He soon had an opportunity of showing his devotion. No sooner had the
marriage ceremony been performed in the cathedral of Toledo than the
queen fell ill of smallpox, and in this crisis her husband’s care and
tenderness to her were unremitting. Regardless of the remonstrances of
those who feared for his own health, he was frequently by her side for
long periods, and all through her tardy and critical convalescence his
attentions and kindness were such as to excite the admiration even of
the queen’s French ladies, who were certainly not prejudiced in Philip’s
favour.
Very much depended upon preserving the life, and even the beauty, of the
young queen. After years of neglect Catharine de Medici might now, by
the death of her husband, Henry II., become practically the ruler of
France. She found the country reft in twain by religious faction, and
she knew that the only means by which she could retain her power was by
establishing herself as the balancing influence between the two
factions. For the moment, with the accession of Francis II. and his
wife, Mary, Queen of Scots, to the French throne, the Guises were
paramount, and almost before the inauguration of the new policy of
friendship between France and Spain, Catharine had begun to cast her
eyes towards Vendôme, the Montmorencis and the Protestants to
counterbalance them. The idea of Henry II. in giving his daughter to
Philip was to cement a league of Catholics against the Huguenots; his
widow’s aim was to secure a hold over Philip through his wife which
should enable her to establish and retain her supremacy in France, come
what might. The Guises had soon shown their power on the accession of
their nephew to the throne by assuming in Mary Stuart’s name so
aggressive an attitude towards Elizabeth that the latter was forced to
resent it. An English force of 8000 infantry, 2000 cavalry, and 32 armed
ships was sent to Scotland and attacked Leith, aided by a considerable
Scottish rebel force. Opposed to them the Queen-mother of Scotland, Mary
of Lorraine, had 5000 Frenchmen and a number of Scotsmen. Guise
clamoured for Philip’s help to beat the English in the interests of his
niece. But this was no part of Philip’s bargain. The most untoward thing
that could happen to him was the deposition of Elizabeth and the union
of England and Scotland under a French sovereign, and the next most
inconvenient thing was that Elizabeth should be victorious over his
allies, the French. So he exerted every effort to frighten both sides
into making a peace. Envoys were sent from Flanders and Spain to assure
Elizabeth that if she did not withdraw her troops from Scotland he would
send a great force to help the French, whilst the Guises were
significantly told that they must be cautious, as their enemies in
France were numerous. Philip’s envoys in England might threaten, but
Elizabeth knew well that Spanish troops would never put a Frenchman in
her place, and she made the most of her knowledge. The English troops in