CHAPTER VIII.

Forlorn Condition of Flanders--Parma's secret Negotiations with the

Queen--Grafigni and Bodman--Their Dealings with English Counsellors

--Duplicity of Farnese--Secret Offers of the English Peace-Party--

Letters and Intrigues of De Loo--Drake's Victories and their Effect

--Parma's Perplexity and Anxiety--He is relieved by the News from

England--Queen's secret Letters to Parma--His Letters and

Instructions to Bodman--Bodman's secret Transactions at Greenwich--

Walsingham detects and exposes the Plot--The Intriguers baffled--

Queen's Letter to Parma and his to the King--Unlucky Results of the

Peace--Intrigues--Unhandsome Treatment of Leicester--Indignation of

the Earl and Walsingham--Secret Letter of Parma to Philip--Invasion

of England recommended--Details of the Project.

Alexander Farnese and his heroic little army had been left by their

sovereign in as destitute a condition as that in which Lord Leicester and

his unfortunate "paddy persons" had found themselves since their arrival

in the Netherlands. These mortal men were but the weapons to be used and

broken in the hands of the two great sovereigns, already pitted against

each other in mortal combat. That the distant invisible potentate, the

work of whose life was to do his best to destroy all European

nationality, all civil and religious freedom, should be careless of the

instruments by which his purpose was to be effected, was but natural. It

is painful to reflect that the great champion of liberty and of

Protestantism was almost equally indifferent to the welfare of the human

creatures enlisted in her cause. Spaniards and Italians, English and

Irish, went half naked and half starving through the whole inclement

winter, and perished of pestilence in droves, after confronting the less

formidable dangers of battlefield and leaguer. Manfully and

sympathetically did the Earl of Leicester--while whining in absurd

hyperbole over the angry demeanour of his sovereign towards

himself-represent the imperative duty of an English government to succour

English troops.

Alexander Farnese was equally plain-spoken to a sovereign with whom

plain-speaking was a crime. In bold, almost scornful language, the Prince

represented to Philip the sufferings and destitution of the little band

of heroes, by whom that magnificent military enterprise, the conquest of

Antwerp, had just been effected. "God will be weary of working miracles

for us," he cried, "and nothing but miracles can save the troops from

starving." There was no question of paying them their wages, there was no

pretence at keeping them reasonably provided with lodging and clothing,

but he asserted the undeniable proposition that they "could not pass

their lives without eating," and he implored his sovereign to send at

least money enough to buy the soldiers shoes. To go foodless and barefoot

without complaining, on the frozen swamps of Flanders, in January, was

more than was to be expected from Spaniards and Italians. The country

itself was eaten bare. The obedient Provinces had reaped absolute ruin as

the reward of their obedience. Bruges, Ghent, and the other cities of

Brabant and Flanders, once so opulent and powerful, had become mere dens

of thieves and paupers. Agriculture, commerce, manufactures--all were

dead. The condition of Antwerp was most tragical. The city, which had

been so recently the commercial centre of the earth, was reduced to

absolute beggary. Its world-wide traffic was abruptly terminated, for the

mouth of its great river was controlled by Flushing, and Flushing was in

the firm grasp of Sir Philip Sidney, as governor for the English Queen.

Merchants and bankers, who had lately been possessed of enormous

resources, were stripped of all. Such of the industrial classes as could

leave the place had wandered away to Holland and England. There was no

industry possible, for there was no market for the products of industry.

Antwerp was hemmed in by the enemy on every side, surrounded by royal

troops in a condition of open mutiny, cut off from the ocean, deprived of

daily bread, and yet obliged to contribute out of its poverty to the

maintenance of the Spanish soldiers, who were there for its destruction.

Its burghers, compelled to furnish four hundred thousand florins, as the

price of their capitulation, and at least six hundred thousand more for

the repairs of the dykes, the destruction of which, too long deferred,

had only spread desolation over the country without saving the city, and

over and above all forced to rebuild, at their own expense, that fatal

citadel, by which their liberty and lives were to be perpetually

endangered, might now regret at leisure that they had not been as

stedfast during their siege as had been the heroic inhabitants of Leyden

in their time of trial, twelve years before. Obedient Antwerp was, in

truth, most forlorn. But there was one consolation for her and for

Philip, one bright spot in the else universal gloom. The ecclesiastics

assured Parma, that, notwithstanding the frightful diminution in the

population of the city, they had confessed and absolved more persons that

Easter than they had ever done since the commencement of the revolt.

Great was Philip's joy in consequence. "You cannot imagine my

satisfaction," he wrote, "at the news you give me concerning last

Easter."

With a ruined country, starving and mutinous troops, a bankrupt

exchequer, and a desperate and pauper population, Alexander Farnese was

not unwilling to gain time by simulated negotiations for peace. It was

strange, however, that so sagacious a monarch as the Queen of England

should suppose it for her interest to grant at that moment the very delay

which was deemed most desirable by her antagonist.

Yet it was not wounded affection alone, nor insulted pride, nor startled

parsimony, that had carried the fury of the Queen to such a height on the

occasion of Leicester's elevation to absolute government. It was still

more, because the step was thought likely to interfere with the progress

of those negotiations into which the Queen had allowed herself to be

drawn.

A certain Grafigni--a Genoese merchant residing much in London and in

Antwerp, a meddling, intrusive, and irresponsible kind of individual,

whose occupation was gone with the cessation of Flemish trade--had

recently made his appearance as a volunteer diplomatist. The principal

reason for accepting or rather for winking at his services, seemed to be

the possibility of disavowing him, on both sides, whenever it should be

thought advisable. He had a partner or colleague, too, named Bodman, who

seemed a not much more creditable negotiator than himself. The chief

director of the intrigue was, however, Champagny, brother of Cardinal

Granvelle, restored to the King's favour and disposed to atone by his

exuberant loyalty for his heroic patriotism on a former and most

memorable occasion. Andrea de Loo, another subordinate politician, was

likewise employed at various stages of the negotiation.

It will soon be perceived that the part enacted by Burghley, Hatton,

Croft, and other counsellors, and even by the Queen herself, was not a

model of ingenuousness towards the absent Leicester and the

States-General. The gentlemen sent at various times to and from the Earl

and her Majesty's government; Davison, Shirley, Vavasor, Heneage, and the

rest--had all expressed themselves in the strongest language concerning

the good faith and the friendliness of the Lord-Treasurer and the

Vice-Chamberlain, but they were not so well informed as they would have

been, had they seen the private letters of Parma to Philip II.

Walsingham, although kept in the dark as much as it was possible,

discovered from time to time the mysterious practices of his political

antagonists, and warned the Queen of the danger and dishonour she was

bringing upon herself. Elizabeth, when thus boldly charged, equivocated

and stormed alternately. She authorized Walsingham to communicate the

secrets--which he had thus surprised--to the States-General, and then

denied having given any such orders.

In truth, Walsingham was only entrusted with such portions of the

negotiations as he had been able, by his own astuteness, to divine; and

as he was very much a friend to the Provinces and to Leicester, he never

failed to keep them instructed, to the best of his ability. It must be

confessed, however, that the shuffling and paltering among great men and

little men, at that period, forms a somewhat painful subject of

contemplation at the present day.

Grafigni having some merchandise to convey from Antwerp to London, went

early in the year to the Prince of Parma, at Brussels, in order to

procure a passport. They entered into some conversation upon the misery

of the country, and particularly concerning the troubles to which the

unfortunate merchants had been exposed. Alexander expressed much sympathy

with the commercial community, and a strong desire that the ancient

friendship between his master and the Queen of England might be restored.

Grafigni assured the Prince--as the result of his own observation in

England--that the Queen participated in those pacific sentiments: "You

are going to England," replied the Prince, "and you may say to the

ministers of her Majesty, that, after my allegiance to my King, I am most

favourably and affectionately inclined towards her. If it pleases them

that I, as Alexander Farnese, should attempt to bring about an accord,

and if our commissioners could be assured of a hearing in England, I

would take care that everything should be conducted with due regard to

the honour and reputation of her Majesty."

Grafigni then asked for a written letter of credence. "That cannot be,"

replied Alexander; "but if you return to me I shall believe your report,

and then a proper person can be sent, with authority from the King to

treat with her Majesty."

Grafigni proceeded to England, and had an interview with Lord Cobham. A

few days later that nobleman gave the merchant a general assurance that

the Queen had always felt a strong inclination to maintain firm

friendship with the House of Burgundy. Nevertheless, as he proceeded to

state, the bad policy of the King's ministers, and the enterprises

against her Majesty, had compelled her to provide for her own security

and that of her realm by remedies differing in spirit from that good

inclination. Being however a Christian princess, willing to leave

vengeance to the Lord and disposed to avoid bloodshed, she was ready to

lend her ear to a negotiation for peace, if it were likely to be a

sincere and secure one. Especially she was pleased that his Highness of

Parma should act as mediator of such a treaty, as she considered him a

most just and honourable prince in all his promises and actions. Her

Majesty would accordingly hold herself in readiness to receive the

honourable commissioners alluded to, feeling sure that every step taken

by his Highness would comport with her honour and safety.

At about the same time the other partner in this diplomatic enterprise,

William Bodman, communicated to Alexander, the result of his observations

in England. He stated that Lords Burghley, Buckhurst, and Cobham, Sir

Christopher Hatton, and Comptroller Croft, were secretly desirous of

peace with Spain and that they had seized the recent opportunity of her

pique against the Earl of Leicester to urge forward these underhand

negotiations. Some progress had been made; but as no accredited

commissioner arrived from the Prince of Parma, and as Leicester was

continually writing earnest letters against peace, the efforts of these

counsellors had slackened. Bodman found them all, on his arrival, anxious

as he said, "to get their necks out of the matter;" declaring everything

which had been done to be pure matter of accident, entirely without the

concurrence of the Queen, and each seeking to outrival the other in the

good graces of her Majesty. Grafigni informed Bodman, however, that Lord

Cobham was quite to be depended upon in the affair, and would deal with

him privately, while Lord Burghley would correspond with Andrea de Loo at

Antwerp. Moreover, the servant of Comptroller Croft would direct Bodman

as to his course, and would give him daily instructions.

Now it so happened that this servant of Croft, Norris by name, was a

Papist, a man of bad character, and formerly a spy of the Duke of Anjou.

"If your Lordship or myself should use such instruments as this," wrote

Walsingham to Leicester, "I know we should bear no small reproach; but it

is the good hap of hollow and doubtful men to be best thought of." Bodman

thought the lords of the peace-faction and their adherents not

sufficiently strong to oppose the other party with success. He assured

Farnese that almost all the gentlemen and the common people of England

stood ready to risk their fortunes and to go in person to the field to

maintain the cause of the Queen and religious liberty; and that the

chance of peace was desperate unless something should turn the tide, such

as, for example, the defeat of Drake, or an invasion by Philip of Ireland

or Scotland.

As it so happened that Drake was just then engaged in a magnificent

career of victory, sweeping the Spanish Main and startling the nearest

and the most remote possessions of the King with English prowess, his

defeat was not one of the cards to be relied on by the peace-party in the

somewhat deceptive game which they had commenced. Yet, strange to say,

they used, or attempted to use, those splendid triumphs as if they had

been disasters.

Meantime there was an active but very secret correspondence between Lord

Cobham, Lord Burghley, Sir James Croft, and various subordinate

personages in England, on the one side, and Champagny, President

Richardot, La Motte, governor of Gravelines, Andrea de Loo, Grafigni, and

other men in the obedient Provinces, more or less in Alexander's

confidence, on the other side. Each party was desirous of forcing or

wheedling the antagonist to show his hand. "You were employed to take

soundings off the English coast in the Duke of Norfolk's time," said

Cobham to La Motte: "you remember the Duke's fate. Nevertheless, her

Majesty hates war, and it only depends on the King to have a firm and

lasting peace."

"You must tell Lord Cobham," said Richardot to La Motte, "that you are

not at liberty to go into a correspondence, until assured of the

intentions of Queen Elizabeth. Her Majesty ought to speak first, in order

to make her good-will manifest," and so on.

"The 'friend' can confer with you," said Richardot to Champagny; "but his

Highness is not to appear to know anything at all about it. The Queen

must signify her intentions."

"You answered Champagny correctly," said Burghley to De Loo, "as to what

I said last winter concerning her Majesty's wishes in regard to a

pacification. The Netherlands must be compelled to return to obedience to

the King; but their ancient privileges are to be maintained. You omitted,

however, to say a word about toleration, in the Provinces, of the

reformed religion. But I said then, as I say now, that this is a

condition indispensable to peace."

This was a somewhat important omission on the part of De Loo, and gives

the measure of his conscientiousness or his capacity as a negotiator.

Certainly for the Lord-Treasurer of England to offer, on the part of her

Majesty, to bring about the reduction of her allies under the yoke which

they had thrown off without her assistance, and this without leave asked

of them, and with no provision for the great principle of religious

liberty, which was the cause of the revolt, was a most flagitious

trifling with the honour of Elizabeth and of England. Certainly the more

this mysterious correspondence is examined, the more conclusive is the

justification of the vague and instinctive jealousy felt by Leicester and

the States-General as to English diplomacy during the winter and spring

of 1586.

Burghley summoned De Loo, accordingly, to recall to his memory all that

had been privately said to him on the necessity of protecting the

reformed religion in the Provinces. If a peace were to be perpetual,

toleration was indispensable, he observed, and her Majesty was said to

desire this condition most earnestly.

The Lord-Treasurer also made the not unreasonable suggestion, that, in

case of a pacification, it would be necessary to provide that English

subjects--peaceful traders, mariners, and the like--should no longer be

shut up in the Inquisition prisons of Spain and Portugal, and there

starved to death, as, with great multitudes, had already been the case.

Meantime Alexander, while encouraging and directing all these underhand

measures, was carefully impressing upon his master that he was not, in

the least degree; bound by any such negotiations. "Queen Elizabeth," he

correctly observed to Philip, "is a woman: she is also by no means fond

of expense. The kingdom, accustomed to repose, is already weary of war

therefore, they are all pacifically inclined." "It has been intimated to

me," he said, "that if I would send a properly qualified person, who

should declare that your Majesty had not absolutely forbidden the coming

of Lord Leicester, such an agent would be well received, and perhaps the

Earl would be recalled." Alexander then proceeded, with the coolness

befitting a trusted governor of Philip II., to comment upon the course

which he was pursuing. He could at any time denounce the negotiations

which he was secretly prompting. Meantime immense advantages could be

obtained by the deception practised upon an enemy whose own object was to

deceive.

The deliberate treachery of the scheme was cynically enlarged upon, and

its possible results mathematically calculated:

Philip was to proceed with the invasion while Alexander was going on with

the negotiation. If, meanwhile, they could receive back Holland and

Zeeland from the hands of England, that would be an immense success. The

Prince intimated a doubt, however, as to so fortunate a result, because,

in dealing with heretics and persons of similar quality, nothing but

trickery was to be expected. The chief good to be hoped for was to "chill

the Queen in her plots, leagues, and alliances," and during the chill, to

carry forward their own great design. To slacken not a whit in their

preparations, to "put the Queen to sleep," and, above all, not to leave

the French for a moment unoccupied with internal dissensions and civil

war; such was the game of the King and the governor, as expounded between

themselves.

President Richardot, at the same time, stated to Cardinal Granvelle that

the English desire for peace was considered certain at Brussels. Grafigni

had informed the Prince of Parma and his counsellors that the Queen was

most amicably disposed, and that there would be no trouble on the point

of religion, her Majesty not wishing to obtain more than she would

herself be willing to grant. "In this," said Richardot, "there is both

hard and soft;" for knowing that the Spanish game was deception, pure and

simple, the excellent President could not bring himself to suspect a

possible grain of good faith in the English intentions. Much anxiety was

perpetually felt in the French quarter, her Majesty's government being

supposed to be secretly preparing an invasion of the obedient Netherlands

across the French frontier, in combination, not with the Bearnese, but

with Henry III. So much in the dark were even the most astute

politicians. "I can't feel satisfied in this French matter," said the

President: "we mustn't tickle ourselves to make ourselves laugh."

Moreover, there was no self-deception nor self-tickling possible as to

the unmitigated misery of the obedient Netherlands. Famine was a more

formidable foe than Frenchmen, Hollanders, and Englishmen combined; so

that Richardot avowed that the "negotiation would be indeed holy," if it

would restore Holland and Zeeland to the King without fighting. The

prospect seemed on the whole rather dismal to loyal Netherlanders like

the old leaguing, intriguing, Hispamolized president of the privy

council. "I confess," said he plaintively, "that England needs

chastisement; but I don't see how we are to give it to her. Only let us

secure Holland and Zeeland, and then we shall always find a stick

whenever we like to beat the dog."

Meantime Andrea de Loo had been bustling and buzzing about the ears of

the chief counsellors at the English court during all the early spring.

Most busily he had been endeavouring to efface the prevalent suspicion

that Philip and Alexander were only trifling by these informal

negotiations. We have just seen whether or not there was ground for that

suspicion. De Loo, being importunate, however--"as he usually was,"

according to his own statement--obtained in Burghley's hand a

confirmation, by order of the Queen, of De Loo's--letter of the 26th

December. The matter of religion gave the worthy merchant much

difficulty, and he begged Lord Buckhurst, the Lord Treasurer, and many

other counsellors, not to allow this point of toleration to ruin the

whole affair; "for," said he, "his Majesty will never permit any exercise

of the reformed religion."

At last Buckhurst sent for him, and in presence of Comptroller Croft,

gave him information that he had brought the Queen to this conclusion:

firstly, that she would be satisfied with as great a proportion of

religious toleration for Holland, Zeeland, and the other United

Provinces, as his Majesty could concede with safety to his conscience and

his honour; secondly, that she required an act of amnesty; thirdly, that

she claimed reimbursement by Philip for the money advanced by her to the

States.

Certainly a more wonderful claim was never made than this--a demand upon

an absolute monarch for indemnity for expenses incurred in fomenting a

rebellion of his own subjects. The measure of toleration proposed for the

Provinces--the conscience, namely, of the greatest bigot ever born into

the world--was likely to prove as satisfactory as the claim for damages

propounded by the most parsimonious sovereign in Christendom. It was,

however, stipulated that the nonconformists of Holland and Zeeland, who

should be forced into exile, were to have their property administered by

papist trustees; and further, that the Spanish inquisition was not to be

established in the Netherlands. Philip could hardly demand better terms

than these last, after a career of victory. That they should be offered

now by Elizabeth was hardly compatible with good faith to the States.

On account of Lord Burghley's gout, it was suggested that the negotiators

had better meet in England, as it would be necessary for him to take the

lead in the matters and as he was but an indifferent traveller. Thus,

according to De Loo, the Queen was willing to hand over the United

Provinces to Philip, and to toss religious toleration to the winds, if

she could only get back the seventy thousand pounds--more or less--which

she had invested in an unpromising speculation. A few weeks later, and at

almost the very moment when Elizabeth had so suddenly overturned

her last vial of wrath upon the discomfited Heneage for having

communicated--according to her express command--the fact of the pending

negotiations to the Netherland States; at that very instant Parma was

writing secretly, and in cipher, to Philip. His communication--could Sir

Thomas have read it--might have partly explained her Majesty's rage.

Parma had heard, he said, through Bodman, from Comptroller Croft, that

the Queen would willingly receive a proper envoy. It was very easy to

see, he observed, that the English counsellors were seeking every means

of entering into communication with Spain, and that they were doing so

with the participation of the Queen! Lord-Treasurer Burghley and

Comptroller Croft had expressed surprise that the Prince had not yet sent

a secret agent to her Majesty, under pretext of demanding explanations

concerning Lord Leicester's presence in the Provinces, but in reality to

treat for peace. Such an agent, it had been intimated, would be well

received. The Lord-Treasurer and the Comptroller would do all in their

power to advance the negotiation, so that, with their aid and with the

pacific inclination of the Queen, the measures proposed in favour of

Leicester would be suspended, and perhaps the Earl himself and all the

English would be recalled.

The Queen was further represented as taking great pains to excuse both

the expedition of Sir Francis Drake to the Indies, and the mission of

Leicester to the Provinces. She was said to throw the whole blame of

these enterprises upon Walsingham and other ill-intentioned personages,

and to avow that she now understood matters better; so that, if Parma

would at once send an envoy, peace would, without question, soon be made.

Parma had expressed his gratification at these hopeful dispositions on

the part of Burghley and Croft, and held out hopes of sending an agent to

treat with them, if not directly with her Majesty. For some time

past--according to the Prince--the English government had not seemed to

be honestly seconding the Earl of Leicester, nor to correspond with his

desires. "This makes me think," he said, "that the counsellors

before-mentioned, being his rivals, are trying to trip him up."

In such a caballing, prevaricating age, it is difficult to know which of

all the plotters and counterplotters engaged in these intrigues could

accomplish the greatest amount of what--for the sake of diluting in nine

syllables that which could be more forcibly expressed in one--was then

called diplomatic dissimulation. It is to be feared, notwithstanding her

frequent and vociferous denials, that the robes of the "imperial

votaress" were not so unsullied as could be wished. We know how loudly

Leicester had complained--we have seen how clearly Walsingham could

convict; but Elizabeth, though convicted, could always confute: for an

absolute sovereign, even without resorting to Philip's syllogisms of axe

and faggot, was apt in the sixteenth century to have the best of an

argument with private individuals.

The secret statements of Parma-made, not for public effect, but for the

purpose of furnishing his master with the most accurate information he

could gather as to English policy--are certainly entitled to

consideration. They were doubtless founded upon the statements of

individuals rejoicing in no very elevated character; but those

individuals had no motive to deceive their patron. If they clashed with

the vehement declarations of very eminent personages, it must be

admitted, on the other hand, that they were singularly in accordance with

the silent eloquence of important and mysterious events.

As to Alexander Farnese--without deciding the question whether Elizabeth

and Burghley were deceiving Walsingham and Leicester, or only trying to

delude Philip and himself--he had no hesitation, of course, on his part,

in recommending to Philip the employment of unlimited dissimulation.

Nothing could be more ingenuous than the intercourse between the King and

his confidential advisers. It was perfectly understood among them that

they were always to deceive every one, upon every occasion. Only let them

be false, and it was impossible to be wholly wrong; but grave mistakes

might occur from occasional deviations into sincerity. It was no question

at all, therefore, that it was Parma's duty to delude Elizabeth and

Burghley. Alexander's course was plain. He informed his master that he

would keep these difficulties alive as much as it was possible. In order

to "put them all to sleep with regard to the great enterprise of the

invasion," he would send back Bodman to Burghley and Croft, and thus keep

this unofficial negotiation upon its legs. The King was quite

uncommitted, and could always disavow what had been done. Meanwhile he

was gaining, and his adversaries losing, much precious time. "If by this

course," said Parma, "we can induce the English to hand over to us the

places which they hold in Holland and Zeeland, that will be a great

triumph." Accordingly he urged the King not to slacken, in the least, his

preparations for invasion, and, above all, to have a care that the French

were kept entangled and embarrassed among themselves, which was a most

substantial point.

Meantime Europe was ringing with the American successes of the bold

corsair Drake. San Domingo, Porto Rico, Santiago, Cartliagena, Florida,

were sacked and destroyed, and the supplies drawn so steadily from the

oppression of the Western World to maintain Spanish tyranny in Europe,

were for a time extinguished. Parma was appalled at these triumphs of the

Sea-King--"a fearful man to the King of Spain"--as Lord Burghley well

observed. The Spanish troops were starving in Flanders, all Flanders

itself was starving, and Philip, as usual, had sent but insignificant

remittances to save his perishing soldiers. Parma had already exhausted

his credit. Money was most difficult to obtain in such a forlorn country;

and now the few rich merchants and bankers of Antwerp that were left

looked very black at these crushing news from America. "They are drawing

their purse-strings very tight," said Alexander, "and will make no

accommodation. The most contemplative of them ponder much over this

success of Drake, and think that your Majesty will forget our matters

here altogether." For this reason he informed the King that it would be

advisable to drop all further negotiation with England for the time, as

it was hardly probable that, with such advantages gained by the Queen,

she would be inclined to proceed in the path which had been just secretly

opened. Moreover, the Prince was in a state of alarm as to the intentions

of France. Mendoza and Tassis had given him to understand that a very

good feeling prevailed between the court of Henry and of Elizabeth, and

that the French were likely to come to a pacification among themselves.

In this the Spanish envoys were hardly anticipating so great an effect as

we have seen that they had the right to do from their own indefatigable

exertions; for, thanks to their zeal, backed by the moderate subsidies

furnished by their master, the civil war in France already seemed likely

to be as enduring as that of the Netherlands. But Parma--still quite in

the dark as to French politics--was haunted by the vision of seventy

thousand foot and six thousand horses ready to be let slip upon him at

any, moment, out of a pacified and harmonious France; while he had

nothing but a few starving and crippled regiments to withstand such an

invasion. When all these events should have taken place, and France, in

alliance with England, should have formally declared war against Spain,

Alexander protested that he should have learned nothing new.

The Prince was somewhat mistaken as to political affairs; but his doubts

concerning his neighbours, blended with the forlorn condition of himself

and army, about which there was no doubt at all, showed the exigencies of

his situation. In the midst of such embarrassments it is impossible not

to admire his heroism as a military chieftain, and his singular

adroitness as a diplomatist. He had painted for his sovereign a most

faithful and horrible portrait of the obedient Provinces. The soil was

untilled; the manufactories had all stopped; trade had ceased to exist.

It was a pity only to look upon the raggedness of his soldiers. No

language could describe the misery of the reconciled Provinces--Artois,

Hainault, Flanders. The condition of Bruges would melt the hardest heart;

other cities were no better; Antwerp was utterly ruined; its inhabitants

were all starving. The famine throughout the obedient Netherlands was

such as had not been known for a century. The whole country had been

picked bare by the troops, and the plough was not put into the ground.

Deputations were constantly with him from Bruges, Dendermonde,

Bois-le-Duc, Brussels, Antwerp, Nymegen, proving to him by the most

palpable evidence that the whole population of those cities had almost

literally nothing to eat. He had nothing, however, but exhortations to

patience to feed them withal. He was left without a groat even to save

his soldiers from starving, and he wildly and bitterly, day after day,

implored his sovereign for aid. These pictures are not the sketches of a

historian striving for effect, but literal transcripts from the most

secret revelations of the Prince himself to his sovereign. On the other

hand, although Leicester's complaints of the destitution of the English

troops in the republic were almost as bitter, yet the condition of the

United Provinces was comparatively healthy. Trade, external and internal,

was increasing daily. Distant commercial and military expeditions were

fitted out, manufactures were prosperous, and the war of independence was

gradually becoming--strange to say--a source of prosperity to the new

commonwealth.

Philip--being now less alarmed than his nephew concerning French affairs,

and not feeling so keenly the misery of the obedient Provinces, or the

wants of the Spanish army--sent to Alexander six hundred thousand ducats,

by way of Genoa. In the letter submitted by his secretary recording this

remittance, the King made, however, a characteristic marginal note:--"See

if it will not be as well to tell him something concerning the two

hundred thousand ducats to be deducted for Mucio, for fear of more

mischief, if the Prince should expect the whole six hundred thousand."

Accordingly Mucio got the two hundred thousand. One-third of the meagre

supply destined for the relief of the King's starving and valiant little

army in the Netherlands was cut off to go into the pockets of the

intriguing Duke of Guise. "We must keep the French," said Philip, "in a

state of confusion at home, and feed their civil war. We must not allow

them to come to a general peace, which would be destruction for the

Catholics. I know you will put a good face on the matter; and, after all,

'tis in the interest of the Netherlands. Moreover, the money shall be

immediately refunded."

Alexander was more likely to make a wry face, notwithstanding his views

of the necessity of fomenting the rebellion against the House of Valois.

Certainly if a monarch intended to conquer such countries as France,

England, and Holland, without stirring from his easy chair in the

Escorial, it would have been at least as well--so Alexander thought--to

invest a little more capital in the speculation. No monarch ever dreamed

of arriving at universal empire with less personal fatigue or exposure,

or at a cheaper rate, than did Philip II. His only fatigue was at his

writing-table. But even here his merit was of a subordinate description.

He sat a great while at a time. He had a genius for sitting; but he now

wrote few letters himself. A dozen words or so, scrawled in hieroglyphics

at the top, bottom, or along the margin of the interminable despatches of

his secretaries, contained the suggestions, more or less luminous, which

arose in his mind concerning public affairs. But he held firmly to his

purpose: He had devoted his life to the extermination of Protestantism,

to the conquest of France and England, to the subjugation of Holland.

These were vast schemes. A King who should succeed in such enterprises,

by his personal courage and genius, at the head of his armies, or by

consummate diplomacy, or by a masterly system of finance-husbanding and

concentrating the resources of his almost boundless realms--might be in

truth commended for capacity. Hitherto however Philip's triumph had

seemed problematical; and perhaps something more would be necessary than

letters to Parma, and paltry remittances to Mucio, notwithstanding

Alexander's splendid but local victories in Flanders.

Parma, although in reality almost at bay, concealed his despair, and

accomplished wonders in the field. The military events during the spring

and summer of 1586 will be sketched in a subsequent chapter. For the

present it is necessary to combine into a complete whole the subterranean

negotiations between Brussels and England.

Much to his surprise and gratification, Parma found that the peace-party

were not inclined to change their views in consequence of the triumphs of

Drake. He soon informed the King that--according to Champagny and

Bodman--the Lord Treasurer, the Comptroller, Lord Cobham, and Sir

Christopher Hatton, were more pacific than they had ever been. These four

were represented by Grafigni as secretly in league against Leicester and

Walsingham, and very anxious to bring about a reconciliation between the

crowns of England and Spain. The merchant-diplomatist, according to his

own statement, was expressly sent by Queen Elizabeth to the prince of

Parma, although without letter of credence or signed instructions, but

with the full knowledge and approbation of the four counsellors just

mentioned. He assured Alexander that the Queen and the majority of her

council felt a strong desire for peace, and had manifested much

repentance for what had been done. They had explained their proceedings

by the necessity of self-defence. They had avowed--in case they should be

made sure of peace--that they should, not with reluctance and against

their will, but, on the contrary, with the utmost alacrity and at once,

surrender to the King of Spain the territory which they possessed in the

Netherlands, and especially the fortified towns in Holland and Zeeland;

for the English object had never been conquest. Parma had also been

informed of the Queen's strong desire that he should be employed as

negotiator, on account of her great confidence in his sincerity. They had

expressed much satisfaction on hearing that he was about to send an agent

to England, and had protested themselves rejoiced at Drake's triumphs,

only because of their hope that a peace with Spain would thus be rendered

the easier of accomplishment. They were much afraid, according to

Grafigni, of Philip's power, and dreaded a Spanish invasion of their

country, in conjunction with the Pope. They were now extremely anxious

that Parma--as he himself informed the King--should send an agent of good

capacity, in great secrecy, to England.

The Comptroller had said that he had pledged himself to such a result,

and if it failed, that they would probably cut off his head. The four

counsellors were excessively solicitous for the negotiation, and each of

them was expecting to gain favour by advancing it to the best of his

ability.

Parma hinted at the possibility that all these professions were false,

and that the English were only intending to keep the King from the

contemplated invasion. At the same time he drew Philip's attention to the

fact that Burghley and his party had most evidently been doing everything

in their power to obstruct Leicester's progress in the Netherlands and to

keep back the reinforcements of troops and money which he so much

required.

No doubt these communications of Parma to the King were made upon the

faith of an agent not over-scrupulous, and of no elevated or recognised

rank in diplomacy. It must be borne in mind, however, that he had been

made use of by both parties; perhaps because it would be easy to throw

off, and discredit, him whenever such a step should be convenient; and

that, on the other hand, coming fresh from Burghley and the rest into the

presence of the keen-eyed Farnese, he would hardly invent for his

employer a budget of falsehoods. That man must have been a subtle

negotiator who could outwit such a statesman as Burghley--and the other

counsellors of Elizabeth, and a bold one who could dare to trifle on a

momentous occasion with Alexander of Parma.

Leicester thought Burghley very much his friend, and so thought Davison

and Heneage; and the Lord-Treasurer had, in truth, stood stoutly by the

Earl in the affair of the absolute governorship;--"a matter more severe

and cumbersome to him and others," said Burghley, "than any whatsoever

since he was a counsellor." But there is no doubt that these negotiations

were going forward all the spring and summer, that they were most

detrimental to Leicester's success, and that they were kept--so far as it

was possible--a profound secret from him, from Walsingham, and from the

States-General. Nothing was told them except what their own astuteness

had discovered beforehand; and the game of the counsellors--so far as

their attitude towards Leicester and Walsingham was concerned--seems both

disingenuous and impolitic.

Parma, it was to be feared, was more than a match for the English

governor-general in the field; and it was certainly hopeless for poor old

Comptroller Croft, even though backed by the sagacious Burghley, to

accomplish so great an amount of dissimulation in a year as the Spanish

cabinet, without effort, could compass in a week. Nor were they

attempting to do so. It is probable that England was acting towards

Philip in much better faith than he deserved, or than Parma believed; but

it is hardly to be wondered at that Leicester should think himself

injured by being kept perpetually in the dark.

Elizabeth was very impatient at not receiving direct letters from Parma,

and her anxiety on the subject explains much of her caprice during the

quarrel about the governor-generalship. Many persons in the Netherlands

thought those violent scenes a farce, and a farce that had been arranged

with Leicester beforehand. In this they were mistaken; for an examination

of the secret correspondence of the period reveals the motives--which to

contemporaries were hidden--of many strange transactions. The Queen was,

no doubt, extremely anxious, and with cause, at the tempest slowly

gathering over her head; but the more the dangers thickened, the more was

her own official language to those in high places befitting the sovereign

of England.

She expressed her surprise to Farnese that he had not written to her on

the subject of the Grafigni and Bodman affair. The first, she said, was

justified in all which he had narrated, save in his assertion that she

had sent him. The other had not obtained audience, because he had not

come provided with any credentials, direct or indirect. Having now

understood from Andrea de Loo and the Seigneur de Champagny that Parma

had the power to conclude a peace, which he seemed very much to desire,

she observed that it was not necessary for him to be so chary in

explaining the basis of the proposed negotiations. It was better to enter

into a straightforward path, than by ambiguous words to spin out to great

length matters which princes should at once conclude.

"Do not suppose," said the Queen, "that I am seeking what belongs to

others. God forbid. I seek only that which is mine own. But be sure that

I will take good heed of the sword which threatens me with destruction,

nor think that I am so craven-spirited as to endure a wrong, or to place

myself at the mercy of my enemy. Every week I see advertisements and

letters from Spain that this year shall witness the downfall of England;

for the Spaniards--like the hunter who divided, with great liberality,

among his friends the body and limbs of the wolf, before it had been

killed--have partitioned this kingdom and that of Ireland before the

conquest has been effected. But my royal heart is no whit appalled by

such threats. I trust, with the help of the Divine hand--which has thus

far miraculously preserved me--to smite all these braggart powers into

the dust, and to preserve my honour, and the kingdoms which He has given

me for my heritage.

"Nevertheless, if you have authority to enter upon and to conclude this

negotiation, you will find my ears open to hear your propositions; and I

tell you further, if a peace is to be made, that I wish you to be the

mediator thereof. Such is the affection I bear you, notwithstanding that

some letters, written by your own hand, might easily have effaced such

sentiments from my mind."

Soon afterwards, Bodman was again despatched to England, Grafigni being

already there. He was provided with unsigned instructions, according to

which he was to say that the Prince, having heard of the Queen's good

intentions, had despatched him and Grafigni to her court. They were to

listen to any suggestions made by the Queen to her ministers; but they

were to do nothing but listen. If the counsellors should enter into their

grievances against his Majesty, and ask for explanations, the agents were

to say that they had no authority or instructions to speak for so great

and Christian a monarch. Thus they were to cut the thread of any such

discourse, or any other observations not to the purpose.

Silence, in short, was recommended, first and last, as the one great

business of their mission; and it was unlucky that men whose talent for

taciturnity was thus signally relied upon should be somewhat remarkable

for loquacity. Grafigni was also the bearer of a letter from Alexander to

the Queen--of which Bodman received a copy--but it was strictly enjoined

upon them to keep the letter, their instructions, and the objects of

their journey, a secret from all the world.

The letter of the Prince consisted mainly of complimentary flourishes. He

had heard, he said, all that Agostino Grafigni had communicated, and he

now begged her Majesty to let him understand the course which it was

proper to take; assuring her of his gratitude for her good opinion

touching his sincerity, and his desire to save the effusion of blood, and

so on; concluding of course with expressions of most profound

consideration and devotion.

Early in July Bodman arrived in London. He found Grafigni in very low

spirits. He had been with Lord Cobham, and was much disappointed with his

reception, for Cobham--angry that Grafigni had brought no commission from

the King--had refused to receive Parma's letter to the Queen, and had

expressed annoyance that Bodman should be employed on this mission,

having heard that lie was very ill-tempered and passionate. The same

evening, he had been sent for by Lord Burghley--who had accepted the

letter for her Majesty without saying a word--and on the following

morning, he had been taken to task, by several counsellors, on the ground

that the Prince, in that communication, had stated that the Queen had

expressed a desire for peace.

It has just been shown that there was no such intimation at all in the

letter; but as neither Grafigni nor Bodman had read the epistle itself,

but only the copy furnished them, they could merely say that such an

assertion; if made by the Prince, had been founded on no statement of

theirs. Bodman consoled his colleague, as well as he could, by assurances

that when the letter was fairly produced, their vindication would be

complete, and Grafigni, upon that point, was comforted. He was, however,

very doleful in general, and complained bitterly of Burghley and the

other English counsellors. He said that they had forced him, against his

will, to make this journey to Brussels, that they had offered him

presents, that they would leave him no rest in his own house, but had

made him neglect all his private business, and caused him a great loss of

time and money, in order that he might serve them. They had manifested

the strongest desire that Parma should open this communication, and had

led him to expect a very large recompense for his share in the

transaction. "And now," said Grafigni to his colleague, with great

bitterness, "I find no faith nor honour in them at all. They don't keep

their word, and every one of them is trying to slide out of the very

business, in which each was, but the other day, striving to outrival the

other, in order that it might be brought to a satisfactory conclusion."

After exploding in this way to Bodman, he went back to Cobham, and

protested, with angry vehemence, that Parma had never written such a word

to the Queen, and that so it would prove, if the letter were produced.

Next day, Bodman was sent for to Greenwich, where her Majesty was, as

usual, residing. A secret pavilion was indicated to him, where he was to

stay until sunset. When that time arrived, Lord Cobham's secretary came

with great mystery, and begged the emissary to follow him, but at a

considerable distance, towards the apartments of Lord Burghley in the

palace. Arriving there, they found the Lord Treasurer accompanied by

Cobham and Croft. Burghley instantly opened the interview by a defence of

the Queen's policy in sending troops to the Netherlands, and in espousing

their cause, and then the conversation proceeded to the immediate matter

in hand.

Bodman (after listening respectfully to the Lord-Treasurer's

observations).--"His Highness has, however, been extremely surprised that

my Lord Leicester should take an oath, as governor-general of the King's

Provinces. He is shocked likewise by the great demonstrations of

hostility on the part of her Majesty."

Burghley.--"The oath was indispensable. The Queen was obliged to tolerate

the step on account of the great urgency of the States to have a head.

But her Majesty has commanded us to meet you on this occasion, in order

to hear what you have to communicate on the part of the Prince of Parma."

Bodman (after a profusion of complimentary phrases).--"I have no

commission to say anything. I am only instructed to listen to anything

that may be said to me, and that her Majesty may be pleased to command."

Burghley.--"'Tis very discreet to begin thus. But time is pressing, and

it is necessary to be brief. We beg you therefore to communicate, without

further preface, that which you have been charged to say."

Bodman.--"I can only repeat to your Lordship, that I have been charged to

say nothing."

After this Barmecide feast of diplomacy, to partake of which it seemed

hardly necessary that the guests should have previously attired

themselves in such garments of mystery, the parties separated for the

night.

In spite of their care, it would seem that the Argus-eyed Walsingham had

been able to see after sunset; for, the next evening--after Bodman had

been introduced with the same precautions to the same company, in the

same place--Burghley, before a word had been spoken, sent for Sir

Francis.

Bodman was profoundly astonished, for he had been expressly informed that

Walsingham was to know nothing of the transaction. The Secretary of State

could not so easily be outwitted, however, and he was soon seated at the

table, surveying the scene, with his grave melancholy eyes, which had

looked quite through the whole paltry intrigue.

Burghley.--"Her Majesty has commanded us to assemble together, in order

that, in my presence, it may be made clear that she did not commence this

negotiation. Let Grafigni be summoned."

Grafigni immediately made his appearance.

Burghley.--"You will please to explain how you came to enter into this

business."

Grafigni.--"The first time I went to the States, it was on my private

affairs; I had no order from any one to treat with the Prince of Parma.

His Highness, having accidentally heard, however, that I resided in

England, expressed a wish to see me. I had an interview with the Prince.

I told him, out of my own head, that the Queen had a strong inclination

to hear propositions of peace, and that--as some of her counsellors were

of the same opinion--I believed that if his Highness should send a

negotiator, some good would be effected. The Prince replied that he felt

by no means sure of such a result; but that, if I should come back from

England, sent by the Queen or her council, he would then despatch a

person with a commission to treat of peace. This statement, together with

other matters that had passed between us, was afterwards drawn up in

writing by command of his Highness."

Burghley.--"Who bade you say, after your second return to Brussels, that

you came on the part of the Queen? For you well know that her Majesty did

not send you."

Grafigni.--"I never said so. I stated that my Lord Cobham had set down in

writing what I was to say to the Prince of Parma. It will never appear

that I represented the Queen as desiring peace. I said that her Majesty

would lend her ears to peace. Bodman knows this too; and he has a copy of

the letter of his Highness."

Walsingham to Bodman.--"Have you the copy still?"

Bodman.--"Yes, Mr. Secretary."

Walsingham.--"Please to produce it, in order that this matter may be

sifted to the bottom."

Bodman.--"I supplicate your Lorships to pardon me, but indeed that cannot

be. My instructions forbid my showing the letter."

Walsingham (rising).--"I will forthwith go to her Majesty, and fetch the

original." A pause. Mr. Secretary returns in a few minutes, having

obtained the document, which the Queen, up to that time, had kept by her,

without showing it to any one.

Walsingham (after reading the letter attentively, and aloud).--"There is

not such a word, as that her Majesty is desirous of peace, in the whole

paper."

Burghley (taking the letter, and slowly construing it out of Italian into

English).--"It would seem that his Highness hath written this, assuming

that the Signor Grafigni came from the Queen, although he had received

his instructions from my Lord Cobham. It is plain, however, that the

negotiation was commenced accidentally."

Comptroller Croft (nervously, and with the air of a man fearful of

getting into trouble).--"You know very well, Mr. Bodman, that my servant

came to Dunkirk only to buy and truck away horses; and that you then, by

chance, entered into talk with him, about the best means of procuring a

peace between the two kingdoms. My servant told you of the good feeling

that prevailed in England. You promised to write on the subject to the

Prince, and I immediately informed the Lord-Treasurer of the whole

transaction."

Burghley.--"That is quite true."

Croft.--"My servant subsequently returned to the Provinces in order to

learn what the Prince might have said on the subject."

Bodman (with immense politeness, but very decidedly).--"Pardon me, Mr.

Comptroller; but, in this matter, I must speak the truth, even if the

honour and life of my father were on the issue. I declare that your

servant Norris came to me, directly commissioned for that purpose by

yourself, and informed me from you, and upon your authority, that if I

would solicit the Prince of Parma to send a secret agent to England, a

peace would be at once negotiated. Your servant entreated me to go to his

Highness at Brussels. I refused, but agreed to consider the proposition.

After the lapse of several days, the servant returned to make further

enquiries. I told him that the Prince had come to no decision. Norris

continued to press the matter. I excused myself. He then solicited and

obtained from me a letter of introduction to De Loo, the secretary of his

Highness. Armed with this, he went to Brussels and had an interview--as I

found, four days later--with the Prince. In consequence of the

representations of Norris, those of Signor Grafigni, and those by way of

Antwerp, his Highness determined to send me to England."

Burghley to Croft.--"Did you order your servant to speak with Andrea de

Loo?"

Croft.--"I cannot deny it."

Burghley.--"The fellow seems to have travelled a good way out of his

commission. His master sends him to buy horses, and he commences a

peace-negotiation between two kingdoms. It would be well he were

chastised. As regards the Antwerp matter, too, we have had many letters,

and I have, seen one from the Seigneur de Champagny, the same effect as

that of all the rest."

Walsingham.--"I see not to what end his Highness of Parma has sent Mr.

Bodman hither. The Prince avows that he hath no commission from Spain."

Bodman.--"His Highness was anxious to know what was her Majesty's

pleasure. So soon as that should be known, the Prince could obtain ample

authority. He would never have proceeded so far without meaning a good

end."

Walsingham.--"Very like. I dare say that his Highness will obtain the

commission. Meantime, as Prince of Parma, he writes these letters, and

assists his sovereign perhaps more than he doth ourselves."

Here the interview terminated. A few days later, Bodman had another

conversation with Burghley and Cobham. Reluctantly, at their urgent

request, he set down in writing all that he had said concerning his

mission.

The Lord Treasurer said that the Queen and her counsellors were "ready to

embrace peace when it was treated of sincerely." Meantime the Queen had

learned that the Prince had been sending letters to the cautionary towns

in Holland and Zeeland, stating that her Majesty was about to surrender

them to the King of Spain. These were tricks to make mischief, and were

very detrimental to the Queen.

Bodman replied that these were merely the idle stories of quidnuncs; and

that the Prince and all his counsellors were dealing with the utmost

sincerity.

Burghley answered that he had intercepted the very letters, and had them

in his possession.

A week afterwards, Bodman saw Walsingham alone, and was informed by him

that the Queen had written an answer to Parma's letter, and that

negotiations for the future were to be carried on in the usual form, or

not at all. Walsingham, having thus got the better of his rivals, and

delved below their mines, dismissed the agent with brief courtesy.

Afterwards the discomfited Mr. Comptroller wished a private interview

with Bodman. Bodman refused to speak with him except in presence of Lord

Cobham. This Croft refused. In the same way Bodman contrived to get rid,

as he said, of Lord Burghley and Lord Cobham, declining to speak with

either of them alone. Soon afterwards he returned to the Provinces!

The Queen's letter to Parma was somewhat caustic. It was obviously

composed through the inspiration of Walsingham rather than that of

Burghley. The letter, brought by a certain Grafigni and a certain Bodman,

she said, was a very strange one, and written under a delusion. It was a

very grave error, that, in her name, without her knowledge, contrary to

her disposition, and to the prejudice of her honour, such a person as

this Grafigni, or any one like him, should have the audacity to commence

such a business, as if she had, by messages to the Prince, sought a

treaty with his King, who had so often returned evil for her good.

Grafigni, after representing the contrary to his Highness, had now denied

in presence of her counsellors having received any commission from the

Queen. She also briefly gave the result of Bodman's interviews with

Burghley and the others, just narrated. That agent had intimated that

Parma would procure authority to treat for peace, if assured that the

Queen would lend her ear to any propositions.

She replied by referring to her published declarations, as showing her

powerful motives for interfering in these affairs. It was her purpose to

save her own realm and to rescue her ancient neighbours from misery and

from slavery. To this end she should still direct her actions,

notwithstanding the sinister rumours which had been spread that she was

inclined to peace before providing for the security and liberty of her

allies. She was determined never to separate their cause from her own.

Propositions tending to the security of herself and of her neighbours

would always be favourably received.

Parma, on his part, informed his master that there could be no doubt that

the Queen and the majority of her council abhorred the war, and that

already much had been gained by the fictitious negotiation.

Lord-Treasurer Burghley had been interposing endless delays and

difficulties in the way of every measure proposed for the relief of Lord

Leicester, and the assistance rendered him had been most lukewarm.

Meantime the Prince had been able, he said, to achieve much success in

the field, and the English had done nothing to prevent it. Since the

return of Grafigni and Bodman, however, it was obvious that the English

government had disowned these non-commissioned diplomatists. The whole

negotiation and all the negotiators were now discredited, but there was

no doubt that there had been a strong desire to treat, and great

disappointment at the result. Grafigni and Andrea de Loo had been

publishing everywhere in Antwerp that England would consider the peace as

made, so soon as his Majesty should be willing to accept any

propositions.

His Majesty, meanwhile, sat in his cabinet, without the slightest

intention of making or accepting any propositions save those that were

impossible. He smiled benignantly at his nephew's dissimulation and at

the good results which it had already produced. He approved of gaining

time, he said, by fictitious negotiations and by the use of a mercantile

agent; for, no doubt, such a course would prevent the proper succours

from being sent to the Earl of Leicester. If the English would hand over

to him the cautionary towns held by them in Holland and Zeeland, promise

no longer to infest the seas, the Indies, and the Isles, with their

corsairs, and guarantee the complete obedience to their King and

submission to the holy Catholic Church of the rebellious Provinces,

perhaps something might be done with them; but, on the whole, he was

inclined to think that they had been influenced by knavish and deceitful

motives from the beginning. He enjoined it upon Parma, therefore, to

proceed with equal knavery--taking care, however, not to injure his

reputation--and to enter into negotiations wherever occasion might serve,

in order to put the English off their guard and to keep back the

reinforcements so imperatively required by Leicester.

And the reinforcements were indeed kept back. Had Burghley and Croft been

in the pay of Philip II. they could hardly have served him better than

they had been doing by the course pursued. Here then is the explanation

of the shortcomings of the English government towards Leicester and the

States during the memorable spring and summer of 1586. No money, no

soldiers, when most important operations in the field were required. The

first general of the age was to be opposed by a man who had certainly

never gained many laurels as a military chieftain, but who was brave and

confident, and who, had he been faithfully supported by the government

which sent him to the Netherlands, would have had his antagonist at a

great disadvantage. Alexander had scarcely eight thousand effective men.

Famine, pestilence, poverty, mutiny, beset and almost paralyzed him.

Language could not exaggerate the absolute destitution of the country.

Only miracles could save the King's cause, as Farnese repeatedly

observed. A sharp vigorous campaign, heartily carried on against him by

Leicester and Hohenlo, with plenty of troops and money at command, would

have brought the heroic champion of Catholicism to the ground. He was

hemmed in upon all sides; he was cut off from the sea; he stood as it

were in a narrowing circle, surrounded by increasing dangers. His own

veterans, maddened by misery, stung by their King's ingratitude, naked,

starving, ferocious, were turning against him. Mucio, like his evil

genius, was spiriting away his supplies just as they were reaching his

hands; a threatening tempest seemed rolling up from France; the whole

population of the Provinces which he had "reconciled"--a million of

paupers--were crying to him for bread; great commercial cities, suddenly

blasted and converted into dens of thieves and beggars, were cursing the

royal author of their ruin, and uttering wild threats against his

vicegerent; there seemed, in truth, nothing left for Alexander but to

plunge headlong into destruction, when, lo! Mr. Comptroller Croft,

advancing out of the clouds, like a propitious divinity, disguised in the

garb of a foe--and the scene was changed.

The feeble old man, with his shufling, horse-trucking servant, ex-spy of

Monsieur, had accomplished more work for Philip and Alexander than many

regiments of Spaniards and Walloons could have done. The arm of Leicester

was paralyzed upon the very threshold of success. The picture of these

palace-intrigues has been presented with minute elaboration, because,

however petty and barren in appearance, they were in reality prolific of

grave results. A series of victories by Parma was substituted for the

possible triumphs of Elizabeth and the States.

The dissimulation of the Spanish court was fathomless. The secret

correspondence of the times reveals to us that its only purpose was to

deceive the Queen and her counsellors, and to gain time to prepare the

grand invasion of England and subjugation of Holland--that double purpose

which Philip could only abandon with life. There was never a thought, on

his part, of honest negotiation. On the other hand, the Queen was

sincere; Burghley and Hatton and Cobham were sincere; Croft was sincere,

so far as Spain was concerned. At least they had been sincere. In the

private and doleful dialogues between Bodman and Grafigni which we have

just been overhearing, these intriguers spoke the truth, for they could

have no wish to deceive each other, and no fear of eaves-droppers not to

be born till centuries afterwards. These conversations have revealed to

us that the Lord Treasurer and three of his colleagues had been secretly

doing their best to cripple Leicester, to stop the supplies for the

Netherlands, and to patch up a hurried and unsatisfactory, if not a

disgraceful peace; and this, with the concurrence of her Majesty. After

their plots had been discovered by the vigilant Secretary of State, there

was a disposition to discredit the humbler instruments in the cabal.

Elizabeth was not desirous of peace. Far from it. She was qualmish at the

very suggestion. Dire was her wrath against Bodman, De Loo, Graafigni,

and the rest, at their misrepresentations on the subject. But she would

"lend her ear." And that royal ear was lent, and almost fatal was the

distillment poured into its porches. The pith and marrow of the great

Netherland enterprise was sapped by the slow poison of the ill-timed

negotiation. The fruit of Drake's splendid triumphs in America was

blighted by it. The stout heart of the vainglorious but courageous

Leicester was sickened by it, while, meantime, the maturing of the great

armada-scheme, by which the destruction of England was to be

accomplished, was furthered, through the unlimited procrastination so

precious to the heart of Philip.

Fortunately the subtle Walsingham was there upon the watch to administer

the remedy before it was quite too late; and to him England and the

Netherlands were under lasting obligations. While Alexander and Philip

suspected a purpose on the part of the English government to deceive

them, they could not help observing that the Earl of Leicester was both

deserted and deceived. Yet it had been impossible for the peace-party in

the government wholly to conceal their designs, when such prating fellows

as Grafigni and De Loo were employed in what was intended to be a secret

negotiation. In vain did the friends of Leicester in the Netherlands

endeavour to account for the neglect with which he was treated, and for

the destitution of his army. Hopelessly did they attempt to counteract

those "advertisements of most fearful instance," as Richard Cavendish

expressed himself, which were circulating everywhere.

Thanks to the babbling of the very men, whose chief instructions had been

to hold their tongues, and to listen with all their ears, the secret

negotiations between Parma and the English counsellors became the

town-talk at Antwerp, the Hague, Amsterdam, Brussels, London. It is true

that it was impossible to know what was actually said and done; but that

there was something doing concerning which Leicester was not to be

informed was certain. Grafigni, during one of his visits to the obedient

provinces, brought a brace of greyhounds and a couple of horses from

England, as a present to Alexander, and he perpetually went about,

bragging to every one of important negotiations which he was conducting,

and of his intimacy with great personages in both countries. Leicester,

on the other hand, was kept in the dark. To him Grafigni made no

communications, but he once sent him a dish of plums, "which," said the

Earl, with superfluous energy, "I will boldly say to you, by the living

God, is all that I have ever had since I came into these countries." When

it is remembered that Leicester had spent many thousand pounds in the

Netherland cause, that he had deeply mortgaged his property in order to

provide more funds, that he had never received a penny of salary from the

Queen, that his soldiers were "ragged and torn like rogues-pity to see

them," and were left without the means of supporting life; that he had

been neglected, deceived, humiliated, until he was forced to describe

himself as a "forlorn man set upon a forlorn hope," it must be conceded

that Grafigni's present of a dish of plums could hardly be sufficient to

make him very happy.

From time to time he was enlightened by Sir Francis, who occasionally

forced his adversaries' hands, and who always faithfully informed the

Earl of everything he could discover. "We are so greedy of a peace, in

respect of the charges of the wars," he wrote in April, "as in the

procuring thereof we weigh neither honour nor safety. Somewhat here is

a dealing underhand, wherein there is great care taken that I should not

be made acquainted withal." But with all their great care, the

conspirators, as it has been seen, were sometimes outwitted by the

Secretary, and, when put to the blush, were forced to take him into

half-confidence. "Your Lordship may see," he wrote, after getting

possession of Parma's letter to the Queen, and unravelling Croft's

intrigues, "what effects are wrought by such weak ministers. They that

have been the employers of them are ashamed of the matter."

Unutterable was the amazement, as we have seen, of Bodman and Grafigni

when they had suddenly found themselves confronted in Burghley's private

apartments in Greenwich Palace, whither they had been conducted so

mysteriously after dark from the secret pavilion--by the grave Secretary

of State, whom they had been so anxious to deceive; and great was the

embarrassment of Croft and Cobham, and even of the imperturbable

Burghley.

And thus patiently did Walsingham pick his course, plummet in hand,

through the mists and along the quicksands, and faithfully did he hold

out signals to his comrade embarked on the same dangerous voyage. As for

the Earl himself, he was shocked at the short-sighted policy of his

mistress, mortified by the neglect to which he was exposed, disappointed

in his ambitious schemes. Vehemently and judiciously he insisted upon the

necessity of vigorous field operations throughout the spring and summer

thus frittered away in frivolous negotiations. He was for peace, if a

lasting and honourable peace could be procured; but he insisted that the

only road to such a result was through a "good sharp war." His troops were

mutinous for want of pay, so that he had been obliged to have a few of

them executed, although he protested that he would rather have "gone a

thousand miles a-foot" than have done so; and he was crippled by his

government at exactly the time when his great adversary's condition was

most forlorn. Was it strange that the proud Earl should be fretting his

heart away when such golden chances were eluding his grasp? He would

"creep upon the ground," he said, as far as his hands and knees would

carry him, to have a good peace for her Majesty, but his care was to have

a peace indeed, and not a show of it. It was the cue of Holland and

England to fight before they could expect to deal upon favourable terms

with their enemy. He was quick enough to see that his false colleagues at

home were playing into the enemy's hands. Victory was what was wanted;

victory the Earl pledged himself, if properly seconded, to obtain; and,

braggart though he was, it is by no means impossible that he might have

redeemed his pledge. "If her Majesty will use her advantage," he said,

"she shall bring the King, and especially this Prince of Parma, to seek

peace in other sort than by way of merchants." Of courage and confidence

the governor had no lack. Whether he was capable of outgeneralling

Alexander Farnese or no, will be better seen, perhaps, in subsequent

chapters; but there is no doubt that he was reasonable enough in

thinking, at that juncture, that a hard campaign rather than a

"merchant's brokerage" was required to obtain an honourable peace. Lofty,

indeed, was the scorn of the aristocratic Leicester that "merchants and

pedlars should be paltering in so weighty a cause," and daring to send

him a dish of plums when he was hoping half a dozen regiments from the

Queen; and a sorry business, in truth, the pedlars had made of it.

Never had there been a more delusive diplomacy, and it was natural that

the lieutenant-general abroad and the statesman at home should be sad and

indignant, seeing England drifting to utter shipwreck while pursuing that

phantom of a pacific haven. Had Walsingham and himself tampered with the

enemy, as some counsellors he could name had done, Leicester asserted

that the gallows would be thought too good for them; and yet he hoped he

might be hanged if the whole Spanish faction in England could procure for

the Queen a peace fit for her to accept.

Certainly it was quite impossible for the Spanish-faction to bring about

a peace. No human power could bring it about. Even if England had been

willing and able to surrender Holland, bound hand and foot, to Philip,

even then she could only have obtained a hollow armistice. Philip had

sworn in his inmost soul the conquest of England and the dethronement of

Elizabeth. His heart was fixed. It was only by the subjugation of England

that he hoped to recover the Netherlands. England was to be his

stepping-stone to Holland. The invasion was slowly but steadily maturing,

and nothing could have diverted the King from his great purpose. In the

very midst of all these plots and counterplots, Bodmans and Grafignis,

English geldings and Irish greyhounds, dishes of plums and autograph

letters of her Majesty and his Highness, the Prince was deliberately

discussing all the details of the invasion, which, as it was then hoped,

would be ready by the autumn of the year 1586. Although he had sent a

special agent to Philip, who was to state by word of mouth that which it

was deemed unsafe to write, yet Alexander, perpetually urged by his

master, went at last more fully into particulars than he had ever

ventured to do before; and this too at the very moment when Elizabeth was

most seriously "lending her ear" to negotiation, and most vehemently

expressing her wrath at Sir Thomas Heneage for dealing candidly with the

States-General.

The Prince observed that when, two or three years before, he had sent his

master an account of the coasts, anchoring-places, and harbours of

England, he had then expressed the opinion that the conquest of England

was an enterprise worthy of the grandeur and Christianity of his Majesty,

and not so difficult as to be considered altogether impossible. To make

himself absolutely master of the business, however, he had then thought

that the King should have no associates in the scheme, and should make no

account of the inhabitants of England. Since that time the project had

become more difficult of accomplishment, because it was now a stale and

common topic of conversation everywhere--in Italy, Germany, and

France--so that there could be little doubt that rumours on the subject

were daily reaching the ears of Queen Elizabeth and of every one in her

kingdom. Hence she had made a strict alliance with Sweden, Denmark, the

Protestant princes of Germany, and even with the Turks and the French.

Nevertheless, in spite of these obstacles, the King, placing his royal

hand to the work, might well accomplish the task; for the favour of the

Lord, whose cause it was, would be sure to give him success.

Being so Christian and Catholic a king, Philip naturally desired to

extend the area of the holy church, and to come to the relief of so many

poor innocent martyrs in England, crying aloud before the Lord for help.

Moreover Elizabeth had fomented rebellion in the King's Provinces for a

long time secretly, and now, since the fall of Antwerp, and just as

Holland and Zeeland were falling into his grasp, openly.

Thus, in secret and in public, she had done the very worst she could do;

and it was very clear that the Lord, for her sins; had deprived her of

understanding, in order that his Majesty might be the instrument of that

chastisement which she so fully deserved. A monarch of such great

prudence, valour, and talent as Philip, could now give all the world to

understand that those who dared to lose a just and decorous respect for

him, as this good lady had done, would receive such chastisement as royal

power guided by prudent counsel could inflict. Parma assured his

sovereign, that, if the conquest of England were effected, that of the

Netherlands would be finished with much facility and brevity; but that

otherwise, on account of the situation, strength and obstinacy of those

people, it would be a very long, perilous, and at best doubtful business.

"Three points," he said, "were most vital to the invasion of

England--secrecy, maintenance of the civil war in France, and judicious

arrangement of matters in the Provinces."

The French, if unoccupied at home, would be sure to make the enterprise

so dangerous as to become almost impossible; for it might be laid down as

a general maxim that that nation, jealous of Philip's power, had always

done and would always do what it could to counteract his purposes.

With regard to the Netherlands, it would be desirable to leave a good

number of troops in those countries--at least as many as were then

stationed there--besides the garrisons, and also to hold many German and

Swiss mercenaries in "wartgeld." It would be further desirable that

Alexander should take most of the personages of quality and sufficiency

in the Provinces over with him to England, in order that they should not

make mischief in his absence.

With regard to the point of secrecy, that was, in Parma's opinion, the

most important of all. All leagues must become more or less public,

particularly those contrived at or with Rome. Such being the case, the

Queen of England would be well aware of the Spanish projects, and,

besides her militia at home, would levy German infantry and cavalry, and

provide plenty of vessels, relying therein upon Holland and Zeeland,

where ships and sailors were in such abundance. Moreover, the English and

the Netherlanders knew the coasts, currents, tides, shallows, quicksands,

ports, better than did the pilots of any fleets that the King could send

thither. Thus, having his back assured, the enemy would meet them in

front at a disadvantage. Although, notwithstanding this inequality, the

enemy would be beaten, yet if the engagement should be warm, the

Spaniards would receive an amount of damage which could not fail to be

inconvenient, particularly as they would be obliged to land their troops,

and to give battle to those who would be watching their landing. Moreover

the English would be provided with cavalry, of which his Majesty's forces

would have very little, on account of the difficulty of its embarkation.

The obedient Netherlands would be the proper place in which to organize

the whole expedition. There the regiments could be filled up, provisions

collected, the best way of effecting the passage ascertained, and the

force largely increased without exciting suspicion; but with regard to

the fleet, there were no ports there capacious enough for large vessels.

Antwerp had ceased to be a seaport; but a large number of flat-bottomed

barges, hoys, and other barks, more suitable for transporting soldiers,

could be assembled in Dunkirk, Gravelines, and Newport, which, with some

five-and-twenty larger vessels, would be sufficient to accompany the

fleet.

The Queen, knowing that there were no large ships, nor ports to hold them

in the obedient Provinces, would be unauspicious, if no greater levies

seemed to be making than the exigencies of the Netherlands might

apparently require.

The flat-bottomed boats, drawing two or three feet of water, would be

more appropriate than ships of war drawing twenty feet. The passage

across, in favourable weather, might occupy from eight to twelve hours.

The number of troops for the invading force should be thirty thousand

infantry, besides five hundred light troopers, with saddles, bridles, and

lances, but without horses, because, in Alexander's opinion, it would be

easier to mount them in England. Of these thirty thousand there should be

six thousand Spaniards, six thousand Italians, six thousand Walloons,

nine thousand Germans, and three thousand Burgundians.

Much money would be required; at least three hundred thousand dollars the

month for the new force, besides the regular one hundred and fifty

thousand for the ordinary provision in the Netherlands; and this ordinary

provision would be more necessary than ever, because a mutiny breaking

forth in the time of the invasion would be destruction to the Spaniards

both in England and in the Provinces.

The most appropriate part of the coast for a landing would, in

Alexander's opinion, be between Dover and Margate, because the Spaniards,

having no footing in Holland and Zeeland, were obliged to make their

starting-point in Flanders. The country about Dover was described by

Parma as populous, well-wooded, and much divided by hedges; advantageous

for infantry, and not requiring a larger amount of cavalry than the small

force at his disposal, while the people there were domestic in their

habits, rich, and therefore less warlike, less trained to arms, and more

engrossed by their occupations and their comfortable ways of life.

Therefore, although some encounters would take place, yet after the

commanders of the invading troops had given distinct and clear orders, it

would be necessary to leave the rest in the "hands of God who governs

all things, and from whose bounty and mercy it was to be hoped that He

would favour a cause so eminently holy, just, and His own."

It would be necessary to make immediately for London, which city, not

being fortified, would be very easily taken. This point gained, the whole

framework of the business might be considered as well put together. If

the Queen should fly--as, being a woman, she probably would

do--everything would be left in such confusion, as, with the blessing of

God, it might soon be considered that the holy and heroic work had been

accomplished: Her Majesty, it was suggested, would probably make her

escape in a boat before she could be captured; but the conquest would be

nevertheless effected. Although, doubtless, some English troops might be

got together to return and try their fortune, yet it would be quite

useless; for the invaders would have already planted themselves upon the

soil, and then, by means of frequent excursions and forays hither and

thither about the island, all other places of importance would be gained,

and the prosperous and fortunate termination of the adventure assured.

As, however, everything was to be provided for, so, in case the secret

could not be preserved, it would be necessary for Philip, under pretext

of defending himself against the English and French corsairs, to send a

large armada to sea, as doubtless the Queen would take the same measure.

If the King should prefer, however, notwithstanding Alexander's advice to

the contrary, to have confederates in the enterprise,--then, the matter

being public, it would be necessary to prepare a larger and stronger

fleet than any which Elizabeth, with the assistance of her French and

Netherland allies, could oppose to him. That fleet should be well

provided with vast stores of provisions, sufficient to enable the

invading force, independently of forage, to occupy three or four places

in England at once, as the enemy would be able to come from various towns

and strong places to attack them.

As for the proper season for the expedition, it would be advisable to

select the month of October of the current year, because the English

barns would then be full of wheat and other forage, and the earth would

have been sown for the next year--points of such extreme importance, that

if the plan could not be executed at that time, it would be as well to

defer it until the following October.

The Prince recommended that the negotiations with the League should be

kept spinning, without allowing them to come to a definite conclusion;

because there would be no lack of difficulties perpetually offering

themselves, and the more intricate and involved the policy of France, the

better it would be for the interests of Spain. Alexander expressed the

utmost confidence that his Majesty, with his powerful arm, would overcome

all obstacles in the path of his great project, and would show the world

that he "could do a little more than what was possible." He also assured

his master, in adding in this most extravagant language, of his personal

devotion, that it was unnecessary for him to offer his services in this

particular enterprise, because, ever since his birth, he had dedicated

and consecrated himself to execute his royal commands.

He further advised that old Peter Ernest Mansfeld should be left

commander-in-chief of the forces in the Netherlands during his own

absence in England. "Mansfeld was an honourable cavalier," he said, "and

a faithful servant of the King;" and although somewhat ill-conditioned at

times, yet he had essential good qualities, and was the only general fit

to be trusted alone.

The reader, having thus been permitted to read the inmost thoughts of

Philip and Alexander, and to study their secret plans for conquering

England in October, while their frivolous yet mischievous negotiations

with the Queen had been going on from April to June, will be better able

than before to judge whether Leicester were right or no in doubting if a

good peace could be obtained by a "merchant's brokerage."

And now, after examining these pictures of inter-aulic politics and

back-stairs diplomacy, which represent so large and characteristic a

phasis of European history during the year 1586, we must throw a glance

at the external, more stirring, but not more significant public events

which were taking place during the same period.

ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS:

Could do a little more than what was possible

Elizabeth, though convicted, could always confute

He sat a great while at a time. He had a genius for sitting

Mistakes might occur from occasional deviations into sincerity

Nine syllables that which could be more forcibly expressed in on

They were always to deceive every one, upon every occasion

We mustn't tickle ourselves to make ourselves laugh

ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS OF THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED NETHERLANDS

1584-86

A hard bargain when both parties are losers

Able men should be by design and of purpose suppressed

Anarchy which was deemed inseparable from a non-regal form

College of "peace-makers," who wrangled more than all

Condemned first and inquired upon after

Could do a little more than what was possible

Courage and semblance of cheerfulness, with despair in his heart

Demanding peace and bread at any price

Diplomatic adroitness consists mainly in the power to deceive

Dismay of our friends and the gratification of our enemies

Disordered, and unknit state needs no shaking, but propping

Elizabeth, though convicted, could always confute

Enmity between Lutherans and Calvinists

Find our destruction in our immoderate desire for peace

German-Lutheran sixteenth-century idea of religious freedom

He sat a great while at a time. He had a genius for sitting

He did his work, but he had not his reward

Her teeth black, her bosom white and liberally exposed (Eliz.)

Hibernian mode of expressing himself

His inordinate arrogance

His insolence intolerable

Holland was afraid to give a part, although offering the whole

Honor good patriots, and to support them in venial errors

Humility which was but the cloak to his pride

Intentions of a government which did not know its own intentions

Intolerable tendency to puns

Longer they delay it, the less easy will they find it

Lord was better pleased with adverbs than nouns

Make sheep of yourselves, and the wolf will eat you

Matter that men may rather pray for than hope for

Military virtue in the support of an infamous cause

Mistakes might occur from occasional deviations into sincerity

Necessity of kingship

Neighbour's blazing roof was likely soon to fire their own

New Years Day in England, 11th January by the New Style

Nine syllables that which could be more forcibly expressed in on

Nor is the spirit of the age to be pleaded in defence

Not a friend of giving details larger than my ascertained facts

Not of the genus Reptilia, and could neither creep nor crouch

Not distinguished for their docility

Oration, fertile in rhetoric and barren in facts

Others that do nothing, do all, and have all the thanks

Pauper client who dreamed of justice at the hands of law

Peace and quietness is brought into a most dangerous estate

Peace-at-any-price party

Possible to do, only because we see that it has been done

Repentance, as usual, had come many hours too late

Repose in the other world, "Repos ailleurs"

Resolved thenceforth to adopt a system of ignorance

Round game of deception, in which nobody was deceived

Seeking protection for and against the people

Seem as if born to make the idea of royalty ridiculous

Shutting the stable-door when the steed is stolen

Soldiers enough to animate the good and terrify the bad

String of homely proverbs worthy of Sancho Panza

The very word toleration was to sound like an insult

The busy devil of petty economy

There was apathy where there should have been enthusiasm

They were always to deceive every one, upon every occasion

Thought that all was too little for him

Three hundred and upwards are hanged annually in London

Tis pity he is not an Englishman

To work, ever to work, was the primary law of his nature

Tranquillity rather of paralysis than of health

Twas pity, he said, that both should be heretics

Upper and lower millstones of royal wrath and loyal subserviency

Uttering of my choler doth little ease my grief or help my case

Wasting time fruitlessly is sharpening the knife for himself

We must all die once

We mustn't tickle ourselves to make ourselves laugh

Weary of place without power

When persons of merit suffer without cause

With something of feline and feminine duplicity

Wrath of bigots on both sides

Write so illegibly or express himself so awkwardly