Page:History of England (Froude) Vol 10.djvu/56

REIGN OF ELIZABETH. [CH. 57. ' They had insisted from the beginning/ they said, ' that there would be no quiet in Flanders till England was again Catholic, and events had proved that they were right. The country was distracted. The Queen was despised as a ' harlot/ and hated for the obstinacy with which in refusing to allow the succession to be settled, she exposed her subjects to the chances of civil war at her death. Should the Queen of England be deposed and killed, she had no heirs to avenge her quarrel, while the Queen of Scots was pitied and loved, and had a son to inherit her rights. The merchants were furious at the ruin of their commerce ; Ireland was disaffected ; and in England there was not a forti- fied port or an experienced soldier. They had but to land with the King of Spain's authority for the whole people ,to flock to them. The Queen's own troops would desert her : one victory, and all was their own. An army of priests would go back with them to feed the *T starving flocks ; and as Elizabeth had made Flanders serve her turn, so Philip might make use of England. There was needed but a little money and a little courage, and the King might provide Don John of Austria with a kingdom, and Spain with better neighbours. He might crush the Flankers rebels, reconcile half Europe to the Church, save his owr credit, and restore God to His honour.' l 1 Reasons to persuade the King of Spain to invade England, Febru- ary, 1572 : MS8. QUEEN OF SCOTS. Bon Guerau supported the petition with a memoir which he had ineffect ually submitted to the Duke ol Alva. ' Flanders,' said Don Guerau, ' can never be at peace till the Go-