IX. 1547. having as he saw meet towards a Prince whom he regarded B O O K as absolutely at his disposal. But though he would not vouchsafe to negociate with the Landgrave, on such a footing of equality as to suffer any article to be inserted among those which he had dictated to him, that could be considered as a formal stipulation for the security and freedom of his person; he, or his ministers in his name, gave the Elector of Brandenburg and Maurice such full satisfaction with regard to this point, that they assured the Landgrave, that Charles would behave to him in the same way as he had done to the Duke of Wurtemberg, and would allow him, whenever he had made his submission, to return to his own territories. Upon finding the Landgrave to be still possessed with his former suspicions of the Emperor's intentions, and unwilling to trust verbal or ambiguous declarations, in a matter of such essential concern as his own liberty, they sent him a bond signed by them both, containing the most solemn obligations, that if any violence whatsoever was offered to his person, during his interview with the Emperor, they would instantly surrender themselves to his sons, and. remain in their hands to be treated by them in the same manner as the Emperor should treat him'. THIS, together with the indispensible obligation of per- He repairs forming what was contained in the articles of which he had to the Imperial accepted, removed his doubts and scruples, or made it ne- court. cessary to get over them. He repaired, for that purpose to the Imperial camp at Hall in Saxony, where a circumstance occurred which revived his suspicions and increased his fears. Just as he was about to enter the chamber of presence, in order to make his public submission to the Emperor, a copy of the articles which he had approved of was put into his hands, in order that he might ratify them anew. Upon perusing them, he perceived that the Imperial ministers had added two new articles; one importing, that if any dispute should arise concerning the meaning of the former conditions, the Emperor should have the right of putting what interpretation upon them he thought most reasonable; the 1 Du Mont Corps Diplom. iv. p. 11. 336. IX. 1547. BOOK other, that the Landgrave was bound to submit implicitly to the decisions of the council of Trent. This unworthy ar tifice, calculated to surprise him into an approbation of arti cles, to which he had not the most distant idea of assenting, by proposing them to him at a time when his mind was engrossed and disquieted with the thoughts of that humiliat ing ceremony which he had to perform, filled the Landgrave with indignation, and made him break out into all those violent expressions of rage to which his temper was prone. With some difficulty, the Elector of Brandenburg and Maurice prevailed at length on the Emperor's ministers to drop the former article as unjust, and to explain the latter in such a manner, that he could agree to it, without openly renounc ing the Protestant religion. The man ner in emperor received him. THIS obstacle being surmounted, the Landgrave was im which the patient to finish a ceremony which, how mortifying soever, had been declared necessary towards his obtaining pardon. The Emperor was seated on a magnificent throne, with all the ensigns of his dignity, surrounded by a numerous train of the Princes of the Empire, among whom was Henry of Brunswick, lately the Landgrave's prisoner, and now, by a sudden reverse of fortune, a spectator of his humiliation. The Landgrave was introduced with great solemnity, and advancing towards the throne, fell upon his knees. His chancellor, who walked behind him, immediately read, by his master's command, a paper which contained an humble confession of the crime whereof he had been guilty; an acknowledgment that he had merited on that account the most severe punishment; an absolute resignation of himself and his dominions to be diposed of at the Emperor's pleasure; a submissive petition for pardon, his hopes of which were founded entirely on the Emperor's clemency, and it concluded with promises of behaving, for the future, like a subject whose principles of loyalty and obedience would be confirmed, and would even derive new force from the sentiments of gratitude which must hereafter fill and animate his heart. While the chancellor was reading this abject declaration, the eyes of all the spectators were fixed on the unfortunate Landgrave; few could behold a Prince, so pow IX. 1547. erful as well as high-spirited, suing for mercy in the pos- B O O K ture of a supplicant, without being touched with commiseration, and perceiving serious reflections arise in their minds upon the instability and emptiness of human grandeur. The Emperor viewed the whole transaction with an haughty, unfeeling composure; and preserving a profound silence himself, made a sign to one of his secretaries to read his answer; the tenour of which was, That though he might have justly inflicted on him the grievous punishment which his crimes deserved, yet, prompted by his own generosity, moved by the solicitations of several Princes in behalf of the Landgrave, and influenced by his penitential acknowledgments, he would not deal with him according to the rigour of justice, and would subject him to no penalty that was not specified in the articles which he had already subscribed. The moment the secretary had finished, Charles turned away abruptly, without deigning to give the unhappy suppliant any sign of compassion or reconcilement. He did not even desire him to rise from his knees; which the Landgrave having ventured to do unbidden, advanced towards the Emperor with an intention to kiss his hand, flattering himself, that his guilt being now fully expiated, he might presume to take that liberty. But the Elector of Brandenburg, perceiving that this familiarity would be offensive to the Emperor, interposed, and desired the Landgrave to go along with him and Maurice to the Duke of Alva's apartments in the castle. prisoner. He was received and entertained by that nobleman with the respect and courtesy due to such a guest. But after supper, while he was engaged in play, the Duke took the Elector and Maurice aside, and communicated to them the Emperor's orders, that the Landgrave must remain a pri- He is desoner in that place under the custody of a Spanish guard. tained a As they had not hitherto entertained the most distant suspicion of the Emperor's sincerity or rectitude of intention, their surprise was excessive, and their indignation not inferior to it, on discovering how greatly they had been deceived themselves, and how infamously abused, in having been made the instruments of deceiving and ruining their friend. They had recourse to complaints, to arguments, and to en 'IX. 1547. BOOK treaties, in order to save themselves from that disgrace, and. to extricate him out of the wretched situation into which he had been betrayed by too great confidence in them. But the Duke of Alva remained inflexible, and pleaded the necessity of executing the Emperor's commands. By this time it grew late, and the Landgrave, who knew nothing of what had passed, nor dreaded the snare in which he was entangled, prepared for departing, when the fatal orders were intimated to him. He was struck dumb at first with astonishment, but after being silent a few moments, he broke out into all the violent expressions which horror, at injustice accompanied with fraud, naturally suggests. He complained, he expostulated, he exclaimed; sometimes inveighing against the Emperor's artifices as unworthy of a great and generous Prince; sometimes censuring the credulity of his friends in trusting to Charles's insidious promises; sometimes charging them with meanness in stooping to lend their assistance towards the execution of such a perfidious and dishonourable scheme; and in the end he required them to remember their engagements to his children, and instantly to fulfil them. They, after giving way for a little to the torrent of his passion, solemnly asserted their own innocence and upright intention in the whole transaction, and encouraged him to hope, that as soon as they saw the Emperor, they would obtain redress of an injury, which affected their own honour, no less than it did his liberty. At the same, time, in order to sooth his rage and impatience, Maurice remained with him during the night, in the apartment where he was confined m. The elector of Bran and Mau rice solicit NEXT morning, the Elector and Maurice applied jointdenburg ly to the Emperor, representing the infamy to which they would be exposed throughout Germany, if the Landgrave in vain for were detained in custody; that they would not have advised, his liberty. nor would he himself have consented to an interview, if they had suspected that the loss of his liberty was to be the consequence of his submission; that they were bound to procure his release, having plighted their faith to that effect, and engaged their own persons as sureties for his. Charles m Sleid. 433. Thuan, I. iv. 147. Struv. Corp. Hist. Germ. ii. 1052. IX. 1547. listened to their earnest remonstrances with the utmost cool- BOOK 'ness. As he now stood no longer in need of their services, they had the mortification to find that their former obsequiousness was forgotten, and little regard paid to their intercession. He was ignorant, he told them, of their particular or private transactions with the Landgrave, nor was his conduct to be regulated by any engagements into which they had thought fit to enter; though he knew well what he himself had promised, which was not that the Landgrave should be exempt from all restraint, but that he should not be kept a prisoner during life*. Having said this with a peremptory and decisive tone, he put an end to the conference; and they seeing no probability at that time of making any impression upon the Emperor, who seemed to have taken this resolution deliberately, and to be obstinately bent on adhering to it, were obliged to acquaint the unfortunate prisoner with the ill success of their endeavours in his behalf. The disappointment threw him into a new and more violent transport of rage, so that to prevent his proceeding to some desperate extremity, the Elector and Maurice promised that they would not quit the Emperor, until, by the frequency and fervour of their intercessions, they had extorted his consent to set him free. They accordingly renewed their solicitations a few days afterwards, but found Charles more haughty and intractable than before, and were warned that According to several Historians of great name, the Emperor, in his treaty with the Landgrave, stipulated that he would not detain him in any prison. But in executing the deed, which was written in the German tongue, the Imperial ministers fraudulently substituted the word ewiger, instead of einiger, and thus the treaty, in place of a promise that he should not be detained in any prison, contained only an engagement that he should not be detained in perpetual imprisonment. But authors, eminent for historical knowledge and critical accuracy, have called in question the truth of this common story. The silence of Sleidan with regard to it, as well as its not being mentioned in the various memorials which he has published concerning the Landgrave's imprisonment, greatly favour this opinion. But as several books which contain the information necessary towards discussing this point with accuracy, are written in the German language, which I do not understand, I cannot pretend to inquire into this matter with the same precision wherewith I have endeavoured to settle some other controverted facts which have occurred in the course of this history. See Struv. Corp. 1052. Mosheim's Eccles. Hist. vol. ii. p. 161, 162. Engl. edition. |