Page:The Hussite wars, by the Count Lützow.djvu/379

 doctrine and the authority of the Church of Rome, Menhard said that if such a promise were now made publicly the Bohemians would immediately break off the negotiations, if it were made secretly the King, after his arrival in Bohemia, would be in great danger, if it then became known that he had made such a promise. During the following days the negotiations continued uninterruptedly, the King almost daily receiving either the Bohemian delegates or the envoys of the Council, and sometimes both bodies jointly. Sigismund, who wished above all things to hasten his recognition as King of Bohemia, and who was in his heart a fervent adherent of the Church of Rome, considered these lengthy theological discussions both tedious and superfluous. He did not always conceal his irritation. During one of the audiences which he granted the Bohemians he declared that he wished to abandon his claim to the Bohemian throne, and advised them to seek for another king. On another occasion he rebuked the representatives of the Council for attaching too much importance to the choice of a new archbishop. He said that, as far as he was concerned, he did not care whom the Bohemians elected, even if they elected a donkey; it was not he who would have to ordain him.

On January 4, 1436, Sigismund presented to the envoys of the Council a new draft of a letter in which he, acceding to their demand, declared that he approved of the suggestions of Palomar. Though some stipulations had been modified, the new draft again contained the promise that Sigismund would not interfere in matters that concerned the doctrine and authority of the Roman Church. The Bohemians rightly thought that this was by far the most weighty point. When they were admitted to the presence of the Emperor immediately afterwards and the draft was read out to them, John Velvar, a citizen of Prague and a member of the Bohemian embassy, immediately protested, and in the name of his colleagues begged the Emperor’s permission to return to Bohemia.