The
more formidable he could make himself, the better able he would be to
frighten Elizabeth into submission.
Every dockyard in Spain was set to work, building galleons and
collecting stores. Santa Cruz would command. Philip was himself more
resolved than ever to accompany the expedition in person and dictate
from the English Channel the conditions of the pacification of Europe.
Secrecy was no longer attempted--indeed, was no longer possible. All
Latin Christendom was palpitating with expectation. At Lisbon, at Cadiz,
at Barcelona, at Naples, the shipwrights were busy night and day. The
sea was covered with vessels freighted with arms and provisions
streaming to the mouth of the Tagus. Catholic volunteers from all
nations flocked into the Peninsula, to take a share in the mighty
movement which was to decide the fate of the world, and bishops,
priests, and monks were set praying through the whole Latin Communion
that Heaven would protect its own cause.
Meantime the negotiations for peace continued, and Elizabeth, strange
to say, persisted in listening. She would not see what was plain to all
the world besides. The execution of the Queen of Scots lay on her spirit
and threw her back into the obstinate humour which had made Walsingham
so often despair of her safety.
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