the rest of Protestant Christendom. He wrote to her
that the plot was a general one, including England. "It may please your
Majesty the papists, within these two days at Sens in Normandy, have slain
and hurt two hundred persons--men and women. Your Majesty may perceive how
dangerous it is to suffer papists that be of great heart and enterprise to
lift up their crests so high."[120] In another despatch he warned her of
her danger. "It standeth your Majesty upon, for the conservation of your
realm in the good terms it is in (thanks be to God), to countenance the
Protestants as much as you may, until they be set afoot again, I mean in
this realm; for here dependeth the great sway of that matter."[121]

[Sidenote: Cecil's urgency and schemes.]

[Sidenote: Divided sympathies of the English.]

Cecil himself adopted the same views, and urged them upon Elizabeth's
attention. Not succeeding in impressing her according to his wish, he
resorted to extraordinary measures to compass the end. He instructed
Mundt, his agent in Germany, to exert himself to induce the Protestant
princes to send "special messengers" to England and persuade Elizabeth to
join in "a confederacy of all parts professing the Gospel." In fact, the
cunning secretary of state went even farther, and dictated to Mundt just
what he should write to the queen. He was to tell her Majesty "that if she
did not attempt the furtherance of the Gospel in France, and the keeping
asunder of France and Spain, she would be in greater peril than any other
prince in Christendom," for "the papist princes that sought to draw her to
their parts meant her subversion"--a truth which, were she to be informed
of by any of the German princes, might have a salutary effect.[122] But
the vacillating queen could not be induced as yet to take the same view,
and needed the offer of some tangible advantages to move her. No wonder
that Elizabeth's policy halted. Every occurrence across the channel was
purposely misrepresented by the emissaries of Philip, and the open
sympathizers of the Roman Catholic party at the English court were almost
more numerous than the hearty Protestants. A few weeks later, a
correspondent of Throkmorton wrote to him from home: "Here are daily
bruits given forth by the Spanish ambassador, as it is thought, far
discrepant from such as I learn are sent from your lordship, and the
papists have so great a voice here as they have almost as much credit, the
more it is to be