Page:Cassell's Illustrated History of England vol 2.djvu/502

488 representative of the ancient princes of those countries by descent from Philippa of Hainault. This offer surprised and flattered her; but, after much discussion, and much diversity of opinion in her Council, it was deemed best to decline it, neither her honour nor her conscience allowing her to accept it, but promising that she would do all in her power to reconcile them to their sovereign, Philip.

About a month after this decision, Requescens died, and was succeeded towards the end of the year by Don John of Austria, the bastard brother of Philip, attended by all the reputation of his victory over the Turks at the great battle of Lepanto. He was compelled to ratify an accommodation which had just taken place betwixt Holland and Zealand and the Popish states of the Netherlands, which was styled the Pacification of Ghent, and provided that no foreign soldiers should be permitted in the states, and that they should help each other against all opponents. This treaty was known as "the perpetual edict," but it appeared very likely to be broken immediately. Don John, without a foreign army, found himself impotent to contend with the independent Belgians. He therefore sent for the Spanish army from Italy, and the Prince of Orange appealed to Elizabeth for men and money to resist this direct violation of the edict. Elizabeth contented herself with recommending both parties to abide by that contract, as calculated at once to preserve the rights of the sovereign and the people; but the Prince of Orange, hopeless of any justice or toleration with a Spanish army in the country, threatened to transfer the sovereignty of his estates to Alençon, Elizabeth's suitor, now Anjou. He moreover dispatched an envoy to communicate a grand design of Don John of Austria against England. Ho represented that Don John was of a restless and ambitious character, that he had been disappointed of becoming King of Tunis by the commands of Philip, and that he now found that he had conceived a plan for making himself monarch of England and Scotland. This plan had already received the sanction of the Pope, who had engaged to aid him with 6,000 mercenaries on pretence of assisting the knights of Malta. The prince assured her that the recall of the Spanish army was for the invasion of her realm; that the Pope's reinforcement was to meet them at sea, and together they were to land in England, and, aided by the friends of the Queen of Scotland, to liberate that princess, who was to marry Don John, and they were to reign as John and Mary, King and Queen of England and Scotland.

Elizabeth must have credited the reality of this design, for she agreed to guarantee a loan of £100,000 to the states, and to furnish 1,000 horse and 5,000 foot, on condition that they should not make peace without her approbation, nor allow her rebels to find an asylum amongst them. This was not a defence of her own country, but an invasion of her ally Philip's; and she was obliged to assure him that she had no hostile intention but to compel the observance of the pacification of Ghent, and to defend her own territory against the designs of his brother, Don John. Philip affected to hope that her mediation might be successful, but probably trusted to the talents of Don John and the army from Italy to subdue the insurgent people, spite of the English aid. The Netherlanders, notwithstanding the money which they had raised on Elizabeth's guarantee, wanted yet more; and they put into her hands the jewels and plate which Matthias of Austria, the brother of the Emperor Rudolph, and nominal governor of the states, had pledged to them. On this pledge Elizabeth advanced them £50,000. Animated by this supply, the Dutch proceeded to attack the army of Don John, but were defeated in the great battle of Gemblours, an overthrow which spread consternation throughout the Netherlands. Once more they appealed to Elizabeth, to the Protestant princes of Germany, and to the Duke of Anjou.

Cassimir, brother of the Elector Palatine, marched across the Rhine with 12,000 men, paid with English gold, and Anjou also advanced at the head of 10,000. The Protestant followers of Cassimir, however, seemed to act rather as invading an enemy's country than as come to succour friends, and the people, wherever they came, declared that they had better remain under Philip than under such allies. Anjou for some time appeared to carry all before him. He took Binche by assault, and induced Maubeuge to open its gates; but there his progress ceased, and he attributed this to the jealousy of Elizabeth, who dreaded the Netherlands falling under French influence; and probably this was true. As for Cassimir, he does not seem to have done much besides living at free cost; for, coming face to face with the army of Don John, he did not venture to give battle. The Prince of Orange, despairing of being able to resist such commanders as Don John and Farnese, Duke of Parma, formed a confederation of the northern states alone, afterwards known as the United Provinces; and Don John dying on the 1st of October, 1578, the Duke of Parma won over the Walloon States to Philip by promising to observe the perpetual edict, and replacing the foreign army by native troops.

Matters being thus arranged, the Duke of Anjou, whose troops, being only engaged for three months, were now disbanded, sent over his favourite, Simier, to prosecute his suit with Elizabeth. Simier was a man of courtly manners, great wit and gallantry, and very soon won the confidence of Elizabeth. He was admitted thrice a week to her private parties, and she treated him with such familiarity that even scandal became busy about them. Simier persuaded Elizabeth that his master was actually dying of love for a woman now fifty save one. To remove the main obstacle to her marriage he soon perceived was to break the influence of Leicester; and he not only made her acquainted with his loose amours, but greatly astounded her by the information that he had recently married the widow of the Earl of Essex, being strongly suspected of having first removed the earl by poison. Elizabeth was greatly enraged; and notwithstanding her confidante, Mrs. Ashley, did all she could to screen Leicester, Elizabeth refused to listen to his protestations of innocence, and placed him in confinement at Greenwich.

But though the influence of Leicester was for a time weakened, Simier found that he made little progress. The public were averse to the match, and it was vehemently assailed from the pulpit. On the 16th of June, 1579, Simier, therefore, demanded a final answer; and Elizabeth, employing her old artifice, that she could not marry a man whom she had never seen, suddenly found