Generally speaking, the parties in Elizabeth’s Court were now sharply divided in policy, and Mendoza promptly found who were his friends and who his foes. Cecil and Sussex, particularly, with Controller Crofts in a humbler way, were opposed to the open provocation of Spain by the support of the Flemish rebels; Leicester and Walsingham, whom Mendoza rarely mentions without the epithet “devilish heretic,” being determined, if possible, to bring matters to a crisis between Elizabeth and Philip whilst the war in the Netherlands paralysed the latter. Elizabeth herself leant now to one side, now to another, always balancing counsel against counsel. How suddenly and convincingly she could change is seen in her attitude towards Mendoza directly she heard that Alençon and his French force, mainly Huguenots, had crossed the frontier into Flanders early in July, 1578, at the request of the States, and had thrown themselves into Mons. Alençon had long been trying to convince the Queen that upon her alone, and not upon his brother the King of France, would he depend in everything, and his professions of love for her were unabated, but this alarmed her. To some extent her distrust of Alençon had been overcome of late, particularly as a large number of English troops and Germans in her pay were in Flanders as an antidote to him; but only a few days after the startling news of Alençon’s invasion reached England, Mendoza writes (19th July, 1578): “The Queen has been very suspicious of me hitherto, as she has been assured that I had come to perform I know not what, nor what bad office; but she is beginning to be undeceived, and is turning her eyes now more towards his Majesty. Some of the ministers, too, have begun to get friendly with me, and I can assure you [Zayas] that if his Majesty wishes to retain their goodwill, I see a way of doing it.... God knows the trouble I have had in getting her and her ministers so far, as they always want to see something substantial beforehand,[226] this being the natural character of the people. I am told by a person in the Palace that, even in the matter of giving me audience readily, the Queen has been considerably influenced by the presents of gloves and perfumes I gave her when I arrived.”