Elizabeth by Philippa Jones

… I ever bear a mind, in some middle place that I could discharge, to serve her Majesty; not as a man born under Sol, that loveth honour; nor under Jupiter, that loveth business, for the contemplative planet carrieth me away wholly; but as a man born under an excellent Sovereign, that deserveth the dedication of all men’s abilities …’ 4
    In 1592, Francis’s brother Anthony returned from a spying mission in France after his arrest at Montaubon on a charge of sodomy. Henri de Navarre, a personal friend, had interceded to get him released, and Anthony joined Francis in his lodgings in Gray’s Inn. They worked and wrote together, while Francis waited for his political career to take off.
    In February 1593, however, Francis made a serious error. Having endeavoured so hard to find favour with the Queen, he managed to offend her in a Parliamentary session. The members had been assembled to vote on a subsidy for the Defence of the Realm, and Cecil asked for an unprecedented triple subsidy. His son, Robert, made the request to the Commons to set the amount of the subsidy, which would then be ratified by the Lords.
    Francis stood up and spoke. Cecil, he said, spoke on behalf of the Lords, but it was up to the Commons to set the amount of a subsidy. A vote was held and by 227 votes to 128 it was decided that the representatives of the Lords should withdraw and leave the matter to the Commons. That being done, according to the Parliamentary records:
    Mr Francis Bacon assented to three subsidies, but not the payment under six years; and to this propounded three reasons, which he desired might be answered. 1. Impossibility or difficulty. 2. Danger and discontent. 3. A better manner of supply than subsidy. For impossibility,the poor man’s rent is such they are not able to pay so much upon the present. The gentlemen must sell their plate and the farmers their brass pots ere this will be paid … 5
    In the end, the Queen got her triple subsidy, but it was to be paid over six years, instead of the four she had originally wanted. Elizabeth was not amused.
    Why Francis did this is a mystery. Perhaps he was genuinely concerned about the rights of the Commons being eroded by the Lords, as well as the burden on taxpayers. Another reason might be that, since the Queen had failed to reward him with a Court appointment he felt he had nothing to lose. On the other hand, he might have wanted to harass the Cecils, who he believed had failed to support him in his ambitions for a successful career in royal service. Or perhaps he simply imagined that his principled stand would make an impression on those who exerted influence at Court or would impress other MPs and set the foundation of a political power base.
    The result of his actions was an immediate reprimand from William Cecil, leading Francis to write to him that he was sorry to find that his last speech in Parliament ‘… delivered in discharge of my conscience and duty to God and her Majesty and my country was offensive. If it were misconstrued, I would be glad to expound my words, to exclude any sense I meant not …’ 6
    Francis insisted that he had spoken as a matter of conscience, believing the tax would be unfair on the poor and had expected no profit from his actions. He was faithful to the Queen, he continued, and desired only to serve her. He begged Cecil to allow him to continue in his own good opinion ‘… and then to perform the part of an honest friend towards your poor servant and ally, in drawing your Majesty to accept of the sincerity and simplicity of my heart,and to bear with the rest, and restore me to her Majesty’s favour.’ 7
    The Queen made a good friend, but a bad enemy, and she saw Francis’s intervention as an act of disloyalty. In 1593, the post of Attorney General fell vacant. Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, who was friendly with the Bacon brothers, immediately recommended Francis for the post. His legal background made him an ideal candidate, and