CHAPTER XXIV.

1623, 1624.

State of public opinion respecting the prince and Buckingham. —Policy adopted by the lord-keeper,—by the lord-treasurer. Arrival of the prince and Buckingham in England. --Steps taken by their advice to break off the marriagetreaty. Recall and honorable conduct of Bristol.-The king compelled into the measures of Buckingham,—his regret and melancholy.-Debates in the council concerning a war with Spain.—Violent behaviour of Buckingham.—His resentment against the lord-keeper and other councillors.— He causes parliament to be assembled,—and courts the popular party.-Death of the duke of Lenox and Richmond. -King's speech to parliament disclaiming toleration of the catholics.-Buckingham's false narration of occurrences in Spain. The Spanish ambassador demands his head.-The house defends him.—Address of both houses in favor of war with Spain.-Temporising conduct of the king.-Supplies voted. The king overruled by Buckingham.—Letter from him to the king.-King's speech to parliament.-Petition against the catholics.-Buckingham accused by the Spanish ambassadors, disgraced by the king,-recovers himself by the counsels of the lord-keeper.-Curious intrigues of the lord-keeper.-Impeachment of the lord-treasurer.Return and disgrace of Bristol.-Dissolution of parliament.

IT would be difficult to convey an adequate idea of the surprise, the confusion, the consternation, which seized all minds on the first rumor that Buckingham had carried off the prince to Spain in dis

guise, at a moment's warning, and without the knowledge of a single privy-councillor or minister of state. Such an act was justly regarded as an intolerable presumption on the part of the favorite, and a more glaring proof than any other of the absolute mastery which he exercised over the spirit of the king.

It had been the current report of Madrid, as soon as the prince's arrival there was known, that he had come to make himself a catholic, and a suspicion of the same kind had taken possession of the English people, to which the puritan divines gave great encouragement. A knowledge of the earnest persuasions on this head employed by the Spanish court, and still more of the correspondence into which Charles had been seduced with the pope, would doubtless, with a large party, have changed these suspicions into an absolute conviction of his apostasy, and ruined him for ever in public estimation. But these circumstances were carefully concealed by the prudential policy of James; and the most prevalent apprehension was, lest the Spaniards, of whose cruelty and perfidy every thing was thought credible, might, on some pretext of quarrel, detain the heir of the kingdom in perpetual imprisonment. Yet, no people could entirely withhold its admiration and sympathy from an expedition dictated by a gallantry so romantic and so becoming the spirit of a youthful prince. Had he succeeded to his hopes, and led home with him in triumph the royal bride, long wooed and nobly won, fears, scruples and prejudices would all have given way before the enthu

siasm of the moment, and the marriage most deprecated in prospect, might have been hailed with the loudest burst of applause on its completion. Even as it was, the joy of receiving back the young adventurer in safety seemed to fill every heart; ànd the merit of bringing him home again, was thought sufficient atonement for the rashness of Buckingham in carrying him abroad.

Courtiers and politicians surveyed the scene with other eyes: No apprehensions were entertained by them for the personal safety of the prince,-partly because it was manifestly contrary to the interest of Spain that the hopes of the English nation should be transferred from him to the princess palatine and her family ;-and so large a troop of the flower of the young nobility and gentry hastened to offer their attendance to the heir apparent and the favorite, that within a few days the hotel of the earl of Bristol assumed the appearance of an English court. But the great perplexity of those who were, or who wished to be, in public situations, was to decide what would be the results of this adventurous journey with regard to the duke of Buckingham: Would it exalt him to a still higher pinnacle of power and favor, or would it precipitate him to destruction? By no one was this alternative weighed with more profound attention than by the lord-keeper; and when he had maturely reflected that the smallest failure in deference or attention on the part of Buckingham towards Olivares, or of Olivares towards Buckingham, must produce a violent quarrel between these haughty favorites, which would

VOL. II.

2 A

would very probably end in a breach of the treaty;— a treaty on which the king had rested so many hopes and projects that it seemed scarcely credible that he could continue to love the instrument of its failure, -he could not avoid regarding the situation of the duke as extremely critical; especially as an absence of any considerable duration would afford many advantages to the numerous and active enemies who were laboring to supplant him. In consequence of this view of things, Williams endeavoured as much as possible to establish himself on an independent footing in the favor of his master; and though he continued to Buckingham all those professions of devotedness which his present greatness rendered necessary, he took upon him, in his correspondence, to offer his advice with more freedom than was welcome to this spoiled child of fortune, and sometimes ventured to complain of the silence respecting the progress of the negotiation observed towards the privy-council and the most important officers of state. He also corresponded intimately with the earl of Bristol, who made no scruple of communicating to him the injuries and affronts which he received from the arrogant and intrusive favorite; and lastly, he was careful to perform all that depended on him to give satisfaction to the Spanish ambassadors, and to remove any obstacles to the completion of the alliance; and this, even after he had good cause to know that the duke was resolutely bent on opposing its accomplishment.

The lord-treasurer, apprehending, probably on

similar

similar grounds, the fall of his great patron, likewise made some efforts to shake off his allegiance to him, and ventured to scruple payment of some of his exorbitant demands on an almost exhausted exchequer.

The event proved, that both these able politicians had taken a wrong measure of men and of things; the audacity of Buckingham, which extorted submission from his masters, placed him in fact on surer ground with them than could have been attained by the caution which would have respected their prejudices and foibles, or the obsequiousness which would have cherished them.

At length the time arrived which was to put to the proof the spirit and temper of the king; to show whether he would dare to disgrace, when present, one against whom he had ventured to manifest extreme displeasure in his absence; whether he would suffer his son and Buckingham to gratify their own passions by breaking off the connexion, or compel them to respect his wishes by renewing an amity which had been disturbed indeed, but not yet destroyed;-whether, in short, the monarch was to obey or be obeyed. Early in the morning of October 6, the prince arrived with the duke at York, house, and a few hours after they set out to join the king at Royston; their reception is thus described by the biographer of Williams :

.

"The joy at the interview was such as surpasseth the relation. His majesty in a short while retired, and shut out all but his son and the duke; with whom he held conference till it was four hours