The Austrians, who were annoyed at seeing the ambassador of the King of France intermeddling in their affairs, held firm. The deputies of Saxony, Hesse, Prussia, Mecklenburg, and the other states, now made up their minds to oppose Austria; they told the young duke that they were ready to cast their swords in the balance, and Christopher himself requested Du Bellay 'to change his congratulatory oration into a comminatory one.'[532] [Sidenote: DU BELLAY PLEADS AND MENACES.] When the French envoy was admitted again before the diet, he assumed a higher tone: 'My lords,' he said, 'will you lend your hands to the ruin of an innocent person?... If you do so ... I tell you that you will bring a stain upon your reputation that all the water in the sea will not be able to wash out. This prince, in heart so proud, in origin so illustrious, will not endure to live miserably in the country whose sovereign he is by birth; he will go into a foreign land. And in what part soever of the world he may be, what will he carry with him?... The shame of the emperor, the shame of King Ferdinand, the shame of all of you. Every man, pointing to him, will say: That is he who formerly.... That is he who now.... That is he who through no fault of his own.... That is he who, being compelled to leave Germany.... You understand, my lords, what is omitted in these sentences; I willingly excuse myself from completing them ... you will do it yourselves. No! you will not be insensible to such great misery.... I see your hearts are touched already.... I see by your gestures and your looks that you feel the truth of my words.' Then, making a direct attack upon the emperor and his brother, he said: 'There are people who, very erroneously in my opinion, consult only their wicked ambition and unbridled covetousness, and who think that, by oppressing now one and now another, they will subdue all Germany.' Turning next to the young Prince of Wurtemberg, the representative of Francis I. continued: 'Duke Christopher, rely upon it the Most Christian King will do all that he can in your behalf, without injury to his faith, his honour, and the duties of blood. The court of France has always been the most liberal of all—ever open to receive exiled and suffering princes. With greater reason, then, it will not be closed against you who are its ally ... you who, by the justice of your cause and by your innocence, appear even to your enemies worthy of pity and compassion.'[533]