Page:History of England (Froude) Vol 10.djvu/132

112 REIGN OF ELIZABETH. [CH. 57. I and those few English that be in this town are sure to be murdered if I continue here. Therefore my most humble suit is, that I may know without delay what her Majesty will have done touching this island and town. If her Majesty, or your Honour, will have me do it, I will procure a mutiny, if I can, between the townsmen and the French, and will take the townsmen's part, and will die for it and all my people, except we cut all the Frenchmen in pieces and the Governor also. I know there is the like plot laid for us/ 1 This was bad enough, but it was nothing to the effect produced on the Queen-mother and the King of France. There is no positive proof that Alva com- municated Elizabeth's offers to them, but he was more foolish than he gave the world reason to believe him to be if he let such a weapon lie idle in his writing-desk. It is certain at any rate that at the beginning of Au- gust rumours of some coldness on the part of England 2 were in circulation at the French Court. On the defeat of Geiilis the Catholic leaders presented a remonstrance to the King against sending further assistance to the Low Countries. Charles himself continued firm. ' But for the King/ said Walsingham, ' all had quailed long before.' He had meant to send the Admiral forward without waiting for the marriage, but some news or other 'had terrified the Queen-mother.' She had re- presented to him ' that without the Queen of England's 1 Sir H. Gilbert to Burghley, August 13 : MSS. Flanders. 3 The form which the report assumed was that the Queen in- tended to recall Gilbert and leave the insurgents to themselves.