The news of his fall was received with general satisfaction abroad. King Francis gave vent to boisterous joy, and sent his brother word how sincerely he rejoiced to hear that this false and wicked traitor, who had brought the noblest heads in England to the block, was at length unmasked. The Emperor, on the contrary, showed no surprise or emotion when he heard the news from Archdeacon Pate, the new Envoy who had succeeded Wyatt, but merely said: "What! is he in the Tower of London, and by the King's counsel?" And when, on the 6th of July, Pate informed him that the King had repudiated his wife, he cast his eye steadfastly on the speaker, and asked what scruples His Majesty entertained regarding his marriage with the daughter of Cleves. The Ambassador explained, as best he could, what he took to be the motives of the King's action, upon which the Emperor said that he was convinced Cromwell was the true cause of all the terrible crimes which had of late years been committed against religion and order in England. So friendly was the Emperor that Pate wrote to the Duke of Norfolk: "If His Majesty hath thereby lost the hearts of the Electors, he hath in their places gained those of the Emperor and the French King."[290] [Sidenote: JUNE, 1540] RENÉ OF ORANGE] Both at Bruges and Antwerp the news aroused much excitement among the merchants, who were unanimous in the opinion that the King now intended to take the Duchess of Milan "for the true heart which she bore him." But nothing was further from Christina's mind. She had rejoiced at the failure of the King's suit, and saw the Duke of Cleves leave Ghent without regret. Now all seemed ripe for the fulfilment of her long-cherished hopes. The Prince of Orange had been unremitting in his attendance on the Emperor since his arrival, and, as all men knew, was honoured by His Majesty's confidence and affection. His popularity with the army was unbounded, and it was a common saying that wherever the Prince's little pony went, every Dutchman would follow. The Queen looked kindly on his suit, and Christina's heart was already his own. But when, in these bright June days at Bruges, he modestly laid his suit before the Emperor, an unexpected difficulty arose. Three years before a marriage with the Duke of Lorraine's only daughter had been proposed for the young Prince of Orange by his uncle, William of Nassau-Dillenburg, the head of the German branch of the house. The idea met with Henry of Nassau's cordial approval, and at his request the Emperor sent his servant Montbardon to obtain Duke Antoine's consent. This was granted without any difficulty, and the contract was drawn up before the Count of Nassau's death.[291] Now the Duke urged the Prince to keep this long-standing engagement and marry his daughter Anne--the plain but excellent lady whose portrait Holbein had taken for King Henry. The Prince had never seen his destined bride, and was