s than to books
and literature, was endowed, she thought, with talents equal to the
undertaking. But the young earl of Essex, ambitious of fame, and
desirous of obtaining this government for himself, opposed the choice of
Mountjoy; and represented the necessity of appointing for that important
employment, some person more experienced in war than this nobleman, more
practised in business, and of higher quality and reputation. By this
description, he was understood to mean himself;[**] and no sooner
was his desire known, than his enemies, even more zealously than his
friends, conspired to gratify his wishes. Many of his friends thought,
that he never ought to consent, except for a short time, to accept of
any employment which must remove him from court, and prevent him from
cultivating that personal inclination which the queen so visibly bore
him.[***]

* Cox, p. 415.

** Bacon, vol. iv. p. 512.

*** Cabala, p. 79.

His enemies hoped, that if by his absence she had once leisure to forget
the charms of his person and conversation, his impatient and lofty
demeanor would soon disgust a princess who usually exacted such profound
submission and implicit obedience from all her servants. But Essex was
incapable of entering into such cautious views; and even Elizabeth, who
was extremely desirous of subduing the Irish rebels, and who was much
prepossessed in favor of Essex's genius, readily agreed to appoint
him governor of Ireland, by the title of lord lieutenant. The more to
encourage him in his undertaking, she granted him by his patent more
extensive authority had ever before been conferred on any lieutenant;
the power of carrying on or finishing the war as he pleased, of
pardoning the rebels, and of filling all the most considerable
employments of the kingdom.[*] And to insure him of success, she levied
a numerous army of sixteen thousand foot and thirteen hundred horse,
which she afterwards augmented to twenty thousand foot and two thousand
horse; a force which, it was apprehended, would be able in one campaign
to overwhelm the rebels, and make an entire conquest of Ireland. Nor did
Essex's enemies, the earl of Nottingham, Sir Robert Cecil, Sir Walter
Raleigh, and Lord Cobham, throw any obstacles in the way of these
preparations; but hoped that the higher the queen's expectations of
success were raised, the more difficult it would be for the event to
correspond to them. In a like view, they rather seconde