were also made by his wife and sister to see him, and he himself asked for interviews with friends. A point of etiquette, the raising of which may be thought somewhat strange under the circumstances, occurred to him as in the month of April St. George's Day drew near. He called to mind that notwithstanding his changed fortunes, he was still a Knight of the Garter; he had sworn to observe the statutes of the Order; what was he then to do? Should he wear his robes on the day in his dining chamber, or else privately in his bed-chamber? Or would the Queen dispense with his wearing them altogether on the occasion? He refers the doubt to supreme authority. (This, by the way, is not the only instance in the volume showing how stringent a force the letter of the law had for him and his contemporaries.) But having stated his difficulty, he was doubtless not greatly concerned how it should be settled, since his mind was "much troubled" otherwise (p. 128), and his body, for lack of exercise, grown sickly and now "misliking physic as it were by an antipathy," as though one should say, it required a healthy man to take his medicine (which then was part of the ordinary regimen of a person's life) with a wholesome appetite. Another of his troubles was that his friends and servants who were bound for his debts are laid for by sergeants to be arrested, so as they dare not go into the city about their own business, and his estate goes much unto decay by reason of his restraint, whereby he can take no order for the payment of his debts. But most of all did he sorrow for the Queen's displeasure, feverishly anxious for her grace and favour; doubting the while that her displeasure was rather increased than diminished; so judging because he could not hear that his last letter had been read by her. Such was the burden of his conversation with his courtly gaoler, "making moan" to him as together they paced the confined limits of the garden of Essex House under the changeful April skies. Early in May another source of vexation sprang up. This was the printing of his Apologie "without his liking or privity" (p. 142). The fact becoming known to him, he wrote to the Privy Council to assert both his innocence of the proceeding and his objection to it, and on the same day sent his "man" Cuffe to the Archbishop of Canterbury to inform him of the matter. His Grace immediately set about the discovery of "the press and the printers" (p. 142), succeeding so well that on the following day he was able to say that out of the two hundred and ninetytwo copies printed, he had gotten two hundred and ten into his hands and hoped to recover most of the remainder before nightfall. Subsequently, in conversation with Sir Richard Berkeley (p. 156), Essex protested that he was free from all thought or purpose to have the book published either in writing or print, and that he was so far from giving copies of it as he charged his man that kept his papers not to let any of his friends see it but in his hand, or at least in his. presence. He cannot guess how it should come abroad but by the corruption of some of his servants that had access to his chamber, who might take and write out his loose papers which lay ever sheet by sheet under his bed's head till he had leisure to finish the whole, and saith he has had the papers of him whom he has cause to suspect brought to him by the like indirect means, but never sent any to the press or to scrivener's shop. In his adversity, he was not without sympathetic friends who sought to cheer him by considerations drawn out of the very adverse circumstances themselves. These "accidents" might well "the less trouble the virtue of Essex's own mind or grieve the "thoughts of his well-wishing followers as it becomes gold to be "seven times tried in the fire," writes an Irish correspondent (p. 152). A little later, when there was a prospect of his restoration to liberty (p. 185), another correspondent concludes that, in view of the favours God had latterly heaped upon him, and the abundance of his qualities and honours, "it would have been "impossible to escape the diseases attendant upon such fulness "if God, by by a timely blood letting, had not prevented." "Blessed is the man whom Thou chastisest" is the text upon which this correspondent preaches a sermon of personal application, Essex's "deepest troubles" being about to give place, so it was believed, to the return of the Queen's affection, recovery of health and "fastness of men's affections." All this was, however, not to come about just yet, and such uplifting as did come to him was, contrary to expectation, only to lead in a little while to a more desperate and final overthrow. With respect to the appearance of Essex before the special tribunal at York House on June 5th of this year, Sir Gelly Merrick gives the Earl of Southampton an account of the proceedings, "had from them who were present" (p. 178)- My Lord was charged by the Serjeant, the Attorney, the Solicitor and Mr. Bacon who was very idle, and I hope will have the reward of that humour in the end. They did insist to prove my Lord's contempts in five points. The first was the making of your Lordship General of the Horse, being clouded with her Majesty's displeasure. It was bitterly urged by the Attorney and very worthily answered by my Lord. The next was the making of knights. His Lordship did answer that very nobly. The next was the "Monser" [Munster] journey, many invectives urged by the Attorney, with letters showed from Ormond, Bowcher and Warren Seintlyger. My Lord in the satisfying of that answered, God knew the truth of things, and has rewarded two of them for their perfidiousness. Then his Lordship was interrupted, and wished to continue as he had begun, which was to submit to her Majesty's gracious favour My Lord of Cumberland dealt very nobly. The rest all had one counsel, which was fitting to clear the Queen's honour, which, God be thanked, I hear she is well satisfied, and yet a part is to-morrow to be handled in the Star Chamber, and a Sunday liberty. Then will we all thank God. A few days later Sir Henry Davers also tells Southampton "the news that he knows will best please him," the news, that is, "of the liberty of my Lord of Essex, yet at Walsingham "House, and preparing to lie at Grafton; rather advised than "commanded to retain few followers, and to let little company "come unto him." On the same day, June the 14th, Sir Thomas Egerton, the Lord Keeper, presiding in the Star Chamber, at the end of the usual exhortation to the judges and justices of the peace on this occasion lengthy and well reported (p. 182)— "prayed leave to digress." The digression concerned the personal history of Lord Essex from the time of his going to Ireland at the head of an army, "the like whereof never went out "of this realm" (p. 184), until the moment of speaking. This is followed by an account of the proceedings when Essex was brought before the special tribunal, an account, however, as we might expect, not drawn upon quite the same lines as that of Sir Gelly Merrick nor conveying quite the same impression. Thither the Earl was brought. Her Majesty's counsel at law charged him. not generally but particularly. The Earl hears it, and stands not upon innocency (other than for any evil affection), but submits himself humbly, wisely and dutifully. As the matters were delivered learnedly and gravely by her Majesty's counsel at law, so every point being charged, every point was proved; no matter of action was charged that was not by the Earl confessed. He pleads not innocency, but shows the errors that misled him. He justifies himself in nothing but that he did it with no evil affected heart, saying that the tears of his heart had quenched all the pride of his thoughts, and excusing himself of disloyalty, which was not laid to his charge. And what was the judgment? Not as this court do use to judge, but applying only to her Majesty's mercy. Then the Lord Keeper touched withal that his Lordship's carriage was so humble and submissive to her Majesty, that it was a great satisfaction to them all. And shewed that he had digressed which the libellers did bring him unto, and with a sharp invective exhortary to see them punished, he concluded. Essex's "delivery from his keeper," so confidently and joyously expected by his friends immediately after his appearance before the Council at York House, did not come to pass forthwith. First, it must wait upon the delivery of the Lord Keeper's harangue in the Star Chamber as above; then the judges must repeat the substance of this harangue in the country on their circuits. This done, the very Sunday when "liberty of his house" was to have been given him, the untoward circumstance of the Queen's turning over some old letters in one of her caskets, idly or of design, caused further delay (p. 208). The point made in his own favour by Essex that the Queen had in a case similar to his own, pardoned the Earl of Leicester's coming over after he had "received a strait prohibition under her hand," was found to be mistaken. A letter turned up giving Leicester the necessary permission, by which discovery of this "wrongful charge," the Queen was "somewhat moved." The following Sunday again "the world was entertained with the like expectation," but still nothing came of it because the Queen would hear of no motion in the matter till something was done towards degrading certain of the knights created by Essex. Thus it happened that Davers was obliged to dispatch his letter to Lord Southampton on the penultimate day of June without any certain information on the subject. This question of the knights, affecting numerous interests, was not easily settled. So, for one reason or another, the month of July also dragged to an end and still Essex was not set at liberty; and yet another month, August; but at last the hour of release actually struck. 66 Two letters written just at this time are somewhat cryptic in expression, and point to some design hatching on the part of Essex and his followers and friends; the one from Essex to Davers (p. 248) using the terms of a merchant, such as, "wares" and our great mart to be expected"; the other from Sir Henry Bromley to Cuffe (p. 250), urging the pressing forward of some scheme "of doing good for our lord," time being precious, opportunity soon lost, himself looking only for "some direction," avowing himself "wholly his." "Let us not lose the "start that we have gotten, but bethink of some means to be "either winners or losers. . . . For my part, I am ready to "undergo what he doth, and none that have been most tied to him. "by benefits are or shall be more tied in affection." Sir Henry Bromley was not alone in the expression of self-sacrificing attachment. Merrick writing to Cuffe affirms (p. 286), "I should "be sorry to live to be in his lordship's disfavour What 66 "his lordship's will is, I must obey it, but in heart he shall ever be Sir Robert God send my Lord his "you, or else my heart would break. reports to him (p. 330),— After the Queen had read your letter twice or thrice over, she seemed exceedingly pleased with it, yet her answer was only to will me to give you thanks for your great care to know of her health. I told her that now the time drew near of your whole year's punishment, and therefore I hoped her Majesty would restore her favour to one that with so much true sorrow did desire it; but she would answer me never a word, but sighed and said indeed it was so with that "ris" and went into the privy chamber. Essex's own letter to the Queen "for commiseration," on the occasion of her Accession day, November the 17th, has already been printed in Birch's Memoirs of Queen Elizabeth. Printed also has been Ralegh's letter to Sir Robert Cecil solemnly warning him against mild courses with regard to "this tyrant." A letter from the Vidame de Chartres (p. 440), sent apparently by the hand of an English gentleman bred in France, returning to England with more knowledge of French than of English, cheerily bids him encourage himself with the confident expectation that (p. 440) "the assaults which fortune is making upon you "are but exercises for your bel esprit, and your virtue will dissipate the designs of your enemies. Your past services and "those you can yet render will always cause you to be honoured "by the Queen"; and in this opinion there were at the time many who concurred. 66 Such is the outline of so much of Essex's story as this part of the Calendar sets forth. The position and authority of Essex's rival-Sir Robert Cecilwere now thoroughly established and, for the Queen's lifetime at any rate, practically unassailable. At the same moment when the so called "favourite "-with whom Cecil himself, in one of his letters (p. 87), acknowledged that he stood upon "hard "terms"-was, with restricted liberty, under a burden of |