had chosen the place of his retreat, he had been deterred
from immediately executing his purpose by the forlorn condition of his
mother, and the tender age of his son. The first obstacle was now
removed by the death of Joanna, after a reign--a nominal reign--of half
a century, in which the cloud that had settled on her intellect at her
husband's death was never dispelled.

The age of Philip, his son and heir, was also no longer an objection.
From early boyhood he had been trained to the duties of his station,
and, when very young, had been intrusted with the government of Castile.
His father had surrounded him with able and experienced counsellors, and
their pupil, who showed a discretion far beyond his years, had largely
profited by their lessons. He had now entered his twenty-ninth year, an
age when the character is formed, and when, if ever, he might be
supposed qualified to assume the duties of government. His father had
already ceded to him the sovereignty of Naples and Milan, on occasion of
the prince's marriage with Mary of England. He was on a visit to that
country, when Charles, having decided on the act of abdication, sent to
require his son's attendance at Brussels, where the ceremony was to be
performed. The different provinces of the Netherlands were also summoned
to send their deputies, with authority to receive the emperor's
resignation, and to transfer their allegiance to his successor. As a
preliminary step, on the twenty-second of October, 1555, he conferred on
Philip the grand-mastership--which, as Lord of Flanders, was vested in
himself--of the _toison d'or_, the order of the Golden Fleece, of
Burgundy; the proudest and most coveted, at that day, of all the
military orders of knighthood.

Preparations were then made for conducting the ceremony of abdication
with all the pomp and solemnity suited to so august an occasion. The
great hall of the royal palace of Brussels was selected for the scene of
it. The walls of the spacious apartment were hung with tapestry, and the
floor was covered with rich carpeting. A scaffold was erected, at one
end of the room, to the height of six or seven steps. On it was placed a
throne, or chair of state, for the emperor, with other seats for Philip,
and for the great Flemish lords who were to attend the person of their
sovereign. Above the throne was suspended a gorgeous canopy, on which
were emblazoned the arms of the ducal house of Burgundy. In front of the
scaffold