Her great and

uneasiness on the score of his resentment. sole cause of apprehension was, lest a coalition should be formed against her between Spain, Scotland, and France for the invasion of England, under the pretext of avenging the murder of the Scottish queen. From this danger, she extricated herself with her usual diplomatic address, by amusing the court of Spain with a deceptive treaty, in which she affected to be so well disposed to give up her interest in the Netherlands, for the sake of establishing herself on amicable terms with her royal brother-in-law, that her Dutch allies began to suspect it was her intention to sacrifice them altogether.

The threatening demeanour of the king of Scotland, she quelled, by artfully bringing forward an embryo rival to his claims on the succession of the English throne, in the person of his little cousin, lady Arabella Stuart. This young lady, whom Elizabeth had scarcely ever seen, and never, certainly, taken the slightest notice of before, she now sent for to her court, and though she was scarcely twelve years of age, she made her dine in public with her, and gave her precedence of all the countesses, and every other lady present. This was no more than the place which Arabella Stuart was, in right of her birth, entitled to claim in the English court, being the nearest in blood to the queen, of the elder female line, from Henry VII., and next to the king of Scotland, in the regular order of succession to the throne of England.

L'Aubespine, in his despatch of the 25th of August, 1587, relates the manner in which queen Elizabeth called the attention of his lady (who had dined with her majesty, on the preceding Monday, at the same table) to her youthful relative. "After dinner, the queen being in a lofty grand hall with Madame L'Aubespine de Chasteauneuf, and all the countesses and maids of honour near her, and surrounded by a crowd of gentlemen, her majesty asked the ambassadress, if she had noticed a little girl, her relation, who was there?' and called the said Arabella to her. Madame de Chasteauneuf said much in her commendation, remarked how well she spoke French, and that she appeared very sweet and gracious.""

"Regard her well,' replied the queen, for she is not so simple as you may think. One day, she will be even

as I am, and will be lady-mistress; but I shall have been before her."

These observations were doubtless intended, as L'Aubespine shrewdly remarks, to excite the apprehensions of the king of Scots, and to act as a check upon him.

Some years later, the innocent puppet of whom Elizabeth had made this artful use, became an object of jealous alarm to herself, and would, probably, have shared the fate of all the other royal ladies who stood in juxtaposition to the throne, if her own life had been prolonged a few months.

This dark chapter of the annals of the maiden monarch closed with the farce of her assuming the office of chief mourner, at the funeral of her royal victim, when the mangled remains of Mary Stuart, after being permitted to lie unburied, and neglected for six months, were, at last, interred, with regal pomp, in Peterborough Cathedral, attended by a train of nobles, and ladies of the highest rank, in the English court. The countess of Bedford acted as queen Elizabeth's proxy on that occasion, and made the offering in her name.' "What a glorious princess!" claimed the sarcastic pontiff, Sixtus V., when the news reached the Vatican,-"it is a pity," he added, “ that Elizabeth and I cannot marry, our children would have mastered the whole world."

ex

It is a curious coincidence, that the Turkish sultan, Amurath III., without being in the slightest degree aware of this unpriestly, or, as Burnet terms it, this profane jest on the part of Sixtus, was wont to say, "that he had found out a means of reconciling the dissensions in the Christian churches of Europe, which was, that queen Elizabeth, who was an old maid, should marry the pope, who was an old bachelor."

66

Sixtus entertained so high an opinion of Elizabeth's regnal talents, that he was accustomed to say, there were but three sovereigns in Europe who understood the art of governing namely, himself, the king of Navarre, and the queen of England,-of all the princes in Christendom but

1 Archæologia, vol. i. p. 355. See also, as more generally accessible, Letters of Mary queen of Scots, edited by Agnes Strickland, vol. ii. p. 313, second edition.

? Bishop Goodman's court of king James, vol. i. p. 367.

two, Henry and Elizabeth, to whom he wished to communicate the mighty things that were revolving in his soul, and, as they were heretics, he could not do it." He was even then preparing to reiterate the anathemas of his predecessors, Pius V. and Gregory XIII., and to proclaim a general crusade against Elizabeth.

1 Perefixe Hist. Henry le Grand.

3

ELIZABETH,

SECOND QUEEN REGNANT OF ENGLAND & IRELAND.

CHAPTER X.

Renewed influence of the earl of Leicester with Elizabeth-An impostor pretends to be their son-Hostile proceedings of Spain-Philip II. sends an insulting Latin tetrastic to Elizabeth-Her witty reply-The Armada -Female knight made by queen Elizabeth—The queen's prayer-Her heroic deportment-Leicester's letter to her-Her visit to the camp at Tilbury-Enthusiasm of her subjects-Defeat and dispersion of the Spanish fleet-Medals struck on the occasion-Death of Leicester-His legacy to the queen-She distrains his goods-Elizabeth goes in state to St. Paul's, to return thanks for the defeat of the Armada-Her popularity-Way of life-Her love of history-Characteristic traits and anecdotes of Elizabeth -Margaret Lambrun's attempt on her life-Her magnanimity-Religious persecutions-Her imperious manner to the House of Commons-Arbitrary treatment of the earl of Arundel-Her love for Essex, and jealousy of lady Mary Howard-The escapade of Essex-Joins the expedition to Lisbon-His return-Increasing fondness of the queen-Her anger at his marriage-His temporary disgrace, and expedition to France-Elizabeth's letter to Henry IV., describing Essex's character-Her political conduct with regard to France-Takes offence with Henry-Her fierce letter to him-She favours the Cecil party-Sir Robert Cecil's flattery to the queen-Her progress-Splendid entertainment at Elvetham--Her unkind treatment of Hatton-Endeavours to atone for it in his last illness-His death-Angry expressions against Essex to the French ambassadorRecals him home-His expostulation-She insists on his return-He sends Carey to her-Essex returns-Their reconciliation-Elizabeth visits Oxford and Ricote-Her friendship for lady Norris.

It is worthy of observation, that while Burleigh, Walsingham, Davison, and even Hatton, experienced the effects of the queen's displeasure, which was long and obstinately manifested towards the members of her cabinet, even to the interruption of public business, Leicester escaped all

blame, although as deeply implicated in the unauthorized despatch of the warrant, for the execution of the Scottish queen, as any of his colleagues. It seemed as if he had regained all his former influence over the mind of his royal mistress since his return from the Netherlands; yet he had evinced incapacity, disobedience, and even cowardice, during the inauspicious period of his command there. English treasure and English blood, had been lavished in vain, the allies murmured, and the high-spirited and chivalric portion of the gentlemen of England complained, that the honour of the country was compromised in the hands of a man, who was unworthy of the high charge that had been confided to his keeping. Instead of punishing him, his partial sovereign had bestowed preferments and places of great emolument upon him. As if to console him for the popular ill-will, she made him lord steward of her household, and chief justice in eyre south of the Trent, and finally sent him back with a reinforcement of 5000 men, and large supply of money.1

Matters had gone from bad to worse in his absence, even to the desertion of a large body of English troops to the king of Spain. Leicester endeavoured to make up for his incapacity, both as a general and a governor, by ostentatious fasting and daily attending sermons. The evil tenour of his life from his youth upward, and his treacherous underhand practices against those illustrious patriots, Barneveldt and Maurice, prince of Orange, rendered these exhibitions disgusting to persons of integrity and true piety. He lost the confidence of all parties. One disaster followed another, and the fall of Sluys completed the measure of public indignation. Articles of impeachment were prepared against him at home, and the queen was compelled to recall him, that he might meet the inquiry.

That the royal lioness of Tudor, was roused by the disgrace the military character of England had suffered under his auspices, to the utterance of some stern threats of punishment, may be easily surmised, for Leicester hastened to throw himself at her feet on his return, and with tears in his eyes, passionately implored her, "not to bury him alive,

1 Camden. Lingard.