atholic religion and the King's
sovereignty. As for their privileges, he would govern as had been done in
the time of his imperial father. He expressed his satisfaction with most
of the promises offered by the estates, particularly with their
expression in favor of the Church and of his Majesty's authority; the two
all-important points to secure which he had come thither unattended, at
the peril of his life, but he received their offer of a body-guard, by
which his hirelings were to be superseded, with very little gratitude. He
was on the point, he said, of advancing as far as Marche en Famine, and
should take with him as strong a guard as he considered necessary, and
composed of such troops as he had at hand. Nothing decisive came of this
first interview. The parties had taken the measures of their mutual
claims, and after a few days, fencing with apostilles, replies, and
rejoinders, they separated, their acrimony rather inflamed than appeased.

The departure of the troops and the Ghent treaty were the vital points in
the negotiation. The estates had originally been content that the troops
should go by sea. Their suspicions were, however, excited by the
pertinacity with which Don John held to this mode of removal. Although
they did not suspect the mysterious invasion of England, a project which
was the real reason why the Governor objected to their departure by land,
yet they soon became aware--that he had been secretly tampering with the
troops at every point. The effect of these secret negotiations with the
leading officers of the army was a general expression of their
unwillingness, on account of the lateness of the season, the difficult
and dangerous condition of the roads and mountain-passes, the plague in
Italy, and other pretexts, to undertake so long a journey by land. On the
other hand, the states, seeing the anxiety and the duplicity of Don John
upon this particular point, came to the resolution to thwart him at all
hazards, and insisted on the land journey. Too long a time, too much
money, too many ships would be necessary, they said, to forward so large
a force by sea, and in the meantime it would be necessary to permit them
to live for another indefinite period at the charge of the estates.

With regard to the Ghent Pacification, the estates, in the course of
December, procured: an express opinion from the eleven professors of
theology, and doctors utriusque juris of Louvain, that the treaty
contained noth