| 2 Oct. |
64. The Same to the Same.
By the copies of what I wrote to the duchess of Parma on the
9th ultimo and the letters the ambassador Preyner and I wrote
to your Majesty on the 18th, (fn. 1) you will have learnt what is being done
in the matter of the Archduke, which I confess perplexes me much.
I can hardly venture to give an opinion on so important an affair,
and yet I dare not refrain from doing so for fear of failing in my
duty, and I feel I should be greatly to blame if the business were to
fall through in consequence of my silence. Your Majesty will
therefore be pleased to accept only what your enlightened judgment
will show you ought to be accepted of what I say, distinguishing
between the facts, which are all true, and the mere conjectures in
which I must confess I may be mistaken. I said in my letter of 18th
that I thought, if we saw the Queen determined in her wish to see
Archduke and circumstances seemed to show that she was in earnest,
that your Majesty should send him, and in the meanwhile he might
be got ready to start at once, if advice came from here to that effect
as it was well to prove to the Queen that the affair was being carried
on with goodwill, and at the same time to shorten the delay in concluding
it. As to advising his coming I perceive now I am not so
clear about it as I ought to be to give a decided opinion on a matter
of so much importance, and, on the other hand, if he does not come,
as the Queen wishes, it may give her an excuse for changing her mind
and either resolving not to marry at all or to make another match ;
in which case we should all be losers and your Majesty would miss
a great opportunity to serve God and the commonwealth, and at
the same to profit by events. Since the last letter to your Majesty,
Lady Sidney (fn. 2) told the Queen everything that had passed with me
and how she had given me hopes that this business would be carried
through, and had assured me that the only thing wanting was that
the Archduke should come, whereupon I had said that I had written
to your Majesty to that effect on her word alone. It seems the
Queen answered her that it was all well, and since things were at
this stage, she had better leave us alone for the present as she (the
Queen) wished to see what we should do. When I saw Lady Sidney
again she told me that she had been bidden to say no more than had
been said in this business, and she was obliged to obey, although she
was sorry for it, as she knew that if she might speak she could say
something that would please me ; but this must suffice. I might
be certain that what was necessary and would ensure success was
to satisfy the Queen as to the Archduke's coming and not to try to
draw her out any further, for we should never make her speak any
more clearly than hitherto. We should leave matters 28 they were
and not frighten the Queen about her need and the wars which were
to be made against her, as it distressed her, and she fancied that we
did so to draw her into the match by force. It appears that the
ambassador had recently spoken to her rather more plainly than she
liked. We have followed Lady Sidney's advice and have refrained
from going to Hampton Court. On Thursday, when the Queen came
to London, the ambassador went to accompany her, and I believe that
in the barge the Queen herself began to speak about the business to
him, and he will write to your Majesty what passed between them.
I think, however, she and he merely repeated the usual things,
although Preyner says she opened out more than hitherto, saying that
she thought she should be forced to marry. Preyner says that all
her endeavour was to find out something about the Archduke's coming,
of which he gave her no hope, unless she first signified her wish and
summoned him, as we have always urged, and she has always refused
to do. When she arrived I went on Saturday to inform her of the
King's arrival in Spain and speak on other matters. After finishing
my business I was about to take my leave when she began to talk
about the marriage, and told me how the ambassador had spoken
to her in the barge, and gave me a long history of what had passed
between them. I let her talk and quite understood that she would
have liked to know whether the Archduke was coming, which is the
only thing she thinks about.
After letting her talk as long as she liked, I said that I had
perhaps already gone further than I ought to have done in this
business as your Majesty had a man of your own here, but that I
knew that neither your Majesty nor the King my master would
regret any effort made to forward it, and therefore I would still give
her my frank opinion, which was that she remained in so exacting a
determination and was so very far from answering your Majesty's
request that no arrangement was possible. The desire of your
Majesty was to know whether she would marry the Archduke, and
her answer was that she did not want to marry him or anybody
else, and if she married at all it would only be to a man whom she
knew. In addition to this she said that she did not wish the
Archduke to come, by any means, as she did not wish to bind
herself even indirectly to marry him. I told her that if some
compromise could not be come to it was not worth while to lose
time over it. I thought the best way would be for her first to
premise that she had to be married, as she saw she could not avoid
it, and since she said she would not marry a man she did not know
that she should be pleased to let the Archduke come over for her to
see without her being bound more than she is at present, and that
your Majesty should be informed of this, so that if you decided to
send your son on these conditions it might be done without loss of
time. We were at this for a, long time wasting words, and at last
she said the following words to me, which I copy here that your
Majesty may the better consider them. She said, "Shall I speak
plainly and tell you the truth; I think that if the Emperor
so desires me for a daughter he would not be doing too much by
sending his son here without so many safeguards. I do not hold
myself of so small account that the Emperor need sacrifice any
dignity in doing it."
By these words and her manner of saying them I understood that
she made no difficulty as to the conclusion of the business, but only
in the procedure to bring it about. They think we are treating
the matter punctiliously with her, and that your Majesty wishes
your son to be supplicated and summoned, which she said she would
never do ; she would rather die a thousand deaths. She says it is
not fit for a queen and a maiden to summon anyone to marry her
for her pleasure, and Lady Sidney has said the same thing to me
many times. Seeing this, and that she made no difficulty about
the substance, I thought we need not make any about the rest, and
I told her that if this was the only difficulty I thought none would
be raised by your Majesty in sending your son hither, but that
your Majesty could not guess that she wished to negotiate in this
way, and as the coming of the Archduke might displease her, it was
necessary that your Majesty should be satisfied as to her wishes on
the point. She answered that no one would ever know them from
her, except by asking and proposing it to her in your Majesty's
name. At first I appeared pleased at this contention, and then said
be it so, and that in the name of your Majesty I proposed to her
whether she would be pleased to allow the Archduke to come and
see her without any obligation on her to marry him. She asked
whether your ambassador or I was commissioned to propose this.
I said that if I told her we were so commissioned she would know
that I was not telling the truth, as she was aware that nothing had
ever been said to us about the visit until now, that some of her
household recommended it to me. She thought I was going to tell
her about Lady Sidney's conversation, and drew back a little as if
surprised ; but as I saw that she did not wish to be approached on
that side I said, and repeated, that your Majesty had never understood
that it would be a good way to negotiate to send your son to
be married in a quarter where the only answer ever vouchsafed was
that there was no idea of marrying at all. Now, however, that it
is understood that the visit may he convenient and advantageous
he perhaps would be sent, and, with this end, I begged her to tell
ine whether she would be pleased that he should come. She smiled
and said that she prevented no one from coming to her realm, and
I replied that that was not the kind of license I craved, for even
Turks could come in that manner, but that I wanted to know
whether she would be pleased for him to come and see her as
a suitor for her hand. She answered I that she could give no
reply to that unless it was asked in your Majesty's name.
I saw this was only vanity, and being desirous to obtain
a reply, I said that as she did not wish to reply to this except it
came in your Majesty's name, which she saw could not be done at
present, it occurred to me (o put the question in the name of the
King my master, who as a friend and kinsman of both parties would
be glad to know her wishes in order to be able to advise your
Majesty on the matter. She was pleased at this expedient, and,
after expressing some regret that your Majesty should desire her so
little as to need persuasion before condescending to send your son
hither, she told me that she would be glad for the Archduke to
come, and asked me what languages he spoke. We chatted on the
subject very pleasantly for some time and in a vastly different mood
from her other conversations about her not wishing to marry. So
much so that I told her that if it were not that I feared to arouse
the suspicion of those present I would kiss her hand for such a
gracious answer, and then, to draw her out still further, I asked
her whether she thought the Archduke should come publicly or
secretly, as we wished to do nothing displeasing to her. She drew
back again at this and said she did not wish to be pressed anymore ;
he should do as he thought fit, and she did not want to Jpow anything
about his coming. I said I thought it would be better for him
to come privately, as I knew that was what she wished, and she
replied that she hoped to God that no evil would befall him coming
in this way. During this conversation she reminded me that we
were to agree that she was not to be bound to marry the Archduke
if he came and knowing that this was only dissimulation and that
she really means to marry him, as I think, for otherwise she would
never consent to his coming which she has always refused hitherto,
I agreed to this condition, and said all should be as she wished, and
I was sure the Archduke would suffer no loss of dignity by coming
to see her Majesty even though she might not marry him. I did not
throw any doubt upon his coming as I knew it would vex her, and,
because your Majesty is not bound in any way by what I proposed,
which was all conditional on your Majesty's will and was done in the
name of the King my master as intermediary. What I have aimed
at in these conversations is to show her that I understood her, and I
said I conceded at once the condition she imposed, because I knew
that the condition would become unnecessary as soon as she saw the
Archduke with whom she would certainly be satisfied, and whom she
would not allow to go out of England again. Sometimes she was
silent at this way of talking, but when I pressed her much she
seemed frightened and protested again and again that she was not
to be bound, and that she was not resolved yet whether she should
marry ; but this was after we had agreed about the Archduke's visit.
At length, to give me to understand that she was serious in her
demand, she repeated what we had agreed upon in order that I
should put it in writing, and when I took this as a joke she said
she would not trust me as she knew I was deceiving her, and she
would write to the King herself that he might bear witness that she
would bind herself to nothing and had not asked the Archduke to
come. I thereupon kissed her hand and told her I was glad that
this account would not depend upon my recollection, and I should be
quite easy with what she wrote. I expect she will write these
protes'ations very seriously, but her letter must be explained jointly
with mine, and her words need not cause any alarm as they are
certainly nothing but ceremony. I might easily be deceived myself,
but I do not believe that Lady Sidney and Lord Robert could be
mistaken, and the latter says he never thought the Queen would go
so far.
This is the actual state of the affair, and your Majesty, as is
fitting, will decide the course to be pursued with all the prudence,
consideration, and counsel which the importance of the business
demands. I know full well how unnecessary and inadequate I am,
but as I cannot keep silent altogether I will give my own opinion as
a help to others. I premise that we have to depend principally not
on the Queen's words but upon her great necessity, and, although
she may boast, as she always does whenever I speak to her, she is
really in grave fear as she sees the French increasing their army in
Scotland, and the Catholics here more steadfast and discontented
than ever ; and she understands that she is not safe against conspiracy,
her own people having tried to kill her Master-of the-horse,
and even, it is said, endeavoured to poison her. For these several
reasons it is known that she is determined to marry, and will
do so before Christmas according to the general opinion ; indeed,
she told me herself that the people were troubling her about it so
constantly that it was impossible for her to avoid satisfying them.
The necessity being admitted for her to marry, and to marry wisely,
there can be no doubt that she has not consented to receive the
Archduke for the purpose of refusing him and offending your
Majesty and the King my master, as well as injuring herself, as she
certainly would do, notwithstanding anything she may say. It can
hardly be believed, moreover, that if she did not mean to marry she
would condescend to such vanity as to bring a son of your Majesty
here to no purpose. I therefore say that as the necessity is evident,
and she is doing now what she never would do before in allowing
the Archduke to come, she is receiving him for the purpose of
marrying him, and your Majesty may well send him on this
conjecture for, although it is no more than a conjecture, the
circumstances are such as to make it a manifest demonstration.
If it is objected that on these premises she would marry the Archduke
without seeing him, I can only answer that in pure reason
that is so, but, as she is a woman, and a spirited and obstinate
woman too, passion has to be considered, and I have heard her
speak of the matter so determinedly that I am afraid she might
take into her head to marry a son of the king of Sweden, or some
other heretic, which is exactly what the people around her advise
her to do. She is, in short, only a passionate ill-advised woman,
and withal, taking into consideration the objections to the Archduke's
visit and those which weigh on the other side, I think that
his Highness's coming has much less objection than his staying
away, as his coming would involve no loss of life, danger to
property, nor sacrifice of dignity, the enterprise being such an
honourable and worthy one, directed as it is towards the profit of
religion and the welfare of the commonwealth, together with the
preservation of peace, and the aggrandisement of your Majesty's
house.
His failure to come, on the other hand, would be evidently
followed by his losing this woman, and with her, all the advantages
which I have recounted, as I am certain she will not marry the
Archduke without seeing him.
Your Majesty will bear in mind that this is not the first marriage
that has been effected in this way between princes of the first rank,
and that your Majesty's honour is not at stake, even if this repulse
were offered, which I do not anticipate, as there are plenty of
people, both in and out of England, who would say that the
business was broken off by us. I am therefore of opinion that your
Majesty should be pleased to send the Archduke with your blessing
and the protection of the Almighty, in whose service I am sure you
would not hesitate to send him to a war or battle where the peril to
life and reputation would be much greater than in this enterprise.
It might be said that he came to see his sister, the duchess of
Blenes, and pass Christmas with her, and if this business do not
turn out well he could return there and decide what course to take
as circumstances might dictate. If he should come your Majesty
might send with him some persons suitable to intervene in the
conclusion of the marriage and advise his Highness day by day.
—From London, &c.
Having written thus far and decided to await the letter the
Queen was to send me for the King my master, secretary Cecil
sent to say that if I wanted the letter I was to go and see the Queen
to day at two. I did so and found her with the letter in her hand
very merry. She read it to me and I send your Majesty a copy.
She then spoke for some time about the letter and gave me to
understand that she was still undecided about the business, but
afterwards passed to other matters very different from the uncertainty
which she would like to persuade us she feels. She asked
me whether your Majesty would be angry with her if the Archduke
were to return home unmarried, and I answered that your Majesty
would not be angry with anyone so long as the agreement was not
broken, although you would regret such an issue of the business ;
whereupon she said God forbid that she should offer such a slight to
a house with which her ancestors had so close a friendship, and she
said besides that she knew that this was the best marriage in
christendom for her, and I might be sure she would only take the
best. She asked me several times whether I thought your Majesty
would let the Archduke come, and I told her I thought you would,
and that she would marry him in less than two months, notwithstanding
her protestations ; to which she replied that she did not
know. Sometimes again, she said it might be so, but she was not
decided one way or the other : in short, if I were to tell your
Majesty that I considered the business otherwise than certain, I
should be going against my conscience. She wanted to know where
we were going to lodge his Highness when please God he should
arrive. I said here in my house until she received him in hers, which
would not be long first. At last, catching her off her guard, I think
I discover that she is really as much set on this marriage as your
Majesty is, and I believe that she is keeping up this suspense in
order that the Archduke may think she accepts him because she has
seen him, and not that she sees him because she has accepted him,
and so to make his Highness understand that it is to her and no one
else that he is indebted for the marriage and the kingdom. She
doubtless also wishes the King my master to write again begging her
to be pleased to accept the match, which I hope his Majesty will do.
She had altered and added much to what we agreed on Saturday
should be written .... After taking leave of her
I spoke to Cecil and having listened to him for some time and seeing
that he was beating about the bush I begged that we might speak
plainly to each other as I was neither blind nor deaf and could easily
perceive that the Queen was not taking this step to refuse her consent
after all. He swore that he did not know and could not assure me.
We passed from this to talk of the affairs of the country, and he
confessed that they knew that if the Queen did not marry they
could not avoid ruin, and he displayed the fear they have of the
French, and how they know of the arrival of Hans Guillem to raise
troops in Germany and the preparations they are making in France
for the enterprise as well as the small hopes these people have of
the disturbances in Scotland. He said that the French, in order to
impede the marriage with the Archduke, had offered great alliances
and friendship to the king of Sweden if the match with his son
could be brought about ; and they well understand that this is only
to alienate the Queen from her connexion and friendship with the
king (Philip) and thus for the French to be able to invade the
country more easily. The conversation ended by his saying that
he hoped, in view of all this, that our business would be settled, and
promised sincerely to give all his help, in return for which I assured
him of the entire favour of the King my master and the Archduke.
He said the Queen hoped the King would not abandon her in this
strait, and I told him that if this marriage were brought about I
was sure that the King would not only renew the alliance and
unity with this country, but would do more than was expected,
as the Archduke was his first cousin, to which he replied that if
this were so he was sure the king of France would not at present
attempt the conquest of the country, as both my King and your
Majesty would defend it, which I admitted, always on condition
that the marriage was effected, but keeping silence when this
condition was not mentioned. He told me also that the Queen was
sending large forces to the frontier of Scotland, and that a great
fleet was being collected ; but all this with so little spirit and in
such a manner that it is clear they are much alarmed. This is
what has happened to-day, and I therefore add it to my letter, as
it confirms my former opinion, and I think that your Majesty
should by no means fail to send the archduke. Frederico Coloredo,
your Majesty's servant who bears this is acquainted with much
that has passed in this business. He is an honest and prudent lad,
and can tell your Majesty many things which I do not write, in
order not to make this letter too long. I have written it in such
minute detail because Preyner will not write anything of these two
interviews, and it is precisely on what passed at them that your
Majesty will have to form your judgment. I wrote to the ambassador
Vargas, at Rome, that he must take care the French do not get at
the new Pope and cause him to proceed against the Queen (Elizabeth)
on the Scotch queen's claims. It would do much damage both here
and elsewhere before the marriage. They will not venture to talk
about it afterwards. |
| 29 Oct. |
70. Bishop Quadra to the Count De Feria.
Many many thanks for the kindness and condescension shown to
me in your letter of 14th instant, for which I am especially thankful,
as I see your annoyance at the troubles of your poor people is
sufficiently mitigated for you to write about them. God knows that
my own vexation has been more caused by the knowledge that you
were in trouble about us than by the evil itself, although in good
truth the joke has been a bitter one for me, and I do not know how
I shall come out of it. I should rejoice to know that the affairs of
the Archbishops and good Friar Juan was not graver than mine. I
cannot understand, knowing them as I do, how they can have done
anything to deserve their bad treatment.
I have sent to the father confessor (fn. 4) the letters written to me by
some of the godly men here deploring the degradation of these good
friars that he may see the effect that this business has had on
matters here. I do not suppose that the letters will have much
influence, but at all events I console myself with the knowledge
that affairs here are going on better, in the devil's despite, as these
catholics are firmer than ever, and the heretics are fighting so much
amongst themselves that they have no time to scoff at the way we
catholics are persecuting one another.
Bedford attacked Cecil the other day about the crucifix, and the
Queen also insulted him for some other cause unknown to me. The
heretic Bishops are grumbling to her about their revenues, and are
beginning to preach against her ; in fact, if I were tc tell you all
that is going on I should never finish. The harvest is ripe if there
were someone to come and reap it, but I can see no hope of that
except from heaven. Your Lordship's opinion with regard to the
Queen's marriage would hold good in the case of a woman of brains
and conscience with which this one is not troubled, but, as it is, I
think she either will not marry, or, if she do, it will only be
because she has brought the Archduke here and likes him. Her
need cannot be greater than it is, nor does it suit us that it should
be so, as that would mean an appeal to arms, which I believe His
Majesty does not desire. The best feature in the match with the
Archduke is that the French would retire from the business, and the
minds of catholics and heretics would calm down, as both would
think he would favour their side. In this respect all the heretics
are quite content that he should be a catholic so long as he leaves
them at liberty, and I feel sure the Queen would do the same, as
she is certainly tired of the vapourings she gave way to at first. It
will be well for your Lordship to urge the coming of the Archduke,
as it is most important, and the ambassador is sending one of his
gentlemen to the Emperor to press it. The freedom of these
blackguards annoys me beyond measure, as the Queen says the
most extraordinary things, and I always have a retort for every
word which greatly offends but does not frighten her, whereas I
should like to follow an exactly contrary course, first making much
of her, and then give her some gall syrup in the form of news of
leagues against her which she fears most.
Here we are, ten or twelve ambassadors, competing for her favour,
and now they say the duke of Holstein, brother of the king of
Denmark, is coming, and, as they tell me, not a worse-looking man
than the Archduke. The King of Sweden's son, who is here, is fit
to kill the Emperor's ambassador, because he said his father was
only a clown who had stolen his kingdom from the crown of
Denmark, and the matter has reached such a point that the Queen
is careful they should not meet in the palace to avoid their slashing
each other in her presence. To crown it all they are making
mischief with me about it.
The other day when Pickering was going into the chapel, which
is inside the Queen's apartments, the earl of Arundel came to the
door and told him he knew very well that that was a place for
lords, and he must go to the presence chamber. The other
answered that he knew that, and he also knew that Arundel was
an impudent discourteous knave, which the earl heard, and went
out without answering a word, leaving the other to enter.
Pickering tells it in public and refrains from challenging him as
he holds him of small account, but it is only right that he should
refrain as the other is very weak.
Lord Robert will ask for license for another six months for the
Countess' grandmother, as Lady Sidney says he will do it better than
she. If the Queen will not give it I will ask for it in a way that
will not fail to be serviceable, as I am now able to do (fn. 5)
as I like with the Queen more than formerly, since she sees that
all clergymen are not sheep like those of her own country. I
will also ask the Admiral and Robert for the dogs, and will send
them as soon as I can.
A thousand thanks for good offices with the Duchess of Parma.
God grant they may not forget to pluck me out of the trouble
in which they have placed me.
There is much talk of the present made by the Queen of Bohemia
to my lady the Countess. The ladies of the palace here are very
humble and civil, which is more than their mistress is. Congratulations
on the birth of Don Lorenzo, who they tell me is a brave
boy. I write to the bishop of Arras on Irish affairs, which are
more important than we think.—London, 29th October 1559. |