abroad. In foreign countries it was represented that she had murdered Mary of Scotland because she was the heir to her throne, and the sufferings of the persecuted were diligently disseminated, with prints of their barbarous deaths. It is no wonder, therefore, that there were fanatics found ready to assassinate her, as there were to perpetrate the same crime on Henry IV. of France and Philip of Spain. The archives of Simancas retain proofs of these designs against Philip, the most Popish of monarchs, and one of the most terrible persecutors of the Protestants. Elizabeth, in a letter to Henry IV., congratulated him on his escape from the young madman Chalet, but hinted that poison would probably be the next means resorted to. Little did she dream that she was in imminent danger from this secret agent herself about the same time.
Walsingham, the grand detective of the English Government, was dead; and Burleigh, who now in his age saw younger men usurping the queen's favour, took up his deceased colleague's particular function of maintaining spies and poisoners, on the principle of set a rogue to catch a rogue. As there was a constant rivalry betwixt Essex and the Cecils, whom he cordially detested, he also gave himself great trouble to discover any attempts of a traitorous kind. Burleigh, old, sly, and unprincipled, was generally in the advance of Essex, and when the latter brought forward some discovery, he was mortified to find it perfectly well known to Burleigh and the queen. At length, however, fortune favoured him. Antonio Perez, the favourite secretary of Philip, had lost the favour of his master, and was a refugee in England. From such a man it was obvious that immense discoveries might be drawn by the application of the usual means, but Elizabeth took it into her head to treat him not as a useful tool, but as a traitor, with whom she would have nothing to do. Burleigh, instead of using his accustomed acumen, and engaging Perez privately, imitated his Royal mistress, and treated him with neglect. It was a grand political blunder, and Essex instantly availed himself of it. He took Perez into his pay and patronage, and soon learned from him that Roderigo Lopez, a Jew physician, who had acquired such hold on Elizabeth, that though a prisoner at the time of the Armada, she had ever since retained him in her service, was actually in the pay of Philip, as a spy and something worse. On hearing such a charge from Essex, Elizabeth at first refused to believe, and, no doubt, was confirmed in that feeling by the Cecils. But the importunity of Essex prevailed to have a commission of inquiry opened, in which the Cecils were conjoined with him. With such associates Essex might have calculated that he would fail, and he did so. They proceeded to the house of Lopez, searched it for papers, and cross-questioned him, but made out nothing corroborative of the charge. The Cecils triumphantly reported that there was no ground for suspecting Lopez, and Elizabeth sharply reprimanded Essex for bringing so iniquitous a charge against an honourable and innocent man, who, by-the-bye, had presented her with a rich jewel which Ibarra, the Governor of the Netherlands, had sent to him as a bribe. She called Essex a rash, temerarious youth, and the petulant youth quitted her presence in high dudgeon, shut himself up in his house, and refused to come back at her repeated solicitations, till she had by much soothing and coaxing appeased his offended dignity. Meantime, however, stimulated by this conduct of the queen, and his hatred of the Cecils, he was pursuing the inquiry against Lopez, and soon came upon a real secret. Two followers of Don Antonio Perez, named Louis and Ferreira, swore to the treasonable practices of Lopez. Ferreira made oath that, at the instigation of Lopez, he had written to Ibarra, the Spanish governor, and Puentes, the commander-in-chief, in the Netherlands, offering to poison Elizabeth for a reward of 50,000 crowns; and Louis declared that he had been sent out to see that the scheme was executed.
Whether this was a charge drawn from these parties by the rack in the Tower, or the real truth, it succeeded in convincing Elizabeth, who exclaimed that Providence alone had preserved her. Lopez admitted that he had carried on a secret correspondence with the Spanish Court, but stoutly denied any intention of injuring the person of the queen. All three were found guilty, but Ferreira was saved by the influence of Essex, who afterwards took him with him to Cadiz. Lopez and Louis were executed on the 7th of June, 1593. The most important discovery resulting from the inquiry, was that of letters revealing a plot to burn the English fleet.
Elizabeth, after getting over her resentment against Henry IV. on account of his lapse of faith, found it convenient to make a league offensive and defensive with him against Philip. The consequence was that the Spaniards speedily poured into France from the Netherlands. Velasco, the constable of Castillo, penetrated into Champagne, and directed his attack against Franche-Comté. Fuentes marched into Picardy, defeated Henry's army, took Dourlens and Cambray, and threw the King of France into the greatest alarm. In vain he sent to demand aid of Elizabeth: she had heard of preparations in the Spanish ports for a second invasion of her kingdom; and so far from aiding Henry, she withdrew her troops from Brittany, complaining dreadfully of all the money and men which she had foolishly wasted on the apostate monarch of France. In March, 1596, the Archduke Albert, who had become Governor of the Netherlands, suddenly marched on Calais, pretending that his object was to raise the siege of La Fere. By this ruse he was already under the walls of Calais with 15,000 men. The outstanding forts were soon won, and as Elizabeth was one Sunday at church at Greenwich, the distant report of the Archduke's cannonade on the walls of Calais was plainly heard. Elizabeth sprung up in the midst of the service, and vowed that she would rescue that ancient town. She sent off post-haste to order the Lord Mayor of London to immediately impress 1,000 men, and send them on to Calais; but the fit of enthusiasm was soon over, and the next morning she countermanded the order. When Henry's ambassadors urged her for assistance, she coolly proffered it on condition that she should garrison Calais with an English army. When the proposal was made to Henry, he was so incensed that he actually turned his back on her ambassador, Sir Robert Sidney, saying he would rather receive a box on the ear from a man than a fillip from a woman. In a few days—namely, on the 14th of April—the town was carried by storm, and Elizabeth had the mortification of seeing the Spaniards in possession of a port so calculated to enable them to invade England. Henry, on his part, was excessively enraged
