Under the circumstances it was necessary to have by his side an experienced Secretary of State of Protestant leanings, as well as of assiduity and ability. Petre and Wotton were known to be more than doubtful with regard to religion; Smith had made himself impossible by the active part he took against Northumberland at the time of Somerset’s imprisonment19. No man was more fitted to the post than Cecil, and on the 5th September 1550 he was made for the first time Secretary of State. In the “perpetual calendar” at Hatfield the entry runs, “5 Sep. 4 Ed. VI., apud Oatlands Guil. Cecill admisus secr? in loco D. Wotton,” and the Privy20 Council book confirms this, though the King in his journal gives the date of the appointment as the 6th September. Again William Cecil emerges from obscurity, and henceforward his position is unequivocal. As before, everything seemed to pass through his hands. No matter was too small or too large to claim his attention. His household biographer says of him that he worked incessantly21, except at meal times, when he unbent and chatted wittily23 to his friends, but never of business. He could, he says, never[25] play any sort of game, took no interest in sport or pastimes, his only exercise being riding round his garden walks on a little mule24. “He was rather meanly statured, but well proportioned, very straight and upright, active and hardy25, until crippled by constant gout.” His hair and beard were brown, before they became silver-white, as they did early in life; and his carriage and conversation were always grave and circumspect26.
If his own conduct was ruled—as some of his actions certainly were—by the maxims27 which in middle age he laid down for his favourite son, he must have been a marvel28 of prudence29 and wisdom. Like the usual recommendations of age to youth, many of these precepts30 simply inculcate moderation, religion, virtue31, and other obviously good qualities; but here and there Cecil’s own philosophy of life peeps out, and some of the reasons of his success are exhibited. “Let thy hospitality be moderate, … rather plentiful32 than sparing, for I never knew any man grow poor by keeping an orderly table.… Beware thou spendest not more than three of four parts of thy revenue, and not above a third part of that in thy house.” “That gentleman who sells an acre of land sells an ounce of credit, for gentility is nothing else but ancient riches.” “Suffer not thy sons to cross the Alps, for they shall learn nothing there but pride, blasphemy33, and atheism34; and if by travel they get a few broken languages, they shall profit them nothing more than to have one meat served up in divers35 dishes. Neither train them up in wars, for he that sets up to live by that profession can hardly be an honest man or a good Christian37.” “Beware of being surety for thy best friends; he that payeth another man’s debts seeketh his own decay.” “Be sure to keep some great man thy friend, but trouble him not with trifles; compliment him often with many, yet small, gifts.” “Towards thy superiors[26] be humble, yet generous; with thine equals familiar, yet respectful; towards thine inferiors show much humanity, and some familiarity, as to bow the body, stretch forth38 the hand, and to uncover the head.” “Trust not any man with thy life, credit, or estate, for it is mere39 folly40 for a man to enthral himself to his friend.” Such maxims as these evidently enshrine much of his own temper, and throughout his career he rarely seems to have violated them. His was a selfish and ungenerous gospel, but a prudent41 and circumspect one.
From the first days of his appointment as Secretary of State, the Duchess of Suffolk was again his constant correspondent. As she was one of the first to condole42 with him on his misfortune, she was early to congratulate him on “the good exchanges he had made, and on having come to a good market”;[29] and thenceforward all the Lincolnshire gossip from Grimsthorpe and Tattershall reached the Secretary regularly, with many Lincolnshire petitions, and much business in the buying and leasing of land by Cecil in the county, although his father lived until the following year, 1552.[30] His erudite wife, of whom he always speaks with tender regard, seems to have kept up a correspondence in Greek with their friend, Sir Thomas Morysine, the English Ambassador to the Emperor, and with the learned Joannes Sturmius, to which several references are made in Morysine’s eccentric and affected43 letters to Cecil in the State Papers, Foreign.
The letters of Morysine and Mason, the Ambassador to France, to Cecil are of more importance as giving a just idea of Northumberland’s policy abroad than are their despatches to the Council. The Protestant princes were already recovering their spirits after the[27] defeat of Muhlberg, and the Emperor was again faced by persistent44 opposition in the Diet. Henry II., having now made sure of Northumberland’s necessary adhesion to him, once more launched against the empire the forces of the Turks in the Mediterranean45, whilst French armies invaded Italy and threatened Flanders. To the old-fashioned English diplomatists, this driving of the Emperor into a corner was a subject of alarm. Wotton, in a letter to Cecil (2nd January 1551), expresses the opinion that an attack upon the English at Calais would be the next move of the French King, and that Frenchmen generally are not to be trusted;[31] and Mason, the Ambassador in France (November 1550) writes also to Cecil: “The French profess36 much, but I doubt their sincerity46; I fear they know too well our estate, and thereby47 think to ride upon our backs.”[32] But, withal, though as yet they knew it not, Northumberland’s plans depended upon a close understanding with France, and during the rest of his rule this was his guiding principle. Mason had to be withdrawn48 from France, and Pickering, another friend of Cecil’s, more favourable50 to the French interest, was appointed; whilst Wotton was sent to calm the susceptibilities of the Emperor, who was growing fractious at the close alliance between Northumberland and the French, which was being cemented by one of the most splendid embassies that ever left England (March 1551). Prudent Cecil through it all gives in his correspondence no inkling of his own feeling towards Northumberland’s new departure in foreign policy, though the letters of his many friends to him are a sure indication that they knew he was not really in favour of it.
In home affairs he was just as discreet51. His view of the duty of a Secretary of State was to carry out the[28] orders of the Council without seeking to impose his own opinion unduly52, and to the last days of his life his methods were conciliatory and diplomatic rather than forcible. He bent22 before insistence53; but he usually had his way, if indirectly54, in the end, as will be seen in the course of his career. For instance, one of the first measures which he had to carry out under Northumberland was the debasement of the coinage,[33] though it was one of his favourite maxims that “the realm cannot be rich whose coin is base,”[34] and his persistent efforts to reform the coinage under Elizabeth contributed much to the renewed prosperity of England. It would appear to have been his system to make his opinion known frankly55 in the Council, but when it was overborne by a majority, to carry out the opposite policy loyally. As will be seen, this mode of proceeding56 probably saved his head on the fall of Northumberland.
He was, indeed, not of the stuff from which martyrs57 are made, and when his first patron and friend, Somerset, finally fell, to the sorrow of all England, and lost his head on Tower Hill, Cecil’s own position remained unassailed. This is not the place to enter fully58 upon the vexed59 question of the guilt60 of Somerset in the alleged61 plan to murder Warwick and his friends, but a glance at Cecil’s attitude at the time will be useful. According to the young King’s journal, the first revelation of the conspiracy62 was made on the 7th October 1551 by Sir Thomas Palmer, who on the following days amplified63 his information and implicated64 many of Somerset’s friends. On the 14th, Somerset had got wind of the affair, and sent for his friend Secretary Cecil to tell him he was afraid there was some mischief65 brewing66. Cecil answered coldly, “that if he were not guilty he might be of good courage; if he were, he had nothing to say[29] but to lament67 him.”[35] In two days Somerset and his friends were in the Tower, and thenceforward through all the shameful68 trial, until the sacrifice was finally consummated69, Cecil appeared to be prudently70 wrapped up in foreign affairs;[36] for to him had been referred the appeal of the Protestant princes brought by his friend A’Lasco, for help against their suzerain the Emperor, and to others fell the main task of removing the King’s uncle from the path of Northumberland.
Cecil’s position as a Protestant Secretary of State was one that required all his tact71 and discretion72. Somerset was his first friend and “master”; and although it is not well established that the Duke personally was guilty of the particular crime for which he suffered, it is unquestionable that he had been for several months coquetting with the Catholic party, had agitated73 for the release of Gardiner from the Tower, and that his friends were busy, almost certainly with his own connivance74, to obtain for him in the coming Parliament the renewal75 of his office of Protector. Light is thrown upon Cecil’s share in bringing about the Duke’s downfall, by the letters to him of his friend Whalley,[37] who had been officiously pushing Somerset’s interests early in 1551, and had been imprisoned for it. In June he had been released, and was apparently76 made use of by Cecil to convey letters from the latter in[30] London to Northumberland in the country, complaining of Somerset’s efforts in favour of Gardiner, and his intrigues77 with the Catholics. That Cecil should resent, as Secretary of State, any movement that threatened Northumberland and the Protestant cause at the time was natural. It will be recollected79 that he did not become Northumberland’s Secretary of State until the former had thrown over the Catholics—but it was perhaps an ungenerous excess of zeal80 to be the first to denounce his former patron. At all events, Northumberland was delighted with the Secretary’s action in the matter, and told Whalley so—“He declared in the end his good opinion of you in such sort, as I may well say he is your very singular good lord, and resolved that he would write at length his opinion unto you … for he plainly said ye had shown yourself therein such a faithful servant, and by that, most witty81 councillor unto the King’s Majesty82 and his proceedings83, as was scarce the like within his realm.” Whalley concludes his letter by urging Cecil to remonstrate84 with Somerset. Whether he did so or not is unknown; but certainly for the next three months there is no hint of any serious renewal of the quarrel: the interminable proceedings against Gardiner continued, under Cecil’s direction, without a word from Somerset, and the measures against the Princess Mary’s mass continued unchecked.
The French alliance was now in full flush. All through the autumn the stately embassy from Henry II. confirming the treaty, and bringing the Order of St. Michael to Edward, was splendidly entertained at court; the Emperor’s troubles were closing in around him; Northumberland could afford to flout85 his remonstrance86 about the treatment of the Princess Mary; and by the beginning of October, Northumberland’s power was at its height. On the 4th October he assumed his dukedom,[31] Dorset was made Duke of Suffolk, the Earl of Wiltshire was created Marquis of Winchester, and Cheke and Cecil were dubbed87 knights88 (although several of the latter’s friends had insisted upon calling him Sir William months before).[38] Then it was that the blow fell upon Somerset. We have seen how Cecil bore himself to his former master at the first hint of danger on the 14th October; and though we have no letters of his own to indicate his subsequent attitude, a few words in the confidential89 letters of his correspondents allow us to surmise90 what it was.
Somerset was imprisoned on the 16th October (1551). On the 27th, Pickering, the Ambassador in Paris, writes that “he is glad Cecil is found to be undefiled with the folly of this unfortunate Duke of Somerset.” But Morysine, Cecil’s old Lincolnshire friend, the Ambassador in Germany, reflects, evidently with exactitude, the tone which Cecil must have adopted. He speaks of Somerset as the Secretary’s old friend, and congratulates Cecil that he has not been dragged down with him. “For it were a way to make an end of amity91, if, when men fall, their friends should forthwith therefore be troubled.” He plainly sees, he says, that the mark Cecil shoots at is their master’s service; “A God’s blessing92! let the Duke bear his own burden, or cast it where he can.”[39] Morysine might have saved his wisdom; Cecil would certainly bear no other man’s burden if he could help it.
Through all this critical time Sir William was indefatigable93. His wife lived usually retired94 from the court, at their home at Wimbledon; but Cecil’s town house at Cannon95 Row, Westminster, was the scene of ceaseless business, for Petre, the joint-Secretary, was ill disposed, and did little. The Duchess of Suffolk, Lord Clinton, and all the Lincolnshire folk used Cecil unsparingly in[32] all their suits and troubles, and they had many. Cecil’s own properties were now very extensive, and were constantly augmented96 by purchases and grants. He had been appointed Recorder of Boston in the previous year (May 1551). Northumberland consulted and deferred97 to him at every point; Cranmer sent to him the host of Protestant refugees from Germany and France: no matter what business was in hand, or whose it was, it inevitably98 found its way into Sir William Cecil’s study, and by him was dealt with moderately, patiently, and wisely.
In the war of faiths he was the universal arbitrator, and his task was not an easy one. The clergy99 had sunk to the lowest depth of degradation100, and cures of souls had been given by patrons to domestic servants, and often to persons unable to read. The returned refugees from Switzerland had many of them brought back Calvinistic methods and beliefs, and between their rigidity101 and the English Catholicism of Henry VIII. all grades of ritual were practised. Cranmer was at the head of a commission to settle a form of liturgy102 and the Articles for the Church, Cecil, of course, being a member. After immense labour, forty-two Articles were agreed upon—reduced to thirty-nine ten years afterwards—but before finally submitting them to Parliament and Convocation for adoption103, Cranmer referred them absolutely to Cecil and Cheke, “the two great patrons of the Reformation at court.”[40]
In foreign affairs, also, Cecil arranged everything but the main line of policy which Northumberland’s plans dictated104. We have seen how the question of aid to the Protestant princes of Germany was referred to his consideration, and the help refused. The subject was shortly made a much larger one by the utter defeat of the Emperor by his former henchman, Maurice of Saxony, and the invasion of Luxembourg by the French (July 1552). The[33] tables were now turned indeed. By the peace of Passau the Protestant princes extorted105 the religious liberty they had in vain prayed for, and it was seen that for a time Charles’s power was broken. A considerable party in England, faithful to old traditions, were in a fever of alarm at the growth of the power of France, and Stukeley told the King that Henry II. had confided106 to him his intention to capture Calais.[41]
The Emperor, ready to snatch at any straw, sent an ambassador to England in September 1552 to claim the aid to which, under the treaty of 1542, he was entitled from England if France invaded his territory. The whole question was referred to Cecil; and, as a specimen107 of his patient, judicial108 style, his report, as given in the King’s Journal, is reproduced here. It will be seen that he affects impartially109 to weigh both sides, but his fear of French aggression110 is made as clear as was prudent, considering Northumberland’s leanings.[42][34] Throughout the whole of his official life this was the way in which he dealt with all really important questions referred to him, and his leading principle was to[35] strike a middle course, which would allow England to remain openly friendly with the House of Burgundy without breaking with France, and to keep the latter power out of Flanders, while still defending Protestantism, which the ruler of Flanders was pledged to destroy.
How his actions usually squared with his axioms is seen, amongst other things, from his constant efforts to extend the commerce and wealth of England. Amongst the apophthegms which he most affected are the following:[43] “A realm can never be rich that hath not an intercourse111 and trade of merchandise with other nations,” and “A realm must needs be poor that carryeth not out more (merchandise) than it bringeth in.” In consequence of the privileges granted to the Hanse merchants, nearly the whole of the export trade of England had been concentrated into the hands of foreigners, and in the year that Cecil was appointed Secretary of State, the Steelyard Corporation is said to have exported 44,000 lengths of English cloth, whereas all the other London merchants together had not shipped more than 1100 lengths.[44] Cecil was in favour of establishing privileged cloth markets at Southampton and Hull112, and of placing impediments on the exportation of cloths first-hand by foreigners, until the new markets had succeeded in attracting customers from abroad, so that the merchants’[36] profits would remain in England as well as the money spent here by the foreign buyers. Although this particular project ultimately fell through, owing to the King’s death and other causes, Cecil throughout his life laboured incessantly to increase English trade and navigation, by favouring the establishment of foreign weavers113 in various parts of the country, by laws for the protection of fisheries, by the promotion114 of trading corporations, like the Russian Company, of which he was one of the founders115, by the rehabilitation116 of the coinage, and by a host of other measures, to some of which reference will be made in their chronological117 order.
The position of affairs during the last months of Edward’s life was broadly this: Protestant uniformity was being imposed upon the country with a severity unknown under the rule of Somerset; Northumberland’s plans for the elevation118 of Jane Grey to the throne were maturing; Southampton, Paget, Arundel, Beaumont, and the Catholics were in disgrace or exile; and De Noailles, the new French Ambassador, was working his hardest to help Northumberland, when the time should come, to exclude from the throne the half-Spanish Princess Mary. But though Sir William Cecil was the channel through which most of the business passed, he avoided as much as possible personal identification with Northumberland’s plans. It must have needed all his tact, for Northumberland consulted and deferred to him in everything, and as the time approached for him to act, was evidently apprehensive119, and stayed away from the Council. This was resented by his colleagues, as will be seen from his letter to Cecil of 3rd January 1553[45] from Chelsea, saying that “he has never absented himself from the King’s service but through ill-health. The Italian proverb is true: a faithful servant will become a perpetual ass4. He[37] wishes to retire and end his days in tranquillity120, as he fears he is going to be very ill.” When it came to illness, diplomatic or otherwise, Cecil was a match for his master. He had been, according to his diary, in imminent121 danger of death in the previous year, at his house at Wimbledon; and in the spring of 1553 he again fell seriously sick. During May, Secretary Petre constantly wrote to him hoping he would soon recover and be back again at court. Lord Audley comforted him by sending several curious remedies for his malady122, amongst which is “a stewed123 sowe pygge of ix dayes olde”;[46] and the Marquis of Winchester was equally solicitous124 to see the Secretary back to the Council again. Northumberland evidently tried to keep him satisfied by grants and favours, for he conferred upon him a lease of Combe Park, Surrey, part of Somerset’s lands; the lands in Northampton held for life by Richard Cecil, his father, were regranted to Sir William on his death, and during the Secretary’s illness and absence from court he received the office of Chancellor125 of the Order of the Garter, with an income of 100 marks a year and fees.[47] But Cecil’s illness, real or feigned126,[48] made him[38] in no hurry to return and take a prominent part in Northumberland’s dangerous game, which was now patent. During his absence his brother-in-law, Sir John Cheke, was appointed as an additional Secretary of State to help Petre (June 1553), and his fervent127 Protestantism and weakness of will made him a less wary128 instrument than Sir William in the final stages of the intrigue78.
It was during Cecil’s absence from court in May that Lady Jane Grey was married to Northumberland’s son Guildford Dudley;[49] but by the time the plot was ready for consummation, Sir William could stay away no longer, and was at work again in his office. The letter, dated 11th June 1553, addressed to the Lord Chief-Justice and other judges, summoning them to the royal presence, was signed by Cecil, as well as by Cheke and Petre. When the young King handed to the Chief-Justice a memorandum129 of his intention to set aside King Henry’s will, and leave the crown to the descendants of Henry’s youngest sister Mary, to the deprivation130 of his daughters, the Chief-Justice told him that such a settlement would be illegal. The King insisted that a new deed of settlement must be drawn49 up. The next day at Ely Place, when Northumberland threatened Chief-Justice Montagu as a traitor131, Petre was present, but not Cecil; but he must have been at the remarkable132 Council meeting on the 14th June, when the Chief-Justice and the other judges with tears in their eyes were hectored into drawing up the fateful will disinheriting Mary and Elizabeth; for upon Northumberland insisting that every one present[39] should sign the document, he, Cecil, like the rest of them—with the honourable133 exception of Sir John Hales—dared not refuse, and appended his name to it. He was probably sorry that his illness did not delay him a little longer at Wimbledon, for shortly before he had, in a conversation with Roger Alford, one of the confidential members of his household, expressed an intention to be no party to a change in the order of the succession. Alford relates the story.[50] He was walking in Greenwich Park with Cecil, when the latter told him that he knew some such plan was in contemplation, “but that he would never be a partaker in that device.” If Alford is to be believed, Northumberland was from the first suspicious of Cecil’s absence. He says that the Secretary feared assassination134, and went armed, against his usual practice, visiting London secretly at night only, and concealed135 his valuables. His household biographer also says that he incurred136 the particular displeasure of Northumberland “for mislyking or not consenting to the Duke’s purpose touching137 the Lady Jane.”[51] And Alford, in his testimony138 in Cecil’s favour, asserted that the latter told him that he had refused to sign the settlement as a Councillor, but only did so as a witness, which the paper itself disproves. The position of Cecil was indeed a most difficult one. He was not a brave or heroic man, he hated extreme courses, and this was a juncture139 where his usual non-committal via media was of no avail. Of the two evils he chose the lesser140, and not only signed the settlement like the rest of the Councillors, but also the instrument[40] by which certain members pledged themselves on oath to carry it out. But though he, like others, was terrorised into bending to Northumberland’s will, it is certain that he disliked the business, made no secret of his unwillingness141 to acquiesce142 in it, and separated himself from it at the earliest possible moment that he could do so with safety. There is in the Lansdowne MSS.[52] a paper in Cecil’s hand, written after the accession of Mary, in which is contained his exculpation143. As it throws much light on the matter, and upon Cecil’s own character, it will be useful to quote it at length. It is headed “A briefe note of my submission144 and of my doings.
“1. My submission with all lowliness that any heart can conceive.
“2. My misliking of the matter when I heard it secretly; whereupon I made conveyance146 away of my lands, part of my goods, my leases, and my raiment.
“3. I determined147 to suffer for saving my conscience; whereof the witnesses, Sir Anthony Cooke, Nicholas Bacon, Esq., Laurence D’Eresby of Louth; two of my suite148, Roger Alford and William Cawood.
“4. Of my purpose to stand against the matter, be also witness Mr. Petre and Mr. Cheke.
“5. I did refuse to subscribe149 the book when none of the Council did refuse: in what peril150 I refer it to be considered by them who know the Duke.
“6. I refused to make a proclamation, and turned the labour to Mr. Throckmorton, whose conscience, I saw, was troubled therewith, misliking the matter.
“7. I eschewed151 writing the Queen’s highness bastard152, and therefore the Duke wrote the letter himself, which was sent abroad in the realm.[53]
[41]
“8. I eschewed to be at the drawing of the proclamation for the publishing of the usurper’s title, being specially153 appointed thereto.
“9. I avoided the answer of the Queen’s highness’ letter.
“10. I avoided also the writing of all the public letters of the realm.
“11. I wrote no letter to Lord La Warr as I was commanded.
“12. I dissembled the taking of my horse and the raising of Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire, and avowed154 the pardonable lie where it was suspected to my danger.
“13. I practised with the Lord Treasurer155 to win the Lord Privy Seal, that I might by Lord Russell’s means cause Windsor Castle to serve the Queen, and they two to levy156 the west parts for the Queen’s service. I have the Lord Treasurer’s letter to Lord St. John for to keep me safe if I could not prevail in the enterprise of Windsor Castle, and my name was feigned to be Harding.
“14. I did open myself to the Earl of Arundel, whom I found thereto disposed; and likewise I did the like to Lord Darcy, who heard me with good contentation, whereof I did immediately tell Mr. Petre, for both our comfort.
“15. I did also determine to flee from them if the consultation157 had not taken effect, as Mr. Petre can tell, who meant the like.
[42]
“16. I purposed to have stolen down to the Queen’s highness, as Mr. Gosnold can tell, who offered to lead me thither158, as I knew not the way.
“17. I had my horses ready at Lambeth for the purpose.
“18. I procured159 a letter from the Lords that the Queen’s tenants160 of Wimbledon should not go with Sir Thomas Caverden; and yet I never gave one man warning so much as to be in readiness, and yet they sent to me for the purpose, and I willed them to be quiet. I might as steward161 there make for the Queen’s service a hundred men to serve.
“19. When I sent into Lincolnshire for my horses, I sent but for five horses and eight servants, and charged that none of my tenants should be stirred.
“20. I caused my horses, being indeed but four, to be taken up in Northamptonshire; and the next day following I countermanded162 them again by my letters, remaining in the country and notoriously there known.
“21. When this conspiracy was first opened to me, I did fully set me to flee the realm, and was dissuaded163 by Mr. Cheke, who willed me for my satisfaction to read a dialogue of Plato where Socrates, being in prison, was offered to escape and flee, and yet he would not. I read the dialogue, whose reasons, indeed, did stay me.
“Finally, I beseech165 her Highness that in her grace I may feel some difference from others that have more plainly offended and yet be partakers of her Highness’ bountifulness and grace; if difference may be made I do differ from them whom I served, and also them that had liberty after their enforcement to depart, by means whereof they did, both like noblemen and true subjects, show their duties to their sovereign lady. The like whereof was my devotion to have done if I might have had the like liberty, as knoweth God, the searcher of[43] all hearts, whose indignation I call upon me if it be not true.
“‘Justus adjutorius meus Dominus qui salvos facit rectos corde’—‘God save the Queen in all felicity,’
“W. Cecill.”[54]
The document shows us the real William Cecil. It is probably quite true: he had taken care, whilst remaining a member of Northumberland’s Council, and openly acquiescing166 in his acts, to make himself safe in either case. Throgmorton and Cheke might be made scapegoats—as Davison was years afterwards—but Jane or Mary, Protestant or Catholic, the first consideration for William Cecil was not unnaturally167 William Cecil’s own head. He was probably not worse than the other members of the Council, for most of them acted in a similar manner, and when at length they turned against Northumberland, and openly declared for Mary, Sir William was safe to choose the winning side.
King Edward died at Greenwich on the 6th July 1553, and on the 10th, Lady Jane was proclaimed Queen by virtue of his settlement by patent.[55] Two days afterwards the Council in the Tower learnt that the Lady Mary was rallying powerful friends about her in Kenninghall Castle, Norfolk, and it was agreed that Queen Jane’s father, the Duke of Suffolk, should lead a force to capture and bring her to London. But the girl Queen begged so hard that her father might remain by her side that her tears prevailed; “whereupon the Councell perswaded the Duke of Northumberland to take that voyage upon him, saying that no man was so fit therefor, because[44] he had atchieved the victorie in Norfolk once already, … besides that, he was the best man of war in the realm.… ‘Well,’ quoth the Duke then, ‘since ye think it good I and mine will goe, not doubting of your fidelity168 to the Quene’s Majesty, which I leave in your custody169.’”[56]
Northumberland hurriedly completed his preparations at Durham Place, and urged the Council to send powers and directions after him to reach him at Newmarket. He insisted upon having the warrant of the Council for every step he took in order to pledge them all; but at the farewell dinner-party with them it is clear that his mind was ill at ease, and his heart already sinking. He appealed humbly170 to his colleagues not to betray him. “If,” he said, “we thought you wolde through malice171, conspiracie, or discentyon, leave us your frendes in the breers (briars) and betray us, we could as well sondery (sundry) ways foresee and provide for our own safeguards as any of you by betraying us can do for yours.” He reminds them of their oath of allegiance to Queen Jane, made freely to her, “who by your and our enticement172 is rather of force placed therein than by hir owne seking;” again points out that they are as deeply pledged on each point as he himself. “But if ye meane deceat, though not furthwith, God will revenge the same. I can say no more, but in this troblesome tyme wishe you to use constaunte hartes, abandoning all malice, envy, and privat affections.” Some of the Council protested their good faith. “I pray God yt be so,” quod the Duke; “let us go to dyner.”[57]
Cecil must have been present at this scene, and when Northumberland left London on his way to Cambridge, “none,” as he himself remarked, “not one, saying God spede us,” Sir William must have known as well, or[45] better, than any of them that the house of cards was falling, and that Northumberland was a doomed173 man. The moment he was gone, Cecil, like the rest of them, strove to betray him. The ships on the east coast declared for Mary, the people of London were almost in revolt already, the nobles in the country flocked to the rightful Queen. On the 19th July, Mary was proclaimed by the Council at Baynard’s Castle, and the joy was general: “the Earle of Pembroke threwe awaye his cape164 full of angeletes. I saw money throwne out at windowes for joy, and the bonfires weare without nomber,” says an eye-witness.[58] Sir John Cheke was present at this stirring scene, upon which he must have looked with a wry174 face; but, as we have seen by his submission, Cecil had already been busy trimming and facing both ways. He first sent his wife’s sister, Lady Bacon, to meet the new Queen, whom she knew, and as soon as might be himself started for the eastern counties, to greet the rising sun.[59] Lady Bacon had paved the way, and, to make quite sure, Cecil sent his henchman Alford ahead to see her at Ipswich, and learn what sort of reception her brother-in-law might expect. Her message was “that the Queen thought well of her brother Cecil, and said he was a very[46] honest man.” Then Sir William went on, and met Mary at Newhall, Essex, where he explained matters as best he could. When he was reproached with arming his four horsemen to oppose Queen Mary, he explained, as we have seen, that he himself had secretly caused them to be detained. No doubt the sardonic175 disillusioned176 Queen must have smiled grimly as she read the shifty, ungenerous “submission,” already quoted in full; and however “honest” she may have considered Lady Bacon’s brother-in-law, she knew he was not a bold man or a thorough partisan177 of hers, and when her ministry178 was formed, Cecil was no longer Secretary—but he did not, like poor Sir John Cheke, find himself a prisoner in the Tower.
Sir William’s entry in his journal on the occasion of the King’s death is a curious one,[60] and seems to indicate his general dislike of his position under Northumberland, whose home and foreign policy, as we have seen, were both diametrically opposite to those dictated by the training and character of Cecil.[61] The only point upon which there could have been a real community of aims between them was that of religion, and on that point Northumberland, who subsequently avowed himself a Catholic,[62] was false to his own convictions.
[47]
During the whole of the reign9 of Edward, Cecil had continued to enrich himself by grants, stewardships, reversions, and offices; not of course to the same extent as Somerset, Northumberland, Clinton, or Winchester, for he was a moderate man and loved safety, but on the accession of Mary he must have been very rich. During his mother’s life, which was a long one, he always looked upon Burghley House as hers, although he spent large sums of his own money upon buildings and improvements; but he inherited from his father large estates in Northamptonshire, Rutland, Lincolnshire, and elsewhere. We have already noticed that he obtained the Crown manor179 of Wimbledon and other grants; but, in addition to those already noted180, he obtained, in October 1551, the period of Somerset’s sacrifice, grants of the manor of Berchamstow and Deeping, in Lincolnshire; the manor and hall of Thetford, in the same county; the reversion of the manor of Wrangdike, Rutland; the manor of Liddington, Rutland, and a moiety181 of the rectory of Godstow. He was a large purchaser of land also in the county of Lincoln; so that although his household historian asserts that his lands never brought him in more than ￡4000 a year, his expenses were on a very lavish182 scale, and he had, as his friend the Duchess of Suffolk says in one of her letters to him, brought his wares183 to a good market. By his embroiderer’s account, already quoted, we see that at this period of his life he maintained thirty-six servitors wearing his badge and livery; but in the time of Elizabeth his establishments were on a truly princely footing. He had eighty servants wearing his livery, and we are told that the best gentlemen in England competed to enter his service; “I have nombered in his howse attending at table twenty gentlemen of his retayners of ￡1000 per annum a peece, in possession or reversion, and of his ordinarie men, as many more, some[48] worth ￡1000, some worth 3, 5, 10, yea, ￡20,000, daily attending his service.”
But though acquisitive and fond of surrounding himself with the accessories of wealth and great standing8, he had few of the tastes of the territorial184 aristocracy, whom he imitated. Arms, sport, athletic185 exercises, did not appeal to him. From his youth he dressed gravely and soberly; and at a time, subsequently, when splendour and extravagance in attire186 were the rule, he still kept to his fur-trimmed gown and staid raiment. He was an insatiable book buyer and collector of heraldic and genealogical manuscripts. Sir William Pickering in Paris, and Sir John Mason, had orders to buy for him all the attractive new books published in France; and Chamberlain in Brussels had a similar commission. The former mentions in one letter (15th Dec. 1551, State Papers, Foreign) having purchased Euclid with the figures, Machiavelli, Le Long, the New Testament187 in Greek, L’Horloge des Princes, Discours de la Guerre, Notes on Aristotle in Italian, and others; and the Hatfield Papers contain very numerous memoranda188 of books and genealogies189 bought by Cecil, or sent to him as presents from his friends and suitors. Wotton, for instance, when he was abroad and wished to oblige his friend, says: “If I knew anye kind of bookes heere (Poissy) which yow like, I wold bye them for yow, and bring them home with some of myne owne. Here is Clemens Alexandrinus and Theodoretus in Epistolas Pauli, turned into Latin. But because I heere that yow have Clemens Alexandrinus in Greek already, I suppose yow care not for him in Latin.”[63]
His love of study, too, extended to interest in others. He was a constant benefactor190 to Cambridge University, and St. John’s particularly, and influenced the King[64] to[49] bequeath ￡100 per annum to the foundation in his will. Shortly before the young King’s death, also, he appears to have granted to Cecil’s own town of Stamford—almost certainly at his instance—funds for the foundation of a grammar school there, of which Sir William was to be the life governor, and there is ample evidence that the establishment of the large number of educational benefactions with which the young King signalised his reign—primarily at the instance of Bishop191 Hooper—was powerfully promoted by Cecil; who seems also, on his own account, to have always maintained a certain number of scholars,[65] and to have been the universal resource of students, teachers, and colleges, in their troubles and difficulties. The accession of Mary, which threw Cecil out of office, or, as he puts it, gave him his liberty, did not deprive him of his large means, or limit his enlightened activity in other directions. But for a time after the death of Edward, he remained, so far as so prominent and able a man could do so, simply a private citizen. His household biographer asserts “that Mary had a good liking145 for him as a Councillor, and would have appointed him if he had changed his religion.” Although he puts a grandiloquent192 speech in Cecil’s mouth, refusing office, saying much about preferring God’s service before that of the Queen, it is extremely doubtful whether Mary ever offered to call him to her Council. Towards the end of her reign, when Elizabeth’s early accession was inevitable193, however, the Council itself was desirous of conciliating him. Lloyd (“State Worthies”) says of him: “When he was out of place he was not out of service in Queen Mary’s days, his abilities being as necessary in those times as his inclinations194, and that Queen’s Council being as ready to advance him at last as they were to use him all her reign.”
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
scourged
|
|
| 鞭打( scourge的过去式和过去分词 )； 惩罚，压迫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
scourge
|
|
| n.灾难，祸害；v.蹂躏 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
scorpions
|
|
| n.蝎子( scorpion的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
ass
|
|
| n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
imprisoned
|
|
| 下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
strictly
|
|
| adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
overthrow
|
|
| v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
standing
|
|
| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
reign
|
|
| n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
supersede
|
|
| v.替代；充任 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
opposition
|
|
| n.反对，敌对 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
necessitate
|
|
| v.使成为必要，需要 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
predecessor
|
|
| n.前辈，前任 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
nominally
|
|
| 在名义上，表面地； 应名儿 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
betrothal
|
|
| n. 婚约, 订婚 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
eldest
|
|
| adj.最年长的，最年老的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
humble
|
|
| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
guise
|
|
| n.外表，伪装的姿态 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
imprisonment
|
|
| n.关押，监禁，坐牢 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
privy
|
|
| adj.私用的；隐密的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
incessantly
|
|
| ad.不停地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
bent
|
|
| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
wittily
|
|
| 机智地，机敏地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
mule
|
|
| n.骡子，杂种，执拗的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
hardy
|
|
| adj.勇敢的，果断的，吃苦的；耐寒的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
circumspect
|
|
| adj.慎重的，谨慎的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
maxims
|
|
| n.格言，座右铭( maxim的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
marvel
|
|
| vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
prudence
|
|
| n.谨慎，精明，节俭 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
precepts
|
|
| n.规诫，戒律，箴言( precept的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
virtue
|
|
| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
plentiful
|
|
| adj.富裕的，丰富的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
blasphemy
|
|
| n.亵渎，渎神 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
atheism
|
|
| n.无神论，不信神 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
divers
|
|
| adj.不同的；种种的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
profess
|
|
| v.声称，冒称，以...为业，正式接受入教，表明信仰 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
Christian
|
|
| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
forth
|
|
| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
mere
|
|
| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
folly
|
|
| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
prudent
|
|
| adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
condole
|
|
| v.同情；慰问 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
affected
|
|
| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
persistent
|
|
| adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
Mediterranean
|
|
| adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
sincerity
|
|
| n.真诚，诚意；真实 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
thereby
|
|
| adv.因此，从而 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
withdrawn
|
|
| vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
drawn
|
|
| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
favourable
|
|
| adj.赞成的，称赞的，有利的，良好的，顺利的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
discreet
|
|
| adj.(言行)谨慎的；慎重的；有判断力的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
unduly
|
|
| adv.过度地，不适当地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
insistence
|
|
| n.坚持；强调；坚决主张 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
indirectly
|
|
| adv.间接地，不直接了当地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
frankly
|
|
| adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
proceeding
|
|
| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
martyrs
|
|
| n.martyr的复数形式；烈士( martyr的名词复数 )；殉道者；殉教者；乞怜者（向人诉苦以博取同情） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
fully
|
|
| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
vexed
|
|
| adj.争论不休的；（指问题等）棘手的；争论不休的问题；烦恼的v.使烦恼( vex的过去式和过去分词 )；使苦恼；使生气；详细讨论 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
guilt
|
|
| n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
alleged
|
|
| a.被指控的，嫌疑的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
conspiracy
|
|
| n.阴谋，密谋，共谋 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
amplified
|
|
| 放大，扩大( amplify的过去式和过去分词 )； 增强； 详述 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
implicated
|
|
| adj.密切关联的；牵涉其中的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
mischief
|
|
| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
brewing
|
|
| n. 酿造, 一次酿造的量 动词brew的现在分词形式 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
67
lament
|
|
| n.悲叹，悔恨，恸哭；v.哀悼，悔恨，悲叹 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
68
shameful
|
|
| adj.可耻的，不道德的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
69
consummated
|
|
| v.使结束( consummate的过去式和过去分词 )；使完美；完婚；（婚礼后的）圆房 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
70
prudently
|
|
| adv. 谨慎地，慎重地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
71
tact
|
|
| n.机敏，圆滑，得体 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
72
discretion
|
|
| n.谨慎；随意处理 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
73
agitated
|
|
| adj.被鼓动的，不安的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
74
connivance
|
|
| n.纵容；默许 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
75
renewal
|
|
| adj.(契约)延期，续订，更新，复活，重来 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
76
apparently
|
|
| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
77
intrigues
|
|
| n.密谋策划( intrigue的名词复数 )；神秘气氛；引人入胜的复杂情节v.搞阴谋诡计( intrigue的第三人称单数 )；激起…的好奇心 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
78
intrigue
|
|
| vt.激起兴趣，迷住；vi.耍阴谋；n.阴谋，密谋 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
79
recollected
|
|
| adj.冷静的；镇定的；被回忆起的；沉思默想的v.记起，想起( recollect的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
80
zeal
|
|
| n.热心，热情，热忱 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
81
witty
|
|
| adj.机智的，风趣的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
82
majesty
|
|
| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
83
proceedings
|
|
| n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
84
remonstrate
|
|
| v.抗议，规劝 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
85
flout
|
|
| v./n.嘲弄，愚弄，轻视 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
86
remonstrance
|
|
| n抗议，抱怨 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
87
dubbed
|
|
| v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 )；把…称为；配音；复制 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
88
knights
|
|
| 骑士； （中古时代的）武士( knight的名词复数 )； 骑士； 爵士； （国际象棋中）马 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
89
confidential
|
|
| adj.秘（机）密的，表示信任的，担任机密工作的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
90
surmise
|
|
| v./n.猜想，推测 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
91
amity
|
|
| n.友好关系 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
92
blessing
|
|
| n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
93
indefatigable
|
|
| adj.不知疲倦的，不屈不挠的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
94
retired
|
|
| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
95
cannon
|
|
| n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
96
Augmented
|
|
| adj.增音的 动词augment的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
97
deferred
|
|
| adj.延期的，缓召的v.拖延，延缓，推迟( defer的过去式和过去分词 )；服从某人的意愿，遵从 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
98
inevitably
|
|
| adv.不可避免地；必然发生地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
99
clergy
|
|
| n.[总称]牧师，神职人员 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
100
degradation
|
|
| n.降级；低落；退化；陵削；降解；衰变 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
101
rigidity
|
|
| adj.钢性，坚硬 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
102
liturgy
|
|
| n.礼拜仪式 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
103
adoption
|
|
| n.采用，采纳，通过；收养 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
104
dictated
|
|
| v.大声讲或读( dictate的过去式和过去分词 )；口授；支配；摆布 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
105
extorted
|
|
| v.敲诈( extort的过去式和过去分词 )；曲解 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
106
confided
|
|
| v.吐露（秘密，心事等）( confide的过去式和过去分词 )；（向某人）吐露（隐私、秘密等） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
107
specimen
|
|
| n.样本，标本 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
108
judicial
|
|
| adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
109
impartially
|
|
| adv.公平地，无私地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
110
aggression
|
|
| n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
111
intercourse
|
|
| n.性交；交流，交往，交际 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
112
hull
|
|
| n.船身；(果、实等的)外壳；vt.去(谷物等)壳 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
113
weavers
|
|
| 织工，编织者( weaver的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
114
promotion
|
|
| n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
115
founders
|
|
| n.创始人( founder的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
116
rehabilitation
|
|
| n.康复，悔过自新，修复，复兴，复职，复位 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
117
chronological
|
|
| adj.按年月顺序排列的，年代学的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
118
elevation
|
|
| n.高度；海拔；高地；上升；提高 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
119
apprehensive
|
|
| adj.担心的，恐惧的，善于领会的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
120
tranquillity
|
|
| n. 平静, 安静 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
121
imminent
|
|
| adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
122
malady
|
|
| n.病，疾病(通常做比喻) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
123
stewed
|
|
| adj.焦虑不安的，烂醉的v.炖( stew的过去式和过去分词 )；煨；思考；担忧 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
124
solicitous
|
|
| adj.热切的，挂念的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
125
chancellor
|
|
| n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
126
feigned
|
|
| a.假装的，不真诚的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
127
fervent
|
|
| adj.热的，热烈的，热情的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
128
wary
|
|
| adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
129
memorandum
|
|
| n.备忘录，便笺 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
130
deprivation
|
|
| n.匮乏；丧失；夺去，贫困 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
131
traitor
|
|
| n.叛徒，卖国贼 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
132
remarkable
|
|
| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
133
honourable
|
|
| adj.可敬的；荣誉的，光荣的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
134
assassination
|
|
| n.暗杀；暗杀事件 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
135
concealed
|
|
| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
136
incurred
|
|
| [医]招致的，遭受的； incur的过去式 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
137
touching
|
|
| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
138
testimony
|
|
| n.证词；见证，证明 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
139
juncture
|
|
| n.时刻，关键时刻，紧要关头 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
140
lesser
|
|
| adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
141
unwillingness
|
|
| n. 不愿意，不情愿 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
142
acquiesce
|
|
| vi.默许，顺从，同意 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
143
exculpation
|
|
| n.使无罪，辩解 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
144
submission
|
|
| n.服从，投降；温顺，谦虚；提出 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
145
liking
|
|
| n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
146
conveyance
|
|
| n.(不动产等的)转让，让与；转让证书；传送；运送；表达；（正）运输工具 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
147
determined
|
|
| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
148
suite
|
|
| n.一套(家具)；套房；随从人员 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
149
subscribe
|
|
| vi.(to)订阅，订购；同意；vt.捐助，赞助 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
150
peril
|
|
| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
151
eschewed
|
|
| v.（尤指为道德或实际理由而）习惯性避开，回避( eschew的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
152
bastard
|
|
| n.坏蛋，混蛋；私生子 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
153
specially
|
|
| adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
154
avowed
|
|
| adj.公开声明的，承认的v.公开声明，承认( avow的过去式和过去分词) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
155
treasurer
|
|
| n.司库，财务主管 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
156
levy
|
|
| n.征收税或其他款项，征收额 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
157
consultation
|
|
| n.咨询；商量；商议；会议 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
158
thither
|
|
| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
159
procured
|
|
| v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的过去式和过去分词 )；拉皮条 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
160
tenants
|
|
| n.房客( tenant的名词复数 )；佃户；占用者；占有者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
161
steward
|
|
| n.乘务员，服务员；看管人；膳食管理员 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
162
countermanded
|
|
| v.取消（命令），撤回( countermand的过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
163
dissuaded
|
|
| 劝（某人）勿做某事，劝阻( dissuade的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
164
cape
|
|
| n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
165
beseech
|
|
| v.祈求，恳求 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
166
acquiescing
|
|
| v.默认，默许( acquiesce的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
167
unnaturally
|
|
| adv.违反习俗地；不自然地；勉强地；不近人情地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
168
fidelity
|
|
| n.忠诚，忠实；精确 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
169
custody
|
|
| n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
170
humbly
|
|
| adv. 恭顺地，谦卑地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
171
malice
|
|
| n.恶意，怨恨，蓄意；[律]预谋 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
172
enticement
|
|
| n.诱骗，诱人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
173
doomed
|
|
| 命定的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
174
wry
|
|
| adj.讽刺的；扭曲的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
175
sardonic
|
|
| adj.嘲笑的，冷笑的，讥讽的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
176
disillusioned
|
|
| a.不再抱幻想的，大失所望的，幻想破灭的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
177
partisan
|
|
| adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
178
ministry
|
|
| n.(政府的)部；牧师 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
179
manor
|
|
| n.庄园，领地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
180
noted
|
|
| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
181
moiety
|
|
| n.一半；部分 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
182
lavish
|
|
| adj.无节制的；浪费的；vt.慷慨地给予，挥霍 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
183
wares
|
|
| n. 货物, 商品 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
184
territorial
|
|
| adj.领土的，领地的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
185
athletic
|
|
| adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
186
attire
|
|
| v.穿衣，装扮[同]array；n.衣着；盛装 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
187
testament
|
|
| n.遗嘱；证明 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
188
memoranda
|
|
| n. 备忘录, 便条 名词memorandum的复数形式 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
189
genealogies
|
|
| n.系谱，家系，宗谱( genealogy的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
190
benefactor
|
|
| n. 恩人，行善的人，捐助人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
191
bishop
|
|
| n.主教，（国际象棋）象 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
192
grandiloquent
|
|
| adj.夸张的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
193
inevitable
|
|
| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
194
inclinations
|
|
| 倾向( inclination的名词复数 )； 倾斜； 爱好； 斜坡 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |