reduction of Holland and Zeeland. "Surely no danger nor fear of any
attempt can grow to England," wrote Wilford, "so long as we can hold this
country good." But never was honest soldier more mistaken than he, when
he added:--"The Papists will make her Highness afraid of a great fleet
now preparing in Spain. We hear it also, but it is only a scare-crow to
cool the enterprise here."

It was no scare-crow. On the very day on which Wilford was thus writing
to Walsingham, Philip the Second was writing to Alexander Farnese. "The
English," he said, "with their troops having gained a footing in the
islands (Holland and Zeeland) give me much anxiety. The English
Catholics are imploring me with much importunity to relieve them from
the persecution they are suffering. When you sent me a plan, with the
coasts, soundings, quicksands, and ports of England, you said that the
enterprise of invading that country should be deferred till we had
reduced the isles; that, having them, we could much more conveniently
attack England; or that at least we should wait till we had got Antwerp.
As the city is now taken, I want your advice now about the invasion of
England. To cut the root of the evils constantly growing up there, both
for God's service and mine, is desirable. So many evils will thus be
remedied, which would not be by only warring with the islands. It would
be an uncertain and expensive war to go to sea for the purpose of
chastising the insolent English corsairs, however much they deserve
chastisement. I charge you to be secret, to give the matter your deepest
attention, and to let me have your opinions at once." Philip then added
a postscript, in his own hand, concerning the importance of acquiring a
sea-port in Holland, as a basis of operations against England. "Without
a port," he said, "we can do nothing whatever."

A few weeks later, the Grand Commander of Castile, by Philip's orders,