On the 1st of June England declared war against France, and Philip returned to Brussels, having accomplished the object of his journey. Here he was joined by the Duchess of Lorraine and the Count of Vaudemont, who came to Flanders to try and reopen peace negotiations. But the moment, as Arras told him, was singularly inopportune, since Philip was armed to the teeth and had England at his back. On the 11th of August the King left Brussels for the camp before St. Quentin, where he arrived just too late to claim a share in the brilliant victory gained by the Duke of Savoy and Egmont over the French on St. Lawrence's Day. The Constable Montmorency, the Marshal St. André, Admiral Coligny, and the Rhinegrave, were among the prisoners made on this memorable day, together with all the guns and fifty-six colours. The news of this decisive victory was celebrated with great joy both in Brussels and across the Channel. Te Deum was sung in St. Paul's, and the loyal citizens of London lighted bonfires and sat up drinking through the livelong night; while in Paris the King and Queen went to Notre Dame in sackcloth, and Henry II. carried the Crown of Thorns in procession from the Sainte Chapelle. In the lonely monastery far away on the heights of Estremadura, the news sent a thrill to the great Emperor's heart, and he asked eagerly in what route his son was marching on Paris. Had Philip followed this course, had he, in Suriano's words, "taken Fortune at the flood," he might have brought the campaign to a triumphant close. But, with characteristic timidity, he confined himself to capturing St. Quentin, and then returned to Brussels, throwing away such an opportunity as comes but once a lifetime.[528]
FOOTNOTES:
[481] Henne, x. 13.
[482] Calendar of the Manuscripts of the Marquis of Salisbury, i. 110; Lodge, "Illustrations," i. 183.
[483] Voigt, ii. 207.
[484] Calendar of State Papers, Edward VI., Foreign, 282.
[485] "Travail and Life of Sir T. Hoby," 85; Calendar of State Papers, Edward VI., Foreign, 288.
[486] Calendar of State Papers, Mary, Foreign, 8; T. Hoby, 102.
[487] Granvelle, iv. 113, 119.
[488] Mignet, "Retraite de Charles V.," 69, 70.