in favor of Cardinal Reginald Pole. He did not arrive, however, until after the middle of the month of April. Cardinal Louis de Guise-Lorraine, also travelling from France, arrived on the 21st. In fact, only two French cardinals were in Rome, thereby giving the Imperial faction a great advantage. This was a matter of annoyance for the French, for King Henri had extracted from Pope Julius III, through negotiations carried on by Cardinals Georges d' Armagnac, Alessandro Farnese, and Jean du Bellay, a bull which allowed an extra 15 days before a Conclave began, in order to allow cardinals who had to travel a long distance (the French) to reach Rome. The bull was completely ignored by the Cardinals already in Rome, and only the Novendiales were observed. In accordance with older instructions direct from Henri II, the French faction was supporting Cardinal d'Este, then the Cardinal de Tournon (who was not present at the Conclave), and then Cardinal du Bellay. The Emperor, as in the Conclave of 1550, had a preference for Cardinal Reginald Pole, the Papal Legate in England. Pole, however, was strongly opposed by the French (in ignorance of the letters which Farnese was carrying), and by Cardinal Gian Pietro Carafa, the Dean of the Sacred College of Cardinals and principal Inquisitor of the Roman Inquisition, who regarded Pole (and a number of other cardinals) as Protestant heretics. D'Este was not electable (Sir John Masone, the English agent wrote: "Marry, we hear of no quality to set him forward but that he is rich."), though the six votes he received in the first ballot caused considerable consternation, and the beginning of a "Stop D'Este" movement. Some of the cleverer cardinals, led by Carafa and Madruzzi of Trent, realized that, when all the opinions were factored in, there were very few electable cardinals, the best of whom was Cardinal Marcello Cervini. He was a reformer, he was strict, and he was uncorrupted; he was opposed to nepotism. Unfortunately, Cervini was disliked by the Emperor. But the genuine reformers, who wanted the resumption of the Council of Trent, worked with Carafa and Madruzzi to produce a two-thirds majority. Among them were Ranuccio Farnese, Farnese's brother, and Guido Ascanio Sforza, his first-cousin. When Farnese finally arrived from Avignon in mid-April, he was no doubt delighted to find his grandfather's secretary, Cardinal Marcello Cervini, on the throne of Peter. Unfortunately, on