The Spanish policy with regard to the Austrian match--English suitors for the Queen’s hand--Arundel and Pickering--Philip II.--The Archduke Ferdinand--Lord Robert Dudley--The Prince of Sweden--Philip’s attitude towards the Austrian match-- The Archduke Charles--Pickering and Dudley--The Earl of Arran--Dudley’s intrigues against the Archduke Charles’ suit --Death of Lady Robert Dudley--Prince Eric again. In the same ship that brought Arundel from Flanders came that cunning old Bishop of Aquila, who was afterwards Philip’s ambassador in England. He conveyed to Feria the King’s real wishes with regard to Elizabeth’s marriage, which were somewhat at variance with those which appeared on the surface. Philip had now definitely taken upon himself the championship of the Catholic supremacy, and his interests were hourly drifting further away from those of his Austrian kinsmen, who were largely dependent upon the reforming German princes. This was the principal reason why Sussex and other moderate Protestants in England were promoting an Austrian marriage which, it was assumed, would conciliate Philip without binding England to the ultra-Catholic party. The Bishop’s instructions were to throw cold water on the scheme whilst outwardly appearing to favour it, but if he saw that such a marriage was inevitable, then he was to get the whole credit of it for his master, who was to subsidise his impecunious cousin, the Archduke, and make him the instrument of Spain. Feria confessed himself puzzled. If he was not to forward the Archduke Ferdinand, he did not know, he said, whom he could suggest. Everybody kept him at arm’s length and he could only repeat current gossip. Some people thought the Earl of Arundel would be the man, others the Earl of Westmoreland; then Lord Howard’s son, and then Sir William Pickering; “every day there is a new cry raised about a husband.” “At present,” he said, “I see no disposition to enter into the discussion of any proposal on your Majesty’s own behalf, either on her part or that of the Council, and when it has to be approached it should be mentioned first to her alone.” The first step, he thought, should be to arouse the jealousy of each individual councillor of the Queen’s marriage with any Englishman; and at the same time to work upon the Queen’s pride by hinting that she would hardly stoop to a marriage inferior to that of her sister. He thought, however, that a marriage with Philip would scarcely be acceptable, as he could not live in England, and Feria was still in hope that if they took any foreigner the Archduke Ferdinand would be the man. Feria’s plan of campaign was an ingenious one. After he had aroused Elizabeth’s jealousy of her dead sister and deprecated the idea of the degradation to the Queen of a marriage with a subject, “we can take those whom she might marry here and pick them to pieces one by one, which will