Page:History of England (Froude) Vol 11.djvu/218

 202 REIGN OF ELIZABETH. [CH. 64. ' She turned away, and I heard her say, with a deep sigh, ' Would to God we could each have our own, and be at peace ! " * Mendoza had assumed a bold front, but he was pain- fully aware that he would not be supported by his master. The last direction of Charles Y. to his son had been to qherish always, and' especially if threatened by France, the alliance with England ; and Philip, unless he could overthrow Elizabeth by internal revolution, believed himself compelled to be her friend. JSTor were political interests the only links which religious antagon- ism found it hard to dissolve. The English trade was as important to Spain as to England itself. For several years there had been short harvests in Gallicia, Portu- gal, and Andalusia, and the maritime provinces of the Peninsula had been fed by English wheat. France, dis- tracted by civil war, could hardly supply her own neces- sities ; the soil of America was cultivated as yet only for its gold and silver ; and but for the surplus produce from Norfolk and Hampshire, there would have been famine. So long at least as Henry and Elizabeth were in alliance, it was certain that Philip would not venture upon violent measures ; and Elizabeth's language had satisfied Mendoza that for the present she felt sure of her ground. The London merchants, learning that re- prisals had been threatened, had applied to Walsingham for an explanation. Walsingham had told them that the Queen meant to make use of Drake's treasure to 1 'Volese a Idio che ognuno foabese il suo e fosse in pace." Meu- doza to Philip, October 20, 1581 ; MSS. Simuncas.