Paris, where they had been received with much enthusiasm; a very violent
and determined churchman, Sega, archbishop of Piacenza, and cardinal-
legate, having arrived to check on the part of the holy father any
attempt by the great wavering heretic to get himself readmitted into the
fold of the faithful.

The King of Spain considered it his duty, as well as his unquestionable
right, to interfere in the affairs of France, and to save the cause of
religion, civilization and humanity, in the manner so dear to the
civilization-savers, by reducing that distracted country--utterly unable
to govern itself--under his sceptre. To achieve this noble end no
bribery was too wholesale, no violence too brutal, no intrigue too
paltry. It was his sacred and special mission to save France from
herself. If he should fail, he could at least carve her in pieces, and
distribute her among himself and friends. Frenchmen might assist him in
either of these arrangements, but it was absurd to doubt that on him
devolved the work and the responsibility. Yet among his advisers were
some who doubted whether the purchase of the grandees of France was
really the most judicious course to pursue. There was a general and
uneasy feeling that the grandees were making sport of the Spanish
monarch, and that they would be inclined to remain his stipendiaries for
an indefinite period, without doing their share of the work. A keen
Jesuit, who had been much in France, often whispered to Philip that he
was going astray. "Those who best understand the fit remedy for this
unfortunate kingdom, and know the tastes and temper of the nation," said
he, "doubt giving these vast presents and rewards in order that the
nobles of France may affect your cause and further your schemes. It is
the greatest delusion, because they love nothing but their own interest,
and for this reason wish for no king at all, but prefer that the kingdom
should remain topsy-turvy in order that they may enjoy the Spanish