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 again dealt with the recognition of the "Confessio Bohemica" by the State, and of the claims of the Protestants that the Consistory Council and the University should be placed under their control.

Before the memorandum had been submitted to the king, consideration hostile to the Bohemians had once more prevailed in his vacillating mind. Archduke Leopold, a younger brother of Archduke Ferdinand of Styria, arrived at Prague at this moment. He for a time ingratiated himself with Rudolph, who (animated by his dislike to his brother Matthew) seriously thought of declaring Leopold his successor. It is to this archduke, a fervent Romanist, and to the Spanish ambassador Zuňiga, that the altered tone of Rudolph's message in reply to the Estates (June 5) must be attributed. He declared that he would extend to the Protestants the same degree of toleration which they had enjoyed under Ferdinand I; he thus withdrew even the concessions made to them by the more liberal-minded sovereign, Maximilian II.

The Protestants considered this decision as a declaration of war. Count Thurn declared in the Diet that there had been enough useless talk, that the moment for action had arrived, and that the country must immediately take up arms. The committee appointed by the Estates had meanwhile drawn up three documents. Ignoring the royal message, which purported to decide the question, these documents were now brought before the Estates and immediately approved of by them. The first, in the form of an address to the king—to whom, however, it was never presented—informed him that the Protestant Estates, having now fully stated their arguments, would no longer appeal to him in defence of their creed. The second document contained a severe and detailed criticism of Rudolph's policy: this had not been prepared with a view to presentation to the sovereign. Written rather as a proclamation to the people, it ended with the announcement that a general armament of the country would be necessary, and must shortly take place. The third, and by far the most important work of the committee, was a minute detailing the concessions which the Protestants considered necessary as guarantees of their freedom and autonomy. It is significant of the confidence felt by the Protestants that, in spite of Rudolph's apparently uncompromising attitude, they should have