however, was too sagacious to deceive himself long, and became satisfied very soon that no Netherlander was likely to be selected for Regent.  He therefore threw his influence in favor of the Duchess Christina, whose daughter, at the suggestion of the Bishop of Arras, he was desirous of obtaining in marriage.  The King favored for a time, or pretended to favor, both the appointment of Madame de Lorraine and the marriage project of the Prince.  Afterwards, however, and in a manner which was accounted both sudden and mysterious, it appeared that the Duchess and Orange had both been deceived, and that the King and Bishop had decided in favor of another candidate, whose claims had not been considered, before, very prominent.  This was the Duchess Margaret of Parma, natural daughter of Charles the Fifth.  A brief sketch of this important personage, so far as regards her previous career, is reserved for the following chapter.  For the present it is sufficient to state the fact of the nomination.  In order to afford a full view of Philip’s political arrangements before his final departure from the Netherlands, we defer until the same chapter, an account of the persons who composed the boards of council organized to assist the new Regent in the government.  These bodies themselves were three in number:  a state and privy council and one of finance.  They were not new institutions, having been originally established by the Emperor, and were now arranged by his successor upon the same nominal basis upon which they had before existed.  The finance council, which had superintendence of all matters relating to the royal domains and to the annual budgets of the government, was presided over by Baron Berlaymont.  The privy council, of which Viglius was president, was composed of ten or twelve learned doctors, and was especially entrusted with the control of matters relating to law, pardons, and the general administration of justice.  The state council, which was far the most important of the three boards, was to superintend all high affairs of government, war, treaties, foreign intercourse, internal and interprovincial affairs.  The members of this council were the Bishop of Arras, Viglius, Berlaymont, the Prince of Orange, Count Egmont, to which number were afterwards added the Seigneur de Glayon, the Duke of Aerschot, and Count Horn.  The last-named nobleman, who was admiral of the provinces, had, for the, present, been appointed to accompany the King to Spain, there to be specially entrusted with the administration of affairs relating to the Netherlands.  He was destined, however, to return at the expiration of two years.