Page:History of England (Froude) Vol 11.djvu/265

 1582.] THE JESUITS IN SCOTLAND, 249 cross the Channel, and meet them and the Duke- of Guise at Rouen ; ' as if/ Mendoza said with provoked contempt, ' it was to be supposed that I could leave my post without orders, or could disappear suddenly with- out exciting suspicion.' He was extremely embarrassed. He was afraid of encouraging expectations which he knew to be vain. He was afraid equally of revealing the disagreeable truth that his master was thinking of no- thing less than sending his troops on any such service. Had Philip had it in him to use the opportunity, he might have done much perhaps everything ; but he lost not a moment in correcting the mistake, and so correcting it as to show not only his inability to assist, but his disapprobation of the project in itself. It was his most ardent desire, he said, to see Scotland brought back to the truth, but the only sound and safe way of accomplishing it was by preaching. Other means were dangerous, and could not be tried without consideration. Lennox and his friends might find it less easy than they expected to get possession of the government. To de- pose the King during his mother's life might be hard also, and was moreover contrary to the oath which they had sworn to him ; l while to send him out of the realm to be converted would be equally to take the crown from him, and leave his conversion uncertain after all. The Catholics, he said, must not be so impatient. They must wait and hope. As soon as Flanders was con- 1 ' Deponerle de la corona mien- tras viviere su raadre, caso que no fuere Catolico, es de muy gran difi- cultM y contra lo que le ban jura- do.' El Rey al Bernardino de M en- doza, 23 Avril : TEULET, vol. v.