Page:History of England (Froude) Vol 9.djvu/128

 1 1 4 REIGN OF ELIZABETH. [01.53. The earls might have been pardoned for not an- ticipating the weakness of Norfolk ; they were inex- cusable in not having discovered beforehand the con- dition of Catholic opinion on a point so vital. The party broke up with this new element of disunion among them. They agreed that at least for the pre- sent they must remain quiet ; and Northumberland sent Sir Oswald Wilkinson to the Spanish ambassador to ascertain more certainly what they were to look for from Flanders. 1 So October passed away, bringing with it, unfortunately, a fresh defeat of the Huguenots at Moncoutour to excite the Catholics, while at the same time an unexpected commission of an alarming kind came over from Brussels. The Spanish ambassa- dor had been released from restraint, and Elizabeth had given him to understand that if some person was sent to her with powers direct from the King of Spain, she would treat for the restoration of the money. Such a person was now announced to be coming, bearing, as she desired, a commission from Philip ; but the minister selected for the mission was the ablest officer in the Duke of Alva's army, Chapin Yitelli, Marquis of Cetona. Why a soldier had been chosen for a diplo- matic embassy was a mystery which misled alike the Court and the Catholics. In reality the Duke of Alva, finding a large responsibility thrown upon him by Philip, and ignorant how far he could depend upon the representations of Don Guerau and his friends, desired 1 Confession of Oswald Wilkinson : MUKDIN.