xlviii LIFE OF BACON. 



to the appointment, and, though accustomed to yield to 

 the vehement demands of her favorite, was neither blind to 

 his faults, or slow in remembering them, when his absence 

 gave her time for reflection ; but she shared with all rnon- 

 archs the common wish to obtain the disinterested affection 

 of those whom she distinguished with her favour, (a) 



By the loss of Leicester, and the recent death of Bur- 

 leigh, she was left in the decline of her life &quot; in a solitude 

 of friends,&quot; when Essex, of a character more congenial 

 to the Queen than either of those noblemen, became, 

 between twenty and thirty years of age, a candidate for 

 court favour. Well read, highly born, accomplished, and 

 imbued with the romantic chivalry of the times, he amused 

 her by his gaiety, and flattered her by his gallantry ; the 

 rash ingenuousness of his temper gave an air of sincerity 

 to all his words and actions, while strength of will, and a 

 daring and lofty spirit like her own, lessened the distance 

 between them, and completed the ascendancy which he 

 gained over her affections ; an ascendency which, even if 

 the Queen had not been surrounded by his rivals and 

 enemies, could not but be diminished by his absence. 

 1599. In March, 1599, he was appointed lord lieutenant, and, 

 &* 39 - attended with the flower of the nobility and the acclama- 

 tatenant. tions of the people, he quitted London, and in the latter 

 end of the month arrived at Dublin. From this time until 

 his return, the whole of his actions were marked by a 

 strong determination that his will should be paramount to 

 that of the Queen. 



The first indication of his struggle for power was the 

 appointment, against the express wish of the Queen, of 

 his friend, Lord Southampton, to be general of the horse, 

 which he was ordered to rescind. Essex, who had much 

 personal courage, and who would have distinguished him- 



(a) See note 3T at the end. 



