28 April.
Paris Archives,
K. 1564. 73. |
432. The King to Bernardino De Mendoza.
[Extract.]
(Acknowledges letters of 17th and 28th February, 6th and 30th
March, and 1st April.)
I can well believe the difficulty you will find in obtaining
trustworthy reports from England, and that you will have used
every effort in this respect as you say ; but it is a matter of such
great importance at present that reports should be obtained, that
I must again enjoin you expressly not to be satisfied with the news
you may be able to glean from the French Embassy in England
(although that is a good way too), but by every other channel to
seek information, sending men specially by the intervention of
Muzio (i.e. the duke of Guise) and through the Scots ambassador, if
you are intimate with him, as I think you are. They will be sure
to have men whom they can trust, and some pretext for sending
them, without even the men who go knowing that they are being
sent at your instance. The most important thing of all is, that you
should ascertain and report about naval armaments, in what ports,
and to what extent, preparations are being made ; if at the expense
of the Queen, or on account of the merchants or Companies ; the
length of time for which victuals are provided ; what men are being
shipped on board, these being concrete points from which we can
deduce the intentions they have in view. Be also very particular in
reporting whether any of Drake's ships have arrived in England
with intelligence of what had taken place at Santo Domingo ; and
whether they were sending him aid, as I am informed from Lisbon
(copy of which report I now enclose). You will pay great attention
to this point, as you will see its importance ; and I shall also be glad
to hear what effect is produced there by the sailing of the fleet,
which you will have heard is to be taken out by the marquis of
Santa Cruz. You will make every effort to discover whether the
offers made by the Queen-mother to Don Antonio, in case a general
peace is concluded, are merely compliments, or with a desire to wean
him away from England back to France again, or whether there is
anything serious behind it. Try to find out also whether the
Queen-mother and the queen of England might not come to some
understanding on this point, in the afore-mentioned case of a peace
being made.
If Antony Pointz comes hither he shall be received in accordance
with your advice, although it is quite possible that he may have
used all these subterfuges in order to have a better pretext for
coming, and learning what is going on here. We shall write to the
prince of Parma ; but it will be well for you also to advise him, so
that he may be on the watch and see Pointz's hand.—The Pardo,
28th April 1586.
Note.—In compliance with constantly repeated requests for money
from Mendoza, a credit was sent with the above letter for 12,000
crowns, accompanied by a note in Idiaquez's hand, telling him to
send 4,000 crowns of this amount to the queen of Scotland, "on
account of the 12,000 granted her years ago, which in future shall
be paid to her, as has been promised to Englefield who has pressed
the matter for her. He says you may safely send the money by
the man who collects her revenue in France."
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