| 23 Feb. |
123. The Same to the Same.
On the 22nd ultimo I informed your Majesty of Henry Sidney's
interview with me in Lord Robert's business, and I have delayed
giving them an answer about it because they, on their side, have
delayed addressing me further on the matter, the cause of this being,
as far as I can learn, that the Queen does not commend her affairs
to your Majesty out of any wish or good will of her own, but forced
thereto by the persuasion of Lord Robert, who knows the peril in
which they stand, and sees clearly that, without the favour of your
Majesty, they can hardly ensure themselves against a rising in the
country, or suppress one should it occur. I believe the Queen would,
nevertheless, have done ere this as Robert urges her if it had not
been for the interference of Paget, who, knowing her humour, has
advised her to hold her hand until she can make a firm peace and
alliance with France, when she could treat with your Majesty more
advantageously. This has been the reason for her having changed
her mind about sending Peter Mewtys, who was to have gone to
France simply with a message of condolence for the death of the
King, and she has now decided to send the earl of Bedford with
instructions to ask for the ratification of the peace, and, when this
has been obtained, to endeavour to bring about a good understanding
and alliance with Vendôme and the heretics of the French court.
I do not know what will come of this, but Guido Cavalcanti, who
left Paris on the 15th with a despatch from the earl, says that he
expects that this time the misunderstandings between the French
and the Queen will be ended for ever. These transactions have
thus delayed the affair about which Sidney spoke to me at the
instance of Lord Robert, and as he (Sidney) believes, with the
connivance of the Queen. Finally, however, on the 13th, Robert
and I met in the presence of Sidney, and, after he had repeated all
that Sidney had told me, and thanked me with a great many compliments
and humble words for the answer I had sent, he besought
me, in your Majesty's name, to recommend the Queen to marry him,
and he would promise to render your Majesty all the service his
brother-in-law had told me, and very much more. I answered him,
that as your Majesty had had no information on this subject until
now, you had not had an opportunity of giving me instructions with
regard to it ; so that I could not address the Queen in your Majesty's
name without grave error, but what I could and would do with
great pleasure was to act under my previous instructions and
request the Queen to make up her mind to marry and settle the
succession, and, if during the conversation any particular person
should be discussed, I would speak of him (Lord Robert) as
favourably as he could wish, and I would venture to do this
for him, knowing the affection and good will your Majesty has
always borne him. He seemed very well satisfied with this, as he
must have expected that I should not answer him in this way,
and he begged me to speak to the Queen at once. I did so two days
afterwards, and told her she already knew how much your Majesty
wished to see her married and her Government firmly and tranquilly
established, and the various efforts you had made to that end, and
that as I now heard that the matter was under discussion, I could
not refrain from expressing to her my pleasure thereat. I also said
that whenever she thought necessary to consult your Majesty on the
subject I would use all diligence to carry out what was entrusted to
me, and if on this occasion I did not particularize more clearly, it
was because I had no special orders from your Majesty who had not
been informed of what was passing. After much circumlocution
she said she wished to confess to me and tell me her secret in
confession, which was that she was no angel, and did not deny that
she had some affection for Lord Robert for the many good qualities
he possessed, but she certainly had never decided to marry him or
anyone else, although she daily saw more clearly the necessity for
her marriage, and to satisfy the English humour that it was desirable
that she should marry an Englishman, and she asked me to tell her
what your Majesty would think if she married one of her servitors
as the duchess of Suffolk (fn. 1) and the duchess of Somerset (fn. 2) had done. I
told her I could not say what your Majesty would think, as I did
not know and had not thought of asking, but that I promised her I
would use all diligence to learn as soon as she told me to write to
your Majesty about it, and I quite believed that your Majesty would
be pleased to hear of her marriage with whomever it might be as it
was so important to her and her kingdom, and I also knew that
your Majesty would be happy to hear of the advancement and
aggrandizement of Lord Robert, as I understand that your Majesty
had great affection for him and held him in high esteem. She
seemed as pleased at this as her position allowed her to be. She
told me when the time arrived she would speak to me, and promised
me to do nothing without the advice and countenance of your
Majesty. I did not care to carry the matter further for fear of
making a mistake, although she would have been glad to have done
so. I had no instruction from your Majesty on the subject, and I
did not wish, knowing her character, to refuse to give her this little
pleasure and hope for fear otherwise that she might be impelled to
rush into some foolish course, seeing that she is so infatuated, and
the heretics of Germany, France, and Scotland are busy here with
their insolence and their combinations, and above all because your
Majesty's neighbouring States are so pressed that a froward decision
of this woman might prejudice them, although she herself might
be ruined by it. Robert came the next day to thank me and
repeated to me all the details of what I had said to the Queen,
who, he told me, was much pleased, and he begged me in the
next interview to revert to the subject as he knew that it was
only fear and timidity that prevented the Queen from deciding.
He again made me great promises and assured me that everything
should be placed in your Majesty's hands and even as regarded
religion if the sending of a representative to the Concilio did not
suffice he would go himself. I again repeated to him that I would
do everything I could, as indeed I had done, to forward his suit, so
far as was justified by your Majesty's commission to me, but with
regard to religion I begged him not to speak to me about it on any
account as that should not be dependent upon other matters,
and what he and the Queen did about it did not concern your
Majesty but their own conscience. It was true, I said, that as a prince
who is Catholic both in style, and in fact nothing would give your
Majesty greater pleasure than to see the end of these divisions and
dissensions in religion. I am thus cautious with these people because
if they are playing false, which is quite possible, I do not wish to
give them the opportunity of saying that we offered them your
Majesty's favour in return for their changing their religion, as they
say other similar things to make your Majesty disliked by the heretics
here and in Germany. If they are acting straightforwardly, a word
from your Majesty in due time will do more than I can now do with
many. Your Majesty knows these people and the individuals, and
has learnt from my letters and Dr. Turner's statements in Flanders
the real state of affairs here. I therefore beg that your Majesty
may be pleased to send me orders as to what I should do, and I
cannot refrain from saying that for reasons which are notoriously
in your Majesty's interest affairs here must be mended one way or
another, and this can be more easily done now than at any other time
either by your Majesty showing favour to Robert and bringing him
to some terms advantageous for your Majesty's objects and the
stability of the country or else by protecting their opponents
and helping them against these people who have been such bad
neighbours to your Majesty and who will every day become worse.
To let these affairs drift at the mercy of chance neither secures nor
punishes and cannot fail to produce evil disservice to your Majesty.
If in saying this I trangress the bounds of my duty I crave your
Majesty's pardon for allowing my zeal to make me forget my
prudence. I am not alone in my opinion, as this is the universal
theme of all the goodly people in the kingdom and all who wish for
your Majesty's advantage.
The duke of Norfolk is on very bad terms with the Queen, and
Lord Robert sent word to him the other day that he had heard that
the Duke's servants were declaring that he was Robert's enemy, and
he wished to know whether this was true, and if it were not that
the servants should be punished. The duke sent a gentleman of his
household named Nicholas Stranger with his excuses, and the affair
has been patched up, but there is no certainty that some trouble may
not arise from it. It appears to me that the Queen is angry with
him (Norfolk) alone and is determined to humble him when she can ;
and indeed she gave me to understand as much herself without
naming the duke. He on his side is full of boasts, although I do
know how it will turn out when he has to carry them into effect.
Lady Margaret Lennox is trying to marry her son Lord Darnley to
the queen of Scotland, and I understand she is not without hope of
succeeding. The Parliament in Scotland has decided to recommend the
Queen to marry the earl of Arran, and if she will not do so to withhold
from her the government of the kingdom. The earl of Huntly and
others opposed this and things are in great confusion. They only agree
about destroying religion which they have completely abolished.
Monsieur de Noailles who was here as ambassador arrived here on
his way to Scotland to try to pacity and reconcile them to the union
with the French as before.
Seurre awaits the arrival of another ambassador owing to the
change of government in France. The Queen does not cease to
provide herself with ships, and is now building some new ones. She
has given all the churches of the imprisoned bishops to the greatest
heretics, which is a very bad sign for the fulfilment of Lord Robert's
promises, although these people are so artful and prone to crooked
courses that it is quite likely that they do this to please the heretic
party whilst they think to satisfy the Catholics by what they are
discussing with me, which is known already in London and is much
talked of. I cannot prevent this as it appears best for me to keep
them off their guard and not to let them think that anything is being
arranged against their interests so as to avoid their being urged into
inopportune action, as I have said. I am doing the best I can with
the Catholics, but it is time for me to know into what direction your
Majesty wishes matters here to be guided if you may be pleased still
to employ me in them.
Lord Morley, the son-in-law of the earl of Derby, sends a brother of
his to your Majesty to serve in the war, whenever it may be, and has
obtained the Queen's license for three years to that effect. The youth
is of good parts, and his brother is one of the best and most Catholic
gentlemen of this kingdom and much attached to your Majesty's
service. He has another brother a clergyman studying in Paris, a
stanch catholic, as they all are. He asked me for a letter of
recommendation, and I crave your Majesty's pardon for having
presumed to give it and for informing your Majesty about them now
for your Majesty's guidance.—23rd February 1561. |