Page:History of England (Froude) Vol 10.djvu/39

 THE DUKE OF NORFOLK. From Spain there was no longer hope, and October. the Queen of Scots' expectations from France were not likely to be improved, as the Spanish character of the conspiracy in which she had been involved became more fully revealed. The superstitions of Anjou had been worked upon by the Cardinal of Lorraine, but if Anjou continued obstinate, there was still AlenQon ; and the discovery of the precipice on which she was standing appeared to reawaken Elizabeth to the import- ance of the arguments by which Cecil was pressing the marriage upon her with one or other of the brothers. M. de Foix had come to England in August, to talk her out of her objections, and had returned to Paris with imperfect success ; but the council, one after an- other, impressed upon her their conviction that she ought to overcome her reluctance. Sir Walter Mildmay spoke of it as ' the weightiest ca.use she had ever had in hand ; ' Sussex trusted that ' she would now see that she must look to herself, and make France sure by a husband ; ' and she appeared so far moved as to allow Cecil to inform Walsingham that the religious difficulty was not insuperable. Walsingham consulted de Foix. After mature consideration they both agreed that it would be unwise to * wade further ' with Anjou. Eliza- all that happens, and you will beg his Holiness, as far as possible, to keep our secret and deny everything. A confession on our part will be the final destruction of those poor Catholics.' Alva to Don Juan de Cuuiga : M SS. Simancas. Cf. Don Juan to Philip, Novem- ber 28: Ibid. The transcripts of these and all the other Simancas documents of which I have made use are deposited by the consent of the Trustees in the British Museum.