Well,then--our course is chosen--spread the sail--Heave oft the lead,and mark the soundings well--Look to the helm,good master--many a shoal Marks this stern coast,and rocks,where sits the Siren,Who,like ambition,lures men to their ruin.THE SHIPWRECK.
During the brief interval that took place betwixt the dismissal of the audience and the sitting of the privy-council,Leicester had time to reflect that he had that morning sealed his own fate.
It was impossible for him now,he thought,after having,in the face of all that was honourable in England,pledged his truth (though in an ambiguous phrase)for the statement of Varney,to contradict or disavow it,without exposing himself,not merely to the loss of court-favour,but to the highest displeasure of the Queen,his deceived mistress,and to the scorn and contempt at once of his rival and of all his compeers.This certainty rushed at once on his mind,together with all the difficulties which he would necessarily be exposed to in preserving a secret which seemed now equally essential to his safety,to his power,and to his honour.He was situated like one who walks upon ice ready to give way around him,and whose only safety consists in moving onwards,by firm and unvacillating steps.The Queen's favour,to preserve which he had made such sacrifices,must now be secured by all means and at all hazards;it was the only plank which he could cling to in the tempest.He must settle himself,therefore,to the task of not only preserving,but augmenting the Queen's partiality--he must be the favourite of Elizabeth,or a man utterly shipwrecked in fortune and in honour.All other considerations must be laid aside for the moment,and he repelled the intrusive thoughts which forced on his mind the image of,Amy,by saying to himself there would be time to think hereafter how he was to escape from the labyrinth ultimately,since the pilot who sees a Scylla under his bows must not for the time think of the more distant dangers of Charybdis.
In this mood the Earl of Leicester that day assumed his chair at the council table of Elizabeth;and when the hours of business were over,in this same mood did he occupy an honoured place near her during her pleasure excursion on the Thames.And never did he display to more advantage his powers as a politician of the first rank,or his parts as an accomplished courtier.
It chanced that in that day's council matters were agitated touching the affairs of the unfortunate Mary,the seventh year of whose captivity in England was now in doleful currency.There had been opinions in favour of this unhappy princess laid before Elizabeth's council,and supported with much strength of argument by Sussex and others,who dwelt more upon the law of nations and the breach of hospitality than,however softened or qualified,was agreeable to the Queen's ear.Leicester adopted the contrary opinion with great animation and eloquence,and described the necessity of continuing the severe restraint of the Queen of Scots,as a measure essential to the safety of the kingdom,and particularly of Elizabeth's sacred person,the lightest hair of whose head,he maintained,ought,in their lordships'estimation,to be matter of more deep and anxious concern than the life and fortunes of a rival,who,after setting up a vain and unjust pretence to the throne of England,was now,even while in the bosom of her country,the constant hope and theme of encouragement to all enemies to Elizabeth,whether at home or abroad.He ended by craving pardon of their lordships,if in the zeal of speech he had given any offence,but the Queen's safety was a theme which hurried him beyond his usual moderation of debate.
Elizabeth chid him,but not severely,for the weight which he attached unduly to her personal interests;yet she owned that,since it had been the pleasure of Heaven to combine those interests with the weal of her subjects,she did only her duty when she adopted such measures of self-preservation as circumstances forced upon her;and if the council in their wisdom should be of opinion that it was needful to continue some restraint on the person of her unhappy sister of Scotland,she trusted they would not blame her if she requested of the Countess of Shrewsbury to use her with as much kindness as might be consistent with her safe keeping.And with this intimation of her pleasure the council was dismissed.
Never was more anxious and ready way made for my Lord of Leicester,than as he passed through the crowded anterooms to go towards the river-side,in order to attend her Majesty to her barge--never was the voice of the ushers louder,to make room,make room for the noble Earl--never were these signals more promptly and reverently obeyed--never were more anxious eyes turned on him to obtain a glance of favour,or even of mere recognition,while the heart of many a humble follower throbbed betwixt the desire to offer his congratulations,and the fear of intruding himself on the notice of one so infinitely above him.
The whole court considered the issue of this day's audience,expected with so much doubt and anxiety,as a decisive triumph on the part of Leicester,and felt assured that the orb of his rival satellite,if not altogether obscured by his lustre,must revolve hereafter in a dimmer and more distant sphere.So thought the court and courtiers,from high to low;and they acted accordingly.
