On the 15th October de Spes wrote to the King that approaches were being made by the French to marry the young Duke of Anjou to Mary, this, of course, being one of Catharine’s tricks to frustrate the Spanish attempts to dominate Britain through the Queen of Scots. “It may be,” says de Spes, “that the Queen [Mary] will consent, but it will not please the majority of the English people, and it certainly does not please me. The Catholics are not very much in favour of the marriage with the Duke of Norfolk, as they are uncertain about his orthodoxy, although Arundel and Lumley assert that he will be obedient to the Church. His desire to reign may well lead him from bad paths to good ones. The Duke [of Norfolk] himself has been very cool about this marriage, but he now seems to wish to renew the project, particularly as he expects shortly to be quite at liberty, in accordance with the Queen’s promise to him. If your Majesty’s wishes are to be represented ... the Bishop of Ross will be a good negotiator, and I could conduct the matter with him or with Ridolfi, who has been in communication with them; and if it should be necessary for the Duke of Norfolk to bind himself separately to other conditions, steps may be taken at once in the matter. Pray your Majesty send me orders, for it is certain that the release and marriage of the Queen of Scots carries with it the tranquillisation of Flanders and the restoration of religion in this country.” Philip, in answer to this and many similar hints, had nothing but vague expressions of sympathy to send in reply, with fresh orders to his ambassador to follow strictly the instructions of the Duke of Alba. For months, until the Spanish fleet had passed harmlessly down Channel, the hollow negotiations between Elizabeth and Mary went on, and a similar pretence of conferences with regard to the reopening of trade with the Duke of Alba, whilst Elizabeth checkmated the French advances to Mary Stuart by herself suddenly displaying a desire to marry the boy Duke of Anjou. “They think,” wrote de Spes early in February, 1571, “that with this talk about the marriage of the Queen [Elizabeth] with the Duke of Anjou we shall be afraid to offend them, and the pirates are more welcomed than ever, whilst the Queen of Scot’s business is being delayed. It is true that so far as the Catholics are concerned matters were never more favourable than now. I did not dare to accept their offers, in the face of the Duke of Alba’s instructions; but whenever his Majesty wishes, a great service can be done to God, and at the same time the safety of the Netherlands secured and the throne of Spain aggrandised. The position of the King’s ambassador here does not add much to his dignity.... I have suffered more than can be imagined.”[194] De Spes had his personal grudge as well as his Catholic zeal now to spur him on to vengeance. The irresponsiveness of his master and of Alba to the repeated suggestions