COUNSEL AGAINST ESSEX. lix 



assembled to determine upon the mode of proceeding. At 

 this meeting, it was said (p) by one of the courtiers, that Bacon 



her maiestv was not resolved whether Mr. Bacon should counse f 

 J J against 



act in this trial as one of her counsel. What must Essex, 

 have passed in his mind when he heard this observation ! 

 He knew enough of the common charities of courts to 

 suspect every thing. He knew that the Queen looked 

 with great jealousy and distrust at his having &quot; crossed 

 her disposition&quot; by his steady friendship for Essex. He 

 saw, therefore, that whether this remark was a stratagem 

 to sound his intentions, or that some attempt had been 

 made to ruin him in the Queen s opinion, by inducing her 

 to suppose that he would sacrifice her to the popular 

 clamour of which she was too sensible, it required his 

 immediate and vigilant attention. In this situation of no 

 common difficulty the conflict of his various duties, to the 

 Queen, to Essex, and to himself, were instantly present to 

 his mind. 



To the Queen he was under the greatest obligation : she Bacon s 

 was the friend of his father, and had been his friend from ^ 1C 

 his infancy; she consulted with him in all her difficulties; Queen. 

 she had conferred upon him a valuable reversion of 2000/. 

 a year, had promoted him to be her counsel, and, what 

 perhaps was her greatest kindness, instead of having hastily 

 advanced him, she had, with a continuance of her friend 

 ship, made him bear the yoke in his youth. Such were 

 his obligations to Elizabeth, of whom he never spoke but 

 with affection for her virtues, and respect for her com 

 manding intellect. 



He had also great esteem for the virtues of Essex, and Friendship 

 great admiration of the higher powers of his mind. He 

 felt for him with all the hopes and fears of a parent for a 



00 See note 3 Y at the end. 



