Harassed by the
perplexities which pressed in upon him from his widely-extended realms,
annoyed by the undutiful and haughty conduct of his son, who was
endeavoring to wrest authority from his father by taking advantage of
all his misfortunes, and perhaps inheriting a melancholy temperament
from his mother, who died in the glooms of insanity, and, more than all,
mortified and wounded by so sudden and so vast a reverse of fortune, in
which all his plans seemed to have failed--thus oppressed, humbled, he
retired in disgust to his room, indulged in the most fretful temper,
admitted none but his sister and a few confidential servants to his
presence, and so entirely neglected all business as to pass nine months
without signing a single paper.
While the emperor was in this melancholy state, his insane mother, who
had lingered for years in delirious gloom, died on the 4th of April,
1555. It will be remembered that Charles had inherited valuable estates
in the Low Countries from his marriage with the daughter of the Duke of
Burgundy. Having resolved to abdicate all his power and titles in favor
of his son, he convened the States of the Low Countries at Brussels on
the 25th of October, 1555.
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