and saw his kingdom torn to
pieces and almost literally divided among themselves by rebellious
princes, who made use of the Spanish marriages as a pretext for unceasing
civil war.

The Queen-Mother was at that moment at Bordeaux, and an emissary from the
princes was in London. James had sent to offer his mediation between them
and the Queen. He was fond of mediation. He considered it his special
mission in the world to mediate. He imagined himself as looked up to by
the nations as the great arbitrator of Christendom, and was wont to issue
his decrees as if binding in force and infallible by nature. He had
protested vigorously against the Spanish-French marriages, and declared
that the princes were justified in formalizing an opposition to them, at
least until affairs in France were restored to something like order. He
warned the Queen against throwing the kingdom "into the combustion of war
without necessity," and declared that, if she would trust to his
guidance, she might make use of him as if her affairs were his own. An
indispensable condition for much assistance, however, would be that the
marriages should be put off.

As James was himself pursuing a Spanish marriage for his son as the chief
end and aim of his existence, there was something almost humorous in this
protest to the Queen-Dowager and in his encouragement of mutiny in France
in order to prevent a catastrophe there which he desired at home.

The same agent of the princes, de Monbaran by name, was also privately
accredited by them to the States with instructions to borrow 200,000
crowns of them if he could. But so long as the policy of the Republic was
directed by Barneveld, it was not very probable that, while maintaining
friendly and even intimate relations with the legitimate government, she
would enter into negotiations with rebels against it, whether princes or
plebeians, and oblige them with loans. "He will call on me soon, no
doubt," said Caron, "but being so well instructed as to your Mightinesses
intentions in this matter, I hope I shall keep him away from you."
Monbaran was accordingly kept away, but a few weeks later another
emissary of Conde and Bouillon made his appearance at the Hague, de
Valigny by name. He asked for money and for soldiers to reinforce
Bouillon's city of Sedan, but he was refused an audience of the
States-General. Even the martial ardour of Maurice and his sympathy for
his relatives were cooled by this direct assault on h