Page:History of England (Froude) Vol 9.djvu/520

 $06 kEIGN OF ELIZABETH. [CH. 56. ponderous and slow. The Duke of Feria died in August, and with him the most ardent in the matter of all the council. Other matters too claimed attention. Don John of Austria was in the Mediterranean, getting ready for Lepanto. Too much time was already gone, and what remained of the summer was all too little for the work that was to be done. Don Guerau was grow- ing restless and impatient. The English council, he said, suspected much, although as yet they knew but little. If the blow could be struck quickly, all would go well. The Catholics were three to one, and were all prepared. If the summer went by, they might despond again ; Scotland might be conquered, the Queen of Scots killed ; and Lord Hertford or the little Prince of Scotland declared heir to the throne. Other factions were fast merging in the two great religious divisions, and the longer the delay, the stronger the Protestants would grow. Above all, there was no safety while such a man as Cecil was at the head of the Queen's Govern- ment. ' Tell his Majesty/ Don Guerau wrote to Cayas, ' that Cecil is a fox, cunning as sin, and the mortal enemy of Spain. He moves in silence and falsehood, and what he will do or try to do against us, is only limited by his power. The Queen's opinion goes for little, and Leicester's for less ; Cecil rules all, unopposed, with the pride of Lucifer.' But Cecil could be rolled in the dust if only Philip would be prompt, while the fire was burning and the iron hot. On the night of the 4th of August, the Lon- doners were in the streets gazing at a huge arch in the