herself. He intrigued with Tyrone; he intrigued with James of Scotland;
he plunged into a whirl of angry and baseless projects, which came to
nothing the moment they were discussed. How empty and idle they were was
shown by his return against orders to tell his own story at Nonsuch, and
by thus placing himself alone and undeniably in the wrong, in the power
of the hostile Council. Of course it was not to be thought of that Cecil
should not use his advantage in the game. It was too early, irritated
though the Queen was, to strike the final blow. But it is impossible not
to see, looking back over the miserable history, that Essex was treated
in a way which was certain, sooner or later, to make him, being what he
was, plunge into a fatal and irretrievable mistake. He was treated as a
cat treats a mouse; he was worried, confined, disgraced, publicly
reprimanded, brought just within verge of the charge of treason, but not
quite, just enough to discredit and alarm him, but to leave him still a
certain amount of play. He was made to see that the Queen's favour was
not quite hopeless; but that nothing but the most absolute and
unreserved humiliation could recover it. It was plain to any one who
knew Essex that this treatment would drive Essex to madness. "These same
gradations of yours"--so Bacon represents himself expostulating with the
Queen on her caprices--"are fitter to corrupt than to correct any mind
of greatness." They made Essex desperate; he became frightened for his
life, and he had reason to be so, though not in the way which he feared.
At length came the stupid and ridiculous outbreak of the 8th of
February, 1600/1601, a plot to seize the palace and raise the city
against the ministers, by the help of a few gentlemen armed only with
their rapiers. As Bacon himself told the Queen, "if some base and
cruel-minded persons had entered into such an action, it might have
caused much blow and combustion; but it appeared well that they were
such as knew not how to play the malefactors!" But it was sufficient to
bring Essex within the doom of treason.