In 1562, a grave misfortune came upon Plantin, which caused serious interruption to his business, and consequent loss. He was accused by the Margrave of Antwerp of heresy, because there had been printed in his establishment an edition of a treatise entitled _Brièfve instruction pour prier_. Plantin was condemned _in absentio_ (he was at the time in Paris) and his goods were seized and sold at auction. He was able, however, later, to show that the book had been printed during his absence and without his knowledge, and for the account not of his own publishing concern but of some outside customer of the printing-office, and he was finally acquitted. The more important portion of the goods that had been sold at auction had been bought in for him by personal friends, so that he was shortly again in a position to go on with his business. Some of these friends supplied further capital, and, in 1563, a company was organised for the printing and publishing of books, of which company Plantin became manager. Plantin came under suspicion of heresy a number of times, but he was always able to present evidence of his orthodoxy in the Catholic faith. It was, I understand, only after his death that the documents were found showing that, as early as 1550, he had been a member of a sect known as _La Famille de la Charité_, the leader of which was Niclaes. Plantin printed for Niclaes (but without the imprint of his printing-office) the _Spiegel der Gherechtigkeit_ or _Le Miroir de la Justice_. He did not fail, however, during these years, to continue to do whatever was requisite to preserve his good standing in the Church of Rome, a course that was certainly judicious at a time when Antwerp was in charge of rulers like Alva, and when the publisher was carrying on undertakings which required the coöperation or the support of the theologians of Louvain, of King Philip, and of the Pope. Whatever the temptation or the necessities, it seems certain that Plantin was willing, for the sake probably, in the main, of his business interests, to act the part of a trimmer, and it must be admitted that he played the rôle skilfully and successfully.