Page:History of England (Froude) Vol 11.djvu/199

 1581.] VOYAGE OF S/R FRANCIS DRAKE. 183 of the ships. Elizabeth was fond of jewels. The diamonds of the House of Burgundy were already in the Tower. She had wrung them from the States as security in triple value for the sums which she had ad- vanced. The diamonds of Portugal, the property vnv tually, like the others, of the King of Spain, would look well in companionship with them. And it would be well also if the cost of the privateer fleet, which otherwise she was to have furnished herself, could be thrown on the exiled Prince. On the other hand, to entertain Don Antonio publicly, to give him leave to make use of England and English seamen to fit out an armament against the Crown of Spain, was an act of which she could not evade the responsibility, and which might be taken as a declaration of war. At the end of the month he was allowed to come to London. On the ist of July he applied for permission to buy ships, and was put off with an evasive answer. 1 In a few days, by some curious manoeuvre, the jewels were in the treasury. A sum of money had been paid over by which Don An- tonio had purchased what he wanted. He had gone down the Thames with the Portuguese flag flying, and had made for Plymouth to join Drake. He had sent secret word to Paris, and orders had been issued by Ca- therine to Bourdeaux for the French contingent to pro- ceed at once to Terceira. She had assumed from Don Antonio's report that the joint enterprise was to go for- ward, and that she was to depend on Elizabeth's co- 1 Walsingham to Cecil, July i : MSS. Domestic. Wahingham to Cobham, July 2 : MSS. France.