up to the 15th October of the
previous year, although there had been flying rumours of an intention on
the part of her Majesty's government to open those communications with
the enemy, it had, "nevertheless been earnestly and expressly, and with
high words and oaths, denied that there was any truth in those rumours."
Since that time the States had not once only, but many times, in private
letters, in public documents, and in conversations with Lord Leicester
and other eminent personages, deprecated any communications whatever with
Spain, asserting uniformly their conviction that such proceedings would
bring ruin on their country, and imploring her Majesty not to give ear to
any propositions whatever.

And not only were the envoys, regularly appointed by the States-General,
most active in England, in their attempts to prevent the negotiations,
but delegates from the Netherland churches were also sent to the Queen,
to reason with her on the subject, and to utter solemn warnings that the
cause of the reformed religion would be lost for ever, in case of a
treaty on her part with Spain. When these clerical envoys reached England
the Queen was already beginning to wake from her delusion; although her
commissioners were still--as we have seen--hard at work, pouring sand
through their sieves at Ostend, and although the steady protestations, of
the Duke of Parma, and the industrious circulation of falsehoods by
Spanish emissaries, had even caused her wisest statesmen, for a time, to
participate in that delusion.

For it is not so great an impeachment on the sagacity of the great Queen
of England, as it would now appear to those who judge by the light of
subsequent facts, that she still doubted whether the armaments,
notoriously preparing in Spain and Flanders, were intended against
herself; and that even if such were the case--she still believed in the
possibility of averting the danger by negotiation.

So late as the beginning of May, even the far-seeing and anxious
Walsingham could say, that in England "they were doing nothing but
honouring St. George, of whom the Spanish Armada seemed to be afraid. We
hear," he added, "that they will not be ready to set forward before the
midst of May, but I trust that it will be May come twelve months. The
King of Spain is too old and too sickly to fall to conquer kingdoms. If
he be well counselled, his best course will be to settle his own kingdoms
in his own hands."

And even much late