Antonio Perez in ExileAuthor(s): Martin A. S. HumeSource:
Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, New Series, Vol. 8
(1894), pp. 71-107Published by: Royal Historical SocietyStable URL:
http://www.jstor.org/stable/3678035 .Accessed: 08/01/2014 06:27Your
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JSTOR Terms and Conditions7I ANTONIOPEREZINEXILEI BY MAJORMARTIN
A.S.HUME,F.R.TIist.S. ECditorof theCalendarof StatePapersof
Elizabeth(Spanish) NOTHINGis soattractiveto the historicalstudentas
a mysteryto be unravelleduponwhichingenuityand research can be
exercised; and hardlyany unsolvedhistoricalriddle has
excitedmorespeculationand interestthanhas theextra- ordinary,and
apparentlyinexplicable,treatmentextendedby PhilipII. to his
formerprimefavouriteand trustedminister, AntonioPerez. Ihad
noticedthatthevariouslearnedhistorianswhohad takenup thesubjecthad
been mainlyconcernedin tryingto reduceto
orderthehopelesslytangledweb of events during the
fifteenyearspriorto theescape of Antonio Perez from Spain; and
myoriginalintentionwas in this paperto dwell uponhis lifeand
writingsin Englandand Franceforthenext eighteenyears until his
death, withthe object of seeing whetherthelightwhichcouldbe
thrownupon his character NOTF4I.See
unpublishedsecretcorrespondencebetweenPerezand the Kingin13.M. MSS.
Add.28262; interceptedlettersfromDon TohnandEscobedo to the King in
B.M. Cotton.Vesp. vii.;uncalendaredMSS. Rolls House, E;iance,
I592-95; Perez'sReZaciones,Paris,I598; Geneva,I644,and Ca^-tas,
Paris,I603; Mignet'sAntonioPerez et Philippe, IIParis;
Ochoa'sCorrespon- denciade Antonio Perez, Madrid,I851;
MorelFatio'sL'Espaedans Ae*vi ef xzfiiSiecles, Paris;
Froude'sA?tD?ZioPere2: angnsoEvedhistowoccaSriddEe,
London,I892;GasparMuro'sPrincesa de EboZi, Madrid;FernandezDuro's
A?tonioPerez en I1?bylaterra,Madrid,I892;BaconCorrespondencein
Birch's AfiE^zoirsof theReignttfQveenEZiz.7beth;Bermudezde Castros
Anfo?zioPerez, Madrid,I84I. This content downloaded from
193.147.185.45 on Wed, 8 Jan 2014 06:27:07 AMAll use subject to
JSTOR Terms and Conditions721'RANSACTIONS OFTHEROYAL
HISTORICALSOCIETY andmethodbya carefulexaminationof
theamplematerial whichexistswouldaid us in the elucidationof
theextra- ordinaryseriesofintrigueswhichbroughtabouthisfall.Like my
moreeminentpredecessors,however,Itoo have been
drawnintothevortexofthemysteryitself,andshallhaveto
craveyourindulgenceforgoingbeyondthelimitindicated bythetitleof
mypaper,and hopeto be abletojustifysuch
indulgencebyproducingenoughnewevidenceto convince you,at
anyrate,thatthelastwordhas notbeensaid upon the subject;andthatwe
possiblyhave nowat hand the
material,afterthreecenturies,forlayingbarethewholestory. AlthoughI
assumethatveryfewpersonswillbe unac-
quaintedwiththeprincipaleventswhichprecededthefallof Perez,itwill
be well to clearthe groundbyagainrelating
thembriefly.AntonioPerezwasthelegitimisednaturalson
ofGonzaloPerez,thefamousSecretaryofStateofCharlesV,
andsubsequentlyofhissonPhilipII.GonzaloPerezwasan
ecclesiasticofhighrank,and forthesakeof decorumcould notbringup
hissonhimself,butplacedhim,aftergivinghim a carefuleducation,in
thehouseholdofPhilip'sbelovedfriend andfavourite,RuyGomezde
Silva,PrinceofEboli,bywhom he was rearedalmostas his son. He was
placedwhilst stilla mereyouthin theSecretariatof theCouncilofState,
and,partlyowingto RuyGomez'sinfluenceandpartlytohis
ownbrillianceandfascination,he rose rapidly,so thatwhen
hispatrondiedin I 567he was already,at theage oftwenty-
five,chiefSecretaryoftheCouncilofStatewithfourthousand ducatsa
yearsalary,andpossesseda sinecureofficein Sicily
whichbroughthimanothertwothousarld.He was noted, evenat
thistime,forhis wit,his splendour,his dissipation, and
hispresumption;but he was of coursea tnereupstart, and,as
such,recommendedhimselfstronglyto PhilipII. It
hadbeenoneofthesecretinstructionsin kingcraftleft
bythegreatEmperorto hisson thathe shouldreducethe
proudSpanishnobilityto impotencebygivingall important
stateaffairsat homeintothehandsof creatuxesof his own making,whomhe
couldbreakat will,employillgthegreat This content downloaded from
193.147.185.45 on Wed, 8 Jan 2014 06:27:07 AMAll use subject to
JSTOR Terms and ConditionsANTONIOPEREZINEX1LE 73 noblesonlyin
hisforeignstatesor incourtsinecllres.Soon
afterthedeathofRuyGomez,therefore,whenPerezwasonly
twenty-six,Philipmadehimhis principalSecretaryofState, and
thenceforward,for over tenyears,he was all powerful next to the
King.His extravagance,his splendour,and his insolencegrewwithhis
favour,but nonedaredto offendhim, forhe alone had theear of
thesovereignnightand day. He treateddukes withthe most
offhandedhaughtiness,called the Cardinal Archbishop,Grand
Inquisitorand Primateof Spain,unceremoniouslybyhissurname;and,as
willbe shown directly,addressedthe King himselfwithjocose
familiarity, whichisrathera shockto thosewhohavealwayslookedupon
Philipas an unapproachabletyrantbeforewhomall cringed. As amatterof
fact he was nothingof the sort,butonlya
timid,narrow-minded,laborious,and painfullyconscientious man. It
will be well to explain here thepoliticalpositionin Spain at
thetime. The nobilitthad by the methodsof the far-seeingCharlesV.
been reducedto impotence,butformany yearsthecourt had been divided
into two politicalparties, each of whichin its turnsoughtto
bringthe King roundto its methods:firstthe more
aristocraticparty,headed by the Duke of Alba, whichwas all
forwar,haughtydefiance, and violentmeasures;the second,that of Ruy
Gomez,in favourof diplomacy,chicanery,and underhanddealingwith
opponents. The tact,wisdom,and influenceof Ruy Gomez and the
personalcharacterof the King made Philip more inclinedto
thelatterparty,althoughhe keptthetwopartiesin his councilsin
orderto hearboth sides and to fomentthat rivalryamongst his
courtierswhich he always considered beneficialto his own interests.
WhilstRuy Gomez lived he saw that all theinfluential
officeswerefilledwithmembersof thepartyof moralsuasion, and to
thisparty,of course,AntonioPerezbelonged. The King's
naturalbrother,too,Don Johnof Austria,had also been broughtup by
the King and Ruy Gomezin the same schoolof statesrnanship,and
whenthebrilliantyoungprince This content downloaded from
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JSTOR Terms and Conditions74TRANSACTIONS OFTHEROYAL
HISTORICALSOCIETY was sentto suppresstherisingof Moriscosat
Granada,Ruy Gomez took care that he was accompaniedby an adviser
belongingto thesame party,Juande Soto.WhenDon John had
suppressedthe infidelrevolthe foundhimselfa popu- lar hero. Hewas
out of the leadingstringsof the court. He was the soldierof the
Cross,and high-flowndreamsof glorysuchas
thosegainedbyhisancestorsagainsttheenemies of the faith,bred in him
acontemptfor atemporising policy. Vague chivalroushopes of empires
gairled by his swordforhimselfand his faithdawned in his ambitious
mind. The King's brothercould,of course,do no ill; but Ruy Gomez
wasgravely concerned,and by his orders Juande Soto,the
Prince'ssecretary,was warnedthat such ideas mustbe nippedin thebud.
He was allowed,however,to accompanyDon Johnto the Mediterraneanto
fighttheTurk in I57I,and was withhim throughthe
gloriousvictorieswhichculminatedat Lepanto.
Philipwassorelybesetfacetoface,as hewellknew withthe great
newforceof Protestantism,whichhe mustcrushor be crushedby,and he
orderedDon John to destroythefortress of Tunis, and rest
contentwithhavingcrippledthe power of the Turkforyears to come.But
Don Johnwas in the stirrupsnow,andwantedtoadd to
Philip'sdifficulties,ofwhich he knew nothing,by foundinga great
Christianempirein Africa,of whichhe shouldbe theruler. The Pope
seconded his views,and wentso far as to givehima paperinvestment of
the dominion. Don John,too, disobeyedthe orderto
dismantleTunis.SecretarySoto had to bear the blame of Don
John'sambition,and was recalledand madeaccountant- generalof
thearmy,his place beingfilledby a manwhowas consideredby Perezto be
above all doubt. This was Juan deEscobedo, anotherprotgeeducated
and brollghtup by Ruy Gomez,a close friendof Perez,his colleague in
the chiefsecretaryship,and a strongadvocate of the moral force
partZ. With such aman DonJohn couldsurelynotgo wrong. 13utthe
braveyoungprincewas strongerthanany sccretary,and
EscobedoXzasgailacdover This content downloaded from 193.147.185.45
on Wed, 8 Jan 2014 06:27:07 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and
ConditionsANTONIOPEREZINEXILE 75 to
hisambitiousviewsmorecomp}etelyeventhanSoto had been,and was soon
perfectlycrazyto makeDon Johnthe championof CatholicChristendom.As
before,the Pope was eagerto givehis blessingto any
harebrainedscheme fordestroyingheresyor attackinginfidelity;but
Philip was surroundedby difficulties,of whichonlyhimselfand his
secretaryPerezknew. His treasurehad beenseizedby Queen
Elizabeth,hiscommercewas sweptfromthe sea by the Dutch,English,and
Huguenotprivateers;creditand moneyweregone,and it was
absolutelynecessaryforhim to makepeace withthe revoltedFlemingson
any terms whichrecognisedhissovereigntyand theCatholicreligionin
the Netherlands.His own troopstherewereunpaid,and a
murderousSmutinousrabble. Alba'spolicyofbloodandfire,
farfromcrushingthe Flemings,had onlyexasperatedthem andraisedup
friendsto helpthem. So Don Johnwassentto carryoutthepolicyof
concilia- tionandsurrenderwhichhadbeencommencedbyRequeQens,
vrhohaddied. Escobedowaswarnedstrictlybeforehe left
Spainthattheremustbe no nonsense.Peaceynustbemade at anycostHe
andDonJohnwerefulloffineprojectsforthe subjugationof Englandand
theestablishmentof Don John as king,withMaryof Scotlandforhiswife.
He was to be a knight-errantwhoshouldreleasethefairprincessfromthe
ogresthatheldher the Christianherowhowas to restore Englandto the
Church.The adviceto do thishad been forcedupon Philipforyears.
Alba, Feria,de (Quadra,de Spes,and othershad begged,bullied,and
imploredhimfor thelastfifteenyearsto captureEngland. The Popeshad
triedto forcehishandmorethanonce,butPhilipknewhow therisingof
theCatholiclordsin thenorthof Englandhad fizzledout forwantof
support.He knewhowfutilehad beenhiscountenanceto theRidolfiplot,and
howthehead of the proudestnoblein Englandhad fallenwithouta
protestbecausehe dared to countenancethe idea of a
Spanishinvasion.So he gave his usual cold,temporising answer.There
would be plentyof time to talk about 2 9 This content downloaded
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to JSTOR Terms and Conditions76TRANSACTIONS OFTHEROYAL
HISTORICALSOCIETY England,he said,whentheyhad pacifiedthe
Netherlands. 13utPerezwastoldto encourageDon Johnandhissecretary
Escobedoto writeprivatelyall theythoughtand intended to him,Perez
not fortheKing'sear,oh no! but onlythat
Perezmight,whenopportllnityoccurred,slip a wordinto
hismaster'searin theirfavouras soonas Flanderswasquiet.
Andwritetheydid, fullyand freely,confidingin Perez, whocarriedall
theirlettersto theKing,withhisowngloss uponthemand his
ownspeciousanswersto them. They hadgoneto
Flanderswiththeundoubtedinterltionofmaking a dash for
Englandwiththe troopswhichwereto leave Flanders,butDon Johnfoundhe
had reckonedwithouthis host. The statesof Flanderswouldnot
receivehim as governorexcepton theirown terms,and thosewerehard
enough. The Spanishand Italiantroopswerenotto be sent
outbysea,butto marchoerland to Italy,whichDon John wellknewmeantthe
destructionof his plan forcapturing England;buthe hadto
givewa),t,fortheKing'sorderswere absolute. He was to makepeaceon
anytermscompatible withPhilip'ssovereignty,andhe wasobligedto do
it. Heart-broken,desperate,incoherentletterscame from thePrinceand
Escobedoto Perez. All was lost,theysaid; theywerelikemadmenand
readyforanydesperatecourse. Theyhad no moneyevento paythe
troops,whowouldnot movewithoutit,andthesedrunkenwineskinsof
Flemings, es-entheCatholics,floutedthem. Don Johnhimselfbegged,
supplicated,entreated,to be allowedto comehome,nowthat the
Englishaffairwas upset. He wasa soldierand not fit forsuchworkas
this,he said. A woman,like Margaretof
Parma,orthewidowedempress,orevena child,woulddofar
betterandcapturethesympathiesof theFlemings,svhichhe
couldnotdo,forhe hatedthemas muchas theydistrusted him. He was told
coldlythathe muststayuntilmatters weretranquil,andwasto takeno
rashsteps. So at last by Escobedo'seffortsenoughmoneyand
billswereraised,and the mutinousrascalsof
troopswhohaddisgrae:edthenarne of soldiersmarchedout
amidstthecursesof all lSlaladers This content downloaded from
193.147.185.45 on Wed, 8 Jan 2014 06:27:07 AMAll use subject to
JSTOR Terms and ConditionsANTONIOPEREZINEXIt E 77 and Don
JohnenteredBrusselswiththe franticrejoicing of a peoplewho had
emancipatedtheircountryby their ownfirmness. Fora fewweeksall
wastranquil,andEscobedo,whohad raisedthe moneyto pay the troopson
his own sworn undertakingto returnit,rushedoverto Spainunexpectedto
urgetheKingtomakedueprovision.He arrivedlateinJuly, and,on his
letterannouncinghisarrivalto theKing,Philip scrawledin
thatfearfulhandof his,' We mustgetridofhim quickly,or he
willvvorryus to death.' Escobedowasrough- spoken,honest,and
importunate,ill pleasedwiththecourse of events,andindignantthatDon
John'sdreamshad been
frustrated.Thosefamousinterceptedlettersfromhimand Don Johnto
PerezandtheKingwhicharenowintheCotton MSS. fullyconfirmPerezzsown
accountof the roughand peremptoryway in whichhe wroteto the
sovereign,and Perezinhis' Relaciones' alsogivesmanyspecimensof
this. The King,tiredofhisimportunity,andseeingthedanger of
sendingsuch-a manback to Don Johnin Flanders,told Perezto
havehimmurdered.Pereztriedtwiceunsuccess- fullyto poisonhimat
hisowntable)butat last on thenight of March3I,I578,Escobedowas
stabbedto deathin the streetsof Madridby menwhomPerez had
broughtfrom Aragonandpaidforthepurpose.Up to thistimetherewas
nothingextraordinaryin thematter.The ethicsof thetime
quiteadmittedtherightof a sosereignto ordertheprivate executionof
an obnoxioussubjectwithoutjudicialprocess,
althoughinSpainthecoursewasan unpopularone. Madrid,
however,wasthen,as it is now,a greatplace forscandalous
tittletattle,andthemorningafterthemurderall thegossips of ' Liars
Walk' in the Calle Mayorwerewhisperingthat itiscobedohad
beensacrificedto the privateresentmentof
PerezandhisfriendthePrincessofEboli. One wordas to thelady. She was
thewidowof Ruy Gomez,and herself belongedto the greathouseof
Mendoza. She was nearly fortyyearsof age,had onlyone
eye,andsvasthemotherof
tenchildren.Herprideandarroganceamountedalmostto This content
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use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions78TRANSACTIONSOF THE ROYAL
HISTORICALSOCIETY mania,andon thedeathofherhusbandhadgiventhe King
andeveryoneelsean immenseamountoftrouble.The very
hourRuyGomezdiedshesworeshewouldbecomea nunin a conventshe had
founded.She was in sucha hurrythat she wouldnotwaitfora
propergownto be brought,but pluckedoF thatof
herCarmeliteconfessor,whichwe are toldwas twicetoo large,and notso
cleanas it mighthave been. She insistedupongoingto theconventin a
rough cart,and soonset thewholecommunitybytheears. She
defiedregulations,snappedher fingersat authority,and stormedat
superiors.She quarrelledwitheveryonefrom St. Teresadownwards,andat
last had to be turnedout of
herownconventbytheordersoftheKing,whomshetreated as arrogantlyas
shedid everybodyelse.
TherewasanothersecretaryoftheKingnamedVasquez, a
shy,timid,retiringpriestof obsc;urebirthand suspected
Moorishdescent,partof whosedutyit was to keepPhilip well informedof
everythingthatwenton in Madrid. He accordinglysent to Philipat
theEscorial(wherehe was passingEaster)an accountof
whatthegossipsweresaying
aboutEscobedo'smurder,andadvisingthatsuchscandalous talk shouldbe
stopped.Then I'hiliptooka veryextra-
ordinarycoursewhicheventuallyled to all thetrouble.It alwayshad
been part of his policyto make thosewho surroundedhimjealousof each
other,thathe mightlearn theworstofall of them. So
whenVasquezsenthis report to
theKingsayinghowthepeopleweretalkingaboutPerez and the Princess,and
urginghim to have a strictinqulry made,I'hilipat once senZ!Se
repor!bPerezto drafta reply theretotobe sentto
Vasquez.Perezdraftedthereply,which,
aftersomeadditionbytheKing,wassent,to theeffectthat he
(theKing)knewhowtheaSair had happened,andit was '
verydiSerentfromtherumourscurrent,andthattheperson
whohaddonethedeedhadverygood reasonforit.' Perez
saysthattheKingwasnotat all sorrythatsuspicionshould be
directedawayfromhimself;buturhenEscobedo'swifeand
childrenpressedthroughVasquezforan inquiryhc could This content
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hardlyrefuse,and had to consultPerezaboutit,informing
himthatVasquezwaspressinghimso hardthathe knewnot whatto do.Perez
thereuponjumpedat the conclusion,
perhapscorrectly,thatVasquezoutofjealousywastryingto ruinhim. He
soonmadetheothersecretaryfeelhisenmity, andthecourtwas
promptlydividedintotwopartieswhich lefttheKingno peace.
Frominsultsto threatswasa small step,andVasquezcomplainedto
theKing,whorepeatedhis complaintto Perez. For the next yearat
leasta dozen differentattempts weremadeto bringabout peace
betweenthe secretaries. Vasquez apologised,explained,and
remonstrated.The greatnoblesand ChurchmenbeggedPerezand thePrincess
toletbygonesbebygones.ThePrincessaboveallwasfurious. The
MoorishhoundVasquezhad insultedherandmustbe
punished.PerezwasoSeredembassiesandotherposts. He wouldhave
nothing,he said,but revengeon Vasquez. The
EscobedofamilyhadbeeneasilychokedoF bythePresident oftheCouncilof
Castile,byan orderfromtheKingon the recommendationofPerez;
andthematterwasfastbecoming merelya
quarrelofPerez'sfriendsagainstVasquez'sfriends; butat
thesametimethelatter,evidentlywiththeconnivance
oftheKing,wasencouragingsomeofEscobedo'srelativesnot to
letthemurderdropquiteoutofsight. Thingshad reachedat last such
astrainedcondition thattheKingsentthePresidentof theCouncilto
bringthe Princessto reason,as it was she evidentlythatwas making
Perezobstinate.Hertermsof peacewerehigh. Perezwas to be confirmedin
the chiefsecretaryshipand haveanother
pensionofthreethollsandducatsa year,to whichshewould add a
likeamount.Perezhimselfaskedfornothingbutto be allowedto
retirefromoffice,knowingwellthatPhilipdid notwantto sparehim. The
King,as usual,took a long timeto deliberate.The
Presidentpressedhimto decide, thingscouldnot go on as theywere. The
headsof both partieswentaboutarmedandfollowedbybravosandPeres
openlyinsultedXrasquezat everyturn. He (Vasquez)com- 2 9 * This
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ROYAL HISTORICALSOCIETY plaineddailyto theKing,whotoldhimto look
afterhiswork and nottroublehis head about such things. At last,when
Perez saw the King was losing paticnce,he promisedto
forgethis,rievanceagainstVasquez. Philipwasdelightedand made muchof
him,but he soon became as bitteras ever againsthis colleague; and
one night,withoutwarning,after Pertz leftthepalace,bothhe and the
Princesswere arrested. Theformerwas lodged in the house of the
officerwho arresteclhim,whilstthe latterwas taken to a bleak rough
towertwentymilesoS.She was keptthereand in a similar place fora
yearand a half,and thenimprisonedforthe rest of herlifein
herowncastleat Pastrana. Perezwas treated withthe
greatestkindness,and was soon afterallowed to remainunderarrestin
his ownpalace.The King keptsend- ing him reassuringmessages; he
would,he said, always stand by him; therewas nothingforhim to be
afraidof, and so on. But a favouriteunder arrestis a
verydifferentperson froma favouritefree. Encouragedby
Vasquez,Escobedo'.s familywas stillpressingforinquiry;and
Perezfoundhe had now but fewfriends. Public opinionwas excitedtoo,
and jllclges,bishops,and thelike werepressingthatPhilipshould end
thescandaleitherby releasingthe Secretaryor bringing himto trial.
The Princess(Jezebel,as theycalledher)being out of the way,
newovertureswere made to Perez,and he agreedto swearon his
allegiance,jointlywithVasquez,to be good friendsin future. He was
restoredto liberty,to office, and to favour,and it lookedas
iftheaffairwouldat last blow over. But Perez was imprudent.Hestill
receivedlarge presentsfromthe Princess. He gambled,squandered,and
ruffledmoregrandlythan ever,and complaintsstill poured in upon the
King.The Escobedos,encouragedby Vasquez, continuedto importune;the
great Mendozas,the Princess' kinsmen,said Perezwas spendingthe
fortuneof her family, and Perez'senemiessaid he u as livingat the
rate of twenty thousand ducats ayear andonly honestlyearningsix.
Pcrez's own wife,even,begged that her husbandmightbe This content
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judiciallyclearedof all this vague accusation,to which
Philipanswered,' If thwiswergafnatterwhickwouldallowof
yudiciaSprocess,it zvouldSavebeenorderedfrozntheyirsthour.
TeGthewomanshemustbeqazet.' At last,in I582,Philipcouldstandout no
longer,and orderedoneofhislawyersto makea privateinquiry.The
man'snamewas RodrigoVasquez de Arce,and he went abouttheworkwitha
stealthy,quiet thoroughnesswhich Perezattributedto
personalmalevolence;butin anycaseit waseSectual.
Forthenexttwoyearsevidencewas silently
piledup.Everypersonalmostwhohad comeintocontact withPerezand
thePrincesswas secretlyexamined.It was foundthatmostof the menwho
wereconcernedin the murderhad mysteriouslydied of poison,and one of
the survivors,the page Enriquez,tookfrightand madea clean breastof
it. At the end of I584,afterPerez had been closelywatchedfora
longtime,he was chargedwithcor- ruptionandtamperingwithstatepapers.
He was privately assuredbytheKing'sconfessorthathe wouldnot be con-
demnedin thevalueof a pairof gloves,butinJanuaryI 585 he
wasfoundguiltyofcorruption,andsentencedto depriva-
tionofofiRcefortenyears,imprisonmentfortwo,and a fine
ofthirtythousandducats. His paperswereall seized,except some
importantlettershe had in hiding,his property sequestrated;and as
he saw he was to be sacrificedhe escapedintoa sanctuary.The
sanctuarywas brokeninto bytheKing'sofficersand the prisonertaken,to
theintense indignationof the Churchand the Inquisition;but Perez
remainedin closeconfinementfornearlythreeyears.
RodrigoVasquezdeArcethemeanwhilewasfollowingthe murdertraillikea
bloodhound.The survivingaccomplices werekeptin
prison,theoneconfessingandtheotllerdenying the charge,and at
lasttheaccusationof murderwasformu- latedagainstPerezearlyin
I588.His friendsandeventhe
King'sconfessorwereindignant.How,saidthey,canhe de-
fendhimselfnow,hispapersseizedandmostofhiswitnesses dead?He
pleadednotguilty.The Escobedofamilywere N.S.VOL.VIII. G This
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OFTHEROYAL lIISTORICA1, SOCIETY 'squared' and withdrewin
OctoberI589,butyet thetrial lingeredon.Whenthejudgewas askedwhy,he
saidthat everydayfreshordersuponthesubjectcamefromtheKing. The
GrandInquisitor,theKing'sconfessor,Perez'swife,all
beggedthatthescandalmightend. It was clearthatPerez couldnotbe
convictedontheevidenceofoneaccomplice,and yetno verdictof '
notguilty' was given. Then Philiptook the mostextraordinarystepof
all.By theadviceof the judgehe told Pere%to confessand to
saythattheKinghad orderedthemurder,givingtkereasonswhy,and
theKing's confessorassuredhimif he didso all wouldbe well. Perez
fearinga traprefused.He wasimportunedandcommanded
overandoveragain,andat lastput to thetorture,and con- fessedearlyin
I590.The GrandInquisitorlwroteto the King'sconfessorsaying,'
EitherI ammadorthisaSairismad.' Whatdoesit all mean? If
theKingknewhe gavetheorder to killEscobedo,whydoeshe commandPerezto
confessall? 13utPerezwouldtrustPhilipno longer,and by changing
dresseswithhis heroicwifeescapedto Aragon. Therefor the nextyearand
a halfhe was thecipheraroundwhich rageda
greatnationalstruggleforthemaintenanceof the ancientlibertiesof
Aragon. Imprisonedand rescuedtime and again; triedand
acquitted;prosecutedby the King
andtheprosecutiondropped,claimedbytheKing,claimedby
theChurch,claimedbythepeople,he wasat lastrescuedby a
popularrisingfromthe dungeonsof the Inquisitionand escaped. The
Aragonesecarednothingforhimpersonally, and wereglad to be quitof
him,thoughin his vanityhe thoughthe was theirhero. He escaped,to
see Spain no more,and thelibertyof Aragonwas drownedin Philip's
rengeanceforPerez'scrime,whateverthatwas. So far I
havemerelytoldthe storyfromPerez'sown statement;let us
nowfollowthe'pilgrim,'as he calledhim- self,intoexile. He
escapedfromSaragossaon thenightof NovemberI5,I59T,Witllthe
King'savengingarmyat his heels. He wasa
timidman,ofweakframe,brokendownby lCaldinal Quirc)ga.Archlzishc)pof
Ttleclo,aCreatfriontlof Pelezs. This content downloaded from
193.147.185.45 on Wed, 8 Jan 2014 06:27:07 AMAll use subject to
JSTOR Terms and ConditionsANTONIOPEREZ1N EXILE 3 indulgenceand
suSering,and his escapewas anythingbut heroic. He says he
wanderedamongstthe snowywastesof the Pyrenees,likea beatendog
lothto leavehis master's house,tremblingforhis life,oftencarriedon
theshoulders of his friends,grumblingat thehardshipsand dangershe
endured,butstillin hismiserypluminghimselfwiththeidea
tllatthewhc)leworldwas ringingwithhis persecution.The
worldhadplentyofotherthingsto thinkabout. Francewas aflamewithwar.
The HuguenotKingwasgrapplingwiththe CatholicLeague and the King of
Spain. The stubborn Dutchmenwerestrongerthan ever againstPhilip;
and England,pantingforrevengeon theArmada,was sending
helpandmoneywhereverit couldbe usedagainstits deadly foe.
Perez'splanwas to oiSerhis servicesand secretsto the enemiesof his
sovereign,andso revengehimselSheltered fora timein an
ancientancestraltower-of his henchman, Martinde Lanuza,on
thefrontier,he senthisfaithfulfriend, Gil de Mesa,witha
characteristicletteron NovemberI8 to thePrincessof Bearn,sisterof
HenryIV.,askingforpro- tection.Even in thisfirstletter,in
themidstof hisdanger andtrouble,hisvanityshowsforth:' As therecanbe
noplace underheavell,'he says,' whichhas notresoundedwithmy
persecutionand aderentures,it is probablethat theyhave reachedthe
exaltedregionswhereyour Highnessdwells.' He callshimself,as he was
fondof doingfortherestof his life,' a
monsterofmisfortune,capableofexcitingtheastonish-
mentanddeservingofthesympathyofall mankind. The
HuguenotPrincess,kindlyas shewaspolitic,sawhow usefulsucha
manmightbe,and hastenedto weIcomehim, andonlyagainjust in timeto
escapethe pursuingtroops: he crossedthe Pyreneeson November23,
I59I.He was lodgedwithall honourin thecastleofPau and mademuchof.
The man musthave been extremelyfascinating,for he
charmedmostpeopleandmadea warmfriendofthePrincess. Philipvtas
furiousat his escape. Perezwas deep in his
secretsandunderstoodhismethodsandrealcharacterbetter
thananymanalive,and he knewwhatan instmmentsucha G5 This content
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use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions84TRANSACTIONS OFTHEROYAL
HISTORICALSOCIETY manwouldbe in thehandsof hisdeadlyenemies,England
and the Huguenots.A pricewas put uponhis head,and
Perezhimselfenlargesmuchupon the manyattemptsto get himout of
theway. His closestfriendswere,he says, bribedto persuadehimto
submitto theKing'smercy.That
failingforPerezwastoowary-hesaysattemptsweremade to
murderhim,andtellsa wonderfulstorr,all in superlatives, of a
handsome,strapping,buxomgreatladywhowasto lead himintoa
murdertrap,butfellin lovewithhiminsteadand savedhim. All
thesestories,however,mustbe lookedat
askance,fortheman'scuefromthefirstwasto surroundhim- selfwitha
romanticinterest,and althoughhe was fondof callinghimself'abag of
bones,'he was foreverairinghis
conquestsandhisgallantry.Butcertainit is,froma contem-
porarypaperrecentlypublishedby SehorFernandezDuro,
thatoffersweremade in JuneI 592 by somepersonsin Navarreto
captureand deliverPerezto the Spaniardsas soonas the
PrincessleftPau.Perezknewthis,and took carenotto leaveherside.
Whenshewentto Toursto meet herbrothertheKingearlyin I
593Perezwentwithher. Pau was too smallforhis ambitionand hopesof
revenge,but whenhe metHenryIV. (whomhe charmed,as he didnearly
everyone)heunfo]deda planforhelpingFranceandEngland to injureSpain
thatat oncebroughthimthefavourof the
King,whogavehimpecuniaryaidanda positionin hishouse- hold. It wasof
thehighestimportanceto Henrythathe and Elizabethshouldact
togetherin crushingPhilipand the League; and he jumpedat
Perez'sproposalthathe should exercisehis fascinationon the
EnglishQueento thatend. Henryin MarchI593wrotea letterto
Elizabeth(nowin the RecordOffice)sayingthat one of thegreatestplea-
suresof his journeyto Tourswas to have seenPerez,and ' findinghim
apersonageworthyof the positionhe has occupiedand undeservingof the
persecutionhehas suffered,he had decidedto avail himselfof his
services. Tllinkingthatshetoowil]bc ,lad to see him,he hasdecided
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06:27:07 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and
Conditions85ANTONIOPEREZINEXILE to sendhimto
LondonwiththeVidameofChartres;andhe
imploreshertowelcomehim,keephimsafefromhisenemies, andsendhimback
to him.' Perezhimcelfsenta fulsome letterto ElizabethbyGilde
Mesa,at thesametimeasking permissiontocometo England,but
assuringher thathe is the mostuselessand worthlesspersonin the
world,except his persecutor.To HenryIV. on his departurehe wrote a
characteristicletterfullof his aSectedfar-fetchedquips.
Besidestheobediencehe owesto sucha master,he says,he mustreturnas
he is ordered,forhe was leavinghis soul behind,andwithoutthathe
couldnotlive. ' Pardonme,'he says,'
theboldnessofthiscompliment,butthesoul,Sire,has its loves anduses
complimentslikethebody compliments whichbreakandpassall
boundsofearthlyrespect.I write, too, that your Majestymay
entertainyourselfwith the Spanishlanguage,ofwhichyousayI am to be
yourmaster. Surely,Sire,youllavechosena prettybarbarianfora master-
barbarousin idea,in word,in all things.I understandrather,
Sire,thatyouwillbe mymaster,and fromyourhandthis
roughpebblewillmarvellouslyreceivepolish;forgreatarti-
ficersthusshowtheircunningon suchcoarsematerial;even as
royalsoulsimitatetheactsofGod in repairingthatwhich is
destroyedbyotherswhodare to showtheirmalevolent
powerbyusurpingthefunctionsoftheOmnipotent.' WhenPerezarrivedin
Englandin theautumnofI593he foundElizabethveryindignantat
HenryIV.'s suddenretlln to Catholicismand his
impendingarrangementwiththe
FrenchLeaguers,whichwaspartofPerez'splaninorderthat he
mightuniteall the countryagainstSpain,in furtherance ofwhichplanhe
soughtincreasedassistancefromEngland. Ceciland his mistresswere,on
the contrary,muchmore inclinedto withdrawwhathelp theyhadgiven.
Theycon- sideredthatHenryde Bourbonhad betrayedthemand the
Protestantcause,and complainedbitterlyto Beauvoirde
Nocle,Henry'sambassador.Hot-headedEssexwasas usual pantingfora
fightwithSpain,andscoSedatthecautiousCecil and,whenhe dared,at
theQueenherself.FromtheCecils This content downloaded from
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JSTOR Terms and Conditions86TKANSACTIONS OFTHEROYAL
tIISTORICAI,SOCIETY and theirfriends,therefore,Perezgot but acool
reception, whilstEssex welcomedhimwithopen arms. Elizabethfor atime
refusedto give audienceto the'Spanish traitor,'as she calledhim,and
thecourtladies,followingherlead,openly gibed at the emaciatedold
beau, withhis gaudy taste in dressand his aSected gallantry. To
AnthonyBacon,from whose letterswe learn most of what we knowof
Perez in England, he was, of course,very welcomeas afriendof
E:ssex; but therigidPuritanLady Bacon,Anthony'smother, Cecil's
sister-in-law,one of the most learnedwomenof her time,did
notapproveofthefriendship.She wroteto hergreat son Francis: ' I
pityyourbrother,yet so longas he pities not himselfbut
keepeththatbloodyPerez,yea a courtcom- panionand a bed companion a
proud,profane,costlyfellow, whosebeingabouthimI
verilybelievetheLord God dothmis- like,and doththeless
blessyourbrotherin creditand health. Such wretchesas he is
neverloxed yourbrotherbut forhis owncredit,livinguponhim.' But
thelove of Essex made up forall.The solid splen- dour in lvhichhe
lived,his lavish generosity,his wit and learning,all appealed to
Perez'sself-indulgentnature; the parade of
learnedaccomplishments,thenfashionableat the English Court,appealed
to Perezalso,and he soon caught theprevailingtone. His
wittystories,his apt illustrations,his curiousturnsofexpression,and
his greatexperienceentirely captivatedEssex.Perez was lodged
firstatSunbury-on- Thames,thenin Essex House,and subsequentlyin
thehouse of the Masterof St. Paul's School; but was always main-
tained lavishly,and with the most exquisitedelicacyby
i:ssex.By-and-bythe doors of the courtwere opened to him,and his
insinuatingaddressand piquant storiesabout Philip'samourssoon put
himintotheQueen's good graces, his rewardbeinga pensionof I30z.a
yearfromher. What wonderwas it that Perez was lothto go back to
France,in themidstof warand poverty?To all requestsfromHenry thathe
shouldgo back,he returnsthemostfulsomeanswers,
butalwaysfindssomecxcuse for not doing so.One speci- This content
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use subject to JSTOR Terms and ConditionsANTONIOPEREZINEXILE 87
menofthiswillserve:' Puttingasideall otherobligations,the
honouryoudo mein desiringmypresencecanonlyberepaid
bymyremainingforeveryourservantand captive;not in prisonsor
chainsof iron vile metals but in the nobler prisonsoflove.As suchI
holdmyselfandas suchI willobey.' He curseshisill fortunethathe can
do so littlefortheKing. ' Butforall therestit has deprivedmeofI
blessit,forithas broughtmeto knowyourMajesty,and live underyourpro-
tection a goodbargainindeed.' But he had enemiesin
France,particularlythe chief ministerVilleroy,andhe
begstheKingtoshuthisearstothe maliceof thosewhowouldruinhimin
hisfavour.To the Duke de Bouillonhe writeson the
samedayimploringhis interestto thesameend. He callshimself'
amerespindle,' hispersonis theonlywreckleft,butthathe
oSers,andifthe King reallywantshimforany particularservice,he would
embark,evenif he onlyhadhiscapefora ship,in theassur- ancethathis
faithand love forthe King wouldkeephim afloat.'
Indeed,faithandloveseemtohavebeenhisprincipal stockin trade,and
wereforeverin his mouth.Duringhis
stayinEnglandhewroteandpublishedhisfamous' Relaciones,' and
Essex,of course,paid forits publication.It had an
immediatesuccess,and was at once translatedinto Dutch and French.
It wasa clever,brilliantpieceofspecialplead- ing,showingPhilipin
the darkestcolours,and Perezas a persecutedangel;but all
theProtestantworldwas eagerto believeill of
theSpanishKing,whosememoryhas noteven yetquiteliveddownthe
execrationpileduponhimbyhis enemies.The
book,withitsquaintstories,catchingaphorisms
andwit,broughtliterarycelebrityto theauthor,and to this factwe owe
morethanone descriptionof him. A young mannamedStanden,oneof
AnthonyBacon'sfriends,whc dinedwithPerezin FebruaryI 594,writes:'
Surelyhe is,as we say,an odd man,and hathhis fullsighteverywhere.'
AftermentioningthehighpraisePerezgaveto theEarl of Essex ('
forwhich,as I hear,he hathparticularoccasion'), Standensays: '
ButwhyshouldI writeof himto you: who This content downloaded from
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JSTOR Terms and Conditions88TRANSACTIONS OFT.HE ROYAL
HISTORICALSOCIETY knowhimso well,whilstI had
hardlyheardofhimbefore.And yetI knownothowI beginto
admirehimalready.' Per- haps,however,forall
hisaSectationPerez'scharactercan best be gatheredfromhisownwords.
He wasveryfondof making
giftsofthethennew-fashionedscentedSpanishgloves,and he himselfused
to preparescents,essences,cosmetics,toothpicks, and
othersimilarthingsforpresentsto his friends. He thus sendsa
pairofglovesto Lady Rich, Essex's sister: ' I have beenso
troublednotto havethedogskinglovesyourladyship
desiresthat,pendingthetimewhentheywill arrive,Ihave re.solvedto
sacrificemycelftoyourservice,and flaya pieceof myownskin
fromthemosttenderpartof mybody,if such an uncouthcarcass as minecan
have any tenderskin. To this lengthcan love and wish to serve be
carried that a personshouldflayhimselfto makegloves forhis lady.But
in mycase thisis as nothing,foreventhesoul willskinitself
forthepersonit loves.'He thenplaysalongand wearisome set
ofchangeson dogs and skinsand souls whichwas doubt less at
thetimethoughtwitty.Indeed,he seemsto havequite fallenin love
withhis allegoryofthedog,forhe repeatsit ad nauseasuin dozensof
letterswhichIhave perused Perezallegedin I 594thatan
attemptwasmadein London to
murderhimbytwoIrishmensentfromSpain,althoughtheir guiltwas
veryfarfromclear; and writingto Lady Rich on the subjecthe says: '
WhenProvidencegrantedyouthepower to kill, prudencewas also given
you to use the antidote. When theytryto killme in Englandyour
ladyshipcomes withsucha graciousletteraz thatnowreceived,whichis an
antidote strong enough againstpoison,howevervirulent, and all
humanviolence. If theorienthas its bezoarstones, England has its
ladies who are more powerfulstill.' But amongstall these
gallantrieshe was foreverworkingwith the Queen and othersto
inflameher againstthe King of Spain,and persuadeherto join
withHenryIV. againsthim. The hope$roseand fell as Essex or Cecil
gained the upper hand, and it was seen atlast that Perez mightbe
more useful to Esse:c in France than in 1 ngland. Moreover, This
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AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and
ConditionsANTONIOPEREZINEXILE89 HenryIV. wasgettingimpatientand
suspiciousat his long stay. The King
professedthegreatestattachmentto him, andmadegreatpromisesif he
wouldcomeback,and Perez at lasthadto go; butmuchagainsthiswill. His
lettcrsto Essex at thisperiod,nowin theRecord
Office,showclearlyhowhe regrettedleavingtheease and luxuryin
whichhe lived in London,and forwhichhe yearnedfortherestof hislife.
Wha,twas the good of life, hesaid,ifhewasawayfromtheEarl?To go
wasdeath;to staywasto live. He goesso faras to call Essex his
deity, as he grantshimmorethanhe asks. He onlywanteda hint,
indeed,to throweverythingoverboardand stay; but,much as Essex
likedhim,he wishedhimto carryout his plans in France. These
plansweresufficientlyartfulandnottoo patriotic. Essex was
determinedto bringabout afull Frenchallianceto
fightSpain,andElizabethhad consented to senda specialambassadorto
HenryIV. to oSerhimsmall partialhelpon theveryhardtermsof
thesurrenderto her of certainFrenchportsas
securityforherexpenditure.lt wasfeltthatHenrycouldnotagreeto
this,and itwas to be I'erez'staskto forcetheQueen'shand,to
sendalarmistnews about Spain's intendedaggression,and
Henry'sabsolute need of comingto termswiththe enemyunlesslarge
Englishaid weresent. If it werenot,thenHenrywould
makepeacewithSpain,and Englandwouldbe fac:eto face alonewithher
foe. Sir HenryUnton,whowas to be the envoy,vTaslet into the
plot,and knewthatHenry'sun-
ceremoniousrejectionofhisoffersandsimulateddesperation wouldon]ybe
feigned;whilsttheregularEnglishambas- sador,SirThomasEdmunds,a
friendofCecil's,wasofcourse in the dark. To Perezwas leftthe
managementof the wholeintrigue.He bade good-byeto Essex at
Gravesend in an agonyof tears,and his patronsurroundedhimwith
everyconsiderationwhichcare and moneycouldobtain. A
closesecretcorrespondencewas of courseto be keptup in cipher,and
two Englishgentlemendependantsof Essex, namedWisemanand Wilton,were
attachedto him,as This content downloaded from 193.147.185.45 on
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Conditions90TRANSACTIONS OFTHEROYAL HISTORICALSOCIETY well
astwoi:nglish secretariesandseveral servants. Essex senta letterto
the Duke of Bouillon,sayingthat as the King had summonedPerez it
concernedhis honourthat he should be well received. He would have
been saferin England,and theymustexerciseexquisitecare in
protecting himfromthewilesof his enemiessand should entertainhim
suitablyto his qualityand his merit. Essex concludesby sayingthathe
considersthe safetyand honourof Perezare in his charge,and he
shallwatchoverthemwhereverhe is. Henry IV.had been told that Perez
had receiveda pensionfromthe Queen,and had hintedas muchto him; but
Perez falselywrotea solemnprotestationto theKing thathe had not
receiveda farthing,except his entertainmentfrom the Earl of
Essex.He gave afurtherproofof his un- scrupulousnessbeforehe
leftEngland. As a sort of fare- wellto the Queen, he lefther a
memorialin French-and verybad Frenchtoogivingsome ratherbanale and
trite adviceabout statecraft,ofwhichshe knewprobablyfarmore thanhe
did.He imploresherto keep his cipheratldcorre-
spondencesecretforhis life'ssake,and amongstotherthings says that
he hears Villeroy,the French King's minister, wishesto
entertainhimin his house,and ' I will tryto get some profitout of
thisforyourMajesty.' He urgesheralso to attackthe commerceand
Indies of Spain and blockade theSpanishcoasts. He
proposed,therefore,to acttraitorously to his own country,to England
in drivingher intowar,and to HenryIV. by betrayinghis secretsto
England. Many people dislilcedand distrustedhim,but none saw
through himlike the twoCecils,fatherand son,whomhe hatedwith a11his
heart. FurnishedwithEssex's letterto the governor,he was receivedat
Dieppeon August2,I595,morelikea sovereign thana subject. The
Kingsenta largeescorta1ldoneof his owngentlemenfora guardof his
person,and thegovernor entertainedhimin his ownhouse. He writesto
Essex in hisusualstrainaboutit,saying,' If everhumanwordswere madc
fleshyourlordship'.svere,forSillCC Ihavc been here This content
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thegovernorhas donenothingbut feedme.' He givesan accountin
anotherletterto Essex,threeweekslater,,of the
greathonourtheywerestill doinghim only,he says,to
reconcilehimforleavingEngland. ' Butthistheycannever do.'He
wasevidentlyalreadyhankeringto get backagain. The
secretaryGodfreyAllen,writingto AnthonyBacon,
constantlygivesfulldetailsoftheextraordinaryhonourspaid him. He was
escortedintoRouenby a hundredof the King'sguard,andlvas
receivedbytheDukeofMontpensier as an equal; and lateron,in
September,whenhe wentto ParisJthe-Councilof State was,by the King's
orders,so anxiousforhis safetythattheyproposedthat he should
lodgein theBastille,and in anycase theyprovidedthathe shouldbe
surroundedbytroopsnightandday. AnAragonese gentlemancalledBaronde
Pinilla,whowasratherimportunate in tryingto getan
interviewwithhim,was accusedof a plot to murderhim. Withoutproofof
anykindhe was broken on thewheelin a dreadfulmanner,and thenwithhis
com- panionsexecutedin thePlacede la Greve. Perezthewhile
waswritingtoEssexandotherfriendsmagnifyingthedangers he wasin,but
theEarlwas gettingimpatient,and senthis friendGeneralSir
RogerWilliamswitha letterupbraiding
Perezfornotmakingmattersmorelivelyforthemin:England. He says in
eSect: ' I am doingwhatI can to pushon war in England,but you! you!
what are you doingon that side?'At the sametimeWilliamstold
Perezthatif he werenotsatisfiedin Francehe couldcomebackto
E:ngland, andWilliamshad beenorderedto tell theKingthatParis
wasnota safeplaceforPereztolivein,as thereweredeepplots
againsthim.TheKingatthetimewasopposingtheSpaniards and the
remainingLeaguersin Picardy;thitherPerezwas summoned.He
waslow-spiritedand unhappy,alarmedfor hislife,andwantingto get
backto the luxuryand comfort of Essex House. Whenhe got to
Coucy,wheretheKing was,he grumbledat his lodging;and the
provostmarshal wasorderedbytheKingto givehimthe bestin theplace.
The roughnessoflifeduringa campaigndid notpleasehim, 3 0 This
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ROYAL HISTORICAL SOCIETY and he wasforeverplaintivelyhintingto
Essexthathe wishedtocomeback. But he wastoousefulthere.
Henryshowedhimextra- ordinaryfavour,greatlyto
hisownminister'sannoyance,and Perezat oncesentin
ciphersecretintelligenceofall hecould
learnoftheFrenchintentionstoElizabeth.At thesametime he of
coursecarriedon his correspondencewithEssex for
thepurposeofalarmingElizabethintowarwithSpain. He wasin a
chronicstateof fearthathis secretcorrespondence wou]dbe
discovered,andon oneoccasionnotwithoutreason. GodfreyAllen,whohad
beenattachedto himas secretary by Essex,playedthetraitor,and
sentcopiesof somesecret lettersto Cecil'sfriends.Allenwas sentoffto
Englandon a speciouserrand,and on his arrivalwas seizedby Essex
andshutup in ClinkPrisonin Southwarkformanymonths;
buttheprobabilityis thatCecilwas perfectlywellinformed
oftheintriguefromthefirst,andthatEssex and Perezcom- binedwere no
matchforthe Cecils,fatherand son; for, as
theresultsproved,Elizabeth'smasterlypolicyof' balance'
wasnotmateriallyor permanentlychangedbyEssex'shot-
headedandfoolishpugnaciousnessor Perez'splots.
ButwithalPerezwasgettingimpatientforsomepersonal
advantagefromHenry. Greatpromisesweremade. He was to havea
largepension,fourthousandcrownsa year, theorderof theHolyGhostwitha
thousandcrownsa year, a membershipof the Councilof
Statewitheighthundred crownsa year,andthereversionof an abbey. He
wroteto Essexthathe wantedto refuseeverythingfromFrance,and
i3indhimselfforeverto theEarlandEngland,butHenryIV. seemsto
havebeenas muchin lovewithhimas wasEssex. He hadaccessto theKingat
all times,andVilleroyofcourse wasjealous; butHenrywasalwayson
thesideofPerez,and
onmorethanoneoccasionreproachedtheSpaniardforwanting to leavehim. '
I know,Antonio,'he said,' thatyouwantto getbackto
yourdearEngland;butyou shallhaveall you askforifyouwillstaywithme.'
He askedfora gooddeal, andaskedforit prettyoften.On
thefalsenewsofhiswife's This content downloaded from 193.147.185.45
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ConditionsANTONIOPEREZINEXILE 93 deathhe wanteda cardinal'shat and
a bishopric,and his friendthePrincesssaid
shewouldmakeherbrothergethim thatoranythingelsehe wanted.He
wasreceiving,although ratherirregularly,a
largepensionfromHenryIV.,and was in completepossessionof
theKing'sconfidence,but he was evidentlyunhappy.Essex
wasimpatientandvexedthathe couldnothavehisway;
theCatholicnobles,whowerenow
gettingaboutHenryIV.,wereconstantlysowingdistrustin theKing'smindof
thehonestyofPerez. Villeroy,whowas secretlyin the payof Spain,was
his swornfoe; and timid Perezhimselfvvasin deadlyfear,or
pretendedto be so,of assassination,orthathisdoubledealingutouldbe
discovered. He was capricious,vain,and
exacting,neversatisfiedunless he wasrunningdowntheFrenchto
theirfacesandexalting Englandand Essex. As HenryIV. also saw
thatCecil's counselswerestillparamount,andthatElizabethwas notto be
drivenintowarwithSpain,excepton herownterms,he drewcloserand
closerto Spain,and peace becamedaily fmoreprobable.Perezwas
afraidthatHenryIV. mightbe persuadedto deliverhimto theKingof Spain
at thepeace, andwishedmoreand moreto cometo England. He had
-takenoSence}however,at Essex's coolnessand at the con- tentsof
someinterceptedSpanishlettersin Englandnot havingbeencommunicatedto
him. In fact,histemperat thistimeseemsto havebeenun-
bearable-Naunton,who was now Essex's agentin Paris, givesan
amusingaccountofhiscapriciousness.One dayhe complainedof Essex,qaid
he was treatedlike asucked orange,andthatEssex hadheldout hopesto
himthathad led himto refusetheFrenchKing'sbounty.He mustnow
lookoutforhimself,he said. EvidentlyEnglandwouldnot help himto
recoverhis wifeand family,or his estate,or indeedanythingelse but a
crustof bread,whichcertain peopleevenbegrudgedhim. The
nextday,saysNaunton, he wouldrail againstthe Frenchas a
malignantnation. Thereweredifficultiesabouthis pension. He
wouldthrow up everything-pensions,honours,andall- andgo penniless,
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Conditions94TRANSACTIONS Ofi' THEROYAL HISTORICAL,SOCIETY if
needsbe, to his dear Englandand F:ssex again. His
hopesweresuddenlyfulfilled.He had remaineddiscon-
tented,capricious,quarrelsome,and insolent,forsix months attachedto
HenryIV.'s headquarterswhilsthewasbesieging LaFere,when the
unexpectedassault and captureof Calais by the Spaniardsmadeit
necessaryforEnglandto helpFrancein earnest.Essexwasauthorisedto
fitout his expeditionto Cadiz,andPerezwassentto Englandwiththe
Dukede Bouillon,inAprilI596,to signa treatyof alliance
betweenEnglandand lirance He metEssexat Dover,and
disgustedhimwithhis reproachesand his airsandgraces;
but,moreunfortunatestill,his arrivalcoincidedwiththe receptionof
thenewsin Londono-fthecomplete{ailureof Drake'sEnglishexpeditionto
SouthAmerica,whichhad been undertakenon
Perez'sstrongrecommendation.The Cecilstookcareto
castalltheblameuponhim,andElizabeth wasfurious.She refusedto see
him,and signedthe treaty withtheDukede Bouillonaloneoverhis heatl.
Essex ran away fromhis importunities,and even faithfulAnthony
Baconwentintothecountryto escapehim. Perezbegged Nauntonto
takehimto Cambridge,to Bath,to anywhere. Nauntonprotestedthatthe
honourof escortingso higha personagewastoogreatforhim.
Mortifiedbeyondmeasure,he returnedto Franceto find HenryIV.
mildlysarcasticabouthiswelcome,and VilIeroy
andhisenemiesopenlyjubilantat his disappointment.He
gotsomeconsolationandcreditfromthesuccessofEssexat Cadiz;
butitwasclearthatunlesshe obtaineda permanent settlementof
hisprivateaSairsat oncehe wouldbe sacri- ficedwhenthe
inerritablepeace was madebetweenFrance andSpain. So in DecemberI
596he set forthhis demands in a sortof protocoladdressedto HenryIV.
almostas if he hadbeena sovereign.Indeed,notlongbeforehe seriously
talkedaboutwaCingwaron his ownaccountwiththeKing of Spain fora
yearor two. Henonvdemanfledafixed pensionoftwelvethousandclownsa
year,secllredon abbeys and Chttrchrccnues,acardinal'.shat
f(lr11imselfor his This content downloaded from 193.147.185.45 on
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ConditionsANTONIO PEREZ INEXILE 95 eldestsonGonzalo; thathe
shouldat once be swornin as a memberoftheCouncil,witha
giftoftwothousandcrowns; thathe shouldhalrea bodyguardof
theRoyalSwissGuard; and that,whenpeacewas madewithSpain,oneof the
con- ditionsshouldbe restorationto himof his estatesand the
liberationof his wifeand children,whowerestillkeptiIl prison.All
thiswas grantedand solemnlysignedby the King,
ConstableMontmorerlci,Perez'sgreatfriend,being appointedto carryit
out. It seemsto havebeenfulfilled fairlywell except asregardsthe
cardinal'shat, which HenryIV.could not get, and the introductionof
his namein the treatyof peace of Vervins,whichPhilipabso-
lutelyrefused.For thenextfewyearshe was prosperous enough.No one
trustedhimverymuch,forhe betrayed
exreryone;buthewasamusingandbrilliant.HenryIV. Iiked
hiswittytalkandMontmorenciwashisfirmfriend.He was a
literarycelebrity,too,and hisletters,carefullypolishedup,
werewithafSecteddiffidencepublished.His aphorisms,of whichhe was
veryproud,were characterisedas golden preceptsbythetasteof the
times. His lettersesrento his heroicsuSeringwife,in prisonforhis
sake,are shallowand
heartless,fulloffinefustiansentiment,butfullalsoofaffected
playuponwordsandlong-windedstories,generallyinexalta-
tionofhimselfHe continues,too,to sendhis presentsof
gloves,toothpicks,scents,and ' axtbergtttspiZEs'(whichwere
lwissovereignremedy)to hisfriendswithservile,high-faluting
letter.s,and his correspondencewiththe King and Mont- morenciis as
nauseousin itsflatteryas wasthatwithEssex. NVhenhisenemyPhilipII.
diedin I 598he triedveryhard to getbackto Spain. It wassaid-and he
asserts,confirmed bytheKing'sconfessor-thatPhilipwhenhe
diedleftunder hispillowinstructionsforreparationto be doneto him;
but ifso,thecommandwasneverobeyed,althoughI'erez'swife
atldchildrenwerereleased. In vain11epetitionedtheDuke ofLcrma,his
fortnerfriend,the newKing Philip,thePope theInquisition.He
hadfledfromthechargeof heresy,and musttaketheconsequences.It was
nowa questionoffaith, 3 o * This content downloaded from
193.147.185.45 on Wed, 8 Jan 2014 06:27:07 AMAll use subject to
JSTOR Terms and Conditions96TRANSACTIONS OFTHEROYAL
HISTORICALSOCIETY and out ofthe King'shands. Olcl,weak,and
failingthough he was,the Spaniardstried,timeand again,to
ruinhimwith the Frenchby arousingthesuspicionthathe was a Spanish
agent,and at last theysucceeded. In I604,afterElizabeth.'s
death,diplomaticrelationswereaboutto be resumedbetween Englandand
Spain; and Perezwas beguiledintothebelief by Spanishagents that if
he would break withthe French connection,and use his influencein
England in favourof Spain in the new treaty,he would be
rehabilitated.He threwup all hispensionsand places in France,and
wentover to England,thinkingthathe would be associatedtherewith the
Spanish envoy. Hefoundhimselfdeceived. JamesI. was furious,torehis
beard,and said he wouldleave England himselfratherthan see Perez,
whose presencehe thought wouldbe disagreeableto Spain.In vain did
Perezwriteone of his servileLatin lettersto James; he was
hurriedout of England,havinggot no furtherthanCanterbury,and
returned to Francebroken-hearted.The restof hislifehe passed in
sicknessand poverty,almostbegginghis bread.He drifted fromone
poorlodgingtoanother,writingheart-brokenletters to formerfriendsand
compoundinghiscosmeticsand essences. No one trustedhim,and a
refusalor a contemptuousdolewas all he got.He triedhard in thelast
yearofhis lifeto get reconciledto the Inquisition,and madethemost
abjectand servilerecantationsto it and to the Pope.No use.He died
pennilessalmost at last,in I6Ir,professingto be adevout
Catholic,and was buriedin the (ConventChurchof theCeles- tinesin
Paris. Now thedeductionI drawfromtheperfectlyauthenticated factsof
Perez's lifein exile is that he was vain, unstable, false,and
unscrupulous,and not aman whose allegations in his owndefencecan be
acceptedwithoutsome corrobora- tion. Andyet theywere so accepted
fortwo centuries and ahalf against Philip II., whose mouthwas
closed. Perez's' Relaciones,'in whichhis versionof thestoryis told,
representedhis enemy,of course,in theblackestcolours. It was an
extremelycleverpieceof special pleading,implying This content
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farmorethanit said,butwas acceptedas gospelbygene- rationsyvhoseone
idea-was thatPhilipII. was ablood- thirstymonster.Thefirstpersonto
questionwhetheritcould betakenas an
impartialstatementofthecasewasSenorBer- mudezde
Castro,whofifty-tvoyearsago publishedseveral papersfromSimancasand
elsewherewhichthrewmore lightuponthe subject. Thetleame
Mignet'sbook,which madepublicthedepositionsof the witnesses,so
carefully taken,overa periodof twoyears,I582-I584,againstPerez by
the judge RodrigoVasquezde Arce,and also a large numberof
lettersfromPerezwhilstin Francein theParis Archives.Manyof
theveryinterestinglettersin theBacon Papersand Birch'sMemoirsof
Elizabeth,as well as one or twoof thosein the RecordOffice,werealso
used by Mignet.Thellin I850a completeeditionin Spanishof
a11Perez'sthenknownletterswas publishedin Madrid,and in I878M.
Morel-Fatiopublishedseveralfreshlettersfrom Perezto
Montmorenci.Mr.Froudein I883wrotean essay on
thesubject,main]yfoundedon the' Relaciones,'question- ingsomeof
Perez'sfacts,and SenorGasparMuro,aboutthe
sametime,producedhisreallyvaluableworkon thePrincess of
Eboli,drawnfroma minuteexaminationof thepapers of
thevariousbranchesof the houseof Mendoza. More
recentlystilIsomeinterestingoriginaldocumentsuponthe
subjecthavebeenmadepublicbyCaptainFernandezDuro.
Nowmostoftheseenquirershavedeploredthedisappear-
anceofthepaperswhichPerez'swifegaveuptotheKing'scon-
fessorwhilstPerezwasin prison.Theywerenotat Simancas,
norweretheyamongstthe archiyeswhichweretakenfrom Simancasto Paris.
It wasthoughtthattheymustbe burnt: ' If onlytheycouldbe foundwe
shouldknowall aboutit,' saidonewriteraftertheother. Well,I
shouldnotliketo be certainaboutit,but I
stronglysuspectthatthepapersor someof themarewithintwomilesof
wherewenowareat theBritishMuseum.Certainit is
thattherearehundredsof
Perez'sconfidentialletterstotheKing,extendingovera period of
manryears;letterscoveredwithPhilip'sownreplies,in N.S.VOL.VIII.H
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06:27:07 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and
ConditionstSTRANSACTIONS OFTI-lE ROYAL lIISTORICALSOCIETY
thatfearfulhandwritingofhis; and althoughI hase onlyhad
timemerelyto glance at them,I have seen quite enoubhto convinceme
that theycontainveryinterestingmatter. Nor is
thisall.Perezmanagedto secretea considerablenumber of
letterswhichhe heldin Zerrorem over the King,and from whichhe
wrotehis ' Relaciones'; and it is thoughtthatthey were destroyedby
the FrenchGovernmentwhen he died. tioweverthatmaybe,thereare a
largenumberof lettersfrom :FJscobedoto
Perez,withtheKing'sremarksuponthem,in the Dutch Queen'slibraryat
theHague whichexactlycorrespond withPere%'scitationsin his book,and
whichare evidently eitherthosehe had or copiesof them. Motleyquotes
some of theseletters;but as he was writinga historyof the Dutch
Republic,and not about Perez,theirimportancein this re- specthas
been overlooked. Let us see whetheran analyticalexaminationof
Perez's statements,aided by thisnewmaterial,willenableus to forma
judgment. The problemsare,Whywas Escobedomurdered? What had
thePrincessof Eboli to do withit?And ifPhilip had orderedEscobedoto
be killed,as he admittedthathe had, uhy was he so implacablein his
persecutionof Perezyears afterthe murder?It seemsto me thatifwe get
an answerto the firstquestionwe shall solve theothertwo.First let
us see what Perez himselfsays.Recollecthe was veryartful, and
wherehe is vague he is vague forapurpose; and he spreadsthc storyof
the provocationsoSered by Escobedo over a
considerableperiod,keepingthe dateof the murder in the background.
He says generallythat Escobedo was encouragingDon Johnto
undertakethe Englishaffair,and it was considereddangerousto
sendhimback; thathis letters to theKingweredisrespectful;andhe
givesseveralinstan.es of this,quoting lettersdated earlyin I577and
one that especiallyoffendedPhilip,even beforeEscobedo went to
Flandersin I 576.B'hat Perez says aboutthisis quitetrue; Escobedo
was importunateand rude; whichis provedby interceptedlettersdatedin
AprilI 577,in theBritishMuseum, ofwhichPerezknewnothing,and
hythelettcrsintheHaauc; This content downloaded from 193.147.185.45
on Wed, 8 Jan 2014 06:27:07 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and
ConditionsANTON IOPEREZINEXILE 99 and lastlyPerezsays Escobedoand
Don Johnhad some
designsagainstSpainitself,butonlysupportsthatbyrepeat-
ingsomethingt-hatEscobedosaidbeforehe wentto Flanders
aboutfortifyinga rockoutsideSantanderand raisingSpain fromthere. It
is truethathe alsomentionsthatEscobedo in oneof
hisletterssuggeststhattheyshouldcomeback to Spain and'
rulethecourt;but theletterin the Haguedis- tinctlyshowsthatit is
theformationof a politicalpartyhe suggests,nottreason;forin it
Escobedosays thatthepro- posedcombinationwouldbe
thestaffoftheKing'soldage. EscobeeloandDon Johnwerequiteas eagerto
undertake the EnglishaSair beforetheywentto the Netherlandsas
afterwards,and yetEscobedowasallowedto go.The letter quotedby
Perezas especiallyirritatingto Philipwaswritten in
IS76beforeEscobedoleftforthe Netherlands;and the
restwerewrittenearlyin I577,whenhe wasmuchdistressed at his
disagreeabletaskof sendingtheSpanishtroopsaway xvithoutmoneyto
paythem. Escobedosucceededin getting thetroopsoffat theendof
April,and theEnglishaffairwas thenacknowledgedbyhimandeveryoneelse
forthetimeto be impossible.Now in one of the originallettersI have
foundin theBritishMuseumfromPerezto theKing,dated
JuneI,I577(notethe date),he rejoicesthatthe Spanish
troopshaveleftFlanders,and thatDon Johnhas beenwell receivedat
Brusselson May I;and adds: ' Escobedoha.s donesplendidlyin
successfullygettingthe troopsoutof the country.Your
Majestyshouldnowthinkaboutgivingthat pensionto his son. The
oppottunityis a good one,and it
willhealsomeofEscobedo'sothergrierrances.' In the sameletterhe
says: ' I havebeenthinkingthat the Pope and Don Johnwill pressyou
to undertakethe Englishaffair,seeingso
manytroopsandgalleystogetherfor theAfricanExpedition,andperfiapstSe
opport?nitytzaybea goodone. If Escobedogoes withthe troopsto
Italy,as I supposehe will,he willbe sureto findhiswayto Rometo
pressthe mattereitherin personor by letter;at any rate we
shallhavehimherein duetime.' Evidently,then,in the H 2 This content
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use subject to JSTOR Terms and
ConditionsIOOTRvANSACTIONSOFTlIEROlrAL lIISTORICALSOCIETY
summerofI577therewasno greatdangerapprehendedfrom Escobedoin the
Englishaffair,and anycauseof offe}lcehe mayhave givenbeforewas
forgottenor forgivenin the successfulpacificationoftheNetherlands.
I havefoun(la veryimportantletterin theBritishMuseum whichappearsto
be the firstattemptof Perezto arousethe King'sfearsofDon
JohnandEscobedowithregardto Spain itself.You willsee howinsidiousit
is withoutallegingany
solidgrounds,butonlyvaguehints-whichheknewwouldwork on
Philip'ssuspiciousnature.It hasno date,but musthave beenwrittenin
theearlyspringof I 577: ' OctavioGonzaga
andEscobedoareaskingforknighthoods,andtheMarquisof Los
Veleztoldmehe wouldspeaktoyouaboutit.I toldhim forGod'ssake to
takecarewhathe was about,andfeelhis uzayfirst.I said" Do notletus
dampourpleasuresbydis- countingthefuture,but letus
esteemsuchrewardsas a prize forsuccessfullycuringthe invalid."He
willsoundtheford, however,and if yourMajestysmilesuponnimyou willbe
pesteredwithsimilarimportunitieseverytimeanythingfresh is
accomplished.It is quiterightforyourMajestyto give
favours,butdon'tteachus to askforthemon suchoccasiolls as this.'
Thenfollowsthesewords:' I amnowelucidatingthe darkexpressionsin Don
John'sletter.Whathe wantsis to leaveFlandersandcomehither.Thisis
Escobedo'sdoings.I willsee throughit
all,andwillsendyoumyopinion,which maybe
oflittleweight;butmyloveandfaithwillexculpate me. No
doubttheywishto comeforthe Spanishbusiness andto carryout
thoseplansof theirs.TheythinkFlanders is toosmalla fieldforthemto
runveryfarin.' NowPerezhad beenEscobedo'sclosefriend,and I have
foundin the BritishMuseumhis originalletterto theKing
recommendingEscobedoin themostflatteringtermsforthe postof Don
John'ssecretary.He wouldcertainlynot have
madesuchaccusations,forwhichthereseemsto havebeen no
ground,withoutreason. Whatwasthereason? I believe thatat firstitwas
a politicalone. Afterthedeathof Ruy Gomezthepartyof
conciliationssas greatlyseakenedtarld This content downloaded from
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JSTOR Terms and ConditionsANTONIOPEREZINEXILEIOI the Duke of
Alba'spartybecameproportionatelystronger. It is evidentthatDon
Johnand Escobedohad desertedthe partyof peace and had driftedto the
militantside of the
Albas,whichwiththeiraccessionwasrapidlybecomingpara- mount;a
processwhichin theend wouldcertainlyupset Perezand his party.
Perezthereforewishedto makethe King suspiciousof thewarparty,and in
pursuanceof the same policyhe notonlypoisonedthe King'smindtowards
hisbrotherandEscobedo,butin theconfidentialmemoranda I
havementionedin theBritishMuseumtherearenumerous slightingand
contemptuousreferencesto Alba and ' the Toledos,'as he calls
hisfriends.It has alwaysappearedto enquirersthatthedisgraceof
Albaon seeminglyinadequate groundszrequiredexplanation,butwe nowsee
thatPerezwas
constantlywhisperingdoubtsofthegreatsoldier'sloyaltyand
arousingPhilip'ssuspicionsof him; and theoriginaldocuj mentsto
whichI refershowthatforyearsthisundermining processwas carriedon by
Perezforhis ownpoliticalends. We thussee nowthe
motiveforPerez'sdetractionof his formerfriendand
colleague,whohadforsakenhis partyand had goneoverto
theopposition;andthisgivesus a keyto
xnuchofthemysterythathasalwayssurroundedthematter.
Nowaboutthemurderitself.Escobedoarrivedin Spairx in JulyI 577.His
importunityand roughnesshad been shownforat leasta yearbefore,and
are givenbyPerezas
oneoftheprincipalreasonswhytheKingorderedhismurder.
ButthemanwasnotmurdereduntilMarch3I,I578,SOthat
surelycouldnothavebeentherealreason. It couldnothave been,as
Perezsays it was,becausehe urgedtheinvasionof England,as he
andeveryoneelseacknowledgedthatthatwas
quiteimpossibleforthetime,nowthattheSpanishtroopshad
leftFlanders,besideswhicheverymemberof theAlbaparty
hadtriedpersistentlyfornearlytwentyyearsto drivePhilip
intoinvadingEngland,andnoneofthemhadbeenmurdered forit.Philipheld
the pursestringsand was well able to repressimpatientand
warlikecouncillorswithoutmurdering them. Perezgivesas
anotherreasonthatwithhis warlilse This content downloaded from
193.147.185.45 on Wed, 8 Jan 2014 06:27:07 AMAll use subject to
JSTOR Terms and Conditions102TRANSACTIONS OFTHEROYAL
HISTORICALSOCIETY ideas it wouldhavebeendangerousto
sendEscobedoback to Don John;and so it wouldhavebeenin theautumnof
}577.But Escobedowas not murdereduntilMarchI578, wheneverythinghad
changed.Perezassertsin oneof his letters,publishedin
theOchoaCollection,thattheKinggave theorderforthemurderwhenhe wasat
theEscorial;anclI havefoundthathe wastherein theautumnof I
S77)butnot in thewinter,so thattheKingmusthavewantedhimkilled in
theautumn. Ihaveanotherproofof thisin a letterI findin the
museumfromPerezto the King,the onlydateon whichis \Vednesday,6th. I
haveconstructedan almanacoftheyear,
andfindthatthismusthavebeenNovember6, I577,and it is
evidentthatmischiefwasmeantto Escobedothen. Perez
tellstheKingmysteriouslythathehadseen' hisfriend' twice and
talkedover'thematter'withhim; thathefoundthe
Archbishop(Quiroga)obstinate,but readhim Don John's
letter,whichsoftenedhim. And Perezthenadds: 'For
God'ssake,yourMajesty,takecarehowyousendmypapers
andothert}zings.Let themcomebya servantofSantoya's I am afraidof
thepostandthecuriosityof peopleXparticu- larlyas
VerdinegroLEscobedo'snickname]has arelative there.' Now at this
timeand duringthe autllmntherewas, fromI'hilip'spointof view,a
goodreasonforgettingridof Escobedo.
Philipwasstrainingeverynervetokeepthepeace withthe Flemings,and the
successof his wholepolicy dependeduponit; so thatto senda
firebrandlike Escobedo to
FlandersZhenwouldhavebeendisastrous.Butbythetime
themurderwascommittedthisreasonhaddisappeared.War
wasthenbeingwagedwithall thestrengthat Philip'scom- mand. The
Flemingshadbeenbeatenat thebattleofGem- blours,Don Johnwas
practicallysuperseded,andAlexander Farnesewasreadyat
anymomenttotakesupremecommand. No
harmcouldhavebeendonebyEscobedo'sgoingbackiIl
thespringof1578,forthentwentyEscobedoscouldnothave carriedon
thervarwithgreatervigourthanDon Johnand This content downloaded
from 193.147.185.45 on Wed, 8 Jan 2014 06:27:07 AMAll use subject
to JSTOR Terms and ConditionsANTONIOPEREZINEXILE103 Parmaweredoing.
It is clear,therefore}thatPhilipordered themurderin
theautumn,whentherewasa reasonforit; but whenit was committedin
thefollowingspringPhilipwas probablyas muchsurprisedas anyoneelse.
The manEsco- bedowasa nuisance,however,and,afterall,it did notmuch
matter.He probablyattributedit at firstto Perez'sundue zeal
orperhapsspite,andtheless publiclysaid aboutit the better.No
doubthe wasmaliciouslysatisfiedthatsuspicion
shouldfalluponthePrincessof Eboli or uponanyoneelse
awayfromhimself,and was notsorryto put Perezto some troubleor
perplexitybyhandinghimVasquez'saccusatory
letter,seeingthatthedeedhadbeendonewhentheneedfor it
wasnotpressing.1 takeit thatthe firstmildimprison-
mentwasforceduponPhilipbytheinsolentobstinacyofthe Princessand
Pere7in refusingto be friendlywithSecretary Vasquez. The
courtwasall in a turmoilwiththethreatsand
defianceofthesetwoagainstVasquez,andit is difficulttosee
howPhilipcouldhaveavoidedsomesuchstepas thatwhich he took.
WhetlPerezwasin exilehe carefullyspreadtheideathat Philip'shatredto
himaroseoutofjealousyof thefavourshe
receivedfromthePrincessofEboli. I haveshown,however thatthemanwasa
vain,amorouscoxcomb,whosegreatidea wasto makehimselfinterestingand
hismasterodious;and SenorMuro'smonographuponthe Princesshas
quitedis- posedof thefablethatPhilipwas her lover. Thereis no
foundationforthe prevalentidea thatthe blackeningof
Escobedo'scharacterto Philipwas fromthefirsta plotto
avengesomeslightuponthePrincess.I havealreadygiven
amplereasonsforit,butin additionto thisthePrincesshad livedin
retirernentat Pastranauntilearlyin I577,and-could hardlyhateseen
eitherPhilip,Perez,orEscobedoforyears beforethen. Accordingto the
depositionsof herwaiting-
maidbeforethejudge,Perez'samourswithheronlycom-
mencedshortlybeforeEscobedo'sdeath,and anotherdepo- sitionsays
that'shortlybeforethe murder'Escobedosaw
sszmethingveryscandalousgoingon betweenthem,andhe,in This content
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use subject to JSTOR Terms and ConditionsICTRANSACTIONS O}'THEROYAL
HISTORICALSOCIETY hisroughway,jealousofhislate master's hoIlour,
said: ' I can endurethisnolonger.I shalltelltheKing.' Jezebelthere-
uponburstoutin afuryof obscenityand rage,calledEsco- bedoa
foul-mouthedscamp,saidshelovedPerezbetterthan all
theworld,andsworeto be revenged. I ventureto thinkthatit was
notuntilthegradually piled-upevidencetakenbetweenI582and I587cameto
the King'sknowledgethat his eyeswerefullyopenedto the
iniquityofPerez'srelationswiththePrincessandto thefact thatthe
latter,shortlybeforethe murder,had swornto be revengedon Escobedo.
Thisshowedhimthatthemanhad reallybeensacrificedto
thePrincess'vengeance,whilstthe blamein the last resourcewas to be
thrownon to his shoulders;andit alsoprovedthatPerezmusthaveinformed
thePrincessthathc hadtheKing'sauthorityforthemurder. Hence
thesecondchargeagainstPerez whichhas alnvays beena puzzle
namely,thatofdivulgingstatesecrets. A closeexaminationof
PerezXspapersand theoriginal correspondencefromDon Johnand
Escobedomusthave shownPhilip,as it showsus,thatPerezhad no
warrantfor the darkestsuspicionshe triedto arouse. The Kingmust
have recognisedthen,yearsaftertheoffence,thathe had
beentrickedintobelievingthathisbrother,Escobedo,Alba, and
theToledosweretraitors,in orderthatPerezand his
partymightremainparamount.Hencethechargeof tam-
peringwithdespatches.By the lightc)fthesefactsPhilip's
extraordinaryvacillationand apparentlysnexplicablebe- haviourall
throughthe aSair becomequiteclear. For the firsttwoyearsanda halfhe
doubtlesstreatedthematteras a quarrelbetweenhis two
secretaries,whichcallsedhim muchannoZlnceand inconsenience,and
whichhe triedby everymeansto hcal,keepingthemurderin thebackground;
whilsthe soughtto perplexPerez aboutit sufficientlyto markhis
displeasurethat it was committedwhenit was, and
lookedwithcomplaisaneyuponVasquez'sslymalicein keepingthesoreopen.
The greatchangecamesvhenPhilipin Portugalhadneed This content
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use subject to JSTOR Terms and ConditionsANTONIOPEREZINEXILEIOs of
Alba,and Perez'spartywas discredited.The grimold soldierwasa
goodhater,andknewfullwellthatdisgraceand
failurehadbeenbroughtuponhimbythe scentedfribblehe despised. Los
Velezwas dead,and his placewas takenby Countde Barajas,a
firmfriendoftheAlbas. The ' Toledos' werehavingitall
theirownway.Thefavouritesecretariesnow wereZayasand
Idiaquez,faithfulcreaturesoftheAlbaparty,
andVasquez,thebitterenemyofPerez. Thelatterwasunder a
cloud,farawayin Madrid ' les absentsonttoujourstort- andthepartyof
RuyGomezhad sunkneverto riseagain. It is
notwonderfulthat,undersuchcircumstances,Philipin Portugalshouldbe
persuadedto entrustto thesleuth-hound RodrigoVasquezde
Arce,anothercreatureof Alba's,the
secretinvestigation;andwhenthedamningproofshadbeen
laboriouslypiledup,andPhilipsawthepitfallintowhichhe
hadbeenled,that,lateinthedayas itwas,heshouldpersecute to
thedeaththemanwhohad betrayedhis trust,and had
soughttomakehim,thekingofhalftheuniverse,thecatspaw of a vile
woman'svengeanceand of an upstartfavourite's ambition. Nowwe can
understandwhatpuzzledCardinalQuiroga so much
thereason,ifl'hilipknewheauthorisedthemurder, whyhe
shouldinsistuponwringingoutof Perezon therack
theavowalofthecauseswhichledto it. A fewmoredaysof torturelikethe
first,and Perezwouldhavehad to confess thatthe orderforthe
murderhad beengixensix months beforeit wascommitted,and thatin
themeanwhilethecir-
cumstanceswhich,fromtheKing'spointofview,renderedit
desirablehaddisappeared.Thatwouldhavebeensufficient to
condemnhimwithoutgoingintothe restof thestory,as
rvouldhavebeennecessarysubsequently,beforethetribunal of Aragon.
When Philipwithdrewfromthe prosecution beforetheAragonesetribunalin
whichPerezwas charged withthemurder,and
falselypretendingtheKing'sauthority
forit,forbetrayingstatesecretsand tamperingwithcipher desp