Page:History of England (Froude) Vol 11.djvu/318

 302 REIGN OF ELIZABETH. [CH. 65. he had bidden de Tassis tell him that he might count on Spain to stand by him in preventing the accession of a heretic sovereign : already de Tassis had all but promised that Philip would support him in an expedi- tion to Scotland. 1 The Archbishop of Glasgow indeed, who had meant to rush to Madrid to entreat, had been sharply rebuked by de Tassis and been told to remain at his post. 2 The veneration of Philip for priests in chapel and con- fessional was equalled, though it could not be excelled, by his contempt for them as politicians. But none the less he had given his confidence to Guise, and professed a willingness to be guided by his advice. Dumbarton was still open. The Lords of Lennox's faction had promised to hold the castle against all comers till the following summer. Lennox had sent word to the Queen of Scots, and his opinion was confirmed by Walsing- ham, 3 that Elizabeth's latest infidelity to her promises had left her party there weaker and more estranged than when the King was first seized by Gowrie ; and that an invading army would find everywhere an en- 1 Philip to de Tassis, September 24 : TEULET, vol. T. 2 Philip in his usual form scrib- bled approval on the margin : ' Hizo bien.' Tassis to Philip, December 29 : TEULET, vol. v. 3 ' They have been often fed with fair promises, and therefore it is not likely that words shall prevail before deeds. The French bring crowns and we give words, our suc- cess will be thereafter. I hold Scotland for lost unless God be merciful to this poor island. How unseasonably the same is likely to fall out, or rather dangerously, all the world may see if the state of things at home and abroad be duly looked unto. God open her Ma- jesty's eyes to see her peril and .not prefer treasure before surety.' Walsingham to Burghley, January 3> X 583 : MSS. Domestic.