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| Aug. 3. Original Despatch, Venetian Archives. |
766. Hieronimo Lippomano, Venetian Ambassador in France, to the Signory. |
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On Saturday evening last, the English Ambassador, having conferred at great length and in secret with Monsieur, the latter, on Sunday, about midnight, after the conclusion of the dancing which is customary at Court, accompanied the King to his apartments; and the Queen only being present, he most affectionately and with humble expressions demanded leave from their Majesties to go to
England, alleging that he could no longer delay his departure, as he perceived that the Queen-Mother would not arrive speedily and that the Court was not about to leave Paris. The King, as I am assured, replied that he desired to repeat what he had said previously; namely, that he would never approve such a proposal as this marriage, replete with so many difficulties and dangers, and particularly because there was no certainty of the intention of the Queen of England and her subjects that the marriage would be accomplished; and, indeed, if it ever did take place, it was sure to produce no issue. His Majesty then referred to the danger from pirates when crossing the sea and even greater perils after arriving in the island; and his Majesty finally, protesting and calling the Queen as witness, declared that he would hold himself excused before God and the world for all the evils and shame which might ensue. |
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Monsieur replied that he had fully considered the whole question and was quite determined to go, and he prayed his Majesty not to thwart his prospects of greatness. He said that besides the passport which he had with him, he was sure of the mind of the Queen, and that to show the more confidence in her he intended to go privately as a visitor, leaving his whole household here, and to decide subsequently whether to order them cross the sea to him or return in person himself, as he expected to do speedily. |
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Both their Majesties then replied to Monsieur, and urged amongst other considerations that the Queen of England had given assurances to the Queen of Scotland, and then had put her in prison while she still detains her. |
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At length they all agreed to speak together again the next morning; so early yesterday they went, unattended, in a coach to the house of the physician Miron, where they dined in private, and no other particulars are known. Towards evening the King went to St. Germain, and Monsieur, with seven servants and one gentleman, Mons. Drou, left postwise for Picardy, Monsieur having, however, endeavoured to make every one believe that he was going to see his mother, and saying that he should return here in twenty days, and this story is believed by many. The King evinces great regret for this perilous resolution of his brother, but gave him sixty thousand crowns and a handsome diamond as a mark of love when they parted; and these are all the particulars I have been able to learn hitherto. |
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The Diet of the Huguenots at Montauban seems determined not to restore the fortresses, saying they resemble a sick man who when vomiting his food gives clear sign that he is dying, but if he retain it, and has appetite for taking more, he makes sure of life; so if they were to give up the fortresses they might be sure also speedily to lose life. |
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The journey of his Majesty to Lyons is abandoned, principally on account of this voyage of Monsieur, for it is not thought opportune now to quit this neighbourhood. |
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Paris, 3rd August 1579. |
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[Italian.] |
| Aug. 12. Original Despatch, Venetian Archives. |
767. The Venetian Ambassador in Spain to the Signory. |
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An Ambassador [William Waad ?] from the Queen of England has arrived here. He was sent by her to Portugal, on a complimentary mission; and because in coming from the island of England to Lisbon he suffered much fatigue, he intends on his return to make the voyage by land. He has seen the King, to whom he presented credential letters from his Queen; and he has also visited this Queen. He has been dismissed in great haste, so as not to give him the opportunity to make a long stay in this kingdom, for he is not well looked upon, both because he is a very great heretic, and because he happened to arrive at the Court soon after the receipt of advices that some English ships had attacked the fleet which was coming from India, and taken a vessel which carried more than six hundred thousand crowns. This Ambassador has not been visited here by anybody, and to-day is to depart upon his return to England. |
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Madrid, 12th August 1579. |
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[Italian.] |
| Aug. 13. Original Despatch, Venetian Archives. |
768. Hieronimo Lippomano, Venetian Ambassador in France, to the Signory. |
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Having endeavoured to ascertain all the particulars of the sudden departure of Monsieur for England, and knowing that very lately he had settled to make this voyage at the end of September, alleging that he desired first to see the Queen-Mother, I learned on good authority that the Queen of England had written to his Highness very urgent letters replete with affection, and these letters, as the English Ambassador has told me, are to the effect that the Queen thanked Monsieur greatly for having at length fixed the time for crossing the Channel so that they might see each other and discuss many affairs in order to effect the marriage, if, after the interview, they were mutually satisfied. The Queen knew that Monsieur had always shown himself firm and resolute in this negotiation, notwithstanding that almost all the Christian Princes had dissuaded him from it, as she was well assured, though she felt ever grateful to this King (of France), who had given Monsieur leave; but as she desired that no ill-will and discontent should ever exist between these two Crowns, she prayed Monsieur to come to England with the firm resolution that, even if the marriage between them should not take place, either because she seemed too old in years in his eyes, or from any other cause, he was not on this account to remain dissatisfied, because she, on her part, promised to remain content whatever event might happen, although she was fully convinced that after seeing each other the marriage would be concluded; and should his Highness approve the proposal which she had communicated to him through his Ambassador de Simier to go to her privately forthwith, and in the form of a visit, she would be greatly satisfied, provided he sent only two days before to a castle called Vilchesti [Winchelsea ?] on the sea to receive, obey, and honour him with every mark of love and confidence. |
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Monsieur accepted the offer thus made to him, believing it to be to his advantage both to speed the negotiation and to obviate expense and other inconveniences, as, for instance, if the project of marriage failed, he could always say he had been simply to visit the Queen, and having found they were unsuited to one another they would continue better friends together than if he had gone in state and had been obliged to return without effecting any result; so at length Monsieur, having obtained leave of the King, departed the next day, having sent forward a messenger to the Queen of England with orders to have ready at Boulogne an armed ship, in which he is said to have sailed on Sunday, the 9th August, and to have arrived the same evening in England, but up to the present time no letters have been received from him. |
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The result is anxiously awaited because it has been reported that several English Lords do not approve the decision of the Queen, who made a proposal to her great Council of State (nel suo consiglio maggiore di stato), whether she ought to marry Monsieur upon the conditions which had been agreed to, when out of twenty-one members present eleven were with the Queen, and of opinion that the marriage should be approved, but the other ten openly asserted the contrary, so that the question was resolved in the affirmative by two votes only (sic). But subsequently the Earl of Leicester, and some other Lords, having thrown themselves at the feet of the Queen, praying her not to intermarry with French blood, the natural enemy of her Crown, or at least that those articles should be further considered; the Ambassador de Simier, who was in possession of the conditions sealed and signed by the Council, was communicated with, and requested to return the same in order that they might be further considered to satisfy some Lords of the realm; but de Simier went to the Queen and complained loudly that difficulties were sought to be interposed with regard to questions which had been already debated and settled, and that no alteration should be made. The Ambassador then wrote the whole account to Monsieur, informing him that if he wished to effectuate this marriage he must immediately set out for England, and this advice had the more accelerated his departure. |
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These articles are the same which I have already forwarded to your Serenity, except that all proclamations throughout the kingdom are to be promulgated in the name both of the King and the Queen, and that the marriage is to be solemnized according to the rites of the Church of England. |
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Meanwhile advices, under date 3rd inst. have been received from England that the Queen had armed several vessels to carry four thousand soldiers, under the apprehension that Ireland might rebel against her, and because James Earl of Desmond, who is a rebel, had disembarked a thousand soldiers, of whom the greater part are Spaniards, with the complete assent of the inhabitants of the island, where the Queen is obeyed only upon the sea coast, for all the interior is Catholic and her enemy. It is said that this Earl had embarked these forces from the coast of Spain, and had received money for this purpose from the Catholic King. |
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I have also heard on good authority that Monsieur went to England not so much on account of the marriage as for the affairs of the Low Countries, because the Queen had held out hopes of advancing him money and of assisting him in order that he might make himself master of some part of Flanders; the Queen desiring to harass the Spaniards as much as she could, both to expel them and also to divert them from any prospect of disturbing her tranquillity, as they appear to show signs of intending to do, and likewise that they might abandon their project of taking possession of Portugal by force of arms, an intention which she greatly suspects by reason of the league which the Catholic King has concluded with the King of Sweden, who is most hostile to England. It is said that the Prince of Sweden is raising some companies of soldiers to be embarked at La Rochelle, to assist the Flemings, with whom, as well as with Casimir, the Huguenots of France have stipulated a league; but as the Assembly at Montauban has come to no decision owing to the serious illness of the King of Navarre and to the secrecy which is observed, all the particulars are not yet known, and this King has, therefore, sent thither Mons. de Lancôme to ascertain all particulars and to obtain the restitution of the places according to the agreement, the Prince of Condé having demanded a further six months' delay which the King is determined not to grant. |
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Mons. Beauvais (Beoves), who has lately returned from Portugal where he was Ambassador, has just informed me that Monsieur had lately been nearly captured by a company of soldiers under Mons. de La Motte, the Governor of Gravelines, who had been advised by this agent of Spain, through a special messenger, of his Highness' journey to England; and this Governor, having missed Monsieur by half an hour only, instantly sent two armed ships to sea to pursue him under pretence of pirates. The King had told him (Beauvais) that as yet there was no certain advice of the arrival of his Highness in England. |
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Paris, 13th August 1579. |
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[Italian.] |
| Aug. 15. Original Despatch, Venetian Archives. |
769. Hieronimo Lippomano, Venetian Ambassador in France, to the Signory. |
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I have this day attended an audience with his Majesty, who informed me that if I had not asked for this audience he would have requested me to wait upon him to acquaint me with a decision suddenly taken by his brother, without his advice, with reference to England (verso Inghilterra), and that his Majesty had ultimately given his permission because he could not use force, seeing that Monsieur was twenty-four years of age, and therefore free to do what he pleased. |
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His Majesty then informed me that Monsieur had sent to him a message in the following words: “If your Majesty went to Poland to obtain that kingdom, why should not I go to England with a similar object?” and that his Majesty had replied that the circumstances of the respective cases were very different, because his
Majesty had gone whither he had been elected, and attended by every favourable condition, whereas his Highness was now proceeding to England upon a doubtful affair, incognito, and subject to many dangers on the voyage. His Majesty then narrated to me the attempt of the Governor of Gravelines to take prisoner his Highness, who, his Majesty said, had not yet passed the seas for fear of two armed vessels which were waiting for him off Boulogne, whence he had sent to the Queen of England for an escort in order that he might cross in safety. His Majesty also said that Monsieur had promised, even if the marriage were arranged, to come back to France in order to return to England fittingly accompanied to conclude it, but that the Queen was so artful in all her negotiations that his Majesty did not know what to believe with regard to the affair. His Majesty further informed me that he hoped to receive the Queen-Mother in Paris at the beginning of September, and that he purposed to meet her at Moulins, half way to Lyons. |
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Paris, 15th August 1579. |
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[Italian.] |
| Aug. 24. Original Despatch, Venetian Archives. |
770. Hieronimo Lippomano, Venetian Ambassador in France, to the Signory. |
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A few days ago Mons. de Barea (sic), one of Monsieur's favourites, was sent to prison charged with an atrocious murder committed in this city, and was ultimatety condemned to death notwithstanding the influence and intercession of his patron, who used every exertion to release him, but in vain, for he was beheaded two days after Monsieur's departure. But after he knew that he was abandoned by the influence which he possessed and had lost all hope, and that he must certainly die, and not until then, he communicated to the King that he desired to reveal plots of the greatest moment against his Majesty's person; and his Majesty then sent Mons. de Chavigny (Sciavergni) to take his deposition, whereby it was alleged that about a hundred gentlemen, at the instigation of the Baron de Victor (Viteaux?), Messieurs La Meilleraye, Bussy d'Amboise, and Fervac-ques, who were attendants upon Monsieur and others, had come into the neighbourhood of Paris, and intended, on the occasion of the first stag chase, to attack his Majesty and put him to death. His Majesty, being highly indignant at this information has used every endeavour to bring the circumstances to light. Meanwhile news has arrived that Bussy d'Amboise has been killed by Monsereo (sic), whose wife Bussy had brought to a house where Bussy was taken for a spy, and slain by many harquebus shots, together with six or seven of his servants. |
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Monsieur embarked for England on the 16th instant, having been detained for some length of time at Boulogne by the contrary winds which had prevailed, and although he had twice put to sea in an armed French vessel he was obliged to return to port and await better weather to cross to England, whence, according to letters dated the 12th instant, it is reported that the Earl of Desmond had taken three castles in Ireland, and was continuing his operations with hope of success if assistance and support did not fail him, but that the
Queen was making the greatest possible preparations for war, and was determined, under any circumstances, to get this rebel into her power, and four thousand soldiers, under a chief lord, had already embarked to take the field. |
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Paris, 24th August 1579. |
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[Italian.] |
| Aug. 28. Original Despatch, Venetian Archives. |
771. Hieronimo Lippomano, Venetian Ambassador in France, to the Signory. |
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On St. Bartholomew's Day I wrote all the information which I had received relating to the important negotiations now on foot at this court, but here, however, opinions differ so widely that great caution must be required to arrive at the truth, and especially from the contradictory accounts and advices concerning Monsieur, because some persons allege that he has not crossed the sea, but had disembarked by night and had secretly and incognito returned to Paris, and thence proceeded to visit the Queen, his mother. Others, again, declare that the Queen of England holds him in custody in one of her castles, while others tell different stories, so that the King is in such doubt and perplexity that he has decided to send a gentleman to Boulogne, with orders that if he fail to find Monsieur there, and learns that he has passed the sea, the gentleman is then to proceed forthwith to England to visit Monsieur on the King's behalf, and to bring back immediately a true report of Monsieur's health and position. |
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And now I am able further to add that advices, dated the 20th inst., from London, have been received, to the effect that Monsieur is residing in a palace of the Queen's, where he is greatly honoured and cared for; that the Viscount de Turenne and a gentleman from the King of Navarre are expected to arrive shortly, and also that a gentleman from the King of Denmark and another from the States and the Prince of Orange have arrived; and that Turenne and other Huguenots have embarked at La Rochelle, their intention being to proceed from England to Flanders. Hence it is believed, as I hear on good authority, that these confederates will propose an understanding and a league among themselves, and will endeavour to persuade Monsieur to accept the protection of what they designate the “reformed churches,” and the Spanish agents and ministers resident here seem very uneasy. |
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The gentleman sent to England by the King has returned, and reports that Monsieur, on the 22nd ult., was in excellent health and engaged in continuous and secret negotiations with the Queen, and had commanded the King's gentleman to return home immediately, adding that he himself would shortly return to France. |
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Paris, 28th August 1579. |
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[Italian.] |
| Aug. 30. Original Despatch, Venetian Archives. |
772. Hieronimo Lippomano, Venetian Ambassador in France, to the Signory. |
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We have heard several authentic particulars of the greetings which passed between the Queen and his Highness at their first
interview, and amongst many details, the King's gentleman who has returned from England, alleges that Monsieur, attended only by the Ambassador De Simier, went to meet the Queen in a palace of hers out of London, and having exchanged cloaks with De Simier, so as not to be recognised, he entered the presence of the Queen, who, attended by one lady only, was awaiting him. The embraces and kisses which are customary in that country, were repeated several times, and they mutually showed the greatest satisfaction with one another. |
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The Queen said, amongst other things, that she was everlastingly indebted for the confidential and esteemed mark of honour which his Highness had deigned to show towards her, and in order that his Highness might in no way be deceived, and as evidence of her sincerity, she forthwith presented him with a golden key, with which he could privately open and enter every apartment in the palace, however secret it might be. |
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Monsieur then, not to be outdone by so much courtesy, and in proof of his love and goodwill, placed a most beautiful and precious diamond, of the value of five thousand crowns, upon the Queen's finger; and the Queen, on her part, having commanded her lady in waiting to bring her a small jewelled harquebus of a very great price, made Monsieur a present of it. |
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After these preliminaries, it is asserted that they remained together privately and alone, and discussed most secret matters, of which no one has hitherto been able to learn the purport, though it is asserted that Monsieur will return to France in a few days, when the decision which has been come to will probably be known. |
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Paris, 30th August 1579. |
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[Italian.] |
