his French neighbors, and support them in the
maintenance of the Roman Catholic religion. "That they should be
maintained in this is quite as important to us as it is to them. Many
here," he adds, "would be right glad to see affairs go badly for the
Catholics in that kingdom. No noble as yet among us has openly declared
himself. Should any one do so, God only could save the country from the
fate of France."[536]

Acting on these hints, and conformably to his own views, Philip sent
orders to the regent to raise two thousand men, and send them across the
borders to support the French Catholics. The orders met with decided
resistance in the council of state. The great Flemish lords, at this
time, must have affected, if they did not feel, devotion to the
established religion. But they well knew there was too large a leaven of
heresy in the country to make these orders palatable. They felt no
desire, moreover, thus unnecessarily to mix themselves up with the feuds
of France. They represented that the troops could not safely be
dispensed with in the present state of feeling at home; and that, if
they marched against the Protestants of France, the German Protestants
might be expected to march against them.

Granvelle, on the other hand, would have enforced the orders of Philip,
as essential to the security of the Netherlands themselves. Margaret,
thus pressed by the opposite parties, felt the embarrassment of either
course. The alternative presented was, that of disobeying the king, or
of incurring the resentment, perhaps the resistance, of the nation.
Orange and Egmont besought her to convoke the states-general, as the
only safe counsellors in such an emergency. The states had often been
convened on matters of less moment by the former regent, Mary of
Hungary. But the cardinal had no mind to invoke the interference of that
"mischievous animal, the people."[537] He had witnessed a convocation of
the states previous to the embarkation of Philip; and he had not
forgotten the independent tone then assumed by that body. It had been,
indeed, the last injunction of the king to his sister, on no account to
call a meeting of the national legislature till his return to the
country.

But while on this ground Margaret refused to summon the states-general,
she called a meeting of the order of the Golden Fleece, to whom she was
to apply for counsel on extraordinary occasions. The knights of the
order consisted of persons of the highest