livered over to the dominion of the family of Medici. The Venetians
were better treated: they were only obliged to relinquish some
acquisitions which they had made on the coast of Naples. Even Francis
Sforza obtained the investiture of Milan, and was pardoned for all past
offences. The emperor in person passed into Italy with a magnificent
train, and received the imperial crown from the hands of the pope at
Bologna. He was but twenty-nine years of age; and having already, by
his vigor and capacity, succeeded in every enterprise, and reduced to
captivity the two greatest potentates in Europe, the one spiritual,
the other temporal, he attracted the eyes of all men; and many
prognostications were formed of his growing empire.

But though Charles seemed to be prosperous on every side, and though the
conquest of Mexico and Peru now began to prevent that scarcity of money
under which he had hitherto labored, he found himself threatened with
difficulties in Germany; and his desire of surmounting them was the
chief cause of his granting such moderate conditions to the Italian
powers. Sultan Solyman, the greatest and most accomplished prince that
ever sat on the Ottoman throne, had almost entirely subdued Hungary,
had besieged Vienna, and, though repulsed, still menaced the hereditary
dominions of the house of Austria with conquest and subjection. The
Lutheran princes of the empire, finding that liberty of conscience
was denied them, had combined in a league for their own defence at
Smalcalde, and because they protested against the votes passed in
the imperial diet, they thenceforth received the appellation, of
"protestants." Charles had undertaken to reduce them to obedience; and
on pretence of securing the purity of religion, he had laid a scheme for
aggrandizing his own family, by extending its dominion over all Germany.

The friendship of Henry was one material circumstance yet wanting to
Charles, in order to insure success in his ambitious enterprises; and
the king was sufficiently apprised that the concurrence of that prince
would at once remove all the difficulties which lay in the way of his
divorce; that point which had long been the object of his most earnest
wishes. But besides that the interests of his kingdom seemed to require
an alliance with France, his haughty spirit could not submit to a
friendship imposed on him by constraint; and as he had ever been
accustomed to receive courtship, deference, and solicitation