you should come hither now; for we should all be lost. In the English
matter, I assure you that his Majesty was extremely anxious that the plan
should succeed, either through the Pope, or otherwise. That puts me in
mind," added Perez, "to say, body of God! Senor Escovedo! how the devil
came you to send that courier to Rome about the English plot without
giving me warning?" He then proceeded to state that the papal nuncio in
Spain had been much troubled in mind upon the subject, and had sent for
him. "I went," said Perez, "and after he, had closed the door, and
looked through the keyhole to see that there were no listeners, he
informed me that he had received intelligence from the Pope as to the
demands made by Don John upon his Holiness for bulls, briefs, and money
to assist him in his English scheme, and that eighty thousand ducats had
already been sent to him in consequence." Perez added that the nuncio
was very anxious to know how the affair should best be communicated to
the King, without prejudice to his Highness. He had given him the
requisite advice, he continued, and had himself subsequently told the
King that, no doubt, letters had been written by Don John to his Majesty,
communicating these negotiations at Rome, but that probably the
despatches had been forgotten. Thus, giving himself the appearance
of having smoothed the matter with the King, Perez concluded with a
practical suggestion of much importance--the necessity, namely, of
procuring the assassination of the Prince of Orange as soon as possible.
"Let it never be absent from your mind," said he, "that a good occasion
must be found for finishing Orange, since, besides the service which will
thus be rendered to our master, and to the states, it will be worth
something to ourselves.

No apology is necessary for laying a somewhat extensive analysis of this
secret correspondence before the reader. If there be any value in the
examples of history, certainly few chronicles can furnish a more