1616 Lord Teyn A NEW PRINCE OF WALES. 35 Whitelocke's resistance had postponed the arrangement which Bacon desired till after the decision had been taken to remove Coke from his post. Bacon was not altogether dissatisfied with this delay, as he knew that if Whitelocke continued obstinate, Coke might, if he retained his office, be able to throw obstacles in the way of Villiers and his nominees, and he suspected that he would be likely to use his influence in favour of the original holders, whose tenure of office had been confirmed by himself. Before, however, the new Chief Justice was installed, Bacon took the precaution of ham's office obtaining from him an engagement to admit Heath the nominees and Shute to the office which Lord Teynham was ready to vacate. Montague made no difficulty in giving his consent, especially as it was agreed that the office should be burdened with a pension of 500l. a year, to be paid to himself. On November 19, the day upon which he took his seat, Whitelocke and Heath surrendered their grant into his hands. Upon this Heath and Shute were at once admitted, and Teynham was put off with an agreement that in case either of the two should die during his lifetime, he should be allowed to fill up the vacancy.2 made over to of Villiers. Nov. 4. Creation of It was at this moment, when all opposition had been checked, that the King's only remaining son reached an age at which he began to be capable of taking an interest the Prince of in political affairs. On November 4, 1616, when he Wales. was within a few days of completing his sixteenth year, Prince Charles, who had long been known as the Duke of York, was created Prince of Wales. Few anecdotes of his boyhood have been preserved. Every now and then some letter-writer mentions him in terms of commendation; but the absence of any notice of such striking acts and sayings as those which had won for his brother an enduring place in the heart This seems to be the meaning of the passage referring to Coke in the letter cited above. But the words are rather obscure. Whitelocke's silence is an additional argument against the supposition that Coke had himself opposed Heath and Shute. 2 Whitelocke, Lib. Fam. 58; Coram Rege Roll. Mich. Term, 14 Jac. I. Rot. 200, R. O.; Grant Book, p. 189. of the nation was perhaps the natural result of the steady but somewhat backward boyhood which had followed upon the years of weakness from which he had suffered. The lameness with which he was afflicted in his early years had passed away, under the judicious treatment of Lady Cary, who refused, in defiance of the advice which was so liberally offered to her, to attempt to strengthen his limbs by the use of iron supports; but the physical weakness of his childhood seems to have left its impress upon his tenacious and irresolute mind. End of the age. Yet, even with all his defects, it is not impossible that, if he had been ten or fifteen years older, he might have learned other lessons than those which brought him to the Elizabethan Scaffold. As it was, at the time when his intellect opened to receive the instructions of those who were around him, the fulness of the Elizabethan culture was already gone. In the spring of that very year in which Bacon was bringing his long controversy with Coke to an issue, and was busily engaged in divorcing politics from law, the greatest of the lights of the age which was fading away was laid in his quiet grave at Stratford. The literature, the theology, and the statesmanship which had been known to the heroes of Elizabeth, were gone. The harmony of their many-sided life was at an end. In its place was rising strife between opposing theories, and opposition between definite systems of thought and action. There has, perhaps, never been a moment in the history of England at which such a youth as Charles could enter upon manhood with less chance of understanding the real nature of the duties which he was called upon to fulfil. Incapable of forming large and comprehensive views for himself, there was little hope of his being led in the right path by others. Even the greatest and the best of those who took part in his father's counsels were men whose thoughts lay apart from the main current of the life of the nation; and it is never with impunity that such a separation grows up between a people and its rulers. 37 CHAPTER XXIII. THE SPANISH MARRIAGE TREATY WHEN, in August 1616, Hay's mission to Paris was followed by a rupture of the negotiations for a marriage between the English Aug. Philip expects a the Infanta. Prince and the Princess Christina, the Spanish Govern⚫ ment knew that it would soon have to consider proposal for seriously a request for the Infanta Maria. Already, on July 17, James had assured Sarmiento of his readiness to give all satisfaction in matters of religion; and Villiers, turning round on the statesmen who had borne him James to power, had told the Spaniard that he wished Sarmiento of nothing so much as to see the marriage accomplished, the alliance. and that he was ready to build his fortunes on the Spanish alliance.1 July 17. assures his desire for Philip, therefore, once more applied to the Pope for advice. The reply which he received in October was most discouraging. application Aug. Paul said that his opinion was still unchanged. Philip's fresh He would not consent to grant the necessary disto the Pope. pensation upon any terms which did not include the conversion of the Prince, and the legalised exercise of the Catholic religion in England. Still, if the King of The Pope's Spain thought it right to listen to any proposition short of this, he would promise to give it his most serious consideration. More than this he could not say.2 Oct. answer. It is not unlikely that, if Philip had been able to consult his personal inclinations, he would at this point have put an end to the negotiations. But he knew that to do so would. give grievous offence to the King of England, and he could ill afford to alienate James at a time when a considerable party in the English Court, as well as in the nation, were eagerly striving to involve England in a war with Spain. The Theo . Once more the Theologians were summoned to Madrid to take counsel over the proposed marriage. They were in a 1617. different position from those who had been brought logians again up for a similar purpose three years before. The consulted. Pope's opposition was no longer a secret, and it was now known that James, to say the least, had shown no remarkable eagerness to alleviate the lot of the English Catholics. It is no wonder, therefore, that this new junta was unanimous in requiring some unexceptionable guarantee that James would perform his promises. The remission of the penalties imposed upon the English Catholics must be confirmed by some solemn and public act. Nor would even this be enough. If James expected to see the Infanta in England at all, he must carry his promises into effect before her arrival. She must be detained in Spain for three years in order that the value of the engagements of the English Government might be put to the test of actual experience. When the three years were at an end, the Prince was to come in person to Madrid to fetch away his bride, as it was not unlikely that his conversion might be effected during his visit. The marriage treaty was to be confirmed by Act of Parliament, and not a penny of the portion was to be paid till its stipulations had been actually carried out in England. The demands which followed were no less exacting in their nature. James and his son were to bind themselves not only to abstain from employing force to compel the Infanta to change her religion, but to abstain even from the use of persuasion. In other words, Charles was to promise never to speak to his wife on religious subjects at all. There was also to be a large church in London open to all the world, and severe "Porque puede ser algun medio para la conversion de aquel Principe, y pertenece á la decencia y autoridad de la Señora Infanta." 1617 RALEIGH'S PREPARATIONS. 39 punishment was to be inflicted upon those who in any way insulted the worshippers. The priests were to be allowed to walk about London in their ecclesiastical dress, and were to be placed under similar protection.1 Sarmiento's protest against Raleigh's Whilst Spanish theologians at Madrid were forming schemes for the conversion of England, the Spanish ambassador in London was watching the progress of the counter plot by which English politicians were hoping to bring about a state of warfare between the two states. In the summer and autumn of Aug. 1616. 1616, Raleigh was engaged in preparing for his voyage. As soon as it was known that he was bound for the Orinoco a fierce controversy arose, the echoes of which voyage are still sounding in our ears. Sarmiento at once protested against the voyage. The whole of Guiana, he said, belonged to his master, and, besides that, he did not believe that Raleigh had any intention of going to Guiana at all. When he was once across the Atlantic, he would turn pirate, and the Mexico fleet or the Spanish towns on the coast would fall a prey to his rapacity. If he were merely going in search of a mine, what need was there for such extensive preparations? The King of Spain would gladly furnish him with an escort to conduct him in safety to any spot which he might choose to name, and would finally bring him back to England with all the gold and silver that he could find. As might have been expected, Raleigh declined this obliging offer.2 He Raleigh's language about the inine. stoutly declared that he had no intention of turning pirate. The mine was no fiction: it was to be found not far from the banks of the Orinoco. A visit to it would not be attended with the slightest infringement of the rights of the King of Spain; for it 'did not belong to his Majesty, but was at a great distance from his territories.' 13 1 Consulta of the Junta of Theologians, Jan. fol. 23. Articles drawn up by the Theologians, Feb. 1617. Francisco 16. Simancas MSS. 2518, 17, 27, He said, 'que él con sus deudos y amigos haria una armada y iria à a Guiana junto al Rio Arenoco, donde dezia que avia una mina de oro |