accomplished the permanent union, and may thus be considered as the
founder of the Austrian monarchy essentially as it now exists. As
Archduke of Austria, he inherited the Austrian duchies. By his marriage
with Anne, daughter of Ladislaus, King of Hungary and Bohemia, he
secured those crowns, which he made hereditary in his family. He left
three sons. The eldest, Maximilian, inherited the archduchy of Austria
and the crowns of Bohemia and Hungary, of course inheriting, with
Hungary, prospective war with the Turks. The second son, Ferdinand, had,
as his legacy, the government and the revenues of the Tyrol. The third
son, Charles, received Styria. There were nine daughters left, three of
whom took the vail and the rest formed illustrious marriages.

Ferdinand appears to have been a sincere Catholic, though he saw the
great corruptions of the Church and earnestly desired reform. As he
advanced in years he became more tolerant and gentle, and had his wise
counsels been pursued Europe would have escaped inexpressible woes.
Still he clung to the Church, unwisely seeking unity of faith and
discipline, which can hardly be attained in this world, rather than
toleration with allowed diversity.

Maximilian II. was thirty-seven years of age on his accession to the
throne. Although he was educated in the court of Spain, which was the
most bigoted and intolerant in Europe, yet he developed a character
remarkable for mildness, affability and tolerance. He was indebted for
these attractive traits to his tutor, a man of enlarged and cultivated
mind, and who had, like most men of his character at that time, a strong
leaning towards Protestantism. These principles took so firm a hold of
his youthful mind that they could never be eradicated. As he advanced in
life he became more and more interested in the Protestant faith. He
received a clergyman of the reformed religion as his chaplain and
private secretary, and partook of the sacrament of the Lord's Supper,
from his hands, in both kinds. Even while remaining in the Spanish court
he entered into a correspondence with several of the most influential
advocates of the Protestant faith. Returning to Austria from Spain, he
attended public worship in the chapels of the Protestants, and communed
with them in the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. When some of his
friends warned him that by pursuing such a course he could never hope to
obtain the imperial crown of Germany, he replied:

"I will sac