towed on you had come by
inheritance, there would be abundant cause for gratitude. How much more,
when they come as a free gift in the lifetime of your father! But,
however large the debt, I shall consider it all repaid, if you only
discharge your duty to your subjects. So rule over them, that men shall
commend, and not censure me for the part I am now acting. Go on as you
have begun. Fear God; live justly; respect the laws; above all, cherish
the interests of religion; and may the Almighty bless you with a son, to
whom, when old and stricken with disease, you may be able to resign your
kingdom with the same good-will with which I now resign mine to you."

As he ceased, Philip, much affected, would have thrown himself at his
father's feet, assuring him of his intention to do all in his power to
merit such goodness; but Charles, raising his son, tenderly embraced
him, while the tears flowed fast down his cheeks. Every one, even the
most stoical, was touched by this affecting scene; "and nothing," says
one who was present, "was to be heard, throughout the hall, but sobs and
ill-suppressed moans." Charles, exhausted by his efforts, and deadly
pale, sank back upon his seat; while, with feeble accents, he exclaimed,
as he gazed on his people, "God bless you! God bless you!"[8]

After these emotions had somewhat subsided, Philip arose, and,
delivering himself in French, briefly told the deputies of the regret
which he felt at not being able to address them in their native
language, and to assure them of the favor and high regard in which he
held them. This would be done for him by the bishop of Arras.

This was Antony Perennot, better known as Cardinal Granvelle, son of the
famous minister of Charles the Fifth, and destined himself to a still
higher celebrity as the minister of Philip the Second. In clear and
fluent language, he gave the deputies the promise of their new sovereign
to respect the laws and liberties of the nation; invoking them, on his
behalf, to aid him with their counsels, and, like royal vassals, to
maintain the authority of the law in his dominions. After a suitable
response from the deputies, filled with sentiments of regret for the
loss of their late monarch, and with those of loyalty to their new one,
the Regent Mary formally abdicated her authority, and the session
closed. So ended a ceremony, which, considering the importance of its
consequences, the character of the actors, and the solemnity of the