HISTORY OF THE UNITED NETHERLANDS From the Death of William the Silent to the Twelve Year's Truce--1609

By John Lothrop Motley

History of the United Netherlands, 1587

CHAPTER XVII.

Secret Treaty between Queen and Parma--Excitement and Alarm in the States--Religious Persecution in England--Queen's Sincerity toward Spain--Language and Letters of Parma--Negotiations of De Loo-- English Commissioners appointed--Parma's affectionate Letter to the Queen--Philip at his Writing-Table--His Plots with Parma against England--Parma's secret Letters to the King--Philip's Letters to Parma Wonderful Duplicity of Philip--His sanguine Views as to England--He is reluctant to hear of the Obstacles--and imagines Parma in England--But Alexander's Difficulties are great--He denounces Philip's wild Schemes--Walsingham aware of the Spanish Plot--which the States well understand--Leicester's great Unpopularity--The Queen warned against Treating--Leicester's Schemes against Barneveld--Leicestrian Conspiracy at Leyden--The Plot to seize the City discovered--Three Ringleaders sentenced to Death-- Civil War in France--Victory gained by Navarre, and one by Guise-- Queen recalls Leicester--Who retires on ill Terms with the States-- Queen warned as to Spanish Designs--Result's of Leicester's Administration.

The course of Elizabeth towards the Provinces, in the matter of the peace, was certainly not ingenuous, but it was not absolutely deceitful. She concealed and denied the negotiations, when the Netherland statesmen were perfectly aware of their existence, if not of their tenour; but she was not prepared, as they suspected, to sacrifice their liberties and their religion, as the price of her own reconciliation with Spain. Her attitude towards the States was imperious, over-bearing, and abusive. She had allowed the Earl of Leicester to return, she said, because of her love for the poor and oppressed people, but in many of her official and in all her private communications, she denounced the men who governed that people as ungrateful wretches and impudent liars!

These were the corrosives and vinegar which she thought suitable for the case; and the Earl was never weary in depicting the same statesmen as seditious, pestilent, self-seeking, mischief-making traitors. These secret, informal negotiations, had been carried on during most of the year 1587. It was the "comptroller's peace;", as Walsingham contemptuously designated the attempted treaty; for it will be recollected that Sir James Croft, a personage of very mediocre abilities, had always been more busy than any other English politician in these transactions. He acted; however, on the inspiration of Burghley, who drew his own from the fountainhead.

But it was in vain for the Queen to affect concealment. The States knew everything which was passing, before Leicester knew. His own secret instructions reached the Netherlands before he did. His secretary, Junius, was thrown into prison, and his master's letter taken from him, before there had been any time to act upon its treacherous suggestions. When the Earl wrote letters with, his own hand to his sovereign, of so secret a nature that he did not even retain a single copy for himself, for fear of discovery, he found, to his infinite disgust, that the States were at once provided with an authentic transcript of every line that he had written. It was therefore useless, almost puerile, to deny facts which were quite as much within the knowledge of the Netherlanders as of himself. The worst consequence of the concealment was, that a deeper treachery was thought possible than actually existed. "The fellow they call Barneveld," as Leicester was in the habit of designating one of the first statesmen in Europe, was perhaps justified, knowing what he did, in suspecting more. Being furnished with a list of commissioners, already