and matters were looking very serious.
The impending peace in France would never do, and Philip should prevent
it in time, by giving Mucio his money. Unless the French are entangled
and at war among themselves, it is quite clear, said Alexander, that we
can never think of carrying out our great scheme of invading England.

The King thoroughly concurred in all that was said and done by his
faithful governor and general. He had no intention of concluding a peace
on any terms whatever, and therefore could name no conditions; but he
quite approved of a continuance of the negotiations. The English, he was
convinced, were utterly false on their part, and the King of Denmark's
proposition to-mediate was part and parcel of the same general fiction.
He was quite sensible of the necessity of giving Mucio the money to
prevent a pacification in France, and would send letters of exchange on
Agostino Spinola for the 300,000 ducats. Meantime Farnese was to go on
steadily with his preparations for the invasion.

The secretary-of-state, Don Juan de Idiaquez, also wrote most earnestly
on the great subject to the Duke. "It is not to be exaggerated", he said,
"how set his Majesty is in the all-important business. If you wish to
manifest towards him the most flattering obedience on earth, and to
oblige him as much as you could wish, give him this great satisfaction
this year. Since you have money, prepare everything out there, conquer
all difficulties, and do the deed so soon as the forces of Spain and
Italy arrive, according to the plan laid down by your Excellency last
year. Make use of the negotiations for peace for this one purpose, and no
more, and do the business like the man you are. Attribute the liberty of
this advice to my desire to serve you more than any other, to my
knowledge of how much you will thereby gratify his Majesty, and to my
fear of his resentment towards you, in the contrary case."

And, on the same day, in order that there might be no doubt of the royal
sentiments, Philip expressed himself at length on the whole subject. The
dealings of Farnese with the English, and his feeding them with hopes of
peace, would have given him more satisfaction, he observed, if it had
caused their preparations to slacken; but, on the contrary, their
boldness had increased. They had perpetrated the inhuman murder of the
Queen of Scots, and moreover, not content with their piracies at sea and
in the Indies, they had dared to invade the