dear
nightingale he had conquered the economy which was beginning to
degenerate into avarice, and also intended to accomplish other sacrifices
in order to procure her the position which she deserved.

He no longer knew that he had wounded her deeply the night before. He was
in the habit of casting aside whatever displeased him unless it appeared
advantageous to impose restraint upon himself; and who would ever have
dared to resist the expression of his indignation? Had Barbara obeyed her
hasty temper and returned him a sharp answer, he certainly would not have
forgotten it. The bare thought of her dispelled melancholy thoughts from
his mind; the hope of soon seeing and hearing her again rendered him
friendly and yielding to those about him. The trivial sin which this
sweet love secret contained had been pardoned in the case of the man
bound by no older obligation, after a slight penance, and now for the
first time he fully enjoyed the wealth of the unexpected new happiness.
It must also be acceptable to Heaven, for this was distinctly shown by
the more and more favourable turn of politics, and he held the return
gift.

That it was the right one was proved by the nature of the gratifying news
brought by the very last despatches. They urged him directly toward the
war which hitherto, from the most serious motives, he had avoided, and,
as his royal sister correctly saw, would destroy a slowly matured,
earnest purpose; for it forced him to renounce the hope of effecting at
Trent a reformation of the Church according to his own ideas, and a
restoration of the unity of religion in a peaceful manner by yielding on
one side and reasonable concessions on the other. He had long since
perceived that many things in the old form of religion needed
reformation. If war was declared, he would be compelled to resign the
hope that these would be undertaken by Rome, and the opposition, the
defiance, the bold rebellion of the Protestant princes destroyed every
hope of propitiation on their part. They were forcing him to draw the
sword, and he might venture to do so at this time, for he need now feel
no fear of serious opposition from any of the great powers around him.
Maurice of Saxony, too, was on the point of withdrawing from the
Smalkalds and becoming his ally; so, with the assistance of Heaven, he
might hope to win the victory for the cause of the Church, and with it
also that of the crown.

With regard to the probability of this w