"  I  am  betrayed  by  the  Lombards,"  said  he,  "  I  am  abandoned  by  the
Germans  :  but  I  will  not  allow  myself  again  to  be  bound  hand  and  foot
and  hung  upon  a  nail,  as  I  did  at  Worms.  War  I  must  make,  and  I  will
make,  let  people  say  what  they  may.  Rather  than  give  it  up,  I  would
get  a  dispensation  from  the  oath  that  I  swore  behind  the  altar  at  Frank-
furt ;  for  I  have  duties  not  only  to  the  empire,  but  to  the  House  of  Austria  :
I  say  this,  and  I  must  say  it,  though  I  should  be  forced  on  that  account
to  lay  the  crown  at  my  feet  and  trample  on  it."

The  princes  listened  to  him  with  amazement.  "  Your  Majesty,"  replied
the  Elector  of  Mainz,  "  is  pleased  to  speak  to  us  in  parables,  as  Christ  did
to  his  disciples  !"  They  begged  him  to  bring  his  proposals  before  the
assembly,  which  would  then  proceed  to  deliberate  upon  them.1  Strange
meeting  of  this  monarch  with  this  assembly  !  Maximilian  lived  in  the
interests  of  his  House  ;  in  the  contemplation  of  the  great  political  relations
of  Europe  ;  in  the  feeling  that  he  was  the  bearer  of  the  highest  dignity
of  Christendom,  which  was  now  in  jeopardy  :  he  was  ambitious,  warlike,
and  needy.  The  States,  on  the  other  hand,  had  their  attention  fixed
on  internal  affairs  ;  what  they  desired  above  all  things  was  a  government
of  order  and  law  ;  they  were  cautious,  pacific,  frugal :  they  wanted  to
check  and  control  the  king  ;  he  to  excite  and  hurry  on  the  States.
Nothing  less  than  the  singular  prudence,  moderation,  and  sense  which
distinguished  the  Archbishop  of  Mainz  were  necessary  to  prevent  a  total
breach  between  them.
