When Walsingham landed at Boulogne he found a message from Alen?on at Chateau-Thierry asking him to meet him and his mother at La Fère before going to see the King. This he did, where he was met by the Duke with complaints and reproaches at the indefinite postponement7 of the marriage by the Queen until a national alliance had been effected. He told Walsingham that he could never get the King to consent to an alliance unless the marriage took place first, as the King feared that when they had pledged him too far for him to draw back the Queen would slip out of it and leave France alone face to face with Spain. The efforts of Catharine and her adviser8, Turenne, were directed to obtaining at least a money subsidy9 to256 Alen?on first, which would have pledged Elizabeth to some extent; but Walsingham was too discreet10 to be drawn11, and tried to get an arrangement which should embark12 France in the business before England was compromised. Catharine said she was well aware of the need for concerted action, but she was afraid, as Elizabeth had apparently13 thrown over the marriage for fear of offending her subjects, she might afterwards throw over the alliance for the same reason.
It is easy to see that both sides were finessing14 with the same object, namely, to throw upon the other the burden and onus15 of curbing16 the power of Spain, which they both feared; and when Catharine saw she could make nothing of Walsingham or his mistress, she played her trump17 card, with which she had come to La Fère fully18 prepared. She promised Alen?on that if he would abandon his attempt, the Prince of Parma would retire from Cambrai, Alen?on should marry the infanta, gain the support and friendship of Spain, obtain a larger dotation from his brother, and receive the investure of the sovereign states of Saluzzo and Provence. But Alen?on could not trust Spain and the Guises20, and refused the tempting21 bait. Cecil and Elizabeth mistrusted the presence of Catharine near her son, and fearing that he might at last cede22 to her influence, had sent a considerable sum of money by Walsingham, according to Mendoza, to help Alen?on to make masked war upon Spain, without pledging England or drawing the Queen into war through the marriage. Alen?on was angry at this suggestion, and said that he would take no such answer, which was quite at257 variance23 with the Queen’s own words. He threatened and stormed until Walsingham almost lost his temper, and Sir James Crofts told Mendoza that when the Queen received the news of this “she wept like a child, saying that she did not know what to do, or into what trouble Leicester had drawn her.” Walsingham also reported that the King of France was extremely offended that after so grand an embassy had been sent to England only Walsingham should be sent in return, “and that if he could manage to have him put out of the way he would attempt it.” Lord Henry Howard was at once sent off with a loving message to Alen?on to mollify him, and urgent new instructions were despatched to Walsingham in Paris to bring the marriage forward again on any terms. But no sooner were Walsingham, Cobham, and the French ministers in conference to settle the terms of an alliance which was to accompany a marriage, than Alen?on sent, by de Vray, peremptorily24 refusing to have anything to do with an alliance. It must, he said, be a marriage pure and simple first, and after that they could make what leagues they pleased, but he was sure that if the endless negotiations25 for an alliance had to be settled first he should never be married at all. All things were therefore again brought to a standstill, and Walsingham and Cobham wrote a most serious, almost vehement27, memorandum28 to the Queen warning her of the danger of her fickle1 course.137 They entreated29 her to make up her mind one way or the other. The French will think they are being played with and258 will be greatly exasperated30. France, Spain, and Scotland will all be against us, and then God alone can help us. Surely they say the only question is one of expense, and it is “very hard that treasure should be preferred before safety. I beseech31 your Majesty32 that without offence I may tell you that your loathness to spend even when it concerns your safety is publicly delivered out here.... For the love of God, madame, look into your own estate, and think that there can grow no peril33 so great unto you as to have a war break out in your own realm, considering what a number of evil subjects you have; and you cannot redeem34 this peril at too high a price.” In another letter to Cecil, Walsingham complains bitterly of the task that is set for him. I would rather, he says, be shut up in the Tower than be an English ambassador abroad. These constant variations discredit35 us and shock the King.
Suddenly, towards the middle of August, 1581, Alen?on crossed the frontier into Spanish Flanders with a fine army of 12,000 infantry36 and 5,000 Cavalry37, in which were enrolled38 half the young nobility of France as volunteers, notwithstanding the King’s anathemas39. Parma at once raised the siege of Cambrai and stood on the defensive40, and the whole position was changed in a moment. The King of France felt, or at least expressed, the utmost alarm at his brother’s action, lest he should be drawn into the quarrel. Elizabeth, on the other hand, was no less apprehensive41 that the King, the Guises, and the Catholics might be after all behind the movement. She, however, was soon tranquillised on this score, and wrote a loving letter of congratulation.138259 No sooner was Alen?on in Cambrai than he found himself without money. If the States will not aid me, he wrote to the Prince of Orange, I can go no further. But the attempt had been made without the open patronage42 of the Queen of England, and the Protestant States would do nothing. De Bex was sent off post-haste by Alen?on to take her the news, and to beg for 300,000 crowns, “as he had spent all his own money in the relief, and neither the States nor his brother would give him a penny. If she did not provide him with money he should be obliged to return with his army to France without going any further.”139
Marchaumont continued to urge his master’s need for money, and besides the ￡22,000 which had been taken by Walsingham a further sum of ￡20,000 in gold was secretly sent from Drake’s plunder43 to Alen?on. But Elizabeth herself was somewhat short of money, and still not without suspicion, besides which she had no intention whatever of defraying the whole expense of Alen?on’s army, and would send him no more money. Things went from bad to worse. The French troops deserted44 in bodies and fell to pillage45; the young noblemen slipped back over the frontier by hundreds. By the first week in September Alen?on had retired46 to Chatelet, leaving a garrison47 in Cambrai; only 3,000 of his men remained with him, and he sent again de Bex to the Queen to beg for more help before they were all gone. His victory at Cambrai he attributes all to the “belle48 jartière,” which he says he will never surrender whilst he lives, nor the260 desire to see again “vostre belle Majesté a la quelle pour la hate de ce porteur je me contenteré de bayzer les belles49 mins et les belles greves qui ont porté la belle jartière.” But the Queen was not to be wheedled50 out of her money by talk about the beautiful garter, and Marchaumont began to hint that his master’s only course would be to once more cross the Channel and press his own suit.
In the meanwhile Walsingham was making no progress in Paris, and the Queen as usual was reproaching in no measured terms. Walsingham, who knew his mistress well, gave her on this occasion at least as good as she sent.140 He told her bluntly that if she was sincere about the marriage she was losing time she could ill spare; whilst, if otherwise, it “is the worst remedy you can use.” “Sometimes when your Majesty doth behold51 in what doubtful terms you stand with foreign princes, then you do wish with great affection that opportunities offered had not been overslipped; but when they are offered to you, accompanied with charges, they are altogether neglected. The respect of charges hath lost Scotland, and I would to God I had no cause to think it might put your Highness in peril of the loss of England.” He reproaches her almost rudely for her niggardliness52, which he compares with the wise liberality of her predecessors53 where expenditure54 was needful for the safety of the realm. “If this sparing and provident55 course be held on still, the mischiefs56 approaching being so apparent as they are, there is no one that serveth in place of councillor ... who would not wish himself rather in261 the farthest part of Ethiopia than enjoy the fairest palace in England.” On his way back to England Walsingham saw Alen?on at Abbeville, in Picardy, and rather encouraged the Duke in his desire to come to England again. It is evident that, much as Walsingham was attached to Leicester, he was in grave alarm that the Protestant religion, to which he was devoted57, might be overborne by the threatened union against England of the Catholic powers, and at this time would have gladly welcomed the marriage of the Queen and Alen?on, which would have prevented France from joining the coalition58 and have banished59 the danger. When Walsingham arrived in London at the end of September, however, he found the Queen very strongly opposed to her suitor’s proposed visit, not wishing to have her hands forced in this way. She told Marchaumont that his master must not come on any account, or a rising of the people might be feared, so angry were they at the idea of the match. On the other hand, both Marchaumont and Castelnau, the ambassador, took care to spread broadcast the intelligence that the Duke would soon be here; and when no open discontent ensued they pointed60 out that the Queen’s fears were groundless. Leicester, as usual, tried to run with the hare and hunt with the hounds, to retain French bribes61 and yet to stand in the way of French objects. Mendoza says that he took good care to turn the Queen against Alen?on’s coming, but as soon as he was sure that his efforts were effectual he went out of town and hypocritically professed62 to the French that Hatton and Walsingham alone were to blame for the opposition63.
262 But by the end of October the Queen’s apprehensions64 seem to have been dissipated. Walsingham must have made it clear to her that unless the marriage were again taken up with some show of sincerity65 she had no chance of getting the close understanding with France which was necessary to her plans. She had, moreover, spent large sums of money in Flanders, which she could never get back unless the States could be enabled to hold their own, and she accordingly decided66 to make the best of Alen?on’s coming in the assurance that, if the worst came to the worst, she could avoid a marriage by supplying funds for his maintenance in Flanders.
Shortly before the Duke’s arrival the “monk” (Marchaumont) wrote to de Bex saying that every one, from the Queen downwards67, was expecting his Highness’s arrival with pleasure, but he hints that he had better make haste as the Spanish ambassador was making certain proposals to the Queen; which we now know to be true.141 He says that even Leicester had now been won over, his only fear being that if the marriage took place his bitter enemy, Simier, might come, who, he was sure, would plot his ruin. This state of things had not been brought about without a good deal of friction68. Several sums of money had been sent by the Queen with the hope of staving off the visit, but with no effect. The Queen had a great row with Walsingham in consequence of mischief-making of Sussex, who had shown Marchaumont a letter written by Walsingham from France, containing some slighting expressions towards Alen?on which had been repeated263 to the Queen; “although,” says Mendoza, “some people think that it is all put on, and that she herself ordered Walsingham to write this so as to hinder the marriage, as she is a woman very fond of adopting such tricks. At all events Walsingham takes very little notice of her anger, and Alen?on turns a deaf ear to everything, and only asks for money, whilst Marchaumont keeps the negotiation26 alive by pressing for a decision with regard to the marriage.”
The Queen had lent Marchaumont a small house attached to her own palace at Richmond, to which entrance could be gained through it by means of a connecting gallery. Two chambers70 were refurnished and warmed in this house for the Prince’s use, the Earl of Arundel (son of the attainted and executed Duke of Norfolk) and his uncle, Lord Harry71 Howard, were charged by the Queen to make all arrangements for his comfort; and her Majesty herself superintended the installation in one of the rooms of a crimson72 bed, which she told Marchaumont archly that his master would recognise. A day or so before the Duke was expected Marchaumont wrote to de Bex, who was with his master on his journey hither, that he learnt by a message the Queen had sent him “that every hour seemed a month to her so anxious was she to see her lover, for whose reception great preparations had been made, although the Queen will pretend that nothing special had been done.”142
When Walsingham had seen the Prince in France the latter had expressed a desire to rest a day and a night in Walsingham’s house in London before264 going to see the Queen at Richmond, but when the time approached for the visit Walsingham managed to avoid the trouble of entertaining the guest by saying that the plague was raging round the house, and it was settled that he should be lodged73 for the night in the house of Sir Edward Stafford, the son of Elizabeth’s friend and Mistress of the Robes. “But I need not tell you,” says Marchaumont to de Bex, “to keep strict secrecy74 as to the Prince’s movements, for if Lady Stafford knows anything it will be easier to stem a torrent75 than to stop the woman’s tongue.”
Alen?on embarked76 from Calais at the end of October, 1581, having met the Portuguese77 pretender, Don Antonio, before going on board, and promised him to plead his cause with the English Queen. The heavy weather necessitated78 his anchoring in the Downs instead of entering Dover, and it was only at the cost of some risk and trouble that he landed. Leaving the Prince Dauphin and most of his suite79 of gentlemen to follow him, he pressed on in disguise with de Bex to London, where he arrived and slept at Stafford’s house on the night of the 1st of November. The next morning he started off to see the Queen privately80 at Richmond, the first public reception being fixed81 for the 3rd of November, when the Prince Dauphin and the rest of the suite were fetched from London in the Queen’s state coaches. It was, in truth, high time the Prince came, for the Queen was very much out of temper with him and every one else. She complained to Castelnau that the Prince had acted in Flanders without her permission, that the King of France was intriguing82 with Spain for her ruin, that265 the States were a lot of drunkards, who only thought of borrowing money and not paying it back. She was too old, she said, to be played with, and would let them all see it. But when her young lover came she was full of smiles and blandishments. Fortunately he had plenty of money with him—money, however, brought to him by St. Aldegonde, at Calais, collected by the sorely pressed Flemings for the support of his army, and not to be squandered83 in England; but he bribed84 the ladies and the councillors liberally with it. At first all went as merrily as a marriage-bell. The Queen again took to calling Alen?on her little Moor85, her little Italian, her little frog, and so on; whilst she, as before, was to him all the orbs86 of the firmament87. Leicester was radiant, however, which was a bad sign, and Sussex was in the sulks, which was equally so; but the French, and Alen?on himself, grew more and more confident of success. The Queen was playing her usual game, and Leicester understood it perfectly88, but she could not help having her fling at Walsingham when he tried clumsily to humour her. He was praising the good parts and understanding of Alen?on one day to the Queen, and said that the only thing against him was his ugly face. “Why, you knave,” she replied, “you were for ever speaking ill of him before: you veer89 round like a weathercock.”143 At the same time all sorts of scandalous tittle-tattle began to arise. Every morning little love-letters signed “your prince frog,” were sent from Alen?on to the Queen, and Lippomano, the Venetian ambassador, assures the Doge and Senate that the Queen entered his chamber69 every266 morning before he was out of bed, and brought him a cup of broth19. He was with her, says Mendoza, all day and every day, no one being present but Sussex and Stafford, and even they were not allowed to hear their conversation. In order to allay90 the fears of her Protestant subjects, some of whom were grumbling91 because Alen?on heard mass daily, unwonted severity was used towards the Catholics during Alen?on’s visit, and the Jesuit priests Campion, Sherwin, and Briant, were executed at Tyburn under circumstances of the most heartrending cruelty. The Spanish ambassador at last got somewhat anxious, and by Philip’s orders began to approach Cecil with suggestions of the falsity of Frenchmen and the advisability of a close union between England and Spain, all injuries on each side being forgiven and forgotten. He went to the length, indeed, of hinting that the French were intriguing with Mary of Scotland under cover of the marriage negotiations, although he himself at the time was plotting with and for her. But Cecil was a match for him, and let him understand that the friendship proposed was more necessary for Spain than it was for England. The position at the time of Alen?on’s visit is well summarised by Mendoza in a letter to King Philip144 as follows: “As soon as the Queen learnt that Alen?on had arrived, she said to certain of the councillors separately that they must consider what would have to be done with him; to which they replied that they could hardly do that unless she made her own intentions upon the subject clear. To this she answered that she was quite satisfied with the person of Alen?on.267 When he arrived here he told those who he knew were in his favour that he would not go out in public nor undertake any other affairs until he had settled with the Queen the subject about which he came. If this be so, present indications prove that he has got an affirmative answer, as he now shows himself almost publicly, and appears to be in high spirits, all the principal people at Court being allowed to see him at dinner and supper. Leicester leaves nothing undone92, and in the absence of the Prince Dauphin, always hands Alen?on the napkin, publicly declaring that there seems to be no other way for the Queen to secure the tranquillity93 of England but for her to marry Alen?on; and Walsingham says the same. The Frenchmen who came with him, and the ambassadors who were here before, look upon the marriage as an accomplished94 fact, but the English in general scoff95 at it, saying that he is only after money, and that he has already begged the Queen to give him ￡100,000 and 4,000 men to aid your Majesty’s rebels. The principal Englishmen indeed are saying that if he wanted a regular pension they would grant him ￡20,000 a year, so there are more indications of money being given him than anything else. It is certain that the Queen will do her best to avoid offending him, and to pledge him in the affairs of the Netherlands, in order to drive his brother into a rupture96 with your Majesty, which is her great object, whilst she keeps her hands free, and can stand by looking on at the war.” Few men were better informed than Mendoza; part of the Privy97 Council was in his pay, and the most secret information was conveyed to him at once by his spies, who were everywhere. He was,268 moreover, one of the most keen-sighted statesmen of his time, and we may accept his opinion therefore, confirmed as it is by much other evidence, that up to this time (November 11th) Elizabeth was once more playing her old trick, and befooling Alen?on and the French.
When Leicester thought that matters were going a little too far he persuaded the Queen to urge her lover to start at once for Flanders, for which purpose she would give him three ships and ￡30,000, in order to receive the oath of allegiance which the States were offering him, and then to return and marry her; but Sussex saw through the device, and privately warned Alen?on that whatever pledges might be made to him now, he might be convinced that if once he went away without being married the marriage would never take place. He entreated him on no account to be driven out of England, and as Alen?on well knew that Sussex at least was honest in his desire to see the Queen married and freed from the baleful influence of Leicester, he put his back to the wall and plainly told the Queen that not only would he refuse to leave England, but he would not ever vacate the rooms in her palace until she had given him a definite answer as to whether she would marry him or not. Crofts, the privy councillor in Philip’s pay, told Mendoza that “when the Queen and Alen?on were alone together she pledges herself to him to his heart’s content, and as much as any woman could to a man, but she will not have anything said publicly.”
Things were thus getting to a deadlock98 again. The King of France wrote to the Queen saying that under no circumstances, whether his brother269 married or not, would he help him against Spain in the Netherlands, and the Queen-mother began pressing her son with all sorts of promises, to return and abandon his hopeless quest before he became the laughing-stock of the world. This of course made the Queen warmer in her protestations, and by the third week in November she had contrived100 to convince Alen?on again of her sincerity. He at once wrote off to his brother, requesting that commissioners101 might be sent to settle the conditions of the treaty which had been discussed with Walsingham when he was in France. The Queen encouraged him to do this, knowing full well that Henry III. would refuse to take his brother’s unsupported word as to her bona fides, and send another embassy, whilst his refusal to do so would furnish her if necessary with an excuse for proceeding102 no further in the matter.
On November 21, 1581, the Queen and Court moved to Whitehall, where Alen?on was lodged in the garden-house, and on the following morning—coronation day—he and the Queen were walking in the gallery, Walsingham and Leicester being present, when Castelnau, the French ambassador, entered, and said that he had been commanded by his master to learn from her own lips what her intentions were with regard to her marrying the King’s brother. Either because she was driven into a corner from which there was no other escape, or because once more her passions overcame her, she unhesitatingly replied to Castelnau, “You may write this to the King: that the Duke of Alen?on shall be my husband, and at the same moment she turned to Alen?on and kissed him on the mouth, drawing a ring from her270 own hand and giving it to him as a pledge. Alen?on gave her a ring of his in return, and shortly afterwards the Queen summoned the ladies and gentlemen from the presence-chamber to the gallery, repeating to them in a loud voice in Alen?on’s presence what she had previously103 said.”145
The French were naturally elated at this, and Alen?on at once sent off the great news to his brother, but the feeling amongst the courtiers was very different. Leicester and Hatton were in dismay; they had felt certain hitherto that the Queen was only play-acting, but surely matters were getting serious, and tears, lamentations, and reproaches, were the order of the day. But the Queen was playing her own game, and sage6 old Cecil was perhaps the only one of her advisers104 who really understood her move. He was ill in bed with the gout at the time, and was chatting with a couple of gossips when the message reached him. Instead of dismay he expressed great satisfaction, and placed the matter at once in its true light. “Thank God,” he said, “the Queen, for her part, has done all that she can; it is for the country now to take the matter in hand.” This meant that the Queen, ever evasive of responsibility, had shifted the onus upon Parliament, which had been summoned for the 6th of December. There was not the slightest need for Parliament to be consulted at all, but Elizabeth had been driven into a corner by Alen?on’s presence and persistence105 and the immovable determination of his brother to stand aloof106 until the marriage had taken place. By taking the course she did, she artfully attained107 three objects which could have been compassed by no other271 way short of marriage: she secured further delay without offence to the King, she personally bound Alen?on to her, come what might, and, most important of all, she sowed the germ of discord108 between him and his brother, who now appeared the principal obstacle to the marriage, as he refused the terms demanded by the English (which Parliament would be asked to insist upon) before the marriage could take place. Having the most secret correspondence before our eyes now, we are able to see clearly that this was the clever plan of the Queen herself; but her most intimate contemporaries were puzzled and disturbed at her apparent instability. The balance of opinion was that the Queen had been caught at last, and had pledged herself too deeply to draw back, although Leicester, after his first dismay was over, went about industriously109 spreading a contrary view. He and Hatton, however, were not so reassured110 as they would have had it appear. Hatton went to the Queen, and with many tears and sighs boldly told her that even if she wanted herself to marry, she ought to consider the grief she was bringing upon the country by doing so, not to mention what might happen to her personally if she married against the will of her people, upon whose affection the security of her throne depended. This almost seditious speech at another time would have aroused Elizabeth to fury, and consigned111 her “sheep” Hatton, to the Tower, but the Queen was quite confident in her game and only smiled and petted her future Lord Chancellor112. Leicester, by right of his greater intimacy113 with his mistress, was blunter in his reproaches. He asked her point blank272 whether she was a maid or a married woman, to which she replied that she was a maid, as the conditions upon which she gave the marriage pledge would never be fulfilled. He told her that she had acted very unwisely in carrying the matter so far and so ostentatiously, and they put their heads together there and then to devise some scheme by which the Queen’s words might be minimised, probably solely114 at Leicester’s instance, and contrary to her own better judgment115, as her plans were well laid. A message was therefore sent to Alen?on, saying that the Queen had been pondering about the ring she had given him, and she felt sure that if she married him she would not have long to live. He might, she said, see that for himself, as he was a witness of the dissatisfaction of the English people at her attachment116 to him, which attachment she hoped he did not wish to be fatal to her. She prayed him therefore to let the matter rest for the present, and there was nothing in her country she would refuse him. She would be more attached to him as a friend, even than if he were her husband. Walsingham took this message, and whilst he was with the Prince the latter remained calm. All he had said and done, he protested, was solely to please the Queen, whose death, very far from desiring, he would imperil his own life to avert117 and to give her pleasure, as, indeed, he was doing now to save her from annoyance118 by refraining from pressing his suit with less ardour at her request.146 But as soon as Walsingham was gone the young Prince lost all control over himself. He saw now how he had been tricked; it was too late to prevent273 the coming of the commissioners whom his brother had despatched to England to finally settle the conditions, and in his rage he cursed the inconstancy of woman, tore the ring from his finger and cast it upon the ground.147 He told Elizabeth he would leave at once, hinted at revenge for his and his country’s slighted honour, and again brought matters to a crisis. Then Elizabeth saw that her complaisancy to Leicester had led her into a false position, and once more resumed her original plan. She mollified and lulled119 the Duke into a fool’s paradise again with: “nouvelles démonstrations accompagnées de baisers, privautés, caresses120, et mignardises ordinaries aux amants.” She received the King’s envoy121, Secretary Pinart, with new protestations of her desire to marry, and appointed a committee of the Council, consisting of the Lord Chancellor, Cecil, Sussex, and Leicester to discuss the pourparlers with him. She asked them first to report their opinion to her, as, desirous as she was of the marriage, she would not entertain it if she was not satisfied that it was for the benefit of her country; but they knew she was playing her own game, of which most of them did not see the drift, and were determined122 to avoid giving any opinion which might offend and hamper123 her. In the meanwhile Leicester, through his agents, was stirring up the Protestants to distrust and hatred124 of the match, whilst the host of Catholic sympathisers in the interests of Spain were equally working against it on the ground that Alen?on had not raised a finger to save the lives of his co-religionists who had been martyred whilst he had been in England. Matters274 therefore did not look particularly promising125 when the Council met Pinart early in December, although Alen?on himself had been petted into hopefulness. The English began by advancing claims for all sorts of impossible conditions and assurances, and after succeeding in making the marriage appear impracticable they proposed that in lieu of marriage they should give Alen?on a regular subsidy for his Netherlands projects if the King of France would also support his brother. This had been proposed and refused in different forms time after time, and Pinart, who was an old diplomatist, at once retorted that he had come to settle the marriage and nothing else; if the marriage was not to take place all negotiations must cease, and he must go back. Catharine was equally disillusioned126, and told Priuli, the Venetian ambassador in France, that although Alen?on had given the Queen’s ring back again, she attached no importance to it, as the gift of a ring did not constitute a binding128 engagement. “Queen Elizabeth, she said, is very artful, and my son is very young. He has allowed himself to be drawn by her into this adventure, in spite of all our arguments and advice; he is being overwhelmed with entertainments, and he has just written to me that he still has hope.”148
The next day there was a meeting of the Council, where it was proposed to settle matters by granting to Alen?on a pension of 10,000 marks a year, the King of France a subsidy of ￡100,000, and the States ￡80,000 on condition of a similar amount being contributed by the King for the purpose of275 making war upon Spain in the Netherlands under the leadership of Alen?on. If the King of France refused this it was proposed to make an immediate129 grant of ￡200,000 to Alen?on, in consideration of the relief of Cambrai, and that the marriage negotiations be dropped. This was Leicester’s plan, who undertook to answer for Alen?on’s acquiescence130 and the raising of the money by privy-seal loans and exchequer131 bills, but when they sent the proposal to the Queen as the result of their deliberation she was furious. Her plans were working as she intended them to work, and she could throw the whole blame for the failure of her marriage upon the King of France, whilst raising enmity between him and his brother, and pledging Alen?on to her hard and fast without marriage. And yet these dense132 councillors of hers, and jealous, shallow Leicester, would keep thwarting133 her with their officious interference. Cecil was the only one who refused to do so, and always had a diplomatic attack of gout at critical times. Crofts gave an account to Mendoza of the way in which the Queen received the proposal of her Council. “She made, he says, a great show of anger and annoyance, saying that her councillors only thought of their own profit, wasting the substance of the country without reflection, and buying, under cover of her authority, that which suited them best. As Alen?on thought fit to forget her in exchange for her money, she would neither marry him nor give him any money, and he might do the best he could.” Then she sent for Alen?on and angrily told him the same, and a quarrel between them ensued. When she had thus upset the results of her Council’s officiousness,276 she began her own game again. Pinart had made clear to her that her demands for the restitution134 of Calais, a rupture with Spain, and the cessation of the old alliance between France and Scotland were unreasonable135, and that if the marriage were broken off in consequence of such preposterous136 conditions the responsibility would be cast upon her and not upon his master. So she harked back to somewhat more moderate-sounding claims, which she knew would be also refused. She said that she had given the ring and pledge to Alen?on on condition that he should make war on Spain in the Netherlands at the expense of the King of France, whilst she sent assistance from England in form of men. She said she had distinctly understood that this was to be the condition of the marriage; but of course if the French King could not fulfil it, there was the end of the matter. She was extremely sorry, but it was not her fault if there was a misunderstanding, or the French failed to carry out the condition, and she urged that Marchaumont, her devoted “monk,” whose letters are only a degree less loving than those of Simier, should be sent to Paris to urge this view upon the King and his mother.
Marchaumont had long been tiring of his task in England, and had not ceased to entreat2 his master to give him active employment, and especially to bestow137 a stray abbey or two upon him instead of giving everything to Fervaques and de Quincy. He assures Elizabeth that he has received nothing in consequence of his attachment to her, which had aroused the jealousy138 of his fellows, and he left England breathing vows139 and protestations of his eternal devotion to her.149
277 Ever since Simier left England he had maintained a copious140 cipher141 correspondence with Elizabeth, which is now at Hatfield, containing the most minute details of Alen?on’s movements and intentions, interspersed142 with curious marks which presumably stand for kisses, twin hearts, transfixed with Cupid’s darts143 and other lover-like devices. But amongst his frantic144, not to say impious, professions of adoration145 for the Queen he continued to complain of the machinations of Fervaques, the Queen of Navarre, and his other enemies who had brought about his disgrace and ruin. Elizabeth, for her part, was for ever urging Alen?on through Marchaumont, and by her own letters to reinstate Simier in his good graces. Sometimes more or less vague promises of acquiescence were sent, sometimes the Prince told her that if she knew all she would not be so warm in Simier’s defence, and sometimes the revenues and favours now enjoyed by her favourite were detailed146 to prove that he had quite as much as he could expect, but the net result was that Simier remained in disgrace and Fervaques ruffled147 it more bravely than ever. At last Simier appears to have got tired of obscurity and entreaty148, and finding he could get no more by serving Alen?on, bethought him that he might employ his great influence with the Queen in the service of Henry III. The offers of such an instrument to mould events to the liking149 of the King were eagerly accepted, and at first an attempt was made by Henry and Catharine to induce Alen?on to discard Fervaques and de Quincy and take Simier back again. But, as Simier writes to the Queen, this only made Alen?on love them the more, for Queen Margaret’s influence on her brother278 was too strong to be overcome. So when Fervaques, Champvallon, Queen Margaret’s lover, and the rest of the crew, came over with their master to England, Simier, with the King’s connivance150, followed them in order ostensibly to challenge his foe151, but really to watch Alen?on’s negotiations from his point of vantage near the Queen, and, if necessary, frustrate152 them in the King’s interest. With him he took a second, another fire-eater named Baron153 de Viteau, and when the challenge was sent to Fervaques, the latter, true to Gascon character, would only accept a pitched battle with six on each side. This was obviously impossible, as Simier had not six partisans154 in England, but it gave Fervaques time to arrange with Leicester, who hated Simier more bitterly than any one, to have the poor “ape” assassinated155 in cold blood. Simier was attacked on the London 'Change by hired cut-throats, but fortunately once more escaped. He again complained to his protectress, whose rage knew no bounds. Calling Leicester to her, she called him a murderous poltroon156 who was only fit for the gallows157 and warned him and Alen?on’s courtiers that if anything happened to her “ape” in England they should suffer for it. Fervaques, rightly or wrongly, thought that Simier had been warned of the plot by a certain Lafin, with whom he consequently picked a quarrel in the palace itself. Lafin fled, pursued by Fervaques with a drawn dagger158, into the presence of the Queen, who broke out into one of her uncontrollable rages at such disrespect for her, and cried out that if Fervaques were one of her subjects, she would soon have his head off. There were ample materials, therefore for dissensions, and by the279 middle of December Alen?on had lost heart again. He earnestly pressed the Queen for an answer, and a pledge that she would marry him if the King acceded159 to her last demands. But she then advanced another claim which had hitherto not been mentioned, namely, the suppression of the English Jesuit seminary at Rheims. Alen?on, anxious to make an end, asked her whether if he obtained this concession160 she would bind127 herself to marry him; but she still held back. Even in such case, she said, she would have to consider very deeply whether it would be advisable for her to change her state. This was mere161 trifling162, and Alen?on in despair begged her to send an envoy to discuss these conditions with his brother, but she replied that the King of France had better send one to her. Pinart was still in England, although waiting and ready to depart, and he was consequently delayed to discuss these new pretensions163. In the meanwhile news arrived of the fall of Tournai, and the States, at the end of their wits and resources, sent a deputation to Alen?on offering to invest him at once, if he would come over, with the dukedom of Brabant, which he had coveted164 from the first. This suited the Queen excellently, as nothing was more likely to bring about a rupture between France and Spain, but it would never do to let the future sovereign of the Netherlands leave her in dudgeon, or the control might slip through her fingers after all. So she at once changed her tone. Ships were made ready with furious haste, money, munitions165, and men were promised in his aid, and every inducement was offered for him to accept the States’ invitation; whilst at the same time the Queen, with sighs and feigned280 tears, entreated her lover not to leave her, but if he must go to promise her faithfully soon to come back again. Alen?on replied that he would not return unless she now gave an unconditional166 promise to marry him. But this was no part of the Queen’s programme, and she evaded168 the question with her usual dexterity169.
On the 20th of December all was ready for the Duke’s departure. The vessels170 were awaiting him, and some of his baggage and household had started; a grand farewell supper was laid for him and the Queen at Cobham House, near Gravesend, where he was to take leave of her, and he was about to embark in the barges171 which were to convey him from Greenwich, when a strong north-east gale172 sprang up and blew continuously for many days, and prevented his departure.
Mendoza says that although she displayed publicly great grief at his going, in the privacy of her own chamber she danced for very joy at getting rid of him. One day during his detention173 he reproached her for letting him go so easily. He saw now, he said, that she did not love him much, and that she was tired of him, as she was sending him away openly discarded. She protested with an abundance of sounding oaths that she had only been induced to let him go for his own gratification and not for hers, and that she was sorry he was going so soon. She did not mean it, of course, but it was enough for Alen?on, who seized the opportunity at once. “No! no! Madame,” said he, “you are mine, as I can prove by letters and words you have written to me, confirmed by the gift of the ring, of which I sent intelligence to my brother, my mother, and the281 princes of France, and all those who were present at our interviews are ready to bear testimony174. If I cannot get you for my wife by fair means and affection I must do so by force, for I will not leave this country without you.” The Queen was much perturbed175 at this, and exclaimed that she had never written anything which she could not justify176. She did not care, she said, what interpretation177 people chose to put upon her letters, as she knew her own intentions better than any one else could; and as for the ring, it was only a pledge of perpetual friendship and of a conditional167 contract, dependent upon his brother the King acceding178 to her conditions, which she was quite sure he never would do. She repeated her repugnance179 to entering the married state, but softened180 the blow by saying that there was nothing she desired more than that he should stay in England as her brother, friend, and good companion, but not as her husband.150 Alen?on was deeply grieved at all this, but it ended in a promise that after the new year’s holidays she would see what help she could give him in his enterprise, and with this he was perforce to appear content. But withal, Alen?on’s fresh talk of remaining in England disturbed her, especially as Cobham in Paris sent her news that the King was anxious to prolong negotiations in order to keep him there and prevent his going to Flanders. So she instructed Cecil to inflame181 his ambition for the great career there open to him, and at the same time sent for Simier to contrive99 with him how she best might get him gone. Simier had told her that if she really wished to avoid the marriage she need only stand fast to the conditions282 she had demanded from the King of France as a preliminary. She repeated to him her last demands, and said she was sure the King would not consent to break with Spain and bear the whole cost of the war without any contribution from her, and this would furnish her with the excuse she sought after, while she might make a show of approaching Spain, and this would ensure Alen?on’s recall and the cessation of the marriage negotiations. Simier, after all, said he was not so sure of this. Alen?on was such an evil weed that his brother might consent to anything to get rid of him from France. “Well,” replied the Queen, “I do not believe the King will grant such terms, but even if he do I shall find a way out of it.” And then she and Simier began to make merry at the fine gallant182 who would so readily give up his lady-love in consideration of a money payment. I offered him, she said, so much a month, and it has brightened him up to such an extent that you would not know him. But as soon as he is once across the sea I will tell him my Council will not agree to the arrangement, on the ground that my country cannot without unduly183 weakening itself provide so large a sum, and that the people would not allow it.151 Both Elizabeth and Cecil were strongly of opinion that whilst she held large sums of money she would remain mistress of the situation, and whatever promises were held out to Alen?on to induce him to embark in the enterprise, the intention always was to dole184 out the subsidies185 to him as sparingly as possible.
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1
fickle
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| adj.(爱情或友谊上)易变的，不坚定的 | |
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entreat
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| v.恳求，恳请 | |
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entreats
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| 恳求，乞求( entreat的第三人称单数 ) | |
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remonstrance
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| n抗议，抱怨 | |
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evade
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| vt.逃避，回避；避开，躲避 | |
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sage
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| n.圣人，哲人；adj.贤明的，明智的 | |
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postponement
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| n.推迟 | |
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adviser
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| n.劝告者，顾问 | |
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subsidy
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| n.补助金，津贴 | |
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discreet
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| adj.(言行)谨慎的；慎重的；有判断力的 | |
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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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embark
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| vi.乘船，着手，从事，上飞机 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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finessing
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| v.手腕，手段，技巧( finesse的现在分词 ) | |
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onus
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| n.负担；责任 | |
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curbing
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| n.边石，边石的材料v.限制，克制，抑制( curb的现在分词 ) | |
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17
trump
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| n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭 | |
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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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broth
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| n.原(汁)汤(鱼汤、肉汤、菜汤等) | |
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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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tempting
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| a.诱人的, 吸引人的 | |
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cede
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| v.割让，放弃 | |
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variance
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| n.矛盾，不同 | |
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peremptorily
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| adv.紧急地，不容分说地，专横地 | |
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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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negotiation
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| n.谈判，协商 | |
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27
vehement
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| adj.感情强烈的；热烈的；(人)有强烈感情的 | |
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memorandum
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| n.备忘录，便笺 | |
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entreated
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| 恳求，乞求( entreat的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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exasperated
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| adj.恼怒的 | |
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beseech
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| v.祈求，恳求 | |
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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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peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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34
redeem
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| v.买回，赎回，挽回，恢复，履行（诺言等） | |
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discredit
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| vt.使不可置信；n.丧失信义；不信，怀疑 | |
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infantry
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| n.[总称]步兵(部队) | |
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cavalry
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| n.骑兵；轻装甲部队 | |
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38
enrolled
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| adj.入学登记了的v.[亦作enrol]( enroll的过去式和过去分词 )；登记，招收，使入伍（或入会、入学等），参加，成为成员；记入名册；卷起，包起 | |
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anathemas
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| n.（天主教的）革出教门( anathema的名词复数 )；诅咒；令人极其讨厌的事；被基督教诅咒的人或事 | |
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defensive
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| adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的 | |
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apprehensive
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| adj.担心的，恐惧的，善于领会的 | |
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patronage
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| n.赞助，支援，援助；光顾，捧场 | |
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43
plunder
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| vt.劫掠财物，掠夺；n.劫掠物，赃物；劫掠 | |
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deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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45
pillage
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| v.抢劫；掠夺；n.抢劫，掠夺；掠夺物 | |
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46
retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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garrison
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| n.卫戍部队；驻地，卫戍区；vt.派(兵)驻防 | |
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48
belle
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| n.靓女 | |
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49
belles
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| n.美女( belle的名词复数 )；最美的美女 | |
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50
wheedled
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| v.骗取（某物），哄骗（某人干某事）( wheedle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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51
behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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52
niggardliness
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53
predecessors
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| n.前任( predecessor的名词复数 )；前辈；（被取代的）原有事物；前身 | |
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54
expenditure
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| n.(时间、劳力、金钱等)支出；使用，消耗 | |
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55
provident
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| adj.为将来做准备的，有先见之明的 | |
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56
mischiefs
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| 损害( mischief的名词复数 )； 危害； 胡闹； 调皮捣蛋的人 | |
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57
devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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58
coalition
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| n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合 | |
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59
banished
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| v.放逐，驱逐( banish的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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61
bribes
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| n.贿赂( bribe的名词复数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂v.贿赂( bribe的第三人称单数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂 | |
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62
professed
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| 公开声称的，伪称的，已立誓信教的 | |
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opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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apprehensions
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| 疑惧 | |
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sincerity
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| n.真诚，诚意；真实 | |
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66
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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downwards
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| adj./adv.向下的（地），下行的（地） | |
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68
friction
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| n.摩擦，摩擦力 | |
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69
chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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chambers
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| n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅 | |
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71
harry
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| vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼 | |
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72
crimson
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| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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73
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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secrecy
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| n.秘密，保密，隐蔽 | |
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75
torrent
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| n.激流，洪流；爆发，(话语等的)连发 | |
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76
embarked
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| 乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 )； 装载； 从事 | |
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Portuguese
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| n.葡萄牙人；葡萄牙语 | |
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necessitated
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| 使…成为必要，需要( necessitate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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suite
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| n.一套(家具)；套房；随从人员 | |
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privately
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| adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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intriguing
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| adj.有趣的；迷人的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的现在分词)；激起…的好奇心 | |
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83
squandered
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| v.（指钱，财产等）浪费，乱花( squander的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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bribed
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| v.贿赂( bribe的过去式和过去分词 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂 | |
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85
moor
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| n.荒野，沼泽；vt.(使)停泊；vi.停泊 | |
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86
orbs
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| abbr.off-reservation boarding school 在校寄宿学校n.球，天体，圆形物( orb的名词复数 ) | |
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87
firmament
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| n.苍穹；最高层 | |
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88
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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89
veer
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| vt.转向，顺时针转，改变；n.转向 | |
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90
allay
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| v.消除，减轻(恐惧、怀疑等) | |
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91
grumbling
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| adj. 喃喃鸣不平的, 出怨言的 | |
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92
undone
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| a.未做完的，未完成的 | |
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93
tranquillity
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| n. 平静, 安静 | |
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94
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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95
scoff
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| n.嘲笑，笑柄，愚弄；v.嘲笑，嘲弄，愚弄，狼吞虎咽 | |
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96
rupture
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| n.破裂；(关系的)决裂；v.(使)破裂 | |
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97
privy
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| adj.私用的；隐密的 | |
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98
deadlock
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| n.僵局，僵持 | |
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99
contrive
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| vt.谋划，策划；设法做到；设计，想出 | |
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100
contrived
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| adj.不自然的，做作的；虚构的 | |
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101
commissioners
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| n.专员( commissioner的名词复数 )；长官；委员；政府部门的长官 | |
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102
proceeding
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| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
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103
previously
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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104
advisers
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| 顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授 | |
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105
persistence
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| n.坚持，持续，存留 | |
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106
aloof
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| adj.远离的；冷淡的，漠不关心的 | |
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107
attained
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| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
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108
discord
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| n.不和，意见不合，争论，（音乐）不和谐 | |
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109
industriously
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110
reassured
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| adj.使消除疑虑的；使放心的v.再保证，恢复信心( reassure的过去式和过去分词) | |
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111
consigned
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| v.把…置于（令人不快的境地）( consign的过去式和过去分词 )；把…托付给；把…托人代售；丟弃 | |
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112
chancellor
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| n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长 | |
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113
intimacy
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| n.熟悉，亲密，密切关系，亲昵的言行 | |
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114
solely
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| adv.仅仅，唯一地 | |
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115
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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116
attachment
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| n.附属物，附件；依恋；依附 | |
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117
avert
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| v.防止，避免；转移(目光、注意力等) | |
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118
annoyance
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| n.恼怒，生气，烦恼 | |
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119
lulled
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| vt.使镇静，使安静（lull的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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120
caresses
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| 爱抚，抚摸( caress的名词复数 ) | |
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121
envoy
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| n.使节，使者，代表，公使 | |
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122
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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123
hamper
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| vt.妨碍，束缚，限制；n.(有盖的)大篮子 | |
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124
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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125
promising
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| adj.有希望的，有前途的 | |
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126
disillusioned
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| a.不再抱幻想的，大失所望的，幻想破灭的 | |
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127
bind
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| vt.捆，包扎；装订；约束；使凝固；vi.变硬 | |
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128
binding
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| 有约束力的，有效的，应遵守的 | |
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129
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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130
acquiescence
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| n.默许；顺从 | |
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131
exchequer
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| n.财政部；国库 | |
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132
dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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133
thwarting
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| 阻挠( thwart的现在分词 )； 使受挫折； 挫败； 横过 | |
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134
restitution
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| n.赔偿；恢复原状 | |
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135
unreasonable
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| adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的 | |
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136
preposterous
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| adj.荒谬的，可笑的 | |
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137
bestow
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| v.把…赠与，把…授予；花费 | |
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138
jealousy
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| n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌 | |
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139
vows
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| 誓言( vow的名词复数 )； 郑重宣布，许愿 | |
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140
copious
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| adj.丰富的，大量的 | |
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141
cipher
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| n.零；无影响力的人；密码 | |
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142
interspersed
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| adj.[医]散开的；点缀的v.intersperse的过去式和过去分词 | |
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143
darts
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| n.掷飞镖游戏；飞镖( dart的名词复数 )；急驰，飞奔v.投掷，投射( dart的第三人称单数 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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144
frantic
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| adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的 | |
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145
adoration
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| n.爱慕，崇拜 | |
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146
detailed
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| adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的 | |
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147
ruffled
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| adj. 有褶饰边的, 起皱的 动词ruffle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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148
entreaty
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| n.恳求，哀求 | |
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149
liking
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| n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢 | |
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150
connivance
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| n.纵容；默许 | |
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151
foe
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| n.敌人，仇敌 | |
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152
frustrate
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| v.使失望；使沮丧；使厌烦 | |
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153
baron
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| n.男爵；(商业界等)巨头，大王 | |
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154
partisans
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| 游击队员( partisan的名词复数 )； 党人； 党羽； 帮伙 | |
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155
assassinated
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| v.暗杀( assassinate的过去式和过去分词 )；中伤；诋毁；破坏 | |
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156
poltroon
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| n.胆怯者；懦夫 | |
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157
gallows
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| n.绞刑架，绞台 | |
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158
dagger
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| n.匕首，短剑，剑号 | |
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159
acceded
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| v.（正式）加入( accede的过去式和过去分词 )；答应；（通过财产的添附而）增加；开始任职 | |
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160
concession
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| n.让步，妥协；特许(权) | |
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161
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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162
trifling
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| adj.微不足道的；没什么价值的 | |
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163
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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164
coveted
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| adj.令人垂涎的；垂涎的，梦寐以求的v.贪求，觊觎(covet的过去分词)；垂涎；贪图 | |
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165
munitions
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| n.军火，弹药；v.供应…军需品 | |
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166
unconditional
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| adj.无条件的，无限制的，绝对的 | |
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167
conditional
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| adj.条件的，带有条件的 | |
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168
evaded
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| 逃避( evade的过去式和过去分词 )； 避开； 回避； 想不出 | |
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169
dexterity
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| n.(手的)灵巧，灵活 | |
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170
vessels
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| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人 | |
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171
barges
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| 驳船( barge的名词复数 ) | |
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172
gale
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| n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等） | |
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173
detention
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| n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下 | |
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174
testimony
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| n.证词；见证，证明 | |
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175
perturbed
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| adj.烦燥不安的v.使（某人）烦恼，不安( perturb的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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176
justify
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| vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护 | |
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177
interpretation
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| n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理 | |
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178
acceding
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| v.（正式）加入( accede的现在分词 )；答应；（通过财产的添附而）增加；开始任职 | |
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179
repugnance
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| n.嫌恶 | |
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180
softened
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| （使）变软( soften的过去式和过去分词 )； 缓解打击； 缓和； 安慰 | |
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181
inflame
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| v.使燃烧；使极度激动；使发炎 | |
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182
gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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183
unduly
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| adv.过度地，不适当地 | |
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184
dole
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| n.救济，（失业）救济金；vt.（out）发放，发给 | |
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185
subsidies
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| n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 ) | |
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