The old town of Ghent held high festival in honour of the birth of the heir of Austria and Burgundy. The dragon on the belfry ejected Greek fire from mouth and tail; torches and paper lanterns swung gaily from the tower of Saint Nicholas to the belfry, and the object of all this rejoicing was the infant who was one day to become the Emperor Charles V. by a long train of events which opened the way to his inheritance of more extensive dominions than any European sovereign since Charlemagne had possessed, each of his ancestors having acquired kingdoms or provinces towards which their prospect of succession was extremely remote. But his early childhood was clouded, for he hardly knew his parents, who left the Netherlands for Spain in November 1501, barely nine months after his birth. When his mother returned in 1504 her mind was already troubled by the gloom which settled on her in later years. After Queen Isabella's death his parents again left for Spain to take possession of their kingdom of Castile (April 1506), and Charles did not see his mother until 1517. But if he never knew a mother's care, he had an admirable substitute in the affection and guidance of his aunt. Margaret spent two years with her father after she left Spain, during which time she studied the management of German affairs, and tried to forget her sorrow in improving her mind and cultivating her many gifts. Her high birth, beauty, and accomplishments brought her many suitors amongst the princes of Europe; we hear of her marriage being discussed with the Kings of Poland and Scotland, and even with the Prince of Wales, who was not yet united to his long-betrothed bride Katharine. Finally her choice fell upon the young Duke of Savoy, who had previously married Louisa Jolenta, daughter of Amadeus VIII., Duke of Savoy, but who had no children. The young Duke Philibert II., surnamed the Handsome, was born in the castle of Pont d'Ain on the 10th of April 1480; he was therefore about the same age as Margaret. His youth had been spent at the Court of France, and at fourteen he had accompanied the expedition of Charles VIII. against the kingdom of Naples. The following year, which was that of his accession to the dukedom, he had taken part in the war waged by the Emperor Maximilian against the Florentines. Tall, strong, courageous, extremely good-looking, an accomplished rider, devoted to horses, hunting, jousting and feats of arms, he was indeed a gallant young prince, well fitted to win the heart of a beautiful and accomplished princess. Politically this alliance was popular in Savoy, where it was feared that a too close connection with France might impair the independence of the duchy.