Calendar of State Papers Foreign: Elizabeth, Volume 20, September 1585-May 1586. Originally published by His Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1921.
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'Elizabeth: May 1586, 1-5', in Calendar of State Papers Foreign: Elizabeth, Volume 20, September 1585-May 1586, (London, 1921) pp. 594-605. British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-state-papers/foreign/vol20/pp594-605 [accessed 26 April 2024]
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May 1586, 1–5
| May 1/11. | Sir Philip Sidney. |
|---|---|
| Passport for the Sieur Jehan vanden Brule, captain of a foot company in his own regiment, to go into England and return within the space of two months.—Flushing, 11 May, 1586, stilo novo. | |
| Signed. Endd. Fr. ½ p. [Holland VIII. 1.] | |
| May 1. | Jan De Louvain to Davison. |
| Having last Wednesday returned to take our journey wherever might be convenient, we have only awaited the return of our secret messenger, sent to the village you know of, to speak of our merchandise to the factors resident in the place; who having returned yesterday, Friday, tells us that at Dunkirk and other neighbouring places they have long since secretly made ready in cellars and abbeys a great number of ladders and other instruments for invading some place of ours on the sea-coast of Flanders, probably Ostend; for which purpose La Motte was shortly to draw some part of the soldiers from the garrisons. We have warned “M. le Baron de Sidney” of this, that he may prevent so imminent a disaster.—Dover, 1 May, st. v., 1586. | |
| Postscript.—La Motte makes sure of being governor of all the west parts of Flanders, and begins already to go into them; which is the reason that he is never at the village you know of [qy. Gravelines]. We shall this evening pass the Straits, hoping for good progress and success. | |
| Add. to M. Davison, ambassador . . . now in London. | |
| Endd. “Secret advertisements out of Flanders.” Fr. 1 p. [Flanders I. 78.] | |
| May 1. | Horatio Palavicino to Burghley. |
| Although I feel sure that you will have seen a letter from Grimaldo of March 17, as they wrote to me from Genoa that they had sent a copy to your parts, I will not omit to say what I gather from it and from others. I find them more ardent to advance the design than I thought from their first letters, and more anxious to know in what way they should send and receive advices; which doubtless proceeds from the desire which they have found in Gio. Andrea Doria, caused, as it seems to me, by the intelligence which he has, and by his own judgment, it being evident that he is daily informed of everything, and that he already knew of the proceedings of Sir Francis Drake and had suspicions about the reiters; wherefore I doubt not that he has written again to the King of Spain and that very soon something will be heard of it; and as to what he said of assaulting the Queen in her own house, I see no cause for perturbation unless there are other signs than words, which might be attributed to his disposition and to the auditors that he had, whom it was easy to frighten, and make to believe anything. If what is written to me from Antwerp proves true, that Sir Francis Drake has taken New Spain, they will have good cause in Spain to think of other things, and the success at Grave will be of no small momemt. Of which things I have written at length, and drawn from them the most advantageous arguments I could. I ought shortly to receive later letters, which will give me much more knowledge of affairs, and will at once report them to you. | |
| I hear that the widowed Queen Elizabeth of France is going into Spain, and it is probable that Doria will carry her thither; it is believed by many that the King wishes to marry her. | |
| In my own business there are no results, and I fear will not be even after I have spent many months here. | |
| There were intended there many things to move your lordship and the others, which here are very far from taking effect, and the evil is that the need in France is very great. I beg your lordship to look at what I write to Mr. Secretary.—Frankfort, 1 May, 1586. | |
| Add. Endd. by Burghley. Italian. 1½ pp. [Germany, States, IV. 41.] | |
| May 1. | Horatio Palavicino to Walsingham. |
| The uncertainty of the roads is my reason for sending your honour the copy of my letter of the 24th of last month, to which I will add what little has happened since. | |
| Shute has returned from Duke Casimir with his reply, of which I send a copy, that you may see in his own words that he will not allow me to make a beginning with the levy, whence I am greatly confirmed in my opinion that he is irresolute as to the aiding of these princes, or indeed as to the other means needful for so doing; because there is no doubt whatever that these Navarrese ministers are quite drained [of money], and that even God may doubt whether that provision will ever come of which Montmartin brought hope, for as to moneys which still remain on the way, exposed to many dangers, it is a wonder if they are not either hindered or kept back altogether by urgent necessity, of which there is no lack in those parts. And what I say of the irresolution of Duke Casimir may be still more clearly gathered form the relations Shute has given me of the discourses held with him, besides which the minds of the Navarrese ministers are seen to be greatly depressed, who already abstain from urging me to collect the moneys, and show the weakness of their other sources. In the midst of this faintheartedness I know not what to do, and fear to go on collecting the moneys here, carrying interest without bearing any fruit; wherefore I am greatly afflicted, especially as my friends in France report that there will be more need than ever for deeds not words here, if there is to be any good result of this embassy, of which at last the signed Instructions are come from the Electors of Saxony and Brandenburg and some other more distant princes, and ought in reason to be followed by their ambassadors. Meanwhile, these Instructions have been sent to the other princes nearer here, and it is believed that in a few days they will be ready, but, as I have said, the men who are to carry them are not yet there. On the other hand, those ambassadors will not be so slow whom the King of France has resolved to send into these parts, i.e. one to the Emperor, one to the protestant princes and another to the episcopal Electors, but of these three I only know the name of M. de Rambouillet, who is sent to the protestant princes, as the Sieur de Montcassin (Moncassino), who has from Metz given notice thereof to Duke Casimir, names no other. But we may suppose that those ambassadors have been resolved on as an antidote to these others and as fitting instruments to entertain them with words, while in France they perform deeds to the utmost of their power. May God give strength to those afflicted ones to defend themselves; and his name be praised that he has granted ours the victory in the succour given to Grave.—Frankfort, 1 May, 1586. | |
| Postscript.—I send you some relations received from the Duke, more because they come from him than for anything of moment that they contain. | |
| Add. Endd. Italian. 2 pp. [Germany, States IV. 42.] | |
| May 1. | Duplicate of the preceding, cipher words being used somewhat more freely. |
| Add. Endd. Italian. 1½ pp. [Ibid. IV. 43.] | |
| May 2. | Paper endorsed by Burghley “Palmer, collation of moneys of England and Flanders,” and with date. |
| An ounce of the fine gold of England is said to make six angels, current for 10s. each; and an ounce of the crown gold of Flanders, nine crowns. worth six shillings sterling apiece. | |
| 1 p. [Holland VIII. 2.] | |
| May 2. | Lord North to Burghley. |
| To-morrow my lord makes his whole camp march into the Betue, between the rivers Ysell [sic] and Rhine, to take a sconce called the Berg sconce, built by Mr. Norris after the winning of Arnhem sconce, and afterwards lost by the Dutch. My lord purposes to build a sconce in a place called Mellin; you will find it in the map of Gueldres, at a place “which the river closeth about in three parts.” This would cut off all victuals from Nimegen and Zutphen, whereby the enemy would be much distressed. | |
| It is not “unpossible” that while we lie there, Nimegen or Zutphen or both may be compassed. | |
| “My lord bestoweth his time most painfully to understand the estate of these countries and to further the service. God hath hitherto blessed his labours, which good beginnings give hope of happy ends. Sir Thomas Heneage can rightly inform your lordship that God only gave the overthrow at Grave . . . but the Count Hollock, Mr. Norris and other gentlemen captains showed themselves very valiant,” and Count Hollock performed the victualling of the town wisely and valiantly in his own person. | |
| When Skinkes came hither to see my lord, his lieutenant hearing that two companies of Spaniards lay very loosely in a village near Maestricht, took sixty lancers, rode with speed to the place, which was fifty miles from Venlo, charged the Spaniards, slew fifty, took a hundred prisoners and brought away their ensign. | |
| “If the Spaniards may have such a May as they have had an April, it will put water into their wine. | |
| “It is credibly informed that the Prince of Parma doth mightily fear the revolt of Artois and Hainault. He is much offended with the Count Charles Mansfelt for the overthrow of Grave, and would displace him if he durst; [but] he may not offend the old Count, which governeth 'Luxenburg land.' | |
| “The Duke of Cleve is willing to join in league with my lord, being weary of the Spaniard.” The gentlemen and commons of Cleve assembled themselves lately, having some Spanish horsemen in the country which had annoyed them much. They killed many of the Spaniards' horses, and made them march “fair a foot” out of the country. | |
| We hear that the King of Denmark has stayed six Easterlings' ships laded with victual at the Sound, and made them put in good assurance not to go to Portugal or Spain. He is sending a great embassy to her Majesty, another ambassador to France, in favour of the King of Navarre, and himself goes, as they say, into Germany, to meet the princes.—Utrecht, 2 May, 1586. | |
| Holograph. Add. Endd. by Burghley 1½ pp. [Holland VIII. 3.] | |
| May 3. | Buzanval to Burghley. |
| On Saturday I presented to her Majesty a letter from the King of Navarre, from whom I had express command to offer you his affectionate remembrances and excuses for not having written to you, but as it was very late when I left the Queen, I did not then wish to trouble you with business. I now offer to you a short recapitualation of the state of that King's affairs, sent to me to show to his friends. You may also, at your leisure, look at the enclosed small discourse of the means to make peace in France, drawn up in expectation of the embassy to be sent by the protestant princes to the King; and as you know much better than I the saying of an ancient Roman, Nulla pax sine bello, nullum bellum sine tributo, I beg you to lend a helping hand that her Majesty may pursue the good work which she has begun, of soliciting the princes of Germany to join in aiding the King of Navarre, from whose ruin all good men foresee great evils for Christendom; and as nothing would be his undoing so much as a feeble and bad peace, his friends have need to employ themselves to procure him a good and firm one.—London, 3 May, 1586. | |
| Add. Endd. Fr. 1 p. [France XV. 116.] | |
| [N.B.—No. 115 has been removed, and is now No. 149.] | |
| May 3/13. | Masino Del Bene to Walsingham. |
| You will have heard from the Ambassador what is written from Spain concerning Drake. The Emperor Charles was, as it were, forced by his Spanish people to go into Africa for the Argiers enterprise, because of some small annoyance they had received from the corsairs of that place. Now you may imagine what the said people will do as to this business, which, if it goes on, without doubt will so interrupt the trade of Peru and New Spain, that Spain will shortly be reduced to what she was before she knew of those provinces; viz. the poorest province in Europe; and her King the same; who, with his people must make some great effort to remedy this, as also those on your side must for their safety do all that is possible to continue to trouble him; whereby you will not only yourselves remain safe, but also they cannot hope to disquiet the provinces which you have taken into protection, as they would do if all things were left quiet in those countries; by which method we have in our ignorance let them enjoy peaceably and without disturbance for at least fifty years that commerce without which (and which by a very small matter we might have hindered) the King's predecessors could only with great difficulty make a little army to defend their own; whereas since, by the great treasures which they have gained at their ease from those countries, they have raised at the same time more than one [army] and very powerful ones to attack this kingdom; have assaulted in more than one place the garrisons of the Turk and sometimes taken by force those and others offering resistance to their great forces; and in the end vanquished them by sea; and before this subdued all Germany; none of which things they would have been able to do without the advantage derived from the Indies. And we here, if we had been a little more circumspect, should already have done by a small matter what they are now doing with great difficulty and very great forces. And that it is true that without Peru and New Spain they would not be able to maintain their own States or to think of disturbing those of others, I will prove to you by one single example. When the French King was besieging Pavia, all that the ministers of the Emperor could do, with the means they had from so many provinces, was to find forty thousand ducats, wherewith they got together some troops, and not only succeeded in succouring Pavia, but gained that very memorable victory. Now, if the King had withdrawn—as he was advised to do, and amongst others by the ambassador he had in Rome—into some secure place, and let them alone, they had not means to maintain their forces for a month; and these being dispersed, Pavia would have remained besieged as before. Which ambassador, the Count di Carpi, to this end sent his secretary, whom I knew, to put before his Majesty the necessitous state of the Imperialists and to persuade him not to put himself in danger, but his wise counsel availed nothing. | |
| Now, since by this one example is plainly demonstrated to persons of your honour's intelligence that the House of Austria and its head, although he had many and great Stataes, before he had by means of New Spain and Peru enriched Spain, from which hitherto he drew nothing because there was nothing there, and now draws as much as he wishes because by that trade she has been made very rich; and which costs nothing to maintain and guard, but is that which maintains and guards all his other provinces, which, with their ordinary expenses, consume all the revenues:—Since God has thus opened your eyes and given you opportunity to trouble him in these his new conquests, with which he maintains all his own states and disturbs others, you should not cease to do so, in such manner as to render that trade useless to him, working against him every year at the season which those experienced in that voyage know to be most fitting. But if you leave him quiet in those parts, I greatly fear that he will begin to disturb you, although you are strong and powerful upon the sea, both in number of ships and in men experienced in maritime affairs. | |
| If you can draw to you some powerful maritime prince, such as the King of Denmark, and could get built in Holland and Zeeland a number of ships proper for such a voyage, it would be no bad thing, because you may hold for certain that if you keep the sea with forty good ships, and with these encounter the enemy, you may hazard a battle with very reasonable hope of gaining a glorious victory, which will be followed by their ruin; for though the conquest of Portugal has given them the use of a number of good ships, they greatly lack mariners, and especially they cannot trust those of Portugal. The affair of Strozzi serves as example. Very slowly they got together twenty-six ships, upon which, though their total tonnage was seven thousand at the least, they had not in all 3,500 men, and these little accustomed to the sea, being lanzichinetti [German foot soldiers] and Spanish recruits (bisogni). Thus with these reasons and examples, I conclude my discourse, which perhaps will be tedious to you, hoping—if God grants you grace to be able, with good sea forces, to attack those of Spain—for a certain victory, and consequently his ruin, because, remaining masters of the sea, [those forces] might at their leisure make themselves masters of nearly all those islands, or at least of those most convenient for breaking his voyages to the east and west; there being none which they might not easily take, or that they would not in short time render very strong and useful for your ships and for taking in those of your friends. | |
| Your honour may please to take my zeal in good part and to be assured that if I had any means of actually serving instead of discoursing, I should esteem myself most happy; and if you would be the instrument to direct me to this, with some honest and might be assured that you would have a man who would depend entirely upon yourself. | |
| You have already commissioned me to find you a man to serve in Spain. I have pitched upon one, and if you command me, will go about to treat with him. Here our affairs go on as usual. The King more inclined to his devotions than ever. The ambassadors from the four Swiss cantons are shortly expected, with whom will come Vezine and Beauvoir la Nocle. And if they do not come together, it is said they will be shortly followed by those of the protestant princes. God grant that by this or some other method some way may be found to put this poor kingdom into peace and security.—Paris, 13 May, 1586. Signed M.D.B. | |
| Add. Endd. Italian. 5¼ pp. [France XV. 117.] | |
| On a separate leaf:— | |
| Postscript.—Since writing I have heard that a young Bernese [qy. Béarnois] gentlemen here, who was brought up by the King of Navarre, is going with a passport from his Majesty to see him; and I am assured that he carries a very ample passport to the King of Navarre to send hither someone to treat with the King. The man who had departed for Languedoc is returned, as M. Montmorency was not willing to treat. | |
| Add. Endd. Italian. ½ p. [Ibid. XV. 117a.] | |
| May 3. | Leicester to Walsingham. |
| In favour of John Reyns, one of his servants, who having served in the Low Countries “these fourteen years for the most part,” and being well acquainted with the service, has now gone into England “for a charge of two hundred voluntary men.” Prays that he may be furnished with a commission and allowed to return as soon as possible.—Amersfort, 3 May, 1586. | |
| Signed. Add. Endd. ½ p. [Holland VIII. 4.] | |
| May 3. | Sir T. Heneage to Walsingham. |
| I send the bearer, the most trusted of my servants, to talk with you, after delivering my letters to her Majesty to Mr. Vice-Chamberlain. “I pray you hasten him to me, and thank your noble, wise son for his honourable and most friendly entreating of me, which I shall deserve with my love, though I can never requite as I would. To tell you my griefs and my lacks would little please you or help me, therefore I will say nothing, but think there was never a man in so great a service received so little comfort and so contrarious directions. But Dominus est adjustor in tribulationibus.”—Middelborrow, 3 May, 1586. | |
| Postscript.—Prays that the bearer may have his warrant for his money “to and fro,” and that he himself may receive some certain direction, that he may not offend her Majesty “what good or hurt soever” he do besides. | |
| Holograph. Add. Endd. 1 p. [Holland VIII. 5.] [Partly quoted by Motley, i. p. 445.] | |
| May 4/14. | George Aldersay to his cousin John Aldersay. |
| In my last I wrote to you of the arrival of four ships out of Spain, one a Spanish merchant of Dunkirk, the others 'Bryttans.' Tow more have come from Spain to Boulogne, laden with wool, oil, sack wine of Spain, salt, cochineal and all manner of Spanish wares. I have spoken to a young Fleming of “Bridges,” who came from Spain in the Dunkirk ship, who gives me the news as follows:— | |
| He saw in Spain twenty-four ships depart to the Indies “with six thousands lusty, chosen fellows, although I have heard the contrary, that they were very poor men,” but he reports that they were as tall and seemly as could be gotten. The speech there was that this summer great store of shipping should come out of Italy for the Indies, and not once did he hear Flanders talked of, “but all for the Indies.” Wheat is good cheap there, and the corn on the ground “stands marvellous fair and goodly as was not in long time, and . . . there were merchants a striving to have licence to put out corn from thence into these countries.” The Holland ships were arrested, and divers of the mariners gone to serve in the Indies, seven going out of the fly-boat of Dunkirk now come here. | |
| Three ships are come hither from Zeeland with soap, soap-ashes and time; also three to Dunkirk from Scotland with salt, and more to follow. If there is not “a regard of that place and Hamborrow, there will be much mischief done, for Frenchmen do venture for Hamborrow and get all shipping they can. . . . Here is a Hollander, a good mariner but a lewd fellow against his country, that those of this town have hired to go for Hamborrow for corn.” | |
| I hear that wheat is much risen in Flanders, Artois &c. The whole land is in such extreme necessity “that it is wonder the commons rebel not, for in all estates these restraints very much pincheth them.” | |
| Many burghers of Bridges are imprisoned, and some racked two or three times, “saying they wrought conspiracies” to deliver the town. | |
| They still say here “that Cambray is kept; they cannot tell for whom. Here came one which said the King sent fresh men; that the governor would not receive them. No doubt there is some garboyle there.” | |
| I am going to-day towards Lille and those parts. Dated at the top, “Laus deo, in 'Calles,' 14 May, stila nova, 1586.” | |
| Add. Endd. 2 pp. [France XV. 118.] | |
| May 4. | Paper headed “Articles for explanation of some doubtful points in the contract between her Majesty and the States, set down by the Muster-master General of her Majesty's army [Digges] according to the agreement between the Council of Estates and him thereupon, 4 May, 1586.” |
| With the States' apostiles in the margin. | |
| Add. Endd. 1 p. [Holland VIII. 6.] | |
| May 5. | Stafford to Walsingham. |
| “The day before yesterday Monsieur de Verac and the Abbot of Julios having been sent from the King to Memorency, returned back again with this answer, that he was the King's most dutiful and faithful subject, which he had and would always show in anything that should concern his Majesty's service. That for his religion he was a Catholic, had always been so, and would die in that opinion. And if he thought his son (who was there present) would be otherwise, he himself would be the cause and minister of his death. | |
| “That he did not take this war to grow upon any cause of religion, but upon a private quarrel between two houses, which the house of Guise did now take for a cloak, having troubled the whole quiet of the realm by their taking of arms. | |
| “That for the King of Navarre, he did honour him next unto the King his Master above all others, and would respect him as the next unto whom the succession did belong; that for his own particular he was more beholding to him than to all others, having been supported by him, and had received succour from him in his necessity; that (next unto the King) he would serve him before any other prince, with his life and all the means he could make, in anything that were not opposite to the service of the King his Master. | |
| “That for them of the house of Guise, he did not honour them for any pretensions they made within the realm, but as princes strangers out of the realm; that he would respect them as officers of the Crown, so long as they did dutifully perform that which belonged to their charge; that for any claim or pretension they should make to the Crown, when there should not be any one of the house of Bourbon left to succeed, he himself as first Baron of France would not quit them the place. | |
| “That for the King of Navarre's religion, he was very sorry he was not a Catholic, and would willingly lose one of his arms to see him converted. | |
| “That for them of the Religion he did wish they were Catholics as he was; but as for their obedience, he protested that he never 'see' more dutiful and faithful subjects than they were. | |
| “That, for his part, notwithstanding the great difference that was between the King of Navarre's religion and his, yet would he never forsake him, but would honour and respect him as the first prince of the blood, to whom (next after the King) the succession did by right appertain. | |
| “That he would not take upon him to advise the King about peace, because he sent not to ask any counsel at his hands, but if it pleased Monsieur de Verac, he might tell his Majesty that he did wish there were a good accord made, to the quiet of his realm and subjects, and not suffer himself to be overruled by so bad members, which would without any cause thrust him into this dangerous war, which would hazard his own ruin and his countries; that the King of Navarre and the house of Bourbon, as they had great alliances in France, so had they great friends abroad, so as they doubt not (if there be not soon some order taken) that within these few months he should see them before Paris, where they did look to have a peace made to their profit. | |
| “The Marshal of Biron, who was so long a going, is now dispatched away, as I writ to you in my last, without any great companies. He left one here behind him to receive money to go fetch down three thousand 'lansequenets' which stay upon the frontiers, which should be the greatest part of his forces; but he is still delayed from day to day, and cannot receive a penny, and the Marshal is gone only with them of his house. | |
| “The Duke of Guise is going away to-morrow, as it is thought not greatly contented; he hath been a suitor of the King to have leave to besiege Auxonne with his own forces and at his own charges, which the King at the first agreed unto, but since, upon better advice, he hath denied it, saying that he will not make them thereby desperate. | |
| “In 'Daulphine' the scarcity of victuals is so great as the army is broken and every man goes away, and many die for hunger. The want is no less in all other parts of France. It begins to grow very great, even in this city of Paris, which is the best furnished place of all others, yet the price of all things is tripled to that it was. | |
| “Here hath been with the King two deputies, one of Xaintonge and the other of Perigord, who upon their knees have humbly desired the King to make a peace, and to have pity upon his poor people, whose want was such as they were forced to eat bread made of ardoise and of nut shells, which they brought and showed to the King. They told him also that the famine was so great as a woman in Perigord had already eaten two of her children; and the like had been done in Xaintonge. The King at the hearing of this charged countenance, and presently told the Duke of Guise of it. All men think that the King would willingly make a peace, so that they of the League would speak for it; but I think that God is determined to plague them, that will not let them see their own misery, which is so near at hand.” | |
| I have sent a letter to my Lord Treasurer from Monsieur de Beza, because it touches his son Mr. William Cecil, and have desired him to show it to you; where you will see it is said that the Spanish fleet, which is wont to sail northward, will go about by Scotland. | |
| “The Countess of Fiasque [Fiesque], the Queen Mother's lady of honour, is suddenly dead of the plague, which hath greatly amazed them all, and makes them fly abroad to take the air, for that all the Court for the most part, was to visit her in her sickness. They say it begins to creep in among the greatest.” | |
| “Here are still complaints for the taking of ships, and the King hath appointed Monsieur Joyeuse, Pinard and others to talk with me. . . . I have sent to him twice or thrice to know when I should come to him; he ever answers that he will send for me; but yet I hear nothing of him. . . . | |
| “The other day the Abbot of Villoine [qy. Valognes], a kinsman of M. Joyeuse's, coming from Orleans was met with forty or fifty peasants, who stayed him and enquired of him what he was, and whither he went, and if he were of the League. He answered them that he was of no League but the King's. They told him that it was the better for him, for if he had he should have gone no farther. They prayed him (seeing he went to Paris) to desire the King to make a peace, which if he would not, they would all take arms and die with them that fought for the quiet of the country, rather than to starve at the pleasure of those who had now made him enter into so needless a war; which the King hearing, was amazed at, and went yesterday morning by four a clock to the Queen Mother, but what they concluded I cannot yet learn.”—Paris, 5 May, 1586. | |
| Postscript.—Pray let the enclosed packet be sent to the Princess of Orange. | |
| Signed. Add. Endd. 3 pp. [France XV. 119.] | |
| May 5. | Stafford to Walsingham. |
| Yesterday the Queen Mother, speaking with a friend of mine, was very inquisitive what news he heard from me, telling him that she heard “there was underhand a friendship a-treating between the King of Spain and her Majesty; that one Lewis de Pace was sent for that purpose into Spain, and since that an Englishman, is sent thither . . . and besides that, one that was once Benedik Spinola's man was sent unto the Prince of Parma. . . . For the last she feared not, but for the first, she would be glad to be certain of, for she was sure there could be nothing done after so great injuries offered by her Majesty to the King of Spain but that the agreement must fall out to the great detriment of France and the French King.” | |
| My friend replied that he had often told her “that seeing the King and she would let the King of Spain run on, that her Majesty had gotten into her hand that which would make the King of Spain to seek upon her whensoever she listed.” Queen Mother used the same speech to another, and desired them both to sound me “what was done in it. | |
| “I told them I never heard of any such matter; . . . but if the Queen had entered into any such treaty, it was surely that seeing the French King so overruled in his own realm that he bare but now the name of a king, so that she . . . could hope no help at his hands if she should stand in any need; . . . perchance seeing herself to have in her hands that should bind the King of Spain to her for ever, if she dealt well with him, it might be (but I knew it not) that she would make him beholding to her. But I did know that if the French King would make a peace in his own realm and join with her to annoy the King of Spain, who had so much sought to annoy them both, that then I was sure that her Majesty (fn. 1) both would leave off any such determination if there were any, or if there were none, never enter into it.” | |
| In using these speeches, “I hope I have not done amiss; I would be very sorry I should.” If any more such speeches should be used to me, I pray you to let me know what kind I shall use.—Paris, 5 May, 1586. | |
| Holograph. Add. Endd. 1 p. [France XV. 120.] | |
| [The cipher words undeciphered.] | |
| May 5/15. | The Duke Of Bouillon to Stafford. |
| Since my last, no opportunity has offered for the affair of which I wrote; I having lately given the merchants to understand that I intended so to act that you might have quiet and satisfaction on your side. I pray you to look upon me as one best affectioned to you, and to preserve me as much as you can in her Majesty's good graces.—Sedan, 15 May, 1586. Signed, G. Robert de la Marck. | |
| Add. Endd. Fr. ½ p. [Ibid. XV. 121.] | |