Page:History of England (Froude) Vol 10.djvu/194

 T74 REIGN OF ELIZABETH. [en. & if his Majesty would have been guided by himself about Ridolfi. The later complications had all arisen from that one disastrous error. He was sorry that his advice did not please his Majesty. His Majesty's letters to him consisted of little else but answers to his arguments. He did not pretend to be invariably right, but the dif- ferences of opinion between his Majesty and his repre- sentatives occasioned infinite evils. For his own part, he could but repeat that, at a time when every soldier who could be spared from Spain was required in the Netherlands, his Majesty's notion of entering upon a religious crusade was simply a temptation of the devil/ Still struggling against the degradation, yet con- vinced that Alva was right, Philip after this letter with- drew his objections, and gave the Duke his way. He still required however that, although the refugees might- be required to leave the Low Countries, he was not to be obliged to surrender them to ' the knife ' of Eliza- beth. 1 He reserved a power of refusing the ratification should the progress of the war in Holland prove more favourable than the Duke anticipated ; and, not altogether accepting Alva's theory of his obligations, he introduced a clause which limited the duration of the treaty to two years. Thus sanctioned, Alva sent orders to de Guaras to make final arrangements with Burghley. By the middle of April the ports of Spain and the Low Coun- tries were formally opened to English commerce with- gran Principe.' Alva to Philip, Philip II., vol. ii. March 18,1573: Correspondence of l 'Al cuchillode aquellamuger.'