Page:History of England (Froude) Vol 5.djvu/325

1553.] Earl that he would sooner see him the husband of the vilest drab who could be picked out of the London kennels.

Thus, from their murmurs, they seemed to be on the edge of rebellion; yet, when the point of action came, they halted, uncertain what to do, unwilling to acquiesce, yet without resolution to resist. From a modern point of view the wisest policy was that recommended by Paget. The claim of the Queen of Scots on the throne unquestionably made it prudent for England to strengthen herself by some powerful foreign alliance; sufficient precautions could be devised for the security of the national independence; and, so far from England being in danger of being drawn into the war on the Continent, Lord Paget said that, if England would accept Philip heartily, the war would be at an end. Elizabeth of France might marry Don Carlos, taking with her the French pretensions to Naples and Milan as a dowry. Another French princess might be given to the expatriated Philibert, and Savoy and Piedmont restored with her. 'You,' Paget said to Noailles, 'by your Dauphin's marriage forced us to be friends with the Scots; we, by our Queen's marriage, will force you to be friends with the Emperor.'

Paget, however, was detested as an upstart, and