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padding: 1.5em .5em 1em; page-break-inside: avoid; - clear: both; } - div.titlepage {text-align: center; page-break-before: always; - page-break-after: always; } - div.titlepage p {text-align: center; text-indent: 0em; font-weight: bold; - line-height: 1.5; margin-top: 3em; } - .ph1 { text-indent: 0em; font-weight: bold; font-size: xx-large; - margin: .67em auto; page-break-before: always; } - .ph2 { text-indent: 0em; font-weight: bold; font-size: x-large; margin: .75em auto; - page-break-before: always; } - .left {text-align: justify; display: block; margin-left: 0em; margin-right: auto; - max-width: 90%;top: 1em; font-size:90%; } - .right {text-align: right; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: 0em; - max-width: 50%; font-size:90%; } - .center {text-align: center; margin-top: 2em; } - .x-ebookmaker p.dropcap:first-letter { float: left; } - </style> - </head> - <body> - -<div style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Bess of Hardwick and her Circle, by Maud Stepney Rawson</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: Bess of Hardwick and her Circle</p> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Maud Stepney Rawson</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: July 7, 2021 [eBook #65787]</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Character set encoding: UTF-8</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Produced by: Richard Tonsing, MWS, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries)</div> - -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BESS OF HARDWICK AND HER CIRCLE ***</div> - -<div class='tnotes covernote'> - -<p class='c000'><strong>Transcriber’s Note:</strong></p> - -<p class='c000'>The cover image was created by the transcriber and is placed in the public domain.</p> - -</div> - -<div class='chapter ph1'> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c001'> - <div>BESS OF HARDWICK</div> - <div>AND HER CIRCLE</div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<div class='chapter ph2'> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c001'> - <div>BY THE SAME AUTHOR</div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<div class='lg-container-b c002'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>A LADY OF THE REGENCY</div> - <div class='line'>JOURNEYMAN LOVE</div> - <div class='line'>THE APPRENTICE</div> - <div class='line'>TALES OF RYE TOWN</div> - <div class='line'>THE LABOURER’S COMEDY</div> - <div class='line'>THE ENCHANTED GARDEN</div> - <div class='line'>THE EASY-GO-LUCKIES</div> - <div class='line'>THE STAIRWAY OF HONOUR</div> - <div class='line'>HAPPINESS</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='section'> - -</div> -<div id='Frontispiece' class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i_frontis.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><span class='left'><em>Photo by Richard Keene Ltd. Derby, after the painting at Hardwick Hall.</em></span><br /><br /><em>Elizabeth, Countess of Shrewsbury.</em></p> -</div> -</div> - -<div class='titlepage'> - -<div> - <h1 class='c003'>BESS OF HARDWICK<br /> <span class='xlarge'>AND HER CIRCLE</span></h1> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c002'> - <div><span class='small'>BY</span></div> - <div><span class='large'>MAUD STEPNEY RAWSON</span></div> - <div class='c002'><span class='small'>WITH THIRTY-EIGHT ILLUSTRATIONS</span></div> - <div><span class='small'>INCLUDING A PHOTOGRAVURE FRONTISPIECE</span></div> - <div class='c002'>London: HUTCHINSON & CO.</div> - <div>Paternoster Row ❧ 1910</div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_v'>v</span> - <h2 class='c004'>TO MY HUSBAND</h2> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_0_6 c005'>To you belongs, for many a reason, this, my first -essay in history, which I have carried to its end -with many misgivings, but with much delight in the -matter itself.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The orthodox may be affronted at two brief incursions -into fiction which they will find in it. Let them skip -these judiciously, magisterially. For my own part, I -needed consolation at times for certain hard and bitter -facts of the history. Therefore, since the way was -sometimes long, and the wind, in my imagination, very -cold—as it whistled in and out of the ruins of those -manors and castles where the Scots Queen and her married -gaolers dwelt, or as it drove the snow across the -splendid grey façade of Hardwick (to say nothing of -the draughts of the sombre, public research libraries)—I -first drew my Countess down from her picture-frame -to marshal her household, and then lured her child and -her child’s lover after her to gladden your road and -mine.</p> - -<p class='c006'>And so I give you—besides all the thoughts which -have gone to every scrap of writing I have ever done—these -last, which curl and stiffen and again uncoil -themselves about this hungry woman of Elizabethan -<span class='pageno' id='Page_vi'>vi</span>days. Into her life and much-abused toil, we, who -have neither gold nor heirs for whom to store it, can -look together in love and pity.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Thus even while we rejoice over our diminutive -home, may we never forget to give thanks to the spirit -of those who built the great houses which nourish the -little ones, and who, in place of the “scarlet blossom of -pain” that grows at great door and little, shall give to -us in the end the perfect English rose.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>M. S. R.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><span class='sc'>Little Orchard,</span></div> - <div class='line in2'><span class='sc'>Streatley,</span></div> - <div class='line in8'><span class='sc'>Berks.</span></div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_vii'>vii</span> - <h2 class='c004'>AUTHOR’S NOTE</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>All complete letters herein quoted have been put into modern -spelling. These, with the exception of one or two fragments -and when the source is not otherwise indicated, have been -selected from the transcripts in Lodge’s <cite>Illustrations of British -History</cite>, from the originals amongst the Talbot, Howard, and -Cecil MSS.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The Author gratefully acknowledges the special permission -of his Grace the Duke of Devonshire to include in this work -reproductions of many of the fine pictures at Hardwick Hall, -as well as a number of views of that noble building.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_ix'>ix</span> - <h2 class='c004'>CONTENTS</h2> -</div> - -<table class='table0' summary='CONTENTS'> -<colgroup> -<col width='18%' /> -<col width='68%' /> -<col width='13%' /> -</colgroup> - <tr> - <th class='c008'><span class='small'>CHAPTER</span></th> - <th class='c009'> </th> - <th class='c010'><span class='small'>PAGE</span></th> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'>I.</td> - <td class='c009'><span class='sc'>The Red-haired Girl</span></td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_1'>1</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'>II.</td> - <td class='c009'><span class='sc'>The Mistress Builder</span></td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_11'>11</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'>III.</td> - <td class='c009'>“<span class='sc'>A Great Gentleman</span>”</td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_34'>34</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'>IV.</td> - <td class='c009'><span class='sc'>Hubbub</span></td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_52'>52</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'>V.</td> - <td class='c009'><span class='sc'>Make-believe</span></td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_62'>62</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'>VI.</td> - <td class='c009'><span class='sc'>Plot and Counterplot</span></td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_75'>75</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'>VII.</td> - <td class='c009'><span class='sc'>Family Letters</span></td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_99'>99</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'>VIII.</td> - <td class='c009'><span class='sc'>A Certain Journey</span></td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_119'>119</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'>IX.</td> - <td class='c009'><span class='sc'>Love and the Woodman</span></td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_133'>133</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'>X.</td> - <td class='c009'><span class='sc'>Aftermath</span></td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_145'>145</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'>XI.</td> - <td class='c009'><span class='sc'>Various Occurrences</span></td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_161'>161</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'>XII.</td> - <td class='c009'><span class='sc'>My Lord Leicester’s Cure</span></td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_175'>175</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'>XIII.</td> - <td class='c009'><span class='sc'>The Divided Way</span></td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_193'>193</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'>XIV.</td> - <td class='c009'>“<span class='sc'>Bruits</span>”</td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_211'>211</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'>XV.</td> - <td class='c009'><span class='sc'>Ruth and Joyusitie</span></td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_223'>223</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'>XVI.</td> - <td class='c009'><span class='sc'>Volte Face</span></td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_236'>236</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'>XVII.</td> - <td class='c009'><span class='sc'>The Coil Thickens</span></td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_251'>251</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'>XVIII.</td> - <td class='c009'>“<span class='sc'>Face to Face</span>”</td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_266'>266</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'>XIX.</td> - <td class='c009'><span class='sc'>Hammer and Tongs</span></td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_279'>279</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'>XX.</td> - <td class='c009'><span class='sc'>Fading Glories</span></td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_308'>308</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'>XXI.</td> - <td class='c009'><span class='sc'>Heir and Dowager</span></td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_324'>324</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'>XXII.</td> - <td class='c009'><span class='sc'>Arabella Dances into Court</span></td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_337'>337</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'>XXIII.</td> - <td class='c009'><span class='sc'>My Lady’s Mansions</span></td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_349'>349</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'> </td> - <td class='c009'><span class='sc'>Index</span></td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_365'>365</a></td> - </tr> -</table> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_xi'>xi</span> - <h2 class='c004'>LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</h2> -</div> - -<table class='table1' summary='LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS'> -<colgroup> -<col width='80%' /> -<col width='20%' /> -</colgroup> - <tr> - <td class='c009'><span class='sc'>Elizabeth Countess of Shrewsbury</span> (<em>Photogravure</em>)</td> - <td class='c011'><em><a href='#Frontispiece'>Frontispiece</a></em></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <th class='c009'></th> - <th class='c011'><em>To face page</em></th> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c009'><span class='sc'>Hardwick Old Hall</span></td> - <td class='c011'><a href='#Page_2'>2</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c009'><span class='sc'>Sir William Cavendish</span></td> - <td class='c011'><a href='#Page_4'>4</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c009'><span class='sc'>Hardwick Old Hall: the Giants’ Chamber</span></td> - <td class='c011'><a href='#Page_6'>6</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c009'><span class='sc'>Sir William St. Loe</span></td> - <td class='c011'><a href='#Page_16'>16</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c009'><span class='sc'>George Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury</span></td> - <td class='c011'><a href='#Page_38'>38</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c009'><span class='sc'>Elizabeth Countess of Shrewsbury</span></td> - <td class='c011'><a href='#Page_38'>38</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c009'><span class='sc'>Mary Queen of Scots</span></td> - <td class='c011'><a href='#Page_64'>64</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c009'><span class='sc'>Mary Queen of Scots’ Apartments and Dungeons at Tutbury, from the North-west</span></td> - <td class='c011'><a href='#i_066fp'>66</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c009'><span class='sc'>Wingfield</span></td> - <td class='c011'><a href='#Page_70'>70</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c009'><span class='sc'>Mary Queen of Scots’ Bower, Chatsworth</span></td> - <td class='c011'><a href='#Page_72'>72</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c009'><span class='sc'>William Cecil, Lord Burghley</span></td> - <td class='c011'><a href='#Page_80'>80</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c009'><span class='sc'>Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk</span></td> - <td class='c011'><a href='#Page_86'>86</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c009'><span class='sc'>The Manor House, Sheffield</span></td> - <td class='c011'><a href='#Page_90'>90</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c009'><span class='sc'>Gilbert Talbot, Seventh Earl of Shrewsbury</span></td> - <td class='c011'><a href='#Page_100'>100</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c009'><span class='sc'>Lady Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox</span></td> - <td class='c011'><a href='#Page_120'>120</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c009'><span class='sc'>Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester</span></td> - <td class='c011'><a href='#Page_178'>178</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c009'><span class='sc'>Queen Elizabeth</span></td> - <td class='c011'><a href='#Page_182'>182</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c009'><span class='sc'>Elizabeth Countess of Shrewsbury</span></td> - <td class='c011'><a href='#Page_198'>198</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c009'><span class='sc'>George Talbot, Sixth Earl of Shrewsbury</span></td> - <td class='c011'><a href='#Page_202'>202</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c009'><span class='sc'>Mary Cavendish, Countess of Shrewsbury</span></td> - <td class='c011'><a href='#Page_252'>252</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c009'><span class='sc'>Hardwick Hall, showing Entrance Gateway</span></td> - <td class='c011'><a href='#Page_258'>258</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_xii'>xii</span><span class='sc'>Statue of Mary Queen of Scots</span></td> - <td class='c011'><a href='#Page_310'>310</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c009'><span class='sc'>Queen Elizabeth</span> (<em>by Zucchero</em>)</td> - <td class='c011'><a href='#Page_316'>316</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c009'><span class='sc'>Arabella Stuart as a Child</span></td> - <td class='c011'><a href='#Page_330'>330</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c009'><span class='sc'>Arabella Stuart</span></td> - <td class='c011'><a href='#Page_332'>332</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c009'><span class='sc'>Hardwick Hall: the Picture Gallery from the North</span></td> - <td class='c011'><a href='#Page_336'>336</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c009'><span class='sc'>Welbeck Abbey</span></td> - <td class='c011'><a href='#Page_340'>340</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c009'><span class='sc'>Hardwick Hall: the Dining-room</span></td> - <td class='c011'><a href='#Page_342'>342</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c009'><span class='sc'>James the Fifth</span></td> - <td class='c011'><a href='#Page_344'>344</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c009'><span class='sc'>Tomb of Elizabeth Countess of Shrewsbury</span></td> - <td class='c011'><a href='#Page_346'>346</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c009'><span class='sc'>The Entrance Hall, Hardwick Hall</span></td> - <td class='c011'><a href='#Page_348'>348</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c009'><span class='sc'>Bolsover Castle</span></td> - <td class='c011'><a href='#Page_352'>352</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c009'><span class='sc'>Hardwick Hall: the Picture Gallery</span></td> - <td class='c011'><a href='#Page_354'>354</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c009'><span class='sc'>Mary Queen of Scots</span> (<em>by P. Oudry</em>)</td> - <td class='c011'><a href='#Page_356'>356</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c009'><span class='sc'>Mary Queen of Scots’ Bed, Hardwick Hall</span></td> - <td class='c011'><a href='#i_358fp'>358</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c009'><span class='sc'>Hardwick Hall: the Presence-chamber</span></td> - <td class='c011'><a href='#Page_360'>360</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c009'><span class='sc'>Hardwick Hall from the West Garden</span></td> - <td class='c011'><a href='#Page_362'>362</a></td> - </tr> -</table> - -<div class='chapter ph1'> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c001'> - <div>BESS OF HARDWICK</div> - <div class='c012'><span class='xlarge'>AND HER CIRCLE</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<div> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_1'>1</span> - <h2 class='c004'>CHAPTER I<br /> <span class='small'>THE RED-HAIRED GIRL</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_0_6 c005'>Among the hills and dales of Derbyshire, that great -county of august estates, there came into the world -in the year 1520 a certain baby girl. Her father, John -Hardwick of Hardwick House, and her mother Elizabeth, -daughter of Thomas Leake of Hasland, in the -same county, christened the child Elizabeth, naturally -enough after her mother. Like the great Queen of -England to whom she was senior, and with whom in -after years she had so much traffic of a highly dramatic -kind, this Elizabeth has come down to posterity under -the shorter name of Bess.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Derbyshire, always a great county, was specially important -in her day. Far from London and Court it -seemed like a little England within England. Its great -families wove its life step by step, its varied landscape, -its heights and dales rendered it an important strategical -centre in the event of rebellion, and the roughness and -slough of pack-road and cart-road made even local expeditions -affairs of moment. The little red-haired baby -girl inherited from her native soil, from her race, and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_2'>2</span>from the neighbours about her all that sense of county -importance, that desire to found, establish and endow a -great family with great estates which her life developed -to so remarkable a degree. That consciousness of county -importance was inevitable in those days when families -gave their names not only to their mansions, but to the -hamlets or village which clustered round them. Bess of -Hardwick was brought up amongst them all—the Hardwicks -of Hardwick, the Barleys of Barley (or Barlow), the -Pinchbecks of Pinchbeck, the Blackwalls of Blackwall, the -Leakes, and the Leches. Not all of them were so very -opulent. The Hardwicks, though not rich, were of -honourable standing as county gentry, and the Barleys -and Leakes were of the same social rank. John Hardwick -could not afford to give his daughters large dowries, -and consequently when my Lady Zouche, her aunt, took -Bess into her household in London the parents were -probably glad enough to embrace such a social chance -for her. Up to this time she led naturally the life of -the ordinary young gentlewoman of tender years, said -her prayers, learnt to sew and embroider, and had seen -something of the ordering of a household and the disposal -of country produce, while she heard and treasured -up such scraps of news as filtered through to her family -and neighbours by letters and travellers who came to -the houses about her, or such rumours as were bruited -in the county town. She was but twelve years old -when she made her entry at once into my Lady Zouche’s -house and into history. We are told that she had -reddish hair and small eyes, but no picture of her remains -to give any idea of her appearance at this moment -when she left her childhood behind her. Physique she -must always have had, and with it tenacity and tact in -furthering her own prospects. She was of the type in -which the art of “getting on” is innate. London and -my Lady Zouche’s excellent social position gave her -her first chance.</p> -<div class='section'> - -</div> -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i_002fp.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><span class='left'><em>Photo by Richard Keene, Ltd., Derby</em></span><br /><br />HARDWICK OLD HALL<br /><br /><span class='right'>Page <a href='#Page_2'>2</a></span></p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_3'>3</span>There is almost a touch of Becky Sharp in the way -that this young girl, dowerless save for the forty marks of -<em>dot</em> allotted by John Hardwick to each of his daughters, -settled down in that household. There came to London -one of her Derbyshire neighbours—a youth of the -Barley or Barlow family, named Robert. Under Lady -Zouche’s roof he fell sick and the little niece helped to -tend him. Whether he also fell in love, whether -Mistress Hardwick the mother was minded to “settle” -one at least of her girls early, or whether Lady Zouche -was of a strong match-making tendency does not appear. -But a marriage between the niece and the guest was -arranged and quickly carried through. A strange -pitiful affair it must have been—that London wedding -between the red-haired child and the sickly young man—a -ceremony trailing after it a sorry hope of happiness -in the midst of physicking and nostrums, weakness and -watching, until the death of the bridegroom before the -bride had reached her fourteenth year. His death left -no apparent gap in my Lady Zouche’s household and -no mark upon history. But it bestowed on the child-wife -the dignity of widowhood, and such importance, -plus her forty marks, as attached to any property that -Robert Barlow left her. The Barlows were not wealthy. -Some of them in after years were in sore straits for -a living. The State Papers show the existence of -piteous letters from a certain Jane Barlow who writes in -January, 1583, to her father, Alexander Barlow, “from -a foreign land.” She is in extreme want, forced to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_4'>4</span>borrow money to carry on her “business,” and assures -him that the meanest servant he has “liveth in far -better condition than she.” There is nothing to show -that the Barlows applied to their relation “Bess” in -after years for help. Such property as there was passed -to her, and she travelled out of their ken into richer -circles.</p> - -<p class='c006'>In 1547, at the age of twenty-seven, a woman in the -height of her powers and the perfection of her womanhood, -with considerable knowledge of the world and a -tremendous store of physical and mental vitality, she -secured a second husband and a man of considerable -means—Sir William Cavendish. He was the second -son of Thomas Cavendish, and his family, like that of -Bess, took its name from its hamlet or manor. Says -the pompous Bishop Kennet of those days: “The -Cavendishes, like other great Families of greatest -Antiquity derived a Name from their Place of Habitation. -A younger branch of the Germons, famous in -Norfolk and Essex, settled at Cavendish in Suffolk, and -from that Seat and Estate were soon distinguished by -that Sirname.” Thomas Cavendish, like the father of -Bess, was “a well-to-do but undistinguished Squire,” -but his sons made names for themselves.</p> -<div class='section'> - -</div> -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i_004fp.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><span class='left'><em>From a photo by Richard Keene, Ltd., Derby, after the painting at Hardwick Hall</em><br />    <em>By permission of his Grace the Duke of Devonshire</em></span><br /><br />SIR WILLIAM CAVENDISH<br /><br /><span class='right'>Page <a href='#Page_4'>4</a></span></p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_5'>5</span>In 1539 his son William was appointed one of the -auditors of the Court of Augmentation. This Court, -of which one at least of the members had been employed -as a commissioner for the surrender of religious -houses, was ostensibly founded to ensure the increase -of the royal exchequer to such a point as would enable -the sovereign duly to establish and strengthen the -defences of the realm. Within a year Mr. Cavendish -had so well played his cards and acquitted himself that -he received from Henry VIII a grant of Church property—the -lordships and manors of Northawe, Cuffley, -and Childewicke in Hertfordshire. In 1548, the year -after his marriage, he was further rewarded not only -by the post of “Treasurer of the Chamber to the -King” which, we are assured, was “a place of great -trust and honour,” but the knighthood which brought his -third wife the title that raised her above the majority -of her fellow-gentlewomen. He did not bring her a -virgin heart, for he had been twice married and twice -a widower without male heir. But he conferred on her -important social position, a great deal of land—additional -prizes fell to his share in the way of lesser glebe -properties, abbeys, and rectories, because his appointment -in the royal exchequer kept him <i><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">au courant</span></i> of the -places which were being given or going cheap in the -market—and she in her turn brought him the sons he -doubtless so greatly desired.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Never surely did a couple settle down so whole-heartedly -or so harmoniously to the founding of a -family, to the increase and consolidation of their patrimony. -As to the first—their offspring—Sir William -made a proud and careful list in writing, being, as -Collins<a id='r1' /><a href='#f1' class='c013'><sup>[1]</sup></a> says, “A learned and exact Person.” He had -in all sixteen children, eight of whom were borne to -him by “this beautiful and discreet Lady,” as Collins -describes Bess Cavendish.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The fact that his second wife’s name was also Elizabeth -has at times given rise to misstatements with -regard to the place and date of his third marriage, but -he was careful to record this: “I was married to -Elizabeth Hardwick, my third wife, in Leicestershire, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_6'>6</span>at Brodgate, my Lord Marquess’s<a id='r2' /><a href='#f2' class='c013'><sup>[2]</sup></a> House, the 20th of -August, in the first yeare of King Ed. the 6, at 2 of -the Clock after midnight.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Of the eight children of this marriage six survived. -The others were Temperance, “my 10 childe and the -second by the same woman,” and Lucrece the youngest. -The surviving daughters were Frances Cavendish, the -eldest, married to Sir Henry Pierrepoint, of Holme -Pierrepoint, Notts; Elizabeth Cavendish, who espoused -Charles Stuart, Earl of Lennox; and Mary, -the youngest girl, who became the wife of Gilbert -Talbot. Of the three sons, the eldest, Henry Cavendish, -who settled later at Tutbury Castle, married Lady -Grace Talbot; William Cavendish, who wedded successively -Anne, daughter of Henry Kighley, of Kighley, -and Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Edward Boughton, -and to whom his adoring mother left Chatsworth; and -Charles. Frances Cavendish by her marriage became -the ancestress of the Earls and Dukes of Kingston, and -(through a female heiress) of the Earls Manvers, inheritors -of the Pierrepoint property. Her brother -Henry, though he died young, was the ancestor of the -Barons Waterpark; while William, duly knighted in -time, was the first Earl of Devonshire and progenitor -of that great ducal house. Mary, though her -husband was but a younger son of the Talbot race, -became eventually Countess of Shrewsbury on his -unexpected accession to the title; while Charles, -besides a knighthood, secured as bride one of the twin -heiresses of the Barony of Ogle, by which means the -possessions of Welbeck Abbey and other great estates -were insured to the Cavendishes. All these matters, -however, belong to the future. The present was all-important -to the welfare of Sir William and his lady. -A fast growing family must be provided for, and -scattered estates meant waste of cost and labour. The -clear, keen eyes of the newly-wedded Bess looked far -into the future. She did not care for the notion of -separation from her own lands and the unwieldy business -of dealing with her husband’s estates in different -parts of the South of England. At the time of their -marriage he had sold the aforesaid manors in Hertfordshire, -Lincolnshire, Cardigan, and Cornwall, in favour -of others in Derbyshire, Nottingham, and Stafford. -The county instinct of his wife asserted itself. Her -heart was in Derbyshire where her own dowry was concentrated. -She desired the transfer of her bridegroom’s -interests and property thither. Her resolution and her -vitality naturally carried the day, and Sir William sold -all the rest of his southern estates and settled with her -in a manor which had originally been built by her old -county friends the Leeches (or Leches) of Leech—Chatsworth.</p> -<div class='section'> - -</div> -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i_006fp.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><span class='left'><em>Photo by Richard Keene, Ltd., Derby</em></span><br /><br />HARDWICK OLD HALL: THE GIANTS CHAMBER<br /><br />(So called from the two colossal figures, dubbed Gog and Magog, in raised plaster-work over the fireplace)<br /><br /><span class='right'>Page <a href='#Page_6'>6</a></span></p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_7'>7</span>Gradually her great hobby asserted itself—the desire -to build—and this constructive energy, as her story -will show, went hand in hand with her master passion, -the love of power and possession, to the end of her -days. The mansion of the Leeches did not please her. -It must be rebuilt for the glory of the Cavendishes. -Her knight yielded to the wish. They set about the -work quickly, living meanwhile, one supposes, in the -original mansion. Hardwick Hall, it will be remembered, -was not yet hers. John Hardwick, her father, -had passed away in the nineteenth year of Henry VIII. -That reign was at an end, and the reign of Edward VI -<span class='pageno' id='Page_8'>8</span>drawing to its close. Hardwick House eventually -became the portion of the red-haired daughter, some -say through the will of her brother, who apparently -died without heir. But for the moment the Cavendishes -needed a fine house for domesticity on a large scale and -old Chatsworth did not suffice them. Elizabeth Cavendish -had plenty to do in founding her family. These -were great and busy times for the great lady. Shoulder -to shoulder husband and wife worked at their building, -at their estate, at the management of their tenants, -their parks and palings, their farms and holdings. The -red-haired girl was in her element as matron and comptroller -and lady bountiful. Fortune smiled on her -enterprise, and when the crown of Edward VI descended -to Mary of England, Sir William Cavendish still held -securely his valuable post in the Exchequer.</p> - -<p class='c006'>It is a fine English picture as one looks upon it, this -married life of the Cavendishes—knight and lady -amongst their babies, enlarging their county circle, -increasing their county honours, holding intercourse -with Court and capital, with market and county town.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Here is a letter on domestic matters from Sir William -to his lady showing his trust in her management of -their joint affairs:—</p> - -<div class='lg-container-l c002'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“To Bess Cavendish,</div> - <div class='line in16'>“My Wife.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“Good Bess, having forgotten to write in my letters -that you should pay Otewelle Alayne eight pounds -for certain oats that we have bought of him over and -above twelve that I have paid to him in hand, I heartily -pray you for that he is desirous to receive the rest at -London to pay him upon the sight hereof. You know -<span class='pageno' id='Page_9'>9</span>my store and therefore I have appointed him to have -it at your hands. And thus fare you well. From -Chatsworth the XIIIth of April.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>W. C.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>And here is a characteristic letter from his good lady -during her absence from home in 1552 to her man of -affairs, in which she soundly takes him to task for -discourtesy to her “sister Jane,” orders beer to be -brewed against her own return, and issues commands -for building and repairs:—</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Francis, I have spoken with your master for the -deals or boards that you wrote to me of; and he -is content that you shall take some for your necessity -by the appointment of Neusante, so that you take such -as will do him no service about his building at Chatsworth. -I pray you look well to all things at Chatsworth -till my aunt’s coming home, which I hope shall be -shortly, and in the meantime cause Broushawe to look -to the smithy and all other things at Penteridge. Let -the weaver make beer for me forthwith, for my own -drinking and your master’s; and see that I have good -store of it, for if I lack either good beer or good charcoal -or wood I will blame nobody so much as I will do -you. Cause the floor in my bedchamber to be made -even, either with plaster, clay, or lime: and all the -windows where the glass is broken to be mended: and -all the chambers to be made as close and warm as you -can. I hear that my sister Jane cannot have things that -is needful for her to have amongst you: If it be true, -you lack a great of honesty as well as discretion to deny -her anything that she hath a mind to, being in my -house; and then assure yourself I cannot like it to -have my sister so used. Like as I would not have any -<span class='pageno' id='Page_10'>10</span>superfluity or waste of anything, so likewise would -I have her to have that which is needful and necessary. -At my coming home I shall know more, and then I -will think as I shall have cause. I would have you -give to my midwife from me, and from my boy Willie -and to my nurse from me and my boy, as hereafter -followeth: first to the midwife from me ten shillings, -and from Willie five shillings: to the nurse from me -five shillings, and from my boy three shillings and four -pence: so that in the whole you must give to them -twenty-three shillings and four pence. Make my -sister privy to it, and then pay it to them forthwith. If -you have no other money, take so much of the rent at -Penteridge. Tell my sister Jane that I will give my -daughter something at my coming home: and praying -you not to fail to see all things done accordingly, I bid -you farewell. From London the 14th of November.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Your Mistress,</div> - <div class='line in4'>“<span class='sc'>Elizabeth Cavendish</span>.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“Tell James Crompe that I have received the five -pounds and nine shillings that he sent me by Hugh -Alsope.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“to my servant Francis Whitfield,</div> - <div class='line in4'>give this at Chatsworth.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_11'>11</span> - <h2 class='c004'>CHAPTER II<br /> <span class='small'>THE MISTRESS BUILDER</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_0_6 c005'>Upon this scene of household importance and -intimate family life, making, if not for happiness -in the fullest sense of the word, at any rate for prosperity -and success, fell for a second time upon the -married life of Bess Hardwick the great shadow. Sir -William Cavendish, so accomplished in business, so -doughty a husband, so excellent a host, died in 1557.</p> - -<p class='c006'>His wife made a note of the event in her own hand:—</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Memorandum, that Sir William Cavendish, Knight, -my most dear and well beloved husband, departed this -present life on Monday, being the 25th day of October, -betwixt the hours of 8 and 9 of the same day at -Night, in the year of our Lord God 1557, the dominical -Letter then C. On whose soul I most humbly beseech -the Lord to have mercy, and to rid me and -his poor children out of our great misery.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“<span class='sc'>Elizabeth Cavendish.</span>”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>This was probably the greatest grief of her life, and -all her after energies were spent in furthering the -welfare of her Cavendish children.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Now followed a period of widowhood, during which -no substantial or interesting episodes bring the lady’s -name to the front. But she did not lose her hold over -society and the Court. Nor did she lay aside her wise, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_12'>12</span>worldly habits. She was still the grand dame—dispenser -of charities, recipient of Court letters, mistress -of masons and woodmen and grooms, resting securely -upon her hoard like the dragon in German legend, -assuring herself and the world, “I lie and possess, and -would slumber.” But hers was not the nature to be -quiescent very long. And she had incentive enough -to action. She had six children to further in the -world. Daughters must be married, sons must be -brought into the charmed circle of the Queen, to run -the gauntlet of suspicions, favours, and coldnesses from -her and bear the jealousy and competition of others -till the right opportunity came for advancement. Moreover, -there was Chatsworth to complete—alone. At -thirty-seven, gifted with excellent good looks, an indomitable -will, and a constitution robust and healthy, -it was not the moment for such a woman to permit -either her schemes or her zest in life to collapse. So -she keeps to her road, moving no doubt daily between -the old Chatsworth and the new, the beloved fabric -which for her was at once the mausoleum of her greatest -happiness, the eloquent witness of her aspirations -for her children, and a lasting memorial of her Cavendish -ambitions. So one beholds her working onward, -building for the future, impatient no doubt of the -present. Fully accustomed now to take command of -her life and affairs, she controls every item of the -building of her new house. One can picture her easily -enough walking or driving to and fro, while she issues -commands for the felling of wood, signs orders for the -selling of coals and stone, for the transplantation of -trees, the manufacture of hangings, the transport of -Derbyshire marbles, the employment of artificers in -<span class='pageno' id='Page_13'>13</span>mosaic, and plaster and wood. She had built six -Cavendishes, bone of her bone, flesh of her flesh, and -now she was building a great and perfect house for -them and theirs. In it she would reign, so long as -she lived, supreme. One pictures her again and again—a -vigorous, vital woman, in proper and dignified -weeds, with shrewd and genial face in which the lines -of intrigue and sorrow had not yet deepened, moving -amongst her army of workmen, fully conscious of the -country life about her, though possibly not playing for -a while a very active part in it. But the old zest of -living, the old desire of the world, the joys of which -she had tasted only at brief intervals during the babyhood -of her six children, were ineradicable. She had -acres and gold, she needed a helpmeet more than many -women. No country gentleman of sufficient importance -presented himself for whom she would think it -worth while to give up the pretty delight of being -addressed as “my lady.” In this dilemma Fate brought -her face to face with Sir William St. Lo.</p> - -<p class='c006'>He was of excellent birth, and, like her second -husband, a widower. His family was, of course, originally -Norman. State papers show that a Margaret de -St. Low or Laudo parted with certain rights in Cornish -property in the reign of Henry III. By the seventeenth -century the family seems to have concentrated in -Gloucestershire, where it held the manor of Tormarton, -twenty-two miles south of the county town. -“Livery” of this manor, we read, was granted to -William St. Loe by Elizabeth.</p> - -<p class='c006'>William and his brother John had fought bravely in -Ireland against Desmond. In 1536 the former—the -family name is spelt variously as Seyntlow, Seyntloe, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_14'>14</span>and Santclo—is mentioned in despatches. There is a -vivid glimpse in various letters of an attack on the -castle of “Carreke Ogunell.”<a id='r3' /><a href='#f3' class='c013'><sup>[3]</sup></a> Says Lord Leonard -Grey, writing to Henry VIII in England, “It was taken -by assault by William Seyntloe and his men before -scaling ladders could arrive.” But the writer is not -quite sure if the success was due to “hope of fame or -lack of victuals, for a halfpenny loaf was worth 12d., but -there was none to be sold.” The castle has marble walls -thirteen feet thick. It is the strongest Lord Leonard -has ever seen. An Englishman could take it at a rush, -in spite of the fact that besides being set in a fine moat, -“in an island of fresh water,” the place was guarded -with watch towers of hewn marble. But Lord Leonard -does not think that any Irishman could have built it!</p> - -<p class='c006'>Later there is mutiny and rumour of sore disruption -in the English-Irish army. Young Captain St. Loe’s -men forgather with discontented spirits, and the whole -of his stalwart retinue of three hundred, “men of high -courage and activity,” revolts so badly that, though he -and his captains are cleared of all blame, it is necessary -to “bend the ordnance” on the mutineers and proceed -against them in “battle array.” Little wonder that the -men, henchmen and yeomen, doubtless, of Gloucestershire, -hated the campaign. Even Lord Leonard himself -shared the destitution of the privates and was pinched -for the lack of a loaf. “And so,” he goes on after his -comment on the price of bread, “I among others lay in -my harness, without any bed, almost famished with -hunger, wet, and cold.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Fortune and personality carried William St. Loe onward. -In the forties of the sixteenth century he appears -<span class='pageno' id='Page_15'>15</span>as seneschal of Waterford, and complains bitterly of the -way in which he is hampered in office by the Lord -Chancellor in Ireland. The contention of his official -companions, however, as given in a letter to the Court, -describes him as “a good warrior, but unfit to administer -justice.” Military disorder is stated to be the result, -and if the complainants only “had the disposal of the -farms Seyntlow now has” things would be very different. -It is suggested that he is turning into a regular freebooter.... -And so on.</p> - -<p class='c006'>However this may be, we find the gentleman in 1557 -not only safely established in England, but holding important -Court posts with high-sounding titles. He is -at once Grand Butler of England and captain of the -Queen’s Guard. In these capacities Bess Hardwick, as -Lady Cavendish, must have already met him. Had she -not married him and had he lived long enough, she -might have been committed to his tender mercies and -guardianship in a very different sense. But at present -her genius for intrigue only threw her into the apparently -pleasant fetters of marriage. This “Grand -Botelier,” this dashing swashbuckler who now rode at -the head of the royal guards, and was in constant touch -with the governor of the Tower, with the interior of -which building she made acquaintance later, took her as -his second wife. The whole thing seems to have been -most amicable, affectionate, and excellent—amicable and -affectionate on his part, excellent from her point of view. -It did not interfere with his important duties; it did -not necessarily nail her to the Court. Above all, it did -not interfere with her building. Indeed, it gave her the -more heart to it because the good captain would now -assume by her side the duties of Derbyshire host. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_16'>16</span>Moreover, he could help her materially in her building. -She did not need his advice about architecture of course. -But she saw that she could draw under her hand the -dues of his manor in Gloucestershire for the glory of -the Cavendishes and the surer foundation of her own -comfort. The fine dashing soldier had children. Yet -this was no serious block in her way. She might -arrange it all, while leaving them not destitute but -dependent on her wise financial dispositions. The marriage -was duly solemnised and gave satisfaction. The -Queen approved of my Lady St. Loe, and the more so -because the latter did not wish to monopolise her bridegroom. -There was enough at the Derbyshire estate to -amuse her, and Sir William’s letters to her kept her -advised of things “about” the Queen’s Majesty. Scottish -affairs were brewing hotly. Elizabeth was but -newly a queen. There were processions and enactments, -enquiries, and excursions at Court. Bess Hardwick -held the post of Lady of the Bedchamber, and -naturally took the keenest interest in all that went on. -Except through letters, reliable news did not filter at -all to the wilds of the Peak and its lovely dales. But -Sir William loved her and appreciated her deeply. In -his affectionate letters he identifies her quaintly and -sweetly with her house. “My honest, sweet Chatsworth” -is one of the expressions. Elsewhere she is -“My own, more dearer to me than I am to myself,” -and in another letter he has seized her enthusiasm for -management and construction, for he calls her “My own -good servant and chief overseer.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Occasionally Bess wanted her “grand botelier” to -herself, and it must have been hard for Sir William to -tear himself away from the rich security and ease of -the house. One of his letters from Court shows that he -is in trouble with his Queen for delayed return.</p> -<div class='section'> - -</div> -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i_016fp.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><span class='left'><em>Photo by Richard Keene, Ltd., Derby, from the picture at Hardwick Hall</em><br />    <em>By permission of his Grace the Duke of Devonshire</em></span><br /><br />SIR WILLIAM ST. LOE</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_17'>17</span>“She hath found great fault with my long absence, -saying she would talk with me farther and that she would -well chide me. Whereunto I answered, that when her -highness understood the truth and the cause she would -not be offended. Whereunto she says, ‘Very well, very -well’; howbeit, hand of hers I did not kisse.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>A portrait which hangs in the great gallery at Hardwick -shows the writer of the following letters (quoted in -Hunter’s <em>Hallamshire</em>) in his habit as he lived—a kindly -fellow, but at this period not a man of power.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Sir William Saint-Loe to Lady Saint-Loe.</em></p> - -<p class='c007'>“My own, more dearer to me than I am to myself, -thou shalt understand that it is no small fear nor grief -unto me of thy well doing that I should presently see -what I do, not only for that my continual nightly dreams -beside my absence hath troubled me, but also chiefly for -that Hugh Alsope cannot satisfy me in what estate thou -nor thine is, whom I regard more than I do William -Seyntlo. Therefore I pray thee, as thou dost love me, -let me shortly hear from thee, for the quieting of my -unquieted mind, how thine own sweet self with all thine -doeth; trusting shortly to be amongst you. All thy -friends here saluteth thee. Harry Skipwith desired me -to make thee and no other privy that he is sure of mistress -Nell, with whom he is by this time. He hath sent -ten thousand thanks unto thyself for the same: she hath -opened all things unto him. To-morrow Sir Richard -Sackville and I ride to London together; on Saturday -next we return hither again. The queen yesterday, her -<span class='pageno' id='Page_18'>18</span>own self riding upon the way, craved my horse; unto -whom I gave him, receiving openly for the same many -goodly words. Thus wishing myself with thyself, I bid -thee, my own good servant and chief overseer of my -works, most heartily farewell: by thine who is wholly -and only thine, yea and for all thine while life lasteth. -From Windsor the fourth of September by thy right -worshipful master and most honest husband master Sir</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“<span class='sc'>William Seyntlo</span>, esquire.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“Commend me to my mother and to all my brothers -and sisters, not forgetting Frank with the rest of my -children and thine. The Amnar<a id='r4' /><a href='#f4' class='c013'><sup>[4]</sup></a> saluteth thee and -sayeth no gentleman’s children in England shall be -better welcome nor better looked unto than our boys. -Once again, farewell good honest sweet.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Myself or Greyves shall be the next messenger.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“To my own dear wife at</div> - <div class='line in4'>Chatsworth deliver this.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'><em>Sir William Saint-Loe to Lady Saint-Loe.</em></p> - -<p class='c007'>“My hap is evil, my time worse spent; for that -my reward as yet is nothing more than fair words with -the like promises. Take all in good part; and if I -should understand the contrary, it would trouble me -more than my pen shall express. I have leave to come -and wait upon thee, I and my brother Clement, with two -or three good fellows more: [we] had been with thee by -this day if it had not been for our —— matter, the which -I will not leave over rawly. I will forbear the answering -of all particularities in thy last letter written unto me, -for that God willing I will this next week be the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_19'>19</span>messenger myself. Master Man came home the night -before the date hereof. He putteth me in great hope of -the matter you know of. Thus trusting that God provideth -for us all things for the best, I end; committing -thee and all thine which are mine unto his blessed will -and ordinance. Farewell, my own sweet Bess. From -Master Man’s house in Redcross Street, the 12th of -October, by him who dareth not so near his coming -home to term thee as thou art: yet thine</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“<span class='sc'>William Seyntlo</span>.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“My cousin Clarke saluteth thee, who was by me at -the writing hereof.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“To my own good wife at</div> - <div class='line in4'>Chatsworth deliver this.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>In this letter he complains of the heavy charge for his -hired Court apparel.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Sir William Saint-Loe to Lady Saint-Loe.</em></p> - -<p class='c007'>“My honest sweet Chatsworth: I like the weekly -price of my hired court stuff so evil that upon Thursday -next I will send it home again, at which day the week -endeth. I pray you cause such stuff as Mowsall left -packed in a sheet to be brought hither by the next carrier: -there be hand towels and other things therein that -I must occupy when I shall lie at Whitehall. My men -hath neither shirt nor any other thing to shift them -until that come. Trust none of your men to ride any -[of] your housed horses, but only James Cromp or -William Marchington; but neither of them without -good cause serve speedily to be done. For nags there -be enough about the house to serve other purposes. -One handful of oats to every one of the geldings at a -<span class='pageno' id='Page_20'>20</span>watering will be sufficient so they be not laboured. You -must cause some[one] to oversee the horsekeeper for -that he is very well learned in loitering.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“The Queen hath found great fault with my long -absence saying that she would talk with me farther, and -that she would well chide me. Whereunto I answered -that when her highness understood the truth and the -cause she would not be offended. Whereunto she said -‘Very well, very well.’ Howbeit hand of hers I did -not kisse.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“The Lord Keeper hath promised me faithfully to be -at both days’ hearing; and that if either law or conscience -be on my side I shall have it to my contentment. -Vaughan is come unto town, but not yet Bagott. Stevens -and we shall go through on Friday night next, at which -time his brother will be here, who hath disbursed seven -hundred of the twelve hundred pounds. I have an -extreme pain in my teeth since Sunday dinner. Thus -with aching teeth I end, praying the living [God] to -preserve thee and all thine. Written at London, against -my will where I am if other ways our matters might -well be ended, this 24th of October:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Your loving husband with aching heart until we meet,</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“<span class='sc'>William Seyntlo</span>.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“If you think good, lease your fishing in Dove unto -Agard. We are the losers of suffering it as we have done.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“To my loving wife at Chatsworth</div> - <div class='line in12'>give this with speed.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>This next letter is from Sir George Pierrepoint in -gratitude of her kindly offices. His family was afterwards -closely connected with that of Bess of Hardwick, -for her eldest daughter married Sir Henry Pierrepoint.</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_21'>21</span><em>Sir George Pierrepoint to Lady Saint-Loe.</em></p> - -<p class='c007'>“Right worshipful and very good Lady: after my -heartiest manner I commend me to your Ladyship: -even so pray you I may be to good Mr. Seyntloe: -most heartily thanking you both for your great pains -taken with me at Holme, accepting everything (though it -were never so rudely handled) in such gentle way as you -did; which doth and will cause me to love you the -better while I live if I were able to do you other -pleasure or service; and the rather because I understand -your Ladyship hath not forgotten my suit to you at your -going away as specially to make Mr. Sackville and Mr. -Attorney my friends in the matter between Mr. Whalley -and me, wherein he doeth me plain wrong (as I take it -is my conscience) only to reap trouble and unquiet me. -But I trust so much in God’s help, and partly by your -Ladyship’s good means, and continuance of your goodness -towards me, that he shall not overthrow me in my -righteous cause. And touching such communication as -was between us as at Holme, if your Ladyship and the -gentlewoman your daughter like or be upon sight as -well as I and my wife like the young gentlewoman, I -will not shrink from it I said or promised; by the grace -of God who preserve your Ladyship and my Master -your husband long together in wealth, health and prosperity -to his pleasure, and your gentle heart’s desire. -From my poor house at Woodhouse the 4th of November -1561, by the rude lusty hands of your good Ladyship’s -assuredly always to command.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in28'>“<span class='sc'>George Pierrepoint.</span></div> - <div class='line'>“To the right worshipful and my</div> - <div class='line in4'>singular good Lady, my Lady</div> - <div class='line in12'>Sentloo at London this be delivered.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_22'>22</span>This other letter is highly typical for the good lady’s -literary style and her attitude towards her employees. -It is to James Crompe, her man of affairs.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Crompe, I do understand by your letters that -Wortly saith he will depart at our Ladyday next. I -will that you shall have him bound in an obligation to -avoid<a id='r5' /><a href='#f5' class='c013'><sup>[5]</sup></a> at the same day, for sure I will trust no more to -his promise. And when he doth tell you that he is any -penny behind for work done to Mr. Cavendish or me, -he doth lie like a false knave: for I am most sure he did -never make anything for me but two vanes to stand -upon the house. I do very well like your sending -sawyers to Pentrege and Medoplecke, for that will -further my works: and so I pray you in any other thing -that will be a help to my building, let it be done. And -for Thomas Mason, if you can hear where he is, I would -very gladly he were at Chatsworth. I will let you know -by my next letter what work Thomas Mason shall begin -at first, when he doth come. And as for the other -mason which Sir James told you of, if he will not apply -his work, you know that he is not the man for me; and -the mason’s work which I have to do is not much, and -Thomas Mason will very well oversee that work. I -perceive Sir James is much misliked for his religion; -but I think his wisdom is such that he will make small -account of that matter. I would have you tell my aunt -Lenecker that I would have the little garden which is by -the new house made a garden this year. I care not -whether she bestow any great cost thereof; but to sow -it with all kinds of herbs and flowers and some pieces of -it with mallows. I have sent you by this carrier three -<span class='pageno' id='Page_23'>23</span>bundles of garden seeds all written with William Marchington’s -hand; and by the next you shall know how to -use them in every point.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“From the Court the 8th of March,</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Your mistress,</div> - <div class='line in8'>“<span class='sc'>E. Seyntlo</span>.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>The “Aunt Lenecker” (more correctly known as -Lynacre) was a Leake and sister of Lady St. Loe’s -mother. She seems to have lived for some years with her -niece, possibly since her first widowhood.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Nothing very exciting happened to the St. Loe couple -in their short married life. When not at Court they paid -visits, were entertained, or entertained their own visitors, -as scraps of correspondence show. They must have had -traffic already with the great family of Talbot—which, -besides Sheffield Castle, owned so many large seats in -Derby and Nottingham—and both of them naturally -held intercourse with “Mr. Secretary Walsingham” -and “Mr. Treasurer Cecil.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>When Sir William St. Loe died—tolerably soon, alas!—Bess -Hardwick had gone far with her building, social -and actual. Her third widowhood found her richer, -bolder, better known at Court, and able to play her -part in an ever-widening circle of the powerful and -prosperous.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Such a lady would naturally make enemies. In 1567 -she was slandered by Henry Jackson, an ex-scholar of -Merton College, Oxford, the tutor of her children. -Instantly the matter went to the Council, and the -Council wrote in September to the Archbishop of -Canterbury. “Lady St. Loo, widow, having retained -as schoolmaster Henry Jackson ... is disturbed by -scandalous reports raised against her family by him; -<span class='pageno' id='Page_24'>24</span>you are to examine the matter thoroughly and speedily -with the assistance of the Solicitor-General Mr. Oseley -and Mr. Peter Osborne or other Ecclesiastical Commissioners, -that the lady’s good name may be preserved; -if he has unjustly defamed her he is to be severely -punished,” runs the digest of the draft in the State MS. -And immediately upon the conclusion of the examination -the Queen herself intervenes on behalf of -the lady “who has long served with credit in our -Court,” and forthwith she commands the punishment -of the wicked clerk: “extreme punishment, corporal or -otherwise, openly or private, and that speedily.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Besides the danger of slander there was the trap of -intrigue. Up to the present Bess Hardwick had kept -clear of mischief, but, native curiosity apart, she could -not, as Lady of the Bedchamber, help being often the -recipient of the secrets of her friends. The romantic -love story of Lady Catherine Grey, who held a similar -Court post to herself, brought her into a tight place. -For the benefit of those who do not recall the tale it -shall be set forth again here.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The Lady Catherine was the sister of Lady Jane -Grey. By a curious combination of circumstances—the -exclusion given by the will of Henry VIII to the posterity -of Margaret of Scotland, the publication of the -will of Edward VI, and the non-repeal of certain Acts -of Parliament—it was judged that the right to the -crown rested with the House of Suffolk. To this great -house Lady Catherine was the heir. She was formally -contracted in extreme youth to Lord Herbert, the son -of the Earl of Pembroke. But the wise Earl, in dread -of the acute complications which such a marriage might -entail, arranged for a divorce. This probably affected -<span class='pageno' id='Page_25'>25</span>the lady but little. She was young, she was attractive -and romantic, she could meet cavaliers enough and to -spare in the immediate circle of the Queen. But, as -all the world knows, her Majesty, while she kept -a dozen men languishing about her, was very loth to -have any of her ladies wed. Love affairs must be -very secret, lest the parties incurred her disfavour and -the loss of benefits. As for Lady Catherine, her birth, -as has been shown, rendered her a mark for all manner -of suspicion. At Court she was the close companion -of Lady Jane Seymour, daughter of the Duke of Somerset. -This Lady Jane had a brother, no less than the -Earl of Hertford. What more inevitable than a love affair -between him and Catherine? There were sorrows enough -in the background of her history, slavery enough—despite -pageant and hunting and the comings and goings -of great persons from foreign courts—to endure at the -hands of the energetic, alert, excitable, witty, jealous -royal mistress. Little by little the love story wove itself -in the manner of every love tale. A community of interest, -a series of assemblies which passed in array -her Majesty’s ladies before the eyes of her gentlemen, -little incidents which brought out the personalities of -the two, mere propinquity, a look here and a word there, -did their work. The two were soon secretly plighted, -with the Lady Jane to share and shield their dear secret. -Many anxious moments must have gone to their -councils. To declare their troth would only be a signal -for their instant separation. The same result would -arise if they humbly asked the royal permission to be -betrothed. To marry and fly would only savour of -deep State conspiracy. To marry and bide quietly and -then face the astonished and scandalous world with an -<span class='pageno' id='Page_26'>26</span>air of “Indeed, and it is true. So part us you shall -not. And, moreover, ’tis our affair. Wherefore, fling -your mud elsewhere!” seemed the wisest way in the -end, and also followed the line of least resistance.</p> - -<p class='c006'>One morning—surely as crisp and heartening a day -as could be desired for such a purpose—the Queen’s -Majesty went to Eltham in Kent to hunt. My Lady -Jane and my Lady Catherine stayed behind. When all -was quiet they left the Palace (Westminster) “by the -stairs at the orchard” and strolled quietly “along the -sands.” Those sands led to the Earl of Hertford’s -house in “Chanon Row.” He was waiting for his -lady; he did not even leave her to call the priest. -That was the Lady Jane’s errand. There is something -very delightful about this incident, and the steady -chaperon’s part undertaken by the Earl’s sister. The -priest came, the wedding took place. After the brief -ceremony there could not be much dalliance or entertainment. -It was not yet the time to give the -secret to the world. The ladies must reach the Palace -again before hue and cry could be raised. They did -not go back by “the sands,” probably because the tide -had risen. They went back by boat. The Earl did not -accompany them. But he led his bride and his sister to -the boat which waited for them at the foot of the water-stairs -of his house. He assisted them in—it must have -been very hard to let go the hand of the woman so -newly pledged to him—and the shallop went quietly on -its way and delivered its fair passengers at the Palace -stairs without exciting comment. A little later the two -ladies were demurely seated at dinner “in Master -Comptroller’s chamber.” Probably neither of them -played that evening much of a table part.</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_27'>27</span>The bride was left to bear the onus of the affair. -After a few stolen meetings the Earl went to France. -And presently the world began to point and stare. The -report grew, but no one seemed able to credit it. At -the close of August, 1561, the Earl’s mother wrote to -Cecil mentioning the rumour, denying all knowledge of -it, and hoped that the wilfulness of her unruly child, -Hertford, would not diminish the Queen’s favour. On -the same date Sir Edward Warner, Lieutenant of the -Tower, wrote to the Queen stating that he had questioned -Lady Catherine as to her “love practices,” but -she would confess nothing. It is said that Lady St. Loe -burst into tears when Lady Catherine made confession -to her. Probably the older woman knew what was in -store for them both. The royal warrant to Sir Edward -Warner not only required him to “examine the -Lady Catherine very straightly how many hath been -privy to love between her and the Lord of Hertford -from the beginning,” but continues: “Ye shall also -send to Alderman Lodge, secretly, for St. Low and shall -put her in awe of divers matters confessed by the Lady -Catherine; and so also deal with her that she may confess -to you all her knowledge in the same matters. It -is certain that there hath been great practices and purposes; -and since the death of the Lady Jane<a id='r6' /><a href='#f6' class='c013'><sup>[6]</sup></a> she hath -been most privy. And as ye shall see occasion, so ye -may keep St. Low two or three nights, more or less, -and let her be returned to Lodge’s or kept still with -you, as ye shall think meet.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>After poor Lady Catherine took Lady Loe into her -confidence, she made frantic application for help to -Lord Robert Dudley—not yet Earl of Leicester—so -<span class='pageno' id='Page_28'>28</span>high in the Queen’s good graces. In this there is sheer -drama as well as pathos—this confession and piteous -appeal from the young and comely lady of quality, -whose only fault was that she had married for love, -to the handsome, pampered, arrogant cavalier, the -Queen’s darling. Lady Hertford went to his very -chamber in Court to implore him to stand between her -parlous state as prospective mother and the Queen’s -anger. Yet nothing in such contingencies could divert -Elizabeth’s fury, or make her act in a humane -fashion. Lord Hertford was summoned to England to -undergo trial with his wife, and very soon both were -committed separately to the Tower. But before this -could be done the farce of a public enquiry had to -be played. A commission was ordained, pompously -headed by no less a person than Archbishop Parker. -The accused were requested to produce, within a given -time, witnesses of their marriage. That they failed to -do this is extraordinary. The priest seems to have -disappeared, and Lady Jane Seymour appeared unable -to find him or to assist in furnishing the required evidence. -But as this couple could not satisfy the Commission -in time they were sentenced to be imprisoned -during the Queen’s pleasure. “Displeasure” would be -the correct word. For Elizabeth knew little but vanity -and vexation of spirit at this period. The very word -marriage must have been a red rag to her. With the -strong vitality and virility of her father warring within -her against the heritage of the feminine instincts of her -mother, Anne Boleyn, with countless suitors and innumerable -flatterers to encourage and keep at bay -alternately, with one eye fixed on Mary of Scotland and -another on the “devildoms of Spain,” her life just now -<span class='pageno' id='Page_29'>29</span>was a constant turmoil. Her whole entourage was -forced to share in it. She would not decide upon a -consort to help her; she belittled the estate of marriage -one day and dallied with it the next. No wonder that -poor Mr. Treasurer Cecil wrote as he did on the eve of -the New Year of 1564. Schemes matrimonial whirled -round him like the winter snow. Elizabeth was being -wooed by a French monarch and an Austrian Emperor -at the same moment; the Lennox family and Mary of -Scotland were working to achieve the marriage of the -latter with Darnley, and the Lady Mary Grey, fired no -doubt by her sister’s intrigue and sick of loneliness, -had actually surreptitiously married John Keys, the -Serjeant Porter to the Queen. Meanwhile the Earl -and Countess of Hertford were in the Tower. In -addition, the Queen was putting up her beloved -Dudley, now Earl of Leicester, to oppose Darnley as a -possible consort for Scottish Mary. Shrewd old Cecil -shows, however, that she is only half-hearted about it: -“I see the qn M<sup>ty</sup> very desyroos to have my L. of -Lecester placed in this high degree to be the Scottish -Queen’s husband, but whan it commeth to the conditions -which are demanded I see her then remiss of her -earnestness.”<a id='r7' /><a href='#f7' class='c013'><sup>[7]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c006'>He concludes wearily enough:—</p> - -<p class='c007'>“This also I see in the Qn Ma<sup>ty</sup>, a sufficient contentation -to be moved to marry abrood, and if it is so may [it] -plese Almighty God, to leade by the hand some mete -person to come and lay hand on her to her contentation, -I cold than wish my self more helth to endure my yeres -somewhat longar to enjoye such a world here as I trust -<span class='pageno' id='Page_30'>30</span>wold follow: otherwise I assure yow, as now thyngs -hang in desperation, I have no comfort to lyve.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>My Lady St. Loe, as confidante, was forced to weather -the storm and endure reprimand. The married lovers, -meanwhile, dragged out their days in durance. Their -son was born in the Tower. In vain they languished, -pined, and implored the intercession of friends. In -1562 the Earl was allowed a little more ease. Husband -and wife managed to meet again. Another child -was born to them, and my Lord was duly fined fifteen -thousand pounds by the Star Chamber, for this event -was construed into a new State offence. In 1563 the -dreaded plague caused Elizabeth to remove her poor -love-birds from the Tower. Lady Catherine went to -the house of her uncle, Sir John Grey, in Essex, and -he was roused to uttermost compassion and distress -by her wretched mental and physical condition. It -was in mid-Lent that he wrote to Cecil emphatically -and ironically:—</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It is a great while me thinkethe, Cousin Cecile, -since I sent unto you, in my neices behalf, albeit I -knowe, (opportunitie so servinge) you are not unmindful -of her miserable and compfortlesse estate. For who -wantinge the Princes favor, maye compt himselfe to -live in any Realme? And because this time of all others -hathe ben compted a time of mercie and forgevenes I -cannot but recommende her woefull liffe unto you. In -faithe I wolde I were the Queen’s confessor this Lent, -that I might joine her in penaunce to forgive and forget; -or otherwise able to steppe into the pulpett to tell her -Highness, that God will not forgive her, unleast she -frelye forgeve all the worlde.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_31'>31</span>This letter is worth quoting because it shows the -prevailing attitude of the Elizabethan courtier. No one -who lacked the favour of the sovereign could be accounted -as one living. Lady Catherine, once under -that heavy cloud of disfavour, never emerged, but died -broken and miserable within six years of her unhappy -marriage. Wherefore Lady St. Loe had chance enough -to learn her lesson, and was fortunate in that her share -of the affair was visited only by a cross-examination -and warning. She was not at all the sort of woman to -brook being left out in the cold. She was too wise, of -course, ever to have engulfed herself in a marriage -of this sort, but in such a case, had she not managed to -divert Elizabeth’s anger by some master stroke of wit -and diplomacy, she would certainly not have languished -of “woofull griefe” nor starved herself to death, like -Lady Catherine, for sorrow.</p> - -<p class='c006'>At such a time and in face of the fresh hubbub -caused at Court by the marriage of Lady Mary Grey -(“an unhappy chance and monstruoos,” comments Cecil, -in a letter to the English Ambassador in France), the -peace and security of Chatsworth offered themselves as -a happy refuge against all complications. There is -a grotesque humour in Cecil’s use of that word monstrous, -for Lady Mary was almost a dwarf, and Keys, -whom Cecil calls “the biggest gentleman in this Court,” -had secured his post of Serjeant Porter owing to his -magnificent size and height. He was twice Lady -Mary’s age, and was a widower with several children. -The Queen clapped him in the Fleet, and condemned -Lady Mary to confinement in the houses of successive -friends. The pair never met after their hasty -wedding.</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_32'>32</span>Thus, on all sides, Court was a place of “dispeace,” -while in Derbyshire Lady St. Loe had good neighbours, -people of quality and substance, and was safe -within her parks and palings. She did not share -her royal mistress’s distrust of matrimony, for she -was free to choose her next lord, and there was no -reason why she should remain a widow longer than -she could help.</p> - -<p class='c006'>It is not to be suggested for a moment that she had -no suitors and that she was not the subject of all kinds -of matrimonial gossip. One Fowler (subsequently -committed to the Tower in connection with the discovery -of suspicious papers) opines in his “notes” that -“either Lord Darcy or Sir John Thynne are to marry -my Lady St. Loe, and not Harry Cobham.” Doubtless -the Cobham match would have pleased her well, and -she would have been quite in her element in the place -which afforded a seat and a surname to that noble and -splendid family upon whom the evil days of Jacobean -confiscation and the betrayal of Sir Walter Raleigh had -not yet fallen. A sister of Lord Cobham was married -to Mr. Secretary Cecil, “and the match would have -been advantageous, but possibly my Lady, with her -deep insight into character, divined that the gentleman -was not of the steady stuff which makes for worldly -security.” Moreover the best matches are by no means -to be found near the Court, and close at hand, in the -same county, lived one greater than the Cobhams, a -man whom many a maid and every widow would be -proud to espouse. He was a widower, an earl, the -owner of seven seats, bearer of a high government -post, and he came of a long line of distinguished -soldiers. Lady St. Loe went to work wisely. She had -<span class='pageno' id='Page_33'>33</span>the assistance of her dear gossip and contemporary, -Lady Cobham. No one could have acted the go-between -more discreetly. Before long the fashionable world -had something to talk about in the announcement of the -fourth marriage of Bess Hardwick.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_34'>34</span> - <h2 class='c004'>CHAPTER III<br /> <span class='small'>“A GREAT GENTLEMAN”</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_0_6 c005'>The fourth husband of “Building Bess” was no -less a person than George Talbot, sixth Earl of -Shrewsbury. Though the name does not appear in the -great roll of the prominent soldiers at the battle of -Hastings, the first Talbot—then Talebot—of whom -anything noteworthy is recorded, won the first title, a -barony, for his family at the close of the career of -William the First. Thenceforward the Talbots march -magnificently through the history of England—great -gentlemen, castellans, commanders, governors, judges, -lords-lieutenant. They wielded authority in Wales, -fought in France, Scotland, Ireland, Castile, occasionally -fell under suspicion of conspiracy, and emerged -without hurt. Once and once only was their pride -humbled in the dust, when the hitherto invincible tactics -of John Talbot, the greatest general of his day, the -chief glory of all the Talbots before and since, were -overcome by the generalship of the Maid of Orleans. -It must have hit the great general very hard to find -himself in prison on French soil for three long years at -the hands of a woman. Neither force nor strategy -freed him, but mere money. He had married a rich -wife—heiress to all “Hallamshire,”<a id='r8' /><a href='#f8' class='c013'><sup>[8]</sup></a> including the castle -<span class='pageno' id='Page_35'>35</span>of Sheffield. In 1432 he agreed to pay a large ransom, -and hurried back to England, bursting with purpose -and revenge. Instantly he raised a fresh force, rejoined -the English army in France, and fought with such -terrible and triumphant results that his name, like that -of Bonaparte, figured for generations as a bogy with -which to scare fractious children. It was this tremendous -campaign which won for his race the great -earldom of Shrewsbury.</p> - -<p class='c006'>George, the sixth earl, the great gentleman now dealt -with, inherited all the administrative qualities of his -ancestors, though he was less intimately associated with -war than his father Francis. It was well also that his -duties should have been to a greater extent civil and -defensive than military and aggressive. For he had -stepped into a great inheritance, and his burdens, as -householder and county magnate, were stupendous. -The manors and castles of Worksop, Welbeck, Bolsover, -Sheffield, Tutbury, Wingfield, and Rufford were all his. -He came into his own in 1560. The greatest gift he -received in that year was the Garter which the Queen -bestowed on him. Five years later he was appointed -Lord-Lieutenant of the counties of York, Nottingham, -and Derby. Subsequently the post of High Steward -in the place of the unhappy fifth Duke of Norfolk was -<span class='pageno' id='Page_36'>36</span>added to his honours. In the third year of his lieutenancy -the affair with Bess Hardwick was in full swing.</p> - -<p class='c006'>From both sides it was a reasonable and profitable -alliance. He was a widower with sons and daughters -who needed mothering. Her children needed a father. -There was wealth enough to provide for all. Yet -possibly family dissensions might arise amongst the -young folk. But against this risk my lady had devised -a splendid scheme of protection—the intermarriage of -some of the children. They were but children, the -two couples—Gilbert Talbot, the fifteen-year-old second -son of the Lord-Lieutenant and Mary Cavendish, and -the bride’s son Henry Cavendish, to whom Grace Talbot, -the Earl’s daughter, was given as wife.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The aforesaid childish marriages were settled and -carried through forthwith. Shortly afterwards the -wedding of their elders took place with due magnificence, -while the bride, besides her Cavendish and -Barlow properties, brought to her fourth husband the -Gloucestershire estate of St. Loe.</p> - -<p class='c006'>If the Cavendish epoch had been one of security and -happiness, the Shrewsbury epoch promised to be one of -sheer brilliance and delight. It is true there were one -or two dissentient voices. Said a certain John Hall, -under subsequent examination upon his arrest for -Scottish conspiracy, that, though he served as a gentleman -of the Earl’s household for some years, he so misliked -my Lord’s marriage with this wife, as divers -others of his friends did, that he resigned his post. -Yet the Queen and her circle approved. That was the -main thing. The following letter from a kinsman at -Court emphasises the fact:—<a id='r9' /><a href='#f9' class='c013'><sup>[9]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_37'>37</span>“May it please you to understand that Mr. Wingfield -hath delivered your venison to the Queen’s Majesty -with my lord’s most humble commission, and your -Ladyship with humble thanks from both your honours -for her great goodness.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“[I] assure your Ladyship of my faith, her Majesty -did talk one long hour with Mr. Wingfield of my Lord -and you so carefully, that, as God is my judge, I think -your honours have no friend living that could have -more consideration, nor more show love and great -affection. In the end she asked when my Lady meant -to come to the Court: he answered he knew not: then -said she, ‘I am assured if she might have her own will -she would not be long before she would see me.’ Then -said, ‘I have been glad to see my Lady Saint-Loe, but -now more desirous to see my Lady Shrewsbury.’ ‘I -hope,’ said she, ‘my Lady hath known my good opinion -of her; and thus much I assure you, there is no Lady -in this land that I better love and like.’ Mr. Batleman -can more at large declare unto your honour. And so -with most humble commendations to my very good -Lord, I wish to you both as the Queen’s Majesty doth -desire; and so take my leave in humble wise. From -St. John’s the 21st of October.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Your honours to command,</div> - <div class='line in20'>“<span class='sc'>E. Wingfield</span>.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>There was certainly nothing whatever in this marriage -to upset Elizabeth’s plans. Indeed, it really paved the -way for her schemes and made it easier for her to -utilise not only the Earl’s wealth, his authority and -position, but all his country seats in turn for the greater -security of her life and throne.</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_38'>38</span>My Lady Shrewsbury was forty-eight, my Lord had -been but eight years an Earl. Time had not yet -marked on his face the lines of anxiety and care which -the next twenty-three years were to bring him. He -was at the zenith of his career, and the Queen hinted -mysteriously that ere long she would show him still -more emphatic proofs of her trust and affection in so -splendid a servitor. It is in a very happy and devoted -vein that he writes love letters from Court just after -marriage to his second bride, in which he addresses her -as “sweet none.”<a id='r10' /><a href='#f10' class='c013'><sup>[10]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c006'>It is regrettable that these letters to his “none” are -not more numerous. Otherwise the Earl’s correspondence -all his life was enormous, and the masses of -letters which mirror contemporary history and his duties -in connection with them are nearly all comprised in -that rich heritage of manuscript known as the Talbot -Papers. Cecil is his constant correspondent. As Lord-Lieutenant -of three such great counties he would -naturally be kept <em>au courant</em> of great happenings. Is -there fear of French invasion? Immediately the Lords -of the Privy Council send him instructions. He is -to organise companies of demi-lances, to find horses -for them—“a good strong and well-set gelding and -a man on his back meet to wear a corselet and shoot -a dagge” runs the specification. Did her Majesty -receive “letters out of Spain”? Copies of the same -were sent to the Earl “to the intent that you may -thereby see what the humour and disposition of those -parties [i.e. the King of Spain and his emissary] -tend unto.” Did France goad Mary of Scotland into -that unforgettable offence—the adoption of the English -royal arms? Then also must his lordship be acquainted -with the fact and its immense possibilities. Presently -active Scottish hostility seemed imminent, and -the letter which travelled to my Lord from Berwick -to bid him have all his men in readiness to move -to the Border is cumbrously and theatrically endorsed -“Haste, haste, haste, haste, post haste with all possible -haste.”</p> -<div class='section'> - -</div> -<div class='figleft id003'> -<img src='images/i_038fpa.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><span class='left'><em>After a portrait at Rufford Abbey</em></span><br /><br />GEORGE TALBOT, EARL OF SHREWSBURY</p> -</div> -</div> - -<div class='figright id003'> -<img src='images/i_038fpb.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><span class='left'><em>After a portrait in the possession of the Duke of Portland</em></span><br /><br />ELIZABETH COUNTESS OF SHREWSBURY<br /><br /><span class='right'>Page <a href='#Page_38'>38</a></span></p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_39'>39</span>The marriage of Mary and Darnley, the exciting -news of the force raised by the rebellious Earls of -Moray and Arran against their Queen immediately -after the ceremony, the perilous position of Mary betwixt -her enemies—between Moray’s force on one -side, secretly encouraged by Elizabeth, and Elizabeth’s -forces, supplemented by two thousand Irish and the -Earl of Argyle’s company, on the other—the details -of field-pieces and “harquebusses,” all these events -and matters passed in review under the eyes of the -splendid and cautious Earl of Shrewsbury. Scarcely -a day went by but some important paper or letter, official -or private, was put into his hands. At every turn -he was helping to “make history,” while he was a keen -spectator of the Scottish drama up to the point when -Mary fled out of her own country to implore the aid -and protection of her sister sovereign.</p> - -<p class='c006'>It is now that the plot—Elizabeth’s plot which she -had kept up her sleeve—begins to peep out. The first -authentic news of it apparently went to the other -Elizabeth, the newly made Countess of Shrewsbury, -in the following letter from the English Court. The -signature is torn off, but the correspondent has weighty -news to tell, in spite of his deprecatory attitude towards -mere rumours:—</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_40'>40</span>“My most humble duty remembered unto your -honourable good Ladyship. If it were not for my -bounden duty’s sake I would be loth to write, because -there is so small certainty in occurrences, but (seeing -I am bound to write) it is but small that I see with -my own eyes that is worth writing, and therefore I -am forced to supply by that I do hear; which I write -as I hear by credible report, otherwise I should not -write at all, and therefore if I do err it is pardonable. -The news is here that my Lord your husband is sworn -of the Privy Council; and that the Scottish Queen is -on her journey to Tutbury, something against her will, -and will be under my Lord’s custody there.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The rest of the letter is perhaps worth quoting, -because it gives a picture of public events and suggests -such a spacious background for the present life of Bess -Hardwick. It deals with the war now beginning -between Spain and the Netherlands, owing to the barbarous -treatment of the latter by the Duke of Alva, -and the commotion occasioned by it in France.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“The report is that the Duke of Alva hath for the -lack of money disarmed the most part of his army; -and they are not paid for that is past; but rob and -steal, and much molest the country. And being divers -garrisons at Maestricht of the Walloons the Duke sent -to discharge them and sent Spaniards in their place, -who have shut the gates of the Spaniards and refuse -to deliver the town before they are paid their due.... -In France there is a great stir to let the Prince of -Condé to join with the Prince of Orange, so that the -King divides his force, the Duke of Anjou to stop the -passage of the Prince of Condé, etc., etc.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_41'>41</span>The letter ends with intimate details:—</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And so eftsoons Jesus preserve you and send my -cousin Frances a good hour and your honour a glad -grandmother.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Scribbled at London ... January, 1568.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Evidently this “Frances” is the eldest daughter of -the Countess, who married Sir Henry Pierrepoint, and -whose child is awaited.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Matters as regards the Earl of Shrewsbury did not -move so fast as one would expect. It was not till June -of 1568 that the final orders reached the Earl to make -ready his “castle” of Tutbury for the reception of his -romantic royal prisoner. Mary was now at Carlisle, -and the part which the Earl was to play in her entourage -as suggested in contemporary letters has more -the character of that of a prominent cavalier in a -princely retinue than that of a military gaoler. The -description in the French ambassador’s letter reads -well:—</p> - -<p class='c007'>“A castle named Tutbury, which is only one -hundred miles from here”—London—“and is a very -beautiful place as they say, especially for hunting, in -which, whenever it takes place, the Earl of Shrewsbury, -who has a portion of his estate in that neighbourhood, -is ordered to give her his company, along with -other Lords and gentlemen thereabout.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The Queen was feeling her way, slowly sounding -the Shrewsburys’ relatives, careful always to assert her -appreciation not only of lord, but of lady. My Lord -came to Court, and still her Majesty beat about the -bush.</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_42'>42</span>The following letters<a id='r11' /><a href='#f11' class='c013'><sup>[11]</sup></a> from the Earl belong to this -epoch of the lives of the newly wedded pair:—</p> - -<p class='c007'>“My dear none, being here arrived at Wingfield late -yesternight from Rofford, though very weary in toiling -about, yet thinking you would be desirous to hear -from me, scribbled these few lines to let you understand -that I was in health and wished you anights with -me. I picked out a very good time, for since my -coming from home I never had letters but these this -morning from Gilbert, which I send you. I mind -to-morrow, God willing, to be with you at Chatsworth: -and in the meantime as occurrences [befall] to me you -shall be partaker of them. I thank you, sweet none, -for your baked capon, and chiefest of all for remembering -of me. It will be late to-morrow before my coming -to Chatsworth, seven or eight of the clock at the -soonest: and so farewell, my true one.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“This 28th June.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Your faithful husband,</div> - <div class='line in12'>“<span class='sc'>G. Shrewsbury</span>.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>“My dear none, having received your letter of the -first of December which came in very good time, else -had I sent one of these few remaining with me to have -brought me word of your health, which I doubted of -for that I heard not from you of all this time till now, -which drove me in dumps, but now relieved again -by your writing unto me. I thank you, sweet none, for -your puddings and venison. The puddings have I -bestowed in this wise: [a] dozen to my Lady Cobham, -and as many to my L. Steward and unto my L. of -Leicester: and the rest I have reserved to myself to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_43'>43</span>eat in my chamber. The venison is yet at London, -but I have sent for it hither.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“I perceive Ned Talbot hath been sick, and [is] now -past danger. I thank God I have such a none that is -so careful over me and mine. God send me soon home -to possess my greatest joy: if you think it is you, you -are not deceived.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“I will not forget to deal with the Master of the -Rolls for young Knifton. He seems to be much my -friend, and is now in dealing between Denenge and me, -for the lease of Abbot Stake, agreed upon by me and -Tamworth he should so do. He holds it at a thousand -marks: and the Master of the Rolls hath driven it -to five hundred pounds, which methinks too much for -such a lease, yet because it lies so, as I am informed, -amongst Gilbert’s lands, I have made my steward to -offer four hundred pounds, and to get [delay] till the -next term, because I would have your advice therein. -And for that I live in hope to be with you before you -can return answer again, you shall understand that this -present Monday in the morning finding the Queen in -the garden at good leisure, I gave her Majesty thanks -that she had so little regard to the clamorous people -of Bolsover<a id='r12' /><a href='#f12' class='c013'><sup>[12]</sup></a> in my absence. She declared unto me -what evil speech was against me, my nearness and state -in housekeeping, and as much as was told her, which -she now believes with as good words as I could wish, -declaring that ere it were long I should well perceive -she did so trust me as she did few. She would not tell -me therein, but [I] doubt [not] it was about the custody -of the Scottish Queen. Here is private speech that Gates -and Vaughan should make suit to have her, but this day -<span class='pageno' id='Page_44'>44</span>I perceive it is altered. I think before Sunday these -matters will come to some pass, that we shall know -how long our abode shall be, but howsoever it falls out, -I will not fail but be with you before Christmas, or -else you shall come to me.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“The plague is dispersed far abroad in London, so -that the Queen keeps her Christmas here, and goeth not -to Greenwich as it was meant. My Lady Cobham, your -dear friend, wishes your presence here: she loves you -well. I tell her I have the cause to love her best, for -that she wished me so well to speed as I did: and as the -pen writes so the heart thinks, that of all earthly joys -that hath happened unto me, I thank God chiefest for -you: for with you I have all joy and contentation of -mind, and without you death is more pleasant to me -than life if I thought I should long be from you: and -therefore, good wife, do as I will do, hope shortly of -our meeting, and farewell, dear sweet none. From -Hampton Court this Monday at midnight, for it is -every night so late before I go to my bed, being at play -in the privy chamber at Premiro, where I have lost -almost a hundred pounds, and lacked my sleep.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Your faithful husband till death,</div> - <div class='line in24'>“<span class='sc'>G. Shrewsbury</span>.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“Wife, tell my daughter Maule that I am not pleased -with her that she hath not written to me with her sister: -yet will I not forget her and the rest, and pray God to -bless them all.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“To my wife the Countess of Shrewsbury at Tutbury -give this.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The daughter “Maule” here named is evidently -Mary. Besides Gilbert and Grace Talbot, married as -<span class='pageno' id='Page_45'>45</span>stated to the Cavendish daughter and son of Lady -Shrewsbury, the Earl’s children were Francis, the eldest -(who married Anne Herbert, daughter of William Earl -of Pembroke, and did not inherit, since he died in -1582); Mary, who married Sir George Saville, Kt.; -Catherine, who married Henry Earl of Pembroke; -Edward, who married Jane (elder daughter of Cuthbert -Lord Ogle, co-heiress with the wife of Charles Cavendish), -and succeeded to his father’s title, after Gilbert, -as eighth earl; and Henry Talbot, who married Elizabeth, -daughter of Sir William Rayner, and left two -daughters.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The next letter from the Earl gives the Queen’s -important decision:—</p> - -<p class='c007'>“My dear none, I have received your letter of the -8th of December, wherein appeareth your desire for my -soon coming. What my desire is thereunto, I refer the -same to your construsion.<a id='r13' /><a href='#f13' class='c013'><sup>[13]</sup></a> If I so judge of time, -methinks time longer since my coming hither without -you, my only joy, than I did since I married you: such -is faithful affection, which I never tasted so deeply of -before. This day or to-morrow we shall know great -likelihood of our despatch. I think it will be Christmas -Even before I shall arrive at Tutbury. Things fall out -very evil against the Scots’ Queen. What she shall do -yet is not resolved of.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“As it chances, I am glad that I am here: for if I -were not I were like to have most part of my leases -granted over my head: there is such suit for leases in -reversion of the Duchy. My park that I have in keeping -called Morley Park is granted in reversion for thirty -<span class='pageno' id='Page_46'>46</span>years, wherein I have made some stir. My good neighbour -hath a promise of it, and if I can get it put in I am -about to get a friend of mine to put the forest of the -Peak in his book. I have offered a thousand pounds for -a lease in reversion for thirty years. I must pay Denege -five hundred and forty-one for his lease of Stoke. How -money will be had for these matters assure you I know -not. I will make such means to Mr. Mildmay for the -stay of Tutbury tithe, as I will not be prevented: for it -is high time, for there was never such striving and -prancing for leases in reversion as be now at this -present.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“My L. Steward hath been sick and in danger, but -now well. My L. Sheffield is departed this life; and -my L. Paget just after. Your black man is in health.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Your faithful husband till my end,</div> - <div class='line in24'>“<span class='sc'>G. Shrewsbury</span>.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“From the Court this Monday the 13th of December. -Now it is certain the Scots’ Queen comes to Tutbury to -my charge. In what order I cannot ascertain you.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“To my wife the Countess of Shrewsbury</div> - <div class='line in4'>at Tutbury give this.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>It was not till just the close of 1568 that Shrewsbury -was certain of his new duty and in a position to write -that triumphant postscript. Within a month, in the -beginning of the New Year, he had taken over from -Sir Francis Knollys the task which was to prove so -engrossing, stupendous, so provocative of every imaginable -complication, official and domestic.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Imagine the excitement of my Lady at such a juncture! -She knew the Scottish Queen only by hearsay, and her -curiosity must have been kept at boiling pitch while her -<span class='pageno' id='Page_47'>47</span>heart swelled with importance in the anticipation of the -additional chatelaine’s duties thrust upon her by the -august guest. She had known what it was to deal with -a princess in captivity, for she had been acquainted -with Elizabeth before her accession. The present -matter was far more vital, more portentous. The -Queen who rode wearily from Bolton Castle to Sheffield -and thence to Tutbury must be humoured as Queen, -served as queens are served, but a network of rules -were being prepared, not only for her own retinue and -the household, but for earl and lady.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The Earl, foreseeing all such domestic complications, -had asked the Council for directions as to the treatment -of his prisoner. “Remembrances for my L. of Shrewsbury” -stands at the head of notes, in his handwriting, -all duly numbered. Of these No. 5 reads, “For my -wife’s access unto her, if she send for her.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>To this the reply in Cecil’s handwriting is, “The -Queen of Scots may see the Countess, if she is sick, or -for any other necessary cause, but rarely. No other -gentlewoman must be allowed access to her.” The -remainder of the rules are strict enough, and the -pleasant country-house picture drawn by the French -Ambassador, De la Forest, in the letter quoted, is rudely -effaced by these details. Shrewsbury is to be well fortified -by an array of facts against the Scottish Queen, -lest her pleading should win his sympathies and her -captive condition arouse his indignation too deeply. -How the regulations at every turn reveal Elizabeth of -England—at once autocratic and apprehensive of her -own importance, at once trustful and suspicious! The -document is so vital a part of the household appanage -of the Shrewsburys from this moment until the close of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_48'>48</span>their wardership that it is worth quoting in the concise -form in which, partly in the original and partly as -abstract, it is given in Leader’s admirable <cite>Mary Queen -of Scots in Captivity</cite>.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“A memorial of certain thinges imparted by the -Q. Matie to the erle of Shrewsbery, for the causes -following. Gyven at Hampton Courte, the xxvjth -day of January 1568, the xjth year of her Mates -reign. The Q. has chosen him in consequence of his -approved loyalty and faithfulness, and the ancient state -and blood from which he is descended, to have the -custody of the Queen of Scots.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“The Earl is to treat her, being a Queen, of the -Queen Elizabeth’s blood, with the reverence and honour -meet for a person of his state and calling and for her -degree. He must ask Lord Scrope and the Vice -Chamberlain [Knollys] about the ceremonies used by -them towards her, that ‘she may not find herself to be -in the usage of herself abused, nor by this removing to -have her State amended.’</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Whatever honour he gives her he must take care that -by no pretence she finds any means to gain any rule -over him to practise for her escape. She must have no -opportunity either to escape nor yet to practise with -anyone to help her to escape. He doubtless knows how -important it is to the Queen’s honour and reputation -and quietness that Mary does not depart without the -Queen’s assent. No persons must be in conference with -her except those already placed about her as her ordinary -servants, and those who have special licence from -the Queen. The latter for no longer time than is mentioned -in the licence.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“If any persons coming to visit the Earl or anyone -<span class='pageno' id='Page_49'>49</span>in his household, proffer to come to her presence, or to -have conference with any belonging to her, or if she -invites them to come to her presence in the house or -abroad, under colour of hunting, or other pastime, he -shall warn them to forbear, and if needful use his -authority to make them desist, and send their names to -the Queen.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Persons coming out of Scotland to see her, if of -degrees above that of servants, or if noted to be busy -men and practicers, must be remitted to the Queen for -licence. If they are mean servants or persons coming -only to have relief of her, he shall not be so straight -towards them as to give her occasion to say she is kept -a prisoner, and yet he must understand their errands -and not suffer them to abide where she shall be, or -to hover about the country.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“He must make a view of all her ordinary servants -when he first takes the charge, and cause a household -roll to be made of those necessary and of those who -were with her at Bolton. With the advice of the Vice -Chamberlain, he must reduce the number, omitting -those who are superfluous and who are fit rather for -practices than service.... Her diet must be kept at -the former rate, and payments made by the clerk who was -sent for that purpose from the Queen’s household. He -(my Lord Shrewsbury) must consult the Vice Chamberlain -as to the watching of the house, as he knows her -condition and the disposition of those about her. -The Queen intended her first to be placed at Tutbury -Castle but as the house is not fit, if she is nearer the -Earl’s house of Sheffield than Tutbury, she shall remain -there till further orders. If she is at Tutbury, it is left -to the Earl’s discretion to allow her to remain, or to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_50'>50</span>remove her to Sheffield or any other of the Earl’s -houses.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Because it is thought that she will try to make the -Earl think her cause worthy of favour, and that she is not -well used in being restrained from liberty, the Queen -has ordered, that beside the knowledge which the Earl -has of the presumptions produced against her for the -murder of her husband, and her unlawful marriage with -the principal murderer Bothwell, he shall also be -informed of other particulars too long to write here, -that he may answer her and her favourers. He may -say, as of himself, that if she is known to utter any -speeches touching the Queen’s honour or doings, it may -be an occasion to publish all her actions, which once -being done cannot be revoked, but many things must -follow to her prejudice.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“The Earl will be allowed wages for 40 persons at -6d. a day, to be used at his discretion.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>As a matter of fact the house at Tutbury was -certainly “not fit” for the reception of any guest. The -Shrewsburys made application to the Queen for hangings -and necessaries in the way of furniture; and these -were promised. But they did not arrive. Mary was -growing obstreperous and visited all her misery and -annoyance on her present gaoler, Sir Francis Knollys. -He, poor man, was in despair, with his wife dying, and -his piteous requests for discharge from duty unheeded -by Elizabeth. No wonder he wrote at last to say that -he would take the matter into his own hands, “and -as sure as God is in heaven, repair to Court, and suffer -any punishment that may be laid upon him, rather than -continue in such employment.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_51'>51</span>And still the much-needed furniture was not in its -place. At last my Lady Shrewsbury, no doubt in -desperation, took down such hangings as there were -at Sheffield, and with the help of the borrowed details -set to work to prepare Tutbury. A supplementary -instalment of household articles from Court helped to -complete the necessaries. The journey from Bolton -began on January 25th, in morose, biting weather. It -brought Mary of Scotland to the single gate in the wall -surrounding Tutbury on the afternoon of February 4th, -a Friday. The position of this place was fair enough in -the beautiful valley of the Dove, but it was not all the -French Ambassador imagined it, and my lady and her -household were sore put to it to make it habitable. -The scene of commotion and bustle must have palpitated -with drama. With messengers bringing letters -and the rumours and counter-rumours which filtered -through from the country folk the ten days of Queen -Mary’s journey southward must have been a period -of extraordinary tension for all immediately concerned. -The condition of that busy, expectant household at -Tutbury under my Lady’s command is best suggested -in the imaginary dialogue overleaf.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_52'>52</span> - <h2 class='c004'>CHAPTER IV<br /> <span class='small'>HUBBUB</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c014'><em>Scene</em>: The presence chamber of Tutbury Castle on a raw day -of February, 1569. A casement flapping in the wind. -Crimson velvet drapery lies on the floor, and two women -squat there, stitching at it. Beyond, through an open door, -a suite of smaller rooms full of furniture.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>First Sewing Woman.</em> You tug too much of the velvet -over to you, Mary. Let be, and be content with your -share.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Second Sewing Woman.</em> I only desire to help you, -Richardyne. I scarcely can hold my needle for the cold.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>1st S.W.</em> Then shut the window, you fool.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>2nd S.W.</em> Nay, fool I am not, though I be younger -than you. For I did not set the window open. It was -the cook. Call him to fasten it.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>1st S.W.</em> The cook indeed! His part is to bake and -stew, not hang out of the casements.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>2nd S.W.</em> Will there be a great feast, do you think, -when this Queen comes?</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>1st S.W.</em> There will be feasts every night.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>2nd S.W.</em> Lord! how happy it will be! They say -she loves dancing.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>1st S.W.</em> Who told you this?</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>2nd S.W.</em> The post that brought my Lord’s letter -from Bolton. He knew, for he spoke like a Scottish -man.</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_53'>53</span><em>1st S.W.</em> Now I see why the fiddler has come from -Chatsworth.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>2nd S.W.</em> Yes, to make music he has come. He -begged my Lady so sore to keep him here that she -promised the poor wretch at last——</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>1st S.W.</em> There he is, playing down by the kitchen.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>2nd S.W.</em> He is coming here. [<em>Gets up hastily and -trips over the velvet. Enter a youth with branches of laurel -and ivy. He puts them on a table, and is about to retire -when the fiddler enters playing and bowing.</em>]</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>The Youth.</em> What do you here, old scraping John?</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Fiddler.</em> More than you, fellow of discord, with idle -arms.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>The Youth</em> [<em>angrily</em>]. They are only waiting to pound -thee.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Fiddler.</em> I am my Lord’s servant more than you. He -has many boys like you who can stand and stare, but -only one who can fiddle.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>The Youth</em> [<em>advancing</em>]. Look to thyself. Thy catgut -will not shield thee much.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Fiddler</em> [<em>from behind the table</em>]. Help, help, Master -Crompe!</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>The Women</em> [<em>rising and flinging the velvet over the chair</em>]. -Help, help—porter, cook, men, all of you!</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>1st S.W.</em> [<em>to the youth</em>]. Boy, do not brawl in the -presence chamber.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>2nd S.W.</em> No, no, it is foolish. We each must work -to-day that we may dance another day. And how can -we dance if you break the fiddler’s head?</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>The Youth</em> [<em>furious</em>]. He is a lewd fellow, smooth and -gentle to you wenches, but a liar——</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Fiddler.</em> Master Crompe. He calls me a liar. [<em>Enter -the Steward, Crompe.</em>]</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_54'>54</span><em>Crompe.</em> Stop your bellowing, all. You, Fiddler—drown -the chatter with your music, if music you must -make. Her Ladyship comes. You—boy, go to the -bed-chambers above and help to carry down the napery -which she will give you. Oh! there is more to accomplish -than any hands can do. The stables are not yet -ready, two of the scullions are drunk and must go, the -carpenters are short of wood for the mending of the -walls of my Lord’s guardroom, the roof of the dining-hall -leaks, and the roll of canvas for the wall behind the -dais, which is mossy and wet, has not come from France. -[<em>Goes out shaking his head.</em>]</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>2nd S.W.</em> [<em>mimicking him</em>]. Lord, oh, Lord! the sky -will tumble on our heads.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>1st S.W.</em> Get back to work, girl. These velvets are -for the Scots Queen’s bedroom.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>2nd S.W.</em> Is that true? I will stitch hard if—Master -Fiddler will play.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Fiddler.</em> All work, not forgetting the business of eating, -goes better to music. [<em>Begins to play, walking up -and down the room.</em>]</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>2nd S.W.</em> [<em>laughing</em>]. I cannot sew. There is an itch -in my ankles.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>1st S.W.</em> Fudge!</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>2nd S.W.</em> Do you think it is the plague that I have?</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Fiddler.</em> It means that you must dance and not sew.</p> - -<p class='c015'>[<em>2nd S.W., jumping up, gathers up her petticoats, and -prances in time. The Fiddler plays on, and the youth, -entering with napery, thrusts it on to the large table and -joins the dance.</em>]</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>2nd S.W.</em> Faster, Master Fiddler, till feet are as hot -as toasts.</p> - -<p class='c015'><span class='pageno' id='Page_55'>55</span>[<em>In the middle of it, with a jingle of keys and a rustle of -skirts, enter my Lady of Shrewsbury with a long roll -of paper in her hands.</em>]</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Bess</em> [<em>in the doorway</em>]. Is this how my command is -obeyed?</p> - -<p class='c015'>[<em>The music dies away with a trickle, the dancers fall back -against the wall.</em>]</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>1st S.W.</em> [<em>rises and curtsies</em>]. Richardyne’s feet were -cold, my Lady, and she danced to save them from blains.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Bess</em> [<em>drily</em>]. A mess of mustard were the quicker way, -I think, to cure <em>that</em>. [<em>To the youth.</em>] And you—have -you also frozen toes?</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Youth.</em> Y—yes, my Lady.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Bess.</em> Then go and keep watch outside the castle gate -in the wind. That will warm you quick enow. You -can play Jumping Joan all the while and nobody to stop -you. But so soon as you see a light upon the hill it is -the signal that the Queen has passed the woods and is -close. [<em>Exit Youth.</em>] [<em>To the Fiddler.</em>] Remember—you—you -must not intrude if you are to be suffered here. -You must stay in the kitchens till you are wanted.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Fiddler.</em> My Lady, I went looking for you and thought -to find you here to know my duties.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Bess.</em> Like enough! Make no noise till you are -ordered. [<em>He turns to go.</em>] Stop! What tunes can -you play?</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Fiddler.</em> A hundred and more—“The Derby Ram,” -“The Nun’s Green Rangers,” “The Unconscionable -Bachelors,” “The Derby Hero,” “The Bakewell”——</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Bess.</em> Silence! I do not desire to listen to your -dictionary. How do you call the air you played but -now?</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_56'>56</span><em>Fiddler.</em> The title I know not, my Lady, but the song -of it begins—</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c016'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>You have a lodging in my heart</div> - <div class='line'>For which you pay no rent.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'><em>Bess.</em> Marry, and you chose that to greet the Queen?</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Fiddler.</em> It is for you to choose, my Lady.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Bess.</em> Go to, go to. Back to the kitchens with your -fiddle. I will choose later. [<em>Enter Master Crompe.</em>] -Crompe, Crompe, did you hear what he said—the name -of his tune?</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Crompe.</em> Yes, my Lady.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Bess.</em> He is an impudent fellow, Crompe.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Crompe.</em> Innocent I trust, my Lady.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Bess.</em> There was a wink in his eye, Crompe. [<em>Stamps -her foot.</em>] “You have a lodging in my heart”—forsooth!—“For -which you pay no rent!” Mark that, Crompe. -It mislikes me much. He should play that to my -Lord Treasurer at Court. An’ the next letter gives no -surety of that I will no more tear down my tapestries -to furnish a prison-house.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Crompe</em> [<em>soothingly</em>]. My Lord has her Majesty’s promise -in writing that the furnishments shall be sent. -And for the present we can make shift.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Bess.</em> Well, well, time passes and nothing is finished. -[<em>Seats herself at the table.</em>] Bring me the ink, good -Crompe, that I may check the appointments in the -Scots Queen’s chambers. [<em>Crompe goes out.</em>] Crompe, -Crompe, who has littered this room with this green -stuff?</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>1st S.W.</em> I heard Mistress Elizabeth Cavendish command -the branches to be gathered for garlands.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Bess.</em> Garlands?</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>2nd S.W.</em> For the Queen’s welcome.</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_57'>57</span><em>Bess.</em> Idleness and foolery. Garlands! [<em>Catches sight -of her daughter Elizabeth in the doorway.</em>] Bet, why do -you bring confusion into my plans?</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Elizabeth.</em> Lady mother, there were no flowers. I -have sought in the lanes, and there is no joy in them. -And so I would twine the laurels and ivy into chains -and see the leaves shine in the firelight.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Bess</em> [<em>sharply</em>]. No time for garlands. There will be -chains enough truly. Go, fetch me this green stuff -away. Throw it out of the window, Crompe. Bet, -fetch your needle and mend me yonder cushion. -[<em>Goes to door and calls.</em>] Mrs. Glasse! Wenches! [<em>Women -come running. Mrs. Glasse, the housekeeper, follows with a -bundle of linen.</em>]</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Bess.</em> Listen to me, all of you. Here is my Lord’s -tale of the things which must be ready. As I read -so do you answer, Mrs. Glasse. Thirty pallets must be -ready.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Mrs. Glasse.</em> Only twenty have mattresses, my Lady.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Bess.</em> Have you not five feather-beds, woman?</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Mrs. G.</em> Only three, my Lady. The two others have -been taken for the captain of the soldiers that is coming.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Bess.</em> By whose order?</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Mrs. G.</em> I know not.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Bess.</em> Take them away instantly and put instead the -old mattress from the old state-couch. The other five -must make shift without mattresses.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Mrs. G.</em> My Lady, there are not pillows for more -than fifteen beds.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Bess.</em> But yesterday I gave you out ten new ones.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Mrs. G.</em> We still lack fifteen, save your Ladyship will -allow those of chaff to be used.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Bess.</em> Use anything, all you can lay hands upon. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_58'>58</span>Lord, Lord! all my substance is swallowed, and still -you cry “More pillows!” Beshrew me if you do not -eat pillows. Alice, are the ewers and basins in place?</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Alice.</em> Yes, m’lady, though one is cracked and two -were broken early this morning by my Lord’s hound, -which sprang through the window, so that I dropped -them in my fright.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Bess.</em> Lord! these people eat ewers as fast as pillows! -Take away the cracked one and put brass ewers for the -other two. No, stay. Leave the cracked one. They -say this Queen’s folk have a crazy fancy for little dogs -and darlings. If we place them new pitchers, they will -only break those also.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Alice.</em> Little French dogs...? Oh, they will be -sport!</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Bess.</em> Hold thy idiot’s tongue. Pray Heaven they do -not bring monkeys also, like Lady Catherine Grey<a id='r14' /><a href='#f14' class='c013'><sup>[14]</sup></a> when -she went to the Tower. Kate, where is the Queen’s -coverlet? [<em>Girls bring it forward.</em>] There is an ugly -darn in it. It shall be hidden with some gold lace. -Fetch my Lord’s old riding-cloak and rip the galloon -quickly from it. Do not use the broad, but the narrow. -It will seem well enough. To work, to work!</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>[<em>Re-enter Crompe.</em>]</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'><em>Crompe.</em> The cook and his fellows be ready, my Lady.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Bess.</em> Let him come. [<em>Enter a procession of kitchen men -with dishes.</em>]</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_59'>59</span><em>Bess</em> [<em>reading from the roll before her</em>]. A pair of capons -stuffed with chestnuts.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Cook.</em> The garnishing has yet to be done, my Lady.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Bess.</em> A brisket of pork.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Cook.</em> Boy—bring it round.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>[<em>A cook’s boy parades with the dish.</em>]</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'><em>Bess.</em> Six carp—these should be served hot.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Cook.</em> My Lady, they simmer slowly.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Bess</em> [<em>reading</em>]. A roast of beef.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>[<em>Two boys parade it and pass on.</em>]</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'><em>Bess</em> [<em>going on with the list, while the dishes are presented -in turn</em>.]</p> - -<p class='c006'>Hare with little jellies.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Plover trussed and stuffed.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Wheaten cakes.</p> - -<p class='c006'>A mess of furmity.</p> - -<p class='c006'>A heron stewed. You dolts, this should be heated!</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Cook.</em> My Lady, my Lady—the ovens will heat it again -quickly. I brought it hither that your Ladyship should -taste the sauce. [<em>Presents a spoon. Bess tastes.</em>]</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Bess.</em> I mislike the onion. And for a Queen, there -is too much aniseed. Mark that if the dish goes untouched.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Cook.</em> My Lady, they say this Queen will bring her -own tasting-gentleman.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Bess.</em> Surely, yes, surely. Who will she not bring? -Her tasting-gentleman to see she is not poisoned by -you, Master Cook. Swallow the insult and say your -prayers and be sparing of your herbs in future. You -were always too set upon aniseed, and ’tis fit only for -the colic, to my thinking. Get on, get on with your -<span class='pageno' id='Page_60'>60</span>dishes.... H’m! the pasties ... here is only one of -liver. I told Crompe to command two ... two of -liver and two of apples. [<em>The pasties are presented.</em>]</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Bess.</em> Fifty loaves.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Cook.</em> Thirty-eight are here.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Bess</em> [<em>angrily</em>]. Always something lacking, it seems. -A plague, you fellows! Understand me, Cook, if the -castle goes hungry you shall go more hungry, and your -purse still more. Briskets, sallets, eggs, cheeses—where -are they? Crompe, here—take you the bill, and if -anything lacks you know who shall first go supperless. -Not the Queen, and not your master and lady. Nor -the Queen’s folk either. But you, Crompe—do you -hear me? You!</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Crompe</em> [<em>agitated</em>]. Yes, my Lady. Indeed, my Lady.... -I have made provision to your order ... for -twenty persons.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Bess.</em> Twenty? And I have told you forty....</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Crompe.</em> Thirty beds said Mrs. Glasse.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Bess.</em> Mrs. Glasse knows nothing. Dare you scream -ever to me of Mrs. Glasse, Crompe? [<em>More quietly.</em>] -Listen, listen. The Queen brings five gentlemen—hungry -riding gentlemen; six gentlewomen—weary -riding women. God help us for their airs and graces, -their wants and their want-nots! And the gentlemen -must have their men. God help us again! Three in -number these men. And the gentlewomen will bring -two wives to wait on them, and there will be fourteen -servitors, three cooks. Crompe, cease that arithmetic -of your fingers, for it incenses me!—Four boys, ten -wenches and children——</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Crompe</em> [<em>aghast, counting on his fingers behind his back</em>]. -’Tis forty-eight without the children, my Lady.</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_61'>61</span><em>Bess.</em> Well, well, can I not add two and two as well -as you, Crompe? Does it help me if you stand there -with a mouth like a porringer?</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Crompe.</em> But the children, my Lady!</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Bess.</em> And the horses, Crompe!</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Crompe.</em> Then there will be grooms also.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Bess.</em> Oil your wits, Crompe, and think of the grooms. -Man alive! if you stand in that spot the world will take -you for a root of mandragora, to be torn out, howling, -by dogs! Stir, stir! Do somewhat, or, if you cannot -of yourself, remember you have a mistress, my good -fool! [<em>Rustles out into the corridor.</em>]</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Crompe</em> [<em>aside</em>]. Who should ever forget it?</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>2nd S.W.</em> [<em>jumping up, points through the casement</em>]. See, -there is something. A boy runs ... ’tis a post. My -Lady, my Lady.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>[<em>Re-enter Lady Shrewsbury.</em>]</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'><em>2nd S.W.</em> My Lady ... there is a fire lighted on -that hill, and a boy comes running.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Bess.</em> Then the Frenchwoman is upon us. For God’s -sake leave your stitching, and mend the rest with -pins and nails as you best can! The carpenter shall -aid you. To the Queen’s bedchamber—quick, quick! -[<em>Drives them in front of her.</em>] Crompe, you follow.... -No—go to the stables, the kitchens. Tell the men to -bring more coals and bigger logs.... [<em>Exeunt.... Her -voice pursues the servants down the corridors.</em>] Pile high -the fires! Higher! More logs! Have the torches -ready! Pile high the fires!</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_62'>62</span> - <h2 class='c004'>CHAPTER V<br /> <span class='small'>MAKE-BELIEVE</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_0_6 c005'>All the mighty fuss and preparation aforesaid sufficed -only to make Tutbury barely habitable. The airy, -pleasant impressions of the French Ambassador were -literally castles in the air compared with the fastness -itself to which Mary of Scotland travelled. To begin -with, her retinue numbered sixty persons, and Heaven -knows where they all slept that first night. Mary’s own -rooms were small enough, and she complained bitterly of -them and of the condition of the whole building. Here -is her description in a subsequent letter:—</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I am in a walled enclosure, on the top of a hill, -exposed to all the winds and inclemencies of heaven. -Within the said enclosure, resembling that of the wood -of Vincennes, there is a very old hunting lodge, built of -timber and plaster, cracked in all parts, the plaster adhering -nowhere to the woodwork and broken in numberless -places; the said lodge distant three fathoms or thereabouts -from the walls, and situated so low that the rampart -of earth which is behind the wall is on a level with -the highest point of the building, so that the sun can -never shine upon it on that side, nor any fresh air come -to it; for which reason it is so damp, that you cannot -put any piece of furniture in that part without its being -in four days completely covered with mould. I leave -you to think how this must act upon the human body; -<span class='pageno' id='Page_63'>63</span>and, in short, the greater part of it is rather a dungeon -for base and abject criminals than the habitation fit for a -person of my quality, or even of a much lower.... -The only apartments that I have for my own person -consist—and for the truth of this I can appeal to all those -that have been here—of two little rooms, so excessively -cold, especially at night, that, but for the ramparts and -entrenchments of curtains and tapestry which I have -had made, it would not be possible for me to stay in -them in the daytime; and out of those who have sat up -with me at night during my illnesses, scarcely one has -escaped without fluxion, cold, or some disorder.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>As for the gay hunting parties which had been anticipated, -the only exercise allowed her was in a palisaded -vegetable patch called by courtesy a garden.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The first fortnight of that time must have placed a -severe strain on the temper and endurance of the -autocratic chatelaine. She was not to have access to the -royal prisoner, she must obey the orders of her gaoler-husband, -himself constantly on tenter-hooks lest his -cranky abode should suffer sudden attack from Mary’s -friends, lest sickness should attack her, or quarrels be -brewed between her motley household and his own. -My Lady Bess—for once—must keep herself well in -the background and still contrive provision for that -big household. Doubtless it was she who backed the -Earl in his determination to secure at once an understanding -with the English Queen as to the household -expenditure of the prisoner. He put in a claim for -£500 as a preliminary, and a weekly allowance of £52 -was arranged. Whether he received it remains to be -seen. Mary was not yet entirely a prisoner. That is -<span class='pageno' id='Page_64'>64</span>to say she did not realise herself as one. Her sister-queen -was too crafty to permit that. Shrewsbury, who -found Mary calm and, at the outset, bearing household -inconveniences cheerfully—hopeful that they were but -temporary—gave her a little leash here and there. She -evidently insisted on seeing Bess Shrewsbury. “The -Queen continueth daily resort unto my wife’s chamber, -where, with the Lady Leviston and Mrs. Seaton, she -useth to sit working with the needle, in which she much -delighteth, and in devising of works; and her talk is -altogether of indifferent and trifling matters without -ministering any sign of secret dealing and practice.” So -wrote my Lord gaoler to reassure all at Court who might -suspect him of insufficient strictness. The fact is, a -long and detailed letter to Sir William Cecil from -Nicholas White, the first visitor of importance who had -spoken at length with Mary at Tutbury, had sounded -the alarm. “If I,” says this gentleman, “might give -advice there should be very few subjects in this land -have access to or conference with this lady. For, beside -that she is a goodly personage ... she hath withal an -alluring grace, a pretty Scottish accent, and a searching -wit crowned with mildness. Fame might move some to -relieve her, and glory joined to gain might stir others to -adventure much for her sake. Then joy is a lively -infective sense, and carrieth many persuasions to the -heart which ruleth all the rest. Mine own affection by -seeing the Queen’s majesty, our sovereign, is doubled, -and thereby I guess what sight might work in others.” -This was the impression she made on a young and -gallant courtier loyal enough to Elizabeth. Here, again, -she is in the form of a veritable problem as viewed by -her first warder, Knollys, who delivered her into Shrewsbury’s charge. Knollys also pours out his impressions -to Cecil:—</p> -<div class='section'> - -</div> -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i_064fp.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><span class='left'><em>Photo by Richard Keene, Ltd., Derby, from the picture at Hardwick Hall<br />    By permission of his Grace the Duke of Devonshire</em></span><br /><br />MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_65'>65</span>“This lady and princess is a notable woman; she -seemeth to regard no ceremonious honour beside the -acknowledging of her estate regal; she sheweth a disposition -to speak much, to be bold, to be pleasant, and -to be very familiar. She sheweth a great desire to be -avenged of her enemies, she sheweth a readiness to -expose herself to all perils in hope of victory, she -delighteth much to hear of hardiness and valiancy, -commending by name all approved hardy men of her -country, although they be her enemies, and she concealeth -no cowardice even in her friends. The thing -that most she thirsteth after is victory, and it seemeth -to be indifferent to her to have her enemies diminished -either by the sword of her friends, or by the liberal -promises and rewards of her purse, or by division and -quarrels raised among themselves: so that for victory’s -sake pain and peril seemeth pleasant unto her: and in -respect of victory, wealth and all things seemeth to her -contemptible and vile. Now what is to be done with -such a lady and a princess, or whether such a princess -and lady to be nourished in one’s bosom? or whether -it be good to halt and dissemble with such a lady I refer -to your judgment.”</p> -<div class='section'> - -</div> -<div id='i_066fp' class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i_066fp.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><span class='left'><em>Photo by Richard Keene, Ltd., Derby</em></span><br /><br />MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS’ APARTMENTS AND DUNGEONS AT TUTBURY<br /><br /><span class='right'>Page <a href='#Page_66'>66</a></span></p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>It did not take Shrewsbury and his lady long to -realise what they had undertaken to nourish in their -bosom. The great thing was to distract her with light -and little things. Of these she had sufficient at first to -prevent her from much brooding in the intervals of -writing her vivid and endless letters to France, to -Scotland, to Burghley, and to the English Queen. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_66'>66</span>Gentleman visitors being practically taboo, there remained -only the Countess of Shrewsbury as a set-off -from Mary’s own ladies. These were few—Mrs. -Bruce and Lady Livingston, who was ailing, while -of the “four Maries,” whose beauty and grace helped -to weave the romantic legend of the vanished Court at -Holyrood, there remained in the royal service but one, -Mary Seton. Her Queen took a special interest in -her, and was very dependent on her. Mary Seton -surely knew her mistress through and through. Her -post must at times have been one of great risk and -mental torture. She was constantly in personal attendance, -dealing with the Queen’s wardrobe and dressing -her hair—for in this, history says, she was as clever as -any skilled perruquier. Mary at first scarcely had a -rag to cover her. Two bits of black velvet and some -darned underclothing had been doled out to her, by -Elizabeth, on her arrival in England. Much scorn and -merriment they surely caused in the Scotch Queen’s -closet! Clothing to wrap her, hangings—that veritable -“rampart” of tapestries of which Mary spoke -in the letter quoted—were necessary for her existence, -and she would have her environment gracious and -artistic even if the tapestries were of sacking. With -the aid, no doubt, of Bess the chatelaine, some appearance -of regality was contrived and maintained—so the -letters of the day show—as best might be. The Shrewsburys -had no objection to that. Everyone entered -apparently on the surface into the little game of make-believe -which “this Queen here” (as she is constantly -described in letters from the houses in which she was -immured) played throughout the fifteen years of her -life under the Earl’s roof. For Mary was ever an -<span class='pageno' id='Page_67'>67</span>arch-romanticist. This sense of romance constituted -two-thirds of her attraction. Both Queens were playing -waiting games, but Mary was determined to play -hers effectively in spite of all conditions. And thus we -have that vivid picture of her pretence court carried -on under the eye of Bess Shrewsbury. The Scots -Queen, seated on her dais under her canopy bearing -the elusive legend “En ma fin est mon commencement,” -issued her orders touching her household, received -eagerly all scraps of news which filtered through -to her and any visitors that were permitted. But the -more interesting part was that of the Earl’s lady, who -stood as the social barrier between the outer world, so -full of stirring incident, and the mock court indoors. -How much to tell her Scottish majesty and how little, -what gossip to retail and what to suppress, was no light -task for a talkative, energetic lady, who knew the ins -and outs not only of the English Court but the character -of its mistress. Mary was always good company. -Elizabeth gave her subjects plenty to talk about. One -wonders, in the light of a certain letter which Mary -afterwards wrote to the Queen, how far<a id='r15' /><a href='#f15' class='c013'><sup>[15]</sup></a> Bess Shrewsbury -allowed her tongue at this juncture to trip out of -sheer vivacity and desire to please her prisoner-guest. -Just now, however, it is too early to imagine intrigue -in this direction. The women could safely discuss -clothes and the new fashion of doing the hair. Mary -Seton was acknowledged to be the best “busker of hair -in any country,” “and every other day she had a new -device of head-dressing, without any cost, and yet -setteth forth a woman gaily well.” Mary loved her -<span class='pageno' id='Page_68'>68</span>wigs, her headdresses, embroidery, her little pets, -and the contriving of presents of needlework. With -these Bess could sympathise. On occasion she wanted -French silks, and when Mary wrote to France a list of -goods which she desired, she would send for a length of -silk for my Lady, and a friendly transaction took place -between the two. Truly a charming relationship! And -all the time Mary was not too bored, for she was -writing love letters to her new suitor—the Duke of -Norfolk.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Let us take in the political situation for a moment. -It was the spring of 1569—just two years since the -murder of Darnley, since when Mary had the impression -of a procession of violent events to wipe out of -her mind. Events since that horrible night had travelled -at a wild speed. Her abasement before Bothwell, her -desperate game of bluff—that is to say, her mad marriage -with him, in spite of the opposition of all her friends, -while she yet wore her discreet mourning for the -wretched Darnley—her sudden awakening to bare realities, -and the shock of the knowledge that she had given -herself wholly to a mere adventurer, and a brutal one at -that—these were some of the sinister facts over which, -in this solitude and stillness of her English life, she had -time enough to brood. Then came the final revelation -of the almost wholesale perfidy of her Scottish noblemen, -and the three weeks of her ghastly third honeymoon, -which amounted to nothing but a preliminary -imprisonment, ending in the gross insults of the populace, -which drove her distracted on her way to the -fortress of Lochleven. The detection and flight of -Bothwell, her Scottish imprisonment, her escape and -her flight to England—all these were part of the crimson -<span class='pageno' id='Page_69'>69</span>pageant from which she had emerged, shattered in body, -soul-worn, to face the problem of her life. Her baby -boy was far from her in the hands of her brother and -worst enemy, Earl Moray, the traitor to whom the -power of Elizabeth gave approval as regent. But Moray -himself had executed a <em>volte-face</em>. For his own purposes -he now assumed a highly moral and affectionate tone -towards his kinswoman. He advised this, her fourth -marriage, on the score that it was the best chance of -wiping out the stigma which clung to her in connection -with her passion for Bothwell and her illegal union with -him. “Take a suitable and godly person to be your -spouse and you will at once assume a very high place in -my excellent esteem” was practically his attitude. Mary -knew his power. Was not the villain in constant intercourse -with Cecil, Elizabeth’s right hand? She knew -also that marriage was the only way out of prison and -back to her throne. Three husbands had failed her. -Even Moray conceded that she “had been troubled -in times past with children, young, proud fools, and -furious men”—the anæmic Francis II, Darnley, and -Bothwell. As a woman she could attract any man she -chose. And the Duke of Norfolk was one of the -premier gentlemen of England, inclined to espouse -her faith, and had powerful friends among the nobles -near the Border. The plan was exciting. France -and Spain must back her up in it. It was very -difficult to send and receive letters. No wonder that -the strain of this secret, with the bad weather and the -difficulties under which the Tutbury household laboured -of securing sufficient provisions and sufficient fuel to -warm the cranky building, resulted in the illness of the -prisoner.</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_70'>70</span>After much letter-writing there came from Court the -permission for removal for which the Earl and Mary -longed. The household was to take up its abode now -at Wingfield Manor. Away went my Lady ahead to put -up the curtains and see to the carpets and pallets and -other upholstery, and a week or two later away went the -cavalcade after her. Her chatelaine’s art and dexterity -had freer play here. Wingfield Manor, in its ruins, -suggests a house of grace, comfort, and importance, well -proportioned, and soundly built in a stately manner. -Even Mary, aware of its tolerably fortified nature, -its guardroom and dungeons, its massive keep and -earthworks, conscious of the nightly sentinels under her -windows, could call it “a fair palace.” And my Lady -was surely in her element. It was not exactly the rich -domestic peace, the family life for which she or her -husband had bargained. They were forced to isolate -themselves from their children to a great extent, lest the -comings and goings connected with their own family -should entice strangers or messengers of doubtful character. -But the eyes of England were upon the Earl and -his lady. Where Mary was there abounded romance, -intrigue, and mystery. Spain, France, Scotland, all were -watchful, waiting for the least news. And possibly the -Queen’s command and the distinction conferred on the -Shrewsburys carried them far along the painful task on -which they had embarked. There is no doubt that Bess -had a better time of it in the bargain than her lord. -The ultimate responsibility was his. Moreover, his was -a nature conscientious almost to a morbid degree. He -was forced to receive attacks without and within and to -keep his head cool. He must report himself in long -letters to Mr. Treasurer, he must bear with the complaints and entreaties of his captive. Mary was not so -much of a prisoner that she could not rush to his suite -of rooms and upbraid the authority by which her Scottish -messengers were detained and her letters examined. -Her abuse and lamentation, defiance and tears were -shared alike by husband and wife. In reporting all this -in detail to the Court, he insists upon the necessity of -his wife’s co-operation. In the same breath he makes it -piteously clear that the matter is not one for diversion -or satisfaction to either of them. In this picture he -draws of their joint life in such letters, Tutbury or -Wingfield shelters not one prisoner, but three. The -royal lady is scarcely a moment out of their sight or -hearing. The only advantage of her constant invasion -of my Lady’s chamber is that the latter may watch her -the more closely and report more minutely upon her -looks and words.</p> -<div class='section'> - -</div> -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i_070fp.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><span class='left'><em>Photo by Valentine and Sons, Dundee</em></span><br /><br />THE RUINS OF WINGFIELD MANOR<br /><br /><span class='right'>Page <a href='#Page_70'>70</a></span></p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_71'>71</span>Already by this time the Shrewsburys could enter -into the feelings of Sir Francis Knollys when he longed -to shake off his irksome duties. Had the Earl foreseen -the extent of the burden thrust upon him he -would have followed the example of his comrade-in-arms -and begged for instant release. All he could and -did do, however, was to endure, while protesting his -loyalty.</p> - -<p class='c006'>There was excitement enough in store for everyone -when Mary’s adviser, the Bishop of Ross, was actually -permitted to join the Wingfield household. This was -the signal for the crowding of Scottish folk to the -vicinity. These came constantly to pay their court -to Mary, thereby increasing all the domestic complications -of Earl and lady, to say nothing of the added -cost in catering and stabling entailed by such “traffic.” -<span class='pageno' id='Page_72'>72</span>Nor did it help them that Mary should fall ill. After -delays two physicians were sent from Court, and besides -insisting upon a thorough ventilation and cleaning of -her apartments they advised her removal to yet another -of the family mansions.</p> - -<p class='c006'>This time it was to Chatsworth that the cavalcade -travelled. The busy Countess had not yet completed -her great scheme of building. Yet a part of the then -“new house” was sufficiently completed for use, and -though there was as yet no stately presence chamber -here, nor ballroom, nor great dining-hall, as at Wingfield, -the surroundings were sylvan and reassuring, -and the little raised and moated garden where Mary -would take the air was far more agreeable than the -tangled garden patch at Tutbury. In May the change -to the meadows by the Derwent must have been delicious. -By June 1st the visit was ended and away -went the cortège again, my Lady Bess included, back to -Wingfield. The Earl, for the first time since Mary’s -arrival, took a few days’ leave of absence and again -went to Chatsworth. This brief absence immediately -gave rise to trouble and suspicious reports. While -struggling with indisposition he hurried back, and had -just time to report that all was well at Wingfield when -ague and fever laid him low. His wife took command -of the situation. His condition was so critical that -she wrote to Cecil asking that some arrangement “for -this charge” should be made in case he should grow -worse. Cecil took action at once, but before any -change in the command at Wingfield could be made -the Earl was recovering, and his wife wrote to reassure -the Queen, through Cecil, and put in a word for her -own loyalty:—</p> -<div class='section'> - -</div> -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i_072fp.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><span class='left'><em>Photo by Richard Keene, Ltd., Derby</em></span><br /><br />MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS BOWER, CHATSWORTH<br /><br /><span class='right'>Page <a href='#Page_72'>72</a></span></p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_73'>73</span>“Of my duty in all respects, God, that is my witness -of my doings and meanings, will defend me, I trust, -against the evil that malice would unto me. No enemy -would I willingly refuse to be my judge in this case, -that hath power to think and speak truly, but most -heartily do I thank you for your right friendly admonition, -knowing that I cannot too much remember -my duty, like as I would be no less sorry if I were -not persuaded that you did write only of good will, -without all cause of suspicion. I have hitherto found -you to be my singular good friend, and so I trust -you will continue, which God grant I may requite to -my desire.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Poor Shrewsbury did not recover quickly. He -suffered mentally as much as bodily all through this -summer of 1569, and begged a few days’ grace to visit -the baths at Buxton. This was withheld and delayed, -and, in despair, he went without permission. Immediately -the Queen was told of it and instructed Burghley -to pounce on him in a letter. Naturally he hurried -home full of abject apology, and, though he found the -household at Wingfield tranquil, was much annoyed at -the insanitary state of the manor in consequence of the -number of people in and about it. A little crowd of -no less than two hundred and fifty persons now constituted -the entourage of prisoner, Earl, and Countess. -In order to wipe off all undesirables, he recommended -another change of domicile—this time to his estate of -Sheffield.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The Earl possessed two manors here—the Lodge or -Manor on the hill, and the Castle in the valley above -the meadows—now built over—where the Dun and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_74'>74</span>Sheaf joined their waters. This move was regarded as -a most excellent method for change and expansion. -Both houses were habitable, there was good fishing, and -plenty of ground for exercise without going out of -bounds. Nothing was lacking now to hasten the departure -save the royal permission.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_75'>75</span> - <h2 class='c004'>CHAPTER VI<br /> <span class='small'>PLOT AND COUNTERPLOT</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_0_6 c005'>The move to Sheffield was now abandoned because -of the desperate excitement aroused in Elizabeth’s -mind by the disclosure of the love affair which was -brewing between Mary and the Duke of Norfolk. -This matter for some time was not entirely a secret. -A certain number of influential English nobles agreed -with those of Scotland that such a marriage would be an -excellent solution of the entire Scottish question. Even -Leicester himself, adored of Elizabeth, joined his opinion -to theirs. And these gentlemen had drawn up a proposal -to Mary of which one clause runs, “Whether, -touching her marriage with the Duke of Norfolk which -had been moved to her by the Earl of Moray and -Lidington, she would wholly refer herself to the Queen’s -Majesty and therein do as she would have her and as -her Majesty did like thereof—willing that all things -should be done for her Majesty’s surety, which might -be best advised by the whole Council.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Her reply to this document, especially to the clause -quoted, was clear, dignified, and highly emphatic. She -did not doubt the English Queen’s good faith, nor the -friendship of her nobles, nor the goodwill and liking -of the Duke. She adroitly declared that she never -regarded marriage as a mere means to recover power -and position, saying, “I assure you that if either men -<span class='pageno' id='Page_76'>76</span>or money to have reduced my rebels to their due obedience -could have ticed me I could have been provided -of a husband ere now. But I ... did never give -ear to any such offer.” She fully calculated what she -would lose by this marriage in regard to all her “friends -beyond the seas.” The Duke of Alva was trying to -secure her co-operation in the invasion of England. -She was coquetting with the Duke of Anjou. She was -writing to Rome. By the document she had signed she -laid aside all future schemes, while she could still -nourish the secret hope that, once restored to the -Scottish throne in place of her baby son, she would, -in default of Elizabeth’s marriage, inherit the throne -of England. The whole matter was now on such a -broad and amicable footing that apparently nothing was -wanting but the longed-for “Bless you, my children” -from the lips of Elizabeth.</p> - -<p class='c006'>By September this dream was rudely dispelled. -Norfolk was summoned to Court, roundly abused—Elizabeth, -as one of her courtiers writes of her, could -“storme passinglie”—and poor Shrewsbury received -a severe snub. The Queen practically declared him -a useless gaoler: “I have found no reliance on my -Lord Shrewsbury in the hour of my need, for all the -fine speeches he made me formerly, yet I can in no -wise depend on his promise.” Therefore she added -two guards—the Earl of Huntingdon and Viscount -Hereford.</p> - -<p class='c006'>More household complications, more goings and -comings, more trouble for Earl and Countess! Afflicted -with chronic gout and irritated in every direction, -Shrewsbury decided to make for Tutbury again. A -tactless royal order addressed to Huntingdon (whom -<span class='pageno' id='Page_77'>77</span>Mary also hated) over the head of Shrewsbury bred -fresh discomfort and annoyance in the Castle. Things -were, however, gradually smoothed over. The jealousy -between Mary’s gaolers was allayed on the one hand -by the news that the Queen’s apprehensions were -justified by the disappearance of the Duke of Norfolk -from Court, while the alarm of Mary was increased -fourfold by the cross-questioning to which she was -subjected and the news of the sudden arrest of her -ducal lover.</p> - -<p class='c006'>These were dramatic days which Bess of Shrewsbury -witnessed. Letters were intercepted, coffers suddenly -searched in the Scots Queen’s apartments, there were -incursions of men with “pistolets,” constant dismissals -of the Queen’s people, sudden dismissal, even, of the -Countess’s own servants. But the gaps at the board -were immediately filled by Huntingdon and his retinue, -for whom the Shrewsburys were expected to provide -without any increase of allowance, on the score that -the present numbers of the household did not exceed -those at Wingfield and elsewhere. The irony of this, -added to the suggestions that the Earl had been too -kind to his prisoner, and that his request to be allowed -to deal as before with Mary without the assistance of -any other officer, sprang from some person or persons -“too much affectionated to her,” created havoc in -Shrewsbury’s mind. Of course he visited his anger -on his colleague Huntingdon in the form of morose -hints. In that atmosphere of wholesale suspicion he -could not speak out except in a letter to head-quarters. -He knew that Elizabeth’s sinister expressions implied -suspicions of his Countess. It is difficult to understand -exactly what this lady was “after,” in the vulgar -<span class='pageno' id='Page_78'>78</span>phrase, at this moment. For Mary, with whom she -had hitherto been on excellent terms, now distrusted -her also. She expressed this distrust <i><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">tout au plat</span></i>, -as she would say, to Walsingham in October, and told -him not to attach any credit “to the schemes and -accusations of the Countess who is now with you.” -Apparently my Lady had left for the Court, and was -there making good her case and her husband’s. As -likely as not she was furiously jealous of the authority -wrested from her husband in favour of Huntingdon, -and overwrought, like everyone else, by the acute -tension of the situation. Henceforward in the correspondence -with Cecil sturdy disclaimers of treason -on the part of Earl and lady are always cropping up. -The following is from Shrewsbury to Cecil, October, -1569:—</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Sir,—I have received your letter, thinking myself -beholden unto you for your friendly care over me. -I hear to my grief that suspicion is had of over much -goodwill borne by my wife to this Queen and of untrue -dealing by my men. For my wife thus must I say, -she hath not otherwise dealt with that Queen than -I have been privy unto and that I have had liking -of, and by my appointment hath so dealt that I have -been the more able to discharge the trust committed -unto me. And if she for her dutiful dealing to her -Majesty and true meaning to me should be suspected -that I am sure hath so well deserved, she and I might -think ourselves fortunate. And where I perceive her -Majesty is let to understand that by my wife’s persuasion -I am the more desirous to continue this charge, -I speak it afore God she hath been in hand with me -as far as she durst and more than I thought well of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_79'>79</span>since my sickness to procure my discharge. I am -not to ...<a id='r16' /><a href='#f16' class='c013'><sup>[16]</sup></a> by her otherwise than I think well of.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>From the close of this year till the execution of the -Duke of Norfolk in 1572 the history of George Talbot -and Bess Hardwick is bound up with the story of the -tissue of conspiracies which wound itself about Mary. -The Norfolk plot, with which Mary was to be drawn -out of prison, was a stout rope woven of many strands; -the net which Cecil constructed for his prey was close-meshed -and wide-spreading. There were constant -alarums and excursions for the Earl and his people. -He succeeded in getting rid of Huntingdon, but he -was incessantly in fear of a rising of the northern -nobles to whom Norfolk had appealed for their armed -support; and when this fear was realised and the -armed Earls arrived within fifty odd miles of Tutbury -a hasty removal was necessary. Coventry was the -only place which suggested itself until the hostile -demonstration fizzled out and Tutbury could be regained.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The new year found the household re-established -there. While Mary, in poor health, acted as though -she had no inkling of conspiracy, while the Duke -of Norfolk and the Bishop of Ross, her adviser, -were in the Tower, miniature plots again disturbed -the tenor of existence, and for once the Earl was -permitted to choose his own road, and to remove his -captive with bag and baggage to Chatsworth.</p> - -<p class='c006'>This was a pleasanter place than Tutbury for the -inditing of love letters, as Mary found. But her Duke -was a broken reed. He wanted to leave the Tower, and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_80'>80</span>to Elizabeth he vowed he would not marry her rival. -The summer passed on and the conditions of imprisonment -at Chatsworth fluctuated from “straitness” to indulgence -according to the suspicions of Elizabeth and -the reports of those who were jealous spies of the Earl’s -slightest actions. Things assumed a more hopeful aspect -in spite of the discovery of another minor plot to free -Mary by letting her down from one of the windows of -the Countess’s spacious and elegant house—still unfinished. -Elizabeth about this time actually contemplated -Mary’s freedom and her re-establishment as -a sovereign; whereupon a treaty to this end was carefully -discussed!</p> - -<p class='c006'>Negotiations came to such a pass that Mr. Treasurer -himself was empowered to travel to Chatsworth and -confer with the prisoner. He took his wife with him, -and between business and pleasure the visit passed off -well. Cecil wrote a long and complimentary “leaving -letter” on behalf of himself and his wife, chiefly interesting -in this connection because it indicates how Lady -Shrewsbury played her part as hostess.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“We have fully satisfied her Majesty with the painful -and trusty behaviour of my Lady your wife in -giving good regard to the surety of the said Queen; -wherein her Majesty surely seemed to us to be very -glad, and used many good words, both of your Lordship’s -fidelity towards herself, and of the love that she -thought my Lady did bear to her.... And thus I -humbly take my leave of your Lordship and my Lady, -to whom my wife hath written to give her thanks for -certain tokens whereof I understood nothing afore she -told me of them; and sorry I am my Lady should have -bestowed such things as my wife cannot recompense as -she would, but with her hearty goodwill and service, -which shall always be ready to her favour and mine also: -assuring yourself that to my uttermost I will be to your -Lordship and to my Lady as sure in good will as any -poor friend you have.”</p> -<div class='section'> - -</div> -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i_080fp.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><span class='left'><em>From an engraving by W. T. Ryall, after the painting by Mark Gerard</em></span><br /><br />WILLIAM CECIL, LORD BURGHLEY<br /><br /><span class='right'>Page <a href='#Page_80'>80</a></span></p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_81'>81</span>Like all the schemes of Elizabeth the aforesaid treaty -hung fire. Suspense and disappointment had their -usual result upon Mary. Once more she fell ill. Had -she died on their hands Earl and Countess would have -been open to the worst suspicions. They found themselves -always out of pocket in regard to her maintenance; -they were themselves, obviously, more or less prisoners -in their own house; they had begged to be released from -“this charge.” In an age when poisonings were rife -and assassinations common they would have been suspected -by all parties of all sorts of foul play. Mary’s -loyal gentleman, John Beton, the prægustator, must -have had enough to do at this time in tasting the dishes -for the daily menus. Shrewsbury meanwhile kept a -sharp look-out and at once suggested change of air. -Mary, in spite of the pain in her side, symptom of a -chronic malady, and one which always attacked her when -she was the least out of health, was only too ready to -move. This time the destination was Sheffield—the -castle.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Matters grew worse and worse in regard to the -captive in spite of all these precautions. Down came -the Bishop of Ross—now set at liberty—and the Court -physician, while all the world knew that for this illness -there was but one cure—liberty. Only intrigue kept -Mary alive at the close of 1570. The rest of the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_82'>82</span>spring and summer of 1571 witnessed her return to the -proposals to the Duke of Norfolk, the co-operation of -Ridolfi, the preparations by her Scottish partisans, the -crystallisation of the plan of invasion by Philip of -Spain. The whole toil of this great enterprise was -nullified by the curiosity of a mere merchant, an innocent -messenger chosen to carry a bag of money -destined to further the plot. He mistrusted the contents, -carried the bag to head-quarters, and inside were -the incriminating letters which led to the second imprisonment -of Norfolk and the gradual unravelling of -the conspiracy. During the lengthy process of examining -the many people involved there were uneasy -moments for all sorts and conditions of men. It was -a most uncomfortable time for the Shrewsburys. It -was open to any of their dismissed servants who were -arrested to inculpate their former employers, and the -latter were probably prepared for such contingencies. -Yet a letter like the following would descend upon -the Countess somewhat like a bombshell. The man -Lascelles mentioned in it was an ex-servant under -arrest, and when threatened with torture pleaded guilty -to the charge, giving as excuse that what he did was -known to the Countess.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-l c002'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“It may please your Ladyship,</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“Where of late Bryan and Hersey Lascelles -having been before my Lords of her Majesty’s Council, -it appeareth directly by the letters both of the Queen -of Scots and of the Duke of Norfolk also, that Hersey, -as he confessess also himself has been a dealer sometimes -with the Queen there by the means of his brother’s -being in service there; and yet that his dealing was not -<span class='pageno' id='Page_83'>83</span>without knowledge of your Ladyship, to the end, as he -says, that the same might always be known. I have -thought good to advertise your Ladyship thereof, and -withal to pray you to let me understand the truth of -such matter as your Ladyship doth know of the said -Hersey Lascelles’ dealings from time to time as particularly -as your Ladyship can remember. And so I take -my leave of your Ladyship.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“From London, the 13th of October, 1571.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Your Ladyship’s at commandment,</div> - <div class='line in24'>“<span class='sc'>W. Burghley</span>.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“To the right honourable and my very good Lady, -the Countess of Shrewsbury. Haste, haste, haste.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>A nice letter to receive on a serene autumn day! -Carefully worded and dignified though it is, it opens -up vistas of suspicion and treachery. The Countess -was away, and her lord had to bear the first brunt of it -alone. Perhaps this was just as well, as it gave him a -chance of clearing their honour independently. For, -of course, he recognised in it an urgent official document. -The reading must have cost him a bad quarter -of an hour. There was no time to be lost in again -asserting his wife’s integrity. A few seconds of miserable -suspense would possibly ensue ere his trust and -loyalty conquered all fears, and he sat down to write -first to his wife, enclosing the letter from Court, and -then to tell Burleigh that some serious misconstruction -must have been placed on the fact that he always empowered -his lady to interest herself in such persons as -Lascelles and his doings, the better to keep her spouse -apprised of Mary’s plots: “I willed my wife to deal -with him and others to whom the Queen bears familiar -<span class='pageno' id='Page_84'>84</span>countenance, so as the better to learn her intentions.” -To this he adds a diplomatic postscript, assuring Burleigh -that this letter is penned independently of any -collusion with his wife.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The Countess, fenced in by consciousness of innocence, -backed by the sense of possession, and seated in -the heart of her own pleasant estate, rich now in the -burnished glory of autumn, writes <i><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">en grande dame</span></i> from -Chatsworth on October 22nd:—</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Your letters touching Henry Lassells came to my -hands after my husband had answered them. I doubt -not you are persuaded of my dutiful service, but lest -you should think any lack of goodwill to answer, I -thought it meet to advertise you of my whole doings in -the matters.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“As soon as I had intelligence that this Lassells had -some familiar talk with the Queen of Scotland, and -that my Lord thereupon had laid watch to his doings, -this Lassells belike suspecting of my knowledge thereof, -desired that he might offer unto me some special matter -touching that Queen, with great desire that I should in -no wise utter it, for, saith he, she hath most earnestly -warned me not to tell you of all creatures. I then -hoping to hear of some practice, answered him that he -might assure himself not only to be harmless, but to be -well rewarded also at the Queen Majesty’s hands, and -of my Lord, if he would plainly and truly show of her -doings and devices, meet to be known. Then he told -me with many words that she pretended great goodwill -unto him, and of good liking of him, and that she -would make him a lord, but, saith he, I will never be -false to the Queen’s Majesty, nor to my Lord, my master. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_85'>85</span>Further than this I could not learn of him. Then I -warned him to remember his duty and to beware of her, -and that she sought to abuse him, and that I knew for -certain that she did hate him. He said then that he -would take heed, and advertise me of all that he could -learn. After this he came to me again, and told me of -her familiar talk as before, and of no further matter, -saving that he said that he told her how he marvelled -that she could love the Duke,<a id='r17' /><a href='#f17' class='c013'><sup>[17]</sup></a> having so foul a face, and -that she answered that she could like him well enough, -because he was wise. Then I warned him again more -earnestly than I did before, and told him of her hatred -towards him. Then he seemed to credit me. Albeit a -while after he desired me by his letters to certify him -how I knew she hated him, for, saith he, if she so do -she is the falsest woman living. Then my Lord and I -perceiving his mind so fondly occupied on her and -knowing him to be both vain and glorious, and that he -was more like to be made an instrument to work harm -than to do good, my Lord despatched him out of service, -as he hath divers others upon suspicion at sundry times. -This came to my knowledge about Candlemas, next -after the Northern rebellion, and he was put away about -Easter following. I never knew of any dealing between -the Queen and the Duke of Norfolk, either by Lassells -or anyone else. If I had I trust you think I would -have discovered it.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>It is not surprising that the Earl’s wife kept aloof -for a while and preferred Chatsworth just now. -Sheffield was a regular dungeon: the Scottish Queen -was only allowed to take an airing on the leads. No -<span class='pageno' id='Page_86'>86</span>domestic cheerfulness was possible, no social intercourse, -and every letter sent or received was a source of -anxiety.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Both for the sake of social decency and because of -the necessity to impress the always scandalous world -with her conjugal devotion, the Countess however -returned presently to the fortress and took up her -share of the daily burden of wardenship.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Her presence was more than ever necessary now. -The Duke of Norfolk’s trial was fixed for a date early -in the New Year, and the Earl’s assistance thereat was -indispensable, for he was made Lord High Steward of -England in the place of the arraigned nobleman. The -command at Sheffield was therefore temporarily assigned, -not to Huntingdon this time, but to Sir Ralph Sadler. -He arrived, the Earl left for London, and Bess Shrewsbury -remained to keep a hand upon the situation and -play her own cards. She did this incessantly till her -husband’s return. Circumstances gave her most excellent -opportunities for making a good impression on -Sadler. It was her business to walk on those leads -of the now vanished castle with the prisoner and to -carry her daily such news as it was considered well to -communicate. There was very little variety in the -days. When the weather was bad Mary kept to her -rooms. When it improved she took her airing, but -had not much refreshment for her eyes. There was -little to do on the leads but stroll to and fro, gazing -at Sheffield Lodge on the hill, or at the water and -meadows below. And for the ear there was nothing -beyond music on the virginals to charm it, no sounds -to distract the country silence, except the opening and -closing of the castle gates, and the roll of the drum -at six o’clock morning and evening, when the watches -were set and the password given.</p> -<div class='section'> - -</div> -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i_086fp.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><span class='left'><em>From the picture in the possession of the Duke of Norfolk</em></span><br /><br />THOMAS HOWARD, DUKE OF NORFOLK<br /><br /><span class='right'>Page <a href='#Page_86'>86</a></span></p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_87'>87</span>To all who are students of the latter years of Mary’s -life the letters of Sir Ralph Sadler, written during this -time, must be familiar. His whole attention is naturally -concentrated on the interesting captive, but here and -there we get side glimpses of Lady Shrewsbury and her -power as a kind of self-ordained lady of the bedchamber -to Mary.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The news of Norfolk’s death sentence was not long -in coming. The Earl of Shrewsbury himself had to -pronounce it with true and bitter tears, and Cecil, -now Lord Burghley, at once wrote to Sheffield. -A fact so important must be communicated to Mary -at once. It was due to her both as Norfolk’s accomplice -and as a prisoner of quality. It was highly -important that the effect of it on her should be gauged -and duly reported. For this sweet errand the Countess -was chosen. A previous announcement had, however, -reached her, and took the wind out of the Countess’s -sails. What a situation! She found the Queen “all -bewept and mourning,” and had the doubtful taste to -ask “what ailed her.” Mary, with great dignity and -pathos, replied that she was sure that the Countess -must already know the cause and would sympathise, -and she expressed further her intense grief lest anything -she had written to Elizabeth on behalf of Norfolk -had brought him and her other friends to such a pass. -The Countess had common sense, and her rejoinder was -logical and undoubtedly correct, but she need not have -hit quite so hard as in her reply, quoted by Sadler. -For a woman of imagination—and imagination of a -practical kind Bess Shrewsbury certainly possessed—it -<span class='pageno' id='Page_88'>88</span>was a cruel answer, and not the least part of the -cruelty was the scathing condemnation of one who -she knew might have been Mary’s husband. It seems -to have crushed Mary. She could bear no further -discussion of the matter, and withdrew into herself to -nurse her sorrow. “And so like a true lover she -remaineth, still mourning for her love,” wrote Sadler, -much touched by her attitude. This letter of his is -graphic enough to be quoted in full:—</p> - -<div class='lg-container-l c002'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Please it, your Lordship,</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“The posts whether they work or play have -their hire, and therefore I spare not their labour though -I have none other occasion than to advertise your L. -that all is well here concerning this charge, and that -yesterday I received your letters of the 17th of this -present (for which I most heartily thank your L.), -together with a brief discourse of the Duke’s arraignment -and condemnation, which I forthwith imparted -unto my Lady of Shrewsbury to the end she might take -occasion to make this Queen understand of the same; -and also I gave it out to the gentlemen in this House -both what number of the Nobility did pass upon his -trial, and also that his offences and treasons were such, -and so manifestly and plainly proved, that all the noble -men did not only detest the same, but also without any -manner of scruple objected by common consent everyone -of them did pronounce him guilty. Which, being -put abroad here in the house after this sort, was -brought unto the knowledge of this Queen by some -of her folk which heard it, before my Lady came unto -her, for the which this Queen wept very bitterly, so -that my Lady found her all to be wept and mourning, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_89'>89</span>and asking her what she ailed, she answered that she -was sure my Lady could not be ignorant of the -cause, and that she could not but be much grieved, -to understand of the trouble of her friends, which -she knew did fare the worse for her sake, for sure -she was that the Duke fared the worse for that which -she of late had written to the Q. Majesty; and said -further that he was unjustly condemned, protesting -that as far as ever she could perceive by him or for -anything she knew he was a true man to the Queen her -sister: but being answered by my Lady that as she -might be sure that whatsoever she had written to the -Q. Majesty could do the Duke neither good nor harm -touching his condemnation, so if his offences and -treasons had not been great and plainly proved against -him those noble men which passed upon his trial would -not for all the good on earth have condemned him. -She thereupon with mourning there became silent, and -had no will to talk any more of the matter, and so like -a true lover she remaineth still mourning for her love. -God, I trust, will put it into the Queen Majesty’s heart -so to provide for herself that such true lovers may -receive such rewards and fruits of their love as they -have justly deserved at her Majesty’s hands.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“All the last week this Queen did not once look out -of her chamber, hearing that the Duke stood upon -his arraignment and trial, and being troubled by all -likelihood by a guilty conscience and fear to hear of such -news as she hath now received. And my presence -is such a trouble unto her that unless she come out -of her chamber I come little at her, but my Lady is -seldom from her, and for my part I have not since -my coming hither so behaved myself towards her as -<span class='pageno' id='Page_90'>90</span>might justly give her occasion to have any such misliking -of me: though indeed I would not rejoice at all -of it, if she had any better liking. But though she -like not of me yet I am sure this good lady and all the -gentlemen and others of this house do like well enough -of me: which doth well appear by their courteous and -gentle entertainment of me and mine. My Lord hath -a costly guest of me, for I and my men and 36 horses -of mine do all lie and feed here at his charge, and -therefore the sooner he come home the better for him. -Trusting his L. be now on the way and therefore -I forbear to write to him. But if he be there, it may -please you to tell him that all is well here, and that my -Lady and I do long to see his L. here. And as -I doubt not she would most gladly have him here, so -I am sure she cannot long for him more than I do, -looking hourly to hear some good news from your -L. of my return. And so I beseech Almighty God -to preserve and keep you in long life and health, and to -increase you in honour and virtue. From Sheffield -Castle the 21st of January at night 1571. With the -rude hands of</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Your L. to command as your own</div> - <div class='line in28'>“<span class='sc'>R. Sadler</span>.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>“To the right honourable and my very good lord, -my Lord of Burghley, of the Queen Majesty’s -Privy Council.”</p> -<div class='section'> - -</div> -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i_090fp.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><span class='left'><em>From a print in the British Museum</em></span><br /><br />SHEFFIELD MANOR HOUSE<br /><br /><span class='right'>Page <a href='#Page_90'>90</a></span></p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_91'>91</span>Never was the contrast between the two principal -ladies in Sheffield Castle so marked as at this moment. -Mary mourns for Norfolk, for the ruin of her hopes, -for the treaty of freedom which now can never be -carried through. Bess sails about the castle aware -of everything at Court and at home; the posts bring -her affectionate letters from the Earl, while her children -and his flourish under their respective tutors. Chatsworth -is still a-building, and she signs orders for stone -and wood and coal and fodder. She was a good hostess -to Sadler, and when he relinquished his duties gladly -enough in February, upon the Earl’s return, he was -positive that Lady Shrewsbury was deserving of great -commendation and “condign thanks” for the manner in -which she filled her important position. She was very -much of a personage, and her correspondence exhibits -very few of the traits usually described as “feminine,” -while her friends fully estimated her influence and her -interest in the larger events. The following lengthy -letter gives the complexity of the political situation, and -though of course it belongs to a date previous to the -execution of Norfolk, is placed here as an illustration -of the stirring times in which the great lady lived and the -events which had happened during the first year or two -of her fourth marriage. It is unsigned, and is evidently -from some connection or possibly a gentleman of the -Shrewsbury household, who is keeping his ears and -eyes wide open at Court:—</p> - -<div class='lg-container-l c002'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“To the Countess of Shrewsbury,</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“My most humble duty remembered unto your -honourable good lord. May it please the same to -understand that I have sent you herein enclosed the -articles of peace concluded and proclaimed through all -France, in French, because they are not at this hour to -be had in English (which are translated and in printing), -and if the peace be kept, the Protestants be indifferently -well. The great sitting is done at Norwich; and, as I -<span class='pageno' id='Page_92'>92</span>do hear credibly, that Appleyard, Throgmorton, Redman, -and another are condemned to be hung, drawn, -and quartered; and Hobart and two more are condemned -to perpetual imprisonment, with the loss of -all their goods and lands during their lives. The four -condemned for high treason, and the other for reconcilement. -They were charged of these four points: the -destruction of the Queen’s person; the imprisonment -of my Lord Keeper, my Lord of Leicester, Secretary -Cecil; the setting at liberty out of the Tower the Duke -of Norfolk; and the banishment of all strangers; and -it fell out in their examination that they would have imprisoned -Sir Christopher Haydon and Sir William Butts, -the Queen’s Lieutenants. None of them could excuse -themselves of any of the four points, saving Appleyard -said he meant nothing towards the Queen’s person; for -that he meant to have had them to a banquet, and to -have betrayed them all, and to have won credit thereby -with the Queen. Throgmorton was mute, and would -say nothing till he was condemned, who then said, -‘They are full merry now that will be as sorry within -these few days.’ Mr. Bell was attorney for Mr. -Gerrard, he being one of the Judges, and Mr. Bell -alleged against Appleyard that he was consenting to the -treason before; alleging one Parker’s words, that was -brought prisoner with Dr. Storey out of Flanders, that -Parker heard of the treason before Nallard came over -to the Duke of Alva. And there stood one Bacon by -that heard Parker say so: my Lord offered a book to -Bacon for to swear: ‘O, my Lord,’ said Appleyard, -‘will you condemn me of his oath that is registered for -a knave in the Book of Martyrs?’</p> - -<p class='c006'>“They had set out a proclamation, and had four -<span class='pageno' id='Page_93'>93</span>prophecies; one was touching the wantonness of the -Court, and the other touching this land to be conquered -by the Scots; and two more that I cannot remember. -There were many in trouble for speaking of seditious -words. Thomas Cecil said that the Duke of Norfolk -was not of that religion as he was accounted to be: -and that his cousin Cecil was the Queen’s darling, who -was the cause of the Duke of Norfolk’s imprisonment, -with such like; who is put off to the next assize. -Anthony Middleton said, ‘My Lord Morley is gone to -set the Duke of Alva into Yarmouth, and if William -Keat had not accused me, Throgmorton, and the rest -we had had a hot harvest; but if the Duke of Norfolk -be alive, they all dare not put them to death.’ Metcalf -said that he would help the Duke of Alva into Yarmouth, -and to wash his hands in the Protestants’ blood. -Marsham said that my Lord of Leicester had two -children by the Queen: and for that he is condemned -to lose both his ears, or else pay £100 presently. -Chiplain said he hoped to see the Duke of Norfolk to -be King before Michaelmas next, who doth interpret -that he meant, not to be King of England, but to be -King of Scotland.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Mr. Bell and Mr. Solicitor said both to this effect -to the prisoners—‘What mad fellows were ye, being -all rank Papists, to make the Duke of Norfolk your -patron that is as good a Protestant as any is in England: -and, being wicked traitors, to hope of his help -to your wicked intents and purposes, that is as true -and as faithful a subject as any that is in this land, -saving only that the Queen is minded to imprison him -for his contempt.’ Doctor Storey is at Mr. Archdeacon -Watts’ house, in custody, besides Powels. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_94'>94</span>Thurlby, late Bishop of Ely, died this last week at -Lambeth.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“The Spanish Queen is arrived in the Low Countries, -and will embark as soon as may be. The Emperor is -setting forward his other daughter towards Metz to be -married to the French King. It is written, by letters -of the 28th of the last, from Venice, that the Turk has -landed in Cyprus 100,000 men, or more, and has besieged -two great cities within that kingdom, Nicocia -and Famagosta. At one assault at Famagosta they lost -12,000 men; upon the which repulse the Begler Bey of -Natolia, the General of the Turk’s army, wrote to the -great Turk, his master, that he thought it was invincible. -He answered that, if they did not win it before they -came, they should be put to the sword at their return -home. The Turk has sent another army by land against -the Venetians, into Dalmatia, and are besieging Zara -with 20,000 footmen and 20,000 horsemen, and divers -towns they have taken, as Spalator, Elisa, Eleba, and -Nona, with great spoil and bloodshed: and it is written -that the Turk’s several armies are above 200,000 men -against the Venetians. The men first sent by the -Venetians fell so into diseases by the way as they were -fain to prepare new men, which is thought will hardly -come to do any good in Cyprus. A man may see what -account is to be made of these worldly things, as to see -in a small time the third state of Christendom, in -security, power, and wealth, to be in danger of utter -overthrow in one year.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“They say my Lord of Leicester hath many workmen -at Kenilworth to make his house strong, and doth furnish -it with armour, ammunition, and all necessaries for -defence. And thus Jesus have my Lord, and your Ladyship, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_95'>95</span>and my friends in his tuition, to God’s pleasure.—Scribbled -at London, the last of August, 1570.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Your good Ladyship’s ever to command during life.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“To the right honourable Countess of Shrewsbury</div> - <div class='line in8'>at Chatsworth, or where.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>Life fell once more into its old groove. No large -conspiracy could be feared yet, in spite of Elizabeth’s -postponement of Norfolk’s execution. But there remained -always the undercurrent of lesser “practices.” -Earl and Lady had their hands always full with detective -work of this kind. Priests and conjurers, pedlars, -porters, and even schoolmasters formed the roll of suspects. -Scouts were always at work following their -movements, hanging about taverns to hear gossip which -might betray their doings, and searchers were employed -to pounce upon any scrap of written stuff which might -prove valuable “copy.” Some of the most emphatic -witnesses against Mary—her own letters of conspiracy—were -actually found hidden under a stone on a bit of -waste ground. The messenger charged with them durst -not carry them further at that moment and before he -could remove them they were discovered. It was about -this time that she was given permission to take her airing -further than the leads and to walk out in the open. -The snow lay on the ground and soaked her to the -ankles, but she bore it cheerfully, and one wonders if she -had knowledge of those hidden letters and whether she -nourished a wild hope of finding them in their niche and -setting them safely on their way. Secret and sinister -were the warnings which Earl and Lady shared in that -long cold spring at Sheffield. All travellers from across -the Border were duly catalogued by the northern -<span class='pageno' id='Page_96'>96</span>authorities and word passed from mouth to mouth of -their appearance and activities. This was the sort of -despatch which reached the castle: “A certain boy -should come lately out of England with letters to the -castle of Edinburgh and is to return back again within -three or four days.... It were not amiss that my Lord -of Shrewsbury had warning of him. His letters be -secured in the buttons and seams of his coat. His coat -is of black English frieze, he hath a cut on his left cheek, -from his eye down, by the which he may be well known.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>All the dodges of such envoys—from the stitching of -letters into linings and the hiding of a written message -under the setting of a jewel to the use of bags with -double bottoms where despatches could be kept “safe -from wet and fretting” and sight—were known to the -Shrewsburys. An evening spent in the kitchens and -guardroom, an hour or so of conference with my Lady -would open to reader and writer alike a world of sensational -gossip “palpitating with actuality.” The captive -Queen’s precarious health was a constant subject of discussion. -Shrewsbury’s letters were bound to be full of -it. Mary, who once more began to bombard Elizabeth -with letters, suggested a trial of Buxton waters. She -also busied herself anew with embroidery, contrived -gifts for the Queen, and sent her a large consignment of -French stuffs and silks. When packages of this kind -arrived from France the Earl was always on the look-out. -So careful was he in regard to his wife’s share in -such parcels that he would not let her receive and pay -for such goods until he had first communicated the -exact details of the transaction to his royal mistress.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Neither French taffetas nor little embroidered caps -could alter the decision of the Privy Council and reverse -<span class='pageno' id='Page_97'>97</span>the position of the axe in regard to the Duke of -Norfolk. His death took place in the glory of the -early summer of 1572. Mary mourned and her health -grew worse and worse. Yet, just when change was -planned for her, and the castle had reached a condition -almost too insanitary to endure, the news came of the -massacre of St. Bartholomew. “These French tragedies -and ending of unlucky marriage with blood and vile -murders cannot be expressed with tongue to declare the -cruelties.... These fires may be doubted that their -flames may come both hither and into Scotland, for such -cruelties have large scopes.... All men now cry out -of your prisoner,” wrote Burghley to the Earl under -supreme agitation. To which the latter replies later, -“These are to advertise you that the Queen remains -still within these four walls, in safe keeping.” The -woods and wolds, he explains, are being scoured by his -spies, and the number of the guard is increased by -thirty. Clang of gate, clash of steel, roll of drum—the -household music of the Shrewsburys knew nothing -more harmonious than these noises. At stated intervals -we hear the old burthen of sturdy self-vindication -in such letters as the following to Burghley:—</p> - -<div class='lg-container-l c002'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“My very good Lord,</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“I heartily thank your good Lordship for seeking -to satisfy her Majesty in some doubts she might -conceive of me and my wife, upon information given -to her Majesty; your Lordship therein doeth the part -of a faithful friend; so I have always trusted, and you -shall receive no dishonour thereby. My services and -fidelity to her Majesty are such as I am persuaded with -assured hope that her Majesty, having proofs enough -thereof, condemneth those who so untruly surmise, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_98'>98</span>against my wife first, and now myself, either of us -undutiful dealing with this Queen or myself of any -carelessness in regard my charge. As before I crave -trial of whosoever is here noted of any indirect dealing -with this Queen, so do I again require at your Lordship’s -hands to be amenable to her Majesty for due -proof and punishment, as they merit, that her Majesty -might be fully satisfied and quiet. And for my riding -abroad sometimes (not far from my charge) in respect of -my health only; it has been well known to your Lordship -from the first beginning of my charge, and it is -true I always gave order first for safe keeping of her -with a sure and stronger guard, both within my house -and further off, than when myself was with her. I -trusted none in my absence but those I had tried; true -and faithful servants unto me, and like subjects to her -Majesty. I thank God my account of this weighty -charge is ready, to her Majesty’s contentation. No -information nor surmise can make me shrink. Nevertheless, -henceforth her Majesty’s commandment for -my continual attendance upon this lady shall be obeyed, -as her Majesty shall not mislike thereof; and even so, -my Lord, I say to that part of your letters wherein -a motion is made to me; that (as in all my services -hitherto) I had, nor seek, written contentment nor will, -than shall stand her Majesty’s pleasure or her best -service. And so, wishing to your Lordship as well as -to myself, I take my leave.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“At Sheffield this 9th of December, 1572.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Your Lordship’s ever-assured friend,</div> - <div class='line in20'>“<span class='sc'>G. Shrewsbury</span>.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“I have presumed to write to the Queen’s Majesty -to the same effect as to your Lordship.”</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_99'>99</span> - <h2 class='c004'>CHAPTER VII<br /> <span class='small'>FAMILY LETTERS</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_0_6 c005'>The following letters carry on the story of the -Shrewsburys in domestic and official detail for the -next year. The second stepson of Bess was by this -time not only a married man, but a member of Parliament -and a courtier. He and his eldest stepbrother -and brother-in-law, Henry Cavendish, represented their -own county. His brother, Francis Talbot, the Earl’s heir, -who was also at Court, had been entrusted with diplomatic -duties, and had already managed to get into mischief. -Neither he nor Gilbert, who survived him, ever -took such an important social or official position as that -achieved by their father and stepmother. But in youth -they were about the Court, and they held their parents -in proper awe. Their occasional letters imply a strong -sense of family duty and kinship in little things as in -great. The first letter touches on a purely domestic -matter. It is curious that, seeing his wife was his stepmother’s -eldest daughter, Gilbert should not have -referred to the Countess for advice and approval.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“My Lord,—My brother told me of the letter your -Lordship sent him for the putting away of Morgan and -Marven; and said he rejoiced that your Lordship would -so plainly direct and command him what to do, and he -trusteth hereafter to please your Lordship in all his -<span class='pageno' id='Page_100'>100</span>doings; whereunto, according to my duty, I prayed him -to have care above all manner of things, and advised him -to keep secret your Lordship’s directions.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“I have found out a sober maiden to wait on my -wife, if it shall please your Lordship. She was servant -unto Mrs. Southwell, now Lord Paget’s wife, who is -an evil husband, and will not suffer any that waited on -his wife before he married her to continue with her. As -it behoves me, I have been very inquisitive of the woman, -and have heard very well of her behaviour; and truly I -do repose in her to be very modest and well given, and -such a one as I trust your Lordship shall not mislike; -but if it be so that she shall not be thought meet for -my wife, she will willingly repair hither again. Her -name is Marget Butler; she is almost twenty-seven -years old. Mr. Bateman<a id='r18' /><a href='#f18' class='c013'><sup>[18]</sup></a> hath known her long, and -thinketh very well of her: she is not very beautiful, but -very cleanly in doing of anything chiefly about a sick -body, to dress anything fit for them. I humbly pray -your Lordship to send me word whether I shall make -shift to send her down presently, for she is very desirous -not to spend her time idly. Thus, most humbly desiring -your Lordship’s daily blessing, with my wonted and -continual prayer for your Lordship’s preservation in all -honour and health, long to continue, I end.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“At the Court this Monday, the 25th of May, 1573.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Your Lordship’s most humble and obedient son,</div> - <div class='line in24'>“<span class='sc'>Gilbert Talbot</span>.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='section'> - -</div> -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i_100fp.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><span class='left'><em>Photo by Richard Keene, Ltd., Derby, from the picture at Hardwick Hall</em><br />    <em>By permission of his Grace the Duke of Devonshire</em></span><br /><br />GILBERT TALBOT, SEVENTH EARL OF SHREWSBURY<br /><br /><span class='right'>Page <a href='#Page_100'>100</a></span></p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_101'>101</span>The next letter is largely given up to gossip, and -places the Earl of Leicester, who constantly writes wise -and appreciative letters to the Shrewsburys, in the gay, -vivid light in which he is best known to posterity. It is -exhaustive, and touches on all the reports the writer can -gather as to public criticism of Shrewsbury as gaoler, -besides making allusion to the Earl’s financial difficulties.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“My most humble duty remembered, right honourable, -my singular good Lord and father; because of -the convenience of the bearer hereof, I have thought -good to advertise your Lordship of the estate of some -here at the Court, as near as I have learned by my daily -experience. My Lord Treasurer, even after the old -manner, dealeth with matters of the State only, and -beareth himself very uprightly. My Lord Leicester is -very much with her Majesty, and she shows the same -great, good affection that she was wont; of late he has -endeavoured to please her more than heretofore. There -are two sisters now in the Court that are very far in love -with him, as they have been long—my Lady Sheffield -and Frances Howard;<a id='r19' /><a href='#f19' class='c013'><sup>[19]</sup></a> they (of like striving who shall -love him better) are at great wars together, and the -Queen thinketh not well of them and not the better of -him; by this means there are spies over him. My -Lord of Sussex goes with the tide, and helps to back -others; but his own credit is sober, considering his -estate; he is very diligent in his office, and takes great -pains. My Lord of Oxford is lately grown into great -credit; for the Queen’s Majesty delighteth more in his -personage and his dancing and valiantness than any -other. I think Sussex doth back him all that he can; -if it were not for his fickle head he would pass any of -them shortly. My Lady Burghley unwisely has declared -herself, as it were, jealous, which is come to the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_102'>102</span>Queen’s ear; whereat she has been not a little offended -with her, but now she is reconciled again. At all these -love matters my Lord Treasurer winketh, and will not -meddle anyway. Hatton is sick still; it is thought he -will very hardly recover his disease, for it is doubted it -is in his kidneys; the Queen goeth almost every day to -see how he doth. Now are there devices (chiefly by -Leicester, as I suppose, and not without Burleigh’s -knowledge) to make Mr. Edward Dyer as great as ever -was Hatton; for now, in this time of Hatton’s sickness, -the time is convenient. It is brought thus to pass: -Dyer lately was sick of a consumption, in great danger; -and, as your Lordship knows, he has been in displeasure -these two years, it was made the Queen believe that his -sickness came because of the continuance of her displeasure -towards him, so that unless she would forgive him -he was like not to recover, and hereupon her Majesty -has forgiven him and sent unto him a very comfortable -message; now he is recovered again, and this is the -beginning of the device. These things I learn of such -young fellows as myself. Two days since Dr. Wilson told -me he heard say that your Lordship, with your charge, -was removed to Sheffield Lodge, and asked me whether -it was so or not: I answered I heard so also; that you -were gone thither of force till the castle could be -cleansed. And, further, he wished to know whether -your Lordship did so by the consent of the Council, or -not: I said I knew not that, but I was certain your -Lordship did it on good ground. I earnestly desired -him, of all friendship, to tell me whether he had heard -anything to the contrary; which he sware he never -did, but asked because, he said, once that Lady should -have been conveyed from that house. Then I told him -<span class='pageno' id='Page_103'>103</span>what great heed and care you had to her safe-keeping; -especially being there that good numbers of men, continually -armed, watched her day and night, and both -under her windows, over her chamber, and of every -side her; so that, unless she could transform herself to -a flea or a mouse, it was impossible that she should -escape. At that time Mr. Wilson showed me some -part of the confession of one (but who he was, or when -he did confess it, he would in no wise tell me), that that -fellow should say he knew the Queen of Scots hated -your Lordship deadly because of your religion, being an -earnest Protestant; and all the Talbots else in England, -being all Papists, she esteemeth of them very well; and -this fellow did believe verily all we Talbots did love her -better in our hearts than the Queen’s Majesty: this -Mr. Wilson said he showed me because I should see -what knavery there is in some men to accuse. He -charged me of all love that I should keep this secret, -which I promised; and, notwithstanding, considering -he would not tell me who this fellow was, I willed a -friend of mine, one Mr. Francis Southwell, who is very -great with him, to know, amongst other talk, who he -had last in examination; and I understood that this was -the examination of one at the last session of Parliament, -and not since, but I cannot learn yet what he was. Mr. -Walsingham is this day come hither to the Court; it is -thought he shall be made Secretary. Sir Thomas Smith -and he both together shall exercise that office. He hath -not yet told any news; he hath had no time yet for -being returned home; as soon as I hear any your Lordship -shall have them sent. Roulsden hath written to -your Lordship as he saith, by this bearer; he trusteth -to your Lordship’s satisfaction. I have been very importunate -<span class='pageno' id='Page_104'>104</span>of him for the present payment of his debt to -your Lordship. He cannot anyways make shift for -money unless he sell land, which he vows to do rather -than to purchase your Lordship’s displeasure. I -have moved my Lord Treasurer two sundry times as -your Lordship commanded me for the mustering within -your Lordship’s offices. The first time he willed me to -come to him some other time, and he would give me an -answer, because then he had to write to Berwick in -haste; this he told me before I half told him what I -meant. The second time, which was on Saturday last, -my Lord Leicester came unto him as I was talking; but -to-morrow, God willing, I will not fail to move him -thoroughly. For other matters I leave your Lordship -to the bearer himself. And so, most humbly desiring -your Lordship’s daily blessing, with my wonted -prayer for the continuance of your Lordship’s honour, -and health long to continue, I end, this 11th of May, -1573.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Your Lordship’s most humble and obedient son,</div> - <div class='line in24'>“<span class='sc'>Gilbert Talbot</span>.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>This letter is packed with suggestions of Court intrigue. -Hatton—afterwards Sir Christopher Hatton—it -will be remembered, was one of the many young -courtiers whose polish, culture, and elegant dancing -excited Elizabeth’s romantic interest. He rose from -the post of Gentleman of the Privy Chamber to the -captaincy of the Guard, and, by way of the successive -posts of Vice-Chamberlain and Privy Councillor, -reached the Chancellorship and received a Garter.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Edward Dyer, Hatton’s rival, matched him to some -extent in honours, for he too was subsequently -<span class='pageno' id='Page_105'>105</span>knighted and invested with the Garter. As for the -Dr. Wilson named, he afterwards became a Secretary -of State, while the Earl of Oxford, who is shown as -trying to outdo all other courtiers in favour, was a -son-in-law of Lord Burghley. He was an adherent -of the fifth Duke of Norfolk, and when Burghley refused -to intercede for the Duke’s life, the Earl vowed -that he would revenge himself on his father-in-law by -destroying the happiness of his daughter. This he -achieved satisfactorily, and when she died of a broken -heart he finished his work of destruction by dissipating -the whole of his fortune. The jealousy of “my Lady -Burghley,” named in the above letter, evidently refers -to the torture which his wife suffered while he was -paying addresses to the Queen.</p> - -<p class='c006'>In the midst of this motley Court group one discerns -the figure of Burghley himself, a pillar of discretion, -while unable to shield his own daughter from distress -and scandal.</p> - -<p class='c006'>We see that the Earl of Leicester was a person to be -cultivated so long as his love affairs did not incur the -Queen’s anger, and so long, in fact, as the love-making -was not on his side. It must have been with a chuckle -of satisfaction that the Earl received a letter from the -favourite about this time, in which he specially commends -the behaviour of the young Talbots and records -the Queen’s high approval of them. All this was very -soothing to their parents. The political situation was -less acute. Many traitors were dead, and the banner of -Mary of Scotland lay in the dust. Her chief stronghold -had fallen. France was in very bad odour, though -the memory of the horror of the Bartholomew Massacre -was beginning to fade from English minds. Spain had -<span class='pageno' id='Page_106'>106</span>enough to do with her affairs in the Netherlands. -Elizabeth could afford to dance, practise on the virginals, -play off one of her Court lovers against another, -and invent nicknames for them. Domestic happiness -and a merrier aspect of things came also nearer to the -Talbots. My Lady absented herself for a while, and -the Earl writes to her as of old like a lover, and tells -her of his dangers and longings:—</p> - -<p class='c007'>“My dear none,—Of all joys I have under God -the greatest is yourself: to think that I possess so -faithful, and one that I know loves me so dearly, is -all and the greatest comfort that this earth can give. -Therefore God give me grace to be thankful to Him for -His goodness showed unto me, a vile sinner.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“And where you advise in your letter you willed me -to ...<a id='r20' /><a href='#f20' class='c013'><sup>[20]</sup></a> which I did that I should not be ...<a href='#f20' class='c013'><sup>[20]</sup></a> to this -lady nothing of the matter: my stomach was so full, I -asked her in quick manner, where she writ any letters -to any her friends that I would stand in her title. She -affirms in her honour she hath not. But howsoever it -is she hath written therein, I may safely answer I make -small account thereof.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“I thank you, my sweetheart, that you are so willing -to come when I will. Therefore, dear heart, send -me word how I might send for you; and till I have -your company I shall think long, my only joy: and -therefore appoint a day, and in the meantime I shall -content me with your will, and long daily for your -coming. I your letters study very well; and I like -them so well they could not be amended: and I have -sent them up to Gilbert. I have written to him how -<span class='pageno' id='Page_107'>107</span>happy he is to have such a mother as you are. Farewell, -only joy. This Tuesday evening.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Your faithful one,</div> - <div class='line in12'>“<span class='sc'>G. Shrewsbury</span>.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“To my wife.”<a id='r21' /><a href='#f21' class='c013'><sup>[21]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c007'>The next letter, from one of her own boys, is one -which Bess evidently sent on to her “juwell” of a -husband:—</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c002'> - <div><em>Henry Cavendish to the Countess of Shrewsbury.</em></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“May it please your honour, I thought it good to -let your La. understand of a misfortune that happened -in my house. On Thursday night last at supper two -of my men fell out about some trifling words, and to -all their fellows’ judgment that heard their jangling -we made good friends again, and went and lay together -that night, for they had been bedfellows of long before, -and loved one another very well, as everybody took -it in the house. On Friday morning, very early, by -break of day, they went forth, by name Swenerto and -Langeford, with two swords apiece, as the sequel after -showed; and in the fields fought together, and in fight -Swenerto slew Langeford, to my great grief both for -the sudden death of the one and for the utter -destruction of the other, whom I loved very well. -Good Madam, let it not trouble you anything; we -are mortal, and born to many and strange adventures; -and therefore must temper our minds to bear such -burdens as shall be by God laid on our shoulders. -My greatest grief, and so I judge it will be some -trouble to your La. that it should happen in my house. -Alas! mada, what could I do with it: altogether right -<span class='pageno' id='Page_108'>108</span>sorrowful for it, and it hath troubled and vexed me, -more than in reason it should have done a wise man. -I would to God I could forget that there never had -been any such matter. Upon the fight done I sent -for Mr. Adderley, and used his counsel in all things. -Swenerto fled presently and is pursued, but not yet -heard of. Thus humbly craving your La. daily -blessing I end, more than sad to trouble your La. -thus long with this sorrowful matter. Tut: this -present Saturday.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Your La. most bounden, humble, and obedient son,</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“<span class='sc'>Henry Cavendish</span>.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“To my lady.</div> - <div class='line in2'>“Return this.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>“My ‘juwell,’ this Saturday at night I received this -letter, much to my grief for the mishap. Yet was -ever like that Swenerto should commit some great -fault; he was a vain, lewd fellow. Farewell, my dear -heart.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Your faithful wife,</div> - <div class='line in12'>“<span class='sc'>E. Shrewsbury</span>.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>The Earl writes again, impatient for his wife’s -return:—</p> - -<p class='c007'>“My dear none,—I see how careful you are of my -health, which if I were sick would relieve me again. -I received a letter from Gilbert sent by Nykle Clark. -You may see the time approaching near that a new -alarm will be given me. When you have read his -letter I pray you to write to me again, for I mind of -Monday to write by Antony Barlow; he will be glad of -the pursuivantship if he can get it: he shall have my -good will therein. If you will write up ... he may -<span class='pageno' id='Page_109'>109</span>safely deliver it, therefore I pray you fail not, but send -me your advice concerning this matter. Farewell, my -only joy. This Saturday I pray you keep promise; -you said you would be with me within a fortnight -at the furthest; therefore let me hear from you when -I shall send for your horses, my sweetheart.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Your faithful husband and assured,</div> - <div class='line in20'>“<span class='sc'>G. Shrewsbury</span>.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>At the beginning of the year following, 1574, the -Earl indites a very touching and dignified little New -Year letter to the son in whom he always seems to take -the most interest—Gilbert:—</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I have received your letter of New Year’s Eve, and -this New Year’s day I begin to use my pen first to yourself -wishing you to use yourself this New Year and many -years after to God’s glory and fear of Him, and to live -in that credit your ancestors have hitherto done, and so -doing, as I hope you will, be faithful, loyal, and serviceable -to the Queen’s Majesty, my Sovereign, who to me, -under God, is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Your -New Year’s gift shall be I will supply all your needful -wants; and so long as I see that carefulness, duty, and -love you bear me which hitherto I see in you, my purse -and all that I have shall be as free to you as to myself.<a id='r22' /><a href='#f22' class='c013'><sup>[22]</sup></a> -Time is so short and I have so many come to me with -New Year’s gifts I can write no more, but thank you for -your perfumed doublet you sent me: and so praying -God to bless you.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Sheffield Castle this New Year’s Day 1574.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Your loving father,</div> - <div class='line in8'>“<span class='sc'>G. Shrewsbury</span>.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_110'>110</span>The whole tone of the letter is one of domestic -security, and one has a vivid glimpse of the New Year -celebrations and the flow of gifts. These <i><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">étrennes</span></i> were -important affairs. A good courtier always paid this dole -to his queen under the guise of a handsome gift, while -the nobles and country gentry in their turn were the -recipients from their tenants and friends of heterogeneous -articles varying from capons, wine, and foodstuffs -to gloves, clothes, or furniture.</p> - -<p class='c006'>No one in that great and rich family group, so full -of promise, had any notion of the events which would -call down upon the Countess the wrath of the Queen, -or the fresh accusations which would be hurled against -the Earl.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Life just now was as easy as Shrewsbury could -ever hope to find it. He had managed to satisfy his -prisoner and give her plenty of change. She was in the -autumn of 1573 transferred to Chatsworth, <i><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">en route</span></i> for -Buxton. Ultimately, by dint of scouring the place of -strangers and preventing access to the springs of any -save specified persons—a thing the more easy of accomplishment -since the waters were the property of Shrewsbury’s -family—it was made possible to give her five -weeks here. After this came a stay at Chatsworth and -then the return to Sheffield.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Freedom from outside attacks did not last very long. -Before the spring had fairly set in Elizabeth and Burghley -were once more on the warpath against the Shrewsburys. -Never was George Talbot sure of his Queen’s -trust. It must be remembered here that at the close of -1572 she had deliberately written thus by Burghley: -“The Queen’s Majesty has in very good part accepted -your last letter to herself, and has willed me to ascertain -<span class='pageno' id='Page_111'>111</span>your Lordship that she doth no wise alter her -former good opinion of your approved fidelity and of -the care you have of such service as is committed to -you, the same being such as none can in her land compare -with the trust committed to your Lordship, and yet -she would have your Lordship, as she says, not to mislike -that when she hath occasion to doubt or fear foreign -practices reaching hither into her realm, even to the -charge which your Lordship hath, she do warn you -thereof; and, in so doing, not to imagine that she -findeth such informations to proceed from any mistrust -that she hath of your Lordship, no more than she would -have if you were her son or brother. This she wills -me to write effectually to your Lordship ... with my -most hearty commendations to your Lordship and -my good Lady.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>In spite of this the least thing afforded Elizabeth an -excuse for a nagging letter to Sheffield Castle. On this -occasion the matter was innocent enough. Gilbert’s -young wife expected her first child, and it was not surprising -that my Lord and Lady should prefer that the -event should take place under their roof. Yet the -Queen thought it necessary to worry them with mistrust, -forcibly expressed. Shrewsbury replies to Burghley: -“The mislike her Majesty ... of my son Gilbert’s -wife brought to bed in my house, as cause of women -and strangers repair hither, makes me heartily sorry; -nevertheless, the midwife excepted, none such have, or -do at any time, come within her sight; and at the first, -to avoid such resort, I myself with two of my children -christened the child. What intelligence passeth for this -Queen to and from my house I do not know; but trust -her Majesty shall find my service while I live both true -<span class='pageno' id='Page_112'>112</span>and faithful. Yet be you assured, my Lord, this lady -will not stay to put in practice, or make enquiry by all -means she can devise, and ask me no leave, so long as -such access of her people is permitted unto her.... -My Lord, where there hath been often bruits of this -Lady’s escape from me, the 26th of February last there -came an earthquake, which so sunk chiefly her chamber -as I doubted more her falling than her going, she was so -afraid. But God be thanked she is forthcoming, and -grant it may be a forewarning unto her. It hath been -at the same time in sundry places. No hurt was done -and the same continued a very small time. God grant -us all grace to fear Him.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>That the very Derbyshire ground which bore him -should fail his feet while his Queen’s faith in him fell -away seems adding insult to injury. For some time -past he appears to have been torn between the longing -to rid himself of a now intolerable responsibility and the -fear of misconstruction to which his retirement from his -post would expose him. “The truth is, my good Lord,” -as he is driven at last to say to Burghley, “if it so -stand with the Queen Majesty’s pleasure I could be -right well contented to be discharged ... and think -myself therewith most happy, if I could see how the -same might be without any blemish to my honour and -estimation.” He begs that Burghley “will have respect -that such consideration may be had of my service as -shall make it manifest to the world how well her -Majesty accepteth the same. My Lord Scroop, and -others, were not unconsidered of for their short time of -service.” And so in this condition of mind he waits for -Burghley’s advice. He would have done better to risk -the Queen’s displeasure and to lay down his gaoler’s -<span class='pageno' id='Page_113'>113</span>warrant on the plea of illness, even if in those days -medical certificates were not so easy to procure and -might not have been so potent. As for disfavour at -Court, he could, as a strong and powerful private gentleman, -take up his stand and keep up his vast property, -though Elizabeth might wreak her annoyance on the -young Cavendishes and Talbots. Had he summed up -the courage to decide the matter after his own heart he -would have lost nothing in the world’s esteem, been far -better off in pocket, and possibly the barque of the -Shrewsburys would have escaped the shoals and rocks of -domestic bickerings, which in later middle-life led to -such woeful wreckage of the vessel and the magnificent -family crew.</p> - -<p class='c006'>George Talbot did not foresee all this. He was not -an imaginative man. He was a typical Government -official, precise, sententious, cautious, faithful, anxious, -hypersensitive. One imagines that his countess—who -was not in the least <i><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">au fond</span></i> the typical discreet wife of a -high official—spent a good deal of time goading him to -revolt. He has admitted in a previous letter that she -was not at all anxious for him to continue with his -present duties. Of course, it was the business of -Burghley to keep him at them. Shrewsbury was the -most useful of all English nobles in this respect. All -the conditions about him suited the Queen’s purposes in -every way. The way in which she and Burghley put -him off with fair promises and bamboozled him with -vague promises of reward makes one gasp. As to -current outlay—the £52 per week allowed him for this -by the Council was far too little—one of the most -ingenious suggestions Elizabeth ever made was that -Mary should “defray her own charges with her dowry -<span class='pageno' id='Page_114'>114</span>of France.” Shrewsbury adds: “She seemed not to -dislike thereof at all, but rather desirous ... so she -asked me in what sort and with what manner of liberty -she should be permitted to same.” He urges that these -details should be settled at once. “Assure yourself if -the liberty and manner thereof content her as well as the -motion, she will easily assent to it; and so I wish it, as -may be without peril otherwise; and for the charges in -safe-keeping her, I have found them greater many ways -than some have accounted for, and than I have made -show of, or grieved at; for in service of her Majesty I -can think my whole patrimony well bestowed.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>How the wary official, loyal and somewhat crushed, -speaks in that last sentence! How irritating to his Bess -with her superabundant business instinct and her ambitions -for her family! He was ever on the watch, his -conscience agog. She was continually “on the make,” -seeking the quickest road to family aggrandisement -which was compatible with decency.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The following letter belongs to this period, and shows -Gilbert Talbot back in London. He had been previously -there in communication with Court officials apropos -of the accusations brought originally against his father -and subsequently against himself by an ex-chaplain of -the Earl, named Corker, in combination with another -priest called Haworth. The letter roused the whole -family. The Earl literally lashes out. It remains as -the chief evidence of the first published imputations -against the Earl’s honour. It evidently embodies the -attitude of wife as well as husband. This is a very -important point because of the dissension which arose -later on this very question.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_115'>115</span>“<em>To the right honourable my very good Lord, -my Lord Burghley, Lord Treasurer of England.</em></p> - -<p class='c006'>“Your Lordship’s friendly letters I accept in as -friendly ways as I know to be meant to me. For -Corker’s proceedings against my son Gilbert, I partly -understand of his false accusation; which, in my conscience, -is utterly untrue and thereupon I dare gage my -life. The reprobate’s beginning was against me and -now turned to Gilbert. His wicked speeches of me -cannot be hid; I have them of his own hand, cast -abroad in London, and bruited throughout this realm, -and known to her Majesty’s Council. Her Majesty -hath not heard of him ill of me, so it pleaseth her -Majesty to signify unto me by her own gracious letters, -which I must believe, notwithstanding his dealing against -me is otherwise so notoriously known that if he escape -sharp and open punishment dishonour will redound to -me. This practice hath a further meaning than the -varlets know of.... For mine own part I have -never thought to allow any title, nor will, otherwise -than as shall please her Majesty to appoint.... How -can it be supposed that I should be disposed to favour -this Queen for her claim to succeed the Queen’s -Majesty? My dealing towards her hath shown the -contrary. I know her to be a Stranger, a Papist, and -my enemy; what hope can I have of good of her, -either for me or my country? I see I am by my own -friends brought in jealousy, wherefore I wish with all -my heart that I were honourably read, without note or -blemish, to the world of any want in me.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Though the Earl’s enemy was satisfactorily condemned -<span class='pageno' id='Page_116'>116</span>to the pillory and the Fleet, the scandal -proved many-headed, and again the poor official (accused, -among other things, of being as much of a credulous -fool as a knave in regard to Mary of Scotland) thunders -protest.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Wherefore as touching that lewd fellow, who hath -not only sought by unlawful libels extant, so much as -in him lay, to deface my dutiful heart and loyalty, but -also the rooting up of my house, utter overthrow and -destruction of my lineal posterity, I neither hold him -a subject nor yet account him worthy the name of a -man, which with a watery submission can appease so -rigorous a storm;<a id='r23' /><a href='#f23' class='c013'><sup>[23]</sup></a> no, if loss of my life, which he hath -pretended would have fully contented him, I could -better have been satisfied than with these, his unspeakable -vilenesses.... I might be thought hard-hearted -if, for Christianity’s sake, I should not freely forgive -as cause shall require, and desire God to make him a -better member, being so perilous a caterpillar in the -Commonwealth. For I have not the man anywise in -contempt, it is his iniquity and Judas dealing that I -only hate.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>In other words, “Reptile! But I forgive thee.” -It is almost a parallel to the anecdote of a certain little -girl with an over-stern nurse of gloomy religious tendencies, -to whom the child, waking alone in the dark, -called, “Nurse, nurse, come, come! I dreamed that -the devil was here tempting me to call you a duffer—<em>but -I resisted the temptation</em>!”</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_117'>117</span>The Corker affair, of course, provided fresh food -for the imaginings and reports of Mary’s adversaries. -People thought that it would necessarily mean the -removal of Mary into fresh custody. Mary herself -dreaded this. She did not love Shrewsbury, but she -believed her life to be safe with him, though she may -not have entirely trusted his wife. She heard that -poison was to be used against her, and that there was -a suggestion at Court “to make overtures to the -Countess of Shrewsbury.” She was assured that if -anyone poisoned her without Elizabeth’s knowledge, -the latter “would be very much obliged to them for -relieving her of so great a trouble.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>There is nothing on the Countess’s side to corroborate -this wild statement. This horrible fear, however, -was so implanted in Mary’s mind that she sent -to France for “some genuine terra sigillata, as antidote.” -But she did not apply to her sinister mother-in-law -Catherine De Medici. “Ask M. the Cardinal -my uncle,” she writes, “or if he has none, rather than -have recourse to the Queen my mother-in-law, or to -the King, send a bit of fine unicorn’s horn, as I am in -great want of it.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>The year 1574 travelled onward without realisation -of her fears. The “caterpillar,” Corker, had not prevailed -in the overthrow of the Earl’s house or of his -“lineal posterity,” and Gilbert Talbot in this little note -writes affectionately enough to his stepmother:—<a id='r24' /><a href='#f24' class='c013'><sup>[24]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c007'>“My most humble duty remembered unto your -good Ladyship, to fulfil your La. commandment, and -in discharge of my duty by writing, rather than for any -<span class='pageno' id='Page_118'>118</span>matter of importance that I can learn, I herewith -trouble your La. Her Majesty stirreth little abroad, -and since the stay of the navy to sea here hath been all -things very quiet.... I have written to my Lord of the -bruit which is here of his being sick again, which I -nothing doubt but it is utterly untrue: howbeit, because -I never heard from my L. nor your La. since I came -up, I cannot choose but be somewhat troubled, and yet -I consider the like hath been often reported most falsely -and without cause, as I beseech God this be. My -Lady Cobbam asketh daily how your La. doth, and -yesterday prayed me, the next time I wrote, to do her -very hearty commendation unto your La., saying openly -she remaineth unto your La. as she was wont, as unto -her dearest friend. My La. Lenox hath not been at -the Court since I came. On Wednesday next I trust -(God willing) to go hence towards Goodrich; and -shortly after to be at Sheffield. And so most humbly -craving your La. blessing with my wonted prayer, for -your honour and most perfect health long to continue. -From the Court at Greenwich this 27th June, 1573.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Your La. most humble and obedient son,</div> - <div class='line in24'>“<span class='sc'>Gilbert Talbot</span>.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“To my Lady.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“I received a letter from my Lord since this letter -was sealed, and then I had no time by this messenger -to write again unto your La. which came in a comfortable -season unto me.”</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_119'>119</span> - <h2 class='c004'>CHAPTER VIII<br /> <span class='small'>A CERTAIN JOURNEY</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_0_6 c005'>It was now the autumn of the year 1574. The -Shrewsburys had for the time being come triumphantly -out of official complications, and despite -their grave responsibilities lived as comfortably as -might be, though they were often separated, because -the wife, at any rate, had other duties besides that of -gaolership. What social life was permitted to them by -the restraint entailed by this charge could obviously be -enjoyed only by the Countess, and even she must have -found it difficult to meet her cronies, get her children -married and provided for, and keep a firm hand on -domestic expenditure at the various houses she owned. -The guarding of Mary of Scotland certainly had its -interesting, romantic side, and this to some extent was -a set-off against the greyer side of the business and its -financial disadvantages. Just now the chances of Mary -were at their lowest. Bothwell was dying in exile,<a id='r25' /><a href='#f25' class='c013'><sup>[25]</sup></a> the -Duke of Norfolk had shed his blood vainly for her, -Charles Darnley, “The Young Fool,” as Mr. Lang -most justly calls him, though dead, with all his vanity, -treachery, and vice, could still harm her cause, more -latterly perhaps through the popular stigma which attached -to her than by the hatred of his relatives, the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_120'>120</span>family of Lennox. His family, sorely chastened by -Elizabeth for his marriage with Mary, was, since his -death, held in less odium at the English Court, though -it did not suit the Queen’s gracious meanness to raise -it out of poverty. Elizabeth and Darnley’s mother, -poor soul—Countess of Lennox, <em>née</em> the Lady Margaret -Douglas—had buried the hatchet after the boy’s -death. For the benefit of those who forget her story—or -ignore it—a word as to this lady:—</p> -<div class='section'> - -</div> -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i_120fp.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><span class='left'><em>From a contemporary picture</em></span><br /><br />LADY MARGARET DOUGLAS, COUNTESS OF LENNOX<br /><br />MOTHER OF LORD DARNLEY<br /><br /><span class='right'>Page <a href='#Page_120'>120</a></span></p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_121'>121</span>The daughter of Queen Margaret of Scotland (a -Tudor, and sister of Henry VIII) and of the Earl of -Angus, a mere boy, she was born in a wild moment of -flight over the border into England. The very castle -into which her mother crept after the long journey on -horseback was immediately besieged. Thereafter the -child Margaret became a bone of contention between -her divorced parents—as history tells. After three -years of babyhood in the shelter of her royal uncle’s -English Court she spent her youth in France and Scotland, -often latterly a wanderer from castle to castle, -abhorred by her mother the Scots Queen because of -her devotion to her outlawed father. For years she -had neither house nor pin-money, but was dependent -always upon such hospitality and shelter as her father’s -friends would yield her in their Northern fortresses. -Though her mother never forgave her for her defection, -the fortunes of the girl—beautiful and of imposing -personality—mended and brought her at last into the -sunshine of Tudor favours. Henry VIII had compassion -on his niece and made her playmate of Princess -Mary, at which time she so won his affections that he -settled an annuity upon her and her father. Subsequently -she was first lady-in-waiting to Anne Boleyn, -and was installed as one of the household of the baby -Princess Elizabeth. While Katherine of Aragon was -being divorced and the star of Anne Boleyn waxed and -waned she witnessed strange moments, and watched the -violent changes by which her uncle declared now this -one and now that one of his daughters illegitimate. -Her own fortunes, even as a princess of the blood -royal, were—in spite of her uncle’s genial expressions—nothing -too secure, and marriage and a dowry were -still dreams of the future. Possibly the King’s erotic -irregularities allowed him no time for the love affairs -of others, but at any rate he manifestly did not, like -some of his successors, intend to doom his lady wards -to perpetual virginity. When Lady Margaret showed -favour to Lord Thomas Howard, kinsman of the -Queen (Boleyn), Henry seemed to have winked at the -courtship. So soon, however, as he killed his second -consort and degraded her baby girl to the ranks of -the illegitimate, matters assumed a very different colour. -For the Lady Margaret Douglas was now the nearest -heir to the throne. He married immediately, but no -heir was speedily born. Meanwhile the Lady Margaret’s -love affair grew and culminated in a formal if -secret contract—that is to say a solemn betrothal, in -every respect binding. Henry regarded this as a -double offence. His blood niece, his heir apparent, -had contracted herself without his permission; moreover -she had pledged herself to a near relative of the -abhorred Boleyn. He behaved in his proper, kingly, -melodramatic way, sent man and maid to the Tower, -speedily convicted them of high treason, and sentence -of death followed. The execution of this, as usual, -was delayed. The State document condemning both -<span class='pageno' id='Page_122'>122</span>is, as all the world knows, one of the most disgracefully -illegal concoctions ever produced by the -blundering rage of a ruler and the hypocrisy of his -ministers. In addition it furnished the precedent for -the gross interference of that ruler’s daughter, Elizabeth, -in like cases. In addition to proving the Lady -Margaret guilty of treason, it professed to prove her -illegitimacy also, and so cleared the way for Henry’s -future whims. The unhappy Lord Thomas, after a -year or two, succumbed to close confinement and -sorrow and died in the Tower. His lady was removed -to Sion House Court, near London, one of the few -religious houses upon which her uncle found it convenient -to smile because it could play a most useful -part in his affairs as a polite place of detention for -ladies of quality who drooped under his displeasure. -The birth of his prince—Edward VI—made him relent -towards his niece, and she came about the Court once -more, though her old penchant for the house of -Howard, of which a second member—nephew of her -betrothed—now wooed her, thrust her into shadow -again. This was probably a harder blow than the -first, though she was not this time shivering under -the fear of the axe. For she had been fully restored -to her old place; she had once more taken part in -that melodramatic domestic merry-go-round of Henry’s -consorts. She was first lady to the new royal Anne -of Cleves, she had apartments assigned to her at -Hampton Court, and she was “first lady” again to -Anne’s successor, Katherine Howard. A weary period -of detention at Sion House followed—sharply ended -because the King now wished to shut up Katherine -Howard there. So Lady Margaret was moved on -<span class='pageno' id='Page_123'>123</span>to the care of the Duke of Norfolk on the East -coast. The third Katherine whom Henry wooed—the -widowed Parr—put an end to this banishment, -and by her tact and kindness reconciliations took place -all round in the royal house. Lady Margaret played -bridesmaid and lady-in-waiting once more, and her -uncle began to bestir himself about her marriage. The -man she wedded at the age of thirty-two after so much -tossing and chasing, imprisonment and poverty, was -the very Matthew, Earl of Lennox, whose claim to -the Scots Crown had by James V of Scotland, on the -death of his two sons, been preferred against those -of the Earl of Arran. Both earls were kinsmen of -James, and because of their high ambitions were -engaged in undying feud. The birth of a royal Scots -heir, in Mary, reduced both lords to the same level, -but did not diminish the pertinacity of Lennox, who -returned from France to England with the design of -wedding Mary’s mother, Mary of Lorraine, as soon -as her widowhood pointed her out as eligible. He -was a handsome fellow and perfected in the graces -of courts after his long apprenticeship in France, but -he did not have his way, and emissaries from England -schemed to throw Lady Margaret Douglas in his path. -England was eager that he should serve her purposes. -As consort of Mary of Lorraine and financed by France -he would be the worst enemy of England. With Lady -Margaret England dangled before him a good dowry. -The marriage, adorned by the blessing of Henry VIII, -took place with great éclat in 1544, and the King -flourished his sanction in a speech including the important -declaration, “in case his own issue failed he -should be right glad if heirs of her body succeeded -<span class='pageno' id='Page_124'>124</span>to the crown.” Nevertheless, though her husband -was promised the regency of Scotland, and she was -awarded residence in a royal palace (Stepney), she did -not retain the King’s favour. Quarrels ensued; -whether brewed by the spies in her own household -in London or in Yorkshire (where she established -herself in order to be nearer her husband, engaged -in Border invasions), or by her act does not appear. -Just before Henry died the breach was complete, and -in spite of her having given birth to three legitimate -Tudor heirs, of whom Henry Darnley was the second, -her rights and those of her offspring from the regal -succession in England were wiped out.</p> - -<p class='c006'>With a strength, as of Antæus, the much-buffeted -lady overrode trouble and travelled to London with -her child Henry, now the eldest (her first-born died -in infancy), to pay her respects to her cousin, the -new King, Edward VI. How she faced the situation -is a marvel. Her husband’s Border cruelties had -made him unpopular, and she was coldly looked upon. -Her position for some years was most equivocal, since, -in spite of her close relationship to the queen dowager -of Scotland, she could not present to this lady, her -sister-in-law, her husband Earl Lennox, traitor to -Scotland, or her sons, in whom the Tudor blood was -tainted by that of Lennox. She lived, however, in -stately fashion in Yorkshire, followed eagerly the ritual -of the Romish Church, and educated her children in it. -Quarrels with her father Angus, discussions as to the -disposal of his property, the birth of her eighth child, -and the impaired health of her lord engrossed her now -sufficiently. Then came another subtle and sudden -change of fortunes with the death of Edward VI, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_125'>125</span>the abortive scheme on behalf of Lady Jane Grey, and -the sudden triumph of the claims of Princess Mary over -those of her younger sister Elizabeth.</p> - -<p class='c006'>During the reign of Mary of England Lady Lennox -passed into calmer waters. She did not abuse her -opportunities, but the Queen’s favour did not make -Margaret or her children heirs designate to Mary’s -crown.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Exit Mary, enter Elizabeth, and with Elizabeth a -short time of prosperity! Matthew Lennox secured -eventually his regency in Scotland, and his wife was in -waiting upon Elizabeth at Windsor. She must have -felt like a bat emerging from a cellar after the constant -misfortunes and rebuffs of the past. Disfavour, dispeace -were, however, always her portion, and very soon -closed in upon her. This time the occasion of disturbance -was France. Its king died. Mary of Scotland -became queen consort. Lady Lennox saw a rich chance -of using influence so puissant for reinstating her husband -and herself in Scotland. She sent one messenger -of congratulation and again another. This seems to -have been Henry Darnley, now her eldest son, who -was just fifteen. Thus did she begin to lay the train -of circumstances which exploded in the horrors of the -night of Kirk-o’-Field. From this till the actual Darnley -marriage it was the Lady Lennox even more than her -husband who invited intrigue. She, like other keen -aristocratic plotters of the day, employed not only -codes, emissaries, and spies, but conjurors. Little she -guessed at the eavesdroppers who lurked in the corners -of her great house at Settrington, and of the spies whom -the Earl of Leicester and Lord Burghley employed to -catch every suspicious word and record every private -<span class='pageno' id='Page_126'>126</span>interview within her walls. One fine day the Queen’s -officers invaded and seized her household, conjurors -included, and she and her family were summoned sharply -to Court. A sorry journey that, though not the first -piece of pitiful travelling she had done. Servants, -children, lord and lady reached the capital, and were -disposed of in various quarters. The Lennoxes were -ordered to their own apartments in Westminster Palace, -while some of their retinue were put into the old Gate -House prison close by. How young Lord Darnley -managed to evade watching and quietly lose himself in -London is a mystery. This did not make things easier -for his parents, who were instantly punished by separation -and imprisonment, he in the Tower, and she to -strait keeping under the roof of Sir Richard and Lady -Sackville, the Queen’s cousins, at Sheen. Lady Lennox’s -religion and the unjust suggestion that she had been -responsible for the harsh treatment, by the late Queen, -of her sister Elizabeth, seemed to aggravate the case -of both prisoners. After sickness, pleadings, and indignation, -husband and wife were permitted to share -confinement at Sheen. It would have been best for -them if they had been kept there indefinitely. How -Elizabeth ever came to free them in the midst of her -suspicions and fears in regard to the marriage of Mary -of Scotland is extraordinary. That she should actually -have been prevailed upon to give the Earl and his eldest -son a passport into Scotland is still more so. With -the Darnley marriage began Lady Lennox’s long incarceration -in the Tower itself—a more pitiful imprisonment -than any she had experienced. Her children were -far from her; her husband and eldest son were too -wise to risk their fate by obeying Elizabeth’s absurd -<span class='pageno' id='Page_127'>127</span>order to return to Court. Freedom came hand in hand -with the terrible news of Darnley’s murder. What -could the woman do but break forth into loud complaints -and passionate accusation in the royal presence? -Was it strange that, worn with imprisonment, the -beauty of her prime gone, her face disfigured with -many sorrows, her dignity and royal blood degraded, -she should address a petition begging the Queen to -commit Mary to trial and secure the speedy execution -of justice? Elizabeth would not have her hand forced. -“It was not becoming,” said she, “to fix a charge so -heinous upon the princess and her kinswoman without -producing the clearest evidence.” She would not -actually accuse, but she would not clear her enemy.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Thus there was reason enough for Elizabeth’s later -clemency towards the Lennoxes. It suited the purpose -of queen and prisoner that they should now join issue -against the murderess, “the hure,” against “Bothwell’s -wench.” It suited Lennox well that he should be installed -guardian of the future James I, and Lady Lennox, -as his grandmother, was now accorded a far more important -position than she could have taken had her -daughter-in-law been above suspicion. It is true that -financially she was never unembarrassed. A mansion -at Hackney, formerly the property of the ruined family -of Percy, was awarded to her as a residence, but it does -not seem to have been much of a home, or at least, her -manner of living there seems to have been anything -but luxurious. She does not appear to have been much -at Court. Gilbert Talbot alludes to her in a letter -already quoted, and written in this summer of 1574: -“My Lady of Lennox hath not been at the Court since -I came.” Up to the present her attitude towards Mary -<span class='pageno' id='Page_128'>128</span>was unchanged. When Lord and Lady Burghley visited -Chatsworth in 1570, Margaret Lennox thought it necessary -to flog a dead horse and add by letter her exhortations -to the warnings of Elizabeth that Mr. Secretary -should be on his guard against the wiles of Mary. Even -Margaret—a woman—knew the force of the personal -equation in this case. She is careful to add: “Not for -any fear you should be won, which as her Majesty tells -me she did speak to you at your departing, but to let you -understand how her Majesty hath had some talks with -me touching my Lord.... Her Majesty says that -Queen works many ways—I answered her Majesty was -a good lady to her and better I thought than any other -prince would have been if they were in her case, for she -staid publishing abroad her wickedness which was manifestly -known.” In the self-same summer from Chatsworth -Mary, the daughter-in-law, writes to her. The -content and tone of the letters is pitiful enough.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Madame,—If the wrong and false reports of -enemies well known as traitors to you, alas! too much -trusted by me, by your advice, had not so far stirred -you against my innocence (and I must say against all -kindness) that you have not only as it were condemned -me wrongfully, but cherished, as your words and deeds -have testified to all the world, a manifest misliking -against your own blood, I would not have omitted -this long ago duty in writing to you, excusing me for -those untrue reports made of me, but hoping with -God’s grace and time to have my innocence confirmed, -as I trust it is already, even to the most indifferent -persons. I thought best not to trouble you for a time -till now another matter is moved that toucheth us both, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_129'>129</span>which is the transporting of your little son, and my -only child, to the which I were never so willing, yet I -would be glad to have your advice therein, as in all -other things touching him. I have borne him, and God -knoweth with what danger to him and to me, and of -you he is descended. So I mean not to forget my duty -to you in showing therein any unkindness to you notwithstanding -how unkindly you have dealt with me, but -will love you as my aunt and respect you as my mother-in-law. -And if it please you to know further of my -mind, in that and all things betwixt us, my ambassador, -the Bishop of Ross, shall be ready to confer with you.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“And so after my hearty commendations, remitting -you to the said ambassador and your better consideration, -I commit you to the protection of Almighty God, -whom I pray to preserve you, and my brother Charles, -and cause you to know my part better than you do—By -your loving daughter-in-law.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“(To my Lady Lennox, my mother-in-law.)”<a id='r26' /><a href='#f26' class='c013'><sup>[26]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c007'>This letter was delivered to Lady Lennox in the -Queen’s presence some months after it was written, and -Elizabeth was still at work defaming the writer to her -mother-in-law. That was during the close of 1570. -In 1574 their relations were in no wise altered. Lady -Lennox evidently still believed her son’s wife guilty, -while she pathetically insisted upon her rights as the -grandmother of a king. In this capacity she applied -to the Queen for a safe-conduct to her northern house -of Settrington—now restored to her—whither she wished -to repair with her son Charles because she had been -informed of a plot to carry off her royal grandson and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_130'>130</span>bring him to England. This seems to have been a -rather well-worn excuse and was mistrusted by Elizabeth, -who about this time began to entertain doubts of her -lady’s real attitude towards the imprisoned “dowager of -Scotland.” She and Lady Shrewsbury were old acquaintances -at Court. The latter heard of the projected long -journey, and invited the party to break it at one of the -Shrewsbury “places.” Chatsworth offered itself as -most suitable, but she was right in her surmise that -this choice would only appear in a suspicious light to -Elizabeth, who anticipated it in the admonition she bestowed -on Lady Lennox before her departure. Her -Ladyship showed a fine indignation at such a suggestion, -but one wonders whether this was not merely a piece of -“bluff,” for the complicity of Mary had been repeatedly -denied by Bothwell and by other Scottish lords implicated -in the dark business at Kirk-o’-Field. At any -rate this northern journey gave colour to all kinds of -imputations. It was suggested that Lady Lennox’s -ultimate aim was simply a visit of tender enquiry and -that she was bound actually for Scotland to assure -herself of the welfare of the boy James. It was -thought, again, that she herself would kidnap the child -and bring him into England for her own purposes or for -those of her daughter-in-law. At all events she had -her way and started. Lady Shrewsbury also knew that -Chatsworth was much too near Sheffield Castle to allow -of the reception of this guest without literally disobeying -orders from Court. She decided, therefore, -upon Rufford Abbey as the most suitable place. Unhappily -the scheme which lay behind this hospitality has -not descended to posterity in the form of letters. But -gradually the motives underlying the invitation show -<span class='pageno' id='Page_131'>131</span>themselves clearly enough. Lady Shrewsbury had still -one unmarried daughter for whom she was exerting -herself to find a good match. She had her eye upon a -certain young Bertie, a son of the Duchess of Suffolk -by a second marriage. This affair could not be accomplished, -and she therefore worked upon the Duchess’s -sympathy so as to secure her co-operation in a new -direction. Lady Lennox and her son Charles on their -journey halted first at the gates of the Duchess’s house. -Six miles away was Rufford, where Lady Shrewsbury had -taken her daughter and made all ready for goodly entertainment. -To the Duchess’s house she sent a messenger, -and backed up the invitation by a personal visit. -Lady Lennox accepted the invitation, and with her son, -coach, baggage-carts, mules, and attendants arrived at -the Abbey. Previous to this there must surely have -taken place an interesting three-cornered interview between -the three great ladies. Though the Duchess of -Suffolk may have been genuinely interested in helping -to find a husband for wistful young Elizabeth Cavendish, -one cannot acquit her of a certain malice. Her part in -the transaction wears a very innocent air. Nothing -happened under her roof for which she could be called -to book by the Queen. At the same time she was a hot -Protestant and could not have felt any very great -sympathy for the Lady Lennox, nor for Lady Shrewsbury, -who, as regards mere creed, must always have been -a religious opportunist.</p> - -<p class='c006'>At Rufford Lady Lennox fell ill. There was excuse -enough after the exposure to cold and flood in the -uncertain autumn weather during which she undertook -her journey. She was forced to keep her room. Nothing -could have fallen out more happily to assist the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_132'>132</span>plot of the hostess. Her hands were occupied with -her friend’s ailments. Their children must amuse one -another. In five days the close companionship between -Charles and Elizabeth could not but grow, fostered by -the cleverness of the girl’s mother. Free to go and -come in gardens and woodland, young and lithe, eager -to escape from rules and duties and tutors, to forget -sad things—Elizabeth Cavendish, the grim details of -Sheffield Castle, its alarums and excursions, Charles -Stuart, the tragedies of his family—they wooed each -other readily. Glimpses of their courtship are visualised -for the reader in imaginary dialogue following.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_133'>133</span> - <h2 class='c004'>CHAPTER IX<br /> <span class='small'>LOVE AND THE WOODMAN</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c014'><em>Scene</em>: A parlour in Rufford Abbey, October, 1574. Elizabeth -Cavendish bending over her embroidery frame. The -Countess of Shrewsbury seated writing.</p> - -<p class='c006'>A man’s voice [<em>calling outside the window</em>]. Mistress! -Mistress Elizabeth! Come out!</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>[<em>Elizabeth Cavendish starts, rises, looks at her mother.</em></div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'><em>Countess</em> [<em>apparently stern</em>]. Say that I have set you a -task. Now do not go to the window!</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Elizabeth</em> [<em>checking herself half-way to the window</em>]. Nay, -my Lord, I cannot come indeed. [<em>Drops her voice.</em>] Oh! -mother, if it were one of the grooms or only my -brother!</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Countess.</em> Little fool! It is the voice of Lennox. -Mark you—play him wisely.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Lennox</em> [<em>calling again</em>]. Mistress, there is no “cannot” -when the sun calls!</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Elizabeth.</em> My Lord, lady mother says she ... needs -me.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Lennox.</em> It is not true. She is brewing a hot posset -for my mother. I saw her shoulders in the buttery.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Countess</em> [<em>her shoulders shaking</em>]. Oho! it was Mrs. -Glasse he saw. I gave her once an old gown of mine -to wear.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Elizabeth</em> [<em>moving to the window</em>]. No, no, my Lord, -she says it was Mrs. Gl.... [<em>The Countess springs up, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_134'>134</span>catches her sharply by the wrist, and gives her a little rap -with her fan.</em>]</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Countess.</em> S-s-t! Let him think I am not here. Play -him, play him!</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Lennox.</em> What is that you say, mistress?</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Elizabeth</em> [<em>embarrassed and miserable</em>]. Nothing....</p> - -<p class='c015'>[<em>Lennox throws his cap in at the window. It falls at -her feet.</em>]</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Countess.</em> Girl, do not touch it.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Lennox.</em> Oh, mistress, how the sun calls! It has -called my cap. Some magic has given wings to it and -it is gone.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Elizabeth.</em> It is here!</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Countess.</em> Hush! Not yet—not yet.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>[<em>Enter at back a maid with a bowl of posset.</em>]</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'><em>Lennox.</em> Mistress, is my cap flown in at your window -perchance?</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Countess</em> [<em>mimicking Elizabeth’s voice</em>]. Indeed, no.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Elizabeth.</em> Oh—lady mother!</p> - -<p class='c015'>[<em>The maid with the posset giggles, and receives a frown -and a box on the ear for her pains.</em>]</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Maid.</em> Will your la’ship’s grace be pleased to taste?</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Countess.</em> Nay, nay, I cannot abide tansy, but it is -good for the joints and for rheumy distillations, and -will serve the Lady Margaret finely. Go you and wait -for me at her door with the bowl.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Lennox.</em> Elizabeth, I know you have my cap. Without -it I cannot walk abroad. The wind is cool.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Elizabeth</em> [<em>softly</em>]. Oh, mother, he will have the -rheum too!</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Countess.</em> Then shall he stay longer and be well -nursed and physicked also.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Lennox.</em> Bring me my cap, fair mistress.</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_135'>135</span><em>Bess</em> [<em>in Elizabeth’s voice</em>]. Come and fetch it, my Lord.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Lennox.</em> That I will, if you will come out with me. -But not till you promise.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Bess</em> [<em>to Elizabeth</em>]. Say no—say no.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Elizabeth.</em> I cannot, because ... because ... I -have much work to do, enough for ... many days.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Lennox.</em> It can tarry, lady. In two days I shall be -over the Border.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Elizabeth</em> [<em>agonised</em>]. Oh, mother!</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Bess</em> [<em>in the feigned voice</em>]. Not without your cap, I -trust, my Lord.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Lennox.</em> What if you give it me back?</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Elizabeth</em> [<em>in tears</em>]. Mother, why does he not come -to fetch it?</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Bess.</em> Sh-sh. I scolded him well but half an hour -ago, and bid him leave you alone and keep out of my -parlour.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Elizabeth</em> [<em>with dignity</em>]. Nay, lady mother, he shall -have his cap. [<em>Picks it up.</em>]</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Bess</em> [<em>taking it from her</em>]. He shall, young impudence, -but he shall fetch it. Play him, Bet, play him well, -and if he should ask you go into the meadows ... -say “Yes.” But not in haste, mark you!</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Elizabeth</em> [<em>on her knees, clinging to her mother’s gown</em>]. -Lady mother ... I mislike it....</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Bess</em> [<em>disengaging herself</em>]. “It,” “it”? What is “it”? -He is a pretty young man, and his blood runs high -like Darnley’s. But God be thanked ’tis a wiser fool -than his brother. Now remember to carry yourself as -a Cavendish should. Be cautious! Make no false -step. I go to cosset and posset the mother. S’death, -I would I were in your shoes, Bet, to run into the -woods instead of tiptoe round a sick-chamber.</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_136'>136</span><em>Elizabeth</em> [<em>springing up</em>]. May I indeed go into the -woods?</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Bess</em> [<em>at the door</em>]. Sh-sh.... Cavendo tutus!<a id='r27' /><a href='#f27' class='c013'><sup>[27]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Elizabeth</em> [<em>half runs to the window with the cap, stops, -smiles</em>]. My Lord!</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Lennox.</em> Are you alone, mistress?</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Elizabeth.</em> Yes.... No....</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Lennox.</em> Who is there?</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Elizabeth.</em> Your cap! [<em>Looks laughing out of the -window.</em>]</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Lennox.</em> Coming, coming! [<em>A minute later he bursts -open the door and greets her, walks to the embroidery frame, -pushes it into a corner, and holds out his hand.</em>] Into the -sun, Elizabeth.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Elizabeth</em> [<em>shyly</em>]. I have not my hood, my Lord.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Lennox.</em> Charles, Elizabeth!</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Elizabeth.</em> Charles ... my Lord.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Lennox.</em> Into the woods, my Lady. What matters -your hood? The sun cannot fire your hair if you wear -a hood! [<em>Draws her down the stairway. At the foot of it -she slips her hand from his, and they pass demurely across the -courtyard and out into the meadows, talking of light and little -things. From time to time Lennox sings snatches of song. The -larks trill overhead. They plunge into the woods.</em>]</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Elizabeth.</em> Oh, Charles, I feel as though I had grown -lark’s wings ... like your cap.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Lennox.</em> No, no. If you would grow into a bird, -then I shall needs become a fowler.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Elizabeth.</em> Nay, you shall have wings too.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Lennox.</em> Why have we not wings, Elizabeth?</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Elizabeth</em> [<em>looking up into the sky between the branches</em>]. -God is wise, Charles. And we have the beautiful warm -<span class='pageno' id='Page_137'>137</span>earth and all the flowers to joy us. Meseems it is more -comfortable to talk upon the earth than in the branches.... -And to build our mansions on the earth, too. -Charles....</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Lennox.</em> Mansions? I hate them. Great chambers -in which one must shiver in cold state because one is -poor, great chairs in which one must sit very straight -and look wise, great windows where the snow and rain -beat and trickle in, or little ones which bar the sun. -In Scotland they are like that, little and narrow in the -great castles. I hate them.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Elizabeth</em> [<em>proudly</em>]. In England we have great windows -secure against storms. You should see my -mother’s house at Hardwick, Charles. It has high -windows. And so fair the house. And she says she -will build one there still greater and fairer.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Lennox.</em> But I desire no great house. You are little, -I am not great.... I want a little house, a bower....</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Elizabeth.</em> My Lord....</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Lennox</em> [<em>with his arm about her</em>]. A bower with you, -which I would build out of the trees, my own self, like -the knight who loved the lady.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Elizabeth.</em> Ah? Who was she?</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Lennox.</em> A lady, like you, Elizabeth, and not much -taller, so I take it. I read of her in a little book. See ... here it is. [<em>Pulls a volume out of the bosom of his -jerkin.</em>] My brother Darnley gave it me once. It is a -love tale, all in French, and very curious.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Elizabeth.</em> Read it to me, Charles.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Lennox.</em> Sweetheart, I cannot read it all because the -words are so strange, but my brother writ portions of -the rightful meanings on the margins.... Come ... -let us sit.... [<em>He draws her to a place under the trees.</em>]</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_138'>138</span><em>Elizabeth.</em> Charles ... I am afraid....</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Lennox.</em> Not with me....</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Elizabeth.</em> There are woodmen.... They go to -and fro.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Lennox.</em> What of that? There are woodmen in the -story—many. [<em>Opens the book.</em>]</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Elizabeth.</em> Listen, I hear their axes—chip, chop. -They are cutting into pieces the lovely trees they felled -in the spring. It is very sad.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Lennox.</em> Dear, you are sweetly foolish. They cannot -hurt you.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Elizabeth</em> [<em>sadly</em>]. So do they cut down the happy trees.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Lennox.</em> Happy to be cut down to build bowers for -you and me.... Listen.... [<em>Turns over the leaves.</em>] -She was a fairy maiden.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Elizabeth</em> [<em>shocked</em>]. Oh! Then she said no prayers.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Lennox.</em> Her foster-father took her from the fairies, -and what prayers she missed she learnt at the feet of -love.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Elizabeth.</em> Where did she first see her lover...?</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Lennox.</em> How can I tell? He loved her from the -beginning ... as I love you.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Elizabeth.</em>... The beginning?</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Lennox.</em> Two days ago.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Elizabeth</em> [<em>starting up</em>]. A woodman comes. [<em>He pulls -her down again.</em>]</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Lennox.</em> How can I tell the story if you run away?</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Elizabeth.</em> Indeed ... I love to listen.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Lennox</em> [<em>goes on rapidly</em>]. Well ... thus was it. These -two loved ... oh, terribly! And the father of the -knight, a great count, parted them, since the boy would -not go fight against his country’s enemies except he wedded -the lady ... and the Count bid her foster-father shut -<span class='pageno' id='Page_139'>139</span>her in a prison so that she should weave no spells about -him more.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Elizabeth.</em> This is too sad a story. [<em>Wipes her eyes.</em>]</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Lennox.</em> It was a very fair prison in a great castle, -dearest.... And she quickly escaped from it by her art.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Elizabeth.</em> Good, good!</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Lennox.</em> But her love knew not where she went.... -And he said to his father, “If I trounce your foes in -battle, let me but kiss my lady.” To which the lord -said “Yes.” But he kept not his word, and put the -knight in prison when he came home bruised and weary -after battle.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Elizabeth.</em> Alack!</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Lennox.</em> But she—she found the prison and sang -through the window, and cut her hair to throw into the -chamber that he might remember her.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Elizabeth</em> [<em>slyly</em>]. Like your cap, but just now, Charles.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Lennox.</em> Yes, yes.... And they called courage to -one another till the soldiers came and she hid for fear -they should kill her.... And then she walked far -till she came to a great wood.... [<em>A woodman passes -with his axe.</em>]</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Elizabeth.</em> There is the axe, again. It minds me of—of -death, Charles!</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Lennox.</em> Dearest, it is only a foolish axe to chop your -lady mother’s fuel.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Elizabeth.</em> And how did the knight find his lady?</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Lennox.</em> When the Count deemed the fairy lady -gone for ever he let his son the knight come out of the -tower where he was, and feasted him. But the lady -dwelt in the woods and he knew it not.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Elizabeth</em> [<em>indignant</em>]. He stayed to feast while she -wandered in a strange wood?</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_140'>140</span><em>Lennox.</em> He stayed but little. And when he could -he took his horse and rode out and came to five roads -which met.... Stay ... my brother writ of these -cross-roads. It is a pretty conceit he made. The one -was called “The World,” and another “The Wars,” a -third was “Power,” and the fourth ... see, can you -read this?</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Elizabeth.</em> “Riches.” And the next word is “Poverty.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Lennox.</em> There he waited—perplexed.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Elizabeth.</em> Quick, quick! Which did he choose?</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Lennox.</em> Faith, he tried them all save “Poverty.”... -Yet when he would travel down one or the other her -voice called him back, and his horse stood like stone till -the knight trembled in the twilight and feared she was -all a fairy and no woman, but mocked him. And then -from his bosom there fell a sheaf of her hair. When -he stooped to gather it, it grew into a fine chain, the end -whereof he could not see, and it closed about his -wrist like a bracelet and drew him to the road called -“Poverty.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Elizabeth.</em> Then, surely, he rode fast?</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Lennox.</em> Horse and man were exceeding glad—so -says the book ... because of the noble road which -opened before them.... And the moon and the sun -shone together upon them till at last they were come to -a little house of boughs twined with lilies.... Over -the door was written, “Her Heart and My Desire” ... -and there he found his lady, singing fairy songs because -she knew that he was faithful.... [<em>Closes the book and -bends over her.</em>]</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Elizabeth</em> [<em>softly</em>]. And there they stayed surely a -little while.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Lennox.</em>... To the end of the world....</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_141'>141</span><em>Elizabeth.</em>... But the woodman came by with his -axe to cut down the bower.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Lennox.</em> Not in this tale.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Elizabeth.</em> The lilies faded.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Lennox.</em> They were fadeless.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Elizabeth.</em> They grew old ... and ... could not -feel the sun....</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Lennox.</em> Never, never.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Elizabeth.</em> I would it were true, Charles. [<em>The sound -of the axe again interrupts them. There is laughter from -men, who pass and repass and point out the lovers to each -other.</em>] There! They have seen us—the rude woodmen. -We have no bower any more. [<em>Hurries away -from the tree.</em>]</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Lennox</em> [<em>in pursuit</em>]. What mean you by this “woodman”...?</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Elizabeth</em> [<em>holding out her hands for protection</em>]. I mean -there ... is no for ever.... They died, and the lilies -and the branches died. Let us go home ... Charles, -hide me ... from the woodman!</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Lennox.</em> Always, always! Elizabeth, stay with me. -Do not ever go from me. You ... you shall never -die!</p> - -<p class='c015'>[<em>He puts his cloak about her and they walk, closely knit, through -the meadows till they reach the Abbey. At the gates -they slip apart and go in demurely as before. The -Countess looks through a window on to the court over -which they pass.</em>]</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Countess.</em> Bet, come instantly to your chamber!</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Lennox</em> [<em>saluting</em>]. My Lady, she cannot leave me. -For so has she promised.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Countess.</em> Lord, Lord! What have you done?</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Elizabeth.</em> Lady mother, I ...</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_142'>142</span><em>Countess.</em> Come in, come in, you sad fools. Every -scullion will hear you. [<em>The three meet on the staircase and -the Countess motions them austerely into the parlour.</em>]</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Countess</em> [<em>to Lennox</em>]. I bid you stay far from -Elizabeth.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Elizabeth.</em> Oh, mother, make no more feints. He -loves me. If he goes from me ... [<em>Her voice breaks.</em>]</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Lennox.</em> My Lady, she will go to the Border with me -and into the world.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Countess</em> [<em>with a cry of dismay</em>]. So, so.... “He -loves me.”... “I will go over the Border.”... And -how shall a poor woman permit such naughty contrivings!</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Elizabeth.</em> Mother.... We are not naughty. I -did not know he loved me till ... till we spoke of a -story.... And then ... it was very sweet, mother ... till the woodmen came.... And I was frightened -and ran, and ... Charles bid me come home.... -He says the woodman ... [<em>Turns to Lennox for protection.</em>]</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Countess</em> [<em>with a cry of anger</em>]. The woodmen. What -is this of the woodmen?</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Elizabeth.</em> They mocked, and....</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Countess.</em> Lord, Lord!... What is to be done now...? -You should both be whipped. The woodmen to -see you kissing and cozening under the trees? The -woodmen? And you a Cavendish! Stay you here till -I have told the Lady Lennox. Oh, oh, oh! that I -should have such a tale for her....</p> - -<p class='c015'>[<em>At the sound of her voice Lady Lennox, roused, comes down the -corridor in her bedgown.</em>]</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Countess.</em> My Lady!</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Lennox.</em> Mother....</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_143'>143</span><em>Lady Lennox.</em>... I was affrighted. I thought you -wept, my Lady.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Countess.</em> Matter for weeping, in truth. [<em>Points to -Elizabeth and Lennox, who stand together.</em>]</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Lady Lennox.</em> But ... how? [<em>Sinks into a chair.</em>]</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Countess</em> [<em>vehemently</em>].... My Lady, ... these -naughty children have carried themselves no better than -a pair of turtle-doves; and all in the woods.... And -the whole world knows it. My very woodmen ... -low fellows ... laughed!... Your son plots to carry -my Elizabeth over the Border an if she were a truss of -hay! And she, the wretch, too, content to be bundled -that way ... any way ... so long as it be on his -road! Oh! my Lady, help us all, lest shame fall on -my house.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Lennox</em> [<em>defiant</em>]. No shame to love well, my Lady. -Are there no priests? And this an Abbey!</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Lady Lennox.</em> Boy, go you to your room and leave -me talk with my Lady here.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Lennox.</em> I go with Elizabeth to the gallery. When -you call, mother, we will come.... [<em>Kisses her hand -and goes out with Elizabeth.</em>]</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Lady Lennox.</em> A priest! There is time enough....</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Countess.</em> How do I know if they will not fly like -birds together if we say them “Nay”?</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Lady Lennox.</em>... The saints forbid!...</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Countess</em> [<em>quickly</em>]. The boy is wild ... for love -makes wildlings of men.... It is the only word of -wisdom he has said ... that of the priest.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Lady Lennox.</em> Great Heaven!...</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Countess.</em> Young fools.... Yet, if we part them ... shall not our consciences give us everlasting -punishment?</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_144'>144</span><em>Lady Lennox.</em> True, true.... The girl is very -gentle, my Lady.... There is a look in her eye that.... -And he is very ripe for love. [<em>The Countess punctuates -her speeches with sympathetic gestures.</em>] And I have -seen much sorrow, and the House of Lennox dies ... -with Charles.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Countess.</em> Come ... let us not talk of death ... -but look properly upon this matter and devise, instead -of funerals, weddings. Come, my sweet friend, dear -Lady ... to your chamber.... Rest, and let us -comfort one another.... Come! [<em>She supports Lady -Lennox out of the room.</em>]</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_145'>145</span> - <h2 class='c004'>CHAPTER X<br /> <span class='small'>AFTERMATH</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_0_6 c005'>There was, as the two mothers agreed, but one -way out of it all—a speedy marriage. No time -to invite the blessing of the bride’s stepfather, no -time for signing of deeds, or for collecting bride-gear, -or for endowing boy and girl with house and lands. -These things would as well be done afterwards as now, -and a pompous family wedding in the Shrewsbury -household would just now have been attended with all -sorts of difficulties. Without more ado the matter was -settled, and the actual wedding seems to have taken -place at Rufford in the presence of only a very few -persons. Indeed, in the words of one historian, the -pair “married almost as soon as Lady Lennox was able -to leave her bedroom.” It has been suggested by the -same writer that the two dowagers, in aiding and -abetting the marriage, were at cross purposes. It is -certain that Lady Shrewsbury had met her match in -character, purpose, and ability in intrigue. She could -not have been able to persuade Margaret Lennox in the -affair against her will and conscience. Henderson -elaborates the suggestion thus: “The motive of Lady -Lennox was probably reconciliation with the Queen of -Scots, through the new connection formed with the -Shrewsburys. If Elizabeth died—and there was a -general impression that she would not live long—Mary -<span class='pageno' id='Page_146'>146</span>might very possibly succeed her; and though Lady -Lennox thought it prudent to assert to Elizabeth that -she never could have dealings with the Queen of Scots, -since, being flesh and blood, she could not forget the -murder of her child, yet she did not wish to debar -herself from all further favour from the possible Queen -of England, who was also the mother of her grandchild -(i.e. James of Scotland). As for Mary, nothing could -suit her better than a reconciliation with Lady Lennox, -since it would mean the renewal of support from many -Catholics who had been estranged from her by the circumstances -attending the death of Darnley. In any -case, whatever Mary’s part in the accomplishment of the -marriage, and whether any understanding was then -arrived at by her with Lady Lennox or not, Mary, after -the death of Lady Lennox in 1578, affirmed that she -had been reconciled to her for five or six years, and that -Lady Lennox sent her letters expressing regret at the -wrong she had done her in the accusations she had been -induced to make against her, at the instance of Elizabeth -and her Council.”<a id='r28' /><a href='#f28' class='c013'><sup>[28]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c006'>This is, however, a part of future history. The facts -show that Mary seems to have had no hand in the -marriage, and we cannot imagine that after carefully -balancing all possibilities Lady Shrewsbury would have -invited her interest. The whole thing would have been -revealed and exaggerated by spies, and thus assume the -form of a very serious plot. Lady Lennox certainly -trusted to Elizabeth’s credence in her old enmity -against her daughter-in-law to clear her from blame. -Lady Shrewsbury doubtless pretended to herself that -<span class='pageno' id='Page_147'>147</span>she could not be justly accused of a grab at royal rights, -on behalf of her family, since Scotland had already its -King and it was open to England to name a successor. -La Mothe Fénélon, the French Ambassador, feared -that the Lennox intimacy would estrange the Shrewsburys -from Mary, and so make her case harder. The -very contrary happened, as the correspondence reveals.</p> - -<p class='c006'>For the moment we are concerned with the days -immediately following that sudden ceremony at Rufford. -Details of the itinerary of the bridal pair are -not forthcoming, neither does it appear where the older -Lady Lennox went after her momentous visit, nor -whether young Elizabeth and her husband took shelter -with her mother or his. News of the event did not -reach the Queen till fully a month later. Instantly she -scented treason. Here was a chance for her to behave -once more after the pattern of her autocratic father. -She belaboured the Earl of Shrewsbury, and despatched -to both dowagers and the bride and bridegroom a -summons to Court.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Lord Shrewsbury, who in these days scarcely ever -put pen to paper except to expostulate, explain, and -apologise, wrote three separate letters on the subject—to -the Queen, to Burghley, and to Lord Leicester. It -will suffice to quote the two first:—</p> - -<div class='lg-container-l c002'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“May it please your excellent Majesty,</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“The commandment your Majesty once gave -me, that I should sometimes write to you, although I -had little to write of, boldeneth me thus to presume, -rather to avoid blame of negligence than dare tarry -long for any matter worthy your Majesty’s hearing; -only this I may write; it is greatly to my comfort to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_148'>148</span>hear your Majesty passed your progress in perfect -health and so do continue. I pray to Almighty God -to hold it many years, and long after my days ended; -so shall your people find themselves most happy.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“This Lady, my charge, is safe at your Majesty’s -commandment.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“And, may it further please your Majesty, I understood -of late your Majesty’s displeasure is sought -against my wife, for marriage of her daughter to my -Lady Lennox’s son. I must confess to your Majesty, -as true it is, it was dealt in suddenly, and without my -knowledge; but as I dare undertake and ensure to your -Majesty, for my wife, she, finding her daughter disappointed -of young Barté, where she hoped that the -other young gentleman was inclined to love with a few -days’ acquaintance, did her best to further her daughter -in this match; without having therein any other intent -or respect than with reverend duty towards your -Majesty she ought. I wrote of this matter to my -Lord Leicester a good while ago at great length. I -hid nothing from him that I knew was done about the -same, and thought not meet to trouble your Majesty -therewith, because I took it to be of no such importance -as to write of, until now that I am urged by -such as I see will not forbear to devise and speak what -may procure any suspicion, or doubtfulness of my service -here. But as I have always found your Majesty -my good and gracious Sovereign, so do I comfort myself -that your wisdom can find out right well what -causes move them thereunto, and therefore am not -afraid of any doubtful opinion, or displeasure to remain -with your Majesty of me, or of my wife, whom your -highness and your council have many ways tried in -<span class='pageno' id='Page_149'>149</span>times of most danger. We never had any thought or -respect but as your Majesty’s most true and faithful -servants; and so do truly serve and faithfully love and -honour your Majesty, ever praying to Almighty God -for your Majesty, as we are in duty bounden.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“<span class='sc'>Sheffield</span>, <em>2nd of December, 1574</em>.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>The other letter is headed:—</p> - -<div class='lg-container-l c002'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“To My Lord Tre....,</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“My very good Lord, for that I am advertised -the late marriage of my wife’s daughter is not well -taken in the Court, and thereupon are some conjectures -more than well, brought to her Majesty’s ears, in ill -part against my wife; I have a little touched the same -in my letters now to her Majesty, referring further -knowledge thereof to letters I sent my Lord of Leicester -a good while since, wherein I made a long discourse -of that matter; and if your Lordship meet with anything -thereof that concerns my wife or me, and sounds -in ill part against us, let me crave of your Lordship so -much favour as to speak your knowledge and opinion -of us both. No man is able to say so much as your -Lordship of our service because you have so carefully -searched it, with great respect to the safe keeping of my -charge. So I take leave of your Lordship.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“<span class='sc'>Sheffield</span>, <em>2nd December, 1574</em>.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>These letters did not help matters in the slightest. -The two Countesses were obliged to go to Court for -chastisement, and apparently Bess Shrewsbury repaired -thither before any interview could be secured with her -husband. Nor have any letters from her been found -to show whether she was awestruck or defiant, though -<span class='pageno' id='Page_150'>150</span>correspondence must have passed between wife and husband -upon a matter so urgent.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The fateful northern journey took place about October -9th. Queen Elizabeth’s summons was dated November -17th, and reached the delinquents within a few days. -Lady Lennox, who, in her royal capacity and as mother -of the bridegroom, may legally be regarded as the -prime offender, followed Lord Shrewsbury’s example -of explanation and expostulation. She, too, wrote -promptly to Lords Burghley and Leicester:—<a id='r29' /><a href='#f29' class='c013'><sup>[29]</sup></a></p> - -<div class='lg-container-l c002'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“My very good Lord,</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“Assuring myself of your friendship I will use -but few words at this present, other than to let you -understand of my wearisome journey and the heavy -burden of the Queen’s Majesty’s displeasure, which I -know well I have not deserved, together with a letter -of small comfort that I received from my Lord of -Leicester, which being of your Lordship read, I shall -desire to be returned to me again. I also send unto your -Lordship, here enclosed, the copy of my letter now sent -to my Lord of Leicester; and I beseech you to use -your friendship towards me as you see time. Thus -with my hearty commendations, I commit you to -Almighty God, whom I beseech to send you long life to -your heart’s desire. Huntingdon this 3 of December.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Your Lordship’s assured loving friend,</div> - <div class='line in24'>“<span class='sc'>Margaret Lennox</span>.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“To the Right Honourable my very good Lord and -friend, the Lord-Treasurer of England.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>It is unfortunate that one of the enclosures, the letter -<span class='pageno' id='Page_151'>151</span>from Leicester, is not to be found, for it would have -been interesting to read that gentleman for once in a -mood that was not suave and reassuring.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The letter to Leicester gives a graphic description of -her uncomfortable journey across flooded country:—<a id='r30' /><a href='#f30' class='c013'><sup>[30]</sup></a></p> - -<div class='lg-container-r c002'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“<span class='sc'>Huntingdon</span>, <em>December 3, 1574</em>.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“My very good Lord,—The great unquietness and -trouble that I have had with passing these dangerous -waters, which hath many times enforced me to leave -my way, which hath been some hindrance to me that -hitherto I have not answered your Lordship’s letters -chiefly on that point wherein your Lordship, with other -my friends (as your Lordship says) seems ignorant how -to answer for me. And being forced to stay this present -Friday in Huntingdon, somewhat to refresh myself, -and my overlaboured mules, that are both crooked and -lame with their extreme labour by the way, I thought -good to lay open to your Lordship, in these few lines, -what I have to say for me, touching my going to Rufford -to my Lady of Shrewsbury, both being thereunto -very earnestly requested, and the place not one mile -distant out of my way. Yea, and a much fairer way, as -is well to be proved; and my Lady meeting me herself -upon the way, I could not refuse, it being near XXX -miles from Sheffield. And as it was well known to all -the country thereabouts that great provision was there -made both for my Lady of Suffolk and me—who friendly -brought me on the way to Grantham, and so departed -home again, neither she nor I knowing any such thing -till the morning after I came to Newark. And so I -<span class='pageno' id='Page_152'>152</span>meant simply and well, so did I least mistrust that my -doings should be taken in evil part, for, at my coming -from her Majesty, I perceived she misliked of my Lady of -Suffolk being at Chatsworth, I asked her Majesty if I -were bidden thither, for that had been my wonted way -before if I might go. She prayed me not, lest it should -be thought I should agree with the Queen of Scots. -And I asked her Majesty, if she could think so, for I -was made of flesh and blood, and could never forget the -murder of my child. And she said, ‘Marry, by her -faith she could not think so that ever I could forget it, -for if I would I were a devil.’ Now, my Lord, for that -hasty marriage of my son, Charles, after that he had -entangled himself so that he could have none other, I -refer the same to your Lordship’s good consideration, -whether it was not most fitly for me to marry them, he -being mine only son and comfort that is left me. And -your Lordship can bear me witness how desirous I have -been to have had a match for him other than this. And -the Queen’s Majesty, much to my comfort, to that end -gave me good words at my departure.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>There were other letters from her repeating the statements -about her careful avoidance of Chatsworth and -Sheffield, the helpless position in which she was placed -by “the sudden affection” of her son, and begging for -the Queen’s compassion “on my widowed estate, being -aged and of many cares.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>She reached Court on December 12th, and was accorded -such a reception that La Mothe Fénélon thought -it worth while to include, in his despatches to France, -her fears and apprehensions. He records her dread of -her old prison, the Tower, and her hope that she may -<span class='pageno' id='Page_153'>153</span>escape at least that indignity through the influence of -good friends. She went meekly to her house at Hackney, -with Charles and Elizabeth Lennox, who had -scarcely learnt the meaning of the word honeymoon. -There the three, forbidden to leave the precincts of the -house, spent a joyless Christmas, while, in lieu of a -royal festival greeting, Christmas Eve brought them -Elizabeth’s orders that they were to have intercourse -only with such persons as were named by the Privy -Council. Immediately after Christmas the door of the -Tower gaped and swallowed the Lennox dowager. To -the Tower also, it seems, was sent her confederate. The -comments of Bess of Shrewsbury have not been chronicled. -But she probably remembered keenly enough the -days when as “Sentlow” she had the sense to keep out -of any active participation in the marriage of Lady -Catherine Grey. Her thoughts in retrospect could not -have been very pleasant, and genuine fears for the fate -of her young and easily-led daughter must have jostled -fears for her own skin.</p> - -<p class='c006'>As for Lady Lennox, her sensations were still more -poignant. “Thrice have I been cast into prison,” said -she, “not for matters of treason, but for love matters. -First, when Thomas Howard, son to Thomas first Duke -of Norfolk, was in love with myself; then for the love -of Henry Darnley, my son, to Queen Mary of Scotland; -and lastly for the love of Charles, my younger son, to -Elizabeth Cavendish.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>It was just after Christmas that Lord Shrewsbury -again bestirred himself and applied to Burghley, though -he ostensibly does it less on behalf of his wife than of -Lady Lennox.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-l c002'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_154'>154</span>“My very good Lord,</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“Upon my Lady Lennox’s earnest request, as to -your Lordship I am sure shall appear, I have written to -my Lords of the Council all I can find out of her behaviour -towards this Queen and dealing when she was -in these north parts; and if some disallowed of my -writing (as I look they will, because they would have -it thought that I should have enough to do to answer -for myself) let such ...<a id='r31' /><a href='#f31' class='c013'><sup>[31]</sup></a> reprove, or find any ...<a href='#f31' class='c013'><sup>[31]</sup></a> -respect to her Majesty in me or my wife is sought for, -and then there is some cause to reprehend me, and for -them to call out against me as they do. I take that -Lady Lennox be a subject in all respects worthy the -Queen’s Majesty’s favour, and for the duty I bear to her -Majesty I am bound, methinks, to commend her so as -I find her; yea, and to intreat you, and all of my Lords -of the Council for her, to save her from blemish, if no -offence can be found in her towards her Majesty. I do -not nor can find the marriage of that Lady’s son to my -wife’s daughter can any way be taken with indifferent -judgment, be any offence or contemptuous to her -Majesty; and then, methinks, that benefit any subject -may by law claim might be permitted to any of mine -as well. But I must be plain with your Lordship. It -is not the marriage matter nor the hatred some bear to -my Lady Lennox, my wife, or to me, that makes this -great ado and occupies heads with so many devices. -It is a greater matter; which I leave to conjecture, -not doubting but your Lordship’s wisdom hath foreseen -it, and thereof had due consideration, as always -you have been most careful for it.</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_155'>155</span>“I have no more to trouble your Lordship withal, -but that I would not have her Majesty think, if I could -see any cause to imagine any intent of liking or insinuation -with this Queen the rather to grow by this -marriage, or any other inconvenience might come -thereby to her Majesty, that I could or would bear -with it, or hide it from her Majesty, for that Lady’s -sake, or for my wife, or any other cause else; for -besides the faith I bear her Majesty, with a singular -love I look not by any means but by her Majesty only -to be made better than I am; nor by any change to hold -that I have—so take my leave of your Lordship.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Sheffield Castle (where my charge is safe), the 27th -of December, 1574.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Your Lordship’s assured friend to my power,</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“<span class='sc'>G. Shrewsbury</span>.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>This letter is dignified, slightly defiant—claiming -common justice for his people, as “any subject” may -do—and doggedly loyal. He is no opportunist, and -for any improvement in his fortunes he looks to Elizabeth -only. He has acted whole-heartedly and with a -single mind. He has tendered to the Lords of the -Council all possible details which would assist in clearing -Lady Lennox from imputations in regard to co-operation -with Mary of Scotland. He fully recognises -that this is the “greater matter” which “occupies -heads with so many devices” and wherein lies the crux -of the affair. He knew that a long official enquiry was -inevitable. This took the form of a special Court under -the Earl of Huntingdon, whom Mary of Scots and the -Earl alike detested. The choice of him as grand inquisitor -must have been the more galling just now, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_156'>156</span>because reports were rife that this rash marriage had -finally decided the Queen to supersede Lord Shrewsbury -as incapable and unworthy of her reliance. Such -rumours were always a part of her policy. She knew -perfectly well who was most useful to her, and she was -not going to relax her grip upon Shrewsbury, his endurance, -his loyalty, his houses, and his income.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Lord Huntingdon’s enquiry went forward, and both -ladies were ultimately acquitted of “large treasons.” -If the gaoler-soldier Earl did not give his wife a sound -verbal drubbing for endangering the peace of his whole -house in so gratuitous a fashion it would be strange. -From the very first, in spite of his assurances to the -Queen, he must have scented his lady’s ambition with -regard to any possible semi-royal offspring of the -Rufford marriage. The matter weighed on him greatly -in after life. One can only assume that his Bess at this -period lost her sense of perspective, and that in one -sense her noted long-headedness deserted her. The -enquiry over, the principal offenders, crushed and -humble (Lady Lennox at all events seemed so), retired -to their homes. It is mentioned that the royal order -giving Lady Shrewsbury her freedom included permission -for her to repair to the baths at Buxton, a change -of air which must have been extremely salutary after -the poor ventilation of the Tower of London, even -under the less rigorous conditions accorded to prisoners -of quality.</p> - -<p class='c006'>By the middle of May, Lady Lennox was once more -at her Hackney house. A visit to Buxton waters for -her was out of the question, both as regards policy and -expense. At Hackney she rested, very much out of the -world and very poor, with her gentle little daughter-in-law -<span class='pageno' id='Page_157'>157</span>and son, who spent the first year of their married -life in a tolerably morose atmosphere of suspicion and -unpopularity. They had, of course, a few visitors. -Gilbert Talbot, who seems always to have been the -spokesman of the family, and to have kept in touch -with its various members, records the impression made -by the Lennoxes on a certain “Mr. Tyndall,” who -subsequently carried letters down to Derbyshire to the -mother of Elizabeth Lennox:—</p> - -<p class='c007'>“This bearer, Mr. Tyndall, was at Hackney, where -he found them there well. And I trust very shortly that -the dregs of all misconstruction will be wiped away, that -their abode there after this sort will be altered.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>This means that the inmates were socially taboo and -were still kept “within bounds.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>In July of the same year there is a most pathetic -little letter from the girl-wife Elizabeth, by this time -in a fair way to produce an heir for the perishing house -of Lennox. She makes no allusion to the fact in this -piteous and formal little note to the mother who used -her for family purposes much in the same way as she -used a stone for the building of her other “workes.” -The cause of the displeasure which the writer seeks -to disarm is inexplainable. Elizabeth Cavendish was -exactly the opposite in character to her mother, or her -mother’s eldest daughter Mary, wife of Gilbert Talbot. -The latter—of whom more presently—was a hot-tempered, -vindictive, energetic creature, with plenty -of intelligence. Elizabeth Cavendish was gentle, unassuming, -tender-hearted. She would certainly take -the line of least resistance. This is the letter:—<a id='r32' /><a href='#f32' class='c013'><sup>[32]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_158'>158</span>“My humble duty remembered: beseeching your -L. of your daily blessings: presuming of your motherlike -affection towards me your child that trust I have -not so evilly deserved as your La. hath made show, -by your letters to others, which maketh me doubtful -that your La. hath been informed some great untruth -of me or else I had well hoped that for some small -trifle I should not have continued in your displeasure -so long a time. And I might be so bold as to crave -at your La. hands that it would please you to extreme<a id='r33' /><a href='#f33' class='c013'><sup>[33]</sup></a> -such false bruits as your La. hath heard reported of -me as lightly as you have done when othere were in -the like case, I should think myself much the more -bound to your La. I beseech you make my hearty commendations -to my aunt. I take my leave in humble wise.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Hackney, 25th of July.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Your La. humble and Obedient daughter,</div> - <div class='line'>“<span class='sc'>E. Lenox</span>.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“To the right honourable the Countess</div> - <div class='line in4'>of Shrewsbury my very good mother.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>At all events, the mother’s displeasure must have -melted upon the birth of her Lennox grandchild. -Unhappily for the ambitious Bess, this was not a son -but a girl, christened Arabella, who was afterwards to -play her part in just such a tragi-comedy of ambition, -Court pageant, and luckless marriage as befell her grandmother -Margaret Lennox, and the Ladies Catherine and -Mary Grey. Had the child been a boy Queen Elizabeth -might have been less inclined to clemency. Her sex, -her helplessness, the poverty of her father’s house, and -the dangerous and delicate condition of his health were -<span class='pageno' id='Page_159'>159</span>all inducements to the Queen’s compassion, and also -rendered the babe a useful item in the plans of the -“Mistress Builder.” Her birth, of course, brought -the Shrewsburys into an oddly contradictory relationship -towards Mary of Scotland, who always showed the -tenderest interest in the child. It must also have -assisted to complete the better understanding between -Darnley’s mother and widow. Already they had drawn -closer in a mutual dread lest, since the assassination -of the old Earl of Lennox, the evil practices of the -present Regent, Lord Morton, should injure the young -James of Scotland. Lady Lennox’s letter to Mary -from Hackney, dated November 10th, 1575, makes -their reconciliation very clear:—</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It may please your Majesty, I have received your -letters and mind both by your letters and otherwise, -much to my comfort specially perceiving what jealous -natural care your Majesty hath of our sweet and peerless -jewel in Scotland. I have been as fearful and as -careful as your Majesty of him, so that the wicked -governor should not have power to do harm to his -person, whom God preserve from his enemies. I -beseech your Majesty fear not, but trust in God -all shall be well. The treachery of your traitors is -evidently no better than before. I shall always play -my part to your Majesty’s content so as may tend to -both our comforts. And now I must yield your -Majesty my most humble thanks for your good remembrance -and bounty to our little daughter, her who -some day may serve your highness. Almighty God -grant unto your Majesty a long and happy life.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Your Majesty’s most humble and</div> - <div class='line in16'>loving mother and aunt,</div> - <div class='line in20'>“<span class='sc'>Margaret Lennox</span>.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_160'>160</span>The “little daughter” is surely the young Elizabeth -Lennox (<em>née</em> Cavendish), who adds this postscript to the -letter:—</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I most humbly thank your Majesty that it pleased -you to remember me, your poor servant, both with -a token and in my La. Gr.’s letter,<a id='r34' /><a href='#f34' class='c013'><sup>[34]</sup></a> which is not little -to my comfort. I can but wish and pray God for your -Majesty’s long and happy estate.... I may do your -Majesty better service, which I think long to do, and -shall always be as ready thereto as any servant your -Majesty hath, according as by duty I am bound. I -beseech your highness to pardon these rude lines, and -accept the good heart of the writer, who loves and -honours your Majesty unfeignedly.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Your Majesty’s most humble and lowly servant -through life,</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“<span class='sc'>E. Lennox</span>.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>Now the above convincing and pathetic letter of the -dowager Lady Lennox, it seems, never reached Mary; -but fortunately for Mary’s reputation and as proof of -the accord between her and her mother-in-law with -regard to the marriage and other matters, has been -preserved.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Two years later, 1577, Queen and mother-in-law -were toiling to get the Scottish prince away from the -“wicked governor,” and Mary says of Lady Lennox, -“I praise God that she becomes daily more sensible -of the faithlessness and evil intentions of those whom -she previously assisted with her name against me.”</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_161'>161</span> - <h2 class='c004'>CHAPTER XI<br /> <span class='small'>VARIOUS OCCURRENCES</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_0_6 c005'>The Shrewsbury pair started the year 1575 in -different fashion. She was in the Tower and not -at all in a happy mood. He also in a fortress—Sheffield—but -as warder and not prisoner, and more unhappy, -because in the larger things he was always the more -conscientious, yet bestirred himself to send a diplomatic -present of rich gold plate to Lord Burghley, and was himself -in the usual manner the recipient of bounties from -his friends and tenants. Burghley acknowledges the -present and his indebtedness in highly satisfactory terms -to the master of Sheffield Castle:—</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And now, my Lord, I find such continuance or -rather increase, of your good will to me, by your costly -gift of plate this new year, as you may account me -greatly in your debt and yet ready with my heart and -service to acquit you. I humbly therefore pray your -Lordship to make proof of my good will where my -power may answer the same, and I trust you shall find -the best disposed debtor that your Lordship hath to -acquit my debt.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Lodge prints immediately before this letter from the -Lord Treasurer a fragment (also from the Talbot manuscripts) -in which Lord Shrewsbury lays his financial -<span class='pageno' id='Page_162'>162</span>case emphatically before the Queen, and there is no -doubt that his appeal and the present of gold plate -to her Lord Treasurer were incidents closely related:—</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Your Majesty was minded to allow me for the -keeping of this Lady but £30 a week. When I received -her into my charge at your Majesty’s hands, I understood -very well it was a most dangerous service, and -thought overhard to perform, without some great mischief -to himself at least, and as it seemed most hard and -fearful to others and every man shrunk from it, so -much the gladder was I to take it upon me, thereby to -make appear to your Majesty my zealous mind to serve -you in place of greatest peril; and I thought it was the -best proof your Majesty could make of me. I demanded -not great allowance, nor did stick for anything as all -men used to do. My Lords of your Council, upon -good deliberation, assigned by your Majesty’s commandment, -a portion of £52 every week (less by the half -than your Majesty paid before she came to me) which -I took, and would not in that doubtful time have -refused your Majesty’s service of trust so committed to -me, if my lands and life had lain thereon; and how -I have passed my service, and accomplished your trust -committed to me, with quiet, surety——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>That sudden break in the appeal, whatever its cause, -has its own dramatic force.</p> - -<p class='c006'>As regards Court matters, a long letter from Francis -Talbot, the eldest son, who apparently wrote so rarely, -belongs to the beginning of this year. It gives a picture -of Queen Elizabeth in a mood of anxiety, depression, -and perplexity in regard to foreign politics, especially -touching the all-important decision as to whether or not -<span class='pageno' id='Page_163'>163</span>she should accept the offer of the suzerainty of the -Netherland States:—</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Her Majesty is troubled with these causes which -maketh her very melancholy; and seemeth greatly to be -out of quiet. What shall be done in these matters as -yet is unknown, but here are ambassadors of all sides -who labour greatly one against another.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>To this year also belongs a kindly letter—this time -on purely family matters—from the wife of Francis -Talbot, Lady Ann, <em>née</em> Herbert, daughter of William, -Earl Pembroke, to the Countess of Shrewsbury. In -this the forthcoming “prograce” is mentioned, and the -visit of Queen Elizabeth to the then Countess of Pembroke, -her sister-in-law, <em>née</em> Catherine Talbot, and -married to Henry, Earl Pembroke:—</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Good Madame, I am to crave pardon for not writing -to my Lord’s man Harry Grace. The cause I willed -him to declare to your La. which was the extremity that -my sister of Pembroke was in at that time; which hath -continued till Thursday last. Since that day she hath -been out of her swooning, but not able to stand or -go. Her greatest grief is now want of sleep, and not -able to away with the sight of meat; but considering her -estate before we think ourselves happy of this change, -hoping that better will follow shortly. The Queen -Majesty hath been here with her twice; very late both -times. The last time it was ten of the clock at night ere -her Majesty went hence, being so great a mist as there -were divers of the barges and boats that waited for -her lost their ways, and landed in wrong places, but -thanks be to God her Majesty came well home without -<span class='pageno' id='Page_164'>164</span>cold or fear. For the holding of the progress I am sure -your La. heareth; for my part I can write no certainty, -but as I am in all other matters, as I have always -professed and as duty doth bind me, ready at your La. -command; and in anything I may show it either at this -time or when occasion serveth, if I be not as willing -thereto as any child of your own, then let me be -condemned according to my deserts; otherwise I humbly -crave your La. good opinion of me not to decrease, -remembering your La. commandment heretofore, to -write to you as often as I could, which now in this -place I shall have better means than I have had in the -country, and thereupon presuming to lengthen my -letter upon any occasion, although I count this of my -sister very evil news, yet considering her recovery, -I hope my long scribbling will the less trouble your La. -And so with my most humble duty of my Lord and -your La. I humbly take my leave. From Baynards -Castle the 8th of May.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Your La. assured loving daughter to command,</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“<span class='sc'>Anne Talbot</span>.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“My sister of Pembroke hath willed to remember -her humble duty to my Lord and you, with desire -of his daily blessing. As soon as she is able she will do -it herself.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“To the right honourable and my assured good Lady</div> - <div class='line in4'>and mother, the Countess of Shrewsbury.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>That “my sister Pembroke” recovered from her -swoonings and her convalescence is stated at the close -of a long letter from Gilbert Talbot, in February, to -both his parents.</p> - -<p class='c006'>During the whole of the spring the Earl’s correspondence -<span class='pageno' id='Page_165'>165</span>was large. Sir Francis Walsingham and -others kept him informed of all State events and -possibilities which could affect politics. In a paper -which the Earl endorses “Occurrences, from Mr. -Secretary Walsingham” is contained the news of the -disappearance from the French Court of Henry of -Navarre, the overtures made to him by the French -King, the gradual increase of his adherents among the -Protestants, the multifarious schemes of the Duke of -Guise, and all the details which made for civil war. -The belief in magic seems to have had sufficient hold -upon a statesman like Walsingham to induce him to -include a note such as this:—</p> - -<p class='c007'>“There is secret report, and that very constantly -affirmed by men of credit, that a day or two before -the King of Navarre departed, it happened the Duke -of Guise and him to play at dice, upon a very smooth -board, in the King’s cabinet; and that, after they had -done, there appeared suddenly upon the board certain -great and round drops of blood that astonished them -marvellously, finding no cause in the blood of the -world, but, as it were, a very prodigy.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Another letter of this year is very interesting, as -it shows the indefatigable Lady Shrewsbury once more -at her match-making, and once again seeking to ally -her family with one which could most assist it at Court—the -family of Lord Burghley. Lord Shrewsbury’s -letter making the proposal as suggested by his wife -is not forthcoming, but Lord Burghley’s reply is full -and detailed, and breathes caution in every word. -His excuses for declining the offer are quite reasonable. -At the same time he must have had sufficient -<span class='pageno' id='Page_166'>166</span>insight into her Ladyship’s masterful character to -strengthen his refusal. He accentuates his fear of the -Queen’s distrust by instancing the absurd reports -circulated about him when he merely went to Buxton -to drink the waters, and he concludes with a quaintly -sententious condemnation of “human learning” in -wishing well to the boy whom he did not desire for -his son-in-law.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“My very good Lord,—My most hearty and due -commendations done, I cannot sufficiently express in -words the inward hearty affection that I conceive by -your Lordship’s friendly offer of the marriage of -your younger son; and that in such a friendly sort, -by your own letter, and as your Lordship writes, the -same proceeding of yourself. Now, my Lord, as I -think myself much beholden to you for this your -Lordship’s kindness, and manifest argument of a faithful -goodwill, so must I pray your Lordship to accept mine -answer, with assured opinion of my continuance in the -same towards your Lordship. There are specially -two causes why I do not in plain terms consent by -way of conclusion hereto; the one, for that my daughter -is but young in years; and upon some reasonable -respects, I have determined (notwithstanding I have -been very honourably offered matches) not to treat -of marrying her, if I may live so long, until she -be above fifteen or sixteen, and if I were of more -likelihood myself to live longer than I look to do, -she should not, with my liking, be married before -she were near eighteen or twenty. The second cause -why I differ to yield to conclusion with your Lordship -is grounded upon such a consideration as, if it were -<span class='pageno' id='Page_167'>167</span>not truly to satisfy your Lordship, and to avoid a -just offence which your Lordship might conceive of -my forbearing, I would not by writing or message -utter, but only by speech to your Lordship’s self. -My Lord, it is over true and over much against -reason that upon my being at Buxton last, advantage -was sought by some that loved me not to confirm -in her Majesty a former conceit which had been -laboured to put into her head, that I was of late -become friendly to the Queen of Scots, and that I -had no disposition to encounter her practices; and -now at my being at Buxton, her Majesty did directly -conceive that my being there was, by means of your -Lordship and my Lady, to enter into intelligence -with the Queen of Scots; and hereof at my return -to her Majesty’s presence I had very sharp reproofs -for my going to Buxton with plain charging of me -for favouring the Queen of Scots; and that in so -earnest a sort I never looked for, knowing my integrity -to her Majesty; but especially knowing how contrariously -the Queen of Scots conceived of me for -many things past to the offence of the Queen of Scots. -And yet, true it is, I never indeed gave just cause by -any private affection of my own, or for myself, to -offend the Queen of Scots; but whatsoever I did -was for the services of mine own sovereign Lady -and Queen, which if it were yet again to be done -I would do. And though I know myself subject to -contrary workings of displeasure yet will I not, for -remedy of any of them both, decline from the duty -I owe to God and my sovereign Queen; for I know -and do understand, that I am in this contrary sort -maliciously depraved, and yet in secret sort; on the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_168'>168</span>one part, and that of long time, that I am the most -dangerous enemy and evil willer to the Queen of -Scots; on the other side that I am also a secret well -willer to her and her title, and that I have made my -party good with her. Now, my Lord, no man can -make both these true together; but it sufficeth such -as like not me in doing my duty to deprave me, and -yet in such sort is done in darkness, as I cannot get -opportunity to convince them in the light. In all -these crossings, my good Lord, I appeal to God who -knoweth, yea (I thank him infinitely), who directeth -my thoughts to intend principally the service and -honour of God, and jointly with it the surety and -greatness of my sovereign Lady the Queen’s Majesty; -and for any other respect but it may tend to those -two, I appeal to God to punish me if I have any. -As for the Queen of Scots, truly I have no spot of -evil meaning to her. Neither do I mean to deal with -any titles to the Crown. If she shall intend any evil -to the Queen’s Majesty, my sovereign, for her sake -I must and will mean to impeach her; and therein -I may be her unfriend, or worse.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Well now, my good Lord, your Lordship seeth I -have made a long digression from my answer, but -I trust your Lordship can consider what moveth me -thus to digress. Surely it behoveth me not only to -live uprightly, but to avoid all probable arguments that -may be gathered to render me suspected to her Majesty -whom I serve with all dutifulness and sincerity; and -therefore I gather this, that if it were understood that -there were a communication or a purpose of marriage -between your Lordship’s son and my daughter I am -sure there would be an advantage sought to increase -<span class='pageno' id='Page_169'>169</span>these former suspicions. Considering the young years -of our two children ... if the matter were fully -agreed betwixt us, the parents, the marriage could not -take effect, I think it best to refer the motion in silence, -and yet so to order it with ourselves that, when time -shall hereafter be more convenient, we may (and then -also with less cause of vain suspicion) renew it. And -in the meantime I must confess myself much bounden -to your Lordship ... wishing your Lordship’s son all -the good education may be meet to teach him to fear -God, love your Lordship, his natural father, and to -know his friends; without any curiosity of human -learning, which, without the fear of God, I see doeth -great hurt to all youth in this time and age. My Lord, -I pray you bear with me scribbling, which I think your -Lordship shall hardly read, and yet I would not use my -man’s hand in such a matter as this.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“From Hampton Court, 24th December, 1575.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Your Lordship’s most assured commandment,</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“<span class='sc'>W. Burghley</span>.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>The boy in question was Edward Talbot, the Earl’s -fourth son. His matrimonial chances did not suffer by -this just refusal, for in after years he married one of the -twin heiresses of Lord Ogle of Northumberland, and -eventually, after the death of his two elder brothers, -succeeded to his father’s earldom.</p> - -<p class='c006'>A single bill of items of the Earl’s expenditure -in the year 1575 amounting to £300 is of a nature -which shows how many and extensive were the purchases -justifying his constant appeals to the Treasury. -All these items he had to import from France by special -messenger. Hogshead after hogshead of French wine -was required for Mary’s use. Her household drank -<span class='pageno' id='Page_170'>170</span>it in preference to the heavier English brew of ale. -Moreover, she was accustomed to use it for her bath, -especially when indisposed. Buckram and canvas, -damask and sheeting, vinegar and live quails (“with -cages for the said quails”), paper and hempseed, “comfitures -and other sugar-works,” and even “fourteen -pounds of sleyed silk for my Lady, being of all colours,” -go to this long bill of goods from Rouen.</p> - -<p class='c006'>My Lady meanwhile was properly reinstated in the -English Queen’s confidence. It would please Bess -Shrewsbury well to know that this letter from the Earl -of Leicester, written early in 1576 to her husband, has -come down to posterity:—</p> - -<p class='c007'>“My Lord,—For that this bearer is so well known and -trusted of you I will leave to trouble you with any long -letters, and do commit the more to his report, for that -he is well able to satisfy your Lordship fully of all -things here. And, touching one part of your letter sent -lately to me, about the access of my Lady, your wife, to -the Queen there, I find the Queen’s Majesty well pleased -that she may repair at all times, and not forbear the -company of that Queen, having not only very good -opinion of my Lady’s wisdom and discretion, but thinks -how convenient it is for that Queen to be accompanied -and pass the time rather with my Lady than meaner -persons. I doubt not but your Lordship shall hear in -like sort also from her Majesty touching the same, and -yet I may well signify thus much, as from herself, to -your Lordship. The rest I commend to this bearer, -and your Lordship, with my good Lady, to the Almighty. -In haste, this first of May.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Your Lordship’s assured kinsman,</div> - <div class='line in24'>“<span class='sc'>R. Leicester</span>.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_171'>171</span>Soon after, in June, Lord Shrewsbury, at Buxton -with his “charge,” asks that he may remove her, not to -Tutbury as suggested, but back to Sheffield Lodge. -There was a “bruit” that Lord Leicester was going to -Buxton for the waters, and it was necessary, seeing that -his going would probably attract others in the world of -fashion, not to allow Mary to linger at the baths. A -letter from Gilbert Talbot, in July, 1576, full of the -usual delightful chit-chat about Queen and Court, mentions -the Buxton expedition in connection with the -magnificent Leicester:—</p> - -<p class='c007'>“My duty most humbly remembered, right honourable -my singular good Lord and father. Since my -coming hither to the Court there hath been sundry -determinations of her Majesty’s progress this summer. -Yesterday it was set down that she would go to Grafton<a id='r35' /><a href='#f35' class='c013'><sup>[35]</sup></a> -and Northampton, Leicester, and to Ashby, my -Lord Huntingdon’s house, and there to have remained -twenty-one days, to the end the water of Buxton might -have been daily brought thither for my Lord of -Leicester, or any other, to have used; but late yesternight -this purpose altered, and now at this present her -Majesty thinketh to go no further than Grafton; howbeit -there is no certainty, for these two or three -days it hath changed every five hours. The physicians -have fully resolved that wheresoever my Lord Leicester -be he must drink and use Buxton water twenty days -together. My Lady Essex and my Lady Sussex will be -shortly at Buxton, and my Lady Norris shortly after; -I cannot learn of any others that come from hence.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“This day Mr. Secretary Walsingham has gotten the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_172'>172</span>Bill signed for the S. Q.’s diet, and to-morrow early it -shall be sent to the Exchequer, that as soon as possible -we may receive the money, which shall be disposed -according to your Lordship’s commandment in payment -of all your debts here.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“I have bespoken two pair of little flagons, for there -are none ready made, and I fear they will not be -finished before my departure hence. I have seen many -fair hangings, and your Lordship may have all prices, -either two shillings a stick or seven groats, three, four, -five, or six shillings the stick, even as your Lordship -will bestow; but there is of five shillings the stick that -is very fair. But unless your Lordship send up a -measure of what depth and breadth you would have -them, surely they will not be to your Lordship’s liking; -for the most of them are very shallow, and I have seen -none that I think deep enough for a guest chamber, but -for lodgings.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“I have had some talk with my Lord of Leicester -since my coming, whom I find most assuredly well -affected towards your Lordship and yours. I never -knew man in my life more joyful for their friend than -he at my Lady’s noble and wise government of herself -at her late being here; saying that he heartily thanked -God of so good a friend and kinsman of your Lordship, -and that you are matched with so noble and good a -wife. I saw the Queen’s Majesty yesternight in the -garden; but for that she was talking with my Lord -Hunsden, she spake nothing to me, but looked very -earnestly on me. I hear her Majesty conceiveth somewhat -better of me than heretofore;<a id='r36' /><a href='#f36' class='c013'><sup>[36]</sup></a> and my Lord -<span class='pageno' id='Page_173'>173</span>of Leicester doubteth not in time to bring all well -again.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“I can learn no certain news worthy to write to your -Lordship’s Secretary. William Winter hath not yet -sent my resolute answer from the Flushingers and Prince -of Orange touching our merchants’ ships and goods; -for other matters of France. I know Mr. Secretary -Walsingham’s wonted manner is to send your Lordship’s -occurrents that come thence. Mr. Secretary Smith -lieth still in hard case at his house in Essex, and, as I -hear, this day or to-morrow setteth towards the baths -in Somersetshire; the use of his tongue is clean taken -from him that he cannot be understood, such is the -continuance of the rheum that distilleth from his head -downwards.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Thus, not knowing wherewith else to trouble your -Lordship, I most humbly beseech your blessing, with -my wonted prayer for your Lordship’s long continuance -in all honour, and most perfect health.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“From the Court this Friday at night, the 6th of -July, 1576.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Your Lordship’s most humble and</div> - <div class='line in8'>obedient loving son,</div> - <div class='line in20'>“<span class='sc'>Gilbert Talbot</span>.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>Otherwise the family affairs of the Shrewsburys were -engrossing enough. The Lennox baby, born at Chatsworth, -had, as stated, altered their domestic and social -world considerably. My Lady was now the grandmother -of a possible queen, a creature having equal -right on her father’s side to the crowns of Scotland and -England. It was very important that while Lady -Shrewsbury still kept up towards the child’s aunt, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_174'>174</span>Mary, a show of friendliness, she should curry favour -on every occasion with the English Queen, who supported -the rule of young James of Scotland. It -was a nice and delicate game to play, and must have -pleased her well. It was not likely now that Mary -would ever come into power. Still, strange things -happened. If Elizabeth died suddenly Mary might -have her day at last, and every act of the Shrewsburys -towards her in her captivity would be weighed in her -judgment and awards as soon as she was in the seat of -government. The two women had hitherto grown -very friendly. All manner of confidences must have -passed between them, and my Lady’s alert ears had -supplied her quick tongue with many a bit of scandal -which she could retail for the amusement of the royal -“guest.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>From this period, however, she would practise greater -caution. She had recently steered clear of great danger, -and was toiling hard for the Queen’s smiles. It was -well known that those who favoured and fêted Lord -Leicester fêted the Queen in proxy. The visit of -Leicester to Buxton in 1576 presented itself therefore -as a great social chance.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_175'>175</span> - <h2 class='c004'>CHAPTER XII<br /> <span class='small'>MY LORD LEICESTER’S CURE</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_0_6 c005'>My Lord of Leicester was to have his cure. The -physicians insisted upon it. It is chronicled in -Gilbert Talbot’s letter with all the importance which -would attend the bulletins of the health of a king. The -Queen never resented a fuss of this kind made over her -pampered darling. In his stuffed and padded Court -costume, his feathered head-dress, and his jewels one -cannot detect in him one of the virile qualities which so -dominated her imagination. His treacheries were winked -at, his vices condoned, even the people who accused him -most violently of the murder of his first wife, Amy -Robsart, when in perplexity crawled to his feet, either -literally like poor Lady Catherine Grey, or in abject -letters like Lady Lennox, who was one of his bitterest -accusers and who had suffered under the spies he sent -into her very house. Let us for a few moments recall -the growth of this personage, this veritable bay-tree. -He was just Robert Dudley, a younger son, the fifth of -a ruined family lying under attainder—the Dukes of -Northumberland. Mary of England restored him to -his title, and drew him out of nonentity and poverty -by appointing him Master of the Ordnance at the -siege of S. Quentin. As soldier and courtier he certainly -came into contact with the Princess Elizabeth, -whose visits to Court were finally forced upon her -<span class='pageno' id='Page_176'>176</span>unwilling sister. Elizabeth had scarcely been on the -throne a few months before she indulged with much -too evident relief in flirtations with him, as a counterblast -to the incessant negotiations with the ambassadors -of her successive foreign suitors. She coquetted with -him in her boat, she kept his portrait in a secret cabinet, -she showed off her learning, her airs and graces before -him, she danced with him, and when she formally -created him Earl of Leicester she “could not refrain -from putting her hand in his neck, smilingly tickling -him.” This honour, by the way, it will be remembered, -she pretended to confer on him in order that his rank -should fit him for marriage with Mary Queen of Scots, -and so avoid the dangers and difficulties to England -which would arise from her marriage with Darnley. -There never was a pretence so thin. Elizabeth made a -great show of her willingness to bestow on another her -“brother and best friend, whom she would have married -herself had she minded to take a husband.” Since she -had decided to die a virgin she held that such a procedure -in regard to Leicester would “free her mind of -all fears and suspicions to be offended by any usurpation -before her death, being assured that he was so -loving and trusty that he would never suffer any such -thing to be attempted in her time.” While she openly -advertised Leicester as her favourite, she dangled him -as a prize over the head of her chief enemy. She -always loved playing with fire, and it is well that this -time she did not burn her fingers, for Leicester was the -complete courtier and could not decide between the -two queens. In his eyes Mary had as much chance of -ruling England as his present mistress. Mary did not -at the beginning of her career in Scotland appear very -<span class='pageno' id='Page_177'>177</span>anxious for his wooing. All this helped Elizabeth. -Creighton clearly takes the view that the latter promoted -the Darnley marriage by the very pushing of -Leicester’s claims. Whether or not he was personally -commendable to Mary, it was greatly to his disadvantage, -that, as creature of Elizabeth, he should be thrust -upon her enemy.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Just at that period Leicester’s familiarity towards the -Queen touched gross impudence. We see him in the -royal tennis-court pausing in a match against the premier -peer of England, the Duke of Norfolk, to wipe his face -with the handkerchief quickly filched from the Queen’s -hand as she sat amongst the onlookers. The Duke -raged, offered violence, and, unfortunately for royal -dignity, Elizabeth’s manner showed that she took the -part of Leicester. She had already bestowed on him -while a commoner the Garter. The Order of St. Michael -was his next honour, and he was soon created Master of -the Horse, Steward of the Household, Chancellor of -Oxford, Ranger of the Forests south of Trent, and, -later on, Captain-General of the English forces in the -Netherlands. When age and his last illness brooded -over him his queen planned for him a last dazzling post—a -new creation—in the Lieutenancy of England and -Ireland. Despite the scandals attached to his three -marriages,<a id='r37' /><a href='#f37' class='c013'><sup>[37]</sup></a> he maintained his place in the eyes of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_178'>178</span>Elizabeth, and only in after years seriously earned her -displeasure. He had the rare art of “keeping on the -right side” of Lord Burghley, between whom and himself -a sort of armed neutrality existed, except when -mutual advantage found them acting heartily in concert. -Leicester, as all his history shows, was, like -Buckingham, a gay dog, a ladies’ man. Pretty women -hovered about him at Court—<em>vide</em> the letter from Gilbert -Talbot under date May 11, 1573, quoted in full in a -previous chapter—he had to keep them at peace not to -give offence. He could play with their love, enjoy it, -go to utmost lengths, so long as the Queen believed -that in his heart no other woman could take her place. -He entertained largely, he lived and dressed as befitted -his position. It was above all highly important that -he should keep his health in order, preserve the elegant -lines of his soldier’s figure, and defer as long as possible -the days when he would, in his own phrase, “grow -high-coloured and red-faced.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>When he was ordered to Buxton it was imperative -that he should be properly received and housed, and not -lodged in the low wooden sheds which were used by -the ordinary public during their “cure,” and where their -fare seems to have consisted of “oat cakes, with a viand -which the hosts called mutton, but which the guests -strongly suspected to be dog.”</p> -<div class='section'> - -</div> -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i_178fp.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><span class='left'><em>Photo by Emery Walker, after the picture in the National Portrait Gallery</em></span><br /><br />ROBERT DUDLEY, EARL OF LEICESTER<br /><br /><span class='right'>Page <a href='#Page_178'>178</a></span></p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_179'>179</span>Buxton waters, under the patronage of St. Anne “of -Buckstone” and St. Andrew of Burton, were beset for -many years before this with poor crippled pilgrims, who -left symbols of their gratitude in the various shrines of -the place in the way of crutches and candles. When the -Cromwell of Henry VIII wiped England of popery -these testimonials were all demolished, and he “locked -up and sealed the baths and wells ...” pending the -royal permission “to wash” therein. This, however, -did not prevent the Earl of Shrewsbury from building -a suitable house for patients, and it is thus described by -a physician of the day:—</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Joyninge to the chiefe sprynge betweene the river -and the bathe is a very goodly house, four square, four -stories hye, so well compacte with houses and offices -underneath, and above and round about, with a great -chamber, and other goodly lodgings to the number of -thirty, that it is and will be a bewty to beholde; and -very notable for the honourable and worshipful that -shall need to repair thither, as also for others.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Yea, and the porest shall have lodgings and beds -hard by for their uses only. The bathes also so beautified -with seats round; defended from the ambyent air; and -chimneys for fyre to ayre your garments in the bathes -side, and other necessaries most decent.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Prices for baths varied according to the social position -of the patient! An archbishop seems to head the -scale with a compulsory payment of £5, while a yeoman -only paid twelvepence, and was entitled to as long -a cure as the Primate. Lord Leicester, coming in the -category of Earls, was charged twenty shillings. One -half of the fee went to the doctor in command, the rest -towards a fund for the cure of the poorest cripples.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The aforesaid house, which four times sheltered both -Mary of Scotland and once at least Lord Leicester, is -<span class='pageno' id='Page_180'>180</span>now gone; in place of it is a hotel, and there is no -trace of the “pleasant warm bowling-green planted -about with large sycamore trees.” This, according to -another authority, was part of its garden, and it was -Gilbert Talbot’s duty to entertain his father’s dazzling -guest and the Queen’s favourite in this pleasant spot. -During the week of this memorable visit the young -man never lost an opportunity of furthering his -family’s cause and of sounding influential persons at -all seasons. He, like others, had constant recourse to -Leicester, both by word of mouth and pen. The letter -which follows<a id='r38' /><a href='#f38' class='c013'><sup>[38]</sup></a> is a typical epistle of the kind which -is scattered through the society correspondence of the -day.</p> - -<p class='c006'>We see by this that Gilbert was actually at “Buckstones” -doing the honours of his father’s house there -to any distinguished guests, while the Earl, his father, -was nailed to his post at Sheffield, and the Countess -presumably busying herself with the killing of the fatted -calf at Chatsworth in readiness to honour Leicester on -his going southward.</p> - -<p class='c006'>She must have hailed this epistle with huge satisfaction, -since it definitely announces the Earl’s presence -at Buxton with his intention of accepting her invitation -to Chatsworth, and at the same time assures her -of his good offices on behalf of young Lady Lennox. -Poor Elizabeth Cavendish was by this time a widow,<a id='r39' /><a href='#f39' class='c013'><sup>[39]</sup></a> -almost penniless, and appealing to the Queen for financial -support on behalf of the baby Lady Arabella. The -letter is addressed to both of Gilbert’s parents:—</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_181'>181</span>“My duty, etc,—This morning early I delivered your -L.’s packet to my L. of Leicester, who, upon reading -thereof, said he would write to your L. by a post that -is here, and willed me to send away your lackey. I -asked him how long he thought to tarry here, and -prayed him to tarry as long as might be. And he said -he knew not whether to go to Chatsworth on Tuesday -or Wednesday or Thursday come seven nights, but one -of those three days without fail. There came some score -of fowl here on Saturday, which served here very well -yesterday, and will do this three or four days. Sir Hugh -Chamley sent hither to my L. of Leicester a very fat -beef, which my L. of Leicester bade me go down to -see, and to take him to use as I listed; but I told him -I was sure your L. would be angry if I took him; yet -for all this, he would force me to take him; and so I kept -him here in the town till I know your L.’s pleasure -what shall be done with him; he would serve very -well for Chatsworth. Bayley thinketh that they will -tarry two or three days at Chatsworth. There is no -word yet come from my L. of Huntington and my La. -whether they will meet my L. of Leicester at Chatsworth -or not; if they do (as he hath written very -earnestly to them) I think he will not come to Ashby, -but go the next way to Killingworth and there tarry but -two or three days only. My L. of Rutland, by reason -of the foul afternoon yesterday, lay here all the last -night in the chamber where Sir Henry Lea lodged. I -showed the letter of my La. Lennox, your daughter, to -my L. of Leicester, who said that he thought it were far -better for him to defer her suit to her Majesty till his -own coming to the Court than otherwise to write to her -before; for that he thinketh her Majesty will suppose -<span class='pageno' id='Page_182'>182</span>his letter, if he should write, were but at your La.’s -request, and so by another letter would straight answer -it again, and so it do no great good; but at his meeting -your La. he will (he saith) advise in what sort your -La. shall write to the Queen Majesty, which he will -carry unto her, and then be as earnest a solicitor -therein as ever he was for anything in his life, and he -doubteth not to prevail to your La. contention. To-morrow -my L. of Leicester meaneth to go to Sir Peres -a Leyes to meet with my L. of Derby, if the weather -be any whit fair. And thus most humbly craving your -Lo.’s blessing with my wonted prayer for your long -continuance in all honour and most perfect health and -long life I cease. At Buxton in haste this present -Monday before noon.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Your Lo.’s most humble and obedient son,</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“<span class='sc'>G. Talbot</span>.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“The Lords do pray your L. to remember their case -(of) knives.”<a id='r40' /><a href='#f40' class='c013'><sup>[40]</sup></a></p> -<div class='section'> - -</div> -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i_182fp.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><span class='left'><em>From a photo by Richard Keene, Ltd., Derby, after the picture at Hardwick Hall<br />    By permission of his Grace the Duke of Devonshire</em></span><br /><br />QUEEN ELIZABETH<br /><br /><span class='right'>Page <a href='#Page_182'>182</a></span></p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_183'>183</span>There is no further comment from him on the subject -of this visit, but later letters will show that it went -off smoothly and resulted in benefit to the patient. As -for his visit to Chatsworth it appears to have been a -triumphant success. Many things were talked out -between host, hostess, and guest in the few days of his -sojourn. They had many experiences in common—to -wit, the insane jealousy and suspicions of their -Sovereign. But on this occasion their meeting hatched -no unpleasant results in this respect. The Queen herself wrote to thank them for their good entertainment -of her valued friend. And hereby hangs a little comedy, -a mystery. Two letters, evidently of the same date, -were dictated by the Queen. The skittish original in -the handwriting of Sir Francis Walsingham was not -sent. A sedate version of it was the one which the -Shrewsburys opened. This is among the Talbot manuscripts. -The lively edition remains in the Record Office -among the Mary Queen of Scots MSS. for the amusement -of posterity. Opinions differ as to the mood in -which Elizabeth wrote it.<a id='r41' /><a href='#f41' class='c013'><sup>[41]</sup></a> It has been suggested that -it was done in a flippant ironical spirit; it has also been -taken as a symptom of wild elation born of Elizabeth’s -belief that her marriage with Lord Leicester would -really be achieved. It seems most likely that she -certainly dashed it off in a flippant mood, with the -intention of chaffing the serious apprehensive High -Steward of England and his wife, and that Lord -Burghley, or Walsingham, advised her to desist and to -allow a copy to be made, excluding the “larky” passages.</p> - -<p class='c006'>This is what she sent:—</p> - -<div class='lg-container-l c002'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“The Queen to the Earl and Countess of Shrewsbury.</div> - <div class='line'>“By the Queen.</div> - <div class='line in2'>“Your most assured loving cousin and sovereign,</div> - <div class='line in6'>Elizabeth R.</div> - <div class='line'>“Our very good Cousins,</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“Being given to understand from our cousin of -Leicester how honourably he was received by you our -<span class='pageno' id='Page_184'>184</span>cousin the Countess at Chatsworth, and his diet by you -both discharged at Buxtons, but also presented with -a very rare present, we should do him great wrong -(holding him in that place of favour we do) in case we -should not let you understand in what thankful sort -we accept the same at your hands, not as done unto -him, but to our own self, reputing him as another ourself; -and, therefore, ye may assure yourselves, that we -taking upon us the debt not as his but as our own, will -take care accordingly to discharge the same in such -honourable sort as so well-deserving creditors as ye are -shall never have cause to think ye have met with an -ungrateful debtor. In this acknowledgment of new -debts we may not forget our old debt, the same being -as great as a sovereign can owe to a subject; when -through your loyal and most careful looking to this -charge committed to you, both we and our realm enjoy -a peaceable government, the best good hope that to any -prince on earth can befall: This good hap, then, growing -from you, ye might think yourselves most unhappy if you -served such a prince as should not be as ready graciously -to consider of it as thankfully to acknowledge the same, -whereof ye may make full account, to your comfort -when time shall serve. Given under our signet in our -manor of Greenwich, the 25th day of June, 1577, and -in the 19th year of our reign.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>This is what Elizabeth, a sovereign of nineteen years’ -standing, a woman over forty years of age, wanted to -send:—</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Being given to understand from our cousin of -Leicester how honourably he was lately received and -used by you, our Cousin the Countess of Chatsworth, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_185'>185</span>and how his diet is by you both discharged at Buxtons, -we should do him great wrong (holding him in that -place of favour we do) in case we should not let you -understand in how thankful sort we accept the same -at both your hands—which we do not acknowledge to -be done unto him but unto ourselves; and therefore -do mean to take upon us the debt and to acknowledge -you both as creditors, so you can be content to accept -us for debtor, wherein is the danger unless you cut off -some part of the large allowance of diet you give him, -lest otherwise the debt thereby may grow to be so great -as we shall not be able to discharge the same, and so -become bankrupt, and therefore we think it meet for -the saving of our credit to prescribe unto you a proportion -of diet which we mean in no case you shall -exceed, and that is to allow him by the day of his meat -two ounces of flesh referring the quality to yourselves, -so as you exceed not the quantity; and for his drink -one-twentieth of a pint of wine to comfort his stomach -and as much of St. Anne’s sacred water as he lusteth -to drink. On festival days, as is fit for a man of his -quality, we can be content you shall enlarge his diet -by allowing unto him for his dinner the shoulder of -a wren, and for his supper a leg of the same, besides -his ordinary ounces. The like proportion we mean -you shall allow unto our brother of Warwick,<a id='r42' /><a href='#f42' class='c013'><sup>[42]</sup></a> saying -that we think it meet, in respect that his body is more -replete than his brother’s, that the wren’s leg allowed -at supper on festival days be abated; for that light -suppers agreeth but with the rules of physic. This -<span class='pageno' id='Page_186'>186</span>order our meaning is you shall inviolably observe, and -so you may right well assure yourselves of a most -thankful debtor to so well-deserving creditors.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>This letter is endorsed “M. of her Mates Ires to the -Earl and Countess of Shrewsbury, of thanks for the -good usage of my L. of Lec.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Indeed, it was well that it was not sent. From one -point of view it reads suspiciously like a skit devised -by Elizabeth on the statements periodically sent her by -Lord Shrewsbury with regard to the “diet” of the -Queen of Scots, and the number of courses and dishes -allowed her on festival days.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The Earl writes presently to the Queen in his wife’s -name, on this, his own, and other matters. His tone is -artful, astute, and conventional:—</p> - -<div class='lg-container-l c002'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“May it please your most excellent Majesty,</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“The comfortable letters I lately received, of -your own blessed handwriting, made me by oft looking -on them, think my happiness more than any service -(were it never so perfect) could merit; and myself more -bounden to your Highness for the same than by writing -I can express. And as it pleased your Majesty to write -with assured confidence you have in my fidelity, and -safe keeping of this lady, doubting nothing but lest -her fair speech deceive me, so I am sure, although it -please your Majesty to warn<a id='r43' /><a href='#f43' class='c013'><sup>[43]</sup></a> me of her, yet doth your -wisdom see well enough by my many years’ service past -any inclination to her was never further, nor otherwise -than of her Majesty’s service....</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_187'>187</span>“Nor have I cause to trust her. Were her speech -fair or crabbed my only respect hath been, is still, and -so shall continue, to the duty I owe unto your Majesty.... -I have her forthcoming at your Majesty’s commandment....</p> - -<p class='c006'>“And may it now further please your Majesty to -license my wife and me humbly to acknowledge ourselves -the more bound to your Majesty, as well as for the -comfortable message Mr. Julio brought us lately from -your Majesty, as that it pleased your Majesty to vouchsafe -our rude and gross entertainment of our devout -friend, my kinsman, my Lord of Leicester; which -although in respect of our duties to your Majesty -and the great goodwill we bear to him, is not so well -as it ought to be, yet are we sure it contenteth -him, and displeaseth not your Majesty, that he is the -welcomed friend to us of all others. My wife also bids -me yield her humble thanks to your Majesty ... and -now (since we can do no more, nor your Highness -have no more of us than our true and faithful hearts -and service, wherein we will spend our lives and all we -have, if your Majesty command it) we pray to God -for your most excellent Majesty, as we are bounden. -Sheffield, 4th of July, 1577.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Your Majesty’s most humble, faithful servant,</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“<span class='sc'>George Shrewsbury</span>.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>In this year, whether or no the weather specially tended -to develop rheumatism or aggravate it, there seems to -have been a positive rush of great persons to Buxton. -A fortnight later Lord Burghley wrote to inform the -Shrewsburys of his expedition to the baths and, like -others, to beg for hospitality.</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_188'>188</span>“I am now thoroughly licensed by her Majesty to -come thither with as much speed as my old crazed -body will suffer me. And, because I doubt your Lordship -is and shall be pressed with many other like suits -for your favour, to have the use of some lodgings there, -I am bold at the present to send this my letter by post”—that -is to say, by special messenger. He goes on: -“I am to have in my company but Mr. Roger Manners -and my son, Thomas Cecil, for whom I am also to -interest your Lordship to procure them, by your commandment, -some lodging as your Lordship shall please.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>The Earl of Sussex who preferred a doughty cure, -drinking as much as three pints a day, made tender -enquiries as to the result of the water on the Lord -Treasurer. As to its effects on Lord Leicester, one -can judge best by this letter from a friend to the -Shrewsburys—Richard Topclyffe, a tremendous Protestant, -by the way, and hunter of “mass-mongers and -recusants,” to the Countess. He reassures her fully as -to the health of the guest who had just quitted Chatsworth, -quotes Leicester’s promise to further her welfare -and that of her young stepsons, Henry and Edward -Talbot, his kinsmen:—</p> - -<p class='c007'>“We did yesternight come to Ricote, my Lo. -Norris’s, where late did arrive the Countesses of Bedford -and Cumberland and the Earl of Cumberland, the Lord -Wharton and his wife. The fat Earl<a id='r44' /><a href='#f44' class='c013'><sup>[44]</sup></a> cometh this day, -my L. of Leicester being departed towards the Court, -to Sir Thomas Gresham’s, thirty-three miles hence -(whereby you may perceive of his health), only a little -<span class='pageno' id='Page_189'>189</span>troubled with a boil drawing to a head in the calf of -the leg, which maketh him use his litter. The Countess -kept him long waiting, asking if Buxton sent sound -men halting home. But I never did hear him commend -the place, nor the entertainment half so much: and did -sware that he wished he had tarried three weeks longer -with his charge ... but, saith he, it hath, and would -have cost my friends deeply. His L. wished her -Majesty would progress to Grafton and Killingworth, -which condition he would see Buxton this summer -again. But the next year is threatened that journey. -I can send your La. no more unpleasant news but -that his Lo. hath said with me in vows that he will -be as tender over your Lord and yourself, and both -yours, as over his own health: and my Lo. is very -careful over his two young cousins, Mr. Ed. and Mr. -Hen., to have them placed at Oxford, wishing that he -may find of his kindred to work his goodwill upon, as -he hath done hitherto on many unthankful persons. -Good madam, further you my good Lo., your husband’s -disposition that way for your son Charles.... And -therewith I end; in very humble sort. The 9th of -July, 1577.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Your La. ever at command,</div> - <div class='line in12'>“<span class='sc'>Ric. Topcliffe</span>.”<a id='r45' /><a href='#f45' class='c013'><sup>[45]</sup></a></div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>Everything as regards the Talbot and Cavendish -family was going well—merrily as a marriage-bell, so -far as “Bess” was concerned. The widowhood of her -youngest daughter, Lady Lennox, did not affect her. -It was only one more tool to her hand in scheming for -the Queen’s favour, the Queen’s largesse, and in balancing -<span class='pageno' id='Page_190'>190</span>any foolish and unwise notions which the Countess -might have previously entertained in regard to Queen -Mary’s cause.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Mary, it may be recalled here, had had more than -one chance of marriage with Lord Leicester. He had, -so to speak, meandered in and out of her affairs, now as -suitor, now as go-between. As recently as 1574, three -years previous to his Buxton visit, he seems for the -second time to have entertained thoughts of making her -an offer of marriage, whereas previously he had used -his influence on behalf of the Duke of Norfolk’s wooing, -and again with a view to averting his condemnation. -In 1574 Mary was so firmly impressed with his attitude -towards her that she advised her relations in France to -pave the way for friendly overtures with a gift to -Leicester. She was also about this time very anxious -to refurbish her wardrobe, and took a great interest in -securing brilliant and becoming materials and millinery -of the kind most in vogue: “Send by and by Jean de -Compiègne,” she writes, “and let him bring me patterns -of dresses and samples of cloth of gold and silver and -silk, the most beautiful and rare that are worn at Court, -to learn my pleasure about them. Order Poissy to -make me a couple of headdresses, with a crown of gold -and silver, such as they have formerly made for me; -and tell Breton to remember his promise, and obtain for -me from Italy the newest fashions in headdresses, and -veils and ribbons, with gold and silver....” There -was no blindness about the way she regarded the possibility -of such a marriage. She held that Leicester’s -motives were anything but romantic or altruistic. But -if so powerful a suitor could be secured, and above all -seduced from allegiance to Elizabeth, Mary had no -<span class='pageno' id='Page_191'>191</span>objection to the match. Her letters to France are full -of allusions to him:—<a id='r46' /><a href='#f46' class='c013'><sup>[46]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c007'>“Leicester talks over M. de La Mothe to persuade -him that he is wholly for me, and endeavours to gain -over Walsingham my mortal enemy to this effect.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>And again: “M. de La Mothe advises me to entreat -that my cousin of Guise, my grandmother and yours, -will write some civil letters to Leicester, thanking him -for his courtesy to me, as if he had done much for me, -and by the same medium send him some handsome -present, which will do me much good. He takes great -delight in furniture; if you send him some crystal cup -in your name, and allow me to pay for it, or some fine -Turkey carpet, or such like as you may think most fitting, -it will perhaps save me this winter, and will make -him much ashamed, or suspected by his mistress, and -all will assist me. For he intends to make me speak of -marriage or die, as it is said, so that either he or his -brother may have to do with this crown. I beseech you -try if such small device can save me and I shall entertain -him with the other, at a distance.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>How this letter reveals her impulse for romance, -her pathetic, dogged attempts to believe herself all-powerful!</p> - -<p class='c006'>Leicester, naturally, was far too cautious to take the -tremendous risk involved, and contented himself with -keeping at a distance and in exchanging polite and -friendly letters with the Shrewsburys, such as the one -quoted on page <a href='#Page_170'>170</a>. He was an adept at this kind of -sugary testimonial. Certainly no finer instance could -<span class='pageno' id='Page_192'>192</span>be given in support of the dignity, virtue, and innocence -of an intriguing and busy lady from the pen of an -arch-courtier—a man accused of wife-murder, seduction, -poisoning, and political treachery.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_193'>193</span> - <h2 class='c004'>CHAPTER XIII<br /> <span class='small'>THE DIVIDED WAY</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_0_6 c005'>Seeing that my Lady of Shrewsbury had triumphantly -surmounted one of the greatest dangers -she had ever drawn upon herself and hers, one can -safely assume that after the foregoing letter she was in -a tolerably prancing and jovial temper. Socially she -really was for the moment a much more important -item to be reckoned with than Mary Queen of Scots -herself. All the difficulties of the past two years had -only served to bring her into closer touch with both -queens. Meantime she was a rich and honoured lady -with a great many irons in the fire, and her wants and -requirements were legion. She still wanted ale and wood -and stone, she could not spend all her valuable time -dancing attendance upon Mary, or sharing the dull semi-military -routine of Sheffield Castle and Sheffield Lodge. -She went to her beloved Chatsworth, and husband and -wife exchanged letters. Here is a wistful appreciation -from him:—</p> - -<p class='c007'>“My Sweetheart,—Your true and faithful zeal you -bear me is more comfortable to me than anything I can -think upon, and I give God thanks daily for his benefits -he hath bestowed on me, and greatest cause I have to -give him thanks that he hath sent me you in my old -years to comfort me withal. Your coming I shall think -<span class='pageno' id='Page_194'>194</span>long for, and shall send on Friday your litter horses -and on Saturday morning I will send my folks, because -Friday they will be desirous to be at Rotherham Fair.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“It appears by my sister Wingfield’s letter there is -bruit of this Queen’s going from me. I thank you for -sending it me, which I return again, and will not -show it till you may speak it yourself what you hear; -and I have sent you John Knifton’s letter, that Lord -brought me, that you may perceive what is [? bruited] -of the young King. I thank you for your fat capon and -it shall be baked, and kept cold and untouched until my -sweetheart come; guess you who it is. I have sent -you a cock that was given to me, which is all the -dainties I have here.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“I have written to Sellars to send every week a -quarter of rye for this ten weeks, which will be as -much as I know will be had there, and ten quarters -of barley, which will be all that I can spare you. Farewell, -my sweet true none and faithful wife.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“All yours,</div> - <div class='line in4'>“<span class='sc'>Shrewsbury</span>.”<a id='r47' /><a href='#f47' class='c013'><sup>[47]</sup></a></div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>Here is a letter from her to him, brisk, tart, affectionate -all at once:—</p> - -<div class='lg-container-l c002'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“My dear heart,</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“I have sent your letters again and thank you -for them; they require no answer; but when you write -remember to thank him for them. If you cannot get -my timber carried I must be without it though I greatly -want it; but if it would please you to command Hebert -or any other, to move your tenants to bring it, I ken -<span class='pageno' id='Page_195'>195</span>they will not deny to do it. I pray you let me know if -I shall have the ton of iron. If you cannot spare it -I must make shift to get it elsewhere, for I may not -now want it. You promised to send me money afore -this time to buy oxen, but I see, out of sight out of -mind with you.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“My son Gilbert has been very ill in his bed ever -since he came from Sheffield: I think it is his old -disease; he is now, I thank God, somewhat better and -she very well. I will send you the bill of my wood -stuff: I pray you let it be sent to Joseph, that he may -be sure to receive all. I thank you for taking order for -the carriage of it in Hardwick; if you would command, -your waggoner might bring it thither: I think it would -be safest carried. Here is neither malt nor hops. The -malt come last is so very ill and stinking, as Hawkes -thinks none of my workmen will drink it. Show this -letter to my friend and then return it. I think you will -take no discharge at Zouch’s hands nor the rest. You -may work still in despite of them; the law is on your -side.<a id='r48' /><a href='#f48' class='c013'><sup>[48]</sup></a> It cannot be but that you shall have the Queen’s -consent to remove hither; therefore if you would have -things in readiness for your provision, you might the -sooner come. Come either before Midsummer or not -this year; for any provision you have yet you might -have come as well as at Easter as at this day. Here is -yet no manner of provision more than a little drink, -which makes me to think you mind not to come. God -send my jewel health.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Your faithful wife</div> - <div class='line in12'>“<span class='sc'>E. Shrewsbury</span>.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='lg-container-l c002'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_196'>196</span>“Saturday morn.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“I have sent you lettuce for that you love them; -and every second day some is sent to your charge and -you. I have nothing else to send. Let me hear how -you, your charge and love do, and commend me I pray -you. It were well you sent four or five pieces of the -great hangings that they might be put up; and some -carpets. I wish you would have things in that readiness -that you might come either three or four days after you -hear from Court. Write to Baldwin to call on my Lord -Treasurer for answer of your letters.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The expression in the postscript “your charge and -love” has been variously interpreted by historians. It -is utterly inconceivable that, as suggested, Lady Shrewsbury -should have indicated Mary Queen of Scots by -the last word. Had she wished to bring an accusation -of this kind against her husband she would not immediately -add her desire that he should join her as soon as -possible. It is not unlikely that this perplexing sentence -should run, “Let me hear how you, your charge, and -(our) love do,” the “love” probably signifying a child -or grandchild then with the Earl. Similarly the words -“God send my jewel health” may apply to the same -child, for in after years she uses this term of endearment -almost exclusively in speaking of her precious -grandchild, Arabella Stuart. Her peremptory request -for “great hangings and carpets” is rather interesting, -because a previous family letter, not yet included, gives -a picture of the Earl’s parsimony in these details. This -occurs as early as two years before the date of the above -letters; and two long epistles from Gilbert to his stepmother -show, first, how the long strain of his duties was -<span class='pageno' id='Page_197'>197</span>telling upon the Earl, and, secondly, the unfavourable -contrast produced on the minds of their children by the -manner in which they were treated respectively by father -and mother.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Gilbert, at Sheffield in 1575, describes the atmosphere -of the house as utterly uncongenial. He is longing to -be away and to have his own home. Lady Shrewsbury -was away, probably at Chatsworth.<a id='r49' /><a href='#f49' class='c013'><sup>[49]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c007'>“My L. is continually pestered with his wonted business, -and is very often in exceeding choler of slight -occasion; a great grief to them that loves him to see -him hurt himself so much. He now speaketh nothing -of my going to house, and I fear would be contented -with silence to pass it over; but I have great hope in -your La. at your coming, and in all my life I never -longed for anything so much as to be from hence; -truly, Madame, I rather wish myself a ploughman than -here to continue.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Her Ladyship came and went, but does not seem to -have had much effect in softening her lord. Soon afterwards -Gilbert writes again, oppressed by his father’s lack -of lavishness in regard to the fitting out of his son’s -home—an attitude which he compares unfavourably with -the generous methods of the stepmother.<a id='r50' /><a href='#f50' class='c013'><sup>[50]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c007'>“Madame, where it hath pleased your La. to bestow -on us a great deal of furniture towards house we can -but by our prayers for your La. show ourselves dutiful -as well for this as all other your La. continual benefits -towards us, whereof we can never fail so long as it -shall please God to continue His grace towards us. Presently -<span class='pageno' id='Page_198'>198</span>after your La., departure from hence my Lord -appointed him of the wardrobe to deliver us the tester -and curtains of the old green and red bed of velvet and -satin that your La. did see; and the cloth bed tester -and curtains we now lie in, and two very old counterpanes -of tapestry; and forbad him to deliver the bed of -cloth of gold and tawny velvet that your La. saw. That -which your La. hath given us is more worth than all -that is at Goodrich,<a id='r51' /><a href='#f51' class='c013'><sup>[51]</sup></a> or here of my Lord’s bestowing. -On Wednesday my Lord went hence. Cooks brought -in a piece of housewife’s cloth nothing dearer than -twelve pence the yard, and so was holden; which Cooks -told my Lord would very well serve my wife to make -sheets, bore cloths and such like: which my L. at the -very first yielded unto, and bade him carry it to -Stele to measure, into the outer chamber, and he said he -thought it very dear of that price, and thereupon my L. -refused to buy it.... Thus I beseech your La. most -humbly of your blessing to your little fellow<a id='r52' /><a href='#f52' class='c013'><sup>[52]</sup></a> and myself -who is very well, thanks be to God....</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Sheffield, this Friday, 13th of October, 1575.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Here for the first time is the beginning of real dissension -in the family. The Earl’s own son murmurs -against him, and the wife, being the daughter of her -husband’s stepmother, would naturally share his resentment -towards the soldierly official towards whom she -stood in such a very delicate double relationship. The -young couple are placed in a very difficult position -henceforth between Earl and Countess, and their letters -show the growing jealousy of her absence and her independence -in the Earl’s mind. The postscript strikes a -tenderer note in the allusion to the childish days of the -“lyttell fellow”—George, son and heir of Gilbert and -Mary Talbot—and his awe of his “Lady Danmode” -(Grandmother).</p> -<div class='section'> - -</div> -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i_198fp.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><span class='left'><em>Photo by Richard Keene, Ltd., Derby, after the painting at Hardwick Hall</em><br />    <em>By permission of his Grace the Duke of Devonshire</em></span><br /><br />ELIZABETH COUNTESS OF SHREWSBURY<br /><br /><span class='right'>Page <a href='#Page_198'>198</a></span></p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_199'>199</span>“My duty, most humble rem. R. Ho., my most -singular good La. This day my Lo. intendeth to go -to Worsopp; to-morrow to Rufford; and on Saturday -hither again. He was not so inquisitive of me touching -your La. since my last being at Chatsworth, as he was -the time before; only he hath asked me many times -when I thought your La. would be here: whereto I -have answered sometimes that your La. was so ill at ease -with the rheumatism as you knew not when God would -make you able; other times, that I thought when your -La. were well, you would desire to stay for some months -if he would give you leave; for you assuredly thought -my Lo. was better pleased with your absence than presence. -Whereunto he replied very earnestly the contrary -in such manner as he hath done heretofore when I -have told him the like. I found occasion to tell him -that your La. meant not to hold Owen as your groom -any longer, since it was his pleasure to be so offended -with him: howbeit (I said) your La. told me that you -knew not what offence he had committed, nor other by -him at all than that he was a simple, true man, and that -you would be glad to understand something to lay to -his charge when you should turn him out of your -service. But he answered no other than that it was -his will for divers causes which he would not utter. -Further, I said your La. told me you meant to take -<span class='pageno' id='Page_200'>200</span>some wise fellow as your groom that should not be so -simple as Owen was, but one who had been in service -heretofore and knew what were fit and belonged to him -to do in that service. Quoth he: ‘I believe she will -take none of my putting to her.’ Since that time he -gave no occasion of speech of your La., and indeed I -have not been very much with him these four or five -days, for he had much business with others. He is -nothing so merry in my judgment as he was the last -week; but I assure your La. I know not any cause at -all. No other thing I know worthy of your La. knowledge -at this present. Therefore, with most humble -desire of your La. blessings to me and mine, and our -prayer for your La. continuance in all honour, most -perfect health and felicity, I cease.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Sheffield, this present Thursday, 1st August, 1577.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Your La. most humble and obedient</div> - <div class='line in16'>loving children,</div> - <div class='line in12'>“<span class='sc'>Gilbert Talbot</span>, <span class='sc'>M. Talbot</span>.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“George is very well, I thank God: he drinketh -every day to La. Grandmother, rideth to her often, but -yet within the Court; and if he have any spice, I tell -him La. Grandmother is come and will see him; which -he then will either quickly hide or quickly eat, and then -asks where La. Danmode is.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Here it is very distinctly set forth, the growing distrust, -the little suspicions nursed by husband and wife: -“He was not so inquisitive of me touching your Ladyship.” -“He asked me divers times when I thought -your Ladyship would be here.” “You assuredly thought -that my Lord was better pleased with your absence than -presence.” And in expressing his mother’s willingness -<span class='pageno' id='Page_201'>201</span>to send away one of her grooms, since her lord was so -offended with him, though she would gladly know of -some offence to allege in giving the man his dismissal, -he shows that my Lord still is mistrustful. “She’ll -take no groom that I recommend to her” is his morose -comment.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Another long letter from Gilbert the go-between gives -the quarrel a more serious colour. Apparently it is -the absurd old matter of household tapestries which -is the immediate bone of contention. In vulgar phrase, -there seems to have been a regular “row” over some -embroiderers—upholsterer’s men as they would now be -called—at Sheffield Lodge, who had been turned adrift -instead of being carefully housed while at their work. -The Earl’s steward, one Dickenson, evidently acted -against express orders in his zeal to keep at a distance -all persons who were not actually of the household and -who might convey letters or messages to the captive. -The Earl had expressed himself forcibly and the Countess -could not forget his words. But she had not restrained -her tongue either, and he had retorted that she scolded -“like one that came from the Bank.” He does not -like the groom, Owen (alluded to in the letter just -quoted), and couples him with the embroiderer’s men. -But the thing which most hurts him is that his wife -should have left Sheffield, whither he is bound from -Bolsover, the very day he arrives. He cannot forgive -it, in spite of her suggestion that he should combine -some business he has to transact in the Peak district -with a visit to her at Chatsworth. He is, moreover, -morbidly sensitive about the whole position, and thinks -that his wife’s departure will make a very bad impression -upon his household. Gilbert pleads her love -<span class='pageno' id='Page_202'>202</span>and devotion, and draws a vivid picture of her distress. -The Earl melts; he concedes her love; he reiterates -all he has done for her, all he has “bestowed.” And -lastly he curses her building projects which take her -so constantly away from him.</p> -<div class='section'> - -</div> -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i_202fp.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><span class='left'><em>From a photo by Richard Keene, Ltd., Derby, after the picture at Hardwick Hall<br />    By permission of his Grace the Duke of Devonshire</em></span><br /><br />GEORGE TALBOT, SIXTH EARL OF SHREWSBURY<br /><br /><span class='right'>Page <a href='#Page_202'>202</a></span></p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_203'>203</span>“My duty most humbly remembered. I trust your -La. will pardon me in writing plainly and truly, although -it be both bluntly and tediously. I met my L. at -Bolsover yesterday about one of the clock, who at the -very first was rather desirous to hear from hence than -to enquire of Killingworth. Quoth he, ‘Gilbert, what -talk had my wife with you?’ ‘Marry, my L.,’ quoth I, -‘it hath pleased her to talk with me once or twice since -my coming, but the matter she most spoke of is no small -discomfort for me to understand.’ Then he was very -desirous and bade me tell him what. I began: ‘Truly, -Sir, with as grieved a mind as ever I saw woman in my -life, she told me your L. was vehemently offended with -her, in such sort, and with so many words and shows in -your anger of evil will towards her, as thereby your L. -said you could not but seem doubtful that all his wonted -love and affection is clean turned to the contrary; for -your L. further said, you had given him no cause at all -to be offended.’ You hearing that your embroiderers -were kept out of the Lodge from their beds by John -Dickenson’s command said to my L. these words in the -morning, ‘Now did you give command that the embroiderers -should be kept out of the Lodge?’ and my -L. answered ‘No.’ ‘Then,’ quoth your La., ‘they -were kept from their beds there yesternight; and he -that did so said John Dickenson had given that express -command.’ Which my L. said was a lie. And he said -it was utterly untrue. And so I would have gone on -to have told the rest; how your La. willed him to -enquire whether they were not in this manner kept -out or no: but his proceeding into vehement choler -and hard speeches he cut me off, saying it was to no -purposs to hear any recital of this matter, for if he -listed he said he could remember cruel speeches your La. -used to him, ‘which were such as,’ quoth he, ‘I was -forced to tell her, she scolded like one that came from -the Bank.<a id='r53' /><a href='#f53' class='c013'><sup>[53]</sup></a> Then, Gilbert,’ said he, ‘judge whether I -had cause or not. Well,’ quoth he, ‘I will speak no -more of this matter: but she hath such a sort of varlets -about her as never ceaseth carrying tales’; and then -uttered cruel words against Owen chiefly and the embroiderers, -over long to trouble your La. with. So -being alighted from his horse all this while, said, ‘Let -us get up and be gone; and I shall have enough to do -when I come home.’ Then quoth I, ‘I think my La. -be at Chatsworth by this time.’ ‘What!’ quoth he, -‘is she gone from Sheffield?’ I answered, ‘By nine of -the clock.’ Whereupon he seemed to marvel greatly, -and said, ‘Is her malice such that she would not tarry -one night for my coming?’ I answered that your La. -told me that he was contented at your first coming you -should go as yesterday: which he swore he never heard -of. ‘Then,’ quoth I, ‘my La. further told me that -when your L. was contented for her departure that day, -he said that he had business in the Peake and would -shortly come thither, and lie at Chatsworth.’ Quoth -he, ‘Her going away thus giveth me small cause to -come to Chatsworth,’ but answered not whether he -said so or not. But I assure your La. before God, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_204'>204</span>he was and is greatly offended with your going hence -yesterday.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“After he had seen all his grounds about Bolsover, -and was coming into the way homewards, he began with -me again saying that all the house might discern your -Ladyship’s stomach against him by your departure -before his coming. I answered beside what I said -before, that your La. said you had very great and earnest -business as well at Chatsworth for your things there, -as to deal with certain freeholders for Sir Thomas -Stanhope, but he allowed not any reason or cause, but -was exceeding angry for the same. Whereupon I spake -at large which I beseech your La. to pardon my tediousness -in repeating thereof, or at least the most thereof. -Quoth I, ‘I pray your L. give leave to tell you plainly -what I gathered by my Lady. I see she is so grieved and -vexed in mind as I protest to God I never saw any -woman more in my life; and after she told me how -without any cause at all your L. uttered most cruel and -bitter speeches against her, when she all the while never -uttered any undutiful word, and had particularly imparted -the whole matter, she plainly declared unto me -that she thought your L. heart was withdrawn from -her, and all your affection and love to hate and evil -will’: saying that you took it as your cross that so -contrary to your deservings he adjudged of you, -applinge<a id='r54' /><a href='#f54' class='c013'><sup>[54]</sup></a> the manifold shows which you so indefinitely -have made proof; and so forgot no earnest protestations -that your La. pleased to utter to me of your dear -affection and love to him both in health and sickness, -taking it upon your soul that you wished his griefs were -on yourself to disburden and quit him of [them].</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_205'>205</span>“And quoth I, ‘My L., when she told me of this her -dear love towards you, and now how your L. hath -requited her, she was in such perplexity as I never saw -woman’: and concluded, that your La. speech was that -now you know he thought himself most happy when -you were absent from, and most unhappy when you -were with him. And this, I assure your La., he heeded; -and although I cannot say his very word was that he had -injured and wronged you, yet both by his countenance -and words it plainly showed the same, and [he] answered, -‘I know,’ quoth he, ‘her love hath been great to me: -and mine hath been and is as great to her: for what can -a man do more for his wife than I have done and daily -do for her?’ And so reckoned at large, your La. may -think with the most, what he hath given and bestowed. -Whereunto I could not otherwise reply than thus. -Quoth I, ‘My L., she were to blame if she considered -not these things: but I gather plainly by her speech to -me that she thinketh notwithstanding that your heart is -hardened against her, as I have once or twice already -told your Lordship, and that you love them that love -not her, and believe those about you which hateth her.’ -And at your departure I said that your La. told me -that you verily thought my L. was gladder of your -absence than presence. Wherein, I assure your La., he -deeply protested the contrary: and said, ‘Gilbert, you -know the contrary; and how often I have cursed the -buildings at Chatsworth for want of her company: but -[quoth he] you see she careth not for my company by -going away. I would not have done so to her....’ -But after this he talked not much; but I know it pinched -him, and on my conscience I think so; but what effects -will follow God knoweth.</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_206'>206</span>“I will write again to your La. what I find by him -this day; for yesternight having not talked with any -but myself, I know that his heart desireth reconciliation -if he wist which way to bring it to pass. Living -God grant it, and make his heart turn to your comfort -in all things.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“To-morrow he will send me to Derby about Sir -Thomas Stanhope’s matter. I most humbly beseech -your La. blessing to me and mine. George rejoiced so -greatly yesternight at my L. coming home, as I could -not have believed if I had not seen it. Sunday at nine -of the clock. For God’s sake, Madame, pardon my -very tedious and evil favoured scribbling.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Your La. most humble and obedient loving son,</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“<span class='sc'>Gilbert Talbot</span>.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“The hasty letter from Sir John Constable was to -advertise that there are two Scots that travel with linen -cloths to sell, that gave letters of importance to this -Queen: one of them is brother to Curle. My L. -Huntington’s letter was refusal of land that my L. -offered him to sell.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What effects will follow God knoweth!” Certainly -1577 was an unhappy year for the house of Shrewsbury. -“This world,” as Lord Leicester says in one of his -letters to the great Earl, “is wholly given to reports and -bruits of all sorts.” And these conjugal bickerings, as -the Earl foresaw, would beget reports which, added to the -“bruits” he had to face almost daily anent his prisoner, -would certainly crush him and his wife. For the -present the latter rumours were reviving in such force -that he could not stop to think of his private affairs. -In his letter to his wife—the first letter quoted in this -<span class='pageno' id='Page_207'>207</span>chapter—he had alluded to one of these “bruits,” and -his apprehensions naturally made him greatly desire the -companionship of his Bess.</p> - -<p class='c006'>These rumours were no laughing matter. Affairs -in the Netherlands were now complicating England’s -foreign policy, and the rumour of the wooing of Mary -of Scotland by the gallant Don John of Austria caused -all sorts of suspicions of her release. For this audacious -and foolhardy soldier had projected a programme of -exploits which included the subjugation of the Low -Countries, the conquest of England, and, through -Mary, the sovereignty over it and the restoration of the -Romish faith. My Lord Treasurer promptly indited -the following to Mary’s gaoler:—</p> - -<p class='c007'>“My very good Lord,</p> - -<p class='c006'>“I cannot but continue my thanks for all your -liberal courtesies, praying your Lordship to assure -yourself of my poor but yet assured friendship while I -live. At my coming to the Court I found such alarm -by news directly written from France, and from the -Low Countries, of the Queen of Scots’ escape, either -already made or very shortly to be attempted, as (surely -knowing, as I did, your circumspection in keeping of -her, and hearing all things in that country about you -very quiet, and free from such dangers) I was bold to -make small account of the news, although her Majesty, -and the Council here, were therewith perplexed. And -though time doth try these news for anything already -done false, yet the noise thereof, and the doubt that her -Majesty halts for secret hidden practices, to be wrought -rather by corruption of some of yours whom you shall -trust than by open force, moveth her Majesty to warn -<span class='pageno' id='Page_208'>208</span>your Lordship, as she said she would write to your -Lordship that you continue, or rather increase, your -vigilancy ...; and as I think your Lordship hath -carried your charge to Chatsworth, so I think that house -a very meet bourn for good preservation thereof; -having no town of resort where any ambushes ... -may lie.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Shrewsbury had removed Mary to Chatsworth during -the late summer of 1577, and his motive in applying -for leave to do so was apparently not unmixed with an -earnest desire for that “reconciliation” at which Gilbert -hinted. There was, besides, a very potent reason for -the <em>rapprochement</em> of husband and wife. On Gilbert and -Mary Talbot great sorrow had fallen. The adored -baby son George, the “lytell fellow,” died suddenly. -The Earl tells it to Burghley. He writes from Sheffield -briefly, incoherently. The loss hits him very hard, and -he acknowledges that this child is his best beloved, the -Queen’s Majesty only excepted. In fear of the effect -of the blow upon his excitable wife he suggests that -Burghley’s reply and condolences should be addressed -to her, and so help to “rule” and control her.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“My very good Lord,—When it pleased God of -His goodness yesternight a little before supper to visit -suddenly my dearest jewel under God next to my -Sovereign, with mortality of sickness, and that it hath -pleased God of his goodness to take that sweet babe -from me, he surely was a toward child. I thought it -rather by myself than by common report you should -understand it from me, that though it nips me near, yet -the fear I have of God and the dutiful care to discharge -<span class='pageno' id='Page_209'>209</span>my duty and trust my mistress puts me in, makes me -now that he is gone to put away needless care and to -look about me that I am put in trust withal—and, my -Lord, because I doubt my wife will show more folly than -need requires, I pray your Lordship write your letter to -her, which I hope will greatly rule her. So wishing to -your Lordship perfect health, I take my leave. Sheffield, -12th of August, 1577.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Your Lordship’s assured friend,</div> - <div class='line in20'>“<span class='sc'>G. Shrewsbury</span>.”<a id='r55' /><a href='#f55' class='c013'><sup>[55]</sup></a></div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>To Walsingham the Earl also announces this news, -adding, “Howbeit, I do not willingly obey unto His -will who took him, who only lent him me, without -grudging thereat; but my wife (although she acknowledge -no less) is not so well able to rule her passions, -and hath driven herself into such case by her continual -weeping, as it likes to breed in her further inconvenience.” -Wherefore he is particularly anxious to join her -at Chatsworth, and begs that the Queen shall be “moved” -for the requisite permission.</p> - -<p class='c006'>This visit was ended by the beginning of November, -when Queen Mary was once more bundled back to -Sheffield. At this time she seems to have been on the -best of terms with Earl and Countess, and ready to do -them every kindness in her power. For instance, she -sent to France for a bed for them. But as this was not -at the moment acceptable she mentions in a letter her -intention to “fulfil my promise by another bed of finer -stuff.” It came to her knowledge that they required -half a dozen great hall candlesticks such as those “made -at Crotelles,” whereupon she sent for “the largest, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_210'>210</span>richest, and best made.” These were to be sent among -articles ordered by her servants, “so that they may create -no suspicion.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>It is sometimes hard to distinguish from her bribes -the presents Mary made out of sheer generosity.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_211'>211</span> - <h2 class='c004'>CHAPTER XIV<br /> <span class='small'>“BRUITS”</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_0_6 c005'>In a letter quoted in the previous chapter Lord -Burghley had told Lord Shrewsbury that the Queen -herself would write to him on the subject of the new-old -rumours about Mary’s escape. Elizabeth, of course, -did write, and very seriously, about these reports “from -sundry places beyond the sea,” and in that letter -(of September, 1577) she gave her servant full powers -to use his own discretion in making things secure. But -by the spring of 1578 she was not quite so sure of him. -The mischief-making at Court had done its usual work. -The Queen was very cruelly placed always between two -parties—Mary’s friends and Mary’s enemies. To all, as -her courtiers, she must preserve a certain show of grace -and unswerving discretion, holding always the balance -between the Argus-eyed alertness of the first and the -many-winged suspicions of the last. These suspicions -were often grossly exaggerated. There were some at -least who desired the prisoner’s freedom, but not her -usurpation of the English throne and a third religious -revolution. On the other hand, there were men, who, -though powerful under Elizabeth, could quickly have -transferred their allegiance to the other sovereign. -Again, at all hours “posts” from various ports could -bring in secret information under the excellently inclusive -system organised by Elizabeth’s chief adviser.</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_212'>212</span>Tugged this way and that in her fears for the stability -of the kingdom, and at times driven to a pitch of intense -alarm, the Queen’s confidence in the capacity of the -Earl at Sheffield varied according to the tales poured -into her ear.</p> - -<p class='c006'>A crisis of this kind had been slowly brewing since -the autumn, till in the opening of this year it was -actually decided to remove Mary to Leicestershire, and -place her under the roof and guard of Lord Huntingdon. -Everything was arranged, even down to the despatch -of the usual warnings to the surrounding officials of the -counties through which the Scots Queen must pass. -And then—the usual hitch. Shrewsbury, of course, -scented trouble and disgrace, and before definite orders -could reach him as to the change, he wrote to the -Queen: “To answer somewhat,” he rightly says, “in -this letter is part of my duty, lest my silence should -breed suspicion.” And no wonder! For “I am informed -that there are reports ... that I am too much -at the devotion of this lady, and so the less to be -trusted, and that it was considered better to dispose her -elsewhere out of my custody, to my dishonour and -disgrace.” He pleads stoutly, as always, for the recognition -of his single-heartedness and loyalty. He -desires only “to be acquitted of blame by the Queen’s -own goodness.” He challenges her equity and good -faith: “I presume with your favour not to excuse -myself, but to be cleared thereof by your own just -judgment.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>He points out that had he desired to espouse -Mary’s cause he might have done so far earlier in the -day:—</p> - -<p class='c007'>“When her liberty was sought, and her case pleaded -<span class='pageno' id='Page_213'>213</span>with sword in hand, herself in force enough as she -supposed to achieve her highest enterprise, if any hope -had been to her of my inclination that way I might -have had an office at her hand with little reward as the -greatest traitor they had, and been offered golden mountains.” -But even Mary, as he points out, knows her -ground, and would not attempt to approach him: “She -was without hope of me and durst reveal nothing to -me.” He hates the notion of any upheaval in the -realm: “A change bringeth nothing but destruction -of him that desireth it.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The Queen, after her usual custom after writing a -letter of admonition, softened it down by a kind and -rather contradictory little message, to which he alludes -in a postscript: “Thanks for your gracious messages by -my son Gylbard, among others, that I should not credit -bruits, but you would be careful of me.” Elizabeth also -included gracious messages to his “daughter Lynox and -her child,” the which, he assured the Queen, were a -great comfort to Lady Shrewsbury.</p> - -<p class='c006'>For the rest, how could the poor fellow help believing -“bruits”? This kind of gracious royal message -was very well in its way, but he must have -known that it amounted to nothing. There arose, -as he was well aware, other kinds of rumours concerning -him and his which were much less mendacious, -though they were probably grossly increased by scandalmongers.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Family correspondence has proved how strained were -the conjugal relations of Earl and Countess, and how -a barrier beginning, seemingly, with a foundation no -less tangible than an armful of tapestries (but subsequently -<span class='pageno' id='Page_214'>214</span>solidified by the sheer masonry of Chatsworth) -had grown up between them. All matters of private -dispute were complicated by their own difficulties in -regard to the tenants of their various estates and any -neighbours with whom they were on bad terms. Little -by little the fact that the house of Shrewsbury was not -at peace with itself must penetrate to the greater world. -Servants carried the news into the county. If my Lord -blazed and my Lady retorted fiercely and shrilly, matters -could not be kept within four walls. And so, though -it belongs to a year later than the crisis which now -brooded, a very long letter is here inserted because -it is so pertinent to the affairs of the Talbots and -Cavendishes. Without going needlessly into business -details here, it must be explained that all the disputes -with tenants, etc., to which the letter alludes, were -calculated from the Queen’s point of view to disaffect -the people in the immediate neighbourhood of the Earl, -and give them ground for opposing him and furthering -the cause of Mary merely out of spiteful motives. -Certain tenants complained, it seems, that they had -been turned out of properties leased to them by the -Earl, and actually carried the matter up to the Lords -of the Council for their arbitration. The Lords took -no violent action in the matter, while the Earl denied -the charges, and brought countercharge of ill-treatment. -Eventually, after correspondence and discussion, the -Council discharged the complainants without punishment -beyond a little admonition; and after due examination -of the man Higgenbotham mentioned in this letter, -decided that his offence was exaggerated, and recommended -him to the Earl’s clemency. Eventually the -unfortunate Earl had to give in and reinstate his restive -<span class='pageno' id='Page_215'>215</span>men of Glossopdale in their farms, so that his own -popularity might be assured in order to serve the -purposes of his Queen.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The letter from Gilbert is addressed to “My Lord, -my Father”:—</p> - -<p class='c007'>“My duty most humbly remembered, right honourable -my singular good Lord and father. Your letters, -sent by my lacquey of the 10th of this May, I received -the 13th, at which time my Lord of Leicester was at -Wanstead where he yet remains, and therefore I -presently delivered your Lordship’s to the Queen’s -Majesty to Mr. Secretary Walsingham, to be delivered -by him, the weather being wet and rainy and therefore -no hope that her Majesty would walk or come abroad, -so as I might deliver it myself. But whilst I stood by -he read your Lordship’s letter to himself, the which he -liked very well; and said that he perceived thereby -that your Lordship meant to deal well with your -tenants, whereof he was very glad, for that he knew -also that it would very well content her Majesty; but -very little more speech he had with me at that time, -and, since, I hear that he has delivered your Lordship’s -letter to her Majesty, the which she also has taken in -very good part. The other letter, to my Lord Leicester, -I sent forthwith to him to Wanstead, but he returns -not till to-morrow, having been there all this week; -and I hear nothing from him thereof. I likewise -delivered your Lordship’s letter to my Lord Treasurer, -who liked it very well; and said that he was very glad -that your Lordship took his plain dealing with you in -his letter in so good part. And thus this tragedy I -hope is at an end, until the coming up of Higgenbotham, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_216'>216</span>with such proofs as your Lordship shall send -against him.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“We have had no little ado with these unreasonable -people of Ashford, whereof this bearer can inform your -Lordship at length; but now they are all returned back -again, and none of those letters that were sent up to -the Council, or any other concerning that matter, were -delivered, but sent down to my Lady again; yet it was -thought good that I should make my Lord of Leicester -privy to the coming of these persons; the which I did -the same day that they came to town; and, when I had -told him at length how the case stood, he agreed with -me that it was a plain practice;<a id='r56' /><a href='#f56' class='c013'><sup>[56]</sup></a> yet, nevertheless wished -that (if by any means possible) we should stay them -from complaining; saying, in general words, that if -they were not stayed, there would fall out greater inconvenience -both to your Lordship and my Lady than -you were aware of, how false and untrue soever their -complaints were. But, before that, he enquired of the -town where they dwelt, which when I had described to -him, he well remembered, and that he had angled and -fished at the end of that town; and said that he thought -it belonged wholly to my Lady; and asked whether -your Lordship did meddle therewith or not. I -answered him that your Lordship had wholly left it -to my Lady, to use at her pleasure, and was not privy -that her Ladyship dealt therewith. ‘Well,’ quoth he, -‘but for all that assure yourself that whosoever set -these varlets and the others on, had no less evil meaning -towards my Lord than my Lady; for there is no -difference made, neither in the Queen’s opinion nor any -others but whatsoever concerns one of them, touches -<span class='pageno' id='Page_217'>217</span>them both alike; and yet,’ quoth he, ‘I never heard -of any practice for the removing of my Lordship’s -charge, but, amongst other things, this was ever one: -that there was no good agreement betwixt my Lord and -my Lady: and that it was informed, both to the Queen -and others, that there was a secret division between -your doings, and,’ quoth he, ‘if it were known I -verily believe the same has now been informed, and it -is not long since I heard it, when I am assured that -there never was any such thing; but,’ quoth he, ‘by -the Eternal God, if they could ever bring the Queen to -believe it that there were jars betwixt them, she would -be in such a fear as it would sooner be the cause of the -removing of my Lordship’s charge than any other -thing; for I think verily,’ quoth he, ‘she could never -sleep quietly after, as long as that Queen remained with -them’; and, next to this it troubles the Queen most -when she hears that you are not so well beloved of -your tenants as she would wish, which was the cause -of her late earnest letter, ‘the which,’ quoth he, ‘I -could not stay if my life had lain thereon. Well,’ -quoth he, ‘I am glad all these former matters are so -well satisfied; and, to conclude,’ quoth he, ‘I pray God -that my Lord and Lady have none but faithful and true -servants about them, and that none of them do, by -indirect means, cause it to be informed sometimes -hither that there are mislikes or disagreements betwixt -them when there are none at all.’ I leave to write unto -your Lordship my answers to many of these his Lordship’s -speeches, for they would be too long; and your -Lordship may think that either I answered according to -my duty, and to the truth, or else I forgot myself overmuch. -All this speech I had with him before he went -<span class='pageno' id='Page_218'>218</span>to Wanstead, which is five days since. The secret -opinion is now that the matter of Monseigneur’s<a id='r57' /><a href='#f57' class='c013'><sup>[57]</sup></a> -coming and especially the marriage, is grown very -cold, and Simier like shortly to go over; and yet I -know a man may take a thousand pounds in this town, -to be bound to pay double so much when Monseigneur -comes into England and treble so much when he -marries the Queen’s Majesty, and if he neither do the -one nor the other, to gain the thousand pound clear. -This is all the news that I hear. And thus, my wife -and I, most humbly beseeching your Lordship’s daily -blessings, with our wonted prayer, upon our knees, for -your long continuance in all honour, most perfect -health, and long long life, I cease.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“At your Lordship’s little house near Charing Cross, -this present Friday, late at night, 15th of May, 1579.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Your Lordship’s most humble and</div> - <div class='line in20'>obedient loving son,</div> - <div class='line in24'>“<span class='sc'>Gilbert Talbot</span>.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“I wish it would please your Lordship to remember -my Lord Chancellor with some gift. It would be very -well bestowed.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Thus, because of the possibility of larger treasons, -the warder of Mary of Scotland and his family must -needs swallow their private grievances, forgive their -truculent tenants, and appear wreathed with smiles. -They must maintain their estate, in spite of their -increasing liabilities and the churlishness of the Royal -<span class='pageno' id='Page_219'>219</span>Exchequer, and above all they must keep my Lord -Treasurer well supplied with <i><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">douceurs</span></i>.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Why they did not sell a portion of their vast -inheritance at this juncture in order to make matters -comfortable one cannot understand. In London the -Earl’s creditors were pressing him, and he was too -conscientious to let the matter stand longer than -avoidable.</p> - -<p class='c006'>A new responsibility was about to be thrust on -the Talbots in securing the hereditary rights of their -grandchild Arabella. For the Dowager Lady Lennox -died in this year quite suddenly at her house at -Hackney. It was odd that the guest who last saw -her was the man whom she had accused of slaying -his wife, and whose treachery she had once denounced. -Lord Leicester went down to talk business with her -at Hackney, relating, no doubt, to the sorry state -of her financial affairs, and stayed to dine with her. -Just after he left she was taken violently ill, and died -two days later. What she had to bequeath—and -Heaven knows it was little enough—in the way of -jewels she left to Arabella Stuart. With the death -of her son, Lennox, the ties which bound her to -life practically disappeared, and she succumbed at -the age of sixty-seven to a disease which must have -been aggravated by the terrible misfortunes of her -extraordinary life. Her own dowry of Scottish lands -made her no return because of the war-bound condition -of her native country; the sons who owned -the estates conferred on her husband by Henry VIII -were all dead. Her land in Yorkshire passed from -her with the death, one presumes, of her last son, -and her fatherless granddaughter was, as Strickland -<span class='pageno' id='Page_220'>220</span>says, “heiress to nought but sorrow and a royal pedigree.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>It was evident that a push must be made to protect -the rights of the child. Queen Mary herself sent for -the old lady’s jewels on behalf of her little niece, but -on the other hand she urged her son’s guardians to -put forward his claims. This was not with a view -to destroying the chances of Arabella, but merely to -assert his family rights, lest he should be regarded -as a foreigner. A counterblast to this was the action -of Elizabeth, who took the child under her protection. -This fulfilled the heart’s desire of Elizabeth Shrewsbury. -Yet it did not avail her much. The right to do as -he chose with the earldom was by young James, -under the influence of his nobles, claimed for Scotland, -and he was made to grant the earldom to the -Bishop of Caithness, a man advanced in years and -without heir, chosen purposely for present convenience -until another Stuart—Esmé Stuart, Lord d’Aubigny, -should claim it. Lord and Lady Shrewsbury wrote -in deprecation to Lord Leicester on the subject, entreating -Elizabeth’s intervention:<a id='r58' /><a href='#f58' class='c013'><sup>[58]</sup></a> “Unless the Queen -will write in most earnest sort to the King of Scotland -on her little ward’s behalf ... we cannot but be in -some despair.... The Bishop of Caithness ... is -an old sickly man without a child; and I think it -is done that D’Aubigny, being in France and the next -heir male, should succeed him. My wife says that -the old Lord Lennox told her long ago of D’Aubigny’s -seeking to prevent the infant.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Subsequently Mary declined to open any negotiations -with Esmé Stuart in her own affairs, both because she -<span class='pageno' id='Page_221'>221</span>did not trust him and because she was desirous not -to give offence to “our right well-beloved cousin, -Elizabeth, Countess of Shrewsbury.” This is proof -enough that her first move in regard to the matter had -been one of pure policy and was to be regarded as quite -apart from her private sentiments. It were well if she -had never sent the recommendation.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Other rumours of the moment gathered special force, -and were perhaps of more importance to the nation at -large than was the possible escape of Mary. They were -rumours of the Queen’s marriage. Anjou’s wooing was -a long business. It lasted over nine years. Elizabeth -was just now revelling in rather a skittish mood in spite -of the wild “bruits” about her health. It was said that -she was threatened with epilepsy; at all events she -could enjoy herself, and receive fantastic love letters, -while she shortened the leash by which she held Mary, -and docked her of any semblance of liberty. It did not -seem to depress the Virgin Queen that her royal suitor -was only twenty. She always pretended great coyness -towards all gentlemen, and there is an odd touch in the -way she scolded Gilbert Talbot for inadvertently gazing -upon her in her early morning deshabille as she stood at -a casement.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“On May Day I saw her Majesty, and it pleased her -to speak to me very graciously. In the morning about -eight o’clock I happened to walk in the Tiltyard, under -the gallery where her Majesty used to stand to see the -running at tilt; where by chance she was, and looking -out of the window, my eye was full towards her, she -showed to be greatly ashamed thereof, for that she was -unready, and in her night stuff; so when she saw me -<span class='pageno' id='Page_222'>222</span>after dinner, as she went to walk, she gave me a great fillip -on the forehead, and told my Lord Chamberlain, who -was the next to her, how I had seen her that morning, -and how much ashamed she was. And, after, I presented -unto her the remembrance of your Lordship’s and my -Ladyship’s bounden duty and service; and said that you -both thought yourselves most bounden to her for her -most gracious dealing towards your daughter my Lady -of Lennox; and that you assuredly trusted in the continuance -of her favourable goodness to her and her -daughter. And she answered that she always found -you more thankful than she gave cause....”</p> - -<p class='c007'>That last sentence rings with ironical truth. As they -read it Earl and Countess might well merge their differences -and smile unanimously—a somewhat bitter smile!</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_223'>223</span> - <h2 class='c004'>CHAPTER XV<br /> <span class='small'>RUTH AND JOYUSITIE</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_0_6 c005'>The dashing suitor of Mary of Scotland, Don John -of Austria, was dead. Her rival was on the edge -of a marriage with a son of Mary’s stoutest champion—France. -It was a bad moment for the prisoner. It -was not a pleasant time for the Talbots. Life at Sheffield -could be varied only by letters from Gilbert, though -his parents must to some extent have been cheered by -the prospect of his speedily having another heir. His -wife was attended by no less a person than the famous -physician of my Lord of Leicester, a certain Mr. Julio, -who seems, on all accounts, to have known a great deal -too much about the unholy drugs which the Medici found -so useful, though his skill as a physician could not be -gainsaid. Gilbert Talbot at least seems flourishing. -He is free to come and go; he is quite a “citizen of -the world.” He executes commissions for his family, -his purchases are practical, and he is thoughtful for his -stepmother’s needs. “There are two Friesland horses,” -he writes, “of a reasonable price for their goodness; -I have promised the fellow for them £33; I think -them especial good for my Ladyship’s coach; I will -send them down.” He despatches constant reports of -his wife’s health, and of the repairs and decorations -which he is superintending in “Shrewsbury House,” -otherwise the Earl’s house in “Broad Street” from -<span class='pageno' id='Page_224'>224</span>which Gilbert writes. A special ceiling was being designed -for this, the building was to be newly glazed, -and the family coat-of-arms inserted in the windows in -stained glass. In a postscript he heralds a private letter -from the Queen to Lady Shrewsbury, which is not -forthcoming. “My Lord, my brother<a id='r59' /><a href='#f59' class='c013'><sup>[59]</sup></a> tarrieth only -for her Majesty’s letter to my Lady, which, she saith, -she will write in her own hand, so as nobody shall be -acquainted with a word therein till my Lady receive it. -I have not seen her look better a great while, neither -better disposed; the living God continue it.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>The composition of this young gentleman is always -rather vague and his punctuation hazy. He means, of -course, that it is the Queen who is in such good health -and humour. She was very busy puzzling everyone -over her projected marriage, and sketching Court entertainments -in connection with it. Even while she felt -the gravity of such a step she would dally with it, -thrust away apparently all but the lighter side of things. -She kept her Privy Council sitting “from eight o’clock -in the morning until dinner-time; and presently after -dinner, and an hour’s conference with her Majesty’s -Council again, and so till supper-time.” All this strain -was induced, Gilbert assures the household at Sheffield, -by “the matter of Monsigneur coming here, his entertainment -here, and what demands are to be made unto -him in the treaty of marriage ...; and I can assure -your Lordship it is verily thought this marriage will -come to pass of a great sort of wise men; yet nevertheless -there are divers others like Sr. Thomas of Jude -who would not believe till he had both seen and felt. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_225'>225</span>It is said that Monseigneur will certainly be here in -May next.... It is said that he will be accompanied -with three dukes, ten earls, and a hundred other gentlemen.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>The suitor came—but more or less secretly—and departed. -It was not till nearly a year later that the cat-and-mouse -game which Elizabeth played with him approached -a crisis in the shape of a splendid pageant at Whitehall, -which she organised to dazzle the French Ambassador, -and to give the impression that this affair was really to -be accomplished. Gay times those—with Sir Philip -Sidney’s art and grace to lead the pomps and ceremonies! -Everyone of importance was invited. “Her -talk,”<a id='r60' /><a href='#f60' class='c013'><sup>[60]</sup></a> says a contemporary of Elizabeth, “was of -tournaments and balls; her one desire was that the -fairest ladies in England should grace her Court. The -Lords were bidden to bring their families to London -that there might be the bustle of constant gaiety. The -merchants were ordered to sell their silks, velvets, and -cloth of gold at a reduction of a quarter of the ordinary -price that more should be induced to buy, and so -enhance the general splendour.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Alack for the Shrewsburys! No gay invitation -appears to have summoned them from the wilds of -their county to witness the famous pageant and the -battle of flowers and perfumes waged this year in the -tiltyard at Whitehall, or applaud the splendid chariot -of “my Lady Desire” and her four gallant sons, of -whom Sir Philip Sidney personated one.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Such happiness and all that which Mary of Scotland, -in a letter, termed “joyusitie” was a thing apart from -existence at Sheffield, and she, who loved all such -<span class='pageno' id='Page_226'>226</span>fantastical gaieties, who knew as much as any of them -of love practices and flowery games, who could play -even with peasant folk like a child, looked wistfully -forth upon the world from the leads of her castle-prison -or from the meadows close to the Lodge, its neighbour. -From 1579 to 1581 her affairs and those of the Talbots -are full of small events, things which kept them alert, -yet brought but little result. The Earl was watched -closely by Elizabeth. He could not even leave home -for two days without sharp reprimand, although he -never absented himself for an hour without knowing -that his prisoner was absolutely secure, while his -servants kept him carefully informed of her condition. -One of them, for example, by name George Skargelle, -a constant eye-witness of the Shrewsbury tragi-comedy, -not only reports upon the prisoner, but scours the -immediate neighbourhood to see what is going on: -“May yt plese your honner to understand that your L’ -house is quyet and well, God be pressed; and the -Quene is sarvet wth. her vetteles and wille plesed for -thes II dayes.” He goes to the Castle gardens “to see -what stir there was of your Lordship’s follkes” and -found certain fellows playing at dice, while in the town -of Sheffield he discovered other gamblers at cards. -After this he breaks a lance in speech with his master’s -truculent “bad tenants of Glossopdale,” whom he so -mistrusted that he gave information of their presence to -the men at the bridges and the watches, and to the -owners of the houses where the travellers lodged. The -Queen heard of the Earl’s absence (for there were -always people ready to report the least movement of so -notable a county resident), and belaboured him in a -letter. He begged her to allow him to come to Court -<span class='pageno' id='Page_227'>227</span>and justify himself. For many reasons he longed to do -this. He was weary of writing endless letters to her -and to the Treasury. His personal debts weighed on -his conscience, and his enemies were always trying to -make out that he could not be in any need of supplies -because of his large estates. Big houses are big thieves, -and what with his large double family and the costs -entailed by his position, even his trade projects—he was -among other things an owner of lead and exporter of it—did -not keep him in sufficient ready money to maintain -all his houses and fulfil his landlord’s liabilities as -he would have wished. He was not personally an extravagant -man, and displays none of the magnificent -tastes of his wife in regard to his house and person. He -declared that his creditors should be satisfied rather than -he should use expensive household articles. “I would -have you buy me glasses to drink in,” he wrote in 1580 -to his servant Baldwin. “Send me word what old plate -yields the ounce, for I will not leave me a cup to drink -in, but I will see the next term my creditors paid.” He -may have made a special point of this in order that -Baldwin should use the statement as a pathetic plea when -making application to the Treasury for payments due to -his master, the main reason the Earl had for keeping his -representative in London. He had felt deeply the false -reports of his income spread about by local detractors, -who were probably also responsible for the statement -that he was now keeping his prisoner on short commons. -His sensations and those of the Countess on hearing -of this from Lord Leicester can well be imagined. The -statement had been handed on to him by the French -Ambassador in London, and Leicester told him it would -“much mislike her Majesty.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_228'>228</span>The accusation runs: “That your Lordship doth of -late keep the Scotch Queen very barely of her diet, -insomuch as on Easter day last she had both so few -dishes and so bad meat in them as it was too bad to see -it; and that she finding fault thereat your Lordship -should answer that you were cut off your allowance, and -therefore could yield her no better.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>And yet Shrewsbury could forgive the Queen’s suspicions -and, tolerably happy in the birth of a granddaughter, -despite the fact that a male heir to Gilbert -would have rejoiced him far more, instructed his son -Francis to present for him a New Year’s present to -Elizabeth.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Simultaneously no time was lost, no trouble grudged -in worrying Burghley, “her Majesty’s housewife” as -the Earl rather ironically terms him in one letter, with -regard to a settlement of the everlasting claim for “this -Queen’s diet.” Indeed, one can only imagine that this -word “diet,” by which the cost of the board of the -Scottish Mary is always signified in succeeding correspondence, -must have held in the Earl’s mind and -heart the same place as the name of Calais in the mind -of Mary of England. Robert Beale, a clerk of the Privy -Council and personal friend of the Shrewsburys, did his -best for them, but despite his kindly despatches—one of -which has a pretty allusion to “my little Lady Favour,” -evidently Lady Arabella Stuart—payment was tardy. -Even the scanty allowance originally decided upon had -been deliberately reduced by royal order. For the -hundredth time he tackled anew the official “housewife” -with the words: “I have made suit to her Highness for -some recompense, in which I do find so cold comfort -that I am near driven to despair to obtain anything.” -<span class='pageno' id='Page_229'>229</span>Elsewhere he speaks pathetically of “the cark and care” -which is his portion. “My riches they talk of are in other -men’s purses,” he complains bitterly; “God knows I -make many shifts to keep me out of debt and to help -my children, which are heavy burdens though comfortable, -so long as they do well. I can say no more, but I -have spies near about me and know them well.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>At last, in the August of 1582, in sheer despair of -obtaining satisfaction, and sick of employing intermediaries, -he wrote to the Queen:—</p> - -<div class='lg-container-l c002'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“May it please your most excellent Majesty,</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“Having then ten years been secluded from -your most gracious sight and happy presence, which -more grieveth me than any travel or discommodity that -I have suffered in this charge that it hath pleased your -Majesty to put me in trust withal, I have taken the -boldness most humbly to beseech your Majesty that it -may please the same to license me for a fortnight’s -journey towards your Majesty’s royal person; to the -end you may by myself receive a true account of my -said charge, and thereby know what my deservings are. -Wherein, if I may (as I desire most earnestly) satisfy -your Majesty, it shall be unto me a great encouragement -to continue the most faithful duty and careful -service that I owe unto your Majesty, and shall yield to -my life’s end.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>This permission was in a fair way to be granted as -far as letters could show, and the good, timid, dogged -Earl made all arrangements, settled the stages of his -journey, ordered bedding and lodging, and planned his -retinue: “I think my company will be twenty gentlemen -and twenty yeomen, besides their men and my -<span class='pageno' id='Page_230'>230</span>horsekeepers.” He only waited for his journey till -Chesterfield Fair was over and the crowds of suspicious -loafers dispersed. But he waited far too long. The -plague had seized London and had increased apace; he -dreaded the cold journey south in the autumn storms; -he dreaded an aggravated attack from “the enemy”—gout.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Simultaneously with this disappointment came sharper -sorrow—the death of Francis Talbot. The event presented -itself to Lord Leicester as worthy of one of -those flowery, humbugging, sententious, idiotic letters -of which he wrote so many in his crowded life. This -unscrupulous idler, living on the fat of the land and -overheaped with gifts and favours, presents a very odd -picture as he conjures an afflicted, upright, and overburdened -contemporary to count up his blessings: -“The Lord hath blessed you many ways in this -world, and not least with the blessing of children for -your posterity.” This from a fellow who could disown -his legitimate son by denying a lawful marriage with -the mother! And again: “He that hath sent you -many might have given you fewer, and He that took -away this might also take away the rest. Be thankful -to Him for all His doings, my good Lord, and take all -in that good part which you ought; be you wholly His, -and seek His kingdom, for it far surpasses all worldly -kingdoms.” This from the shrewd sycophant who was -waiting day after day to be announced as consort of the -Queen of England!</p> - -<p class='c006'>To return on our paces a little. The health of -Queen Mary was extremely unsatisfactory. From 1579 -right on through the eighties she addressed letter after -letter of piteous entreaties for freedom to Elizabeth, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_231'>231</span>and to the ambassador Mauvissière. Sometimes, for -weeks at a time, she could not leave her bed owing to -the pain in her side. Sometimes the hardly won permission -to go to Buxton would revive her spirits. On -one occasion she fell backwards from her horse just as -she was mounting, and injured herself severely. Sometimes -she was kept closely guarded at Buxton, and -on others she would be allowed to see something of -the country close to it. In 1577 she was so ailing -that she made her will. But she would revive to write -endless spirited letters, to plead incessantly and indignantly -against the way in which her French dowry, the -only income she now had, was being dissipated and -misappropriated in France, and to make eager preparations -for hunting expeditions, to few of which, -as she confessed, she expected Lord Shrewsbury -would give his consent. At the end of 1581 she was so -worn out by secret suspense in regard to her fate, by -constraint, and by lack of air and exercise—the simple -remedies which in years past had helped her to conquer -all bodily ills—that for once her courage left her. She -begged for special doctors other than those who ordinarily -attended her. She worked herself into an -agony over the position of her son, and finally begged -that the Queen would send assistance to her “as that -she might not be cast away for want of such help of -physicians and things as she needed.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Robert Beale, already mentioned in his connection -with the Privy Council, who was really sent down at -this juncture to Sheffield to investigate the political -relationship between Mary and her son, found the -household in a depressing condition. Lord Shrewsbury -had a bad attack of gout, and though the Countess was -<span class='pageno' id='Page_232'>232</span>not described as ill, her frame of mind cannot have -been very cheerful. Everyone seems to have poured -out his woes in Beale’s ears, while he stuck to his -purpose, and tried to secure a definite answer as to -whether or no Mary would formally yield the Scottish -crown to her son. A clear answer from her he never -had. She was ill, hysterical, and, to his thinking and -that of the Earl, full of trickery. They believed that -she asked for a special physician from London because -it might give her a chance of carrying out some scheme -to her advantage in connection with the Duke of -Alençon, who was expected in England. One night -when she sent specially for Beale he arrived to find the -room in sudden darkness, and Mary in bed, with the -dim shadowy figures of her chamberwomen hovering -about her. Among those shadowy ladies in the bedchamber -was still the devoted Mary Seton, to whom -had come some years previously ruth which her mistress -also shared. Not only had the loyal prægustator, -John Beton, died in the earlier days of the long imprisonment, -but his brother and successor in the post, -Andrew, had passed away. With Andrew, who courted -her passionately, the Seton had at last fallen in love. -The only barrier to their union was a most inexplicable -vow of celibacy which the girl had taken. With the -approval of his brother, Archbishop Beton, and the -encouragement of his royal mistress, the gallant Andrew -overcame his lady’s dread of the married estate, and -undertook to secure papal dispensation from her vow. -It was on his journey back from Rome to Sheffield that -he died.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Beale, as aforesaid, found himself nonplussed by the -gloom of the Queen’s apartments; and as for talking -<span class='pageno' id='Page_233'>233</span>business it was impossible, for she received him with -sobs.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Because of “her weeping and her women in the -dark I brake off,” he wrote to Walsingham. He went -away and reported this uncanny interview to the Earl, -who sent his lady to her. Mary was asleep or shamming, -and all Lady Shrewsbury could do was to chat -vaguely with Mary Seton about “the suddenness of -her sickness.” Later on the same careful enquiries -were made by the Countess, whose shrewd deduction -was, “I have known her worse and recover again.” -Her Ladyship was, if not head nurse on these occasions, -certainly official inspectress, and Beale reported that -whether Mary was dangerously ill or not she was -obliged to use medicine and poultices, at which he -had himself sniffed inquisitively, and which Lady -Shrewsbury had seen applied.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Presently there was a decided improvement in the -condition of the invalid, and Elizabeth allowed Mary’s -carriage to be sent to her so that she might drive -within the limits of the Sheffield manor estate, whose -circumference in those days, as Leader assures us, was -eight miles, and covered an expanse of 2461 acres. -Mary could not yet avail herself of this distraction, so -sore and feeble was her weakened body. Yet at all times -and seasons she was extraordinarily sensitive to the -joys and sorrows of persons in her environment. The -birth of Gilbert’s daughter already mentioned was just -such an occasion for her goodness and generosity. She -stood godmother to the child and sent to France for -presents. These family occurrences complicated the -Earl’s business considerably, and he took great precautions -on this occasion that the event should not come to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_234'>234</span>pass under the same roof as that which held his captive. -At the end of the letter, in which he instructs Baldwin -to make certain payments to his daughter-in-law’s -nurse, he says: “I am removed to the castle, and -most quiet when I have the fewest women here, and -am best able to discharge the trust reposed in me.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>He had still further occasion for this attitude, for -another blow fell upon his family. Young Lady -Lennox died. As usual it was the Earl who made the -formal announcement of the loss at Court, for his wife -was, as on a previous occasion, too distraught to collect -her wits.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-l c002'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“My very good Lords,</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“It hath pleased God to call to His mercy -out of this transitory world my daughter Lennox, -this present Sunday, being the 21st of January, -about three of the clock in the morning. Both -towards God and the world she made a most -godly and good end, and was in most perfect memory -all the time of her sickness even to the last hour. -Sundry times did she make her most earnest and -humble prayer to the Almighty for her Majesty’s most -happy estate and the long and prosperous continuance -thereof, and as one most infinitely bound to her Highness, -humbly and lowly beseeched Her Majesty to have -pity upon her poor orphan Arabella Stewart, and as at -all times heretofore both the mother and poor daughter -were most infinitely bound to her Highness, so her -assured trust was that Her Majesty would continue the -same accustomed goodness and bounty to the poor child -she left, and of this her suit and humble petition my -said daughter Lennox, by her last will and testament, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_235'>235</span>requireth both your Lordships, to whom she found and -acknowledged herself always most bound in her name, -most lowly to make this humble petition to Her -Majesty and to present with all humility unto Her -Majesty a poor remembrance (delivered by my daughter’s -own hands) which very shortly will be sent, with my -daughter’s most humble prayer for her Highness’ most -happy estate, and most lowly beseeching her Highness in -such sort to accept thereof as it pleased the Almighty -to receive the poor widow’s mite.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“My wife taketh my daughter Lennox’s death so -grievously that she neither doth nor can think of anything -but of lamenting and weeping. I thought it my -part to signify to both your Lordships in what sort God -hath called her to his mercy, which I beseech you make -known to Her Majesty and thus with my very hearty -commendations to both your good Lordships I cease.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Sheffield Manor this 21st January, 1581–2.</div> - <div class='line in16'>“Your Lordships’ assured</div> - <div class='line in32'>“<span class='sc'>G. Shrewsbury</span>.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“To Lord Burghley and Lord Leicester.”<a id='r61' /><a href='#f61' class='c013'><sup>[61]</sup></a></p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_236'>236</span> - <h2 class='c004'>CHAPTER XVI<br /> <span class='small'>VOLTE FACE</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_0_6 c005'>The death of her daughter Elizabeth Lennox proved -a heavy blow to Bess Shrewsbury. At first she did -not realise the full force of it. Everything possible had -been done to secure puissant support and interest for -Elizabeth and her child Arabella immediately on the -death of her husband and mother-in-law.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The will executed by Queen Mary in 1577 specially -named Arabella Stuart as heiress to her father’s earldom, -in the clause: “<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Je faitz don à Arbelle, ma niepce, du -compté de Lennox, tenu par feu son père, et commande -a mon filz comme mon heritier et successeur, d’obeyr en -cest endroict à ma volonté.</span>”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Further, the young widow herself had found courage -to address Lord Burghley:—</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I can but yield unto your Lordship most hearty -thanks for your continual goodness towards me and my -little one, and specially for your Lordship’s late good -dealing with the Scots Ambassador for my poor child’s -right, for which, as also sundry otherwise we are for ever -bound to your Lordship whom I beseech still to further -that cause as to your Lordship may seem best.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“I can assure your Lordship that the Earldom of -Lennox was granted by Act of Parliament to my Lord -my late husband and the heirs of his body, so that they -<span class='pageno' id='Page_237'>237</span>should offer great wrong in seeking to take it from -Arbella, which I trust by your Lordships’ good means -will be prevented, being of your mere goodness for -justice sake so well disposed thereto. For all which -your Lordship’s goodness as I am bound I rest in heart -more thankful than I can anyway express.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“I take my leave of your Lordship, whom I pray -God long to preserve.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“At Newgate Street the 15th Aug. 1578.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Your Lordship’s,</div> - <div class='line in8'>“As I am bound,</div> - <div class='line in20'>“<span class='sc'>E. Lennox</span>.”<a id='r62' /><a href='#f62' class='c013'><sup>[62]</sup></a></div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>Again, immediately on the death of the old Lady -Lennox Mary had executed this warrant dated Sept. 19, -1579, appointing any heirloom jewels to Arabella:—</p> - -<p class='c007'>“To all people be it knowne that we Marie be the -grace of God Quene of Scotland, dowagier of Fraunce -doo will and require Thomas Fowller soole executor to -our dearest mother in lawe and aunt, the lady Margret -countess of Lennox deceased, to deliver into the hands -and cowstody of our right well belowed cousines Elizabeth -contess of Shrewsbury all and every such juells, -as the sayd Lady Margaret before her death delivered -and committed in charge to the said Thomas Fowller -for the use of the lady Arbella Stewart her graund chyld -if God send her lyf till fowrten yeres of age; if not -then, for the use of our deare and only sonne the prince -of Scotland. In witness that this is owre will and -desire to the sayd Fowller we have gewen the present -under our owne hand at Shefild Manor, the XIX off -<span class='pageno' id='Page_238'>238</span>September the year of our lord M.D. threscore and -nyntenth, and of our regne the thretty sixth.”<a id='r63' /><a href='#f63' class='c013'><sup>[63]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c007'>In addition Mary wrote at this time to “Monsieur -de Glasgo” one of her Archbishops, in such a manner -as shows her sincere attitude towards the Lennox succession. -This letter embodies the important fact of the -interposition of Queen Elizabeth, while the warrant -just quoted awards the care of the jewels not to the -mother but the maternal grandmother of the Stuart -heiress.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“The Countess of Lennox, my mother-in-law died -about a month ago, and the Q. of E<sup>d</sup>. has taken into -her care her ladyship’s grand daughter (Arabella S.). I -desire those who are about my son to make instances in -his name for this succession, not for any desire I have -that he should actually succeed to it, but rather to testify -that neither he nor I ought to be reputed or treated as -foreigners in England who are both born within the -same isle.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“This good lady was, thank God, in very good correspondence -with me these 5 or 6 years bygone, and has -confessed to me by sundry letters under her hand, -which I carefully preserve, the injury she did me by the -unjust pursuits wh. she allowed to go against me in her -name, thro’ bad information, but principally, she said -thro’ the express orders of the Q. of Ed. and the persuasions -of her council, who took much solicitude that -we might never come to good understanding together. -But as soon as she came to know of my innocence, she -desisted from any further suit against me.”<a id='r64' /><a href='#f64' class='c013'><sup>[64]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_239'>239</span>Lady Shrewsbury may or may not have felt the -support of Mary ineffectual, but she must have hoped -everything from Elizabeth, and to Lord Burghley’s -condolences wrote thus:—</p> - -<p class='c007'>“My honourable good Lord, your Lordship hath -heard by my Lo. how it hath pleased God to visit me; -but in what sort soever his pleasure is to lay his -heavy hand on us we must take it thankfully. It is -good reason his holy will should be obeyed. My -honourable good Lord I shall not need here to make -long recital to your Lo. how that in all my greatest -matters I have been singularly bound to your Lo. for -your Lo. good and especial favour to me, and how -much your Lo. did bind me, the poor woman that is -gone, and my Arbella, at our last meeting at Court, -neither the mother during her life, nor can I ever forget, -but most thankfully acknowledge it; and so I am well -assured will the young babe when her riper years will -suffer her to know her best friends. And now my good -Lo. I hope her Majesty upon my most humble suit will -let that portion which her Majesty bestowed on my -daughter and jewel Arbella, remain wholly to the child -for her better education. Her servants that are to look -to her, her masters that are to train her up in all good -learning and virtue, will require no small charges; -wherefore my earnest request to your Lo. is so to recommend -this my humble suit to her Majesty as it may -soonest and easiest take effect; and I beseech your Lo. -to give my son William Cavendish leave to attend on -your Lo. about this matter. And so referring myself, -my sweet jewel Arbella, and the whole matter to your -honourable and friendly consideration, I take my leave -<span class='pageno' id='Page_240'>240</span>of your Lo. to pardon me for that I am not able to -write to your Lo. with my own hand. Sheffield this -28th January.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Your L. most assured</div> - <div class='line in12'>loving friend</div> - <div class='line in16'>“<span class='sc'>E. Shrewsbury</span>.”<a id='r65' /><a href='#f65' class='c013'><sup>[65]</sup></a></div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>Meanwhile the young King of Scotland took his own -way, and Esmé Stuart stepped eventually into the shoes -of the newly appointed Lord Lennox—the old Bishop -of Caithness aforesaid—as intended by the nobles who -surrounded the Scottish throne.</p> - -<p class='c006'>There was from the standpoint of King James -sufficient excuse for this device. Esmé was the nephew -of the late Lord Lennox, Arabella’s grandfather, and a -close kinsman of the young King. He had courtly -training, culture, and diplomacy in his favour. He was -nine years older than the little sovereign, and he came -to Scotland from France as the accredited though secret -representative of Rome and the Guises, to win Scotland -at one stroke back to its alliance with France and its -obedience to the Pope. He made his presence felt -quickly enough and the first-fruits of his coming was -the seizure and execution of Lord Morton—erstwhile -Regent, and creature of Elizabeth—as a prominent -agent in the murder of Lord Darnley. Here for the -moment we leave Esmé Stuart, in Creighton’s concentrated -phrase, as “master of Scotland ... the English -party practically destroyed.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Meanwhile, all the Countess of Shrewsbury could -do was to write abject letters to Elizabeth asking her -to execute an order by which a settled allowance should -be conferred on Arabella.</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_241'>241</span>The Countess could obviously now have nourished -no hopes of utilising Mary’s influence. The Earl was -in receipt of all outside information in regard to Scotland -and the English Court. It was patent that no -help for Mary could come from James, well primed -since his cradle by the lords who hated his mother. -Bess Shrewsbury’s glorious dream of a throne for -Arabella stared at her now as a somewhat sickly vision. -The only hopes for the child were from an influential -marriage. That Arabella’s grandmother did confide her -dream to Mary is evident from the very curious revelations -which the latter makes in subsequent letters, when -the Countess, once so friendly and communicative, if at -times brusque and inquisitorial, had turned against her -to the extent of grave “scandilation,” in the language -of those days.</p> - -<p class='c006'>This business of Arabella Stuart’s future marks a -crisis in the Shrewsbury household. It was like the tap -given to a very vivid and complex kaleidoscope, for it -suddenly brought the relationship of the three important -personages—Earl, Countess, and Scottish Queen—into -new juxtaposition, and the true colour of the desires -of the Countess shone out more vividly for the changed -order of things. To the mere onlooker the matter is -not made clear till much later. Only those immediately -concerned were aware of her gradual change of front, -especially towards her husband, and it was not yet that -the full result of this apparent volte face could be perceived. -In order to understand how marked was this -change events must be anticipated by a year or two, and -attention given to an extraordinary letter from Queen -Mary which betrays all sorts of unauthorised intercourse -between herself and Lady Shrewsbury. This -<span class='pageno' id='Page_242'>242</span>letter, penned by an always fanciful and extremely excitable -woman, is of course, an exaggeration of the -Countess’s opportunism. Yet, there has evidently been -a gradual cessation of the friendly intimacy between the -two women, and a sufficient revelation of the Countess’s -mind to give Mary occasion to flare out to such a correspondent -as the ambassador Mauvissière. In this -letter, of the year 1584, she speaks fiercely of the -treachery of Lady Shrewsbury—“La fausseté de mon -honorable hostesse”—which she wishes made clear to -Elizabeth: “<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Rien n’a jamais aliené la susdite de moy -que la vaine espérance par elle conçue de faire tomber -cette couronne sur la teste d’Arbella sa petite-fille, -mesmement par son mariage avec le fils du comte de -Leicester, divers tokens estant passez entre les enfants -nourris en cette persuasion, et leurs peintures envoyées -d’une part et l’aultre.</span>” She goes on to say that but -for this imaginary hope—“une telle imagination”—of -making one of her race royal the countess would never -have so turned away from Mary—“ne se fult jamais -divertye de moy”—for, the writer continues:<a id='r66' /><a href='#f66' class='c013'><sup>[66]</sup></a> “she -was so bound to me, and regardless of any other duty -or regard, so affectionate towards me that, had I been -her own queen, she could not have done more for me; -and as a proof of this say to the Queen, pretending -that you heard it from Mrs. Seton last summer when -she went to France, that I had the sure promise of the -said countess that if at any time my life were in danger, -or if I were to be removed from here, she would give me -the means of escape, and that she herself would easily -elude danger and punishment in respect to this; that -she made her son Charles Cavendish swear to me in her -<span class='pageno' id='Page_243'>243</span>presence that he would reside in London on purpose -to serve me and warn me of all which passed at the -Court, and that he would actually keep two good strong -geldings specially to let me have speedy intelligence -of the death of the Queen, who was ill at the time; -and that he thought to be able to do this.... Thereupon -the said countess and her sons used every possible -persuasion to prove to me the danger to which I was -exposed in the hands of the Earl of Shrewsbury, who -would deliver me into the hands of my enemies or -allow me to be surprised by them, in such a manner -that, without the friendship of the said countess, I was -in very bad case. To begin with you need only put -forward these two little examples, by which the Queen -can judge what has gone to make up the warp and woof<a id='r67' /><a href='#f67' class='c013'><sup>[67]</sup></a> -of the intercourse during the past years between myself -and the said countess, whom, if I wished, I could place -in a terrible position by giving the names of those -persons who, by her express order, have brought me -letters in cypher, which she has delivered to me with -her own hand. It will be sufficient for you to tell the -Queen that you heard these particulars from the said -Mrs. Seton, and that you are positive that if it pleased -her to make skilful enquiry into the misconduct of the -said countess, I could disclose other features of greater -importance which would cause considerable discomfort -to others about her. Contrive, if possible, that she<a id='r68' /><a href='#f68' class='c013'><sup>[68]</sup></a> -shall keep the matter secret without ever naming who -had been induced to reveal these things by devotion -to her welfare, that in short she may recognise what -<span class='pageno' id='Page_244'>244</span>faith she can place in the said countess, who in your -opinion could be won over to my cause, if I thought -well, by a present of two thousand crowns.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You have afforded me peculiar satisfaction by sending -copies of my letters ... into France and Scotland, -by which the truth of these rumours may be known, -rumours which I am certain only proceed from the said -countess and her son Charles; but since the witnesses -by whom I can prove my case are afraid to incur the -displeasure of the Queen, I am constrained to bide -until I can find others to assist at a public explanation -and reparation.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Sheffield, 1584, March 21.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>This letter flies like a thunderbolt across the Shrewsbury -heaven. The lady’s ambition, according to her -enemy, acknowledges no bounds, is no respecter of -persons. Mary she not only casts aside like an old -glove, but she assumes a triumphant, hostile attitude -towards her. Through Lord Leicester’s heir, Arabella -will ensure the favour of the English throne, while -other means will be used to secure the Scottish throne -itself for the child. Portraits and “divers tokens” -have passed between the children. Bess is as sure of -her power now as she was in the days when she boasted -that she could both assist Mary to escape and herself -elude retribution. Robust, rich, prosperous, swelled -with her dreams, she counts herself unassailable. Her -mood of excitement tempts her, however, further than -her caution. Mary has spoken to Mauvissière of -“rumours,” reports so serious that they have reached -even to Scotland and France. She is sure that the -Countess and her son Charles, once her sworn servants, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_245'>245</span>are the source of these. A letter, which must be quoted -in full here, written six months later to Mauvissière, -makes the substance of these rumours perfectly clear.</p> - -<p class='c006'>If the correspondence already quoted come like a -thunderbolt, this next letter conveys a shock even -greater. There is one really extraordinary passage in -the first letter which, though it concerns the Earl, does -not prepare the onlooker for the scandalous matter of -the second epistle. This passage is the one in which -his wife has the audacity, according to Mary, to warn -the latter against the Earl. What is the psychological -process which forces such a statement from the shrewd, -worldly-wise woman whose fortunes, socially, are -entirely bound to those of her husband? What can -it be but blind jealousy arising from consciousness -of their opposite natures and from the hostility of sex? -The intrigues with Mary, the opportunism, the blatant -ambition—these are comprehensible. Was it all true? -In the light of later letters from Mary all such statements -must be regarded very sceptically. Division -there certainly was in the great household: scolding and -bitterness, a great weariness of heart, a series of sordid -misunderstandings. If in a wild reckless mood the -emotional, powerful spirit of Bess Shrewsbury had -escaped control, and she had uttered the ghost of such -a warning as that quoted, it must have sprung from -nothing but the blind hatred of Mary and jealousy of -her husband, the last having its source in her fierce -consciousness of an utter clash of temperaments. Her -opportunism, her immense ambitions are conceivable; -even, to a certain degree, the longing to intrigue with -Mary. They are comprehensible if one estimates the -Countess’s nature as one in which the love of domination, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_246'>246</span>the quick sense of advantage, and the keen perception -of the melodrama of life were combined. The -Earl’s nature was the very opposite. To him she must -have acted latterly like a goad, while his obstinacy -maddened her. His dogged patience under unwilling -service, his bitter and almost stupid resignation under -the meanness and suspicion of his Queen, his caution -and method, his intense sensitiveness to any unjust -criticism, his horror of plots, his dread of any unauthorised -move, be it ever so trifling, formed a granite -barrier to his wife’s independent, self-concentrated, restless -spirit. Her pugnacity tussled with his resolution, -and discord ensued.</p> - -<p class='c006'>She whom Elizabeth darkly called “The Daughter -of Debate,” the captive Queen—was suddenly become -as much of a thorn in the side of husband and wife -as in that of their sovereign. Wheresoever Mary -was there stalked complexity. This of itself, given -the intricacies of her Stuart nature and her extraordinary -life and circumstances, was sufficient. But that -the Countess should have piled complexity upon complexity -in such a way as to wreck her own household -reduces the observer to stupefaction. By the second -letter to Mauvissière it is seen that she was at Court. -The mere fact of her presence there seems to rouse -Mary to a sort of fury at her own helplessness. This -letter is even more detailed, more excited than the one -just quoted:—</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r c002'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Wingfield, October 18, 1584.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“No reply having come from the Queen of England -concerning the treaty proposed between her, me, and -my son, and not having received any news from you -for six weeks I cannot but doubt that this delay has -<span class='pageno' id='Page_247'>247</span>been purposed to give time and advantage to the -Countess of Shrewsbury, in order that she may play -her game and trouble those on every side possible, -to escape the just punishment of her fault and treason, -and to give the lie to the Queen her sovereign, to -the malicious reports, so harmful to me. I would -make, with all affection possible, the request from -myself, and in the name of Monsieur, my good brother, -and the noblemen, my relations in France, that you -will give a satisfactory and clear explanation to the -Queen of England and those of her Council of the -false and scandalous rumours that everybody knows -have been invented and spread abroad by the Countess -of my intercourse with the Count of Shrewsbury. I -beg you to proceed with all haste in a public examination -or at least before the Council, and in your -presence particularly, of her and her two sons, Charles -and William Cavendish, whether they will confirm or -refute the rumours and language they have previously -maintained, that in the cause of reason and justice -they may be punished as an example, there being no -subject so poor, vile, and abject in this kingdom to -whom common justice can be denied. Such satisfaction -would be granted to the meanest subject, how -much more to one of my blood and rank, and so -closely related to the Queen. But here I am, bound -hand and foot, and, I might say, almost tongue-tied. -I can do nothing for myself to avenge this atrocious -and wicked calumny. May it please you to remember -the definite promise made to me by the Queen, which -I have mentioned before in four or five letters to you, -that she had always hated the liberty and insolence, -so largely encouraged in this corrupt age in the slander -<span class='pageno' id='Page_248'>248</span>of Kings and primates, and that she would do all in -her power to repress this evil. I will give her the -names of the guilty originators of this scandal, and -in proof of her words she will be obliged to execute -a rigorous and exemplary punishment upon them. I -name to her now the Countess of Shrewsbury and -her son Charles especially, to convict them of this -unhappy slander. If not, I ask but their own servants -and those of the Count usually in the house should -be put on their oath to God, and their allegiance to -the Queen, and examined, for I know too well that -some of them otherwise would never have the chance -of giving witness, and the Countess would maintain -her rumours were truth. One of her servants has -told me that she has caused this scandal to be spread -in divers parts of the kingdom, and that they have -heard her in the room of the Count reproaching him -similarly. And to come to particulars, for some -months at Chatsworth there was staying one of the -grooms of Lord Talbot specially to enquire concerning -this. He has nothing to say of me under the -name of the Lady of Bath. I cannot but think the -Countess has power to silence her friends, who would -otherwise be too convincing witnesses of the falsehood -of their rumours against the Queen, her sovereign, -so that she will do wisely not to force me to rouse -the witnesses, for if I demand justice on them, and -am refused, I will produce, before all the princes of -Christendom, by articles signed by my own hand, an -account of the honourable proceedings of this lady, -as much against the Queen as against me, against -whom she had formerly spread this rumour. I will -give a declaration of the time, persons, and all friends, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_249'>249</span>so necessary that it will not be pleasing to those who -are constant in condemning. And in the wrongs -that she has done them, if there are any of them to -support her and to countenance those injuries which -I have received from her, or if in such a case there -is a question of my honour, it will always be to me -more than earthly life. It may be after so long and -painful captivity I am constrained and obliged to put -before the public anything which may offend them -or do harm. In that it is for them to remedy and -obviate by giving me reparation and satisfaction for -scandals and impostures. God grant that at the end -I may find true what the Countess has formerly told -me, that the more she could show herself my enemy, -and work against me, she would be so much the more -welcome and more favoured at Court.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“<span class='sc'>Marie R.</span>”<a id='r69' /><a href='#f69' class='c013'><sup>[69]</sup></a></div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>The scandalous rumours suggesting a liaison between -Mary of Scotland and Shrewsbury seem to have been on -foot some two years previous to this letter, and were -naturally combined with the suggestion of his connivance -in her plans for escape and his vilification of his -Queen. There is a long, tedious, pitiful letter from the -Earl on the subject under the date of October 18th, -1582, addressed, of course, to Lord Burghley. The -“scandilation” is not mentioned as such, but the other -allegations are strictly denied. Shrewsbury reminds his -friend that on the last occasion on which he saw -Elizabeth and “enjoyed the comfort of her private -speech” she did “most graciously promise that she -would never condemn” him without calling for his self-justification. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_250'>250</span>He begs for a hearing now. He adds: -“Among the rest of my false accusations, your Honour -knoweth that I have been touched with some undutiful -respects touching the Queen of Scots; but I am very -well able to prove that she hath shewed herself an -enemy unto me, and to my fortune; and that I trust -will sufficiently clear me.” The letter is dated from -Handsworth, the little manor which appears to have -been the only place in this and after years in which -the harassed man could possess his soul in quiet and -dignity.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_251'>251</span> - <h2 class='c004'>CHAPTER XVII<br /> <span class='small'>THE COIL THICKENS</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_0_6 c005'>That last plaint of George Talbot was in 1582. -Previous to this the curious letters quoted from -Gilbert Talbot give a pretty graphic notion of the acute -irritation between his parents. They still sometimes -acted in concert. In 1583 (February 7th) both of them -wrote simultaneously to Burghley to desire his good -offices in appeasing the Queen anent the marriage of the -Countess’s nephew, John Wingfield, to the Countess -of Kent. By 1584 the affair seems to have developed -into a very unequal family feud of five to two. As in a -game of “oranges and lemons” Bess Shrewsbury, already -backed by her sons Charles and William Cavendish, -seems to have tugged not only her daughter Mary over -to her side, but also Mary’s husband. He is no longer -Gilbert the go-between, but the declared champion of -his stepmother against his own father and his stepmother’s -eldest son Henry Cavendish. Family affairs -are certainly in a shockingly ungodly condition. William -Cavendish is trying to screw his stepfather over a matter -of £1800, and the quarrel between the Countess and -Earl is so serious that the matter has passed into the -hands of the Master of the Rolls and the Lord Chief -Justice, who take opposite sides. The Countess has -named her husband as “traytor” at Court, and he is -resolved to go and exonerate himself. His secret -<span class='pageno' id='Page_252'>252</span>malady is betrayed to Gilbert by a family servant named -Steele, whose confidences can only help to complicate -matters. He has long conversations with Queen Mary’s -secretary, Curle, and seems to have access to all her -retinue and to know the attitude of every member -of the Earl’s household towards Gilbert. The only -redeeming feature is the steadfast loyalty of Henry -Cavendish—heir to a portion of the Rufford and Langeford -estates—to his stepfather. Gilbert adroitly urges -his own poverty and his wife’s “necessite,” but is sharply -silenced. Shrewsbury is very jealous of his heir’s long -absence at the hated Chatsworth, but at the same time -promises to defray the fees of the physician attending -Mary—the redoubtable Mary Talbot.</p> - -<p class='c006'>This lady is the true outcome of her mother. Bess -Shrewsbury was accustomed to speak of her many -building enterprises as her “workes.” One of her -most pathetically characteristic “workes” was Mary -Talbot. Later on in regard to Arabella Stuart’s career -history shows how the mother’s intriguing match-making -tactics repeated themselves in the daughter. -For the moment it is her pertinacity, her love of possessions, -her hot uncontrolled temper, and her vindictiveness -which concern us.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Again we must anticipate by some years and include -here as explanatory and pertinent an episode which displays -the violence and bitterness of Mary Talbot’s -nature.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Between the Stanhopes of Nottingham and the -Cavendishes there was a deadly feud in the course of -which blood was shed on both sides. In the height -of this strife Mary Talbot (by that time Countess of -Shrewsbury) sent the following deadly message to Sir -Thomas Stanhope of Shelford. It was not written, but -delivered by two messengers, and the message has come -down to posterity in this form, as quoted in Johnson’s -<em>Extracts from Norfolk Papers</em>:—</p> -<div class='section'> - -</div> -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i_252fp.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><span class='left'><em>Photo by Richard Keene, Ltd., Derby, from the picture at Hardwick Hall<br />    By permission of his Grace the Duke of Devonshire</em></span><br /><br />MARY CAVENDISH, COUNTESS OF SHREWSBURY<br /><br /><span class='right'>Page <a href='#Page_252'>252</a></span></p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_253'>253</span>“My Lady hath commanded me to say this much to -you. That though you be more wretched, vile, and -miserable than any creature living; and, for your -wickedness, become more ugly in shape than the vilest -toad in the world; and one to whom none of reputation -would vouchsafe to send any message; yet she -hath thought good to send thus much to you—that -she be contented you should live (and doth noways -wish your death) but to this end—that all the plagues -and miseries that may befall any man may light upon -such a caitiff as you are; and that you should live to -have all your friends forsake you; and without your -great repentance, which she looketh not for, because -your life hath been so bad, you will be damned perpetually -in hell fire.” The chronicler goes on to say -that the heralds added many other opprobrious and -hateful words, which could not be remembered, because -the bearer would deliver it but once, as he said he was -commanded, but said if he had failed in anything, it -was in speaking it more mildly and not in terms of such -disdain as he was commanded.</p> - -<p class='c007'>It was this free-tongued, easily infuriated nature with -which the Earl had to cope in addition to his wife’s -excitability and financial ambitions, his son’s cry of -“Give, give!” the suspicions of his Queen, the lies and -slanders of his enemies, and the intrigues of his captivating -captive. The wonder is that he could be even -so generous, affectionate, and level-headed as the following -<span class='pageno' id='Page_254'>254</span>letter shows; that he could forgive Gilbert, and laugh -with my Lord of Rutland, who seems to have visited -Shrewsbury solely to pour balm on his friend’s wounds -and put him in a happier frame of mind, so that at -Gilbert’s coming the difficulties of a business discussion -about the disposal of Welbeck—at which place the -Countess eventually established her son Charles Cavendish, -and concerning which she appears to have had -important financial transactions with her husband—was -made easy. Owing to the guest’s <em>bonhomie</em>, father and -son are placed on a footing which enables them to discuss -things composedly, and Gilbert is informed of the -false reports of his father’s attitude towards Mary -Talbot.</p> - -<h3 class='c017'><em>Gilbert and Mary Talbott to the Countess of Shrewsbury</em><br /> (1583).</h3> - -<p class='c007'>“My bounden duty, duty, etc.—On Friday at night -my L. sent to me to be with him the next morning -early. I came to Worsop about 9 o’clock, and found -the two earls together, but saw them not till dinner was -on the table. After ordinary greeting at the board, my -L. speaking of Welbeck, my L. of Rutland said he was -sure my L. would pay for it, and ‘so,’ quoth he, ‘you -promised me yesternight,’ which my L. denied; ‘but,’ -said my L., ‘your L. was exceeding earnest with me -so to do’; whereat they were both very merry; and he -still was earnest with my L. therein, but he laughed it -off. After dinner my L. called me to him in his -chamber, and told me a long tale of the cause of his -meeting with that Lord; the effect in substance was to -continue friendship with him; and recited many reasons -<span class='pageno' id='Page_255'>255</span>that he had to trust him better than any nobleman; -and said that I had like cause to do so, both in respect -of kindred, and that he loveth me exceeding well; and -sware by God he was never more earnestly dealt with -than he had been by him since his coming, for me; -both to be good to me in present and hereafter; and -bade me take knowledge thereof and give him thanks, -and that in any case I should go to Newark to him. -And before had ended all that it seemed he would have -said, he was called away by the other being ready to go -down to horse. So when I came out I briefly gave him -thanks for what my L. had told me; and he wished he -were able to do me any pleasure, desired me to come to -Newark, and he would tell me more, and none living -be better welcome; and so we parted. Then I rode -some part of my L. way with him. He told me that -the cause he would not have me carry my wife to -London was, for that he thought your La. would go -up to London, and then would my wife join with you -in exclaiming against him, and so make him to judge -the worse of me, with much to that effect. I alleged -the necessity of my wife’s estate; how ill I could live -here without any provisions; but he cut me off, saying -he looked hourly for leave to go up, and after he had -been there himself, I might carry her if I would, and if -I did before, he could not think I loved him; and for -her health, he said physicians might be sent for, though -he bare the charges; and would not suffer me to speak -a word more thereof, but bade me now do it if I would. -Then he told me that Lewis being at Newark, Hercules -Foliambe told him that he heard my L. had commanded -me to put away my wife; and called Lewis, and he -affirmed it, and so my L. willed me to charge Foliambe -<span class='pageno' id='Page_256'>256</span>therewith and make him bring out his author. Then he -told me that the matters were hard between your La. -and him; that Sir W. M. and the Master of the Rolls -were wholly on your side, and would have set down an -order clean against him; but that the Lord Chief -Justice would not thereto consent, but stuck to him as -friendly as ever man did. He would honour and love -him for it whilst he lived; and that the order was deferred -till Thursday last; and that this last week he had -found out and sent up all the pay books written by -Ryc. Cooke, of all manner of conveyances whatsoever, -whereby it appeared that Knifton and Cooke dealt the -most treacherously with him that ever any men had -done; but recited not wherein, saying that he hath not -Hardwick and the West country lands without impeachment -of waste, as he would be sworn his meaning -was. Further that W. Cavendish he said was not -ashamed to demand £1800 for [it] and made such a -matter of it, as was never heard; whereof he spake so -out of purpose, as it were in vain to write it. Then -commended H. Cavendish exceedingly for maintaining -his honour, which he said he should fare the better for; -and told that divers noble men had of late answered for -him very stoutly, especially the Earl of Cumberland. -Then told that Bentall, hearing how evil he was spoken -of at London, and for that your La. had called him -traitor, he desired leave to go up, either to be cleared or -condemned, and that he hath written by him to my L. -Treasurer and my L. of Leicester that he might be -thoroughly tried, and have as he had deserved. As for -his knowledge of him, he wrote he had found him the -truest and most faithful servant that he ever had. He -said Bentall rather chose to go up of himself than to be -<span class='pageno' id='Page_257'>257</span>sent for; and that he had been twice examined before -my L. Treasurer and my L. of Leicester, and had sped -well, and so would do he hoped. These are all the -special points that I can remember he spoke of. I began -many times to tell him my griefs, and to open my estate, -but he would not suffer me to speak, but said he loved -me best of all his children, and that I had never given -him cause of offence but in tarrying so long at Chatsworth; -which thing he also would not suffer me to -answer, but said it was past, and he would not hear -more thereof. When I was parted with my L. I met -Style<a id='r70' /><a href='#f70' class='c013'><sup>[70]</sup></a> with the stuff. The secret he told me of the -estate of my L. body was that swelling which he said -he thought none but himself did know, but when I told -him where it was, he marvelled that I knew it. He -told me that Bentall persuaded my L. that he was able -to do him such service above as he never had done him, -and to discover the secrets of all things, especially by his -brother that serves my L. of Leicester; but Steele said -he verily thought he should be laid up in prison. He -said he talked with Curle all the day before he went, -and all that morning, but I could get out no particular -thing of him besides his continual familiarity with all -the Scots. He said there is not any about my L. -but Stringer but seeketh my undoing.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“I am in hope to meet Mr. Serjante Roods at -Winkfield. Herein is enclosed a note for your La. -to read. The remainder of Rufford and Langford is -assuredly [rested] in my brother H. Cavendish, as the -other lands that are unrevocable are.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“I desire to know whether your La. thinketh that -her Majesty will be offended with my going to Newark -<span class='pageno' id='Page_258'>258</span>to that Earl or not, considering what speeches she used -to me of him. If it be not in that respect, I think it -is very necessary I go thither, seeing that he hath used -so good offices for me to my L. My L. said to one -that my L. of Leicester was Bentall’s great friend. -God prosper your La. in all things. We most humbly -beseech your La. blessing to us all.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“<span class='sc'>G. Talbott.</span> <span class='sc'>Mary Talbott.</span>”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>It is patent which way the wind blows, and how the -Earl is regarded by his principal antagonists. There is -open war; his words are repeated, his moves watched, -and he is simply become a fine grape to be squeezed for -their advantage.</p> -<div class='section'> - -</div> -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i_258fp.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><span class='left'><em>Photo by Richard Keene, Ltd., Derby</em></span><br /><br />HARDWICK HALL, SHOWING ENTRANCE GATEWAY<br /><br /><span class='right'>Page <a href='#Page_258'>258</a></span></p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_259'>259</span>Things were brewing to a head, and in 1584 Chatsworth, -the beautiful, the detested of the Earl, was -literally besieged by him. It must be recalled here -that his wife had already divided her own two houses -amongst her two elder sons. On Henry, as eldest -Cavendish she had bestowed Chatsworth; on William, -her best beloved, her own Hardwick. For Charles, -her youngest, as instanced, she had other plans, namely, -Welbeck. Now Henry had married the Earl’s daughter, -Lady Grace. The quarrel naturally concentrated itself -on Chatsworth, which, through Grace, was shared by -the Talbot side of the family. The Earl refused to be -done out of certain rights in this property. His lady, -irritated by the fact that Henry was on the Earl’s side, -bore down upon the house, dismantled it, and sent the -greater part of the contents to Hardwick, while Charles -and William Cavendish practically manned the empty -building. Up rode the Earl with his gentlemen and -servants to demand admittance, and was, according to -his own statements,<a id='r71' /><a href='#f71' class='c013'><sup>[71]</sup></a> resisted by William “with halberd -in hand and pistol under his girdle.” The whole -position was naturally rendered more and more painful -by this undignified occurrence, and all parties concerned -were foolishly guilty of wanton waste of a good -summer’s day. Meanwhile the Countess was practically -without a suitable house, since she could now -share none of her husband’s lordly residences. Here -follows a tragic and unforgettable letter from the Earl, -almost alone, as it were with his back against a wall. -He writes not to Burghley this time, but to Lord -Leicester. Ostensibly the letter is one of condolence. -Leicester’s son by Lettice Knollys died in babyhood -in July of this year, at the time when the Earl and -his retinue hammered at the doors of Chatsworth. It -was open to Shrewsbury to requite his friend’s sanctimonious -epistle, previously quoted, on the death of -Francis Talbot by just such another. The soldier -Earl, however, is of different stuff from the courtier. -His heart cannot dissemble, and the occasion becomes -an excuse for bitter confidences, elicited evidently by -a letter from Leicester which informs him of the blow -and makes kindly allusion, possibly admonitory, to -Gilbert Talbot, who himself had lost an only son and -heir.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-l c002'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“My good Lord,</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“For that I perceive your Lordship takes God’s -handiwork thankfully, and for the best, doubt not but -God will increase you with many good children, which -I wish with all my heart. And where it pleases you -to put me in mind of Gilbert Talbot, as though I -<span class='pageno' id='Page_260'>260</span>should remember his case by my own, truly, my Lord, -they greatly vary. For my son, I never dissuaded him -from loving his wife, though he hath said he must -either forsake me, or hate his wife, this he gives out, -which is false and untrue. This I think is his duty; -that, seeing I have forbad him for coming to my wicked -and malicious wife, who hath set me at naught in his -own hearing, that contrary to my commandment, hath -both gone and sent unto her daily by his wife’s persuasion, -yea and hath both written and carried letters -to no mean personages in my wife’s behalf. These ill -dealings would he have salved by indirect reports, for -in my life did I never seek their separation; for the -best ways I have to content myself is to think it is -his wife’s wicked persuasion and her mother’s together, -for I think neither barrel better herring of them both. -This my misliking to them both argues not that I -would have my son make so hard a construction of me -that I would have him hate his wife, though I do -detest her mother. But to be plain, he shall either -leave his indirect dealings with my wife, seeing I take -her as my professed enemy, or else indeed will I do -that to him I would be loth, seeing I have heretofore -loved him so well; for he is the principal means and -countenance she has, as he uses the matter, which is -unfit; yet will I not be so unnatural in deeds as he -reports in words, which is that I should put from him -the principal things belonging to the Earldom. He -hath been a costly child to me, which I think well -bestowed if he come here again in time. He takes -the way to spoil himself with having his wife at -London; therefore if you love him, persuade him to -come down with his wife and settle himself in the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_261'>261</span>country; for otherwise, during his abode with his wife -at London, I will take the £200 I give him yearly -besides alienating my good will from him, ... If he allege it be her Majesty’s pleasure -to command him to wait, let his wife come home, -as more fit it is for her.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“The assurance of your Lordship’s faithful friendship -towards me hath, by so many years’ growth, taken -so deep root as it cannot now fade nor decay, -neither any new friendship take my faithful goodwill -away, as time and occasion shall try; and so hoping -your Lordship will be satisfied without further doubt -or scruple therein, I commend your Lordship to the -discretion of the Almighty.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>This letter is not signed by Shrewsbury, but simply -endorsed: “The copy of my letter of 8th Aug., 1584,” -which fixes the date.</p> - -<p class='c006'>That the dignified George Talbot should stoop to -such a slang expression as “neither barrel better herring” -in regard to his once adored and brilliant -Countess shows the complete wreckage of all their joy, -their high comradeship, their mutual reverence.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Into the same confessional, the ear of the astute -Treasurer, Bess Shrewsbury poured out her side, writing -from Hardwick on August 2nd: her husband was -using her very hardly, he sought to take Chatsworth -from her, he had induced her son Henry to deal most -unnaturally with her, wherefore she hoped that Burghley -would remonstrate, as his letters would do more with -the Earl than those of any other living person, etc. etc. -A little over a fortnight after, the Earl, who had already -given his version of the Chatsworth affair, placed details -<span class='pageno' id='Page_262'>262</span>of the “insolent behaviour” of William Cavendish -before the Privy Council. The State Papers show that -the Council took prompt action here, but to their reply -informing the Earl of the committal of William to -prison, and expressing their opinion that it was not -meet that a man of his mean quality should use himself -in a contemptuous sort against one of his Lordship’s -station and quality, they add a clause stating that the -Queen desired that “he should suffer the Cavendishes -to enjoy their own lands unmolested.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>To all this quarrel over possessions, which reads for -all the world like a prolonged act out of a new version -of the ancient drama <cite>All-for-Money</cite>, was added the -distasteful business of the now flourishing scandal about -Queen Mary and the Earl. Doubtless his wife and -stepsons were ready to bite out their tongues by the -time the scandal they apparently fostered of his intimacy -with Mary of Scots was generally known. Though their -nerves were less sensitive they could not but see that -the affair was passing beyond their control and that -only harm could ensue. The time was approaching -when they must be publicly called to account. Meanwhile -lesser persons were already being interrogated. -The actual details of the slander are located in the -extract from a letter in diary<a id='r72' /><a href='#f72' class='c013'><sup>[72]</sup></a> form written by the -Recorder of London, William Fletewood, to Lord -Burghley:—</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Thursdaie,<a id='r73' /><a href='#f73' class='c013'><sup>[73]</sup></a> the next daie after, we kept the generall -sessions at Westminster Hall for Middlesex. Surelie it was -<span class='pageno' id='Page_263'>263</span>very great! We satt the whole daie and the next after -also at Fynsburie. At this sessions one Cople and one -Baldwen my Lord of Shrewsburie’s gent. required me -that they might be suffered to indict one Walmesley of -Islyngton an Inn-holder for scandilation of my Lord their -master. They shewed me two papers. The first was under -the clerk of the council’s hand of my Lord’s purgation, -in the which your good Lordship’s speeches are specially -set downn. The second paper was the examinations of -divers witnesses taken by Mr. Harris; the effect of all -which was that Walmesley should tell his guests openlie -at the table that the Erle of Shrowsbury had gotten the -Scottish Quene with child, and that he knew where the -child was christened, and it was alleged that he should -further adde that my Lord should never go home -agayne, with lyke wordes, etc. An indictement was -then drawne by the clerk of the peace the which I -thought not good to have published, or<a id='r74' /><a href='#f74' class='c013'><sup>[74]</sup></a> that the evidence -should be given openlie, and therefore I caused -the jurie to go to a chamber, where I was, and heard the -evidence given, amongst whom one Merideth Hammer, -a doctor of divinitie and Vicar of Islyngton was a -witnes, who had dealt as lewdlie towards my Lord -in speeches as did the other, viz. Walmeslye. This -doctor regardeth not an oathe. Surelie he is a very bad -man: but in the end the indictement was indorsed Billa -Vera.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Of course this true bill was satisfactory in one sense. -At the same time mud sticks, and the publicity of such -a case always helps to arouse wider interest in the possible -rumours. Both Queen Mary and the Earl were -<span class='pageno' id='Page_264'>264</span>rampant and eager for a proper official enquiry. She -even sent a message to Elizabeth on the subject when in -committee with an emissary of the Queen in regard to -other matters. This talk was duly noted down and is -included among the Marian MSS.:—</p> - -<p class='c007'>“She thanked her Majesty for the promise to punish -the authors of the slanders against her; Toplif [Topcliff] -was one, and Charles Candish another; the Countess -of Shrewsbury did not bear her that goodwill -which the Queen supposed, ‘who with her divers times -laughed at such reports, and now did accuse her. It -touched his Lordship as well as her, wherefore she -trusted as a nobleman he would regard his house.’ -She wished this to be signified to the Lord Treasurer, -Leicester, and Walsingham, desiring their favour in this -suit.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>It is interesting and piquant to find that Mary’s -suspicions should alight upon that egregious Papist-baiter -Topcliffe, but this pompous gentleman does not -appear to have been successfully impugned in this case. -Otherwise Mary eventually had her will. The Earl at -last succeeded in obtaining permission to go to Court -to clear himself, and to relinquish finally his heavy -duty. Indeed, he was soon formally delivered from his -charge, but the change of officers did not take place -immediately. Some time elapsed before formalities and -details were carried through, and he and his prisoner -paid in July, 1584, their last visit in company to Buxton. -There Mary wrote her famous Latin couplet with -a diamond on a window-pane:—</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c016'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">Buxtona quae calidae celebraris nomine Lymphae,</span></div> - <div class='line'><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">Forte mihi post hac non adennda, Vale.</span></div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_265'>265</span>The permission for which the Earl longed came in -August, and his successor was Sir Ralph Sadler, who -has previously figured in this record. It was not an -easy transfer. The poor Earl’s departure was complicated -by the business of transferring his prisoner to -Wingfield Manor from Sheffield. There were delay and -trouble, so that the cavalcade did not leave till early in -September, and it was not till the 7th of that month, -after fifteen years of hard service, that he was a free -man.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_266'>266</span> - <h2 class='c004'>CHAPTER XVIII<br /> <span class='small'>“FACE TO FACE”</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_0_6 c005'>A free man, a free agent! But at what a price -was Shrewsbury free!</p> - -<p class='c006'>His honour was undermined by his own family, his -fortunes impaired by his Queen’s penuriousness, his -prime was past, his best given in return for apparently -naught. Even the gratitude of his captive—and she -never seems to have been regardless of such leniency as -he was permitted to show her—had it been emphatically -expressed, would have been no real reward to him, for -it would only have placed him under suspicion. He -had but one testimonial to his credit—the fact that in -the midst of Mary’s dangers and terrors she felt that -she was safer in his keeping “than in that of any other.” -His farewell to her cannot have been anything but a -strained and painful matter, with the hateful barrier of -“scandilation” to mar the dignity and courtesy of it on -both sides. She wished him to convey her letters to -Elizabeth. He declined, and her new gaoler sent them -with his official correspondence. Thus parted, after the -strange intimacy of fifteen years, Mary of Scotland and -George Talbot. When they met again it was as principal -actors in the “tragedy of Fotheringay” in the -autumn of 1586.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The Earl travelled to London with his retinue of -gentlemen and grooms—a business of four to five days. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_267'>267</span>Face to face he and his sovereign stood at last and the -second formal step in the scandal affair was taken.</p> - -<p class='c006'>He was “very graciously used by her Majesty,” who -showed herself “very desirous to comprehend the controversies -between him and the lady, his wife.” Walsingham, -commenting on this, writes that he feared this -reconciliation would “not be performed over easily.” -Elizabeth kept her promise and set to work at once. -The Lords of the Council were summoned to testify to -his loyalty, uprightness, and honour, and he was called to -face them and receive their magnificent and pompous declaration, -“a memorable testimonial by Queen Elizabeth -and the Lords of the Council as to the discharge of his -duty faithfully, and trust in the custody of the Queen -of Scots.” It is not necessary to quote the whole document -here. The actual domestic scandal is only touched -very vaguely in it thus:—</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And if in some trifles, and private matters of small -moment, not appertaining to the Queen’s Majesty, his -Lordship thought that his honour and reputation had -been touched by the evil reports of any, he was required -to think that the same was common to them and others -as well as to himself in this world, howbeit, if any -person could be particularly charged by his Lordship, -it was reason that he should be called to answer the -same; and, therefore, his Lordship was desired to -assure himself of this their Lordships’ good and -honourable opinion concerning his Lordship, and so to -sit down as a person that was very meet for the company, -then to serve her Majesty and the realm; and so, therewith, -he took his place in Council according to his -degree and office.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_268'>268</span>Thus did their Lordships pour oil on the bruises of -their battered colleague. But he needed more than -words. The pain was too deep to be healed by that -bland reminder of the general prevalence of false witnesses -in the world. The phrase “if any person could -be particularly charged ... it was reason that he -should be called to answer the same” is far more -curative. Two such persons had been dealt with. But -his lady was not to escape. Beale, his good friend, took -a serious view of the situation. “I have dealt with the -Earl,” he wrote to Walsingham, “touching his son, and -find him well affected towards him save that he says he -is ruled by his wife, who is directed by her mother. I -think his hatred for her will hardly be appeased, as he -thinks the slanders and other information made to her -Majesty have proceeded from her.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Both Mary and Shrewsbury were to have their full -satisfaction. Mary was from the first most explicit, and, -not content with her excited outpourings to the French -Ambassador, herself wrote to Elizabeth at this date from -Wingfield Manor after Shrewsbury and she had parted. -She alludes in this letter to Elizabeth’s “honourable -promise.” She declares that she will never desist from -her demands for satisfaction until her reputation is -formally cleared in regard to the Countess’s slanders. -It is a final challenge which Elizabeth could not in -decency resist.</p> - -<p class='c006'>In December of this year Bess Shrewsbury with -William and Charles were called to their account before -the Lords of the Council. Full satisfaction was received—of -a kind. There could be nothing very triumphant -about it from Mary’s point of view. There was really -none of that magnificent abasement of her trio of enemies -<span class='pageno' id='Page_269'>269</span>which she painted subsequently to a correspondent in -one of her letters after her removal to Chartly. This is -her version:—</p> - -<p class='c007'>“The Countess of Shrewsbury (I thank God) hath -been tried and found to her shame, in her attempt -against me, the same woman indeed that many have had -opinion that she was, and at the request of my secretary -Nau, he being at the Queen of England’s Court in the -month of December, ’84, the said lady upon her knees, -in presence of the Queen of England and some principals -of her Council, denied to her the shameful bruits -by herself spread abroad against me.”<a id='r75' /><a href='#f75' class='c013'><sup>[75]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c007'>As a matter of fact, the accused three unanimously -asserted total ignorance of the entire scandal and its -possible sources alike, and their declaration made before -the Privy Council was solemnly recorded, and is included -in the mass of State documents, while an exact copy of -it is among the Talbot papers. It is not a very interesting -or savoury little document, but highly important -to George Talbot and his heirs as a second certificate of -merit. It covers exactly the same ground as the extract -quoted from Fletewood’s “dyarium.” At its conclusion, -after testifying boldly to the dignity and honour of -Mary, the mother and sons offer to uphold the truth of -their wholesale disclaimer against any person whomsoever, -whenever the occasion should arise. Thus, though -posterity is afforded that vision of their abject position -“on their knees in the royal presence” as stated by -Mary, the attitude, contrasted with their denial, is -rather that of reverent dignity than of sheer abasement.</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_270'>270</span>Thus was the honour of the Talbots saved, but at -such cost and after such a pitiful process of the public -washing of family linen that it does very little real credit -to the parties concerned. The poor Earl could only -point to his Queen’s testimonial and console himself by -thinking on his family doggerel:—</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c016'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>The Talbot true that is,</div> - <div class='line'>And still hath so remaynde,</div> - <div class='line'>Lost never noblenesse</div> - <div class='line'>By princke of spot distaynde:</div> - <div class='line'>On such a fixed fayth</div> - <div class='line'>This trustie Talbot stayth.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>For there is no real honour left to a house divided -against itself. The quarrel of man and wife had become -the property of the world. Matters must be patched up -somehow with the aid of friends and Court officials. -Everything, to the eye, was now put on a highly respectable -basis. The bland disclaimer by the Cavendishes -paved the way at any rate for a more decent family -relationship.</p> - -<p class='c006'>For the fourth time in her life Bess Hardwick had -faced and surmounted a great danger. As Lady St. -Loe she had laid herself in some way open to back-biters, -had triumphantly quashed them, and had escaped -being deeply involved in the affair of Lady Catherine -Grey; as Lady Shrewsbury she had braved the wrath of -Elizabeth over the Lennox marriage, and now triumphed -over Mary and the Earl. Upon this last occasion she -emerged with a slate at least superficially clean.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Superficially. The thing extorts your admiration after -the reading of Mary’s detailed accusations. But there is -yet one more letter which Mary planned to send hurtling -<span class='pageno' id='Page_271'>271</span>towards the Court. It is a bomb more deadly than -any of the rest, and had it found its mark even the -indomitable Lady Shrewsbury might have been annihilated—would -certainly have been hopelessly discountenanced. -It is the production known to all students of -this historical period as “The Scandal Letter,” here -translated with the exception of passages which are best -in the original French. Again, full allowance must be -made here for the overwrought condition of the writer. -This letter tallies with the spirit of the letters on the -same subject already seen. Moreover, it is on all sides -adjudged by experts to be a genuine document in -Mary’s own hand. This epistle, which in itself formed -a safety-valve for the tumult of the writer’s brain, either -was not despatched and was afterwards found among -her papers, or may have been intercepted in full flight—possibly -by Burghley, for it rests to this day among the -Hatfield MSS. Events show that it can never have -reached Elizabeth. The publication of such pernicious -matter could not have done any good or have diverted -in any way Elizabeth’s disapproval from her prisoner. -Nor could it have altered Mary’s fate. If there be, as -one cannot but think, a certain basis of truth in it—the -Countess had a lively tongue, as the world knows—the -road by which this lady travelled between 1578 and -1584 must have literally overhung a ghastly social -precipice.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-l c002'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Madame,<a id='r76' /><a href='#f76' class='c013'><sup>[76]</sup></a></div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“In accordance with what I promised you and -have ever since desired, I must—though with regret -that such matters should be called in question, still -<span class='pageno' id='Page_272'>272</span>without passion and from motives of true sincerity, as -I call God to witness—declare to you that what the -Countess of Shrewsbury has said of you to me is as -nearly as possible as follows. I assure you I treated -the greater part of her statements, while rebuking the -said lady for thinking and speaking so licentiously of -you, as matters in which I had no belief, either then or -now, knowing the nature of the Countess and the spirit -which animated her against you.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Premièrement, qu-un, auquel elle disoit que vous -aviez faict promesse de mariage devant une dame de -votre chambre, avait couché infinies foys avvesques -vous, avecque toute la licence et privaulté qui se peut -user entre mari et femme; mais qu’indubitablement -vous n’estiez pas comme les aultres femmes, et pour -ce respect c’estoit follie a tous ceulz qu-affectoient -vostre mariage avec M. le duc d’Anjou, d’aultant qu’il -ne se pourrait accomplir, et que vous ne vouldriez -jamais perdre la liberté de vous fayre fayre l’amour -et avoir vostre plésir tousjours avecques nouveaulx -amoureulx, regrettant, ce disoit elle, que vous ne -vous contentiez de maister Haton et un aultre de ce -royaulme: mays que, pour l’honneur du pays, il lui -fashoit le plus que vous aviez non seulement engagé -vostre honneur avecques un étranger nommé Simier, -l’alant trouver la nuit dans la chambre d’une dame, que -la dicte comtesse blamoit fort a ceste occasion là, où -vous le baisiez et usiez avec lui de diverses privautez -deshonestes; mays aussi lui revelliez les segrets du -royaulme, trahisant vos propres conseillers avex luy. -Que vous vous esties desportée de la mesme dissolution -avvec le Duc son maystre, qui vous avoit esté trouver -une nuit à la porte de vostre chambre, où vous l’aviez -<span class='pageno' id='Page_273'>273</span>rencontré avvec vostre seulle chemise et manteau de -nuit, et que par après vous l’aviez laissé entrer, et qu’il -demeura avecques vous près de troys heures.</span></p> - -<p class='c006'>“As for the aforenamed Hatton [it was said] that you -literally pursued him, displaying your love for him so -publicly that he was obliged to withdraw, that you gave -Killigrew<a id='r77' /><a href='#f77' class='c013'><sup>[77]</sup></a> a box on the ear because he did not bring -back Hatton when sent in pursuit, the latter having left -your presence in anger because of insulting remarks -you had made about some gold buttons on his coat. -[The Countess said] that she had worked to achieve the -marriage of the said Hatton with the late Countess of -Lennox, her daughter, but that he would not listen to -the proposal for fear of you. Again, that even the -Earl of Oxford durst not live with his wife lest he -should lose the advantages which he hoped to receive -for making love to you, that you were lavish towards -all such persons and to all who were engaged in similar -intrigues; for example, that you gave a person of the -Bedchamber, named George, a pension of £300 for -bringing you the news of the return of Hatton; that -towards all other persons you were very thankless and -stingy, and that there were but three or four in your -kingdom whom you had ever benefited. The Countess, -in fits of laughter, advised me to place my son among -the ranks of your lovers as a thing which would do -me good service and would entirely disable the Duke, -whose affair, if allowed to continue, would be very -prejudicial to me. And when I replied that such an -act would be interpreted as sheer mockery, she answered -<span class='pageno' id='Page_274'>274</span>that you were so vain, and had such a good opinion -of your beauty—as if you were a sort of goddess from -heaven—that she wagered she could easily make you -take the matter seriously and would put my son in the -way of carrying it through.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“[She said] that you were so fond of exaggerated -adulation, such as the assurance that no one dared to -look full into your face, since it shone like the sun, -that she and other ladies at Court were obliged to -employ similar forms of flattery; that on her last -appearance before you she and the late Countess of -Lennox scarcely ventured to interchange glances for -fear of bursting into laughter over the way in which -they were openly mocking you. She begged me on -her return to scold her daughter because she could not -persuade her to do likewise; and as for your daughter -Talbot she was assured that she would never fail to -sneer at you. The said Lady Talbot, immediately upon -her return, after she had made her obeisance to you and -taken the oath as one of your servants, related it to me -as a mere empty pretence, and begged me to receive a -similar act of homage, one which she felt, however, more -deeply and rendered absolutely to me. This for a long -time I refused, but in the end, disarmed by her tears, -I let her yield it to me, she declaring that she would -not for worlds be in personal attendance upon you, for -fear lest if you were angry you would treat her as you -did her Cousin Skedmur (whose finger you broke, pretending -to those at Court that it was caused by the fall -of a chandelier), or as you did another, who while waiting -on you at table received a great cut on the hand -from a knife from you. In a word, from these latter -details and the rumours of common gossip you can see -<span class='pageno' id='Page_275'>275</span>that you are made game of and mimicked by your -ladies as if they were at a play, and even by my women -also, though, when I perceived it, I swear to you that I -forbade my women to have anything to do with the -matter.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“In addition the said Countess once informed me that -you wanted to induce Rolson<a id='r78' /><a href='#f78' class='c013'><sup>[78]</sup></a> to make love to me and -attempt to dishonour me, either literally or by scandalous -rumours, and that he had instructions to this effect from -your own lips; that Ruxby came here about eight years -ago to make an attempt on my life after being received -by you personally, and that you told him to do all that -Walsingham should command and direct.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“That when the Countess was promoting the marriage -of her son Charles with one of Lord Paget’s nieces, -while you on the other hand wanted to secure her by the -exercise of your unlimited and absolute prerogative for -a member of the Knollys family, she had raised an -outcry against you and declared it was pure tyranny that -you should want to carry off all the heiresses of the -country according to your own fancy, and that you had -disgracefully abused the said Paget, but that in the end -the nobility of the kingdom would not stand it, even -if you appealed to other than those whom she knew -well.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Il y a environ quatre ou sinq ans que, vous estant -malade et moy aussy au mesme temps, elle me dit que -vostre mal provenoit de la closture une fistulle que -<span class='pageno' id='Page_276'>276</span>vous aviez dans une jambe: et que son doubte, venant -à perdre vos moys, vous mourriez bientost.</span></p> - -<p class='c006'>“In this she rejoiced on the strength of a vain notion -she has long cherished, based on the predictions of one -named John Lenton, and upon an old book which foretold -your death by violence and the accession of another -queen, whom she interpreted to be me. She merely -regretted that according to this book it was predicted -that the queen who was to succeed you would only -reign three years and would die, like you, a violent -death. All this was actually represented in a picture -in the book, the contents of the last page of which she -would never disclose to me.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“She knows that I always looked upon all this as -pure nonsense, but she did her utmost to ingratiate herself -with me and even to ensure the marriage of my son -with my niece Arbella.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“In conclusion I once more swear to you on my -faith and honour that all this is perfectly true, and that -where your honour is concerned it was never my intention -to wrong you by revealing it, and that it should -never be known through me, who hold it all to be very -false. If I may have an hour’s speech with you I will -give more particulars of the names, times, places, and -other circumstances to prove to you the truth of this -and other things, which I reserve until fully assured -of your friendship. This I desire more than ever. -Further, if I can this time secure it you will find no -relative, friend, nor even subject more loyal and -affectionate than myself. For God’s sake, believe the -assurance of one who will and can serve you.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“From my bed, forcing my arm and my sufferings to -satisfy and obey you.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“<span class='sc'>Marie R.</span>”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_277'>277</span>This letter, of course, is concentrated venom. Mary -could embroider with her pen as well as with her clever -needle. She could entwine and order her imaginings -with magnificent effect. She had heaps of fantasy and -romance and could employ them more than puckishly. -The document is a <i><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">tour de force</span></i> of craft and power. Its -double aim is unerring. With this one poisoned shaft -the writer seeks to destroy the security of the two -Elizabeths—so similar in their autocratic natures, their -vitality and joy in intrigue. A fiendish delight lurks -behind every suggestion aimed at the person and -amours of Elizabeth. Even these, taking into account -the ghastly suspense of her imprisonment and the -wreckage of her mental balance, might be forgiven to -Mary. But the statement suggesting Elizabeth’s betrayal -of her State secrets to a mere envoy like the Frenchman -Simier, while admitting him to the grossest intimacy, -is too wickedly sane in its vindictiveness to be forgivable. -In her most impulsive, most overwrought -moments Lady Shrewsbury would never have dared to -suggest a thing so base or so impossible. The letter -condemns itself throughout, and undermines the truth -of many of the previous wild complaints by Mary of the -Countess’s words and deeds. Naturally, every breath -of scandal attaching to the Queen’s intercourse with the -innumerable persons of the opposite sex with whom -her position brought her into contact was treasured and -retailed in all directions, and exaggerated versions of -every incident would, of course, be transmitted to Mary. -To achieve such a letter she had only to collect the titbits, -put them into the mouth of one she hated, profess -to expose all the rottenness of Elizabeth’s so-called -friends, and serve up the whole gallimaufry with a crowning -<span class='pageno' id='Page_278'>278</span><i><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">bonne bouche</span></i> in the assertion of her own innocence, -truth, and loyalty. The Arch-Tempter guided her pen -in this hour, and that last plea of weakness and despair, -“de mon lit, forçant mon bras et mes douleurs pour -vous satis fayre et obéir,” is scarcely convincing. The -devil was assuredly in it, and she must have saved up all -her energy for such a production. Don Bernardino de -Mendoza, when alluding in a letter of 1585 to the -release of Shrewsbury from his task and his retirement -to his estates, declared that he thanked the Queen for -delivering him from two devils, the Scottish Queen -and his wife:—</p> - -<p class='c007'>“<span lang="es" xml:lang="es">El conde de Shreubury ha partido para ir en Darbissier -siendo lugartheniente de dos condados de Darbi -y Stafford. Besso los manos a la Regna de Inglaterra, -diziendole, hazello por havelle librado de dos diablos, -que heran la Regna de Scozia y su muger.</span>”</p> - -<p class='c007'>This is probably a partial exaggeration. Of course -Elizabeth could not free him from his wife. It was her -pleasurable business to bring them together again. A -lengthy matter and badly begun!</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_279'>279</span> - <h2 class='c004'>CHAPTER XIX<br /> <span class='small'>HAMMER AND TONGS</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_0_6 c005'>There is no other title possible for the condition -of things with which this chapter deals. That -public vindication of the Earl, it will be remembered, -was in 1584, coupled with his wife’s formal disclaimer -of the scandal circulated about him. Still there is nothing -to heal the estrangement, and the Earl, hearing -disturbing reports, writes to Lord Burghley from his -country seclusion in the autumn of the following year, -1585:—</p> - -<div class='lg-container-l c002'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“My noble good Lord,</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“Since my coming into the country, my wife and -her children have not ceased to inform her Majesty, -most slanderously of me, that I have broken her Highness’s -order; and at length they have obtained her -gracious letters, and Mr. Secretary’s to me, the which I -have answered, and sent up my servant Christopher -Copley with them; praying your Lordship that he may, -with your favour, attend on you, and acquaint you -thoroughly from time to time with my causes, and that -it would please you to further him with your advice and -continuance of your good favour. My Lord, she makes -all means she can to be with me, and her children have -her living, whereunto I will never agree, for if I have -the one, I will have the other, which was thought reasonable -<span class='pageno' id='Page_280'>280</span>by the Lord Chancellor, and the Lord of Leicester; -but by her letters she desires to come to me herself, -but speaks no word of her living.<a id='r79' /><a href='#f79' class='c013'><sup>[79]</sup></a> I have been much -troubled with her, and almost never quiet to satisfy her -greedy appetite for money, to pay for her purchases to -set up her children; besides the danger I have lived in, -to be compassed daily with those that most maliciously -hated me, that if I were out of the way, presently they -might be in my place. It were better we lived as we -do, for in truth, I cannot away with her children, but -have them in jealousy; for till Francis Talbot’s death, -she and her children sought my favour, but since those -times they have sought for themselves and never for -me. Thus, with my hearty commendations, I commit -your good Lordship to the tuition of the Almighty.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Sheffield, this twenty-third of October, 1585.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Your Lordship’s most faithful friend,</div> - <div class='line in16'>“<span class='sc'>G. Shrewsbury</span>.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='lg-container-l c002'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“My noble good Lord,</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“Finding you so honest and constant a friend to -me, I have been willing, and yet doubtful to trouble -you with my gouty fist, unless I had matters of some -importance, knowing your Lordship so troubled with -her Majesty’s affairs; but now, perceiving what untrue -surmises have and are daily invented by my wife and -her children of me, and I think will be during their -lives, I am therefore to request your Lordship thus -much; if they shall exclaim of me from time to time -without cause as they do, considering how manifestly -they have disproved in all their accounts, that they may -make trial of their complaints against me before they are -heard; and so shall her Majesty and her Council be less -<span class='pageno' id='Page_281'>281</span>troubled with these untrue surmises, and by the Grace -of God, my doings and dealings have and shall be such -as I wish, my wife and her imps, who I know to be -mortal enemies, might daily see into my doings which I -took for no less but they will do their best. So, wishing -your Lordship health as my own, I take my leave.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Sheffield, this ninth of November, 1585.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Your Lordship’s most faithful ever assured friend,</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“<span class='sc'>G. Shrewsbury</span>.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>The word “imp” in Elizabethan times really only -implied “offshoot” and “offspring” and was used also -in an agricultural sense. But the application of it here -is maliciously grotesque to the modern sense. The -word strikes one oddly also in the epitaph of the son of -Leicester, the baby Lord Denbigh, described on his -tomb as “this noble imp.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>On November 9th from Sheffield Castle Shrewsbury -reopens his formal campaign, and the real tussle in -London begins. Lord Leicester, his good friend, is no -longer on the spot, owing to his absence in the Netherlands. -In the long letter to this Lord, quoted hereafter, -though belonging to a date slightly previous, it will be -seen that mention is made of the Queen’s preliminary -arbitration in the quarrel. The main points showing -the fluctuations of this strife are set forth in the State -documents, and the whole of Vol. CCVII is devoted to -them, showing that the years 1586–7 are given up to a -regular formal ballyragging on both sides. On the -31st of January, 1586, the Earl is found appealing to -Walsingham, requiring that his wife should be ordered -to make public retractation of her slanderous speeches -about him. (This evidently refers to fresh backbiting, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_282'>282</span>for as regards the great scandal already named matters -had been thrashed out long since.) He adds that he -must bend his mind to trouble though his years do -otherwise move him; meanwhile he has brought a suit -against Charles Cavendish and Henry Beresford, accusing -them of the same slander. The Queen intervenes -and requests him to stay the suits. Shrewsbury, however, -persists on the score of the statute “De scandalis -magnatum.”<a id='r80' /><a href='#f80' class='c013'><sup>[80]</sup></a> The Cavendishes on their side pleaded -for the abandonment of the two suits just named and for -the impartial examination of witnesses. Evidence is -next included by Shrewsbury’s servants of the prejudicial -statements of Beresford, while the Cavendishes employed -a servant of the Countess to attest the great partiality -with which the examination of Beresford was conducted, -to the disadvantage of the Countess’ case. Upon this the -Queen sent to Sir Charles Cavendish for details of the -exact state of affairs between his mother and stepfather. -These he submitted to Walsingham in March. On -May the 12th the Queen wrote to the Earl expressing -her earnest desire that all controversies between him and -his lady and her younger sons should cease, and by her -mediation be brought to some good end and accord. -She reminded him that his years required repose, -especially of the mind, and stated that she enclosed an -order for the settlement of the dispute, the result of -her conference with the Lord Chancellor, the Earl -of Leicester, and the Treasurer and Chief Secretary of -State.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Lady Shrewsbury meanwhile objected strongly to all -the Earl’s proceedings, accused him of displacing certain -<span class='pageno' id='Page_283'>283</span>of her tenants, and assured the Queen that he -refused to restrain the slander suits. This is a fragment -of her many complaints, and is endorsed:—</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c002'> - <div>“Objections used by the Countess to the Earl of Shrewsbury’s answers, who has not obeyed the Queen’s last letter.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“To all these answers drawn by my Lord’s learned -counsel, as may appear, who never want words to answer -whatsoever:—</p> - -<p class='c006'>“I allege that for her Majesty’s order I must appeal -to her own gracious remembrance, which particularly -was expressed by her last letter to my Lord, though not -obeyed. And (I) do avow on my whole credit with her -Majesty for ever that the things he hath entered to is -worth nine hundred pounds a year, and that he hath -repaid but eight and fifty pound of near two thousand -pounds, which in that (case?) would have been to my -sons and me. That he displaceth sundry tenants, and as -myself allegeth meaneth to continue the suits.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“In all these things I most humbly beseech speedy -redress if they be true, and discredit and her Majesty’s -disfavour if they be found untrue.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“May, 1586.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>On June 15th Shrewsbury, writing to Walsingham, -begged him to favour his suit against the Countess, and -asked that the Queen should banish her from Court, -adding that he was ashamed to think of his choice of -such a creature, and piteously entreated Walsingham to -persuade his son Gilbert Talbot to leave “that wicked -woman’s company.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>The action went through against Beresford, for the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_284'>284</span>next item in the State record is a note upon the York -Assizes in June. At the same time the Countess petitioned -the Council denying the charges of the Earl -that she had ever maintained her servant Beresford -against him. Next follows an important note by Charles -Cavendish on the force and effect of the Queen’s order -which was intended to produce a united reconciliation -and cohabitation.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The Earl was by this time slowly coming to terms, -but he required that Henry Cavendish should be reinstated -in Chatsworth and assured of certain lands, -while his debts, it was stipulated, were to be paid by -the Countess. The Countess and her two sons, on the -other hand, stated that they had been much out of -pocket for three years by the Earl’s aggressive proceedings, -and begged for redress.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Into this hotchpotch are flung notes of the yearly -allowances which the Earl gave his Countess when they -were together, of the amount of rent paid by certain -tenants, and all other disputes about the jointures of -the Countess, leases, houses, lands, and other property -settled upon various members of the family by father -and mother. Not a single scrap of personal or real -estate seems to have been forgotten. The unhappy couple -tussled especially hard over their plate. In the Hatfield -MSS. catalogue the inquisitive will find a full list of the -articles. They include “a podinger” (of which the dish -seems to be in my Lady’s hands, while her Lord retains -the lid), a “great silver salt having many little ones -within it to be drawn out,” one “George,” enamelled -white and set with diamonds, costing £38, “a cup of -assay,” gilt “talbots,” ewers, plates, standing-pots, bowls, -candlesticks, trenchers, “parcel gilt and double gilt.” -<span class='pageno' id='Page_285'>285</span>Then there was the same pull-devil pull-baker business -over household linen, mattresses, and hangings—those -hangings which were always such a cause of bother to -the couple all through their fifteen years of menage in -connection with their troublesome prisoner-guest. The -demands of the Earl on his part infuriate his wife, and -there is a scornful and sarcastic entry in the Hatfield -MSS., endorsed by Burghley, to the effect that “the -parcels above demanded by the Earl are things of small -value and mere trifles for so great and rich a nobleman -to bestow on his wife in nineteen years.” The Countess -then reminds him of her share in the way of gifts: -“the Earl hath received of her at several times, pots, -flagons, dishes, porringers, warming-pans, boiling-pot, -a charger or voider of silver, with many other things -she now remembereth not. Besides, better than £1000 -of linen consumed by him, being carried to sundry of -his houses to serve his Lordship’s turn. And with his -often being at Chatsworth with his charge and most of -his stuff there spoiled.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>In addition, she quotes an annual contribution of 30 -to 40 mattresses, 20 quilts, etc. etc.</p> - -<p class='c006'>All these absurd and pitiful obstacles made the Queen’s -order for cohabitation very distasteful, and in July the -Earl lashed out in an important and emphatic letter to -Court. His wife had of her own will left him, and he -did not see why he should receive her under his roof -now simply because she offered to come. “It appeareth,” -goes on the statement, “by her words and deeds she -doth deadly hate him, and hath called him knave, fool, -and beast to his face, and hath mocked and mowed -at him.” Here follow two letters from the contending -parties. Her Ladyship had written to my Lord on -<span class='pageno' id='Page_286'>286</span>August 4th, 1586, to which he sends the long reply -quoted. She again writes on August 11th.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Earl of Shrewsbury to his Countess.</em></p> - -<p class='c007'>“Wife, in the three first lines of your last letter dated -Thursday, 4 August, 1586, you hold yourself importunate -for demanding my plate and other things, part -whereof, in the same letter you confess, which at your -being with me you desired to have, and the residue of -the plate and hangings you pass over in silence, for -which I take light occasion to be displeased with you by -writing (as you say) and demand this question of me—What -new offence is committed since her Majesty -reconciled us? To the first part of your letter I answer -that there is no creature more happy and more fortunate -than you have been for when you were defamed and to -the world a byword, when you were St. Loo’s widow, I -covered those imperfections (by my intermarriage) with -you and brought you to all the honour you have, and to -the most of that wealth you now enjoy. Therefore, -you have cause to think yourself happier than others, -for I know not what she is within this realm that may -compare with you either in living or goods; and yet -you cannot be contented. The reconciliation that her -Majesty moved betwixt us was—that I should take a -probation of your good behaviour toward me for a -year, and send you to Wingfield upon my charges, to -which I yielded (being much pressed by her Highness) -with these conditions: that I should not bed nor board -with you; those servants that were now about you, I -would put from you and put others to you; your -children, nor Gilbert Talbot, nor his wife should come -at you whilst you were with me; your living I would -<span class='pageno' id='Page_287'>287</span>have, and my goods (which you and William Cavendish -had taken) I would have restored. Yet you still -pressed her Majesty further, that you might come to -me at my house to Chelsea, which I granted, and at your -coming I told you that you were welcome upon the -Queen’s commandment, but though you were cleared in -her Majesty’s sight for all offences, yet I had not cleared -you, nor could trust you till you did confess that -you had offended me. Nor can I be contented to -accept of you, if you do not this in writing and upon -your knees and before such as her Majesty shall -appoint. It was promised that I should find you -obedient unto me in all points. I thought it unfit -that there should be suits betwixt your children and -me, if I should accept of you, which made me to try -you, and demand my plate of you, etc. What greater -disobedience could you shew unto me than deny me -that which is my own? You will hardly suffer me -to be master of any of yours, when you cannot be -pleased to restore me mine own. Is it fit that you -should gage my plate and mine arms upon it? Can -you do me greater dishonour? You say that, if your -estate were able, you would not stand with me upon -such toys. You never esteemed how largely you -cut quarters out of my cloth; but you have carried -always this mind towards me, that, if you once got -anything of me, you cannot be contented to restore -it again. As (if you remember) you borrowed £1000 -of me, etc., and gave me your bill for it; I was not -ignorant that I could not recover any money by it, -but it is a witness that you had the money and yet -you never paid it me again. As touching her -Majesty’s order for your living, she pronounced the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_288'>288</span>same at Greenwich, and ordered me £500 a year -and divers other things which they thought fit, and -we assented to be set down in the draft of the books, -as may appear. And as touching this, that if I did -at any time receive you and cohabit with you, the -Lords thought it reasonable—and you assented to it—that -I should have your living during the time -of our cohabitation, and hereupon I refer myself to -their opinions. Marry, this difference there was, -that if you disliked to cohabit and dwell with me, -then your sons to have your living, upon a signification -to be made, the form whereof could not be -agreed upon, as may appear. Your children’s names -were used only for this cause, because you were not -capable yourself, but they were thought meetest to -deal for you, till I liked to take you to me. And -I think their commission extended to it, or else you -would not have laboured their great pains which they -took in it, and they would have been glad then that -I should have taken you and your living also, which -your children desired not, if I could have agreed to -it. I am sorry to spend all these words with you, -but assure yourself this shall be the last time that -I will write much to you in the matter or trouble -myself; and likewise, if you intend to come to me, -advise yourself in these points before remembered, -that I will have you to confess that you have offended -me, and are heartily sorry for it, in writing, and upon -your knees (without either if or and). Your living -you shall bring with you to maintain you with, and -to pay such debts as is expressed in the consideration -of the deed. For neither by the said deed, nor yet -by her Majesty’s order, it was meant that your sons -<span class='pageno' id='Page_289'>289</span>should have your living, which appertaineth to me, -being my enemies, and have sought my defamation -and destruction of my house, and I to have you without -that which the laws giveth me. My goods you -shall restore me before we come together. And, if -you cannot be content to do this I protest before God, -I will never have you come upon me, whatever shall -[happen]. I could allege many causes why you have thus -disobediently behaved yourself against me. One chief -cause was when I had made you my sole executrix -you persuaded me to make a lease in trust to two -of your friends for threescore years, minding thereby -to have the benefit thereof by the executorship. You -caused me in my extremity of sickness to pass my -lands by deed enrolled—to your friends—in bargain -and sale, and the indenture which did lease the houses -was not enrolled, so that if I had then died, the same -might have been embezzled, and so my posterity for -that land in the case of St. Loo. But, when I perceived -in what danger I stood, I put you out of my -will, and have since started to remedy those my great -imperfections that I was not able to benefit my children -nor recompense my servants. At length it came to -your ear, though there were not many that knew it, -and then you began to play your part, and hath used -me ever since in such despiteful sort as I was not able -to bear or abide it: and this is one of the causes that -you deal with me in this wise as you do, and not such -causes as you allege to her Majesty of my dislike of -you. All offences done by you are esteemed nothing -as was the offence of Henry Beresford, that was found -guilty of such slanderous speeches that he had spoken -of me, that, if they had been true, as they be most -<span class='pageno' id='Page_290'>290</span>false, had overthrown me and my house. Also, in -regard to your confederacy with him and his son, I -cannot but remember that the young fellow should -swear he never spoke any such speeches by me as -was laid in my action which, till it was discovered, -moved great favour towards Beresford, and had like -both to have abused both her Majesty and Mr. -Secretary, and clearly to have dishonoured me (as -Mr. Secretary informed me). This I take to be a -grievous offence done unto me. I thought good not -to omit this, but to put you in remembrance thereof, -what great favour you have showed him, and was -very unfit to have been supported by you, when the -case did touch me so near, which I look for at your -hands that you will confess.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“And thus I end.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“From Chelsea the 5th of August, 1586.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'><em>Endorsed</em>: “The copy of my Lord’s letter to the -Countess his wife, V. August, 1586.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><em>The Countess of Shrewsbury to the Earl.</em></p> - -<p class='c007'>“My Lord, I hold myself most unfortunate that -upon so slight occasion it pleaseth you to write -in this form to me: for what new offence is committed -since her Majesty reconciled us? If the denial -of the plate be the only cause, why then, my Lord, -the true affirmation thereof in my letter is more -than my words, neither such a trifle I hoped could -have wrought so unkind effects; and were my state -able I would not stand upon such toys as those you -speak of. Touching my son’s living, that is no new -cause, for it was long ago moved by you, and could -<span class='pageno' id='Page_291'>291</span>never be consented to by us, in respect of the reasons in -my last letter alleged.... My Lord, I know not how -justly you can term me insatiable in my desire of gaining, -for my losses have been so great, with my charges, -that makes me desire honestly to discharge my debt -with my children’s lands, which you have no need of, and -will not in my time discharge them though we should -live on nothing; and I am greedy of nobody’s lands, -but would keep the rest, which by all law, order, and -conscience they ought to possess. Neither my case and -fortune hath been to maintain my miseries with untruths, -for receiving daily manifest discourtesies I need -not blush to speak truly.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“I assure you, my Lord, my meaning is not to -molest or grieve you with demanding, neither I trust -it can be thought greediness to demand nothing, for -I desire no more than her Majesty’s order giveth, and -wish your happy days to be many and good....</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Touching the postscript, my desire hath been so -great to be with you and save your long delays, that -made me be an humble suitor to her Majesty to be -earnest with you, but not as you write.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“For the other that I labour your stay, I assure you, -my Lord, I did not, but yet would be very glad that all -were perfected here and then to go down with you, and -hoped also ere this we should have been on our way into -the country.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“So, beseeching Almighty God to make you better -conceive of me, I end, wishing myself, without offence, -with you,</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Your obedient faithful wife,</div> - <div class='line in8'>“<span class='sc'>Elizabeth Shrewsbury</span>.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“Richmond, this Thursday.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_292'>292</span>Like a pedal note through the long jangle runs the -Queen’s order, upon which Sir Charles Cavendish comments -more than once. The main part of it, of course, -deals with the disposal of property, the outcome of the -affair being that the couple should travel down to -the country together, and the lands belonging to the -Cavendishes revert to them. A footnote to one copy -of the order says that the meaning of this is not to -take away anything in the way of concessions already -arranged, but only “to better the Countess’s part.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Elizabeth was accused of partiality by the Earl. Her -own attitude towards him had been rather like that -of some of his children, for she had always made use -of his possessions to suit her own purpose without any -intention of repayment. It is possible that from the -innate stinginess of her disposition she may have resented -the fashion in which he coupled accusations -against his wife’s rapacity with his sore, justifiable complaint -that Mary’s imprisonment had impoverished him. -In a letter to Lord Leicester he can no longer control -his feelings against the Queen. Though written in -1585, it is quoted here as being pertinent.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Bitter and rambling, it is in reply to one from -Leicester, which shows plainly that the Queen, as arbitrator, -has thrown her weight into the balance with the -Countess. The document is quoted by Lodge from -a rough copy endorsed “The Earl of Shrewsbury’s -answer to the Earl of Leicester’s letter ... ultimo -Aprilis, 1585,” and is therefore unsigned.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-l c002'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“My good Lord,</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“Since her Majesty hath declared her mind in -the matter betwixt me and my wife, and doubts not but -<span class='pageno' id='Page_293'>293</span>in every respect I will observe it as her Highness hath -set it down and that the Lord Chancellor should take -order with me for the accomplishment thereof, well -weighing her Majesty’s hard censure of me and my -causes; since my coming to Chelsea, I have not been -well, nor able to return my answer by your Lordship’s -servant so speedily as I would, but have now thought -good to send this bearer, my servant, Christopher -Copley, unto your Lordship with this answer; that as -her Majesty doth demand and look for at my hands -faith and due obedience, as is the duty of every good -subject to spend lands and life in the defence of her -Majesty’s person and realm, which I and my ancestors -have done and am ready at her Majesty’s commandment, -so, for the maintenance of my honour and -credit, do I claim and demand of her Majesty justice -and benefit of her Majesty’s laws, never denied by her -Majesty nor by any of her noble progenitors, to any of -the meanest of her subjects before this; yet not doubting -but that her Majesty will have better consideration -of me and my cause when she hath thoroughly weighed -of it; and that if she (for all my careful and faithful -service, to my great charges above my allowance in the -keeping of that Lady for sixteen years last past: with -the extraordinary charges and expense of her Majesty’s -commissioners sent down, as of Sir Walter Mildmay, -Mr. Beale, and Sir Ralph Sadler, and others, their -horse and men, for so long time as they continued with -me), will bestow nothing on me yet I even thought she -would have left me with what her Majesty’s laws had -given me. Since that her Majesty hath set down this -hard sentence against me, to my perpetual infamy and -dishonour, to be ruled and overrun by my wife, so bad -<span class='pageno' id='Page_294'>294</span>and wicked a woman, yet her Majesty shall see that I -will obey her commandment, though no curse or plague -in the earth could be more grievous to me. These -offers of my wife’s enclosed in your letters I think -them very unfit to be offered to me. It is too much to -make me my wife’s prisoner, and set me down the -demesnes of Chatsworth, without the house and other -lands leased, which is but a pension in money. I think -it stands with reason that I should choose the £500 by -year ordered by her Majesty where I like best, according -to the rate William Cavendish delivered to my -Lord Chancellor; or else I shall think myself doubly -wronged, which I am sure her Majesty will not offer -unto me. And thus I commit your Lordship to the -tuition of the Almighty.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The last sentence is entirely ironical after the preceding -outburst. Leicester was not the man to take -spiritual counsel or to bestir himself to his own disadvantage. -He was essentially a “trimmer,” and the -guardianship of the Almighty was only a matter of -speech for him. He seems to have remained fairly -neutral after this, to judge from what Henry Talbot -writes from London on the 6th of August to his -father:—</p> - -<p class='c007'>“All your Lordship’s affairs here are well; and your -wife doth exclaim against my Lord Leicester, because, -as she saith, he hath not been so good as his promise. -Her Majesty, praise to God, is well, and marvelleth -she can hear nothing from your Lordship, and she -useth the best speeches that may be of your Lordship.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>To this letter there is a delightful postscript giving a -<span class='pageno' id='Page_295'>295</span>suggestive and greedy message from one of Shrewsbury’s -friends:—</p> - -<p class='c007'>“My Lord Mayor hath his humble duty remembered -unto your Lordship, and says he hopes your Lordship’s -bucks are fat this summer.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>So did all the world sponge upon the once wealthy -George Talbot.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Another letter from Henry Talbot is a sort of amplification -of the attitudes of his Queen and wife, and -though he could not but be flattered by that of the -first there was everything to torture him acutely in her -professions after the treatment he had received:—</p> - -<p class='c007'>“May it please your Honour to be advertised that -I came from Court upon the 20th of this present where -I left all things very well, and her Majesty saith she -doth marvel greatly that she hath received but one letter -from your Lordship since your going down. Moreover -she herself told me that she marvelled she heard -no oftener from you, whom it pleased to term her love, -declaring further what care she had of your health, and -what a trouble your sickness was unto her; whereunto -I answered that your Lordship’s chiefest comfort, and -speedy recovery of your health, proceeded from her -Majesty’s so gracious favour and countenance bestowed -upon you; whereat her Majesty smiled, saying, “Talbot, -I have not yet shewed unto him that favour which -hereafter we mean to do.””</p> - -<p class='c007'>Words, words! This was the coin in which Elizabeth -paid the faithful among her subjects, her kinsmen -included. But to resume the letter: “As touching -your wife’s causes, she lieth still in Chancery Lane, and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_296'>296</span>doth give out that she meaneth to continue there and -not to go into the country. My Lord, my brother’s wife, -and her brother, the Knight”—meaning Sir Charles -Cavendish—“do attend very diligently at Court, and -little respect there is had of them; nevertheless they -cease not to follow, to the end the world may say they -are in credit.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>The nearest approach to a final and reasonable settlement -was suggested by the Earl’s proposal to settle -£1500 a year on his wife, with Chatsworth House and -other lands, under certain conditions, a document which -raised a good deal of discussion on both sides. Out of -this cauldron of anger, misery, and sordidness emerged -at last once more the royal order, final and distinct: -The Earl was to receive his wife, and take probation -of her obedience for one year, and if she proved forgetful -of her duty was to place her in her house at -Chatsworth. Rents and assurance of lands were also -clearly set forth, and it was ordained that all actions for -plate, jewels, and hangings were to be stayed.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The Countess had the last word on this, for her -practical instinct prompted her instantly to request that -her Majesty should appoint someone to be an eye-witness -“in house” with the Earl and herself. Further, -she begged that she might not, failing their final agreement, -be confined to Chatsworth House only, and -besought her Majesty “to conclude her honourable and -godly work” as speedily as possible.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Early in August, 1586, the Queen passed this final -order of reconciliation. Assured of the willingness of -the couple to cease their strife, she summoned them to -her presence, and “in many good words showed herself -very glad thereof, and the Earl and Countess in good -<span class='pageno' id='Page_297'>297</span>sort departed together very comfortably.” Wingfield -was their destination, and was named in the original -order drawn up already in March.</p> - -<h3 class='c017'>THE QUEEN’S ORDER.</h3> - -<p class='c018'>“An order pronounced by her Majesty between the -Earl of Shrewsbury and the Countess his wife in the -presence of the Secretary (Walsingham).</p> - -<p class='c006'>“That the said Earl shall give present order for the -conveying of the said Countess to some one of his principal -manor houses in Derbyshire, furnished for her to -remain in, with liberty to go either to Chatsworth or -Hardwick, and to return to the Earl’s house at her -pleasure.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“That the said Earl shall allow to the said Countess -towards the defraying of the charges of household £300 -and fuel until he shall yield to cohabitation, and doth -also promise in respect of her Majesty’s mediation -further gratuity of yearly provision for the maintenance -of her said house.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“That the said Earl shall appoint four or five of his -own men to attend upon the said Countess and shall -pay them their wages.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“The said Earl promiseth her Majesty to resort sometimes -to the house where the said Countess shall lie, as -also to send for the said Countess upon notice given of -her desire to some other house where he himself shall -remain, and in case she shall so behave herself toward -him as one that by good and dutiful ways [?] will -do her best endeavour to recover his former good -opinion and love, then it is to be hoped that continual -cohabitation will follow, which her Majesty greatly -desires.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_298'>298</span>All this looks highly promising. It arouses glowing -hopes in the minds of the onlookers that after many -toils and dangers, social and political, such a man and -such a woman, born to eminence and possessed of great -qualities, will enjoy many happy years together, quit of -their old intolerable burden, the care of “the Daughter -of Debate.” Such a letter as this from the faithful -Gilbert Dickenson, which welcomes my Lord home to -his manor and his acres, telling of the folk who gather -to greet him, and of the fatted calf in preparation, completes -the picture:—</p> - -<p class='c007'>“May it please your Lo. to understand that divers -honest men have heard of your Lo. coming home and -would have come to meet your Lo. but that I have -stayed them till I hear further of your Lo. pleasure; -and there is such running from house to house to tell -that your Lo. did lie at Wingfield all night and everyone -preparing to meet your L.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Your Lo. should come into the country with such -love as never did man in England, which is a greater -comfort to us than any worldly riches, and for sheep, -oxen, and lambs shall not be wanting nor anything which -can be got, God willing.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Alack for love and hope! Only two months after -this stately cavalcade of Earl and Lady travelled home, -the Countess addressed the Treasurer again. She had -sore complaints to make of her husband.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“My singular good Lord,” she wrote, “I most -humbly and heartily thank your Lo. for your letter -sent by my son William Cavendish. It is my greatest -comfort that it pleaseth your Lo. to have care of me, -else grief and displeasure would have ended my days. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_299'>299</span>Since my coming into the country my Lo. my husband -hath come to his home Wingfield, where I most remain, -not past three times; more I have not seen him; he -stayed not over a day at a time at his being here.... Since -my coming down, he hath allowed me gross provisions -as beef, mutton, and corn to serve my house, but now -not long since he hath sent me word that he will not -allow me any further and doth withdraw all his provision, -not suffering me to have sufficient fire.”<a id='r81' /><a href='#f81' class='c013'><sup>[81]</sup></a> She goes on -to say that if all were as her Majesty desired and -assured her, namely, that she might be always with her -husband, she would not need such allowances of provision, -etc. etc.</p> - -<p class='c006'>This attitude of the Earl strikes one as a little petty -at this juncture. He had, after all, large estates and -many houses, and there was no need to starve his lady -out of Wingfield, even if their characters and moods -were finally and utterly incompatible.</p> - -<p class='c006'>All through these years 1586–7 he was still worried -by Gilbert’s affairs. The letters which follow explain -themselves.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The first is a denunciation of Gilbert’s extravagant -wife:—</p> - -<div class='lg-container-l c002'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Son Gilbert,</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“I thank you for your pains taken in certifying -me of those your sundry news, being the very same in -effect that I heard of the day before I received your -letter. For answer thereto, you shall understand my -meaning towards you is as good as it was at that our -departure you put me in mind of; but for any help -about the payment of your debts I do advise you -<span class='pageno' id='Page_300'>300</span>altogether to rely on yourself, and the best discharge -you shall be able to make thereof, than any ways upon -me; who, least my silence in that behalf, and at this -time, might breathe some hope agreeable to your conceived -opinion, do in sadness, as you did in jest, return -you a short answer for your long warning; willing you -either to provide for yourself, as you may, or else be -disappointed; for during my life, I would not have you -to expect any more at my hands than I have already -allowed you, whereof I know you might live well, and -clear from danger of any, as I did, if you had that -governance over your wife, as her pomp and court-like -manner of life were some deal assuaged. And, for -mine own part, and your good, I do wish you had -but half so much to relieve your necessities as she and -her mother have spent in seeking, through malice, mine -overthrow and dishonour, and I in defending my just -cause against them: by means of whose evil dealings, -together with other bargains wherein I have entangled -myself of late, I am not able either to help you, or -store myself for any other purpose I shall take in hand -these twelve months. Thus praying God to bless you, -I bid you farewell.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Sheffield Lodge, the 17th of June, 1587.</div> - <div class='line'>“Your loving father,</div> - <div class='line in12'>“<span class='sc'>G. Shrewsbury</span>.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>The next is from the newest mediator between Talbot -and Cavendish, Sir Henry Lee, a long-winded but -delightful personage of romantic and fantastic temperament. -Lodge assures us that he was “bred from -infancy in Courts and camps,” and that this induced -him not only to take a leading part in tilts and tournaments, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_301'>301</span>but led to his assumption of the “self-created -title of Champion of the Queen,” and that he made a -vow to present himself in the tiltyard in that character -on the 27th of November in every year, till disabled by -age. This vow he kept, and upon his retirement at the -age of sixty installed as his successor the Earl of -Cumberland in the presence of Queen and Court, -“offering his armour at her Majesty’s feet, and clothing -himself in a black velvet coat and cap.”</p> - -<h3 class='c017'><em>Sir Henry Lee to Lord Talbot.</em></h3> - -<div class='lg-container-l c002'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Sir,</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“On Monday last I received your letter; on -Thursday I went to Sheffield, my Lord, your father’s, -where I found him much amended, after his physic, of -the gout, which took him at Brierly, and troubled him -until then. My being there made him much better -disposed, of whom I received many sundry kindnesses -and more favours than I have or ever may deserve. -Acknowledgment is small requital, but that I do and -will, to him, yourself, and yours, in as sundry ways as -by my wit, will, and fortune I may. Dinner done, and -all rising saving his Lordship and my poor self, I told -him I had written to you, according to his liberty given -me upon such talk as his Lordship had last with me -at Worksop; that I received an answer which then I -presented unto him. I left him alone; Mr. Henry -Talbot, Roger Portington, your very good friend, with -myself, standing at the window, where I, that knew the -sundry contents of the letter, might see any alteration -in himself, as they that stood by imagined by his sighs, -guessed according to their humours. Your letter perused -(and well marked, as it did well appear unto me -<span class='pageno' id='Page_302'>302</span>by his speeches immediately after), rising from the -board, with more colour in his cheeks than ordinary, -he led me by the hand into his withdrawing chamber, -where he told me he did well perceive the contents -of your letter; that you had been long a disobedient -child to him; that you joined and practiced against -him, and with such as sought his overthrow, and consequently -your own undoing, and the espials and parties -you had in his house did show your care to be more -for that he had himself; but, withal, he knew you -had many good parts, but those overruled by others -that should be better governed by yourself. More -regard, he says, to your old father, would do well; who -has been ever loving unto you and must be requited -with more love and obedience, or else (by his divination) -your credit will slowly increase. He is glad, as he says, -that you live in those parts (but he speaks ironia) where -some good may be learned, but more to be shunned; -yet all well where grace is, so you are able to go -through withal; but for the feeding of such vain time -and superfluous excess as should do best for yourself to -diminish, he is not able, he says, and I fear will never -be willing, to maintain. He reckoned how many had -been in hand with him for the payment of your debts; -my Lord Treasurer and others. His answer was that, -through the wilfulness of him, who shunned his advice, -and the imperfections of others, his undoing should not -grow, that they themselves might have cause to pity -him in his age, through his folly and their persuasions. -There, my Lord, he told that three thousand pounds -nearly went out of his living to his children, and many -other sums to small purpose to remember. He confessed -he sent you such a letter as you write of, and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_303'>303</span>written by a man of his, but altogether by his direction. -But he was old, lame of the gout, and now no more able -to write himself. He spake much of your inconstancy in -your friendships, and especially to my Lord of Leicester; -sometimes, as you favoured, there was not such; and -laboured himself to rely more upon him, altogether -misliking such humours as favoured and disfavoured in -such sort, and in so short a time; but, for himself, -he would fly such variety, and perform his friendship -and faith. Truly, my Lord, he used many of these -speeches before I interrupted him, and good reason I -had to forbear, for he spoke not without grief, as I -guess, and passion, I am sure; therefore [I] thought best -to stay until the storm was somewhat overblown. At the -last I besought him to tell me whether these old grievances -were not remitted upon conference between yourselves; -and whether your abode there was not with his -good allowance, that you should procure yourself to be -joined with him in his offices; further, that you should, -by good means, procure some honourable office for -your better understanding. All this he did not deny, -but, touching his discourse, I think not fit to set it down, -my messenger is so uncertain, and my meaning to do -good, if I may, but no hurt. He is old and unwieldy -and deceived by such he trusteth, and you shun to -assist him, and therefore will let out all; but that I -believe not. I found one thing in your letter: I said -that I feared, and made me sorry; that your favouring -so much your own credit, and finding so small means -to answer your creditors, you might fall into some hard -course; and, before these words were all out of my -mouth, he said, ‘Yea, marry, some desperation.’ -Therefore I took hold: ‘Good my Lord, license me -<span class='pageno' id='Page_304'>304</span>to speak with your favour, that speak nothing by -practice again, but through a dutiful mind to you, now -in years, and for yours, by course of nature likely to -succeed you. If he should, as you have termed it, take -any desperate way, pass into those parts which this -doubtful time brings, to many dangers, and especially to -our nation, were not this peril great, and, by presumption, -not to be recovered? You cannot be ignorant, -for all your mislike, what a son you have; esteemed -of the highest, favoured of the best, and the best judgments, -and how much he differs from other men’s sons -of your own conditions; so much your love, care, and -regard should be the more by how much your loss -were more (to be balanced by reason) than all the rest -put together. Your country may and will challenge a -part and party in him, as a wise man, fit and able to -serve it. You yet find not what a Lord Talbot you -have; but if he should by any extraordinary accident -be taken from you, and not to be recovered, yourself, -with your grief, would accompany your white hair to -your end with a grave full of cares; and who doth -sooner enter into desperation than great wits accompanied -with mighty and honourable hearts, which hardly -can away with want, but never with discredit?’ This, -my Lord, sunk somewhat into him. He confessed -much of this. He mused long, and spake little: he -stayed, standing long, without complaining of his legs -(by reason he was earnest) one hour and a half at the -least before we parted. So, in many doubts, I left him, -minding to send such letters as you required, to Welbeck -and thence to be sent to you: wherewith I took -my leave.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“I will never take upon me to advise you. You see -<span class='pageno' id='Page_305'>305</span>now what passed, and upon what grounds; therefore -resolve, upon temperate blood and good judgment, and -free advice, for the time present: remembering both love -and duty, and that you deal with a kind man. I wish -a sudden journey, at the least to see him; he must -needs take it well, and I know your age may endure it; -your friends desire it, and I among the rest (to see you -ere I go from these parts) that loveth you, whose being -here with my Lady, would have made this country to -me far otherwise than it is, and my abode much longer -than it is like to be. I have troubled you long. The -news is that my Lady Talbot, the widow, and your -sister my Lady Mary, with my Lady Manners, as I take -it came to Sheffield this night past. I think my Lord -will to Hatfield the next week that cometh, or the week -following, with such company as he hath, but the -certainty I know not: but whether he go there, or no, -I wish you would haste to meet him. My brother, -Mr. Portington, Mr. Lascelles, with myself, and -Mr. Fawley, recommendeth our love and service to -your good Lordship. I beseech you let me be remembered -humbly unto my Lady, and to good Sir -Charles Candishe and his family, wishing them both the -best happiness.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“From Lettwell, the 13th of August, 1587.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Your Lordship’s poor and faithful friend ever,</div> - <div class='line in28'>“<span class='sc'>Henry Lee</span>.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<h3 class='c017'><em>The Earl of Shrewsbury to Sir Henry Lee.</em></h3> - -<div class='lg-container-l c002'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Good Sir Henry Lee,</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“I have perused that enclosed letter you sent me -within yours, and do account you most faithful and -forward to do good where you profess friendship. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_306'>306</span>Neither can the eloquence of the one, nor the earnest -desire of the other, persuade me to do otherwise in that -matter than I have already, upon good consideration, -determined. My son compares my words with his own -conceits, and means to save his credit as shall content -me, but when he sealeth I will assure. I proposed to -leave him in better case than my father left me, and if I -give him so much as I cannot withhold, I am not in his -debt. I forgave him all his faults, but I promised him -not that I would trust him. He can bring the honour -of his house now to make for his purpose, but he -remembereth not how he went about to dishonour it. -He laboured not to make sure my Lord of Leicester of -their side that went about to accuse his father of treason. -He did not countenance his wife and her mother against -me in all their bad actions. His deceits never moved -me to be displeased. Well, if they did, I pronounce -forgiveness thereof to his friend, as I have done before -unto him. He knoweth whereof his grief grew; let -him henceforth avoid the occasions. He says he is not -overruled by his wife, but attributes that to my speeches: -but I say, if he be not he will quickly recover, and live -better of his annuity than I could do when I bare his -name, with less allowance. Yet (notwithstanding his -doubtful words of your welcome hither, in respect you -have moved me for his good) I beseech you come ten -times for every one past; assuring you that the most -eloquent orator in England can do no more with me than -you have, till I perceive a new course. Thus, with my -hearty commendations, I bid you farewell.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Sheffield, September 6th, 1587.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Your loving friend,</div> - <div class='line in12'>“<span class='sc'>G. Shrewsbury</span>.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_307'>307</span>The long letter from Sir Henry Lee gives a pathetic -and vivid portrait of the old Government official who -feels himself at last like a worn-out tool, unloved, unnecessary -to the world—save when his position as a -premier peer required him to raise levies for the -defence and contest of Ireland, or county matters called -him from retirement in his military and judicial capacity. -To the very end he was a prompt official, and his -family motto, “Prest d’Accomplir,” his watchword. -In 1586 he was still among those who receive urgent -orders to arm and prepare bodies of Derbyshire fighting -men, and must give his attention to the most absurd -details of uniform, such as the “convenient hose and -doublet, and a cassock of motley ... either sea-green -colour or russet,” noted among the regulations issued -by his fellows of the Privy Council.</p> - -<p class='c006'>These things are, however, only flashes in the pan. -He is getting old. All the world was growing old, and -all his contemporaries, in the phrase of the day, were -“a little thing sickish.” The intrepid and laborious -Walsingham is described as being “troubled with his -old diseases: the tympany and carnosity,” and so is -absent from Court. Letters still flowed in to the Earl, -news of the Netherlands campaign, from the now -depressed Lord Leicester, the Governor, news of the -Queen’s movements, of Spain, of the legal strife of his -contemporaries and friends. They are only sticks and -straws flung into the deep and turgid current of his -lonely, embittered life.</p> - -<p class='c006'>It was in the midst of such disputes as these that the -summons had come to him from Fotheringay.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_308'>308</span> - <h2 class='c004'>CHAPTER XX<br /> <span class='small'>FADING GLORIES</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_0_6 c005'>His own household and many of his tenants were -faithful to the Earl Marshal. Fortunately he had -not at the moment much leisure for private broodings. -The Babington conspiracy had churned up the old -alarms about Mary, the Royal Commission for her trial -was being appointed, and, though he was fortunately -able to plead illness as an excuse for once more repairing -to London to take his seat in this important meeting -of the Council, he was obliged by letter to Burghley to -assert his willingness to add his name to the decree of -the Privy Council in regard to Mary’s sentence, at -the same time enclosing his seal and giving the Lord -Treasurer full authority to sign for him. Did he at -the moment of writing recall that broidered motto -which must have flashed at him many times from the -dais which his prisoner contrived for herself in her -imprisonment: “En ma fin est mon commencement”? -If so, the pride and pathos of it must have struck home -terribly. For he too was nearing his end. He too had -naught but sorrow in his heir, and though Gilbert, -Edward, and Henry Talbot still lived to carry on his -name, it could not be in a very hopeful spirit that he -thought upon the continuance of his line so long as -he apprehended the renewal of family strife and could -not forgive or love again his high-handed lady.</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_309'>309</span>Many things had happened to Mary since they parted, -notably the failure of the last great conspiracy for her -freedom. Of all these he was fully informed, and sums -up her affairs in a single phrase in the ensuing letter:—</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c002'> - <div>“<em>To the Right Honourable my verie good Lord the Lord Burghley, Lord Thresorer of England.</em></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“My noble good Lord,</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“I have received your Lordship’s letters both of -the 12th November and the 14th of the same, whereby -I find myself greatly beholden unto your Lordship for -your good remembrance of me, with the proceeding of -the foul matters of the Scots Queen; sentence whereof, -I understand by your Lordship, is given and confirmed, -and for execution to be had accordingly. I perceive it -now resteth in her Majesty’s hands; for my own part -I pray that God may so inspire her heart to take that -course as may be for her Majesty’s own safety; the -which I trust her Majesty’s grave wisdom will wisely -foresee; which in my consent cannot be without speedy -execution.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“And thus wishing to your good Lordship as to -myself, do bid you right heartily farewell. Your Lordship’s -assuredly,</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“<span class='sc'>Shrewsbury</span>.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“Orton Longville, this 17th November, 1586.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>In spite of illness, Shrewsbury could not escape the -wretched responsibility of assisting at the tragedy of -Fotheringay. There he was forced, on February 8th, -1587, to stand upon the high stage, seven feet square -and five feet high, to receive Mary as she mounted it to -her death. “At the two upper corners were two stools -<span class='pageno' id='Page_310'>310</span>set,” runs the record,<a id='r82' /><a href='#f82' class='c013'><sup>[82]</sup></a> “one for the Earl of Shrewsbury, -another for the Earl of Kent; directly between the said -stools was placed a block one foot high, covered with -black, and before that stood a little cushioned stool for -the Queen to sit on while her apparel was taken off.... -Being come into the hall, she stayed and with a smiling -countenance asked Shrewsbury why none of her own -servants were suffered to be present. He answered that -the Queen, his mistress, had so commanded. ‘Alas,’ -quoth she, ‘far meaner persons than myself have not -been denied so small a favour, and I hope the Queen’s -Majesty will not deal so hardly with me.’ ‘Madam,’ -quoth Shrewsbury, ‘it is so appointed to avoid two -inconveniences: the one that it is likely your people will -shriek and make some fearful noise in the time of your -execution, and so both trouble you and us, or else press -with some disorder to get of your blood and keep it for -a relic, and minister offence that way.’ ‘My Lord,’ -she answered, ‘I pray you for my better quietness of -mind let me have some of my servants about me, and I -will give you my word that they shall not offend in any -sort.’ Upon which promise two of her women and five -of her men were sent for, who coming into the hall and -seeing the place of execution prepared and their sovereign -mistress expecting death, they began to cry out in -most woeful and pitiful sort; wherewith she held up -her hand, willing them for her sake to forbear and be -silent, ‘for,’ quoth she, ‘I have passed my word to -these lords that you shall be quiet and not offend them.’ -And presently there appeared in them a wonderful show -of subjection and loyal obedience as to their natural -prince, whom even at the instant of death they honoured -with all reverence and duty. For though their breasts -were seen to rise and swell as if their wounded hearts -would have burst in sunder, yet did they, to their double -grief, forbear their outward plaints to accomplish her -pleasure.</p> -<div class='section'> - -</div> -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i_310fp.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><span class='left'><em>Photo by Richard Keene, Ltd., Derby</em></span><br /><br />STATUE OF MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS AT HARDWICK HALL<br /><br /><span class='right'>Page <a href='#Page_310'>310</a></span></p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_311'>311</span>“As soon as she was upon the stage there came to her -a heretic called Doctor Fletcher, Dean of Peterborough, -and told her how the Queen his sovereign, moved with an -unspeakable care of her soul, had sent him to instruct -and comfort her in the true words of God. At which -she somewhat turned her face towards him, saying, ‘Mr. -Doctor, I will have nothing to do with you nor your -doctrine’; and forthwith kneeled down before the block -and began her meditations in most godly manner. -Then the doctor entered also into a form of new-fashioned -prayers; but the better to prevent the hearing -of him, she raised her voice, and prayed so loud, as he -could not be understood. The Earl of Shrewsbury then -spoke to her and told her that he would pray with her -and for her. ‘My Lord,’ quoth she, ‘if you will pray -for me I thank you; but, in so doing, pray secretly by -yourself, for we will not pray together.’ Her meditations -ended, she arose up and kissed her two gentlewomen, -and bowed her body towards her men, and -charged them to remember her to her sweet son, to -whom she sent her blessing, with promise to pray for -him in heaven; and lastly to salute her friends, and so -took her last farewell of her poor servants.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“The executioners then began, after their rough and -rude manner, to disrobe her, and while they were so -doing, she looked upon the noblemen, and smilingly -said, ‘Now truly, my Lords, I never had two such -grooms waiting on me before!’ Then, being ready -<span class='pageno' id='Page_312'>312</span>for the block, one of her women took forth a handkerchief -of cambric—all wrought over with gold needlework—and -tied it about her face; which done, Fletcher -willed her to die in the true faith of Christ. Quoth -she: ‘I believe firmly to be saved by the passion and -blood of Jesus Christ, and therein also I believe according -to the faith of the Ancient Catholic Church of Rome, -and therefore I shed my blood.’”</p> - -<p class='c006'>After this the Earl went home, evidently to Sheffield, -with time enough to brood once more upon his sickness -and his troubles. In 1587 he was certainly at Wingfield -with his wife—at least for a brief space—for he wrote -to inform Burghley of the fact in obedience to her -Majesty’s request. But he was still thoroughly suspicious -and distrustful of her attitude. On one occasion, -as it seems by the following letter from Nicholas Kynnersley, -my Lady had just left Wingfield when my Lord -sent his man Gilbert Dickenson to enquire her movements. -The letter which puts the magnificent pair in -such a pitiful light is relieved by a gracious allusion -to little Arabella, left behind at Wingfield, apparently -in Kynnersley’s charge:—</p> - -<p class='c007'>“The night after John was come with my letter -Elizabeth told me that Gilbert Dickenson came to her -in the [bakehouse] and asked if your Ho. were here; and -she answered ‘No.’ And he asked when you went -away, and she said ‘Yesterday.’ He asked when you -would come again; she answered ‘Shortly as she -thought.’ And late at night there came a boy from -Sheffield in a green coat, and talked with them in the -stable, and said he must go very early in the morning to -Sheffield again. What the meaning of these questions -<span class='pageno' id='Page_313'>313</span>and the lackey coming so late and going so early in the -morning, I know not, except it be to bring me Lo. -words of your absence here, and so that he might come -upon you sudden and find you away. So I leave it to -your Ho. wisdom to consider of it as you think best; -but I think good you were there. Mr. Knifton rode -by to-day to Sheffield as I was told, and called not -as I ... told which I marvel of. My La. Arbella at -eight of the clock this night was merry, and eats her -meat well; but she went not to the school these six days; -therefore I would be glad of your La. coming, if there -were no other matter but that. So I beseech the -Almighty preserve your La. in health, and send you -soon a good and comfortable end of all your great -troubles and griefs.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Wingfield, this Tuesday, the 5th of November, at -8 of the clock at night, 1588.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Your Ho. most dutyful bound obedient servant,</div> - <div class='line in24'>“<span class='sc'>Nicholas Kinnslay</span>.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“To the right Ho. my singular good La. and Mistress -the Countess of Salop give this with speed.”<a id='r83' /><a href='#f83' class='c013'><sup>[83]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c007'>While this “singular good lady” was still busy trying -to induce the Earl to live with her “in house,” he had -sundry official business to transact. In 1588 he was -hard at work “routing recusants,” egging on the -Sheffield Commissioners appointed to that duty, and -certifying himself and the Queen of the military -efficiency of the counties under his lieutenancy—for -the Spanish fleet hovered ever round the English coast. -More “seminary priests” did he rout, and used his -energy in inducing folk to go to the Established Church, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_314'>314</span>offering his old “lame body” for the Queen’s service, -since “her quarrel should make him young again.” -Within a few months of his death he is mentioned in -State records as having successfully pounced upon a -certain papistical Lady Foljambe and committed her to -polite imprisonment in the house of her relative.</p> - -<p class='c006'>This next letter from Gilbert and Mary Talbot to -their mother shows entire devotion to her at this difficult -period, and is happily free from the old tale-bearing -and espionage of previous years:—</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Our bounden duty most humbly remembered. In -like humbleness we render your La. thanks for your -letter; the last though not the least of your infinite goodnesses -towards us and ours. We are safely come hither -to Dunstable (we thank God) this Shrove Monday at -night; and for that the foul way is past, we think best -to return your La. letter again from hence.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Such news as on the Queen’s highways we have -met with, your La. shall now understand. First that -her Majesty (royally in person) was at the parliament -house the first day of this parliament; where Serjeant -Snagge was admitted for the Speaker of the lower -house. My Lord of Derby is Lord Steward during -this session. That yesterday one told a man of mine -that as yet nothing of any moment hath been touched -in the lower house, neither any expectation that any -great matters will be handled, but it will shortly end. -That a day or two before the parliament began, the -Lord Chancellor and the Lord Treasurer, with one or -two more of the privy council, and Mr. Attorney and -Mr. Solicitor were with the Earl of Arundel in the -Tower; since which time there hath been no such -<span class='pageno' id='Page_315'>315</span>speech of his arraignment, as there was before. This -is all the Queen’s highways hath afforded us of news. -Yet further we hear that all your Ladyship’s ...<a id='r84' /><a href='#f84' class='c013'><sup>[84]</sup></a> are -very well. And thus in haste, most humbly beseeching -your La. blessing to us and all ours who pray evermore -to the most highest to grant unto your La. all contentment -with long life, we humbly cease, till our next letter, -which shall not be long.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Your La. most humble and obedient loving children,</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><span class='sc'>“Gilb. Talbott</span>. <span class='sc'>Mary Talbott.</span></div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“We have desired your La. letter men to bring a letter -to your La. from Beskewood, where Mrs. Markham’s -earnest entreaty made us to leave her till the return -thereof. I beseech the Almighty to send your La. -my La. Arball and the rest of your La.’s a most happy -long life.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“To my Lady.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The date of this is 1589. Shrewsbury by this time -has lapsed into retirement. He falls finally into old -age. Elizabeth’s boasting promise that she would give -him still greater proof of her trust he would be justified -in receiving with a sardonic grunt. Of what use were -her favours to him now? She, well into her fifties, -could dance, sing, ride, pester her ladies, and flirt with -her gentlemen. “The Queen,” writes a friend of the -Talbots in 1589, “is so well as I assure you: six or -seven gallyards in a morning, besides music and -singing, is her ordinary exercise.” This is just a year -after the death of her adored Leicester, immediately -upon his return from his governorship of the Netherlands, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_316'>316</span>which he had so hated. The days of his departure -for that task were the days of Elizabeth’s disfavour. -“My Lord,” he wrote pathetically to Shrewsbury in -1585, “no man feeleth comfort but they that have -cause of griefe, and no men have so much neede of -reliefe and comfort as those that go in these doubtful -services. I pray you, my Lord, help us to be kept in -comfort, for that we wyll hazard our lyfe for it.” -Shrewsbury and his Countess could echo that cry -from the depths of their hearts, for they too were -of the company of those “that go in ... doubtful -services.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Thus Leicester, the splendid lover, was dead—of a -fever caught on his way home to Kenilworth. Elizabeth -still danced, still had zest and appetite for masque and -ceremonial. But Shrewsbury and Burghley, after they -had written their stately condolences to the Queen, -corresponded with one another about health matters. -In 1589 the former sends a pathetic old man’s gift to -his friend of ointment for his joints and “a small rug” -to wrap about his legs “at times convenient,” while a -flask of fine “oyle of roses” was in these days more -necessary than ale to the once stalwart Earl Marshal of -England.</p> - -<p class='c006'>From time to time Burghley sends to his friend the -State news, with suppressed allusions here and there to -his illnesses and sorrows. Lady Burghley was dead, -and though her husband was able to write in his old -dignified fashion of affairs at Court, he avoids all its -recreations. “The Queen is at Barn Elms, but this -night I will attend her at Westminster, for I am no -man meet for feastings,” runs a pathetic postscript from -him.</p> -<div class='section'> - -</div> -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i_316fp.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><span class='left'><em>Photo by Richard Keene, Ltd., Derby, from the painting by Zucchero at Hardwick Hall</em><br />    <em>By permission of his Grace the Duke of Devonshire</em></span><br /><br />QUEEN ELIZABETH<br /><br /><span class='right'>Page <a href='#Page_316'>316</a></span></p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_317'>317</span>To Elizabeth, Shrewsbury had played the part which -she assigned to one of her lovers, the Duke of Anjou, -to whom she wrote apropos of his persistency that she -should never cease to love and esteem him as the dog -which, being often chastised, returns to its master: -“comme le chien qui estant souvent batu retourne a son -maitre.” To her lovers she could say such things with -impunity, to her servants she only implied them. Her -beaten yet steadfast hound, Shrewsbury, true to his -family’s emblem of the faithful “Talbot dog,” lay -chiefly in these days at his small manor of Handsworth -pouring out his soul in letters. There seem to be -none available from his wife during his last years, -though she was to the end truly anxious to be on -happier terms with him, and made every possible effort -to achieve this. Once more Elizabeth used her good -offices with the honest intent to restore him to happiness. -In what was practically the last private letter she -ever wrote him, despatched in December, 1589, she -addressed him as “her very good old man,” was anxious -for news of his health, particularly at this inclement -season, sympathised with his gout, and begged him to -permit his wife sometimes to have access to him according -to her long-cherished wish. He seems to have -brooded heavily, as of yore—to a conscience so tender -the brooding nature is often a sorry twin brother—and -to have discussed the matter without any happy result. -About this time he wrote to his intimate friend the -Bishop of Lichfield on the subject. The Bishop’s views -are set forth in his reply. His view of the married -estate is a highly morose one. Yet he begs the Earl, -for decency’s sake, to patch up the quarrel finally.</p> - -<div> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_318'>318</span> - <h3 class='c017'><em>The Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry to the Earl of Shrewsbury.</em></h3> -</div> - -<div class='lg-container-l c002'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Right honourable, my singular good Lord,</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“I am bold according to my promise, to put -you in remembrance of some matters already passed -between us in talk. It is an old saying, and as true as -old, a thing well begun is half ended. It pleased your -good Lordship, at my late being with you, to confer -with me about divers points touching the good estate -of this our shire, whereof yourself, next under her -Majesty, is the chief governor; and I hope, as you -then begun them in good time, so very shortly they -will be brought to very good perfection.... -Thus much for those common affairs we had in -conference; now the chief and last matter that we -talked of, and a matter indeed both in conscience chiefly -to be regarded of you, and in duty still to be urged -and called upon by me, was the good and godly reconciliation -of you together, I mean my Lordship and my -Lady your wife. I humbly thank your good Lordship -you were content then to take my motion in good part, -and to account it for a good piece of mine office and -charge to travel in such cases, as indeed it is, and therefore, -I trust you will be as willing now to see me write -as you were then to hear me speak in that matter; and -the more, because I speak and write as well of mere love -and goodwill to yourself, as for any respect also of discharging -my duty unto God; and yet, also, you must -think chiefly and principally that I speak and write to -discharge my duty to God, and must take all that I do -to proceed, not as from a common friend and hanger-on, -but as from a special ghostly father, stirred up of God -<span class='pageno' id='Page_319'>319</span>purposely, as I hope, to do good unto you both by my -ghostly advice. My honourable good Lord, I cannot -see but that it must needs rest as a great clog to your -conscience, if you consider the matter as it is, and will -weigh the case according to the rule of God’s word: I -say I cannot see but that it must needs rest and remain -a great clog and burthen to your conscience to live -asunder from the Countess your wife, without her own -good liking and consent thereto; for, as I have told -you heretofore, it is the plain doctrine of Saint Paul that -the one should not defraud the other of due benevolence -nor of mutual comfort and company, but with the -agreement of both parties, and that also but for a time, -and only to give yourselves to fasting and prayer. This -is the doctrine of Saint Paul, and this doctrine Christ -Himself confirmed in the Gospel when He forbiddeth all -men to put away their wives unless for adultery, a thing -never suspected in my Lady your wife. I could bring -forth many authorities and examples both of the Holy -Scriptures and other, profane writers, to prove that -such kind of separations have always been holden unlawful -and ungodly, not only among the people of God, -but also among the heathen themselves that never knew -God; and I could likewise show what fearful judgments -of God have followed such unlawful separations, -and what great plagues have fallen upon not only the -offenders themselves, but also upon their houses and -children, and all their posterity after them; but I shall -not need to use any such discourse to your Lordship, -because so wise, so grave, so well disposed as indeed -you are of yourself if other evil counsellors did not -draw you to the contrary; who also shall not want -their part in the play, for, as the proverb saith, so -<span class='pageno' id='Page_320'>320</span>experience proveth the same to be true, <i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">consilium malum -consultori pessimum</span></i>, evil counsel falleth out worst to the -counsel giver.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“But some will say in your Lordship’s behalf that -the Countess is a sharp and bitter shrew, and therefore -like enough to shorten your life if she should keep you -company. Indeed, my good Lord, I have heard some -say so, but if shrewdness or sharpness may be a just -cause of separation between a man and wife, I think -few men in England would keep their wives long; for -it is a common jest, yet true in some sense, that there -is but one shrew in all the world and every man hath -her; and so every man might be rid of his wife that -would be rid of a shrew. My honourable good Lord, -I doubt not but your great wisdom and experience hath -taught you to bear some time with the woman as with -the weaker vessel; and yet, for the speeches I have -had with her Ladyship in that behalf, I durst pawn all -my credit unto your Lordship (and, if need be, also -bind myself in any great bond), she will so bridle herself -that way, beyond the course of other women, that she -will rather bear with your Lordship, than look to be -borne withal; and yet to be borne withal sometimes -is not amiss for the best and wisest and patientest of -us all. But peradventure some of your friends will -object greater matter against her; as that she hath -sought to overthrow your whole house; but those that -say so I think are not your Lordship’s friends, but -rather her Ladyship’s enemies, and their speech carrieth -no resemblance of truth; for how can it be likely that -she should seek or wish the overthrow of you or your -house, when not only, being your wife, your prosperity -must needs profit her very much, but also, having -<span class='pageno' id='Page_321'>321</span>joined her house with your house in marriage, your -long life and honourable state must needs glad her -heart to the uttermost; if not for your own sake, yet -for the issue of both your bodies, whom she loveth, -I dare say, as her own life, and would not see by her -goodwill to fall into any decay, either of honour or any -other good state of life or livings; although, also, I -dare say she wisheth all good unto you for your own -sake, as well as theirs, or else she would not be so -desirous of your life and company as she is. And -therefore, I beseech your Lordship remove all such -conceits far from you as are beaten into your head by -evil counsellors, and rather think this unlawful separation -to be a stain to your house, and a danger to your -life; for that God, indeed, is not well pleased with -it, Who will visit with death or sickness all that live -not after His laws, as of late yourself had some little -touch or taste given you of it by those or the nearest -friends of those whom you most trusted about you. -For my own part, I wish your Lordship all good, even -from my heart; both long life and honourable state, -with all increase of honour, and joy and comfort in the -Lord to your own heart’s desire; but yet both I and -you, and all of us that are God’s children, must think -that such visitations are sent us of God to call us home, -and if we despise them when they are sent, He will -lay greater upon us. Thus I am bold, my good Lord, -both in the fear of God and in goodwill towards yourself, -to discharge the duty of your well-willing ghostly -father, and if your Lordship accept it well, as I hope -you will, I beseech you let me understand it by a line -or two, that I may give God thanks for it; if not, -I have done my part; the success I leave to God; -<span class='pageno' id='Page_322'>322</span>and rest yours, notwithstanding, in what I may, and -so I humbly take my leave of your good Lordship.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“From Eccleshall, the 12th of October, 1590.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Your Lordship’s in all duty to command,</div> - <div class='line in18'>“<span class='sc'>W. Coven. and Lich.</span>”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>It is not necessary to lay stress on the sheer fatuity -and unwisdom of three-fourths of such a letter. But -the gross injustice of it has never been fully appreciated -by historians. In the first place, Bess of Hardwick was -not a mere shrew—as has been amply set forth. She -was a woman of great capabilities, and superabundant -driving power which, insufficiently controlled, ended in -a blindness to any point of view but her own, and so -caused her to utter under provocation, stress, and disappointment -hard and foolish things which the Earl -could not forget. The estrangement had certainly gone -too far for peace. The time for such things as a renewal -of trust and love between the two was past. -Within a month or two—in the January of 1591—the -Earl died. Gossip—wise after the event—declared that -with his last breath he groaned over the possibilities -of disaster which would descend upon his family through -his wife’s schemes for Arabella.</p> - -<p class='c006'>In the previous year the great Walsingham, worn out -by stress of affairs and labour, succumbed also—to his -“tympany and carnosity.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>And, since the world and his wife must be amused, -and the Queen needed distraction from heavy cares of -State, she went forth to be entertained at a public fête -a day after the death of her much-enduring “good old -man.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>To the last he could not forget the great slander. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_323'>323</span>Even his tomb witnesses, in his own words, to his virtue. -He must have brooded carefully over this epitaph and -the memorial which bears it in Sheffield Church. All -allusion to his second wife is omitted, and in regard to -the scandal he urges the fact of his official presence at the -execution of Mary as the surest proof of the innocence -of his relations with her. All he asked of his posterity -was that upon his death the date should be added to the -tomb. This they omitted to do.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_324'>324</span> - <h2 class='c004'>CHAPTER XXI<br /> <span class='small'>HEIR AND DOWAGER</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_0_6 c005'>A family circle made up of ingredients so pugnacious -could scarcely be expected to act unanimously -when it came to a question of the division of -property after the Earl’s death. Instantly the fragments -in the Talbot kaleidoscope rearranged themselves. It -was my Lady who now fought practically single-handed, -and the new Earl, Gilbert, and her own child Mary -were against her. They fought, as usual, in letters, and -confided largely in their friends. Gilbert and Mary -in one of their previous letters had called upon the -Almighty “speedily to grant your Ladyship all contentment -with long life.” When this new family feud -began they must have regretted that wish. Had they -foreseen that they had to encounter her strong will and -keen business instinct for the space of another seventeen -years they might possibly have compromised matters -more quickly. The fact is Gilbert and Mary were -innately pugnacious. It is written in their faces as -they look down from the walls of the great picture-gallery -of Hardwick. Neither face is unrefined, both -are shrewd, and Mary’s, at any rate, has, added to a -touch of scorn, a certain humorous sparkle. Neither, -however, possesses the dignity of the parents. Mary -has not her mother’s good features and innately aristocratic -<span class='pageno' id='Page_325'>325</span>air. Gilbert lacks the breadth and steadiness -expressed by the Earl.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Gilbert had taken his place now as seventh Earl, -received the usual pompous letters of condolence from -Lord Burghley and others, and was duly admitted to -the order of the Garter. His notions of earldom -expressed themselves chiefly in a gorgeous style of -living which (in Hunter’s opinion) “alone earned for -him the title of the great and glorious Earl of Shrewsbury,” -irrespective of either intellectual or official distinction. -Naturally his wife with her “pomp and court-like -ways” was in full accord with him, and the renewal -of the “All-for-Money” family fray was inevitable. -In addition to his strife with the old Countess, he -fought with Henry Talbot his younger brother, with -Lady Talbot the widow of his elder brother Francis, -with his own mother’s people the Manners family, -with a prominent neighbour Sir Richard Wortley of -Wortley, and, as aforesaid, with the Stanhopes of Nottinghamshire, -to whom his wife despatched the violent -message of hatred quoted in a previous chapter. It -stands to reason also that he could not live at peace -with his tenantry. As an ordinary man he does not -seem to have been mentally vigorous enough, as a man -of the world not sufficiently master of his hates and -prejudices to come to an understanding with them. It -was, after all, the most difficult task of his Lordship, and -one for which his Court and town experiences had not -fitted him in the least. Most pitiful of all was his -deadly feud with his brother Edward. As Gilbert’s -letters show, this arose entirely out of the dissensions -over property, though Edward and Henry, appointed as -executors of their father’s will, were wise enough to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_326'>326</span>decline the task and allow it to devolve on to the -experienced shoulders of their splendid stepmother.</p> - -<p class='c006'>This feud between Edward and Gilbert flourished -wickedly. There is no need to bore the reader with -the insertion of the pages of truculent correspondence -which ensued. Gilbert eventually challenged the other -to a duel, and Edward firmly declined to fight his own -flesh and blood. From the ancient chivalric standpoint -this may look like a lack of virility. But to fight would -have been the height of unwisdom for two young, -well-born men, fathers of families, and in circumstances -that would have been wholly preposterous<a id='t326'></a> except -for their absurd expenditure. It is this very refusal of -Edward Talbot which causes one to discount the current -story—set forth with the support of arguments, -probabilities, and reasons in the Harleian MSS.—to the -intent that Edward conspired, in Medici fashion, with -Gilbert’s own physician, Dr. Wood, against Gilbert’s -life, the medium chosen for the murder being a subtly -poisoned pair of perfumed gloves.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Thus it was as well for the whole family that my -Lady came to the fore again and wrestled with Gilbert, -for he had flattery enough from some of his friends to -feed his vanity in his new position. The garrulous -Richard Topcliffe covered several pages in a letter expressing -gladness that it had pleased God to set the heir -in the seat of his noble ancestors. “At such an alteration -of a house as now hath chanced by your father’s -death, there is ever great expecting towards the rising -of the sun.” It is an absurd, toadying letter, of which -the only sincere part is the writer’s definition of it at -the close as “my tedious dream.” Of such letters -Gilbert received his share, like his father, and was -<span class='pageno' id='Page_327'>327</span>flooded with all sorts of other correspondence—official, -semi-official, and private. He assumes his father’s office -in the lieutenancy of three counties, issues his orders -for armament. He meant excellently well no doubt, -but was not in the worldly sense a success. He could -never, like his father, have borne the Queen’s heavy -burdens from sheer devotion to a patriotic ideal and -from horror of incurring her disfavour. His disputes -with his tenantry so overpowered him that he was forced -to refer the matter to the Queen. Her opinion was -against him and on the side of the tenants. Meanwhile -the Stanhope quarrel became a regular county -affair, and, as Hunter puts it, “was pursued by both -parties with such precipitation and violence that it was -rendered impossible for the neighbouring gentry to preserve -neutrality.” It is not surprising that five years -after his father’s death he was thoroughly out of favour. -Yet Elizabeth could be very kind to his children. One -of her gentleman ushers, his friend, Richard Brakenbury, -writing from Court, sent him in a letter to -Rufford a pretty picture of the way she fondled his -little girl:—</p> - -<p class='c007'>“If I should write how much her Majesty this day -did make of the little lady your daughter, with often -kissing (which her Majesty seldom useth to any) and -then amending her dressing with pins, and still carrying -her with her Majesty in her own barge, and so into -the Privy Council lodgings, and so homeward from the -running, you would scarce believe me. Her Majesty -said (as true it is) that she is very like my Lady her -grandmother. She behaved herself with such modesty -as I pray God she may possess at twenty years old.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_328'>328</span>Indirectly the magnificent Dowager could only be -gratified by such favours. Her main energies now -were given to “pushing” Arabella in the great world. -Incidentally also it was her affair to go on building, -building, that she might live and flourish. Constructive -imagination of a certain kind she undoubtedly had. -She loved grandeur, comfort, and domestic beauty, -and could conceive and plan their achievement. She -was led to her building by her sense of importance, -coupled with the praiseworthy desire to establish her -offspring in a fine house, and so increase their social -advantages. That was the beginning, and her practical -imagination aided her. But rumour says that it is -not by the golden light of imagination that she was -helped to expand and continue her enterprises, but -by the glare of morbid superstition. Some soothsayer -she met—history does not say at what period -of her life—told her that so long as she went on -building she would never die. All hard-headed as -she was she has not escaped the imputation of credence -in fortune-telling, for she went on building to the end. -Moreover, there is the more excuse for her superstition, -since, as we know, crystal-gazers and conjurers with -their charmed plates of gold, their phials and symbols, -came and went in the country and about the English -and foreign courts. It is more than possible that -such persons, though included in Shrewsbury’s roll -of “practicers” and suspects, occasionally found their -way into my Lady’s parlour in Chatsworth or Hardwick. -There is behind this old soothsayer’s story a -deeper meaning. She built that she might exist, but -in her building she truly lived, for in her strongly -constructive instinct all her higher faculties, in their -<span class='pageno' id='Page_329'>329</span>finest, their Aristotelian sense, found their outlet, while -her heart realised a certain happiness.</p> - -<p class='c006'>By this time she was just seventy, and still in full -vigour, though tolerably scarred and embittered in -heart and soul. Through Arabella and her second -son William, both of whom she really seems to have -adored, she had still a great hold upon life. It was -her main business now to fight old age, face her fourth -widowhood resolutely, live in comfort, and provide -for those she loved or who were in any sense dependent -on her.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Arabella cannot, of course, have had a particularly -joyous or smooth childhood under the sway of that -keen, tempestuous temperament, but at any rate she -imbibed and inherited an enormous amount of vitality. -She was too young to be overcast by the pitiful, short-lived -love story of her parents, and her grandmother -brought her up jealously and in an atmosphere of state -which helped to single her out from the other grandchildren -of the family and from the family circle. A -letter from the Countess, written when Arabella was -but a baby, may be included here:—</p> - -<p class='c014'>“<em>The Countess of Shrewsbury to Lord Burghley, respecting -the assignment of an Income to the Lady Arabella.</em> <span class='fss'>A.D.</span> -1582.<a id='r85' /><a href='#f85' class='c013'><sup>[85]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c006'>“After my very hearty commendations to your good -Lo. where it pleased the Queen’s Majesty my most -gracious Sovereign, upon my humble suit to grant unto -my late daughter Lennox four hundred pounds, and to -that her dear and only daughter Arbella two hundred -<span class='pageno' id='Page_330'>330</span>pounds yearly for their better maintenance, assigned -out of part of the land of her inheritance: whereof -the four hundred pounds is now at her Majesty’s disposition -by the death of my daughter Lennox, whom -it pleased God (I doubt not in mercy for her good, but -to my no small grief, in her best time) to take out of -this world, whom I cannot yet remember but with a -sorrowful troubled mind. I am now, my good L., to -be an humble suitor to the Queen’s Majesty that it -may please her to confirm that grant of the whole six -hundred pounds yearly for the education of my dearest -jewel Arbella, wherein I assuredly trust to her Majesty’s -most gracious goodness, who never denied me any suit, -but by her most bountiful and gracious favours every -way hath so much bound me as I can never think -myself able to discharge my duty in all faithful service -to her Majesty. I wish not to leave after I shall -willingly fail in any part thereof to the best of my -power. And as I know your L. hath special care for -the ordering of her Majesty’s revenues and of her -estate every way, so trust I you will consider of the -poor infant’s case, who under her Majesty is to appeal -only unto your Lo. for succour in all her distresses; -who, I trust, cannot dislike of this my suit on her -behalf, considering the charges incident to her bringing -up. For although she were ever where her mother was -during her life, yet can I not now like she should be -here nor in any place else where I may not sometimes -see her and daily hear of her, and therefore charged -with keeping house where she must be with such as -is fit for her standing, of whom I have special care, not -only such as a natural mother hath of her best beloved -child, but much more greater in respect how she is in -blood to her Majesty: albeit one of the poorest as -depending wholly on her Majesty’s gracious bounty and -goodness, and being now upon seven years, and very -apt to learn, and able to conceive what shall be taught -her. The charge will so increase as I doubt not her -Majesty will well conceive the six hundred pounds -yearly to be little enough, which as your Lo. knoweth -is but so much in money, for that the lands be in lease, -and no further commodity to be looked for during -these few years of the child’s minority. All which I -trust your L. will consider and say to her Majesty what -you think thereof; and so most heartily wish your L. -well to do.</p> -<div class='section'> - -</div> -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i_330fp.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><span class='left'><em>From a photo by Richard Keene, Ltd., Derby, after the painting at Hardwick Hall<br />    By permission of his Grace the Duke of Devonshire</em></span><br /><br />ARABELLA STUART<br /><br /><span class='right'>Page <a href='#Page_330'>330</a></span></p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_331'>331</span>“Sheffield this 6th day of May.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Your L. most assured loving friend,</div> - <div class='line in24'>“<span class='sc'>E. Shrewsbury</span>.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“To the right honourable and my very good Lord -the Lord Burghley, L. Treasurer of England.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>To this Arabella, aged seven, adds her pretty French -postscript:—</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Je prieray Dieu Monsr. vous donner en parfaicte -en entiere santé, tout heureux et bon succes, et seray -tousjours preste a vous faire tout honneur et service.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“<span class='sc'>Arbella Steward.</span>”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>The new Hardwick, the present hall, was not actually -finished till seven years after the Earl’s death, and there -and at the older house the Dowager and the semi-royal -grandchild spent many years together. The former -was, as has been instanced, busy betimes with making -matches for the child. After the disappointment about -<span class='pageno' id='Page_332'>332</span>Lord Leicester’s little son, the old ambitious spirit -flares up gloriously in the proposal that Arabella, who -was just ten years old, should marry James of Scotland. -She was suggested by Walsingham, presumably at the -Queen’s desire, as an alternative bride to a Danish -princess. James was not inclined to make up his mind -at the moment, and in the following year another bridegroom -was suggested—Rainutio, son of the Duke -of Parma. Since the Duke was suspected of laying -claim to the English throne, these negotiations were -carried on secretly, not so secretly, however, that they -escaped the knowledge of Burghley. State papers show -that he was well aware that a servant of Sir Edward -Stafford was employed “from beyond the sea, to practise -with” Arabella about this marriage. “He was sent -once before for her picture, and has been thrice to -England this year,” is the conclusion of the secret -information sent to Court. It is likely that the picture -named might be a copy of one of the two hanging -now in the great gallery at Hardwick Hall. Both are -deeply interesting, and one, in which she is shown as -a little, dignified, grandly dressed child of two holding -a gay stiff doll, is very moving. The other, of which -the original seems to be at Welbeck, shows her “in her -hair,” in the old phrase. Part of her hair is drawn over -a puff above her forehead and adorned with a drop -jewel, and the rest hangs down fine and straight like -a soft veil behind her shoulders. Her dress is white, -with sleeves either of ermine or white velvet with black -spots; her gold fan has a dull red cord, and a girdle -of jewels is about her waist. On either side of her -hangs a portrait of James VI as a little boy. In one -he carries a hawk—symbol of the passion for sport which -seems to have been, save for his obstinacy, his only -strong point; in the other he is in correct fashionable -dress and plumed cap, and wears a tiny sword—symbol -of the courage he never possessed, and forerunner of the -full-grown weapon which he could carry with swagger, -but dared not use on his mother’s behalf. Even as his -little presence hedges Arabella in this gallery on both -sides, so in life his position dominated hers most cruelly -in years to come.</p> -<div class='section'> - -</div> -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i_332fp.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><span class='left'><em>Photo by Richard Keene, Ltd., Derby, from the picture at Hardwick Hall<br />    By permission of his Grace the Duke of Devonshire</em></span><br /><br />ARABELLA STUART<br /><br /><span class='right'>Page <a href='#Page_332'>332</a></span></p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_333'>333</span>The proposed marriage alluded to, which set abroad -all manner of fears of conspiracy in connection with -Arabella in 1592, caused Lord Burghley to write warnings -to the Countess. All the old caution and authority -show in her reply:—</p> - -<h3 class='c017'><em>The Countess of Shrewsbury to Lord Burghley: representing her care of the Lady Arabella.</em><a id='r86' /><a href='#f86' class='c013'><sup>[86]</sup></a></h3> - -<p class='c007'>“My honourable good Lord,—I received your Lordship’s -letter on Wednesday towards night, being the -20th of this September, by a servant of Mr. John -Talbott, of Ireland. My good Lord, I was at the first -much troubled to think that so wicked and mischievous -practices should be devised to entrap my poor Arbell -and me, but I put my trust in the Almighty, and will -use such diligent care as I doubt not but to prevent -whatsoever shall be attempted by any wicked persons -against the poor child. I am most bound to her -Majesty that it pleased her to appoint your Lordship -to give me knowledge of this wicked practice, and I -humbly thank your Lordship for advertising it: if any -such like hereinafter be discovered I pray your Lordship -<span class='pageno' id='Page_334'>334</span>I may be forewarned. I will not have any unknown or -suspected person to come to my house. Upon the least -suspicion that may happen here, anyway, I shall give -advertisement to your Lordship. I have little resort to -me: my house is furnished with sufficient company: -Arbell walks not late, at such time as she shall take the -air, it shall be near the house, and well attended on: -she goeth not to anybody’s house at all: I see her -almost every hour in the day: she lieth in my bedchamber. -If I can be more precise than I have been I -will be. I am bound in nature to be careful for Arbell: -I find her loving and dutiful to me, yet her own good -and safety is not dearer to me, nor more by me -regarded than to accomplish her Majesty’s pleasure, and -that which I think may be for her service. I would -rather wish many deaths than to see this or any such -like wicked attempt to prevail.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“About a year since, there was one Harrison, a seminary, -that lay at his brother’s house about a mile from -Hardwick, whom I thought then to have caused to -be apprehended, and to have sent him up; but found -he had licence for a time. Notwithstanding, the -seminary, soon after, went from his brother’s, finding -how much I was discontented with his lying so near -me. Since my coming now into the country, I had -some intelligence that the same seminary was come -again to his brother’s house: my son William Cavendish -went thither of a sudden to make search for -him, but could not find him. I write this much to -your Lordship that if any such traitorous and naughty -persons (through her Majesty’s clemency) be suffered -to go abroad, that they may not harbour near my -houses Wingfield, Hardwick, or Chatsworth in Derbyshire: -<span class='pageno' id='Page_335'>335</span>they are the most likely instruments to put a -bad matter in execution.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“One Morley, who hath attended on Arbell, and -read to her for the space of three years and a half, -showed to be much discontented since my return into -the country, in saying he had lived in hope to have -some annuity granted him by Arbell out of her lands -during his life, or some lease of grounds to the value -of forty pounds a year, alleging that he was so much -damaged by leaving the University, and now saw that -if she were willing, yet not of ability, to make him any -such assurance. I understanding by divers that Morley -was so much discontented, and withal of late having -some cause to be doubtful of his forwardness in religion -(though I cannot charge him with papistry), took occasion -to part with him. After he was gone from my -house, and all his stuff carried from hence, the next -day he returned again, very importunate to serve without -standing upon any recompense, which made me more -suspicious, and the more willing to part with him. I -have no other in my house who will supply Morley’s -place very well for the time. I will have those that -shall be sufficient in learning, honest, and well disposed -so near as I can.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“I am forced to use the hand of my son William -Cavendish, not being able to write so much myself for -fear of bringing great pain to my head. He only is -privy to your Lordship’s letter, and neither Arbell nor -any other living, nor shall be.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“I beseech your Lordship I may be directed from -you as occasion shall fall out. To the uttermost of -my understanding, I have and will be careful. I beseech -the Almighty to send your Lordship a long and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_336'>336</span>happy life, and so I will commit your Lordship to His -protection. From my house at Hardwick the 21st of -September, 1592.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Your Lordship’s as I am bound,</div> - <div class='line in20'>“<span class='sc'>E. Shrewsbury</span>.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='section'> - -</div> -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i_336fp.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><span class='left'><em>Photo by Richard Keene, Ltd., Derby</em></span><br /><br />THE PICTURE GALLERY FROM THE NORTH, HARDWICK HALL<br /><br /><span class='right'>Page <a href='#Page_336'>336</a></span></p> -</div> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_337'>337</span> - <h2 class='c004'>CHAPTER XXII<br /> <span class='small'>ARABELLA DANCES INTO COURT</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_0_6 c005'>The death of Mary Queen of Scots was the signal -for the Countess to insure that Arabella should be -as near the Court as possible. She was kept hard at her -lessons, but, though the various members of the family -were at variance over property, the Dowager was far too -wise to spoil the girl’s prospects by forbidding her intercourse -with her “Court-like” aunt, Gilbert’s Mary. As -regards the young Shrewsbury pair she was, of course, -at once a possible stumbling-block and a possible stepping-stone -to their advantage. Her parentage gave her -social precedence, and though her present worldly status -was not very great, she might at any time, by an important -marriage, assume a position far above them and -be regarded as a source of Court favours. In fact, both -sides of the complicated family co-operated to help her -on in the world.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Already at the age of thirteen she was introduced to -the Court. Her young uncle, Sir Charles Cavendish, -writes of it with great appreciation: “My Lady Arbell, -has been once to Court. Her Majesty spoke twice to -her ... she dined in the presence, but my Lord -Treasurer had her to supper; and at dinner, I dining -with her, and sitting over against him, he asked me -whether I came with my niece. I said I came with her: -then he spake openly, and directed his speech to Sir -<span class='pageno' id='Page_338'>338</span>Walter Rawley, greatly in her recommendation, as that -she had the French, the Italian, played of instruments, -dances, and writ very fair; wished she were fifteen years -old, and with that rounded Mr. Rawley in the ear, who -answered it would be a happy thing.... My Lady -Arbelle and the rest are very well, and it is wonderful -how she profiteth in her book, and believe she will dance -with exceeding good grace, and can behave herself with -great proportion to everyone in their degree.”<a id='r87' /><a href='#f87' class='c013'><sup>[87]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c006'>Old Lady Shrewsbury worked hard for Arabella and -played for Elizabeth’s favour now more than ever, with -a keen hope of seeing the girl named as her Majesty’s -successor. James of Scotland was, of course, playing a -similar game, and while he pressed the Queen in regard -to the succession, up to the point of making her angry, -he kept on good terms with Arabella, to whom he -wrote now and then an affectionate, cousinly letter. -His tactics were practical, for he now proposed as her -bridegroom Esmé Stuart, a piece of diplomacy on -which, under the magnificent guise of her restoration -to her own title of Lennox, he must have prided himself -enormously. This offer was declined; a shortsighted -refusal, as it proved both in the future and in -the present, for matters in regard to Elizabeth’s favour -did not prosper. Old age and bitterness made her -resentful and increased her hydra-headed suspicion. It -was always so easy for any ill-minded person to raise -a papistical scare and accuse Arabella—whose aunt, the -young Countess, was notoriously in favour of the proscribed -priesthood—as being the heart and soul of every -such plot.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Yet the Dowager Countess still laboured on. We -<span class='pageno' id='Page_339'>339</span>find Arabella sending the Queen a “rare New Year -gift,” to which her Majesty’s return was acknowledged -by a confidential correspondent as a very poor one. -The Queen, however, in discussion with the writer -announced her intention to be kind and promised to be -“very careful of Arabella.” Again this was a case of -“Words, words!”</p> - -<p class='c006'>It was in 1592 that Arabella refused Esmé Stuart. -In 1596 no less a person than the French King discussed -her as a possible bride for the Dauphin. Meanwhile -she, who was in no sense an <em>intrigante</em>, and seems to -have inherited all the simplicity of her mother, with -the energy and the <i><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">joie de vivre</span></i> of her grandmother, was -in no way concerned in the wretched schemes attributed -to her by wild gossip. She was more desirous of love -and companionship than of place and glory, and of -a decent competence than the splendour of courts. In -her twenty-eighth year (1603) she attempted to make -her own choice. It was a curious one as regards discrepancy -in age. She sought to betroth herself to a boy -fifteen years old, young William Seymour. This was -no less than the grandson of that same unhappy Earl -Hertford who had wedded poor Lady Catherine Grey. -The whole affair would be puzzling if it were not for -the fact that Arabella’s thoughts were turned in this -direction by the fact that he, like herself, was partly of -royal blood. At the same time, he was not hampered -by the possession of a crown, and with all the attendant -difficulties and dangers of a royal marriage. The matter -did not go very far, for the bare suggestion of such -a thing aroused the most absurd excitement in the -Queen’s mind. Arabella was at once arrested.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Elizabeth, it will be remembered, was already dying -<span class='pageno' id='Page_340'>340</span>by inches in the cold spring of 1603. The accusation -that Arabella’s action killed her has no ground whatsoever; -but it was an unfortunate moment to incur -royal displeasure. Naturally when the question of -succession came up finally and Elizabeth was asked -if she could contemplate young William Seymour’s -father, Lord Beauchamp, as her heir, the old irritation -against the Hertford marriage flared up in that memorable -dying retort of hers: “I will have no rascal’s son -in my place.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Bitterly indeed must Bess Shrewsbury have raved at -Hardwick against the unjust fate which caused the -fortunes of her “juwell” to decline so miserably at this -critical moment. The succession of James was thereby -assured, and when it became fact was a bitter pill for -Talbot and Cavendish to swallow. By this time the -good Burghley was dead, and his son, Sir Robert Cecil, -undertook to mediate for Arabella with James. She -was for the moment removed to polite imprisonment in -the country, whence she wrote breezy and innocent letters -to her family, notably to her step-uncle, Edward Talbot, -in which she disclaims her guilt in a somewhat veiled -and fantastic manner. “Noble gentleman,” runs one -sentence, “I am as unjustly accused of contriving a -comedy as you in my conscience a tragedy.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>While she awaited the King’s pleasure James was -making his first royal progress, and Gilbert Shrewsbury -had the honour of entertaining him magnificently at -Worksop Manor, which must have made the Dowager -fearfully jealous. Cecil set to work as soon as possible -on his protégée’s behalf, and, seeing that she presented -no problem of political danger, eventually procured her -liberty—that is, with certain reservations. He undertook that she should reside with the Marchioness of -Northampton at Sheen.</p> -<div class='section'> - -</div> -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i_340fp.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><span class='left'><em>From an engraving by Walker, after a drawing by Malton</em></span><br /><br />WELBECK ABBEY<br /><br /><span class='right'>Page <a href='#Page_340'>340</a></span></p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_341'>341</span>All this while the Countess Dowager kept well in the -background. Arabella, she knew, was of an age to -manage her own affairs, and could deal shrewdly and -promptly with Cecil in regard to her maintenance by the -King in her right as one of royal blood. She managed -this difficult situation so well that she was presently -taken into the bosom of the Court. This happy event -was gracefully achieved thus. The arrival in England -of the Queen-Consort some months after her husband -was the cause for further display on the part of both -Cavendishes and Talbots. Bess Shrewsbury planned -a great reception for Anne of Denmark at Chatsworth, -and tendered the invitation through Arabella. It was -declined, and it has been suggested that the royal -motive for this was the unhappy association of the -great hostess with the mother of James. Though the -mere fact of the Countess’s former position of assistant-gaoler -may not have sufficed, memories of strife and -“scandilation” would certainly stick in the memory -of those who surrounded James, and their advice could -scarcely favour the invitation. Arabella was, however, -authorised to go to Welbeck to assist her uncle, Sir -Charles Cavendish, to receive Anne. At the same -time she was to be introduced to the young Princess, -to whom she was appointed State governess. Earl -Gilbert’s house was once more honoured, and his wife -and he incited to impoverish themselves anew for their -second magnificent royal entertainment in the year of -the accession.</p> - -<p class='c006'>At Welbeck Sir Charles Cavendish vied with his -half-brother and contrived an elaborate sylvan pageant -<span class='pageno' id='Page_342'>342</span>in which Arabella figured as Diana. Poor Diana! At -twenty-seven she could personate with zest the chaste, -invincible, tireless goddess. Could she have foreseen -that rôle assigned to her for life by the criminal selfishness -of James, she would have forsworn all courts in -that hour, and preferred the groves in which she and -William Seymour would willingly have walked in years -to come, hand in hand, poor and happy.</p> - -<p class='c006'>So—as in Elizabeth’s day—the girl, spirited, cultured, -good, and warm-hearted, danced herself into the heart -of Queen Anne, and above all into that of the young -Elizabeth, whom she charmed instantly. Away went -Arabella now to Court in the new Queen’s train, and -thenceforward appeared constantly in the company of -her clever, tart, intriguing Shrewsbury aunt. Her -uncle Gilbert kept a steady eye on her. For she was -lively, brilliant; not beautiful, but of great magnetic -attraction. Withal, she was quick of tongue, and he -feared lest she should slip into indiscretion of speech -and give advantage to back-biters at Court.</p> -<div class='section'> - -</div> -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i_342fp.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><span class='left'><em>Photo by Richard Keene, Ltd., Derby</em></span><br /><br />THE DINING-ROOM, HARDWICK HALL<br /><br /><span class='right'>Page <a href='#Page_342'>342</a></span></p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_343'>343</span>She escaped at least one danger this autumn—infection -from the plague. In spite of all her duties and -dangers she was in close touch with her relatives. -Naturally there were difficult moments. Now she displeases -her tremendous grandmother, and now her -pugnacious aunt. Again and again she tries to act as -go-between, and at odd times secures favours for one -or the other—a barony for William Cavendish, a -bride for his son. At intervals she visited her grandmother, -but generally with a view to making peace -between Gilbert and the hostess of Hardwick. To -him she wrote in a very touching manner after a visit -to the old lady: “I found so good hope of my grandmother’s good inclination to a good and reasonable -reconciliation betwixt herself and her divided family -that I could not forbear to impart to your Lordship -with all speed. Therefore I beseech you, put on such -a Christian and honourable mind as becometh you to -bear to a lady so near to you and yours as my grandmother -is. And think you cannot devise to do me -greater honour and contentment than to let me be the -only mediator, moderator, and peacemaker betwixt you -and her. You know I have cause only to be partial on -your side, so many kindnesses and favours I have received -from you, and so many unkindnesses and disgraces -have I received from the other party. Yet will -I not be restrained from chiding you (as great a lord as -you are) if I find you either not willing to be asken to -this good notion or to proceed in it as I shall think -reasonably.... If I be not sufficient for this treaty -never think me such as can add strength and honour to -your family.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Such matters were hard for both sides, and one’s -sympathy inclines to the ageing, fighting, building -Dowager. “Your unkindness sticks sore in her teeth,” -wrote one of Gilbert’s informants. To Gilbert, however, -she managed to maintain a proud front, and busied -herself about a fresh building enterprise.</p> - -<p class='c006'>This project was partly the outcome of her extraordinary -pugnacity. Her neighbour, Sir Francis Leake, -had designed and was building in the county a fine -house, Sutton, which rivalled Hardwick in magnificence. -Invidious comparisons were evidently drawn, and she -declared scornfully that she would build as good a house -“for owls” as he for men. The mansion she built was -therefore called Owlcotes, and was not far from Hardwick.</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_344'>344</span>The first year of Arabella’s royal post was certainly -one fraught with peril, for it closed with the trial of Sir -Walter Raleigh, accused, as all will remember, of plotting -to dethrone James in favour of Arabella. Even -Henry Cavendish was suspected of complicity. It is -not necessary here to go into the details which proved -Arabella’s innocence. It was quickly proved and her -Court life went on as before, gaily, with masques, -drawing-rooms, ballets, and even the nursery games in -which it pleased the ladies of the Danish Anne to -indulge.</p> - -<p class='c006'>At the close of her second year at Court (1605) -another proposal, this time from the King of Poland, -reached Arabella and was refused. She does not yet -seem to have tired of the frivolous and exhausting -life, though her letters—whimsical, affectionate, quaintly -sententious, often highly graphic—are shortened at times, -and, though loyal, she complains roundly of “this everlasting -hunting.” For in their passion for sport King -and Queen dragged their courtiers hither and thither, -and the latter were often miserably housed and served -during these expeditions.</p> -<div class='section'> - -</div> -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i_344fp.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><span class='left'><em>From a photo by Richard Keene, Ltd., Derby, after the painting at Hardwick Hall<br />    By permission of his Grace the Duke of Devonshire</em></span><br /><br />JAMES THE FIFTH OF SCOTLAND<br /><br /><span class='right'>Page <a href='#Page_344'>344</a></span></p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_345'>345</span>The Dowager at Hardwick was well informed of -Court affairs, for she paid a handsome retaining fee to -no less a person than the Dean of the Chapel Royal in -order that he should keep her well posted. In this -year (1605) she was taken seriously ill and summoned -Arabella. The girl was evidently afraid of her, for she -took precautions to insure welcome in the shape of a -letter from the King himself, desiring the Countess to -receive her granddaughter with kindness and bounty. -This incensed the old lady a good deal. Though she -was now more or less like a sleeping dragon guarding -her hoard, as in the Norse legend, she could still rouse -herself to snarl in a letter. She did not write to the -King direct, but devised an epistle to the Dean, in which -she emphatically declared her astonishment at the royal -message. This he was ordered to show to the King. -“It was very strange to her,” she said, “that my Lady -Arabella should come to her with a recommendation as -either doubting of her entertainment or desiring to -come to her from whom she had desired so earnestly -to come away. That for her part she thought she had -sufficiently expressed her good meaning and kindness to -her that had purchased her seven hundred pounds by -year land of inheritance, and given her as much money -as would buy a hundred pound by year more. And -though for her part she had done very well for her -according to her poor ability, yet she should always be -welcome to her, though she had divers grandchildren -that stood more in need than she, and much the more -welcome in respect of the King’s recommendation; she -had bestowed on Arabella a cup of gold worth a hundred -pound, and three hundred pound in money which deserved -thankfulness very well, considering her poor -ability.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>James could afford to laugh at such a communication, -which fortunately did not prejudice Arabella in his eyes. -Her return to Court was not long delayed, for her -grandmother recovered, and the Court lady was once -more free to stand godmother to royal babies, play, -hunt, and dance, and suffer perpetual financial embarrassment -owing to the ridiculous expenditure to which -courtiers of both sexes were put in making royal gifts -and providing the costly, fantastic costumes which the -successive masques entailed.</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_346'>346</span>It was during the production of the famous “Masque -of Beauty,” written for <cite>Twelfth Night</cite>, and produced in -honour of the visit of the King of Denmark, that Bess -Shrewsbury sank into her last illness. For this masque -Arabella, it is recorded, appeared in jewels and robes -worth more than £100,000. From such scenes of -colour and luxuriance she was called to that stately, -lonely deathbed at Hardwick.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Of the Countess’s danger her relatives were fully -aware, and the various family partisans took good care -to be on the look-out for any hostile movements with -regard to property from their opponents. The following -extract from one of Gilbert’s letters to Henry -Cavendish gives an ugly little picture of the situation. -The date is January 4th, 1607:—</p> - -<p class='c007'>“When I was at Hardwick she did eat very little, -and not able to walk the length of the chamber betwixt -two, but grew so ill at it as you might plainly discern it. -On New Year’s Eve, when my wife sent her New Year’s -gift, the messenger told us she looked pretty well and -spoke heartily; but my Lady wrote that she was worse -than when we last saw her, and Mrs. Digby sent a secret -message that her Ladyship was so ill that she could not -be from her day nor night. I heard that direction is -given to some at Wortley to be in readiness to drive -away all the sheep and cattle at Ewden instantly upon -her Ladyship’s death.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“These being the reasons that move me thus to -advise you, consider how like it is that when she is -thought to be in danger your good brother will think it -time to work with you to that effect, and—God forgive -me if I judge amiss—I verily think that, till of late, he -hath been in some hope to have seen your end before -hers, by reason of your sickliness and discontentment of -mind. To conclude, I wish and advise you to take no -hold of any offer that shall be made unto you, etc.</p> -<div class='section'> - -</div> -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i_346fp.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><span class='left'><em>Photo by Richard Keene, Ltd., Derby</em></span><br /><br />TOMB OF ELIZABETH COUNTESS OF SHREWSBURY<br /><br /><span class='right'>Page <a href='#Page_346'>346</a></span></p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_347'>347</span>“You have not been forgot to my Lady, neither for -yourself nor for Chatsworth, but we have forborne to -write you thereof, knowing that one of your brother’s -principallest means to keep us all so divided one from -another, etc.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Your good brother” is certainly William Cavendish, -of whom the whole family were wildly jealous, and -who planned to seize certain cattle belonging to the -Countess, in advance of his brothers, so soon as she had -drawn her last breath.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Very few details are extant of the death of the great -Bess. Grateful pensioners she had, and certainly some -devoted servants. Her intimate friends were few, and -nearly all her contemporaries predeceased her. We -come across nothing more interesting as a bare record of -her death than the following entry in Simpson’s <cite>National -Records of Derby</cite> for 1607:—</p> - -<p class='c007'>“The old Countess of Shrewsbury died about Candlemas -this year, whose funeral was about Holy Thursday. -A great frost this year. The witches of Bakewell -hanged.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>So into limbo this contemptuous entry dismisses a -great lady. Pouf! Out with the candles! The frost -is over; some women have been hung at Bakewell; an -old lady is dead.</p> - -<p class='c006'>To the end she never ceased her doughty and defiant -game with stone, wood, and mortar. While her “home -<span class='pageno' id='Page_348'>348</span>for owls” was in erection there came that same “great -frost” named in the old Derby chronicle. Naturally the -mortar at “Owlcotes” froze. The masons could do -nothing. Instantly she issued orders that it was to be -thawed with boiling water. This was unavailing, and -the order came to use ale also, in the hope that the -thicker fluid might prevent crystallisation. About this -there is the true Elizabethan touch. But even ale, -poured out like water, failed, and my Lady went out—with -the holy candles.</p> - -<p class='c006'>How Arabella—faithful, loyal, vital, intense—danced, -toiled, and loved—to her doom; how energetic, ambitious -Mary Shrewsbury, like her mother before her, -enjoyed imprisonment in the Tower because of her -match-making intrigues; how William Cavendish became -not only an earl, but one of the first colonists in -Virginia and Bermuda; how Henry Cavendish died of -his “sickliness and discontentment of mind”; how -Henry Talbot, also, passed away before he could share -the splendour or the thriftlessness of his race; how -Charles Cavendish made Bolsover Castle a fit guesthouse -for the King, for whom his son prepared a famous -masque and banquet; how Gilbert Shrewsbury, his -presence-chamber crowded with spongers and creditors, -pawned his plate and jewels, and how his younger -brother and chief enemy, Edward Talbot, became eighth -Earl in his stead, belong to an epoch which escapes the -limit of this survey.</p> -<div class='section'> - -</div> -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i_348fp.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><span class='left'><em>Photo by Richard Keene, Ltd., Derby</em></span><br /><br />ENTRANCE HALL, HARDWICK HALL<br /><br /><span class='right'>Page <a href='#Page_348'>348</a></span></p> -</div> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_349'>349</span> - <h2 class='c004'>CHAPTER XXIII<br /> <span class='small'>MY LADY’S MANSIONS</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_0_6 c005'>It is universally conceded by our nation that the -French have a sense of the theatre which we shall -never possess. The only set-off we can produce is a -pre-eminent “sense of the house.” In France this has -to a great extent died out. In French and in most -continental cities the greater number of people live like -pigeons in large cotes. It is the tendency of all towns, -though in England the notion takes hold slowly. In -the country the sense of the house is as strong as ever, -with this change—that it is the day of the little house. -Of the great house in its perfect sense as a home there -are but few happy instances. It is the day of little -things—little books, little songs, little pictures, little -buildings, little frequent journeys, little incomes, and -little sports. Above all, the little incomes! Little -incomes laugh defiance at great houses. For great -houses, as aforesaid, are great thieves. Bess and her -Lord knew it, in the end, to their sorrow. Slowly -English men and women have come to realise this, and -not to aspire enviously to great houses. That notion -was long a-dying, that obsession of the great house. -Its long decline meant assuredly much that was tragic, -wounding, self-torturing. Oh! those mistaken, ostentatious -shams and pomposities of the early Victorian days -<span class='pageno' id='Page_350'>350</span>when many a kindly, highly cultured, hypersensitive -group of persons dwelt the lives of immured cabbages! -And all this because of false pride, because of a penury -they deliberately huddled round them, like a coward, -who flings his cloak over his head so that he may not -see even the opportunity for the courage which must -go to the changed order of things.</p> - -<p class='c006'>And so the little incomes of to-day—the day of the -triumph of the exploitation of limited resources—laugh -at the great houses because the first have been forced to -learn that trick of defiance side by side with the bitter -lesson of monetary limitations which they share with -the last. Yet behind their defiance is a great admiration -of the big mansions. And behind the admiration, if -they but guessed it, a great sense of indebtedness. For -it is the little incomes, and not the little houses, which -laugh at great mansions. Is it not by virtue of the past -life and compassion of the great houses that the little -ones achieve their beauty in miniature, and, lastly, -their sweet appropriateness to the usages of modern -life? The great house begat these little ones of to-day—no -hovels, but decent homes—which spring up all -over England and Scotland and Ireland—in the hollows -or heights of downs, in richly watered places, on ridges, -by the fringes of woods, upon the sea flank—creeping -up almost impudently to the very skirts of the great -“places” which have passed into the traditions of history. -Some of these remain to us as dazzling show places, -some few are also emphatically homes. Whether applied -in the present to this most beautiful and intimate -purpose or not, all the great mansions of Elizabeth -Lady Shrewsbury were most truly intended for sweet -daily uses. Two principal houses had she of her -<span class='pageno' id='Page_351'>351</span>own—Hardwick and Chatsworth. Eight more George -Talbot brought her—Wingfield, Sheffield, Rufford, Welbeck, -Worksop, Tutbury, Bolsover. One smaller place -he cherished for his old age, a little country house at -Handsworth in the same county, and one more, as -already explained, she in her old age founded—Owlcotes -or Oldcotes—besides beginning the rebuilding of Bolsover -Castle. Great houses indeed! Four of them, -in especial, were widely sung and praised. How runs -the curious old rhyme?</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c016'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Hardwicke for hugeness, Worsope for height,</div> - <div class='line'>Welbecke for use, and Bolser for sighte.</div> - <div class='line'>Worsope for walks, Hardwicke for hall,</div> - <div class='line'>Welbecke for brewhouse, Bolser for all.</div> - <div class='line'>Welbecke a parish, Hardwicke a Court,</div> - <div class='line'>Worsope a pallas, Bolser a fort.</div> - <div class='line'>Bolser to feast in, Welbecke to ride in,</div> - <div class='line'>Hardwicke to thrive in, and Worsope to bide in.</div> - <div class='line'>Hardwicke good house, Welbecke good keepinge,</div> - <div class='line'>Worsope good walkes, Bolser good sleepinge.</div> - <div class='line'>Bolser new built, Welbecke well mended,</div> - <div class='line'>Hardwicke concealed, and Worsope extended.</div> - <div class='line'>Bolser is morn, and Welbecke day bright,</div> - <div class='line'>Hardwicke high noone, Worsope good night;</div> - <div class='line'>Hardwicke is now, and Welbecke will last,</div> - <div class='line'>Bolser will be and Worsope is past.</div> - <div class='line'>Welbecke a wife, Bolser a maide,</div> - <div class='line'>Hardwicke a matron, Worsope decaide.</div> - <div class='line'>Worsope is wise, Welbecke is wittie,</div> - <div class='line'>Hardwicke is hard, Bolser is prettie.</div> - <div class='line'>Hardwicke is riche, Welbecke is fine,</div> - <div class='line'>Worsope is stately, Bolser divine.</div> - <div class='line'>Hardwicke a chest, Welbecke a saddle,</div> - <div class='line'>Worsope a throne, Bolser a cradle.</div> - <div class='line'>Hardwicke resembles Hampton Court much,</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_352'>352</span>And Worsope, Welbecke, Bolser none such.<a id='r88' /><a href='#f88' class='c013'><sup>[88]</sup></a></div> - <div class='line'>Worsope a duke, Hardwicke an earl,</div> - <div class='line'>Welbecke a viscount, Bolser a pearl.</div> - <div class='line'>The rest are jewels of the sheere</div> - <div class='line'>Bolser pendant of the eare.</div> - <div class='line'>Yet an old abbey hard by the way—</div> - <div class='line'>Rufford—gives more alms than all they.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>It is curious that Chatsworth, so famous in history, -has no part in the rhyme. Save for an old engraving -of it in the new, the present Chatsworth, no trace of the -fabric of the second mansion, the house planned by -William Cavendish the first, exists; and in the grounds -no relic is to be found belonging to the date of Queen -Mary’s imprisonment except a scrap of ivied ruin known -as her “bower.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>What is the fate of the rest of the long list? Wingfield -is an exquisite ruined fragment. The relic of -that which was once Sheffield Castle is only to be found -thickly embedded among the workshops and factories of a -great smoke-belching town; and the whole property has -passed to the dukedom of Norfolk.</p> -<div class='section'> - -</div> -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i_352fp.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><span class='left'><em>Photo by Richard Keene, Ltd., Derby</em></span><br /><br />BOLSOVER CASTLE<br /><br /><span class='right'>Page <a href='#Page_352'>352</a></span></p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_353'>353</span>Oldcotes, as we know, Bess Hardwick never finished, -nor Bolsover, for that last duty fell upon her son, Sir -Charles Cavendish, who “cleared away the loose cement -and tottering stones and began to lay the foundation of -the newe house at Bolsover,” only finished by his son, -Marquis of Newcastle. Strangely enough, it is not this—the -beautiful Elizabethan mansion, which witnessed -now glorious pageants and now civil war—that remains -for habitation, but a portion of the original stronghold. -Says one descriptive writer: “The figure of Hercules, -supporting the balcony over the principal doorway, is -an appropriate symbol of the Castle’s strength. The -fortress is habitable, and makes a very unconventional -and picturesque residence, with its pillar parlour ornamented -with old-fashioned devices; its noble Star -Chamber lined with sombre portraits of the twelve -Cæsars and ceilinged with blue and gold to represent -the firmament at night; and its quaint bed-chambers, -two of which are covered with pictures indicative of -Heaven and Hades ... pictures ... of angels reclining -on clouds, or wandering in delightful glades; -and of angels of darkness, hideous ... and writhing -in torment.” The which, says this chronicler, so -affected the conscience of one inhabitant that he -effaced them—“took a lime brush and ruthlessly -wiped out both sinners and saints.” The ruin near -this building must have stood finely “on the grand -terrace to the south” in its heyday when the elasticity -of good Bolsover steel spears and buckles was a household -word in England.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Tutbury Castle lies a ruin by the Dove, unregretted, -well detested by all who were ever immured there.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Welbeck—how true to the rhyme!—lasts and “will -last”—“day bright,” a “saddle,” a place to “ride in,” -a great “parish,” a home for use, for “good keepinge,”—in -a word, an institution for posterity to wonder at. -Such also is Rufford, one of the few great buildings which -have escaped fire. Among the list of the disestablished -monasteries it passed into the hands of the Talbots, who -made good use of its Elizabethan gallery and its state -chambers. On the other hand, the original manor house -of Worksop—“the wise,” the “pallas,” the “throne,” -was burnt down in 1761, was “decaide” very soon. -Bolser the “maid” as aforesaid is now grown very -<span class='pageno' id='Page_354'>354</span>grey, but is still lovely, the more wonderful in its -isolation because of the ugly little new town below it. -Welbeck “the wife” flourishes, has grown, is much -increased.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Hardwick the “matron” endures. In her “hugeness,” -in her character of spacious court and hall, in her -seclusion and peace, her well-being, her riches and -comfort, well warmed with the sun of prosperity, as at -“high noone”—in her rôle as “chest,” as storehouse of -unassailable fortunes, as a place “to thrive in,” Hardwick -is the chiefest of all these houses, because, saving -the church of All Saints at Derby, with the monument -Bess Shrewsbury erected in it to herself, and the almshouses -in the same town, it is the only thing of all her -“workes” upon which her sole impress remains. Into -this grey stone house, which bears her maiden name, -has passed her extraordinary and very fine “sense of the -home,” and the doggerel just quoted adds to that almost -a portrait of herself. Time was when she wore stiff -outstanding dresses, encrusted with network of jewels or -bordered and lined with fur, like others who visited -Court or the weddings and pageants of her circle. In -the principal portrait of her, the one which hangs in the -centre of the Cavendish group in the glorious Hardwick -gallery—a stretch of 170 feet, of which the walls carry -nearly two hundred portraits—she is, however, presented -just in the character of matron and widow. Her -child-bearing days were over, her schemes were many. -One cannot read the rhymes quoted without feeling -that when Hardwick is named in the jingle she herself -passes in and out of the string of words, which in itself -is like a ladies’ chain in a country dance. She is in -black velvet with a rich quadruple necklace of pearls. -Her chest, with gold and documents and household -“stuff,” goes with her; we hear the jingle of her -household keys, her ringing, authoritative voice, meet the -glance of those clear, keen eyes, and follow the line of -the thin, sensitive mouth, which could help that far-seeing -brain of hers so much. That mouth could -flatter, but it could also speak with terrible sharpness; -it could repeat a good joke, a spicy scandal, or quiver -with grief; it could say tender things—“my juwell and -love, my dearest harte”—and it could bargain finely. -“Hardwick is hard,” says the rhyme, and her lips seem -to tighten to that phrase. She could certainly be both -terribly hard and tender.</p> -<div class='section'> - -</div> -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i_354fp.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><span class='left'><em>Photo by Richard Keene, Ltd., Derby</em></span><br /><br />PICTURE GALLERY, HARDWICK HALL<br /><br />(Showing the fireplace and a portrait of Mary Queen of Scots)<br /><br /><span class='right'>Page <a href='#Page_354'>354</a></span></p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_355'>355</span>There is another smaller portrait of her, in her -Countess’s coronet and an ermine tippet, which is -rather more gracious in expression than the stiff, beruffed, -matronly picture above mentioned. Close about -her are her husbands—all save Barlow. Most comfortable -of these is Sir William Cavendish, sturdy, bearded, -and well-liking, in his furred robe and flat cap. Close -by, and matching the figure of Arabella Stuart in sheer -pathos, is that of the quiet, childless Grace Talbot, -whom Fate so soon made the widow of the much-travelled -Henry Cavendish. It is that of a dumpy -little woman in black, holding in one hand a single pale -eglantine—the flower of the Cavendishes. Her reddish-brown -hair, her pale lips, a spinet of which the under -portion of the open lid is faintly decorated with red-winged -cherubs, and a dark green table-cloth, are the -only scraps of colour in the sombre scheme. Her -psalter, with diamond notation, lies open at the words -“<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Sois moy seigneur ma garde et mon appuy, Car en -toy gist toute mon esperance.</span>”</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_356'>356</span>In the same group one finds Burghley, rosy, astute, -richly clad, a prince of dignitaries, than whom no statesman -ever had richer experience of men and things, of -power and place, of sovereigns and the royal caprice, -who on the eve of death could still write to his first-born, -over the trembling signature of “Your anguished -father,” the words “Serve God by serving of the -Queen, for all other service is indeed bondage to the -devil.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Very warm and full of life is the portrait of William -Cavendish the younger, the Countess’s favourite son. -To him in his right as first Earl and ancestor of the -Dukes of Devonshire belongs, after his mother, the -whole of this glorious gallery, typical of this magnificent -house.</p> -<div class='section'> - -</div> -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i_356fp.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><span class='left'><em>From a photo by Richard Keene, Ltd., Derby, after the picture by P. Oudry<br />    at Hardwick Hall, by permission of his Grace the Duke of Devonshire</em></span><br /><br />MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS<br /><br /><span class='right'>Page <a href='#Page_356'>356</a></span></p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_357'>357</span>The end wall is given up to the portraits of the three -English Queens. In the centre is Elizabeth, magnificent -and monstrous, the clothes hiding the woman, the -whole art of portraiture merged in the painter’s dogged -intent to reproduce every detail of her jewels, her lace, -and the birds, beasts, and reptiles with which her enormous, -billowing dress is embroidered. On her right -stands Queen Anne, very dull, complacent, and richly -attired; on her left Queen Mary, solemn, handsomely -robed, dignified. An opposite wall bears the other -often-painted Mary, the Arch-Enigma, she whose -personality, to my thinking, is so much more subtle -and dominant than that of her magnificent English -sisters. This is the famous Mary of Oudry’s brush, -graceful, simple, subtle, the face diaphanous and elusive. -There is an odd likeness between the motto she chose -for her dais and that which the baby Arabella bears on -the jewel pendent from her necklace: “Pour parvenir -j’endure” is the legend. And both women bear witness -to that determination in their faces, in their tragic fates. -That and the old “En ma fin est mon commencement” -ring in your ears as you turn from the gallery and from the -beautiful presence-chamber with its wonderful coloured -plaster frieze to the little bedroom dedicated to the -relics of the Scots Mary. The curtains she embroidered, -the coverings for the chairs, the tapestry, -the very bed in which she slept and tossed and wept, -are all proudly cherished. Mary never stayed at Hardwick, -<em>pace</em> Horace Walpole, nor possibly ever saw it. -Nor was she ever housed at the old Hardwick, which -stands now like a ghostly, ruined parent of the newer -building, at right angles to it. The old house served -“Building Bess” not only as model for her new hall, -but furnished her, it is said, with actual material. It -was, for those days, a good model that she took, and its -high and countless windows made it hygienically a great -improvement upon the gloom of Tutbury and Sheffield. -No trace of superstition or pettiness has gone to the -building, begun soon after she acquired the house—either -by purchase or by legacy from her brother James -Hardwick—some years before the death of her fourth -husband, and completed seven years or so after it—that -is in 1597. At first, says tradition, she seems to have -intended to make her home at the older house and -reserve the new one for ceremonial and entertainment, -“as if she had a mind to preserve her Cradle and set it -by her Bed of State.” The stones of that “Cradle” -she eventually took for the “Bed,” and into that -bed she literally wove all that was best of herself. -Of mere personal feminine vanity she expresses little, -of personal importance much. She was fond of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_358'>358</span>her crest, and the modelled stags of her own -family are devised to flatter her duly in an inscription -(in the great drawing-room) to the intent -that noble as is the stag, in all its animal perfection, its -nobility is enhanced by bearing the arms of the Countess. -She doted also on her initials. They are worked into -the stone scrolling which adorns her four towers, into -the main gateway, and into the low wall which flanks -the square garden where you enter. They are repeated -in the flower-beds. She must have loved signing her -name also, for scarcely a scrap, it seems, of the household -accounts concerning her buildings exists but bears -evidence of her minute scrutiny. Here is her signature -as it appears often repeated under such items as “thre -ponde hyght pence,” or at the close of a letter thus:—</p> - -<div class='section'> - -</div> -<div class='figcenter id004'> -<img src='images/i_358.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<p class='c019'>The Hardwick wages-book between New Year, 1576, -and the close of December, 1580, with the list of her men—stone-breakers, -gardeners, moss-gatherers, thatchers, -wall-builders, ditchers—was made up by her once a -fortnight and signed. Inside the house too are her -initials, with the arms of her father, the stags and the -roses of the Hardwicks, and into a famous inlaid table -(brought, it is said, by her son Henry from the East) -is woven the cryptic poetical motto of her father’s -family:—</p> -<div class='section'> - -</div> -<div id='i_358fp' class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i_358fp.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><span class='left'><em>Photo by Richard Keene, Ltd., Derby</em></span><br /><br />MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS BED, NOW AT HARDWICK HALL<br /><br /><span class='right'>Page <a href='#Page_358'>358</a></span></p> -</div> -</div> - -<div class='lg-container-b c016'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_359'>359</span>“The redolent smell of aeglantyne</div> - <div class='line in1'>We stagges exault to the deveyne.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>This legend is to be faintly traced in the interior of -the ruined old hall. With the exception of the Shrewsbury -coronet and the initials, you find very little suggestion -of the Talbots. Everywhere the arms of -Hardwick predominate in panel, fireplace, and lock. -They strike the eye the instant you enter the house by -the great entrance-hall. Large and magnificent, they -are set forth on the right wall: in heraldic language, -“a saltire engrailed <em>azure</em>; on a chief of the second -three cinquefoils of the field,” set in a lozenge-shaped -shield and bearing the aforesaid coronet. The supporters -are two “stags <em>proper</em>, each gorged with a -chaplet of roses, <em>argent</em>, between two bars <em>azure</em>.” -To these supporters the lady had no right because -her family had none. But she assumed them, turning -to account the stag of her family crest. Her -son William adopted a variation of this, and in the -Devonshire arms of to-day we again find the wreathed -stags <em>proper</em>, while the shield bears three harts’ heads. -In the Mary Queen of Scots bedroom you will find -in plaster work again the Hardwick arms, but also -those of Cavendish and of the Countess’s mother, -Elizabeth Leake. Needless to say, the house is built -in the grand manner. The great entrance-hall runs -to the height of two stories, and besides its panelling -and old furniture has screens of tapestry. Just -off the stairway on the left is the curious little chapel -shut off from the landing by an open-work oak -<span class='pageno' id='Page_360'>360</span>screen. Close by is a state bedroom, and adjoining -it is a fine dining-room, whence a minstrels’ gallery -leads to the wainscoted and tapestried drawing-room. -The splendid presence-chamber, sixty-five feet long, -thirty-three wide, and twenty-six high, is another remarkable -feature, and besides its pictures and tapestry -has the famous ancient frieze, already mentioned, in -coloured plaster relief representing the Court of Diana. -The choice of theme was, no doubt, out of compliment -to the Queen, for her initials and arms are in -this room substituted for those of the Countess, who, -in spite of her dreams, never had the delight of receiving -Elizabeth here.</p> - -<p class='c006'>In regard to the sheer details of furniture and -tapestries the guide-books have sufficiently noted such -items, and this is not the place for an inventory. But -in the household lists, carefully catalogued and cherished, -are noted “silver cloath of tissue and cloath of gold, -velvet of sundry colours, needlework twelve feet deep, -one piece of the picture of Faith and her contrary -Mahomet, another piece with Temperance and her -contrary Sardynapales.” And there are others “wrought -with Flowers and slipps of Needlework,” while a “white -Spanish rugg,” great chairs and little chairs, French -stools, “a little desk of mother o’ pearl, a purple sarcanet -quilt,” are duly noted, in addition to carpets and hangings -galore storied with myth and legend. Good rich -things over which to fight when it was a case of family -quarrels! Many of these and the other famous tapestries -with which the lovely house is crammed are being wisely -guarded, and, where possible, delicately repaired, while -taste and gracious sympathy with every object are -turning the Hall into a place which is a perfect museum -with the added grace of a house. The very ring—attached -to the foot of the Countess’s writing-table—through -which she slipped the leash of her dog, is still -preserved.</p> -<div class='section'> - -</div> -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i_360fp.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><span class='left'><em>Photo by Richard Keene, Ltd., Derby</em></span><br /><br />THE PRESENCE-CHAMBER, HARDWICK HALL<br /><br /><span class='right'>Page <a href='#Page_360'>360</a></span></p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_361'>361</span>Set high upon a fine hill in the centre of a park, encircled -with rolling country, and facing east and west, -the great, old windows of Hardwick look out above -colonnades upon a new world. At no great distance -are mines like those which have spoiled Bolsover -and Worksop. The masons still labour at the stonework -of Hardwick, for storms have worn the elaborate -scrolling of those four proud towers, and the flagged -pathway from gate to house-door is pitted and hollowed -by frost and rain and the feet of generations. And -still it stands, a monument and a living record of one -who knew in her strange, active life much grief -and much joy, who loved flattery and self-assertion -and the struggle for individual development, and yet -could write in letters of stone over the door of her -presence-chamber: “The conclusion of all thinges is -to feare God and keepe His commaundements.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>She had the great secret of living almost to the last -in the “high noone” of her desires. When the western -sun bathes her façade she lives again, walks again upon -her terrace and under her colonnades. And with her -goes that great procession, pathetic and vital, of her -“workes”—her children, her friends, her buildings, -her household gods, her intrigues, her dazzling dreams, -her bargains—and all of them seem to have a part in the -music of that duet of notions ever running in her -head—“of bricks and mortar to yield grandeur, of -human beings to yield wealth.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>She has been turned into ridicule by Horace Walpole, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_362'>362</span>whose flippant vulgarity nevertheless acknowledged her -magnificence. She was called shrew by a pompous -bishop, but she had too much brain for a shrew. She -could certainly scold—“like one from the banke”—but -so could her royal mistress. In these two Elizabeths -there is, after one allows for the difference in their actual -circumstances, a strange likeness. Both were violent -natures; both, in spite of their extraordinary sense of -dignity, had a strong dash of the hoyden. Both had -immense vitality, relished life intensely, loved to play -with schemes. Both were obstinate, affectionate, vindictive, -pugnacious, essentially women of their era, a -type to which Elizabeth herself set the measure and -called the tune. While the sum of all sorrow is -the same, their sorrows differed in detail. Elizabeth -of England, called to the immense sacrifice of her -womanhood for England, fell back in private on -petty vanities, and had her reward in the love of the -larger public of her day and in the enlightened -homage of posterity to her sacrifice and her statesmanship. -Elizabeth Shrewsbury justly refused to sacrifice herself -to the official burdens put upon her earl, unjustly -refused to go shares with him in their common responsibilities, -and so in her the “combat for the individual” -ran to exaggeration, with its harvest of sheer -bitterness and errors. In body and soul she represented -that spirit of individualism set in an epoch -of intrigue, sensation, change, uncertainty, wide and -violent contrast, in days of large treasons and international -piracy, of high feeding and large ideas, of -scented gloves, masks, doublets, and ill-managed -kitchen heaps, of plot and counter-plot, of Court splendour -and national drama.</p> -<div class='section'> - -</div> -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i_362fp.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><span class='left'><em>Photo by Richard Keene, Ltd., Derby</em></span><br /><br />HARDWICK HALL FROM THE WEST GARDEN<br /><br /><span class='right'>Page <a href='#Page_362'>362</a></span></p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_363'>363</span>Tobie Matthew, Archbishop of York, preached a fine -funeral sermon upon this “costly Countess,” in which -she was likened to the ideal virtuous woman of Solomon, -while Hunter, on the other hand, ironically suggests -that Massinger based his character of Sir Giles Overreach -upon her. Lodge has termed her violent, -treacherous, tyrannical. Such in many ways was the -nature of England’s Elizabeth. Yet both women were -makers and builders, often blind, always resourceful, -achieving immense results in their several capacities. -And since the royal symbol of the one is the stately -Tudor rose, so also shall the lovely “redolent aeglantyne” -of the motto of the other entwine and weave -through the ages the memory of all that was finest in -the amazing Lady of Hardwick. With that sweet -savour—regarding it as the final evaporation of her -complex, rampant, thorny, vital nature—let all harsher -thoughts of her now be chased away.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_365'>365</span> - <h2 class='c004'>INDEX</h2> -</div> - -<ul class='index c002'> - <li class='center'>A</li> - <li class='c020'>Adderley, Mr., <a href='#Page_108'>108</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Alsope, Hugh, <a href='#Page_17'>17</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Alva, Duke of, <a href='#Page_40'>40</a>, <a href='#Page_76'>76</a>, <a href='#Page_92'>92</a>–3</li> - <li class='c020'>Anjou, Duke of, <a href='#Page_40'>40</a>, <a href='#Page_76'>76</a>, <a href='#Page_218'>218</a>, <a href='#Page_221'>221</a>, <a href='#Page_272'>272</a>, <a href='#Page_317'>317</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Anne Boleyn, <a href='#Page_28'>28</a>, <a href='#Page_121'>121</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Anne of Cleves, <a href='#Page_122'>122</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Anne of Denmark, <a href='#Page_341'>341</a>–2, <a href='#Page_344'>344</a>, <a href='#Page_356'>356</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Appleyard, <a href='#Page_92'>92</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Argyle, Earl of, <a href='#Page_39'>39</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Arran, Earl of, <a href='#Page_39'>39</a>, <a href='#Page_123'>123</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Arundel, Earl of, <a href='#Page_314'>314</a></li> - <li class='center'>B</li> - <li class='c020'>Barlow, Antony, <a href='#Page_108'>108</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Barlow, Robert, <a href='#Page_3'>3</a>, <a href='#Page_355'>355</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Beale, Robert, <a href='#Page_228'>228</a>, <a href='#Page_231'>231</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_268'>268</a>, <a href='#Page_293'>293</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Bedford, Countess of, <a href='#Page_188'>188</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Bedford, Earl of, <a href='#Page_188'>188</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Bell, William, <a href='#Page_92'>92</a>–3</li> - <li class='c020'>Bentall, <a href='#Page_256'>256</a> <em>et sqq.</em></li> - <li class='c020'>Beresford, Henry, <a href='#Page_282'>282</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_289'>289</a>, <a href='#Page_290'>290</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Beton, Andrew, <a href='#Page_232'>232</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Beton, Archbishop, <a href='#Page_232'>232</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Beton, John, <a href='#Page_81'>81</a>, <a href='#Page_232'>232</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Beauchamp, Lord, <a href='#Page_340'>340</a></li> - <li class='c020'><span class='pageno' id='Page_366'>366</span>Bolsover, <a href='#Page_35'>35</a>, <a href='#Page_43'>43</a>, <a href='#Page_204'>204</a>, <a href='#Page_347'>347</a>, <a href='#Page_351'>351</a> <em>et sqq.</em></li> - <li class='c020'>Bolton, Castle, Mary Queen of Scots at, <a href='#Page_47'>47</a>, <a href='#Page_49'>49</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Bonaparte, Napoleon, <a href='#Page_35'>35</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Bothwell, Earl of, <a href='#Page_68'>68</a>–9, <a href='#Page_119'>119</a>, <a href='#Page_127'>127</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Boughton, Elizabeth. <em>See</em> Cavendish</li> - <li class='c020'>Brackenbury, Richard, <a href='#Page_327'>327</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Bruce, Mrs., <a href='#Page_66'>66</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Burghley, Lady, <a href='#Page_32'>32</a>, <a href='#Page_101'>101</a>, <a href='#Page_105'>105</a>, <a href='#Page_128'>128</a>, <a href='#Page_316'>316</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Burghley, Robert Cecil, Lord, <a href='#Page_340'>340</a>–1</li> - <li class='c020'>Burghley, Thomas Cecil, Lord, <a href='#Page_188'>188</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Burghley, William Cecil, Lord, <a href='#Page_23'>23</a>, <a href='#Page_32'>32</a>, <a href='#Page_38'>38</a>, <a href='#Page_69'>69</a>, <a href='#Page_79'>79</a>, <a href='#Page_101'>101</a>, <a href='#Page_104'>104</a>–5, <a href='#Page_178'>178</a>, <a href='#Page_183'>183</a>, <a href='#Page_211'>211</a>, <a href='#Page_257'>257</a>, <a href='#Page_259'>259</a>, <a href='#Page_302'>302</a>, <a href='#Page_314'>314</a>, <a href='#Page_316'>316</a>, <a href='#Page_325'>325</a>; - <ul> - <li>and Lady Catherine Grey’s marriage, <a href='#Page_27'>27</a>, <a href='#Page_30'>30</a>;</li> - <li>and Mary Queen of Scots’ marriage, <a href='#Page_29'>29</a>;</li> - <li>letters written to, <a href='#Page_30'>30</a>, <a href='#Page_64'>64</a>–5, <a href='#Page_80'>80</a>, <a href='#Page_149'>149</a>, <a href='#Page_150'>150</a>, <a href='#Page_153'>153</a>, <a href='#Page_208'>208</a>, <a href='#Page_236'>236</a>, <a href='#Page_239'>239</a>, <a href='#Page_278'>278</a>, <a href='#Page_329'>329</a>, <a href='#Page_333'>333</a>;</li> - <li>and Lady Mary Grey’s marriage, <a href='#Page_31'>31</a>;</li> - <li>and imprisonment of Mary Queen of Scots, <a href='#Page_47'>47</a>, <a href='#Page_64'>64</a>–5, <a href='#Page_70'>70</a>, <a href='#Page_72'>72</a>, <a href='#Page_97'>97</a>;</li> - <li>visits Mary Queen of Scots, 80, <a href='#Page_128'>128</a>, <a href='#Page_228'>228</a>;</li> - <li><span class='pageno' id='Page_367'>367</span>letters from, <a href='#Page_82'>82</a>, <a href='#Page_161'>161</a>, <a href='#Page_165'>165</a>, <a href='#Page_188'>188</a>;</li> - <li>and Lascelles, <a href='#Page_82'>82</a>–3;</li> - <li>and Norfolk’s death, <a href='#Page_87'>87</a>;</li> - <li>and the Norwich high treason trial, <a href='#Page_92'>92</a>–3;</li> - <li>his and Elizabeth’s distrust of the Shrewsburys, <a href='#Page_110'>110</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>and Lady Lennox, <a href='#Page_125'>125</a>, <a href='#Page_153'>153</a>;</li> - <li>and the Lennox marriage, <a href='#Page_149'>149</a>, <a href='#Page_150'>150</a>, <a href='#Page_236'>236</a>, <a href='#Page_239'>239</a>;</li> - <li>Shrewsbury’s present of plate to, <a href='#Page_161'>161</a>;</li> - <li>and Lady Shrewsbury’s match-making, <a href='#Page_165'>165</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>goes to Buxton, <a href='#Page_187'>187</a>;</li> - <li>and the accusation against Lord Shrewsbury, <a href='#Page_249'>249</a>, <a href='#Page_250'>250</a>;</li> - <li>and the Shrewsbury quarrel, <a href='#Page_26'>26</a>, <a href='#Page_279'>279</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_285'>285</a>, <a href='#Page_290'>290</a>, <a href='#Page_298'>298</a>;</li> - <li>and Shrewsbury’s slanderers, <a href='#Page_264'>264</a>;</li> - <li>and the “Scandal Letter,” <a href='#Page_271'>271</a>;</li> - <li>and Mary Queen of Scots’ trial, <a href='#Page_308'>308</a>–9;</li> - <li>and Lady Arabella’s income, <a href='#Page_329'>329</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>and Lady Arabella’s proposed marriage, <a href='#Page_333'>333</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>his death, <a href='#Page_340'>340</a>;</li> - <li>his portrait at Hardwick, <a href='#Page_356'>356</a></li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c020'>Butts, Sir William, <a href='#Page_92'>92</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Buxton, Mary Queen of Scots at, <a href='#Page_110'>110</a>, <a href='#Page_167'>167</a>, <a href='#Page_171'>171</a>, <a href='#Page_179'>179</a></li> - <li class='center'>C</li> - <li class='c020'>Caithness, Bishop of, <a href='#Page_220'>220</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Catherine de Medici, <a href='#Page_117'>117</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Cavendish, Anne, <a href='#Page_6'>6</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Cavendish, Sir Charles, <a href='#Page_6'>6</a>, <a href='#Page_45'>45</a>, <a href='#Page_242'>242</a>, <a href='#Page_247'>247</a>–8, <a href='#Page_254'>254</a>, <a href='#Page_258'>258</a>, <a href='#Page_264'>264</a>, <a href='#Page_268'>268</a>, <a href='#Page_275'>275</a>, <a href='#Page_282'>282</a>, <a href='#Page_284'>284</a>, <a href='#Page_292'>292</a>, <a href='#Page_296'>296</a>, <a href='#Page_305'>305</a>, <a href='#Page_337'>337</a>, <a href='#Page_340'>340</a>–1, <a href='#Page_348'>348</a></li> - <li class='c020'><span class='pageno' id='Page_368'>368</span>Cavendish, Elizabeth. <em>See</em> Lennox</li> - <li class='c020'>Cavendish, Elizabeth, <a href='#Page_6'>6</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Cavendish, Lady Grace, <a href='#Page_6'>6</a>, <a href='#Page_36'>36</a>, <a href='#Page_44'>44</a>, <a href='#Page_258'>258</a>, <a href='#Page_355'>355</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Cavendish, Henry, <a href='#Page_6'>6</a>, <a href='#Page_36'>36</a>, <a href='#Page_99'>99</a>, <a href='#Page_107'>107</a>, <a href='#Page_256'>256</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_261'>261</a>, <a href='#Page_284'>284</a>, <a href='#Page_344'>344</a>, <a href='#Page_346'>346</a>, <a href='#Page_348'>348</a>, <a href='#Page_355'>355</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Cavendish, Thomas, <a href='#Page_4'>4</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Cavendish, Sir William, “Bess of Hardwick’s” second husband, <a href='#Page_4'>4</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_11'>11</a>, <a href='#Page_355'>355</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Cavendish, William. <em>See</em> Earl of Devonshire</li> - <li class='c020'>Cecil. <em>See</em> Lord Burghley</li> - <li class='c020'>Chamley, Sir Hugh, <a href='#Page_181'>181</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Chatsworth, <a href='#Page_6'>6</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_16'>16</a>, <a href='#Page_72'>72</a>, <a href='#Page_79'>79</a>, <a href='#Page_80'>80</a>, <a href='#Page_84'>84</a>, <a href='#Page_91'>91</a>, <a href='#Page_110'>110</a>, <a href='#Page_120'>120</a>, <a href='#Page_130'>130</a>, <a href='#Page_152'>152</a>, <a href='#Page_180'>180</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_184'>184</a>, <a href='#Page_205'>205</a>, <a href='#Page_208'>208</a>, <a href='#Page_214'>214</a>, <a href='#Page_258'>258</a>, <a href='#Page_284'>284</a>–5, <a href='#Page_294'>294</a>, <a href='#Page_296'>296</a>–7, <a href='#Page_334'>334</a>, <a href='#Page_341'>341</a>, <a href='#Page_347'>347</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Cobham, Lord, <a href='#Page_32'>32</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Cobham, Lady, <a href='#Page_33'>33</a>, <a href='#Page_42'>42</a>, <a href='#Page_44'>44</a>, <a href='#Page_118'>118</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Cooke, R., <a href='#Page_256'>256</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Copley, Christopher, <a href='#Page_293'>293</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Corker, Chaplain, <a href='#Page_114'>114</a> <em>et sqq.</em></li> - <li class='c020'>Crompe, James, <a href='#Page_10'>10</a>, <a href='#Page_19'>19</a>, <a href='#Page_22'>22</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Cumberland, Countess of, <a href='#Page_188'>188</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Cumberland, Earl of, <a href='#Page_188'>188</a>, <a href='#Page_256'>256</a>, <a href='#Page_301'>301</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Curle, <a href='#Page_252'>252</a>, <a href='#Page_257'>257</a></li> - <li class='center'>D</li> - <li class='c020'>Darcy, Lord, <a href='#Page_32'>32</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Darnley, Henry, Earl of, <a href='#Page_29'>29</a>, <a href='#Page_39'>39</a>, <a href='#Page_68'>68</a>–9, <a href='#Page_119'>119</a>, <a href='#Page_124'>124</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_146'>146</a>, <a href='#Page_153'>153</a>, <a href='#Page_159'>159</a>, <a href='#Page_176'>176</a>, <a href='#Page_240'>240</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Derby, Earl of, <a href='#Page_275'>275</a>, <a href='#Page_314'>314</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Devonshire, first Earl of, <a href='#Page_6'>6</a>, <a href='#Page_10'>10</a>, <a href='#Page_22'>22</a>, <a href='#Page_294'>294</a>, <a href='#Page_298'>298</a>, <a href='#Page_334'>334</a>–5; - <ul> - <li>and Lady Arabella Stuart, <a href='#Page_239'>239</a>;</li> - <li><span class='pageno' id='Page_369'>369</span>and Mary Queen of Scots, <a href='#Page_247'>247</a>, <a href='#Page_268'>268</a>–9;</li> - <li>and Hardwick Hall, <a href='#Page_256'>256</a>, <a href='#Page_258'>258</a>–9, <a href='#Page_262'>262</a>, <a href='#Page_287'>287</a>;</li> - <li>Lady Shrewsbury’s love for, <a href='#Page_329'>329</a>, <a href='#Page_356'>356</a>;</li> - <li>barony conferred on, <a href='#Page_342'>342</a>;</li> - <li>family’s jealousy of, <a href='#Page_347'>347</a>;</li> - <li>earldom conferred on, <a href='#Page_348'>348</a>;</li> - <li>and Chatsworth, <a href='#Page_352'>352</a>;</li> - <li>his portrait at Hardwick, <a href='#Page_356'>356</a></li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c020'>Dickenson, Gilbert, <a href='#Page_298'>298</a>, <a href='#Page_312'>312</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Dudley, Lady Amy, <a href='#Page_175'>175</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Dudley, Lord Robert. <em>See</em> Earl of Leicester</li> - <li class='c020'>Dyer, Edward, <a href='#Page_102'>102</a>, <a href='#Page_104'>104</a></li> - <li class='center'>E</li> - <li class='c020'>Edward VI, <a href='#Page_6'>6</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_24'>24</a>, <a href='#Page_122'>122</a>, <a href='#Page_124'>124</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Elizabeth, Queen, <a href='#Page_16'>16</a>–17, <a href='#Page_20'>20</a>, <a href='#Page_35'>35</a>, <a href='#Page_121'>121</a>–2, <a href='#Page_189'>189</a>, <a href='#Page_233'>233</a>, <a href='#Page_257'>257</a>, <a href='#Page_260'>260</a>, <a href='#Page_301'>301</a>, <a href='#Page_307'>307</a>, <a href='#Page_360'>360</a>; - <ul> - <li>and Lady Catherine Grey’s elopement, <a href='#Page_26'>26</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_30'>30</a>;</li> - <li>her suitors, <a href='#Page_29'>29</a>, <a href='#Page_221'>221</a>, <a href='#Page_317'>317</a>;</li> - <li>and Lady Mary Grey’s marriage, <a href='#Page_31'>31</a>;</li> - <li>and “Bess of Hardwick’s” fourth marriage, <a href='#Page_36'>36</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>and the custody of Mary Queen of Scots, <a href='#Page_39'>39</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>and Queen Mary’s expenditure, <a href='#Page_63'>63</a>;</li> - <li>courtiers’ opinion of, <a href='#Page_64'>64</a>–5;</li> - <li>and Mary’s release, <a href='#Page_80'>80</a>–1;</li> - <li>and Queen Mary’s attachment to the Duke of Norfolk, <a href='#Page_75'>75</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_85'>85</a>, <a href='#Page_87'>87</a>;</li> - <li>her suspicions of the Shrewsburys, <a href='#Page_77'>77</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_97'>97</a>–8, <a href='#Page_110'>110</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, 212, <a href='#Page_214'>214</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_226'>226</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li><span class='pageno' id='Page_370'>370</span>and Norfolk’s trial and execution, <a href='#Page_95'>95</a>–6;</li> - <li>her affection for the Earl of Leicester, <a href='#Page_73'>73</a>, <a href='#Page_101'>101</a>, <a href='#Page_105'>105</a>, <a href='#Page_175'>175</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_315'>315</a>;</li> - <li>her favourites, <a href='#Page_101'>101</a>–2, <a href='#Page_277'>277</a>;</li> - <li>and Lady Lennox, <a href='#Page_125'>125</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_145'>145</a>;</li> - <li>and Elizabeth Cavendish’s marriage to the Earl of Lennox, <a href='#Page_147'>147</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_270'>270</a>;</li> - <li>consigns Lady Lennox and Lady Shrewsbury to the Tower, <a href='#Page_153'>153</a>;</li> - <li>her allowance to Shrewsbury, <a href='#Page_162'>162</a>;</li> - <li>her depression, <a href='#Page_162'>162</a>–3;</li> - <li>visits the Countess of Pembroke, <a href='#Page_163'>163</a>;</li> - <li>Burghley’s loyalty to, <a href='#Page_167'>167</a>–8;</li> - <li>her possible successor, <a href='#Page_174'>174</a>, <a href='#Page_338'>338</a>;</li> - <li>and Leicester’s visit to the Shrewsburys, <a href='#Page_182'>182</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>her letter to the Shrewsburys, <a href='#Page_183'>183</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>letter written to, <a href='#Page_186'>186</a>;</li> - <li>her fear of Queen Mary, <a href='#Page_186'>186</a>–7, <a href='#Page_211'>211</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>and the pageant at Whitehall, <a href='#Page_225'>225</a>;</li> - <li>Queen Mary’s appeals to, <a href='#Page_230'>230</a>–1;</li> - <li>and Lady Arabella Stuart, <a href='#Page_239'>239</a>, <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>and Mary’s attack on the Shrewsburys, <a href='#Page_242'>242</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>and the Shrewsbury slander, <a href='#Page_263'>263</a>–4, <a href='#Page_268'>268</a>;</li> - <li>and the Shrewsbury quarrel, <a href='#Page_267'>267</a>, <a href='#Page_279'>279</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_292'>292</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>the “Scandal Letter” to, <a href='#Page_271'>271</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>her pursuits, <a href='#Page_315'>315</a>–16, <a href='#Page_362'>362</a>;</li> - <li>her fondness for children, <a href='#Page_327'>327</a>;</li> - <li>and the provision for Lady Arabella, <a href='#Page_329'>329</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>and Lady Arabella’s proposed marriage, <a href='#Page_340'>340</a>;</li> - <li><span class='pageno' id='Page_371'>371</span>her portrait at Hardwick, <a href='#Page_356'>356</a></li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c020'>Essex, Countess of, <a href='#Page_171'>171</a></li> - <li class='center'>F</li> - <li class='c020'>Fawley, Mr., <a href='#Page_305'>305</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Fénélon, La Mothe, <a href='#Page_147'>147</a>, <a href='#Page_152'>152</a>, <a href='#Page_191'>191</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Fletcher, Dr., Dean of Peterborough, <a href='#Page_311'>311</a>–12</li> - <li class='c020'>Fletewood, William, Recorder of London, <a href='#Page_262'>262</a>, <a href='#Page_269'>269</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Foljambe, Hercules, <a href='#Page_255'>255</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Fowller, Thomas, <a href='#Page_237'>237</a></li> - <li class='center'>G</li> - <li class='c020'>Gerrard, Judge, <a href='#Page_92'>92</a>–3</li> - <li class='c020'>Glasgow, Archbishop of, <a href='#Page_238'>238</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Gresham, Sir Thomas, <a href='#Page_188'>188</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Grey, Lady Catherine. <em>See</em> Countess of Hertford</li> - <li class='c020'>Grey, Lady Jane, <a href='#Page_24'>24</a>, <a href='#Page_125'>125</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Grey, Sir John, <a href='#Page_30'>30</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Grey, Lady Mary. <em>See</em> Keys</li> - <li class='c020'>Grey, Lord Leonard, <a href='#Page_14'>14</a></li> - <li class='center'>H</li> - <li class='c020'>Hall, John, <a href='#Page_36'>36</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Hammer, Rev. Merideth, <a href='#Page_263'>263</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Hardwick, Elizabeth (“Bess of Hardwick”). <em>See</em> Countess of Shrewsbury</li> - <li class='c020'>Hardwick, Elizabeth (mother of “Bess of Hardwick”), <a href='#Page_13'>13</a>, <a href='#Page_23'>23</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Hardwick Hall, <a href='#Page_7'>7</a>, <a href='#Page_8'>8</a>, <a href='#Page_17'>17</a>, <a href='#Page_258'>258</a>, <a href='#Page_261'>261</a>, <a href='#Page_325'>325</a>, <a href='#Page_331'>331</a>–2, <a href='#Page_334'>334</a>, <a href='#Page_342'>342</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_351'>351</a>–2</li> - <li class='c020'>Hardwick, John (father of “Bess of Hardwick”), <a href='#Page_1'>1</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_7'>7</a></li> - <li class='c020'><span class='pageno' id='Page_372'>372</span>Hatton, Sir Christopher, <a href='#Page_102'>102</a>, <a href='#Page_104'>104</a>, <a href='#Page_272'>272</a>–3</li> - <li class='c020'>Haydon, Sir Christopher, <a href='#Page_92'>92</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Henry VIII, <a href='#Page_5'>5</a>, <a href='#Page_7'>7</a>, <a href='#Page_14'>14</a>, <a href='#Page_24'>24</a>, <a href='#Page_120'>120</a>, <a href='#Page_123'>123</a>–4, <a href='#Page_179'>179</a>, <a href='#Page_219'>219</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Henry of Navarre, <a href='#Page_165'>165</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Herbert, Lady Anne. <em>See</em> Talbot</li> - <li class='c020'>Herbert. <em>See</em> Pembroke</li> - <li class='c020'>Hereford, Viscount, <a href='#Page_76'>76</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Hertford, Countess of, <a href='#Page_24'>24</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_158'>158</a>, <a href='#Page_175'>175</a>, <a href='#Page_270'>270</a>, <a href='#Page_339'>339</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Hertford, Dowager Countess of, <a href='#Page_27'>27</a>–8</li> - <li class='c020'>Hertford, Earl of, <a href='#Page_25'>25</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_153'>153</a>, <a href='#Page_339'>339</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Howard, Hon. Francis, <a href='#Page_101'>101</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Howard, Lord Thomas, <a href='#Page_121'>121</a>–2, <a href='#Page_153'>153</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Hunsden, Lord, <a href='#Page_173'>173</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Huntingdon, Earl of, <a href='#Page_76'>76</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_86'>86</a>, <a href='#Page_155'>155</a>–6, <a href='#Page_181'>181</a>, <a href='#Page_212'>212</a></li> - <li class='center'>J</li> - <li class='c020'>Jackson, Henry, <a href='#Page_23'>23</a></li> - <li class='c020'>James I, <a href='#Page_69'>69</a>, <a href='#Page_76'>76</a>, <a href='#Page_123'>123</a>, <a href='#Page_127'>127</a>, <a href='#Page_129'>129</a>, <a href='#Page_130'>130</a>, <a href='#Page_159'>159</a>, <a href='#Page_160'>160</a>, <a href='#Page_220'>220</a>, <a href='#Page_240'>240</a>, <a href='#Page_311'>311</a>, <a href='#Page_332'>332</a>, <a href='#Page_338'>338</a>, <a href='#Page_340'>340</a> <em>et sqq.</em></li> - <li class='c020'>John of Austria, Don, <a href='#Page_207'>207</a>, <a href='#Page_223'>223</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Julio, Mr., <a href='#Page_223'>223</a></li> - <li class='center'>K</li> - <li class='c020'>Katherine of Aragon, <a href='#Page_121'>121</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Katherine Howard, <a href='#Page_122'>122</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Katherine Parr, <a href='#Page_123'>123</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Kennet, Bishop, <a href='#Page_4'>4</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Kent, Earl of, <a href='#Page_310'>310</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Keys, John, Serjeant Porter, <a href='#Page_29'>29</a>, <a href='#Page_31'>31</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Keys, Lady Mary, <a href='#Page_29'>29</a>, <a href='#Page_31'>31</a>, <a href='#Page_158'>158</a></li> - <li class='c020'><span class='pageno' id='Page_373'>373</span>Kighley, Anne. <em>See</em> Cavendish</li> - <li class='c020'>Killigrew, Sir William, <a href='#Page_273'>273</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Knifton, Mr., <a href='#Page_256'>256</a>, <a href='#Page_313'>313</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Knollys, Sir Francis, <a href='#Page_46'>46</a>, <a href='#Page_48'>48</a>, <a href='#Page_50'>50</a>, <a href='#Page_71'>71</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Knollys, Lettice. <em>See</em> Countess of Leicester</li> - <li class='c020'>Kynnersley, Nicholas, <a href='#Page_312'>312</a></li> - <li class='center'>L</li> - <li class='c020'>Lascelles, Hersey, <a href='#Page_82'>82</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_305'>305</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Leake, Elizabeth, <a href='#Page_359'>359</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Leake, Sir Francis, <a href='#Page_343'>343</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Lee, Sir Henry, <a href='#Page_300'>300</a> <em>et sqq.</em></li> - <li class='c020'>Leicester, Douglas, Countess of, <a href='#Page_101'>101</a>, <a href='#Page_177'>177</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Leicester, Lettice, Countess of, <a href='#Page_177'>177</a>, <a href='#Page_259'>259</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Leicester, Robert Dudley, Earl of, <a href='#Page_42'>42</a>, <a href='#Page_94'>94</a>, <a href='#Page_104'>104</a>, <a href='#Page_125'>125</a>, <a href='#Page_223'>223</a>, <a href='#Page_227'>227</a>, <a href='#Page_264'>264</a>, <a href='#Page_303'>303</a>, <a href='#Page_306'>306</a>–7; - <ul> - <li>and Lady Catherine Grey’s marriage, <a href='#Page_27'>27</a>;</li> - <li>Queen Elizabeth’s love for, <a href='#Page_29'>29</a>, <a href='#Page_75'>75</a>, <a href='#Page_101'>101</a>, <a href='#Page_176'>176</a>, <a href='#Page_183'>183</a>, <a href='#Page_315'>315</a>;</li> - <li>and the Norwich conspiracy trial, <a href='#Page_92'>92</a>;</li> - <li>his gaiety, <a href='#Page_100'>100</a>–1, <a href='#Page_178'>178</a>;</li> - <li>and the Lennox marriage, <a href='#Page_147'>147</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>letter written by, <a href='#Page_170'>170</a>;</li> - <li>chit-chat concerning, <a href='#Page_171'>171</a>–2;</li> - <li>his visit to Buxton, <a href='#Page_174'>174</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>his insolence to the Queen, <a href='#Page_177'>177</a>;</li> - <li>Elizabeth’s letter concerning, <a href='#Page_184'>184</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>and the Shrewsbury tenantry, <a href='#Page_215'>215</a>–16;</li> - <li>and Francis Talbot’s death, <a href='#Page_230'>230</a>;</li> - <li>and Bentall, <a href='#Page_256'>256</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>death of his son, <a href='#Page_259'>259</a>;</li> - <li>and the Shrewsbury quarrel, <a href='#Page_280'>280</a>, <a href='#Page_292'>292</a>, <a href='#Page_294'>294</a>;</li> - <li>letter written to, <a href='#Page_292'>292</a>;</li> - <li>his death, <a href='#Page_315'>315</a>–16</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c020'><span class='pageno' id='Page_374'>374</span>Lennox, Charles Stuart, Earl of, <a href='#Page_6'>6</a>, <a href='#Page_12'>12</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_153'>153</a>, <a href='#Page_157'>157</a>, <a href='#Page_219'>219</a>, <a href='#Page_270'>270</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Lennox, Matthew, Earl of, <a href='#Page_123'>123</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_159'>159</a>, <a href='#Page_240'>240</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Lennox, Elizabeth, Countess of, <a href='#Page_6'>6</a>, <a href='#Page_213'>213</a>, <a href='#Page_222'>222</a>, <a href='#Page_273'>273</a>–4; - <ul> - <li>her courtship, <a href='#Page_131'>131</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>her marriage, <a href='#Page_145'>145</a>–6;</li> - <li>the Queen’s anger against, <a href='#Page_147'>147</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_153'>153</a>, <a href='#Page_270'>270</a>;</li> - <li>pathetic letter to her mother, <a href='#Page_157'>157</a>–8;</li> - <li>birth of her daughter, Lady Arabella Stuart, <a href='#Page_158'>158</a>;</li> - <li>letter to Queen Elizabeth, <a href='#Page_160'>160</a>;</li> - <li>her widowhood, <a href='#Page_189'>189</a>;</li> - <li>her death, <a href='#Page_234'>234</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>the Queen’s allowance to, <a href='#Page_329'>329</a></li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c020'>Lennox, Margaret, Countess of, <a href='#Page_118'>118</a>, <a href='#Page_120'>120</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_145'>145</a> <em>et sqq.</em>; - <ul> - <li>letters written by, <a href='#Page_150'>150</a>, <a href='#Page_159'>159</a>, <a href='#Page_175'>175</a>, <a href='#Page_219'>219</a>, <a href='#Page_237'>237</a>–8, <a href='#Page_270'>270</a></li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c020'>Lenton, John, <a href='#Page_276'>276</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Leviston, Lady, <a href='#Page_64'>64</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Lichfield, Bishop of, <a href='#Page_317'>317</a> <em>et sqq.</em></li> - <li class='c020'>Livingstone, Lady, <a href='#Page_66'>66</a></li> - <li class='center'>M</li> - <li class='c020'>Manners, Roger, <a href='#Page_188'>188</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Manners, Lady, <a href='#Page_305'>305</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Margaret Queen of Scotland, <a href='#Page_24'>24</a>, <a href='#Page_120'>120</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Mary, Queen, <a href='#Page_12'>12</a>, <a href='#Page_20'>20</a>, <a href='#Page_120'>120</a>, <a href='#Page_125'>125</a>, <a href='#Page_356'>356</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Mary of Lorraine, <a href='#Page_123'>123</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Mary Queen of Scots, <a href='#Page_28'>28</a>, <a href='#Page_110'>110</a>, <a href='#Page_155'>155</a>, <a href='#Page_162'>162</a>, <a href='#Page_169'>169</a>, <a href='#Page_193'>193</a>, <a href='#Page_196'>196</a>, <a href='#Page_208'>208</a>, <a href='#Page_223'>223</a>, <a href='#Page_292'>292</a>, <a href='#Page_308'>308</a>; - <ul> - <li>her marriage to Darnley, <a href='#Page_29'>29</a>, <a href='#Page_39'>39</a>;</li> - <li>Elizabeth’s plotting against, <a href='#Page_39'>39</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li><span class='pageno' id='Page_375'>375</span>her life as a prisoner, <a href='#Page_47'>47</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_63'>63</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_85'>85</a>–6;</li> - <li>her description of Tutbury Castle, <a href='#Page_62'>62</a>–3;</li> - <li>and the Duke of Norfolk, <a href='#Page_68'>68</a>–9, <a href='#Page_75'>75</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_85'>85</a>;</li> - <li>goes to Wingfield, <a href='#Page_70'>70</a>–1;</li> - <li>her ill-health, <a href='#Page_72'>72</a>, <a href='#Page_79'>79</a>, <a href='#Page_81'>81</a>, <a href='#Page_97'>97</a>, <a href='#Page_230'>230</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>and Norfolk’s execution, <a href='#Page_87'>87</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_97'>97</a>;</li> - <li>strict surveillance of, <a href='#Page_95'>95</a>–6, <a href='#Page_98'>98</a>;</li> - <li>her misfortunes, <a href='#Page_105'>105</a>, <a href='#Page_119'>119</a>;</li> - <li>her claims, <a href='#Page_115'>115</a>;</li> - <li>her fear of assassination, <a href='#Page_117'>117</a>;</li> - <li>and the Countess of Lennox, <a href='#Page_125'>125</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>letter written by, <a href='#Page_128'>128</a>;</li> - <li>her reconciliation with the Countess of Lennox, <a href='#Page_145'>145</a>–6, <a href='#Page_159'>159</a>, <a href='#Page_160'>160</a>;</li> - <li>and the birth of Lady Arabella Stuart, <a href='#Page_159'>159</a>;</li> - <li>Lord Burghley and, <a href='#Page_166'>166</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>at Buxton, <a href='#Page_171'>171</a>;</li> - <li>her friendship with Lady Shrewsbury, <a href='#Page_174'>174</a>, <a href='#Page_209'>209</a>;</li> - <li>and Leicester, <a href='#Page_176'>176</a>–7, <a href='#Page_190'>190</a>–1;</li> - <li>her reported escape, <a href='#Page_207'>207</a>, <a href='#Page_211'>211</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_221'>221</a>;</li> - <li>and Lady Arabella Stuart’s heritage, <a href='#Page_220'>220</a>, <a href='#Page_236'>236</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>her love of gaiety, <a href='#Page_225'>225</a>–6;</li> - <li>her diet, <a href='#Page_228'>228</a>;</li> - <li>her accusations against Lady Shrewsbury, <a href='#Page_241'>241</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_246'>246</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>the slander against, <a href='#Page_245'>245</a>, <a href='#Page_249'>249</a>, <a href='#Page_250'>250</a>, <a href='#Page_263'>263</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_268'>268</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>her execution at Fotheringay, <a href='#Page_266'>266</a>, <a href='#Page_309'>309</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_323'>323</a>, <a href='#Page_337'>337</a>;</li> - <li>her “Scandal Letter” to Elizabeth, <a href='#Page_271'>271</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>her bower at Chatsworth, <a href='#Page_352'>352</a>;</li> - <li>her portrait at Hardwick Hall, <a href='#Page_356'>356</a>–7</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c020'><span class='pageno' id='Page_376'>376</span>Matthew, Tobie, Archbishop of York, <a href='#Page_363'>363</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Mauvissière, <a href='#Page_242'>242</a>, <a href='#Page_244'>244</a> <em>et sqq.</em></li> - <li class='c020'>Mendoza, Don Bernardino de, <a href='#Page_278'>278</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Middleton, Antony, <a href='#Page_93'>93</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Mildmay, Sir Walter, <a href='#Page_293'>293</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Moray, Earl of, <a href='#Page_39'>39</a>, <a href='#Page_69'>69</a>, <a href='#Page_75'>75</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Morton, James Douglas, Earl of, <a href='#Page_159'>159</a>, <a href='#Page_240'>240</a></li> - <li class='center'>N</li> - <li class='c020'>Norfolk, fifth Duke of, <a href='#Page_177'>177</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Norfolk, Thomas, fourth Duke of, <a href='#Page_68'>68</a>–9, <a href='#Page_75'>75</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_79'>79</a>, <a href='#Page_82'>82</a>, <a href='#Page_85'>85</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_97'>97</a>, <a href='#Page_105'>105</a>, <a href='#Page_119'>119</a>, <a href='#Page_190'>190</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Norris, Lord, <a href='#Page_188'>188</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Norris, Lady, <a href='#Page_171'>171</a></li> - <li class='center'>O</li> - <li class='c020'>Ogle, Cuthbert Lord, <a href='#Page_45'>45</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Ogle, Jane. <em>See</em> Shrewsbury</li> - <li class='c020'>Osborne, Peter, <a href='#Page_24'>24</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Oseley, Solicitor-General, <a href='#Page_34'>34</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Owlcotes, <a href='#Page_343'>343</a>, <a href='#Page_351'>351</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Oxford, Earl of, <a href='#Page_101'>101</a>, <a href='#Page_105'>105</a>, <a href='#Page_273'>273</a></li> - <li class='center'>P</li> - <li class='c020'>Paget, Lord, <a href='#Page_46'>46</a>, <a href='#Page_100'>100</a>, <a href='#Page_275'>275</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Parker, Archbishop, <a href='#Page_28'>28</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Parma, Duke of, <a href='#Page_332'>332</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Pembroke, Catherine Countess of, <a href='#Page_45'>45</a>, <a href='#Page_163'>163</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Pembroke, Henry Herbert, second Earl of, <a href='#Page_24'>24</a>, <a href='#Page_45'>45</a>, <a href='#Page_163'>163</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Pembroke, William Earl of, <a href='#Page_45'>45</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Philip of Spain, <a href='#Page_82'>82</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Pierrepoint, Sir George, <a href='#Page_20'>20</a>–1</li> - <li class='c020'>Pierrepoint, Sir Henry, <a href='#Page_6'>6</a>, <a href='#Page_20'>20</a>, <a href='#Page_41'>41</a></li> - <li class='c020'><span class='pageno' id='Page_377'>377</span>Pierrepoint, Lady, <a href='#Page_6'>6</a>, <a href='#Page_41'>41</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Poland, King of, <a href='#Page_344'>344</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Portington, Roger, <a href='#Page_301'>301</a>, <a href='#Page_305'>305</a></li> - <li class='center'>R</li> - <li class='c020'>Raleigh, Sir Walter, <a href='#Page_32'>32</a>, <a href='#Page_344'>344</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Rawley, Sir Walter, <a href='#Page_338'>338</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Robsart, Amy. <em>See</em> Dudley</li> - <li class='c020'>Rolson, <a href='#Page_275'>275</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Roods, Mr. Serjeant, <a href='#Page_257'>257</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Ross, Bishop of, <a href='#Page_71'>71</a>, <a href='#Page_79'>79</a>, <a href='#Page_81'>81</a>, <a href='#Page_129'>129</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Rufford, <a href='#Page_35'>35</a>, <a href='#Page_151'>151</a>, <a href='#Page_199'>199</a>, <a href='#Page_252'>252</a>, <a href='#Page_327'>327</a>, <a href='#Page_351'>351</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Rutland, Edward Manners, third Earl of, <a href='#Page_254'>254</a> <em>et sqq.</em></li> - <li class='c020'>Ruxby, <a href='#Page_275'>275</a></li> - <li class='center'>S</li> - <li class='c020'>Sackville, Lady, <a href='#Page_126'>126</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Sackville, Sir Richard, <a href='#Page_17'>17</a>, <a href='#Page_126'>126</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Sadler, Sir Ralph, <a href='#Page_86'>86</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_265'>265</a>, <a href='#Page_293'>293</a></li> - <li class='c020'>St. Loe, Sir William, <a href='#Page_13'>13</a> (“Bess of Hardwick’s” third husband), <a href='#Page_13'>13</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_23'>23</a>, <a href='#Page_286'>286</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Scrope, Lord, <a href='#Page_48'>48</a>, <a href='#Page_112'>112</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Seaton, Mrs., <a href='#Page_64'>64</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Seton, Mary, <a href='#Page_66'>66</a>–7, <a href='#Page_232'>232</a>–3, <a href='#Page_242'>242</a>–3</li> - <li class='c020'>Seymour, Lady Jane, <a href='#Page_28'>28</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Seymour, William, <a href='#Page_339'>339</a>, <a href='#Page_340'>340</a>, <a href='#Page_342'>342</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Sheffield, Lady. <em>See</em> Countess of Leicester.</li> - <li class='c020'>Sheffield Castle, <a href='#Page_35'>35</a>, <a href='#Page_281'>281</a>; - <ul> - <li>Mary Queen of Scots at, <a href='#Page_73'>73</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_85'>85</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_95'>95</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_110'>110</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_171'>171</a>, <a href='#Page_193'>193</a>, <a href='#Page_231'>231</a> <em>et sqq.</em></li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c020'>Shrewsbury, Edward Talbot, eighth Earl of, <a href='#Page_43'>43</a>, <a href='#Page_45'>45</a>, <a href='#Page_169'>169</a>, <a href='#Page_189'>189</a>, <a href='#Page_308'>308</a>, <a href='#Page_325'>325</a>–6, <a href='#Page_340'>340</a>, <a href='#Page_348'>348</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Shrewsbury, Elizabeth Countess of: her birth, <a href='#Page_1'>1</a>; - <ul> - <li><span class='pageno' id='Page_378'>378</span>her early life, <a href='#Page_2'>2</a>;</li> - <li>her early marriage and widowhood, <a href='#Page_3'>3</a>;</li> - <li>her second marriage to Sir William Cavendish, <a href='#Page_4'>4</a>;</li> - <li>her family, <a href='#Page_5'>5</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_12'>12</a>–13, <a href='#Page_36'>36</a>;</li> - <li>rebuilds Chatsworth, <a href='#Page_7'>7</a>, <a href='#Page_12'>12</a>, <a href='#Page_23'>23</a>, <a href='#Page_72'>72</a>, <a href='#Page_91'>91</a>, <a href='#Page_202'>202</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>instructions to her steward, <a href='#Page_9'>9</a>, <a href='#Page_10'>10</a>;</li> - <li>death of her husband, <a href='#Page_10'>10</a>;</li> - <li>her third marriage to Sir William St. Loe, <a href='#Page_13'>13</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>letters written to, <a href='#Page_8'>8</a>, <a href='#Page_17'>17</a>, <a href='#Page_18'>18</a>, <a href='#Page_19'>19</a>, <a href='#Page_21'>21</a>, <a href='#Page_40'>40</a>, <a href='#Page_42'>42</a>, <a href='#Page_45'>45</a>, <a href='#Page_106'>106</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_158'>158</a>, <a href='#Page_181'>181</a>, <a href='#Page_188'>188</a>, <a href='#Page_193'>193</a>, <a href='#Page_197'>197</a>–8, <a href='#Page_202'>202</a>, <a href='#Page_254'>254</a>, <a href='#Page_286'>286</a>;</li> - <li>letters written by, <a href='#Page_9'>9</a>, <a href='#Page_22'>22</a>, <a href='#Page_183'>183</a>, <a href='#Page_194'>194</a>, <a href='#Page_239'>239</a>, <a href='#Page_290'>290</a>, <a href='#Page_298'>298</a>, <a href='#Page_329'>329</a>, <a href='#Page_333'>333</a>;</li> - <li>death of her husband, <a href='#Page_23'>23</a>, <a href='#Page_32'>32</a>;</li> - <li>and Lady Catherine Grey’s marriage, <a href='#Page_27'>27</a>, <a href='#Page_30'>30</a>;</li> - <li>her suitors, <a href='#Page_32'>32</a>–3;</li> - <li>her fourth marriage to Earl of Shrewsbury, <a href='#Page_34'>34</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>and Mary Queen of Scots’ imprisonment, <a href='#Page_46'>46</a>–7, <a href='#Page_50'>50</a>–1, <a href='#Page_63'>63</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_86'>86</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_95'>95</a>–6;</li> - <li>and Author’s interlude at Tutbury Castle, <a href='#Page_52'>52</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>at Wingfield Manor, <a href='#Page_70'>70</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>and Queen Elizabeth’s suspicion of, <a href='#Page_72'>72</a>–3, <a href='#Page_77'>77</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_97'>97</a>, <a href='#Page_111'>111</a>;</li> - <li>and Henry Lascelles, <a href='#Page_83'>83</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>and Mary and Norfolk, <a href='#Page_87'>87</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>her business instincts, <a href='#Page_114'>114</a>, <a href='#Page_119'>119</a>;</li> - <li>Mary’s attitude to, <a href='#Page_117'>117</a>;</li> - <li>and her daughter Elizabeth’s marriage, <a href='#Page_132'>132</a>, <a href='#Page_145'>145</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>her imprisonment in the Tower, <a href='#Page_153'>153</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_161'>161</a>;</li> - <li><span class='pageno' id='Page_379'>379</span>released from the Tower, <a href='#Page_156'>156</a>;</li> - <li>the birth of her grandchild, <a href='#Page_158'>158</a>–9, <a href='#Page_173'>173</a>–4;</li> - <li>her love of match-making, <a href='#Page_165'>165</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>restored to Elizabeth’s favour, <a href='#Page_170'>170</a>;</li> - <li>entertains Leicester at Chatsworth, <a href='#Page_182'>182</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>her social importance, <a href='#Page_193'>193</a>;</li> - <li>her household needs, <a href='#Page_196'>196</a>;</li> - <li>and Gilbert Talbot, <a href='#Page_197'>197</a>;</li> - <li>family quarrels, <a href='#Page_200'>200</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>the dissension between the Earl and, <a href='#Page_200'>200</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_213'>213</a>–14, <a href='#Page_251'>251</a>, <a href='#Page_260'>260</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_279'>279</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_312'>312</a>–13, <a href='#Page_318'>318</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>and her love of building, <a href='#Page_203'>203</a>, <a href='#Page_214'>214</a>;</li> - <li>her grief at her grandchild’s death, <a href='#Page_208'>208</a>–9, <a href='#Page_213'>213</a>;</li> - <li>presents to, from Mary, <a href='#Page_209'>209</a>;</li> - <li>the tenantry and, <a href='#Page_215'>215</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>and the rights of Lady Arabella Stuart, <a href='#Page_220'>220</a>, <a href='#Page_236'>236</a>, <a href='#Page_239'>239</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_328'>328</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_333'>333</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_343'>343</a>, <a href='#Page_345'>345</a>;</li> - <li>and Elizabeth’s flattery, <a href='#Page_222'>222</a>;</li> - <li>and Mary Queen of Scots’ illness, <a href='#Page_233'>233</a>;</li> - <li>and the death of her daughter, Lady Lennox, <a href='#Page_234'>234</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>and Mary Queen of Scots’ complaints of, <a href='#Page_241'>241</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>and the Shrewsbury scandal, <a href='#Page_245'>245</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_268'>268</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>and Gilbert Talbot’s monetary affairs, <a href='#Page_254'>254</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>division of her property, <a href='#Page_258'>258</a>, <a href='#Page_284'>284</a>–5;</li> - <li>and Queen Elizabeth as peacemaker, <a href='#Page_267'>267</a>–8, <a href='#Page_283'>283</a>, <a href='#Page_290'>290</a>, <a href='#Page_292'>292</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_312'>312</a>;</li> - <li>appears before the Lords of the Council, <a href='#Page_268'>268</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li><span class='pageno' id='Page_380'>380</span>and the “Scandal Letter,” <a href='#Page_271'>271</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>and the Earl’s financial proposal, <a href='#Page_296'>296</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>appeals to Burghley, <a href='#Page_298'>298</a>;</li> - <li>Bishop of Lichfield and, <a href='#Page_318'>318</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>her characteristics, <a href='#Page_322'>322</a>, <a href='#Page_354'>354</a>–5, <a href='#Page_361'>361</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>quarrels with Gilbert and Mary, <a href='#Page_324'>324</a>, <a href='#Page_326'>326</a>;</li> - <li>builds Owlcotes, <a href='#Page_343'>343</a>, <a href='#Page_348'>348</a>;</li> - <li>her serious illness, <a href='#Page_344'>344</a>, <a href='#Page_346'>346</a>;</li> - <li>her death, <a href='#Page_347'>347</a>;</li> - <li>her mansions, <a href='#Page_349'>349</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>her portrait at Hardwick, <a href='#Page_354'>354</a></li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c020'>Shrewsbury, George Talbot, sixth Earl of (“Bess of Hardwick’s” fourth husband), <a href='#Page_241'>241</a>; - <ul> - <li>his ancestry, <a href='#Page_34'>34</a>–5;</li> - <li>honours bestowed on, <a href='#Page_35'>35</a>;</li> - <li>his marriage to “Bess of Hardwick,” <a href='#Page_36'>36</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>his enormous correspondence, <a href='#Page_38'>38</a>;</li> - <li>letters written by, <a href='#Page_42'>42</a>, <a href='#Page_45'>45</a>, <a href='#Page_78'>78</a>, <a href='#Page_97'>97</a>, <a href='#Page_106'>106</a>, <a href='#Page_108'>108</a>–9, <a href='#Page_111'>111</a>, <a href='#Page_115'>115</a>, <a href='#Page_165'>165</a>, <a href='#Page_186'>186</a>–7, <a href='#Page_193'>193</a>, <a href='#Page_208'>208</a>, <a href='#Page_234'>234</a>, <a href='#Page_259'>259</a>, <a href='#Page_279'>279</a>, <a href='#Page_281'>281</a>, <a href='#Page_286'>286</a>, <a href='#Page_299'>299</a>, <a href='#Page_305'>305</a>;</li> - <li>his charge of Mary Queen of Scots, <a href='#Page_40'>40</a>–1, <a href='#Page_43'>43</a>, <a href='#Page_45'>45</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_95'>95</a>, <a href='#Page_180'>180</a>, <a href='#Page_231'>231</a>;</li> - <li>his allowance for Mary, <a href='#Page_63'>63</a>, <a href='#Page_113'>113</a>–14, <a href='#Page_162'>162</a>;</li> - <li>and Mary’s life at Tutbury, <a href='#Page_64'>64</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>at Wingfield, <a href='#Page_70'>70</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>his illness, <a href='#Page_72'>72</a>–3;</li> - <li>Queen Elizabeth’s complaints of, <a href='#Page_76'>76</a>–7, <a href='#Page_97'>97</a>–8, <a href='#Page_111'>111</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_156'>156</a>, <a href='#Page_226'>226</a>;</li> - <li>and Queen Mary’s health, <a href='#Page_81'>81</a>, <a href='#Page_96'>96</a>;</li> - <li>and the attack on his wife, <a href='#Page_82'>82</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_97'>97</a>–8;</li> - <li>and Duke of Norfolk’s trial, <a href='#Page_86'>86</a>–7;</li> - <li>letters written to, <a href='#Page_99'>99</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_109'>109</a>, <a href='#Page_290'>290</a>, <a href='#Page_301'>301</a>, <a href='#Page_318'>318</a>;</li> - <li><span class='pageno' id='Page_381'>381</span>his characteristics, <a href='#Page_113'>113</a>, <a href='#Page_246'>246</a>, <a href='#Page_254'>254</a>;</li> - <li>and the priests’ accusation, <a href='#Page_114'>114</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>and Elizabeth Cavendish’s marriage, <a href='#Page_147'>147</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>and his wife’s imprisonment, <a href='#Page_153'>153</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>his present to Burghley, <a href='#Page_161'>161</a>–2;</li> - <li>and his son’s proposed marriage, <a href='#Page_166'>166</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>his expenditure, <a href='#Page_169'>169</a>, <a href='#Page_227'>227</a>–8;</li> - <li>and Leicester at Buxton, <a href='#Page_171'>171</a>;</li> - <li>entertains Leicester at Chatsworth, <a href='#Page_182'>182</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>his parsimony, <a href='#Page_196'>196</a>, <a href='#Page_201'>201</a>, <a href='#Page_299'>299</a>;</li> - <li>disagreements with his children, <a href='#Page_198'>198</a>, <a href='#Page_251'>251</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>disagreements with his wife, <a href='#Page_200'>200</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_213'>213</a>, <a href='#Page_251'>251</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_258'>258</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_312'>312</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>and Mary’s reported escape, <a href='#Page_207'>207</a>, <a href='#Page_211'>211</a>;</li> - <li>and his grandchild’s death, <a href='#Page_208'>208</a>–9;</li> - <li>Mary’s friendliness towards, <a href='#Page_209'>209</a>;</li> - <li>pleads to Queen Elizabeth, <a href='#Page_212'>212</a>;</li> - <li>difficulties with his tenants, <a href='#Page_214'>214</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>and his grandchild Arabella, <a href='#Page_220'>220</a>;</li> - <li>wishes to visit the Queen, <a href='#Page_230'>230</a>;</li> - <li>death of his son Francis, <a href='#Page_230'>230</a>, <a href='#Page_259'>259</a>;</li> - <li>and Mary’s ill-health, <a href='#Page_231'>231</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>and the death of Lady Lennox, <a href='#Page_234'>234</a>–5;</li> - <li>the slander against, <a href='#Page_245'>245</a>, <a href='#Page_249'>249</a>, <a href='#Page_250'>250</a>, <a href='#Page_262'>262</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_267'>267</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>and Mary Talbot, <a href='#Page_254'>254</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>his dislike of Chatsworth, <a href='#Page_258'>258</a>–9;</li> - <li>released from his charge of Mary, <a href='#Page_266'>266</a>;</li> - <li>visits Elizabeth, <a href='#Page_266'>266</a>–7;</li> - <li><span class='pageno' id='Page_382'>382</span>and Elizabeth as peacemaker, <a href='#Page_267'>267</a>, <a href='#Page_278'>278</a>, <a href='#Page_296'>296</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>his monetary disputes with the Countess, <a href='#Page_284'>284</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>and Elizabeth’s partiality for the Countess, <a href='#Page_292'>292</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>and Elizabeth’s profession, <a href='#Page_295'>295</a>, <a href='#Page_315'>315</a>;</li> - <li>Elizabeth’s decision, <a href='#Page_296'>296</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>reproves Mary Talbot’s extravagance, <a href='#Page_299'>299</a>, <a href='#Page_300'>300</a>;</li> - <li>Sir Henry Lee and, <a href='#Page_299'>299</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>his lonely old age, <a href='#Page_307'>307</a>–8, <a href='#Page_315'>315</a>–16;</li> - <li>summoned to Fotheringay, <a href='#Page_307'>307</a>;</li> - <li>and execution of Mary Queen of Scots, <a href='#Page_309'>309</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>Bishop of Lichfield’s advice to, <a href='#Page_318'>318</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>his death, <a href='#Page_322'>322</a> <em>et sqq.</em></li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c020'>Shrewsbury, Gilbert Talbot, seventh Earl of, <a href='#Page_6'>6</a>, <a href='#Page_43'>43</a>, <a href='#Page_106'>106</a>, <a href='#Page_127'>127</a>, <a href='#Page_157'>157</a>, <a href='#Page_164'>164</a>, <a href='#Page_228'>228</a>, <a href='#Page_283'>283</a>, <a href='#Page_286'>286</a>, <a href='#Page_308'>308</a>; - <ul> - <li>his marriage, <a href='#Page_36'>36</a>, <a href='#Page_44'>44</a>–5;</li> - <li>letters written by, <a href='#Page_99'>99</a>, <a href='#Page_117'>117</a>, <a href='#Page_171'>171</a>, <a href='#Page_197'>197</a>, <a href='#Page_199'>199</a>, <a href='#Page_202'>202</a>, <a href='#Page_215'>215</a>, <a href='#Page_254'>254</a>, <a href='#Page_314'>314</a>, <a href='#Page_346'>346</a>;</li> - <li>his varied duties, <a href='#Page_99'>99</a>, <a href='#Page_223'>223</a>;</li> - <li>letters written to, <a href='#Page_109'>109</a>, <a href='#Page_299'>299</a>;</li> - <li>and his first child, <a href='#Page_111'>111</a>;</li> - <li>and the priests’ accusations against his father, <a href='#Page_114'>114</a>–15, <a href='#Page_117'>117</a>–18;</li> - <li>Court chit-chat by, <a href='#Page_171'>171</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>entertains Leicester at Buxton, <a href='#Page_180'>180</a>;</li> - <li>his illness, <a href='#Page_195'>195</a>;</li> - <li>and his uncongenial home, <a href='#Page_197'>197</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>dissension with his father, <a href='#Page_198'>198</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>and his parents’ quarrels, <a href='#Page_201'>201</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_254'>254</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>and the Shrewsbury tenantry, <a href='#Page_215'>215</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li><span class='pageno' id='Page_383'>383</span>and Elizabeth’s “deshabille,” <a href='#Page_221'>221</a>–2;</li> - <li>champions his stepmother, Lady Shrewsbury, <a href='#Page_251'>251</a>–2;</li> - <li>death of his son, <a href='#Page_259'>259</a>;</li> - <li>his monetary difficulties, <a href='#Page_299'>299</a>, <a href='#Page_348'>348</a>;</li> - <li>his love for his stepmother, <a href='#Page_314'>314</a>–15;</li> - <li>succeeds his father, <a href='#Page_324'>324</a>–5, <a href='#Page_327'>327</a>;</li> - <li>his portrait at Hardwick Hall, <a href='#Page_324'>324</a>;</li> - <li>quarrels with his brother Edward, <a href='#Page_326'>326</a>;</li> - <li>entertains the King, <a href='#Page_340'>340</a>–1;</li> - <li>and Lady Arabella Stuart, <a href='#Page_342'>342</a>;</li> - <li>quarrels with his stepmother, <a href='#Page_343'>343</a></li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c020'>Shrewsbury, Jane, Countess of, <a href='#Page_45'>45</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Shrewsbury, John Talbot, first Earl of, <a href='#Page_34'>34</a>–5</li> - <li class='c020'>Shrewsbury, Mary, Countess of, <a href='#Page_6'>6</a>, <a href='#Page_11'>11</a>, <a href='#Page_157'>157</a>, <a href='#Page_252'>252</a>, <a href='#Page_299'>299</a>, <a href='#Page_314'>314</a>, <a href='#Page_324'>324</a>, <a href='#Page_337'>337</a>, <a href='#Page_346'>346</a>, <a href='#Page_348'>348</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Sidney, Sir Philip, <a href='#Page_225'>225</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Simier, <a href='#Page_272'>272</a>, <a href='#Page_277'>277</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Skargelle, George, <a href='#Page_226'>226</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Skipwith, Henry, <a href='#Page_17'>17</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Smith, Sir Thomas, <a href='#Page_103'>103</a>, <a href='#Page_173'>173</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Snagge, Serjeant, <a href='#Page_314'>314</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Somerset, Duke of, <a href='#Page_25'>25</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Southwell, Francis, <a href='#Page_103'>103</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Stafford, Sir Edward, <a href='#Page_332'>332</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Stanhope, Sir Thomas, <a href='#Page_204'>204</a>, <a href='#Page_206'>206</a>, <a href='#Page_252'>252</a>–3, <a href='#Page_327'>327</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Steele, <a href='#Page_257'>257</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Story, Dr., <a href='#Page_92'>92</a>–3</li> - <li class='c020'>Stuart, Esmé, Lord d’Aubigny, <a href='#Page_220'>220</a>, <a href='#Page_240'>240</a>, <a href='#Page_339'>339</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Stuart, Lady Arabella, <a href='#Page_213'>213</a>, <a href='#Page_312'>312</a>–13, <a href='#Page_315'>315</a>, <a href='#Page_348'>348</a>, <a href='#Page_355'>355</a>; - <ul> - <li>her birth, <a href='#Page_158'>158</a>–9, <a href='#Page_173'>173</a>;</li> - <li>her rights, <a href='#Page_219'>219</a>, <a href='#Page_220'>220</a>;</li> - <li><span class='pageno' id='Page_384'>384</span>the allowance for, <a href='#Page_228'>228</a>, <a href='#Page_240'>240</a>, <a href='#Page_329'>329</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>death of her mother, <a href='#Page_234'>234</a>;</li> - <li>and her succession to her father’s earldom, <a href='#Page_236'>236</a>–7;</li> - <li>Mary’s bequest of jewels to, <a href='#Page_237'>237</a>–8;</li> - <li>appeals to Elizabeth on behalf of, <a href='#Page_238'>238</a>–9;</li> - <li>Lady Shrewsbury’s ambitions for, <a href='#Page_241'>241</a>, <a href='#Page_244'>244</a>, <a href='#Page_322'>322</a>, <a href='#Page_328'>328</a>, <a href='#Page_338'>338</a>;</li> - <li>proposed alliances for, <a href='#Page_276'>276</a>, <a href='#Page_332'>332</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_339'>339</a>, <a href='#Page_344'>344</a>;</li> - <li>her postscript to Lord Burghley, <a href='#Page_331'>331</a>;</li> - <li>goes to Court, <a href='#Page_337'>337</a> <em>et sqq.</em>;</li> - <li>her betrothal to William Seymour, <a href='#Page_339'>339</a>;</li> - <li>her arrest, <a href='#Page_339'>339</a>, <a href='#Page_340'>340</a>;</li> - <li>appointed State Governess, <a href='#Page_341'>341</a>;</li> - <li>summoned to Lady’s Shrewsbury’s bedside 344–5</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c020'>Suffolk, Duchess of, <a href='#Page_131'>131</a>, <a href='#Page_151'>151</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Sussex, Earl of, <a href='#Page_101'>101</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Sussex, Countess of, <a href='#Page_171'>171</a></li> - <li class='center'>T</li> - <li class='c020'>Talbot, Lady Anne, <a href='#Page_45'>45</a>, <a href='#Page_163'>163</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Talbot, Lady Catherine. <em>See</em> Pembroke</li> - <li class='c020'>Talbot, Lord Edward. <em>See</em> Shrewsbury</li> - <li class='c020'>Talbot, Lady Francis, <a href='#Page_305'>305</a>, <a href='#Page_325'>325</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Talbot, Lord Francis, <a href='#Page_45'>45</a>, <a href='#Page_99'>99</a>, <a href='#Page_162'>162</a>, <a href='#Page_224'>224</a>, <a href='#Page_228'>228</a>, <a href='#Page_230'>230</a>, <a href='#Page_259'>259</a>, <a href='#Page_280'>280</a>, <a href='#Page_325'>325</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Talbot, Lady Grace. <em>See</em> Cavendish</li> - <li class='c020'>Talbot, George. <em>See</em> Sixth Earl of Shrewsbury</li> - <li class='c020'>Talbot, George, <a href='#Page_200'>200</a>, <a href='#Page_208'>208</a></li> - <li class='c020'><span class='pageno' id='Page_385'>385</span>Talbot, Gilbert. <em>See</em> Seventh Earl of Shrewsbury</li> - <li class='c020'>Talbot, Henry, Lord, <a href='#Page_45'>45</a>, <a href='#Page_189'>189</a>, <a href='#Page_294'>294</a>–5, <a href='#Page_301'>301</a>, <a href='#Page_308'>308</a>, <a href='#Page_325'>325</a>, <a href='#Page_348'>348</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Talbot, Lady Jane, <a href='#Page_45'>45</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Talbot, John. <em>See</em> First Earl of Shrewsbury</li> - <li class='c020'>Talbot, Mary. <em>See</em> Countess of Shrewsbury</li> - <li class='c020'>Talbott, John, <a href='#Page_333'>333</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Throgmorton, Sir Nicholas, <a href='#Page_92'>92</a>–3</li> - <li class='c020'>Thurlby, Bishop, <a href='#Page_94'>94</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Thynne, Sir John, <a href='#Page_32'>32</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Topcliffe, Richard, <a href='#Page_264'>264</a>; - <ul> - <li>his letter to Lady Shrewsbury, <a href='#Page_188'>188</a></li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c020'>Tutbury Castle, <a href='#Page_35'>35</a>, <a href='#Page_351'>351</a>, <a href='#Page_353'>353</a>; - <ul> - <li>Mary Queen of Scots at, <a href='#Page_40'>40</a>, <a href='#Page_47'>47</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_62'>62</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_76'>76</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_171'>171</a>;</li> - <li>Author’s Dramatic Interlude at, <a href='#Page_52'>52</a> <em>et sqq.</em></li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='center'>W</li> - <li class='c020'>Walpole, Horace, <a href='#Page_357'>357</a>, <a href='#Page_361'>361</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Walsingham, Sir Francis, <a href='#Page_23'>23</a>, <a href='#Page_78'>78</a>, <a href='#Page_103'>103</a>, <a href='#Page_165'>165</a>, <a href='#Page_171'>171</a>, <a href='#Page_173'>173</a>, <a href='#Page_183'>183</a>, <a href='#Page_209'>209</a>, <a href='#Page_223'>223</a>, <a href='#Page_264'>264</a>, <a href='#Page_267'>267</a>–8, <a href='#Page_275'>275</a>, <a href='#Page_281'>281</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_297'>297</a></li> - <li class='c020'><span class='pageno' id='Page_386'>386</span>Warner, Sir Edward, <a href='#Page_27'>27</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Warwick, Ambrose Earl of, <a href='#Page_185'>185</a>, <a href='#Page_188'>188</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Watts, Archdeacon, <a href='#Page_93'>93</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Welbeck Abbey, <a href='#Page_35'>35</a>, <a href='#Page_254'>254</a>, <a href='#Page_258'>258</a>, <a href='#Page_341'>341</a>, <a href='#Page_351'>351</a> <em>et sqq.</em></li> - <li class='c020'>Wharton, Lord, <a href='#Page_188'>188</a></li> - <li class='c020'>White, Nicholas, <a href='#Page_64'>64</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Wilson, Dr., <a href='#Page_102'>102</a>–3, <a href='#Page_105'>105</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Wingfield, Mr., <a href='#Page_37'>37</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Wingfield Manor, <a href='#Page_35'>35</a>, <a href='#Page_286'>286</a>, <a href='#Page_297'>297</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_312'>312</a>, <a href='#Page_334'>334</a>, <a href='#Page_351'>351</a>; - <ul> - <li>Mary Queen of Scots at, <a href='#Page_70'>70</a> <em>et sqq.</em>, <a href='#Page_265'>265</a>, <a href='#Page_268'>268</a></li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c020'>Winter, Sir William, <a href='#Page_173'>173</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Wood, Dr., <a href='#Page_326'>326</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Worksop Manor, <a href='#Page_35'>35</a>, <a href='#Page_197'>197</a>, <a href='#Page_340'>340</a>, <a href='#Page_351'>351</a> <em>et sqq.</em></li> - <li class='c020'>Wortley, Sir Richard, <a href='#Page_325'>325</a></li> - <li class='center'>Z</li> - <li class='c020'>Zouche, Sir John, <a href='#Page_195'>195</a></li> - <li class='c020'>Zouche, Lady, <a href='#Page_2'>2</a>, <a href='#Page_3'>3</a></li> -</ul> - -<hr class='c021' /> -<div class='footnote' id='f1'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r1'>1</a>. <span class='pageno' id='Page_387'>387</span>Collins’ <cite>Noble Families</cite>.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f2'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r2'>2</a>. The Marquis of Dorset.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f3'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r3'>3</a>. State MS.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f4'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r4'>4</a>. ? Almoner.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f5'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r5'>5</a>. Avoid = clear out.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f6'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r6'>6</a>. Lady Jane Grey.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f7'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r7'>7</a>. State MS.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f8'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r8'>8</a>. According to Leland, “Halamshire beginneth a ii. mile from -Rotheram. Sheffield iii miles from Rotheram, wher the lord of -Shreusbyre’s castle, the chefe market towne of Halamshire. And -Halamshire goeth one way vi or vii miles above Sheffield by west, yet as -I here say, another way the next village to Sheffield is in Derbyshire. -Al Halamshire go to the seesions of York and is counted as a membre of -Yorkshire. Aeglesfield and Bradfeld ii townelettes or villages long to -one paroche chirche. So by this meanes (as I was enstructed) ther be -but iii paroches in Halamshire that is of name, and a great Chapelle.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Hunter sums up these three parishes as Sheffield, Ecclesfield, and -Hansworth, with the chapelry of Bradfield.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f9'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r9'>9</a>. Hunter’s <cite>Hallamshire</cite>.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f10'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r10'>10</a>. None = own. Probably an abbreviation of “mine own.”</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f11'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r11'>11</a>. Hunter’s <cite>Hallamshire</cite>.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f12'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r12'>12</a>. His disaffected tenants at Bolsover.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f13'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r13'>13</a>. Construction.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f14'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r14'>14</a>. When Lady Catherine Grey was imprisoned in the Tower for her -secret marriage with the Earl of Hertford she took amongst her belongings -some pet monkeys. These played havoc with the hangings, not -in first-rate condition, with which, by Elizabeth’s order, the cheerlessness -of her prison apartments was mitigated.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f15'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r15'>15</a>. The famous scandal-letter about the Countess of Shrewsbury from -Mary to Elizabeth, to which reference follows later.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f16'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r16'>16</a>. Blank in the MS.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f17'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r17'>17</a>. Of Norfolk.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f18'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r18'>18</a>. A servant of the Shrewsburys.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f19'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r19'>19</a>. Daughters of William, Lord Howard of Effingham.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f20'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r20'>20</a>. Blank In the MS.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f21'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r21'>21</a>. Hunter’s <cite>Hallamshire</cite>.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f22'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r22'>22</a>. In the light of after events this is a somewhat rash offer!</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f23'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r23'>23</a>. Corker had apparently eaten his words in a whining counter statement.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f24'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r24'>24</a>. Hunter’s <cite>Hallamshire</cite>.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f25'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r25'>25</a>. His death took place in 1575, but Mary did not hear of it till a year -later.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f26'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r26'>26</a>. Leader, <cite>Mary Queen of Scots in Captivity</cite>.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f27'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r27'>27</a>. The Cavendish motto, meaning “Secure by taking care.”</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f28'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r28'>28</a>. <cite>Mary Queen of Scots: Her Environment and Tragedy</cite>, by T. F. -Henderson.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f29'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r29'>29</a>. State Papers—Domestic, quoted by Miss Strickland.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f30'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r30'>30</a>. State Papers—Domestic.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f31'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r31'>31</a>. Blank in the original, as given in Lodge’s <cite>Illustrations of British -History</cite>.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f32'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r32'>32</a>. Hunter’s <cite>Hallamshire</cite>.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f33'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r33'>33</a>. Explain or set aside.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f34'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r34'>34</a>. Lady Grace’s letter.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f35'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r35'>35</a>. The Queen had a small palace here, in Northamptonshire.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f36'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r36'>36</a>. Gilbert Talbot had apparently fallen out of favour. The matter is, -however, so unimportant that no explanation remains of it.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f37'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r37'>37</a>. His three wives were: Amy or Anne, daughter and heir to Sir -John Robsart; Douglas, daughter of William Lord Howard of Effingham -and widow of John Lord Sheffield, by whom he had one son, Sir -Robert Dudley; and Lettice Knollys, daughter of Sir Francis Knollys -and widow of Walter Earl of Essex. Amy Robsart died suddenly at -Kenilworth, and he did not even attend her funeral; Lady Sheffield he -repudiated because of his passion for Lettice Knollys, whose death took -place under suspicious circumstances. He declared his son by Lady Sheffield to be illegitimate, and she, though married to him, was so frightened -by his attempt to remove her by poison, in order that he might wed the -widowed Countess of Essex, that, though legally bound to him, she -became the wife of Sir Edward Stafford, of Grafton.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f38'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r38'>38</a>. Hunter’s <cite>Hallamshire</cite>.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f39'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r39'>39</a>. Her husband died of consumption within two years of the hasty -and romantic wedding at Rufford Abbey.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f40'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r40'>40</a>. Hallamshire knives, or “whittles,” were famous, and the Earl often -sent gifts of sets to his friends in these early days of the development of -Sheffield cutlery.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f41'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r41'>41</a>. Creighton takes the view that this was Elizabeth’s elaborate method -of flogging the couple at Chatsworth for luring Leicester to Chatsworth, -and that she highly disapproved of the visit.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f42'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r42'>42</a>. Ambrose Earl of Warwick, to whom Lord Leicester bequeathed -his estates, only making his own son, Robert Dudley, heir in the second -place.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f43'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r43'>43</a>. In sending her thanks for Leicester’s entertainment Elizabeth apparently -despatched also to Shrewsbury a separate letter embodying her old -suspicious fears.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f44'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r44'>44</a>. Could this be the Earl of Warwick, who, as suggested in Elizabeth’s -skittish letter just quoted, had been invited to Chatsworth with Lord Leicester?</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f45'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r45'>45</a>. Hunter’s <cite>Hallamshire</cite>.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f46'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r46'>46</a>. Letters of Mary Queen of Scots, quoted by Leader.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f47'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r47'>47</a>. Hunter’s <cite>Hallamshire</cite>.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f48'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r48'>48</a>. The Earl and Sir John Zouch, a kinsman of the Countess, were -contesting the right to sell some Derbyshire lead mines.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f49'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r49'>49</a>. Hunter’s <cite>Hallamshire</cite>.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f50'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r50'>50</a>. <em>Ibid.</em></p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f51'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r51'>51</a>. Goodrich Castle, in Herefordshire; also one of the Shrewsbury -properties at this date.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f52'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r52'>52</a>. His little son.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f53'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r53'>53</a>. The mouth of a coal-pit.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f54'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r54'>54</a>. Probably “detailing” or “appealing to.”</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f55'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r55'>55</a>. Hunter’s <cite>Hallamshire</cite>.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f56'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r56'>56</a>. That is, clearly a plot against Shrewsbury.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f57'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r57'>57</a>. The Duke of Anjou, Elizabeth’s new suitor, whom she called her -“Frogg,” while his ambassador, Simier, who so nearly, in his own -opinion, secured for his master the bride of his ambitions, was known at -Court as the “Monkey.”</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f58'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r58'>58</a>. Leader.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f59'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r59'>59</a>. Evidently his elder brother Francis Talbot, who was probably about -to visit his parents.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f60'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r60'>60</a>. Quoted in Creighton’s <cite>Elizabeth</cite>.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f61'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r61'>61</a>. Ellis’s <cite>Letters</cite> (Lansdowne MSS.).</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f62'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r62'>62</a>. Ellis’s <cite>Letters</cite>.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f63'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r63'>63</a>. Labanoff.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f64'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r64'>64</a>. <em>Ibid.</em></p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f65'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r65'>65</a>. Ellis’s <cite>Letters</cite>.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f66'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r66'>66</a>. Labanoff. <cite>State Papers</cite>, Mary Queen of Scots.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f67'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r67'>67</a>. I have translated this freely. Mary means the tissue of treachery, -the fabrications of the Countess during their acquaintance.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f68'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r68'>68</a>. The Queen.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f69'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r69'>69</a>. Labanoff. This translation is the one given by Leader.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f70'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r70'>70</a>. Steele.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f71'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r71'>71</a>. Vol. CCVII State Papers.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f72'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r72'>72</a>. This “dyarium” is reprinted by Wright, Vol. II, <cite>Queen Elizabeth -and her Times</cite>.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f73'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r73'>73</a>. The day after Michaelmas.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f74'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r74'>74</a>. Ere.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f75'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r75'>75</a>. Letter to Liggons, May 18, 1586. State MSS. Mary Queen of -Scots.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f76'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r76'>76</a>. Labanoff.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f77'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r77'>77</a>. Killigrew was a deadly enemy of Mary, for he had been sent in -1572 to Scotland by Elizabeth to propose the demand by the Scots of -the surrender of Mary on condition that she should be executed.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f78'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r78'>78</a>. Rolson was a gentleman pensioner of Elizabeth who betrayed his -father, one of the conspirators who engaged in 1570 with the sons of the -Earl of Derby in a plot to convey Mary out of Chatsworth through -a window. She mentioned him four years later in a letter to “Monsieur -de Glasgo” with the greatest abhorrence, both as filial traitor and as author -of a design to poison her.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f79'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r79'>79</a>. I.e. Of her keep and its cost.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f80'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r80'>80</a>. The Act referred to is one passed in the reign of Richard II to -punish the slander of high personages or officials.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f81'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r81'>81</a>. State MSS.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f82'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r82'>82</a>. By “A Catholic,” State MSS.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f83'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r83'>83</a>. Hunter’s <cite>Hallamshire</cite>.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f84'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r84'>84</a>. Blank in the MS.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f85'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r85'>85</a>. Ellis’s <cite>Letters</cite>.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f86'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r86'>86</a>. Ellis’s <cite>Letters</cite>.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f87'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r87'>87</a>. Costello.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f88'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#r88'>88</a>. “None-Such”—one of the royal palaces at this time.</p> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c001'> - <div><span class='small'>PRINTED BY</span></div> - <div><span class='small'>WILLIAM BRENDON AND SON, LTD.</span></div> - <div><span class='small'>PLYMOUTH</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c012' /> -</div> -<div class='tnotes x-ebookmaker'> - -<div class='chapter ph2'> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c001'> - <div>TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES</div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - - <ol class='ol_1 c002'> - <li>P. <a href='#t326'>326</a>, changed “prosperous except for their absurd expenditure” to - “preposterous except for their absurd expenditure”. - - </li> - <li>Silently corrected typographical errors and variations in spelling. - - </li> - <li>Archaic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings retained as printed. - - </li> - <li>Footnotes were re-indexed using numbers and collected together at the end of the last - chapter. - - </li> - </ol> - -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BESS OF HARDWICK AND HER CIRCLE ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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