1623 A PLAN FOR SETTLING THE PALATINATE. 105 unconscious of his prevarications. As far as the marriage went, the course was now straight before the Spanish minister. He had only to keep the English to the very hard bargain which he had driven, and to make use of the winter to drive an equally hard bargain for the Palatinate. Strange to say, however, he had at last been beguiled by the irresolution of Charles into the idea that the task of gaining his consent to V his scheme for the pacification of Germany was a mere trifle in comparison with that which he had already effected. On August 12, in the midst of all his difficulties with Charles, Olivares he calmly gave it as his opinion that it would be well proposes the to interest the Prince of Wales in the marriage of marriage of Prince FreFrederick's son with the Emperor's daughter. James, derick Henry with the he added, would make no difficulty, as the scheme Emperor's daughter. would relieve him from all further annoyance, and it was certain that he would rather see his-grandchildren Catholic than Puritan. To Gondomar the future did not present itself in quite so rosy a light. The chief thing, he observed, was to contrive that the boy should be brought up as a Catholic. It would, therefore, be well to have him.sent to Vienna before the Prince left the country; for, if Charles were once gone, it was probable that he would take arms against the Emperor and the King of Spain.1

Olivares did not know how completely Charles had set his heart upon his sister's restoration, and that since his arrival in Spain he had twice despatched a special messenger to assure her that she should not be forgotten.2 Not long ago he had told the Prince, in his grand Spanish way, that his master was ready to place a blank sheet of paper in his hands, which he would be at liberty to fill up with what conditions he pleased about the Palatinate. He now recited the old scheme which had been originally sketched out by his uncle, of course taking care to make no reference to the boy's expected conversion. The Electoral Prince, he said, was to be educated at Vienna, and married to the Emperor's daughter. "But," replied Charles, "if the Emperor proves refractory, will the King your master assist us with arms to reduce him to reasonable terms?" Simancas MSS. 2404.

1 Consulta of the Council of State, Aug. 2 Sir W. Croft and Sir George Goring.

12

"No," replied Olivares, in a moment of frankness,

1

66

we have a maxim of state, that the King of Spain must never fight against the Emperor. We cannot employ our forces against the House of Austria." "Look to it, sir," said the Prince, "for if you hold yourself to that, there is an end of all; for without this, you may not rely upon either marriage or friendship." It was probably after this conversation had taken place, that the question was once more brought before the Council of State. By this time Olivares' faith in his powers of cajolery had been somewhat shaken, and he had fallen back upon his old position. "Even if the Emperor," he said to the Council, were to give the King a blow in the face, and to call him a knave, it would be impossible for his Majesty to abandon him or to become his enemy. If he can preserve the friendship of the King of England as well as that of the Emperor, well and good. But if not, we ought to break with England, even if we had a hundred Infantas married there. Such conduct is necessary for the preservation of Christendom and the Catholic religion, and of the glorious House of Austria." The King, he went on to say, was much indebted to the Elector of Bavaria, and must not take part against him. The proposed marriage between the Emperor's daughter and the Palatine's son, should not be left out of consideration. But it must be brought about by his Majesty's intercession. The boy must be educated as a Catholic, and either the Emperor or the Elector of Bavaria must have the administration of the Palatinate during his minority. It was impossible that the father should be restored to the whole of his dominions, but he might have a certain portion of territory assigned to him. The number of Electors might be raised to nine, the Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt being rewarded by this honour for his fidelity.

The question was then put to the vote, and the proposition of Olivares, counting his own voice, was approved by a majority of one, Gondomar voting in the minority.2

'Buckingham's Relation, Lords' Journals, iii. 226.

• Khevenhüller, x. 95. There is some confusion about the dates; but I think that I am following the probabilities of the case in placing Olivares' declaration here.

16230

vote in the Council of

State.

A MOMENTOUS DECISION.

107

Nine months before, the Council of State had declared in opposition to Olivares in favour of a temporising policy, and The decisive had driven him to take refuge in a series of intrigues by which he had hoped first to get rid of the marriage altogether by the intervention of the Pope, and then to make the acceptance of his terms by Charles as difficult as possible. In these intrigues he had been signally foiled. The Pope had refused to take upon himself the burden of withholding the dispensation, and Charles had been ready to promise anything that was asked of him. Very few months now remained before the time would come for the Infanta's marriage, and before that time came the affairs of the Palatinate must be arranged one way or the other. It is easy to say that the decision adopted by the Council of State produced the exhaustion and ultimate ruin of the Spanish monarchy; but this is only to say, in other words, that the Spanish ministers ought to have risen above the traditions of their creed and country. Frederick had for months refused to set his hand even to the preliminary suspension of arms, and he had only been induced to agree to it at last by the terrors of Tilly's victory at Stadtloo. It was therefore more than ever evident that no real peace was to be purchased in Germany on any reasonable terms, and the Spanish ministers, being what they were, naturally preferred oppressing Protestants in the name of their own creed, to standing by whilst Protestants were plundering Catholic lands, and annexing Catholic dioceses by force of arms.

It was under the influence of these considerations, no doubt, that, in opposition to Gondomar's plea for further procrastination, the Spanish Council of State adopted the more decisive policy of Olivares. The question to which they now required. an answer was whether James and his son would consent to such a settlement as would please the Emperor; and, excepting upon grounds far higher than any of which a Spaniard was likely to take cognizance, there can be little doubt that they were in the right.

The Prince was accordingly given to understand that he must not expect to have everything his own way in Germany. The King of Spain, he was told, would not engage to obtain

for Frederick himself a restitution of the Electorate.

But he

might have the territory, and after Maximilian's death his son should have the title.

Charles was very sore.

He had come to Spain with the

idea that he would find the whole world at his feet. He had assured his sister that he would take care of her Bristol's opinion of interests as his own, and now he was told that the the proposal. decision rested in the hands of the Emperor, and that the Emperor would not readmit his brother-in-law into the Electoral College. It was therefore not without the gravest dissatisfaction that he found that Bristol, after making some reservations, had much to say in favour of the Spanish plan, and even declared it to be his opinion that his Majesty would not be averse to the boy's education at Vienna if only the dignity as well as the land were at once restored, and if the young Prince might be brought up in his own religion, and have such preceptors and such a family as his Majesty and his father should appoint, and they to have free exercise of their religion.'1 At this unexpected declaration, Aston, who happened to be present, was startled. "I dare not," he said, "Without some such

66

'give my consent, for fear of my head." great action," answered Bristol, "the peace of Christendom will never be had.” 2

3

These words were long afterwards raked up by Charles and Buckingham, and were made by them the subject of a grave How far was charge against the ambassador. It is indeed imposhe right? sible to acquit him entirely of at least an error in judgment. It was true, no doubt, as he afterwards explained, that the sons of Protestant princes were at that very time being brought up at Vienna, without danger to their religion; but the stake to be played for in the present case was a far higher one. With the religion of the whole of the two Palatinates depending on the issue, a skilful Jesuit, supported as he would be by the bright eyes of the young archduchess, would probably

1 Bristol's answer to his impeachment, State Trials, ii. 1411.

2 Charles I. to Bristol, Jan. 20, 1626. Ninth Article of Bristol's Impeachment, State Trials, ii. 1278, 1286.

3 The son of Christian of Anhalt, for instance.

1623

BRISTOL'S ADVICE.

109

find little difficulty in eluding the vigilance of the prince's Protestant tutors. Yet, in spite of these objections, the spirit of Bristol's advice was undoubtedly right. No man who knew what human nature was, could fancy that without some serious guarantee for the future, the Emperor would ever again place power in the hands of the ally of Mansfeld and of Bethlen Gabor; and however lightly Charles and Buckingham might talk about using compulsion, Bristol was justified in shrinking from a renewal of the conflict in which the great cause of Protestantism had been stained with greed and cruelty and with every anarchical passion.

His policy with respect to the marriage,

In truth, it is impossible to do justice to Bristol without recollecting that at every step he was liable to be controlled by others who had not a tithe of his sagacity. It was against his recommendation that the Spanish match had originally been accepted by the King; but when once it had been accepted, he proceeded to carry out his instructions, and to manage the negotiations so that the greatest possible good might accrue to his country. Resisting the direct interference of Spain with the internal affairs of England, he was in favour of any alleviation of the bitter lot of the English Catholics which might proceed from the spontaneous act of his own sovereign. It was in this spirit that, when he returned to Spain in 1622, he had attempted to carry on the negotiations entrusted to him. When, after the unexpected demands of the Pope, alterations were made in the treaty by which the King was bound to a special mode of dealing with his Catholic subjects, it was only upon Gondomar's assurance that he had often heard James express his willingness to consent to these conditions that the changes were even acknowledged by Bristol, as fit to send home for his master's approval. After that approval was given, he then believed, and it is certain that. he was right in so believing, that but for the unlucky arrival of the Prince at Madrid, the affair would have been settled one way or another in the spring of 1623. Either the Pope and the King of Spain would assent to the marriage on the conditions agreed to in the preceding winter, or they would not. If they a:d, the whole question was settled. If they did not, it would