History of the United Netherlands, 1587d | Page 6

been most amicable and satisfactory.
And when business was over, Champagny--not a whit the worse for the
severe jilting which he had so recently sustained from the widow De
Bours, now Mrs. Aristotle Patton--invited De Loo and Secretary
Cosimo to supper. And the three made a night of it, sitting up late, and
draining such huge bumpers to the health of the Queen of England,
that--as the excellent Andrew subsequently informed Lord
Burghley--his head ached most bravely next morning.
And so, amid the din of hostile preparation not only in Cadiz and
Lisbon, but in Ghent and Sluys and Antwerp, the import of which it
seemed difficult to mistake, the comedy of, negotiation was still
rehearsing, and the principal actors were already familiar with their
respective parts. There were the Earl of Derby, knight of the garter, and
my Lord Cobham; and puzzling James Croft, and other Englishmen,

actually believing that the farce was a solemn reality. There was
Alexander of Parma thoroughly aware of the contrary. There was
Andrew de Loo, more talkative, more credulous, more busy than ever,
and more fully impressed with the importance of his mission, and there
was the white-bearded Lord-Treasurer turning complicated paragraphs;
shaking his head and waving his wand across the water, as if, by such
expedients, the storm about to burst over England could, be dispersed.
The commissioners should come, if only the Duke of Parma would
declare on his word of honour, that these hostile preparations with
which all Christendom was ringing; were not intended against England;
or if that really were the case--if he would request his master to
abandon all such schemes, and if Philip in consequence would promise
on the honour of a prince, to make no hostile attempts against that
country.
There would really seem an almost Arcadian simplicity in such
demands, coming from so practised a statesman as the Lord-Treasurer,
and from a woman of such brilliant intellect as Elizabeth
unquestionably possessed. But we read the history of 1587, not only by
the light of subsequent events, but by the almost microscopic
revelations of sentiments and motives, which a full perusal of the secret
documents in those ancient cabinets afford. At that moment it was not
ignorance nor dulness which was leading England towards the pitfall so
artfully dug by Spain. There was trust in the plighted word of a
chivalrous soldier like Alexander Farnese, of a most religious and
anointed monarch like Philip II. English frankness, playing cards upon
the table, was no match for Italian and Spanish legerdemain, a system
according to which, to defraud the antagonist by every kind of
falsehood and trickery was the legitimate end of diplomacy and
statesmanship. It was well known that there were great preparations in
Spain, Portugal, and the obedient Netherlands, by land and sea. But Sir
Robert Sidney was persuaded that the expedition was intended for
Africa; even the Pope was completely mystified--to the intense delight
of Philip--and Burghley, enlightened by the sagacious De Loo, was
convinced, that even in case of a rupture, the whole strength of the
Spanish arms was to be exerted in reducing Friesland and Overyssel.
But Walsingham was never deceived; for he had learned from
Demosthenes a lesson with which William the Silent, in his famous

Apology, had made the world familiar, that the only citadel against a
tyrant and a conqueror was distrust.
Alexander, much grieved that doubts should still be felt as to his
sincerity, renewed the most exuberant expressions of that sentiment,
together with gentle complaints against the dilatoriness which had
proceeded from the doubt. Her Majesty had long been aware, he said,
of his anxiety to bring about a perfect reconciliation; but he had waited,
month after month, for her commissioners, and had waited in vain. His
hopes had been dashed to the ground. The affair had been indefinitely
spun out, and he could not resist the conviction that her Majesty had
changed her mind. Nevertheless, as Andrew de Loo was again
proceeding to England, the Duke seized the opportunity once more to
kiss her hand, and--although he had well nigh resolved to think no
more on the subject--to renew his declarations, that, if the
much-coveted peace were not concluded, the blame could not be
imputed to him, and that he should stand guiltless before God and the
world. He had done, and was still ready to do, all which became a
Christian and a man desirous of the public welfare and tranquillity.
When Burghley read these fine phrases, he was much impressed; and
they were pronounced at the English court to be "very princely and
Christianly." An elaborate comment too was drawn up by the
comptroller on every line of the letter. "These be very good words,"
said the comptroller.
But the Queen was even more pleased with