History of the United Netherlands, 1585 part 5 | Page 6

in order still more strongly to confirm his friendship, he begged
Sir Philip Sidney to consider him as his brother, and as his companion
in arms, promising upon his own part the most faithful friendship. In
the name of Louisa de Coligny, and of his whole family, he also
particularly recommended to the Queen the interests of the eldest
brother of the house, Philip William, "who had been so long and so
iniquitously detained captive in Spain," and begged that, in case
prisoners of war of high rank should fall into the hands of the English
commanders, they might be employed as a means of effecting the
liberation of that much-injured Prince. He likewise desired the friendly
offices of the Queen to protect the principality of Orange against the
possible designs of the French monarch, and intimated that occasions
might arise in which the confiscated estates of the family in Burgundy
might be recovered through the influence of the Swiss cantons,
particularly those of the Grisons and of Berne.
And, in conclusion, in case the Queen should please--as both Count
Maurice and the Princess of Orange desired with all their hearts--to

assume the sovereignty of these Provinces, she was especially entreated
graciously to observe those suggestions regarding the interests of the
House of Nassau, which had been made in the articles of the treaty.
Thus the path had been smoothed, mainly through the indefatigable
energy of Davison. Yet that envoy was not able to give satisfaction to
his imperious and somewhat whimsical mistress, whose zeal seemed to
cool in proportion to the readiness with which the obstacles to her
wishes were removed. Davison was, with reason, discontented. He had
done more than any other man either in England or the Provinces, to
bring about a hearty cooperation in the common cause, and to allay
mutual heart-burnings and suspicions. He had also, owing to the
negligence of the English treasurer for the Netherlands, and the
niggardliness of Elizabeth, been placed in a position, of great financial
embarrassment. His situation was very irksome.
"I mused at the sentence you sent me," he wrote, "for I know no cause
her Majesty hath to shrink at her charges hitherto. The treasure she hath
yet disbursed here is not above five or six thousand pounds, besides
that which I have been obliged to take up for the saving of her honour,
and necessity of her service, in danger otherwise of some notable
disgrace. I will not, for shame, say how I have been left here to
myself."
The delay in the formal appointment of Leicester, and, more
particularly, of the governors for the cautionary towns, was the cause of
great confusion and anarchy in the transitional condition of the country.
"The burden I am driven to sustain," said Davison, "doth utterly weary
me. If Sir Philip Sidney were here, and if my Lord of Leicester follow
not all the sooner, I would use her Majesty's liberty to return home. If
her Majesty think me worthy the reputation of a poor, honest, and loyal
servant, I have that contents me. For the rest, I wish
'Vivere sine invidia, mollesque inglorius annos Egigere, amicitias et
mihi jungere pares.'"
There was something almost prophetic in the tone which this faithful
public servant--to whom, on more than one occasion, such hard
measure was to be dealt--habitually adopted in his private letters and
conversation. He did his work, but he had not his reward; and he was
already weary of place without power, and industry without
recognition.

"For mine own particular," he said, "I will say with the poet,
'Crede mihi, bene qui latuit bene vixit, Et intra fortunam debet quisque
manere suam.'"
For, notwithstanding the avidity with which Elizabeth had sought the
cautionary towns, and the fierceness with which she had censured the
tardiness of the States, she seemed now half inclined to drop the prize
which she had so much coveted, and to imitate the very languor which
she had so lately rebuked. "She hath what she desired," said Davison,
"and might yet have more, if this content her not. Howsoever you value
the places at home, they are esteemed here, by such as know them best,
no little increase to her Majesty's honour, surety, and greatness, if she
be as careful to keep them as happy in getting them. Of this, our cold
beginning doth already make me jealous."
Sagacious and resolute Princess as she was, she showed something of
feminine caprice upon this grave occasion. Not Davison alone, but her
most confidential ministers and favourites at home, were perplexed and
provoked by her misplaced political coquetries. But while the
alternation of her hot and cold fits drove her most devoted courtiers out
of patience, there was one symptom that remained invariable
throughout all her paroxysms, the rigidity with