The queen listened patiently to a long and earnest remonstrance in this vein made by the envoy, and assured him that not even to gain another kingdom would she be the cause of a return of the provinces to the dominion of Spain.  She would do her best to dissuade the king from his peace negotiations; but she would listen to De Maisae, the new special envoy from Henry, and would then faithfully report to Caron, by word of mouth, the substance of the conversation.  The States-General did not deserve to be deceived, nor would she be a party to any deception, unless she were first cheated herself.  “I feel indeed,” she added, “that matters are not always managed as they should be by your Government, and that you have not always treated princes, especially myself, as we deserve to be treated.  Nevertheless, your State is not a monarchy, and so we must take all things into consideration, and weigh its faults against its many perfections.”

With this philosophical—­and in the mouth of Elizabeth Tudor, surely very liberal—­reflection, the queen terminated the interview with the republican envoy.

Meantime the conferences with the special ambassador of France proceeded.  For, so soon as Henry had completed all his arrangements, and taken his decision to accept the very profitable peace offered to him by Spain, he assumed that air of frankness which so well became him, and candidly avowed his intention of doing what he had already done.  Hurault de Maisse arrived in England not long before the time when the peace-commissioners were about assembling at Vervins.  He was instructed to inform her Majesty that he had done his best to bring about a general alliance of the European powers from which alone the league concluded between England, France, and the Netherlands would have derived substantial strength.

But as nothing was to be hoped for from Germany, as England offered but little assistance, and as France was exhausted by her perpetual conflicts, it had become necessary for the king to negotiate for a peace.  He now wished to prove, therefore, to the queen, as to a sister to whom he was under such obligations, that the interests of England were as dear to him as those of France.

The proof of these generous sentiments did not, however, seem so clear as could be wished, and there were very stormy debates, so soon as the ambassador found himself in conference with her Majesty’s counsellors.  The English statesmen bitterly reproached the French for having thus lightly thrown away the alliance between the two countries, and they insisted upon the duty of the king to fulfil his solemn engagements.

The reply was very frank and very decided.  Kings, said De Maisse, never make treaties except with the tacit condition to embrace every thing that may be useful to them, and carefully to avoid every thing prejudicial to their interests.

The corollary from this convenient and sweeping maxim was simple enough.  The king could not be expected, by his allies to reject an offered peace which was very profitable, nor to continue a war which, was very detrimental.  All that they could expect was that he should communicate his intentions to them, and this he was now very cheerfully doing.  Such in brief were the statements of De Maisse.