160 OBSERVATIONS ON A LIBEL. 



ship ever thought or affected to match his children 

 in the blood royal. His lordship s wisdom, which 

 hath been so long of gathering,, teacheth him to 

 leave to his posterity rather surety than danger. 

 And I marvel where be the combinations which have 

 been with great men ; and the popular and plausi 

 ble courses, which ever accompany such designs, as 

 the libeller speaketh of: and therefore this match is 

 but like unto that which the same fellow concluded 

 between the same lady Arabella and the earl of Lei 

 cester s son, when he was but a twelvemonth old. 



Page 70. he saith, He laboureth incessantly with 

 the queen to make his eldest son deputy of Ireland ; 

 as if that were such a catch, considering all the de 

 puties since her majesty s time, except the earl of 

 Sussex and the lord Grey, have been persons of 

 meaner degree than Sir Thomas Cecil is ; and the 

 most that is gotten by that place, is but the saving 

 and putting up of a man s own revenues, during 

 those years that he serveth there ; and this perhaps 

 to be saved with some displeasure at his return. 



Page &quot; eadem&quot; he saith, He hath brought in his 

 second son Sir Robert Cecil to be of the council, who 

 hath neither wit nor experience ; which speech is as 

 notorious an untruth as is in all the libel : for it is 

 confessed by all men that know the gentleman, that 

 he hath one of the rarest and most excellent wits of 

 England, with a singular delivery and application of 

 the same ; whether it be to use a continued speech, 

 or to negociate, or to couch in writing, or to make 

 report, or discreetly to consider of the circumstances, 



