uding items of the instructions had
reference to the marriage settlements.

A kingdom of his own was not the duke's dream at this stage of
Burgundo-Austrian negotiations. The title that Charles desired
primarily was King of the Romans, one empty of substantial sovereign
power, but rich with promise of the all-embracing imperial dignity.
Significant is the intimation that after this preliminary title was
conferred, its wearer would be glad to have Frederic step aside
voluntarily. A resignation would be as efficient as death in making
room for his appointed successor.

Frederic III. had, indeed, intimated occasionally that a life of
meditation would suit his tastes better than the imperial throne, but
he seems in no wise to have been tempted by the offer made by Charles
to relieve him of his onerous duties, and then to pass on the office
to his son. At any rate, the emperor rejected the opportunity to enjoy
an irresponsible ease. His answer to the duke was that he did not
exercise sufficient influence over his electors to ensure their
accepting his nominee as successor to the _imperium_.

There was, however, one honour that lay wholly within his gift. If
Charles desired higher rank, the emperor would be quite willing to
erect his territories into a realm and to create him monarch of
his own agglomerated possessions, welded into a new unity. This
proposition wounded Charles keenly. He assured Sigismund[8] (January
15, 1471) that his nomination as King of the Romans would never have
occurred to him spontaneously. He had been assured that it was a
darling project of the emperor, and he had simply been willing
to please him, etc. As to a kingdom of his own, he refused the
proposition with actual disdain.

Then various suitors for the hand of Mary of Burgundy appeared on
the scene successively. To Nicholas of Calabria, Duke of Lorraine,
grandson of old King Rene of Anjou, she was formally betrothed.[9]

"My cousin, since it is the pleasure of my very redoubtable seigneur
and father, I promise you that, you being alive, I will take none
other than you and I promise to take you when God permits it." So
wrote Mary with her own hand on June 13, 1472, at Mons. On December
3d, she declared all such pledges revoked as though they never had
been made, and Nicholas, too, formally renounced his pretensions to
her hand.

There were several moments when Charles of France had appeared to be
very near acceptance as Mary's husband, a