Once more Elizabeth played the outworn game that had served her turn so often before. Andrea de Loo and many other intermediaries hurried backwards and forwards at the instance of Burghley between London and Flanders, impressing upon the Duke of Parma the English Queen’s earnest desire to come to terms with her “good brother.” Let the Pacification of Ghent, which had been accepted in the time of Don Juan, be re-enacted and all might be settled; let a conference meet, in which mutual grievances might be arranged, and England and Spain should live happy together ever after. But Parma for a time gave stiff answers to all this, much as he knew that Flanders needed peace, for Philip kept him in the dark as to his real intentions, and he dared not act without precise instructions from the King. Other attempts were made to reopen the trade negotiations through Portuguese agents with a view to a general agreement, but Philip was irresponsive now; for after half a lifetime of hesitation he had finally made up his mind. England must be conquered by the sword wielded by his hand alone; and although he might feign to talk of peace to suit his purpose, there was in his slow-moving, inflexible mind thenceforward no peace possible with England until Elizabeth and her Government had been crushed. Another spirited attempt was made by Elizabeth to reach Philip direct. Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa, the famous explorer and Governor of Patagonia, had been captured at sea by one of Raleigh’s ships. Usually such men were held for heavy ransom, but Sarmiento was received by the Queen at Windsor with every witchery she knew how to exert, and was impressed with her sorrow that such unhappy relations existed—God knew from no fault of hers—between her people and the Spaniards. Would Sarmiento convey a letter to his King, accepting his liberation as a reward for his doing so? Naturally nothing would suit Sarmiento better, and Raleigh carried him with all distinction to Durham House as his honoured guest, plying him with assurances of Sir Walter’s desire to serve the King of Spain by putting a stop to all this piracy, of which the Queen herself and Lord Treasurer Burghley disapproved. Besides this, he (Raleigh) would sell a fine ship of his to Philip for 5,000 crowns, would prevent any more aid being given to Don Antonio, and would, indeed, become Philip’s humble servant in England. This was, doubtless, nothing but one of the usual mystifications to divert Philip; but the Queen herself gave a cordial verbal message to Sarmiento for the King, saying that she was really anxious to let bygones be bygones and make a durable peace. Sarmiento left London in November, 1586, and gave his message to Mendoza in Paris, but on his way to Spain was unlucky enough to be captured again, by Huguenots this time, near the Pyrenean frontier, and all Elizabeth’s and Raleigh’s influence was exerted to secure his prompt release. By all