came, which is out of the kitchen of Madame the king's sister."--
Memorials, i. 380.]

On his appointment to this offce of secret diplomacy he assumed all the
airs of an ambassador, while Henry took great pains to contradict the
reports which were spread as to the true nature of this mission to Spain.

Duplessis was, in truth, not very far wrong in his conjectures, but,
as might be supposed, Henry was most anxious to conceal these secret
negotiations with his Catholic Majesty from the Huguenot chiefs whom he
had so recently deserted. "This is all done without the knowledge of
the Duke of Bouillon," said Calvaert, "or at least under a very close
disguise, as he, himself keenly feels and confesses to me." The envoy
of the republic, as well as the leaders of the Protestant party in
France, were resolved if possible to break off these dark and dangerous
intrigues, the nature of which they so shrewdly suspected, and to
substitute for them an open rupture of Henry with the King of Spain,
and a formal declaration of war against him. None of the diplomatists
or political personages engaged in these great affairs, in which the
whole world was so deeply interested, manifested more sagacity and
insight on this occasion than did the Dutch statesmen. We have seen that
even Sir Edward Stafford was deceived up to a very late moment, as to the
rumoured intentions of Henry to enter the Catholic Church. Envoy Edmonds
was now equally and completely in the dark as to the mission of Varenne,
and informed his Government that the only result of it was that the
secret agent to Spain was favoured, through the kindness of Mendoza,
with a distant view of Philip II. with his son and daughter at their
devotions in the chapel of the Escorial. This was the tale generally
recounted and believed after the agent's return from Spain, so that
Varenne was somewhat laughed at as having gone to Spain on a fool's