CHAP XX England. 1571 March The Queen-mother invited him before his departure to look over with her the gardens which she was laying out at the Tuileries, and there drawing him apart under the trees, she said that he could not be ignorant of the contemplated match; both she and the King, she told him, 'were fearfully carried with mistrust that all was but abuse and dalliance,' and Buckhurst would oblige her deeply if he would tell her the truth. Buckhurst answered that as she had spoken freely to him he would meet her with equal openness. The Queen his mistress desired above all things in the world that France and England should be drawn together. As to the marriage, she had anticipated that some such question might be asked him, and she had directed him to say, 'that for the benefit of her realm and contentation of her people she had finally and fully resolved to marry, and to match with the progeny of a Prince out of her own realm.' 'Could she be sure of this,' the Queen-mother answered, and if it was meant indeed and not only in words, France and England might be the two most fortunate kingdoms in the world;' the honour of the French crown would be hurt if Elizabeth was insincere, but she would believe it was not so; and she went on to ask whether she might entertain hopes for her son. 'His commission,' Buckhurst replied, did not allow him to answer this question, but 'the Duke being so worthy a Prince,' and the benefits to be expected from such an alliance, to both the realms, being so evident, he thought, as a private individual, that if an ambassador was sent over to propose in proper form, he might be sure of a favourable reception. There was no occasion, however, for the Duke to hazard his honour,' he would himself report the Queen-mother's words on his return, 1571 March and he would inform her on all points, before she com- CHAP XX mitted herself further. Anjou was young, supposed to be brave, and not without ability. Walsingham was decidedly in favour of the marriage. Cecil, though fully conscious of the objections, thought them far outbalanced by the advantages; and so many dangers threatened Elizabeth, that something might well be risked to extricate her. He drew a sketch of the conditions under which he considered that Anjou might be received. On the point on which the negotiations with the Archduke had broken down he was particularly yielding. The Archduke had been required to 'conform to the Anglian communion. Anjou would do 'enough if he would accompany the Queen to the Royal Chapel, and would promise, neither directly nor indirectly, to attempt the alteration of the laws esta'blished'in the constitution of the Church. The Liturgy might be modified to make it palatable to him. The prayers could be said in Latin, and the lessons read in 'Latin.' 'Should there be any manner of prayer or 'other thing in the book of the Divine Service of Eng เ land that was not contained in Holy Scripture, nor ' used in the service of the Church of France, or if in the 'administration of the sacraments there were things 'different from the usage of the Church of France, 'neither the Duke nor his servants need use the same "otherwise than as their conscience should persuade.' 'Still further, it might he hoped that in time the Duke ' would conform wholly to the religion of his adopted country, but until he was persuaded to accept it with goodwill, Cecil thought that he might share the privilege of the ambassadors of the Catholic Powers, 1 Lord Buckhurst to Elizabeth, March 16.-MSS. France. CHAP XX 1571 March and have a service of his own in a room in the 'Palace.' 1 These proposals were submitted privately to the French Council, and contained everything which they could reasonably demand. The French in return were ready to promise that the Established religion should not be tampered with. The marriage ceremony it was thought might be performed in the English form; some prominent members of the French Government, ecclesiastics as well as laymen, could be present as witnesses, and a special contract to be provided for the occasion would prevent a question from being afterwards raised as to the validity of the rite.2 The interests of Protestantism would have been more than answered by these mutual concessions, and Walsingham was most anxious that they should be confirmed and accepted by the principal parties. The Queen-mother, he wrote, intended to provide for her son in Scotland if not in England; and, 'of all impending perils that would be the greatest.'3 Leicester, ready to restore Catholicism, ready to devote himself to Philip, to Catherine, to Norfolk, to the Queen of Scots, to the Puritans, to any and every one in turn, as seemed to suit his interests, professed to be particularly anxious that this time the negotiation should be successful. Cecil made up his mind to the Duke's conversion, and saw him in imagination becoming ‘a professor of the Gospel;' 'a noble conqueror of all Popery in Christendom;' while Walsingham, too eager to doubt that the marriage would be brought about, was 1 'Reasonable demands to be required of Monsieur for the preservation of the religion of England in credit, and the Protestants thereof in comfort, March 1571.' In Cecil's hand. MSS. France. 2 'Qui res omnes ibidem gestas in acta secundum formam juris redigere valeant.'-Marriage Articles proposed by France. MSS. Ibid. 3 Walsingham to Leicester, March 9.-Complete Ambassador. busy knitting the political conbinations which were to CHAP XX follow, and forming plans for the conquest of the Low Countries.1 The marriage project, meanwhile, in its incipient stages, had not affected the diplomatic interference of France in behalf of the Queen of Scots. Charles continued to declare, that unless his sister-in-law was released he would have to take up her cause in earnest. M. de Virac remained at Dumbarton with the Hamiltons. La Mothe still pressed upon Elizabeth, and Elizabeth declared that she still intended to keep her promise. Notwithstanding the protest of the Regent, the English Council resolved itself into a commission for a final settlement. The Bishop of Galloway and Lord Livingston came up from Chatsworth.2 They were well received by Elizabeth, and a suspension of hostilities was proclaimed in Scotland till the 1st of April, by which time it was expected that all would be arranged. The proceedings waited only for the appearance of the representatives of the Regent; and the delay gave opportunities for informal discussions and endless intrigues. Maitland's letters were deciphered and read by Cecil. La Mothe objected to the education of the Prince in England. The threatened occupation of Scotch castles by English garrisons was equally intolerable to him; and Livingston intimated that it was preposterous to expect Scotch noblemen to reside at Elizabeth's court as hostages. Mary Stuart herself said, that without some equivalent she would not relinquish the French alliance and forfeit her dowry; while again, new features of the Queen of Scots' misdemeanours in England were coming perpetually to light. The Bishop of Ross was pointedly told that his mistress should think less of marrying Don 1 Cecil to Walsingham, March 25. Walsingham to Cecil, April 5 Complete Ambassador. 1571 January 1571 CHAP XX John of Austria. The Bishop, in turn, informed La Mothe that if the King of France would allow the Queen of February Scots four thousand crowns a month, her friends would reduce Scotland in half-a-year, and Charles answered that he would consent, if the treaty came to nothing.1 But the interference of France was contingent on the success of the negotiation for Anjou. Elizabeth knew it, and her intentions towards her prisoner varied with her disposition towards matrimony. Her marriage, when once completed, would remove the political objections to the restoration; while, if she backed out of it, the resentment of France at her trifling would enhance the danger a hundred fold. At length Lennox consented to put in his appearance; the Earl of Morton arrived for the young King, and the way toward a conclusion seemed to be opened. But Morton had not come to London with any such intentions. The Commission held its first sitting on the 24th of February. The Earl, instead of consenting to consider the details of the treaty, presented a passionate remonstrance, expressing only with increased vehemence the objections which had been before conveyed through the Abbot of Dumfermline. It was the old story, but it could not be too often repeated. When Morton ceased, Bacon rose to support him. If the Queen of Scots was restored,' said the Lord Keeper, in three months she would kindle a fire which 'would wrap the island in flames, and which the power ' of man would fail to extinguish. If Elizabeth would recognise the Prince and support the Regent, all Scotland 'would instantly be at her devotion, and with Scotland 'hers she might defy the malice of the world. His 'mistress,' he said, 'believed herself bound by promises 1 The King of France to La Mothe, Feb. 19.-Dépêches, vol. vii. |