The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-05-24

thVoo - dtSuihVu w sho hpt ViSh W.
servers. II IL also assumed by them
that the Queen would have married
the favorite but for the circumstance
that he had a wife living, and II Ia as
sumed by the official gossips that he
Is thinking Of putting the obstacle out
Of the way. when as yet there In not
the slightest ground for such a sus-
piclon excepting his intimacy with the
sovereign. According to Bishop Quadra
Cecil fully believed the worst. after
exacting many pledges OF strict sec
recy, he said that the Queen was con-
Quoting herself In such way that he
! thought OF retiring. He ended
by begging me In Gods name to poin,
out to the Queen the effect Of her mis-
conduct and persuade her not to abandon
business entirely, but to look to her
to me that Lord Robert would be bet
ter In Paradise than here.
He ended by saying that Robert was
thinking Of killing his wife. who was
publicly announced to be Ill though she
was quite well and would take very
good care they did not poison her."
The extreme unlikelihood of Quadra's
story has been dwelt upon by several
hlSlOi ihhs, dI nus pttu
offered In the conjecture that the
bishop antedated his letter. which was
really written after the death OF poor
Amy Robsart. Concerning the death IT.
self we have letter from Leicester to his
kinsman Blount, asking him 20 insti-
tute an inquest ana Bloun's reply.
There In really nothing in the matter or
the manner OF this correspondence to
give weight to the suspicious that then
and ever since have been entertained.
One Of the curioslties OF Ellzabeth's
character brought It about that, while
she was apparently infatuated with
Leicester, she was encouraging and en-
tertaining overtures for marriage from
all over Europe The Austrian Arch
duke was the Catholic candidate. and
the heir to the throne OF Sweden the
Protestant, and the Virgin Queen
either coquettishly or maliciously kept
the representatives of these royalties
guessing. as we say now. Perhaps the
most curious part of the business IL
that the representatives made special
efforts to interest the favorite Leicester
in the causes Of their respective candi-
dates. It Is singular. upon almost any
theory, that the Virgin Queen should
have taken occasion to open the sub
ject OF her relations with Leicester -
the Spanish Ambassador, not our fly
gobbing old friend the bishop. but his
successor: "They charge me with a
good many things in my own country
and elsewhere. and among others that
show more favor TO Robert than Is
fitting: speaking OF me as they might
speak OF an immodest woman. God
knows how great a SANDER Il Is. and a
time will come when the world will
know II. My life is in the open, and I
have so many witnesses that I cannot
understand how so bad judgment can
have been formed OF me-"
1t is less Ingular. upon the whole.
that she should have urged Leicester
upon Mary Stuart for a husband. as It
is here made abundantly clear that she
did. Reading through all the corre-
spondence on this subject, one comes to
attach some Importance to an assertion
made quite early in II as a matter of
common belief or understanding In Lon
don that Elizabeth was aware that she
was incapable of bearing children. In
that case, one can understand that she
should desire the husban' o. her rival
and probable successor and the father
Of that successors children to be a
friend OF her own upon whose fidelity
to her and upon whose opposition to
any plots that might be formed against
her shs could absolutely rely. OF
course this view could not be taken OF
most women. and requires us to re-
member how. in her case. purely hui
man considerations were subordinated
to political. as there is so much evil
dence that they were. Human con-
siderations on the other hand so
largely prevailed over political in the
case OF Mary Stuart that II Is perhaps
equally natural that Mary Stuart
should have received the proposal In
high dudgeon. She insisted. to her I'M
doing. upon her prerogative OF choos-
ing her own husband. for Darnley was
her choice as well as Boutwell,. and par
ticularly repuguant to her. very poss-
IDLY. was the suggestion OF taking up
with Elizabeths "leavings." However
that may be- Mr.. MUMMY has assem-
bled In this hook much curious and in.
teresting matter. most Of II news to
most readers.