e increase of the pension showed no very extravagant estimate of these
services; and the parsimonious tribute which, after his long silence, he
now, in a few brief sentences, paid to her deserts, too plainly
intimated, that all she had done had failed to excite even a feeling of
gratitude in the bosom of her brother.[1040] At the same time with the
letter to Margaret came a commission to the duke of Alva, investing him
with the title of regent and governor-general, together with all the
powers that had been possessed by his predecessor.[1041]

Margaret made only one request of Philip previous to her departure. This
he denied her. Her father, Charles the Fifth, at the time of his
abdication, had called the states-general together, and taken leave of
them in a farewell address, which was still cherished as a legacy by his
subjects. Margaret would have imitated his example. The grandeur of the
spectacle pleased her imagination; and she was influenced, no doubt, by
the honest desire of manifesting, in the hour of separation, some
feelings of a kindly nature for the people over whom she had ruled for
so many years.

But Philip, as we have seen, had no relish for these meetings of the
states. He had no idea of consenting to them on an emergency no more
pressing than the present. Margaret was obliged, therefore, to
relinquish the pageant, and to content herself with taking leave of the
people by letters addressed to the principal cities of the provinces. In
these she briefly touched on the difficulties which had lain in her
path, and on the satisfaction which she felt at having, at length,
brought the country to a state of tranquillity and order. She besought
them to remain always constant in the faith in which they had been
nurtured, as well as in their loyalty to a prince so benign and merciful
as the king, her brother. In so doing the blessing of Heaven would rest
upon them; and for her own part, she would ever be found ready to use
her good offices in their behalf.[1042]

She proved her sincerity by a letter written to Philip, before her
departure, in which she invoked his mercy in behalf of his Flemish
subjects. "Mercy," she said, "was a divine attribute. The greater the
power possessed by a monarch, the nearer he approached the Deity, and
the more should he strive to imitate the divine clemency and
compassion.[1043] His royal predecessors had contented themselves with
punishing the leaders of sedition, while they spare