around her. Sir John Harrington, who had come over with Essex, no sooner appeared before her, than she exclaimed, fiercely—"What! did the fool bring you too? go back to your business." Sir John observes that her demeanour left no doubt whose daughter she was. He was not an hour in London before he was threatened with the Fleet. He replied to his friends, that coming so lately from the land service, he did hope to escape pressing into the Fleet. In another place, Harrington says, he "had nearly been wrecked on the Essex coast." At this first interview he says "the queen chafed much, walked to and fro, and looked with much discomposure in her countenance, and I remember, she catched my girdle when I kneeled to her and swore by God's Son, 'I am no queen! that man is above me. Who gave him command to come here so soon? I did send him on other business.' She bade me go home. I did not stay to be twice bidden. If all the Irish rebels had been at my heels, I should not have made better speed."
The people meantime manifested great sympathy with the fallen favourite, who had been, contrary to such cases in general, at once the favourite of the sovereign and the public. The press teemed with pamphlets, the pulpit with sermons in his vindication; ministers of religion put up prayers for him, and attacks on his enemies were even found scattered about in the palace and posted on its walls. These evidences of regard for him, no doubt, only the more exasperated Elizabeth, as they made her appear in the wrong. She called for the journal which Sir John Harrington had been ordered to keep, but that did not furnish any matter on which she could ground the condemnation of Essex, and "she swore," says Harrington, "with an awful oath, that we were all idle knaves, and the Lord Deputy Essex worse, for wasting our time and her commands in such wise as my journal doth write of." What chagrined her was, that the Council assured her there was no sufficient ground to bear a charge of high treason.
A Barber’s Shop in the reign of Queen Elizabeth.
In the winter Essex fell ill, and his friends implored more liberty for him; but Elizabeth, who had been repeatedly deceived by his pretenses of illness when he was out of humour, now would not believe it. His wife sent her a valuable jewel, but she would not accept it. The following week the sorrowful countess presented herself at Court all in mourning, to move the queen in his behalf, but Elizabeth would not see her, but bade her go home and come no more to Court. The King of France, whose ambassador, Boissise, had written him word that the Council had decided unanimously that Essex had well and faithfully served the queen, and that even his return, though contrary to order, was well meant, also desired the ambassador to speak in favour of the earl from him, cautioning Her Majesty not to drive to extremity one of the most faithful and valuable servants that she had. His sisters, the ladies Rich and Northumberland, went to the Court all in mourning too, to solicit more liberty for him on account of his health, and at length she permitted him to take the air in the garden. But all this time she was very gay at Court, and attended a tournament got up by his enemies, to let people see, as she observed, that they could do very well without Essex; and she gave out that she was advised to stay more in London, that she might counteract by her presence the credit of those who had too much influence with the people.
In June of 1600 she put Essex on his trial before a court of eighteen commissioners; a totally illegal court, whom she empowered to pass "censure," but not judgment. Before this court, consisting of his determined enemies, Essex pleaded on his knees, having his papers in his hat on the floor beside him. Thus he was kept for eleven hours, only being allowed, after a long period, to
