HIS OPINION OF RALEIGH.

choler, as much against him as I could; and I think he, standing at the door, might very well hear the worst that I spoke of himself. In the end I saw she was resolved to defend him and to cross me. From thence she came to speak bitterly against my mother, which, because I could not endure to see me and my house disgraced, (the only matter which both her choler and the practice of mine enemies had to work upon,) I told her, for my sister, she would not any longer disquiet her. I would, though it were almost midnight, send her away that night; and for myself, I had no joy to be in any place, but loth to be near about her, when I knew my affection so much thrown down, and such a wretch as Ralegh highly esteemed of her. To this she made not answer, but turned her away to my lady of Warwick. So at that late hour I sent my men away with my sister; and after, I came hither myself. This strange alteration is by Ralegh's means; and the queen that hath tried all other ways, now will see whether she can by those hard courses drive me to be friends with Ralegh, which rather shall drive me to many other extremities."

He then states his intention to be that night at Margate, thence to sail for Flushing, to take part in the war. A special messenger was sent in pursuit of him, and he was overtaken at Sandwich, just as he was on the point of embarking. His appointment to the office of master of the horse five months afterwards, proves that the queen's displeasure, if incurred

17

at all by the high-spirited earl, was not of very long duration.

Be this as it might, on the 11th of April, 1588, Essex was incorporated Master of Arts at Oxford. Several other noblemen were, on the occasion, honored in the same way, and the event was designated "the Essexian creation." It should be borne in mind that the earl was at this period esteemed as highly for his literary attainments as for his chivalry. He was, in fact, as a scholar, equal to any of the nobles, and superior to many of them.

On the 29th of May, the celebrated Invincible Armada of Spain sailed from Lisbon, and on the 30th of July, it was descried by the English in the Channel. Essex, who panted for military glory, and who had a sort of instinctive hatred of the Spaniards, longed to take an active part in the defence of his country; and he so importuned the queen on the subject, that she dispensed with his services about her person, in order that he might go to the camp at Tilbury. Most of his biographers say that he was made general of the horse. This, we think, is a mistake, arising from a misconception of some words in his letter of date, 29th July. They are these: "I made yesternight a resolute end with the queen, for she told me of herself, that she would not have me discontented, though she disposed of the office of general of the horse about her person on some other, which she did resolve upon." Now, the question is, did not Essex use the word "general" as synonymous

DEATH OF THE EARL OF LEICESTER.

with "master," and did he not mean that the queen, rather than have him discontented by attending the court instead of commanding in the camp, would appoint some other person master of the horse in his absence? That he held command at Tilbury, is highly probable; but we cannot discover upon what evidence he is said to have been made general of the horse. However, there is no doubt that his services were important, or that it was convenient to consider them so; for before he was twenty-one years of age, that is to say, previous to November the 10th, he was installed a Knight of the Garter.

The Earl of Leicester died on the 4th of September, but the queen prevented Essex from standing for the Chancellorship of Oxford, and it is not improbable. that the order of the Garter was conferred upon him instead. There is no doubt that on the death of his step-father, he became Elizabeth's chief favorite; and that he was jealous of being rivalled by any other courtier, the following anecdote will show.

Sir Charles Blount, the brother of Lord Mountjoy, was a handsome young man and a gallant soldier. He was about four years older than Lord Essex, and he had been a courtier from his twentieth year. On one occasion, his exploits in the tilt-yard pleased the queen so highly, that she presented him with a golden chess-queen, richly enamelled. Regarding it as a "favor" he fastened it by a crimson ribbon to his arm. It soon attracted the attention of Essex, who inquired the meaning of it; and when told, he ex

claimed contemptuously, "Now, I perceive every fool must wear a favor." Some kind friend reported this to Sir Charles Blount, who challenged the earl. The duel took place in the royal park of Mary-le-bone, and the earl was wounded and disarmed. During the absence of Essex, he was missed by the queen, who, upon inquiry, was informed of the circumstances which had occasioned his temporary departure. Instead of treating the affair sentimentally, she swore that "it were fitting some one or other should take him down, and teach him better manners, or there would be no ruling him." She pretended to be very angry with the duellists, but she could ill disguise her pleasure that her personal attractions had been the cause of the affair. It is to her credit that she made them be reconciled to each other. The reconciliation was no mere formality, it led to a friendship which never afterwards ceased.

According to Dr. Lingard, the quarrel between Essex and Blount was not until after the return of the former from an expedition which, whilst it redounded to his ability as a soldier, proved how much he preferred the dangers of war to the intrigues of court-life, and how confident he was that he could venture greatly on the indulgence of his royal mistress. The particulars were briefly these:

The crown of Portugal was claimed by Don Antonio, who sought the aid of Elizabeth, to enable him to recover his dominion from Philip I. of Spain. Eventually an English armament, consisting of six

WAR WITH SPAIN.

ships of the royal navy, and twenty others, with a force of eleven thousand men, was placed under the command of Sir Francis Drake and Sir John Morris. The admirals were ordered to annoy the Spanish navy and to assist Don Antonio in carrying out his scheme. Essex was most anxious to join the expedition, but the queen was no less anxious that he should not do so, and refused her consent. But so determined was the earl, that he resolved upon making his escape from Whitehall, and reaching the fleet at Plymouth without delay. Accordingly, between five and six o'clock in the evening of April the 3rd, 1589, he took horse in St. James's Park, and set off for Plymouth, a distance of 220 miles. He must have been a firstrate rider, for he reached his destination "before Saturday morning!" He seems to have planned admirably for change of horses. On the evening of his departure, he played a practical joke upon his friend, Lord Rich. He promised him, that if he remained in his chamber, he would take supper with him there. Lord Rich waited and waited till probably he thought that supper without company was better than no supper at all. When Essex had ridden eighty-eight miles, he sent his horses back, having others ready for him. The servant who brought the horses back, brought also a letter to Lord Rich, to whom he was to deliver the key of the earl's desk. The letter, probably, was both apologetic and explanatory. He had left upwards of forty letters in his desk, all in his own handwriting: one was to the queen, another