catholics ; and fought, in 1569, a great battle at Jarnac with the Hugonots, where the prince of Conde was killed, and Iiks army defeated. This discomfiture, with the loss of so great a leader, reduced not the Hugonots to despair. The admiral still supported the cause ; and having placed at the head of the Protestants the prince of Navarre, then sixteen years of age, and the young prince of Conde, he encouraged the party rather to perish bravely in the field, than ignominiously by the hands of the executioner. He collected such numbers, so determined to endure eveiy extremity, that he was enabled to make head against the duke of Anjou ; and being strengthened by a new reinforcement of Germans, he obliged that prince to retreat, and to divide his forces. Coligny then laid siege to Poictiers ; and as the eyes of all France were fixed on this enterprise, the duke of Guise, * Davila, lib. iv. 144 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. emulous of the renown which his father had acquired by the defence of Metz, threw himself into the place, and so ani mated the garrison by his valor and conduct, that the admiral was obliged to raise the siege. Such was the commencement of that unrivalled fame and grandeur afterwards attained by this duke of Guise. The attachment which all the Catholics had borne to his father, was immediately transferred to the son ; and men pleased themselves in comparing all the great and shining qualities which seemed, in a manner, hereditary in that family. Equal in affability, in munificence, in address, in eloquence, and in every quality which engages the affec tions of men ; equal also in valor, in conduct, in enterprise, in capacity ; there seemed only this difference between them, that the son, educated in more turbulent times, and finding a greater dissolution of all law and order, exceeded the father in ambition and temerity, and was engaged in enterprises still more destructive to the authority of his sovereign, and to the repose ofhis native country. Elizabeth, who kept her attention fixed on the civil com motions of France, was nowise pleased with this new rise of her enemies, the Guises ; and being anxious for the fate of the Protestants, whose interests were connected with her own,* she was engaged, notwithstanding her aversion from all rebellion, and from all opposition to the will of the sovereign, to give them secretly some assistance. Besides employing her authority with the German princes, she lent money to the queen of Navarre, and received some jewels as pledges for the loan. And she permitted Henry Champernon to levy, and transport over into France, a regiment of a hundred gentlemen volunteers '; among whom Walter Raleigh, then a young man, began to distinguish himself, in that great school of military valor.t The adilpicions, ^strained by the impa tience of his troops, and by r»' enemislty of subsisting them, fought with the duke of An/re Norfolk expressed his assent to this plan ; and three letters, in consequence of it, were written in his name by Kodolphi; one to Alva, another to the pope, and a third to the king of Spain ; but the duke, apprehensive of the danger, refused to sign them.|| He only sent to the Spanish ambassa dor a servant and confidant, named Barker, as well to notify his concurrence in the plan, as to vouch for the authenticity of these lelters ; and Rodolphi, having obtained a letter of credence from the ambassador, proceeded on bis journey to * Lesley, p. 123. t Huynes, p. 671. 1 State Trials, vol. i. p. 102. } Lesley, p. 160. State Trials, vol. i. p. 88, 87. U Lesley, p. 169, 161. Camden, p. 432. 152 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Brussels and to Rome. The duke of Alva and the pope em braced the scheme with alacrity : Rodolphi informed Norfolk of their intentions ; * and every thing seemed to concur in forwarding the undertaking. Norfolk, notwithstanding these criminal enterprises, had never entirely forgotten his duty to his sovereign,, his country, and his religion ; and though he had laid the plan both of an invasion and an insurrection, he still flattered himself, that the innocence of his intentions would justify the violence of his measures, and that, as he aimed at nothing but the liberty of the queen of Scots, and the obtaining of Elizabeth's consent to his marriage, he could not justly reproach himself as a rebel and a traitor.t It is certain, however, that, considering the queen's vigor and spirit, the scheme, if successful, must finally .have ended in dethroning her ; and her authority was here exposed to the utmost danger. The conspiracy hitherto had entirely escaped the vigilance of Elizabeth, and that of Secretary Cecil, who now bore the title of Lord Burleigh. It was from another attempt of Nor folk's that they first obtained a hint, which, being diligently traced, led at last to a full discovery. Mary had intended to ,send a sum of money to Lord Herreis and her partisans in Scotland ; and Norfolk undertook to have it delivered to Ban nister, a servant of his, at that time in the north, who was to find some expedient for conveying it to Lord Herreis.f He jntrusted the money to a servant who was not in the secret, and told him, that the bag contained a sum of money in silver, which he was to deliver to Bannister with a letter : but the servant, conjecturing from the weight and size of the bag that it was full of gold, carried the letter to Burleigh ; who imme diately ordered Bannister, Barker, and Hicford, the duke's secretary, to be put under arrest, and to undergo a severe .examination. Torture made them confess the whole truth ; and as Hicford, though ordered to burn all papers, had care fully kept them concealed under the mats of the duke's chamber, and under the tiles of the house, full evidence now appeared against his master.^ Norfolk himself, who was entirely ignorant of the discoveries made by his servants, was brought before the council ; and though exhorted to atone for * State Trials, vol. i. p. 93. t Lesley, p. 158. X Lesley, p. 169. State Trials, vol. .i. p. 87. Camden, p. 434. Digges, p. 134, 137, 140. Strype, vol. ii. p. 82. 6 Lesley, p. 173. ELIZABETH. 153 his guilt by a full confession, he persisted in denying every crime with which he was charged. The queen always declared, that if he had given her this proof of his sincere repentance, she would have pardoned all his former offences ;* but finding him ohstinate, she committed him to the Tower, and ordered him to be brought to his trial. The bishop of Ross had, on some suspicion, been committed to custody before the discovery of Norfolk's guilt ; and every expedient was employed to make him reveal his share in the conspiracy. He at first insisted on his privilege : but he was told, that as his mistress was no longer a sovereign, he would not be regarded as an ambassador, and that, even if that character were allowed, it did not warrant him in conspiring against the sovereign at whose court he resided.t As he still refused to answer interrogatories, he was informed of the confession made by Norfolk's servants ; after which he no longer scrupled to make a full discovery ; and his evidence put the guilt of that nobleman beyond all question. [1572.] A jury of twenty-five peers unanimously passed sentence upon him. The trial was quite regular, even according to the strict rules observed at present in these matters ; except that the witnesses gave not their evidence in court, and were not confronted with the prisoner ; a laudable practice, which was not at that time observed in trials for high treason. The queen still hesitated concerning Norfolk's execution; whether that 6he was really moved by friendship and compas sion towards a peer of that rank and merit, or that, affecting the praise of clemency, she only put on the appearance of these sentiments. Twice she signed a warrant for his execu tion, and twice revoked the fatal sentence ; f and though her ministers and counsellors pushed her to rigor, she still appeared irresolute and undetermined. After four months' hesitation, a parliament was assembled ; and the commons addressed her in strong terms for the execution of the duke ; a sanction which, when added to the greatness and certainty of his guilt, would, she thought, justify, in the eyes of all mankind, her severity against that nobleman. Norfolk died with calm ness and constancy ; and though he cleared himself of any disloyal intentions against the queen's authority, he acknowl- * Lesley, p. 175. t Lesley, p. 189. Spotswood. X Carte, p. 527, from Fenelon's Despatches. Digges, p. 166. Strype, vol. ii. p. 83. 154 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. edged the justice of the sentence by which he suffered.* That we may relate together affairs of a similar nature, we shall mention, that the earl of Northumberland, being delivered up to the queen by the regent of Scotland, was also, a few months .after, brought to the scaffold for his rebellion. The queen of Scots was either the occasion or the cause of all these disturbances ; but as she was a sovereign princess, and might reasonably, from the harsh treatment which she had met with, think herself entitled to use any expedient for , her relief, Elizabeth durst not, as yet, form any resolution of proceeding to extremities against her. She only sent Lord Delawar, Sir Ralph Sadler, Sir Thomas Bromley, and Dr. Wilson, to expostulate with her, and to demand satisfaction for all those parts of her conduct, which, from the beginning of her life, had given displeasure to Elizabeth : her assuming the arms of England, refusing to ratify the treaty of Edin burgh, intending to marry Norfolk without the queen's consent, concurring in the northern rebellion,t practising with Rodolphi. to engage the king of Spain in an invasion of England,f procuring the pope's bull of excommunication, and allowing her friends abroad to give her the title of queen of England. Mary justified herself from the several articles of the charge, either by denying the facts imputed to her, or by throwing the blame on others.§ But the queen was little satisfied with her apology ; and the parliament was so enraged against her, that the commons made a direct application for her immediate trial and execution. They employed some topics derived from practice, and reason, and the laws of nations ; but the chief stress was laid on passages and examples from the Old Testament,|| which, if considered as a general rule of conduct, (an intention which it is unreasonable to suppose,) would lead to consequences destructive of all principles of humanity and morality. Matters were here carried further than Elizabeth intended ; and that princess, satisfied with showing Mary the disposition of the nation, sent to the house her express com mands not to deal any further at present with the affair of the Scottish queen. fl Nothing could be a stronger proof that the puritanical interest prevailed in the house, than the intemperate * Camden, p. 440. Strype, vol. ii. App. p. 23. t Digges, p. 15, 107. Strype, vol. ii. p. 51, 52. X Digges, p. 194, 208, 209. Strype, vol. ii. p. 40, 51. ' § Camden, p. 442. U D'Ewes, p. 207, 208, ete. IT D'Ewes, p. 219, 241. ELIZABETH. 155 use of authorities derived from Scripture, especially from the Old Testament ; and the queen was so little a lover df that sect, that she was not likely to make any concession merely in deference to their solicitation. She showed, this session, her disapprobation of their schemes in another remarkable instance. The commons had passed two bills for regulating ecclesiastical ceremonies ; but she sent them a like imperious message with her former ones ; and by the terror of her pre rogative, she stopped all further proceeding in those matters.* But though Elizabeth would not carry matters to such extremities against Mary as were recommended by the par liament, she was alarmed at the great interest and the restless spirit of that princess, as well as her close connections with Spain ; and she thought it necessary both to increase the rigor and strictness of her confinement, and to follow maxims dif ferent from those which she had hitherto pursued in her management of Scotland.t That kingdom remained still in a state of anarchy. The Castle of Edinburgh, commanded by Kirkaldy of Grange, had declared for Mary ; and the lords of that party, encouraged by his countenance, had taken pos session of the capital, and carried on a vigorous war against the regent. By a sudden and unexpected inroad, they seized that nobleman at Stirling ; but finding that his friends, sallying from the castle, were likely to rescue him, they instantly put him to death. The earl of Marre was chosen regent in his room, and found the same difficulties in the government of that divided country. He was therefore glad to accept of the mediation offered by the French and English ambassadors ; and to conclude, on equal terms, a truce with the queen's party.i; He was a man of free and generous spirit, and scorned to submit to any dependence on England ; and for this reason Elizabeth, who had then formed intimate con nections with France, yielded with less reluctance to the solicitations of that court, still maintained the appearance of neutrality between the parties, and allowed matters to remain on a balance in Scotland.^ But affairs soon after took a new turn : Marre died of melancholy, with which the dis tracted state of the country affected him : Morton was chosen regent ; and as this nobleman had secretly taken all his measures with Elizabeth, who no longer relied on the * D'Ewes, p. 213, 238. t Digges, p. 152. I Spotswood, p. 263. . Digges, p. 156, 165, 169. 156 HisTOEJr or inbland. friendship of the French court, she resolved to exert heTSslf more "effectually for the support of the party which she had always favored. She sent Sir Henry Killegrew ambassador to Scotland, who found Mary's partisans so discouraged by the discovery and punishment of Norfolk's conspiracy, that they were glad to submit to the king's authority, and accept of an indemnity for all past offences* The duke of Chatel rault and the earl of Huntley, with the most considerable of Mary's friends, laid down their arms on these conditions. The garrison alone of the Castle of Edinburgh continued refractory. Kirkaldy's fortunes were desperate ; and he flat tered himself with the hopes of receiving assistance from the kings of France and Spain, who encouraged his obstinacy, in the view of being able, from that quarter, to give disturbance to England. Elizabeth was alarmed wth the danger ; she no more apprehended making an entire breach with the queen of Scots, who, she found, would not any longer be amused by her artifices ; she had an implicit reliance on Morton ; and she saw, that by the submission of all the considerable nobility, the pacification of Scotland would be an easy, as well as a most important undertaking. She ordered, therefore, Sir William Drury, governor of Berwick, to march with some troops and artillery to Edinburgh,and to besiege the castle.t The garrison surrendered at discretion : Kirkaldy was de livered into the hands of his countrymen, by whom he was tried, condemned, and executed ; Secretary Lidington, who had taken part with him, died, soon after, a voluntary- death, as is supposed ; and Scotland submitting entirely to tbe re gent, gave not, during a long time, any further inquietude to Elizabeth. The events which happened in France were not so agree able to the queen's interests and inclinations. The fallacious pacifications, which had been so often made with the Hugo nots, gave them reason to suspect the present intentions of the court ; and after all the other leaders of that party were de ceived into a dangerous credulity, the sagacious admiral still remained doubtful and uncertain. But his suspicions were at last overcome, partly by the profound dissimulation of Charles, partly by his own earnest desire to end the miseries of France, and return again to the performance of his duty towards his prince and country. He considered, besides, that as the • Spotswood, p. 268. t Camden, p. 449. ELIZABETH. 137 former violent conduct- of the court had ever met with such fatal success, it was not unlikely that a prince, who had newly come to years of discretion, and appeared not to be rivetted in any dangerous animosities or prejudices, would be induced to govern himself by more moderate maxims. And as Charles was young, was of a passionate, hasty temper, and addicted to pleasure,* such deep perfidy seemed either remote from his character, or difficult and almost impossible to be so uniformly supported by him. Moved by these considerations, the ad miral, the queen of Navarre, and all the Hugonots, began to repose themselves in full security, and gave credit to the treacherous caresses and professions of the French court. Elizabeth herself, notwithstanding her great experience and penetration, entertained not the least distrust of Charles's sin cerity ; and being pleased to find her enemies of the house of Guise removed from all authority, and to observe an "ani mosity every day growing between the French and Spanish monarchs, she concluded a defensive league with the former,t and regarded this alliance as an invincible barrier to her throne. Walsingbam, her ambassador, sent her over, by every courier, the most satisfactory accounts of the honor, and plain dealing, and fidelity of that perfidious prince. The better to blind the jealous Hugonots, and draw their leaders into the snare prepared for them, Charles offered his sister, Margaret, in marriage to the prince of Navarre ; and the admiral, with all the considerable nobility of the party, had come to Paris, in order to assist at the celebration of these nuptials, which, it was hoped, would finally, if not. compose the differences, at least appease the bloody animosity of the two religions. The queen of Navarre was poisoned by orders from the court ; the admiral was dangerously wounded by an assassin : yet Charles, redoubling his dissimulation, was still. able to retain the Hugonots in their security ; till, on the even ing of St. Bartholomew, a few days after the marriage, the signal was given for a general massacre of those religionists, and the king himself in person led the way to these assassina tions. The hatred long entertained by the Parisians against the Protestants, made them second, without any preparation, the fury of the court ; and persons of every condition, age, and sex, suspected of any propensity to that religion, were involved in an undistinguished ruin. The admiral, his son-in- * Digges, p. 8, 39. t Camden, p. 443. vol. iv. 14 H 158 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. law Teligni, Soubize, Rochefoucault, Pardaillon, Piles, La- vardin, men who, during the late wars, had signalized them selves by the most heroic actions, were miserably butchered without resistance ; the streets of Paris flowed with blood ; and the people, more enraged than satiated with their cruelty, as if repining that death had saved their victims from further insult, exercised on their dead bodies all the rage of the most licentious brutality. About five hundred gentlemen and men of rank perished in this massacre ; and near ten thousand of inferior condition.* Orders were instantly despatched to all the provinces for a like general execution of the Protestants ; and in Rouen, Lyons, and many other cities, the people emulated the fury of the capital. Even the murder of the king of Navarre, and prince of Conde, had been proposed by the duke of Guise ; but Charles, softened by the amiable manners of the king of Navarre, and hoping that these young princes might easily be converted to the' Catholic faith, de termined to spare their lives, though he obliged them to pur chase* their safety by a seeming change of their religion. Charles, in order to cover this barbarous perfidy, pretended that a conspiracy of the Hugonots to seize his person had been suddenly detected ; and that he had been necessitated, for his own defence, to proceed to this severity against them. He sent orders to Fenelon, his ambassador in England, to ask an audience, and to give Elizabeth this account of the late transaction. That minister, a man of probity, abhorred the treachery and cruelty of his court, and even scrupled not to declare that he was now ashamed to bear the name of French man ; t yet he was obliged to obey his orders, and make use of the apology which had been prescribed to him. He met with that reception from all the courtiers which he knew the conduct of his master had so well merited. Nothing could be more awful and affecting than the solemnity of his audience. A melancholy sorrow sat on every face : silence, as in the dead of night, reigned through all the chambers of the royal apartment : the courtiers and ladies, clad in deep mourning, were ranged on each side, and allowed him to pass without affording him one salute or favorable look, till he was admitted to the queen herself-! That princess received him with a more easy, if not a more gracious countenance ; and heard * Davila, lib. v. f Digges, p. 247. X Carte, vol. iii. p. 522, from Fenelon's Despatches. ELIZABETH. 159 his apology, without discovering any visible symptoms of indignation. She then told him, that though, on the first rumor of this dreadful intelligence, she had been astonished that so many brave men and loyal subjects, who rested secure on the faith of their sovereign, should have been suddenly butchered in so barbarous a manner, she had hitherto suspended her judgment, till further and more certain information should be brought her : that the account which he had given, even if founded on no mistake or bad information, though it might alleviate, would by no means remove the blame of the king's counsellors, or justify the strange irregularity of their proceed ings : that the same force which, without resistance, had mas sacred so many defenceless men, could easily have secured their persons, and have reserved them for a trial, and for pun ishment by a legal sentence, which would have distinguished the innocent from the guilty: that. the admiral in particular, being dangerously wounded, and environed by the guards of the king, on whose protection he seemed entirely to rely, had no means of escape, and might surely, before his death, have been convicted of the crimes imputed to him : that it was more worthy of a sovereign to reserve in his own hands the sword of justice, than to commit it to bloody murderers, who, being the declared and mortal enemies ofthe persons accused, employed it without mercy and without distinction : that if these sentiments were just, even supposing the conspiracy of the Protestants to be real, how much more so if that crime was a calumny of their enemies, invented for their destruc tion ? that if, upon inquiiy, the innocence of these unhappy victims should afterwards appear, it was the king's duty to turn his vengeance on their defamers, who had thus cruelly abused his confidence, had murdered so many of his brave subjects, and had done what in them lay to cover him with everlasting dishonor : and that for her part, she should form her judgment of his intentions by his subsequent conduct; and in the mean time should act as desired by the ambassador, and rather pity than blame his master for the extremities to which he had been carried.* Elizabeth was fully sensible of the dangerous situation in which she now stood. In the massacre of Paris, she saw the result of that general conspiracy formed for the extermination ofthe Protestants ; and she knew that she herself, as the head * Digges, p. 247, 248. 160 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. and protectress of the new religion, was exposed to the utmost fury and resentment of the Catholios. The violence and cru elty of the Spaniards in the Low Countries was another branch of the same conspiracy ; and as Charles and Philip, two princes nearly allied in perfidy and barbarity, as well as in bigotry, had now laid aside their pretended quarrel, and had avowed the most entire friendship,* she had reason, as soon as they had appeased their domestic commotions, to dread the effects of their united counsels. The duke of Guise also, and his family, whom Charles, in order to deceive the admiral, had hitherto kept at a distance, had now acquired an open and entire ascendant, in the court of France ; and she was sensi ble that these princes, from personal as well as political rea sons, were her declared and implacable enemies. The queen of Scots, their near relation and close confederate, was the pretender to her throne ; and though detained in custody, was actuated by a restless spirit, and, besides her foreign allies, possessed numerous and zealous partisans in the heart of the kingdom. For these reasons Elizabeth thought it more pru dent not to reject all commerce with the French monarch, but still to listen to the professions of friendship which he made her. She allowed even the negotiations to be renewed for her mar riage with the duke of Alencon, Charles's third brother :t those with the duke of Anjou had already been broken off. She sent the earl of Worcester to assist in her name at the baptism of a young princess, born to Charles ; but before she agreed to give him this last mark of condescension, she thought it becoming her dignity to renew her expressions of blame, and even of detestation, against the cruelties exercised on his Protestant subjects.! Meanwhile, she prepared herself for that attack which seemed to threaten her from the combined power and violence of the Romanists : she fortified Ports mouth, put her fleet in order, exercised her militia, cultivated popularity with her subjects, acted with vigor for the further reduction of Scotland under obedience to the young king, and renewed her alliance with the German princes, who were no less, alarmed than herself at these treacherous and sanguinary measures, so universally embraced by the Catholics. But though Elizabeth cautiously avoided coming to extrem ities with Charles, the greatest security that she possessed t Digges, passim. Camden, p. 447. Digges, p. 268, 282. t Digges, % Digges, p. 297, 298. Camden, p. 447. ELIZABETH. 161 against his violence was derived from the difficulties which the obstinate resistance of the Hugonots still created to him. Such of that sect as lived near the frontiers, immediately, on the first news of the massacres, fled into England, Germany, or Switzerland ; [1573.] where they excited the compassion and indignation of the Protestants, and prepared themselves, with increased forces and redoubled zeal, to return into France, and avenge the treacherous slaughter of their brethren. Those who lived in the middle of the kingdom took shelter in the nearest garrisons occupied by the Hugonots ; and finding that they could repose no faith in capitulations, and expect no clemency, were determined to defend themselves to the last extremity. The sect which Charles had hoped at one blow to exterminate, had now an army of eighteen thousand men on foot, and possessed, in different parts of the kingdom, above a hundred cities, castles, or fortresses ; * nor could that prince deem himself secure from the invasion threatened him by all the other Protestants in Europe. The nobility and gentry of England were roused to such a pitch of resentment, that they offered to levy an army of twenty-two thousand foot and four thousand horse, to transport them into France, and to maintain them six months at their own charge : but Elizabeth, who was cautious in her measures, and who feared to inflame further the quarrel between the two religions by these dangerous cru sades, refused her consent, and moderated the zeal of her subjects.t The German princes, less political, or more secure from the resentment of France, forwarded the levies made by the Protestants ; and the young prince of Conde, having es caped from court, put himself at the head of these troops, and prepared to invade the kingdom. The duke of Alencon, the king of Navarre, the family of Montmorency, and many con siderable men even among the Catholics, displeased, either on a private or public account, with the measures of the court, favored the progress of the Hugonots ; and every thing re lapsed into confusion. The king, instead of repenting his violent counsels, which had brought matters to such extremi ties, called aloud for new violences ;! [1574.] nor could even the mortal distemper, under which he labored, moderate the rage and animosity by which he was actuated. He died with out male issue, at the age of twenty-five years ; a prince, * Digges, p. 343. t Digges, p. 335, 341. X DavUa, lib. v. 14* 162 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. •whose character, containing that unusual mixture of dissimu lation and ferocity, of quick resentment and unrelenting ven geance, executed the greatest mischiefs, and threatened still worse, both to his native country and to all Europe. Henry, duke of Anjou, who had some time before been elected king of Poland, no sooner heard ofhis brother's death, than he hastened to take possession of the throne of France ; and found the kingdom not only involved in the greatest present disorders, but exposed to infirmities for which it was extremely difficult to provide any suitable remedy. [1575.] The peo ple were divided into two theological factions, furious from their zeal, and mutually enraged from the injuries which they had committed or suffered ; and as all faith had been violated and moderation banished, it seemed impracticable to find any terms of composition between them. Each party had devoted itself to leaders whose commands had more authority than the will of the sovereign ; and- even the Catholics, to whom the king was attached, were entirely conducted by the counsels of Guise and his family. The religious connections had, on both sides, superseded the civil ; or rather, (for men will always be guided by present interest,) two empires being secretly formed. in the kingdom, every individual was engaged by new views of interest to follow those leaders to whom, during the course of past convulsions, he had been indebted for his honors and preferment. % - Henry, observing the low condition of the crown, had laid a scheme for restoring his own authority, by acting as umpire between the parties, -by moderating their differences, and by reducing both to a dependence upon himself. He possessed all the talents of dissimulation requisite for the execution of this delicate plan ; but being deficient in vigor, application, and sound judgment, instead of acquiring a superiority over both factions, he lost the confidence of both, and taught the partisans of each to adhere still more closely to their particular leaders, whom they found more cordial and sincere in the cause which they espoused. [1576.] The Hugonots were strengthened by the accession of a German army under the prince of Conde and Prince Casimir ; but much more by the credit and personal virtues of the king of Navarre, who, having fled from court, had placed himself at the head of that formidable party. Henry, in prosecution of his plan, entered into a composition with them ; and being desirous of preserving a balance between the sects, he granted them peace on the most advantageous ELIZABETH. 163 conditions. This was the fifth general peace made with the Hugonots ; but though it was no more sincere on the part of the court than any of the former, it gave the highest disgust to the Catholics ; and afforded the duke of Guise the desired pretence of declaiming against the measures, and maxims, and conduct of the king. That artful and bold leader -took thence an occasion of reducing his party into a more formed and regular body ; and he laid the first foundations of the famous " league," which, without paying any regard to the royal authority, aimed at the entire suppression of the Hugonots. Such was the unhappy condition of France, from the past severities and violent con duct of its princes, that toleration could no longer be admitted and a concession for liberty of conscience, which would proba bly have appeased the reformers, excited the greatest resentment in the Catholics. [1577.] Henry, in order to divert the force ofthe league from himself, and even to elude its efforts against the Hugonots, declared himself the head of that seditious con federacy, and took the field as leader of the Romanists. But his dilatory and feeble measures betrayed his reluctance to the . undertaking ; and after some unsuccessful attempts, be con cluded a new peace, which, though less favorable than the former to the Protestants, gave no contentment to the Catholics. Mutual diffidence still prevailed between the parties ; the king's moderation was suspicious to both ; each faction continued to fortify itself against that breach, which, they foresaw, must speedily ensue ; theological controversy daily whetted the animosity of the sects ; and every private injury^ became the ground of a public quarrel. [1578.] The king, hoping by his artifice and subtlety to allure the nation into a love of pleasure and repose, was him self caught in the snare ; and sinking into a dissolute indo lence, wholly lost the esteem, and, in a great measure, the affections, of his people. Instead of advancing such men of character and abilities as were neuters between these danger ous factions, he gave all his confidence to young, agreeable favorites, who, unable to prop his falling authority, leaned entirely upon it, and inflamed the general odium against his administration. The public burdens, increased by his profuse liberality, and felt more heavy on a disordered kingdom, became another ground of complaint : and the uncontrolled animosity of parties, joined to the multiplicity of taxes, rendered peace more calamitous than any open state of foreign or even 164 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. domestic hostility. [1579.] The artifices of the king were too refined tb succeed, and too frequent to be concealed ; and the plain, direct, and avowed conduct of the duke of Guise on one side, and that of the king of Navarre on the other, drew by degrees the generality of the nation to devote themselves without reserve to one or the other of those great leaders. The civil commotions of France were of too general im portance to be overlooked by the other princes of Europe ; and Elizabeth's foresight and vigilance, though somewhat restrained by her frugality, led her to take secretly some part in them. Besides employing on all occasions her good offices in favor of the Hugonots, she had expended no inconsiderable sums in levying that army of Germans which the prince of Conde and Prince Casimir conducted into France ;'* and notwithstanding her negotiations with the court, and her professions of amity, she always considered her own interests as connected with the prosperity of the French Protestants, and the depression of the house of Guise. Philip, on the other hand, had declared himself protector of the league ; had entered into the closest correspondence with Guise ; and had employed all his author ity in supporting the credit of that factious leader. This sympathy of religion, which of itself begat a connection of interests, was one considerable inducement ; but that monarch had also in view the subduing of his rebellious subjects in the Netherlands ; who, as they received great encouragement from the French Protestants, would, he hoped, finally despair of success, after the entire suppression of their friends and con federates. The same political views wliich engaged Elizabeth to sup port the Hugonots would have led her to assist the distressed Protestants in the Low Countries ; but the mighty power of Philip, the tranquillity of all his other dominions, and the great force which he maintained in these mutinous provinces, kept her in awe, and obliged her, notwithstanding all temptations and all provocations, to preserve some terms of amity with that monarch. The Spanish ambassador represented to her, that many of the Flemish exiles, who infested the seas, and preyed on his master's subjects, were received into the harbors of England, and were there allowed to dispose of their prizes and by these remonstrances the queen found herself under i necessity of denying them all entrance into her dominions * Camden, p. 452. ELIZABETH. Jg5 But this measure proved in the issue extremely prejudicial to the interests of Philip. These desperate exiles, finding no longer any possibility of subsistence, were forced to attempt the most perilous enterprises ; and they made an assault on the Brille, a seaport town in Holland, where they met with success, and after a short resistance became masters of the place* The duke of Alva was alarmed mt the danger ; and stopping those bloody executions which he was making on the defenceless Flemings, he hastened with his army to extinguish the flame, which, falling on materials so well prepared for combustion, seemed to menace a general conflagration. His fears soon appeared to be well grounded. The people in the neighborhood of the Brille, enraged by that complication of cruelty, oppression, insolence, usurpation, and persecution, under which they and all their countrymen labored, flew to arms ; and in u few days almost all the whole province of Hol land and that of Zealand had revolted from the Spaniards, and had openly declared against the tyranny of Alva. This event happened in thc year 157-3. William, prince of Orange, descended from a sovereign family of great lustre anil antiquity in Germany, inheriting the possessions of a sovereign family in France, had fixed his residence in the Low Countries ; and on account of his noble birth and immense riches, as well as of his personal merit, was universally regarded as the greatest subject that lived in those provinces. He had opposed, by all regular and dutiful means, the progress of the Spanish usurpations ; and when Alva conducted his army into the Netherlands, and assumed thc government, this prince, well acquainted with the violent character of the man, and the tyrannical spirit of the court of Madrid, wisely fled from the danger which threatened him, and retired to his paternal estate and dominions in Germany. He was cited to appear before Alva's tribunal, was condemned in absence, was declared a rebel, and his ample possessions in the Low Countries were confiscated. In revenge, he had levied an army of Protestants in the empire, and had made tome attempts to restore the Flemings to liberty ; but was still •epulsed with loss by the vigilance and military conduct of A.lva, and by the great bravery as well as discipline of those veteran Spaniards who served under that general. The revolt of Holland and Zealand, provinces which the * Camden, p. 443. 166 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. prince of Orange had formerly commanded, and where he was much beloved, called him anew from his retreat ; and he added conduct, no less than spirit, to that obstinate resistance which was here made to the Spanish dominion. By uniting the revolted cities in a league, he laid the foundation of that illustrious commonwealth, the offspring of industry and liberty, whose arms and policy have long made so signal a figure in every transaction of Europe. He inflamed the inhabitants by every motive which religious zeal-, resentment, or love of free dom could inspire. Though the present greatness of the Spanish monarchy might deprive them of all courage, he still flattered them with the concurrence of the other prov inces, and with assistance from neighboring states ; and he exhorted them, in defence of their religion, their liberties, their lives, to endure the utmost extremities of war. From this spirit proceeded the desperate defence of Harlem ; a defence which nothing but the most consuming famine could overcome, and which the Spaniards revenged by the execution of more than two thousand of the inhabitants.* This extreme severity, instead of striking terror into the Hollanders, ani mated them by despair ; and the vigorous resistance made at Alcmaer, where Alva was finally repulsed, showed them that their insolent enemies were not invincible. The duke, finding at last the pernicious effects of his violent counsels, solicited to be recalled : Medinaceli, who was appointed his successor, refused to accept the government : Requesens, commendator of Castile, was sent from Italy to replace Alva ; and this tyrant departed from the Netherlands in 1574 ; leaving his name in execration to the inhabitants ; a,pd boasting in bis turn, that, during the course of five years, he had delivered above eighteen thousand of these rebellious heretics into the hands of the executioner.! Requesens, though a man of milder dispositions, could not appease the violent hatred which the revolted Hollanders had conceived against the Spanish government ; and the war con tinued as obstinate as ever. In the siege of Leyden, under taken by the Spaniards, the Dutch opened the dikes and sluices, in order to drive them from the enterprise ; and the very peasants were active in ruining their fields by an inunda tion, rather than fall again under the hated tyranny of Spain. But notwithstanding this repulse, the governor still pursued * Bentivoglio, lib. vii. t Grotius, lib. ii. ELIZABETH. 167 the war ; and the contest seemed too unequal between so mighty a monarchy and two small provinces, however fortified by nature, and however defended by the desperate resolution of the inhabitants. The prince of Orange, therefore, in 1575, was resolved to sue for foreign succor, and to make applications to one or other of his great neighbors, Henry or Elizabeth. The court of France was not exempt from the same spirit of tyranny and persecution which prevailed among the Spaniards ; and that kingdom, torn by domestic dissensions, seemed not to enjoy, at present, either leisure or ability to pay regard to foreign interests. But England, long connected both by commerce and alliance with the Netherlands, and now more concerned in the fate of the revolted provinces by sympathy in religion, seemed naturally interested in theil defence ; and as Elizabeth had justly entertained great jealousy of Philip, and governed her kingdom in perfect tranquillity, hopes were entertained that her policy, her ambi tion, or her generosity, would engage her to support them under their present calamities. They sent, therefore, a solemn embassy to London, consisting of St. Aldegonde, Douza, Nivelle, Buys, and Melsen ; and after employing the most humble supplications to tho queen, they offered her the pos session and sovereignty of their provinces, if she would exert her power in their defence. There were many strong motives which might impel Eliza beth to accept of so liberal an offer. She was apprised of the injuries which Philip had done her, by his intrigues with the malecontents in England and Ireland:* she foresaw the danger which she must incur from a total prevalence of thc Catholics in the Low Countries : and the maritime situation of those provinces, as well as their command over the great rivers, was an inviting circumstance to a nation like the Eng lish, who were beginning to cultivate commerce and naval power. But this princess, though magnanimous, had never entertained the ambition of making conquests, or gaining new acquisitions ; and the whole purpose ofher vigilant and active politics was to maintain, by the most frugal and cautious expedients, the tranquillity of her own dominions. An open war with the Spanish monarchy was the apparent consequence of her accepting the dominion of these provinces ; and after taking the inhabitants under her protection, she could never * Diggeg, p. 73. 168 r HISTORY OF ENGLAND. afterwards in honor abandon them, but, however desperate their defence^might become, she must embrace it, even further than her convenience or interests would permit. For these reasons, she refused, in positive terms, the sovereignty1 prof fered her ; but told the ambassadors, that, in return for the good will which the prince of Orange and the states had shown her, she would endeavor to mediate an agreement for them, on the most reasonable terms that could be obtained.* She sent accordingly Sir Henry Cobham to Philip ; and repre sented to him the danger which he would incur of losing entirely the Low Countries, if France could obtain the least interval from her intestine disorders, and find leisure to offer her protection to those mutinous and discontented provinces. Philip seemed to take this remonstrance in good part ; but no accord ensued, and war in the Netherlands continued with the same rage and violence as before. It was an accident that delivered the Hollanders from their present desperate situation. Requesens, the governor, dying suddenly, the Spanish troops, discontented for want of pay, and licentious for want of a proper authority to command them, broke into a furious mutiny, and threw every thing into confusion. They sacked and pillaged the cities of Maestricht and Antwerp, and executed great slaughter on the inhabitants : they threatened the other cities with a like fate : and all the provinces, excepting Luxembourg, united for mutual defence against their violence, and called in the prince of Orange and the Hollanders as their pro tectors. A treaty, commonly called the Pacification of Ghent, was formed by common agreement ; and the removal of foreign troops, with the restoration of their ancient liberties, .was the object which the provinces mutually stipulated to pursue. Don John of Austria, natural brother to Philip, being appointed governor, found, on his arrival at Luxembourg, that the states had so fortified themselves, and that the Spanish troops were so divided by their situation, that there was no possibility of. resistance ; and he agreed to the terms required of him. The Spaniards evacuated the country; and these provinces seemed at last to breathe a little from their calamities. But it was not easy to settle entire peace, while the thirst of revenge and dominion governed the king of Spain, and * Camden, p. 46S, 464. ELIZABETH. 169 while the Flemings were so strongly agitated with resentment of past, and fear of future injuries. The ambition of Don John, who coveted this great theatre for his military talents, engaged him rather to inflame than appease the quarrel ; and as he found the states determined to impose very strict limita tions on his authority, he broke all articles, seized Namur, and procured the recall of the Spanish army from Italy. This prince, endowed with a lofty genius, and elated by the pros perous successes of his youth, had opened his mind to vajst undertakings ; and looking much beyond the conquest of the revolted provinces, had projected to. espouse the queen of Scots, and to acquire in her right the dominion of the British kingdoms.* Elizabeth was aware of his intentions ; and seeing now, from the union of all the provinces, a fair pros pect of their making a long and vigorous defence against Spain, she no longer scrupled to embrace the protection of their liberties, which seemed so intimately connected with her own safety. After sending them a sum of money, about twenty thousand pounds, for the immediate pay of their troops, she concluded a treaty with them ; in which she stipulated to assist them with five thousand foot and a thousand horse, at the charge of the Flemings ; and to lend them a hundred thousand pounds, on receiving the bonds of some of the most consider able towns of the Netherlands, for her repayment within the year. It was further agreed, that the commander of the Eng lish army should be admitted into the council of the states ; and nothing be determined concerning war or peace, without previously informing the queen or him of it ; that they should enter into no league without her consent ; that if any discord arose among themselves, it should be referred to her arbitra tion ; and that, if any prince, on any pretext, should attempt hostilities against her, they should send to her assistance an army equal to that which she had employed in their defence. This alliance was signed on the seventh of January, 1578.f One considerable inducement to the queen for entering into treaty with the states, was to prevent their throwing themselves into the arms of France ; and she was desirous to make the king of Spain believe that it was her sole motive. She repre sented to him, by her ambassador, Thomas Wilkes, that hitherto she had religiously acted the part of a good neighbor and ally ; had refused the sovereignty of Holland and Zealand " Camden, p. 466. Grotius, lib. iii. t Camden, p. 466, VOL. IV, 15 H 170 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. when offered her ; had advised the prince of Orange to sub mit to the king ; and had even accompanied her counsel with menaces, in case of his refusal. She persevered, she said, in the same friendly intentions ; and, as a proof of it, would venture to interpose with her advice for the composure of the present differences : let Don John, whom she could not but regard as her mortal enemy, he recalled ; let some other prince more popular be substituted in his room ; let the Span ish armies be withdrawn ; let the Flemings be restored to their ancient liberties and privileges ; and if, after these conces sions, they were still obstinate not to return to their duty, she promised to join her arms with those of the king of Spain, and force them to compliance. Philip dissembled his resentr ment against the queen, and still continued to supply Don John with money and troops. That prince, though once repulsed at Rimenant by the valor of the English, under Norris, and though opposed, as well by the army of the states as by Prince Casimir, who had conducted to the Low Countries a great body of Germans paid by the queen, gained a great advantage over the Flemings at Gemblours ; but was cut off in the midst of his prosperity by poison, given him secretly, as was sus pected, by orders from Philip, who dreaded his ambition. The prince of Parma succeeded to the command ; who, unit ing valor and clemency, negotiation and military exploits, made great progress against the revolted Flemings, and ad vanced the progress of the Spaniards by his arts as well as by his arms. " During these years, while Europe was almost every where in great commotion, England enjoyed a profound tranquillity ; owing chiefly to the prudence and vigor of the queen's admin istration, and to the wise precautions which she employed in all her measures. By supporting the zealous Protestants in Scotland, she had twice given them the superiority over their antagonists, had closely connected their interests with her own, and had procured herself entire security from that quarter whence the most dangerous invasions could be made upon her. She saw in France her enemies, the Guises, though extremely powerful, yet counterbalanced by the Hugonots, her zealous partisans ; and even hated by the king, who was jealous of their restless and exorbitant ambition. The bigotry of Philip gave her just ground of anxiety; but the same bigotry had happily excited the most obstinate opposition among his own subjects, and had created him enemies whom his; arms and ELIZABETH. 171 policy were not likely soon to subdue. The queen of Scots, her antagonist and rival, and the pretender to her throne, was a pris oner in her hands ; and, by her impatience and high spirit, had been engaged in practices which afforded thc queen a pretence for rendering her confinement more rigorous, and for cutting off her communication with her partisans in England. Religion was the capital point on which depended all the political transactions of that age ; and the queen's conduct in this particular, making allowance for the prevailing preju dices of the times, could scarcely be accused of severity or imprudence. She established no inquisition into men's bosoms ; she imposed no oath of supremacy, except on those who received trust or emolument from the public ; and though the exercise of every religion but the established was prohib ited by statute, the violation of this law, by saying mass, and receiving the sacrament, in private houses, was in many instances connived at ; * while, on the other hand, the Cath olics, in the beginning of her reign, showed little reluctance against going to church, or frequenting the ordinary duties of public worship. The pope, sensible that this practice would by degrees reconcile all his partisans to the reformed religion, hastened the publication of the bull which excommunicated the queen, and freed her subjects from their oaths of alle giance ; and great pains were taken by the emissaries of Rome, to render the breach between the two religions as wide as possible, and to make the frequenting of Protestant churches appear highly criminal in the Catholies.f These practices, with the rebellion which ensued, increased the vigilance and severity ofthe government ; but the Romanists^ if their condition were compared with that of the nonconform. ists in other countries, and with their own maxims where they domineered, could not justly complain of violence or persecution. The queen appeared rather more anxious to keep a strict hand over the Puritans; who, though their pretensions were not so immediately dangerous to her authority, seemed to be actuated by a more unreasonable obstinacy, and to retain claims, of which, both in civil and ecclesiastical matters, it was as yet difficult to discern the full scope and intention. Some secret attempts of that sect to establish a separate congrega- * Camden, p. 459. t Walsingham's Letter in Burnet, vol. ii. p. 418. Cabala, p. 406. 172 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. tion and discipline, had been carefully repressed in the begin ning of this reign ; * and when any of the established clergy discovered a tendency to their principles, by omitting the legal habits or ceremonies, the queen had shown a determined resolution to punish them by fines and deprivation ; t though her orders to that purpose had been frequently eluded, by the secret protection which these sectaries received from some of her most considerable courtiers. . But what chiefly tended to gain Elizabeth the hearts of her subjects, was her frugality, which, though carried sometimes to an extreme, led her not to amass treasures, but only to prevent impositions upon her people, who were at that time very little accustomed to bear the burdens of government. By means of her rigid economy, she paid all the debts which she found on the crown, with their full interest ; though some of these debts had been contracted even during the reign of her father-! Some loans, which she had exacted at the com mencement of her reign, were repaid by her; a practice in that age somewhat unusual ; § and she established her credit on such a footing, that no sovereign in Europe could more readily command any sum which the public exigencies might at any time require. || During this peaceable and uniform gov ernment, England furnishes few materials for history ; and except the small part which Elizabeth took in foreign transac tions, there scarcely passed any occurrence which requires a particular detail. -. The most memorable event in this period was a session of parliament, held on thc eighth of February, 1576 ; where debates were started which may appear somewhat curious arfd singular. Peter Wentworth, a Puritan, who had signal ized himself in former parliaments by his free and undaunted spirit, opened this session with a premeditated harangue, which drew on him the indignation of the house, and gave great offence to the queen and the ministers. As it seems to con tain a rude sketch of those _principles of liberty which happily gained afterwards the ascendant in England, it may not be improper to give, in a few words, the substance of it. He premised, that the very name .of liberty is sweet ; but the * Strype's Life of Parker, p. 342. Strype's Life of Grindal p. 316. t Heylin, p. 165, 166. 1 D'Ewes, p. 245. Camden, p. 446. 6 D'Ewos, p. 246 |1 D'Ewos, p. 24«. ELIZABETH. 173 thing itself is precious beyond the most inestimable treasure ; and that it behoved them to be careful, lest, contenting them selves with the sweetness of the name, they forego the sub stance, and abandon what of all earthly possessions was of the highest value to the kingdom. He then proceeded to observe, that freedom of speech in that hotise, — a privilege so useful both to sovereign and subject, — had been formerly infringed in many essential articles, and was at present exposed to the most imminent danger: that it was usual, when any subject of importance was handled, especially if it regarded religion, to surmise, that these topics were disagreeable to the queen, and that the further proceeding in them would draw down her indignation upon their temerity : that Solomon had justly affirmed the king's displeasure to be a messenger of death ; and it was no wonder if men, even though urged by motives of conscience and duty, should be inclined to stop short when they found themselves exposed to so severe a penalty : that by the employing of this argument, the house was incapaci tated from serving their country, and even from serving the queen herself, whose ears, besieged by pernicious flatterers, were thereby rendered inaccessible to the most salutary truths : that it was a mockery to call an assembly a parliament, yet deny it that privilege which was so essential to its being, and without which it must degenerate into an abject school of ser vility and dissimulation : that as the parliament was the great guardian of the laws, they ought to have liberty to discharge their trust, and to maintain that authority whence even kings themselves derive their being : that a king was constituted such by law, and though he was not dependent on man, yet was he subordinate to God and the law, and was obliged to make their prescriptions, not his own will, the rule of his con duct : that even his commission, as God's vicegerent, enforced, instead of loosening this obligation ; since he was thereby invested with authority to Execute on earth the will of God, which is nothing but law and justice : that though these sur mises of displeasing the queen by their proceedings, had impeached, in a very essential point, all freedom of speech, — a privilege granted them by a special law, — yet was there a more express and more dangerous invasion made on their liberties, by frequent messages from the throne : that it had become a practice, when the house was entering on any question, either ecclesiastical or civil, to bring an order from the queen, inhib iting them absolutely from treating of such matters, and debar- 15* 174 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. ring them from all further discussion of these momentous articles : that the prelates, emboldened by her royal protec tion, had assumed a-deeisive power in all questions of religion, and required that every one should implicitly submit his faith to their arbitrary determinations : that thc love which he bore his sovereign forbade him to bo silent under such abuses, or to sacrifice, on this important occasion, his duty to servile flat tery and complaisance; and that, as no earthly creature was exempt from fault, so neither vvas the queen herself; but, in imposing this servitude on her faithful commons, had cpm- mitted a great and even dangerous fault against herself and the whole commonwealth.* It is easy to observe from this speech, that, in this dawn of liberty, the parliamentary style was still crude and unformed ; and that the proper decorum of attacking ministers and coun sellors, without interesting the honor of the crown, or men tioning the person of the sovereign, was not yet entirely estab lished. The commons expressed great displeasure at this unusual license ; they sequestered Wentworth from the house, and committed him prisoner to the serjeant nt arms. They even ordered him to be examined by a committee; consisting of all those members who were also members of the privy- council ; and a report to be next day made to the house. This committee met in the star chamber, and, wearing the aspect of that arbitrary court, summoned Wentworth to appear before them, and answer for his behavior. But though tlie commons had discovered so little delicacy or precaution in thus con founding their own authority with that of the star chamber, Wentworth better understood the principles of liberty, and refused to give these counsellors any account of his conduct in parliament, till he were satisfied that they acted, not ns members of the privy council, but as a committee of the house.t He justified his liberty of speech by pleading tho rigor ami hardship of tlie queen's messages ; und notwith standing that thc committee showed him, by instances in other reigns, that the practice of sending such messages was not unprecedented, he would not agree to express any sorrow or repentance. The issue of the affair was, that after a month's confinement, the queen sent to the commons, informing them, that, from her special grace and favor, sho had restored him to his liberty and to his place in the house.J * D'Ewes, p. 236, 237, etc. t D'Ewes, p. 241. t D'Ewes, p. 244. ELIZABETH. 175 By this seeming lenity, she indirectly retained the power which she had assumed, of imprisoning the members and obliging them to answer before her for their conduct in par liament. And Sir Walter Mildmay endeavored to make the house sensible of her majesty's goodness, in so gently remit ting the indignation which she might justly conceive at the temerity of their member ; but he informed them, that they had not the liberty of speaking what and of whom they pleased ; and that indiscreet freedoms used in that house, had, both in the present and foregoing ages, met with a proper chastisement. He warned them, therefore, not to abuse fur ther the queen's clemency, lest she be constrained, contrary to her inclination, to turn an unsuccessful lenity into a neces sary severity.* The behavior of the two houses was, in every other respect, equally tame and submissive. Instead of a bill, which was at first introduced,-!" for the reformation of the church, they were contented to present a petition to her majesty for that purpose ; and when she told them, that she would give orders to her bishops to amend all abuses, and, if they were negligent, she would herself, by her supreme power and authority over the church, give such redress as would entirely satisfy the nation, the parliament willingly acquiesced in this sovereign and per emptory decision-! Though the commons showed so little spirit in opposing the authority of the crown, they maintained, this session, their dignity against an encroachment of the peers, and would not agree to a conference which, they thought, was demanded of them in an irregular manner. They acknowledged, how ever, with all humbleness, (such is their expression,) the supe riority of the lords : they only refused to give that house any reason for their proceedings ; and asserted, that where they altered a bill sent them by the peers, it belonged to them to desire a conference, not to the upper house to require it.§ The commons granted an aid of one subsidy and two fifteenths. Mildmay, in order to satisfy the house concerning the reasonableness of this grant, entered into a detail of the queen's past expenses in supporting the government, and of the increasing charges of the crown, from the daily increase * D'Ewes, p. 259. t D'Ewes, p. 252. X D'Ewes, p. 257. § D'Ewes, p. 253. 176 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. in the price of all commodities. He did not, however, forget to admonish them, that they were to regard this detail as the pure effect of the queen's condescension, since she was not bound to give them any account how she employed her treasure.* » D'Ewes, p. 246. ELIZABETH. 177 CHAPTER XLI. ELIZABETH. [1580.] The greatest and most absolute security that Elizabeth enjoyed during her whole reign, never exempted her from vigilance and attention ; but the scene began now to be more overcast, and dangers gradually multiplied on her from more than one quarter. The earl of Morton had hitherto retained Scotland in strict alliance with the queen, and had also restored domestic tran quillity to that kingdom ; but it was not to be expected that the factitious and legal authority of a regent would long main tain itself in a country unacquainted with law and order ; where even the natural dominion of hereditary princes so often met with opposition and control. The nobility began anew to break into factions : the people were disgusted with some instances of Morton's avarice ; and the clergy, who complained of further encroachments on their narrow revenue, joined and increased the discontent of the other orders. The regent was sensible of his dangerous situation ; and haring dropped some peevish expressions, as if he were willing or desirous to resign, the noblemen of the opposite party, favorites of the young king, laid hold of this concession, and required that demission which he seemed so frankly to offer them. James was at this time but eleven vears of age ; vet Morton, having secured himself, as he imagined, by a general pardon, resigned his authority into the hands of the king, who pretended to conduct in his own name the administration of the kingdom. The regent retired from the government, and seemed to employ himself entirely in the care of his domestic afiairs ; but either tired with this tranquillity, which appeared insipid after the agita tions of ambition, or thinking it time to throw off dissimula tion, he came again to court, acquired an ascendant in the council, and though he resumed not the title of regent, gov erned with the same authority as before. The opposite party, after holding separate conventions, took to arms, on pretence of delivering their prince from captivity, and restoring him to 178 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. the free exercise of his government : Queen Elizabeth inter posed by her ambassador, Sir Robert Bowes, and mediated an agreement between the factions : Morton kept possession of the government ; but his enemies were numerous and vigilant, and his authority seemed to become every day more pre carious. The count d'Aubigney, of the house of Lenox, cousin- german to the king's father, had been born and educated in France ; and being a young man of good address and a sweet disposition, he appeared to the duke of Guise a proper instru ment for detaching James from the English interest, and con necting him with his mother and her relations. He no sooner appeared at Stirling, where James resided, than he acquired the affections of the young monarch ; and joining his interests with those of James Stuart, of the house of Ochiltree, a man of profligate manners, who had acquired the king's favor, he employed himself, under the appearance of play and amuse ment, in instilling into the tender mind of the prince new sentiments of politics and government. He represented to him the injustice which had been done to Mary in her depo sition, and made him entertain thoughts either of resigning the crown into her hands, or of associating her with him in the administration.* Elizabeth, alarmed at the danger which might ensue from the prevalence of this interest in Scotland, sent anew Sir Robert Bowes to Stirling ; and accusing D'Aubigney, now created earl of Lenox, of an attachment to the French, warned James against entertaining such suspicious and dangerous connections.t The king excused himself by- Sir Alexander Hume, his ambassador ; and Lenox, finding that the queen had openly declared against him, was further confirmed in his intention of overturning the English interest, and particularly of ruining Morton, who was regarded as the head of it. That nobleman was arrested in council, accused as an accomplice in the late king's murder, committed to prison, brought to trial, and condemned to suffer as a traitor. He confessed that Bothwell had communicated to him the design, had pleaded Mary's consent, and had desired his concurrence ; but he denied that he himself had ever ex pressed any approbation of the crime ; and in excuse for his concealing it, he alleged the danger of revealing the secret, * Digges, p. 412, 428. Melvil, p. 130. t Spotswood, p. 309. ELIZABETH. 179 eiWsr to Henry, who had no resolution nor constancy, or to Mary, who appeared to be an accomplice in the murder.* Sir Thomas Randolph was sent by the queen to intercede in favor of Morton ; and that ambassador, not content with dis charging this duty of his function, engaged, by his persuasion, the earls of Argyle, Montrose, Angus, Marre, and Glencairne, to enter into a confederacy for protecting, even by force of arms, the life of the prisoner. The more to overawe that nobleman's enemies, Elizabeth ordered forces to be assembled on the borders of England ; but this expedient served only to hasten his sentence and execution.t Morton died with that constancy and resolution which had attended him through all the various events ofhis life ; and left a reputation which was less disputed with regard to abilities than probity and virtue. But this conclusion of the scene happened not till the subse quent year. Elizabeth was, during this period, extremely anxious on account of every revolution in Scotland ; both because that country alone, not being separated from England by sea, and bordering on all the Catholic and malecontent counties, afforded her enemies a safe and easy method of attacking her ; and because she was sensible that Mary, thinking herself aban doned by the French monarch, had been engaged by the Guises to have recourse to the powerful protection of Philip, who, though he had not yet come to an open rupture with the queen, was every day, both by thc injuries which he commit ted and suffered, more exasperated against her. That he might retaliate the assistance which she gave to his rebels in the Low Countries, he had sent, under the name ofthe pope,! a body of seven hundred Spaniards and Italians into Ireland ; where the inhabitants, always turbulent, and discontented with thc English government, were now more alienated by religious prejudices, and were ready to join every invader. The Spanish general, San Josepho, built a fort in Kerry ; and being there besieged by the earl of Ormond, president of Munster, who was soon after joined by Lord Gray, the deputy, he made u. weak arid cowardly defence. After some assaults, feebly sustained, he surrendered at discretion ; and Gray, who commanded but a small force, finding himself encum- • Spotswood, p. 314. Crawford, p. 333. Moyse's Memoirs, p, 54 t Spotswood, p. 312. X Digges, p. 359, 370. 180 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. bered with so many prisoners, put all the Spaniards and Italians to the sword without mercy, and hanged about fifteen hundred of the Irish ; a cruelty which gave great displeasure to Elizabeth.* When the English ambassador made complaints of this invasion, he was answered by like complaints yf the piracies committed by Francis Drake, a bold seaman, who had as saulted the Spaniards in the place where they deemed them selves most secure — in the new world. This man, sprung from mean parents in the county of Devon, having acquired considerable riches by depredations made in the Isthmus of Panama, and having there gotten a sight of the Pacific Ocean, was so stimulated by ambition and avarice, that he scrupled not to employ his whole fortune in a new adventure through those seas, so much unknown at that time to all the European nations.t By means of Sir Christopher Hatton, then vice- chamberlain, a great favorite of the queen's, he obtained her consent and approbation ; and he set sail from Plymouth in 1577, with four ships and a pinnace, on board of which were one hundred and sixty-four able sailors-! He passed into the South Sea by the Straits of Magellan ; and attacking the Spaniards, who expected no enemy in those quarters, he took many rich prizes, and prepared to return with the booty which he had acquired. Apprehensive of being intercepted by the enemy, if he took the same way homewards by which he had reached the Pacific Ocean, he attempted to find a passage by the north of California ; and failing in that enter prise, he set sail for the East Indies, and returned safely this year, by the Cape of Good Hope. He was the first English man who sailed round the globe ; and the first commander-in- chief; for Magellan, whose ship executed the same adventure, died in his passage. His name became celebrated on account of so bold and fortunate an attempt ; but many, apprehending" the resentment of the Spaniards, endeavored to persuade the queen, that it would be more prudent to disavow the enter prise, to punish Drake, and to restore the treasure. But Elizabeth, who admired valor, and who was allured by the prospect of sharing in the booty, determined to countenance that gallant sailor : she conferred on him the honor of knight- * Camden, p. 476. Cox's Hist, of Ireland, p. 368. t Camden, p. 478. Stowe, p. 689. t Camden, p. 478. Hakluyt's Voyages, vol. iii. p. 730, 748, Purehas's Pilgrim, vol. i. p. 46. ELIZABETH. 181 hood, and accepted of a banquet from him at Deptford, on board the ship which had achieved so memorable a voyage. When Philip's ambassador, Mendoza, exclaimed against Drake's piracies, she told him, that the Spaniards, by arro gating a right to the whole new world, and excluding thence all other European nations who should sail thither, even with a view of exercising the most lawful commerce, naturally tempted others to make a violent irruption into those coun tries.* To pacify, however, the Catholic monarch, she caused part of the booty to be restored to Pedro Sebura, a Spaniard, who pretended to be agent for the merchants whom Drake had spoiled. Having learned afterwards that Philip had seized the money, and had employed part of it against herself in Ireland, part of it in the pay of the prince of Parma's troops, she determined to make no more restitutions. [1581.] There was another cause which induced the queen to take this resolution : she was in such want of money, that she was obliged to assemble a parliament ; a measure which, as she herself openly declared, she never embraced except when constrained by the necessity of her affairs. The parliament, besides granting her a supply of one subsidy and two fifteenths, enacted some statutes for the security of her government, chiefly against the attempts of the Catholics. Whoaver in any way reconciled any one to the church of Rome, or was him self reconciled, was declared to be guilty of treason; to say mass was subjected to the penalty of a year's imprisonment and a fine of two hundred marks ; the being present was pun ishable by a year's imprisonment and a fine of a hundred marks : a fine of twenty pounds a month was imposed on every one who continued, during that time, absent from church.t To utter slanderous or seditious words against the queen was punishable, for the first offence, with the pillory and loss of ears; the second offence was declared felony; the writing or printing of such words was felony, even on the first offence.! The Puritans prevailed so far as to have further applications made for reformation in religion : § and Paul Wentworth, brother to the member of that name who had dis tinguished himself in the preceding session, moved, that tlw commons, from their own authority, should appoint a general fast and prayers ; a motion to which the house unwari)/ assented. For this presumption they were severely repi r- * Camden, p. 480. t 23 Eliz. cap. 1. X 23 EHz. cap. 2. § D'Ewes, p. 302. vol. iv. 16 H 182 HISTORY DF ENGLAND. manded by a message from the queen, as encroaching on the royal prerogative and supremacy ; and they were obliged to submit, and ask forgiveness.* The queen and parliament were engaged to pass these severe laws against the Catholics, by some late discoveries of the treasonable practices of their priests. When the ancient worship was suppressed, and the reformation introduced into ¦the universities, the king of Spain reflected, that as some species of literature was necessary for supporting these doc trines and controversies, the Romish communion must decay in England, if no means were found to give erudition to the ecclesiastics ; and for this reason he founded a seminary at Douay, where the Catholics sent their children, chiefly such as were intended for the priesthood, in order to receive the rudi ments of their education. The cardinal of Lorraine imitated this example, by erecting a like seminary in his diocese of Rheims ; and though Rome was somewhat distant, the pope would not neglect to adorn, by a foundation of the same nature, that capital of orthodoxy. These seminaries, founded with so hostile an intention, sent over, every year, a colony of priests, who maintained the Catholic superstition in its full height of bigotry; and being educated with a view to the crown of •martyrdom, were not deterred, either by danger or fatigue, from maintaining and propagating their principles. They infused into all their votaries an extreme hatred against the queen, whom they treated as a usurper, a schismatic, a heretic, a persecutor of the orthodox, and one solemnly and publicly anathematized by the holy father. Sedition, rebellion, sometimes assassination, were the expedients by which they intended to effect their purposes against her ; and the severe restraint, not to say persecution, under which the Catholics labored, made them the more willingly receive from their ghostly fathers such violent doctrines. These seminaries were all of them under the direction of the Jesuits, a new order of regular priests erected in Europe, when the court of Rome perceived that the lazy monks and beggarly friars, who sufficed in times of ignorance, were no longer able to defend the ramparts of the church, assailed on every side, and that the inquisitive spirit of the age required a society more active and more learned to oppose its danger ous progress. These men, as they stood foremost in the * D'Ewes, p. 284, 285. ELIZABETH. 183 contest against the Protestants, drew on them the extreme animosity of that whole sect ; and, by assuming a superiority over the other more numerous and more ancient orders of their own communion, were even exposed to the envy of their brethren : so that it is no wonder, if the blame to which their principles and conduct might be exposed, has, in many in stances, been much exaggerated. This reproach, however, they must bear from posterity, thatr by the very nature of their insti tution, they were engaged to pervert learnins. the only effectual remedy against superstition, into a nourishment of that infir mity : and as their erudition was chiefly of the ecclesiastical and scholastic kind, (though a few members have cultivated polite literature,) they were only the more enabled by that acquisition to refine away the plainest dictates of morality, and to erect a regular system of casuistry, by which prevarication, perjury, and every crime, when it served their ghostly pur poses, might be justified and defended. The Jesuits, as devoted servants to the court of Rome, exalted the prerogative of the sovereign pontiff above all earth ly power ; and by maintaining his authority of deposing kings, set no bounds either to his spiritual or temporal jurisdiction. This doctrine became so prevalent among the zealous Cath olics in England, that the excommunication fulminated against EUzabeth excited many scruples of a singular kind, to which it behoved the holy father to provjde a remedy. The bull of Pius, in absolving the subjects from their oaths of allegiance, commanded them to resist tbe queen's usurpation ; and many Romanists were apprehensive, that by this clause they were obliged in conscience, even though no favorable opportunity offered, to rebel against her, and that no dangers or difficul ties could free them from this indispensable duty. But Par sons and Campion, two Jesuits, were sent over with a mitigation and explanation of the doctrine ; and they taught their disci ples, that though the bull was forever binding on Elizabeth and her partisans, it did not oblige the Catholics to obedience, except when the sovereign pontiff should think proper, by a new summons, to require it.* Campion was afterwards de tected in treasonable practices ; and being put to the rack, and confessing his guilt, he was publicly executed. His execution was ordered at the very time when the duke of Anjou was in England, and prosecuted, with the greatest appearance of suc cess, his marriage with the queen ; and this severity was prob- * Camden, p. 477. 184 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. ably intended to appease her Protestant subjects, and to satisfy them, that whatever measures she might pursue, she never would depart from the principles of the reformation. The duke of Alencon, now created duke of Anjou, had never entirely dropped his pretensions to Elizabeth ; and that princess, though her suitor was near twenty-five years younger than herself, and had no knowledge of her person but by pic tures or descriptions, was still pleased with the image, which his addresses afforded her, of love and tenderness. The duke, in order to forward his suit, besides employing his brother's ambassador, sent over Simier, an agent of his own ; an artful man, of an agreeable conversation, who soon remarking the queen's humor, amused her with gay discourse, and instead of serious political reasonings, which he found only awakened her ambition, and hurt his master's interests, he introduced every moment all the topics of passion and of gallantry. The pleasure which she found in this man's company soon pro duced a familiarity between them ; and amidst the greatest hurry of business, her most confidential ministers had not such ready access to her as had Simier, who, on pretence of nego tiation, entertained her with accounts of the tender attachment borne her by the duke of Anjou. The earl of Leicester, who had never before been alarmed with any courtship paid her, and who always trusted that her love of dominion would prevail over her inclination to maiaiage, began to apprehend that she was at last caught in her own snare, and that the artful en couragement which she had given to this young suitor had unawares engaged her affections. To render Simier odious, he availed himself of the credulity of the times, and spread reports, that that minister had gained an ascendant over the queen, not by any natural principles of her constitution, but by incantations and love potions. Simier, in revenge, endeavored to discredit Leicester with the queen ; and he revealed to her a secret, which none of her courtiers dared to disclose, that this nobleman was secretly, without her consent, married to the widow of the earl of Essex ; an action which the queen inter preted either to proceed from want of respect to her, or as a violation of their mutual attachment; and which so provoked her, that she threatened to send him to the Tower.* The quar rel went so far between Leicester and the French agent, that the former was suspected of having employed one Tudor, a bravo, to take away the life of his enemy ; and the queen * Camden, p. 471. ELIZABETH. 185 thought it necessary, by proclamation, to take Simier under her immediate protection It happened, that while Elizabeth was rowed in her barge on the Thames, attended by Simier and some of her courtiers, a shot was fired, which wounded one of the bargemen ; but the queen, finding, upon inquiry, that the piece had been discharged by accident, gave the person his liberty without further punishment. So far was she from entertaining any suspicion against her people, that she was often heard to say, " that she would lend credit to nothing against them, which parents would not believe of their own children." * The duke of Anjou, encouraged by the accounts sent him of the queen's prepossessions in his favor, paid her secretly a visit at Greenwich ; and after some conference with her, the purport of which is not known, he departed. It appeared that, though his -figure was not advantageous, he had lost no ground by being personally known to her ; and soon after, she command ed Burleigh, now treasurer, Sussex, Leicester, Bedford, Lincoln, Hatton, and Secretary Walsingham, to concert with the French ambassadors the terms of the intended contract of marriage. Henry had sent over, on this occasion, a splendid embassy, consisting of Francis de Bourbon, prince of Dauphiny, and many considerable noblemen ; and as the queen had in a manner the power of prescribing what terms she pleased, the articles were soon settled with the English commissioners. It was agreed, that the marriage should be celebrated within six weeks after the ratification of the articles ; that the duke and his retinue should have the exercise of their religion ; that after the marriage he should bear the title of king, but the adminis tration remain solely in the queen; that their children, male or female, should succeed to the crown of England ; that if there be two males, the elder, in case of Henry's death without issue, should be king of France, the younger of England ; fhat if there be but one male, and he succeed to the crown of France, he should be obliged to reside in England eight months every two years ; that the laws and customs of England should be preserved inviolate ; and that no foreigner should be pro moted by the duke to any office in England.t These articles, providing for the security of England in case of its annexation to the crown of France, opened but a dismal prospect to the English, had not the age of Elizabeth, who * Camden, p. 471. t Camden, p. '484. 16* 186 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. was now in her forty-ninth year, contributed very much to allay their apprehensions of this nature. The queen also, as a proof of her still remaining uncertainty, added a clause, that she was not bound to complete the marriage, till further arti cles, which were not specified, should be agreed on between the parties, and till the king of France be certified of this agreement. Soon after, the queen sent over Walsingham as ambassador to France, in order to form closer connections with Henry, and enter into a league offensive and defensive against the increasing power and dangerous usurpations of Spain. The French king, who had been extremely disturbed with the unquiet spirit, the restless ambition, the enterprising, yet timid and inconstant disposition of Anjou, had already sought to free the kingdom from his intrigues, by opening a scene for his activity in Flanders ; and having allowed him to embrace the protection of the states, had secretly supplied him with men -and money for the undertaking. The prospect of settling him in England was for a like reason very agreeable to that mon arch ; and he was desirous to cultivate, by every expedient, the favorable sentiments which Elizabeth seemed to entertain towards him. But this princess, though she had gone further in her amorous dalliance* than could be justified or accounted for by any principles of policy, was not yet determined to carry matters to a final conclusion ; and she confined Walsing ham, in his instructions, to negotiating conditions of a mutual alliance between France and England.t Henry with reluc tance submitted to hold conferences on that subject ; but no sooner had Walsingham begun to settle the terms of alliance, than he was informed, that the queen, foreseeing hostility with Spain to be the result of this confederacy, had declared that she would prefer the marriage with the war, before the war without the marriage.! The French court, pleased with this cha*nge of resolution, broke off the conferences concerning the league, and opened a negotiation for the marriage.^ But mat ters had not long proceeded in this train, before the queen again declared for the league in preference to the marriage, and ordered Walsingham to renew the conferences for that purpose. Before he had leisure to bring this point to maturity, he was interrupted by a new change of resolution ; || and not only the court of France, but Walsingham himself, Burleigh, * Digges, p. 387, 396, 408, 426. f Digges, p. 352. X Digges, p. 375, 391. $ Digges, p. 392. II Digges, p. 408. ELIZABETH. 187 and all the wisest ministers of Elizabeth, were in amazement, doubtful where this contest between inclination and reason, love and ambition, would at last terminate.* In the course of this affair, Elizabeth felt another variety of intentions, from a new contest between her reason and her ruling passions. The duke of Anjou expected from her some money, by which he might be enabled to open the campaign in Flanders ; and the queen herself, though her frugality made her long reluctant, was sensible that this supply was necessary ; and she was at last induced, after much hesitation, to comply with his requcst.t She sent him a present of a hundred thou sand crowns ; by which, joined to his own demesnes, and the assistance of his brother and the queen dowager, he levied an army, and took the field against the prince of Parma. He was successful in raising the siege of Cambray ; and being chosen by the states governor of the Netherlands, he put his army into winter quarters, and came over to England, in order to prosecute his suit to the queen. The reception which he met with made him expect entire success, and gave him hopes that Elizabeth had surmounted all scruples, and was finally deter mined to make choice of him for her husband. In the midst of thc pomp which attended the anniversary of her corona tion, she was seen, after long and intimate discourse with him, to take a ring from her own finger, and to put it upon his ; and all the spectators concluded, that in this ceremony she had given him a promise of marriage, and was even desirous of signifying her intentions to all the world. St. Aldegonde, ambassador from the states, despatched immediately a letter to his masters, informing them of this great event; and the inhabitants of Antwerp, who, as well as the other Flemings, regarded the queen as a kind of titular divinity, testified their joy by bonfires and the discharge of their great ordnance-! A Puritan of Lincoln's Inn had written a passionate book, which he entitled, " Thc Gulph in which England will be swallowed by the French Marriage." He was apprehended and prosecuted by order of the queen, and was condemned to lose his right hand as a libeller. Such was the constancy and loyalty of the man, that immediately after the sentence was executed, he took off his hat with his other hand, and waving it over his head, cried, God save the queen. * See note Q, at tho end of tho volume. t Digges, p- 367, 387, 388, 409, 426, 439. Rymer, xv. p. 793. X Camden, p. 486. Thuan. lib. lxxiv. 188 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. But notwithstanding this attachment which Elizabeth so openly discovered to the duke of Anjou, the combat of her sentiments was- not entirely over ; and her ambition, as well as prudence, rousing itself by intervals, still filled her breast with doubt and hesitation. Almost all the courtiers whom she trusted and favored — Leicester, Hatton, and Walsingham — discovered an extreme aversion to the marriage ; and the ladies of her bed-chamber made no scruple of opposing her resolution with the most zealous remonstrances.* Among other enemies to the match, Sir Philip, son of Sir Henry Sidney, deputy of Ireland, and nephew to Leicester, a young man the most accomplished ofthe age, declared himself: and he used the freedom to write her a letter, in which he dis suaded her from her present resolution, with an unusual elegance of expression, as well as force of reasoning. He told her, that the security of her government depended entirely on the affections of her Protestant subjects ; and she could not, by any measure, more effectually disgust them, than by espousing a prince who was son of the perfidious Catharine, brother to the cruel and perfidious Charles, and who had himself imbrued his hands, in the blood of the in nocent and defenceless Protestants : that the Catholics were her mortal enemies, and believed, either that she had originally usurped the crown, or was now lawfully deposed by the pope's bull of excommunication ; and nothing had ever so much elevated their hopes as the prospect of her marriage with the duke of Anjou : that her chief security at present against the efforts of so numerous, rich, and united a faction, was, that they possessed no head who could conduct their dangerous enterprises ; and she herself was rashly supplying that defect, by giving an interest in the kingdom to a prince whose educa tion had zealously attached him to that communion : that though he was a stranger to the blood royal of England, the dispositions of men were now such, that they preferred the religious to the civil connections ; and were more influenced by sympathy in theological opinions, than by the principles of legal and hereditary government : that the duke himself had discovered a very restless and turbulent spirit ; and having often violated his loyalty to his elder brother and his sov ereign, there remained no hopes that he would passively submit to a woman, whom he might, in quality of husband; * Camden, p. 486. ELIZABETH. 189 think himself entitled to command : that the French nation, so populous, so much abounding in soldiers, so full of nobility who were devoted to arms, and for Some time accustomed to serve for plunder, would supply him with partisans, dangerous to a people unwarlike and defenceless like the generality of her subjects : that the plain and honorable path which she had followed, of cultivating the affections of her people, had hitherto rendered her reign secure and happy ; and however her enemies might seem to multiply upon her, the same invincible rampart was still able to protect and defend her : that so long as the throne of France was filled by Henry or his posterity, it was in vain to hope that the lies of blood would insure the amity of that kingdom, preferably to the maxims of policy or the prejudices of religion : and if ever the crown devolved on the duke of Anjou, the conjunction of France and England would prove a burden, rather than a protection, to the latter kingdom : that the example of her sister Mary was sufficient to instruct her in the danger of such connections ; and to prove, that the affection and confidence of the English could never be maintained, where they had such reason to apprehend that their interests would every moment be sacrificed to those of a foreign and hostile nation : that notwithstanding these great inconveniences, discovered by past experience, the house of Burgundy, it must be con fessed, was more popular in the nation than the family of France ; and, what was of chief moment, Philip was of the same communion with Mary, and was connected with her by this great band of interest and affection : and that however the' queen might remain childless, even though old age should grow upon her, the singular felicity and glory of her reign would preserve her from contempt ; the affections of her sub jects, and those of all the Protestants in Europe, would defend her from danger ; and her own prudence, without other aid or assistance, would baffle all the efforts of her most malig nant enemies.* [1582.] These reflections kept th»» queen in great anxiety and irresolution ; and she was observed to pass several nights without any sleep or repose. At last her settled habits of prudence and ambition prevailed over her temporary inclina tion ; and having sent for the duke of Anjou, she had a long conference with him in private, where she was supposed to * Letters of the Sidneys, vol. i. p, 287, ot seq. Cabala, p. 883. 190 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. have made him apologies for breaking her former engage ments. He expressed great disgust on his leaving her ; threw away the ring which she' had given him ; and uttered many curses on the mutability of women and of islanders.* Soon after, he went over to his government of the Netherlands ; lost the confidence of the states by a rash and violent attempt on their liberties ; was expelled that country ; retired into France ; and there died. The queen, by timely reflection, saved herself from the numerous mischiefs which must have attended so imprudent a marriage : and the distracted state of the French monarchy prevented her from feeling any effects of that resentment which she had reason to dread from the affront so wantonly put upon that royal family. The anxiety of the queen from the attempts of the English Catholics never ceased during the whole course of her reign ; but the variety of revolutions which happened in all the neighboring kingdoms, were the source, sometimes of her hopes, sometimes of her apprehensions. This year the affairs of Scotland strongly engaged her attention. The influence which the earl of Lenox, and James Stuart, who now as sumed the title of earl of Arran, had acquired over the young king, was but a slender foundation of authority ; while the generality of the nobles, and all the preachers, were so much discontented with their administration. The assembly of the church appointed a solemn fast ; of which one of the avowed reasons was, the danger to which the king was exposed from the company of wicked persons : f and on that day the pul-. pits resounded with declamations against Lenox, Arran, ani1 all the present counsellors. When the minds of the people were sufficiently prepared by these lectures, a conspiracy of the nobility was formed, probably with the concurrence of Elizabeth, for seizing the person of James at Ruthven, a seat of the earl of Gowiy's ; and the design, being kept secret, succeeded without any opposition. The leaders in this enter prise were the earl of Gowry himself, the earl of Marre, the lords Lindesey and Boyd, the masters of Glamis and Oliphant, the abbots of Dunfermling, Paisley, and Cambuskenneth. The king wept when he found himself detained a prisoner ; but the master of Glamis said, " No matter for his tears : better that boys weep than bearded men ; " an expression which James could never afterwards forgive.! But notwith- * Camden, p. 486. t Spotswood, p. 319. X Spotswood, p. 320. ELIZABETH. 191 standing his resentment, he found it necessary to submit to the present necessity. He pretended an entire acquiescence in the conduct of the associators ; acknowledged the deten tion of his person to be acceptable service ; and agreed to summon both an assembly of the church and a convention of estates, in order to ratify that enterprise. The assembly, though they had established it as an in violable rule, that the king on no account, and under no pre tence, should ever intermeddle in ecclesiastical matters, made no scruple of taking civil affairs under their cognizance, and of deciding, on this occasion, that the attempt of the con spirators was acceptable to all that feared God, or tendered the preservation of the king's person, and prosperous state of the realm. They even enjoined all the clergy to recommend these sentiments from the pulpit ; and they threatened with ecclesiastical censures every man who should oppose the authority of the confederated lords.* The convention, being composed chiefly of these lords themselves, added their sanction to these proceedings. Arran was confined a prisoner in his own house : Lenox, though he had power to resist, yet, rather than raise a civil war, or be the cause of blood shed^ chose, to retire into France, where he soon after died. He persevered to the last in the Protestant religion, to which James had converted him, but which the Scottish clergy could never be persuaded that he had sincerely embraced. The king sent for his family, restored his son to his paternal honors and estate, took care to establish the fortunes of all his other children, and to his last moments never forgot the early friendship which he had borne their father ; a strong proof of the good dispositions of that prince.! No sooner was this revolution known in England, than the queen sent Sir Henry Cary and Sir Robert Bowes to James, in order to congratulate him on his deliverance from the pernicious counsels of Lenox and Arran ; to exhort him not to resent the seeming violence committed on him by the con federated lords ; and to procure from him permission for the return of the earl of Angus, who ever since Morton's fall had lived in England. They easily prevailed in procuring the recall of Angus ; and as James suspected, that Elizabeth had * Spotswood, p. 322. t Heylin's Hist. Presbyter, p. 227. Spotswood. X Spotswood, p. 328. 192 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. not been entirely unacquainted with the project ofhis detention, he thought proper, before the English ambassadors, to dissem ble his resentment against the authors of it. [1583.] Soon after, La Mothe-Fenelon and Menneville appeared as ambassa dors from France : their errand was to inquire concerning the situation of the king, make professions of their master's friend ship, confirm the ancient league with France, and procure an accommodation between James and the queen of Scots. This last proposal gave great umbrage to the clergy ; and the assembly voted the settling of terms between the mother and son to be a most wicked undertaking. The pulpits resounded with declamations against the French ambassadors ; particu larly Fenelon, whom they called the messenger of the bloody murderer, meaning the duke of Guise : and as that minister, being knight of the Holy Ghost, wore a white cross on his shoulder, they commonly denominated it, m contempt, the badge of Antichrist. The king endeavored, though in vain, to repress these insolent reflections.; but in order to make the ambassadors some compensation, he desired the magis trates of Edinburgh to give them a splendid dinner before their departure. To prevent this entertainment, the clergy appointed that very day for a public fast; and finding that their orders were not regarded, they employed their sermons in thundering curses on the magistrates, who, by the king's direction, had put this mark of respect on the ambassadors. They even pursued them afterwards with the censures of the church ; and it was with difficulty they were prevented from issuing the sentence of excommunication against them, on account of their submission to royal, preferably to clerical authority.* What increased their alarm with regard to an accommoda tion between James and Mary was, that the English ambassa dors seemed to concur with the French in this proposal ; and the clergy were so ignorant as to believe the sincerityr of the professions made by the former. The queen of Scots had often made overtures to Elizabeth, which had been entirely neglected ; but hearing of James's detention, she wrote a letter in a more pathetic and more spirited strain than usual ; craving the assistance of that princess, both for her own and her son's liberty. She said, that the account of the prince's captivity had excited her most tender concern ; and the expe- * Spotswood, p. 324. ELIZABETH. 19^ rienco which sho horsolf, during so many years, had of tho extreme infelicity utteniling that situation, hail made her tho more apprehensive lost a like title should pursue her unhappy offspring : that the long train of injustice which she had under gone, the calumnies to which she had been exposed, were so grievous, that finding no place lor right or truth among men, she was reduced to make her last appeal to Heaven, the only Competent tribunal between princes of equal jurisdiction, degree, and dignity : that after her rebellious subjects, secretly instigated by I'li'/abeth's ministers, hud expolhid hor tho throne, liiul coiilineil her in prison, had pursued her with arms, sho hail voluntarily thrown herself under tho prelection of I'lng- lunil ; fatally allured by those 1'oiteralod professions of amity which had been miiile hor, and by her confidence in tho generosity of a friend, an ally, and a kinswoman ; that not Content with excluding her from her presence, with supporting the usurpers ofher throne, with contributing to tho destruction ol' her faithful subjects, I'lli'/ubulh had reduced her to u worse captivity than thut from which she had escaped, and hail made her this cruel return for the iiiiliiuileil confidence which she hail reposed in her: that though her resentment of such severe usago had never carried her further than to use some disappointed Vllbrls for her deliverance, unhappy for herself, Ulid fatal to others, sho found the rigors of confinement daily multiplied upon her ; and at length carried to such a height, that it surpassed the bii'iiuls of all human patience any longer to endure them ; that she was cut oil' from nil communication, not only with the rest, of mankind, but with her only son , and her maternal fondness, which was now more enlivened by tbeir unhappy sympathy in situation, und was her sole remain ing attachment to this world, deprived even of that melancholy solace which letters or messages could givo: that tho bitter ness of her sorrows, still more than her close confinement., hud preyed upon her health, and had added tho insufferable wei"ht of bodilv infirmity to all those other calamities under which she labored : that while the daily experience of her maladies opened to her tho comfortable prospect of an ap proaching ilelivorance into a region where pain and sorrow uro no more, her enemies envied her that last consolation; and having secluded her from every joy on earth, had done what in them lay to debar her from all hopes in her future and eternal existence : that the exercise of her religion was refused her ; tho use of thoso saered riles in which she had vol.. IV, 17 H 194 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. been educated ; the commerce with those holy ministers, whom Heaven had appointed to receive the acknowledgment of our transgressions, and to seal our penitence by a solemn readmission into heavenly favor and forgiveness : that it was in vain to complain of the rigors of persecution exercised in other kingdoms ; when a queen and an innocent woman was excluded from an indulgence which never yet, in the most barbarous countries, had been denied to the meanest and most obnoxious malefactor: that could she ever be induced to descend from that royal dignity in which Providence had placed her, or depart from her appeal to Heaven, there was only one other tribunal to which she would appeal from all her enemies ; to the justice and humanity of Elizabeth's own breast, and to that lenity which, uninfluenced by malignant counsel, she would naturally be induced to exercise towards her : and that she finally entreated her to resume her natural disposition, and to reflect on the support, as well as comfort, which she might receive from her son and herself, if, joining the obligations of gratitude to the ties of blood, she would deign to raise them from their present melancholy situation, and reinstate them in that liberty and authority to which they were entitled.* Elizabeth was engaged to obstruct Mary's restoration, chiefly because she foresaw an unhappy alternative attending that event. If this princess recovered any considerable share of authority in Scotland, her resentment, ambition, zeal, and con nections both domestic and foreign, might render her a dan gerous neighbor to England, and enable her, after suppressing the Protestant party among her subjects, to revive those pre tensions which she had formerly advanced to the crown, and which her partisans in both kingdoms still supported with great industry and assurance. If she were reinstated in power with such strict limitations as could not be broken, she might be disgusted with her situation ; and flying abroad, form more desperate attempts than any sovereign, who had a crown to hazard, would willingly undertake. Mary herself, sensible of these difficulties, and convinced by experience that Elizabeth would forever debar her the throne, was now become more humble in her wishes; and as age and infirmities had re pressed those sentiments of ambition by which she had formerly been so much actuated, she was willing to sacrifice all her * Camdon, p. 489. ELIZABETH. 195 hopes of grandeur, in order to obtain a little liberty ; a bless ing to which she naturally aspired with the fondest impatience. She proposed, therefore, that she should be associated with her son in the title to the crown of Scotland, but that the administration should remain solely in him : and she was con tent to live in England in a private station, and even under a kind of restraint ; but with some more liberty, both for exercise . and company, than she had enjoyed since the first discovery of her intrigues with the duke of Norfolk. But Elizabeth, afraid lest such a loose method of guarding her would facilitate her escape into France or Spain, or, at least, would encourage and increase her partisans, and enable her to conduct those intrigues to which she had already discovered so strong a propensity, was secretly determined to deny her requests ; and though she feigned to assent to them, she well knew how to disappoint the expectations of the unhappy princess. While Lenox maintained his authority in Scotland, she never gave any reply to all the application made to her by the Scottish queen : * at present, when her own creatures had acquired possession of the government, she was resolved to throw the odium of refusal upon them ; and pretending that nothing further was required to a perfect accommodation than the concurrence of the council of state in Scotland, she ordered her ambassador, Bowes, to open the negotiation for Mary's liberty, and her association with her son in the title to the crown. Though she seemed to make this concession to Mary, she refused her the liberty of sending any ambassador of her own ; and that princess could easily conjecture, from this cir cumstance, what would be the result of the pretended negotia tion. The privy council of Scotland, instigated by the clergy, rejected all treaty ; and James, who was now a captive in their hands, affirmed, that he had never agreed to an association with his mother, and that the matter had never gone further than some loose proposals for that purpose. t The affairs of Scotland remained not long in the present situation. James, impatient of restraint, made his escape from his keepers ; and flying to St. Andrews, summoned his friends and partisans to attend him. The earls of Argyle, Marshal, Montrose, and Rothes, hastened to pay their duty to their sovereign ; and the opposite party found themselves * Jebb, vol. ii. p. 640. t MS. in the Advocates' Library, A. 3, 28, p. 401, from th* Cott. Lib. Calig. e. 9. 196 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. unable to resist so powerful a combination. They were offered a pardon, upon their submission, and an acknowledg ment of their fault in seizing the king's person and restrain ing him from his liberty. Some of them accepted of the terms ; the greater number, particularly Angus, Hamilton, Marre, Glamis, left the country, and took shelter in Ireland or England, where they were protected by Elizabeth. The earl of Arran was recalled to court ; and the malecontents, who could not brook the authority of Lenox, a man of virtue and moderation, found, that by their resistance, they had thrown all power into the hands of a person whose counsels were as violent as his manners were profligate.* Elizabeth wrote a letter to James, in which she quoted a moral sentence from Isacrates, and indirectly reproached him with inconstancy, and a breach of his engagements. James, in his reply, justified his measures ; and retaliated, by turning two passages of Isocrates against her.t She next sent Walsing.- ham on an embassy to him ; and her chief purpose in employ ing that aged minister in an errand where so little business was to be transacted, was to learn, from a man of so much penetration and experience, the real character of James. This young prince possessed good parts, though not accompa nied with that vigor and industry which his station required ; and as he excelled in general discourse and conversation, Walsingham entertained a higher idea of his talents than he was afterwards found, when real business was transacted, to have fully merited.! ^e account whioh he gave his mistress induced her to treat James thenceforth with some more regard than. she had hitherto been inclined to pay him. [1584.] The king of Scots, persevering in his present views, summoned a parliament; where it was enacted, that bo clergyman should presume in his sermons to utter false, untrue, or scandalous speeches against the king, the council, or the public measures ; or to meddle, in an improper man ner, with the .affairs of his majesty and the states.§ The clergy, finding that the pulpit would be mo longer a sanctuary for them, were extremely offended ; they said that the king was become Popish in his heart ; and they gave their adver saries the. epithets of gross libertines, belly gods, and infamous •* Spotswood, p. 325, 326, et seq. t Melvil, p. 140, 141. Strype, vol. iii. p. 156. X Melvil, p. 148. Jebb, vol. ii. p. 530. } Spotswood, p. 333. ELIZABETH. 197 persons.* The violent conduct of Arran soon brought over tbe popularity to their side. The earl of Gowry, though par doned for the late attempt, was committed to prison, was tried on some new accusations, condemned, and executed. Many innocent persons suffered from the tyranny oF this favorite ; and the banished lords, being assisted by Elizabeth, now found the time favorable for the recovery of their estates and author ity. After they had been foiled in one attempt upon Stirling, they prevailed in another ; and being admitted to the king's presence, were pardoned, and restored to his favor. Arran was degraded from authority, deprived of that estate and title which he had usurped, and the whole country seemed to be composed to tranquillity. Elizabeth, after opposing during some time the credit of the favorite, had found it more expedient, before his fall, to compound all differences with him, by means of Davison, a minister whom she sent to Scot land ; but having more confidence in the lords whom she had helped to restore, she was pleased with this alteration of affairs ; and maintained a good correspondence with the new court and ministry of James. These revolutions in Scotland would have been regarded as of small importance to the repose and security of Elizabeth, had her own subjects been entirely united, and had not the zeal of the Catholics, excited by constraint more properly than persecution, daily threatened her with some dangerous insurrection. The vigilance of the ministers, particularly of Burleigh and Walsingham, was' raised in proportion to the activity of the malecontents ; and many arts, which had been blamable in a more peaceful government, were employed in detecting conspiracies, and even discovering the secret inclinations of men. Counterfeit letters were written in the name of the queen of Scots, or of the English exiles, and privately conveyed to the houses of the Catholics : spies were hired to observe the actions and discourse of suspected per sons : informers were countenanced ; and though the sagacity of these two great ministers helped them to distinguish the true from the false intelligence, many calumnies weTe no doubt hearkened to, and all the subjects, particularly the Cath olics, kept in the utmost anxiety and inquietude. Henry Piercy, earl of Northumberland, brother to the earl beheaded some years before, and Philip Howard, earl of Arundel, son * Spotswood, p. 334. 17* 198 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. of the unfortunate duke of Norfolk, fell under suspicion ; and the latter was, by order of council, confined to his own house. Francis Throgmorton, a private gentleman, was committed to custody, on account of a letter which he had written to the queen of Scots, and which was intercepted. Lord Paget and Charles Arundel, who had been engaged with him in treason able designs, immediately withdrew beyond sea. Throgmor ton confessed that a plan for an invasion and insurrection had been laid ; and though, on his trial, he was desirous of retract ing this confession, and imputing it to the fear of torture, he was found guilty and executed. Mendoza, the Spanish am bassador, having promoted this conspiracy, was ordered to depart the kingdom ; and Wade was sent into Spain, to excuse his dismission, and to desire the king to send another ambas sador in his place ; but Philip would not so much as admit the English ambassador to his presence. Creighton,a Scottish Jesuit, coming over on board a vessel which was seized, tore some papers with an intention of throwing them into the sea ; but the wind blowing them back upon the ship, they were pieced together, and discovered some dangerous secrets.* Many of these conspiracies were, with great appearance of reason, imputed to the intrigues of the queen of Scots ; t and as her name was employed in all of them, the council thought that they could not use too many precautions against the danger of her claims, and the restless activity of her temper. She was removed from under the care of the earl of Shrews bury, who, though vigilant ahd faithful in that trust, had also been indulgent to his prisoner, particularly with regard to air and exercise ; and she was committed to the custody of Sir Amias Paulet and Sir Drue Drury ; men of honor, but inflexi ble in their care and attention. An association was also set on foot by the earl of Leicester and other courtiers ; and as Elizabeth was beloved by the whole nation, except the more zealous Catholics, men of all ranks willingly flocked to the subscription of it. The purport of this association was to defend the queen, to revenge her death, or any injury com mitted against her, and to exclude from the throne all claim ants, what title soever they might possess, by whose sugges tion or for whose behoof any violence should be offered to her majesty,! The queen of Scots was sensible that this * Camden, p. 499. t Strype, vol. iii. p. 246. X State Trials, vol. i. p. 122, 123. ELIZABETH. 199 association was levelled against her ; and to remove all sus picion from herself, she also desired leave to subscribe it. Elizabeth, that she might the more discourage malecon- tents, by showing them the concurrence of the nation in her favor, summoned a new parliament ; and she met with that dutiful attachment which she expected. The association was confirmed by parliament ; and a clause was added by which the queen was empowered to name commissioners for the trial of any pretender to the crown, who should attempt or imagine any invasion, insurrection, or assassination against her : upon condemnation pronounced by these commissioners, the guilty person was excluded from all claim to. the succession, and was further punishable as her majesty should direct. And for greater security, a council of regency, in case of the queen's violent death, was appointed to govern the kingdom, to settle the succession, and to take vengeance for that act of treason.* A severe law was also enacted against Jesuits and Popish priests : it was ordained, that they should depart the kingdom within forty days ; that those who should remain beyond that time, or should afterwards return, should be guilty of treason ; that those who harbored or relieved them should be guilty of felony ; that those who were educated in seminaries, if they returned not in six months after notice given, and submitted not themselves to the queen, before a bishop or two justices, should be guilty of treason ; and that if any, so submitting themselves, should, within ten years, approach the court, or come within ten miles of it, their submission should be void.t By this law, the exercise of the Catholic religion, which had formerly been prohibited under lighter penalties, Vid which was in many instances connived at, was totally suppressed. In the subsequent part of the queen's reign, the law was some times executed by the capital punishment of priests ; and though the partisans of that princess asserted that they were punished for their treason, not their religion, the apology must only be understood in this sense, that the law was enacted on account of the treasonable views and attempts of the sect, not that every individual who suffered the penalty of the law was convicted of treason-! The Catholics, therefore, might now with justice complain of a violent persecution; which we may * 27 Eliz. cap. 1. t 27 Eliz. cap. 2. X Some even of those who defend the queen's measures, allow that in ten years fifty priests were executed, and fifty-five banished. Camden, p. 649. 200 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. safely affirm, in spite of the rigid and bigoted maxims of that age, not to be the best method of converting them, or of reconciling them to the established government and religion. The parliament, besides arming the queen with these pow ers, granted her a supply of one subsidy and two fifteenths. The only circumstance in which their proceedings were dis agreeable to her, was an application, made by the commons, for a further reformation in ecclesiastical matters. Yet even in this attempt, which affected her, as well as them, in a deli cate point, they discovered how much they were overawed by her authority. The majority of the house were Puritans, or inclined to that sect ; * but the severe reprimands which they had already, in former sessions, met with from the throne, deterred them from introducing any bill concerning religion ; a proceeding which would have been interpreted as an en croachment on the prerogative : they were content to proceed by way of humble petition, and that not addressed to her majesty, which would have given offence, but to the house of lords, or rather the bishops, who had a seat in that house, and from whom alone they were willing to receive all advances towards reformation ; t a strange departure from what we now apprehend to be the dignity of the commons ! The commons desired, in their humble petition, that no bishop should exercise his function of ordination but with the consent and concurrence of six presbyters : but this demand, as it really introduced a change of ecclesiastical government, was firmly rejected by^ the prelates. They desired, that no clergyman should be instituted into any benefice without previous notice being given to the parish, that they might examine whether there lay any objection to his life or doe- trine ; an attempt towards a popular model, which naturally- met with the same fate. In another article of the petition, they prayed that the bishops should not insist upon every ceremony, or deprive incumbents for omitting part of the ser vice ; as if uniformity in public worship had not iieen estab- » — * Besides the petition after mentioned, another proof of the prev- alency of the Puritans among the commons was, their passing a bill for the reverent observance of Sunday, which they termed the Sab bath, and the depriving the people of those amusements which thev were accustomed to take on that day. D'Ewes, p. 335. It was "a strong symptom, of a contrary spirit in the upper h,ouse, that they proposed to add Wednesday _to the fast days, and to prohibit entirely the eating of flesh on that day. D'Ewes, p. 373. * D'Ewes, p. 357. ELIZABETH. 201 lished by law ; or as if the prelates had been endowed with a dispensing power. They complained of abuses which pre vailed in pronouncing the sentence of excommunication, and they entreated the reverend fathers to think of some law for the remedy of these abuses : implying that those matters were too high for the commons of themselves to attempt. But the most material article which the commons touched upon in their petition, was the court of ecclesiastical commis sion, and the oath " ex officio," as it was called, exacted by that court. This is a subject of such importance as to merit some explanation. The first primate after the queen's accession, was Parker ; a man rigid in exacting conformity to the established worship, and in punishing, by fine or deprivation, all the Puritanical clergymen who attempted to innovate any thing in the habits, ceremonies, or liturgy of the church. He died in 1575 ; and was succeeded by Grindal, who, as he himself was inclined to the new sect, was with great difficulty brought to execute the laws against them, or to punish the nonconforming clergy. He declined obeying the queen's orders for the suppression of " prophesy ings," or the assemblies of the zealots in private houses, which, she apprehended, had become so many acade mies of fanaticism ; and for this offence she had, by an order of the star chamber, sequestered him from his archiepiscopal function, and confined him to his own house. Upon his death, which happened in 1583, she determined not to fall into the same error in her next choice ; and she named Whitgift, a zealous Churchman, who had already signalized his pen in controversy, and who, having in vain attempted to convince the Puritans by argument, was now resolved to open their eyes by power, and by the execution of penal statutes. He informed the queen, that all the spiritual authority lodged in the prelates was insignificant without the sanction of the crown ; and as there was no ecclesiastical commission at that time in force, he engaged her to issue a new one, more arbitrary than any of the former, and conveying more un limited authority.* She appointed forty-four commissioners, twelve of whom were ecclesiastics ; three commissioners made a quorum ; the jurisdiction of the court extended over the whole kingdom and over all orders of men ; and every circumstance of its authority, and all its methods of pro- * Neal's History of the Puritans, vol. i. p. 410. 202 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. ceeding, were contrary to the clearest principles of law and natural equity. The commissioners were empowered to visit and reform all errors, heresies, schisms, ina word, to regulate aU opinions, as well as to punish all breach of uniformity in the exercise of public worship. They were directed to make inquiry^ not only by the legal methods of juries and witnesses, hut by all other means and ways which they could devise ; that is, by the rack, by torture, by inquisition, by imprison ment. Where they found reason to suspect any person, they might administer to him an oath, called " ex officio," by which he was bound to answer all questions, and might thereby be obliged to accuse himself or his most intimate friend. The fines which they levied were discretionary, and often occa sioned the total ruin of the offender, contrary to the estab lished laws of the kingdom. The imprisonment to which they condemned any delinquent, was limited by no rule but their own pleasure. They assumed a power of imposing on the clergy what new articles of subscription, and consequently of faith, they thought proper. Though all other spiritual courts were subject, since the reformation, to inhibitions from the supreme courts of law, the ecclesiastical commissioners were exempted from that legal jurisdiction, and were liable to no control. And the more to enlarge their authority, they were empowered to punish all incests, adulteries, fornications ; all outrages, misbehaviors, and disorders in marriage : and the punishments which they might inflict, were according to their wisdom, conscience, and discretion. In a word, this court was a real inquisition ; attended with all the iniquities, as well as cruelties, inseparable from that tribunal. And as ' the jurisdiction of the ecclesiastical court was destructive of all law, so its erection was deemed by many a mere usurpa tion of this imperious princess ; and had no other foundation than a clause of a statute, restoring the supremacy to the crown, and empowering the sovereign to appoint commis sioners for exercising that prerogative. But prerogative in general, especially the supremacy, was supposed in that age to involve powers which no law, precedent, or reason could limit and determine. But though the commons, in their humble petition to the prelates, had touched so gently and submissively on the eccle siastical grievances, the queen, in a speech from the throne at the end of the session, could not forbear taking notice of their presumption, and reproving them for those murmurs 'ELlZj£BE¥fa. 203 which, for fear of Offending heVthey had prohounced so low as not directly to reach her royal ears. After giving them Some general thanks for their attachment to her, and making professions of affection to her subjects, She told them, that whoever found fault with the church threw a slander upon her, since' she was appointed by God supreme ruler over it ; and no heresies or schisms could prevail in the kingdom but by her permission and negligence : that some abuses must necessarily have place in every thing ;' but she warned the prelates to be Watchful ; fOr if'she'found them Careless of their charge, she was fully determined to depose them: that she was commonly Supposed to have employed herself in many studies, particularly philosophical, (by which, I sup pose, she'meant theological,) and 'she' would confess, that few whose leisure had not • allowed them to make profession of science, had read or reflected more: thatas she could discern the presumption of many, in curiously canvassing the Scrip tures, and Starting innovations, she Would no longer endure this licentiousness ; but meant to guide her people by God's rule in the just mean between the corruptions of Rome and the errors of modern sectaries: and that as the Romanists 'were the inveterate enemies Of her person, so the other innovators were dangerous to all kingly ¦ government ; and, under color of preaching the word of God, presumed to exer cise their private judgment,1 and to censure the actions of the prince.* Frdm the whole of this ' transaction we may observe, that the commons, in making their general' application to the prel ates, as well as in -sOrrie particular . articles of their petition, showed themselves wholly ignorant, no less than the queen, of the principles of liberty and a legal constitution. And it may not be unVvorthy of remark, that Elizabeth, so far from yielding to the displeasure of the parliament against the ecclesiastical commission, granted, before the end of her reign, a new commission ; in which she enlarged,1 rather than restrained, the powers of the cOmmissioners.f During this1 session of parliament, there was discovered a' conspiracy,- which much increased the general animosity against the Catholics, and still further widened the breach between the religious parties. William Parry, a Catholic * See note E, at the end of the volume. t Rymer, Vol. xvi. p. 292, 386, 400. 204 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. gentleman, had received the queen's pardon for a crime by which he was exposed to capital punishment ; and having obtained permission to travel, he retired to Milan, and made open profession of his religion, which he had concealed while he remained in England. He was here persuaded by Palmio, a Jesuit, that he could not perform a more meritorious action than to take away the life of his sovereign and his benefac tress ; the nuncio Campeggio, when consulted, approved extremely of this pious undertaking ; and Parry, though still agitated with doubts, came to Paris with an intention of passing over to England and executing his bloody purpose. He was here encouraged in the design by Thomas Morgan, a gentleman of great credit in the party ; and though Watts and some other Catholic priests told him that the enterprise was criminal and impious, he preferred the authority of Raggazzoni, the nuncio at Paris, and determined to persist in his resolution. He here wrote a letter to the pope, which was conveyed to Cardinal Como ; he communicated his intention to the holy father, and craved his absolution and paternal benediction. He received an answer from the cardinal, by which he found that his purpose was extremely applauded ; and he came over to England with a full design of carrying it into execu tion. So deeply are the sentiments of morality engraved in the human breast, that it is difficult even for the prejudices of false religion totally to efface them ; and this bigoted assassin resolved, before he came to extremities, to try every other expedient for alleviating the persecutions under which the Catholics at that time labored. He found means of being introduced to the queen ; assured her that many conspiracies were formed against her ; and exhorted her, as she tendered her life, to give the Romanists some more indulgence in the exercise of their religion : but, lest he should be tempted by the opportunity to assassinate her, he always came to court unprovided with every offensive weapon. He even found means to be elected member of parliament : and having made a vehement harangue ^against the severe laws enacted this last session, was committed to custody for his freedom, and sequestered from the house. His failure in these attempts confirmed him the more in his former resolution ; and he communicated his intentions to Nevil, who entered zealously into the design, and was determined to have a share in the merits of its execution. A book newly published by Dr. Allen, afterwards created a cardinal, served further to efface ELIZABETH. 205 all their scruples with regard to the murder of an heretical prince ; and having agreed to shoot the queen while she should be taking the air on horseback, they resolved, if they could not make their escape, to sacrifice their lives in ful filling a duty so agreeable, as they imagined, to the will of God and to true religion. But while they were watching an opportunity for the execution of their purpose, the earl of Westmoreland happened to die in exile ; and as Nevil was next heir to that family, he began to entertain hopes that, by doing some acceptable service to the queen, he might recovei the estate and honors which had been forfeited by the rebel lion of the last earl. He betrayed the whole conspiracy tc the ministers ; and Parry, being thrown into prison, confessed the guilt both to them and to the jury who tried him. The letter from Cardinal Como, being produced in court, put Parry's narrative beyond all question ; and that criminal. having received sentence of death,* suffered the punishmenf which the law appointed for his treasonable conspiracy .t These bloody designs now appeared every where, as the result of that bigoted spirit by which the two religions, especially the Catholic, were at this time actuated. Somer- ville, a gentleman of the county of Warwick, somewhat disordered in his understanding, had heard so much of the merit attending the assassination of heretics and persecutors, that he came to London with a view of murdering the queen ; but having betrayed his design by some extravagances, he was thrown into prison, and there perished by a voluntary death-! About the same time, Baltazar Gerard, a Burgundian, undertook and executed the same design against the prince of Orange ; and that great man perished at Delft, by the hands of a desperate assassin, who, with a resolution worthy of a better cause, sacrificed his own life, in order to destroy the famous restorer and protector of religious liberty. The Flemings, who regarded that prince as their father, were filled with great sorrow, as well when they considered the miserable end of so brave a patriot, as their own forlorn condition, from the loss of so powerful and prudent a leader, and from the rapid progress of the Spanish arms. The prince of Parma had made every year great advances upon them, had reduced several of the provinces to obedience, and had laid close siege to Antwerp, the richest and most populous city * State Trials, vol. i. p. 103, et seq. Strype, vol. iii. p. 255, et seq. f See note S, at the end ofthe volume. X Camden, p. 496. vol. iv. 18 H W6 HISTdRY '6V ENGLAND. Of the Netherlands, whose subjection, it was foreseen, would 'give a, mortal blow to the already declining affairs bf the revolted provinces. The only hopes which remained to them arose from the prospect of foreign succor. Being well 'acquainted with the cautious and frugal maxims Of Elizabeth, they ' expected better success in France;1 and in the view of engaging Henry to embrace their defence, they tendered him the sovereignty of their provinces. [1585.] But the present condition of that monarchy obliged the king to reject so advantageous an offer. The duke of Anjou's death, which, he thought would have tended to restore public tranquillity by delivering him from the intrigues of that prince, plunged him into the deepest disf ress ; and the king of Navarre,'a professed 'Hugonot, being next heir to the crown, the duke of Guise took thence occasion to revive fhe Catholic league, and to urge Henry, by the most violent expedients, to seek the exclusion of that brave and virtuous prince. Henry himself, though a zealous Catholic, yet, because he declined complying with their precipitate measures, became an object of aversion to the league ; and as his zeal in practising all the superstitious observances of the Romish church, was accompanied with a very licentious conduct in private life, the Catholic faction, in Contradiction to universal experience, embraced thence the pretext of representing his devotion' as mere deceit and hy pocrisy. Finding his authority to decline, he was obliged to declare war against the Hugonots, and to put arms into the hahds of the league, whom, both on account of their danger ous pretensions at home and their close alliance with Philip, he secretly regarded as his more dangerous enemies. Constrained by the same policy, he dreaded the danger of associating him self with the revolted Protestants in the Low Countries, and was obliged to renounce that inviting Opportunity of revenging himself for all the hostile intrigues and enterprises of Philip. The states, reduced to this extremity, sent over a solemn embassy to London, and made anew an offer to the queen of acknowledging her for their sovereign, on condition of obtain ing her protection and assistance. Elizabeth's wisest counsel lors were divided in opinion with regard to the conduct' which she should hold in this critical and important emergence. Some advised her to reject the offer of the states, and Repre sented the imminent dangers, as well as injustice, attending the acceptance of it. They said, that the suppression of rebel lious subjects was the common cause of all sovereigns ; and ELlfcABEfk. '207 ariy encouragement given to the revolt of the Flemings, might prove the example of a like pernicious license to the English : that though princes were bound by the laws of the Supreme Being not to oppress their subjects, the people never were en titled to forget all duty to their sovereign, or transfer, from eVeiry fancy or disgust, or even from the jusfest' ground of complaint, their obedience to any other master : that the queen, in the succors hitherto afforded fhe Flemings, had considered them as laboring under oppression, not as entitled to freedom ; and had intended only to 'admonish Philip not to persevere in his tyranny, without any view of ravishing from him those prov inces, which he enjoyed by hereditary right from his ancestors : that her situation in Ireland, and even in England, would afford that powerful monarch sufficient opportunity of retaliat ing upon her ; and she must thenceforth expect that, instead of secretly fomenting faction, he would openly employ liis whole force in the protection and defence of the Catholics : that the pope would undoubtedly unite his spiritual arms to tbe temporal ones of Spain : and that the queen would soon repent her making so precarious an acquisition in foreign countries, by exposing her own dominions to the most imminent danger.* Other counsellors of Elizabeth maintained a contrary opin ion. They asserted, that the queen had not even from the beginning of her reign, but certainly had not at present, the choice whether she would embrace friendship or hostility with Philip : that by the whole tenor of that prince's conduct it appeared, that his sole aims were the extending ofhis empire, and the entire subjection of the Protestants, under the specious pretence of maintaining the Catholic faith : that the provocations which she had already given him, joined to his general scheme of policy, would forever render him her implacable enemy; and as soon as he had subdued his revolted subjects, he would undoubtedly fall, with the whole force of his united empire, on her defenceless state : that the only question was, whether she would maintain a war abroad, and supported by allies, or wait till the subjection of all the confederates of England should give her enemies leisure to begin their hostilities in the bowels of the kingdom : that the revolted provinces, though in a de clining condition, possessed still considerable force ; #nd by the assistance of England, by the advantages of their Situa tion, and by their inveterate antipathy to Philip, might still be * Camden, p. 507. Bentivoglio, part ii. lib. iv. 208 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. enabled to maintain the contest against the Spanish monarchy : that their maritime power, united to the queen's, would give her entire security on the side from which alone she could be assaulted ; and would even enable her to make inroads on Philip's dominions, both in Europe and the Indies : that a war which was necessary could never be unjust ; and self-defence was concerned as well in preventing certain dangers at a dis tance, as in repelling any immediate invasion : and that, since hostility with Spain was the unavoidable consequence of the present interests and situations of the two monarchies, it were better to compensate that danger and loss by the acquisition of such important provinces to the English empire.* Amidst these opposite counsels, the queen, apprehensive of the consequences attending each extreme, was inclined to steer a middle course ; and though such conduct is seldom prudent, she was not, in this resolution, guided by any preju dice or mistaken affection. She was determined not to per mit, without opposition, the total subjection of the revolted provinces, whose interests she deemed so closely connected with her own : but foreseeing that the acceptance of their sovereignty would oblige her to employ her whole force in their defence, would give umbrage to her neighbors, and would expose her to the reproach of ambition and usurpation, — impu tations which hitherto she had carefully avoided, — she imme diately rejected this offer. She concluded a league with the states on the following conditions : that she should send over an army to their assistance, of five thousand foot and a thou sand horse, and pay them during the war ; that the general, and two others whom she should appoint, should be admitted into the council of the states ; that neither party should make peace without tbe consent of the other ; that her expenses should be refunded after the conclusion of the war ; and that the towns of Flushing and the Brille, with the Castle of Ram- mekins, should, in the mean time, be consigned into her hands by way of security. The queen knew that this measure would immediately engage her in open hostilities with Philip ; yet was not she terrified with the view of the present greatness of that monarch. The continent of Spain was at that time rich and populous ; and the late addition of Portugal, besides securing internal tranquillity, had annexed an opulent kingdom to Philip's domin- * Camden, p. 507. Bentivoglio, part ii. lib. iv. ELIZABETH. 20& ions, had made him master of many settlements in the East Indies, ahd of the whole commerce of those regions, and had much increased his naval power, in which he was before chiefly deficient. All the princes of Italy, even the pope and the court of Rome, were reduced to a kind of subjection under him, and seemed to possess their sovereignty on terms somewhat precarious. The Austrian branch in Germany, with their dependent principalities, was closely connected with him, arid was ready to supply him with troops for every enterprise. All the treasures of the West Indies were in his possession ; and the present scarcity of the precious metals in every coun try of Europe, rendered the influence of his riches the more forcible and extensive. The Netherlands seemed on the point of relapsing into servitude ; and small hopes were entertained of their withstanding those numerous and veteran armies, which, under the command of the most experienced generals, he em ployed against them. Even France, which was wotit to coun terbalance the Austrian greatness, had lost all her force from intestine commotions ; and as the Catholics, the ruling party, were closely connected with him, he rather expected 'thence an augmentation than a diminution of his power. Upon the whole, such prepossessions were everywhere entertained con cerning the force of the Spanish monarchy, that the king of Sweden, when he heard that Elizabeth had openly embraced the defence of the revolted Flemings, scrupled riot to say, that she had now taken the diadem from her head, and had adveri- tured it upon the doubtful chance of war.* Yet was this prin cess rather cautious than enterprising in her natural tem'per : she ever needed more to be impelled by the vigor, than re strained by the prudence, of her ministers : but when she savir an evident necessity, she braved danger with magnanimous courage ; and trusting to her own consummate wisdofn, anrj to the affections, however divided, ofher people, she prepared herself to resist, and even to assault, the whole force of the Catholic monarch. The earl of Leicester was sent over to Holland at the head of the English auxiliary forces. He carried with him a splen did retinue; being accompanied by the young earl of Essex, his son-in-law, the lords Audley and North, Sir William Rus sel, Sir Thomas Shirley, Sir Arthur Basset, Sir Walter Waller, Sir Gervase Clifton, and a select troop of five hundred gentle- * Camden, p. 508. 18* 210 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. men. He was received on his arrival at Flushing by his nephew, Sir Philip Sidney, the governor ; and every town through which he passed expressed their joy by acclamations and triumphal arches, as if his presence and the queen's pro tection had brought them the most certain deliverance. The states, desirous of engaging Elizabeth still further in their defence, and knowing the interest which Leicester possessed with her, conferred on him the title of governor and captain- general of the united provinces, appointed a guard to attend him, and treated him in some respects as their sovereign. But this step had a contrary effect to what they expected. The queen was displeased with the artifice of the states, and the ambition of Leicester. She severely reprimanded both; and it was with some difficulty that, after many humble admis sions, they were able to appease her. America was regarded as the chief source of Philip'spower, as well as the most defenceless part of his dominions , and Elizabeth, finding that an open breach with that monarch was unavoidable, resolved not to leave him unmolested in that quarter. The great success of the Spaniards and Portuguese in both Indies had excited a spirit of emulation in England ; and as the progress of commerce, still more that of colonies, is slow and gradual, it was happy that a war in this critical period had opened a more flattering prospect to the avarice and ambition of the English, and had tempted them, by the view of sudden and exorbitant profit, to engage in naval enter prises. A fleet of twenty sail was equipped to attack the Spaniards in the West Indies : two thousand three hundred volunteers, besides seamen, engaged on board of it ; Sir Fran cis Drake was appointed admiral ; Christopher Carlisle, com mander of the land forces. [1586.] They took St. Jago, near Cape Verde, by surprise ; and found in it plenty of provisions, but no riches. They sailed to Hispaniola ; and easily making themselves masters of St. Domingo by assault, obliged the inhab itants to ransom their houses by a sum of money. Carthagena fell next into their hands, after some more resistance, and was treated in the same manner. They burnt St. Anthony and St. Helens, two towns on the coast of Florida. Sailing along the coast of Virginia, they found the small remains of a colony which had been planted there by Sir Walter Raleigh, and which had gone extremely to decay. This was the first attempt of the English to form such settlements ; and though they have since surpassed all European nations, both in the ELIZABETH. 211 situation of their colonies, and in the noble principles of liberty ind industry on which they are founded, they had here been ao unsuccessful, that the miserable planters abandoned their settlements, and prevailed on Drake to carry them with him to England. He returned with so much riches as encouraged the volunteers, and with such accounts of the Spanish weak ness in those countries, as served extremely to inflame the spirits ofthe nation to future enterprises. The great mortality which the climate had produced in his fleet was, as is usual, but a feeble restraint on the avidity and sanguine hopes of young adventurers.* It is thought that Drake's fleet first intro duced the use of tobacco into England. The enterprises of Leicester were much less successful than those of Drake. This man possessed neither courage nor ca pacity equal to the trust reposed in him by the queen ; and as he was the only bad choice she made for any considerable employment, men naturally believed that she had here been influenced by an affection still more partial than that of friend ship. He gained, at first, some advantage in an action against the Spaniards ; and threw succors into Grave, by which that place was enabled to make a vigorous defence : but the cow ardice of the governor, Van Hemert, rendered all these efforts useless. He capitulated after a feeble resistance ; and being tried for his conduct, suffered a capital punishment from the sentence of a court martial. The prince of Parma next under took the siege of Venlo, which was surrendered to him after some resistance. The fate of Nuys was more dismal ; being taken by assault, while the garrison was treating of a capitula tion. Rhimberg, which was garrisoned by twelve hundred English, under the command of Colonel Morgan, was after wards besieged by the Spaniards ; and Leicester, thinking himself too weak to attempt raising the siege, endeavored to draw off the prince of Parma by forming another enterprise. He first attacked Doesberg, and succeeded : he then sat down before Zutphen, which the Spanish general thought so impor tant a fortress, that he hastened to its relief. He made the marquis of Guasto advance with a convoy, which he intended to throw into the place. They were favored by a fog ; but falling by accident on a body of English cavalry, a furious action ensued, in which the Spaniards were worsted, and the marquis of Gonzaga, an Italian nobleman of great reputation * Camden, p. 609. 2 IS HISTORY OF ENGLAND. and family, was slain. The pursuit was stopped by the ad vance ofthe prince of Parma with the main body Of the Spari- ish army ; and the English cavalry, on their return from the field, found their advantage more than compensated by the loss of Sir Philip Sidney, who, being mortally wounded in the action, was carried off by the soldiers, and soOn after died. This person is described by the writers of that age, as the most perfect model of an accomplished gentleman that could be formed even by the wanton imagination of poetry or fiction. Virtuous conduct, polite conversation, heroic valor, and ele gant erudition, all concurred to render him the ornament arid delight of the English court ; and as the credit which he pos sessed with the queen and the earl of Leicester was wholly erhployed in the encouragement of genius and literature, his praises have been transmitted with advantage to posterity. No person was so low as not to become a'n object of his hu- rnanity. After this last action, while he was lying on the field mangled with wounds, a bottle of water was brought him to relieve his thirst ; but observing a soldier near him in a like miserable condition, he said, "This man's necessity is still greater than" mine ; " and resigned to him the bottle of water. The king of Scots, struck with admiration of Sidney's virtue, celebrated his memory in a copy of Latin verses, which he composed on the death of that youhg hero. The English, though a long peace had deprived them of all experience, Were strongly possessed of fnilitary genius ; and the advantages gained by the prince of Parma were not attrib uted to the superior bravery and discipline of the Spaniards, but solely 'to the want of military abilities in Leicester. The states were much discontented with his management of the war ; still more with his arbitrary and ifnperious conduct ; and at '(He end of the campaign, they applied to him for a redress of 'all their grievances. But Leicester, without giving them airy satisfaction, departed soon after for England.* The queen, while she provdked So powerful an enemy as the king of Spain, was riot forgetful to Secure herself on the side of Scotland ; and she endeavored both to cultivate the friendship and alliarice of her kinsman James, and to remove all grounds of quarrel between them. An attempt which she had rnade some time before was riot well calculated to gain tile ednfidence of that prince. She had despatched Wofton as * Camden, p. 512. Bentivdglio, part ii. lib. iv. ELIZABETH. 213 her ambassador to Scotland ; but thpugh she gave him private instructions with regard to her affairs, she informed James, that when she had any political business to discuss with him, she would employ another minister ; that this man was not fitted for serious negotiations ; and that her chief purpose in sending him, was to entertain the king with witty and facetious conversation, and to partake without reserve of his pleasure^ and amusements. Wotton was master of profound dissimula tion, and knew how to cover, under the appearance of a care less gayety, the deepest designs and most dangerous artifices. When but a youth of twenty, he had been employed by his uncle, Dr. Wotton, ambassador in France during the reign of Mary, to insnare the constable Montmorency ; and had not his purpose been frustrated by pure accident, his cunning had pre vailed over all the caution and experience of that aged minis ter. It is no wonder that, after years had improved him in all the arts of deceit, he should gain an ascendant over a young prince of so open and unguarded a temper as James"; especially when the queen's recommendation prepared the way for his reception. He was admitted into all the pleasures of the king ; made himself master of his secrets ; and had so much the more authority with him in political transactions, as he did not seem to pay the least attention to these matters. The Scottish ministers, who observed the growing interest of this man, endeavored to acquire his friendship ; and Scrupled not to sacrifice to his intrigues the most essential interests of their master. Elizabeth's usual jealousies with regard to her heirs began now to be levelled against James ; and as that prince had attained the years proper for marriage, she was apprehensive lest, by being strengthened by children aqijl alliances, he should acquire the greater interest and authority with her English subjects. She directed Wotton to form a secret concert with some Scottish noblemen, and to procure their promise, that Jam.ps, during three years, should not on .any account be permitted to marry. In consequence of this view, they endeavored to embroil him with the king of Den mark, who had sent ambassadors tp Scotland op pretence ,of demanding restitution of the Orkneys, but really yvith a view of opening a proposal of marriage between James and his daughter. Wotton .is said to have employed his intrigues ,tp purposes still more dangerous. ' He formed, it is pretended, a conspiracy with some malecontents, to seize the person of the king, and to deliver him into the hands of Elizabeth, who 214 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. would probably have denied all concurrence in the design, but would have been sure to retain him in perpetual thraldom, if not captivity. The conspiracy was detected ; and Wotton fled hastily from Scotland, without taking leave ofthe king.* James's situation obliged him to dissemble his resentment of this traitorous attempt, and his natural temper inclined him soon to forgive and forget it. The queen found no difficulty in renewing the negotiations for a strict alliance between Scot land and England ; and the more effectually to gain the prince's friendship, she granted him a pension, equivalent to his claim on the inheritance of his grandmother, the countess of Lenox, lately deceased. t A league was formed between Elizabeth and James for the mutual defence of their domin ions and of their religion, now menaced by the open combi nation of all the Catholic powers of Europe. It was stipulated, that if Elizabeth were invaded, James should aid her with a body of two thousand horse and five thousand foot ; that Eliz abeth, in a like case, should send to his assistance three thou sand horse and six thousand foot ; that the charge of these armies should be defrayed by the prince who demanded assistance ; that if the invasion should be made upon England, within sixty miles of the frontiers of Scotland, this latter king dom should march its whole force to the assistance of the former ; and that the present league should supersede all for mer alliances of either state wilh any foreign kingdom, so far as religion was concerned-! " By this league, James secured himself against all attempts from abroad, opened a way for acquiring the confidence and affections of the English, and might entertain some prospect of domestic tranquillity, which, while he lived on bad terms with Elizabeth, he could never expect long to enjoy. Besides the turbulent disposition and inveterate feuds of the nobility, — ancient maladies of the Scottish government, — the spirit of fanaticism had introduced a new disorder ; so much the more dangerous, as religion, when corrupted by false opinion, is not restrained by any rules of morality, and is even scarcely to be accounted for in its operations by any principles of ordinary conduct and policy. The insolence of the preachers, who triumphed in their dominion over the populace, had at this time reached an extreme height ; and they carried their arrogance * Melvil. f Spotswood, p. 351. J Spotswood, p. 349. Camden, p. 513. Kymer, torn. xv. p. 803. ELIZABETH. 215 so far, not only against the king, but against the whole civil power, that they excommunicated the archbishop of St. An drews, because he had been active in parliament for promot ing a law which restrained their seditious sermons ; * nor could that prolate save himself by any expedient from this terrible sentence, but by renouncing all pretensions to ecclesi astical authority. One Gibson said in the pulpit that Captain James Stuart (meaning the late earl of Arran) and his wife, Jezebel, had been doomed the chief persecutors of the church ; but it was now seen that the king himself was the great offender ; and for this crime the preacher denounced against him the curse which fell on Jeroboam, that he should die childless, nnd be the last of his race.t Tho secretary, Thirlstono, perceiving the king so much molested with ecclesiastical affairs, and with the refractory disposition of the clergy ,*nd vised him to leave them to thei- own courses ; for that in a short time they would become sr intolerable, that thc people would riso against them, and drivt them out of the country. " True," replied the king ; " if ] purposed to undo the church and religion, your counsel were good ; but my intention is to maintain both; therefore cannot 1 sull'cr thc clergy to follow such a conduct, as will in the end bring religion into contempt and derision."! * Spotswood, p. 345, 346. t Spotswood, p. 344. X Spotswood, p. 348. £16 HISTORY, OF ENGLAND. CHAPTER XLII. ELIZABETH. [158,6.] The dangers which arose from the character, principles, and pretensions of the queen of Scots, had very early engaged Elizabeth to consult, in her treatment of that unfortunate princess, the dictates of jealousy and politics, rather than pf frienclship or generosity : resentment of thia usage had pushed fylary into enterprises which had nearly threatened the repose and authority of Elizabeth : the rigor and restraint thence redoubled upon the captive queen,* still impelled hey ,to attempt greater extremities ; and while her impatience of confinement, her revenge,! and her high spirit concurred with religious zeal, and the suggestions of desper ate bigots, she was at last engaged in designs which afforded her enemies, who watched the opportunity, a pretence or rea son for effecting her final ruin. The English seminary at Rheims had wrought themselves up to a high pitch of rage and animosity against the queen. The recent persecutions from which they had escaped ; the new rigors which they knew awaited them in the course of their missions ; the liberty which for the present they enjoyed of declaiming against that princess ; and the contagion of that religious fury which every where surrounded them in France ; all these causes had obliterated wifh1 them every maxim of common sense, and every principle of morals or humanity. Intoxicated with admiration of the divine power and infallibil ity of the pope, they revered his bull by which he excommu nicated and deposed the queen ; and some of them had gone to that height of extravagance as to assert, that that performance had been immediately dictated by the Holy Ghost. The assassination of heretical sovereigns, and of that princess in particular, was represented as the most meritorious of all enter prises ; and they taught, that whoever perished in such pious * Digges, p. 139. Haynes, p. 607. t See note T, at the end of the volume. ELIZABETH. 217 attempts, enjoyed, without dispute, tbe glorious and never- fading crown of martyrdom. By such doctrines, they insti gated John Savage, a man of desperate courage, who had served some years in the Low Countries under the prince of Parma, to attempt the life of Elizabeth ; and this assassin, having made a vow to persevere in his design, was sent over to England, and recommended to the confidence of the more zealous Catholics'. About the same time, John Ballard, a priest of that semi nary, had returned to Paris from his mission in England and Scotland ; and as he had observed a spirit of mutiny and rebellion to be very prevalent among the Catholic devotees in these countries, ho had founded on that disposition the pro ject of dethroning Elizabeth, and of restoring by force of arms the exercise of ihe ancient religion.* The situation of affairs abroad seemed favorable to this enterprise ; tho pope, the Spaniard, the duke of Guise, concurring in interests, had formed a resolutinn to make some attempt against England : and Mendoza, the Spanish ambassador at Paris, strongly encouraged Ballard to hope for succors from these princes. Charles Paget alone, a zealous Catholic and a devoted parti san of thc queen of Scots, being well acquainted with the prudence, vigor, and "eneral popularity of Elizabeth, always maintained that, so long as that princess was allowed to live, it was in vain to expect any success from an enterprise upon England. Ballard, persuaded of this truth, saw more clearly the necessity of executing the design formed at Rheims ; he came over to England in the disguise of a soldier, and assumed tho name of Captain Forlcscue ; and he bent his endeavors to effect at once the project of an assassination, an insurrection, and an invasion.!' The first person to whom he addressed himself was An thony Babington, of Dethic, in thc county of Derby. This young gentleman was of a good family, possessed a plenti ful fortune, had discovered an excellent capacity, and was accomplished in literature beyond most of his years or station. Being zealously devoted to the Catholic commu nion, he had secretly made a journey to Paris some time before, and had fallen into intimacy with Thomas Morgan, a bigoted fugitive from England, and with the bishop of Glas gow, Mary's ambassador at thc court of France. By con- * Murden's State Papers, p. 517. t Camdon, p. 616. vol. TV. !» " 218 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. tinually extolling the amiable accomplishments and heroical virtues of that princess, they impelled the sanguine and unguarded mind of young Babington to make some attempt for her service ; and they employed every principle of am bition, gallantry, and religious zeal, to give him a contempt of those dangers which attended any enterprise against the. vigilant government of Elizabeth. Finding him well disposed for their purpose, they sent him back to Engla-nd, and secretly, unknown to himself, recommended him to the queen of Scots, as a person worth engaging in her service. She wrote him a letter, full of friendship and confidence ; and Babington, ardent in his temper and zealous in his principles, thought that these advances now bound him in honor to devote him self entirely to the service of that unfortunate princess. Dur ing some time, he had found means of conveying to her all her foreign correspondence ; but after she was put under the custody of Sir Amias Paulet, and reduced to a more rigorous confinement, he experienced so much difficulty and danger in rendering her this service, that he had desisted from every attempt of that nature. When Ballard began to open his intentions to Babington, he found his zeal suspended, not extinguished : his former ardor revived on the mention of any enterprise which seemed to promise success in the cause of Mary and of the Catholic religion. He had entertained sentiments conformable to those of Paget, and represented the folly of all attempts which, during the lifetime of Elizabeth, could be formed against the established religion and government of England. Ballard, encouraged by this hint, proceeded to discover to him the design undertaken by Savage ;* and was well pleased to observe that, instead of being shocked with the project, Bab ington only thought it not secure enough, when intrusted to one single hand, and proposed to join five others with Savage in this desperate enterprise. ' In prosecution of these views, Babington employed himself in increasing the number of his associates ; and he secretly drew into the conspiracy many Catholic gentlemen, discon tented with the present government. Barnwell, of a noble family in Ireland, Charnoc, a gentleman of Lancashire, and Abington, whose father had been cofferer to the household, readily undertook the assassination of the queen. Charles * Camden, p. 615. Stato Trials, p. 114#. ELIZABETH. 219 Tilney, the heir of an ancient family, and Titchborne of Southampton, when the design was proposed to them, ex pressed some scruples, which were removed by the arguments of Babington and Ballard. Savage alone refused, during some time, to share the glory of the enterprise with any others ; * he challenged the whole to himself; and it was with some difficulty he was induced to depart from this preposter ous ambition. The deliverance of the queen of Scots, at the very same instant when Elizabeth should be assassinated, was requisite for effecting the purpose of the conspirators ; and Babington undertook, with a party of a hundred horse, to attack her guards while she should be taking the air on horseback. In this enterprise, he engaged Edward Windsor, brother to the lord of that name, Thomas Salisbury, Robert Gage, John Trav- ers, John Jones, and Henry Donne ; most of them men of family and interest. The conspirators much wanted, but could not find, any nobleman of note whom they might place at the head of the enterprise ; but they trusted that the great events, of the queen's death and Mary's deliverance, would rouse all the zealous Catholics to arms ; and that foreign forces, taking advantage of the general confusion, would easily fix the queen of Scots on the throne, and reestablish the ancient religion. These desperate projects had not escaped the vigilance of Elizabeth's council, particularly of Walsingham, secretary of state. That artful minister had. engaged Maud, a Catholic priest, whom he retained in pay, to attend Ballard in his jour ney to France, and had thereby got a hint of the designs entertained by the fugitives. Polly, another of his spies, had found means to insinuate "himself among the conspirators in England ; and, though not entirely trusted, had obtained some insight into their dangerous secrets. But the bottom of the conspiracy was never fully known, till Gifford, a seminary priest, came over and made a tender of his services to Wal singham. By his means, the discovery became of the utmost importance, and involved the fate of Mary, as well as of those zealous partisans of that princess. Babington and his associates, having laid such a plan as, they thought, promised infallible success, were impatient to communicate the design to the queen of Scots, and to obtain * State Trials, vol. i. p. 111. 220 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. her approbation and concurrence. For this service they employed Gifford, who immediately applied to Walsingham, that the interest of that minister might forward his secret cor respondence with Mary. Walsingham proposed the matter to Paulet, and desired him to connive at Gifford's corrupting one ofhis servants; but Paulet, averse to the introducing of such a pernicious precedent into his family, desired that they would rather think of some other expedient. Gifford found a brewer, who supplied the family with ale ; and bribed him to convey letters to the captive queen. The letters, by Paulet's connivance, were thrust through a chink in the wall ; and answers were returned by the same conveyance. Ballard and Babington were at first diffident of Gifford's fidelity; and to make trial of him, they gave him only blank papers made up like letters ; but finding by the answers that these had been faithfully delivered, they laid aside all further scruple, and conveyed by his hands the most criminal and dangerous parts of their conspiracy. Babington informed Mary of the design laid for a foreign invasion, the plan of an insurrection at home, the schema-for her deliverance, and the conspiracy for assassinating the usurper, by six noble gentle men, as he termed them, all of them his private friends ; who, from the zeal which they bore to the Catholic cause and her majesty's service, would undertake the " tragical execution." Mary replied, that she approved highly of the design ; that the gentlemen might expect all the rewards which it should ever be in her power to confer; and that the death of Eliz abeth was a necessary circumstance, before any attempts were made, either for her own deliverance or an insurrection.* These letters, with others to Mendoza, Charles Paget, the archbishop of Glasgow, and Sir Francis Inglefield, were car ried by Gifford to Secretary Walsingham ; were deciphered by the art of Philips, his clerk ; and copies taken of them. Walsingham employed another artifice, in order to obtain full insight into the plot : he subjoined to a letter of Mary's a post script in the same cipher ; in which he made her desire Bab ington to inform her of the names of the conspirators. The indiscretion of Babington furnished Walsingham with still another means of detection, as well as of defence. That gentlemen had caused a picture to be drawn, where he him self was represented standing amidst the six assassins ; and a * State Trial3, vol. i. p. 135. Camden, p. 516. ELIZABETH. 221 « motto was subjoined, expressing that their common perils were the band of their confederacy. A copy of this picture was brought to Elizabeth, that she might know the assassins, and guard herself against their approach to her person- Meanwhile Babington, anxious to insure and hasten the for eign succors, resolved to despatch Ballard into France ; and he procured for him, under a feigned name, a license to travel. In order to remove from himself all suspicion, he applied to Walsingham, pretended great zeal for the queen's service, offered to go abroad, and professed his intentions of employ ing the confidence which he had gained among the Catholics, to tho detection and disappointment of their conspiracies. Walsingham commended his loyal purposes ; and promising his own counsel and assistance in the execution of them, still fed him with hopes, and maintained a close correspondence with him. A warrant, meanwhile, was issued for seizing Bal lard ; and this incident, joined to the consciousness of guilt, begat in all the conspirators the utmost anxiety and concern. Some advised that they should immediately make their escape : others proposed that Savage and Charnoc should without delay execute their purpose against Elizabeth ; and Babington, in prosecution of this scheme, furnished Savage with money, that he might buy good clothes, and thereby have more easy access to the queen's person. Next day, they began to appre hend that they had taken the alarm too hastily ; and Babing ton, having renewed his correspondence with Walsingham, was persuaded by that subtle minister, that the seizure of Ballard had proceeded entirely from the usual diligence of informers in the detection of popish and seminary priests. He even consented to take lodgings secretly in Walsingham's house, that they might have more frequent conferences together before his intended departure for France ; but observing that he, was watched and guarded, he made his escape, and gave the alarm to the other conspirators. They all took to flight, covered themselves with several disguises, and lay concealed in woods or barns ; but were soon discovered and thrown into prison. In their examinations they contradicted each other ; and the leaders were obliged to make a full confession of the truth. Fourteen were condemned and executed, of whom seven acknowledged the crime on their trial ; the rest were convicted by evidence. The lesser conspirators being despatched, measures were taken for the trial and conviction of the queen of Scots ; on 19* 222 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. whose account, and with whose' concurrence, these attempts had been made against the life of the queen, and the tranquil lity of the kingdom. Some of Elizabeth's counsellors were averse to this procedure, and thought that the close confine ment of a woman who was become very sickly, and who would probably put a speedy period to their anxiety by her natural death, might give sufficient security to the government, without attempting a measure of which there scarcely remains any example in history. Leicester advised that Mary should be secretly despatched by poison ; and he sent a divine to con vince Walsingham of the lawfulness of that action : but Wal singham declared his abhorrence of it; and still insisted, in conjunction with the majority of the counsellors, for the open trial of the queen of Scots. The situation of England, and ofthe English ministers, had, indeed, been hitherto not a little dangerous. No successor of .the crown was declared ; bur* the heir of blood, to whom the people in general were likely to adhere, was, by education, an enemy to the national religion ; was, from multiplied provocations, an enemy to the ministers and principal nobility ; and their personal safety, as well as the safety of the public, seemed to depend alone on the queen's life, who was now somewhat advanced in years. No wonder, therefore, that Elizabeth's counsellors, knowing themselves to be so obnoxious to the queen of Scots, endeavored to push every measure to extremities against her ; and were even more anxious than the queen herself, to prevent her from ever mounting the throne of England. Though all England was acquainted with the detection of Babington's conspiracy, every avenue to the queen of Scots had been so strictly guarded, that she remained in utter igno rance of the matter ; and it was a great surprise to her, when Sir Thomas Gorges, by Elizabeth's orders, informed her, that all her accomplices were discovered and arrested. He chose the .time for giving her this intelligence when she was mounted on horseback to go a hunting ; and she was not permitted to return to her former place of abode, but was conducted from one gentleman's house to another, till she was lodged in Foth- eringay Castle, in the County of Northampton, which it was determined to make the last stage of her trial and sufferings. Her two secretaries, Nau, a Frenchman, and Curie, a Scot, were immediately arrested : all her papers were seized, and sent up to the council : above sixty different keys to ciphers were discovered : there were also found many letters from ELIZABETH. 223 j oiwons beyond sea, and several too from English noblemen, containing expressions of respect and attachment. The queen took no notice of this latter ' discovery ; but the persons them selves, knowing their correspondence to be detected, thought that they had no other means of making atonement for their imprudence, than by declaring themselves thenceforth the most inveterate enemies of the queen of Scots.* It was resolved to try Mary, not by the common statute of treasons, but by the act which had passed the former year with a view to this very event ; and the queen, in terms of that act, appointed a commission, consisting of forty noble men and privy counsellors, and empowered them to examine and pass sentence on Mary, whom she denominated the late queen of Scots, and heir to James V. of Scotland. The com missioners came to Fotheringay Castle, and sent to her Sir Walter Mildmay, Sir Amias Paulet, and Edward Barker, who delivered her a letter from Elizabeth, informing her of the commission, and of the approaching trial. Mary received the intelligence without emotion or astonishment. She said, how ever, that it seemed strange to her, that the queen should command her, as a subject, to submit to a trial and examina tion before subjects ; that she was an absolute, independent princess, and would yield to nothing which might derogate either from her royal majesty, from the state of sovereign princes, or from the dignity and rank of her son : that, how ever oppressed by misfortunes, she was not yet so much broken in spirit as her enemies flattered themselves ; nor would she, on any account, be accessary to her own degrada tion and dishonor : that she was ignorant of the laws and stat utes of England ; was utterly destitute of coUhsel ; and could not conceive who were entitled to be called her peers, or could legally sit as judges on her trial : that though she had lived in England for many years, she had lived in captivity ; and not having received the protection of the laws, she could not, merely by her involuntary residence in the country, be supposed to have subjected herself to their jurisdiction : that, notwithstanding the superiority of her rank, she was willing ;o give an account of her conduct before an English parlia ment ; but could not view these commissioners in any other light than as men appointed to justify, by some color of legal oroceeding, her condemnation and execution : and that she * Camden, p. 518. 224 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. - warned them to look to their conscience and their character in trying an innocent person ; and to reflect, that tfiOLe trans actions would somewhere be subject to revisal, and that the theatre of the whole world was much wider than the kingdom of England. In return, the commissioners sent a new deputation, inform ing her, that her plea, either from her royal dignity or from her imprisonment, could not be admitted ; and that they were empowered to proceed to her trial, even though she should refuse to answer before them. Burleigh, the treasurer, and Bromley, the chancellor, employed much reasoning to make her submit ; but the person whose arguments had the chief influence, was Sir Christopher Hatton, vice-chamberlain. His speech was to this purpose : " You are accused, madam," said he, " but not condemned, of having conspired the destruc tion of our lady and queen anointed. You say you are a queen ; but, in such a crime as this, and such a situation as yours, the royal dignity itself, neither by the civil or canon law, nor by the law of nature or of nations, is exempt from judgment. If you be innocent, you wrong your reputation in avoiding a trial. We have been present at your protestations of innocence ; but Queen Elizabeth thinks otherwise, and is heartily sorry for the appearances which lie against you. To examine, therefore, your cause, she has appointed commis sioners ; honorable persons, prudent and upright men, who are ready to hear you with equity, and even vvi'h favor, and will rejoice if you can clear yourself of the impu'ations which have been thrown upon you. Believe me, madam, the queen herself will rejoice, who affirmed to me, at my departure, that nothing which ever befell her had given her so much uneasi ness, as that you should be suspected of a concurrence in these criminal enterprises. Laying aside, therefore, the fruit less claim of privilege from your royal dignity, which can now avail you nothing, trust to the better defence of your inno cence, make it appear in open trial, and leave not upon your memory that stain of infamy which must attend your obstinate silence on this occasion." * By this artful speech, Mary was persuaded to answer before the court ; and thereby gave an appearance of legal proce dure to the trial, and prevented those difficulties which the commissioners must have fallen into, had she persevered in * Camden, p. 523. ELIZABETH. 239 maintaining so specious a plea as that of her sovereign and independent character. Her conduct in this particular must be regarded as the more imprudent ; because formerly, when Elizabeth's - commissioners pretended not to exercise any jurisdiction over her, and only entered into her cause by her own consent and approbation, she declined justifying herself, when her honor, which ought to have been dearer to her than life, seemed absolutely to require it.. On her first appearance hefore the commissioners, Mary, either sensible of her imprudence, or still unwilling to degrade herself by submitting to a trial, renewed her protestation against the authority of her judges: the chancellor answered her, by pleading the supreme authority of the English laws over every one who resided in England ; and the commis sioners accommodated matters, by ordering both her protesta tion and his answer to be recorded. The lawyers of the crown then opened the charge against the queen of Scots. They proved, by intercepted letters, that she had allowed Cardinal Allen and others to treat her as queen of England ; and that she had kept a correspondence with Lord Paget and Charles Paget, in view of engaging the Spaniards to invade the kingdom. Mary seemed not anxious to clear herself from either of these imputations. She only said, that she could not hinder others from using what style they pleased in writing to her ; and' that she might lawfully try every expedient for the recovery of her liberty. An intercepted letter of hers to Mendoza was next pro duced ; iri which she promised to transfer to Philip her right to the kingdom of England, if her son should refuse to be converted to the Catholic faith ; an event, she there said, of which there was no expectation while he remained in fhe hands of his Scottish subjects.* Even this part of the charge she took no pains to deny, or rather she seemed to acknowl edge it. She said that she had no kingdoms to dispose of; yet was it lawful for her to give at her pleasure what was her own, and she was not accountable to any for her actions. She added, that she had formerly rejected that proposal from Spain; but now, since all her hopes in England were gone, she was fully determined not to refuse foreign assistance. There was plso produced evidence to prove, that Allen and Parsons were pit that very time negotiating, hy her orders, at Rome, ths * State Trials, vol. i. p. 138. 226 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. conditions of transferring her English crown to the king of Spain, and of disinheriting her heretical son.* It is remarkable, that Mary's prejudices against her son were at this time carried so far, that she had even entered into a conspiracy against him, had appointed Lord Claud Hamilton regent of Scotland, and had instigated her adherents to seize James's person, and deliver him into the hands of the pope, or the king of Spain ; whence he was never to be delivered, but on condition of his becoming Catholic. t The only part of the charge which Mary positively denied, was her concurrence in the design of assassinating Elizabeth. This article, indeed, was the most heavy, and the only one that could fully justify the queen in proceeding to extremities against her. In order to prove the accusation, there were produced the following evidence : copies taken in Secretary Walsingham's office of the intercepted letters between her and Babington, in which her approbation of the murder was clearly expressed ; the evidence of her two secretaries, Nau and Curie, who had confessed, without being put to any torture, both that she received these letters from Babington, and that they had written the answers by her order ; the confession of Babington, that he had written the letters and received the answers,! and the confession of Ballard and Savage, that Babington had showed them these letters of Mary, written in the cipher which had been settled between them. It is evident, that this complication of evidence, though every circumstance corroborates the general conclusion, re solves itself finally into the testimony of the two secretaries, who alone were certainly acquainted with their mistress's concurrence in Babington's conspiracy, but who knew them selves exposed to all the rigors of imprisonment, torture, and death, if they refused to give any evidence which might be required of them. In the case of an ordinary criminal, this proof, with all its disadvantages, would be esteemed legal, and even satisfactory, if not opposed by some other circumstances which shake the credit of the witnesses : but on the present trial, where the absolute power of the prosecutor concurred with such important interests, and such a violent inclination to have the princess condemned, the testimony of two witnesses, even though men of character, ought to be supported by strong * See note TJ, at the end of the volume. t See note X, at the end of the volume. X State Trials, vol. i. p. 113. ELIZABETH. 227 probabilities, in order to remove all suspicion of tyranny and injustice. The proof against Mary, it must be confessed, is not destitute of this advantage ; and it is difficult, if not im possible, to account for Babington's receiving an answer written in her name, and in the cipher concerted between them, without allowing that the matter had been communi cated to that princess. Such is the light in which this matter appears, even after time has discovered every thing which could guide our judgment with regard to it: no wonder, there fore, that the queen of Scots, unassisted by counsel, and con founded by. so extraordinary a trial, found herself incapable of making a satisfactory defence before the commissioners. Her reply consisted chiefly in her own denial : whatever force may be in that denial was much weakened by her positively affirming, that she never had had any correspondence of any kind with Babington ; a fact, however, of which there remains not the least question.* She asserted, that as Nau and Curie had taken an oath of secrecy and fidelity to her, their evidence against her ought not to be credited. She confessed, however, that Nau had been in the service of her uncle, the cardinal of Lorraine, and had been recommended to her by the king of France, as a man in whom she might safely confide. She also acknowledged Curie to be a very honest man, but simple, and easily imposed on by Nau. If these two men had received any letters, or had written any answers, without her knowledge, the imputation, she said, could never lie on her. And she was the more inclined, she added, to entertain this suspicion against them, because Nau had, in other instances, been guilty of a like temerity, and had ventured to transact business in her name, without communicating the matter to her.t The sole circumstance of her defence which to us may appear to have some force, was her requiring that Nau and Curie should be confronted with her, and her affirming that they never would to her face persist in their evidence. But that demand, however equitable, was not then supported by law in trials of high treason, and was often refused, even in other trials where the crown was prosecutor. The clause contained in an act of the thirteenth of the queen, was a novelty ; that the species of treason there enumerated must * See note Y, at the end of the volume. t See note Z, at the end of the volume. 228 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. be proved by two witnesses, confronted with the criminal. But Mary was not tried upon that act; and the ministers and crown lawyers of this reign were always sure to refuse every indulgence beyond what the strict letter of the law, and the settled practice of the courts of justice, required of them. Not to mention, that these secretaries were not probably at Fotheringay Castle during the time of the trial, and could not, upon Mary's demand, be produced before the commis sioners.* There passed two incidents in this trial which may be worth observing. A letter between Mary and Babington was read, in which mention was made of the earl of Arundel and his brothers : on hearing their names, she broke into a sigh. " Alas," said she, " what has the noble house of the Howards suffered for my sake ! " She affirmed, with regard to the same letter, that it was easy to forge the handwriting and cipher of another ; she was afraid that this was too familiar a v practice with Walsingham, who, she also heard, had frequently practised both against her life and her son's. Walsingham, who was one of the commissioners, rose up. He protested that, in his private capacity, he had never acted any thing against the queen of Scots : in his public capacity, he owned, that his concern for his sovereign's safety had made him very diligent in searching out, by every expedient, all designs against her sacred person or her authority. For attaining that end, he would not only make use of the assistance of Ballard or any other conspirator ; he would also reward them for betraying their companions. But if he had tampered in any manner unbefitting his character and office, why did none of the late criminals, either at their trial or execution, accuse him of such practices ? Mary endeavored to pacify him, by saying that she spoke from information ; and she begged him to give thenceforth no more credit to such as slandered her, than she should to such as accused him. The great character, indeed, which Sir Francis Walsingham bears for probity and honor, should remove from him all suspicion of such base arts as forgery and subornation ; arts which even * Queen Elizabeth was willing to have allowed Curio and Nau to be produced in the trial, and writes to that purpose to Burleigh and Walsingham, in her letter of the seventh of October, in Forbes's MS. collections. She only says, that she thinks it needless, though she was willing to agree to it. The not confronting of the witnesses was not the result of design, but the practice of tlie age. ELIZABETH. 229 the most corrupt ministers, in the most corrupt times, would scruple to employ. Having finished the trial, the commissioners, adjourned from Fotheringay Castle, and met in the star chamber at London, where, after taking thc oaths of Mary's two secre taries, who voluntarily, without hope or reward, vouched the authenticity of those letters before produced, they pronounced sentence of death upon the queen of Scots, and confirmed it by their seals and subscriptions. Thc same day, a declara tion was published by the commissioners and the judges, " that the sentence did nowise derogate from the title and honor of James, king of Scotland ; but that he was in the same place, degree, and right, as if the sentence had never been pronounced." * The queen had now brought affairs with Mary to that situa tion which she had long ardently desired ; and had found a plausible reason for executing vengeance on a competitor, whom, from the beginning of her reign, she had ever equally dreaded and hated. But she was restrained from instantly gratifying her resentment, by several important considerations. She foresaw thc invidious colors in which this example of uncommon jurisdiction would be represented by the numerous partisans of Mary, and the reproach to which she herself might be exposed with all foreign princes, perhaps with all posterity. The rights of hospitality, of kindred, and of royal majesty, seemed in one signal instance to be all violated ; and this sacrifice of generosity to interest, of clemency to revenge, might appear equally unbecoming a sovereign and a woman. Elizabeth, therefore, who was an excellent hypo crite, pretended the utmost reluctance to proceed to the execution ofthe sentence; affected the most tender sympathy with her prisoner ; displayed all her scruples and difficulties; rejected the solicitation of her courtiers and ministers ; and affirmed that, were she not moved by the deepest concern for her people's safety, she would not hesitate a moment in pardoning all thc injuries which she herself had received from the queen of Scots. That tho voice of her people might be more audibly heard in the demand of justice upon Mary, she summoned a new parliament ; and she knew, both from the usual dispositions of that assembly, and from the influence of her ministers over * Camden, p. 626. vol. iv. 20 H 230 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. them, that she should not want the most earnest solicitation to consent to that measure which was so agreeable to her secret inclinations. She did not open this assembly in person, but appointed for that purpose three commissioners, Bromley, the chancellor, Burleigh, the treasurer, and the earl, of Derby. The reason assigned for this measure was, that the queen, foreseeing that the affair of the queen of Scots would be can vassed in parliament, found her tenderness and delicacy so much hurt by that melancholy incident, that she had not the courage to b^ present while it was under deliberation, but withdrew her eyes from what she could not behold without the utmost reluctance and uneasiness. She was also willing, that, by this unusual precaution, the people should see the danger to which her person was hourly exposed ; and should thence be more strongly incited to take vengeance on the criminal, whose restless intrigues and bloody conspiracies had so long exposed her to the most imminent perils.* The parliament answered the queen's expectations : the sentence against Mary was unanimously ratified by both houses ; and an application was voted to obtain Elizabeth's consent to its publication and execution.t She gave an an swer ambiguous, embarrassed ; full of real artifice, and seem ing irresolution. She mentioned the extreme danger to which her life was continually exposed ; she declared her willingness to die, did she not foresee the great calamities which would thence fall upon the nation ; she made professions of the greatest tenderness to her people ; she displayed the clemency of her temper, and expressed her violent reluctance to execute the sentence against her unhappy kinswoman ; she affirmed, that the late law, by which that princess was tried, so far from being made to insnare her, was only intended to give her warning beforehand, not to engage in such attempts as might expose her to the penalties with which she was thus openly menaced ; and she begged them to think once again, whether it were possible to find any expedient, besides the death of the queen of Scots, for securing the public tran quillity.! The parliament, in obedience to her commands, took the affair again under consideration ; but could find no other possible expedient. They reiterated their solicitations, and entreaties, and arguments : they even remonstrated, that * D'Ewes, p. 375. t D'Ewes, p. 379. X D'Ewes, p. 402, 403. ELIZABETH. 231 mercy to the queen of Scots was cruelty to them, her subjects and children : and they affirmed, that it were injustice to deny execution of the law to aDy individual ; much more to the whole body of the people, now unanimously and earnestly suing for this pledge of her parental care and tenderness. This second address set the pretended doubts and scruples of Elizabeth anew in agitation ; she complained of her now unfor tunate situation ; expressed her uneasiness from their importu nity ; renewed the professions of affection to her people -; and dismissed the committee of parliament in an uncertainty what, after all this deliberation, might be her final resolution.* But though the queen affected reluctance to execute the sentence against Mary, she complied with the request of par liament in publishing it by proclamation ; and this act seemed to be attended with the unanimous and hearty rejoicings of the people. Lord Buckhurst, and Beale, clerk .ofthe council, were sent to the queen of Scots, and notified to her the sen tence pronounced against her, its ratification by parliament, and the earnest applications made for its execution by that assembly, who thought that their religion could never, while she was alive, attain a full settlement and security. Mary was nowise dismayed at this intelligence : on the contrary, she joyfully laid hold of the last circumstance mentioned to her ; and insisted, that since her death was demanded by the Prot estants for the establishment of their faith, she was really a martyr to her religion, and was entitled to all the merits attending that glorious character. She added, that the Eng lish had often imbrued their hands in the blood of their sovereigns : no wonder they exercised cruelty against her, who derived her descent from these monarchs.t Paulet, her keeper, received orders to take down her canopy, and to serve her no longer with the respect due to sovereign princes. He told her, that she was now to be considered as a dead person, and incapable of any dignity-! This harsh treatment pro duced not in her any seeming emotion, She only replied, that she received her royal character from the hands of the Almighty, and no earthly power was ever able to bereave her of it. The queen of Scots wrote her last letter to Elizabeth ; full of dignity, without departing from that spirit of meekness and * See note AA, at the end of the volume. t Camden, p. 628. X Jebb, vol. ii. p. 293. 232 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. of charity which appeared suitable to this concluding scene ofher unfortunate life. She preferred no petition for averting the fatal sentence : on the contrary, she expressed, her grati tude to Heaven for thus bringing to a speedy period her sad and lamentable pilgrimage. She requested some favors of Elizabeth ; and entreated her that she might be beholden for them to her own goodness alone, without making applications to those ministers who had discovered such an extreme ma lignity against her person and her religion. She desired, that after her enemies should be satiated with her innocent blood, her body, which it was determined should never enjoy rest while her soul was united to it, might be consigned to her servants, and be conveyed by them into France, there to re pose in a Catholic land, with the sacred relics of her mother. In Scotland, she said, the sepulchres of her ancestors were violated, and tipe churches either demolished or profaned ; and in England, where she might be interred among the ancient kings, her own and Elizabeth's progenitors, she could enter tain no hopes of being accompanied to the grave with those rites and ceremonies which her religion required. She re quested, that no one might have the power of inflicting a private death upon her, without Elizabeth's knowledge ; but that her execution should be public, and attended by her ancient servants, who might bear testimony of her perse verance in the faith, and of her submission to the will of Heaven. She begged that these servants might afterwards be allowed to depart whithersoever they pleased, and might enjoy those legacies which she should bequeath them. And she conjured her to grant these favors by their near kindred'; by the soul and memory of Henry VIL, the common ancestor of both ; and by the royal dignity of which they equally participated.* Elizabeth made no answer to this letter ; being unwilling to give Mary a refusal in her present situa tion, and foreseeing inconveniencies from granting some of her requests. While the queen of Scots thus prepared herself to meet her- fate, great efforts were made by foreign powers with Elizabeth to prevent the execution of the sentence pronounced against her. Besides employing L'Aubespine, the French resident at London, a creature of the house of Guise, Henry sent over Bellievre, with a professed intention of interceding for the life * Camden, p. 529. Jebb, vol. ii. p. 295. ELIZABETH. 233 of Mary. The duke of Guise and the league at that time threatened very nearly the king's authority ; and Elizabeth knew, that though that monarch might, from decency and policy, think himself obliged to interpose publicly in behalf of the queen of Scots, he could not secretly be much dis pleased with the death of a princess, on whose fortune and elevation his mortal enemies had always founded so many daring and ambitious projects.* It is even pretended, that Bellievre had orders, after making public and vehement re monstrances against the execution of Mary, to exhort privately the queen, in his master's name, not to defer an act of justice so necessary for their common safety.t But whether the French king's intercession were sincere or not, it had no weight with the queen ; and she still persisted in her former resolution. The interposition of the young king of Scots, though not able to change Elizabeth's determination, seemed on every account to merit more regard. As soon as James heard of the trial and condemnation of his mother, he sent Sir William Keith, a gentleman of his bed-chamber, to London ; and wrote a letter to the queen, in which he remonstrated in very severe terms against the indignity of the procedure. He said, that he was astonished to hear of the presumption of English noblemen and counsellors, who had dared to sit in judgment and pass sentence upon a queen of Scotland, descended from the blood royal of England ; but be was still more astonished to hear, that thoughts were seriously entertained of putting that sentence in execution : that he entreated Elizabeth to reflect on the dishonor which she would draw on her name by imbruing her hands in the blood of her near kinswoman, a person of the same royal dignity and of the same sex with herself: that, in this unparalleled attempt, she offered an affront to all diadems, and even to her own ; and by reducing sovereigns to a level with other men, taught the people to neglect all duty towards those whom Providence had appointed to rule over them : that for his part, he must deem the injury and insult so enormous, as to be incapable of all atonement ; nor was it possible for him thenceforward to remain in any terms of correspondence with a person who, without any pretence of legal authority, had deliberately inflicted an ig nominious death upon his parent : and that, even if the * Camden, p. 494. t Du Maurier. 20* 234 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. sentiments of nature and duty did not inspire him with this purpose of vengeance, his honor required it of him ; nor could he ever acquit himself in the eyes of the world, if he did not use every effort, and endure every hazard, to revenge so great an indignity.* Soon after, James sent the master of Gray and Sir Robert Melvil to enforce the remonstrances of. Keith, and to employ with the queen every expedient of argument and meifaces. Elizabeth was at first offended with the sharpness of these applications ; and she replied in a like strain to the Scottish ambassadors. When she afterwards reflected, that this ear nestness was no more than what duty required of James, she was pacified ; but still retained her resolution of executing the sentence against Mary.t It is believed, that the master of Gray, gained by the enemies of that princess, secretly gave his advice not to spare her, and undertook, in all events, to pacify his master. The queen also, from many considerations, was induced to pay small attention to the applications of James, and to disregard all the efforts which he could employ in behalf of his mother. She was well acquainted with his character and interests, the factions which prevailed among his people, and the inveterate hatred which the zealous Protestants, particu larly the preachers, bore to the queen of Scots. The present incidents set these dispositions of the clergy in a full light. James, observing the fixed purpose of Elizabeth, ordered prayers to be offered up for Mary in all the churches ; and knowing the captious humor of the ecclesiastics, he took care that the form of the petition should be most cautious, as well as humane and charitable : " That it might please God to illuminate Mary with the light of his truth, and save her from thc apparent danger with which she was threatened." But, excepting the king's own chaplains, and one clergyman more, all the preachers refused to pollute their churches by prayers for a Papist, and would not so much as prefer a petition for her conversion. James, unwilling or unable to punish this disobedience, and desirous of giving the preachers an oppor tunity of amending their fault, appointed a new day when prayers should be said for his mother ; and that he might at least secure himself from any insult in his own presence, he desired the archbishop of St. Andrews to officiate before him. * Spotswood, p. 351. t Spotswood, p. 353. ELIZABETH. 235 In order to disappoint this purpose, the clergy instigated one Couper, a young man who had not yet received holy orders, to take possession of the pulpit early in the morning, and to exclude the prelate. When the king came to church, and saw the pulpit occupied by Couper, he called- to him from his seat, and told him, that the place was destined for another ; yet since he was there, if he would obey the charge given, and remember the queen in his prayers, he might proceed to divine service. The preacher replied, that he would do as the Spirit of God should direct him. This answer sufficiently instructed James in his purpose ; and he commanded him to leave the pulpit. As Couper seemed not disposed to obey, the captain of thc guard went to pull him from his place ; upon which the young man cried aloud, that this day would be a witness against the king in the great day of the Lord ; and he denounced a woe upon the inhabitants of Edinburgh for permitting him to be treated in that manner.* The audience at first appeared desirous to take part with him ; but the sermon of the prelate brought them over to a more dutiful and more humane disposition. Elizabeth, when solicited, either by James or by foreign princes, to pardon the queen of Scots, seemed always de termined to execute the sentence against her : but when her ministers urged her to interpose no more delays, her scruples and her hesitation returned ; her humanity could not allow her to embrace such violent and sanguinary measures ; and she was touched with compassion for the misfortunes, and with respect for the dignity, of the unhappy prisoner. The courtiers, sensible that they could do nothing more acceptable to her than to employ persuasion on this head, failed not to enforce every motive for the punishment of Mary, and to combat all the objections urged against this act of justice. They said, that the treatment of that princess in England had been, on her first reception, such as sound reason and policy required ; and if she had been governed by principles of equity, she would not have refused willingly to acquiesce in it : that the obvious inconveniencies, eitfier of allowing her to retire into France, or of restoring her by force to her throne, in opposition to the reformers and the English party in Scot land, had obliged the queen to detain her in England, till time should offer some opportunity of serving her, without danger * Spotswood, p. 354. 236 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. to the kingdom, or to the Protestant religion ; that her usage there had been such as became her rank ; her own servants, in considerable numbers, had been permitted to attend her ; exercise had been allowed her for health, and all access of company for amusement ; and these indulgences would, in time, have been carried further, if by her subsequent conduct she had appeared worthy of them : that after she had insti gated the rebellion of Northumberland, the conspiracy of Norfolk, the bull of excommunication of Pope Pius, an inva sion from Flanders ; after she had seduced the queen's friends, and incited every enemy, foreign and domestic, against her , it became necessary to treat her as a most dangerous rival, and to render her confinement more strict and rigorous : that the queen, notwithstanding these repeated provocations, had, in her favor, rejected the importunity of her parliaments, and the advice of her sagest ministers ; * and was still, in hopes of her amendment, determined to delay coming to the last extremities against her : that Mary, even in this forlorn con dition, retained so high and unconquerable a spirit, that she acted as competitor to the crown, and allowed her partisans every where, and in their very letters addressed to herself, to treat her as queen of England : that she had carried her animosity so far as to encourage, in repeated instances, the atrocious design of assassinating the queen ; and this crime was unquestionably proved upon her by her own letters, by the evidence of her secretaries, and by the dying confession of her accomplices ; that she was but a titular queen, and at present possessed nowhere any right of sovereignty ; much less in England, where, the moment she set foot in the king dom, she voluntarily became subject to the laws, and to Elizabeth, the only true sovereign ; that even allowing her to be still the queen's equal in rank and dignity, self-defence was permitted by a law of nature which could never be abrogated : and every one, still more a queen, had sufficient jurisdiction over an enemy, who, by open violence, and still more, who, by secret treachery, threatened the utmost danger against her life ; that the general combination of the Catholics to ex terminate the Protestants was no longer a secret ; and as the sole resource of the latter persecuted sect lay in Elizabeth, so the chief hope which the former entertained of final success, consisted in the person and in the title of the queen of Scots : * Digges, p. 276. Strype, vol. ii. p. 48, 135, 136, 139. ELIZABETH. 237 that this very circumstance brought matters to extremity be tween these princesses ; and rendering the life of one the death of the other, pointed out to Elizabeth the path which either regard to self-preservation, or to the happiness of her people, should direct her to pursue : and that necessity, more powerful than policy, thus demanded of the queen that reso lution which equity would authorize, and which duty pre scribed.* [1587.] When Elizabeth thought that as many importuni- ¦es had been used, and as much delay interposed, as decency equired, she at last determined to carry the sentence into sxecution : but even in this final resolution- she could not pro- teed without displaying a new scene of duplicity and artifice. In order to alarm the vulgar, rumors were previously dis persed, that the Spanish fleet was arrived in Milford Haven ; that the Scots had made an irruption into England ; that the duke of Guise was landed in Sussex with a strong army ; that the queen of Scots was escaped from prison, and had raised in army ; that the northern counties had begun an insurrec- ion ; that there was a new conspiracy on foot to assassinate he queen, and set the city of London on fire ; nay, that the i^ueen was actually assassinated.t An attempt of this nature was even imputed to L'Aubespine, the French ambassador ; wnd that minister was obliged to leave the kingdom. The queen, affecting to be in terror and perplexity, was observed io sit much alone, pensive and silent ; and sometimes to mutter to herself half sentences, importing the difficulty and distress to which she was reduced.! She at last called Davi son, a man of parts, But easy to be imposed on, and who had lately for that very reason been made secretary, and she ordered him privately to draw a warrant for the execution of the queen of Scots ; which, she afterwards said, she intended to keep by her, in case any attempt should be made for the deliverance of that princess. She signed the warrant ; and then commanded Davison to carry it to the chancellor, in order to have the great seal appended to it. Next day she sent Killigrew to Davison, enjoining him to forbear, some time, executing her former orders ; and when Davison came and told her that the warrant had already passed the great seal, she seemed to be somewhat moved, and blamed him for * Camden, p. 533. t Camden, p. 533. J Camden, p. 534. 238 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. his precipitation. Davison, being in perplexity, acquainted the council with this whole transaction ; and they endeavored to persuade him to send off Beale with the warrant : if the queen should be displeased, they promised to justify his con duct, and to take on themselves the whole blame of this measure.* The secretary, not sufficiently aware of their intention, complied with the advice ; and the warrant was despatched to the earls of Shrewsbury and Kent, and some others, ordering them to see the sentence executed upon the queen of Scots. The two earls came to Fotheringay Castle, and being in troduced to Mary, informed her of their commission, and desired her to prepare for death next morning at eight o'clock. She seemed nowise terrified, though somewhat surprised, with the intelligence. She said with a cheerful, and even a smiling countenance, that she did not think the queen, her sister, would have consented to her death, or have executed the sen tence against a person not subject to the laws and jurisdiction of England. " But as such is her will," said she, " death, which puts an end to all my miseries, shall be to me most welcome ; nor can I esteem that soul worthy the felicities of heaven, which cannot support the body under the horrors of the last passage to these blissful mansions."t She then requested the two noblemen, that they would permit some of her servants, and particularly her confessor, to attend her ; but they told her, that compliance with this last demand was contrary to their conscience ; ! and that Dr. Fletcher, dean of Peter borough, a man of great learning, should be present to instruct her in the principles of true religion. Her refusal to have any conference with this divine inflamed the zeal of the earl of Kent ; and he bluntly told her, that her death would be the life of their religion ; as, on the contrary, her life would have been the death of it. Mention being made of Babington, she constantly denied his conspiracy to have been at all known to her ; and the revenge of her wrongs she resigned into the hands of the Almighty. * It appears, by some letters pubhshed by Strype, vol. iii. book ii c. 1, that Elizabeth had not expressly communicated her intention ti any of 'her ministers, not even to Burleigh : they were such ex perienced courtiers, that they knew they could not gratify her mort than by serving her without waiting till she desired them. t Camden, p. 534. Jebb, vol. ii. p. 301. MS. in the Advocates' Library, p. 2, from tlie Cott. Lib. Cal. c. 9. X Jebb, vol. ii. p. 302. ELIZABETH. 239 When the earls had left her, she ordered supper to be hastened, that she might have the more leisure after it to finish the few affairs which remained to her in this world, and to prepare for her passage to another. It was necessary for her, she said, to take some sustenance, lest a failure of her bodily strength should depress her spirits on the morrow, and lest her behavior should thereby betray a weakness unworthy of her self.* She supped sparingly, as her manner usually was ; and her wonted cheerfulness did not even desert her on this occasion. She comforted her servants under the affliction which overwhelmed them, and which was too violent for them to conceal it from her. Turning to Burgoin, her physician, she asked him, whether he did not remark the great and invincible force of truth. " They pretend," said she, " that I must die, because I conspired against their queen's life : but the earl of Kent avowed, that there was no 'other cause of my death, than the apprehensions which, if I should live, they entertain for their religion. My constancy in the faith is my real crime : the rest is only a color, invented by interested and designing men." Towards the end of supper, she called in all her servants, and drank to them : they pledged her, in order, on their knees ; and craved her pardon for any past neglect of their duty : she deigned, in return, to ask their pardon for her offences towards them ; and a plentiful effusion of tears attended this last solemn farewell, and exchange of mutual forgiveness.t Mary's care of her servants was the sole remaining affair which employed her concern. She perused her will, in which she had provided for them by legacies : she ordered the inventory of her goods, clothes, and jewels to be brought her: and she wrote down the names of those to whom she bequeathed each particular : to some she distributed money with her own hands ; and she adapted the recompense to their different degrees of rank and merit. She wrote also letters of recom mendation for her servants to the French king, and to her cousin the duke of Guise, whom she made the chief executor of her testament. At her wonted time, she went to bed ; slept some hours ; and then rising, spent the rest of the night in prayer. Having foreseen the difficulty of exercising the rites of her religion, she had had the precaution to obtain a con- * Jebb, vol. ii. p. 489. t Jebb, vol. ii. p. 302, 626. Camden, p. 534 240 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. secrated host from the hands of Pope Pius ; and she had reserved the use of it for this last period of her life. By this expedient she supplied, as much as she could, the want of a priest and confessor, who was refused her.* Towards the morning, she dressed herself in a rich habit of silk and velvet, the only one which she had reserved to herself. She told her maids, that she would willingly have left them this dress, rather than the plain garb which she wore the day before : but it was necessary for her to appear at the ensuing solemnity in a decent habit. Thomas Andrews, sheriff of the- county, entered the room, and informed her that the hour was come, and that he must attend her to the place of execution. She replied, that she was ready ; and bidding adieu to her servants, she leaned on two of Sir Amias Paulet's guards, because of an infirmity in her limbs ; and she followed the sheriff with a serene and composed countenance. In passing through a hall adjoining to her chamber, she was met by the earls of Shrewsbury and Kent, Sir Amias Paulet, Sir Drue Drury, and many other gentlemen of distinction. Here she also found Sir Andrew Melvil, her steward, who flung himself on his knees before her; and wringing his hands, cried aloud, " Ah, madam! unhappy me ! what man was ever before the messenger of such heavy tidings as I must carry, when I shall return to my native country, and shall report, that I saw my gracious queen and mistress beheaded in England ? " His tears prevented further speech ; and Mary too felt herself moved, more from sympathy than affliction. "^Cease, my good servant," said she, " cease to lament : thou hast cause rather to rejoice than to mourn : for now shalt thou see the troubles of Mary Stuart receive their long-expected period ana completion. Know," continued she, " good servant, that all the world at best is vanity, and subject still to more sorrow than a whole ocean of tears is able to bewail. But 1 pray thee carry this message from me, that I die a true woman to my religion, and unalter able in my affections to Scotland and to France. Heaven forgive them that have long desired my end, and have thirsted for my blood as the hart panteth after the -water brooks ! " " O God," added she, " thou art the author of truth, and truth itself ; thou knowest the inmost recesses of my heart : thou knowest that I was ever desirous to preserve an entire union * Jebb, vol. ii. p. 489. ELIZABETH. 241 between Scotland and England, and to obviate the source of all these fatal discords. But recommend me, Melvil, to my son ; and tell him, that notwithstanding all my distresses, I have done nothing prejudicial to the state and kingdom of Scotland." After these words, reclining herself, with weeping eyes, and face bedewed with tears, she kissed him. " And so," said she, " good Melvil, farewell: once again, farewell, good Melvil ; and grant the assistance of thy prayers to thy queen and mistress." * She next turned to the noblemen, who attended her, and made a petition in behalf of her servants, that they might be well treated, be allowed to enjoy the presents which she had made them, and be sent safely into their own country. Hav ing received a favorable answer, she preferred another request, that they might be permitted to attend her at her death ; " in order," said she, " that their eyes may behold, and their hearts bear witness, how patiently their queen and mistress can submit to her execution, and how constantly she perse veres in her attachment to her religion." The earl of Kent opposed this desire, and told her that they would be apt, by their speeches and cries, to disturb both herself and the spec tators : he was also apprehensive lest they should practise some superstition, not meet for him to suffer ; such as dipping their handkerchiefs in her blood : for that was the instance which he made use of. " My lord," said the queen of Scots, " I will give my word (although it be but dead) that they shall not incur any blame in any of the actions which you have named. But alas! poor souls! it would be a great consola tion to them to bid their mistress farewell. And I hope," added she, " that your mistress, being a maiden queen, would vouchsafe, in regard of womanhood, that I should have some of my own people about me at my death. I know that her majesty hath not given you any such strict command, but that you might grant me a request of far greater courtesy, even though I were a woman of inferior rank- to that which I bear." Finding that the earl of Kent persisted still in his refusal, her mind, which had fortified itself against the terrors of death, was affected by this indignity, for which she was not prepared. " I am cousin to your queen," cried she, " and descended from the blood royal of Henry VIL, and a married queen of France, and an anointed queen of Scotland." The commissioners, « MS. p. 4. Jebb, vol. ii. p. 634. Strype, vol. iii. p. 384. vol. iv. 21 H 242 HISTORY OF ENGLAND, perceiving how invidious their obstinacy would appear, con ferred a little together, and agreed that she might carry a few of her servants along with her. She made choice of four men and two maid servants for that purpose. She then passed into another hall, where was erected the scaffold, covered with black ; and she saw, with an undismayed countenance, the executioners and all the preparations of death. The room was crowded with spectators; and no one was so steeled against all sentiments of humanity, as not to be moved, when he reflected on her royal dignity, considered the surprising train of her misfortunes, beheld her mild but inflexi ble constancy, recalled her amiable accomplishments, or sur veyed her beauties, which, though faded byr years, and yet more by her afflictions, still discovered themselves in this fatal moment. Here the warrant for her execution was read to her ; and during this ceremony she was silent, but showed, in her behavior, an indifference and unconcern; as if the business had nowise regarded her. Before the executioners performed their office, the -dean of Peterborough stepped forth ; and though the queen frequently told him that he needed not con cern himself about her, that she was settled in the ancient Catholic and Roman religion, and that she meant to lay down her life in defence of that faith, he still thought it his duty to persist in his lectures and exhortations, and to endeavor her conversion. The terms which he employed were, under color of pious instructions, cruel insults on her unfortunate situation ; and besides their own absurdity, may be regarded as the most mortifying indignities to which she had ever yet been exposed. He told her, that the queen of England had on this occa sion shown a tender care of her ; and notwithstanding the punishment justly to be inflicted on her, for her manifold tres passes, was determined to use every expedient for saving her soul from that destruction with which it was so nearly threatened : that she was now standing upon the brink of eternity, and had no other means of escaping endless per dition, than by repenting her former wickedness", by justifying the sentence pronounced against her, by acknowledging -the queen's favors, and by exerting a true and lively faith in Christ Jesus : that the Scriptures were the only rule of doc trine, the merits of Christ the only means of salvation ; and if she trusted in the inventions or devices of men, she must expect in an instant to fall into utter darkness, into a place where shall be weeping, bawling, and gnashing of Jeeth : that tha ELIZABETH. 243 hand of death was upon her, the axe was laid to the root of the tree, the throne of the great Judge of heaven was erected, the book of her life was spread wide, and the particular sen tence and judgment was ready to be pronounced upon her : and that it was now, during this important moment, in her choice, either to rise to the resurrection of life, and hear that joyful salutation, " Come, ye blessed of my Father," or to share the resurrection of condemnation, replete with sorrow and anguish ; and to suffer that dreadful denunciation, " Go, ye cursed, into everlasting fire." * During this discourse, Mary could not sometimes forbear betraying her impatience, by interrupting the preacher ; and the dean, finding that he had profited nothing by his lecture, at last bade her change her opinion, repent her of her formei wickedness, and settle her faith upon this ground, that only in Christ Jesus could she hope to be saved. She answered, again and again, with great earnestness, " Trouble not yourself any more about the matter ; for I was born in this religion, I have lived in this religion, and in this religion I am resolved to 'lie." Even the two earls perceived that it was fruitless to harass her any further with theological disputes ; and they ordered the dean to desist from his unseasonable exhortations, and to pray for her conversion. During the dean's prayer, she employed herself in private devotion from the office of the Virgin ; and after he had finished, she pronounced aloud some petitions in English, for the afflicted church, for an end of her own troubles, for her son, and for Queen Elizabeth ; and prayed God, that that princess might long prosper, and be employed in his service. The earl of Kent, observing that in her devo tions she made frequent use of the crucifix, could not forbear reproving her for her attachment to that Popish trumpery, as he termed it ; and he exhorted her to have Christ in her heart, not in her hand.t She replied, with presence of mind, that it was difficult to hold such an object in her hand without feeling her heart touched with some compunction.! She now began, with the aid of her two women, to disrobe herself; and the executioner also lent his hand to assist them. She smiled, and said that she was not accustomed to undress herself before so large a company, nor to be served- by such * MS. p. 8, 9, 10, 11. Strype, vol. iii. p. 385. t MS. p. 15. Jebb, vol. ii. p. 307, 491, 637. X Jebb, vol. ii. p. 307, 491, 637. 244 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. valets. Her servants, seeing her in this condition, ready to lay her head upon the block, burst into tears and lamentations : she turned about to them ; put her finger upon her lips, as a sign of imposing silence upon them ;* and having given them her blessing, desired them to pray for her. One of her maids, whom she had appointed for that purpose, covered her eyes with a handkerchief; she laid herself down without any sign of fear or trepidation, and her head was severed from her body at two strokes by the executioner. He instantly held it up to the spectators, streaming with blood, and agitated with the convulsions of death : the dean of Peterborough alone exclaimed, " So perish all Queen Elizabeth's enemies : " the earl of Kent alone replied, " Amen : " the attention of all the other spectators was fixed on the melancholy scene before them ; and zeal and flattery alike gave place to present pity and admiration of the expiring princess. Thus perished, in the forty-fifth- year of her age, and nine teenth of her captivity in England, Mary, queen of Scots ; a woman of great accomplishments both of body and mind, natural as well as acquired ; but unfortunate in her life, and during one period very unhappy in her conduct. The beau ties of her person and graces of her air combined to make her the most amiable of women ; and the charms of her ad dress and conversation aided the impression which her lovely figure made on the hearts of all beholders. Ambitious and active in her temper, yet inclined to cheerfulness and society ; of a lofty spirit, constant and even vehement in her purpose, yet polite, and gentle, and affable in her demeanor ; she seemed to partake only so much of the male virtues as to render her estimable, without relinquishing those soft graces which com pose the proper ornament of her sex. In order to form a just idea of her character, we must set aside one part of her con duct, while she abandoned herself to the guidance of a profli gate man; and must consider these faults, whether we admit them to be imprudences or crimes, as the result of an inexpli cable, though not uncommon inconstancy in the human mind, of the frailty of our nature, of the violence of passion, and of the influence which situations, and sometimes momentary inci dents, have on persons whose principles are not thoroughly confirmed by experience and reflection. Enraged by the ungrateful conduct of her husband, seduced by the treacherous * Jebb, p. 307, 492. ELIZABETH. 245 counsels of one in whom she reposed confidence, transported by the violence of her own temper, which never lay suffi ciently under the guidance of discretion ; she was betrayed into actions which may with some difficulty be accounted for, but which admit of no apology, nor even of alleviation. An enumeration of her qualities might carry the appearance of a panegyric ; an account of her conduct must, in some parts, wear the aspect of severe satire and invective. Her numerous misfortunes, the solitude of her long and tedious captivity, and the persecutions to which she had been exposed on account of her religion, had wrought her up to a degree of bigotry during her later years ; and such were the prevalent spirit and principles of the age, that it is the less wonder, if her zeal, her resentment, and her interest uniting, induced her to give consent to a design which conspirators, actuated only by the first of these motives, had formed against the life of Elizabeth. When the queen was informed of Mary's execution, she affected the utmost surprise and indignation. Her counte nance changed ; her speech faltered and failed her ; for a long time, her sorrow was so deep that she could not express it, but stood fixed, like a statue, in silence and mute astonish ment. After her grief was able to find vent, it burst out in loud waitings and lamentations ; she put herself in deep mourning for this deplorable event ; and she was seen perpet ually bathed in tears, and surrounded only by her maids and women. None of her ministers or counsellors^ dared to ap proach her ; or if any had such temerity, she chased them from her, with the most violent expressions of rage and resent ment ; they had all of them been guilty of an unpardonable crime, in putting to death her dear sister and kinswoman, contrary to her fixed purpose,* of which they were sufficiently apprised and acquainted. No sooner was her sorrow so much abated as to leave room for reflection, than she wrote a letter of apology to the king of Scots, and sent it by Sir Robert Cary, son of Lord Hunsdon. She there told him, that she wished he knew, but not felt, the unutterable grief which she experienced on account of that lamentable accident which, without her knowl edge, much less concurrence, had happened in England : that * Camden, p. 536. Strype, vol. iii. Append, p. 145. Jebb, vol. ii. p. 608. 21* 246 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. as her pen trembled when she attempted to write it, she found herself obliged to commit the relation of it to the messenger, her kinsman ; who would likewise inform his majesty of every circumstance attending this dismal and unlooked-for misfortune : that she appealed to the supreme Judge of heaven and earth for her innocence ; and was also so happy amidst her other afflictions, as to find, that many persons in her court could bear witness to her veracity in this protestation : that she abhorred dissimulation ; deemed nothing more worthy of a prince than a sincere and open conduct ; and could never surely be esteemed so base and poor-spirited as that, if she had really given orders for this fatal execution, she could on any consid eration be induced to deny them : that, though sensible of the justice of the sentence pronounced against the unhappy pris oner, she determined from clemency never to carry it into execution ; and could not but resent the temerity of those who on this occasion had disappointed her intention : and that as no one loved him more dearly than herself, or bore a more anxious concern for his welfare, she hoped that he would considei every one as his enemy who endeavored, on account of the present incident, to excite any animosity between them.* In Order the better to appease James, she committed Davison to prison, and ordered him to be tried in the star chamber for his misdemeanor. The secretary was confounded ; and being sensible of the danger which must attend his entering into a contest with the queen, he expressed penitence for his error, and submitted very patiently to be railed at by those very counsellors whose persuasion had induced him to incur the guilt, and who had promised to countenance and protect him. He was condemned to imprisonment during the queen's pleas ure, and to pay a fine of ten thousand pounds. He remained a long time in custody ; and the fine, though it reduced him to beggary, was rigorously levied upon him. All the favor which he could obtain from the queen, was sending him small supplies from time to time, to keep him from perishing in necessity.t He privately wrote an apology to his friend Walsingham, which contains many curious particulars. The French and Scotch ambassadors, he said, had been remon strating with the queen in Mary's behalf;, and immediately after their departure, she commanded him, of her own accord, * Camden, p. 636. Spotswood, p. 358. t Camden, p. 538. ELIZABETH. 247 to deliver her the warrant for the execution of that princess. She signed it readily, and ordered it to be sealed with the great seal of England. She appeared in such good humor on the occasion, that she said to him in a jocular manner, " Go, tell all this to Walsingham, who is now sick ; though I fear he will die of sorrow when he hears of it." She added, that though she had so long delayed the execution, lest she should seem to be actuated by malice or cruelty, she was all along sensible of the necessity of it. In the same conversa tion, she blamed Drury and Paulet that they had not before eased her of this trouble ; and she expressed her desire that Walsingham would bring them to compliance in that particu lar. She was so bent on this purpose, that some time after she asked Davison whether any letter had come from Paulet with regard to the service expected of him. Davison showed her Paulet's letter, in which that gentleman positively refused to act any thing inconsistent with the principles of honor and iustice. The queen fell into a passion, and accused Paulet as well as Drury of perjury ; because, having taken the oath of as sociation, in which they had bound themselves to avenge her wrongs, they had yet refused to lend their hand on this occa sion. " But others," she said, " will be found less scrupulous." Davison adds, that nothing but the consent and exhortations of the whole council could have engaged him to send off the war rant : he was well aware of his danger ; and remembered that the queen, after having ordered the execution of the duke of Norfolk, had endeavored, in a like manner, to throw the whole blame and odium of that action upon Lord Burleigh.* Elizabeth's dissimulation was so gross, that it could deceive nobody who was not previously resolved to be blinded ; but as James's concern for his mother was certainly more sincere and cordial, he discovered the highest resentment, and refused to admit Cary into his presence. He recalled his ambassa dors from England, and seemed to breathe nothing but war and vengeance. The states of Scotland, being assembled, took part in his anger ; and professed that they were ready to spend their lives and fortunes in revenge of his mother's death, and in defence of his title to the crown of England. Many of his nobility instigated him to take arms : Lord Sin- * Camden, p. 538. Strype, vol. iii. p. 375, 376. MS. in the Advo cates' Library, A. 3. 28, p. 17, from the Cott. Lib. Calig. o. 9. Biogr. Brit. p. 1625, 1627. 248 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. clair, when the courtiers appeared in deep mourning, pre sented himself to the king arrayed in complete armor, and said, that this was the proper mourning for the' queen. The Catholics took the opportunity of exhorting James to make an alliance with the king of Spain, to lay immediate claim to the crown of England, and to prevent the ruin which, from his mother's example, he might conclude would certainly, if Elizabeth's power prevailed, overwhelm his person and his kingdom. The queen was sensible ofthe danger attending these counsels ; and after allowing James some decent inter val to vent his grief and anger, she employed her emissaries to pacify him, and to set before him every motive of hope or fear which might induce him to live in amity with her. Walsingham wrote to Lord Thirlstone, James's secretary, a judicious letter to the same purpose. He said that he was much surprised to hear of the violent resolutions, taken in Scotland, and of the passion discovered by a prince of so much judgment and temper as James : that a war, founded merely on the principle of revenge, and that, too, on account of an act of justice which necessity had extorted, would for ever be exposed to censure, and could not be excused by any principles of equity or reason : that if these views were deemed less momentous among princes, policy and interest ought certainly to be attended to ; and these motives did still more evidently oppose all thoughts of a rupture with Eliza beth, and all revival of exploded claims to the English throne : that the inequality between the two kingdoms deprived James of any hopes of success, if he trusted merely to the force of his own state, and had no recourse to foreign powers for assistance : that the objections attending the introduction of succors from a more potent monarch, appeared so evident from all the transactions of history, that they could not escape a person of the king's extensive knowledge ; but there were in the present case several peculiar circumstances, which ought forever to deter him from having recourse to so danger ous an expedient: that the French monarch, the ancient ally of Scotland, might willingly use the assistance of that king dom against England, but would be displeased to see the union of these two kingdoms in the person of James ; a union which would ever after exclude him from practising that policy, formerly so useful to the French, and so pernicious to the Scottish, nation : that Henry, besides, infested with faction and domestic war, was not in a condition of supporting distant ELIZABETH. 249 allies ; much less would he expose himself to any hazard or expense, in order to aggrandize a near kinsman of the house of Guise, the most determined enemies ofhis repose and author ity : that the extensive power and exorbitant ambition of the Spanish monarch rendered him a still more dangerous ally to Scotland ; and as he evidently aspired to a universal mon archy in the west, and had in particular advanced some claims to England as if he were descended from the house of Lancas ter, he was at the same time the common enemy of all princes who wished to maintain their independence, and the immedi ate rival and competitor of the king of Scots : that the queen, by her own naval power and her alliance with the Hollanders, would probably intercept all succors which might be sent to James from abroad, and be enabled to decide the controversy in this island, with the superior forces of her own kingdom, opposed to those of Scotland : that if the king revived his mother's pretensions to the crown of England, he must also embrace her religion, by which alone they could be justified ; and must thereby undergo the infamy of abandoning those prin ciples in which he had been strictly educated ; and to which he had hitherto religiously adhered : that as he would, by such an apostasy, totally alienate all the Protestants in Scotland and England, he could never gain the confidence of the Catholics, who would still entertain reasonable doubts of his sincerity : that by advancing a present claim to the crown, he forfeited the certain prospect of his succession ; and revived that national animosity which the late peace and alliance between the kingdoms had happily extinguished ; that the whole gentry and nobility of England had openly declared themselves for the execution of the queen of Scots ; and if James showed such violent resentment against that act of justice, they would be obliged, for their own security, to prevent forever so implaca ble a prince from ruling over them : and that, however some persons might represent his honor as engaged to seek ven geance for the present affront and injury, the true honor of a prince consisted in wisdom, and moderation, and justice, not in following the dictates of blind passion, or in pursuing revenge at the expense of every motive and every interest.* These considerations, joined to the peaceable, unambitious temper of the young prince, prevailed over his resentment ; and he fell gradually into a good correspondence with the court of * Strype, vol. iii. p. 377. Spotswood. 250 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. England. It is probable that the queen's chief object in her dissimulation with regard to the execution of Mary, was, that she might thereby afford James a decent pretence for renew ing his amity with her, on which their mutual interests so much depended. While Elizabeth insured tranquillity from the attempts of her nearest neighbor, she was not negligent of more distant dangers. Hearing that Philip, though he seemed to dissemble the daily insults and injuries which he received from the Eng lish, was secretly preparing a great navy to attack her, she sent Sir Francis Drake with a fleet to intercept his supplies, to pillage his coast, and to destroy his shipping. Drake carried out four capital ships of the queen's, and twenty-six, great and small, with which the London merchants, in hopes of sharing in the plunder, had supplied him. Having learned, from two Dutch ships which he met with in his passage, that a Spanish fleet, richly laden, was lying at Cadiz, ready to sail for Lisbon, the rendezvous of the intended armada, he bent his course to the former harbor, and boldly, as well as for tunately, made an attack on the enemy. He obliged six gal leys, which made head against him, to take shelter under the forts ; he burned about a hundred vessels laden with ammuni tion and naval stores ; and he destroyed a great ship of the marquis of Santa Croce. Thence he set sail for Cape St. Vincent, and took by assault the castle situated on that prom ontory, with three other fortresses. He next insulted Lisbon ; and finding that the merchants, who had engaged entirely in expectation of profit, were discontented at these military enterprises, he set sail for the Terceras, with an intention of lying in wait for a rich carrack , which was expected in those parts. He was so fortunate as to meet with his prize ; and by this short expedition, in which the public bore so small a share, the adventurers were encouraged to attempt further enterprises, the English seamen learned to despise the great unwieldy ships of the enemy, the naval preparations of Spain were destroyed, the intended expedition against England was retarded a twelvemonth, and the queen thereby had leisure to take more secure measures against that formidable invasion.* This year, Thomas Cavendish, a gentleman of Devonshire, who had dissipated a good estate by living at court, being ? Camden, p. 540. Sir William Monson's Naval Tracts in Chur- enill's Voyages, vol. iii. p. 156. ELIZABETH. 251 resolved to repair his fortune at the expense of the Spaniards, fitted out three ships at Plymouth, one of a hundred and twenty tons, another of sixty, and a third of forty ; and with these small vessels he ventured into the South Sea, and com mitted great depredations on the Spaniards. He took nineteen vessels, some of which were richly laden ; and returning by the Cape of Good Hope, he came to London, and entered the river in a kind of triumph. His mariners and soldiers were clothed in silk, his sails were of damask, his topsail cloth of gold ; and his prizes were esteemed the richest that ever had been brought into England.* The land enterprises of the English were not, during this campaign, so advantageous or honorable to the nation. The important place of Deventer was intrusted by Leicester to William Stanley, with a garrison of twelve hundred English ; and this gentleman, being a Catholic, was alarmed at the discovery of Babington's conspiracy, and became apprehensive lest every one of his religion should thenceforth be treated with distrust in England. He entered into a correspondence with the Spaniards, betrayed the city to them for a sum of money, and engaged the whole garrison to desert with him to the Spanish service. Roland York, who commanded a fort near Zutphen, imitated his example ; and the Hollanders, formerly disgusted with Leicester, and suspicious of the Eng lish, broke out into loud complaints against the improvidence, if not the . treachery, of his administration. Soon after, he himself arrived in the Low Countries ; but his conduct was nowise calculated to give them satisfaction, or to remove the suspicions which they had entertained against him. The prince of Parma having besieged Sluys, Leicester attempted to relieve the place, first by sea, then by land ; but failed in both enterprises ; and as he ascribed his bad success to the ill behavior of the Hollanders, they were -equally free in reflections- upon his conduct. The breach between them became wider every day : they slighted his authority, opposed his measures, and neglected his counsels; while he endeavored by an imperious behavior, and by violence, to recover that influence which he had lost by his imprudent and ill-concerted measures. He was even suspected by the Dutch of a design to usurp upon their liberties ; and the jealousy entertained against him began to extend towards the queen herself. That * Birch's Memoirs, vol. i. p. 57. 252 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. princess had made some advances towaTds a peace with Spain : a congress had been opened at Bourbourg, a village near Graveline : and though the two courts, especially that of Spain, had no other intention than to amuse each of them its enemy by negotiation, and mutually relax the preparations for defence or attack, the Dutch, who were determined on no terms to return under the Spanish yoke, became apprehen sive lest their liberty should be sacrificed to the political interests of England.* But the queen, who knew the im portance of her alliance with fhe states during the present conjuncture, was resolved to give them entire satisfaction, by recalling Leicester, and commanding him to resign his gov ernment. Maurice, son of the late prince of Orange, a youth of twenty years of age, was elected by the states governor in his place ; and Peregrine Lord WiUoughby was appointed by the queen commander of the English forces. The measures of these two generals were much embarrassed by the malig nity of Leicester, who had left a faction behind him, and who still attempted, by means of his emissaries, to disturb all the operations of the states. As soon as Elizabeth received intelligence of these disorders, she took care to redress them ; and she obliged all the partisans of England to fall into unanimity with Prince Maurice.f But though her good sense so far prevailed over her partiality to Leicester, she never could be made fully sensible of his vices and incapacity : the submissions which be made her restored him to her wonted favor ; and Lord Buckhurst, who had accused him of mis conduct in Holland, lost her confidence for some time, and was even committed to custody. Sir Christopher Hatton was another favorite who at this time received some marks of her partiality. Though he had never followed the profession of the law, he was made chan cellor, in the place of Bromley, deceased ; but, notwithstand ing all the expectations, and perhaps wishes of the lawyers, he behaved in a manner not unworthy of that high station : his good natural capacity supplied the place of experience and study ; and his decisions were not found deficient, either in point of equity or judgment. His enemies had contributed to this promotion, in hopes that his absence from court, while he attended the business of chancery, would gradually estrange * Bentivoglio, part ii. lib. iv. Strype, vol. iv. No. 246. t Rymer, torn. xv. p. 66. ELIZABETH. 255 the queen from him, and give them an opportunity of under mining him in her favor. [1588.] These little intrigues and cabals ofthe court were silenced by the account which came from all quarters, of the vast preparations made by the Spaniards for the invasion of England, and for the entire conquest of that kingdom. Philip, though he had not yet declared war on account of the hostilities which Elizabeth every where committed upon him, had long harbored a secret and violent desire of revenge against her. His ambition also, and the hopes of extending his empire, were much encouraged by the present prosperous state of his affairs ; by the conquest of Portugal, the acquisi tion of the East Indian commerce and settlements, and the yearly " importation of vast treasures from America. The point on which he rested his highest glory, the perpetual object of his policy, was to support orthodoxy and exterminate heresy ; and as the power and credit of Elizabeth were the chief bulwark of the Protestants, he hoped, if he could subdue that princess, to acquire the eternal renown of reuniting the whole Christian world in the Catholic communion. Above all, his indignation against his revolted subjects in the Nether lands instigated him to attack the English, who had encouraged that insurrection ; and who, by their vicinity, were so well enabled to support the Hollanders, that he could never hope to reduce these rebels, while the power of that kingdom re mained entire and unbroken. To subdue England seemed a necessary preparative to the reestablishment of his authority in the Netherlands ; and notwithstanding appearances, the for mer was in itself, as a more important, so a more easy under taking than the latter. That kingdom lay nearer Spain than the Low Countries, and was more exposed to invasions* from that quarter ; after an enemy had once obtained entrance, the difficulty seemed to be over, as it was neither fortified by art or nature ; a long peace had deprived it of all military disci pline and experience ; and the Catholics, in which it still abounded, would be ready, it was hoped, to join any invader who should free them from those persecutions under which they labored, and should revenge the death of the queen of Scots, on whom they had fixed all their affections. The fate of England must be decided in one battle at sea, and another at land ; and what comparison between the English and Span iards, either in point of naval force, or in the numbers, reputa tion, and veteran bravery of their armies ? Besides the acqui- vol. iv. 22 H 254 history of England. sition of so great a kingdom, success against England insured the immediate subjection of the Hollanders, who, attacked on every hand, amd deprived of all support, must yield their stub born necks to that yoke which they had so long resisted. Hap pily, this conquest, as it was of the utmost importance to the grandeur of Spain, would not at present be opposed by the jealousy of other powers, naturally so much interested to pre vent the success of the enterprise. A truce was lately con cluded with the Turks ; the empire was ih the hands of a friend and near ally ; and France, the perpetual rival of Spain, was so torn with intestine commotions, that she had no leisure to pay attention to her foreign interests. This favorable oppor tunity, therefore, which might never again present itself, must be seized ; and one bold effort made for acquiring that ascend ant in Europe, to which the present greatness and prosperity of the Spaniards seemed so fully to entitle them.* These hopes and motives engaged Philip, notwithstanding his cautious temper, to undertake this hazardous enterprise ; and though the prince, now created bv the pope duke of Parma, when consulted, opposed the attempt, at least represented the necessity of previously getting possession of some seaport town in the Netherlands, which might afford a retreat to the Spanish navy,t it was determined by the Catholic monarch to proceed immediately to the execution of his ambitious project During some time, he had been secretly making preparations ; but as soon as the resolution was fully taken, everv part of his vast empire resounded with the noise of armaments, and all his ministers, generals, and admirals w-ere employed in for warding the design. The marquis of Santa Croce, a sea officer of great reputation and experience, was destined to command the fleet ; and by his counsels were the naval equip ments conducted. In all the ports of Sicily, Naples, Spain, and Portugal, artisans were employed in building vessels of uncommon size and force ; naval stores were bought at a great expense ; provisions amassed ; armies levied and quartered in the maritime towns of Spain ; and plans laid for fitting out such a fleet and embarkation as had never before had its equal in Europe. The military preparations in Flanders were no less formidable. Troops from all quarters were every moment assembling to reenforce the duke of Parma. Capizuchi and * Camden. Strype, voL iii. p. 512. t Bentivoglio, part ii. lib. iv. ELIZABETH. J253 Spinelli conducted forces from Italy : the marquis of Borgaut, a prince of the house of Austria, levied troops in Germany : the Walloon and Burgundian regiments were completed or augmented : the Spanish infantry was supplied with recruits ; and an army of thirty-four thousand men was assembled in the Netherlands, and kept in readiness to be transported into England. The duke of Parma employed all the carpenters whom he could procure, either in Flanders or in Lower Ger many and the coasts of the Baltic ; and he built at Dunkirk and Newport, but especially at Antwerp, a great number of boats and flat-bottomed vessels, for tlie transporting of his infantry and cavalry. The most renowned nobility and princes of Italy and Spain were ambitious of sharing in the honor of this great enterprise. Don Amadseus of Savoy, Don John of Medicis, Vespasian Gonzaga, duke of Sabionetta, and the duke of Pastrana, hastened to join the army under the duke of Parma. About two thousand volunteers in Spain, many of them men of family, had enlisted in the service. No doubts were entertained but such vast preparations, conducted by officers of such consummate skill, must finally be successful. And the Spaniards, ostentatious of their power, and elated with vain hopes, had already denominated their navy the Invincible Armada. News of these extraordinary preparations soon reached the court of London ; and notwithstanding the secrecy of the Spanish council, and their pretending to employ this force in the Indies, it was easily concluded that they meant to make some effort against England. The queen had foreseen the invasion ; and finding that she must now contend for her crown with the whole force of Spain, she made preparations for resistance ; nor was she dismayed with that power, by which all Europe apprehended she must of necessity be over whelmed. Her force, indeed, seemed very unequal to resist so potent an enemy. , All the sailors in England amounted at that time to about fourteen thousand men.* The size of the English shipping was in general so small, that except a few of the queen's ships of war, there were not four vessels be longing to the merchants which exceeded four hundred tons.f The royal navy consisted of only twenty-eight sail,| many of which were of small size ; none of them exceeded the bulk of our largest frigates, and most of them deserved rather the * Monson, p. 256. t Monson, p. 268. J Monson, p. 157. 256 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. name of pinnaces than of ships. The only advantage of the English fleet consisted in the dexterity and courage of the seamen, who, being accustomed to sail in tempestuous seas, and expose themselves to all dangers, as much exceeded in this particular the Spanish mariners, as their vessels were inferior in size and force to those of that nation.* All the commercial towns of England were required to furnish. ships for reenforcing this small navy ; and they discovered, on the present occasion, great alacrity in defending their liberty and religion against those imminent perils with which they were menaced. The citizens of London, in order to show their zeal in the common cause, instead of fifteen vessels, which they were commanded to equip, voluntarily fitted out double the number.t The gentry and nobility hired, and armed, and manned forty-three ships at their own charge ; ! and all the loans of money which the queen demanded were frankly granted by the persons applied to. Lord Howard of Effing ham, a man of courage and capacity, was admiral, and took on him the command of the navy : Drake, Hawkins, and Frobisher, the most renowned seamen in Europe, served under him. The principal fleet was stationed at Plymouth. A smaller squadron, consisting of forty vessels, English and Flemish, was commanded by Lord Seymour, second son of Protector Somerset ; and lay off Dunkirk, in order to intercept the duke of Parma. The land forces of England, compared to those of Spain, possessed contrary qualities to its naval power : they were more numerous than the enemy, but much inferior in dis cipline, reputation, and experience. An army of twenty thousand men was disposed in different bodies along the south coast ; and orders were given them, if they could not prevent the landing of the Spaniards, to retire backwards, to waste the country around, and to wait for reenforcement from the neigh boring counties, before they approached the enemy. A body of twenty-two thousand foot and a thousand horse, under tho command of the earl of Leicester, was stationed at Tilbury, in order to defend the capital. The principal army consisted of thirty-four thousand foot and two thousand horse, and was commanded by Lord Hunsdon. These forces were reserved for guarding the queen's person, and were appointed to march * Monson, p. 321. t Monson, p. 267. J Lives of the Admirals, vol. i. p. 461. ELIZABETH. 257 whithersoever the enemy should appear. The fate of Eng land, if all the Spanish armies should be able to land, seemed to depend on the issue of a single battle ; and men of reflec tion entertained the most dismal apprehensions, when they considered the force of fifty thousand veteran Spaniards, com manded by experienced officers, under the duke of Parma, the most consummate general of the age ; and compared this formidable armament with the military power which England, not enervated by peace, but long disused to war, could muster up against it. The chief support of the kingdom seemed to consist in the vigor and prudence of the queen's conduct ; who, undismayed by the present dangers, issued all her orders with tranquillity, animated her people to a steady resistance, and employed every resource which either her domestic situation or her foreign alliances could afford her. She sent Sir Robert Sidney into Scotland ; and exhorted the king to remain attached to her, and to consider the danger which at present menaced his sovereignty no less than her own, from the ambition of the Spanish tyrant : * the ambassador found James well disposed to cultivate a union with England ; and that prince even kept himself prepared to inarch with the force of his whole king dom to the assistance of Elizabeth. Her authority with the king of Denmark, and the tie of their common religion, engaged this monarch, upon her application, to seize a squad ron of ships which Philip had bought or hired in the Danish harbors : t the Hanse Towns, though not at that time on good terms with Elizabeth, were jnduced, by the same motives, to retard so long the equipment of some vessels in their ports, that they became useless to the purpose of invading England. All the Protestants throughout Europe regarded this enter prise as the critical event which was to decide forever the fate of their religion ; and though unable, by reason of their dis tance, to join their force to that of Elizabeth, they kept their eyes fixed on her conduct and fortune, and beheld with anxiety, mixed with admiration, the intrepid countenance with which she encountered that dreadful tempest which was every moment advancing towards her. * She made him some promises which she never fulfilled, to give Tiim a dukedom in England, with suitable lands and revenue, to settle five thousand pounds a year on him, and pay him a guard, for th» safety of his person. From a MS. of Lord Royston's f Strype, vol. iii. p. 524. 22* 258 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. The queen also was sensible that, next to the general popu larity which she enjoyed, and the confidence which her sub jects reposed in her prudent government, the firmest support of her throne consisted in the general zeal of the people for the Protestant religion, and the strong prejudices which they had imbibed against Popery. She took care, on the present occasion, to revive in the nation this attachment to their own sect, and this abhorrence of the opposite. The English were reminded of their former danger from the tyranny of Spain : all the barbarities exercised by Mary against the Protestants were ascribed to the counsels of that bigoted and imperious nation : the bloody massacres in the Indies, the unrelenting executions in the Low Countries, the horrid cruelties and iniquities of the inquisition, were set before men's eyes : a list and description was published, and pictures dispersed, of the several instruments of torture with which, it was pretended, the Spanish armada was loaded : and every artifice, as well as reason, was employed, to animate the people to a vigorous defence of their religion, their laws, and their liberties. But while the queen, in this critical emergence, roused the animosity of the nation against Popery, she treated the parti sans of that sect with moderation, and gave not way to an undistinguishing fury against them. Though she knew that Sixtus Quintus, the present pope, famous for his capacity and his tyranny, had fulminated a new bull of excommunication against her, had deposed her, had absolved her subjects from their oaths of allegiance, had published a crusade against England, and had granted plenary indulgences to every one engaged in the present invasion, she would not believe that all her Catholic subjects could be so blinded as to sacrifice to bigotry their duty to their sovereign, and the liberty and independence of their native country. She rejected all violent counsels, by which she was urged to seek pretences for despatching the leaders of that party : she would not even confine any considerable number of them : and the Catholics, sensible of this good usage, generally expressed great zeal for the public service. Some gentlemen of that sect, con scious that they could not justly expect any trust or authority, entered themselves as volunteers in the fleet or army : * some equipped ships at their own charge, and gave the command »F them to Protestants : others were active in animating their * Stowe, p. 747. ELIZABETH. 259 tenants, and vassals, and neighbors, to the defence of their country : and every rank of men, burying for the present all party distinctions, seemed to prepare themselves, with order as well as vigor, to resist the violence of these invaders. The more to excite the martial spirit of the nation, the queen appeared on horseback in the camp at Tilbury ; and riding through the lines, discovered a cheerful and animated countenance, exhorted the soldiers to remember their duty to their country and their religion, and professed her intention, though a woman, to lead them herself into the field against the enemy, and rather to perish in battle than survive the ruin and slavery of her people.* By this spirited behavior she revived the tenderness and admiration of the soldiery : an attachment to her person became a kind of enthusiasm among them : and they asked one another, whether it were possible that Englishmen could abandon this glorious cause, could display less fortitude than appeared in the female sex, or could ever, by any dangers, be induced to relinquish the defence of their heroic princess. The Spanish armada was ready in the beginning of May ; but the moment it was preparing to sail, the marquis of Santa Croce, the admiral, was seized with a fever, of which he soon after died. The vice-admiral, the duke of Paliano, by a strange concurrence of accidents, at the very same time suffered the same fate ; and the king appointed for admiral the duke of Medina Sidonia, a nobleman of great family, but unexperienced in action, and entirely unacquainted with sea affairs. Alcarede was appointed vice-admiral. This misfor tune, besides the loss of so great an officer as Santa Croce, retarded the sailing of the armada, and gave the English more time for their preparations to oppose them. At last the Spanish fleet, full of hopes and alacrity, set sail from Lisbon ; but next day met with a violent tempest, which scattered the ships, sunk some of the smallest, and forced the rest to take shelter in the Groine, where they waited till they could be refitted. When news of this event was, carried to England, the queen concluded that the design of an invasion was dis appointed for this summer ; and being always ready to lay hold on every pretence for saving money, she made Walsing ham write to the admiral, directing him to lay up some of the larger ships, and to discharge the seamen : but Lord Effing- * See note BB, at the end of tho volume. 260 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. ham, who was not so sanguine in his hopes, used the freedom to disobey these orders ; and he begged leave to retain all the ships in service, though it should be at his own expense.* He took advantage of a north wind, and sailed towards the coast of Spain, with an intention of attacking the enemy in their harbors ; but the wind changing to the south, he became apprehensive lest they might have set sail, and by passing him at sea, invade England, now exposed by the absence of the fleet. He returned, therefore, with the utmost expedition to Plymouth, and lay at anchor in that harbor. Meanwhile all the damages of the armada were repaired ; and the Spaniards with fresh hopes set out again to sea, in prosecution of their enterprise. The fleet consisted of a hun dred and thirty vessels, of which near a hundred were gal leons, and were of greater size than any ever before used in Europe. It carried on board nineteen thousand two hundred and ninety-five soldiers, eight thousand four hundred and fifty-six mariners, two thousand and eighty-eight galley slaves, and two thousand six hundred and thirty great pieces of brass ordnance. It was victualled for six months ; and was attended by twenty lesser ships, called caravals, and ten salves with six oars apiece.t The plan formed by the king of Spain was, that the armada should sail to the coast opposite to Dunkirk and Newport; and having chased away all English or Flemish vessels which might obstruct the passage, (for it was never supposed they could make opposition,) should join themselves with the duke of Parma, should thence make sail to the Thames, and having landed the whole Spanish army, thus complete at one blow the entire conquest of England. In prosecution of this scheme, Philip gave orders to the duke of Medina, that in passing along the Channel, he should sail as near the coast of France as he could with safety ; that he should by this policy avoid meeting with the English fleet ; and, keeping in view the main enterprise, should neglect all smaller successes which might prove an obstacle, or even interpose a delay, to the acquisition of a kingdom.! After the armada was under sail, they took a fisherman, who informed them that the English admiral had been lately at sea, had heard of the tempest which scattered the armada, had retired back into Plymouth, * Camden, p. 545. t Strype, vol. iii. Append, p. 221. X Monson, p. 167. ELIZABETH. 261 and no longer expecting an invasion this season, had laid up his ships, and discharged most of the seamen. From this false intelligence the duke of Medina conceived the great facility of attacking and destroying the English ships in har bor ; and he was tempted, by the prospect of so decisive an advantage, to break his orders, and make sail directly for Plymouth ; a resolution which proved the safety of England. The Lizard was the first land made by the armada, about sunset ; and as the Spaniards took it for the Ram Head near Plymouth, they bore out to sea with an intention of returning next day, and attacking the English navy. They were de scried by Fleming, a Scottish pirate, who was roving in those seas, and who immediately set sail, to inform the English admiral of their approach ; * another fortunate event, which contributed extremely to the safety of the fleet. Effingham had just time to get out of port, when he saw the Spanish armada coming full sail towards him, disposed in the form of a crescent, and stretching the distance of seven miles from the extremity of one division to that ofthe other. The writers of that age raise their style by a pompous description of this spectacle ; the most magnificent that had ever appeared upon the ocean, infusing equal terror and admi ration into the minds of all beholders. The lofty masts, the swelling sails, and the towering prows of the Spanish galleons, seem impossible to be justly painted, but by assuming the colors of poetry ; and an eloquent historian of Italy, in imita tion of Camden, has asserted, that the armada, though the ships bore every sail, yet advanced with a slow motion ; as if the ocean groaned with supporting, and the winds were tired with impelling, so enormous" a weight.t The truth, however, is, that the largest of the Spanish vessels would scarcely pass for third-rates in the present navy of England ; yet were they so ill framed, or so ill governed, that they were quite un wieldy, and could not sail upon a wind, nor tack on occasion, nor be managed in stormy weather by the seamen. Neither the mechanics of ship-building, nor the experience of mari ners, had attained so great perfection as could serve for the security and government of such bulky vessels ; and the English, who had already had experience how unserviceable they commonly were, beheld without dismay their tremendous appearance. * Monson, p. 158. t Bentivoglio, part ii. lib. iv. 262 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Effingham gave orders not to come to close fight with the Spaniards ; where the size of the ships, he suspected, and the numbers of the soldiers, would be a disadvantage to the Eng lish ; but to cannonade them at a distance, and to wait the opportunity which winds, currents, or various accidents must afford him of intercepting some scattered vessels of the ene my. Nor was it long before the event answered expectation. A great ship of Biscay, on board of which was a considerable part of the Spanish money, took fire by accident ; and while all hands were employed in extinguishing the flames, she fell behind the rest of the armada : the great galleon of Andalusia was detained by the springing of her mast : and both these vessels were taken, after some resistance, by Sir Francis Drake. As the armada advanced up the Channel, the Eng lish hung upon its rear, and still infested it with skirmishes. Each trial abated the confidence of the Spaniards, and added courage to the English ; and the latter soon found, that even in close fight the size of the Spanish ships was no advantage to them. Their bulk exposed them the more to the fire of the enemy; while their cannon, placed too high, shot over the heads of the English. The alarm having now reached the coast of England, the nobility and gentry hastened out with their vessels from every harbor, and reenforced the ad miral. The earls of Oxford, Northumberland, and Cumber land, Sir Thomas Cecil, Sir Robert Cecil, Sir Walter Raleigh, Sir Thomas Vavasor, Sir Thomas Gerrard, Sir Charles Blount, with many others, distinguished themselves by this generous and disinterested service of their country. The English fleet, after the conjunction of those ships, • amounted to a hundred and forty sail. , The armada had now reached Calais, and cast anchor be fore that place, in expectation that the duke of Parma, who had gotten intelligence of their approach, would put to sea and join his forces to them. The English admiral practised here a successful stratagem upon the Spaniards. He took eight of his smaller ships, and filling them with all combustible materials, sent them, one after another, into the midst of the enemy. The Spaniards fancied that they were fireships of the same contrivance with a famous vessel which had lately done so much execution in the Schelde near Antwerp ; and they immediately cut their cables, and took to flight with the greatest disorder and precipitation. The English fell upon them next morning while in confusion ; and besides doing ELIZABETH. 263 great damage to other ships, they took or destroyed about twelve ofthe enemy. By this time, it was become apparent, that the intention for which these preparations were made by the Spaniards was entirely frustrated. The vessels provided by the duke of Parma were made for transporting soldiers, not for fighting ; and that general, when urged to leave the harbor, positively refused to expose his flourishing army to such apparent hazard ; while the English not only were able to keep the sea, but seemed even to triumph over their enemy. The Spanish admiral found, in many rencounters, that while he lost so considerable a part of his own navy, he had destroyed only one small vessel of the English ; and he foresaw, that by continuing so unequal a combat, he must draw inevitable destruction on all the remainder. He prepared, therefore, to return homewards ; but as the wind was contrary to his pas sage through the Channel, he resolved to sail northwards, and making the tour of the island, reach the Spanish harbors by the ocean. The English fleet followed him during some time ; and had not their ammunition fallen short, by the neg ligence of the offices in supplying them, they had obliged the whole armada to surrender at discretion. The duke of Medina had once taken that resolution, but was diverted from it by the advice of his confessor. This conclusion of the enter prise would have been more glorious to the English ; but the event proved almost equally fatal to the Spaniards. A vio lent tempest overtook the armada after it passed the Orkneys ; the ships had already lost their anchors, and were obliged to keep to sea : the mariners, unaccustomed to such hardships, and not able to govern such unwieldy vessels, yielded to the fury of the storm, and allowed their ships to drive either on the western isles of Scotland, or on the coast of Ireland, where they were miserably wrecked. Not a half of the navy returned to Spain ; and the seamen as well as soldiers who remained, were so overcome with hardships and fatigue, and so dispirited by their discomfiture, that they filled all Spain with accounts of the desperate valor of the English and of the tempestuous violence of that ocean which surrounds them. Such was the miserable and dishonorable conclusion of an enterprise which had been preparing for three years, which had exhausted the revenue and force of Spain, and which had ong- filled all Europe with anxiety or expectation. Philip, who was a slave to his ambition, but had an entire command 264 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. over his countenance, no sooner heard ofthe mortifying event which blasted all his hopes, than he fell on his knees, and ren dering thanks for that gracious dispensation of Providence. expressed his joy that the calamity was not greater. The Spanish priests, who had so often blessed this holy crusade, and foretold its infallible success, were somewhat at a loss to account for the victory gained over the Catholic monarch by excommunicated heretics and an execrable usurper : but they at last discovered, that all the calamities of the Spaniards had proceeded from their allowing the infidel Moors to live among them.* [1589.] Soon after the defeat and dispersion of Jhe Span ish armada, the queen summoned a new parliament, and received from them a supply of two subsidies and four fif teenths, payable in four years. This is the first instance that subsidies were doubled in one supply ; and so unusual a con cession was probably obtained from the joy of the present success, and from the general sense ofthe queen's necessities. Some members objected to this heavy charge, on account of the great burden of loans which had lately been imposed upon the nation.t Elizabeth foresaw that this house of commons, like all the foregoing, would be governed by the Puritans ; and therefore, to obviate their enterprises, she renewed, at the beginning of the session, her usual injunction, that the parliament should not on any account presume to treat of matters ecclesiastical. Notwithstanding this strict inhibition, the zeal of one Dam- port moved him to present a bill to the commons for remedy ing spiritual grievances, and for restraining the tyranny of the ecclesiastical commission, which were certainly great : but when Mr. Secretary Woley reminded the house of her s majesty's commands, no one durst second the motion; the bill was not so much as read ; and the speaker returned it to Damport without taking the least notice of it-! Some mem bers of the house, notwithstanding the general submission, were even committed to custody on account of this attempt.^ The imperious conduct of Elizabeth appeared still more clearly in another parliamentary transaction. The right of pur veyance was an ancient prerogative, by which the officers of the crown could at pleasure take provisions for the household from * See note CC, at the end of the volume. t See note DD, at the end of the volume. J D'Ewes, p. 438. $ Strype's Life of Whitgift, p. 280. Neol, vol. i. p. 508. ELIZABETH. 265 all the neighboring counties, and could make use of the carts and carriages ofthe farmers ; and the price of these commodities and services was fixed and stated. The payment ofthe money was often distant and uncertain ; and the rates, being fixed before thc discovery of the West Indies, were much inferior to the prejent market price ; so that purveyance, besides the slavery of it, was always regarded as a great burden, and being arbitrary and casual, was liable to great abuses. We may fairly presume, that the hungry courtiers of Elizabeth, supported by her unlimited power, would be sure to render this prerogative very oppressive to the people ; and the com mons had, last session, found it necessary to pass a bill for regulating these exactions : but the bill was lost in the house of peers.* The continuance of the abuses begat a new attempt for redress; and the same bill was now revived, and again sent up to the house of peers, together with a bill for some new regulations in the court of exchequer. Soon after, the commons received a message from the upper house, desir ing them to appoint a committee for a conference. At this conference, the peers informed them, that the queen, by a message delivered by Lord Burleigh, had expressed her dis pleasure that the commons should presume to touch on her prerogative. If there were any abuses, she said, either in imposing, purveyance, or in the practice of the court of ex chequer, her majesty was both able and willing to provide due reformation ; but would not permit the parliament to intermed dle in these matters.t The commons, alarmed at this intelli gence, appointed another committee to attend the queen, and endeavor to satisfy her of their humble and dutiful intentions. Elizabeth gave a gracious reception to the committee : she expressed her great " inestimable loving care " towards her loving subjects ; which, she said, was greater than of her own self, or even than any of them could have of themselves. She told them, that she had already given orders for an inquiry into the abuses attending purveyance, but the dangers of the Spanish invasion had retarded the progress Of the design ; that she had as much skill, will, and power to rule her household as any subjects whatsoever to govern theirs, and needed as little the assistance of her neighbors ; that the exchequer was her chamber, consequently more near to her than even her house hold, and therefore the less proper for them to intermeddle * D'Ewes, p. 434. t D'Ewes, p. 440. vol. iv. 23 H 266 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. with ; and th^t she would of herself, with advice of her coun cil and the judges, redress every grievance in these matters, but would not permit the commons, by laws moved without her privity, to bereave her of the honor attending these regu lations.* The issue of this matter was the same that attended all contests between Elizabeth and her parliaments.-)- Shq seems even to have been mo»e imperious, in this particular, than her predecessors ; at least her more remote ones : fo? they often permitted the abuses of purveyance % to be ren dressed by law.§ ' Edward III., a very arbitrary prince, allowe*d ten several statutes to be enacted for that purpose. In so great awe did- the commons stand of every courtier, as well as of the crown, that they durst use no freedom of speech which they thought would give the least offence to any of them. Sir Edward Hobby showed in the house his extreme grief, that by some great personage, not a member of the house, he had been sharply rebuked for speeches delivered in parliament : he craved the favor of the house, and desired that some of the members might inform that great personage of his true meaning and intention in these speeches. || The com mons, to obviate these inconveniencies, passed a vote that no one should reveal the secrets ofthe house, ft The discomfiture of the armada had begotten in the nation a kind of enthusiastic passion for enterprises against Spain ; and nothing seemed now impossible to be achieved by tlie valor and fortune of the English. Don Antonio, prior of Crato, a natural son of the royal family of Portugal, trusting to the aversion of his countrymen against the Castilians, had advanced a claim to the crown ; and flying first to France, thence to England, had been encouraged both by Henry and Elizabeth in his pretensions. A design was formed by the people, not the court of England, to conquer the kingdom for Don Antonio : Sir Francis Drake and Sir John Norris were the leaders in this romantic enterprise : near twenty thousand * D'Ewes, p. 444. t Si rixa est, ubi tu pulsus, ego vapulo tantum. Jtrv. X See note EE, at the end of the volume. § See the statutes under the head of Purveyance. || D'Ewes, p. 432, 433. \ An act was passed this session, enforcing the former statute, wjhich imposed twenty pounds a month on every one absent from pub lic worship : but the penalty was restricted to two thirds of the income of the recusant. 29 Eliz. c. 6, ELIZABETH. 267 volunteers* enlisted themselves in the service : and ships were hired, as well as arms provided, at the charge of the adventurers. The queen's frugality kept her from contributing more than sixty thousand pounds to the expense ; and she only allowed six of her ships of war to attend the expedition.! There was more spirit and bravery than foresight or prudence in the conduct of this enterprise. The small stock of the adventurers did not enable them to buy either provisions or ammunition sufficient for such an undertaking ; they even wanted vessels to stow the numerous volunteers who crowded to them ; and they were obliged to seize by force some ships of the Hanse Towns, which they mot with at sea ; an expe dient which set them somewhat at ease in point of room for their men, but remedied not the deficiency of their provisions.! Had they sailed directly to Portugal, it is believed that the good will of the people, joined to the defenceless stale of the country, might have insured them of success : but hearing that great preparations were making at the Groine for the invasion of England, they were induced to go thither, and destroy this new armament of Spain. They broke into the har bor; burned some ships of war, particularly one commanded by Recalde, vice-admiral of Spain ; they defeated an army of four or five thousand men, which was assembled to oppose them ;, they assaulted the Groine, and took the lower town, which they pillaged ; and they would have taken the higher, though well fortified, had they not found their ammunition and provisions beginning to fail them. The young earl of Essex, a nobleman of promising hopes, who, fired with the thirst of military honor, had secretly, unknown to the queen, stolen from England, here joined the adventurers ; and it was ther agreed by common consent to make sail for Portugal, the main object of their enterprise. The English landed at Paniche, a seaport town twelve? leagues from Lisbon, and Norris led the army to that capi tal, while Drake undertook to sail up the river, and attack the city with united forces. By this time, the court of Spain had gotten leisure to prepare against the invasion. Forces * Birch's Memoirs of Queen Elizabeth, vol. i. p. 61. Monnn (p. 267) says that there wore only fourteen thousand soldiers and f or thousand seamen in the whole on this expedition : but tho accor 0' contained in Dr. Birch is given by one of the most considerable if tho adventurers. t Monson, p. 267. X Monson, p. 159. 268 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. were thrown into Lisbon : the Portuguese were disarmed : all suspected persons were taken into custody : and thus, though the inhabitants bore great affection to Don Antonio, none of them durst declare in favor of the invaders. The English army, however, made themselves masters of the suburbs, which abounded with riches of all kinds ; but as they desired to conciliate the affections of the Portuguese, and were more intent on honor than profit, they observed a strict discipline, and abstained from all plunder. Meanwhile they found their ammunition and provisions much exhausted ; they had not a single cannon to make a breach in the walls ; the admiral had not been able to pass some fortresses which guarded the river ; there was no appearance of an insurrection in their favor ; sickness, from fatigue, hunger, and intemperance in wine and fruits, had seized the army ; so that it was found necessary to make all possible haste to reembark. They were not pursued by the enemy, and finding at the mouth of the river sixty ships laden with naval stores, they seized them as lawful prize ; though they belonged to the Hanse Towns, a neutral power. They sailed thence to Vigo, which they took and burned ; and having ravaged the country around, they set sail and arrived in England. Above half of these gallant adven turers perished by sickness, famine, fatigue, and the sword ; * and England reaped more honor than profit from this extraor dinary enterprise. It is computed, that eleven hundred gen tlemen embarked on board the fleet, and that only three hun dred and fifty survived those multiplied disasters.! When these ships were on their voyage homewards, they met with the earl of Cumberland, who was outward bound, with a fleet of seven sail, all equipped at his own charge, except one ship of war which the queen had lent him. That nobleman supplied Sir Francis Drake with some provisions ; a generosity which saved the lives of many of Drake's men, but for wliich the others afterwards suffered severely. Cumber land sailed towards the Terceras, and took several prizes from the enemy ; but the richest, valued at a hundred thousand pounds, perished in her return, with all her cargo, near St. Michael's Mount, in Cornwall. Many of these adventurers were killed in a rash attempt at the Terceras : a great mortal ity seized the rest ; and it was with difficulty that the few * Birch's Memoirs, vol. i. p. 61. t Birch's Memoirs, v«l. i. p. 61. ELIZABETH. 269 hands which remained were able to steer the ships back into harbor.* Though the signal advantages gained over the Spaniards, and the spirit thence infused into the English, gave Elizabeth great security during the rest of her reign, she could not forbear keeping an anxious eye on Scotland, whose situation rendered its revolutions always of importance to her. It might have been expected that this high-spirited princess, who knew so well to brave danger, would not have retained that malignant jealousy towards- ner heir, with which, during the lifetime of Mary, she had been so much agitated. James had indeed succeeded to all the claims of his mother ; but he had not succeeded to the favor of the Catholics, which could alone render these claims dangerous : t and as the queen was now well advanced in years, and enjoyed an uncontrolled authority over her subjects, it was not likely that the king of Scots, who was of an indolent, unambitious temper, would ever give her any disturbance in her possession of the throne. Yet all these circumstances could not remove her timorous suspicions ; and so far from satisfying the nation by a settle ment of the succession, or a declaration of James's title, she was as anxious to prevent every incident which might any wise raise his credit, or procure him the regard of the English, as if he had been her immediate rival and competitor. Most of his ministers and favorites were her pensioners ; and as she was desirous to hinder him from marrying and having chil dren, she obliged them to throw ohstacles in the way of every alliance, even the most reasonable which could be offered him ; and during some years she succeeded in this malignant policy-! He had fixed on the elder daughter of the king of Denmark, who, being a remote prince and not powerful, could give her no umbrage ; yet did she so artfully cross this nego tiation, that the Danish monarch, impatient of delay, married his daughter to the duke of Brunswick. James then renewed his suit to the younger princess, and still found obstacles from the intrigues of Elizabeth, who, merely with a view of inter posing delay, proposed to him the sister of the king of Navarre, a princess much older than himself, and entirely destitute of fortune. The young king, besides the desire of securing himself, by the prospect of issue, from those trai * Monson, p. 161. t Winwood, vol. i. p. 41 , X Melvil, p. 166, 177. 23* 270 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. torous attempts too frequent among his subjects, had been so watched by the rigid austerity of the ecclesiastics, that he had another inducement to marry, which is not so usual with mon archs. His impatience, therefore, broke through all the poli tics of Elizabeth : the articles of marriage were settled ; the ceremony was performed by proxy ; and the princess embarked for Scotland ; but was driven by a storm into a port of Norway. This tempest, and some others which happened near the same time, were universally believed in Scotland and Denmark to have proceeded from a combination of the Scottish and Danish witches ; and the dying confession of tbe criminals was sup posed to put the accusation beyond all controversy.* James, however, though a great believer in sorcery, was not deterred by this incident from taking a voyage in order to conduct his bride home : he arrived in Norway ; carried tbe queen thence to Copenhagen : and having passed the winter in that city, he brought her next spring to Scotland, where they were joy fully received by the people. The clergy alone, who never neglected an opportunity of vexing their prince, made opposi tion to the queen's coronation, on account of the ceremony of anointing her, which, they alleged, -was either a Jewish or a Popish rite, and therefore utterly antichristian and unlawful. But James was as much bent on the ceremony as they were averse to it : and after much controversy and many intrigues, his authority, which had not often happened, at last prevailed over their opposition.t * Melvil, p. 180. t Spotswood, p. 381. ELIZABETH. 271 CHAPTER XLIil. ELIZABETH. [1590.] After a state of great anxiety and many difficul ties, Elizabeth had at length reached a situation where, though her affairs still required attention, arid found employment for her active spirit, she was removed from all danger of any immediate revolution, and might regard the efforts of her enemies with some degree of confidence and security. Her successful and prudent administration had gained her, together with the admiration of foreigners, the affections of her own subjects ; and, after the death of the queen of Scots, even the Catholics, however discontented, pretended not to dispute her title, or adhere to any other person as her competitor. James, curbed by his factious nobility and ecclesiastics, possessed at home very little authority ; arid was solicitous to remain on good terms with Elizabeth and the English nation, in hopes that time, aided by his patient tranquillity, would secure him that rich succession to which his birth entitled him. The Hollanders, though overmatched in their contest with Spain, still made an obstinate resistance ; and such was their uncon querable antipathy to their old mafters, and such the prudent conduct of young Maurice, their governor, that the subduing of that sniall territory, if at all possible, must be the work of years, and the result of many and great successes. Philip, who, in his powerful effort against England, had been trans ported by resentment and ambition beyond his usual cautious maxims, was now disabled, and still more discouraged, from adventuring again on such hazardous enterprises. The situa tion also of affairs in France began chiefly to employ his attention ; but notwithstanding all his artifice, and force, and expense, the events in that kingdom proved every day more contrary to his expectations, and more favorable to the friends and confederates of England. The violence of the league having constrained Henry to declare war against the Hugonots, these religionists seemed exposed to the utmost danger ; and Elizabeth, sensible of the 272 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. intimate connection between her own interests and those of that party, had supported the king of Navarre by her negotia tions in Germany, and by large sums of money, which she remitted for levying forces in that country. This great prince, not discouraged by the superiority of his enemies, took the field ; and in the year 1587 gained at Coutras a complete victory over the army of the French king ; but as his allies, the Germans, were at the same time discomfited by the army ofthe league, under the duke of Guise, his situation, notwith standing his victory, seemed still as desperate as ever. The chief advantage which he reaped by this diversity of success, arose from the dissensions which by that means took place among his enemies. The inhabitants of Paris, intoxicated with admiration of Guise, and strongly prejudiced against their king, whose intentions had become suspicious to them, took to arms, and obliged Henry to fly for his safety. That prince, dissembling his resentment, entered into a negotiation with the league ; and having conferred many high offices on Guise and his partisans, summoned an assembly of the states at Blois, on pretence of finding expedients to support the intended war against the Hugonots. The various scenes of perfidy and cruelty which had been exhibited in France, had justly begotten a mutual diffidence among all parties ; yet Guise, trusting more to the timidity than honor of the king, rashly put himself into the hands of that monarch, and ex pected, by the ascendant of his own genius, to make him sub mit to all his exorbitant pretensions. Henry, though of an easy disposition, not steady to his resolutions, or even to his promises, wanted neither courage nor capacity ; and finding all his subtleties eluded by the vigor of Guise, and even his throne exposed to the most imminent danger, he embraced more violent counsels than were natural to him, and ordered that prince and his brother, the cardinal of Guise, to be assas sinated in his palace. This cruel execution, which the necessity of it alone could excuse, had nearly proved fatal to the author, and seemed at first to plunge him into greater dangers than those which he sought to avoid by taking vengeance on his enemy. The partisans of the league were inflamed with the utmost rage against him : the populace every where, particularly at Paris, renounced allegiance to him : the ecclesiastics and the preach ers filled all places with execrations against his name : and ¦the most powerful cities and most opulent provinces appeared ELIZABETH. 278 to Combine in a resolution, either of renouncing monarchy, or of changing their monarch. Henry, finding slender resources among his Catholic subjects, was constrained to enter into a confederacy with the Hugonots and the king of Navarre : he enlisted large bodies of Swiss infantry and German cavalry : and being still supported by his chief nobility, he assembled, by all these means, an army of near forty thousand men, and advanced to the gates of Paris, ready to crush the league, and subdue all his enemies. The desperate resolution of. one man diverted the course of these great events. Jaques Clement, a Dominican friar, inflamed by that bloody spirit of bigotry which distinguishes this century and a great part of the following beyond all ages of the world, embraced the resolution of sacrificing his own life, in order to save the church from the persecutions of an heretical tyrant ; and being admitted, under some pretext, to the king's presence, he gave that prince a mortal wound, and was immediately put to death by the courtiers, who hastily revenged the murder of their sovereign. This memorable incident happened on the first of August, 1589. The king of Navarre, next heir to the crown, assumed the government, by the title of Henry IV. ; but succeeded to much greater difficulties than those which surrounded his predeces sor. The prejudices entertained against his religion', made a great part of the nobility immediately desert him ; and it was only by his promise of hearkening to conferences and instruc tion, that he could engage any of the Catholics to adhere to his undoubted title. The league, governed by the duke of Mayerine, brother to Guise, gathered new force ; and the king of Spain entertained views, either of dismembering the French monarchy, or of annexing the Whole to his own dominions. In these distressful circumstances, Henry addressed himself to Elizabeth, and found her well disposed fo contribute to his assistance, and to oppose the progress of the Catholic league, and of Philip, her inveterate and dangerous enemies. To prevent the desertion of his Swiss and German auxiliaries, she made him a present of twenty-two thousand pounds ; a greater sum than, as he declared, he had ever seen before : and she sent him a reenforcement of four thousand men, under Lord WiUoughby, an officer of reputation, who joined the French at Dieppe. Strengthened by these supplies, Henry marched directly to Parts ; and having taken the suburbs sword in hand, he abandoned them to be' pillaged by ;274 history of England. his soldiers. He employed this body of English in many other enterprises ; and still found reason to praise their courage and fidelity. The time of their service being elapsed, he dismissed them with many high commendations. Sir William Drury, Sir Thomas Baskerville, and Sir John Boroughs acquired reputation this campaign, and revived in France the ancient fame of English valor. The army which Henry, next campaign, led into the field, was much inferior to that of the league ; but as it was com- . posed of the chief nobility of France, he feared not to en counter his enemies in a pitched battle at Yvree, and he gained a complete victory over them. This success enabled him to blockade Paris, and he reduced that capital to the last extremity of famine ; when the duke of Parma, in consequence of orders from Philip, marched to the relief of the league, and obliged Henry to raise the . blockade. Having performed this im portant service, he retreated to the Low Countries : and, by his consummate skill in the art of war, performed these long marches in the face of the enemy, without affording the French monarch that opportunity which he sought, of giving him battle, or so much as once putting his army in disorder. The only loss which he sustained was in the Low Countries, where Prince Maurice took advantage of his absence, and recovered some places which the duke of Parma had formerly conquered from the states.* [1591.] The situation of Hemy's affairs, though promising, was not so well advanced or established as to make the queen discontinue her succors; and she was still more confirmed in the resolution of supporting him, by some advantages gained by the king of Spain. The duke of Mercosur, gov ernor of Brittany, a prince of the house of Lorraine, had declared for the league ; and finding himself hard pressed by Henry's forces, he had been obliged, in order to secure him self, to introduce some Spanish troops into the seaport towns of that province. Elizabeth was alarmed at the danger ; and foresaw that the Spaniards, besides infesting the English commerce by privateers, might employ these harbors as the seat of their naval preparations, and might more easily, from that vicinity, than from Spain or Portugal, project an invasion of England. She concluded, therefore, a new treaty with Henry, in which she engaged to send over three thousand « See note FF, at the end of the volume. ELIZABETH. 275 men, to be employed in the reduction of Brittany ; and she stipulated that her charges should, in a twelvemonth, or as soon as the enemy was expelled, be refunded her.* These forces were commanded by Sir John Norris, and under him by his brother Henry, and by Anthony Shirley. Sir Roger Wil liams was at the head of a small body which garrisoned Dieppe : and a squadron of ships, under the command of Sir Henry Palmer, lay upon the coast of France, and intercepted all the vessels belonging to the Spaniards or the leaguers. The operations of war can very little be regulated before hand by any treaty or agreement ; and Henry, who found it necessary to lay aside the projected enterprise against Brit tany, persuaded the English commanders to join his army, and to take a share in the hostilities which he carried into Picardy.t Notwithstanding the disgust which Elizabeth received from this disappointment, he laid before her a plan for expelling the leaguers from Normandy, and persuaded her to send over a new body of four thousand men, to assist him in that enterprise. The earl of Essex was appointed general of these forces ; a young nobleman, who, by many exterior accomplishments, and still more real merit, was daily advancing in favor with Elizabeth, and seemed to occupy that place in her affections, which Leicester, now deceased, had so long enjoyed. Essex, impatient for military fame, was ex tremely uneasy to lie some time at Dieppe unemployed ; and had not the orders which he received from his mistress been so positive, he would gladly have accepted of Henry's invita tion, and have marched to join the French army now in Champagne. This plan of operations was also proposed to Elizabeth by the French ambassador, but she rejected it with great displeasure ; and she threatened immediately to recall her troops, if Henry should persevere any longer in his present practice of breaking all concert with her, and attend ing to nothing but his own interests.! Urged by these motives, the French king at last led his army into Normandy, and laid siege to Rouen, which he reduced to great difficulties. But the league, unable of themselves to take the field against him, had again recourse-to the duke of Parma, who received orders to march to their relief. He executed this enterprise with his usual abilities and success ; and for the present * Camden, p. 561. t Bymer, vol. xiv. p. 116. X Birch's Negotiations, p. S. Rymer, torn. xiv. p. 123, 140. 276 history os England. frustrated all the projects of Henry and Elizabeth. This princess, who kept still in view the interests of her own king dom in all her foreign transactions, was impatient under these disappointments, blamed Henry for his negligence in the execution of treaties, and complained that the English forces were thrust foremost in every hazardous enterprise.* It is probable, however, that their own ardent courage, and their desire of distinguishing themselves in so celebrated a theatre of war, were the causes why they so often enjoyed this perilous honor. Notwithstanding the indifferent success of former enter prises, the queen was sensible how necessary it was to support Henry against the league and the Spaniards ; and she formed a new treaty with him, in which they agreed never to make peace with Philip but by common consent ; she promised to send him a new supply of four thousand men ; and he stip ulated to repay her charges in a twelvemonth, to employ these forces, joined to a body of French troops, in an expedi- tion against Brittany, and to consign into her hands a seaport town of that province, for a retreat to the English. t Henry knew the impossibility of executing some of these articles, and the imprudence of fulfilling others; but finding them rigidly insisted on by Elizabeth, he accepted of her succors, and trusted that he might easily, on some pretence, be able to excuse his failure in executing his part of the treaty. This campaign was the least successful of all those which he had yet carried on against the league. During these military operations in France, Elizabeth employed her naval power against Philip, and endeavored to intercept his West Indian treasures, the source of that greatness which rendered him so formidable to all his neighbors. She sent a squadron of seven ships, under the command of Lord Thomas Howard, for this service ; but the king of Spain, informed of her purpose, fitted out a great force of fifty-five sail, and despatched them to escort the Indian fleet. They fell in with the English squadron ; and, by the courageous Obstinacy of Sir Richard Greenville, the vice-admiral, who refused to make his escape by flight, they took one vessel, the first English ship of war that had yet fallen into the hands of the Spaniards.! The rest of the squadron returned safely * Camden, p. 562. f Kymer, vol. xvi. p. 151, 168, 171, 173. X See note GG, at the end of the volume. ELIZABETH. 277 into England frustrated of their expectations, but pleasing themselves with the idea that their attempt had not been alto gether fruitless in hurting the enemy. The Indian fleet had been so long detained in the Havana from the fear of the English, that they were obliged at last to set sail in an improper season, and most of them perished by shipwreck ere they reached the Spanish harbors.* The earl of Cumberland made a like unsuccessful enterprise against the Spanish trade. He carried out one ship of the queen's, and seven others equipped at his own expense ; but the prizes which he made did not compen sate the charges.t The spirit of these expensive and hazardous adventures was very prevalent in England. Sir Walter Raleigh, who had enjoyed great favor with the queen, finding his interest to decline, determined to recover her good graces by some im portant undertaking ; and as his reputation was high among his countrymen, he persuaded great numbers to engage with him as volunteers in an attempt on the West Indies. [1592.] The fleet was detained so long in the Channel by contrary winds, that the season was lost : Raleigh was recalled by the queen : Sir Martin Frobisher succeeded to the command, and made a privateering voyage against the Spaniards. Pie took one rich carrack near the Island of Flores, and destroyed another.! About the same time, Thomas White, a Londoner, took two Spanish ships, which, besides fourteen hundred chests of quicksilver, contained above two millions of bulls for indulgences ; a commodity useless to the English, but which had cost the king of Spain three hundred thousand florins, and would have been sold by him in the Indies for five millions. [1593.] This war did great damage to Spain ; but it was at tended with considerable expense to England ; and Elizabeth's ministers computed, that since the commencement of it, she had spent in Flanders and France, and on her naval expeditions, above one million two hundred thousand pounds ;§ a charge which, notwithstanding her extreme frugality, was too burthen- some for her narrow revenues to support. She sumrhoned, therefore, a parliament, in order to obtain supply : but she either thought her authority so established that she needed to make them no concessions in return, or she rated her power and prerogative above money : for there never was any par- * Monson, p. 163. t Monson, p. 169. X Monson, p. 165. Camden, p. 569. j Strype, vol. iii. vol. iv. 24 H 278 history of England. liament whom she treated in a more haughty manner, whom she made more sensible of their own weakness, or whose priv ileges she more openly violated. When the speaker, Sir Ed ward Coke, made the three usual requests, of freedom from arrests, of access to her person, and of liberty of speech, she replied to him by the mouth of Puckering, lord keeper, that liberty of speech was granted to the commons, but they must know what liberty they were entitled to ; not a liberty for every one to speak what he listeth, or what cometh in his brain to utter ; their privilege extended no further than a lib erty of " aye " or " no : " that she enjoined the speaker, if he perceived any idle heads so negligent of their own safety as to attempt reforming the church, or innovating in the common wealth, that he should refuse the bills exhibited for that pur pose, till they were examined by such as were fitter to consider of these things, and could better judge of them : that she would not impeach the freedom of their persons ; but they must beware lest, under color of this privilege, they imagined that any neglect of their duty could be covered or protected : and that she would not refuse them access to her person, pro vided it were upon urgent and weighty causes, and at times convenient, and when she might have leisure from other im portant affairs ofthe realm.* Notwithstanding the menacing and contemptuous air of this speech, the intrepid and indefatigable Peter Wentworth, not discouraged by his former ill success, ventured to transgress the imperial orders of Elizabeth. He presented to the lord keeper a petition, in which he desired the upper house to join with the lower in a supplication to'her majesty for entailing the succession of the crown ; and he declared that he had a bill ready prepared for that purpose. This method of pro ceeding was sufficiently respectful and cautious ; but the sub ject was always extremely disagreeable to the queen, and what she had expressly prohibited any one from meddling with : she sent Wentworth immediately to the Tower ; com mitted Sir Thomas Bromley, who had seconded him, to the Fleet prison, together with Stevens and Welsh, two members, to whom Sir Thomas had communicated his intention.t About a fortnight after, a motion was made in the house to petition the queen for the release of these members ; but it was * D'Ewes, p. 460, 469. Townsend, p. 37. t D'Ewes, p. 470. Townsend, p. 64. ELIZABETH. 27S answered by all the privy counsellors there present, that hoi majesty had committed them for causes best known to herself. and that to press her on that head would only tend to the pre judice of the gentlemen whom they meant to serve : she would release them whenever she thought proper, and would be bet ter pleased to do it of her own proper motion, than from their suggestion.* The house willingly acquiesced in this reasoning. So arbitrary an act, at the commencement of the session, might well repress all further attempts for freedom : but the religious zeal ofthe Puritans was not so easily restrained ; and it inspired a courage which no human motive was able to surmount. Morrice, chancellor of the duchy, and attorney of the court of wards, made a motion for redressing the abuses in the bishops' courts, but above all, in the high commission; where subscriptions, he said, were exacted to articles at the pleasure of the prelates; where oaths were imposed, obliging persons to answer to all questions without distinction, even though they should tend to their own condemnation ; and where every one who refused entire satisfaction to the com missioners was imprisoned, without relief or remedy. t This motion was seconded hy some members ; but the ministers and privy counsellors opposed it, and foretold the consequences which ensued. The queen sent for, the speaker; and after requiring him to deliver to her Morrice's bill, she told him, that it was in her power to call parliaments, in her power to dissolve them, in her power to give assent or dissent to any determination which they should form : that her purpose in summoning this parliament was twofold, to have laws enacted for the further enforcement of uniformity in religion, and to provide for the defence of the nation against the exorbitant power of Spain : that these two points ought, therefore, to be the object of their deliberations : she had enjoined them already, by the mouth of the lord keeper, to meddle neither with mat ters of state nor of religion ; and she wondered how any one could be so assuming, as to attempt a subject so expressly contrary to her prohibition : that she was highly offended with this presumption ; and took the present opportunity to reiterate the commands given by the keeper, and to require that no bill, regarding either state affairs or reformation in causes ecclesiastical, be exhibited in the house : and that in particular she charged the speaker upon his allegiance, if any such bills • D'Ewes, p. 497. t D'Ewes, p. 474. Townsend, p. 60. 586 HISTOft* Qt ENGLAND. were offered, absolutely to refuse them a reading, and not to much as permit them to be debated by the mefnbers.* This command from the queen was submitted to without further question. Morrice was seized in the house itself by a serjeant- at-arms, discharged from his office of chancellor of the duchy, incapacitated from any practice in his profession as a common lawyer, and kept some years prisoner in Tilbury Castle. t The queen having thus expressly pointed out both what the house should and should not do, the commons were as obse quious to the one as to the other of her injunctions. They passed a law against recusants ; such a law as was suited to the Severe character of Elizabeth, and to the persecuting spirit of the age. It was entitled, " An act to retain her majesty's subjects in their due obedience ;" and was meant, as the pre amble declares, to obviate such inconveniencies and perils as might grow from the wicked practices of seditious sectaries and disloyal persons: for these two species of criminals were always, at that time, confounded together, as equally danger ous to the peace of society. It was enacted, that any person, above sixteen years of age, who obstinately refused during the space of a month fo attend public worship, should be commit ted to prison ; that if, after being condemned for this offence, he persist three months in his refusal, he must abjure the realm ; and that, if he either refuse this condition, or return after banishment, he should suffer capitally as a felon, without benefit of clergy.! This law bore equally hard upon the Puritans and upon the Catholics ; and had it not been imposed by the queen's authority, was certainly, in that respect, much contrary to the private sentiments and inclinations of the majority in the house of commons. Very little opposition, however, appears there lo have been openly made to it.§ The expenses of the war with Spain having reduced the queen to great difficulties, the grant of subsidies seems to have been the most important business of this parliament ; and it was a signal proof of the high spirit of Elizabeth, that, while conscious of a present dependence on the commons, she * D'Ewes, p. 474, 478. Townsend, p. 68. t Heylin's History of the Presbyterians, p. 320. X 36 Eliz. c. 1. $ After enacting this statute, the clergy, in order to remove the odium from themselves, often took care that recusants should be tried by the civil judges at the assizes, rather than by the ecclesiastical commissioners. Strype's Ann. vol. iv p. 264. ELIZABETH. 281 opened the session with the most haughty treatment of them, and covered her weakness under such a lofty appearance of superiority. The commons readily voted two subsidies and four fifteenths ; but this sum not appearing sufficient to the court, an unusual expedient was fallen upon to induce them to make an enlargement in their concessions. The peers in formed the commons in a conference, that they could not give their assent to the supply voted, thinking it too small for the queen's occasions : they therefore proposed a grant of three subsidies and six fifteenths; and desired a further conference, in order to persuade the commons to agree to this measure. The commons, who had acquired the privilege of beginning bills of subsidy, took offence at this procedure of the lords, and at first absolutely rejected the proposal : but being afraid, on reflection, that they had by this refusal given offence to their superiors, they both. agreed to the conference, and after wards voted the additional subsidy.* The queen, notwithstanding this unusual concession of the commons, ended the session with a speech, containing some reprimands to thom, and full of the same high pretensions which she had nssumed at the opening of the parliament. She took notice, by the mouth of the keeper, that certain members spent more time than was necessary by indulging themselves in harangues and reasonings : and she expressed her displeasure on account of their not paying due reverence to privy counsellors, " who," she told them, " were not to be accounted as common knights and burgesses of the Iioust, who are counsellors but during the parliament; whereas the others are standing counsellors, and for their wisdom and great service are called to the council of the state." t The queen also, in her own person, made the parliament a spirited harangue ; in which she spoke of the justice and moderation ofher government, expressed the small ambition she had ever entertained of making conquests, displayed the just grounds of her quarrel with the king of Spain, and discovered how little she apprehended the power of that monarch, even though he should make a greater effort against her than that of hi? . Invincible Armada. " But I am informed," added she, " that when he attempted this last invasion, some upon the sea-coasl forsook their towns, fled up higher into the country, and lefl • D'Ewes, p. 483, 487, 488. Townsend, p. 66. -*¦ D'Ewes, p. 466. Townsond, p. 47. 24* '382 HISTORY OF ENGLAND.* all naked and exposed to his entrance : but I swear unto you by God, if I knew those persons, or may know of any that shall do so hereafter, I will make them feel what it is to be sb fearful in so urgent a cause." * By this menace, she probably gave the people to understand, that she would execute martial ' law upon such cowards ; for there was no statute by which a man could be punished for changing his place of abode. The king of France, though he had hitherto made war on the league with great bravery and reputation, though he hari this campaign gained considerable advantages over them, and though he was assisted by a considerable body of English under Norris, who carried hostilities into the heart of Brittany, was become sensible that he never could, by force of arms alone, render himself master of his kingdom. The nearer he seemed by his military successes to approach to a full pos session of the throne, the more discontent and jealousy arose among those Romanists who adhered to him ; and a party was formed in his own court to elect some Catholic monarch of the royal blood, if Henry should any longer refuse to satisfy them by declaring his conversion. This excellent prince was far from being a bigot to his sect ; and as he deemed these theological disputes entirely subordinate to the public good, he had secretly determined, from the beginning, to come some time or other to the resolution required of him. He had found, on the death of his predecessor, that the Hu gonots, who formed the bravest and most faithful part Of his army, were such determined zealots, that, if he had at that time abjured their faith, they would instantly have abandoned him to the pretensions and usurpations of the Catholics. The more bigoted Catholics, he knew, particularly those of the league, had entertained such an unsurmountable prejudice against his person, and diffidence of his sincerity, that even his abjuration would not reconcile them to his title ; ahd he must either expect to be entirely excluded from the throne, or be admitted to it on such terms as would leave him little more than the mere shadow of royalty. In this delicate situation, he had resolved to temporize ; to retain the Hugonots by con tinuing in the profession of their religion ; to gain the mod- " erate Catholics by giving them hopes of his conversion ; to attach both to his person by conduct and success ; and he hoped, either that the animosity arising from war against the * D'Ewes, p. 466. Townsend, p. 48. ELIZABETH. 283 league would make them drop gradually the question of religion, or that he might in time, after some victories over his enemies, and some conferences with divines, make finally, with more decency and dignity, that abjuration which must have appeared at first mean, as well as suspicious, to both parties. When the people are attached to any theological tenets merely from a general persuasion or prepossession, they are easily induced, by any motive or authority, to change their faith in these mysterious subjects ; as appears from the ex ample of the English, who, during some reigns, usually embraced, without scruple, the still varying religion of their sovereigns. But the French nation, where principles had so long been displayed as the badges of faction, and where each party had fortified its belief by an animosity against the other, were not found so pliable or inconstant ; and Henry was at last convinced that the Catholics of his party would entirely abandon him, if he gave them not immediate satisfaction in this particular. The Hugonots also, taught by experience, clearly saw that his desertion of them was become absolutely necessary for the public settlement ; and so general was this persuasion among them, that, as the duke of Sully pretends, even the divines of that party purposely allowed themselves to be worsted in the disputes and conferences, that the king might more readily be convinced of the weakness of their cause, and might more cordially and sincerely, at least more decently, embrace the religion which it was so much his interest to believe. If this self-denial, in so tender a point, should appear incredible and supernatural in theologians, it will, at least, be thought very natural, that a prince so little instructed in these matters as Henry, and desirous to preserve his sincerity, should insensibly bend his opinion to the neces sity of his affaire, and should believe that party to have the best arguments, who could alone put him in possession of a kingdom. All circumstances, therefore, being prepared for this great event, that monarch renounced the Protestant religion, and was solemnly received by the French prelates of his party into the bosom of the church. Elizabeth, who was herself attached to the Protestants chiefly by her interests and the circumstances of her birth, and who seems to have entertained some propensity during her whole life to the Catholic superstition, at least to the ancient ceremonies, yet pretended to be extremely displeased with 284 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. this abjuration of Henry ; and she wrote him an angry letter, reproaching him with this interested change of his religion. Sensible, however, that the league and the king of Spain were still their common enemies, she hearkened to his apologies ; continued her succors both of men and money ; and formed a new treaty, in which they mutually stipulated never to make peace but by common agreement. The intrigues of Spain were not limited to France and England : by means of the never-failing pretence of religion, joined to the influence of money, Philip excited new disorders in Scotland, and gave fresh alarms to Elizabeth. George Ker, brother to Lord Newbottle, had been taken while he was passing secretly into Spain ; and papers were found about him, by which a dangerous conspiracy of some Catholic noble men with Philip was discovered. The earls of Angus, Errol, and Huntley, the heads of three potent families, had entered into a confederacy with the Spanish monarch ; and had stipu lated to raise all their forces ; to join them to a body of Span ish troops which Philip promised to send into Scotland ; and after reestablishing the Catholic religion in that kingdom, to march with their united power in order to effect the same purpose in England.* Graham of Fintry, who had also entered into this conspiracy, was taken, and arraigned, and executed. Elizabeth sent Lord Borough ambassador into Scotland, and exhorted the king to exercise the same severity on the three earls, to confiscate their estates, and by annexing them to the crown, both increase his own demesnes, and set an example to all his subjects of the dangers attending treason and rebellion. The advice was certainly rational, but not easy to be executed by the small revenue and limited authority of James. He desired, therefore, some supply from her of men and money ; but though she had reason to deem the prosecution of the three Popish earls a common cause, she never could be prevailed on to grant him the least assistance. The tenth part of the expense which she bestowed in support ing the French king and the states, would have sufficed to execute this purpose, more immediately essential to her secu rity ; t but she seems ever to have borne some degree of malignity to James, whom she hated, both as her heir, and as the son of Mary, her hated rival and competitor. * Spotswood, p. 391. Rymer, torn. xvi. p. 190. + Spotswood, p. 393. Rymer, torn. xvi. p. 235. ELIZABETH. 285 So far from giving James assistance to prosecute the Catho lic conspirators, the queen rather contributed to increase his inquietude, bj^ countenancing the turbulent disposition of the earl of Bothwell,* a nobleman descended from a natural son of James V. Bothwell more than once attempted to render himself master of the king's person ; and being expelled the kingdom for these traitorous enterprises, he took shelter in England, was secretly protected by the queen, and lurked near the borders, where his power lay, with a view of still committing some new violence. He succeeded at last in an attempt on the king ; and by the mediation of the English ambassador, imposed dishonorable, terms upon that prince: but James, by the authority of the convention of states, annulled this agreement as extorted by violence, again expelled Both- well, and obliged him to take shelter in England. Elizabeth, pretending ignorance of the place of his retreat, never executed the treaties, by which she was bound to deliver up all rebels and fugitives to the king of Scotland. [1594.] During these disorders, increased by the refractory disposition of the eccle siastics, the prosecution of the Catholic earls remained in sus pense ; but at last the parliament passed an act of attainder against them, and the king prepared himself to execute it by force of arms. The noblemen, though they obtained a victory over the earl of Argyle, who acted by the king's commission, found themselves hard pressed by James himself, and agreed on certain terms to leave the kingdom. Bothwell, being detect ed in a confederacy with them, forfeited the favor of Eliza beth, and was obliged to take shelter, first in France, then in Italy, where he died some years after in great poverty. The established authority of the queen secured her from all such attempts as James was exposed to from the mutinous disposition of his subjects ; and her enemies found no other means of giving her domestic disturbance, than by such traitor ous and perfidious machinations as ended in their own dis grace, and in the ruin of their criminal instruments. Roderi- go Lopez, a Jew, domestic physician to the queen, being imprisoned on suspicion, confessed that he had received a bribe to poison her from Fuentes and Ibarra, who had suc ceeded Parma, lately deceased, in the government of the Netherlands ; but he maintained, that he had no other inten tion than to cheat Philip of his money, and never meant to * Spotswood, p. 257, 258. 286 history or England. fulfil his engagement. He was, however, executed for the conspiracy ; and the queen complained to Philip of these dishonorable attempts of his ministers, but could* obtain no sat isfaction.* York and Williams, two English traitors, were afterwards executed for a conspiracy with Ibarra, equally atrocious.t Instead of avenging herself by retaliating in a like man ner, Elizabeth sought a more honorable vengeance, by sup porting" the king of France, and assisting him in finally break ing the force of the league, which, after the conversion of that monarch, went daily to decay, and was threatened with speedy ruin and dissolution. Norris commanded the English forces in Brittany, and assisted at the taking of Morlaix, Quimper- corentin, and Brest, towns garrisoned by Spanish forces. In every actioD, the English, though they had so long enjoyed domestic peace, discovered a strong military disposition ; and the queen, though herself a heroine, found more frequent occasion to reprove her generals for encouraging their temer ity, than for countenancing their fear or caution : \ Sir Martin Frobisher, her brave admiral, perished, with many others, before Brest. Morlaix had been promised to the English for a place of retreat ; but the duke d'Aumont, the French gen eral, eluded this promise, by making it be inserted in the capitulation that none but Catholics should be admitted into that city. Next campaign, the Frcnclrking, who had long carried on hostilities with Philip, was at last provoked, by the taking of Chatelet and Dourlens, and the attack of Cambray, to declare war against that monarch. Elizabeth, being threatened with a new invasion in England, and with an insurrection in Ire land, recalled most ofher forces, and sent Norris to command in this latter kingdom. Finding also that the French league was almost entirely dissolved, and that the most considerable leaders had made an accommodation with their prince, she thought that he could well support himself by his own force and valor ; and she began to be more- sparing in his cause of the blood and treasure of her subjects. Some disgusts which she- had received from the states, joined to the remonstrances of her frugal minister, Burleigh, made her also inclined to diminish her charges on that side ; * Camden, p. 677. Birch's Negot. p. 16. Bacon, vol. iv. p. 381. + Camden, p. 682. X Camden, p. 578. ELIZABETH. 287 and she even demanded by her ambassador, Sir Thomas Bod^ ley, to be reimbursed all the money which she had expended in supporting them. The states, besides alleging the condi tions of the treaty, by which they were not bound to repay her till the conclusion of a peace, pleaded their present pov erty and distress, the great superiority of the Spaniards, and the difficulty in supporting the war ; much more in saving money to discharge their encumbrances. [1595.] After much negotiation, a new treaty was formed, by which the states en gaged to free the queen immediately from the charge of the English auxiliaries, computed at forty thousand pounds a year; to pay her annually twenty thousand pounds for some years; to assist her with a certain number of ships ; and to conclude no peace or treaty without her consent. They also bound thenv selves, on finishing a peace with Spain, to pay her annually the sum of a hundred thousand pounds for four years ; but on this condition, that the payment should be in lieu of all de mands, and that they should be supplied, though at their own charge, with a body of four thousand auxiliaries from Eng land.* [1596.] The queen still retained in her hands tho oaution- ary towns, which were a great check on the rising power of the states ; and she committed the important trust of Flushing to Sir Francis Vere, a brave officer, who had distin guished himself by his valor in the Low Countries. She gave him the preference to Essex, who expected so honorable a command ; and though this nobleman was daily rising, both in reputation with thc people, and favor with herself, the queen, who was commonly reserved in the advancement of her courtiers, thought proper on this occasion to give him a refusal. Sir Thomas Baskerville was sent over to France at the head of two thousand English, with which Elizabeth, by a new treaty concluded with Henry, engaged to supply, that prince. Some stipulations for mutual assistance were formed by tho treaty ; and all former engagements were renewed. [1597.] This body of English were maintained at the-ex- pense of the French king ; yet did Henry esteem the supply of considerable advantage, on account of the great reputation ac quired by the English, in so many fortunate enterprises under taken against the common enemy. In the great battle of Tournholt, gained this campaign by Prince Maurice, the Eng^ » Camden, p. 586. 288 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. lish auxiliaries under Sir Francis Vere and Sir Robert Sidney had acquired honor ; and the success of that day was univer sally ascribed to their discipline and valor. Though Elizabeth, at a considerable expense of blood and treasure, made war against Philip in France and the Low Countries, the most severe blows which she gave him, were by those naval enterprises which either she or her subjects scarcely ever intermitted during one season. In 1594, Rich ard Hawkins, son of Sir John, the famous navigator, procured the queen's commission, and sailed with three ships to the South Sea by the Straits of Magellan ; but his voyage proved unfortunate, and he himself was taken prisoner on the coast of Chili. James Lancaster was supplied the same year with three ships and a pinnace by the merchants of London ; and was more fortunate in his adventure. He took thirty-nioe ships of the enemy ; and not content with this success, he made an attack on Fernambouc, in Brazil, where he knew great treasures were at that time lodged. As he approached the shore, he saw it lined with great numbers of the enemy ; but nowise daunted at this appearance, he placed the stoutest of his men in boats, and ordered them to row with such vio lence on the landing-place as to split them in pieces. By this bold action he both deprived his men of all resource but in victory, and terrified the enemy, who fled after a short resist ance. He returned home with the treasure which he had so bravely acquired. In 1595, Sir Walter Raleigh, who had anew forfeited the queen's friendship by an intrigue with a maid of honor, and who had been thrown into prison for this misdemeanor, no sooner recovered his liberty, than he was pushed by his active and enterprising genius to attempt some great action. The success of the first Spanish adventurers against Mexico and Peru had begotten an extreme avidity in Europe ; and a prepossession universally took place, that in the inland parts of South America, called Guiana, a country as yet undiscovered, there were mines and treasures far exceeding any which Cortes or Pizarro had met with. Ra leigh, whose turn of mind was somewhat romantic and extrav agant, undertook at his own charge the discover/ of this wonderful country. Having taken the small town of St. Joseph, in the Isle of Trinidado, where he found no riches, he left hi3 ship, and sailed up the River Oroonoko in pinnaces, but without meeting any thing to answer his expectations. On his return, be pubhshed an account of the country, full of the ELIZABETH. 289 grossest and most palpable lies that were ever attempted to be imposed on the credulity of mankind.* Tho same year, Sir Francis Drake and Sir John Hawkins undertook a more important expedition against the Spanish settlements in America ; und they carried with them six ships of the queen's and twenty more, which either were fitted out at their own charge, or were furnished them by private adven turers. Sir Thomas Baskcrvillc was appointed commander of thc land forces which they carried on board. Their first design was to attempt Porto Rico, where, they knew, a rich carrack was at that time stationed ; but as they had not pre served the requisite secrecy, a pinnace, having strayed from the fleet, was taken by the Spaniards, and betrayed the inten tions of the English. Preparations were made in that island for their reception ; and thc English fleet, notwithstanding the brave assault wliich they made on thc enemy, was repulsed with loss. Hawkins soon after died, and Drake pursued his voyage to Nombre di Dies, on the Isthmus of Darien ; where, having landed his men, he attempted to pass forward to Panama, with a view of plundering that place, or, if he found such a scheme practicable, of keeping and fortifying it. Hut lie met not with the same facility wliich had attended his first enterprises in those parts. The Spaniards, taught by experience, had every where fortified tho passes, and had stationed troops in the woods, who so infested the English by continual alarms and skirmishes, that they were obliged to return, without being able to effect any thing. Drake himself, from the intemper ance of the climate, the fatigues of his journey, and the vexa tion of his disappoint ment, was seized with a distemper of which ho soon after died. Sir Thomas Baskerville took the command of tho fleet, which was in a weak condition; and after having fought a battle near Cuba with a Spanish fleet, of which the event was not decisive, he returned to England. The Spaniards suffered some loss from this enterprise ; but the English reaped no profit.f The bad success of this enterprise in the Indies made the English rather attempt the Spanish dominions in Europe, where they heard Philip was making great preparations for a new invasion of England. A powerful fleet was equipped at Plymouth, consisting of a hundred and seventy vessels, seven teen of which were capital ships of war, the rest tenders and * Caindun, p. 581. t Monson, p. 167- vol.. iv. 2T, H 290 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. small vessels : twenty ships were added by the Hollanders. In this fleet there were computed to be embarked six thousand three hundred and sixty soldiers, a thousand volunteers, and six thousand seven hundred and seventy-two seamen besides the Dutch. The land forces were commanded by the earl of Essex ; the navy by Lord Effingham, high admiral. Both these commanders had expended great sums of their own in the armament ; for such was the spirit of Elizabeth's reign. Lord Thomas Howard, Sir Walter Raleigh, Sir Francis Vere, Sir George Carew, and Sir Coniers Clifford had commands in this expedition, and were appointed council to the general and admiral.* The fleet set sail on the first of June, 1596 ; and meeting with a fair wind, bent its course to Cadiz, at which place, by sealed orders delivered to all the captains, the general rendez vous was appointed. They sent before them some armed tenders, which intercepted every ship that could carry intelli gence to the enemy ; and they themselves were so fortunate, when they came near Cadiz, as to take an Irish vessel, by which they learned that that port was full of merchant ships of great value, and that the Spaniards lived in perfect security, without any apprehensions of an enemy. This intelligence much encouraged the English fleet, and gave them the pros pect of a fortunate issue to the enterprise. After a fruitless attempt to land at St. Sebastian's, on the western side of the Island of Cadiz, it was, upon deliberation, resolved by the council of war to attack the ships and galleys in the bay. This attempt was deemed rash ; and the admiral himself, who was cautious in his temper, had entertained great scruples with regard to it : but Essex strenuously recom mended the enterprise ; and when he found the resolution at last taken, he threw his hat into the sea, and gave symptoms of the most extravagant joy. He felt, however, a great mortification, when Effingham informed him, that the queen, anxious for his safety, and dreading the effects of his youthful ardor, had secretly given orders that he should not be per mitted to command the van in the attack.f That duty was performed by Sir Walter Raleigh and Lord Thomas Howard j but Essex no sooner came within reach of the enemy, than he forgot the promise which the admiral had exacted from him, to keep in the midst of the fleet ; he broke through and pressed * Camden, p. 691. t Monson, p. 196. ELIZABETH. 291 forward into the thickest of the fire. Emulation for glory, avidity of plunder, animosity against the Spaniards, proved incentives to every one ; and the enemy was soon obliged to slip anchor, and retreat farther into the bay, where they ran many of their ships aground. Essex then landed his men at the fort of Puntal, and immediately marched to the attack of Cadiz, which the impetuous valor of the English soon carried sword in hand. The generosity of Essex, not inferior to his valor, made him stop the slaughter, and treat his prisoners with the greatest humanity, and even affability and kindness. The English made rich plunder in the city ; but missed of a much richer by the resolution which the duke of Medina, the Spanish admiral, took of setting fire'to the ships, in order to prevent their falling into the hands of the enemy. It was computed, that the loss which the Spaniards sustained in this enterprise amounted to twenty millions of ducats;* besides the indignity which that proud and ambitious people suffered from the sacking of one of their chief cities, and destroying in their harbor a fleet of such force and value. Essex, all on fire for glory, regarded this great success only as a step to future achievements : he insisted on keeping pos session of Cadiz; and he undertook, with four hundred men and three months' provisions, to defend the place, till succors should arrive from England ; but all the other seamen and soldiers were satisfied with the honor which they had acquired ; and were impatient to return home, in order to secure their plunder. Every other proposal of Essex to annoy the enemy met with a like reception ; his scheme for intercepting the carracks at the Azores, for assaulting the Groine, for taking St. Andero and St. Sebastian : and the English, finding it so difficult to drag this impatient warrior from the enemy, at last left him on the Spanish coast, attended by very few ships. He complained much to the queen of their want of spirit in this enterprise ; nor was she pleased, that they had returned without attempting to intercept the Indian fleet ; t but the great success, in the enterprise on Cadiz, had covered all their miscarriages : and that princess, though she admired the lofty genius of Essex, could not forbear expressing an esteem for the other officers.! The admiral was created earl of Notting ham ; and his promotion gave great disgust to Essex.§ In * Birch's Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 97. t Birch's Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 121. X Camden, p. S93, § Sidney Papers, vol. ii. p. 77- S92 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. the preamble of the patent it was said, that the new dign was conferred on him on account of his good services taking Cadiz, and destroying the Spanish ships ; a merit whi Essex pretended to belong solely to himself: and he offered maintain this plea by single combat against the earl of Nottir ham, or his sons, or any of his kindred. The achievements in the subsequent year proved not fortunate ; but as the Indian fleet very narrowly escaped t English, Philip had still reason to see the great hazard a disadvantage of that war in which he was engaged, and 1 Superiority which the English, by their naval power and th situation, had acquired over him. The queen, having i ceived intelligence that the Spaniards, though their fleets we so much shattered and destroyed by the expedition to Cad were preparing a squadron at Ferrol and the Groine, and we marching troops thither, with a view of making a descent Ireland, was resolved to prevent their enterprise, and destroy the shipping in these harbors. She prepared a lar fleet of a hundred and twenty sail, of which seventeen we her own ships, forty-three were smaller vessels, and the n tenders and victuallers : she embarked on board this fleet fi thousand new-levied soldiers, and added a thousand veter troops, whom Sir Francis Vere brought from the Netherlam Tbe earl of Essex, commander-in-chief both of the land a sea forces, was at the head of one squadron ; Lord Thom Howard was appointed vice-admiral of another ; Sir Wall Raleigh of the third : Lord Mountjoy commanded the la forces under Essex : Vere was appointed marshal : Sir Geor Carew lieutenant of the ordnance, and Sir Christopher Blot first colonel. The earls of Rutland and Southampton, t Lords Grey, Cromwell, and Rich, with several other perso of distinction, embarked as volunteers. Essex declared 1 resolution- either to destroy the new armada which threaten England, or to perish in the attempt. This powerful fleet set sail from Plymouth ; buf were i sooner out of harbor than they met with a furious storm, whii shattered and dispersed them ; and before they could refitted, Essex found that their provisions were so far spei that it would not be safe to carry so numerous an army aloi with him. He dismissed, therefore, all the soldiers, exce the thousand veterans under Vere ; and laying aside i thoughts of attacking Ferrol or the Groine, he confined t object of his expedition to the intercepting of the Indian flee ELIZABETH. 298 which had at first been considered only as the second enter prise which he was to attempt. The Indian fleet in that age, by reason of the imperfection of navigation, had a stated course, as well as season, both in their going out and in their return ; and there were certain islands at which, as at fixed stages, they always touched, and where they took in water and provisions. The Azores being one of these places where about this time the fleet was expected, Essex bent his course thither ; and he informed Raleigh, that he, on his arrival, intended to attack Fayal, one of these islands. By some accident, the squadrons were separated ; and Raleigh, arriving first before Fayal, thought it more pru dent, after waiting some time for the general, to begin the attack alone, lest the inhabitants should, by further delay, have leisure to make preparations for their defence. He succeeded in the enterprise ; but Essex, jealous of Raleigh, expressed great displeasure at his conduct, and construed it as an inten tion of robbing the general of the glory which attended that action: he cashiered, therefore, Sidney, Bret, Berry;, and others, who had concurred in the attempt : and would have proceeded to inflict the same punishment on Raleigh himself, had not Lord Thomas Howard interposed with his good offices, and persuaded Raleigh, though highnspirited, to make submissions to the general. Essex, who was placabie,.as well as hasty and passionate, was soon appeased, and; both received Raleigh into favor, and restored the other officers to thei? commands.* This incident, however, though tho quarrel was seemingly accommodated, laid the first foundation of that violent animosity which afterwards took place between these; two gallant commanders. Essex made next a disposition proper for intercepting the Indian galleons ; and Sir William Monson, whose station was the most remote ofthe fleet, having fallen in with them, made the signals which had been agreed on. That able officer, in his Memoirs, ascribes Essex's failure, when he was so near: attaining so mighty an advantage, to his want of experience in seamanship ; and the account which he gives of the errors committed by that nobleman, appears very reasonable as well as candid. t The Spanish fleet, finding that the enemy waa upon them, made all the sail possible to the Terceras, and got into the safe and well-fortified harbor of Angra, before the * Monson, p. 173. t Monson, p. 174. 25* 294 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. English fleet could overtake them. Essex intercepted or three ships ; which, however, were so rich, as to repay all 1 charges of the expedition. The causes of the miscarriage in this enterprise were mu canvassed in England, upon the return of the fleet ; a though the courtiers took part differently, as they affect either Essex or Raleigh, the people in general, who bore extreme regard to the gallantry, spirit, and generosity of t former, were inclined to justify every circumstance of I conduct. The queen, who loved the one as much as s esteemed the other, maintained a kind of neutrality, a endeavored to share her favors with an impartial hand betwe .he parties. Sir Robert Cecil, second son of Lord Burlei§ was a courtier of promising hopes, much connected w Raleigh ; and she made him secretary of state, preferably Sir Thomas Bodley, whom Essex recommended for tl office. But not to disgust Essex, she promoted him to t dignity of earl marshal of England ; an office which had be vacant since the death of the earl of Shrewsbury. Ess might perceive from this conduct, that she never intend to give him the entire ascendant over his rivals, and mij thence learn the necessity of moderation and caution. I his temper was too high for submission ; his behavior too op and candid to practise the arts of a court ; and his free sallii while they rendered him but more amiable in the eyes good judges, gave his enemies many advantages against hin The war with Spain, though successful, having exhaust the queen's exchequer, she was obliged to assemble a pt liament ; where Yelverton, a lawyer, was chosen speaker the house of commons.* Elizabeth took care, by the mou of Sir Thomas Egerton, lord keeper, to inform this assemt of the necessity of a supply. She said, that the wars former waged in Europe had commonly been conducted by t parties without further view than to gain a few towns, or most a province, from each other ; but the object of t present hostilities, on the part of Spain, was no other th; utterly to bereave England ofher religion, her liberty, and h independence : that these blessings, however, she herself h hitherto been able to preserve, in spite of the devil, the por and the Spanish tyrant, and all the mischievous designs of i her enemies : that in this contest she had disbursed a sum trip * See note HH, at the end of the volume. ELIZABETH. 295 to all the parliamentary suoplies granted her ; and, besides expending her ordinary revenues, had been obliged to sell many of the crown lands : and that she could not doubt but her subjects, hi a cause where their own honor and interest were so deeply concerned, would willingly contribute to such moderate taxations as should be found necessary for the com mon defqnce.* The parliament granted her three subsidies and six fifteenths ; the same supply which had been given four years before, but which had then appeared so unusual, that they had voted it should never afterwards be regarded as a precedent. The commons, this session, ventured to engage in two con troversies about forms with the house of peers ; a prelude to those encroachments which, as they assumed more courage, they afterwards made upon the prerogatives of the crown. They complained, that the lords failed in civility to them, by receiving their messages sitting with their hats on ; and that the keeper returned an answer in the same negligent posture : but the upper house proved, to their full satisfaction, that they were not entitled, by custom and the usage of parliament, to any more respect.t Some amendments had been made by the lords to a bill sent up by the commons ; and these amend ments were written on parchment, and returned with the bill to the commons. The lower house took umbrage at the novelty : they pretended that these amendments ought to have been written on paper, not on parchment ; and they com plained of this innovation to the peers. The peers replied, that they expected not such a frivolous objection from the gravity of the house ; and that it was not material, whether the amendments were written on parchment or on paper, nor whether the paper were white, black, or brown. The com mons were offended at this reply, which seemed to contain a mockery of them ; and they complained of it, though without obtaining any satisfaction-! An application was made, by way of petition, to the queen from the lower house, against monopolies ; an at use which had risen to an enormous height; and they received a gra cious though a general answer ; for which they returned their thankful acknowledgments.^ But not to give them too much encouragement in such applications, she told them, in * D'Ewes, p. 525, 527. Townsend, p. 79. t D'Ewes, p. 539, 540, 580, 585. Townsend, p. 93, 94, 95. j D'Ewes, p. 576, 677. $ D'Ewes, p. 670, 673. 296 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. the speech which she delivered at their dissolution, " that with regard to these patents, she hoped that her dutiful and loving subjects would not take away her prerogative, which is tha chief flower in her garden, and the principal and head pean in her crown and diadem ; but that they would rather leave these matters to her disposal." * The commons also tool notice, this session, of some transactions in the court of higl commission ; but not till they had previously obtained permis sion from her majesty to that purpose.t [1598.] Elizabeth had reason to foresee, that parlia mentary supplies would now become more necessary to her than ever ; and that the chief burden of the war with Spain would thenceforth lie upon England. Henry had received an overture for peace with Philip ; but before he would proceed to a negotiation, he gave intelligence of it to his allies, the queen and the states ; that, if possible, a general pacification might be made by common agreement. These two powers sent ambassadors to France, in order to remonstrate against peace ; the queen, Sir Robert Cecil and Henry Herbert ; the states, Justin Nassau and John Barnevelt. Henry said to these ministers, that his early education had been amidst war and danger, and he had passed the whole course of his life either in arms or in military preparations : that after the proofs which he had given of his alacrity in the field, no one could doubt but he would willingly, for his part, have continued in a course of life to which he was now habituated, till the common enemy were reduced to such a condition as no longer to give umbrage either to him or to his allies : that no private interests of his own, not even those of his people, nothing but the most invincible necessity, could ever induce him to think of a separate peace with Philip, or make him embrace meas ures not entirely conformable to the wishes of all his con federates : that his kingdom, torn with 'the convulsions and civil wars of near half a century, required some interval of repose, ere it could reach a condition in which it might sustain itself, much more support its allies : that after the minds of his subjects were composed to tranquillity and accustomed to obedience, after his finances were brought_ into order, and after agriculture and the arts were restored", France, instead of being a burden, as at present, to her confederates, would be able to lend them effectual succor, and amply to repay * D'Ewes, p. 647. t D'Ewes, p. 557, 558. ELIZABETH. 297 them all the assistance which she had received during her calamities : and that, if the ambition of Spain would not at present grant them such terms as they should think reason able, he hoped that, in a little time, he should attain such a situation as would enable him to mediate more effectually, and with more decisive authority, in their behalf. The ambassadors were sensible that these reasons were not feigned ; and they therefore remonstrated with the less vehe-. mence against the measures which, they saw, Henry was determined to pursue. The states knew that that monarch was interested never to permit their final ruin ; and having received private assurances that he would still, notwithstanding the peace, give them assistance both of men and money, they were well pleased to remain on terms of amity with him. His greatest concern was to give satisfaction to Elizabeth for this breach of treaty. He had a cordial esteem for that prin cess, a sympathy of manners, and a gratitude for the extra ordinary favors which he had received from her during his greatest difficulties : and he used every expedient to apologize and atone for that measure which necessity extorted from him. But as Spain refused to treat with the Dutch as a free state, and Elizabeth would not negotiate without her ally, Henry found himself obliged to conclude at Vervins a separate peace, by which he recovered possession of all the places seized by Spain during the course of the civil wars, and pro cured to himself leisure to pursue the domestic settlement of his kingdom. His capacity for the arts of peace was not inferior to his military talents ; and in a little time, by his frugality, order, and wise government, he raised France from the desolation and misery in which she was involved, to a more flourishing condition than she had ever before enjoyed. The queen knew that she could also, whenever she pleased, finish the war on equitable terms ; and that Philip, having no claims upon her, would be glad to free himself from an enemy who had foiled him in every contest, and who still had it so much in her power to make him feel the weight of her arms. Some of her wisest counsellors, particularly the treasurer, advised her to embrace pacific measures ; and set before her the advantages of tranquillity, security, and frugality, as more considerable than any success which could attend the great est victories. But this high-spirited princess, though at first averse to war, seemed now to have attained such an ascendant over the enemy, that she was unwilling to stop the course of S9S HISTORY OF ENGLAND. her prosperous fortune. She considered, that her situati and her past victories had given her entire security agai any dangerous invasion ; and the war must thenceforth conducted by sudden enterprises and naval expeditions, which she possessed an undoubted superiority : that the we condition of Philip in the Indies opened to her the view of t most durable advantages ; and the yearly return of his treast by sea afforded a continual prospect of important, thou more temporary successes : that after his peace with Frani if she also should consent to an accommodation, he would able to turn his whole force against the revolted provinces the Netherlands, which, though they had surprisingly increas their power by commerce and good government, were s unable, if not supported by their confederates, to maintc war against so potent a monarch : and that as her defence that commonwealth was the original ground of the quarrel, was unsafe, as well as dishonorable, to abandon its cause she had placed it in a state of greater security. These reasons were frequently inculcated on her by t earl of Essex, whose passion for glory, as well as his milita talents, made him earnestly desire the continuance of war, frc which he expected to reap so much advantage and distinctii The rivalship between this nobleman and Lord Burleigh ma each of them insist the more strenuously on his own couns« but gs Essex's person was agreeable to the queen, as well as 1 advice conformable to her inclinations, the favorite seem daily to acquire an ascendant over the minister. Had he be endowed with caution and self-command equal to his shini qualities, he would have so rivetted himself in the queen's cc fidence, that none of his enemies had ever been able to ii peach his credit : but his lofty spirit could ill submit to tl implicit deference which her temper required, and which s had ever been accustomed to receive from all her subjec Being once engaged in a dispute with her about the choice i a governor for Ireland, he was so heated in the argumet that he entirely forgot the rules both of duty and civility, a turned his back upon her in a contemptuous manner. H anger, naturally prompt and violent, rose at this provocatio and she instantly gave him a box on the ear, adding a passio ate expression suited to his impertinence. Instead of reci lecting himself, and making the submissions due to her s and station, he clapped his hand to his sword, and swore, tl he would not bear such usage, were it from Henry VIII. hii ELIZABETH. 299 self; and he immediately withdrew from court. Egerton, the chancellor, who loved Essex, exhorted him to repair his indiscre tion by proper acknowledgments ; and entreated him not tq give that triumph to his enemies, that affliction to his friends, which must ensue from his supporting a contest with his sovereign, and deserting the service of his country : but Essex was deeply stung with the dishonor which he had received ; and seemed to think, that an insult which might be pardoned in a woman, was become a mortal affront when it came from his sover eign. " If the vilest of all indignities," said he, "is done me, does religion enforce me to sue for pardon ? Doth God require it ? Is it impiety not to do it ? 'Why ? Cannot princes err ? Can not subjects receive wrong ? Is an earthly power infinite ? Par don me, my lord ; I can never subscribe to these principles. Let Solomon's fool laugh when he is stricken ; let those that mean to make their profit of princes, show no sense of princes' injuries : let tkem acknowledge an infinite absoluteness on earth, that do not believe an absolute infiniteness in heaven : " (alluding, probably, to the character and conduct of Sir Walter Raleigh, who lay under the reproach of impiety.) " As for me," con tinued he, " I have received wrong, I feel it : my cause is good, I know it ; and whatsoever happens, all the powers on earth can never exert more strength and constancy in oppressing, than I can show in suffering every thing that can or shall be imposed upon me. Your lordship, in the beginning of your letter, makes me a player, and yourself a looker on : and me a player of my own game, so you may see more than I : but give me leave to tell you, that since you do but see, and I do suffer, I must of necessity feel more than you." * This spirited letter was shown by Essex to his friends, and they were so imprudent as to disperse copies of it ; yet, not withstanding this additional provocation, the queen's partiality was so prevalent, that she reinstated him in his former favor ; and her kindness to him appeared rather to have acquired new force from this short interval of anger and resentment, The death of Burleigh, his antagonist, which happened abou the same time, seemed to insure him constant possession of the queen's confidence ; and nothing indeed but his own in discretion could thenceforth have shaken his well-established credit. Lord Burleigh died in an advanced age ; and, by a, rare fortune* was equally regretted by his sovereign and the * See iiote.II, at.th»..en,d Europe had been seized at the beginning of that century, and which had en gaged them in innovations and religious disputes, with which they were still so violently agitated. The ancient superstition, the practices and observances of their fathers, mingled and polluted with many wild opinions, still maintained an unshaken empire over them ; and the example alone of the English was sufficient to render the reformation odious to the prejudiced and discontented Irish. The old opposition of manners, laws., and interest was now inflamed by religious antipathy ; and the subduing and civilizing of that country seemed to become every day more difficult and more impracticable. The animosity against the English was carried so far by the Irish, that, in an insurrection raised by two sons of the earl of Clanricarde, they put to the sword all the inhabitants of the town of Athenry, though Irish, because they began to conform themselves to English customs, and had embraced a more civilized form of life than had been practised by their ancestors.* The usual revenue of Ireland amounted only to six thousand pounds a year : t the queen, though with much repining,! commonly added twenty thousand more, which she remitted from England ; and with this small revenue a body of a thou sand men was supported, which, on extraordinary emergencies, was augmented to two thousand.^ No wonder that a force so disproportioned to the object, instead of subduing a mutinous kingdom, served rather to provoke the natives, and to excite those frequent insurrections, which still further inflamed the animosity between the two nations, and increased the disorders to which the Irish were naturally subject. In 1560, Shan O'Neale, or the great O'Neale, as the Irish called him, because head of that potent clan, raised a rebellion in Ulster ; but after some skirmishes, he was received into favor, upon his submission, and his promise of a more dutiful behavior for the future.|| This impunity tempted him to under take a new insurrection in 1567 ; but being pushed by Sir Henry Sidney, lord deputy, he retreated into Clandeboy, and rather than submit to the English, he put himself into fhe hands of some Scottish islanders, who commonly infested * Camden, p. 457. t Memoirs of the Sidneys, vol. i. p. 86. X Cox, p. 342. Sidney, vol. i. p. 85, 200. § Camden, p. 542. Sidney, vol,, i. p. 65, 109, 183, 184. || Camden, p. 385, 391. ELIZABETH. 305 those parts by- their incursions. The Scots, who retained a quarrel against him on account of former injuries, violated the laws of hospitality, and murdered him at a festival to which they had invited him. He was a man equally noted for his pride, his violence, his debaucheries, and his hatred of the English nation. He is said to have put some of his followers to death because they endeavored to introduce the use of bread after the English fashion** Though so violent an enemy to luxury, he was extremely addicted to riot ; and was accustomed, after his intemperance had thrown him into a fever, to plunge his body into mire, that he might allay the flame which he had raised by former excesses.t Such was the life led by this haughty barbarian ; who scorned the title of the earl qf Tyrone, which Elizabeth intended to have restored to him, and who assumed the rank and appellation of king of Ulster. He used also to say, that though the queen was his sovereign lady, he never made peace with her but at her seeking-! Sir Henry Sidney was one of the wisest and most active governors that Ireland had enjoyed for several reigns ; § and he possessed his authority eleven years ; during which he struggled with many difficulties, and made some progress in repressing those disorders which had become inveterate among the people. The earl of Desmond, in 1569, gave him disturb ance, from the hereditary animosity which prevailed between that nobleman and the earl of Ormond, descended from tho only family, established in Ireland, that had steadily majn-f tained its lovalty to the English crown. || The earl of Tho-; mond, in 1570, attempted a rebellion in Connaught, but was obliged to fly into France before his designs were ripe for execution. Stukely, another fugitive, found such credit with the pope, Gregory XIII., that he flattered that pontiff with the prospect of making his nephew, Buon Compagno, king of Ireland ; and, as if this project had already taken effect, he. accepted the title of marquis of Leinster from the new sov ereign, fl He passed next into Spain; and after having received much encouragement and great rewards from Philip, who intended to employ him as an instrument in disturbing Elizabeth, he was found to possess too little interest for exe cuting those high promises which he had made to that monarch, * Camden, p. 409. t Camden, p. 409. Cox, p. 324. J Camden, p. 321. § Cox, p. 350. |j Camden, p. 424. 11 Camden, p. 430. Cox, p. 354. 26* 306 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. He retired into Portugal ; and following the fortunes of Don Sebastian, he perished with that gallant prince in his bold but unfortunate expedition against the Moors. Lord Gray, after some interval, succeeded to the govern ment of Ireland ; and in 1579 suppressed a new rebellion of the earl of Desmond, though supported by a body of Span iards and Italians. The rebellion of the Bourks followed a few years after ; occasioned by the strict and equitable administra tion of Sir Richard Bingham, governor of Connaught, who endeavored to repress the tyranny of the chieftains over their vassals.* The queen, finding Ireland so burdensome to her, tried several expedients for reducing it to a state of greater order and submission. She encouraged the earl of Essex, father to that nobleman who was afterwards her favorite, to attempt the subduing and planting of Clandeboy, Ferny, and other territories, part of some late forfeitures ; but that enter prise proved unfortunate ; and Essex died of a distemper, occasioned, as is supposed, by the vexation which he had conceived from his disappointments. A university was founded in Dublin with a view of introducing arts and learn ing into that kingdom, and civilizing the uncultivated manners of the inhabitants.t But the most unhappy expedient em ployed in the government of Ireland, was that made use of in 1585 by Sir John Perrot, at that time lord deputy ; he put arms into the hands of the Irish inhabitants of Ulster, in order to enable them, without the assistance of the government, to repress the incursions of the Scottish islanders, by which these parts were much infested.! At the same time, the invitations of Philip, joined to their zeal for the Catholic religion, en gaged many of the gentry to serve in the Low Country wars ; and thus Ireland, being provided with officers and soldiers, with discipline and arms, became formidable to the English, and was thenceforth able to maintain a more regular war against her ancient masters. Hugh O'Neale, nephew to Shan O'Neale, had been raised by the queen to the dignity of earl of Tyrone ; but having murdered his cousin, son of that rebel, and being acknowl edged head of his clan, he preferred the pride of barbarous license and dominion to the pleasures of opulence and tran quillity, and he fomented all those disorders by which he * Stowe, p. 720. t Camden, p. 566. X Nanton's Fragmenta Regalia, p. 203. ELIZABETH. 307 hoped to weaken or overturn the English government. He was noted for the vices of perfidy and cruelty, so common among uncultivated nations ; and was also eminent for cour age, a virtue which their disorderly course of life requires, and which, notwithstanding, being less supported by the prin ciple of honor, is commonly more precarious among them than among a civilized people. Tyrone, actuated by this spirit, secretly fomented the discontents of the Maguires, O'Donnels, O'Rourks, Macmabons, and other rebels ; yet, trusting to the influence of his deceitful oaths and professions, he put himself into the hands of Sir William Russel, who, in the year 1594, was sent over deputy to Ireland. Contrary to the advice and protestation of Sir Henry Bagnal, marshal of the army, he was dismissed ; and returning to his own coun try, he embraced the resolution of raising an open rebellion, and of relying no longer on the lenity or inexperience, of the English government. He entered into a correspondence with Spain ; he procured thence a supply of arms and am munition ; and having united all the Irish chieftains in a dependence upon himself, he began to be regarded as a formidable enemy. The native Irish were so poor, that their country afforded few other commodities than cattle and oatmeal, which were easily concealed or driven away on the approach of the ene my ; and as Elizabeth was averse to the expense requisite for supporting her armies, the English found much difficulty in pushing their advantages, and in pursuing the rebels into the bogs, woods, and other fastnesses to which they retreated. These motives rendered Sir John Norris, who commanded the English army, the more willing to hearken to any proposals of truce or accommodation made him by Tyrone ; and after the war was spun out by these artifices for some years, that gallant Englishman, finding that he had been deceived by treacherous promises, and that he had performed nothing worthy of his ancient reputation, was seized with a languishing distemper,- and died of vexation and discontent. Sir Henry Bagnal, who succeeded him in the command, was still more unfortunate. As he advanced to relieve the fort of Black Water, besieged by the rebels, he was surrounded in disad vantageous ground : his soldiers, discouraged by part of their powders accidentally taking fire, were put to flight ; and, though the pursuit was stopped by Montacute, who commanded the English horse, fifteen hundred men, together with the 30Q HISTORY OF ENGLAND. general himself, were left dead upon the spot. This victory, so unsual to the Irish, roused their courage, supplied them with arms and ammunition;, and raised the reputation of Tyrone, who assumed the character of the deliverer of his country, and patron of Irish liberty.* The English council were now sensible, that the rebellion of Ireland was come to a dangerous/head, and that the formei; temporizing arts, of granting truces and pacifications to the rebels, and of allowing them to purchase pardons by resigning part of -the plunder acquired durijng their insurrection, served only to enc^Fu-rag^^theHgpirit'pQXmntiny and disorder among them. It was therefore resolved to push the war by more vigorous measures ; and the queen cast her eye on Charles Blount, Lord Mountjoy, as a man, who, though hitherto less accustomed to arms than to books and literature, was endowed, she thought, with talents equal to the undertaking. But the young earl of Essex, ambitious of fame, and desirous of obtaining this government for himself, oppctsed the choice of Mountjoy; and represented the necessity of appointing for that important employment, some person more experienced in, war than this nobleman, more practised in business, and of higher quality and reputation, By this description, he was understood to mean himself; t and no sooner was his desiro known, than his enemies, even more zealously than hi^ friends, conspired to gratify his wishes. Many of his friends thought, that he never ought to consent, except for a short, time, to accept of any employment which must remove him from court, and prevent him from cultivating that personal inclination which the queen so visibly bore him.! flis ene mies hoped, that if by his absence she had once leisure to forget the charms of his person and conversation, his impatient and lofty demeanor would soon disgust a princess who usually exacted such profound submission and implicit obe dience from all her servants. But Essex was incapable of entering into such cautious views; and even Elizabeth, who was extremely desirous of subduing the Irish rebels, and who was much prepossessed in favor of Essex's genius, readily agreed to appoint him governor of Ireland, by the title of lord lieutenant. The more to encourage him in his under taking, she granted him by his patent more extensive authority * Cox, p. 415.. t Baeoa, vol. iv. p, 612. J Cabala, p. 79. ELIZABETH. 309" than had ever before been conferred on any lieutenant ; the power of Carrying on or finishing the war as he pleased, of pardoning the rebels, and of filling all the most considerable employments of the kingdom.* And to insure him of suc cess, she levied a numerous army of sixteen thousand foot and thirteen hundred horse, which she afterwards augmented to twenty thousand foot and two thousand horse ; a force which, it was apprehended, would be abje in one campaign to Overwhelm the rebels, and make an entire conquest of Ire land. Nor did Essex's enemies, the earl of Nottingham, Sir Robert Cecil, Sir Walter Raleigh, and Lord Cobham, throw any obstacles in "the way of these preparations ; but hoped that the higher the queen's expectations of success were raised, the more difficult it would be for the event to corre spond to them. In a like view, they rather seconded than opposed those exalted encomiums, which Essex's numerous and sanguine friends dispersed, of his high genius, of his elegant endowments, his heroic courage, his unbounded gen erosity, and his noble birth ; nor were they displeased to ob serve that passionate fondness which the people every where expressed for this nobleman. These artful politicians had studied his characte. ; and finding that his open and un daunted spirit, if taught temper and reserve from opposition, must become iL/incible, they resolved rather to give full breath to those sails which were already too much expanded, and to push him upon dangers of which he seemed to make such small account.t And the better to make advantage of his indiscretions, spies were set upon all his actions, and even expressions ; and his vehement spirit, which, while he was in the midst of the court and environed by his rivals, was unac quainted with disguise, could not fail, after he thought himself surrounded by none but friends, to give a pretence for malig nant suspicions and constructions. Essex left London in the month of March, attended with the acclamations of the populace ; and, what did him more honor, accompanied by a numerous train of nobility and gentry, who, from affection to his person, had attached them selves to his fortunes, and sought fame and military experience under so renowned a commander. The first act of authority which he exercised after his arrival in Ireland, was an indis- * Rymer, torn. xvi. p. 366. t Camden. Osborne, p. 371- 310 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. cretion, but of the generous kind ; and in both these respects suitable to his character. He appointed his intimate friend, the earl of Southampton, general of the horse ; a nobleman who had incurred the queen's displeasure by secretly marry ing without her consent, and whom she had therefore enjoined Essex not to employ in any command under him. She no sooner heard of this instance of disobedience, than she repri manded him, and ordered him to recall his commission to Southampton. But Essex, who had imagined that some reasons which he opposed to her first injunctions had satisfied her, had the imprudence to remonstrate against these second orders ; * and it was not till she reiterated her commands that he could be prevailed on to displace his friend. Essex, on his landing at Dublin, deliberated with the Irish council concerning the proper methods of carrying on the war against the rebels ; and here he was guilty of a capital error, which was the ruin of his enterprise. He had always, while in England, blamed the conduct of former commanders, who artfully protracted the war, who harassed their troops in small enterprises, and who, by agreeing to truces and temporary pacifications with the rebels, had given them leisure to recruit their broken forces.f In conformity to these views, he had ever insisted upon leading his forces immediately into Ulster against Tyrone, the chief enemy ; and his instructions had been drawn agreeably to these his declared resolutions. But the Irish counsellors persuaded him that the season was too early for the enterprise, and that as the morasses, in which the northern Irish usually sheltered themselves, would not as yet be passable to the English forces, it would be better to employ the present time in an expedition into Munster. Their secret reason for this advice was, that many of them possessed estates in that province, and were desirous to have the enemy dislodged from their neighborhood ; ! but the same selfish spirit which had induced them to give this counsel, made them soon after disown it, when tliey found the bad consequences with which it was attended. § Essex obliged all the rebels of Munster either to submit or to fly into the neighboring provinces : but as the Irish, from the greatness of the queen's preparations, had concluded tha' * Birch's Memoirs, vol. ii p. 421, 451. t Birch's Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 431. Bacon, vol. iv. p. 512. X Birch's Memoirs, vol. U. p. 448. 5 Winwood, vol. i- p. 140. ELIZABETH. 311 she intended to reduce them to total subjection, or even utterly to exterminate them, they considered their defence as a com mon cause ; and the English forces were no sooner withdrawn, than the inhabitants of Munster relapsed into rebellion, and renewed their confederacy with their other countrymen. The army, meanwhile, by the fatigue of long and tedious marches, and by the influence of the climate, was become sickly ; and on its return to Dublin, about the middle of July, was surpris ingly diminished in number. The courage of the soldiers was even much abated : for though they had prevailed in some lesser enterprises against Lord Cahir and others, yet had they sometimes met with more stout resistance than they expected from the Irish, whom they were wont to despise ; and as they were raw troops and unexperienced, a considerable body of them had been put to flight at the Glins by an inferior number of the enemy. Essex was so enraged at this misbehavior, that he cashiered all the officers, and decimated the private men.* But this act of severity, though necessary, had intimidated the soldiers, and increased their aversion to the service. The queen was extremely disgusted, when she heard that sp considerable a part of the season was consumed in these frivolous enterprises ; and was still more surprised, that Essex persevered in the same practice which he had so much con demned in others, and which he knew to be so much contrary to her purpose and intention. That nobleman, in order to give his troops leisure to recruit from their sickness and fatigue, left the main army in quarters, and marched with a small body of fifteen hundred men into the county of Ophelie against the O'Connors and O'Mores, whom he forced to a submission: but, on his return to DubL.;. be found the army . so much diminished, that he wrote to the Engusii council an account of its condition, and informed them, that if he am not immediately receive a reenforcement of two thousand men, it would be impossible for him this season to attempt any thing against Tyrone. That there might be no pretence for furthei inactivity, the queen immediately sent over the number de manded ; t and Essex began at last to assemble his forces fol the expedition into Ulster. The army was so averse to thiii enterprise, and so terrified with the reputation of Tyrone, that many of them counterfeited sickness, many of them * Cox, p. 421. t Birch's Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 430. Cox, p. 421. 312 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. deserted ; * and Essex found, that after leaving the necessary garrisons, he could scarcely lead four thousand men against the rebels. He marched, however, with this small army ; but was soon sensible, that in so advanced a season, it would be impossible for him to effect any thing against an enemy who, though superior in number, was determined to avoid every decisive action. He hearkened, therefore, to a message sent him by Tyrone, who desired a conference ; and a place near the two camps was appointed for that purpose. The generals lilet without any of their attendants ; and a river ran between them, into which Tyrone entered to the depth of his saddle ; but Essex stood on the opposite bank. After half an hour's conference, where Tyrone behaved with great submission to the lord lieutenant, a cessation of arms was concluded to the first of May, renewable from six weeks to six weeks ; but which might be broken off by either party upon a fortnight's Warning.!" Essex also received from Tyrone proposals for a peace, in which that rebel had inserted many unreasonable and exorbitant conditions : and there appeared afterwards some reason to suspect that he had here commenced a very unjustifiable correspondence with the enemy-! So unexpected an issue of an enterprise, the greatest and most expensive that Elizabeth had ever undertaken, provoked her extremely against Essex ; and this disgust was much augmented by other circumstances of that nobleman's con duct. He wrote many letters to the queen and council, full of peevish and impatient expressions ; complaining of his enemies, lamenting that their calumnies should be believed against him, and discovering symptoms of a mind equally haughty and discontented. She took care to inform him of her dissatisfaction • u it commanded him to remain in Ireland till furthp- .iiiers. i.ssex heard at once of Elizabeth's anger, and of the pro motion of his enemy, Sir Robert Cecil, to the office of master of the wards, an office to which he himself aspired : and dreading that, if he remained any longer absent, the queen would be totally alienated from him, he hastily embraced a resolution which, he knew, had once succeeded with the earl of Leicester, the former favorite of Elizabeth. Leicester, * Sidney's Letters, vol. ii. p. 112, 113. t Sidney's Letters, vol. ii. p. 125. X Winwood, vol. i. p. 307. State Trials. Bacon, vol. iv. p. 514, J35, 637. ELIZABETH. 313 being informed, while in the Low Countries, that his mistress was extremely displeased with his conduct, disobeyed her orders by coming over to England ; and having pacified her by his presence, by his apologies, and by his flattery and insinuation, disappointed all the expectations of his enemies.* Essex, therefore, weighing more the similarity of circum stances than the difference of character between himself and Leicester, immediately set out for England ; and making speedy journeys, he arrived at court before any one was in the least apprised of his intentions.t Though besmeared with dirt and sweat, he hastened up stairs to the presence chamber, thence to the privy chamber ; nor stopped till he was in the queen's bed-chamber, who was newly risen, and was sitting with her hair about her face. He threw himself on his knees, kissed her hand, and had some private conference with her ; where he was so graciously received, that on his departure he was heard to express great satisfaction, and to thank God that, though he had suffered much trouble and many storms abroad, he found a sweet calm at home-! But this placability of Elizabeth was merely the result of her surprise, and of the momentary satisfaction which she felt on the sudden and unexpected appearance of her favorite : after she had leisure for recollection, all his faults recurred to her ; and she thought it necessary, by some severe discipline, to subdue that haughty, imperious spirit, who, presuming on }&r partiality, had pretended to domineer in her councils, to engross all her favor, and to act, in the most important affairs, without regard to her orders and instructions. When Essex waited on her in the afternoon, he found her extremely altered in her carriage towards him : she ordered him to be confined to his chamber ; to be twice examined by the council ; and though his answers were calm and submissive, she committed him to the custody of Lord Keeper Egerton, and held him sequestered from all company, even from that of his countess, nor was so much as the intercourse of letters permitted be tween them. Essex dropped many expressions of humilia-- tion and sorrow, none of resentment : he professed an entire submission to the queen's will ; declared his intention of re tiring into the country, arid of leading thenceforth a private life, remote from courts and business : but though he affected * Birch's Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 453. t Winwood, vol. i. p. 118. X Sidney's Letters, vol. ii. p. 127. "¦ol. iv. 27 H 314 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. to be so entirely cured of his aspiring ambition, the vexation of this disappointment, and of the triumph gained by his enemies, preyed upon his haughty spirit, and he fell into a distemper which seemed to put his life in danger. The queen had always declared to all the world, and even to the earl himself, that the purpose, of her severity was to correct, not to ruin him ; * and when she heard of his sickness, she was not a little alarmed with his situation. She ordered . eight physicians of the best reputation and experience to con sult of his case ; and being informed that the issue was much to be apprehended, she sent Dr. James to him with some broth, and desired that physician to deliver him a message, which she probably deemed of still greater virtue, that if she thought such a step consistent with her honor, she would herself pay him a visit. The bystanders, who carefully observed her countenance, remarked, that in pronouncing these words her eyes were suffused with tears.t When these symptoms of the queen's returning affection towards Essex were known, they gave a sensible alarm to the faction which had declared their opposition to him. Sir Walter Raleigh in particular, the most violent as well as the most ambitious of his enemies, was so affected with the appearance of this sudden revolution, that he was seized with sickness in his turn ; and the queen was obliged to apply the same salve to his wound, and to send him a favorable message, express ing her desire of his recovery.! « [1600.] The medicine which the queen administered to these aspiring rivals was successful with both ; and Essex, being now allowed the company of his countess, and having entertained more promising hopes of his future fortunes, was so much restored in his health as to be thought past danger. A belief was instilled into Elizabeth, that his distemper had been entirely counterfeit, in order to move her compassion ; § and she relapsed into her former rigor against him. He wrote her a letter, and sent her a rich present on new-year's day, as was usual with the courtiers at that time : she read the letter, but rejected the present. || After some interval, however, of severity, she allowed him to retire to his own house ; and * Birch's Memoirs, p. 444, 445. Sidney's Letters, vol, ii. p. 196. t Sidney's Letters, vol. ii. p. 151. X Sidney's. Letters, vol. ii. p. 139. j Sidney's Letters, vol. ii. p. 153. U Sidney's Letters, vol. ii. p. 155, 156. ELIZABETH. 315 though he remained still under custody, and was sequestered from all company, he was so grateful for this mark of lenity, that he sent her a letter of thanks on the occasion. " This further degree of goodness," said he, " doth sound in my ears, as if your majesty spake these words : ' Die not, Essex ; for though I punish thine, offence, and humble thee for thy good, yet will I one day be served again by thee.' My prostrate soul makes this answer : ' I hope for that blessed day.' And in expectation of it, all my afflictions of body and mind are humbly, patiently, and cheerfully borne by me." * The countess of Essex, daughter of Sir Francis Walsingham, pos sessed, as well as her husband, a refined taste in literature ; and the chief consolation which Essex enjoyed, during this period of anxiety and expectation, consisted in her company, and in reading with her those instructive and entertaining authors, which, even during the time of his greatest prosperity, he had never entirely neglected. There were several incidents which kept alive the queen's anger against Essex. Every account which she received from Ireland, convinced her more and more of his misconduct in that government, and of the insignificant purposes to which he had employed so much force and treasure. Tyrone, so far from being quelled, had thought proper, in less than three months, to break the truce ; and joining with O'Donnel and other rebels, had overrun almost the whole kingdom. He boasted that he was certain of receiving a supply of men, money, and arms from Spain : he pretended to be champion of the Catholic religion : and he openly exulted in the present of a phcenix plume, which the pope, Clement VIIL, in order to encourage him in the prosecution of so good a cause, had consecrated, and had conferred upon him.t The queen, that she might check his progress, returned to her former intention of appointing Mountjoy lord deputy ; and though that noble man, who was an intimate friend of Essex, and desired his return to the government of Ireland, did at first very ear nestly excuse himself on account of his bad state of health, she obliged him to accept of the employment. Mountjoy found the island almost in a desperate condition ; but being a man of capacity and* vigor, he was so little discouraged, that he immediately advanced against Tyrone in Ulster. He pene trated into the heart of that country, the chief seat of the * Birch's Memoirs, p. 444. t Camden, p. 617. 316 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. rebels ; he fortified Deny and Mount-Norris, in order to bridle the Irish : he chased them from the field, and obliged them to take shelter in the woods and morasses : he employed, with equal success, Sir George Carew in Munster : and by these promising enterprises, he gave new life to the queen's authority in that island. As the comparison of Mountjoy's administration with that of Essex contributed to alienate Elizabeth from her favorite, she received additional disgust from the partiality of the people, who, prepossessed with an extravagant idea of Essex's merit, complained of the injustice done him by his removal from court, and by his confinement. Libels were secretly dispersed against Cecil and Raleigh and all his enemies : and bis popularity, which was always great, seemed rather to be increased than diminished by his misfortunes. Elizabeth, in order to justify to the public her conduct with regard to him, had often expressed her intentions of having him tried in the star chamber for his offences : but her tenderness for him prevailed at last over her severity ; and she was contented to have him only examined by the privy council. The attorney- general, Coke, opened the cause against him, and treated him with the cruelty and insolence which that great lawyer usually exercised against the unfortunate. He displayed in the strong est colors all the faults committed by Essex in his administra tion of Ireland : his making Southampton general of the horse, contrary to the queen's injunctions ; his deserting the enter prise against Tyrone, and marching to Leinster and Munster ; his conferring knighthood on too many persons ; his secret conference with Tyrone ; and his sudden return from Ireland, in contempt of her majesty's commands. He also exagger ated the indignity of the conditions which Tyrone had been allowed to propose ; odious and abominable conditions, said he ; a public toleration of an idolatrous religion, pardon for himself and every traitor in Ireland, and full restitution of lands and possessions to all of them.* The solicitor-general, Fleming, insisted upon the wretched situation in which the earl had left that kingdom ; and Francis, son of Sir Nicholas Bacon, who had been lord keeper in the beginning of the present reign, closed the charge with displaying the undutiful expressions contained in some letters written by the earl. Essex, when he came to plead in his own defence, Birch's Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 449. ELIZABETH. 317 renounced, with great submission and humility, all pretensions to an apology ; * and declared his resolution never, on this or any other occasion, to have any contest with his sovereign. He said, that having severed himself from the world, and ab jured all sentiments of ambition, he had no scruple to confess every failing or error into which his youth, folly, or manifold infirmities might have betrayed him ; that his inward sorrow for his offences against her majesty was so profound, that it exceeded all his outward crosses and afflictions, nor had he any scruple of submitting to a public confession of whatever she had been pleased to impute to him ; that in his acknowl edgments he retained only one reserve, which he never would relinquish but with his life, the assertion of a loyal and unpol luted heart, of an unfeigned affection, of an earnest desire ever to perform to her majesty the best service which his pool abilities would permit ; and that, if this sentiment were allowed by the council, he willingly acquiesced in any condemnation or sentence which they could pronounce against him. This submission was uttered with so much eloquence, and in so pathetic a manner, that it drew tears from many of the audience.t All the privy counsellors, in giving their judg ment, made no scruple of doing the earl justice with regard to the loyalty of his intentions. Even Cecil, whom he believed his capital enemy, treated him with regard and humanity. And the sentence pronounced by the lord keeper, (to which the council assented,) was in these words : " If this eause," said he, " had been heard in the star chamber, my sentence must have been for as great a fine as ever was set upon any man's head in that court, together with perpetual confinement in that prison which belongeth to a man of his quality, the Tower. But since we are now in another place, and in a course of favor, my censure is, that the earl of Essex is not to execute the office of a counsellor, nor that of earl marshal of England, nor of master of the ordnance ; and to return to his own house, there to continue a prisoner till it shall please her majesty to release this and all the rest of his sentence." J The earl of Cumberland made a slight opposition to this sen tence ; and said, that if he thought it would stand, he would have required a little more time to deliberate ; that he deemed it somewhat severe ; and that any commander-in-chief might * Sidney's Letters, vol. ii. p. 200. t Sidney's Letters, vol. ii. p. 200, 201. *¦ Birch's Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 454: Camden, p. 626, 627. 27* ' 318 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. easily incur a like penalty. " But however," added he, " in confidence of her majesty's mercy, I agree with the rest." The earl of Worcester delivered his opinion in a couple of Latin verses; importing, that where the gods are offended, even misfortunes ought to be imputed as crimes, and that ac cident is no excuse for transgressions against the Divinity. Bacon, so much distinguished afterwards by his high offices, and still more by his profound genius for the sciences, was nearly allied to the Cecil family, being nephew to Lord Bur leigh, and cousin-german to the secretary : but notwithstanding his extraordinary talents, he had met with so little protection from his powerful relations, that he had not yet obtained any preferment in the law, which was his profession. But Essex, who could distinguish merit, and who passionately loved it, had entered into an intimate friendship with Bacon ; had zeal ously attempted, though without success, to procure him the office of solicitor-general ; and in order to comfort his friend under the disappointment, had conferred on him a present of land to the value of eighteen hundred pounds.* The public could ill excuse Bacon's appearance before the council against so munificent a benefactor ; though he acted in obedience to the queen's commands : but she was so well pleased with his behavior, that she imposed on him a new task, of drawing a narrative of that day's proceedings, in order to satisfy the public of the justice and lenity of her conduct. Bacon, who wanted firmness of character more than humanity, gave to the whole transaction the most favorable turn for Essex ; and, in particular, painted out, in elaborate expression, the dutiful sub mission which that nobleman discovered in the defence that he made for his conduct. When he read the paper to her, she smiled at that passage, and observed to Bacon, that old love, she saw, could not easily be forgotten. He replied, that he hoped she meant that of herself.t All the world, indeed, expected that Essex would soon be reinstated in his former credit ;! perhaps, as is usual in recon cilements founded on inclination, would acquire an additional ascendant aver the queen, and after all his disgraces would again appear more a favorite than ever. They were con firmed in this hope, when they saw that,.though he was still prohibited from appearing at court,§ he was continued in his * Cabala, p. 78. f Cabala, p. 83. X Winwood, vol. i. p. 254. § Birch's Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 462- ELIZABETH. 319 office of master of horse, and was restored to his liberty, and that all his friends had access to him. Essex himself seemed determined to persevere in that conduct which had hitherto been so successful, and which the queen, by all this discipline, had endeavored to render habitual to him : he wrote to her, that he kissed her majesty's hands, and the rod with which she had corrected him ; but that he could never recover his wonted cheerfulness, till she deigned to admit him to that presence which had ever been the chief source of his happiness and enjoyment: and that he had now resolved to make amends for his past errors, to retire into a country solitude, and say with Nebuchadnezzar, " Let my dwelling be with the beasts of the field ; let me eat grass as an ox, and be wet with the dew of heaven ; till it shall please the queen to restore me to my understanding." The queen was much pleased with these sentiments ; and replied, that she heartily wished his actions might correspond with his expressions ; that he had tried her patience a long time, and it was but fitting she should now make some experiment of his submission ; that her father would never have pardoned so much obstinacy ; but that, if the furnace of affliction produced such good effects, she should ever after have the better opinion of her chemistry.* The earl of Essex possessed a monopoly of sweet wines ; and as his patent was near expiring, he patiently expected that the queen would renew it ; and 'he considered this event as the critical circumstance of his life, which would determine whether he could ever hope to be reinstated in credit and authority .t But Elizabeth, though gracious in her deportment, was of a temper somewhat haughty and severe ; and being continually surrounded with Essex's enemies, means were found to persuade her, that his lofty spirit was not yet suffi ciently subdued, and that he must undergo this further trial, before he could again be safely received into favor. She therefore denied his request ; and even added, in a contemptu ous st}de, that an ungovernable beast must be stinted in his provender. ! This rigor, pushed one step tpo far, proved the final rum of this young nobleman, and was the source of infinite sorrow and vexation to the queen herself. Essex, who had with great difficulty so long subdued his proud spirit, and whose patience * Camden, p. 628. t Birch's Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 472. j Camden, p. 628. 320 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. was now exhausted, imagining that the queen was entirely inexorable, burst at once all restraints of submission and of prudence, and determined to seek relief by proceeding to the utmost extremities against his enemies. Even during his greatesf favor, he had ever been accustomed to carry matters with a high hand towards his sovereign ; and as this practice gratified his own temper, and was sometimes successful, he had imprudently imagined that it was the only proper method of managing her:* but being now reduced to despair, he gave entire reins to his violent disposition, and threw off all appearance of duty and respect. Intoxicated with the public favor which he already possessed, he practised anew every art of popularity ; and endeavored to increase the general good will by a hospitable manner of life, little suited to his situation and circumstances. His former employments had given him great connections with men of the military profession ; and he now entertained, by additional caresses and civilities, a friendship with all desperate adventurers, whose attachment, he hoped, might, in his present views, prove serviceable to him. He secretly courted the confidence of the Catholics ; but his chief trust lay in the Puritans, whom he openly caressed, and whose manners he seemed to have entirely adopted. He engaged the most celebrated preachers of that sect to resort to Essex House ; he had daily prayers and sermons in his family ; and he invited all the zealots in London to attend those pious exercises. Such was the disposition now beginning to prevail among the English, that, instead of feasting and public spec tacles, the methods anciently practised to gain the populace, nothing so effectually ingratiated an ambitious leader with the public as these fanatical entertainments. And as the Puri tanical preachers frequently inculcated in their sermons the doctrine o^resistance to the civil magistrate, they prepared the minds of their hearers for those seditious projects which Essex was secretly meditating.t But the greatest imprudence of this nobleman proceeded from the openness of his temper, by which he was ill qualified to succeed in such difficult and dangerous enterprises. H( indulged himself in great liberties of speech, and was evei heard tq say of the queen, that she was now grown an ole woman, and was become as crooked in her mind as in hei * Cabala, p. 79. Birch's Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 463. Camden, p, 630. ELIZABETH. 321 body.* Some court ladies, whose favors Essex had formerly neglected, carried her these stories, and incensed her to a high degree against him. Elizabeth was ever remarkably jealous on this head ; and though she was now approaching to her seventieth year, she allowed her courtiers,t and even foreign ambassadors,! to compliment her upon her beauty ; nor had all her good sense been able to cure her of this preposterous vanity.§ There was also an expedient employed by Essex, which, if possible, was more provoking to the queen than those sarcasms on her age and deformity ; and that was, his secret applications to the king of Scots, her heir and successor. That prince had this year very narrowly escaped a dangerous, though ill-formed conspiracy of the earl of Gowry ; and even his deliverance was attended with this disagreeable circum stance, that the obstinate ecclesiastics persisted, in spite ofthe most incontestable evidence, to maintain to his face, that there had been no such conspiracy. James, harassed with his tur bulent and factious subjects, cast a wishful eye to the succes sion of England ; and in proportion as the queen advanced in years, his desire increased of mounting that throne, on which, besides acquiring a great addition of power and splendor, he hoped to govern a people so much more tractable and submis sive. He negotiated with all the courts of Europe, in order to insure himself friends and partisans: he even neglected not the court of Rome and that of Spain ; and though he en gaged himself in no positive promise, he flattered the Catholics with hopes that, in the event of his succession, they might expect some more liberty than was at present indulged them. Elizabeth was the only sovereign in Europe to whom he never dared to mention his right of succession : he knew that, though her advanced age might now invite her to think of fixing an heir to the crown, she never could bear the prospect of her own death without horror, and was determined still to retain him, and all other competitors, in an entire dependence upon her. Essex was descended by females from the royal family ; and some of his sanguine partisans had been so imprudent as * Camden, p. 629. Osborne, p. 397. Sir Walter Raleigh's Prerog ative of Parliament, p. 43. t Birch's Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 442, 443. X Sidney's Letters, vol. ii. p. 171. t See note KK, at the end of the volume. 322 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. to mention his name among those of other pretenders to the crown ; but the earl took care, by means of Henry Lee, whom he secretly sent into Scotland, to assure James, that so far from entertaining such ambitious views, he was determined to use every expedient for extorting an immediate declaration in favor of that monarch's right of succession. James willingly hearkened to this proposal, but did not approve of the violent methods which Essex intended to employ. Essex had com municated his scheme to Mountjoy, deputy of Ireland ; and as no man ever commanded more the cordial affection and attachment of his friends, he had even engaged a person of that virtue and prudence to entertain thoughts of bringing over part of his army into England, and of forcing the queen to declare the king of Scots her successor.* And such was Essex's impatient ardor, that, though James declined this dan gerous expedient, he still endeavored to persuade Mountjoy not to desist from the project ; but the deputy, who thought that such violence, though it might be prudent, and even justifiable, when supported by a sovereign prince, next heir to the crown, would be rash and criminal if attempted by subjects, absolutely refused his concurrence. The correspondence, however, between Essex and the court of Scotland was still conducted with great secrecy and cordiality ; and that noble man, besides conciliating the favor of James, represented all his own adversaries as enemies to that prince's succession, and as men entirely devoted to the interests of Spain, and partisans of the chimerical title of the infanta. The infanta and the archduke Albert had made some ad vances to the queen for peace ; and Boulogne, as a neutral town, was chosen for the place of conference. Sir Henry Nevil, the English resident in France, Herbert, Edmondes, and Beale, were sent thither as ambassadors from England ; and negotiated with Zuniga, Carillo, Richardot, and Verheiken, ministers of Spain and the archduke : but the conferences were soon broken off, by disputes with regard to the ceremonial. Among the European states, England had ever been allowed the precedency above Castile, Arragon, Portugal, and the other kingdoms of which the Spanish monarchy was composed ; and Elizabeth insisted, that this ancient right was not lost on ac count of the junction of these states, and that that monarchy in its present situation, though it surpassed the English in * Birch's Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 471. ELIZABETH. 323 extent hs well as in power, could not be compared with it in point of antiquity, the only durable and regular foundation of precedency among kingdoms as well as noble families. That she might show, however, a pacific disposition, she w^s con tent to yield to an equality ; but the Spanish ministers, as their nation had always disputed, precedency even with France, to which England yielded, would proceed no further in the con ference till their superiority of rank were acknowledged.* During the preparations for this abortive negotiation, the earl of Nottingham, the admiral, Lord Buckhurst, treasurer, and Secretary Cecil, had discovered their inclination to peace ; but as the English nation, flushed with success, and sanguine in their hopes of plunder and conquest, were in general averse to that measure, it was easy for a person so popular as Essex to infuse into the multitude an opinion, that these ministers had sacrificed the interests of their country to Spain, and would even make no scruple of receiving a sovereign from that hos tile nation. [1601.] But Essex, not content with these arts for de crying his adversaries, proceeded to concert more violent methods of ruining them ; chiefly instigated by Cuffe, his sec retary, a man of a bold and arrogant spirit, who had acquired a great ascendant over his patron. A select council of male- contents was formed, who commonly met at Drury House, and were composed of Sir Charles Davers, to whom the house belonged, the earl of Southampton, Sir Ferdinando Gorges, Sir Christopher Blount, Sir John Davies, and John Littleton ; and Essex, who boasted that he had a hundred and twenty barons, knights, and gentlemen of note at his. devo tion, and who trusted still more to his authority with the populace, communicated to his associates those secret designs with which his confidence in so powerful a party had inspired him. Among other criminal projects, the result of blind rage and despair, he deliberated with them concerning the method of taking arms ; and asked their opinion, whether he had best begin with seizing the palace or the Tower, or set out with making himself master at once of both placesr The first enterprise being preferred, a method was concerted for exe cuting it. It was agreed, that Sir Christopher Blount, with a choice detachment, should possess himself of the palace gates ; that Davies should seize the hall, Davers the guard * Winwood's Memorials, vol. i. p. 186 — .226. 324 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. chamber and presence chamber ; and that Essex should rush in from the Meuse, attended by a body of his partisans ; should entreat the queen, with all demonstrations of humility, to remove his enemies ; should oblige her to assemble a par liament ; and should, with common consent, settle a new plan ofv government.* While these desperate projects were in agitation, many reasons of suspicion were carried to the queen ; and she sent Robert Sacville, son of the treasurer, to Essex House, on pretence of a visit, but, in reality, with a view of discovering whether there were in that place any unusual concourse of people, or any extraordinary preparations which might threaten an insurrection. Soon after, Essex received a summons to attend the council, which met at the treasurer's house ; and while he was musing on this circumstance, and comparing it with the late unexpected visit from Sacville, a private note was conveyed to him, by which he was warned to provide for his own safety. He concluded, that all his conspiracy was discovered, at least suspected ; and that the easiest pun ishment which he had reason to apprehend, was a, new and more severe confinement : he therefore excused himself to the council on pretence of an indisposition ; and he imme diately despatched messages to his more intimate confed erates, requesting their advice and assistance in the present critical situation of his affairs. They deliberated, whether they should abandon all their projects, and fly the kingdom ; or instantly seize the palace with the force which they could assemble ; or rely upon the affections of the citizens, who were generally known to have a great attachment to the earl. Essex declared against the first expedient, and professed him self determined to undergo any fate rather than submit to live the life of a fugitive. To seize the palace seemed impracti cable without more preparations ;' especially as the queen seemed now aware of their projects, and, as they heard, had used the precaution of doubling her ordinary guards. There remained, therefore, no expedient but that of betaking them selves to the city ; and while the prudence and feasibility of this resolution was under debate, a person arrived, who, as if he had received a commission for the purpose, gave them assurance of the affections of the Londoners, and affirmed, * Camden, p. 630. Birch's Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 464. State Trials. Bacon, vol. iv. p. 642, 543. ELIZABETH. 325' that they might securely rest any project on that foundation. The popularity of Essex had chiefly buoyed him up in all his vain undertakings ; and he fondly imagined, that, with no other assistance than the good will of the multitude, he might overturn Elizabeth's government, confirmed by time, revered for wisdom, supported by vigor, and concurring with the gen eral sentiments of the nation. The wild project of raising the city was immediately resolved on ; the execution of it was delayed till next day ; and emissaries were despatched to all Essex's friends, informing them that Cobham and Raleigh had laid schemes against his life, and entreating their presence and assistance. Next day, there appeared at Essex House the earls of Southampton and Rutland, the lords Sandys and Monteagle, with about three hundred gentlemen of good quality and fortune ; and Essex informed them ofthe danger to which, he pretended, the machinations of his enemies exposed him. To some, he said that he would throw himself at the queen's feet, and crave her justice and protection ; to others, he boasted of his interest in the city, and affirmed that, whatever might happen, this resource could never fail him. The queen was informed of these designs, by means of intelligence conveyed, as is supposed, to Raleigh by Sir Ferdinando Gorges ; and having ordered the magistrates" of London to keep the citizens in readiness, she sent Egerton, lord keeper, to Essex House, with the earl of Worcester, Sir William Knollys, comptroller, and Popham, chief justice, in order to learn the cause of these unusual commotions. They were with difficulty admitted through a wicket ; but all their servants were excluded, ex cept the purse-bearer. After some altercation, in which they charged Essex's retainers, upon their allegiance, to lay down their arms, and were menaced in their turn by the angry multitude who surrounded them, the earl, who found that matters were past recall, resolved to leave them prisoners in his house, and to proceed to the execution of his former project. He sallied forth with about two hundred attendants, armed only with walking swords ; and in his passage to the city was joined by the earl of Bedford and Lord Cromwell. He cried aloud, " For the queen ! for the queen ! a plot is laid for my life ; " and then proceeded to the house of Smith the sheriff, on whose aid he had great reliance. The citizens flocked about him in amazement ; but though he told them that England was sold to the infanta, and exhorted them to arm vol. iv. 28 H 326 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. instantly, otherwise they could not do him any service, no one showed a disposition to join him. The sheriff, on the earl's approach to his house, stole out at the back door, and made the best of his way to the mayor. Essex, meanwhile, ob serving the coldness of the citizens, and hearing that he was proclaimed a traitor by the earl of Cumberland and Lord Burleigh, began to despair of success, and thought of re treating to his own house. He found the streets in his passage barricadoed and guarded by the citizens under the command of Sir John Levison. In his attempt to force his way, Tracy, a young gentleman to whom he bore great friendship, was killed, with two or three of the Londoners ; and the earl him self, attended by a few of his partisans, (for the greater part began secretly to withdraw themselves,) retired towards the river, and taking boat, arrived at Essex House. He there found that Gorges, whom he had sent before to capitulate with the lord keeper and the other counsellors, had given all of them their liberty, and had gone to court with them. He was now reduced to despair ; and appeared determined, in prose cution of Lord Sandy's advice, to defend himself to the last extremity, and rather to perish like a brave man, with his sword in his hand, than basely by the hands of the execu tioner : but after some parley, and after demanding in vain, first hostages, then conditions, from the besiegers, he sur rendered at discretion ; requesting only vrivil treatment, and a fair and impartial hearing.* The queen, who, during all this commotion, had behaved with as great tranquillity and security as if there had only passed a fray in the streets, in which she was nowise con cerned^ soon gave orders for the trial of the most consider able of the criminals. The earls of Essex and Southampton were arraigned before a jury of twenty-five peers, where Buckhurst acted as lord steward. The guilt of the prisoners was too apparent to admit of any doubt ; and, besides the insurrection known to every body, the treasonable conferences at Drury House were proved by undoubted evidence. Sir Ferdinando Gorges was produced in court: the confessions of the earl of Rutland, of the lords Cromwell, Sandys, and Monteagle, of Davers, Blount, and Davies, were only read to the peers, according to the practice of that age. Essex's best friends were scandalized at his assurance in insisting so * Camden, p. 632. t Birch's Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 469. ELIZABETH. 327 positively on his innocence, and the goodness of his intentions ; and still more at his vindictive disposition, in accusing, without any appearance of reason, Secretary Cecil as a partisan of the infanta's title. The secretary, who had expected this charge, stepped into tlie court, and challenged Essex to pro duce his authority, which, on examination, was found ex tremely weak and frivolous.* When sentence was pro nounced, Essex spoke' like a man who expected nothing but death ; but he added, that he should be sorry if he were rep resented to the queen as a person that despised her clemency ; though he should not, he believed, make any cringing sub missions to obtain it. Southampton's behavior was more mild and submissive ; he entreated the good offices of the peers in so modest and becoming a manner, as excited compassion in every one. The most remarkable circumstance in Essex's trial was Bacon's appearance against him. He was none of the crown lawyers ; so was not obliged by his office to assist at this trial : yet did he not scruple, in order to obtain the queen's favor, to be active in bereaving of life his friend and patron, whose generosity he had often experienced. He compared Essex's conduct, in pretending to fear the attempts of his adversaries, to that of Pisistratus the Athenian, who cut and wounded his own body, and, making the people believe that his enemies had committed the violence, obtained a guard for his person, by whose assistance he afterwards subdued the liberties of his country. After Essex had passed some days in the solitude and reflections of a prison, his proud heart was at last subdued, not by the fear of death, but by the sentiments of religion ; a principle which he had before attempted to make the instru ment of his ambition, but which now took a more firm hold of his mind, and prevailed over every other motive and con sideration. His spiritual directors persuaded him, that he never could obtain the pardon of Heaven, unless he made a full confession of his disloyalty ; and he gave in to the coun cil an account of all his criminal design, as well as of his correspondence with the king of Scots. He spared not even his most intimate friends, such as Lord Mountjoy, whom he had engaged in these conspiracies ; and he sought to pacify his present remorse by making such atonements as, in any * Bacon, vol. iv. p. 530. 328 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. other period of his life, he would have deemed more blama- ble than those attempts themselves which were the objects of his penitence.* Sir Henry Nevil, in particular, a man of merit, he accused of a correspondence with the conspirators ; though it appears that this gentleman had never assented to the proposals made him, and was no further criminal than in not revealing the earl's treason ; an office to which every man of honor naturally bears the strongest reluctance.t Nevil was thrown into prison, and underwent a severe persecution : but as the queen found Mountjoy an able and successful com mander, she continued him in his government, and sacrificed her resentment to the public service. Elizabeth affected extremely the praise of clemency ; and m every great example which she had made during her reign, she had always appeared full of reluctance and hesitation : but the present situation of Essex called forth all her tender affections, and kept her in the most real agitation and irresolu tion. She felt a perpetual combat between resentment and inclination, pride and compassion, the care of her own safety and concern for her favorite ; and her situation, during this interval, was perhaps more an object of pity than that to which Essex himself was reduced. She signed the warrant for his execution ; she countermanded it ; she again resolved on his death ; she felt a new return of tenderness. Essex's enemies told her, that he himself desired to die, and had assured her, that she could never be in safety while he lived : it is likely that this proof of penitence and of concern for her would produce a contrary effect to what they intended, and would revive all the fond affection which she had so long indulged towards the unhappy prisoner. But what chiefly hardened her heart against him was his supposed obstinacy, in never making, as she hourly expected, any application to her for mercy ; and she finally gave her consent to his execution. He discovered at his death symptoms rather of penitence and piety than of fear ; and willingly acknowledged the justice of the sentence by which he suffered. The execution was private in the Tower, agreeably to his own request. He was ap prehensive, he said, lest the favor and compassion of the people would too much raise his heart in those moments, when humiliation under the afflicting hand of Heaven was the only proper sentiment which he could indulge-! And the queen, * Winwood, vol. i. p. 300. f "Winwood, vol. i. p. 302. X Dr. Barlow's Sermon on Essex's Execution. Bacon, vol. iv. p. 534. ELIZABETH. 329 no doubt, thought that prudence required the removing of so melancholy a spectacle from the public eye. Sir Walter Raleigh, who came to the Tower on purpose, and who beheld Essex's execution from a window, increased much by this action the general hatred under which he already labored : it was thought, that his sole intention was to feast his eyes with the death of an enemy ; and no apology which he could make for so ungenerous a conduct could be accepted by the public. The cruelty and animosity with which he urged on Essex's fate, even when Cecil relented,* were still regarded as the principles of this unmanly behavior. The earl of Essex was but thirty-four years of age, when his rashness, imprudence, and violence brought him to this untimely end. We must here, as in many other instances, lament the inconstancy of human nature, that a person endowed with so many noble virtues — generosity, sincerity, friendship, valor, eloquence, and industry — should, in the latter period of his life, have given reins to his ungovernable passions, and involved, not only himself, but many of his friends, in utter ruin. The queen's tenderness and passion for him, as it was the cause of those premature honors which he attained, seems, on the whole, the chief circumstance which brought on his unhappy fate. Confident of her par tiality towards him, as well as of his own merit, he treated her with a haughtiness which neither her love nor her dignity could bear ; and as her amorous inclinations, in so advanced an age, would naturally make her appear ridiculous, if not odious, in his eyes, he was engaged, by an imprudent open ness, of which he made profession, to discover too easily those sentiments to her. The many reconciliations and returns of affection, of which he had still made advantage, induced him to venture on new provocations, till he pushed her beyond all bounds of patience ; and he forgot, that though the senti ments of the woman were ever strong in her, those of the sovereign had still in the end appeared predominant. Some of Essex's associates, Cuffe, Davers, Blount, Meric, and Davies, were tried and condemned, and all of these, except Davies, were executed. The queen pardoned the rest ; being persuaded that they were drawn in merely from their friendship to that nobleman, and their care of his safety and were ignorant of the more criminal part of his intentions * Murdin, p. 811. 28* 330 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Southampton's life was saved with great difficulty ; but je was detained in prison during the remainder of this reign. The king of Scots, apprehensive lest his correspondence with Essex might have been discovered, and have given offence to Elizabeth, sent the earl of Marre and Lord Kinloss as ambassadors to England, in order to congratulate the queen on her escape from the late insurrection and conspiracy. They were also ordered to make secret inquiry, whether any measures had been taken by her for excluding him from the succession, as well as to discover the inclinations of the chief nobility and counsellors, in case of the queen's demise.* They found the dispositions of men as favorable as they could wish ; and they even entered into a correspondence with Secretary Cecil, whose influence, after the fall of Essex, was now uncontrolled ,t and who was resolved, by this policy, to acquire in time the confidence of trie successor. He knew how. jealous Elizabeth ever was of her authority, and he therefore carefully concealed from her his attachment to James : but he afterwards asserted, that nothing could be more advantageous to her than this correspondence ; because the king of Scots, secure of mounting the throne by his undoubted title, aided by those connections with the English ministry, was the less likely to give any disturbance to the present sov ereign. He also persuaded that prince to remain in quiet, and patiently to expect that time should open to him the inheritance of the crown, without pushing his friends on des perate enterprises, which would totally incapacitate them from serving him. James's equity, as well as his natural facility of disposition, easily inclined him to embrace that resolution ; ! and in this manner the minds of the English were silently but universally disposed to admit, without opposition, the succes sion of the Scottish line : the death of Essex, by putting an end to faction, had been rather favorable than prejudicial to that great event. The French king, who was little prepossessed in favor of James, and who, for obvious reasons, was averse to the union of England and Scotland ,§ made his ambassador drop some hints to Cecil of Henry's willingness to concur in any measure for disappointing the hopes of the Scottish monarch ; but as Cecil showed an entire disapprobation of such schemes, the court * Birch's Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 510. t Osborne, p. 615. X Spotswood, p. 471, 472. § Winwood, vol. i.p.352. ELIZABETH. 331 of France took no further steps in that matter ; and thus the only foreign power which could give much disturbance to James's succession, was induced to acquiesce in it.* Henry made a journey this summer to Calais ; and the queen, hear ing of his intentions, went to Dover, in hopes of having a personal interview with a monarch, whom, of all others, she most loved and most respected. The king of France, who felt the same sentiments towards her, would gladly have accepted of the proposal ; but as many difficulties occurred, it appeared necessary to lay aside, by common consent, the project of an interview. Elizabeth, however, wrote succes sively two letters to Henry, one by Edmondes, another by Sir Robert Sidney ; in which she expressed a desire of conferring, about a business of importance, with some minister in whom that prince reposed entire confidence. The marquis of Rosni, the king's favorite and prime minister, came to Dover in dis guise ; and^the memoirs of that able statesman contain a full account of his conference with Elizabeth. This princess had formed a scheme for establishing, in conjunction with Henry, a new system in Europe, and of fixing a durable balance of power, hy the erection of new states on the ruins of the house of Austria. She had even the prudence to foresee the perils which might ensue from the aggrandizement of. her ally ; and she purposed to unite all the seventeen provinces of the Low Countries in one republic, in order to form a perpetual barrier against the dangerous increase of the French as well as of the Spanish monarchy. Henry had himself long meditated such a project against the Austrian family ; and Rosni could not forbear expressing his astonishment, when he found that Elizabeth and his master, though they had never communi cated their sentiments on this subject, not only had entered into the same general views, but had also formed the same plan for their execution. The affairs, however, of France were not yet brought to a situation which might enable Henry to begin that great enterprise ; and Rosni satisfied the queen that it would be necessary to postpone for some years their united attack on the house of Austria. He departed, filled with just admiration at the solidity of Elizabeth's judgment, and the greatness of her mind ; and he owns, that she was entirely worthy of that high reputation which she enjoyed in Europe. * Spotswood, p. 471. 332 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. The queen's magnanimity in forming such extensive pro jects was the more remarkable, as, besides her having fallen so far into the decline of life, the affairs of Ireland, though conducted with abilities and success, were still in disorder, and made a great diversion of her forces. The expense incurred by this war lay heavy upon her narrow revenues ; and her ministers, taking advantage of her disposition to frugality, proposed to her an expedient of saving, which, though she at first disapproved of it, she was at last induced to embrace. It was represented to her, that the great sums of money remitted to Ireland for the pay of the English forces, came, by the necessary course of circulation, into the hands of the rebels, and enabled them to buy abroad all necessary supplies of arms and ammunition, which, from the extreme poverty of that kingdom and its want of every useful commodity, they could not otherwise find means to purchase. It was therefore recom mended to her, that she should pay her forces in base money ; and it was asserted that, besides the great saving to the rev enue, this species of coin could never be exported with advan tage, and would not pass in any foreign market. Some of her wiser counsellors maintained, that if the pay of the soldiers were raised in proportion, the Irish rebels would necessarily reap the same benefit from the base money, which would always be taken at a rate suitable to its value ; if the pay were not raised, there would be danger of a mutiny among the troops, who, whatever names might be affixed to the pieces of metal, would soon find from experience that they were defrauded in their income* But Elizabeth, though she justly valued herself on fixing the standard of the English coin, much debased by her predecessors, and had innovated very little in that delicate article, was seduced by the specious arguments employed by the treasurer on this occasion ; and she coined a great quantity of base money, which he made use of in the pay of her forces in Ireland. t Mountjoy, the deputy, was a man of abilities ; and foresee ing the danger of mutiny among the troops, he led them instantly into the field, and resolved, by means of strict disci pline, and by keeping them employed against the enemy, to obviate those inconveniencies which were justly to be appre hended. He made military roads, and built a fortress at Mog- hery ; he drove the Mac-Genises out of Lecale ; he harassed * Camden, p. 643. f Rymer, torn. xvi. p. 414. ELIZABETH. 333 Tyrone in Ulster with inroads and lesser expeditions ; and by destroying every where, and during all seasons, the provis ions of the Irish, he reduced them to perish by famine in the woods and morasses, to which they were obliged to retreat. At the same time, Sir Henry Docwray, who commanded another body of troops, took the Castle of Derry, and put gar risons into Newton and Ainogh ; and having seized the mon astery of Donnegal, near Balishannon, he threw troops into it, and defended it against the assaults of O'Donnel and the Irish. Nor was Sir George Carew idle in the province of Munster. He seized the titular earl of Desmond, and sent him over, with Florence Macarty, another chieftain, prisoner to England. He arrested many suspected persons, and took hostages from others. And having got a reenforcement of two thousand men from England, he threw himself into Corke, which he supplied with arms and provisions ; and he put every thing in a condi tion for resisting the Spanish invasion, which was daily ex pected. The deputy, informed of the danger to which the southern provinces were exposed, left the prosecution of the war against Tyrone, who was reduced to great extremities ; and he marched with his army into Munster. At last the Spaniards, under Don John d' Aquila, arrived at Kinsale ; and Sir Richard Piercy, who commanded in the town with a small garrison of a hundred and fifty men, found himself obliged to abandon it on their appearance. These invaders amounted to four thousand men, and the Irish discov ered a strong propensity to join them, in order to free themselves from the English government, with which they were extreme ly discontented. One chief ground of their complaint, was the introduction of trials by jury ; * an institution abhorred by that people, though nothing contributes more to the support of that equity and liberty for which the English laws are so justly celebrated. The Irish, also, bore a great favor to the Spaniards, having entertained the opinion that they themselves were descended from that nation ; and their attachment to the Catholic religion proved a new cause of affection to the invaders. D'Aquila assumed the title of general " in the holy war for the preservation of the faith " in Ireland ; and he endeavored to ' persuade the people, that Elizabeth was, by several bulls of the pope, deprived of her crown ; that her subjects were absolved from their oaths of allegiance ; and * Camden, p. 644. 334 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. that the Spaniards were come to deliver the Irish from the dominion of the devil.* Mountjoy found it necessary to act with vigor, in order to prevent a total insurrection of the Irish ; and having collected his forces, he formed the siege of Kinsale by land, while Sir Richard Levison, with a small squadron, blockaded it by sea. He had no sooner begun his operations than he heard of the arrival of another body of two thousand Spaniards under the command of Alphonso Ocampo, who had taken possession of Baltimore and Berehaven ; and he was obliged to detach Sir George Carew to oppose their progress. Tyrone, meanwhile, with Randal, Mac-Surley, Tirel, baron of Kelley, and other chieftains of the Irish, had joined Ocampo with all their forces, and were marching to the relief of Kinsale. The deputy, informed of their design by intercepted letters, made preparations to receive them ; and being reen forced by Levison with six hundred marines, he posted his troops on an advantageous ground, which lay on the passage of the enemy, leaving some cavalry to prevent a sally from D' Aquila and the Spanish garrison. When Tyrone, with a detachment of Irish and Spaniards, approached, he was sur prised to find the English so well posted, and ranged in good order, and he immediately sounded a retreat : but the deputy gave orders to pursue him ; and having thrown these advanced troops into disorder, he followed them to the main body, whom he also attacked and put to flight, with the slaughter of twelve hundred men.t Ocampo was taken prisoner ; Tyrone fled into Ulster ; O'Donnel made his escape into Spain ; and D'Aquila, finding himself reduced to the greatest difficulties, was obliged to capitulate upon such terms as the deputy pre scribed to him ; he surrendered Kinsale and Baltimore, and agreed to evacuate the kingdom. This great blow, joined to other successes gained by Wlimot, governor of Kerry, and by Roger and Gavin Harvey, threw the rebels into dismay, and gave a prospect of the final reduction of Ireland. The Irish war, though successful, was extremely burden some on the queen's revenue ; and besides the supplies grant ed by parliament, which were indeed very small, but which they ever regarded as mighty concessions, she had been obliged, notwithstanding her great frugality, to employ other expedients, such as selling the royal demesnes and crown jewels,! and exacting loans from the people,^ in order to * Camden, p. 645. f Winwood, vol. i. p. 369. t D'Ewes, p. 629. } D'Ewes, p. 629. ELIZABETH. 335 support this cause, so essential to the honor and interests of England. The necessity of her affairs obliged her again to summon a parliament ; and it here appeared, that though old age was advancing fast upon her, though she had lost much of her popularity by the unfortunate execution of Essex, inso much that when she appeared in public she was not attended with the usual acclamations,* yet the powers of her preroga tive, supported by her vigor, stilj remained as high and uncon trollable as ever. The active reign of Elizabeth had enabled many persons to distinguish themselves in civil and military employments ; and the queen, who was not able from her revenue to give them any rewards proportioned to their services, had made use of an expedient which had been employed by her predecessors, but which had never been carried to such an extreme as under her administration. She granted her servants and courtiers patents for monopolies ; and these patents they sold to others, who were thereby enabled to raise commodities to what price they pleased, and who put invincible restraints upon all com merce, industry, and emulation in the arts. It is astonishing to consider the number and importance of those commodities whioh were thus assigned over to patentees. Currants, salt, iron, powder, cards, calf-skins, fells, pouldavies, ox-shin-bones, train oil, lists of cloth, potashes, aniseseeds, vinegar, seacoals, steel, aquavitse, brushes, pots, bottles, saltpetre, lead, acci- dences, oil, calamine stone, oil of blubber, glasses, paper, starch, tin, sulphur, new drapery, dried pilchards, transporta tion of iron ordnance, of beer, of horn, of leather, importation of Spanish wool, of Irish yarn : these are but a part of the commodities which had been appropriated to monopolists, t When this list was read in the house, a member cried, " Is not bread in the number?" "Bread," said every one with astonishment. " Yes, I assure you," replied he, " if affairs go on at this rate, we shall have bread reduced to. a monopoly before next parliament." \ These monopolists were so exorbi tant in their demands, that in some places they raised the price of salt from sixteen pence a bushel, to fourteen or fifteen shillings.§ Such high profits naturally begat intruders upon their commerce ; and in order to secure themselves against encroachments, the patentees were armed with high and arbi- * D'Ewes, p. 629. Osborne, p. 604. t D'Ewes, p. 648, 650, 652. + D'Ewes, p. 648. . D'Ewes, p. 647. 336 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. trary powers from the council, by which they were enabled to Oppress the people at pleasure, and to exact money from such as they thought proper to accuse of interfering with their patent.* The patentees of saltpetre, having the power of entering into every house, and of committing what havoc they pleased in stables, cellars, or wherever they suspected salt petre might be gathered, commonly extorted money from those who desired to free themselves from this damage or trouble.t And while all domestic intercourse was thus restrained, lest any scope should remain for industry, almost every species of foreign commerce was confined to exclusive companies, who bought and sold at any price that they themselves thought proper to offer or exact. These grievances, the most intolerable for the present, and the most pernicious in their consequences, that ever were known in any age or under any government, had been men tioned in the last parliament, and a petition had even been pre sented to the queen, complaining of the patents ; but she still persisted in defending her monopolists against her people. A bill was now introduced into the lower house, abolishing all these monopolies ; and as the former application had been unsuccessful, a law was insisted on as the only certain expedi ent for correcting these abuses. The courtiers, on the other hand, maintained, that this matter regarded the prerogative, and that the commons could never hope for success, if they did not make application, in the most humble and respectful manner, to the queen's goodness and beneficence. The topics which were advanced in the house, and which came equally from the courtiers and the country gentlemen, and were admitted by both, will appear the most extraordinary to such as are prepossessed with an idea of the privileges enjoyed by the people during that age, and of the liberty possessed under the administration of Elizabeth. It was asserted that the queen inherited both an enlarging and a restraining power ; by her prerogative she might set at liberty what was restrained by statute or otherwise, and by her prerogative she might restrain what was otherwise at liberty : ! that the royal prerogative was not to be canvassed, nor disputed, nor examined ; § and did not even admit of any limitation : || that absolute princes, * D'Ewes, p. 644, 646, 652. t D'Ewes, p. 653. 1 D'Ewes, p. 644, 675. § D'Ewes, p. 644, 649. ll D'Ewes, p. 646, 664. ELIZABETH. 337 surh as the sovereigns of England, were a species of divin ity : * that it was in vain to attempt tying the queen's hands by laws or statutes ; since, by means of her dispensing power, she could loosen herself at pleasure : t and that even if a clause should be annexed to a statute, excluding her dispens ing power, she could first dispense with that clause and then with the statute-! After all this discourse, more worthy of a Turkish divan than of an English house of commons, accord ing to our present idea of this assembly, the queen, who per ceived how odious monopolies had become, and what heats were likely to arise, sent for the speaker, and desired him to acquaint the house, that she would immediately cancel the most grievous and oppressive of these patents.^ The house was struck with astonishment, and admiration, and gratitude, at this extraordinary instance of the queen's goodness and condescension. A member said, with tears in his eyes, that if a sentence of everlasting happiness had been pronounced in his favor, he could not have felt more joy than that with which he was at present over whelmed. || Another observed, that this message from the sacred person of the queen was a kind of gospel or glad tidings, and ought to be received as such, and be written in the tablets of their hearts.^] And it was further remarked, that in the same manner as the Deity would not give his glory to another, so the queen herself was the only agent in their present prosperity and happiness.** The house voted, that the speaker, with a committee, should ask permission to wait on her majesty, and return thanks to her for her gracious concessions to her people. When the speaker, with the other members, was introduced to the queen, they all flung themselves on their knees, and remained in that posture a considerable time, till she thought proper to express her desire that they should rise.tt The speaker displayed the gratitude of the commons, because her sacred ears were ever open to hear them, and her blessed * D'Ewes, p. 649. t D'Ewes, p. 649. X D'Ewes, p. 640, 646. § See note LL, at the end of the volume. || D'Ewes, p. 654. IF D'Ewes, p. 656. ** D'Ewes, p. 657. ft We learn from Hentzner's Travels, that no one spoke to Queen Elizabeth without kneeling ; though now and then she raised some with waving her hand. Nay, wherever she turned her eye, every one fell on his knees. Her successor first allowed his courtiers to omit this ceremony; and as he exerted not the power, so he relin- vol. iv, 29 H 338 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. hands ever stretched out to relieve them. They acknowledged, he said, in all duty and thankfulness acknowledged, that, before they called, her " preventing grace " and " all-deserving goodness" watched over them for their good ; more ready to give than they could desire, much less deserve. He remarked, that the attribute which was most proper to God, to perform all he promiseth, appertained also to her ; and that she was all truth, all constancy, and all goodness. And he concluded with these expressions : " Neither do we present our thanks in words or any outward sign, which can be no sufficient retribution for so great goodness; but in all duty and thankfulness, prostrate at your feet, we present our most loyal and thankful hearts, even the last drop of blood in our hearts, and the last spirit of breath in our nostrils, to be poured out, to be breathed up, for your safety." * The queen heard very patiently this speech, in which she was flattered in phrases appropriated to the Supreme Being; and she returned an answer full of such expressions of tenderness towards her people, as ought to have appeared fulsome after the late instances of rigor which she had employed, and from which nothing but necessity had made her depart. Thus was this critical affair happily terminated ; and Elizabeth, by prudently receding, in time, from part of her prerogative, maintained her dignity, and preserved the affections of her people. The commons granted her a supply quite unprecedented, of four subsidies and eight 'fifteenths ; and they were so dutiful as to vote this supply before they received any satisfaction in the business of monopolies, which they justly considered as of the utmost importance to the interest and happiness of the nation. Had they attempted to extort that concession by keeping the supply in suspense, so haughty was the queen's disposition, that this appearance of constraint and jealousy had been sufficient to have produced a denial of all their requests, and to have forced her into some acts of authority still more violent and arbitrary. [1602.] The remaining events of this reign are neither numerous nor important. The queen, finding that the Span iards had involved her in so much trouble, by fomenting and quished the appearance of despotism. Even when Queen Elizabeth was absent, those who covered her table, though persons of quality neither approached it nor retired from it without kneeling, and thai often three times. * D'Ewes, p. 658, 659. ELIZABETH. 839 assisting the Irish rebellion, resolved to give them employment at home ; and she fitted out a squadron of nine ships, under Sir Richard Levison, admiral, and Sir William Monson, vice- admiral, whom she sent on an expedition to the coast of Spain. The admiral, with part of the squadron, met the galleons loaded with treasure ; but was not strong enough to attack them. The vice-admiral also fell in with some rich ships, but they escaped for a like reason ; and these two brave officers, that their expedition might not prove entirely fruitless, resolved to attack the harbor of Cerimbra, in Portugal ; where, they received intelligence, a very rich carrack had taken shelter. The harbor was guarded by a castle : there were eleven galleys stationed in it ; and the militia of the country, to the number, as was believed, of twenty thousand men, appeared in arms on the shore : yet, notwithstanding these obstacles, and others derived from the winds and tides, the English squadron broke into the harbor, dismounted the guns of the castle, sunk, or burnt, or put to flight the galleys, and obliged the carrack to surrender.* They brought her home to England, and she was valued at a million of ducats : t a sensible loss to the Spaniards, and a supply still more important to Elizabeth-! The affairs of Ireland, after the defeat of Tyrone and the expulsion of the Spaniards, hastened to a settlement. Lord Mountjoy divided his army into small parties, and harassed the rebels on every side : he built Charlemont and many other small forts, which were impregnable to the Irish, and guarded all the important passes of the country : the activity of Sir Henry Docwray and Sir Arthur Chichester permitted no repose or security to the rebels ; and many of the chieftains, after skulking during some time in woods and morasses, sub mitted to mercy, and received such conditions as the deputy was pleased to impose upon them. [1603.] Tyrone himself made application by Arthur Mac-Baron, his brother, to bo received upon terms ; but Mountjoy would not admit him, except he made an absolute surrender of his life and fortunes to the queen's mercy. He appeared before the deputy at * Monson, p. 18 1. t Camden, p. 647. X This year the Spaniards began the siege of Ostend, which was bravely defended for five months by Sir Francis Vere. The states then relieved him, by sending a new governor ; and on the whole, the siege lasted three years, and is computed to have cost the lives of a hundred thousand men. 840 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Millefont, in a habit and posture suitable to his present fortune; and after acknowledging his offence in the most humble term's, he was committed to custody by Mountjoy, who intended to bring him over captive into England, to be disposed of at the queen's pleasure. But Elizabeth was now incapable of receiving any satisfac tion from this fortunate event : she had fallen into a profound melancholy ; which all the advantages of her high fortune, all the glories of her prosperous reign, were unable in any degree to alleviate or assuage. Some ascribed this depression of mind to her repentance of granting a pardon to Tyrone, whom she had always resolved to bring to condign punishment for' his treasons, but who had made such interest with the minis ters as to extort a remission from her: Others, with more likelihood, accounted for her dejection by a discovery which she had made, of the correspondence maintained in her court' with her successor, the king of Scots, and by the neglect to which, on account of her old age and infirmities, she imagined' herself to be exposed. But there is another cause assigned1 for her melancholy, which has long been rejected by historians1 as romantic, but which late discoveries seem to have con firmed : * some incidents happened which revived her tender ness for Essex, and filled her with the deepest sorrow for the consent which she had unwarily given to his execution. The earl of Essex, after his return from the fortunate expe dition against Cadiz, observing the increase of the queen's fond attachment towards him, took occasion to regret, that the necessity of her service required him often to be absent from her person, and exposed him to all those ill offices which his enemies, more assiduous in their attendance, could employ against him. She was moved with this tender jealousy ; and making him the present of a ring, desired him to keep that pledge of her affection, and assured him, that into whatever disgrace he should fall, whatever prejudices she might be in duced to entertain against him, yet, if he sent her that ring, she would immediately upon the sight of it recall her former tender ness, would afford him a patient hearing, and would lend a favor able ear to his apology. Essex, notwithstanding all his misfor tunes, reserved this precious gift to the last extremity ; but after his trial and condemnation, he resolved to try the experiment, * See the proofs of this remarkable fact collected in Birch's Nego- Sations, p. 206. And Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 481, 605, 506, ete. ELIZABETH. 341 and he committed the ring to the countess of Nottingham, whom he desired to deliver it to the queen. The countess was prevailed on by her husband, the mortal enemy of Essex, not to execute the commission ; and Elizabeth, who still expected that her favorite would make this last appeal to her tenderness, and who ascribed the neglect of it to his invincible obstinacy, was, after much delay and many internal combats, pushed by resentment and policy to sign the warrant for his execution. The countess of Nottingham, falling into sickness, and affected with the near approach of death, was seized with remorse for her conduct ; and having obtained a visit from the queen, she craved her pardon, and revealed to her the fatal secret. The queen, astonished with this incident, burst into a furious pas sion : she shook the dying countess in her bed ; and crying to her, " that God might pardon her, but she never could," she broke from her, and thenceforth resigned herself over to the deepest and most incurable melancholy. She rejected all consolation : she even refused food and sustenance :. and throw ing herself on the floor, she remained sullen and immovable, feeding her thoughts on her afflictions, and declaring life and existence an insufferable burden to her. Few words she uttered ; and they were all expressive of some inward grief which she cared not to reveal : but sighs and groans were the chief vent which she gave to her despondency, and which, though they discovered her sorrows, were never able to ease or assuage them. Ten days and nights she lay upon the car- pet, leaning on cushions which her maids brought her ; and hor physicians could not persuade her to allow herself to be put to bed, much less to make trial of any remedies which they prescribed to her.* Her anxious mind at last had so long preyed on her frail body, that her end was visibly approach ing ; and the council, being assembled, sent the keeper, admiral, and secretary, to know her will with regard to her successor. She answered with a faint voice, that as she had held a regal sceptre, she desired no other than a royal succes sor. Cecil requesting her to explain herself more particularly, she subjoined, that she would have a king to succeed her ; and who should that be but her nearest kinsman, the king of Scots ? Being then advised by the archbishop of Canterbury to fix her thoughts upon God, she replied, that she did so, nor did her Tiind in the least wander from him. Her voice soon after left * Strype, vol. iv. No. 276. 29* 342 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. her ; her senses failed ; she fell into a lethargic slumber, which continued some hours ; and she expired gently, without further struggle or convulsion, in the seventieth year of her age, and forty-fifth of her reign. So dark a cloud overcast the evening of that day which had shone out with a mighty lustre in the eyes of all Europe. There are few great personages in history who have been more exposed to the calumny of enemies and the adulation of friends than Queen Elizabeth ; and yet there scarcely is any whose reputation has been more certainly determined by the unanimous consent of posterity. The unusual length of her administration, and the strong features of her character, were able to overcome all prejudices ; and obliging her detractors to abate much of their invectives, and her admirers somewhat of their panegyrics, have at last, in spite of political factions, and, what is more, of religious animosities, produced a uniform judgment with regard to her conduct. Her vigor, her con stancy, her magnanimity, her penetration, vigilance, address, are allowed to merit the highest praises, and appear not to have been surpassed by any person that ever filled a throne : a conduct less rigorous, Jess imperious, more sincere, more indulgent to her people, would have been requisite to form a perfect character. By the force of her mind, she centrolled all her more active and stronger qualities, and prevented them from running into excess : her heroism was exempt from temerity, her frugality from avarice, her friendship from par tiality, her active temper from turbulency and a vain ambition : she guarded not herself with equal care or equal success from lesser infirmities ; the rivalship of beauty, the desire of admi ration, the jealousy of love, and the sallies of anger. Her singular talents for government were founded equally on her temper and on her capacity. Endowed with a great command over herself, she soon obtained an uncontrolled ascendant over her people ; and" while she merited all their esteem by Iter real virtues, she also engaged their affections by ner pretended ones. Few sovereigns of England succeeded o the throne in more difficult circumstances ; and none ever conducted the government with such uniform success and felicity. Though unacquainted with the practice of toleration, the true secret for managing religious factions, she preserved her people, by her superior prudence, from those confusions in which theological controversy had involved all the neigh boring nations : and though her enemies were the most ELIZABETH. 343 powerful princes of Europe, the most active, the most enter prising, the least scrupulous, she was able by her vigor to make deep impressions on their states : her own greatness, mean while, remained- untouched and unimpaired. The wise ministers and brave warriors who flourished under her reign, share the praise of her success ; but instead of less ening the applause due to her, they make great addition to it. They owed all of them their advancement to her choice ; they were supported by her constancy ; and, with all their abilities, they were never able to acquire any undue ascendant over her. In her family, in her court, in her kingdom, she remained equally mistress : the force of the tender passions was great over her, but the force of her mind was still supe rior ; and the combat which her victory visibly cost her, serves only to display the firmness of her resolution, and the lofti ness of her ambitious sentiments. The fame of this princess, though it has surmounted the prejudices both of faction and bigotry, yet lies still exposed to another prejudice, which is more durable because more natural, and which, according to the different views in which we survey her, is capable either of exalting beyond measure, or diminishing the lustre of her character. This prejudice is founded on the consideration of her sex. When we contem plate her as a woman, we are apt to be struck with the highest admiration of her great qualities and extensive capacity ; but we are also apt to require some more softness of disposition, some greater lenity of temper, some of those amiable weak nesses by which her sex is distinguished. But the true method of estimating her merit, is to lay aside all these considerations, and consider her merely as a rational being placed in author ity, and intrusted with the government of mankind. We may find it difficult to reconcile our fancy to her as a wife oi a mistress ; but her qualities as a sovereign, though with some considerable exceptions, are the object of undisputed applause and approbation. 344 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. APPENDIX III. The party among us who have distinguished themselves by their adhering to liberty and a popular government, have long indulged their prejudices against the succeeding race of princes, by bestowing unbounded panegyrics on the virtue and wisdom of Elizabeth. They have even been so extremely ignorant of the transactions of this reign, as to extol her for a quality which, of all others, she was the least possessed of ; a tender regard for the constitution, and a concern for the liberties and privileges of her people. But as it is scarcely possible for the prepossessions of party to throw a veil much longer over facts so palpable and undeniable, there is danger lest the public should run into the opposite extreme, and should entertain an aversion to the memory of a princess who exer cised the royal authority in a manner so contrary to all the ideas which we at present entertain of a legal constitution. But Elizabeth only supported the prerogatives transmitted to her by her predecessors : she believed that her subjects were entitled to no more liberty than their ancestors had enjoyed : she found that they entirely acquiesced in her arbitrary admin istration : and it was not natural for her to find fault with a form of government by which she herself was invested with such unlimited authority. In the particular exertions of power, the question ought never to be forgotten, What is best ? But in the general distribution of power among the several mem bers of a constitution, there can seldom be admitted any other question than, What is established ? Few examples occur of princes who have willingly resigned their power ; none of those who have, without struggle and reluctance, allowed it to be extorted from them. If any other rule than established prac tice be followed, factions and dissensions must multiply with out end : and though many constitutions, and none more than the British, have been improved even by violent innovations, the praise bestowed on those patriots to whom the nation has been indebted for its privileges, ought to be given with some APTEND1X III. 345 reserve, and surely without the least rancor against those who adhered to the ancient constitution.* In order to understand the ancient constitution of England, there is not a period which deserves more to be studied than the reign of Elizabeth. The prerogatives of this princess were scarcely ever disputed, and she therefore employed them without scruple: her imperious temper — a circumstance in" which she went far beyond her successors — rendered her exertions of power violent and frequent, and discovered the full extent ofher authority : the great popularity which she enjoyed, proves that she did not infringe any established liberties of the people : there remains evidence sufficient to ascertain the most noted acts of her administration : and though that evi dence must be drawn from a source wide of the ordinary historians, it becomes only the more authentic on that account, and serves as a stronger proof, that her particular exertions of power were conceived to be nothing but the ordinary course of administration, since they were not thought remarkable enough to be recorded even by contemporary writers. If there was any difference in this particular, the people in for mer reigns seem rather to have been more submissive than even during the age of Elizabeth ;t it may not here be im proper to recount some of the ancient prerogatives of the crown, and lay open the sources of that great power which the English monarchs formerly enjoyed. One of the most ancient and most established instruments of power was the court of star chamber, which possessed an unlimited discretionary authority of fining, imprisoning, and * By the ancient constitution, is here meant that which prevailed before the settlement of our present plan of liberty. There was a more ancient constitution, where, though the people had perhaps less liberty than under tho Tudors, yet the king had also less authority : the power of the barons was a great check upon him, and exercised great tyranny over them. But there was still a more ancient consti tution, viz., that before the signing of thc charters, when neither the people nor the barons had any regular privileges ; and the power of the government during the reign of an able prince was almost wholly in the king. The English constitution, like all others, has been in a state of continual fluctuation. t In a memorial of the state of the realm, drawn by Secretary Cecil in 1569, there is this passage : " Then followeth the decay of obedience in civil policy, which being compared with the fearfulness and reverence of all inferior estates to their superiors in times past, will astonish any wise and considerate person, to behold the despera tion of reformation." Haynes, p. 586. Again, p. 588. 346 HISTOaY Or EJSGLASD. mffcnttz c&!f«isl punishment ; and whose jurisdiction ex tended to a'L wrts of oflences. contempts, and disorders that lay not within -each of the common law. The members of tuis Cijart .;¦: ttriste z. of the privy council and the judges ; men who all of them enjoyed their unices during pleasure ; and when the prince himself was present, he was the sole judge, aed all the other? could only interpose with their advice. - There needed bat this one court in anv government to put an end to all regular, 'ep!, and exact plans of liberty; for who durst set himself in opposition to the crown and ministry, or aspire to the character of being a patron of freedom, while exposed to so arbitrary a jurisdiction ? I much question whether anv oi" the absolute monarchies in Europe contain, at present, so illegal and despotic a tribunal. The court or" 'ai-z'i commission was another jurisdiction still more terrible : both because the crime of heresy, of which it took coraizance. was core undefinable than any civil offence, and because its methods of inquisition, and ot" administering oaths, were more contrary to all "the most simple ideas of justite and equity. The fines and imprisonments imposed by this court were frequent : the deprivations and suspensions of the clergy for nonconformity were also numerous, and com prehended at one time the third of all the ecclesiastics of England.* The queen, in a letter to the archbishop of Can- tei-'o rv, said expressly, that she was resolved " that no man should be suffered to decline, either on the left or on the right hand, from the drawn line limited by authority, and by her laws and injunctions.'' t But martial law went beyond even these two courts in a prompt, and arbitrary, and violent method of decision. When ever there was any insurrection or public disorder, the crown employed martial law ; and it was. during that time, exercised not only over the soldiers, but over the whole people ; any one might be punished as a rebel, or an aider and abettor of rebellion, whom' the provost martial, or lieutenant of a county, or their deputies, pleased to suspect. Lord Bacon says, that the trial at common law granted to the earl of Essex and his fellow-conspirators, was a favor ; for that the case would have borne and required the severity of martial law.| We haye seen instances of its being employed by Queen Mary in * Neal, vol. i. p. 479. t Murden, p. 183. X Vol. iv. p. 510. APPENDIX III. 347 defence of orthodoxy. There remains a letter of Queen Elizabeth's to the earl of Sussex, after the suppression of the northern rebellion, in which she sharply reproves him, because she had not heard of his having executed any criminals by martial law ; * though it is probable that near eight hundred persons suffered, one way or other, on account of that slight insurrection. But the kings of England did not always limit the exercise of this law to times of civil war and disorder. In 1552, when there was no rebellion or insurrection, King Edward granted a commission of martial law ; and empowered the commissioners to execute it, " as should be thought by their discretions most necessary." t Queen Elizabeth too was not sparing -in the use of this law. In 1573, one Peter Burchet, a Puritan, being persuaded that it was meritorious to kill such as. opposed the truth of the gospel, ran into the streets, and wounded Hawkins, the famous sea captain, whom he took for Hatton, the queen's favorite. The queen was so incensed, that she ordered him to be punished instantly by martial law; but upon the remonstrance of some prudent counsellors, who told her that this law was usually confined to turbulent times, she recalled her order, and delivered over Burchet to the common law. J But she continued not always so. reserved in executing this authority. There remains a proclamation of hers, in which she orders martial law to be used against all such as import bulls, or even forbidden books *\nd pamphlets from abroad ; § and prohibits the questioning of the lieutenants or their deputies for their arbitrary punishment of such offenders, " any law or statute to the contrary in any wise notwithstanding." We have another act of hers still more extraordinary. The streets of London were much infested with idle vagabonds and riotous persons : the lord mayor had endeavored to repress this disorder : the star chamber had exerted its authority, and inflicted punishment on these rioters : but the queen, finding those remedies in effectual, revived martial law, and gave Sir Thomas Wilford a commission of provost-martial : " Granting him authority, nnd commanding him, upon signification given by the justices if peace in London or the neighboring counties, of such offenders worthy to be speedily executed by martial law, to * MS. of Lord Royston's, from the paper office. t Strype's Eccles. Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 373, 458, 459. X Camden, p. 446. Strype, vol. ii. p. 288. 6 Strype, vol, iii. p. 570. 348 history or England. attach and take the same persons, and in the presence of the said justices, according to justice of martial law, to execute them upon the gallows or gihbet openly, or near to such place where the said rebellious and incorrigible offenders shall be found to have committed the said great offences." * I suppose it would be difficult to prbduce an instance of such an act of authority in any place nearer than Muscovy. The patent of high constable, granted to Earl Rivers by Edward IV., proves the nature of the office. The powers are unlimited, perpetual, and remain in force during peace as well as during war and rebellion. The parliament in Edward VL's reign acknowl edged the jurisdiction of the constable and martial's court to be part ofthe law of the land.t The star chamber, and high commission, and court martial, though arbitrary jurisdictions, had still some pretence of a trial, at least of a sentence ; but there was a grievous punish ment very generally inflicted in that age, without any other authority than the warrant of a secretary of state or of the privy council ; £ and that was, imprisonment in any jail, and during any time, that the ministers should think proper. In suspicious times, all the jails were full of' prisoners of state; and these unhappy victims of public jealousy were sometimes thrown into dungeons, and loaded with irons, and treated in the most cruel manner, without their being able to obtain any remedy from law. This practice was an indirect way of employing torture : but the rack itself, though not admitted in the ordinary execu tion of justice,^ was frequently used, upon any suspicion, by authority of a warrant from a secretary or the privy council. Even the council in the marches of Wales was empowered, by their very commission, to make use of torture whenever they thought proper. || There cannot be a stronger proof how lightly the rack was employed than the following story, told by Lord Bacon. We shall give it in his own words : " The queen was mightily incensed against Haywarde, on account * Rymer, vol. xvi. p. 279. t 7 Edw. VI. cap. 20. See Sir John Davis's Question concerning Impositions, p. 9. X In 1588, the lord mayor committed several citizens to prison, because they refused to pay the loan demanded of them. Murden, p. 632. § Harrison, book ii. chap. 11. U Haynes, p. 196. See further, La Boderie, vol. i. p. 211. APPENDIX III. 349 of a book he dedicated to Lord Essex, being a story of the first year of Henry IV., thinking it a seditious prelude to put into the people's heads boldness and faction : * she said, she had an opinion that there was treason in it, and asked me if I could not find any places in it that might be drawn within the case of treason ? Whereto I answered, For treason, sure I found none ; but for felony, very many : and when her majesty hastily asked me, Wherein ? I told her, the author had committed very apparent theft ; for he had taken most of the sentences of Cornelius Tacitus, and translated them into English, and put them into his text. And another time, when the queen could not be persuaded that it was his writing whose name was to it, but that it had some more mischievous author, and said with great indignation, that she would have him racked to produce his author ; I replied, Nay, madam, he is a doctor ; never rack his person, but rack his style : let him have pen, ink, and paper, and help of books, and be enjoined to continue the story where it breaketh off, and I will under take, by collating the styles, to judge whether he were the author or no." f Thus, had it not been for Bacon's humanity, or rather his wit, this author, a man of letters, had been put to the rac^for a most innocent performance. His real pffence wasnis dedicating a book to that munificent patron of the learned, the earl of Essex, at a time when this noble man lay under her majesty's displeasure. The queen's menace of trying and punishing Haywarde for treason could easily have been executed, let his book have been ever so innocent. While so many terrors hung over the people, no jury durst have acquitted a man. when the court was resolved to have him condemned. The prac tice, also, of not confronting witnesses with the prisoner, gave the crown lawyers all imaginable advantage against him. And indeed there scarcely occurs an instance during all these reigns, that the sovereign or the ministers were ever disappointed in the issue of a prosecution. Timid juries, and Judges who held their offices during pleasure, never failed to second all the views of the crown. And as the practice was * To our apprehension, Haywarde' s book seems rather to have a contrary tendency. For he has there preserved the famous speech of the bishop of Carlisle, .which contains, in the most express terms, the doctrine df passive obedience. But Queen Elizabeth was very difficult to please on this head. t Cabala, p. 81. vol. iv. 30 H 350 H1ST0KY OF EHfiLAND. anciently common of fining, imprisoning, or otherwise punish ing the jurors,. merely at the discretion of the court, for find ing a verdict contrary to the direction of these dependent judges, it is obvious that juries were then no manner of security to the liberty of the subject. The power of pressing, both for sea and land service, and obliging any person to accept of any office, however mean or unfit for him, was another prerogative totally incompatible with freedom. Osborne gives the following account of Eliza beth's method of employing this prerogative : " In case she found any likely to interrupt her occasions," says he, " she did seasonably prevent him by a chargeable employment abroad, or putting him upon some service at home, which she knew least grateful to the people ; contrary to a false maxim, since prac tised with far worse success, by such princes as thought it better husbandry to buy off enemies than reward friends." * The practice with which Osborne reproaches the two immedi ate successors of Elizabeth, proceeded partly from the ex treme difficulty of their situation, partly from the greater lenity of their disposition. The power of pressing, as may naturally be imagined, was often abused, in other respects, by men of inferior rank ; and officers often exacted money for freeing persons from the serrice.t The government of England during that age, however dif ferent in other particulars, bore in this respect some resem blance to that of Turkey at present: the sovereign possessed every power, except that of imposing taxes ; and in both countries, this limitation, unsupported by other privileges, appears rather prejudicial to the people. In Turkey, it obliges the sultan to permit the extortion of the bashas and governors of provinces, from whom he afterwards squeezes presents or takes forfeitures : in England, it engaged the queen to erect monopolies, and grant patents for exclusive trade ; an inven tion so pernicious, that had she gone on during a tract of years at her own rate, England, the seat of riches, and arts, and commerce, would have contained at present as little industry as Morocco or the coast of Barbary. We may further observe that this valuable privilege, valua ble only because it proved afterwards the means by which the parliament extorted all their other privileges, was very much encroached on, in an indirect manner, during the reign of Page 392. f Murden, p. 181. - AfFENDIX III. 351 Elizabeth, as well as of her predecessors. She often exacted loans from her people ; an arbitrary and unequal kind of imposition, and which individuals felt severely ; for though the money had been regularly repaid, which was seldom the case,* it lay in the prince's hands without interest, which was a sensible loss to the persons from whom the money was borrowed.!" There remains a proposal, made by Lord Burleigh, for levy ing a general loan on the people, equivalent to a subsidy ; J a scheme which would have laid the burden more equally, but which was, in different words, .a taxation imposed without consent of parliament. It is remarkable, that the scheme thus proposed, without any visible necessity, by that wise minister, is the very same which Henry VIII. executed, and which Charles I., enraged by ill usage from his parliament, and reduced to the greatest difficulties, put afterwards in practice, to the great discontent ofthe nation. The demand of benevolence was another invention of that ¦ age for taxing the people. This practice was so little con ceived to be irregular, that the commons in 1585 offered the queen a benevolence ; which she very generously refused, as having no occasion at that time for money.§ Queen Mary, also, by an order of council, increased the customs in some branches; and her sister imitated the example. || There was a species of ship money imposed at the time of the Spanish invasion : the several ports were required to equip a certain number of vessels at their own charge : and such was the alacrity of the people for the public defence, that some of the ports, particularly London,*sent double the number demanded of them.ff When any levies were made for Ireland, France, or the Low Countries, the queen obliged the counties to levy the soldiers, to arm and clothe them, and carry them to the seaports at their own charge. New-year's gifts were at that * Bacon, vol. iv. p. 362. t In the second of Richard IL, it was enacted that in loans which the king shall require of his subjects, upon letters of privy seal, such as have " reasonable" excuse of not lending, may there be received without further summons, travel, or grief. See Cotton's Abridg. p. 170. By this law, the king's prerogative of exacting loans was rati fied ; and what ought to be deemed a " reasonable " excuse was still left in his own breast to determine. X Haynes, p. 518, 519. § D'Ewes, p. 494. "J Bacon, vol. iv. p. 362. f Monson, p. 267. 352 HISTOBY OF ENGLAND. time expected from the nobility, and from the more considera ble gentry.* Purveyance and preemption were also methods of taxation unequal, arbitrary, and oppressive. The whole kingdom sen sibly felt the burden of those impositions ; and it was regardec as a great privilege conferred on Oxford and Cambridge, tc prohibit the purveyors from taking any commodities within five miles of these universities. The queen victualled her navy by means of this prerogative, during the first years of hei reign.t Wardship was the most regular and legal of all these impo. sitions by prerogative ; yet was it a great badge of slavery and oppressive to all the considerable families. When ar estate devolved to a female, the sovereign obliged her tc marry any one he pleased : whether the heir were male oi female, the crown enjoyed the whole profit of the estate dur ing the minority. The giving of a rich wardship was a usual method of rewarding a courtier or favorite. The inventions were endless which arbitrary power migh employ for the extorting of money, while the people imaginec that their property was secured by the crown's being debarrec from imposing taxes. Strype has preserved a speech of Lore Burleigh to the queen and council, in which are containec some particulars not a little extraordinary.! Burleigh pro poses, that she should erect a court for the correction of ali abuses, and should confer on the commissioners a general inquisitorial power over the whole kingdom. He sets before her the example of her wise grandfather, Henry VIL, who by such> methods extremely augmented his revenue ; and he recommends, that this new court should proceed, " as well by the direction and ordinary course of the laws, as by virtue of her majesty's supreme regiment and absolute power, from whence law proceeded." ^In a word, he expects from this institution greater accession to the royal treasure than Henry VIII. derived from the abolition of the abbeys, and all the forfeitures of ecclesiastical revenues. This project of Lord Burleigh's needs not, I think, any comment. A form of gov ernment must be very arbitrary indeed, where a wise and good minister could make such a proposal to the sovereign. Embargoes on merchandise was another engine of royal * Strype's Memoirs, vol.i. p. 137. t Camden, p. 388 X Annals, vol. iv. p. 234, et seq. APPENDIX III. 353 power, by which the English princes were able to extort money ^from the people. We have seen instances in the reign of Mary. Elizabeth, before her coronation, issued an order to the custom-house, prohibiting the sale of all crimson silks which should be imported, till the court were first supplied.* She expected, no doubt, a good pennyworth from the mer chants while they lay under this restraint. The parliament pretended to the right of enacting laws, as well as of granting subsidies ; but this privilege was, during that age, still more insignificant than the other. Queen Eliz abeth expressly prohibited them from meddling either with state matters or ecclesiastical causes ; and she openly sent the members to prison who dared to transgress her imperial edict in these particulars. There passed few sessions of par liament, during her reign, where there occur not instances of this arbitrary conduct. But the legislative power of the parliament was a mere fallacy, while the sovereign was universally acknowledged to possess a dispensing power, by which all the laws could be invalidated, and rendered of no effect. The exercise of this power was also an indirect method practised for erecting monopolies. Where the statutes laid any branch of manufac ture under restrictions, the sovereign, by exempting one per son from the laws, gave him in effect the monopoly of that commodity.t There was no grievance at that time more universally complained of, than the frequent dispensing with the penal laws.j: But in reality the crown possessed the full legislative power, by means of proclamations, which might affect any matter, even of the greatest importance, and which the star chamber took care to see more rigorously executed than the laws themselves. The motives for these proclamations were some times frivolous, and even ridiculous. Queen Elizabeth had taken offence at the smell of woad ; and she issued an edict prohibiting any one from cultivating that useful plant.§ She was also pleased to take offence at the long swords and high ruffs then in fashion : she sent about her officers to break every man's sword, and clip every man's ruff which was * Strype, vol. i. p. 27. t Rymer, torn. xv. p. 756. D'Ewes, p. 645. X Murden, p. 325. $ Townsend' s_ Journals, p. 250. Stow's Annals. 30* 354 HISTORY OF ENQLAND. beyond a certain dimension.* This practice resembles the method employed by the great Czar Peter to make his subjects change their garb. The queen's prohibition of the " propbesyihgs," or the assemblies instituted for fanatical prayers and conferences, was founded on a better reason, but shows still the unlimited extent of her prerogative. Any number of persons could not meet together, in order to read the Scriptures and confer about religion, though in ever so orthodox a manner, without her permission. There were many other branches of prerogative incompati ble with an exact or regular enjoyment of liberty. None of the nobility could marry without permission from the sover eign. The queen detained the earl of Southampton long in prison, because he privately married the earl of Essex's cousin.t No man could travel without the consent of the prince. Sir William Evers underwent a severe persecution because he had presumed, to pay a private visit to the king of Scots.;f The sovereign even assumed a supreme and uncon trolled authority over all foreign trade ; and neither allowed any person to enter or depart the kingdom, nor any commod ity to be imported or exported, without his consent.^ The parliament, in the thirteenth of the queen, praised her for not imitating the practice usual among her predecessors, of stopping the course of justice by particular warrants. [| There could not possibly be a greater abuse, nor a stronger mark of arbitrary power ; and the queen, in refraining from it, was very laudable. But she was by no means constant in this reserve. There remain in the public records some war rants of hers for exempting particular persons from all law suits and prosecutions ; fl and these warrants, she says, she grants from her royal prerogative, which she will not allow to be disputed. It was very usual in Queen Elizabeth's reign, and probably ih all the preceding reigns, for noblemen or privy counsellors to commit to prison any one who had happened to displease * Townsend's Journals, p. 250. Stow's Annals. Strype, vol. ii. p. 603. t Birch's Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 422. X Birch's Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 511. § Sir John Davis's Question concerning Impositions, passim. || D'Ewes, p. 141. H Rymer, torn. xv. p. 652, 708, 777. APPENDIX III. 355 them by suing for his just debts ; and the unhappy person, though he gained his cause in the courts of justice, was com monly obliged to relinquish his property in order to obtain his liberty. Some, likewise, who had been delivered from prison by the judges, were again committed to custody in secret places, without any possibility of obtaining relief; and even the officers and Serjeants of the courts of law were punished for executing the writs in favor of these persons. Nay, it was usual to send for people by pursuivants, a kind of harpies who then attended the orders ofthe council and high commission ; and they were brought up to London, and constrained by im prisonment, not only to withdraw their lawful suits, but also to pay the pursuivants great sums of money. The judges, in the thirty-fourth of the queen, complain to her majesty ofthe frequency of this practice. It is probable that so egregious a tyranny was carried no farther down than the reign of Eliza beth ; since the parliament who presented the petition of right found no later instances of it.* And even, these very judges of Elizabeth, who thus protect the people against the tyranny of the great, expressly allow, that a person committed by special command of the queen is not bailable. It is easy to imagine that, in such a government, no justice could by course of law be obtained of the sovereign, unless he were willing to allow it. In the naval expedition under taken by Raleigh and Frobisher against the Spaniards, in the year 1592, a very rich carrack was taken, worth two hundred thousand pounds. The queen's share in the adventure was only a tenth ; but as the prize was so great, and exceeded so much the expectation of all the adventurers, she was de termined not to rest contented .with her share. Raleigh humbly and earnestly begged her to accept of a hundred thousand pounds in lieu of all demands, or rather extortions ; and says that the present which the proprietors were willing to make her of eighty thousand pounds, was the greatest that ever prince received from a subject.t But it is no wonder the queen, in her administration, should pay so little regard to liberty, while the parliament itself, in enacting laws, was entirely negligent of it. The persecuting statutes which they passed against Papists and Puritans are extremely contrary to the genius of freedom ; and by ex- * Rushworth, vol. i. p. 511. Franklyn's Annals, p. 250, 251. t Strype, vol. iv. p. 128, 129. 356 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. posing such multitudes to the tyranny of priests and bigots, accustomed the people to the most disgraceful subjection. Their conferring an unlimited supremacy on the queen, or, what is worse, acknowledging her inherent right to it, was another proof of their voluntary servitude. The law of the twenty-third of her reign, making seditious words against the queen capital, is also a very tyrannical statute ; and a use no less tyrannical was sometimes made of it. The case of Udal, a Puritanical clergyman, seems singular even in those arbitrary times. This man had pub lished a book, called a Demonstration of Discipline, in which he inveighed against the government of bishops ; and though he had carefully endeavored to conceal his name, he was thrown into prison upon suspicion, and brought to a trial for this offence. It was pretended, that the bishops were part of the queen's political body; and to speak against them, was really to attack her, and was therefore felony by the statute. This was not the only iniquity to which Udal was exposed. The judges would not allow the jury to determine any thing but the fact, whether Udal had written the book or not, with out examining his intention, or the import of the words. In order to prove the fact, the crown lawyers did not produce a single witness to the court : they only read the testimony of two persons absent, one of whom said, that Udal had told him he was the author ; another, that a friend of Udal's had said so. They would not allow Udal to produce any exculpatory evidence ; which, they said, was never to be permitted against the crown.* And they tendered him an oath, by which he was required to depose that he was not the author of the book ; and his refusal to make that deposition was employed as the strongest proof of his guilt. It is almost needless to add, that notwithstanding these multiplied iniquities, a verdict of death was given by the jury against Udal ; for, as the queen was extremely bent upon his prosecution, it was impossible he could escape. t He died in prison, before execution of the sentence. The case of Penry was, if possible, still harder. This man was a zealous Puritan, o.r rather a Brownist, a small sect, * It was never fully established that the prisoner could legally pro duce evidence against the crown, till after the revolution. See Black- stone's Commentaries, vol. iv. p. 352. t State Trials, vol. i. p. 144. Strype, vol. iv. p. 21. Strype's Life of Whitgift, p. 343. APPENDIX III. 357' which afterwards increased, and received the name of "Inde pendents." He had written against the hierarchy several tracts, such as Martin Marprelate, Theses Martiniana?, and other compositions, full of low scurrility and petulant satire. After concealing himself for some years, he was seized ; and' as the statute against seditious words required that the criminal should be tried within a year after committing the offence, he could not be indicted for his printed books. He was therefore tried for some papers found in his pocket, as if he had thereby scattered sedition.* It was also imputed to him, by the lord keeper, Puckering, that in some of these papers, " he had only acknowledged her majesty's royal power to establish laws ecclesiastical and civil; but had avoided the usual terms of making, enacting, decreeing, and ordaining laws ; which imply," says the lord keeper, " a most absolute authority." f Penry for these offences was condemned and executed. Thus we have seen, that the " most absolute" authority of the sovereign, to make use of the lord keeper's expression, was established on above twenty branches of prerogative, which are now abolished, and which were, every one of them, totally incompatible with the liberty of the subject. But what insured more effectually the slavery of the people, than even these branches of prerogative, was, the established principles of the times, which attributed to the prince such an unlimited and indefeasible power; as was supposed to be the origin of all law, and could be circumscribed by none. The homilies published for the use of the clergy, and which they were enjoined to read every Sunday in all the churches, inculcate every where a blind and unlimited passive obedience to the prince, which on no account, and under no pretence, is it ever lawful for subjects in the smallest article to depart from or infringe. Much noise has been made because some court chaplains, during the succeeding reigns, were permitted to preach such doctrines; but there is a great difference be tween these sermons, and discourses published by authority, avowed by the prince and council, and promulgated to the whole nation-! So thoroughly were these principles imbibed * Strype's Life of Whitgift, book iv. chap. 11. Neal, vol. i. p. 664. t Strype's Annals, vol. iv. p. 177. X Gifford, a clergyman, was suspended in the year 1584, for preaching up a limited obedience to the civil magistrate. Neal,' Vol. i. p. 435. 358 HISTOEY OF ENGLAND. by the people, during the reigns of Elizabeth and her prede cessors, that opposition to them was regarded as the mosl flagrant sedition ; and was not even rewarded by that public praise and approbation, which can alone support men undei such dangers and difficulties as attend the resistance of tyran nical authority.* It was only during the next generation thai the noble principles of liberty took root, and spreading them selves under the shelter of Puritanical absurdities, became fashionable among the people. It is worth remarking, that the advantage usually ascribed to absolute monarchy, a greater regularity of police, and a more strict execution of the laws, did not attend the former English government, though in many respects it fell under that denom ination. A demonstration of this truth is contained in a judicious paper which is preserved by Strype,t and which was written by an eminent justice of peace of Somersetshire, in the year 1596, near the end of the queen's reign ; when the authority of that princess may be supposed to be fully corrob orated by time, and her maxims of government improved by long practice. This paper contains an account of the disorders which then prevailed in the count}' of Somerset.. The author says, that forty persons had there been executed in a year for robberies, thefts, and other felonies ; thirty-five burnt in the hand, thirty-seven whipped, one hundred and eighty-thiee dis charged : that those who were discharged were most wicked and desperate persons, who never could come to any good, because they would not work, and none would take them into service : that notwithstanding this great number of indictments. the fifth part ofthe felonies committed in the county were no1 brought to trial ; the greater number escaped censure, eithei from the superior cunning of the felons, the remissness of the magistrates, or the foolish lenity of the people : that the * It is remarkable, that in all the historical plays of Shakspeare where the manners and characters, and even the transactions of the several reigns, are so exactly copied, there is scarcely any mention of civil liberty, which some pretended historians have imagined to bf the object of all the ancient quarrels, insurrections, and civil wars In the elaborate panegyric of England, contained in the tragedy of Richard H., and the detail of its advantages, not a word of its civil constitution, as anywise different from or superior to that of othei European kingdoms ; an omission which cannot be supposed in any English author that wrote since the restoration, at least since the revolution. + Annals, vol. iv. p. 290. APPENDIX III. 359 rapines committed by the infinite number of wicked, wander ing, idle people, were intolerable to the poor countrymen, and obliged them to keep a perpetual watch over their sheepfolds, their pastures, their woods" and their cornfields : that the other counties of England were in no better condition than Somer setshire ; and many of them were even in a worse : that there were at least three or four hundred able-bodied vagabonds in every county, who lived by theft and rapine ; and who some times met in troops to the number of sixty, and committed spoil on the inhabitants : that if all the felons of this kind were assembled, they would be able, if reduced to good subjection, to give the greatest enemy her majesty has a " strong battle : " and that the magistrates themselves were intimidated from executing the laws upon them ; and there were instances of jus tices of peace who, after giving sentence against rogues, had interposed to stop the execution of their own sentence, on account of the danger which hung over them from the con federates of these felons. In the year 1575, the queen complained in parliament of the bad execution of the laws ; and threatened, that if the magistrates were not for the future more vigilant, she would intrust authority to indigent and needy persons, who would find an interest in a more exact administration of justice.* It appears that she was as good as her word. For iu the year 1601, there were great complaints made in parliament of the rapine of justices of peace ; and a member said, that this magistrate was an animal who, for half a dozen of chickens, would dispense with a dozen of penal statutes.t It is not easy to account for this relaxation of government, and neglect of police, during a reign of so much vigor as that of Elizabeth. The small revenue of the crown is the most likely cause that can be assigned. The queen had it not in her power to interest a great number in assisting her to execute the laws. ! On the whole, the English have no reason, from the exam ple of their ancestors, to be in love with the picture of absolute monarchy ; or to prefer the unlimited authority of the prince and his unbounded prerogatives, to that noble liberty, that sweet equality, and that happy security, by which they are at present distinguished above all nations in the universe. The utmost that can be said in favor of the government of that age, » D'Ewes, p. 234. t D'Ewes, p. tf 61 — 664. X See note MM, at the end of the volume. 360 HISTORV OF ENGLAND. (arid pet 'laps it may be said with truth,) is, that the power of the printe, though really unlimited, was exercised after the Europeu.i manner, and entered nijt into every part of the administration ; that the instances of a high exerted prerogative were not so frequent as to render property sensibly insecure, or reduce the people to a total servitude ; that the freedom from faction, the quickness of execution, and the promptitude of those measures which could be taken for offence or defence, made some compensation for the want of a legal and determi nate liberty ; that as the prince commanded no mercenary army, there was a tacit check on him, which maintained the government in that medium, to which the people had been accustomed ; and that this situation of England, though seem ingly it approached nearer, was in reality more remote from a despotic and Eastern monarchy, than the present government of that kingdom, where the people, though guarded by multi plied laws, are totally naked, defenceless, and disarmed ; and besides, are not secured by any middle power, or independent powerful nobility, interposed between them and the monarch. We shall close the present Appendix with a brief account of the revenues, the military force, the commerce, the arts, and the learning of England during this period. Queen Elizabeth's economy was remarkable ; and in some instances seemed to border on avarice. The smallest expense, if it could possibly be spared, appeared considerable in her eyes ; and even the charge of an express, during the most delicate transactions, was not below her notice.* She was also attentive to every profit, and embraced opportunities of gain which may appear somewhat extraordinary. She kept, for instance, the see of Ely vacant nineteen years, in order to retain the revenue ; t and it was usual with her, when she promoted a bishop, to take the opportunity of pillaging the see of some of its manors. % But that in reality there was little * Birch's Negot. p. 21. t Strype, vol.'iv. p. 351. { Strype, vol. iv. p. 215. There is a curious letter of the queen's written to a bishop of Ely, and preserved in the register of that see. It is in these words : " Proud prelate, I understand you are backward in complying with your agreement : but I would have you know, that I, who made you what you are, can unmake you j and if you do not forthwith fulfil your engagement, by God I will immediately unfrock you. Yours, as you demean yourself, Elizabeth." The bishop, it seems, had promised to exchange some part of the land belonging to the see for a pretended equivalent ; and did so, but it was in conse quence ofthe above letter. Annual Register, 1761, p. 15. APPENDIX III. 361 or no avarice in the queen's temper, appears from this circum stance, that she never amassed any treasure ; and even refused subsidies from the parliament when she had no present occasion for them. Yet we must not conclude, from this circumstance, that her economy proceeded from a tender concern for her people ; she loaded them with' monopolies and exclusive patents, which are much more oppressive than the most heavy taxes levied in an equal and regular manner. The real source of her frugal conduct was derived from her desire of independency, and her care to preserve her dignity, which would have been endangered had she reduced herself to the necessity of having frequent recourse to parliamentary supplies. In consequence of this motive, the queen, though engaged in successful and necessary wars, thought it more prudent to make a continual dilapidation of the royal demesnes,* than demand the most moderate supplies from the commons. As she lived unmarried, and had no posterity, she was content to serve her present turn, though at the expense of her succes sors ; who, by reason of this policy, joined to other circum stances, found themselves on a sudden reduced to the most extreme indigence. The splendor of a court was during this age a great part of the public charge ; and as Elizabeth was a single woman, and expensive in no kind of magnificence, except clothes, this circumstance enabled her to perform great things by her narrow revenue. She is said to have paid four millions of debt, left on the crown by her father, brother, and sister ; an incredible sum for that age.f Tbe states at the time, of her death owed her about eight hundred thousand pounds ; and the king of France four hundred and fifty thousand. ! Though that prince was extremely frugal, and after the peace of Ver- vins was continually amassing treasure, the queen never could, by the most pressing importunities, prevail on him to make payment of those sums which she had so generously advanced * Rymer, torn. xvi. p. 141. D'Ewes, p. 151, 457, 525, 629. Bacon, vol. iv. p. 363. f D'Ewes, p. 473. I think it impossible to reconcile this account of the public debts with that given by Strype, (Eccles. Mem. vol. ii. p. 344,) that in the year 1553 the crown owed, but three hundred thousand pounds. I own that this last sum appears a gr.eat deal more likely. The whole revenue of Queen Elizabeth would not in ten years have paid four millions. X Winwood, vol. i. p. 29, 54. vol. iv. 31 H 363 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. him during his greatest distresses. One payment of twenty thousand crowns, and another of fifty thousand, were all she could obtain, by the strongest representations she could make of the difficulties to which the rebellion in Ireland had reduced her'.* The queen expended on the wars with Spain, between the years 1589 and 1593, the sum of one million three hundred thousand pounds, besides the pittance of a double subsidy, amounting to two hundred and eighty thousand pounds, granted her by parliament, t In the year 1599, she spent six hundred thousand pounds in six months on the ser vice of Ireland. % Sir Robert Cecil affirmed, that in ten years Ireland cost her three millions four hundred thousand pounds.<§ She gave the earl of Essex a present of thirty thousand pounds upon his departure for the government of that king dom. || Lord Burleigh computed, that the value of the gifts conferred on that favorite amounted to three hundred thousand pounds ; a sum which, though probably exaggerated, is a proof of her strong affection towards him- It was a common saying during this reign, " The queen pays bountifully, thougb she rewards sparingly. ' fl It is difficult to compute exactly the queen's ordinary rev enue, but it certainly ftll much short of five hundred thousand pounds a year.** In tlie year 1590, she raised the customs from fourteen thousand pounds a year to fifty thousand, ane obliged Sir Thomas Smith, who had farmed them, to refund some of his former profi's.tt This improvement of the revenue was owing to the suggestions of one Caermarthen ; and was opposed by Burleigh, I eicester, and W'alsingham : but the queen's perseverance overcame all their opposition. The great undertakings which she executed with so narrow 8 revenue, and with such stxall supplies from her people, prov« * Winwood, vol. i. p. 117 195. t D'Ewes, p. 483. X Camden, p. 167. § Appendix to the Earl of ^Pjsex's Apology. || Birch's Memoirs, vol. ii. If Nanton's Regalia, chap. i. ** Frankly n, in his Annals, (p. 9,) says that the profit ofthe king dom, besides wards and the duclay of Lancaster, (which amounted ti about one hundred and twenty tl ousand pounds,) was one hundred and eighty-eight thousand one hindred and ninety-seven pounds the crown lands seem to be compreVnded in this computation. tt Camden, p. 658. This account of Camden is difficult or impos. Bible to be reconciled to the state of -h rr, t* ms in the beginning of the subsequent reign, as they appeal i . Un i( vxiols of the commons See Hist, of James, chap. 46. APPENDIX "III. 363 (he mighty effects of wisdom and economy. She received from the parliament, during the course of her whole reign, only twenty subsidies and thirty-nine fifteenths. I pretend not to determine exactly the amount of these supplies ; because the value of a subsidy was continually falling ; and in the end of her reign it amounted only to eighty thousand pounds,* though in the beginning it had been a hundred and twenty thousand. If we suppose that the supplies granted Elizabeth during a reign of forty-five years amounted 'to three millions, we shall not probably be much wide of the truth.t This sum makes only sixty-six thousand six hundred and sixty-six pounds a year ; and it is surprising, that while the queen's demands were so moderate, and her expenses so well regulated, she should ever have found any difficulty in obtaining a supply from parliament, or be reduced to make sale of the crown lands. But such was the extreme, I had almost said, absurd parsimony of the parliaments during that period. They valued nothing in comparison of their money : the members had no * D'Ewes, p. 630. t Lord Salisbury computed these supplies only at two millions eight hundred thousand pounds, Journ. 17th Feb. 1609. King James was certainly mistaken when he estimated the queen's annual supplies at one hundred and thirty-seven thousand pounds. Franklyn, p. 44. It is curious to observe, that the minister, in the war begun in 1754, was in some periods allowed to lavish in two months as great a sum as was granted by parliament to Queen EUzabeth in forty-five years. The extreme frivolous object of the late war, and the great importance of hers, set this matter in still a stronger light. Money too, we may observe, was in most particulars of the same value in both periods : she paid eightpence a day to every foot soldier. But our late delu sions have much exceeded any thing known in history, not even excepting those of the crusades. For I suppose there is no math ematical, still less an arithmetical demonstration, that the road to the Holy Land was not the road to paradise, as there is, that the endless increase of national debts is the direct road to national ruin. But having now completely reached that goal, it is needless at present to reflect on the past. It will be found in the present year, 1776, that all the revenues of this island north of Trent and west of Reading, are mortgaged or anticipated forever. Could the small remainder be in a worse condition were those provinces seized by Austria and Prussia ? There is only this difference, that some event might happen in Europe, which would oblige these great monarchs to disgorge their. acquisitions. But no imagination can figure a situation which will induce our creditors to relinquish their claims, or the public to seize their revenues. So egregious indeed has been our folly, that we have even lost all title to compassion in the numberless calamities that are awaiting us. 364 HISTOEY OF ENGLAND. connection with' the court; and the very idea which they conceived of the trust committed to them, was, to reduce the demands of the crown, and to grant as few supplies as pos sible. The crown, on the other hand, conceived the parlia ment in no other light than as a means of supply. Queen Elizabeth made a merit to her people of seldom summoning parliaments.* No redress of grievances was expected from these assemblies : they were supposed to meet for no other purpose than to impose taxes. Before the reign of Elizabeth,, the English princes had usually recourse to the city of Antwerp for voluntary loans ; and their credit was so low, that, besides paying the high interest of ten or twelve per cent., they were obliged to make the city of London join in the security. Sir Thomas Gresham, that great and enterprising merchant, one of the chief orna ments of this reign, engaged the company of merchant- adventurers to grant a loan to the queen ; and as the money was regularly repaid, her credit by degrees established itself in the city, and she shook off this dependence on for- eigners.t In the year 1559, however, the queen employed Gresham to borrow for her two hundred thousand pounds at Antwerp, in order to enable her to reform the coin, which was at that time extremely debased.! She was so impolitic as to make, herself, an innovation in the coin ; by dividing a pound of silver into sixty-two shillings, instead of sixty, the former standard. This is the last time that the coin has been tam pered with in England. Queen Elizabeth, sensible how much the defence of her kingdom depended on its naval power, was desirous to en courage commerce and navigation : but as her monopolies tended to extinguish all domestic industry, which is much more valuable than foreign trade, and is the foundation of it, the general train of her conduct was ill calculated to serve the purpose at which she aimed, much less to promote the riches of her people. The exclusive companies also were an immediate check on foreign trade. Yet, notwithstanding these discouragements, the spirit of the age was strongly bent on naval enterprises ; and besides the military expeditions against the Spaniards, many attempts were made for new * Strype, vol. iv. p. 124. t Stowe's Survey of London, hook i. p. 286. X MS. of Lord Royston's, from the paper office, p. 295. APPENDIX III. 365 discoveries, and many new branches of foreign commerce were opened by the English. Sir Martin Frobisher undertook three fruitless voyages to discover the north-west passage : Davis, not discouraged by this ill success, made a new attempt, when he discovered the straits which pass by his name. In the year 1600, the queen granted the first patent to the East India Company : the stock of that company was seventy-two thousand pounds ; and they fitted out four ships, under the command of James Lancaster, for this new branch of trade. The adventure was successful ; and the ships returning with a rich cargo, encouraged the company to continue the com merce. The communication with Muscovy had been opened in Qu.^en Mary's time by the discovery of the passage to Archangel : but the commerce to that country did not begin to be carried on to a great extent till about the year 1569. The queen obtained from the czar an exclusive patent to the English for the whole trade of Muscovy ; * and she entered into a per sonal as well as national alliance with him. This czar was named John Basilides, a furious tyrant, who, continually suspecting the revolt of his subjects, stipulated to have a safe retreat and protection in England. In order the better to insure this resource, he purposed to marry an English woman ; and the queen intended to have sent him Lady Anne Hastings, daughter of the earl of Huntingdon : but when the lady wtis informed of the barbarous manners of the country, she wisely declined purchasing an empire at the expense of her ease and safety.t The English, encouraged by the privileges which they had obtained from Basilides, ventured farther into those countries than any Europeans had formerly done. They transported their goods along the River Dwina in boats made of one entire tree, which they towed and rowed up the stream as far as Walogda. Thence they carried their commodities seven days' journey by land to Yeraslau, and then down the Volga to Astracan. At Astracan they built ships, crossed the Caspian Sea, and distributed their manufactures into Persia. But this bold attempt met with such discouragements, that it was never renewed-! After the death of John Basilides, his son Theodore revoked * Camden, p. 408. t Camden, p. 493. X Camden, p. 418. 31* 366 HISTOKY OF ENGLAND. the patent which the English enjoyed for a monopoly of th Russian trade : when the queen remonstrated against thi innovation, he told her ministers, that princes must carry ai indifferent hand, -as well between their subjects as betweei foreigners ; and not convert trade, which, by the laws of nations ought to be common to all, into a monopoly for the privati gain of a few.* So much juster notions of commerce wen entertained by this barbarian than appear in the conduct of the renowned Queen Elizabeth! Theodore, however, con tinued some privileges to the English, on account of thei being the discoverers of the communication between Europi and his country. The trade to Turkey commenced about the year 1583 ; ani that commerce was immediately confined to a company frj Queen Elizabeth. Before that time, the grand seignior hai always conceived England to be a dependent province Oi France ; t but having heard of the queen's power and reputa tion, he gave a good reception to the English, and even grantei them larger privileges than he had given to the French. The merchants of the Hanse Towns complained loudly, ir the beginning of Elizabeth's reign, of the treatment whicl they had receive4 in the reigns of Edward and Mary. She prudently replied, that as she would not innovate any thing she would still protect them in the immunities and privilegei of which she found them possessed. This answer not con tenting them, their commerce was soon after suspended for i time, to the great advantage of the English merchants, wh< tried what they could themselves effect for promoting thei] commerce. They took the whole trade into their own hands- and their returns proving successful, they divided themselvei into staplers and merchant adventurers ; the former residing constantly at one place, the latter trying their fortunes in othe: towns and states abroad with cloth and other manufactures This success so enraged the Hanse Towns, that they tried al the methods which a discontented people could devise, to drav upon the English merchants the ill opinion of other nation! and states. They prevailed so far as to obtain an imperia edict, by which the English were prohibited all commerce ii the empire : the queen, by way of retaliation, retained sixti of their ships, which had been seized in the River Tagus witl contraband goods of the Spaniards. These ships the queei * Camden, p. 493. f Birch's Memoirs, vol.,L p. 36. APPENDIX III. 367 intended to have restored, as desiring to have compromised all differences with those trading cities ; but when she was informed, that a general assembly was held at Lubec, in order to concert measures for distressing the English trade, she caused the ships and cargoes to be confiscated : only two of them were released to carry home the news, and to inform these states, that she had the greatest contempt imaginable for all their proceedings.* Henry VIIL, in order to fit out a navy, was obliged to hire ships from Hamburgh, Lubec, Dantzic, Genoa, and Venice : but Elizabeth, very eafily in her reign, put affairs upon a bet ter footing ; both by building some ships of her own, and by encouraging tbe merchants to build large trading vessels, which, on occasion, were converted into ships of war.t In' the year 1582, the seamen in England were found to be four teen thousand two hundred and ninety-five men ; ! the number of vessels twelve hundred and thirty -two ; of which there were only two hundred and seventeen above eighty tons. Monson pretends, that though navigation decayed in the first years pf James I., by the practice of the merchants, who carried oq their trade in foreign bottoms,^ yet, before the year 1640, this number of seamen was tripled in England. || The navy which the queen left at her decease appears considerable, when we reflect only on the number of vessels, which were forty-two : but when we consider that none of Jiese ships carried above forty guns ; that four only came up fo that number ; that there were but two ships of a thousand tons ; and twenty-three below five hundred, some of fifty, and some even of twenty tons ; and that the whole number of guns belonging to the fleet was seven hundred and seventy- four ; Tf we must entertain a contemptible idea of the English navy, compared to the force which it has now attained.** In the year 1588, there were not above five vessels fitted out by the noblemen and seaports, which exceeded two hundred tons.tt In the year 1599, an alarm was given of an invasion by the * Lives of the Admirals, vol. i. p. 470. t Camden, p. 388. X Monson, p. 256. § Monson, p. 300. || Monson, p. 210, 256. IT Monson, p. 196. The English navy at present carries about four teen thousand guns. ** See note NN, at the end of the volume. tt Monson, p. 300. 368 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Spaniards ; and the queen equipped a fleet and levied an army in a fortnight to oppose them. Nothing gave foreigners a higher idea of the power of England than this sudden arma- mint. In the year 1575, all the militia in the kingdom were computed at a hundred and eighty-two thousand nine hundred and twenty-nine.* A distribution was made, in the year 1595, of a hundred and forty thousand men, besides those which Wales could supply.t These armies were formidable by their numbers ; but their discipline and experience were not proportionate. Small bodies from Dunkirk and Newport frequently ran over and plundered the east coast : so unfit was the militia, as it was then constituted, for the defence of . the kingdom. The lord lieutenants were first appointed to the counties in this reign. Mr. Murden! has published, from the Salisbury collections, a paper which contains the military force of the nation at. the time of the Spanish armada, and which is somewhat different from the account given by our ordinary historians. It makes all the able-bodied men of the kingdom amount to a hundred and eleven thousand five hundred and thirteen ; those armed, to eighty thousand eight hundred and seventy-five ; of whom forty-four thousand seven hundred and twenty-seven were trained. It must be supposed that these able-bodied men con sisted of such only as were registered, otherwise the small number is not to be accounted for. Yet Sir Edward Coke § said, in the house of commons, that he was employed about the same time, together with Popham, chief justice, to take a survey of all the people of England, and that they found them to be nine hundred thousand of all sorts. This number, by the ordinary rules of computation, supposes that there were above two hundred thousand men able to bear arms. Yet even this number is surprisingly small. Can we suppose that the kingdom is six or seven times more populous at present ? and that Murden's was the real number of men, excluding Catholics, and children, and infirm persons ? Harrison says, that in the musters taken in the years 1574 and 1575, the men fit for service amounted to one million one hundred and seventy-two thousand six hundred and seventy- four ; yet was it believed that a full third was omitted. Such uncertainty and contradiction are there in all these accounts. » Lives of the Admirals, vol. i. p. 432. t Strype, vol. iv. p. 221. X Page 608' § Journ. 26 April, 1621. APPENDIX III. tJ69 Notwithstanding the greatness of this number, the sarite author complains much of the decay of populousness ; a vulgar com plaint in all places and all ages. Guicciardini makes the inhabitants of England in this reign amount to two millions. Whatever opinion we may form of the comparative popu lousness of England in different periods, it must be allowed that, abstracting from the national debt, there is a prodigious increase of power in that, more perhaps than in any other European state, since the beginning of the last century. It would be no paradox to affirm, that Ireland alone could, at present, exert a greater force than all the three kingdoms were capable of at the death of Queen Elizabeth. And we might' go further, and assert, that one good county in England is able to make, af least to support, a greater effort than the whole kingdom was capable of ih the reign of Henry V. ; when the maintenance of a garrison in a small town like Calais, formed more than a third of the ordinary national expense. Such are the effects of liberty, industry, and good government ! The state of the English manufactures was at this time very low ; and foreign wares of almost all kinds had the pref erence.* About the year 1590, there were in London four persons only rated in the subsidy books so high as four hun dred pounds.f This computation is not indeed to be deemed an exact estimate of their wealth. In 1567, there were found, on inquiry, to be four thousand eight hundred arid fifty-one strangers of all nations in London ; of whom three thousand eight hundred and thirty-eight were Flemings, and only fifty- eight Scots.! The persecutions in France and the Low1 Coun tries drove afterwards a greater number of foreigners into England ; and the commerce, as well as manufactures of that' kingdom, was very much improved by them.§ It was then that Sir Thomas' Gresham built, at his own charge, the mag nificent fabric of the Exchange for the reception of the mer chants : thei queen visited it, and gave' it the appellation of the Royal Exchange. By a lucky accident in language, which has a great effect on men's ideas, the invidious word usury which formerly meant the taking of any interest for money, came now to express only the taking of exorbitant and illegal interest. An act passed in 1571 violently condemns all usury ; but permits * D'Ewes, p. 505. t D'Ewes, p. 497. X Efaynes, p. 461, 462. § Stowe, p. 668. 370 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. ten per cent, interest to be paid. Henry IV. of France reduced interest to six and a half per cent. ; an indication of the great advance of France above England in com merce. Dr. Howell says,* that Queen Elizabeth, in the third ofher reign, was presented with a pair of black silk knit stockings by her silk-woman, and never wore cloth hose any more. The author of the Present State of England, says, that about 1577, pocket watches were first brought into England from Germany. They are thought to have been invented at Nurem berg. About 1580, the use of coaches was introduced by the earl of Arundel.t Before that time, the queen, on public occasions, rode behind her chamberlain. Camden says, that in 1581, Randolph, so much employed by the queen in foreign embassies, possessed the office of postmaster-general of England. It appears, therefore, that posts were then established ; though from Charles L's regula tions in 1635, it would seem that few post-houses were erected before that time. In a remonstrance of the Hanse Towns to the diet of the empire, in 1582, it is affirmed that England exported annually about two hundred thousand pieces of cloth-! This number seems to be much exaggerated. In the fifth of this reign was enacted the first law for the relief of the poor. A judicious author of that age confirms the vulgar observa tion, that the kingdom was depopulating, from the increase of enclosures and decay of tillage ; and he ascribes the reason very justly to the restraints put on the exportation of corn ; while full liberty was allowed to export all the produce of pasturage, such as wool, hides, leather, tallow, etc. These prohibitions of exportation were derived from the prerogative, and were very injudicious. The queen once, on the com mencement of her reign, had tried a contrary practice, and with good success. From the same author we learn, that the complaints renewed in our time were then very common, concerning the high prices of every thing.§ There seems, * History of the World, vol. ii. p. 222. t Anderson, vol. i. p. 421. J Anderson, vol. i. p. 424. § A compendious or brief Examination of certain ordinary Com plaints of divers of our Countrymen. The author says, that in twenty or thirty years before 1581, commodities had in general risen fifty per cent. ; soma more. " Cannot you, neighbor, remember," says he, " that, APPENDIX III. 371 indeed, to have been two periods, in which prices rose re markably in England ; namely, that in Queen Elizabeth's reign, when they are computed to have doubled, and that in the present age. Between the two, there seems to have been a stagnation. It would appear, that industry, during that inter mediate period, increased as fast as gold and silver, and kept commodities nearly at a par with money. There were two attempts made in this reign to settle colonies in America ; one by Sir Humphrey Gilbert in Newfoundland, another by Sir Walter Raleigh in Virginia : but neither of these projects proved successful. All those nobla settlements were made in the following reigns. The current specie of the kingdom, in the end of this reign, is computed at four millions.* The earl of Leicester desired Sir Francis Walsingham, then ambassador in France, to provide him with a riding master in that country, to whom he promises a hundred pounds a year, besides maintaining himself and servant and a couple of horses. " I know," adds the earl, " that such a man as I want may receive higher wages in France : but let him con sider, that a shilling in England goes as far as two shillings in France." t It is known that every thing is much changed since that time. The nobility in this age still supported, in some degree, the ancient magnificence in their hospitality, and in the numbers of their retainers ; and the queen found it prudent to retrench, by proclamation, their expenses in this last particular.! The expense of hospitality she somewhat encouraged, by the fre quent visits she paid her nobility, and the sumptuous feasts which she received from them.§ The earl of Leicester gave within these thirty years, I could, in this town, buy the best pig or goose I could lay my hands on for fourpence, which now costeth twelvepence ; a good capon for threepence or fourpence ; a chicken for a penny ; a hen for twopence ? " (p. 35.) " Yet the price of ordi nary labor was then eightpence a day." (p. 31.) * Lives of the Admirals, vol. i. p. 475. t Digges's Complete Ambassador. X Strype, vol. iii. Append, p. 54. § Harrison, after enumerating the queen's palaces, adds, " But what shall I need to take upon me to repeat all, and tell what houses the queen's majesty hath ? Sith all is hers ; and when it pleaseth her in the summer season to recreate herself abroad, and view the estate of the country, and hear the complaints of her poor commons injured by her unjust officers or their substitutes, every nobleman's house is her palace, where she continueth during pleasure, and till 372 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. her an entertainment in Kenilworth Castle, which was extraor dinary for expense and magnificence. Among other particu lars, we are told that three hundred and sixty-five hogsheads of beer were drunk at it.* The earl had fortified this castle at great expense ; and it contained arms for ten thousand men.t The earl of Derby had a family consisting of two hundred and forty servants.! Stowe remarks it as a singular proof of beneficence in this nobleman, that he was contented with his rent from his tenants, and exacted not any extraordi nary services from them ; a proof that the great power of the sovereign (what was almost unavoidable) had very generally countenanced the nobility in tyrannizing over the people. Burleigh, though he was "frugal, and had no paternal estate, kept a family consisting of a hundred servants.^ He had a standing table for gentlemen, and two other tables for persons of meaner condition, which were always served alike, whether he were in town or in the country. About his person he had people of great distinction ; insomuch that he could reckon up twenty gentlemen retainers who had each a thousand pounds a year ; and as many among his ordinary servants who were worth from a thousand pounds to three, five, ten, and twenty thousand pounds. || It is to be remarked, that though the revenues of the crown were at that time very small, the min isters and courtiers sometimes found means, by employing the boundless prerogative, to acquire greater fortunes than it is possible for them at present to amass, from their larger salaries, and more limited authority. Burleigh entertained the queen twelve several times in his country house ; where she remained three, four, or five weeks at a time. Each visit cost him two or three thousand pounds.^ The quantity of silver plate possessed by this nobleman is surprising ; no less than fourteen or fifteen thousand pounds she return again to some of her own, in which she remaineth so long as she pleaseth." Book ii. chap. 15. Surely one may say of such a guest, what Cicero says to Atticus, on occasion of a visit paid him by Caesar. " Hospes tamen non is cui diceres, Amabo te, eodem ad me cum revertere." Lib. xiii. Ep. 52. If she relieved the people from oppressions, (to whom it seems the law could give no relief,) her visits were a great oppression on the nobility. * Biogr. Brit. vol. iii. p. 1791. t Strype, vol. iii. p. 394. + Stowe, p. 674. § Strype, vol. iii. p. 129. Append. || Life of Burleigh, published by Collins. II Life of Burleigh, published by Collins, p. 40. appendix m. 373 weight ; * which, besides the fashion, would be above forty- two thousand pounds sterling in value. Yet Burleigh left only four thousand pounds a year in land, and eleven thousand pounds in money ; and as land was then commonly sold at ten years' purchase, his plate was nearly equal to all the rest of his fortune. It appears that little value was then put upon the fashion of the plate, which probably was but rude : the weight was chiefly considered.t But though there were preserved great remains of the ancient customs, the nobility were by degrees acquiring a taste for elegant luxury ; and many edifices, in particular, were built by them, neat, large, and sumptuous ; to the great ornament of the kingdom, says Camden,! but to the no less decay of the glorious hospitality of the nation. It is, however, more reasonable to think, that this new turn of expense promoted arts and industry ; while the ancient hospitality was the source of vice, disorder, sedition, and idleness.§ Among the other species of luxury, that of apparel began much to increase during this age ; and the queen thought proper to restrain it by proclamation. || Her example was very little conformable to her edicts. As no woman was ever more conceited of her beauty, or more desirous of making impression on the hearts of beholders, no one ever went to a greater extravagance in apparel, or studied more the variety and richness of her dresses. Shq appeared almost every day in a different habit ; and tried all the several modes by which she hoped to render herself agreeable. She was also so fond of her clothes, that she never could part with any of them ; and at her death she had in her wardrobe all the different habits, to the number of three thousand, which she had ever worn in her lifetime. j[ The retrenchment of the ancient hospitality, and the dimi nution of retainers, were favorable tb the1 prerogative of the sovereign ; and, by disabling the great noblemen from resist- * See note OO, at the end ofthe volume. t This appears from Burleigh's will : he specifies only the num ber of ounces to be given to each legatee, and appoints a goldsmith to see it weighed out to them, without making any distinction of the pieces. X Page 452. § See note PP, at the end of the volume. || Camden, p. 452. IT Carte, vol. iii. p. 702, from Beaumont's Despatches. vol. iv. 32 H 374 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. ance, promoted the execution of the laws, and extended the authority of the courts of justice. There were many peculiar causes in the situation and character of Henry VII. which augmented the authority of the crown : most of these causes concurred in succeeding princes ; together with the factions in religion, and the acquisition of the supremacy, a most im portant article of prerogative : but the manners of the age were a general cause, which operated during this whole period, and which continually tended to diminish the riches, and still more the influence, of the aristocracy, anciently so formidable to the crown. The habits of luxury dissipated the immense fortunes of the ancient barons : and as the new methods of expense gave subsistence to mechanics and merchants, who lived in an independent manner on the fruits of their own industry, a nobleman, instead of that unlimited ascendant which he was wont to assume over those who were maintained at his board, or subsisted by salaries conferred on them, retained only that moderate influence which customers have over tradesmen, and which can never be dangerous to civil government. The landed proprietors also, having a greater demand for money than for men, endeavored to turn their lands to the best account with regard to profit ; and either enclosing their fields, or joining many small farms into a few large ones, dismissed those useless hands which formerly were always at their call in every attempt to subvert the government, or oppose a neighboring baron. By all these means the cities increased ; the middle rank of men began to be rich and powerful ; the prince, who in effect was the same with the law, was implicitly obeyed : and though the further progress of the same causes begat a new plan of liberty, founded on the privileges of the commons, yet in the interval between the fall of the nobles and the rise of this order, the sovereign took advantage of the present situation, and assumed an authority almost absolute. Whatever may be commonly imagined, from the authority of Lord Bacon, and from that of Harrington, and later authors, the laws of Henry VII. contributed very little towards the great revolution which happened about this period in the English constitution. The practice of breaking entails by a fine and recovery, had been introduced in the preceding reigns ; and this prince only gave indirectly a legal sanction to the practice, by reforming some abuses which attended it. But tlie settled authority which he acquired to the crown, appendix hi. 375 enabled the sovereign to encroach on the separate jurisdictions • of the barons, and produced a more general and regular exe cution of the laws. The counties palatine underwent the same fate as the feudal powers; and, by a statute of Henry VIII.,* the jurisdiction of these counties was annexed to the crown, and all writs were ordained to run in the king's name. But the change of manners was the chief cause of the secret revolution of government, and subverted the power of the barons. There appear still in this reign some remains of the ancient slavery of the boors and peasants,t but none afterwards. Learning, on its revival, was held in high estimation by the English princes and nobles ; and as it was not yet prostituted by being too common, even the great deemed it an object of ambition to attain a character for literature. The four suc cessive sovereigns, Henry, Edward, Mary, and Elizabeth, may, on one account or other, be admitted into the class of authors. Queen Catharine Parr translated a book : Lady Jane Gray, considering her age, and her sex, and her station, may be regarded as a prodigy of literature. Sir Thomas Smith was raised from being professor in Cambridge, first to be ambassa dor to France, then secretary of state. The despatches of those times, and among others those of Burleigh himself, are frequently interlarded with quotations from the Greek and Latin classics. Even the ladies of the court valued themselves on knowledge : Lady Burleigh, Lady Bacon, and their two sisters, were mistresses of the ancient as well as modern lan guages ; and placed more pride in their erudition than in their rank and quality. Queen Elizabeth wrote and translated several books : and she was familiarly acquainted with the Greek as well as Latin tongue.! It is pretended that she made an extemporary reply in Greek to the university of Cambridge, who had addressed her in that language. It is certain that she answered in Latin without premeditation, and in a very spirited manner, to the Polish ambassador, who had been wanting in respect to her. When she had finished, she turned about to her courtiers, and said, " God's death, my lords," (for she was much addicted to swearing,) " I have been forced this day to scour up my old * 27 Henry VDX c. 24, t Rymer, torn. xv. p. 731. X See note QQ, at the end of the volume. 376 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Latin, that hath long lain rusting." * Elizabeth, even after she was queen, did not entirely drop the ambition of appearing as an author ; and, next to her desire of admiration for beauty, this seems to have been the chief object of her vanity. She translated Boetbius of the Consolation of Philosophy ; in order, as she pretended, to allay her grief for Henry IV.'s change of religion. As far as we can judge from Eliza beth's compositions, we may pronounce that, notwithstanding her application, and her excellent parts, her taste in liter ature was but indifferent : she was much inferior to her suc cessor in this particular, who was himself no perfect model of eloquence. Unhappily for literature, at least for the learned of this age, the queen's vanity lay more in shining by her own learning, than in encouraging men of genius by her liberality. Spenser himself, the finest English writer of his age, was long neglect ed ; and after the death of Sir Philip Sidney, his patron, was allowed to die almost for want. This poet contains great beau ties, a sweet and harmonious versification, easy elocution, a fine imagination ; yet does the perusal of his work become so tedious, that one never finishes it from the mere pleasure which it affords ; it soon becomes a kind of task-reading ; and it requires some effort and resolution to carry us on to the' end of his long performance. This effect, of which every one is conscious, is usually ascribed to the change of man ners: but manners have more changed since Homer's age ; and yet that poet remains still the favorite of every reader of taste and judgment. Homer copied true natural manners, which, however rough or uncultivated, will always form an agreeable arid interesting picture ; but the pencil of the English poet was efnp'loyed in drawing the affectations, and conceits', and fopperies of chivalry, which appear ridiculpus as soOn as they lose the recommendation of the mode. The tediousneSS of continued allegory, and that, too, seldom strik ing or ingenious, has also contributed to render the Fairy Queen peculiarly tiresome ; not to mention the too great fre quency of its descriptions, and the languor of its stanza. Upon the whole, Spenser maintains his place upon the shelves among our English classics; but he is seldom seen on the table ; and there is scarcely any one, if he dares to be ingenuous, but will confess, that, notwithstanding all * Speed. APPENDIX III. 377 the merit of the poet, he affords an entertainment with which the palate is soon satiated. Several writers of late have amused themselves in copying the style of Spenser ; and no imitation has been so indifferent as not to bear a great re semblance to the original : his manner is so peculiar that it is almost impossible not to transfer some of it into the copy. 32* 378 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. CHAPTER XLV. JAMES I. CONTEMPORARY MONARCHS. Emp. of Germ. Rudolph II 1612 Matthias 1619 Fcrdiuautl II. Kings of France. Henry IV 1610 Louis XIII. Kings of Spain. Philip III 1621 Philip IV. Popes. Clement VIII. ... 1605 Leo XI 1605 Paul V 1621 Gregory XV. 1623 [1603.] The crown of England was never transmitted from father to son with greater tranquillity than it passed from the family of Tudor to that of Stuart. During the whole reign of Elizabeth, the eyes of men had been employed in search of her successor ; and when old age made the prospect of her death more immediate, there appeared none but the king of Scots who could advance any just claim or pretension to the throne. He was great-grandson of Margaret, elder daughter of Henry VII. ; and, on the failure of the male line, his hered itary right remained unquestionable. If the religion of Mary queen of Scots, and the other prejudices contracted against her, had formed any considerable obstacle to her succession, these objections, being entirely personal, had no place with regard to her son. Men also considered, that though the title derived from blood had been frequently violated since the Norman conquest, such licenses had proceeded more from force or intrigue than from any deliberate maxims of govern ment. The lineal heir had still in the end prevailed : and both his exclusion and restoration had been commonly attended with such convulsions as were sufficient to warn all prudent men not lightly to give way to such irregularities. If the will of Henry VIIL, authorized by act of parliament, had tacitly excluded the Scottish line, the tyranny and caprices of that monarch had been so signal, that a settlement of this nature, unsupported by any just reason, had no authority with the people. Queen Elizabeth, too, with her dying breath, had recognized the undoubted title of her kinsman James ; and the whole nation seemed to dispose themselves with joy and pleas ure for his reception. Though born and educated amidst a james i. 379 foreign and hostile people, men hoped, from his character of moderation and wisdom, that he would embrace the maxims of an English monarch ; and the prudent foresaw greater advantages resulting from a union with Scotland, than disad vantages from submitting to a prince of that nation. The alacrity with which the English looked towards the successor had appeared so evident to Elizabeth, that, concurring with other causes, it affected her with the deepest melancholy ; and that wise princess, whose penetration and experience had given her the greatest insight into human affairs, had not yet sufficiently weighed the ingratitude of courtiers and levity of the people. As victoiy abroad and tranquillity at home had attended this princess, she left the nation in such flourishing circum stances, that her successor possessed every advantage, except that of comparison with her illustrious name, when he mount ed the throne of England. The king's journey from Edin burgh to London immediately afforded to the inquisitive some circumstances of comparison, which even the natural partial ity in favor of their new sovereign could not interpret to his advantage. As he passed along, all ranks of men flocked about him from every quarter, allured by interest or curiosity. Great were the rejoicings, and loud and hearty the acclama tions, which resounded from all sides ; and every one could remember how the affability and popular manners of their queen displayed themselves amidst such concourse and exul tation of her subjects. But James, though sociable and famil iar with his friends and cOurtiers, hated the bustle of a mixed multitude ; and though far from disliking flattery, yet was he still fonder of tranquillity and ease. He issued, therefore, a proclamation, forbidding this resort of people, on pretence of the scarcity of provisions, and other inconveniencies, which, he said, would necessarily attend it.* He was not, however, insensible to the great flow of affec tion which appeared in his new subjects ; and being himself of an affectionate temper, he seems to have been in haste to make them some return of kindness and good offices. To this motive, probably, we are to ascribe that profusion of titles which was observed in the beginning of his reign ; when, in six weeks' time after his entrance into the kingdom, he is computed to have bestowed knighthood on no less than two * Kennet, p. 662. 380 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. hundred and thirty-seven persons. If Elizabeth's frugality of honors, as well as of money, had formerly been repined at, it began now to be valued and esteemed, and every one was sensible that the king, by his lavish and premature conferring of favors, had failed of obliging the persons on whom he bestowed them. Titles of all kinds became so common, that they were scarcely marks of distinction ; and being distributed, without choice or deliberation, to persons unknown to the prince, were regarded more as the proofs of facility and good nature, than of any determined friendship or esteem. A pasquinade was affixed to St. Paul's, in which an art was promised to be taught, very necessary to assist frail memories in retaining the names of the new nobility.* We may presume that the English would have thrown less blame on the king's facility in bestowing favors, had these been confined entirely to their own nation, and had not been shared out, in too unequal proportions, to his old subjects. James, who, through his whole reign, was more guided by temper and inclination than by the rules of political prudence, had brought with him great numbers of his Scottish courtiers, whose impatience and importunity were apt, in many particu lars, to impose on the easy nature of their master, and extort favors of which, it is natural to imagine, his English subjects would loudly complain. The duke of Lenox, the earl of Marre, Lord Hume, Lord Kinloss, Sir George Hume, Secre tary Elphinstone,t were immediately added to the English privy council. Sir George Hume, whom he created earl of Dunbar, was his declared favorite as long as that nobleman lived, and was one of the wisest and most virtuous, though the least powerful, of all those whom the king ever honored with that distinction. Hay, some time after, was created Vis count Doncaster, then earl of Carlisle, and got an immense fortune from the crown, all which he spent in a splendid and courtly manner. Ramsay obtained the title of earl of Hol- derness ; and many others being raised on a sudden to the highest elevation, increased, by their insolence, that envy which naturally attended them as strangers and ancient enemies. It must, however, be owned, in justice to James, that he left almost all the chief offices in the hands of Elizabeth's minis ters, and trusted the conduct of political concerns, both foreign * Wilson, in Kennet, p. 665. t "Wilson, in Kennet, p. 662. JAMES I. 381 and domestic, to his English subjects. Among these, Sec retary Cecil, created successively Lord Effindon, Viscount Cranborne, and earl of Salisbury, was always regarded as his prime minister and chief counsellor. Though the capacity and penetration of this minister were sufficiently known, his favor with the king created surprise on the accession of that monarch. The secret correspondence into which he had entered with James, and which had sensibly contributed to the easy reception of that prince in England, laid the foundation of Cecil's credit; and while all his former associates, Sir Wal ter Raleigh, Lord Grey, Lord Cobham, were discountenanced on account of their animosity against Essex, as well as for other reasons, this minister was continued in employment, and treated with the greatest confidence and regard. The capacity of James and his ministers in negotiation was immediately put to trial on the appearance of ambassadors from almost all the princes and states of Europe, in order to congratulate him on his accession, and form with him new treaties and alliances. Besides ministers from Venice, Den mark, the Palatinate ; Henry Frederic of Nassau, assisted by Barnevelt, the pensionary of Holland, was ambassador from the states of the United Provinces. Aremberg was sent by Archduke Albert, and Taxis was expected in a little time from Spain. But he who most' excited the attention of the public, both on account of his own merit and that of his master, was the marquis of Rosni, afterwards duke of Sully, prime minis ter and favorite of Henry IV. of France. When the dominions of the house of Austria devolved on Philip IL, all Europe was struck with terror, lest the power of a family, which had been raised by fortune, should now be carried to an immeasurable height by the wisdom and conduct of this monarch. But never were apprehensions found in the event to be more groundless. Slow without prudence, ambi tious without enterprise, false Without deceiving any body, and refined without any true judgment ; such was the charac ter of Philip, and such the character which, during his life time, and after his death, he impressed on the Spanish councils. Revolted or depopulated provinces, discontented or indolent inhabitants, were the spectacles which those domin ions, lying in every climate of the globe, presented to Philip IIL, a weak prince, and to the duke of Lerma, a minister weak and odious. But though military discipline, which still remained, was what alone gave some appearance of life and 382 " HISTORY OF ENGLAND. vigor to that languishing body, yet so great was the terror pro duced by former power and ambition, that the reduction of the house of Austria was the object of men's vows throughout all the states of Christendom. It was not perceived, that the French empire, now united in domestic peace, and governed by the most heroic and most amiable prince that adorns modern story, was become, of itself, a sufficient counterpoise to the Spanish greatness. Perhaps that prince himself did not perceive it, when he proposed, by his minister, a league with James, in conjunction with Venice, the United Provinces, and the north ern crowns, in order to attack the Austrian dominions on every side, and depress the exorbitant power of that ambi tious family.* But the genius of the English monarch was not equal to such vast enterprises. The love of peace wag .his ruling passion; and it was his peculiar felicity, that the conjunctures ofthe times rendered the same object which /vas agreeable to him in the highest degree advantageous to his people. The French ambassador, therefore, was obliged to depart from these extensive views, and to concert with James the means of providing for the safety of the United Provinces : nor was this object altogether without its difficulties. The king, before his accession, had entertained scruples with regard to the revolt of the Low Countries ; and being com monly open and sincere,t he had, on many occasions, gone so far as to give to the Dutch the appellation of rebels ;| but having conversed more fully with English ministers and courtiers, he found their attachment to that republic so strong, and their opinion of common interest so established, that he was obliged to sacrifice to politics his sense of justice; a quality which, even when erroneous, is respectable as well as rare in a monarch. He therefore agreed with Rosni to sup port secretly the states general, in concert with the king of France ; lest their weakness, and despair should oblige them to submit to their old master. The articles of the treaty were few and simple. It was stipulated, that the two kings should allow the Dutch to levy forces in their respective dominions ; and should underhand remit to that republic the sum of one million four hundred thousand livres a year, for the pay of these forces : that the whole sum should be advanced by the * Sully's Memoirs. f La Boderie, vol. i. p. 120. X "Winwood, vol. ii. p. 65. JAMES I. 383 king of France ; but that the third of it should be deducted from the debt due by him to Queen Elizabeth. And if the Spaniards attacked either of the princes, they agreed to assist each other ; Henry with a force of ten thousand men, James with that of six. This treaty, one of the wisest and most equitable concluded by James during the course of his reign, was more the work of the prince himself, than any of his ministers.* Amidst the great tranquillity, both foreign and domestic, with which the nation was blest, nothing could be more sur prising than the discovery of a conspiracy to subvert the gov-* ernment, and to fix on the throne Arabella Stuart, a near relation of the king's by the family of Lenox, and descended equally from Henry VIL Every thing remains still mys terious in this conspiracy ; and history can give us no clew to unravel it. Watson and Clarke, two Catholic priests, were accused of the plot ; Lord Grey, a Puritan ; Lord Cobham, a thoughtless man, of no fixed principle ; and Sir Walter Raleigh, suspected to be of that philosophical sect who were then extremely rare in England, and who have since received the appellation of " Free-thinkers ; " together with these, Mr. Broke, brother to Lord Cobham, Sir Griffin Markham, Mr. Copeley, Sir Edward Parham. What cement could unite men of such discordant principles in so dangerous a combina tion, what end they proposed, or what means proportioned to an undertaking of this nature, has never yet been explained, and cannot easily be imagined. As Raleigh, Grey, and Cob ham were commonly believed, after the queen's death, to have. opposed proclaiming the king till conditions should be made with him, they were, upon that account, extremely obnoxious to the court and ministry ; and people were apt, at first, to suspect that the plot was merely a contrivance of Secretary Cecil, to get rid of his old confederates, now become his most inveterate enemies. But the confession, as well as trial, of the criminals, put the matter beyond doubt.t And though no one could find any marks of a concerted enterprise, it appeared that men of furious and ambitious spirits, meeting frequently together, and believing all the world discontented like themselves, had entertained very criminal projects, and had even entered, some of them at least, into a correspondence • * Sully's Memoirs, t State Trials, p. 180, 2d edit. Winwood, vol. ii. p. 8, 11. 384 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. with Aremberg, the Flemish ambassador, in order to give dis turbance to the new settlement. The two priests * and Broke t were executed : Cobham, Grey, and Markham were pardoned, f after they had laid their heads upon the block. § Raleigh too was reprieved, not pardoned ; and he remained in confinement many years afterwards. It appears from Sully's Memoirs, that Raleigh secretly offered his services to the French ambassador ; and we may thence presume that, meeting with a repulse from that quarter, he had recourse, for the same unwarrantable purposes, to the Flemish minister. Such a conjecture we are now enabled to form ; but it must be confessed, that on his trial there ap peared no proof of this transaction, nor indeed any circum stance which could justify his condemnation. He was accused by Cobham alone, in a sudden fit of passion, -upon hearing that Raleigh, when examined, had pointed out some circum stances by which Cobham's guilt might be known and ascer tained. This accusation Cobham afterwards retracted ; and, *oon after, he retracted his retractation. Yet upon the written evidence of this single witness, a. man of no honor or under standing, and so contradictory in his testimony ; not con fronted with Raleigh ; not supported by any concurring cir cumstance ; was that great man, contrary to all law and equity, found guilty by the jury. His name was at that time extremely odious in England ; and every man was pleased to give sentence^ against the capital enemy of Essex, the favorite of the people. Sir Edward Coke, the famous lawyer, then attorney-general, managed the cause for the crown, and threw out on Raleigh (fuch gross abuse, as may be deemed a great reflection, not nnly on his own memory, but even, in some degree, on the manners of the age. Traitor, monster, viper, and spider of hell, are the terms which he employs against one of the most illustrious men of the kingdofn, who was under trial for life and fortune, and who defended himself with temper, eloquence, *nd courage. 1 1 [1604.] The next occupation of the king was entirely According to nis heart's content. He was employed in dictat- * November 29. f December 5. X December 9. § Winwood, vol. ii. p. 11. j State Trials, 1st edit. p. 176, 177, 182. JAMES I. 385 ing magisterially to an assembly of divines concerning points of faith and discipline, and in receiving the applauses of these holy men for his superior zeal and learning. The religious disputes between the church and the Puritans had induced him to call a conference at Hampton Court, on pretence of finding expedients which might reconcile both parties. Though the severities of Elizabeth towards the Catholics had much weakened that party, whose genius was opposite to the prevailing spirit of the nation, like severities had had so little influence on the Puritans, who were encouraged by that spirit, that no less than seven hundred and fifty clergymen of that party signed a petition to the king on his accession ; and many more seemed willing to adhere to it.* They all hoped that James, having received his education in Scotland, and having sometimes professed an attachment to the church established there, would at least abate the rigor of the laws enacted in support of the ceremonies, and against Puritans ; if he did not show more particular grace and encouragement to that sect. But the king's disposition had taken sfrongly a contrary bias. The more he knew the Puritanical clergy, the less favor he bore to them. He had remarked in their Scot tish brethren a violent turn towards republicanism, and a zealous attachment to civil liberty ; principles nearly allied to that religious enthusiasm with which they were actuated. He had found, that being mostly persons of low birth and mean education, the same lofty pretensions which attended them in their familiar addresses to their Maker, of whom they believed ibemselves the peculiar favorites, induced them to use the utmost freedoms with their earthly sovereign. In both capa cities, of monarch and of theologian, he had experienced the little complaisance which they were disposed to show him ; whilst they controlled his commands, disputed his tenets, and io his face, before the whole people, censured his conduct and behavior. If he had submitted to the indignity of oourting their favor, he treasured up, on that account, the stronger resentment against them, and was determined to make them feel, in their turn, the weight of his authority. Though he had often met with resistance, and faction, and obstinacy in the Scottish nobility, he retained no ill will to that order ; or rather showed them favor and kindness in England, beyond what reason and sound policy could well justify ; but the ascendant, * Fuller, book x. Collier, vol. ii, p. 672. vol. iv. 33 H 388 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. which the Presbyterian clergy had assumed over him, was what his monarchical pride could nev.er thoroughly digest.* He dreaded likewise the popularity which attended this order of men in both kingdoms. As useless austerities and self-denial are imagined, in many religions, to render us acceptable to a benevolent Being, who created us solely for happiness, James remarked, that the rustic severity of these clergymen, and of their whole sect, had given them, in the eyes of the multitude, the appearance of sanctity and virtue. Strongly inclined himself to mirth, and wine, and sports of all kinds, he apprehended their censure for his manner of life, free and disengaged. And being thus averse, from temper as well as policy, to the sect of Puritans, he was resolved, if possible, to prevent its further growth in England. But it was the character of James's councils, throughout his whole reign, that they were more wise and equitable in their end, than prudent and political in the means. Though justly sensible that no part of civil administration required greater care or a nicer judgment than the conduct of religious parties, he had not perceived that, in the same proportion as this prac tical knowledge of theology is requisite, the speculative refine ments in it are mean, and even dangerous in a monarch. By entering zealously into frivolous disputes, James gave them an air of importance and dignity which they could not otherwise have acquired ; and being himself enlisted in the quarrel, he could no longer have recourse to contempt and ridicule, the only proper method of appeasing it. The church of England had not yet abandoned the rigid doctrines of grace and pre destination : the Puritans had not yet separated themselves from the church, nor openly renounced Episcopacy. Though the spirit of the parties was considerably different, the only appearing subjects of dispute were concerning the cross in baptism, the ring in marriage, the use of the surplice, and the bowing at the name of Jesus. These were the mighty questions which were solemnly agitated in the conference at Hampton Court between some bishops and dignified clergymen * James ventured to say, in his Basilicon Doron, published while he was in Scotland, " I protest before the great fiod, and since I am here aa upon my Testament, it is no place for me to lie in, that ye shall never find with any highland or borderer thieves, , greater in gratitude, and more lies and vile perjuries, than with these fanatic spirits : and suffer not the principal of them to brook your land." — Kinjf JameB'a Works, p. 161, JAMES I. 387 on the one hand, and some leaders ofthe Puritanical party on the other, the king and his ministers being present.-* The Puritans were here so unreasonable as to complain of a partial and unfair management of the dispute ; as if the search after truth were in any degree the object of such con ferences, and a candid indifference, so rare even among private inquirers in philosophical questions, could ever be expected among princes and prelates, in a theological contro versy. The king, it must be confessed, from the beginning of the conference, showed the strongest propensity to the established chqrch, and frequently inculcated a maxim which, though it has some foundation, is to be received with great limitations, " No bishop, no king." The bishops, in their turn, were very liberal of their praises towards the royal dis putant ; and the archbishop of Canterbury said, that " undoubti edly his majesty spake by the special assistance of God's Spirit." t A few alterations in the liturgy were agr< ed to, and both parties separated with mutual dissatisfaction. It had frequently been the practice of the Puritans to form certain assemblies, which they called " prophesying? ;" where alternately, as moved by the spirit, they displayed their piou/= zeal in prayers and exhortations, and raised their own enthu siasm, as well as that of their audience, to the highest pitch. from that social contagion which has so mighty an influence on holy fervors, and from the mutual emulation which arose in those trials of religious eloquence. Such dangerous socie ties had been suppressed by Elizabeth ; and the ministers jt) this conference moved the king for their revival. But James sharply replied, " If you aim at a Scottish presbytery, itagre.es as well with monarchy as God and the devil. There Jack ane Tom, and Will and Dick, shall meet and censure me and my council. Therefore I reiterate my former speech : Le roi s'avisera. Stay, I pray, for one seven years, before yot demand ; and then, if you find me grow pursy and fat, I may perchance hearken unto you. For that government will keep me in breath, and give me work enough." \ Such were th|E political considerations which determined the king in his choice among religious parties. The next assembly in which James displayed his learning and eloquence, was one that showed more spirit of liberty than * Fuller's Ecclesiastical History. t Kennet, p. 665. X Fuller's Ecclesiastical History. 388 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. appeared among his bishops and theologians. The parliament was now ready to assemble; being so long delayed on account of the plague, which had broken out in London, and raged to such a degree, that above thirty thousand persons are com puted to have died of it in a year ; though the city contained at that time little more than one hundred and fifty thousand inhabitants. The speech which the king made on opening the parliament, fully displays his character, and proves him to have possessed more knowledge and better parts, than prudence, or any just sense of decorum and propriety.* Though few productions of the age surpass this performance either in style or matter, it wants that majestic brevity and reserve which become a king in his addresses to the great council of the nation. It contains, however, a remarkable stroke of candor, where he confesses his too great facility in yielding to the solicitations of suitors : t a fault which he promises to correct, but which adhered to him, and distressed him, during the whole course of his reign. The first business in which the commons were engaged was of the utmost importance to the preservation of their privileges ; and neither temper nor resolution was wanting in their conduct of it. In the former periods of the English government, the house of commons was of so small weight in the balance of the constitution, that little attention had been given either by the crown, the people, or the house itself, to the choice and con tinuance of the members. It had been usual, after parliaments were prolonged beyond one session, for the chancellor to exert a discretionary authority of issuing new writs to supply the place of any members whom he judged incapable of attending, either on account of their employment, their sickness, or other impediment. This practice gave that minister, and consequent ly the prince, an unlimited power of modelling at pleasure the representatives of the nation ; yet so little jealousy had it created, that the commons of themselves, without any court influence or intrigue, and contrary to some former votes of Jheir own, confirmed it in the twenty-third of Elizabeth.^ * King James's Works, p. 484, 485, etc. Journ. 22d March, 1603. Kennet, p. 668. t King James's Works, p. 495, 49S. X Jeurn. January 19th, 1*80. JAMES I. 389 At that time, though some members, whose places had been supplied on account of sickness, having now recovered their health, appeared in the house and claimed their seat, such was the authority of the chancellor, that, merely out of respect to him, his sentence was adhered to, and the new members were continued in their places. Here a most dangerous pre rogative was conferred on the crown : but to show the genius of that age, or rather the channels in which power then ran, the crown put very little value on this authority ; insomuch that two days afterwards the chancellor of himself resigned it back to the commons, and gave them power to judge of a particular vacancy in their house. And when the question concerning the chancellor's new writs was again brought on the carpet towards the end of the session, the commons were so little alarmed at the precedent, that though they readmitted some old members, whose seats had been vacated on account of slight indispositions, yet they confirmed the chancellor's sentence, in instances where the distemper appeared to have been dangerous and incurable.* Nor did they proceed any further in vindication of their privileges than to vote, " That during the sitting of parliament, there do not, at any time, any writ go out for choosing or returning any member without the warrant of the house." In Elizabeth's reign, we may remark, and the reigns preceding, sessions of parliament were not usually the twelfth part so long as the vacations ; and during the latter, the chancellor's power, if he pleased to exert it, was confirmed, at least left, by this vote, as unlimited and unre strained as ever. In a subsequent parliament, the absolute authority of the queen was exerted in a manner still more open ; and began for the first time to give alarm to the commons. New writs having been issued by the chancellor when there was no vacancy, and a controversy arising upon that incident, the queen sent a message to the house, informing them that it were impertinent for them to deal in such matters. These questions, she said, belonged only to the chancellor ; and she had appointed him to confer with the judges, in order to settle all disputes with regard to elections. The commons had the courage, a few days after, to vote, "That it was a most perilous precedent, where two knights of a county were duly elected, if any new writ should issue out for a second election, * Journ. March 18th, 1580. See further, D'Ewes, p. 430. 33* gig© HISTORY OF ENGLAND., without order of the house itself: that the discussing and adjudging of this and such like differences belonged only to fhe house; and that there should be no message sent to the lord chancellor, not so much as to inquire what he had done in the matter, because it was conceived to be a matter deroga tory to the power and privilege of the house." * This is the most Considerable, and almost only instance of parliamentary liberty, which occurs during the reign of that princess. Outlaws, whether on account of debts or crimes, had been declared by the judges t incapable of enjoying a seat in the house, where they must themselves be lawgivers; but this opinion of the judges had been frequently overruled. I find, however, in the case of Vaughan,f who was questioned for an outlawry, that, having proved all his debts to have been contracted " by suretyship, and to have been most of them honestly compounded, he was allowed, on account of these favorable circumstances, to keep his seat ; which plainly sup poses, that otherwise it would have been vacated on account of the outlawry.^ When James summoned this parliament, he issued a proc lamation, || in which, among many general advices, which, like a kind tutor, he bestowed on his people, he Strictly enjoins them not to choose any outlaw for their representative. And he adds, " If any person take upon him the place of knight, citizen, or burgess, not being duly elected, according to the laws and Statutes in that behalf provided, and according to the purport, effect, and true meaning of this our proclamation, then every person so offending to be fined or imprisoned for the same." A proclamation here was plainly put on the same footing with a law, and that in so delicate a point as the right of elections ; most alarming circumstances, had there not been reason to believe that this measure, being enter'eid into so early in the king's reign, proceeded more from pre- * D'Ewes, p. 397. t 39 H. 6. + Journ. Feb. 8th, 1580. § In a subsequent parliament, that of the thirty-fifth of the queen, the commons, after a great debate, expressly voted, that a person outlawed might be elected. D'Ewes, p. 518. But as the matter had been much contested, the king might think the vote of the house no law, and might esteem his own decision of more weight than theirs. We may also suppose that he was not acquainted with this vote. Queen Elizabeth, in her speech to her last parliament, complained of their admitting outlaws, and represents that conduct of the house as a great abuse. || Jan. 11th, 1604. Kymer, torn. xvi. p. 561. JAMES I. 391 cipitation and mistake, than from any serious design of in vading the privileges of parliaments- Sir Francis Goodwin was chosen member for the county of Bucks ; and his return, as usual, was made into chancery. The chancellor, pronouncing him an outlaw, vacated his seat, and issued writs for a new election. t Sir John Fortescue was chosen in his place by the county : but the first act of the house was to reverse the chancellor's .sentence, and restore Sir Francis to his seat. At the king's suggestion, the lords desired a conference on the subject; but were absolutely refused by the commons, as the question entirely regarded their own privileges.! The commons, however, agreed to make a remonstrance to the king by the mouth of their speaker ; in which they maintained that, though the returns were by form made into chancery, yet the sole right of judg ing with regard to elections belonged to the housg itself, not to the chancellor.^ James was not satisfied, and ordered a conference between the house and the judges, whose opinion in this case was opposite to that of the commons. This con ference, he said, he commanded as an " absolute " king ; || an epithet, we are apt to imagine, not very grateful to Eng lish ears, but one to which they had already been somewhat accustomed from the mouth of Elizabeth.^ He added, " That all their privileges were derived from his grant, and hoped they would not turn them against him ; " ** a sentiment which, from her conduct, it. is certain that princess had also enter tained, and which was the reigning principle of her courtiers and ministers, and the spring of all her administration. The commons were in some perplexity. Their eyes were now opened, and they saw the consequences of that power which had been assumed by the chancellor, and to which their * The duke of Sully tells us, that it was a maxim of James, that no prince, in the first year of his reign, should begin any considera ble undertaking ; a maxim reasonable in itself, and very suitable to his cautious, not to say timid character. The facility with which he departed from this pretension, is another proof that his meaning was innocent. But had the privileges of parliament been at that time exactly ascertained, or royal power fully limited, could such an imagination ever have been entertained by him, as to think that his proclamations could regulate parliameatary elections ? t Winwood, vol. ii. p. 18, 19. J Journ. 26th March, 1604. § Journ. 3d April, 1604. || See note BK, at the end of the volume. IT Camden, in Kennet, p. 375. ** Journ. 29th March ; 5th April, 1604. 392 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. predecessors had in some instances blindly submitted. " By this course," said a member, " the free election of the coun ties is taken away, and none shall be chosen but such as shall please the king and council. Let us therefore with fortitude, understanding, and sincerity, seek to maintain our privilege. "This cannot be construed any contempt in us, but merely a maintenance of our common rights, which our ancestors have left us, and which it is just and fit for us to transmit to our posterity." * Another said, " This may be called a quo war ranto to seize all our liberties." t "A chancellor," added a third, " by this course may call a parliament consisting of what persons he pleases. Any suggestion, by any person, may be the cause of sending a new writ. It is come to this plain question, whether the chancery or parliament ought to have authority." £ Notwithstanding this watchful spirit of liberty which now appeared in the commons, their deference for majesty was so great that they appointed a committee to confer with thc judges before the king and council. There the question of law began to appear in James's eyes a little more doubtful than he had hitherto imagined it ; and in order to extricate himself with some honor, he proposed that both Goodwin and Fortescue should be set aside, and a writ be issued, by war rant of the house, for a new election. Goodwin gave his consent, and the commons embraced the expedient ; but in such a manner that, while they showed their regard for the king, they secured for the future the free possession of their seats, and the right which they claimed of judging solely in their own elections and returns.^ A power like this, so essential to the exercise of all their other powers, themselves so essential to public liberty, cannot fairly be deemed an encroachment in the commons ; but must be regarded as an inherent privilege, happily rescued from that ambiguity which the negligence of some former parliaments had thrown upon it. At the same time, the commons, in the case of Sir Thomas Shirley, established their power of punishing, as well the per sons at whose suit any member is arrested, as the officers who either arrest or detain him. Their asserting of this privilege admits of the same reflection. || * Journ. 30th'March, 1604. t Journ. 30th March, 1604. X Journ. 30th March, 1604. $ See note SS, at the end of the volume. || Journ. 6th and 7th May, 1604. JAMES I. 393 About this period, the minds of men throughout Europe, especially in England, seem to have undergone a general but insensible revolution. Though letters had been revived jn the preceding age, they were chiefly cultivated by those of sedentary professions ; nor had they till now begun to spread themselves in any degree among men of the world. Arts, both mechanical and liberal, were every day receiving great improvements. Navigation had extended itself over the whole globe. Travelling was secure and agreeable. And the general system of politics in Europe was become moro enlarged and comprehensive. In consequence of this universal fermentation, the ideas of men enlarged themselves on all sides ; and the several constituent parts of the Gothic governments, which seem to have lain long inactive, began every where to operate and encroach on each other. On the continent, where the neces sity of discipline had begotten standing armies, the princes commonly established an unlimited authority, and overpowered, by force or intrigue, the liberties of the people. In England, the love of freedom, which, unless checked, flourishes ex tremely in all liberal natures, acquired new force, and was regulated by more enlarged views, suitable to that cultivated understanding which became every day more common among men of birth and education. A familiar acquaintance with this precious remains of antiquity excited in every generous breast a passion for a limited constitution, and begat an emu lation of those manly virtues which the Greek and Roman authors, by such animating examples, as well as pathetic expressions, recommend to us. The severe, though popular government of Elizabeth had confined this rising spirit within very narrow bounds ; but when a new and a foreign family succeeded to the throne, and a prince less dreaded and less beloved, symptoms immediately appeared of a more free and independent genius in the nation. Happily, this prince possessed neither sufficient capacity to perceive the alteration, nor sufficient art and vigor to check it in its early advances. Jealous of regal, because conscious of little personal authority, he had established within his own mind a speculative system of absolute government, which few of his subjects, he believed, and none but traitors and rebels, would make any scruple to admit. On whichever side he cast his eye, every thing concurred to encourage his preju dices. When he compared himself with the other hereditary 394 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. sovereigns of Europe, he imagined that, as he bore the same rank, he was entitled to equal prerogatives ; not considering the innovations lately introduced by them, and the military force by which their authority was supported. In England, that power, almost unlimited, which had been exercised for above a century, especially during the late reign, he ascribed solely to royal birth and title ; not to the prudence and spirit of the monarchs, nor to the conjunctures of the times. Even the opposition which he had struggled with in Scotland, encouraged him still further in his favorite notions ; while he there saw, that the same resistance which opposed regal authority, violated all law and order, and made way either for the ravages of a barbarous nobility, or for the more intolerable insolence of seditious preachers. In his own person, there fore, he thought all legal power to be centred, by an heredi tary and a divine right : and this opinion might have proved dangerous, if not fatal to liberty, had not the firmness of the persuasion, and its seeming evidence, induced him to trust solely to his right, without making the smallest provision, either of force or politics, in order to support it. Such were the opposite dispositions of parliament and prince at the commencement of the Scottish line ; dispositions just beginning to exist and to appear in the parliament,* but thoroughly established and openly avowed on the part of the prince. The spirit and judgment of the house of commons appeared, not only in defence of their own privileges, but also in their endeavor, though at this time in vain, to free trade from those shackles which the high exerted prerogative, and even, in this respect, the ill-judged tyranny of Elizabeth, had imposed upon it. James had already, of his own accord, called in and annulled all the numerous patents for monopolies which had been granted by his predecessor, and which extremely fettered every species of domestic industry : but the exclusive com panies still remained ; another species of monopoly, by which almost all foreign trade, except that to France, was brought into the hands of a few rapacious engrossers, and all prospect of future improvement in commerce was forever sacrificed to a little temporary advantage of the sovereign. These com panies, though arbitrarily erected, had carried their privileges * See note TT, at the end of the volumo. james i. 395 so far, that almost all the commerce of England was centred in London ; and it appears that the customs of that port amounted to one hundred and ten thousand pounds a year, while those of all the kingdom beside yielded only seventeen thousand.* Nay, the whole trade of London was confined to about two hundred citizens,t who were easily enabled, by combining among themselves, to fix whatever price they pleased both to the exports and imports of the nation. The committee appointed to consider this enormous grievance, one of the greatest which we read of in English story, insist on it as a fact well known and avowed, however contrary to present received opinion, that shipping and seamen had insensibly decayed during all the preceding reign.f And though nothing be more common than complaints of the decay of trade, even during the most flourishing periods, yet is this a consequence which might naturally result from such arbitrary establish ments, at a time when the commerce of all the other nations of Europe, except that of Scotland, enjoyed full liberty and indulgence. While the commons were thus attempting to give liberty to the trading part of the nation, they also endeavored to free the landed property from the burden of wardships,^ and to remove those remains of the feudal tenures under which the nation still labored. A just regard was shown to the crown in the conduct of this affair; nor was the remedy sought for considered as a matter of right, but merely of grace and favor. The profit which the king reaped, both from wards and from respite of homage, was estimated ; and it was intended to compound for these prerogatives by a secure and independent revenue. But after some debates in the house, and some conferences with the lords, the affair was found to contain more difficulties than could easily, at that time, be surmounted ; and it was not then brought to any conclusion. The same fate attended an attempt of a like nature, to free the nation from the burden of purveyance. This prerogative had been much abused by the purveyors; || and the commons * Journ. 21st May, 1604. t Journ. 21st May, 1604. X A remonstrance from the Trinity House, in 1602, says, that in a little above twelve jesirs after 1588, the shipping and number of seamen in England d&sayed about a third. Anglesey's Happy Future State of England, p. 128, from Sir Julius Caesar's Collections. Sea Journ. 21st May, 1604. $ Journ. 1st June, 1604. || Journ. 30th April, 1604. 396 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. showed some intention to offer the king fifty thousand pounds a year for the abolition of it. Another affair of the utmost consequence was brought before the parliament, where the commons showed a greater spirit of independence than any true judgment of national interest. The union of the two kingdoms was zealously, and even impatiently, urged by the king.* He justly regarded it as the peculiar felicity of his reign, that he had terminated the bloody animosities of these hostile nations ; and had reduced the whole island under one government, enjoying tranquillity within itself, and security from all foreign invasions. He hoped that, while his subjects of both kingdoms reflected on past disasters, besides regarding his person as infinitely pre cious, they would entertain the strongest desire of securing themselves against the return of like calamities, by a thorough union of laws, parliaments, and privileges. He considered not, that this very reflection operated, as yet, in a contrary manner on men's prejudices, and kept alive that mutual hatred between the nations, which had been carried to the greatest extremities, and required time to allay it. The more urgent the king appeared in promoting so useful a measure, the more backward was the English parliament in concurring with him ; while they ascribed his excessive zeal to that partiality in favor of his ancient subjects, of which they thought that, on other occasions, they had reason to complain. Their complaisance for the king, therefore, carried them no further than to appoint forty-four English to meet with thirty-one Scottish com missioners, in order to deliberate concerning the terms of a union ; but without any power of making advances towards the establishment of it.t The same spirit of independence, and perhaps not better judgment, appeared in the house of commons when the ques tion of supply was brought before them by some members attached to the court. In vain was it urged that, though the king received a supply which had been voted to Elizabeth, and which had not been collected before her death, yet he found it burdened with a debt contracted by the queen, equal to the full amount of it : that peace was not yet thoroughly concluded with Spain, and that Ireland was still expensive to * Journ. 21st April, 1st May, 1604. Parliamentary History, vol. v. p. 91. t Journ. 7th June, 1604. Kennet, p. 673. JAMES I. 397 him : that on his journey from Scotland, amidst such a con course of people, and on that of the queen and royal family, he had expended considerable sums ; and that, as the courtiers had looked for greater liberalities from the prince on his accession, and had imposed on his generous nature, so the prince, in his turn, would expect, at the beginning, some mark of duty and attachment from his people, and some considera tion of his necessities. No impression was made on the house of Commons by these topics; and the majority appeared fully determined to refuse all supply. The burden of government," at that time, lay surprisingly light upon the people : and that very reason, which to us, at this distance, may seem a motive of generosity, was the real cause why the parliament was, on all occasions, so remarkably frugal and reserved. They were not, as yet, accustomed to open their purses in so liberal a manner as their successors, in order to supply the wants of their sovereign ; and the smallest demand, however requisite, appeared in their eyes unreasonable and exorbitant. The commons seem also to have been desirous of reducing the crown to still further necessities, by their refusing a bill, sent down to them by the lords, for entailing the crown lands forever on the king's heirs and successors.* The dissipation made by Elizabeth had probably taught James the necessity of this law, and shown them the advantage of refusing it. In order to cover a disappointment with regard to supply, which might bear a bad construction both at home and abroad, James sent a message to the house,t in which he told them that he desired no supply ; and he was very forward in refusing what was never offered him. Soon after, he pro rogued the parliament, not without discovering in his speech visible marks of dissatisfaction. Even so early in his reign, he saw reason to make public complaints of the restless and encroaching spirit of the Puritanical party, and of the malevo lence with which they endeavored to inspire the commons. Nor were his complaints without foundation, or the Puritans without interest ; since the commons, now finding themselves free from the arbitrary government of Elizabeth, made appli cation for a conference with the lords, and presented a peti tion to the king ; the purport of both which was, to procure, in favor of the Puritans, a relaxation of the ecclesiastical * Parliamentary Hist. vol. v. p. 108. t Journ. 26th June, 1604. vol. it. 34 H 398 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. laws.* The use of the surplice, and of the cross in baptism, is there chiefly complained of; but the remedy seems to have been expected solely from the king's dispensing power.t In the papers which contain this application aud petition, we may also see proofs of the violent animosity of the commons against the Catholics, together with the intolerating spirit of that assembly-! This summer, the peace with Spain was finally concluded, and was signed by the Spanish ministers at London.^ In the ' conferences previous to this treaty, the nations were found to have so few claims on each other, that, except on account of the support given by England to the Low Country provinces, the war might appear to have been continued more on account of personal animosity between Philip and Elizabeth, than any contrariety of political interests between their subjects. Some articles in the treaty, which seemed prejudicial to the Dutch commonwealth, were never executed by the king ; and as the Spaniards made no complaints on that head, it appeared that, by secret agreement, the king had expressly reserved the power of sending assistance to the Hollanders.|| The con stable of Castile came into England to ratify the peace ; and on the part of England, the earl of Hertford was sent into the Low Countries for the same purpose, and the earl of Notting ham, high admiral, into Spain. The train of the latter was numerous and splendid ; and the Spaniards, it is said, were extremely surprised when they beheld tbe blooming counte nances and graceful appearance of the English, whom their bigotry, inflamed by the priests, had represented as so many monsters and infernal demons. . Though England, by means of her naval force, was per fectly secure during the latter years of the Spanish war, James showed an impatience to put an end to hostilities ; and soon after his accession, before any terms of peace were concerted, or even proposed by Spain, he recalled all the letters of * La Boderie, the French ambassador, says, that the house of com mons was composed mostly of Puritans. Vol. i. p. 81. t Pari. Hist. vol. v. p. 98, 99, 100. X See note UU, at the end ofthe volume. § Rymer, torn. xvi. p. 585, etc. || Winwood, vol. ii. p. 27, 330, et alibi. In this respect, James's peace was more honorable than that which Henry IV. himself made with Spain. This latter prince stipulated not to assist the Dutch ; and the supplies which he secretly sent them were in direct contra vention to the treaty. JAMES I. 399 marque * which had been granted by Queen Elizabeth. Arch duke Albert had made some advances of a like nature,T which invited the king to take this friendly step. But what is re markable, in James's proclamation for that purpose he plainly supposes, that, as he had himself, while king of Scotland, always lived in amity with Spain, peace was attached to his person ; and that merely by his accession to the crown of England, without any articles of treaty or agreement, he had ended the war between the kingdoms-! T°'s ignorance of the law of nations may appear surprising in a prince who was thirty-six years of age, and who had reigned from bis infancy; did we not consider that a king of Scotland, who lives in close friendship with England, has few transactions to manage with foreign princes, and has little opportunity of acquiring experi ence. Unhappily for James, his timidity, his prejudices, his indolence, his love of amusement, particularly of hunting, to which he was much addicted, ever prevented him from making any progress in the knowledge or practice of foreign politics, and in a little time diminished that regard which all the neigh boring nations had paid to England during the reign of his predecessor.^ ' 23d June, 1603. t Grotii Annal. lib. xii. X See Proclamations during the first seven years of King James. Winwood, voL ii. p. 65. 5 Memoires de la Boderie'voL i. p. 64, 181, 195, 217, 302 ; voL ii. p. 244, 278. 400 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. CHAPTER XLVI. JAMES L [1604.] We are now to relate an event, one of the most memorable that history has conveyed to posterity, and contain ing at once a singular proof both of the strength and weakness of the human mind ; its widest departure from morals, and most steady attachment to religious prejudices. It is the " gunpowder treason " of which I speak ; a fact as certain as it appears incredible. The Roman Catholics had expected great favor and indul gence on the accession of James, both as he was descended from Mary, whose life they believed to have been sacrificed to their cause, and as he himself, in his early youth, was imagined to have shown some partiality towards them, which nothing, they thought, but interest and necessity had since restrained. It is pretended, that he had even entered into positive engagements to tolerate their religion as soon as he should mount the throne of England ; whether their credulity had interpreted in this sense some obliging expressions of the king's, or that he had employed such an artifice in order to render them favorable to his title.* Very soon they dis covered their mistake ; and were at once surprised and enraged to find James on all occasions express his intention of strictly executing the laws enacted against them, and of persevering in all the rigorous measures of Elizabeth. Cates by, a gentleman of good parts and of an ancient family, first thought of a most extraordinary method of revenge ; and he opened his intention to Piercy, a descendant of the illustrious house of Northumberland. In one of their conversations with regard to the distressed condition of the Catholics, Piercy hav ing broken into a sally of passion, and mentioned assassinating the king, Catesby took the opportunity of revealing to him a nobler and more extensive plan of treason, which not only included a sure execution of vengeance, but afforded some • State Trials, vol. ii. p. 201, 202, 203. "Winwood, vol. ii. p. 49. JAMES I. 401 hopes of restoring the Catholic religion in England. " In vain," said he, " would you put an end to the king's life : he has chil dren, who would succeed both to his crown and to his maxims of government. In vain would you extinguish the whole royal family : the nobility, the gentry, the parliament are all infected with the same heresy, and could raise to the throne another prince and another family, who, besides their hatred to our religion, would be animated with revenge for the tragical death of their predecessors. To serve any good purpose, we must destroy, at one blow, the king, the royal family, the lords, the commons ; and bury all our enemies in one common ruin. Happily, they are all assembled on the first meeting of the parliament, and afford us the opportunity of glorious and useful vengeance. Great preparations will not be requisite. A few of us, combining, may run a mine below the hall in wliich they meet ; and choosing the very moment when the king harangues both houses, consign over to destruc tion these determined foes to all piety and religion. Mean while, we ourselves standing aloof, safe and unsuspected, shall triumph in being the instruments of divine wrath, and shall behold with pleasure those sacrilegious walls, in which were passed the edicts for proscribing our church and butchering her children, tossed into a thousand fragments ; while their impious inhabitants, meditating, perhaps, still new persecu tions against us, pass from flames above to flames below, there forever to endure the torments due to their offences." * Piercy was charmed with this project of Catesby ; and they agreed to communicate the matter to#a few more, and among the rest to Thomas Winter, whom they sent over to Flanders in quest of Fawkes, an officer in the Spanish service,, with whose zeal and courage they were all thoroughly acquainted. When they enlisted any new conspirator, in order to bind him to secrecy, they always, together with an oath, employed the communion, the most sacred rite of their religion.t And it is remarkable, that no one of these pious devotees ever enter tained the least compunction with regard to the cruel massa cre which they projected, of whatever was great and eminent in the nation. Some of them only were startled by the reflec tion, that of necessity many Catholics must be present, as spectators or attendants on the king, or as having seats in the * History of the Gunpowder Treason. t State Trials, vol. i. p. 190, 198, 210. 34* 402 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. house of peers : but Tesmond, a Jesuit, and Garnet, superior of that order in England, removed these scruples, and showed them how the interests of religion required that the innocent should here be sacrificed with the guilty. AU this passed in the spring and summer of the year 1604 ; when the conspirators also hired a house in Piercy's name, adjoining to that in which the parliament was to assemble; Towards the end of that year, they began their operations. That they might be less interrupted, and give less suspicion to the neighborhood, they carried in store of provisions with them, and never desisted from their labor. Obstinate in their purpose, and confirmed by passion, by principle, and by mutual exhortation, they little feared death in comparison of a disappointment ; and having provided arms, together with the instruments of their labor, they resolved there to perish in case of a discovery. Their perseverance advanced the work ; and they soon pierced the wall, though three yards in thick ness ; but on approaching the other side, they were somewhat startled at hearing a noise which they knew not how to ac count for. [1605.] Upon inquiry, they found that it came from the vault below the house of lords ; that a magazine of coals had been kept there ; and that, as the coals were selling off, the vault would be let to the highest bidder. The oppor tunity was immediately seized ; the place hired by Piercy ; thirty-six barrels of powder lodged in it ; the whole covered up with fagots and billets ; the doors of the cellar boldly flung open ; and every body admitted, as if it contained nothing dangerous. Confident of success, they now began to look forward, and to plan the remaining part of their projeet. The king, the queen, Prince Henry, were all expected to be present at the opening of parliament. The duke, by reason of his tender age, would be absent ; and it was resolved that Piercy should seize him, or assassinate him. The princess Elizabeth, a child likewise, was kept at Lord Harrington's house in War wickshire ; and Sir Everard Digby, Rookwood, Grant, being let into the conspiracy, engaged to assemble their friends on pretence of a hunting match, and seizing that princess, im mediately to proclaim her queen. So transported were they with rage against their adversaries, and so charmed with the prospect of revenge, that they forgot all care of their own safety ; and trusting to the general confusion which must result from so unexpected a blow, they foresaw not that the fury of JAMES I. 403 the people, now unrestrained by any authority, must have turned against them, and would probably have satiated itself by a universal massacre of the Catholics. The day so long wished for now approached, on which the parliament was appointed to assemble. Tho dreadful secret, though communicated to above twenty persons, had been re ligiously kept during the space of near a year and a half. No remorse, no pity, no fear of punishment, no hope of reward, had as yet induced any one conspirator either to abandon the enterprise, or make a discovery of it. The holy fury had extinguished in their breast every other motive ; and it was an indiscretion at last, proceeding chiefly from these very bigoted prejudices and partialities, which saved the nation. Ten days before the meeting of parliament, Lord Mont- eagle, a Catholic, son to Lord Morley, received the following letter, which had been delivered to his servant by an unknown hand : " My Lord, — Out of the love I bear to some of your friends, I have a care of your preservation. Therefore I would advise you, as you tender your life, to devise some excuse to shift off your attendance at this parliament. For God and man have concurred to punish the wickedness of this time. And think not slightly of this advertisement ; but retire yourself into your country, where you may expect the event in safety. For though there be no appearance of any stir, yet, I say, they will receiye a terrible blow this parliament, and yet they shall not see who hurts them. This counsel is not to be contemned, because it may do you good, and can do you no harm : for the danger is past as soon as you have burned tbe letter. And I hope God will give you the grace to make good use of it, unto whose holy protection I commend you." * Monteagle knew not what to make of this letter ; and though inclined to think it a foolish attempt to frighten and ridicule him, he judged it safest to carry it to Lord Salisbury, secretary of state. Though Salisbury, too, was inclined to pay little attention to it, he thought proper to lay it before the king, who came to town a few days after. To the king it appeared not so light a matter ; and from the serious, earnest style of the letter, he conjectured that it implied something dangerous and important. A " terrible blow," and yet " the authors con cealed ; " a danger so " sudden," and yet so " great ; " these * King James's Works, p. 227. 404 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. circumstances seemed all to denote some contrivance by gun powder ; and it was thought advisable to inspect all the vaults below the bouses of parliament. This care belonged to the earl of Suffolk, lord chamberlain, who purposely delayed the search till the day before the meeting of parliament He remarked those great piles of wood and fagots which lay in the vault under the upper house ; and he cast his eye upon Fawkes, who stood in a dark corner, and passed himself for Piercy's servant. That daring and determined courage which so much distinguished this conspirator, even among those heroes in villaDy, was fully painted in his countenance, and was not passed unnoticed by the chamberlain.* Such a quantity also of fuel, for the use of one who lived so little in town as Piercy, appeared a little extraordinary ; t and upon comparing all circumstances, it was resolved that a more thorough inspection should be made. About midnight, Sir Thomas Knevet, a justice of peace, was sent with proper attendants ; and before the door of the vault finding Fawkes, who had just finished all his preparations, he immediately seized him, and turning over the fagots, discovered the pow der. The matches, and every- thing proper for setting fire to the train, were taken in Fawkes's pocket ; who, finding his guilt now apparent, and seeing no refuge but in boldness and despair, expressed the utmost regret that he had lost the op portunity of firing the powder at once, and of sweetening his own death by that of his enemies. % Before the council he displayed the same intrepid firmness, mixed even with scorn and disdain ; refusing to discover his accomplices, and show ing no concern but for the failure of the enterprise.^ Tb<3 obstinacy lasted two or three days : but being confined to the Tower, left to reflect on his guilt and danger, and the rack being just shown to him, his courage, fatigued with so lon? an effort, and unsupported by hope or society, at last failed him ; and he made a full discovery of all the conspirators. || Catesby, Piercy. and the other criminals who were in Lon don, though they had heard of the alarm taken at a letter sent to Mon:eagle ; though they had heard of the chamber lain's search ; yet were resolved to persist to the utmost, and * King James's "Works, p. 229. t King James's Works, p. 229. X King James's "Works, p. 230. § "Winwood, voL ii. p. 173. J King James's Works, p. 231. JAMES I. 405 never abandon their hopes of success.* But at last, hearing that Fawkes was arrested, they hurried down In Warwick shire ; where Sir Everard Digby, thinking himself assured that success had attended his confederates, was already in arms, in order to seize the princess Klizubelh. She had escaped into Coventry ; and they were obliged to put them selves on their defence against the country, who were raised from all quarters unci armed by the sheriff Thc conspirators, with all their atlenilanls, never exceeded the number of eighty persons ; anil being surrounded on every side, could no longer entertain hopes cither of prevailing or escaping. Having therefore confessed themselves, nnd received absolution, they boldly prepared for death, und resolved to sell their lives as dear as possible to tlie assailants. Hut even this miserable consolation was denied ihem. Some of their powder took lire, and disabled them for defence. t The people rushed in upon them. I'iercy mid Catesby were killed by one shot. Digby, llookwood, Winter, unci others, being taken prisoners, wore tried, confessed their guilt, anil died, us well as ('lamet, hy the hands of the executioner. Notwithstanding this horrid crime, the bigoted Catholics were so devoted to (Jarnet, that they fancieil miracles to be wrought by his blood ;! and in Spain he was regarded as a marly r.^ Neither had the desperate fortune of thc conspirators urged them to Ibis enterprise, nor hml the former prolligncy of their livos prepared them for so groat a crime. Before that auda cious attempt, their conduct seems, in general, to be liable to no reproach. Catesby's character had ontitleil him to such regard, that Rookwood and Digby were seduced by their im plicit trust in his judgment ; anil they declared that, from the motive alone of friendship to him, tliey wen; ready, on any occasion, to have sacrificed their lives. || "igby himself was as highly esleemed and beloved as any man in England ; and he had been particularly honored with the good opinion of Queen Elizabeth.^ It was bigoted zeal alone, the most absurd of prejudices masked with reason, the most criminal of passions covored with the appearance of duty, which seduced them into * Soo note XX, at tho end of the volume. t Stnto Trials, vol. i. p. 199. Discourse of tho Manner, eto. p. li!). 70. X Winwood, vol. ii. p. 300. { Winwood, vol. ii. p. 300. || Stats Trials, v»l. i. p. 201. f Athen. Ox. v»l. ii. fol. 261. 406 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. measures that were fatal to themselves, and had so nearly proved fatal to their country* ,-,,,- The lords Mordaunt and Stourton, two Catholics, were fined, the former ten thousand pounds, the latter four thou sand, by the star chamber; because their absence from par liament had begotten a suspicion of their being acquainted with the conspiracy. The earl of Northumberland was fined thirty thousand pounds, and detained several years prisoner in the Tower; because, not to mention other grounds of suspi cion, he had admitted Piercy into the _number of gentlemen pensioners without his taking the requisite oaths.t The king, in his speech to the parliament, observed that, though religion had engaged the conspirators in so criminal an attempt, yet ought we not to involve all the Roman Catho lics in the same guilt, or suppose them equally disposed to commit such enormous barbarities. Many holy men, he said, and our ancestors among the rest, had been seduced to concur with that church in her scholastic doctrines, who yet had never admitted her seditious principles concerning the pope's pojver of dethroning kings, or sanctifying assassination. The wrath of Heaven is denounced against crimes, but innocent error may obtain its favor ; and nothing can be more hateful than the uncharitableness of the Puritans, who condemn alike to eternal torments even the most inoffensive partisans of Popery. For his part, he added, that conspiracy, however atrocious, should never alte rf in the least his plan of government: while with one hand he punished guilt, with the other he would still support and protect innocence. ! After this speech he prorogued the parliament till the twenty-second of Jan uary .§ * Digby, after his condemnation, said, in a letter to his wife, " Now for my intention, let me tell you, that if I had thought there had been the least sin in the plot, I would not have been of it for all the world ; and no other cause drew me to hazard my fortune and life, but zeal to God's religion." He expresses his surprise to hear that any Catholics had condemned it. Digby's Papers, published by Secretary Coventry. f Camden, in Kennet, p. 692. X King James's Works, p. 603, 504. § The parliament this session passed an act, obliging every one to take the oath of allegiance ; a very moderate test, since it decided no controverted points between the two religions, and only engaged the persons who took it to abjure the pope's power of dethroning kings. See King James's Works, p. 250. JAMES I. 407 The moderation, and, I may say, magnanimity of the king, immediately after so narrow an escape from a most detestable conspiracy, was nowise agreeable to his subjects. Their animosity against Popery, even before this provocation, had risen to a great pitch ; and it had perhaps been more prudent in James, hy a little dissimulation, to have conformed himself to jt. His theological learning, confirmed by disputation, had happily fixed his judgment in the Protestant faith ; yet was his heart a little biased by the allurements of Rome ; and he had been well pleased, if the making of some advances could have effected a union with that ancient mother church. He strove to abate the acrimony of his own subjects against the religion of their fathers : he became himself the object of their diffidence and aversion. Whatever measures he embraced — in Scotland to introduce prelacy, in England to enforce the authority of the established church, and support its rites and ceremonies — were interpreted as so many steps towards Popery ; and were represented by the Puritans as symptoms of idolatry and superstition. Ignorant of the consequences, or unwilling to sacrifice to politics his inclination, which he called his con science, he persevered in the same measures, and gave trust and preferment, almost indifferently, to his Catholic and Prot estant subjects. And finding his person, as well as his title, less obnoxious to the church of Rome, than those of Elizabeth, he gradually abated the rigor of those laws which had been enacted against that church, and which were so acceptable to his bigoted subjects. But the effects of these dispositions on both sides became not very sensible till towards the conclusion of his reign. [1606.] At this time, James seems to have possessed the affections even of his English subjects, and, in a tolerable degree, their esteem and regard. Hitherto their complaints were chiefly levelled against his too great constancy in his early friendships ; a quality which, had it been attended with more economy, the wise would have excused, and the candid would even, perhaps, have applauded. His parts, which were not despicable, and his learning, which was great, being highly extolled by his courtiers and gownmen, and not yet tried in the managementof any delicate affairs, for which he was unfit, raised a high idea of him in the world; nor was it always through flattery or insincerity that he received the title of the second Solomon. A report, which was suddenly spread about this time, of his being assassinated, visibly struck a 40R HISTORY OF ENGLAND. great consternation into all orders of men.* The commons also abated, this session, somewhat of their excessive frugality, and granted him an aid, payable in four years, of three subsi dies and six fifteenths, which, Sir Francis Bacon said in the house,t might amount to about four hundred thousand pounds ; and for once the king and parliament parted in friendship and good humor. The hatred which the Catholics so visibly bore him, gave him, at this time, an additional value in the eyes of his people. The only considerable point in which the com mons incurred his displeasure, was by discovering their con stant good will to the Puritans, in whose favor they desired a conference with the lords ; ! which was rejected. The chief affair transacted next session, was the intended union of the two kingdoms.^ Nothing could exceed the king's passion and zeal for this noble enterprise, but the parliament's prejudice and reluctance against it. There remain two excellent speeches in favor of the union, which it would not be improper to compare together ; that of the king,|| and that of Sir Francis Bacon. Those who affect in every thing such an extreme contempt for James, will be surprised to find that his discourse, both for good reasoning and elegant composition, approaches very near that of a man who was undoubtedly, at that time, one of the greatest geniuses in Europe. A few trivial indiscretions and indecorums may be said to characterize the harangue of the monarch, and mark it for his own. And, in general, so open and avowed a declaration in favor of a measure, while he had taken no care, by any precaution or intrigue, to insure success, may safely be pronounced an indiscretion. But the art of managing parliaments by private interest or cabal, being found hitherto of little use or necessity, had not as yet become a part of English politics. In the common course of affairs, government could be conducted without their assistance ; and when their concurrence became necessary to the measures of the crown, it was, generally speaking, except in times of great faction and discontent, obtained without much difficulty. The king's influence seems to have rendered the Scottish parliament cordial in all the steps which they took towards the union. Though the advantages which* Scotland might hope from that measure were more considerable, yet were * Kennet, p. 693. t Journ. 20th May, 1606. X Journ. Sth April, 1606. \ Kennet, p. 676. II King James's Works, p. «09. JAMES I. 409 the objections too, with regard to that kingdom, more striking and obvious. The benefit which must have resulted to Eng land, both by accession of strength and security, was not des picable ; and as the English were by far the greater nation, and possessed the seat of government, the objections, either from the point of honor or from jealousy, could not reasonably have any place among them. The English parliament, indeed, seem to have been swayed merely by the vulgar motive of national antipathy. And they persisted so obstinately in their prejudices, that all the efforts for a thorough uniOn and incor poration ended only in the abolition of the hostile laws for merly enacted between the kingdoms.* Some precipitate steps, which the king, a little after his accession, had taken, in order to promote his favorite project, had been here observed to do more injury than service. From his own authority, he had assumed the title of king of Great Britain ; and had quartered the arms of Scotland with those of England, in all coins, flags, and ensigns. He had also engaged the judges to make a declaration, that all those who, after the union of the crowns, should be born in either kingdom, were, for that reason alone, naturalized in both. This was a nice question, and, according to the ideas Of those times, susceptible of subtle reasoning on both sides. The king was the same : the parliaments were different. To ren der the people therefore the same, we must suppose that the sovereign authority resided chiefly in the prince, and that these popular assemblies were rather instituted to assist with money and advice, than endowed with any controlling or active powers in the government. " It is evident," says Bacon, in his plead ings on this subject, " that all other commonwealths, monar chies only excepted, do subsist by a law precedent. For where authority is divided amOngst many officers, and they not perpetual, but annual or temporary, and not fo receive their authority but by election, and certain persons to have voices only in that election, and the like ; these are busy and curious frames, which of necessity do presuppose a law precedent, * The commons were even so averse to the union, that they had complained in the former session, to the lords, of the bishop of Bris tol, for writing a book in favor of it ; and the prelate was obliged to make submissions for this offence. The crime imputed to him seems to have consisted in his treating of a subject which lay before the parliament : so little notion had they as yet of general liberty ! See Parliamentary History, vol. v. p. 108, 109, 110. ' ; vol. iv. 85 H 410 HISTOKY OF ENGLAND. written or unwritten, to guide and direct them : but in mol archies, especially hereditary, that is, when several families c lineages of people do submit themselves to one line, imperii or royal, the submission is more natural and simple ; whic afterwards, by law subsequent, is perfected, and made moi formal ; but that is grounded upon nature." * It would seen from this reasoning, that the idea of an hereditary limite monarchy, though implicitly supposed in many public transai tions, had scarcely ever as yet been expressly formed by an English lawyer or politician. Except the obstinacy of the parliament with regard to th union, and an attempt on the king's ecclesiastical jurisdiction. most of their measures, during this session, were sufficientl respectful and obliging ; though they still discover a vigilar spirit, and a careful attention- towards national liberty. Th votes also of the commons show that the house contained mixture of Puritans, who had acquired great authority amon them,! an<^ who, together with religious prejudices, were coi tinually suggesting ideas more suitable to a popular than monarchical form of government. The natural appetite fc rule made the commons lend a willing ear to every doctrin which tended to augment their own power and influence. [1607.] A petition was moved in the lower house for more rigorous execution of the laws against Popish recusants and an abatement towards Protestant clergymen who scruple to observe the ceremonies. Both these points were equall unacceptable to the king ; and he sent orders to the house t proceed no further in that matter. The commons were inclinec at first, to consider these orders as a breach of privilege ; bu they soon acquiesced, when told that this measure of the king' was supported by many precedents during the reign of Eliza beth.§ Had they been always disposed to make the prece dents of that reign the rule of their conduct, they needed neve have had any quarrel with any of their monarchs. The complaints of Spanish depredations were very loui among the English merchants. || The lower house sent i message to the lords, desiring a conference with them, in orde to their presenting a joint petition to the king on the subject * Bacon's Works, vol. iv. p. 190, 191, edit. 1730. t Journ. 2d December ; Sth March, 1606. 25th, 26th June, 1607. X Journ. 26th February ; 4th, 7th March, 1606. 2d May ; 17tl June, 1607. $ Jp\irn. 16th, 17th June, 1607. || Journ, 25th Feb. 1606. JAMES I. 411 The lords took some time to deliberate on this message ; because, they said, the matter was weighty and rare. It probably occurred to them, at first, that the parliament's inter posing in affairs of state would appear unusual and extraor dinary. And to show that in this sentiment they were not guided by court influence, after they had deliberated, they agreed to the conference. The house of commons began now to feel themselves of such importance, that, on the motion of Sir Edwin Sandys, a member of great authority, they entered, for the first time, an order for the regular keeping of their journals.* When all business was finished, the king prorogued the parliament. About this time there was an insurrection of the country people in Northamptonshire, headed by one Reynolds, a man of low condition. They went about destroying enclosures ; but carefully avoided committing any other outrage. This insur rection was easily suppressed ; and, though great lenity was used towards the rioters, yet were some of the ringleaders punished. The chief cause of that trivial commotion seems to have been, of itself, far from trivial. The practice still continued in England of disusing tillage and throwing the land into enclosures, for the sake of pasture. By this means the kingdom was depopulated, at least prevented from increas ing so much in people as might have been expected from the daily increase of industry and commerce. [1608.] Next year presents us with nothing memorable; but in the spring of the subsequent, [1609.] after a long nego tiation, was concluded, by a truce of twelve years, that war which, for near half a century, had been carried on with such fury between Spain and the states of the United Prov inces. Never contest seemed, at first, more unequal ; never contest was finished with more honor to the weaker party. On the side of Spain were numbers, riches, authority, disci pline : on the side of the revolted provinces were found the attachment to liberty and the enthusiasm of religion. By hei naval enterprises, the republic maintained her armies ; and, joining peaceful industry to military valor, she was enabled, by her own force, to support herself, and gradually rely less on those neighboring princes, who, from jealousy to Spain, were at first prompted to encourage her revolt. Long had the pride of that monarchy prevailed over her interest, and » Journ. 3d July, 1607. 412 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. prevented her from hearkening to any terms of accommoda tion with her rebellious subjects. But finding all intercourse cut off between her provinces by the maritime force of the states., she at last agreed to treat with them as a free people, and solemnly to renounce all claim and pretension to their sov ereignty. This chief point being gained, the treaty was easily brought to a conclusion, under the joint mediation and guaranty of France and England. All exterior appearances of honor were paid equally to both crowns : but very different were the sentiments which the states, as well as all Europe, enter tained of the princes who wore them. Frugality and vigor, the chief circumstances which procure regard among foreign nations, shone out as conspicuously in Henry as they were deficient in James. To a contempt of the English monarch, Henry seems to have added a considerable degree of jealousy apd aversion, which were sentiments altogether without foun dation. James was just and fair in all transactions with his allies ; * but it appears from the memoirs of those times, that each side deemed him partial towards their adversary, and fancied that he had entered into secret measures against them ; t so little equity have men in their judgments of their own affairs ; and so dangerous is that entire neutrality affected by the king of England ! [1610.] The little concern which James took in foreign affairs, renders the domestic occurrences, particularly jthose of parliament, the most interesting of his reign. A new ses sion was held this spring ; the king, full of hope? of receiving supply ; the commons, of circumscribing his prerogative. The earl of Salisbury, now created treasurer on the death of the earl of Dorset, laid open the king's necessities, first to the peers, then to a committee ofthe lower house-! He insisted on the unavoidable expense incurred in supporting the navy, •* The plan of accommodation which James recommended is found in Winwood, (vol. ii. p. 429, 430,) and is the same that w.as recom mended by Henry, as we learn from Jeanin, (torn. iii. p! 416, 417.) It had long been imagined by historians, from Jeanin's authority, that James had declared to the court of Spain, that he would not support the Dutch in their pretensions to liberty ,and independence. But it has since been discovered by Winwpod's Memorials, (vol. ji. p. 456, 466, 469, 475, 476,) that that report was. founded on a l^e of President Kichardot's. t Winwood and Jeanin, passim. X Journ. 17th Feb. 1609. Kennet, p. 681. JAMES I. t!3 and in suppressing a late insurrection in Ireland : he mentioned three numerous courts which the king was obliged to main tain, for himself, for the queen, and for the prince of Wales : he observed that Queen Elizabeth, though a single woman, had received very large supplies in tlie years preceding her death, which alone were expensive to her : and he remarked, that during her reign she had alienated many of the crown lands ; an expedient which, though it supplied her present necessities, without laying burdens on her people, extremely- multiplied the necessities of her successor. From all these causes he thought it nowise strange that the king's income should fall short so great a sum as eighty-one thousand pounds of his stated and regular expense ; without mentioning contin gencies, which ought always to be esteemed a fourth of the yearly charges. And as the crown was now necessarily bur dened with a great and urgent debt of three hundred thousand pounds, he thence inferred the absolute necessity of an imme diate and large supply from the people. To all these reasons, which James likewise urged in a speech addressed to both houses, the commons remained inexorable. But not to shock the king with an absolute refusal, they granted him one sub sidy and one fifteenth ; which wOuld scarcely amount to a hundred thousand pounds. And James received the mortifi cation of discovering in vain all his wants, and of begging aid of subjects who had no reasonable indulgence or consideration for him. Among the many causes of disgust and quarrel which now daily and unavoidably multiplied between prince and parlia ment, this article of money is to be regarded as none of the least considerable. After the discovery and conquest of the West Indies, gold and silver became every day more plenti- fulln England, as well as in the rest of Europe ; and the price of all commodities and provisions rose to a height beyond what had been known since the declension of the Roman empire. As the revenue of the crown rose not in proportion,* the prince was insensibly reduced to poverty amidst the gen eral riches of his subjects, and required additional funds in order to support the same magnificence and force which had been maintained by former monarchs. But, while money thus * Besides the great alienation of the crown lands, the fee-farm rents never increased, and the other lands were let on long leases, and at a great undervalue, little or nothing above the old rent. 35* 414 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. flowed into England, we may observe, that, at the same time, and probably from that very cause, arts and industry of all kinds received a mighty increase ; and elegance in every enjoyment of life became better known and more cultivated among all ranks of people. The king's servants, both civil and military, his courtiers, . his ministers, demanded more ample supplies from the impoverished prince, and were not contented with the same simplicity of living which had satis fied their ancestors. The prince himself began to regard an increase of pomp and splendor as requisite to support the dignity of his character, and to preserve the same superiority above his subjects which his predecessors had enjoyed. Some equality, too, and proportion to the other sovereigns of Europe it was natural for him to desire ; and as they had universally enlarged their revenue, and multiplied their taxes, the king of England deemed it reasonable that his subjects, who were generally as rich as theirs, should bear with patience some additional burdens and impositions. Unhappily for the king, those very riches, with the increasing knowledge ofthe age, bred opposite sentiments in his subjects ; and, begetting a spirit of freedom and independence, disposed them to pay little regard either to the entreaties or menaces of their sovereign. While the barons possessed their former immense property and extensive jurisdictions, they were apt, at every disgust, to endanger the monarch, and throw the whole government into confusion ; but this confusion often, in its turn, proved favorable to the monarch, and made the nation again submit to him, in order to reestablish justice and tranquillity. After the power of alienations, as well as the increase of commerce, had thrown the balance of property into the hands of the commons, the situation of affairs, and the dispositions of men, became susceptible of a more regular plan of liberty ; and the laws were not supported singly by the authority of the sovereign. And though in that interval, "after the decline of the peers, and before the people had yet expe rienced their force, the princes assumed an exorbitant power, and had almost annihilated the constitution under the weight of their prerogative ; as soon as the commons recovered from their lethargy, they seem to have been astonished at the dan ger, and were resolved to secure liberty by firmer barriers than their-ancestors had hitherto provided for it. Had James possessed a very rigid frugality, he might have warded off this crisis somewhat longer; and, waiting patiently JAMES I. 415 for u fuvoroble opportunity to increaso and fix his revenue, might have secured tho extensive authority transmitted to him. On the other hand, had thc commons been inclined to act with more generosity and kindness towards their prince, they might prohuhly have turned his necessities to good account, and have bribed him to depart peaceably from tho moro dangerous articles of his prerogative. But. he was a foreigner, and ignorant of the arts of popularity ; they were soured by reli gious prejudices, and tenacious of their money: and in this situation it is no wonder, that during this whole reign we scarcely find an interval of mutual confidence and friendship Vdween prince and parliament. The king, hy his prerogative alone, had somo years before allured the rales of Ihe customs, and had established higher impositions on several kinds of merchandise. This exercise of power will imlurally, to us, appear arbitrary and illegal; yet, according to Ihe principles and practie.es of that time, it might admit of somo apology. Tho duties of tonnage and poundage wore at first granted to the crown by a vote of par liament, and Cora limited time; and as tho grant frequently expired and was renewed, there could not then arise any doubt concerning the origin of the king's right to levy theso duties ; and Ibis imposition, like ull others, was plainly derived from the voluntary consent of the people. But as Henry V., and all the succeeding sovereigns, had the revenue conferred on thom for life, the prince, so long in possession of theso duties, begun gradually to consider them as his own proper right unci inheritance, and regarded tho vote of parliament as u mere formality, wliich rather expressed the acquiescence of the people in his prerogative, than bestowed any new gift or revenue upon him. Tho parliamenl, when it first granted poundage to the crown, had fixed no purlicular rates : Ihe imposition was given as a shilling in a pound, or five percent, on all commodities: it was left to the king himself and the privy council, aided by the udvico of such merchants us they should think proper to consult, to fix Ihe value of goods, and thereby the rates of the customs : and as thai value had been settled before tho discovery of Ihe Wesl Indies, it was become much inferior to the prices which almost all commodities bore in every market in lOurope ; and consequently the customs on many goods, though supposed to bo five per cent., was in reality much inferior. The king, therefore, was naturally led to think, that 416 HISTOEY OF ENGLAND. rates which were now plainly false, ought to be corrected ; * that a valuation of commodities, fixed by one act of the privy council, might be amended by another; that if his right to poundage were inherent in the crown, he should also possess, of himself, the right of correcting its inequalities ; if this duty were granted by the people, he should at least support the spirit of the law, by fixing a new and a juster valuation of all commodities. But, besides this reasoning, which seems plausible, if not solid, the king was supported in that act of power by direct precedents, some in the reign of Mary, some in the beginning of Elizabeth.f Both these princesses had, without consent of parliament, altered the rates of commodi ties ; and as their impositions had all along been submitted to without a murmur, and still continued to be levied, the king had no reason to apprehend that a further exertion of the same authority would give any occasion of complaint. That less umbrage might be taken, he was moderate in the new rates which he established : the customs, during his whole reign, rose only from one hundred and twenty-seven thousand pounds a year to one hundred and ninety thousand ; though, besides the increase of the rates, there was a sensible increase of commerce and industry during that period : every com modity, besides, which might serve to the subsistence of the people, or might be considered as a material of manufactures, was exempted from the new impositions of James : f but all this caution could not prevent the complaints of the commons. A spirit of liberty had now taken possession of the house : the leading members, men of an independent genius and large views, began to regulate their opinions more by the future consequences which they foresaw, than by the former prece dents which were set before them ; and they less aspired at maintaining the ancient constitution, than at establishing a new one, and a freer, and a better. In their remonstrances to the king on this occasion, they observed it to be a general opinion, " That the reasons of that practice might be extended much further, even to the utter ruin of the ancient liberty of the kingdom, and the subjects' right of property in their lands * Winwood, vol. ii. p. 438. t Joiirn. 18th April ; 5th and 10th May, 1614, etc. ; 20th February 1625. See also Sir John Davis's Question concerning Impositions p. 127, 128. 6 + Sir John Davis's Question concerning Impositions. JAMES I. 417 and goods." * Though expressly forbidden by the king to touch his prerogative, they passed a bill abolishing theso impo sitions ; which was rejected by the house of lords. In anothor address to the king, they objected to the practice <>f borrowing upon privy seals, and desired that the subjects should not bo forced to lend money to his majesty, nor give a reason for their refusal. Some murmurs likowise were thrown out in tho house against a new monopoly of the license of wines. f It must be confessed, that forced loans and monopo lies were established on many and ancient as well as recent precedents ; though diametrically opposite to all the principles of a free government.! The house likewise discovered some discontent against tho king's proclamations. James told them, " That though he well knew, by the constitution and policy of the kingdom, that proclamations were not of equal force with laws, yet he thought it a duty incumbent on him, and n power inseparably iinneveil to tho crown, to restrain and prevent such mischiefs mul inconveiiiencies as he saw growing on the stato, against which no certain law was extant, and which might tend to the grout detriment of the subject, if there should be no remedy provided till tho meeting of a parliament. And this preroga tive," he adds, " our progenitors have in all times used and enjoyed." § The intervals between sessions, we may observe, ivero frequently so long, as to render it necessary for a prince to interpose by his prerogative. The legality of this exertion was established by uniform and undisputed practice; and was even acknowledged by lawyers, who made, however, this difference botween laws and proclamations, that the authority of the former was perpetual, that of the latter expired with the sovereign who emitted them.|| But what the authority could he which bound the subject, yet was different from the authority of laws, and inferior to it, seems inexplicable by any maxims of reason or politics : and in this instance, as in many others, it is easy to see how inaccurate the English constitution was, before the parliament was enabled, by con tinned acquisitions or encroachments, to establish it on fixeu principles of liberty. Upon tho settlement of the reformation, that extensive * Journ. 23d May, 181G. t Parliament. Hist. vol. v. p. 241. X Soo noto VY, at thr- oirl cf tho volume. § Parliament. Hist. vol. v. p. 350. J J'ohw l^th Kay 162A. 418 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. branch of power which regards ecclesiastical matters, beini then without an owner, seemed to belong to the first occupant and Henry VIII. failed not immediately to seize it, and f exert it even to the utmost degree of tyranny. The possessioi of it was continued with Edward, and recovered by Elizabeth and that ambitious princess was so remarkably jealous of thi flower of her crown, that she severely reprimanded the parlia ment if they ever presumed to intermeddle in these matters and they were so overawed by her authority as to submit, am to ask pardon on these occasions. But James's parliament were much less obsequious. They ventured to lift up thei eyes, and to consider this prerogative. They there saw ; large province of government, possessed by the king alone and scarcely ever communicated with the parliament. The; were sensible that this province admitted not of any exac boundary or circumscription. They had felt that the Romai pontiff, in former ages, under pretence of religion, was gradu ally making advances to usurp the whole civil power. The; dreaded still more dangerous consequences from the claim of their own sovereign, who resided among them, and whe in many other .respects, . possessed such unlimited authority They therefore deemed it absolutely necessary to circumscrib this branch of prerogative ; and accordingly, in the precedin: session, they passed a bill against the establishment of an; ecclesiastical canons without consent of parliament.* Bu the house of lords, as is usual, defended the barriers of th throne, and rejected the hill. In this session, the commons, after passing anew the sam bill, made remonstrances against the proceedings of the hig commission court.t It required no great penetration to se the extreme danger to liberty, arising in a regal governmem from such large discretionary powers as were exercised b; that court. But James refused compliance with the applies tion of the commons. He was probably sensible that, beside the diminution of his authority, many inconveniencies mus necessarily result from the abolishing of all discretionar; power in every magistrate ; and that the laws, were they eve so carefully framed and digested, could not possibly provid against every contingency ; much less, where they had not a yet attained a sufficient degree of accuracy and refinemen * Journ. 2d, 11th December ; 5th March, 1606. + Parliament. Hist. vol. v. p. 247. Kennet, p. 681. JAMES I. 419 v.'it Ae business which chiefly occupied fhe commons dm ng vhis session, was the abolition of wardships and pur veyance ; prerogatives which had been more or less touched on e've.y session during the whole reign of James. In this affair the commons employed the proper means which might entitle them to success : they offered the king a settled rev enue, as an equivalent for the powers which he should part with ; and the king was willing to hearken to terms. After much dispute, he agreed to give up these prerogatives for two hundred thousand pounds a year, which they agreed to confer upon him.* And nothing remained towards closing the bargain, but that the commons should determine the funds by which this sum should be levied. This session was too far' advanced to bring so difficult a matter to a full conclusion ; and though the parliament met again towards the end of the year, and resumed the question, they were never able to ter minate an affair upon which they seemed so intent. The journals of that session are lost ; and as the historians of this reign are very negligent in relating parliamentary affairs, of whose importance they were not sufficiently apprised, we know not exactly the reason of this failure. It only appears, that the king was extremely dissatisfied with the conduct of the parliament, and soon after dissolved it. This was his first parliament, and it sat near seven years. Amidst all these attacks, some more, some less violent, on royal prerogative, the king displayed, as openly as ever, all * We learn from Winwood's Memorials (vol. ii. p. 193) the reason assigned for this particular sum. " From thence my lord treasurer came to the price ; and here he said, that the king would no more rise and fall like a merchant. That he would not have a flower of his crown (meaning the court of Wards) so much tossed ; that it was too dainty to be so handled ; and then he said, that he must deliver the very countenance and character of the king's mind out of his own handwriting ; which before he read, he said he would acquaint us with a pleasant conceit of his majesty. As concerning the number of ninescore thousand pounds, which was our number, he could not affect, because nine was the number of the poets, who were always beggars, though they served so many muses ; and eleven was the number of the apostles, when the traitor Judas was away ; and there fore might best be affected by his majesty : but there was a mean number, which might accord us both ; and that was ten : which, says my lord treasurer, is a sacred number ; for so many were God's commandments, which tend to virtue and edification." If the com mons really voted twenty thousand pounds a year more, on account of this " pleasant conceit " of the king and the treasurer, it was cer tainly the best paid wit, for its goodness, that ever was in the world. 420 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. his exalted notions of monarchy and the authority of princes. Even in a speech to the parliament where he begged for sup ply, and where he should naturally have used every art to ingratiate himself with that assembly, he expressed himself in these terms : " I conclude, then, the point touching the power of kings, with this axiom of divinity, that, as to dispute what God may do, is blasphemy ; but what God wills, that divines may lawfully and do ordinarily dispute and discuss : so is it sedition in subjects to dispute what a king may do in the height of his power. But just kings will ever be willing to declare what they will do, if they will not incur the curse of God. I will not be content that my power be disputed upon ; but I shall ever be willing to make the reason appear of my doings, and rule my actions according to my laws." * Notwithstanding the great extent of prerogative in that age, these expressions would probably give some offence. But we may observe, that, as the king's despotism was more specula tive than practical, so the independency of the commons was, at this time, the reverse ; and, though strongly supported by their present situation, as well as disposition, was too new and recent to be as yet founded on systematical principles and opinions.t This year was distinguished by a memorable event, which gave great alarm and concern in England ; the murder of the French monarch by the poniard of the fanatical Ravaillac. With his death, the glory of the French monarchy suffered an eclipse for some years ; and as that kingdom fell under an administration weak and bigoted, factious and disorderly, the Austrian greatness began anew to appear formidable to Europe. In England, the antipathy to the Catholics revived a little upon this tragical event ; and some of the laws which had formerly been enacted, in order to keep these religionists in awe, began now to be executed with greater rigor and severity.! [1611.] Though James's timidity and indolence fixed him, during most of his reign, in a very prudent inattention to foreign affairs, there happened this year an event in Europe of such mighty consequence as to rouse him from his lethargy. and summon up all his zeal and enterprise. A professor of * King James's Works, p. 531. t See note ZZ, at the end of the volume. X Kennet, p. 684. JAMES I. 4%ii divinity, named Vorstius, the disciple of Arminius, was called from a German to a Dutch university ; and as he differed from his Britannic majesty in some nice questions concerning the intimate essence and secret decrees of God, he was considered as a dangerous rival in scholastic fame, and was at last obliged to yield to the legions of that royal doctor, whose syllogisms he might have refuted or eluded. If vigor was wanting in other incidents of James's reign, here he behaved even with haughtiness and insolence ; and the states were obliged, after several remonstrances, to deprive Vorstius of his chair, and to banish him their dominions.* The king carried no further his animosity against that professor ; though he had very charitably hinted to the states, " That, as to the burning of Vorstius for his blasphemies and atheism, he left them to their own Christian wisdom ; but surely never heretic better de served the flames." t It is to be remarked, that, at this period, all over Europe, except in Holland alone, the practice of burning heretics still prevailed, even in Protestant countries ; and instances were not wanting in England during the reign of James. To consider James in a more advantageous light, we must take a view of him as the legislator of Ireland ; and most of the institutions which he had framed for civilizing that king dom being finished about this period, it may not here be improper to give some account of them. He frequently boasts of the management of Ireland as his masterpiece ; and it will appear, upon inquiry, that his vanity in this partic ular was not altogether without foundation. After the subjection of Ireland by Elizabeth, the more diffi cult task still remained ; to civilize the inhabitants, to reconcile them to laws and industry, and to render their subjection durable and useful to the crown of England. James proceeded in this work by a steady, regular, and well-concerted plan ; and in the space of nine years, according to Sir John Davis, he made greater advances towards the reformation of that king dom, than had been made in the four hundred and forty years which had elapsed since the conquest was first attempted.! It was previously necessary to abolish the Irish customs, which supplied the place of laws, and which were calculated » Kennet, p. 715. t King James's Works, p. 355. X King James's Works, p. 259, edit. 1613. vol. it. 36 H 422 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. to k6ep that people forever in a state of barbarism and dis order. By the " Brehon " law dr custom, every crime, however enormous, was punished, not with death, but by a fine or pecu niary mulct, which was levied upon the criminal. Murder itself, as amorig all the ancient barbarous nations, Was atoned for in this manner; and each man, according to his rank, had a different rate or value affixed to him, which if any one Were willing to pay, he heeded not fear assassinating his enemy. This rate Was called his "eric." When Sir William Fitz- williams, being lord deputy, told Maguire, that he was to send a sheriff into Fermannah, which a little before had been made a county, and subjected to the English law ; " Your sheriff," Said Maguire, " shall be welcome to me : but let me know, beforehand, his eric, or the price of his head, that, if my peo ple cut it off, I may levy the money upon the county." * As for oppression, extortion, and other trespasses, So little were they regarded, that no penalty was affixed to them, and no redress for such offences could ever be obtained. The customs of " gavelkinde " and " tanistry " were at tended with the same absurdity in the distribution of property. [1612.] The land, by the custom of -gavelkinde, was divided among air the males of the sept, br family, both bastard and legitirriate : and, after partition made, if any of the sept died,' his portion was not shared out among his sons, but the chieftain, at his discretion, made a hew partition of all the lands belong ing to that sept, and gave every one his share.t As no man, by reason bf this custom, enjoyed the fixed property of any land ; to build, to plant, to enclose, to cultivate, to improve, would have been so much lost labor. The chieftains and the tanists, though drawn from the prin cipal families, were riot hereditary, but were established by election, or, more properly speaking, by force and violence. Their authority was almost absolute ; and, notwithstanding that certain lands were assigned to the office, its chief profit resulted from exactions, dues, assessments, for which there was ho fixed law, and which were levied at pleasure." ! Hence arose that common by-word among the Irish, " That they dwelt westward of the law, which dwelt beyOnd the river of the Barrow ; " meahing the country where the English in- * Sir John Davis, p. 166. t Sir John Davis, p. 167. X Sir John Davis, p. 173. JAMES I. 423 habited, and which extended not beyond the compass of twenty miles, lying in the neighborhood of Dublin.* After abolishing these Irish customs, and substituting Eng lish law in their place, James, having taken all the native's under his protection, and declared them free citizens, pro ceeded to govern them by a regular administration, military as well as civil. A small army was maintained, its discipline inspected, and its pay transmitted from England, in order to keep the soldiers from preying upon the country, as had been usual in former reigns. When Odoghartie raised an insurrection, a reinforce ment was sent over, and the flames of that rebellion were immediately extinguished. All minds being first quieted by a general indemnity,t circuits were established, justice administered, oppression ban ished, and crimes and disorders of every kind severely punished.! As the Irish had been universally engaged in the rebellion against Elizabeth, a resignation of all the rights which had been formerly granted them to separate jurisdic tions, was rigorously exacted ; and no authority, but that of the king and the law, was permitted throughout the kingdom.^ A resignation of all private estates was even required ; and when they were restored, the proprietors received them under such conditions as might prevent, for the future, all tyranny and oppression over the common people. The value of the dues which the nobles usually claimed from their vassals, was esti mated at a fixed sum, and all further arbitrary exactions pro hibited under severe penalties.|| The whole province of Ulster having fallen to the crown by the attainder of rebels, a company was established in London for planting new colonies in that fertile country : the property was divided into moderate shares, the largest not exceeding two thousand acres : tenants were brought over from England and Scotland : the Irish were removed from the hills and fast nesses, and settled in the open country : husbandry and the arts were taught them : a fixed habitation secured : plunder and robbery punished : and by these means, Ulster, from being the most wild and disorderly province of all Ireland, soon be came the best cultivated and most civilized. fl * Sir John Davis, p. 237. t Sir John Davis, p. 263. X Sir John Davis, p. 264, 265, etc. § Sir John Davis, p. 276. || Sir John Davis, p. 278. If Sir John Davis, p. 280. 424 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Such were the arts by which James introduced humanity and justice among a people who had ever been buried in the most profound barbarism. Noble cares ! much superior to the vain and criminal glory of conquests ; but requiring ages of perseverance and attention to perfect what had been so happily begun. A laudable act of justice was about this time executed in England upon Lord Sanquhir, a Scottish nobleman, who had been guilty of the base assassination of Turner, a fencing mas ter. The English nation, who were generally dissatisfied with the Scots, were enraged at this crime, equally mean and atro cious ; but James appeased them, by preferring the severity of law to the intercession of the friends and family of the criminal.* • * Kennet, p. 688. JAMES I. 425 CHAPTER XLVII. JAMES I. [1612.] This year the sudden death of Henry, prince of Wales, diffused a universal grief throughout the nation. Though youth and royal birth, both of them strong allure ments, prepossess men mightily in favor of the early age of princes, it is with peculiar fondness that historians mention Henry ; and, in every respect, his merit seems to have been extraordinary. He had not reached his eighteenth year, and he already possessed more dignity in his behavior, and com manded more respect, than his father, with all his age, learn ing, and experience. Neither his high fortune, nor his youth, had seduced him into any irregular pleasures : business and ambition seem to have been his sole passion. His inclinations, as well as exercises, were martial. The French ambassador, taking leave of him, and asking his commands for France, found him employed in the exercise of the pike : " TeH your king," said he, " in what occupation you left me engaged." * He had conceived great affection and esteem for the brave Sir Walter Raleigh. It was his saying, " Sure no king but my father would keep such a bird in a cage." t He seems indeed to have nourished too violent a contempt for the king, on account of his pedantry and pusillanimity ; and by that means struck in with the restless and martial spirit of the Eng lish nation. Had he lived, he had probably promoted the glory, perhaps not the felicity, of his people. The unhappy prepossession which men commonly entertain in favor of am bition, courage, enterprise, and other warlike virtues, engages generous natures, who always love fame, in such pursuits as destroy their own peace, and that of the rest of mankind. * The French monarch had given particular orders to his ministers to cultivate the prince's friendship ; who must soon, said he, havo chief authority in England, where the king and queen are held in so little estimation. See Dep. de laBoderie, vol. i. p. 402, 415 ; vol, ii p. 16, 349. t Coke's Detection, p. 37. 36* 426 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Violent reports were propagated, as if Henry had been carried off by poison ; but the physicians, on opening his body, found no symptoms to confirm such an opinion.* The bold and criminal malignity of men's tongues and pens spared not even the king on the occasion. But that prince's character seems rather to have failed in the extreme of facility and humanity, than in that of cruelty and violence. His indul gence to Henry was great, and perhaps imprudent, by giving him a large and independent settlement, even in so early youth. [1613.] The marriage of the princess Elizabeth with Frederic, elector palatine, was finished some time after the death of the prince, and served to dissipate the grief which arose on that melancholy event. But this marriage, though celebrated with great joy and festivity, proved itself an un happy event to the king, as well as to his son-in-law, and had ill consequences on the reputation and fortunes of both. The elector, trusting to so great an alliance, engaged in enterprises beyond his strength : and the king, not being able to support him in his distress, lost entirely, in the end of his life, what remained of the affections and esteem of his own subjects. Except during sessions of parliament, the history of this reign may more properly be called the history of the court, than that of the nation. An interesting object had for some years engaged the attention of the court ; it was a favorite, and one beloved by James with so profuse and unlimited an affection, as left no room for any rival or competitor. About the end of the year 1609, Robert Carre, a youth of twenty years of age, and of a good family in Scotland, arrived in London, after having passed some time in his travels. All his natural accomplishments consisted in good looks : all his. acquired abilities in an easy air and graceful demeanor. He had letters of recommendation to his countryman Lord Hay ; and that nobleman no sooner cast his eye upon him, than he discovered talents sufficient to entitle him immediately to make a great figure in the government. Apprised of the king's passion for youth and beauty, and exterior appearance, he studied how matters might be so managed that this new object should make the strongest impression upon him. Without mentioning him at court, he assigned him the office, at a match of tilting, of presenting to the king his buckler and device ; • Kennet, p. 690. Coke, p. 37. Welwood, p. 272. JAMES I. 427 and hoped that he would attract the attention of the monarch. Fortune proved favorable to his design, by an incident which bore at first a contrary aspect. When Carre was advancing to execute his office, his unruly horse flung him, and broke his leg in the king's presence. James approached him with pity and concern : love and affection arose on tbe sight of his beauty and tender years ; and the prince ordered him im mediately to be lodged in the palace, and to be carefully attended. He himself, after the tilting, paid him a yisit in his chamber, and frequently returned during his confinement. The ignorance and simplicity of the boy finished the conquest begun by his exterior graces and accomplishments. Other princes have been fond of choosing their favorites from among the lower ranks of their subjects, and have reposed themselves on them with the more unreserved confidence and affection, because the object has been beholden to their bounty for every honor and acquisition : James was desirous that his favorite should also derive from him all his sense, experience, and knowledge. Highly conceited of his own wisdom, he pleased himself with the fancy, that this raw youth, by his lessons and instructions, would, in a little time, be equal to his sagest min isters, and be initiated into all the profound mysteries of gov ernment, on which he set so high a value. And as this kind of creation was more perfectly his own work than any other, he seems to have indulged an unlimited fondness for his minion, beyond even that which he bore to his own children. He soon knighted him, created him Viscount Rochester, gave him the garter, brought him into the privy council, and, though at first without assigning him any particular office, bestowed on him the supreme direction of all his business and political concerns. Agreeable to this rapid advancement in confidence and honor, were the riches heaped upon the needy favorite ; and while Salisbury and all the wisest ministers could scarcely find expedients sufficient to keep in motion the overburdened machine of government, James, with unsparing hand, loaded with treasures this insignificant and useless pageant.* It is said, that the king found his pupil so ill educated as to be ignorant even of the lowest rudiments of the Latin tongue ; and that the monarch, laying aside the sceptre, took the birch into his royal hand, and instructed him in the principles of grammar. During the intervals of this noble occupation, * Kennet, p. 685, 686, etc. 428 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. affairs of state would be introduced ; and the stripling, by the ascendant which he had acquired, was now enabled to repay in political, what he had received in grammatical instruction. Such scenes, and such incidents, are the more ridiculous, though the less odious, as the passion of James seems not to have contained in it any thing criminal or flagitious. History charges herself willingly with a relation of the great crimes; and still more with that of the great virtues, of mankind ; but she appears to fall from her dignity, when necessitated to dwell on such frivolous events and ignoble personages. The favorite was not, at first, so intoxicated with advance ment, as not to be sensible of his own ignorance and inex perience. He had recourse to the assistance and advice of a friend ; and he was more fortunate in his choice than is usual with such pampered minions. In Sir Thomas Overbury he met with a judicious and sincere counsellor ; who, building all hopes of his own preferment on that of the young favorite, endeavored to instil into him the principles of prudence and discretion. By zealously serving every body, Carre was taught to abate the envy which might attend his sudden elevation : by showing a preference for the English, he learned to escape tfie prejudices which prevailed against his country. And so long as he was content to be rtiled by Overbury's friendly counsels, he enjoyed — what is rare — the highest favor of the prince, without being hated by the people. To complete the measure of courtly happiness, nought was wanting but a kind mistress ; and, Where high fortune con curred with all the graces of youth and beauty, this circum stance could not be difficult to attain. But it was here that the favorite met with that rock on which all his fortunes were wrecked, and which plunged him forever into an abyss of infamy, guilt, and misery. No sooner had James mounted the throne of England, than he remembered his friendship for the unfortunate families of Howard and Devereux, who had suffered for their attachment to the cause of Mary and to his own. Having restored young Essex to his blood and dignity, and conferred the titles of Suffolk and Northampton on two brothers of the house of Nor folk, he sought the further pleasure of uniting these families by the marriage of the earl of Essex with Lady Frances Howard, daughter of the earl of Suffolk. She was only thir teen, he fourteen years of age ; and it was thought proper, till both should attain the age of puberty, that he should go JAMES I. 429 abroad, and pass some time in his travels .* He returned into England after four years' absence, and was pleased to find his countess in the full lustre of beauty, and possessed of the love and admiration of the whole court. But, when the earl approached, and claimed the privileges of a husband, he met with nothing but symptoms of aversion and disgust, and a flat refusal of any further familiarities. He applied to her parents, who constrained her to attend him into the coun try, and to partake of his bed : but nothing could overcome her rigid sullenness and obstinacy ; and she still rose from his side without having shared the nuptial pleasures. Disgusted with reiterated denials, he at last gave over the pursuit, and separating himself from her, thenceforth abandoned her con duct to her own will and discretion. Such coldness and aversion in Lady Essex arose not with out an attachment to another object. The favorite had opened his addresses, and had been too successful in making impres sion on the tender heart of the young countess.f She im agined that, so long as she refused the embraces of Essex, she never could be deemed his wife ; and that a separation and divorce might still open the way for a new marriage with her beloved Rochester.! Though their passion was so violent, and their opportunities of intercourse so frequent, that they had already indulged themselves in all the gratifica tions of love, they still lamented their unhappy fate, while the union between them was not entire and indissoluble. And the lover, as well as his mistress, was impatient till their mu tual ardor should be crowned by marriage. So momentous an affair could not be concluded without consulting Overbury, with whom Rochester was accustomed fo share all his secrets. While that faithful friend had consid ered his patron's attachment to the countess of Essex merely as an affair of gallantry, he had favored its progress ; and it was partly owing to the ingenious and passionate letters which he dictated, that Rochester had met with such success in his addresses. Like an experienced courtier, he thought that a conquest of this nature would throw a lustre on the young favorite, and would tend still further to endear him to James, who was charmed to hear of the amours of his court, and listened with attention to every tale of gallantry. But great * Kennet, p. 686. t Kennet, p. 687. J State Trial*, vol. i. p. 228. 430 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. was Overbury's alarm, when Rochester mentioned "his design of marrying the countess ; and he used every method to dis suade his friend from so foolish an attempt. He represented how invidious, how difficult an enterprise to procure her a divorce from her husband : how dangerous, how shameful, to take into his own bed a profligate woman, who, being married to a young nobleman of the first rank, had not scrupled to prostitute her character, and to bestow favors on the object of a capricious and momentary passion. And in the zeal of friendship, he went so far as to threaten Rochester, that he would separate himself forever from him, if he could so far forget his honor and his interest as to prosecute the intended marriage.* Rochester had the weakness to reveal this conversation to the countess of Essex ; and when her rage and fury broke out against Overbury, he had also the weakness to enter into her vindictive projects, and to swear vengeance against his friend, for the utmost instance which he could receive of his faithful friendship. Some contrivance was necessary for the execution of their purpose. Rochester addressed himself to the king ; and after complaining, that his own indulgence to Overbury had begotten in him a degree of arrogance which was extremely disagreeable, he procured a commission for his embassy to Russia ; which he represented as a retreat for his friend, both profitable and honorable. When consulted by Overbury, he earnestly dissuaded him from accepting this offer, and took on himself the office of satisfying the king, if he should be anywise displeased with the refusal.t To the king again, he aggravated the insolence of Overbury's con duct, and obtained a warrant for committing him to the Tower, which James intended as a slight punishment for his disobe dience. The lieutenant of the Tower was a creature of Rochester's, and had lately been put into the office for this very purpose : he confined Overbury so strictly, that the unhappy prisoner was debarred the sight even of his nearest relations , and no communication of any kind was allowed with him during near six months which he lived in prison. This obstacle being removed, the lovers pursued their pur pose ; and the king himself, forgetting the dignity of his character, and his friendship for the family of Essex, entered * State Trials, vol. i. p. 235, 236, 252. Franklyn, p, 14, + State Trials, vol. i. p. 236, 237, etc. JAMES I. 431 zealously into the project of procuring the countess a divorce from her husband. Essex also embraced the opportunity of separating himself from a bad woman, by whom he was hated ; and he was willing to favor their success by any honorable expedient. The pretence for a divorce was his incapacity to fulfil the conjugal duties ; and he confessed that, with regard to the countess, he was conscious of such an infirmity, though he was not sensible of it with regard to any other woman. In her place, too, it is said, a young virgin was substituted under a mask, to undergo a legal inspection by a jury of matrons. After such a trial, seconded by court influence, and supported by the ridiculous opinion of fascination or witchcraft, the sen tence of divorce was pronounced between the earl of Essex and his countess.* And, to crown the scene, the king, soli citous lest the lady should lose any rank by her new marriage, bestowed on his minion the title of earl of Somerset. Notwithstanding this success, the countess of Somerset was not satisfied till she should further satiate her revenge on Over bury : and she engaged her husband, as well as her uncle, the earl of Northampton, in the atrocious design of Jaking him off secretly by poison. Fruitless attempts were reiterated by weak poisons ; but at last they gave him one so sudden and violent, that the symptoms were apparent to every one who approached him.t His interment was hurried on with the greatest precipitation ; and though a strong suspicion immedi ately prevailed in the public, the full proof of the crime was not brought to light till some years after. The fatal catastrophe of Overbury increased or begot the suspicion that the prince of Wales had been carried off by poison given him by Somerset. Men considered not that the contrary inference was much juster. If Somerset was so great a novice in this detestable art, that, during the course of five months, a man who was his prisoner and attended by none but his emissaries, could not be despatched but in so bungling a manner, how could it be imagined, that a young prince, living in his own court, surrounded by his own friends and domestics, could be exposed to Somerset's attempts, and be taken off by so subtile a poison, if such a one exist, as could elude the skill of the most experienced physicians ? The ablest minister that James ever possessed, the earl of * State Trials, vol. i. p. 223, 224, etc. Franklyn's Annals, p. 2, 3, etc. t Kennot, p. 693. State Trials, vol. i. p. 233, 234, ete. 452 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Salisbury, was dead : * Suffolk, a man of slender capacity, had succeeded him in his office ; and it was now his task to supply, from an exhausted treasury, the profusion of James and of his young favorite. The title of baronet, invented by Salisbury, was sold ; and two hundred patents of that species of knighthood were disposed of for so many thousand pounds ; each rank of nobility had also its price affixed to it : t privy seals were circulated to the amount of two hundred thousand pounds : benevolences were exacted to the amount of fifty-two thousand pounds : ! and some monopolies, of no great value, were erected. But all these expedients proved insufficient to supply the king's necessities ; even though he began to enter into some schemes for retrenching his expenses.^ However small the hopes of success, a new parliament must be sum moned, and this dangerous expedient — for such it was now become — once more be put to trial. [1614.] When the commons were assembled, they dis covered an extraordinary alarm, on account of the rumor which was spread abroad concerning " undertakers." || It was reported, that several persons, attached to the king, had entered, into a confederacy ; and having laid a regular plan for the new elections, had distributed their interest all over England, and had undertaken to secure a majority for the court. So ignorant were the commons, that they knew not this incident to be the first infallible symptom of any regular or established liberty. Had they been contented to follow the maxims of their predecessors, who, as the earl of Salisbury said to the last parliament, never, but thrice in six hundred years, refused a supply,fl they needed not dread that the crown should ever interest itself in their elections. Formerly the kings even insisted, that none of their household should be elected members ; and though the charter was afterwards declared void, Henry VL, from his great favor to the city of * 14th of May, 1612. f Franklyn, p. 11, 33. X Franklyn, p. 10. § Franklyn, p. 49. || Parliament. Hist. to., v. p. 286. Kennet, p. 696. Journ. 12th April ; 2d May, 1614, etc. Franklyn, p. 48. IT Journ. 17th Feb. 1609. It appears, however, that Salisbury was somewhat mistaken in this fact ; and if the kings were not oftener refused supply by the parliament, it was only because they would not often expose themselves to the hazard of being refused .-"but itis certain that English parliaments did anciently carry their frugality to an extreme, and seldom could be prevailed upon to give the neces sary support to government. JAMES I. 433 York, conferred a peculiar privilege on its citizens, that they should be exempted from this trouble.* It is well known, that, in ancient times, a seat in the house being considered as a burden, attended neither with honor nor profit, it was requisite for the counties and boroughs to pay fees to their representa tives. About this time, a seat began to be regarded as an honor, and the country gentlemen contended for it ; though the practice of levying wages for the parliament men was not altogether discontinued. It was not till long after, when liberty was thoroughly established, and popular assemblies entered into every branch of public business, that the mem bers began to join profit to honor, and the crown found it necessary to distribute among them all the considerable offices of the kingdom. So little skill, or so small means, had the courtiers in James's reign for managing elections, that this house of commons showed rather a stronger spirit of liberty than the foregoing ; and instead of entering upon the business of supply, as urged by the king, who made them several liberal offers of grace,t they immediately resumed the subject which had been opened last parliament, and disputed his majesty's power of levying new customs and impositions, by the mere authority of his prerogative. It is remarkable, that, in their debates on this subject, the courtiers frequently pleaded, as a precedent, the example of all the other hereditary monarchs in Europe, and particularly mentioned the kings of France and Spain ; nor was this reasoning received by the house either with surprise or indignation-! The members of the opposite party either contented themselves with denying the justness of the in ference, or they disputed the truth of the observation.^ And a patriot member in particular, Sir Roger Owen, even in arguing against the impositions, frankly allowed, that the king of England was endowed with as ample a power and pre rogative as any prince in Christendom. || The nations on the continent, we may observe, enjoyed still, in that age, some small remains of liberty ; and the IJnglish were possessed of little more. The commons applied to the lords for a conference with regard to the new impositions. A speech of Neile, bishop * Coke's Institutes, part iv. chap. 1, of Charters of Exemption. t Journ. 11th April, 1614. J Journ. 21st May, 1614. { Journ. 12th, 21st May, 1614. || Journ. 18th April, 1614. vol. iv. 37 H 4S4 HISTOEY OF ENGLAND. of Lincoln, reflecting on the lower house, begat some alterea- tion with the peers ; * and the king seized the opportunity of dissolving, immediatelv. with great indignation, a parliament which had shown so firm a resolution of retrenching his pre rogative, without communicating, in return, the smallest = apply to his necessities. He carried his restn-ment so far, as even to throw into prison some of the members who had been trie most forward in their opposition to his measures.i In vain did he plead, in excuse for this violence, the example of Elizabeth, and other princes of the line of Tudor, as well as Plantagenet. The people and the parliament, withont aban doning forever all their liberties and privileges, could acquiesce in none of these precedents, how ancient and frequent soever. And were the authority of such precedents admitted, the utmost that could be inferred is. that the constitution of Eng land was, at that time, an inconsistent fabric, whose jarring aiid discordant parts must soon destroy each other, and from the dissolution of the old, beget some new form of civil government, more uniform and consistent. In the public and avowed conduct of the king and the house of commons, throughout this whole reign, there appeare sufficient cause of quarrel and mutual disgust ; yet are we not to imagine that this was the sole foundation of that jealousy which prevailed between them. During debates in the house, it often happened that a partict ar member, more ardent and zealous than the rest, would display the highest sentiments of Iibertv, which the commons contented themselves 'o heat with silence and see min z approbation; and the king, informed of these harangues, concluded the whole house to be infected with the same principles, and to be engaged in a combination against his prerogative. The king, on the other band, though he valued himself extremely on his kingcraft, and perhaps was not altogether incapable of dissimuiation, seems to have been very little endowed with the gift of sec rec v : but openly at his table, in all companies, inculcated those monarchical tenets which he had so stronsly imbibed. Before a numerous audience, he had expressed himself with great disparagement ofthe common law of England, and had given the preference, in the strongest terms, to the civil law: and for this indiscre tion he found himself obliged to apologize, in a speech to the * See note A A A, at fhe end of tha volume. t Kennet, p. 696. jamus i. 435 former parliament.* As a spocimen of his usual liberty of talk, wo may mention a story, though it passed some time after, wliich wo meet with in thc life of Waller, and which that pi ml used I'rcqucnlly to rcpciil. When Waller was young, lie hud Ihe curiosity to go lo courl ; and he stood in thc circle, nnd saw James dine ; whore, nmong other compsiny, there sat at luhle two bishops, Ncile and Andrews. Thc king proposed aloud this question, Whether Im might not tako his subjects' money, when ho needed it, without all this formality of parlia ment? Ncile replied, " God forbid you should not : for you nro Ihe breath of our nostrils." Andrews declined answering, and suiil ho wus not skilled in parliamentary cases : but upon tho king's urging him, and saying ho would admit of no evasion, the bishop replied pleasantly, " Why, then, I think your mnjosty may lawfully tako my brother Ncilo's money ; for ho oilers it." t [1(>15.] The fuvorito had hitherto oscapod the inquiry of justice ; but he hud nut escaped that still voice which can make itself be heard amidst all the hurry and flattory of a court, and astonishes the criminal with a just representation of his most secret enormities. Conscious of tho murder of his friend, Somerset received small consolation from tho enjoy ments of lovo, or tho utmost kindness und indulgence of his sovereign. Tho graces of his youth gradually disappeared, tho Enyely of his manners was obscured, his politeness and obliging behavior were changed into sullemicss and silence. And tho king, whoso affections had boon engaged by these superficial accomplishments, began to estrange himself from a man who no longer contributed lo his amusement. The sagacious courtiers observed the first symptoms of this disgust: Somerset's enemies seized tho opportunity, and offered n new minion to the king. Ceorgo Vitliors, a youth of one-anil-lweiity, younger brother of u good family, returned ut this lime from his travels, and was remarked for the advan tages of a handsome person, gonleel air, and fashionable apparel. At a comedy, he was purposely placed full in James's eye, and immediately engaged the attention, and, in the same instant, the affections of that monarch.! Ashamed of his sudden attachment, the king endeavored, but in vain, * Kin«; Jamos's Works, p. 532. t 1'rol'iioo to Waller's Works. X Franklyn, p. 60. Konnot, vol. ii. p. 098. 436 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. to conceal the partiality which he felt for the handsome stranger; and he employed all his profound politics to fix him in his service, without seeming to desire it. He declared his resolution not to confer any office on him, unless entreated hy the queen ; and he pretended, that it should only be in com plaisance to her choice he would agree to admit him near his person. The queen was immediately applied to ; but she, well knowing the extreme to which the king carried these attachments, refused, at first, to lend her countenance to this new passion. It was not till entreated by Abbot, archbishop of Canterbury, a decent prelate, and one much prejudiced against Somerset, that she would condescend to oblige her husband, by asking this favor of him.* And the king, think ing now that all appearances were fully saved, no longer constrained his affection, but immediately bestowed the office "of cup-bearer on young Vii tiers. The whole court was thrown into parties between the two minions : while some endeavored to advance the rising fortunes of Villiers, others deemed it safer to adhere to the established credit of Somerset. The king himself, divided between incli nation and decorum, increased the doubt and ambiguity of the courtiers ; and the stern jealousy of the old favorite, who refused every advance of friendship from his rival, begat per petual quarrels between their several partisans. But the dis covery of Somerset's guilt in the murder of Overbury, at last decided the controversy, and exposed him to the ruin and infamy which he so well merited. An apothecary's apprentice, who had been employed in making up the poisons, having retired to Flushing, began to talk very freely of the whole secret ; and the affair at last came to the ears of Trumbal, the king's envoy in the Low Countries. By his means, Sir Ralph Winwood, secretary of state, was informed ; and he immediately carried the intelli gence to James. The king, alarmed and astonished to find such enormous guilt in a man whom he had admitted into his bosom, sent for Sir Edward Coke, chief justice, and earnestly recommended to him the most rigorous and unbiased scrutiny. This injunction was executed with great industry and severity : the whole labyrinth of guilt was carefully unravelled : the lesser criminals, Sir Jervis Elvis, lieutenant of the Tower, Franklin, Weston, Mrs. Turner, were first tried and con- • Coke, p. 46, 47. Rush, vol. i. p. 456. JAMES I. 437 demned : Somerset and his countess were afterwards found guilty. Northampton's death, a little before, had saved him from a like fate. It may not be unworthy of remark, that Coke, in the trial of Mrs. Turner, told her that she was guilty ofthe seven deadly sins : she was a whore, a bawd, a sorcerer, a witch, a Papist, a felon, and a murderer.* And, what may more surprise us, Bacqri, then attorney-general, took care to observe, that poison ing was a Popish trick.f Such were the bigoted prejudices which prevailed : poisoning was not of itself sufficiently odious, if it were not represented as a branch of Popery. Stowe tells us, that when \he king came to Newcastle, on his first entry into England, he gave liberty to all the prisoners, except those who were confined for treason, murder, and Papistry. When one considers these circumstances, that furious bigotry of the Catholics which broke out in the gunpowder conspiracy, ap<- pears the less surprising. All the accomplices in Overbury's murder received the punishment due to their crime : but the king bestowed a par don on the principals, Somerset and tbe countess. It must be confessed, that James's fortitude had been highly laudable, had he persisted in his first intention of consigning over to severe justice all the criminals : bnt let us still beware of blaming him too harshly, if, on the approach of the fatal hour, he scru pled to deliver into the hands of the executioner persons whom he had once favored with his most tender affections. To soften the rigor of their fate, after some years' imprisonment, he restored them to their liberty, and conferred on them a pension, with which they retired, and languished out old age in infamy and obscurity. Their guilty loves were turned into the most deadly hatred ; and they passed many years together in the same house, witholit any intercourse or correspondence with each other.! Severat historians,^- in relating these events, have insisted much on the dissimulation of James's behavior, when he delivered Somerset into the hands ofthe chief justice ; on the insolent menaces of that criminal ; on his peremptory refusal to stand a trial ; and on the extreme anxiety of the king during the whole progress of this affair. Allowing all these circum stances to be true, of which some are suspicious, if not palpably * State Trials, vol. i. p. 230. t State Trials, vol. i. p. 242. t Kennet, p. 699'. § Coke, Weldim, etc. 37* 438 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. false,* the great remains of tenderness which James still felt for Somerset, may, perhaps, be sufficient to account for them. That favorite was high-spirited, and resolute rather to perish than live under the infamy to which he was exposed. James was sensible, that the pardoning of so great a criminal, which was of itself invidious, would become still more unpopular, if his obstinate and stubborn behavior on his trial should augment the public hatred against him.t At least, the unreserved con fidence in which the king had indulged his favorite for several years, might render Somerset master of so many secrets, that it is impossible, without further light, to assign the particular reason of that superiority which, it is said, he appeared so much to assume. The fall of Somerset, and his banishment from court, opened the way for Villiers to mount up at once to the full height of favor, of honors, and of riches. Had James's passion been governed by common rules of prudence, the office of cup-bearer would have attached Villiers to his person, and might well have contented one of his age and family ; nor would any one, who was not cynically austere, have much censured the singularity of the king's choice in his friends and favorites. But such advancement was far inferior to the for tune which he intended for his minion. In the course of a few years, he created him Viscount Villiers, earl, marquis, and duke of Buckingham, knight of the garter, master of the horse, chief justice in eyre, warden ofthe cinque ports, master of the king's bench office, steward of Westminster, constable of Windsor, and lord high admiral of England-! His mother obtained the title of countess of Buckingham : his brother was created Viscount Purbeck ; and a numerous train of needy relations were all pushed up into credit and authority. And thus the fond prince, while he meant to play the tutor to his favorite, and to train him up in the rules of prudence and politics, took an infallible method, by loading him with prema ture and exorbitant honors, to render him, forever, rash, pre cipitate, and insolent. [1616.] A young minion to gratify with pleasure, a neces sitous family to supply with riches, were enterprises too great for the empty exchequer of James. In order to obtain a little * See Biog. Brit, article Coke, p. 1384. t Bacon, vol. iv. p. 617. X Franklyn, p. 30. Clarendon, 8vo. edit. vol. i. p. 10. JAMES I. 439 money, the cautionary towns must be delivered up to the Dutch ; a measure which has been severely blamed by almost all historians ; and I may venture to affirm, that it has been censured much beyond its real weight and importance. When Queen Elizabeth advanced money for the support of the infant republic, besides the view of securing herself against the power and ambition of Spain, she still reserved the pros pect of reimbursement ; and she got consigned into her hands the three important fortresses of Flushing, the Brille, and Ram- mekius, as pledges for the money due to her. Indulgent to the necessitous condition of the states, she agreed that the debt should bear no interest ; and she stipulated, that if ever England should make a separate peace with Spain, she should pay the troops which garrisoned those fortresses.* After the truce was concluded between Spain and the United Provinces, the states made an agreement with tlie king, that thd debt, which then amounted to eight hundred thousand pounds, should be discharged by yearly payments of forty thousand pounds ; and as five years had elapsed, the debt was now reduced to six hundred thousand pounds ; and in fifteen years more, if the truce were renewed, it would be finally extinguished.f But of this sum, twenty-six thousand pounds a year were expended on the pay of the garrisons : the remain der alone accrued to the king : and the states, weighing these circumstances, thought that they made James a very advan tageous offer, when they expressed their willingness, on the surrender of the cautionary towns to pay him immediately two hundred and fifty thousand pounds, and to incorporate the English garrison's in their army. It occurred also to the king, that even the payment of the forty thousand pounds a year was precarious, and depended on the accident that the truce should be renewed between Spain and the republic : if war broke out, the maintenance of the garrisons lay upon England alone ; a burden very useless, and too heavy for the slender revenues of that kingdom : that even during the truce, the Dutch, straitened by other expenses, were far from being regular in their payments ; and the garrisons were at present in danger of mutinying for want of subsistence : that the annual sum of fourteen thousand pounds, the whole saving on the Dutch pay ments, amounted, in fifteen years, to no more than two hundred * Rymer, torn. xvi. p. 341. Winwood, vol. ii. p. 351. f Sir Dudley Carleton's Letters, p. 27, 28. 440 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. and ten thousand pounds ; whereas two hundred and fifty thousand pounds were offered immediately, a larger sum ; and if money be computed at ten per cent, the current interest, more than double the sum to which England was entitled : * that if James waited till the whole debt were discharged, the troops which composed the garrisons remained a burden upon him, and could not be broken, without receiving some con sideration for their past services: that the cautionary. towns were only a temporary restraint upon the Hollanders ; and, in the present emergence, the conjunction of interest between England and the republic was so intimate as to render all other ties superfluous ; and no reasonable measures for mutual sup port would be wanting from the Dutch, even though freed from the dependence of these garrisoDS : that the exchequer of the republic was at present very low, insomuch that they found difficulty, now that the aids of France were withdrawn, to maintain themselves in that posture of defence which was requisite during the truce with Spain : and that the Spaniards were perpetually insisting with the kiDg on the restitution of these towns, as belonging to their crown ; and no cordial alli ance could ever be made with that nation, while they remained in the hands of the English.t These reasons, together with his urgent wants, induced the king to accept of Caron's offer ; and he evacuated the cautionary towns, which held the states in a degree of subjection, and which an ambitious and enter prising prince would have regarded as his most valuable pos sessions. This is the date of the full liberty of the Dutch commonwealth. [1617.] When the crown of England devolved on James, it might have been foreseen by the Scottish nation, that the independence of their kingdom, the object for which their ancestors had shed so much blood, would now be lost ; and that, if both states persevered in maintaining separate laws and parliaments, the weaker would more sensiblv feel the subjection, than if it had been totally subdued by force of arms. But these views did not generally occur. The glory * An annuity of fourteen thousand pounds during fifteen years, money being at ten per cent., is worth, on computation, onlv one hun dred and six thousand five hundred pounds ; whereas the kin<^ received two hundred and fifty thousand pounds. Yet the bargain was good tor the Butch, as well as the king ; because they were both of them rreed trom the maintenance of useless garrisons. T Rushworth, vol. i. p. 3. JAMES I. 441 of having given a sovereign to their powerful enemy, the ad vantages of present peace and tranquillity, the riches acquired from the munificence of their master ; these considerations secured their dutiful obedience to a prince who daily gave such sensible proofs of his friendship and partiality towards them. Never had the authority of any king who resided among them, been so firmly established as was that of James, even when absent ; and as the administration had been hitherto conducted with great order and tranquillity, there had happened no occurrence to draw thither our attention. But this summer the king was resolved to pay a visit to his native country, in order to renew his ancient friendships and con nections, and to introduce that change of ecclesiastical disci pline and government on which he was. extremely intent. The three chief points of this kind, which James proposed to accomplish by his journey to Scotland, were the enlarging of episcopal authority, the establishing of a few ceremonies in public worship, and the fixing of a superiority in the civil above the ecclesiastical jurisdiction. But it is an observation suggested by all history, and by none more than by that of James and his successor, that the religious spirit, when it mingles with faction, contains in it something supernatural and unaccountable ; and that, in its operations upon society, effects correspond less to their known causes than is found in any other circumstance of govern ment ; a reflection which may at once afford a source of blame against such sovereigns as lightly innovate in so dan gerous an article, and of apology for such as, being engaged in an enterprise of that nature, are disappointed of the ex pected event, and fail in their undertakings. When the Scottish nation was first seized with that zeal for reformation, which, though it cause.d such disturbance during the time, has proved so salutary in the consequences, the preachers, assuming a character little inferior to the prophetic or apostolical, disdained all subjection to the spiritual rulers of the church, by whom their innovations were punished and opposed. The revenues of the dignified clergy, no longer considered as sacred, were either appropriated by the present possessors, or seized by the more powerful barons ; and what remained, after mighty dilapidations, was, by act of parlia ment, annexed to the crown. The prelates, however, and abbots, maintained their temporal jurisdictions and their seats in parliament ; and though laymen were sometimes endowed 442 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. with ecclesiastical titles, the church, notwithstanding its fre quent protestations to the contrary, was still supposed to be represented by those spiritual lords in the states of the king dom. After many struggles, the king, even before his acces sion to the throne of England, had acquired sufficient influence over the Scottish clergy, to extort from them an acknowledg ment of the parliamentary jurisdiction of bishops; though attended with many precautions, in order to secure themselves against the spiritual encroachments of that order.* When king of England, he engaged them, though still with great reluctance on their part, to advance a step further, and to receive the bishops as perpetual presidents or moderators in their ecclesiastical synods; reiterating their protestations against all spiritual jurisdiction of the prelates, and all con trolling power over the presbyters.f And by such gradual innovations, the king flattered himself that he should quietly introduce episcopal authority : but as his final scope was fully seen from the beginning, every new advance gave fresh occasion of discontent, and aggravated, instead of softening, the abhorrence entertained against the prelacy. What rendered the king's aim more apparent, were the endeavors which, at the same time, he used to introduce into Scotland some of the ceremonies of the church of England : the rest, it was easily foreseen, would soon follow. The fire of devotion, excited by novelty, and inflamed by opposition, had so possessed the minds of the Scottish reformers, that all rites and ornaments, and even order of worship, were dis dainfully rejected as useless burdens ; retarding the imagina tion in its rapturous ecstasies, and cramping the operations of that divine spirit by which they supposed themselves to be animated. A mode of worship was established, the most naked and most simple imaginable ; one that borrowed nothing from the senses, but reposed itself entirely on the contempla tion of that divine essence which discovers itself to the under standing only. This species of devotion, so worthy of the Supreme Being, but so little suitable to human frailty, was observed to occasion great disturbances in the breast, and in many respects to confound all rational principles of conduct and behavior. The mind, straining for these extraordinary raptures, reaching them by short glances, sinking again under its own weakness, rejecting all exterior aid of pomp and cere- * 1598. f 1606. JAMES I. 443 mony, was so occupied in this inward life, that it fled from every intercourse of society, and from every cheerful amuse ment which could soften or humanize the character. It was obvious to all discerning eyes, and had not escaped the king's, that, by the prevalence of fanaticism, a gloomy and sullen disposition established itself among the people ; a spirit obsti nate and dangerous ; independent and disorderly ; animated equally with a contempt of authority, and a hatred to every other mode of religion^ particularly to the Catholic. In order to mellow these humors, James endeavored to infuse a small tincture of ceremony into the national worship, and to intro duce such rites as might, in somb degree, occupy the mind, and please the senses, without departing too far from that simplicity by which the reformatrbn was distinguished. The finer arts too, though still rude in these northern kingdoms, were employed to adorn the churches ; and the king's chapel, in which an organ was erected, and some pictures and statues displayed, was proposed as a model to tfie rest of the nation. But music was grating to the prejudiced ears of the Scottish clergy ; sculpture and painting appeared instruments of idola try ; the surplice was a rag of Popery ; and every motion or gesture prescribed by the liturgy, was a step towards that spiritual Babylon, so much the object of their horror and aversion. Every thing was deemed impious but their own mystical comments on the Scriptures, which they idolized, and whose Eastern prophetic style they employed in every com mon occurrence. It will not be necessary to give a particular account of the ceremonies which the king was so intent to establish. Such institutions, for a time, are esteemed either too divine to have proceeded from any other being than the Supreme Creator of the universe, or too diabolical to have been derived from any but an infernal demon. But no sooner is the mode of the controversy past, than they are universally discovered to be of so little importance, as scarcely to be mentioned with de cency amidst the ordinary course of human transactions. It suffices here to remark, that the rites introduced by James regarded the kneeling at the sacrament, private communion, private baptism, confirmation of children, and the observance of Christmas and other festivals.* The acts establishing these ceremonies were afterwards known by the name of the * Franklyn, p. 25. Spotswood. 444 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Articles of Perth, from the place where they were ratified by the assembly. A conformity of discipline and worship between the churches of England and Scotland, which was James's aim, he never could hope to establish, but by first procuring an acknowledg ment of his own authority in all spiritual causes ; and nothing could be more contrary to the practice as well as principles of the Presbyterian clergy. The ecclesiastical courts possessed the power of pronouncing excommunication ; and that sen tence, besides the spiritual consequences supposed to follow from it, was attended with immediate effects of the most im portant nature. The person excommunicated was shunned by every one as profane and impious ; and his whole estate, during his lifetime, and all his movables, forever, were forfeited to the crown. Nor were the previous steps requi site before pronouncing this sentence, formal or regular, in proportion to the weight of it. Without accuser, without summons, without trial, any ecclesiastical court, however inferior, sometimes pretended, in a summary manner, to denounce excommunication, for any cause, and against any person, even though he lived not within the bounds of their jurisdiction.* And, by this means, the whole tyranny of the inquisition, though without its order, was introduced into the kingdom. But the clergy were not content with the unlimited juris diction which they exercised in ecclesiastical matters : they assumed a censorial power over every part of administration ; and, in all their sermons, and even prayers, mingling politics with religion, they inculcated the most seditious and most tur bulent principles. Black, minister of St. Andrew's, went so far,t in a sermon, as to pronounce all kings the devil's chil dren ; he gave the queen of England the appellation of atheist ; he said, that the treachery of the king's heart was now fully discovered ; and in his prayers for the queen he used these words : " We must pray for her for the fashion's sake, but we have no cause : she will never do us any good." When summoned before the privy council, he refused to an swer to a civil court for any thing delivered from the pulpit, even though the crime of which he was accused was of a civil nature. The church adopted his cause. They raised a sedition in Edinburgh-! The king, during some time, was in * Spotswood. t 1596. J 17th Dee. 1596. JAMES I. 445 the hands of the enraged populace ; and it was not without courage, as well as dexterity, that he was able to extricate himself.* A few days after, a minister, preaching in the principal church of that capital, said, that the king was pos sessed with a devil ; and that, one devil being expelled, seven worse had entered in his place.!- To which he added, that the subjects might lawfully rise, and take the sword out of his hand. Scarcely, even during the darkest night of Papal superstition, are there found such instances of priestly encroachments, as the annals of Scotland present to us during that period. By these extravagant stretches of power, and by tho patient onduct of James, the church began to lose ground, even cfore the king's accession to the throne of England ; but no sooner had that event taken place, than he made the Scot tish clergy sensible that he was become the sovereign of a great kingdom, which he governed with great authority. Though formerly he would have thought himself happy to have made a fair partition with them of the civil and ecclesi astical authority, he was now resolved to exert a supreme jurisdiction in church as well as state, and to put an end to their seditious practices. An assembly had been summoned at Aberdeen ; ! but, on account of his journey to London, he prorogued it to the year following. Some of the clergy, dis avowing his ecclesiastical supremacy, met at thc time first appointed, notwithstanding his prohibition. He threw them into prison. Such of them as submitted, and acknowledged their error, were pardoned. The rest were brought to their trial. They were condemned for high treason. The king gave them their lives, but banished them the kingdom. Sh of them suffered this penalty.§ The general assembly was afterwards induced || to acknowl edge the king's authority in summoning ecclesiastical courts, and to submit to tho jurisdiction and visitation of the bishops. Even their favorite sentence of excommunication was declared invalid, unless confirmed by the ordinary. The king recom mended to the inferior courts the members whom they should elect to this assembly ; and every thing was conducted in it with little appearance of choice and liberty.^] ' By his own prerogative, likewise, which he seems to have stretched on this occasion, the king erected a court of high » Spotswood. t Spotswood. J July, 1604, § Spotswood. || 6th June, 1610. II Spotswoo'l. VOL. IV. 38 H 446 HISTOEY OF ENGLAND. commission,* in imitation of that which was established in England. The bishops and a few of the clergy, who had been summoned, willingly acknowledged this court; and it pro ceeded immediately upon business, as if its authority had been grounded on the full consent of the whole legislature. But James reserved the final blow for the time when he should himself pay a visit to Scotland. He proposed to the parliament, which was then assembled, that they should enact, that " whatever his majesty should determine in the external government of the church, with the consent of the archbishops, bishops, and a competent number of the ministry, should have the force of law." t What number should be deemed competent was not determined ; and their nomination was left entirely, to the king : so that his ecclesiastical authority, had this bill passed, would have been established in its full extent. Some of the clergy protested. They apprehended, they said, that the purity of their church would, hy means of this new authority, be polluted with all the rites and liturgy of the church of England. James, dreading clamor and opposition, dropped the bill, which had already passed the. lords of articles ; and asserted, that the inherent prerogative of the crown con tained more power than was recognized by it. Some time after, he called, at St. Andrew's, a meeting of the bishops and thirty-six of the most eminent clergy. He there de clared his resolution of exerting his prerogative, and of estab lishing, by his own authority, the few ceremonies which he had recommended to them. They entreated him rather to summon a general assembly, and to gain their assent. An assembly was accordingly summoned to meet on the twenty- fifth of November ensuing. Yet this assembly, which met after the king's departure from Scotland, eluded all his applications ; and it was not till the subsequent year, that he was able to procure a vote for receiving his ceremonies. And through every step in this affair, in the parliament as well as in all the general assem blies, the nation betrayed the utmost reluctance to all these innovations ; and nothing but James's importunity and autr/or- ity had extorted a seeming consent, which was belied by the inward sentiments of all ranks of people. Even the few over whom religious prejudices were not prevalent, thought national honor sacrificed by a servile imitation of the modes of worship practised in England. And every prudent man * 16th Feb. 1610. t Spotswood. Franklyn, p. 29. JAMES I. 447 agreed in condemning the measures of the king, who, by an ill-timed zeal for insignificant ceremonies, had betrayed, though in an opposite manner, equal narrowness of mind with the persons whom he treated with such contempt. It was judged that, had not these dangerous humors been irritated by opposi tion ; had they been allowed peaceably to evaporate ; they would at last have subsided within the limits of law and civil authority ; and that, as all fanatical religions naturally circum scribe to very narrow bounds the numbers and riches of the ecclesiastics, no sooner is their first fire spent, than they lose their credit over the people, and leave them under the natural and beneficent influence of their civil and moral obligations. At the same time that James shocked, in so violent a man ner, the religious principles of his Scottish subjects, he acted in opposition to those of his English. He had observed, in his progress through England, that a Judaical observance of the Sunday, chiefly by means of the Puritans, was every day gaining ground throughout the kingdom ; and that the people, under color of religion, were, contrary to former practice, debarred such sports and recreations as contributed both to their health and their amusement.* Festivals, which, in other nations and ages, are partly dedicated to public worship, partly to mirth and society, were here totally appropriated to the offices of religion, and served to nourish those sullen and gloomy contemplations to which the people were, of them selves, so unfortunately subject. The king imagined, that it would be easy to infuse cheerfulness into this dark spirit of devotion. He issued a proclamation to allow and encourage, after divine service, all kinds of lawful games and exercises ; and, by his authority, he endeavored to give sanction to a practice which his subjects regarded as the utmost instance of profaneness and impiety.t * Kennet, p. 709. t Franklyn, p. 31. To show how rigid the English, chiefly the Puritans, were become in this particular, a bill was introduced into the house of commons, in the eighteenth of the king, for the more. strict observance of the Sunday, which they affected to call the Sab bath. One Shepherd opposed this bill, objected to the appellation. of Sabbath as Puritanical, defended dancing by the example of David, and seems even to have justified sports on that day. For this pro faneness he was expelled the house, by the suggestion of Mr. Pym. The house of lords opposed so far this Puritanical spirit of the com mons, that they proposed, that the appellation of Sabbath should be changed into that of the Lord's day. Journ. 15th, 16th, Feb. 1620. 28th May, 1621. In Shepherd's sentence, his offence is said by tho house to be great, exorbitant, unparalleled. 448 histoky or England. CHAPTER XLVIII. JAMES I. [1618.] At the time when Sir Walter Raleigh was first confined in the Tower, his violent and haughty temper had rendered him the most unpopular man in England ; and his condemnation was chiefly owing to that public odium under which he labored. During the thirteen years' imprisonment which he suffered, the sentiments of the nation were much changed with regard to him. Men had leisure to reflect on the hardship, not to say injustice, of his sentence ; they pitied his active and enterprising spirit, which languished in the rigors of confinement ; they were struck with the extensive genius of the man, who, being educated amidst naval and military enterprises, had surpassed, in the pursuits of literature, even those of the most recluse and sedentary lives ; and they admired his unbroken magnanimity, which, at his age, and under his circumstances, could engage him to undertake and execute so great a work as his History of the World. To increase these favorable dispositions, on which he built the hopes of recovering his liberty, he spread the report of a golden mine which he had discovered in Guiana, and which was suffi cient, according to his representation, not only to enrich all the adventurers, but to afford immense treasures to the nation. The king gave little credit to these mighty promises ; both because he believed that no such mine as the one described was any where in nature, and because he considered Raleigh as a man of desperate fortunes, whose business it was, by any means, to procure his freedom, and to reinstate himself in credit and authority. Thinking, however, that he had already undergone sufficient punishment, he released him from the Tower ; and when his vaunts of the golden mine had induced multitudes to engage with him, the king gave them permission to try the adventure,, and, at their desire, he conferred on Raleigh authority over his fellow-adventurers. Though strongly solicited, he still refused to grant him a pardon, which seemed a natural consequence, when he was intrusted with JAMES I. 449 power and command. But James declared himself still diffi dent of Raleigh's intentions ; and he meant, he said, to reserve the former sentence, as a check upon his future behavior. Raleigh well knew that it was far from the king's purpose to invade any of the Spanish settlements : he therefore firmly denied that Spain had planted any colonies on that part of the coast where his mine lay. When Gondomar, the ambassador of that nation, alarmed at his preparations, carried complaints to the king, Raleigh still protested the innocence of his inten tions ; and James assured Gondomar, that he durst not form any hostile attempt, but should pay with his head for so auda cious an enterprise. The minister, however, concluding that twelve armed vessels were not fitted out without some purpose of invasion, conveyed the intelligence to the court of Madrid, who immediately gave orders for arming and fortifying all their settlements, particularly those along the coast of Guiana. When the courage and avarice of the Spaniards and Portuguese had discovered so many new worlds, they were resolved to show themselves superior lo the barbarous he'athens whom they invaded, not only in arts and arms, but also in the justice of the quarrel: they applied to Alexander VI. , who then filled the papal chair ; and he generously bestowed on the Spaniards the whole western, and on the Portuguese the whole eastern part of the globe. The more scrupulous Prot estants, who acknowledged not the authority of the Roman pontiff, established the first discovery as the foundation of their title ; and if a pirate or sea adventurer of their nation had but erected a stick or a stone on the coast, as a memorial of his taking possession, they concluded the whole continent to belong to them, and thought themselves entitled to expel or exterminate, as usurpers, the ancient possessors and inhabitants. It was in this manner that Sir Walter Raleigh, about twenty-three years before, had acquired to the crown of England a claim to the continent of Guiana, a region as large as the half of Europe ; and though he had immediately left the coast, yet he pretended that the English title to the whole remained certain and indefeasible. But it had happened in the mean time, that the Spaniards, not knowing, or not acknowledging, this imagin ary claim, had taken possession of a part of Guiana, had formed a settlement on the River Oronooko, had built a little town called St. Thomas, and were there working some mines of small value. To this place Raleigh directly bent his course ; and, remain ing himself at the mouth of the river with five of the largest 88* 450 HISTOEY OF ENGLAND. ships, he sent up the rest to St. Thomas, under the command of his son, and of Captain Keymis, a person entirely devoted to him. The Spaniards, who had expected this invasion, fired on the English at their landing, were repulsed, and pursued mto the town. Young Raleigh, to encourage his men, called out, " That this was the true mine, and none but fools looked for any other ; " and, advancing upon the Spaniards, received a shot, of which he immediately expired. This dismayed not Keymis and the others. They carried on the attack ; got pos session of the town, which they afterwards reduced to ashes and found not in it any thing of value. Raleigh did not pretend that he had himself seen the mine which he had engaged so many people to go in quest of : it was Keymis, he said, who had formerly discovered it, and had brought him that lump of ore, which promised sueh immense treasures. Yet Keymis, who owned that he was within two hours' march of the place, refused, on the most absurd pre tences, to take any effectual step towards finding it ; and he returned immediately to Raleigh, with the melancholy Dews of his son's death, and the ill success of the enterprise. Sen sible to reproach, and dreading punishment for his behavior, Keymis, in despair, retired into his cabin, and put an end to his own life. The other adventurers now concluded, that they were de ceived by Raleigh ; that he never had known of any such mine as he pretended to go in search of; that his intention had ever been to plunder St Thomas ; and having encouraged his company by the spoils of that place, to have thence pro ceeded to the invasion of the other Spanish settlements ; that he expected to repair his ruined fortunes by such daring enter prises ; and that he trusted to the money he should acquire, for making his peace with England ; or, if that view failed bim, that he purposed to retire into some other country, where his riches would secure his retreat. The small acquisitions gained by the sack of St. Thomas discouraged Raleigh's companions from entering into these views ; though there were maDy circumstances in the treaty and late transactions between the nations, which might invite them to engage in such a piratical war against the Spaniards. "W hen England made peace with Spain, the example of Henry IV. was imitated, who, at the treaty of Vervins, finding a difficulty in adjusting all questions with regard to the Indian trade, had agreed to pass over that article in total silence. JAMKN I. 451 The Spaniards, having nil along published severe cdiels ugninsl the intercourse of any lOuropean nation with their colo nies, interpreted Ibis silence in their own favor, nnd considered ittiHulacil neipiiescenco of Kiiglund in the cslablishod laws of Spain. The Knglish, on the contrary, pretended that, as they had never been excluded by any treaty from commerce with uny purl of the king of Spain's dominions, it was still as law ful for them to trado with his soltlemunls in either Indies, ns with his Kuropcnn territories. In consequence of this ambi guity, many adventurers from Knglund sailed to Ihe Spanish Indies, and mei with Severn punishment when caught ; as thev, on the oilier hand, often slole, unci when superior in power, forced a Ir.'ide with tho inhabitants, nnd resisted, nay, some times plundered, the Spanish governors. Violences of this nalure, which had boon carried lo a great height on bolh sides, it was agreed to bury in lol.nl oblivion; becauso of the difficulty which was found in remedying them upon any fixed principles. Hul as (here appeared a great dillerenco between private adventurers in single ships, and a Meet acting under a royal commission, Raleigh's companions thought it safest, to return immediately lo Knglund, and carry him along with them to answer for his conduct. It appears that ho employed many artifices, first lo engage them In attack ihe Spanish selllemenls, and, failing of that, to make his escape into I1' ranee : but, all these proving unsuccessful, he was delivered into the king's hands, and strictly examir.ecl, us well as his follow-ndventurors, before tin; privy council. The council, upon inquiry, found no difficulty ill pronouncing, thai the former suspicions, with regard lo Unleigh'H inlonlions, hud been well grounded ; that he had abused ihe king in tho representations whieh he had made of his projected adventure ; I hul, contrary to his insl ruc tions, he hail neled in un offensive nnd hostile manner against his majesty's- allies ; and that he hnil wilfully burned and destroyed a lown belonging lo Ihe king of Spain, lie might have been tried either hy common law, for this net of violence and piracy; or by marlial law, for breach of orders: hul it was un established principle among lawyers,*1 thai, tis he lay under tm actual ullninder for high treason, he could not be liroughl to a new Irial for any other crime. To satisfy, thore- * Soo this mnttor discus-sod in JJucon's l>Uors, publishod by Dr. tiin'li, p. 181. 458 HISTOEY OF ENGI J. fore, the court of Spain, which raised the loudest complaint* against him, the king made use of that power which he ha& purposely reserved in his own hands, and signed the warrant for his execution upon his former sentence.* Raleigh, finding his fate inevitable, collected all his courage : and though he had formerly made use of many mean artifices, such as feigning madness, sickness, and a variety of diseases, in order to protract his examination, and procure his escape, he now resolved to act his part with bravery and resolution. " 'Tis a sharp remedy," he said, " but a sure one for all ills," when he felt the edge of the axe by which he was to be beheaded.t His harangue to the people was calm and elo quent ; and he endeavored to revenge himself, and to load his enemies with the public hatred, by strong asseverations of facts, which, to say the least, maybe esteemed very doubtful.^ With the utmost indifference he laid his head upon the block, and received the fatal blow ; and in his death there appeared the same great, but ill-regulated mind, which, during his life, had displayed itself in all his conduct and behavior. No measure of James's reign was attended with more public dissatisfaction than the punishment of Sir Walter Raleigh. To execute a sentence which was originally so liard, which had been so long suspended, and which seemed to have been tacitly pardoned, by conferring on him a new trust and com mission, was deemed an instance of cruelty and injustice. To sacrifice to a concealed; enemy of England the life of the only man in the nation who had a high reputation for valor and military experience, was regarded as meanness and indiscretion ; and the intimate connections which the king was now entering into with Spain, being universally distasteful, rendered this proof of his complaisance still more invidious and unpopular. James had entertained an opinion, which was peculiar to himself, and which had been adopted by none of his prede cessors, that any alliance below that of a great king was unworthy of a prince of Wales ; and he never would allow any princess, but a daughter of France or Spain, to be men- * See note BBB, at the end of the volume. t Franklyn, p. 32. X He asserted, in the most solemn manner, that he had nowise con tributed to Essex's death : but the last letter in Murden's Collection contains the strongest proof of the contrary. JAMES I. 453 tioned as a match for his son.* This instance of pride, which really implies meanness, as if he could receive honor from any alliance, was so well known, that Spain had founded on it the hopes of governing, in the most important transactions, this monarch, so little celebrated for politics or prudence. During the life of Henry, the king of Spain had dropped some hints of bestowing on that prince his eldest daughter, whom he afterwards disposed of in marriage to the young king of France, Lewis XIII. At that time, the views of the Spaniards were to engage James into a neutrality with regard to the succession of Cleves, which was disputed between the Prot estant, and Popish line ; t but the bait did not then take ; and James, in consequence of his alliance with the Dutch, and with Henry IV. of France, marched $ four thousand men, under the command of Sir Edward Cecil, who joined these two powers, and put the marquis of Brandeuburgh and the palatine of Newbourg in possession of that duchy. Gondomar was at this time the Spanish ambassador in England ; a man whose flattery was the more artful, because covered with the appearance of frankness and sincerity ; whose politics were the more dangerous, because disguised under the mask of mirth and pleasantry. He now made offer of the second daughter of Spain to Prince Charles ; and, that he might render the temptation irresistible to the necessitous monarch, he gave hopes of an immense fortune, whieh should attend the princess. The court of Spain, though determined to contract no alliance with a heretic,^ entered into negotia tions with James, which they artfully protracted ; and, amidst every disappointment, they still redoubled his hopes of suc- cess.|| The transactions in Germany, so "important to the Austrian greatness, became every day a new motive for this duplicity of conduct. In that great revolution of manners which happened during the sixteenth and the seventeenth centuries, the only nations who had the honorable, though often melancholy advantage, of making an effort for their expiring privileges, were such as, together with the principles of civil liberty, were animated with a zeal for religious parties and opinions. Besides the irresistible force of standing armies, the European princes possessed this advantage, that they were descended from the • Kennet, p. 703, 748, t Rushworth, vol. i. p. 2. X 1610. § La Boderie, vol. ii. p. 30. || Franklyn, p. 71. 454 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. ancient royal families ; that they continued the same appellt tions of magistrates, the same appearance of civil governmen and restraining themselves by all the forms of legal admin ii tration, could insensibly impose the yoke on their unguarde subjects. Even the German nations, who formerly broke th Roman chains, and restored liberty to mankind, now lost the own liberty, and saw with grief the absolute authority of the princes firmly established among them. In their circun stances, nothing but a pious zeal, which disregards all motive of human prudence, could have made them entertain hope of preserving any longer those privileges which their ancestor: through so many ages, had transmitted to them. As the house of Austria, throughout all her extensiv dominions, had ever made religion the pretence for her usui pations, she now met with resistance from a like principle and the Catholic religion, as usual, had ranged itself on th side of monarchy ; the Protestant, on that of liberty. Th states of Bohemia, having taken arms against the empero Matthias, continued their revolt against his successor, Ferd nand, and claimed the observance of all the edicts enacted i favor of the new religion, together with the restoration of thei ancient laws and constitution. The neighboring principalities Silesia, Moravia, Lusatia, Austria, even the kingdom ol Hungary, took part in the quarrel ; and throughout all thes populous and martial provinces, the spirit of discord and civ war had universally diffused itself.* [1619.] Ferdinand II., who possessed more vigor and grea er abilities, though not more lenity and moderation, than ar usual with the Austrian princes, strongly armed himself fo the recovery of his authority ; and besides employing th assistance of his subjects, who professed the ancient religior he engaged on his side a powerful alliance of the neighbonn potentates. All the Catholic princes of the empire had err braced his defence ; even Saxony, the most powerful of th Protestant : Poland had declared itself in his favor ; t ane above all, the Spanish monarch, deeming his own interes closely connected with that of the younger branch of hi family, prepared powerful succors from Italy, and from th Low Countries ; and he also advanced large sums for th support of Ferdinand and of the Catholic religion. The states of Bohemia, alarmed at these mighty prepara • Kushworth, vol. i. p. 7, 8. f Rushworth, vol. i. p. 13, i4. JAMES I. 455 tions, began also to solicit foreign assistance ; and, together with that support which they obtained from the evangelica] union in Germany, they endeavored to establish connections with greater princes. They cast their eyes on Frederic, elector palatine. They considered that, besides commanding no despicable force of his own, he was son-in-law to the king of England, and nephew to Prince Maurice, whose authority was become almost absolute in the United Provinces. They hoped that these princes, moved by the connections of blood, as well as by the tie of their common religion, would interest themselves in all the fortunes of Frederic, and would promote his greatness. They therefore made him a tender of their crown, which they considered as elective ; and the young palatine, stimulated by ambition, without consulting either James* or Maurice, whose opposition he foresaw, immediately accepted the offer, and marched all his forces into Bohemia, in support of his new subjects. The news of these events no sooner reached England, than the whole kingdom was on fire to engage in the quarrel. Scarcely was the ardor greater, with which all the states of Europe, in former ages, flew to rescue the Holy Land from the dominion of infidels. The nation was as yet sincerely attached to the blood of their monarchs, and they considered their connection with the palatine, who had married a daughter of England, as very close and intimate ; and when they heard of Catholics carrying on wars and persecutions against Protes tants, they thought their own interest deeply concerned, and regarded their neutrality as a base desertion of the cause of God, and of his holy religion. In such a quarrel they would gladly have marched to the opposite extremity of Europe, hav< plunged themselves into a chaos of German politics, and hav» expended all the blood and treasure of the nation, by mair taining a contest with the whole house of Austria, at the very time and in the very place in which it was the most potent, and almost irresistible. But James, besides that his . temper was too little ejr'jsrpris- ing for such vast undertakings, was restrained by another motive, which had a mighty influence over him : lv; refused to patronize the revolt of subjects against their sovereign From the very first, he denied to his son-in-law the title of king of Bohemia ; t he forbade him to be prayed for in the • Franklyn, p. 49. t Rushworth, vol. i. p. 12, 13. 456 HISTOEY OF ENGLAND. churches under that appellation ; and though he owned, that he had nowise examined the pretensions, privileges, and con stitution of the revolted states,* so exalted was his idea of the rights of kings, that he concluded subjects must ever be in the wrong, when they stood in opposition to those who had acquired or assumed that majestic title. Thus, even in measures founded on true politics, James intermixed so many narrow prejudices, as diminished his authority, and exposed him to the imputation of weakness and of error. [1620.] Meanwhile affairs every where hastened to a crisis. Ferdinand levied a great force, under the command of the duke of Bavaria and the count of Bucquoy, and advanced upon his enemy in Bohemia. In the Low Countries, Spinola collected a veteran army of thirty thousand men. When Edmonds, the king's resident at Brussels, made remonstrances to the archduke Albert, he was answered, that the orders for this armament had been transmitted to Spinola from Madrid, and that he alone knew the secret destination of it Spinola again told the minister that his orders were still sealed ; but, if Edmonds would accompany him in his march to Coblentz, he would there open them, and give him full satisfaction.^ It was more easy to see his intentions, than to prevent their success. Almost at one time it was known in England, that Frederic, being defeated in the great and decisive battle of Prague, had fled with his family into Holland, and that Spinola had invaded the Palatinate, and, meeting with no resistance, except from some princes of the union, and from one English regiment of two thousand four hundred men, commanded by the brave Sir Horace Vere,t had, in a little time, reduced the greater part of that principality. High were now the murmurs and complaints against the king's neutrality and inactive disposition. The happiness and tranquillity of their own country became distasteful to the English, when they reflected on the grievances and distresses of their Protestant brethren in Germany. They considered not, that their interposition in the wars of the continent, though agreeable to religious zeal, could not, at that time, be justified by any sound maxims of politics ; that, however exor bitant the Austrian greatness, the danger was still too distant to • Franklyn, p. 48. t Franklyn, p. 44. Rushworth, vol. i. p. 14. X Franklyn, p. 42, 43. Rushworth, vol. L p.*15. Kennet, p. 723. james i. 457 give any just alarm to England ; that mighty resistance would yet be made by so many potent and warlike princes and states in Germany, ere they would yield their neck to the yoke ; that France, now engaged to contract a double alliance with the Austrian family, must necessarily be soon roused from her lethargy, and oppose the progress of so hated a rival ; that, in the further advance of conquests, even the interests of the two branches of that ambitious family must interfere, and beget mutual jealousy and opposition ; that a land war, carried on at such a distance, would waste the blood and treasure ofthe English nation, without any hopes of success; that a sea war, indeed, might be both safe and successful against Spain, but would not affect the enemy in such vital parts as to make them stop their career of success in Ger many, and abandon all their acquisitions; and that the pros pect of recovering the Palatinate being at present desperate, the affair was reduced to this simple question, whether peace and commerce with Spain, or the uncertain hopes of plunder and of conquest in the Indies, were preferable ? a question which, at the beginning of the king's reign, had already been decided, and perhaps with reason, in favor of the former advantages. James might have defended his pacific measures by such plausible arguments ; but these, though the chief, seem not to have been the sole motives which swayed him. He had entertained the notion, that, as his own justice and moderation had shone out so conspicuously throughout all these transac tions, the whole house of Austria, though not awed by the power of England, would willingly, from mere respect to his virtue, submit themselves to so equitable an arbitration. He fluttered himself that, after he had formed an intimate connection with the Spanish monarch, by means of his son's marriage, the restitution of the Palatinate might be procured from the motive alone of friendship and personal attachment- Me perceived not, that his unactive virtue, the more it was extolled, the greater disregard was it exposed to. He was not sensible, that the Spanish match was itself attended with such difficulties, that all his art of negotiation would scarcely be able to surmount them ; much less, that this match could in good policy be depended on, as the means of procuring sqch extraordinary advantages. His unwarlike disposition, increased by age, rivetted him still faster in his errors, and determined him to seek the restoration of his son-iin-law, by vol. iv. 39 H 458 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. remonstrances and entreaties, by arguments and embassie rather than by blood and violence. And the same defect c courage which held him in awe of foreign nations, made hi likewise afraid of shocking the prejudices of his own subject and kept him from openly avowing the measures which 1 was determined to pursue. Or, perhaps, he hoped to tui these prejudices to account ; and, by their means, engage h people to furnish him with supplies, of which their excessh frugality had hitherto made them so sparing and reserved.* He first tried the expedient of a benevolence, or free gii from individuals ; pretending the urgency of the case, whic would not admit of leisure for any other measure : but tl jealousy of liberty was now roused, and the nation regards these pretended benevolences as real extortions, contrary law, and dangerous to freedom, however authorized by ancie: precedent. A parliament was found to be the only resourc which could furnish any large supplies ; and writs wei accordingly issued for summoning that great council of tl nation.t [1621.] In this parliament there appeared, at first, nothir but duty and submission on the part of the commons ; ar they seemed determined to sacrifice every thing, in order maintain a good correspondence with their prince. Thc would allow no mention to be made of the new customs < impositions, which had been so eagerly disputed in the form' parliament ; £ the imprisonment of the members of that pa liament was here by some complained of; but, by the autho ity of the graver and more prudent part of the house, th grievance was buried in oblivion ;§ and, being informed th the king had remitted several considerable sums to the pal tine, the commons, without a negative, voted him two su sidies ; || and that too at the very beginning of the sessio contrary to the maxims frequently adopted by their predece sors. Afterwards they proceeded, but in a very temperate ma ner, to the examination of grievances. They found, th patents had been granted to Sir Giles Mompesson and £ Francis Michel, for licensing inns and alehouses ; that gre * Franklyn, p. 47. Rushworth, vol. i. p. 21. t See note CCC, at the end of the volume. X Journ. 5th Dec. 1621. § Journ. 12th, 16th Feb. 1620. || Journ. 16th Feb. 1620, JAMES I. 459 sums of money had been -exacted, under pretext of these licenses ; and that such innkeepers as presumed to continue their business without satisfying the rapacity of the patentees, had been severely punished by fine, imprisonment, and vexa tious prosecutions. The same persons had also procured a patent, which they shared with Sir Edward Villiers, brother to Buckingham, for the sole making of gold and silver thread and lace, and had obtained very extraordinary powers for preventing any rival- ship in these manufactures : they were armed with authority to search for all goods which might interfere with their patent ; and even tq punish, at their own will and discretion, the makers, importers, and venders of such commodities. Many had grievously suffered by this exorbitant jurisdiction ; and the lace which had been manufactured by the patentees was uni versally found to be adulterated, and to be composed more of copper than of the precious metals. These grievances the commons represented to the king ; and they met with a very gracious and very cordial reception. He seemed even thankful for the information given him ; and declared himself ashamed that such abuses, unknowingly to him, had crept into his administration. " I assure you," said he, " had I before heard these things complained of, I would have done the office of a just king, and out of parliament have punished them, as severely, and peradventure more, than you now intend to do." * A sentence was passed for the punishment of Michel and Mompesson.t It was executed on the former. The latter broke prison and escaped. Villiers was at that time sent purposely on a foreign employment ; and his guilt, being less enormous, or less apparent, than that of the others, he was the more' easily protected by the credit of his brother Buckingham.^ Encouraged by this success, the commons carried their scrutiny, and still with a respectful hand, into other abuses of * Franklyn, p. 51. Rushworth, vol. i. p. 25. t Franklyn, p. 52. Rushworth, vol. i. p. 27. } Yelverton, the attorney-general, was accused by the commons for drawing the patents for these monopolies, and for supporting them. He apologized for himself, that he was forced by Buckingham, and that he supposed it to be the king's pleasure. The lords were so offended at these articles of defence, though necessary to the attorney- general, that they fined him ten thousand pounds to the king, five thousand to the duke. The fines, however, were afterwards remitted. Franklyn, p. ii. Ru6hworth, vol. i. p. 31, 32, «t«. 460 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. importance. The great seal was -at that time in the hands of the celebrated Bacon, created Viscount St. Albans ; a man universally admired for the greatness of his genius, and be loved for the courteousness and humanity of his behavior. He was the great ornament of his age and nation ; and nought was wanting to render him the ornament of human nature itself, but that strength of mind which might check his intem perate desire of preferment, that could add nothing to -his dig nity, and might restrain his profuse inclination to expense, that could be requisite neither for his honor nor entertainment. His want of economy, and his indulgence to servants, had involved him in necessities ; and, in order to supply his prodi gality, he had been tempted to take bribes, by the title of presents, and that in a very open manner, from suitors in chancery. It appears that it had been usual for former chan cellors to take presents ; and it is pretended that Bacon, who followed the same dangerous practice, had still, in the seat of justice, preserved the integrity of a judge, and had given just decrees against those very persons from whom he had received the wages of iniquity. Complaints rose the louder on that account, and at last reached the house of commons, who sent up an impeachment against him to the peers. The chancellor, conscious of guilt, deprecated the vengeance of his judges,. and endeavored, by a general avowal, to escape the confusion of a stricter inquiry. The lords insisted on a particular con fession of all his corruptions. He acknowledged twenty-eight articles ; and was sentenced to pay a fine of forty thousand pounds, to be imprisoned in the Tower during the king's pleasure, to be forever incapable of any office, place, or em ployment, and never again to sit in parliament, or come within the verge of the court. This dreadful sentence, dreadful to a man of nice sensibility to honor, he survived five years ; and being released in a little time from the Tower, his genius, yet unbroken, supported itself amidst involved circumstances and a depressed spirit, and shone out in literary productions which have made his guilt or weaknesses be forgotten or overlooked by posterity. In consideration of his great merit, the king remitted his fine, as well as all the other parts of his sentence, conferred on him a large pension of one thousand eight hundred pounds a year, and employed every expedient to alleviate the weight of his age and misfortunes. And that great philosopher at last acknowledged with regret, that he had too long neglected JAMES I. 461 the true ambition of a fine genius ; and by plunging into busi ness and affairs, which require much less capacity, but greater firmness of mind, than the pursuits of learning, had exposed himself to such grievous calamities.* The commons had entertained the idea, that they were the great patrons of the people, and that the redress of all griev ances must proceed from them ; and to this principle they were chiefly beholden for the regard and consideration of the public. In the execution of this office, they now kept their ears open to complaints of every kind ; and they carried their researches into many grievances which, though of no great importance, could not be touched on without sensibly affecting the king and his ministers. The prerogative seemed every moment to be invaded ; the king's authority, in every article, was disputed ; and James, who was willing to correct the abuses of his power, would not submit to have his power itself questioned and denied. After the house, therefore, had sitten near six months, and had as yet brought no considerable business to a full conclusion, the king resolved, under pre tence of the advanced season, to interrupt their proceedings ; and he sent them word, that he was determined, in a little time, to adjourn them till next winter. The commons made application to the lords, and desired them to join in a petition for delaying the adjournment ; which was refused by the upper house. The king regarded this project of a joint peti tion as an attempt to force him from his measures : he thanked the peers for their refusal to concur in it ; and told them, that, if it were their desire, he would delay the adjournment, but would not so far comply with the request of the lower house.f And thus, in these great national affairs, the same peevishness, which, in private altercations, often raises a quarrel from the smallest beginnings, produced a mutual coldness and disgust between the king and the commons. During the recess of parliament, the king used every meas ure to render himself popular with the nation, and to appease the rising ill humor of their representatives. He had volun tarily offered the parliament to circumscribe his own prerog ative, and to abrogate, for the future, his power of granting * It is thought, that appeals from chancery to the house of peers first came into practice while Bacon held the great seal. Appeals, under the form of writs of error, had long before lain against the courts of law. Blackstone's Commentaries, vol. iii. p. 454. t Rushworth, vol. i. p. 35. 39* 462 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. monopolies. He now recalled all the patents of that kind, and redressed every article of grievance, to the number of thirty-seven, which had ever been complained of in the house of commons* But he gained not the end which he proposed. The disgust which had appeared at parting, could not so sud denly be dispelled. He had likewise been so imprudent as to commit to prison Sir Edwin Sandys,f without any known cause, besides his activity and vigor in discharging his duty as member of parliament. And, above all, the transactions in Germany were sufficient, when joined to the king's cautions, negotiations, and delays, to inflame that jealousy of honor and religion which prevailed throughout the nation.^ This sum mer, the ban of the empire had been published against the elector palatine ; and the execution of it was committed to the duke of Bavaria.§ The Upper Palatinate was, in a little time, conquered by that prince ; and measures were taking in the empire for bestowing on him the electoral dignity, of which the palatine was then despoiled. Frederic now lived with his numerous family, in poverty and distress, either in Holland, or at Sedan with his uncle the duke of Bouillon. And through out all the new conquests, in both the Palatinates, as well as in Bohemia, Austria, and Lusatia, the progress of the Austrian arms was attended with rigors and severities, exercised against the professors of the reformed religion. The zeal of the commons immediately moved them, upon their assembling, to take all these transactions into considera tion. They framed a remonstrance, which they intended to carry to the king. They represented, that the enormous i * Rushworth, vol. i. p. 36. Kennet, p. 733. t Journ. 1st December, 1621. X To show to what degree the nation was inflamed with regard to the Palatinate, there occurs a remarkable story this session. One Floyd, a prisoner in the Fleet, a Catholic, had dropped some expres sions in private conversation, as if he were pleased with the misfor tunes of the palatine and his wife. The commons were in a flame ; and, pretending to be a court of judicature and of record, proceeded to condemn him to a severe punishment. The house of lords checked this encroachment ; and, what was extraordinary, considering the present humor of the lower house, the latter acquiesced in the senti ments of the peers. This is almost the only pretension of the English commons in which they have not prevailed. Happily for the nation, they have been successful in almost all their other claims. See Par liamentary History, vol. v. p. 428, 429, etc. Journ. 4th, 8th, 12th May, 1621. • § Franklyn, p. 73. JAMES I. 463 growth of the Austrian power threatened the liberties of Eu rope ; that the progress of the Catholic religion in England bred the most melancholy apprehensions, lest it should again acquire an ascendant in the kingdom ; that the indulgence of his majesty towards the professors of that religion had en couraged their insolence and temerity ; that the uncontrolled conquests made by the Austrian family in Germany, raised mighty expectations in the English Papists ; but above all, that the prospect of the Spanish match elevated them so far as to hope for an entire toleration, if not the final reestablish- ment of their religion. The commons, therefore, entreated his majesty, that he would immediately undertake the defence of the Palatinate, and maintain it by force of arms ; that he would turn his sword against Spain, whose armies and treas ures were the chief support of the Catholic interest in Europe ; that he would enter into no negotiation for the marriage of his son but with a Protestant princess ; that the children of Popish recusants should be taken from their parents, and be committed to the care of Protestant teachers and school masters ; and that the fines and confiscations to which the Catholics were by law liable, should be levied with the utmost severity.* By this hold step, unprecedented in England for many years, and scarcely ever heard of in peaceable times, the commons attacked at once all the king's favorite maxims of government ; his cautious and pacific measures, his lenity towards the Romish religion, and his attachment to the Spanish alliance, from which he promised himself such mighty ad vantages. But what most disgusted him was, their seeming invasion of his prerogative, and their pretending, under color of advice, to direct his conduct in such points as had ever been acknowledged to belong solely to the management and direction of the sovereign. He was at that time absent at Newmarket ; but as soon as he heard of the intended remon strance of the commons, he wrote a letter to the speaker, in which he sharply rebuked the house for openly debating matters far above their reach and capacity ; and he strictly forbade them to meddle with any thing that regarded his government, or deep matters of state, and especially not to touch on his son's marriage with the daughter of Spain, nor to attack the honor of that king, or any other of his friends * Franklyn, p. 58, 59. Rushworth, vol. i. p. 40, 41. Kennet, p. 737. 464 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. and confederates. In order the more to intimidate them, h mentioned the imprisonment of Sir Edwin Sandys ; and thoug he denied that the confinement of that member had bee owing to any offence committed in the house, he plainly toi them, that he thought himself fully entitled to punish ever misdemeanor in parliament, as well during its sitting as afte its dissolution ; and that he intended thenceforward to chastis any man whose insolent behavior there should minister occa sion of offence.* This violent letter, in which the king, though he her imitated former precedents, may be thought not to have acte altogether on the defensive, had the effect which might nati rally have been expected from it : the commons were inflamec not terrified. Secure of their own popularity, and of th bent of the nation towards a war with the Catholics abroac and the persecution of Popery at home, they little dreade the menaces of a prince who was unsupported by militar force, and whose gentle temper would, of itself, so soon disarr his severity. In a new remonstrance, therefore, they sti insisted on their former remonstrance and advice ; and the maintained, though in respectful terms, that they were entitled t interpose with their counsel in all matters of government ; the to possess entire freedom of speech in their debates on publi business, was their ancient and undoubted right, and an ir heritance transmitted to them from their ancestors ; and th< if any member abused this liberty, it belonged to the hous alone, who were witnesses of his offence, to inflict a prope censure upon him.t So vigorous an answer was nowise calculated to appeas the king. It is said, when the approach of the committe who were to present it was notified to him, he ordered twelv chairs to be hrought ; for that there were so many kings coming.j: His answer was prompt and sharp. He told th house, that their remonstrance was more like a denunciatio of war than an address of dutiful subjects ; that their pretet sion to inquire into all state affairs, without exception, we such a plenipotence as none of their ancestors, even durin the reign of the weakest princes, had ever pretended to ; thi public transactions depended on a complication of views an * Franklyn, p. 60. Rushworth, vol. i. p. 43. Kennet, p. 741. t Franklyn, p. 60. Rushworth, vol. i. p. 44. Kennet, p. 741. X Kennet, p. 43. JAMES I. 465 intelligence, with which they were entirely unacquainted ; that they could not better show their wisdom, as well as duty, than by keeping wiihin their proper sphere;* and that in any business which depended on his prerogative, they had no title to interpose with their advice, except when he was pleased to desire it. And he concluded with these memorable words : " And though wc cannot allow of your style, in mentioning your ancient and undoubted right and inheritance, but would rather have wished that ye had said, that your privileges were derived from thc grace and permission of our ancestors and us, (for thc most of them grew from precedents, which shows rather a toleration than inheritance,) yet we are pleased to give you our royal assurance, that as Icihg as you contain yourselves within the limits of your duty, we will be as care ful to maintain and preserve your lawful liberties and privi leges as ever any of our predecessors were, nay, as to pre serve our own royal prerogative." t This open pretension of the king's naturally gave great alarm to the houso of commons. They saw their title to every privilege, if not plainly denied, yet considered at least as precarious. It might be fortified by abuse ; and they had already abused it. They thought proper, therefore, imme diately to oppose pretension to pretension. They framed a protestation, in which they repeated all their former claims for freedom of speech, nnd an unbounded authority to interpose with their advice and counsel. And they asserted, " That the liberties, franchises, privileges, and jurisdictions of parliament, are the ancient and undoubted birthright and inheritance of the subjects of England." £ The king, informed of these increasing heats and jealousies in the house, hurried to town. He sent immediately for the journals ofthe commons; and, with his own hand, before the council, he tore out this protestation ; § and ordered his reasons to be inserted in thc council-book. He was doubly displeased, he said, with thc protestation of the lower house, on account of the manner of framing it, as well as of the matter which it • " No sutor ultra crepidam." This expression is imagined to be insolent and disobliging : but it was a Latin proverb familiarly used on all occasions. t Franklyn, p. 62, 63, 64. Rushworth, vol. i. p. 46, 47, etc. Ken net, p. 743. iScc note DDD, at tho end of the volume. Journ. 18th Dec. 1621. 466 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. contained. It was tumultuously voted, at a late hour, and in a thin house ; and it was expressed in such general and ambiguous terms, as might serve for a foundation to the most enormous claims, and to the most unwarrantable usurpations upon his prerogative.'* The meeting of the house might have proved dangerous after so violent a breach. It was no longer possible, while men were in such a temper, to finish any business. The king, therefore, prorogued the parliament, and soon after dissolved it by proclamation ; in which he also made an apology to the public for his whole conduct. The leading members of the house, Sir Edward Coke and Sir Robert Philips', were committed to the Tower ; Selden, Pym, and Mallory, to other prisons.t As a lighter punish ment, Sir Dudley Digges, Sir Thomas Crew, Sir Nathaniel Rich, Sir James Perrot, joined in commission with others, were sent to Ireland, in order to execute some business-! The king at that time enjoyed, at least exercised, the preroga tive of employing any man, even without his consent, in any branch of public service. Sii John Savile, a powerful man in the house of commons, and a zealous opponent of the court, was made comptroller of the household, a privy counsellor, and soon after a baron.§ This event is memorable, as being the first instance, perhaps, in the whole history of England, of any king's advancing a man on account of parliamentary interest, and of opposition to his measures. However irregular this practice, it will be regarded by political reasoners as one of the most early and most infallible symptoms of a regular, established liberty. The king having thus, with so rash and indiscreet a hand, torn off that sacred veil which had hitherto covered the English constitution, and which threw an obscurity upon it so advan tageous to royal prerogative, every man began to indulge him self in political reasonings and inquiries ; and the same factions which commenced in parliament, were propagated throughout the nation. In vain did James, by reiterated proclamations, forbid the discoursing of state affairs. || Such proclamations, * Franklyn, p. 65. t Franklyn, p. 66. Rushworth, vol. i. p. 55. X Franklyn, p. 66. Rushworth, vol. i. p. 55. § Kennet, p. 749. II Franklyn, p. 56. Rushworth, vol. i. p. 21, 36, 55. The king also, in imitation of his predecessors, gave rules to preachers. Frank- JAMES I. 467 if they had any effect, served rather to inflame the curiosity of the public. And in every company or society, the late transactions became the subject of argument and debate. All history, said the partisans of the court, as well as the history of England, justify the king's position with regard to the origin of popular privileges; and every reasonable man rnutit allow, that as monarchy is the most simple form of government, it must first have occurred to rude and unin- structed mankind. The other complicated and artificial additions were the successive invention of sovereigns and legislators; or, if they were obtruded on the prince by sedi tious subjects, their origin must appear, on that very account, still more precarious and unfavorable. In England, the authority of the king, in all the exterior forms of government, and in the common style of law, appears totally absolute and sovereign ; nor does the real spirit of tbe constitution, as it has ever discovered itself in practice, fall much short of these appearances. The parliament is created by his will ; by his will it is dissolved. It is his will alone, though at the desire of both houses, which gives authority to laws. To all foreign nations, the majesty of the monarch seems to merit sole attention and regard. And no subject who has exposed him self to royal indignation, can hope to live with safety in the kingdom ; nor can he even leave it, according to law, without the consent of his master. If a magistrate, environed with such power and splendor, should consider his authority as sacred, and regard himself as the anointed of Heaven, his pretensions may bear a very favorable construction. Or, allowing them to be merely pious frauds, we need not be surprised, that the same stratagem which was practised by Minos, Numa, and the most celebrated legislators of antiquity, should now, in these restless and inquisitive times, be employed by the king of England. Subjects are not raised above that quality, though assembled in parliament. The same humble respect and deference is still due to their prince. Though he indulges them in the privilege of laying before him their domestic grievances, with which they are supposed to be best acquainted, this warrants not their bold intrusion into every province of government. And, to all judicious examiners, it must appear, " That the lines of duty are as much trans- lyn, p. 70. The pulpit was at that time much more dangerous than the press. Few people could read, and still fewer were in the prac tice of reading. 468 history or England. gressed by a moro independent and less respectful exercise of acknowledged powers, as by the usurpation of such as are new and unusual." The lovers of liberty throughout the nation reasoned after a different manner. It is in vain, said they, that the king traces up the English government to its first origin, in order to represent, the privileges of parliament as dependent and pre carious : prescription, and the practice of so many ages, must, long cmc ibis time, have given a sanction to these assemblies, even though they had been derived from an origin no moro dignified than that which he assigns them. If tho written records of the English nation, as asserted, represent parlia ments to have arisen from the consent of monarchs, the principles of human nature, when we trace government a step higher, must show us, that monarchs themselvos owo all their authority to tho voluntary submission of the people. Bui, in fact, no age can be shown, when Ihe English government was altogether an unmixed monarchy ; and, if the privileges of the nation have, at any period, been overpowered by violent irruptions of foreign force or domestic usurpation, tho gen erous spirit of the people has ever seized the first opportunity ol' reestablishing the ancient government and constitution. Though in tho style of tho laws, and in the usual forms of administration, royal authority may bo represented as sacred and supreme, whatever is essential to the exercise of sovereign and legislative power must still be regurded as equally divine and inviolable. Or, if any distinction be made in this respect, thc preference is surely due to those national councils, by whose interposition the cxorbiiuncies of tyrannical power are restrained, and thai sacred liberty is preserved, which heroic spirits, in all ages, have deemed more precious than life itself. Nor is it sufficient to say, that the mild and equitable admin istration of James affords little occasion, or no occasion, uf complaint. How moderate soever the exercise of his prerog ative, how exact soever his observance of the laws und con stitution, " If he founds his authority on arbitrary and dunger- ous principles, itis requisite to wuleh him with thc samo care, and to oppose him with the samo vigor, as if he had indulged himself in all the excesses of cruelty and lyranny." Amidst these disputes, the wise and moderate in the nation endeavored to preserve, as much as possible, an equitable neutrality between the opposite parties; and the more they reflected on the course of public afl'uirs, the greater difficulty JAMES I. 469 they found in fixing just sentiments with regard to them. On the one hand, they regarded the very rise of parties as a happy prognostic of the establishment of liberty ; nor could they ever expect to enjoy, in a mixed government, so invalua ble a blessing, without suffering that inconvenience which, in such governments, has ever attended it. But when they con sidered, on the other hand, the necessary aims and pursuits of both parties, they were struck with apprehension of the consequences, and could discover no feasible plan of accom modation between them. From long practice, the crown was now possesseil of so exorbitant a prerogative, that it was not sufficient for liberty to remain on the defensive, or endeavor to secure the little ground which was left her : it was become necessary to. carry on an offensive war, and to circumscribe within more narrow, as well as more exact bounds, the. authority of the sovereign. Upon such provocation, it could not but happen, that the prince, however just and moderate, would endeavor to repress his opponents ; and, as he stood upon the very brink of arbitrary power, it was to be feared that he would, hastily and unknowingly, pass those limits which were not precisely marked by the constitution. The turbulent government of England, ever fluctuating between privilege and prerogative, would afford a variety of precedents, which might be pleaded on both sides. In such delicate questions, the people must be divided : the arms of the state were still in their hands : a civil war must ensue ; a civil war, where no party, or both parties, would justly bear the blame, and where the good and virtuous would scarcely know what vows to form ; were it not that liberty, so necessary to the perfection of human society, would be sufficient to bias their affections towards the side of its defenders. vol. iv. 40 H 470 HISTORY Of ENGLAND. CHAPTER XLIX. JAMES I. [1622.] To wrest the Palatinate from the hands of the emperor and the duke of Bavaria, must always have been regarded as a difficult task for the power of England, con ducted by so unwarlike a prince as James : it was plainly impossible, while the breach subsisted between him and the .commons. The king's negotiations, therefore, had they been managed with ever so great dexterity, must now carry less weight with them ; and it was easy to elude all his applica tions. When Lord Digby, his ambassador to the emperor, had desired a cessation of hostilities, he was referred to the duke of Bavaria, who commanded the Austrian armies. The duke of Bavaria told him, that it was entirely superfluous to form any treaty for that purpose. " Hostilities are already ceased," said he, " and I doubt not but I shall be able to prevent their revival, by keeping firm possession of the Palatinate, till a final agreement shall be concluded between the contending parties." * Notwithstanding this insult, James endeavored to resume with the emperor a treaty of accommodation ; and he opened the negotiations at Brussels, under the mediation of Archduke Albert ; and, after his death, which happened about this time, under that of the infanta : when the conferences were entered upon, it was found, that the powers of these princes to determine in the controversy were not sufficient or satisfac tory. Schwartzenbourg, the imperial minister, was expected at London ; and it was hoped that he would bring more ample authority : his commission referred entirely to the negotiation at Brussels. It was not difficult for the king to perceive that his applications were neglected by the emperor ; but as he had no choice of any other expedient, and it seemed ,the interest of his son-in-law to keep alive his pretensions, he was still content to follow Ferdinand through all his shifts and evasions. Nor was he entirely discouraged, even when the * Franklyn, p. 67. Rushworth, vol. i. p. 38. JAMES I. 471 imperial diet at Ratisbon, by the influence, or rather authority, of the emperor, though contrary to the protestation of Saxony, and of all the Protestant princes and cities, had transferred the electoral dignity from the palatine to the duke of Bavaria. Meanwhile the efforts made by Frederic for the recovery of his dominions, were vigorous. Three armies were levied in Germany by his authority, under three commanders, Duke Christian of Brunswick, the prince of Baden-Dourlach, and Count Mansfeldt. The two former generals were defeated by Count Tilly and the imperialists : the third, though much infe rior in force to his enemies, still maintained the war ; but with no equal supplies of money either from the palatine or the king of England. It was chiefly by pillage and free quarters in the Palatinate, that he subsisted his army. As the Austrians were regularly paid, they were kept in more exact discipline ; and James justly became apprehensive, lest so unequal a contest, besides ravaging the palatine's hereditary dominions, would end in the total alienation of the people's affections from their ancient sovereign, by whom they were plundered, and in an attachment to their new masters, by whom they were protected.* He persuaded, therefore, his son-in-law to disarm, under color of duty and submission to the emperor ; and, accordingly, Mansfeldt was dismissed from the palatine's service ; and that famous general withdrew his army into the Low Countries, and there received a commission from the states of the United Provinces. To show how little account was made of James's negotia tions abroad, there is a pleasantry mentioned by all historians, which, for that reason, shall have place here. In a farce, acted at Brussels, a courier was introduced carrying the dole ful news, that the Palatinate would soon be wrested from the house of Austria ; so powerful were the succors which, from all quarters, were hastening to the relief of the despoiled elector : the king of Denmark had agreed to contribute to his assistance a hundred thousand pickled herrings, the Dutch a hundred thousand butter-boxes, and the king of England a hundred thousand ambassadors. On other occasions, he was painted with a scabbard, but without a sword, or with a sword which nobody could draw, though several were pulling at it.t It was not from his negotiations with the emperor or the duke of Bavaria, that James expected any success in his * Pari. Hist, vol. v. p. 484. f Kennet, p. 749. 472 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. project of restoring the palatine : his eyes were entirely turned towards Spain ; and if he could effect his son's mar riage with the infanta, he doubted not but that, after so inti mate a conjunction, this other point could easily be obtained. The negotiations of that court being commonly dilatory, it was not easy for a prince of so little penetration in business, to distinguish whether the difficulties which occurred were real or affected ; and he was surprised, after negotiating five years on so simple a demand, that he was not more advanced than at the beginning. A dispensation from Rome was requisite for the marriage of the infanta with a Protestant prince ; and the king of Spain, having undertaken to procure that dispensation, had thereby acquired the means of retarding at pleasure, or of forwarding the marriage, and at the same time of concealing entirely his artifices from the court of England. In order to remove all obstacles, James despatched Digby, soon after created earl of Bristol, as his ambassador to Philip IV., who had lately succeeded his father in the crown of Spain. He secretly employed Gage as his agent at Rome ; and finding that the difference of religion was the principal, if not the sole difficulty, which retarded the marriage, he resolved to soften that objection as much as possible. He issued public orders for discharging all Popish recusants who were imprisoned ; and it was daily apprehended that he would forbid, for the future, the execution of the penal laws enacted against them. For this step, so opposite to the rigid spirit of his subjects, he took care to apologize ; and he even endeav ored to ascribe it to his great zeal for the reformed religion. He had been making applications, he said, to all foreign princes, for some indulgence to the distressed Protestants; and he was still answered by objections derived from the severity of the English laws against Catholics.* It might indeed occur to him, that if the extremity of religious zeal were ever to abate among Christian sects, one of them must begin ; and nothing would be more honorable for England, than to have led the way in sentiments so wise and moderate. Not only the religious Puritans murmured at this tolerating measure of the king ; the lovers of civil liberty were alarmed at so important an exertion of prerogative. But, among other dangerous articles of authority, the kings of England were at that time possessed of the dispensing power ; at least, were in » Franklyn, p. 69. Rushworth, vol. i. p. 63. JAMES I. 473 the constant practice of exercising it. Besides, though the royal prerogative in civil matters was then extensive, the princes, during some late reigns, had been accustomed to assume a still greater in ecclesiastical. And the king failed not to represent the toleration of Catholics as a measure entirely of that nature. By James's concession in favor of the Catholics, he attained his end. The same religious motives which had hitherto rendered the court of Madrid insincere in all the steps taken with regard to the marriage, were now the chief cause of pro moting it. By its means, it was there hoped the English Catholics would for the future enjoy ease and indulgence ; and the infanta would be the happy instrument of procuring to the church some tranquillity, after the many severe persecu tions which it had hitherto undergone. The earl of Bris tol, a minister of vigilance and penetration, and who had formerly opposed all alliance with Catholics,* was now fully convinced of the sincerity of Spain ; and he was ready to congratulate the king on the entire completion of his views and projects.t A daughter of Spain, whom he represents as extremely accomplished, would soon, he said, arrive in Eng land, and bring with her an immense fortune of two millions of pieces of eight, or six hundred thousand pounds sterling ; a sum four times greater than Spain had ever before given with any princess, and almost equal to all the money which .jthe parliament, during the whole course of this reign, had hitherto granted to the king. But what was of more importance to James's honor and happiness, Bristol considered this match as an infallible prognostic of the palatine's restoration ; nor would Philip, he thought, ever have bestowed his sister and so large a fortune, under the prospect of entering next day into a war with England. So exact was his intelligence, that the most secret counsels of the Spaniards, he boasts, had never escaped him ; | and he found that they had all along consid ered the marriage of the infanta and the restitution of the Palatinate as measures closely connected, or altogether insep arable. § However little calculated James's character to * Rushworth, vol. i. p. 292. f Rushworth, vol. i. p. 69. X Rushworth, vol. i. p. 272. § We find, by private letters between Philip IV. and the Conde Olivarez, shown by the latter to Buckingham, that the marriage and the restitution of the Palatinate' were always considered by the court of Spain as inseparable. See Franklyn, p. 71, 72. Rushworth, vol. i. p. 71, 280, 299, 300. Pari. Hist. vol. vi. p. 66. 40* 474 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. extort so vast a concession ; however improper the measures which he had pursued for attaining that end ; the ambassador could not withstand the plain evidence of facts, by which Philip now demonstrated his sincerity. Perhaps, too, like a wise man, he considered, that reasons of state, which are sup posed solely to influence the councils of monarchs, are not always the motives which there predominate ; that the milder views of gratitude, honor, friendship, generosity, are fre quently able, among princes as well as private persons, to counterbalance these selfish considerations ; that the justice and moderation of James had been so conspicuous in all these transactions, his reliance on Spain, his confidence in her friendship, that he had at last obtained the cordial alliance of that nation, so celebrated for honor and fidelity. Or, if pol itics must still be supposed the ruling motive of all public measures, the maritime power of England was so considera ble, and the Spanish dominions so divided, as might well induce the council of Philip to think, that a sincere friendship with the masters of the sea could not be purchased by too great concessions.* And as James, during so many years, had been allured and seduced by hopes and protestations, his people enraged by delays and disappointments, it would prob ably occur, that there was now no medium left between the most inveterate hatred and the most intimate alliance between the»nations. Not to mention that, as a new spirit began about this time to animate the councils of France, the friendship of England became every day more necessary to the greatness and security of the Spanish monarch. All measures being, therefore, agreed on between the par ties, nought was wanting but the dispensation from Rome, which might be considered as a mere formality .+ The king, justified by success, now exulted in his pacific counsels, and boasted of his superior sagacity and penetration ; when all these flattering prospects were blasted by the temerity of a man whom he had fondly exalted from a private condition, to be the bane of himself, of his family, and of his people. Ever since the fall of Somerset, Buckingham had governed, with an uncontrolled sway, both the court and nation ; and could James's eyes have been opened, he had now full oppor tunity of observing how unfit his favorite was for the high station to which he was raised. Some accomplishments * Franklyn, p. 72. t Rushworth, vol. i. p. 66. JAMES I. 475 of a courtier he possessed : of every talent of a minister he was utterly destitute. Headlong in his passions, and incapa ble equally of prudence and of dissimulation ; sincere from violence rather than candor ; expensive from profusion more than generosity ; a warm friend, a furious enemy, but without any choice or discernment in either ; with these qualities he had early and quickly mounted to the highest rank ; and par took at once of the insolence which attends a fortune newly acquired, and the impetuosity which belongs to persons born in high stations and unacquainted with opposition. [1623.] Among those who had experienced the arrogance gf this overgrown favorite, the prince of Wales himself had not Deen entirely spared ; and a great coldness, if not an enmity, had, for that reason, taken place between them. Buckingham, desirous of an opportunity#which might connect him with the prince, and overcome his aversion, and, at the same time, envious of the great credit acquired by Bristol in the Spanish negotiation, bethought himself of an expedient by which he might at once gratify both these inclinations. He represented to Charles, that persons of his exalted station were peculiarly unfortunate in their marriage, the chief circumstance of life ; and commonly received into their arms a bride unknown to them, to whom they were unknown ; not endeared by sympa thy, not obliged by service ; wooed by treaties alone, by nego tiations, by political interests : that however accomplished the infanta, she must still consider herself as a melancholy victim of state, and could not but think with aversion of that day when she was to enter the bed of a stranger ; and, passing into a foreign country and a new family, bid adieu forever to her father's house and to her native land : that it was in the prince's power to soften all these rigors and lay such an obligation on her, as would attach the most indifferent temper, as would warm the coldest affections : that his journey to Madrid would be an unexpected gallantry, which would equal all the fictions of Spanish romance, and, suiting the amorous and enterprising character of that nation, must immediately introduce him to the princess under the agreeable character of a devoted lover and daring adventurer : that the negotiations with regard to the Palatinate, which had hitherto languished in the hands of ministers, would quickly be terminated by so illustrious an agent, seconded by the mediation and entreaties of the grateful infanta : that Spanish generosity, moved by that unexampled trust and confidence, would make concessions beyond what 476 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. could be expected from political views and considerations : and that he would quickly return to the king with the glory of having reestablished the unhappy palatine, by the same enterprise which procured him the affections and the person of the Spanish princess.* The mind of the young prince, replete with candor, was inflamed by these generous and romantic ideas suggested by Buckingham. He agreed to make application to the king for his approbation. They chose the moment of his kindest and most jovial humor ; and, more by the earnestness which they expressed, than by the force of their reasons, they obtained a hasty and unguarded consent to their undertaking. And hav ing engaged his promise to keep their purpose secret, they left him, in order to make preparations for the journey. Is'o sooner was the king alone, tfcan his temper, more cau tious than sanguine, suggested very different views of the matter, and represented every difficulty and danger which could occur. He reflected that however the world might par don this sally of youth in the prince, they would never forgive himself, who, at his years, and after his experience, could intrust his only son, the heir of his crown, the prop of his age, to the discserion of foreigners, without so much as providing the frail security of a safe-conduct in his favor : that if the Spanish monarch were sincere in his professions, a few months must finish the treaty of marriage, and bring the infanta into England ; if he were not sincere, the folly was still more egregious of committing the prince into his hands : that Philip, when possessed of so invaluable a pledge, might well rise in his demands, and impose harder conditions of treaty : and that the temerity of the enterprise was so apparent, that the event, how prosperous soever, could not justify it; and if disastrous, it would render himself infamous to his people, and ridiculous to all posterity .t Tormented with these reflections, as soon as the prince and Buckingham returned for their despatches, he informed them of all the reasons which had determined him to change his resolution ; and he begged them to desist from so foolish ail adventure. The prince received the disappointment with sor rowful submission and silent tears : Buckingham presumed to speak in an imperious tone, which he had ever experienced to be prevalent over his too easy master. He told the king, * Clarendon, voL L p. 11, 12. t Clarendon, vol. i. p. 14. james i. 477 that nobody for the future would believe any thing he said, when he retracted so soon the promise so solemnly given ; that he plainly discerned this change of resolution to proceed from another breach ofhis word, in communicating the matter to some rascal, who had furnished him with those pitiful rea sons which he had alleged, and he doubted not but he should hereafter know who his counsellor had been ; and that if he receded from what he had promised, it would be such a dis- obligation to the prince, who had now set his heart upon the journey, after his majesty's approbation, that he could never forget it, nor forgive any man who had been the cause of it.* The king, with great earnestness, fortified by many oaths, made his apology, by denying that he had communicated the matter to any ; and finding himself assailed, as well by the boislerous importunities of Buckingham, as by the warm en treaties of his son, whoso applications had hitherto, on other occasions, been always dutiful, never"earnest, he had again the weakness to assent to their purposed journey, lt was agreed that Sir Francis Cottington alone, the prince's secre tary, and Endymion Porter, gentleman of his bed-chamber, should accompany them ; and the former being at that time in tho antechamber, he was immediately called in by the king's orders. James told Cottington, that he had always been an honest man, and therefore he was now to trust him in an affair of the highest importance, which he was not, upon his life, to disclose to any man whatever. "Cottington," added he, "here is baby Charles and Stenny," (these ridiculous appellations he usually gave to the prince and Buckingham,) " who have a great mind to go post into Spain, and fetch home the infanta : they will have but two more in their company, and have chosen you for one. What think you of the journey ? " Sir Francis, who was a prudent man, and had resided some years in Spain us the king's agent, was struck with all the obvious objections to such an enterprise, and scrupled not to declare them. The king threw himself upon his bed, and cried, "I told you this before;" and fell into a new passion and new lamentations, complaining that he was undone, and should lose baby Charles. The prince showed by his countenance, that he was ex tremely dissatisfied with Cottington's discourse ; but Bucking ham broke into an open passion against him. The king, he * Clarendon, vol. i. p. 16. 478 HISTOEY OF ENGLAND told him, asked him only of the journey, and of the manner of travelling : particulars of which he might be a competent judge, having gone the road so often by post ; but that he, without being called to it. had tlie presumption to give his advice upon matters of state, and against his master, which he should repent as long as he lived. A thousand other re proaches he added, which put the poor king into a new agony in behalf of a servant, who, he foresaw, would suffer for answering him honestlv. Upon which he said, with some emotion, "Xav, bv God. Stenny. vou are much to blame tor using him so : he answered me directly to the question which I asked him, and very honestly and wisely : and yet, you know, he said no more than I told you before he was called in." However, after all this passion on both sides. James renewed his consent ; and proper directions were given for the journey. Nor was he now at any loss to discover, that the whole intrigue was originally contrived by Buckingham, as well as pursued violently by his spirit and impetuoshv. These circumstances, which so well characterize the per sons, seem to have been related by Cottintrton to Lore Claren don, from whom thev are here transcribed : and though minute, are not undeserving of a place in history. The prince and Buckingham, with their two attendants, and Sir Eichard Graham, master of horse to Buckingham, passed disgu.sed and undiscovered through France; and thev even ventured into a court ball at Paris, where Charles saw the princess jHenriena, whom he afterwards espoused, and who was at that time in the bloom of youth and beautv. In eleven days after their departure from London, thev arrived at Madrid ; and surprised every body by a step so unusual among great princes. The Spanish monarch immediately paid Charles a visit, expressed the utmost gratitude for the confidence reposed in him, and made warm protestations of a correspondent confidence and friendship. By the most studied civilities, he showed tlie respect which he bore to his royal guest He gave him a golden key. which opened all his apartments, that the prince might, without any introduction, have access to him at all hours : he took the left hand of him on every occasion, except in the apartments assiimed to Charles ; for there, he said, the prince was at home : Charles was introduced into the palace with the same pomp and cere mony that attends the kings of Spain on their coronation : the council received public orders to obey him as the king himeelf. JAMES I. 479 Olivarez too, though a grandee of Spain, who has the right of being covered before his own king, would not put on his hat in the prince's presence : * all the prisons of Spain were thrown open, and all the prisoners received their freedom, as if the event the most honorable and most fortunate had happened to the monarchy : t and every sumptuary law with regard to apparel was suspended during Charles's residence in Spain. The infanta, however, was only shown to her lover in public ; the Spanish ideas of decency being so strict, as not to allow of any further intercourse, till the arrival of the dispensa tion.! The point of honor was carried so far by that generous people, that no attempt was made, on account of the advantage which they had acquired, of imposing any harder conditions of treaty : their pious zeal only prompted them, on one occa sion, to desire more concessions in the religious articles ; but, upon the opposition of Bristol, accompanied with some re proaches, they immediately desisted. The pope, however, hearing of the prince's arrival in Madrid, tacked some new clauses to the dispensation ; § and it became necessary to transmit the articles to London, that the king might ratify them. This treaty, which was made public, consisted of sev eral articles, chiefly regarding the exercise of the Catholic religion by the infanta and her household. Nothing could reasonably be found fault with, except one article, in which the king promised, that the children should be educated by the princess, till ten years of age. This condition could not be insisted on, but with a view of seasoning their minds with Catholic principles ; and though so tender an age seemed a sufficient security against theological prejudices, yet the same reason which made the pope insert that article, should have induced the king to reject it. Besides the public treaty, there were separate articles, pri vately sworn to by the king ; in which he promised to suspend the penal laws enacted against Catholics, to procure a repeal of them in parliament, and to grant a toleration for the exer cise of the Catholic religion in private houses. || Great mur murs, we may believe, would have arisen against these articles, had they been made known to the public ; since we find it to have been imputed as an enormous crime to the prince, * Franklyn, p. 73. t Franklyn, p. 74. i Rushworth, vol. i. p. 77. § Rushworth, vol. i. p. 84. Franklyn, p. 80. Rushworth, vol. i. p. 89. Kennet, p. 769. 480 HISTOEY OF ENGLAND. that, having received, about this time, a very civil letter fror the pope, he was induced to return a very civil answer.* Meanwhile Gregory XV., who granted the dispensation died ; and Urban VIII. was chosen in his place. Upon thi event, the nuncio refused to deliver the dispensation, till i should be renewed by Urban ; and that crafty pontiff delayei sending a new dispensation, in hopes that, during the prince' residence in Spain, some expedient might be fallen upon ti effect his conversion. The king of England, as well as th prince, became impatient. On the first hint, Charles obtainei permission to return ; and Philip graced his departure with al the circumstances of elaborate civility and respect which ha< attended his reception. He even erected a pillar on the spo where they took leave of each other, as a monument of mutua friendship ; and the prince, having sworn to the observance ol all the articles, entered on his journey, and embarked on boarc the English fleet at St. Andero. The character of Charles, composed of decency, reserve modesty, sobriety, virtues so agreeable to the manners of the Spaniards ; the unparalleled confidence which he had reposec in their nation ; the romantic gallantry which he had practisec towards the princess; all these circumstances, joined to his youth and advantageous figure, had endeared him to the whole court of .Madrid, and had impressed the most favorable ideas of him.t But, in the same proportion that the prince was be loved and esteemed, was Buckingham despised and hated His behavior, composed of English familiarity and French vivacity ; h« sallies of passion, his indecent freedoms with the prince, his dissolute pleasures, his arrogant, impetuous temper which he neither could nor cared to disguise ; qualities like these could, most of them, be esteemed nowhere, but to the Spaniards were the objects of peculiar aversion.^ They could not conceal their surprise, that such a youth could intrude in'c a negotiation, now conducted to a period by so accomplished t minister as Bristol, and could assume to himself all the merit of it. They lamented the infanta's fate, who must be ap proached by a man whose temerity seemed to respect no laws divine or human.^ And when they observed, that he had the imprudence to insult the Conde duke of Olivarez, their prime * Rushworth, vol. i. p. 82. Franklyn, p. 77. t Franklyn, p. 80. Rushworth, vol. i. p. 103. J Rushworth, vol. i. p. 101. § Clarendon, vol. i. p. 38. JAMES I. 481 minister, every one who was ambitious of paying court to the Spanish bee.ame desirous of showing a contempt for tho Eng lish favorite. The duke of Buckingham told Olivarcz, that his own attach ment to Ihe Spanish nation anil to the king of Spain was exlreme; that he would contribute to every measure which could cemonl ihe friendship between England and them ; and that his peculiar ambition would be to facilitate the prince's marriage with the infanta. But he added, with a sincerity equally insolent and indiscreet, " With regard to you, sir, in particular, you must not consider me as your friend, but must ever expect from mo all possible enmity and opposition." The Conde duke replied, wilh a becoming dignity, that he very willingly accnpled of what was proffered him : and on theso terms the favorites parlod.* Iluekingham, sensible how odious he was become to Ihe Spaniards, and dreading the influence which that nation would naturally acquire after tho arrival of Ihe infanla, re solved to employ all his credit in order lo prevent Ihe marriage. By what urgiimcnls he could engage the prince to offer such nn insult to the Spanish nation, from whom he had met with such generous treatment; by what colors he could disguise the ingratitude and imprudenco of such a measure ; these are totally unknown lo us. We may only conjecture, that tho many unavoidable causes of dolay which had so long pre vented the arrival of the dispensation, had afforded to Buck ingham a pretence for throwing on the Spaniards the imputation of insincerity in Ihe whole 'treaty. It also appears, that his impetuous and domineering character had acquired, what it over nl'ler mainlainocl, a total ascendant over the gontle and modost temper of Charles ; and, when tho prince left Madrid, ho was firmly determined, notwithstanding all his professions, to break off the treaty wilh Spain. It is not likely that Buckingham prevailed so easily with James to abandon a project which, during so many years, had been tho object of all his wishes, and which he had now un expectedly conducted to a happy period. t A rupture wilh Spain, the loss of two millions, were prospects little agreeable to this pacific and indigent monarch. But, finding his only son bent against a mulch which had always boon opposed by • Rushworth, vol, i. p. 103. Clarendon, vol. i. p. 87. t Ilnekot'sLifo nf Williams. oi,. iv. 41 II 482 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. his people and his parliament, he yielded to difficulties which he had not courage or strength of mind sufficient to overcome. The prince, therefore, and Buckingham, on their arrival at London, assumed entirely the direction of the negotiation ; and it was their business to seek for pretences by which they could give a color to their intended breach of treaty. Though the restitution of the Palatinate had ever been con sidered by James as a natural or necessary consequence of the Spanish alliance, he had always forbidden his ministers to insist on it as a preliminary article to the conclusion of the marriage treaty. He considered, that this principality was now in the hands of the emperor and the duke of Bavaria ; and that it was no longer. in the king of Spain's power, by a single stroke of his pen, to restore it to its ancient master. The strict alliance of Spain with these princes would engage Philip, he thought, to soften so disagreeable a demand by every art of negotiation ; and many articles must of necessity be adjusted, before such an important point could be effected. It was sufficient, in James's opinion, if the sincerity of the Spanish court could, for the present, be ascertained ; and, dreading further delays of the marriage, so long wished for, he was resolved to trust the palatine's full restoration to the event of future counsels and deliberations.* This whole system of negotiation Buckingham now re versed ; and he overturned every supposition upon which the treaty had hitherto been conducted. After many fruitless artifices were employed to delay or prevent the espousals, Bristol received positive orders not to deliver the proxy, which had been left in his hands, or to finish the marriage, till secu rity were given for the full restitution of the Palatinate.t Philip understood this language. He had been acquainted with the disgust received by Buckingham ; and deeming him a man capable of sacrificing to his own ungovernable passions the greatest interests of his master and of his country, he had expected, that the unbounded credit of that favorite would be employed to embroil the two nations. Determined, however, to throw the blame of the rupture entirely on the English, he delivered into Bristol's hand a written promise, by which he bound himself to procure the restoration of the Palatinate, either by persuasion, or by every other possible means ; and, * Pari. Hist, vol. vi. p. 67. t Rushworth, vol. i. p, 106, Kennet, p. 77«, JAMES I. 483 when he found that this concession gave no satisfaction, he ordered the infanta to lay aside the title of princess of Wales, which she bore after the arrival of the dispensation from Rome, and to drop the study of the English language.* And thinking' that such rash counsels as now governed the court of England, would not stop at the breach of the marriage treaty, he ordered preparations for war immediately to be made throughout all his dominions.f Thus James, having, by means inexplicable from the or dinary rules of politics, conducted, so near an honorable period, the marriage of his son and the restoration of his son-in-law, failed at last of his purpose, by means equally unaccountable. But though the expedients already used by Buckingham were sufficiently inglorious, both for himself and for the na tion, it was necessary for him, ere he could fully effect his purpose, to employ artifices still more dishonorable. [1624.] The king, having broken with Spain, was obliged to concert new measures ; and, without the assistance of par liament, no effectual step of any kind could be taken. The benevolence which, during the interval, had been rigorously exacted for recovering the Palatinate, though levied for so popular an end, had procured to the king less money than ill will from his subjects-! Whatever discouragements, there fore, he might receive from his ill agreement with former par liaments, there was a necessity of summoning once more this assembly : and it might be hoped, that the Spanish alliance, which gave such umbrage, being abandoned, the commons would now be better satisfied with'the king's administration. In his speech to the houses, James dropped some hints of his cause of complaint against Spain ; and he graciously con descended to ask the advice of parliament, which he had ever before rejected, with regard to the conduct of so important an affair as his son's marriage.^ Buckingham delivered to a * Franklyn, p. 80. Rushworth, vol. i. p. 112. t Rushworth, vol. i. p. 114. X To show by what violent measures benevolences were usually raised, Johnstone tells us, in his Rerum Britanniearum Historia, that Barnes, a citizen of London, was the first who refused to contribute any thing ; upon which the treasurer sent him word, that he must immediately prepare himself to carry by post a despatch into Ireland. The citizen was glad to make his peace by paying a hundred pounds ; vnd no one durst afterwards refuse the benevolence required. See, farther, Coke, p. 80. j Franklyn, p. 79. Ruih worth, vol. i. p. 116. Kennrt, j. 778. 484 history or England. committee of lords and commons a long narrative, which he pretended to be true and complete, of every step taken in the negotiations with Philip : but, partly by the suppression of some facts, partly by the false coloring laid on others, this narrative was calculated entirely to mislead the parliament, and to throw on the court of Spain the reproach of artifice and insincerity. He said, that, after many years' negotiation, the king found not himself any nearer his purpose ; and that Bristol had never brought the treaty beyond general pro fessions and declarations ; that the prince, doubting the good intentions of Spain, resolved at last to take a journey to Madrid, and put the matter to the utmost trial ; that he there found such artificial dealing as made him conclude all the steps taken towards the marriage to be false and deceitful : that the restitution of the Palatinate, which had ever been regarded by the king as an essential preliminary, was not seriously intend ed by Spain ; and that, after enduring much bad usage, the prince was obliged to return to England, without any hopes, either of obtaining the infanta, or of restoring the elector palatine.* This narrative, which, considering the importance of the occasion, and the solemnity of that assembly to which it was delivered, deserves great blame, was yet vouched for truth by the prince of Wales, who was present ; and the king himself lent it, indirectly, his authority, by telling the parliament, that it was by Iris orders Buckingham laid the whole affair before them. The conduct of these princes it is difficult fully to excuse. It is in vain to plead the youth and inexperience of Charles ; unless his inexperience and youth, as is probable,+ if not certain, really led him into error, and made him swallow all the falsities of Buckingham. And though the king was here hurried from his own measures by the impetuosity of others, nothing should have induced him to prostitute his character, and seem to vouch the impostures, at least false colorings, of his favorite, of which he had so good reason to entertain a suspicion. f * Franklyn, p. 89, 90, 91, etc. Rushworth, vol. i. p. 119, 120, etc. Pari. Hist. vol. vi. p. 20, 21, etc. t See note FEE, at the end of the volume. X It must, however, be confessed, that the king afterwards warned the house not to take Buckingham's narrative for his, though it was laid before them by his order. Pari. Hist, vol, vi. p. 104. James, was probably ashamed to have been carried so far by his favorite. JAMES I. 485 Buckingham's narrative, however artfully disguised, con tained so many contradictory circumstances, as were sufficient to open the eyes of all reasonable men ; but it concurred so well with the passions and prejudices of the parliament, that no scruple was made of immediately adopting it.* Charmed with having obtained at length the opportunity, so long wished for, of going to war with Papists, they little thought of future consequences ; but immediately advised the king to break off both treaties with Spain, as well that which regarded the marriage, as that for the restitution of the Palatinate. t The people, ever greedy of war till they suffer by it, displayed their triumph at these violent measures by public bonfires and rejoicings, and by insults on the Spanish ministers. Buck ingham was now the favorite of the public and of the parlia ment. Sir Edward Coke, in the house of commons, called him the savior of the nation.^ Every place resounded with his praises. And he himself, intoxicated by a popularity which he enjoyed so little time, and which he so ill deserved, violated all duty to his indulgent master, and entered into cabals with the Puritanical members, who had ever opposed the royal authority. He even encouraged schemes for abolishing the order of bishops, and selling the dean and chapter lands, in order to defray the expenses of a Spanish war. And the king, though he still entertained projects for temporizing, and for forming an accommodation with Spain, was so borne down by the torrent of popular prejudices, conducted and increased by Buckingham, that he was at last obliged, in a speech to parliament, to declare in favor of hostile measures, if they would engage to support him.§ Doubts of their sincerity in this respect, doubts which the event showed not to be ill grounded, had probably been one cause of his former pacific and dilatory measures. In his speech on this occasion, the king began with lament ing his own unhappiness, that, having so long valued himself on the epithet of the pacific monarch, he should now, in his old age, be obliged to exchange the blessings of peace for the inevitable calamities of war. He represented to them the immense and continued expense requisite for military arma- * Pari. Hist. vol. vi. p. 75. t Franklyn, p. 98. Rushworth, vol.si. p. 128. Pari. Hist. vol. vi. p. 103. J Clarendon, vol. i. p. 6. § Franklyn, p. 94, 95. Rushworth, vol. i. p. 129, 130. 41* 486 HISTOEY OF ENGLAND. ments ; and, besides supplies from time to time, as they should become necessary, he demanded a vote of six subsidies and twelve fifteenths, as a proper stock before the commencement of hostilities. He told them of his intolerable debts, chiefly contracted by the sums remitted to the palatine;* but he added, that he did not insist on any supply for his own relief, and that it was sufficient for him if the honor and security of the public were provided for. To remove all suspicion, he, who had ever strenuously maintained his prerogative, and who had even extended it into some points esteemed doubt ful, now made an imprudent concession, of which the con sequences might have proved fatal to royal authority ; he voluntarily offered, that the money voted should be paid to a committee of parliament, and should be issued by them, without being intrusted to his management.t The commons willingly accepted of this concession, so unusual in an Eng lish monarch : they voted him only three subsidies and three fifteenths : % and they took no notice of the complaints which he made of his own wants and necessities. Advantage was also taken of the present good agreement between the king and parliament, in order to pass the bill against monopolies, which had formerly been encouraged by the king, but which had failed by the rupture between him and the last house of commons. This bill was conceived in such terms as to render it merely declaratory ; and all monop olies were condemned, as contrary to law and to the known liberties of the people, lt was there supposed, that every subject of England had entire power to dispose of his own actions, provided he did, no injury to any of his fellow-subjects ; and that no prerogative of the king, no power of any magis trate, nothing but the authority alone of laws, could restrain that unlimited freedom. The full prosecution of this noble principle into all its natural consequences, has at last, through many contests, produced that singular and happy government which we enjoy at present. § The house of commons also corroborated, by a new pre cedent, the important power of impeachment, which, two years before, they had exercised in the case of Chancellor Bacon, and which had lain dormant for near two centuries, * See note FFF, at the end of the volume. t Rushworth, vol. i. p. 137. X Less than three hundred thousand pounds. § See note GGGr, at the end of the volume. JAMES I. 487 except when they served as instruments of royal vengeance. The earl of Middlesex had been raised, by Buckingham's interest, from the rank of a London merchant, to be treasurer of England ; and, by his activity and address, seemed not unworthy of that preferment. But, as he incurred the dis pleasure of his patron, by scrupling or refusing some demands of money during the prince's residence in Spain, that favorite vowed revenge, and employed all his credit among the com mons to procure an impeachment ofthe treasurer. The king was extremely dissatisfied with this measure, and prophesied to the prince and duke, that they would live to have their fill of parliamentary prosecutions.* In a speech to the parlia ment, he endeavored to apologize for Middlesex, and to soften the accusation against bim.t The charge, however, was still maintained by the commons; and the treasurer was found guilty by the peers, though the misdemeanors proved against him were neither numerous nor important. The accepting of two presents of five hundred pounds apiece, for passing two patents, was the article of greatest weight. His sentence was, to be fined fifty thousand pounds for the king's use, and to suffer all the other penalties formerly inflicted upon Bacon. The fine was afterwards remitted by the prince, when he mounted the throne. This session, an address was also made, very disagreeable to the king, craving the severe execution of the laws against Catholics. His answer was gracious and condescending ; % though he declared against persecution, as being an improper measure for the suppression of any religion, according to the received maxim, " That the blood of the martyrs was the seed of the church." He also condemned an entire indulgence of the Catholics ; and seemed to represent a middle course as the most humane and most politic. He went so far as even to affirm with an oath, that he never had entertained any thoughts of granting a toleration to these religionists.^ The liberty of exercising their worship in private houses, which he had secretly agreed to in the Spanish treaty, did not appear to him deserving that name ; and it was probably by means of this explication, he thought that he had saved his honor. And as Buckingham, in his narrative, || confessed that the king had agreed to a temporary suspension of the penal laws » Clarendon, vol. i. p. 23. t Pari. Hist. vol. vi. p. 19. X Franklyn, p. 101, 102. § See, further, Franklyn, p. 87. J Pari. Hist. voL vi. p. 37. 488 history of England. against the Catholics, which he distinguished from a toleration, (a term at that time extremely odious,) James naturally deemed his meaning to be sufficiently explained, and feared not any reproach of falsehood or duplicity, on account of this assevera tion. After all these transactions, the parliament was pro rogued by the king, who let fall some hints, though in gentle terms, of the sense which he entertained of their unkindness in not supplying his necessities.* James, unable to resist so strong a combination as that of his people, his parliament, his son, and his favorite, had been compelled to- embrace measures for which, from temper as well as judgment, he had ever entertained a most settled aversion. Though he dissembled his resentment, he began to estrange himself from Buckingham, to whom he ascribed all those violent counsels, and whom he considered as the author, both of the prince's journey to Spain, and of the breach of the marriage treaty. The arrival of Bristol he impatiently longed for; and it was by the assistance of that minister, whose wisdom he respected, and whose views he approved, that he hoped in time to extricate himself from his present dif ficulties. During the prince's abode in Spain, that able negotiator had ever opposed, though unsuccessfully, to the impetuous measures suggested by Buckingham, his own wise and well-tempered counsels. After Charles's departure, he still, upon the first appearance of a change of resolution, interposed his advice, and strenuously insisted on the sincerity of the Spaniards in the conduct of the treaty, as well as the advantages which England must reap from the completion of it. Enraged to find that his successful labors should be rendered abortive by the levities and caprices of an insolent minion, he would understand no hints ; and nothing but express orders from his master could engage him to make that demand which, he was sensible, must put a final period to the treaty. He was not, therefore, surprised to hear that Buckingham had declared himself his open enemy, and, on all occasions, had thrown out many violent reflections against him. Nothing could be of greater consequence to Buckingham, than to keep Bristol at a distance both from the king and the parliament ; lest the power of truth, enforced by so well- informed a speaker, should open scenes which were but * Franklyn, p. 103. JAMES I. 489 suspected by the former, and of which the latter had as yet entertained no manner of jealousy. He applied therefore to James, whose weakness, disguised to himself under the appearance of finesse and dissimulation, was now become absolutely incurable. A warrant for sending Bristol to the Tower was issued immediately upon his arrival in England ; * and though he was soon released from confinement, yet orders were carried him from the king, to retire to his country seat, and to abstain from all attendance in parliament. He obeyed ; but loudly demanded an opportunity of justifying himself, and of laying his whole conduct before his master. On all occa sions, he protested his innocence, and threw on his enemy the blame of every miscarriage. Buckingham, and, at his insti gation, the prince, declared that they would be reconciled to Bristol, if he would but acknowledge his errors and ill con duct : but the spirited nobleman, jealous of his honor, refused to buy favor at so high a price. James had the equity to say, that the insisting on that condition was a strain of unexampled tyranny : but Buckingham scrupled not to assert, with his usual presumption, that neither the king, the prince, nor him self, were as yet satisfied of Bristol's innocence.t While the attachment of the prince to Buckingham, while the timidity of James, or the shame of changing his favorite, kept the whole court in awe, the Spanish ambassador, Inoiosa, endeavored to open the king's eyes, and to cure his fears by instilling greater fears into him. He privately slipped into his hand a paper, and gave him a signal to read it alone. He there told him, that he was as much a prisoner at London as ever Francis I. was at Madrid ; that the prince and Bucking ham had conspired together, and had the whole court at their devotion ; that cabals among the popular leaders in parlia ment were carrying on, to the extreme prejudice of his authority ; that the project was to confine him to some of his hunting seats, and to commit the whole administration to Charles ; and that it was necessary for him, by one vigorous effort, to vindicate his authority, and to punish those who had so long and so much abused his friendship and beneficence.J What credit James gave to this representation does not appear. He only discovered some faint symptoms, which he instantly retracted, of dissatisfaction with Buckingham. All * Rushworth, vol. i. p. 145. f Rushworth, vol. i. p. 259. X Rushworth, vol. i. p. 141. Hacket's Life of WiJliams. Coke, p. 107. 490 history of England. his public measures, and all the affiances into which he entered, were founded on the system of enmity to the Aus trian family, and of war to be carried on for the recovery of the Palatinate. The states of the United Provinces were at this time gov erned by Maurice ; and that aspiring prince, sensible that his credit would languish during peace, had, on the expiration of the twelve years' truce, renewed the war with the Spanish monarchy. His great capacity in the military art would have compensated the inferiority of his forces, had not the Spanish armies been commanded by Spinola, a general equally re nowned for conduct, and more celebrated for enterprise and activity. In such a situation, nothing could be more welcome to the republic than the prospect of a rupture between James and the Catholic king ; and they flattered themselves, as well from the natural union of interests between them and Eng land, as from the influence of the present conjuncture, that powerful succors would soon march to their relief. Accord ingly an army of six thousand men was levied in England, and sent over to Holland, commanded byfour young noble men, Essex, Oxford, Southampton, and WiUoughby, who were ambitious of distinguishing themselves in so popular a cause, and of acquiring military experience under so renowned a captain as Maurice. It might reasonably have been expected, that, as rehgious zeal had made the recovery of the Palatinate appear a point of such vast importance in England, the same effect must have been produced in France, by the force merely of polit ical views and considerations. While that principality re mained in the hands of the house of Austria, the French dominions were surrounded on all sides by the possessions of that ambitious family, and might be invaded by superior forces from every quarter. It concerned the king of France, there fore, to prevent the peaceable establishment of the emperor in his new conquests ; and both by the situation and greater power of his state, he was much better enabled than James to give succor to the distressed palatine.* But though these views escaped not Louis, nor Cardinal Richelieu, who now began to acquire an ascendant in the French court, that min ister was determined to pave the way for his enterprises by first subduing the Hugonots, and thence to proceed, by mature * See Collection of State Papers by the earl of Clarendon, p. 393. J'A-Mgg 1. 491 counsels, to humble the house of Austria. The prospect, however, of a conjunction with England was presently em braced, and all imaginable encouragement was given to every proposal for conciliating a marriage between Charles and the princess Henrietta. Notwithstanding the sensible experience which James might have acquired of the unsurniountable antipathy entertained by his subjects against an alliance with Catholics, he still perse vered in the opinion, that his son would be degraded by receiv ing into his bed a princess of less than royal extraction. After the rupture, therefore, with Spain, nothing remained but an alliance with France ; and to that court he immediately applied himself.* The same allurements had not here place, which had so long entangled him in the Spanish negotiation : the portion promised was much inferior ; and the peaceable res toration of the palatine could not thence be expected. But James was afraid lest his son should be' altogether disappointed of a bride ; and therefore, as soon as the French king de manded, for the honor of his crown, the same terms which had been granted to the Spanish, he was prevailed with to comply. And as the prince, during his abode in Spain, had given a verbal promise to allow the infanta the education of her children till the age of thirteen, this article was here inserted in the treaty ; and to that imprudence is generally imputed the present distressed condition of his posterity. The court of England, however, it must be confessed, always pre tended, even in their memorials to the French court, that all the favorable conditions granted to the Catholics, were inserted in the marriage treaty merely to please the pope, and that their strict execution was, by an agreement with France, secretly dispensed with.t As much as the conclusion of the marriage treaty was acceptable to the king, as much were all the military enter prises disagreeable, both from the extreme difficulty of the undertaking in which he was engaged, and from his own incapacity for such a scene of action. During the Spanish negotiation, Heidelberg and Manheim had been taken by the imperial forces ; and Frtmkendale, though the garrison was entirely English, was closely besieged by them. After reiterated remonstrances from James, Spain * Rushworth, vol. i. p. 152. t See note HHH, at the end of the' volume. 492 history of England. interposed, and procured a suspension of arms during eighteen months. But as Frankendale was the only place of Frederic's ancient dominions which was still in his hands, Ferdinand, desirous of withdrawing his forces from the Palatinate, and of leaving that state in security, was unwilling that so impor tant a fortress should remain in the possession of the enemy. To compromise all differences, it was agreed to sequestrate it into the hands of the infanta as a neutral person ; upon condi tion that, after the expiration of the truce, it should be deliv ered to Frederic ; though peace should not, at that time, be concluded between him and Ferdinand.* After the unexpected rupture with Spain, the infanta, when James demanded the execution of the treaty, offered him peaceable possession of Frankendale, and even promised a safe-conduct for the gar rison through the Spanish Netherlands : but there was some territory of the empire interposed between her state and the Palatinate ; and for passage over that territory, no terms were stipulated.f By this chicane, which certainly had not been employed if amity with Spain had been preserved, the palatine was totally dispossessed of his patrimonial domin ions. The English nation, however, and James's warlike council, were not discouraged. It was still determined to reconquer the Palatinate ; a state lying in the midst of Germany, pos sessed entirely by the emperor and duke of Bavaria, sur rounded by potent enemies, and cut off from all communica tion with England. Count Mansfeldt was taken into pay; and an English army of twelve thousand foot and two hun dred horse was levied by a general press throughout the kingdom. During the negotiation with France, vast promises had been made, though in general terms, by the French min istry ; not only that a free passage should be granted to the English troops, but that powerful succors should also join them in their march towards the Palatinate. In England, all these professions were hastily interpreted to be positive engage ments. The troops under Mansfeldt's command were em barked at Dover ; but, upon sailing over to Calais, found no orders yet arrived for their admission. After waiting in vain during some time, they were obliged to sail towards Zealand, where it had also been neglected to concert proper measures for their disembarkation ; and some scruples arose among the * Rushworth, vol. i. p. 74. f Rushworth, vol. i. p. 151. james i. 493 states on account of the scarcity of provisions. Meanwhile a pestilential distemper crept in among the English forces, so long cooped up in narrow vessels. Half the army died while on board ; and the other half, weakened by sickness, appeared too small a body to march into the Palatinate.* And thus ended this ill-concerted and fruitless expedition ; [1625.] the only disaster which happened to England during the pros perous and pacific reign of James. That reign was now drawing towards a conclusion. With peace, so successfully cultivated, and so passionately loved by this monarch, his life also terminated. This spring, he was seized with a tertian ague ; and, when encouraged by his courtiers with the common proverb, that such a distemper, during that season, was health for a king, he replied, that the proverb was meant of a young king. After some fits, he found himself extremely weakened, and sent for the prince, whom he exhorted to bear a tender affection for his wife, but to preserve a constancy in religion ; to protect the church of England ; and to extend his care towards the unhappy family of the pala- tine.t With decency and courage, he prepared himself for his end ; and he expired on the twenty-seventh of March, after a reign over England of twenty-two years and some days, and in the fifty-ninth year of his age. His reign over Scotland was almost of equal duration with his life. In all history, it would be difficult to find a reign less illustrious, yet more unspotted and unblemished, than that of James in both king doms. No prince, so little enterprising and so inoffensive, was ever so much exposed to the opposite extremes of calumny and flattery, of satire and panegyric. And the factions which began in his time, being still continued, have made his charac ter be as much disputed to this day, as is commonly that of princes who are our contemporaries. Many virtues, however, it must be owned, he was possessed of, but scarce any of them pure, or free from the contagion of the neighboring vices. His generosity bordered on" profusion, his learning on ped antry, his pacific disposition on pusillanimity, his wisdom on cunning, his friendship on light fancy and boyish fondness. While he imagined that he was only maintaining his own authority, he may, perhaps, be suspected, in a few of his * Franklyn, p. 104. Rushworth, voL i. p. 154. Dugdale, p. 24. *¦ Rushworth, vol. i. p. 156. vol. iv. 42 H 494 history of England. actions, and still more of his pretensions, to have somewhat encroached on the liberties of his people : while he endeav ored, by an exact neutrality, to acquire the good will of all his neighbors, he was able to preserve fully the esteem and regard of none. His capacity was considerable ; but fitter to discourse on general maxims, than to conduct any intricate business : his intentions were just ; but more adapted to the conduct of private life than to the government of kingdoms. Awkward in his person, and ungainly jn his manners, he was ill qualified to command respect ; partial and undiscerning in his affections, he was little fitted to acquire general love. Of a feeble temper, more than of a frail judgment ; exposed to our ridicule from his vanity ; but exempt from our hatred by his freedom from pride and arrogance. And, upon the whole, it may be pronounced of his charac^r. that all his qualities were sullied with weakness and embellished by humanity. Of political courage he certainly was destitute : and thence, chiefly, ts derived the strong prejudice which prevai.s a gainst his personal bravery ; an inference, however, which must be owned, from general experience, to be extremely fallacious. He was only once married, to Anne of Denmark, who died on the third of March, 1619, in the forty-fifth year of her age ; a woman eminent neither for her vices nor her virtues. Sne loved shows and expensive amusemen's, but possessed tittle taste in her pleasures. A great cornet appeared about the time of her death ; and the vulgar esteemed it the prognostic of that event : so considerable in their eyes are even the most insignificant princes. He left only one son, Charles, then in the twentr-fifth vear of his age : and one daughter, Elizabeth, married to the elector palatine. She was aged twenty-nine years. Those alone remained of six legitimate children born to him He never had any illegitimate ; and he never discovered anv ten dency, even the smalies:, towards a passion for any mistress. Tbe archbishops of Canterbury during this reign were, Whitgift, who died in 1604; Bancroft, in 1610; Abbot, who survived the king. The chancellors, Lord EJiesmore, who resigned in 1617 : Bacon was first lord keeper till 1619: then was created chancellor, and was displaced in 1621 : Williams, bishop of Lincoln, was created lord keeper in his place. The high treasurers were the earl of Dorset, who died in 1609 ; the earl of Salisbury, in 1612; the earl of Suffolk, fined and displaced for bribery in 161S ; Lord Mandeville, resigned in j a mus '- 495 UfcJl ; tho oarl of Middlesex, displaced in 162 I ; tho earl of Mnrlboroiigh succeeded. The lord admirals were, tho earl of Nottingham, who resigned in KilN; Ihe oarl, afterwards iluko uf lUiekinghiun. The seerelnries of slain were, Ihe earl of Salisbury, Sir Ralph Winwood, Nanton, Culvert, Lord Cun- wav, Sir AlburtuN Morolon. The numbers of Ihe house of lords, in the lirsl parliament of Ibis reign, were seventy-eight temporal peers. The num bers in Ihe first parliament of Charles were ninety-seven. Consequently James, during that period, created nineteen new peerages above liaise thill expired. The house of commons, in ihe first parliament of Ibis reign, consisted of four hundred and sixty-seven members. It appears that four boroughs revived their charters, which they had formerly ueglocleil. And as Ihe lirsl parliament of Charles consisted of four hundred and iiinely-l'our members, we may infer that James created ten new boroughs. 49(5 histoey or England. APPENDIX TO THE REIGN OF JAMES I.* It may not be improper, at this period, to make a pause, ai to take a survey of the state of the kingdom with regard government, manners, finances, arms, trade, learning. Whe a just notion is not formed of these particulars, history can little instructive, and often will not be intelligible. We may safely pronounce that the English government, the accession of the Scottish line, was much more arbitra than it is at present ; the prerogative less limited, the liberti of the subject less accurately defined and secured. Withe mentioning other particulars, the courts alone of high comm sion and star chamber were sufficient to lay the whole kir dom at the mercy of the prince. The court of high commission had been erected by Elij beth, in consequence of an act of parliament passed ir t beginning of her reign : by this act it was thought piopi during the great revolution of religion, to arm the so'verei with full powers, in order to discourage and suppress oppo tion. All appeals from the inferior ecclesiastical courts we carried before the high commission ; and, of consequence, t whole life and doctrine of the clergy lay directly under inspection. Every breach of the act of uniformity, eve refusal of the ceremonies, was cognizable in this court ; ai during the reign of Elizabeth, had been punished by depr'n tion, by fine, confiscation, and imprisonment. James cc * This history of the house of Stuart was written and publisl hy the author before the history of the house of Tudor. Henci happens that some passages, particularly in the present Append may seem to be repetitions of what was formerly delivered in 1 reign of Elizabeth. The author, in order to obviate this objection, 1 cancelled some few passages in the foregoing chapters. & james i. 497 tented himself with the gentler penalty of deprivation ; nor was that punishment inflicted with rigor on every offender. Archbishop Spotswood tells us, that he was informed by Ban croft, the primate, several years after the king's accession, that not above forty-five clergymen had then been deprived. All the Catholics, too, were liable to be punished by this court, if they exercised any act of their religion, or sent abroad their children or other relations to receive that education which they could not procure them in their own country. Popish priests were thrown into prison, and might be delivered over to the law, which punished them with death ; though that sever ity had been sparingly exercised by Elizabeth, and never almost by James. In a word, that liberty of conscience, which we so highly and so justly value at present, was totally suppressed ; and no exercise of any religion but the established, was permitted throughout the kingdom. Any word or writing which tended towards heresy or schism, was punishable by the high commissioners, or any three of them : they alone were judges what expressions had that tendency : they pro ceeded not by information, but upon rumor, suspicion, or according to their discretion : they administered an oath, by which the party cited before them was bound to answer any question which should be propounded to him: whoever refused this oath, though he pleaded ever so justly, that he might .hereby be brought to accuse himself or his dearest friend, was punishable by imprisonment : and in short, an inquisitorial tribunal, with all its terrors and iniquities, was erected in the kingdom. Full discretionary powers were bestowed with regard to the inquiry, trial, sentence, and penalty inflicted"; excepting only that corporal punishnients were restrained by that patent of the prince which erected the court, not by the act of parliament which empowered him. By reason of the uncertain limits which separate ecclesiastical from civil causes, all accusations of adultery and incest were tried by the court of high commission ; and every complaint of wives against their husbands was there examined and discussed.* On like pretences, every cause which regarded conscience, that is, every cause, could have been brought under their jurisdiction. But there was a sufficient reason why the king would not be solicitous to stretch the jurisdiction of this court : the star cham ber possessed the same authority in civil matters ; and its * Rymer, torn. xvii. p. 200. 42* 498 history of England. methods of proceeding were equally arbitrary and unlimited. The origin of this court was derived from the most remote antiquity;* though itis pretended, that its power had first been carried to the greatest height by Henry VII. In all times, however, it is confessed, it enjoyed authority ; and at no time was its authority circumscribed, or method of proceed ing directed by any law or statute. We have had already, or shall have sufficient occasion, dur ing the course of this history, to mention the dispensing power, the power of imprisonment, of exacting loans t and benevo lences, of pressing and quartering soldiers, of altering the cus toms, of erecting monopolies. These branches of power, if not directly opposite to the principles of all free government, must, at least, be acknowledged dangerous to freedom in a monarchical constitution, where an eternal jealousy must be preserved against the sovereign, and no discretionary powers must ever be intrusted to him, by which the property or per sonal liberty of any subject can be affected. The kings of England, however, had almost constantly exercised these powers ; and if, on any occasion, the prince had been obliged to submit to laws enacted against them, he had ever, in prac tice, eluded these laws, and returned to the same arbitrary administration. During almost three centuries before the accession of James, the regal authority, in all these particulars, had never once been called in question. We may also observe, that the principles in general which prevailed during that age, were so favorable to monarchy, that they bestowed on it an authority almost absolute and unlimited, sacred and indefeasible. The meetings of parliament were so precarious, their ses sions so short, compared to the vacations, that, when men's eyes were turned upwards in search of sovereign power, the prince alone was apt to strike them as the only permanent magistrate, invested with the whole majesty and authority of the state. The great complaisance too of parliaments, during * Rushworth, vol. ii. p. 473. In Chambers's case, it was the unani mous opinion of the court of king's bench, that the court of star chamber was not derived from the statute of Henry VIL, but was a court many years before, and one of the most high and honorable courts of justice. See Coke's Rep. term. Mich. 5 Car. I. See, further, Camden's Brit. vol. i. Intro, p. 254, edit, of Gibson. t During several centuries, no reign had passod without some forced loans from the subject. JAMES I. 499 so long a period, had extremely degraded and obscured those assemblies ; and as all instances of opposition to prerogative must have been drawn from a remote age, they were unknown to a great many, and had the less authority even with those who were acquainted with them. These examples, besides, of liberty had commonly, in ancient times, been accompanied with such circumstances of violence, convulsion, civil war, and disorder, that they presented but a disagreeable idea to the inquisitive part of the people, and afforded small inducement to renew such dismal scenes. By a great many, therefore, monarchy, simple and unmixed, was conceived to be the gov ernment of England ; and those popular assemblies were sup posed to form only the ornament of the fabric, without being in any degree essential to its being and existence.* The pre rogative of the crown was represented by lawyers as some thing real and durable ; like those eternal essences of the schools, which no time or force could alter. The sanction of religion was by divines called in aid ; and the Monarch of heaven was supposed to be interested in supporting the author ity of his earthly vicegerent. And though it is pretended that these doctrines were more openly inculcated and more strenu ously insisted on during the reign of the Stuarts, they were not then invented ; and were only found by the court to be more necessary at that period, by reason of the opposite doctrines, which began to be promulgated by the Puritanical party.t In consequence of these exalted ideas of kingly authority, the prerogative, besides the articles of jurisdiction founded on precedent, was by many supposed to possess an inexhaustible fund of latent powers, which might be exerted on any emer gence. In every government, necessity, when real, supersedes all laws, and levels all limitations ; but in the English gov ernment, convenience alone was conceived to authorize any extraordinary act of regal power, and to render, it obligatory on the people. Hence the strict obedience required to proclama tions during all periods of the English history ; and if James has incurred blame on account of his edicts, it is only because he too frequently issued them at a time when they began to be less regarded, not because he first assumed or extend- od to an unusual degree that exercise of authority. Of his * See note III, at the end of the volume. + See note KKK, at the end of the volume. 500 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. maxims in a parallel case, the following is a pretty remark able instance. Queen Elizabeth had appointed commissioners for the in spection of prisons, and had bestowed on them full discretion ary powers to adjust all differences between prisoners and their creditors, to compound debts, and to give liberty to such debtors as they found honest and insolvent. From the uncer tain and undefined nature of the English constitution, doubts sprang up in many, that this commission was contrary to law; and it was represented in that light to James. He forbore, therefore, renewing the commission, till the fifteenth of his reign ; when complaints rose so high with regard to the abuses practised in prisons, that he thought himself obliged to over come his scruples, and to appoint new commissioners, invested with the same discretionary powers which Elizabeth had for merly conferred.* Upon the whole, we must conceive that monarchy, on the accession of the house of Stuart, was possessed of a very extensive authority : an authority, in the judgment of all, not exactly limited ; in the judgment of some, not limitable. But, at the same time, this authority was founded merely on the opinion of the people, influenced by ancient precedent and example. It was not supported either by money or by force of arms. And, for this reason, we need not wonder that the princes of that line were so extremely jealous of their preroga tive ; being sensible, that when those claims were ravished from them, they possessed no influence by which they could maintain their dignity, or support the laws. By the changes which have since been introduced, the liberty and independ ence of individuals has been rendered much more full, entire, and secure ; that of the public more uncertain and precarious. And it seems a necessary, though perhaps a melancholy truth, that in every government, the magistrate must either possess a large revenue and a military force, or enjoy some discretion ary powers, in order to execute the laws and support his own authority. We have had occasion to remark, in so many instances, the bigotry which prevailed in that age, that we can look for no toleration among the different sects. Two Arians, under the title of heretics, were pwnished by fire during this period ; and no one reign, since the reformation, had been free from the * Rymer, torn, xviii. p. 117, 594. JAMES I. 501 like barbarities. Stowe says, that these Arians were offered their pardon at the stake, if they would merit it by a recanta tion. A madman, who called himself the Holy Ghost, was, without any indulgence for his frenzy, condemned to the same punishment. Twenty pounds a month could, by law, be levied on every one who frequented not the established worship. This rigorous law, however, had one indulgent clause, that the fines exacted should not exceed two thirds of the yearly income of the person. It had been usual for Elizabeth to allow those penalties to run on for several years ; and to levy them all at once, to the utter ruin of such Catholics as had incurred her displeasure. James was more humane in this, as in every other respect. The Puritans formed a sect which secretly lurked in the church, but pretended not to any separate worship or discipline. An attempt of that kind would have been univer sally regarded as the most unpardonable enormity. And had the king been disposed to grant the Puritans a full toleration for a separate exercise of their religion, it is certain, from the spirit of the times, that this sect itself would have despised and hated him for it, and would have reproached him with luke- warmness and indifference in the cause of religion. They maintained, that they themselves were'the only pure church ; that their principles and practices ought to be established by law ; and that no others ought to be tolerated. It may be questioned, therefore, whether the administration at this time could with propriety deserve the appellation of persecutors with regard to the Puritans. Such of the clergy, indeed, as refused to comply with the legal ceremonies, were deprived of their livings, and sometimes, in Elizabeth's reign, were otherwise punished : and ought any man to accept of an office or bene fice in an establishment, while he declines compliance with the fixed and known rules of that establishment ? But Puritans were never punished for frequenting separate congregations ; because there were none such in the kingdom ; and no Prot estant ever assumed or pretended to the right of erecting them. The greatest well-wishers of the Puritanical sect would have condemned a practice, which in that age was universally, by statesmen and ecclesiastics, philosophers and zealots, regarded' as subversive of civil society. Even so great a reasoner as Lord Bacon thought that uniformity in religion was absolutely necessary, to the support of government, and that no toleration could with safety be given to sectaries.* Nothing but the * See his essay De TJnitate Ecclesias. 502 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. imputation of idolatry, which was thrown on the Catholic reli gion, could justify, in the eyes of the Puritans themselves, the schism made by the Hugonots and other Protestants who lived in Popish countries. In all former ages, not wholly excepting even those of Greece and Rome, religious sects, and heresies, and schisms had been esteemed dangerous, if not pernicious, to civil govern ment, and were regarded as the source of faction, and private combination, and opposition to the laws.* The magistrate, therefore, applied himself directly to the cure of this evil, as of every other ; and very naturally attempted, by penal stat utes, to suppress those separate communities, and punish the obstinate innovators. But it was found by fatal experience, and after spilling an ocean of blood in those theological quar rels, that the evil was of a peculiar nature, and was both inflamed by violent remedies, and diffused itself more rapidly throughout the whole society. Hence, though late, arose the paradoxical principle and salutary practice of toleration. The liberty of the press was incompatible with such maxims and such principles of government as then prevailed, and was therefore quite unknown in that age. Besides employing the two terrible courts of star chamber and high commission, whose powers were unlimited, Queen Elizabeth exerted her authority by restraints upon the press. She passed a decree in her court of star chamber, that is, by her own will and pleasure, forbidding any book to be printed in any place but in London, Oxford, and Cambridge : t and another, in which she prohibited, under severe penalties, the publishing of any book or pamphlet " against the form or meaning of any restraint or ordinance, contained, or to be contained, in any statute or laws of this realm, or in any injunction made or set forth by her majesty or her privy council, or against the true sense or meaning of any letters patent, commissions or prohi bitions under the great seal of England." | James extended the same penalties to the importing of such books from abroad.^ And to render these edicts more effectual, he after wards inhibited the printing of any book without a license from the archbishop of Canterbury, the archbishop of York, the * See Cicero de Legibus. t 28th of Elizabeth. See State Trials. Sir Robert Knightly, voL vii. 1st edit. Rymer, torn. xvii. p. 622. Rymer, torn. xvii. p. £22. . james i. 503 bishop of London, or the vice-chancellor of one of the univer sities, or of some person appointed by them.* In tracing the coherence among the systems of modern theology, we may observe, that the doctrine of absolute decrees has ever been intimately connected with the enthusiastic spirit; as that doctrine affords the highest subject of joy, triumph, and security to the supposed elect, and exalts them by infinite degrees above the rest of mankind. All the first reformers adopted these principles ; and the Jansenists too, a fanatical sect in France, not to mention the Mahometans in Asia, have ever embraced them. As the Lutheran establishments were sub jected to Episcopal jurisdiction, their enthusiastic genius grad ually decayed ; and men had leisure to perceive the absurdity of supposing God to punish by infinite torments what he him self from all eternity had unchangeably decreed. The king, though at this time his Calvinistic education had rivetted him in the doctrine of absolute decrees, yet, being a zealous par tisan of Episcopacy, was insensibly engaged, towards the end of his reign, to favor the milder theology of Arminius. Even in so great a doctor, the genius of the religion prevailed over its speculative tenets ; and with him, the whole clergy gradu ally dropped the more rigid principles of absolute reprobation and unconditional decrees. Some noise was at first made about these innovations ; but being drowned in the fury of factions and civil wars which ensued, the scholastic arguments made an insignificant figure amidst those violent disputes about civil and ecclesiastical power with which the nation was agitated. And at the restoration, the church, though she still retained her old subscriptions and articles of faith, was found to have totally changed her speculative doctrines, and to have embraced tenets more suitable to the genius of her discipline and worship, without its being possible to assign the precise period in which the alteration was produced. It may.be worth observing, that James, from his great desire to promote controversial divinity, erected a college at Chelsea for the entertainment of twenty persons, who should be entirely employed in refuting the Papists and Puritans.f All the efforts of the great Bacon could not procure an establishment for the cultivation of natural philosophy : even to this day, no society has been instituted for the polishing and fixing of our • Rymer, torn. xvii. p. 616. t Kennet, p. 685. Camden's Brit. vol. i. p. 370. Gibson's edit. 504 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. language. The only encouragement which the sovereign in England has ever given to any thing that has the appearance of science, was this short-lived establishment of James ; an institution quite superfluous, considering the unhappy propen- sion which at that time so universally possessed the nation for polemical theology. The manners of the nation were agreeable to the monarch ical government which prevailed, and contained not that strange mixture which at present distinguishes England from all other countries. Such violent extremes were then unknown, of industry and debauchery, frugality and profusion, civility and rusticity, fanaticism and scepticism. Candor, sincerity, modesty, are the only qualities which the English of that age possessed in common with the present. High pride of family then prevailed ; and it was by a dignity and stateliness of behavior, .that the gentry and nobility dis tinguished themselves from the common people. Great riches acquired by commerce were more rare, and had not as yet been able to confound all ranks of men, and render money the chief foundation of distinction. Much ceremony took place in the common intercourse of life, and little familiarity was indulged bv the great. The advantages which result from opulence are so solid and real, that those who are possessed of them need not dread the near approaches of their inferiors. The distinctions of birth and title, being more empty and ima ginary, soon vanish upon familiar access and acquaintance. The expenses of the great consisted in pomp, and show, and a numerous retinue, rather than in convenience and true pleasure. The earl of Nottingham, in his embassy to Spain, was attended by five hundred persons : the earl of Hertford, in that to Brussels, carried three hundred gentlemen along with him. Lord Bacon has remarked, that the English nobility, in his time, maintained a larger retinue of servants than the nobility of any other nation, except, perhaps, the Polanders.* Civil honors, which now hold the first place, were at that time subordinate t^ the military. The young gentry and no bility were fond of distinguishing themselves by arms. The fury of duel=<, too, prevailed more than at any time before or since.f This was the turn that the romantic chivalry, for which the nation was formerly so renowned, had lately taken. • E3iays De profer. fin. imp. t Franklyn, p. 5. Bee also Lord Herbert' » Memoir*. ,Um ns t. 505 I.iberly of commerce hnlwonn Ihe soxos was indulged, hut, wilhoul any li<-.«nui. | liynu.'l, linn. xvii. |i. 032. vol. iv ¦<:. H 506 HISTOKT OF ENGLAND. strength, and were apt to indulge too curious researches matters of government. To remedy the present evil, he < desirous of dispersing them into their country seats ; where hoped, they would bear a more submissive- reverence to authority, and receive less support from each other. But contrary effect soon followed. The riches amassed during tl residence at home rendered them independent. The influe acquired by hospitality made them formidable. They wc not be led by the court : they could not be driven : and t the system of the English government received a total a sudden alteration in the course of less than forty year The first rise of commerce and the arts had contributed preceding reigns, to scatter those immense fortunes of barons which rendered them so formidable both to king ; people. The further progress of these advantages beg during this reign, to ruin the small proprietors of land ; * and both events, the gentry, or that rank which composed tbe ho of commons, enlarged their power and authority. The ea improvements in luxury were seized by the greater nob whose fortunes, placing them above frugality, or even calci tion, were soon dissipated in expensive pleasures. Th improvements reached at last all men of property ; and th of slender fortunes, xvho at that time were often men of fa ly, imitating those of a rank immediately above them, redu themselves to poverty. Their lands, coining to sale, swel the estates of those who possessed riches sufficient for fashionable expenses, but who were not exempted from sc care and attention to their domestic economy. The gentry also of that age were engaged in no expei except that of country hospitality. No taxes were levied, wars waged, no attendance at court expected, no briber) profusion required at elections.t Could human nature e reach happiness, the condition of the English gentry, un so mild and benign a prince, might merit that appellation. The amount of the king's revenue, as it stood in 1617 thus stated.:): Of crown lands, eighty thousand pounds * Cabala, p. 224, 1st edit. _ t Men seem then to have been ambitious of representing the co ties, but careless of the boroughs. A seat in the house was, in its of small importance : but the former became a point of honor am the gentlemen. Journ. 10th Feb. 1620. Towns which had form< neglected their right of sending members, now began to claim Journ. 26th Feb. 1623. X An Abstract, or brief Declaration ofhis Majesty's Revenue, ¦* the Assignations and Defalcations upon the same. JAMES I. 501 year ; by customs and new impositions, near one hundred and ninety thousand ; by wards and other various branches of revenue, besides purveyance, one hundred and eighty thou sand : the whole amounting to four hundred and fifty thousand. The king's ordinary disbursements, by the same account, are said to exceed this sum thirty-six thousand pounds.* All the extraordinary sums which James had raised by subsidies, loans, sale of lands, sale of the title of baronet, money paid by the states und by the king of France, benevolences, etc., were, in tho whole, about two millions two hundred thousand pounds ; of which the sale of lands afforded seven hundred and seventy- five thousand pounds. The extraordinary disbursements of the king amounted to two millions; besides above four hundred thousand pounds given in presents. Upon the whole, a suf ficient, reason appears, partly from necessary expenses, partly for want, of a rigid economy, why the king, even early in his reign, was deeply involved in debt, and found great difficulty to support the government. Farmers, not commissioners, levied the customs. It seems, indeed, requisite, that the former mothod should always be triod before the latter, though a preferable one. When men's own interest is concerned, they fall upon a hundred expedients to prevent frauds in the merchants ; and these the public may afterwards imitate, in establishing proper rules for its officers. The customs were supposed to amount to five per cent, of the value, and were levied upon exports, as well as imports. Nay, thc imposition upon exports, by James's additions, is said to amount, in somo few instances, to twenty-five per cent. This practice, so hurtful to industiy, prevails still in France, Spain, and most countries of Europe. The customs in 1604 yielded one hundred and twenty-seven thousand pounds a year : t they rose to one hundred and ninety thousand towards the end of the reign. Interest, during this reign, was at ten per cent, till 1624, when it was reduced to eight. This high interest is an indica tion of the great profits and small progress of commerce. The extraordinary supplies granted by parliament, during this whole reign, amounted not to more than six hundred and thirty thousand pounds ; which, divided among twenty-one * The excess was formerly greater, as appears by Salisbury's account. Soe chap. 2. t Journ. 21st May, 1604. 508 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. years, makes thirty thousand pounds a year. I do not indu those supplies, amounting to three hundred thousand pounc which were given to the king by his last parliament. The were paid in to their own commissioners ; and the expens of the Spanish war were much more than sufficient to exhai them. The distressed family of the palatine was a gre burden on James, during part of his reign. The king, it pretended, possessed not frugality proportioned to the extren narrowness of his revenue. Splendid equipages, howev* he did not affect, nor costly furniture, nor a luxurious tabl nor prodigal mistresses. His buildings too were not sumpt ous ; though the Banqueting House must not be forgotten, as monument which does honor to his reign. Hunting was 1 chief amusement, the cheapest pleasure in which a king ct indulge himself. His expenses were the effects of liberalit rather than of luxury. One day, it is said, while he was standing amidst some < his courtiers, a porter passed by, loaded with money, whii he was carrying to the treasury. The king observed th Rich, afterwards earl of Holland, one of his handsome, agre able favorites, whispered something to one standing near hir Upon inquiry, he found that Rich had said, " How hapj would that money make me ! " Without hesitation, Jam bestowed it all upon him, though it amounted to three thousai pounds. He added, " You think yourself very happy obtaining so large a sum ; but I am more happy in having ; opportunity of obliging a worthy man, whom I love." Tl generosity of James was more the result of a benign hum or light fancy, than of reason or judgment. The objects of were such as could render themselves agreeable to him in h loose hours ; not such as were endowed with great merit, i who possessed talents or popularity which could strength* his interest with the public. The same advantage, we may remark; over the peopl which the crown formerly reaped from that interval betwe« the fall of the peers and rise of the commons, was now po sessed by the people against the crown, during the continuani of a like interval. The sovereign had already lost th independent revenue by which he could subsist without reguli supplies from parliament ; and he had not yet acquired tl means of influencing those assemblies. The effects of th situation, which commenced with the accession of the hous of Stuart, soon rose to a great height, and were more < JAMES I. 509 less propagated throughout all the reigns of that unhappy family. Subsidies and fifteenths are frequently mentioned by his torians ; but neither the amount of these taxes, nor the method of levying them, have been well explained. It appears, that the fifteenths formerly corresponded to the name, and were that proportionable part of the movables.* But a valuation having been made in the reign of Edward IIL, that valuation was always adhered to, and each town paid unalterably a particular sum, which the inhabitants themselves assessed upon their fellow-citizens. The same tax in corporate towns was called a tenth ; because there it was, at first, a tenth of the movables. The whole amount of a tenth and a fifteenth throughout the kingdom, or a fifteenth, as it is often more concisely called, was about twenty-nine thousand pounds.t The amount of a subsidy was not invariable, like that of a fifteenth. In the eighth of Elizabeth, a subsidy amounted to one hundred and twenty thousand pounds : in the fortieth, it was not above seventy-eight thousand.! ^ afterwards fell to seventy thousand, and was continually decreasing.^ The reason is easily collected from the method of levying, it. We may learn from the subsidy bills, || that one subsidy was given for four shillings in the pound on land, and two shillings and eightpence on movables throughout the counties ; a consider able tax, had it been strictly levied. But this was only the ancient state of a subsidy. During the reign of James, there was not paid the twentieth part of that sum. The tax was so far personal, that a man paid only in the county where he lived, though he should possess estates in other counties ; and the assessors formed a loose estimation of his property, and rated him accordingly. To preserve, however, some rule in the estimation, it seems to have been the practice to keep an eye to former assessments, and to rate every man according as his ancestors, or men of such an estimated property, were accustomed to pay. This was a sufficient reason why sub sidies could not increase, notwithstanding the great increase of money and rise of rents. But there was an evident reason why they continually decreased. The favor, as is natural to * Coke's Inst, book iv. chap. 1, of fifteenths, quinzins. t Coke's Inst, book iv. chap. 1, subsidies temporary. X Journ. 11th July, 1610. § Coke's Inst, book iv. chap. 1, subsidies temporary. j| See Statutes at large. 43* 510 HISTOET OP E^ILA-TD. suppose, ran always against the crown ; especially during th latter end of Elizabeth, when subsidies became numerous an frequent, and the sums levied were considerable, compared t former supplies. The assessors, though accustomed to hav an eye to ancient estimation-, were not bound to observe ar/ such rule, but might rate anew any person, according to bi present income. When rents fell, or parts of an estate wer sold off, the proprietor was stre to represent these losses, an obtain a diminution of his subsidy ; but where rents rose, o new lands were purchased, he kept his own secret, arid pai no more than formerly. The advantage, therefore, of ever change was taken against the crown ; and the crown couli obtain the advantage of none. And, to make the matter worse the alterations which happened in property during this ag* were in general unfavorable to the crown. The small pre prietors, or twenty-pound men, went continually to decay and when their estates were swallowed up by a greater, thi new purchaser increased not his subsidy. So loose, indeed, i the whole method of rating subsidies, that the wonder was not how the tax should continually diminish, but how it yieldei any revenue at all. It became at last so unequal and uncer tain, that the parliament was obliged to change it into ; land tax. The price of corn during this reign, and that of the othe necessaries of life, was no lower, or was rather higher, thai at present By a proclamation of James, establishing publii magazines, whenever wheat fell below thirty-two shillings : quarter, rye below eighteen, barley below sixteen, the corn missioners were empowered to pirchase corn for the r.n<>ga zines.* These prices then are to be regarded as low ; tho jgi they would rather pass for high by oiir present estimation The usual bread of the poor was at this time made of barley. The best wool, during the greater part of James's reign, wa at thirty-three shillings a tod.j At presen-. it is not abo. two-t;iirds of that value ; though it is to be presumed that c; exports in woollen goods are somewhat increased. The fine manufacures, too, by the progress of arts and industry, havi rather diminished in price, notwithstanding the great increas * KvBitr, tr.zz. xviL-p.O/i. To the sacie purjy>3e, sc* also lis Xa«. vi pap. 28. t Kvmer, torn. xx. p. 157. J s*e a compendi ii, or dialogue inserted in the Memoirs of Wool chap. 23. J AIM liS I. 511 of money, ll) Slinkspenrn, Iho IiumIuhh lolls I'lilslall', dial Ihn mIhi'Ih who boughl him were llullauil at oighl shilling:! u yard ; (I high price ill. lliis (lav, even suppoaing, what is mil probable, llliil Ihe hesl I Inllaiid al t lit tl: lime was equal in goodness to Ihe hesl thai cim new be purchased. In like manner, a yard of velvet, ul >i mt Ihe middle uf Kli/.nbntli's reign, was valued at Iwn mul twenty shillings. It appears from Dr. 11'uvIi'h life ef l'l'inee Henry,* Ihnl Ihal. prince, hy eoiilnicl wilh his bulcher, paid near n groal a pnunil throughout the \ear for all Iho I f nnd mutton nmul in hin I'amily. lleniilcs, we must consider, thai Ihn general turn of Ihnt age, whieh no laws could pre vent, wait ihe converting of nnible laud into pasture ; a eor- laiu proof that, the laller was found more profitable, and culliiequeiilly llial all butcher's meat, ns well as hl'eail, was rulhor higher than at preseiil. Wn have a rl'giiliilion of tlie market wilh regard In poultry, and nome oilier articles, very early in t'hai'le:: l.'s roigujt and ihe priees nre high. K lurkov cock loin1 shillings and sixpence, a lurkov lieu Ihren nhillingfl, n pheasaul coek aix, u pheasant hen live, a partridge one shilling, a goose Iwn, a capon Iwo and sixpence, a pullet. one and sixpence, a riililiil oightpeuco, a, dozen of pigeons six shillings. f We musl cniiaiilor Ihal I million al present is more than three limes more populous ihan it was at that lime ; a chviiiii.'itanco which much increases Ihe price of poullrv, anil of every thing that cannot eouveiiieiilly be brought from a distance: mil In mention, Ihal, these regulations by niilliorily are always ealculaled In diminish, never In increase Ihn market prices, The cuulnu'tnrs fur victualling the navy were allowed by government eighlpence a da\ lor the diet of each man when in harbor, sevenpeuee halfpenny when at sea ; § which would sillliee al present. The chief dillereuce in expense between ihal. age and ihe present consists in the im aginary wauls of men, which have since extremely multiplied. Thepo || are the principal reasons why James's revenue would * I'iik" HH. | li\ hut, lorn. xix. p. fit I. J \\ ii nun juili;!' ul Iho g'venl unt'vuiiro ot' |iiirvoviiuiv tiy I Win oir- iMimiliuiri', itinl ihii jini'i iiyiirn hI'Iimi ;;;ivii hut, :ux(it'nri' I'nr ti ile.'.mi of pigeons, mill t\\e|iiuune little more than given a name to the continent of "Virginia ; and, after her planting one feeble colony, which quickly decayed, that country was entirely abandoned. But when peace put an end to the mili tary enterprises against Spain, and left ambitious spirits no hopes of making any longer such rapid advances towards honor and fortune, the nation began to second the pacific intentions of its monarch, and to seek a surer, though slower expedient, for acquiring riches and glory. In 1606, Newport carried over a colony, and began a settlement ; which the company, erected by patent for that purpose in London and Bristol, took care to supply with yearly recruits of provisions, utensils, and new inhabitants. About 1609, Argal discovered a more direct and shorter, passage to Virginia, and left the track of the ancient navigators, who had first directed their course southwards to the tropic, sailed westward by means of the trade winds, and then turned northward, till they reached the English settlements. The same year, five hundred per sons, under Sir Thomas Gates and Sir George Somers, were embarked for Virginia. Somers's ship, meeting with a tem pest, was driven into the Bermudas, and laid the foundation of a settlement in those islands. Lord Delawar afterwards undertook the government of the English colonies : but, not- 520 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. withstanding all his care, seconded by supplies from James, and by money raised from the first lottery ever known in the kingdom, such difficulties attended the settlement of these countries, that, in 1614, there were not alive more than four hundred men, of all that had been sent thither. After sup plying themselves with provisions more immediately necessary for the support of life, the new planters began the cultivating of tobacco ; and James, notwithstanding his antipathy to that drug, which he affirmed to be pernicious to men's morals, as well as their health,* gave them permission to enter it in Eng land ; and he inhibited by proclamation all importation' of it from Spain. t By degrees, new colonies were established in that continent, and gave new names to the places where they settled, leaving that of Virginia to the province first planted. The Island of Barbadoes was also planted in this reign. Speculative reasoners, during that age, raised many objec tions to the planting of those remote colonies ; and foretold that, after draining their mother country of inhabitants, they would soon shake off her yoke, and erect an independent government in America : but time has shown, that the views entertained by those who encouraged such generous under takings, were more just and solid. A' mild government and great naval force have preserved, and may still preserve during some time, the dominion of England over her colonies. And such advantages have commerce and navigation reaped from these establishments, that more than a fourth of the English shipping is at present computed to be employed in carrying on the traffic with the American settlements. Agriculture was anciently very imperfect in England. The sudden transitions, so often mentioned by historians, from the lowest to the highest price of grain, and the prodigious inequal ity of its value in different years, are sufficient proofs, that the produce depended entirely on the seasons, and that art had as yet done nothing to fence against the injuries of the heavens. During this reign, considerable improvements were made, as in most arts, so in this, the most beneficial of any. A numerous catalogue might be formed of books and pam phlets treating of husbandry, which were written about this time. The nation, however, was still dependent on foreigners Tor daily bread ; and though its exportation of grain now * Rymer, torn. xvii. p. 621. t Rymer, torn. xvii. p. 621, 633. JAMES I. 521 forms a considerable branch of its commerce, notwithstanding its probable increase of people, there was, in that period, a regular importation from the Baltic, as well as from France ; and if it ever stopped, the bad consequences were sensibly felt by the nation. Sir Walter Raleigh, in his Observations, computes that two millions went out at one time for corn. It was not till the fifth of Elizabeth, that the exportation of corn had been allowed in England ; and Camden observes, that agriculture from that moment received new life and vigor. The endeavors of James, or, more properly speaking, those of the nation, for promoting trade, were attended with greater success than those for the encouragement of learning. Though the age was by no means destitute of eminent writers, a very bad taste in general prevailed during that period ; and the monarch himself was not a little infected with it. On the origin of letters among the Greeks, the genius of poets and orators, as might naturally be expected, was dis tinguished by an amiable simplicity, which, whatever rudeness may sometimes attend it, is so fitted to express the genuine movements of nature and passion, that the compositions pos sessed of it must ever appear valuable to the discerning part of mankind. The glaring figures of discourse, the pointed antithesis, the unnatural conceit, the jingle of words ; such false ornaments were not employed by early writers ; not because they were rejected, but because they scarcely ever, occurred to them. An easy, unforced strain of sentiment runs through their compositions ; though at the same time we may observe, that, amidst the most elegant simplicity of thought and expression, one is sometimes surprised to meet with a poor conceit, which had presented itself unsought for, and which the author had not acquired critical observation enough to condemn.* A bad taste seizes with avidity these frivolous beauties, and even perhaps a good taste, ere surfeited by them : they multiply every day more and more in the * The name of Polynices, one of (Edipus's sons, means in the original " much quarrelling." In the altercations between the two brothers, in pEschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, this conceit is em ployed ; and it is remarkable, that so poor a conundrum could not be rejected by any of these three poets, so justly celebrated for their taste and simplicity. What could Shakspeare have done worse ? Terence has his " inecptio est amentium, non amantium." Many similar instances will occur to the learned. It is well known that Aristotle treats very seriously of puns, divides them into several classes, and recommends the use of them to orators. 44* 522 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. fashionable compositions: nature and good sense are neg lected ; labored ornaments studied and admired : and a total degeneracy of style and language prepares the way for bar barism and ignorance. Hence the Asiatic manner was found to depart so much from the simple purity of Athens : hence that tinsel eloquence which is observable in many of the Roman writers, from which Cicero himself is not wholly exempted, and which so much prevails in Ovid, Seneca, Lucan, Martial, and the Plinys. On the revival of letters, when the judgment of the public is yet raw and unformed, this false glitter catches the eye, and leaves no room, either in eloquence or poetry, for the durable beauties of solid sense and lively passion. The reigning genius is then diametrically opposite to that which prevails on the first origin of arts. The Italian writers, it is evident, even the most celebrated, have not reached the proper simplicity of thought and composition ; and in Petrarch, Tasso, Guarini, frivolous witticisms and forced conceits are but too predominant. The period during which letters were cultivated in Italy was so short, as scarcely to allow leisure for correct ing this adulterated relish. The more early French writers are liable to the same reproach. Voiture, Balzac, even Corneille, have too much affected those ambitious ornaments, of which the Italians in general, and the least pure of the ancients, supplied them with so many models. And it was not till late, that observation and reflection gave rise to a more natural turn of thought and com position among that elegant people. A like character may be extended to the first English wri ters; such as flourished during the reigns of Elizabeth and James, and even till long afterwards. Learning, on its revival in this island, was attired in the same unnatural garb which it wore at the time of its decay among the Greeks and Romans. And, what may be regarded as a misfortune, the English writers were possessed of great genius before they were endowed with any degree of taste, and by that means gave a kind of sanction to those forced turns and sentiments which they so much affected. Their distorted conceptions and expressions are attended with such vigor of mind, that we admire the imagination which produced them, as much as we blame the want of judgment which gave them admittance. To enter into an exact criticism of the writers of that age, would exceed our present purpose. A short character of the JAMES I. 523 most eminent, delivered with the same freedom which history exercises over kings and ministers, may not be improper. The national prepossessions which prevail, will perhaps render the former liberty not the least perilous for an author. If Shakspeare be considered as a man, born in a rude age, and educated in the lowest manner, without any instruction either from the world or from books, he may be regarded as a prodigy : if represented as a poet, capable of furnishing a proper entertainment to a refined or intelligent audience, we must abate much of this eulogy. In his compositions, we regret that many irregularities, and even absurdities, should so frequently disfigure the animated and passionate scenes inter mixed with them ; and at the same time, we perhaps admire the more those beauties, on account of their being surrounded with such deformities. A striking peculiarity of sentiment adapted to a singular character, he frequently hits, as it were by inspiration ; but a reasonable propriety of thought he can not for any time uphold. Nervous and picturesque expres sions, as well as descriptions, abound in him ; but it is in vain we look either for purity or simplicity of diction. His total ignorance of all theatrical art and conduct, however material a defect, yet, as it affects the spectator rather than the reader, we can more easily excuse, than that want of taste which often prevails in his productions, and which gives way only by inter vals to the irradiations of genius. A great and fertile genius he certainly possessed, and one enriched equally with a tragic and comic vein ; but he ought to be cited as a proof, how dangerous it is to rely on these advantages alone for attaining an excellence in the finer arts.* And there may even remain a suspicion, that we overrate, if possible, the greatness of his genius ; in the same manner as bodies often appear more gigantic, on account of their being disproportioned and mis shapen. He died in 1616, aged fifty-three years. Jonson possessed all the learning which was wanting to Shakspeare, and wanted all the genius of which the other was possessed. Both of them were equally deficient in taste and elegance, in harmony and correctness. A servile copyist of the ancients, Jonson translated into bad English the beauti ful passages of the Greek and Roman authors, without accom modating them to the manners of his age and country. His * Invenire etiam barbari solent, disponere et ornare non nisi erudi- tus. — Plin. 524 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. merit has been totally eclipsed by that of Shakspeare, whose rude genius prevailed over the rude art of his contemporary. The English theatre has ever since taken a strong tincture of Shakspeare's spirit and character ; and thence it has proceed ed, that the nation has undergone, from all its neighbors, the reproach of barbarism, from which its valuable productions in some other parts of learning would otherwise have exempted it. Jonson had a pension of a hundred marks from the king, which Charles afterwards augmented to a hundred pounds. He died in 1637, aged sixty-three. Fairfax has translated Tasso with an elegance and ease, and at the same time with an exactness, which, for that age, are surprising. Each line in the original is faithfully rendered by a correspondent line in the translation. Harrington's trans lation of Ariosto is not likewise without its merit. It is to be regretted, that these poets should have imitated the Italians in their stanza, which has a prolixity and uniformity in it that displeases in long performances. They had, otherwise, as well as Spenser, who went before them, contributed much to the polishing and refining of the English versification. In Donne's satires, when carefully inspected, there appear some flashes of wit and ingenuity ; but these totally suffocated and buried by the harshest and most uncouth expression that is any where to be met with. If the poetry of the English was so rude and imperfect dur ing that age, we may reasonably expect that their prose would be liable to still greater objections. Though the latter appears the more easy, as it is the more natural method of composition, it has ever in practice been found the more rare and difficult ; and there scarcely is an instance, in any language, that it has reached a degree of perfection, before the refinement of poeti cal numbers and expression. English prose, during the reign of James, was written with little regard to the rules of gram mar, and with a total disregard to the elegance and harmony of the period. Stuffed with Latin sentences and quotations, it likewise imitated those inversions, which, however forcible and graceful in the ancient languages, are entirely contrary to the idiom of the English. I shall indeed venture to affirm, that, whatever uncouth phrases and expressions occur in old books, they were chiefly owing to the unformed taste of the author ; and that the language spoken in the courts of Elizabeth and James, was very little different from that which we meet with at present in good company. Of this opinion, the little scraps JAMES I. 525 of speeches which are found in the parliamentary journals, and which carry an air so opposite to the labored orations, seem to be a sufficient proof; and there want not productions of that age, which, being written by men who were not authors by profession, retain a very natural manner, and may give us some idea of the language which prevailed among men of the world. I shall particularly mention Sir John Davis's Discovery, Throgmorton's, Essex's, and Nevil's letters. In a more early period, Cavendish's life of Cardinal Wolsey, the pieces that remain of Bishop Gardiner, and Anne Boleyn's letter to the king, differ little or nothing from the language of our time. The great glory of literature in this island during the reign of James, was Lord Bacon. Most of his performances were composed in Latin ; though he possessed neither the elegance of that, nor of his native tongue. If we consider the variety of talents displayed by this man, as a public speaker, a man of business, a wit, a courtier, a companion, an author, a phi losopher, he is justly the object of great admiration. If we consider him merely as an author and philosopher, the light in which we view him at present, though very estimable, he was yet inferior to his contemporary Galiteo, perhaps even to Kepler. Bacon pointed out at a distance the road to true philosophy: Galilseo both pointed it out to others, and made himself considerable advances in it. The Englishman was ignorant of geometry : the Florentine revived that science, excelled in it, and was the first that applied it, together with experiment, to natural philosophy. The former rejected, with the most positive disdain, the system of Copernicus : the latter fortified it with new proofs, derived both from reason and the senses. Bacon's style is stiff and rigid : his wit, though often brilliant, is also often unnatural and far-fetched ; and he seems to be the original of those pointed similes and long-spun alle gories which so much distinguish the English authors : Galilteo is a lively and agreeable, though somewhat a prolix writer. But Italy, not united in any single government, and perhaps satiated with that literary glory which it has possessed both in ancient and modern times, has too much neglected the renown which it has acquired by giving birth to so great a man. That national spirit which prevails among the English, and which forms their great happiness, is the cause why they bestow on all their eminent writers, and on Bacon among the rest, such praises and acclamations as may often appear partial and excessive. He died in 1626, in the sixty-sixth year of his age. 526 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. If the reader of Raleigh's history can have the patience to wade through the Jewish and rabbinical learning which com pose the half of the volume, he will find, when he comes to the Greek and Roman story, that his pains are not unrewarded. Raleigh is the best model of that ancient style which some writers would affect to revive at present. He was beheaded in 1616, aged sixty-six years. Camden's history of Queen Elizabeth may be esteemed good composition, both for style and matter. It is written with simplicity of expression, very rare in that age, and with a regard to truth. It would not perhaps be too much to affirm, that it is among the best historical productions which have yet been composed by any Englishman. It is well known that the English have not much excelled in that kind of literature. He died in 1623, aged seventy-three years. We shall mention the king himself at the end of these Eng- glish writers ; because that is his place, when considered as an author. It may safely be affirmed, that the mediocrity of James's talents in literature, joined to the great change in national taste, is one cause of that contempt under which his memory labors, and which is often carried by party writers to a great extreme. It is remarkable, how different from ours were the sentiments of the ancients with regard to learning. Of the first twenty Roman emperors, counting from Csesar to Severus, above the half were authors ; and though few of them seem to have been eminent in that profession, it is always remarked to their praise, that by iheir example they encouraged literature. Not to mention Germanicus, and his daughter Agrippina, persons so nearly allied to the throne, the greater part of the classic writers whose works remain, were men of the highest quality. As every human advantage is attended with inconveniencies, the change of men's ideas in this par ticular may probably be ascribed to the invention of printing ; which has rendered books so common, that even men of slender fortunes can have access to them. That James was but a middling writer, may be allowed : that he was a contemptible one, can by no means be admitted. Whoever will read his Basilicon Doron, particularly the two last books, the true law of free monarchies, his answer to Cardinal Perron, and almost all his speeches and messages to parlia ment, will confess him to have possessed no mean genius. If he wrote concerning witches and apparitions ; who, in that age, did not admit the reality of these fictitious beings ? If he JAMES I. 527 has composed a commentary on the Revelations, and* proved the pope to be Antichrist ; may not a similar reproach be extended to the famous Napier ; and even to Newton, at a time when learning was much more advanced than during the reign of James ? From the grossness of its superstitions, we may infer the ignorance of an age ; but never should pro nounce concerning the folly of an individual, from his admitting popular errors, consecrated by the appearance of religion. Such a superiority do the pursuits of literature possess above every other occupation, that even he who attains but a mediocrity in them, merits the preeminence above those that excel the most in the common and vulgar professions. The speaker of the house of commons is usually an eminent lawyer ; yet the harangue Of his majesty will always be found much superior to that of the speaker, in every parliament during this reign. Every science, as well as polite literature, must be con sidered as being yet in its infancy. Scholastic learning and polemical divinity retarded the growth of all true knowledge. Sir Henry Saville, in the preamble of that deed by which he annexed a salary to the mathematical and astronomical pro fessors in Oxford, says, that geometry was almost totally abandoned and unknown in England.* The best learning of that age was the study of the ancients. Casaubon, eminent for this species of knowledge, was invited over from France by James, and encouraged by a pension of three hundred pounds a year, as well as by church prefermcnts.t The famous Antonio di Dominis, archbishop of Spalatro, no despicable philosopher, came likewise into England, and afforded great triumph to the nation, by their gaining so considerable a proselyte from the Papists. But the mortification followed soon after: the arch bishop, though advanced to some ecclesiastical preferments,! received not encouragement sufficient to satisfy his ambition : he made his escape into Italy, where he died in confinement. * Rymer, torn. xvii. p. 217. t Rymer, torn xvii. p. 709. X Rymer, torn. xvii. p. 95. NOTES Note A, p. 10.. The parliament also granted the queen the duties of tonnage and poundage ; but this concession was at that time regarded only as a matter of form, and she had levied these duties before they were voted by parliament. But there was another exertion of power which she practised, and which people, in the present age, from their ignorance of ancient practices, may be apt to think a little extraordi nary. Her sister, after the commencement of the war with Prance, had, from her own authority, imposed four marks on each tun of wine imported, and had increased the poundage a third on all com modities. Queen Elizabeth continued these impositions as long as she thought convenient. Thc parliament, who had so good an oppor tunity of restraining these arbitrary taxes when they voted the ton nage and poundage, thought not proper to make any mention of them. They knew that the sovereign, during that age, pretended to have the sole regulation of foreign trade, and that their intermeddling with that prerogative would have drawn on them the severest reproof, if not chastisement. See Porbes, vol. i. p. 132, 133. We know cer tainly, from the statutes and journals, that no such impositions were granted by parliament. Note B, p. 20i Knox, p. 127. We shall suggest afterwards some reasons to sus pect, that perhaps no express promise was ever given. Calumnies easily arise during times of faction, especially those of the rehgious kind, when men think every art lawful for' promoting their purpose. The congregation, in their manifesto, in which they enumerate all the articles of the regent's maladministration, do not reproach her with this breach of promise. It was probably nothing but a ruinor spread abroad to catch the populace. If the Papists have sometimes main tained, that no faith was to be kept with heretfes, their adversaries seem also to have thought, that no truth ought to be told of idolaters. Note 0, p. 23. Spotswood, p. 1^6. Melvil, p. 29. Knox, p. 225, 228. Lesley, lib, x. That there was really no violation of the capitulation of Perth, vol. rv. 45 H 530 NOTES. appears from the manifesto of the congregation in Kn-", (p. 184,) in which it is not so much as pretended. The companies of Scotch soldiers were, probably, in Scotch pay, since the congregation com plains, that the country was oppressed with taxes to maintain armies. Knox, p. 164, 165. And even if they had been in French pay, it had been no breach of the capitulation, since they were national troops, not French. Knox does not say, (p. 139,) that any ofthe inhabitants of Perth were tried or punished for their past offences, but only that they were oppressed with the quartering of soldiers ; and the congre gation, in their manifesto* say only that many of them had fled for fear. This plain detection of the calumny with regard to the breach of the capitulation of Perth, may make us suspect a like calumny with regard to the pretended promise not to give sentence against the ministers. The affair lay altogether between the regent and the laird of Dun ; and that gentleman, though a man of sense and char acter, might be willing to take some general professions for promises If the queen, overawed by the power of the congregation, gave such a promise in order to have liberty to proceed to a sentence, how could she expect to have power to execute a sentence so insidiously obtained ? And to what purpose could it serve ? Note D, p. 24. Knox, p. 153, 154, 15,5. This author pretends that this article was agreed to verbally, but that the queen's scribes omitted it in the treaty which was signed. The story is very unlikely,, or rather very absurd ; and in the mean time it is allowed, that the article is not in the treaty ; nor do fhe congregation, in their subsequent manifesto, insist uppn it. Knox, p. 184. Besides, would the queen regent, in an article of a treaty, call her own religion idolatry ? Note E, p. 25. The Scotch lords, in their declaration, say, "How far we have sought support of England, or of any other prince, and what just cause we had and have so to do, we shall shortly make manifest unto the world, to the praise of God's holy name, and to the confusion of all those that slander us for so doing ; for this we fear not to confess, that, as in this enterprise against the devil, against idolatry and the maintainers of the same, we chiefly and only seek God's glory to be notified unto men, sin to be punished, and virtue to be maintained ; so where power faileth of ourselves, we will seek it wheresoever God shall offer the same." Knox, p. 176. Note P, p. 61. This year, the council of Trent was dissolved, which had sitten from 1545. The publication of its decrees excited anew the general fer ment in Europe, while the Catholics endeavored to enforce the •Wceptance of them, and the Protestants rejected them. The religious NOTES. 531 controversies were too far advanced to expect that any conviction ..would result from the decrees of this council. It is the only general council which has been held in an age truly learned and inquisitive ; and as the history of it has been written with great penetration and judgment, it has tended very much to expose clerical usurpations and intrigues, and may serve us as a specimen of more ancient councils. No one expects to see another general council, till the decay of learn ing and the progress of ignorance shall again fit mankind for these great impostures. Note G, p. 69. It appears, however, from Randolf s Letters, (see Keith, p. 290,) that some offers had been made to that minister, of seizing Lenox and Darnley, and delivering them into Queen Elizabeth's hands. Mel vil confirms the same story, and says that the design was acknowl edged by the conspirators, (p. 56.) This serves to justify the account given by the queen's party of the Raid of Baith, as it is called. See further, Goodall, vol. ii. p. 358. The other conspiracy, of which Mur ray complained, is much more uncertain, and is founded on very doubtful evidence. Note H, p. 73. Buchanan confesses that Rizzio was ugly: but it may be inferred, from the narration of that author, that he was young. He says that, on the return of the duke of Savoy to Turin, Rizzio was " in adoles- centise vigore ; " in the vigor of youth. Now, that event happened only a few years before, (lib. xvii. cap. 44.) That Bothwell was young, appears, among many other invincible proofs, from Mary's instructions to the bishop of Dumblain, her ambassador at Paris ; where she says, that in 1559, only eight years before, he was " very young." He might therefore have been about thirty when he married her. See Keith's History, p. 388. Prom the appendix to the Epistoiae Regum Sco torum, it appears, by authentic documents, that Patrick, earl of Both- well, father to James, who espoused Queen Mary, was alive till near the year 1560. Buchanan, by a mistake which has been long ago corrected, calls him James. Note I, p. 84. Mary herself confessed, in her instructions to the ambassadors, whom she sent to Prance, that Bothwell persuaded all the noblemen, that their application in favor of his marriage was agreeable to her. Keith, p. 389. Anderson, vol. i. p. 94. Murray afterwards produced, to Queen Elizabeth's commissioners, a paper signed by Mary, by which she permitted them to make this application to her. This permission was a sufficient declaration of her intentions, and was esteemed equivalent to a command. Anderson, vol. iv. p. 69. They even asserted that the house in which they met was surrounded with armed men. Goodall, vol. ii. p. 141. 532 Note K, p. 108. Mary's complaints of the queen's partiality in admitting Murray to a conference was a mere pretext, in order to break off the conference. She indeed employs that reason in her order for that purpose, (see Goodall, vol. ii. p. 184;) but in her private letter, her commissioners are directed to make use of that order to prevent her honor from being attacked. Goodall, vol. ii. p. 183. It was therefore the accu sation only she was afraid of. Murray was the least obnoxious of all her enemies. He was abroad when her subjects rebelled, and re duced her to captivity. He had only accepted of the regency, when voluntarily proffered him by the nation. His being admitted to Queen Elizabeth's presence was therefore a very bad foundation for a quarrel, or for breaking off the conference, and was plainly a mere pretence. Note L, p. 110. We shall not enter into a long discussion concerning the authen ticity of these letters. We shall only remark in general, that the chief objections against them are, that they are supposed to have passed through the earl of Morton's hands, the least scrupulous of all Mary's enemies ; and that they are, to the last degree, indecent, and even somewhat inelegant, such as it is not likely she would write. But to these presumptions we may oppose the following consider ations : 1. Though it be not difficult to counterfeit a subscription, it is very difficult, and almost impossible, to counterfeit several pages, so as to resemble exactly the handwriting of any person. These let ters were examined and compared with Mary's handwriting, by the English privy council, and by a great many of the nobility, among whom were several partisans of that princess. They might have been examined by the bishop of Ross, Herreis, and others of Mary's commissioners. The regent must have expected that they would be very critically examined by them ; and had they not been able to stand that test, he was only preparing a scene of confusion to him self. Bishop Lesley expressly declines the comparing of the hands, which he calls no legal proof. Goodall, vol. ii. p. 389. 2. The letters are very long, much longer than they needed to have been, in order to serve the purposes of Mary's enemies ; a. circumstance which in creased the difficulty, and exposed any forgery the more to the risk of a detection. 3. They are not so gross and palpable as forgeries commonly are, for they still left a pretext for Mary's friends to assert that their meaning was strained to make them appear criminal. See Goodall, vol. ii. p. 361. 4. There is a long contract of marriage, said to be written by the earl of Huntley, and signed by the queen, before Bothwell's acquittal. Would Morton, without any necessity, have thus doubled the difficulties of the forgery, and the danger of de tection? 5. The letters are indiscreet; but such was apparently Mary's conduct at that time. They are inelegant ; but they have a careless, natural air, like letters hastily written between familiar friends. 6. They contain such a variety of particular circumstances as nobody could have thought of inventing, especially as they must NOTES. 533 necessarily have afforded her many means of detection. 7. We have not the originals of the letters, which were in French. We have only a Scotch and Latin translation from the original, and a Prench translation, professedly done from the Latin. Now it is remarkable, that the Scotch translation is full of Gallicisms, and is clearly a trans lation from a French original ; such as -make fault, faire des f antes ; make it seem that I believe, faire semblant de le croire ; make brek, faire brtche ; this is my first journey, e'est ma premiere joumie ; have you not desire to laugh ? n'avez vous pas envie de rire ? the place will hald unto the death, la place tiendra jusqua la mort ; he may not come forth of the house this long time, il ne peut pas sortir du logis de long-terns ; to make me advertisement, faire m'avcrtir ; put order to it, mettre ordre d. cela ; discharge your heart, de1 charger votre cosur ; make gud watch, faites bonne garde, etc. 8. There is a conversation which she mentions between herself and the king one evening ; but Murray produced before the English commissioners the testimony of one Crawford, a gentleman of the earl of Lenox, who swore that the king, on her departure from him, gave him an account of the same conversation. 9. There seems very little reason why Murray and his associates should run the risk of such a dangerous forgery, which must have rendered them infamous, if detected : since their cause, from Mary's known conduct, even without these letters, was sufficiently good and justifiable. 10. Murray exposed these letters to the examination of persons qualified to judge of them : the Scotch council, the Scotch parliament, Queen Elizabeth and her council, who were possessed of a great number of Mary's genuine letters. 11. He gave, Mary herself an opportunity of refuting and exposing him, if she had chosen to lay hold of it. 12. The letters tally so well with all the other parts of her conduct during that transaction, that these proofs throw the strongest light on each other. 13. The duke of Norfolk, who had examined these papers, and who favored so much the queen of Scots, that he intended to marry her, and in the end lost his life in her cause, yet believed them authentic, and was fully con vinced of her guilt. This appears, not only from his letters, above mentioned, to Queen Elizabeth and her ministers, but by his secret acknowledgment to Bannister, his most trusty confidant. See State Trials, vol. i. p. 81. In the conferences between the duke, Secretary Lidington, and the bishop of Ross, all of them zealous partisans of that princess, the same thing is always taken for granted. Ibid. p. 74, 75. See, further, MS. in the Advocates' library, A. 3, 28, p. 314, from Cott. lib. Calig. c. 9. Indeed, the duke's full persuasion of Mary's guilt, without the least doubt or hesitation, could not have had place, if he had found Lidington or the bishop of Ross of a dif ferent opinion, or if they had ever told him that these letters were forged. It is to be remarked, that Lidington, being one of the accom plices, knew the whole bottom of the conspiracy against King Henry, and was, besides, a man of such penetration, that nothing could escape him in. such interesting events. 14. I need not repeat the presumption drawn from Mary's refusal to answer. The only excuse for her silence is, that she suspected Elizabeth to be a partial judge. It was not, indeed, the interest of that princess to acquit and justify her rival and competitor ; and we accordingly find that Lidington, from the secret information of the duke of Norfolk, informed Mary, 45* 534 NOTES. by the bishop of Ross, that the queen of England never meant to come to a decision ; but only to get into her hands the proofs of Mary's guilt, in order to blast her character. See State Trials, vol. i. p. 77. But this was a. better reason for declining the conference altogether, than for breaking it off, on frivolous pretences, the very moment the chief accusation was unexpectedly opened against her. Though she could not expect Elizabeth's final decision in her favor, it was of importance to give a satisfactory answer, if she had any, to the accusation of the Scotch commissioners. That answer could have been dispersed for the satisfaction of the public, of foreign nations, and of posterity. And surely after the accusation and proofs were in Queen Elizabeth's hands, it could do no harm to give in the amswers. Mary's information, that the queen never intended to come to a decision, could be no obstacle to her justification. 15. The very disappearance of these letters is a presumption of their authenticity. That event can be accounted for no way but from the care of King James's friends, who were desirous to destroy every proof of his mother's crimes. The disappearance of Morton's narrative, and of Crawford's evidence, from the Cotton library, (Calig. c. 1,) must have proceeded from a like cause. See MS. in the Advocates' library, A. 3, 29, p. 88. I find an objection made to the authenticity of the letters, drawn from the vote of the Scotch privy council, which aflifms the letters to be written and Subscribed by Queen Mary's own hand ; whereas the copies given in to the parliament, a few days after, were only written, not subscribed. See Goodall, vol. ii. p. 64, 67. But it is not con sidered, that; this circumstance is of no manner of force. There were certainly letters, true or false, laid before the council; and Whether the letters were true or false, this mistake proceeds equally from the inaccuracy or blunder of the clerk. The mistake may be accounted for ; the letters were only written by her ; the second contract with Bothwell was only subscribed. A proper accurate distinction was not made ; and they are all said to be written and subscribed. A late writer, Mr. Goodall, has endeavored to prove that these letters clash with chronology, and that the queen was not in the places mentioned in the letters on the days there assigned. To confirm this, he produces charters and other deeds signed by the queen, where the date and place do not agree with the letters. But it is Well known, that the date of charters, and such like grants, is no proof of the real day on which they were signed by the sovereign. Papers of that kind commonly pass through different offices. The date is affixed by the first office, and may precede Very ktag the day of the signature. The account given by Morton of the manner in which the papers came into his hands, is very natural. When he gave it to the Eng lish commissioners, he had reason to think it would be Canvassed with all the severity of able adversaries, interested in the highest degree to refute it. It is probable, that he could have confirmed it by many circumstances and testimonies ; since they declined the contest. The sonnets are inelegant ; insomuch that both Brantome and Ronsard, who knew Queen Mary's style, were assured, when they saw theav tha«! they could not be of her composition. Jebb, vol. ii. NOTES. 535 p. 478. But no person is equal in his productions, especially one whose style is so little formed as Mary's must be supposed to be. Not to mention, that such dangerous and criminal enterprises leave little tranquillity of mind for elegant poetical compositions. In a word, Queen Mary might easily have conducted the whole conspiracy against her husband, without opening her mind to any one person except Bothwell, and without writing a sqrap of paper about it ; but it was very difficult to have conducted it so that her conduct should not betray her to men of discernment. In the present case, her conduct was so gross as to betray her to every body ; and fortune threw into her enemies' hands papers by which they could convict her. The same infatuation and imprudence, which happily is the usual attendant of great crimes, will account for both. It is proper to observe, that there is not one circumstance of the foregoing narrative, contained in the history, that is taken from Knox, Buchan an, or even Thuanus, or indeed from any suspected authority. Note M, p. 111. Unless we take this angry accusation, advanced by Queen Mary, to be an argument of Murray's guilt, there remains not the least pre sumption which should lead us to suspect him to have been anywise an accomplice in the king's murder. That queen never pretended tq {rive any proof of the charge ; and her commissioners affirmed at the time, that they themselves knew of none, though they were ready to maintain its truth by their mistress's orders, and would produce such proof as she should send them. It is remarkable that, at that time, it was impossible for either her or them to produce any proof; because the conferences before the English commissioners were previously broken off. It is true, the bishop of Ross, in an angry pamphlet, written by him under a borrowed name, (where it is easy to say any thing,) affirms that Lord Herreis, a few days after the king's death, charged Murray with the guilt, openly to his face, at his own table. This latter nobleman, as Lesley relates the matter, affirmed, that Murray, riding in Fife with one of his servants, the evening before the com mission of that crime, said to him among other talk, " This night, ere morning, the Lord Darnley shall lose his life." See Anderson, vol. i. p. 75. But this is only a hearsay of. Lesley's concerning a hearsay of Herreis's, and contains a very , improbable fact. Would Murray, without any use or necessity, communicate to a servant such a dangerous and important secret, merely by way of conversation We may also observe, that Lord Herreis himself was one of Queen Mary's commissioners, who accused Murray. Had he ever hear this story, or given credit to it, was not that the time to have pro duced it ? and not have affirmed, as he did, that he, for his part, knew nothing of Murray's guilt. See Goodall, vol. ii. p. 307. The earls of Huntley and Argyle accuse Murray, of this crime ; but the reason which they assign is ridiculous. He had given his consent to Mary's divorce from the king ; therefore he was the king's murderer. See Anderson, vol. iv. part 2, p. 192. It is a sure argu ment, that these earls knew no better proof against Murray, other- 536 NOTES. wise they would have produced it, and not have insisted on so absurd a presumption. Was not this also the time for Huntley to deny his writing Mary's contract with Bothwell, if that paper had been a forgery ? Murray could have no motive to commit that crime. The king, in deed, bore him some ill will ; .but the king himself was become so despicable, both fromrhis own ill conduct and the queen's aversion to him, that he could neither do good nor harm to any body. To judge by the event, in any case, is always absurd ; especially in the present. The king's murder, indeed, procured Murray the regency ; but much more Mary's ill conduct and imprudence, which he could not possibly foresee, and which never would have happened, had she been entirely innocent. • ' Note N, p. 111. I believe there is no reader of common sense, who docs not see, from the narrative in the text, that the author means to say, that Queen Mary refuses constantly to answer before the English commis sioners, but offers only to answer in person before Queen Elizabeth in person, contrary to her practice during the whole course of the con ference; till the moment the evidence of her being an accomplice in her husband's murder is unexpectedly produced. It is true, the author, having repeated four or five times an account of this demand of being admitted to Elizabeth's presence, and having expressed his opinion, that as it had been refused from the beginning, even before the commencement of the conferences, she did not expect it "would now be complied "with, thought it impossible his meaning could be misunderstood, (as indeed it was impossible ; ) and not being willing to tire his reader with continual repetitions, he mentions in a passage br two, simply, that she had refused to make any answer. I beheve, also, there is no reader of common sense who peruses Anderson or Goodall's collections, and does not Bee that, agreeably to this narra tive, Queen Mary insists unalterably and strenuously on not contin uing to answer before the English commissioners, but insists to be heard in person, by Queen Elizabeth in person ; though once or twice, by way of bravado, she says simply, that she will answer and refute her enemies, without inserting this condition, which still is understood. But there is a person that has written an Inquiry, his torical and critical, into the Evidence against Mary Queen of Scots, and has attempted to refute the foregoing narrative. He quotes a single passage of the narrative, in which Mary is said simply to refuse answering ; and then a single passage from Goodall, in which she boasts simply that she will answer ; and he very civilly, and almost directly, calls the author a liar, on account of this pretended contradiction. That whole Inquiry, from beginning to end, is com posed of such scandalous artifices ; and from this instance, the read er may judge of the candor, fair dealing, veracity, and good manners of the inquirer. There are indeed three events in our history, which may be regarded as touchstones of party-men. An English whig, who asserts the reality of the Popish plot, an Irish Catholic, who denies the massacre in 1641, and a Scotch Jacobite, who maintains the innocence of Queen Mary, must be cOnsidert d as men beyond the reach of argument or reason, and must be left t ) their prejudices. NOTES'". 537 Note O, p. 129. By Murden's state papers, published after the writing of this his tory, it appears that an agreement had been made between Elizabeth and the regent for the delivering up of Mary to him. The queen afterwards sent down Killigrew to the earl of Marre, when regent, offering to put Mary into his hands. Killigrew was instructed to take good security from the regent that that queen should be, tried for her crimes, and that the sentence should, be executed upon her. It appears that Marre rejected the offer, because we hear no more of it. Note P, p. lSo. Sir James Melvil (p. 108, 109) ascribes to Elizabeth, d. positive de sign of animating the Scotch factions against each other; but bis evidence is too inconsiderable to counterbalance many other authori ties, and is, indeed, contrary to her subsequent conduct, as well as her interest, and the necessity of her situation. It was plainly her interest that the king's party should prevail, and nothing could have engaged her to stop their progress, or even forbear openly assisting them, but her intention of still amusing the queen of Scots, by the hopes of being peaceably restored to her throne. See, further, Strype, vol. ii. Append, p. 20. Note Q, p. 187. That the queen's negotiations for marrying the dilke of Anjou were not feigned nor pobtical, appears clearly from many circum stances ; particularly from a passage in Dr. Forbes' s manuscript collections, at present in the possession of Lord Royston. She there enjoins Walsingham, before he opens the treaty, to examine the per son of the duke ; and as that prince had lately recovered from the small-pox, she desires her ambassador to consider, whether he yet retained so much of his good looks, as that a woman could fix her affections on him. Had she not been in earnest, and hid She only meant to amuse the public or the court of France, this circumstance was of no moment. Note R, p. 203. D'Ewes, p. 328. The Puritanical sect had indeed gone so far, that a book of discipline was secretly subscribed by above five hundred clergymen ; and the Presbyterian government thereby established in the midst of the church, notwithstanding the rigor of the prelates and of the high commission. So impossible is if by penal statutes, however severe, to suppress all religious innovation. SeerNeal's Hist. of the Puritans, vol. i. p. 483. Strype's Life of Whitgift, p. 29L Note S, p. 205. This year1, the earl pf Northumberland, brother to the earl beheaded some years before, had been engaged in a conspiracy with Lord 538 NOTES. Paget for the deliverance of the queen of Scots. He was thrown into the Tower ; and being conscious that his guilt could be proved upon him, at least that sentence would infallibly be pronounced against him, he freed himself from further prosecution by a voluntary death. He shot himself in the breast with a pistol. About the same time the earl of Arundel, son of the unfortunate duke of Norfolk, having entered into some exceptionable measures, and reflecting on the unhappy fate which had attended his family, endeavored to depart secretly beyond sea, but was discovered and thrown into the Tower. In 1587, this nobleman was brought to his trial for high treason ; chiefly because he had dropped some expressions of affection to the Spaniards, and had affirmed that he would have masses said for the success of the armada. Hie peers found him guilty of treason. This severe sentence was not executed ; but Arundel never recovered his liberty. He died a prisoner in 1595. He carried his religious austerities so far, that they were believed the immediate cause of his death, Note T, p. 216. Mary's extreme animosity against Elizabeth may easily be con ceived, and it broke out about this time in an incident wliich may appear curious. While the former queen was kept in custody by the earl of Shrewsbury, she lived during a long time in great intimacy with the countess ; but that lady entertaining a jealousy of an amour between her and the earl, their friendship was converted into enmity ; and Mary took a method of revenge, which at once gratified her spite against the countess and that against Elizabeth. She wrote to the queen, informing ^her of all the malicious, scandalous stories whieh, she said, the countess of Shrewsbury had reported of her : that Elizabeth had given a promise of marriage to a certain person, whom she afterwards often admitted to her bed : that she had been equally indulgent to Simier, the French agent, and to the duke of Anjou : that Hatton was also one of her paramours, who was even disgusted with her excessive love and fondness : that though she was on other occasions avaricious to the last degree, as well as ungrateful, and kind to very few, she spared no expense in gratifying her amorous passions: that notwithstanding her licentious amours, she was not made like other women ; and all those who courted her in marriage would in the end be disappointed ; that she was so conceited of her beauty, as to swallow the most extravagant flattery from her cour tiers, who could not, on these occasions, forbear even sneering at her for her folly ; that it was usual for them to tell her that the lustre of her beauty dazzled them like that of the sun, and they could not behold it with a fixed eye. She added that the countess had said, that Mary's best policy would be to engage her son to make love to the queen ; nor was there any danger that such a proposal would be taken for mockery; so ridiculous was the opinion which she had entertained of her own charms. She pretended that the countess had represented her as no less odious in her temper than profligate in her manners, and absurd in her vanity : that she had so beaten a young woman of the name of Scudamore, as to break that lady's fin ger ; and in order to cover over the matter, it was pretended that the NOTES. 539 accident had proceeded from the fall of a candlestiok : that she had cut another across the hand with a knife, who had been so unfortu- • nate as to offend her. Mary added, that the countess had informed her, that Elizabeth had suborned Rolstone to pretend friendship to her, in order to debauch her, and thereby throw infamy on her rival. See Murden's State Papers, p. 558. This imprudent and malicious letter was written a very little before the detection of Mary's con spiracy ; and contributed, no doubt, to render the proceedings against her the more rigorous. How far all these imputations against Eliza beth can be credited, may perhaps appear doubtful ; but her extreme fondness for Leicester, Hatton, and Essex, not to mention Mountjoy and others, with the curious passages between her and Admiral Sey mour, contained in Haynes, render her chastity very much to be sus pected. Her self-conceit with regard to beauty, we know from other undoubted authority to have been extravagant. Even when she was a very old woman, she allowed her courtiers to flatter her with regard to her " excellent beauties." Birch, vol. ii. p. 442, 443. Her passion ate temper may also be proved from many lively instances ; and it was not unusual with her to beat her maids of honor. See the Sid ney Papers, vol. ii. p. 38. The blow she gave to Essex before the privy council is another instance. There remains in the Museum a letter of the earl of Huntingdon's, in which he complains grievously of the queen's pinching his wife very sorely, on account of some quarrel between them. Had this princess been born in a private station, she would not have been very amiable ; but her absolute authority, at the same time that it gave an uneontrolling swing to her violent passions, enabled her to compensate her infirmities by many great and signal virtues. Note TJ, p. 226. Camden, p. 5,25. This evidence was that of Curie, her secretary, whom she allowed to be a very honest man ; and who, as well as Nau, had given "proofs of his integrity, by keeping so long such im portant secrets, from whose discovery he could haye reaped the greatest profit. Mary, after all, thought that she had so little reason to complain of Curie's evidence, that she took care to have him paid a considerable sum by her will, which she wrote the day before her death. Goodall, vol. i. p. 413. Neither did she forget Nau, though less satisfied in other respects with his conduct. Id. ibid. Note X, p. 226. The detail of this conspiracy is to be found in a letter of the queen af Scots to Charles Paget, her great confidant. This letter is dated the 20th of May, 1586, and is contained in Dr. Forbes's manuscript collections, at present in the possession of Lord Royston. It is a copy attested by Curie, Mary's secretary, and endorsed by Lord Bur leigh. What proves its authenticity beyond question is, that we find in Murden's Collection, (p. 516,) that Mary actually wrote that very day a letter to Charles Paget ; and further, she mentions, in the man uscript letter, a latter of Charles Paget's of the 10th of April. Now, 54ff> NOTES. tfe find by Murden, (p. 506,) that Charles Paget did actually write her a letter of that date; This violence of spirit is very consistent With Mary's character. Her maternal affection was too weak to oppose the gratification of her passions, particularly her pride, her ambition, and her bigotry. _ Her son, having made some fruitless attempts to associate her with him in the title, and having found the scheme impracticable, on account of the prejudices of his Protestant subjects, at last desisted from that design, and entered into* an alliance with England, without compre hending his mother. She was in such a rage at this undutiful behavior, as she imagined it, that she wrote to Queen Elizabeth, that she no longer cared what became of him or herself in the world ; the greatest satisfaction she could have before her death was, to see him and > all his adherents become a signal example of tyranny, ingrati tude, and impiety, and undergo the vengeance of God for their wick edness. She would find in Christendom other heirs, and doubted not to put her inheritance in such hands as would retain the firmest hold of it. She cared not, after taking this revenge, what became of her body. The quickest death would then be the most agreeable to her. And she assured her that, if he persevered, she would disown him for her son, would give him her malediction, would disinherit him, ea well of his present possessions as of all he could expect by her ; abandoning, him not only to her subjects to treat him as they had done her, but to all strangers to subdue and conquer him. It was in vain to employ menaces against her : the fear of death or other mis fortune would never induce her to make one step or pronounce one syllable beyond what she had determined. She would rather perish with honor, in maintaining the dignity to which God had raised her, than degrade herself by the least pusillanimity, or act what was unworthy of her station and of her race. Murden, p. 566, 567. James said to Courcelles, the French ambassador, that he had seen a- letter under her own hand, in whieh she threatened to disinherit him, and said that he might betake him to the lordship of Darnley ; for that was all he had by his father. Courcelles' Letter, a MS. of Dn Campbell's. There is in Jebb (vol. ii. p. 573) a letter of hers, where she throws out the same menace against him. We find this scheme of seizing the king of Scots, and delivering him into the hands of the pope or the king of Spain, proposed by Morgan to Mary. See Murden, p. 525. A mother must be Very violent to whom one would dare to make such a proposal ; but it seems she assented to it. Was not such a woman very capable of murdering her husband, who had so grievously offended her . Note Y, p. 227. The- volume of state papers collected by Murden, prove, beyond controversy, that Mary was long in close correspondence with Bab ington, (p. 513, 516, 532, 533.) She entertained a like correspondence with Ballard, Morgan, and Charles Paget, and laid a scheme with them for an insurrection, and for the invasion of England by Spain. [p. 528, 531.) The same papers show, that there had been a discontin uance of Babington's correspondence, agreeably to Camden's narra- Notes. 54" tion. See State Papers, (p. 513,) where Morgan recommends it Hi Queen Mary to renew her correspondence with Babington. These cit cumstance3 prove, that no weight can be laid on Mary's denial of guilt, and that her correspondence with Babington contained partie ulars which could not be avowed. Note Z, p. 227. There are three suppositions by which the letter to Babington may be accounted for, without allowing Mary's concurrence in the con spiracy for assassinating Elizabeth. The first is, that which she seems herself to have embraced, that her secretaries had received Babing- ton's letter, and had, without any treacherous intention, ventured of themselves to answer it, and had never communicated the matter to her. But it is utterly improbable, if not impossible, that a princess of so much sense and spirit should, in an affair of that importance, be so treated by her servants who lived in the house with her, and who had every moment an opportunity of communicating the secret to her. If the conspiracy failed, they must expect to suffer the severest punishment from the court of England ; if it succeeded, the lightest punishment which they could hope for from theu' own mistress, must be disgrace, on account of their temerity. Not to mention, that Mary's concurrence was in some degree requisite for effecting the design of her escape. It was proposed to attack her guards while she was' employed in hunting ; she must therefore concert the time and place with the conspirators. The second supposition is, that these two' secretaries were previously traitors ; and being gained by Wal singham, had made such a reply in their mistress's cipher, as might involve her in the guilt of the conspiracy. But these two men had lived long with the queen of Scots, had been entirely trusted by her, and had never fallen under suspicion either with her or her partisans. Camden informs us, that Curie' afterwards claimed a reward from Walsingham, on pretence of some promise; but Walsingham told him that he owed him no reward, and that he had made no discov eries on his examination which were not known with certainty from other quarters. The third supposition is, that neither the queen nor the two secretaries, Nau and Curie, ever saw Babington's letter, or made any answer ; but that Walsingham, having deciphered the former, forged a reply. But this supposition implies the falsehood of the whole story, told by Camden, of Gifford's ' access to the queen of Scots' family, and Paulef s refusal to concur in allowing his Servants to be bribed. Not to mention, that as Nau's and Curie's evidence must, on this supposition, have' been extorted by violence' and terror, they would necessarily have been engaged, for their own justification, to have told the truth afterwards; especially upon the accession of James. But Camden informs us, that Nau, even after that event, per sisted still in his testimony. We must also consider, that the two last! suppositions imply such a monstrous criminal conduct in Walsingham, and consequently in Elizabeth, (for the matter could be no secret to her,) as'exceeds all credibility. If we consider the situation of things, and the prejii- dices of the times, Mary's consent to Babington's conspiracy appeal's vol. iv. 46 H 549 NOTES. much more natural and probable. She believed Elizabeth to be a usurper and a heretic- She regarded her ,as a personal and a violent enemy. She knew that schemes for assassinating heretics were very familiar in that age, and generally approved of by the court of Rome and the zealous Catholics. Her own liberty and sovereignty were connected with tho success of this enterprise ; and it cannot appear strange, that where men of so much merit as Babington could be engaged by bigotry alone in so criminal an enterprise, Mary, who was actuated by the same motive, joined to so many others, should have given her consent to a scheme projected by her friends. We may be previously certain, that if such a scheme was ever communi cated to her, with any probability of success, she would assent to it ; and it served the purpose of Walsingham and the English ministry to facilitate the communication of these schemes, as soon as they had gotten an expedient for intercepting her answer, and detecting the conspiracy. Now, Walsingham's knowledge of the matter is a suppo sition necessary to account for the letter delivered to Babington. As to the not punishing of Nau and Curie by Elizabeth, it never is the practice to punish lesser criminals, who had given evidence against the principal. But what ought to induce us to reject these three suppositions is, that they must all of them bo considered as bare possibilities. The partisans of Mary can give no reason for preferring one to the other. Not the slightest evidence ever appeared to support any one of them. Neither at that time, nor at any time afterwards, was any reason dis covered, by the numerous zealots at home and abroad who had embraced Mary's defence, to lead us to the belief of any of these three suppositions ; and even her apologists at present seem not to have fixed on any choice among these supposed possibilities. The positive proof of two very credible witnesses, supported by the other very strong circumstances, still remains unimpeachod. . Babington, who had an extreme interest to have communication with the queen of Scots, behoved he had found a means of correspondence with her, and had received an answer from her. He, as well as the other con spirators, died in that belief. There has not occurred, since that time, the least argument to prove that they were mistaken ; can there be any reason at present to doubt the truth of their opinion ? Cam den, though a professed apologist for Mary, is constrained to tell the story in such a manner as evidently supposes her guilt. Such was the impossibility of finding any other consistent account, even by a man of parts, who was a contemporary ! In this light might the question have appeared even during Mary's trial. But what now puts her guilt beyond all controversy is the following passage of her letter to Thomas Morgan, dated the 27th of July, 1586 : *' As to Babington, he hath both kindly and honestly offered himself and all his means to be employed any way I would ; whereupon I hope to have satisfied him by two of my several letters since I had his ; and the rather for that I opened him the way, whereby I received his with your aforesaid." Murden, p. 533. Bab ington confessed that he had offered her to assassinate the queen. It appears by this that she had accepted the offer ; so that all the sup positions of Walsingham's forgery, or the temority or treachery of her secretaries, fall to the ground. NOTES. 543 Note AA, p. 231. This parliament granted the queen a supply of a subsidy and two fifteenths. They adjourned, and met again after the execution of the queen of Scots ; when there passed some remarkable incidents, wliich it may be proper not to omit. We shall give them in the words of Sir Simon D'Ewes, (p. 410, 411,) which are almost wholly transcribed from Townshend's Journal. On Monday, the 27th of February, Mr. Cope, first using some speeches touching the necessity of a learned ministry, and the amendment of things amiss in the ecclesias tical estate, offered to the house a bill and a book written ; the bill containing a petition, that it might be enacted, that all laws now in force touching ecclesiastical government should be void ; and that it might be enacted, that that Book of Common Prayer now offered, and none other, might be received into the chufch to be used. The book contained the form of prayer and administration of the sacraments, with divers rites and ceremonies to be used in the church ; and he desired that the book might be read. Whereupon Mr. Speaker in effect used this speech : For that her -majesty before this time had commanded the house not to meddle with this matter, and that her majesty had promised to take order in those causes, he doubted not but to the good satisfaction of all her people, he desired that it would please them to spare the reading of it. Notwithstanding the house desired the reading of it. Whereupon Mr. Speaker desired the clerk to read. And the court being ready to read it, Mr. Dalton made a motion against the reading of it, saying, that it was not meet to be read, and it did appoint a new form of administration of the sacra ments and ceremonies of the church, tq the discredit of the Book of Common Prayer and of the whole state ; and thought that this deal ing would bring her majesty's indignation against the house, thus to enterprise this dealing with those things which her majesty especially had taken into her own charge and direction. Whereupon Mr. Lewkenor spake, showing the necessity of preaching and of a learned ministry, and thought it very fit that the petition and book should be read. To this purpose spake Mr. Hurleston and Mr. Bainbrigg ; and so, the time being, passed, the house broke up, and neither the peti tion nor book read. This done, her majesty sent to Mr. Speaker, as well for this petition and book, as for that other petition and book for the like effect, that was delivered the last session of parbament, which Mr. Speaker sent to her majesty. On Tuesday, the 28th of February, her majesty sent for Mr. Speaker, by occasion whereof the house did not sit. On Wednesday, the first of March, Mr. Wentworth delivered to Mr. Speaker certain articles, which contained questions touching the liberties of the house, and to some of which he was to answer, and desired they might be read. Mr. Speaker desired him to spare his motion until her majesty's pleasure was further known touching the petition and book lately delivered into the house ; but Mr. Went worth would not be so satisfied, but required bis articles might be read. Mr. Wentworth introduced his queries by lamenting that he, as well as many others, were deterred from speaking by their want of knowl edge and experience in the liberties of the house ; and the queries were as follow : Whether this council were not a place for any mem- 544 NOTES. ber ofthe same here assembled, freely and without controlment of any person or danger of laws, by bill or speech to utter any of the gnels of this commonwealth whatsoever, touching the service ot God, the safety of the prince, and this noble realm . Whether that great honor miy be done unto God, and benefit and service unto the prince and Btate, without free speech in this council that may be done with it ? Whether there be any council which can make, add, or diminish from the laws of the realm, but only this council of parliament ? Whether it be not against the orders of this council to make any secret or mat ter of weight, which is here in hand, known to the prince or any other, concerning the high service of God, prince, or state, without the consent of the house ? Whether the speaker or any other may interrupt any member of this council in his speech used in this house tending to any of the forenamed services ? Whether the speaker may rise when he will, any matter being propounded, without consent of the house or not . Whether the speaker may overrule the house in any matter or cause there in question, or whether he is to be ruled or overruled in any matter or not ? Whether the prince and state can continue, and stand, and be maintained, without this council of par liament, not altering the government of the state ? At the end of these questions, says Sir Simon D'Ewes, I found set down this short note or memorial ensuing ; by which it may be perceived both what Serjeant Puckering, the speaker, did with the said questions after he had received them, and what became also of this business, viz. : " These questions Mr. Puckering pocketed up, and showed Sir Thom as Henage, who so handled the matter, that Mr. Wentworth went to the Tower, and the questions not at all moved. Mr. Buckler of Essex herein brake his faith in forsaking' the matter, etc., and no more was done." After setting down, continues Sir Simon D'Ewes, the said business of Mr. Wentworth in the original journal book, there follows only this short conclusion of the day itself, viz. : " Thi3 day, Mr. Speaker being sent for tq the queen's majesty, the house departed." On Thursday, the 2d of March, Mr. Cope, Mr. Lewkenor, Mri Hurleston, and Mr. Bainbrigg were sent for to my lord chancel lor and by divers of the privy council, and from thence were sent to the Tower. On Saturday the 4th day of March, Sir John Higham made a' motion to this house, for that divers good and necessary mem- bei's'thereof were taken from them, . that it would please them to be humble petitioners to her majesty for the restitution of them again to this house. To which speeches Mr. Vice-chamberlain answered, that if the gentlemen av ere committed for matter within the compass of the privilege of the house, then there might be a petition ; but if not, then we should give occasion tq her majesty's further displeasure ; and therefore advised to' stay until they heard more, which could not be long. And further, he said, touching the book and the petition, her majesty had, for divers good causes best known to herself, thought fit to suppress the same, without any further examination thereof;. and yet thought it vCry unfit for her majesty to give any account of her doings. But whatsoever Mr. Vice-chamberlain pretended, it is most probable these members were committed for intermeddling with. matter^ touching the church, which her majesty had often inhibited, and which had caused so much disputation and so many meetings between the two houses the last parliament. NOTES. 545 This is all we find of the matter in Sir Simon D'Ewes and Towns hend ; and it appears that those members who had been committed, were detained in custody till the queen thought proper to release them. These questions of Mr. Wentworth are curious ; because they contain some faint dawn of the present English constitution, though suddenly eclipsed by the arbitrary government of Elizabeth. Went worth was indeed by bis Puritanism, as well as his love of liberty, (for these two characters, of such unequal merit, arose and advanced together,) the true forerunner of the Hambdens, the Pyms, and the Hollises, who in the next age, with less courage, because with less danger, rendered their principles so triumphant. I shall only ask, whether it be not sufficiently clear from all these transactions, that in the two succeeding reigns it was the people who encroached upon the sovereign, not the sovereign who attempted, as is pretended, to usurp upon the people ? Note BB, p. 259. The queen's speech in the camp of Tilbury was in these words : " My loving people, we have been persuaded, by some that are careful of our safety, to take heed how we commit ourselves to armed mul titudes for fear of treachery ; but assure you, I do not desire to live to distrust my faithful and loving people. Let tyrants fear : I have always so behaved myself that, under God, I have placed my chiefest strength ahd safeguard in the loyal hearts and good will of my sub jects. And therefore I am come amongst you at this time, not as for my recreation or sport, but being resolved in the midst and heat of the battle to live or die amongst you all ; to lay down, for my God, and for my kingdom, and for my people, my honor and my blood, even in the dust. I know I have but the body of a weak and feeble woman, but I have the heart of a king, and of a king of England too ; and think foul scorn that Parma or Spain, or any prince of Europe, should dare to invade the borders of my realms ; to which rather than any dishonor should grow by me, I myself will take up arms. I myself will be your general, judge, and rewarder of every one of your virtues in the field. I know already, by your forward ness, that you have deserved rewards and crowns ; and we do assure you, on the word of a prince, they shall be duly paid you. In the mean time, my lieutenant-general shall be in my stead; than whom never prince commanded a more noble and worthy subject; not doubting, by your obedience to my general, by your concord in the camp, and your valor in the field, we shall shortly have a famous victory over those enemies of my God, of my kingdom, and of my people." Note CC, p. 264. Strype, vol. iii. p. 525. On the 4th of September, soon after the dispersion bf the Spanish armada, died the earl of Leicester, the queen's great but unworthy favorite. Her affection for him continued to the last. He had discovered no conduct in any of his military enterprises, and was suspected of cowardice ; yet she intrusted him with the command of her armies during the danger of the Spanish 46* 546 NOTES. invasion ; a partiality which might have proved fatal to her, had duke of Parma been able to land his troops in England, bhe even ordered a commission to be drawn for him, constituting hin lieutenant in the kingdoms of England and Ireland ; but Bur] and Hatton represented to her the danger of intrusting such un ited authority in the hands of any subject, and prevented the ex tion of that design. No wonder that a conduct so unlike the r jealousy of Elizabeth, gave reason to suspect that her partiality founded on some other passion than friendship. But Eliza Seemed to carry her affection to Leicester no farther than the gr she ordered his goods to be disposed of at a public sale, in ordi reimburse herself of some debt which he owed her ; and her v attention to money was observed to prevail over her regard to memory of the deceased. This earl was a great hypocrite, a prefc er to the strictest religion, an encourager of the Puritans, ai founder of hospitals. Note DD, p. 264. Strype, vol. iii. p. 542. Id. append, p. 239. There are some sir lar passages in this last speech, which may be worth taking notici especially as they came from a member who was no courtier ; foi argues against the subsidy. " And first," Says he, " for the nece: thereof, I cannot deny, but if it were a charge imposed upon us her majesty's commandment, or a demand proceeding from her ma ty by way of request, that I think there is not one among us either so disobedient a subject in regard of our duty, or so untha ful a man in respect of the inestimable benefits which by her or f her we have received, which would not with frank consent, botl voice and heart, most willingly submit himself thereunto, with any unreverend inquiry into the causes thereof. - For it is continu in the mouth of us all, that our lands, goods, and lives, are at prince's disposing. And it agreeth very well with that positior the civil law, which sayeth, ' Quod omnia regis sunt.' But hi ' Ita tamen ut omnium sint. Ad regem enim potestas omnium ] tinet ; ad singulos proprietas.' So that although it be most true t her majesty hath over ourselves and our goods ' potestatem im randi,' yet it is true, that until that power command, (Which, doubt, will not command without very just cause,) every subject 1 his own ' proprietatem possidendi.' Which power and comma ment from her majesty, which we have not yet received, I tak< (saving reformation,) that we are freed from the cause of necess And the cause of necessity is the dangerous estate of the comm wealth," etc. The tenor of the speech pleads rather for a gem benevolence than a subsidy ; for the law of Richard HI. agai benevolence was never conceived to have any force. The mem even proceeds to assert, with some precaution, that it was in power of parliament to refuse the king's demand of a subsidy ; i that there was an instance of that liberty in Henry ILL'S timd, n four hundred years before. Sub fine. NOTES. 54 Note EE, p. 266. We may judge of the extent and importance of these abuses l i Speech of Bacon's against purveyors, delivered in the first sessio df the first parliament of the subsequent reign, by which also vi may learn that Elizabeth had given no redress to the grievances con plained of. " First," says he, " they take in kind what they ougl not to take ; Secondly, they take in quantity a far greater proportid than cometh to your majesty's use ; thirdly, they take in an unlawfi manner, in a manner, I say, directly and expressly prohibited by tl Several laws. For the first, I am a httle to alter their name ; for ii stead of takers, they become taxers. Instead of taking provisions fi your majesty's service, they tax your people ' ad redimendam vexi tionem ; ' imposing upon them and extorting from them divers sun of money, sometimes in gross, sometimes in the nature of stipenc annually paid, ' ne noceant,' to be freed and eased of their oppressioi Again, they take tree's, which by law they cannot do ; timber tree Which are the beauty, countenance, ahd shelter of men's houses ; thi men have long spared from their own purse and profit ; that me esteem for their use and delight, above ten times the value ; that ai a loss which men cannot repair or recover. These do they take, t the defacing and spoiling of your Subjects' mansions and dwelling except they may be compounded with to their own appetites. An if a gentleman be too hard for them while he is at home, they wi watch their time when there is but a bailiff or a servant re'maininj arid put the axe to the root of the tree, ere even the master can sto it. Again, they use a strange and most unjust exaction in causin the subjects to pay poundage of their own debts, due from yor majesty unto them ; so as a poor man, when he has had his hay, c his wood, or his poultry (which perchance he was full loath to pai with, and had for the provision of his own family, and not to put 1 sale) taken from him, and that not at a just price, but under the valui and cometh to receive his money, he shall have after the rate o twelve pence in the pound abated for poundage of his due paymei upon so hard conditions. Nay, further, they are grown to that extreir ity, (as is affirmed, though it be scarce credible, save that in such pei sons all things are credible,) that they will take double poundagi once when the debenture is made, and again the second time whe the money is paid. For the second point, most gracious sovereigi touching the quantity which they take far above that which : answered to your majesty's use ; it is affirmed unto me by divers ger tlemen of good report, as a matter which I may safely avouch unt your majesty, that there is no pound profit which redoundeth unt your majesty in this course, but induceth and begetteth three poun damage upon your subjects, beside the discontentment. And to tl end they may make their spoil more securely, what do they ? When as divers statutes do strictly provide, that whatsoever they take sb/ be registered and attested, to the end that by making a collation o that which is taken from the country and that which is answered abov their deceits might appear, they, to the end, to obscure their deceit utterly omit the observation of this, which the law prescribeth. An therefore to deseehd, if Hi may please your majesty, to the third so: of abuse, which is of the; unlawful manner of their taking, whereo 548 NOTES. this question is a branch ; it is so manifold, as it rather asketh an enumeration of some of the particulars than a prosecution of all. For their price, by law they ought to take as they can agree with the sub ject ; by abuse, they take at an imposed and enforced price. By law they ought to take but one apprizement by neighbors in the country ; by abuse, they make a second apprizement at the court gate ; and when tho subjects' cattle come up many miles, lean and out of plight by reason of their travel, then they prize them anew at an abated price. By law, they ought to take between sun and sun ; by abuse, they take by twilight and in the nighttime, a time well chosen for malefactors. By law, they ought not to take in the highways, (a place by her majesty's high prerogative protected, and try statute by special words excepted;) by abuse, they take in the highways. By law, they ought to show their commission, etc. A number of other particulars there are," etc. Bacon's Works, vol. iv. p. 305, 306. Such were the abuses wliich Elizabeth would neither permit her parliaments to meddle with, nor redress herself. I believe it will readily be allowed, that this slight prerogative alone, which has passed almost unobserved amidst other branches of so much greater importance, was sufficient to extinguish all regular liberty. For what elector, or member of parliament, or even juryman, durst oppose the will of the court, while he lay under the lash of such an arbitrary prerogative ? For a further account of the grievous and incredible oppressions of purveyors, see the Journals of the house of commons, vol. i. p. 190. There is a story of a carter, which may be worth men tioning on this occasion. " A carter had three times been at Wind sor with his cart, to carry away, upon summons of a remove, some part of the stuff of her majesty's wardrobe ; and when he had repaired thither once, twice, and the third time, and that they of the wardrobe had told him the third time, that the remove held not, tho carter, clapping his hand on his thigh, said, ' Now I see that the queen is a woman as well as my wife ; ' which words being overheard by her majesty, who then stood at the window, she said, ' What a villain is this?' and so sent him three angels to stop his mouth." Birch's Memoirs, vol. i. p. 155. Note FF, p. 274. This year, the nation suffered a great loss, by the death of Sir Fran cis Walsingham, secretary of state ; a man equally celebrated for his abilities and his integrity. He had passed through many employ ments, had been very frugal in his expense, yet died so poor, that his family was obliged to give him a private burial. He left only one daughter, first married to Sir Philip Sidney, then to the earl of Essex, favorite of Queen Elizabeth, and lastly to the earl of Clanricarde of Ireland. The same year died Thomas Randolph, who had been em ployed by the queen in several embassies to Scotland ; as did also the earl of Warwick, elder brother to Leicester. Note GG, p. 276. This action of Sir Richard Greenville is so singular as to merit a more particular relation. He was engaged alone with tho whole notes. 549 Spanish floot of fifty-three sail, which had ten thousand men on hoard ; and from the time the fight began, which was about three in the afternoon, to the break of day next morning, he repulsed the enemy fifteen times, though they continually shifted their vessels, and boarded with fresh men. In the beginning of the action he himself received a wound ; but he continued doing his duty above deck till cloven at night, when receiving a fresh wound, he was carried down to be dressed. During this operation, he received a shot in the head, and the surgeon was killed by his side. The English began now to want powder. All their small arms were broken or become useless. Of their number, Avhich were but u, hundred and three at first, forty wore killed, and almost all the rest Avounded. Their masts Avere beat overboard, their tackle cut in pieces, and nothing but a hulk left, unable to move one way or other. In this situation, Sir Richard proposed to the ship's company, to trust to the mercy of God, not to that of the Spaniards, and to destroy the ship with themselves, rather than yield to the enemy. The master gunner, and many of tho seamen, agreed to this desperate resolution ; but others opposed it, and obliged Greenville to surrender himself prisoner. He died a few days after ; and his last words Avere, "Hero die I, Richard Green ville, with a joyful and quiet mind ; for that I have ended my life as a true soldier ought to do, fighting for his country, queen, religion, and honor ; my soul willingly departing from this body, leaving be hind the lasting fame of having behaved as every valiant soldier is in his duty bound to do." The Spaniards lost in this sharp, though un equal action, four ships, and about a thousand men ; and Greenville's vessel perished soon after, with two hundred Spaniards in her. Hack- luyt's Voyages, vol. ii. part 2, p. 169. Camden, p. 565. Note HH, p. 294. It is usual for the speaker to disqualify himself for the office ; but the reasons employed by this speaker arc so singular that they may bo Avorth transcribing. " My estate," said he, '* is nothing corre spondent for the maintenance of this dignity, for my father dying loft me a younger brother, and nothing to me but my bare annuity. Then grOAving to man's estate, and somo small practice of thc laAV, I took a wife, by whom I have had many children ; the keeping of us all being a great impoverishing to my estate, and the daily Hving of us all nothing but my daily industry. Neither from my person nor my nature doth this choice arise ; for he that supplicth this place ought to be a man big and comely, stately and well-spoken, his voice great, bia carriage majestical, his nature haughty, and his purse plen tiful and heavy : but contrarily, the stature of my body is small, myself not so Avell spoken, my voice low, my carriage lawyer-like, and of tho common fashion, my nature soft and bashful, my purse thin, light, and never yet plentiful. If Demosthenes, being so learned and eloquent as ho was, one whom none surpassed, trembled to speak before Phocion at Athens, how much more shall I, being unlearned and unskilful to supply the place of dignity, charge, and trouble, to speak before so many Phocions as here be ? yea, which is the greatest, before the unspeakable majesty and sacred personage of our dread 550 notes. and dear sovereign ; the terror of whose countenance will appal rai-1 abase even the stoutest hearts ; yea, whose very name will pull &pv,.i the greatest courage ? for how mightily do the estate and name of i prince deject the haughtiest stomach even of their greatest {subjects ? " D'Ewes, p. 459. Note II, p. 299. Cabala, p. 234. Birch's Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 386. Speed, p. 877. The whole letter of Essex is so curious and so spirited, that the reader may not be displeased to read it. " My very good lord : Though there is not that man this day living, whom I would sooner make judge of any question that might concern me than yourself, yet you must give me leave to teli you, that in some cases I must appeal from all earthly judges ; and if any, then surely in this, when the highest judge on earth has imposed on me the heaviest punishment, without trial or hearing. Since then I must either answer your lord ship's argument, or else forsake mine own just defence, I will force mine aching head to do me service for an hour. I must first deny my discontent, which was forced, to be a humorous discontent ; and that it was unseasonable, or is of so long continuing, your lordship should rather condole with me than expostulate. Natural seasons are expected here below ; but violent and unseasonable storms come from above. There is no tempest equal to the passionate indignation of a prince; nor yet at anytime so unseasonable, as Avhen it lighteth on those that might expect a harvest of their careful and painful labors. He that is once wounded must needs feel smart, till his hurt is cured, or the part hurt become senseless.- But cure I expect none, her majesty's heart being obdurate against me ; and be without sense I cannot, being of flesh and blood. But, say you, I may aim at the end. I do more than aim-; for I see an end of all my fortunes, I have set an end to all my desires. In this course do I any thing for my enemies ? When I Avas at court, I found them absolute ; and there fore I had rather they should triumph alone, than have roe attendant upon their chariots. Or do I leave my friends . When I was a cour tier, I could yield them no fruit of my love unto them ; and now that I am a hermit, they shall bear no envy for their love towards me. Or do I forsake myself, because I do enjoy myself? Or do I over throw my fortunes, because I build not a fortune of paper walls, which every puff of Avind bleweth down ? Or do I ruinate mine honor, because I leave following the pursuit, or wearing the false badge or mark of the shadow of honor? Do I give courage or comfort to the foreign foe, because I reserve myself to encounter with him ? or because I keep my heart from business, though I cannot keep my fortune from declining ? No, no, my good lord ; I give every one Of these considerations its due weight ; and the more I weigh them, the more I find myself justified from offending in any of them. As for the two last objections, that I forsake my country when it hath most need of me, and fail in that indissoluble duty which I owe to my sovereign, I answer, that if my country had at this time any need of my public service, her majesty, that governeth it, would not have driven me to a private life. I am tied to my country by two bonds • one pubhc, to discharge carefully and industriously that trust which is eommitted to me ; the other private, *o saeriflo* for it my life and notes* 551 carcass, which hath been nourished in it. Of the first I am fref, being dismissed, discharged, and disabled by her majesty. Of the other, nothing can free me but death ; and, therefore, no occasion of my performance shall sooner offer itself but I shall meet it half way. The indissoluble duty which I owe unto her majesty is only the duty of allegiance, which I never have nor never can fail in. The duty of attendance is no indissoluble duty. I owe her majesty the duty of an earl, and of lord marshal of England. I have been content to do her majesty the service of a clerk ; but I can never serve her as a villain or slave. But yet you say I must give way unto the time. So I do ; for now that I see the storm come, I have put myself into the harbor Seneca saith, we must give way to fortune. I know that fortune is both blind and strong, and therefore I go as far as I can out of her way. You say the remedy is not to strive. I neither strive nor seek for remedy. But you say I must yield and submit. I can neither yield myself to be guilty, nor allow the imputation laid upon me to be just. I owe so much to the Author of all truth, as I can never yield truth to be falsehood, nor falsehood to be t»uth. Have I given cause, you ask, and yet take a scandal when I have done ? No. I gave ne cause, not so much as Fimbria's complaint against me; for J did 'totum telum corpore recipere,' receive the whole sword into my body. I patiently bear all, and sensibly feel all that I then received when this scandal was given me. Nay> more, when the vilest of all indignities are done unto me," etc. This noble letter, Bacon after wards, in pleading against Essex, called bold and presumptuous, find derogatory to her majesty. Birch's Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 388. Note KK, p. 321. Most of Queen Elizabeth's courtiers feigned love and desire towards her, and addressed themselves to her in the style of passion and gal lantry. Sir Walter Raleigh, having fallen into disgrace, Avrote the following letter to his friend, Sir P^obert Cecil, with a view, no doubt, of having it shown to the queen. " My heart was never broke till this day, that I hear the queen goes aAvay so far off, whom I have followed so many years, with so great love and desire in so many journeys, and am now left behind here in a dark prison all alone. While she was yet near at hand, that I might hear of her once in two or three days, my sorrows were the les.j ; but eAren now, my heart is cast into the depth of all misery. I, that was Avont to behold her riding like Alexander, hunting like Diana, Avallring like Venus, the gentle wind blowing her fair hair about her pure cheeks, like a nymph, sometimes sitting in the shade like a goddess, sometimes singing like an angel, sometimes playing like Orpheus ; behold the sorrow of this world ! once amiss hath bereaved me of all. O glory, that only shineth in misfortune, what is become of thy assurance ? All wounds have scars but that of fantasy : all affections their relenting but that of womankind. Who is the judge of friendship but adversity, oi when is grace witnessed but in offences ? There were no divinity but by reason of compassion ; for revenges are brutish and mortal. All those times past, the. loves, the sighs, the sorrows, the desires, car»-iot they weigh down ona frail misfortwno ? Cannot one drop of gall be 552 notes. hid in so great heaps of sweetness ? I may then conclude, ' Spes et fortuna, valete.' She is gone in whom I trusted ; and of me hath not one thought of mercy, nor any respect of that which was. Do with me now, therefore, what you list. I am more weary of life than they are desirous I should perish ; which, if it had been for her, as it is by her, I had been too happily born." Murden, 657. It is to be remarked, that this nymph, Venus, goddess, angel, was then about sixty. Yet five or six years after, she allowed the same language to be held to her. Sir Henry TJnton, her ambassador in France, relates to her a conversation which he had with Henry XV. That monarch, after having introduced TJnton to his mistress, the fair Gabrielle, asked him how he liked her. " I answered sparingly in her praise," said the minister, " and told him, that if, without offence, I might speak it, I had the picture of a far more excellent mistress, and yet did her picture come far short of her perfection of beauty. As you love me, said he,' show it me, if you have it about you. I made. some difficulties ; yet, upon his importunity, offered it to his view very secretly, holding it still in my hand. He beheld it with passion and admiration, saying, that I had reason, ' Je me rends,' protesting that he had never seen the like ; so, with great reverence, he kissed it twice or thrice, I detaining it still in my hand. In the end, with some kind of contention, he took it from me, vowing that I might take my leaA'e of it ; for he would not forego it for any treasure ; and that to possess the favor of the lovely picture, he would forsake all the world, and hold himself most happy ; with many other most pas sionate speeches." Murden, p. 718. For further particulars on this head, see the ingenious author of the Catalogue of Royal and Noble Authors, article Essex. Note LL, p. 337. It may not be amiss to subjoin some passages of these speeches ; Avhich may serve to give us a just idea of the government of that age, and of the political principles which prevailed during the reign of Ebzabeth. Mr. Laurence Hyde proposed a bill, entitled, An act for the explanation of the common law in certain cases of letters patent. Mr. Spicer said, " This bill may touch the prerogative royal, which, as I learned the last parliament, is so transcendent, that the of the subject may not aspire thereunto. Far be it therefore from me, that the state and prerogative royal of the prince should be tied by me, or by the act of any other subject." Mr. Francis Bacon said, " As to the prerogative royal of the prince, for my own part, I ever allowed of it ; and it is such as I hope will never be discussed. The queen, as she is our sovereign, hath both an enlarging and resti-aining power. For by her prerogative she may set at liberty things restrained by statute, law, or otherwise ; and secondly, by her prerogative she may restrain things which be at liberty. For the first, she may grant a ' non obstante ' contrary to the penal laws. With regard to monop olies and such like cases, the case hath ever been to humble ourselves" unto her majesty, and by petition desire to have our grievances rem edied, especially when the remedy touched her so nigh in point'of prerogative. I say, and I say it again, that wo ought not to deal, to judge, or meddle with hor majesty's prerogative. I wish, therefore, I notes. 553 every man to be careful of this business." Dr. Bennet said, " He that goeth about to debate her majesty's prerogative had need to walk warily." Mr. Laurence Hyde said, " For the bill itself, I made it, and I think I understand it ; and far be it from this heart of mine to think, this tongue to speak, or this hand to write any thing either in prejudice or derogation of her majesty's prerogative royal and the state." " Mr. Speaker," quoth Serjeant Harris, "for aught I see, the house moveth to have this bill in the nature of a petition. It must then begin with more humiliation. And truly, sir, the bill is good of itself, but the penning of it is somewhat out of course." Mr. Mon tague said, " The matter is good and honest, and I like this manner of proceeding by bill well enough in this matter. The grievances are great, and I would note only unto you thus much, that the last par liament we proceeded by way of petition, which had no successful effect.' ' Mr. Francis More said, " I know the queen's prerogative is a thing curious to be dealt withal ; yet all grievances are not compar able. I cannot utter with my tongue, or conceive with my heart, the great grievances that the town and country, for which I serve, suffer- eth by some of these monopolies. It bringeth the general profit into a private hand, and the end of all this is beggary and bondage to the subjects. We have a law for the true and faithful currying of leather. There is a patent sets all at liberty, notwithstanding that statute. And to what purpose is it to do any thing by act of parliament, when the queen will undo the same by her prerogative ? Out of the spirit of humiliation, Mr. Speaker, I do speak it, there is no act of hers that hath been or is more derogatory to her own majesty, more odious to the subject, more dangerous to the commonwealth, than the granting of these monopolies." Mr. Martin said, " I do speak for a town that grieves and pines, for a country that groaneth and languisheth, under the burden of monstrous and unconscionable substitutes to the mon- opolitans of starch, tin, fish, cloth, oil, vinegar, salt, and I know not what ; nay, what not ? The principalest commodities, both of my town and country, are engrossed into the hands of these bloodsuckers of the commonwealth. If a body, Mr. Speaker, being let blood, be left still languishing without any remedy, how can the good estate of that body still remain ? Such is the state of my town and country ; the traffic is taken away, the inward and private commodities are taken away, and dare not be used without the license of these mono- politans. If these bloodsuckers be still let alone to suck up the best and principalest commodities which the earth there hath given us, what will become of us, from whom the fruits of our own soil, and the commodities of our own labor, which, with the sweat of our brows, even up to the knees in mire and dirt, we have labored for, shall be taken by warrant of supreme authority, which the poor sub ject dare not gainsay?" Mr. George Moore said, "We know the power of her majesty cannot be restrained by any act. Why, where fore, should we thus talk ? Admit We should make this statute with a non obstante ; yet the queen may grant a patent with a non obstante to cross this non obstante. I think, therefore, it agreeth more with the gravity and wisdom of this house, to proceed with all humbleness by petition than bill." Mr. Downland said, " As I would be no let or over-vehement in any thing, so I am not sottish or senseless of the common grievance of the commonwealth. If we proceed by way of VOL. iv. 47 H 554 NOTES. petition, we can have no more gracious answer than we had the last parliamentto our petition. But since that parliament, we have no reformation." Sir Robert Wroth said, "I speak, and_ I speak it boldly, these patentees are worse than ever they were." Mr. Hay ward Townsend proposed, that they should make suit to her majesty, not only to repeal all monopolies grievous to the subject, but also that it would please her majesty to give the parliament leave to make an act that they might be of no more force, validity, or effect, than they are at the common law, without the strength of her prerogative. Which though we might now do, and the act being so reasonable, we might assure ourselves her majesty would not delay the passing thereof, yet we, her loving subjects, etc., would not offer without her privity and consent, (the cause so nearly touching her prerogative,) or go about to do any such act. On a subsequent day, the bill against monopolies was again intro duced, and Mr. Spicer said, " It is to no purpose to offer to tie hei majesty's hands by act of parliament, when she may loosen herself at her pleasure." Mr. Davies said, " God hath given that power tr absolute princes, which he attributes to himself. ' Dixi quod Dij estis.' " (N. B. This axiom he applies to the kings of England.) Mr. Secretary Cecil said, " I am servant to the queen, and before I would speak and give consent to a case that should debase her prerog ative, or abridge it, I would Avish that my tongue were cut out of my head. I am sure there were law-makers before there were laws; (meaning, I suppose, that the sovereign Avas above the laAvs.) One gentleman went about to possess us with the execution of the law in an ancient record of 5 or 7 of Edward HI. Likely enough to be true in that time, when the king was afraid of the subject. If' you stand upon law, and dispute of the prerogative, hark ye what Bracton says : * Praerogativam nostram nemo audeat disputare.' And for my own part, I like not these courses should be taken. And you, Mr. Speaker, should perform the charge her majesty gave unto you in the begin ning of this parliament, not to receive bills of this nature ; for her majesty's ears be open to all grievances, and her hands stretched out to every man's petitions. When the prince dispenses Avith a penal law, that is left to the alteration of sovereignty, that is good and irrevocable." Mr. Montague said, " I am loath to speak Avhat I know, lest, perhaps, I should displease. The prerogative royal is that which is noAv in question, and which the laws of the land have ever allowed and maintained. Let us, therefore, apply by petition to her majesty." After the speaker told the house that the queen had annulled many of the patents, Mr. Francis More said, " I must confess, Mr. Speaker, I moved the house both the last parliament and this, touching this point ; but I never meant (and I hope thc house thinketh so) to set limits and bounds to the prerogative royal." He proceeds to move that thanks should be given to her majesty ; and also that whereas divers speeches have been moved extravagantly in the house, which, doubtless, have been told her majesty, and perhaps ill conceived of by her, Mr. Speaker Avould apologize, and humbly crave pardon for the same. N. B. These extracts Avere taken by Townsend, a member Of the house, who was no courtier ; and the extravagance oi the speeches seems rather to be on the other side. It will certr&ly appear strange to us that this liberty should be thought extravagant NOTES. 555 However, the queen, notwithstanding her cajoling the house, was so ill satisfied with these proceedings, that she spoke of them peevishly in her concluding speech, and told them, that she perceived that private respects with them were privately masked under public presence. D'Ewes, p. 619. There were some other topics in favor of prerogative, still more extravagant, advanced in the house this parliament. When the question of the subsidy was before them, Mr. Serjeant Heyle said, "Mr. Speaker, I marvel much that the house should stand upon granting of a subsidy or the time of payment, when all we have is her majesty's, and she may lawfully at her pleasure take it from us ; yea, she hath as much right to all our lands and goods as to any revenue of her crown." At whieh all the house hemmed, and laughed, and talked. " Well," quoth Serjeant Heyle, " all your hemming shall not put me out of countenance." So Mr. Speaker stood up and said, " It is a great disorder that this house should be so used." So the said ser jeant proceeded, and when he had spoken a little while, the houso hemmed again ; and so he sat down. In his latter speech, he said, he could prove his former position by precedents in the time of Henry III., King John, King Stephen, etc., which was the occasion of their hemming. D'Ewes, p. 633. It is observable, that Heyle was an eminent lawyer, a man of character. Winwood, vol. i. p. 290. And though the house in general showed their disapprobation, no one cared to take him down, or oppose these monstrous positions. It was also asserted this session, that in the same manner as the Roman consul was possessed of the power of rejecting or admitting motions in the senate, the speaker might either admit or reject bills in the house. D'Ewes, p. 677. The house declared themselves against this opinion; but the very proposal of it is a proof at what a low ebb liberty was at that time in England. In the year 1591, the judges made a solemn decree, that England was an absolute empire, of which the king was the head. In conse quence of this opinion, they determined, that even if the act of the first of Elizabeth had never been made, the king was supreme head of the church ; and might have erected, by his prerogative, such a court as the ecclesiastical commission ; for that he was the head of all his subjects. Now that court was plainly arbitrary. The inference is, that his power was equally absolute over the laity. See Coke's Reports, p. 5. Caudrey's case. Note MM, p. 359. We have remarked before, that Harrison, in book ii. chap. 11, says, that in the reign of Henry VIII. there were hanged seventy-two thousand thieves and rogues, (besides other malefactors ;) this makes about two thousand a year : but in Queen Elizabeth's time, the same author says, there were only between three and four hundred a year hanged for theft and robbery ; so much had the times mended. But in our age, there are not forty a year hanged for thosg crimes in all England. Yet Harrison complains of the relaxation of the laws, that there were so few such rogues punished in his time. Our vulgar prepossession in favor of the morals of former and rude ages, is very 556 NOTES. absurd and ill-grounded. The same author says, (chap. 10,) that there were computed to be ten thousand gypsies in England ; a species of banditti introduced about the reign of Henry VIII. ; and he adds, that there will be no way of extirpating them by the ordinary course of jus tice. The queen must employ martial law against thenu That race has now almost totally disappeared in England, and even in Scotland, where there were some remains of them a few years ago. However arbitrary the exercise of martial law in the crown, it appears that nobody in the age of Elizabeth entertained any jealousy of it. Note NN, p. 367. Harrison, in his Description of Britain, printed in 1577, has the fol lowing passage, (chap. 13 :) " Certes there is no prince in Europe that hath a more beautiful sort of ships than the queen's maj esty of Eng land at this present ; and those generally are of such exceeding force, that two of them, being well appointed and furnished as they ought, will not let to encounter with three or four of them of other countries, and either bowge them or put them to flight, if they may not bring them home. The queen's highness hath, at this present, already made and furnished to the number of one and twenty great ships, which lie for the most part in Gillingham Rode. Beside these, her grace hath other in hand also, of whom hereafter, as their turns do come about, I will not let to leave some further remembrance. She hath likewise three notable galleys, the Speedwell, the Tryeright, and the Black Galley, with the sight whereof, and the rest of the navy royal, it is incredible to say how marvellously her grace is delighted ; and not without great cause, sith by their means her coasts are kept in quiet, and sundry foreign enemies put back, which otherwise would invade us." After speaking of the merchant ships, which, he says, are com monly estimated at seventeen or eighteen hundred, he continues : "I add, therefore, to the end all men should understand somewhat of the great masses of treasure daily employed upon our navy, how there are few of those ships of the first and second sort, (that is, of the mer chant ships,) that, being apparelled and made ready to sail, are not worth one thousand pounds, or three thousand ducats at the least, if they should presently be sold. What shall we then think of the navy royal, of which some one vessel is worth two of the other, as the shipwright has often told me ? It is possible that some covetous person, hearing this report, will either not credit at all, or suppose money so employed to be nothing profitable to the queen's coffers ; as a good husband said once, when he heard that provisions should be made for armor, vrishmg the queen's money to be rather laid out to some speedier return of gain unto her grace. But if he wist that the good keeping of the sea is the safeguard of our land, he would alter his censure, and soon give over his judgment." Speaking of the for ests, this author says, " An infinite deal of Avood hath been destroyed within these few years ; and I dare affirm, that if Avood do go so fast to decay in the next hundred years of grace, as they have done or are like to do in this, it is to be feared that sea coal will be good merchan dise even in the city of London " Harrison's prophecy was fulfilled in a very few years ; for about 1615, there were two hundred sail employed in carrying coal to London. See Anderson, vol. i. p. 494. NOTES. 557 Note OO, p. 373. Life of Burleigh, published by Collins, p. 44. The author hints, that this quantity of plate was considered only as small in a man of Burleigh's rank. His words are, " His plate was not above fourteen or fifteen thousand pounds." That he means pounds weight is evi dent. For,_ by Burleigh's will, which is annexed to his hfe, that nobleman gives away in legacies, to friends and relations, near four thousand pounds weight, which would have been above twelve thou sand pounds sterling in value. The remainder he orders to be divided into two equal portions ; the half to his eldest son and heir ; the other half to be divided equally among his second son and three daughters. Were we therefore to understand the whole value of his plate to be only 14 or 15,000 pounds sterling, he left not the tenth of it to the heir of his family. Note PP, p. 373. Harrison says, " The greatest part of our building in the cities and good towns of England consisteth only of timber, cast over with thick clay to keep out the wind. Certes, this rude kind of building mada the Spaniards in Queen Mary's days to wonder ; but chiefly when they saw that large diet was used in many of these so homely cot tages, insomuch that one of no small reputation amongst them said after this mariner : These English, quoth he, have their houses made of sticks and dirt, but they fare commonly so well as the king. Whereby it appeareth, that he liked better of our good fare in such coarse cabins, than of their own thin diet in their princely habitations and palaces. The clay with whieh our houses are commonly impan elled, is either white, red, or blue." Book ii. chap. 12. The author adds, that the new houses of the nobility are commonly of brick or stone, and that glass windows were beginning to be used in England. Note QQ, p. 375. The following are the words of Roger Ascham, the queen's pre ceptor : " It is your shame, (I speak to you all, yo*ung gentlemen of England,) that one maid should go beyond ye all in excellency of learning and knowledge of divers tongues. Point out six of the best given gentlemen of this court, and all they together show not so much good will, spend not so much time, bestow not so many hours daily, orderly, and constantly, for the increase of learning and knowl edge, as doth the queen's majesty herself. Yea, I believe that besidei her perfect readiness in Latin, Italian, French, and Spanish, she read eth here now at Windsor more Greek every day, than some preben n dary of this church doth Latin in a whole week. Amongst all th«t benefits which God had blessed me withal, next the knowledge of Christ's true religion, I count this the greatest, that it pleased God te call me to be one poor minister in setting forward these excellent giftw of learning," etc. (page 242.) " Truly," says Harrison, " it is a rar« 47* 558 NOTES. thing with us now to hear of a courtier which hath but his own language ; and to say how many gentlewomen and ladies there are that, besides sound knowledge of the Greek and Latin tongues, are thereto no less skilful in the Spanish, Italian, and French, or in some one of them, it resteth not in me, sith I am persuaded, that as the noblemen and gentlemen do surmount in this behalf, so these come little or nothing at all behind them for their parts ; which industry God continue. The stranger, that entereth in the court of England upon the sudden, shall rather imagine himself to come into some pub lic school of the university, where many give ear to one that readeth unto them, than into a prince's palace, if you confer thus with those of other nations." Description of Britain, book ii. chap. 15. By this account, the court had ' profited by the example of the queen. The sober way of life practised by the ladies of Elizabeth's court appears from the same author. Reading, spinning, and needlework occupied the elder ; music the younger. Id. ibid. Note RR, p. 391. Sir Charles Cornwallis, the king's ambassador at Madrid, when pressed by the duke of Lerma to enter into a league with Spain, said to that minister, "Though his majesty Avas an absolute king, and therefore not bound to give an account to any of his actions, yet that' so gracious and regardful a prince he was of the love and content ment of his own subjects, as I assured myself he would not think it fit to do any thing of so great consequence Avithout acquainting them with his intentions." WinAvood, vol. ii. p. 222. Sir Walter Raleigh has this passage in the preface to his History of the World : " Philip II., by strong hand and main force, attempted to make himself not only an absolute monarch over the Netherlands, like unto the kings and monarchs of England and France, but, Turk like, to tread under his feet all their natural and fundamental laws, privileges, and ancient rights." We meet with this passage in Sir John Davis's Question concerning Impositions, (p. 161 :) " Thus we see, by this comparison, that the king of England doth lay but his little finger upon his sub jects, when other princes and states do lay their heavy loins upon their people. What is the reason of this difference ? from whence cometh it ? assuredly not from a different power or prerogative ; for the king of England is as absolute a monarch as any emperor or king in the world, and hath as many prerogatives incident to his crown." Coke, in Cawdry's case, says, " that by the ancient laws of this realm, England is an absolute empire and monarchy ; and that the king is' furnished with plenary and entire power, prerogative, and juris diction, and is supreme governor over all persons within this realm." Spencer, Speaking of some grants of the English kings to the Irish corporations, says, " all which, though at the time of their first grant they were tolerable, and perhaps reasonable, yet now are most unrea sonable and inconvenient. But all these will easily be cut off, with the superior power of her majesty's prerogative, against which her own grants are not to be pleaded or enforced." State of Ireland, p. 1537, edit. 1706. The same author, in p. 1660, proposes a plan for the civilization of Leland ; that the queen should create a provost / NOTES. 559 marshal in every county, who might ride about with eight or ten follow ers in' search of stragglers and vagabonds : the first time he catches any, he may punish them more lightly by the stocks ; the second time, by whipping ; but the third time, he may hang them, without trial or process, on the first bough : and he thinks that this authority may more safely be intrusted to the provost marshal than to the sheriff; because the latter magistrate, having a profit by the escheats of felons, may be tempted to hang innocent persons. Here a real absolute, or rather despotic power is pointed out ; and we may infer from all these passages, either that the word absolute bore a different sense from what it does at present, or that men's ideas of the English, as well as Lish government, were then different. This latter inference seems juster. " The word, being derived from the French, bore always the same sense as in that language. An absolute monarchy, in Charles l.'s answer to the nineteen propositions is opposed to a limited ; and the king of England is acknowledged not to be absolute : so much had matters changed even before the civil war. In Sir John For tescue's treatise of absolute and limited monarchy, a book Avritten in the reign of Edward IV., the Avord absolute is taken in the same sens® as at present ; and the government of England is also said not to bo absolute. They were the princes of the house of Tudor chiefly who introduced that administration which had the appearance of absolute government. The princes before them were restrained by the barons ; as those after them by the house of commons. The people had, prop erly speaking, httle liberty in either of these ancient governments, but least in the more ancient. Note SS, p. 392. Even this parbament, which showed so much spirit and good sense in the affair of Goodwin,, made a strange concession to the croAvn in their fourth session. Toby Mathews, a member, had been banished by order of the council, upon direction from his majesty. The par liament not only acquiesced in this arbitrary proceeding, but issued writs for a new election : such novices were they as yet in the princi ples of liberty. See Journ. 14th Feb. 1609. Mathews was banished by the king on account of his change of rehgion to Popery. The king had an indulgence to those who had been educated Catholics ; but could not bear the new converts. It was probably the animosity of the commons against the Papists which made them acquiesce in this precedent, without reflecting on the consequences. The jealousy of liberty, though roused, was not yet thoroughly enlightened. Note TT, p. 394. At that time, men of genius and of enlarged minds had adopted the principles of liberty, which were as yet pretty much unknown to the generality of the people. Sir Matthew Hales has published a remon strance against the king's conduct towards the parliament during this session. The reirionstrance is drawn with great force of reasoning and spirit of liberty ; and was the production of Sir Francis Bacon and Sir Edwin Sandys, two men of the greatest parts and knowledge in 5b0 NOTES. England. It is drawn in the name of the commons ; but as there is no hint of it in the journals, we must conclude, either that the authors, sensible that the strain of the piece was much beyond the principles of the age, had not ventured to present it to the house, or that it had been for that reason rejected. The dignity and authority of the commons are strongly insisted upon in this remonstrance ; and it is there said, that their submission to the ill treatment which they received during the latter part of Elizabeth's reign, had proceeded from their tenderness towards her age and her sex. But the authors are mistaken in these facts : for the house received and submitted to as bad treatment in the beginning and middle of that reign. The government was equally arbitrary in Mary's reign, in Edward's, in Henry VUI. and VH.'s. And the further we go back into history, though there might be more of a certain irregular kind of liberty among the barons, the commons were still of less authority. Note TJTJ, p. 398. This parliament passed an act of recognition of the king's title in the most ample terms. They recognized and acknowledged, that im mediately upon the dissolution and decease of EUzabeth, late queen of England, the imperial crown thereof did, by inherent birthright and lawful and undoubted succession, descend and come to his most excellent majesty, as being lineally, justly, and lawfully next and sole heir of the blood royal of this realm. 1 James I. cap. 1. The Puritans, though then prevalent, did not think proper to dispute this great constitutional point. In the recognition of Queen Elizabeth, the parliament declares, that the queen's highness is, and in very deed and of most mere right ought to be, by the laws of God and by the laws and statutes of this realm, our most lawful and rightful sovereign, liege lady, and queen, etc. It appears, then, that if King James's divine right be not mentioned by parliament, the omission came-merely from chance, • and because that phrase did not occur to the compiler of the recognition ; his title being plainly the same with that of his predecessor, who was allowed to have a divine right. Note XX, p. 405. Some historians have imagined, that the king had secret intelligence of the conspiracy, and that the letter to Monteagle was written by his direction, in order to obtain the praise of penetration in discovering the plot. But the known facts refute this supposition. That letter, being commonly talked of, might naturally have given an alarm to the conspirators, and made them contrive their escape. The visit of the lord chamberlain ought to have had the same effect. In short, it appears that nobody was arrested or inquired after for some days, till Fawkes discovered the names of the conspirators. We may infer, however, from a letter in Winwood's Memorials, (vol. ii. p. 171,) that Salisbury's sagacity led the king in his conjectures, and that the minister, like an artful courtier, gave his master the praise of the whole discovery. 561 Note YY, p. 417. We find the king's answer in Winwood's Memorials, vol. iii. p. 193, 2d edit. " To the third and fourth, (namely, that it might be lawful to arrest the king's servants without leave, and that no man should be enforced to lend money, nor to give a reason why he would not,) his majesty sent us an answer, that because we brought precedents of antiquity to strengthen those demands, he allowed not of any pre cedents drawn from the time of usurping or decaying princes, or people too bold and wanton ; that he desired not to govern in that commonwealth where subjects should be assured of all things, and nope for nothing. It was one thing ' submittere prineipatum legi bus,' and another thing ' submittere prineipatum subditis.' That he , would not leave to posterity such a mark of weakness upon his reign ; and therefore his conclusion was, ' non placet petitio, non placet ex- 2mplum : ' yet with this mitigation, that in matters of loans he would refuse no reasonable excuse, nor should my lord chamberlain deny the arresting of any of his majesty's servants, if just cause was shown." The parliament, however, acknowledged at this time with thankfulness to the king, that he allowed disputes and inquiries about his prerogative much beyond what had been indulged by any of his predecessors. Parbament. Hist. vol. v. p. 230. This very sessions he expressly gave them leave to produce all their grievances, without exception. Note ZZ, p. 420. It may not be unworthy of observation, that James, in a book called The true Laws of free Monarchies,, which he published a little before his accession to the crown of England, affirmed, " That a good king, although he be above the law, will subject and frame his actions thereto, for example's sake to his subjects, and of his own free will, but not as subject or bound thereto." In another passage, "Ac cording to the fundamental law already alleged, we daily see, that in the parbament, (which is nothing else but the head court of the king and his vassals,) the laws are but craved by his subjects, and only made by him at their rogation, and with their advice. For albeit the king make daily statutes and ordinances, enjoining such pains thereto as he thinks meet, without any advice of parliament or estates, yet it lies in the power of no parliament to make any kind of law or statute, without his sceptre be to it, for giving it the force of a law. King James's Works, p. 202. It is not to be supposed that, at such a critical juncture, James had so httle sense as directly, in so material a point, to have openly shocked what were the universal established principles of that age : on the contrary, we are told by historians, that nothing tended more to facilitate his accession, than the good opinion entertained of him by the Engbsh on account of his learned and judi cious writings. The question, however, with regard to the royal power, was al this, time become a very dangerous point ; and without employing ambiguous, insignificant terms, which determined nothing, it was impossible to please both king and parbament. Dr. Cowell, who had magnified the prerogative in words too intelligible, fell this 562 NOTES. session under the indignation of the commons. Parliament. Hist. vol. v. p. 221. The king himself, after all his magnificent boasts, was obliged to make his escape through a distinction which he framed between a king in abstracto and a king in conereto : an abstract king, he said, had all power ; but a concrete king was bound to observe the laws of the country which he governed. King James's Works, p. 533. But how bound? by conscience only? or might his subjects resist him, and defend their privileges ? This he thought not fit to ex plain. And so difficult is it to explain that point, that to this day, whatever liberties may be used by private inquirers, the laws have very prudently thought proper to maintain a total silence Avith regard to it. Note AAA, p. 434. Parliament. Hist. vol. v. p. 290. So little fixed at this time were the rules of parbament, that the commons complained to the peers of a speech made in the upper house by the bishop of Lincoln ; which it belonged only to that house to censure, and which the other could not regularly be supposed to be acquainted with. These at least are the rules established since the parliament became a real seat of power and scene of business : neither the king must take notice of what passes in either house, nor either house of what passes in the other, till regularly informed of it. The commons, in their famous protes tation 1621, fixed this rule with regard to the king, though at present they would not bind themselves by it. But as liberty was yet new, those maxims which guard and regulate it were unknown and unpractised. Note BBB, p. 452. Some of the facts in this narrative, which seem to condemn Raleigh, are taken from the king's declaration, which, being pubhshed by authority when the facts were recent, being extracted from examina tions before the privy council, and subscribed by six privy councillors, among whom was Abbot, archbishop of Canterbury, a prelate nowise complaisant to the court, must be allowed to have great weight, or rather to be of undoubted credit. Yet the most material facts are confirmed either by the nature and reason of the thing, or by Sir Walter's own apology and his letters. The king's declaration is in the Harleian Miscellany, vol. iii. No. 2. 1. There seems to be an improbability that the Spaniards, who knew nothing of Raleigh's pretended mine, should have built a town, in so Avide a coast, within three miles of it. The chances are ex tremely against such a supposition ; and it is more natural to think that the view of plundering the town led him thither, than that of working a mine. 2. No such mine is there found to this day. 3. Raleigh in fact found no mine, and in fact he plundered and burned a Spanish town. Is it not more probable, therefore, that the latter was his in tention ? How can the secrets of his breast be rendered so visible as to counterpoise certain facts ? 4. He confesses, in his letter to Lord Carew, that though he knew it, yet he concealed from the king the settlement of the Spaniards on that coast. Does not this fact alona NOTES. 563 render him sufficiently criminal ? 5. His commission empowers him only to settle on a coast possessed by savage and barbarous inhabit ants. Was it not the most evident breach of orders to disembark on a coast possessed by Spaniards ? 6. His orders to Keymis, when he sent him up the river, are contained in his own apology ; and from them it appears that he knew (what was unavoidable) that the Span iards would resist, and would oppose the English landing and taking possession of the country. His intentions, therefore, were hostile from the beginning. 7. Without provocation, and even when at a distance, he gave Keymis orders to dislodge the Spaniards from their own town. Could any enterprise be more hostile ? And, considering the Spaniards as allies to the nation, could any enterprise be more criminal ? Was he not the aggressor, even though it should be true that the Spaniards fired upon his men at landing ? It is said he killed » three or four hundred of them. Is that so light a matter ? 8. In his letter to the king, and in his apology, he grounds his defence on former hostilities exercised by the Spaniards against other companies of Englishmen. These are accounted for by the ambiguity of the treaty between the nations. And it is plain, that though these might possibly be reasons for the king's declaring war against that nation, they could never entitle Raleigh to declare war, and, without any commission, or contrary to his commission, to invade the Spanish set tlements. He pretends indeed that peace was never made with Spain in the Indies ; a most absurd notion ! The chief hurt which the Spaniards could receive from England was in the Indies ; and they never would have made peace at all, if hostilities had been still to be continued on these settlements. By secret agreement, the English were still allowed to support the Dutch, even after the treaty of peace. If they had also been alloAVed to invade the Spanish settle ments, the treaty had been a full peace to England, while the Span iards were still exposed to the full effects of war. 9. If the claim to the property of that country, as first discoverers, was good, in oppo sition to present settlement, as Raleigh pretends, why was it not laid before the king, with all its circumstances, and submitted to his judg ment ? 10. Raleigh's force is acknowledged by himself to have been insufficient to support him in the possession of St.* Thomas, against the power of which Spain was master on that coast ; yet it was suffi cient, as he owns, to take by surprise and plunder twenty towns. It was not therefore his design to settle, but to plunder. By these con fessions, which I have here brought together, he plainly betrays him self. 11. Why did he not stay and work his mine, as at first he projected ? He apprehended that the Spaniards would be upon him with a greater force. But before he left England, he knew that this must be the case, if he invaded any part of the Spanish colonies. His intention therefore never was to settle, but only to plunder. 12. He acknowledges that he knew neither the depth nor riches of the mine, but only that there was some ore there. Would he have ventured all his fortune and credit on so precarious a foundation ? 13. Would the other adventurers, if made acquainted with this, have risked every thing to attend him ? Ought a fleet to have been equipped for an experiment ? Was there not plainly an imposture in the management of this affair? 14. He says to Keymis, in his orders, "Bring but a basket full of ore, and it will satisfy the king that my project was not 564 NOTES. imaginary." This was easily done from the Spanish mines ; and he seems to have been chiefly displeased at Keymis for not attempting it. Such a view was a premeditated apology to cover his cheat. 15. The king in his declaration imputes it to Raleigh, that as soon as he was at sea, he immediately fell into such uncertain and doubtful talk of his mine, and said that it would be sufficient if he brought home a basket full of ore. From the circumstance last mentioned, it appears that this imputation was not without reason. 16. There are many other circumstances of great weight in the king's declaration : that Raleigh, when he fell down to Plymouth, took no pioneers with him, which he always declared to be his intention ; that he was nowise provided with instruments for working a mine, but had a sufficient stock of Avarlike stores ; that young Raleigh, in attacking the Span iards, employed the words, which, in the narration, I have put in his mouth ; that the mine was movable, and shifted as he saw conve nient ; not to mention many other public facts, which prove him to have been highly criminal against his companions as well as his country. Howel, in his letters, says, that there lived in London, in 1645, an officer, a man of honor, who asserted that he heard young Raleigh speak these words, (vol. ii. letter 63.) That was a time when there was no interest in maintaining such a fact. 17. Raleigh's account of his first voyage to Guiana proves him to have been a man capable of the most extravagant credulity or most impudent impos ture. So ridiculous are the stories which he tells of the Inca's chi merical empire in the midst of Guiana ; the rich city of El Dorado, or Manao, two days' journey in length, and shining with gold and silver ; the old Peruvian prophecies in favor of the English, who, he says, were expressly named as the deliverers of that country, long before any European had ever touched there ; the Amazons, or repub lic of women ; and in general, the vast and incredible riches which he saw on that continent, Avhere nobody has yet found any treasures. This whole narrative is a proof that he Avas extremely defective either in solid understanding, qr morals, or both. No man's character indeed seems ever to have been carried to such extremes as Raleigh's, by the opposite passions of envy and pity. In the former part of his life, when he was active and lived in the world, and was probably best known, he was the object of universal hatred and detestation throughout England ; in the latter part, Avhen shut up in prison, he became, much more unreasonably, the object of great love and admiration. As to the circumstances of the narrative, that Raleigh's pardon was refused him, that his former sentence was purposely kept in force against him, and that he Avent out under these express conditions, they may be supported by the folio wing authorities :. 1 . The king's word, and that of six privy counsellors, who affirm it for fact. 2. The nature of the thin,;. If no suspicion had been entertained of his intentions, a pardon would never have been refused to a man to whom authority was intrusted. 3. The words of the commission itself, where he is simply styled Sir Walter Raleigh, and not faithful and well beloved, according to the usual and never-failing style on such occasions. 4. In all the letters which he wrote home to Sir Ralph Winwood and to his own wife, ho always considers himself as a per son unpardoned and liable to the law. He seems, indeed, immedi- NOTES. 565 *tely upon the failure of his enterprise, to have become desperate, and to have expected the fate which he met with. It is pretended, that the king gave intelligence to the Spaniards of Raleigh's project ; as if he had needed to lay a plot for destroying a man whose hfe had been fourteen years, and still was, in his power. The Spaniards wanted no other intelligence to be on their guard, than the known and pubbc fact of Raleigh's armament. And there was no reason why the king should conceal from them the project of a settle ment Avhich Raleigh pretended, and the king believed, to be entirely innocent. The king's chief blame seems to have lain in his negligence, in allowing Raleigh to depart without a more exact scrutiny : but for this he apologizes by saying, that sureties were required for the good behavior of Raleigh and all his associates in the enterprise, but that they gave in bonds for each other : a cheat which was not per ceived till they had sailed, and which increased the suspicion of bad intentions. Perhaps the king ought also to have granted Raleigh a pardon for his old treason, and to have tried him anew for his new offences. His punishment in that case would not only have been just, but conducted in a just and unexceptionable manner. But we are told, that a ridic ulous opinion at that time prevailed in the nation, (and it is plainly supposed by Sir Walter in his apology,) that, by treaty, war was allowed with the Spaniards in the Indies, though peace Avas made in Europe : and while that notion took place, no jury Avould have found Raleigh guilty. So that had not the king punished him upon the old sentence, the Spaniards would have had a just cause of complaint against the king, sufficient to have produced a war, at least to have destroyed all cordiality between the nations. This explication I thought necessary in order to clear up the story of Raleigh ; Avhich, though very obvious, is generally mistaken in so gross a manner, that I scarcely know its parallel in the Engbsh history. Note CCC, p. 458. This parliament is remarkable for being the epoch in which were first regularly formed, though without acquiring these denominations, the parties of court and country ; parties which have ever since con tinued, and which, while they often threaten the total dissolution of the government, are the real causes of its permanent Ufe and vigor. In the ancient feudal constitution, of which the English partook Avith other European nations, there Avas a mixture, not of authority and liberty, which we have since enjoyed in this island, and which now subsist uniformly together ; but of authority and anarchy, which per petually shocked with each other, and which took place alternately, according as circumstances were more or less favorable to either of them. A parbament composed of barbarians, summoned from their fields and forests, uninstructed by study, conversation, or travel ; ignorant of their own laws and history, and unacquainted Avith the situation of aU foreign nations ; a parliament called precariously by the king, and dissolved at his pleasure ; sitting a few days, debating a few points prepared for them, and whose members were impatient to vol. iv. 48 H 566 NOTES. return to their own castles, where alone they were great, and to the chase, which was their favorite amusement : such a parliament was very little fitted to enter into a discussion of all the questions of gov ernment, and to share, in a regular manner, the legal administration. The name, the authority of the king alone appeared, in the common course of government; in extraordinary emergencies, he assumed, with still better reason, the sole direction ; the imperfect and un formed laws left in every thing a latitude of interpretation ; and when the ends pursued by the monarch were in general agreeable to his subjects, Uttle scruple or jealousy was entertained with regard to the regularity of the means. During the reign of an able, fortunate, or popular prince, no member of either house, much less of the lower, durst think of entering into a formed party in opposition to the court ; since the dissolution of the parUament must in a few days leave him unprotected to the vengeance of his sovereign, and to those stretches of prerogative which were then so easily made in order to punish an obnoxious subject. During an unpopular and weak reign, the current commonly ran so strong against the monarch, that none durst enlist themselves in the court party ; or if the prince was able to engage any considerable barons on his side, the question was decided with arms in the field, not by debates or arguments in a senate or assembly. And upon the whole, the chief circumstance Avhich, during ancient times, retained the prince in any legal form of administration, was, that the sword, by the nature of the feudal tenures, remained still in the hands of his subjects ; and this irregular and dangerous check had much more influence than the regular and methodical limits of the laws and constitution. As the nation could not be compelled, it was necessary that every public measure of consequence, particularly that of levying new taxes, should seem to be adopted by common consent and approbation. The princes of the house of Tudor, partly by the vigor of their administration, partly by thc concurrence of favorable circumstances, had been able to establish a more regular system of government ; but they drew the constitution so near to despotism, as diminished ex tremely the authority of the parliament. The senate became in a great degree the organ of royal will and pleasure : opposition AA'Ould have been regarded as a species of rebellion: and even religion, the most dangerous article in which innovations could be introduced, had admitted, in the course of a few years, four several alterations, from the authority alone of the sovereign. The parliament was not then the road to honor and preferment : the talents of popular intrigue and eloquence were uncultivated and unknown : and though that assembly stiU preserved authority, and retained the privilege of making laws and bestowing pubhc money, the members acquired not upon that account, either Avith prince or people, much more weight and con sideration. What powers were necessary for conducting the machine of government, the king was accustomed of himself to assume. His own revenues supplied him with money sufficient for his ordinary expenses. And when extraordinary emergencies occurred, the prince needed not to solicit votes in parliament, either for making laws or imposing taxes, both of which were now become requisite for pubhc 'nterest and preservation. The security of individuals, so necessary to the liberty of popular notes. 567 councils, was totaUy unknown in that age. And as no despotic princes, scarcely even the Eastern tyrants, rule entirely without the concurrence of some assembhes, which supply both advice and au thority, Uttle but a mercenary force seems then to haA'e been wanting towards the estabbshment of a simple monarchy in England. The militia, though more favorable to regal authority than the feudal insti tutions, was much inferior in this respect to disciplined armies ; and if it did not preserve liberty to the people, it preserved at least the poAver, if ever the inclination should arise, of recovering it. But so low at that time rau the inclination towards liberty, that Elizabeth, the last of that arbitrary Une, herself no less arbitrary, was yet the most renowned and most popular of aU the sovereigns that had fined the throne of England. It was natural for James to take the government as he found it, and to pursue her measures, which he heard so much applauded ; nor did his penetration extend so far as to discover, that neither his circumstances nor his character could support so extensive an authority. His narroAV revenues and Uttle frugality began now to render him dependent on his people, even in the ordinary course of administration : their increasing knowl edge discovered to them that advantage which they had obtained ; and made them sensible of the inestimable value of civil bberty. And as he possessed too Uttle dignity to command respect, and too much good nature to impress fear, a new spirit discovered itself every day in the parbament ; and a party, watchful of a free constitution, was regularly formed in the house of commons. But notwithstanding these advantages acquired to liberty, so extensive was royal authority, and so firmly established in all its parts, that it is probable the patriots of that age would have de spaired of ever resisting it, had they not been stimulated by reh gious motives, which inspire a courage unsurmountable by any human obstacle. The same alliance which has ever prevailed between kingly power and ecclesiastical authority, was now fully estabbshed in England ; and while the prince assisted the clergy in suppressing schismatics and innovators, the clergy, in return, inculcated the doctrine of an unreserved submission and obedience to the civil magistrate. The genius of the church of England, so kindly to monarchy, forwarded the confederacy ; its submission to episcopal jurisdiction ; its at tachment to ceremonies, to order, and to a decent pomp and splendor of worship ; and, in a word, its affinity to the tame superstition of the CathoUcs, rather than to the wild fanaticism of the Puritans. On the other hand, opposition to the church, and the persecutions under which they labored, were sufficient to throw the Puritans into the country party, and to beget political principles Uttle favorable to the high pretensions of the sovereign. The spirit too of enthusiasm ; bold, daring, and uncontrolled; strongly disposed their minds to adopt republican tenets ; and inclined them to arrogate, in their actions and conduct, the same liberty which they assumed in their rapturous flights and ecstasies. Ever since the first origin of that sect, through the whole reign of Elizabeth as weU as of James, Puritanical principles had been understood in a double sense, and expressed the opinions favorable both to political and to ecclesiastical Uberty. And as the court, in order to discredit all parliamentary opposition, affixed the denomination of Puritans to its antagonists, 568 notes-. the rehgious Puritans wilUngly adopted this idea, which was so ad vantageous to them, and which confounded their cause with that of the patriots or country party. Thus were the civil and ecclesiastical factions regularly formed ; and the humor of the nation, during that age, running strongly towards fanatical extravagancies, the spirit of civil Uberty gradually revived from its lethargy, and by means of its religious associate, from which it reaped more advantage than honor, it secretly enlarged its dominion over the greater part of the kingdom. [This note was in the first editions a part of the text ; but the author omitted it, in order to avoid as much as possible the style of dissertation in the body of his History. The passage, however, contains vieAVS so important, that he thought it might be admitted as a note.] Note DDD, p. 465. This protestation is so remarkable, that it may not be improper to give it in its own words. "The commons now assembled in parba ment, being justly occasioned thereunto, concerning sundry liberties, franchises, and privileges of parUament, amongst others here men tioned, do make this protestation foUowing : That the liberties, fran chises, and jurisdictions of parliament are the ancient and undoubted birthright and inheritance of the subjects of England ; and that the urgent and arduous affairs concerning the king, state, and defence of the realm and of the church of England, and the maintenance and making of laws, and redress of mischiefs and grievances which daUy happen within this realm, are proper subjects and matter of counsel and debate in parUament ; and that, in the handling and proceeding of those businesses, every member of the house of parUament hath, and of right ought to have, freedom of speech to propound, treat, reason, and bring to conclusion the same ; and that the commons in parUament have like liberty and freedom to treat of these matters, in such order as in their judgment shall seem fittest; and that every member of the said house hath Uke freedom from aU impeachment, imprisonment, and molestation, (other than by censure of the house itself,) for or concerning any speaking, reasoning, or declaring of any matter or matters touching the parUament or parUament business. And that if any of the said members be complained of or questioned for any thing done or said in parliament, the same 13 to be shown to the king by the advice and assent of all the commons assembled in parliament, before the king give credence to any private information." Franklyn, p. 65. Rush. vol. i. p. 53. Kennet, p. 747. Coke, p. 77. Note EEE, p. 484. The moment the prince embarked at St. Andero's, he said to those about him, that it was folly in the Spaniards to use him so ill, and aUoAV him to depart : a proof that the duke had made him believe they Avere insincere in the affair of the marriage and the Palatinate ; for as to his reception in other respects, it had been altogether unex ceptionable. Besides, had not the prince beUevedthe Spaniards to be insincere, he had no reason to quarrel with them, though Buoking- NOTES. 569 ham had. It appears, therefore, that Charles himself must have been deceived. The multiplied delays of the dispensation, though they arose from accident, afforded Buckingham a plausible pretext for charging the Spaniards with insincerity. Note FFF, p. 486. Among other particulars, he mentions a sum of eighty thousand pounds borrowed from the king of Denmark. In a former speech to the parliament, he told them that he had expended five hundred thousand pounds in the cause of the palatine, besides the voluntary contributions given him by the people. See Franklyn, p. 50. But what is more extraordinary, the treasurer, in order to show his own good services, boasts to the parUament, that by his contrivance sixty thousand pounds had been saved in the article of exchange in the sums remitted to the palatine. This seems a great sum ; nor is it easy to conceive whence the king could procure such vast sums as would require a sum so considerable to be paid in exchange. From the whole, however, it appears, that the king had been far from neg lecting the interests of his daughter and son-in-law, and had even gone far beyond what his narrow revenue could afford. Note GGG, p. 486. How Uttle this principle had prevailed during any former period of the Engbsh government, particularly during the last rpign, which was certainly not so perfect a model of Uberty as most writers would represent it, will easily appear from many passages in the history of that reign. But the ideas of men Avere much changed during about twenty years of a gentle and peaceful administration. The commons, though James of himself had recaUed all patents of monopolies, were not contented without a law against them, and a declaratory law too ; which was gaining a great point, and establishing principles very favorable to Uberty : but they were extremely grateful when Eliza beth, upon petition, (after having once refused their requests,) recalled a few of the most oppressive patents, and employed some soothing expressions towards them. The parUament had surely reason, when they confessed, in the seventh of James, that he aUowed them more freedom of debate than ever was indulged by any of his predecessors. His indulgence in this particular, joined to his easy temper^ was probably one cause of the great power assumed by the commons. Monsieur fie la Boderie, in his despatches, (vol. i. p. 449,) mentions the Uberty of speech in the house of commons as a new practice. Note HHH, p. 491. Rymer, torn. xvin. p. 224. It is certain that the young prince of Wales, afterwards Charles II., had Protestant governors from his early infancy ; first the earl of Newcastle, then the marquis of Hertford. The king, in his memorial to foreign churches after the commence ment of the civil wars, insists on his care in educating his children in, 48* 570 NOTES. the Protestant religion, as a proof that he was nowise inclined to the Cathobc. Rush. vol. v. p. 752. It can scarcely, therefore, be ques tioned, but this article, which has so odd an appearance, was inserted only to amuse the pope, and was never intended by either party to be executed. Note IH, p. 499. "Monarchies," according to Sir Walter Raleigh, "are of two sorts touching their power or authority, viz. 1. Entire, where the whole power of ordering aU state matters, both in peace and war, doth by law and custom appertain to the prince, as in the English kingdom ; where the prince hath the power to make laws, league, and war, to create magistrates, to pardon life, of appeal, etc. Though to give a contentment to the other degrees, they have a suffrage in making laws, yet ever subject to the prince's pleasure and negative wiU. 2. Limited or restrained, that hath no fuU power in aU the points and matters of state, as the military king that hath not the sovereignty in time of peace, as the making of laws, etc., but in war only, as the Polonian king." Maxims of State. And a little after : " In every just state, some part of the govern ment is, or ought to be, imparted to the people, as in a kingdom, a voice and suffrage in making laws ; and sometimes also of levying of arms, (if the charge be great, and the prince forced to borrow help of his subjects,) the matter rightly may be propounded to a parUa ment, that the tax may seem to have proceeded from themselves. So consultations and some proceedings in judicial matters may in part be referred to them. Tbe reason, lest, seeing themselves to be in no number nor of reckoning, they mislike the state or government." This way of reasoning differs Uttle from that of King James, who considered the privUeges of the parUament as matters of grace and indulgence, more than of inheritance. It is remarkable that Raleigh was thought to lean towards the Puritanical party, notwithstanding these positions. But ideas of government change much in different times. Raleigh's sentiments on this head are stiU more openly expressed in his Prerogatives of Parbaments, a work not published tiU after his death. It is a dialogue between a courtier, or counseUor, and a country justice' of peace, who represents the patriot party, and de fends the highest notion of Uberty which the principles of that age would bear. Here is a passage of it : " Counsellor. That which is done by the king, with the advice of his private or privy councU, is done by the king's absolute power. Justice. And by whose power is it done in parUament but by the king's absolute power ? Mistake it not, my lord : the three estates do but advise as the privy councU doth ; which advice if the king embrace, it becomes the king's own act in the one, and the king's law in the other," etc. The earl of Clare, in a private letter to his son-in-law, Sir Thomas Wentworth, afterwards earl of Strafford, thus expresses himself: "We live under a prerogative government, where book law sub mits to lex loquens." He spoke from his own and aU his ancestors' experience. There was no single instance of power which a king of England might not at that time exert, on pretence of necessity or expediency ; the continuance alone, or frequent repetition of arbitrary NOTES. 571 administration, might prove dangerous, for want of force to support it. It is remarkable, that this letter of the earl of Clare was written in the first year of Charles's reign ; and consequently must be meant of the general genius of the government, not the spirit or temper of the monarch. See Strafford's Letters, vol. i. p. 32. From another letter in the same collection, (vol. i. p. 10,) it appears that the councU sometimes assumed the power of forbidding persons disagree able to the court to stand in the elections. This authority they could exert in some instances ; but we are not thence to infer, that they could shut the door of that house to every one who was not accepta ble to them. The genius of the ancient government reposed more trust in the king, than to entertain any such suspicion ; aiid it aUowed scattered instances of such a kind, as would have been t -Jtaby destructive of the constitution, had they been continued without interruption. I have not met with any English writer in that age who speaks of England as a limited monarchy, but as an absolute one, wheie the people have many privileges. That is no contradiction. In all Eu ropean monarchies the people have privileges ; but whether dependent or independent on the wiU of the monarch, is a question that in, most governments it is better to forbear. Surely that question Avrs not determined before the age of James. The rising spirit of the j arlia- ment, together with that king's love of general, speculative principles, brought it from its obscurity, and made it be commonly canv issed. The strongest testimony that I remember from a writer of Jl mes's age in favor of English Uberty, is in Cardinal Bentivogho, a foreigner, who mentions the Engbsh government as similar to that of the Low Country provinces under their princes, rather than to that of Fraice or Spain. EngUshmen were not so sensible that their prince Avas Lb aited, because they were sensible that no individual had any security against a stretch of prerogative : but foreigners, by comparison, could perceive that these stretches were at that time, from custom or other causes, less frequent in England than in other monarchies. PhiUp de CoLiines, too, remarked the Engbsh constitution to be more popular in hi/1 time than that of France. But in a paper written by a patriot in H27, it is remarked, that the freedom of speech in parbament had bee^i lost in England since the days of Comines. Franklyn, p. 238. He; « is a stanza of Malherbe's Ode to Mary de Medicis, the queen n