The recital of the adventure which had just taken place in the streets of Newark, and the apprehension of Slingsby, may well be supposed to have produced considerable excitement amongst the party from Oakham, who had seen that worthy gentleman pursuing their good friend Matthew Lakyn over the heath near Witham; and Messrs. Smallit and Polty were extremely anxious to accompany Sir Harry West's servant to the presence of the King as witnesses. To this suggestion, however, Matthew Lakyn gave no encouragement, and Sir Robert Cecil's man, who made his appearance exactly at the hour appointed, put a decided negative upon it, saying that the court was already more crowded than it would bear.
Hurrying through the dark streets of Newark, Lakyn and his companion were soon in the King's ante-chamber, where they found good Master Slingsby guarded by some of the constables of the place. The few hours of imprisonment which he had undergone, and perhaps the conversation of those who held him in custody, had worked a great change in the demeanour of that personage; and he was now evidently inclined to treat the charge as a more serious affair than he had thought it at first. He would fain have spoken to Lakyn, and beckoned him to come across the room; but the constables rebuked him sharply, and one of the attendants of the King exclaimed, "No, no; no cogging here!"
A minute or two after, the door of the King's chamber, against which was stationed a halberdier, was thrown open by some one within, and a voice called, "Bring in the prisoner and the witnesses;" and entering the adjoining room, after Slingsby had been led forward by the officers, Lakyn found himself in the presence of the King. James was seated in a large arm-chair, dressed in the same garments which he had worn in the morning, with hands and face not particularly well washed, and an air of slovenly untidiness about his whole person. In fact, he was distinguished from the rest of the court principally by being more unlike a gentleman than any one present. On his right hand stood Sir Robert Cecil, on his left, some other officers of the crown. A bishop, and two or three clergymen, were also in the room; and the circle on the King's right was extended by the mayor and corporation of Newark, who had that night been graciously admitted to his presence. Before him, at the moment Lakyn entered, stood the tall dark man whom we have seen as Slingsby's companion on the road; and with him the monarch seemed conversing in a familiar tone, though his eye wandered constantly from the person whom he was addressing to those who came in at the door, following them round the room, till they had taken their stations at the opposite side.
"Your petition, man," he said, speaking to the man who stood before him, "shall have all due consideration; and, depend upon it, rightful and even justice shall be done; but I would fain ask you a question or two thereanent. You call yourself an English gentleman, and your petition smacks of the humanities. I dare to say, now, you have had a good education?"
"Much pains have been bestowed upon it, sire," replied the stranger.
"And, if a king may be so bold as to ask," said James, with the same broad Scottish accent of which he found it difficult to divest himself, "where was it carried on, Master Winter, if such be your name?"
The man hesitated for a moment or two, and then replied, "At Oxford, sire."
"And at what college, man?" demanded the King, turning a shrewd look towards Cecil.
"At Corpus Christi College, your majesty," answered the personage to whom the question was addressed.
"A very learned place," replied James, "though somewhat given, we have heard, to the doctrines of popery. But our memory, man, is very long and troublesome; and, as we take great delight in the progress of our subjects, especially in those studies which are vulgarly called the humanities, we have diligently perused the names of all the scholars at our two universities in the kingdom of England, and we cannot just readily recollect the name of Winter amongst those who matriculated at Oxford within the last five-and-twenty years. It is true that the memory of a king ought, by God's grace, to be better than that of a subject. However, we may fail, as all men; so just recollect yourself, and see if you have not studied also in Rome, France, or Brabant. It is not so easy to deceive us, man, as some folks think; and you have so much the look of what is profanely termed a seminary priest, that we would fain take further informations concerning you."
Master Winter, as he called himself, turned as pale as ashes, and began in a hesitating manner to acknowledge that he had studied some time on the Continent.
"Doubtless, doubtless," cried the King, "and have taken all the degrees and orders. Are you ready, sir, to receive the oath of supremacy, acknowledging that in this realm of England the supreme rule and governance of affairs ecclesiastical are in the king alone? What! you make no answer! Well, then, you see you are found out. My Lord Bishop,--having now opened the examination of this man, so that your lordship may clearly see and learn the course in which we would have it conducted, we give the case over to you for farther investigation; and should it turn out, as we believe, that a papistical priest has dared to intrude himself into our sacred presence, we will have him committed to be dealt with according to law. Let him be put in charge of a pursuivant, and perhaps to-morrow we may hold farther discourse with him, in the hope of opening his blinded eyes, and reclaiming him from his errors. Stand down, sir. Let the other fellow be brought forward--not so near, not so near. He is as ill-looking a body as ever I set eyes on. Where are the witnesses?"
While the man Winter was removed to the other side of the room, Lakyn, Sir Robert Cecil's servant, and two other persons, who had been standing near in the crowd when the attempt to cut off the pouch was made, advanced, and were examined by the King touching the whole transaction. The facts were clearly proved beyond a doubt; and it was also shown that the man had not denied the attempt.
"Well, sir, and what have you to say for yourself now?" demanded James. "Have you any evidence to rebut this charge?"
"May it please your majesty," replied Slingsby, "I do not deny that I attempted to cut off the pouch; but----"
"What! then you make confession, man?" said the King. "This is the eighth or ninth time since we left Berwick that robbery has been committed upon persons attending our court, and, now we have got you, we will make an example, depend upon it."
"I wished but to see what the pouch contained, your majesty," exclaimed Slingsby, in a dolorous tone.
"Just like all other robbers and plunderers," answered James; "they all want to see what the purses they take contain, and the more the better."
"But, but," cried the man, "it was only curiosity."
"Hout tout!" exclaimed James, "such curiosity as that must be stopped with a rope," (or, as the King expressed it, with a "wuudie,") "and being the sovereign judge, to whom all other judges in this realm are merely subservient, or assistant, having tried the case ourselves, and finding this man taken in the act, and not making denial of his guilt, we shall proceed to pass sentence upon him according to law, ordering him to be taken back to prison, and thence, to-morrow morning, at six of the clock, to the place of public execution, there to be hanged by the neck until he be dead. Let a warrant be prepared, directed to our Recorder of the town of Newark, for due execution of our sentence."
Every person in the room looked almost as much aghast as the unhappy prisoner; for such a gross and unheard-of violation of the laws of England seemed to every one more dangerous than if a thousand cut-purses had escaped.
"But, sire----" exclaimed Cecil, stepping forward.
"Not a word, Sir Robert--not a word," cried the King. "We will have no pleading for him. He is taken in the fact, confesses his crime, and it is but right and befitting to make our English subjects know that we hold the sword of Justice with a firm hand, and will not fail to strike at all offenders against the law. Take the man away--let the warrant be made out and executed without fail. As we are a crowned king, we will not bate a tittle of our sentence."
The courtiers looked in each other's faces, and the unhappy Slingsby was dragged away, endeavouring to stammer forth some appeal to the King's mercy and to the laws of the land. But no one attended to him; and so great was the popular excitement in favour of a new monarch, that, although such an act had not been committed since the darkest period of British history, no one ventured to oppose it, and the warrant was made out according to the King's command.
James himself seemed not to entertain the slightest doubt or hesitation in regard to his own proceedings, nor indeed any sorrow or compunction for the fate of the unhappy man whom he had just doomed to death.
"Well, now," he cried, addressing Lakyn, "the cut-purse being disposed of, let us see the pouch, man."
Lakyn, who held it in his hand--for the strap by which it was suspended had been quite cut through--immediately presented it to the King upon his knee; and James, taking it from him, without further ceremony undid the loop and button, and put his hand into the inside. Feeling, however, that some degree of ridicule might attach to him for displaying the same curiosity which he had condemned so severely the minute before, he began a discourse in justification of his own proceeding, full of all those quaint niceties and hair's-breadth distinctions on which he prided himself. He explained, in the first place, in broad general terms, that conduct which might be criminal in a subject was perfectly justifiable in a king. He then went on to show more at large that the impropriety or propriety of a man's actions depended entirely upon the circumstances and the position of the man himself, exemplifying his truisms with various homely and strangely contrasted instances, from the rights of a schoolmaster in birch and cane to the rights of a monarch on the throne; and certainly in both cases he was inclined to stretch prerogative sometimes beyond its just limits. He ended, however, after a discourse of a quarter of an hour, during which time his fingers still remained in the bag, by declaring that evidently the man's pretext of curiosity was false and absurd. "For why," asked the King, "should he have a greater desire to see what was in one bag than in another?"
"Why, may it please your majesty," replied Lakyn, "I do think the man said true in that, for knowing that I was bearing a letter to your Majesty's Court from the Lady Arabella Stuart,--that is, not to say that he did know it, but he might, for all I can say to the contrary.--However, he followed me all the way down from Cambridgeshire, and as there were more people with him, I can't help thinking it was a plot to get the letter and see the contents."
"Ha!" cried the King, turning pale--"a plot already? Did we not tell you, Sir Robert, did we not tell you, Taylor, that it would not be long first?--Why, what's the matter there? The man seems to have tumbled down," and he pointed with his hand to the other side of the room, where there was a good deal of bustle about the spot where the personage who called himself Winter had been standing in custody of a pursuivant.
"What's the matter there, I say?" cried the King. "Will nobody answer their Sovereign Lord and Master?"
"It is the priest, your Majesty," said the pursuivant; "he has fallen down in a swoon, after complaining much of the heat."
"Let him take care that he get not to a hotter place," answered James; "but take him out, man, take him out, and keep him in the ante-room till further orders.--Now, man, what is this you tell me?" he continued, turning to Lakyn; "a plot, did you say?"
Lakyn, according to the King's command, and in answer to his manifold questions, detailed all that had occurred since he had left Sir Harry West's house, and the reasons which made him suspect that he had been watched and pursued. On one point, however, it must be acknowledged, he was not quite sincere with the King, never hinting the slightest suspicion that the man whom he had seen in the King's presence under the name of Winter, was one of those by whom he had been dogged.
The truth is, however, that good Matthew Lakyn had, in common with other Englishmen, a great respect for the laws of the land, and loved not to see them violated, whether by King or commoner. James's dealing with the man Slingsby had shocked all his notions of an Englishman's rights and privileges; and he was resolved that he would not willingly bring another under the rod of a monarch who seemed inclined to make such an arbitrary use of his power. His account seemed to give the King great satisfaction, however; for there are many men whose minds, like the body of a ferret, are so constituted as to find themselves most at ease when twisting in and out, through long and intricate holes; and nothing pleased the first of our Stuart race so much as tracing the small lines and narrow connexions of any plot or intrigue.
While making these inquiries, the King had drawn forth the letter of the Lady Arabella, and kept turning it in his hand with an evident inclination to open it, although he must have seen clearly that it was not addressed to himself. The presence of Cecil, however, restrained him from the pitiful act; and after one or two woful looks of irresolution, after thrusting his hand once or twice into his pocket, and twitching the ties of his stuffed doublet, he gave the letter to his English councillor, saying, "There, Sir Robert, there! This epistle is addressed to you, though by my soul, man,--" and he added an oath which for so pious a monarch was neither very reverent nor cleanly,--"I know not why our cousin has not addressed herself to us. Read, read, man; and let us hear the contents as far as may be in discretion."
Cecil immediately took the letter, and without displaying in any degree the hesitation which he really felt, he merely opened it, and having spread it forth, put it into the king's hand.
"Well and dutifully done, Sir Robert," said James, with a gracious inclination of the head, and then commenced reading as follows in a tone which, though somewhat subdued, rendered the words audible to those who were immediately about his person, commenting from time to time, as he proceeded, after his own peculiar fashion.
"'Sir Robert, my very good friend,--This is to let you know, that being on my way, as in duty bound, to present my humble services to his Majesty the King, and to congratulate him on his accession to the throne of this realm of England,'--Rightly said, for we were in full possession of Scotland before; but she should have added Ireland and France. She is but a young thing, however, and the letter is not that ill written.--'I have been informed that his Majesty at York published a proclamation, forbidding the approach of any to his court except those specially called. Knowing that obedience to the commands of our Sovereign Lord is the first duty of a subject, I have stopped at the house of my old and respected friend, Sir Harry West.'--A wise and elderly person, I trust, ha, Sir Robert? For it does not do for maidens of the blood-royal to sojourn at the house of flaunting courtiers."
"A very wise and reverend gentleman, sire," replied Cecil, "of three score years, or thereabouts."
"That is right--that is right," continued the King, "and, indeed, she shows a just discretion in all things. Would that all our subjects would take example by her implicit obedience to our best commands. But what says she farther?" and he proceeded to read,--"'Sir Harry West, where I was driven to take refuge, as I shall shortly explain to you. I do beseech you, therefore, Sir Robert, to lay my humble duty before the King, and to petition him that I may be permitted to approach him in person, not alone to pay respect and reverence to him, of which he must be well assured, both on my part and that of all his subjects, but also to communicate to him certain discourses which were held to me in an inn near this place, where I had thought to spend the night. Now, though these discourses were light and foolish, and unworthy the attention of so great a King, yet, as they seemed to me of a treasonable kind of folly, and were also Popish, and contrary to the established religion of the realm, I did not choose to abide under the same roof with the strangers who had held them; but, notwithstanding, it being a dark night, and tempestuous weather, came on to this house of Bourne, where I have been kindly and hospitably entreated. Judging that the matter which drove me from the inn should be revealed to his Majesty before any other person, I will not enter into farther particulars; but beg you to solicit for me his gracious permission, not venturing to write to him myself, to present myself in his court, according to my duty. Yours, most assuredly,
'Arabella Stuart.
'From the house of Sir Harry West, atBourne, this ---- of May, 1603.'"
"A well composed and very judicious letter," said the King; "though in her inexperience this young lady has committed one error, which we shall, notwithstanding, freely pardon, as it was not of malice,--namely, that she did not cause the immediate arrest of these persons, but in all others she has conducted herself discreetly. You will be pleased to answer her, Sir Robert, telling her that as we tend towards your good house of Theobald's, we shall be glad to see her there, and hear more from her, letting her know that we commend her prudence and obedience, and do her grace accordingly. Now, man, where's the warrant? Please God, we will sign it without farther delay."
"It is usual, sire," said Cecil, resolved to make one effort, "to put a man upon his trial before----"
"Hout! puddings' ends!" cried the King. "What! takenflagrante delicto, and making confession of his crime? Give me the warrant, man; if I am a crowned king, and there be hemp in England, he shall end his days in a tow before noon to-morrow."
The warrant was accordingly placed before the King, whose face had grown somewhat red at even the slight opposition he had met with. A small table, with pen and ink, was brought forward, and with a quick and determined hand James signed a paper, which might at any other time have shaken the throne of England.
"There!" he said, when he had done. "Convey that to the Recorder of Newark, and let him disobey at his peril. Answer the lady's letter to-night, Sir Robert, and take good care of her messenger, who seems a sober and prudent person."
"Your Majesty was pleased to say," replied Cecil, "that there was another letter to be remembered; but, whether you will be pleased to answer it yourself, or commit the task to a secretary, I know not?"
"What talk you of? what talk you of?" exclaimed the King, somewhat impatiently. "By my soul! I will write no more letters to-night."
"It was concerning that excellent good soldier and politic gentleman, Sir Walter Raleigh," replied the courtier, "and his application to be permitted to wait upon your Majesty."
"Fie now, Sir Robert, to trouble me with such matters," replied the King. "Let the man wait. He has no title, I trow, to be importunate."
"Certainly not, sire," replied Cecil; "but persons who have been greatly favoured by monarchs do sometimes presume, and Sir Walter, as you know, was a prime favourite of the late queen, as, indeed, his merits well deserved. Doubtless her majesty gave no heed to the charge of atheism against him, and forgave his hatred against my Lord of Essex. But, as your Majesty knows, being captain of the guard, he may think he has some claim----"
"None but our pleasure, man! none but our pleasure!" cried the King. "His malice at Essex, poor fellow! will be no grace in our eyes; and as to his atheism, that shall be inquired into. We will have none such about the Court. Tell him to mind the proclamation; and, hark ye, gossip, there may be a new captain of the guard some day. Make the letter short, and do not say too much; we will do everything civilly, but I am thinking we can find a captain of the guard amongst our own friends;" and with these words began the ruin of Raleigh.
The King soon after rose, and retired to rest; the courtiers remained for a few minutes conversing with apparent frankness over the strange scene which they had just witnessed, yet none of them venturing to give his real opinion to his neighbour; but Sir Robert Cecil afforded no one an opportunity of misrepresenting his words, for, after merely ordering his son to take care of Lakyn, he quitted the room, to write the letters, according to the King's command.
In a house not far from the Strand, there was a dark room, of somewhat large dimensions, lined with small square panels of black oak. The mantelpiece was of the same wood, richly carved with monkeys, and devils, and many a wild creature of the imagination, supporting the various cornices and crowning the three-twisted columns on either side, while, on a sort of entablature, appeared, in marquetry of sandal-wood and ebony, the whole history of King David, from his first encounter with Goliath of Gath to the death of Absalom. The figure of the Psalmist king, it is true, was not in the most harmonious proportions, his head being somewhat larger than his body, and his crown, after he had attained the dignity of empire, rather larger than his head. Goliath, from his protuberance before, must decidedly have taken but little exercise, and appeared to have had a fondness for turtle and venison, so that he might be strongly suspected of having sat as an alderman at the civic festivals of Gath. About Absalom, however, there could be no mistake, for his hair, which was of black ebony, could have belonged to nobody else on earth but himself, and greatly resembled the contents of an unpicked mattress. Some bears and stags were introduced, for reasons unassigned, and there were harps enough in various parts of the piece to have served David for twenty more books of psalms than ever he composed.[1]Nevertheless, it was a very splendid piece of sculpture in its way, and was the only thing that enlivened the room, if we except a silver sconce of three branches, with the lights which they contained.
In this chamber, not many days after the events which we have lately related, sat a very respectable personage, about the middle age, dressed in costly, but serious-coloured apparel, of the Spanish cut, while near him appeared a gentleman considerably younger, in the highest mode of the English fashion. The countenance of the latter bore a quick, impatient, and somewhat discontented air, and while he spoke he continued to trifle with the roses in his shoes, stirring them from side to side with the point of his sword. The language that they both used was French; in which tongue, however, the elder gentleman was much more fluent than the other, although he himself did not speak it with perfect purity, mingling, from time to time, several Spanish expressions, and several Dutch ones also, with his conversation.
At the moment which we choose for the purpose of introducing them to the reader, a short pause had taken place, and each seemed buried in thought. At length the elder looked round at his companion, saying, "Well, my Lord?"
"Well, Count?" replied the other, and both fell again into thought.
"It is not impossible, I repeat, Lord Cobham," continued the elder at length, "though the sum required be large--I say it is not impossible, upon the conditions I have mentioned; but, if you look at the matter rightly, you will find that it is not less for your safety than for the security of the King my master, that these three points should be ascertained. First, at the head of the party must be one who can lay a good title to the crown of England. There is but one that I know of, and she must be ours--of course, not to rule and guide us till she be actually upon the throne, but as the colour and pretence of our opposition to the King of Scotland, the rallying-point of the party, and our justification in the eyes of Europe. Her title is better than his, inasmuch as she is directly descended from Henry the Seventh. She is also English by birth and education, which he is not; and long ago the English nation pronounced that they would not have a foreigner sit upon the throne. But not only that, I find that the law of England declares no alien can inherit landed property in the realm. How, then, can an alien, like this King James, inherit the crown, with all the domain attached to it? This I have explained to you all before, and this is absolutely necessary as the first condition. In the next place, my very good Lord, I must see some commander of great distinction engaged in the cause. Not that you are otherwise yourself than a good and skilful soldier, in whom we could have all confidence, and for whom----"
"Pooh! pooh!" cried Lord Cobham, "let us cease compliments, Count Aremberg. What you want, of course, is some man whose name and reputation, as well as his valour and skill, will inspire the whole party with trust. But I will pledge myself for such a man."
"For whom?" demanded Count Aremberg.
"None other than my old and dear friend, Sir Walter Raleigh," replied Lord Cobham. "He will never hang back when Cobham asks him to draw the sword; and, moreover, he has already received disgust which makes his blood boil. I saw him this morning, with a letter from Cecil in his hand. The King refuses to see him, and he has a cool and complacent hint that he had better resign his honourable post of captain of the guard. An auspicious commencement of a new monarch's reign, to slight and injure the best servants of the crown. What! you look dark, my noble Count, remembering whose good sword has been so often drawn against the power of Spain. But let not that be a stumbling-block. Raleigh will serve his country when Spain is our friend as well as he served her when Spain was her enemy; and whoever wishes to pull down this slovenly Scotch tyrant--whose first act in England was to violate the laws of the land he came to govern, must be a friend to our native country."
"Nay," answered Count Aremberg, "you misinterpret my looks. Courage and high qualities deserve respect as much in an enemy as in a friend; and assuredly Sir Walter Raleigh has shown all the great points of a distinguished captain. It is a pity, only, that his Queen gave him no other occupation than that of a pirate."
He could not refrain from the sarcasm; but, seeing the colour come up in Lord Cobham's cheek, he proceeded hastily, "I shall be right glad to see him draw his sword in a nobler career. But, can you be sure of him?--Have you sounded him?"
"Not yet," replied Lord Cobham,--"not yet; but I will undertake for him; only he must have money to equip his forces. That is the first necessity, and without it he is too wise to act. Now, Sir Count, to your third demand. I forget what it was--something of less importance than the others, I think."
"Not in my estimation," answered Count Aremberg. "It is, that the heads of the Catholic party in England give you their adhesion; and herein, my Lord, seems the greatest difficulty, for the favour which the King has shown to the two Lords Howard has greatly divided the feelings of those who in this country adhere to the true faith."
"Pshah!" cried Lord Cobham; "a piece of paper and a lump of wax will soon set all that to rights. I mean a papa brief, my Lord. 'Odds life! you zealous Catholics ought to know right well that there is not a man of you who will venture to refuse his aid and assistance in re-establishing the old ecclesiastical rule in England; and, I have little doubt that, were it necessary, a brief of his Holiness would be found, ere to-morrow at noon, within the limits of this good city of London, commanding all true children of the Apostolic Church to give their aid in excluding the heretic Scotchman from the throne."
"Indeed!" said Aremberg, with a doubtful look. "If it be so, his Holiness has not made his intentions known to the Court of Spain."
"Pshah! most excellent sir!" replied Lord Cobham. "Use not your diplomatic qualities on me, for it will only lengthen our discussion without attaining any end. You know of the Pope's bull right well; and your only object is to save the claim of the Infanta. But, be assured, that no alien will ever sit upon the throne of England, if James be rejected."
Count Aremberg smiled, and it must be remarked that his smile was always a coarse and unpleasant one.
"Well," he said, "granting that it be as you declare, and that the King of Spain be willing to aid in the great and laudable object of re-establishing the Catholic religion in these realms, still, as he must make a sacrifice of the claims of the Infanta, he is entitled to some compensation. What have you to propose on that head?"
"We will first terminate the question of the three conditions you require, worthy Count," replied Lord Cobham. "Two of them are disposed of: you have the Lady Arabella as the head of the party, Sir Walter Raleigh as its military leader; and I have shown you good means of insuring that the Catholics of England will readily draw the sword for a lady, whom we have every reason to believe well disposed to that church. However, if you want more proof, I can bring you the head of one of our chief Catholic families, and two excellent priests of your religion, named Fathers Watson and Clarke, who will pledge themselves for the rest of their community. The good fathers are below even now, and Sir Griffin Markham will be here in a few minutes."
He rose as he spoke, as if to call the priests into the room; but Count Aremberg stopped him, saying, "Stay, my Lord, stay. Give me yet one minute of your private company. The last point is perhaps the most important of all."
"Ay, so I thought," cried Lord Cobham.
"What is the King of Spain to receive as an equivalent," continued Count Aremberg, "for relinquishing the claims of the Infanta?"
"I will show you what her claims are worth," said Lord Cobham, putting his hand in his pocket: "thus much, and no more, most excellent Count;" and he laid a silver groat upon the table, pointing to it with the fore-finger of his right hand.
"'Tis a small sum," observed the Count, "for very great claims. But I did think that something was mentioned about the loan or gift of six hundred thousand Spanish crowns. Now this, my noble Lord, is a considerable amount for any prince to give, especially when it is to be employed for the purpose of doing away the claim of his own family, though that claim be but worth a groat. Your Lordship must see," he added, with a dry laugh, "that something as an equivalent must be assigned to the King before he can entertain your proposals."
Cobham frowned, and bit his lip. He could not but feel that there was much force in what the Spanish ambassador said; that he had no right to expect, indeed, that the King of Spain, whatever might be his bigotry in favour of the Church of Rome, would give so large a sum of money, and at the same time resign long-cherished, though chimerical hopes, without some strong human consideration totally independent of religious zeal. He was not prepared, however, with any proposal to meet Count Aremberg's objection, and consequently remained silent, turning the matter moodily in his mind. Here the conference might have broken off, perhaps; but a quick step was heard upon the stairs, and he exclaimed,
"Here comes Sir Griffin Markham! It were as well to be silent with him regarding this difficulty. The Catholics are easily discouraged. I will discuss this question in secret with you hereafter."
As he spoke, the door was thrown open, and in came, booted and spurred, a cavalier younger than either of the other two, with a frank and somewhat reckless bearing, and an air of affected indifference, as if he were entering some gay drawing-room.
"Ha! George," cried Lord Cobham, "is that you? I thought it was Markham. When did you arrive?"
"Five minutes and a half ago," replied Sir George Brooke. "I saw the King safely housed at Theobald's, and rode on hither with all speed. Monday will see him at the Charter House, my good brother, where you need not show yourself unless you like, for you will not have too gracious a reception."
"You know Count Aremberg, I think?" rejoined Lord Cobham. "Count, you know my brother?"
The Spanish ambassador bowed; and taking up the cover of a richly-chased cup which stood upon the table, he said, "This is exquisitely wrought, my Lord. Pray, are your goldsmiths in England equal to such nice work as this?"
"Nay, that came from Italy," replied Lord Cobham, impatiently. "But, to return to the matter before us, your Excellency need not fear my brother. He is the soul of our party."
"I have nought to say more than I have said," replied Count Aremberg. "I am here but to learn your wishes, and to hear your proposals; very willing to give you any aid and assistance in my power--with due regard for the interests of my master, the King of Spain."
"Well, Count, what does the King want?" cried George Brooke, casting himself nonchalantly into a chair. "There is excellent brawn at Oxford, excellent cheese in the county of Cheshire, capital venison all over England; but, bating these articles, we have nothing else to give that I know of."
"Except, it would seem, a crown," replied Count Aremberg; "for that trifle you appear profusely disposed to deal withal, taking it from one, denying it to another, bestowing it upon a third. What I ask, sir, is, when you require his most Catholic Majesty to resign the claims of the Infanta, and to bestow upon you six hundred thousand crowns, for the purpose of raising a young lady of your own country to the throne, what inducement have you to offer him?"
"Hum!" said George Brooke, pursing up his lips; "various things that his Majesty has sought for many a year. First, a great deal of confusion in England--perhaps a civil war. What a splendid set-off against the destruction of the Armada! Secondly, the re-establishment of the Roman-catholic religion. We may throw in a few fires at Smithfield; and, if the matter be fully completed, perhaps we may grant a touch or two of the Inquisition, at least as far as the rack and thumb-screws go; though, as to the whole order of St. Dominic, and other piebald gentry of the kind, I cannot exactly promise;--that must depend upon circumstances."
"Weighty considerations these, certainly," answered Count Aremberg, gravely; "but I do not think that they would figure well in a dispatch."
"Better in a private and confidential letter," said George Brooke, in the same easy tone. "However, for the public document, we will have a firm and lasting peace between England and Spain,--an alliance offensive and defensive, if you will."
"A treaty!" exclaimed Count Aremberg, shaking his head; "we have too much parchment in Spain already. The kingdom is covered with sheepskin."
"Can you get no wool off it?" asked George Brooke. "Methinks just now, with the most Christian King of France and Navarre on the one side, Meynheer Van Barneveldt on the other, and the unpleasant aspect of the Emperor on a third, the Court of Spain, and more especially that of Brussels, might be very well pleased to have the helping hand of England, and rather see Raleigh thundering on the coast of Holland, than setting the Indies in a flame, and sweeping the sea of your galleons."
"Were England at peace with herself," said the Spanish ambassador, "this proposal might have some weight."
"But she shall be at peace within a year, most excellent Count," replied George Brooke. "Let us but harpoon this Scotch porpoise, and confine him for a season in the Tower, and then the very hem of sweet Arabella's satin petticoat shall sweep the land clear of all contention."
"But what," asked Count Aremberg, "if she choose to give her fair hand to some enemy of Spain?"
Lord Cobham smiled, saying, "You are wondrous cautious, Count."
"Ha! are you there?" cried George Brooke. "Well, there we are prepared to meet you. We will engage that the lady shall be guided in her choice by the King of Spain."
"Now you speak reason," replied Count Aremberg; "but yet I will tell you that it will be more satisfactory to me and to my master, if the lady herself make the engagement. In a word, as these are your proposals and not mine, if you can gain me the assurance under the lady's own hand, guaranteed by yourselves, that she, when Queen of England, will grant full toleration to the Catholic faith, will sign a lasting peace between England and Spain, and be guided by the sovereign I represent in her choice of a husband, the matter may go forward: if not, I must pause."
"It shall be done," said George Brooke, and Lord Cobham echoed the same words. "But," continued the former, "are you ready to give us assurance that if we do, our request is granted?
"Nay," replied the ambassador, "I cannot give a definite promise. That must depend upon the King himself."
"Then this is all foolery," said Lord Cobham. "The opportunity will be lost sending between London and Madrid."
"You know right well, my Lord," replied Count Aremberg, "that I was not sent to England on this matter, and consequently I have no instructions."
He saw a cloud come over the brow of George Brooke, the bolder and less cautious negotiator of the two, and added a few words to soften the disappointment which was evidently felt, and to give such hopes as might prevent the conspiracy from being abandoned in despair.
"I can but speak my own individual opinion," continued Count Aremberg, "but, such as it is, you shall have it frankly."
"Frankly?" cried George Brooke, with a bitter laugh.
"Yes, on my life," answered the ambassador; "and it is, that there cannot be the slightest doubt his Majesty the King will at once consent to supply the money you require, if you give him the assurances which I have pointed out. Nay, more," he added, in a quiet tone, "should need be, he will, I, feel very sure, furnish you with a body of soldiers sufficient to take the field at once."
"No, no," cried George Brooke, "no Spanish soldiers in England, noble Count. The people have not yet forgot some late passages, in which the Spanish soldiers and the English were less friendly than is pleasant. They did nothing, it is true, but cut each other's throats; but still that does not cement amity."
"They need not be Spanish soldiers," said Count Aremberg, in reply; "they may be from Flanders."
"Still they will be the troops of a foreign sovereign," answered Lord Cobham.
"Not if you raise and pay them yourselves," said Count Aremberg, always bearing in view the strong inclination of the Spanish crown to regain a hold upon England.
"That might be done, it is true," said George Brooke; "but that is an after consideration; the present question is about the money. If we once have means of engaging a sufficient number, by showing them that we have strong support, and that the enterprise is feasible, we may seize upon James, confine him in the Tower, and, with the command of the capital, which we shall certainly possess, we have little resistance to fear. An outbreak may take place here or there amongst the Scotchman's friends in the country, but they will be speedily suppressed. The two Howardsmustremain neuter; for, though their inclination would lead them to James, their religion will bind them to us. Northumberland, though he will not begin the strife, will go with us heart and soul when it is begun; and so will a thousand other noble gentlemen, who have long suffered in their faith, or in their persons. Others, again, will be upon our side, from hatred to the Scotch, and disgust at the swine that Scotland has sent us. The great body of the church will go with us; for ambition is the great vice of the ecclesiastics, and the reestablishment of the Romish hierarchy must naturally open to them a thousand new roads to their end. Many a sober Protestant parson regrets the confessional, and the mass, and the procession, and the embroidered garments, and the lordly rule of each priest in his parish; and we should have thousands gladly coming back to the good old days of Rome. But the question is now, how are we to get the means of setting the enterprise agoing? James's movements are uncertain; on Monday he will be at the Charter House; on Wednesday or Thursday at the Tower; where he may be a fortnight hence no one can tell. You cannot count upon a reply from Spain under six weeks, and it is necessary to secure the bird while he is in the net. Six weeks' delay will be ruinous."
Count Aremberg paused and mused, and, after waiting for a minute or two, in expectation of his reply, Lord Cobham exclaimed, "Unless we can have some certainty in less time than that, it were better to give the whole thing up, and think no more of it."
"If the question be but regarding the money," said the Count, "I doubt not the Archduke can settle that point at once. I believe that, sooner than suffer a scheme for delivering his fellow Catholics from the yoke under which they now groan, to fail, he would advance the sum out of his private treasury."
"Although that may cause some delay," said George Brooke, "still it will not present such an obstacle as the other plan. If this can be done, then, and your Excellency is enabled by the next courier from Brussels to treat definitely, we will go on, and obtain for you the assurances you require from the Lady Arabella. If not, I fear the enterprise must fall to the ground."
"I will write immediately," replied Aremberg, "and send the dispatch by a trusty messenger."
"It were well," said George Brooke, "that he were accompanied by some one on our part. What think you, Cobham--will Watson go?"
"Nay, Clarke is the shrewder of the two," replied his brother.
"Settle that between yourselves as you like, gentlemen," said Count Aremberg, with the appearance of perfect indifference--though, to say truth, he was not at all disinclined that a great part of the responsibility of the transaction should be removed from his own shoulders, and that he should escape the necessity of committing himself on some delicate points in writing. "Choose your messenger discreetly, and in my dispatch I will refer to him as intrusted by certain English lords and gentlemen to convey their opinions upon various points to the Archduke. Now, however, I will hie me home, for I have been some time absent; and it must not be forgotten that I am at this moment sick in bed."
"I wish your Excellency a happy delivery," cried George Brooke, with one of his light laughs. "I shall come and inquire after the baby in a day or two."
"I trust it may be a stout and healthy child," replied Count Aremberg, in the same tone, "and at all events we will baptize it in the Catholic faith."
Thus saying, he took up a large cloak which lay on the back of one of the chairs, enveloped himself completely in its folds, and, lighted by George Brooke, descended the stairs, at the bottom of which he was joined by a man dressed as a servant, who was called from a little room at the side. Without a farther word, but "Good night," the ambassador issued forth into the street, and walked along for some way, with the man close beside him.
"What have you learnt, Gonzalez?" he asked at length, in Spanish, looking up and down the street by the moonlight, and seeing that no one was near.
"According to their showing, your Excellency, full one-third of the inhabitants of London are prepared to rise, and more than one-half of the country. Making a little allowance for exaggeration, the discontent seems to be very extensive, and likely to spread."
"What did they give you?" demanded Count Aremberg.
"Fifty gold angels," replied the man, after a short pause.
"Ha!" said the Count, "are you sure they did not discover you for what you are?"
"Quite certain," he replied; "for though they were civil in the matter of the money, the two priests kept me standing all the time."
"Then his Holiness is determined the matter shall proceed," said Aremberg. "Fifty angels to a serving-man do not come from two poor conspirators, or two persecuted Catholic priests. It may, perhaps, turn out something of importance, after all."