In this respect Melancthon did not stand alone: Francis I. showed no less energy, and was careful not to be offended at the elector’s refusal. The alliance of the protestants became more necessary to him every day. The prince who did so much in France for the arts, and who, as the patron of scholars, received the title of _Father of Letters_, desired a reform after Erasmus’s pattern. There was a very marked distinction, which it is impossible to overlook, between Francis I. and his son Henry II.; but the love of knowledge was not the king’s chief motive: he entertained certain political designs which greatly increased his eagerness for an alliance with the protestants. The Duke of Milan was just dead, and the ambitious Francis desired to conquer the duchy for his second son. Moreover, the evangelical party was not without influence at court: Margaret, Queen of Navarre, Admiral Chabot, and many noblemen favored the Gospel; and they were supported by the Du Bellays and others of the moderate party. The men of the Romish faction rallied round Diana of Poitiers and Catherine of Medicis. The king had discovered that John Frederick had felt hurt at seeing a foreign monarch address one of his subjects on a matter touching the cause of which the elector was regarded as the head. Francis probably thought the prince’s susceptibility to be very natural, and therefore, instead of breaking with him, determined to profit by the lesson he had received. He would resume his plans, but he would write no more to Melancthon: he would address the elector in person, or rather all the protestant princes united, according to the usual forms; and to avoid reminding them of his first fault, the name of Melancthon should not be mentioned. The zeal of the learned professor and of the powerful monarch came, we may be sure, from different sources; one proceeded from on high, the other from below; but the same desire animated both of them. The Romish party were greatly agitated when they heard of the king’s intentions, and again attempted to thwart a project they regarded as highly pernicious. The Sorbonne represented to Francis I. that no concession ought to be made, and proceeded to demonstrate, after an extraordinary fashion, the articles rejected by the Lutherans. ‘They deny the power of the saints to heal the sick,’ said the theologians; ‘but is not this miraculous power proved by the virtue the kings of France possess of healing the _evil_ by a touch?’ Francis I. was an extraordinary saint, and such an argument probably amused him more than it convinced him. The Cardinal De Tournon proceeded more wisely, by reiterating to the monarch that he could not have Milan without the help of the pope. But even this argument did not shake Francis I.: he highly appreciated the pope’s friendship, but he valued still more highly the spears of the lansquenets. [Sidenote: Mission Of Du Bellay.]