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| 7 Sept. |
276. Guerau De Spes to the King.
In former letters I have reported the arrival and dealings of
M. de Foix who left here yesterday afternoon on his return to the
King, carrying with him presents of plate to the value of thirteen
hundred crowns and loaded with fine promises. From what I can
learn of the decision he bears, it seems that the Queen insists that
the duke of Anjou should not exercise the Catholic religion at all
here, and they cast the blame upon the ambassador Walsingham if
he has been promised otherwise. Foix might well be sure that the
intention of the Queen is not to carry the marriage into effect,
excepting under the most urgent necessity, but that her real aim is
to gradually bring the French into the offensive and defensive
league in which many of the German princes and the duke of
Florence are said to have joined. By this means and with the
help of the adherents they think they have in the Netherlands,
they believe they can trouble the States greatly, and gradually
bring the Christian King round almost entirely to Protestantism.
They depend greatly upon the present Council in France, which
they see now consists largely of people of their way of thinking
as indeed it would appear, seeing how they have abandoned the
queen of Scotland and her interests. The better to carry all this
through, Lord Burleigh is going to France, and it is said will
depart as soon as Foix's report is received from there. In the
meanwhile Killigrew will go to help Walsingham in the business,
and Burleigh will be accompanied by Guido Cavalcanti.
It lately happened that some money which was being forwarded
to Scotland by a secretary of the duke of Norfolk was captured, as
your Majesty will see in detail by the enclosed statement. The
secretary is now in the Tower, and his master more closely guarded.
It is said that some of the Councillors are coming to take his
declaration. If they put him in the Tower it will somewhat hinder.
matters, especially now that the second son of the earl of Derby is
there ; but the Catholics are many though the leaders are few, and
Lord Burleigh with his terrible fury, has greatly harrassed and
dismayed them, for they are afraid even of speaking to each other.
The whole affair depends upon getting arms into their hands and
giving them somebody who shall direct them what to do, though
the Protestants have as many good leaders in warlike affairs as the
Catholics. The great confidence of the Protestants is that the
French will come to their protection, and that between one and
another they will be able artfully to contemporise without making
restitution whilst they molest the Netherlands and keep their sea
infested with pirates until the formation of a league allows them to
undertake a war.
The Scots suspect that M. de Foix has been making mischief
about the duke of Norfolk's affair, although La Mothe appears now
to be favourable.
George Fitzwilliams has just arrived, and Hawkins writes me
from Plymouth that he will be here presently. Fitzwilliams
thought that I had already received instructions from your
Majesty as to what was to be done in this business, and he expects
that the instructions will shortly arrive. In the meanwhile I have
told him to go to Lord Burleigh to get permission to visit the
queen of Scotland, in order to endeavour to obtain the release
through her of the imprisoned Englishmen (in Spain), and he is
also to ask Cecil for leave to negotiate with me on the subject. I
have advised the duke of Alba of this immediately, so that he may
know what is passing.
M. de Lumbres is in Dover with seven ships, and he and the
rest of them are preparing to continue ther robberies.
A servant of mine has just come in saying that he has met the
duke of Norfolk in the street being taken to the Tower with two
or three gentlemen guarding him secretly,—London, 7th September
1571. |
| 9 Sept. |
277. Guerau De Spes to the King.
By my last letter your Majesty will have learnt that they have
lodged the duke of Norfolk in the Tower, and although he was
taken without a regular guard and at an unexpected hour, the
concourse of people was so large and the shouts so general that a
very little more and he would have been liberated, although he was
very gay. It may well happen that this popularity of his amongst
the common people may be of little advantage to him with the
Queen.
He has two secretaries of his in the Tower with him, and
Mr. Douglas, a Scotsman, was taken yesterday, and interrogated
about these moneys which were being sent to Scotland, but as he
did not reply to their liking they liberated him. The Florentine
ambassador has been twice questioned about it. The fact is all
England is much disturbed. Some suspicion exists that Foix
advised the Queen to make sure for the present of the Duke,
although M. de la Mothe makes great professions to the contrary,
but the Scots are well informed in the matter. The French, or the
duke of Florence, have given some information to this Queen about
the objects with which Roberto Ridolfi went to Rome, as she
remarked that she knew that the duke of Alba had sent to his
Holiness a list of those who are on his side or on that of the duke
of Norfolk. When Thomas Fiesco was taking leave of her recently
she also said something about it, and although it is not credible that
the duke of Florence should have mixed himself up in the business,
still, after Ridolfi left Florence on his way to Spain, a Florentine
named Burgiam Tadei (sic), who is established in Calais, left
Florence by post for London, he not being a man who could afford
such an expense, and on his arrival here he had a conference with
Lord Buckhurst, who went to France for this Queen, and is consequently
well versed in these affairs. M. de Foix was also accompanied
hither by another Florentine named Alfonso Dalbene. It
would be well to learn from Ridolfi if he mentioned anything
about this list to the duke of Florence, or whether any hint has
come from there (Madrid) or from Rome about the French or the
Duke having sent such a report to the Queen.
There was a skirmish recently in Scotland favourable for the
Queen's party, and under colour of this M. de Verac, the French
ambassador, has been released, as well as the Scotch lord Hume.
They entered the castle of Edinburgh, but, both sides being pressed,
a truce was afterwards agreed to.
Your Majesty will learn from the duke of Alba the settlement
which Thomas Fiesco was able to make with the commissioners.
This was the best which could be done for the present, and it will
be well to put into execution promptly.
Fitzwilliams has gone to Court, but he will find it difficult now
to obtain leave to go to the queen of Scotland.—London, 9th
September 1571. |
| 14 Sept. |
278. The King to Guerau De Spes.
Your letters of 28th July and 8th and 18th of August were
received on the 7th instant, and Zayas has also told us what you
have written to him. You did well in giving us full reports, and
particularly as regards the good heart and firmness with which the
duke of Norfolk and the queen of Scotland's friends continue.
Nevertheless we approve of your not having given them Ridolfi's
letters, or telling them that you had them, such being the duke of
Alba's orders. This course was the best for my service and the
successful conduct of the business, all details being left to the Duke
for him to arrange with the zeal, devotion, and prudence which we
are sure will enable him to carry it to a good issue. We again
repeat that you will most precisely and punctually act in accordance
with his orders, without exceeding them in the slightest
degree.
The duke of Alba will inform you of the death of the duke of
Feria, and of what you have to say to John Hawkins in order to
assure him that the arrangement agreed upon with him shall be
fulfilled without default or failing if he complies with his promises,
which we hope he will, and shows in action the same goodwill with
which you credit him. We are glad to hear your opinion of him.
and you will tell him so to encourage him, but you must proceed
with him in the manner and form prescribed by the Duke, whose
instructions you must not overstep.
I note what you say of the great demonstration of welcome made
to Foix, both in lodging him in the palace and entertaining him
as they did, but, notwithstanding all this, I do not believe that the
treaty of marriage between the duke of Anjou and the Queen will
end in anything. It would, however, be bad enough if they were
to conclude the supposed league. You will continue to report what
you hear about the progress of events in Ireland, as well as what is
done respecting the restitution, which, seeing how they are delaying
it, we have but little hope they will carry out, or do anything else
good, of their own free will.—Madrid, 14th September 1571. |
| 20 Sept. |
279. Guerau De Spes to the King.
In previous letters I have reported to your Majesty the pretext
under which the duke of Norfolk has been again lodged in the
Tower. Lord Burleigh came on the 12th instant to interrogate
him, and three secretaries of his and others of his servants, all of
whose declarations were taken with much solicitude several times,
but there is no rumour of Cecil's having obtained the information
he expected. They do not trouble themselves much now about the
money they seized, but are insisting that Roberto Ridolfi was sent
to his Holiness and your Majesty. From certain words dropped
by the earl of Leicester, it is suspected that they have received
information of this from Florence, as I wrote to your Majesty.
They have dismissed with great severity all those who served the
queen of Scotland excepting ten persons, and even her secretaries
had been ordered to go away, although the Queen's exclamations
and protests had prevented their departure. The Scotsman who left
here with a passport for the purpose of taking some packets of
letters to her, had his papers taken away from him in spite of the
passport, and they were returned by Killigrew to the French
ambassador, with a message to the effect that the queen of England
begged he would take this action in good part, as the safety of her
States had made it necessary. The Scotsman, however, saved the
greater part of his packets by hiding them in a rock two leagues
before he got to the place where the Queen was staying. The
queen of Scotland writes that she had seen these packets and
amongst them, I believe, is included the advice I sent her of the
ten thousand crowns which the duke of Alba was handing to
Mr. Beaton.
At the same time all travellers were stopped and their letters
taken from them ; amongst others they took my packet of the
12th instant, which is all in cipher, and they have been sending me
messages for the last three days, saying that they will return these
letters to me presently. They now confess that they have been
sent to the Court, and as the man who was carrying these letters
bore a regular passport, I have sent to the Court about it, and
will report the reply to your Majesty. I now enclose a copy of the
letter which I wrote to lord Burleigh on the subject, and also a
true relation of the death of the earl of Lennox, which certainly
has been a most successful enterprise. The whole of the queen of
Scotland's enemies were captured, and the matter would have been
ended there and then, but the plundering infantry was so busy
robbing that the prisoners escaped, and the only one who paid the
penalty of his bad government was Lennox. They have appointed
in the meanwhile for governor the earl of Mar, who has the Prince
in his possession, and holds the castle of Stirling, although he
declines to interfere in the matter. This Earl is bringing up the
Prince without any religion, or rather with the bad instead of the
good one. His wife is a Catholic, but dares not, I am told, speak
openly about it. One of the worst evils connected with such a
bringing up is that the Prince should be fed upon such vile milk
as this.
The queen of England has received M. de Lumbres very well,
and helped him with money. She is trying to get the congregations
of rebels also to raise funds for him, and he is getting
ready to put to sea, harquebusses and ammunition being now on
their way to the coast for him. It is believed that the number of
pirate ships ready will be forty-four.
One of them, a Frenchman named the "Jacques de Boulogne,"
captured a French ship loaded with textile goods lately on its way
to Spain. It is worth more than sixty thousand crowns, but they
cannot get more than twelve thousand crowns offered for it at
Torbay, where it is. All this property belongs to Spaniards, and,
in addition to this, a hundred thousand crowns' worth of woad has
recently been captured from your Majesty's subjects in French
bottoms.—London, 20th September 1571. |
| 29 Sept. |
280. Guerau De Spes to the King.
In my former letters I have advised your Majesty of the
extremity in which the queen of Scotland now is, and the great
difficulty she experiences in sending or receiving letters. Her life
is also not safe, as is proved by a letter which was found in Scotland
written by the queen of England to the earl of Lennox,
directing him and his party to demand the surrender to them of
the queen of Scotland in the interests of peace, to which demand
the queen of England promised she would accede if she were
asked, and almost commanded him to have the queen of Scotland
killed when they got possession of her, but Lennox himself was
killed on the very day that he received the letter. Perhaps these
people will try the same thing with the new Regent.
The prosecution of the duke of Norfolk is being pushed on
with great vigour, and the councillors have communicated the
proceedings to the Chief Justices, without whom the Council
cannot condemn him. The charges are said to consist of three
points ; first, that he attempted to marry the queen of Scotland
against this Queen's command ; second, that he provided money to
the opposite party in Scotland ; and, thirdly, that he had attempted
to rebel with many others, with the object of receiving and
welcoming the duke of Alba into this country. There appears to
be no proof of the first allegation about his attempt to marry the
queen of Scotland, as this Queen has ordered that charge to be
dropped, as also that of having carried on a correspondence with
the queen of Scotland. On the second charge of helping the
Scots the Duke excused himself by saying that this was out of
England and without prejudice to it. Of the third charge they
say there is little or no proof, and the queen of Scotland was
greatly enraged with the Judges when they made these charges
known to her, whereupon they were much intimidated. Fresh
prisoners are being taken every day to increase their evidence, and
Secretary Smith and Wilson do nothing else in the Tower but
this.
Lord Lumley was sent to the Tower yesterday from Richmond,
where the Court is, and the earl of Arundel was ordered to remain
under arrest at Nonsuch. It is said that the same course will be
taken towards Lord Montague.
I learn that Lord Burleigh suggested in the Council that it would
be well to send me away from here, and although he has not been
able to find any handle for doing this in the proceedings he is
carrying on, he says that for the sake of the Queen's safety it is
necessary that I should be expelled. They are now considering
the matter, although it seems that one of them said it would be
better to await the return of Thomas Fiesco and the execution of
the powers by the Queen for the league with the king of France,
the Count Palatine, and other princes of the Empire, all of whom
will be represented in France. Killigrew will leave here at once
with this as Walsingham reports that the matter is favourably
decided there.
There is no reply about the marriage as M. de Foix delayed a
long time before he arrived at the Blois.
Another ship loaded with sugar from Barbary belonging to
subjects of your Majesty, has recently been captured, (fn. 1) and four
other ships on their way to Brouage for salt, some of the crews of
which have been thrown overboard. I have sent to report the
matter to the Court, and Lord Cobham has been ordered in future
to provide against such disorders. It will be all in vain, however,
as it has hitherto been. I also informed them that M. de Lumay
and Courvoisier are arming six war ships, and I have set forth the
excesses which Winter's ships had committed at Teneriffe. Everything
here is directed to your Majesty's prejudice and the injury of
your subjects, with the ultimate object of causing even greater
evils.—London, 29th September 1571. |