61] It fared,
indeed, with this compromise of the regent, as with most other half-way
measures. It satisfied neither of the parties concerned in it. The king
thought it as much too lenient as the people thought it too severe. It
never received the royal sanction, and of course never became a law. It
would therefore hardly have deserved the time I have bestowed on it,
except as evidence of the conciliatory spirit of the regent's
administration.

In the same spirit Margaret was careful to urge the royal officers to
give a liberal interpretation to the existing edicts, and to show the
utmost discretion in their execution. These functionaries were not slow
in obeying commands, which released them from so much of the odium that
attached to their ungrateful office. The amiable temper of the
government received support from a singular fraud which took place at
this time. An instrument was prepared, purporting to have come from the
knights of the Golden Fleece, in which this body guarantied to the
confederates that no one in the Low Countries should be molested on
account of his religion until otherwise determined by the king and the
states-general. This document, which carried its spurious origin on its
face, was nevertheless eagerly caught up and circulated among the
people, ready to believe what they most desired. In vain the regent, as
soon as she heard of it, endeavored to expose the fraud. It was too
late; and the influence of this imposture combined with the tolerant
measures of the government to inspire a confidence in the community
which was soon visible in its results. Some who had gone into exile
returned to their country. Many, who had cherished the new doctrines in
secret, openly avowed them; while others who were wavering, now that
they were relieved from all fear of consequences, became fixed in their
opinions. In short, the Reformation, in some form or other, was making
rapid advances over the country.[762]

Of the three great sects who embraced it, the Lutherans, the least
numerous, were the most eminent for their rank. The Anabaptists, far
exceeding them in number, were drawn almost wholly from the humbler
classes of the people. It is singular that this sect, the most quiet and
inoffensive of all, should have been uniformly dealt with by the law
with peculiar rigor. It may, perhaps, be attributed to the bad name
which attached to them from the excesses committed by their brethren,
the famous Anabaptists of M