This was in 1603. In 1604 the king of Poland is said to have asked for
the lady's hand in marriage. Count Maurice, Duke of Guildres, was also
spoken of as a suitable match. But James had grown as obdurate as
Elizabeth,--and with as little sense and reason. The lady might enjoy
life in single blessedness as she pleased, but marry she should not.
"Thus far to the Lady Arabella crowns and husbands were like a fairy
banquet seen at moonlight opening on her sight, impalpable, and
vanishing at the moment of approach."
Several years now passed, in which the lady lived as a dependant on the
king's bounty, and in which, so far as we know, no thoughts of marriage
were entertained. At least, no projects of marriage were made public,
whatever may have been the lady's secret thoughts and wishes. Then came
the romantic event of her life,--a marriage, and its striking
consequences. It is this event which has made her name remembered in the
romance of history.
Christmas of 1608 had passed, and the Lady Arabella was still unmarried;
the English crown had not tottered to its fall through the entrance of
this fair maiden into the bonds of matrimony. The year 1609 began, and
terror seized the English court; this insatiable woman was reaching out
for another husband! This time the favored swain was Mr.
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