A feeling of uneasiness and distrust had for some time past been growing up between France and Spain. When the Duke of Alva had asked permission to recruit volunteers in France for the Flemish war, it was refused, lest the Huguenots should think it “a device to reach themselves.”[477] To the demand that certain ships, supposed to be fitting out at La Rochelle against Spain, should be seized, Mondoucet, the French agent to Alva, replied that some of the ships were intended to act against the pirates who infested the narrow seas, and as for those which belonged to private persons, the crown could not interfere. St. Goar, the embassador at Madrid, was instructed to make similar explanations. This was a mere evasion, for the power of the crown had never been so limited in France. As William of Orange was in want of funds to carry on his heroic struggle in Flanders, his brother Louis of Nassau endeavored to procure a loan from Duke Cosmo I. of Florence. Charles supported the scheme by offering to recognize the duke’s title to the crown of Tuscany, and aid him in his attempt on Corsica, provided he would assist the Flemish insurgents with money.[478] The duke refused, but the king still continued faithful to his idea of a war against Spain. The diplomatic correspondence of the period is full of references to it. During all this time Coligny was actively corresponding with Montmorency; and at his suggestion a private interview was arranged between Charles and Count Louis, which took place in a garden of the castle of Lumigny, about a league from Fontenay-en-Brie, where the king had gone on the pretense of rabbit hunting. Its object was kept a secret from the royal councilors; for Charles was well assured that if they became acquainted with it, they would communicate it to the court of Spain. We may imagine that the count spoke of his recent conversations with the admiral, and that, as a Protestant, he would not start objections to any plan of assisting his fellow-countrymen which the king might entertain. He gave weight to his prayer for aid by offering in return the valuable provinces of Flanders and Artois (for which promise he had no authority from his brother William); and hinted that, at the next vacation of the empire, the choice of the electors might fall upon Charles. Louis succeeded in convincing him that his former advisers had counseled him unwisely, and that he had narrowly escaped falling into the same position as Philip II. held toward his Flemish subjects. The king promised to take into his most serious consideration all that the count had told him, reserving to himself the right to disavow any projects that might be ascribed to him, until the time for action had arrived.[479] The secret interview soon became known, and the Spanish embassador, Alava, threatened the displeasure of his royal master. Charles and his mother both answered evasively, adding: “As for fearing us with wars, you