CHAPTER XIV.

THE FORSAKEN QUEEN.

Mary had gone into retirement at Hampton Court, in the spring of 1555,

and had refused to relinquish the cherished hope of maternity, till

long after her physicians had pronounced that hope vain. But at last in

August, she yielded to entreaties, and consented to remove to Oatlands,

ostensibly that the palace which the court had inhabited for so many

months might undergo a thorough cleansing, the rushes be changed and

the floors washed.

The despatches of the Venetian ambassador, Giovanni Michiel, are

very important and interesting, as regards the history of the next

two years. As he was neither a passionately devoted friend of the

Queen, like Renard, nor a malicious foe, such as de Noailles, his

correspondence has a special value. Writing in his direct manner to the

Doge and Senate, on the 3rd August, he says:—

“The fact is, that the move has been made in order no longer to keep

the people of England in suspense about this delivery, by the constant

and public processions which were made, and by the Queen’s remaining so

many days in retirement, seriously to the prejudice of her subjects; as

not only did she transact no business, but would scarcely allow herself

to be seen by any one but the ladies, who in expectation of this

childbirth, especially the gentlewomen and the chief female nobility,

had flocked to the court, from all parts of the kingdom, in such very

great numbers, all living at the cost of her Majesty, that with great

difficulty could Hampton Court, although one of the largest palaces

that can be seen here or elsewhere, contain them. At present, by this

change of residence, an opportunity is afforded for dispensing with the

processions, without any scandal, and for the Queen to free herself

from expense, by giving permission to the greater part of these ladies

to return to their homes, under pretence of very limited accommodation;

and by degrees her Majesty has resumed the audiences, and replaced

other matters in their former ancient state, the usual officials (I am

told) resuming their service about her person, and the females being

removed.” In the same despatch he says: “The reported insurrections in

the provinces, and which caused so much apprehension some days ago,

their origin having been subsequently ascertained authentically, were

found to be slight and unimportant, part having arisen from a great

concourse of men at a grand periodical fair held in Warwickshire, when

on account of the price of wheat, which had been raised extraordinarily

by certain persons, who having a great supply, wished to sell it in

their own fashion, by reason of the backward season, and the small

hope of the present harvest, the summer being so rainy and cold, that

the like is not remembered in the memory of man for the last fifty

years, so that no sort of grain or corn ripens, and still less can

it be reaped, a prognostic of scarcity yet greater than that of last

year; so that in part from this, owing to the murmurs and complaints

of the multitude, which were construed into rebellion, and partly from

a report circulated in Cornwall and Devonshire that the most Serene

Queen was dead, and that to deceive the people, as they said was done

in the time of King Edward, they exhibited her effigy at the casement

and not her real face; so having half rebelled, they said they would

come towards the court to ascertain the fact. These disturbances were

also caused in part by a gentleman, who being on bad terms with his

tenants, who had risen against him, and not knowing in what other way

to suppress the outbreak, sent word to the court, that they were in

arms against the Queen, and the falsehood being discovered, he together

with eight others, who originated the reports of the other unreal

insurrections, were deservedly imprisoned, everything, thank God,

remaining quiet and peaceable.”[581]

In the midst of her bitter grief and disappointments; fed with insults

by the London Puritans, with revolt and rumours of revolt at her

door, Mary had at least one abiding consolation in the love of the

poor and afflicted, who looked upon her as their true mother. Machyn,

in chronicling her removal,[582] says that on “the 3. day of August

the Queen and King’s grace removed from Hampton Court unto Oatlands,

a palace four miles off: as her grace went through the park for to

take her barge, there met her grace by the way, a poor man with two

crutches, and when that he saw her grace, for joy he threw his staffs

away and ran after her grace, and she commanded that one should give

him a reward”.

The court remained at Oatlands but just long enough to purify the

larger palace after its overcrowded and filthy condition, and on the

19th Michiel writes:—

“Last week, their Majesties returned to Hampton Court, the Lady

Elizabeth remaining at the seat to which she went; and now the Queen

shows herself, and converses with everybody as usual, her health

being so good, as perhaps never to have been better, to the universal

surprise of all who see her, but of delivery or pregnancy small signs

are visible externally, and no one talks or thinks of them any longer.

As to the King’s departure, he yesterday sent the Signor Carlo da

Sanguino, gentleman of the mouth, to Brussels (they say), to fix his

going, having already adroitly broached the topic to the Queen, who

will acquiesce; so it is said he will leave in eight or ten days,

postwise, leaving the greater part of his household, for the sake of

convincing the Queen by as many signs as he can, that he purposes

returning speedily; though on the contrary, it is said more than ever,

that he will go to Spain, and remove hence his household, and all the

others by degrees.”[583]

On the 27th, he wrote from London:—

“Their Majesties came hither from Hampton Court yesterday morning,

remaining merely to dine, and then went to Greenwich, where the Queen

will remain during the whole time of the King’s stay beyond sea. On

departing hence, his Majesty had determined, when passing through

London, to show himself in public to the people on horseback, leaving

the Queen to follow him at leisure, by water as usual, but her Majesty

chose to give the City the satisfaction of seeing her likewise in

his company, she having made the determination when in the very act

of embarking; so having herself carried in an open litter, she went

accompanied, not only by the English and Spanish nobility now at the

court, but also by the Cardinal Legate and the ambassadors, the Lord

Mayor and all the aldermen, having met her at Temple Bar, coming with

the royal insignia, and all the other solemnities, as customary when

the Queen appears in public. It is not to be told what a vast crowd of

people there was all along the road, which is a very long one, nor yet

the joy they demonstrated at seeing their Majesties, which was really

great, and the more as the London populace were firmly convinced that

the Queen was dead; so when they knew of her appearance, they all ran

from one place to another, as to an unexpected sight, and one which was

well-nigh new, as if they were crazy, to ascertain thoroughly if it

was she, and on recognising and seeing her in better plight than ever,

they by shouts and salutations, and every other demonstration then gave

yet greater signs of their joy, inasmuch as to their great comfort and

that of her Majesty, they saw her come with the King on one side of her

and Cardinal Pole on the other, both of whom are universally popular,

by reason of the reported kindness of their nature, and of which daily

proof is afforded by facts, so that the determination to make this

display, most especially at the present moment, has been very useful.

The King will leave Greenwich, as soon as he hears that the fleet with

which he is to cross, and which until yesterday was here in the Thames

to complete its outfit, shall be off Dover. It consists of twelve ships

and a galleon for his Majesty’s person, armed and provided in the best

fashion possible, and in addition to this force, they are expecting

some Flemish ships, to render the passage-track yet more secure, as

it is daily infested by Frenchmen, who without any scruple, attack

every vessel, in order to take out of them all property and subjects

belonging to the enemy....

“In the meanwhile, as may be imagined with regard to a person

extraordinarily in love, the Queen remains disconsolate, though she

conceals it as much as she can, and from what I hear, mourns the more

when alone, and supposing herself invisible to any of her attendants.

During this absence, Cardinal Pole will reside with her, lodgings

having been assigned to him in the palace, that he may comfort and keep

her company, her Majesty delighting greatly in the sight and presence

of him.”

In a despatch dated 3rd September he describes Philip’s departure:—

“Much to my pleasure, I accompanied Cardinal Pole and the other

noblemen, on the day when they went with the King to his barge, to see

him take leave of the Queen, who on that occasion really expressed very

well the sorrow becoming a wife, and a wife such as she is, invested

with the regal habit and dignity, for without displaying much extrinsic

disquietude, though evidently deeply grieved internally, she chose to

come with him through all the chambers and galleries to the head of the

stairs, constraining herself the whole way, to avoid in sight of such a

crowd, any demonstration unbecoming her gravity, though she could not

but be moved when the Spanish noblemen kissed her hand, and yet more,

when she saw the ladies in tears take leave of the King, who, according

to the custom of the country, kissed them one by one.

“On returning however to her apartments, placing herself at a window

which looks on the river, not supposing herself any longer seen or

observed by any one, it was perceived that she gave free vent to her

grief by a flood of tears, nor did she once quit the window, until she

had not only seen the King embark and depart, but remained looking

after him as long as he was in sight; and the King on his part, mounted

aloft on the barge in the open air, in order to be better seen when

the barge approached in sight of the window, and moreover waved his

bonnet from the distance to salute her, demonstrating great affection.

Now, whilst his Majesty is at Canterbury, not only every day but every

hour, expresses are on the road from the King to the Queen, and in like

manner from hence to his Majesty, the gentlemen in waiting being always

booted and spurred ready for a start. Shortly before he departed, the

King sent for Cardinal Pole, and all the Lords of the Council into

the chamber, and in very suitable language recommended the government

of the kingdom to them during his absence, alluding especially to

justice and religion, leaving a writing, in which, as I was told by the

Legate, were noted all such warnings, as he deemed most important and

necessary, with a detailed list of such persons as could be trusted

and employed for any necessary business or office, a matter which

although discussed previously, surprised every one by the judgment and

tact displayed in it by his Majesty, who then, thus in public, turning

towards Cardinal Pole, besought him very earnestly in his own name, and

that of the Queen, to assume this charge, in conformity with his own

patriotism and the wish of their Majesties, desiring all the others to

defer to him in everything. This same office had been performed by the

King with the Cardinal, the day before, they being alone together, his

Majesty for this purpose having gone very privately in person to the

Legate’s own apartment, taking him quite by surprise. Cardinal Pole

told me, that by so much the less did he think fit to combat the wish

of his Majesty, as he trusted and was indeed certain that the will

of their Majesties being in accordance with his natural obligation,

would also have the approval of his Holiness, from which by another

second obligation, both as a member of the apostolic see, and as the

Pope’s representative he could not depart. Henceforth, therefore to the

great comfort of their Majesties, and the whole kingdom, all public

and important business will be discussed and decided, according to

the opinion and advice of his right reverend Lordship, who, for the

avoidance of envy and molestation, will not interfere with private

and ordinary matters, leaving their despatch as before, to the other

members of the Council; and this will perhaps be the chief cause

besides the others for his remaining here.”[584]

Contrary winds detained Philip at Canterbury for five days. So ardently

did Mary desire, and affect to believe in his immediate return, that

she was very angry when she heard that to save expense, the fleet

which accompanied him to Calais, had on his landing been dismissed and

disarmed. She ordered it to be at once fitted out again to be ready

against his return, little imagining that nineteen months would elapse

before it was needed. But she soon saw that her intention to await him

at Greenwich would have to be abandoned, and she was obliged to depart

to London to open Parliament in person. Michiel writing to the Doge and

Senate on the 21st October, gives a graphic account of Gardiner’s last

great public act of devotion to the Queen’s service. He says:—

“The most serene Queen opened Parliament to-day, according to the

appointed term, coming from St. James’s, whither she retired on her

return from Greenwich, to sit, as in the last Parliament, on a lofty

and well-decorated throne, carried by two mules, in the guise of a

litter, accompanied in state, not only by all the lords, barons and

prelates of the kingdom, clad in the habit suited to this occasion,

but in addition to these personages, by the most illustrious Legate

likewise, the Queen having chosen him to attend it for this day,

although not entitled legitimately to a seat in Parliament. After the

Mass of the Holy Ghost, sung by the Bishop of Ely, and the sermon

preached by the Bishop of Lincoln, her Majesty proceeded into the

great hall, where in the presence of all those officially summoned,

the Lord Chancellor having rallied a little, choosing at any rate to

be there, in order not to fail performing his office on this occasion,

made the usual proposal, stating the cause for assembling Parliament,

which was, in short, solely for the purpose of obtaining pecuniary

supply. His right reverend Lordship laid before the House the great

need of the most Serene Queen, from having on her accession found the

revenues of the Crown so exhausted and consumed, that not only was

she unable to avail herself of them for the many and heavy expenses,

which he enumerated one by one, incurred by her compulsorily for the

honour of the realm, both before and after her marriage—with regard to

which he did not omit to say that King Philip, whilst in England had

spent much more than her Majesty,—but that having found considerable

debts left by her father and brother, she had been compelled to make

fresh ones for their acquittance, still remaining responsible for a

great part of the old ones. Her Majesty, in the meanwhile had not

chosen to avail herself, as she might have done, of the taxes and

subsidy conceded by Parliament, to her brother King Edward, amounting

to upwards of 1,200,000 ducats, but remitted that sum, for the sake of

not burdening any one. Neither did she choose, as she might and ought

to have done in justice, to avail herself of the revenues and estates

of many of her rebels, amounting to a very considerable sum, but to

demonstrate thoroughly her benignity and clemency, she made them a free

gift both of their lives and lands. Therefore, in the Queen’s name,

the Chancellor requested Parliament, in consideration of the present

public necessities, to devise means for their relief, saying moreover,

that at this commencement, her Majesty had not chosen to keep this her

proposal any longer in suspense, nor allow it to be made by others than

by herself, but proceeding openly, had willed to proclaim and announce

it immediately, anticipating such speedy supply as by reason of the

great affection of her subjects she felt sure she should witness. The

Chancellor added that if any member had anything else to suggest, to

the profit and advantage of the realm, and for the common weal, he was

not to omit doing so, in conformity with the obligation and duty of

everybody, nor to fail thus to act readily and willingly as becoming;

and his right reverend Lordship having spoken with much more energy

than by reason of his indisposition any one would have expected, the

business of this first day of the session ended.”[585]

The long speech completely exhausted the strength of the dying

Chancellor. The effort he had made left him so weak that, as we have

already seen, he was unable to return to his own house, and was taken

to Whitehall, where he breathed his last on the 12th November. But in

consequence of his representations, Parliament unanimously agreed to

give the Queen a million of gold, to be levied, in two years from the

laity, and in four from the clergy, “who contribute,” said Cardinal

Pole, “willingly to this subsidy, which free contribution is a very

ancient custom in England”.[586]

The death of Gardiner was perhaps the greatest misfortune that could

have happened to Mary at this time. He understood the temper of the

English nobility far better than Pole, who had been so long absent,

that in spite of the enthusiasm he inspired among the people, he

was not in touch with the new generation of statesmen and courtiers

whom he found in power. Nor had he the business qualities which had

enabled Gardiner to steer the Queen’s financial barque safely among the

troubled waters. Moreover, Gardiner, although of the old school, had

been generally able to lead and control, always to make his influence

felt in the Council, and whether he agreed with her views or not, he

was ever loyal to the Queen and upheld her against all opponents. Pole

was too entirely one with her; their interests were too identical to

constitute him an independent influence in the State. Had he been less

near to the throne, less a kinsman and personal friend of Mary’s,

more a statesman and less an ecclesiastic, he might more effectually

have replaced Gardiner in the Queen’s counsels. De Noailles with his

usual shrewdness, in announcing the Chancellor’s death to his master,

expressed the hope that it would greatly further their affairs in

England.[587]

It was, without doubt, a severe blow to the Catholic party. Some

members of the Council influenced by Paget, whose treachery and

falsehood are responsible for many of Mary’s troubles, inclined to

a secret understanding with Elizabeth. The Queen had had little

choice in the formation of her government, and although Paget had

distinguished himself as a Puritan under Edward, on his professing

himself a Catholic, she made him Lord Privy Seal, and gave him back the

Garter, which had been taken from him in 1552, for having as Chancellor

of the Duchy of Lancaster, made large profits at the expense of the

Crown.[588] Having established himself in Mary’s favour by furthering

her marriage, he entered into league with de Noailles, and with all

the Queen’s enemies, and his position at the Council board, especially

after Gardiner’s death, gave him almost unlimited power. The Lords

Arundel, Pembroke, Cobham, and Sir William Petre were all swayed by

him. He was the moving spirit of them all, and little business was

transacted without him. Mary told the Cardinal that she had no longer

perfect confidence in any member of her Council, Pole himself being in

the King’s absence her only support.[589]

Elizabeth, meanwhile, was careful to give no direct cause for

suspicion. She openly declared herself a Catholic, was often at court,

and shared the Queen’s public devotions. On the day of Philip’s

departure, “the Queen’s grace and my lady Elsabeth, and all the Court

did fast from flesh, and took the Pope’s Jubilee and pardon granted to

all men”.[590]

While Mary felt her husband’s absence so keenly that Sir Anthony

Strelley, writing to the Earl of Rutland, says he will speak to her

about a certain piece of business, “as soon as the Queen’s highness

hath passed over her sorrowfulness at the King’s departure into

Flanders,” Philip was on his part by no means anxious to hasten his

return. The Emperor welcomed him at Brussels with all the ceremony

and display of respect which Philip loved. They met at the Louvain

Gate, Charles having gone out to receive him. The King dismounted and

knelt to kiss his father’s hand, but the Emperor raised him up, and

doffing his bonnet prevented him, by continuing to hold it. Philip then

insisted on kissing his left arm, but his father embraced and kissed

him so lovingly “that tears came to his eyes”. They then mounted their

horses, and rode side by side, through respectful if not enthusiastic

crowds, to the imperial palace.

Philip’s conduct at Brussels, at this time, was not perfectly in

accordance with the reputation for gravity which he had acquired by

his haughty and reserved manners, and even the Emperor showed some

displeasure at his levity, in masquerading about the streets in such

troubled times, and was in serious doubt as to his son’s capacity to

bear the burden he was about to lay on his shoulders.

Mary having heard that he was suffering from a slight indisposition,

the result of too much dissipation, sent over one of her chamberlains

to visit him. Philip sent him back with protestations and thanks, and

ordered him to announce to the Queen his firm intention to fulfil his

promise to return to her, as soon as he had completed some business

which obliged him to go to Antwerp. Before leaving Brussels, the

Chamberlain remarked to some of the King’s attendants, that he should

gladly be the bearer of this good news, but that he had promised “not

to give account of his Majesty’s having twice gone abroad in this

wretched weather, and of his dancing at weddings, as he feared lest the

Queen who was easily agitated might take it too much to heart”.[591]

But no sooner were Mary’s hopes raised, than they were again dashed

to the ground, by an order which Philip’s confessor, Alfonso de

Castro; his steward, Don Diego de Azevedo, and the rest of his

household received, to proceed immediately to Spain, “An indication”

says Michiel,[592] “to some persons that the intentions announced by

King Philip to the Queen of his being here at the Epiphany, are mere

words”. Badoer, the Venetian ambassador at Brussels, told the Doge[593]

that this order had pained her intensely, as she took it for an

announcement, either that Philip would not return to England for a long

while, or that, should he return, he would shortly afterwards proceed

to Spain, as was generally believed. “The King’s confessor has arrived

here,” continued Badoer, “and repeated a variety of foul language,

uttered by the English, indicating their ill-will towards his Majesty,

and the Spanish nation, narrating the following incident, that on

seeing him and the rest of the royal attendants depart, they made great

rejoicing, well-nigh universally.” Philip’s relations with the English

in Brussels, and even with Mary’s ambassador there, were observed

to differ widely from the courtesy which had characterised them in

England, the outcome perhaps of his irritation towards the nation in

general, on account of their persistent unwillingness to proceed to his

coronation.

As the subject was much discussed in the official despatches of the

time, and as it served to increase the general discontent as well as

the Queen’s perplexities, it is deserving of more notice than has been

hitherto directed to it.

Mary’s continued inability to overcome the determination of the

Council not to bestow on him the Crown matrimonial was perhaps more

than anything else the cause of his alienation from a wife whom he had

never loved, and from a country which he had every reason to dislike.

His dignity and his future stake in the realm appeared to him to be

alike threatened by the refusal, and dignity was to Philip the breath

of his nostrils, while political considerations had by long habit

become paramount over all others.[594] To utilise Mary’s affection

for these ends seemed to him as legitimate, as to employ any other

means to compass them, and his absence, which caused the unhappy Queen

intense pain and grief, was to be a powerful factor in undermining her

objections, by the skilful manipulation of hope deferred. Moreover,

to the demand for his coronation, he added another of far greater

moment, a demand that the English should co-operate with him in the

long-talked-of war with France. To his first request Mary replied that

she did not venture to propose it in Parliament, so large a number of

members of the opposition having been returned, and as for the second,

Cardinal Pole, of whom even de Noailles spoke as “un homme pacifique,”

sent over the Abbot of San Saluto to confer with him. The following

extract from a letter from the Venetian ambassador at Brussels shows

the delicacy with which both questions were handled. Badoer says that

the Abbot, after treating of the peace “in the name of the Queen,

performed an earnest office with his Majesty, apologising for her

non-adoption of any of the resolutions desired by him, in the matter

of the coronation, or with regard to waging war on the most Christian

King, as mentioned in my former letters, telling King Philip that when

she looks round, and carefully considers the persons about her, she

scarcely knows one who has not injured her, or who would fail to do

so again were the opportunity to present itself, and that since she

is Queen, the afflictions and perils undergone by her have been, and

still are, so great, on account of the religion, and from anxiety to

preserve public quiet, besides other vexations, that she knew it to

be impossible to form either of these important resolutions, without

greatly endangering her crown; but that she hoped, in the course of a

short time, to comfort the King with what he seems to desire; and in

her Majesty’s name, and as his personal servant, the Abbot exhorted him

to go to England as soon as possible, but I have heard from a person of

quality that his Majesty is not inclined to do so, and that the Emperor

is of a contrary opinion. King Philip however has written back to the

Queen, feeding her in general terms with this hope, and suggesting

that in the meanwhile she could fill up the important offices now

vacant, as he shall be satisfied with any appointment made by her,

but recommending Lord Paget and the English ambassador in France (Dr.

Wotton) for the Chancellorship.”[595]

The Emperor had already conferred the sovereignty of Naples and Milan

on Philip at the time of his marriage; on the 22nd of October 1555

he invested him with the Grand Mastership of the Golden Fleece of

Burgundy, the proudest and most coveted of all the military orders

of knighthood of that day. These were but the preliminaries for his

abdication of the kingdom of the Netherlands, which he now, being only

in the fifty-sixth year of his age, formally ceded to his son[596]

with the sovereignties of Castile and Arragon and their dependencies.

Philip at once despatched a gentleman to England to give Mary notice,

and to congratulate her on her being able to style herself the Queen

of many and great crowns, and on her being no less their mistress than

of her own crown of England. He again assured her that on his return

from Antwerp, to which place he was going the next day, he would remain

a few days with the Emperor, and then go speedily to her. Confiding

in the truth of this assertion, Mary ordered the fleet to drop down

towards the sea forthwith, and a guard of 100 halberdiers to be at

Dover on the 20th January. The Earl of Pembroke was to hold himself

in readiness, from one day to another, to go to Calais to receive his

Majesty.[597]

And still Philip came not, nor had he apparently any intention of

coming. But seeing little present hope of drawing England into a war

with France, he concluded, in February 1556, a truce with Henry II. for

five years.

Meanwhile, a formidable plot, known as Dudley’s conspiracy to murder

the Queen, and place Elizabeth on the throne, was being hatched in

London. It was revealed to Cardinal Pole before the decisive moment,

but it was some time before the real nature and object of the design

were brought to light. On the 17th March, Michiel notified to the Doge:

“For many consecutive days, a comet has been visible as it still is,

and with this opportunity, a gang of rogues, some twelve in number, who

have been arrested, went about the city, saying we should soon see the

Day of Judgment, when everything would be burned and consumed. These

knaves, with a number of others, availing themselves of this device,

agreed to set fire to several parts of the city, to facilitate their

project of murder and robbery, and if this be true, due punishment

will be inflicted on them.”[598]

A few days later, the affair assumed a more serious aspect, and on the

24th Michiel continued his report:—

“The suspicion about the conspirators, who proposed setting fire to

several quarters of the city, for the sake of plunder, had a different

root and origin to what was reported, a plot having been lately

discovered of such a nature, that had it been carried into effect as

arranged, it would doubtless, as generally believed, considering the

ill-will of the majority of the population here on account of the

religion, besides their innate love of frequent change and innovation,

have placed the Queen and the whole kingdom in great trouble, as it was

of greater circuit and extent than had been at first supposed.”

They were to have seized all the public money, by an understanding with

the officials of the Exchequer, and to facilitate this, were to set

fire to different parts of the city, and to the palace, so that the

population being occupied with the conflagration, in the midst of the

turmoil, they might do their work freely, and after its accomplishment,

escape in two of the Queen’s ships well armed and provisioned.[599]

[Illustration: CARDINAL REGINALD POLE, ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY.

From an engraving of a portrait painted by Sebastiano del Piombo.]

The money, consisting chiefly of the bullion brought over from Spain

by Philip, was, on the discovery of the plot, secretly removed from

the Tower; but the conspirators were left unmolested, and carefully

watched. When the affair seemed ripe, the ringleaders were caught

in the act and arrested. But even then, the whole extent of the

plot, which had been far more carefully planned than that of Wyatt

and his accomplices, had still to be discovered. The Queen was,

however, sufficiently alarmed not to allow Cardinal Pole, who had been

preconised Archbishop of Canterbury, to leave her for the ceremony

of his consecration, which was to have taken place in his Cathedral

Church, on the 25th March.[600] He was therefore consecrated in

the Church of the Grey Friars at Greenwich, with great solemnity, and

in presence of the Queen and of the whole court, and in spite of his

anxiety to begin the exercise of his spiritual functions, the State

burden which the King and Queen had placed on his shoulders pressed

daily more and more heavily. The conspiracy, as it was discovered

piecemeal, resolved itself into a vast network composed indeed of the

usual meshes, spread by the French King, his ambassador, Elizabeth,

and her confederates throughout the country, but it was bolder in

design than anything that had been hitherto conceived against Mary.

Its object, like Wyatt’s, was to depose and murder the Queen, raise

Elizabeth to the throne, and marry her to the Earl of Devon. The charge

to conduct it was entrusted by de Noailles to Sir Henry Dudley, an

offshoot of the disaffected Northumberland family and faction, to whom

the King of France granted a considerable pension, in return for his

services. Elizabeth’s willing co-operation was brought to light by

the instructions sent to de Noailles from France, one of the letters

implicating her containing the following passage: “Above all, you must

prevent Madam Elizabeth from making any sort of move to undertake

what you have written to me, for it would spoil everything, and lose

the advantage which they may expect from their plans, which must be

conducted carefully and slowly”.[601]

In order to arrange the final _coup_, Dudley, followed by three other

conspirators, sailed for France and landed in Normandy. The moment was

unfavourable, Henry II. having but just concluded his truce for five

years with Philip, and little as considerations of honour and chivalry

had ever entered into his dealings with Mary, he shrank from the

odium he would incur, in appearing as an accomplice, in a conspiracy

against a prince with whom he had sworn even a temporary friendship.

He therefore ordered Dudley and his friends to remain quiet, and to

counsel their allies in England to do the same, feigning loyalty, until

a more convenient season. The above-mentioned instructions which he

wrote to de Noailles concerning Elizabeth’s part in their schemes, and

the necessity for her quiescence belong to this juncture. Dudley, and

the three conspirators who had followed him into France, continued to

reside there, and the discovery of the plot was the result of precisely

the same want of combined action that had impelled Wyatt to break out

into open revolt, six weeks before the time originally agreed upon. The

impatience of the plotters in London brooked no delay; they disregarded

the advice of their royal ally, and their dark sayings in connection

with the comet, chronicled in Michiel’s despatch of the 17th March,

first roused the suspicion of the Government, and led to the arrest

of Sir Anthony Kingston, Throckmorton, Udal, Staunton and others,

about forty in number. Kingston had been sent to the Tower some months

previously, for seditious words, but had been released by the Queen’s

prerogative, Mary believing him to be loyal at heart, in spite of his

intemperate language. Now, for the first time in her life, her courage

seemed to be unequal to the demands made upon it. She was greatly

troubled, and would no longer appear in public, and her depression

communicated itself to her friends. A panic among the loyalists was

however prevented, and confidence in a great measure restored by the

public appearance of Cardinal Pole, who on the 25th March, preached

in the church of St. Mary of the Arches, on the occasion of his

consecration and reception of the pallium, “to the edification of many

souls”. Alluding to the cause of his return to England, he explained

the meaning of the pallium, and dwelt on the peace which he had come

to offer to his fellow-countrymen. He told his hearers that they ought

not to be slow to receive so great a benefit, offered to them by the

Divine mercy, lest there be said of them those words uttered by Christ

concerning Jerusalem, when drawing nigh to and weeping over the city

He said: “If thou didst know the things which belong to thy peace; but

now are they hidden from thine eyes”. His voice failed with emotion; he

remained silent for a moment, and then continued in a low tone: “You

know what has passed; I pray you guard against the future,” and those

words, says the chronicler, “if thou didst know,” he pronounced with

such tenderness, that not one of his congregation remained unmoved.[602]

Never were details of conspiracy so slow to unfold themselves, even

long after the scheme had collapsed. When it at last dawned upon the

Government, that the traitors had a special understanding with the

King of France, the idea did not even then present itself to their

minds, that Elizabeth was in any way implicated, and it was not till

June, that attention was turned to her household. But as early as the

14th April Lord Clinton was commissioned, when Henry’s share in the

matter had become apparent, to proceed at once to France, ostensibly

to congratulate the King on the conclusion of his truce with Philip,

but he was also the bearer of instructions from the Council, to demand

Dudley and the other fugitives at his hands, as “traitors, heretics and

outlaws,” and to complain of the harbour which it was understood he

gave to English rebels, “contrary to the agreement and express treaty

between the two crowns”. The envoy was compelled to set out in such

haste, and so suddenly, and in such confusion, that neither he nor his

attendants had time to provide themselves with many necessary articles

of apparel, which “for the sake of dispatch were supplied them from the

Queen’s wardrobe”.[603] Henry affected ignorance of the case in point,

and to Lord Clinton’s representations, answered that his kingdom was so

large and free to every one, that he could not know so particularly,

either who entered it, nor who went out of it, but that he heard with

regret of the commotions in England. “Notwithstanding which,” continued

Sorranzo, Venetian ambassador in France, in his letter to the Doge,

“since several days, there are several Englishmen here at the court,

who were subsequently outlawed from England, and are said to have

come to ask favour from his most Christian Majesty.”[604] To Sorranzo,

speaking of the complaint made by Clinton, that he harboured the

Queen’s rebels, and listened to their proposals, Henry said:—

“I answered him that the malcontents of that kingdom were in such

number that they had already filled not only France but the whole of

Italy, and that it was true that they came to me and proposed the most

extravagant things possible, but that I had never given ear to any of

them; and to tell you the truth, ambassador, I know the English well,

and that they are not to be trusted by any one. I have also heard, that

in England, they plotted to make Courtenay go back, but my ambassador

at Venice writes to me, that by no means will he go thither.”[605]

Describing a former audience with Henry, Sorranzo says: “The King

added that he supposed I had heard of the disturbances in England, and

when I replied that they were known to me in part, he continued: ‘They

wanted to rob the Queen’s treasury, and plotted to put her to death, so

that kingdom is more upside down than ever, and the Queen wishes for

her husband, who cares but little about it, but through the coming of

these ambassadors, whom the Queen is sending, the future will be made

manifest,’ and with this the King closing the discourse, I thanked him

again in your Serenity’s name, and took leave. When speaking about

English affairs with the Constable, he said: ‘Ambassador, I will tell

you a thing privately, and do not forget it, as for my own part, I

believe it will certainly come true. I am of opinion that ere long the

King of England will endeavour to dissolve his marriage with the Queen,

and should this come to pass remember then this prophecy.’”[606]

The embassy mentioned by Henry was the sending of Lord Paget to Philip,

according to Badoer, to find out the true reason of his not coming, for

he declared, “the said Queen is beyond measure exasperated by what she

considers this well-nigh contemptuous treatment”. The astute Venetian

went on to say: “It is very evident, from the language of the chief

Spaniards of these two Courts [the Emperor’s and the King’s] that

neither the arguments adduced by Paget nor the adroit means employed

by him to make the King go to England, will take effect, unless he has

a certain promise from the Queen that she will crown him, in virtue of

such authority as, it is said, she might legally exercise, and with the

support of those who may be dependent on their Majesties, by reason of

offices and benefits received from them. The French ambassador uses

all diligence to ascertain whether his Majesty will go to England or

not, and according to news-letters which he says he has received from

thence, he shows that the coronation may take place, and that Queen

Maria of Hungary is the person who well-nigh daily writes autograph

letters on this subject to the Queen of England, exhorting her to put

aside every consideration, and her timidity, and to crown her husband,

assuring her that otherwise she will fail in what is due to herself,

and to right, and that consequently she will not have him with her. It

is said that Queen Maria acts thus by reason of the extreme desire she

has to resume the Regency of Flanders, in which she cannot succeed,

unless the King depart hence.”[607]

In a subsequent despatch, the same authority relates: “The report also

of King Philip’s going to England still continues, but neither the

ministers nor his Majesty himself any longer assert that it will take

place at the beginning of next month, as he told Lord Paget, who went

about assuring everybody of this, and that he should go back with his

Majesty; but by taking leave of the Emperor yesterday, to depart in

three days, he has surprised everybody. Some persons believe that the

King has rather cooled about going so immediately as was promised by

him, owing to the confession made to the Queen by one of the prisoners,

that he had determined to kill her consort; and some are of opinion

that King Philip has sent Lord Paget back, in order that he may return

subsequently with the Earl of Pembroke, and other English noblemen,

to conduct him with more positive arrangements. Don Juan Manrique,

a member of the Privy Council, having said that although the Queen

professes here to resign herself to the King’s will, it is nevertheless

evident that she either allows herself to be biased by her ministers,

or that Paget has promised more than he was commissioned to do. Others

say that his Majesty’s departure for England is delayed by the hope of

the coming hither of the King of Bohemia.”[608] Whatever the Emperor

and his son may have thought and intended, all they did was to buoy

Mary up with delusive hopes and polite assurances, as before, and she

gained nothing more from the embassy that was to have done so much.

Lord Clinton arrived from France about the same time that Paget

returned from Brussels, bringing many declarations of friendship from

Henry; but far from offering to surrender the traitors who had fled to

his court, the French King said openly that he would rather suffer in

his own person, than fail to receive and treat kindly any Englishmen

of however low degree, who might take refuge in his realm. “To-day,”

adds Michiel, “the French ambassador was a long while at the palace, I

believe about this business, concerning which should I hear anything

has passed worthy your Serenity’s notice, I will not omit to give you

notice of it by the first opportunity.”

Mary’s Government, now thoroughly on the alert, made fresh discoveries

and arrests daily. Carew, one of the chief conspirators in Wyatt’s

rebellion, and Dr. Cheke, formerly tutor to Edward VI., were taken

together in Flanders, and sent to England. Strict watch was kept about

the court, and in Elizabeth’s household, and the Queen still refused to

appear in public, even on the solemn feast of the Ascension. It was

said that recognising the uselessness of her former clemency, and the

ingratitude of those who had before been so freely pardoned, she had

determined that all should suffer the just punishment of their misdeeds.

But in fact, nothing was done without Philip’s advice, and the courier

Francesco Piamontese was continually on the road between London and

Brussels, bearing letters from the Queen to the King, and _vice versâ_.

On the day on which Paget returned, Mary had two interviews with him,

lasting upwards of two hours. The next day, to the surprise of all,

Piamontese was on his way back to Flanders. “Many persons believe,”

wrote Michiel, “that this frequent despatch of couriers, during the

last few months, relates not only to the affair of the prisoners, it

being credible that the Queen acquaints her consort with what takes

place from day to day, and with the discoveries made, and that this

last mission of Francesco in great part concerns Carew and Cheke—but

also another more momentous matter, and perhaps the one communicated to

me heretofore [and written to the Doge in a despatch now lost] relating

to the Lady Elizabeth, which proceeds with very great secrecy.”[609]

Again he says that the arrest of Carew and Cheke has been followed by

that of Lord Thomas Howard (second son of the third Duke of Norfolk)

who has been suspected for some time, on account of his intimacy with

three of the conspirators, and he then communicates the following

important fact: “The French ambassador, M. de Noailles, took leave of

the Queen yesterday, as for many months; subsequent however to the

discovery of the conspiracy, he has most earnestly requested his king

to recall him hence, for the removal simultaneously of the suspicions

and accusations to which he will be hourly subjected, through the

examinations of the conspirators, and to avoid any dishonour, from

which he has indeed had a very narrow escape, for from what I hear,

there was a debate and decision in the Privy Council, as to whether,

by proceeding against him individually, as a plotter and contriver

against the state and person of the Sovereign with whom he resides,

the ‘_jus gentium_’ would thus be violated; but to avoid coming to open

hostilities at the present moment, and under existing circumstances, it

seems that the ministry has not chosen to proceed further, dissembling

their indignation, and consigning the affair to silence for the

present, perhaps in conformity with the will and command of the most

Serene King. There will remain here in his stead as agent, a brother of

his, a Councillor of the Parliament of Bordeaux, who was sent lately

from France, until the arrival of the other brother, the Protonotary,

destined a long while ago for the embassy in ordinary.”[610]

The arrest of Lord Thomas Howard was followed by that of Lord de la

Warre, described by Michiel as “factious and scandalous, having been

deprived of his seat in Parliament as baron, for an attempt to poison

one of his uncles, for the sake of inheriting from him so much the

sooner, wherefore no one is surprised at his having been guilty as an

associate in the plot”.[611] About the same time were sent to the Tower

the notorious Katharine Ashley, governess of Elizabeth’s household at

Hatfield, and three other inmates of it. They all confessed to having

had knowledge of the conspiracy, this alone being sufficient to imperil

their lives, while in Katharine Ashley’s possession were found a number

of “those writings and scandalous books against the King and Queen,

which were scattered about some months ago, and published all over the

kingdom”.

It was probably owing to Philip’s prudent policy that Elizabeth’s

household and not the Princess herself was accused. Experience had

proved, that to push matters to a crisis with Elizabeth was wholly

unprofitable, and that by giving her an opportunity of placing herself

in the light of a victim, the enemy’s hands were strengthened. Philip,

far more diplomatic than the Queen, had on the few occasions on which

he had come into personal contact with her, affected to regard her as a

friend. And he had seen the futility of any other attitude towards her.

Moreover, he was still hoping that Parliament would grant him the crown

matrimonial, and he was mindful of those members of the opposition,

of whom the Queen had told him that they were in so great force, all

devoted to Elizabeth, and who might yet turn the balance in his favour.

Thus it was no doubt Philip’s influence that prompted the curious

proceedings towards her, related in Michiel’s letter of the 9th June:—

“The arrest of the governess, and of Miladi Elizabeth’s three domestics

having subsequently been added to by that of two other gentlemen

resident here, who although her dependants, and receiving salaries

from her are in less constant attendance on her than the aforesaid,

the Queen was induced to send to her in the country (at Hatfield)

yesterday, Sir Edward Hastings, Master of the Horse, and Sir Henry[612]

Englefield, one of the lords of the royal Council, to console and

comfort her on behalf of her Majesty, knowing, as may well be supposed,

that this circumstance had distressed and dejected her; and to present

her as a token of loving salutation, and of a message of good-will,

according to the custom here, with a ring worth 400 ducats, and also

to give her minute accounts of the cause of their arrest, to acquaint

her with what they had hitherto deposed and confessed, and to persuade

her not to take amiss the removal from about her person of similar

folks, who subjected her to the danger of some evil suspicion; assuring

her of the Queen’s good-will and disposition, provided she continue

to live becomingly, to her Majesty’s liking; together with some other

particulars which cannot now be ascertained; using in short, loving

and gracious expressions, to show her that she is neither neglected

nor hated, but loved and esteemed by her Majesty. This message is

considered most gracious by the whole kingdom, everybody in general

wishing her all ease and honour, and very greatly regretting any

trouble she may incur; the proceedings having been not only necessary,

but profitable to warn her of the licentious life led, especially in

matters of religion, by her household, independently of the certain

knowledge had by those members of it who have been arrested, of these

conspiracies; she being thus clandestinely exposed to the manifest risk

of infamy and ruin.

“The Queen has thus moreover an opportunity for remodelling her

(Elizabeth’s) household in another form, and with a different sort of

persons to those now in her service, replacing them by such as are

entirely dependent on her Majesty; so that as her own proceedings,

and those of all such persons as enter or quit her abode will be most

narrowly scanned, she may have reason to keep so much the more to her

duty, and together with her attendants behave the more cautiously; but

on the return of the gentlemen aforesaid, the effect produced by them

will be still better ascertained.”

On the 16th Michiel continues:—

“The office performed with Miladi Elizabeth by the two personages sent

to her in the Queen’s name, agreed with what I wrote on the 9th, as

heard on their return. According to the chief commission given them;

before leaving her, they placed in her house a certain Sir Thomas

Pope, a rich and grave gentleman of good name, both for conduct and

religion; the Queen having appointed him Miladi’s governor, and she

having accepted him willingly, although he himself did his utmost to

decline such a charge. I am told that besides this person, they also

assigned her a widow gentlewoman as governess, in lieu of her own,

who is a prisoner, so that at present, having none but the Queen’s

dependents about her person, she herself likewise may be also said to

be in ward and custody, though in such decorous and honourable form as

becoming.”[613]

Elizabeth shortly afterwards wrote the following letter to Mary,

exceeding in obscurity of phrase and circumlocution any of her former

effusions.

“When I revolve in mind (most noble Queen) the old love of Painyms

to their prince and the reverent fear of the Romans to their

Senate, I can but muse for my part, and blush for theirs, to see

the rebellious hearts and devilish intents of Christians in names,

but Jews indeed toward their anointed King. Which methinks if

they had feared God though they could not have loved the State,

they should for dread of their own plague have refrained that

wickedness which their bounden duty to your Majesty hath not

restrained. But when I call to remembrance that the devil _tanquam

Leo rugiens circumit querens que devorare potest_, I do the less

marvel, though he have gotten such novices into his professed

house, as vessels without God’s grace, more apt to serve his

palace, than might to inhabit English land. I am the bolder to

call them his imps, for that Saint Paul saith _seditiosi filii

sunt diaboli_, and since I have so good a buckler, I fear the

less to enter into their judgment. Of this I assure your Majesty,

though it be my part, above the rest, to bewail such things,

though my name had not been in them, yet it vexeth me so much that

the devil owes me such a hate, as to put me in any part of his

mischievous instigations, whom as I profess him my foe that is

all christians’ enemy, so wish I he had some other way invented

to spite me, but since it hath pleased God thus to bewray their

malice afore they finish their purpose, I most humbly thank him

both that he hath ever thus preserved your Majesty through his

aid, much like a lamb from the horns of their Basanbulls, and

also stirs up the hearts of your loving subjects to resist them

and deliver you to his honour, and their shame. The intelligence

of which, proceeding from your Majesty, deserveth more humble

thanks than with my pen I can render, which as infinite I will

leave to number. And among earthly things I chiefly wish this one,

that there were as good surgeons for making anatomies of hearts

that might show my thoughts to your Majesty, as there are expert

physicians of the bodies, able to express the inward griefs of

their maladies to their patients. For then I doubt not, but know

well, that whatsoever other should suggest by malice, yet your

Majesty should be sure by knowledge, so that the more such misty

clouds offuscate the clear light of my truth, the more my tried

thoughts should glister to the dimming of their hid malice. But

since wishes are vain, and desire oft fails, I must crave that my

deeds may supply that my thoughts cannot declare, and they be not

misdeemed there, as the facts have been so well tried. And like

as I have been your faithful subject from the beginning of your

reign, so shall no wicked persons cause me to change to the end

of my life. And thus I commit your Majesty to God’s tuition, who

I beseech long time to preserve, ending with the new remembrance

of my old suit, more for that it should not be forgotten, than for

that I think it not remembered.

“From Hatfield this present Sunday the second day of August, your

Majesty’s obedient subject and humble sister

“ELIZABETH.”[614]

The truce concluded between Philip and Henry for five years, made in

despite of a treaty scarcely two months old, between the King of France

and the Pope, which had for its object to drive the Spaniards out of

Italy, came to an end in July of the same year. It was broken by Henry,

at the instigation of the Pope’s envoy and nephew Cardinal Caraffa, who

promised the King of France that his uncle should give the crown of

Naples to one of his sons, and Milan to another. Philip then declared

war against the Pope who imprisoned his ambassador, and proceeded to

the fortification of Rome. “The Queen,” said Michiel, “by her orders

still continues to maintain her neutrality, although harassed as usual,

owing to the present suspicions between the Pope and her consort, on

account of which, Cardinal Pole was on the point of sending an express

to Rome, but apparently awaits the return of Francesco Piamontese.”

At home, justice was being administered in a manner that seemed to

promise immunity from further attempts at revolution, although after

events proved, that the evil was still lurking in Elizabeth’s shadow.

Kingston died on his way to the Tower, of a disease from which he

had long been suffering; his accomplices were tried and executed,

“while all, both good and bad, said and admitted, that the execution

was just and holy”. The death of Lord de la Warre, and that of three

others condemned with him, was deferred from day to day, in order,

said Michiel, that they might “reconcile themselves to God, and for

the salvation of their souls, to which above all the Queen wishes the

greatest attention to be paid, rather than because either they or

others may hope for pardon, as the persons aforesaid, neither by their

own deserts, nor through the intercession of persons in great favour

with the Queen, and very dear to her, have been able to obtain it.

According to report, although it seems improbable, Carew will adjust

his affairs by payment of a fine, some persons telling me that he has

already done so, by agreeing to disburse £2,000 sterling. Cheke has

again demanded a conference with the theologians, after having lately

dismissed them, persisting obstinately in his heretical opinions,

which unless he retract them will cause him likewise to be burned in

public.”[615]

On the 19th October, the ambassador announced that Peter Carew had come

out of the Tower, and was released entirely, after having compounded

for 2,000 marks, and had already paid a part of his debt to the Crown.

Katharine Ashley was also set at liberty, but was deprived of her

office in Elizabeth’s household, “and forbidden ever again to go to her

ladyship,” who was expected shortly at court. Dr. Cheke recanted and

was liberated. As a direct consequence of his recantation, “through the

efficacy of his language,” about thirty others followed his example and

saved their lives.[616] He died the next year, some said of remorse,

for what he had done against the reformed religion.

The times were more full of strife and trouble for Mary than any

period she had traversed since the beginning of her reign. Her

confidence in her people, which had carried her undoubtingly through

the anxieties of Wyatt’s rebellion, had been rudely shaken. Insult,

calumny and treachery had at last opened her eyes to the extent of the

disaffection that prevailed. Philip, moreover, who was to have been

her sheet-anchor, and that of the nation, treated her not merely with

neglect, but with ill-disguised contempt; and far from appreciating

the difficulties and dangers with which she was beset, added to them,

by insisting on concessions that could only be wrung from the nation

at the cost of the last remnant of her popularity. Together with him,

she had celebrated with inexpressible joy, what was to have been the

crowning glory of her reign—the reconciliation of her kingdom with the

Holy See—and now, little more than a year and a half afterwards, not

only was the country a very hot-bed of political and religious revolt,

but the most Catholic King himself was in open debate with the Pope,

and even threatened with excommunication. She had reason enough to

acknowledge herself beaten all along the line, but she would have been

no Tudor had she done so. As for her constancy, no other Tudor could

boast the like, and little as Philip cared for her, she clung to him as

faithfully as to the principles that had been her mainstay all her life

long. Her piteous plight did not escape the observation of the kindly

Venetian ambassador, who in his despatch of the 23rd June, 1556, wrote:

“As for many months, the Queen has passed from one sorrow to another,

your Serenity can imagine what a life she leads, comforting herself

as usual with the presence of Cardinal Pole, to whose assiduous toil

and diligence, having entrusted the whole government of the kingdom,

she is intent on enduring her troubles as patiently as she can”. Two

months later, he wrote: “To say the truth, the Queen’s face has lost

flesh greatly since I was last with her, the extreme need she has of

her Consort’s presence harassing her, as told me, she having also

within the last few days lost her sleep”. And again: “The Queen has

been unwell lately, both from the great heat, the like of which no one

remembers, as likewise owing to some mental vexation, and not having

yet quite recovered, she has chosen to change her residence, and to-day

went eight miles hence to Croydon, to a house of the most illustrious

the Legate”.[617] “Before moving,” said Michiel in another letter,

“the Queen chose to give orders and arrange about the prisoners, so

as not to be troubled with this business during her absence, having

some of them released, on giving security, others being fined, others

remaining in prison where they were; to others she conceded liberty

within the Tower; and the execution of those condemned to death is

deferred from what I hear, until her return, perhaps in order that

the King being then here may, with his usual clemency, obtain their

entire release, so as to gain for himself so much the more favour and

popularity.”[618]

In spite of the Queen’s resolve to treat the peace disturbers with

greater severity than heretofore, her former leniency having been so

much abused, it does not appear from the above that Mary had any desire

for their death, but it would seem rather, as if she snatched at every

pretext for sparing their lives, providing them with every possible

pretext for escape. In her desolation and perplexities, she turned

more than ever to the consolations of religion, and to the relief of

the poor and afflicted. It was especially to the summer of 1556, part

of which was spent at Croydon, that the biographer of the Duchess of

Feria refers, when he describes Mary’s informal visits to her poor

neighbours, and tells of the practical aid and sympathy the Queen gave

them in their necessities, listening to their grievances, taking their

part actively on occasion, against the injustice of her own officials,

advising them as to the upbringing of their children, and doing all she

could to improve their condition.[619] But it was not only during her

retirement in the country, that she found time for acts of charity. In

the midst of the cares of state, and the turmoil of public affairs,

devotion to the poor was among the recognised duties of her daily life.

It was part of her personal piety, and inseparable from her devotion

to her religion, the sincerity of which, notwithstanding all the

libels that have been heaped upon her memory, has never been called in

question.

In Holy Week, 1556, the Dudley conspiracy had just been discovered,

and the Queen was too much alarmed to allow of Cardinal Pole’s

departure for Canterbury. From the despatches of the Venetian

ambassador we know that she refrained for some time almost entirely

from appearing in public, yet she made no alteration in the performance

of the public acts of charity, which according to ancient custom

she had determined to carry out at this time. Marc Antonio Faitta,

secretary to Cardinal Pole, writing to a private friend in Italy,

describes the ceremony of the feet-washing on Holy Thursday by the

Queen. He says:—

“Her Majesty, being accompanied by the right reverend Legate and by the

Council, entered a large hall, at the head of which was my Lord Bishop

of Ely, as Dean of the Queen’s chaplains, with the choristers of her

Majesty’s chapel. Around this hall on either side, there were seated

on certain benches with their feet on stools, many poor women to the

number of forty and one, such being the number of years of the most

Serene Queen. Then one of the menials of the court, having washed the

right foot of each of these poor persons, and this function being also

next performed by the under almoner, and also by the grand almoner, who

is the Bishop of Chichester, her Majesty next commenced the ceremony in

the following manner: At the entrance of the hall, there was a great

number of the chief dames and noble ladies of the court, and they

prepared themselves by putting on a long linen apron which reached to

the ground, and round their necks they placed a towel, the two ends

of which remained pendant at full length on either side, each of them

carrying a silver ewer, and they had flowers in their hands, the Queen

also being arrayed in like manner. Her Majesty knelt down on both her

knees before the first of the poor women, and taking in the left hand

the woman’s right foot, she washed it with her own right hand, drying

it very thoroughly with the towel which hung at her neck, and having

signed it with the cross, she kissed the foot so fervently, that it

seemed as if she were embracing something very precious. She did the

like by all and each of the other poor women, one by one, each of the

ladies, her attendants, giving her in turn their basin and ewer and

towel; and I vow to you, that in all her movements and gestures, and

by her manner, she seemed to act thus not merely out of ceremony but

from great feeling and devotion. Amongst these demonstrations, there

was this one remarkable, that in washing the feet, she went the whole

length of that long hall, from one end to the other on her knees.

Having finished, and risen on her feet, she went back to the head of

the hall, and commenced giving in turn to each of the poor women a

large wooden platter, with enough food for four persons, filled with

great pieces of salted fish, and two large loaves, and thus she went a

second time, distributing these alms. She next returned a third time

to begin again, giving to each of the women a wooden bowl filled with

wine, or rather I think hippocras; after which, for the fourth time,

she returned, and gave to each of these poor people a piece of cloth,

of royal mixture, for clothing. Then returning for the fifth time, she

gave to each a pair of shoes and stockings; for the sixth time she gave

to each a leathern purse, containing forty-one pennies, according to

the number of her own years, and which in value may amount to rather

more than half an Italian golden crown; finally, going back for the

seventh time, she distributed all the aprons and towels which had been

carried by those dames and noble ladies, in number forty-one, giving

each with her own hand. Her Majesty then quitted the hall, to take off

the gown which she had worn, and half an hour afterwards she returned,

being preceded by an attendant, carrying the said gown, and thus she

went twice round the hall, examining very closely all the poor women

one by one, and then returning for the third time, she gave the said

gown to the one who was in fact the poorest and most aged of them all;

and this gown was of the finest purple cloth lined with marten’s fur,

and with sleeves so long and wide that they reached the ground. During

this ceremony, the choristers chanted the _Miserere_, with certain

other psalms, reciting at each verse the words: ‘_In diebus illis

mulier quæ erat in civitate peccatrix_’.”[620]

The same writer goes on to describe the ceremonies of Good Friday:—

“After this, on Friday morning (4th April) the offertory was performed

according to custom in the church of the Franciscan Friars, which is

contiguous to the palace. After the Passion, the Queen came down from

her oratory for the adoration of the Cross, accompanied by my Lord the

right reverend Legate, and kneeling at a short distance from the cross,

moved towards it on her knees, praying before it thrice, and then she

drew nigh and kissed it, performing this act with such devotion, as

greatly to edify all those who were present. Her Majesty next gave her

benediction to the rings (cramp rings), the mode of doing so being as

follows:[621] An enclosure was formed for her Majesty, to the right of

the high altar, by means of four benches placed so as to form a square,

into the centre of which she again came down from her oratory, and

placing herself on her knees within this enclosure, two large covered

basins were brought to her, filled with rings of gold and silver, one

of these basins containing rings of her own, whilst the other had those

of private individuals labelled with their owners’ names. On their

being uncovered, she commenced reciting a certain prayer and psalms,

and then taking them in her two hands, she passed them again and again

from one hand to the other, saying another prayer which commenced thus:

‘_Sanctifica, Domine, annulos istos_’.

“This being terminated, her Majesty went to bless the scrofulous, but

she chose to perform this act privately in a gallery, where there were

not above twenty persons; and an altar being raised there, she knelt

and recited the Confession (Confiteor?), on the conclusion of which,

her Majesty turned towards my right reverend Lord, the Legate, who gave

her absolution; whereupon, a priest read from the Gospel according

to St. Mark, and on his coming to these words: ‘_Super ægros manus

imponet et bene habebunt_,’ she caused one of those infirm women to be

brought to her, and kneeling the whole time, she commenced pressing

with her hands in the form of a cross, on the spot where the sore was,

with such compassion and devotion, as to be a marvel, and whilst she

continued doing this to a man and to three women, the priest kept ever

repeating these words, ‘_Super ægros_,’ etc. Then on terminating the

Gospel, after the words ‘_In principio erat verbum_,’ and on coming to

the following, namely, ‘_Erat lux vera quæ illuminat omnem hominem in

hunc mundum_,’ then the Queen made the sick people again approach her,

and taking a golden coin called an angel, she touched the place where

the evil showed itself, and signed it with this coin in the form of the

cross; and having done this, she passed a ribbon through a hole which

had been pierced in the coin, and placed one of these round the neck of

each of the patients, making them promise never to part with that coin,

which was hallowed, save in case of extreme need, and then, having

washed her hands, the towel being presented to her by my Lord the right

reverend Legate, she returned to her oratory.

“Having been present myself in person at all these ceremonies, her

Majesty struck me as affording a great and rare example of goodness,

performing all those acts with such humility and love of religion,

offering up her prayers to God with so great devotion and affection,

and enduring for so long a while and so patiently so much fatigue; and

seeing thus, that the more her Majesty advances in the rule of this

kingdom, so does she daily afford fresh and greater opportunities for

commending her extreme piety, I dare assert that there never was a

queen in Christendom of greater goodness than this one, whom I pray God

long to save and prosper, for the glory of His divine honor, and for

the edification and exaltation of His holy Church, not less than for

the consolation and salvation of the people of this island.”[622]

Faitta adds that at court, alms were distributed to 3,000 poor persons

on Holy Thursday, and that the Cardinal having made preparations for

his public entry into his archdiocese, and being prevented by the Queen

from going there, caused all his provisions to be divided among the

poor of Canterbury, 2,000 in number, besides giving largesses to many

others, who had flocked to that city from the neighbourhood, “all which

causes the indigent population there now to await his right reverend

Lordship with greater anxiety than ever”.

Another source of consolation to Mary, during Philip’s prolonged

absence, lay in the success of her plans for the re-establishment of

the religious orders, which had been dispersed, and their homes for

the most part secularised by her father. Her health had been greatly

benefited by her sojourn at Croydon, she took fresh heart at her

husband’s renewed promises of a speedy return, and entering London at

the approach of Michaelmas, seemed to have recovered her usual spirits.

Michiel wrote on the 28th September: “The Queen, thank God, continues

in her good plight, rejoicing to see the monks of St. Benedict returned

to their old Abbey of Westminster, into which, the canons having been

removed, they, in God’s name, will make their entry to-morrow,[623] and

this will be the third monastery and order of regulars, besides one of

nuns which has been hitherto reestablished, to which will be soon added

the fourth, of the Carthusians (at Shene) who have already made their

appearance, to return as they will, according to the promise given

them, to their ancient abode, eight miles hence, although it is now

occupied by the Duchess of Somerset, who is however to be recompensed

with something else”.[624]

On the 24th October, Michiel announced the arrival at Dover of the

King’s pages, stable and armoury, together with some shopkeepers “who

follow the Court, to put their shops in order” against his Majesty’s

arrival, “and as this” said he, “is the first sign witnessed, it has

greatly rejoiced this entire city, and the people, chiefly on account

of the profit which from past experience they all hope to make”. A

report was also circulated, of an agreement arrived at between the Pope

and King Philip, to the great rejoicing of the Queen and of Cardinal

Pole. “Nothing is thought of, nothing expected save this blessed return

of the King,” wrote the Venetian on the 24th November, “which as told

me by Cardinal Pole, the Queen will not credit can be impeded or

delayed by the rupture in Italy with the Pope, unless here they declare

war on France; but as yesterday, a courier sent express post haste

brought news of the King’s return to Brussels, thus removing himself to

a greater distance from here, everybody’s suspicion of further delay

has increased.... Here, they have been intent on levying the loan

demanded by them; henceforth they will occupy themselves by paying the

debts, the Queen choosing everybody to be satisfied by Christmas or

before, and to give yet greater satisfaction, she has also willed that

the gentlemen pensioners and yeomen, who were broken lately, re-enter

her service, letting it appear that their dismissal proceeded from her

councillors, and not from her own desire, which by the said pensioners

and universally was received with twofold gratitude.”

On the 9th November, Philip told Mary that he could not fix a certain

date for his return, but that he hoped it would be soon, “and though

this indeed saddens the Queen,” said Michiel, “yet nevertheless,

considering that such is the fact, and that his not coming does not

proceed from neglect, nor from little will, but from necessity, owing

to the nature of the times, and his important business, the Queen has

of late been pacified, and hope remaining to her, she endures this

delay better than she did”.[625]

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 581: Despatches of Giovanni Michiel, Venetian Archives;

Rawdon Brown, _Ven. Cal._, vol. vi., pt. i., 174.]

[Footnote 582: _Diary_, p. 92.]

[Footnote 583: _Ven. Cal._, vol. vi., pt. i., 190.]

[Footnote 584: Michiel to the Doge and Senate, Ven. Archives; Rawdon

Brown, _Cal._, vol. vi., pt. i., 204.]

[Footnote 585: Michiel to the Doge and Senate, Ven. Archives; Rawdon

Brown, _Cal._, vol. vi., pt. i., 251.]

[Footnote 586: Cardinal Pole to Cardinal Caraffa, St. Mark’s Library,

MS., Cod. xxiv., Cl. x.]

[Footnote 587: _Ambassades_, vol. v., p. 204.]

[Footnote 588: This was the pretext. The real motive for his

degradation was most likely that the Garter might be conferred on Lord

Guildford Dudley.]

[Footnote 589: _Ambassades_, vol. v., p. 204.]

[Footnote 590: Machyn, _Diary_, p. 94.]

[Footnote 591: Federico Badoer, Venetian Ambassador with the Emperor,

to the Doge and Senate, Ven. Archives, 15th December 1555.]

[Footnote 592: _Ven. Calendar_, vol. vi., pt. i., 316.]

[Footnote 593: _Ibid._, 318.]

[Footnote 594: The Emperor was as anxious for his son’s coronation as

King of England as Philip was himself, and emphasised the fact that

“étant le dit roi notre fils couronné, il traitera les affaires de ce

côté-là avec plus d’autorité” (Charles V. to Simon Renard, Brussels,

15th Nov. 1554, Granville Papers, vol. iv., p. 333).]

[Footnote 595: _Ven. Cal._, vol. vi., pt. i., 332. But Mary would not

appoint a layman, and decided on Heath, Archbishop of York.]

[Footnote 596: Prescott, _History of the Reign of Philip II._, p. 8 _et

seq._]

[Footnote 597: _Ven. Cal._, vol. vi., pt. i., 353.]

[Footnote 598: _Ven. Cal._, vol. vi., pt. i., 429. Machyn calls

attention to the fact that this comet made its appearance on the 7th

March; Stow says on the 4th; Michiel shows that it was still visible on

the 17th.]

[Footnote 599: _Ibid._, 434.]

[Footnote 600: “March 21. Dr. Cranmer, late Archbishop of Canterbury,

afore disgraded was brent at Oxford. The same day, the Lord Cardinal

Poole was made priest at Lambeth, and the morrow being Sunday, he

was consecrated Archbishop of Canterbury at Greenwich in the Friars’

Church, and the Wednesday after, being the feast of the Annunciation,

he received the pall in his church of St. Mary the Arches _alias_ Bow

Church in Cheape” (Wriothesley, _Chronicle_, vol. ii., p. 134).]

[Footnote 601: _Ambassades_, vol. v., p. 299. “Et surtout eviter que

madame Elizabeth ne se remue en sorte du monde pour entreprendre ce

que m’escrivez; car ce serait tout gaster, et perdre le fruict qu’ilz

peulvent attendre de leurs desseings, qu’il est besoign traicter et

mener à la longue.”]

[Footnote 602: MS. St. Mark’s Library, Cod. xxiv., Cl. x., pp. 168-74.]

[Footnote 603: _Ven. Cal._, vol. vi., pt. i., 458.]

[Footnote 604: _Ven. Cal._, vol. vi., pt. i., 467.]

[Footnote 605: _Ibid._, 504.]

[Footnote 606: _Ibid._, 457.]

[Footnote 607: _Ven. Cal._, vol. vi., pt. i., 460.]

[Footnote 608: _Ven. Cal._, vol. vi., pt. i., 479. Manrique told Badoer

that the Spaniards said, the King had no cause to gratify the Queen

in this respect, nor yet in any other, as she had in fact shown but

little conjugal affection for him, and that little could be hoped from

her; they also said that not only had the King to pay his own expenses,

but also those of a great number of Englishmen, spending so vast a sum

of money, and being subjected to so many vexations in that kingdom,

on account of the Queen, that were he not bound by this marriage, the

imperial and royal courtiers said generally, he ought to be deterred

from going thither (427).]

[Footnote 609: _Ven. Cal._, vol. vi., pt. i., 489.]

[Footnote 610: _Ven. Cal._, vol. vi., pt. i., 495, London, 26th May

1556.]

[Footnote 611: _Ibid._, 505. “Tuesday the 30th June Wm. West esquier

calling himself De La Ware was arraigned at the Guildhall in London for

treason. But in the beginning of his arraignment he would not answer to

his name of Wm. West esquier, but as Lord de la Ware, and to be tried

by his peers, which the judges there with the heralds proved he was no

lord, because he was never created nor made a lord by any writ to the

Parliament, nor had any to show for his creation, wherefore that plea

would not serve, and so had like to have had judgment without trial;

but at last he answered to the name of Wm. West esquier, and so was

tried by twelve men, and condemned of treason, as consenting to Henry

Dudley and his adherants; and so had judgment as traitor” (Wriothesley,

_Chronicle_, vol. ii., p. 135).]

[Footnote 612: A mistake of Michiel’s for Francis.]

[Footnote 613: Michiel to the Doge and Senate, _Ven. Cal._, vol. vi.,

pt. i., 510, 514.]

[Footnote 614: Lansdowne MS. 1236, f. 37. In her own hand.]

[Footnote 615: _Ven. Cal._, vol. vi., pt. i., 548.]

[Footnote 616: _Ibid._, pt. i., 45, 648; pt. ii., 690.]

[Footnote 617: _Ven. Cal._, vol. vi., pt. i., 525, 580. Mary had been

staying at Eltham, and removed to Croydon, to a house which had once

belonged to her mother, but which was now an archiepiscopal residence.]

[Footnote 618: _Ven. Cal._, vol. vi., pt. i., 554.]

[Footnote 619: _The Life of Jane Dormer, Duchess of Feria_, p. 64.]

[Footnote 620: These words show that Mary performed the ceremony

not in imitation of Christ washing the feet of His apostles, but in

commemoration of the act of devotion of St. Mary Magdalen towards our

Lord.]

[Footnote 621: Cramp rings blessed by Queen Mary were in request at the

Emperor’s Court. See Foreign Calendars, _Mary_, 347 and 348, 25th and

26th April 1555.]

[Footnote 622: MS. St. Mark’s Library, Cod. xxiv., Cl. x., pp. 168-74;

_Ven. Cal._, vol. vi., pt. i., p. 434 _et seq._]

[Footnote 623: “Saturday the 21 of November, Mr. Dr. Feckenham, late

Dean of Paul’s in London, was made Abbot of Westminster, and stalled,

and took possession of the same; and fourteen monks more received

the habit the same day with him of the order of St. Bennett, and the

Queen gave to the said Abbot all such lands as remained that day in

her hands, suppressed and taken by King Henry the Eighth, for ever”

(Wriothesley, _Chronicle_, p. 136).]

[Footnote 624: _Ven. Cal._, vol. vi., pt. i., 634. Besides the

religious houses mentioned in the text, Mary restored that of the Black

Friars in London, the Hospital of St. John at Smithfield, and the

convent at Sion, near Brentford.]

[Footnote 625: _Ven. Cal._, vol. vi., pt. ii., 697.]