begged the Emperor to make manifest his sentiments and their own. It
was fitting that his Catholic Majesty should be aware that the princes
of the Empire were united for the conservation of fatherland and of
tranquillity. To this end they placed in the Emperor's hands their
estates, their fortunes, and their lives.

Such was the language of that important appeal to the Emperor in behalf
of oppressed millions in the Netherlands, an appeal which Granvelle had
coldly characterized as an intrigue contrived by Orange to bring about
his own restoration to favor!

The Emperor, in answer, assured the electoral envoys that he had taken
the affair to heart, and had resolved to despatch his own brother, the
Archduke Charles, on a special mission to Spain.

Accordingly, on the 21st October, 1568, the Emperor presented his brother
with an ample letter of instructions. He was to recal to Philip's memory
the frequent exhortations made by the Emperor concerning the policy
pursued in the Netherlands. He was to mention the urgent interpellations
made to him by the electors and princes of the Empire in their recent
embassy. He was to state that the Emperor had recently deputed
commissioners to the Prince of Orange and the Duke of Alva, in order
to bring about, if possible, a suspension of arms. He was to represent
that the great number of men raised by the Prince of Orange in Germany,
showed the powerful support which he had found in the country. Under
such circumstances he was to show that it had been impossible for the
Emperor to decree the ban against him, as the Duke of Alva had demanded.
The Archduke was to request the King's consent to the reconciliation of
Orange, on honorable conditions. He was to demand the substitution of
clemency in for severity, and to insist on the recall of the foreign