Her

place himself, or a brother or son, in her service. expenses are naturally increased by her endeavours to maintain her popularity, although she opposes her poverty as an excuse for avoiding the proposed enlargements of her establishment." This plea answered another purpose, by exciting the sympathy of her people, and their indignation that the heiress of the crown should suffer from straitened finances. Elizabeth was, nevertheless, in the enjoyment of the income her father had provided for her maintenance-three thousand pounds a-year, equal to twelve thousand per annum of the present currency, and precisely the same allowance which Mary had before her accession to the crown. "She is," pursues Michele, "to appearance, at liberty in her country residence, twelve miles from London, but really surrounded by spies and shut in with guards, so that no one comes or goes, and nothing is spoken or done, without the queen's knowledge." Such is the testimony of the Venetian ambassador of Elizabeth's position in her sister's court, but it should be remembered that he is the same man who had intrigued with the conspirators to supply them with arms, and that his information is avowedly only hearsay evidence. After this, it may not be amiss to enrich these pages with the account given by an English contemporary of one of the pageants that were devised for her pleasure by the courteous dragon by whom the captive princess was guarded in her own fair mansion at Hatfield, and other domains adjacent.' "In April, the same year, (1557,) she was escorted from Hatfield to Enfield chase by a retinue of twelve ladies, clothed in white satin, on ambling palfreys, and twenty yeomen in green, all on horseback, that her grace might hunt the hart. At entering the chase or forest, she was met by fifty archers in scarlet boots and yellow caps, armed with gilded bows, one of whom presented her a silver-headed arrow, winged with peacock's feathers: sir Thomas Pope had the devising of this show. At the close of the sport, her grace was gratified with the privilege of cutting the buck's throat," a compliment of which Elizabeth, who delighted

MS. Cotton., Vitell., f. 5. Strype.

in bear-baitings and other savage amusements of those semibarbarous days, was not unlikely to avail herself. When her sister, queen Mary, visited her at Hatfield, Elizabeth adorned her great state chamber for her majesty's reception with a sumptuous suit of tapestry, representing the siege of Antioch, and after supper a play was performed by the choir-boys of St. Paul's. When it was over, one of the children sang, and was accompanied on the virginals by no meaner musician than the princess Elizabeth herself. The account of Elizabeth's visit to the queen at Richmond, and the splendid banquet and pageant which Mary, with the assistance of sir Thomas Pope, with whom her majesty was long in consultation on the subject, devised for the entertainment of her sister, has been described in the life of queen Mary.2

The pleasant and sisterly intercourse which was for a brief time established between these royal ladies, was destined to be once more interrupted by the pertinacious interference of king Philip in favour of his friend's matrimonial suit for Elizabeth. Her hand was probably the reward with which that monarch had promised to guerdon his brave friend for his good services at St. Quintin; but the gallant Savoyard found that it was easier to win a battle in the field, under every disadvantage, than to conquer the determination of an obdurate lady-love. Elizabeth would not be disposed of in marriage to please any one, and as she made her refusal a matter of conscience, the queen ceased to importune her on the subject. Philip, as we have seen, endeavoured to compel his reluctant wife to interpose her authority to force Elizabeth to fulfil the engagement he had made for her, and Mary proved that she had, on occasion, a will of her own as well as her sister. In short, the ladies made common cause, and quietly resisted his authority. He had sent his two noble kinswomen, the duchesses of Parma and Lorraine, to persuade Elizabeth to comply with his desire, and to convey her to the continent as the bride elect of his friend; but Elizabeth, by her sister's advice, declined receiving these fair 1 MS. Cotton., Vitell., f. 5.

See the biography of queen Mary,

2 Vol. iii.

envoys, and they were compelled to return without fulfilling the object of their mission.

Meantime, Elizabeth received several overtures from the ambassador of the great Gustavus Vasa, king of Sweden, who was desirous of obtaining her in marriage for his eldest son, the prince Eric. She declined listening to this proposal, because it was not made to her through the medium of the queen her sister. The ambassador told her in reply, that "The king of Sweden, his master, as a gentleman and a man of honour, thought it most proper to make the first application to herself, in order to ascertain whether it would be agreeable to her to enter into such an alliance; and if she signified her consent, he would then, as a king, propose it in due form to her majesty." This delicacy of feeling was in unison with the chivalric character of Gustavus Vasa, who having delivered his country from a foreign yoke, had achieved the reformation of her church without persecution or bloodshed, and regarding Elizabeth as a Protestant princess who was suffering for conscience' sake, was nobly desirous of making her his daughter-in-law. Elizabeth, however, who had previously rejected the heir of his neighbour, Christiern of Denmark, desired the Swedish envoy to inform his master "that she could not listen to any proposals of the kind that were not conveyed to her through the queen's authority;" and at the same time declared, "that if left to her own free will, she would always prefer a maiden life." This affair reaching her majesty's ears, she sent for sir Thomas Pope to court, and having received from him a full account of this secret transaction, she expressed herself well pleased with the wise and dutiful conduct of Elizabeth, and directed him to write a letter to her expressive of her approbation. When sir Thomas Pope returned to Hatfield, Mary commanded him to repeat her commendations to the princess, and to inform her "that an official communication had now been made to her from the king of Sweden, touching the match with his son; on which she desired sir Thomas to ascertain her sister's sentiments from her own lips, and to 1 Camden. Warton's Life of Pope.

communicate how her grace stood affected in this matter, and also to marriage in general."

Sir Thomas Pope, in compliance with this injunction, made the following report of what passed between himself and Elizabeth on the subject:

"First, after I had declared to her grace how well the queen's majesty liked of her prudent and honourable answer made to the same messenger, [from the king of Sweden,] I then opened unto her grace the effects of the said messenger's credence; which after her grace had heard, I said that the queen's highness had sent me to her grace, not only to declare the same, but also to understand how her grace liked the said motion. Whereunto, after a little pause, her grace answered in form following:

"Master Pope, I require you, after my most humble commendations unto the queen's majesty, to render unto the same like thanks that it pleased her highness of her goodness to conceive so well of my answer made to the said messenger, and herewithal of her princely commendation with such speed to command you by your letters to signify the same unto me, who before remained wonderfully perplexed, fearing that her majesty might mistake the same; for which her goodness I acknowledge myself bound to honour, serve, love, and obey her highness during my life. Requiring you also to say unto her majesty, that in the king my brother's time there was offered to me a very honourable marriage or two, and ambassadors sent to treat with me touching the same; whereunto I made my humble suit unto his highness, (as some of honour yet living can be testimonies,) that it would like the same [king Edward] to give me leave with his grace's favour to remain in that estate I was, which of all others best pleased me; and in good faith, I pray you say unto her highness I am even at this present of the same mind, and so intend to continue, with her majesty's favour, assuring her highness I so well like this state, as I persuade myself there is not any kind of life comparable to it. And as concerning my liking the motion made by the said messenger, I beseech you say unto her majesty, that to my remembrance I never heard of his master before this time; and that I so well like both the message and the messenger, as I shall most humbly pray God upon my knees, that from henceforth I may never hear of the one nor the other.'"

Not the most civil way in the world, it must be owned, of dismissing a remarkably civil offer, but Elizabeth gives her reason in a manner artfully calculated to ingratiate herself with her royal sister. "And were there nothing else," pursues she, "to move me to mislike the motion other than that his master would attempt the same without making the queen's majesty privy thereunto, it were cause sufficient." "And when her grace had thus ended,” resumes sir Thomas Pope, in conclusion, "I was so bold as of myself to say unto her grace, her pardon first required, that I

1 Warton's Life of Sir Thomas Pope.

1

thought few or none would believe but her grace would be right well contented to marry, so there were some honourable marriage offered her by the queen's highness, or with her majesty's assent. Whereunto her grace answered, 'What I shall do hereafter, I know not; but I assure you, upon my truth and fidelity, and as God be merciful unto me, I am not at this time otherwise minded than I have declared unto you, no, though I were offered the greatest prince in all Europe."" Sir Thomas Pope adds his own opinion of these protestations in the following sly comment: "And yet, percase [perhaps], the queen's majesty may conceive this rather to proceed of a maidenly shamefacedness, than upon any such certain determination." This important letter is among the Harleian MSS., and is endorsed, "The lady Elizabeth her grace's answer, made at Hatfield, the 26th of April, 1558, to sir T. Pope, knt., being sent from the queen's majesty to understand how her grace liked of the motion of marriage, made by the king elect of Swetheland's messenger." It affords unquestionable proof that Elizabeth was allowed full liberty to decide for herself, as to her acceptance or rejection of this Protestant suitor for her hand, her brother-in-law, king Philip, not being so much as consulted on the subject. Camden asserts "that after Philip had given up the attempt of forcing her to wed his friend Philibert of Savoy, he would fain have made up a marriage between her and his own son, don Carlos, who was then a boy of sixteen." Elizabeth was so fortunate as to escape any implication in Stafford's rebellion, but among the Spaniards a report was circulated that her hand was destined to reward the earl of Westmoreland, by whom the insurrection was quelled. There were also rumours of an engagement between her and the earl of Arundel. These are mentioned in Gonzales. She is always called "madame Isabel" in contemporary Spanish memoirs. Though much has been asserted to the contrary, the evidences of history prove that Elizabeth was on amicable terms with queen Mary at the time of her death, and for some months previous to that event.

MS. Harleian, 444-7; also MS. Cotton., Vitell., 12, 16. 2 Memorias de la Real Academia de la Historia. Madrid