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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 23 February 2010
The assassination of the prince of Orange on the 10th July, 1584, reduced the defenders of protestantism in the Low Countries almost to despair. Deprived of their only leader, exhausted by a long continued war, opposed to the power of Spain, then the greatest empire in the world, and that power directed by the consummate military skill of the prince of Parma, the states general regarded the further prosecution of their unequal contest with despondency, and looked anxiously around for some helper in their distress, some potentate at once powerful enough and zealous enough to come to their aid. Their first application was made to France; but, tempting as the notion of the annexation of the Netherlands has always been to the holders of the crown of that kingdom, and inclined as Henry III. was to adopt any course of policy which had a tendency to reduce the power of Spain, he felt that, in the unsettled state of his own kingdom, he dared not undertake the defence of protestant interests abroad. Upon his refusal, the sovereignty was tendered to queen Elizabeth, who received the offer with complacency, and referred it to the consideration of her council.
page 3 note a The treaty was concluded on the 10th August, 1585, (Dumont, corps diplomatique, v. 454. General collection of treaties, 8vo. 1732, vol. ii. p. 85,) and sir John Norris was appointed two days afterwards. (Murdin's state papers, 783.)
page 3 note b Galba, C. VIII. fo. 134.
page 4 note a is in MS.
page 6 note a Certain commissioners who were sent by the states general of the Low Countries into England to supplicate the assistance of Elizabeth. Their authority is printed in the Foedera, xv. 798.
page 8 note a This obscure sentence is printed as it stands in the original.
page 8 note b Sir Philip Sidney.
page 9 note a It would seem that between the writing of letters II. and III. and this letter, the earl of Leycester had an interview with the queen, and that the suspension of his preparations had been withdrawn.
page 9 note b At the date of this letter Mary queen of Scots was confined at Tutbury castle, in the custody of sir Amyas Paulet; but upon the interference of M. de Mauvissiere, the French ambassador, a promise had been given, that she should be removed to a more healthy and commodious place. She was removed to Chartley in January 1586.
page 10 note a The eldest son of lord Burghley. He served in the Low Countries during Leycester's government as governor of Brill. Foedera, xv. 802.
page 10 note b It was stipulated in the treaty between the queen and the Low Countries, that she should advance the pay and other charges of her troops, and that the sum thus expended should be repaid within five years after the conclusion of peace. The town of Flushing, the castle of Rammekins in Walcheren, and the town of Brill, were delivered into the queen's hands as security for the repayment of her advances.
page 11 note a Power was given to Leicester to raise five hundred men “of his tenants and servants” to attend his person during the time of his absence in the Low Countries. The letters patent for that purpose, dated the 2nd October, 1585, are printed in the Fœdera, xv. 799. Leicester's commission as lieutenant–general, dated the 22nd October, 1585, is also printed in the same work, xv. 799.
page 11 note b William Carey, lord Hunsdon, queen Elizabeth's cousin; being, not her sister's son as is stated by mistake in Dugdale's Baronage, ii. 397, but the son of William Carey and Mary Boleyn, sister to queen Elizabeth's mother.
page 11 note c Margaret, second daughter of lord Hunsdon, was married to Sir Edward Hoby, knight. Dugd. Bar. ii. 398.
page 11 note d This word is doubtful in the MS.
page 11 note e i. e. punishment, vindictive return.
page 12 note a “To have squares,” is to have a disagreement or contention.
page 12 note b This paper has been divided and misplaced by the binder of the volume in which it occurs.
page 13 note a i. e. quashed, cashiered.
page 13 note b Flushing, Rammekins, and Brill; vide p. 10, note b.
page 14 note a William prince of Orange left issue four sons and eight daughters. His eldest son Philip William was at this time, and for many years afterwards, a prisoner in Spain; Maurice succeeded his father as stadtholder, and ultimately established the independence of his country: Henry Frederic succeeded Maurice. Of his daughters it will be sufficient to remark that Mary was married to count Hohenlohe; Louisa Juliana was married to Frederic IV., elector palatine; Elizabeth was married to Henry de la Tour, duke de Bouillon, and was the mother of the great Turenne; Catharine was married to Lewis, count de Hanau; Charlotte Brabantina to Claude, duke de la Tremouille, and was mother of the celebrated Charlotte countess of Derby.
page 15 note a Gebhard Truchsés, archbishop of Cologne, elected in 1577, but deposed by the pope in 1583, on account of his adoption of the opinions of the reformers. He sought protection in Holland. L'art de verifier les dates, xv. 283.
page 16 note a Several of the commissioners from the states general had returned home.
page 16 note b i. e. to procure by solicitation.
page 16 note c i. e. in the first place.
page 16 note d The queen appointed Bartholomew Clerk, LL.D. and Henry, afterwards sir Henry, Killegrew, to be members of the council of state in addition to the earl of Leicester. Clerk and Killigrew, who were both distinguished men at that period, had been employed before in foreign embassies. Galba, C.VII. fol. 116; Strype's Life of Parker, ii. 183; Annals, i. part ii. 268.
page 17 note a i. e. ensigns.
page 19 note a After the death of the prince of Orange, the government of the Low Countries was carried on by a council of state, created for a period which expired in the autumn of 1585. Previous to its expiry, Walsyngham intimated to Davison, the English ambassador in the Netherlands, that, as the queen conld not immediately send over the nobleman whose advice the states general were to use in the settlement of their government, she wished them to renew the authority of the council of state. In opposition to this advice, the states gave the government provisionally into the hands of Prince Maurice, alleging a previous understanding upon the subject, and directing their deputies in London to acquaint her majesty that “the counte Maurice should respect my lord of Leister as a generall, and be under his conduct.” MS. Cotton. Galba. C.VII. fo. 115, b.
page 20 note a A copy of the letter itself has not been found.
page 21 note a A copy of the letter itself has not been found.
page 21 note b “December 4th.—The earl of Leicester having taken leave of her majesty, and caused six hundred horse to pass muster in London, departed thence for Harwich, in order to cross the sea to Zealand.” MS. journal of Leycester's proceedings in the library of the college of arms, printed in Retrospec. Rev. i, 277, 2nd series.
page 25 note a The earl sailed from Harwich on the 8th December, and on the 10th arrived at Flushing. On the 11th he again embarked, and proceeded to Middleburgh, where he was receired with great honour, and remained until the 17th. Stowe's Annals, 710, and Retros. Review, i. 277. 2nd ser.
page 26 note a The word passenger is used here in the sense in which it occurs in a document printed in the Rutland Papers, p. 71, namely, as a vessel for the conveyance of passengers, a passage boat.
page 28 note a Sir William Pelham was an experienced soldier of this period, who will be frequently mentioned hereafter. He was at this time in disgrace with the queen.
page 30 note a The earl sailed from Middleburg for Dort on the 17th December, but owing to calms, a thick fog, and contrary winds, he was five days on the voyage. Retros. Rev. i. 277. 2d ser. His arrival is dated on the 22d December in the journal printed in the Retrospective Review, bat by Stowe, more accurately, on the 21st. Annales, p. 713.
page 30 note b The earl has added in the margin, “Yf Steuen be not redemed this may redeme him also.”
page 31 note a The earl proceeded from Dort to Rotterdam on the 23d December, and on the 24th to Delft. The ceremonies and rejoicings at his reception into these and other chief towns, may be read in Stowe's Annales, and in the Life of Robert Earl of Leicester, 8vo. Lond. 1726.
page 31 note b Shott were soldiers armed with firelocks.
page 32 note a Cooke was clarencieux at this time. It would seem that Segar, then portcullis, ultimately went to Leycester. Stowe's Annales, 717.
page 33 note a William Davison, afterwards so well known in connection with the execution of Mary queen of Scots, was sent into the Low Countries on a special embassy from Elizabeth, in August 1585. Murdin's State Papers, 783.
page 33 note b Dr. Bartholomew Clerk; the profession alluded to was that of the civil law.
page 33 note c Elizabeth and the states general were greatly, but very unjustly, displeased with St. Aldegonde on account of his surrender of Antwerp. Watson's Philip the Second, 407, edit. 1839.
page 33 note d Sir Philip Sidney.
page 36 note a Sir Christopher Hatton was at this time vice–chamberlaiu of the queen's household.
page 38 note a Sir Thomas Cecil.
page 39 note a In the margin there is written by Lord Burghley, “The Flushyngars valiantly [pre]ssed ij vessels [of] Dunkyrk within [si]ght of the town.”
page 40 note a made made, in MS.
page 42 note a Sir Francis Drake sailed on the 14th September 1585, with a fleet of twenty vessels of various kinds carrying 2300 soldiers and sailors. They took their course to the West Indies, captured St. Jago, St. Domingo, and Carthagena, and returned to Plymouth on the 27th July 1586, bringing 240 captured cannon and about 60,000l. in prize–money. Vide Camden's Annals, anno 1585; Stowe's Chronicle, 709.
page 42 note a they maye be in MS.
page 43 note b The earl of Leycester was justice in eyre of the forests south of Trent. Amongst the Burghley papers is an account of the fee deer due to the chancellor and treasurer as the earl's deputies. Lansd. MS. 47. art. 1.
page 45 note a i. e. to forbear for a time.
page 46 note a Leycester removed from Delft to the Hague on the 27th December 1585, not on the 28th, as is stated in the journal published in the Retrospective Review, i. 277, 2nd series. The ceremonies of his reception are largely dwelt upon by Stowe and Holinshed, and form the subject of a series of twelve engravings published with the title of “Delineatio pompæ triumphalis quâ Robertus Dudlæus comes Leicestrensis Hagæ Comitis fuit receptus.”
page 47 note a “To take in snuff, is to be angry, to express resentment by contemptuous motion of the nostrils.
page 48 note a i. e. the elector of Cologne. See p. 15, notea
page 48 note b Anne, daughter of Christiem III. king of Denmark, and wife of the duke of Saxe, died 1st October, 1585. On the 3rd January, 1586, he married Agnes Hedwig, daughter of Joachim Ernest, prince of Anhalt.
page 51 note a See p. 42.
page 52 note a The party of the league had taken arms against the king of Navarre, with a view to his exclusion from the succession to the crown of France.
page 52 note b Sir William Keith. See a narrative of these transactions in Tytler's History of Scotland, VIII. 276. Randolph arrived in Edinburgh on the 26th February 1586.
page 53 note a Robert de la Marck, duke of Bouillon from 1574 to 1588. After the battle of Coutras he commanded the army of the king of Navarre against the league.
page 56 note a Arthur lord Grey of Wilton went to Ireland as lord deputy in 1580.
page 56 note b i. e. to make a duplicate of it.
page 56 note c A cocket was a certificate that goods had paid duty, which was granted by the authorities at custom–houses to merchants, and without which no taxable commodities could be exported. The name is thought to be a corruption of “quo quietus” words which occurred in the Latin form of the document.
page 61 note a i. e. Count Philip of Hohenlohe, who married Mary of Nassau, one of the daughters of the late prince of Orange. When the states elected prince Maurice, then only eighteen years of age, to succeed his father as stadtholder, count Hohenlohe was appointed his lieutenant or deputy.
page 61 note b William Lewis, stadtholder of Friesland, brother of Ernest Casimir, count of Nassau Dietz, and son of John brother of William prince of Orange.
page 71 note a i. e. humour.
page 72 note a i. e. Bois le Due.
page 72 note b i. e. missing.
page 72 note c boors.
page 75 note a Roger, the second lord North, succeeded to the title on the death of his father in 1564, and died in 1600, Catnden describes him as “vir vivido ingenio, animo consilioque par.” Aunales, sub anno 1600.
page 76 note a So in MS.
page 76 note b Herle was at this time occasionally employed in public affairs. Many of his letters are in existence which are generally extremely long, and are written in a very illegible hand. See Cotton MS. Titus, B. VII. fo. 44.
page 77 note a The principal object of Davison's mission was to reconcile the queen to Leycester's assumption of the government of the Low Countries; an important step, for the taking of which his recent letters were evidently designed to prepare his friends at home. On Tuesday the 25th of January the earl was installed at the Hague in a very solemn manner, in the presence of count Maurice and the other principal persons, both natives and Englishmen, then in the Low Countries. The ceremonies may be seen in Holinshed, iv. 647, and in Stow's Annals, 715. The placard or grant by which the states–general appointed Leycester to be supreme and absolute governor over all the United Provinces, with like authority to that exercised by governors in the time of Charles V. is printed in the General Collection of Treaties, (8vo. 1732,) ii. 89, and in Holinshed, iv. 648. A copy of the oath taken by the earl to his new subjects in the Cotton MS. Galba, C. x. fol. 345.
page 78 note a i. e. imprested, ready money advanced on account.
page 79 note a Martin Schenck, whose indefatigable exertions, first on the side of the Spaniards and afterwards on that of the United Provinces, are the theme of general admiration amongst the writers of the time, was a native of Guelderland and nobly born. Conceiving himself to be neglected by the prince of Parma he quitted the service of Spain in 1585, and distinguished himself on the other side by some most gallant achievements. Meteren and Strada, writers of opposite parties, unite in their praises of his bravery and still.
page 79 note b Thomas Wylford was an intelligencer in the employ of the English government. See Cott. MS. Galba, C. VII. fo. 209.
page 83 note a Daniel Rogers was a man of considerable celebrity both as a literary man and a statesman during the reign of Elizabeth. He was employed on several foreign embassies in which he acquitted himself to the satisfaction of the government. He was also one of Camden's intimate friends, and assisted him in the composition of his Britannia. Many of his papers remain in MS. in our public libraries. He died on the 11th February, 1590, and was buried at Sunbury, in Middlesex.
page 85 note a So in the MS. which professes to be a copy, but the earl's signature was invariably “R. Leycester.”
page 88 note a Sir John Norris is said to have “left for Utrycht” on the 5th February. Retrosp. Rev. i. 280. 2nd series. The enemy was at this time engaged in besieging Grave, a place which was almost the only barrier between him and the northern provinces, and Norris was sent to its relief.
page 88 note b i. e. Buzzes, idle fancies.
page 89 note a This was the proposal to intercept a convoy of provisions intended for the Spaniards mentioned at page 53. The bearer of this letter is there termed de Sevilly.
page 91 note a i. e. bales.
page 92 note a The lead was probably inclosed to ensure the sinking of the letter, in case the messenger were taken at sea and threw the pacquet overboard, which was not at all an uncommon occurrence. See Cotton. MS. Galba, C. viii. fo. 206.
page 92 note b See p. 55.
page 93 note a See p. 26.
page 94 note a Davison and the auditor left the Hague for England, by the way of Brill, on the 5th February, 1586. Retrosp. Rev. i. 280. 2nd series.
page 95 note a It appears from an indorsement upon this letter that the communication here referred to was written on the 25th January 1585–6.
page 96 note a The following memorandum is written on the back of this letter in the handwriting of Lord Burghley: “Nota. This letter is not signed by my lord.” The letter, it may be added, is sealed with the earl's seal, and is in the handwriting of his secretary. The next letter, which was no doubt despatched at the same time, was also unsigned.
page 103 note a See note page 99.
page 103 note b A mistake of the transcriber has occasioned this letter to be a little misplaced. It should have preceded the letters numbered xxxv. and xxxvi. The mistake is of little consequence, as the present letter could not have reached the earl of Leycester until long after those two letters were written.
page 104 note a Letter xvii.
page 104 note b Letter xviii.
page 104 note c Horatio, afterwards sir Horatio Pallavicino, was a well–known commercial and political agent of the government of Elizabeth. He came into England from Italy about the middle of the sixteenth century, and becoming a convert to Protestantism settled here, having lands and a residence at Babraham, in Cambridgeshire, where he died on the 6th of July, 1600. Many stories are told to his discredit, especially one respecting his misapplication of certain papal treasure, which, being in his hands upon his conversion to Protestantism, he is said to have applied to his own uses, and by the loan of a portion of it to Elizabeth, to have laid the foundation of his connection with the government and of an immense fortune. Whether it be true or not that “he robbed the pope to lend the queen,” he certainly did good service at the time of the armada, to oppose which he fitted out and commanded a ship of war. His portrait was amongst those of the principal persons engaged in the defeat of the armada given in the tapestry destroyed at the burning of the late house of lords.
page 106 note a him, in MS.
page 107 note a theare, in MS.
page 107 note b same the, in MS.
page 107 note c her, in MS.
page 108 note a yet, in MS.
page 108 note b thes, in MS.
page 109 note a this, in MS.
page 109 note b litle, in MS.
page 109 note c shewinge, in MS.
page 114 note a Sir Robert Jermyn, of Rushbrook, in the county of Suffolk, father of sir Thomas Jermyn, comptroller of the household to Charles I., and grandfather of the wellknown Henry lord Jermyn, Earl of St. Alban's, and K.G.
page 115 note a Letter xv. p. 30.
page 115 note b i. e. the high–bailiff.
page 115 note c The postscript is in the earl's own handwriting; the letter in his secretary's.
page 116 note a Lord Willoughby had been sent to solicit the king of Denmark to give his assistance to the United Provinces in their war against Spain.
page 119 note a as as, in MS.
page 119 note b Adolphus count of Nienar, in the archbishopric of Cologne, better known by his other title of the count of Meurs.
page 127 note a The people of Stade in the duchy of Bremen.
page 129 note a See page 48, note b.
page 133 note a See page 104.
page 135 note a Thomas Dygges was the muster–master referred to. His report of the state of the English troops here alluded to is in the Cotton MS. Galba c. VIII. fo. 37.
page 136 note a Sir Richard Byngham was a celebrated soldier of the reign of Elizabeth. He was of an ancient family in Dorsetshire, and a man “eminent both for spirit and martial knowledge, but of a very small stature.” See Camden's Annals, sub anno 1598; Thoms's Anee. and Trad. p. 18.
page 137 note a xxvj, in MS.
page 142 note a The MS. burnt.
page 146 note a The company of merchant–adventurers first termed merchants of St. Thomas à Beoket, was one of those commercial corporations for which England has loDg been celebrated. Less ancient than the merchants of the staple, the adventurers eventually superseded them, by procuring chartered privileges through which they were enabled to trade with greater advantage than their less–favoured rivals. The application to which this and the following letter refer was successful. The queen confirmed all the previous privileges of the merchant–adventurers, and gave them the same right of trading to Germany, in exclusion of all persons except merchants of the staple, which they had before possessed in reference to the Low Countries.
page 148 note a her, in MS.
page 150 note a Sir Thomas Sherley was sent into England by Leycester, to urge forward the desired supplies of men and money. His proceedings will be found detailed in his own letters inserted hereafter.
page 153 note a includ, in MS.
page 158 note a Up to this place this paper was written by a secretary. The remainder is in the hand–writing of Lord Burghley himself.
page 161 note a that, in MS.
page 163 note a i. e. stationed as upon a beat.
page 168 note a The words printed in Italics were underscored in the original by Davison. They indicate the points to which his marginal observations principally apply.
page 174 note a Goodrowse was a physician in the confidence of the earl of Leycester, and a legatee under his will. Sydney Papers, i. 75.
page 177 note a The letter is in the handwriting of the earl's secretary, the postscript in that of the earl himself.
page 179 note a It has been noticed already (p. 52.) that the well known, sir Thomas Randolph, whom Walsyngham here styles his cousin, was sent upon an embassy to Scotland in February 1585–6. The master of Gray had just entered upon public life, and was in great favour with the young king James VI.
page 179 note b Sir Edward Stafford was at this time ambassador at the court of France.
page 182 note a unto unto, in MS.
page 183 note a Anne countess of Warwick, third wife of Leycester's brother Ambrose earl of Warwick, and daughter of Francis earl of Bedford.
page 187 note a i. e. Cimarrones, Symerons, or Maroons, negroes who had escaped from slavery and established themselves in freedom on the isthmus of Darien. On his first voyage Drake received much assistance from them. See Carnden's annals, sub anno, 1580.
page 187 note b my, in MS.
page 191 note a being, in MS.
page 193 note a See Letter XXX. p. 86.
page 193 note b sprosperety, in MS.
page 197 note a For until; into, in MS.
page 203 note a This letter was evidently left imperfect by the earl; it was probably inclosed in amother letter. I judge from its contents that it was addressed to Walsyngham, and that it was written about the end of March or the beginning of April 1586, certainly before the earl received the letters from England dated on the first of the latter month. The earl's advice respecting the queen's residence at Woodstock or Farnham during the summer was not followed.
page 205 note a lord, in MS.
page 205 note a Ant. Poyntz, see page 177.
page 212 note a A blank in the MS.
page 212 note b then, in MS.
page 212 note c who, in MS.
page 213 note a So in the MS., but it appears afterwards that it was the princess Symeye, who is also mentioned by Stowe as having been at Utrecht on the 23d April 1586. See Stowe's Annales, p. 717.
page 213 note b corcerne, in MS.
page 214 note a “to be well knowen,” in MS. but perhaps the earl wrote “to to well knowen.”
page 216 note a Buzzing, see p. 88.
page 217 note a Wife of Adolphus count of Meurs and Nienar; see pp. 119, 141.
page 217 note b men, in MS.
page 218 note a doth yet, in MS.
page 219 note a Seep. 178.
page 219 note b See pp. 184, 185.
page 219 note c by this time I hope, in MS. Sir William Stanley was the same person who was afterwards seduced into the treasonable surrender of Deventer to the Spaniards. See Camden's Annals sub anno 1587.
page 220 note a spent, in MS.
page 221 note a Taken forte was was, in MS.
page 221 note b In, in MS.
page 223 note a Ducats.
page 224 note a In Holinshed's chronicle (iv. 868) there is a full narrative of this sad event written by Hooker alias Vowell of Exeter. The infection was carried from Exeter throughout the county, and occasioned an immense number of deaths. Hooker's account contains a frightful picture of the condition of the gaol.
page 224 note b Some passages in this letter which are defective in the original have been supplied from an original draft in Harl. MS. 285, fol. 149.
page 225 note a Afterwards deputy of Ireland, and created in the 1st James I. lord Russell of Thornhaw.
page 225 note b From its situation, Grave was a place of great moment, being, after the loss of Antwerp, one of the few fortified towns which restrained the Spaniards from advancing into the northern provinces. The success of the endeavour to relieve it fully justified therefore the exultation of Leycester and the people. The garrison, which consisted of “about eight hundred Dutch and Netherlande souldiours,” under the command of baron Hemart, had been besieged ever since December, and their communication with the army of the states cut off by a series of forts erected by the Spaniards on the banks of the Maes. To accomplish its relief it was necessary to take possession of those forts, which was very skilfully managed by the troops under Hohenlohe and Norris, after Some sharp fighting, in which the English auxiliaries distinguished themselves, Norris and sir John Burroughes being wounded, and “six or seauen score” of “our men” slain, whilst the Spaniards are said to have lost five hundred men killed, and about two hundred wounded, who were taken prisoners. “After this fight the count Hollocke battered and tooke Battenbourge castle, and the forte de Guanden, and the strong house of Empell, and then his victual being come he victualed Grave by water twise, went himselfe into it, supplied the garrison with newe men, and left it furnished with all prouisions sufficient, by acknowledgement of Hemart the captaine himself, for nine monethes.” I quote these particulars from the scarce tract entitled, “A briefe report of the militarie services done in the Lowe Countries by the erle of Leicester: written by one that serued in good place there, in a letter to a friend of his. Imprinted at London, by Arnold Hatfield, for Gregorie Seton, 1587;” with the loan of a copy of which for the purposes of this publication I have been favoured by Bolton Corney, Esq.
page 226 note a these countrey, in MS.
page 227 note a these, in MS.
page 228 note a need, in MS.
page 228 note b not, in the MS. which I take to be a mistake of the transcriber. Probably the earl wrote “no j.”
page 232 note a Probably this was an ancestor of sir Anthony Weldon, the author of “The court and character of king James.” See Thorpe's Reg. Roff. p. 1005.
page 233 note a Moche, in MS.
page 238 note a Although Saint George's day passed over undistinguished in the court of Elizabeth, it had been far otherwise in the earl's court at Utrecht. Segar the herald communicated to Stowe a narrative of the earl's princely doings upon that occasion, which the chronicler has inserted in his Annals, (p. 717,) and which, but for its length, we should like to quote entire. The earl proceeded “to the cathedrall church called the Dome ” with a very royal retinue all mounted, and comprising, amongst many others, “6 knights, 4 barons, with the counsell of estats, the earl of Essex accompanied by the bishop of Cullen prince elector, and the prince of Portugale rode by himselfe; next proceeded the captaine of the guard, the treasurer and controller of the houshold, bearing their white staues; after whom followed two gentlemen ushers, and Portclose herault in a rich coat of the armes of England: then came my lord most princelike, invested in his robes of the order, guarded by the principal burghers of the towne, which offered themselves to that seruice, besides his owne guard, which were a fifty halbarders in scarlet cloakes, guarded with purple and white veluet. Hee being thus honourably brought unto the church, after due reverence done unto the queenes maiesties state, which was erected on the right hand, he tooke his own stall on the left, by certaine degrees lower: then began prayers and a sermon made by master Knewstubs, my lords chaplaine, after which my lord proceeded to the offering, first for her maieatie and then for himselfe, the which he performed with such decorum and princely behauiour that all generally spake most honorably of him.” He returned in procession to his court, a large house which formerly belonged to the knights of Rhodes, and overin which was “a very great hall richly hung with tapistrie.” Here, in the presence of a splendid assembly, he knighted Martin Schenck; after which “the ushers marshalled the feast,” which was “most princelike and abundant,” and was adorned with many rare and magnificent devices, baked meats in the shapes of lions, dragons, leopards, and such like, and “peacocks, swans, pheasants, turkie-cocks, and others in their naturall feathers spread as in their greatest pride.” The feast was succeeded by dancing, vaulting, tumbling, and “the forces of Hercules,” which last “gave great delight to the strangers, for they had not seene it before.” The supper was as plentiful as the dinner, and was succeeded by jousts and feats of arms, and the day's amusements were closed by a sumptuous banquet of “sugar meates for the men-at-armes and the ladies.” Leycester does not make any mention of this splendid festivity in his letters to his friends in England.
page 241 note a The MS, is entitled, “Copye of her majesties letter.”
page 243 note a Sir Thomas Heneage has written under the copy from which we have printed, “Tbys above ys the copie of her majesties lettre wrytten with her own hand to me.”
page 245 note a Aquitave, in MS.
page 245 note b The word is illegible in the MS.
page 246 note a ijcli, in MS.
page 248 note a to sometimes to, in MS.
page 249 note a See p. 229.
page 250 note a Either some paper was inclosed or there is some error in the MS.
page 252 note a Stowe, writing upon the authority of H. Archer, who was present in the Low Countries, describes this incident as follows: “The 26 of Aprill, the lieutenant of sir Martin Skinke, his master being with my lords excellencie, knowing of a company of footmen Spaniards, hee with certaine of his horse layd themselves in ambush, set upon them, killed thirty of them, and tooke 81, and caried them to their garrison.” Annales, p. 718.
page 254 note a A blank is left in the MS.
page 254 note b See page 213.
page 255 note a There follows this letter in Mr. Ouvry's MS. the following abstract of its contents:
“Meaneth to send over so much as I haue already prestid to sir William Stanley, with some further increase.
“Wisheth that her majestie had sent sir William Pelham over, whose service might haue bine to great purpose.
“Hath acquainted some of the counsell with the ouertures of a peace made to her majestie, thereby to take all occacions of iealousy and suspicion from them.
“Her majestie, by prosecuting the action roundly, maie haue many advantagaWe offers of a peace made vnto her.
“The prince of Parma greatlie deiected in mind.
“Grave a place of very great importance, which barreth thenemie from an easye passage into all those parts.
“The kinge of Spain and prince of Perma will entertaine a longe time the speech of a peace before theie enter into it, onlie to discourage the states.
“Yf the states have anie incling that her majestie beginneth to hearken to a peace it will overthrow the cause.
“To knowe her majesties disposicion touching the matter of the peace.”
page 256 note a See p. 223.
page 256 note b Perhaps this should be “Du.” for Dutch.
page 257 note a he, in MS.
page 257 note b hit it shalbe in MS.
page 258 note a Stowe says, upon the authority of Archer, “The 4. of May his excellence did yiew all his horsemen, being in number about 13 or 14 hundred, by Newkirke, on a great heath betweene Newkirke and Amerford.” Annales, p. 718.
page 260 note a Henry Ratnelius, the ambassador alluded to, arrived in London on the 8th May. He was lodged in Crosby place, and remained in England until the 30th May. (Stowe's Annales, p. 720). Holinshed, with the precision which renders the narratives of our chroniclers so valuable, describes his person and entertainment (Chron. IV. 894); Catnden explains the nature of his business and the answer he received from the queen. (Annales sub anno 1586.)
page 261 note a A word in the MS. that is illegible.
page 265 note a “The base towne of Grave.” Stowe's Annales, p. 718. The prince of Parma had on this occasion a very narrow escape. Having advanced to view the town, preparatory to the attack, a cannoneer aimed at him and “tooke away the hinder part of his horse.” Ibid.
page 265 note b The earl's movements are thus related in the “Briefe Report.” “The earl of Leycefter hearing of the princes preparations towards Grave, being as yet unreadie and destitute of allmeanes to furnish a campe sufficient to meete with him on equall groand in fielde, yet to the entent to be neere at hand with the forces he had, and to waite such advantages as occasion might offer, with a small campe of about three thousand foote and one thousand horse, he passed in person the river of Rhyne at Arnham in Gelderland, into the province of the Bettowe, with intent from thence to passe the river of Wale also, and so to approch to Grave itselfe.” Briefe Report, sig. B 2.
page 265 note C “The Bettowe is a province in Gelderland, lying between the rivers of Rhyne and Wale, verie fertile, and then whollie held by the enimie, or at least infested by him with his fortes of Luytesforte and Bercksboofe and the two castles of Alon and Bemell.” Briefe Report, sig. B 2.
page 266 note a wart, in MS.
page 266 note b This letter is not signed, but it was written by the hand of lord Burghley's secretary, and is, I think, the original. In the catalogue it is erroneously stated to be a letter from sir Thomas Heneage to lord Burghley.
page 267 note a Sir Thomas Heneage was treasurer of the queen's chamber.
page 270 note a “Called Granenswest.” Briefe Report, sig. B 2.
page 270 note b to, in MS.
page 270 note c These places are termed Luytesforte and Berckshoofe In the “Briefe Report,” and in the attack of them it is said that Leycester himself ordered “the batteries at some of them, and without respect of trauel or danger,” put “his owne hand to the trenches and other workes to be made for the approches.” Sig. B 2. The capture of these places cleared the province of Bettowe of the enemy.
page 271 note a but theie, in MS.
page 276 note a The word is gone in the original, and it is not easy to guess what it may have been. Walsyngham evidently alludes to the distress occasioned to the enemy, and the provinces in his possession, by the prohibition of the export of provisions thither from the united provinces and from England.
page 277 note a “We commonly use to say, when we find one doing of an unlawful act, that we took him with the maynour or manner.” Les termes de la ley, p. 439. edit. 1721.
page 277 note b rebell, in MS.
page 278 note a It is “vvm li ” in the copy, which may be a mistake for “Xvm 1i,” but I rather think, from the appearance of the MS. that the first “v ” is altogether surplusage.
page 279 note a “The said Ramelius, during the time of his tariance, had attendance doone him conueuient for his person, both by water and land: the queenes maiesties barges and seruants imploied about him to and from London, the court then being at Greenewich; whither alwaies when he came, the nobilitie of England failed in no point of courtesie that might be shewed. Which he seemed (as he could no lesse) verie acceptablie to take.” Holinshed, iv. 894.
page 280 note a theie, in MS.
page 280 note b ell, in MS.
page 283 note a letter, in MS.
page 284 note a The loss of Grave came like a thunderbolt upon the defenders of the Low Countries, whose career, from the time of Leycester's arrival up to that moment, had been one of uninterrupted success. It is clear that the prince of Parma out-generaled them. Whilst Leycester, Hohenlohe, and Schenck were scattered about the country, each occupied upon a separate object of comparatively trifling importance, the prince suddenly drew his forces together and came down upon Grave with an overwhelming power. The soldiers, animated by the presence of their general, and the example of his personal courage, attacked with a fury which entirely confounded the young and inexperienced Hemart. There can be little doubt that the prince would have taken the place at whatever sacrifice, but Hemart's courage failed him before the moment of extremity arrived, and, forgetting the boastful letters which he had written to Leycester, up to that very day, in a sudden fit of despair he offered terms of surrender, which the prince was delighted to accept. See Briefe Report, sig. B 2. Strada, vol. ii. lib. vii.
page 285 note a myoners, in MS.
page 286 note a This letter is not mentioned in the catalogue of the Cottonian MSS.
page 286 note b Son of Philip count of Egmont, whose execution in 1568 was one of the many scandalous atrocities perpetrated by the duke of Alva. The son here mentioned was not restrained by his father's fate from taking the side of the Spaniards. In 1580 he was taken prisoner by the Dutch, who offered him, together with the baron de Selles, in exchange for La Noue, but Philip declined to accede to the exchange until 1585. During his imprisonment Egmont suffered under a melancholy which affected his reason, but was restored to health by the affectionate attention of a beloved sister who was permitted to share his confinement.
page 286 note c “Valentinus Pardiceus Mottae dominus,” Strada, vol. ii. lib. i. La Motte was actively and successfully engaged in the siege of Sluys which took place in 1587.
page 287 note a This sentence is printed as it stands in the MS. The meaning seems to be, that finding, upon investigation of the circumstances of the surrender of Grave, that some captains were equally in fault with the governor, the earl determined that they should suffer with him.
page 287 note b Bomell, whither Leycester repaired after the surrender of Grave. Briefe Report, sig. B 2.
page 287 note c that by the, in MS.
page 288 note a all, in MS.
page 288 note b they, in MS.
page 289 note a After the surrender of Grave, Hemart, the governor, repaired to Bomell, where he was immediately placed under arrest and conveyed to Utrecht for trial. Briefe Report, sig. B 2.
page 289 note b Atye, who was one of Leyeester's secretaries, was sent to England about this time. See a letter of lord Burghley's dated 20th June 1586 and printed hereafter.
page 291 note a Paul Buys was one of the commissioners deputed by the united provinces in 1585 to supplicate the assistance of Elizabeth. He was the deputy for the state of Utrecht, and is described in the instrument of authorization as a doctor of laws. Fœd. xv. 793.
page 292 note a Otherwise out, in MS.
page 292 note b A word in the MS. which is illegible. The copyist did not understand what he was copying, and, as in many similar instances, made a very poor attempt to represent it in fac-simile.
page 295 note a so as ther less, in MS.
page 297 note a a Lord Leycester has written against this passage in the margin of the letter, “Md. that I wrote for Palmer of the mint and had no answer.”
page 297 note b Lord Leycester has written against this passage, “not possible.”
page 298 note a Either Mr. Dawtrye, see p. 237, or Mr. Darcy, see p. 283.
page 299 note a Perhaps it was gross ia the original. It is great in our MS.
page 300 note a The word in the original which is here printed “to move,” is very doubtful. It looks like “comerce.”
page 300 note b 14,000l. in the MS.
page 301 note a The treasurer was uncle to sir John Norris. See page 277.
page 301 note b This and a similar passage at p. 264 are singular outbreaks of the old hatred between Leycester and Sussex. The latter nobleman died just three years before the date of this letter; but it is evident that his rival still retained that enmity towards him and his which prompted Sussex upon his death-bed to warn his friends “to beware of the gipsy,” as he termed Leycester on account of the darkness of his complexion. Dugdale's Bar. ii. 287.
page 302 note a will and send, in MS.
page 303 note a So in the MS. but perhaps the earl wrote ‘ sign.’
page 304 note a The MS. stands thus “displeasure nether of her majesties supply.” There is clearly some mistake. In the text I have ventured upon a conjectural emendation.
page 305 note a Paul Buys.
page 306 note a Cassamore, in MS.
page 306 note b See page.104.
page 310 note a The Briefe Report mentions “what difficultie the matter was thought to do this execution, the party being a baron, of a barons liuing, and great by birth and alliance in those parts; his excellencie, a stranger; the estate in broken termes; and the example there scant seene before. But the fact fell out so plaine, that his excellencie would not be intreated but that iustice should proceed: the judges could not but condemn him, and the people though sorye for the man yet much reioiced to see the iustice done.” Sig. B. 2. Neither that writer, nor, I believe, any other English author, mentions the execution of the two others, but Strada says that “una cum duobus centurionibus, capite plecti jussit Leicestrius.” II. lib. 7.
page 311 note a the, in MS.
page 312 note a St. Aldegonde, see p. 3.
page 312 note b This word is doubtful in the MS. It has been altered and left very indistinct.
page 314 note a Sir Thomas Cecill.
page 315 note a Stowe records the names of the “honorable and worshipfull gentlemen” who made the attempt to colonize Munster, and “wherof some went into the said countrie, others according to order taken sent their people, amongst which were sir Christopher Hatton, sir Walter Rawly, sir Wil. Courtney, sir Richard Mollineux, sir George Bourcher, sir Edward Fitton, sir Valentine Browne, sir Walter Luson, John Popham her majesties attorney-generall, and other.” (Annales, p. 718.) It was at this time that Spenser the poet obtained his grant of the castle of Kilcolman.
page 316 note a A blank in the original.
page 316 note b See pages 220 and 233.
page 319 note a After the capture of Grave it was at once suspected that the prince of Parma would turn his course towards Venlo, a town in the government of Schenck, who was himself engaged elsewhere. It was occupied by a garrison of seven hundred Dutch soldiers, but Schenck was desirous of himself getting into it, and he and Roger Williams, a well-known, brave, and experienced Welshman, the very prototype of Fluellen, determined to make the attempt. But the prince was not a general whom it was likely to take by surprise. All the passages were found to be occupied by the enemy with overpowering force, and Schenck and Williams became convinced that their design was impracticable; but, in the mere madness of a reckless bravery, they determined to make a sudden midnight attack upon the prince's camp, in the forlorn hope that “they might possibly breake through the gardes.” The daring attempt was made, and the passage in the text informs us with what success. The Briefe Report, which states the circumstances rather more particularly, says, that they “slue many, euen neere to the princes owne lodging. But directing themselves towardes the towne, and finding the turnpikes shut, and garded with strong watch of muskeyteires, and the campe nowe all up in armes, and the day drawing on, they turned their course towards Wachtendoucke, a towne of the estates, seauen or eight miles of, where themselues and manie of their companie entred, and saued themselues from the whole cauallarie of the enimie, now pursuing them. Some thirtie or fortie of their company were slaine and taken.” Sig. B. 2.
page 322 note a Sir Thomas Randolph, see pp. 52 and 179. He was often called Randall.
page 322 note b The word here in the original is “townes,” but that seems clearly to be a mistake for “termes.” “To stand on tickle terms” was a common phrase for “to stand insecurely.” An instance in proof of this occurs in the “Briefe Report,” sig. B. 2., in reference to Leyeester's proceedings immediately after the surrender of Grave: “Understanding also that almost all the townes nere aboute, as Bornell, Arnham, Amersfort, Deuenter, and the rest of Guelders and Ouerissell, stoode in tickle tearmes, likely to yeelde if the enitnie came neere them.” Another example of the use of the same phrase was adduced by Steevens from “The True Tragedy of Marius and Scilla, ” in illustration of Meas. for Meas. Act. i. sc. iii. where Shakspere has, “Thy head stands so tickle on thy shoulders, that a milk maid, if she be in love, may sigh it off.” Malone's Shakespeare, ed. Boswell, ix. 26.
page 322 note c It does not appear that any attempt was made to avert the capture of Venlo, except the fool hardy exploit of Shenck and Williams which has been alluded to at page319. On the occasion of its surrender, the prince of Parma distinguished himself by two acts of generosity, which are so much at variance with the ordinary practice of this savage warfare that they deserve to be remembered, i. By his own personal interference he saved the town from being plundered by his excited and victorious soldiers, ii. Finding amongst the prisoners the wife, sister, children and household of Schenck, he furnished them with conveyances for themselves and their effects, and sent them forth attended in a most honourable manner to join his daring and vindictive enemy.
page 323 note a hast, in MS.
page 323 note b Aly, in MS.
page 324 note a wey, in MS.
page 326 note a forgett in MS.
page 327 note a See page 321.
page 330 note a xxxjth, in MS.
page 330 note b whence, in MS.
page 331 note a or, in MS.
page 331 note b whence, in MS.
page 335 note a yf in MS.
page 336 note a The name is gone in the MS. but it is endorsed in a contemporaneous hand, “Sir Fra. Walsyngham touching D. Michaell.”
page 338 note a Koselyng, nouselyng, or nuzlyng, i. e. nursing, earliest education.
page 338 note b The capture of Axel was one of the most gallant achievements of this campaign. After a long silent march in the dead of the night, Sydney and his band of 2000 foot reached the limits of the fortification, and, according to our previous accounts, at once scaled the walls with ladders in various places, and rushed forward to the marketplace, which had been appointed as a station of rendezvous; but we learn from Leycester's report that the attacking party encountered greater difficulties than these, and that the seizure of the place was effected by a far more daring manoeuvre. The men who swam across the ditch must have carried their ladders with them, and have executed their bold attempt with admirable coolness and silence. The design was attributed to Sydney, and he is said to have rewarded the brave fellows who executed it out of his own private fortune. See Greville's Life of Sydney, p. 135. Zouch, p. 249. The “Briefe Reporte,” after praising the secrecy and valour of Sydney and his soldiers, states that they “slue and put to flight foure bandes of footemen in the towne, had rich spoyle, brought away fiue ensignes of the enimies, left coronell Pyron, with eight or nine hundred souldiours in garrison, and came their way.” Sig. B. 2
page 338 note c roggues ragged in MS.
page 339 note a to in MS.
page 341 note a This and two subsequent passages in this letter printed within brackets were erased with a pen, probably by the earl. They have been made out with difficulty.
page 342 note a These mysterious sentences contain an allusion to Babington's conspiracy, which was discovered by Walsyngham at this time, although the persons engaged in it were not apprehended until nearly a month afterwards.
page 346 note a Verj doubtful in the MS.
page 350 note a The earl alludes to the celebrated siege in which Charles the rash met with his first reverse, and by which he was prevented joining Edward IV. in his invasion of France in 1475. Nuys withstood his power for a full year, and was ultimately relieved by the emperor.
page 350 note b Nuys was situate in the electorate of Cologne, and at this time was held for Gebhard Truchses the deposed archbishop-elector.
page 354 note a Harlingen in Friesland.
page 358 note a would neaver have, in MS.
page 359 note a as of, in MS.
page 363 note a Strada makes it the 26th, which is no doubt right.
page 363 note b Ernest, sou of the duke of Bavaria, elected to the archbishoprick of Cologne, upon the deposition of Gebhard Truchses. It was upon his solicitation that the prince of Parma undertook the seige of Nuys, which a little interfered with the prince's design of proceeding to attack the northern provinces.
page 366 note a first, in MS.
page 368 note a Gouernment, in MS.
page 369 note a relyue, in MS.
page 369 note b The destruction of Nuys, although one of the most terrible incidents of this dreadful war, was not quite so total as is represented by the earl, nor was the death of the governor, although one of infamous barbarity, precisely of the kind above described. A dangerous wound received by Cloet, the governor, at an early period of the siege, threw the operations of the defenders into confusion, and after the furious battery described by Leycester, led to a proposal for surrender. The prince of Parma joyfully entertained the proposal, and was in the act of conferring with the deputies for the town when his troops, determined not to be deprived of their expected plunder, as they had been in the instance of Venlo, rushed forward, in defiance of the prince's authority, and gained possession of the town. A work begun thus irregularly proceeded only from bad to worse. Crimes of every degree of atrocity were perpetrated without remorse; and after having satiated fury, avarice, and lust, the wretches completed their devilish labours by setting fire to the houses in which they had committed their crimes. A high wind favoured the conflagration, and, after a few hours, two churches, crowded with trembling fugitives, were all that remained uninjured of a populous and flourishing town. The governor was seized in his bed-chamber and hanged out at the window, “with some note of unsoldierlike usage,” adds the writer of the Briefe Reporte (sig. C. 1.) See Strada, vol. ii. lib. viii. Stowe's (p. 734) account of this matter, which is said to have been derived from Archer, is very inaccurate. He makes the town to have been set on fire by the “lackies and boys belonging to our soldiers;” but it does not appear that there were any English troops there.
page 371 note a This alludes to a cutting of the dykes which had been had recourse to in the neighbourhood of Axel. Stowe, 733. Holinshed, iv. 881. Briefe Report, sig. B. 2.
page 372 note a Newces, in MS. See page 376, note a.
page 373 note a The lady alluded to was Mary of Nassau, daughter of the prince of Orange by his first wife Anne of Egmont, countess of Buren. The “brother in Spain” was the prince's eldest son, for many years a prisoner in that country.
page 374 note a nere, in MS.
page 375 note a Killigrave, in MS.
page 375 note b her, in MS.
page 376 note a Berck, or Rhiueberg, and Nuys, were both situate in the diocese of Cologne, but had been secured by the count de Meurs for the deposed elector. The dispute between the elector and the count had reference to the profits which resulted from the possession of these towns. In the Briefe Report it is said that shortly after the loss of Venlo “his excellencie … quieted the strife betweene those two.” (aig. C. 1.)
page 378 note a This word is unoertain in the MS.
page 379 note a The office of marshal of the field had been given to sir William Pelham.
page 379 note b doth altogether doth, in MS.
page 381 note a have anie goe anie, in MS.
page 381 note b batter, in MS.
page 383 note a a Berck from its situation on the Rhine was justly regarded as a place of great importance, and was garrisoned by 1200 English and “seaven or eight hundred other souldiers,” under the command of Schenck and Morgan. Before the prince entered upon the siege the walls were repaired, the town victualled, and considerable preparation made for an energetic defence. Briefe Report, sig. C. l.
page 384 note a treasure at warrs, in MS.
page 386 note a This sentence is printed as it stands in the MS.
page 386 note b now in MS.
page 386 note c her in MS.
page 386 note d intending in MS.
page 387 note a some of other, in MS.
page 391 note a Owremest in the MS. a word copied in attempted fac-simile from something in the original not understood by the transcriber.
page 391 note b John in MS.
page 388 note a than without our, in MS.
page 399 note a Both were afterwards apprehended and executed. State Trials, i. 1132, 1158.
page 400 note a The siege of Berck had now continued nearly a month, but Schenck had made many sallies, and had interrupted the proceedings of the besiegers in such a variety of ways, that they had not been able to make much progress. In the meantime Leycester had been gathering his forces together with the announced intention of making a direct attack upon the prince's army. On the 14th of August Norris and Cecil, with the vanguard, passed the river Isell and advanced into Cleves; on the 17th they were joined by another division of the army under Pelham; ten days afterwards there arrived the troops under count Hohenlohe, and on the 28th Leycester himself proceeded from Utrecht to the camp, and reviewed the whole body of troops with all“the pomp and circumstance ” which usually accompanied his movements. The review took place on a Sunday, and after it was concluded the English were formed into squares, “and two preachers made to them two sermons on the field, by the hill side,” after which Leycester assembled the chief officers, and “fell into consultation what were fittest to be done.” It was determined, that the force which had been collected together with so much parade, was insufficient for its object, and, instead of marching to give battle to the prince, it was thought better, by a sudden retrograde movement, to attack Duesburg in Guelderland, a fortified town which it was unsafe to leave in the rear of an advancing army, and which was of such importance that, if it were in danger, it was likely the prince would withdraw from Berck, and come to its succour. The writer of the Briefe Report says, that on the day of Leycester's arrival before Duesburg “himselfe in person, within arcabuze shot, tooke viewe of the wals on al the east side, and that night set pyoners and soldiers to entrenching within halfe-arcabuze shot.” Briefe Report, sig. C. 2., and see Stowe's Chron. 735.
page 400 note b hath in MS.
page 401 note a spaces, in MS.
page 401 note b See p. 174.
page 402 note a I hope I in MS.
page 402 note b namelie in MS.
page 403 note a he in MS.
page 405 note a The conclusion and the date of this letter are wanting, but there can be no doubt by whom it was written, and the contents indicate the time. It is evidently an answer to the earl's letters of the 7th August. See pages 383 and 384, and from its altered tone in reference to sir John Norris, it seems to have been written after letter CXLVI.
page 406 note a The Briefe Report (Sig. C. 2,) and Archer's narrative printed in Stowe's Chronicle, (p. 736,) give some interesting particulars of the capture of Duesburg. Ten, or, according to Archer, nine, pieces of ordnance having been brought to bear upon the fortifications, a constant fire was kept up from break of day on the 2nd of September until two o'clock in the afternoon, and two breaches were made, which the defenders filled up, but through which it was determined to endeavour to gain an entrance. A contest arose for the honour of leading the way, which was determined by Leycester assigning one breach to count Hohenlohe and the other to sir John Norris, and, under their command, the Dutch and Scotch on the one hand, and the English and Irish on the other, were about to enter the ditch, when the town was yielded, upon condition that “the soldiers should passe away with ther lives only, the burgers should have all they had at his excellency's mercy.” The usual horrors ensued. The women who passed out with the soldiers were plundered and ill–used: “it was a grievous thing to see how they were ransacked, till the earl of Essex and divers other gentlemen came downe the breach, and by smiting the souldiers made them leaue off rifling them;” and “the captaines and souldiers that were sent to saue the towne from spoyle did to the contrary, for they made havock and most horrible spoyle, wherwith his excellency was greatly displeased.”
page 406 note b Qulphin in MS.
page 407 note a new in MS.
page 407 note b wilfire in MS.
page 407 note c Ranilso in MS.
page 408 note a Qulphin in MS.
page 409 note a Myf, in MS.
page 409 note d Doubtles, in MS.
page 410 note a See page 114.
page 411 note a Lord Burgh was appointed, but not until the 6th February 1586–7. Foed. xvi. 4.
page 412 note a Stat. 27 Eliz. cap. I. “An act for provision to be made for the suertie of the queenes majesties royall person, and the eontiauaunce of the realme in peace.” Auth. ed. of Statutes, IV. 704.
page 412 note b See State Trials, I. 1140.
page 413 note a Salisbury was one of the parties to Babington's conspiracy. Upon his conviction the lease alluded to became forfeited to the crown.
page 413 note b The stout defence of Sehenck, and the diversion created by the siege of Duesburg, compelled the prince of Parma to remove from Berck and advance to the defence of his frontier towns in Guelderland. In the mean time, the earl, animated by his recent success, determined to invest Zutphen, a strong town which commanded the river Isell, in the hope of taking it before the prince could arrive to its succour. It was a place of importance, and before the loss of Duesburg had formed, with that town, a strong defence against incursions from the northern provinces. Leycester invested Zutphen on the 13th September. Between that day and the 20th he visited Deventer, a neutral town at a distance of seven miles, from which Zutphen was supplied with provisions. On the 21st he learned, that, on the following morning, an attempt would be made by the prince to send a considerable convoy of supplies into Zutphen, which it was determined, if possible, to prevent, and for that purpose a body of English troops under the command of Norris and Stanley, and supported by a reserve, were stationed on the road which the enemy must traverse. On the morning of the 22nd there fell a great and thick mist “that you might hardly see a man ten paces off,” under cover of which the enemy advanced. Suddenly the mist cleared off, and the astonished Englishmen found themselves in the very teeth of an intrenched body of 3000 of the enemy. A band of noblemen and gentlemen who were stationed in front of the English foot received instantly the fire of a body of “muskets and arcabuzes,” and as instantly, apparently without a moment's consideration, rushed forward to the attack of an enemy of whose strength they were altogether ignorant, and who really were greatly superior to their own troops in numbers. The result was glorious. The enemy were driven from their position, compelled to abandon their attempt to succour Zutphen, and to retreat with great loss in killed and wounded, On the part of the English about forty were killed, “but not any of name, saue onely ser Phillip Sidney, who first hauing one horse shot under him, and mounted upon a second, was shot with a musket in the left thigh, but came home on his horse, and died the 25. day after.” Briefe Report, sig. D. and see Stowe, 737, and also an interesting paper by the late Mr. Beltz in the 28th vol. of the Arcliseologia, p. 28, in which is printed an account of the skirmish of Zutphen written by Leycester to Burghley a day or two after it occurred, and now preserved in the State Paper Office. A letter from Leycester to sir Thomas Heneage also giving an account of the same affair is partly printed in the Sydney Papers, i. 104.
page 416 note a A valuable memoir of this gentleman, who was “the last and most distinguished member” of a worshipful Berkshire family, with a notice of his friendship for sir William Hattou, nephew and heir of sir Christopher, will be found in “The Unton Inventories,” a work edited for the Berkshire Ashmolean Society with singular care and judgment by my friend Mr. John Gough Nichols.
page 416 note b Companies, in MS.
page 416 note c Overtake, in MS.
page 417 note a as of rare in MS.
page 428 note a curatts in MS.
page 428 note b highst in MS.
page 428 note c The bravery exhibited by Edward Stanley in this daring enterprise is highly and universally extolled, and must have been peculiarly gratifying to Leycester, whose plan of attack upon the Zutphen forts, devised “by his excellencies owneselfe,” and adhered to “contrary to all and every their advises,” was thus rendered successful. Leycester knighted Stanley “in the trenches, gave him fortie pounds sterling in golde, and sent him the next daie a patent of one hundred marks sterling by yeer, during the life of the said sir Edward, binding his excellencies own landes in England for the due paiment thereof.” Briefe Report, sig. D. 2.
page 429 note a So in the MS. but perhaps it should be Herenberg.
page 430 note a served in MS.
page 430 note b William Rogers Williams in MS.
page 430 note c Leycester knighted Reade at the same time as Edward Stanley. Stowe's Chron. p. 739.
page 431 note a in in MS.
page 432 note a lett her not reteine in MS.
page 437 note a This paper is not dated, but it appears from Galba, C. x. fol. 83, that Wylkes set out from London on the 14th October, 1586, having previously received this commission.
page 438 note a This alludes to the receipt of Leycester's letter to sir Thomas Heneage, dated 23rd September, 1586, an extract from which is printed, as before mentioned, in the Sydney Papers, i. 104.
page 438 note b valewe in MS.
page 439 note a See page 417.
page 439 note b Count Hannibal Gonzaga, “a man for nobilitie and service of speciall account amongst them.” Briefe Report, sig. D. I. He was killed at Zutphen.
page 439 note c The commissioners for the trial of Mary queen of Scots assembled at Fotheringay on the 11th October, 1586. State Trials, i. 1168.
page 444 note a On the 31st October the earl met the council of state and announced to them his determination to return to England, producing as the cause of this sudden determination his writ of summons to attend the parliament then actually sitting at Westminster. Wilkes, who was present, says, that “the states and councell used but slender intreatie to his excellencie for his staye and contynuance there among them, whereat his excellencie and we that were of the councell for her majestie dyd not a lyttle marvaill.” Galba, C. x. fol. 83.
page 445 note a Sir Philip Sydney died on the 17th October, 1586.
page 446 note a This child was probably still–born. Two letters from the earl of Walsyngham printed in the appendix refer to an illness of lady Sidney's, perhaps a premature confinement, in December 1586.
page 446 note b The word in the MS. is very doubtful. It looks like “counder.”
page 446 note c The garrisoning of Deventer may rank with the boldest and most successful stratagems of warfare. A valuable letter which tells the whole story in a striking manner will be found in the Appendix.
page 446 note d begon in MS.
page 446 note c care in MS.
page 447 note a The word in the MS. is “grace,” but the sense seems to require “place.” The earl apparently means, that, had he been in England, he would himself have taken upon himself the responsibility of ordering or procuring the execution of the queen of Scots, in lieu of allowing queen Elizabeth to be exposed to the great danger likely to arise to her from delay.
page 452 note a Davison was now in the exercise of the duties, and actually in possession of the office, of one of the queen's principal secretaries, although the warrant for his appointment was not issued until the 12th December, 1586. He is described by his new office in the commission for the trial of Mary queen of Scots, dated the 5th October, 1586. See Nicolas's Life of Davison, 33, 40.
page 454 note a See p. 457.
page 457 note a Sir Philip Sydney's will contains the following clause: “I will and absolutely authorise the right honorable sir Francis Walsyngham and my brother Robert Sydney, or either of them, to sell so much of my lands lying within the countys of LincolnSussex or Southampton as shall pay all my debts, as well those of my father deceased as of mine own, beseeching them to hasten the same, and to pay the creditors with all possible speed, according to that letter of attorney which sir Francis Walsingham already hath, sealed and subscribed by me to that end, which letter of attorney I do hereby confirm and ratine, so far forth as concerneth for that purpose to all effect of law.” (Sydney Papers, i. 110.) The opinion of the “certeyn learned in the lawes” referred to by Walsyngham will be found printed in the appendix.
page 457 note b Sydney's funeral was celebrated with extraordinary splendour at St. Paul's cathedral on the 16th February, 1586–7.