arl of Shrewsbury, she lived during a long time in great intimacy
with the countess; but that lady entertaining a jealousy of an amour
between her and the earl, their friendship was converted into enmity;
and Mary took a method of revenge, which at once gratified her spite
against the countess and that against Elizabeth. She wrote to the queen,
informing her of all the malicious, scandalous stories which, she said,
the countess of Shrewsbury had reported of her: that Elizabeth had given
a promise of marriage to a certain person, whom she afterwards often
admitted to her bed: that she had been equally indulgent to Simier, the
French agent, and to the duke of Anjou: that Hatton was also one of her
paramours, who was even disgusted with her excessive love and fondness:
that though she was on other occasions avaricious to the last degree,
as well as ungrateful, and kind to very few, she spared no expense in
gratifying her amorous passions: that notwithstanding her licentious
amours, she was not made like other women; and all those who courted her
in marriage would in the end be disappointed; that she was so conceited
of her beauty, as to swallow the most extravagant flattery from her
courtiers, who could not, on these occasions, forbear even sneering
at her for her folly: that it was usual for them to tell her that the
lustre of Her beauty dazzled them like that of the sun, and they could
not behold it with a fixed eye. She added that the countess had said,
that Mary's best policy would be to engage her son to make love to the
queen; nor was there any danger that such a proposal would be taken for
mockery; so ridiculous was the opinion which she had entertained of her
own charms. She pretended that the countess had represented her as no
less odious in her temper than profligate in her manners, and absurd
in her vanity: that she had so beaten a young woman of the name of
Scudamore, as to break that lady's finger; and in order to cover over
the matter, it was pretended that the accident had proceeded from the
fall of a candlestick: that she had cut another across the hand with a
knife, who had been so unfortunate as to offend her. Mary added, that
the countess had informed her, that Elizabeth had suborned Rolstone to
pretend friendship to her, in order to debauch her, and thereby throw
infamy on her rival. See Murden's State Papers, p. 558. This imprudent
and malicious letter was written a very little before the detection of
Ma