Page:History of England (Froude) Vol 9.djvu/172

158 REIGN Of ELIZABETH. [CH. 53. courage. He was never known to trust to chance in any single point which care could anticipate ; and till he saw some effective action among the English Catholics, besides rhetoric and fine promises, he was ill-inclined to risk the presence of his troops among them. 1 Chapin's message reached the ears of La Mothe, and probably therefore the ears of the Queen. He was again required to leave the country, and, as the order was persisted in, he was this time obliged to obey. Elizabeth merely told him that when the King of Spain would write to her under his own hand she would be willing to renew the negotiation. Meantime things remained as they were. Alva and Philip kept their hold on the little English property which they had arrested. Elizabeth kept the treasure, the ever-increasing piles of Spanish and Flemish goods, the ever-multiplying fleets of Spanish and Flemish merchantmen, with which her warehouses and her ports were choking. The insurrection having exploded ineffectually, it remained to punish those who had taken part in it. But before relating the measures which the Government believed to be necessary, it remains to mention one An expression of Philip's in one | y de la misma manera procedereis en lo que mas occurriese tocante a semej antes materias, por ser de qua- of his letters to Don Gucrau shows that he thought particular care was necessary in dealing with English people : he was vain of his know- ledge of the national character, and guided himself by consideration of its peculiarities : ' Por tanto fue bien no abriros vos con ellos (los Catoli- cos) ni alargaros a prometerles lo que os pediau, bin remitiiios al Duque ; lidad que requieren tratarse con mucho miramiento y consideracion, y mayormente con los desta nacion que de su natural son sospechosos en todo tiempo y mucho mas en la oca- sion presente.' Philip to Don Gue- rau, December 26 : MSS. Simancas.