Page:History of England (Froude) Vol 7.djvu/380

 360 REIGN OF ELIZABETH. [CH. 44. she looked with confidence to the most Catholic King to declare for her cause. Yaxlee found Philip at the begin- ning of October at Segovia. Elizabeth's diplomacy had been so far successful that the Emperor Maximilian was again dreaming that she would marry the Archduke Charles. He was anxious to provide his brother with a throne : he had been wounded by Mary Stuart's refusal to accept the Archduke, when his marriage with her had been arranged between himself and the Cardinal of Lor- raine, with the sanction of the Council of Trent. Eliza- beth had played upon his humour, and he had reverted to the scheme which had at one time been so anxiously entertained by his father and Philip. 1 The King of Spain's own hopes of any such solution of the English difficulty were waning ; yet he was unwilling to offend the Emperor, and he would riot throw away a card which might after all be the successful one. It was perhaps the suspicion that Philip was not acting towards her with entire sincerity which urged Mary Stuart into precipi- tancy; or she might have wished to force Elizabeth into a position in which it would be impossible for any Catholic sovereign to countenance her. But Elizabeth, on the one hand, had been too cautious, and Philip on the other, though wishing well to the Queen of Scots and evidently 1 A noche recibi una carta de Chantonnay del 27 del pasado en que me escribe que habiendo dicho al Emperador de parte de V. M d. que si era necesario que, para que se hiciese el negocio del matrimonio mano sobrello, y que el Empevador le habia respondiclo que no estaba desahuciado deste negocio, y le diria lo que sobrello habia de escribir & V. M d. El deseo es grande que [el Emperador] tiene a este negocio.' del Archiduque con la de Inglaterra, De Silva to Philip, November 10. V. M d. escribiese a la Reyiia de su MS. Simancas.