Sorranzo’s description of Mary, at the age of thirty-eight, is important, as coming from the pen of a none too friendly critic. In the Venetian ambassador’s description of England in 1554 occurs the following paragraph:—
“The most serene Madam Mary is entitled Queen of England and of France, and Defendress of the Faith. She was born on the 18 February 1515 [1516], so she yesterday completed her thirty-eighth year, and six months. She is of low stature with a red and white complexion, and very thin. Her eyes are white [light?] and large, and her hair reddish; her face is round, with a nose rather low and wide, and were not her age on the decline, she might be called handsome rather than the contrary. She is not of a strong constitution, and of late she suffers from headache, and serious affection of the heart, so that she is often obliged to take medicine, and also to be blooded. She is of very spare diet, and never eats till one or two p.m., although she rises at daybreak, when after saying her prayers, and hearing Mass in private, she transacts business incessantly until after midnight, when she retires to rest; for she chooses to give audience not only to all the members of her Privy Council, and to hear from them every detail of public business, but also to all other persons who ask it of her. Her Majesty’s countenance indicates great benignity and clemency, which are not belied by her conduct, for although she has had many enemies, and though so many of them were by law condemned to death, yet had the executions depended solely on her Majesty’s will, not one of them perhaps would have been enforced; but deferring to her Council in everything, she in this matter likewise complied with the wishes of others, rather than with her own. She is endowed with excellent ability, and more than moderately read in Latin literature, especially with regard to Holy Writ; and besides her native tongue, she speaks Latin, French and Spanish, and understands Italian perfectly, but does not speak it. She is also very generous, but not to the extent of letting it appear that she rests her chief claim to commendation on this quality. She is so confirmed in the Catholic religion, that although the King her brother, and his Council, prohibited her from having the Mass celebrated according to the Roman Catholic ritual, she nevertheless had it performed in secret, nor did she ever choose by any act to assent to any other form of religion, her belief in that in which she was born being so strong, that had the opportunity offered, she would have displayed it at the stake, her hope being in God alone, so that she constantly exclaims, ‘In te Domine confido, non confundar in eternam! Si Deus est pro nobis, quis contra nos?’ Her Majesty takes pleasure in playing on the lute and spinet, and is a very good performer on both instruments, and indeed before her accession, she taught many of her maids of honour. But she seems to delight above all in arraying herself elegantly and magnificently, and her garments are of two sorts; the one a gown such as men wear, but fitting very close, with an under petticoat which has a very long train; and this is her ordinary costume, being also that of the gentlewomen of England. The other garment is a gown and boddice with wide hanging sleeves in the French fashion, which she wears on State occasions, and she also wears much embroidery, and gowns and mantles of cloth of gold, and cloth of silver of great value, and changes every day. She also makes great use of jewels, wearing them both on her chaperon, and round her neck, and as trimming for her gowns, in which jewels she delights greatly, and although she has a great plenty of them left her by her predecessors, yet were she better supplied with money than she is, she would doubtless buy more.”[450]
“Philippe II” From the original portrait by Adrian van der Werff.
Marie eut dans mon cœur une part bien legere,
Ma seule ambition m’en fit faire le choix:
Ie n’en fus pas content, elle ne me sut plaire,
Le plus encore moins aux Anglois.
Philip’s departure for England had been delayed at the last, on account of the large quantity of bullion he was taking with him, amounting to 3,000,000 ducats, 300,000 of which were for his bride, 100,000 for the merchants, and the rest for the Emperor. In charge of this money was Sir Thomas Gresham, the celebrated founder of the Royal Exchange, who had gone to Spain for the purpose of raising a loan. When that part of the treasure which was destined for England was taken to the Tower, it filled twenty carts containing fourscore and seventeen chests, a yard and four inches long, and it was estimated that when coined it would produce about £50,000 sterling.[451]