Page:History of England (Froude) Vol 11.djvu/448

 432 REIGN OF ELIZABETH. [CH. 66. arms of Spain, must place her on the throne. England, if the crowns were united, expected to remain the superior. In the dread of being overborne by Scotland and France, the party represented by Allen and the Jesuits intended, after Mary Stuart became Queen, that she should remain inseparably connected with Spain. Guise had undertaken through Charles Paget that if Spaniards accompanied the invasion, they should be compelled to retire when it had succeeded. Allen in- sisted through de Tassis that there should be no in- vasion unless the Spaniards bore a part in it, and that a Spanish force should remain in the country after the conquest had been completed, and the Queen of Scots was on the throne. 1 A subtle divergence of opinion divided the whole party. The choice of Guise to lead the enterprise had diminished, but had failed to remove, the national rivalries and suspicions. De Tassis said that if James was to accompany the Duke into England he must first declare himself a Catholic. 2 It was answered that many English Protestants favoured the Scotch title, and that to alienate them prematurely would be unwise. The objection being still maintained, Lord Seton applied to Catherine de Medici, and held out ' the direction and disposition of the cause ' as a temptation to 1 ' No quieren Ingleses otro pa- tron que V. M. No solamente tienen ojo a que V. M. les remedie a la primera entrada, pero que aunque se les constituya Reyna la de Escocia, no les desampara tan presto hasta tener todo aquello bien asegurado. Tassis to Philip, May 1727 TEULET, vol. v. 2 Tassis to Philip, April 919 Ibid.