one of his Austrian cousins; or, if not, then England must be conquered
by the sword. All that Elizabeth wanted was time, and tardy Philip
played into her hands. One English noble after the other was taken up
and dropped, in the intervals of foreign philandering. Lord Arundel,
foolish, old, and vain, had high hopes; Sir William Pickering's chances
looked bright, and France and Spain sought to patronise each English
candidate in his turn, especially Lord Robert Dudley, the queen's friend
from childhood, though he was already married to Amy Robsart.

At length, after many days of dallying, great Philip decided to
sacrifice himself for Spain and marry his enigmatical sister-in-law. She
must, of course, renounce Protestantism and all the laws that made her
legally a queen; which was absurd, as Feria soon saw, and frankly told
his master. So then Philip half-heartedly patronised the suit of his
Austrian cousin, the Archduke Charles. If the latter would be an
obedient Spanish instrument he could have Philip's support; but German
Lutherans and English Protestants had also to be considered, and
Elizabeth's court was divided into those who feared any consort not
wholly Protestant and those who were eager for any marriage that
shielded England from Spanish attack.

Elizabeth thought she could avoid the latter danger without marriage at
all, so she dexterously played with all her suitors, English and
foreign, while strengthening her position and gaining popularity.
Sometimes she swore she would never marry, and the next day would grow
sentimental over the archduke, or flirted with Dudley--keeping them all
in suspense and afraid of offending her. The French, having no
marriageable prince of their own, supported Dudley, or any other English
candidate whom they could use against Spain; whilst Dudley himself
pretended to favour the archduke, till matters looked serious, and then