Page:History of England (Froude) Vol 9.djvu/482

 468 KE1GN OF ELIZABETH. [en. 56. Anjou, on the other hand, in his confidential mo- ments repeated his suspicions of Elizabeth's character, and when there seemed to be a hope that the objections would be found insuperable did not conceal his delight. 1 The position so far was not a hopeful one, but the interests at stake were so tremendous, and the pressure exerted upon both Queen and Prince was so heavy, that Anjou was ready to yield, and Elizabeth at times per- suaded others if not herself that she might yield also. En France the fortunes of the Huguenots were supposed to depend upon the marriage. It was no hopeful sign for them that their prospects could turn upon so poor a contingency, but so they judged themselves of their own situation. The marriage was to be the keystone of a policy. If the support of England could be secured to France in a war with Spain, the jealousies of Catholics and Protestants would be superseded by a revival of the old temper of Francis and Henry. Catherine de Medici hated the Protestants, but she hated Spain more. With Elizabeth for an ally she could revenge St Queiitin and oxtend the French* frontier to the Rhine. On the side of England the advance of the Reforma- tion had been connected at every stage of its progress with an approach to France. The divorce of Catherine of Arragori broke up the ancient European combina- tions. Henry VIII. became the friend of Francis. 1 Speaking to a lady one day about the marriage, he said, ' La Reyna mi madre muestra tener pena de que esta desbaratado mi casa- miento, y yo estoy el mas coutento hombre del mundo, de haber esca- pado de casar con una puta publica.' Don Francis de Alava to Philip, May 1 1 : TEULET, vol. v.