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Devereux and rushed into the queen's bedchamber at ten o'clock in the morning. She received him kindly, and an hour later he saw her again and had an hour and a half's interview. Cecil treated him coldly, and when Essex saw the queen for a third time in the afternoon of the same day, her manner had changed. She told him that the council would require an explanation of his desertion of his post without leave, and he was ordered to keep his chamber. The next day a secret meeting of Essex with the council took place ; he was charged with disobedience in leaving Ireland, with sending presumptuous letters to the queen, with adopting a course of action contrary to his instructions, with intruding himself into the queen's bedchamber on his arrival in London, and with knighting too many of his companions. On 1 Oct. Essex was committed to the care of the lord keeper, and was confined in York House. The day before his wife was delivered of a child, and Essex was forbidden to see her. Essex wrote humbly to the queen for pardon, and drew up a `precise' account of the arrangements he had made on leaving Dublin. At first he fully expected to return in a few days to his post in Dublin ; afterwards (6 Oct.) he expressed an intention of retiring from politics, and of leading `a private country life.' He was kept by the royal order in complete seclusion, and all expressions of sympathy with him, even among his servants, were strongly deprecated by the authorities.

A letter from Tyrone to Essex, complaining that he ' could not draw O'Donnell and the rest of his confederates to agree `to the articles of peace, fell into the queen's hands, and reinvigorated her anger. She declined to act on the council's recommendation to release the earl (21 Oct.), although Cecil declared that he bore him no malice and would not stand in the way. Nor did the news that Essex was seriously ill (November) soften her. The countess was refused admittance to him, and forbidden the court. Elizabeth's irritation broke out in a passionate attack on Sir John Harington, who had been knighted by Essex in Ireland, and came to court as soon as he returned to England. Popular manifestations of sympathy were growing daily, and on 29 Nov. the Star-chamber issued a declaration of the earl's offences, in which no charge of treasonable conspiracy with Tyrone was alleged against Essex. At the same time the publication of pamphlets in his defence was prohibited. His health became worse ; on 13 Dec. his wife was allowed to see him, and on the 15th the queen sent eight physicians to report on his illness. They stated that he was suffering from a serious complication of internal disorders, and that they despaired of his life. A day or two later Elizabeth paid a visit to York House ; but if she saw Essex she was not pacified. On Christmas day prayers were offered in the city churches for the restoration of Essex to health and to the queen's favour. At the same time he began to recover, and on New Year's day sent a gift to the queen, which was returned to him. An appeal from his sister, Lady Rich, to visit him was refused. A scheme of bringing Essex to trial in the Star-chamber in February was abandoned, owing partly to his ill-health, and partly to a note sent by Essex to the queen entreating her to spare him the indignity. On 19 March he was removed to Essex House, which all his friends who were residing there had previously quitted by the queen's express command. Sir Richard Berkeley was appointed his gaoler. On 4 April and 12 May Essex sent very flattering but fruitless appeals to the queen. His wife was allowed to visit him, but not to live in the house. Francis Bacon professed that he was working for him at court, but public rumour pointed him out plainly as one of the queen's advisers who was seeking to undermine the earl by emphatic assertions of the illegality of Essex's conduct in Ireland. Sir Walter Raleigh was also reported to be encouraging the queen in her hostile course of action, and Cecil was stated to be playing a neutral part.

On 5 June 1600 Essex was brought before a specially constituted court at York House, consisting of all the high officers of state and the judges. Three charges were formally preferred against him: 1. The journey into Munster. 2. `The dishonourable and dangerous treaty ' with the arch-rebel Tyrone. 3. `The contemptuous leaving of his government.' Two other charges, according to an eye-witness, were the promotion of Southampton and the lavish distribution of the honour of knighthood (, 174-5). The proceedings began at 8 with a short speech from Christopher Yelverton, queen's serjeant, which was followed by an intemperate attack by Attorney-general Coke, and a pertinent description by Solicitor-general Fleming of the increased strength of Tyrone since Essex's negotiation. Francis Bacon spoke last ; he insisted that Essex's letter to Egerton derogated from the queen's reputation, and complained that Essex had allowed Hayward's `Henry IV ' to be dedicated to him, in an address which Chamberlain declared to be quite unobjectionable. Letters were read from Ormonde and some of Essex's associates in Ireland to show that Essex had