Page:History of England (Froude) Vol 3.djvu/526

506 the frontier could be extended so as to make the towns and garrisons independent of supplies from home; it would be something—he could not tell. Francis must be explicit. In that case he could perhaps give an answer. The Admiral could not offer an extension of territory at the expense of France; but the boundary might be extended in another direction. 'To speak frankly,' he said, 'will you enter the war with us against the Emperor, and be enemy to enemy, the King your master to set upon land in Flanders ten thousand Englishmen, and we ten thousand Frenchmen; pay the wages of five thousand Almains, and we as many; find two thousand horses and we three thousand; find a certain number of ships, and we as many? Of such lands as shall be conquered, the pension first to be redoubled, and the rest divided equally. What a thing will it be to your master to have Gravelines, Dunkirk, Burburg, and all those quarters joining Calais!' 'M. Admiral,' Paget replied, 'these matters be too great for my wits. I know no quarrel that my master hath against the Emperor.' 'God!' cried the Admiral, 'why say ye so? Doth he not owe your master money? Hath he not broken the league with him in six hundred points? Did he not provoke us and the Pope also to join in taking of your realm from you in prey for disobedience? A pestilence take him, false dissembler, saving my duty to the majesty of a King. If he had you at such advantage as you may now have him, you should well know it at his hand.'