should marry Mary, and seek to conciliate the English. Michiel, the Venetian ambassador, who had seen the Prince in Italy, describes him as the image of the Emperor, even to his hanging under-lip, the distinguishing feature of the Hapsburgs. He was not quite so tall (and Charles V. was but of medium height), but well-proportioned and agile, as had often been proved in tournaments, on foot and on horseback, armed and unarmed.[447] He is elsewhere described as short but slender, with a fine broad brow, large blue eyes, dense, fair eyebrows, very close together, a nose well formed, a large mouth, with a thick and pendent under-lip, which rather spoiled his appearance. His skin was white, and his hair flaxen, like that of a Fleming, but here the resemblance to his northern ancestors ceased, his tastes and manners being essentially Spanish. Even in his early manhood, he was inclined to be thoughtful and laborious. It was observed that he listened attentively to all that was said to him, but spoke little, and that little cautiously, with his eyes bent on the ground. If he raised them, it was to allow them to wander hither and thither. His answers were prompt, short and to the purpose, but he was careful never to compromise himself in any way.[448] At the end of his first visit to Flanders, the Emperor, who idolised him, took him to task for his cold and haughty bearing. Philip learned the lesson so well, that on his second visit, it was remarked that his manner was more affable, recalling that of his father, and retaining no trace of the disdain which had before caused him to be so much disliked in the Low Countries. He differed from the Emperor, inasmuch as Charles delighted in warfare, and military exercises, whereas Philip cared nothing for them, and understood them but little. He was fond of study, and especially of the study of history; he knew the exact position of every important place on the map, was a good mathematician, and had some notions of sculpture and of painting, which arts he sometimes practised. His own language he spoke with elegance, knew Latin well enough for a prince, understood and wrote Italian, and some French, and possessed an excellent memory. He was slow in his movements, both naturally and from his having schooled himself in extreme deliberation, a characteristic often illustrated by remarks which he was in the habit of writing on the margin of official documents, and in letters to his friends and servants. One such expression, written to an Italian diplomat, “_bisogna caminare coi piedi di piombo_,” is an epitome of his manner of conducting business. He was careful to surround even the smallest affair with an atmosphere of dignity, a custom that may partly account for his dilatoriness. As he was habitually grave and distant, his courtesy was the more appreciated when he forced himself to unbend. In his opinion, no nation on earth equalled the Spanish nation, and he admitted none but Spaniards into his counsels