Alba was driven well nigh to desperation by the contemptuous treatment extended to Ciappino in England and the evident determination of Elizabeth to hold her ground with regard to the property she had seized. Something must be done, and that quickly, he wrote to the King. If they exclude our ships from English ports, even for shelter, intercourse by sea between Spain and Flanders must cease, and we shall be absolutely obliged to commence hostilities. “Your Majesty’s present urgent needs are better known to you than to any one, and here the pressure is very great. The past wars, the emigration of the people, the stoppage of trade, and the general want of confidence here, all convince me that a rupture with England at present would be most inopportune; but if the English force it upon us, we cannot avoid it;” and the grim Duke, who had drowned Flanders in blood, had tamely to propose to his master, as the only way now open to them, that Elizabeth should be more mildly treated than ever, in the hope that at least she would allow Spanish ships to shelter in her ports, whilst the plundered Flemish merchants were allowed to go over to England unofficially and make the best terms they individually could to rescue their property. Nor was Philip much more stout-hearted than his general. Whilst the northern nobles were yet in arms in Yorkshire, he wrote to Alba thus: “English affairs are going on in a way that may make it necessary, after all, to bring that Queen to do by force what she refuses to reason. Her duty is so plain that doubtless God causes her to ignore it, in order that by these means His holy religion may be restored in England and the Catholics and good Christians rescued from the thraldom in which they live. In case her obstinacy and hardness of heart should continue, therefore, you will consider the best direction to be given to our action. We here think that the best course will be to encourage with money and secret favour the Catholics of the North, and to help those in Ireland to take up arms against the heretics, to deliver the crown to the Queen of Scots to whom it belongs by succession.... This is only mentioned at present that you may know what is passing in our minds here [_i.e._, in Spain], and that with your great prudence and a full consideration of affairs in general, you may ponder what is best to be done. What you say is very true; we are beginning to lose prestige by delaying so long to provide a remedy for the great grievance done by this woman to us.”[188]