Vere, Sir George Carew, and Sir Conyers Clifford. The fleet sailed on the 1st of June, 1596, and proceeded to Cadiz, where they arrived on the 1st of July. It was proposed, in the first place, to land the troops on shore, and Essex was proceeding to do so, when Raleigh recommended to him that an attack should be made on the vessels lying in the bay. This proposal the enthusiastic spirit of Essex led him to support, and when Raleigh returned, signifying, by the cry of Entramos, that the proposal had been acceded to, the earl, in the ardour of his satisfaction, threw his hat into the sea. He was informed, however, that the queen, in her concern for his safety, had given orders that he should not be allowed to lead the van, and he promised to keep himself in a place of greater safety. But this timid policy ill suited the spirit of the earl. On the fleet coming into action with the enemy, he rushed on to the heat of the encounter. The enemy's ships gave way, and Essex proceeded to land his troops near Puntal, leading the way himself, accompanied by Vere. This done, he proceeded to make an attack on Cadiz. The earl, who seems to have followed the sage advice of Vere, proved successful, and it is recorded to his honour, that he stayed the slaughter, and treated the prisoners with kindness. The English, however, plundered the city. It is recorded that Essex offer. ed to defend it, with four hundred men and provisions for three months, until English succour should arrive. The proposal to defend Cadiz is thought, by a recent biographer of Vere,' to have been suggested by that officer-but, if it was so, still the suspicion which may thus be thrown on the originality of the earl, in regard to the suggestion, is not inconsistent with the fact of his adopting it. This proposal, however, as well as others characteristic of the gallant, perhaps too adventurous Essex, was opposed by his companions; and, on his return home, in August, he published an account of the expedition, "wherein," says Dr Campbell," "as Mr Oldys well observes, and therein censures Sir Henry Wotton, the earl blames every body's conduct but his own."

During the absence of Essex, his character had been aspersed by Lord Brooke, and by others who looked on him with coldness or hostility of feeling. The queen, on her part, blamed him for being so liberal in distributing the prize-money. About the same time, his martial zeal and open character drew from Francis Bacon a very curious letter, recommending to him a hypocrisy not very consistent, perhaps, with the character of Essex. But, early in 1597, a reconciliation was effected between the earl and Sir Robert Cecil, by means of Sir Walter Raleigh. The same year, Essex commanded a squadron against the Spaniards. On the way, his squadron was separated from another led by Sir Walter Raleigh, who arrived sooner than his companion at Fayal, which Essex had expressed an intention of attacking. The earl had been appointed commander-in-chief of all the forces employed in the expedition, but Sir Walter, after waiting a few days for Essex's arrival at Fayal, the inhabitants of which were preparing for defence, commenced a successful attack on the island. The earl testified great

'Rev. Mr Gleig-Lives of British Commanders, vol. i. See also Vere's Commentaries. Lives of the British Admirals.

In this expedition, a library belonging to Osorius, a Portuguese bishop, fell into the hands of Essex, who gave it to the library founded by his friend, Sir Thomas Bodley, in 1597.

dissatisfaction with the conduct of Raleigh, who, he seems to have felt, had deprived him of the honour of the triumph. He also treated with severity certain officers who had concurred in the measure. But he again received Raleigh into favour, at the solicitation of Lord Thomas Howard. Sir William Monson imagines that he was afraid of being called to account in England, should he have dealt hardly with the victorious captain. Essex proceeded to Graciosa, which submitted. But leaving this, the English fleet suffered about forty ships of the Spaniards to escape them. This untoward circumstance is attributed, by Sir William Monson, who was himself in the English fleet, to a want of experience and skill on the part of Essex.5 Three ships, however, were taken, the wealth of which, amounting, it is said, to £100,000, went far to compensate for the expenses of the outfit and the voyage. Essex also plundered the town of Villa Franca. The English fleet, after suffering severely from stormy weather, which also prevented a meditated invasion of England by the Spanish ships, reached the English coast in October. The queen expressed dissatisfaction with the favourite; and it must be granted that the part which Essex had borne in the expedition was not a very glorious one. That his failure to intercept the Spanish galleons was an act of weakness, and his resentment at Raleigh for his successful attack on Fayal, an act of selfishness, we shall not deny. Yet, after all, we do not see sufficient evidence in the latter circumstance, or in any other part of the life of Essex, to infer, with Dr Campbell, that "the earl had no view but to his own particular glory, and that the public service was to be postponed whenever it came in competition therewith." Along with the sense of having failed in this enterprise, or of being considered to have done so, Essex, on his return to England, had the additional mortification of appearing to be robbed of the laurels attending the victory at Cadiz. He found that Elizabeth had issued a patent, conferring on the lord-high-admiral the title of earl of Northampton, on the alleged ground of his success at that capital. Essex, who claimed for himself the honour of that success, retired to Wanstead, pretending, it seems, to be sick, according to what appears to have been a customary mode, in these times, of taking shelter from public mortification, or of suing for royal favour. The queen was moved, and, in December, 1597, created him earl-marshall. She also presented him with the sum of £7000.

6

The summer of 1598, however, involved the earl in a double quarrel. Urging the continuance of the war with Spain, in opposition to the advice of the venerable Burleigh, he was charged by that minister with being inclined to bloodshed. Burleigh even used the freedom of pointing, in a prayer-book, to the words," Blood-thirsty men shall not live out half of their days." Whether the charge was just is a question to which it might be an unsatisfactory task to return an answer. Its truth is denied in "an Apology of the Earl of Essex against those who jealously and maliciously tax him as the Hinderer of the Peace and Quiet of his Country," a document which was published in 1603, after the death of the Earl, and which, although long attributed to Francis Bacon, has been argued, from its dissimilarity to Bacon's writings, and its reMonson's Naval Tracts. Campbell's Lives of the British Admiraus. Lives of the British Admirals.

semblance to the acknowledged works of Essex, to be the composition of the Earl himself." In the course of the same summer Essex had a serious quarrel with the queen. Differing with her, on one occasion, about the appointment of a governor for Ireland, he turned his back upon her majesty, on which the high-spirited princess gave him a blow on the ear, and bade him " go and be hanged." Clapping his hand on his sword, he swore that not from her father himself would he bear such treatment, and forthwith left the palace. Egerton, the lord-keeper, advised him to submit, and seek forgiveness of the queen. But this he declined to do, in a letter remarkable for the warmth of its spirit, and the beauty of its diction.

After months of retirement from court, the breach between Elizabeth and Essex was so far healed as to admit of his return, although, indeed, Camden remarks, that the earl's overthrow was traced by his friends to this unfortunate quarrel. In August 1598, during the period of the earl's disgrace, Lord Burleigh died. Essex succeeded him as chancellor of Cambridge; and, before the close of the year, he had received another appointment, intimately connected with the closing fortunes of his life. Having objected to the proposal that Lord Mountjoy should be constituted lord-deputy of Ireland thus intimating, it is supposed, an inclination to accept of the office for himself-he was appointed by the queen to that critical post. In that misgoverned country a rebellion had been raised, headed by Hugh O'Neale, whom the queen had created Earl of Tyrone, against whom Sir John Norris and Sir Henry Bagnal had proved unsuccessful. It was in these circumstances that, with the view of vigorously prosecuting the Irish war, Essex was appointed. He himself objected to undertake the situation, except on certain conditions unacceptable to the queen. His friends, however, in lofty terms commended his talents; and his enemies-from hostile feelings, it has not without reason been supposed-concurred in the eulogiums. At last, in March 1599, with the tender farewell of the queen, and with the acclamations of the people, he set out for Ireland. His army consisted of 20,000 foot, and 1300 horse, and he was attended by a large train of gentlemen and nobles. His first act, after his arriving in Dublin, was to appoint his friend, the earl of Southampton, general of the horse. This was contrary to the will of Elizabeth, who, on hearing of the appointnent, enjoined her commander to recall it. Essex unsuccessfully attempted, by a statement of reasons, to satisfy her on the subject. Another cause of offence to Elizabeth was the conduct of the war. For, notwithstanding Essex's own objections to the inefficient manner in which measures had previously been pursued against the rebels, he was induced, by advice, respecting the unsuitableness of the season for marching against the rebels in Ulster, to make a previous attempt, in opposition to a slighter insurrection in another district of the country; and when, after receiving from England an addition of 2000 foot, he proceeded, late in the season, against the Ulster rebels, his army, wasted by disease, was miserably reduced in number, and many of the soldiers deserted. On coming into contact with the rebels, there was a little fighting; but, on Tyrone requesting a parley, Essex granted it, and met him on the bank of the ford of Ballyclinch, in the midst of

'Criminal Trials. Lib. of Entertaining Knowledge,) vol. i. p 292.

which the Irish chieftain sat, mounted on his horse. The result of the conference was a truce, which was to be renewed at intervals of six weeks, but might be broken off by a fortnight's warning from either party. There seems also to have been a correspondence with Tyrone little creditable to the fidelity of Essex, who, attended by several of his officers, held a second conference with the rebel chief. Now, however, having seen visible signs of danger to his interests in England, from the real or apprehended aspersions of his enemies, he suddenly betook himself from his army, without her majesty's permission, attended by his household, and certain of his officers, leaving the government of Ireland to the archbishop of Dublin and Sir George Carew. It appears that he had even had some design of carrying along with him a considerable part of his troops, with a view to alarm his enemies at home. On reaching Nonsuch, where at that time Elizabeth held her court, he hurried up stairs, and advanced to the chamber of the queen. Though she was not yet completely dressed, he fell before her on his knees, and kissed her hand. She received him graciously, and, at a second interview, he met with a similar reception. But there were some who seem to have looked on him with other eyes; among these was Sir Robert Cecil. In the evening of this very day, he appeared to have lost the favour of the queen. She asked an explanation of his conduct in returning; and he was appointed to be examined that very night by several privy-councillors. Next day there was a general meeting of the council, before whom he was accused of presumption in his correspondence, disobedience in his conduct of the war, extravagance in the distribution of knighthood, contempt and rashness in returning, and unseemly boldness in intruding into the chamber of the queen. The earl, who had previously been commanded to remain in his chamber, calmly answered the charges. On the 2d of October, however, he was forbidden to attend at court, and intrusted to the lord-keeper. On the severity with which he was treated, there seemed at length to dawn some hope of royal favour. But a contrary effect was produced, when a letter from Tyrone was intercepted, representing the impossibility of inducing his comrades to acquiesce in the terms of truce to which he and Essex had agreed. The queen was incensed, and, notwithstanding the remonstrances of the council, the humble intercessions of the earl, and the faithful support of Lady Scrope-of whom Whyte remarks, that she suffered much from Elizabeth on account of her endeavours to prevail with her on behalf of Essex-the haughty princess declined to release him. At length, however, a sickness under which he laboured seemed to move her. She gave him liberty to see a few friends, and to walk in the garden; and, on one occasion, she directed eight physicians to hold a consultation on his case. Their report being very unfavourable, she sent a kind message, declaring, that if it were honourable she would visit him. But this seems to have been rather a fit of compassion, started by a mournful and critical occasion, than the renewed approbation of offended majesty. In course of time, even his wife was prevented from paying him a daily visit. In March 1600, however, he was allowed to remove to his own dwelling, under the charge of the lordkeeper, for which act of clemency he presented submissive acknowledg

ments.

At length, eighteen commissioners from the privy council were ap.

pointed for the consideration of his cause, which came before them on the 5th of June, 1600. The charges having been brought forward by the crown-lawyers, including Francis Bacon, of whom the earl had formerly been the munificent benefactor, the latter on his knees deivered a defence, in which, besides acknowledging his misconduct, he apologized for certain of his measures. The discourse is said to have drawn tears from many of the councillors, but they unanimously agreed that he should not continue to act as privy-councillor, earl-marshal, or master of the ordnance, and should remain in his own house until the queen should be pleased to remit the penalty. In August he was freed from imprisonment, but was still prohibited from attending court. He expressed an intention of living in retirement, but also a wish to be allowed to kiss the queen's hand,-a privilege, however, that was not afforded him. She also refused to renew a grant which he enjoyed of a monopoly of sweet wines. In making the request that she would do so, he declared, that, until his restoration to her favour, he meant to resemble the king, whose habitation was with the beasts of the field, who ate hay like an ox, and was wet with the dews of heaven. She replied that she was glad to find him in such a proper temper, and that she hoped his actions would correspond to his professions, but, in reference to his request to have the sweet wine monopoly renewed, observed, that an unmanageable beast must be stinted of his provender. It is scarcely wonderful that Essex should at last have broken out in rude expressions respecting the queen, declaring, as he is reported to have done, that her mind was become as crooked as her carcase, an insult which, if really reported to her, as it it is said to have been, may be supposed to have been little fitted to pacify her offended majesty. At Essex-house, an open table was kept, and sermons were delivered by puritans, to which the citizens were admitted. These arrangements, too, were probably displeasing to the queen. But, unfortunately, the earl was urged into more desperate schemes. Sir John Harrington, who had attended him to Ireland, and received from him the honour of knighthood, was now induced to leave him, according to his own account, by the violent conduct he displayed. Harrington states that he spoke most unwisely of the queen, grounding on the case of his unfortunate patron, the conclusion, that disappointed ambition quickly induces madness, a weighty and monitory lesson, if it find fit audience' of the tumultuous aspirant after power, and of the restless dependent on his prince's favour,-the Tantalus of the court. Besides corresponding with James VI. of Scotland, against the party of Cecil, which he represented as inclined to support a Spanish right to the English throne in preference to that of James, and also with Lord Mountjoy, his successor as lord-deputy in Ireland, whom he sought to induce to bring over troops, the earl co-operated with a council of six of his friends at Drury-house, respecting the carrying into effect of an attempt against his enemies. In the course of these preparatory steps, he incurred suspicion at court, and on the 7th of February, 1601, by direction of the privy-council, he was summoned to appear before them. On this he gathered round him some of his friends, and pointed out the appearance of danger. It was agreed to enter the city next Nuga. The passage referred to is given in Miss Aiken's Court of Elizabeth, vol. ii. p. 463.

8