On the 21st of March Walsingham, who had now returned to his post, was walking with Smith in the park at Blois, when by accident or design they met the Queen-mother. A quaint5 account of the interview with her is given in a letter from Smith to Cecil dated the following day. They were speaking of the Duke of Norfolk’s conspiracy6, when the Queen-mother seized the opportunity of once more trying to urge the suit of her youngest son. “I would,” she said, “that the Queen were quiet from all these broils7; doe you (Smith) know nothing how she can fancie the marriage with my son the Duke of Alen?on?” “Madam,” said Smith, “you know me of old; I can affirm nothing except I have some good ground. Why, if she be disposed to marrie, I do not see where she shall marrie so well; and yet, saith she, I may as a mother be justly accounted153 partial, but as for those which I have heard named, as the Emperor’s son or Don John, they be both lesser8 than my son is, and of less stature9 by a good deal, and if she should marrie it were pity any more time were lost. Madam, quoth I, if it pleased God that she were married and had a child, all these braggs and all these treasons would soon be appalled10, and on condition that she had a child by M. d’Alen?on, for my part I care not if ye had the Queen of Scotland here, for you would then take as good care of her as we do.” Catharine de Medici confirmed this view, and said that there was no reason why they should not have several children. “And if the Queen,” she said, “could have fancied my son Anjou, why not this one, of the same house, father and mother, and as vigorous and lusty as he, and rather more? And now he beginneth to have a beard come forth11, for that I told him the last day that I was angry with it, for I was now afraid he would not be so high as his brethren. Yea, Madam, I said, a man doth commonly grow in height to his years, the beard maketh nothing. Nay12, said she, he is not so little; he is as high as you, or very near. For that, Madam, quoth I, I for my part make small account, if the Queen’s Majesty13 can fancie him, for Pepin the short did not reach his wife’s girdle and yet had Charlemagne. It is true, said she, that it is heart and courage and activity that is to be looked for in a man. But have you no word of your Queen’s affection that way? Can you give me no comfort?” But Smith was not to be drawn14 out of his reserve without special instructions from England, and these did not come; so that although the conversation continued154 in the same strain for a long time, Catherine could get nothing definite in the way of encouragement to Alen?on.
In the meanwhile the “rough hewing” of the treaty had been steadily15 going on, and on the 19th of April the draft protocol16 was signed at Blois. Aid was to be given unofficially by both nations to the revolted Hollanders; the fleets of Protestant privateers in the Channel were to be sheltered and encouraged, and, above all, the Huguenot Henry of Navarre was to marry Margaret of Valois, the King’s sister. Catharine wrote a letter to Elizabeth on the 22nd of April, through Smith, expressing her joy at the prospect17 of peace and harmony in France, which the treaty and her daughter’s marriage held out, and Marshal de Montmorenci and de Foix were sent as a special embassy to England for the ratification18 of the formal alliance, whilst Lord Admiral Clinton, the Earl of Lincoln, was to proceed to France for a similar purpose. The Protestant party in France were thus for the moment victorious19 all along the line, and the connection between England and France closer than it had been for many years. Catharine, naturally desirous of securing a double hold upon England whilst these relations lasted, by settling her youngest son as Elizabeth’s consort20, instructed Montmorenci to make a formal offer of his hand to the Queen. As usual, Cavalcanti was sent over as a harbinger, and took with him a flattering portrait of the Prince, which was given to the Queen through Leicester. Alen?on was deeply pitted with the small-pox from which he had recently suffered, and otherwise was far inferior in appearance to his brother Anjou, so155 that to a person of Elizabeth’s temperament21 he was less likely to be acceptable. She had, moreover, obtained by the treaty of Blois the close alliance with France and the predominance of the Huguenots which she desired, and could therefore afford to hold off somewhat in the marriage negotiations in which she personally had never been sincere. She accordingly instructed Lord Lincoln72 that if any mention were made to him of the marriage, he might say that he believed she considered she had not been well treated in the Anjou business; and moreover the disparity of years between herself and Alen?on was so great as in her opinion to be a complete “stay” to the match.
Montmorenci and de Foix arrived in London on the 13th of June and were lodged22 at Somerset House, their entertainment being the most lavish23 and splendid that had been seen in England for many years. After the swearing of the alliance on the 15th at Westminster, the ambassadors had audience of the Queen and presented her with Catharine’s letter offering the hand of her son. She again objected to her suitor’s youth, and sustained the discussion with Montmorenci until supper was announced. Subsequently, at Windsor, he returned to the charge, when Elizabeth once more raised the religious question. The ambassador said they would be contented24 with the concessions25 which Smith had offered at Blois when Anjou was under discussion. But matters were changed now, and the Queen said she did not recollect26 to have made any such concessions; besides which the difference of age was so great as to be an obstacle. De Foix replied that the disproportion156 was not so very great after all. Alen?on was strong and vigorous, capable of begetting27 children, whilst she who was used to command would be better pleased with a young and docile28 husband than with an older one. There was much beating about the bush on the religious question, but the ambassadors made it evident that Alen?on was not a bigot like his brother, and that no great stand would be made on that point. On their departure, therefore, at the end of the month the matter was still left in suspense29.
As soon as they had gone Burleigh sent some account of their visit to Walsingham in France. “They were,” he says, “entertained as never before in man’s memory. The honour done them also by the Queen was such as she could do no more. All the higher nobility attended them, the only difference from the Lord Admiral’s entertainment in France being that no lord but my Lord Leicester entertained them, saving I at Midsummer eve did feast them and all their gentlemen with a collation30 of all things I could procure31, not being flesh to observe their manner.” He deplores32 that the presents of plate given to the ambassadors were not so great as he would have wished, although they both got “cupboards of plate and Montmorenci also a great gold cup of 111 ounces.” With regard to Alen?on, “they got neither yea nor nay, only a month’s delay.”
But at the end of the letter it is clear that Elizabeth, who was not now in such a hurry, was determined33 if she did marry to drive as hard a bargain as possible. Walsingham is instructed to get full information of the Prince’s age, stature,157 condition, devotion, &c., with all speed, for the Queen; and Burleigh assures his correspondent that he sees no lack of will in the Queen but on account of Alen?on’s age. “If we could counter-balance that defect with some advantage such as Calais for their issue, he being governor for life.”73 Otherwise, he says, he doubts the result, as the Queen mislikes Alen?on’s youth and appearance.
In the meanwhile Lincoln came back from Paris loaded with 2,800 ounces of gilt34 plate, worth, says Walsingham, 10s. per ounce, and full of the magnificence and gaiety of his entertainment in France. His stay had been one succession of splendid feasts, and Alen?on especially had treated him with marked distinction. Coligny and the great Huguenot chiefs had emphatically praised the young Prince to him, and Lincoln came back to his mistress greatly impressed with all he had heard and seen, and assured her that Alen?on, far from being inferior, was better than his brother, both in bearing and credit. She characteristically objected that he was not nearly so good-looking, and that the small-pox had not improved him. Lincoln’s favourable36 opinion was to a great extent confirmed by Walsingham’s report to Cecil. The Duke, he said, was born on the 25th of April, 1555, and his stature is about the same as that of Lord Lincoln. He was reputed to be prudent37 and brave, but also somewhat feather-headed, which, says Walsingham, is a common fault with his countrymen. Coligny was in great hope of him in religion, and thought he might soon be brought to a knowledge of the truth; and Walsingham concludes his good158 character of the Prince by hinting that he was really in love with the Queen. But it will be noticed that he says not a word as to his physical charms, which indeed could not compare with his brother Anjou’s somewhat effeminate beauty. He is thus described at the time by the Venetian ambassador in Paris. “His complexion38 is swarthy and his face pitted with small-pox, his stature small but well set, his hair black and curling naturally. He wears it brushed up from the forehead, which lengthens39 the oval of his face. He affects popular manners, but his prodigal40 promises of reforms are only a cloak for his unbridled desire for trouble and dissension.”74
On the 20th of July the Queen sent instructions to Walsingham saying that “although the forbearing of her Majesty’s consent to the motion of Marshal Montmorenci for a marriage with the Duke of Alen?on was grounded on their ages, yet a greater cause of misliking proceeds from the report made by all of his great blemish42 in his face by means of small-pox, which is such that none dare affirm to her Majesty the good liking41 of him in that respect,”75 and Walsingham is directed to let this view be known to the Queen-mother, as if coming from himself without instructions. The Queen herself wrote a letter to Walsingham at the same time, going over the whole ground. She says she was moved by the importunity44 of Montmorenci to consider the match, notwithstanding her treatment in the matter of Anjou and the youth of Alen?on, but “has now spoken to Lord Lincoln and others from France,159 and finds the conditions and qualities of the said Duke nothing inferior to the Duke of Anjou, but rather better liked. But as to visage and favour everybody declares the same to be far inferior, and especially for the blemishes45 of small-pox; so, the youngness of his years being considered, she cannot bring herself to like this offer, especially finding that no other great commodity is offered with him, whereby the absurdity46 that the general opinion of the world might grow, might in some measure be recompensed.” Walsingham is to decline with thanks. She has no lack of desire for their friendship but, really, the ages of her suitor and herself were too disproportionate, particularly “as she cannot hear of anything which may countervail the inconvenience.”76 She again repeats that although the official objection is Alen?on’s youth, yet his pock-marked visage has had a large share in personally influencing her to refuse the offer, unless indeed some great countervailing advantage—such as the restoration of Calais—could make her forget it. In another letter, a few days later, she enlarges upon these points, but says that the only way to overcome the difficulty will be for them to meet and see whether they could fancy each other. But she knew that this trick to feed her vanity was getting stale, and foresaw the answer. If, she says, the King and Queen-mother reply that it is not usual for princes of the house of France thus to go on approval, and that she only makes the suggestion for the purpose of increasing her own reputation and not to marry him, Walsingham is to point out that the prize he aims at is a great one and worth160 some small sacrifice. If they hold out on the point, Walsingham is to propose that the question of religion should be left open, so that it may be used as an excuse for breaking off, if she and Alen?on do not fancy each other when they meet, and thus the Prince’s amour propre may be saved. The reason why Elizabeth was again presenting the bait of marriage is not far to seek. A few days before this letter was written an answer came from Charles IX. to the Queen’s letter taken by Montmorenci. The French king was already beginning to cry off of his bargain about aiding the revolted Netherlands against Philip. Pressure was being brought to bear upon him from the Pope and the Emperor, whispers of Huguenot plots and treasons against him were instilled47 into his ear from morn till night by his Catholic nobles; and the Queen-mother herself had taken fright at the arrogance48 of the now dominant49 Protestant party, who were riding roughshod over their enemies. Paris was in a ferment50 at the supersession51 of its beloved Guises52; and Charles IX. and his mother felt that in avoiding the Scylla of Catholic subjection they had fallen into the Charybdis of complete Huguenot thraldom53. Their connection with the “Englishwoman” had gone too far for the patience of Paris, and the King’s throne was in danger. As usual, the cooler he grew towards the English alliance the more openly was the bait of marriage held out by the Queen. There was an additional reason, too, for his holding back. The Huguenot force under Genlis, which had entered Flanders, had been completely crushed and routed by Don Fadrique de Toledo, and it was clear to Charles IX. that unless he could161 disconnect himself from the unsuccessful attempt, he might be dragged down by the overthrow54 of the Huguenot party. On the day, therefore, that the news of Genlis’s defeat reached Paris the King was closeted for hours with Montmorenci, and the result of this conference was the dispatch the same night of a young noble named La Mole to England. He was a mere56 lad, a great friend of Alen?on’s, and the reason for choosing him was that he might fittingly seem to be pressing Alen?on’s suit, and so keep Elizabeth from quite breaking away, whilst really his object was to dissociate the King from any act of hostility57 against Spain in Flanders, and thus practically to withdraw from the treaty of alliance of which the ink was hardly yet dry.
La Mole travelled post night and day, and arrived in London only on the fourth day after he had left Paris: he brought flattering letters of introduction from Walsingham, Montmorenci, and Coligny, whose main hope it is clear to see by his letter, now rested upon Alen?on’s marriage with the Queen. La Mole arrived in London on the 27th of July, and on the following night at eleven o’clock Burleigh had a long private interview with him and La Mothe Fénélon at the house of the latter. The Queen was on her progress towards the splendid visit to Kenilworth, and it was some days before her decision with regard to receiving La Mole could arrive. He started from London with La Mothe Fénélon on the 1st of August, and reached the Queen on the night of the 3rd, Sunday. He was at once secretly introduced into the Queen’s chamber58, Leicester, Smith, and La Mothe Fénélon alone being present. The Queen, we are told, was162 full of graciousness and caresses,77 for the envoy59 was young and gallant60, but she could hardly have been pleased with his mission. “His King,” he said, “could not openly declare himself in the matter of Flanders, as she desired ... as otherwise it would provoke a league of the Pope, the King of Spain, the Venetians, and others against which he could not defend himself. He was against any rash action. The King of Portugal had a large force of 12,000 or 15,000 men, and he was assured the Duke of Savoy was fully61 armed—all this must be considered before any bold step was taken.”78 The next day La Mole went openly to the palace ostensibly only as an emissary from Alen?on, “with all the tricks and ceremonies of the French and these people. He is still at Court, being feasted and made much of.”79 The Queen, indeed, was so pleased with him that she carried him to Kenilworth where a grand supper was given specially35 in his honour, at which Elizabeth herself presided and drank the young envoy’s health. The next day he and La Mothe were entertained at dinner by Cecil, and Elizabeth was again present. After dinner she fully explained her new position towards the Alen?on match with her usual nimble volte face, to suit the changed circumstances. La Mothe Fénélon gives an account of the conversation as if the Queen’s expressions were quite spontaneous; but it is instructive to note that everything she said was carefully drawn up by Cecil, and the interesting paper is still at Hatfield.80 They (the French), she said, had quite misunderstood Walsingham. It163 would have been absurd for her to have said that her marriage with Alen?on was impossible and immediately afterwards to have suggested a meeting between them. She only raised certain difficulties as to their ages, religion, and the like, but these might doubtless be overcome. And so she again holds out her hand, smooths away obstacles, suggests a meeting between the Duke and herself, proposes the adoption62 of the Anjou articles, with the exception of religion, which she and Alen?on will settle between them, and generally opens wide once more the door for negotiation1. At this and subsequent interviews at Kenilworth she exerted all her powers of fascination63 upon La Mole and La Mothe, who were both ready enough to flatter her to the top of her bent64. She played her spinet65 to them, sighed that she was determined to marry and must see the Duke at once, and persistently66 set her cap at young La Mole as proxy67 for his master. Solid Cecil and jocose68 Smith appear to have been almost as much carried away as La Mole. They both wrote to Walsingham the belief that at last the affair would prosper4 in good earnest, if only the lover would take the trouble to run over to England and see the object of his affection. There are plenty of ways, said Smith, of coming over; and he would do more in an hour than we could do in two years—“Cupido ille qui vincit omnia in oculis insidet,” and so on. Everything seemed to be prospering69 in the wooing, though the Queen herself was no more in earnest than before; and doubtless she and Leicester laughed in their sleeves at the way they were hoodwinking some of the keenest eyes of both nations. One person they certainly164 did not deceive, and that was Catharine de Medici; for at the very moment when all this billing and cooing was going on the massacre70 of St. Bartholomew was being planned, and the person who was being kept in hand and cajoled into a false sense of security, notwithstanding the refusal of Charles IX. to help the Hollanders, was Elizabeth herself. But deceived though she was, she had prudence71 enough to mistrust the curious new attitude adopted by the French, whose one object was to draw her into a position of overt55 enmity to Spain in the Netherlands, whilst Charles IX. deprecated taking up such a position for himself. La Mole’s blandishments were not powerful enough for this; and after twenty days’ stay he and La Mothe left the Queen with great professions of love and affection and a gold chain worth 500 ducats for the young envoy, and came to London, where they arrived on the 27th of August. On the same day there arrived at Rye two couriers from Paris, one with letters from Walsingham to the Queen, and the other with despatches for La Mothe Fénélon, the French ambassador. Acting72 by order the English courier immediately on his arrival caused the authorities of the port to seize the papers of the other courier and send them together with Walsingham’s letters in all haste to the Queen at Kenilworth. The Queen was out hunting when they arrived, and read in them first as she rode the news of St. Bartholomew—overwhelmed with the great tragedy which seemed to be as much directed against herself as against the French Huguenots. All rejoicings were stopped, mourning garb73 was adopted, and long, anxious conferences took the165 place of gay diversion. Before the Queen herself received the news the dire43 calamity74 had become known in London. Terrified Huguenots by the hundred, flying, as they thought, from a general massacre, were scudding75 across the Channel to the English ports in any craft they could get. From mouth to mouth spread the dreadful story, growing as it spread, and for a time London and the Court were given up to panic at what was assumed to be a world-wide murderous conspiracy against Protestantism. The treachery of the French was especially condemned76, and La Mole lost no time in getting away from a country where he could be of no more use. La Mothe was ordered by Elizabeth to keep in his house until the safety of her ambassadors in France could be ascertained77, and for several days La Mothe himself was but imperfectly informed as to what had happened on Navarre’s terrible wedding-day. It was not until the 7th of September that the Queen received him at Woodstock on her way to Windsor. She and her Court were in deep mourning, and La Mothe was received in silence and with no greeting from the Queen except a cold inquiry78 whether the news she had heard was true. He made the best of the sad story; repeated the assertion that there was a plot of Coligny and the Huguenots to seize the Louvre; urged that the massacre was unpremeditated, and that the King was obliged to sacrifice Coligny to save himself. In the midst of his reading the King’s letter Elizabeth interrupted the ambassador and said that her knowledge of events would suffice to prevent her from being deceived, or giving entire credit to166 the King’s assertions; but even if they were all true, she did not understand why harmless women and children should have been murdered.81 La Mothe urged the continuance of the French friendship, but Elizabeth knew that such friendship would be a false one so long as the Guises ruled in the Councils of the King, and dismissed La Mothe with a plain indication of her opinion.
Philip and the Catholics were of course overjoyed, and the Guises soon made their heavy hands felt. And then, not many days after the massacre, Catharine de Medici saw the mistake she had made, and tried so far as she could to retrace79 her steps, by again raising hopes of the Huguenots and redressing80 the balance of parties. She accordingly sent Castelnau de la Mauvissière, a moderate man known in England, to Walsingham for the purpose of once again bringing the Alen?on match forward. Walsingham, sick with the horrors he had lately witnessed, bluntly told him he had no belief in their sincerity81, and in a subsequent interview with Catharine he repeated the same to her, much to her indignation. But Walsingham carefully reported that Alen?on himself was entirely82 free from complicity in the massacre, which he openly and loudly condemned, taking the side of the Huguenots and swearing with Henry of Navarre to avenge83 the murdered admiral. He was closely watched at Court, and was for long meditating84 an escape and flight to England. On the 21st of September he had a private interview with Walsingham, whom he satisfied of his good faith personally, and on the167 following day he signed a letter to Elizabeth which was the beginning of the extraordinary correspondence which continued for years, most of which still may be found at Hatfield.82 The body of the letter is written by a secretary, and is full of the most fulsome85 flattery of Elizabeth, of “her rare virtues86 and infinite perfections.” “His affection and fidelity87 for her are such that there is nothing in the world, however great or difficult it may be, that he would not willingly do in order to render her more certain thereof;” and with this he begs her to listen to what will be said on his behalf by the bearer of the letter, a certain L’huillier, seigneur de Maisonfleur. At the bottom Alen?on has scrawled88 a postscript89 himself in his ridiculously illiterate90 boyish French, saying, “Madame je vous supli mescuser si sete letre nest toute escripte de ma min, et croies que nay peu faire autrement.” Maisonfleur was a strangely chosen emissary for such a mission. He had been a follower91 of the Guises and a sergeant-carver to Catharine, and was now a Protestant and an equerry of Alen?on. It was arranged that after seeing Elizabeth, he should return to Dover and receive Alen?on, who had planned to escape and sail for England. When Maisonfleur arrived at Court he found the Huguenot nobles who were with the Queen had told her something of his history and she refused to give him audience. Either for this reason or from the Duke’s misgivings92 Alen?on’s flight to England on this occasion fell through, and Maisonfleur returned to London from Dover without having seen his master. After his return he managed to obtain access of the Queen, and gradually168 broke down her distrust. In a letter of great length, dated December 1st, he wrote to his master under the name of Lucidor, giving him an encouraging account of Elizabeth’s attitude, and urging him to fulfil his former intention of escaping to England. He says: “She would not use the short word you desire, but her heart seemed to speak to me through her eyes—'Tell him to come and to despair of nothing; if I marry any prince in the world it will be he.’”83 He urges Alen?on that it will be useless to attempt to bring about the match by ordinary diplomacy93, and above all by the intervention94 of Madame la Serpente, as he calls Catharine de Medici, the deepest distrust prevailing95 of the ruling powers in France since St. Bartholomew. The only way, he says, will be for Don Lucidor to strike out a line independent of his relatives, to break with the Catholics, draw to his side the Huguenots, and the German and Swiss Protestants, come over and marry Madame L’isle (Elizabeth) and become a great sovereign. Maisonfleur, in a postscript which he showed to Burleigh, laid down full instructions for Alen?on’s escape and urged him to bring Navarre and Condé with him, but only a few attendants, amongst whom should be La Mole, to whom he also wrote begging him to urge his master to escape.
A few days before this letter was written Castelnau de la Mauvissière arrived in London with great ostentation96, as a special ambassador from the King of France. He was a persona grata with Elizabeth, and his task on this occasion was to smooth down the distrust and asperity97 caused by the St. Bartholomew and thus to induce her to169 refrain from actively98 helping99 the Huguenots in France. Stern Rochelle, Protestant to the backbone100, was still held firmly against the Catholics, Guienne, Languedoc and Gascony, where the reformers were strongest, had now recovered the panic of St. Bartholomew and were arming for the fray101; Portsmouth, Plymouth, and the eastern ports of England were swarming102 with shipping103, being fitted out for Rochelle and the Netherlands; privateers in the interest of Orange held command of the North Sea, and emissaries were going backwards104 and forwards between England and Germany to plan concerted action for the defence of Protestantism the world over. Henry of Navarre, Condé, and Alen?on were looked upon by the Catholics in France with daily growing suspicion, whilst Montgomeri and the Vidame de Chartres, at the Court of Elizabeth, were unceasing in their vigilance to pledge the young princes ever deeper to the cause of England and the Protestants. Castelnau’s task was therefore not an easy one, and was only partially105 successful. Elizabeth consented to stand sponsor to Charles IX.’s infant daughter, and the personal relations between the sovereigns became somewhat less strained, but not for a moment did Elizabeth’s ministers slacken in their aid to beleaguered106 Rochelle and the stubborn Dutchmen in the North. Anjou was at the head of the Catholic army before Rochelle and his brother Alen?on, much against his will, was forced to accompany him. Over and over again he planned to escape to Montgomeri’s fleet outside, and prayed his mother to place him in command of the King’s ships. But the Catholics well knew they dared not trust him,170 and he was never allowed out of sight. Month after month Anjou cast his men fruitlessly against the impregnable walls of Rochelle; well supplied with stores from England by Montgomeri’s fleet, the townspeople bade defiance107 to the Catholics, and the reformers through the rest of France were rendered the more confident thereby108. It was clear to Catharine and her son that Protestantism had not been extinguished in the blood of St. Bartholomew, and they began to think it time to make terms with an enemy they saw they could not crush. On the 7th of March, 1573, therefore, La Mothe Fénélon saw Elizabeth and assured her that “his King would most faithfully continue in the league and confederation which he had sworn to her, and would strictly109 uphold it without departing therefrom for any reason in the world.” He begged her to lay aside her distrust of him, and then again broached110 the subject of her marriage with Alen?on. The King and Queen-mother, he said, would never trouble her with the matter again if she would only let them know her pleasure now. They reminded her that she had said that she would be obliged to marry for the sake of her subjects, and that the only question at issue was that of religion. Although Alen?on was a purely111 Catholic prince, and she would be the first person to reject him as unworthy if he changed his religion out of the mere ambition to marry her, yet he would be content to perform his religious exercises behind closed doors, guarded by one of her own ushers112.84 The Queen thought these approaches afforded her a good opportunity for striking a bargain in favour of171 Protestantism, and said she would proceed no further in the matter of the marriage unless fair terms were given to the Huguenots and peace made at Rochelle. There was nothing Catharine desired more. Anjou was heartily113 sick of his unsuccessful siege. The heroic Rochellais ostentatiously feasted out of their meagre store, and danced round the maypole on May-day, under his very eyes. Montogomeri’s swift smacks114 threaded their way safely through the King’s blockading fleet outside, and it was seen that the starving, plague-stricken, and disheartened besiegers were in far worse case than the heroic besieged115. The elective crown of Poland, moreover, was already within Anjou’s grasp, and both he and his mother were only too glad to end a bad business by granting to the Protestants some of the terms they demanded. The draft treaty was signed by Anjou on the 25th of June and ratified116 a fortnight later by the King. A general amnesty was granted, full religious liberty was accorded in the towns of Rochelle, Montauban, and Nismes, and private household worship elsewhere in France. Anjou was then elected to the throne of Poland, which he changed for that of France a year later (May 24, 1574) and thenceforward disappears as one of the possible suitors for Elizabeth’s hand.
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negotiation
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| n.谈判，协商 | |
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negotiations
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| 协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过 | |
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mole
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| n.胎块；痣；克分子 | |
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prosper
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| v.成功，兴隆，昌盛；使成功，使昌隆，繁荣 | |
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quaint
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| adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的 | |
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conspiracy
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| n.阴谋，密谋，共谋 | |
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broils
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| v.（用火）烤（焙、炙等）( broil的第三人称单数 )；使卷入争吵；使混乱；被烤（或炙） | |
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lesser
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| adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地 | |
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stature
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| n.（高度）水平，（高度）境界，身高，身材 | |
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appalled
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| v.使惊骇，使充满恐惧( appall的过去式和过去分词)adj.惊骇的；丧胆的 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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majesty
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| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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protocol
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| n.议定书，草约，会谈记录，外交礼节 | |
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prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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18
ratification
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| n.批准，认可 | |
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19
victorious
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| adj.胜利的，得胜的 | |
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20
consort
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| v.相伴；结交 | |
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21
temperament
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| n.气质，性格，性情 | |
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22
lodged
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| v.存放( lodge的过去式和过去分词 )；暂住；埋入；（权利、权威等）归属 | |
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23
lavish
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| adj.无节制的；浪费的；vt.慷慨地给予，挥霍 | |
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24
contented
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| adj.满意的，安心的，知足的 | |
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25
concessions
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| n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权 | |
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26
recollect
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| v.回忆，想起，记起，忆起，记得 | |
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27
begetting
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| v.为…之生父( beget的现在分词 )；产生，引起 | |
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28
docile
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| adj.驯服的，易控制的，容易教的 | |
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29
suspense
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| n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑 | |
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30
collation
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| n.便餐；整理 | |
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31
procure
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| vt.获得，取得，促成；vi.拉皮条 | |
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32
deplores
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| v.悲叹，痛惜，强烈反对( deplore的第三人称单数 ) | |
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33
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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34
gilt
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| adj.镀金的；n.金边证券 | |
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35
specially
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| adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地 | |
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36
favourable
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| adj.赞成的，称赞的，有利的，良好的，顺利的 | |
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37
prudent
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| adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的 | |
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38
complexion
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| n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格 | |
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39
lengthens
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| （时间或空间）延长，伸长( lengthen的第三人称单数 ) | |
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40
prodigal
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| adj.浪费的，挥霍的，放荡的 | |
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41
liking
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| n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢 | |
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42
blemish
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| v.损害；玷污；瑕疵，缺点 | |
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43
dire
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| adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的 | |
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44
importunity
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| n.硬要，强求 | |
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45
blemishes
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| n.（身体的）瘢点( blemish的名词复数 )；伤疤；瑕疵；污点 | |
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46
absurdity
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| n.荒谬，愚蠢；谬论 | |
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47
instilled
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| v.逐渐使某人获得（某种可取的品质），逐步灌输( instill的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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48
arrogance
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| n.傲慢，自大 | |
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49
dominant
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| adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因 | |
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50
ferment
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| vt.使发酵；n./vt.（使）激动，（使）动乱 | |
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51
supersession
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| 取代，废弃； 代谢 | |
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52
guises
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| n.外观，伪装( guise的名词复数 )v.外观，伪装( guise的第三人称单数 ) | |
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53
thraldom
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| n.奴隶的身份，奴役，束缚 | |
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54
overthrow
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| v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆 | |
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55
overt
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| adj.公开的，明显的，公然的 | |
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56
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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57
hostility
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| n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争 | |
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58
chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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59
envoy
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| n.使节，使者，代表，公使 | |
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60
gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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62
adoption
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| n.采用，采纳，通过；收养 | |
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63
fascination
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| n.令人着迷的事物，魅力，迷恋 | |
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64
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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65
spinet
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| n.小型立式钢琴 | |
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66
persistently
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| ad.坚持地；固执地 | |
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67
proxy
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| n.代理权，代表权；（对代理人的）委托书；代理人 | |
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68
jocose
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| adj.开玩笑的，滑稽的 | |
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69
prospering
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| 成功，兴旺( prosper的现在分词 ) | |
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70
massacre
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| n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀 | |
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71
prudence
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| n.谨慎，精明，节俭 | |
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72
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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73
garb
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| n.服装，装束 | |
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74
calamity
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| n.灾害，祸患，不幸事件 | |
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75
scudding
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| n.刮面v.（尤指船、舰或云彩）笔直、高速而平稳地移动( scud的现在分词 ) | |
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76
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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77
ascertained
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| v.弄清，确定，查明( ascertain的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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78
inquiry
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| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
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79
retrace
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| v.折回；追溯，探源 | |
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80
redressing
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| v.改正( redress的现在分词 )；重加权衡；恢复平衡 | |
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81
sincerity
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| n.真诚，诚意；真实 | |
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82
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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83
avenge
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| v.为...复仇，为...报仇 | |
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84
meditating
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| a.沉思的，冥想的 | |
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85
fulsome
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| adj.可恶的，虚伪的，过分恭维的 | |
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86
virtues
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| 美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处 | |
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87
fidelity
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| n.忠诚，忠实；精确 | |
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88
scrawled
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| 乱涂，潦草地写( scrawl的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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89
postscript
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| n.附言，又及；(正文后的)补充说明 | |
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90
illiterate
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| adj.文盲的；无知的；n.文盲 | |
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91
follower
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| n.跟随者；随员；门徒；信徒 | |
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92
misgivings
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| n.疑虑，担忧，害怕；疑虑，担心，恐惧( misgiving的名词复数 )；疑惧 | |
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93
diplomacy
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| n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕 | |
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94
intervention
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| n.介入，干涉，干预 | |
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95
prevailing
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| adj.盛行的；占优势的；主要的 | |
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96
ostentation
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| n.夸耀，卖弄 | |
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97
asperity
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| n.粗鲁，艰苦 | |
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98
actively
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| adv.积极地，勤奋地 | |
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99
helping
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| n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的 | |
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100
backbone
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| n.脊骨，脊柱，骨干；刚毅，骨气 | |
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101
fray
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| v.争吵；打斗；磨损，磨破；n.吵架；打斗 | |
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102
swarming
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| 密集( swarm的现在分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去 | |
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103
shipping
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| n.船运（发货，运输，乘船） | |
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104
backwards
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| adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地 | |
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105
partially
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| adv.部分地，从某些方面讲 | |
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106
beleaguered
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| adj.受到围困[围攻]的；包围的v.围攻( beleaguer的过去式和过去分词)；困扰；骚扰 | |
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107
defiance
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| n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗 | |
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108
thereby
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| adv.因此，从而 | |
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109
strictly
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| adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地 | |
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110
broached
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| v.谈起( broach的过去式和过去分词 )；打开并开始用；用凿子扩大（或修光）；（在桶上）钻孔取液体 | |
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111
purely
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| adv.纯粹地，完全地 | |
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112
ushers
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| n.引座员( usher的名词复数 )；招待员；门房；助理教员v.引，领，陪同( usher的第三人称单数 ) | |
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113
heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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114
smacks
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| 掌掴（声）( smack的名词复数 )； 海洛因； （打的）一拳； 打巴掌 | |
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115
besieged
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| 包围，围困，围攻( besiege的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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116
ratified
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| v.批准，签认（合约等）( ratify的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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