“Having gained the good opinion of the Queen and her ladies, the agent may aspire to greater things.  The court is very accessible to bribes; it is therefore quite possible to purchase its goodwill; and to this end it will be well to send the Queen jewels of some value, ostensibly as presents to her, but in reality that she may distribute them among those ministers from whom the greatest help may be expected.  The envoy should not make very valuable presents himself, but only through the Queen, lest he be suspected of ulterior views, or cause danger to the recipients of them.

“When the ministers have been won over, the Queen, instructed by the envoy how great a reputation she may acquire by the conversion of this kingdom, must try to persuade the King to abolish poursuivants and informers.  This he may not be able to effect immediately, being powerless to repeal parliamentary laws, but he may be able to procure that the poursuivants and informers shall do nothing without an express and written order from the Privy Council, and only then in a manner conformable to the instructions of the same.  In this way, Catholics would have nothing more to fear, because as soon as the Council resolved to proceed against any individual, the Queen would bring her influence to bear on any one of its members already on her side, and the threatened Catholic would be helped, either to fly or to elude the officials.

“This point gained, an almost tacit liberty of conscience would follow; the Catholics would take courage, and the moderate Protestants would no longer fear to declare themselves openly their protectors.  Then would be the time to treat with the King, through the Archbishop of Canterbury, for the concession of religious liberty, as far as possible.  This once conceded, Father Philip believes that in less than three years the whole country would become Catholic.  Parliament might then safely be assembled to repeal the laws against Catholics, and reunion with the Holy See would soon follow.

“But how to obtain liberty of conscience it is not easy to say at present; neither does it yet concern us, not having arrived so far.

“This is all that Father Philip said, and whatever else he may tell me I will write to your Eminence, having nothing further to add now, except that the envoy should be guided in all things by Father Philip, who has a great reputation for prudence, and is respected by the whole court.”

Nevertheless, Father Philip’s ingenious structure soon proved to be only a house of cards.  He understood the Queen, and was not far wrong in his estimation of Charles, but he was mistaken in thinking the king’s party to be in earnest about Catholicism, and was as wide of the mark in grasping the archbishop’s bent as any Puritan in the realm.

Laud was in some respects wiser than Buckingham had been; he was content to govern through the King, throwing what power he could into the hands of the prelates.  All the great offices of State were filled by churchmen.  Far from contemplating any submission to the Pope, he aimed at being a species of independent Pope on his own account.  Both he and Juxon, the Lord Treasurer, refused to see Panzani.