It was a cloud in Germany, as yet no bigger than a man's hand, but soon to darken the face of Europe.

Ferdinand and Maximilian had at times been dangerous; Charles wielded the power of both.

He ruled over Castile and Aragon, the Netherlands and Naples, Burgundy and Austria; he could command the finest military forces in Europe; the infantry of Spain, the science of Italy, the lance-knights of Germany, for which Ferdinand sighed, were at his disposal; and the wealth of the Indies was poured out at his feet.

He bestrode the narrow world like a Colossus, and the only hope of lesser men lay in the maintenance of Francis's power.

Were that to fail, Charles would become arbiter of Christendom, Italy a Spanish kingdom, and the Pope little more than the Emperor's (p.