Sending one of these insidious13 letters for D. John to the deceived Sovereign for his approval, Antonio Pérez wrote:
"Sir, It is necessary to hear and write in this manner for your service, because thus they fall into the net, and one is better able to judge what course to take on behalf of your Majesty14. And I would ask your Majesty to be careful not to be overlooked when reading these documents, as if my artifice15 were discovered, I could not serve you, and should have to give up the game. For the rest, I very well know, that for my conscience and duty I am acting16 as I ought in this matter, and I have need of no more casuistry than I possess to know it."
The King answered Pérez on the margin17 of the letter: "Believe me, I am very discreet18, and my casuistry agrees with yours; and not only are you doing your duty, but you would fail in doing it towards God and everyone if you acted differently, in order that I may be well enlightened of all that is necessary according to the twists and turns of the world and its affairs, which certainly frighten me."
Thus deceiving Philip II and betraying and calumniating19 D. John and Escovedo, Antonio Pérez made the false and subtle plot by which the hero of Lepanto lost his credit with the King, and honest Escovedo his life by a treacherous4 sword-thrust. Pérez, in his "Memorial," shows the threads of the plot, whose falseness Philip II found out later, and which modern history has proved by many authentic20 documents. That D. John had disobeyed the King by refusing to dismantle21 Tunis, the better to raise himself in that kingdom; that behind the King's back he had sought protection from Rome; that he put the English expedition before all the King's interests; that he exaggerated the state of affairs in Flanders, in order to get aid from Spain to use in the said expedition; that, once master of England, he contemplated22 invading Spain at Santander, making over the castle of Mogro to Escovedo, who had solicited23 its lieutenancy24; that the hope of the English expedition over, he thought of going to the help of the King of France at the head of the Spanish troops; that his wish to return to Spain was only to obtain a canopy25 and take possession of the government; that behind the King's back he had made a league with the Guise26 Princes, called the "Defence of the two Crowns," going back to the idea of invading England.
All these absurd, senseless plans Antonio Pérez did not attribute entirely27 to D. John. As formerly28 he represented Juan de Soto, so now he held up Escovedo as the instigator29 and principal agent, and D. John as a weak prince, who, devoured30 by ambition and blind through his vivid imagination, allowed himself to be dragged into disloyal adventures. For this, and perhaps because he loved D. John and was frightened of him, Philip II never showed his suspicion, nor took any steps against him, and took much trouble afterwards to hide his vengeance31 from him; so all his wrath32 fell on Escovedo, and he came to look on this rough and honest mountaineer as a dangerous man, capable of every treason and every crime. It is not wonderful that Escovedo's unexpected coming to Madrid in July, 1577, which we noted33 in a former chapter, should have given D. Philip a great shock; writing, as usual, on the margin of the letter in which Antonio Pérez announced the arrival of Escovedo at Santander, he says, "It will be necessary to be well prepared, and to make haste to dispatch him before he kills us."
Escovedo came, furious at what he considered the incomprehensible way D. John had been left without soldiers or money; furious also at Philip's policy of peace, which he presumed to describe as overdone34, writing to the King himself, and finally determined35, with all his rough energy, to claim the acceptance of the bills he had negotiated in Brussels, and the payment of the 80,000 gold crowns lent to D. John by the Pope's Nuncio, that the troops might be dismissed from Flanders. This he did with such hard words and bitter reproaches, that Philip sent one of Escovedo's letters to Pérez, adding on the margin, "That you should see how he comes thirsting for blood." And shortly afterwards, lamenting36 over another letter from Escovedo, he wrote, "Certainly if he said to me what he writes, I do not know if I could have helped losing my temper as he does."
Photo Lacoste
PHILIP II AS AN OLD MAN
Pantoja de la Cruz. Prado Gallery, Madrid
At last the news of D. John's retirement37 to the castle of Namur reached the Court, and the despairing letters of the distressed38 Prince began to arrive, in which, with such painful urgency, he craves39 for the return of Escovedo. "Money, money, and more money, and Escovedo," he repeats in all his letters of this date. His anxiety to have his secretary at his side, and the same feeling which was noticed in Escovedo to return as quickly as possible to Flanders, awoke in D. Philip the suspicion that something was being plotted to continue the war there against his orders, and to favour D. John's pretensions40. Antonio Pérez fanned this new fire, and henceforward Escovedo was in D. Philip's eyes a constant danger, a State criminal, who could not be sent back to Flanders, for fear lest he would carry out his work, or kept in Spain, without the risk of rousing the dreaded41 ire of D. John. For several days this vexed42 and perplexed43 Philip, until at last he made a resolution which Antonio Pérez himself relates in a letter to Gil de Mesa.
One day Philip called him to his room in the Escorial. It was at an inconvenient44 time, and the secretary hastily ran, carrying the dispatches in a large bag. The King came to the door to meet him, and took him, with much mystery, to a distant, isolated45 room, where the furniture, ornaments46 and treasures for the still unfurnished house were stored. The King ordered Pérez to shut the door and put the bag of papers on the table. The furniture was stacked at the two sides, leaving a passage in the middle, up and down which Philip began to walk, his hands behind his back, preoccupied47 and thoughtful. Pérez kept a respectful silence, waiting for the King to break it, which he did at last, standing48 in front of Pérez, and saying very slowly and in measured tones, "Antonio Pérez, I have passed many sleepless49 nights on account of my brother's affairs, or rather those of Juan de Escovedo and his predecessor50 Juan de Soto, and the point to which their plots have come, and I consider it is very necessary to take a resolution quickly, or we shall not be in time. And I can find no better remedy, in fact there is no other, than getting rid of Juan de Escovedo. Imprisoning51 him would result in exasperating52 my brother as much as killing53 him would. So I have determined on it, and trust this deed to no one but you, because of your well-proved fidelity54 and your ingenuity55, as well known as your fidelity. Because you know all the plots, and I owe the discovery of them to you, yours shall be the hand to effect the cure. Speed is very necessary for the reasons you know."
As he himself affirms, the heart of Antonio Pérez leapt, and he answered the King with great devotion that he was entirely his, and that he had no more wish or movement than the hand as regards its owner. But, as his cunning forethought always saw a long way ahead, he at once realised the risk that he ran in a matter so secret and with so powerful an accomplice56, if he did not have a witness in his interest to note the facts, if things were ever discovered, and to share the responsibilities in case of disagreement, so he craftily57 added, "But, Sir, let Y.M. permit me to speak with the presumption58 of love. I consider Y.M. outside this affair, although your prudence59 and presence of mind prevent your being incensed60 at the greatest crimes, I, as I might get angry at such offences against your person and crown, also have much interest in this. It will be well to bring in a third person to judge this determination, to justify61 it, and for the better ascertaining62 of the facts. This will be much to the point."
Then he saw the King come towards him, who, stopping, answered: "Antonio Pérez, if it is because you do not care to run the risk of this business that you wish for a third person, it is the same to me. To settle the matter I do not require a third person. Kings in such extreme cases have to act like King's physicians and great doctors among their inferiors with patients under their care: that in grave and urgent accidents they act on their own authority with promptitude, although in other illnesses they act with and follow the consultations63 of other doctors. Moreover, in these matters (believe me that what I say relates to my profession) there is more danger than security in consultations."
Antonio Pérez makes the following comment on these royal words in his letter to Gil de Mesa: "When old kings come to announcing such principles of their art, either they love much (a rare thing) or necessity opens the door of confidence (a certain fact)."
Well Antonio Pérez must have known and measured Philip's necessity when he determined to press him to interpose a third person, and even presumed to propose his friend and boon64 companion the Marqués de los Vélez, D. Pedro Fajardo, who was a Councillor of State and Lord Steward65 to the Queen Do?a Ana. At last Philip consented, and authorised Antonio Pérez to consult him. The secretary had little trouble in bringing the old noble to his opinion, a despot himself, a great soldier but absolutely illiterate66, who considered Pérez an oracle67, and for some years had owed D. John a grudge68 for having usurped69, as he said, the triumph over the Moors70.
Pérez talked to him, and both agreed that Escovedo deserved to die as a disturber of the kingdom who was trying to make war in Flanders; that it was impossible to arrest, judge and sentence him in the ordinary way without risk of awaking the alarm of D. John and provoking fresh conflicts; but the King, as supreme71 arbiter72 of his subjects' lives, according to the precepts73 and practices of those times, could judge and sentence him by the secret law of his conscience, without any legal transactions, and entrust74 the execution of this sentence to some person in his confidence, whom he should authorise by a paper in his own writing, "and that the best and least inconvenient way would be that with some mouthful or other similar means he should get out of the trouble, and even this with the greatest care, as the Lord D. John might not suspect it was the result of the true cause and motive75, but of some vengeance and private grudge."
And then the Marqués de los Vélez, with all the customary pomposity76 of a wind-bag, and with all the jealous rancour which he nourished, pronounced these words so often quoted by the apologists of Antonio Pérez, "That if his opinion were asked, with the Sacrament in his mouth, who was the person it was most important to take away, Juan de Escovedo or anyone else, he would vote for Juan de Escovedo."
In conformity77, then, with this interview Philip II judged Escovedo and condemned78 him to death by the law of his conscience, and charged Antonio Pérez with the execution of the sentence, authorising him by a paper written by his own hand, in which he adds, "That although it may be realised that he has nothing to do with all that has happened, it will be well that there should be no doubt whatever about it."
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1
diabolical
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| adj.恶魔似的，凶暴的 | |
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craftiness
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| 狡猾，狡诈 | |
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slumbering
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| 微睡，睡眠（slumber的现在分词形式） | |
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4
treacherous
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| adj.不可靠的，有暗藏的危险的；adj.背叛的，背信弃义的 | |
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treacherously
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| 背信弃义地； 背叛地； 靠不住地； 危险地 | |
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perfidy
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| n.背信弃义，不忠贞 | |
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7
intrigue
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| vt.激起兴趣，迷住；vi.耍阴谋；n.阴谋，密谋 | |
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8
tangle
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| n.纠缠；缠结；混乱；v.(使)缠绕；变乱 | |
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9
tenacity
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| n.坚韧 | |
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10
grumbling
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| adj. 喃喃鸣不平的, 出怨言的 | |
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hypocrisy
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| n.伪善，虚伪 | |
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12
monarch
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| n.帝王，君主，最高统治者 | |
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insidious
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| adj.阴险的，隐匿的，暗中为害的，（疾病）不知不觉之间加剧 | |
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14
majesty
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| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
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15
artifice
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| n.妙计，高明的手段；狡诈，诡计 | |
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16
acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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margin
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| n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘 | |
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18
discreet
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| adj.(言行)谨慎的；慎重的；有判断力的 | |
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19
calumniating
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| v.诽谤，中伤( calumniate的现在分词 ) | |
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authentic
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| a.真的，真正的；可靠的，可信的，有根据的 | |
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21
dismantle
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| vt.拆开，拆卸；废除，取消 | |
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22
contemplated
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| adj. 预期的 动词contemplate的过去分词形式 | |
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23
solicited
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| v.恳求( solicit的过去式和过去分词 )；（指娼妇）拉客；索求；征求 | |
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24
lieutenancy
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| n.中尉之职，代理官员 | |
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canopy
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| n.天篷，遮篷 | |
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26
guise
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| n.外表，伪装的姿态 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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28
formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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instigator
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| n.煽动者 | |
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30
devoured
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| 吞没( devour的过去式和过去分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光 | |
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vengeance
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| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
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32
wrath
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| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
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noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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overdone
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| v.做得过分( overdo的过去分词 )；太夸张；把…煮得太久；（工作等）过度 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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36
lamenting
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| adj.悲伤的，悲哀的v.（为…）哀悼，痛哭，悲伤( lament的现在分词 ) | |
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37
retirement
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| n.退休，退职 | |
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distressed
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| 痛苦的 | |
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craves
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| 渴望，热望( crave的第三人称单数 )； 恳求，请求 | |
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40
pretensions
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| 自称( pretension的名词复数 )； 自命不凡； 要求； 权力 | |
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41
dreaded
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| adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
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42
vexed
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| adj.争论不休的；（指问题等）棘手的；争论不休的问题；烦恼的v.使烦恼( vex的过去式和过去分词 )；使苦恼；使生气；详细讨论 | |
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43
perplexed
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| adj.不知所措的 | |
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44
inconvenient
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| adj.不方便的，令人感到麻烦的 | |
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45
isolated
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| adj.与世隔绝的 | |
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46
ornaments
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| n.装饰( ornament的名词复数 )；点缀；装饰品；首饰v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的第三人称单数 ) | |
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47
preoccupied
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| adj.全神贯注的，入神的；被抢先占有的；心事重重的v.占据（某人）思想，使对…全神贯注，使专心于( preoccupy的过去式) | |
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48
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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49
sleepless
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| adj.不睡眠的，睡不著的，不休息的 | |
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50
predecessor
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| n.前辈，前任 | |
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51
imprisoning
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| v.下狱，监禁( imprison的现在分词 ) | |
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52
exasperating
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| adj. 激怒的 动词exasperate的现在分词形式 | |
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53
killing
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| n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财 | |
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54
fidelity
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| n.忠诚，忠实；精确 | |
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55
ingenuity
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| n.别出心裁；善于发明创造 | |
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56
accomplice
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| n.从犯，帮凶，同谋 | |
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57
craftily
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| 狡猾地，狡诈地 | |
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58
presumption
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| n.推测，可能性，冒昧，放肆，[法律]推定 | |
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59
prudence
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| n.谨慎，精明，节俭 | |
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60
incensed
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| 盛怒的 | |
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61
justify
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| vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护 | |
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62
ascertaining
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| v.弄清，确定，查明( ascertain的现在分词 ) | |
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63
consultations
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| n.磋商（会议）( consultation的名词复数 )；商讨会；协商会；查找 | |
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64
boon
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| n.恩赐，恩物，恩惠 | |
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65
steward
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| n.乘务员，服务员；看管人；膳食管理员 | |
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66
illiterate
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| adj.文盲的；无知的；n.文盲 | |
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67
oracle
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| n.神谕，神谕处，预言 | |
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68
grudge
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| n.不满，怨恨，妒嫉；vt.勉强给，不情愿做 | |
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69
usurped
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| 篡夺，霸占( usurp的过去式和过去分词 )； 盗用； 篡夺，篡权 | |
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70
moors
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| v.停泊，系泊（船只）( moor的第三人称单数 ) | |
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71
supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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72
arbiter
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| n.仲裁人，公断人 | |
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73
precepts
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| n.规诫，戒律，箴言( precept的名词复数 ) | |
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74
entrust
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| v.信赖，信托，交托 | |
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75
motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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76
pomposity
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| n.浮华；虚夸；炫耀；自负 | |
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77
conformity
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| n.一致，遵从，顺从 | |
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78
condemned
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| adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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