ied to remedy it; till, finding himself unable to
exercise any control over the hair-brained young man, he has been forced
to this expedient."[1472]

Now, in the judgment of a grand-inquisitor, it would probably be thought
that heresy, or any leaning to heresy, was a crime of even a deeper dye
than parricide. The cardinal's discourse made this impression on the
nuncio, who straightway began to cast about for proofs of apostasy in
Don Carlos. The Tuscan minister also notices, in his letters, the
suspicions that Carlos was not a good Catholic.[1473] A confirmation of
this view of the matter may be gathered from the remarks of Pius the
Fifth on Philip's letter in cipher, above noticed. "His holiness,"
writes the Spanish ambassador, "greatly lauds the course taken by your
majesty; for he feels that the preservation of Christianity depends on
your living many years, and on your having a successor who will tread in
your footsteps."[1474]

[Sidenote: CAUSES OF HIS IMPRISONMENT.]

But though all this seems to intimate pretty clearly that the religious
defection of Carlos was a predominant motive for his imprisonment, it is
not easy to believe that a person of his wayward and volatile mind could
have formed any settled opinions in matters of faith, or that his
position would have allowed the Reformers such access to his person as
to have greatly exposed him to the influence of their doctrines. Yet it
is quite possible that he may have taken an interest in those political
movements abroad, which, in the end, were directed against the Church. I
allude to the troubles in the Low Countries, which he is said to have
looked upon with no unfriendly eye. It is true, there is no proof of
this, so far as I am aware, in the correspondence of the Flemish
leaders. Nor is there any reason to suppose that Carlos entered
directly into a correspondence with them himself, or indeed committed
himself by any overt act in support of the cause.[1475] But this was not
necessary for his condemnation; it would have been quite enough, that he
had felt a sympathy for the distresses of the people. From the residence
of Egmont, Bergen, and Montigny at the court, he had obvious means of
communication with those nobles, who may naturally have sought to
interest him in behalf of their countrymen. The sympathy readily kindled
in the ardent bosom of the young prince would be as readily expressed.
That he did feel such a sympathy may perhaps be inferred by his